land of odd
There have been a number of reports of cab drivers balking at customers who try to pay with credit cards in New York City, but a woman is accusing a cabbie of actually punching her after she tried to charge a ride.
Tamara Perez tells CBS station WCBS-TV she still can't believe it happened.
The incident happened Tuesday after Perez ran to her East Village home to pick up some papers. Once in the cab, the 35-year-old realized she had no cash the pay the $10 fare. Instead, she pulled out a credit card, but the cabbie wasn't having it.
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"He wouldn't let me use the card, he wouldn't press the button," she tells WCBS. "I said, 'You have to press the button,' and he's like, 'No, no I don't know, I don't know how to use it.'"
Perez says the driver got out of the cab and told her to go get cash. She refused, said she wanted to use the machine and would tip well.
"I tried to walk past him and he pushed me back into the cab. I got up and told him I was calling my husband who is a professional boxer," she says. "I started dialing the phone and he said, 'I give you a punch in the mouth' and he turned around and he socked me in the mouth."
Perez tried to copy down the driver's license number, but mixed up the numbers as he took off. She's hoping police can track down the crooked cabbie.
"I want new york to find him and prosecute him," she says.
Perez called 311 and 911 after the incident and filed complaints.
"We haven't yet identified the driver, but when we do he will be suspended. It is an aberration," says Matthew Daus, commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission in New York City.
On Thursday, the TLC announced it had launched an undercover operation in place to try and catch cabbies if they refuse to use the credit card machine. Now the NYPD will be getting involved, too.
"When she got out of the car there was some kind of pushing event that she described that we heard initially. Now the story is that she was punched which is an assault, and obviously we will investigate that as an assault," says Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
[Via CBS]
Land of Odd: Woman In New York City Says Cabbie Hit Her For Not Having Cash
Land of Odd: Man Sets Station On Fire Over Playlist
land of odd
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ― A volunteer at a community radio station set fire to the station because he was upset that his song selections for an overnight Internet broadcast were changed, police said.
Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, has been charged with second-degree felony arson for the Jan. 5 fire that caused $300,000 damage to the studios of 91.7 FM KOOP. He faces from two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
Feinstein told investigators that he was "very unhappy" about the changes to his playlist, said Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye. The songs were intended for an Internet broadcast that occurs when the station is off the air.
"He had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him," Nye said.
An attorney for Feinstein could not be reached for comment.
Station president Andrew Dickens said Feinstein had been in a dispute with another volunteer about what kind of music should be put into a digital library for the Internet program.
Feinstein was a jazz fan and his Internet program was called "Mellow Down Easy," Dickens said.
"We knew there was a disagreement, but I would characterize it as a little clash of personalities over types of music to be played and not a big blowout," Dickens said.
Feinstein, who had volunteered at the station for about a year, quit a week before the fire, saying he was going to do other things, Dickens said.
"He seemed like somebody who was young, enthusiastic, had a life, was a professional and was educated," Dickens said.
Nye said Feinstein acknowledged making a copy of the station key and then waiting for the station to clear out on the night of Jan. 5. Feinstein poured gasoline on the control panels in two studios to start the fire, Nye said.
The fire department's trained dog smelled gasoline at the scene, tipping investigators to the arson, Nye said.
Nye said Feinstein had no previous criminal record.
The fire was the third the station has dealt with in the past two years. The first was ruled accidental. The second was caused by a malfunction in a heating and air-conditioning unit of a nearby business and forced the station to move.
This month's fire knocked the station off the air for 19 days. It resumed broadcasting last week in donated space.
"We are kind of worried that people will look at us like a bunch of idiots," Dickens said. "This is really just one of those out-of-the-blue situations. Who the hell would have thought somebody would have snapped?"
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Land of Odd: Couple finds a way to get their message to the FAA
FOLSOM, Pa. — The skies won't seem especially friendly to anyone taking off from Philadelphia International Airport if they notice what a suburban couple wrote on the roof of their home.
