Don’t Tell

Would-be teen robber asks clerk not to tell mom

Police said a teenager who botched a robbery at a Salt Lake City convenience store asked the clerk not to tell his mom. Salt Lake City police said the teen went into the store early Saturday morning and approached the counter with several items. As the clerk rung them up, the teen tried to sneak behind him and hold a knife to his neck. The clerk spun around with his hands up and smacked the teen in the face, knocking him to the floor.

The teen then asked the clerk not to call the police and then added "Don't tell my mom" before he fled.

Baby Blues

Woman allegedly tosses baby into SUV to block repo

A woman is accused of throwing her year-old son into her SUV in a failed attempt to stop the vehicle from being repossessed in Dallas. Krystal Gardner of Tool was jailed Wednesday on bail of nearly $3,800 on charges including child endangerment related to abandonment, no driver's license and no insurance. Electronic records at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center did not list an attorney for the 28-year-old mother, who was booked Monday.

Recovery agent Luke Ross told KTVT-TV that he was in the Ford Expedition when he saw Gardner toss the baby through an open window. He said the baby landed on the seat "like a kid bouncing on a bed."

Texas law bans a vehicle from being repossessed if a person is inside.

Police were called. The uninjured baby was removed, for placement with his father. Ross then repossessed the SUV.

Oh Rats!

Firefighters blame rat's nest for truck blaze

Firefighters said a nest built by rodents on part of a pickup truck's engine heated up and started a fire under the hood as the driver pulled into a parking lot. Ossipee Fire Chief Mike Brownell said a woman was driving the pickup Wednesday morning. It hadn't been driven in a while. WMWV-FM radio reported police and workers in a garage used fire extinguishers to put the fire out. No one was hurt.

Brownell said the nest was built on top of the pickup's engine manifold.

Call Ahead!

Robbers 'called ahead to bank to get money to go'

The pair called the People's United Bank branch in Fairfield, Connecticut, threatening to create a "blood bath" if there was not a bag of money waiting for them when they arrived.

But they were intercepted by police, who were already waiting on the scene when the young men arrived.

Police arrested 27-year-old Albert Bailey and an unidentified 16-year-old boy on robbery charges on Tuesday afternoon.

Sgt James Perez said the two Bridgeport residents turned up at the bank about 10 minutes after making the call and were met by police in the bank's car park.

Sgt Perez told the Connecticut Post that, in his opinion, the suspects were "not too bright".

"You can't make this stuff up," he told the newspaper. "They literally called the bank and said to have the bag of money ready on the floor because they're coming to rob the place."

It is not clear whether Mr Bailey and the teen have lawyers.

I’ll Raise The Money!

Drug-funded wedding

A British woman paid for her daughter's wedding with profits from her drug empire.

Leanne Walker - who bought and sold $128,000 worth of drugs in five months - involved some of her children and their boyfriends in the drugs operation which paid for her daughter Jamie-Lee Hurle's wedding dress, ring and cake.

Police swooped on the 41-year-old mum's London home the day before her daughter's wedding ceremony and seized the items.

A judge later jailed the mother-of-eight for four years.

Eat Your Greens!

Man, 77, ate hidden pot stash in squad car

Police in Iowa City accused a 77-year-old man they arrested on traffic charges earlier this year of swallowing his hidden marijuana stash while seated in a squad car. Authorities served an arrest warrant on misdemeanor marijuana charges Thursday on Howard Switzer, and later released him on his own recognizance.

Police said they observed Switzer making an illegal left turn on Jan. 31 and arrested him for driving with a revoked license. They say that while Switzer was in the back of the squad car, he reached into a coat pocket, pulled out a plastic tube containing marijuana and swallowed most of the contents. They said he also dropped the tube and a glass marijuana pipe on the floor of the car.

Authorities said Switzer has two previous marijuana convictions.

Fly Me!!

Woman accused of stealing plane and ditching it

A Santa Rosa woman was arrested for allegedly stealing her landlord's airplane, then abandoning it in a field after it ran out of gas. Authorities said a 27-year-old woman had access to the Piper Cherokee because she had been borrowing it for piloting lessons. But she allegedly took the plane without permission Tuesday from a hangar at the Sonoma County Airport.

Authorities said she landed it in a Modoc County ranch field when she ran out of gas, didn't report the incident and hiked to a nearby hotel to spend the night.

Curious residents called authorities about the abandoned plane, and deputies arrested the woman the next morning on suspicion of grand theft and aircraft theft.

Modoc County Undersheriff Gary Palmer said the woman was found with keys to the plane and admitted to taking it.

Get Ahead!!!!

Bald man paints head rather than wear wig

Philip Levine came up with the idea when he first noticed his hair was receding. He says he wanted to try something different because he didn't want to look like all other blokes with a shaved head.
And the 28-year-old doesn't, he thinks of designs and gets a professional body painter to realise them on his head -  they regularly take over two hours to complete.

