A Little Friday File Fun (08/28)

Well, here’s a couple of thousand…

Nail art – no hammer needed. MORE at http://om.ly/GRts

– – – In Pettling, Germany , Markus Schmidt, 27, proposed to his girlfriend Corinna Pesl in a most unusual way – – – by rolling 150 bales of hay to form the words: “Will you marry me?” – – – MORE at http://www.metro.co.uk/video/videoPlayer.html?inMediaId=45273&in_page_id=1#

And here's another thousand...

- - - In Nottingham, UK , Jason Cooke, 25, claims that he's spotted "Nessie" - the so-called Loch Ness Monster - - - via Google Earth's satellite photos - - - see for yourself. To see the object, enter co-ordinates Latitude 57°12'52.13"N, Longitude 4°34'14.16"W in Google Earth. MORE at http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2606683/Loch-Ness-Monster-on-Google-Earth.html

...and here's another one...

- - - In Charlotte, North Carolina , the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' Career and Technical Education Department produced a special treat - - - beverage coasters that it distributed to teachers at a recent teacher appreciation day - - - beverage coasters that were handed out to teachers - - - beverage coasters that - - - well, let's just say they should have had a proofreader - - -

MORE at http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-082409-mw-cms-coaster-misspelled.110c495ac.html

- - In Richland County, South Carolina , Thomas James, 24, and Michael Gregory Thomas, 23, robbed a Sprint PCS store here - - - making off with wallets, purses and credit cards from five employees of the store - - - after demanding money from them at gunpoint - - - now Thomas, apparently lacking either the funds or wherewithal to construct a traditional means of concealing his identity - - - had instead spray painted his face - - - with what turned out to be toxic paint - - -

- - - In Mount Carmel, Tennessee , Scott Gibson, 56, was clocked going 66 mph in a 55 mph zone by a speed camera here, and was sent a citation - - - then Scott sent back a copy of the citation with a handwritten note - - - claiming he wasn't subject to local speed zones because he was the deputy chief of the CIA - - - so, police checked with the CIA - - - which responded that Scott wasn't and never had been an employee, much less a deputy chief - - - now Scott has been arrested for criminal impersonation - - - and fined $75 for speeding - - -

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- - - In Johnsonville, South Carolina , an unnamed 38-year-old was, for reasons unexplained, using his rifle - - - to shoot - - - dragonflies - - - when apparently, for reasons also unexplained, an associate of his walked in front of his line of fire - - - (he'll live, apparently) - - -

- - - In Lancashire, UK , Simon Holden, 22, applied for a job at the ASDA store here - - - but when he came in for an interview, the hiring manager recognized him - - - as a man who had been in the store the week before and stole four cases of beer - - - when confronted during the interview, he fled - - - and stole two more boxes of beer as ran through the front door - - -

- - - In Påarp, Sweden , an as yet unidentified burglar broke into a local business here over the weekend - - - the burglar didn't seem to have made away with much - - - though he did access some pornographic websites from the company's computers - - - however, he had a few words for the business owner - - - and the apparent slovenliness of the establishment - - - a message on the company's computer screen spelled out the burglar's considered opinion: "You need to clean up. Regards, Thief."

- - - In Hillsborough, Florida , Wikler Moran-Mora sent his wife a text message - - - saying that he had been kidnapped, but that she should not panic - - - he later sent several more texts where he said he was negotiating his release - - - at that point, Mrs. Moran-Mora called police - - - who were eventually able to locate Mr. Moran-Mora - - - who then admitted that he had concocted the kidnapping story - - - to spend time with another woman - - - who was in his presence when he was found - - - oh, and Mr. Moran-Mora? He's actually Reverend Moran-Mora - - -

Have a GREAT weekend, folks!

TRIVIAL PURSUITS Believe it or not, it was six years ago this week that then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced an investigation into illegal trading practices at a number of major mutual fund companies - and a $40 million settlement with a hedge fund found to be at the center of the controversy.

Do you remember the name of the hedge fund?

That $40 million settlement was reached with hedge fund Canary Capital Partners LLC , a firm at the center of the controversy (see Spitzer Fund Abuse Probe Pumps Out More Subpoenas ).