Open Thread ... Wednesday

Welcome to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion!

Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. I read the OT, but if you need to contact me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Comments

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Mr. Abbott and my fellow Costellos.

Only 2 months and 2 days until Christmas eve, and the in-Santa-ty is already revving up. There should come a time in your life when you admit that Santa doesn't jump down the chimney, but burglars never learn. Firefighters in Manchester England rescued a NAKED suspected burglar stuck in a chimney.

Meanwhile, in the 'burbs of D.C., Santa has been fired. Terminated. Shiite-canned. Donald Trump'd. The "beloved" (no relation to PattyPV) Santa of 18 years at Tysons Corner Center has been replaced. Employers want ever cheaper labor, and they can get an undocumented guy to work a lot cheaper. Just tell the kids the accent is northern Canadian, eh.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Eat me! No, really. It's good for you...
Why eating males pays off... for spiders. Female spiders who eat would-be suitors produce more babies, and those babies are stronger and bigger, than spiders who stick to more mundane fare, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And the merciless mother spiders waited until they had mated with another -- ensuring they would hatch spiderlings -- before consuming their new beaux, the researchers found.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Jungle Jim. Your spider story reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones jumping up and down and yelling, "Eat me!" in front of the intergalactic cockroach in "Men in Black." I love that movie.

[JUNGLE JIM]

It's probably the only chance I'll ever have to use that phrase on this blog. Can't pass up a golden opportunity like that.

[The Golfer]

Morning Keith, Jungle.

Hope yours is better than mine so far.
Long story.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Sorry to hear you're off to a bad start, Golfer. Remember, it's hump day, if that's any consolation.

[James Hart]

Morning, guys!

Golfer: I hope things even out for you. Sounds like somebody has screwed up something somewhere.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Good morning, Mr. Hart! I see from the posts you were busy last night!

[The Golfer]

Morning James.

Thanks for the good vibes. It is the daughter. We go by the dance studio for 20 MINUTES to pick up the recital DVD. And she turns into a thing since then. And I exploded this morning. She and I will have to talk. She is NOT going back, she thought about it last night, after this morning, I said no way in h*e*l*l.

[JUNGLE JIM]

The lengths predators will go for some hot teenaged flesh...
Man Gets 35 Years For Blackmailing Minors For Sex. A northwest suburban man who used a social-networking site to lure teenage victims into having sex, then threatened to post videos of the encounters online, was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in federal prison.

Michael Macalindong, 25, of Fox Lake was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman to 35 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

He used the Facebook site to entice a minor into having sex with him in August 2006 and then threatened to expose the nude photos to the victim's friends and classmates online if the sexual encounters did not continue, the release said.

Macalindong also videotaped another minor victim on two occasions and threatened to show the nude images to the victim's high school football team, and post them on Facebook, if the sexual encounters did not continue, the release said.

[The Golfer]

Oh, and I put a hole in the sheet rock.

[James Hart]

Golfer: Dang, it sounds pretty intense. I guess pretty much everybody parent-child has at least one of those arguments, though, right?

Keith: It was weird how much news happened last night after hours. Didn't feel right waiting on some of it.

[The Golfer]

Yeah, she and I have to talk tonight. After we both have calmed down. She still thinks there is tons of money just lying around. I keep trying to explain with the economy it isn't but just not making it through. Yes, it was over money she thought I should just give her because she wanted it this morning.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Take deep breaths, Golfer. And count to 10. She's at an age where she will test you. Experience with my daughter taught me that calm was my best weapon. It's hard to remember that we were young, testing, pushing limits once, too. And she lives in a much different world than we grew up in. I don't envy her.

[James Hart]

I remember getting yelled at over money. I didn't know why my parents couldn't just buy me a computer when I was in high school. They suggested I could go out and buy my own damn computer.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

;-) How did that work out for you, James?

[The Golfer]

Yeah, and this kid has her own money that she has earned, but when something like this comes along, she is broke.

I know, I was so busy this morning with trash day on tap of the rest, getting the dog set up in the garage for the day since it is going to rain most of it, and feeding and getting her off to school that I simply did not have a very long fuse.

Oh well, live and learn. I have finally had a chance to have breakfast at work, brought from home, had a decaf cup of coffee and have calmed down. I need yoga.

[James Hart]

Six years, a college degree and my own job later, I got my computer!

[JUNGLE JIM]

"This case has to do with a woman who is egocentric. She thinks the whole world should revolve around her"...
Prosecutor: Jealousy lit fuse for slaying. Mary Jane Fonder was a jealous woman whose emotional fuse was lit when members of her church paid attention to and helped a Hellertown woman and not her, a Bucks County prosecutor said Tuesday.

That burning fuse eventually led Fonder to fatally shoot Rhonda Smith in the head on Jan. 23 while she was working in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield Township, First Assistant District Attorney David W. Zellis said during his opening argument at Fonder's trial in county court.

Fonder, 66, of Springfield, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon.

When Smith was working in the church office on the morning of Jan. 23, ''the fuse that had been lit detonated in a complete and utter catastrophe,'' he said.

Fonder walked in with a handgun and fired two shots at Smith's head, he said; one bullet grazed off her forehead and the other went into her brain.

Fonder then closed the door, walked out of the church and got into her car and drove to Quakertown for a hair appointment and later went shopping for fabrics.

[JUNGLE JIM]

It's going to be one of those days....

[James Hart]

Be cool, Sodapop -- I took the duplicate down.

[The Golfer]

Need to check the astrology charts and bio-rhythms for today.

Or is it just the wind, rain, and the chill.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Short trip for police to make drug arrest. A Bucks County woman waiting to report a theft to police allegedly occupied her time by cutting up lines of heroin while parked outside the Pennridge Regional Police Department in West Rockhill Township around 1 a.m. Monday.

Paula M. Pisechko, 42, of Lower Barness Road, Warrington, was in the passenger seat of a van when a police officer walked up to the vehicle in time to see her cutting the heroin on a manila envelope, police said.

''It's not the arrest of the century, but it's a lot easier when they come to us,'' Police Chief David A. Mettin said.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

JJ, Bucks County sure is getting weird. I'm trying to work up a comment on the church/murder case with "Absence makes the heart grow, Fonder" but I just can't get it to gel.

[James Hart]

So, JIM, how is work going today?

[JUNGLE JIM]

48 years, 6 months & 26 days of life. First time I've ever been called "sodapop". It makes me feel all effervescent inside. Thanks, James.

UPDATE: Police in NC: Dead bear under Obama signs a prank. Authorities said Tuesday that a student prank, not a political statement, was the motivation for dumping a dead bear cub draped in Barack Obama signs on a North Carolina campus earlier this week.
Seven Western Carolina University students were involved, and possible charges were being discussed with the local prosecutor, said Campus Police Chief Tom Johnson. Police did not release the students' names.
The students told authorities they took political signs at random to cover the bear's wound and prevent blood from spilling into the bed of the truck they were driving.
They discovered a carcass of the cub, which had been shot in the head, while camping over the weekend and brought it back to a gathering at an apartment near campus Sunday night, according to a statement from the school.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Quiet around here. Mgmt. types have lots of meetings around this time of year. Busiest time is from mid-Nov. to mid-Jan.

[James Hart]

Because of tax time?

[JUNGLE JIM]

The final push to get the tax programs debugged and ready for release. I only work on the acutual program used in the offices, but other departments add "enhancements" and general data collection, security, web-base and cd-rom for retail, e-file etc.

[J]

Morning all

[James Hart]

Howdy, J! How are you today?

JIM: Do they introduce many unexpected headaches, too?

[The Golfer]

Morning J!!

[JoeJoe]

Morning all-
Good luck this afternoon Golfer. Keith said it best, your calm will win the day. And the answer to "Why," which she will ask 187 times, is, "Because I am your Father and I love you very much."

[James Hart]

Hear, hear, JoeJoe!

