Sorrow in the Star Trek Empire

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081218/en_nm/us_roddenberry_2

Sci-fi icon Majel Barrett Roddenberry dies at 76

Thu Dec 18, 6:15 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and a member of the show's cast, has died. She was 76.

Barrett Roddenberry died of leukemia on Thursday at her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, her family said in a statement.

Her relationship with Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 after the two had been married for 22 years, earned Barrett Roddenberry the nickname "The First Lady of Star Trek."

She had roles in nearly every "Star Trek" television show and movie, playing Nurse Chapel in the original series and lending her voice to the starship's computer in nearly every incarnation of the saga.

She recently finished her role as the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in director J.J. Abrams' movie "Star Trek," which is due out in May, 2009, her family said.

Barrett Roddenberry is survived by her only son, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. A public memorial is expected to be scheduled for sometime after Christmas.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited

Wow. I can't even begin to describe what Majel Barrett Roddenberry meant to me, both as a woman and as an aspiring actress. Like Lucille Ball, Majel shattered barriers--Lucille in the business end of television comedy, and Majel in the arena of powerful female characters. Without Ball or Barrett-Roddenberry, I doubt Star Trek ever would have survived long enough to have been more than a long-forgotten single-season series.

To better express my feelings about Majel's life and legacy, I would like to post a poem by Maya Angelou:

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size But when I start to tell them, They think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees. Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees. I say, It's the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can't touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them They say they still can't see. I say, It's in the arch of my back, The sun of my smile, The ride of my breasts, The grace of my style. I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Now you understand Just why my head's not bowed. I don't shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing It ought to make you proud. I say, It's in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me. Copyright © Maya Angelou

Goodbye, Majel. The starship computers won't be the same without your voice.

'Tis the season to be busy

As stated before, I am trying to post more often, but sometimes life really does get in the way.

This blog didn't start out with a purpose, but it's slowly heading towards one...

One of my passions is journalism. I have always loved the news, and I probably always will. What I'm going to do here, what this blog will probably continue evolving into, is commentary on various news stories that catch my interest.

Anyway, I own a business, have a very young child, and work full-time as a technical support monkey, so my time is very limited. I would love to transition into a job writing, editing, or proofreading full-time, provided that the work is stimulating and profitable. After all, I do have a family to feed.

Literacy: Get you some

Re: My blog about the VS bras rash case, which can be found here:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9101154&postID=2291265645509140476

I'm getting a lot of Anonymous comments from people who claim to have been VS bra wearers who washed the bra in question and still broke out in a rash. They are INCENSED that I would even IMPLY that the rash would be their fault...

Apparently, all of these Anonymous "ladies" failed their literacy check, because I clearly stated "If she did wash her bras before wearing them, she may have a case." I guess the minute someone reads "moron," his or her brain shuts off until he or she can post a comment calling me "outspokenly arrogant."

For all of you who stopped reading after you saw the word "moron" and are morally outraged, let me translate my stance:

Since the woman did WASH her bras BEFORE wearing them, her case is JUSTIFIED, I agree with her lawsuit 100%, and I hope she WINS her CASE. In fact, I hope that there is a class-action lawsuit in place that will compensate everyone who had to visit a doctor and pay for the visits and any treatments out of their own pockets after washing their bras per the washing instructions. Maybe if we're lucky, it'll drive VS out of business.

And no, you are not a moron if you washed your bra according to the washing instructions before wearing it and got the rash.

If I get any more Anonymous comments on the previous blog, they will be deleted. If you are going to have the nerve to bitch at me without fully reading my blog, you damned well better give me a way to contact you so that you can get my reply and see clearly where you were mistaken.

ETA: I have disabled Anonymous commenting. If you want to exercise your free speech to criticize my free speech, I will exercise my free speech to clarify or defend my position directly to you.

And now for some stellar news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20081027/sc_mcclatchy/3082054_1

Evidence found of solar system around nearby star

By Robert S. Boyd, McClatchy Newspapers Robert S. Boyd, Mcclatchy Newspapers – Mon Oct 27, 11:01 am ET

WASHINGTON — For the first time, astronomers think that they've found evidence of an alien solar system around a star close enough to Earth to be visible to the naked eye.

They say that at least one and probably three or more planets are orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani, 10.5 light-years — about 63 trillion miles — from Earth. Only eight stars are closer.

The host star, slightly smaller and cooler than our sun, is in the constellation Eridanus — the name of a mythological river — near Orion in the northern sky.

Epsilon Eridani is much younger than the sun, about 850 million years old compared with 4.5 billion years for our system.

"This really is a system like our solar system was when it was five times younger than it is now," said one of the discoverers, Massimo Marengo , an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "It's like a time machine for our solar system."

"This system probably looks a lot like ours did when life first took root on Earth," said Dana Backman , of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. , the lead author of a report to be published Jan. 10 in The Astrophysical Journal .

SETI chose Epsilon Eridani as one of the first targets in its long — but so far vain — search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence in 1960.

The suspected planets are too far away to be detected directly, so their presence has to be inferred by indirect measurements. Their star is so near, however, that some astronomers think that they may be able to see its planets with better telescopes within the next decade.

One of the planets, a gas giant 1 { times heavier than Jupiter, was discovered in 2000 by Barbara McArthur , an astronomer at the University of Texas in Austin . She measured the slight wobble in the star's position as the planet swung around it. Further observations by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006 confirmed its existence, McArthur said at the time.

Now Backman's team has deduced the presence of at least two more planets, after space- and ground-based telescopes separately revealed two belts of rocky asteroids and an outer icy ring circling Epsilon Eridani.

The inner asteroid belt is about 280 million miles from its host star, the same distance as our own ring of asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The second belt is about the same distance as Uranus is in our system.

Finally, a wide, third ring of icy objects extends billions of miles beyond Epsilon Eridani, resembling the so-called Kuiper Belt of mini-planets outside Pluto.

In 2002, Alice Quillen , an astronomer at the University of Rochester in New York state , reported that unusual clumps of material in the outer ring probably indicated the presence of a Saturn -size planet in a Pluto-like orbit. Her finding hasn't been confirmed, but "I still think there is a planet out there of this size," Quillen said in an e-mail.

According to Marengo, the gaps between these belts were created when clouds of dust and rocks consolidated into planets, as happened in the early days of our solar system. He likened the process to the formation of Saturn's famous rings, which are separated by spaces cleared out by little moons.

"The easiest way to explain the gaps is to say there are planets there," Marengo said. "It's the same way as the rings of Saturn are kept stable by the moons of Saturn ."

"I think these rings are probably telling us about how systems clear out after planets have formed," Quillen said. "It's pretty exciting to catch such a nearby system in this critical stage."

Marengo raised the possibility that more Earthlike planets might exist in the space between Epsilon Eridani and the inner dust ring.

"The inside belt is cleared, like in our solar system," he said. "There could be terrestrial planets inside, but we can't detect them yet."

Geez, isn't this always the way--the MINUTE we put a system around OUR sun, all of these other stars in our neighborhood just HAVE to copy us.

In all seriousness, it's awesome to learn that there are other stars with systems of their own. Who knows? One day, we may learn that there is other intelligent life in the universe, and maybe they'll humor us and communicate. The various science fiction universes that have humans in contact with and cooperating with intelligent life from other worlds in order to help create the best universe possible may be a reality one day. Until then, we will still look to the stars and dream.

This Oedipus killed his father with good cause

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1257262,milwaukee-son-kills-father110308.article

Son kills father to protect mother in Milwaukee

November 3, 2008

FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee police say a knife-wielding man who violated a restraining order to attack his estranged wife has been shot to death by the couple’s son.

Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz says the 49-year-old woman had a restraining order against her husband, who broke into the house Monday about 5 a.m.

