The Winner Is... Fake Dog Testicle Creator - WTOP Radio

The Winner Is... Fake Dog Testicle Creator - WTOP Radio: "The Winner Is... Fake Dog Testicle Creator
Updated: Friday, Oct. 7, 2005 - 9:04 AM

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press Writer

BOSTON (AP) - Gregg Miller mortgaged his home and maxed out his credit cards to mass produce his invention _ prosthetic testicles for neutered dogs.

What started 10 years ago with an experiment on an unwitting Rottweiler named Max has turned into a thriving mail-order business. And on Thursday night Miller's efforts earned him a dubious yet strangely coveted honor: the Ig Nobel Prize for medicine.

'Considering my parents thought I was an idiot when I was a kid, this is a great honor,' he said. 'I wish they were alive to see it.'

The Ig Nobels, given at Harvard University by Annals of Improbable Research magazine, celebrate the humorous, creative and odd side of science.

Miller has sold more than 150,000 of his Neuticles, more than doubling his $500,000 investment. The silicone implants come in different sizes, shapes, weights and degrees of firmness.

The product's Web site says Neuticles allow a pet 'to retain his natural look' and 'self esteem.'

Viagra dough to help hurricane victims

Good.

Sex Drug Subsidies to Pay Hurricane Aid - WTOP Radio: "Sex Drug Subsidies to Pay Hurricane Aid
Updated: Friday, Oct. 7, 2005 - 9:09 AM

By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Buying your own Viagra will become an act of altruism under a House-passed bill that pays for hurricane relief with federal funds now devoted to Medicare and Medicaid coverage for erectile dysfunction drugs.

Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., sponsor of the bill, said the government would save $690 million over five years by prohibiting the two government health care programs from subsidizing prescriptions for sexual performance drugs.

The money will be used to provide $500 million in federal unemployment funds to hurricane-affected states to help them pay benefits to out-of-work people: $400 million to Louisiana, $85 million to Mississippi and $15 million to Alabama.

The bill, passed by voice vote Thursday, also extends several health programs that assist low-income families nationwide.

Deal has previously backed legislation to end federal aid for impotence drugs, saying taxpayers should not be required to pay for a drug that does not determine life or death and is often used for recreational purposes.

Under Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor, states are allowed to determine which drugs are medically necessary, and Deal said most states now consider Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs in that category.

A survey by The Associated Press earlier this year showed nearly 800 convicted sex offenders in 14 states _ including Georgia _ got erectile dysfunction drugs filled by Medicaid.

The Senate has also approved legislation to end federal funding for such drugs and the House earlier this year approved a similar amendment to a spending bill covering health programs. But no bill banning federal payments for the drugs has cleared Congress.

___

The bill is H.R. 3971.

On the Net:

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/

(Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

I'm thankful for my great kids...

Nighttime Moonshine Operation Gets Howard Teenager Arrested: "Nighttime Moonshine Operation Gets Howard Teenager Arrested

By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; Page B01

In a midnight stakeout, government agents seized a Howard County teenager and the illicit moonshine distillery he allegedly built from a bucket, a trash can and some copper pipe in the woods near his home.

The boy, arrested early Tuesday at the Rocky Gorge Reservoir in the Fulton area, told investigators he'd learned the essentials of bootlegging in high-school science class and on the Internet. Agents withheld his identity because he is a minor. They would not give his age.


'It's amazing what you can learn on the Internet,' said Kevin P. Kane, spokesman for Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, whose agency regulates the production of spirits.

It was the first illicit distillery seized in Maryland since 2000, something of a curiosity for the agents involved. Moonshining is a misdemeanor offense in Maryland, potentially punishable with a $10,000 fine and five years in prison.

'After 28 years, I can honestly say it's the first one I've run into,' said George Hubbard of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which joined the comptroller's office on the case.

A woman walking her dogs at the reservoir spotted the fermentation equipment and reported it to authorities, Kane said. Agents staked out the site until the owner arrived, just after midnight. Agents closed in.

The boy was attempting to distill whiskey from corn, Kane said, in a trash can heated by propane. Agents believe he was just getting started and hadn't yet sampled the brew.

'What he was making, it wasn't really consumable at all,' Kane said. "It was actually very toxic."

Kane said the juvenile court system will handle the case. The boy also faces the wrath of his parents, who knew nothing of his nocturnal activities.

What he does not say is he created the vacuum

From CNN.com

Amid declining public support for the Iraq war, President Bush said today the fight against terrorism must continue there because it is the center of a terrorist movement to "intimidate the whole world." Bush said if U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq, insurgents would "use the vacuum created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to launch attacks and conduct their war against nonradical Muslim governments."

A Chat With Gateway Customer Support

Otto_GWPR023 joined the incident.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Welcome to Gateway Remote Assistance. I am looking at your account and the information you submitted. I will begin troubleshooting with you in just a moment.

Mark Brailsford says:
OK

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Hello Mark

Otto_GWPR023 says:
How are you today?

Mark Brailsford says:
fine

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Your system is a Gateway 7422GX Notebook with Serial Number: N3051F1039470 right?




Mark Brailsford says:
yes

Mark Brailsford says:
here's the issue: I purchased an additional battery and power supply for my laptop that I purchased at Best Buy. The battery fits but the power supply does not

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Okay, Mark, how may I help you?

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Okay, and then,,

Mark Brailsford says:
I was sent replacements that were the exact same as the first set

Mark Brailsford says:
The power supply I need's model number is 0220A1890

Mark Brailsford says:
it's output is 18.5 V, not 19V like I was sent.

Mark Brailsford says:
I now have two extra batteries and two extra (incorrect) power supplies

Mark Brailsford says:
I want the correct power supply

Mark Brailsford says:
They also charged me an extra $40+ for the second shipment

Mark Brailsford says:
I want to return one battery and two incorrect power supplies and get back one correct power supply

Mark Brailsford says:
can you help with this?

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Mark, where did you purchase the battery and the power supply?

Mark Brailsford says:
From gateway.com

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Okay Mark. please hold and I will check for your options.

Mark Brailsford says:
thanks

Mark Brailsford says:
While you are at it my display has recently begun to flicker as if it was having power issues.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Mark, is this the power supply of your system?

Otto_GWPR023 says:
http://accessories.gateway.com/AccessoryStore/PC+Accessories_316441/Notebook+Accessories_316800/Power+Adapters_316801/1533244_ProdDetail

Mark Brailsford says:
yes

Mark Brailsford says:
no

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Your system can be powered up by 90 watts and a 120 watt power adapter.

Mark Brailsford says:
the plug does not fit. My computer does not accept the M520 power supply plug.

Mark Brailsford says:
my girlfriend has that system and the new PS fits hers, but not mine.

Mark Brailsford says:
I'm extremely frustrated.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Mark, can you check on the link if this is the power cord that you have right now.

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/M320/8008707/8008707mv.shtml

Mark Brailsford says:
No. Mine has three wires

Mark Brailsford says:
I'm getting the feeling like you guys dumped a design you did not want in the retail channel

Mark Brailsford says:
Was I a chump?

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Mark I am really sorry for the inconvenience, I will be sending you a link where in you can purchase gateway accessories if they are not available at gateway.com. www.mundocorp.com

Mark Brailsford says:
This is ridiculous.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
I could relate to how inconvenient situations like this can be and I know how you must feel. However, the power adapter for your system is not available at gateway.com that is why I suggested to try another site where in you can purchase gateway accessories.

Mark Brailsford says:
Which wattage do I need? 90 or 120?

Otto_GWPR023 says:
90wattage

Otto_GWPR023 says:
that is the one that came with the system.

Mark Brailsford says:
OK.

Mark Brailsford says:
yes it is

Mark Brailsford says:
Mine has a Gateway label on it.

Mark Brailsford says:
Now I need an RMA for 1 battery and two power supplies.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Mark about the return of the item, you will need to contact our email customer service to process it, we cannot process a perm return here on chat, Here is the direct link where you can contact our customer service.

Otto_GWPR023 says:
Your inquiries would best be addressed by one of our Customer Service representatives at this time. Please use the following site to contact Gateway Customer Service. Thank you.
http://support.gateway.com/support/contact/email_cs.shtml

Mark Brailsford says:
When I tried to login there it rejected my serial number. What do I do?

Mark Brailsford says:
Is there a phone number I can call?

Mark Brailsford says:
BTW the phone number on the back of my computer is disconnected.