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Items included in this column are things that I have heard, seen or have been reported to me. I cannot vouch for their veracity.

"Cuber"

I remember President Kennedy telling us about the Russian missiles on the Caribbean Island south of Florida. But, we're not talking about that "Cuber" today. American "Speed Cubers" gathered in Chicago last summer for the US Open Rubics Cube Championships.

Contestants start with the same random scramble. (I'm confused about this. How can they be the same AND random?) They may examine their cubes for up to 15 seconds. Timing begins once they pick them up and ends when they slam them back down. Fast cubers complete the task in 15 to 30 seconds. The world record is just under 10.

The original 3X3 competition is the big attraction. However, there are others, including the 2X2 and 5X5 contests. One handed and blindfolded events are also included. That last one really has me mystified.

Pugilism

Boxer James "Lights-out" Toney fought Danny Batchelder in May. Three-time-champion Toney began his career as a 160 pounder in 1988. He now boxes at 230 pounds. Toney won the bout in a split-decision, but subsequently tested positive for steroids. Batchelder would have been declared the champion, but he also tested positive.

Other stuff

The Bemidji State University women's hockey team includes two area freshmen. Chisago Lakes graduate Alexandria Perenteau plays defense for the Beavers. Keeta Koalska, from Forest Lake, is also at BSU. She is listed as a forward on the Bemidji roster.

In 2005, the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 in front of more than 100,000 fans in Mexico City.

On October 27, the NFL played another regular season game on foreign soil. London's Wembley stadium was the site of a 13-10 New York Giant win over the winless Miami Dolphins. About 90,000 fans filled the seats at Wembley and NFL supporters claimed that they could have sold 500,000 tickets for the game.

Fans hoping to persuade the NFL to locate a team in England admit that American football still takes a back seat to soccer, cricket and rugby in the UK. They feel that it could be a success despite the fact that London's NFL Europe team was a flop.

Stephen Jackson was arrested last year for firing a gun in a public place. He was also one of the primary instigators in the brawl in Detroit when Indiana Pacers went into the stands.

The Golden State Warriors have made him a co-captain. This season he came to training camp with a new tattoo - clasped hands praying in front of a church. The praying hands hold a gun. You Gotta Wonder!

The Today Show recently had correspondents in Ecuador (on the equator), in Antarctica and in Greenland at the same time. The focus of the reports was how global warming has, and will, affect the climate of the regions and what that means for us. In the process, they revealed a number of interesting thoughts about the three regions.

Equador.

About 1300 species of birds live in the Colorado-sized South American country. That's approximately the same number of species as exist in all of North America.

In geography classes, I used to tell my students that the earth is, "Sort of like people. As we get get older, the belt line expands a bit." The earth is like a three-dimensional circle, but it's a little bigger around the equator than any other line that divides the world into hemispheres.

You weigh less at the equator than you do elsewhere. (I assume that's because you are farther away from the center of gravity than most places.) If you were straddling the equator, you would be about the same distance from the center of the earth as if you were standing at the top of Mt. Everest.

Greenland

Geographers have historically called the seven biggest land masses on earth continents. All the other land masses are called islands and are usually considered part of the continent they are closest to. For example, Iceland is closer to Europe and Greenland closer to North America.

Greenland is the largest island. Greenland's ice sheet is 1200 miles long and holds 8 percent of the world's fresh water.

The third largest city in Greenland has a population less that 5000. School books on the island are usually printed in Greenlandic or Danish. A few are in English.

Children in Greenland are required to go to school through eighth grade. Those who go to high school usually must go to one of the larger towns. Those who go on to post-secondary education go to the one university in Greenland or to colleges in Denmark.

Between 20,000 and 27,000 polar bears live in arctic regions. As the ice sheets in Greenland and other northern places recede, female bears are getting lighter and having fewer cubs. They often use their size (up to 1,700 pounds) to break through the ice and descend on unsuspecting seals and other prey.

Antarctica

The fifth largest continent is about 1.3 times the size of Europe and 1.6 times as big as the United States. The coldest, driest and windiest continent also has the highest average elevation. It is 98 percent covered by ice and holds about 70 percent of the word's supply of fresh water.

Penguins, the most famous native inhabitants, have had to move inland to find colder temperatures. Female penguins are attracted to heavier males. Apparently, additional blubber makes it easier for the males to cover and warm the nests and makes it more likely that the male will survive and, so, have a better chance to care for the eggs.

You are invited to send interesting, unusual and/or humorous items that could possibly be used in this space. If you choose to do so, please send it to [email protected].

If you prefer, you may send it to

Chisago County Press

Attn: Dave

12631 Lake Blvd.

Lindstrom, Mn 55045

or, you may bring it in to the office.

Sports stuff would be great, but, please do not limit yourselves. Politics, religion, culture (pop or otherwise) are welcomed. Please do not feel offended if your contribution is not included.

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