Eat a dead fly, ace your algebra test. Just kidding...

"Stephen Zeldag, a student at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, said his Algebra II teacher crushed a fly between his hands during class last month and dared any of his students to eat it.

"He said, 'If anybody eats this fly then I will give them an A on this test,'" Stephen said. He volunteered and swallowed the fly, sealing the deal with a handshake with his teacher.

"I didn't think he was joking at all," he said.

Stephen didn't get an A on his test: He got an F, with a score of nine out of 46...

The principal said he is launching an investigation into the incident."

If this kid lived in Minnesota, he'd be out on the playground with his tongue frozen to the flagpole...

Humorous discussion thread at Reddit.

Addendum: See the comment by the third Anonymous in the Comments section...

Baseball bat manufacturer "failed to warn" the public...

A Montana jury has found the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats to be liable for damages because of an alleged failure to put adequate warnings on the product to notify the public regarding its dangers.

Hillerich and Bradsby has been ordered to pay $850,000 to the family of 18-year-old Brandon Patch. The teenager was killed during a 2003 baseball game after being struck in the head by a batted ball off an aluminum bat while pitching during an American Legion game in Helena, MT.

The Patch family argued aluminum bats are dangerous because they cause the ball to travel faster than those hit off wooden bats. They said Brandon did not have enough time to react after the ball was hit...

The company has issued a response based on logic and sanity:

Our company did nothing wrong. We made a bat in accordance with the rules. That bat was approved for play by baseball's organizing and governing organizations. In fact, the jury found in our favor, that the bat was not defective.

However, the verdict that our company "failed to adequately warn of the dangers of the bat" has left us puzzled. It seems contradictory for the jury to say the bat is not defective but our company failed to warn that it could be dangerous. It appears to be an indictment of the entire sport of baseball. Anyone who has ever played the game, or any sport for that matter, understands there are risks inherent in baseball and the object is to use a bat, whether wood or aluminum, to hit the ball hard. Unfortunately, this verdict seems to be a statement on the society we live in today, that everything must have a warning label...

It's worth noting that one reason Little Leagues switched from wooden bats to aluminum ones was the risks posed by the splinters of broken wooden bats. And what if there had been a warning on the bat - would the kid not have been a pitcher?

Reddit thread here, with about 500 comments.

Photos: screencaps from The Shining.

75% of American youth deemed unfit for military

Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has expressed concern re new statistics released by the Army:

The latest Army statistics show a stunning 75 percent of military-age youth are ineligible to join the military because they are overweight, can't pass entrance exams, have dropped out of high school or had run-ins with the law.

So many young people between the prime recruiting ages of 17 and 24 cannot meet minimum standards that a group of retired military leaders is calling for more investment in early childhood education to combat the insidious effects of junk food and inadequate education...

"If you're overweight, we tell you to come back when you've lost the weight. If you don't score well on the armed forces aptitude test, we suggest you study and take it again," he said.

The cited article emphasizes obesity and physical fitness, but note is taken of the fact that the armed forces have already lowered their standards re mental and behavioral qualifications:

Between 2004 and 2008, the Army more than doubled the number of "conduct" waivers it granted to would-be soldiers with criminal or misdemeanor records. The loosened standards proved necessary in a time of war and amid a booming economy that forced military recruiters to work overtime to fill the ranks.

I can't tell from the article (primary source data not linked) whether the 75% failure rate applies just to those who do apply to enter the armed forces, or whether they feel that 75% of ALL young people would not meet their standards.

In any case, it's food for thought...

Bad captcha

I know captchas are necessary to block bots and automated programs, but sometimes they are almost indecipherable.

The 2009 Weblog Awards have begun

As I noted last week, the nominations process has begun. I would encourage all of you who have blogs to participate. TYWKIWDBI was a nominee last year in the "new blog" category, and it was quite interesting. I also met a number of other bloggers (online) via the contest, and have kept in touch with several via emails during the past year.

There are about 50 categories for awards.

For those who don't have blogs, the Weblog Awards are useful primarily as a source of new blogs to add to one's bookmarks. More about that later, after the nominees have been selected.

Clicking on the banner above will take you to the Weblog Awards homepage, or you can use this link.

Update: TYWKIWDBI has been nominated in three categories -

Best Blog [thanks, Pajama Pundit]
Best Individual Blogger, [thanks, Jeff], and
Best Very Large Blog [thanks, Jay]

If anyone would like to "second the nomination" (which can't hurt as the judges select finalists for the competition), just go to the link, scroll down (if you want to see the others listed) or search the page for "TYWK" and then click on the little green "+" sign. You can click for multiple nominees in each category.

"They Googled me online..."

NYT reported David Rohde was held captive by the Taliban for seven months. Here he talks with Charlie Rose about his experience, his treatment there, and his views on "why they hate us."

Very interesting.

Addendum: pom has located the series of articles written by Rohde for the New York Times. The beginning of the first article is at this link.

Gondolas at Mt. Hua in China

Get a firm hold on your chair, then click to enlarge. Notice the long distance between supporting towers, imagine a windy day...

Via Reddit, where there is a discussion thread.

If you have acrophobia and the gondolas scare you, you can always walk up on the boardwalk, where there are nice chains to hold on to...