SOMEBODY is amused to report that skateboarders are flocking to Google Earth to sniff out foreclosed homes with half-empty swimming pools they can skate in.

A 27-year-old skater who goes by the pseudonym Josh Peacock told the NY Times that current global economic conditions had turned Fresno, California into a Boulevard of Concrete Dreams.

“We have more pools than we know what do with,” Josh pipes. “We can just hit them back to back!”

Josh and his concrete cowboys use satellite images from Google Earth to uncover potential playgrounds. They also skate the suburbs searching for signs of home foreclosures such as “dead grass on the lawn and lockboxes on the front door.”

Josh drains the remaining water with a pool pump and sometimes sets up orange cones to “appear more official.” He returns a few days later and skates for short periods to avoid police attention.

SOMEBODY is impressed by the strategic nature of these strikes. If only such planning went into the writing of the American Pie sequels!