The off topic thread where we CAN go off topic ..lol

[moonglow]

Ok I think some forum of this has been played before on here but what the hay I am starting a new one in hopes of giving the poor overworked mods a break since we all seem to be SO good at 'going off topic'..and not 'staying on topic'. So here is your big chance to actually go off topic and not have a mod tell you to get back on topic...maybe this will have the side benefits of those posting on other threads to actually help them stay ON topic...like myself...

Ok the rule is simple enough..I will start a topic and we can and should discuss the topic at hand for at least a page or two...but no more! Someone needs to derail the thread by 'going off topic'.... Then we talk about that for a bit then someone else 'goes off topic' and so on ...

I don't want the topic changed in each post...that gets too weird and doesn't make sense...we need to do it similar to what we actually do on normal threads on the board...gradually get off topic...lol. any questions just post...it won't derail the thread too much...

Ok the topic (for now) is weird news stories...

Boy Hit by Meteorite Traveling at 30,000 MPH

A teenager was hit by a meteorite travelling at 30,000mph - and lived to tell.

Gerrit Blank was on his way to school when he saw a massive fireball heading straight towards him from the sky.

The white-hot meteorite bounced off the schoolboy's hand and hit the ground so hard it left a foot-long crater in the tarmac - as well as a three-inch scar on his hand.

Gerrit, 14, said: "At first I just saw a large ball of light and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand.

"Then, a split second after that, there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder."

"The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself in the road."

(other news stories reported the meteorite was pea sized)...

At least that is how they started out reporting it this morning..now it seems to have grown in size.. kind of like some fish stories I have heard before...

[Prufrock]

Actually, sister, I saw that story, and thought, "Wow! Talk about the Lord trying to get somebody's attention!"

Here's a strange, and yet hauntingly beautiful, item:

Fox steals more than 100 shoes

BERLIN (Reuters) - A fox has been unmasked as the mystery thief of more than 100 shoes in the small western German town of Foehren, authorities said Friday.
A forest worker stumbled upon shoes strewn near the fox's den and found a trove of footwear down the hole which had recently been stolen overnight from outside locals' front doors.

"There was everything from ladies' shoes to trainers," said a local police spokesman. "We've found between 110 and 120 so far. It seems a vixen stole them for her cubs to play with."

Although many were missing laces, the shoes were in good condition and their owners were delighted to reclaim them, he said, adding that no reprisals were planned against the culprit.


http://www.reuters.com/article/oddly...rpc=22&sp=true

[moonglow]

lol...and here I thought Fox's only worked hen houses...

That reminds me of the story here awhile back of a German Shepard running away from home to walk a mile or more to the local store to help himself to a big juicy dog bone. They caught him on tape too! Eventually the owners saw the story and took the dog back to the store and paid for it...um, well they paid for it, not the dog.... The store had automatic doors so the dog had no problems getting in or leaving with the store manager hot on his tail...(literally..haha).

[IMINXTC]

I'm willing to bet that pea-sized meteorite is worth some E-bucks

Could maybe by some new shoes???

Okay, I'm gone...

[Prufrock]

I'm willing to be that pea-sized meteorite is worth some E-bucks

Could maybe by some new shoes???

Okay, I'm gone...

That was unworthy of you, brother.

This one is horrible, just horrible....

Ukuleles to play Beethoven at the "proms"

LONDON (Reuters) - The unlikely sound of ukuleles will take over one of Britain's largest classical musical festivals this summer, with an orchestra of the mini guitars performing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in a play-along special.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (UOGB), sporting tuxedos and brandishing "bonsai guitars," will perform on a stage usually reserved for the world's greatest symphony musicians.

They are calling on other 'uke' players to come to the concert and play along in a performance likely to be more reminiscent of George Formby than Beethoven.

The audience can look forward to "an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles and singing (and a bit of whistling)," the UOGB said on its website.

