Cop pulls gun at McDonalds

A Colorado policeman is in trouble after pulling his gun at a McDonald's employee because it was taking too long to fill his order.

A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said they plan to present the case -- now classified as a felony menacing incident -- to the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office Thursday for possible filing of criminal charges.

Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account. The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.

Someone needs anger management training.

Bear uses doggie door to steal dogfood

A Colorado family was shocked when a bear used their doggie door to enter their home and eat their dogs food.

"Our dog made a strange noise — a combination between a growl and a bark," said Brenda Freeman.

When her husband went to see what was wrong and opened the mud room door, “There was a bear two feet away from him,” she said.

The startled couple shut and locked the mud room door and went into their kitchen where they could look through the window into the mud room window. It was about 10:30 p.m.

The bear explored the mud room for 10 minutes, Freeman said. He did little damage but left paw prints on the window, ate all the dog food that was out and pulled a few herbs growing in pots out of the soil, she said.

“He was very graceful, very calm,” she said. “The bear didn't seem to care about the dog barking.”

She said the couple has lived in their home about five miles from Granby off U.S. Highway 34 for seven years and never had any bear issues. However, about four years ago a mountain lion came close to the house, she said.

That incident eventually prompted the Freemans to add a dog to the family. Aniden is a Turkish Kangal, a breed used to protect sheep from wolves. The 2-year-old dog — whose name is Turkish for “pounce” — weighs about 120 pounds, Brenda said.

She said her husband told her the bear looked like the same one authorities treed for a short time in Granby's Kaibab Park on Thursday, June 11.

"We thought it was quite a coincidence," she said.

Blame the rain

The two incidents in fact may be weather-related, at least indirectly.

“It has to do with kind of the timing of Mother Nature,” said Randy Hampton, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman.

This time of year, bears generally eat grubs and forbs and by now are gorging on berries. The problem, he said, is that the same rain making the high country look like a Pebble Beach fairway is also prolonging the flowering phase of berry bushes.

So, the berries are not yet available and the bears may be seeking alternative food sources, he said.

Brenda Freeman said the bear left their mud room through the dog door and “played in our fire pit.” She also said a neighbor told her the bear got into their trash.

“We're kind of in their territory; we're in their space,” Freeman said.

She said the family is now securing their trash in the garage and they have moved the dog food from the mud room into the house.

“That should solve their problem,” Hampton said.

That's terrifying. I'm glad everyone was ok and no damage was done. Hopefully they can keep the bear out of their house.

Girl falls asleep, wakes up covered in stars

A Belgian girl is suing her tattoo artist. She claims that she asked for three stars on her face and then she fell asleep during the procedure (because getting a tattoo is so relaxing) and woke up with fifty six stars.

Kimberley Vlaeminck, 18, said she fell asleep during the procedure.

"I woke up when he was starting to tattoo my nose... I counted 56 stars, it is frightening," she said.

Tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz, who is Romanian, said his client did not fall asleep and she got exactly what she had ordered.

He rejects Ms Vlaeminck's claim he had misunderstood what she had asked for.

"She was awake and looked in the mirror several times as the procedure was being done," said Mr Toumaniantz, who works at Tattoo Box in Kortrijk.

He says his client only regretted the tattoos later.

"She agreed, but when her father saw it, the trouble started," Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws quoted Mr Toumaniantz as saying.

So, what do you think? I think she's just having buyers remorse. How do you not notice that you're getting that many tattoos?

Ohio residents get parking tickets for parking in their own driveway

An Ohio mayor sent city officials to write parking tickets for cars parked on gravel driveways.

The tickets are for technically breaking the law that states no one may park on unpaved ground. But suddenly, that seems to apply for their own driveways.

"I just can't reach into my magic box of tricks and get 5-6 grand to pave my driveway," said Charles Robertson, who received a $25 ticket.

When asked about the issue, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner initially defended Sue Frederick, the mayor's Streets, Bridges, and Harbor Commissioner.

"She wouldn't have written the ticket if she didn't think she would be vindicated," said the mayor. "If they broke the law, you write a ticket."

Residents all along Holland Sylvania found their cars ticketed in their own yards.

Not everyone agrees in defending the tickets, however. City Councilman D. Michael Collins collected tickets to attempt to get them rescinded.

"I want this irresponsible activity by city employees going into neighborhoods and just doing something by fiat -- it has to stop," said Collins.

Residents question the motive behind the tickets. Many suspect it's just another way to squeeze out some extra money.

When this theory was presented to the Mayor, he ignored it, asking, "Could I have another question?"

Sounds like someone needs to be voted out of office. That's just terribly absurd.

Forger declared not guilty because his work was terrible

An Argentinian who was on trial for forged money was declared not guilty because his forgery work was so bad.

The federal court in Buenos Aires dismissed all charges against Marcos Ribles because of the poor-quality paper and printing of his forging attempts, The AP reports.

The 65-year-old had tried to spend a fake 100 Argentine peso (£16) note and a forged $50 (£30) bill.

The court ruled that the notes were "so clumsy and crude [that] they could not be accepted by most people".

Sometimes not doing your best work pays off.

Nothing says healthy like a french fry salad!

French Fry salad? I thought I'd print the recipe for those who missed this heart attack on a plate "healthy" salad they made on the Today Show this morning.

French fry salad

• 3 medium sized Idaho potatoes (peeled)

• 8 cups spicy greens (peppercress and/or baby arugula)

• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes

• 4 ounces shaved parmesan cheese

• 1/4medium red onion sliced thin

• 2 tablespoon red wine vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

• 2 tablespoon creamy Dijon dressing (recipe to follow)

For the vinaigrette

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon red wine

• 2 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the dijon dressing

• 2 tablespoons dijon

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 pinch cayenne

• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the vinaigrette: Whisk all ingredients well.
For the dijon dressing: Whisk all ingredients well.

For the dish
Cut the potatoes into french fries as long as the potato and about a 1/2-inch in diameter. Blanch these fries in 250° Canola oil until cooked through but not browned. About 8-10 minutes. Reserve.

Add the salad greens, tomatoes, sliced onions and parmesan cheese into salad bowl. Deep fry the reserved fries in 325° Canola oil until golden brown and very crispy. Season with salt and pepper and add to the salad along with red wine vinaigrette. Toss lightly and plate. Drizzle each salad with some of the dijon dressing.

Nothing says healthy like a salad with TWO dressings and french fries. I'd bet that a burger paired with some fries would be about the same amount of calories and a whole lot more satisfying.

Salad diet anyone?

Rat island is now rat free!

Rat island in Alaska is now finally rat free.

Rats have ruled the island since 1780, when they jumped off a sinking Japanese ship and terrorized all but the largest birds on the island. The incident introduced the non-native Norway rat -- also known as the brown rat -- to Alaska.

The $2.5 million Rat Island eradication project, a joint effort between the U.S. federal government, the Nature Conservancy and Island Conservation, is one of the world's most ambitious attempts to remove destructive alien species from an island.

Now there are signs that several species of birds, including Aleutian cackling geese, ptarmigan, peregrine falcons and black oystercatchers, are starting to nest again on the 10-square-mile (26-sq-km) island.

It is too soon to say that Rat Island is definitively rat-free, however. That can only be established after at least two years of monitoring, said Bruce Woods, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage.

"We don't know that there's not a couple of happy rats hiding away that are going to spring out and repopulate the island," he said.

Wow, they spent 2.5 million dollars to poison rats? I hope the birds really appreciate that.