Australia seeking fatter mailmen

ustralia's postal service has increased the maximum weight for mailmen and women by 15 kg (33 pounds) in an attempt to attract more "posties", local media reported on Tuesday.

Australia Post had a weight limit of 90 kgs (198 pounds) for "posties" because its 110cc motorcycles had a safe working limit of 130kg (286 pounds) -- that's 40kg (88 pounds) for letters and up to 90 kgs for mailmen and women fully clothed.

But after talks with motorcycle manufacturer Honda it was agreed the bikes could safely carry a "postie" weighing 105 kgs (231 pounds), said Sydney's the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

But the "posties" will only carry 25 kgs of mail.

The union representing mailmen and women said the 90 kg limit had caused recruitment headaches for Australia Post, but the company denied it had staffing problems...

--Reuters

Baby Bubba's got a Beretta -- and a license

My 10-month-old son has the cutest FOID card.

Howard David Ludwig -- affectionately nicknamed Bubba -- received his state-issued firearm owner's identification card two weeks ago.

The wallet-size card arrived about a month after his dear ol' dad correctly completed the online form and sent in the fee.

As a FOID card holder, baby Bubba can own a firearm, as well as ammunition, in Illinois.

He can also legally transport an unloaded weapon, though he can't yet walk, so that's not an issue.

The plastic card has a picture of Bubba giving a toothless grin in the upper right corner. It includes his name, address and date of birth -- 6/14/2006.

The FOID card lists his height (2 feet, 3 inches) and his weight (20 pounds)...

--Chicago Sun-Times

South Korea county cans award for drinking workers

On second thought, maybe it was not a good idea to give an award for drinking to local government officials.

The South Korean county of Koesan has decided it will discontinue giving out its "Drinking Culture Prize" after being flooded with complaints that the award promotes drunkenness among municipal employees and encouraged binge drinking.

A county official said Wednesday the public misunderstood the intention of the award, which was meant to recognize government workers who go out to local restaurants and bars to meet citizens and hear what they have to say.

"I guess it was our mistake that the purpose was misinterpreted," said the official, who asked not to be named...

--Reuters

Genetic Discrimination Ban Clears House; Senate OK Expected

If legislation passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives becomes law, it will be illegal to deny a job or health insurance on the basis of a person's genetic makeup.

With more links drawn between genetic profiles and disease predispositions every day, supporters of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act say the bill will ease patients' worries of being singled out for faulty genes.

“GINA will do more than stamp out a new form of discrimination,” said Louise Slaughter (D-New York) who introduced the bill. “It will allow us to realize the tremendous potential of genetic research without jeopardizing one of the most fundamental privacies that can be imagined.”

Such discrimination is rare, but supporters of the bill worry that as genetic testing becomes common and scientists chart the complex links between genes and health, profiling might also increase...

Wired

Rubber sidewalks flex their muscle in Poynette, Wisconsin

Environmentally Friendly Sidewalks Save Trees

Poynette, Wis. -- Village officials in Poynette are bouncing with pride with their groundbreaking move to save some of the city's oldest trees.

Tree-lined streets are majestic and beautiful, but they come at a cost, WISC-TV reported."What was happening was the roots further down were lifting the soil and that was lifting the concrete," said Poynette Village Commissioner Dennis Lynn.

It's a problem faced along many urban streets: older trees breaking through sidewalks and causing dangerous obstacles for walkers...

--WISC TV

France puts secret UFO archive online

PARIS — France's space agency is opening up its secret X-Files— three decades of research into UFO sightings, including police reports, witness sketches and maps that scientists used to search for logical explanations behind mysterious phenomena in the skies.

The first batch of archives went up on the agency's website Thursday, and the pages have had so much traffic that the site has been tough to access since.

Only about 9% of France's UFO cases have ever been fully explained, the group says, while experts have found likely reasons for another 33% of cases.

The agency, known by its French initials CNES, said it went public with the documents to draw the scientific community's attention to unexplained cases — and because their secrecy generated buzz, with many people suspicious that officials were hiding something...

--USA Today