Want Lots of Kids? Marry Your Cousin.

Scientists in Iceland have discovered that the secret to high fertility levels may lie in family genes. Biologically speaking, partnering with someone who is a second, third or in some cases first cousin can lead to a higher birth rate. According to scientist Kari Stefansson of the University of Iceland, a species is "a group of individuals who are closely enough related to each other to be able to have offspring". By that definition, we have to be related to have kids, albeit only distantly. Staying closer, it seems, improves the odds for fertility.
Further probing into the article reveals that procreating with a cousin can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the mother and the fetus have a better chance of genetic compatibility, reducing the risk of Rh incompatibility, a condition that is deadly to a fetus. On the flip-side, the chances for the child inheriting genetic defects is higher, since both parents may posses the genetic markers for the same defect.

As the article points out, marrying a cousin can be marred by social norms. Although science suggests that it can be a healthy practice, only 26 states allow it. What I've never understood is why, when modern science tells us we may be wrong on certain notions, we insist on sticking to our archaic values.

Scientists are suggesting we start marrying our siblings, although step-siblings have been known to marry before. Too often are we afraid to accept new ideas. Why does marrying a cousin even sound like its taboo? Because our forefathers said it was? Society is far to willing to accept something on blind faith. In order to evolve as a species, we have to open our minds to new ideas. No matter how crazy they sound.

Big Bird Stops Traffic

In the rural area of Appling, Georgia, motorists travelling down Interstate 20 experienced an unexpected delay yesterday morning. A runaway emu wound up in the middle of the highway, bringing traffic to a near stand still. Animal control officers were able to wrangle the large, flightless bird after surronding it inside the median.
While the story itself is only mildly entertaining, there's some interesting tibits located in the article itself that makes it truly interesting. The website I pulled this from doesn't just report on the events on I-20. It contains links with information on how to start your own emu farm, and even tells you how to adopt the emu mentioned in the story.
This report has made me realize just how hungry for information the internet has made us. When this kind of research is availible right at your fingertips, it's almost impossible not to be a little intrigued. I actually found myself curious as to how I would start my own emu farm. Not because it's something I actually want to do, but because the information was so easily accessible. If I had read this in a newspaper, and the article mentioned the title of a book on how to start an emu farm, odds are I wouldn't be rushing to the nearest library right now. But how could I resist when it was already in front of me?

Mini Musing: Habla Espanol?

Are you morally outraged by the prospect of having to learn Spanish? A group of parents in the town of Grapevine, Texas are. According to Leigh Allison, one of the more outspoken parents, the mandatory Spanish classes at Timberline Elementary School only exist to make life easier for children of Hispanic immigrants.
Says Allison, "We're not going to turn America into a bilingual country to accommodate (immigrants)".
Personally, I think these people need to take one massive chill pill. Learning a second language is a great way for children to be more educated about the world around us. Public schools aren't on some weird vendetta to transform America into a bilingual country. Granted, if your going to require a foreign language class, offer some variety. Add French, or maybe even German to the mix. Maybe then parents wouldn't be so uptight.

Man Threatens Cops With TV Remote

Reuters.com reported today on the wild antics of a drunken Austrailian man who threatened to detonate high explosives with a television remote control. According to the report, Geoffrey Martin Fryatt, 57, was threatening his neighbors at the Fairways Golf and Lifestyle Retreat in Brisbane with a knife, runing around in a drunken rage. When the cops arrived, Fryatt pulled out his T.V. remote souting, "One push of the button will blow up half of Brisbane!". The article doesn't mention how long the apparent standoff lasted, but it ended when police neutralized Fryatt in a hail of rubber bullets.
Apparently, Fryatt was upset from losing his life's savings to a crooked finance broker. While I can understand that losing all that money would certainly make for a bad day, this story is a prime example why alcohol is a bad solution to your problems.
Let's face it, alcohol is a drug. It may be a legal one, but its a drug nonetheless. I'll be the first to admit it, alcohol can make you feel good. At the same time, it can make you feel absolutely terrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should abolish alcohol. A few beers now and again never hurt anyone. I'm simply remarking how people tend to turn to it at the wrong time.
Alcohol is great for parties. It enhances the "feelin' good" mood, as I like to call it. But if you're already depressed, than that is the emotion its going to enhance. As this story shows, alcohol enhanced depression can lead to some incredibly stupid behavior.

Robot Pumps Gas

FOX News.com reported today on a robot controlled gas pump that is now operational in the Netherlands. The TankPitstop, as it is called, will actually unscrew your gas cap, insert a feul nozzle, and fill your gas tank, completely automatically. Minister of Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven, the TankPitstop's first customer, called it a "truly...spectacular innovation".
It works by scanning vechicles with an external camera as they pull up, than accesses an online database to determine the make and model. Using this information, it pumps your gas without requiring any outside assistance.
While Mrs. van der Hoeven might enjoy this technological marvel, I think this is one of the most ridiculously overcomplicated devices ever created. Using a robot to pump gas is like using a Rube Golberg machine to open your front door. Sure, it may be fun at first, but how hard is it really to get up and do it yourself? Even using attendants seems more efficient than this machine. Which is really why this machine exists in the first place. Not to boost efficiency, but to cut labor costs.
All any business owner cares about anymore is improving their bottom line. For some reason they seem to think that reducing their work force is the best way to do that. What flabberghasts me is that coporate executives don't realize just how backwards that logic is. When your business relies on customer service to boost revenue, the worst thing you can do is sell your staff short. Luckily, at $100,000 a pop, the TankPitstop doesn't look like it'll be threatening any attendants jobs any time soon.

