Tidbits

Cutting The Hedge with Your Lawnmower - How To Video Goes Viral

2017-07-24T15:11:00.001-07:00

Cutting a hedge can be a pain in the butt, especially if the hedge is just a bit too tall for you. Going up and down a step ladder, trying to level that top evenly is hard work and getting a hedge cutter with elongated shaft and swivel head may lead to a second mortgage on the house.
Canadian, Glen Onyschuk had a brilliant idea. Owning a tractor with a front-loader, he imagined that he could fasten his lawnmower to the loader, lift it and easily cut that top evenly. Daughter Britiney and her mom first thought dad was losing it:

Daddy Glen tried to finish the job before the ladies of the house would come back but to no avail. Daughter Britiney shot a little video and put it up on Facebook to share with her friends. Well, friends were the intention, the video went viral and was seen (by now) over 35 million times around the world and shared by over half a million people. Britiney even had to disable her friend request button, as she was asked from over 600 people around the world to befriend her. The small town of Westlock with its around 5000 inhabitants made central Alberta famous, Glen got his own hashtag #albertlawnmowerman and everybody else, is like "why didn't I think of that?"

Praying Mantises Feed On Bird Brains

2017-07-08T13:22:00.002-07:00

Praying Mantises or Gottesanebeterinnen in German (literally praying to God) always had this cool aura with their forelegs crossed as it looked as they would be praying. No wonder earlier civilizations looked upon them as having super-powers. In China, they are considered good luck and are shared as gifts.
Even though the larger female was often portraited as a "femme fatale" because they may devour its male counterpart during or after the mating part, they were looked upon as beneficial as they would eat other insects. But now a new study by the University of Basel suggests that the adored Mantis, who is even held as a pet, can be a blood-thirsty killer and can even kill and devour small birds.

Mantis eating a Hummingbird, Colorado, USA (Tom Vaughan via Uni Basel)

It was known that Mantises occasionally went after small vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, salamanders or snakes.

The new study by lead zoologist Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel, as well as Mike Maxwell (National University, La Jolla, California) and James Van Remsen (Louisiana State University) now shows in their findings that praying mantises not just regionally, but all over the world kill and eat small birds and they were able to document this in 147 cases in 13 different countries on all continents but Antarctica.

“The fact that eating of birds is so widespread in praying mantises, both taxonomically as well as geographically speaking, is a spectacular discovery,"

commented Martin Nyffeler from the University of Basel.

Mantises, instead of praying are preying in bird feeders and flowerbeds waiting for their victims, hummingbirds being a favorite, but other small birds being on the menu as well.

Due to the belief that mantises are mostly eating insects, several alien species of large mantises (e.g., Mantis religiosa and Tenodera sinensis) were released across North America as biological pest control agents. These imported species now constitute a new potential threat to hummingbirds and small passerine birds. But it's not just the released mantises that can be a threat, there are also large native mantises that can prey on birds.

“Our study shows the threat mantises pose to some bird populations. Thus, great caution is advised when releasing mantises for pest control”,

said Nyffeler.

And I guess you don't want your children to have Praying Mantises as pets anymore, as they can become preying killers.

Sources: Mantis Photo by amu communications photo, Uni Basel (text & photo),

Buffer Promotes Your Blogs

2017-02-13T19:40:00.001-08:00

We all know the feeling - we took the best pictures, wrote the best article, shared it on Social Media and now we are waiting for the readership and the hype to hit home and make us happy. Well it doesn't always happen that easy, sometimes we need to re-promote and re-promote our scribblings again and again, because somehow in the flood of tweets and postings it got all drained out.

If you are using Chrome as your browser, you're in luck, Buffer is a new Chrome extension, that will help you to schedule (or re-schedule) your shares to Social Media. So instead of quitting what you are doing several times a day to promote your Blogger posts, you can easily schedule them. You can even set the time and choose whatever Social Media platform you have connected to Buffer. As I normally share my Blogger articles to all Social Media when I publish the article, several platforms are unfit to be used again and again. Not so Twitter, if done intelligently. Instead of re-tweeting all your articles at once, you can schedule them with Buffer.

After choosing your article and using the share button and choosing the Twitter birdie the screen (above) shows up. If you would like to immediately share that, you just use the blue Tweet button and your article is shared. If you want to schedule it, use the green Buffer button. On top it shows you all the Social Media networks you have connected to Buffer (the example only shows Twitter highlighted, as I have un-defaulted the other networks for this article). You choose your media that goes with the tweet (like my photo of the fencepost) and then you have the option on the bottom right to schedule when you would like to publish your tweet. You will be able to chose date and exact time when your tweet should go live into the Twittersphere.

