Category Archives: Odd

Odd

Logger says cut off toes to free himself (Reuters)

September 2, 2011 – 9:04 am

DENVER (Reuters) – A western Colorado logger said on Wednesday that he amputated all the toes on his right foot with a pocket knife to free himself after a 7-ton trailer landed on his foot, trapping him in an isolated forest. Jon Hutt, 61, of Montrose, Colorado, said he's "on the mend" after the harrowing August 19 incident. Hutt told Reuters he was gathering a load of firewood for the upcoming winter months in a remote area west of Telluride, Colorado. As he was working on his tractor-trailer, the trailer lurched, became detached and landed on his foot. "It was like stepping into a bear trap," he said. Unable to free himself, Hutt said he hollered for help but after 30 minutes realized "no one was coming," and he needed to take drastic action before shock set in. Utilizing the 3-inch blade on his pocket knife, Hutt cut away his boot and saw that his only option was to cut off all five toes to escape. "The three smaller toes were easy, but it took some work to cut through the tendons on the two big toes," he said. "Plus, at that point the blade was getting dull." After the makeshift surgery, Hutt used a shirt as a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding and drove his semi-tractor trailer down a mountain pass until he got into cell phone range. He then called 911 and an ambulance met him at a reservoir and transported him to an area hospital. Surgeons at Montrose Memorial Hospital could not re-attach the severed digits. Hospital spokeswoman Leann Tobin said Hutt spent just four days in the facility, and was released on August 22. Pictures showed him sitting in his home next to a pair of crutches, his right foot heavily bandaged. Hutt said he was familiar with Aron Ralston, the Colorado mountain climber whose 2003 saga became a best-selling book and Oscar-nominated movie after he amputated his right arm when a loose boulder pinned him in a Utah canyon. But the soft-spoken Hutt said he doesn't know if he wants any more publicity after dealing with the whirlwind of media attention that has come his way. "It seems like I shot myself in the foot instead," he said, laughing. (Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Cynthia Johnston) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Tags colorado, facebook, follow-yahoo, foot, harrowing, media-attention, news-on-twitter, Odd, oscar-nominated, point-the-blade, the-soft-spoken | Comment (0)
Odd

Dutch mull bringing the mountain to them (Reuters)

August 31, 2011 – 10:57 pm

UTRECHT, The Netherlands (Reuters) – What started as a joke about creating an artificial mountain in the utterly flat Netherlands may actually be feasible. This was not what semi-professional cyclist-cum-journalist Thijs Zonneveld had expected when he posted a column on a popular Dutch news website on August 5 in which he laughingly urged his countrymen to create their own mountain with alpine slopes, meadows and villages. "It was not serious but the next day there was such a serious response from people who had actually been thinking about it and calculating stuff that it made me realize I was not the only one who'd had that idea," Zonneveld said. The highest natural ground in the Netherlands is at Vaalserberg, in the southern province of Limburg, with an altitude of just 323 meters, making it little more than a hill in the low-lying country in the eyes of most people. But Zonneveld, 30, dreams of an artificial mountain 5 km (3.107 miles) wide and between 1 and 2 km in height, which would surpass the world's tallest man-made building, the 828-meter (yard) high Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. The idea of artificial mountains is not new. In 2009, a German architect proposed erecting a 1,000 meter-high mountain at the site of the old Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, but had to settle for a 60-meter hill as the challenges set in. Zonneveld has yet to figure out exactly how the Dutch mountain would be designed and built, what materials would be used, where it would be located, and, crucially, how much it would cost. He declined to put even a rough price tag on it. Yet his call has resonated with the enterprising Dutch, whose engineering prowess has allowed them to defend land that lies below sea level from the raging waters and to engage in major engineering feats abroad, such as building artificial islands in Dubai. On Tuesday, Dutch engineering groups such as Oranjewoud and Bartels, along with sport organizations, such as the Dutch skiing association and the Dutch climbing and mountaineering association, met to ponder the details. "The project is feasible and we the Dutch have a lot of experience in moving soil and sand around for our land reclamation projects. It just needs to gather a snowball of support," said Oranjewoud project manager Anthony van Dongen. Estimates of the cost range from a few billion euros all the way up to 200 billion euros. If and when the project takes off, it would therefore provide a major boost to the Dutch construction sector, which has been hit by a property downturn. "Technically this can be done and the space can also be found. The biggest hurdles will be financing and environmental problems. But these will be tackled in the coming months by these companies," Zonneveld said. Zonneveld said he had already spoken to several investors who saw commercial opportunities in offering sports, leisure resorts, developing real estate and even producing renewable energy by erecting wind mills on the mountain. "People may think this is a publicity stunt but this is not true. Publicity is the means because if people don't know about it, it cannot be done. The goal however is to build this mountain," Zonneveld said. Zonneveld said that even though his editorial kicked off the initiative and he was now devoting up to 16 hours a day working on the project, he does not care what the mountain is called, but suggested it could be named after the largest proprietor. "The idea is now to use the name of a person or company that pays the most. I think it would be good to name the mountain after someone who can afford to contribute the most to make it happen," Zonneveld said. Supporters of the idea hope they can appeal to Dutch national pride but also tap into the frustration of many of the country's holidaymakers who have to travel to neighboring northern European countries to enjoy holidays with a bit of altitude. "I'm realistic enough to know it will take a long time and that there will be a lot of obstacles to overcome, it will have to be taken step by step. But this is the moment to do this, I'm 100 percent confident," Zonneveld said. (Created by Paul Casciato) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Tags berlin, dutch, european, mountain, netherlands, Odd, project, space, thijs-zonneveld, zonneveld | Comment (0)
Odd

