KEY POINTS:
Gail had a visitor on Saturday. "This giant dragonfly flew into our bach at Waihi Beach. It was beautiful and the biggest I had ever seen, measuring 100mm long. It is a New Zealand native, but even so, I wasn't sure whether it would bite me or not."
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This week, the little kids have been threatened with a trampoline ban and, in New York, the big kids may have to give up their toys, too - at least while crossing the road. New York state senator Carl Kruger is proposing a law which would fine people US$100 for using iPods or cellphones while crossing city streets. Kruger calls the problem iPod oblivion and says pedestrians are walking into speeding cars, buses and one another. He says "oblivion" has caused several fatalities. (Source: iLounge.com)
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Catherine was feeling warm and fuzzy towards the police after reading in Sideswipe this week of their helpfulness with the pink VW, but that soon changed. She writes: "My little sister and I have been painting our front fence (in our oh-so-sexy painting shorts and baggy T-shirts), and I have become inured to sad middle-aged men beeping their car horns at us. But this morning I was made to take notice by two upstanding members of our police force, who reminded me that they really are just little boys who've been given a big car to play with. Waiting for a gap in the traffic, they quietly cruised out of the gates of the local primary school, came across to where we were painting the fence and honked their horribly loud horn right behind us. Not surprisingly, this had the intended effect of making me leap and send paint flying. While I am glad to know I can be of service to the police by providing entertainment, one is led to wonder why they were the ones doing the road safety talk at the local primary school. Perhaps they had annoyed a superior by putting a fart cushion on his chair and were being punished? They certainly would fit right in with a bunch of children. Or am I slandering the good name of this country's under-10-year-olds?"
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A Canadian rescued from a rubber raft in near-zero conditions was carrying US$3000. He told rescuers he was paddling to the United States to avoid bank charges. Wayne Kingwell, 40, ended up spending five hours on the Niagara River before he was rescued, reports Buffalo News. He claimed he often crosses from his home in Fort Erie, Ontario, to Buffalo to to pay the balance of his credit card. He told police he was charged an $85 fee if he mailed the payment, so he crossed the river each month instead.
