Yesterdays news of the fiddling window cleaner seems to have taken over the UK news. A benefit cheat claimed more than £70,000 by saying he was too sick to leave the house alone while working as a window cleaner for 14 years. John Booth, 63, claimed he was agoraphobic, had panic attacks and could only walk 50 yards before he needed to rest.Best headline article today was from the "Sun," titled "Snakes & ladders." This video is the moment investigators trapped a Chorley benefit cheat who claimed he couldn’t work because he had agoraphobia. The game of Snakes & Ladders was created by a humble window cleaner, Murk E. Payne Esq. in 1945 - see here.
Window cleaner lives on the edge: A reader writes: "I'm sitting here in my office having one of those 'some people' moments ... To the window cleaner on Windsor St, Parnell on Friday morning. Step 1: balance old, shaky 6m ladder on wet/slippery tarmac, make sure you don't secure the ladder to anything, or have anyone holding the base. Step 2: climb up a wet, soapy ladder to the top carrying a paint bucket filled with water and sponges in one hand and balance on the top rung. Step 3: while still holding full bucket, lean over to the next window balancing on one foot, 6m off the ground, and have a casual chat to your employer while still scrubbing the window! Mate, you are a true blue genius. I hope you have good life insurance!"
42 reasons to wear safety gear: Craig writes: "Speaking of window cleaner safety, my wife and I now live in Manhattan and as part of the 42nd floor apartment lease we signed we get one free window clean on moving in. We were expecting to see a window cleaning basket come down the side of the building at some point, but imagine our surprise when this young man climbed up on to our window sill and leaned out the window to clean the outside. He was not attached to anything with 42 floors below him."
Gateshead burglar Shaun Bell conned pensioners: A burglar was branded “the lowest of the low” after he preyed on vulnerable pensioners to feed his drug habit. Posing as a window cleaner, Shaun Bell called at the homes of elderly women and demanded cash, saying he had cleaned their windows. But the 26-year-old, from Gateshead, had done no such thing. Instead, he was conning some of the most vulnerable members of his own community out of cash so he could score heroin on the streets of Tyneside. A judge branded Bell “the lowest of the low” when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing. But the cruel fraudster was given one last chance to clean up his act and walked free from court after promising to kick his heroin habit. Judge Beatrice Bolton heard how Bell, who has already done time for burgling the homes of elderly pensioners, targeted vulnerable victims to get cash.Peter Gair, prosecuting, said: “The defendant committed fraud by conning an 84-year-old lady who lives on her own out of a modest amount of money by telling her he was a window cleaner. “She had been ill, is immobile and requires care and she was visited by this defendant, who said he needed £8.50 for cleaning the windows. “She gave him £10 just to get rid of him. Thereafter he returned to the property. Fortunately on one occasion a carer was present.” Bell pleaded guilty to the fraud, which happened in December last year. The court agreed that five other similar offences could be taken into consideration. Bell, of Aycliffe Crescent, Wrekenton, asked the judge for one last chance to stay out of prison and stay off drugs. He said: “I want help.” Bell was given a two-year community order with requirement that he follows a drug treatment programme. But Judge Bolton warned him if he failed to comply with the order he would be going to jail for 18 months. “This man is a drug addict,” she said. “He’s mean, he’s selfish, he’s the lowest of the low and will do anything to obtain money for drugs. “This is your very, very last chance. Picking on the elderly is reprehensible.”
Dad Sean McAtee is fed-up sharing a cramped one-bedroom council flat with his wife and two young children - and angry there seems little hope of getting the type of house he wants. Self-employed window cleaner Sean (34) had been living in the flat in Herbertshire Street, Denny, for 12 years. When he got married five years ago, wife Maureen (26) moved in with him and first son Sean was born just a year later. When younger son Declan came along in September last year and all four of them began sleeping in the same bedroom. This is obviously not ideal for a family of four and Sean began to question Falkirk Council's housing allocation policies.
Husband's despair as he can't afford wife's funeral: A grieving husband feels “let down by the system” after a series of errors left him with a funeral bill he is unable to pay. Colin Bowden applied for funeral funding through a Job Centre after his wife Marilyn died in Chesham in November. He applied on December 16 and was told he would get a response within 12 weeks – but heard nothing back until April 6. Correspondence about the application was sent to the wrong number house in The Gowers, Amersham, where Mr Bowden has now moved to. This week Mr Bowden was sent a letter stating “further action to recover full payment” of the £2,401 he owes for the funeral costs is now being considered. But Mr Bowden, who says he 'only just has enough money to get by' from his job as a window cleaner, believes he should have had more help. He said: “They are putting pressure on me and asking me for money I haven't got. “I feel let down by the system. I just can't believe they can turn down people who've got no money and can't pay for the funeral.
