Pilots flying in Scotland last week were treated to a novel warning from air controllers: watch out for a high flying vulture (high flying being a literal description). Gandalf, a Ruppell’s Vulture “escaped” during an airshow called World of Wings. The show was being held in Cumbernauld, which is near Glasgow, when Gandalf supposedly caught a warm thermal. This propelled her high up into the skies, and she was not seen again – for a while.
The “loss” of Gandalf, who has been with World of Wings for six years, prompted civil aviation authorities to warn pilots. Gandalf is originally from the African continent and has a wingspan of three meters. This gives the bird lots of flying power. Believe it or not, this kind of bird can actually fly up to 30,000 feet! Indeed, this capacity makes the bird a potential threat to airplanes in flight.
There have been many incidents in the past of aircraft colliding with birds. In many cases, these collisions have caused pilots to opt for an emergency landing. Remember the commercial airplane that had to land on the Hudson River?
To make things worse, Gandalf’s kind can fly for very long distances, making it difficult to predict where he would end up. The good news is that the bird has finally been found – at a Falkirk brickworks, interestingly enough. Experts were worried that the bird might reach as far as the European continent, but their fears were alleviated when Gandalf was spotted.
So if you’re flying anywhere near the area – you’re safe from show vultures now. 
Photo credit: Birdfinders
What did he expect anyway? The guy was drunk, however, so I guess he was not thinking at all. AP reports that an Australian man was thrown out of a pub in the northwestern part of the country. The 36-year-old guy then proceeded to scale the barbed wire fence protecting the Broome Crocodile Park.
He wanted to give Fatso, the name of the 16-foot saltwater crocodile, a pat; but he ended up getting more than he bargained for. Why he had to sit on the back of the croc, one can only surmise, but Fatso didn’t like it one bit. He responded quickly by swinging his head back and biting the man on the right leg.
Surprisingly, the crocodile let go of the man’s leg so he was able to escape and managed to scale the fence once again – this time to get the heck out of there. He was quite fortunate to have received only lacerations on his leg (nasty as they are) as saltwater crocodiles are not known for letting go of limbs (or anything for that matter) once they get hold of them.
As for the man, no other information was released about him except that he is a tourist from eastern Australia.
Here’s a tip for you: the next time you see a saltwater crocodile, try to refrain from giving it a pat and sitting on its back, will you?
Time does take its toll, and in the recent years, we’ve seen a lot of good people go. Yesterday, it was Jimmy Dean’s turn. The country singer cum sausage king passed away on Sunday at the age of 81.
In his early years, he grew up in Plainview, Texas. His childhood years were not kind to him, but he got his break in the 1950s as a country singer. He is best known for his song Big Bad John, which became a hit in 1961. Now considered a classic, the song is about a coal miner who acted heroically by saving his fellow miners during a mining accident. The song got so big that Jimmy Dean got a Grammy for it.
Later on, the country singer expanded his horizons and founded Jimmy Dean Meat Co., which earned him a different kind of reputation. The sausages produced by the company basically became a household fixture for countless Americans. Aside from these activities, Jimmy Dean was also involved in other projects, one of which was as a host of The Morning Show (a CBS program).
The iconic entertainer and businessman had been suffering a variety of health problems, according to his wife. However, they were not that grave for them to think that the end was near for Jimmy. On Sunday, though, as he was sitting down in front of the television while eating, he quietly passed away.
He may have left this world, but let us not forget Jimmy Dean, one of the greatest entertainers of our time.
We have all heard about the volcano that erupted in Iceland and how air travel all over Europe has been affected. You might have had a personal experience, or you might know someone who suffered. It certainly has cost a lot of people (and businesses) considerable amounts, but Iceland is not taking it sitting down.
In fact, the government is taking this chance to highlight all the other things that their country has to offer visitors. The volcanic eruption has placed the country’s geothermal assets into the forefront. After all, the very same geological reasons for the eruption make Iceland the foremost destination for hot springs!
Indeed, the government has offered all stranded travelers free access to the eight hot pools of the capital, Reykjavik. The temperatures in these pool range from 29 degrees Celsius to 42 degrees Celsius (84 to 108 Fahrenheit). The pools are known for their relaxing and healing properties and are frequented by both locals and visitors alike. Iceland has one of the highest concentrations of these kinds of pools in the world, thanks to its geological resources.
The response of the people has been encouraging, as the government’s offer has not been ignored. In fact, the government says that there are so many people taking them up on their offer that the pools have been full!
The eruption took place (is taking place, rather) under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and countless airports in Europe have been affected by the ash. Some airports have resumed their operations while others are still at a halt.
This piece of news is so hot, but I do not fully understand why. Still, everyone’s talking about it, I might as well jump into the bandwagon. Earlier this day, all the girls at the office were saying: It’s the end of the world! This hunk of a guy is gay, and he’s proud of it. What’s to become of us?
Is he indeed gay? Well, the news came straight from the horse’s mouth. Ricky Martin, the cute little boy who was the youngest member of the 80’s boyband (when that term hadn’t been coined yet) Menudo, has come out of the closet. He has been quoted all over the place as saying: “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”
This was what he posted on his Twitter – both in English and in Spanish. Alright, I have to say that most of us knew that anyway, right? Then again, I guess it’s different when the person actually comes out and says it. I still don’t get the “fortunate homosexual man” part. Can someone enlighten me?
Anyhow, the 38-year-old is supposed to be writing a book – surprise! According to him, the memoir will highlight his struggle to hide his real identity. So what triggered this honesty? He is now a father of twins (born via surrogate by the way) and he says that he cannot hide who he is anymore.
I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more of this in the near future.
Pilots flying in Scotland last week were treated to a novel warning from air controllers: watch out for a high flying vulture (high flying being a literal description). Gandalf, a Ruppell’s Vulture “escaped” during an airshow called World of Wings. The show was being held in Cumbernauld, which is near Glasgow, when Gandalf supposedly caught a warm thermal. This propelled her high up into the skies, and she was not seen again – for a while.
