Meet Eclyse - the amazing zebra crossing

It looks as if someone tried to give a zebra a respray. . . then ran out of white paint halfway through the job.

But in reality there is no artificial colouring on display here. This amazing but natural coat belongs to Eclyse the zorse.

Her father is a zebra, while her mother is a horse. And she's walking proof of how a child inherits genes from both parents.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464723&in_page_id=1770

Another one for the Little U

The court hearing was on June 22, 2007. The U and ex-wife of the U have joint custody with the UW being awarded primary residence. This is the only thing I wanted was a chance to raise my daughter and now I will with whatever it takes. Here is another song for you...Daddies don't just love their children every now and then....... I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye. Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why. When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed. And then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst.

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us." He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

When I became a father in the spring of '81 There was no doubt that stubborn boy was just like my father's son. And when I thought my patience had been tested to the end, I took my daddy's secret and I passed it on to him.

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us." He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen." Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates. When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake. If they know half the things I've done, they'll never let me in. And then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again.

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love, A secret that my daddy said was just between us." He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

To the Little U

With my divorce 3 days away I just wanted to let my 3 year old daughter know how much she means to me. Although she can't read this one day she will be able to look at the UW!! This song reminds me of you. A song sung by Kenny Chesney that I dedicate to you. Baby you save me. I love you Kaydn!!!!!

Every now and then I get a little lostMy strings all get tangled, my wires all get crossed

Every now and then I ride upon the edge

Dangling my toes out over the ledge

I just thank God you're here

'Cause when I'm a bullet shot out of a gun

'Cause when I'm a firecracker comin' undone

Or when I'm a fugitive ready to run, all wild-eyed and crazy

No matter where my reckless soul takes meBaby you save me

It's hard lovin' a man that's got a gypsy soulI don't know how you do it, I'm not sure how you know

The perfect thing to say to save me from myself

You're the angel that believes in me like nobody else

And I thank God you do'Cause when I'm a bullet shot out of a gun

When I'm a firecracker coming undone

When I'm a fugitive ready to run, all wild-eyed and crazy

No matter where my reckless soul takes me

Baby you save me

I know I don't tell you nearly enough

That I couldn't live one day without your love

When I'm a ship tossed around on the waves

Up on a highwire that's ready to break

When I've had just about all I can takeBaby you, baby you save me

When I'm a bullet shot out of a gun

When I'm a firecracker coming undone

When I'm a fugitive ready to run, all wild-eyed and crazy

No matter where my reckless soul takes me

Baby you save me

"Back to College" Condoms now at Wal-Mart

Can Walmart now please run an add on Beer? Then I think the party will be able to start.

Earthquake hits desert in central Iran

TEHRAN, Iran - A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has shaken Iran's central desert, Iranian state TV reported Monday. The agency had no immediate information on casualties or damage.

Deadlier days ahead for Mediterranean?

Study figures region's dangerously hot days will rise 200 to 500 percent WASHINGTON - Deadly heat waves around the Mediterranean, like those that killed some 18,000 people in 2003, could become the norm this century if current trends in greenhouse emissions continue, researchers reported on Friday.

The number of dangerously hot days in the Mediterranean region that includes parts of Europe, Africa and the Middle East could increase by 200 percent to 500 percent, according to a study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

France would have the biggest rise in extreme high temperature days, the study said. Paris would truly sizzle if simulations of the future come to pass, with temperatures that occurred in the French capital during the killer heat wave of 2003 exceeded dozens of times each year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19247582/

Heavy Rain Continues Across State; Flooding Reported

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fewer severe thunderstorms formed Thursday night across Oklahoma; however, more rain -- particularly heavy rain -- fell across the state and is again forecast for Friday.

Flash flooding was reported across Oklahoma City early Friday, including at Penn Avenue and Memorial Road in northwest Oklahoma City. In The Village, Eyewitness News 5's Kevin Sims reported that high waters had eaten away at retaining walls in a culvert used to drain water.