He says he's had things raging from a smily face to giant wave on his noggin --  though he's not had a short back and sides painted on yet.

Speaking of the designs Philip, from London, said: "I wanted to express some part of my personality no one could see.

"I thought why not use my head as a canvas, paint and attached things to my head in the border of why my hair would be.

"Unlike a wig where you are hiding what maybe seen as a deformity what I do is tell people feel special, original and embrace what could be looked at as a weakness and turn it into a strength."

Philip says the designs by painter Kat Sinclair normally wow people but that some have more of an impact then others - such as when he had 1,000 Swarovski crystals individually glued on.

"Many people see it as an original art form and I aim to carry on inspiring and wowing people for years to come."

He is now planning a art exhibition showing off over 100 of his head designs including visual art films and busts of his head designs.

Bottle It!

Online ghost auction

A New Zealand woman has sold two "bottled ghosts" for $2,000.

Avie Woodbury from Christchurch allegedly trapped the spirits of an old man and a little girl - who lived in her house during the 1920s - inside glasses during an exorcism.

The auction, which attracted more than 214,000 page views before the winning bid was made, also sparked outrage within some communities who rubbished her claims.

One angry fan posted on the auction site: "I have two spirits in bottles at home. I think they are called Jim Beam and the other is Johnny Walker."

Since the exorcism at the property Avie claims there has been no further spooky activity in the house.

De-Caff?

Coffee powered car completes 210 mile trip

A car which is powered by coffee beans has completed a 210 mile journey from London to Manchester, just.

Dubbed "car-puccino" the vehicle used the equivalent of more than 10,000 espressos to make the trip - interrupted by filter cleaning and coffee refuelling stops every 70 miles.

The 1988 VW Scirocco was converted by BBC Bang Goes The Theory host Jem Stansfield, to turn coffee grounds into flammable gasses that can be used in the engine instead of petrol.

As the car arrived in Manchester cab driver tooted their horn and people waved and shouted at the car… they were probably trying to order a cappuccino

Jem said of the car, built to promote The Big Bang fair in Manchester: "It's important for kids to understand that power is not something that is mystically there, simply at the flick of a switch or by pushing a pedal.

"With the energy challenge that is facing the world, the more we encourage children to think about alternative fuels, where energy is stored and how it can be released, the better!

"This is one of the aims of The Big Bang and something that our Bang Goes the Theory team wanted to show in action. 

"Everyone recognises that coffee can give a person a bit of a boost, but many probably had no idea it had enough energy locked away to power a car!"

Book A Bed?

Nurses: 'Sex is not part of healthcare'

A Dutch nurses union has launched a national campaign to underline that sexual services are not part of standard healthcare.

The protest has been launched after a 42-year-old disabled man tried to dismiss his 24-year-old nurse after she refused to sexually gratify him on request, Reuters reports.

The NU'91 union said that the woman witnessed other nurses offering the man such services and the case has been reported to the police

A statement from NU'91 read: "This type of action is not part of the job responsibilities of carers and nurses".

The 'I Draw The Line Here' campaign poster features a woman covering her face with crossed hands.

Church Going?

Man 'breaks into church to watch porn'

Police have arrested a man who allegedly broke into an Iwoa church before watching pornography in its basement.

Charles E. Bentley, 55, of Grand Ave. is being held at Story County Jail on a $10,000 (£6,640) bond on a charge of second-degree burglary after the incident, the Ames Tribune reports.

He is accused of breaking into the Clark Avenue church across the road from the police station, gathering a number of items and going into the basement.

Bentley was found at 7am last Friday morning when employees of the Ames Community Preschool turned up for work.

Commander Mike Brennan of the Ames Police Department said: "He kind of made himself at home."

When the police were called, they spotted Bentley carrying a rubbish bin holding a flastscreen TV, electronic equipment, clothes and other items belonging to the church.

He is believed to have used the TV to watch pornographic movies found on his person when he was arrested.

Second Time Around!

Man run down by his wife... twice

A New Zealand man is recovering from injuries after being run over by his wife -- twice, local media reported on Friday. Sandy Telford ran over her husband, Terry, as she backed down the driveway of their rural property in the Hawke's Bay region, 350 kilometres (220 miles) north-east of Wellington, the Dominion Post newspaper reported. Not realising what she had done, Telford then drove her car forward, running over him again.

Police said the woman was distraught and too upset to speak to them.

"We are treating it as an accident," a police spokesman told the newspaper.

Ambulance authorities said the husband suffered moderate head, chest and back injuries, but was "conscious and talking" after the incident.

Bums Rush!

Adviser calls for naked boatmen return

A political adviser has called on a tourist zone in central China's Hubei Province to bring back its tradition of naked boatmen.

