It Wasn’t the Kodak Moment They Had Pictured for Themselves

Stupid Criminal Trick of the Month Award goes to the car theft suspects in Redlands who left behind photos of themselves in the 2001 Ford Mustang they allegedly stole and later abandoned.

The photos were taken with a disposable camera that was found in the vehicle, Associated Press reported. Fingerprints were also found.

But it gets better. The cops said that when they went to the home of one of the suspects, he was wearing the same shirt he had on in the photos.

“These are not the brightest people,” commented a Redlands police spokesman.

The second suspect remained at large -- for now.

*

No red tape here! In the New Zealand town of Davenport, Joe Devinny of Long Beach chanced upon a sign that he figures couldn’t be referring to a government agency (see photo).

*

Hardly the cat’s meow: Randall Gellens saw an online ad that either contained a typo or is pushing a product for extreme cases of hairballs (see accompanying).

*

Unclear on the concept: Dan Fink of L.A. spotted a sign that said: “Private Property -- Hunting, Fishing, Trapping or Trespassing for Any Purpose Is Strictly Forbidden.” Nothing strange about that except it was posted outside a house under construction on Linden Drive -- in the wilds of Beverly Hills.

*

On the other hand: I guess things are still pretty wild in these parts. David Boone noticed that a Fox Hills store in L.A. actually asks shoppers not to bring in firearms (see photo).

*

Extreme self-criticism? College instructor Richard Lorentz wondered if the e-mail he received from a student was “a poetic way” of saying the student’s term project proposal would not be well-received.

The e-mail said the proposal was “attacked.”

Then there was the student who asked in class if Lorentz’s final exam was going to be “commutative” (as opposed to “cumulative”). After a gaffe like that, I’m not sure if Lorentz would commute the student’s grade from a C to a B.

*

Math dropout? Meanwhile, an ad with a confusing offer caught the eye of Diane Kananen of West Hills (see accompanying).

*

Name game: Pat Mooney found Carol Boots Magee of Torrance Plumbing & Heating in the membership directory of the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Boots seems apropos for a plumbing business,” Mooney commented.

*

miscelLAny: Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg, commenting on a study that showed a man’s sex drive diminishes when his favorite team loses: “As a result, Los Angeles Dodgers fans could be extinct by 2015.”

*

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.