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Greetings, and thanks for joining me for another week. Starting us off are a few news stories you may have missed. First, from News of the Weird, it’s not all bad… or is it? Some people (usually staunch Republicans) seem to feel the economy in the US is doing just fine, thank you. I don’t think they get it, but that’s another story. Anyhow, the U.S. government's $100 billion stimulus distributed to taxpayers this past spring seems to have produced some interesting mixed results, according to economists. According to a summer trade association spokesman the Internet pornography industry is flourishing. Adult Internet Market Research Co. reported that "20 to 30 percent" of "adult" Web sites reported that sales rose during the time checks were being issued. However, Nevada brothels were hurting. One, however, Hof's Bunny Ranch, ran a stimulus-check special: Hand over your $600 check and get the usual $1,200 "party" ("three girls and a bottle of champagne"). And to think I simply deposited mine.

Next, from Denver’s KMGH-TV, Scott Anthony Gomez Jr. filed a lawsuit earlier this year against jail officials in Pueblo County, Colo., alleging among other things that they failed to take security precautions to prevent him from escaping. He seriously injured himself last year when he fell 40 feet while scaling a wall in his second escape attempt. He said that, after his first escape, he had told then-sheriff Dan Corsentino how lax security was, but that no "improvements" had been made. I would love to know if that suit was accepted by the court.

Finally, from Reuters, a Bit that brings a thought to mind. A one euro coin has turned up in Spain bearing the face of cartoon figure Homer Simpson instead of that of the country's king, a sweetshop owner told Reuters. Jose Martinez was counting the cash in his till in the city of Aviles, northern Spain, when he came across the coin where Homer's bald head, big eyes and big nose had replaced the face of King Juan Carlos. "The coin must have been done by a professional, the work is impressive," he said. So far, that’s the only such coin that has been found in circulation. "I've been offered 20 euros for it," said Martinez. (My thought? Why not release US currency with Alfred E. Newman’s picture to honor, uh, never mind.)

Not that you haven’t already heard, but at least one baby recently made the news. From MyWay News, Hailey Jo Hauer was born on the eighth day of the eighth month in 2008 at 8:08 a.m. So it wouldn't make sense for her to weigh anything other than 8 pounds, 8 ounces (hey, get your thumb off the scale). Lindsey Hauer thought staff at Lake Region Hospital in Minnesota were joking when they told her the time of her daughter's birth. Then she got a call from the birthing suite noting Hailey's weight. Nurse Jenny Harstad joked that she tried to shrink the baby to 18 inches from her actual 19.5 inches. (Knowing what I think I know of some people, what happened to babies born on June 6, 2006, that were 6 pounds, 6 ounces?)

It occurred to me that much of the Maury show (my secret pleasure) is based on a faulty premise. If lie detectors are not allowed in many courts as evidence, how come it’s so prevalent and decisive on Maury?  Watching a little bit of the Olympics, I was taken aback. Instead of striving for an ultimate excellence in performance (which is my impression of what the Olympics should be), I watched some American gymnasts, and my thought was, “This is our best?” The young women looked shaky and not at the level where I picture our Olympic gymnasts should be. They certainly did better than I ever could (even last year in my prime), but I sense it’s all about getting through to the ENDORSEMENTS and marketability that come later. THAT’S why they do what they do.    

The AP carried a Bit that caught my eye as I am considering a write-in run for political office this year (it depends whether I find a job or not). In spite of my recent blog entry to the contrary, perhaps all it takes is one vote to win. Consider a Tennessee woman who was elected constable by voting for herself. Angela Tuttle, 32, said her father encouraged her to run as a write-in candidate because no one else was vying for one of the positions in Hancock County, which is in northeastern Tennessee. Tuttle said her husband initially didn't even realize she was running. "I finally told him about a month before the election," she told The Associated Press. Her husband didn't think she would win, but now he "just grins at her," she said. Hancock County election officials said 131 voters of the 674 registered in the 3rd District voted, but Tuttle's vote was the only one cast in the constable race. She will be sworn in Dec. 1. The certified nursing assistant and mother of a 10-year-old son will help serve warrants and patrol neighborhoods in her district. She said her father, a longtime constable who won his own re-election in another district, will "show her the ropes."     

Yahoo News offered the following Bit to which I say, “Oops!” Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has apologized after accidentally recommending a potentially deadly plant in organic salads. The chef and TV presenter said in a magazine article that the weed henbane, also known as stinking nightshade (we don’t need no stinking nightshade), made an excellent addition to summertime meals. There was plenty of it, it grew locally and was used by the ancient Greeks and the Arabs for its anesthetic properties. Er, unfortunately, that’s not quite true. Henbane is, in fact, toxic and can cause hallucinations, convulsions, vomiting and in extreme cases death. Worrall Thompson, who was discussing his passion for organic foods, had confused the plant with another of a similar name (oops). The magazine "Healthy & Organic Living" printed an urgent warning: "Henbane is a very toxic plant and should never be eaten. As always, check with an expert when foraging or collecting wild plants." Henbane, a close relative of deadly nightshade, was used by Dr Crippen to kill his wife in 1910, and is thought to have been the main ingredient in the poison Romeo took in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet." The chef had intended to refer to fat hen, a weed rich in vitamin C, that is edible, media reports said. It too can be harmful because of its high level of nitrates, but cases of poisoning are rare, Garden Organic said on its website. Worrall Thompson was reported in the media as saying the confusion had been "…a bit embarrassing. There have been no reports of any casualties," he said. "Please do pass on my apologies."

Finally, yup, if I won the BIG Lottery, the first thing I would do is patch that hole in the wall… The state lottery in Florida has an interesting twist in its "Summer Cash" game: first prize is $250,000, but some players say they would prefer the second prize: free gasoline for life. There is, of course, the fine print: the second-place winner gets 26 gas cards per year, each valid for $100 worth of gas, until they die. To exceed the $250,000 first prize, they would have to live more than 96 years, and that doesn't even count the interest they could get on the $250,000 in cash. (New York Times). Sigh.

Later.