Tina Fey won't host the Oscars, Egypt wants its military rule back and a drunk-driving app

- Developing apps is more than a cottage industry at this point; anyone with any technological know-how is working on a great app to entertain, amuse or inform the masses. Go ahead and add a drunk-driving app to the list and no, it’s not an app that helps you avoid areas where police are patrolling or DUI checkpoints when you get behind the wheel hammered, although that could be useful. No, this app is able to tell you you're blood alcohol content by simply scanning your eyes. It’s called BreathalEyes and the Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff's Department is using a technique similar to the one used by the app. "Today we're running what's called a wet workshop where we bring volunteers in. They're dosed with a known amount of alcohol," Sgt. Jason Dowdy said at a public workshop. At the workshop, deputies kept track of the number of drinks and the volunteers' blood alcohol concentrations by using breathalyzers throughout and once the participants were sufficiently sauced, the deputies tested on their field sobriety skills like the walk and turn, balancing on one foot and the eye test. "On a sober person, the eyeball will just sit there, however if you've been drinking or ingesting alcohol to a certain level, the alcohol will actually cause the eye to jerk,” Dep. Randall Nice explained. The eye test used at the workshop is the same one the BreathalEyes app uses to judge users’ blood-alcohol concentration and in informal testing, the app showed inconsistent performance in being able to match the BAC registered by a breathalyzer test. "The accuracy is definitely questionable at best," Dowdy added. To protect themselves legally, the designers of the app make it clear that it is to be used for entertainment purposes only, because hearing an inaccurate report on whether you or a friend is too drunk to drive is always funny and definitely funnier than watching a drunk person embarrass themselves in a public setting by dancing on a table while singing some White Snake………

- Speaking of drunk people…..flights are definitely a place where a few people show up with a BAC higher than the legal limit to drive. Coincidentally, flights are also places where drunk people do a lot of stupid sh*t and cause problems that lead to their flights being delayed or forced into emergency landings and them being arrested once the plane touches down. Thus, it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that video has surfaced from a San Diego-bound flight that shows passengers jumping up and down mid-flight in an impromptu rendition of the Harlem Shake. As with all of the bad Harlem Shake parodies floating around YouTube, the video starts out slowly, with a young man wearing a mask dancing in the aisle of a plane. Seconds later, nearly everyone on the flight from Denver to San Diego unbuckles their seat belt and starts jumping up and down like maniacs. All of this happened when the plane was tens of thousands of feet in the air, leading flight safety experts to marvel at how the crew lost control of the cabin and allowed a bunch of idiots who didn’t mind going viral with a truly ridiculous version of one of the more absurd parodies of one of the worst Internet phenomena in recent memory. Still, a Frontier Airlines spokeswoman insisted that, "All safety measures were followed and the seat belt sign was off.” Either Frontier isn’t too concerned about a loss of pressurization in the cabin because of the sudden and drastic shift of a massive amount of weight mid-flight. Not surprisingly, a group of college students were behind the stunt and members of Colorado College's Frisbee team led the charge on this one. Now, federal officials and the National Transportation Safety Board will have to determine whether the video necessitates any further action………

- Chris Johnson has been here before and seen his boasts and guarantees of great accomplishments go over the edge of the cliff, bursting into flame below. His biggest brag came in 2009, when he rushed for 2,006 yards and said he believed he would break Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards the following year. Instead, Johnson rushed for 1,364 yards that season and hasn’t sniffed 2,000 yards since. He also famously talked smack to the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, and suggested he could beat Bolt in a race. That contest never happened, but that doesn’t mean Johnson is toning down his rhetoric. In fact, he has been inspired by the near-record-breaking season Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had last year. Peterson threatened the all-time rushing record with his 2,097 yards in a season where he was coming off surgery for a torn ACL just eight months prior and that has Johnson thinking it will be he and not Peterson who shatters Dickerson’s mark. "Of course, '2K," Johnson said, referring to his nickname -- CJ2K. "I've always been a confident guy ... if you want something to happen you have to speak on it, you have to believe in it. You just got to pray and God will lead you there. I know the type of guy that I am, the type of back that I am and if the situation is right I know I can do it." He said he was "very confident" in his ability to break the record and to best Peterson next season. "Every running back's goal is to break that record," Johnson said. "You want to break the 2,105. I believe I can do it." Those words would carry more weight were they not coming from a back who is coming off a 1,243-yard season in 2012, but it’s good to know that a few down years haven’t taken the edge off of CJ2K’s immense swagger and self-confidence………

- How does a return to the governmental arrangement you endured for decades and fought a bloody revolution to topple sound, Egypt? Liberals and other opponents of the country’s Islamist government have their way, that will happen. These backward-thinking folks have called for the military to resume control of the country if its faltering economy continues to worsen and its ongoing political turmoil continues. A coalition of leftist and liberal parties known as the National Salvation Front announced Tuesday that it would boycott upcoming parliamentary elections on the grounds that President Mohammed Morsi is force-feeding Egypt h an Islamist agenda and breaking a promise to govern on behalf of all Egyptians. The boycott has sparked fears that Islamist parties led by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the more conservative Salafist parties will sweep the elections and gain a stranglehold on the House of Representatives. Such a result would give these groups near-complete control of the executive and legislative branches of government and when that potential nightmare scenario is combined with Egypt’s economy being on the brink of collapse….people are a bit on edge. “Egypt is on the brink of default [on its international debts], if law and order is absent, [the army] has a national duty to intervene,” said former United Nations nuclear agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who now leads the moderate Dustour party. "I am sure they are as worried as everyone else. You cannot exclude that the army will intervene to restore law and order.” Speaking on behalf of his informal coalition, ElBaradei tweeted that he would "not be part of an act of deception" and ridiculed an “absence of law & order, due process & cascade of Fatwas & 'legal' investigations vs opposition fast tracks.” Against this backdrop, non-Islamic groups are pondering the idea that the tyrannical rule of the Egyptian military might be a more pleasant option. This push has some traction among Egyptians, dozens of whom rallied Monday in Cairo at the tomb of former President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by Islamist soldiers in 1981, to demand the military reassume control of the country and remove the Muslim Brotherhood from power……..

- Seth MacFarlane received mixed reviews as the host of this year’s Oscars. Some loved his brand of bargain-basement humor, while others decried his lowbrow approach and openly hoped that he never gets anywhere close to the Oscars stage ever again. Knowing his chances for a return gig hosting the show in 2014 were remote, MacFarlane suggested a possible replacement: Tina Fey. Fey and her pal Amy Poehler hosted the Golden Globes earlier this month and the two had good camaraderie and a solid rapport, so maybe she could pull it off….or not. Fey, smart enough to know a losing proposition when she sees one, wants no part of the hosting spot at one of Hollywood’s biggest events. “I just feel like that gig is so hard. Especially for, like, a woman - the amount of months that would be spent trying on dresses alone . . . No way,” Fey said. She admitted that she enjoyed hosting the Golden Globes with fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Poehler, but insisted it is unlikely she will change her mind about the Oscars. “I wish I could tell you there was,” she added. With Fey out of the running and MacFarlane admitting – perhaps unnecessarily given the mixed reviews for his effort – that he would never want to spend five months preparing for the gig or go through the same stressful experience ever again. Sounds like it’s time to pull Billy Crystal off the set of whatever terrible comedy he’s currently filming and make sure his tuxedo is freshly cleaned……..

