A 476 lb woman dies after becoming fused to the fabric

An American woman who had not left her sofa in six years died this week after becoming fused to the fabric.
Gail Grinds, 40, whose skin had actually grown into the cushions of the seat, passed away in hospital after paramedics attempted to cut her out of it.
Emergency services had originally been called to Gail's home in Florida after she complained of suffering from breathing difficulties.
Fire-fighters at the scene knocked down the wall of her house to get her out, while paramedics attempted to remove her from her seat.

UPDATE
I had posted this story because I thought it was morbidly odd, in a "... how can a person actually have their skin meld into their couch", and while I certainly had no intention of mocking or laughing at this persons condition or how they died. I have found an additional article which goes into Ms. Grinds situation prior to her death, and it is a very sad and unfortunate story.
I encourage you to read it, and use the comment button below if you'd like.
Gail Grinds from the PalmBeachPost.com

Evidently friends don't let friends keep thier heads on
MARIETTA, Georgia (AP) -- A drunken driver hit a telephone pole support wire that decapitated his passenger, police said.
He then drove 12 miles home and slept in his bloody clothes, police said, leaving the headless body in his truck.
A neighbor walking with his young daughter Sunday morning discovered Daniel Brohm's headless corpse in the truck in John Kemper Hutcherson's driveway and called authorities, said Cpl. Dana Pierce, county police spokesman.
Officers said they found Hutcherson asleep inside his home, visibly drunk and his clothes bloody, and later found Brohm's severed head at the crash site.
"It's hard for one to imagine that you would drive miles from a crash site to your home, turning in various directions, and yet not know what has happened to a passenger sitting next to you," Pierce said.
Hutcherson, 21, was charged with vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and failure to stop at an accident with death or injury. He was jailed on a $100,000 bond; it was unclear Monday whether he had an attorney.
Police said Hutcherson and Brohm -- friends since high school -- were drinking at a bar Saturday night and left after Brohm said he felt sick.
Brohm, 23, apparently was leaning out of the window when Hutcherson hit the support wire about a mile and a half from the bar, but police did not know why.

Ok ... I'm back from Vacation, details on my trip to come shortly

...reminds me of an ex-girlfriend
A sex-starved female chimp at a zoo in central China has taken to smoking and spitting on visitors.
Thirteen-year-old Feili appears sullen, sleeps all the time and ignores visitors except to pester them for cigarettes.
She rushes to the front of her cage and becomes anxious and impatient when her requests for a cigarette are ignored, reports Eastday.com, quoting Shanghai Daily.
It is thought she started smoking after seeing her keeper having a cigarette break.
She has become such a keen smoker that she spits on guests who fail to offer her a cigarette or a light.
A boy who witnessed Feili spitting at the Zhengzhou Zoo, in Henan Province, said: "A tourist threw a cigarette butt to just outside the cage, she tried to get the butt with a stick."
Zoo director Lui Bing claims the chimpanzee has turned from "a gentle girl" to a "shrew" because her "husband" - now 41 years old - was unable "to meet her sexual demands".
It is reported that all efforts by the authorities to find another partner for her have been rejected by the chimpanzee, who has ended up venting her frustration on tourists.
Mr Bing said: "Feili smokes because of curiosity rather than addiction, and she learned how to spit from badly-behaved visitors. She is a real problem for the zoo."

Smarter than your average bear
A bear in a Berlin zoo caused panic among visitors when he broke out of his enclosure and went straight for the children's playground.
Juan, a 6.5 ft spectacled bear, had been given a log to play with by staff at Berlin zoo.
But he used it as a float to cross the water-filled ditch around his enclosure.
Juan then climbed a fence and was free.
"The bear was fairly quiet, but it went straight for the playground", eyewitness Liane Hertrampf told the Berliner Kurier newspaper.
Parents snatched up their children and fled as zoo staff tried to hold back the bear with brooms and rakes.
Eventually, the zoo vet arrived with a tranquilliser gun, and the sleeping 17-stone bear was carried back to his enclosure.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
Zoo spokesman Heiner Kloes told the paper staff would now search the ditch to make sure there was nothing else in it that could be used as a float.

Now that's what I call 'toothing' ...

Thank-you, folks I'll be here all week

The industrial design firm Creganna has submitted a prototype to the IDSA "Untethered Body" design contest that ends Nov 12, 2004. The device, called the dDrive, is a Bluetooth enabled 512mb hardrive that can be implanted as a tooth.

"The Bluetooth enabled hardrive allows an individual to store critical personal information that can be accessed by any other Bluetooth enabled device. We believe the dDrive will revolutionize medical records, security, and other personal information."

