KEY POINTS:
A handy self-service station at a Hong Kong cultural centre.
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A reader writes about his excellent spam filter: "Each Sunday since joining Xtra, I have received an email from the Xtra make-believe identity Max Newman. Each Sunday, I delete the message without reading it. I think I can find my own way around the net without 'his' advice. This Sunday, no email from Max Newman. Later, while emptying my spam, I find that Xtra's own spam filter had wisely and correctly decided that its very own Max Newman emails were spam and not worth delivering. If only the spam filter could also get rid of the persistent stock-tippers as well."
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A New Zealand company has devised a rodent trap that entices, encloses, electrocutes and then ejects vermin using a shock of between 2.8 and 4.0 kilovolts. Electrical equipment company Electropar has reportedly been granted a patent for the gadget which is powered by four AA-sized batteries. A bait fragrance lures the animal up a ramp into a covered tunnel. The animal's entry registers on a sensor, triggering the "kill cycle". Electropar co-owner Grant Wallace says the animal is put to sleep by giving it a big shock and pulsing it at a lower level to stop the heart muscle. An electric motor then rotates the floor panel and dumps the carcass to the ground below.
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A reader responds to the teenagers who complained to Sideswipe that their parents had banned them from eating fruit. "One can only hope that the parents of the bumptious teenager who emailed you are sufficiently media-savvy to reply in kind, but in case they aren't, I offer the following on their behalf: 'Dear Sons, We are very pleased that you like eating fruit, and ask only that (1) you have the courtesy to let us know that you want it, and (2) ask permission to take it - you self-centred, overweening, publicity-seeking, precocious brats. Signed, Your Loving Parents'."
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Update: Last week Sideswipe ran a snippet about Terry who was visiting from Britain and had only four days left to find his three brothers. By 6pm the day the story was published, Terry had received enough information from the public and had located two brothers and a sister. The siblings met for the first time on Sunday. Terry has gone home now, but will return next year. Thanks to everyone who helped.
