Empire State Building Shooting Suspect Kept Firing After Victim Fell

The gunman who triggered a wild shootout in front of the Empire State Building today gunned down a former work acquaintance without saying a word, and stood over his prone victim to pump more bullets into him, police said today.

The shooter, identified by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Jeffrey Johnson, pulled his gun a second time when confronted by two police officers a half block away and pointed it at the police.

He was cut down in a hail of 16 bullets that left Johnson riddled with 10 bullet holes. Nine bystanders were also wounded by what police believe were ricochets, police said.

Johnson, 58, was lurking outside a building adjacent to the Empire State Building, ABC News station WABC in New York reported. The building housed Hazan Imports Corp., which had once contracted with Johnson to design T-shirts, police told WABC.

Johnson's relationship with the company ended bitterly a year ago in a dispute with the company's account executive, Steven Ercolino, 41, police said.

A friend of Ercolino's who witnessed the shooting told police that she noticed Johnson, who was wearing a suit and carrying a black bag, outside the building. She saw him walk up to Ercolino and without saying a word, fire five times at the victim and keep firing as Ercolino slumped to the ground, police told WABC.

Ercolino's father was heartbroken.

"Steven was a wonderful son. He was very good son and person," Frank Ercolino of Warwick, N.Y., told ABC News.

Johnson calmly walked away from the shooting, the witness told police, but New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said he was followed by a construction worker. The worker alerted two New York Police Department officers who confronted Johnson.

Johnson pulled his gun again, held the gun chest high and extended his arm, police told WABC.

The two cops, who were about eight feet away from Johnson, opened fire, killing Johnson.

"He tried to shoot at the cops," Bloomberg said. "We do not know if he got any shots off."

Police told WABC Johnson had a .45-caliber handgun and there was an extra clip of bullets in his bag.

Johnson was struck at least seven times and some of the 10 bullet holes were exit wounds, authorities said.

The nearby curb was lined with large cement flower pots meant to thwart an attempted car bomb, and some were damaged, WABC reported.

Witness George King told ABC News he watched several people around him struck by bullets.

"I heard multiple gunshots, I'd say about 12 of them," he said. "I thought they were firecrackers, at first. I didn't know what was going on. Everyone started running for cover along with me. The girl that was running next to me fell down to the pavement and, when I looked at her, I could see she had been hit in the leg. She was bleeding from the leg.

"I noticed about five people who had been struck on the sidewalk or the street," he said.

Another witness to the shooting, Cyrus Balanlayos, told ABC News he was on a bus just outside the Empire State building when he heard several very quick gunshots.

"I looked up and saw hundreds of people running north. It seemed like a Godzilla film," Balanlayos said. "I saw two bodies on the ground right in front of the bus."

Balanlayos said that after he got off the bus he saw another two other people who appeared to have been shot -- a man and a woman.

"All I heard was, 'Oh my god, Oh my god,'" he said.

Police told WABC that Johnson legally bought his gun in Sarasota, Fla., in 1991. He illegally brought it to New York City, which has strict gun laws.

Military to test hypersonic jet which could zip across the U.S. within an hour

A superfast jet which could fly from L.A. to New York City in less than 1 hour perhaps one move closer to fact after a vital test this week. The X-51A WaveRider, an unmanned aircraft which could reach speeds up to Mach 6 would be launched from the wing of a B-52 bomber high above the Pacific Ocean. The Wave-Rider is predicted to zip up into the environment and fly at hypersonic speeds 3,600 mph for 300 seconds, before breaking up into the ocean.

In case successful, it may be the longest jaunt for the test aircraft. The development of Wave-Rider may well lead to improvement on a passenger jet that may theoretically travel across the U.S. in 46 minutes. Attaining sustained hypersonic flight is much like going from propeller-driven aircraft to jet aircraft. However beyond passenger flights, attaining hypersonic speeds may also result in the development of the next generation of missiles, space vehicles and military aircraft, the Times points out. The Wave-Rider program had a concern in June of 2011 when the test vehicle in the same test to the one planned for Tuesday did not succeed to reach full power.

