Trouble might be the offshoot of plant purchase
No one wants to cultivate trouble. So before Tom Urban of Santa Barbara buys a plant that he saw advertised, he asks: “Do you know if a marijuana prescription is required to buy it?” (see accompanying)
Such a deal (cont.): Today’s other questionable offers (see accompanying) involve:
* A medical practitioner who assures he’ll waive all hidden fees -- for some of his patients (from Gerri Allan of Rancho Santa Margarita).
* A sale of tires that have obviously seen better days (photo by Rob Lee of Pasadena).
* A home in the “mid-$1 millions” that doesn’t have a single bathroom. “The housing market in Southern California is really getting to be a royal pain,” remarked John Humphries of Carpinteria, one of many readers who spotted this one.
Arnold in the Oval Room: In “The Simpsons Movie,” Arnold Schwarzenegger is president of the United States -- making it the second time he’s been associated with the White House on the big screen.
“Demolition Man” (1993), a sci-fi potboiler set in the year 2032, makes mention of an Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Museum. In 2032 San Angeles (the merged areas of San Diego, L.A. and Santa Barbara), weapons are forbidden and “unhealthy” items such as cigarettes, gasoline, meats and contact sports are outlawed. Touching is not allowed (couples make love by donning special helmets and exchanging electronic waves). The movie does not say how many of these changes were enacted during the Schwarzenegger administration.
Numbers game: My colleague Patt Morrison spotted the sign of an apartment owner in Pasadena who evidently has been trying to rent one unit for several decades. The sign bore a telephone number using the old SYcamore prefix.
Yes, all you young ‘uns, there was a time when every phone number started with the first two letters of a word. Every wrestling fan knew you could contact the Olympic Auditorium at RIchmond 9-5171. Don’t ask me why it wasn’t called a phone letter-number back then. I’m not up to wrestling with such philosophical questions this early in the week.
At least there’s no school afterward: It took about eight years of lunch pail fare for me to grow so tired of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches as a kid that I swore them off completely. Visitors to Knott’s Berry Farm could develop that antipathy in just a few minutes Wednesday if they happen to view the world peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich eating championships. The performers will be permitted to drink water (or milk) at the 1 p.m. gorging, which will be staged by the International Federation of Competitive Eating.
The favorite to win is 230-pound Joey Chestnut of San Jose, who set world records by downing 47 grilled-cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes and 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes (not on the same day).
miscelLAny: You have probably heard that political officials, including California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, are worried about computer voting. They fear that it is vulnerable to hackers who could change the results of elections. Tens of thousands of votes could be at stake here.
Rest assured that the candidates have given this alarming possibility plenty of thought. The question they are asking themselves is: To whom might hackers throw their support? It’s only a matter of time before a candidate, in a bold bid for the backing of these cyber outlaws, calls for the decriminalization of hacking.
Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.
