We have been dealing with to much serious stuff lately. This ought to brighten your day if you like to read about the sufferings of others…..

Being your own boss, setting your own working hours, working locally. Can you achieve a more relaxing lifestyle? There was a time, just a few days ago in fact, when I might have agreed with you.

On Monday we got an emergency call. Their driveway was flooded and the water was running downhill to fill the garage. But not to worry, it looked like rainwater not sewage. We leapt into the Plumbmobile with a happy heart and a rodding kit.

A few minutes later we were stood at the edge of a driveway, watching a glutinous brown river of mashed up tissue paper and ominous brown squidgy things snake past and pool in what was once a nice double garage.

The client appeared on the opposite bank of the River Stinks. “I think it might be sewage after all!” He cried.

Read the rest here.

Vova made a new video while he was visiting his parents in Russia, and it’s incredible to see how much he has improved since his last video. This is Vova at his best.
You should really download the high quality quicktime version Here, however, there is a YouTube version available:

His sister is also finially getting Click Here to continue reading.

This is a video of the French police training their attack dogs. I am surprised by how agile the dogs are. They practically fly.

Online computer games sure have hit the big time. Now top rated players are in danger of being kidnapped for their password.…

An armed gang of four kidnapped one of the world’s top RPG gamers after one criminal’s girlfriend lured him into a fake date using Orkut, Google’s social network. After sequestering him in Sao Paulo, they held a gun against the victim’s head for five hours to get his password, which they wanted to sell for $8,000. And yes, the story gets even better.

Surprisingly enough, after five hours the hostage wasn’t talking. The group leader had a gun against his head all that time but the guy didn’t say a word

You can read the rest here….

Tanta posted this quote from Alliance Bancorp over at Calculated Risk along with some commentary. If you are interested in economics, you already read Calculated Risk. But if your interest runs more towards all that is humorous, you might have missed it. So here it is in all its glory….

This year we’ve put up a valiant fight! One with integrity, dignity and never wavering determination, focused solely on how to succeed. We have reached out to everyone we know, and many that we don’t know, to tell our story, of how we have made it this far, of the expertise and skills that we have, of the quality of our organization, and of how we have refused to lose! We have received tremendous support and loyalty from our employees and business partners during this year’s extreme conditions. So many individuals and companies have believed in us and cheered us on as we’ve dodged the obstacles thrown in our path, obstacles that many others were unable to overcome. We have had extraordinary support from our ownership and Board of Directors. They have acted unselfishly, putting the company, its employees and creditors first and foremost. They are honorable people whom I highly respect.

Unfortunately the latest market was more than we were able to overcome. We have exhausted our resources and do not have the means to move forward. Therefore, it is with great sadness that I announce that we have ceased operations as of today, July 13th.