The Mingo County Sheriff’s Office tells WSAZ.com that Elbert Allen Hinkle, 27, of Beech Creek, was electrocuted around noon Tuesday in the Newtown area.

Investigators tell WSAZ.com that Hinkle was on his lunch break and was electrocuted in an un-work related incident.

Hinkle was an employee with C&A Timber Company.

Story via wsaz.com

Glendale Police report a 57-year old man was found with third degree burns on 100 percent of his body at an abandoned commercial yard.

Police suspect the man was trying to steal copper out of a transformer and met his demise. His fatal efforts also knocked out power to 1,400 residential and business customers for about an hour, according to authorities.

Copper thefts are a big problem for commercial property owners, businesses and even schools and churches targeted by thieves.

Story via bizjournals.com

In shadow on the beach in Zion, IL (September 2012)

As mentioned in a previous post, last week was a rough one at work. It was also the beginning of what’s turning out to be a rough time for me personally right now.

I wrapped up my work week guiding reporters through the end of their weeks and I had a weekend all to myself. A real weekend: Saturday and Sunday. I shopped and cooked on Saturday and Sunday did pretty much not a darn thing.

Sunday night, I was sitting at my computer, on Facebook, and all of a sudden, was hit by extreme sadness. And, it occurred to me, one year ago last weekend, Tom and I had taken a three-day weekend to connect with each other sans the four animals we had between the two of us.

We went to Indianapolis, stayed at the Westin, ate at some really great restaurants, took a horse-drawn carriage ride and partied at the Slippery Noodle.

And, one year ago Monday (March 25), Cardio Coach Sean O’Malley took his life, after years of suffering CTE from head injuries he sustained playing football as #99 for Ol’ Miss.

The sadness that settled in on me last Sunday has intensified as I realized that I am officially at the six-month mark. Though I mistakenly believed it was today (March 28), I realized that tomorrow (March 29) is exactly six months since we walked into Brandt’s Harley-Davidson and bought that bike, the candy orange, 2013 Road Glide that he took for a the second or third, and final, ride Oct. 4, after itching all week to get it on the road.

The bike and that smile

It’s been a never-ending string of “things” that have made me cry this week. A reporter at my desk today was treated to a crying fit when I received a text from my former boss telling me he’d been thinking of me and hoping I was doing well.

I posted to Facebook a status about today being the six-month anniversary (we all now know that was erroneous) and it elicited such loving responses from so many people that each time I saw a new one, I cried. (I’d like to mention here, it is not lost on me that his family is still suffering and I am sorry if my sadness impacts them in any way, we all loved the same man.)

I cried before we went out to lunch today (lunch with a state trooper). I cried because it was a day ending in “y” today.

It’s gonna be like that, I suspect, for a few more days. This weekend is Easter. Last Easter Tom and I went to Eddie Merlot’s for the restaurant’s Easter brunch. And, we sipped adult beverages and ate amazing food and had a very good, if brief afternoon since I had to work. And, I gave him an Easter basket (he really hated when I gave him stuff when he was expecting it, nevermind that he was the one buying the meals).

All his favorite candy, and he loved his candy, and a few other things.

And, well, life apparently is just a mish-mash of things that are going to niggle at me whether I want them to or not. I imagine if I think hard enough I can come up with a zillion other anniversaries, firsts, etc., to make me cry more, but I have enough on my plate (but, let’s not forget riding season is officially kicking off and yesterday I saw a bonehead on a motorcycle take a couple unnecessary risks that almost made me park my car and not get behind the wheel again).

In other news, I have put a new bumper sticker on my car, so my trunk looks like this

Get the one on the right at www.countmotorcycles.com

And, don’t forget, as the temperatures rise, and the salt on the roads washes away, more and more bikes are going to be out there. Look twice, save a life, or better yet, play Count Motorcycles.

In shadow on the beach in Zion, IL (September 2012)

As mentioned in a previous post, last week was a rough one at work. It was also the beginning of what’s turning out to be a rough time for me personally right now.

