Sideswipe: All at sea

Google Maps appears to struggle with the distinction between two distinct masses of water on the North Shore.

Security rules gone mad

Dave just had a fantastic phone call from ACC:

"Hello, Tax Rat, David speaking."

"Hello, this is Angela from ACC."

"Hello Angela from ACC. What can I do for you today?"

"Can I first ask you to confirm your phone number?"

"But you rang me."

"Yes, I know. Can you confirm the number?"

"It's the number you just rang me on."

"Yes, I know. But for security reasons I need you to confirm what that number is."

After he'd stopped laughing enough, he told Angela the number she'd just used to call him.

Getting the good oil

On the subject of publishing speed camera locations, one reader says the West Australian newspaper, which covers the whole state, publishes "fuel watch" which tells you where to buy the cheapest petrol in your city and that price by law is fixed for 24 hours. Now there's a real novelty!

Smile, you're on speed camera

The Auckland Speed/Booze Bus Hot Spots on Google Maps reminds Claire of when she lived in Port Elizabeth, South Africa: "Every morning the local radio station would broadcast the location of the 'smile zones' for the day - the spots where speed cameras would be operating so that you could 'smile for the camera' when driving by."

Excuses lost in translation

A reader spotted the Top 10 Most Bizarre Motor Insurance Claims on www.insurancehelpline.co.nz:

1. A herd of cows licked my car and caused damage to the paintwork.

2. An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.

3. Windshield broke. Cause unknown. Probably Voodoo.

4. The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

5. In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.

6. I thought my window was down but I found it was up when I put my head through it.

7. Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.

8. My car was legally parked as it reversed into another vehicle.

9. I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.

10. The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.