Germany v. Italy, a beauty queen's sex tape and golf's best battle unofficially

- Nothing in a sport best described as witchcraft on grass is more chaotic, random and unpredictable than a match play event. Instead of golfers attempting to post the best score against a field of competitors, the focus shifts to winning more holes over the course of a round than a single opponent and advancing through a bracket similar to tournaments in any other sport. The format commonly results in the best players being bounced before reaching the finals and last weekend’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona was no different. The Nos. 1 and 2 players in the world were bounced in the first round, leaving the PGA Tour and event organizers without their dream scenario pitting Rory McIlroy against Tiger Woods. Not only did the event have to slog onward with an unappealing (in terms of television ratings) matchup of Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan in the final, but Woods and McIlroy also had to improvise and find a way to make up for the rounds they were missing by not being in the tournament longer than one day. The two of them got together and decided to stage their own match play event - at the Medalist Golf Club, Woods' home course in Hobe Sound, Fla. "We thought we would play our own match play final, except it was over 36 [holes],'' McIlroy said. "It was good. It was the first time I've actually been up at the Medalist. It's nice. We teed off at about 8 a.m. and I was home by 1:30 p.m. We played quick. [Woods] putts with the pin in. It was speed golf. It was good. It was really enjoyable.'' The round was over so soon that McIlroy made it back to his Jupiter, Fla. home before the Match Play final began. He was mum on the details of his matchup with Woods, saying only that there were two matches, with Woods prevailing over the first 18 holes and McIlroy taking the second. Both will tee it up this week at the Honda Classic, where McIlroy prevailed by 2 strokes a year ago over Woods, who shot a final-round 62. That started a run that concluded with McIlroy claiming his second major title: the PGA Championship. Whether the friendly competition does either player any good remains to be seen, be quality competition is rarely bad for an athlete…….

- Science has done done it again, y’all. Confirming the blatantly obvious and undisputed facts of the world around us is a scientific specialty and a new study on drinking in Britain has absolutely crushed it in that regard. A team of scientists led by researcher Sadie Boniface has unearthed the shocking news that Britons are underestimating their alcohol consumption by around 40 percent, a figure the team arrived at by examining the significant difference between the booze people own up to drinking and the amount of alcohol sold nationwide. Such a discrepancy is anything but surprising because the next time a drunk person or simply a big fan of the drinky-drinky accurately estimates or admits to the amount of alcohol they consume will be the first time. Anyone who has ever been pulled over by a police officer for impaired driving has insisted they only had “one or two drinks.” However, the width of the gap is interesting in this case and highlights the unusual trend of doctors often mentally doubling the alcohol intake reported to them by their patients. This study is the first in the United Kingdom to attempt to put actual numbers to the lies drunks like to tell and by Boniface’s estimates, d the underreported alcohol equates to nearly one bottle of wine per British adult per week. All of this matters because Britain has struggled to contain a changing drinking culture that has seen an increasing number of alcohol-related deaths in recent years, including a doubling of the number of fatalities between 1992 and 2008. To be sure, it is heavy and jarring news, perhaps enough to drive a person to drink………

- Another beauty pageant contestant embroiled in a scandal? No way. Girls who have had their butts kissed most of their lives because they are attractive, who are often under the guidance of overbearing stage parents and who exist in a hyper-competitive world wherein they must be willing to do anything to succeed NEVER wind up in trouble. That’s what makes the story of now-former Miss Delaware Teen USA Melissa King so shocking. King, young enough to compete for the title of Miss Delaware Teen USA but old enough to legally have sex, decided to do the latter for money and amazingly, it has come back to haunt her. When King was crowned as the prettiest teen in her small state, many in her hometown of Bethany Beach applauded her accomplishment. Those people probably aren't applauding now that a sex tape, showing a woman who looks and sounds an awful lot like King starting out clothed, on a bed, answering questions from a cameraman about her involvement in pageants before engaging in various sex acts with a man whose face isn't shown. It’s not the sort of image a pageant queen or those running a beauty pageant like to project, which might explain why King is denying she is the woman in the video while also resigning her title in a latter to the pageant. “I would like to confirm that the Miss Delaware Teen USA pageant has received a resignation letter from Miss King’s attorney,” said pageant spokeswoman Dara Busch. So on the one hand, King says she’s not the one performing graphic sexual acts on someone who was apparently paying her to do so, but on the other hand, she’s quitting as Miss Delaware Teen USA. In the video, King (or her doppelganger) is asked why she decided to do a sex tape and explains that  “thought it would be fun,” and that she “needed the money.” And just like that, the legendary, three-month reign of Melissa King is over and she can continue her career in her newly chosen profession of porn. Congratulations on that………

- One very heroic Scot is living a much quieter and more anonymous existence than he or she should and it’s time to change that. This all-star committed an act so heroic and so noteworthy that wherever he or she may be, the world should stop and applaud. The anonymous do-gooder fell on a grenade for humanity and attended a concert by British man-banders One Direction in Glasgow on Tuesday night. In and of itself, such an act takes tremendous courage, but the story doesn’t end there. As former Taylor Swift man-candy Harry Styles and his mates were lip-syncing along to the crappy pop songs someone else wrote for them and making hordes of teenage girls shriek, our hero made his or her way to a spot near the front of the stage and waited for the perfect moment. The moment finally presented itself when Styles and his bandmates took a break during their show to chat with fans. That’s when this bold soul struck, removing a shoe and hurling it at the state in Styles’ direction. The shoe connected with Styles’ groin, sending the shaggy-haired pop hack doubling over in pain and falling onto the concert stage. His fellow man-banders and the crowd burst out in laughter, but applause and cheering would have been a better reaction. Whoever the show thrower is, he or she succeeded where the angry dissident who tossed a shoe at then-President W. during a visit to Iraq in 2008 and not only that, the culprit tried to pelt Styles with a shoe twice. Showing true commitment, this person hurled their second shoe when the first one missed and Styles bent over to pick it up. Maybe the first shoe was a decoy to properly position Styles for the money shot, in which case the plan was ever better. Styles wasn’t injured, humorously did lunges before continuing on with the show and emerged unscathed…….

- One nation loves beer and bratwurst, the other enjoys fine win and pasta, but both are locked in a compelling battle as two high-ranking politicians duel in an absurd war of words. Fighting out of one corner is Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who canceled a dinner with the German opposition's chancellor candidate on Wednesday after he described Italian former premier Silvio Berlusconi and comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo as "clowns." Fighting out of the opposing corner is Peer Steinbrueck, a Social Democrat who will take on Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's next national election in September. Steinbrueck has a reputation for speaking first and thinking later, but those comments land much heavier when one is running for their country’s highest political office. Steinbrueck said on Tuesday he was "appalled that two clowns have won" Italy's Feb. 24-25 election, referring to a vote that was actually inconclusive with no party gaining a majority. Grillo's protest party gained ground, but no clear majority was achieved. Steinbrueck’s words didn’t resonate well with Napolitano, an 87-year-old former communist who may have strained relationships with Berlusconi and Grillo, but clearly isn't going to put up with some foreigner mock his government. In addition to scrapping diplomatically with Steinbrueck, Napolitano must also tackle the difficult task of trying to appoint a coalition government. He was to have dinner with Steinbrueck during a trip to Germany, but the German candidate's spokesman said Napolitano canceled "because of Steinbrueck's remarks on Tuesday" and conceded that the Social Democrat politician "understood Napolitano's domestic political reasons for canceling." A dinner between these two at a Berlin hotel after the remarks may have been even more compelling, but Napolitano elected to continue on with his agenda, including a meeting with Merkel in the German capital on Thursday. German leaders typically don’t meddle in the affairs of other European nations (insert Hitler joke here), so Steinbrueck calling Berlusconi "clearly a clown with a testosterone boost” hasn’t played well back home either. The fact that the former Italian prime minister has been in the middle of sex party and financial scandals makes him an easy target, but Steinbrueck may not have been the may to throw a verbal grenade his way. Still, his remarks about his Italian rivals may be his strongest since 2009, when he referred to the Swiss as Indians running scared from the cavalry during a crackdown he led on tax havens………

