Happy Whelpday

Happy Whelpday to shadowolf and wyoon!

US Treasury Bonds are just IOUs

( US Politics behind cut )

The "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" story of the day

Terrorists to be spied upon by reverse engineered extraterrestial UFO technology.

Masks of the World

It's a gallery show of many masks, drawn from around the world, and apparently in San Luis Obispo. If anybody has more information, I'd like to hear about it.

Why are you paying in cash, citizen?

(I haven't been able to find an unlocked copy of this on the web, so here's a summary)

[Baltimore] Put yourself in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.

For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.

Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.

Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.

I think both Best Buy and the Baltimore police department are in a world of hurt now, or soon will be. They certainly look like idiots.

EDIT: here's a link to the article.

He was arrested because the good folk at Best Buy and the officers thought the crisp $2 bills were counterfit. Bolesta goes through several hundred $2 a month because he uses then "as a shtick" in his tour business. The Baltimore police afterwards blaimed the overreaction on post 9-11 jumpiness. (Look out! He's got a two-dollar bill!)