The spammers whose names end with NewsCenter, Blog, Journal, etc.

I'm always glad I play the bass, except to look for a parking space. Studied with a guy named Barry , who taught me much, 'cept how to carry my gargantuan fragile friend of wood. I traverse through a neighborhood, of shuttered stores where's parked my beater, on the way to a spa …

In this continuing series exploring the history and meaning of the Code of Honor, we will now look at Article Three, which governs the proper methods for presenting information on Newsvine, covering such topics as headlines, clipping, tags, news types and classification.

This is not an attempt to claim or assume any authority on Newsvine, and should not be construed as such. Rather, it is written with the goal of clarifying what I see everyday - misconceptions about the meaning and application of the First Article of the Newsvine Code of Honor.

Foodies. You know who you are. You lust over heirloom tomatoes. You covet thy neighbor's fennel. You melt over Beaufort d'Alpage. Yes, that's you! Come here to share anything about food. Satisfy your hunger.

Thank you to each and every soldier who has ever served this great country.

A suburban Kansas City woman was left sitting in a vinyl recliner for so long that her skin had fused to the chair and she had to be pried out to be taken to a hospital after suffering an apparent stroke, authorities said.

Hey there new users!  When you join Newsvine, most of you are automatically placed in the Greenhouse.  The Greenhouse is designed as sort of a holding tank to prevent spammers.  While in the Greenhouse, you are allowed to post original articles.  You can also post seeds, which link Newsvine readers to sources outside of Newsvine (news sites, blogs, youtube, etc.).  You can also visit other users' columns and enter into conversations by leaving comments.  

As a new user in the Greenhouse, you can do just about anything that a regular user can do.  When it is determined that you are not a spambot/self-promoter/advertiser/link farmer, etc. you are released from the Greenhouse.  This can be accomplished by meeting a combined threshold (determined by Newsvine) of friends, comments, article submissions, seeds & votes.  Or, you can contact a Moderator (Tyler or Sally) or a Guide to speed up the process. 

Unfortunately, the Greenhouse is so full of spammers , that potentially good users can remain unnoticed.  Several of us regularly patrol the Greenhouse in hopes of unearthing a hidden gem.  At the moment, I can see over 150 pages of new users - each page containing around 110 names.  Most are from a known user who has created thousands of multiple accounts, so many folks have given up trying to find new members to welcome, because most of the pages come from that spammer. Obviously, is it terribly time-consuming to slog through all of those pages in order to find & release users.  Please let me know if you are languishing in the Greenhouse and I'll help you to escape.  Please post any questions that you have about using Newsvine.

Thanks, and enjoy!

Scientists recently discovered something that was causing European gypsy moth caterpillars to behave very strangely. The caterpillars were infected by a deadly baculovirus, and with their last bits of strength, they did something that would be out of the question if they were healthy: they climbed out onto the very highest leaves of their tree in the middle of the day.

There, their diseased bodies split open, raining infected caterpillar guts onto the leaves and branches below. The death ritual is so bizarre, that scientists started using the term ”tree top disease” to describe the virus that caused it.

Really cool & creative design.  Camping anyone??

Some random faces for Foto Friday. I'm starting to get into this!

I am an amateur photographer with way more camera than knowledge & skill (it was a gift). My main lens is an EF28 - 135mm F3.5 - 5.6 IS USM. I use it for lots of outdoor photos. I am very happy with the camera and the lens. However, in lower-light situations with faster action (sporting events), the current lens is not adequate. So, I am in the market for a lens that will allow me to capture action shots in gymnasiums and lighted fields.

Amazon has a pretty decent variety of Canon and third-party lenses. I don't have to have a Canon, but I want something that is of good quality. Customer reviews on Canon lenses are pretty spectacular, but I am willing to venture out and at least consider other options.

What I need from you is help! Suggestions? Experiences? Tips? Links?

Newsvine has some terrific photographers out there. I appreciate your expertise!

Emmanuel Kelly FULL including judges comments - Sings, Imagine from John Lennon.

A toe in the water for Foto Friday. My first attempt. Yeah...it's actually Saturday. That should tell you something.

Pour me a drink, please!

When looking at the Princeton Review's annual college rankings, no one (cool) cares about academic ratings or student to faculty ratios, or any of those silly stats. No, all those people care about is which schools have the most kicking ragers in the whole country. Here they are.

Could you put aside your fears and do something like this??

We've covered before the horrible consequences of constantly given factory farm animals antibiotics so they don't get sick in the sickening conditions we make them live. And recently the USDA commissioned a report reviewing the current research on antibiotics, antibiotic resistant infections and farm animals. The report was pretty damning of current industry practices, as Tom Philpott summarizes over at Mother Jones.

In an effort to have a scoop and be an ace reporter yet recognizing I don't have the full facts I am offering this little ditty for those who had to stay home. I am now back in Ohio.

Us Simpsons freaks will forever recall the episode when Homer and Marge went to an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet at the Frying Dutchman, only to have Captain McAllister boot Homer and utter the immortal line "'Tis no man; 'tis a remorseless eating machine." Homer sued, of course, and reached a settlement with the Sea Captain, one of the few times Lionel Hutz didn't lose in court.

Organized gangs of homosexuals, hellbent on destroying straight marriages and converting straight people to their orientation, are still roaming the streets this hour, and authorities admit that they have no leads.  The gangs pose a serious risk to any straight couple, marr …

Two men have been charged over an alleged plot targeting the soul singer Joss Stone.

Junior Bradshaw, 30, and Kevin Liverpool, 33, both from Manchester, were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Last week it was human breast milk from genetically-altered cows. Now I’m hearing about something even more squicky: a scientist in Japan who’s figured out how to make apparently-edible faux meat out of human feces. Professor Poo (I mean Ikeda) extracts lipids and protein from “sewage mud,” does a little lab magic, then adds soy protein and umami to taste. (Oh, and a little food coloring, too.) According to its creator, the stuff isn’t bad — though I’m not sure I know anyone who’d be willing to take a taste test.

During a visit to Argentina 11 years ago, Elena Durón Miranda was horrified to see children as young as 3 years old rummaging through a trash dump for food and valuable materials.
"I saw children collect green sausages, a bag of potato chip crumbs, a bag of noodles with cream, and recovered leftover yogurt next to a diaper," said Durón Miranda, a Mexican psychologist who was visiting Bariloche to do research. "The children began to gently clean the food -- wiping each little noodle, each potato and peeling the sausage skin so methodically and accurately. It was as if they had done this same activity many times."
Durón Miranda said there were maybe 200 children at the dump collecting things to eat and sell.

A congressman from New York sends lewd photos of himself over the Internet. A former presidential candidate cheats on his terminally ill wife. A former California governor reveals he has a love child with the family maid.

Those peccadilloes grab headlines in America, but none is as hot in Sweden as the sex scandal involving the king — and it takes a lot to shock the Swedes.