The Countess

I Wonder What PZ Myers Thinks Of This?

Look! It's tentacle sex!

"A MAN whose self-esteem is so low he identifies himself as a beast has admitted to downloading images showing sexual acts with an octopus. Rodney Scott McLagan, 48, of South Arm, was caught with 31,000 images and video files involving sexual acts with children, dogs, ponies, snakes, tigers and an octopus."

That's something you don't see every day.

Excedrin Won't Make A Dent In This

I have had "Puttin' On The Ritz" sung by Peter Boyle and Gene Wilder from "Young Frankenstein" stuck in my head since early this morning. NOTHING will make it go away! I am now listening to the Tomb Raider Anniversary game soundtrack, and I can still hear Boyle shrieking "Puttin' On The Ritz" in the background.

Ever get a song stuck in your head? What was it? Tell me about it in comments.

Marfa Lights

I've known about the Marfa Lights for ages. They're up there with the Brown Mountain lights and the Maco Light. John Janks has written about the Marfa Lights, and I've linked to his stuff before. Now, he and his wife have recreated the Marfa Lights in their hallway. It's an awesome YouTube video.

Here it is if you want to see for yourself. John's a cool guy. I'm happy to send people his way.

Below is the YouTube embed. The Count recently upgraded my laptop, so now I can view YouTube. I couldn't with OS 9. I now have OS X. Here's hoping the embed works.

We Don't Need No Steenking Sponges!

Note to anyone who decides to microwave your kitchen sponges to kill germs on them: make sure they are wet first. Scientist experimented found that you can disinfect kitchen sponges if you place them in the microwave for two minutes at high power. More than a few people tried this experiment, only to see their sponges catch on fire.

They are supposed to be wet when you put them in the microwave.

One guy wrote to a news organization to say that not only did his sponge catch on fire, it put out a lot of smoke and made the house smell like a burned tire for several hours, even with the windows open.

I just wanted to make sure that if anyone wants to disinfect their kitchen sponges in the microwave, make sure the sponges are wet. Two minutes at high power in the microwave should do it. Be careful pulling the sponge out of the microwave, because it will be hot.

Is This A Rabbit Or Half A Pair Of Bedroom Slippers?

This rabbit looks like my cat Beowulf. Note the resemblance.

This is Beowulf:

This is an Angora rabbit:

Either there is some rabbit in my cat, or there is some cat in that rabbit. Either way, they are both very fuzzy.

Sun Sign Affects Your Driving Record?

The only reason I'm linking to this "study" is because I am the worst sign for traffic tickets. I'm a Pisces.

Apparently, your sun sign determines your penchant for getting traffic tickets and car crashes. I'm at the top of the list for traffic tickets. I have had only two tickets in my entire life, and no other tickets. Overall, for tickets and accident, Pisces comes in fourth. Libra comes in first. My rising sign is Libra. I'm doomed. Maybe I should look out for bridges falling on me or something.

Flesh-Eating Fish As Part Of A Beauty Regime?

I knew that headline would grabyou.

Apparently, using tiny, flesh-eating fish are hot in beauty salons in Singapore. You soak your feet in a bath filled with the fish. The fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. Then, you get your pedicure.

I bet it tickles.

Using flesh-eating fish in this manner is also done in Japan and China.

If I were able to go to Japan for this year's WorldCon, guess what I would do?

More Oddball Judge News

Guy tries to get past court house security with a bar-be-que fork, but the fork is confiscated. However, the knife he had in his sock wasn't confiscated. He allegedly threw the knife at a judge, and missed. The knife didn't hit anyone.

It was interesting enough to me that he tried to get a bar-be-que knife past security. But he allegedly threw a knife at a judge!

I'm getting the impression that being a judge is a dangerous job. Too many wackos want to take them out.

Cell Phone Rage In The Courtroom

Here are some more crazy judge antics, but of a different sort.

I can understand why this judge got so pissed about a cell phone going off during a case that he grabbed the phone from the elderly woman, walked to the door, opened it, and tossed the phone down the hall.

I had no idea that cell phones were such a problem in court houses. In one case described in the article, the defendant's cell phone went off while he was testifying.

Plus there are those annoying ring tones you have to listen to when the cell phone rings.

I won't talk on my phone when I'm driving. I can't do it. It's like walking and chewing gum to me. If I get a phone call while in traffic, I'll wait until I get to my destination, or I'll pull off to the shoulder, and then return the call. It's not illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving in Massachusetts. I think it's illegal in New York, but I'm not certain. I see people weaving all over the road or driving too slowly while they're gabbing away on their cell phones. I have one message for them:

Turn off the !@#$% cell phone, and drive your %$#@! car!!!

I'm sure lots of other people feel the same way.

Perfect For Summer: Why To Avoid Tanning Beds

A woman baked for nearly three hours in a faulty sun bed. She suffered burns over 65% of her body.

I'm glad I am not a sun worshipper. I prefer to tan by the glow of my computer's light. Okay, so I have a healthy cathode ray tube tan. At least I don't have many wrinkles.