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BOSS, I'VE GOT A GREAT EXCUSE

More than a few commuters were late for work Wednesday in Sydney, Australia. And not because of a transit strike or traffic jam on the freeway. No, they all were aboard harbor ferries that ran into some unexpected traffic: three whales frolicking off the central business district. Ferry captains were obliged to observe a 100-yard exclusion zone to protect them. Usually, the whales avoid the harbor's busiest area, but tough antipollution laws have made the water there more habitable than before.

If you need a parking space in the big city and your main concern is that it be secure, Belgrade, Yugoslavia, has the ideal solution. Officials, in a deal with the company that maintains the capital's bomb shelters, are converting them into underground garages. They haven't been used since NATO warplanes attacked in 1999. Still, the contract stipulates that they return to their original purpose if history repeats itself.

The walls have ears, it's said. But they can absorb a lot via poster art, too. Example: The young men and women bound for college this fall display distinct differences in their preference in prints for dorm rooms, says national retailer Deck The Halls. Guys favor movie posters; coeds, Vincent van Gogh. The top five in each category, according to Deck The Walls:

1. "Starry Night," Vincent van Gogh
2. "Hotel De Ville," Robert Doisneau
3. "Cafe Terrace at Night," van Gogh
4. "Dance Me to the End of Love," Jack Vettriano
5. "Gargoyles," Michael Parks

1. "Scarface" movie poster
2. "Spider-Man" movie poster
3. "Ullswater," Mel Allen
4. "La Persistance de la Memorie," Salvador Dalí
5. Sports images

– Business Wire