Shiver me timbers...
I've heard the Southern Ocean attracts a hardy individual but a block of wood on an iceberg is ridiculous.
This lonely piece of timber was spotted on the top of a small berg at 66 degrees south, just north of Commonwealth Bay.
Wildlife watchers near Aurora Australis' bridge first thought it was a relaxing seal but it was soon apparent it was rectangular in shape.
How it got to such a prominent position, instead of just floating around, is anyone's guess.
Since it is lifeless and non-magnetic, its baffling position won't be due to the fact that we are very close to the south magnetic pole.
Yes, we are near the wandering point in the earth's surface where the geomagnetic field lines are vertical, rather than lying across the planet from pole to pole.
Normal compasses don't work in this region. The one I have brought on board is now confused by all the iron in the ship.
The south magnetic pole was positioned on the Antarctic continent 100 years ago. It has since wandered out to sea due to changes in the Earth's magnetic field.
**********
Woman left paralyzed by love bite
abc.net.au - A woman was temporarily partially paralyzed by a love bite on her neck from her amorous partner, doctors reported in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
The 44-year-old New Zealand woman went to the emergency department of Middlemore Hospital in Auckland last year after experiencing loss of movement in her left arm while watching television.
Doctors concluded the woman had suffered a mild stroke but were puzzled about its cause until they found a small vertical bruise on her neck - a love bite or hickey - near a major artery.
She had received the love bite a few days earlier.
"Because it was a love bite there would be a lot of suction," one of the doctors who treated her, Teddy Wu, told the Christchurch Press.
"Because of the physical trauma it had made a bit of bruising inside the vessel. There was a clot in the artery underneath where the hickey was."
Dr Wu says the clot dislodged and travelled to the woman's heart where it caused a minor stroke that led to the loss of movement.
"We looked around the medical literature and that example of having a love bite causing something like that hasn't been described before," he said.
The medic said the woman recovered after being treated with an anti-coagulant.
**********
MUFON Investigator Sees Alien Being
You’re a MUFON investigator and your chief investigator hands you an ongoing case. It seems multiple witnesses were seeing “orange fireballs,” red and white lights in the Tennessee sky that would cluster…as many as 27 together.” This happened in April and you contact the main witness about these sightings. The witness claims this happens almost every night and you schedule an on-site investigation the following week. However, Mother Nature has a different schedule and the 2010 floods hit the good state of Tennessee. Locked down for another week you finally are able to get out to the person’s house who claims now the lights are coming closer and he is seeing helicopters. You pack your bag and you’re off to the UFO Witness’ house and the lights in the sky. Continue reading at ufomedia
**********
Europe Begins to Run Short of Water
Half of the Czech Republic’s population could face water shortages because of climate change, a top climate change expert has warned.
The country has become one of the driest in the EU, according to local media, and climatologists say the land, and crucial underground water supplies, are drying up.
Professor Michal Marek, head of the EU-funded CzechGlobe climate change research project, told IPS: "The Czech Republic is already seeing the effects of climate change in more frequent extreme weather events and changes in biodiversity.
"But possibly the most important change is in the increasing drying out of the landscape as drier periods get longer and are followed by bursts of intense rainfall which the dry soil cannot absorb. This has a very significant effect on underground water supplies."
Climatologists and meteorologists in central Europe have said that the region is seeing more and more extreme weather including long periods of dry and hot weather in the summer, severe flooding and bitter winter weather.
While not all parts of central and Eastern Europe will necessarily have the same problems as the Czech Republic with underground water supplies because of local geological conditions and other factors, heavy rains falling on ground dried out by long periods of hot weather and unable to absorb water can increase the risk of flooding.
Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Germany have all been hit by devastating floods in the last two years. - Continue reading at ipnews
**********
'House of Snakes' for Sale
dailymail - Even the man trying to sell this house admits it has a 'horrible' problem.
But there are snake lovers in the world, so he remains hopeful.
The agent trying to sell this five-bedroom house in Idaho has listed it for $66,000 less than its estimated market value - because it is infested with thousands of snakes.
Last year its owners gave up and walked away, allowing the house to fall into foreclosure - deciding that was a better option than living with the serpents slithering around in the ceilings and walls.
It was taken over by the lender, Chase Bank. Now Realty Quest associate broker Todd Davis is faced with the daunting task of trying to sell it.
That task would be hard enough with the current market, but once the slithery occupants are factored in, you have to feel a pang of sympathy for the optimistic Mr Davis.
Even his decision to slash the price from the estimated value of $175,000 to $109,000 may not be enough.
'I guess I need a snake lover,' he admits. 'Or someone with multiple mongooses.'
The residents are believed to be common garter snakes, a type found throughout the United States. They are not poisonous and are harmless to humans.
A pest inspector has estimated they are living in the house in their thousands.
'It's not a problem, it's an infestation,' Mr Davis bravely continues. 'It's been a horrible experience.'
Even more horrible for those living there. Previous owners describe the terror of trying to sleep at night, never knowing when your bed could be invaded, in a YouTube video from as far back as 2006.
And the most recent owners, Benjamin and Amber Sessions, reenacted the snake takeover on an Animal Planet television episode about infestations that aired earlier this month. The couple could not be reached for comment.
Mr Davis said the Sessions segment and the YouTube video by other owners are the only first hand evidence he has of the reptiles in the now infamous 'Idaho snake house'.
SLITHERY SELLING POINT: WHAT ARE GARTER SNAKES?
Garter snakes, which can grow to be up to three feet in length, frequently take up residence in lawns and gardens and are prized by gardeners for feeding on pests like slugs.
Garters have the widest range among snakes in North America, said Joe Collins, director of the Center for North American Herpetology in Lawrence, Kansas.
They are not poisonous and pose no threat to people.
But - in another wonderful selling point for the poor Mr Davis - they do smell.
Garters leave pheromone trails that scent the way to a den.
Once a whiff of the site has snaked through the garter community, snakes from outlying areas are likely to target the area.
But he added he has no reason to disbelieve the accounts of hundreds of snakes sandwiched between the house and its exterior siding and piles of the reptiles in the crawlspace.
'I think the snakes got into a spot and decided to make it their home, now they've invited all their friends,' he said.
Joe Collins, director of the Center for North American Herpetology in Lawrence, Kansas, said it is likely that the house was built on a snake den site.
'Snakes have a great deal of fidelity to the den site,' he said.
'They're born near there and the animals return each fall to den up and avoid the cold.'
'People always build first and never ask about an area and whether there is a snake den before they do,' said Mr Collins.
'Afterward, it's too late: the house is there, the snakes are there and people are there. It's a great set up for a wonderful time.'
The snakes are not likely to relocate, voluntarily or otherwise.
Even if the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, which oversees reptiles in the state, agreed to dislodge the garters, some snakes will remain and reproduce, restarting the cycle, Mr Collins said.
Hence Mr Davis's search for snake-friendly buyers.
Apparently he is not considering the more definitive solution offered by the blog Gawker: 'Burn the f****** house down'.