Sideswipe

Organic is now a brand first and foremost.

A reader writes: "A million thanks to the eagle-eyed cat lovers who managed to attract the attention of my father-in-law, who was stationary at a red light on K Rd on Saturday night, to ask him if he was aware he had a cat clinging to the roof of his car! Our adored but reckless burmese, Harry, had somehow managed to hang on there for the 5km journey from our house in Westmere. Thankfully he didn't make it to the motorway."

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The Coaster, a community newspaper serving the Hibiscus Coast, informs readers the new public toilets next to the Orewa library are already being appreciated. The toilets are graced by two murals by artist Joy Bell, who says she likes the way her works fit in with the library: "They make the toilets more palatable ... I can see why the toilets are needed - they are so well used."

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Convicted fraudsters Donna Awatere Huata and her husband, Wi, want more legal aid, on top of the $160,000 to date, to pay for their appeals. Kiwiblog's David Farrar suggests they raise the money by "setting up a trust allegedly to help children learn to read and write, get lots of money from the Government for that purpose, and then just steal the money they need". (www.kiwiblog.co.nz)

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Warning: Not for the squeamish.

The scientific name for using one's finger to extract dried mucus is rhinotillexis, and doing so compulsively is termed rhinotillexomania. There is an Austrian doctor who has gained notoriety by advocating the picking of one's nose and the consumption of the resulting bounty, particularly in children. Dr Friedrich Bischinger, an Innsbruck lung specialist, believes that exposing the body to the dried germ remains helps to reinforce the immune system. He feels that society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking, and encourage children to take it up.