The Pentagon stated it invested about $2 billion on technology and engineering around hypersonic flight during the last decade, the Times reports. This program is expected to cost $140 million, according to www.globalsecurity.org, a military policy research website. If you are holding score, the Concorde, a supersonic airliner, crossed the Atlantic at 1,350 mph. It might take on about 3.5 hours, about twice as fast as up-to-date commercial airlines. The Concorde was retired in 2003.

 

courtesy: www.dreamzs.net
Military to test hypersonic jet which could zip across the U.S. within an hour

Rio de Janeiro Gears up for '16 Olympics After Brazil's Record Showing

London put on a show, so did Beijing four years ago, but now it's Rio's turn to throw a carnival-style extravaganza.For all those beach volleyball players who thought Horse Guards Parade transformed itself into the sport's best Olympic venue yet, wait until they hit the sand in Brazil in four years.

"Rio! Rio! Rio!" Brazilian beach volleyball star Emanuel said after winning a silver medal last week. Emanuel plans to be there as a fan by then, his international playing days over.

Yes, the Brazilians have long begun envisioning their Olympics.

With London saying goodbye to a Summer Games that played to wide acclaim, the Olympic baton passes to Rio de Janeiro. And with it comes a whole lot of work for the 2016 hosts. Not to mention loud music and fanfare.London's show will prove a tough act to follow, but Rio will be looking to dazzle the world with its beaches and breathtaking views while dealing with the daunting challenge of getting a city ready for the world's most sweeping sports event.

Large-brimmed Brazilian hats sporting the 2016 logo showed up four years early in London. Along with thousands of party-ready Brazilian fans providing the perfect preview of what's next for the world to see.Leonardo Gryner, CEO of Rio de Janeiro's organizing committee, has given off some hints of what to expect."In Brazil, as you know, we like to party," Gryner said at a news conference.Construction in Rio, at a cost of roughly $15 billion, began on Olympic Park and Olympic Village in June and all venues are expected to be completed by 2015.

Carlos Carbajo turned up for a late pub lunch Sunday at St. Stephen's Tavern near Westminster Abbey after watching Brazil lose the men's volleyball final to Russia. He has many friends from Brazil and got into the spirit by sporting a Brazilian flag neckscarf for the occasion at Earls Court.

"For a few minutes I was picturing myself in the Rio carnival," said Carbajo, a 26-year-old Spaniard who has lived in London for nearly two years. "As soon as I got to the Earls Court area, I was overwhelmed and excited by the Brazilians. They created the proper atmosphere, and they are so passionate. Many of them were wearing the logo for 2016 on oversized hats. They are preparing for the Olympics in Rio."

And if people thought those Brazilian costumes were crazy in London — green and yellow wigs, flag leggings, shawls and face paint — wait until those outfits are kicked up a notch once the games come to home soil.

Brazil's victorious women's volleyball team gave quite a glimpse of what's ahead. The Brazilians stunned the favored Americans on Saturday, then held an hour-long party at Earls Court, celebrating South America style.

Moments after winning a second straight Olympic championship, the players formed a circle with arms around each other as they jumped up and down. Several players moved to the middle as the circle danced some more. As they marched back in for the medal ceremony, they clapped and sang repeatedly, "The champion is back! The champion is back!" Several jumped onto the referee's stand while others somersaulted across the court.

"I'm so happy, we're double Olympic champions!" star player Jaqueline Carvalho said.And the Brazilians are certain to have quite a welcome home when they return to a country with Rio already on its mind.

Record Medal Showing

Brazil won a record number of medals at the London Games and is aiming for a top-10 finish at the 2016 Games in Rio, when athletes will be competing at home backed by unprecedented funding.

Team Brazil won 17 medals overall in London, two more than it did in 2008 in Beijing and 1996 in Atlanta. It finished with the same three gold medals as in Beijing, two short of its record from the 2004 Athens Games, when Brazil was 16th overall."We reached our goal," said Marcus Vinicius Freire, the Brazilian Olympic Committee's top sports director. "It's within the numbers that we had predicted."Officials had expected Brazil to win at least 15 medals at the London Games.Yane Marques won Brazil's final medal when she finished third in the modern pentathlon on Sunday.

Among the highlights of Brazil's participation in London were Sarah Menezes' victory in the 48-kilogram division for the country's first gold in women's judo; Arthur Zanetti's still rings title for the nation's first medal in gymnastics; and the women's volleyball team repeating as Olympic champions.In addition to the three gold medals, Brazil won five silver and nine bronze.The Brazilian committee said it has already identified some of the sports in which the country will need to improve in order to finish in the top 10 in Rio. The committee wants Brazilian athletes making more finals, particularly in swimming and athletics."The number of finals overall deserve our attention," Freire said. "We made 41 in Beijing and only 35 here."Brazil didn't win a single medal in athletics this year, and only two in swimming — a silver for Thiago Pereira and a bronze by Cesar Cielo.

Earthquake, aftershocks jolt Southern California

A temblor with a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 that struck two miles from Yorba Linda, Calif., Tuesday night was followed by what appeared to be several aftershocks, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The first earthquake struck 5.1 miles below the surface at about 11:23 p.m., according to USGS.At 11:25 p.m., a quake estimated at magnitude 2.7 struck in the same area, centered two miles from Yorba Linda. The third temblor -- a magnitude 1.2 -- struck at about 11:41 p.m. and was centered one mile from Yorba Linda.Five more quakes followed in the next 50 minutes, USGS reports. All of them were within two miles of Yorba Linda and ranged from magnitude 1.4 to 2.1.

The initial quake's epicenter was located five miles from Placentia; 6 miles from Chino Hills and 8 miles from Orange. The LA Civic Center was 29 miles away from the quakes epicenter.There were no injuries or damage immediately reported following the quake, but all fire resources were placed in "Emergency Earthquake Mode," Matt Spence of the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an email statement Tuesday night.

Firefighters from all 106 neighborhood stations on Tuesday night were surveying 470 square miles in the Greater Los Angeles area, Spence said, inspecting residential buildings, schools, powerlines and transportation infrastructures.By 12:15 a.m., the Emergency Earthquake Mode was lifted and fire officials said they did not find any signficant damage or reports of injuries.Within minutes, hundreds of NBCLosAngeles.com Twitter followers and Facebook fans reported feeling the shallow quake.

"Strong jolts in Whittier. Not looking forward to any after shocks," YeaMe Ceazon wrote on the NBCLA Facebook page. The shallow quake was felt from the Inland Empire to the coast. Residents in Fontana, Anaheim, Torrance, Hollywood, Long Beach and Burbank also reported feeling the quake."I suddenly heard a loud thud coming from what sounded like the roof on my garage and then the whole garage started shaking and creaking," said Jose, in Burbank.

"I started to feel my bed shake and I was like, not again, and then I heard it pop, like a popping sound. And it just kept shaking, shaking, shaking and soon as I got up to get dressed it stopped," said Daphne, in Bellflower. "I was lying on my livingroom floor of my mobile home in Hermosa Beach, watching the Olympics, when I felt some distinct shaking, light shaking, but it felt like a steady 10-second or so shaking," Karen told NBCLosAngeles.com in an email.

NASA's Mars Rover Crashed Into A DMCA Takedown

NASA’s livestream coverage of the Curiosity rover’s landing on Mars was was practically as flawless as the landing itself, a refreshing alternative to all that troubled Olympics coverage. The broadcast – full of suspense, lucky peanut-eating, and ecstatic congratulations – was slow and hard to reach at times, but NASA servers never failed. Along with burnishing its online publicity credentials, NASA had prepared for a global audience of millions, But NASA couldn’t prepare for everything.

London 2012 Hurdles: Liu Xiang stumbles once again in men's 110 meter event

The London 2012 hurdles, at least from the men's side, will be missing one of its biggest faces as Liu Xiang once again fell on the biggest stage. He could only limp to the finish and kiss the final 10th hurdle.

Liu stumbled into the first hurdle Tuesday morning, fell to the track and stayed down for a few moments, clutching his lower right leg. He got up and tried to head to the nearest exit but was pointed back to the race area, so he managed to make his way the length of the race route the only way he could, using his one good leg.

 When that slow, awkward trek was complete, another hurdler, Balazs Baji of Hungary, went over and raised Liu's hand in the air, as if to signify he was the winner.

"I respect him. I like him," said Baji, fifth in their heat. "It must be really bad for him. I'm really sorry. I didn't say anything. I just couldn't say anything."

Liu's mistake could cost China dearly, which entered Tuesday with a narrow lead over the United States in the medal count.

Other competitors went over to offer handshakes of condolences, before Britain's Andrew Turner and Spain's Jackson Quinonez helped Liu into a waiting wheelchair so he could be taken away from the track.

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," said Turner, who won their heat in 13.42 seconds. "I rate him as one of the best hurdlers we've had in the world ever. I don't like to see that kind of thing."

Four years ago in Beijing, Liu's Olympics ended after two full strides, when he withdrew from his preliminary heat with right foot and hamstring injuries, disappointing his country of more than 1 billion people.

At the 2004 Athens Games, Liu became the first man from China to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field. He backed that up with the 2007 world title, only increasing expectations for another triumph on home soil at Beijing in 2008, one of the main story lines in the lead-up to those Olympics.

He was — and, indeed, still is — China's only track and field superstar. But he's been more than that, too: One of China's most recognizable faces, endorsing shoes and cars and all manner of other products. But in front of a packed Bird's Nest, he never even made it to the first hurdle.

So since winning his Olympic title eight years ago, Liu has not successfully cleared a single Summer Games hurdle.

"For him to push himself and come back ... and for this to happen — it's really sad for any athlete," Usain Bolt said after slowing to a jog and still easily winning his 200-meter qualifying heat Tuesday.

Liu's rivalry with current world-record holder and 2008 Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba was supposed to be a highlight of the London track schedule. Robles advanced easily Tuesday, winning his heat in 13.33 seconds.

What will be remembered about Tuesday, of course, was Liu's exit.

"It was just terrible for that to happen to one of the best hurdlers of all time. It was just a tragedy. I hope he's OK," said U.S. hurdler Aries Merritt, who won his heat in 13.07 seconds, the best qualifying time.

"In the hurdles, if you hit a hurdle, to recover is almost impossible. Everyone here is so great — this is the Olympic Games. Everyone here is here to compete. It's just a shame that it had to happen to Liu. I was looking forward to competing against him."

Indian Treasures Gold Coins, valuable stones found in Kerala Temple

A treasure to be believed billions of rupees have been found inside a temple in Kerala, India; and still counting as the search continues. The Times of India reported on July 3, 2011, a committee selected by the country’s Supreme Court has been discovering the treasure found inside the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum for the past six days.

Several statues idol made of pure gold, with each weigh about 1 kg were found; along with bags of gold coins and valuable stones inside a vault called Chamber A. The discovered treasure also comprises 1,200 gold chains, Belgium diamonds, golden plates, rubies and emeralds; as well as an 18-foot-long jewelry weighing about 35 kg.

We are still to open one more secret room which has not been opened for nearly 140 years,” said by Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar in Khaleej Times on Saturday. There are six vaults inside the Kerala temple and were distincted A to F in the shrine, with Chambers A and B cellars were last opened in 1872. Meanwhile, Indian officials said that it would be really difficult now to put precise value on the treasures found but it is being predictable to reach over Rs750 billion or US$16 billion and still counting.

Fish with Human Teeth Discovered In Lake 2012

Fish with Human Teeth Discovered in Lake 2012 and other pictures of fishes with caught previously. A different fish which has human teeth was evident in june 2012, in Lake Lou Yaeger, Litchfield, Illinois. A lot of people are freaked of this hazardous surprising strange fish, which first was labeled as a piranha, however when they grabbed it and viewed its teeth they were surprised: human like teeth! It appears that somebody dumped this intimidating odd fish in the lake, however no one understands the quantity of them are there.

