And the winner is...

Some of my favorite news stories involve people that aren’t all together there. You know what I mean, they’re a few crackers short of a box, their elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor, they’re not the sharpest tool in the shed.

These criminals tickle me. Not that I like the fact that they are criminals. I don’t like criminals. But I do think the stories written about them are too funny and in most cases they get caught because of their less than genius actions.

I like to give them awards. They are ‘boobie awards’ in my mind. These people do things or say things that 99.9% of the general population believes to be unintelligent.

Usually I’m the only one that is aware this award was given. I don’t normally talk about them. They are silent awards. Just for me. I assume most people agree with me and that makes it unnecessary to announce them.

But this week I just couldn’t keep the winner to myself. I found this particular criminal SO unbelievably deserving of the award that I felt the need to announce it. So without further ado, the winner of this weeks ‘boobie award’ goes to…

Feliks Goldshtein of Highland Heights, Ohio

Feliks decided to rob a bank. He prepared himself by donning a ski mask and grabbing his toy gun. He then went into the crowded bank and patiently waited in line amongst the other bank customers for his turn while wearing the mask. When he reached the teller she told him to remove the mask, he said no and showed her his toy gun. He took some money and left only to be caught a few minutes later thus securing his place as my ‘boobie award‘ recipient of the week.

As an added note, Feliks also wins my prize for the weirdest original spelling of their name. I think he even beat Meyghan.

The dangerous seas

When this site was at it’s former URL, I wrote a story about modern day pirates. That story went away with the website. I’m obviously still not happy about losing my site. But that’s beside the point. What is the point is pirates.

Pirates have been around since people have sailed the open seas. In 75 BC, Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner until a ransom of fifty talents (4700 pounds) of gold was paid.

During the early years of the AD centuries, pirates ravaged towns along coastlines around the world. By 1819, the Persian Gulf became known as the Pirate Coast.

The Gulf of Aden lies off the coast of Somalia and is known for it’s acts of piracy. The waters of the Gulf of Aden are considered dangerous to travel. There has been no active government in Somalia since 1991 and therefore the pirates pretty much do as they please.

Cruise ships, oil tankers and other vessels that pirates believe can be held for ransom are at risk. Many ships avoid the area completely because of pirate activity. And some ships have equipped themselves with weapons to fight back. They even have a horn that emits a sonic blast so loud that anyone in the area is forced to retreat.

An oil tanker called the Sirius Star and it’s 25 crew members have been held captive by pirates since November 15, 2008. Apparently a parachutist was dropped over the ship with a three million dollar ransom Friday. The pirates collected the money and released the ship.

During their trip back to shore from the tanker, one of the pirates boats capsized. Five of the eight pirates on board drowned and their portion of the three million dollars was lost to the sea.

I’m not going to say that it’s a good thing human beings lost their lives, but I will say what goes around comes around. If I ever doubted the existence of karma this shows me it does exist. These men spent the last two months treating people like collateral. They had evil intentions and even though they thought they were being rewarded for their actions, they paid for them with their lives.

While the Sirius Star and another ship were released on Friday, over a dozen ships are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. My hope is those ships will be released also. With no loss of life.

Busy little bees

One of the blogs I follow is Linda’s Bees. I’ve always avoided bees. I’m highly allergic to them. But because of Linda and her wonderful bee blog, I’ve really become interested in them.

I’ve already learned a lot about these tiny creatures from Linda and the various links she provides. I went on a site yesterday that she had mentioned and I watched bee movies. They were really neat. I enjoy learning new things.

Then this morning I came across a bee story out of Fresno California. With my new found bee interest I decided to read it. It seems the citrus farmers and the beekeepers are having a battle.

The citrus farmers say that the new seedless variety of tangerines that they are growing do not require bees attention. As a matter of fact bees ruin these tangerines by pollinating them and causing seeds to grow when seeds are unwanted.

The beekeepers say they are losing a lot of bees right now due to the lack of nourishment during the winter months. There just isn’t enough food for all the bees and they have to compete for the food that is there. The tangerine groves provide that much needed food.

The story read to me a little like an elementary schoolyard fight. The beekeepers say if you don’t want the bees doing what comes naturally to them, net your trees. The citrus farmers say make your hives smaller. Less bees equals less competition. And if you don’t like that, move.

I’m leaning towards agreeing with the beekeepers but probably not for the reasons you think. First, the whole let’s mess with genetics and chemically manipulate a fruit that human beings are going to eat thing doesn’t sit well with me at all. Cloned sheep is another no-no to me. Or those people that clone their dogs. I just couldn’t do it. It’s not natural.

But I digress. The second reason I agree with the beekeepers is they’re right. You can’t blame beekeepers for bees pollinating your trees. Even if the beekeeper wasn’t there with their hive, bees would still have access to your grove. All a beekeeper in the area does is increase the amount of bees. I think trying to blame the ruination of your crops on a specific group of bees is like saying there’s a little water in the ocean. It just doesn’t work.