Watercooler Stories

Woman's dog a registered voter

SEATTLE, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A Seattle woman who registered her dog to vote as an act of "civil disobedience" will pay a fine and perform community service, prosecutors say.

Jane Balogh, 66, said she registered Duncan, an Australian shepherd-terrier, as a voter to protest laws allowing voters to register without showing a photo identification, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Wednesday. She had put his name on a phone bill and used that record in applying to register.

Her undoing was signing the declaration attesting to Duncan's eligibility to vote, prosecutors said.

The application was approved and ballots were mailed to Balogh in Duncan's name. Balogh did not vote the ballots, marking them "void" and returning them.

If Balogh pays her fine, performs 10 hours of community service and steers clear of trouble for a year, the charge will be dropped, the newspaper said.

Nude burglar identified by yearbook photo

DALLAS, Fla., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Sheriff's deputies in a Florida town booked a burglar in the buff after a high school girl identified him for authorities from a school yearbook photo.

The 17-year-old Deltona boy says he entered his neighbor's house this week because he was playing a game of hide-and-seek with friends, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday. Why he was naked never was explained.

Volusia County sheriff's deputies said a 17-year-old girl in the house saw the boy entering her mother's bedroom, naked but holding his clothes. He asked her to hide him, but when she reached for the phone to call the police, he fled.

When asked for a description, the girl did one better. She opened her Deltona High School yearbook and showed deputies his photo, saying she recognized him because they were on the same school bus.

Police said the boy said he wasn't going to steal anything nor harm the girl.

Back away from the fork, slowly

SYDNEY, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- One person's utensil may be another's weapon, so Australian summit security personnel asked a cafe to refrain from using silverware at its outdoor tables.

The request was part of the security lockdown for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney and the extended visit by U.S. President George Bush, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"I personally think it's over-the-top paranoia to make you feel scared," said Anthony Miller, manager of the Museum of Sydney Cafe.

Miller said he was asked earlier by an APEC security officer to limit the use of outdoor furniture. "He said if you are setting a table, don't set it with knives and forks because they can be used as a potential weapon by terrorists," the manager said.

Miller estimates the cafe would lose about $30,000 this week.

French 'Spiderman' arrested in Moscow

MOSCOW, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Alan Robert, a Frenchman nicknamed Spiderman for his climbing ability, has been arrested in Moscow after scaling a skyscraper almost 800 feet tall.

Robert was met by arresting officers upon reaching the top floor of a Moscow City compound building, Interfax news agency reported Wednesday.

The climber, who made it to the top of the building in slightly more than 20 minutes, was expected to be charged with breaching safety rules in an area under construction, Itar-Tass reported.

The French Spiderman has previously scaled the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.