'Termites don't taste too bad'

MSNBC reports that "Lost in the rocky, remote Australian Outback, a former pest exterminator faced dehydration and death. Desperate for food, he turned to what he knew best — bugs, he said Wednesday.
Theo Rosmulder, 52, managed to survive for four days by feasting on termites and other insects before local Aborigines happened upon him Tuesday and brought him back to civilization.
A weary-looking Rosmulder told reporters that he found some relief from hunger at a giant termite mound. "I just hit the top of the termite nest off and got stuck into them," Rosmulder said.

"Termites don't taste too bad," he said at a news conference in the southwestern Australian mining town of Laverton.
Rosmulder was suffering from dehydration but otherwise in "surprisingly good condition," Western Australia state police Sgt. Graham Clifford said. He said the insects and termites provided Rosmulder a bit of moisture and some protein."

Here is the rest of the story.

Mad Libs turn 50

MSNBC reports that "Do you remember playing Mad Libs as a kid? As the zany word game turns 50, TODAY has the story about how the game came to be. Plus, author Leonard Stern also wrote an exclusive Mad Lib about the TODAY show just for TODAYshow.com readers (see next page). But first, here's an excerpt about the game's history from "Best of Mad Libs."
The creation of Mad Libs is directly linked to my inability to spell hyperbole in a seventh-grade spelling bee. Humiliated and embarrassed beyond words, I ran home to take refuge in the family dictionary, determined to learn the correct spelling and exact meaning of as many words as humanly possible. The dictionary became my constant companion — my roommate. Even today, it’s by my bedside, and on sleepless nights I make a point of learning at least one new word. Last night it was orthogonal.
The first sighting of Mad Libs happened in 1953, and it remains indelibly etched in my mind. I was in my New York City apartment overlooking Central Park working on a Jackie Gleason Honeymooners script. Actually, I was sitting and staring at the typewriter (I still use one), searching for the precisely right adjective to describe the nose of Ralph Kramden’s new boss. After wallowing in clichés for 30 minutes, I was ready to throw in the thesaurus when Roger Price, my best friend, fellow wordaholic, and the most original thinker I’d ever met — one of a kind of which there was no kind — showed up at my apartment..."

Read more about the history of Mad Libs here.

It's about time...

MSNBC reports that Los Angeles "Sheriff’s deputies arrested two cameramen photographing Britney Spears at a hair salon and two other photographers outside a trendy nightclub in a crackdown that follows a year of frenzied paparazzi swarms around the troubled pop star and other celebrities.
All four men were arrested for misdemeanor violations of obstructing a public walkway and released with citations, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said Wednesday.
Photographers David Tonnessen and Christian Shostoe were arrested around 7:50 p.m. Tuesday in front of West Hollywood’s B2V Hair Salon, where 50 paparazzi tried to get shots of Spears, Whitmore said."

It is about time the authorities stood up to the craziness. What the heck were they waiting for? Someone to die? Oh wait... Someone already did die. But Princess Diana's death was some time ago.

Where's my airline seat?...

MSNBC.com has an article about how a Delta Airlines passenger found half of her seat taken up by a XL passenger. Here is a portion of the article:
"...When I got to my seat, half of it was missing.
Sitting next to me, in the middle seat, was an extremely large woman. So large that she not only took up her own seat, but half of mine. There was no way for her to put the armrest down. She said she hoped there was room for me.
I discreetly asked one of the flight attendants if I could buy a seat in first class, and was told that first class was full. I asked if the remainder of the plane was full, and they said that there were no empty seats.
A flight attendant suggested that the only way to change my seat was to “find a cute boy or girl” and sit on their lap. Not only did I find this offensive, but also it was distressing.
One of the flight attendants came over and offered the large passenger next to me a seat belt extender. I tried to sit down, but ended up spending half of the flight on this woman’s lap and the other half spilling over into the aisle.
I e-mailed Delta after the flight and asked for a refund. I bought one seat, and I didn’t even have half of one. Delta thanked me for the feedback but refused to do anything. Don’t you think I deserve something?"

Here is the answer to the question. So what would you have done?

What will change buy?...

Did you ever wonder what you could buy if you saved your pocket change?...
Well, MSNBC reports that an "Indiana farmer saves all of his pocket change [for 14 years] to purchase a new truck." This isn't his first time to do this...

Here's the 2 minute news video.

A penny earned is a penny saved...

One last laugh...

