KEY POINTS:
Rod from a Robert Harris coffee shop was witness to a muffin held at ransom yesterday morning. "Both customers are regulars, women in their 50s or 60s. Customer 1 - Orders usual (nut fudge and free glass of water). Customer 2 - Orders usual (half strength F/W no foam and muffin). Customer 1 - Sits down with the morning Herald to read. Customer 2 - After five minutes, asks to share Herald. Customer 1 - NO! Customer 2 - But you have had it at least five minutes and you aren't reading it. Customer 1 - I am about to read it. Customer 2 - Snatches half the Herald from the table and proceeds to the front of the cafe. Customer 1 - Shouts at customer 2 and follows her. Proceeds to customer 2's table and takes customer No 2's newly delivered muffin. Customer 1 - delivers muffin back to the staff at the counter and asks staff to hold it until she gets the Herald back. Asks staff to go and retrieve the Herald. Staff call owner, who speaks to customer number 1. Customer 1 clearly states that I am to hold on to the muffin until customer 2 gives the Herald back. Owner goes and buys another Herald. While doing so, has the muffin delivered back to customer No 2. Staff report that customer 2 is unfazed. Owner delivers a new Herald to customer 1 and checks on customer 2, who has not touched the half of the Herald she has but is instead reading a magazine."
***
Parting advice from a senior traffic engineer: "Understanding the road safety problem. Have you ever noticed - anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac? So, road safety is all about dealing with idiots and maniacs."
***
The top two 2007 memorable quotes, according to the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations.
1. "Don't Tase me, bro." - Andrew Meyer, the Tasered student who begged police not to zap him as he tried to question former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry in Florida.
2. "I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq and everywhere like, such as and I believe that they should, our education over here in the US should help the US, er, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." - Lauren Upton, aka Ms South Carolina, and her infamous answer in the Miss Teen USA 2007.