Schwartz says the 55-year-old husband began stabbing his wife and the couple’s 23-year-old son shot him. Police say the man continued the attack and was shot again by the son.

The woman died from her wounds.

Schwartz says the son has been released. She says even though the shooting will likely be ruled self-defense, the case will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office because a death was involved.

It's a pity the mom died, too. At least the father won't be rotting in prison, serving a life sentence or appealing the death penalty.

What pisses me off, though, is that the mother had a restraining order against her ex, and, as per usual, the police weren't able to protect her. Instead, her son had to take the law into his own hands and try and protect his mother from the attack. The poor man has to live knowing that he killed his father to protect his mother, but he still wasn't quick enough to save her life.

On a more humorous note, family reunions are going to be awkward.

I'll bet this kid never tries to steal a sign again

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-odd/20081030/ODD.Shocking.Sign/

Boy shocked after man powers up campaign sign

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Shawn Turschak of Chapel Hill was tired of someone stealing McCain-Palin campaign signs from his yard. Turschak, with a degree in electrical engineering, hooked up a third sign to a power source for an electric pet fence Monday and also put up a surveillance camera.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that a 9-year-old boy with an Obama-Biden sign grabbed the McCain-Palin sign and got a jolt on Tuesday.

The boy's father, Andrew Noble, upset that his son had been shocked, showed up at Turschak's door. Soon an Orange County sheriff's deputy also showed up at the Turschak's home.

Noble said his son just wanted to see how the sign was put together. Turschak said the boy intended to swap out the signs.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said he doesn't plan to file charges.

___

Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The boy " just wanted to see how the sign was put together?" That's bullshit. It was pretty obvious from the video footage that the kid was planning on replacing the McCain/Palin sign with an Obama/Biden sign.

The great thing about this country is that we can support and vote for whomever we please. I supported neither McCain nor Obama; however, I wouldn't rip up signs for either candidate in the hopes that voters would consider someone else if they didn't have their signs in their yards. In my opinion, the kid deserved what he got. Vandalism is vandalism, and until we all learn to respect the rights of others to vote for whomever they feel can best run the country, we'll always people doing stupid things in the name of a candidate.

Let's hope that in 2012, Mr. Turschak doesn't have to shock anyone else into leaving his property alone.

This is why child armies aren’t terribly effective

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081027/Boy.Shoots.Himself/

Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show

Tue Oct 28, 4:33 AM EDT

With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.

It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.

Now gun safety experts — and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened — are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.

"It's easy to lose control of a weapon like that ... they are used on a battleground for a very good reason," said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. "It's to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that's approaching. It's not a toy. It's not something to play with."

Police said Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.

"The weapon was loaded and ready to fire," Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. "The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head."

Nunez said the investigation is continuing.

Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.

Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil.

"This accident was truly a mystery to me," said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. "This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don't know why it happened."

Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

"It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!" reads the ad, posted on the club's Web site.

"You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — "FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL," the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.

"We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident," Nunez said Monday.

___

Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Ashford, Conn., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

___

On the Web:

http://www.westfieldsportsman.com

http://www.copfirearms.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

How on Earth can one claim to be a gun expert and not know that the kickback from an Uzi is too much for most ADULTS, much less an eight-year-old CHILD? And why would a parent allow a child that young to fire an Uzi? Just to say he did? Sure, there may be gun laws passed in the future to ban automatic weapons altogether (and thanks to the stupidity of the instructor on duty and the father, I guarantee there will be), but it's not as if he couldn't fire an Uzi when he was older and stronger, if he so desired.

I predict a divorce and jail time in the future.

Horror Story #2: Trick-or-treater got a body full of bullets for knocking on the wrong door

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1256064,CST-NWS-trick02.article

Trick-or-treater, 12, killed when man feared robbery

SUMTER, S.C. -- An ex-convict who thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door.

Quentin Patrick, 22, is accused of killing T.J. Darrisaw on Friday. T.J.'s 9-year-old brother and their father were injured but were treated at a hospital and released.

The family attended a Halloween celebration in downtown Sumter, then stopped at Patrick's house because the porch light was on. The boys' mother and a toddler stayed in the car nearby.

Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock. He told police he had been robbed and shot in the last year.

''He wasn't going to be robbed again, and he wasn't going to be shot again,'' Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

And just WHAT THE FUCK is an EX-CONVICT doing with an AK-47?!? Also, if he was so afraid of getting robbed or shot, why didn't he, oh, I don't know, INSTALL A FUCKING PEEPHOLE IN HIS DOOR? Sure, I can understand being afraid of being robbed and shot, especially if it's happened before; however, it was Halloween and his porch light was on. Mr. Patrick should have exercised a little more common sense and either shut off his porch light or checked to see who was at the door before opening fire.

Now a child is dead due to this ex-convict's paranoia. The guy is only 22, and now he's back in jail for murder. His paranoia and lack of common sense have denied T.J. Darrisaw his life and Quentin Patrick his freedom, if not his own life.

Horror Story #1: A woman tried to manipulate the vote through Halloween candy

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/nov/02/supporting_obama_no_treats_you/

Supporting Obama? No treats for you

November 2, 2008

Michigan — A suburban Detroit woman has decided to scare up the vote among neighborhood children by just offering treats to John McCain supporters.

Shirley Nagel of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., handed out candy Friday only to those who shared her support for the Republican presidential candidate and his running mate Sarah Palin. Others were turned away empty-handed.

TV station WJBK says a sign outside Nagel’s house warned: “No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters.”

Nagel calls Democrat Barack Obama “scary.” When asked about children who were turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: “Oh well. Everybody has a choice.”

This doesn't sound like a very effective way to change the vote; it does, however, sound like a dandy way to get people to egg and toilet paper her house next year. I'll even bet that some McCain supporters with rotten eggs will visit her house next year. The cruel actions of this woman against children, children who cannot even VOTE, and probably wouldn't be able to influence their parents' votes one way or the other, combined with the publicity of this story, most likely caused a few people on the fence to not vote for McCain.

A candidate is judged both by the company he keeps and the people who support him. This woman did McCain no favors. There was no excuse for her to do that to the children of Obama supporters. I hope she gets egged and toilet papered so much next year that her house looks like it was sided with papier-mache.

Catching up

Who knew that motherhood would interfere with blogging? My six-month-old daughter is crawling like speedy little spider and thinks that it's her prerogative to investigate all stings by sticking them in her mouth. In spite of all of that, we're going to press on.

First, we'll start with some unhappy Halloween stories. Then we will highlight the lowlight of what happens when stupid people allow small children to handle automatic weapons. After that, we'll check out the scoop on a solar system in our neighborhood that might have kids our age...pity it's 10.5 light years away. Finally, we'll check out today's news and see what's buttered my biscuits.

To those who are new to my blog, I generally pick a news story that caught my eye, then blog about them. I also throw in reviews about various things that are allegedly designed to help a busy parent keep the house clean without sacrificing family time.

Ready? Let's dance.

A spate of posts are forthcoming

Work's been exceptionally busy. I guess when the weather gets cold, the Internet gets extra-appealing. Between my daughter crawling as fast as a spider, trying to keep the house clean, and being totally exhausted from my two jobs, who has time to write?

I'll keep on trying anyway. Look for more posts later today!

The question is, was he cheating on his shop vac at home?

Police arrest Mich. man for car wash vacuum sex

Sat Oct 18, 7:56 PM EDT
Loading...

THOMAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police say a Michigan man has been arrested after "receiving sexual favors from a vacuum" at a car wash.

The Saginaw News reports the 29-year-old Swan Creek Township man was arrested Thursday in Saginaw County's Thomas Township, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.

Police Sgt. Gary Breidinger says a resident called to report suspicious activity at the car wash about 6:45 a.m. An officer approached on foot and caught the man in the act.

The suspect, whose name wasn't immediately released, is being held in the Saginaw County Jail.

