[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 DECEMBER 30
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 may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only 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 to under a minute, 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
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

[HogwartsExpress]

German club sells 72,000 tickets for game in empty stadium to raise funds

German third-tier football club Dynamo Dresden has said it sold more than 72,000 tickets for a game played in an empty stadium with no fans.

Former East German champion Dynamo offered fans the “ghost tickets” — named after the German habit of dubbing empty-stadium matches “ghost games” — for €5 as a way to raise funds for the club during the coronavirus pandemic. Fans could receive a commemorative ticket to keep.

The 72,112 tickets sold for Tuesday's German Cup game against Darmstadt was more than double the capacity of Dresden's stadium. Only two games in the club's history, both away games, had more people in attendance, Dresden said.

Dresden lost the game 3-0 to Darmstadt, which plays a division above Dynamo in the league.

German clubs have pioneered innovative fundraising ideas after the pandemic hurt teams' incomes.

When German soccer shut down in the spring, third-tier club Uerdingen sold “virtual tickets” for a fictional game. Top-division side Borussia Mönchengladbach offered fans the chance to have their photos printed onto cardboard cutouts for home games, an idea quickly copied by sports teams around the world.

source
https://www.euronews.com/2020/12/23/ger ... aise-funds

[HogwartsExpress]

Turkish University Mails Over 10,000 Mirrors to Prevent Students From Cheating



A university in Turkey has conceived of an ingenious method to preventing cheating on exams taken online, as reported by TRT World. Bilkent University in Ankara has sent all its students medium-sized mirrors to place behind them while they take tests.

Securing online exams
The goal of the mirror is to ensure there is noting on their screens or behind them that can help them.

“We are trying to secure the online exams for all of our students, by making sure that they only have the questions on their screen, and nothing else,” Chancellor Abdullah Atalar told TRT World. “It’s not because we think our students cheat.”

“This is just one of the precautions we take,” Atalar added. “The students do not touch the keyboard or the mouse, we see their hands. They write their answers in their own handwriting and then scan their answers and send them to us so they can be graded by their instructors.”

The technique, according to Atalar, has been used by Google during interviews. It's an efficient method that is also quite cheap as the mirrors cost only three to four dollars each.

Honor pledge
The school also issues an honor pledge that all students must sign.

“I pledge on my honor that the work that I will submit for my final exams will be entirely my own. I will not receive or utilize any unauthorized assistance from any source, nor will I provide such assistance to others. I understand and accept that any violation of integrity on my part will result in a disciplinary hearing and may lead to severe penalties," states Bilkent University's pledge.

Atalar insists that the school does not believe its students are cheaters. Instead, it is implementing the mirror technique to guarantee future employers know the students passed their exams all on their own.

source
https://interestingengineering.com/turk ... m-cheating

Three Bears Filmed Walking Into A Police Station

Three bears were filmed walking into a police station in Chhattisgarh's Kanker in a video that is being widely circulated online. Shared by IPS officer Dipanshu Kabra on Twitter, the footage begins by showing one cub walking calmly into the police station before it is followed by two others.



In his post, Mr Kabra joked that the bears had arrived at Kanker Police Station for a late night surprise inspection before revealing more about the incident. "A late night surprise inspection at police station. Three bears entered police station premises," he wrote in Hindi.

He also applauded the courage and patience of cops who were on duty at the time of the bear invasion, writing: "Salute to the bravery and patience of the soldiers on duty who, despite facing these conditions, put public service before themselves."

Since being shared on the microblogging platform, the video has garnered over 6,000 views and dozens of reactions.

"Soooooooo cute! Thanks so much for sharing this!" wrote one person in the comments section.

"Hopefully the inspection went off well," another remarked.

One Twitter user said that bears are not an uncommon sight in Kanker while posting a video of three bears running away from a car.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ndtv.c ... -rum%3Doff

[hija]

Maritime Virtual Security Officer



Driverless cars are already here, and autonomous boats are next. According to a report by Rolls Royce, the British company is planning to launch its first remote-controlled, unmanned, ocean-going ship in 2030. With the possibility of ships being digitally operated comes the risk of these ships being hacked. Merit Valdsalu, CEO at StandByMate, says Virtual Security Officers will become key figures of the crew. “As 90 per cent of the world’s trade is carried by sea, hacking autonomous cargo vessels might sound tempting to a new generation of pirates, who could cyber-attack vessels from their computers.”

[BigGlen]

Burger Caesar: Archeologists Unearth Ancient Roman Fast Food Restaurant



The dishes might be different, but fast food as a concept is nothing new.
You might think that fast food is a purely modern phenomenon. And it’s kind of true – quick meals that you can eat on the go have been constantly growing in popularity ever since the Industrial Revolution.

