Mo. Attorney General to make announcement about Bridgeton Landfill

(KMOV.com) -- New information could come out Wednesday from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster concerning the Bridgeton landfill. Koster will hold a press conference to make an announcement about the stench that has lingered for months.

The Department of Natural Resources recently ran test of the area. State officials determined the area tested for high levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air. Hydrogen sulfide often causes headaches and irritation to eyes, nose and throat.

The DNR then sent the findings to Koster’s office.

Koster has not made any indication of what will be announced at Wednesday’s press conference.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Mo-Attorney-General-to-make-an-announcement-about-Bridgeton-Landfill-200197541.html

Missouri girls basketball team poured urine into opponent's cooler

CASSVILLE, Mo.—A southwest Missouri high school says four girls’ basketball players from a rival school poured urine into the opposing team’s water cooler during a February game.

Monett High’s principal told parents in a letter last week that the four Cassville High players each urinated into a cup, then dumped the contents of one of the cups into the Monett team cooler at a Feb. 4 game in Cassville. The schools are located about 20 miles apart near the Missouri-Arkansas border.

A written statement from the Cassville school district confirms that unspecified disciplinary action has been taken in response to the “inappropriate act.”

Monett High School has contacted infectious disease specialists and says a Cassville student is being tested for potential health risks. Monett’s principal encouraged parents not to retaliate.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Missouri-school-investigates-urine-prank-by-girls-team----199897941.html

What a fine example of good sportsmanship.

Why Are TV Remotes So Terrible?

Let's call it the baby sitter's dilemma.

If you go to someone's house and pick up the TV remote, chances are, you won't know how it works. You know the situation's bad when even a tech writer who also majored in physics at an Ivy League school is confused by her own TV remote.

"It's unbearable to me," moans Ars Technica writer Casey Johnston, of her remote's many cryptic buttons. "Sub.code? Comp/mix? I couldn't even tell you what one of those things do, but then assign them to the same button? It just doesn't make any sense."

So why, at a moment when both technology and TV shows are so terrific, are interfaces so clumsy and counterintuitive?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/03/26/175262114/why-are-tv-remotes-so-terrible

Brentwood, MO police search for suspects involved in credit card theft ring

BRENTWOOD, Mo. (KMOV) -- News 4 has learned Brentwood Police are looking for several suspects going around stealing women’s credit cards right out of their purses.

It’s happened several times at the St. Louis Bread Company in Brentwood. Detective Sgt. Jim McIntyre says, "it appears these suspects are waiting for unattended purses or victims not paying as close attention as they should to their wallet, purse or credit card."

Sgt. McIntyre says they're looking for at least 5 suspects. Women are the target. Police say the suspects pick their victim then start up a conversation to distract her while the other suspect quickly steals her credit card right out of her purse. “The victims have told us they've had their purse on the floor next to their feet and didn't notice anyone rummaging around,” says Sgt. McIntyre.

One of the suspects was caught on camera at a local bank using a stolen debit card for a cash advance. In some other cases police say the suspects take the cards and go to places such as Target and Best Buy and buy electronics or gift cards then resell them. News 4 wanted to know Target’s policy when it comes to checking id’s. A manager at the Target in Brentwood refused to comment and wouldn’t tell us.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Brentwood-police-search-for-suspects-involved-in-credit-card-theft-ring-199967651.html

Always good to keep an eye on your possessions when you are out.

March 26, 1812 The Boston Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" for the first time.

1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.

The word gerrymander (originally written Gerry-mander) was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette on March 26, 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts under the then-governor Elbridge Gerry (pronounced /ˈɡɛri/; 1744–1814). In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a salamander. The term was a portmanteau of the governor's last name and the word salamander. The redistricting was a notable success: in the 1812 election, both the Massachusetts House and governorship were won by Federalists by a comfortable margin (costing Gerry his seat), but the senate remained firmly in Democratic-Republican hands.[1]

The author of the term gerrymander may never be definitively established. Historians widely believe that the Federalist newspaper editors Nathan Hale, and Benjamin and John Russell were the instigators, but the historical record does not have definitive evidence as to who created or uttered the word for the first time.[2]

Appearing with the term, and helping to spread and sustain its popularity, was a political cartoon depicting a strange animal with claws, wings and a dragon-like head satirizing the map of the odd-shaped district. This cartoon was most likely drawn by Elkanah Tisdale, an early 19th-century painter, designer, and engraver who was living in Boston at the time.[3] Tisdale had the engraving skills to cut the woodblocks to print the original cartoon.[4] These woodblocks survive and are preserved in the Library of Congress.[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymander

March 26: Spinach Day

Spinach Salad sounds good!



And of course who can forget Popeye!

March 25, 1911: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the second deadliest disaster in New York City – after the burning of the General Slocum on June 15, 1904 – until the destruction of the World Trade Center 90 years later. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three;[1][2][3] of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was Providenza Panno at 43, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and "Sara" Rosaria Maltese.[4]

Because the managers had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits – a common practice at the time to prevent pilferage and unauthorized breaks[5] – many of the workers who could not escape the burning building jumped from the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors to the streets below. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers.

The factory was located in the Asch Building, at 23–29 Washington Place, now known as the Brown Building, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire

March 25th is National Waffle Day

Inside Nasa’s hurricane drone lab

Phil Hall travels the world without moving.

“The longest flight I’ve done is about 28 and a half hours,” says the US space agency pilot. “We flew from California almost to the North Pole, did two loops in the Arctic, and came back.”

Although the plane clocked up around 16,000km (10,000 miles), Hall did not move much further than the bathroom and the coffee pot down the hall.

That’s because Hall is one of Nasa’s UAV (Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle) pilots, responsible for flying the Global Hawk drones used by the agency.


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130322-inside-nasas-hurricane-drone-lab

It looks like these drones could be a big help for hurricane research & tracking.

March 25th is National Pecan Day