Well, it is safer and less expensive that soliciting a prostitute, but I'd be terrified to apply something with that much suction to my genitals.

On the plus side, though, it would give me a cheap hysterectomy and possibly a role in a Chuck Palahniuk story.

Sheriff of Cook County--Nothing like the Sheriff of Nottingham

Chicago's Cook County Sheriff won't evict in foreclosures

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- The sheriff here said Wednesday that he's ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties because many people his office has helped throw out on the street are renters who did nothing wrong.

"We will no longer be a party to something that's so unjust," a visibly angry Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.

"We have to be sure that when we are doing this - and we are destroying some people's lives - we better be darned sure we're talking about the right people," Dart said.

Dart said he believes he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions, and the publisher of a national foreclosure database said he's probably right.

"I haven't heard of any other sheriff unilaterally deciding to stop foreclosures," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, Inc. He said the sheriff in Philadelphia helped push a moratorium on foreclosure sales, but that involved owner-occupied homes and not renters.

Dart said that from now on, banks will have to present his office with a court affidavit that proves the home's occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings.

Illinois law requires that renters be notified that their residence is in foreclosure and they will be evicted in 120 days, but Dart indicated that the law has been routinely ignored.

He talked about tenants who dutifully pay their rent, then leave one morning for work only to have authorities evict them and put their belongings on the curb while they are gone.

By the time they get home, "The meager possessions they have are gone," he said. "This is happening too often."

In many cases, he said, tenants aren't even aware that their homes have fallen into foreclosure.

This week, an attorney asked that Dart be held in contempt when his deputies did not evict tenants after determining they were not the owners and did not know about their landlord's financial problems.

A judge denied the attorney's request, Dart's office said, and Dart said that after talking to the Cook County state's attorney's office, he is confident he is on solid legal ground.

"My job as sheriff is to follow court orders, absolutely," he said. "But I'm also in charge of making sure justice is being done here and it is clear that justice is not being done here."

The state's attorney's office said it would not comment on conversations with Dart because his office is a client.

Foreclosures have skyrocketed around the country in recent months and Dart said the number of foreclosure evictions in Cook County could more than double from the 2006 tally of 1,771. This year the county is on pace to see 4,500 such evictions, he said.

Dart warned that because the eviction process on foreclosures can take more than a year, the number is sure to climb even higher.

"From all the numbers we have seen, we know (they) are going to be exploding," he said.

Sharga said there are more than 1 million U.S. homes in foreclosure - with about a third of that number occupied by someone other than the owner.

"That number will continue to get bigger," he said.

Dart said he believes banks are not doing basic research to determine that the people being evicted are, in fact, the homeowners.

He said that in a third of the 400 to 500 foreclosure evictions his deputies had been carrying out every month, the residents are not those whose names are on the eviction papers.

Nor, he said, are banks notifying tenants that the homes they're renting are in foreclosure. He added that when banks do learn the correct names of those living on foreclosed-upon property, their names often are simply added to eviction papers.

"They just go out and get an order the next day and throw these people's names on there," Dart said. "Whether they (tenants) have been notified, God only knows."

Evictions for nonpayment of rent will continue, Dart said, explaining that those cases already have gone to court, his office is confident the people being evicted are who the landlord says they are, and there is no question the tenants are aware of what is going on.

Dart said it's only fair for banks to give occupants of a foreclosed property adequate notice before forcing them out.

"You are talking about a lot of people in rental situations living paycheck to paycheck," he said. "To think they are sitting on a pool of money for an up-front deposit, security deposit, is foolishness."

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A public official? And he's doing something that could jeopardize his job, career, family, and life to help innocent tenants rather than gouging them for all he can get? I think I may die of shock.

Now we're getting somewhere

Even before I was a mom, SIDS research was very important to me. Below is an article about the use of a fan in the baby's bedroom to help prevent SIDS. More research is needed to prove that it makes a difference 100% of the time, but it's still a good start.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20081006/MED.Preventing.SIDS/

Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death

Tue Oct 7, 9:19 AM EDT

Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for preventing SIDS, a still mysterious cause of death.

Experts also recommend a firm mattress, removing toys and pillows from cribs, and keeping infants from getting too warm.

Such practices helped slash U.S. SIDS deaths by more than half over a decade to about 2,100 in 2003. But SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants ages 1 month to 1 year.

"The baby's sleeping environment really matters," said study senior author Dr. De-Kun Li of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. "This seems to suggest that by improving room ventilation we can further reduce risk."

SIDS is the sudden death of an otherwise healthy infant that can't be attributed to any other cause. These babies may have brain abnormalities that prevent them from gasping and waking when they don't get enough oxygen.

The new study, published in October's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, offers another way to make sure babies get enough air.

More research is needed, said Dr. Fern Hauck of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, but she said that because fan use is in line with theories, it may be worth considering.

"This is the first study that we know of that has looked at this issue," said Hauck, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics SIDS task force.

Researchers interviewed mothers of 185 infants who died from SIDS and mothers of 312 infants of similar race and age. Moms answered dozens of questions about their baby's sleeping environment.

Researchers took into account other risk factors and found that fan use was associated with a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS. Only 3 percent of the babies who died had a fan on in the room during their last sleep, the mothers reported. That compared to 12 percent of the babies who lived.

Using a fan reduced risk most for babies in poor sleeping environments.

The study involved infants in 11 California counties. It was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

___

On the Net:

Archives: http://www.archpediatrics.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

God willing, one day we'll know what causes SIDS, and then we'll be more capable of preventing it. Until then, anything that is proven to reduce the risk of SIDS is helpful.

Behold, the ACTION Scrubber!

I love Scrubbing Bubbles. I use it to clean everything from my bathroom to my kitchen floor. It even does a dandy job on my stovetop and counters! Naturally, when BzzAgent offered me the opportunity to try out a new product by Scrubbing Bubbles and share my opinions on it, I (quite literally!) jumped at the chance.

The new product is Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber. The set I received to test consisted of the foam base, four pads presaturated and dehydrated with the scrubbing bubbles solution, and a clear plastic box to house the pads and give the scrubber base a place to rest. The concept behind this new product is that by using the system, those of us (un)fortunate enough to get stuck with bathroom cleaning duties will have fewer steps to a cleaner bathroom.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy. First, one must make sure that the surface is already moistened, which is easy to do in the shower area, but not so easy around the toilet, unless one has a leaky toilet or condensation issues. (With my trusty can of scrubbing bubbles, I've never had to pre-moisten a surface to get it clean). Second, one must adhere the pad to the base, then moisten the handy scrubbing bubbles pretreated pad...but not too much! Third, one must start scrubbing away, which is arguably the most fun part of the entire process, as the pad glides swiftly over the surfaces, pounding through dirt, soap scum, and other yuckies like a Vin Diesel antihero. Fourth, one must rinse off the surfaces, or the cleaner will cause them to become obnoxiously sticky. Finally, one has the option of wiping the surfaces dry or letting them air dry.

Does it save steps? Maybe it does for some other bathroom trench wenches, but it doesn't for me. All I've ever really had to do to get my bathroom clean is spray my trusty scrubbing bubbles, let them sit for a bit, then wipe them off with a wet towel, then let things air-dry. Again, though, I was impressed with the way the scrubber slid through grime, which could save one the time and trouble associate with actually scrubbing the surface with something other than the Action Scrubber.

In addition, the fine folks at Scrubbing Bubbles recommend that one use gloves when using this product, and with good reason--the stuff on the pad dried out my skin pretty quickly; it was like I stuck my hands in a bucket of alum (the same stuff used in styptic pencils, pickling, and random recipes). Since I'm allergic to latex and non-latex gloves cost money I don't have, gloving up is a no-go for me. As it was, I had to lotion my hands repeatedly just to get to the normal level of dry my skin currently enjoys.

