BUSH & GOP SITES OUTAGE. DDOS ATTACKS?

eWeek online reported that Bush campaign and GOP sites experienced problems for several hours on Wednesday, October 20. It wasn't clear if the sites were experiencing system problems or if they were under a hack attack. Campaign and committee officials would only say they were investigating.

Because the sites were all GOP/Bush campaign related sites, people have speculated that it was a calculated Denial of Service attack, where the sites are overwhelmed with bogus traffic, making the sites inaccessible. However, analysts with Alertsite.com and Keynote Systems, which were monitoring the sites, said that their evidence suggests other problems. Many errors were Domain Name Service (DNS)-related problems, the translation of a site's name, such as www.google.com, to their actual numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address, google.

John Kerry's website and Democratic National Committee sites did not experience any problems.

Must be symptomatic.

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THEME THURSDAY - COLORFUL

Theme Thursday - "Colorful" Submission

Work and rain has kept me indoors during the day, even on weekends, so I decided to photograph a colorful Mardi Gras mask. Never been. Just have the mask.

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NO-FLY FLIERS

In the past few months, there have been at least a dozen incidents of passengers on the "no-fly" list permitted to fly, according to Time magazine's October 18, 2004 issue. Last week, a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight was allowed to take off from Amman even though they had a passenger on the terror watch list.

The list has become unmanageable. It now contains 20,000 names, including dead people, people in prison and at least 1000 duplicates. 300 more names are added daily, and the list is so large, it has caused airline computer systems to crash.

The seemingly indiscriminate list, which included the names of Senator Kennedy and Cat Stevens, has also stretched law enforcement personnel. Law enforcement personnel have to scramble to respond to each incident.

Secure Flight, a new TSA passenger-prescreening program, begins next month, and the agency hopes it will reduce some of the current "no-fly" list problems.

We'll see what happens to Senator Kennedy first.

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GETTING OLD

Getting old means sagging breasts, sagging scrotums, big pores and wrinkled skin, rough feet and rough elbows. Getting old means sore knees, brief sex, yawning and sneezing injuries and white hair. And it doesn't happen gradually.

I went to bed without any white hair in the front of my head. This morning, I have three! Where did they come from? Does the white hair fairy visit you and decide, "I think I'll really screw with her mind tonight."

What used to be a smooth forehead now has tiny lines and huge pores. My forehead looks like college ruled binder paper with brail punctures.

I once hurt my back for a solid day because I burped wrong. I burped wrong! How does that happen? Okay. I know how that happens, but when was the last time you burped so wrong that you threw out your back for an entire day?

Aging is a universal issue, but I have to ask, "Why me? Why me? Oh lordy, lordy, why me???"

Now I know why Greta VanSustern got plastic surgery.

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STUPIDITY

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

To call the Vienna art group, Austrian Guggenheim, eccentric, is an understatement. In an attempt to give locals a cheerful feast for the eyes, they built a full size gingerbread house. "Bricks" were made of gingerbread, and the artists used bread to tile and frame the house.

As you might imagine, rats, birds and other vermin were attracted to this architectural feast, creating a health hazzard. Citizens complained, and inspectors deemed the house a health hazzard.

MAN FEEDS DOG PENIS

Constantin Mocanu, 67, from Galati county in Romania suffered a sleepness night because of a noisy chicken... or so he told doctors. Determined to silence the chicken once and for all, he grabbed its neck and chopped it off.

Only, instead of chopping off the chicken's neck, he chopped off his penis. Startled by his gross error, he threw his penis to his dog, which promptly ate the severed organ.

Mocanu told National newspaper, "It was after midnight when the bloody cock was making such a trouble outside. I got very angry and went out to kill it. I don't know how I got my penis instead. I was so irritated I threw it to the dog... What could I do with a piece of penis."

Surgeons could not rebuild Mocanu's penis, and not surprisingly, Mocanu's surgeons were not convinced by his story either.

Surgeon Nicolae Bacalbasa said, "It's like the Bible says. If your right hand gives you trouble then cut it off. The man is 67 and he may have had reasons to punish his organ. I am personally more tolerant with these matters."

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ON THE FLIP SIDE - WANTED: CAT ARMY

"A Mexican town is advertising for an army of cats to kill off a plague of rats." (Ananova)

Atascaderos authorities have put ads in a Mexican paper asking people to donate their cats. Their goal is to give 700 cats to local families to kill 500,000 rats. The mayor's office claims they have tried poison, but they only succeeded in decimating the local cat population.

Emilia de Leon, of Mexico's Animal Protection Society, told Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that she is concerned about building a cat army, citing feline population concerns.

"Remeber to spay and neuter your pet."
Bob Barker

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"SUPER PIG" - THE OTHER WHITE MEAT

Cuy, more commonly known in the United States as a Guinea Pig, is a delicacy that has been eaten in the Andes since the time of the Incas. Cuy is such an important part of the Peruvian diet, the Peruvian "Last Supper" image depicts Christ and his disciples dining on roasted cuy.

But until now, cuy has been small and bony, with little fleshy meat, but researchers in Peru say they have discovered how to create a "Super Guinea Pig" that is low in cholestoral, high in protein, weighs more than 2 pounds (3 kilos) and most importantly, tastes like rabbit. Traditionally only served on special occassions, now one cuy can feed a family of four.

For those of you tempted to think that cuy is only eaten in Peru or other parts of South America, think again. Cuy is sold in restaurants and butcher shops in New York City. Some people have even reported seeing NYC street vendors carrying the little rodents. They can be stewed, fried, boiled, barbecued or roasted.

Sound mouthwatering? Here's a recipe for the roasted variety. Many cuy afficionados prefer roasted cuy because, aside from its superior taste to other cooking methods, the cuy is served whole and is more aesthetically pleasing. To avoid a faux pas, always eat cuy with your hands so the sweet smell lingers on your fingers.



(Ananova Photo)

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