News You May Have Missed

I heard two stories today that are rather disturbing. The first one involves a mother who set her children on fire. This took place in Haltom City, TX, which happens to be the suburb of Ft. Worth where I grew up.

I sent Helen an e-mail today to find out what she knew about it and it turns out it happened two blocks from Joe & Helen! Joe & Helen heard the sirens, etc. but didn't go to investigate what was happening down the street. (I wonder where I got my Gladys Kravitz gene?)

If you want to read more about the story, here is the link to Houston Chronicle.

The second story is something that I have witnessed. A study was done about hand washing. It concludes that 1/3 of men do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

I have noticed this at LeFittes. I've seen guys go to the urinal, shake it and then leave without ever going to wash their hands and THEN they go back to the gym floor!

Now, I will admit there have been times that I haven't washed my hands but it only happens when I'm running and have to use a Port-O-Potty and there isn't any place to wash your hands or there isn't any hand sanitizer available. In an instance like that it is what it is because there is no choice.

In fact, I think I've become a bit obsessive/compulsive about washing my hands ever since I took possession of Calvin a few years ago. I feel like I am constantly washing my hands and I go through rolls of paper towels like there's no tomorrow.

And speaking of paper towels....I went to buy some today and there was a double pack of Brawny Paper Towels with the Brawny Man on the packaging. However, the double pack had Mary Engelbreit designs on them. Isn't this sort of a contradiction?

Here's the Brawny Man:

And here's the Mary Engelbreit design:

As it turns out, it was cheaper to buy two single rolls with no design than it was to buy the contradictory double pack.

Now this third story is actually kind of funny because I know how frustrated the guy must have been. I ran across this from Kenneth In The 212.

I can totally relate to the attacker's frustration! In fact, I haven't been to spin class in awhile and the last time I was there a guy in front of me was grunting and swearing and shaking his head and stopping when it got too difficult. Dude. You control the tension on the bike! Adjust it!!!

(from NYPost.com):

GYM VICTIM IS WHEELY ANGRY
'SPIN ATTACKER' DODGES FELONY

By LAURA ITALIANO

September 18, 2007 -- He's not doing much "whooping" now.

A Manhattan hedge-fund manager whose loud grunting and cheering during an Upper East Side spin class allegedly led a fed-up broker on the bike nearby to nearly break his neck is furious that prosecutors aren't treating the assault as a felony.

"This wasn't just a playground fall where Stewy fell down and went boo hoo," angry victim Stuart Sugarman said when told that his alleged attacker was charged yesterday with a mere misdemeanor.

"The reality is I spent two weeks in Lenox Hill [Hospital], including a week in ICU and six hours in surgery," Sugarman complained. "My life has been altered, possibly permanently. This is not a misdemeanor."

Sugarman, 48, a fund manager and investment banker at Sunrise Financial Group, admits that he noisily war-whooped, groaned and shouted, "You go, girl!" during his last spin workout Aug. 15 at an Equinox gym on East 85th Street. That, he says, didn't give broker Christopher Carter, who was three bikes over, the right to repeatedly yell, "Shut the f- - - up!" and then leap off his Schwinn and come charging at him.

The grunting Sugarman is accusing the allegedly berserk broker - both men top 200 pounds - of tilting Sugarman's stationary bike's front wheel up a yard off the floor and flipping the bike and Sugarman into a wall.

Sugarman suffered a concussion from the bike's falling on top of him, along with damage to six discs in the vertebrae of his neck. His surgeon, he said, tells him he was "one click away from a wheelchair."

"The guy had a spinal-cord contusion with major surgery to his neck involving the use of cadaver tissue and multiple metal plates and screws," said Sugarman's lawyer, Samuel Davis.

The criminal complaint lodged yesterday against Carter, 44, of Maxim Investments Group, only accuses him of causing "sustained lower-back pain" and "substantial pain" but makes no mention of the serious physical injury needed to characterize an assault as a felony.

Prosecutors declined to comment on the case. Carter's lawyer, Michael Farkas, said only that his client "did not commit any criminal acts."

"Mr. Sugarman is clearly taking advantage of the criminal-justice system to build some civil lawsuit," he said. Sugarman has yet to file a suit.

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I haven't heard anything else about the break in yesterday. I will tell you that I didn't sleep well last night. Before I went to bed I told The Calvinator that he was on duty. He was asleep by 1030p.

He woke up at 545A when I did. We both heard a noise in the backyard and it frightened the sh_t out of me. He started barking and I was up turning on lights and looking out windows. It may have been one of my critters making their last run before the sun came up.

Since I was awake, I took him for his morning stroll. Including myself, I counted 7 people walking their dogs and five people going to work between 610A and 630A. Once again, why would anyone attempt a burglary at that hour of the morning?

After we finished our stroll, I went to Memorial Park for a 4 mile run.