May 2 (UPI) -- Firefighters in New Hampshire came to the rescue of a curious dog who stuck her head into a hole in a tree and ended up stuck.

The Milford Fire Department said a dog named Gracie poked her head through a hole in a tree behind the Boys and Girls Club in Milford and quickly discovered she couldn't pull it back out.

Firefighters ended up using handheld tools to chip away at the wood and expand the hole so Gracie's head could safely be pulled back out.

"This is probably the second one since I've been on the department that we've had to rescue. We've had animals in ponds and stuff, but this is the first time we've had to pull a dog out of a tree," Milford Fire Assistant Chief Mark Britton told WMUR-TV. "Not a common thing at all."

Gracie's owners said the dog was not injured.
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/05/02/Milford-Fire-Department/4141683057509/

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
WEDNESDAY MAY 3
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Dutch police arrest fake ‘Boris Johnson’ for suspected drink-driving

Dutch police who arrested a man in connection with a drink-driving incident were surprised to find that the name on his driving licence was Boris Johnson.

The Ukrainian driver’s fake licence, complete with the former British prime minister’s picture and correct birthdate, was purportedly issued in 2019 and valid until the end of the year 3000.


The fake driving licence was claimed to be valid until the end of the year 3000.

A police spokesperson, Thijs Damstra, said officers investigated an incident shortly after midnight on Sunday when a car crashed into a pole near the Emma Bridge in the northern city of Groningen. The car was abandoned but police were later told that the driver was standing on the bridge.

“The person could not identify himself and refused to undertake a breathalyser test,” Damstra said on Monday. The 35-year-old man, from the small town of Zuidhorn, west of Groningen, was arrested and police searched the car. “Inside, police found a fake driver’s licence belonging to Boris Johnson,” Damstra said.

Groningen police said on their Instagram account: “Unfortunately for this person, we did not fall for his forgery.”

Police could not say where the forged document was made, but Kysia Hekster, a former Russia correspondent for the public broadcaster NOS, said in a tweet published by the NOS that fake driving licences could easily be bought in tourist shops in Ukraine.

Damstra added: “As far as I’m aware, the real Mr Boris Johnson was not in the Netherlands at the time.”

Your brain actually works harder as it dies: scientific discovery



Scientists are one step closer to learning more about the experiences that people have reported having just before they die — including the light at the end of the tunnel.

A surge of activity happens in dying human brains that resembles being awake, even after the person stops breathing, according to new study published Monday in the journal PNAS.

“If you talk about the dying process, there is very little we know,” Jimo Borjigin, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan Medical School who led the study, told Live Science.

“This is maybe the first study to really show second-by-second how the brain dies,” he said, noting that there aren’t many people who’ve had their brain studied while in the process of dying.

“While the mechanisms and physiological significance of these findings remain to be fully explored, these data demonstrate that the dying brain can still be active,” according to Borjigin, who co-authored the study with Dr. George Mashour, founding director of the Michigan Center for Consciousness Science.

“They also suggest the need to re-evaluate role of the brain during cardiac arrest.”

The researchers tracked four people who were dying due to cardiac arrest as they were taken off their ventilators, and found that two of them had a rush of gamma waves, which are some of the fastest brain waves you can experience, according to Healthline.

This happened about 30 seconds to two minutes after the patients were taken off of the ventilators.

The study authors explained that these gamma waves could mean that patients experienced some form of consciousness, similar to being in a lucid state.

One part of the brain that experienced a high activity of gamma waves was the temporoparietal junction, behind the ear.

According to Live Science, that area can be particularly triggered when someone is having a dream or an “out of body experience.”

In order to gather this information, the University of Michigan researchers monitored the dying patients by using electroencephalogram monitoring, which are sensors that attach to one’s scalp to detect electrical activity in your brain waves.

However, researchers did note that because the patients did pass away, it is unclear exactly what they experienced as they were dying and if this brain activity even relates to death at all.

Even though we have heard tales of people who have had a near-death experience, their brains can be different as they didn’t end up dying, researchers reported.

In 2013, Borjigin and a group of researchers also studied the brain activity of rats who had been “euthanized via cardiac arrest,” and found that they also experienced a surge in gamma waves about 30 seconds after their hearts stopped, according to Live Science.