[Jellybean]

Golfer, I can soooooo relate to you today! At my house, I tell them, "because we're poor". When they ask why we're poor I tell them, "because our money is for you to go to college someday". They don't have a clue what that means yet - but they've memorized the mantra.

[James Hart]

That's the best gift you can give your kids -- the understanding that spending all of their cash on every frigging thing that enchants them now is A VERY BAD IDEA. That delayed gratification can save your life.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Bird man 'shot neighbour dead in dispute over cats' reads the headline in the Times (U.K.) Snip:

Michael Stockton, 44, allegedly shot Susan Rondel, 48, in the chest at close range after blasting his way into her home. A gun enthusiast, he was said to have been locked in a long-running feud with Mrs Rondel, a mother of two who suspected him of poisoning her beloved cats with anti-freeze.

Nigel Baker, QC, opening the case for the prosecution at Birmingham Crown Court, said: “There had clearly been a lot of friction between the neighbours.

“Mrs Rondel was a cat-lover and she had long believed that Mr Stockton had been poisoning her cats. He was a pigeon-fancier and he believed she was aggravating his pigeons.”

At risk of sounding catty, this story if for the birds.

[Keith G. in P.V.]

Hello, J, Joe Joe and Jellybean!

[JUNGLE JIM]

James-not a lot of headaches for us, mostly for the programmers that have to update things. We just check to make sure the system calculates and generates error messages correctly.

Jellybean-I have a paperback copy of "Murder in a Samll Town" I could mail you if you would give James your address.

[James Hart]

Jellybean: Were you asking about Greg Melton the other day? It turns out his death was self-inflicted, though police didn't say whether they think it was accidental or suicide.

Sorry about the delay in tracking this down.

[Jellybean]

I'm glad to hear that he wasn't the victim of a local crazy anyway. That kind of thing brings back some scary stuff for me. Thanks for tracking it down!

Thanks, JJ! I'm finishing something from the library and was going to check if they have it when I make this return. If not, I'll take you up on that offer. I appreciate it!

[Jellybean]

I'm just finishing Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar". It has not been the Feel Good Story of the Year.

[JUNGLE JIM]

Just let me know.

Snakes in a classroom!
Misidentified moccasin bites two E. Texas students. Two high school students -- bitten by a venomous snake in science class after their teacher said it was non-venomous -- are recovering at an East Texas hospital.

School officials in Big Sandy said the students were bitten by a cottonmouth water moccasin on Monday.

School officials are working to make sure there isn't a repeat of Monday's incident.

"We are talking about how we will handle students bringing in wild animals, and I believe we will now safely transport the animal to the Tyler Zoo, like we did the two snakes yesterday, to be properly identified," he (Superintendent Beene) said. "I don't know if we will allow snakes back into any of our classrooms."

[JUNGLE JIM]

Vandals run out of eggs. Neighborhood is very "alfredo" the punks...
Vandals bombard Frisco houses with spaghetti sauce. Frisco police are investigating at least eight incidents in which jars of spaghetti sauce have been thrown at cars and homes, causing several hundred dollars worth of damage.

In one incident, a jar of Great Value brand onions was thrown, along with a jar of garlic spaghetti sauce. “Maybe they were trying to make a good sauce,” Sgt. Meadors said.

[The Golfer]

Help me, production is falling all around me!! Problem right now is getting a non-tech boss to understand that the bounce we are doing is helping but may not be the root cause. Because it is improving, he blindly is calling everyone and telling them it is better. The cycle is only 50% done.

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Good morning all!

Never attempt to buy land without seeing it, as well as completing the deal at a strip club. Something just may be up.

[aqua]

Now you tell me R2... :P

[James Hart]

Howdy, R2 and aqua -- how are you guys today?

BTW: I'm starting to price a Blu-Ray player for my dad as a possible gift. Sony has a $300 model, and Phillips has a $250 -- are those good models?

[You're a Mean Drunk R2D2™]

Swedish hockey fans delay game with Dildo Downpour.

Honestly, you cannot come up with a better headline then what they had.

[Jellybean]

Is your boss's name Peter Principle?