The AP reports:

A drum-maker who imports raw animal hides from Africa has been infected with anthrax in what is believed to be an isolated accident that poses no public health threat, officials said Wednesday.

The man traveled in December to Ivory Coast in west Africa and became ill shortly after his return, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. There was no evidence of any criminal intent or terrorist connection, the mayor said.

“We have every reason to believe that this infection is an isolated, accidentally and naturally transmitted case,” Bloomberg said.

(Hat tip: my mom, who is in New York at the moment, but who does not import raw animal hides from Africa, and thus is probably quite safe. :)

Guestblogger: David Kreutz

Remember the Stanford Tree story from yesterday?

You just had to know that it couldn’t stop there, right?

Apparently an economics major decided to “bare” the burden of replacing the tree (albeit unofficially) at Saturday’s game against Arizona. Picture here (possibly NSFW).

Eight working stiffs from Nebraska won the $365 million PowerBall jackpot:

The record $365 million Powerball jackpot has been claimed by a group of eight workers from a Nebraska meat processing plant on Wednesday.

“I didn’t know what to think,” said Robert Stewart, 30, who said he was a maintenance supervisor before the win. “I still don’t know what to think.” …

The group, who worked at the ConAgra Foods plant in Lincoln, have elected to take the cash option on the jackpot, valued at $177.3 million. Their respective shares will be $22,162,500.

(Hat tip: A&A.)

Heh:

IVUJIVIK, Quebec — Lydia Angyiou’s kids sure won’t be giving her much trouble any more, now that they’ve seen her wrestle a 700-pound polar bear.

If that teaser doesn’t make you click the link, I don’t know what will. :)

A new copyright ruling casts doubt on the legality of Google’s Image Search.

For those without access to ESPN800 or whatever channel the UConn-Notre Dame game is on, you can listen to a free, live audio broadcast here — if you don’t mind getting your commentary from Joe D’Ambrosio, the voice of the Huskies.

UPDATE: UConn 71, Notre Dame 71, end of regulation.

Tell me if this plot sounds familiar to you: Notre Dame fell way behind, made a dramatic comeback, took the lead with several minutes left, ran out of gas, went cold, squandered the lead, allowed the Huskies to rally at the last second, and now they’re going to overtime. Anyone want to place a bet on how this one is going to come out?

UPDATE 2: Chris Quinn misses the layup in the final seconds, and the Huskies win, 75-74. I’m shocked, shocked.

Admittedly, on the face of things, it’s impressive that Notre Dame took #2-ranked UConn to overtime in Hartford. But it’s decidedly unimpressive that, once again, the Irish proved their inability to play up to their potential for 40 minutes (or 45, in this case). They trailed by 16 at halftime, and were down by 17 with 15:00 to go. Then they went on a 25-2 run, and then — surprise, surprise — they got tired, lost the ability to shoot the basketball, and allowed UConn back into the game. It was like I was watching (er, listening to) a re-run.

I have to admit, I had muted the online radio broadcast at halftime, and was periodically checking the score to see if I should bother tuning back in. When I saw that the Irish had suddenly come out of nowhere and taken the lead, I said to Becky, “Of course you realize, now they’re going to run out of gas and lose another heartbreaker.” This isn’t rocket science, people. (Nor is it merely “bad luck,” despite what the talking heads keep saying.)

The Irish scored a grand total of 8 points in the final 12 minutes of the game, including overtime, after the 25-2 run was over. If they had played an even, consistent game, instead of playing like crap for the first 25 minutes before playing out of their minds for 8 minutes — and then, predictably, running out of energy — perhaps they actually could have won, instead of merely “achieving” another close loss. Argh.

Oh, and Mike Brey’s timeout with 5:17 to go, immediately after Colin Falls’s huge three-pointer gave ND a huge boost of momentum, not to mention its largest lead of the night? AWESOME. Seriously… who calls timeout when their own team has the momentum?!? The Irish scored five points in ten minutes from that point forward. Great job, Coach. (And no, this isn’t hindsight. When he called the timeout, I contemporaneously yelled at my computer. What was Brey thinking?!)

Being an Irish fan this year feels a bit like being a Red Sox used to feel, pre-2004. No matter how much the team teases you with near-glory, you never really have faith that they’re going to win. You just know they’re going to screw it up.

