Artists in older times often painted skulls or sculpted skeletons to remind the masses that they're mortal.
Something like that sort of happened on Friday July 11th, by accident, about noon, on a busy road in Bucks County, when a corpse fell out of a coroner's office van, laid out for all to see.
"Just when I thought I've seen everything. That's a dead body on a stretcher that launched out of the back of a coroner's vehicle in Feasterville," eyewitness Jerry Bradley wrote on his Facebook page after snapping a photo.
The body, according to Bradley's photo, appeared to be wrapped in a blanket, still strapped to a gurney in the middle of Street Road with cars all around it.
According to Michael Edwards, a spokesman for Bucks County, the driver immediately knew that a "rear door mechanical malfunction had taken place during the transport of a deceased individual" and immediately returned to thescene to return the deceased to the vehicle, with the help of a bystander.
The county did not identify the deceased and it was not clear yesterday whether family members were notified of the accident.
"Care was taken to respect the deceased individual in this instance. The Bucks County Coroner's Office deeply regrets this incident and will take steps to ensure that it is not repeated in the future."
Bradley, the eyewitness who snapped the photo, could not be reached for comment.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Just can't stop the music that's in my pants
For the most part, my smartphone and I get along smartly.
It takes and receives my phone calls, checks my email, displays my photos and reminds me about appointments, many of which I'd just as soon forget.
And I keep learning new things it can do.
Recently, for instance, I pressed an icon on the screen that displays text messages I didn't know were there. Apparently, I was supposed to have met my wife for dinner somewhere on April 11.
But now I've discovered a whole new feature or my smartphone: It plays music.
Whether I want it to or not.
This discovery happens the other day when my wife says, "Your pants are making music."
"I love it when you talk dirty," I reply.
"No, I mean, there"s music coming out of your pants pocket. You must have made a butt call with your phone."
I pull the phone out of my pocket and, sure enough, "Home on the Range" is coming out of its tiny little speaker.
So I press the home button to stop it. It does not stop it.
What it does is display a photo of some guy named Cowboy Joe. I have no idea who Cowboy Joe is, or how he got into my pants, but I definitely want to get rid of him.
"Just turn off the phone," my wife suggests.
I turn off the phone. But not Cowboy Joe. He keeps singing about deer and antelope playing. I turn the phone back on, which makes Joe sing even louder.
At this point, I do what I always do when faced with electronic devices that have multiple buttons. I start pressing all of them. None of them stop the music, but one of the buttons connects me with Siri, who asks how she can help me.
"How can I get rid of this music," I shout.
I have to shout to be heard over Cowboy Joe's warbling about the skies not being cloudy all day.
"I'm sorry," Siri says, "I didn't get that."
While this conversation takes place, my wife is on her tablet searching for instructions.
"Stop the music," I shout again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't .................."
"I said stop the music, you stupid twit," I yell.
"Did you just call me a twit?" my wife yells.
"Not you, her."
"Well, don't call her names, either."
Finally, my wife finds a site that informs us there's no "off button for whatever started the music, only a pause button.
Which means we have not necessarily heard the last of Cowboy Joe.
But if he ever starts singing in my pants again, the words Cowboy Joe hears are going to be a lot worse than discouraging.
It takes and receives my phone calls, checks my email, displays my photos and reminds me about appointments, many of which I'd just as soon forget.
And I keep learning new things it can do.
Recently, for instance, I pressed an icon on the screen that displays text messages I didn't know were there. Apparently, I was supposed to have met my wife for dinner somewhere on April 11.
But now I've discovered a whole new feature or my smartphone: It plays music.
Whether I want it to or not.
This discovery happens the other day when my wife says, "Your pants are making music."
"I love it when you talk dirty," I reply.
"No, I mean, there"s music coming out of your pants pocket. You must have made a butt call with your phone."
I pull the phone out of my pocket and, sure enough, "Home on the Range" is coming out of its tiny little speaker.
So I press the home button to stop it. It does not stop it.
What it does is display a photo of some guy named Cowboy Joe. I have no idea who Cowboy Joe is, or how he got into my pants, but I definitely want to get rid of him.
"Just turn off the phone," my wife suggests.
I turn off the phone. But not Cowboy Joe. He keeps singing about deer and antelope playing. I turn the phone back on, which makes Joe sing even louder.
