A crate of Scotch whisky that has been frozen in Antarctic ice for more than a century

Thu Jul 22, 10:20 am ET


WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A crate of Scotch whisky that has been frozen in Antarctic ice for more than a century is being slowly thawed by New Zealand museum officials — for analysis, not to be tasted.



The crate of whisky was recovered earlier this year — along with four other crates containing whisky and brandy — beneath the floor of a hut built by British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1908 Antarctic expedition.



Four of the crates were left in the ice, but one labeled Mackinlay's whisky was brought to the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island, where officials said Wednesday it was being thawed in a controlled environment.



Nigel Watson, executive director of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, said the whisky might still be liquid.



"When the guys were lifting it, they reported the sound of sloshing and there was a smell of whisky in the freezer, so it is all boding pretty well," he said.



An Antarctic Heritage Trust team that was restoring the explorer's hut found the crates in 2006 but couldn't immediately dislodge them because they were too deeply embedded in the ice.



Drinks group Whyte & Mackay, the Scottish distillery that now owns the Mackinlay's brand, launched the bid to recover the whisky for samples to test and potentially use to relaunch the defunct Scotch.



Watson said the whisky may still be drinkable but would probably not be tasted.



"This was a blend so they are hopeful if there is enough alcohol left and it is in good condition they may be able to analyze and hopefully replicate the liquid so in fact everyone could partake in this," he said.



"It has been put on ice for 100 years so I don't think it is too unromantic a suggestion. The reality is that it is very limited quantities and our focus is on the conservation and not the drinking."



Shackleton's expedition ran short of supplies on its long ski trek to the South Pole from the northern Antarctic coast in 1907-1909 and turned back about 100 miles (160 kilometers) short of its goal.



The expedition sailed away in 1909 as winter ice formed, leaving behind supplies — including the whisky and brandy.

NORM

Woody: Can I pour you a draft, Mr. Peterson?


Norm: A little early, isn't it Woody?

Woody: For a beer?

Norm: No, for stupid questions.

Australian drunk survives attempt to ride crocodile

A drunk man who climbed into a crocodile enclosure in Australia and attempted to ride a 5m (16ft) long crocodile has survived his encounter.
The crocodile, called Fatso, bit the 36-year-old man's leg, tearing chunks of flesh from him as he straddled the reptile.
He received surgery to serious wounds to his leg and is recovering in hospital, police say.
He had been chucked out of a pub in the town of Broome for being too drunk.
The man, who was not named by the police, climbed over a fence and tried to sit on the 800kg (1,800lb) saltwater crocodile.
Continue reading the main story If it had been warmer and Fatso was more alert, we would have been dealing with a fatality
"Fatso has taken offence to this and has spun around and bit this man on the right leg," Sgt Roger Haynes of Broome police told journalists.
"The crocodile has let him go and he's been able to scale the fence again and leave the wildlife park."
Malcolm Douglas, the park's owner, said that the crocodile was capable of crushing a man to death with a single bite.
"The man who climbed the fence was fortunate because Fatso was a bit more sluggish than normal, due to the cooler nights we have been experiencing in Broome," said Mr Douglas.
"If it had been warmer and Fatso was more alert, we would have been dealing with a fatality."
"No person in their right mind would try to sit on a 5m crocodile, Saltwater crocodiles, once they get hold of you, are not renowned for letting you go."
The man staggered back to the pub bleeding heavily.
Pub manager Mark Phillips said staff told him that the man reappeared at about 11pm with bits of bark hanging off him and flesh gouged out of his limbs.
"They said he had chunks out of his legs and things like that," Mr Phillips told The West Australian news website.
An average of two people are killed each year in Australia by aggressive saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 7m (23 ft) long and weigh more than a tonne.

Cops clip Madrid driver in mower case

 It may have been how Robert Grimstad was driving that caught people's attention. He was all over the road.
Or the fact it was after midnight and the 38-year-old didn't have headlights on.
Most likely, though, it was the fact he was riding a lawn mower down the highway.
When authorities caught up to Grimstad just before 1 a.m. Thursday near Madrid at the intersection of 300th Street and Iowa Highway 17, he told them he was out picking up cans.
Grimstad's blood-alcohol concentration was .190, though authorities do not know what he was doing, or drinking, earlier.
Grimstad could not be reached for comment.

Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr said he wasn't sure how fast Grimstad was going on the six-speed Bolens lawn tractor.
"I don't know," Fehr said. "How fast can a lawn mower go?"
Maximum speed for a six-speed Bolens lawn tractor: about 5 mph.
It's not the Madrid man's first alcohol-related run-in with law officers.

He's been charged with drunken driving twice, along with public intoxication and driving with a revoked license.
In Iowa, it's illegal to drive any motor vehicle anywhere while intoxicated, Fehr said. Grimstad could have been charged while mowing his own lawn, the sheriff said.

Beaver sculpture prompts controversy in Bemidji

Some say the fiberglass sculpture's removal was censorship. Critics say it seems to depict genitalia.
By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune
That question came up last week for strollers along downtown Bemidji's Sculpture Walk, which this year features nine painted fiberglass beavers, including one with -- to some eyes -- a suggestive painting on its belly.
After about 20 callers complained to City Hall that artist Deborah Davis' painting appeared to be of female genitalia, City Manager John Chattin on Thursday ordered Davis' sculpture removed from the Sculpture Walk, officials in the northern Minnesota city said this weekend.
Al Belleveau, president of the Bemidji Sculpture Walk, said that at Chattin's request, he moved the sculpture to his yard until the City Council decides what to do with it when it meets Tuesday.
That prompted a protest during Sunday's July 4th parade. "A crowd" of people gathered near where Davis' beaver sculpture had stood, some carrying signs that read "Censored," Davis said Sunday afternoon by phone. In addition, some of the other beaver artists veiled their own works in solidarity with Davis.
Davis, of Blackduck, Minn., called her work "Gaea," which she said can mean "Mother Earth" or "God is gracious." The beaver has female figures painted on its sides and a tree on its back. Its belly features a painting in which some see praying hands and some see woman's genitalia.
"My intent was to paint Mother Nature, Mother Earth," Davis said. "I didn't understand that some people saw genitalia. ... I understand people see different things in art, and they need to be free to do that. ... My intent was to paint a praying woman."
Bemidji City Council Member Barbara Meuers said she saw a photo of the Gaea sculpture in the local paper and "it was not enough to raise eyebrows." She said she believes Davis, a former kindergarten teacher, "didn't intend for it to be a sexual thing. ... I did not find it offensive."

THE TITLE IS CLINCHED

Great job again on the win last night 2-1! First place is pretty much clinched for us!
Just a reminder, there is no game this coming Thursday, 07/08/10. We have a bye, so enjoy your week off!
The game for Thursday 07/15/10 is at 7:15. I will send an e-mail next week on that one.
Take care everyone, and have a great holiday!

Trapped drunk driver opens another beer as awaits rescue

AUCKLAND

Wed Jun 23, 2010 3:01pm EDTRelated NewsPRESS DIGEST-New Zealand newspapers - June 10

Wed, Jun 9 2010Lindsay Lohan's drinking leads to near arrest

Wed, Jun 9 2010Judge issues arrest warrant for Lindsay Lohan

Tue, Jun 8 2010AUCKLAND (Reuters) - A drunk driver trapped after overturning his car cracked open another can of beer while he waited for emergency crews to rescue him, a New Zealand court was told.
Oddly Enough Paul Nigel Sneddon, 47, pleaded guilty to careless driving and drunken driving after being nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit in a district court in the city of Palmerston North, the Dominion Post newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Police found Sneddon, a former baker, trapped in his overturned Ford Laser on June 1, drinking a can of beer after he failed to take a corner properly and crashed through a wooden barrier, flipping his vehicle.
Defense lawyer Peter Young said that when Sneddon found he could not open the doors, "he had nothing else to do at that point, so he had another beer."
When asked by police how much he had consumed, Sneddon replied: "Plenty, I've been drinking for four days straight."  Sneddon, who is estranged from his wife, told the Wellington- based newspaper that he went on a drinking binge after losing his job at a bakery on the same day that he heard his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Judge Gregory Ross fined him NZ$1,100 (US$780) and disqualified him from driving for 10 months. It was his first offence.