Vice secretary-general Yao Benzhi made the suggestion at the annual meeting of his Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Committee, Shanghai Daily reports.

According to Changjiang Time, Benzhi described the planned return as a restoration of local culture and a boost to tourism.

Some critics have accused Benzhi of pursuing money over dignity, but his plans received the backing of vice director of the Badong Tourism Bureau Xu Peng.

Workers originally hauled the transport barges in remote Badong without clothes because the fabric stopped them wading in the shallow water.

Captain of Shennongxi's boatman team Zhang Houfang, 44, said: "For thousands of years, we worked nude and never felt shame because it was the way we were."

He added that local boatmen are willing to work naked again, provided that they are paid accordingly.

Rubbers!!

Condom competition

Officials in New York City have launched a condom designing competition.

The US city's health department is keen to keep its residents' "excited" about safe sex and has opened a contest for people to sketch a special limited-edition wrapper design.

The winning artwork will appear on hundreds of thousands of condom wrappers.

The design is not allowed to be racy and the winner will be chosen from an online poll.

At the moment, the mayor's office gives away over 40 million free condoms a year in a bid to ensure people in the city are sensible when they make love.

Tit’s Up

Mom goes online to sell breast milk

A Winnipeg mom is looking to move gallons of surplus mother’s milk via the online marketplace.

With a freezer full of breast milk she’s been stocking away since her four-month-old son’s birth, Sara Wiens is now looking to offload it after she found out her son Simon cannot drink it.

He has an allergy to cow’s milk protein and is unable to drink his mother’s breast milk produced during the period when she still was consuming cow’s milk. The toddler can now consume his mother’s milk again as she has cut dairy products from her diet.

Wiens has put the milk up for sale on Kijiji — a classifieds website — and is fielding offers. She said there is no set price for the milk but hopes to cover the rental of the breast pump and other costs incurred, likely somewhere between $200 and $500.

Breast milk banks exist in Canada, but there is no such facility in Winnipeg to which a mother could donate milk. Wiens said she’d have to cover costs to donate the milk to a bank in Vancouver.

The bagged milk is all separately dated and Wiens said the first of it may have to be discarded by early spring.

Wiens said the milk is not pasteurized nor tested for disease or bacteria, so she understands people’s apprehension. “There has to be that trust there that I’m not sick,” Wiens said.

Wiens said she has heard of people selling breast milk for as much as $8 per ounce — far less than she’s hoping for. “I could retire if I sold it for that much because I have gallons in the freezer,” Wiens said.

Bare All

Top 5 naked sports: From topless tobogganing to naked volleyball

Naked Volleyball

Germany was involved again as two naked volleyball teams came together to thrash it out in the sand.

The ladies were saved some blushes through the miracle of body paint as the Austrians eventually beat the German team, in front of a surprisingly male-dominated crowd.

Playboy Olympics

This is the rundown of the top sportswomen to have featured in the pages of the world’s most famous adult magazine.

From Olympic figure skaters to American High Jump champions, there was even a special September 2004 edition of Playboy with a dedicated Olympic special.

Lingerie Bowl

This is probably the best Fantasy Football league we have ever seen, with girls taking to the field wearing protective kit, and pretty much nothing else.

The yearly half-time Lingerie Bowl has now been turned into a full on league, with teams set to line up against each other later this year.

I can’t see it being anything other than a hit Stateside and maybe it could be a way to get some more British sports fans interested in American Football!

Naked Windsurfing

Three brave surfers took to the waves just off the coast of Scotland and cast their modesty aside by baring all as they did so.

With the help of a few well-placed hands the guys managed to cover some bits up, but female surfer Louise had no choice but to let everything hang out as she rode the freezing surf.

Naked Ramblers

Maybe not a sport as such, but these guys will certainly cause some top break out in a sweat as they roam the countryside in nothing more than a pair of boots.

There is even a dedicated day in the US for people who love nothing more than to experience mother nature the way they believe it is to be intended.

Stuff & Nonsense

New travel agency offers the bear necessities

A newly formed Czech travel agency is offering escorted trips for pampered toys.

Send them your favorite animal and they will whisk it around the sights of Prague, taking photographs of it against backgrounds like Prague Castle or the Charles Bridge.

The Toy Traveling agency was pitched to a panel of local businessmen for a TV reality show "Den D" by 22-year old decorator Marek Hlavka last week.

The concept was inspired by the 2001 film "Amelie from Montmartre" in which the heroine has pictures of her father's garden gnome posed in front of various world landmarks sent to him to convince him to fulfill his dream of touring the world.

"As we start, we're focusing on north American and Japanese markets, where there is a huge amount of people owning stuffed animals," said Tomio Okamura, one of the businessmen who have decided to invest in the idea.