Overall, though, this is a good product for anyone who wants an easy way to scrub off bathroom crud. I don't feel as though it saves me any steps, though, and I hate how it makes my hands feel, so I'll most likely stick with my trusty can of scrubbing bubbles and designated scrubbing towels.

The Action Scrubber is good idea, but it’s not for everyone. Since I love Scubbing Bubbles pretty much unconditionally, I give it a 4/5. Not bad, but there's room for improvement, and it’s definitely worth a test drive.

This comes as no surprise...

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/chicago.number.one.2.819963.html

Forbes: Chicago Is Most Stressful City In U.S.

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago is the most stressful city in the United States, according to Forbes. CBS 2's Jim Williams reports that the city of big shoulders - is the city of big stress.

Forbes says Chicago is more stressful than Detroit, Los Angeles - even New York.

"How can that be? I don't know where they get these things. It's laughable," Mayor Daley said.

Forbes says it took into account Chicago's rising unemployment rate, expensive gas, high population density and air pollution.

Chicagoans cited other factors.

"The weather doesn't help too much in the winter time when it's dreary out and everybody feels like they need to be at work instead of on the beach, hanging out," said Lauren Wilcox, Chicagoan.

"Part of the stress comes from our poor transit system," said Heather Sowl, Chicagoan. "Everybody is crammed on the CTA."

But others strongly disagreed with the list - and wondered how Chicago could place ahead of New York City on the stress meter.

"It's a lot more crowded, it's a lot busier. Parking is a disaster. I don't think Chicago is that bad," said Emily Chadwick, Chicagoan.

And Chicago is not at the center of a financial industry meltdown right now.

"You don't think New York is stressed today?" Mayor Daley asked.

UIC Urban Planning Professor Charles Hoch urges us to just take a deep breath - and not stress out over any stress test.

"We can't really summarize the complexity of three million people's experiences in four or five indicators, so I think it really is a mistaken application," Prof. Hoch said.

So here are the top five most stressful cities, according to the Forbes – Chicago is number one followed by New York, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Keep in mind, magazines and books are always putting out lists - fattest cities, best all-time heavyweight champions, most over-rated actors. It's a sales tool - to get us to pay attention to those magazines and books.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Of course King Daley doesn't think there's anything wrong...although maybe it's Cook County as a whole that is more stressful than Chicago itself. He doesn't have to face the same struggles that we peasants of southern Cook County have to face each day.

Shot with a sword? Cool!

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Sep/20080908News012.asp

KC police shoot man with sword

Published Monday, September 8, 2008

KANSAS CITY (AP) - Kansas City police officers fatally shot a man they said swung a sword at them.

A police spokesman said two officers responded to a call early yesterday about a person yelling in the street. When they arrived, they said, the man was standing in the street holding an object later determined to be a sword. The officers chased the man on foot. When they tried to arrest him, they said, the suspect tried to hit them with the sword.

Officers shot the suspect, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

...aw

And here I was hoping that police had some sort of nifty weapon that could shoot swords. Instead, we have police shooting another random sword-wielder. !Que lastima!

Three stars perform one amazing act of kindness

http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/goddess/matilda-ledgers-guardian-angels/85?nc

Matilda Ledger's Guardian Angels
by Brenda

The late Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda was spotted skipping along the streets of NYC yesterday with her mom Michelle Williams in the cutest pink sundress. Every time I see a photo of the 2-year-old I can't believe how much she looks like her dad. He definitely lives on through her.

As most of you probably know, Heath was filming Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" at the time of his death. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell stepped in to complete Heath's role, playing different versions of his character "Tim."

When the three actors learned that Ledger's will had not been updated to include his daughter, the generous trio decided to donate all the money they earned from the film to little Matilda!

It's good to know that there are a few nice guys in Hollywood.

Very classy, fellas, very classy. I've got to have a lot of respect for stars who are willing to give up their fat paychecks to make sure that a poor, fatherless child is provided for for the rest of her life. Sure, Michelle Williams is talented, but she really does have her hands full, and I'm sure it's going to take her a long time to deal with Heath Ledger dying...and to deal with her daughter asking the inevitable questions about her father...and wondering why Daddy is never coming back. I hope that those three, who are all fathers themselves, will take time out to visit with Matilda as well...especially Johnny Depp, as I've heard that he's a good father to his kids.

Diversifying my posts

As some of you know, I am now a BzzAgent. Working with Bzz allows me to try new products for free or at discounted rates. All that they ask is that I use the products, review them honestly, and then share those views with friends, family, and the general public. With that in mind, I'm also going to use this space to share my adventures with the various products I am asked to try. If you'd like to be a BzzAgent as well, drop me a line here, and I'll see about getting you hooked up with Bzz.

In addition, I will be updating this more often (famous last words, I know) with more about my homelife, my housework, my career ambitions...and those news stories that get under my skin.

And so, onward!

Parents Try Controversial Treatment to Help Their Autistic Children

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-health/20080708/MED.Autism.Research/

Fringe autism treatment could get federal study

Wed Jul 9, 7:46 AM EDT

Pressured by desperate parents, government researchers are pushing to test an unproven treatment on autistic children, a move some scientists see as an unethical experiment in voodoo medicine.

The treatment removes heavy metals from the body and is based on the fringe theory that mercury in vaccines triggers autism — a theory never proved and rejected by mainstream science. Mercury hasn't been in childhood vaccines since 2001, except for certain flu shots.

But many parents of autistic children are believers, and the head of the National Institute of Mental Health supports testing it on children provided the tests are safe.

"So many moms have said, `It's saved my kids,'" institute director Dr. Thomas Insel said.

For now, the proposed study, not widely known outside the community of autism research and advocacy groups, has been put on hold because of safety concerns, Insel told The Associated Press.

The process, called chelation, is used to treat lead poisoning. Studies of adults have shown it to be ineffective unless there are high levels of metals in the blood. Any study in children would have to exclude those with high levels of lead or mercury, which would require treatment and preclude using a placebo.

One of the drugs used for chelation, DMSA, can cause side effects including rashes and low white blood cell count. And there is evidence chelation may redistribute metals in the body, perhaps even into the central nervous system.

"I don't really know why we have to do this in helpless children," said Ellen Silbergeld of Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, who was invited to comment on the study to a review board of the national institute.

Despite lawsuits and at least one child's death, several thousand autistic children are already believed to be using chelation (pronounced kee-LAY'-shun), their parents not content to wait for a study.

Among those parents is Christina Blakey of suburban Chicago, who uses chelation and a variety of other alternative therapies, including sessions in a hyperbaric chamber, on her 8-year-old son, Charlie.

Before he started chelation at age 5, Charlie suffered tantrums. When she took him to school, she had to peel him off her body and walk away. But three weeks after he began chelation, his behavior changed, she said.

"He lined up with his friends at school. He looked at me and waved and gave me a thumbs-up sign and walked into school," Blakey said. "All the moms who had been watching burst into tears. All of us did."

There is no way to prove whether chelation made a difference or whether Charlie simply adjusted to the school routine.

Autism is a spectrum of disorders that hamper a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Most doctors believe there is no cure.

Conventional treatments are limited to behavioral therapy and a few medications, such as the schizophrenia drug Risperdal, approved to treat irritability.

Frustrated parents use more than 300 alternative treatments, most with little or no scientific evidence backing them up, according to the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md.

"With a lot of mothers, if they hear about a treatment, they feel like they need to try it," said project director Dr. Paul Law. "Anything that has a chance of benefiting their child, they're willing to give it a shot."

More than 2 percent of the children tracked by the project use chelation. If that figure holds for the general population, it would mean more than 3,000 autistic children are on the treatment at any time in the United States.

Chelation drugs can be taken in pill form, by rectal suppository and intravenously.

Dr. Susan Swedo, who heads the federal institute's in-house autism research and wants to study chelation, gained notoriety by theorizing that strep throat had caused some cases of obsessive compulsive disorder. The theory was never proved.