A similar study of an 87-year-old man by a different group of doctors in 2022 found that the same thing happened to him as in the rats – 30 seconds before and after his hearts stopped, there was a surge of gamma waves in his brain.

Earlier this year, one man detailed his near-death experience after he had complications from a heart-valve operation.

“I wasn’t looking down at my body, but I was separate from my body,” 55-year-old Kevin Hill told South West News Service at the time.

“It was like I was in the spirit realm. I was conscious of what was going on, but I had so much peace.”

In January, country singer Shania Twain also claimed that she had a near-death experience during her battle with the coronavirus, describing it as something “like science fiction.”

https://nypost.com/2023/05/02/scientist ... ies-study/

[Fatima99]

A Warthog, Hyena, and a Porcupine Walked into a Hole–and Decided to Live Together



So a porcupine, a hyena, and a warthog walk into a burrow…

No, it’s not the setup to a bad joke, but the abstract in a scientific paper published in the African Journal of Ecology which found they all were able to co-habit the burrow.

Despite the cramped confines of the dug-out den being flush with quills, teeth, and tusks, no blood was spilled on the pages of this rental agreement.

In fact, the scientists, who discovered this novel phenomenon while observing camera traps outside hyena dens in a wildlife preserve in Kenya, suggest that it was, in fact, a “healthy respect for the threats presented by their mutually formidable weaponry.”

Den-sharing isn’t completely novel, it has been observed among porcupines, pine martens, foxes, and badgers in the same hill-burrow complex in Italy in 2019.

However, this is the first time it’s been seen in African animals. In one of the hollows could be found up to, seven hyenas, three warthogs, and two porcupines, and in another, 11 hyenas, six warthogs, and two porcupines.

They shared the space for months, and would sometimes come and go within minutes of each other.

“Hyenas and porcupines are mostly nocturnal, and warthogs are mostly diurnal, so shared dens could be occupied on a ‘time-share’ basis,” researchers said, who stipulated however that there was evidence of all three staying in the burrow at the same time.



Though the scientists didn’t confirm their existence, potentially-separate chambers under the ground likely gave the trio much-needed space, making them more like neighbors than roommates.

The prevailing theory, according to lead author Marc Dupuis-Désormeaux et al, is that during the dry season, the very hard earth made it economical to utilize existing burrows rather than expend energy digging new ones. When the rains returned, the rental agreement seemed to have ended, and the members went their separate ways.

Interestingly, the hyenas burrowing with porcupines and warthogs seemed to entirely refrain from hunting these species, while other hyenas in burrows not occupied by the other animals, continued to do so.

It’s certainly a line of inquiry that deserves more attention.

[PennySerenade]

pair of 81-year-old twins from Ontario has snagged a $300,000 prize playing the lottery. And this wasn’t even their first rodeo.

Geraldine Fobert and Joyce Brady of Belleville, two retirees from the Hawkins Cheezie Factory, are as lucky as they are generous. They've been playing the lottery since 2010 and have won three prizes — $100,000 in 2011, $1 million in 2015, and $300,000 in 2023.

Each time they've won in the past, their priority has been their friends and family in need, charities, and churches. This time is no different.

Here's what happened when they played Instant Plinko.

Fobert was running errands and decided to buy a ticket for herself and her sister at a Victoria Convenience location in Belleville. She realized they had won a chip drop and returned to the convenience store.

"At first, I thought the machine broke down, but when OLG called, I knew we had won big," Fobert told the folks at the OLG Prize Centre. "I went home to tell Joyce and told her I wasn't sure how much we won because we have to go to Toronto to drop the chip."



When they finally reached Toronto, Fobert dropped the chip, and Brady cheered her on.

"My knees were weak at the top of those steps. It was like I was in outer space like no one else was up there with me," said Fobert. "Then I heard people clapping – I did pretty good!"

The sisters had won $300,000.

"We're very fortunate," said Brady. "We're going to share with our sister-in-law, our family and friends who need it and our churches. We'll see what’s left after we take care of everyone else."

The twins' sister-in-law is in the hospital, and they have grandchildren who could use the money, too.

"We have a good life and are very blessed," Gerry added.

[prokroustis]

ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXCAVATE HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT BYZANTINE CHURCH



A team of archaeologists from the Directorate of Istanbul Archaeology Museums have been excavating the Church of St. Polyeuktos, located in Istanbul’s Saraçhane neighbourhood, Turkey.
The church was constructed between AD 524 to 527 under the patronage of Anicia Juliana, a Roman Imperial princess during the reign of Justin I. Juliana’s intention to assert her own imperial lineage was reflected in the opulent design of the building, which was the largest church in the city until the construction of the Hagia Sophia.

