[BanditFlyer]

Originally Posted by DiSaidSo

Yes you did.

No, I didn't

Originally Posted by Di

No you won't.

Got me there

[angelize56]

This is so sad! BUT....even if another young man resembled my son...I would be able to tell by his body it wasn't him....how could this family not have known for five weeks this wasn't their daughter? I'm assuming her face must have been disfigured...but wouldn't you know the rest of your daughter??? This is a terrible mix-up....now the family who sat at the young lady's bedside has to deal with their own daughter being dead....being buried...never seeing her again....what a tragic mess!

Mistaken identity stuns crash victims' kin

The Associated Press

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 3:55 p.m. ET

UPLAND, Ind. (AP) -- A family sat by their daughter's hospital bedside for weeks after an auto accident before they realized that the blond-haired young woman was not their daughter after all, but another college student injured in the wreck.

Their own daughter, it turned out, was dead.

In a tragic mix-up, one family was incorrectly told their daughter had died in the April 26 crash, and another was erroneously informed their daughter was in a coma. The two young women looked remarkably alike.

The family of Taylor University student Laura VanRyn, 22, disclosed the mix-up Wednesday on a Web log that they had used to record detailed updates on the young woman's recovery.

"Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura, but instead a fellow Taylor student of hers, Whitney Cerak," the VanRyns said on the blog.

The family said that as the young woman began regaining consciousness at a rehabilitation center in Grand Rapids, Mich., she said things that made them question her identity.

Taylor University officials confirmed the case of mistaken identity.

"We rejoice with the Ceraks. We grieve with the VanRyns," said Taylor spokesman Jim Garringer.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/s...toryId=1531457

[~Candy~]

Incredible

[angelize56]

From another article on the mix-up!

In a statement, the two families said they took their concerns to hospital officials, and dental records confirmed that the injured woman was Whitney Cerak.

"Both families understand how this could have happened," said Bruce Rossman, a spokesman for Spectrum Health, which operated the rehab center.

Frank, a retired minister in Portland, Maine, said his granddaughter's parents declined to look at the body before the funeral. "They wanted to remember her the way she was," he said.

Four Taylor students and an employee were killed when their van was struck by a tractor-trailer that had drifted across a highway median. Those in the van worked for Taylor's dining services and were preparing for a banquet for the inauguration of a new president of the 1,850-student school.

It was not clear who mistakenly identified the victims or how the error happened. The coroner's office did not immediately return a call. But the VanRyns, who are from Caledonia, Mich., said their daughter and Cerak, 18, of Gaylord, Mich., bore an "uncanny resemblance."

Most of the crash victims had funerals with closed caskets. A month ago, an overflow crowd of more than 1,400 people turned out for what they thought was Cerak's funeral in Gaylord, Mich.

Joe Sereno, associate pastor at Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, said the casket was closed both for visitation and for the funeral.

"We did everything you usually do," Sereno said. "We had a memorial service at the church. The family did a private burial the next day. Everybody thought it was Whitney."

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14708851.htm

A memorial service for VanRyn is scheduled Sunday in Grand Rapids.

[angelize56]

Here is a photo of the girls...they do look alike....but I'd think you'd be able to tell the difference by the hair.....who knows...the family was distraught over the accident and the girl's injuries...God forbid this ever happen to any of us!

Laura Vanryn's family released the following statement:

It is a sorrow and a joy for us to learn of this turn of events. For us, we will mourn Laura's going home and will greatly miss her compassionate heart and sweetness, while knowing that she is safe and with her king forever. We rejoice the Ceraks, that they will have more time on this earth with their daughter, sister and loved one."

[Couriant]

Never bet on a cloned horse

Cloned Mules Lose to Naturals in Pro Race

By MARTIN GRIFFITH
Associated Press Writer

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (AP) -- Nature triumphed over nurture as two cloned mule brothers came up short in a professional race against traditionally bred runners.

Idaho Gem, the world's first equine clone, finished third while Idaho Star wound up seventh in an eight-way race Sunday at the 20th annual Winnemucca Mule Races, Show & Draft Horse Challenge.

Idaho Gem covered his 350-yard sprint in 21.246 seconds - two-and-a-half lengths behind the winner, Bar JF Hot Ticket, who finished in 20.866 seconds. Idaho Star checked in at 22.181 seconds.

"I think both animals, especially Idaho Gem, showed they have a lot of upside," said Don Jacklin, an Idaho man who helped finance the cloning project. "They both proved they could compete."

The clones, who competed for an $8,500 purse in the finals of their bracket, won their qualifying heats Saturday in what was billed as the first professional competition between clones of any kind.

A crowd of 1,000 people cheered as the mules raced down the stretch of an oval track in Winnemucca, about 160 miles northeast of Reno.

Winnemucca was the first stop on a professional mule racing circuit that will shift to county fairs in California through the summer.

Researchers on the cloning team hailed the clones' athletic performance and the project's benefits to human cancer research.

Horses and other equines have significantly lower cancer rates than humans, and scientists hope cloning will illuminate the difference and provide research clues, particularly into calcium's role in the disease.

"Winning the race on the track is important, but the most important race is to find cures for human health," said Gordon Woods, the University of Idaho scientist who created the clones.

A mule is the usually sterile offspring of a donkey father and a horse mother. The clones were born three years ago and carry identical DNA taken from a fetus produced by the same parents that sired a champion mule racer.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, criticized the project.

"There's no shortage of horses and mules," Pacelle said. "Why do we have to subject them to the risks associated with cloning? There's no legitimate purpose for this exercise."

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[angelize56]

This is very odd...the homeless man picked a heck of an odd place to die!

Real body found at Fla. fake crime scene

The Associated Press

Tuesday, June 06, 2006 7:00 p.m. ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Truth proved to be stranger than fiction for a high school criminology class investigating a fake crime scene when the students discovered a real body during a field trip.

Teacher Sue Messenger had been creating mock crime scenes with fake skeletons and other evidence for more than 20 years to give students in her forensics courses a firsthand look at what crime scene investigators do.

On Monday, however, 29 students from St. Thomas Aquinas High School got more of a jolt they expected when they discovered the real body in Fort Lauderdale's Holiday Park.

"The first thing we thought was, 'That's a real good dummy she set up,'" said student Juan Cantor, 15.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/s...toryId=1533524

[MNG0304]

How NOT to steal a sidekick

June 6th, 2006: The people in the pictures below have my friend’s T-Mobile Sidekick. Instead of doing the honorable thing when finding someone’s phone in a taxi, they instead kept it.

I have found 8 cell phones in the last couple years in taxis. EVERY single one I have contacted the owner (by leaving a message on their voice mail or by answering their phone and telling their friends that I have the phone) and returned it promptly. When people have found my phone, they have also in turn returned it.

When my friend realized that she had left the Sidekick in the taxi she asked me to immediately send a message to the phone saying that we would give a reward for the phone. There was no response. After a day of waiting, she had to go to the store and spend over $300 on a new Sidekick. When she put her SIM card in, she saw that the person(s) that had taken the phone had not only signed on to AOL leaving their name and password in the phone, but they had taken pictures of themselves.

Note: The pictures that the alleged thief took are posted on this site, there is nothing about them that violates site rules however.

That being said. Shame to the alleged thief and Kudos to the website operator for creativity and deftness in handling the situation, especially after hitting most of the major geek blogs/websites.

[Couriant]

Well I hope he does get the army involved in it. (In the link, one of the person's brother made a rude (to put it lightly) email to the guy and stated he was in the army) The guy was out of line.

Looks like they are not that well off too, hence thier... hmmm... hostility.

[Couriant]

True fact: June 8, 1995 Glacier National Park was closed because of too much snow.

[Couriant]

Originally Posted by MNG0304

How NOT to steal a sidekick

Looks like this is heating up

[eggplant43]

Man charged after wife's head flies from truck

Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:16 PM ET

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Police are charging an Idaho man with killing his wife after her severed head flew from the bed of his pickup truck during a crash that also claimed the lives of another woman and her child, officials said on Friday.

Alofa Time, 51, of Nampa, Idaho, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Theresa Time. He was also charged with two counts of second-degree murder stemming from the head-on collision in Boise, which police said they believe was intentional.

Authorities said the impact of the crash, which killed 36-year-old Samantha Murphy and her young daughter, caused Theresa Time's already severed head to tumble from the pickup. The discovery led police to Time's home, where they discovered his wife's headless corpse.

"It's the most heinous crime I've ever seen," said Nampa Police Lt. LeRoy Forsman.

Boise police investigating the wreck said Time crossed the center line and appeared to aim for Murphy's Nissan Sentra.

"This so much resembles a bad horror movie that you have a hard time believing it. This is about 9.5 on the horrific scale," said Boise Police Lt. Ron Winegar.

(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman)

[angelize56]

First of all....hello Bruce! How have you been doing?

And now on to this....

Spelunker's 41-year-old remains to surface

By JOHN KEKIS Associated Press Writer

Thursday, June 22, 2006 2:47 p.m. ET

DOLGEVILLE, N.Y. (AP) -- Forty-one years ago, rescuers couldn't get the body of James Mitchell out of the cave where he died. Workers dynamited the cave, sealed it with rocks, placed a memorial headstone above it and left him dangling in his harness, 60 feet above the cave floor.

Mitchell's story drove spelunkers to get more serious about safety, and would later intrigue a boy whose grandfather discovered the cave in the Adirondack foothills. On Saturday that boy, now grown, intends to give that story a real ending.

"He needs a proper burial," said Christian Lyon, 36, who has the blessing of Mitchell's family and local officials to recover his body, and will be filming the event for a documentary.

Two years later, a different opening to the cave was discovered, and about 20 people have since made their way inside to Mitchell's eerie resting place. His skeleton lies at the bottom of a 75-foot dropoff under the shaft.

Crews will use that entrance Saturday.

The remains will be given to a local coroner and state officials for examination before being cremated. Some of his ashes will be given to the family and the rest will be buried near the cave.

"I'm looking at it as an opportunity to take care of unfinished business, but I'm skeptical," he said. "I'm going to reserve judgment on what we're going to find. I sure hope there's something we can give his dad."

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/s...toryId=1539607

[DiSaidSo]

Fuh-reeeeeeeeeeaky!

Motorcyclist dies after hit by lightning

A motorcyclist was struck by lightning and killed Wednesday afternoon while traveling on U.S. 36 in Westminster, police said.

Gary Missi, 46, of Longmont, was westbound about 5:15 p.m. on the Boulder Turnpike just west of Sheridan Boulevard when lightning struck, Westminster police spokesman Tim Read said. Witnesses said they saw a bright flash that sent the yellow sport-bike veering into a concrete median.

[rest of story at link]

[BanditFlyer]

Originally Posted by DiSaidSo

Fuh-reeeeeeeeeeaky!

It's not that rare.

You're less likely to win the lottery than you are to be killed by lightning(no that that says much). Motorcyclists are more vulnerable than most because of the height - your head serves as a lightning rod .

I heard a story about such a thing from someone I rode with. Apparently, someone she rode with didn't make it home.