News and Notes

     In case you missed the news that was out their yesterday, here's a brief recap of some of the more "off" news stories of the day.

    Iowa governor leaves hospital after choking on carrot.  The title alone makes this article worth reading.  Gov. Terry Brandstad was at a dedication for the USS Iowa (which is being turned into a floating, interactive museum, pretty cool). However, during the dinner, he seemed to forget that chewing your food is essential when eating dinner. Chew, swallow. Chew, swallow. Seems easy right? apparently it's more perilous to our health than we thought. Money quote:

Branstad choked on a carrot during the event and vomited, spokesman Tim Albrecht said. He said the governor was taken to a nearby hospital “out of an overabundance of caution,” went through a series of tests and was released after his health turned out to be fine. 

“We're glad he's okay. He's in great spirits,” Albrecht said. “He's probably a little more embarrassed than anything.” 

     Florida lifeguard fired for saving drowning man.  Wait? You went into the water over there to save that man? Why? No, why on earth would you think that it is a good idea to save that man when he is clearly outside the "protected" zone? This is too easy, Tomas Lopez should be commended for what he did, but apparently, it is the lifeguard company policy that "if someone is in trouble outside the company protection zone, the lifeguard is to call 911 and hope that help gets there on time." Money quote:

"The reason I was fired is just ridiculous," Lopez told CNN late Wednesday night. "It is a ridiculous rule, really. What was I supposed to do? Just let the guy drown?"

     Yes Tomas, you were



     Brandon Moss' bat lifts A's to sweep of Red Sox.  I love reading about the Red Sox losing. I mean, what Angels fan wouldn't? David Ortiz hit his 400th home run in this game (whoopee). Moss was the big deal though. Acquired by the A's from the Red Sox, he took it to his old employers in this series going 6-8 with five RBI's and three runs scored. Not a bad series kid, not a bad series at all. Money quote:

“Playing against a team you came up with and team you played your first little bit in the big leagues is special,’’ Moss said. “You want to do well, not out of animosity, but to show, `Hey, you did draft a good player.’’’

     FDA approves new home-use HIV test.  So, this is kinda cool. Except I'd rather the money they used creating this gadget was used to go towards something like, oh I don't know, finding a cure maybe. Money quote:

"If the people who go out and pay for this test end up being sorority girls who had a one-night stand and worry if they're infected, that's not going to be a net positive," he said.

     Oh please let a sorority girl get a false positive.


     Joey Chestnut wins his sixth consecutive hot dog contest.  68 hot dogs. in 10 minutes. 6.8 hot dogs a minute, 3.4 every 30 seconds. I usually have four hot dogs for dinner if that's what we are having, and my wife thinks that's a lot. In the women's portion of this contest Sonya Thomas went home the winner after eating 45 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Seriously, this whole thing is crazy. Money quote:

 Joey Chestnut ate his way to a sixth straight win at the Independence Day hot dog eating contest at Coney Island on Wednesday, tying his personal best in a sweaty, gag-inducing spectacle.

     Who wants to go Vegan with me? Anyone, anyone? Bueller?