Reporter's Diary

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34072, 9 February 1976, Page 2

Reporter's Diary

Too wealthy?

ARE UNIVERSITY staff too well off? Dr D. J. Rawlence, of the department of extension studies of the University of Canterbury, thinks that must be why he had a poor response to his appeal for others to join him in a car pool from the Cashmere hills. He advertised in the “University of Canterbury Chronicle” for other university staff to get together with him to share the cost of driving to and from Ilam every working day. “$1.22 a gallon is a lot." he said, “and the predominant pattern is one person to a car—often a big car.” Some staff did respond to his proposal, but be found that although they wanted to make economies in transportation costs, they were not prepared to give up any of the freedoms associated with private motoring—such as dashing into town to do some 'hopping on the wav home. They were not willing to be tied to a timetable of simnly driving back and forth to the university. "I thought the price of petrol would have got to the point

now where people were prepared to do that,” he said. He tried a similar idea in Wellington when he was with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, but had a similar response—"another well-paid group that was not feeling the economic pinch.” Dr Rawlence's disappointment is understandable. He drives a V 8 on the 11-mile round trip to work. Radiant groom AN INDIAN magician soon to appear in Christchurch is billed not only as the world’s greatest and fastest magician, but also as a "charming prince.” The Great K. Lal “so fascinatingly displays his acts and actions like a master with lightning speed, dramatists combining his glorious handling of the stage technicalities and blending with superb intelligence the most delicious fun and frolic, that the amazed spectators feel themselves in the dreamland •of Arabian Nights.” According to a review quoted from the

Indian "Sunday Standard.” the magician looks like "a radiant princely bridegroom.”

Disposable

THE GLASS hospital thermometer may soon become a thing of the past. An American company has invented a disposal thermometer based on the principles of thermochemistry —one which does not have to be sterilised, cannot break, and does not give dubious readings. It consists of 45 chemical dots embossed on an aluminium strip. The dots are activated at temperatures between 96deg and 104.8 deg F., each one being "set to fire” at an interval precisely o.2deg higher than the preceding dot. The strip is put under the patient’s tongue for only 30sec, the reading taken from the last dot to fire, and the thermometer discarded. Top 20 THE THREE cars which have received the most parking tickets among the 2000 vehicles used bv dinlomats at the United Nations headouarters in New York, belong to Uganda. The Peugeots assigned to the 13member Ugandan mission to the United Nations have' been given more than 1700

tickets, all ignored, according to the latest official figures from March I. 1974 to January 3. 1976. The top--20 list of parking violators, totalling 8700 tickets, includes cars from nine African nations, two from the Soviet Union, three from other Communist countries, two from Israel, two from Brazil, and one each from Portugal and Saudi Arabia. At an average of $25 a ticket. this would amount to more than $200,000 in lost revenues to the city, not including penalties. But city officials are powerless to collect the parking fines because of diplomatic immunity. Sign design WELLINGTON City Corporation has launched a nat'onal contest to find a design for signs to identify and describe the city’s historic buildings and other features. A prize of $5OO has been contributed bv the National Travel Association. Entries close on February 20. Getawav

"I'M NOT saying I'm proConcorde,” a drinker was heard to say in an English provincial hotel bar, “but anv plane that can fly peonle away from Britain under Labour at twice the sneed of sound can’t be al! that bad.”