Sideswipe: Desperate measures

Grant Burton's tattoo (left), and the yellow lizard that Ben found. Photos / Supplied

An Aussie man has had a train company logo tattooed on his back (pictured right) - so his parents can get free rail travel around Europe. Grant Burton had wanted to get his parents something special for their 40th wedding anniversary, but he was jobless with little spare cash. He contacted train firm Eurail and asked if it would give him two passes if he did something crazy to promote its brand.

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Ben wonders what this yellow lizard (pictured above) is. "Is anyone from the zoo or DoC, etc, interested in it? It has come back to the same bush outside my bedroom window the last three days in a row!"

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Deb writes: "After six years receiving mail for someone not at my work address, Sideswipe is my last resort. The ASB keeps sending me Mr Alexander Milliken's mail even after I have returned the mail to sender and contacted them over and over again. The bank said they couldn't do anything unless Mr Milliken himself contacted them. Huh? How hard is it to update a customer's address? So, Mr Milliken, if you're out there, can you please call your bank and update your details? And if anyone out there reading this works for ASB ... what gives?"

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A Wisconsin woman who tied up a cheating lover and glued his penis to his stomach says she didn't mean to hurt him and overreacted only because he was trying to contact her 12-year-old daughter. Therese Ziemann, 48, said she had just found the girl's number on his cellphone. "It was just a warning from me to him, to stay away from the kids." Ziemann, her sister, another of the victim's lovers and the man's wife were all sentenced to one year's probation plus community service for their roles in setting up the love cheat. (Source: AP)

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Jim writes re Al Weeks' question about why the speedo is only 'half used': "When you are travelling at the speed limit the needle of the speedo is vertical on the clock, [so it is] easy to see with a quick glance ... In some speed cars or race cars, the instruments are all turned so the correct reading shows on all instruments when the needles are all pointing straight up, vertical.

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"A reader says: "Speedos allow for the maximum speed of the car (or more), not the maximum speed of the road you happen to be travelling on. There are plenty of roads around the world, such as the autobahn in Germany, where you can travel at well over 100km/h."

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Poor Al Weeks and the unused half of his speedo, writes a reader. "I find that if you jam your right foot down on the accelerator and take your hands off the steering wheel you can use the right-hand side of the speedo before you leave the cul-de-sac in the morning."

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Are you ready to rumble? Wrestling fans who like a bit of staged rough-and-tumble can now see episodes of iconic Kiwi wrestling TV show On the Mat at telly and film website nzonscreen.com. This is the first time since it was broadcast (1975-1983) that the show can be seen by the public.