Chinese airport rage, the next "Dancing With the (D-List) Stars" cast and 4G LTE in your ride

- China’s Communist Party has developed quite the sense of entitlement these days. Witness the now-viral temper tantrum thrown over the weekend by a prominent member of the party if there are any lingering doubts about how strong that sense of entitlement has grown. Yan Linkun, a deputy chairman of a mining company and a member of a Communist Party political advisory body in Yunnan, went absolutely ape-sh*t at Kunming Changshui International Airport and as with anything remotely newsworthy these days, his fit of rage soon leaked online and spreading like wildfire. In the video, Yan can be seen smashing up a gate counter after he, his wife and two 10-year-old sons missed their 11 a.m. flight to the southern Guangdong city of Shenzhen and were put on another flight at 1 p.m. the following day, only to miss that one as well after they went for breakfast and didn't hear the boarding announcement. The second delay set Yan off and airport surveillance video that somehow leaked to the media show’s him going nuclear. One minute into the video, Yan pushes against the gate’s glass door and when that gets him nowhere, he smacks his hand down n the counter, yells and grabs a computer keyboard and hurls it at the screens. He continues hurling any non-attached object in his immediate vicinity and eventually attempts to kick down the gate door. Airport security and bemused passengers can be seen watching as the event unfolds. At one point, Yan’s wife joined in the rampage, smashing what appears to be a coffee cup midway through the video. Amazingly enough, airport police in Kunming are still investigating to determine whether Yan will face any criminal charges after he apologized to the airport’s deputy manager, telling him, “My irrational actions and rudeness have caused some losses to the airport as well as bad effects to the public, so I sincerely apologize to the airport and public." He explained that he and his wife had reacted angrily because they were in a hurry to get their children back to school in time for the end of the Lunar New Year holiday and if they were that angry and anxious to get their children back to school, clearly the holiday vacation had done on just about long enough. Yan’s employer, Yunnan Mining Corp., suspended him, so he should have plenty of time to resolve his legal issues………..

- ABC has assembled its latest cast of D-listers to compete in its interminable and ubiquitous reality ballroom dancing show, “Dancing With the (D-List) Stars” and this year’s collection is a motley one. The lineup was officially announced on "Good Morning America” and among the has-beens and never-weres who will attempt to cha-cha or samba their way to victory and jump-start their flagging career in the show’s 16th season are past-their-prime comedians, UFC fighters on the downside of their career, Olympians with nothing to do with their time in between now and Rio in 2016 and marginal NFL players. Eleven cast members were announced Tuesday morning, with a “mystery” 12th competitor to be announced before the start of the season. Among the no-names and washed-up D-listers set to dance are Zendaya Coleman, 16-year-old star of the Disney Channel's "Shake It Up," second-tier comedians Andy Dick and D.L. Hughley, mediocre Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones, faded country music artist Wynonna Judd, former WBC Welterweight Champion (and husband of porn star Jenna Jameson) Victor Ortiz and nothing-to-do-until-Rio Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman. Two of the cast members deserve extra credit for becoming bonafide reality TV crossover acts, as they will build on their nominal fame from one crappy reality series with a stint on a second such show: country music singer and former “American Karaoke” hack Kellie Pickler and the incredibly worthless, self-absorbed “Real Houseskanks of Beverly Hills” actress Lisa Vanderpump. Fans of the show (i.e. women between the ages of 18 and 60) are also atwitter over the absence of one of the show’s professional dancers, Maksim Chermkovskiy, who apparently is sitting this season out. ABC insisted there is no bigger controversy going on and that Chermkovskiy is not gone from the show permanently. “We frequently rotate the professional dancers, so it is not unusual for them to rest a cycle," a network spokesperson said.…….

- Cell phone providers are pushing hard to develop their 4G networks, but they’re not the only ones looking to cash in on the 4G revolution. General Motors announced this week that its 2015 Chevrolet and GMC pickups will have the ability to connect to built-in  4G LTE wireless data networks provided by AT&T. The AT&T deal is the first such agreement for the auto maker, but a company spokesman said it will announce more carrier and supplier relationships in the coming months. The data networks will be built into the trucks’ electrical system and to make 4G-equipped vehicles even more of a target for thieves, the trucks will have an external antenna to ensure a good connection. LTE, short for Long Term Evolution, is capable of download speeds 10 times faster than a 3G data connection and both AT&T and Verizon’s networks have often been tested at download speeds between 20 and 30 megabits per second. Being able to download faster from your truck than from your home wireless connection sounds solid and GM is working on other uses for the wireless system as well. It plans to engineer the 4G LTE connection to allow in-dash GPS navigation systems to pull traffic updates in real-time from the cloud. It should also enable drivers to turn their pickups into Wi-Fi hotspots in the same way they can with certain smartphones, and to stream video. What GM did not reveal in its big announcement was what kind of monthly costs drivers will pay for this LTE connection, although it did say that the system will integrate with OnStar, so it could end up as a new tier for that existing service……..

- How has Alabama football stayed on top of the Division I ranks and won three out of the past four BCS championships? By recruiting the best and brightest young talent and keeping five-star prospects rolling into Tuscaloosa as its talented All-Americans exit campus for the NFL draft, that’s how. Nick Saban is the best coach in college football and maintaining that title necessitates him finding the best talent available, even if that talent hasn’t yet graduated from junior high school yet. That’s why the Nick-tator has extended a scholarship offer to Dylan Moses, an eighth-grader from Baton Rouge, La. Moses was one of several talented young players to visit the Alabama campus during Saturday's junior day, but he was easily the youngest of the group and he and his father were surprised to have the offer presented to them. "For Dylan, excitement spilled over," Edward Moses Jr. said. "When he heard those words from Coach [Nick] Saban, 'We're offering you,' you could see him light up. It was shocking because we were going in thinking we were just going to get a tour of what Alabama has to offer. "To hear, 'You're impressive, keep your grades up, we want you to come here, and we're offering you a scholarship now,' I can't even put that into words." Then again, Alabama had little choice but to make the offer because Moses already has one from LSU, which offered him last summer before he even attended his first day of eighth grade. Dylan Moses is no typical eighth-grader, measuring in at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds during his visit to Alabama. His father knows that keeping his son from developing a massive ego over the next four-plus years will be difficult given that two of the best college football programs in America are falling all over themselves to secure a commitment from him at the age of 14. "The attention from those levels of institutions, No. 1 and No. 2 in the SEC and arguably in the country, he feels like a boss, like he's untouchable," Moses Jr. said. "We have to bring him back on down to earth.” Lots of success with that……..

