Is Martha's Vineyard ready for giant inflatable rat?

CNN.com : "EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts (AP) -- The rodent control officer on Martha's Vineyard wants to make his services more visible. And he figures you can't miss a 12-foot rat.

T.J. Hegarty raised $5,000 in private donations to buy a 12-foot tall inflatable rat that he plans to bring to parades and other local events to increase public awareness of his rodent control program. He expects to take delivery of the bulky beast in six weeks.

A summer playground for the well-to-do, Martha's Vineyard is thought of more as a vacation spot for presidents and Hollywood celebrities than a breeding ground for vermin. Though Hegarty says there isn't a major rat problem on the island now, rats have proliferated on and off for years, aided by an abundance of food sources and a lack of natural predators.

After borrowing a similar blow-up rat for the island's 2002 July 4th parade from the Carpenter's Union of Brockton, Hegarty decided to buy a rat of his own to spread the word about his services.

'We all have this in common,' he said. 'The rodents don't care who you are.'"

jaynote: hmnn, thinking about the quote:
"is thought of more as a vacation spot for presidents and Hollywood celebrities than a breeding ground for vermin"

How are those things different?

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EELSTHEBAND.COM

NEWS : "The 40-year-old Mr. Everett was raised in McLean, Va., with his sister Elizabeth, mother Nancy and father Hugh Everett III, a quantum physicist who in 1957 proposed a formal theory of parallel universes known as 'The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.' 'Everett's work has boggled minds inside and outside physics for more than four decades,' reported Scientific American in last month's issue. Mr. Everett said his brilliant father wasn't communicative at home. When I asked him what the conversation was like around the breakfast table, he replied, 'There wasn't any.' 'Physicists and geniuses don't always make great family men. I lived with him for 18 years and I learned more about him from the Internet.' Mr. Everett's family was a heartrending source of inspiration for his most notable work, the 1998 album 'Electro-Shock Blues' (DreamWorks), written after his sister committed suicide and h...

Digital Cam media safe to fly with

Technocrat.net : "Recent tests found no evidence of X-ray scanner damage to digital camera media cards or to the images they hold. The tests of scanner models currently in use in the U.S. transportation industry were jointly conducted by the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A), the leading global association for the imaging industry; SanDisk Corporation, a manufacturer of digital media cards; and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). These findings mean that digital cameras and their image storage media can travel safely in either checked or carry-on bags, which will be reassuring to holiday travelers. And though they were not explicitly tested, it is likely that images on camera-phones will be safe in either situation as well. More care is needed for cameras with film, however, as the X-ray scanners for both checked and carry-on luggage can fog both developed and undeveloped film."

Artist turns animals into everyday objects

Ananova - A Chilean artist is making a name for herself with an exhibition in which stuffed animals are transformed into household objects. Artworks on display include a chick turned into a lamp, and 'sheep bag' - a lamb carcass fitted with handles. Artist Caterina Purdy says her exhibition at the Experimental Arts Centre in Santiago is intended to be humorous but also makes a serious point. She told Las Ultimas Noticias online: 'It is possible to see my work as something scary, but I find it beautiful. 'There is also irony and humour in my objects as well as a criticism of the way animals are treated by society.'"

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