Tuesday, June 21, 2011

News of the Strange

It is time, my friends, to update you all on the weird and strange goings on in the world of news. (As borrowed from my daily office antics).

For your entertainment:

Well, Looking over some of the weird stuff in the news. I found a few weekend stories that were really off the wire. 

My favorite, though, actually occurred in Seattle while I was there over the weekend. Apparently, one of the inmates escaped from the local prison and decided to go for a little walk. So, early in the morning, he walks up to a local cabin, still wearing his prison uniform, knocks on the door, and asks to use the phone. 

Now here’s where it gets interesting. The man who answered the door, just happened to be a guard who works at same prison this convict escaped from. He had just left work and was still wearing his uniform as well! 

The two struggled for a bit until the convict took off, but they caught him a few hours later. 

What’s interesting is that all this guy was in prison for was forgery and theft. No armed assault, no robbery, so why even bother to escape? 

Moving on, does everyone remember the Balloon boy from Colorado? His parents tried to make some cash by lying about sending their kid up to space in a silver helium balloon a couple years ago. Well now, it looks like  those same parents  are still strapped for cash because they are now re-opening bids on the balloon after saying that all the original bids were just too low! 
They opened the auction for the balloon at the beginning of June, suggesting a bid of $1 million, but since no one seems to want to pay that much for a shiny plastic sheet, their extending the auction. 

What I find amusing is that after two years and some significant jail time, this couple is still on the track to win fame glory, and cash. It’s obvious the ploy isn’t working, but their stretching as far as they can and then some. It’s ridiculous. 
This poor kid has got to be rolling his and planning his escape when he hits high school. Maybe he’ll use the balloon since his parents can’t seem to give it away. 
And speaking of rebellious teens, some idiot in San Francisco landed his butt in jail this weekend when he refused to pull up his pants. DeShon Marman, a football player at University of New Mexico was boarding a US Airways flight when the gate agent asked him to pull up his pants (apparently they were showing just a little too much). He told the agent to “pull them up for him” 

After that, he boarded the plane, where at least two other employees insisted he either strap on a belt or leave the plane. Finally, the captain of the plane told this kid to take a hike and that’s when the brat got aggressive. After a rather hefty exchange caught on camera by another passenger, Marman apparently injured a police officer before being arrested for trespassing, battery and obstruction but was released on bail. 
Now, to me, it doesn’t seem worth it . Just pull your pants up, man. If you want to make a statement, don’t do it at the airport. There are cops there. 

Also on my little list of summer don'ts: Don’t take your boa constrictor on a camping trip. I swear this story is right out of The Magic School Bus. 

A man from Addison County, MI was cited for violating park rules after he notified authorities that his 5' long boa constrictor that he keeps as a pet had escaped from his pop-up camper.

Officially, the park's executive officer said that the snake is young and probably doesn't pose a threat to humans.

That said, the scary part is that the park authorities still haven't found the snake, but say they are hoping to find it before tourists arrive for Independence Day.

Now, what I want to know is why this guy thought it would be fun to take the snake on a road trip. It's not like a dog that plays fetch and runs around in the woods. Does he pet it? Does he sleep with it? It just doesn't seem like the wisest of vacation choices.

Anyway, I shall attempt to keep you posted as I discover more on the idiots that continue to make life interesting and entertaining.