Sideswipe: Approaching the end of the line

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Ken Yri of Waiuku reckons the older he gets, the more grateful he is that life is not like a roll of Gladwrap. "I should be perturbed if I found a life-related sticker along these lines facing me one morning," he says.

Quick to make a buck

Not one to miss a marketing opportunity, T-shirt purveyor Mr Vintage has created a benefit T-shirt with a seismograph in the shape of the Christchurch Cathedral to support earthquake victims. How lovely! From every sale, $5 will be donated to the Red Cross quake appeal. How generous ... Or is it? The T-shirt costs $29.95, so if they sell 150, Mr Vintage will bank $2842 (minus an estimated $6 each to make) and Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal will get $750. Plenty of businesses will be trying to capitalise off the earthquake in Christchurch - 'buy this product and we'll donate [insert amount here] to such and such appeal. Please, just donate the full amount directly. Or make an automatic $20 donation by phoning 0900-33-200.

Eden Park in too-hard basket

"The crowd at the Auckland/Taranaki rugby match at Eden Park on Sunday was a little sparse," says a reader. "Should have been a real treat for Father's Day - especially as tickets for Dad-and-son were a good deal - but booking tickets via the usual internet ticket outfit was a nightmare. First, because you MUST accept the only two tickets given in the row right under the 'drip line'. I phoned the outlet and was told other tickets were available (for a extra $4) but they could not be couriered as it was within a week of performance. So off I went to Sylvia Park outlet to book and collect them. But no, the ticket machine had been down for two days. Could I collect at the gate entrance to park? Well, yes ... but then I wouldn't have the tickets in hand to qualify for free train ride to ground. Gave up, watched on TV. By the look of the small crowd, so did many others."

Thinking outside square

Trying to make motorists respect pedestrians on zebra crossings, Russian police had wanted to parade exotic zebras wearing sandwich boards across Moscow crossings. Only trouble is, they couldn't get their hands on any zebras - so they painted black stripes on white horses instead.

Auckland's well-kept secret

"I sympathise with the problems in getting from the airport to central Auckland," writes TP. "But try going to the airport from the city. No signs anywhere, until the small one right on the roundabout at the start of the motorway off Sandringham Rd. Then, if you're lucky enough to know the airport is at Mangere, not Manukau, you may find your way to Mangere Bridge (still no signs). After several major intersections - at last, an aircraft image appears. What's the problem? Why can't there be at least a few indications that you're on the right road?"

Today's Webpick: Lady Diana in a Chinese underwear ad from beyond the grave and is this a real dog food ad? Go here.

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