The performance on August 18 will be part of the BBC proms season at the Royal Albert Hall.



http://www.reuters.com/article/oddly...rpc=22&sp=true

[slightlypuzzled]

Haaaa Haaa...the mullet is back:

http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/kristen-...mullet/2976?nc

Though not as good as my all time favorite:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...=3&oq=Joe+Dirt

I think it is great, unfortunately, I don't have enough 'do on top for a mullet, let alone for a buzz.....though it is good to see I have a lot of company:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...2&aq=1&oq=bald

[tango]

The postman used to be afraid of being bitten by dogs. Not any more, this one has a new nemesis:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/8098004.stm

[moonglow]

The postman used to be afraid of being bitten by dogs. Not any more, this one has a new nemesis:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/8098004.stm

Poor mailman..get bitten by a snake...at least he wasn't chased down the road by it...

slightlypuzzled Haaaa Haaa...the mullet is back:

mullets are GOOD...lol...


Ukuleles to play Beethoven at the "proms"...now that would be really weird....



Monterey Bay Aquarium returns rare shark to the wild
In a rare catch-and-release, the Monterey Bay Aquarium let go a deep-water prickly shark the second one ever put on display ' Wednesday.


After months of stalking and hunting the elusive animal, scientists pulled their catch in from off Moss Landing on Tuesday, aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson said.

But the shark proved too much to handle.

Prickly sharks cruise the ocean at depths of about 3,000 feet. To survive at that level, the species has developed fatty deposits and livers. The sharks can continue to swim in shallower waters, as when they follow food-rich currents out of the ocean canyon into the waters near Moss Landing. But the even more shallow waters of the aquarium proved too much.

There, the shark kept popping up in the water and turning onto its stomach, where it began to lounge in a comalike state until staff flipped it over.

"It was like a cork in the water," Peterson said. Officials decided for the health of the animal to return to the wild.

Note to all captured zoo animals: if you want out, play dead...

[Drums4Him]

Seagull shoplifts bag of chips from store...check it out...He shares the booty with his fellow feathered friends


http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp

[moonglow]

Seagull shoplifts bag of chips from store...check it out...He shares the booty with his fellow feathered friends


http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/seagull.asp

See I KNEW Doritos were addicting.. My son will go through one bag in two days if I let him...this is why I rarely buy any...

[Drums4Him]

This poor little cub has a bird feeder stuck on his head





http://www.comcast.net/video/bear-cu...ast/949720224/

[moonglow]

This poor little cub has a bird feeder stuck on his head





http://www.comcast.net/video/bear-cu...ast/949720224/

Aww I couldn't get it to play for me..

Here is one...this couple couldn't figure out why their water bill was so high...until they finally caught their cat doing this..

Gizmo Flushes

[Vhayes]

I had a cat many years ago that used the toilet but we could never teach him to flush.

[Prufrock]

I have had many noble cats over the years.

Currently, I am enjoying the company of a young cat named Watson. He was one of a group of feral cats who became rather less feral as I fed them regularly, and eventually captured and had them neutered; but, although they still hang around outside, sullen and indifferent to everything but the food I occasionally give them, Watson has moved indoors, and now has become a good companion. However, he's still quite young: less than a year old. His character has not been proven yet.

Another great cat was the late Elvis, who resembled a Maine Coon cat, but was not. Elvis was bright and thoughtful, and a comfort to me when I needed comfort. Alas, he was actually murdered by a much larger cat, a feral cat (this was years ago, and in another town). Elvis left the building in a haze of blood and flying fur, but he was a fine friend.

And time would fail me to tell of Gus, selfless Gus, a yellow tabby who, when my first child was born, actually would run to the nursery door and stand guard whenever someone knocked at the front door. Cats are alleged to harbor jealousy toward new babies, but Gus was my son's furry little protector.

And what of Judah, the greatest of them all, who provided friendship, warmth, and many interesting conversation before finally succumbing to feline immune deficiency syndrome? I held Judah's paw as the vet put him down, and cried like a baby. I was 45 years old, yet the vet understood completely.

Yes, I have known many noble kitties, and I expect that others in this forum have their own stories to tell....

[moonglow]

I have had many noble cats over the years.

Currently, I am enjoying the company of a young cat named Watson. He was one of a group of feral cats who became rather less feral as I fed them regularly, and eventually captured and had them neutered; but, although they still hang around outside, sullen and indifferent to everything but the food I occasionally give them, Watson has moved indoors, and now has become a good companion. However, he's still quite young: less than a year old. His character has not been proven yet.

