BP confirms top kill operation has failed
BP said Saturday the complex top kill maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well has failed, crushing hopes for an end to the largest oil spill in US history already in its 40th day.
So after three full days of attempting top kill, we have been unable to overcome the flow from the well, so we now believe that it’s time to move on to the next of our options, which is the LMRP – lower marine riser package cap. Over the last three days, we have pumped a total of over 30,000 barrels of mud. We have made numerous attempts to overcome the flow. We have monitored the situation after each attempt. We have also used our junk shot technique, and other materials to try to divert more of the flow down the well, but we have not been able to stop the flow, said Doug Suttles, the London-based oil giant’s chief operating officer. Suttles said the next course of action is called the lower marine riser package cap, one that captures oil from the well rather than plug it. Suttles said it could take four days or longer to show results. US Coast Guard Admiral Mary Landry, flanking Suttles at a daily briefing, said the news of the top kill failure was disappointing and that the best option for ending the spill was drilling a relief well which BP estimates will take two months. The top kill maneuver started on Wednesday and involved pumping heavy fluids and other material into the well shaft to stifle the flow, then seal it with cement. But it was fraught with risk because it had never been attempted at the depth of the well, a mile (1.6 km) beneath the sea. The failure was a further blow to BP’s reputation and bottom line. The company has spent $940 million so far to try to plug the leak and clean up the sea and soiled marshlands vital to wildlife and fishing. The spill has been flowing since April 20, when an explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon rig sank the drilling platform and killed 11 workers. US government scientists estimate between 12,000-19,000 barrels of oil a day have been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico, creating a disaster about twice the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.
marion jones
May 16, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Marion Lois Jones born on 12th October 1975, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is a former world champion track and field athlete. She won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia but has since agreed to forfeit all medals and prizes dating back to September 2000 after admitting that she took performance-enhancing drugs.
In October 2007, Jones admitted taking steroids before the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics and acknowledged that she had, in fact, lied when she previously denied steroid use in statements to the press, to various sports agencies, and—most significantly—to two grand juries. One was impaneled to investigate the BALCO “designer steroid” ring, and the other was impaneled to investigate a check fraud ring involving many of the same parties from the BALCO case. As a result of these admissions, Jones accepted a two-year suspension from track and field competition, and announced her retirement from track and field on October 5, 2007.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency stated that the sanction “also requires disqualification of all her competitive results obtained after September 1, 2000, and forfeiture of all medals, results, points and prizes”. On October 5, 2007, Jones formally pled guilty to lying to federal agents in the BALCO steroid investigation in the U.S. District Court. On January 11, 2008, Jones was sentenced to 6 months in jail. She began her sentence on March 7, 2008 and was released on September 5, 2008.
It’s difficult, I’m a competitor. I want to see the team win and I want to see myself contribute to a win but I understand it is a process,” said Jones, who helped the University of North Carolina capture a US national championship as a freshman point guard in 1994.
“I know people kind of expect great things, they think I will be out there 40 minutes but you’ve got to understand it’s a process.”
American Jones won five track medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, including three golds in the 100m, 200m and 4
Shuttle closing
May 16, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Atlantis drew closer to the International Space Station for a Sunday morning linkup, as the astronauts — all 12 of them — excitedly awaited the 215-mile-high reunion.
“We’re chasing you down,” shuttle commander Kenneth Ham radioed from several miles out.
“Yee-haw!” replied the space station’s Soichi Noguchi. “Can’t wait to see you guys,” Tracy Caldwell Dyson added from the station.
Ham told the six space station residents that their home was “brilliantly glowing.”
“It’s an absolutely stunning view,” he noted.
Docking was to take place at 10:27 a.m. EDT over the South Pacific.
Atlantis and its crew of six will spend a week at the orbiting science complex, installing a new Russian compartment and fresh batteries. They also will try to free a snagged cable during one of three planned spacewalks, which get under way Monday.
A cable on the shuttle’s 100-foot inspection boom is caught in a camera. The problem prevented the astronauts from doing a proper survey of their ship Saturday to check for launch damage.
NASA managers said the astronauts can finish the inspection after they arrive at the space station.
Flight controllers, meanwhile, said there was no threat from a piece of space junk that they’ve been monitoring for the past few days.
The unidentified debris is in an extreme egg-shaped orbit that takes it thousands of miles above the space station to just below it. The closest approach was to occur about an hour after docking, bringing the junk within an estimated six miles of the two spacecraft. Experts determined Saturday night there was no need for the station to move out of the way.
During Atlantis’ final approach, the space station crew was going to snap hundreds of pictures of the somersaulting shuttle, then ship the images to Mission Control so engineers could hunt for signs of launch damage. The photos are especially valuable this time, given Saturday’s condensed survey of the ship’s heat shield.
source:AP
101 Ways To Get Kicked Out Of Walmart
November 7, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
101 Ways To Get Kicked Out Of Walmart: This is just a little game to play. List ways get kicked out of wal-mart.
101 Ways To Get Kicked Out Of Walmart:This is just a little game to play. List ways get kicked out of wal-mart. Also, every fifty ways I’ll post a funny video or Lolcat. Now, commence with the ways of getting kicked out.
(NOTE: Please number your ways, or else I can’t keep track)
1.Ask to get kicked out/banned
2.Walk in wearing a chicken costume and harass people
3.Walk up to any one in the store, and say “Your a wizard Harry.”
4.Stand up on a clerk counter and sing Freebird
5.get a friend to stand on the clerk counter and sing a song while you chant “Freebird!
6. Run around nude?
7. Bomb threat.
8. Re-dress the mannequins as you see fit.
9. When there are people behind you, walk REALLY SLOW, especially thin narrow aisles.
10. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, “I think we’ve got a Code 3 in Housewares,” and see what happens.
11. Get several of those frogs (that croak when somebody walks by) from the Garden Dept. and place in strategic locations throughout store.
12. Play with the automatic doors.
13. Walk up to complete strangers and say, “Hi! I haven’t seen you in so long,” etc. See if they play along to avoid embarrassment.
14. While walking through the clothing department, ask yourself loud enough for all to hear, “Who BUYS this junk, anyway?”
15. Repeat Number 14 in the jewelry department.
16. Ride a display bicycle through the store; claim you’re taking it for a test drive.
17. Follow people through the aisles, always staying about five feet away. Continue to do this until they leave the department.
18. Play soccer with a group of friends, using the entire store as your playing field.
19. As the cashier runs your purchases over the scanner, look mesmerized and say, “Wow. Magic!”
20. Put M&M’s on layaway.
21. Move “Caution: Wet Floor” signs to carpeted areas.
22. Set up a tent in the camping department; tell others you’ll only invite them in if they bring pillows from Bed and Bath.
23. Test the fishing rods and see what you can “catch” from the other aisles.
24. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.
25. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and run around saying,”I’m Batman. Come, Robin, to the Batcave!”
26. TP as much of the store as possible.
27. Randomly throw things over into neighboring aisles.
28. Play with the calculators so that they all spell “hello” upside down.
29. When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask, “Why won’t you people just leave me alone?”
30. Make up nonsense products and ask newly hired employees if there are any in stock, i.e., “Do you have any Shnerples here?”
31. Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting up a full scale battlefield with G.I. Joes vs. the X-Men.
32. Take bets on the battle described above.
33. Hold indoor shopping cart races.
34. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from “Mission: Impossible.” 35. Run up to an employee (preferably a male) while squeezing your legs together and practically yell at him ” I need some tampons!!”
36. Try on bras in the sewing/fabric department.
37. Try on bras over top of your clothes.
38. Attempt to fit into very large gym bags.
39. Attempt to fit others into very large gym bags.
40. Say things like, “Would you be so kind as to direct me to your Twinkies?”
41. Set up a “Valet Parking” sign in front of the store.
42. Two words: “Marco Polo.” 43. Leave Cheerios in Lawn and Garden, pillows in the pet food aisle, etc.
44. “Re-alphabetize” the CD’s in Electronics, while headbanging & playing air guitar to Willie Nelson demos. (Bonus: Braid hair & tie bandanna around head).
45. Make a trail of orange juice on the ground, leading to the restrooms.
46. When someone steps away from their cart to look at something, quickly make off with it without saying a word.
47. Relax in the patio furniture until you get kicked out.
48. When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, assume the fetal position and scream, “No, no! It’s those voices again!”
49. Pay off layaways fifty cents at a time.
50. Drag a lounge chair on display over to the magazines and relax. If the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain that you don’t get out much, and ask if they can put a little umbrella in it.
