Australian actor Jason Gann, best known for his role on TV’s dark comedy ‘Wilfred’, has been ordered to pay $325,ooo AUD in reparations following a violent outburst in which the star physically abused a government employed bus driver, Joseph Hosny, in 2007.

Hosny, who has since suffered from symptoms of chronic depression and anxiety and is now permanently unemployed, was accosted by Gann at the Flemington Race Course in Melbourne, Australia after he refused the actor a seat on an overcrowded shuttle-bus.

The TV personality repeatedly punched the 50 year old man in the head until he was forcibly removed from the vehicle by passengers, at which point Gann attempted to enter the bus via the door on the driver’s side, breaking a window in the process. Hosny drove away before Gann was able to successfully re-enter the bus.

At his 2008 court appearance, Gann pleaded no contest to assault charges and received no incarceration time but was subsequently sued by the state government of Victoria’s WorkCover workers’ insurance authority, now WorkSafe, for the cost of Hosny’s medical bills, a sum which amounted to $113,000 AUD. This claim was settled out of court.

Earlier this week, Judge Sandra Davis set the final cost of compensation at $325,000 AUD, and, in addition, ordered Gann to pay Hosny’s legal bills. The Australian quotes Davis, “[Hosny] is homeless, scared of people, has panic attacks and suicidal thoughts…I take into account that Mr Hosny is 50 years old and must live with the consequences of the assault for the rest of his life.”

Gann’s income, generated primarily by the Australian born, US adapted TV show ‘Wilfred’, is guessed at $182,000 AUD per six month American season. As a writer, executive producer, and creator of the original version, Gann would also have received an unspecified amount of money for his sale of the show’s rights to the FX Network in 2010.

So far, ‘Wilfred’, the American version of which co-stars Elijah Wood, has had two seasons in Australia and will commence its second season in the US at the end of June. Both series are based on a 2002 short-film, also co-written by Gann.

In the show, Gann plays a verbally pejorative, psychologically manipulative, sexually perverse, substance abusive, talking dog– a role for which he has received the ‘Golden Collar Award’, an honor generally bestowed upon canine actors. The American premiere in the summer of 2011 was the highest rated debut of any FX show in television history.

At the moment, the resurgence in media coverage of Gann’s assault charge has been predominantly restricted to Australian news sources. As a result, it is unclear how Hosny’s case might effect the viewer popularity of the show, if it does at all.

Image Courtesy of   Gage Skidmore

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The unused cold water that goes down the drain while while waiting for the temperature to get hot wastes a lot of water, especially in the beginning of a shower. The Cullector is an uncomplicated unit designed to collect the cold water and then mix it up with the coming hot water as it comes out of the shower-head. By using this unit, the wasted water would be reduced to a minimum, as well the heating time and cost.

As mentioned in The Australian newspaper, Cairns Post, this invention would save a single person around 26,400 liters of water per year as well as helping to reduce greenhouse emissions to 7.77 tonnes a year. These figures equal a savings of around 222.81 Australian dollars ($ 231.22 USD) from water and power’s bills per person each year for a family of four. This unit doesn’t need a plumber to be installed in your shower, and it doesn’t need external power to be turned on.

Also, the Cullector allows you to start and to stop the shower without using the main shower taps.

The Cullector was invented by Peter Cullin, who was an Australian musician from Clifton Beach, Cairns. He played saxophone around the Cairns resorts, and before that he played music in a cover band in Melbourne. After inventing this product, he became a teacher in the Australian New Enterprise Incentive Scheme.

This idea was inspired by one of his mom’s practices until she hit her mid 70s: she used to collect the cold water from the shower to water her garden around the house. After a drought invaded Australia during 2010, he started to think about ways to rescue water and the Collector was the result.

Peter Cullin has signed an agreement  with the Xiamen Springking Industry Company to produce his invention commercially and it meets the strict Australian, European and American standards. The Xiamen Springking Industry is a Chinese bathroom fitting manufacturer company that is known worldwide for producing fluidic valve infrared inducting sanitary items for kitchens and bathrooms.

As mentioned in his official website, the product will be available in the market worldwide starting in January 2012. The initial price for the Cullector is about 249 Australian dollars ($ 258.33 USD).

The invention was one of the winners of the What’s Your Big Idea Queensland Award by the Queensland Government and Australian Industry Group initiative and ranked on the twentieth position in the Anthill Smart 100 Awards; also, it was a Finalist in the Queensland Tropical Innovation Award.

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