At this point, I do what I always do when faced with electronic devices that have multiple buttons. I start pressing all of them. None of them stop the music, but one of the buttons connects me with Siri, who asks how she can help me.
"How can I get rid of this music," I shout.
I have to shout to be heard over Cowboy Joe's warbling about the skies not being cloudy all day.
"I'm sorry," Siri says, "I didn't get that."
While this conversation takes place, my wife is on her tablet searching for instructions.
"Stop the music," I shout again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't .................."
"I said stop the music, you stupid twit," I yell.
"Did you just call me a twit?" my wife yells.
"Not you, her."
"Well, don't call her names, either."
Finally, my wife finds a site that informs us there's no "off button for whatever started the music, only a pause button.
Which means we have not necessarily heard the last of Cowboy Joe.
But if he ever starts singing in my pants again, the words Cowboy Joe hears are going to be a lot worse than discouraging.
Saving Bucks Tips to Save on Fuel
When a light turns green, do you accelerate gradually or do you gun it? Is your trunk full of junk? Do you keep your air filter clean?
If you're looking to reduce your fuel costs, answers to these questions matter.
Recently, the $aving Bucks crew ventured out to the AAA Car Care Center in Willow Grove, where manager Richard Santiago shared a few ways you can alter your driving and car-maintenance habits to save a few dollars.
Santiago's advice on changing driving habits so you can conserve gas:
I hope they'll help you, too!
If you're looking to reduce your fuel costs, answers to these questions matter.
Recently, the $aving Bucks crew ventured out to the AAA Car Care Center in Willow Grove, where manager Richard Santiago shared a few ways you can alter your driving and car-maintenance habits to save a few dollars.
Santiago's advice on changing driving habits so you can conserve gas:
- At a light? Don't rev your engine; you're using up gas. Accelerate gradually.
- Coming to a stop sign or a red light? If you let go of the gas pedal earlier and coast rather than brake at the last minute, you'll save gas.
- Is your trunk full of junk? Get it out and pack only necessary items. For every 100 pounds you add to your car, you lose 1 percent to 2 percent of fuel efficiency. If you eliminate 100 pounds, you can save 6 cents per gallon of gas.
- Don't drive so fast. For every 5 mph you knock off your speedometer, you reduce fuel consumption by 7 percent. If you're driving 60 mph and slow to 55, you'll save yourself 27 cents a gallon.
- If you're not in the car driving, don't leave it running. Every two minutes you leave the car idling, you'll lose 1 cent per gallon.
- Maintain the vehicle. Simple checks and routine maintenance can help prevent costly repairs and, most important, a headache, when you're supposed to be enjoying yourself.
- Check those tires. You can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent simply by keeping your tires inflated to the right pressure. Tread Depth-Bridgestone has tested tread depth and verified a low tread depth saves you money by increasing fuel economy by up to 4 percent. Make sure your tires are wearing evenly. Poor wheel alignment forces the vehicle to work harder and can reduce gas mileage by as much as 10 percent.
- Change your oil. Make sure you get the oil changed as recommended in the owner's manual or by your dealer. A buildup of oil deposits and sludgy oil can decrease the performance of the engine, which, in turn, leads to higher fuel consumption. Also, without proper lubrication, more friction between the engine parts would occur, which would affect gas mileage. And make sure you're using the recommended grade of motor oil; this can improve gas mileage by 1 percent to 2 percent.
- Check your fluids, belts and hoses. This can help prevent a costly repair that not only harms your pocket, it reduces your enjoyment if a problem occurs while you're on vacation.
- Get a tuneup. Replacing spark plugs and servicing the fuel system can improve mileage by 4 percent and save you up to 15 cents a gallon.
- Replace the air filter. Simply by replacing your air filter, you can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Recent studies show that as much as 25 percent of all cars on the road could use a new air filter.
I hope they'll help you, too!
F. Y. I.
Quotable
by Hafiz, Persian poet and mystic (1324 A.D.--1391 A.D.)
"The words you speak become the house you live in."
Still on the Books
In Anniston, Alabama, wearing blue jeans on Noble Street is prohibited.
By the Numbers
A single cow yields about 90 glasses of milk per day or about 200,000 glasses of milk per lifetime.
Substantive Change
Sea cucumbers can change from a liquid to a solid because collagen in their skin is capable of both excreting and absorbing water.
Celebrate This
Today July 8th, is SCUD Day, a day to Savor the Comic and Unplug the Drama.
Shades of Blue
Early American colonists made gray paint out of blueberries by boiling them in milk.
by Hafiz, Persian poet and mystic (1324 A.D.--1391 A.D.)
"The words you speak become the house you live in."
Still on the Books
In Anniston, Alabama, wearing blue jeans on Noble Street is prohibited.
By the Numbers
A single cow yields about 90 glasses of milk per day or about 200,000 glasses of milk per lifetime.
Substantive Change
Sea cucumbers can change from a liquid to a solid because collagen in their skin is capable of both excreting and absorbing water.
Celebrate This
Today July 8th, is SCUD Day, a day to Savor the Comic and Unplug the Drama.
Shades of Blue
Early American colonists made gray paint out of blueberries by boiling them in milk.
Weird News
Someone call Locks of Love
Kodiak, Alaska --------- If you've seen a lot of longhaired men on Alaska's Kodiak Island, this might be the reason.
A new study finds the city of Kodiak has the priciest men's haircut in the nation, on average, at $26.67 a cut. The national average is $13.95. The figure is in a state Labor Department report comparing cost of living data for more than 300 cities.
Great fall too much, Humpty Dumpty to be rebuilt
Salem, Ore. ------------- The nursery rhyme proved right: Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again.
But the owner of an Oregon tourist attraction vows to build Humpty anew. Last weekend, two men planning a photograph jumped on the wall where the statue of rebar, cement, sand and plaster had sat for 40 years.
And, you know how it goes: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Sculptor Roger Tofte said Humpty was in too many pieces to fix, but the two men offered to pay for a new one. He said it will take a month to build.
Pig threatens kids walking through Maine woods
Oakland, Maine ------- Police in this Maine town are looking for a pig that threatened two children were walking through the woods.
Capt. Rick Stubbert said the children were walking along a trail in the wooded area between the local middle school and the high school about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday when the pig confronted them "screaming at the kids and chasing them."
Officers, including animal control, responded to the pig was real, they didn't find the animal.
Pilot buys pizzas for stranded passingers
Cheyenne, Wyo. -------- Faced with potentially hungry ------ and grumpy ------- passengers, a Frontier Airlines pilot treated them to pizza when storms diverted a Denver-bound flight to Cheyenne, where the plane was stuck for a couple of hours.
Cheyenne Domino's Pizza manager Andrew Ritchie said he got a call about 10 p.m. Monday just as he was about to send employees home. Ritchie said pilot Gerhard Bradner told him he needed to feed 160 people ------ fast.
Ritchie said his crew delivered about 35 pizzas to the airport, where the driver handed the food off to flight attendants.
Pennsylvania man's draft notice was 102 years late
Kennerdell, Pa. --------- A Pennsylvania woman said her late father received notice to register for the nation's military draft ----- 102 years too late.
Martha Weaver, now in her 80s, said the Selective Service System notice arrived last Saturday in Rockland Township, Venango County. The notice warns that failure to register is "punishable by a fine and imprisonment." Her father, who would have turned 18 in 1912, died in 1992.
Weaver suspects the confusion was spawned by the incorrect birth date on the form, which lists the birth year as 1994.
Kodiak, Alaska --------- If you've seen a lot of longhaired men on Alaska's Kodiak Island, this might be the reason.
A new study finds the city of Kodiak has the priciest men's haircut in the nation, on average, at $26.67 a cut. The national average is $13.95. The figure is in a state Labor Department report comparing cost of living data for more than 300 cities.
Great fall too much, Humpty Dumpty to be rebuilt
Salem, Ore. ------------- The nursery rhyme proved right: Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again.
But the owner of an Oregon tourist attraction vows to build Humpty anew. Last weekend, two men planning a photograph jumped on the wall where the statue of rebar, cement, sand and plaster had sat for 40 years.
And, you know how it goes: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Sculptor Roger Tofte said Humpty was in too many pieces to fix, but the two men offered to pay for a new one. He said it will take a month to build.
Pig threatens kids walking through Maine woods
Oakland, Maine ------- Police in this Maine town are looking for a pig that threatened two children were walking through the woods.
Capt. Rick Stubbert said the children were walking along a trail in the wooded area between the local middle school and the high school about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday when the pig confronted them "screaming at the kids and chasing them."
Officers, including animal control, responded to the pig was real, they didn't find the animal.
Pilot buys pizzas for stranded passingers
Cheyenne, Wyo. -------- Faced with potentially hungry ------ and grumpy ------- passengers, a Frontier Airlines pilot treated them to pizza when storms diverted a Denver-bound flight to Cheyenne, where the plane was stuck for a couple of hours.
Cheyenne Domino's Pizza manager Andrew Ritchie said he got a call about 10 p.m. Monday just as he was about to send employees home. Ritchie said pilot Gerhard Bradner told him he needed to feed 160 people ------ fast.
Ritchie said his crew delivered about 35 pizzas to the airport, where the driver handed the food off to flight attendants.
Pennsylvania man's draft notice was 102 years late
Kennerdell, Pa. --------- A Pennsylvania woman said her late father received notice to register for the nation's military draft ----- 102 years too late.
Martha Weaver, now in her 80s, said the Selective Service System notice arrived last Saturday in Rockland Township, Venango County. The notice warns that failure to register is "punishable by a fine and imprisonment." Her father, who would have turned 18 in 1912, died in 1992.
Weaver suspects the confusion was spawned by the incorrect birth date on the form, which lists the birth year as 1994.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Grandmom succeeds where 2 cops fail
Something was weird about the young guy Pam Krewson saw sitting at McDonald's, at Broad and Arch streets in Philadelphia. He had a woman's pocketbook under his arm.
Maybe he's holding it for a girlfriend, Krewson thought as she bought her coffee. But then she saw him leave, carrying an oblong ladies' wallet.
Suspicious, she inspected the booth where he'd been sitting. Shoved into the seat crevice was the pocketbook, empty.
"Oh, no, you didn't," said Krewson, 60. She thought about the times she'd lost her own pocketbook and how miserable it had been to cancel credit cards, replace keys, earn back the dollars that had gone missing. So she grabbed the pocketbook and her coffee and followed the man, who was walking north on Broad.
She trailed him from across the street while she puzzled over what to do. Relieved, she noticed two uniformed Philadelphia police officers heading toward her.
"I said, 'Excuse me, that man over there has a wallet that isn't his!" recalls Krewson, a grandmother who works as a clerk for the Department of Human Services. "I showed them the empty pocketbook and told them how the man had it in McDonald's."
The officers -------- she didn't get their badge numbers but says they were youngish white males ----- told her they were off-duty and didn't have their radios with them.
So there was nothing they could do, they told her. They advised her to do nothing, too, because the man might be dangerous.
"They wouldn't even accompany me, for moral support. I mean, they had guns and bulletproof vests!" says Krewson. Her own son is a police officer, married to a detective, so she knows that bulky-vest look when she sees it.
Disgusted, she ignored their advice and confronted the perp at Broad and Vine streets.
"I might've been scared if he was 6-foot-5 and weighed 250," says Krewson, who describes herself as "a person who gets involved when something happens." But he was about her height ----5-foot-4 ----- skinny and toothless.
"I held up the pocketbook and said,'Yo, pal, does this look familiar?" says Krewson. "He immediately said, 'I went to your house to return it, but no one was home!' I said, 'Really? What address?' Of course, he had no answer. I told him to hand over the wallet."
He obliged but asked Krewson to first remove three things he'd tucked in the wallet: his library card, driver's license and ----- wait for it ----- his probation officer's business card.
"I gave him back the library card and the license but I kept the probation card. I said, I'm keeping this, pal! And I'm sure you'll be hearing from your probation officer.'"
And then they parted ways, which must've been one awkward goodbye.
Back at work, Krewson examined the wallet's innards and found credit, debit and insurancecards and a passport issued to someone named Ariane Burke-Finucan. She looked up her number and called her.
Burke-Finucan was home, in Fairmount, with her son Owen, 4. She'd taken off work because her pocketbook ----- which had held her keys ------ had gone missing the day before while she lunched in Sister Cities Park on Logan Square. She'd canceled her bank cards and was at that moment having the locks changed on her house.
"I screamed when Pam told me she had my purse," says Burke-Finucan. "I felt like I had my identity back."
