Happy Halloween 2005

Power-dressing man leaves trail of destruction

An Australian man built up a 40,000-volt charge of static electricity in his clothes as he walked, leaving a trail of scorched carpet and molten plastic and forcing firefighters to evacuate a building.

Frank Clewer, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a synthetic nylon jacket, was oblivious to the growing electrical current that was building up as his clothes rubbed together.

When he walked into a building in the country town of Warrnambool in the southern state of Victoria Thursday, the electrical charge ignited the carpet.
“It sounded almost like a firecracker,” Clewer told Australian radio Friday.
“Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt.”

Employees, unsure of the cause of the mysterious burning smell, telephoned firefighters who evacuated the building.

“There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear a cracking noise — a bit like a whip — both inside and outside the building,” said fire official Henry Barton.

Firefighters cut electricity to the building thinking the burns might have been caused by a power surge.

Clewer, who after leaving the building discovered he had scorched a piece of plastic on the floor of his car, returned to seek help from the firefighters.

“We tested his clothes with a static electricity field meter and measured a current of 40,000 volts, which is one step shy of spontaneous combustion, where his clothes would have self-ignited,” Barton said.

“I’ve been firefighting for over 35 years and I’ve never come across anything like this,” he said.
Firefighters took possession of Clewer’s jacket and stored it in the courtyard of the fire station, where it continued to give off a strong electrical current.

David Gosden, a senior lecturer in electrical engineering at Sydney University, told Reuters that for a static electricity charge to ignite a carpet, conditions had to be perfect.

“Static electricity is a similar mechanism to lightning, where you have clouds rubbing together and then a spark generated by very dry air above them,” said Gosden.

DIAMANDIS LAUNCHES ROCKET RACING LEAGUE

Entertainment and sports took a step into the future today with the launch of the Rocket Racing League™ (RRL). Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, founder of the X PRIZE, which inaugurated the age of personal spaceflight, introduced the RRL as an aerospace entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry.

“The Rocket Racing League will inspire people of all ages to once again look up into the sky to find inspiration and excitement,” said Dr. Diamandis, Chairman and Co-founder of the Rocket Racing League. “New aerospace technologies coupled with the spirit of competition will not only extend the boundaries of entertainment, but continue the public’s appetite for space ignited a year ago when the Ansari X PRIZE was awarded.”

Dr. Diamandis was joined by Granger Whitelaw, Co-Founder and President of the RRL. “The success of the Rocket Racing League is limited only by the excitement of the public,” noted Mr. Whitelaw. “Given the millions of fans who enjoy race car driving, and the wider audience enthralled with humanity’s next step into space, we are confident Rocket Racing will become a mainstream event in the decade to come.”

Similar to auto racing organizations, the RRL will organize, host and run competitions across the United States, with the finals taking place each year at the X PRIZE Cup in New Mexico. The league also plans to produce nationwide tours of its rocket planes and pilots to answer the public’s demand for high-excitement entertainment. A video game based on the RRL is slated to launch in late 2007.

“The FAA salutes the Rocket Racing League on its mission to usher in a new era in aerospace entertainment,” said Patricia Smith, Associate Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. “We look forward to working with the RRL to secure all the necessary licenses and permits to ensure safe and exciting events for the public.”

Rocket races will operate much like auto races, with the exception that the “track” is up in the sky. Courses are expected to be approximately two miles long, one mile wide, and about 5,000 feet high, running perpendicularly to spectators. The rocket planes, called X-Racers, will take off from a runway both in a staggered fashion and side-by side and fly a course based on the design of a Grand Prix competition, with long straight-aways, vertical ascents, and deep banks. Each pilot will follow his or her own virtual “tunnel” or “track” of space through which to fly, safely separated from their competitors by a few hundred feet.

Highly skilled X-Racer pilots will employ state-of-the-art differential GPS technology to ensure minimal chances of physical contact between the racers.

Upon take-off, onlookers will easily follow the race as the rocket planes remain in view and sport 20-foot rocket plumes. Fans can also track their favorite pilots’ progress via large screen televisions and hand-held GPS tracking devices using WiFi to stream video of the cockpit, live “on-track” shots, “side by side” views and wing angle views.

Fans at home will be treated to a three-dimensional course where the “tracks” pilots are following can be seen. Special effects for lap completions, barrier violations and penalties will also be a part of the show.

