Sideswipe: Aug 1: Bolts from the blue

Photo / Supplied

How SkyCity makes cyclists feel welcome at the film festival... with bolt cutters.

Figuring it out

The department of statistics at Auckland University has started a nifty blog looking at statistics crimes in the media. Thomas Lumley had this to say on an ACC ad: "Last week, in Wellington, I saw an ad warning that someone is hurt in a household accident every 48 seconds. Is that a lot? The population of New Zealand is about 4.5 million, and there are about 30 million seconds in a year. Let's round off the accident rate to one every 50 seconds. That gives 600,000 accidents a year. With a population of 4.5 million, that is around one accident per person every seven years. Somehow, it sounds less impressive that way. (Read more at StatsChat.org.nz)

Do as we say ...

Kate writes: "Auckland City has strict policies that prohibit anyone placing flyers on the windows of motor vehicles, so how surprised was I to return to my car this week and find a flyer for the Glen Innes Aquatic Centre (with the Auckland Council logo all over it) under the wiper. I guess the rules they make don't apply to them."

Receiving loud and unclear

Roy Swan of St Heliers writes: "For many years I have been posting letters in a 'postbox', 'letterbox' or 'mailbox' on the roadside. I now find that they are going to remove my 'street receiver' due to lack of patronage and that the 'street receiver' team regret any inconvenience. Utter gobbledegook."

Cheaper imports

"Am I the only one loving this exchange rate?" asks Andrew. "A pair of Nike trainers that sell for more than $250 at Rebel Sport are on a UK website for £59. But because I don't live in the UK, they knock off the VAT (GST). That made them £49, and postage was free. That roughly equates to $94 at today's exchange rate. While the rate is bad for exporters, shouldn't it mean that imported goods should be cheaper?"

Get with the times

Kelvin Reynolds reckons people complaining about banks charging exorbitant fees for services don't realise that they are using obsolete money transfer methods. "Postal orders? Cheques? Depositing cash into someone else's account? If they used internet banking (or just gave the person the cash) they would be charged little or no fees. Get with the 21st century."