Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Iowa man with zebra, parrot arrested for DUI in bar lot
Iowa man with zebra, parrot arrested for DUI in bar lot
So, this man with a zebra and parrot walks out of a bar --
No, it's not the set-up for a joke, but an intoxicatingly true story out of Dubuque, Iowa, according to news reports from the Hawkeye State.
Jerald Reiter, 55, of Cascade, Iowa, was backing his truck out of the Dog House Lounge parking lot Sunday night when police stopped him. His passengers? A small zebra in the back seat and a macaw parrot on his shoulder, the Telegraph Herald reports.
Officers said Reiter's blood-alcohol level was .14 (the limit is .08), so he was charged with driving drunk (officially, operating while intoxicated). He admits he was behind the wheel but was going to let his other passenger -- his human buddy -- do the driving, according to the local Gazette.
Reiter thinks someone in the crowd of gawkers called police to complain about the "welfare" of his novel pets, which often go for rides.
He said his local watering hole often allows pets, but not Sunday night, because the owner told him food was being served. TV station KCRG.com got a different story: no animals are ever allowed inside. (Will the bar owner be in the dog house if the alcohol and health inspectors stop by?)
Reiter's girlfriend, Vicki Teter, told the Gazette that their animals "are a big part of the family," and that she understands people's reactions to their exotic pets.
"It's not every day you see somebody that's got a zebra or a parrot in the house, and who knows tomorrow what might be in our house," she said.
Better Business Bureau warns of scams targeting troops, veterans - News - Stripes
Better Business Bureau warns of scams targeting troops, veterans
The Better Business Bureau this week released a list of active scams targeting military veterans and their supporters.
Scams include those that target service personnel and their families, but also scams that appear to be charities helping military members.
“The unique lifestyle of our service members make them prime targets for scammers,” Better Business Bureau Military Line Director Brenda Linnington said in prepared remarks.
Recent and active military scams include:
- Posing as the Department of Veterans Affairs for identity theft purposes by telling veterans they need to update their credit card, bank or financial records with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Charging service members for military records or other documents they could get for free or considerably lower cost.
- Offering “instant approval” military loans with terms like “no credit check” and “all ranks approved” that can have high interest rates and hidden fees.
- Selling products such as security systems to spouses of deployed military personnel by saying the service member ordered it to protect his or her family.
- Selling stolen vehicles at low prices by claiming to be soldiers to need to sell fast because they’ve been deployed.
- Convincing veterans to transfer their assets into fraudulent irrevocable investment trust schemes.
- Posing as a lonely service member in a remote part of Iraq or Afghanistan on online dating services, then asking for money to be wired to a third party for a fictitious “emergency.”
The Better Business Bureau advised consumers to be wary of such tactics and any other solicitations that require them to transfer money or purchase something. They can check to see if the charity or firm is reputable free by using the Better Business Bureau website.
Jony Ive: Apple doesn’t like ‘godless’ products
While the article focuses, perhaps unsurprisingly, on his links to Britain — his design education, how London’s a vibrant city and so on — and runs over the now-familiar details of his career, there are a few choice quotes where he explains a few things about his sensibility.
In particular, he mentions how Apple tries hard to make its customers feel that the products and services have a built-in sense of care. By that he means trying to instill a carefulness and thoughtful philosophy right through the product — and avoid the worry that producing millions of devices would somehow introduce a “godless” quality to the things it makes.
“We try to develop products that seem somehow inevitable. That leave you with the sense that that’s the only possible solution that makes sense.”
“I think subconsciously people are remarkably discerning. I think that they can sense care. I think it’s a wonderful view that care was important – but I think you can make a one-off and not care and you can make a million of something and care. Whether you really care or not is not driven by how many of the products you’re going to make.”
“One of the concerns was that there would somehow be, inherent with mass production and industrialisation, a godlessness and a lack of care.
“We’re keenly aware that when we develop and make something and bring it to market that it really does speak to a set of values. And what preoccupies us is that sense of care, and what our products will not speak to is a schedule, what our products will not speak to is trying to respond to some corporate or competitive agenda. We’re very genuinely designing the best products that we can for people.”
Though the allusion to “godlessness” may seem odd, but I suspect that he hasn’t turned to religion — and is in fact referring to the soullessness of many designed-by-committee, manufactured-by-the-ton products.
Given how rarely Ive steps into the limelight (even now) (he also spoke to London’s Evening Standard a couple of months ago) it’s worth a read: the rest of the interview is here.
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