I wrapped up my work week guiding reporters through the end of their weeks and I had a weekend all to myself. A real weekend: Saturday and Sunday. I shopped and cooked on Saturday and Sunday did pretty much not a darn thing.

Sunday night, I was sitting at my computer, on Facebook, and all of a sudden, was hit by extreme sadness. And, it occurred to me, one year ago last weekend, Tom and I had taken a three-day weekend to connect with each other sans the four animals we had between the two of us.

We went to Indianapolis, stayed at the Westin, ate at some really great restaurants, took a horse-drawn carriage ride and partied at the Slippery Noodle.

And, one year ago Monday (March 25), Cardio Coach Sean O’Malley took his life, after years of suffering CTE from head injuries he sustained playing football as #99 for Ol’ Miss.

The sadness that settled in on me last Sunday has intensified as I realized that I am officially at the six-month mark. Though I mistakenly believed it was today (March 28), I realized that tomorrow (March 29) is exactly six months since we walked into Brandt’s Harley-Davidson and bought that bike, the candy orange, 2013 Road Glide that he took for a the second or third, and final, ride Oct. 4, after itching all week to get it on the road.

The bike and that smile

It’s been a never-ending string of “things” that have made me cry this week. A reporter at my desk today was treated to a crying fit when I received a text from my former boss telling me he’d been thinking of me and hoping I was doing well.

I posted to Facebook a status about today being the six-month anniversary (we all now know that was erroneous) and it elicited such loving responses from so many people that each time I saw a new one, I cried. (I’d like to mention here, it is not lost on me that his family is still suffering and I am sorry if my sadness impacts them in any way, we all loved the same man.)

I cried before we went out to lunch today (lunch with a state trooper). I cried because it was a day ending in “y” today.

It’s gonna be like that, I suspect, for a few more days. This weekend is Easter. Last Easter Tom and I went to Eddie Merlot’s for the restaurant’s Easter brunch. And, we sipped adult beverages and ate amazing food and had a very good, if brief afternoon since I had to work. And, I gave him an Easter basket (he really hated when I gave him stuff when he was expecting it, nevermind that he was the one buying the meals).

All his favorite candy, and he loved his candy, and a few other things.

And, well, life apparently is just a mish-mash of things that are going to niggle at me whether I want them to or not. I imagine if I think hard enough I can come up with a zillion other anniversaries, firsts, etc., to make me cry more, but I have enough on my plate (but, let’s not forget riding season is officially kicking off and yesterday I saw a bonehead on a motorcycle take a couple unnecessary risks that almost made me park my car and not get behind the wheel again).

In other news, I have put a new bumper sticker on my car, so my trunk looks like this

Get the one on the right at www.countmotorcycles.com

And, don’t forget, as the temperatures rise, and the salt on the roads washes away, more and more bikes are going to be out there. Look twice, save a life, or better yet, play Count Motorcycles.

At least 125 people were killed and 302 injured in nationwide incidents, the worst casualty figures since a spate of co-ordinated terrorist attacks in September.

At least 49 non-suicide bomb attacks left 82 people dead and 253 injured – a very high figure for the country.

Three additional suicide bombings left 11 people dead and 33 injured. There has been a rise in suicide attacks over recent weeks although most appear to have inflicted a relatively small number of casualties.

Small arms attacks left 32 people dead and 14 injured, a relatively high figure. Many took place in the capital where militants appear to have resumed targeted assassinations against civic employees and senior members of the security forces. Officials associated with the April provincial elections have also been singled out countrywide.

Otherwise, indirect fire attacks (rockets and mortars) left three people injured. Two people were also found stabbed to death in Anbar and Wassit provinces.

Violence was concentrated in Baghdad, which experienced more attacks than any other week since the end of 2011. Mosul was also violent, but more customarily so. Otherwise incidents were concentrated in the central region, predominantly in districts adjacent to the capital.

Story via dailystar.net

Juan Bocanegra, 37, of Fort Myers, and Dustin Manning, 30, of Bradenton, were electrocuted in September when the basket of a cherry picker they were standing in struck a power line. The men were hired to remove molding damaged by woodpeckers at Bella Lago condos, off Bay Beach Road on Fort Myers Beach.

On Feb. 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found the two companies that employed the victims to be in violation of several safety policies, according to citations sent out by the organization.

OSHA recommended J Baller Construction, a Fort Myers-based company that employed Bocanegra, pay $11,900 for four violations. According OSHA’s citation, J Baller did not provide its employees accident prevention training, it did not train the aerial lift operator in the hazards of working near energized power lines, and it allowed employees to work in proximity to power lines. OSHA also found Bocanegra was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the accident.

OSHA recommended a $5,600 fine for Cutting Edge Molding, a Sarasota-based company, because Manning was not wearing a safety belt and the company did not instruct its employees in the importance of using fall protection equipment.

Both companies have contested the proposed violations and will have a hearing before the OSHA review commission, according to spokesman Michael D’Aquino.

OSHA citations give recipients the right to contest violations within 15 working days of notification.

Story via news-press.com

Everybody was Kung Fu Fightiiiiiiing! Hiiiiiyahhhhhhh!

Yes tonight we talked about the drag out, smack-alicious, pummel fests of fighting games! I love them. Terrible at them, but love them.

Street Fighter 2 more than likely started the fighting game craze at the time, and obviously it wasn’t the first fighting game. But Street Fighter wasn’t either. The very first fighter game could be argued as Heavyweight Champ, a black and white fighter in the arcades in 1976.

It employed two boxing glove controllers, one for each player, which moved up and down for high and low punches, with an inward movement for striking (image and blurb from the Heavyweight Champ Wiki)

But here is what I felt was the first fighting game… Karate Champ!

And since I mentioned Street Fighter 2, here is a video of Ken vs. Sagat on the SNES.

Of course Mortal Kombat was a heavy hitter too! It’s fatalities pushed the envelope on the brutality of the fighting genre and maybe got video games a bit too much attention for it’s violence. But it was awesome! I could only pull off Scorpion’s spine ripping fatality back in the day, but there were a lot of good ones.

Here is a video put together by GamesRadar of every Mortal Kombat Fatality… EVER!

And here are a some funny videos from someone at Machinima of rejected Fatalities… lol. Great job Daneboe!

Of course the fatality/finishing move carried over to other games.Here is a video someone put together of the Killer Instinct Finishing Moves.

And here are some from Primal Rage

I had always thought Pit Fighter was a rip-off of Mortal Kombat, but in actuality it came to the arcades before MK. And even though Retro Arcade is used in the title of this, it has nothing to do with our podcast.

This post could go on and on with the amount of fighting games we had, so I am going to end it here. So put away your dukes and stow the hadouken for now.

Thanks for listening!

~B

According to POWERCOM’s SDO Kehar Singh, the two linemen were sent to conduct the repair work at Chaudheri village on Saturday.

The electricity supply to the line had been discontinued for repair and their fuse uninstalled, but due to heavy storms and rain during the day, the fuse got connected and current passed through the line due to which Deedar Singh sustained the shock, said the SDO.

Jasbir Singh was referred to GMCH-32 where his condition is said to be stable and the body of the deceased has been sent to Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi for conducting the postmortem while further proceedings have been initiated, said the police.

Story via indianexpress.com

Highway Technologies Inc. was performing guardrail and sign installation for a 13-mile stretch of I-94 near Menomonie, Wis., under contract with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation when the incident occurred.

“Highway Technologies failed to protect its workers from serious electrocution hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Multiple instances of the same violation over a period of time clearly demonstrate a willful failure to comply with basic safety and health standards. Employers must take steps to eliminate hazards and provide a safe working environment.”

OSHA issued citations for six willful violations of failing to ensure that parts of the equipment being operated were not within 10 feet of a power line, exposing workers to electrical shock and electrocution hazards. These citations also include instances of failing to ensure that any part of the machinery was not within 6 feet of an overhead power line while the machinery was traveling beneath the power lines.

Four serious violations also cited include failing to identify electrical work zones, determine if any part of the equipment being operated would be closer than 20 feet of a power line, train each worker on safe clearance distances from power lines and evaluate that each employee understood the training and risks of working near overhead power lines.

Due to the nature of the hazards and the violations cited, Highway Technologies Inc. has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure future compliance with the law. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer’s facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.

Houston-based Highway Technologies Inc. employs about 1,500 workers in 13 states installing highway guardrails, crash attenuators, barrier walls and signage. Prior to this investigation, the company had been inspected by OSHA 10 times since 2007, resulting in citations for nine serious violations. One of these inspections was initiated based on employee injuries sustained from contacting an overhead power line while installing a highway sign.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Story via ehstoday.com

Family members mourn the death of their relatives after a bomb blast, a day earlier, in Abbas Town in Karachi on March 4, 2013. A suspected suicide bomber attacked Shia Muslims as they were leaving a mosque in Pakistan’s commercial capital on Sunday, killing at least 45 people. — Reuters Photo

KARACHI: Hauled off buses, targeted in their clinics, on boulevards, in alleys, in shops, in offices, in processions and pilgrimages, is there any place left safe for Shias in Pakistan? At Ashura, they were chastised for taking out Moharram processions and giving terrorists an open field in which to attack.

Till yesterday, they might have thought that the inner sanctum of their homes would provide them protection against the growing madness swirling around them. But now the killing fields are their own homes.

Yesterday’s blast in Abbas Town not only blew out shop windows and decimated shopkeepers, hawkers and customers, it also pulverised women and children enjoying the weekend evening breeze on their balconies.

Mothers preparing dinner, kids finishing homework and packing school bags, neighbours chit chatting in corridors, TV sets blaring… a scene of tranquillity and domesticity turned into an inferno in seconds.

As fires raged through the flats and buried people in piles of rubble, panicked families ran for cover, traumatised toddlers sat on stretchers with bandages on swollen heads and tiny hands, and hospitals were flooded with appeals for blood, the writing was writ large on the wall: Either you are with us or against us.

The irony is that instead of the state machinery issuing this warning to these terrorists, it is the latter who are clearly demarcating the lines for the battle to the finish for the soul of Pakistan. It is the state which has capitulated to these “non state actors”.

In short, our chickens have come home to roost.

Once upon a time not so long ago, pock marked and neurotic Karachi was beautiful and cosmopolitan where people of all faiths happily intermingled at work and home.

In school, no one even thought of asking who was Sunni or Shia, because it was irrelevant.

But now, bigotry reveals itself on social media forums when you are asked repeatedly why you have the audacity to believe that Shias are Muslims.

The disinformation campaign against Shias can be seen in  various hate messages being spread via SMS.

At such times, one is reminded of Nietzche: “People don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusion destroyed.”

Known for their erudition and culture, Shias are being hunted down from Quetta to Lahore to Karachi and yet people are so cowed down by paralysing fear and cowardice that they are unable to speak up for their brothers and sisters who are in so much pain.

Even at the recently held Karachi Literature Festival, one was told off for expressing support with the Shia community. On spotting a badge which stated, “Stop Shia killings”, an acquaintance cast a fearful look around the crowd: “Beta, you must take it off right now!” “But why?” “Somebody here might kill you,” she insisted, looking over her shoulder.

It is no secret that our curriculum today teaches hatred for minorities and other sects, instead of teaching children to celebrate diversity, because in diversity there is not only beauty but also strength. The different rituals, practices, festivals, dress, traditions et al should be celebrated, not vilified.

What a boring country we would be if everyone was cut from the same cloth.

The Taliban are not known for their great love of literature, but it seems that they are taking a leaf out of George Orwell’s ominous “1984”, which was a prescient warning to the power of totalitarianism and conformity by force.

In the book, individualism was stamped out with gusto and all citizens of the Orwellian had to fit into the slots assigned for them. People were paid to be spies and turn in colleagues and friends to the state, never to be seen again. Those who refused to part with their individuality or loyalty were eliminated.

