Tag Archive for 'city'

make that money and *no* guns

in the cbd many of the bank atm’s are located in non-bank storefronts, with the bulk of the atm extending back into the shop. two significant difference to the states – the back of the atms, where they are serviced are not enclosed in a protective room and the guards who service them don’t carry guns. (very few handguns here – the police don’t carry either). one example is at espressoholic – one of my favourite coffee shops. to service the atm the guards enter the shop and do their work right out in the open.

there does seem to be a security system that involves codes being transmitted to a wireless device that one guard is carrying, but i was amused by the satchels that the other guard is carrying with “ALARMED – DON’T TOUCH” written on the sides. don’t think that would work in the states.

contrast this to the recent trend in the us where thieves brazenly are crashing cars/trucks/vans into storefronts and dragging entire atm machines away.

Older Car Foils Burglars In ATM Theft
Burglary Suspects Learn Old Car Doesn’t Have Enough Juice To Drag ATM Machine From Drug Store
KINGSPORT, Tenn., Sep. 26, 2007

(AP) Two Kingsport men learned that an older Honda Accord didn’t have the juice to drag an ATM machine from a drug store in a burglary attempt, police said.

Pablo Ibanez and Keith Tester are accused of breaking a window at a Walgreens pharmacy and trying to use a logging chain to pull the machine outside early Sunday morning.

They were found at their apartment after a witness identified the car used in the unsuccessful attempt.

Police said Ibanez confessed to the crime and also took responsibility for a separate burglary earlier this month. He was charged with two counts of burglary, theft and attempted theft.

Tester was charged with burglary and theft.

last night i was walking up cuba street, passing the bucket fountain when i was forced to do a double take. there was a mother talking to her son in french. nothing odd there. the startling part was that his pants were down around his ankles, he was up on the ledge surrounding the fountain and he was peeing into the water.

quelle horreur! what made the mom think that that was ok?

well – now that i think of it one of more memorable disney moments was in the french section of epcot. no debate that they did a great job recreating the feel of a french street. and with the sights, the music and the smells i suppose you can suspend believe for a bit and fell that you’re there. so there i sit at one the tables in the photo below, enjoying my pastry from the patisserie when i notice the mum pulling down the pants of the toddler and trying in french to coax him to pee in the gutter – the fake gutter on the fake parisian street in the french section of epcot.

did she not understand that no matter how good a job they did, disney is just make believe and that you’re not really in france and french social customs do not apply?

and it’s not like this is an emergency and there aren’t clearly marked bathrooms toilettes every 100 feet.

or (i’m stepping in here for an unnamed boston-617 friend who has offered her own disney conspiracy stories) perhaps the mum and the kid were actually on the disney payroll and all part of the effort to create an authentic french experience?

ok – so maybe nz is not 100% pure.

wednesday night after work i had an appointment to see home for sale so i walked to my rented spot (about 5 blocks from my apartment) and off i went. on the way home i picked up some takeaway (food to go) and head back to my spot. turn the corner and – doh – someone is in my spot.

it’s 7:50, i’ve got hot food sitting in the car, there is no on street parking this time of night (my spot is right off of cuba street, the place the kool kats come to eat, drink and relax), and my foot still hurts so i’m not keen on walking the 5 blocks back to my apartment only to have to return before morning to move my car (into its hopefully then empty spot) before the meters take effect at 8 am.

what to do?

i’m hoping that whoever is in my spot will just be a few so after a bit of hunting i find a spot on the street and find a cafe to have a beer and read the paper. an hour later i walk back and unfortunately no change. time to call the tow truck.

after another 30 minutes the truck arrives. in the “what’s really the point of car door locks and alarms?” category the tow truck driver has unlocked and disabled the alarm on the car in under 30 seconds.

a few minutes later and he’s off and i’m into my spot. dinner is now stone cold. i’ll get to try out that fancy toaster oven that i’ve got back at the apartment.

total time hit – 2:10.

i’m going with the assumption that it must have been a tourist – no wait – a non freedom loving evil doer set on harming your children that has taken refuge in we’re-afraid-of-nuclear-weapons nz.

like any major city there is a an occasional battle between those on foot and those on the road – with the obvious victor. in response the wellington city council has sponsored a campaign to raise awareness through a bit of shock treatment. at most crosswalks there is now a “stop, look, live” banner painted at the kerb (similar to the uk “look right” markings) and they have painted a chalk outline of a body in road where ever there was an accident in the past five years.

they have also put a series of posters at most bus stops and flypapered all around town. the one on the left has a map of actual accident sites. the red dot over the stiff’s right kidney is in front of the apartment where i am staying.

my favourite is one featured on the side of many buses.

that will get your attention.

the campaign also includes mock accident sites staged randomly in the CBD but i haven’t seen one yet.