The church incorporated Sassanid Persian decorative elements on a grand scale and is believed to have pioneered the architectural style of the domed basilica, which was later perfected in the Hagia Sophia.

After its construction, the history of the church is largely unknown. It remained standing until the 11th century, but eventually deteriorated and various architectural features were removed and repurposed in Constantinople (Istanbul). After being built over in the Ottoman period, the site of the church was rediscovered during excavations in the 1960s.

Rahmi Asal, director of the museums, said: “the church was heavily damaged, particularly during the Latin invasion, and then the building was further damaged by an earthquake in AD 1010, with parts taken to be used in the St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.”

The excavations have uncovered important decorative stone pieces and architectural elements, with the most notable discovery being a piece of torso from a statue depicting a male figure carved in marble. The torso was found around one metre beneath the surface level and dates from the Late Roman period around the 3rd to 4th century AD.

This adds to a recently announced discovery in April 2023, where the team found a hidden tunnel beneath the church ruins shaped with marble and adorned with reliefs, in addition to 681 bronze coins, stamped bricks, marble pieces, ceramics, oil lamps, glass and metal artefacts.

Traffic signal outage caused by snake in breaker box




Authorities investigating a malfunctioning traffic signal at a Virginia intersection discovered it had an unusual cause: a large snake took up residence in the breaker box.

The Prince William County Police Department said officers were dispatched to investigate why the traffic signal at Prince William Parkway and Sudley Manor Drive lost power.

They discovered a snake had moved into the electrical box that controls the light and the large reptile had managed to flip the breaker switch. Officers said molted skin found inside the box indicates the snake had been inside for some time.

The snake was not injured and there was no damage to the breaker box.

The reptile was removed by a crash investigator and an animal control officer. It was released nearby.

The department reminded drivers in a Facebook post to treat non-functioning traffic signals as stop signs.

[goldie0608]

Parrots Kept as Pets Were Taught to Video Call Each Other—and They Loved It



Over 20 million parrots are kept as pets in American households, and a study wanted to see if these social birds would enjoy video calling each other just like humans.

The Birds of a Feather study recruited more than a dozen parrot owners and their birds, to see if parrot loneliness, a real danger to the birds’ mental health, could be improved through access to video calling.

It’s no word of a lie to say that platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Facetime saved lives during the totalitarian lockdowns during COVID-19, but humans aren’t the only creatures capable of utilizing and benefiting from video calls to friends.

The study, organized by Northwestern University in collaboration with scientists from MIT and the University of Glasgow, taught the parrots to initiate video calls with other parrots by instructing them to ring a bell, and then touch the picture of another parrot on a tablet screen to start the call.

The owners were experienced parrot keepers who knew how to identify signs of fear, aggression, or disinterest with the video call, which might lead to damage to the cages or the birds.

In the first phase of the study, the 18 parrots initiated 212 video calls with a maximum allowed time of 5 minutes. Some dropped out of the study, leaving just 15 going into the second phase.

In the “open call” period that followed, the 15 birds made 147 video calls with each other over the next two months. The birds were also able to select which individual they wanted to call.

Not only did the birds initiate calls freely and seem to understand that a real fellow parrot was on the other end, but caretakers overwhelmingly reported the calls as positive experiences for their parrots, according to a statement from Northwestern.

Some caregivers watched their birds learn skills from their video friends, including foraging, new vocalizations, and even flying. Some wanted to show the other bird on the line their toys. “She came alive during the calls,” reported one caregiver.

A few significant findings emerged. The birds engaged in most calls for the maximum allowed time. They formed strong preferences—in the preliminary pilot study, Northwestern researcher Jennifer Cunha’s bird, Ellie, a Goffin’s cockatoo, became fast friends with a California-based African grey named Cookie. “It’s been over a year and they still talk,” Cunha told the univ. press.

Two older, weaker macaws also formed a fast friendship that carried on long after the end of the study, and would frequently call to each other, saying “Hi, hello, come here.”

Also, the birds that initiated the most calls were the birds that received the most requests to chat from other birds, a finding mirrored in humans.