- We are living in 2013, right? It seems reasonable to check because if it is indeed 2013, how the hell is anyone – let alone an elected official – showing up at a party in blackface and thinking that’s acceptable? Meet Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is taking heat – and justifiably so – for rolling up on a party over the weekend dressed in blackface and saying he was portraying some “sort of a black basketball player.” As with so many acts of idiocy in the digital age, his blackface hilarity was discovered via Facebook. His son posted the photo, in which Hikind and his family posed for a shot of them all in costume and the assemblyman rocked a black wig, a basketball jersey and face paint that made him look like the biggest idiot who had ever tried to convert himself from a white dude living in Brooklyn to a black guy in a bad costume. Better still, the Hikind family hosted the party at their own home and it was to commemorate the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is typically celebrated with costumes. No word on which sect of Judaism also celebrates the holiday with blatant and offensive public displays of racism, but maybe it’s a Brooklyn thing. “Someone gave me a uniform, someone gave me the hair of the actual, you know, sort of a black basketball player,” Hikind explained. As with nearly everyone who says, wears or does something to offend another race, the assemblyman insisted he did not mean to offend anyone and tried to explain away his actions with an even worse explanation. “Yes, I wore a costume on Purim and hosted a party. Most of the people who attended also wore costumes,” he said. “Everywhere that Purim was being celebrated, people wore costumes. It was Purim. People dress up. I am intrigued that anyone who understands Purim—or for that matter understands me—would have a problem with this. This is political correctness to the absurd. There is not a prejudiced bone in my body.” You’re intrigued? Great, because everyone else is offended, infuriated and incredulous that you’re a big enough ass hat to believe there’s no problem here. Fellow Brooklyn assemblyman Karim Camara lamented his colleague’s “insensitive actions” and said he was “deeply shocked and outraged” by what Hikind had done………

A fifth "Bourne" movie, Cuba could be Castro-free and a lost continent found

- The belly putter battle isn’t over for the PGA Tour after all. Despite a growing push to ban the putters, which allow players to anchor the top of the club against their stomach to add stability, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem threw a wrench in the plans of the putter’s opponents on Sunday by saying y the tour opposed the ban because there was not enough evidence to suggest players had an advantage by using a long putter. “We hold the USGA in highest regard as a key part of the game of golf," Finchem said. "We don't attempt to denigrate that position in any way whatsoever. It's just on this issue, we think if they were to move forward they would be making a mistake.” Both the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced Nov. 28 a proposed rule that would prohibit players from anchoring the club to their body and it was widely assumed that the PGA Tour would follow suit. Three of the tour’s last five major champions used a belly putter and the USGA and R&A are nearing the end of a 90-day comment period before deciding whether to adopt the rule, which would not take effect until 2016. Finchem has met with players and USGA executive director Mike Davis presented the rule to a player meeting in San Diego last month. In a letter to the USGA and R&A on Friday, Finchem laid out the tour’s position. "I think the essential thread that went through the thinking of the players ... was that in the absence of data or any basis to conclude that there is a competitive advantage to be gained by using anchoring, and given the amount of time that anchoring has been in the game, that there is no overriding reason to go down that road," Finchem said. He and other tour officials clearly do not subscribe to the theory that the anchored stroke takes too much skill out of the game as opposed to a free-swinging stroke. Citing a lack of empirical data on the issue, the commissioner said he attempts to look at the issue “from the standpoint of is it good, bad or indifferent for the game as a whole.” Interesting……….

- If there are two groups in this world that no one can stand, they are veterans and service dogs, in that order. People who have put their lives on the line to protect and defend the United States and the dogs who help them cope with their mental and physical issues once they return from the battlefront are extremely irritating and it’s good that the Rebar sports bar on San Antonio’s North Side understands this. The bar was the scene of an ugly confrontation between three veterans rolling with their service dogs and bar employees who decided their other patrons had put up with just about enough of the annoyance, prompting them to take action. As the three veterans told the story, they were looking to have a good time at the bar and they were hassled because of their pooches. Carrie Ann Partch, who uses a service dog for post-traumatic stress disorder, used her cell phone to record the incident where she and her two veteran friends were pushed and pepper-sprayed. "We were there a couple of hours," Partch said. "Then, all of a sudden, it started picking up and the manager told us we had to leave.” The veterans claim they were asked to leave because of their service dogs, but Rebar general manager Chris Rivera said there was no issue with the service dogs until the veterans started walking the little dogs inside the crowded bar. That pesky legal hurdle known as the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that service dogs are allowed inside and according to Partch, that’s where she and her friends told Rivera they wanted to stay. Both sides agree the dispute became physical, but the veterans say it was a bar bouncer who started the physicality and Rivera argued it was the other way around. "I tried to go back inside and get my things," Partch said. "He grabbed me. He pushed me. He grabbed a drink out of my hand and threw it across the patio." At that point, her friend and fellow veteran Lance Ziebell, who also uses a services dog for PTSD, was allegedly pepper-sprayed in the face. In what had to be a fun time for the local police department, both parties called about the incident and in the end, no charges were filed……….

- Might Cuba’s throne (metaphorical, of course) soon belong to someone outside the Castro family? Current dictator/Presidente Raul Castro says that is a distinct possibility, even though his older brother and the man still pulling the strings behind the scenes, Fidel, may have him offed or excommunicated for saying so. Raul Castro on Friday unexpectedly raised the possibility of leaving his post, saying that he is old and has a right to retire. Even without affixing a date or timeline for such a move, the statement caused a fair amount of buzz as he was sworn in to a new five-year term on Sunday. "I am going to be 82 years old," Castro said at a joint appearance with visiting Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. "I have the right to retire, don't you think?" When more questions about his revelation came from the assembled media, Castro bristled and chastised reporters. "Why are you so incredulous? It will be an interesting speech. Pay attention.” The remarks came at a mausoleum dedicated to soldiers from the former Soviet Union who have died around the world and should not have come as a total shock because the man who made them has also spoken before of his desire to implement a two-term limit for all Cuban government positions, including the presidency. Along with veiled remarks about the limited time he has left to overhaul the island's weak Marxist economy, it might even be possible to surmise that this could be Castro’s last term in office. Oddly enough, many Havana residents had no knowledge of Castro's comments because they had not been reported on Cuban television. By the time his new term ends in 2018, Castro will be 86 and no one is quite sure who would emerge as the country’s next leader. "The time we have left is short, the task is enormous," he told lawmakers back in 2010. Whenever he exits stage left, it will end more than a half century of unbroken rule by the two brothers, who came to power in 1959 leading a revolution against U.S.-backed strongman Fulgencio Batista……..

- If anyone in the world thinks they may have misplaced their ancient continent, feel free to report to the global lost-and-found desk and describe it in order to reclaim it. A team led by Professor Trond Torsvik from the University of Oslo, Norway has located fragments of an ancient continent buried beneath the floor of the Indian Ocean and cited the find as evidence for a landmass that would have existed between 2,000 and 85 million years ago. The strip of land, known to scientists as Mauritia, allegedly fragmented and vanished beneath the waves as the modern world started to take shape. This is part of the theory that until about 750 million years ago, the Earth's landmass was gathered into a vast single continent called Rodinia. On this unified map, India was once located next to Madagascar even though the two are now thousands of miles apart. Torsvik’s team believes it has found a sliver of continent - known as a microcontinent - that was once tucked between the two and they made their find while studying grains of sand from the beaches of Mauritius. The grains were dated back to a volcanic eruption that happened about nine million years ago, but the minerals inside of them were linked to a previous era. "We found zircons that we extracted from the beach sands, and these are something you typically find in a continental crust. They are very old in age," Torsvik said. He claimed the zircons dated to between 1,970 and 600 million years ago, leading his team to conclude that they were remnants of ancient land that had been dragged up to the surface of the island during a volcanic eruption. Based on this find, Torsvik theorized that pieces of Mauritia could be found about six miles beneath Mauritius and under a swathe of the Indian Ocean……….

- Heck freaking yes. Because it was a virtual guarantee that there would be a fifth installment of the “Bourne” franchise no matter how detached from the rest of the films and inadequate a Matt Damon-less fourth film was, hearing that there is a chance Jason Bourne will be back for the fifth chapter is about as good as it gets. Universal Pictures chairman Adam Fogelson confirmed that there will be another movie in the iconic action franchise even though “The Bourne Legacy” failed to match the critical or commercial success of any of its three predecessors. The entire movie felt adrift, detached from the mythology of the series and very much like all of its attempts to connect to the real Bourne legacy were forced attempts to build a bridge so fans would buy in. It was also a thin, rushed movie without a lot of substance to it, but Fogelson wants everyone to know that Universal does not consider the effort a flop and he’s breaking out his B.S. shovel to pile it high and deep in defense of the movie. "The point of the last movie was to create a universe, a world and characters that give us a lot of freedom and flexibility in how we go forward,” Fogelson explained. “Yeah, the movie didn't perform the way the last one did. It also didn't cost what the last one did. It performed more along the lines of how the first one did.” In spite of that downgrade in success and quality, the chairman said there will be another “Bourne” movie and pointed to comments by Damon about his willingness to return as a hopeful sign. As always, that return is predicated upon the participation of director Paul Greengrass, who helmed the second and third “Bourne” movies. Turn that maybe into a definite yes and Universal just might have itself a “Bourne” flick worth watching for the first time since 2007…….

