The Life And Times Of The World's Tallest Man

It sucks to be the world's tallest man. Especially when you have to quit your job because you got frostbite on your feet from walking to work in your socks because you can't afford custom shoes.

But the story is more life-affirming than a downer, as it talks about all the charity he's received (such as free custom shoes for his 17 inch feet).

In 2006, Stadnik was officially measured at 2.57 meters tall (8 feet 5 inches), surpassing a Chinese man to claim the title of the world's tallest person.

His growth spurt began at age 14 after a brain operation that apparently stimulated the overproduction of growth hormone. Doctors say he has been growing ever since.

While he may appear intimidating due to his size, Stadnik charms visitors with a broad grin and childlike laugh. He seems at times like a lonely boy trapped in a giant's body, even keeping stuffed toys on his pillow.

Stadnik's stature has earned him worldwide attention, but it has mostly a burden to him. He has to battle to lead anything close to a normal life.

All the doorways in his one-story brick house are too short for him to pass through without stooping. His 200 kilograms (440 pounds) cause constant knee pain and often force him to move on crutches.

This happened to me with my Corporate Amex. Someone in the Detroit suburbs decided that they couldn't stomach paying for Domino's either so they stole my number, probably from one of the times I was at the Ren Cen Marriott. I called to dispute the charge, it was immediately taken off my bill, and I had a new card and number the next day. I never heard another word about it.

Disputed charges are one area where Amex totally rules over Visa/Mastercard. Immediately taken off, and they deal with it. The few times I've had a problem with a V/MC charge, it has involved multiple phone calls and delays.

Even a really great rate, 6 percent APR will cost you a buck. Of course maybe your cc company treats CC checks like the rest of your balance, and only charges interest if you don't pay it off in full when billed. But you might want to check.

There's a small charge, sure, but better than taking a chance on this or other checks bouncing. And the money can sit in savings until that time rather than in checking, so it'll even out. But yeah, it'll get paid off as soon as it comes in - paying for regular housing expenses on credit is definitely a road you don't want to go down if you don't have to.

the hiring movers stuff

Allyson, what happened to hiring Colin's brothers? Is that still happening? If not, we have a mover we can recommend. They have a 4 hour minimum, which seemed rather standard, but they were only $70/hour. It ended up costing us less than $300 to move everything, excluding odds and ends, but including washer/dryer/fridge/couch/crib etc.

What Will Life Be Like in the Year 2008? (Nov, 1968)

IT’S 8 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008, and you are headed for a business appointment 300 mi. away. You slide into your sleek, two-passenger air-cushion car, press a sequence of buttons and the national traffic computer notes your destination, figures out the current traffic situation and signals your car to slide out of the garage. Hands free, you sit back and begin to read the morning paper—which is flashed on a flat TV screen over the car’s dashboard. Tapping a button changes the page.

The car accelerates to 150 mph in the city’s suburbs, then hits 250 mph in less built-up areas, gliding over the smooth plastic road. You whizz past a string of cities, many of them covered by the new domes that keep them evenly climatized year round. Traffic is heavy, typically, but there’s no need to worry. The traffic computer, which feeds and receives signals to and from all cars in transit between cities, keeps vehicles at least 50 yds. apart. There hasn’t been an accident since the system was inaugurated. Suddenly your TV phone buzzes. A business associate wants a sketch of a new kind of impeller your firm is putting out for sports boats. You reach for your attache case and draw the diagram with a pencil-thin infrared flashlight on what looks like a TV screen lining the back of the case. The diagram is relayed to a similar screen in your associate’s office, 200 mi. away. He jabs a button and a fixed copy of the sketch rolls out of the device. He wishes you good luck at the coming meeting and signs off.

Ninety minutes after leaving your home, you slide beneath the dome of your destination city. Your car decelerates and heads for an outer-core office building where you’ll meet your colleagues. After you get out, the vehicle parks itself in a convenient municipal garage to await your return. Private cars are banned inside most city cores. Moving sidewalks and electrams carry the public from one location to another.

With the U.S. population having soared to 350 million, 2008 transportation is among the most important factors keeping the economy running smoothly. Giant transportation hubs called modemixers are located anywhere from 15 to 50 mi. outside all major urban centers. Tube trains, pushed through bores by compressed air, make the trip between modemixer and central city in 10 to 15 minutes.

A major feature of most modemixers is the launching pad from which 200-passenger rockets blast off for other continents. For less well-heeled travelers there are SST and hypersonic planes that carry 200 to 300 passengers at speeds up to 4,000 mph. Short trips— between cities less than 1,000 mi. apart—are handled by slower jumbo jets.

Wow! And only eight months to wait until this wonderful future arrives.

I suppose '68-'72 was around when optimism about our wonderful technological future peaked....

whee, I just paid bills, transferred money around, and made a call to clear up a bill. I love when I can get my life stuff done at work.

I'm really weirdly sensitive to clutter, it makes me feel a bit like being hangry. Nervous and annoyed and snappish.

Kathy, I'm very sorry to hear about your co-worker.

Wow! And only eight months to wait until this wonderful future arrives.

I suppose '68-'72 was around when optimism about our wonderful technological future peaked....

Almost everyone thought nuclear fission was going to provide safe, clean electricity too cheap to meter. If the "electricity too cheap to meter" thing had come through, a lot of things would have been very very different. Given the premise, a lot of the projections we laugh at today were not that absurd.

What Will Life Be Like in the Year 2008? (Nov, 1968)

That reminds me of this shirt.

Can someone explain to me how the Detroit mayor believes he'll be exonerated from perjury charges?

[link]

As I understand it, he and his former chief of staff gave sworn testimony that they weren't having a sexual affair. Then text messages were found indicating that they were having an affair. The mayor has apologized to the city and his family, which, as far as I can tell, equals him admitting that he had the affair.

How will he wiggle out of a perjury charge?