Bit of a win/lose situation. (Via Twitter @_youhadonejob)
Rich pickings for some
A Halloween letter to advice column Dear Prudence on Slate.com: "I live in one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in the country, but on one of the more 'modest' streets - mostly doctors and lawyers and family business owners. (A few blocks away are billionaires, families with famous last names, media moguls, etc.) I have noticed that on Halloween, what seems like 75 per cent of the trick-or-treaters are clearly not from this neighbourhood. Kids arrive in overflowing cars from less fortunate areas. I feel this is inappropriate. Should Halloween be a neighbourhood activity, or is it legitimately a free-for-all in which people hunt down the best candy grounds for their kids?" That Bad Advisor responds: "Already you must divert what funds you should rightfully be able to use on that second yacht to supporting America's notoriously robust, even over-adequate social safety net. Must you also give candy bars to poor, lazy urchins who don't even know the value of a hard day's work, and thereby teach them that they deserve the same king-size Kit-Kat bars that the nose-to-the-grindstone children in your own neighbourhood have earned honestly? This is America, not communism! Don't feel bad for standing up to this encroaching oppression; give the poors a Snickers and they'll soon get all kinds of uppity ideas about having access to the same education, health care and political enfranchisement that their wealthy superiors enjoy."
Red spells danger
Strange new red lines are appearing at intersections in Balmoral (they're supposed to be calming) but I wonder if Auckland Transport understand that having a road surface that is grippy, then smooth, then grippy is dangerous for motorcyclists and cyclists?
Close shave for hospital
A hospital patient in Lebanon called for members of his clan to open fire on the building because a doctor wanted to shave his body hair, it's been reported. The man was due to undergo a kidney operation but he objected to the surgeon's plans to remove his stomach hair as part of the preparations, the Daily Star website reports. "The situation quickly escalated as the patient, concerned that his masculinity was at stake, dialled his friends," the website says. Those "friends" responded by rolling up in a 4x4 car and opening fire on the hospital.
"My kids usually play for about 15 to 20 minutes, so 2-8 years may seem a bit long," writes Michel Tent after a visit to the Manukau Supa Centa playground.
Crafty: Knitted brain hats...
News-ish: Inventor of Operation game needs money for actual operation...
Video: Office Life - A rap video made entirely from stock video clips of business people...(track is the late DJ Rashad Harden's "She A Go.")
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Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz