Bus Stops - February 27

Chuck Norris Bridge? Slovaks Consider Tribute In Path To Austria (Huffington Post) 

(Slovaks have been voting overwhelmingly in favor of naming a new pedestrian and cycling bridge near their capital for 1980s action film and TV star Chuck Norris. The two other top names in the running for the bridge, which will span the Morava river and cross the border to Austria, were Maria Theresa after an Austro-Hungarian empress and the Devinska cycling bridge in honour of the closest village.)

Canucks fans toss Chinook salmon onto ice to honor dead son (Seattle PI) 

(After 30-year-old Garrett Paquette died in an ATV accident in November, his family and friends knew just how to honor him. By throwing a Chinook salmon onto the ice during a Vancouver Canucks game, of course. It couldn’t be any old Canucks game; Paquette had been planning to pull the very same stunt at this past Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his favorite team. So when he died, the Nanaimo Daily News reported, his father decided to follow through on the plan in memory of his son.)

Happy 'werewolf' girl says she's proud of being special (MSNBC) 

(Supatra Sasuphan says she doesn’t spend time thinking about the rare condition she has that leaves her with thick hair on her face and body, a determination to live a normal life that makes her an inspiration to all who know her. Supatra, an 11-year-old Thai girl who’s known as Nat, suffers from hypertrichosis, or Ambras syndrome, a genetic condition marked by excess hair on the face and body. )

Strange object with something inside falls down from space in Brazil (English Pravda) 

(A metal object of unknown origin fell down on Earth in the Brazilian state of Maranhao. The unusual event caused panic among the local population. The ball-shaped, 30-kilo object about one meter in diameter was found on Feb. 22. Residents of the village of Riacho dos Pocos were the first to have seen the space ball. Jose Valdir Mendes said that he had heard the strong roaring sound on Wednesday morning, at about 06:00 local time. Several moments later, an explosion occurred near his home.)

Headteacher under fire after pupils 'scared stiff' by school kidnap stunt... staged as part of lesson in descriptive writing (Daily Mail UK) 

(The kidnapper wore a bright red wig and was brandishing what looked like a gun. Stunned nine and ten-year-olds watched from their classroom window as, in a few terrifying seconds, he abducted the school caretaker, bundled him into a car and screeched off into the distance. For a moment it looked as if a major crime had been committed before the eyes of dozens of little innocents.)

Compensation for teen sacked by text (Stuff) 

(A 17-year-old who was told "go f*** yourself" in a text from his boss has been awarded nearly $10,000 in compensation. Stephen Whalley was working for Northland's Takou Were Te Mokai Landcare Charitable Trust as a trainee hapu ranger when he was unjustifiably dismissed in November, 2010, the Employment Relations Authority ruled last week.)

Mardi Gras soul, in action, turns girl's parade nightmare into a dream come true (NOLA) 

(Forget what the calendar might have said. On Friday, at least in one part of New Orleans, it was Emily Gras. Emily Mueller, an 11-year-old north shore girl with autism, was the object of one drunken young man’s abuse during the Krewe of Muses parade on Feb. 16. She was reduced to tears before she could see any of her favorite parade.)

Cat Saves Owner's Life Just Hours After Being Adoptede (Huffington Post) 

(A newly-adopted cat repaid his owner's loving gesture earlier this month by saving her from a medical emergency just hours after he was brought home, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports. Amy Jung and her son Ethan stopped into The Humane Society near their home in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on Feb. 8 to play with the cats, but one feline -- a 21-pound orange-and-white cat named Pudding -- stood out to the pair. Jung learned that the laid-back cat had been in and out of the shelter since 2003, and made an impulsive decision to adopt him and his friend Wimsy.)

Mum reveals why she's buying her daughter £8,000 of cosmetic surgery vouchers for her EIGHTH birthday (Mirror UK) 

(For their eighth birthday most little girls can expect a new doll, or a bike, some clothes or maybe a games console. Not Poppy Burge. When she wakes up to her special day next month, her mum Sarah will hand her £8,000 of vouchers... to spend on plastic surgery. And while Poppy is so young her two front teeth have yet to come through, Sarah believes it’s perfectly OK to introduce her daughter to the world of Botox, facelifts, nose-jobs and boob jobs.)

Unexpected all-stars happy to get off the bus (Face Off) 

(Imagine how Tom Brady's life might be different if Drew Bledsoe wasn't injured during Week 2 of the 2001 National Football League season. For one, Brady probably wouldn't be married to Gisele Bündchen. When Bledsoe, the New England Patriots' starting quarterback, suffered a shorn blood vessel in his chest following a hit from the New York Jets' Mo Lewis, Brady took over. The Patriots lost the game 10-3, dropping their record to 0-2.)

Man, 19, arrested in attacks on bus driver, passenger (Face Off) 

(Police have arrested a Surrey man believed to be responsible for two attacks on transit buses. Police went public Wednesday with violent attacks on a driver and on a passenger on Coast Mountain buses that they believed were com-mitted by the same suspect.)

Study Shows Women Are Smarter Than Men About Social Media (Forbes) 

(When it comes to managing their social media profiles, women, on average, behave more like mature, responsible adults while men act like impulsive adolescents. That’s the takeaway from a new study on from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a project of the Pew Research Center. Pew’s researchers polled 2,277 adults for the report, titled “Privacy management on social media sites.” They found that social network users in general are more active when it comes to editing their connections, managing their reputations and making use of privacy controls than they were just a few years ago.)

For optimal work commitment, skip the pot (MNN) 

(New shocker of a study finds that those who have never smoked or have quit smoking marijuana have more dedication to their jobs. According to a real shocker from the world of bona fide science, smoking marijuana is tied to less motivation at the office.)

Facebook users getting less friendly (Sun Times) 

(Whether it’s pruning friends lists, removing unwanted comments or restricting access to their profiles, Americans are getting more privacy-savvy on social networks, a new report found. The report released Friday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that people are managing their privacy settings and their online reputation more often than they did two years earlier. For example, 44 percent of respondents said in 2011 that they deleted comments from their profile on a social networking site. Only 36 percent said the same thing in 2009.)

Steve Kordek, a Pinball Innovator, Dies at 100 (Forbes) 

(Steve Kordek, who revolutionized the game of pinball in the 1940s by designing what became the standard two-flipper machine found in bars and penny arcades around the world, died on Sunday at a hospice in Park Ridge, Ill. He was 100. His daughter Catherine Petrash confirmed his death.)

Michael Jackson Doctor Denied Release From Jail (NBC) 

(Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physician who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, was denied a request to be released from jail, a judge ruled Friday.)