Jan 26
Playing music is supposed to be fun! Remember? Sometimes electronic instruments we choose to play are so complicated that using them is a chore, or at least requires a ton of practice. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Jan 26
Lower Manhattan of the 1880s was a wonderland of futuristic technology and engineering: The city’s first cable car arced over the harbor. A spindly new steel bridge was forming to connect Williamsburg to the city. And on the Lower East Side, Edison was tearing up the streets to build the first permanent power station in the world.
Jan 26
In his new book Illuminating Disease, chemist Marc Zimmer explains how fluorescent proteins have changed science. Taken from glowing jellyfish, these proteins are now one of the most important tools in medicine, used in everything from brain mapping to disease research. We’ve got an excerpt from his book.
Jan 26
As a winter storm starts to drop several inches of snow on the northeast United States, Amazon’s advising Prime Now customers in New York City not to rely on its one-hour deliveries. The service started dropping off orders around Manhattan in mid-Dec…
Jan 26
With all the CES hype earlier this month, one company did a great job at quietly wowing us. Sony brought forth some great new imaging devices, as well as a grown-up version of their Smartwatch. SmartEyeglass might be the consumer heads-up wearable we actually want, too. We dismissed mobile from them at CES, as we — along with just about everyone … Continue reading
Jan 26
While Google hasn’t said anything about a supposed WiFi and Cellular service as of yet, rumors surrounding such a move have been popping up for years. Today we’ve seen word of Google dealing with both Sprint and T-Mobile USA to create a wireless hot-spot system that’d handle Google’s calls, data, and text messaging. This rumor pops up right alongside the … Continue reading
Jan 26
Some people like their beer really hoppy.
There is no denying rabbits are awesome, (and if there is, take it somewhere else, people!) but one man has miraculously found a way to make an already fantastic creature even better. That’s right, he trained his girlfriend’s pet rabbit to deliver beer.
The Reddit user who posted the adorable video says he built the beer cart himself. He also writes that the trick to making the bunny, whose name is Wallace, push it is “a small piece of fruit” at the top of the cart.
By the way, even apart from his booze-delivering skills, Wallace the rabbit rules. His other tricks involve springing out of a box to munch on a carrot and hangin’ in a cute rabbit fortress.
@media only screen and (min-width : 500px) {.ethanmobile { display: none; }}
Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author
Jan 26
Mississippi state lawmakers have introduced a first-of-its-kind bill that would, in part, allow police officers, without a warrant, to enter any home where they believe a pit bull or other “dangerous dog” might be present.
In addition, under House Bill 126, police may kill the animals if two of the following three factors apply:
- The dogs are “not under proper restraint when on the premises of its owner.”
- They aren’t wearing vaccination tags on their necks.
- They are still running around after “attempts to peacefully capture the dog have been made and proven unsuccessful.”
The measure, also known as the Mississippi Regulation of Dangerous Dogs Act, is meant to “create civil and criminal penalties for failing to keep dangerous dogs securely confined and under restraint, and for failing to meet certain requirements designed to protect the public.”
If the bill — introduced Jan. 19 and sponsored by four Republican lawmakers — becomes law, Mississippi would be alone in having this kind of state-wide discriminatory legislation specifically calling out pit bulls.
“This bill would make Mississippi the only state in the nation with a statewide policy discriminating against a specific dog breed, and the impact on local communities, animal shelters, and law enforcement would be disastrous,” says Chloe Waterman, senior manager of state legislative strategy for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “Dogs permitted by their owners to run loose, and dogs who attack people or other animals, pose a serious problem to public safety. But breed-specific dangerous dog laws are ineffective, inhumane and costly.”
Indeed, jurisdictions across the country have begun scrapping anti-pit laws and regulations, and on Jan. 1, Utah became the 19th state to get rid of breed-specific legislation altogether.
Of course, H.B. 1261 raises a slew of concerns on its own, especially the issue of warrantless searches and seizures.
“The fourth amendment clearly protects people from such actions,” observes Kris Diaz, executive director of a group that advocates for breed-neutral legislation, who called attention to the Mississippi bill on her blog. “This bill effectively removes any protections people have from unreasonable search and seizure, and opens the door to using a dangerous dog claim as a way to scrutinize people for things they couldn’t otherwise get a warrant for.”
University of Florida law professor Darren Hutchinson agrees.
“Anything that tries to eliminate the need for a warrant to enter into a home raises huge fourth amendment concerns,” he says.
Echoing those statements, Aimee Shaw, founder of Mississippi-based Shaw Pit Bull Rescue, says the bill doesn’t even “address the bigger issue.”
“We need specific laws that issue stiffer fines and punishment for animal abuse, neglect and dog fighting,” she says. “The costs associated with enforcing H.B. 1261 could be better utilized in promoting spay/neuter, and training police officers in dog body language to prevent the needless killing of family dogs. Education is the key, not discrimination.”
She’s also worried that passage of the bill would make euthanasia rates “go through the roof.”
“There are so many breeds that are mistaken for pit bulls that would be euthanized, as well — labs, boxers, hounds, the list goes on,” she says.
The bill in part defines a “dangerous dog” as a pit bull, but that definition is also problematic.
Under H.B. 1261, a pit bull is in “a class of dogs that specifically includes the breeds of American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American bulldog, and any other pure bred or mixed breed dog that is a combination of these dog breeds.”
“This would mean that if a dog was 1 percent pit bull, it could fall under the definition as written,” says Fred Kray, a lawyer who hosts a weekly podcast on pit bulls and the law. “There is no government rational basis for banning a dog that is 99 percent Lab and 1 percent pit bull. There is no scientific or any evidence whatsoever genetically or behaviorally, that such a dog would be a danger to the public safety.”
The Huffington Post asked the bill’s four sponsors — Republicans Larry Byrd, Randy Boyd, Lester Carpenter and Tommy Taylor — to address the concerns about their proposed law but did not receive an immediate response.
For now, the bill has been referred to the House of Representatives’ Judiciary B committee, according to the website. It is unclear if a vote or hearing has been scheduled.
Shaw says she’s feeling hopeful.
“I, personally,” she says, “don’t believe this bill could possibly pass.”
You can read the whole bill here. Follow Kris Diaz’s work for dogs on the Stop BSL blog. Find out more about Shaw Pit Bull Rescue’s adoptable pups on the group’s Facebook page. Listen to Pit Bull Legal News Radio here.
Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share.
Jan 26
These Parents Are Teaching Others How To Prevent What Tragically Killed Their Baby
Posted in: Today's Chili
In the weeks after the birth of their son Charlie, Maura and Sam Hanke were the picture of exhausted, blissed-out new parents. Maura’s pregnancy had been smooth and full of excitement. Her labor and delivery were straightforward, “nothing out of the ordinary,” she said. Charlie, the couple’s first child, came into the world on April 6, 2010, a healthy 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long.
“That was the best day of my life, meeting him,” Maura, 34, told The Huffington Post. “It was awesome.”
As far as newborns go, Charlie was easy. He cried, but not excessively, and liked being held by his parents, quieting down whenever they read or sang to him in their home near the Kentucky-Ohio border.
But one night three weeks in, Charlie was fussier than normal, refusing to fall asleep in his crib. The inevitable sleep deprivation had begun to wear on Maura, and Sam offered to take their son so his wife could get some rest.
“Maura was more exhausted than normal, so I said, ‘I’ll stay up and hold him,'” Sam said. In the early morning hours, he held Charlie against his torso, and the child eventually settled down.
“I fell asleep on the couch while I was watching TV with him,” said Sam, 33. “Maura woke up, because she was getting itchy to feed. She came in, and woke me up … and he was gone.”
Charlie had died on his father’s chest.
“After that,” Sam said, “it’s been a blur.”
Charlie died early in the morning on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. An investigation concluded that his death was a result of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which can be triggered by an unsafe sleep environment — in Charlie’s case, the syndrome was likely brought on by sleeping on his father’s chest.
On Friday, the family held a wake for Charlie and on Saturday, a funeral mass, which neither parent remembers much. In those horrific early days, Sam’s best friend, Matt — who was Charlie’s godfather — started talking in broad terms about wanting to do something in the infant’s memory.
“He was the one who got the wheels spinning on starting a foundation,” Maura said of Matt. “But at that point there was no plan for what that was going to look like.” She and Sam were focused on just getting through each day.
“During the first six months or so after he died, we needed to grieve,” Sam said. “We tried to avoid the big family gatherings where things were normal, because things weren’t normal. We went on trips to try and get away, because things were so quiet in the house.”
But as they approached what would have been Charlie’s first birthday, the couple began contemplating the foundation idea more seriously, discussing it with Matt and other loved ones.
“That was the happiest day of my life, so I wanted to celebrate it,” Maura said. “We did find a way to celebrate: We went to mass in his honor, had a birthday breakfast for him, visited the cemetery. And that same weekend, we got together with our closest family and friends and talked about what we wanted the foundation to be and look like.”
In 2011, Charlie’s Kids launched as a 501(c)3 organization with the mission of raising awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the importance of a safe sleep environment. Though groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics have clear safe-sleep guidelines for babies — which include placing a baby on its back on a firm sleep surface and keeping cribs clear of bumpers, blankets or other objects that can cause suffocation — Sam and Maura were surprised by how little they’d personally focused on sleep when preparing for the arrival of their new baby.
“Looking back at our own experiences with Charlie, we couldn’t really remember what safe sleep education, if [any], we’d gotten,” said Sam. “There were maybe a couple of things in a brochure about it … but there’s a huge gap, given the impact that safe sleep practices have and the education available. It’s the leading cause of death between one month and one year of life.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 4,000 cases of sudden unexpected infant death in the United States each year. This category includes SIDS, which is defined as the death of a child 1 year old or younger that cannot be explained even after a formal investigation takes place.
“Although the causes of death in many of these children can’t be explained, most occur while the infant is sleeping in an unsafe sleeping environment,” the CDC’s website explains.
Charlie’s Kids has released a children’s board book, Sleep Baby Safe and Snug. The book, written by a pediatrician colleague of Sam’s, teaches caregivers about safe sleep practices in line with the AAP’s recommendations, and includes posters, stickers and magnets that spell out the general guidelines.
In the last year and a half, the foundation has distributed more than 500,000 copies of Sleep Baby Safe and Snug across the United States, Sam said. He added that the group is increasingly partnering with states, hospitals and various safe-sleep organizations to help distribute the materials to new parents and caregivers.
At the same time, Sam works long hours as a pediatric cardiologist. Maura, who was a kindergarten teacher when Charlie was born, stays at home with their two younger children — Owen, now 3, and Annie, 18 months. Everyone who works with Charlie’s Kids does so on a volunteer basis, which, for Sam and Maura, means putting in time at night and on the weekends.
“We joke that Charlie takes up more of our time than our other two kids do,” said Sam, who admitted that the emotional experience of working on the foundation is not always easy. He said he often feels “very hypocritical” talking about safe-sleep practices, given his role in Charlie’s death. And sleep practices, the couple knows, can be an emotionally charged subject for parents.
“When people post that stuff in the comments section on the Internet saying, ‘We did that all the time with my kids and they’re fine, nothing happened,’ we don’t start arguing,” Sam said. “We just say, ‘I did it one time with mine, and something did.'”
Maura and Sam say the foundation has also given them a clear way to discuss their eldest child with Owen and Annie. “They know who their brother is, and they talk about Charlie,” Maura said. “They’re a part of this big foundation work, too. We bring them along when we launch our efforts.”
But above all, Charlie’s Kids has helped provide a tether to their beloved firstborn child, ensuring that they are not swept away by their grief.
“We only had three weeks with him … but I do remember them very clearly,” Maura said. “I remember being exhausted, but the joy that I felt just having him in my arms, and getting to know him, was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.”
“I would’ve loved to have more time with him, obviously, but there was already an old wisdom in those eyes and that face,” she recalled, breaking into quiet tears. “He just seemed to kind of know his world.”
For more information on SIDs and safe sleep environments, visit:
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
This post is part of HuffPost’s Transforming Tragedy series (read more here, here, here and here). If you or someone you know has started a charity after the loss of a child, we’d love to hear your story. To submit a nomination, email thirdmetric@huffingtonpost.com.
Jan 26
Looks Like The NFL Will Try To Blame 'Deflategate' On A Locker Room Attendant
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe National Football League has zeroed in on a locker room attendant as a “strong person of interest” in the historic event known as “deflategate,” according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer:
Breaking news: sources tell @FOXSports the NFL has zeroed in on a locker room attendant w Patriots who … http://t.co/uGAk8i139X
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) January 26, 2015
Allegedly, the locker room attendant took the New England Patriots’ footballs to “another area” before they made their way onto the field for the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. A video supposedly exists.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick told the media during a Saturday press conference that after looking into the issue over the past week, he had concluded that the team acted in accordance with the NFL’s guidelines. He blamed the deflation of his team’s footballs on weather conditions and the process of rubbing balls to wear them in before games.
ESPN reported that last week that the NFL found that 11 of the team’s 12 footballs had been significantly under-inflated, while all of the Colts’ footballs met league standards.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.