Sideswipe: Going nowhere fast

Nice visual metaphor spotted in the Civic carpark.

Council bites skateboarding dog

The owner of a skateboarding dog has been fined £80 ($165) and threatened with legal action for not keeping his Lakeland terrier on a lead after two women complained of tripping over the dog's skateboard. Jonathan Fell, 51, has already been threatened by killjoy council officials in Brighton, East Sussex, where his dog Bodhi is a familiar sight as he performs kerbside stunts. The talented terrier has become a YouTube sensation with more than 20,000 followers, and has even appeared in a brief clip on Britain's Got Talent. (Source: The Telegraph.co.uk)

Neglected house cries enough

After months of enduring a leaking pipe that buckled its floors and sagged its ceilings, an empty Massachusetts house somehow called police for help. The Salem News reports the emergency call went out to police from a house in Marblehead after water short-circuited the phone system, apparently sparking the emergency call. Officers were sent to the address and inside they found the wreckage, including potentially toxic mould, from a pipe that apparently burst during the winter. (Source: news.com.au)

Hard sell for a soft drink

"I know it is not a staple food, but my nominee for the biggest price gouge at the moment is Coke 600ml bottles," writes Richard. "At $3.90 now for a 600ml bottle in most dairies, the price has basically doubled since 2005 and it is more than twice the price of the equivalent product in the US (approx NZ$1.65 - NZ$1.85 in most convenience stores and vending machines). $3.90 for 600ml is equivalent to $6.50 a litre, which is about two to three times the price per litre than the 1.5 litre and 2.25 litre bottles in the same dairy fridges."