the link's not working; neither is google's...
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the link's not working; neither is google's...
I apologize, amuse. I tried the link, and google too, but, oddly, I cannot find the story. I managed, however, to find the duplicate article on another link:Quote:
Originally Posted by amuse
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bangsa...om/message/572
How strange that it disappeared. :confused:
[The article mentions one US Rep Dennis Caster, who according to a search of the US House of Representatives website does not exist. Maybe they meant Hastert?
The "organization" that they say these kids have started - "Veterans of Future Wars" - was a joke in a TV show a while back; I want to say Simpsons but I'm not sure.
Also, I can't find any reference to a "National Peace and Justice Alliance" organization, in Iowa or anywhere else.]
I couldn't find any valid reference of Rep. Dennis Caster or Lt. James Pederson either - I think it's a joke (not funny, but a joke).
If it's a hoax the newspaper should have replaced the article with an explaination, instead of making it disappear. :/ And people wonder why so many people turn a blind eye to politics... :rage:
Also found this: http://sover.net/~alipsitt/nochild.htm
from google search for 'No Child Left Behind Act section 9528'
A collection of computer-generated gibberish in the form of an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference, to the delight of hoaxers. Three US boffins built a programme designed to create research papers with random text, charts and diagrams.
Two bogus papers were submitted to a computing conference in Florida, and one of them was accepted.
One of the hoaxers said the fake paper was designed to expose the lack of standards at academic gatherings.
The paper has the nonsense headline "Rooter: A Methodology for the Typical Unification of Access Points and Redundancy".
It was accepted for the World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI), due to be held in the city of Orlando in July.
Donation request
Hoaxer Jeremy Stribling, a computer science graduate at Boston's MIT university, said they had targeted WMSCI because it sent large amounts of spam emails soliciting admissions for the conference.
"We were tired of the spam," he told Reuters news agency.
The trio are planning to attend the conference and give a randomly generated talk, for which they are requesting donations on their website.
They have so far received more than $2,000.
Visitors to the site are also invited to generate their own academic gobbledegook.
But conference organisers poured cold water on the proposed presentation, saying bogus papers would not be included in the conference agenda.
Conference General Chair Nagib Callaos said the paper had been passed because reviewers had not given feedback on it by a set deadline.
"We thought that it might be unfair to refuse a paper that was not refused by any of its three selected reviewers," Mr Callaos told Reuters news agency.
He added that the conference was now reviewing its acceptance procedures.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4449651.stm)
thank you for the links, mono and Anselmus. i'm not going to comment on them here...i would lose my ability to post any more. :(
I feel reminded of a certain part of the French film, Amélie.
Gnome Gone Wile
Maybe you were one of the lucky college students who spent spring break on the beaches of Florida or California. Or maybe you're beyond those days, and spent that time at work on a very tedious yet fulfilling project.
But no matter what you did, you're unlikely to have had as much fun as "Gnome" Severson, who spent his spring break traveling around the country being photographed with celebrities, partying with society's upper crust and hanging out in Las Vegas.
All this ... and he isn't even human.
"Gnome" Severson is one of several ceramic garden ornaments belonging to Marianne Severson. For spring break, a group of college students kidnapped the ornament from Severson's home in Redmond, Wash., taking the gnome on an interstate joyride where he did more celebrity spotting than a New York gossip columnist.
Upon finding out about the kidnapping, Marianne told NBC's "Today" show that she alerted her husband. "We've been gnomed," she said.
Paris Hilton?
Severson first learned of the missing gnome when she received a mysterious photo album at her door complete with pictures of her gnome smiling with Paris Hilton at an Los Angeles gas station and a group photo featuring the gnome sandwiched between Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe in Las Vegas.
But it was the shocking picture of the gnome smiling with waitresses from Hooters that really got Severson steamed.
"He’s my prodigal gnome and he went without my permission," Severson told the "Today" show on Thursday. "And it’s a really good picture, but he hasn’t really told me much about it because he knows he’s in trouble."
Gnomes, traditionally thought to be ancient protectors of animals, have become popular fixtures in gardens all over the world. But after his spring break trip, "Gnome" Severson finds himself on the outs with the garden ornaments he left behind.
"The other three are still out there and they are not speaking to him," Severson said.
She added that the wayward gnome was currently under house arrest and won't be making anymore trip to Las Vegas or even the garden. "I've got him in the house here and he is totally grounded."
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7501919/)
:lol: that's great!
Oh . . . my!
Eureka! Extraordinary discovery unlocks secrets of the ancients
By David Keys and Nicholas Pyke
17 April 2005
Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world.
Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod. Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging.
The Oxford documents form part of the great papyrus hoard salvaged from an ancient rubbish dump in the Graeco-Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus more than a century ago. The thousands of remaining documents, which will be analysed over the next decade, are expected to include works by Ovid and Aeschylus, plus a series of Christian gospels which have been lost for up to 2,000 years.
(http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...p?story=630166)
An artist who randomly vandalised nearly 50 cars for a project said the owners should be happy they were part of his "creative process".
Mark McGowan, 37, will exhibit pictures of himself scratching the vehicles' paintwork in London and Glasgow.
He said he had "keyed" 17 cars in Glasgow's West End in March and 30 in Camberwell, south London.
