Doctor uses houshold drill to save boys life

An Australian Dr saved a boys life by using a household drill to drill a hole in a boys head.

Nicholas Rossi fell off his bike on Friday in the small Victoria state city of Maryborough, hitting his head on the pavement, his family told The Australian newspaper in a story published Wednesday. By the time Rossi got to the hospital, he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

The doctor on duty, Rob Carson, quickly recognized the 13-year-old was experiencing potentially fatal bleeding on the brain and knew he had only minutes to drill a hole through the boy's skull to relieve the pressure.

But the small hospital was not equipped with neurological drills — so Carson grabbed a household drill from the maintenance room.

"Dr. Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into (Nicholas) to relieve the pressure on the brain — we've got one shot at this and one shot only,'" the boy's father, Michael Rossi, told The Australian.

Carson called a Melbourne neurosurgeon for help, and the specialist talked Carson through the procedure — which he had never before attempted — by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go. Soon, a blood clot fell out, relieving the pressure on the boy's brain.

That's crazy, brave and amazing.

Neighbors upset by new ordinance allowing chickens

Residents of a small Iowa town are upset over their city council's new ordinance that allows the suburban residents to keep chickens.

Norwalk resident Bev Frideres said she is completely against the ordinance passed by the Norwalk City Council Thursday, saying chickens are not advisable residents for an urban area, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register said Saturday.

"I'm baffled that we're even considering chickens within city limits," Frideres said. "We're an urban area, not agricultural. We're trying to be part of the metropolitan area that is close to Des Moines. I simply do not want smelly, stinky chickens anywhere in the city area."

The new ordinance will not allow roosters to be kept in residential areas of Norwalk, likely due in part to the animal's loud crowing abilities.

I can't imagine that a couple of hens would be any more irritating than a couple of large dogs.

Mom released from Thai jail after stealing a bar mat

An Australian woman has been released from jail and a possible five year sentence after allegedly stealing a bar mat like the one on the left.

Ms Smoel, who had faced a possible five years in jail for allegedly stealing a bar mat, has been given a six-month suspended jail term and a 1000 baht ($38) fine for theft.

Officials at the Phuket Provincial Court said Ms Smoel was initially sentenced to six months' jail but the sentenced was suspended after she pleaded guilty in court.

The officials said Ms Smoel was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.

They said Ms Smoel's passport and other documents, initially held with the Thai Police and immigration, were to be returned to her.

It said if the mother of four does not commit any crime in Thailand for the year, her jail term will not have to be served.

Before the court case, which was called at no notice, Ms Smoel had told journalists she was feeling the strain.

"(I'm) not real well, not real well. I'm tired, I'm exhausted and I'm scared," she said.

Ms Smoel's lawyer in Australia, Bernard Murphy, said he was encouraged by the developments, but remained cautious.

"There have been some very good developments today but I'm reluctant to say anything until Annice is on a plane and on her way home," Mr Murphy said.

"The most important thing for us to do is to get her home."

Ms Smoel was arrested on May 2 for allegedly stealing the bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Phuket where she was celebrating her mother's 60th birthday.

She spent four days in a cramped jail cell with three other women and had been told she could have had to wait 14 weeks before her case came to court.

Ms Smoel claimed her friends had put the bar mat in her handbag as a practical joke.

This is why it's not a good idea to get really drunk in a foreign country. Epically one with harsh sentencing laws. She obviously never saw that movie with Claire Daines.

Boy sticks 43 snails to his face

A Utah boy has broken a world record by sticking 43 snails on his face.

Eleven-year-old Fin Keleher likes snails. So he tried to break a world record of putting the most snails on his face..

Keleher had to keep 37 snails on his face for ten seconds. His family helped put them on and then did the countdown.

It took him two tries before he was successful and when he counted them, 43 of the slimy creatures had stayed on his face.

Keleher says the snails pinched his face, but he apparently didn't mind the slimy part.

"I closed my eyes and covered up my mouth with… well, I sucked my lips in so that they could crawl on that," Keleher said.

