Wifi comes from peas, woman accusing cop of illegal behavior has to answer some Qs

Comments (0) By Keegan Hamilton and Chad Garrison and Ellis E. Conklin Wednesday, Jun 3 2009

Gretchen Hydo, of Chatterbox Public Relations in Van Nuys, California, recently came a-trolling with a rather remarkable pitch of her own. Hoping to convince RFT — or anyone for that matter — to run a story on how Skypanels are a perfect Father's Day gift, Hydo wrote:

"With Father's Day right around the corner, it's time to celebrate Dad. But when Dad's in debt, or in the doghouse, how do you mark that special day? And what do you do for a divorced Dad or the Dad who has it all? Go for 'the get' — in this case the gift — the one that won't break your bank, the one your gadget guru hasn't gotten. We all know he doesn't need another grill (or necktie)!

Jennifer Silverberg

Minerva Lopez and Ben West: Pulling Wifi from wasabi peas.

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How about Skypanels?"

To the uninitiated, Skypanels are light diffusers that have photos of actual sky, clouds, palm trees, hot-air balloons and so on, to help create a more relaxed, soothing atmosphere. The panels are custom designed and fit into standard florescent ceiling fixtures.

Now, about that Father's Day pitch. I reached Ms. Hydo the morning of May 27 and asked, point-blank, whether Skypanels might be an appropriate gift for, say, a suicidal dad.

"Oh yeah, if Dad is suicidal, this will elevate his mood."

"OK, how about if Dad has a terminal illness?"

"Yes, it will help to brighten his mood, because he probably can't get outside much, so the Skypanels will bring the outdoors to him."

I pressed on.

"All right, let's say Dad is on trial for murder. Will Skypanels help with that?"

"No, I don't think it will help. Because if he's on trial for murder, he's probably in jail, and if he is, he doesn't deserve Skypanels."

Is there really anything more to say?
—Ellis E. Conklin