AUBURN — They’re back. They’ve been in Auburn for just over a week and already have attracted the attention of visitors and passers-by. Some do a double-take. Is that really a woman walking her dog? Is that a police officer writing a parking ticket?For the next three months, 13 life-size bronze sculptures and one monumental sculpture by artist J. Seward Johnson will remain at sites on a walking tour through downtown Auburn. The commission first brought Johnson’s work to Auburn in the summer of 2007 and is presenting an encore exhibit due to its overwhelming popularity. Nice to See You: A window cleaner appears to be looking in at the window he is cleaning; West Seventh and North Main streets. See here for the sculpture in question.
With the help of graduate students from Wright State University, city officials recently conducted a survey to gauge local interest in creating an Special Improvement District for downtown Urbana. Melanie Kendrick, city development planner for Urbana, said the study showed businesses who participate would pay about $130 per year to join the special improvement district. The district would likely have about a $50,000 budget to provide services that could include snow removal, window cleaning, and cleaning sidewalks, among others. Several business owners already pay outside companies to perform those services, Kendrick said. Those business owners would likely see a savings if an SID is implemented.
The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire has appointed a local man to replace Chair Jim Forsythe who has stepped aside to focus on his state senate campaign in the fourth district. Andrew Hemingway, who has served as chair of the Bristol Budget Committee, said he plans to work within the state chapter organization to lead conservative Republican candidates to victory in 2010 elections and to bring the Republican Party back to its roots. "I became a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire because the values and principles of the group match the values and principles that made this country successful and this state great," said Hemingway. "The Republican Liberty Caucus is working aggressively to get solid conservative candidates elected. I'm honored and excited about the opportunity we have. I think we can make a huge impact."Hemingway, born and raised in Plymouth, in the home of a small-business owner, has created several successful entrepreneurial enterprises, from a window-washing business in his early college years to an online sports coaching portal.Hemingway lives in Bristol with his wife and two children. As chair of the Bristol Budget Committee, he has supported zero-based budgeting, requiring town departments to start from zero and add expenditures to the budget each year, rather than start from the prior year's budget amount. He says the committee has cut spending by more than 10 percent, or $500,000, and reduced property taxes to the lowest rate in more than 20 years for Bristol residents.
University of Exeter designs blast-proof curtain: A blast-proof curtain is being developed by scientists from a Devon university to protect potential terrorist targets. The curtain can capture debris, such as flying glass, when windows are blown in. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) project is led by the University of Exeter and research and development firm Auxetix. The curtain could also be effective during typhoons and hurricanes. Shock absorption: Testing has begun at a government-approved facility and the curtain could be on the market in three to five years. The curtain has been primarily designed to be fixed over the windows of potential terrorist targets, such as government and high-profile commercial properties. Professor Ken Evans, from the university, said: "In the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, glass accounted for nearly two thirds of all eye and head injuries. "The blast curtain we're working on, which will be capable of dispersing the shock from an explosion extremely effectively, will be backed up by robust scientific understanding vital to ensuring it really can block flying debris and achieve widespread use." More here.
David E. Eisner was bitten by the computer bug at age 12 when his parents purchased an Apple II computer for him. Tinkering on the computer opened a new world. He played games, then advanced to writing programs. After studying computer science at the University of Maryland at College Park and Johns Hopkins University, he worked for IBM and two other companies before founding Dataprise in his Rockville apartment in 1995. The goal: to provide information technology services for small and medium-size businesses. Fifteen years later, Dataprise has 115 employees, 1,000 active clients from Northern Virginia to New York City, and is approaching $16 million in annual revenue. In May, Eisner, 44, of Rockville, was named the Tech Council of Maryland's 2010 Executive of the Year. He is married and has three children.Worst job: "My best friend and I started a window-cleaning business that lasted one weekend. After we cleaned three houses, I thought I would never get out of bed again. I couldn't move for a week!"