She proposed recruiting 120 autistic children ages 4 to 10 and giving half DMSA and the other half a dummy pill. The 12-week test would measure before-and-after blood mercury levels and autism symptoms.

The study outline says that failing to find a difference between the two groups would counteract "anecdotal reports and widespread belief" that chelation works.

But the study was put on hold for safety concerns after an animal study, published last year, linked DMSA to lasting brain problems in rats. It remains under review, Insel told the AP.

Insel said he has come to believe after listening to parents that traditional scientific research, building incrementally on animal studies and published papers, wasn't answering questions fast enough.

"This is an urgent set of questions," Insel said. "Let's make innovation the centerpiece of this effort as we study autism, its causes and treatments, and think of what we may be missing."

Last year, the National Institutes of Health spent less than 5 percent of its $127 million autism research budget on alternative therapies, Insel said. He said he is hopeful the chelation study will be approved.

Others say it would be unethical, even if it proves chelation doesn't work.

Federal research agencies must "bring reason to science" without "catering to a public misperception," said Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and author of an upcoming book on autism research. "Science has been trumped by politics in some ways."

Offit is concerned vaccination rates may fall to dangerous levels because some parents believe they cause autism.

Dr. Martin Myers, former director of the federal National Vaccine Program Office, said he believes giving chelation to autistic children is unethical — but says the government can justify the study because so many parents are using chelation without scientific evidence.

"It's incumbent on the scientific community to evaluate it," he said.

Actress Jenny McCarthy, whose bestseller "Louder Than Words" details her search for treatments for her autistic son, Evan, told thousands of parents at a recent autism conference outside Chicago that she plans to try chelation on him this summer.

"A lot of people are scared to chelate ... but it has triggered many recoveries," she said.

But those claims are only anecdotal, and there are serious risks.

Of the several drugs used in chelation, the only one recommended for intravenous use in children is edetate calcium disodium. Mixups with another drug with a similar name, edetate disodium, have led to three deaths, including one autistic child.

A 5-year-old autistic boy went into cardiac arrest and died after he was given IV chelation therapy in 2005. A Pennsylvania doctor is being sued by the boy's parents for allegedly giving the wrong drug and using a risky technique.

No deaths have been associated with DMSA, which can cause rashes, low white blood cell count and vomiting. It is also sold as a dietary supplement, which is how some parents of autistic children get it.

A Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said the agency is "is looking into how these products are marketed."

___

On the Net:

National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

If it works and it doesn't harm the majority of children, I think it should be given as an option to treat autism. Outside of that, I used to care for a boy with pretty bad autism. It wasn't bad to the point where he was unable to control his bowels, but it was pretty bad. After I left that job, his parents got him enrolled in a really good daycare, and his autism decreased in its severity.

Chelation has been used to treat heavy metal poisoning in adults for years...it makes me nervous to use it in kids, but if it works and causes very little damage, then...

This is why you wash them first

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/06/victorias_secret_bra_blamed_fo.html

Victoria's Secret bra blamed for woman's rash; formaldehyde suspected

Posted by James F. McCarty June 27, 2008 18:18PM

Roberta Ritter of Parma thinks she knows Victoria's Secret, and she wants everyone else to know it, too.

Ritter, 36, contends in a class-action lawsuit that the intimate apparel merchant sold her bras soaked in chemicals that caused itchy rashes and painful burns on her breasts.

She filed the lawsuit last month against Victoria's Secret and its Columbus-based parent, the Limited Brands Inc., in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. A judge has yet to decide whether to grant the suit class-action status.

In court papers, attorney John Climaco accused Victoria's Secret of peddling dangerous and defective products, of failing to warn customers about unhealthy potential side effects and of fraud and negligence for selling unfit merchandise.

"I don't want any other women to have to go through what I did," Ritter said in a phone interview on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Victoria's Secret said the company is taking the complaints seriously and has launched an internal review.

"We will do everything we can to ensure our customers' continued confidence in and satisfaction with our products," said Tammy Roberts Myers in an e-mailed statement.

She said she believes the company will prevail in the lawsuit.

In January, Ritter bought two bras -- a black satin Angels Secret Embrace and a pink satin Very Sexy push-up model -- for $42 apiece from the Victoria's Secret store at the Parmatown Mall.

She said her skin began to itch after she wore the bras for a few days. The itch turned into a rash, and the rash developed into ugly red painful welts that were hot to the touch, she said.

"I flipped out," Ritter said. "I knew it had to be the bra. I had perfectly shaped burns where the cups were."

Only then did she notice that her old reliable bras were made in India, but her new bras bore tags "Made in China."

Ritter contacted Victoria's Secret, where she said a service representative offered her replacement bras and a warning: "I guess you know what bras not to wear now."

The company reps asked her to return the bras, but Ritter refused until she had figured out what had caused her skin problems.

A dermatologist told her the cause was likely formaldehyde, a chemical used as a preservative in fabrics to help retain their shapes.

Ritter said her skin problems went away after about a month of cortisone cream and aloe treatments. But her concerns remain.

"I tell you, that scared me," Ritter said. "It put me out of commission for a month. I don't want to ever go through that again."

That is why you WASH your damned bras before you wear them! There are all sorts of chemicals that go into bra manufacturing, and only a complete MORON would wear a bra before washing it. If she did wash her bras before wearing them, she may have a case. If she didn't, then she's a moron, and she deserves nothing.


Common sense, people. Wearing any article of clothing without washing it first is like eating fresh fruits or vegetables without washing them first.


Also, I really hope that the bra tag said, "wash before wearing." That would make it even more funny if she didn't bother to wash them first.

Uh, yeah...such a "nice guy"

Authorities Baffled Over Toddler Killing

Investigators Unsure Why Father With No Criminal Record Or Mental Illness Would Beat "Demons" From 2-Year-Old Son

TURLOCK, Calif., June 18, 2008

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/18/national/main4189884.shtml

(AP) Investigators struggled Tuesday to explain why a 27-year-old man with no criminal record and no apparent signs of mental illness savagely beat his toddler son to death on a dark country road.

Sergio Casian Aguiar, who worked at a supermarket in Turlock, was fatally shot by police Saturday night after he refused to stop attacking his 2-year-old son, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

Aguiar's wife, Frances Liliana Casian, a kindergarten teacher, told detectives that she didn't know why Aguiar would brutally beat their child and said he didn't have any mental illness that she knew about, according to sheriff's spokesman, Royjindar Singh. Casian and Aguiar had been separated.

Results from toxicology tests to determine if Aguiar was drunk or on drugs are expected in about four weeks.

Detectives have been interviewing friends, neighbors and family members, but they still haven't found an explanation for the grisly killing, Singh said Tuesday.

"As of now, there's still no reason why he did this," Singh said. "Nobody said his behavior was strange at all. He was normal as far as they knew him."

Aguiar had immigrated from Mexico, and family members will be traveling from abroad to make funeral arrangements and meet with Stanislaus County investigators, Singh said.

The boy was staying with his father over the weekend because his mother was out of town. Aguiar didn't tell his roommate where he and his son were going when he left their house Saturday night, Singh said.

"We may never know why the suspect beat that child to death," Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson told The Modesto Bee. "We hope to find out, but it's going to take a lot more work."

Witnesses said they saw Aguiar stomping, kicking and punching the toddler next to his pickup truck, which was parked on a remote, unlit road in rural Stanislaus County around 10 p.m. Saturday.

Deborah McKain, 51, who lives in nearby Crows Landing, and her boyfriend, Dan Robinson, were driving on West Bradbury Road, just outside the San Joaquin Valley town of Turlock, when they spotted Aguiar on the roadside.

She told the San Francisco Chronicle that at first she thought he was "kicking garbage or something," but soon realized he was attacking a child. She said the child looked like a "rag doll," unconscious with his clothes falling off. She estimated that she saw him kick or stomp the boy at least 100 times.

Robinson, a volunteer fire chief in Crows Landing, and at least one other man tried to pull Aguiar away from the boy, but the suspect kept attacking the toddler.

Robinson told reporters that "there was a total hollowness in his eyes" and that Aguiar spoke calmly when he said he was beating the "demons" out of the boy. At one point Aguiar asked Robinson for a knife.

Minutes after at least three 911 calls were placed - at 10:19 p.m. - officers in a sheriff's helicopter landed in a nearby cow pasture. Modesto Police Officer Jerry Ramar jumped out, ran across a field to an electrified fence next to the road and ordered Aguiar to stop.

"Put your hands up. Step away from the baby," Ramar said, according to Singh.

When Aguiar stuck out his middle finger and kept kicking the boy, Ramar fired his gun, killing the suspect with a shot in the forehead.

Two deputies tried unsuccessfully to perform CPR on the boy before he was rushed to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, where he was pronounced dead.

Ramar, who has been a law enforcement officer for more than six years, has been placed on paid administrative leave, a routine response for officer-involved shootings.

Because the boy was beaten beyond recognition, investigators plan to use DNA tests to confirm that the toddler was Aguiar's son. They also plan to test blood that was found inside the cab of Aguiar's Toyota pickup, said Christianson.

"This event didn't start at Bradbury Road. The blood and other evidence leads us to believe the suspect may have ended up there, but the crime really started someplace else," Christianson told the Bee. "That child probably suffered fatal injuries before the motorists arrived on the scene."

Aguiar worked at a 24-hour FoodMaxx in Turlock, where he was described as a good employee, according to a company spokesman.

Ronda Donner, manager of the Mulberry Mobile Park in Turlock, where the family lived for a few years before they moved last year, said she was "blown away" by the news.

"Nice, no trouble. Their rent was always paid on time," Donner told the Chronicle. "I'm still kind of shocked. He didn't seem like that kind of person."

Authorities said they had previously misspelled the perpetrator's name as Aguilar.

© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I'm thinking he was either on drugs or punishing the kid's mom...or possibly both. There was a reason that he and the baby's mother weren't together anymore...

Killer dad said he had to 'get the demons' out

Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/17/MNO911A396.DTL&feed=rss.news

(06-17) 04:00 PDT Turlock, Stanislaus County -- A 27-year-old grocery store worker who police say punched and kicked his 2-year-old son to death on a country road calmly told motorists who stopped at the scene that he had to "get the demons" out of the boy, two witnesses said Monday.

Sergio Casian Aguiar of Turlock told people who urged him to stop late Saturday that the boy was "trash," the witnesses said. He asked for a knife at one point and, at another, said, "Look how they make toys now."

And when a Modesto police officer jumped off a helicopter and ordered Aguiar to stop at gunpoint, he raised his middle finger and continued his attack.

Officer Jerry Ramar, standing in a cow pasture behind an electric fence, shot Aguiar once in the forehead, the witnesses and police said. Aguiar died at the scene.

"Good shot, thank God," said Deborah McKain, a 51-year-old resident of nearby Crows Landing who pulled up to the beating scene on a cracked two-lane road while on her way home from dinner in Turlock, 10 miles to the northeast. "That guy needed to die."

The reason a father with no criminal record would commit such a brutal killing was still a mystery on Monday. Authorities do not know whether Aguiar was drunk or on drugs, and toxicology reports on him and his son will not be available for three to four weeks, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Royjindar Singh.

The boy was beaten so savagely that DNA tests will be needed to confirm his identity, Singh said. His name has not been released.

The crime shocked this agricultural community and stunned those who knew Aguiar and his wife, Frances, who had recently separated from her husband. She was in Southern California when her son was killed.

Police said Aguiar had never been arrested. He worked at the 24-hour FoodMaxx in Turlock, where a company spokesman described him as a good employee whose co-workers were traumatized by what happened.

At the Mulberry Mobile Park, where Aguiar, his wife and his son lived in a trailer for a few years before moving last year, manager Ronda Donner said she was "blown away."

"Nice, no trouble. Their rent was always paid on time," Donner said while pruning trees on the property, where mobile homes encircle a parched island of grass. "I'm still kind of shocked. He didn't seem like that kind of person."

His wife lives in a modest apartment in Turlock. A bicycle, tricycle and a toy car sat outside Monday. No one was home.

McKain, of Crows Landing, said she drove past Sergio Aguiar's pickup Saturday night on West Bradbury Road and, at first, thought he was "kicking garbage or something."

But she said her boyfriend, Dan Robinson, told her to back up and put her headlights on Aguiar.

"Sure enough, he was kicking a baby around," McKain said.

She said the child was unconscious, his clothes falling off, and looked liked a "rag doll." Robinson, a volunteer fire chief in Crows Landing, showed Aguiar his badge and ordered him to stop, but Aguiar calmly said something like, "It's just trash," McKain said.

Aguiar also said, "Look how they make toys now," McKain said, and at one point asked Robinson for a knife.

When Robinson went into the pickup to turn on the hazard lights, Aguiar stopped kicking the boy, helped him find the flashers, then went back to his attack, McKain said. She said there was blood in the truck's cab.

McKain said her son, her son's wife and her son's friend were also there, as were a woman and a man who pulled up in separate cars. She estimated that she saw Aguiar kick or stomp his son at least 100 times, but she said no one tried to stop him because he appeared to be dangerous. One fear was that "maybe he had something in his pocket," she said.

Also, McKain said, it was clear that "the baby was gone."

Another witness, 23-year-old Lisa Mota, said Aguiar "wasn't acting like a crazy person, running around or screaming. He said, 'I've just got to get the demons out of him.' He was very calm.' "

Mota said she went to a counselor Monday to talk about what she saw but wasn't ready to talk about it publicly.

"Even having witnessed it, I still can't believe it happened," she said. "I don't think it's ever going to leave my mind. For someone like me who is about to start a family, it's a fear that there's people out there like that - that even have the thought to kill a child."

The roadway was still stained with blood Monday, and one neighbor had attached a teddy bear to a nearby stop sign.

Singh said authorities received several 911 calls about the beating just after 10 p.m. Saturday, and that the first officers to arrive were aboard a Sheriff's Department helicopter that had been patrolling over Turlock. The pilot, a sheriff's deputy, and Ramar, the Modesto police officer, landed in a cow pasture just off the roadway about 10:19 p.m., Singh said.

Ramar jumped from the helicopter before it touched down, ran about 20 yards toward Aguiar and, while standing behind the pasture's fence, ordered him to stop beating the boy, Singh said.

McKain said Aguiar responded, "I'm not going to prison," and when he raised his middle finger, Ramar fired.

E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Things like this always make me question my humanity...

Police fatally shoot Turlock man who beats toddler to death

The Associated Press -

Published 5:14 pm PDT Sunday, June 15, 2008

http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/1015583.html

TURLOCK -- A Turlock man was fatally shot by police as he kicked, punched and stomped a young toddler to death in front of horrified motorists who tried to stop the attack on a dark country road, authorities said.

Investigators were trying Sunday to establish the relationship between the 27-year-old suspect and the dead child. The Stanislaus County coroner said the boy appeared to be between 1 and 2 years old based on his size, according to county sheriff's deputy Royjindar Singh.

"It's been a long night of wondering why, not only for the officers and the passers-by who stopped and tried to help out, but for anyone. Why would somebody do this?" Singh said.

The suspect had a child's car seat in the back of his four-door pickup truck, which caught the attention of an elderly couple at 10:13 p.m. Saturday because it was stopped in the two-lane road facing the wrong direction, Singh said.

