Gator Pool

The enormous sinkhole in Texas that opened up last week is rapidly becoming a lake - and it has a new resident: an alligator.

Houston (AP) - The giant Texas sinkhole that formed last week in Liberty County is now a lake big enough to become the home of an alligator.

Area residents believe the reptile was washed into the 600-foot-diameter crater by water from surrounding swamps.

Ground water is seeping into the hole, and its exposed walls are about 30 feet high, the Houston Chronicle reported in its online edition on Friday.

Sightings of an alligator in the sinkhole were confirmed Friday when a Texas Railroad Commission worker snapped photographs for proof.

Danny Diaz, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden, said a patch of crude oil floating on the east side of the crater might irritate the alligator's skin, but the reptile is using the water on the other side.

"It's not really safe for anyone to climb down into that hole now to get anything out," said Diaz, pointing to stress cracks in the ground that encircle the hole. "The sinkhole could start growing again, especially if we get a saturating rain."

The hole has claimed everything from vehicles to oil tanks and is somewhere around 900 feet across at its widest point. It is also more than 250 feet deep. A pretty good picture of it is over at Fox News. On the bright side, homeowners in the area now own lakefront property.

Visualize Whirled Peas

Veggie Pride! Power to the Pea-ple! There is no shortage of silly puns at the Veggie Pride Parade scheduled to occur in New York City.

Rain or shine, the parade is expected to wend its way through Manhattan's old meatpacking district on Sunday before ending at Washington Square Park.

Along the route, costumed bride and groom Penelo Pea Pod and Chris P. Carrot will exchange veggie vows and ask observers to "Give Peas a Chance" and "Go Vegetarian!"

The parade's organizer is - I am not making this up - Pamela Rice. Personally, if I lived in NYC, I'd steak out a place along the route to sell t-shirts. Vegetables are what food eats.

Learning To Fly Crash

A student pilot managed to land his aircraft. This would not be news, of course had he landed on the runway in a normal fashion. Instead, he landed his plane directly on top of another plane piloted by his next-door neighbor.

For a learner pilot, it is embarrassing enough that you have brought your plane in to land on top of another aircraft that was on the runway.

But when that other plane belongs to your next-door neighbour, the situation reaches a whole new level of humiliation.

Despite the odds, that is exactly what happened at Roanoke airport near Dallas in Texas when one rookie pilot attempted to touch down.

A perfect three-point landing. Wrong three points, however. Nobody was hurt in the incident, so by one old definition, this was a good landing. I see a great future for the student pilot, however. In modern art!

Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart Now, Baby

A 25-year old Canadian woman will be on probation for the next three years for actually taking a little piece of her lover's heart while engaged in drunken "rough sex."

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian man who asked his lover to carve a heart-shaped symbol on his chest during a rough sex game almost died when she accidentally pressed too hard and punctured his heart, a newspaper said on Thursday.
 
The Winnipeg Free Press said the 25-year-old woman had been sentenced to three years' probation after she pleaded guilty to assaulting the man in February 2007.

There's kinky and then there's stupid. I kind of think this little incident crosses that line. But the man should be a shoo-in for a runner-up position in the Darwin Awards.

Looking Green

As opposed to actually being green. The Washington Post notes that most of the highly publicized ways of "fighting" climate change are completely useless - or very nearly so. Instead they are more of a fashion statement.

In March of last year, the World Wildlife Fund in Australia teamed up with Leo Burnett, the multinational advertising agency that created the Marlboro Man, to come up with a new environmental campaign called Earth Hour. The idea was to get 2 million residents in Sydney to turn off all the lights in their homes for one hour. The campaign generated wide publicity, but the energy saved was small — the equivalent of taking about five cars off the city's roads for a year.

This year, Earth Hour expanded to dozens of cities around the world. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York were among the U.S. landmarks that went dark. Many corporations signed on to burnish their green credentials. A bar in Phoenix served a drink called an ecotini — organic vodka, green tea and an edible orchid.

