Scan

Prompted by shootings at its Columbia discount outlet, the Scan furniture chain no longer accepts cash payments for merchandise -- an unusual move aimed at improving safety for its workers.The policy went into effect at the chain's 10 furniture stores in the Baltimore-Washington area June 5, the day after two employees were shot, Russ Dailey, president and chief executive officer of Scan International Corp., said yesterday.He said company officials decided not to accept cash after speaking with store managers, their sales force and a security consultant.

I have an HP 4100C Scanjet scanner. When I scan and print, the system works perfectly. But when I scan and download to Paint or Wordpad, the material is greatly enlarged. There is a way to change the size of each scanned piece, but how can I easily reproduce material in its original size?The easiest way to shrink those huge images that scanners make by default is to load those large files into that Paint program in Windows and shrink them.Scan a picture and then use the File/Open command in Paint to load it. Then use the command marked Image at the top of the screen and pick Stretch/Skew.

A Baltimore bankruptcy judge said yesterday that furniture seller Scan International, which filed for Chapter 11 protection this week, could pay employees the money they're owed and indicated that he soon would approve the company's borrowing plan so it could fill hundreds of outstanding customer orders. During yesterday's proceedings, Judge James F. Schneider also set a hearing for next week to approve Rockville-based Scan's going-out-of-business, liquidation-sale plans. The company, which has two retail locations in Virginia and three in Maryland, expects to begin selling off its merchandise early next month to raise funds.

The winter books on the Kentucky Derby do not offer father-son exactas. If they did, it would be time to box trainer Scotty Schulhofer and his son, Randy.Quickly, before Scotty runs Fly So Free in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and the odds drop.The race is the simulcast feature at Laurel and Pimlico Saturday.A communique from one Las Vegas "resort" says Fly So Free, the 2-year-old champion of 1990, is the shortest price, 7-1, of all the 3-year-olds eligible for the Derby.Fifth choice, at 12-1, is Scan, being trained at Santa Anita by Schulhofer's son, Randy.

The ailing housing market isn't just affecting those who build homes - but also those who fill them. This week, Rockville furniture retailer Scan International Inc., which operates five stores in Maryland and two in Virginia, filed for bankruptcy protection in a Baltimore court. The company said revenue had dropped 20 percent during the past year and it owed money to more than 200 creditors, which include international furniture dealers and customers. Papers filed by the company Wednesday in U.

State police used drug dogs during school hours to scan about 50 cars outside Liberty High School in Eldersburg yesterday, arresting a juvenile after seizing 6 grams of marijuana from the glove box of his car.The youth was charged with possession of marijuana and released to his parents, Sgt. Gary W. Cofflin said yesterday.Another arrest is imminent, as soon as troopers find a second boy, Sergeant Cofflin said."We know he was in school, but he must have walked away while we were scanning the parking lot," the sergeant said.

Two North Carroll High School students were arrested Friday on marijuana and paraphernalia charges after police dogs scanned about 225 vehicles parked in the Hampstead school's lot and were drawn to their cars.The 17-year-old suspects -- a boy and a girl -- were released to their parents pending action by juvenile authorities, police said.Prosecutor Edward J. Puls Jr. said small quantities of suspected marijuana, razor blades and a cutting agent were seized from the cars.Earlier, four police dogs working in cooperation with school authorities, Hampstead police, state police and the Carroll County state's attorney's office, scanned about 500 vehicles parked outside Westminster High School without detecting drugs, Puls said.

Flashing lights on patrol cruisers, road flares and electronic signs warn that a police drug-scan checkpoint is just ahead.Motorists have an immediate choice: Drive on or turn to avoid the slowdown.For many drivers, it's a minor inconvenience.For a few, perhaps -- those transporting illegal narcotics -- it could mean risking arrest.Random checkpoints to deter drug trafficking on state highways have twice been set up on Route 140 this summer to catch or scare off those who would buy heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances in Baltimore and return to sell them in Carroll County, state police say.Such police operations, which raise public awareness about a social problem and let residents know that law enforcement is doing its part to stem the flow of drugs into their community, are most effective when used randomly and infrequently, said Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman.

Passions are running high at your local supermarket. On the one side are customers like Karen Sutton, 26, who shops at the Whole Foods downtown - but only about once every two weeks when she absolutely has to. The beautiful new store doesn't happen to have any self-scan lanes. "I would go to the grocery store more often if there was self-checkout," says the University of Maryland medical student. "My refrigerator is bare after 1 1/2 weeks, but it beats waiting in line." On the other side are customers like Mercy Rock, 46, who shops at Giant and Super Fresh, both of which have do-it-yourself lanes.

A painless 20-second procedure was all it took for Karl Meyer and his designers at Gentle Giant Studios in Burbank, Calif., to revolutionize the art of toymaking. While children on Christmas morning may whine about their presents, one complaint you're unlikely to hear is, "But he doesn't even look like Harry Potter." That's because Harry himself (aka 12-year-old actor Daniel Radcliffe) sat and posed for the Gentle Giant digital scanning equipment. Twenty seconds is all the time it takes for the scanner to digitally create a topographical map of the human face.