But while burgers and sandwiches are undeniably modern inventions, fast food in itself isn’t. City dwellers throughout history have been partial to grabbing something from a food stall instead of cooking at home. To illustrate this point, archeologists recently excavated what could be the world’s oldest intact fast food restaurant. This 2000-year-old food joint was found in the famous Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed and buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.

This is no franchised restaurant, though. Instead, it is a thermopolium – literally a “hot seller” – a popular kind of food stand during the days of the Roman Empire.

Excavations in 2019 had already uncovered parts of the structure. However, the recovery of the full restaurant gives us a sneak peek into the life of Roman citizens.

“As well as being another insight into daily life at Pompeii, the possibilities for study of this thermopolium are exceptional, because for the first time an area of this type has been excavated in its entirety, and it has been possible to carry out all the analyses that today’s technology permits,” said Massimo Osanna, Interim Director General of the Archeological Park of Pompeii, in a statement.

Interior Decoration
The newly excavated thermopolium was located by a small square, which also housed a cistern, a water tower, and a fountain. Sounds like a prime position to sell food to passersby.

The restaurant itself consisted of an oaken frame and a counter, on which are several large circular holes. The ancient fast food workers would have placed a pot or bowl into each hole, and kept the food hot with either coals or a fire underneath them.

What’s special about this counter, though, is that its vivid decorative painting have been preserved under all the ash. On the counter’s longer side is a picture of a Nereid – a sea nymph from Greek mythology – riding a seahorse across the waves.

On the shorter side of the counter is a picture of what the archeologists assume to be the restaurant itself. If this is true, this might be the first recorded restaurant logo or trademark – an ancient equivalent of the Golden Arches.

In addition, the counter includes depictions of ducks, roosters, and a dog on the leash. The frame surrounding the dog includes an inscription reading “NICIA CINAEDE CACATOR” – which translates from Latin into English as “Nicia’s Shameless Shitter.” Clearly someone didn’t like the owner’s dog.

What’s on the Menu?
But it’s not just the restaurant itself that the archeologists managed to dig up. They also found bones and other fragments that reveal what kind of fare the joint served.

The restaurant didn’t have burgers on the menu, but the presence of animal parts indicates that meat was a regular part of its dishes. Coinciding with the illustrations on the counter, both duck and chicken bones were found in some of the restaurant’s containers.

In addition, the archeologists discovered bones of goats, pigs, and fish, alongside shells of land snails. Seems like Romans appreciated variety in their menus.

In one clay container – known as a dolium – the researchers found remnants of fava beans. These beans weren’t eaten, though. The remnants of wine in the dish indicate that the beans had been ground and added to the wine to alter its taste and color, according to a recipe from an ancient Roman cookbook De re Coquinaria.

[Fatima99]

Homeless man runs into burning animal shelter in Atlanta to save dogs and cats

A homeless man is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life to rescue several dogs and cats from a fire at an animal shelter.



The man, Keith Walker, rushed inside the W-Underdogs shelter after a fire broke out Dec. 18, the facility said in a Facebook post.

"Tonight we thank our guardian angels. The homeless man that ran into our burning house and rescued our animals," it said. "Our animals are safe and thanks to the incredible response from the community, everyone is settled and safe warm and secure."

The facility said its owner was out picking up supply donations when it got a call that the shelter was on fire. Atlanta fire officials said a homeless man rushed to the scene "and helped bring the animals to safety," W-Underdogs wrote.

"And once it became clear that the house was uninhabitable volunteers mobilized to relocate the animals safely to the new facility. In the midst of our misfortune we rest tonight with nothing but gratitude for the community that continuously supports us," it said.

The facility said it often provides food and shelter to Walker's dog, Bravo. It is organizing efforts to help Walker.

A GoFundMe that was set up had raised more than $36,000 by Tuesday morning.

"We have received a flood of requests on how people can help Mr. Keith Walker, the hero who saved our animals from the fire. Rest assured we have Mr. Walker's best interests at heart, and are exploring how to best manage donations that have come in on his behalf," the facility said Monday on Facebook.

Walker told CNN that he was "nervous" to run into the burning building but that he knew he had to save the trapped animals.

"I was really scared to go in there with all that smoke. But God put me there to save those animals," he said. "If you love a dog, you can love anyone in the world. My dog is my best friend, and I wouldn't be here without him, so I knew I had to save all those other dogs."

Officials deemed the blaze an electrical fire, W-Underdogs said in a statement. The shelter was left uninhabitable, but all of the animals were taken to a new facility.

