Friday, September 28, 2007

Sideswipe: New Zealand Herald


Auckland, New Zealand, 27, September, 2007--An online auction no one in their right mind would bid on: "Please help my husband pay for his new set of teeth," pleads the wife of the denture owner. "I am auctioning off his old set to help pay the bill. This unique set are New Zealand-made and have never left the country. They are made of porcelain so you'll get another few years out of them. They've done him for 30 years. A few broken teeth on the top plate but, hey, this is where the character comes in. I might even throw in a tube of toothpaste to the winning bidder."
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A reader writes with a warning for Herne Bay residents: "A man rang my sister's house yesterday, saying he was calling from the Ponsonby police station (which was a lie). She lives along the road from the Herne Bay house where the young guy was killed a few weeks ago. He asked if she had seen anything that night then went on to ask how many people lived in her house, what age her kids were and her occupation, then her date of birth. At that stage I told her to hang up. A call to the Ponsonby police confirmed that they were not calling and questioning any residents. There have been a lot of burglaries in the area lately."
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Mark Glucina informs us that sustainability.govt.nz is running a competition called "What's your sustainability" asking entrants to make a short video showing how they are altering their life to "reduce their impact on the environment and save money". He says, "The prizes include a laptop and iPods: consumer electronics with significant environmental footprints that are designed to last for a couple of years before wearing out or becoming obsolete, with the expectation that they will then be discarded and replaced. It seems like someone is not quite getting it. (In fairness the second prize, a bicycle, is consistent with the spirit of the contest.)"
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The mascara and cereal eating drivers are amateurs, says Peter Beale. "Last year my wife and I saw the woman driving in front of us strip off her top clothing down to her bra and then put on a new top. This was followed by a hair adjustment in the driving mirror. This took place over about 100 metres on the stretch between the Barrys Pt Rd junction and the motorway. Good job she left her bra on, otherwise there would have been a multi-car pile-up."

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NZ couple to name child Superman


28-9-2007--A Russian woman has given birth to a baby weighing 7.75kg (17.5lbs), more than twice the average newborn weight.

The "little" girl, Nadia, was delivered by Caesarean section at a hospital in the Altai region of Siberia, joining eight sisters and three brothers.

"We were all simply in shock," reports quoted Nadia's mother, Tatyana Barabanova, 43, as saying.

"What did the father say? He couldn't say a thing - he just stood there blinking," she said.

Record weights

All her previous babies had weighed more than 5kg (11lb), a local reporter was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

"I ate everything, we don't have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles and tomatoes," added Mrs Barabanova, who had the child on 17 September.

In January 2005, a woman in Brazil gave birth to a baby weighing 17lb (7.73kg), the heaviest boy yet born in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Gynaecological Association.

Among the heaviest babies recorded are a 10.2kg (22.5lb) boy born in Italy in 1955, and a 10.8kg (23.8lb) boy born in the US in 1879 but who died 11 hours later.
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Russian mother has 'giant' baby

BBC News, 28-9-2007--A Russian woman has given birth to a baby weighing 7.75kg (17.5lbs), more than twice the average newborn weight.

The "little" girl, Nadia, was delivered by Caesarean section at a hospital in the Altai region of Siberia, joining eight sisters and three brothers.

"We were all simply in shock," reports quoted Nadia's mother, Tatyana Barabanova, 43, as saying.

"What did the father say? He couldn't say a thing - he just stood there blinking," she said.

Record weights

All her previous babies had weighed more than 5kg (11lb), a local reporter was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

"I ate everything, we don't have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles and tomatoes," added Mrs Barabanova, who had the child on 17 September.

In January 2005, a woman in Brazil gave birth to a baby weighing 17lb (7.73kg), the heaviest boy yet born in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Gynaecological Association.

Among the heaviest babies recorded are a 10.2kg (22.5lb) boy born in Italy in 1955, and a 10.8kg (23.8lb) boy born in the US in 1879 but who died 11 hours later.