An hour later, she and Owen met Krewson at LOVE Park, where Krewson was waiting with the wallet ----- and a balloon for Owen.
"She was so courageous!" says Burke-Finucan, 34, who moved with her husband and son from Pittsburg to Philly two years ago and works at the Philadelphia Education Fund. "I wanted to give her something for her trouble, but she said I should pay it forward."
Later, she sent Krewson thank-you flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries. The card read, "To my favorite Philadelphian."
Obviously, Krewson took a risk when she confronted the perp, which the Philadelphia police don't suggest we do, says spokesman Lt. John Sanford.
"We advise you to call 9-1-1 instead," he says, because the perp may be armed.
That's why, he says, it was wise for the uniformed officers not to confront the perp themselves, since they'd be unable to radio for backup if things got hairy.
Maybe he's holding it for a girlfriend, Krewson thought as she bought her coffee. But then she saw him leave, carrying an oblong ladies' wallet.
Suspicious, she inspected the booth where he'd been sitting. Shoved into the seat crevice was the pocketbook, empty.
"Oh, no, you didn't," said Krewson, 60. She thought about the times she'd lost her own pocketbook and how miserable it had been to cancel credit cards, replace keys, earn back the dollars that had gone missing. So she grabbed the pocketbook and her coffee and followed the man, who was walking north on Broad.
She trailed him from across the street while she puzzled over what to do. Relieved, she noticed two uniformed Philadelphia police officers heading toward her.
"I said, 'Excuse me, that man over there has a wallet that isn't his!" recalls Krewson, a grandmother who works as a clerk for the Department of Human Services. "I showed them the empty pocketbook and told them how the man had it in McDonald's."
The officers -------- she didn't get their badge numbers but says they were youngish white males ----- told her they were off-duty and didn't have their radios with them.
So there was nothing they could do, they told her. They advised her to do nothing, too, because the man might be dangerous.
"They wouldn't even accompany me, for moral support. I mean, they had guns and bulletproof vests!" says Krewson. Her own son is a police officer, married to a detective, so she knows that bulky-vest look when she sees it.
Disgusted, she ignored their advice and confronted the perp at Broad and Vine streets.
"I might've been scared if he was 6-foot-5 and weighed 250," says Krewson, who describes herself as "a person who gets involved when something happens." But he was about her height ----5-foot-4 ----- skinny and toothless.
"I held up the pocketbook and said,'Yo, pal, does this look familiar?" says Krewson. "He immediately said, 'I went to your house to return it, but no one was home!' I said, 'Really? What address?' Of course, he had no answer. I told him to hand over the wallet."
He obliged but asked Krewson to first remove three things he'd tucked in the wallet: his library card, driver's license and ----- wait for it ----- his probation officer's business card.
"I gave him back the library card and the license but I kept the probation card. I said, I'm keeping this, pal! And I'm sure you'll be hearing from your probation officer.'"
And then they parted ways, which must've been one awkward goodbye.
Back at work, Krewson examined the wallet's innards and found credit, debit and insurancecards and a passport issued to someone named Ariane Burke-Finucan. She looked up her number and called her.
Burke-Finucan was home, in Fairmount, with her son Owen, 4. She'd taken off work because her pocketbook ----- which had held her keys ------ had gone missing the day before while she lunched in Sister Cities Park on Logan Square. She'd canceled her bank cards and was at that moment having the locks changed on her house.
"I screamed when Pam told me she had my purse," says Burke-Finucan. "I felt like I had my identity back."
An hour later, she and Owen met Krewson at LOVE Park, where Krewson was waiting with the wallet ----- and a balloon for Owen.
"She was so courageous!" says Burke-Finucan, 34, who moved with her husband and son from Pittsburg to Philly two years ago and works at the Philadelphia Education Fund. "I wanted to give her something for her trouble, but she said I should pay it forward."
Later, she sent Krewson thank-you flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries. The card read, "To my favorite Philadelphian."
Obviously, Krewson took a risk when she confronted the perp, which the Philadelphia police don't suggest we do, says spokesman Lt. John Sanford.
"We advise you to call 9-1-1 instead," he says, because the perp may be armed.
That's why, he says, it was wise for the uniformed officers not to confront the perp themselves, since they'd be unable to radio for backup if things got hairy.
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