[PennySerenade]

Mississauga woman pens children's book about 2020 Christmas, donates proceeds to food banks



TORONTO -- Andrea Falcone has a new book to read to her children this holiday season, and it’s one that she wrote and published herself.

“It’s just a light story about how this year’s different, and about how Santa also had to adapt to some new rules,” she told CTV News Toronto.

“But, that we can still kind of recognize what’s in and around our own homes and we really do have everything we need.”

The Mississauga woman was inspired by virtual gatherings with family and friends, along with porch gift drop-offs that have been happening.

She said she wanted to share a story about how, just like us, Santa and his elves are having to get creative this year to keep everyone safe.

“As I got writing and kind of reflecting on this year, I realized the holidays can still really be about what the holidays are supposed to be about,” Falcone explained.

‘Santa’s Creative Delivery: A 2020 Christmas Story’ was soon created. Falcone called upon a friend, Lotus Menezes, who helped with the illustrations.

“I thought it was an excellent message,” Menezes told CTV News Toronto. “The fact that elves were sanitizing and keeping a distance, and Santa coming, but not coming into the house, is kind of how we’re living right now.”



Together, Falcone and Menezes decided that all proceeds from the book would go to food banks in Peel Region. As a nutritionist herself, Falcone says it’s a cause close to her heart.

“We hear all the time about the dire need for the foodbanks, and we’ve heard the exponential rates of foodbank use just over the course of COVID-19 being here,” she said.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to have food on my table and I just want to be able to give this way.”



A story about Christmas in 2020 that Falcone and Menezes say serves as a reminder that the holiday will not always be this way.

“It’s a message of hope,” Menezes adds. “And, creativity.”

[krazny9]

Best Friend Dogs Reunited After Months Apart



This is the adorable moment two best-friend dogs were finally reunited after being separated for months during COVID-19 restrictions.
Danish and Nora attended Guide Dogs for the Blind, a school that trains guide dogs to serve people who are blind or visually impaired at no cost to them, in San Rafael, California. After their studies and on weekends, they would often head to a dog-friendly beach where they would play together and let off steam.
Danish's owner, Priscilla Blanco, 27, said despite being extremely talented, Danish and Nora eventually went through what the school calls a “career change” process. As a result, Danish and Nora were both adopted by people with ties to the school, allowing them to keep up their regular playdates. But with COVID-19 striking the U.S., those meetings were put on hold for months while their owners were apart.
Then, back in August, Priscilla got a call to say Nora’s owner would be in town, so she decided they should head to San Quentin Beach, where the dogs shared so many memories.

With Danish walking around on the beach and taking in the smells, Nora suddenly came over the top of a small mound that leads down to the beach. Priscilla managed to capture the moment the pair then locked eyes, and as soon as they did, Nora, a black Labrador retriever, came hurtling down the steps to see her best friend. Danish and Nora then hopped around excitedly before later running off to play together.


Please watch the video...its worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNRdXDoJ3mg&ab_channel=Happily

[goldie0608]

Boys Make $250,000 From Genius Christmas Ornament Invention—And Are Donating Thousands to Animal Shelters



According to tradition, January 6th (a.k.a. The Twelfth Day of Christmas) is when you’re supposed to take down your Christmas tree. Sadly, many folks, as they wrap up precious ornaments until next holiday season may find themselves a few keepsakes short.

Ornaments are fragile things. All it takes is curious cat, a running toddler, or even the misguided sweep of a vacuum cleaner sucking up stray needles to destroy a cherished family memento.

And that’s just what inspired a pair of 12-year-old entrepreneurs to take action.

Brothers Ayaan and Mickey Naqvi, who live in Shelton, Connecticut, were decorating their family Christmas tree last year when one of their favorite ornaments succumbed to the forces of gravity. (The beloved family dog, Zara, whose tail Ayaan describes as an “ornament missile,” may have played a part as well.)

While the tree decoration in question was beyond repair, from its broken shards sprung a bright idea: What if there was a better way to hang ornaments so they’d be truly secure?

From that epiphany, the Ornament Anchor was born.

Using a loop and toggle system, Ayaan created the prototype and presented it for a school project. The reception was overwhelmingly favorable—so favorable in fact, the boys quickly decided to turn their invention into a potential money-making proposition.

“My brother and I worked together to design the product, patent it, create an awesome website, calculate profit margins and did our own market analysis,” Ayaan told CNN. “We did everything to the point where every month was Christmas.”

