May 13, 2003
Spock, there's no intelligent life here....

CNN.com - Qapla'! Hospital seeks Klingon speaker - May. 10, 2003


PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- Position Available: Interpreter, must be fluent in Klingon.
The language created for the "Star Trek" TV series and movies is one of about 55 needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County.
"We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak," said Jerry Jelusich, a procurement specialist for the county Department of Human Services, which serves about 60,000 mental health clients.



How much do you want to bet that they couldn't handle an Andorian with a toothache? Ok. Geek-off.
Update: BoingBoing reports this is an urban legend, but not exactly. The Oregon folks would like one on call, just in case. But they're not adding to payroll. The P'taks.

Posted by Howard at 10:50 AM
Don't Drink (coffee) and Drive in NJ

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/09/2003 | N.J. driving bill puts phone ban on hold


N.J. driving bill puts phone ban on hold
By Mitch Lipka
Inquirer Trenton Bureau

TRENTON - Drivers could be pulled over and ticketed for eating, drinking or reading while driving in New Jersey - in addition to talking on cellular phones - under a bill approved by an Assembly panel yesterday.

Incredible. The article says this is 'on hold' but some over-anxious legislators, ready to make a mark for themselves, want to keep people from doing anything in a car except driving. If you can't do 2 things at once, you shouldn't be behind a wheel. "Personal grooming, tending to "unsecured pets," and even changing radio stations could rate tickets for unsafe or reckless driving if a police officer decided the actions were distracting"...

Please. They should just include this in the driving test.

Driving Instructor: "Ok, I want to see you pull into that 7-11, leave the car running, and get a coffee. Now, while pouring the sugar in, I want you to pull out onto route 1/9 from the parking lot with the coffee in your hand. You need to go from a dead-stop to 60 in about 8 seconds. Watch out for the truck. Go!"

Student: "Ahhhh! NOoooo!"

Wimps.

Posted by Howard at 10:46 AM