The RRL plans to host a variety of races as it grows and each race will result in points awarded to its top finishers and qualifier. Timed qualifying rounds can be incorporated into the races, comparable to the 24-hour Le Mans race.

The RRL has contracted with XCOR Aerospace of Mojave California to design and build the first generation of X-Racers. The X-Racers are based on the design of XCOR’s EZ-Rocket. Next generation vehicles will be using an airframe provided by Velocity of Sebastian, Florida.

Colonel Rick Searfoss (ret.), former commander of the space shuttle Columbia, and three-time astronaut, was appointed Chief Pilot by the RRL and will fly the EZ-Rocket X-Racer™ prototype in its inaugural launch on October 9 at the X PRIZE Cup in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The RRL will generate revenues through six channels:

Sponsorships – The RRL’s core demographic will be led by families, teenagers and young adults similar to mainstream car racing audiences. Companies will be able to sponsor the X-Racer aircrafts, pilot uniforms and helmets, and endorse awards such as fastest lap, fastest pit stop, and overall series champion.

Ticket sales – Though the price of tickets will vary based on the type of race held and the venue in which it is performed, the RRL will ensure the prices are comparable to other mainstream sporting events.

Broadcast rights – The RRL is initiating talks with major broadcasters to sell the rights to air Rocket Racing League™ events.

Merchandising – League-braded items such as hats, t-shirts, posters, key chains, and model X-Racer planes will be available at RRL events, sold online through RocketRacingLeague.com or through approved licensees.

Tours – Rocket racing fans will be able to see an X-Racer up-close, meet RRL pilots and enjoy educational initiatives which focus on aviation and aeronautics.

Gaming – A RRL-based video game will be launched in 2007 and is expected to operate on popular platforms such as the X-Box, Game Cube, PlayStation and PC. The game will enable fans to race their own X-Racers and compete against friends online.

Giving the FINGER to Computer Hardware

Just when you thought you had seen enough of those key ring and pen USB drivers along comes something a little MORE creative, The Finger Drive comes in 64,128 MB and 1 GB versions and can be found HERE. BTW, they have SUSHI models as well…

Janet Jackson: I see Boobies…and video

Hidden Video Footage A

Hidden Video Footage B

Tenants Find Alien Protection Device Upon Move-In

Bomb Squad Called In

A home in eastern Iowa no longer has the power to scare off underground aliens.
Police have taken away a device from a home in Davenport after its new tenants discovered a box containing what they thought was a bomb.

But the house’s former owner said it was designed to scare off aliens living underground.
Jessica Harper moved out of the house last month and left behind the box. She said she got it from her mother’s friend, an astrologer who Harper describes as “off his rocker.”

She said she didn’t want to throw it away because it wasn’t hers.
The new tenants discovered the box Monday and evacuated their home while the local bomb squad investigated.

Authorities would not confirm the device’s purpose, but they said it looks dangerous.

Star Trek pledge of allegiance gets kid suspended

A young Star Trek fan was suspended from school for reciting his own version of the Pledge of Allegiance, in which he pledged to the United Federation of Planets. His mom has posted the hilarious story on her BLOG:

“So, anyway. What did he do?” I picked at the hem of my sweatshirt, looked just to the right of her face. I couldn’t meet her eyes. I felt nervous. I felt underdressed. I wondered where 8 was.
So she told me what he did. And as she told me, I started to laugh. I didn’t laugh a little, either, but I belly-laughed and grabbed my stomach. My son stood with his class this morning, put small right hand over heart, faced the American flag, and recited his own personal pledge of allegiance:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Federation of Planets, and to the galaxy for which it stands, one universe, under everybody, with liberty and justice for all species.

“Mrs. Jaworski. This isn’t humorous. The Pledge is an extremely important and patriotic moment each morning in the classroom. I am ashamed of your son’s behavior, and I hope you are, too.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…..

George Takei Discloses His Homosexuality

George Takei, best known for his role as Mr. Sulu in “Star Trek,” came out as homosexual in the current issue of a magazine covering the Los Angeles gay and lesbian community.

Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in “Equus,” helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.

Takei described the character as a “very contained but turbulently frustrated man.” The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei’s coming out.

The current social and political climate also motivated Takei’s disclosure, he said.