After setting all the parameters and confirming your tweet a green bar will show you, that your tweet is scheduled. Repeat as often as you want. BTW Buffer also works for your facebook posts or other posts you would like to share.

Photographers know that Instagram can be a pain, as uploads are only possible via your smartphone. Buffer offers a much easier way here too. Hover over any picture and click the blue "Share Image" button on the bottom right of your picture. When the interface shows up, choose the Instagram location, write your text and copy (if you want to) the URL of your Blogger post into the comments.

Instead of scheduling to another time, choose Share Now. You will then receive an immediate push notification on your smartphone, which will ask you to open it in Instagram. You can still crop and use filters like in every other Instagram posting, the caption you wrote is copied into the clipboard. After being done with editing your photo you will be on the Share screen of Instagram. Where it asks you to write your caption for the picture, just touch it for a second or two and you get a "Paste" option, where it shares your caption with the link to your article, it will change it into a buff.ly link but still takes you to the blog. The result in Instagram looks great.

"Greatest Show on Earth" - World's Biggest Circus Calls it Quits

2017-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

After 146 years it's final curtain call for one of the world's best known circuses, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus calls it quits after last shows in Providence (Rhode Island) on May 7th and Uniondale (New York) two weeks later. Owner Kenneth Feld made the announcement to employees on Saturday night (1/14) and posted a message on the circus' website. Several factors led Feld Entertainment, the owner of the traditional company, to make the decision

There were several factors who lead to the demise of circus: "There isn't any one thing," said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment to the Associated Press. "This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family." In his message on the website, he mentioned high operating cost, dwindling spectator numbers, who additionally dropped further after the RBBB decided to phase out their elephants, after being attacked by animal activists for over a decade. The different groups who accused the circus of mistreatment of animals had to finally pay the circus a settlement of over $ 25 million, but the damage was done.

This is really sad news - it's another chapter closing. Even though I never had a chance to see a RBBB show as I grew up in Europe, but for us kids it was always the highlight of the summer, when the circus came into town. After a visit, sometimes even with our school, we talk for days about the clowns, the daredevil acrobats or growling tigers behind the fence.

One of the even sadder things emerging from the different press articles about the curtain call, is that people would call in to see how long the show would last. The circus actually had to drop showtime to just a little bit over two hours and I guess because of missing attention span, it's longest performance number was just 12 minutes long, because today's kids had problems being calmly seated to watch the spectacle.

For a great overview of the history, on how P.T. Barnum became Barnum And Bailey, how Ringling Bros. formed and became dominant on the East Coast, while Barnum & Bailey were on tour in Europe and how they finally merged, visit the very informative Circus and Sideshows website, which has great information.

Sources: AP, www.ringling.com, http://www.circusesandsideshows.com/

Dumb, Dumber... Dumbest?

2017-01-09T21:08:00.002-08:00

Sometimes reading the news, just leaves me shaking my head.
While investigating one story, I stumbled upon two other ones, through the same source, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer - "Crime scene" three times: Columbus, Georgia.

Too Drunk To Go To Jail

A 46 year old Columbus man, James Allen C., was arrested last week, after relieving himself in a local grocery store. Columbus police officer William Ragland told the Ledger-Enquirer that he was called in the middle of the afternoon to check on an intoxicated man at the local Piggly Wiggly. (No pun intended!)

The shirtless man was lying on the floor with his pants below his butt after he had urinated on the floor. After a melee with the suspect and being helped by a soldier from nearby Fort Benning, the police officer was able to arrest the man. Fortunately nobody was injured during the struggle.

“He was so highly intoxicated that the jail refused him,” Ragland told the Ledger-Enquirer and added: “He actually ended up spending several hours in the hospital having to sober up.”

Represented by a public defender, the man plead guilty to disorderly conduct while intoxicated, obstruction and possession of drug paraphernalia. The judge sentenced him to 30 days in Muscogee County Jail, suspended if he pays a fine of $250 on the conduct charge. The other charges were forwarded to a State Court and bond was set at $500 for the other charges.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

You know the saying "cling together, swing together" - well a 22 year old Valdosta, Georgia women, Karima T., may have to swing for a while on her own.

She got arrested early Saturday (1/7) after being left in a stolen car. The driver of the car is still unaccounted for, after he fled on foot leaving his passenger alone and ready to be arrested, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.