Corporate security consultants are already warning that this will create a major problem for many corporate information security policies.

Airlines in the US have already indicated that they will completely support and promote the dDrive, even offering expedited checkins and discounted tickets to individuals using the dDrive.

Excuse me, but a 100km what????
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) - A huge ant colony measuring 100 kilometres (62 miles) across has been found under the southern Australian city of Melbourne, scientists said.
Monash University researcher Elissa Suhr said the supercolony of Argentine ants was threatening native biodiversity in Australia's second largest city.
Suhr said the introduced pest's natural aggression kept numbers under control in its native country but the genetic make-up of the ants found in Australia had mutated allowing them to cooperate to build the supercolony.
"In Argentina, their native homeland, ant colonies span tens of metres, are genetically diverse and highly aggressive towards one another," Suhr said.
"So population numbers never explode and they are no threat to other plants and animals.
"When they arrived in Australia, a change in their structure occurred, changing their behaviour so that they are not aggressive towards one another. This has resulted in the colonies becoming one supercolony."
Suhr said the Argentine ants killed native ants and the insect life they normally preyed upon, posing a major threat to biodiversity.
She said Argentine ants were ranked among the world's 100 worst animal invaders and had found an ideal habitat in the Mediterranean-type eco-systems of south-eastern Australia.

A Reminder of what the Olympics should be about -- MUST READ!

Stolen from ESPN, but a great story that deserves to be read if only to remind us of what the Olympics can be
Here's hoping that the Olympics in Greece can capture some of this spirit

ESPN's 100 Most Memorable Moments of the past 25 years

#94: Derek and dad finish Olympic 400 together
Rick Weinberg
Special to ESPN.com

Unlike Carl Lewis and Daley Thompson, Derek Redmond is not a name that conjures up memories of Olympic gold medals. But it is Redmond who defines the essence of the human spirit.
Redmond arrived at the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona determined to win a medal in the 400. The color of the medal was meaningless; he just wanted to win one. Just one.
He had been forced to withdraw from the 400 at the 1988 Games in Seoul, only 10 minutes before the race, because of an Achilles tendon injury. He then underwent five surgeries over the next year. This was the same runner who had shattered the British 400-meter record at age 19. So when the 1992 Games arrived, this was his time, his moment, his stage, to show the world how good he was and who he was.
Derek's father Jim had accompanied him to Barcelona, just as he did for all world competitions. They were as close as a father and son could be. Inseparable, really. The best of friends. When Derek ran, it was as if his father were running right next to him.

THE MOMENT
The day of the race arrives. Father and son reminisce about what it took for Derek to get to this point. They talk about ignoring past heartbreaks, past failures. They agree that if anything bad happens, no matter what it is, Derek has to finish the race, period.
The top four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats qualify for the Olympic final. As race time approaches for the semifinal 400 heat, Jim heads up to his seat at the top of Olympic Stadium, not far from where the Olympic torch was lit just a few days earlier. He is wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Have you hugged your foot today?"

With the help of his father, an injured Derek Redmond completed his race in the 1992 Olympics.

The stadium is packed with 65,000 fans, bracing themselves for one of sport's greatest and most exciting spectacles. The race begins and Redmond breaks from the pack and quickly seizes the lead. "Keep it up, keep it up," Jim says to himself.
Down the backstretch, only 175 meters away from finishing, Redmond is a shoo-in to make the finals. Suddenly, he hears a pop. In his right hamstring. He pulls up lame, as if he had been shot.
"Oh, no," Jim says to himself. His face pales. His leg quivering, Redmond begins hopping on one leg, then slows down and falls to the track. As he lays on the track, clutching his right hamstring, a medical personnel unit runs toward him. At the same time, Jim Redmond, seeing his son in trouble, races down from the top row of the stands, sidestepping people, bumping into others. He has no credential to be on the track, but all he thinks about is getting to his son, to help him up. "I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone," he later tells the media.
On the track, Redmond realizes his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears run down his face. "All I could think was, 'I'm out of the Olympics -- again,'" he would say.
As the medical crew arrives with a stretcher, Redmond tells them, "No, there's no way I'm getting on that stretcher. I'm going to finish my race."
Then, in a moment that will live forever in the minds of millions, Redmond lifts himself to his feet, ever so slowly, and starts hobbling down the track. The other runners have finished the race, with Steve Lewis of the U.S. winning the contest in 44.50. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Redmond isn't dropping out of the race by hobbling off to the side of the track. No, he is actually continuing on one leg. He's going to attempt to hobble his way to the finish line. All by himself. All in the name of pride and heart.

