Monday, August 17, 2015
Man makes $10,000 a month sending people potatoes
North Texas entrepreneur Alex Craig, 24, is making a steady income by sending potatoes through the mail.
The app developer by day came up with a business idea to send anonymous custom messages to whoever you want on a potato.
"I would say the two things that hold everyone back in life is fear and doubt," Craig said. "The fear of failure and the fear of wasting your time, and the doubt that you can actually achieve something big on a huge scale." Craig said he came up with the idea for Potato Parcel earlier this year while having dinner with his girlfriend.
"She said, 'You will not sell a single potato. This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard,'" Craig said. "On our second day that we were live we got $2,000 in orders, and I just knew this was it." It's a simple idea. Users go online and order a potato, ranging from $8 to $10, add a custom message, and send it anonymously.
YouTube link.
Craig says he's sold over 2,000 potatoes, and he's clearing $10,000 a month in profit since he launched the site in May. "We've sent thousands of potatoes to people across the United States, and so, in some sort of weird way, we've had an impact on somebody's life - even for a split second," Craig said.
"I would say the two things that hold everyone back in life is fear and doubt," Craig said. "The fear of failure and the fear of wasting your time, and the doubt that you can actually achieve something big on a huge scale." Craig said he came up with the idea for Potato Parcel earlier this year while having dinner with his girlfriend.
"She said, 'You will not sell a single potato. This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard,'" Craig said. "On our second day that we were live we got $2,000 in orders, and I just knew this was it." It's a simple idea. Users go online and order a potato, ranging from $8 to $10, add a custom message, and send it anonymously.
YouTube link.
Craig says he's sold over 2,000 potatoes, and he's clearing $10,000 a month in profit since he launched the site in May. "We've sent thousands of potatoes to people across the United States, and so, in some sort of weird way, we've had an impact on somebody's life - even for a split second," Craig said.
Koala chased after dairy farmer on quad bike
A koala that could not face rejection by a dairy farmer in Victoria, Australia, chased after her as she tried to escape its clutches on her quad bike.
“He was in love with me and I rejected him so he chased me,” dairy farmer Ebony Churchill, 31, said.
“The koala surprised me,” she added.
Ms Churchill, who lived in the Adelaide Hills for about 20 years, was moving a herd of cows on a property near Heywood, in western Victoria, when she saw the koala walking nearby. She assumed it was going from one tree to the next. “He was close but then he started running towards me and I thought I better speed up (on the quad bike),” she said. “But the more I sped up, the faster he got.
“I thought if I got further down the track, he would lose interest. I got to the end of the cows and couldn’t go any further so that’s when I bailed off the bike. They’ve got hard, sharp claws and I didn’t want to have him grabbing at my leg as I was on the bike.” Ms Churchill lost sight of the koala as she got off the bike but found it latched on to the rear tyre. “He sat on the tyre for a while and I didn’t want to upset him,” she said.
YouTube link. Facebook video.
“I started herding the cows on foot and when I looked back, he had got off the bike and was walking away.” Ms Churchill said she was probably travelling at about 10km/h along the muddy track when the koala was chasing her. “They’re very active this time of year,” she said. “He was a gorgeous koala - really, really cute.” She said she had seen the same koala a couple of times and it had followed her from a distance but it was the first time it had tried to chase her.
Ms Churchill, who lived in the Adelaide Hills for about 20 years, was moving a herd of cows on a property near Heywood, in western Victoria, when she saw the koala walking nearby. She assumed it was going from one tree to the next. “He was close but then he started running towards me and I thought I better speed up (on the quad bike),” she said. “But the more I sped up, the faster he got.
“I thought if I got further down the track, he would lose interest. I got to the end of the cows and couldn’t go any further so that’s when I bailed off the bike. They’ve got hard, sharp claws and I didn’t want to have him grabbing at my leg as I was on the bike.” Ms Churchill lost sight of the koala as she got off the bike but found it latched on to the rear tyre. “He sat on the tyre for a while and I didn’t want to upset him,” she said.
YouTube link. Facebook video.
“I started herding the cows on foot and when I looked back, he had got off the bike and was walking away.” Ms Churchill said she was probably travelling at about 10km/h along the muddy track when the koala was chasing her. “They’re very active this time of year,” she said. “He was a gorgeous koala - really, really cute.” She said she had seen the same koala a couple of times and it had followed her from a distance but it was the first time it had tried to chase her.
Man armed with gun drawn on piece of paper tried to rob bank
A 33-year-old British man has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery after threatening a bank cashier in Poland with a gun that was drawn on a piece of paper.
The unnamed man attempted to carry out the heist on 11 August in the Polish capital Warsaw. He entered the bank on the central Jerozilimskie Avenue at 9:00am and marched straight up to one of the cashiers.
The man then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, revealing a drawing of a gun to the female employee. He then brandished a second sheet of paper, on which he had written a warning in broken Polish saying: “This is a robbery I have a gun give me all the money.” The woman calmly told the man to wait at the back of the queue, and the Briton duly obliged.
In the meantime, the cashier called the police and the would be assailant was arrested shortly after. Polish police have provided few details on the Briton, only saying he had lived in Germany for a year and had only been in Poland for a few hours before trying to rob the bank. The failed robber now faces up to 12 years behind bars.
The unnamed man attempted to carry out the heist on 11 August in the Polish capital Warsaw. He entered the bank on the central Jerozilimskie Avenue at 9:00am and marched straight up to one of the cashiers.
The man then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, revealing a drawing of a gun to the female employee. He then brandished a second sheet of paper, on which he had written a warning in broken Polish saying: “This is a robbery I have a gun give me all the money.” The woman calmly told the man to wait at the back of the queue, and the Briton duly obliged.
In the meantime, the cashier called the police and the would be assailant was arrested shortly after. Polish police have provided few details on the Briton, only saying he had lived in Germany for a year and had only been in Poland for a few hours before trying to rob the bank. The failed robber now faces up to 12 years behind bars.
Dog foiled jailbreak plot after hearing prisoners digging tunnel
A dog out for a morning walk has unwittingly foiled a prison break after it detected that something was not quite right under its paws.
The pet was out with its owner at around 10:00am on Saturday, on the Greek island of Corfu, when it picked up the presence of inmates digging a tunnel underneath.
The dog froze, clearly cocking an ear to suspicious sounds below and refusing to budge, until finally its owner decided to call the police.
Police found a tunnel about 30 metres long , starting from Corfu prison’s B wing where 21 convicts serving long or life terms are being held. Inside the tunnel, investigators found battery-powered fans and plastic containers of food.
The pet was out with its owner at around 10:00am on Saturday, on the Greek island of Corfu, when it picked up the presence of inmates digging a tunnel underneath.
The dog froze, clearly cocking an ear to suspicious sounds below and refusing to budge, until finally its owner decided to call the police.
Police found a tunnel about 30 metres long , starting from Corfu prison’s B wing where 21 convicts serving long or life terms are being held. Inside the tunnel, investigators found battery-powered fans and plastic containers of food.
Toddler's Minion fart gun seized at airport after being deemed a security risk
When passing through security at Dublin Airport in Ireland, a Minion fart gun was seized from a young boy and taken away on Saturday.
The security officers claimed it was a 'threat' and took the toy gun, which makes fart noises and emits a banana like smell when fired, away from the child.
Paula Morrin, a friend of the toddler's mother, Dáire Fitzpatrick, tweeted: "Can't believe that a minion fart gun was taken from friends toddler, security felt it posed a threat." Dáire Fitzpatrick was returning to the UK from Ireland with her son, Leo.
However, when she and Leo went through security the officers demanded that the boy hand over the Minion-themed fart blaster. In a Facebook post, Dáire explained that the trigger mechanism was against policy and had to be removed. Paula has since demanded that Dublin Airport security return the toy to Leo as he's heartbroken without it.
The security officers claimed it was a 'threat' and took the toy gun, which makes fart noises and emits a banana like smell when fired, away from the child.
Paula Morrin, a friend of the toddler's mother, Dáire Fitzpatrick, tweeted: "Can't believe that a minion fart gun was taken from friends toddler, security felt it posed a threat." Dáire Fitzpatrick was returning to the UK from Ireland with her son, Leo.
However, when she and Leo went through security the officers demanded that the boy hand over the Minion-themed fart blaster. In a Facebook post, Dáire explained that the trigger mechanism was against policy and had to be removed. Paula has since demanded that Dublin Airport security return the toy to Leo as he's heartbroken without it.
Odour expert hired by housing developer detected fishy smells downwind of fish market
An odour expert has been commissioned by a housing developer to sniff a former boat yard site at Swansea Marina in south Wales to check for fishy whiffs.
The expert's sense of smell was assessed beforehand to make sure it was within a normal range - and no strong drinks or food were consumed the nights before the sniff tests were carried out. The tests were commissioned by applicant Waterstone Estates, which has resurrected plans for 50 flats, and one ground floor retail unit, at the site adjacent to Fishmarket Quay, which is home to Swansea Fish.
The professional sniffer carried out the majority of the tests downwind of Swansea Fish, including just after a delivery of seafood and when the premises's door was open. The odour report, submitted as part of the flats planning application to Swansea Council, said fishy smells were only detected "very close" to the western boundary of the site, and were only strong when the door of Swansea Fish was open.
The report said it judged the overall risk of odour impacts from Swansea Fish on future residents at the proposed development as "negligible". The tests were in response to one of the reasons that Swansea councillors gave for rejecting a previous, similar application for the site. Councillors were concerned that future residents might complain about fishy smells to environmental health officers.
The expert's sense of smell was assessed beforehand to make sure it was within a normal range - and no strong drinks or food were consumed the nights before the sniff tests were carried out. The tests were commissioned by applicant Waterstone Estates, which has resurrected plans for 50 flats, and one ground floor retail unit, at the site adjacent to Fishmarket Quay, which is home to Swansea Fish.
The professional sniffer carried out the majority of the tests downwind of Swansea Fish, including just after a delivery of seafood and when the premises's door was open. The odour report, submitted as part of the flats planning application to Swansea Council, said fishy smells were only detected "very close" to the western boundary of the site, and were only strong when the door of Swansea Fish was open.
The report said it judged the overall risk of odour impacts from Swansea Fish on future residents at the proposed development as "negligible". The tests were in response to one of the reasons that Swansea councillors gave for rejecting a previous, similar application for the site. Councillors were concerned that future residents might complain about fishy smells to environmental health officers.
Driver crashed car into lamp post after being distracted by spider
A car crashed into a lamp post after the driver was 'distracted by a spider in the car' on Friday morning.
Emergency services attended the incident on Bourne Valley Road in Poole, Dorset. No-one was seriously injured in the incident, that happened at around 6.45am, but paramedics attended alongside police.
Dorset Fire and Rescue Service's district commander for Westbourne and Springbourne, tweeted:. "Driver was distracted by a spider in the car, could of (sic) been another car that was hit not a lamp post".
The car involved was a blue Fiat Punto registered to a Poole woman. Borough of Poole was also notified because the lamp post was knocked over.
Emergency services attended the incident on Bourne Valley Road in Poole, Dorset. No-one was seriously injured in the incident, that happened at around 6.45am, but paramedics attended alongside police.
Dorset Fire and Rescue Service's district commander for Westbourne and Springbourne, tweeted:. "Driver was distracted by a spider in the car, could of (sic) been another car that was hit not a lamp post".
The car involved was a blue Fiat Punto registered to a Poole woman. Borough of Poole was also notified because the lamp post was knocked over.
Town councillor criticised for attending VJ Day commemorations in dressing gown and slippers
Dover Town councillor Graham Wanstall has been criticised for his inappropriate attire after turning up at the end of Saturday's Victory in Japan day ceremony wearing a dressing gown.
The Castle Ward councillor wore a grey dressing gown and slippers to the event at the war memorial outside the Dover Town Council offices. Mr Wanstall said he did not know the ceremony was happening, and arrived at the end of the event. He said: "I'm not a well man at the moment, I have had a serious heart operation.
"I could not physically get anything else on. The only thing I could physically put on was a dressing gown. I did not know about the Victory in Japan day ceremony. I did not go to attend the ceremony. I would not have gone to the council offices if I had known it was going on."
The councillor's arrival at the end of the ceremony was a shock to the crowd who had gathered to pay their respects to the war dead. Event organiser Augusta Pearson said: "The way he was dressed or his lack of clothing was an absolute disgrace to everyone there. It's an embarrassment. He did know the event was on. It's been on Facebook and in shop windows. It's been discussed in Town Council meetings on a few occasions."
The Castle Ward councillor wore a grey dressing gown and slippers to the event at the war memorial outside the Dover Town Council offices. Mr Wanstall said he did not know the ceremony was happening, and arrived at the end of the event. He said: "I'm not a well man at the moment, I have had a serious heart operation.
"I could not physically get anything else on. The only thing I could physically put on was a dressing gown. I did not know about the Victory in Japan day ceremony. I did not go to attend the ceremony. I would not have gone to the council offices if I had known it was going on."
The councillor's arrival at the end of the ceremony was a shock to the crowd who had gathered to pay their respects to the war dead. Event organiser Augusta Pearson said: "The way he was dressed or his lack of clothing was an absolute disgrace to everyone there. It's an embarrassment. He did know the event was on. It's been on Facebook and in shop windows. It's been discussed in Town Council meetings on a few occasions."
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