Another great cat was the late Elvis, who resembled a Maine Coon cat, but was not. Elvis was bright and thoughtful, and a comfort to me when I needed comfort. Alas, he was actually murdered by a much larger cat, a feral cat (this was years ago, and in another town). Elvis left the building in a haze of blood and flying fur, but he was a fine friend.

And time would fail me to tell of Gus, selfless Gus, a yellow tabby who, when my first child was born, actually would run to the nursery door and stand guard whenever someone knocked at the front door. Cats are alleged to harbor jealousy toward new babies, but Gus was my son's furry little protector.

And what of Judah, the greatest of them all, who provided friendship, warmth, and many interesting conversation before finally succumbing to feline immune deficiency syndrome? I held Judah's paw as the vet put him down, and cried like a baby. I was 45 years old, yet the vet understood completely.

Yes, I have known many noble kitties, and I expect that others in this forum have their own stories to tell....

Well Prufrock..you have officially gotten this thread off topic...

yea!!

Good job.

This is the only thread anyone will ever see on the board where people are rewarded for going off topic...

So now the topic is cats! Oh boy can I tell some tails on that subject...

All my cats are rescued cats that probably wouldn't be alive today if God hadn't put me in the right place at the right time. Many years ago when my son was just a preschooler I was in the local Pet Store and over heard the clerk talking to someone on the phone...she was telling the person at the other end they had no one to go out and get these kittens this lady found...I asked to talk to the lady on the phone. I got her address and said I would come out and see what was going on. So I drove out to the country and this lady had saved three tiny kittens. Being the country there was no leash law and she said a neighbor let their dogs out in the evenings to run loose and these dogs killed the momma cats of two different litters. She only found one from one litter and two from the other litter. The older single one was weaned already and wild. The other two weren't weaned yet.

So I took them home and got some kitten milk from the pet store and hand fed the two younger ones. Nate, my son, even helped too. I eventually found a home for one but was unable to ever find a home for the older single one..people were turned off I think by his wildest. We still have him, his name is AJ. After all these years he is still pretty shy of people but doing better...at least he lets my mom pet him when she comes over. AJ is obessed with food and very overweight inspite of my effort of having him in a diet. He is also on special food which is very high in protein for bladder problems...the food though sure doesn't help his weight problem... Anyway food dropped on the floor AJ eats! He will even steal Buster's dog food...

The other cat was Precious. She got her name because she looked just like the stuffed animal I wanted when I was a little girl and my dad said no cause it cost too much....(yea I was so deprived..lol).

She looked like a Himalayan cat but without the long hair. The same soft coloring. She had beautiful blue eyes. She was very small for a cat too and always thin. So when she got sick she didn't really have any fat too lose..not much anyway. She got feline pancreatitis..a terrible disease. I spend more money that I should have trying to get her well and for awhile it seemed to help a little but then she went back to not eating. She started loosing muscle and was skin and bone and I couldn't bear to see her suffering anymore. So I was with her too with my hand on her when the vet gave her the shot..and I swear I felt her purring...just for a moment. The vet said that was impossible..but I don't think so. I think she was glad to be released from the pain...

Meanwhile before we lost her, I saved another kitten...Velcro who is currently really annoying me digging at the furniture again! He wants out badly but I won't let him out cause there are too many baby bunnies out there right now he can find and kill and I can't stand that! Anyway...before when he was tiny and starving and running in traffic I did feel sorry for him... He ran into a car sales lot and I drove in and got out of my car and laid on my back on the ground trying to pry him out from the undercarriage of a truck! With him hissing at me the whole time. Once I finally got him out and home to feed him canned dog food....lol...it was all I had he could eat at the time....he clung to me and my son so hard for months, we had to pry him off of us like ..well...Velcro...so that is how he got his name...

And I have a dog too, Buster...another abandoned pet! I am such a sucker for abandoned animals.... Buster's job is to bark when someone rings the doorbell or knocks...(oh I gotta tell you a funny story) Nate and I would trick Buster into barking by simply yelling 'Come in!'...he would think someone was at the door and bark... And his other job is to howl when the phone rings...which is great if I am outside..then I know the phone is ringing. Inside though its not very pleasant...

His last job is to stare at the two cats when they are having a staring contest ...ha. So whoever raises their paw to hit the other first, Buster chases...hahahaha.