KEY POINTS:
Mike swears this is a true story: "A friend of mine, a freelance artist, fell off a ladder and went on to ACC. He estimated what his annual income would be and was paid a percentage of that. But when his end of year accounts were done it turned out he had earned less than expected, so he had received more in ACC payments than he should have. He was phoned by a woman at ACC and told he owed them $1600. 'But because you have always been so nice,' she said, 'and because you pronounce my name correctly, let's forget about it.' So you see? If you are nice to bureaucrats they can be very generous with our money."
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A Reader gives an example of just how television manages to permeate our everyday lives: "While doing the weekly grocery shopping yesterday, my mother and I spent the hour walking around the supermarket saying things like, 'Are potatoes on the list?' 'Yes, potatoes are on the list Mum', and 'is milk on the list?' [pause] 'I'm sorry, Mum ... milk, is not on the list' ... "
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David Annett writes: "When your reader boasted of the mathematics of 'Dr Hilary Moss, world-renowned physicist' I had to know more. The top search result at Wikipedia returns Hilary Duff who I doubt is renowned for her maths skills. Indeed the world-renowned physicist is not to be found at Wikipedia. A search with Google gives a top result of a medical doctor in the UK. Indeed a search for 'Dr Hilary Moss' and 'Road Carnage Index' is a googlewack for your own Sideswipe page. Maybe he is world-renowned in the L&P sense of the term?"
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Money, the best incentive for everything: Overweight residents of an Italian town will be paid to lose weight, the mayor has announced. Men living in the northwestern Italian town of Varallo (pop 7500) will receive ¬50 ($90) for losing four kilograms in a month, Mayor Gianluca Buonanno said. Women will get the same amount for shedding three kilograms (because it's harder for woman, okay?). If they can keep the weight off for five months, they will get another ¬200, he said.
Today's Video Webpick:.PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. The secret can be about anything, but it must be the truth and not have been told to anyone before. All sorts of very private, sometimes very sad revelations are made. Watch it here. These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
