Story of the Day

Just too friggin adorable...

The fastest tortoise on THREE legs: How injured Tonka races around on her toy truck

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 3:23 PM on 27th May 2009

Meet the tortoise on wheels who could give any hare a run for its money despite having her leg bitten off by a dog.

When vets found the female wild red-footed tortoise her left front leg was in tatters and they feared she would never be able to move properly again.

But after patching her up one rescuer had an ingenious idea to help the little reptile - using wheels from a child's toy truck.

Tonka the tortoise had one of her legs savaged by a dog, but was given a new lease of life after her new owner strapped her up on the wheels of a child's toy truck

Now she has gone from three legs to four wheels and been named Tonka in honour of the toy which gave her a new lease of life.

The reptile is able to roam with ease using her back legs to push her along while steering with her front right leg.

Tonka was found in the hills of San Mateo County, California, USA, by a resident, who dropped her off at the local SPCA branch, Peninsula Humane Society.

Local resident John O'Dea, 35, has now adopted Tonka and said she loved nothing better than roaming in the vegetable patch and going for 'walks'.

Surfer John said: 'She is doing really well and loves roaming around the vegetable garden on her shiny new wheels.

John O'Dea is now the proud owner of the red-footed tortoise who was found injured in the hills of San Mateo County, California

'She has a particular fondness for tomatoes.

'I take her for 'walks' regularly around my neighbourhood, I think she likes the speed but I do get a few funny looks.

'We don't know how old Tonka is because she was a wild tortoise, and her species can live for up to 50 years, but she seems happy with her new life.

'When she has the wheels on she can move herself quite well and I think she must be the fastest tortoise around.'

Scott Belucchi, from the Peninsula Humane Society, said that fitting Tonka with the wheels seemed like the best way to give her back her quality of life.

He said: 'We didn't have to operate on her or anything like that, it was just a case of strapping the wheels under her with a tie over her shell.

'It was the first time we have done an operation like this, but it was a great success.

'I think this is certainly unusual but she seems to really like her wheels and even though there are still some dogs out there I think she could make her escape now.'

Red-footed tortoises are usually native to South America, but populations are known to survive in the wild in California.

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

© 2009 Associated Newspapers Ltd

Completely Ridiculous

So a friend of mine pointed out a story from the national NZ news site that I'm trying to get my head around:

Fatal crossing crash driver 'ignored warning bells'

By KATE HAGAN - The Age

Last updated 16:31 26/05/2009

SUPPLIED TRIAL BEGINS:
Wellington man Nick Parker was killed in a train crash in Australia in 2007.

A truck driver failed to heed flashing lights and warning bells when he ploughed his semi-trailer into a train in Victoria killing 11 people, including a New Zealander, Australia's Supreme Court has heard.

Christiaan Bernard Scholl, 50, is standing trial in Bendigo, facing 11 counts of culpable driving and eight of negligently causing serious injury.

He was driving a semi-trailer that crashed into a Melbourne-bound V/Line passenger train at a level crossing north of Kerang on June 5, 2007.

The dead included furniture salesman Nick Parker, 32, from Wellington.

Prosecutor Peter Rose, SC, in an opening address, said Scholl's driving had been grossly negligent.

Mr Rose said Scholl was travelling at the 100kmh speed limit as he approached a level crossing on the Murray Valley Highway, north of Kerang.

Mr Rose said Scholl saw a large truck and other vehicles stopped on the opposite side of the crossing.

Scholl's Kenworth truck skidded onto the crossing and crashed into the centre of the second carriage of the three-carriage Swan Hill-to-Melbourne train, which was carrying 34 passengers.

Mr Rose said Scholl was aware of the crossing, having crossed it "many hundreds of times", but failed to keep a proper lookout.

The truck driver was not travelling at a speed that would allow him to brake safely if necessary, he said.

"It's the crown case that the accused driver was grossly negligent in the manner he drove his vehicle," Mr Rose said.

He said red flashing lights, bells and a yellow sign warned drivers as they approached the crossing.

The trial before Justice Stephen Kaye is continuing.

Justice Stephen Kaye has told the 13 jurors it's natural for jurors to feel sympathy for the family and loved ones of the victims.

But he says it's most important to set aside their emotions and decide the case through a proper and fair assessment of the evidence.

- with AAP

Nick was one of my flatmates when I lived in Wellington. His passing came so suddenly that it took a while for me to process. The trial of the fellow who caused the wreck that took his life just brings all sorts of emotions back up to the surface. It breaks my heart to think that Nick died in such a pointless accident, and it really, really pisses me off that he died because of the actions of one incredibly inattentive motorist. I'm not sure how the legal and criminal systems in New Zealand work in comparison to the States, but if old wounds this deep (especially those of Nick's family and loved ones) need to be re-opened 2 years after the fact, I can only hope that it's for a good reason and for an equally just outcome.

I guess I just miss my flatmate. He was a great fellow and if his passing did anything it made me appreciate the friendship with my surviving flatmate all that much more.

So happy I could cry

Given that these are my FAVORITE of the Girl Scout cookies (the sales of which I seem to miss every friggin' year), this could be the best thing I've uncovered on the Internet. Possibly second to fark.com.

Courtesty of Jess at Chubb Kitchen (http://chubbkitchen.blogspot.com/2009/04/perfection-in-bar-samoa-bars.html)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Perfection in a Bar: Samoa Bars

So Girlscout season came and went, and all I was left with was one box of Samoas, my all time favorite girl scout cookies. Sure, tag-a-longs are good, and thin mints are a close runners-up, but be serious. Samoas are the best. Coconut, caramel and chocolate is possibly the most awesome flavor combination there is. While perusing Tastespotting, as I do almost daily these days, I kept noticing gorgeous pictures of homemade samoas, and then samoa bars. Samoa bars...yum. All the flavors of samoas without having to use two completely different sized cookie cutters and rolling pins and other kitchen equipment I was simply not inspired to use at the time. Sometimes I love a good complex recipe that allows me to show off my creative genius. Other times I just want something quick, relatively easy, and oh so fulfilling. This recipe definitely fits into the latter. I used a homemade Samoa cookie recipe by Baking Bites.

While these bar cookies aren't that hard to make, I will definitely offer some suggestions on issues I ran into while making and eating these cookies.

1. Keep the dough as thin as possible while maintaining some structural integrity. I know this is a tough line to navigate, but I did feel like the shortbread was a bit thick on my cookies. Also, I may use the shortbread recipe on the actual Samoa Bar recipe Baking Bites has, and not the recipe for the cookies. The shortbread recipes are a little bit different, and I think using the bar version will lead to a shortbread that sticks together better when cut and dipped, as mine had a tendency to fall apart, especially when dipped in the chocolate. (Still tasted great though, once you chew it a couple times it all gets to the same state of destruction.) The dough will puff slightly as it cooks, so I would even recommend erring on the thinner side than the thicker one.
2. Pour the coconut mixture on while the shortbread is still rather hot, and while the caramels are still hot and melted. Mine started to cool just a bit too much and it made it difficult to spread evenly. I ended up with a thick part in the center. Reheat the caramel/coconut mixture if necessary to ensure easy spreadability. The thicker this layer, the harder to cut- leading to fragmented shortbread, and the harder to chew, leading to sore jaws.
3. Keep the chocolate as hot as possible. I'm not sure if there's a way to thin out chocolate, but if you know the secret, please, let me know and use it to dip the cookies in. The chocolate was so heavy (for lack of a better word) that the cookie would stick to the chocolate and fall apart instead of sticking to the coconut.
4. Be careful. Once you eat one, you'll want to eat the whole batch. They're THAT good.

Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepapred pan and press into an even layer.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

12-oz good-quality chewy caramels

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes 30 bar cookies.