Weird Stuff Online

Johanna Sigurdardottir, an Icelandic MP, was elected Prime Minister of Iceland this week. She is the first openly gay prime minister in world history.

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So, the first month of 2009 is almost over and it seems that so far the new year has been nothing but bad economic news after bad economic news.

Last week, the folks at the US watched as big companies cut more than 100,000 jobs (with over 70,000 jobs lost on Monday alone), the stock market tumbled, and home prices continued its freefall. Congress played politics over the stimulus package (it passed the House strictly on party line votes) and - surprise - Wall Street continued giving billions in bonuses and perks ($87,784 for a rug, anyone?)

And you know the economy is bad when more people are searching Google for coupons than Britney Spears (via Bo Cowgill).

How’s 2009 been treating you? Did you lose your job? Have trouble making ends meet? What do you think needs to be done to fix the economy? Can the economy be fixed? I’d love to hear from you.

Most of the time, desert locusts live a solitary existence.  But when they experience a sudden spike in serotonin, a neurotransmitter found in all animals, it’s time to swarm! Scientists at the University of Oxford recently found a close connection between the levels of serotonin in
the insects’ bodies and how
sociable they became.

"Locusts switch into swarm behavior based on two cues: when they see and
smell other locusts for an extended period or when their hind legs are
constantly jostled."

Just  so you know: when locusts are green (above) they are feeling  mellow, when dark-colored they are ready to party.

Photo by Tim Fayle

Link - via news

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

Senator Claire McCaskill is angry at the Wall Street "idiots" who are giving out $18 billion in bonuses in 2008. So angry that she has just introduced a bill to cap their pay:

An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout money.

Under the terms of a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, no employee would be allowed to make more than the president of the United States. Obama’s current annual salary is $400,000.

"We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer," an enraged McCaskill said on the floor of the Senate. "They don’t get it. These people are idiots. You can’t use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses."

McCaskill’s proposed compensation limit would cover salaries, bonuses and stock options.

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Who thinks it’s a darned good idea?

A police officer in Brisbane, Australia, got into hot water for trying to claim … free donuts from a local Krispy Kreme:

A Brisbane police officer got into a holey row with Krispy Kreme staff, demanding to be served free doughnuts.

Shocked customers looked on as the officer argued with staff for several minutes in a bid to get his freebies, before finally storming off - empty handed and non-cinnamon-fingered. [...]

As the icing on the cake, Krispy Kreme has now decided to stop supplying Brisbane police with leftover doughnuts.

Turns out, it was a simple misunderstanding:

Before the incident, officers had been regularly popping in to collect free boxes of leftover doughnuts at the store in nearby Albert St at the end of the day. Staff were unable to sell the doughnuts and were only too happy to oblige.

A police source said the officer had become confused and thought the free doughnut arrangement applied at all times. "Everyone’s a bit annoyed because they were a nice treat at the end of the day with a coffee," he said.

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Just watch this video to get an idea of how my husband’s mind works.  Here it is:Jonathan’s video with Mrs. Bobbie.

- via thetowells

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Lori T.

What’s up with Google? Has anyone else seen this? Every single search I do on Google now returns "This site may harm your computer," even when I search for … Google!