Giant goldfish, picky Colombians and movie news

- Since when is being confused with a prestigious Ivy League university NOT a compliment? When you’re a South American nation best known for giving cocaine one of its best nicknames (Colombian nose candy), that’s when. Yes, the people of Colombia are sick and tired of people misspelling their name with a “u” and thereby disrespecting them in an incredibly offensive way. Being lumped in with Columbia University, Hollywood’s Columbia Pictures, Columbia sportswear, Columbia, South Carolina and other notable Columbias is somehow a major slight for Colombians and they have launched an international campaign to remedy the problem. “We saw this common error and realized it was a platform to start updating the world’s vision of what is happening in our country,” says Emilio Pombo, one of four founders of the “It’s Colombia, NOT Columbia” social media campaign. Since its launch on Feb. 8, “It’s Colombia, NOT Columbia” has reached people in more than 50 countries and received nearly 7,000 likes on Facebook. “We currently have great things happening. Colombia is becoming a destination and getting on the world stage. We want to spotlight that and it all starts with people spelling our country’s name right.” Never mind the fact that others spelling your nation’s name correctly is most definitely not the starting point for anything other than certifying your status as the tool who corrects other people for their grammar, spelling and punctuation, because what really matters here is that Pombo, Rodrigo Salazar, Tatiana González and Carlos Pardo have created the “It’s Colombia, NOT Columbia” campaign and they’re kicking it up a notch. They have been invited to participate in this month’s New York Social Media Week after also taking part in last September’s Bogotá Social Media Week. “Colombia today is attracting international investment to our infrastructure,” Pombo added. “We’ve had big acts like Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Madonna come to our country recently… something that ten, even five years ago, no one would have ever thought of.” If having a pop hack such as Lady Gaga visit one’s nation is truly progress, then maybe backwards is the way the world should go and perhaps a reputation as the base for the international drug trade and the scene of an ongoing battle between the Colombian government and that country’s largest terrorist organization, the FARC, isn’t such a bad thing……….

- Goldfish: Cute, short-living pet you win for the ring toss at the county fair or menace of the open seas? Before answering that question, listen to the tale of the whopper of a goldfish recently found in the depths of Lake Tahoe. Researchers were trawling the lake, searching for invasive fish species when they stumbled across a goldfish that was nearly 1.5 feet long and 4.2 pounds. "During these surveys, we've found a nice corner where there's about 15 other goldfish,” said environmental scientist Sudeep Chandra of the University of Nevada, Reno. "It's an indication that they were schooling and spawning." Chandra and his team believe the fish were dumped there by aquarium owners and they’re concerned the goldfish could interfere with Lake Tahoe's ecosystem. Goldfish are just one of several species of invasive warm-water fishes in Lake Tahoe and they are making life very difficult for native species. Goldfish and their lake-crashing friends also cause problems because they excrete nutrients that cause algal blooms, which threaten to muddy Tahoe's clear waters. The story seems bizarre because typically, goldfish die within days and end up getting flushed down so many toilets in so many homes across America. Why would anyone feel the need to drive to a massive lake and dump them in order to get ride of them? The exact number of people dumping their aquarium contents into outdoor bodies of water isn’t known, but scientists are sure the practice is occurring because these species could not have ended up in these waters naturally. Studies have shown that at least 102 species arrive at ports in San Francisco and Los Angeles alone, and that’s just two ecosystems. All of this is something to consider before toting that goldfish home from the Paducah County Fair and allowing little Timmy to get too attached to it………

- Oscar weekend did not bring any sort of Oscar bump for box office earnings. Last weekend’s top film tumbled to fifth place in its second week of release, no movie made more than $14 million and the race to the top of the earnings list was more of a crawl. The uninspiring “Identity Thief” reclaimed the top spot after dropping to second last weekend, making $14 million to up its three-week domestic total to $94 million. Newcomer “Snitch” snagged second place with $13 million for a so-so debut, followed by the animated children’s movie “Escape From Planet Earth” in third with $11 million for a two-week tally of $35.1 million. The overly cheesy chick flick known as “Safe Haven” was fourth for the weekend and added $10.6 million to its cumulative domestic bank roll for a running total of $48.1 million. The nostalgic power of John McClane returning to theaters lasted for all of one weekend as “A Good Day to Die Hard” tumbled to fifth and saw its earnings dip 60 percent en route to a $10 million effort that left it with a two-week earnings total of $51.8 million. “Dark Skies” scored sixth place in its debut and made $8.9 million in a mediocre start to its run in theaters. “Silver Linings Playbook” remarkably remained in the top 10 in its 15th week, banking $6 million to up its total take to $107.5 million and counting. “Warm Bodies” ranked eighth with $4.8 million and has made $58.2 million thus far, while “Side Effects” fell to ninth in its third weekend and brought in $3.6 million for an overall tally of $25.2 million. “Beautiful Creatures” rounded out the top 10 with $3.4 million, while “Zero Dark Thirty” (No. 11) and “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” (No. 13) both dropped off the list from last weekend………

- And that is reason No. 4,766 you rarely store your unused ammunition in the same place you bake your double-fudge chocolate chip brownies. St. Petersburg, Fla. resident Aalaya Walker learned that lesson in a painful way when she was visiting a friend and the two of them decided they wanted some late-night waffles. Apparently sans a waffle maker or a box of waffles and a toaster, they began preheating the oven. That shouldn’t have been an issue, but Walker’s friend J.J. Sandy had decided to store a magazine from his .45-caliber Glock 21 in the oven. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of chemistry and physics knows exactly what happened next: Once the oven reached a suitable temperature, the bullets began flying and Walker was shot by the appliance. The magazine exploded about 9 p.m., sending casing fragments flying in all directions, striking Walker in the leg and chest. She was able to remove some of the fragments from her leg and abdomen, then had to take a bus to the hospital to receive treatment for her wounds. She was treated and released and because all shootings – even ones carried out by home appliances – must be reported to police once the victims seek treatment at a hospital, police questioned Sandy and he informed them that he had stored the gun in a drawer but had stored the magazine in the oven. At the time of the attempted waffle-making, there were four rounds in the 13-capacity magazine, he said. If Sandy knew much about the gun he apparently owns legally and has a proper concealed weapons permit for, he would probably know that the .45-caliber bullets commonly used in Glocks can explode at temperatures as low as 280 degrees or lower, if they are exposed to heat for a long time. Not having a working temperature gauge on the oven would theoretically be another reason not to store live rounds there, but the good news is that everyone is more knowledgeable about a very important subject and a few flesh wounds are the only suffering involved in learning that vital lesson……..