Unlike the disillusioned Hazaras, who have now started taking up arms to protect their neighbourhoods in Quetta, the Shia community in Karachi remain committed to the path of peace and reconciliation.

They are hoping for a better tomorrow, but who can blame them for losing hope day by day?

The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a Shia but today he is called a kafir by many venomous Pakistanis.

Mr Jinnah’s prophetic words “United we Stand, Divided we Fall’’ have never seemed more tragically relevant to the country he founded with such high hopes and aspirations.

Maheen Usmani is a freelance writer who has covered subjects ranging from socio-political issues to womens’ rights to counter terrorism, sports, travel, culture and music. She tweets at @MaheenUsmani

No, this wasn’t the Perfect Storm. Just when I thought things were getting dire, I looked to the far west, toward the distant Cascade Mountain range, and saw an orange full moon just now going to bed. It was reassuring the know the storm, blowing in from the west, would end soon. Not soon enough to provide relief for this morning’s 75-mile commute over the Blue Mountains. But by midday, I was betting, our friend the sun would once again rule its mountain kingdom.

As I drove up Cabbage Hill on Interstate 84, buffeted by gusts, I knew it was just a matter of time when the pelting rain would turn to pelting snow. Just before the top of the six mile, 6 percent grade, I ran into the snow. It was like going from spring to winter. The road surface went in an instant from wet to snow covered, and I slowed down and gave myself the “just be patient” lecture.

I’d seen worst. I’d seen a whole lot better. Either way, you get what you get. No use getting overly excited about things you can’t control. The important thing is, go an appropriate speed for the conditions. Most accidents occur because people are driving too fast for conditions. A lot of accidents occur because idiots leave on the cruise control and hit ice. Many more fatalities occur in summer than in winter on this notorious stretch of highway over the Blue Mountains, again mostly caused by Darwin Award winners going too fast for conditions. Some people even hit elk, which are the size of horses and not forgiving. My sympathies are with people who have lost loved ones on this stretch of highway, but I also know that if you drive with patience, you are much more likely to make it over the pass in one piece.

As I continue past the scarily named Deadman’s Pass, I get behind a driver who is, in my opinion, going too slow for conditions. That is almost as dangerous as going too fast for conditions. Fortunately, the slow driver sees a pull-off and, miracle of miracles, actually pulls off. Again, I have room to roam. I like to create for myself a large space cushion with traffic ahead and behind me. Of course, I have no control over other drivers. I have only control over what I do. It’s important to keep about five times the following space of the driver ahead in case he hits the brakes. That way you have a chance to safely respond when the road surface is slick.

As I drive past Emigrant Springs State Park, where Oregon Trail travelers in the mid-1800s often stopped for the night, I know it could be worse. Once in this stretch I encountered waves of drifting snow that the Snow Leopard, my name for the Prius I drive, bounced over. It was almost more like surfing than driving. Another time, on this stretch, I encountered black ice. That is when the road surface looks wet, then shiny wet, and you may not see it but is dangerous. It’s my least favorite road condition. I will take snow, slush, drifts, almost anything over black ice.

I coach myself to be patient as I pull out to pass a chained-up semi truck. The highway has about five times as many semi trucks as it did 20 years ago, and that traffic just promises to get thicker over the next 10 years before I can retire. For now, I will continue to commute, past Meacham, over the 4,200-foot Blue Mountain summit, and down to La Grande, to work, so I can keep the lights on and the water bill paid. I am lucky to have a job, however challenging.

I dip down the last grade and into the Grande Ronde River valley. I know better than to relax now. I have seen too many accidents on the river bridges, which have a tendency to get iced over. I know that the commute isn’t over until I pull into the work parking lot. As I turn from Adams Avenue onto Fourth Street in La Grande, the car’s warning lights turn on and indicate I am sliding. Great, I think. I’ve made it 74 miles. Wouldn’t it be ironic if I slid off in the last mile? Still, it’s nothing I can’t handle — but just more proof to be vigilant to the end.

One more Monday morning. Once more into the jaws of the beast.