Watercooler Stories

Park status for Billy Carter gas station?

PLAINS, Ga., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. taxpayers group is objecting to giving national park status to a gas station once owned by Billy Carter, the brother of former President Jimmy Carter.

The U.S. House approved a measure last month to incorporate the service station in Plains, Ga., under the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. That brings the service station under the auspices of the National Park Service.

Upgrades to the gas station and a state-run welcome center will cost an estimated $17 million, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Steve Ellis, vice president of the Washington-based watchdog group, Taxpayers for Common Sense objects to the bill, the Times reported. Ellis said the gas station is "not in imminent danger of being turned into condos or something like that.

"So you've got to question whether it's the best move for the park service," he said.

Park Superintendent Gary Ingram said the renovated sites will entice visitors after the deaths of Plains' most notable residents, Jimmy and Roslyn Carter.

"The Billy Carter piece is just one little tiny component of the thing," he said. "It's a spur, but it's a spur that still has relevance because it's connected to the larger story."

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Professor puts dollar value on love

CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- An Australian economics professor said he has developed a way to put dollar values on major life events such as birth and marriage.

Paul Fritjers of the Queensland University of Technology Fritjers Research tracked life events and happiness of 10,000 Australians since 2001 and found, for example, the birth of a child makes parents happiest before it happens and a bit less happy several months later, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Sunday.

Fritjers said his analysis resulted in putting a happiness value on a birth at around $8,700 for the mother and $32,000 for the father.

He said he does not know why his calculations indicate men are much more affected by life's incidents but that gives tends to give him "confidence in the calculations."

"We know, for instance, that marriage improves the lives of men much more than women," he said.

"Losing or gaining money can offset the effect of other life events quite well, and that is what we are formally looking at -- the amount needed to offset an event or keep someone happiness-neutral," he said.

Insurance companies and lawyers are interested in the research because they look to dollar amounts needed for compensation, Fritjers said.

Fritjers says his research did not look at the value of a life that is lost.

"That (value) would be much higher," he said.

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Madoff possessions fetch $1M at auction

NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Bernard Madoff's name gave extra value to his onetime possessions during the weekend when they were auctioned for more than $1 million in New York.

The auction, conducted Saturday under the eye of U.S. marshals at the New York Sheraton Hotel and Towers, brought in twice the expected amount, The Wall Street Journal reported. The 200 lots of possessions once owned by Madoff and his wife, Ruth, included Rolex watches and diamond jewelry along with clothing and old yard signs.

Some of the Rolexes failed to sell. But an online bidder offered $14,500 for Bernard Madoff's personalized New York Mets jacket, almost 30 times its low estimate. His class ring from Hofstra University, with a low estimate of $240, went for $6,000.

Manhattan jeweler Kimmeron Lisle looked at a pair of Ruth Madoff's Chanel boots.

"I'm going to walk one day in her shoes and then judge her," Lisle said.

The money will go to help reimburse victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. But even the larger-than-expected take is a drop in the bucket compared with the billions his investors lost.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison term.

More auctions are coming up. Three boats and a Mercedes are scheduled to go on the block Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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Brazilian blogger naming cheating victims

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- An anonymous blogger in Brazil has created an online list of men whose lovers have cheated on them, say some of those named.

The Guardian reported Friday the blogger in Lagoa da Prata in the state of Minas Gerais has published 300 names of supposed infidelity victims on the social networking Web site Orkut.

Not all of those named agree they were victimized by their lovers, the British newspaper said.

"My wife is a Catholic and a worker," an unnamed male victim said of his name's appearance on the blogger's list. "I have never had cause to doubt her."

One woman whose lover's name appeared on the list said the online posting nearly ended their relationship.

"They put his name and his nickname (on the list)," said the woman, who wished to remain anonymous. "We fought ... (and) we nearly separated."

Police in Lagoa da Prata are trying to identify the blogger, The Guardian said.