KEY POINTS:
Pimp my PM: In the interest of helping the Government, a car enthusiast who subscribes to a reputable British car magazine looked up the three cars under consideration for the ministerial fleet. The Skoda Superb gets three stars and is "spacious, cheap but rather dull", says the magazine. The flashy Chrysler 300C , also gets three stars, but although it has "outrageous looks" the chassis is not the best. The Peugeot 607 gets one and a half stars and is dismissed as a "big French saloon way off the pace". Hope that helps our leaders decide.
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Eye spy ... when high-ranking monkeys are shown images of other monkeys glancing one way or the other, they more readily follow the gaze of other high-ranking monkeys, Duke University Medical Centre neurobiologists have discovered. They ignore glance cues from low-status monkeys, while low-status monkeys assiduously follow the gaze of all other monkeys. The discovery is more than a confirmation of what most people believe about their bosses, said the researchers. It reveals that gaze-following is more than a reflex action; that it also involves lightning-fast social perception.
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The Ponsonby footpath upgrade has not been all bad, says Arlene Green. "Clearly there is no pleasing some people. Complaining about cut gas mains, phone lines, slurry on garage doors and walls, chipped hunks out of brick fences and concreted over water-main boxes. This is just part of getting a footpath upgrade. I live in Lincoln St and found the contractors most helpful. They often placed wooden planks across the '4cm ledges' to enable residents to get in and out of their properties. There were no black eyes for elderly cancer patients in my street. In fact, the contractors often helped my mother-in-law carry my young son in his pushchair over the road when works were being undertaken. I find it hard to believe such polar experiences can be had with the same group of contractors. Perhaps Ponsonby residents should be grateful - at the very least be happy about the additional value added to already exorbitant Ponsonby house prices."
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Shortly after reading Sideswipe's story about bad CVs, a school administrator opened this email responding to an ad for a part-time teaching position. "Should we shortlist this guy?" she asks. The applicant writes; "I'm looking 4 a job. But i dont have a cv. But i am srry. i don't have a cv. I am only 18 years old. But i am turning 19 next month."
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Alex Daley would like to congratulate the Auckland City Council and the roadworkers on Carrington Rd during the night. "They have done an excellent job creating a detour (as Carrington Rd towards Pt Chevalier is closed) which takes you around the back streets and then back on to ... Carrington Rd. Is it just me or is a detour meant to take you around the roadworks, not just in a big circle?"