He and former Czech minister of information technology Dana Berova have agreed to invest an initial 150,000 crowns ($7,880) each in the project.

In the past week, the venture's website sendyourdarling.com has logged over 15,000 visitors.

"We are very surprised with such a massive interest from clients both from here and from abroad -- we really did not expect that," Hlavka said in an email.

One recurrent request has come from Japan where several toy owners are anxious to have snaps taken at a Bayern Munich match.

Others have been asking for pictures of their stuffed animals enjoying a picnic or a massage.

The cost ranges from 90 euros ($121.5) to 150 euros.

I Spy!!

Parents angry over laptop spies

A US school has been accused of spying on its students by remotely activating cameras built into their laptops.

The case has outraged parents and pupils at Harriton High School in Philadelphia, reports Sky News.

Parents of one child have filed a lawsuit against the school district in Pennsylvania.

They say staff told them the camera on the school-issued laptop had caught their son doing something "inappropriate" at home.

"This laptop is part of our life 24/7, it is open all the time," said Karen Gotlieb, who has a daughter at the school.

"I just received an email from my daughter, who is very upset, saying 'Mum, I have that laptop open in my bedroom all the time, even when I'm changing'."

Pupils say they are horrified at the thought that staff could look into their home life and have started putting sticky-tape over the camera lens.

The school district says it will fight the lawsuit. It says cameras were only ever activated to track its 2,300 laptops if they were reported missing, lost or stolen.

"The security feature's capabilities were limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen," Superintendent Christopher McGinley said in a letter to parents.

Money To Burn

Man 'saved after setting fire to cash'

A snowboarder has been saved from a ski lift after setting fire to his cash.

Dominik Podolsky, who lives in Munich, was on a ski lift in the Austrian Alps when it closed down for the day.

BBC News reports that he ended up being stranded 10m (33ft) high on the lift for six hours in temperatures of -18C.

During the night he began burning his paper handkerchiefs, business cards and restaurant bills with a cigarette lighter, before eventually setting fire to €120 (£105).

Podolsky explained that he had used techniques he learnt in military service to combat hypothermia, but admitted that he kept falling asleep and his legs went numb.

"I thought about jumping down, but then I'd have probably broken both legs and would have frozen to death," he said.

Podolsky was eventually rescued when he was spotted burning his last €20 note. He was taken to hospital and treated for hypothermia before being released later that night.

The 22-year-old has said that he is considering suing the company that operates the lift, but a spokesperson said it was not for downward trips and Podolsky had ignored warning signs before boarding.

In The Deep End!

Swimming pool 'bans children's goggles'

A swimming pool has reportedly banned children from wearing goggles for health and safety reasons.

Dozens of swimmers at the Aqua Splash Festival in Whitwick, Leicestershire reportedly had their eyewear confiscated in case it injured them.

One mother described the rule as "potty" and added: "The funny thing is that the pool even sells goggles at the front counter but bans children from wearing them."

Meanwhile, a father described the ban as "laughable" and claimed that it was more likely to cause swimmers injury, explaining: "You could see the kids at the end of the session - they all looked like they had been lined up and poked in the eye."

The festival's organisers said that they had introduced the ban after advice from the county council.

A council spokesperson insisted that the ruling was valid, explaining: "We have received advice from the Association For Physical Education which advises all councils that pupils should not wear goggles in school swimming lessons unless they have a medical reason to do so.

"The AFPE believes that children wearing goggles are at risk of injury, from colliding with other children or having goggles snapped back in their face."

The Amateur Swimming Association also supported the move and said: "Our guidance is that goggles should only be worn by children who suffer excessively from the effects of water chemicals."

Nailed It!

Japan's synchronised swimmers face nail art ban

Japan's synchronised swimmers can keep their nose pegs and sparkly costumes but will be banned from having brightly decorated fingernails or dying their hair.

Japanese officials have expanded their ban on swimmers to synchronised and diving disciplines under a policy that formally begins on April 1, local media reported on Saturday.

Swimmers could face lifetime bans if they turn up for competitions with dyed hair, elaborately painted nails or pierced ears.

The tough measures were drafted last year to prevent the country's athletes breaching discipline and looking more like rock stars than swimmers.

Male and female swimmers caught drinking alcohol or sneaking into each others rooms at Japanese training camp will also find themselves in hot water.

The national soccer team were recently labelled a "shambles" by the president of the Japan Football Association for not standing to attention during the national anthem.

A top Japanese snowboarder was the subject of a media firestorm for wearing the national tracksuit in a hip-hop style at the Vancouver Olympics in another breach of protocol.

I’m Back!!!!!

After a very severe storm here on Saturday night, 27th February, in the vendee department of France in which 15 people lost their lives…..I’m now back on-line to annoy everyone!!!!!!