A Little Friday File Fun (08/22)

Well, here’s a couple of thousand…

At a recent fundraising event, this group of people released a set of balloons. Each balloon is said to represent one orphan child…let’s hope not.  

In Sydney, Australia, a lost humpback whale calf has apparently found what it thinks is its mother.  MORE at http://www.reuters.com/resources/pictures/galleries/Stories/633547975087968750/Previews/01.JPG

- - - In Chicago, Illinois, Valerie and Ted Rock are the proud owners (parents?) of a grey cat named Yoda - - - who has an extra set of ears (his hearing is normal).  MORE at http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1577727.ece

- - - In Brooklyn, New York , an animal shelter's mascot - a rare two-headed turtle - was the star of a recent newspaper article - - - but t it was stolen from its tank before the article ran.   The owner says it had to be specially fed by hand - - - or the two heads will fight over the food.  MORE at http://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/29/2008/08/18/320x240/turtle.jpg

- - - At the Iowa State Fair, weatherman Kurtis Gertz recently appeared on live television with a special guest star - - - Dawn, a 10-foot long python - - - who apparently developed something of a "crush" on Kurtis - - - with amusing results - - -

And here's another thousand worth...

- - - In Dexter, New York , Jennifer Jean Blackwell, 51, was observed by police driving a blue 1969 Oldsmobile convertible, with tires squealing, speeding into and through the downtown area (53 mph in a 30 mph zone) - - - without license plates or vehicle inspection - - - and Jean would not stop when deputies attempted to pull over the vehicle - - - instead, she sped on to her house, pulled into her driveway - - - and then refused to get out of the vehicle - - - well, police got her out, and charged her with Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle 3rd Degree and nine other vehicle and traffic violations - - - what was Jean up to?   She told the deputies "I was just having some fun."   Oh - and she really looks like the squealing tires type.  MORE at http://www.newswatch50.com/media/news/c/a/4/ca4f7085-dcff-4690-8d49-0671de127020/Story.jpg

The 1958 Edsel advertising campaign said "Once you've seen it, you'll never forget it.   Once you've owned it, you'll never want to change."   

And for all the ensuing "infamy" the 1958 Edsel had some really interesting features:

• Self-Adjusting brakes (new with Edsel - still used today)
• Floating speedometer that glows when a pre-set speed limit is exceeded
• Transmission locks in park until ignition key turned (new with Edsel - still used today)
• Top portion of seats slant forward to provide shoulder support
• Triple-thermostat cooling system (head/block/radiator) during warm-up for increased fuel economy & heater performance (E-475 engine)
• Front-mounted distributor, coil, fuel pump, oil filter dipstick for easy access.
• Hood hinged in the front for safety (Although this somewhat limits access to the aforementioned distributor, etc!)
• Hood release controlled electronically, from inside the car.
• The front seats were split 60/40 for better driver comfort.