Odd News: October

[Bungleau]

Reflective "death ray" torments Vegas sunbathers By Damon Hodge LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – MGM Resorts International is taking the heat for an intense beam of searing desert sunlight, jokingly dubbed the "death ray," that some hotel guests say poses a risk of severe burns to bathers lounging poolside. The beam is actually a concentrated reflection of solar rays bouncing off the gleaming glass facade of the concave-shaped, high-rise Vdara hotel and condominium, which opened on the Las Vegas "strip" in December. Local media, as well as some hotel staff and guests, have come to refer to the reflection as the "death ray," but MGM Resorts officials prefer to call it a "solar convergence phenomenon." "The refraction moves across the pool deck over a period 90 minutes," company spokesman Gordon Absher told Reuters. "It's never in the same place from day to day or week to week because the sun its changing its elevation in the sky." MGM Resorts, which owns the property, has sought to correct the problem by installing a high-tech solar film over each of the 3,000 glass panes covering the south facade of the Vdara to scatter the rays. But the concentrated sunlight remains hot enough at certain times, in certain spots, to melt plastic and singe hair, said William Pintas, 49, a Chicago lawyer and Vdara condo owner who first encountered the effect earlier after a dip in the pool. When his head started burning, he thought it was from chemicals in the pool. "So I just laid down in the chair, and that's when my back and the back of my legs started burning, and I ran under a nearby umbrella. And I'm under the umbrella and there is no shading from the light or heat," he recounted. "It was the strangest thing." Pintas said he could even smell his hair starting to burn. Astonished and angry, he alerted hotel staff, then called the local newspaper to draw attention to the problem. Absher said MGM Resorts is "now looking into further mitigation procedures," including more umbrellas, additional foliage or shade structures. He said not everyone has complained. On cooler days, he said, he has seen sunbathers deliberately lay their blankets on the convergence spot for additional warmth. But Pintas said he worries that sooner or later, someone will end up seriously burned if they fall asleep in the path of the ray, even if under an umbrella, because as he found the concentrated light can penetrate the shade. "In Vegas, people are out drinking the night before, so it's not hard to imagine people being unconscious there under an umbrella," he said. (Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Bohan)

Hmmm... I'm thinking I know a *great* place for a lunchtime restaurant...

[Bungleau]

And to have something new...

When Ron Sveden's left lung collapsed in May, doctors initially diagnosed a tumor, but on closer inspection learned that Sveden, of Brewster, Mass., had ingested a plant seed that had somehow migrated to his lung and sprouted open. He is recovering. (WHDH-TV (Boston), 8-11-10)

Guess mom might have been right about that whole watermelon seed thing....

[Bungleau]

Man pleads not guilty to hitting his pregnant sister in the mouth with a wrench at her wedding By ERIC MILLIKIN Detroit Free Press Montana's Bozeman Daily Chronicle: "A Three Forks man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to hitting his pregnant sister in the mouth with a large wrench during her wedding reception. "David James Sicotte, 31, is charged with assault with a weapon, a felony, and disorderly conduct. ... "According to charging documents, Sicotte showed up uninvited to his sister's wedding reception, pushed his sister's new mother-in-law to the ground and started fighting with the groom. "Sicotte later came at his sister with the wrench, the report says. The bride told police she slapped her intoxicated brother and he returned the blow, hitting her in the mouth with the tool. The bride sustained a cut inside her mouth." Eric says: "Drunken brother with a wrench at my wedding" is the new "Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the conservatory."

Heh... I like this guy Eric... anyone got thoughts for more possibilities for the "New Clue" game?

[Bungleau]

Man says cocaine cops found in his buttocks isn’t his Florida's Bradenton Herald: "A search of a 25-year-old man following a traffic stop Wednesday morning revealed one bag of marijuana and one bag of cocaine in the driver’s buttocks, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The driver said only the marijuana belonged to him. ... "When the bag (with 27 pieces of rock cocaine weighing 3.5 grams) fell to the ground, Roberts immediately said, according to the report, 'The white stuff is not mine, but the weed is.' He then stated that his friend had borrowed the vehicle before and he saw the cocaine on the passenger seat when he was pulled over."

Ermmm.... yeah. So, has your butt been with you all day today?

[Bungleau]

It's official....

No joke as clown is Brazil's most voted congressman SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Voters the world over complain about having clowns for politicians, but Brazilians embraced the idea on Sunday by sending a real one to Congress with more votes than any other candidate. Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, better known by his clown name Tiririca, received more than 1.3 million votes in Sao Paulo state in Brazil's presidential and congressional elections. That was more than double the votes of the second-placed candidate in Brazil's most populous state. Tiririca caught the attention of disillusioned voters by asking for their support with the humorous slogan: "It can't get any worse" and a promise to do nothing more in Congress than report back to them on how politicians spend their time. "What does a congressman do? The truth is I don't know, but vote for me and I'll tell you," the 45-year-old said in his campaign advertisements. The clown, whose stage name means "grumpy," usually appears in public wearing a blond wig, a red hat and a garish outfit. He survived a last-minute attempt by public prosecutors to bar him from running because of evidence that he is illiterate. His candidacy may not have been as spontaneous or innocent as it might appear. Tiririca's well-financed campaign will help elect other politicians because under Brazil's election rules he can pass his substantial excess votes on to other candidates in his coalition, which includes the ruling Workers' Party. (Reporting by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Terry Wade)

Cue the jokes with punchlines like "at least he admits he's a clown" and "what kind of clown came up with this legislation?"...

[VulcanRider]

"clown is Brazil's most voted congressman"

That's not news -- we've been doing it for years.

[Firestormalpha]

No pay, no spray: Firefighters let home burn-full article through the link.

Firefighters in rural Tennessee let a home burn to the ground last week because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 fee. Gene Cranick of Obion County and his family lost all of their possessions in the Sept. 29 fire, along with three dogs and a cat. "They could have been saved if they had put water on it, but they didn't do it," Cranick told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. The fire started when the Cranicks' grandson was burning trash near the family home. As it grew out of control, the Cranicks called 911, but the fire department from the nearby city of South Fulton would not respond. "We wasn't on their list," he said the operators told him. Cranick, who lives outside the city limits, admits he "forgot" to pay the annual $75 fee. The county does not have a county-wide firefighting service, but South Fulton offers fire coverage to rural residents for a fee.

I can see imposing a hefty fee for the call seeing as he had "forgotten" to make the payment, but letting the guy's place burn to the ground, resulting in the deaths of three pets? That's as bad as the EMT crews that let a man die painfully because they didn't want to walk through the snow to get to him.

[Hindsight]

finally!

Woman Mistakes Super Glue for Eye Drops

http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/10/07/...c3_lnk2|175948

Irmgard Holm made a mistake that sounds crazy but actually happens to some patients who have undergone cataract surgery. The Phoenix woman reached for her eye drops but instead grabbed a similar-looking bottle and put Super Glue in her eye. The burning sensation that followed let her know that something was very wrong. "The bottles are identical and I am not young anymore, but I am not senile," Holm told myfoxphoenix.com. Holm tried washing her eye but soon her eyelid was sealed shut. Paramedics and hospital staff had to cut away the glue substance. "I couldn't even see," she said. This type of mix-up sometimes happens, and according to myfoxphoenix.com, cases of "ocular injuries" from Super and other types of glue date back to 1982. Holm is hoping the Food and Drug Administration will put pressure on glue makers to change the size and shapes of their bottles. Dr. Thomas Stokkermans, an ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, has treated patients who have gotten glue in their eyes. "The Super Glue only bonds to dry surfaces so just the interior margin of the eyelid and the eyelashes are usually glued shut," he told AOL Health. "With the patient I treated, I just cut the eyelashes and that was enough. The Super Glue causes a chemical burn but does not bond to the eye. Mostly the eye is glued shut because the eyelashes are stuck together." Stokkermans says that while gluing your eye shut is uncomfortable, there are usually no lasting effects. "You might lose your eyelashes, but they can grow back. The skin can be irritated. Chemical burns on the cornea can be treated with antibiotics." "It's not only Super Glue but also things like nail glue that this happens with," Stokkermans continued. "After cataract surgery there are three different drops that are prescribed. They come in round bottles with screw-off caps. But some bottles are more flat, like the bottle for Vigamox, a common antibiotic. "So with all the different shapes and markings on these bottles, there are lots of potential combinations," he said. "There was an article in a British journal that showed that out of 14 people who came to the hospital with glue in their eye, only two of them did it because of confusing the bottles. The other people inadvertently had glue squirted in their eyes. So overall the problem is not necessarily from getting the bottles confused." Watch an interview with Holm from myfoxphoenix.com. Article continues below. But interestingly, glue can also play a role in repairing eyes -- when properly used by professionals. "We actually use Super Glue to treated perforated cornea ulcers, which is essentially a hole in the cornea that we glue shut. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have severe cornea thinning. The glue can stop the eye from leaking and allow it to heal. One of my patients did quite well with this treatment," said Stokkermans.

[VulcanRider]

Man Stabbed For Blood Suck Refusal

OCTOBER 8--An Arizona man who had previously allowed two roommates to suck his blood was stabbed earlier this week after refusing the duo’s demand to repeat the bizarre act. According to a Chandler Police Department report, victim Robert Maley, 25, was stabbed in the arm by Aaron Homer, 24, after he “told him he did not want to let Aaron suck his blood anymore.” Maley told cops that Homer and Amanda Williamson, 21, “were into vampire stuff and paganism,” and that “he had allowed them to suck his blood one time, but did not want them to suck his blood anymore.”

Stabbed him in the arm? A real vampire would've bit him in the neck. And wouldn't have asked permission in the first place...

[Bungleau]

Oregon trooper tickets 82-year-old going 110 mph GRESHAM, Ore. – Oregon State Police gave an 82-year-old woman a ticket for driving 28 miles per hour over her age and twice the posted speed limit of 55 mph. KVAL-TV reported a trooper spotted Marcia Brandon's car going 110 mph Thursday on Highway 26 west of Gresham. She said she was on her way to an appointment and wasn't aware she was going that fast. Brandon was given a ticket for $1,103.

Gramma? Is that you?