Unborn Twins Kick out Cancer; Save Mom

U.K. resident Michelle Stepney has a reason to call her twin girls a blessing. They quite literally saved her life while still in the womb. According to newsite Daily Mail, Alice and Harriet Stepney actually kicked loose a tumor that had formed inside their mom's cervix. Had they not, it is likely Stepney's doctors would've missed the tumor entirely.
When the tumor was discovered during a routine checkup, doctors' originally feared that Stepney had miscarried. After further testing, they found that Michelle's twins were still alive and that the mass was cervical cancer. Her doctors recommended immediate surgery to remove the cancer, which was the only way to guarantee Stepney would surivive. It would, however, result in the death of her unborn children. She refused surgery outright, boldly risking her own life to sa ve her twins.
This kind of selflesness is one seen far too rarely. Stepney could've easily had the surgery, guaranteeing her survival and granting her another chance to bear children. But she didn't. Not accepting the surgery was nearly suicide, but as long as her twins survived, Stepney didn't care what happened to her.
Michelle was placed on a limited chemo treatment that didn't affect her babies health, with the hopes that it could prevent the cancer from spreading. After sucessfully giving birth to Alice and Harriet, Stepney received a full hysterectomy to remove the tumor. Her twins are now a year old and Stepney herself is cancer free.

Sleeping Officers Gaurd National Monuments

The Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General recently released a report grading the security at four U.S. National Monuments, reports ABC News. The report documents the Interior Inspector General (IG) Earl Devaney's visits to the Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Apparantley he was shocked by what he found.
According to NBC, Devaney walked arounnd the Statue of Liberty for "several hours" before finding any uniformed personnel. On top of that, only two people were assigned to watch over 110 securtiy monitors conected to cameras oerlooking the entire area. Said one of the managers, "(W)e are not covering all the posts....it's smoke and mirrors."
While in Washington, D.C., the Interior IG observed many security guards who were preoccupied with newspapers or cell phones, and found at least one patrolman asleep in his car.
In response to the report, Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford pointed out that the monuments are "still standing".
What I'm having trouble digesting is the fact that this report seems to be concerned with the safety of the monuments themselves, rather than the safety of the people visiting them. I would like to think that our own government would be more concerned with the safety of our citizens, but Devaney seems to only be concerned with some really old buildings. I agree that the security at these "tourists traps" is abysmall, but only because of what it means to potential victims of the criminally minded.
I could care less if the giant phallus we call the Washington Monument toppled over tommorow. What I would care about is if it took innocent lives with it. Structures can be rebuilt. The interior IG needs to wake up and realize that the secureness of national monuments is not what's at stake here.

Mobile Musing: The Other Half

So it's Sturday afternoon and I actually have some free time on my hands. How do I spend it? By keeping my wife happy, of course.
Window shopping at local department stores may not be a guy's favorite activity; I'll be the first to admit it's extremely boring. But I'll be damned if it doesn't put a huge smile on my wife's face everytime.
Too often I think we tend to forget about the other people in our lives. Sure, we may hate browsing the latest fashions, but how does she feel when we collapse on the couch to watch the game? Relationships are a huge game of give and take; winning requires finding the perfect balance. Take too much and you'll soon be playing alone.

Mini Musing: Blogging on the go

Checking out mobile blogging for the first time. It's amazing just how far technology has come in my own lifetime. Nice to know that no matter where you are, your never out of touch. On the other hand, we do tend to get carried away. Having so much information availible at a moments notice can be overwhelming. It's important to remember that it's OK to disconnect every once in a while.

Old Golfer Makes Luckiest Shot Ever

According to the St. Petersburg Times, a 92 year old golfer named Leo E. Fiyalko just made his first hole-in-one after playing the sport for over 60 years, but that's not what makes this newsworthy. Fiyalko is legally blind thanks to a condition known as macular degeneration. Says the article,"(Fiyalko) now has no vision in his left eye and can use only his peripheral vision in his right eye."

Some naysayers may like to point out that Fiyalko does tee off from the second closest tee to the hole, and it was only a par 3. Now, I'm not too shabby a golfer myself, having started playing casually at 15, than taking professional lessons for 3 years. I have twenty-twenty vision, and I'm lucky if I make it on the green in one shot. Sure, he may have gotten lucky, but consider the fact that he's even able to find the green, let alone get his ball onto it. And he's legally blind!

Fiyalko, on the other hand, doesn't see the big deal, and actually finds all the attention he's been getting a little embarassing. All I can say is, my hat's off to you sir. I can only hope to play half as well as you can if and when I turn 92.

Vending Machine Dispenses Marijuana

Drugs keep getting more accesible, it seems. Las Angeles local Vincent Mehdizadeh has unveiled his latest creation, a large refrigerator-sized box that dispenses medical marijuana to anyone carrying an approved user's card. According to the Associated Press, anyone licesened in the state of California can prepay for their pot online, than take their card to any one of three vending machines and recieve their drugs.

Says Mehdizadeh, "convenient access, lower prices, safety, (and) anonymity" are just a few of the machines' benefits.

The machines are armored, and potential customers must belong to a registered database and provide fingerprint identification at the time of pickup.

Personally, I'm not too firm a believer in the benefits of medical marijuana. It all seems to me like people use their "conditions" as an excuse to get high without having to worry about jailtime. Interestingly enough, California state laws that allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes are directly at odds with federal laws that prohibit its use period.

Many proponents for the legalization of marijuana believe that its a harmless drug, but this is simply not true. Marijuana smokers, on average, inhale about three to five times more tar than tobacco smokers, putting them at serious risk for lung cancer, among other respritory diseases. Not to mention the added detrement of THC, the chemical in pot that allows for the feeling of euphoria, or "high". Sure, it may feel good, but prolonged usage can destroy the brain cells used to store memory.

When last I checked, "medicine" isn't supposed to make you worse.