The researchers caution that the findings don’t mean parrot owners should fire up a Zoom call and assume it will go well. The participant parrots had experienced handlers who had time to introduce the technology slowly and to carefully monitor their parrots’ reactions.

As the study underscored, parrots are finicky about which fellow birds they will respond to—unmediated interactions could lead to fear, even violence, and property damage; larger parrots have beaks more than capable of cracking an iPad into pieces.

Still, it’s deeply moving to watch—in the documentary below—these brilliant birds feel a connection with new friends hundreds of miles away, especially knowing that a social life is key to a parrot’s health.

Broadway performers send off Starlite Deli owners with viral performance viewed around the world

“I didn’t realize that our store was beloved,” said Jung Min Kim, who is closing shop after opening Starlite with his wife in June 1984



The owners of the legendary Starlite Deli, at the heart of New York’s Theater District, had no idea what they meant to the Broadway community until last week, when performers surprised them by singing Roy Rogers’ “Happy Trails” in front of the spot’s longstanding neon sign.

The sendoff, marking Jung Min and Jahee Kim’s retirement after 39 years in business, went viral on TikTok, garnering over 2.2 million views. The performers also surprised the married couple with a gift of $17,839.

“I was shocked,” Jahee Kim, 63, told NBC News in Korean. “I thought it was going to be just a few people coming to say something, but it was a huge crowd. My heart became heavy. I was so overwhelmed, I was so thankful.”



Posted by Broadway performer Preston Mui, the video attracted viewers from all over the world who flooded the comment section, offering messages of love and support.

“The best thing about owning Starlite was having a good relationship with the community,” Jung Min Kim, 71, told NBC News in Korean.

The Seoul-raised couple moved to New York in the early 80s after getting married in Korea — Jung Min Kim moved first and Jahee Kim followed shortly after. He opened Starlite in June 1984 after learning the ropes of the business from his brother, who also ran a deli. They searched several places to start their business but found that Broadway was the best location.

“There were way more people back then because Broadway tickets were cheaper than they are now,” he said.

Since the deli opened, the store has seen a steady stream of Broadway’s workforce, thanks to its proximity to highly frequented theaters like Majestic Theatre, Broadhurst Theatre, The Hayes Theater and St. James Theatre. But the Kims were unfamiliar with musicals in general prior to opening their shop.

“When we started, we weren’t familiar with Broadway shows at all,” they said. “Now, we’re fans. ‘Phantom of the Opera’ is the best, of course. ‘Chorus Line,’ ‘Chicago,’ much more.”

The Kims recalled seeing countless celebrities visit their store — even if they couldn’t quite match their names to their faces.

“Who’s that guy with the deep voice?” Jung Min Kim asked. “Oh, Ian McKellen.”

“Ralph Fiennes, too,” Jahee Kim interjected. “When I saw his face, he was so shockingly handsome. I was speechless, I just stared at him.”

“Philip Seymour Hoffman also came every day before he passed,” they added. “We never acted starstruck. We’d just say it under our breaths and talk about it amongst ourselves after they left.”

If anyone want to see the original video here is the Tiktok link:

https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonmui/video/7227223494835113259

[Misstee]

Lake Tahoe Is the Clearest It's Been in 40 Years — Here's Why

The credit goes to microscopic animals, according to a new report.
By Michael Cappetta
Published on April 21, 2023



Landscape of blue Lake Tahoe with snowcapped mountains and clear blue sky behind, California
Photo:

Yaya Ernst/Getty Images

The largest alpine lake in North America is the clearest it has been in more than 40 years — and the credit goes to microscopic animals.

Lake Tahoe, a popular tourist destination that sits on the border of California and Nevada, receives more than 15 million visitors a year, according to the Lake Tahoe Tourism Board. Known for its clear waters, the lake saw a decline in water clarity over the past half-century. Now, it is experiencing dramatic improvement with some of the clearest water recorded since the 1980s.

The water clarity findings are part of the “Lake Tahoe Clarity Report 2022” from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

The team measured clarity by lowering a 10-inch white disk, called a Secchi disk, under the lake's surface to record the depth at which it disappeared from view. Lake Tahoe’s average annual clarity saw a massive upgrade from 2022 to 2021: It went from 61 feet in 2021 to 71.7 feet in 2022. The report predicts the ultra-clear waters to get even clearer through 2023.

