Friday Around the Water Cooler 9/02/2011

Interesting week in the news.  Most of the news was related to Hurricane Irene and the enormous problem of flooding along the Eastern Seaboard.   There were other events that made national headlines such as the Puerto Rican Representative Tweeting his naked self and surprise, surprise he resigned in disgrace.  Isn't this a re-run.   Honestly, didn't he see how that turned out for the other guys that tried that.

Your Couch My Bed

A young guy from Alabama, Wade Cothran,  placed the most interesting and creative ad on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago saying that he had a job offer in San Francisco  and was needing a place to live.  He created an on-line ad to summarize why he would be the BEST EVER ROOMMATE. The ad, did in fact,  land him not only offers of places stay but offers of free drinks, jobs, and even sex.  He also, has picked up over 13,000 Twitter followers in the last couple of weeks.

His Craiglist post is being described as colorful by some, vulgar by others, definitely unique.  He has taken all the stereotypical "bad roommate" traits and addressed why he is the total opposite of that guy....and would be the most perfect roommate.

 Here is an portion of the ad.

I own almost nothing! I'm driving my car from Alabama to California in which I'll be transporting two duffelbags of clothes, one laptop computer, one guitar, one cell-phone with charger, 8 pairs of shoes, one picture frame, probably some condoms and a sh**load of beef jerky and Pringles for the trip. Though, you can expect the jerky to be gone upon my arrival. Unless you'd like me to pick up some on my way into the city. See?! I'm the most considerate person you've ever met. I'm offering to buy you sh** already!



For the entire ad you can click here. Warning to those that find certain four letter words offensive though.  DON'T CLICK HERE if your aren't totally comfortable with the f word.  BRE seems to like it a lot.
Best Roommate Ever

Aside from the pervasive use of certain words, the ad did what it was designed to do...it is getting Wade a whole lot of attention. The guy knows how to "market".   Looks like the marketing degree he got at Auburn is paying off.

A Clown on the Town

A Massachusetts man whose colorful golf attire was briefly mistaken for a clown outfit has been charged in New York with driving a golf cart while drunk.

The Genesee County sheriff says his department received a report that someone dressed as a clown was operating a stolen golf cart on the streets of the western New York town of Batavia on Sunday night. Deputies eventually found 37-year-old James Straub of Stoneham, Mass., at a home in Batavia, The Batavian newspaper reported.

He wasn't dressed as a clown — just wearing some colorful clothing after an outing at Terry Hills Golf Course, the origin of the cart. But deputies say he was intoxicated.

I wonder which upset him more being hauled in for the DUI or being mistaken for a clown?

Seriously Green Garden

A man in northern Illinois found a valuable surprise in his backyard Tuesday afternoon: A duffel bag filled with stacks of $20 bills.

As Wayne Sabaj, a 49-year-old unemployed carpenter living in Johnsburg, explained to WGN, he had been looking for broccoli in his garden when he saw the duffel bag. After Sabaj showed the bag to his father, with whom he lives, they decided to alert police.

When the McHenry Sheriff's Department arrived, they discovered a second bag. All told, the bags contained $150,000.

Sabaj told the Northwest Herald that he briefly considered keeping the money for himself, but he feared not only where the money had come from, but who might be coming back to retrieve it. "I went and spent my last $10 on cigarettes yesterday, but I turned in $150,000," Sabaj said. "I haven't worked in two years. Yeah, I was like, I could really use this money," the man told ABC7. "With my luck, it would be bank robbery and I'd get caught and say I'd robbed a bank."

The bags are now in the custody of police, who are processing them for fingerprints and any other evidence, according to the Northwest Herald. There are currently no suspects. In the bags' place, investigators left a business card listing a phone number and a "please call" note. If an owner is not identified, police indicated they may assist Sabaj in determining whether he can claim the money.

Last ten dollars on some cigarettes??? Maybe tomorrow he will be regretting turning in the cash.

High End Electronics at McDonalds


In a new variation on the “brick in a box” scam, a South Carolina woman who thought she purchased an iPad from two men in a McDonald’s parking lot discovered yesterday that the purported tablet was actually “a piece of wood painted black with an Apple logo.”

Wonder why the scam artists bothered doctoring up the board to have
an Apple logo?  Did they think that would convince someone
that is was a real Apple product?

According to a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office report, Ashley McDowell, 22, told deputies that she was approached by two black males who claimed to have purchased iPads in bulk and were selling them for $300 apiece. After McDowell explained that she only had $180, the duo agreed to sell her the device at a cut rate.
But when McDowell drove home and opened the FedEx box containing the iPad, she instead discovered the wood with the Apple logo. The “screen”--which was framed with black tape--included replicas of iPad icons for Safari, mail, photos, and an iPod. It also had what cops described as a “Best Buy sales ticket.”
The phony iPad is pictured above in police evidence photos.
Usually, “brick in a box” scammers don’t concern themselves with creating a replica of the item they are peddling (beyond trying to make sure that it approximates the weight of the authentic object).
Deputies have dusted the phony iPad for fingerprints. McDowell told police that the swindlers were driving “a white Impala with no rims and no tint.” One of the men, she noted, “had a gold tooth.”

What made someone comfortable with buying an IPad off of a parking lot  at McDonalds from a guy with a gold tooth?  Did she think that had the same level of  product reliability as going to the Apple Store?



The Good for the Day- On the Tuesday evening NBC news, the program ended saying that there was some good news for a change.  After all the bad weather, all the bad politicians, all the bad economy stories...at last there is some good news.    Beyonce is going to have a baby.  Is this the good news????    OR



The Bad for the Day....Really, Beyonce having a baby is supposed to be my good news????



The Weird for the Day....Where's Waldo?  

On music producer John Mosley's back, apparently.

Tattoo artist Rytch Soddy decided to create the intricate scene free of charge if he could raise a minimum of about $820 for the charity, according to Norwich Evening News 24.