A reader writes: "Bleary-eyed, I drove down West Coast Rd toward Glen Eden about 7.30am on Saturday to get milk when I came across a 40-strong pack of young men out for a morning jog. They had cars protecting the bunch front and back, which I thought very sensible. I remarked to my son how good it is to see these mostly Polynesian young men out so bright and early, keen to improve their fitness in such an organised manner, and suggested he could take a leaf out of their book. I pondered out loud if it was a running club in the area that he could join. 'Give me a break Mum,' he said. 'They're the bloody Vodafone Warriors'."
Snooty diners just sad
Sonya of Onehunga was enjoying a few drinks and dancing with friends at their local, The Zoo Keepers Son in Royal Oak on Friday: "Just wanted to say to the pathetic couple in their mid-40s who did nothing but look people up and down and snigger and gossip ... making a number of people feel uncomfortable with their constant unwanted scrutiny ... How sad that you had so little to talk about in your own lives that you had to spend your evening picking on others! Sorry that ... you couldn't just join in like everyone else. Next time try chatting to us, you will find us warm, fun and friendly. Sad!"
Fast day at the office
A speeding driver stunned police when they found he had converted his Ford Mondeo into a mobile office. Officers clocked the driver doing 130km/h in a 100km/h zone in Saarbrucken, Germany and when police approached the driver they were amazed to see the inside of his car was set up like an office. On the passenger seat was a voltage converter and printer with a laptop placed perfectly in the driver's line of sight. There were also two cellphones, a sat-nav and GPS signal receiver placed on the windscreen alongside several empty drinks bottles and cigarette packets. Officers ordered the driver to pack all the equipment into his boot and fined him for speeding.
Ticket a wee bit annoying
An Oklahoma police officer gave Ashley Warden a $2500 ticket for public urination after he spotted her 3-year-old son starting to urinate in the family's front yard. Police Chief Alex Oblein says the officer should have handled the incident differently, but he adds he'll wait for prosecutors to decide whether to drop the charge. (Source: Reason.com)
Try the next line, tui
Chastity Stowers of West Auckland says every morning a tui there sings the same line from the Austin Powers theme song. "It's been going on for a couple of months now. At first I thought it was a neighbour's ring tone. I don't mind it so much, but would love the tui to learn the next line."
Quick clip: These two hard-cases in Bogota, Colombia take their incredible roller coaster costume out for a spin.
Picture this: Haunting portraits of British soldiers before, during, and after deployment in Afghanistan.
In the spirit: The NZ Twitter Secret Santa is here for it's 3rd year. Register here and in early December you receive the details of the person you'll get to send a $10 gift to. (You may get an autographed and personally delivered picture of TV3 news guy Patrick Gower like some lucky person did last year.)
Real men don't use CGI: In the 1973 Bond film Live and Let Die, James crosses a creek by jumping on the backs of series of crocodiles. It was the stunt man's idea and with a line up of real crocs getting trodden on it took five takes to get the scene just right.
* Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz