Monkey hits banana jack pot

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So reindeer really can fly

Alan Blacklock, a photographer with the New Zealand Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, was certainly surprised when he looked into the afternoon sky from his home in the capital city, Wellington.
'It was Sunday afternoon and my attention was drawn to this cloud,' he said.
'It wasn't a great leap of the imagination to see a reindeer.'
The picture, taken on Dec 2, is of a cirrus cloud, which takes shape at about 30,000ft.

Indian girl born with 8 limbs leaves hospital after surgery

A two-year-old Indian girl born with four arms and four legs left hospital yesterday , more than a month after a marathon operation to remove her extra limbs, doctors said. Lakshmi left Sparsh Hospital in the southern city of Bangalore with her parents and older brother after doctors said she had recovered from the 27-hour operation.

But she will return to hospital in March for doctors to assess whether she will need reconstructive surgery, said Sharan Patil, who headed the surgical team for the operation last month. "She's doing well now and her parents are quite keen to take the baby home," Patil said. There's a news video on this page.

Thumb-Rest Cup

This nifty idea, called the Thumb-Rest Cup, puts two handles on a coffee-cup with thumb rests angled at 60 degrees, allowing a person with limited hand-movement to lift it up to their mouth without any finger or wrist motion. The cup itself is double-walled to protect fingers from scalding.

Say Aaah!!!

Dear Lord

Up, Up and Away--Hot Air Ballons

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Chain Of Kindness Runs Through Starbucks Drive-Through

First Act Of Kindness Started With Anger
Video: Starbucks Customers Pay It Forward
Slideshow: Chain Of Kindness Runs Through Starbucks Drive-Through
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A customer in a South Florida drive-through paid the bill for the customer behind him on Thursday, and the chain continued throughout the day.
Drivers at a Starbucks Coffee in Pompano Beach paid for drinks for the people behind them all day long.
"Your drink has been paid for by the driver in front of you," a Starbucks barista told a customer.
The barista said she had one woman convinced that they were on the TV show "Candid Camera."
It all started with one customer's gesture of paying it forward.
"I think it's awesome," one customer said. "Spreads a lot of Christmas cheer."
The manager at the Starbucks said the idea has made his work atmosphere cheerful all day.
"Every customer that comes through the drive-through has been smiling and saying, 'You made my day.'"
However, the chain of kindness started with anger. Arthur Rosenfeld said the man behind him at the drive-through on Thursday morning was honking and yelling at him. So Rosenfeld, a Tai-Chi master, responded with a bit of Zen.
"It wasn't an idea to pay anything forward, nor was it even a random act of kindness, it was a change of consciousness (to) take this negative and change it into something positive," he said.

Schoolgirl told to sit outside class – for smelling of Lenor

An eight-year-old girl was segregated from her classmates because her teacher is allergic to the fabric softener on her clothes.
Hope Nichols was made to work in a corridor on one occasion and moved to the back of the class.
Mom Sarahjane, of Thoresby Avenue, Gaywood, thought it was a joke at first when the school asked her to change her fabric conditioner brand, but then explained Lenor was the only one which does not irritate Hope's eczema and dermatitis.
She was later sent a letter from Gaywood's Howard Junior School headteacher Gregory Hill demanding a doctor's note to prove Hope has a skin condition.
Mr Hill had warned Mrs Nichols that if she did not reduce the amount of softener she uses or swap brands, Hope's class teacher may have to have time off work because of a "severe allergy to perfumes and fragrances".
Mrs Nichols said: "It's just totally bizarre. I've never heard anything like it in my life."

9-year-old girl drives car ten miles to save dad

Timothy Webber, a Brunswick, Maryland man is lucky to be alive after suffering a heart attack while driving. It's all thanks to his quick-thinking nine year-old daughter, Cheyanne, who drove her dad to safety."I steered and I mostly pushed the gas and the brake", recalls Cheyanne.

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