Great adventures in human error...someone in Atlanta, Georgia goofed while entering in a promotion for a hotel stay at the Crowne Plaza about 15 miles from Venice, Italy.  The hotel stands to lose about $130,000. 

Click here for the full article.

Kudos to the hotel for honoring the reservations, and more kudos to the quick bargain-finders that were able to capitalize on the error.  No kudos to the bum who's probably looking for a new job in data entry.  1 kudo to me for finding this and subsequently writing about it.

About a year ago, I highlighted a traveling misadventure that was pretty epic in its stupidity.  Today, I get to revisit that story, thanks to yet another mixup with the two Sydneys.

Click here for the Reuters article.

Last year's article was the result of ignorance on the part of the traveler. This time around, it seems like the onus is on Air Canada for the mix-up.  It sounds like they booked hotel rooms in the wrong Sydney for the travelers.  I've traveled Air Canada enough in my time to not put it past them to make a mistake like that.  So, congratulations, Air Canada, you get today's /facepalm Award for Geographical Ignorance.  That's not a very prestigious award for anyone to win, but it goes doubly for an airline.

It seems like all I write about are stories involving the police, but I'll be darned if those don't make for the most interesting stories. COPS is still airing after 20 years, so I rest my case.

At any rate, here's a story that is pretty entertaining:
Police say suspect was caught by his own seat belt

Lawrence Neal was trying to bail out of his car while being pursued by the police, and got caught in his seat belt in the process. There are some hilarious other details, such as him getting dragged, breaking his leg, etc., but my favorite part is this: "During the chase, police said Neal used turn signals". Amazing. Maybe he was new to the whole 'running from the cops' thing, but usually if you are trying to avoid someone, you don't give them indicators on where you are going. /facepalm 

John, check the first 3 paragraphs of this article out (also should be checked out if your name isn't John):

http://www.lohud.com/article/2009908100317

I really hope you didn't read beyond 3 paragraphs, because it gets to be a real downer of an article, and that's no fun on a Monday. So, an old lady drove the wrong way for 2 miles on a bridge in New York. It's a good thing the entire city was dutifully at church except for this woman, or things could have gotten messy.  /facepalm

Chicago has a cliché phrase that goes something like this:  'We have two seasons here in Chicago: Winter and Construction' (while I'm sure this quaint colloquilism can be applied to just about every city north of the 40th parallel, I grew up in Chicago, so let's just pretend that it only applies here).  While the phrase itself is an exaggeration, there is certainly an element of truth to it.  I've personally sat in many 2-3 hour traffic jams due to construction that would have otherwise taken a quarter of the time.  As a result, I've been afforded plenty of opportunity to stare wistfully at those orange strip-ed horses that accompany 100% of all construction projects.  Which is why, this past local election, I took note of one particular candidate's lawn sign (pictured).  The sign, as you can tell, is an obvious reference to the aforementioned construction horses. 

Now, I work in marketing full time, so perhaps I'm just more accutely aware of brand image, but it just baffles me that this gentlemen would willingly choose to associate himself with something that all Chicago drivers have been frustrated by.  As Highway Commissoner he likely could have chosen any number of images that would subconsciously leave a better impression on people.  Wheels, the painted stripes that designate lanes, or just black asphalt.  I just came up with that stuff off the top of my head, and all of those ideas would have differentiated himself from the typical droll signs that are used.  Mr. Muehlfelt, I salute you with a /facepalm.