fwidman's Xanga

Using Your Head

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:07:58 GMT

OLD CATTON, England (UPI) -- British developer Abel Homes said the model home at its latest development comes with one very realistic detail -- a messy teenager's room.

Maggie Abel, director of Abel Homes, said she based the teenager's room at the Old Catton, England, model home on her own son's room when he was a teen 10 years ago, The Daily Mail reported.

"I've always found show homes are a bit bland and unreal, so we decided to create something that was more true to life," Abel said. "I just thought it would be totally unrealistic to have a teenage boy's bedroom looking pristine and perfect, so we deliberately made it as messy as possible."

"I managed to find a fake pizza, a plastic sandwich and an apple and made it look as if they had just been dumped under the bed to rot," she said. "I also covered the walls in posters and flags and spread around some old T-shirts and a pair of trainers belonging to the 15-year-old son of a woman I work with."

Transit riders drop trousers

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:14:29 GMT

PHOENIX (UPI) -- Mass transit riders in 24 cities, including Phoenix and Atlanta, say they rode pantless as part of a performance act started eight years ago in New York.

The No-Pants participants rode only in their shirts and underwear Saturday, acting as if nothing was awry, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, noting the international stunt is sponsored by the arts group "Improv Everywhere."

At least 34 people participated in Atlanta, including Patrick Carlson, a design-firm owner who wore shiny blue boxers that matched his suit and tie.

In Phoenix, more than 90 pantless people participated, ranging from gray-haired men in suit coats to young women with neon-colored hair, The Arizona Republic reported.

"We need more things like this," said Ken Weise, vice mayor of Avondale, Ariz., who was riding but not participating during a train ride into Phoenix.

My Kind Of News

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:46:30 GMT

VASSALBORO, Maine (UPI) -- The planning board in a rural Maine town has approved plans for a topless coffee shop, and by the way, the vote was unanimous.

The Vassalboro Planning Board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to approve plans for a coffee shop with topless female servers at the former Grand View Motel. The vote came after the officials reviewed the business' application and considered such issues as traffic, parking and lighting, WMTW-TV, Portland, Maine, reported.

Some residents welcomed news of a business taking over the empty building, which has previously housed bars and restaurants.

"I say, bring the money in," resident Kevin Goodrich said. "People need jobs and it's a good place to go. The economy's not very good right now, so why not do it?"

On the other hand, some residents expressed fear that the topless coffee shop would attract an unsavory crowd.

"We just found out about it this morning and we are opposed to it," Debbie Jordan said. "It's not going to bring in a good crowd, and we've had those kinds of things in the past with it being a bar and it can get very loud."

Now, I can understand a bar crowd getting loud, but a coffee shop??? Just how rowdy do coffee drinkers get, anyways? LOL

Homeless man ordered to wear underpants

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:39:09 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (UPI) -- A homeless New Zealand man accused of obscene exposure has been released on bail with one important condition -- he must wear underwear.

Ben Hana -- known in Wellington as the Blanket Man due to his wardrobe choice of a blanket and a loincloth -- was released on bail Wednesday in Wellington District Court after his Dec. 23 arrest for obscene exposure and cannabis possession, The Dominion Post reported.

Maxine Dixon, Hana's lawyer, said in her client's bail application that he plans to fight allegations that he exposed himself to children.

"He wears high-risk clothing. It's a way of life rather than a deliberate attempt at lewdness," Dixon said.

Dixon suggested the underwear bail condition to Judge Tom Broadmore, who also ordered Hana to abstain from alcohol use and to stay out of licensed businesses except for supermarkets.

Guide dog ate charity money

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:33:50 GMT

FRINTON, England (UPI) -- A British man said his wife's guide dog ripped up more than $350 worth of banknotes that had been collected for charity.

Gordon Webb said Lewis, a 5-year-old guide dog owned by his wife, Claire, said he had been put in charge of Christmas charity fundraising by the Frinton Rotary Club in Essex and one night he left the money out after sorting it for banking, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

"I came down the other morning and by the coffee table there were shreds of paper," Webb said. "I realized what they were and I thought, 'No -- he's eaten all the notes.'"

He said the Bank of England has agreed to exchange the damaged money for new cash.

"I just have to send it all off," Webb said. "Lewis will eat anything. When they're working, they behave impeccably, but as soon as they're off duty they're dogs again."

Bad recycling: Pay stub used as bank robbery note

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:21:50 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) - The robber's threatening note made a Chicago bank job easy to solve: The FBI says the suspect wrote it on his pay stub. An FBI affidavit said the man walked into a Fifth Third Bank on Friday and handed a teller a note that read "Be Quick Be Quit (sic). Give your cash or I'll shoot."

The robber got about $400 but left half of his note. Investigators found the other half outside the bank's front doors. Authorities say that part of the man's October pay stub had his name and address.

The suspect was arrested at his Cary home. A judge ordered him held without bond Monday. If convicted of bank robbery, he faces 20 years in prison.

Happy Holidays To All

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:46:16 GMT

This blog is going on hiatus. I am moving to a new house and the power will be shut off here. The telephone, so needed for the internet, will not be on in the new house until I can get Verizon over there to put in a phone line. God only knows how long that will take :(

So, in the event that this is a long hiatus, I wish you all the happiest of holidays, no matter which holiday you celebrate.

Stay safe and warm my friends :)

I Got Tagged!

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:26:03 GMT

So how do I like it, you ask?

1. Weather -
Hot! That's why I live in the desert!

2. Eggs -
Omelette style is best, although scrambled is okay too.

3. Movies -
Comedies or westerns get me to watch.

4. Showers -
I prefer to soak in a tub, actually. Maybe it's these old bones and joints I've gathered through the years.

5. Sex -
Yes, please!

6. Parties -
I haven't been to a party in years and I do not miss them at all.

7. Drinks -
Coffee with sugar. Real coffee, not that crap you get at places like Starbucks which wouldn't know a good cup of coffee if it fell on them.

8. Hair -
Long, past the shoulders for me. And my mustache and beard too.

9. Dates -
I am not allowed to go on those, my lover forbids it LOL

10. Kisses -
I don't recall ever turning one down :)

11. Cars -
Any car that runs LOL

12. Clothes -
Anything bright and loud. And a comfortable pair of shoes

13. Music -
Anything that moves me, from classical to rap

14. Bed -
Nice and comfortable and warm. Hate to get out of it once I'm in it.

15. Airplane seat -
By the window for me. I want to be able to see the plane going down.

16. Sunday afternoon -
Just like any other afternoon. Sunday is just another day of the week.

17. Steak -
Well done. I like my meat cooked. It's easier to eat it that way without putting in my teeth!

18. Vacations -
I'm retired. What is a vacation?

19. Coffee -
Black, with sugar.

20. Friends -
I have a couple of those still living.

21. Porn -
Lots and lots and lots!

22. Books -
Murder mysteries.

23. Workouts -
I go bowling once a week, that's more than enough exercise for me.

24. Movie endings -
I like those. It means I can finally get out of my seat, go outside and smoke again.

25. Gadgets -
I'll leave those to young folks.

26. Boobs -
Thankfully my woman has a beautiful set of those, as I have none.

27. Pizza -
Guido's! It's a local place and they deliver it hot!

28. Girl's pubic hair -
I love a woman that does NOT shave! Why do women want to look like a pre-teen? Worse, why do men like it? EWWWW

29. Oysters -
Never had one, never will. I don't do seafood of any kind.

30. Video games -
Yuck!

31. Chicken -
Fried, or popcorn chicken is great :)

32. Milk -
Only in my cereal.

33. Humor -
Offbeat or slapstick. I love the Three Stooges!

34. Computer desktop -
A picture of my two "girls"

35. Ice cream -
Vanilla, if I must eat some.

36. Dirty talk -
During sex is good :)

37. Peanut butter -
Creamy. Chunky hurts my gums.

38. Bagels -
Yuck!

39. Snacks -
Muncho's Potato Chips for me.

40. Women -
You can't live with them and you can't shoot them! LMAO

NJ woman sues Pa. sports bar for toilet seat break

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:41:17 GMT

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A New Jersey woman is suing a Pennsylvania sports bar and restaurant, saying she got stuck inside a toilet bowl for 20 minutes when the seat broke. Kathleen Hewko, of Delran Township, said she was in the bathroom at Starters Pub in an Allentown suburb when the handicapped toilet seat she was sitting on cracked and dumped her into the bowl.

Hewko claims in the lawsuit filed in November in U.S. District Court in Allentown that she had hip surgery prior to the Nov. 19, 2006 incident and was re-injured when the seat broke.

Her Philadelphia attorney, John Cirrinicione, says Hewko is not obese - she weighs 130 to 140 pounds.

The suit names Starters and Kohler Co., which made the toilet seat.

Representatives from both companies said they couldn't comment.

---

Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com

7 years jail for underwear-clad robber

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:09:25 GMT

HARTFORD, Wis. (UPI) -- A Hartford, Wis., man convicted of robbing a convenience store and fleeing in his underpants has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Patrick Bishop, 28, was sentenced by Washington County Circuit Judge David Resheske to seven years in prison followed by five months of extended supervision after he pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery with threat of force in September, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Thursday.

The criminal complaint against Bishop said he had entered the convenience store with a toy gun July 8. He shed his coveralls after leaving the store and fled on a bicycle with hundreds of stolen dollars stuffed into his underwear.

District Attorney Todd Martens said Bishop had told the court at an earlier hearing that he committed the crime to obtain money for cocaine.