- Do NOT panic, New York Mets fans. Just because your favorite team hasn’t finished fewer than 18 games out of first place since 2008, once again overhauled its roster this offseason and the former ace of its starting staff just had his first Grapefruit League appearance of the spring pushed back by as much as two weeks as he attempts to return from his season-ending stint on the disabled list last season with lower-back inflammation is no reason to overreact. Oh, and while Johan Santana underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule at the end of the 2010 season and missed the following year, his not having finished a season healthy and on the active roster is likewise no reason to be worried – just ask general manager Sandy Alderson. Alderson made it clear that although Santana's first spring training start has been pushed back by as much as two weeks, that doesn’t mean he is injured. The 33-year-old left-hander was originally scheduled to make his first spring training appearance March 2, but that has been revised to the March 10-15 range. "There's no structural issue," Alderson said. "It's just a matter of building up strength. So he'll be long-tossing before he gets back on the mound. We expect that his schedule will have been delayed somewhat.” Oh, sure thing. A pitcher whose shoulder, arm and back appear to be breaking down on an annual basis reducing his throwing before the season even starts and then having his spring debut pushed back by two weeks is never an indicator of something more serious. "I haven't gotten on the mound for a while, so it takes time to get everything adjusted again and to get in that pitching mode again," Santana said. "It takes time. That's what we're doing. It's not a setback at all." Manager Terry Collins has designated Santana as his Opening Day starter, assuming he’s healthy and able to pitch by then. The Mets’ new plan calls for Santana to gradually build his arm strength and get back on the mound only when ready. After letting everyone know that Santana is definitely NOT injured, Alderson admitted he could not rule out the possibility of the man scheduled to make  $25.5 million in the final guaranteed season of a six-year deal opening the season on the disabled list. "Right now, we don't think so, but it's obviously a possibility," Alderson said. Glad we were able to clear that up……..

Spain's royal family fraud, Google's touch-screen laptop and Megan Fox + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- The 140-year-old Holy Angels Catholic Church in Darboy, Wisc. is “batting” 1.000 and while that might be a perfect batting mark in baseball, it’s a problem for the place of worship. A church maintenance worker discovered the bat infestation when he went to check out a leak in the roof and when he opened the door to the attic, he received an unwelcome surprise. "And lo and behold, when he opened up the attic roof, he found that he had seen some bat droppings,” said Patty Vande Voort, Holy Spirit Parish business administrator. “We didn't anticipate a bat colony in the church at all.” Sadly, spraying something toxic and waiting for the bats to die isn’t a feasible solution for such a problem and the infestation, along with the resulting roof damage, have morphed into a $100,000-plus project. In order to get rid of the bats, prevent them from coming back and repair insulation damage, extensive repairs are needed and on top of that (pun intended), the roof still has to be replaced. While the project is ongoing, parishioners will have to shift their worshipping to the parish's sister church in Kimberly, where services will be held beginning March 4 and continuing until the renovation is complete. Removing bats is a complicated process in Wisconsin, where bats (ridiculously) enjoy protected status. On top of that hassle, the area’s miserable winter weather complicates the issue because forcing bats out into the über-cold conditions could be construed as violating the state’s policy of protecting them from environmental threats. Church officials hope to use a diocese endowment to cover some of the costs for the repairs and raise the rest in order to complete the project by April 1. Outagamie County Health Department officials have approved the plan to get rid of the bats……..

- There may have been a slew of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies and television shows in recent years, but maybe it’s time for another one. After all, any time dudes around the world can stare at Megan Fox poorly delivering bad dialogue in a movie with a bloated budget and ridiculous premise, a studio somewhere has to green-light that project…right? Fox will indeed be a part of the next TMNT film, and if there’s a big-budget movie sure to be choked to death by excessive, computer-generated effects, you know Michael Bay has to be helming it. Sure enough, Bay is producing the film and he broke the news on his blog that will take part in the reboot of the series, based on radioactive material being spilled into a sewer and turning four turtles into human-like, walking, talking crime fighters with martial arts expertise courtesy of a Yoda-like rat named Splinter. Fox will play April O'Neil, a television reporter and friend of the turtles who has had her life saved by the group multiple times. While Bay will produce the movie, Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans) will direct a truly odd mix in which the pizza-loving turtles will be computer-generated, with real actors appearing alongside them. In place of the ridiculous costumes that were used in three TMNT movies released between 1990 and 1993, motion capture will be used. Outside of guys who like checking Fox out for two hours on the big screen, anyone who grew up in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, when the series was first created, should enjoy the movie. Filming is set to begin in New York in the spring and the film is set for a May 16, 2014 release…….

- No one around Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is doing anything to slow the roll on the hope that the star signal caller will recover from a torn ACL and LCL in time to start in Week 1 next season. An Adidas commercial featuring a voiceover from Griffin talking about “blowing up” everything in his path and pushing toward a Week 1 return this fall because nothing he’s done in the past matters created such a buzz among Redskins fans that Griffin felt the need to take to Twitter and let everyone know he wasn’t going to rush back too soon. Now, the man who performed the surgery to repair his torn ACL and LCL is joining in the hype. Dr. James Andrews, the Redskins team doctor who is on the sideline for their games, said Friday that Griffin is  "way ahead of schedule" in his recovery from the procedure. "We have him well on his way. His recovery is way ahead of schedule so far,” Andrews said. We don't have to do much but try to hold him back, if you want to know the truth. Our whole mode for him though is to do what is best for his career, not necessarily what is best for the first game next season. So all of that has to be put on hold and let him get well." Griffin suffered a sprained LCL in Washington's Week 14 win against the Baltimore Ravens, returned two weeks later and reinjured the knee early in a first-round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks when he was somehow allowed to return to the game by head coach Mike Shanahan even though he had clearly injured himself severely and was hobbling around at much less than full strength. Since tearing two ligaments, he has won The Associated Press 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and impressed team officials enough with his recovery to convince them that he has a legitimate chance to start in the 2013 opener…….

- Google is back at it. Its quest for world domination rages on and the next battleground is touch-screen laptops. The company unveiled the first such laptops powered by its Chrome operating system and thw new high-end Chrome device, called the Chromebook Pixel, was designed and built by Google with help from a hardware partner in Taiwan. It definitely isn't cheap and if Google were seeking to undercut Apple or other competitors, it would not be selling a Wi-Fi-only version for $1,299 and a $1,449 version that also includes built-in LTE wireless technology so people can use it on the go. The LTE version will hit the market in April and Verizon will offer special wireless plans for Pixel owners. Previous Chrome devices have sold for as little as $199, but none of them have offered touch screens. Google will sell the new computers through the Google Play online store and BestBuy.com in the United States and at Dixons PLC's PCWorld stores in the United Kingdom. A big part of Google’s push to expand its hardware repertoire has been its newly acquired Motorola Mobility unit, which designs and builds smartphones and tablets. Intel, a leading chip maker, has also been aggressive in pushing computer makers to get on board with the trend of thin portables called Ultrabooks, which include models that can be operated in a tablet or clamshell model. Google Chrome executive Sundar Pichai spoke at an event in San Francisco about the challenges of convincing users to embrace touch-screen laptops and admitted it will take some time. "It's clear [that] touch is here to stay and it's the future," he said, adding that a touch screen would improve the way users navigate online photo albums or view sites such as Google Street View. Another selling point for the Chromebook Pixel is that it boots up in a matter of seconds while sporting 32 GB of hard-drive space (64 GB for the LTE model)……..

