European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday March 31, 1986 California Man packs it in chooses Fife in a Box Oakland Calif. Up when computer consultant Michael Ranstrom began to feel the world was closing in on him because of mortgages a custody Bat the and other problems he rented out his comfortable House and moved into a wooden crate in the Back Yard. After six weeks he offered some observations on Box living in an interview Fri Day at his wooden quarters near Down town Oakland. People get themselves in different kinds of boxes irn life Ranstrom said. I Felt i was financially in a Box at the time i moved in. It seemed  Ranstrom 41, graduated from the University of California As an architect at a time when there was t much demand for architects so he took up computers. He has an office to which he commutes on roller skates and he can also work from his com Puter and business phone at Home in the Box. He sits on a chair with the computer keyboard on his Lap and there is just enough room for one other person to stand in the Box. It s a two Story Box 12 feet High and about 7 feet by 8 feet rectangular. It was built from two wooden crates As a fort for Ranstrom s son Todd when ran Strom was living in the House. Todd visited recently and stayed a couple of nights in the Box with me Ranstrom said. It s really his Box but he does t mind my being Here. He thinks it s kind of  Ranstrom is not a survivalist and not poverty stricken. He eats his meals in restaurants drives a porsche and has a Sony color television and Var in the up stairs of his Box where he sleeps. The to and Var have Remote he says. I Don t like to move a whole lot. Actually it s very comfortable very cozy living in a Box. At first my tenants in the House were a Little concerned wondering How Long their landlord would be hanging out in a Box in the Back Yard. But that s worked out very  Ranstrom is helping his tenants install a hot tub in the Yard very close to his Box. That will be Nice. All i have now is the Shower there he said pointing to a cold water pipe fastened to a tree. For reasons of modesty he wears swim trunks when he showers. Without a toilet in the Box he finds accommodations on the Busy Street nearby where the taverns close at 2 . And the doughnut shop opens at 4 30 . It turns out that facilities Are Avail Able As Long As you Don t have Montezuma s revenge i find it no problem at  he has a toaster oven a Small refrigerator a Teapot and a couple of wine glasses and says i Don t do a whole lot of entertain ing. When you Don t have much space you gotta Start getting rid of things. I be Cut Down a lot on things you normally find in a  tapping on the file Cabinet behind him he says this will be next to go. I can get along with a smaller  his clothes Are neatly Hung on a rack Over his bed and folded in coloured plastic laundry baskets arranged on shelves. Ranstrom s Billfold and pocket Money Are in a Small brass pot near the door. I would like to get a smaller refrigerator. I just need room for a couple of six packs he said. Living in a Box forces you to think about what s really important. You learn to throw things  he said his neighbors have been very understanding. They Haven t called authorities about the Guy living in a  if they did Ranstrom would have to move out. But he said he plans to do that any Way fairly soon. A couple of spiders wander in now and then he said. Otherwise it s Only me and of course Whitey the cat. She thinks it s her  Ranstrom does t lock the Box when he goes out. I feel pretty Safe. Nobody really believes anything valuable would be in a Box in the Back Yard. When i lived in the House my computer was  most americans oppose metric system poll finds new York a despite an in creasing use of metric weights and measurements most americans still Don t understand the system and Are happier with traditional English measurements Accord ing to a Media general associated press poll. Fifty eight percent of the 1,512 adults who responded to the nationwide Telephone poll said they opposed converting to the metric system. Only 36 percent favored adopting the system with the rest unsure. Two in 10 said they had a Good under standing of the metric system. Four in 10 said they had a fair understanding and four in 10 admitted they had a poor under standing of metrics. To find out How much people knew about metric conversion the poll included a series of questions to see How Well respondents could convert metric measurements into current English measures. If this had been a test most people would have failed. When asked How Long do you think a meter is Only 34 percent gave an accept Able answer. A meter is equal to about 3.3 feet or slightly longer than a Yard. Only 26 percent could give the English equivalent of a liter slightly larger than a quart. And Only 23 percent could give the equivalent of a centimetre slightly smaller than half an Inch. About one Quarter of the respondents thought the United states would abandon English measurements in this Century just As England has already done. Forty two percent thought it would take longer than 15 years while 24 percent said it would never happen. It has been 10 years since former presi Dent Ford signed the metric conversion act a measure supported by Industry which needed to change to metrics to com Pete in foreign markets. Metric advocates greeted the act with enthusiasm and began a series of widely publicized efforts to effect change quickly a process that served primarily to antagonize the Public which was not willing to make a sudden conversion. Today metrics have entered most Ameri can households in liter bottles of soft drinks for example or in foreign cars. The Media general a poll indicated younger people Are More comfortable with metrics than older people. For example 46 percent of 18 to 34 year Olds favored adopting the metric sys tem while Only 22 percent of those Over 55 favored such a move. Only 30 percent of the younger group said they had a poor under standing of metrics while about half of the older group said they Don t understand the system. College educated respondents were also More comfortable with metrics than those who did t attend College and males were More comfortable with the system than females. Respondents in the Media general associated press poll included a random scientific sampling of 1,512 adults across the country from feb. 1-8. As with All Sample surveys the results of Media general a Telephone polls can vary from the opinions of All americans because of Chance Varia Tion in the Sample. Coney Island s Cyclone closes new York up crowds returned to Coney is land saturday to celebrate Winter s end but for the first Spring in 58 years the giant Cyclone roller coaster was closed because its operators cannot get $5 million in insurance. Most of the other rides resumed operations but the insurance crisis that has taken the wind out of the Cyclone also threatens to close Down within a month a dozen other Coney Island features including the Ferris wheel the Himalaya ride the Spoo Karama and Cas macabre fun houses and the jumbo Jet roller coaster. A Troland which has operated the 58-year-old Cyclone for the past 11 years has obtained $1 million in insurance for the Cyclone. But the City is demanding $5 million Worth of coverage. Wayne Cotter a spokesman for the state insurance department said the state has tried to find a company to insure the Cyclone but has been unsuccessful. Cotter said the owners of a dozen other rides on the Boardwalk have called looking for emergency assistance in finding insurance. A Troland president Jerry Albert said the crisis in liability insurance has made it impossible to obtain the coverage the City wants it to have. As of this moment if the City stands by the $5 million request we can t operate the Cyclone Albert said. He said the largest claim Ever made against the ride was filed six years ago and the company settled out of court for $25,000. He refused to describe the injury. A spokesman for comptroller Harrison Goldin said he would insist on the $5 million. The Cyclone has lost Money in recent years but Albert said it was essential for the Boardwalk s character. Whatever the statue of Liberty is to new York har Bor the Cyclone is for Coney Island he said. This is the last operating landmark in the Coney Island  Long foot of the Law a photo it looks like a funny situation but Pittsburgh police officer de Conley Center in t laughing. Conley gothic left foot pinned under the tire of a stolen car during Rush hour. But the Long  of the Law caught the 15-year-old who allegedly stole the car. Conley got his foot freed and a few Days off to rest it