The Wheezer Society

Get The Lead Out

Pencil removed from woman's head 55 years after accident A 59-year-old woman who has suffered blinding headaches since she was four years old has finally had an 8cm long pencil removed from her skull. Margaret Wegner underwent the risky procedure in Berlin at the weekend to remove the pencil, which showed up on a computer brain scan. When she saw the image of the white pencil, snapped in two places, she recalled an accident in the town of Dessau when she was four. "I remember tripping over and the pencil I was holding disappeared," she said. "I had a pain in my head the pencil, it seems, had penetrated the skin and bored straight into my skull." The pencil missed an artery and nerve endings in the brain by a whisker. Doctors at the time deemed it too risky to operate. That remained the consensus among many doctors over the years but the large part of the pencil was finally removed. The 2cm tip is still embedded. It has been overgrown by nerves and blood cells which are too dangerous to cut through.

Fork You!

Some kids just don't listen when you tell them they will fork themselves up when they're playing around with their food - they have to prove it to themselves.

Elton John Died In 1975 - Alien John Takes Place

Okay, okay. The only way I can wrap my head around this current debacle of Elton John saying he thinks "the internet should be shut down for 5 years" is this: I've have convinced myself that the REAL Elton John died in 1975, right after recording "Captain Fantastic". Gus Dudgeon (his producer) then hired another pudgy Englishman to take his place. End of story.

Elton John wants the internet CLOSED DOWN. Never one to keep his opinions to himself, the Rocket Man has waded into cyberspace with all guns blazing. He claims it is destroying good music, saying: “The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff. “Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision. “It’s just a means to an end. “We’re talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that’s not going to happen with people blogging on the internet. “I mean, get out there — communicate. “Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the internet. “Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging. “I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span. “There’s too much technology available. “I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today.” Multi-millionaire Elton, who turned 60 earlier this year, has admitted in the past that he is a bit behind the times. The Grammy award-winner was once quoted as saying: “I am the biggest technophobe of all time. “I don’t have a mobile phone or an iPod or anything. “I am such a Luddite when it comes to making music. All I can do is write at the piano.”

Bank Helps Kids Start Lemonade Stands

Oregon based Umpqua Bank is helping young children start and run lemonade stands this summer as part of a small business advertising campaign

The summer-long "Lemonaire" program provides ten-dollars in start-up capital, a stand starter kit and a guide to starting their first small business. In addition to promoting the bank, the company said it also acts as a financial literacy tool for kids.

There are about two-thosuand kits available. More than one-thousand are already out the door.

Hello Goodbye

Sprint Nextel has reportedly cut off service for multiple customers who have asked for service help too often. "The number of inquiries you have made to us [during the past year] has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your wireless needs," reads a letter Sprint sent to these customers. Wow. That's a great way to build your business.... NOT!

Connections: Coach Mouse Davis

For those Spartans and Grantonians on the Wheezer list, as Angie and I were picking up our bags the McCarran Airport yesterday, I found myself standing next to none other than Coach Mouse Davis. Knowing he probably wouldn't remember me I just said, "Coach Davis I went to Hilhi - Class of 73" and he smile and said, "That was one helluva year!" then promptly picked up his suitcase and golf clubs off the baggage carousel and walked off. He is currently an assistant coach at University of Hawaii.

Coach Davis' connection to Grant is a little more obscure - when Davis went to Portland State in '74, he coached and mentored a Grant alumn, June Jones. June Jones is now head coach at University of Hawaii. Working with Jones at UH is the fifth time they have worked together as coaches, which includes USFL's Houston Gamblers and Denver Gold and NFL's Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

When I checked out his bio on the UH website, I found out that we both share the same birthday.

Ready Fire Aim

Microsoft said in a statement it planned a series of hardware and software products, with the first expected to be available this year. The products will be called Zune. But in creating its own music products Microsoft also risks alienating partners such as Creative Technology Ltd. and Samsung, Gartenberg said. Those companies are already using Microsoft's software for their own players, although they've had little success against Apple's juggernaut. It's not clear how the service will fit into Microsoft's existing plans. The company recently partnered with MTV Networks Inc. to launch a music download service to compete with Apple's iTunes. That's in addition to Microsoft's own service, MSN Music, which was launched amid much fanfare nearly two years ago but hasn't garnered much attention since.