Sideswipe: March 19: Sizzle delicacy

Guide dog Sausage sizzle. Photo / Supplied

Doug snapped this delicacy at Hillpark School, Manurewa.

Chess keeps abreast of fashion

Chess officials have decided some players are taking so long to make their move because they are really peering down their opponent's cleavage. ECU general secretary Sava Stoisavljevic told ChessBase news "many of the players were not wearing proper clothes" during games. It's the females who will have to play conservatively when picking from their closets before a tournament. The ECU has put restrictions on the amount of cleavage a player can display.

Stag party bad behaviour

"Having worked on doors for years, [I know] it is standard practice for bars to refuse large groups of guys on weekends. Stag groups tend to ruin the atmosphere - believing that because they are on a stag party any kind of outrageous/drunk behaviour is tolerated and that tends to drive away other clientele. Stag groups also tend to get aggressive and intimidating towards staff and other patrons. And a lot of older stag parties think they are reliving their youth by getting in fights with doormen or police ..," writes a reader.

Last words on speed tolerance

Final words on getting pinged 5km/h over the limit ...

1. To constantly look at your speedometer must be more dangerous that going 5km/h over (I'd rather everyone kept their eyes on the road).

2. A one-size-fits-all speed limit is ridiculous. Why does a 1500kg car with ABS and traction control have the same speed limit as a milk tanker in all areas where the limit is 90km/h or under, when the former has a much shorter stopping distance and better handling than the latter? This is exactly why the police need to use tolerance and discretion.

3. How about cameras at busy traffic lights? Running red lights is rampant in Auckland and surely more dangerous than drifting slightly over the limit when coasting down into a dip ...

4. I would challenge all self-righteous motorists to prove they never go over the speed limit ... unless they are the types that drive at 80km/h on the open road.

5. Consumer NZ found most speedometers read from 2 per cent to 18 per cent slow.

6. Ticketing at 55km/h is revenue gathering. With the exception of backing over kids in driveways (which happens under the speed limit anyway), how many fatal accidents have there been at 55km/h?

7. Would you rather have car A doing 60km/h or car B doing 65 km/h avoid you as you cross the road? Under reasonable conditions, car A will require 39m of road to stop, car B 44m. Car B will still be travelling at 30km/h when car A has stopped.