Sideswipe: January 22: Hawaii ballistic alarm Auckland style

On Tuesday I spotted this alarming sign on the southern motorway," writes Stephen Hannan. "I took a picture with the dash cam — all the traffic stopped and gingerly moved on, expecting a car coming in the wrong direction, but no car appeared and everyone was confused! I pointed it out to NZTA and they apologised and said it was a false alarm."

The need to be alone

"We need to be alone because life among other people unfolds too quickly. The pace is relentless: the jokes, the insights, the excitements. There can sometimes be enough in five minutes of social life to take up an hour of analysis. It is a quirk of our minds that not every emotion that impacts us is at once fully acknowledged, understood or even — as it were — truly felt. After time among others, there are myriad sensations that exist in an "unprocessed" form within us. Perhaps an idea that someone raised made us anxious, prompting inchoate impulses for changes in our lives. Perhaps an anecdote sparked off an envious ambition that is worth decoding and listening to in order to grow. Maybe someone subtly fired an aggressive dart at us, and we haven't had the chance to realise we are hurt. We need some quiet time to console ourselves by formulating an explanation of where the nastiness might have come from." (Source: The Book of Life)

Hold the phone for pen

"As a teacher, I found there was a constant demand for a pen to borrow, often not returned," writes Mal Joynt. "I hit on the idea of a trade system. I swapped my pen for their cellphone. Never lost another pen."

The ultimate hypocrisy from the author and a state of perpetual psychological conundrum for the reader.

Dad's last request for beloved hymn

"My father is an avid Sideswipe reader and also a lover of church music," writes a reader. "He has a lifelong passion with the song Abide With Me, and this was reinforced when many years ago he visited and joined in a service at the church of its origin in Brixham, Devon, UK. He has asked of me, as a last wish as he lies in his bed in Auckland Hospital, to see if a singing group or choir could perform the "Brixham Hymn" at his impending service at Purewa in Meadowbank. It would provide immense pleasure to him knowing this could be possible. If anyone can kindly assist on this, please contact Sideswipe."

Supermarket sleaze

Video pick

Russian drivers began using dash cams when they first came out — they were important for defense against scam artists who demanded payment for being hit. Now, director Dmitrii Kalashnikov has compiled the wildest of these videos into a feature-length documentary, The Road Movie, which can be pre-ordered as a digital download, from March 6. Check it out…

Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz