Don't worry, be happy......

There seem to be some times when taking on the "island motto" could do more than give you a chuckle during the day. It might very well keep you from being arrested.

On January 24 2008, Waterbury resident Arthur Rivet Jr, 30, had a bit of difficulty on Interstate 84 in Hartford CT. He felt that a trucker sharing the road with him evidently slighted him in some significant way. Rivet reportedly wouldn't allow the truck to pass him and then slowed his vehicle down so that he could throw bottles at the trucker.

There are some who would think that Rivet could have just chosen to calm down, put on some soothing music and took a few hits off his favorite weed and it all would have just drifted on by him. Rivet himself may now think that it would have been a good choice as well, since it seems that he wouldn't have had to go too far for the pot.

Police found a half pound of marijuana in his car when they pulled him over after the incident. He has been charged with possession along with several other charges. And to think......... he could have just sat the day out in a purple haze and avioded all the drama.

Don't be a victim......

"We don't want you to become a victim of your own device," it
stated.

Homework for some students at Kent University School of Architecture in southeast England became more than a bit uncomfortable recently. Their assignment was supposedly an attempt to sensitize them to the principals of ergonomics, the science of reducing fatigue and discomfort.

A copy of the assignment - entitled "Torture, was carried on the Website for The Architect's Journal. It showed a diagram of a Gestapo electric torture and invited the students to "look on the dark side of ergonomics." It went on to describe how the proposals have to be realizable in 2008 and not be something based in Sci-Fi imagination. They must also be built for the purpose, robust, well thought out and effective.

It added that they should try and use recycled materials and avoid using electicity, lest the builder face the risk of becoming a vicitm of their own creation. The assignment was written by Kent University tutor Mike Richards and only one former president, Paul Hyatt had commented on it so far. He stated that he was appalled by the topic that was assigned.

I am still trying to understand how creating a torture device, so long after the Medevial practitioners had invented some of the most creative and effective devices, teaches someone how to avoid discomfort. My submission might be a simple one........ the IRS tax forms......... pure torture to understand.

It was a drive-thru?

Tanya Coccia recently discovered that driving near a beef farm in the Boston MA area can lead to strange things. The aftermath of her drive-thru encounter was even stranger though.

It seems that two of the cattle had wandered loose from the nearby farm and gotten onto the road. That is where Tanya and her 14 year-old daughter "encountered" them with her car.

"It was alive and kicking and trying to right itself," stated
Coccia.

When emergency crews arrived they found that they had to euthanize one of the cows but the second wasn't seriously injured. It had landed in the back seat of Coccia's car after it crashed through the rear window. To make the return to the farm a bit easier for all involved...... they towed her car, with the cow still in it, back to the farm.

I would guess then, that when they state, drive on up and get you quarter pounder, they don't usually mean the whole burger, on the hoof.

Just not right.....

In Hamilton NJ, a civilian State Police employee has been accused of having a bad habit. That habit has led to his arrest on Wednesday of this week.

Wednesday morning, a custodian at the Grace St Paul Episcopal Church discovered one of the members doing a bit of after hours and misdirected worshiping. Evidently, Thomas G Findler had been sneaking into the church at night for the previous three weeks. The custodian chased him out of the church, stright into a nearby police officer.

Findler, who works in a local office for the state police was evidently sneaking into the church to view pornography on a nun's computer there. He has now been charged with theft and burglary after his late night "worship hours" have been discovered.

I can almost understand the need to view porn but come on......... on a nun's computer. It just seems so very wrong there.

Tarnished ring of blue

The prosecutors stated that they believed the ring of thieves conducted about 40 robberies from 1999 to 2001. They added that they would steal cash and drugs in Los Angeles CA , and then sell the drugs on the streets for more cash.

On Wednesday, William Ferguson, 35, was found guilty of 13 charges and acquitted of five counts. His brother Joseph, 33, was convicted of three counts and the jury was deadlocked on 18 other counts. They were convicted on charges including conspiracy to deprive people of their rights under color of law and conspiracy to possess marijuana and cocaine. Fifteen others involved in the ring pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

What is not so surprizing anymore is that the brothers were cops. William is a former Los Angeles policeman and his brother Joseph is a former Long Beach officer. The suspected ring leader, former LAPD officer Ruben Palomares had pleaded guilty and testified against the brothers at trial. Both William and Ruben had worked in the Rampart Division until they were both fired in 2003.

I am not sure how people are supposed to trust the men and women in "blue" anymore when it seems that they are more the criminal than the person living next door these days.

Lightbulbs are brighter.......

McMinn County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Shadrick pulled into the Sweetwater TN church parking lot early Saturday morning. He spotted a car parked near the building and decided to investigate it.

He found Jennifer Hunt, 35, walking out from behind the building. When questioned, she claimed that she was there to go to the bathroom. Her story fell apart though when she began walking to her car to get her ID.

It seems that she may have a bit of difficulty "going to the bathroom" with a crowbar in her pants. Shadrick was there to witness that same crowbar drop from her pants while she was walking to her car. After searching her, he also found a screwdriver on her and further investigation showed pry marks on the church door.

Hunt is now charged with possession of burglary tools and is being held on $2,000 bond pending her arraignment on Tuesday. It seems that she will have a few days in which to work on her future fashion statements.

Suffolk County Police in Ronkonkoma NY encountered another not so bright individual when they were responding to an alarm at M & J Auto at 1:55 am Tuesday morning. They found Jason Thompson, 17, hiding in a dumpster there.

After a bit of investigation, they found that not only had he burglarized the shop that morning but he had also stolen a "General Lee" replica Dodge Charger on Jan 23 at Continental Car Care in Lake Ronkonkoma. That car though had been found hours later when it was noticed parked nearby.

Thompson was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary in the third degree. Fortunate for him, he won't be charged with lack of brains or skill for thinking that no one would notice the "General Lee", even if it were only a replica of the car from the "Dukes of Hazzard"............... maybe down south it could hide in plain sight but not so easy on Long Island.

Just messing around

"I decided to try it because I thought all of the TV shows were lies, but it turns out I was wrong," stated Gavin.

The popular movie "A Christmas Story" exposed another generation to the thrills and humiliation of flag poles. It seems that some didn't think that it was anything more than fiction.

Gavin Dempsey and James Alexander, two fourth grade boys in Chesterton IN had seen the stunt in the movie but James' mother didn't belive that they would actually try and test it's truth. Friday morning though, while both were serving on flag duty at Jackson Elementary School, they put it to the test.

They did find out for themselves that toungues do really freeze and stick to cold metal. Billie Dempsey, Gavin's mom, stated that the school nurse had called her to say that the boys tongues were bleeding . She added that the nurse had asked them who had double-dog dared the other.

James stated that he planned to nurse his injured tongue with ice cream afterwards. One would think that both these boys would be doing whatever they could to stay away from anything cold.