Data Center Security Cam recordings of 09.09.09 flood at Vodafone Istanbul, Turkey

This video taken from security cameras of Vodafone Turkey's Data Center in Istanbul.
News:
Torrential rains and floods, which headed for Istanbul after killing 10 people in Thrace for two days, hit the city the previous day and paralyzed it on Wednesday. Ayamama Brook in İkitelli - İstanbul, which also overflowed in recent years and is a risky area, could not hold the 90 kg/h rain. The flood inundated a truck parking area and the Basin Express highway. People were trapped in vehicles as the danger was not realized and the traffic was not cut. Seven women in a minivan that was dragged by floods in Halkalı, and 10 people in the truck parking area drowned in muddy waters. The death toll in ongoing floods in Istanbul and Tekirdag rose to 31. Efforts are under way to find nine missing people. (Taken from Turkish Daily News)

Real Sea-Faerie Mummy Sold on eBay

Discovered near one of Florida’s shorelines, this sea-faerie mummy is as real as these things get in the real world and it could have been yours.

This extremely rare creature has just been auctioned off on eBay and sold for US$305. Had more people known about it, I’m sure the price would have went even higher. I mean, how many times do you get the opportunity to buy a sea faerie. Although it didn’t actually live in the sea, its parts did.

eBay member aquatica_art created the faerie by draping once organic fish skin around a short human skeleton. The wings are made from fish fins, and the lips, teeth and jaw-bone also come from fish. The long antennae were borrowed from the tail of a stingray. So you see, this IS a real sea-faerie!

And the best part about this unusual mummy is it has no fish odor at all.

Is this the REAL home of the Flintstones?

It's charmed a generation. The modern Stone Age family with a new-age American twang and 21st century concerns.

And this fascinating stone house, pictured in Nas montanhas de Fafe in Portugal, looks like the perfect place for the Flintstones to live.

Like most contemporary homes, it has a front door, roof, and selection of windows - while the huge spherical boulder on the uphill side of the house and scoop-shaped end give it that prehistoric feel.

Illegal Fishing - Koreans Violate Japanese Territorial Waters

Asahi TV reports on the growing problem of South Korean vessels that are illegally fishing in Japanese territorial waters:

South Korean fishermen have depleted their own coastal waters, so now many are sneaking into Japanese waters to catch more crabs and eel. Some are caught and have to pay fines, but the rewards are so great that they just go back and continue their illegal activities.

Elderly Man Buried Inside His 1973 Pontiac

A 90-year-old South Carolina got his final wish, being buried in his 1973 Pontiac Catalina. In the passenger seat was Lonnie Holloway's collection of guns. Holloway is also buried next to his wife, who died two years ago. (Sept. 9)

State Legislators In Now-Infamous Solitaire Photo Identified

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, far right, speaks while colleagues play solitaire on their computers as the House convenes to vote on a new budget for the fiscal year in the Capitol on Monday [AP Photo/Jessica Hill]

A photo of two Democratic legislators playing solitaire has ignited controversy at the state Capitol and in the blogosphere.

The Associated Press picture has appeared in any number of venues, and it shows two lawmakers sitting in the back row of the historic Hall of the House in Hartford during the lengthy debate over the two-year, $37 billion state budget.

On the left is Rep. Barbara Lambert, a freshman Democrat from Milford who won her first legislative election in November 2008. She replaced longtime Milford Democrat James Amann, who ended his legislative career as the House Speaker and is now running for governor against Republican M. Jodi Rell.

Lambert is playing spider solitaire in the photo, while Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, a Bridgeport Democrat who has served in Hartford since 2005, is playing regular solitaire. They both voted in favor of the Democratic-written budget, while Cafero voted against it. A Boston College graduate, Hennessy is a delivery specialist for FedEx.

During the long debates at the state Capitol, legislators often work on their laptop computers - as seen in the photograph. Sometimes they are answering e-mails from constituents, while other times they are researching important information on pending bills. Other times, they are playing solitaire.

When asked Tuesday about the photo by Capitol Watch, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell laughed and said, "I think if they'd spend less time playing computer games and more time looking for spending cuts, then we would have been out of here a lot sooner.''

Republican Tom Foley, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Christopher J. Dodd, said, "I was disheartened to see a Hartford Courant front page photo showing members of our Democratically-controlled legislature playing solitaire on their computers while debate was occurring on a new state budget that raises taxes and contains no net reduction in spending. This is not a time for the Democrats who control our legislature to be playing games with Connecticut's future. Our elected officials need to put away their computer toys and help working people by lowering taxes and keeping government spending down."

The photo by Jessica Hill is gaining national attention through an item posted to the front of the Drudge Report and a blog post by conservative blogger Michelle Malkin.

Source : courant.com