At the risk of trivializing a serious international incident and reducing a humanitarian crisis to a simple character attack, Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi is a real dick. If the world community were a 4th-grade birthday party, he would be the creepy, aggressive kid who got invited because your parents felt bad for him, hung around eating his boogers way too long because you were hoping he'd give you a nice present, and then jammed his hand into the birthday cake because he thought it was funny. Of course, unlike a stinky 4th-grader, it's going to take a major armed revolution, a NATO-enforced no-fly zone, and possibly more to get Mo out of the world's backyard. So what about the playground's greatest weapon (rocks are a close #2), humiliation? More»

Davy Jones' Locker claimed two East Enders this past weekend. Both men were able swimmers, but the combination of rip tides and ensuing panic proved too strong. When I was getting my waterfront lifeguard certification, rip tides were one of the biggest stress points -how to predict and identify them, as well as how best to rescue those less in the know.

Right now we're in the middle of prime storm and hurricane season, and rip tides are a certain accompaniment, so even if you're an excellent swimmer, don't stray far off the shore. More»