What to Drink When you Are Chasing Beaver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuVTvkr3ack&feature=related

Land O'Lakes woman accused of fighting boyfriend over last beer

LAND O'LAKES — At 8:30 Wednesday night, a 53-year-old man sat in a chair, drinking the last beer in the house.
His girlfriend wanted it.
Elizabeth Breeden, 41, "went off" on him and tried to grab it out of his hand at their home on McKaig Lane in Land O'Lakes, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
He wouldn't let go.
Breeden ripped the Natural Light can in half, spilling the lager on her boyfriend, his chair and the floor, a report states. The boyfriend stood up. Breeden slapped him in the face. Then she kicked him in the groin, authorities said.
Breeden told a deputy that her boyfriend kicked her and threw beer on her, which is why she ripped the can in half.
She was arrested and charged with domestic battery. This is her 18th arrest since 1999 — with charges such as possession of cocaine, shoplifting, fraud and failing to appear in court, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The boyfriend told authorities he started dating Breeden in February and she moved in with him in May. He didn't want to press charges, the report states.
As of Thursday, Breeden was being held at the Pasco County jail in lieu of $1,000 bail. The report said Breeden was "extremely intoxicated" and there were "numerous Natural Light beer cans in the trash can."

HAPPY JUNE BEAVER BIRTHDAYS

Smokin', RX and Porker Beavers, we celebrate you!

WHAT DOES BEAVER TASTE LIKE?

• Think of beef pot roast and then add a slightly gamey flavor.
• Kind of a greasy, dark meat texture like moose or bear. I've had it where it tasted from gamey to mild, I don't know what made the difference.
• It all depends what happened before you're eating it!

FRIED BEAVER RECIPE

1 small beaver (20 lbs.), cleaned and skinned, cut into serving pieces, strips or cubes

6 slices bacon

1 tsp. seasoning salt  

Remove fat from beaver and soak overnight in cold water. Drain. Cook in small amount of water until tender, then fry with bacon and seasoning salt. Variation: substitute hickory-smoked seasoning salt for plain seasoning salt.

TEAM SONG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k6EbLm4Q1s

Dean's Blue Hole Video

OK all you sassy girls - you know who you are!!!U need to google : Dean's Blue Hole Video
I repeat - Dean's Blue Hole
This is amazing
Enjoy Beotches and boys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3o_RIofJCE

This Week's Featured Beaver.......Nice Tail!

Smokin Beaver...you wag it girl

Beaver Garmet!! Keep's you from getting wet.

It's called "wet out" and you've probably never heard of it, but chances are you've experienced it. It's when you think your expensive waterproof pants are leaking and you're wet and cold. Most ski pants today are advertised as waterproof and breathable. However, when the exterior of your pants gets coated with water from rain, snow or a wet chair lift, the ability of your pants to breathe is compromised and moisture from your skin remains trapped inside. The Beavertail solves this problem.

Wearing the Beavertail when it's raining or snowing gives you a protective layer between your ski pants and a wet chair lift. It prevents water from coating the backside of your pants, allows them to breathe, and your expensive waterproof pants can do their job and let the moisture escape. Your backside stays dry and you're warm and comfortable to enjoy the slopes.

http://www.beavertail.net/

Message from your Head Beaver

Hey folks.....awesome job last night!!!!!! Looked a little dicey there in the beginning when they went up 1-0 in the first. But man, did we come back!!!!!! Ange came back with 2 homers, one 3 run and one two run. All of the hitting, spectacular!!!!!

Actually, we have been playing extremely well all season long. Let's keep the undefeated season going!

Take care, all.

Go Beavers!!!!!!

Beavers play to WIN!!!!

Nice job last night......final score 14-2, another win for us!

Next week's game, 6/10/10, is at 6:15.

Here is who I have:

BEAVER DOWN

The DL grows by one!

Sad day in Beaver land as Prime slid into second base and crunched her foot. The call was SAFE! Thankfully, no beer was harmed in this incident.