In northeast Oklahoma City, a tree fell and power lines were knocked down at Northeast 37th Street and MLK Boulevard. Traffic was backed up to the south, and fire crews were called to the scene, officials said.

A multi-vehicle wreck on State Highway 74 -- also known as the Lake Hefner Parkway -- shut down southbound lanes for a time.

http://www.koco.com/news/13501976/detail.html

Tornado Spotted Touching Down In Maryland

(AP) FLINTSTONE, Md. A tornado was spotted touching down in the Flintstone area and funnel clouds were seen elsewhere in Allegany County, but there were no reports of injuries or structural damage.

Calls about funnel clouds started coming in around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to the county's Emergency Management Center, said Ron Frye, Allegany's deputy director of emergency management. Frye said reports of possible tornadoes also came in from the Frostburg and Lonaconing areas. http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_163225017.html

Magnitude 6.8 - OFFSHORE GUATEMALA

The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center: An earthquake occurred 115 km (70 miles) SSW of GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala at 1:29 PM MDT, Jun 13, 2007 (1:29 PM local time in Guatemala). The magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis results are available. No reports of damage or casualties have been received at this time; however, this earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size.

Magnitude 6.8 Date-Time Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 19:29:46 (UTC)= Coordinated Universal Time Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 2:29:46 PM = local time at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 13.628°N, 90.732°W Depth 64.8 km (40.3 miles) Region OFFSHORE GUATEMALA Distances 115 km (70 miles) SSW of GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala135 km (85 miles) WSW of Santa Ana, El Salvador155 km (95 miles) SSE of Quezaltenango, Guatemala1110 km (690 miles) SE of MEXICO CITY, D.F., Mexico Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 5.7 km (3.5 miles); depth +/- 5.5 km (3.4 miles) Parameters Nst=155, Nph=155, Dmin=774.9 km, Rmss=0.93 sec, Gp=133°,M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6 Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D) Event ID us2007dnbi

Bird Flu Without The Symptoms

It is being reported that Indonesian officials have come across chickens with the H5N1 strain of bird flu that are showing no symptoms.

Usually, sick or dead chickens are used as a sign of H5N1 infection, but if chickens are not showing signs and symptoms of the virus, detecting it is virtually impossible.

Indonesia has the world's highest death toll from the virus, with more than 70 people dying from the virus since it was first identified in late 2003.

"The poultry death rate is not so high, but there is a trend that chicken or poultry are infected by the virus but they don't die. So, the H5N1 virus is not fatal to poultry," Musny Suatmodjo, director of animal health at the agriculture ministry, told a news conference.

Bird flu is currently indemic in many parts of Indonesia. Millions of birds have been culled in an attempt to stomp out the virus but to date this practice has proven to be ineffective.

The most common way that people contract the virus is through contact with infected poultry. Worldwide, 189 people have died from the disease.

http://www.dogflu.ca/06112007/09/bird_flu_without_the_symptoms

Death toll from Bangladesh mudslides, lightning reaches 105

The death toll from a torrent of mudslides, flooding and lightning in southeastern Bangladesh rose to 105 Tuesday after rescuers found 14 more bodies, officials and witnesses said.

The worst-hit area was a congested shantytown in the hilly port city of Chittagong, where large chunks of hill collapsed and buried dozens of bamboo and straw shacks.

Army rescuers pulled at least 21 bodies from the debris Tuesday, city official Nur Sulaiman said. Two other bodies were recovered from a downtown pond, he added.

At least 67 died across the city Monday, while another four bodies were found overnight, officials said. The lightning strikes killed 11 people in the neighboring districts of Cox's Bazar, Noakhali and Brahmmanbaria, the Food and Disaster Management Ministry said.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181570252996&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Cyclone Gonu leaves 35 dead in Oman and Iran

Dubai - Cyclone Gonu left Oman and Iran, where it killed at least 35 people in both countries and caused devastation, and swept into the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route on Friday, though its power was waning.

