Global warming? Try scorched earth
Still wondering whether global warming is for real? Any doubts you had should be put to rest by the temperature reading that Tom Burfield found in Rossmoor (see photo).
I hope it was a dry heat.
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Unusual dual businesses: Mark Richman of West L.A. spotted a firm that, he says, could be of service to someone who was kicked in the teeth -- and, if need be, to the kicker as well (see photo). Richman suspects the sign was supposed to say “orthotics,” referring, in this case, to devices for problem feet.
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Impressive fleet: In West Hollywood, Phil Proctor of Beverly Hills chanced upon an aerial business that proudly put some of its fliers on display (see photo).
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Cat got your toilet? The “What’s New” category of the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society (snopes.com) investigated a widely circulated e-mail about a family whose water bills supposedly skyrocketed because their feline liked to flush their toilet.
Turns out the water-bill part was a hoax. But the Santa Clara family’s cat, Gizmo, did have an obsession with the toilet handle. You can see the creature in action on YouTube.com (keywords: “Gizmo flushes”). The owner told snopes.com that the cat’s interest in the toilet has waned in recent months, but the family still tries “to keep the bathroom door shut.”
He also disclosed that Gizmo has never used the toilet “for its intended purpose.”
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Get me to the shrine on time: Former pro basketball player Dennis Rodman is upset that he hasn’t been nominated for the NBA Hall of Fame, and you have to wonder if the many suspensions he drew for bad behavior might be a factor. (Actually, he would be a sure thing for the Partyer Hall of Fame, if there were such a thing, inasmuch as the police were called to his ex-Newport Beach home to break up his late-night bashes more than 80 times in eight years.)
The eccentric Rodman, now a Las Vegas resident, is hopeful about his chances for the NBA honor. “One of the things I’m most looking forward to,” he told the New York Times, “is how I will dress on the day I make my Hall of Fame acceptance speech.”
Not sure Rodman improved his chances with the comment about his clothes. He drew publicity some years ago when he showed up for an event wearing a wedding dress.
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miscelLAny: Good news: L.A. is one of the cheapest cities to die in. A Houston firm that surveys such things found that it cost an average of $7,786 for a funeral in the City of Angels, compared with $9,990 in Chicago, the most expensive, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Before you get to feeling too good about the future, here’s what the newspaper said about L.A.’s bargain rates: “Of course, to cash in on those savings when you finally cash out, you’ll have to figure out some way to afford to live in Southern California.”
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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.