Thế giới của Sao: wings

Thứ Sáu, 29 tháng 3, 2013

Buffalo Wild Wings sorry after gun-fearing waitress refuses to serve cops

A spokeswoman for Buffalo Wild Wings told FoxNews.com that law enforcement officials are “always welcome” in its 840 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. (BuffaloWildWings.com/Bob McNamara Photography)

A Buffalo Wild Wings waitress refused to serve eight Virginia police officers because their guns were in full view in what the apologetic restaurant manager now says was a "misunderstanding."

The plainclothes Prince William County police officers stopped in at the Manassas restaurant on March 20, presumably to dig in to the popular chain's specialty, but never got the chance. An unidentified server told them they would have to put their service guns out of sight before being served. Scott Lupton, general manager of the store, said he heard about the incident from Daryl LaClair, a local man who contacted restaurant representatives afterward. Lupton denied reports that the county's Finest were asked to leave.

“She went to a manager,” Lupton told FoxNews.com. “But nobody was asked to leave. It was a misunderstanding and we tried to apologize for it. I’ll keep apologizing for it as much as I can.”

"I’ll keep apologizing for it as much as I can.”

- Scott Lupton, general manager of Manassas, Va., Buffalo Wild Wings

Lupton said he sent an “apologetic” email to LaClair, who could not be reached for comment early Thursday. Lupton also told the police department he was sorry.

“It was an apologetic letter for the misunderstanding,” he said, referring further questions to a company spokesman.

A Prince William County Police Department spokesman confirmed that the apology had been received, but declined further comment.

“It’s not really a department matter,” the spokesman told FoxNews.com.

A spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wild Wings told FoxNews.com law enforcement officers are “always welcome” in its 840 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“It is the company’s practice to allow credentialed officers to carry guns,” spokeswoman Angie Andresen told FoxNews.com. “We’re working with team members to make sure that everyone knows what the protocol is. They have apologized.”

It isn't the first time in recent months that an overzealous waitress has pulled rank on gun-toting cops. A Denny’s in Illinois made headlines in January when several detectives said they were told they couldn’t carry their guns in the restaurant. Belleville Police Department Chief William Clay later banned his officers from the eatery when on-duty or off-duty while still in uniform, despite assurances from restaurant officials that the incident was a misunderstanding.

Clay also issued a press release that identified the managers on duty and blamed the incident on “political stupidness.”

“This was an insult, a slap in the face to those detectives and to all of the men and women who proudly wear the uniform or badge and serve in law enforcement,” Clay wrote.

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Thứ Sáu, 15 tháng 3, 2013

Early birds sported 4 wings

Chinese fossils reveal that ancient birds had feathers on their legs.Science/AAAS
Chinese fossils reveal that ancient birds had feathers on their legs.Science/AAAS
Chinese fossils reveal that ancient birds had feathers on their legs.Science/AAAS

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More than 100 million years ago, birds living in what is now China sported wings on their legs, a new study of fossils suggests.

Researchers found evidence of large leg feathers in 11 bird specimens from China's Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature. The feathers suggest that early birds had four wings, which may have played a role in the evolution of flight, scientists report in a study published Thursday, March 14, in the journal Science.

Most scientists believe that birds evolved from other feathered dinosaurs; this belief is supported by discoveries of fossils of feathery birdlike creatures. In 2000, scientists discovered a nonavian dinosaur with feathers on its arms and legs, called Microraptor, which could probably fly. In addition, specimens of Archaeopteryx, a transitional fossil between modern birds and feathered dinosaurs, show faint featherlike structures on their legs, but the signs are poorly preserved.

'These new fossils fill in many gaps in our view of the early evolution of birds.'

- David Alexander of the University of Kansas

Now, leg feathers have been spotted in the 11 museum fossils that had been collected from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol formation in Liaoning, China, from a period about 150 million to 100 million years ago. The feathers are stiff and stick straight out from the birds' legs, and have a large enough surface area to be aerodynamic, the researchers say.

The fossils belong to at least four different groups, including the genera Sapeornis, Yanornis and Confuciusornis, as well as the Enantiornithes group. The findings suggest that leg feathers weren't just an evolutionary rarity.

The researchers also analyzed feathers of other birds and nonbird dinosaurs. Feathers covering the entire leg and feet first developed in dinosaurs, continued in early birds and later disappeared, the results imply. Birds gradually lost feathers on their feet and then their legs, and today, modern birds have wings on their arms only.[Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs That Learned to Fly]

Whether these early birds used their leg feathers to fly, and how they may have done so, is up for debate. According to the study researchers, the flat surface formed by the stiff perpendicular feathers could have provided lift and maneuverability.

"These new fossils fill in many gaps in our view of the early evolution of birds," animal flight expert David Alexander of the University of Kansas, Lawrence, who was not involved in the study, told Science magazine. Alexander agrees that the feathers probably had some aerodynamic function, "although whether as stabilizers, steering vanes, or full-blown wings remains to be seen."

Other scientists aren't convinced. Paleontologist Kevin Padian of the University of California, Berkeley, told Science magazine that the authors don't provide evidence that the feathers contributed to any sort of flight. In fact, the feathers would create drag that would hinder flight, Padian said. The birds may have used their plumes for courtship instead, another scientist suggested.

More studies are needed to nail down the feathers' function. Examining more fossils from the thousands in the museum collection will help, the study's authors say.

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