Why do cheaters always lie? Do the two go hand in hand? If you get caught cheating, is it just commonplace to lie about it too?

Tests show that some of the testosterone in Floyd Landis' system at the Tour de France was synthetic and not naturally produced by his body as he claimed, according to a newspaper report.

The French antidoping lab testing the American cyclist's samples determined that some of the hormone came from an external source, The New York Times reported on its Web site Monday night, citing a person at the International Cycling Union with knowledge of the result.

The finding undermines the defense that Landis has stood behind since he tested positive for an elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone following the 17th stage of the Tour de France, where he staged a stirring comeback in the Alps to make up for a poor performance the day before.

…

Landis officially requested the testing of his backup urine sample Monday for an elevated testosterone ratio. If the "B" test is negative, Landis would be cleared. If it's positive, which Landis' lawyers say they expect, he could be stripped of his Tour victory and banned for two years.

Why do his lawyers expect the "B" test to come back positive? Do cheaters not lie to their attorneys? Or is this just speculation on their part?

Strange they would expect the postive result, especially when just saying so could be so negative.

Technorati Tags: Floyd Landis, Tour de France, testosterone, epitestosterone, cheat, lies, yellow jersey

The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to avoid eating raw oysters harvested in the Pacific Northwest as a result of reports that some of the oysters recently harvested from that region were contaminated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp), a bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness.

Until the threat of Vp from oysters harvested in the Pacific Northwest has passed, consumers are advised to thoroughly cook oysters harvested from that area before eating. They also should thoroughly cook oysters if they are not certain of the oysters' origin, or if they wish to further reduce their risk of infection from bacteria that may be found in raw oysters.

In recent months, there has been an unusual increase in bacterial illness associated with eating raw oysters from the Pacific Northwest. The illnesses are associated with the naturally occurring bacterium Vp, which is most prevalent during summer months when water temperatures in the Pacific Northwest are most favorable for its growth. While Vp can cause mild gastrointestinal disorders in healthy individuals, older persons and those with weak immune systems are at greater risk for serious more illness, such as septicemia (infection of the blood system).

[Source: FDA]

Technorati Tags: FDA, raw, oysters, Vibrio, parahaemolyticus, Vp, pacific, northwest

State public health officials are warning people on Martha's Vineyard about the dangers of a potentially fatal disease known as "rabbit fever" after six new cases were identified.

Cases of the disease tularemia, or rabbit fever, have occurred on Martha's Vineyard every year since an initial outbreak in 2000 sickened 15 people and resulted in one fatality, according to the Department of Public Health. More than three dozen confirmed cases have been reported on the island in the last five years.

Sounds serious.

Technorati Tags: tularemia, Martha's Vineyard, rabbit fever

Katie Couric had fellow passengers aboard a New York-bound jet on the warpath this week when, as their plane was about to taxi to the runway, she got out of her seat and begged the pilot to allow one of her late-arriving producers to board.

Now, I am no fan of Katie Couric's, but let's look at the facts here…

The door to the plane had already been closed. There is no mention they had left the gate. Where was the harm in re-opening the door?

Katie asked to talk to the pilot (probably because her producer friend on the phone was told the only way they could get her on the plane is if the pilot said so), and he agreed to open the door. Where was the harm in this? Sure, they may not listen to someone who is not a celebrity, but I still don't see any harm being done here.

While the plane left late, it still arrived 10 minutes early in New York. Again, where is the harm?

Why would anyone be on the warpath here? Because this involved Katie Couric? That's just a little immature isn't it?

I travel for my job, making 5-10 trips per year. Of the five I have already taken this year, I have seen them "re-open the door" two times, and not for celebrities. They did it for people just like you and me. On one trip they even held the plane for a family of four that was stuck in the long security lines in Atlanta. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and it doesn't always happen for celebrities.

Wow. The nerve of those airlines.

Still, our witness – a high-powered public-relations executive who rides the shuttle regularly – said he and fellow passengers were not impressed at the behavior of TV's top news personality, who got a whopping $60 million contract to jump from NBC's "Today" show to CBS.

"Using your celebrity in the post-9/11 age to stop a flight is diabolical," he raged.

Wow, Mr. Anonymous High-Powered Public-Relations Executive has no idea what the meaning of diabolical is. Some may define diabolical as trying to make a story where there is none, with no other intent than to damage the reputation of a well-known celebrity.

Technorati Tags: Katie Couric, Delta, shuttle, New York, Washington D.C., public relations, cry-baby

For those of you running WordPress, version 2.0.4 has been released. I have several sites that still run on WordPress, so I will be upgrading this weekend.

WordPress 2.0.4, the latest stable release in our Duke series, is available for immediate download. This release contains several important security fixes, so it’s highly recommended for all users. We’ve also rolled in a number of bug fixes (over 50!), so it’s a pretty solid release across the board.

[Source: WordPress Development Blog]

Technorati Tags: WordPress, blogging, platform