One Way to Save on Gas
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One man is taking rising gas prices into his own hands.
Tired of feeling all that pain at the pump, Jim Jundt was so determined to rein in his spending on gasoline that he got out of bed early and rode his 14-year-old quarterhorse mare to work, The Associated Press reported.
Jundt lives 15 miles south of Minot, N.D., and works as a mechanic at Goodyear Tire & Auto Service in the city.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said he and his co-workers had been talking about rising fuel prices, and he joked that he would ride his horse to work if gasoline ever hit $3 a gallon.
His co-workers laughed, but when the price at the pump soared to $3.20 last week, Jundt headed for the barn.
He said he was only five minutes late riding his mare, Patty, to work.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While he worked, Patty waited patiently, eating hay out of the back of a truck.
— Thanks to Out There reader Shannon O.
Some Good Eatin' in the Hoosegow
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Lamb chops, steak and rice cookers were among packages of contraband intercepted by prison authorities in a recent crackdown, an official said Tuesday.
New South Wales (search) state Corrective Services Commander of Security Investigations Brian Kelly said he didn't see the need for visitors sneaking in food or cooking gear for inmates.
"Prison food is not that bad," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since the crackdown started in April of last year, almost one in 10 of 3,515 visitors searched for contraband have been charged by police or issued with court attendance notices for smuggling, he said.
One of the strangest packages of contraband found by officers contained nine lamb chops and 2.2 pounds of steak, Kelly said, adding that it had been thrown into a prison in Parramatta (search), a western suburb of Sydney.
In addition to the commonplace contraband of drugs, money and mobile phones, one person was stopped trying to sneak in a guitar, he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Forget the Wife and Kids; Man Saved by Pity for Dog
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian man was about to jump to his death from a highway overpass but changed his mind when told that his pet dog was dying, a news report said Monday.
The 40-year old man who recently lost his job had threatened to jump from the 33-foot bridge in Kuala Lumpur (search) on Sunday despite pleas from rescue workers that he think of his wife and children, the Star daily reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rescue workers quickly hatched another plan when they found his pet dog locked inside his car near the overpass, the report said. They told the man the dog was dying of suffocation.
"On hearing that his pet might die, the man began crying," a fire and rescue department spokesman told the Star. "We [then] managed to persuade him" to abort his suicide attempt.
Natural Problem Seeks Natural Solution
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (AP) — City officials have pledged to spend up to $10,000 to bring in goats to eat kudzu (search), which threatens to kill trees.
Officials have identified three areas totaling about 2 acres where the goats will feast behind fencing, beginning next spring.
Council members got an update on the project on Aug. 18.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The city is trying goats because it is believed they will be cheaper than using chemicals to fight kudzu, an ever-expanding weed considered a pest in much of the South.
The chemical approach would cost $16,750 per acre a year if 100 acres were treated, according to research by the City Council's staff. But the goats would cost only $2,500 per acre.
Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown said Peachtree City could lose much of its tree canopy if kudzu is allowed to grow unchecked. Kudzu has been known to envelop trees, eventually killing them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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