Sideswipe

Do they sell big Americans here? (Source: Mwasatoshi's photostream on flickr.com)

On Tuesday while driving to Hamilton a reader was pulled over by police. She writes: "Knowing I wasn't speeding, I wondered what all the fuss was about. The policeman came to the window and reassured me that I wasn't doing anything wrong. He explained that when I drove past he thought I was wearing a hoodie (I was not wearing a hoodie, it was my hair) and all the naughty people wear hoodies. So beware - what type of sweatshirt you're wearing is a valid reason for the police to pull you over."

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Forget the rip-offs at Eden Park, Auckland City Council takes the cake with their "txt 2 park" pay and display machines, says one reader. "Short of change, I thought I'd give it a try, getting half an hour for $2. The text cost me 20c, there was a 50c "transaction fee", they sent back two texts thanking me for using the service which took a minute each to read and delete (a conservative $2 at my hourly rate) so another 40c (to them, not me). For me a total of $4.70 for $2 value. Why don't they take into account that I have saved them collecting and banking the multitudes of $1 and $2 coins by direct debiting the $2 into their account. I might just make sure I have plenty of change next time I plan to park in town."

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Reader Andrew Stevenson writes: "You mentioning 'Newmarket's 277 uber-mall' reminded me that when I was there last week, on one of the huge plasma-screen televisions located in their food court, they were screening a Discovery Channel documentary preceded by the warning 'contains live surgical procedures, viewer discretion advised'. Is this part of a plan to combat obesity by putting diners off their meals?"

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Simon Thompson was surprised when two cops knocked on his door, then stunned when he found the reason for their visit. They gave him a ticket for flashing a finger at a traffic speed camera 30 minutes earlier. They said he made an offensive gesture, a violation of the Public Order Act. But Thompson didn't get a ticket for speeding; he was driving under the limit. (Source: reason.com)