Qantas apologizes for rugby fan photo (Reuters)

August 30, 2011 – 12:37 pm

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian national airline Qantas apologized for posting a picture of two rugby fans wearing Afro wigs and with their faces and arms painted black at an international rugby game after it sparked online outrage. The photo, briefly run on the Qantas Twitter site, was the result of a competition asking Australian fans to tell how they would show their support for the team and depicted two fans impersonating Fiji-born Australian team player Radike Samo at a Saturday night international game. "We apologize that the photo of two Radike fans offended some of our followers," Qantas said in a statement. "We've spoken with Radike and whilst he is not offended we decided to remove the image." The Twitter community was divided, but many were angered. "What that image represents to most people is appalling," said one commenter. Others said the whole issue had been blown out of proportion. "What is all the fuss about? See things in context not offensive. Good Aussie fun," tweeted another. Radike, who is a loose forward, said he didn't have any problems with the costumes. "I don't know what the fuss is all about. These guys were paying me a tribute," he said. "I was glad to be in a photo with them, so I don't know why anyone is getting worked up. That (sort of reaction) is just silly." Neighboring New Zealand is set to host the Rugby World Cup from September 9 but Australia beat New Zealand 25-20 in Brisbane Saturday night to win the Tri-Nations title, raising pressure on the two long-term rivals. (Reporting by Pauline Askin; editing by Elaine Lies) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Tags australia, australian, facebook, follow-yahoo, followers, fuss, image, news-on-twitter, Odd, pauline-askin, photo, qantas, qantas-twitter, radike | Comment (0)
Odd

Town mints own money to fight austerity (Reuters)

August 30, 2011 – 12:37 pm

ROME (Reuters) – A small town in central Italy is trying to go independent and mint its own money in protest at government austerity cuts. Filettino, set in rugged hill country around 100 km (65 miles) east of Rome, is rebelling against a proposal to merge the governments of towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants to save money. Filettino has only around 550 people, but instead of merging with neighboring Trevi, mayor Luca Sellari is trying to go it alone and set up a "principality" along the lines of the famous republic of San Marino to the north. He has started minting Filettino's own bank currency, the "Fiorito," with his photo on the back, which he says is already being used by the townsfolk. "We aim to achieve real autonomy from Italy and we have the financial resources to do it," Sellari said in an interview on the town's website www.principatodifilettino.com There was no immediate comment from the central government in Rome. Mayors from all over Italy are up in arms about proposals to cut local government funding and merge small towns as part of a 45.5 billion euro ($65.3 billion) austerity plan to balance the country's budget by 2013. Mayors plan a protest in Milan Monday although media reports say the government is preparing significant changes to the budget, including a substantial dilution of the proposals on local government. (Editing by Barry Moody) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Tags barry-moody, facebook, financial, follow-yahoo, government, italy, news-on-twitter, Odd, photo, rome-mayors, townsfolk | Comment (0)
Odd

Costco can't move "I slipped on a slurpee" lawsuit (Reuters)

August 29, 2011 – 2:54 am

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A 74-year-old woman who said she was injured after falling in a Costco store in Florida beat back the retailer's effort to move the case to that state because it was too much trouble to defend itself in New York. Theresa Danza sued Costco in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, claiming she was hospitalized for spinal and shoulder trauma and needed months of treatment by a chiropractor after a tumble in a Costco in North Miami, Florida, on January 24, 2009. "I didn't know what hit me," she said. "I just went flying. I went up in the air and down I went. It seems I slipped on a slurpee that was all over the floor." Costco sought to move her case to Florida. It said it would be prejudiced if the case stayed in New York, and cited the cost of locating and interviewing witnesses. Not so, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack said in a decision on Wednesday. Schack said it would be more inconvenient for Danza to fly her witnesses to Florida than for Costco to fly its employee witnesses to New York. He also said Issaquah, Washington-based Costco Wholesale Corp is hardly cash-starved, with profit of $1.3 billion on revenue of $77.95 billion in its last fiscal year. "The court, in balancing the interests of plaintiff Danza against financial 'goliath' defendant Costco, holds that it would not be in the interest of substantial justice to try this action in Florida instead of New York," Shack wrote. A Costco spokeswoman declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss litigation. Pursuing the case at home could avert more pain for Danza. "I do not intend to be traveling to Florida in winter anymore as traveling is too painful and stressful for me," she said in court papers quoted by Schack. The case is Danza v. Costco Wholesale Corp, New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, No. 31512/2010. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel) Follow Yahoo! News on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Tags arthur-schack, case, cited-the-cost, costco, danza, facebook, florida, follow-yahoo, news-on-twitter, Odd, over-the-floor, state-supreme, york, york-theresa | Comment (0)

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