Spam Recipes

Enchilada Breakfast Casserole

12 oz can SPAM - cubed 1/2" 4 eggs
1 small onion chopped 2 cups whipping cream
1 small green pepper, chopped 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 small tomato, chopped 4-oz can diced green chiles
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 7" flour tortillas Picante sauce

Place about 1/4 cup SPAM, 1 tablespoon onion, 1 tablespoon green pepper, 1 tablespoon tomato and 1 tablespoon cheese on one side of tortilla. Set remaining cheese aside. Roll up jelly-roll fashion; place seam side down in greased 13x9" baking dish. In small bowl combine remainin ingredients; blend together with wire whisk. Pour over ehchiladas. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Heat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 50 minutes or until egg mixture is set. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to oven; bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with picante sauce. Yield: 8 enchiladas.

Ford Layoffs: Mood Turns On 12 percent Layoff Reports At Ford Motor Co

Ford Motor Co.'s plans to cut up to 12 percent of its salaried staff by August has soured the mood at the Dearborn, Mich., automakers' offices, employees said.

In the middle of a comeback, Ford has been caught short by rising fuel costs that have buyers scampering for smaller cars, as large car and truck sales which come with larger profit margins, have dwindled.

A month ago, everybody was feeling pretty good. Now, there's a lot of disappointment, one staff member told The Detroit News. They're not treating us like the hourly people. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

We hit the wall, I guess, another staff member said. What makes it so scary is that it's not like there's a whole lot of places to go look for new work.

Company spokesman Mark Truby said severance packages based on years of work at the company would be in effect for involuntary layoffs, but the company would not confirm precisely how many employees would be cut, the News reported Thursday.

Woman Lives Full Life in Iron Lung

When Martha Mason read of the death this week of 61-year-old Dianne Odell due to a power outage that caused her iron lung to stop working, she said she found it "appalling."

"It was sad news," Mason said. "When I read that article, I thought, it's so sad that something like that could happen."

Most anyone hearing the news might agree. But for Mason, Odell's death carried special significance.

Mason, too, lives in an iron lung. She has relied on the device for the past 60 years, ever since a childhood bout with polio left her paralyzed from the neck down. "I'm basically a head person," she said, a smile in her voice.

Now preparing to celebrate her 71st birthday this Saturday in her town of Lattimore, N.C., Mason may be the first to say that her life's circumstances have not been ideal. But she noted, in sentences cadenced by pauses at four-second intervals, that the apparatus has not kept her from living her life to the fullest.

"My story's been one of joy, one of wonderful experiences," she said. "It has not been perfect. But that's what people need to understand -- that I have had a good life."


While she remains confined to the bright yellow apparatus, Mason enjoys a steady stream of friends and other visitors at her home. She is a member of a supper club. And, with the help of a voice-activated computer, she has also written her autobiography, titled "Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung."

Mason has also been the subject of a 2005 documentary, "Martha in Lattimore," directed by Mary Dalton, a professor of communication at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"People hear about her and the documentary and they think, 'how depressing,'" Dalton said. "But it's really not like that at all."

Life in an Iron Lung

For many readers younger than 50, Mason's book or Dalton's documentary may be their first introduction to the tank respirator, or iron lung.

Reports of Oil Boom's Death Look Premature

After falling sharply Thursday and slipping below $125 per barrel in London earlier Friday, oil prices were recently rebounding in New York trading.

Still, oil's fall from its recent peak above $135 has revived discussion about whether the "oil bubble" has popped.

While it's undeniable speculation has contributed to oil's rise, it's premature to declare an end to the oil boom -- if only because so many speculators are betting on falling oil prices. Bubbles typically don't peak until all the bears throw in the towel, and we're a long way from that when it comes to crude.

It's also important to note that crude has had 20%-plus corrections in each of the last five years -- short, sharp corrections being classic bull market activity.

Fundamentally speaking, factors such as the weak dollar and rising demand from emerging markets likely have contributed much more than speculation to crude's ascent. Many oil exporters in the Middle East are using more crude as their local economies grow, meaning there is less oil to export, as The Wall Street Journal reports.

Finally, advocates of "peak oil" theory will tell you that oil's rise is almost exclusively about fundamentals.

Dean Kamen, Creator of Segway, Unveils New Invention

Famed inventor Dean Kamen is back in front among the tech elite this week with a new invention. The last time we heard from Kamen, he was unveiling the Segway, a product he hoped would revolutionize human transportation, and solve problems like pollution and urban congestion. But unlike the Segway, Kamen hopes his new product never reaches a mass market.

It’s a prosthetic arm that weighs as much as a human arm. It boasts the same range of motion, and the same tactile sensitivity. When the government called on him two years ago to build it, even Kamen wasn't sure his team could build it. In this video he tells us about the experience, what it meant for his career, and what he learned from the Segway experience.

One of Hanson brothers becomes a father

TULSA, Okla. - The drummer for the rock group Hanson is now a first-time father.

John Ira Shepherd Hanson was born Tuesday to Zac Hanson and his wife, Kate, at an undisclosed hospital in Hanson's hometown of Tulsa.

The baby boy weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

"I am so overjoyed to meet Shepherd," Zac Hanson said in a statement posted on the group's Web site. "There is not an audience or concert that could ever stand up to the feeling of meeting your baby for the first time."

Zac Hanson, 22, and his brothers Isaac, 27, and Taylor, 25, make up Hanson, best known for its 1997 hit "MMMBop."

A World Heritage Site

Stonehenge and Avebury were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986 for their outstanding prehistoric monuments. At Stonehenge, the unparalleled stone circle (3000 BC-1600 BC) is surrounded by a ceremonial landscape comprising more than 300 burial mounds and major prehistoric monuments such as the Stonehenge Avenue, the Cursus, Woodhenge and Durrington Walls.

Altogether, the Stonehenge World Heritage Site covers 2,600 hectares owned by English Heritage, the National Trust, the Ministry of Defence, farmers and householders. The Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan sets out a strategic framework to conserve and manage the site for present and future generations.

To explore the many monuments of the World Heritage Site, follow this link: Stonehenge World Heritage Site Interactive Map

For feedback on the Stonehenge World Heritage Site web pages or if you would like further information, please contact:

Stonehenge World Heritage Site Team
English Heritage, Wyndham House, 65 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EN
E-mail: isabelle.bedu@english-heritage.org.uk

Iceland rocked by earthquake

An earthquake shook southern Iceland on Thursday, reportedly causing injuries and damaging roads and buildings.

The 6.1 magnitude temblor struck about 3:46 p.m. (11:46 a.m. ET), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter was about 50 km (31 miles) east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavik, and was about 10 km (6.2 miles) below the Earth's surface.

It was unclear exactly how many people were injured or the severity of their injuries, Olli Tynes, a journalist with Reykjavik's Channel 2, told CNN.

A hospital in a town near the epicenter was also reported damaged, and some wings have had to be evacuated, he said.

There were no reports of fatalities, but "great material damage," Tynes said. Roads and bridges in the area have been closed.

The Associated Press, quoting civil defense authorities, reported 15 to 20 people from Selfoss, near the epicenter, were taken for medical treatment.

Iceland's emergency management agency has swung into action, and rescue crews were headed to the area most affected by the quake.

Tynes said he has been speaking to residents of the towns closest to the epicenter. "They said they thought the world was coming to an end," he said. "They thought they were going to die."

There have been no reports of homes collapsing, as most homes in Iceland are built to withstand earthquakes, he said.

Alti Mar Gylfason said he had received reports of damage to the road that rings the island nation. The quake was felt nationwide, he said.



"It was a little bit like you're sleeping in a waterbed, you know ... everything floats around," he said, adding that people poured out of buildings into the street. "This is not something we experience on a normal basis."
Although Iceland is seismically active, its last major quakes were on June 17 and June 21, 2000, with quakes of 6.5 and 6.4, respectively. The temblors damaged homes and buildings, but caused no serious injuries.