I have to come down on the side of the cops this time out. The videographer is just being a nuisance, and is using language that just makes me take him even less seriously.

So the cop blocks a fire hydrant to go inside this shop. Let's say there's a fire and the NYFD has to get to that hydrant. You think that cop won't be aware of this situation?

On the other hand, let's say the cop parked 3 blocks away legally, and now is needed for some emergency. The additional time it takes her to get back to her car is enough time to cause the loss of someone's life. It could happen.

I just think there're more important issues facing us than cops parking in front of a hydrant for 5 minutes to run in and get a bite to eat.

I was in high school in the 70's and we had a similar setup. One terminal for the entire school, so it was hard to get time on it to mess about. My next door neighbor was a few years older and was doing an internship at Brookhaven Labs, and as part of that internship he was given a portable tty (looked like an electric typewriter). But the phone calls themselves cost quite a bit since we were a good distance from the mainframe.

I was working as a cook after school and on weekends. I often closed the place down. My neighbor would stop by and we'd dial in on the business phone and sit at the bar and play strtrk or other silliness until the wee hours. Typical geeks, alone in a bar and drinking cokes and messing with a computer instead of taking advantage of all that free alcohol.

We ended up having to stop because the heat-sensitive paper the portable used (no ink) was expensive and my neighbor's employers wanted to know why he was going through so much of it. :)

I too have seen this before. One of my friends who is an online editor at IDG wore through her keyboard in a pattern very similar to this one. I never investigated to see whether she used some particular kind of hand lotion or anything, though.

I'll have to send her a link to this post.

That girl in the purple top could be Jessica Alba's mom...

I did the "follow the breadcrumbs" game back to the original source, the New Haven Register, in case anyone wants to read it: http://www.apria.com/resources/1,2725,494-733341,00.html