Slowly, the crowd, in total disbelief, rises and begins to roar. The roar gets louder and louder. Through the searing pain, Redmond hears the cheers, but "I wasn't doing it for the crowd," he would later say. "I was doing it for me. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race. I'm the one who has to live with it."
One painful step at a time, each one a little slower and more painful than the one before, his face twisted with pain and tears, Redmond limps onward, and the crowd, many in tears, cheer him on.
Suddenly, Jim Redmond finally gets to the bottom of the stands, leaps over the railing, avoids a security guard, and runs out to his son, with two security people chasing after him. "That's my son out there," he yells back to security, "and I'm going to help him."
Finally, with Derek refusing to surrender and painfully limping along the track, Jim reaches his son at the final curve, about 120 meters from the finish, and wraps his arm around his waist.
"I'm here, son," Jim says softly, hugging his boy. "We'll finish together." Derek puts his arms around his father's shoulders and sobs.
Together, arm in arm, father and son, with 65,000 people cheering, clapping and crying, finish the race, just as they vowed they would. A couple steps from the finish line, and with the crowd in an absolute frenzy, Jim releases the grip he has on his son, so Derek could cross the finish line by himself. Then he throws his arms around Derek again, both crying, along with everyone in the stands and on TV.
"I'm the proudest father alive," he tells the press afterwards, tears in his eyes. "I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did."

The Car Accident that was Celebrity Boxing 2

Ok Ok, I actually did watch it, but in my defense I have a head cold, 110 fever, all my other cable channels were out, and my cat was sitting on my chest and was all comfortable ... DON'T JUDGE ME!!!

Great synopsis from ESPN

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/020523.html

Crazy 'fricken Ricky

That's right nobody's kinder to a bi-poler hop head than the wackjobs in the
RaiderNation
http://lite.espn.go.com/nfl/news?id=1852334
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From the ...well duh!... file
Older topless women deterring tourists, say police
Police in Romania want a ban on women over 60 going topless on a stretch of beach because they claim it's "ugly" and likely to deter tourists.
Police in Constanta county, which is home to one of the Black Sea's top stretches of beach, says they've had scores of complaints about topless older women.
Police chief Victor Popescu said: "Going topless has its age limit and old women going topless should understand this."
Policeman patrolling the beach have admitted they are often sickened by the sight of elderly women stripping off in the sun.
Officer Ionut Popescu who patrols the beach in Eforie Nord resort in Constanta said: "It's always a pleasure to see a young woman, who also has to be beautiful of course, topless on the beach.
"But the irony is it that there are more old women going topless. I find it sometimes quite repulsive. I can understand the idea of wanting to get a uniform tan, but old women should simply give up on it."

Not exactly sure what to make of this, but SCARY!
from Kevin Rose's site (from the Screensavers on G4TechTv.com)

I just ran across a pretty scary new Google hack today. It seems they have just recently added number span searching to their engine. Take a look at this example:

visa 4356000000000000..4356999999999999

As you can see, Google has searched the entire range against its DB. Within minutes I found some crazy sites like this one. Now please know that Google didn't create this tool to be used like this. It's actually quite handy when used correctly. Just an FYI for all of you.

Pillow 'is perfect boyfriend'
Japanese designers have come up with what they claim is the perfect solution for the unattached woman - the boyfriend pillow.
IOL says the pillow is an ideal sleeping partner because it doesn't snore, hog the duvet - or sleep around.
Each model comes with two shirts in blue and pink, that can be washed and ironed by the dutiful 'girlfriend'.
And one model also works as an alarm, by shaking to alert the woman when it is time to get up.
A spokesman for the manufacturer said the pillow has been so successful they have had to draw up a waiting list of customers.
He said: "Women of all ages have been queueing round the block to take one home."
The 39 pound pillow is currently available only in Japan but may soon be exported.

Poor, poor Colin he's not an mythical irish man god

Co-star spills beans on Farrell's penis
Colin Farrell's co-star in A Home at the End of the World has laughed off reports that the Irishman's penis was cut from the movie because it was too "distracting".
Dallas Roberts, who plays Farrell's gay lover, told the San Francisco Chronicle: "I mean the kid has got nothing to be ashamed of sexually.
"But I was at those test screenings where women allegedly burst into tears and men hid their faces in shame, and I never saw anything like that.
"There may have been a couple of guffaws, but there wasn't any gasping or dropping to one's knees."
The nudity was scrapped reportedly because Farrell's manhood was too distracting.
But Roberts added: "For a second, (the audience) thought: "Oh look, there's a movie star's ying yang"."


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