But if everyone who participated in Earth Hour had left their lights on and instead switched to mundane, high-efficiency compact fluorescent bulbs, simple calculations show, it might have saved 1,368 times as much energy, because the bulbs would have saved energy all year…..

….."It is very difficult to get people to invest in home insulation and energy efficiency, which are much more effective than putting solar panels on your roof," he said. "Solar panels are popular because you can see you are doing something — and your neighbors can see it, too."

Greenier than thou rules. Style over substance. Just as Al Gore preaches carbon neutrality while consuming vast quantities of energy. The official in charge of the Earth Hour initiative for the WWF admits that the whole thing is designed to manipulate people:

"You are not going to get people to change what people do by engaging their heads; you have to engage their hearts," she said. "You need symbols to spur action. You are not going to get people to take action unless you get them to care about the issue. You are not going to do that by pulling out the U.N. report on blah, blah, blah."

Very nice. It's really about a political agenda.

Tired And Shagged Out After A Prolonged Squawk

More about Norwegian Blue Parrots of Monty Python fame…turn out there actual used to be some: Norwegian Blue parrot really DID exist - but now they are all 'stiff, bereft of life and ex-parrots'

Dr David Waterhouse, a fossil expert and Python fan, has found that parrots not only lived in Scandinavia 55million years ago, but probably evolved there before spreading into the southern hemisphere.

His discovery was based on a preserved wing bone of a previously unknown species, given the scientific name Mopsitta Tanta - and now nicknamed the Norwegian Blue.

…

Dr Waterhouse, 29, said of Mopsitta Tanta: "Obviously, we were dealing with a bird that is bereft of life, but the tricky bit was establishing it was a parrot."

He was studying for a PhD at the University of Dublin in 2005 when he visited a museum in Jutland and spotted a fossilised 2in-long humerus - appropriately enough, the funny bone - among bird remains which had been found near an open-cast mine.

Research has now confirmed the bone was part of an upper wing from a bird in the parrot family. Although the mine was in Denmark, the birds would also have lived in what is now Norway.

Dr Waterhouse, now assistant curator of natural history at the Norfolk Museums Service, said: "All that remained was a single upper wing bone, but it contained characteristic features that showed it was clearly from a member of the parrot family, about the size of a yellow-crested cockatoo.

"It isn't as unbelievable as you might think that a parrot was found so far north.

"When Mopsitta was alive, most of northern Europe was experiencing a warm period, with a large shallow tropical lagoon covering much of Germany, South-East England and Denmark.

I've got further dialogue going through my head:

"A parrot? In Scandinavia?"

"Well, it probably escaped from a zoo."

"Isn't very likely…."

(As I clearly stated in an earlier post…I'm a bit of a dork.)

This Isn’t Important

As Gaius seems to have gone off someplace (possibly to help OJ Simpson track down the real killer), I feel I should post something here.  Unfortunately, most of my blogging of late has involved calling people names (I know, I know…I should know better.)

I do have something fun for some people.  If you enjoy irony and bitter sarcasm combined with statistics and an academic free for all (and who doesn't?), then you will enjoy Roger Pielke's devastating take down of a scientific methodology challenged colleague. 

It begins:

In his latest essay on my stupidity, climate modeler James Annan made the helpful suggestion that I consult a "a numerate undergraduate to explain it to [me]." So I looked outside my office, where things are quiet out on the quad this time of year, but as luck would have it, I did find a young lady named Megan, who just happened to be majoring in mathematics who agreed to help me overcome my considerable ignorance.

From there things get hysterical.

 O.K., hysterical if you are a bit of a dork.

How Green Was My……. C-Cup?

Today's utterly pointless invention: the solar-powered bra.

Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan Ltd unveiled its environmentally friendly, and green colored, "Solar Power Bra" on Wednesday in Tokyo which features a solar panel worn around the stomach.