Death, dissatisfaction and dirty windows haunt Hisae Iwaoka's Saturn Apartments: Saturn Apartments embraces an existential melancholy, accentuating quiet moments, mystery and introspection over space opera. Call it zen in the art of window-washing…in space. Young Mitsu has just graduted from junior high. He’s 14, an orphan, and he’s following his late father’s footsteps into the occupation of window-washer. In manga artist Hisae Iwaoka’s dream-like vision of the future, that’s a hazardous profession, not unlike the chimney sweeps of Victorian England. A structure that recalls (lightly) Larry Nivens’s classic novel Ringworld, the Saturn Apartments appear to be a massive, three-level ring built to encircle the Earth. All of humanity relocated there generations ago, when the planet was declared a nature preserve—no humans allowed. The ring’s levels correspond to three classes of wealth, opportunity and privilege.Many elements of the story are also reminiscent of Charles Dickens: life revolves arounds class; people are practically born into their roles and cannot change levels; and the story follows an orphaned child of mysterious lineage being thrown into a harsh working life, which also gives him a view (literally, through the windows he’s hired to clean) into lives of all classes. Through Mitsu’s eyes, we meet people at all levels who experience similar existential crises. It’s as if everyone quiet wonders if this is all there is. Mitsu’s father died on the job, five years earlier and under mysterious circumstances. Since then, an organization known as “the guild” (apparently a sort of union of window-washers) seems to have been looking out for Mitsu, much to the annoyance of his co-workers. Their resentment could prove fatal for Mitsu, and he wonders on more than one occasion if particular colleagues are out to kill or at least deceive him.
I searched for a custodial job last summer after working for 10 months in an on-campus job that was demanding (to put it mildly). A custodian’s job lacked agonizing deadlines, bureaucratic meetings and conflicting viewpoints. After all, there is really only one way to wash a window. And that’s what I was hired to do. Clean windows and vacuum rugs at the entrances to the Richards Building. Occasionally an assignment comes up to break the monotony. But other than that, it’s washing windows for four hours every day. It’s the stress-free environment I was looking for, but I will admit it is boring sometimes. Because of the unexciting nature of my job, any interaction with others is a highlight of my day. And because I happen to work on the BYU campus, most of those interactions are very positive. Hardly a day goes by I don’t hear a “Thank you” or “Good job” from someone coming through the door. These passers-by not only appreciate a clean window, but they are willing to voice that appreciation out loud to someone who they have never met. Instead of ignoring the janitors like the masses tend to do, they empathize and know a custodian could use some gratitude. Even if that custodian isn’t depressed or forlorn, a “thank you” never hurts.
LOS ANGELES — Tens of thousands of jubilant Los Angeles Lakers fans lined a two-mile route Monday, many waving purple and gold flags and T-shirts that read "Back 2 Back" as they cheered the NBA champions during a parade to celebrate the team's second consecutive title. Many fans took a day off work to pay tribute to their team. Window washer Jimmy Baskom, 58, said he forewent the day's pay to drive in from Palmdale because he wanted to see his longtime basketball heroes up close after watching every game this season on TV.
21 'spidermen' to scale glass facade of MBS: Teams of top rock climbers from around the world will compete to emerge as the best "Spidermen", in a building-climbing contest - the first of its kind - to be held here (Singapore). Tomorrow, 21 climbers will scale the glass facades of integrated resort Marina Bay Sands' three 200m-tall towers to reach the Sands SkyPark, in the World Championship Climb. Each team comprises two men and a woman, who will have to conquer one tower each, one after another. After the last climber completes the 55-storey ascent, all three team members have to race to the finish line near the infinity pool in the Sands SkyPark - the rooftop level linking the three towers containing swimming pools, restaurants and a viewing deck.The seven teams represent the
United States, Canada, China, Europe, the Commonwealth, Asia and Singapore. The contest will be held to mark the official opening of Marina Bay Sands tomorrow, but the resort plans to make it an annual affair. The resort - which opened 963 hotel rooms, conference rooms and a casino on April 27 - will open the remaining 1,598 hotel rooms, and more shops and restaurants tomorrow. As part of the opening, eight skydivers will jump off the Sands SkyPark and parachute into the waters in front of the resort's Event Plaza.Dr Omer Mei-Dan, the climbing contest's executive producer, said that the climb will be challenging as the tower walls are overhanging. It means that the climbers will need a stronger grip in the last leg of the climb, he said. They also need to use the same set of muscles repeatedly to move up, making the climb more strenuous, he added. Ms Beatrix Chong, 31, the top female rock climber in Singapore's national team who will represent the country in the contest, said this will be the first time she will climb a building in her 11 years of experience. She usually climbs over natural rocks and rock interfaces at outdoor gyms, and does speed climbs of only 30m in height.
Mr Tim Emmett, 36, a British television host and a member of Team Commonwealth, emerged first out of the seven climbers involved in yesterday's trial climb. Asked to rate his team's chances, he said: "I got to the top first, so, hopefully, if we play our cards right, we can get to the top before everyone else." He added: "The view was just amazing. I wanted to get my parachute and jump off the building." Climbers will have two more trial climbs on the towers before the competition begins at 5.30pm tomorrow.