“The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay,” he said. “The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young.”

The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.

“It’s against basic decency and what American values stand for,” he said.
Takei joined the “Star Trek” cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986.

A community activist, Takei ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973. He serves on the advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and is chairman of East West Players, the theater company producing “Equus.”

World Pumpkin Tossing Championships

These gems toss pumpkins over 4000 feet, here is the VIDEO of one such test. The object is leaving the barrel at 500 mph. The World Championship for this madness can be seen HERE.

"Flesh-eating aliens were chasing me when I caused fatal car crash"

Scott Krause is accused of crashing into a UPS truck and killing driver Drew Reynolds in 2004.

A California man facing life in prison for crashing his car into a UPS truck will not dispute that his actions resulted in the death of the driver when his trial opens Monday in Nevada County Superior Court.

Instead, Scott Krause’s defense will argue that the defendant believed he was trying to escape man-eating subterranean beings when he ran into Drew Reynolds’ truck on Jan. 6, 2004.

Krause has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to five felony counts, including first-degree murder, carjacking, and burglary, stemming from a string of alleged criminal activities leading up to the fatal highway crash.

In three court-ordered evaluations, the defendant stated he was fleeing subterranean beings he called “hemadrones” when he carjacked a commercial vehicle near a Nevada City, Calif., gas station and then crashed into Reynolds’ service vehicle.

“Everything had to do with his escape from the hemadrones,” said Nevada County District Attorney Michael Ferguson. “According to the defendant, he wasFkF afraid they were going to put him in cargo and ship him to China to be eaten.”

Calls to public defender Gary Gordon went unanswered.

The evidentiary burden will fall on the defense to prove that Krause, a known methamphetamine addict with a history of drug-related arrests, was suffering from a pre-existing mental condition that either prevented him from understanding the consequences of his actions or knowing the difference between right or wrong.

A psychologist testified in a preliminary hearing that when he examined Krause in 2002, the divorced father of two displayed signs of delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.

He also testified that for at least two years before the incident, Krause was using methamphetamine at least twice a day.

“This is purely a case about mental state,” Ferguson said. “Were his actions methamphetamine-induced or was he suffering from a pre-offense illness?”

The state will argue the latter in light of Krause’s lengthy rap sheet and evidence that his alleged activities began much earlier that day.

Signs of trouble

Police responded to the home of Krause’s ex-wife, Tracie, just after midnight on Jan. 7, 2004, where Krause had unexpectedly showed up “strung out” and in search of a place to crash after his girlfriend kicked him out.

Officers left Krause with the order to dump his can of beer and leave her home, according to police reports.

About 16 hours later, authorities received another call from an elderly woman who said a man later identified as Krause broke into her home and demanded keys to her car. She told police she began to scream, and he left empty-handed.

About 10 minutes later, police received a report that Sierra Tile and Stone truck driver Tina Harrison was sitting in the cab of her truck at a gas station when Krause climbed into the passenger seat, “freaking her out,” Ferguson said.
“He didn’t force her out, but he scared her and that’s enough for a carjacking charge,” he said.

As Krause sped onto Highway 49, he swerved around cars and he crossed lanes before slamming into Reynolds’ UPS truck, sending it into a utility pole.

At the time of his death, Reynolds, 34, was pursuing a degree in computer science from the University of Phoenix while holding a full-time job with UPS.

After Reynolds’ death, a $2,000 scholarship fund was established in his name for adults who are raising families while pursuing a college education at Sierra College’s Nevada County campus, from where Reynolds graduated.

Of Krause’s lengthy rap sheet, Grass Valley police chief John Foster simply said, “We’re aware of him,” in an interview with the local newspaper, The Union.

When the accident occurred, Krause was already on misdemeanor probation after pleading to charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance, possessing controlled substance paraphernalia and resisting a peace officer in August 2003.

That arrest occurred four days before he was to begin drug counseling for a previous arrest for possessing a hypodermic needle.

Earlier in 2003, he was arrested for attempted vehicle theft, removing car parts and damaging property while attempting to hot-wire a neighbor’s car.

Jurors will have the option of convicting Krause of vehicular manslaughter if they cannot find premeditation in connection with Reynolds’ death.

He is also facing charges of carjacking, burglary and battery in connection with the day’s previous events.