The panel requires light to generate electricity and the concept bra will not be in stores anytime soon, said Triumph spokeswoman Yoshiko Masuda, as "people usually can not go outside without wearing clothes over it."

But it does send the message of how lingerie could possibly save the planet, Masuda said, adding that the bra should not be washed or sunned on a rainy day to avoid damaging it.

Well, strictly speaking, it really isn't pointless at all. It is a way for the maker to get free publicity. Nothing more.

Computer Bugs On The March In Houston

Not the usual software glitches, either. We're talking about the real deal - the things that computer "bugs" were named for - real bugs. In this case ants - and lots of them.

DALLAS - In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers.

 The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" — crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an exterminator who did battle against them early on.

"They're itty-bitty things about the size of fleas, and they're just running everywhere," said Patsy Morphew of Pearland, who is constantly sweeping them off her patio and scooping them out of her pool by the cupful. "There's just thousands and thousands of them. If you've seen a car racing, that's how they are. They're going fast, fast, fast. They're crazy."

The ants — formally known as "paratrenicha species near pubens" — have spread to five Houston-area counties since they were first spotted in Texas in 2002.

The newly recognized species is believed to have arrived in a cargo shipment through the port of Houston. Scientists are not sure exactly where the ants came from, but their cousins, commonly called crazy ants, are found in the Southeast and the Caribbean.

Looks like someone let the crazy ant out of the attic, so to speak. Seriously, invasive species are becoming a real problem in this country. These ants are resistant to over the counter ant poisons and are very difficult to get rid of. They have also been spotted near the Johnson Space Center. It would be a rather bad thing if they invaded that particular place. Houston, we have a problem, indeed.

The Dead Parrot Candidate

Dana Milbank from The Washington Post describes Hillary Clinton's West Virginia victory in terms of the famous Monty Python's Flying Circus skit about the dead parrot. This, Milbank states, is an ex-candidate. From his description, Clinton may really be.

11:45 a.m., Melrose Hotel, Foggy Bottom: It's Day 7 of the Clinton Campaign Death Watch — a full week since the official arbiter of the Democratic primary, Tim Russert, declared the campaign over and Barack Obama the nominee. Hillary Clinton's advisers continue to insist that the candidate's prospects are very much alive, but the press isn't buying it. Exhibit A: There are two press buses waiting at the hotel here for Clinton's trip to her victory rally in West Virginia, but the entire press contingent doesn't quite fill one. It isn't until the entourage arrives at Dulles Airport that Clinton aides learn that the second bus is still idling, empty, at the hotel.

If there is importance in the results of the primary in West Virginia, the press corps isn't letting on. During the security sweep at Dulles, some play Hacky Sack with a cigarette carton. Awaiting the candidate on the tarmac, two guys from CNN toss a football. Aboard the plane, one member of the press corps entertains his colleagues by flopping down the aisle on his belly, like a fish.

But Clinton, wearing a salmon-colored jacket and dark sunglasses, is all smiles as she boards the jet. She hugs and kisses her campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe. Still grinning, she helps herself to a cracker with spread from the snack tray as the plane taxis to the runway. And why shouldn't she be happy? Within minutes, Clinton has crossed the Blue Ridge and is over the green hills of West Virginia, home of what she calls the "hardworking Americans, white Americans." This is Clinton Country.

Customer: "That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not half an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it being tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk."

Pet-shop owner: "Well, he's, he's, ah, probably pining for the fiords (sic)."

I'm a little taken aback by that quote attributed to Clinton and frankly have to wonder if there is any corroboration of those words coming from the candidate. Milbank's description of a candidate going through the motions - and for virtually no audience - spells the end for Clinton.

West Virginia Exit Polls

This is more an update on my "Obama's 20% Solution" post than anything else.

From the WV exit polls we can see that the black vote came in at 4%.  This gives us a baseline of Clinton 58% - 42% Obama, as opposed to my earlier projection using 2004 general election data of Clinton 57% - 43% Obama.  Now, according to the exit polls Obama lost the white vote in West Virginia by 41 points.  If that holds we can expect results in the area of Clinton 67.5% - 32.5% Obama.