Environmental experts hope the lake clarity will further improve in future years. The goal is to bring the clarity back to 97.4 feet.

The research team says the lake’s native zooplankton, which recently surged in population, is responsible for the change. The microscopic animal helps keep the lake clear by eating tiny particles that make the water cloudy. “They’ve provided a natural clean-up crew to help restore the lake’s famous blue waters,” scientists said in the report.

Zooplankton declined in the 1960s after its main predator, the Mysis shrimp, experienced a population surge. According to the report, the shrimp population “unexpectedly crashed" in 2021, allowing zooplankton numbers to spike. (This means if the crustaceans make a comeback, the lasting effect of the clear water is temporary.)

Another element is pollution control. The report states special projects keep around 500,000 pounds of "fine sediment and other clarity-harming pollutants" out of Lake Tahoe every year.

“The lake’s resilience must continue to be supported by regional investments in water quality, forest health, and aquatic invasive species prevention and control,” TRPA executive director Julie Regan said in a statement obtained by Travel + Leisure.

For its part, Lake Tahoe’s lodging industry has also taken steps to help preserve the lake water’s quality and give back to the environment through partnerships and programming.

The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, for example, created several programs to reduce single-use plastics, and hotel staff and guests can sign up for a “Keep Lake Tahoe Blue” clean-up event twice a year. “We feel these initiatives will have a lasting effect on saving our environment and are more responsible sustainable solutions,” Laurie Munos, the director of sales and marketing at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, told T+L.

Edgewood Tahoe Resort is also focused on being an environmental steward. The hotel's executive director of marketing and sales, Siobhan Fajayan, told T+L: “From removing 500,000 pounds of sediment per year from Lake Tahoe via enhanced wetlands and deepened filtration settling ponds to partnering with Clean Up the Lake (CUTL), a local nonprofit organization focusing on scuba dive, beach, and community clean-ups, we’re dedicated to keeping Lake Tahoe blue and beautiful."

[lush]

Florida Man Takes His Dog Along on 100mph Motorcycle Police Pursuit
May 3, 2023*

• Just because you’re born to be wild, your dog may not be.

When you have a dog, you often want to take your little friend along for different activities. But there are some things that probably shouldn’t involve your pooch.

Like, say, a high-speed police chase on top of a motorcycle.

A Florida biker on a cross-country road trip recently tried to outrun the police in Louisiana. The extended chase saw the man traveling at 100 mph with his motorcycle.

That’s bad enough, but he also had his little dog with him. Together, the man and dog weaved in traffic while trying to escape from the cops.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the cops eventually stopped the man and no one was injured in the incident. Unfortunately for the man, his dog was taken in while he is in custody.

Not to dismiss how the man feels about his pet, but we think the dog might be currently in better care.


Photo courtesy of Many Police Department.


Clearly a Superhero Fan

The chase took place on April 4 near Natchitoches, Louisiana. According to the Many Police Department (MPD), the Florida man was traveling from New Mexico to Mississippi when he decided to make a stop.

The man entered a local truck stop. Based on security camera footage from the day, he was clad in a Captain America T-shirt and sporting a wild, bushy beard and hair.

We can’t quite tell the breed of the dog from the blurry photo. However, we suspect it may be a chihuahua.

While doing his business at the truck stop, something happened. The cops haven’t released closer details, but the MPD said that there was an “incident.”

Whatever happened at the store prompted the business owner to alert the police. The man, however, didn’t feel like waiting around for the cops.

He hopped on his motorcycle, picked up his dog, and took off.




Breaking the Sound Barrier (Almost)

The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office (SPSO) quickly began trailing the wild rider. However, they proved unable to stop him on their own.

Around 11:52 a.m., the SPSO contacted 911 to request assistance. The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office (NPSO) reported that at the time, SPSO was pursuing a motorcycle on Louisiana Hwy 6, entering Natchitoches Parish.

The NPSO responded and sent deputies after the man and his dog. At this point, they were traveling eastward through Robeline before proceeding to the I-49.

Then, the man turned around and began heading west the way he came. He also really opened up the throttle.

The motorcycle zoomed past Hagewood and Robeline. At times, the cops measured its speed at 100 mph as the man tried to make his escape.

Too bad for him, it didn’t work.

The chase finally ended soon after the man re-entered Sabine Parish. No exact details were released, but somehow the police were able to stop the bike.

