The blessings and horrors of manure lagoons

ByJohn Brown

California cows start passing gas to the grid

By Nichola Groom, Tue Mar 4, 2008 6:30pm EST

RIVERDALE, California (Reuters) – Imagine a vat of liquid cow manure covering the area of five football fields and 33 feet deep. Meet California’s most alternative new energy.

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Man drowns after falling into manure pit

By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News Published: January 19, 2008

A man apparently drowned after falling into an iced-over manure pit at a Cache County dairy, authorities said….Deputies said the pit is about 8 feet deep and is filled with cow manure, moisture and ammonia from the urine, giving it a “soupy consistency.” “It is loose quicksand is what it is,” Bilodeau said. “You can’t swim in it. You’re almost completely incapacitated in it.”

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  • Ugandan Monkey Boy

    ByJohn Brown

    Ugandan Monkey Boy - John Ssebunya

    I thought all such things were hoaxes.  Above is a picture of John after having been found and saved.

    John Ssebunya, the Ugandan Monkey Boy
    Date found: 1991
    Age when found: 6
    Location: Uganda
    Years in the wild: 3
    Animals: monkeys

    John ran and hid in a forest, about 2-3 km from his house after witnessing the murder of his mother by his father. His father was known to be an alcoholic and violent.

    John says he was so frightened of his father that he stayed in the forest. It is possible that he had some degree of mental handicap at that time and this may have contributed to the fact that he did not understand that he should have sought help from other adults.

    He was aged roughly 4 or 5 at the time that he was found in 1989 according to witnesses like Mrs Milly Sseba who found him in the forest. There is no birth certificate…

    John identified the mokes as Cercopithicus Aethiops (the common African Grey or Green Vervet Monkey). This is very significant as this is one of the very few species of mammal that lives in social groups and will accept and tolerate a lone individual of another species of monkey living alongside their group. Other monkeys and apes will not do this — chimpanzees for example would simply eat a human child.

    Read more here.

    Indeed zing, but heart wrenching.

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    Monks in Mormonland (and their honey)

    ByJohn Brown

    We just visted the Abbey of our Lady of the Holy Trinity this week with my family. It’s nestled on over 1,800 acres of some the most beautiful country in Utah.

    I think almost every religion demonstrates virtues we can all learn from. The dedication of these good men to their beliefs and vows to God is one such example.  As is their decision to live simply. And their creamed honey blends, which you can order from their website, are delicious! So far the maple honey is my favorite. Here’s a 2 minute National Geographic video about this abbey.

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  • Bees Sniff Out Land Mines

    ByJohn Brown

    The bee. We slather its delicious vomit on bread and muffins. We send colonies out to pollinate our crops. Now Colin Henderson and his University of Montana colleagues have partnered up with bees to “locate buried land mines” and do it more quickly and thorougly than any dog.

    “We can survey in one day what takes more than a week with dogs,” he says, “and humans stand 300 yards away.”

    Bees can find not only land mines, but also drugs and decomposing bodies. Oh, and they are smart enough to recognize a sugar daddy when they see one.

    Here’s the full article. Read it. Enjoy. Things like this are part of the wonderfulness of life.

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  • Free Stories from Pros

    ByJohn Brown

    From Edmund Schubert, editor of Orson Scott Card’s Intergalatic Medicine Show:

    “During the month of February we are going to make one story from each of our first four issues available at no charge. Two stories will be set free on February 1st, and two more on February 15th. Just visit www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com and explore the table of contents; the free stories will be clearly marked.”

    Of course, having been published in the first issue and slated to be the cover story for the Spring 2008 issue, I can vouch for the magazine’s impeccable taste and the gigawatt entertainment buzz you’ll get from the stories they select.

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    Story insights from the director of Pixar’s Up

    ByJohn Brown

    How would you like to listen to a master story teller for almost an hour? You can. Radio West recently interviewed Pete Docter who directed Pixar’s recent motion picture Up.

    Docter has been with Pixar since the beginning and he shares a number of insights into story telling. He talks about the importance of emotional hooks, getting ideas and developing them via the creative Q&A process, and editing a story from schlock to greatness, and much more. What a wonderful interview.

    Click here to listen.

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