KEY POINTS:
Gerard Anselmi writes: "We have a development at Pukekohe East - 150 houses stage one and another 150 sometime in the future - which has been rezoned urban by the ARC. However, both the Franklin District Council and the developers are battling NZ Post, who insist it stays on Rural Delivery. Imagine that - 300 mailboxes all stacked up at the gate. They'd need a half an acre just for parking. Let's hope there aren't too many John Smiths living here."
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The new Business School at Auckland is taking its job of promoting NZ industry very seriously, a student writes. One of the lecture theatres is called the Fisher & Paykel Appliances Auditorium. "Are they going to be demonstrating new whiteware and offering it for sale before the lecture starts? Is it just a really big showroom? Or do the students get to keep food and drinks in the F&P fridges and wash their clothes during lectures?"
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Motorists on the Harbour Bridge on Friday noticed two small catamarans being sailed by gorillas and wondered what was going on. Stewart Hogan has the inside story: "Launching my boat at Northcote Point on Friday to go fishing I was surprised to find the gorillas had beaten me to the water. After chatting to them I found out this was 'gorilla marketing', which was part of Weta Marine's advertising campaign for the Auckland Boat Show. Although I didn't manage to get any shots of a big snapper, I caught the bizarre sight of gorillas sailing! Hopefully next time I will catch something to eat ... "
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A dozen middle-aged and elderly men - but no women - turned up for a Dutch gym's first naked work-out session. Participants at the Fitworld gym in Heteren were outnumbered by journalists, photographers and five TV crews. "There are things that you like to do, and for a nudist it just feels better to do them with your clothes off," said Ron van der Putten. Patrick de Man, owner of Fitworld, decided to open the inaugural session to the press after getting inquiries from as far away as Russia and Australia. De Man said eight women had signed up, out of nearly 100 applicants overall. (Ananova.com)
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Visitors to Railside Ave in Henderson now have at their convenience a pair of stainless-steel talking Exeloos, says Chris Kiwi of Mt Albert. "When entering a cubicle, a voice says, 'Welcome to Exeloo. Please press button to close and lock door.' It next tells you how long you can stay. At the press of another button, a plastic seat can be summoned to position itself above the stainless-steel pan. The seat comes out of its lair in the back wall with the movement and sound of a snappy salute!"
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Another giant step forward on the domestic front is the "non-stick" shirt for men. The Asda supermarket chain in Britain, which began selling the shirts yesterday, says men need no longer fear the potential humiliation of eating spaghetti bolognaise in public - or the wrath of a wine-throwing date. Even the most powerfully staining liquids roll off the specially coated fabric. Asda spokesman Ed Watson says the chain has started with a man's shirt because research has shown males seem to be more messy than females.
