Sideswipe: August 4: Lookalike

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Lookalikes: Rupert Murdoch and Davros, leader of the Daleks.

Trouble keeping up

A reader writes: "Received the yellow local directory today. Looked up my business out of curiosity and there it was. But also under the same category are some businesses that closed their doors about three years ago. I wonder how many other listings are obsolete?"

Second life for sneakers

Sneaker garden cemetery: A Dutch footwear maker has developed sneakers that you don't chuck when they're worn out; you simply bury them in the ground. The second-place winner at Amsterdam's Green Fashion Awards last week, OAT's "Virgin Collection" are the first sneakers designed to biodegrade and sprout trees. The materials are all easily broken down, and tree seeds packed in the lining will hopefully leave saplings where your sneakers once stood. (Source: Neatorama.com)

Privacy in danger

Natalie was compelled to comment on the Taj Mahovel real estate listing on Trade Me and agree that the description is an insult to both the house owner and tenant. "I'd also like to point out the breach of privacy by putting pictures of the tenant's young children in the ad. I hope the real estate agent will rethink the advertising and go and take some more flattering photos (and respect the tenant's privacy)."

Still hearing things

William was involved in a road rage incident in the early 90s when working in Otara. "Four guys thought they had right of way, (was always taught that if you back down, people would walk all over you, but these guys did anyway). The outcome was that they cracked the anvil in my ear, and for the next decade or so whenever I sang I would start to lose my balance and the sound would resonate loudly inside my head, (that put paid to me being a rock star) ... didn't have a squeaky eye like the English guy in Sideswipe yesterday, but to this day I can still hear my heartbeat ... means I am still alive so I can't really complain can I."

Dealing with car grime

Chris reckons all those people washing their cars at home with a bit of elbow grease are flushing the grime, grease and soap into the stormwater drain, which leads directly into the ocean. "Everyone who goes to the carwash helps the environment because they are (or should be) connected to filters and oil interceptors which should then be discharged into the sewer system, rather than the stormwater sewer. Washing your car on the lawn isn't a better option. No wonder some countries have banned the practice of washing your car in front of your house."