Archive for April, 2011

When Atlantans celebrate “420″ they’re likely quaffing a quality ale from homegrown brewer Sweetwater.

But, there’s another kind of homegrown getting buzz on April 20, referred to as “Marijuana Freedom Day” by many marijuana smokers and NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Limited experience indicates this movie was created by the clueless.

I’ve only smoked when I’ve lost a bet (curse you Kent Hrbek!), and, like Clinton, I didn’t inhale. But, I am continually surprised by old college chums who have yet to give up the habit.

Say what you will about pot smokers, but they are a dedicated sort, and don’t seem to cause as much trouble as imbibers of legal drink. I’ve been tracking crime news for quite a while, and I don’t recall anything akin to the mayhem promised in “Reefer Madness.”

How did 420 come about?

Originally, 420 referred to a time of day, not a calendar date.

According to Wikipedia, the term was crafted by a group of teenagers in …

Continue reading ‘420′ a homegrown holiday for some »

Paid your taxes? You’ll be glad to know part of your hard-earned cash is slated to be spent handing out superhero capes to the unemployed

Your tax dollars hard at work.

The $73,000 program in Florida, dubbed the “Cape-A-Bility Challenge,” also features a cartoon character named “Dr. Evil Unemployment,” according to the Orlando Sentinel article.

Someone sane is trying to pull the plug on the whimsical plan.

“I have serious concerns with the content and approach” of the project, Cynthia Lorenzo, the executive director of Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation, wrote to Workforce Central Florida Executive Director Gary J. Earl. “With more than one million Floridians currently out of work, spending any amount of money on collateral materials such as the red capes included in your campaign appears to be insensitive and wasteful.”

The “Cape-A-Bility Challenge” is part of an “Everyday Superheroes” theme the agency has adopted, according to the Sentinel. Workforce Central …

Continue reading Tax dollars may give superhero capes to jobless »

The media coverage of the upcoming royal wedding is a little nuts, which may explain why Kate Middleton’s spanking new coat of arms features three acorns.

That, or it was designed by squirrels.

Squirrel approved.

Reports indicate “an insignia is a prerequisite for those marrying into the Royal Family.”

I assume love is a prerequisite as well, but I didn’t see that reported anywhere today.

Middleton, 29, will marry Prince William April 29 at Westminster Abbey.

The daughter of flight attendants, Kate’s clearly helping the family reach new heights.

The official wedding web site says the images of important wildlife food “represent Mr. and Mrs. Middleton’s three children.”

“Acorns were chosen because the area in which the children were brought up – West Berkshire, England – is surrounded by oak trees. Additionally, oak is a long-established symbol of both ‘England’ and ‘Strength.’”

There’s more: “The gold chevron, which sits at the centre of the design, represents Mrs. Middleton, …

Continue reading Squirrels nuts for Kate Middleton’s new coat of arms »

Would you pay $1,000 for a 50 percent stake in Facebook?

If you live in a cave, or the year happened to be 2003, perhaps not.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reported to be worth at least $13.5 billion.

But a gentleman by the name of Paul Ceglia, who allegedly once paid Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg $1,000 for help with a website, said yes and helped get the project off the ground.

According to a lawsuit reported on by The New York Times, Ceglia is now suing for a 50 percent share of the popular social networking site, now worth billions.

Ceglia is a wood-pallet salesman from upstate New York, according to the article, and, aside from paying Zuckerberg for web work, he also gave him $1,000 for a stake in Facebook. [Read the alleged contract]

Ceglia has filed an amended complaint April 11 in federal court in New York that include excerpts from e-mails with Zuckerberg and that, if authentic, could make him very, very rich. [Read the amended complaint]

Facebook has called …

Continue reading Lawsuit: Half of Facebook sold for $1,000 »

A U.S. Postal Service worker dropped off an unexpected package at a Portland home, according to KATU TV.

Do not look in the bushes.

Oregonian Don Derfler was waiting for a babysitter to arrive when he saw his mailman pull down his pants and drop a nasty in his neighbor’s bushes.

Derfler took pictures of the mailman, who was not named, and even photographed what the carrier left behind.

“To come on to our property and to defecate – it’s just wrong,” said Derfler.

KATU points out there is a public park with porta potties and a store with a public bathroom within two blocks of the bush the mailman used as a toilet.

The mailman was placed on unpaid leave and is embarrassed, according to co-workers.

The TV station took Derfler’s pictures to USPS authorities.

I don’t have an explanation for this individual,” said Ron Anderson, with the U.S. Postal Service.

