Sideswipe: June 5: Angry kids

Kids leave the darndest notes. Yvonne writes: "We recently awoke to find this message outside our daughter's bedroom ... We hastily checked the garage to ensure all tools were safely in their place! That said, we made sure we didn't wake her."

Furniture thieves with high standards

A reader writes: "I live in West Auckland and the back of my property can be accessed by jumping a fence. I have an outdoor table and chairs down the back that look pretty good, but actually the chair legs are rotten. I awoke this morning to find the chairs stacked on the table ready for some strong thieves to make their getaway. Alas my dining set is not up to the standard of the neighbourhood thieves and upon discovering said rotten legs they changed their mind and left them. Maybe I won't replace the chairs until I build a higher fence!"

Road rules petition drawback

"There is a lot of media interest about the petition organised by a 10-year-old boy, requesting that visiting tourists pass a local driving test before being allowed to drive on New Zealand roads," writes Allan. "While not wishing to denigrate his initiative, I fear that there will be a public knee-jerk reaction to support him and to introduce such a test without fully recognising the possible consequences. Any country realising that their citizens are being subjected to this test will undoubtedly retaliate - how would you like to sit a driving test around Paris, or LA, after a long flight and before you can collect your rental car? How will showing knowledge of New Zealand road rules prevent a tourist ignoring a stop sign, surely an international symbol even if the language is different? I suggest that any driver already holding a foreign licence could probably satisfy the requirements of an arrival test, but the problem will arise a few days later, relaxed, distracted and ... whoops! Wrong side of the road."

It may be lovely but it's Hitler's

The Alabama Christian group Life Savers Ministry (LSM) put up a billboard at the local mall to show their love for children and, apparently, their intention to recruit kids into their ranks. Pictured were five kids and a life affirming quote: "He alone, who owns the youth, owns the future - Adolf Hitler." When all hell broke loose, the ministry seemed genuinely perplexed by the attack on a perfectly nice quote.

Family asking to get run over, slowly

In response to yesterday's item about the people standing in the parking space to reserve it: "When it comes to running someone down with your car, is there a certain speed at which it is their responsibility to avoid getting hit?" asks one reader. "Obviously at a higher speed, it's up to the driver to avoid running people over (not counting the ones who step onto the road without looking). Really, you could try to run them down in slow motion and assume they will move. Don't leave your car afterwards, though, because you will get keyed."

Levitating herbs, maybe? wonders Joel.