As they got closer, the couple saw the man brutally beating the toddler behind his truck and throwing the child on the ground, according to Singh. Two or three other cars stopped, an unusual number to be passing through the remote area surrounded by a dairy, a cow pasture, a cornfield and a farmhouse, he said.

"What we got from witnesses is he was punching, slapping, kicking, stomping, shaking," Singh said. "They tried to intervene and get involved, but their efforts really didn't have an effect. The suspect was engaged in what he was doing. He just pushed them off and went back to it."

A sheriff's helicopter responding to emergency calls from the area landed in a cow pasture at 10:19 p.m. carrying a Modesto police officer who shot the man to death after he refused an order to stop beating the child, Singh said.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate the toddler, who was not breathing when they arrived. The boy was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Singh said the coroner does not plan to confirm the identities of the suspect and victim until Monday. Because his injuries were so severe, the child will have to be identified through a blood or DNA test, according to Singh.

No children within the dead boy's age range have been reported kidnapped or missing in Stanislaus County, he said.

The incident happened on Bradbury Road about 10 miles west of Turlock, a city located about halfway between Sacramento and Fresno.

I can't find words for how shocked and appalled I am by what this man did. What makes matters worse is the thought that none of the people witnessing this mounted enough courage and strength to stop this guy from killing this poor, innocent, helpless child. I know quite a few people who aren't fond of children, yet they would not stand idly by or just make a token effort to stop someone from doing something like this to a helpless baby; as a matter of fact, many of them would probably enjoy having an excuse to beat the shit out of a poor excuse for a human being like this baby-beating beast.

I also feel appalled at the amount of satisfaction I derived from the fact that the son of a bitch was shot and killed. Instead of praying that he prayed for repentance when he died, I found myself enjoying a mental image of an enraged Jesus Christ personally flinging the murderer into Hell. (For those readers who are not familiar with Jesus's feelings about children, he loved them very, very much, and he even chewed out his followers when they drove away the children who wanted to see and talk to Jesus, because the children's needs weren't as important as those of the adults, in the minds of his followers. Jesus did not agree--in fact, he went so far as to say that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to children. He also praised the purity of faith that every child has before they become world-weary, cynical, bitter adults. I could see the normally mellow and loving Jesus losing it over being faced with someone who murdered a child so brutally.)

I'd like to know why this asshole murdered this baby, but I most likely will never find out. It was probably something stupid, like the child crying because it was hungry or had a dirty diaper or missed its mother or something. Worse yet, the bastard might have decided that killing the baby was a great way to punish the mother...or a way to get out of his responsibilities, as I suspect he was either the child's father or tied to the child's mother somehow.

At least the kid's in a better place now...but I'm sure that he or she had family that loved him or her and would have taken him or her if they knew that the kid was in danger.

But I have an excuse!

Yes, it's been awhile since my last blog, but I do have a logical excuse--I had a baby!

Samantha FINALLY came out, but only after I had emergency surgery. She was in distress and managed to get her umbilical cord around her neck, but Dr. M got her out before it did any damage. She was 9 and 9 on her APGARs...not that I was awake for that, since my epidural failed.

Anyway, Samantha's been keeping me busy. She refuses to breastfeed, so I have to find time to pump, and since I don't make enough milk, I have to supplement with formula. She doesn't tolerate milk-based formula well, so I've been giving her soy. Ever since then, she hasn't had pure liquid stool with every diaper...but I have noticed her growing towards the sun...

Speaking of things growing towards the sun, I've actually started a garden in my foyer. I don't have a yard, but I have a foyer with lots of windows and a sunny southern exposure. The only bad thing about it is that Steve's psychotic, senile parrot has his cage there, and he spooks over the most random things.

The store is doing better, and I've started trying to put out roots in the community. I have high hopes that I can get a better job without compromising Samantha's care or paying out more than I bring in to get her in a good daycare. I've also joined several promising parenting communities, and I have hope that advertising The Lich's Lair as the mom-and-pop-owned store that it is will bring in other parents in the community who are looking for something safe and positive for their children to enjoy.

The only thing that bothers me about the store is the idea that we won't be able to get away to see my family. With my current job, I can't get away at all without losing pay, since it has no paid time off. I also would have liked attending GenCon in Indy, but it doesn't look like I'll get a chance to do that, either, and it pisses me off. I have a blasted BA in English--I can do better than working for practically minimum wage and NO benefits doing tech support.

Samantha is six weeks old now, and she has started to roll. She also holds her head up on her own most of the time, and I've caught her wiggling in time to the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song. She also smiles when I sing, so I've gotten to the point where I sing for her to cheer her up when she gets cranky.

We also had a tornado rip through here on Saturday. Steve's mother called us in a panic, but the tornado opted to skip our house and take I-80 instead. No one died, which was a miracle, considering how densely populated the area is. One would think that people would be glad to get off so easy, but noooo...people had to gripe about losing stuff and being without power. While I agree that losing stuff and not having electricity sucks, being alive and not losing any loved ones is a definite plus. Besides, there were 25000 people without electricity at the time, so it's not as if it was just happening to one person.

*sigh* I guess that people around here so seldom see tornadoes that they have no idea how fucking lucky we were. I'm from Missouri, so I've ridden out a tornado or two in my time, but I know the kind of devastation that a tornado can bring. It was amusing to see how people around here freaked out, rather than keeping their heads about them, but it was also frustrating to hear all of the bitching about the material things that were lost. I mean, hell, from what I read and heard, no one even had to go to the hospital for tornado-related injuries.

Very. Fucking. Lucky.

Meanwhile, I'm minding the store while the customers play MechWarrior and Magic. Steve isn't here, but that's another story for another time...preferably after he gives me the rundown on his day, which he has described as quite possibly the worst day he's had all year.

I almost told him that he had another six months to top it...but to be honest, I enjoy being alive... =p

At least he won't be beating her again

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/fight.girlfriends.father.2.698553.html

Man Killed In Fight With Girlfriend's Dad

CHICAGO (STNG) ― A 23-year-old man was killed in a fight with his girlfriend's father Saturday afternoon on the West Side.

The 40-year-old father was taken into custody after the incident, and the case was initially being investigated as a homicide, but the father was later released without being charged.

Swantell McKinley, of 1416 S. Karlov Ave., was pronounced dead at 1:48 a.m. Saturday at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

McKinley was the aggressor in a domestic battery incident with his girlfriend in a second-floor apartment in the 4000 block of West Harrison Street about 1 a.m. The woman's father attempted to stop the incident, a fight ensued and McKinley was injured, police said.

A Saturday autopsy determined McKinley died of multiple injures from an assault and the death was ruled a homicide.

I know it probably sounds vicious and unmerciful of me, but my first thought upon reading this was, "Go, Dad!" The man tried to stop the "victim" from beating his daughter, and when he wouldn't, the dad defended his daughter. If more families would stand up to domestic violence, maybe there would be fewer men, women, and children who die as a result of the abuse they endure every day.

It's "Beat the Game," not "Beat the Baby"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080408/ap_on_re_us/toddler_beaten_5

Police: Pa. girl dies after beating

Tue Apr 8, 5:11 PM ET

A 2-year-old girl died after being beaten with a video game controller by her mother's boyfriend and new charges are expected, police said Tuesday. Darisabel Baez was pronounced dead late Monday at Hershey Medical Center, police Lt. Ron Camacho said.

The girl's mother, Neida E. Baez, 19, called for an ambulance Sunday saying her boyfriend, Harve L. Johnson, had brought the unconscious child to her, limp and wet from an attempt to revive her in a bathtub, a police affidavit said.

Johnson acknowledged beating the girl with a video game controller but did not say why, police said. Baez said Johnson had abused the girl in the past and said she heard the girl scream after Johnson beat her Sunday, according to the affidavit.

Johnson, 26, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and other counts.

Baez was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Detective Dana Ward said Baez was charged because she did not intervene or try to get help for Darisabel.

