Sideswipe: Trick or treat

At first glance this sign in Glenfield seems a bit on the nose ... A carpark exclusively for Asians? What an outrage! But no, this is the customer carpark for a food court called "That's Asian".

Ignoring the grumblings of the killjoys who refuse to get into the spirit of Halloween because it's "American", here is a spectacular idea for a Halloween dinner. A gruesome take on the traditional meatloaf, the Meat Hand is accessorised by onion finger nails, a skin of blistered melted cheese and served on a bed of mash. Recipe on www.notmartha.org.

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At the end of his first week at school, Freddy had made friends with an Asian boy and excitedly told his mum that his new friend "speaks orange!"

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A reader writes: "One of the local free newspapers had an ad headed, 'Need a loan? Talk to us', and a picture of a nice motherly woman who would surely want to help you solve your financial problems. Loan example over two years? $1000 at $17.44 a week. Assuming this is the full cost (eg, there is no $100 set-up charge that they forgot to mention), what is the effective annual interest rate? One of our senior accounting people did a quick calculation and came up with a figure of about 66.499 per cent, based on constant payments and constant interest rate calculated weekly, on the outstanding balance."

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The Watford Borough Council in the UK has banned parents from supervising their own kids in public playgrounds because they have not undergone criminal record checks. Only council-vetted "play rangers" are now allowed to monitor youngsters in two adventure areas in Watford; parents must watch from outside a perimeter fence. Watford Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said: "Sadly, in today's climate, you can't have adults walking around unchecked in a children's playground and the adventure playground is not a meeting place for adults." (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)

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The Telegraph has not done its research very well when it describes New Zealand as one of the world's "more staid countries", declares a reader. "According to the Durex World Sex Survey 2005, an average person in New Zealand has 13.2 sexual partners in their lifetime, third only behind the Turks and Aussies. Britain came in 20th with a paltry 9.8 partners, behind erotic destinations such as Japan and Serbia."

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See today's Herald cartoon

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Today's Webpick: Newly released trailer for Invictus the story of Nelson Mandela's campaign to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen. Go here.

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