The New York Times From http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/nyregion/thecity/29comp.html The Entertainer By BORIS FISHMAN Published: May 29, 2005 FOR those lacking cab-ride entertainment since television screens were discontinued in taxis in 2003, there is hope. It comes in the form of Oleg Roitman, a k a the Human Computer, an immigrant cabdriver from Ukraine who regales fares with a flashy sleight of mind: Give Mr. Roitman any date - say, your birthday - and within a second, he will tell you what day of the week it was.

On the sign in the cab: Hello, I am a street performer, known as THE HUMAN-COMPUTER. I specialize in mental math. My favorite trick is: if you tell me (in Russian or English) any date (month, day, year), for example the date of your birth - in less than a second I will tell you on which day of the week you were born (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). I calculate in my head extremely quickly - yes, yes, I am a genius! Please tell me the month only by word (January, February, etc.) and not by number! To verify that my answers are correct, I always carry a book with calendars from 1900-2020. But you MUST know, unlike a government, I don't make mistakes! In this way you can find out the day of the week you, your friends, and relatives were born. I don't charge a fixed price for this service. Just pay me what you think my service is worth. Special for the third millennium: When you pay me for determining the day of the week when your first two spouses were born, I will, FOR FREE, tell you on what day of the week your third spouse was born. Again: you don't have to know the day of the week you were born on, I will tell you, and I have a calendar with me to prove it! Note: the main reason I do this is the same reason you go to work. Please be aware that people like The Human-Computer make New York City a famous place in the World!

Photographer Frances Roberts for The New York Times. Oleg Roitman's math skills go far beyond finding an address.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, Mr. Roitman demonstrated his skill to a passenger named Mary, who was going to Whole Foods at Union Square. In a thick Russian accent, Mr. Roitman directed Mary to read a sign explaining his talent. "Can you guess my weight or height?" Mary asked hopefully. "No, only dates," Mr. Roitman answered. "What's your birthday?" "March 13." "And what year?" "I'm not telling you!" "Come on!" Mr. Roitman persisted. "Well, be kind now," she said. "1952." "Thursday, young lady, Thursday!" Mr. Roitman boomed as he scrawled the information on a souvenir sheet he hands to passengers. "Any other dates while I'm still alive?" Mr. Roitman prodded. "The date of birth of your first husband? Your second husband? Your third husband?" Mr. Roitman, who is married and lives in Midwood, Brooklyn, is a big fan of marriage jokes. His style might best be described as tough-love entertainment. When a passenger suggested that Mr. Roitman got his answers from a reference book listing days of the week for the past century, which he keeps in the cab in case a rider questions his mental gymnastics, Mr. Roitman good-naturedly reassured her that "this book, my lady, is only for stupid passengers who don't know mental math." Though the abrasiveness annoys some riders, the rough-edged immigrant spin on the archetypal New York eccentric tends to charm most. But Mr. Roitman's showmanship is actually the much-rehearsed product of a quintessentially American catalyst: motivational literature. Inspired by its directives, Mr. Roitman is constantly tinkering with the language of his self-promotional materials - each passenger walks away with a stack, including cards with an address for the Taxi and Limousine Commission, in case he or she wants to send a complimentary letter on his behalf. Mr. Roitman, 43, is not an idiot savant; he uses a mathematical formula that can be found at curiousmath.com, a Web site that offers an array of mathematical tricks. A fan of astronomy and math, he says he worked out the equation on his own during down time as a Red Army recruit in the 80's. Mr. Roitman's act was a sensation on the boardwalk in Tel Aviv, where he immigrated in 1991, but the following year, when he moved to New York, he discovered that it translated poorly in the more saturated entertainment arena of Times Square. For a time, Mr. Roitman gave up the act, but in 2000, his "blood started boiling again," as he put it, and he decided to give it another try, this time on the road.