Camacho said that because of the girl's death new charges would be filed.

Johnson and Baez remained in custody Tuesday. His bail was set at $200,000; hers was $25,000.

Through police, family members declined requests for interviews Tuesday. Court officials said they did not know whether Johnson and Baez had lawyers to speak for them.

This...oh, man. This makes me wish that we had stiffer penalties for people who kill kids. Really, the stiffest penalties should be for the people who murder those who cannot fight back. I can't believe that her mother just stood there and LET her fucking boyfriend beat her baby, even after she heard the screams of pain and fear...and it wasn't even the FIRST time! The bitch continued to date a "man" who was violent with her helpless little girl. And he was 26 years old! Do people just not grow the fuck up and learn to control their tempers anymore? The guy should have strangled himself with the controller cord before he ever had it enter into his teeny brain that it was okay to beat his girlfriend's child to death.

Stuff like this is the main reason why I most likely won't date anyone if Steve and I should break up after the baby is born. I'm afraid that if someone got it into his head that it was okay to beat my child, I would have to eviscerate him...it would be hard to explain to the police, but I'm sure that they'd understand that when my baby's life is in danger, I will do whatever it takes to protect my baby. If it's a choice between dating a baby beater or being single for the rest of my life, I'll choose to be single for the rest of my life. No man or woman is worth the life, health, safety, and happiness of my little one.

Duncan, did you misplace something...?

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/884257,womanshot040808.article

Woman shot after threatening deputies with sword

April 8, 2008

Recommend

FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS

UNINCORPORATED ANTIOCH -- A 54-year-old woman was shot by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies Tuesday afternoon, after police said she threatened to harm deputies with a sword following a disturbance near far north suburban Antioch.

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies first responded to a call of a woman throwing objects at cars near Route 83 and Eagles Nest Road in an unincorporated area near Antioch about 2:09 p.m., according to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s office.

When deputies arrived, they were told that the woman had gone into a home in the 40300 block of North Route 83. The deputies went into the home and found the woman in the back of the home holding a sword-type weapon, the release said.

The deputies tried to make contact with the woman, asking her to drop her sword. When she refused to do so, deputies attempted to Taser her, the release said.

The Taser attempt did not stop the woman, and she continued to approach the deputies with the sword. Authorities then shot the woman, the release said.

The woman was transported to Condell Health Network in Libertyville, where she is awaiting Flight for Life to take her to another hospital for treatment, the release said.

Lake County Sheriff’s Department and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the shooting.

Ladies and gentlemen, there can be only one...and this one's most likely headed for a psych ward.

So much to say...

But I've been too tired, frustrated by the blogger format, and insanely busy to update the blog as much as I like.

I've also lost much of my taste for writing due to a writing assignment that is asinine, pays poorly, and is about as much fun to write as it would be to receive a high colonic.

I will try to do better now. I have set a goal for myself to post at least once a day, even if it is just my opinion on whatever news story happens to catch my eye.

The world lost a giant on Saturday

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080406/ap_on_en_mo/obit_heston_3

Charlton Heston dead at 84

By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press WriterSun Apr 6, 12:23 AM ET

Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.

The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

With his large, muscular build, well-boned face and sonorous voice, Heston proved the ideal star during the period when Hollywood was filling movie screens with panoramas depicting the religious and historical past. "I have a face that belongs in another century," he often remarked.

The actor assumed the role of leader offscreen as well. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and chairman of the American Film Institute and marched in the civil rights movement of the 1950s. With age, he grew more conservative and campaigned for conservative candidates.

In June 1998, Heston was elected president of the National Rifle Association, for which he had posed for ads holding a rifle. He delivered a jab at then-President Clinton, saying, "America doesn't trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don't trust you with our guns."

Heston stepped down as NRA president in April 2003, telling members his five years in office were "quite a ride. ... I loved every minute of it."

That same year, Heston was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "The largeness of character that comes across the screen has also been seen throughout his life," President Bush said at the time.

He engaged in a lengthy feud with liberal Ed Asner during the latter's tenure as president of the Screen Actors Guild. His latter-day activism almost overshadowed his achievements as an actor, which were considerable.

Regardless of how one feels about Mr. Heston's political leanings, one has to agree that he was one of the most gifted and influential actors of his time.

And if you are happy that he is dead because he was a member of the NRA and believed that the average citizen should have the right to own a gun if he or she so chooses, then you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Mr. Heston was a man of personal integrity, a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle...a lot of people loved him, and he meant a lot to all of those people. He battled prostate cancer and Alzheimer's prior to his death. He faced his diseases with courage, strength, and the support of his loved ones.

Above all, he was a human being who had a right to his own thoughts and opinions. I may not agree with everything he ever said or did, but I will defend his right to do so.

(I could also share some choice words about the people who favor legislation for gun control who are doing a happy dance now that Mr. Heston is dead, but that is another blog for another time. It is late, I am tired, I am very pregnant, and I am too disgusted by those people who think that Mr. Heston's death is a great and glorious thing to properly articulate my thoughts.)

Mr. Heston, I hope to shake your hand when I get there.

It's about that time

I start at my WAHM job today, and I'm majorly stressing out. I don't get paid until April, which really bothers me a lot. in the meantime, I'm trying to pick up extra work to offset the cost of living while I'm waiting on that paycheck. If you feel like supporting a starving mother-to-be, feel free to drop me a donation anytime. My paypal address is rloaks79@yahoo.com.

Wish me luck!

"We don't care about your package"

I swear, we have the worst UPS delivery person ever. Because we have to buy so much merchandise online for both the store and our other jobs, we have to have it delivered to our home. Most of the time, the companies we use choose UPS, and the people that deliver our packages don't seem to understand the concept that the things that we have delivered are actually worth money.

For example, the normal operating procedure for our UPS delivery person is to leave the package at the back door. This wouldn't be such a bad thing, if the back door that is visible from the street were actually our back door. Unfortunately, we share that back door with three other units, so there's a distinct possibility that one of the other tenants would be tempted to run off with the package. (Fortunately, we only have one psychotic neighbor, and she's usually not around when UPS does their "deliver and dash" routine.)

I think that we may have gotten a new UPS delivery person, though, because the delivery style has changed. For the last few deliveries, the UPS delivery person sets down the package, rings the doorbell...and then runs like hell for the truck. Every time I hear the doorbell, I get to the door in time to see the UPS truck speeding away, leaving behind my package right next to my front door. I swear, the man delivers packages like he's dropping off bags of flaming dog poo. Our most recent package was sitting at such a bizarre angle when I opened the door that I wondered whether or not he just threw the package from his truck and happened to hit the doorbell in the process.

Perhaps UPS is understaffed; however, they only ever seem to advertise for package handlers in their local shipping and receiving facility, so I think that the UPS delivery people just don't care that much about doing a good job around here. In my home state of Missouri, the UPS delivery person actually knocked on the door or rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer and sign for the package.

On the other hand, maybe the UPS drivers are just scared that they will get robbed and/or get shot if they stay in any residential area for too long. I know that there are some places that are really bad in this village, but there haven't been any local shootings for several months, and none of them were in my neighborhood. The worst we've had around my neighborhood has been domestic violence and vandalism to a couple of abandoned businesses. I realize that the problem is only going to get worse over time, but until that happens, there's no real excuse for UPS to provide such poor service. After all, my front door is visible from the street, and there's very little stopping someone from stealing my package if I don't happen to be home to pick it up.

While I realize that delivering packages for UPS is a dangerous job, I still feel like there's no excuse for putting down the package, ringing the doorbell, and running away as if there's an explosive in the box. Many of the things that my partner and I purchase are things that we would prefer not to have stolen. Until UPS starts getting drivers that care about doing their jobs correctly and not just abandoning packages wherever they please, I think I'll be taking my business to the post office or DHL.