By some miracle, nobody got hurt in the chase. Got to give credit where it’s due — the guy really knows how to ride a motorcycle.

Once his escape had ended, the sheriff’s deputies took the man into custody without further incident. With him, they also took in his dog.

The pooch, however, has not gone to jail. According to the MPD, the Sabine Animal Shelter took the dog for safekeeping and a deputy from SPSO has volunteered to foster it.

They’re not planning to steal the pup, though. The shelter is reportedly only keeping the animal until its owner is released.

When that is, though, we couldn’t tell.


Can a Dog Ride on a Motorcycle?



If you own a motorcycle and would like to take your dog along for a ride, you can do it. However, you really should follow the appropriate safety precautions.

First of all, you should check your local laws for whether you’re allowed to transport dogs on motorcycles in the first place. If not, just don’t do it.

If having your puppy on a bike is legal, you should get some safety gear for your dog. Buy a doggy helmet and motorcycle goggles, and preferably a spiffy leather jacket to protect your pet from the breeze.

You also need a proper carrier. There are pet carriers designed to strap your dog to your body on a bike — or you could get your dog its own little sidecar!

Finally, don’t just take your dog on a bike and expect it to be fine. Start with short, slow rides to let your puppy get used to being on a motorcycle.

Should your dog tolerate or even enjoy bike rides, you’re ready to hit the road! Just try not to break any speed records like the Florida guy did.

California bakery's 'Pan Solo'

Catherine Pervan and daughter Hannalee Pervan, the owners of One House Bakery in Benicia, Calif., went viral in October when they created a bread sculpture of Han Solo frozen in carbonite for a local scarecrow contest.

The tribute to Harrison Ford's character from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, dubbed "Pan Solo," ended up taking second place in the contest.
pic here https://www.instagram.com/p/Cje19mDuSGi ... 3456d5072c

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
THURSDAY MAY 4
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Gippsland riders keen to experience dining at a pub with their horse

While some people might bring their dog to a cafe, some Gippsland locals are taking their horses to the pub.

When Tinamba Hotel owner Simon Johnson fielded a call from a customer asking if their group could bring their horses along to dinner, he thought "why not?".

"Pubs traditionally used to have horses out the front all the time, but it's not something we've had in our time at Tinamba," Mr Johnson said.

"[But] we're always open to wanting to create new dining experience for our guests."

The group rode their horses along a nearby rail trail to the pub before enjoying their evening meal, reins in hand.


A social media post on an equine dining experience has resulted in an inundation of interest.

"We're obviously a popular spot for bike riders on the Gippsland Plains road trail. I never thought about what it could be with the horses," he said.

Trail rider destination venue

After a huge response following a social media post and a flood of enquiries Mr Johnson is considering putting in specific infrastructure for horses.

"We were looking at car chargers, bike repair stations and bike racks, for the different forms of transport people use to get to to Tinamba, so there's no reason why we couldn't try to put in some more infrastructure for the horses [like a] hitching rail and troughs," Mr Johnson said.

He says with the cost of living crisis and lingering affects from COVID-19 the hospitality sector is still recovering.

"In this day and age of hospitality, you've always got to look at creating new and unique experiences for guests to attract people … and this is one that we can add to the list."

Ms Sallee says hitching rails are a must for tethering horses at restaurants.

Group rides (is it just me who got a whole different picture of what this might be? *slinks back to the gutter*)

Horse trainer Sacha Sallee from Moondarra Horsemanship contacted the Tinamba Hotel to organise a group ride to the venue, after hearing of its equine dining experience.

"It's a real novelty to be able to saddle a horse up, [go] have a meal, have a couple of beverages and then ride home again … and to ride through the bush is quite special in itself," she said.

Ms Sallee says she often organises group rides to local pubs in Rawson and Walhalla in West Gippsland that cater for horses.

While novel, she said it was important that hotels had the correct infrastructure to both tether and clean up after horses.

"[I've] known of horses to be tied up to, say poles on on verandahs, and actually pulled the whole verandah down when they've got a fright and pulled back, which has ended in misery," she said.

She believes that riders would flock to venues that cater for horses.

"It's definitely a great way to see the country, experience fun with your friends and that bond that you get with your horses. You can't beat it," she said.

In the old days of the Wild West, they used to call them saloons…