The "Obama attacked unfairly" number was 49%.

The New Volkswagen: Now With Two Trunks!

A British man and his sister got to test drive the new Volkswagen Golf - the one with two trunks. The regular one and the one the elephant added later.

Road rage is bad enough. But what worried the driver of this car was that he was about to become a victim of rogue rage.

When a six-ton elephant suddenly lumbered over to the Volkswagen Golf in a South African safari park, Rico Beltrame and his sister Angela feared it was going to reduce the vehicle to scrap metal - with them inside.

The pictures say it all. Personally, we here at the Crabitat outfit ourselves a little differently when going on safari. Oh, sure, the mileage could be better, but we certainly feel much safer.

Democrats Racist?

Gee, really? I saw this early this morning but was pressed for time and couldn't post. Now, I'm very late to the party but thought I'd still comment on the Washington Post story detailing whining from Obama workers about the racism they are encountering - from Democrats.

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: "It wasn't pretty." She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree!"

Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, said she, too, came across "a lot of racism" when campaigning for Obama in Pennsylvania. One Pittsburgh union organizer told her he would not vote for Obama because he is black, and a white voter, she said, offered this frank reason for not backing Obama: "White people look out for white people, and black people look out for black people."

While the media may be trying to get that narrative in place, it should be remembered that primary workers are hitting mostly members of their own party. This is an ugly and stupid card for the media to play. Are their people who will not vote for Obama solely because he is black? Of course. But there are other people who are voting for him solely for the same reason. Think carefully about that.

My opposition to Obama has nothing whatsoever with his physical characteristics, only with his politics, policies and breathtaking lack of experience. (I don't much care for many of his associates, either.) The media would be better off sticking to politics and policy and leaving off the narrative they are trying with stories like this. Things like this might make things worse all the way around.

Clinton Supporters In WV Aren’t Necessarily Racist…

…or so says Obamanation.  They might only be stupid:

I do want to write a little bit more about the notion that West Virginians are racist. The longer version will have to wait until later today or tomorrow. But the short version is: yes, there are racist voters in West Virginia, but there are racist voters in every state. The primary determinant of the extent to which racism tends to be more manifest is education levels, and so the effects may be more noticeable in West Virgnia[sic], a state with poor academic achievement. But there is no reason to believe that West Virgnians[sic] are particularly racist, relative to their education levels.

I'm sure they will be so relieved to hear this they will put that quote on their CV. 

What?  They don't have a CV?  How gauche!

(Wouldn't the guy's point have been stronger if he hadn't misspelled "Virginia" twice?)

Democrat’s “American History” Gap

First we had Barack Obama's complaint about not being able to visit all 60 states, and now we have another, shall we say, "interesting" take on American history:

The special congressional election in Mississippi today is an important one. The GOP can’t afford another defeat and morale-deflator. Republicans have poured on the money to retain the longtime, reliably conservative district.

So, what are Dems up to? You won’t be surprised. Several Mississippi readers and bloggers e-mail that the Dems have pulled out the race card to smear GOP candidate Greg Davis as a KKK supporter.

Wow!  What a coup for the Democrats to get to run against a Klan supporter!  It's perfect, except for one thing:

DCCC says "Greg Davis wanted to honor the founder of the KKK with a statue in Southaven" and also said the statue was of "the first Grand Wizard." But in reality, the statue was of Jefferson Davis who was not the founder and never in the KKK. In fact, another place that has a statue of Jefferson Davis is the United States Capitol Building. Jefferson Davis is one of the two statues representing Mississippi, along with James Z. George.

That's right.  The Democrats were laboring under the impression that Jefferson Davis founded the KKK, as opposed to Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Oops.  However, it is easy to forgive the DCCC about the confusion.  After all both Forrest and Davis were Democrats.

Could have happened to any ignorant person.