The woman was charged with possession of 10 grams of cocaine, 16 pain pills and being in possession of a Taurus firearm during a commission of a crime. Police were quoted in the newspaper as putting the value of the drugs at $1,360

Stupid is: Getting caught with 26 bags of Marijuana

In the last case, the article didn't really elaborate on how things came down, but reading the charges against 38-year old Steven W., it's quite easy to put the puzzle pieces together.

He was arrested Saturday (1/7) afternoon and according to police reports, printed in the Ledger-Enquirer, he "has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Other charges were driving with a suspended license, improper display of a license plate and violating the alcoholic beverage open container law."

The cops either pulled him over, because of his "misplaced" license plate or because they saw him drinking while driving.

According to Georgia law, your license will be suspended for at least six months, if you are charged with a drug offense. so it is possible, he was charged before. As a repeat offender, he may be looking at several years behind bars now.

He got the distribution charge (felony) because he had the 19 grams of marijuana divided into 26 bags. Would he have had the pot in one bag, the distribution charge would likely not have been called. Also with "only" 19 grams, he had below an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana on him, which would have resulted in "only" a misdemeanor charge, even in a second or third case.

Even though the full names of the accused were printed, I abbreviated their last name, according to European standards, reporting about crime. Also all people are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Cover Photo: Tobi Toaster (Creative Commons) Article Photo: Alcatraz Prison Cell by Tim Pearce flickr (Creative Commons), drugpossessionlaws.com

Schwarzenegger Schnitzel selling Tees

2016-05-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Former Mr. Olympia, Conan, Terminator, and Governor of California. who killed the Predator is back. The multi millionaire - estimates range up to $800 millions - has found a rather interesting and let's say it nicely "quirky" way to hawk off T-Shirts with the slogan "Come With Me If You Want To Lift."
Via internet and Twitter and using his pony Whiskey and an unnamed "stunt" dog as models dressed in the brand new shirts, the whole sales pitch seems to be filmed with nothing else than a smart phone.

Whiskey looks good in her #comewithmeifyouwanttolift shirt. The sale ends tomorrow. Get it: https://t.co/BpFyz2zmLG pic.twitter.com/wM1L94An1z
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) May 2, 2016

I don't know who Schwarzy's ad agency is, but I think for a target price of $25 per shirt, he could have come up with some better ways to market his apparel, But the clever business man in a variety of industries, including publishing, financial services, real estate and more, obviously wants to keep the overhead small.

Good thing though: A portion of the proceeds goes to his almost 25 year old foundation "After School All Stars" which provides comprehensive out-of-school time programs to over 70'000 participating students in the Los Angeles school area. So if you want to join the "movement" as the 68 year-old calls it, buy your self a tee here.

And Arnie always had a sense of funny self-deprecation, his user name on Snapchat: ArnoldSchnitzel

Whatever Happened To The Man With The Golden Voice

2012-01-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

Remember the homeless guy with the deep voice who suddenly became an online phenomenon?
It was just a bit over a year (2013) ago, when Ted Williams, a homeless Columbus (Ohio) man with a golden, radio-friendly voice started garnering headlines and became an overnight sensation. A video of his, shot by the local newspaper "The Columbus Dispatch" had over 18 million hits and views, worldwide and was one of the "viral" stories of 2011.

The video propelled the 53-year-old into instant stardom, several job offers and makeover opportunities followed. Williams was living up to then in a tent, had a full rap sheet with arrests for drug abuse, theft and forgery and had even spent some time in prison.
But instant fame didn't come easy, it threw a curve ball at Williams and the recovering alcohol and drug addict entered rehab in South Texas. He quit rehab after two weeks and many wondered what will happen to the "man with the golden voice."
Two staffers of the US cable network Entertainment Television (ET) as well as talk show host Dr. Phil kept on persuading and counseling Ted and after a second stint at a rehab clinic, he became sober.

A year later, he's the voice of the New England Cable News (NECN), made a couple of commercials, is still sober, lives in a spacious house, where the walk-in closet doubles as a recording booth and has a girlfriend named Kathy. ET went and visited with the Man with the Golden Voice to catch up with him after a year.

His incredible story will soon (May 10) also be released in a new book "A Golden Voice: Ted Williams: How Faith, Hard Work, and Humility Brought Me from the Streets to Salvation."

Sources: Columbus Dispatch, Entertainment Television

RIP Bill McKinney - The Mountain Man has died

2011-12-02T19:29:00.001-08:00

He was known for playing crazy villains in several movies, including seven with Clint Eastwood. But Bill McKinney will always be remembered as the Georgia hillbilly who made Ned Beatty “squeal like a pig” in the John Boorman movie "Deliverance."

