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Superman license plates drop 'birthplace'

CLEVELAND, June 19 (UPI) -- Ohio officials said they are seeking alternate slogans for a Superman-themed license plate that DC Comics did not want to say "Birthplace of Superman."

State Rep. Bill Patmon, D-Cleveland, said officials wanted a Superman plate to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Man of Steel, but DC Comics and Warner Communications objected to the "birthplace" slogan because it might cause confusion about the fictional character's origins on the planet Krypton, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Monday.

The Siegel and Shuster Society, which was created to honor the Superman's Cleveland creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, said they have come up with a list of alternate slogans for the license plates.

"DC and Warner Brothers have been cooperative," society President Michael Olszewski said. "When we talked to their parent company, Warner Communications, there was some discomfort over saying 'birthplace,' so we said we could fix that easily."

Minnesota man, 96, obtains patent

BEMIDJI, Minn., June 19 (UPI) -- A 96-year-old Minnesota man with more than 45 patents to his credit has done it again, this time for what he says is an improved marine transmission clutch.

George Aschauer of Bemidji said he is now receiving offers to build his latest marine transmission innovation, which the U.S. Patent Office dubbed Patent No. 8,066,107 B2 last November, the Bemidji Pioneer reported Monday.

"There are four features," he said. "The clutches don't rotate, they're better cooling, they engage from both of the stack[s], and the fourth one is the unique release spring."

Aschauer said many of the patents he had received in the past 60 years were related to transmissions.

"I'm a transmission man," he said. "I started after World War II. I work with clutches, brakes, gears, controls. I spent my whole life on transmissions."

Versions of a marine transmission design Aschauer patented about 50 years ago are still being manufactured to this day.

"When the patent ran out, everybody copied it," he said.

The inventor said his latest transmission would be perfect for pleasure boats, fishing vessels, drilling rig supply boats, river boats and similar craft.

"I want to see it built," he said.

Man sues state over deer attack

MARIN COUNTY, Calif., June 19 (UPI) -- A California man is suing the state Department of Fish and Game, claiming a "mismanaged" wild deer attacked him, a court document shows.

Thadeusz Wyrzykowski of Bolinas said in his handwritten court filing that he suffered injuries from falling into a window after deer jumped into his fenced yard last spring and "attacked me (twice) on a narrow path."

Asking for unspecified damages, he wrote in his filing that the wildlife department "mismanaged negligently its animal its claims & duties."

A case management conference was scheduled for Oct. 19 in Marin Superior Court, the Marin Independent Journal reported Monday.

The newspaper said Wyrzykowski filed another handwritten lawsuit in federal court last year against the Marin County Assessor-Recorder's Office over the county's efforts to collect overdue property taxes from him, in which he described himself as an "independent dignity ambassador" and "orator/scholar/artist." Deputy County Counsel Edward Kiernan called that suit full of "nonsensical, irrelevant non sequitors" and "legally meaningless and pointless facts."

That suit was dismissed, the newspaper noted.

Naked bikers parade through Wis. capital

MADISON, Wis., June 19 (UPI) -- Organizers of the Naked Bike Ride in Wisconsin said about 60 riders turned out to shed their clothes and pedal through the capital.

Peter Keating, a spokesman for the event, said 60 riders participated Saturday in Madison's third annual Naked Bike Ride, which protests the use of petroleum products and celebrates the beauty of the human body, The Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, reported Monday.

Keating said the event's route was kept secret until the ride itself "for security reasons."

The spokesman said he was "a little disappointed" with the number of people participating, but he said some came from as far away as Cleveland and Minnesota.

"It was a small but spirited crowd," Keating said.

Witnesses had a mixed reaction to the parade of nude cyclists.

"I was shocked. I thought it was disgusting," said Linda Martin of Milwaukee, who was with her 5-year-old granddaughter when the bikers breezed by.

Sharon Glasrud of Madison said she made sure to find a spot where she could see the cyclists pass.

"I think it's just a hoot. I think these people are quite courageous," Glasrud said. "They are protesting for something they believe in, in a way that makes sense to them. If people are offended, they can look away."