They’re in the ‘hood, the machine (pick-up truck), television, and even in civil engineering. Beware.

Paranormal Studies: Ghosts in the ‘Hood

According to this story from Canada.com, a security guard in Des Moines, Iowa (Can’t the Canucks come up with their own bizarre news?) was fired after an incident on Sept.11 during which he called his supervisor for backup — for seeing ghosts haunting a neighborhood. Hell, I’d call for backup, too. Problem was, the supervisor didn’t see the ghosts, so he fired the security guard. (Which seems rude.) “Such beliefs do render the claimant unfit to act as a security guard,” Judge G. Ken Renegar ruled. “The employer cannot have security guards who see ghosts and apparitions and inform the employer, and then the employer sends out the patrol cars.” However, the judge ruled, seeing ghosts is not the type of misconduct that can disqualify [the guard] from receiving benefits.

Digital Electronics: Ghosts in the TV Commercial

Best mass-circulated of the week is awarded to one that goes like this…

This one is really wild, but make sure you read the info below before you view the video and turn up the volume if you can.

This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist. They found out that a person had been killed a year earlier in that exact same spot. The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostly phenomenon.

A little creepy but it seems to be authentic!

This is one piece of mailed video that might even help productivity. Remember the one who sneered at you yesterday when you asked to please pass the cranberry sauce? Here’s your chance for karmic balance, as long as you have his or her email address.

Engineering for Durability: Do Engineers Really Know What People are Doing With Their Trucks?

Favorite Site of the Week honors go to Streetfire.net, especially if you’re a car person or, at the very least, have even a small, underdeveloped funny bone in your body.

Case in point: What would drive someone to do this to what is apparently a perfectly good truck?

If you’re brave enough, browse the site and vote here for your favorite vids.

Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics: Ghosts in the Iceberg

Apparently, the Great Global Warming Debate continues.

Not knowing if the ‘berg’s songs indicate happiness or impending doom, scientists monitoring earths movements in Antarctica believe they’ve found a singing iceberg, according to this article from Reuters.

They seem to have discovered Michigan J. Frog in the area, with one of the scientists swearing that he heard, “Hello my baby, hello my darling, hello my ragtime gal…”

But seriously.

‘”Sound waves from the iceberg had a frequency of around 0.5 hertz, too low to be heard by humans, but by playing them at higher speed the iceberg sounded like a swarm of bees or an orchestra warming up,” the scientists said.’

“The tune even goes up and down, just like a real song.”

Civil De-Engineering: Ghosts with Hacksaws

Maybe they should hire that guard from Iowa who saw ghosts, got fired, and regained his pension. Seems there’s some ghostly activity going on in Baltimore, according to this article in The New York Times.

About 300 aluminum light poles weigh about 250 lbs each and measure 30-feet tall. Certainly not a job for your average prankster. “The culprits seem to have pole-snatching down to a model of precision and efficiency, city officials say. They appear to have gone so far as dressing up as utility crews, the police say, and placing orange traffic cones around the poles about to be felled, to avoid arousing suspicion among motorists,” said David Brown, a spokesman for the city’s transportation department .

“If the cops can’t catch guys who’re cutting down 30-foot poles, how are they going to crack a major drug gang?” said Chip Franklin, a talk-show host on WBAL Radio, a local news and talk station. “What’s next? Someone taking a downtown building?”

Actually, Chip, that might be exceedingly funny. As long as no one were hurt.

Remember, pole theft is a crime.

Slightly Belated Happy Thanksgiving Wishes, and…

Enjoy your weekend…