Bah.

(Disclaimer: I didn’t watch the game on TV. I listened to most of it on the radio. So perhaps my perceptions are warped… but really, I’ve seen this all before, on TV and in person.)

MacWorld reports:

Apple plans a special invitation-only event to introduce new products next week. The event happens on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.

The invitation gives away precious little about what Apple has up its sleeve for the event.

“Come see some fun new products from Apple,” says the invitation.

Naturally, the rumors are flying. You can view a scan of the invitation at ThinkSecret, which says “speculation suggests the debut of further Intel-based Macs or a new video iPod.” On the other hand, AppleInsider reports:

[S]ources have described to AppleInsider a new iPod Boombox device that is expected to retail in the $300 range and provide plug-and-play audio for the living room.

Other products expected from Apple in the near future include a sub-$500 Intel-based Mac mini desktop computer and a sub-$1000 13-inch widescreen iBook. However, it’s unclear if these Mac systems will make their debut at the Feb. 28th event, or at another event closer to the Spring.

Personally, I’m remembering this report that a “highly knowledgable but unnamed source” suggested that whatever is coming next is “much cooler” than 12-inch and 17-inch versions of the MacBook Pro, and that “if he were me, he probably wouldn’t order one of the new [15-inch] MacBook Pros” that debuted in January. Hmm…

Our official wedding photo CD is finally here!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

UPDATE: I just finished whittling down 1,909 photos of the wedding and wedding-related festivities (384 from our official photographer, the rest from me and our camera-wielding guests) into a “highlights” gallery containing 186 photos. I feel like that’s still too many to expect casual website visitors to wade through… but I don’t think I can possibly exclude any more photos! There are just so many cute ones!

As for those of you who were at the wedding — or others who, for whatever reason, want a more detailed photo tour of the festivities — never fear. I will actually be putting three different levels of wedding galleries online: one with all of the photos (at full quality), one with probably about half of them organized into topical albums, and the “highlights” album.

It’ll probably be a few more days before I can get these galleries online, depending on Charles’s and Brian’s progress with the new server (which is now online, awaiting a static IP address). But hopefully very soon!

From the “what the hell is this guy thinking” file, I give you:

Fred Phelps (hat tip: BK)

…and…

Travis Frey (hat tip: Emily)

Oh, it’s on:

President Bush said Tuesday that the deal allowing an Arab company to take over six major U.S. seaports should go forward and that he would veto any congressional effort to stop it.

“After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward,” Bush told reporters who had traveled with him on Air Force One to Washington. “I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company. I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, ‘We’ll treat you fairly.’” …

Bush said sternly he would not back down.

“They ought to listen to what I have to say about this. They’ll look at the facts and understand the consequences of what they’re going to do,” he said. “But if they pass a law, I’ll deal with it with a veto.”

According to Drudge, the president “was very forceful when he delivered the statement… ‘I don’t view it as a political fight,’ Bush said.”

Okay… I know this is a stretch… but we’re on a three-game winning streak, so I’m going to allow myself to dream for a moment. Suppose Notre Dame stuns UConn at Hartford tonight, and wins its last three games (vs. Marquette, at Providence, vs. DePaul) to finish 8-8 in conference and 17-10 overall, with a seven-game winning streak heading into the Big East tournament. Are the Irish in the NCAAs, under that circumstance? Do they need one Big East tournament win to get in? Two?

On the flip side, does a loss to UConn tonight completely shut the door on all at-large consideration… or could a 7-9 Irish team (16-11 overall) still earn an NCAA at-large bid with a deep Big East tournament run? Would they need to reach the semifinals? The final? Keep in mind, a deep Big East run would probably require beating several top-notch teams on a neutral floor. Also keep in mind, this year’s bubble is considered “soft.”

My guess: beat UConn tonight and win out, and we’re a first-round Big East tournament victory away from the Big Dance. Lose to UConn tonight and then win out, and we need three Big East tournament victories (i.e., all the way to the title game) to get in.

Thoughts?

Okay, this is officially the funnest thing EVER.

The girl who, until recently, inhabited the infamous Stanford Tree — the utterly ridiculous mascot of the Stanford Cardinal — has been relieved of her arboreal duties after getting ridiculously drunk and being ejected from the Cal-Stanford basketball game on February 9. And there’s a picture!

ROFL!!

Here’s an excerpt from the Stanford Daily’s write-up:

Erin Lashnits, a coterminal student in biological sciences, has been suspended for the remainder of her tenure as the Stanford Tree.

Band Manager Mike Priest and Assistant Manager Adam Cohen announced their decision to Lashnits on Thursday night, just hours after UC-Berkeley Athletic Department officials Breathalyzed her at a .157 blood-alcohol content at halftime of the men’s basketball team’s 65-62 loss at Berkeley, according to sources, including several in the band. …

Cohen and Band Public Relations Director Sam Urmy, a sophomore, stressed that Lashnits’ troubles at Cal were merely the last of a laundry list of problems, many of them involving alcohol. Urmy said Lashnits was suspended for several weeks following an alcohol-related incident during Band Run at the start of the year, and was unable to perform at home football games as a result. …

Along with other Band members, Urmy added that punctuality and attendance were also issues, noting that Lashnits regularly showed up to games after tip-off — if at all. All told, Urmy said she chafed many with her “attitude to her position.”

Her “position” as a dancing tree, that would be. Heh.

At last, we have an answer to the question: “Just how bad would you have to behave to get yourself fired by the f-ing Stanford Band?” :)

Actually, it seems that fear of a further university crackdown on the notoriously unruly band is a big part of the reason why Lashnits’s behavior is not being tolerated. The rest of the band doesn’t want to be dragged through the mud because of the foolishness of one unruly evergreen. Even the ex-Tree herself was quick to suggest that the band shouldn’t suffer because of her actions: “This really isn’t indicative of the Band’s current situation or the Tree’s current situation,” Lashnits said (in perhaps the most ridicuous-sounding quote of the year).

Anyway, I guess we should say “the Tree is dead, long live the Tree,” because a new Tree will be “crowned” on March 4, according to the Daily — just in time for the Pac-10 Tournament, and perhaps the NCAAs (or, more likely, the NIT).

The question now is whether the men’s basketball team, fighting desperately for an NCAA berth, will be able to play up to its full potential during the next two weeks without the inspiration of watching an oversized plant dancing around on the sidelines. So far, not so good: the Cardinal are 1-2 since the Tree was uprooted, with the only win coming against lowly Arizona State. Who knows whether Lashnits’s arboreal enthusiasm — if she’d been able to stay sober, that is — would have been just what Stanford needed to get over the hump in those close, crucial games against Gonzaga and Arizona? :)

We can rest assured, however, that “even without the tree, the band will continue its ‘core mission of rocking out and bringing funk to the funkless’ for the rest of the month.” Well, thank goodness for that. Heaven forbid the Stanford Band, you know, tone it down at all!

Anyway, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Ms. Lashnits for giving me a good laugh on a Tuesday afternoon. You’ll always be a Tree to me, Erin.

(Hat tip: Boi From Troy.)

P.S. If the Stanford Daily link is slow or refuses to load, try the Google cache.

UPDATE: She’s from Chappaqua, NY! (Hat tip: Mouse.) That’s where the Clintons live! Hey Bubba, you oughta give this girl a call. :)

UPDATE 2: My dad notes an even better quote that I somehow missed: “Lashnits…stresses that the ‘institution of the Tree’ has not been diminished.” LOL!!

I’ve heard of corporate fatcats, but this is ridicuous.

P.S. Once I met a girl on Rocky Top / Half bear, the other half cat…

Lack of toilet paper is not a valid justification for murder. (Hat tip: Lisa.)

The AP (through CNN) is reporting that David Irving, the oft-discredited ‘historian’ of the Third Reich, has been charged by a Austrian court for statements that assert that six million Jews were not systematically exterminated by the Nazis.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Right-wing British historian David Irving pleaded guilty Monday to charges of denying the Holocaust and was sentenced to three years in prison after conceding he was wrong to say there were no Nazi gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

He could have faced 10 years in prison; it is not clear whether his backpedaling helped to reduce that, as he has admitted recently that his previous statements — in nearly 30 books, and many articles — were incorrect.

This is also interesting against the backdrop of the free speech issue raised by ‘cartoongate’ and subsequent protests. It remains to be seen how the Muslim world, and especially people like the president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, use this as propaganda material.

Posted by Brian (Briandot)