Sideswipe

Sign spotted near Torere, on the East Coast past Opotiki and snapped by Kerry Grant.

Opinion

Natural disaster abroad and election spin at home makes this post called Being Poor, by sci-fi writer John Scalzi, seem timely.

* Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

* Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying when he says he doesn't mind when you ask for help.

* Being poor is hoping your kids don't have a growth spurt.

* Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mum gets home and then telling her she doesn't have to make dinner tonight because you're not hungry anyway.

* Being poor is an overnight shift under fluorescent lights.

* Being poor is finding the letter your mum wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

* Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

* Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

* Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually stupid.

* Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually lazy.

(Full post on scalzi.com/whatever)

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Two similar news photos of flood victims in New Orleans wading in chest-deep water have generated very different captions. In each, a person appears to be dragging a bag or box of food or beverages. The images were shot by different photographers and captioned by different photo wire services. The Associated Press caption of an image with a black person says he's just finished "looting" a grocery store. The AFP/Getty Images caption describes lighter skinned people "finding" bread and soda from a grocery store.

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Not all of Muffin Break's customers are giving their beans to Labour in the franchise's election poll (one bean, one vote). At the franchise's midtown Auckland branch, an area with a higher concentration of sharp suits than the rest of the country, owner Hina Kikla says that National is a good third ahead of Labour. Tax cuts are doing it, she says. For those who haven't seen it, the voting scale runs thus: Not to bean; Has-bean; Wanna-bean; Might bean; May bean; Could bean; Bean hive.

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David Farrar at kiwiblog.co.nz has found a political party that makes Destiny look moderate. At a Dunedin North meeting local candidate Robert Wansink, who is standing for the Restore All Things In Christ Party, tried to convince people to vote for him by saying all the other candidates represent the Antichrist and that if we did not vote for him we would burn in hell for eternity, "and eternity is a very long time".