I’ve been hearing on the news recently about how a local rescue helicopter crashed, killing four people. The patient that was being transported from a car accident to the hospital survived, but the pilot, a paramedic, another police officer and a nurse all died in the crash. They don’t know what happened to cause the crash, other than the helicopter was flying in a bad storm and he radioed his base asking permission to abort the flight because of dangerous flying conditions and he was told to keep coming because he only had three or four miles to go.
Rumors are that the high winds forced him into some trees. He took off the tree tops at 80 feet in the air before crashing to the ground. The entire area is in shock over this tragedy. I think that when a pilot radios his base and says it is too dangerous to fly, his “base” should respect his judgement! I hope the families of the victims sue the company for a lot of money!
I was reading in The Discovery News website that it has been discovered that some plants generate an aspirin-like chemical when they are under stress. The article goes on to explain that this discovery was an accidental one, it was discovered near a walnut grove. Scientists were monitoring the air (it doesn’t say why) when they discovered that the trees were emitting this gas. Then the article goes on to explain that aspirin was originally made from the bark of willow trees. I didn’t know that! You learn something new every day!
I don’t know where I was when the incident first happened to appear in the news, apparently back in February 2007, but I was reading on the Internet today that a memorial service was held yesterday for a toddler that was starved to death by a religious cult because he would not say “amen” after meals. This little guy was only about 19 months old when they starved him to death! This kind of news story totally disgusts me – I don’t understand how or why this kind of behavior happens. And I don’t understand why it took over a year for a memorial service to be held for the little tyke! I hope that everyone who was involved in this little guy’s death is locked up and the key thrown away forever and ever!
Today is the tragic anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. I’ve been thinking about what a terrible mess that whole attack has created – we invaded Iraq when we should have concentrated on Afghanistan. So many lives have been lost; not just that day, but since that day. And I don’t think that the world is any safer now than it was before – I think that even more people hate the USA than before. What a mess this has been!
I was reading that Sony is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptops due to faulty wiring which causes them to overheat. This is problematic because at least one customer has received minor burns from the overheating! These particular models were sold in 48 countries. I don’t know if any of those countries are the US or not, the article didn’t say. But I sure am glad that I’m not one of the customers that bought one! Dealing with recalls is a huge pain in the neck!