Hot off the Press: Stuff hanging in the queue edition
The current German obsession with animals predicting the outcome of soccer matches has one animal rights group upset: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18605790. What is it with the Germans? First it's David Hasselhoff and now animal pundits?
A wind park in the middle of the North Sea has sparked a border dispute between Germany and The Netherlands because nobody is sure which side of the border it is on: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/ewe-wind-park-riffgat-caught-up-in-german-dutch-border-dispute-a-843419.html.
A DC area man who ordered a flat-screen TV on Amazon received "a tactical military-style SIG716 semiautomatic rifle" instead: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/2012/08/08/d96b55e4-e1a2-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_story.html?hpid=z4. Though I think this graph provides nice detail, I think it strikes an odd cord:
The group enjoyed a potluck dinner with a North African and Mediterranean theme — the evening’s conversation enlivened by the surprise parcel. Horvitz, his wife and their friends stared at the gun, regarding it as a museum piece from an exotic culture.
The Duane Arnold Energy Center, Iowa's only nuclear power plant, is closely monitoring the low level of the Cedar River and plans to dredge part of the river to ensure the plant has enough water to operate: http://thegazette.com/2012/08/09/palo-nuclear-plant-operator-eyeing-cedar-river-levels-cautiously/. Check this out:
The state’s only nuclear power plant in Palo is one of the largest water users along the Cedar River, drawing 6,000 gallons a minute.
DAMN! The plant's storage system — for all that nuclear waste just sitting around waiting to be sent to a central repository — thankfully has a separate cooling system that does not draw water from the river. Regardless, more reasons not to be a fan of nuclear power.
