Captain Kirk’s chair on sale
You’ve got the boxsets and you’ve learned Klingon. Is there anything left for the Trekkie who wants to take their devotion up a warp factor or two? The answer’s logical. Beam your very own replica of Captain Kirk’s command chair into your living room. The chair was a central part of Kirk’s voyages. From its seat at the heart of the Enterprise bridge, William Shatner guided the crew through their voyages with the full authority of a man in a powerful chair. The original chair from the 1960s series was auctioned in 2002, fetching US$305,200. But thanks to the joys of the replicator (a company called Diamond Select Toys), any Trekkie can now own a little bit of Trek furniture for US$2,717.01.
■UNITED STATES
Prison number a lottery hit
Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff is a lucky charm for one New York City construction worker. Queens resident Ralph Amendolaro says he saw Madoff’s prison number in a newspaper and had a good feeling so he played the last three digits of it in the state lottery’s Numbers game. It hit on March 15, paying US$1,500. Lottery officials said other people had the same idea. The number combination 0-5-4 produced 501 winning tickets the Sunday after Madoff’s guilty plea, up from 120 winners the previous day. Madoff’s prison registration number is 61727-054.
■UNITED STATES
Woman shackles husband
A woman handcuffed herself to her sleeping husband in an apparent attempt to resolve an argument, but police ended up breaking into their home and charging her with assault and other crimes, authorities said on Tuesday. Helen Sun, 37, handcuffed herself to Robert Drawbough as he slept in their Fairfield, Connecticut, home on Monday in an effort to reconcile their differences, police said. But when Drawbough called police with his cellphone, Sun responded by biting him on the arms and torso, police said. Sun was charged with third-degree assault, disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and unlawful restraint.
■SPACE
Shuttle, ISS crews part
After eight days together, it’s time for the space shuttle and space station crews to say goodbye.The hatches between the linked spacecraft were to be sealed early yesterday afternoon. Three hours later, Discovery was to undock. Discovery will be bringing back five months’ worth of science experiments from the International Space Station (ISS). The blood, urine and saliva samples need to be kept cold for as long as possible, and will remain in the station freezer until the last possible moment. The shuttle is also bringing back four to five liters of recycled water made from astronauts’ urine and condensation. NASA wants to ensure the water is safe before astronauts start drinking it.
■VENEZUELA
Mosque robbed, ransacked
An administrator at the country’s biggest mosque said thieves have ransacked its offices, stealing jewels, computers and other objects and throwing books across the floor. Muhammad Ali Bokhair says it was the second time since September that the Ibrahim Al-lbrahim mosque had been robbed. The theft took place early on Monday morning. No suspects have been identified. The mosque is located in downtown Caracas, where a scant police presence makes robberies and murders relatively common. The Ibrahim Al-lbrahim building is Latin America’s second-largest mosque after the Rey Fahd Islamic Cultural Center in Argentina.
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