In the News Today

Oh, boy.

It's been reported that a Chinese man who loaned out a virtual sword in an online game, became enraged and stabbed the other man to death with a real blade when he found out the sword had been sold.

In other news, a man selling fishing lures displayed his wares by embedding them in the skin of a nude woman's back and posting the photo on eBay.

Meanwhile, down Texas way, a Houston cop and his partner have been reassigned while the department investigates the claim that one downloaded the photos on a cellphone of a woman he arrested, including nude ones, and the partner later called the woman and asked her out to a restaurant.

Finally, people who donated money to the parent of Terry Schiavo may discover that Schiavo's parents demonstrated their ethics by selling their mailing list of supporters to a direct-mailing firm. Schiavo's donors may find themselves being spammed by solicitors.

As you surf the web this fine day, you may find these and other stories circulating, stories that give you pause, stories that may motivate to stop and ask yourself, "Is this for real?" Then, with a chuckle, you remember that today is April Fool's day and dismiss all that you have seen.

It is with that in mind that I tell you, these stories have been posted in the last few days, and appear to be for real. And that, my friends, is the sad joke. On us.