No Brains Involved in This Baldheaded Case of Residential Trespassing

No wonder he wasn’t worried about the police being summoned: The crime log of the Los Alamitos News-Enterprise reported: “A 20-something man with a shaved head seen standing in a resident’s side yard for 10 minutes was a dummy.”

Big numbers: When I spoke at my son’s elementary school career day, one of the students, 9-year-old Jordan Curry, asked me if I use math in my job.

I assured him I do--often as a service to readers.

For instance, when Anna Espinoza of Mission Viejo told me about a 2-ton watch (see accompanying), I got out my calculator and after several minutes of work concluded that I could recommend it only to readers who have very strong wrists.

Did I miss the secession vote? David Boone of L.A. noticed that a taxi company has already separated the Valley from the city of L.A. (see accompanying).

Is it worth all that noise? An anonymous reader came upon an opening for a job that sounds as though it packs a lot of pressure (see accompanying).

Disco drama? “A woman reported that she suspected her vehicle was taken from her gated carport, then returned,” the San Clemente Sun Post News said. “She said her tapes with music from the ‘70s were taken.”

But there was no evidence “of forced entry or vehicle tampering.”

An ad or a commentary? My colleague Deirdre Edgar noted that the billboard for the movie, “Mr. Deeds,” has an ironic blurb.

The movie co-stars Winona Ryder, who is awaiting trial on charges of shoplifting $4,500 worth of goods from a Saks Fifth Avenue store.

And the billboard says, “Don’t let fancy clothes fool you.”

Weird oldies: I mentioned the customized version of the 1965 song, “New York’s a Lonely Town,” which contained references to the old rock ‘n’ roll station KRLA.

Well, this wasn’t the only case of radio plugola. “I have a cassette of Harry Chapin at a concert in L.A.,” wrote Mike Skinner of Ventura. “While performing, ‘WOLD,’ a song about a well-traveled disc jockey, he modifies the chorus once to say, ‘I am the morning DJ at KHJ.’”

Ricardo Flores of Culver City recalled “KRLA King of the Wheels” by the Bobby Fuller Four, which “was about the KRLA hot rod that the station used as a promotional tool.”

Christopher Brame also remembered the Chapin and Fuller songs, adding, “There’s another song called, ‘WPLJ,’”

But, he noted, “It wasn’t about radio. It stood for White Port Lemon Juice.”

E-mail I don’t bother to open: The subject heading said, “Steve.harvey, amazing breast enhancing capsules.’”

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miscelLAny: “How helpful would it be if you knew when someone was lying to you?” begins the blurb for one class listed in the summer catalog of the Long Beach Recreation and Parks Department.

It’s a fib-detection course titled, “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” I’m surprised the class consists of just four hours of instruction.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, 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 [email protected].