OBITER

 

Sir Godiva’s Losing Streak

A state prosecutor in Florida’s island city of Key West is under arrest after he allegedly ran naked and drunk across a parking lot and hopped into the wrong car. Albert Tasker of the local state prosecutor’s office told police he had been drinking with friends and thought it would be funny to take off his clothes and run to a friend’s car in the parking lot, according to the Florida Keys Citizen. But Tasker apparently got into the back seat of the wrong car, much to the distress of the woman in the vehicle. The legitimate occupant screamed and called her boyfriend who telephoned police. Since taken to task, the prosecutor faces charges of disorderly intoxication and indecent exposure, and has been placed on administrative leave without pay. Key West, the southernmost point in the continental United States, is famed for the often eccentric behaviour of its residents, who once included US author Ernest Hemingway whose bar-room brawls are legendary on the island.

 

Making Up for Lost Time

We have all at one time or other complained about not having enough hours in a day to finish the day’s work but one American lawyer, Timothy Spayne – who practised with several non-lawyers in his office – supposedly reviewed 113 files, made and received 91 phone calls and wrote 72 letters. Over a two-year period, he was alleged to have charged for more than 24 hours of work in a single day an impressive 135 times. In one case outlined by federal attorneys, he was alleged to have opened three separate files for a worker’s injuries to his left knee, right knee, and hands and arms, prepared three letters and three file memos and billed an hour’s conference time to each file, even though he was said not to have spent three hours with the client. Mr Spayne’s lawyer told the Connecticut Tribune that it made financial sense to settle the claims, because of the cost of defence, adding that criminal charges against his client had been stayed.

 

Have you

Wondered?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?

Why do banks charge a fee on ‘insufficient funds’ when they know there is not enough?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn’t glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilised needles for death by lethal injection?

 Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

What is the speed of darkness?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?

And my own personal favourite …

If someone with a split personality threatens to commit suicide, is it a hostage situation?