Though postal workers are unionized, I suspect the mailman will still get fired. Maybe he can get a gig with UPS in Atlanta; …

Continue reading Special delivery: Mailman defecates in yard »

The last two people fluent in a nearly-extinct language refuse to speak to each other.

The men, Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, live close to one another in a village located in south Mexico, but they don’t “really enjoy each other’s company,” according to an article in the London Telegraph.

They speak Ayapaneco, a language used for centuries by the indigenous people of Mexico.

Segovia still uses Ayapaneco to speak to his wife and son, who understand him but can only speak a few words. Velazquez no longer uses the language daily.

”When I was a boy, everybody spoke it,” Segovia said. ”It’s disappeared little by little, and now I suppose it might die with me.”

The article says there are 68 different indigenous languages in Mexico, further subdivided into 364 variations. A handful of other Mexican indigenous languages is also in danger of extinction, though Ayapaneco is the most extreme case.

Segovia and Velazquez call their language Nuumte Oote, which means the …

Continue reading Last 2 speakers of dying language won’t talk to each other »

Unlike the smokable plant, marijuana production ain’t green.

The driver of this van has no idea he's killing baby polar bears.

Marijuana has a Godzilla-sized carbon footprint, with indoor production consuming one percent of all electricity produced in the United States, according to a study.

The resulting carbon dioxide emissions from all those power plants is equivalent to operating 3 million badly painted Volkswagen Microbuses (see photo).

Here’s some more interesting facts:

* Energy costs account for 25 percent of marijuana wholesale costs.

* The energy required to produce one joint is equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours.

* A four-by-four-foot lighted “production module” uses the same energy as 30 refrigerators.

Of course, after reading all that, you’re probably wondering how much in energy costs the U.S. could save if we just let people grow marijuana outdoors.

The answer? $5 billion, or 2.5 million pounds of weed.

Continue reading Marijuana production uses 1 percent of all U.S. electricity »

Police say a 20-year-old woman who allegedly wanted to spruce up for a Lady Gaga concert created her costume by killing the family cat.

Lady Gaga fans can be crazier than her stage costumes.

According to Channel 4 news in Oklahoma City, Angelina K. Barnes will be charged with animal cruelty for disemboweling the poor creature, mutilating its eyes and putting its liver in a makeup box.

Needless to say, she’s currently housed in a mental ward.

A relative reported the crime after arriving home and finding the light switches covered in duct tape and Barnes dressed in a rain coat with red streaks of cat blood on her face. A court affidavit states Barnes created the costume to wear to a Lady Gaga outfit.

I don’t know much about Lady Gaga, but this site has pictures of the singer smeared in what appears to be fake blood.

Local felines may want to climb a tall tree, she’ll be performing in Atlanta April 18.

Continue reading Woman kills cat to create costume for Lady Gaga show »

• A less-than-private dancer performing in the middle of North Avenue caused multiple accidents, according to Atlanta police. She refused to stop after being yelled at by passing motorists and police. She told the arresting officer she was a member of the CIA and the president was “having relations with her husband.”
• A woman who refused to pay a taxi driver for a $30 ride home from the Cobb County jail was jailed again.
• A postal worker driving without her lights on admitted to “drinking brandy” on the job and was cited for DUI. Her personal vehicle and “material belonging to the Post Office” was seized by Atlanta police.
• An Alpharetta man told police multiple pieces of furniture were stolen from his home while he was out of town. His neighbor’s said a moving truck was spotted in his driveway. The man blames his ex-wife and her family.
• A woman who claimed to be “too fat” to wear a seatbelt was arrested for theft due to an outstanding Roswell warrant.
• An Atlanta mother …

Continue reading Police (Off)Beat | Dancing with the demented »

Want sexual bliss on the first date? Find a Nirvana fan.

Looking for a cold shoulder? Someone who likes Coldplay may suit you.

An unscientific survey by Tastebuds.com, an Internet matchmaking site I’ve never heard of, suggests fans of hard rock are more likely to “go all the way.”

Curiously, fans of Katy Perry aren’t as sexually charged as the endowed one’s infamous Sesame Street appearance.

But Kanye West’s female fans must have been listening when he sang “Get down girl go head get down.” His fans are among the busiest, according to the handy chart.

Only400 anonymous users responded to the survey, and they may have all been lying, but, in my opinion, the results seem just as likely to indicate who’s the most stoned.

As one of Spinal Tap’s drummers once said, “As long as there’s, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll.”

Continue reading Nirvana fans love sex; Katy Perry for cold fish »