This wasn’t the boys’ first commercial invention rodeo: A previous gadget landed the pair and their family on an episode of Shark Tank. While they didn’t cut a deal, it was a true learning experience.

From $1,000 in sales in six hours at a local Christmas trade show, the Ornament anchor went on to be showcased on Good Morning America and featured on QVC. In one year, the brothers’ brainchild has raked in more than $250,000.

Flush with success, Ayaan and Mickey are determined to pay their good fortune forward by donating 10% of their profits to local animal shelters. “Ever since I was super young, I’ve had a fascination with all of life’s creatures,” Ayaan explained. “My goal is to help as many animals in need as I can.”

The boys admit that starting a new business in 2020 has had its challenges. While they’re enjoying their well-earned windfall, adjusting to distance learning and other constraints of the coronavirus lockdown wasn’t easy.

Through the turbulent times, they say they’ve just tried to take things one step at a time and keep a positive attitude because that—along with the love and support of their family—are what keeps them anchored.

[Fivetide]

House for sale in Vermont includes seven jail cells


A house for sale in Guildhall, Vermont, includes seven jail cells that formerly served as the
Essex County Jail until 1969. Photo courtesy of Realtor.com

A home for sale in Vermont is garnering attention online for an unusual feature -- seven jail cells in what was formerly a county jail.

The home in Guildhall, listed for sale on Realtor.com, served as the jailer's residence before it ceased operations as the Essex County Jail in 1969.

The jail, attached to the north wall of the home, includes seven cells with barred windows.

"The jail still exhibits the original prison cells with barred windows & the Jailers Office," the listing states.

The home, listed for $149,000, also includes four bedrooms, two bathrooms and an updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

[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 DECEMBER 31
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 may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only 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 to under a minute, 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
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

[Fivetide]

Robots with rhythm: Boston Dynamics’ dancing androids a hit



These robots have rhythm.

Boston Dynamics released a video on Tuesday showing four of its robots dancing to the 1962 hit “Do You Love Me?” by The Contours, and it caught fire online.

Two of the company’s humanoid Atlas models do the twist, the mashed potato and other classic moves, joined by Spot, a doglike robot, and Handle, a wheeled robot designed for warehouse work.

Boston Dynamics is infamous for its scary robot videos, but this one is clearly a playful attempt to close the books on 2020.

“Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year,” the Waltham, Massachusetts, company says in the caption.

Thousands applauded the robots’ moves and the technology powering them. Others appeared to be a little freaked out by their dexterity.

“Slightly creepy, I have to admit,” tweeted Carl Bildt, a Swedish diplomat who co-chairs the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“Do you love me? Not when you come to annihilate us,” tweeted Jan Nicolas, a photographer.

See video of Boston Dynamics' robots dancing here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3KWM1kuAw

Schoolboy's Decade-Old Prediction About 2020 Goes Viral

Perhaps nobody could have predicted how 2020 would turn out. This extraordinary year which began with news of Prince Harry and Meghan's split from the royal family and wildfires in Australia soon came to be defined by the coronavirus pandemic. 2020 was a year which saw many paradigm-shifting developments across the world. Now, a schoolboy's 10 year-old prediction about 2020 is going viral on social media for how spectacularly wrong it went.

Kevin Singh is currently going viral on Twitter, thanks to his decade-old yearbook quote predicting that everyone would live peacefully and humanity would cure every disease in 2020. It goes without saying that that is not the case.



"My prediction for 2020 is that everyone will live peacefully and they will cure every disease there is," reads the prediction by Kevin Singh, as seen in a picture of his school yearbook that is being widely shared online. The prediction has been 'liked' over 70,000 times on Twitter. Many on the microblogging platform blamed Kevin for 'jinxing' the year with his prediction. Others poked fun at him by asking him to 'predict' stuff in their favour. Twitter users did not miss the prediction above Kevin's, which reads, "Cowboys will win the Superbowl all 10 years."

As the photo went viral online, it even reached Kevin Singh, who apologised for jinxing 2020.

https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/schoolboys ... al-2344967

FLAPPY ENDING Photographer captures moment young owl lands on sibling’s head in failed landing attempt

THIS owlet’s flight has a flappy ending as it lands on another’s head. But the clumsy bird got its comeuppance as it then fell face-first on the stone wall.

Gren Sowerby, 70, who took the snap in Cresswell, Northumberland, said: “Both owls were fine. The one on top flew off straightaway, probably a bit embarrassed.”


A little owl lands on its mates head in Cresswell, Northumberland


These funny photos show the moment the young owl misjudged its landing


It ended up settling on top of its sibling's head


The photographer confirmed that both birds were fine

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13602603/ ... d-landing/