Sideswipe: September 2: Captioning glitch goes viral

Mitch Bowey's job was to caption the Australian Capital Territory's Covid-19 press conference on the second day of lockdown. To do this, he used voice-to-text software to transcribe most of the words, before changing any typos and fixing up any grammatical problems. But there was one word Bowey did not catch in time - he'd had trouble with the word "Canberrans" before. So when the region's Chief Minister Andrew Barr took a moment to thank Canberrans for their hard work embracing the snap lockdown, the captions suggested that Mr Barr had thanked "Ken Behrens". For the thousands of Canberrans it was welcome comic relief and quickly spread across social media. It may have started as an innocent captioning glitch, but Ken Behrens has spawned a new era of wearable Canberra pride. The Canberra Raiders NRL team changed their name on social media to Ken Behren Raiders, merchandise — including T-shirts reading "We are all Ken Behrens" — sprung up overnight. Even a Ken Behrens craft beer was brewed.

Mistaken identity

Comedian Ricky Gervais tweets ... "Just went up to my mate who was sitting in his car. I pressed my face against the window pulling a stupid expression. He wound the window down. Wasn't him. Bloke said: "Are you Ricky Gervais?" I said: "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," and ran away." Turns out, it was an experience shared by many:
1. It was 1997. I was 12. Platform 11/12, Clapham Junction. I was meeting my mate Alex there. I saw him, he was facing the other way. So I went up behind him, made a gun with my two fingers, pressed against his back and whispered: "Give me all your money." It wasn't him.
2. I once thought I saw my mate and said: "Hey, Adam." It wasn't him but his name was Adam. When he asked how I knew his name I just panicked and told him I was psychic.
3. I was sitting in my truck waiting to pick my kid up from martial arts when a very distracted lady on her phone opened my driver's side door and nearly climbed right into my lap. We locked eyes, she was mortified, I was stunned, and also a bit mortified because I knew my truck probably smelled like french fries and farts. What can I say, I wasn't expecting company.
4. Once I was sitting in my car, minding my own business, when out of nowhere Ricky Gervais put his face on my window and starts making faces. I have no idea what to say so just roll the window down and ask: "Are you Ricky Gervais?" He just says "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," and runs away. Celebrities, man.

Not gold at the end of this rainbow

Snapped at Victor Eves Park, Ōrewa, after the downpour by Dave Mason.

Did you know?

An animal rights law introduced in Switzerland in 2008 makes it illegal to own just one guinea pig at a time. The law was part of a legislative push to grant "social rights" to pets that tend to get lonely. Guinea pigs, for example, are herd animals, so having at least one furry companion to share a cage with should supposedly boost their quality of life. Because it's unlikely that two guinea pigs will die at the exact same time, pet owners can find themselves in a legally sticky situation when one of their animals passes away. Fortunately, there are now rent-a-guinea pig services in the country that provide partners to live with lonesome guinea pigs for the remainder of their lives.