"(Expletive) U FAA," the message reads, though one letter of the profane word is substituted with an underline. Below that it is a picture of a plane with a slash through it and the words "no fly zone."
Homeowner Michael Hall and his girlfriend, Michaelene Buddy, are angry that jets have been flying over their house since last month, when the Federal Aviation Administration altered departure headings out of Philadelphia. Hall says he has to sleep with earplugs.
He said he and Buddy also were frustrated after being unable to leave a message with the FAA's noise-complaint hot line because the voice mailbox was always full. So they issued their complaint in roof sealant and 7-foot-tall letters about two weeks ago.
"Just doing it made me feel better, but I'd still like to say what I wrote directly to the idiot head of the FAA," Hall told the Philadelphia Daily News for today's editions.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters had no comment.
The flight changes are part of a massive restructuring of the airspace over the congested corridor between New York and Philadelphia.
The couple's Ridley Township home is in Delaware County, southwest of Philadelphia. The county argues in a lawsuit that the FAA's environmental-impact study violated federal regulations and that the new flight paths will only marginally reduce airport delays.
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Land of Odd: Secrets Of The Dollar Bill
land of odd
What do the symbols and numbers on the dollar bill actually mean? We’ll take a look at the shadier and more intriguing threads of meaning and symbolism at play in the bill’s design. Extraordinary strands of numerology are interwoven into the bill’s structure, which, on analysis, suggest surprising hidden alignments. Why does it look the way it does and how has it changed through the ages?
We’ll analyze the significance of changes in the bill’s appearance over time and examine alternative designs. We’ll also look at the historical context of the bill’s conception–what the dollar bill set out to represent–the patriotism and idealism of a young republic; and go inside the Treasury’s Department of Printing and Engraving for exclusive access to the presses and the people who process the millions upon millions of dollars in circulation.
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Land of Odd: Boomerang Comes Back After 25 Years
land of odd
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Boomerangs really do come back - even after 25 years. Officials in an Australian Outback town were surprised when a boomerang arrived in the post. Along with it was a note from a guilt-ridden American who said he stole it years earlier from a museum in the mining town of Mount Isa, and now felt rotten about it.
"I removed this back in 1983 when I was younger and dumber," said the note, according to Mount Isa Mayor Ron McCullough. "It was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry, and I'm going to send it back," said the note.
Type rest of the post here
McCullough on Thursday gave the contrite thief's first name as Peter but said it would be unfair to release his full identity.
McCullough said the parcel was sent to the location of the old museum, now a paper manufacturing plant and community center, and was then handed to the Mount Isa council. He declined to reveal the value of the donation.
McCullough said the boomerang would be returned to its rightful owner, if he could be found.
Boomerangs were traditionally used by Aborigines as a hunting weapon. A typical returning boomerang can travel up to 150 feet in the air before returning to the thrower.
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Land of Odd: Riders Take Off Pants For 'No Pants Day'
SALT LAKE CITY - Dozens of people riding on TRAX on Saturday were caught with their pants down -- despite the January chill -- as part of a national stunt.
Riders were encouraged to ride light rail without pants in conjunction with a comedy organization based in New York City. 'Improv Everywhere' organized Saturday's event, which was part of a 10-city stunt designed to create unusual scenes and fun for riders of public transportation.
Improv Everywhere says nearly 1,000 people took part in Saturday's events around the world. Besides Salt Lake City, the "No Pants 2k8" train rides also took place in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Portland, OR, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Adelaide, Australia and Baltimore, MD.
In New York City, pants-less riders navigated the city's vast subway system while amused commuters looked on. In Salt Lake City, riders boarded near the EnergySolutions Arena and traveled around the so-called "Free fare zone."
Utah Transit Authority did not sponsor or sanction the event in any way, but says the riders taking part in the public stunt were breaking no laws.
