KEY POINTS:
A reader writes: "I've heard about this guy Cliff Edge. I would suggest people stay well away from him."
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A cat fell 34 floors from a Gold Coast penthouse and survived after landing in a bush, says its owner. Voodoo, the 7-year-old manx, has always had an affinity for heights and his owner, Sheree Washington, said he often teetered on the edge of the balcony. She and her husband, Wayne, noticed Voodoo was missing about 9 o'clock at night, after the couple had finished dinner. "We searched high and low and he was nowhere to be found." The next morning, she made the journey downstairs, expecting to find her beloved cat's body at the base of the high rise. Instead, she found Voodoo with nothing more than a few scratches. He was crouched back in the corner with a bloodshot eye, a scratched ear, a cut mouth and a damaged paw, but otherwise unharmed. (Source: Gold Coast Bulletin)
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An American tourist staying at Aoraki-Mt Cook bit off more than she could chew. Puzzled housekeeping staff were called to help the Hermitage Hotel guest who complained she couldn't get her pizza out of the microwave oven in her room. Turns out the guest had put the pizza in the safe and, while pressing buttons, had activated the lock. (Source: TheHermitagehotel.blogspot.com)
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A coffee lover thinks there's a scam going on in Auckland. She wonders, "Why are takeaway coffees only half full? Are used coffee grounds being topped up with fresh coffee grounds? Is the milk being watered down? Have you or anyone else had a bad coffee experience?"
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Ray Waru of Avondale writes: "Late last Thursday my doctor rang and said I should go immediately to Auckland City Hospital and ask for the medical registrar. He said the blood test I had that morning to help diagnose a spot seen on a lung x-ray was 'elevated' and I should go now. For the next few hours I was prodded, tested and x-rayed. At 12.30am I had a CT scan and at 3am the spot was confirmed as pneumonia, not a clot racing to explode in my brain. Over those hours I was treated with friendliness and care and given the best treatment money could buy. Thank heaven for socialised medicine is all I say. There may be lots wrong with the New Zealand medical system but there is also lots right. My best wishes to Dr Peter Jones and the team at Auckland City Hospital and all the other health workers who toil away to keep us all in one piece over the holidays."
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Khalin Rivenbark had a cold, so her father put a few cough drops in her book bag before sending her off to school. A classmate of the Clay County, Florida, girl also had a cold, so she shared some with her. A teacher spotted her, and Khalin's father says she and two other girls now face punishment for bringing "drugs" to school. (Source: Reason.com)
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Stephanie Jones writes: "At 4pm on Christmas Eve my parents were out on their daily walk and found a flute in a black leather case sitting on the stone wall behind the 007 bus stop on Mt Albert Rd, close to the intersection with New North Rd in Mt Albert. It was apparently set down by someone waiting for the bus, but then forgotten." If you are the owner, you can contact Stephanie on 027-577-1572.