McKinney’s Facebook page announced his death with a note that he had suffered from esophageal cancer. Bill McKinney was 80 years old.
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (9/12/31) he had a rather unsteady childhood, as he moved with his parents 12 times before joining the Navy when he was 19 during the Korean War. As he told Maxim (see below) he was once thrown into a creek in Georgia, just for being from Tennessee.

During his 4 year tenure in the Navy, part of it on a mine sweeper in Korean waters, he decided to become an actor, if he would survive the war. Supporting himself as an arborist, he attended acting school at the famous Pasadena Playhouse with class mate Dustin Hoffman. After a stint at another famous acting school, the Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio, he made his debut in the B-movie "She Freak" (1967). Staring in TV series like "The Monkees," "I Dream of Jeannie" or as Lobo in "Alias Smith and Jones" kept him busy, but it wasn't until 1972, where he got the attention as a horrendous villain, when he became the Mountain Man in "Deliverance."

Although only credited as the “Mountain Man,” the rape scene with it's legendary saying "Squeal like a pig" cemented the film and McKinney's legacy. Co-star Burt Reynolds later wrote in his autobiography that McKinney was a bit nuts, and probably would have raped Ned Beatty for real. McKinney denied that in his Maxim article, but it seems he did enjoy his infamous minutes of movie history; his official website even carried the web-address www.squeallikeapig.com - (Update 1/13/2013 - website doesn't exist anymore.).

Film critic Leonard Maltin described McKinney in his review of the movie "Deliverance" as, "one of the most terrifying film villains in history." And yes, even more than thirty years later, man magazine Maxim named the two mountain man (the other being Herbert "Cowboy" Coward) as the top movie villains of all time. "Maxim Goes to the Movies."

McKinney in "Any Which Way But Loose"

Other notable directors got interested in McKinney and he normally became the villain or the outlaw - often in westerns - like John Huston's "The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean," Sam Peckinpah's "Junior Bonner," or John Wayne's last film "The Shootist."

In 1974 he was cast as the "crazy driver" in Michael Cimino's "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" along side Clint Eastwood. The collaboration got him into Eastwood's stock company and McKinney would star in seven Eastwood films, most notably as Lefty Lebow in "Bronco Billy" and as Captain "Red Legs" Terrill in "The Outlaw: Josey Wales" upto 1989 "Pink Cadillac" after which Eastwood closed the Malpaso Company.

Terrill in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"

Other notable roles included the shadowy killer, simply credited as the Parallax Assassin in Alan J. Pakula's "The Parrallax View," a State Police Captain in Sylvester Stallone's Rambo in "First Blood," a train engineer in "Back To The Future III," the head coach in "Against All Odds" and as executioner Jack Van Hay in "The Green Mile."

McKinney could also seen in many TV shows, like "Starsky And Hutch," "B.J. And The Bear," "Bret Maverick," "The Yellow Rose," "The Fall Guy," "The A-Team," "Houston Knights," "Baywatch" and "Walker, Texas Ranger" just to name a few.
In the late '90s, McKinney also started singing (his self-released pop/country album "Love Songs From Antri [sic]" could be found and purchased on his website.

Aintry, Georgia was the fictional town, where the river trip in "Deliverance" ended; McKinney also had a great sense of humor, on his facebook page, he listed his personal interests as quote "river boat trips near Aintry, Georgia, Meeting new folks from out of town, hunting (rifle, no crossbows please)"; he was killed by a bow shot by Burt Reynolds in "Deliverance."

The Facebook note about his death also mentioned that he just completed a Dorito's commercial two weeks before his death, that he left behind "several ex-wives" and that he had a finished autobiography looking for publishers.

Swiss Jetman Rossy flies alongside fighter jets

2011-11-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

Swiss Jetman, Yves Rossy has another flight for the aviation history books. This time he synchronized to fly in formation with two Aero L-39C Fighting Jets, from the largest private aerobatics team, both sponsored by watchmaker Breitling. The world's first jet-powered man, jumped off a helicopter, flew some aerobatic figures before joining the two jets. To keep in formation with the Jetman, the two fighter jets had to reduce their speed to 220 km/h (137 mph), close to their stalling speed.
Rosssy is also known for having flown over the English channel, the Grand Canyon and flying a looping around a hot air balloon.

Address Is Approximate

2011-11-26T20:53:00.001-08:00

A toy robot travels to the west coast with the help of "Google Street View"
Tom Jenkins made a short film - "Address is Approximate" about the "Toy Story" like robot who tries to go the west coast. The three minute - inspired - short film uses "Google Street View" as a backdrop. Very cool and will potentially go viral.

For more info and an interview, please visit The Atlantic.