KEY POINTS:
Wow, bottled water now comes in a can.
* * *
Tara would like to give a big [sarcastic] shoutout to Pacific Blue "for charging passengers, who had vomited, for cups of water during two turbulent aborted landings at Wellington Airport and the forced 2 1/2-hour return trip back to Auckland. For not dealing with the fallout from the abandoned flight and having 2-hour-long queues as passengers tried to reschedule flights. For screwing up bookings the next day, which mean my family missed out altogether. For refusing refunds to disgruntled passengers and for having an online complaints system that does not accept submitted complaints. Thanks a lot, from a family who will use only our national carrier from now on."
* * *
A Swanson reader wonders why politics has to be so "us and them" ... "It's as if the whole red state/blue state mentality from the US has caught on here and some voters can't accept that their friends might make different choices to them. A friend told me she and her husband had been invited to a 'Get Rid of the Bitch Election Party'. She asked her husband, 'Do you think we bring our banjo?"'
* * *
A British jobseeker was asked if he was good in bed as part of a Government-backed training questionnaire. Jason Lightwood, 38, enrolled on a Juniper Training session designed to help people struggling to find work. As part of the session, jobseekers were given a questionnaire which included if he ever "found it difficult to perform adequately or without embarrassment when involved in sex". Querying this question, he was told, "If you're not performing well in bed it can affect how you do at work." (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
* * *
Price Rollforward? A reader writes: "Called into the Red Shed downtown today thinking of buying the kids skateboards for Xmas while they were being advertised at 20 per cent off. I noticed one $24.99 price sticker not quite covering the one beneath. It showed that before the "sale" the price had been $19.99 (= 20 per cent lower). Obviously not everyone gets the bargain they think they are!"
* * *
Debt collectors in Spain are not known for their discretion. According to the Wall Street Journal, some debt collection employees are quite flamboyant about it, making house calls in "top hat and tails", or sending bagpipers to announce the debt to the neighbourhood. One debtor quickly paid off his daughter's wedding tab when the collector found the ceremony's guest list and began billing each attendee for his or her "share" of the debt.
* * *
Today's Webpick: A clip of incredible stunt flying. Watch it here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.