No Age Limit in NASCAR
There is no age limit in NASCAR, as proved yesterday by 81-year-old Hershel McGriff. He competed “on the road course at Portland International Raceway, part of the NASCAR Camping World West Series” and held his own against 25 much younger drivers, finishing 13th despite the disadvantage of starting at the back of the field due to a carburetor replacement after the qualifying session.
In so doing, he broke his own record of being the oldest driver in NASCAR history. He also “was the defending champion in Portland, winning the only other time the series — then known as Winston West — visited the track in 1986.”
“McGriff won the 1986 Winston West championship, was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers, and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006. He retired from racing twice, first in 1954 and then again in 2002.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/news/story?id=4339671
Meth Head Driver Jeremy Mayfield: NASCAR Spiked My Urine Test
Russell Crowe is real-life “Robin Hood”
Russell Crowe, currently portraying “Robin Hood” in a film being directed by Ridley Scott and co-starring Cate Blanchett as “Maid Marian,” took his role to heart this week by coming to the aid of a female boom mike operator working on the London set.
Crowe “gave Denise Yarde 5000 pounds so she could buy a new car after her old one went up in flames.” (That sum is about $8000 here in the US.)
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200907200940.htm
An Entertainment Daily blog reported Crowe told Ms. Yarde, “‘There you go. You can buy a 10,000 dollar car now.’
Yarde was joyous and hugged Crowe before going out to buy a 2007 Saab.”
http://blog.taragana.com/e/2009/07/20/russell-crowe-buys-film-crew-worker-new-car-17882/
At Long Last, Love
Seventeen years ago, Spain’s Carmen Ruiz-Perez and Britain’s Steve Smith, met “when she was a foreign exchange student in Brixham, and got engaged after only a year together.”
However, Ruiz-Perez soon moved to France to run a small Parisian business, and their engagement fizzled.
Later, trying to “rekindle their love, Smith sent a letter to her mother’s home in Spain. It was placed on the mantelpiece, but slipped down behind the fireplace and was lost for over a decade.
“The missing missive was only found when builders removed the fireplace during renovation work.”
After Ruiz-Perez received the long-lost letter, she was too nervous to contact Smith immediately. Soon, however, she did make the call and the two were re-united at an airport.
“When we met again it was like a film. We ran across the airport into each other’s arms. We met up and fell in love all over again. Within 30 seconds of setting eyes on each other we were kissing,” Smith stated.
The happy couple, both 42, were married last Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090720/wl_uk_afp/britainspainloveoffbeat_20090720093400
Did The Earth Move For You, Too?
The Associated Press reports that last week’s massive 7.8 earthquake, centered “at the boundaries of the Australian and Pacific plates,” resulted in the south of New Zealand inching one foot closer to Australia.
There was “only slight damage to buildings and property” (but no mention of how many of New Zealand’s most numerous residents – sheep and lambs – were shaken up).
The narrowing of the 1400-mile-wide Tasman Sea, which separates New Zealand from Australia, “won’t make much difference.”
The force of the quake was moderated by its being “a subduction thrust rupture” – meaning “the energy from the quake was largely directed westwards towards the sea rather than inland towards the nearest towns.”
It “also meant the quake produced lower frequency shaking, felt as a rolling motion, rather than sharp jolts which would have caused more damage.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090722/sc_afp/nzealandquakescience
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I have a pen-pal – an e-mail acquaintance – living near Wellington. I haven’t heard from her for some time; this is a very good reason to contact her.
From Times Square to Gracie Mansion?
Robert John Burck, 37, better known as “The Naked Cowboy” seen most often in New York City’s Times Square and also in New Orleans’ French Quarter during Mardi Gras, is planning a run for mayor of NYC ‘”on a platform of ‘bringing transparency to a whole new level.’”
In brief, a statement “announcing a news conference on Wednesday to launch his candidacy said the Naked Cowboy’s platform would include a stimulus plan for small business.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Cowboy
If his mayoral bid fails and he chooses to give up his celebrity as “The Naked Cowboy,” Burck can fall back on his other profession, as chronicled by Wikipedia. “Additionally, on November 22, 2008, he became an ordained minister, and on December 10, 2008 he was officially registered as a marriage officiant by the City of New York.”
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/3/l_4dc94f36d8ff40018ba93b7a0595bae2.jpg
“Warehouse 13″ on Syfy is a winner!
