On Their Own: Musings From an Empty Nester

This morning a baby bird fell out of its nest just outside the window that is near my desk. I watched it tumble from the dense pillow of twigs and leaves tucked into the eaves under the deck, falling a distance of 12 feet to the cement patio below.

The mother bird dashed to the baby’s side, hopping in a circle around him. After a few stunned moments, the fledgling righted himself and faced her. She screeched at him, wings extended, beak thrust forward. I knew what she was saying: “Why did you sit so close to the edge? What were you doing? Wrestling with your brother? Didn’t I tell you…?”

In Indonesia People Can Trade Trash for Free Health Care

Faiad discovered a cheap and plentiful catalyst called aluminisilicate that drastically reduces the cost of converting plastic waste into gases like methane and propane, which can be turned into ethanol, what some scientists are calling “biofuel” because the organic chemicals from plastic polymers she extracts, are the same chemicals extracted from vegetation to create ethanol biofuel.

The process releases other chemicals that can also be recycled and sold.Egypt produces a million tons of plastic trash every year, and it’s estimated Faiad’s process could convert that much trash into fuel worth$78 million every year.

Teenage Girl Turns Plastic Trash Into Million-Dollar Biofuel

An Egyptian teenager has discovered an inexpensive way to turn plastic trash into fuel — and it could be worth tens of millions of dollars a year.Azza Faiad’s ideas attracted the attention of the Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute. The institute gave the teen access to a lab and its researchers in order to help refine her trash to fuel formula.

UPDATE: “Sidewalk Scholar” Boy Gets Education Paid Through College

A little boy in the Philippines who didn’t even have a light to study by at night now has enough scholarship money to see him all the way through college. Fast food chain McDonald’s is the latest to offer him help to pay for his education — and it’s launching a new reading program for his school.

A picture of nine-year-old Daniel Cabrera studying beneath a street light went viral last month, triggering a flood of donations for him and his family. A local politician secured a scholarship for him back in July and McDonald’s announced a new one this month.

The new scholarship will cover Daniel’s school supplies, uniforms, and other expenses until he graduates high school. Along with the other donations and scholarships, he’ll have enough to cover all his educational needs until he graduates from college 13 years from now.

10 Year-old Girl Saves a Life Three Hours After Learning CPR

It’s been said that you never know when CPR will come in handy–including minutes after you’ve learned it.

Literally three hours after learning the technique, a 10-year-old girl in Seoul performed it on an unconscious man who’d just had heart attack near his apartment building.

Earlier that day, she had learned to press down 30 times per minute, and that’s exactly what she did until the man began to wake.

Believed to be in his 50s, the man was taken to the hospital and later released. She had saved his life.

In Largest Medical Study of Near-Death Experiences, Awareness Lasts Beyond Brain Waves

An international study of near death experiences shows nearly two-in-five people resuscitated from cardiac arrest experienced awareness for several minutes after their brains stopped functioning.The research suggests the light at the end of the tunnel that some people believe is the afterlife may be, more importantly, an extended second chance at this lifetime.

The brain normally shuts down completely, about 30 seconds after the heart stops, but multiple studies by a team of researchers called AWARE (AWareness during REsuscitation) are pushing that time frame, suggesting people can be resuscitated much later than previously thought.

Cab Driver Gets Unexpected Theme-Park Ticket To Ride From Passenger

When an Irish businessman opted to take a day trip to the largest indoor amusement park in the world, he decided to flip the script and give his driver a ride.

As they pulled up to Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Liam Murphy’s cab driver mentioned that after 14 years of dropping off tourists at the park, he had never been inside.

The tickets were pricey and he sent most of his money back to family in India. He said he usually sat in the cab, waiting for park goers to return — a wait that could last several hours.

Instead of making him wait, Murphy, who was traveling alone on business, sprung for an extra ticket and told the driver to park the cab and come along.

When You’re In A Toxic Friendship: The Healthy Way Forward

With all of us going through so much change in a lifetime, some of our friendships can’t last forever, nor should they.

Sometimes friendships gently fade away from starvation, as each person invests their resources in more satisfying pursuits. Other times, things like hurtful behavior, negative feelings, and attachment to memories of better times can make these break-ups a little more complicated and confusing.

Decides to Use $500K Genius Grant to Send Caregivers on Vacations

For two years, Heather McHugh held on to half-million dollars.

After being awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant for her poetry, she just couldn’t decide what to do with the money.

Nature • Photography Mitch Dobrowner Photographs Of Storms

Photographer Mitch Do browner created a series of striking images of lightning storms in the black-and-white terms.

Ciera Swaringen: Teenager Covered In Hundreds Of Birthmarks Embraces Rare Condition And Fights Back Against Bullies

Ciera Swaringen, 19, was born with a rare skin condition that means 70 percent of her skin is covered in birthmarks. But the teenager has learned to embrace her condition and instead tells her bullies: “I’m proud to be different.”

Army Medic Rescues Hero Afghan Dog With PTSD Due to be Put Down

A female soldier who befriended a heroic bomb-hunting dog in Afghanistan tracked down her comrade and gave him a new home after he became too timid to serve on the front lines.

Angie McDonnell, 40, a reservist who served in war-torn Helmand province as a medic, became ‘best friends’ with four-year-old Vidar while the two were based at Camp Bastion.