I think you all will agree with me when I say that middle school boys are weird and gross.

Fire caused by glass bowl and the sun

A fire at a Washington home was started by the sun and a glass dog bowl.

Fire officials in Washington state said a sunny day and a dog's glass water bowl combined to cause a blaze that charred the back of a home. Bellevue Fire Department Lt. Eric Keenan said investigators determined the glass bowl of water focused sunlight enough to act like a magnifying glass and start the fire on the home's wood deck Sunday.

The family dog was rescued. Damage is estimated at $215,000.

Wow, that's crazy. Remind me to only use plastic bowls for my dogs.

Make way for ducklings!

A banker in Washington saved a flock (is it a flock of ducks, I know it's a gaggle of geese) of ducklings when they jumped from a second floor balcony to follow their mother to water.

When the ducks hatched and the mother needed to get her ducklings to fresh water, a big problem became obvious.

The dozen day-old ducks couldn't follow. They were stuck on the ledge about 15 to 20 feet up, nervously pacing back and forth.

Enter Joel Armstrong who works at the bank. He was down on the sidewalk to help when suddenly, the first two ducks dropped like stones -- right into Armstrong's hands.

A center fielder couldn't have done better.

"C'mon, C'mon. Go with your mommy, there you go," he chided.

He kept up the chatter with mom, who was waiting at his ankles as a crowd started to build.

One at a time, with a steady hand and keen eye, this mild-mannered loan officer talked an entire family of baby ducks off a ledge.

"I think Joel's legacy is playing out right here - the duck man," said a bystander. "He's the duck man for life."

"Well, we've got eight of 12 that have jumped off finally today," Armstrong said. "I've been out here since 5:45 a.m."

At least Armstrong has some experience. Several ducklings were stuck up on that ledge last May as well. He rescued all but one.

But this year had an added challenge. A city-wide parade was scheduled to pass by in just a few hours. Crowds started to build, but once he got the last three down by ladder, the drama wasn't over.

Together, the banker and the mother duck led the babies to water, straight down the middle of a downtown parade route.

Get out of the way please!

He directed the ducks through the streets, around crowd barriers, and finally home to the river.

It's just like the story (ok, not like the story at all). What a sweet story. He should get a book deal for that, it would make a perfect childrens book, they could call it make way for ducklings the sequel.

Watch video here.

Gnomes infiltrate garden show

Gnomes have invaded the Chelsea garden show in London.

"People are being very naughty this year but we will find them out and get rid of (the figurines) by morning," an unidentified member of the show's ruling council told The Times of London in a story published Monday.

One gnome appeared in the display of Jekka McVicar, a member of the ruling council and a gold medal winner 13 times at the show. McVicar said she regretted the stir caused by her figurine -- a tiny fisherman with a rod -- but wouldn't remove him. Rather, she said, she would spirit him away beneath greenery where he couldn't be seen in the show's Grand Pavilion.

"He's not brightly colored," McVicar said. "He's a subtle gnome, though definitely not an upper-class gnome."

I wonder if gardens around the US have to protect themselves from a gnome invasion?

Japanese melons go for a discount price of 5,200 a pair

The first two Yabari melons of the year (a special type of cantaloupe farmed in a special place) went for 5,200 in an auction, a steal compared to the 26,000 they went for last year.

Weighing about eight pounds, the premium cantaloupes were part of the season's initial harvest at Sapporo Central Wholesale Market. Every year buyers flock to the market for a shot at the prestige of winning the very first melons of the year.

The orange-fleshed melons are grown only in the city of Yubari, a small town on the northern island of Hokkaido. Valued for their perfect proportions and taste, they are typically given as gifts by Japanese during the summer.

The other melons at the first auction aren't quite as expensive, but even those tumbled in price this year. The average price Friday of 84 melons was about $400, down from $630 last year, according to the Sankei newspaper.

Department stores and high-end retailers sell the fruit to the public for $50 to $100, though prices can run much higher depending on quality.

$50-$100 for a melon? Really? And it's a cantaloupe which isn't even a good melon.