Currently the individuals from Litchfield are too frightened to swim in the lake, however the biologists promise them which they must not worry, because this fish is not harmful to humans. The strange fish was recognized as the Pacu fish, which usually lives in the Amazon. It is not going to stay alive the winter in Illinois. Below you can observe the fish in the image, along with what the individual’s state about it. In 2009 so called ‘vampire’ fish was introduced by National Geographic, together with a fish which has human teeth, the Pacu fish. Here’s a picture of the Pacu fish:

Haemorrhoids (Piles)

Haemorrhoids are dilated veins in the anus the opening to the bowels, that may become inflaced and painful. They are caused by anything that increases blood volume in the abdomen, such as constipation or straining when opening the bowels, overweight and pregnancy. You do not get haemorrhoids from sitting on radiatiors. Symptoms of haemorrhoids are itching, bleeding, soreness and, often, intense pain on coughing, laughing or going to the lavatory. The best way of protecting against haemorrhoids is to make sure that you are getting enough fibre in your diet. This can also be an effective way of treating them in the early stages, when suppositories and hot baths tend only to offer temporary relief. More advanced cases, however, may require the application of elasticated bands to cut off circulation, injections as for varicose veins of surgery.

Chloasma (Melasma)

This is a blotchy darkening of the pigmentation in the skin that usually appears on the cheeks just below the eyes, above the lip, on the forehead, in the armpits, on the nipples and around the genital area. It occurs in as many as one third of all women on the pill and is not uncommon in the last three months of pregnancy. While it will fade in time, chloasma is aggravated and rendered more noticeably by exposure to bright sun light. Keep out of the sun as much as possible, avoid sun lamps and use an efficient sun block. You can sometimes counteract the darkening by bleaching the skin, but results are not always good and may even leave the skin looking botchier than before.

Aquarius, World's Only Undersea Lab, Endangered by Budget

Sixty feet down in the waters off Key Largo, Fla., the water around National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius laboratory is clear and warm and blue. Marine scientists -- aquanauts -- have been coming to live in this underwater habitat since 1993.

But the future of Aquarius is, at the moment, dark and clouded. The lab, the only one of its kind in the world, has fallen victim to budget cuts from Washington. NOAA was under orders to tighten up, and the $3 million annual budget for Aquarius was eliminated.

"There were signals that the budget was tight, but we didn't think it would be zeroed out," said Thomas Potts, Aquarius' director at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, which has operated the lab for NOAA. "By the end of July we will have lost two permanent and three temporary staff members and will no longer be mission-ready."

"Mission-ready," as Potts put it, means keeping the lab in condition to be a safe habitat for up to six visitors at a time. The lab, a 48-foot-long cylinder, made it possible for ocean scientists to study coral reefs or other ocean life, typically on 10-day "missions."

The lab has basic amenities -- bunk beds, laptops, a mini-kitchen -- but its greatest advantage is that scientists do not have to dive from the surface, do their work and come back up repeatedly. That protects them from the bends, the debilitating condition that can happen if one surfaces too quickly and nitrogen bubbles form in one's muscles.

More than 100 groups of divers have gone to live in Aquarius in the last two decades, studying biology and the ocean environment. NASA used Aquarius for its own missions, called NEEMO -- a chance for astronauts and engineers to get practice at living in closed quarters like a spacecraft, with limited support from mission control.

But while the lab had an aura of adventure to it, and the scientists who used it said it was valuable, Washington is struggling with budget realities.

"NOAA's core mission is to conduct and support scientific research and exploration of the oceans," said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco -- herself a marine ecologist -- in a statement. "The Aquarius program has been a vital part of this research and we fully recognize its importance. Unfortunately, our budget environment is very, very challenging and we are unable to do all that we would like."

There is an Aquarius Foundation trying to raise private funds to keep the lab going, but Potts said its goal is $750,000 -- a fraction of what it would take to fund active work. One disadvantage the lab has always faced is that it's expensive to maintain; even when it's not being used, divers need to go down each week to keep its systems working in salt water. As it is, the lab's metal skin is encrusted in marine vegetation.

The lab's defenders say they hope a large donor will come forward. They say there are possibilities, but so far nothing solid to report.

"Unless we get some pretty good news," said Potts, "our staff is going to start to drift away. They're very talented people; they won't remain unemployed long."

Meanwhile, he said, a national asset waits on the sea floor.

"This is unique," he said. "This is one of a kind."

Google's Lightning-fast Fiber Network Now Live in Kansas City

Google is launching its ultra-fast 1Gb-per-second Google Fiber Internet and Fiber TV service today in Kansas City.

Google announced last week that the gigabit network was coming, and here it is. Lucky residents of Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, can pre-register now at the Google Fiber website and rally their neighbors to pre-register to get Google Fiber (Google is building the network by demand).

Google Fiber promises to be 100 times faster than the average American broadband speed. To put this into perspective, using Google Fiber is sort of like driving from New York City to San Francisco in under a half hour.

The Google Fiber network box that comes with the service has four 1Gb Ethernet ports, but you can also connect your computers over Wi-Fi at 360Mb per second. The network box also offers a gigabit firewall.

Google is offering three plans. The Gigabit + TV service is $120 a month, with a $300 construction fee waived if you sign a two-year contract. The Fiber TV service offers a large selection of network and some cable channels in HD, including Showtime and Starz. Along with the package, Google is throwing in a free Nexus 7 (which isn't easy to find) and a TV box that records up to 500 hours and eight shows at once on its two terabytes of storage.

If you only want the Internet service, that'll run you $70 a month, again with the waived $300 construction fee with contract.

A free plan is also offered, but limits you to 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds, and requires the $300 construction fee. This might work if you can't afford the gigabit service, since the average Internet speed is only 5.8Mbps anyway, but it's difficult to give up a service that's 100 times faster.

Imagine: instantaneous downloads, video uploading in the blink of an eye, and immediate file sharing.

Google also suggests Google Fiber customers pick up a Chromebook, such as the refreshed Samsung Chromebook Series 5. With an Internet connection that fast, the inexpensive web-centric laptop may make a lot more sense.

Google Fiber is expected to be installed to "fiberhoods" ranked in the top 50% of those pre-registered by mid-2013. I, for one, am hoping Google will soon roll out to more cities (New York, please!).

iPhone 5 front glass panel leaked

Parts supplier ETradeSupply has posted a video purporting to show the front glass panel of the much anticipated as of yet unannounced iPhone 5.

The screen area, measured diagonally, comes out at 4.065-inch, which seems to suggest that new new iPhone will indeed sport a 4-inch screen.

The new screen is 0.91 millimeters, about 0.1 millimeters thinner than the glass panel on the iPhone 4S. There are some other changes relating to the position of the receiver hole, camera hole and proximity sensor hole.

In a scratch test carried out by ETradeSupply, the new screen appears to be much more scratch resistant than the lens on the iPhone 4S. There is also evidence to suggest that the light transmittance of the new screen is much better than that of the existing screen.

Last month the same parts supplier posted a video which allegedly shows the metal chassis that Apple will use for the iPhone 5. This showed a number of interesting new features, including:

• Unibody metal chassis, which to me looks and sounds like it might be made from Liquidmetal alloy;
• Width appears unchanged;
• Longer body, suggesting a 4-inch screen;
• Substantially thinner design;
• Smaller SIM tray;
• Headphone jack moved to the bottom;
• Smaller dock connector;
• Larger speaker grill;
• The on/off switch, volume control and mute switch seem to be similar to those found on the iPhone 4 and 4S.

If these are genuine parts -- bear in mind that I'm not making any assertions that it is although the evidence is compelling -- then Apple has just made it much harder to get at the battery on the forthcoming iPhone. Replacing that would require removing the screen just as it did with the earlier models, but the thinner screens used today -- along with copious amounts of adhesive -- mean that it's a lot easier to break the screen.

