KEY POINTS:
Taken on the forecourt of a service station in Warkworth by Les Cave.
* * *
David's a winner, or is he? "After using NZ Lotteries MyLotto website for some time to buy Lotto tickets, I opened up my account to see the words, 'Congratulations! You're a winner'. Knowing the jackpot hadn't gone that week, I thought perhaps I had won $75, or even a few thousand. So I opened up my Lotto message to read that I had won an unbelievable, but somewhat singular, Lotto strike bonus. Seriously, Lotto, does that makes me a winner? Isn't that like realising you have just lost $10, but should still be happy because you also just found 20c?"
* * *
A renter writes: "While looking for a two-bedder in Kingsland I came across a property which was a bit steep, at $600 a week, especially when I read the note in the listing, which is what's described as grasping at straws in terms of sales patter. It reads: "One glass door and well lit but no windows. Perfect for someone who likes to keep out of the sun."
* * *
The recession must be hitting hard in Pukekohe. Recently the local high school went up for sale (as featured in a previous Sideswipe photo) and now the police are having to sell ice to help make ends meet.
* * *
Further proof the world is going to hell in a handcart: Parents in New South Wales are naming their children after the offspring of Hollywood celebrities, reports the Daily Telegraph. Posh and Becks' names for their boys have proven the most popular, with 41 Romeos, 178 Brooklyns and 185 Cruzs born in the past three years. Figures from Births, Deaths and Marriages also show the Jolie-Pitt's brood were popular, with 30 Shilos, 29 Maddoxs, 35 Zaharas and even three named Pax in 2007. Eight parents have named their unfortunate little girls Sunday Rose (Nicole Kidman's daughter) and at least three Apples (Gwyneth Paltrow's little girl) have been born since 2006.
* * *
Fatima's story about the rubbish is just the tip of the iceberg, says Jacqui. "The last time I went to Mission Bay, I filled up several bags with just the plastic I could see blowing into the sea. When I went to deposit it in the rubbish bins, they were overflowing. It seems no one empties the bins during the holidays. Clean green New Zealand? Don't make me laugh."
* * *
Soljan's dine-and-dash update: Turns out the freeloaders who we were about to name and shame with the security camera snaps made a genuine mistake. A woman called the restaurant to say her husband thought she had paid and vice-versa. It was only after reading about it in Sideswipe that it registered neither had forked out the cash.
* * *
Today's Webpick: Sounding a lot like a Ninja Turtle, this Californian surfer dude describes what the surf's like for the TV cameras. Watch them here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