51. Try putting different pairs of women’s panties on your head and walk around the store casually.
52. Turn on toys that make noise or talk at random intervals, and leave them in strategic locations.
53. Leave small sacrifices or gifts in the hands of the mannequins.
54. Nonchalantly “test” the brushes and combs in Cosmetics.
55. When two or three people are walking ahead of you, run between them, yelling, “Red Rover!”
56. Look right into the security camera, and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.
57. Set up another battlefield with GI Joes vs. Barbies. (Red lipstick might give an interesting effect!!!)
58. While handling guns in the hunting department, ask the clerk if he knows where the anti-depressants are.
59. While no one’s watching quickly switch the men’s and women’s signs on the doors of the rest room.
60. Fill your cart with boxes of condoms, and watch everyone’s jaws drop when you attempt to buy them.
61. In the auto department, practice your “Madonna” look with various funnels.
62. Hide in the clothing racks and when people browse through, say things like “the fat man walks alone,” and scare them into believing that the clothes are talking to them.
63. Beg the greeter for those happy-face stickers. Stick them on your face, then stand next to him and copy whatever he says when customers walk in.
64. Go to an empty checkout stand and try to check people out.
65. Get a stuffed animal and go to the front of the store and begin stroking it lovingly, saying “Good girl, good bessie.”
66. Try on every pair of shoes in the shoe department. Take the paper from the boxes and throw it in various aisles.
67. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.
68. If you’re female: Take some men’s clothes to the mens fitting room and ask to try them on. Act shocked and insist “But I AM a man” if the attendant says anything. If you’re a man, vice versa.
69. Get boxes of condoms and randomly put them in peoples carts when they aren’t looking.
70. Lurk in the cosmetics department and spray people with a bottle of strong perfume as they walk by. Lean in and sniff the, then wave your hand in front of your nose and saying “P-eeew! That perfume stinks!”
71. Plastic fake-vomit and fake-dog doo can be utilized effectively here.
72. Go outside to the payphones, call the store and ask them to page customer “Mike Hunt” (or “Harry Butz”, etc.)
73. Stand in front of the Preparation H. Ask everyone who walks by which hemmorhoid remedy they prefer, then launch into a detailed description of your own problem.
74. While you’re doing that, have white-out & markers handy. Modify the boxes of “Anusol” by covering up the “OL” on the logo.
75. Crawl around on the ground and pretend that your a cat. Meow when people walk by, rub up against their legs, etc.
76. Take a chair to Electronics, tune in all the TV’s to Young & the Restless, and watch while sobbing loudly.
77. Chase your friends up and down aisles with those electric cars. Make sure to tell your friends to act like they don’t know you.
78. Ride the little rides for toddlers. Fit the character; if on a horse, act like a cowboy, etc. If a little kid comes over wanting to use it, start crying.
79. One word: STREAK!
80. Excesively use anything thing that says “Try Me”.
81. Start pocketing any and all free samples.
82. Draw mustaches on all the pictures and mannequins.
82. Walk up to the customer service and say “Hello, I’ll have a Quarter Pounder with cheese, large fries and a diet coke.” Then go to Mc Donald’s and try to return a toaster.
83. Start to madly scratch yourself and walk up to people asking where the rash cream and lice remedies are.
84. When alone, have loud conversations with your “multiple personalities”.
85. Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn them all off and turn the volumes to “10″.
86. Try on crazy costumes and walk casually through the store.
87. Act suspicious and stick your arm in your jacket when leaving store. As you’re walking through the doors act like you’re expecting the alarms to go off. Then quickly look around you to see who’s watching and run away as fast as your can.
88. Balance EVERYTHING you see on the tips of your finger, your nose, your forehead, and the top of your head while singing the circus song.
89. Put jockstraps in the lingerie department.
90. Put lingerie in the men’s department.
91. Put super sexy women’s lingerie in old men’s carts when they turn around.
92. Stand in the sock aisle, and give each package a stern lecture.
93. Spend hours staring at a little blinking light and say “blink” each time it blinks. Don’t look away, just stay mesmerized.
94. Put condoms in the mannequin’s hands, and cigarettes in their mouths.(Safety warning: Leave cigarettes unlit.)
95. In the Garden Dept., skip through the flowers while holding your arms out and “buzzing”.
96. With friends, stage a “sit-in” in all the bean-bag chairs in Furniture Dept.
97. Walk up to a guy and say “It’s YOU!!! I haven’t seen you in so long!!!!” and kiss him, then say “Why didn’t you ever call me?” and walk away. Much more effective if you’re also a guy.
98. Stand next to a mannequin and pretend to be a mannequin too. Try to hold the same position for as long as possible.
99. Start singing oldies songs in the megaphone.
100. Ask everyone in “Electronics” “Do you know what CD this song is on? I don’t know the name but it goes like this:”. Then sing loudly, and don’t stop until somebody throws you out.
101. Bark while trying on dog collars. Have a friend lead you around on a leash. Better yet, whinny while trying on horse tack and a friend holds the reins.