Father's Day: which type of dad are you?

when dads everywhere take a break from the dusting – here is a list of dads, exemplary displayers of those many and varied virtues who have provided us all with a guide to life.

1. First Dad: Adam

The first dad had a particularly testing time. He was turfed out of paradise, he had a difficult relationship with his wife, and one of his sons killed the other one. Remember, too, that he had no best friend to complain to about them not understanding him.

2. Busy Dad: Genghis Khan

He fathered hundreds of children as he fought, rode, won and, how you say, relaxed his way across the vast plains of Asia in command of his fierce and fleet horsemen. Indeed, Russian scientists have estimated that he has no fewer than 16 million male descendants alive today, so keep a close eye on anyone you know who starts barking out orders, taking riding lessons and showing a disinclination to tolerate anyone sleeping in.

3. Relaxed Dad: Mr Bennet

The true hero of Pride and Prejudice, never happier than when he is in his library, alone, and not being bothered by anyone, especially Mrs Bennet and her marathon matchmaking mithering. Some of you will prefer Action Dad, showing you how to do this or that, with a lot of noise, and usually not doing it quite so well as he imagines. Others of us prefer Laidback Dad, ready, just about, if called upon, but much preferring to let you learn for yourself, which also means, conveniently, that he can get on with what he wants to do himself.

4. Good Dad: David Cameron

Some men forget all about their children, then unaccountably and suddenly remember them when they win the lottery. Poor David Cameron has only to make a minor slip and the world descends on his head. Consider, though, the complex dad-multi-tasking that must have led to this dad-blip. In there with two other families, deeply concerned about Europe's finances while at the same time trying to split the lunch bill three ways with appropriate reductions for extra chips: no wonder it all went horribly wrong. And, being a Good Dad, there's been no attempt to spin this one: no suggestion he had left her as a deposit or for work experience. No attempt, either, to subtly shift attention to Mrs Cameron: for this is the deal: every so often "Head of the Family" means more than those helpful tips on childcare to one's partner.

5. The Father of the Prodigal Son

The spendthrift of his inheritance who ended up broke and a swineherd before coming home and offering to work as a servant. And this dad, heroic in the way of dads, resisted the temptation to say, "Well, well, if it isn't Flash Boy," "What's that smell?", or, "Work as a servant? You're having a laugh!". No, he forgave him, told him he loved him and did the Israelite equivalent of sending out for pizzas all round, with extra toppings. Then the older brother, who'd stayed at home, working, started complaining about this reward for bad behaviour, in the way brothers do; and this dad said he still loved him, too, and that his inheritance was safe. All dads love this parable. They particularly admire the skill, economy and wisdom which led Jesus Christ to remain silent about what happened the next morning when it was time to get up and all that was evident of the both of them was the usual loud snoring and not a jot of the washing up had been done. And silent, too, about exactly what their mother said to the pair of them.

6. Most Unorthodox Dad: The father of a Boy Named Sue

7. Most Predictable Dad (often not in a good way): Homer Simpson

8. Most Awesome Dad: Darth Vader

(also gets Coolest Dressed Dad and Best Not Rubbed Up Wrong Way Dad Or He'll Chop Your Hand Off).

9. Most Interestingly Named Dad: Neville Neville

The father of Gary and Phil.

10. Best Dad who was also Pope: Alexander VI

Father of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia (and at least six more).

Finally, Most Affecting Dad Story: After President Kennedy's assassination, his young son, John, asked a visitor to his home: "Are you a daddy?". The man said he was. "Then will you throw me up in the air?" asked John.

Daring Nik Wallenda walks across Niagara Falls on a tightrope

There was "wind coming from every which way," mist so powerful it clouded his vision and an unfamiliar wire beneath him, but daredevil Nik Wallenda didn't let that stop him from becoming the first person to walk on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. He took steady, measured steps Friday night for 1,800 feet on a wire across the widest part of the gorge of the roaring falls separating the US and Canada, accomplishing what he said was his childhood dream albeit wearing a tether. "I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now," an exuberant Wallenda told reporters after his feat. Associated Press. Images of his feat.