- So….this probably isn't what Spain needs right about now. A country in a perpetual state of unrest as the angry masses battle back against European Union-imposed austerity measures definitely could do without news that its king's son-in-law appeared before a judge on the island of Mallorca on Saturday to respond to charges of tax fraud in a $7.9 million embezzlement case. Even though the king doesn’t appear to have been involved in the fraud, the case has diminished public support for the once-popular royal family and combined with other corruption cases in which politicians are accused of taking millions of euros in bribes, Spaniards are enraged. The country’s unemployment rate having soared to 26 percent in a deep recession may have something to do with their anger as well. Inaki Urdangarin, a former Olympics handball player who is married to the king's daughter, the Infanta Cristina, is at the heart of the scandal. He is accused of using his powerful connections to win public contracts to put on events on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and across Spain. Urdangarin’s Noos Foundation is accused of overcharging for organizing conferences about the business of sports and stashing its illegal proceeds abroad. He was questioned by Examining Magistrate Jose Castro in a closed-door hearing and was greeted outside the courthouse by hundreds of protesters chanting and holding up signs reading, "Down with the monarchy" and "They call this a democracy but it isn't." Urdangarin faces charges of fraud, forgery, embezzlement and corruption and if convicted, he could face a prison sentence and fines. The case has dragged on since 2011, when Urdangarin was first charged and called in for questioning. Even better, it could stretch on for months or even years as the judge continues his probe and adds or dismisses charges. Urdangarin is doing his part to slow the process down by fighting an order that he and a former business partner in the Noos Foundation post bail of about $10.8 million. All of this creates a fun atmosphere in a nation where more companies announce lay-offs each week, tens of thousands of homeowners have defaulted on their mortgages and been evicted from their homes and the government has cut public salaries and spending on health and education. King Juan Carlos, who took the throne in 1975, has taken a hit in the scandal and politicians have openly called for him to abdicate and hand the throne to his son, Prince Felipe. Good times all around………

Cats for inmates, toxic mice for snakes and Estonia commands respect

- Peyton Manning couldn’t bring a Super Bowl victory or even a single playoff win to Denver in his first season, but maybe the future Hall of Famer can bring in some more help to get the Broncos closer to a championship next season. Having already talked several of his former receivers into signing in Denver and being part of the team’s revamped offense last season, Manning is now going to work on longtime Colts teammate and newly minted free-agent defensive end Dwight Freeney. Freeney, one of the top pass rushers in the NFL for most of the past decade, was cut by the Colts this week. The release ended Freeney’s 11-year run in Indianapolis, during which time he recorded 107.5 sacks. The move was a cost-cutting one and Freeney could still have some value in the right system, a fact Manning knows well. Freeney said during a TV interview this week that Manning already has begun the recruiting process to bring him to Denver. “He sent me a text and he just said, ‘Hey man, don’t worry, come play with me in Denver,” Freeney said. “I don’t know how serious it was but, you know, it’s good to hear some of your former teammates still follow you, they care and they want to see you succeed.” Joining a team that won 13 games and was the top seed in the AFC entering the playoffs seems like a quality landing spot, so would Freeney consider joining the Broncos? “I think they’ve got a couple good pass rushers over there, I don’t know if they have room for me,” Freeney said. Standout defensive end Elvis Dumervil and linebacker Von Miller notwithstanding, the Broncos could clearly use another pass rusher and if Freeney is amenable to the idea, Denver might be his best option……..

- Too often, Estonia gets laughed at by the rest of the world. The tiny Baltic nation that many cannot even locate on a map (find Finland and head due southeast) doesn’t receive much respect, but maybe that will change now that it has become the first country in the world to install a nationwide system of fast chargers for electrical vehicles. The system is the work of engineering group ABB, whose crews produced and installed the 165 chargers. Construction was financed from the government's sale of 10 million surplus CO2 emission permits to Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and the entire effort is part of a push to reduce carbon emissions across Europe. The Estonian government and Mitsubishi reach an agreement in 2011 for the system and as part of the deal, the automaker will also provide the government with more that 500 electric cars and the financing of a subsidiary system for people to purchase electric cars. "Now is the time to really press the pedal and move forward in electrical mobility. We have proved that there is a real possibility to set up a network in a country, and there are no technical barriers," Jarmo Tuisk, head of the program. Like other nations hoping for a takeoff in the popularity of electric cars, Estonia has seen a disappointing lack of enthusiasm for the alternative-fuel rides because of high driving costs and their short range from a single charge. The government is hoping that a network of fast chargers strategically placed along roads and in towns will alleviate drivers’ fear of running out of power during their journeys. As part of the system, a nationwide unified payment system has also been created for the country of 1.2 million. All of this may seem excessive for a nation with just 619 all-electric cars, but Tuisk said that with the national charging network in place he hoped the number of electrical vehicles owned individuals or companies would double this year………

- Science never ceases to amaze and sometimes, it even amazes by doing things that benefit something other than their research budget. The tiny island of Guam is proof of this fact and scientists are currently helping the small U.S. territory deal with a very big problem. For more than 60 years, Guam has dealt with the nuisence that is the brown tree snake and many of the island native bird species are extinct because of this menacing reptile, which reached the island's thick jungles by hitching rides from the South Pacific on U.S. military ships shortly after World War II. As many as 2 million of the snakes are believed to live on the island, so scientists have come up with an interesting solution for the problem: dead mice laced with painkillers. These toxic mice are about to rain down on Guam's jungle canopy in the hopes that the snakes will eat them and die, thereby ending their reign of terror that includes biting residents and even knocking out electricity by slithering onto power lines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services branch is watching the experiment closely and if the plan works, it could use the strategy in other areas as well. "We are taking this to a new phase," said Daniel Vice, assistant state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam, and the Pacific Islands. "There really is no other place in the world with a snake problem like Guam." Brown snakes are usually a few feet long, but can grow to as long as 10 feet and are known to climb power poles and wires, causing blackouts, or slither into homes and bite people, including babies. Their venom is not lethal to humans, but the threat of a brown snake bite has become a discouragement for tourists who might otherwise visit the island. Will dropping toxic mice from the sky as bait work? The mice will be pumped full of acetaminophen, which is harmless to humans, and their lifeless bodies should be perfect fodder for these hungry snakes. The mice drop is targeted to hit snakes near Guam's sprawling Andersen Air Force Base, which is surrounded by heavy foliage. If it fails and the snakes infiltrate the base, it could be their ticket off the island and allow them to infest other areas in the region. Here’s hoping the plan to drop the mice, attached to device with streamers designed to catch in the branches of the forest foliage where the snakes live and feed, works well………..

- She may be the perpetual third wheel in the on-again, off-again girl-pop outfit that is Destiny’s Child, so take it easy on Michelle Williams before mocking her for signing a deal to star in her own reality show, titled “My Sister’s Keeper.” For some odd reason, a production company called Entertainment One believes people will want to watch a series that follows Williams and her sisters as she prepares to release her new gospel solo album. Then again, this type of show seemed to be Entertainment One’s thing, as it also produces a reality show starring gospel duo Mary Mary. The project is a self-serving one for the company, whose music division will release Williams’ album. "Working together on my new gospel album and television series, I am excited to share with everyone a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration and journey of recording for the album, performing, fun family times and other unforgettable experiences out together with my dear sisters," the singer said in a statement. Entertainment One didn’t offer any word as to whether Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland, Williams’ sometimes-running mates in Destiny’s Child, will make an appearance at any point in the series, but after their truly forgettable and overrated performance during Knowles' halftime show at the Super Bowl, seeing the trio back together any time soon will be far sooner than anyone outside their immediate families want to see. Williams has released two previous solo albums and has even inspired f the infamous Poor Michelle blog, which bills itself as "a compilation of all the times Michelle Williams got the short end of the Destiny's Child stick,” so at least a few people will watch her new show…..maybe…….