The Met police said the act was criminal damage and if allegations are made they will be investigated.
Mr McGowan added: "I do feel guilty about keying people's cars but if I don't do it, someone else will.
"They should feel glad that they've been involved in the creative process. I pick the cars randomly.
"I got the idea when my sister and brother-in-law's cars were keyed. Is it jealousy that causes someone to key a car? Hatred? Revenge?
"There is a strong creative element in the keying of a car, it's an emotive engagement."
His work will be displayed on Wednesday night in a launch party at The Arches, an exhibition venue in Glasgow.
It is the latest in a string of bizarre stunts by the postgraduate in history of art from the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London.
Mr McGowan, who has described himself as "the British alternative to David Blaine" nailed his feet to an art gallery last year - in protest against leaves.
In 2003, he attracted the media's attention when he pushed a monkey nut with his nose for seven miles to 10 Downing Street in a protest over student debt.
Michelle Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Arts Council, said it was unlikely Mr McGowan would receive any funding.
"He is more likely to get a visit from Strathclyde's finest than any funding from us."
link
from yahoo! weekly picks:
http://www.channel4.com/history/micr...bs/index.html: "The Worst Jobs in History"
included are: Guillemot-egg Collector, Bog Iron Hunter, Fuller :eek:, Wise Woman, Artist's Model, and more...
which position would you like? ;)
After five years and 271 attempts to pass the theoretical part of his driving test, it was 272nd time lucky for South Korean Seo Sang-moon.
Despite all his hard work Mr Seo is still not able to drive. Next he needs to pass the test's practical section.
"Driving seems a bit hard. But after trying 271 times to pass... what do I have to be afraid of?" he said.
The 69-year-old repairman said he was hampered by illiteracy, which meant he could not read a driving manual.
Mr Seo told the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo: "Being a repairman travelling around North Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces, the drivers license was a necessity, but I did not dare apply for the written examination because I am illiterate."
"Only after 2000, with the introduction of the oral exam, was I able to apply," he said.
Mr Seo took the test as often as he could, paying more than 1m won ($1,000) in application fees.
Each time he learned a little bit more, until finally, earlier this week, he passed.
Officials at the test centre were just as happy as Mr Seo.
"He has been coming here for more than five years and we regard him almost as being one of the family," an official from the exam office told Reuters.
Mr Seo said he was already preparing for his road test at a driving school in Yeongju City.
"I am confident," he told the Chosun Ilbo. "I'm already discussing with my wife which car we should buy."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4447925.stm
Single men spend an average of £12 a month on beauty products - £5 more than those in relationships, a survey says.
Two thirds of men said their sole aim in making an effort was to impress women, while 40% admitted feeling pressure from women to look good.
A female opinion on what to wear when preparing to go out was sought by 55% of those questioned.
The survey, for men's magazine Loaded, drew on the responses of 4,000 men aged between 18 and 24.
Regency dandys
The survey suggested that men take an average of 19 minutes getting ready for a date, compared with an average of seven minutes for going out with friends.
Martin Daubney, editor of Loaded said: "Men have, through the ages, smartened up to impress women.
"From Regency dandys, to mods, to the young men of today, all our sartorial and grooming habits are intended to make us more attractive to women."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4455075.stm
An Australian teenager said to be obsessed with trams is facing charges over the theft of two trolley cars in the city of Melbourne.
Police said the unnamed 15-year-old boy first managed to drive a tram a few hundred metres (yards) on Friday.
On Sunday he allegedly drove another tram around the city for 30 minutes, even stopping to pick up passengers.
He is said to have travelled 30km (19 miles) before the tram's electricity supply was cut off and he was arrested.
"He's a nice lad, he's a good lad... I think his obsession just got the better of him," police constable Barry Hills told reporters.
"It appears... that this young lad has been travelling around on the trams for some time and has been observing the drivers and observing the operating procedures," Mr Hills said.
Police believe he took tram keys from a depot three weeks ago.
The boy was released on bail to face several charges in court in June.
However, police said they saw no reason why the teenager could not become a tram driver in the future.
"If he stays on the straight and narrow, then it's certainly not going to affect his future," Mr Hills said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4457785.stm
A lawyer has threatened to sue police officers who handcuffed an allegedly uncontrollable five-year-old after she acted up at a Florida kindergarten.
The officers were called by the school after a teacher and assistant principal failed to calm down the little girl.
The incident was caught on a video camera which was rolling in the classroom as part of a self-improvement exercise at the St Petersburg school.
A lawyer for the girl's mother said the episode was "incomprehensible".
The video, made public by the lawyer this week, shows the unfolding of the violent tantrum, which started when the little girl refused to take part in a maths lesson.
She then ripped some papers off a bulletin board and lashed out at staff trying to calm her down.
After calling her mother and learning she would not be able to pick up the child for at least one more hour, the teachers resorted to calling the police.
Three officers rushed to the scene and handcuffed the girl, by that time apparently calm, after pinning her arms behind her back.
The footage showed her in distress after being handcuffed.
They finally drove her to her mother in the back of a police cruiser.
The St Petersburg Police Department declined to comment on the incident and said an investigation was under way.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4475513.stm)