MSNBC reports that even "in death, Chet Fitch is a card. Fitch, known for his sense of humor, died in October at age 88 but gave his friends and family a start recently: Christmas cards, 34 of them, began arriving -- written in his hand with a return address of "Heaven."
The greeting read: "I asked Big Guy if I could sneak back and send some cards. At first he said no; but at my insistence he finally said, 'Oh well, what the heaven, go ahead but don't (tarry) there.' Wish I could tell you about things here but words cannot explain.
"Better get back as Big Guy said he stretched a point to let me in the first time, so I had better not press my luck. I'll probably be seeing you (some sooner than you think). Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. Chet Fitch"
A friend for nearly 25 years, Debbie Hansen Bernard said, "All I could think was, 'You little stinker.'"
"It was amazing," she said. "Just so Chet, always wanting to get the last laugh."
The mailing was a joke Fitch worked on for two decades with his barber, Patty Dean, 57. She told the Ashland Daily Tidings this week that he kept updating the mailing list and giving her extra money when postal rates went up. This fall, she said, Fitch looked up to her from the chair.
"You must be getting tired of waiting to mail those cards," he told her. "I think you'll probably be able to mail them this year."
He died a week later."
I wish that I known Chet. He had a great sense of humor.
Here is the news video.

NFL Network....

Cruise around paradise turns to trip from hell...

Anita Dunham-Potter from MSNBC reports that "Eva and Harry Berger just wanted to relax and enjoy their Hawaiian cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of Aloha last May. It was their 39th wedding anniversary, so the Bergers splurged on a balcony stateroom. But Stateroom 9229 turned out to be the cabin from hell.
Soon after the Bergers boarded the ship, they discovered that the air conditioning was not working in their stateroom. The couple immediately contacted onboard personnel and asked to be moved to another stateroom. Unfortunately for the Bergers, the ship was sold out, but they were assured that their air conditioning unit would be fixed the following day. The anniversary couple spent a miserable first night aboard the Pride of Aloha in a hot and muggy stateroom.
The next day came and went, but no maintenance was performed. After another uncomfortable night, the Bergers decided they would rather spend their money in comfort somewhere else, so they told onboard managers that they wished to be let off the ship in Kauai and be given a full refund for the portion of the cruise not taken. The cruise line refused but did issue the couple a $200 shipboard credit — along with further assurances that the air conditioning would be fixed soon. The Bergers tried to make the best of an unpleasant situation.
The following day, after returning from a long day of shore excursions, the couple was greeted by the ship's engineering staff who informed them that their room was unavailable, as they were working on the air conditioning unit. The Bergers then camped out in their friends' stateroom, where they showered, changed and took a needed nap.
Despite the repairs, the air conditioning never worked properly, and though the crew repeatedly said the unit would undergo further repairs, those repairs never happened.
"We were miserable in our stateroom the entire time," says Harry Berger. "Conditions were deplorable."
In fact, the Pride of Aloha was experiencing similar difficulties in a number of staterooms in the vicinity of Stateroom 9229. An entire thread on the Web site Cruise Critic was dedicated to Pride of Aloha's air conditioning woes in May and June. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) says the problem has since been fixed.
The Bergers felt their $200 shipboard credit was hardly enough compensation for their discomfort and inconvenience, especially since the cruise cost more than $3,000. After the cruise, the couple wrote letters, sent e-mail and called the cruise line several times. After getting nowhere they contacted Tripso for help.
I spoke with AnneMarie Mathews, director of public relations for NCL, to see what the cruise line could do for the Bergers. She said that the Bergers' experience was unusual and that NCL wanted to make amends. In a letter to the Bergers, NCL apologized for the inconvenience and offered them a future cruise credit in the amount of $1,150 ($575 each).
"We hope that they will sail with us again," says Mathews.
The Bergers will probably do just that. They are pleased with NCL's offer and they hope to take a cruise next year in a less temperamental stateroom."

I still think that wasn't the best compensation for the couple and what they had to endure.

Punk will get his just dessert...

MSNBC reports in Missoula, Montana, a "college student accused of shoving a pumpkin pie into the face of a shopping-mall Santa Claus has been charged with misdemeanor assault.
Clint Westwood, 22, said he "lightly smooshed" the pie into the man's face Wednesday and shouted, "What do you think of that, Santa?"
Westwood, a drama student at the University of Montana, was charged Friday. He said he videotaped the encounter and plans to include the clip in an upcoming film.

He said that after the pie ruckus, he expected to approach Santa for a signature on a film-release form, but police arrived first.
"It's a good thing he didn't wait around, because I think Santa would have laid him out," said Sgt. Travis Welsh of the Missoula Police Department.
Westwood said he and companions had waited for a girl about 15 years old to finish sitting on Santa's lap before the pie hit his face, "but then we just decided it would be funnier if she was still sitting there.""

Who is laughing now?...