- Because there aren't enough crazy cat ladies in the world to take care of every abandoned or stray feline, someone needs to step up and tend to Fluffy or Elmo the tabby cat’s daily needs. Corrections officials in the state of Washington have come up with a unique solution to this issue and their plan is already in place at the Silver Star Unit at Larch Corrections Center in the city of Yacolt. So far, the program is small and features five cats that reside at the prison as part of a cat adoption program coordinated with the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society. Approved inmates socialize the cats and get them ready to be adopted, theoretically learning new skills in the process. Men like Jerry Warfield are tasked with taking care of the cats on a daily basis and he is currently caring for a cat named Jinx, who previously lived in a hoarding situation. "When she came, she did nothing but hide," he said. "She went straight underneath the bed, and she wouldn't come out for nothing. First couple of days, she didn't want to come out to eat." Weeks after arriving, Jinx allows Warfield to carry her around the unit and spends much of her day climbing onto several perches mounted on the walls of his room. "She'll make somebody a really good pet," Warfield said. "Someone that will love her and pay attention to her." Most of the cats in the program were rescued from neglectful or abusive situations and ironically, living in a prison is a nice respite for them. Each cat lives with two inmates in a room equipped with scratching posts and a litter box and the inmates feed and care for the animals and help them overcome behavioral issues. Officials hope these inmates along their own road to rehabilitation so they are better people upon their release. To be eligible to work in the program, the inmates must have a history of good behavior with the Department of Corrections and no violent crimes or animal abuse in their history………

10 sheep and four men in a hatchback, MLB's toughest manager and Shia LeBouf quits Broadway

- Martin Luther King, Jr. would be proud. The iconic civil rights leader is several decades gone from the Earth, but there is no doubt he would be thrilled to learn that a city in Texas is considering allowing a Confederate memorial to be built at corner of Interstate 10 and a road named in King’s honor, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. While nothing is official yet, city officials in Orange, Tex. and a small group of citizens gathered Wednesday morning for a closed-door meeting at the city zoning office to discuss a planned memorial to be built by the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization. "I've received many negative comments about the project... The mayor asked me to schedule a meeting with some of the participants that made public comments," said Orange City Manager Shawn Oubre. "The concern of the image that it's going to give the city as we try to develop and attract tourism.” Among those lining up against the planned memorial is the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Orange NAACP branch president Dr. Jackie Mayfield participated in the meeting and made it clear he and his membership view the flags as a symbol of racism the city doesn't need. "They may not see it that way, but they have a flag that symbolizes slavery... and that is not good for the public and will bring down the city financially if it's allowed to happen," Mayfield explained. According to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the memorial would feature 26 different flags used by the Confederate States of America. Mayfield said following the meeting that those involved discussed possible avenues of legal action, but admitted that no decisions were made. Instead, the fight will go on and so far, the quietest party in the entire process has been the Sons of Confederate Veterans themselves. No one representing the group attended the meeting, nor has the group issued any official statement on the memorial………

- Shia LaBeouf walked away from Broadway and now, he’s blasting away at his critics on Twitter for criticizing his choice to quit on his role in the upcoming revival production of the play “Orphans.” LeBouf, who has more free time on his hands now that he won’t be a part of the “Transformers” franchise moving forward, was to be a part of the cast for the production but decided to walk away in the face of a growing controversy centering on his relationship with co-star Alec Baldwin. LeBouf and the temperamental Baldwin reportedly clashed on several occasions and rather than forge ahead and try to co-existing, LeBouf stepped down. Now, he’s taking his case to the people by tweeting out what he claims is evidence about what really went on behind the scenes. He started his offensive by posting what purports to be personal emails involving Baldwin, another co-star, Tom Sturridge, the play’s director. The first email, from “Orphans” director Daniel Sullivan, says in part: “Alec is who he is. You are who you are. You two are incompatible. I should have known it … This one will haunt me. You tried to warn me. You said you were a different breed. I didn’t get it.” A second email, allegedly from Baldwin, reads in part: “When the change comes, how do we handle it, whether it be good or bad? What do we learn? I don’t have an unkind word to say about you.” The second message is odd, rambling and cryptic, but perhaps LeBouf should have stuck it out instead of quitting. His role in the play was that of a kidnapper who, along with Sturridege, kidnap a wealthy businessman, played by Baldwin. Fake-kidnapping someone and slapping them around on stage can typically help relieve tension between two people, but LeBouf’s Broadway debut will have to wait a while longer. On the plus side, he can now follow through on his promise to leave  big-budget Hollywood movies to focus on more-independent projects……..

- Are you still feeling good about that free flu shot you waited for in line for over an hour at the local Walgreen’s, elderly America? Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows that this year's flu vaccine provided little protection to those 65 and older who got a shot. The CDC data suggest the vaccine reduced an older adult's risk of contracting H3N2 influenza by just 9 percent. The H3N2 strain is the primary pointed out that older people who received a flu shot and have since developed any flu-like illness should still see a doctor and find out whether they need antiviral drugs. Hearing that flu shots offered virtually no discernable benefits to the very people who are always most eager to get them and über-paranoid that they will catch something and die if they don’t is funny on several levels, especially because this year's flu vaccine reduced the risk of developing influenza requiring medical care by 56 percent overall and 47 percent for H3N2. In other words, the vaccine helped a lot of people and did plenty of good, just not for the people who all but camp out at their neighborhood CVS the night before flu shots are made available. The rates provided by the CDC show the same general level of effectiveness for this year’s flu vaccine as the numbers released by Canadian health officials last month. Sorry for the bad news, elderly Americans, but maybe next year’s flu vaccine will be more effective….assuming you survive that long, of course…….

- He may coach one of Major League Baseball’s worst teams on an annual basis, he may work for one of the most moribund organizations in all of professional sports and his team may start this season with no hope of winning a World Series or even the American League pennant, but don’t ever question Ned Yost’s toughness. Yost and his team are hard at work in Surprise, Ariz. as they get spring training rolling. They’re trying to find a way to maximize the talent they do have in order to compete in a division where three teams (Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland) have all outspent them dramatically over the course of the past two seasons. Yost has a lot on his plate with his team, so he decided to remove one ginormous pain from his life by leaving camp in Surprise and driving to nearby Phoenix, where a doctor who works for the Arizona Diamondbacks removed his gallbladder. Yost said he had endured two years of recurring pain and couldn’t tolerate the discomfort any longer. He added that eating Kansas City’s famed barbecue offerings was more difficult because of his gallbladder issues and so he went under the knife. The surgeon made three incisions, Yost’s wife was there with him for the procedure and she drove him home after the outpatient surgery. Ever the grizzled baseball veteran, he laid back and rested……for all of a few hours. By the time the sun rose over the Arizona desert Wednesday morning, he was in his car and headed back to camp. If only the Royals’ players can channel some of that toughness when they face the adversity that will greet them throughout this season, maybe the Royals can actually contend for something………

- No one has ever accused New Zealanders of not knowing how to have fun. The Kiwis and their rivals in Australia are known for boozing, fighting and throwing one hell of a party…so of course it was New Zealand where police found four men and 10 sheep crammed inside a 1994 Ford Laser hatchback. Officers discovered the very smelly and very tiny car Wednesday during a routine patrol. An officer was simply driving around at about 1 a.m. local time Wednesday in Havelock North when something odd caught his eye. He spotted the hatchback lurching and laboring along, needing even more effort than normal to putter forward using the power of its 1.3-liter engine. “He would have done a double take and said, ‘What the hell?’” Wellington police spokesman Guy Callahan said. “The officer basically pulled the vehicle over and discovered it was full up with men and sheep. … It’s quite a small vehicle.” In an amazing coincidence, 10 sheep had allegedly just been stolen from a farm. The sheep apparently matched the description of 10 sheep that had just been stolen from a nearby farm. The animals were hog-tied and crammed inside the car with three men, ages 35, 22 and 21. Callahan explained that stolen sheep are generally slaughtered and eaten, but these beasts will live to be sheared another day now that their captors have been arrested and charged with theft of stock and cruel treatment of an animal. Their plot to get some free sheep meat, which is expensive, will need to be revised before they give it another go. “A lot of sheep get poached, especially during lambing season,” Callahan added. “But something like this is not regular. It’s bloody hot here because it’s in the middle of summer, so  10 wool sheep and four men -- it’s, well … it’s hot.” Perhaps nothing has ever hit the description of a hot mess any better………