Watercooler Stories

'Spider-man' jailed after 88-story climb

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A Frenchman whose penchant for climbing tall structures has earned him the nickname "Spider-man" was jailed Tuesday after scaling an 88-story tower in Malaysia.

Robert Alain, 46, used no special equipment to reach the top of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reported. He had failed in two previous attempts in 1997 and 2007, the Malaysian news agency said.

Alain, wearing a dark T-shirt and jeans, took about two hours to reach his goal about 8 a.m. local time.

Police took him into custody while they investigated the possibility of charging him with trespassing.

Woman cited for swearing at daughter

INDIANA, Pa., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania police said a woman allegedly overheard shouting profanities at her 10-year-old daughter in public was cited for disorderly conduct.

Chief William Sutton of the Indiana, Pa., police said an officer spotted Tammy Kay Cronan Smith leaving a Family Video store and allegedly swearing loudly at her daughter, WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, reported.

Sutton said Cronan Smith "was yelling profanities, and she was yelling at a level that the people around her became very concerned, very annoyed, and the officer did approach her and she was subsequently cited for disorderly conduct."

Police said the woman told the officer she was angry at the girl for falsely accusing her other daughter of stealing gum from the store.

However, Cronan Smith told WTAE-TV the curse words were not directed at her daughter, but rather the result of her anger at an adult friend. She did not say what caused her anger.

Cronan Smith has the choice of pleading guilty to the citation and paying a fine or pleading not guilty to the charge and taking the case to court, authorities said.

Worker fired for all-caps e-mails

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A New Zealand tribunal has awarded $11,500 to an office worker who was fired for sending e-mail messages in all-capital letters.

The tribunal ruled ProCare Health, which had no official e-mail style guide, unfairly dismissed Vicki Walker of Auckland for the formatting of her e-mail messages, Britain's The Daily Telegraph reported.

ProCare Health claimed during the tribunal that Walker, an accountant, was the subject of complaints from coworkers about "shouty" and confrontational e-mails. The company said Walker acted "provocatively" by highlighting portions of her messages in bold or colored lettering.

Parents for sale on Craigslist

MADISON, Conn., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A Connecticut man who jokingly listed his parents as "for sale" on the Web site Craigslist said the ad drew unexpected responses from interested buyers.

Michael Amatrudo, 51, of Madison, said he listed his parents, Ed and Arlene Amatrudo, on the site Saturday to see what sort of response he would receive and the posting resulted in hundreds of e-mails from interested parties asking questions, including shipping costs and estimated time for delivery, the New York Post reported.

"Perfectly good parents," the posting reads. "Got lots of use out of these guys over the past 50 years, but it's time to move on."

"Excellent overall condition. Still plenty of life in them," the ad states.

Amatrudo set the asking price at $155, but wrote in the ad that he "will consider trade for newer model, hot blonde under age 40 or an Erector Set in good condition."

Amatrudo's wife, Karen, said his parents took the ad in good humor.

"They're used to their kids having a great sense of humor," she said. "But they definitely thought the price was too low."