Iranian state television said the hurricane left Iran in the afternoon and was heading towards Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil supplies pass.An Iranian official said the hurricane had weakened and its "impact will be completely gone", he told the official ISNA news agency.

The Omani news agency ONA said at least 32 people had been killed and 30 were missing. Three people were reported killed in Iran on Thursday and nine were missing.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20070608141509378C822512

First-Ever 5,000-Year Record of Hurricanes Compiled

Hurricane researchers have put together the longest-ever record of hurricane strikes--going back 5,000 years--in the Atlantic, and it shows that the El Niño weather pattern acts plays a critical role in ramping up and tamping down intense hurricanes.

Hurricane records extend only as far back as historical texts and modern meteorological techniques have been collecting information about them, which is to say, not very far. To extend the record past these limited sources, two geologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, in 2003, began digging up sediment cores from the bottom of Laguna Playa Grande on the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques, which is very vulnerable to hurricane strikes.

Laguna Playa Grande is usually protected and separated from the ocean during storms, but when an intense hurricane strikes, storm surges carry sand from the ocean beach over the dunes and into the lake.

http://www.livescience.com/aol/070601_hurricane_record.html 2007 Hurricane Guide

Undersea quake hits eastern Indonesia

A STRONG undersea earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale has hit the Moluccas islands in eastern Indonesia, an official at the country's Meteorological and Geophysics agency said.

The US Geological Survey said in a bulletin sent by email that the quake struck at 1128 GMT and put the magnitude at 5.8.

The Indonesian official said by telephone there was no potential for a tsunami from the quake, with an epicentre 122km northwest of the town of Saumlaki at a depth of 77km. He said residents felt the quake in Saumlaki and the island of Aru, although there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Joni Sabono, a resident in Saumlaki, said by telephone people had run outside after the quake, although he said there was no serious panic in his area.

“I felt it for 10 seconds, people ran away but there wasn't much shock because we are used to quakes,” he said.

Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes given its location in a highly active seismic zone. In some remote areas, it takes a long time to assess damage given patchy communications in the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21862639-1702,00.html

What Slanguage Do You Speak? Can you pass?

http://www.blogthings.com/whatslanguagedoyouspeakquiz/ http://www.blogthings.com/couldyoupass8thgradegeographyquiz/

Category 5 Cyclone Aimed at Strait of Hormuz

A Category 5 cyclone with winds of up to 195 mph is heading toward one of the world's most productive energy basins, threatening local devastation and global disruption at a point at which oil prices are already flirting with record highs. For once, the region in question is not the Gulf of Mexico. There is cause for concern; Cyclone Gonu is headed directly for the Strait of Hormuz.

The cyclone is rotating counterclockwise -- as it would in the Gulf of Mexico -- meaning that, should it enter the Persian Gulf, the gulf's west coast would suffer the most serious damage. Along the west coast, low-lying areas are the norm, and there are few barrier islands like the ones that line the Gulf of Mexico to absorb much of the storm surge that could therefore penetrate miles inland.

Like all weather phenomena, hurricanes and cyclones are notoriously fickle, so there is (thankfully) no guarantee Gonu will enter the Persian Gulf, much less wreck it. But there are two facilities that bear specific mention: the Ras Tanura and Ras al-Juaymah oil loading platforms in Saudi Arabia. So far, the chances of either of these facilities suffering a direct hit are very slim -- Gonu is still 750 miles away from those export points -- but they collectively pump nearly 10 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude. These facilities, while critical to global energy supplies and -- due to their size -- largely immune to terrorist attacks, are not particularly hurricane resistant. After all, they were built in an area where such storms are almost unheard of. Other (hardly insignificant) energy installations dot the region in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- most of them on the west coast. Luckily, there is little offshore production in the Persian Gulf -- unlike in the Gulf of Mexico -- so there is unlikely to be much permanent damage to the oil production facilities themselves.