(First, I must admit I don’t know why the Sci-Fi channel changed its name to Syfy… )
The promos for Syfy’s new series, “Warehouse 13″, looked promising, so I tuned in July 7 for the premiere episode and last week watched Episode Two. Eight more episodes are scheduled this season; the final one is set for September 8.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_13
I had no idea Saul Rubinek was one of the stars; I have liked h is work through the years. The other major characters are portrayed by Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Rubinek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_McClintock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanne_Kelly
(Watch out for “The Rugby Football” – its return is unpredictable.
The second episode ,”Resonance“, outdid the first in surprising moments, especially when Rubinek snapped a photo of Kelly’s ex-boss – a real, as he said, “Kodak moment.” The result was unexpected – I don’t want to give anything away if you didn’t see Episode Two. “It was never about the money.”
The ex-boss, portrayed by Simon Reynolds, said Rubinek had been “Punk’d” – since it was difficult to see the face of the perpetrator, I am hopeful it was Ashton Kutcher and that he will appear in a cameo. Well, it could happen.
So, peruse the SyFy schedule and watch “Warehouse 13″ either live on Tuesdays or in reruns. The current promo is extremely Escher-esque, BTW.
Beautiful, Buxom Buccaneer Babes
Piracy has been much in the news recently, due to scheming Somalis seizing ships. However, none of the modern-day pirates / privateers / buccaneers seem to be women. But in centuries past, even as far back as 600 B.C., there were scores of female pirates – Chinese, Vikings, and others from various regions including the Caribbean.
One of the very first was the Grecian queen Artemisia (from Hallicarnassus) in 480 B.C. (I wonder WHY a queen had to resort to piracy). Among the most notable were Grace O’Malley, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read, who had several aliases among them.
Bonny and Read also kept company with and/ or were married to notorious male pirates – keeping it “all in the family” so to speak. The last known female pirate, who operated in the 1980s, was “Linda” from the Philippines.
http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/onlinetexts/womenlist.shtml
http://www.realarmorofgod.com/female-pirates.html
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/famous-women-pirates.htm
BTW, the club house is in another time zone …
If you want to play a few holes of golf at Australia’s proposed Nullarbor Links, be prepared to spend a week or two along the way.
The brainchild of “Bob Bongiorno, a former manager of the Balladonia Road House on the Nullarbor Plain,” the course is planned to encourage Outback tourists, who normally pass straight through, to gain “awareness of [the area's] magnificent geographical features and rich history.”
Nullarbor Links, nearly 850 miles long, “will be ready for the first tee-off in October and the operators have already received contacts from excited golfers in Britain, Japan and China.”
One major departure from normal golf courses is that each hole will have a pub or bar, undoubtedly well stocked with area beers – Coopers, Southwark, or Swan Brewing selections. “We’ll have 18 nineteenth holes,” Mr. Bongiorno says with pride. “That’s a big bonus.”
http://www.nullarborlinks.com/
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22548501-5013501,00.html
Dying for vanity
Martha McBrier, a part-time stand-up comedienne from Glasgow, Scotland, is choosing probable death rather than “ruin her looks” or perhaps lose her sense of humor. She was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor, an acoustic neuroma, and is is refusing treatment (brain surgery) that is 95 percent successful.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tags/martha-mcbrier/
Beth’s Trivia (Did You Know … )
July 9, 2009 by Beth
Filed under Tech/Sci, Weird Stuff
There must be millions of people with no common sense. Otherwise, why would manufacturers place warning labels on their products to prevent people from senseless actions – or to remind them of the OBVIOUS!!?
From http://www.dumbwarnings.com/warnings/appliances/ regarding a food processor made in Japan – “Not to be used for anything else.” Has someone used a food processor to make wood chips?
At http://www.strangecosmos.com/content/item/125056.html I found the following:
•Sleeping Pills — Caution: May make you drowsy.
( Apparently the warning ” don’t operate machinery while taking these” was omitted … )
•Lighters — Contents flammable. (Sure hope so …)
•Dog Shampoo — The contents of this bottle should not be fed to fish. (But it’s okay to give to people or other animals?)
•Curling Iron — Not for internal use. (OUCH!)
•Microwave Oven — Do not use for drying pets. (This actually serves a purpose; someone could attempt it.)
•Toilet Bowl Cleaning Brush — Do not use orally. (YUCK! )
•King Size Mattress — Warning: Do not attempt to swallow. (Maybe someone took one of those sleeping pills , became drowsy, and chewed off part of his or her mattress … )