I think I was in the only bar in New York last night without a television. Not that I minded, but it just occurred to me now. I mean, you don't normally see that -- a bar without at LEAST a solitary TV hanging above the bar on one end.

My eyes have been irritated all day, and I wonder if it's still lingering effects of all the smoke from the enclosed spaces, or perhaps just the second-hand smoke from people sitting right next to me. Ah, but it was all worth it.

I found this story amusing:

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A Jersey City man is suspected of stealing $5 million worth of $20 bills he was supposed to use to restock automated teller machines, and the FBI is offering a reward.

Michael Schwartz, 36, whose last known address was on Jersey Avenue, is believed to have fled with the cash, which came from a California financial institution.

The bills weighed 350 pounds.

He owned and operated Direct Connect ATM and Schwartz Armored LLC, two businesses he established within the last two years, the FBI said.

He obtained a contract that required him to restock more than 160 "stand-alone" ATMs in non-bank locations throughout New York and New Jersey.

He was last seen Dec. 2, and is thought to be traveling with his two cats, named Bonnie and Clyde, in either a white 1998 Ford Econoline van with New Jersey license plate KMW59M or a

gray 1989 Ford Econoline van with New Jersey license plate JZE20T.

He is described as a heavyset white male with black hair, blue eyes and a beard. The FBI said both cats are Siamese and gray colored; one is fat and the other is obese.

A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Here at the office, people wondered how one cat could be obese and the other fat. Casey and I know. I find it amusing that a guy can just start up a business - "Mike's ATM Re-Stocking" - and get such trusting clients within two years. You'd think you'd want a more established institution to restock ATMs. This version of the story was also a writethru, re-sent to add descriptions of the cats. The cats, as if someone might positively ID the cats before the guy. Which, of course, could happen.

Three days left in the year, and I'm working only one and a half of them -- tonight and Sunday. Oh yeah.