Sideswipe: Laugh in the face of adversity

Photos / Supplied

"My wife and I flew to Christchurch on Friday to enjoy the restaurants and celebrate a birthday," says Brian. "After the Saturday morning quake we saw this sign (pictured, left) attached to a shop window; it brought a smile."

Safety first

A painter on a building site makes his own ladder (pictured, right), says a reader.

Power to the people

You can't fire someone for the theft of 1.8 euro cents (3c) worth of electricity, a German court has ruled. Network administrator Oliver Beel got sacked after charging his Segway, a two-wheeled electric vehicle, at work for 1 hours. His boss asked him to unplug, and 12 days later Beel found himself without a job. The court ruled that dismissal was disproportionate to the offence, especially given the "minimal electricity cost involved, the plaintiff's 19-year employment by the company and the fact other employees charged mobile phones and digital photo frames at the firm's expense without punishment". (Source: Reuters)

Class dead certain to be popular

The University of Baltimore is offering a new class on zombies. The course will be taught by the author Arnold Blumberg, who wrote a book on zombie movies, and the curator of Geppi's Entertainment museum, which specialises in American pop culture. Students taking English 333 will watch 16 classic zombie films and read zombie comics, according to the Baltimore Sun. (Source: Telegraph Group Ltd)

Hardly little ol' friendly NZ

Jamie says NZ visitors' visas, once issued, have the following warning imprinted on them: "You must leave New Zealand before expiry of your permit or face removal." Sounds a bit harsh if you ask me, he quips.

Ape loose in zoo carpark

Gordon writes: "To the driver of the Rotorua-registered blue Subaru Impreza driving quickly in the crowded Auckland Zoo carpark on Sunday lunchtime, gee I wish I was as cool as you are. When I told you to slow down because a child could run out in front of you at any time, you smirked and said, 'If they do that, they probably deserve [to be hit].' Wow, what a tough guy."

Disaster capitalism

On Monday, I expressed an opinion about local T-shirt maker Mr Vintage's benefit T-shirt for the Christchurch quake and asked readers to think carefully about how they donate. The company had sent me a press release stating the price was $29.95. It now says the price has always been $19.95. Mr Vintage was offered the right of reply, but instead chose to mount an online campaign eliciting personal insults, claiming inaccuracies. I stand by my criticism. An automatic $20 donation can be made directly to the Red Cross Canterbury Quake Appeal by phoning 0900-33-200.