Oddities spotted in the news

[robkelk]

Pickup band plays the Budokan

Okay, it's been 15 years since Monkey Majik was put together to fill a hole in a festival schedule, but still...

[robkelk]

The Register: Dear hackers: If you try to pwn a website for phishing, make sure it's not the personal domain of a senior Akamai security researcher

---

CBC: Antique dildo will stay in Ireland after sex shop owner campaigns to save it

[robkelk]

How Mister Rogers' religious beliefs shaped his radical teachings on race and sexuality

'Mister Rogers wasn't afraid to say true things,' says Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

The very first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood hit TVs across the U.S. on Feb. 19, 1968.

The episode didn't shy away from the contentious Vietnam War that started more than a decade earlier.

Viewers discovered that King Friday, one of the show's regular cast of puppet characters, was establishing a border guard in his make-believe kingdom, and later in the week, that he was building a border wall.

[robkelk]

Fans of song stole Old Town Road sign, so B.C. town decided to sell them

When American rapper and singer Lil Nas X penned the lyrics: "Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road" in his record breaking song, he probably did not have the District of Sicamous, B.C., in mind.

However, due to the enormous popularity of the song Old Town Road, the southern Interior municipality's sign with the same name along Old Town Bay has become a popular photo stop for tourists, and most recently, the target of theft.

To try and remedy the situation, the local chamber of commerce has made replicas of the sign and is now selling them.

The song Old Town Road currently holds the record as the first-ever song to enjoy the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 17 weeks straight.

"We're a tourist driven community and so this is another form of marketing for our town," said Rysz. "It's something that I think has been a wonderful idea."

(Yeah, I know about Colorado route 420 signs. But, hey, small town instead of big state.)

[robkelk]

The Aesop on this one is "don't misdial."

Misdialed 911 call leads RCMP to home with 100 unsecured guns

"They did actually speak to the person on the phone at the time of the call and he said there was no emergency and that he was trying to dial 411," said Clarke.

Clarke said RCMP have to respond to all 911 calls, even hangups or misdials.

"When the police officers went to the individual's home, they felt that they needed to get inside the home to make sure there was no emergency," said Clarke. "With permission from the homeowner, they did enter the home."

Guns were found throughout the house, none of them secured, she said.

Failure to secure a firearm is grounds for seizure of that firearm and arrest of the owner in Canada. (Keep them secured in gun safes, folks!)

[robkelk]

'If you build it, they will come': Yankees, White Sox to play game on Field of Dreams

Defictionalization (well, without the ghosts) to take place on August 13, 2020. This will be the first MLB game to be played in Iowa.

[Norgarth]

an article talking about a Veritech/Valkrie (depending on your preference between Robotech and Macross) made of Lego
https://geekculture.co/this-lego-robotec...c-to-date/

[DHBirr]

"Hey, Kool-Aid!" Black bear smashes through house wall. No report on whether he was growling, "Oh, yeahhhh!"

[classicdrogn]

Elon Musk’s red Roadster just completed its first lap around the Sun

The Stig's lap time was not reported.

[hazard]

That's because lap time would be calculated at arrival at the starting line.

[robkelk]

Kimmel's jokes about Dildo, N.L., worth some $11M, province says

No word on whether nearby locales Heart's Desire, Tickle Bay, Come By Chance, Conception Bay, and Placentia want in on the tourist money.

Yes, those are all actual places on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. (Well, okay, Come By Chance is on the isthmus.) Newfoundlanders really don't care what the rest of us think... and I've confirmed that with actual Newfoundlanders.

[Star Ranger4]

an article talking about a Veritech/Valkrie (depending on your preference between Robotech and Macross) made of Lego
https://geekculture.co/this-lego-robotec...c-to-date/

How do you FIND all this cool (and not so cool) stuff Norgarth????

Your search fu seems to be so much stronger than my own...

[robkelk]

Ford Mustang GT Fastback for sale. As-is - it's just like it was after finishing filming Bullitt.

[Norgarth]

an article talking about a Veritech/Valkrie (depending on your preference between Robotech and Macross) made of Lego
https://geekculture.co/this-lego-robotec...c-to-date/

How do you FIND all this cool (and not so cool) stuff Norgarth????

Your search fu seems to be so much stronger than my own...

Luck in a lot of cases.  I watch 'Funny pic' and 'cool pic' threads on Spacebattles, Sufficient Velocity and other forums, and share what I find there. Sometimes I find something interesting linked on facebook, but I don't spend nearly as much time on that.

[Dartz]

Population level in Ireland reaches levels not seen since the 1850's

[robkelk]

From Dildo to Witless Bay: Where did Newfoundland & Labrador get its unusual place names?

[robkelk]

Drunk raccoons seen stumbling around Ottawa suburb

"Don't try to give them coffee and get them sobered up, just let them go their course," [Carleton University biology professor Michael] Runtz said. "If you're really concerned about the animal, call ... some of the animal control officers to come have a look at it."

(ellipsis in original article)

[DHBirr]

The largest flying animal ever, a species of pterosaur, has now been named Cryodrakon boreas, which I gather translates as Cold Dragon of the North (Cryodrakon fossils, found in Alberta, were previously thought to be another variety of Quetzalcoatlus).  The artist's impression illustrating the article wears a red maple leaf marking.

[robkelk]

Distracted-driving laws in British Columbia are now slightly more tightly defined: No eating with chopsticks while driving.

This became an issue because a B.C. driver was fined for 'multitasking' while motoring — with spinach and chopsticks.

[Bob Schroeck]

Truck Carrying Gaming Dice Spills Onto Highway, Rolls A Perfect 756,000

Considering the average roll of two six-sided dice is around seven, and approximately 216,000 dice were rolled, Trivium estimates the roll totaled 756,000. The truck was undamaged, having made its saving throw.

[hazard]

Someone has a sense of humour and a gaming background.

[Bob Schroeck]

The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet

[robkelk]

They did this last year - it must have been a success. They're doing it again.

Hudson, Quebec is having a fire drill on October 9. Yes, the entire town. All at once. They call it "La Grande Évacuation".

And somebody who takes part will get to "be a firefighter" for a day - wearing the gear and training how to use the tools and hoses, but not actually fighting a fire.

[Inquisitive Raven]

Well, that's one way to observe Fire Prevention Week (and the Peshtigo fire).

[Bob Schroeck]

Scientists put an entire molecule into a superposition of states -- to put that in other words, for the very first time a macro-scale object has been forced to demonstrate quantum-scale behavior.