Pants-less riders were required to follow guidelines of dress to stay within the laws of public standards. Riders were asked to ride in their underwear, however no revealing attire -- like thongs or lingerie -- was allowed.
Formed in 2001, Improv Everywhere says its purpose is to cause scenes of chaos and joy in public places. This is the 7th straight year of the organization's "No Pants" train stunt.
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Land of Odd: Why US Economy Is A Lot Like Pizza Domino
land of odd
High commodity prices. Weak consumer spending. And heavy borrowing.
If the recent problems of Domino’s Pizza sound a lot like the issues hanging over the broader American economy, it’s no coincidence. With its dependence on consumers, its sensitivity to the run-up in dairy and wheat prices and a risky decision last year to double its debt in order to pay a huge one-time dividend, the pizza chain’s recent troubles speak volumes about the challenges facing both companies and consumers in the year ahead.
But Domino’s trajectory isn’t just another tale of economic gloom and doom. It’s also a story of how large investors — including none other than Michael S. Dell — have kept the faith in the sliding shares of Domino’s, much as they have stuck with the overall stock market despite earnings worries and other fears.
The battle over Domino’s encapsulates the uncertainty facing Wall Street in 2008, with money managers remaining bullish even as veteran strategists like Byron Wien of Pequot Capital Management forecast a recession and a 10 percent drop for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index.
So far, at least in the case of Domino’s, the pessimists have the upper hand. Domino’s shares closed Friday at $11.72, down from $20 last summer. And on the first trading day of 2008, Joe Buckley, a Bear Stearns analyst, cut his rating on the entire restaurant group, warning that the combination of higher food and labor costs and slow growth equals a “perfect storm” for the sector.
Mr. Buckley was prescient in getting the Domino’s story right, warning in April that sales could be weaker than Wall Street expected. Since then, he adds, its archrival Pizza Hut has outmaneuvered Domino’s, in part by doing a better job of hedging against soaring prices for cheese, which jumped 42 percent last year.
But there are signs Domino’s is learning how to handle those high commodity prices, Mr. Buckley says. A new contract with cheese suppliers and the ability to more quickly pass on high wheat costs to franchisees might help earnings improve later this year, he says.
With oil hitting $100 a barrel for the first time last week, the ability to manage high commodity prices is a skill other companies will have to master this year.
The parallels with the broader United States economy do not end there. Like more traditional giants, including General Electric and Boeing, one of the few bright spots for Domino’s lately has been international growth. The chain sells distinctly local offerings like the Peppy Paneer in India and the Savoyarde in France, which features potatoes, bacon and crème fraîche.
And, like the broader market — which trades at 14 times 2008 earnings — Domino’s stock is reasonably priced, selling for about 11 times earnings. That is a crucial reason institutional investors do not seem dissuaded by negative news.
In November, the firm that manages the fortune of Mr. Dell and his family, MSD Capital, disclosed that it had acquired a 5.1 percent stake in Domino’s. Mr. Dell’s firm has been an investor for some time, said Lynn M. Liddle, a spokeswoman for Domino’s, but this was the first time its stake rose above 5 percent.
Mr. Dell’s role is hands-off, Ms. Liddle says. “Does Michael Dell come and make pizza? No. I don’t think he speaks to us. His folks do.”
MSD CAPITAL declined to comment on its stake in Domino’s, as did Mr. Dell. But another major holder, Andy Brown of Cedar Rock Capital, remains bullish on Domino’s despite obvious problems like higher commodity prices.
“We cherish a business like this as long-term investors,” says Mr. Brown, whose firm manages about $5 billion and holds a roughly 8 percent stake in Domino’s. He says he still supports Domino’s decision to borrow nearly $1 billion to pay out a special dividend of $13.50 a share last spring, despite the decline that followed.
“I’m not happy about commodity prices, but we’re happy with how Domino’s returned capital to their shareholders,” he said.
Via NYTimes.Com
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