Knock knock. Who's there? • More Ruby Ridge rememberance • Minty fresh on the Rathdrum Prairie • Where'd all the West Nile go? • Jobs, jobs and more jobs in Madison County • Boise's ultimate geek

Knock knock. Who's there?

Research by a Washington State University linguist found that people who tell bad jokes often endure "an astonishing outpouring of hostility from the listeners."

"The predominant verbal reaction to failed humor in our study was oriented exclusively toward attacking the speaker," researcher Nancy Bell said.

Among the reasons for the strong responses to bad jokes according to the study were that canned humor often disrupts the natural flow of conversation and that a stupid joke insults the listener by suggesting that he or she might actually find it funny.

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More Ruby Ridge rememberance

According to the Spokesman-Review, a Naples, Idaho, couple has listed on eBay a 1951 Chevrolet pickup they say belonged to Randy Weaver before his 1992 stand off with federal authorities on Ruby Ridge

As you read in the Newsreader yesterday, the anniversary of the Ruby Ridge shootings was 16 years ago yesterday.

Bret and Lori Skinner, the couple selling the truck, say they'll include with the six-cylinder manual-transmission truck a registration certificate showing that Weaver owned it from September 1990 to May 1992.

The eBay posting says the light-blue-and-rust flatbed has 131,854 miles.

The Skinners also have a business selling "memorial" rocks and walking sticks collected from Ruby Ridge. For $25, a buyer will receive a "golf-ball" sized rock, a short history of the incident, and quotes from the Bible. Larger rocks can be had for $35 to $50, Bret Skinner said.

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Minty fresh on the Rathdrum Prairie

Wade McLean and his neighbor Terry Nichols are the only two mint farmers in North Idaho, with hundreds of acres of the plant growing between the two of them.

Nichols and his brother, who grow mint on the Rathdrum Prairie, are already harvesting crops. McLean plans to start harvest next week.

McLean used to grow bluegrass. It wasn't just the field-burning controversy that has him looking to other crops.

With the costs of fertilizer and fuel rising, bluegrass is not the money crop it used to be.

"You have got to diversify and do things to make money so you can still survive," McLean said. He raises wheat, hay and cows, along with the mint.

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Where'd all the West Nile go?

The Times-News reports on the fortunately low number of West Nile cases in Idaho this year.

The paper says only 12 infections have been recorded by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare this year (although national statistics differ).

"This year we are, in a way, pleasantly surprised," Health and Welfare spokesman Tom Shanahan said Wednesday of the numbers. "But we know we're not out of it, either."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials tallied nearly 580 West Nile cases nationally by this time last year. This year, there have only been 236.

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Jobs, jobs and more jobs in Madison County

Madison County has put together a comprehensive plan that says within 12 years 8,000 jobs will be added to the county due to serious growth, mainly in Rexburg.

The reasons for growth are many, but Rexburg Mayor Shawn Larsen says the city is committed to keeping Rexburg a family-oriented community.

"Initially it was BYU-Idaho that drove a lot of the growth," said Larsen. "We're seeing a lot of growth in this part of the state. AREVA is going into Idaho Falls and the whole region benefits from the Idaho National Lab."

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Boise's ultimate geek

Hardware engineer Ken Haugen of Boise beat more than 100 other contestants at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday to win a $16,000 fuel-efficient, European-designed car.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Haugen, who designs computers for MPC Corp., triumphed in the three-round elimination Ultimate Geek contest for the second time.

Haugen emerged victorious in a prior contest, that time winning a high-end camera.