Sideswipe: No thanks!

Source / Criggo.com

Some things just don't bear imagining.

Explosive production

Amateur actor Keith Poultney from Worcester, West Midlands, almost brought the house down when he decided two World War hand grenades would make the perfect props for his Dad's Army stage show. Keith, 56, found the rusting explosives in his mother-in-law's garage. But the Army bomb squad was drafted in when Keith found both grenades still had their pins intact. After a controlled explosion, the squad found the grenades were not live.

Troubles downstream

"It's only the beginning of woes for Telecom users," declares a reader. "Chorus and Downer (thanks to losing the Telecom contract to VisionStream) laid off 900-plus workers from South Auckland to Kaitaia in September last year (including my husband). There are only a handful of technicians now who decided to get into debt and be self-employed for a pitiful return on their investment. Wait until the rain really hits!"

And another plug

"The phones in our street have been out of action for three days," declares a reader. "We can't ring faults service because the phone doesn't work, and this is a dead zone for cellphones. So I sent them an email. Their answer? 'Make sure your phone is plugged in.' Thanks a lot, Telecom."

Water woes

Metrowater is raising the price of water because the drought is limiting supplies - despite recent downpours. And this reader can't understand why the water spilling out on to her driveway for three weeks now is not a concern to the company. "Repeated calls and emails to Metrowater have not yet resulted in anyone coming to fix it. No luck this holiday weekend, despite promises."

Gay breakthrough

Progress: For the first time, the percentage of Americans who see "gay and lesbian relations" as morally acceptable has risen past the 50 per cent mark, according to a Gallup poll on Americans' evolving views of homosexuality. Also for the first time, the percentage of men who hold that view is greater than the percentage of women who do. There are three theories: 1. As more men of all backgrounds (athletes, celebrities, soldiers) openly acknowledge they are gay, it becomes harder for straight men to discriminate against them. 2. The expanding sense of acceptance likely began with the feminist and civil rights movements and is now being extended to the gay rights movement. 3. Virulent homophobes are increasingly being exposed for engaging in homosexuality. (Source: New York Times)