| JEALOUS: S.D. boy floats down Mississippi on raft of trash
While you were making keyboard hanky panky sitting in your cube, Thor Anderson and a handful of other idea-laden 20-somethings built a raft out of things not intended to build rafts with. Like garbage. Then they actually put the thing in the Missouri River right where it intercepts Kansas City, Mo., with the crazy idea of reaching the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi. Last we heard they were floating somewhere past Memphis. Thor, who plays guitar in local band Monsters From Mars, recently disembarked and was kind enough to answer a few questions over MySpace (thanks, Tom!). This may be the longest blog post in the world, but with run-ins with the law, Homeland Security, sandstorms, heatwaves, scary monster barges, scary monster captains, scary dirty water, whirlpools, casino boats, flooded campsites, bug bites that turned into holes and raft-made soy yogurt, we like to think of it as a real page scroller.
USC's Mayo latest to battle injury
Yes, the Trojans were met with another injury woe when Mayo couldn't practice because of a groin strain he had suffered late in practice Wednesday. In fact, USC could only hold a walk-through because of the dearth of available bodies. Not exactly the news the Trojans needed as they prepare to take on No. 6 UCLA on Sunday night at the Galen Center. "But I'll be good to go for the game," Mayo said. "It was bothering me. I did some therapy and tried to get it better and I'll be ready to go (today). "I just didn't want it to get any worse. I'm going to do a little more therapy and try to get up and down (the court in practice today). "The trainer just said to rest it as much as possible." He hadn't sprained his sense of humor, though. Asked if he was certain he wouldn't miss the game against the Bruins, Mayo countered with a smile: "I hope not.
I'm hungry
My four-year-old daughter, Danni, is home with the flu. I'm home with her, thanks for nice, understanding people above me. She doesn't do well with the stove, so my wife and I have decided it's best if there is always an adult with her. Today is an anomaly, she is still sleeping and it is 10 a.m. Most mornings she's up before 7 a.m. whispering in my ear, "Dad ... dad ... DAD ... do you want to play?" Last night my wife, Laura, slept in the same bed as Danni to comfort her. My wife gets automatic entry into heaven for that. This isn't normal for us, we insist she sleep in her own bed, by herself. Anyone that has slept with a small child knows that as soon as they fall asleep they grow. It's amazing, my 41-inch-tall daughter can grow to over 6-feet and 500 pounds when in bed with her. She could take up two-thirds of a California King.
Can motorsport ever be eco-friendly?
They have adapted two Honda Hybrid cars (vehicles that combine electric and petrol power, and are thus more environmentally friendly) for use in the competitive world of rally driving. This is the first time hybrid cars have been used in a rally competition, and these vehicles – while admittedly not being the most streamlined or snazzy of rides – are optimised to compete with conventional rally cars. In doing so, they output exceptionally low emissions of CO2 and toxins, and give a level of fuel efficiency never seen before in the sport. All of which means that if you care to don one of the white helmets that Andrews and Meeson wear to career around Millbrook's many twists and turns, it is hard initially to notice the difference between their vehicle and a normal rally car.
The Shrink's Progress
ORINDA, Calif. -- Debbie, a 17-year-old now down to 86 pounds and ever closer to her secret goal of 81 pounds, slowly awoke in her bed on a hospital intensive care unit. She was so groggy from her drug overdose that the only thing she noticed was the painful burning sensation in her nose. She then discovered that she couldn't move her hands to rub the unpleasant sensation away. Debbie had survived her suicide attempt and finally figured out that padded leather restraints secured her wrists and ankles to the sides of the bed. The burning sensation came from a tube that had been inserted through her nose down into her stomach. The tube had been used initially to pump out whatever pill fragments in Debbie's stomach had not been absorbed before she reached the hospital. After monitoring her for awhile the medical doctor decided that because her nutritional condition was so precarious, the nasogastric tube would be used for feeding Debbie's malnourished body.
CDC: Gulf Coast Trailers Have Toxic Air
In 2006, some occupants began reporting headaches and nosebleeds. The complaints were linked to formaldehyde, a colorless gas with a pungent smell used in the production of plywood and resins. Commonly used in manufactured homes, formaldehyde can cause respiratory problems and has been classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Last May, FEMA officials dismissed findings by environmentalists that the trailers posed serious health risks. They said the trailers conformed to industry standards. By August, about 1,000 families in Louisiana asked FEMA to move them to other quarters. In November, lawyers for a group of hurricane victims asked a federal judge to order FEMA to test for hazardous fumes.
PSL man uses scissors, a wrench and a chunk of cement to attack a man ...
PORT SALERNO A Port St. Lucie resident used scissors, a wrench and a chunk of cement to attack a man he said owed him money, according to a arrest report. Although 46-year-old Hector Colon wielded the wrench to shatter the victim's car windows during the argument Sunday afternoon, it was the scissors that caused the most damage — a stab to the victim's right shoulder, according to the report. Colon fled the victim's Isabelita Avenue apartment complex on a bicycle but was caught by deputies and arrested for aggravated battery and criminal mischief, according the report. .
Father testifies about slain 10-year-old
The father of a slain 10-year-old testified Tuesday that he had warned his daughter to be careful of strangers before her mutilated body was found in their neighbor's apartment.</p><p>"I told her you can't be trusting people and do not go into anyone's apartment," Curtis Bolin testified Tuesday in the murder trial of Kevin Underwood, 28, who is accused of killing Jamie Rose Bolin in a cannibalistic plot.</p><p>Bolin, an auto mechanic, testified that he gave her this warning after she told him she had met Underwood and knew that he had a pet rat.</p><p>Assistant District Attorney Susan Caswell asked Bolin if he thought his daughter understood the warning.</p><p>"I thought she did," he said, his voice trembling.</p><p>Prosecutors allege Underwood, a quiet grocery store stocker with no prior criminal record, used the pet rat to lure Jamie into his apartment after she arrived home from school on April 12, 2006.</p><p>Once inside, prosecutors say Underwood sneaked up behind the girl while she was watching television, beat her over the head with a wooden cutting board and then suffocated her while she fought for her life.</p><p>Bolin testified that he grew increasingly nervous on April 12, 2006, when his daughter failed to return home after school, and called police.
An off-the-wall plan to fund sneakers store
So he kicked around some ideas with friends and decided to open a sneaker store at some yet-to-be-chosen location in Lexington. That's right, sneakers -- canvas tops, rubberish soles, long strings. Sneakers. Martin has "a passion" for the Converse brand, as the Herald-Leader's Mark Story reported in April. But he'll have all sorts of sneakers in his store. "Converse is my favorite sneakers," Martin says, "but I really enjoy all sneakers." All he needs is the loot, the bucks, the clams to make it happen. So he came up with the Name My Walls plan. The name of anyone who contributes $2 will be put on a wall at the store for the world to see forever. "I haven't decided if I will let them come in and sign it or if it will be painted on," Martin says.
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