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Click on this link and then type Wellington into the search box. When a small window with a list of "wellingtons" appears, choose the New Zealand option.

Hmmm.. what's George W Bush up to that he's not telling us? I think that National Geographic deserves a "Could do better" grade on this one.

They say it's not the gift but the thought that counts -- but I think eBay auction is taking things a little too far don't you think?

It's back to the future time brought to you by those crazy Taiwanese guys at aopen. I bet it has a lovely tone eh?

Tired of fish and chips, burgers or KFC? Why not be bold and try this recipe for Beer-butt Chicken

Readers Say (updated irregularly) Wellington... - Paul Wellington, county... - Rob You have gnomed the map... - Arthur NZ's newest expansion... - Intrepid From Yesterday... Free music... - Allister Relationship skills??... - Dominic Music recording... - Richard Have Your Say

Confirmed: SKYMail Sucks Big-time
Earlier this week I published a rather cynical column on the new SKYMail service being offered by pay-TV broadcaster Sky.

Well it seems that I was not being cynical at all. In fact I was right on the money.

According to his usenet posting, Sky Subscriber Shelby Macdonald decided to try out SKYMail, just to see how well it worked.

It seems that the connection to Sky's dial-up system is a little flaky at times and Shelby found that the connection was sometimes prematurely dropped -- requiring the number to be redialed and another 18 cents to be billed to his account each time.

He says "I tried my usual XTRA account, and 25 emails, mostly spam. It [SKYMail] downloads the headers only three at a time so, even if you want to scroll through the list of emails, you have to wait 10 seconds between each three -- and then, if you actually want to read them, well..."

It seems that I'm not the only one who found the vision of someone pecking away at a tiny remote control in an attempt to enter an email on the SKYMail system somewhat ludicrous either...

Shelby says "I think my father, who isn't computer literate, doesn't have a cellphone, and is technophobic, summed it all up pretty well. Whilst I was taking 10 minutes to write a very short email he started laughing his head off."

So it's slow and cumbersome -- just like I thought it would be.

But here's the real kicker...

Shelby ended up being billed for 62 minutes ($10.62) just to browse his email and send three short messages.

So it's slow, cumbersome *and* expensive!

Well, I guess at least they're consistent.

Still Clearing The Closet For Christmas
As well as the Norinco .22LR rifle I advertised yesterday, I'm also selling a couple of used pulsejet engines that are now surplus to requirements and my jetkart.

What better gift for Christmas than something the whole neighbourhood can enjoy -- whether they want to or not ;-)

Any reasonable offers considered.

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