Weekend Roundup: Wait for iiiiiit...

First, an addendum to the last post about silly neighborhood signs. By taking only a slightly different walk last night I realized I missed THIS:

Literally a foot doctor.

(toe)Nailed it! What a way to end the week! AnkleNFoot Center, give me a call on my 24 hour phone service. I can redesign that poster for you.

And now for some international dangers...

Courtesy of The New York Times

Last year I wrote about my anxiety over porta-potty lines. In that piece I proposed a new occupation as a professional line-waiter at public events; I'd sell my bathroom line spot to the highest bidder. Well, according to The New York Times, Venezuelans have already perfected this line of work and could probably put me out of business even on my most patient days. Apparently to do most anything in Venezuela you must wait in line and people are quite skilled at working the system:

"There is, of course [of course!], the profession of the “gestor,” an expediter who confronts Venezuela’s churlish bureaucracy (lines included) on behalf of clients for a hefty fee. Some gestores are so skilled that they command the respect due someone who combines the knowledge of an accountant and a lawyer. 

Lowlier trades persist around Venezuela’s lines, too. There are those who simply stand in a line for a price, holding the space for someone else. Gestores disparagingly call these people “vende-puestos,” or space sellers. (For those familiar with Washington’s customs, they resemble the “line-standers” who wait in line on behalf of lobbyists wanting access to Congressional hearings.)"

I'd like to bring it full circle and ask all of these Venezuelan line waiters what happens when they have to, say, use a porta-potty (if they're not line-standing for the actual toilet already). Do they have sub-waiters who tag in when the main waiter needs a bathroom break?

Politico.com writes, Washington line-standers have a meticulous clipboard sign-in to solidify line order, should a stander need to take a break. Establishing pecking order ... how Washingtonian. However, unlike their patient South American counterparts, things can get ugly at the Capitol:

"New Congresses, line-standers say, are always more chaotic; rookies can't control the line, often causing a full-on sprint into the room."

Sprinting into rooms? Oh, the humanity! Where's the respect owed to our noble Congressional leaders?

With en suite master bath.

Wrapping up this post, a brief look inside a Norwegian prison. Here at City Dangers we are rarely serious (recall, this post began with a foot-face sign), so I touch on this topic gingerly. The Atlantic took a tour of a fairly swank-looking Norwegian prison. Now, I'm not going to offer my opinion on Norway's penal system vs. America's or what the appropriate level of punishment should be for a murderer. I will, however, argue that this prison is exponentially nicer than the dorms I lived in at Syracuse AND is only slightly smaller than my last apartment, for which I paid a sizable amount. Just as much IKEA furniture though.


That's it for this week. Stay tuned next week for our one year blog anniversary coverage!