Etc...

But I don't take it to fires

If you were in Hatvan, Hungary, over the weekend and saw a man in firefighter's gear riding what looked like a wooden bicycle, your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. That was Andras Samu, on his way to work. You see, a two-wheeler is his usual mode of transportation, but his prized mountain bike was stolen. Until it's recovered or he can buy a new one, his colleagues decided to pitch in and help and have some fun at the same time. Hence, the all-wood contraption, which does work, if a bit less efficiently. It's also a primo attention-getter.

With Grambling State University's commencement Sunday, graduation season has concluded at the nation's largest historically black colleges. Interestingly, such schools are enjoying new appeal, although the doors to virtually every other institution - private as well as public - are wide open to African-Americans. The United Negro College Fund reports that enrollment at the 105 black colleges rose 29 percent between 1976 and 2002 and almost one-third of blacks who received bachelor's degrees attended historically black campuses. Many of these are attractive because of their affordability, welcoming atmosphere, and low student- to-teacher ratios. The largest black four-year schools, their locations and enrollments:

University of the District of Columbia 11,578

Southern University (Baton Rouge, La.) 10,548
Howard University (Washington, D.C.) 10,105
Texas Southern (Houston) 10,045
Florida A&M (Tallahassee) 9,915
Norfolk (Va.) State 8,652
North Carolina A&T (Greensboro) 7,973
Grambling (La.) State 7,533
Jackson (Miss.) State 6,203
Prairie View (Texas) A&M 5,849
- edonline.com; White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities