Note to Self: Use Snowblower, NOT Flamethrower

More proof that no bad idea is too dumb to be tried by someone in the real world. The downside to a free society is the freedom to do things that everyone agrees is stupid... even yourself in retrospect.

Fire officials in New Bedford, Mass., said a man using a blowtorch to melt ice on his back porch ended up setting his house on fire, causing up to $30,000 in damage...

Kruger said the man was using a torch hooked up to a 20-pound propane cylinder. He got too close to the building's wood frame and ignited the vinyl siding. The fire quickly spread into the building's second- and third-floor apartments.

The scariest part for me is knowing just how many geeks will read this story and think "I have GOT to try that!"