Let me be the first to say "mission accomplished." Kids are creepy anyway, but throw in a system that leeches blood when it rains and you just might scare people into giving up their cars entirely. Not surprisingly, the billboards have been effective. Since they were put in place, there hasn't been a single fatal accident in the area. [Neatorama via Buzzfeed]

I met this girl I thought was pretty cool, bought a ring, turns out she wasn't as keen.

Oh my. Single tear. The ring is valued at just $3,268, which is not much compared to what these things usually go for. Especially if you don't live in Wellington, New Zealand, where the treasure hunt will take place at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday. The trip will cost more than the ring itself.

We can only hope Anthony is not crying, just making lasagna -for one, quoting the only two famous New Zealand natives I know beyond Frodo Baggins. [Twitter via Reuters]

The funny thing is, this is not some tomboy girl who pushes Tonka trucks around going "vroom vroom." No, Pipi (her real name) is described by her mom as "girlie." "Even when she goes fishing she wears frilly dresses," the mother said, according to the Times UK. "I think she was just clicking on the computer to see what happened."

If nothing else this demonstrates the sheer unbridled power of the internet, not to mention its impersonality, its lack of intelligent failsafes, and our insane reliance on auto-logins as a way around the security we all demanded in the first place. Also: Apparently you can buy pretty much anything in New Zealand.

As you can assume, the seller on the auction site took back their Kobelco digger and sold it to someone else, and the girl's parents no longer use their auto logins. [Times UK via Pocket-Lint]

They were even kind enough to trade him a brand shiny new MP3 player for his troubles. And a happy ending was had by all. Chris Ogle, 29 of Whangerei, NZ—your 15 minutes of fame have now concluded. [Reuters]

"We have tested it...putting the fabric over a cushion. With a screwdriver or something, using two hands and all your force, it won't go through," Dr. Peter Ingham, a scientist at New Zealand's AgResearch government lab, told reporters. "A very sharp knife with the fabric horizontally on a benchtop, using two hands and all your force—it will go through. It will penetrate a little bit," he said, adding. "This is, if you like, stab resistant," he said.

Now that's a turtleneck sweater I can get behind. [SBS World News Australia]

There have been attempts to robotize music before but since up until right now robots didn't have souls, none of them have made a lasting impact. Ham, Wiggy, Swamp and Fifi (yeah, they have names), who I would gladly pay upwards of $4 to see, have a show booked for the 21st of June in their native Hamilton, NZ for any interested Kiwis.
[MySpace via Make]

The 31-year-old Kiwi was sent an SMS from the conniving girl, detailing he was to receive an early "Christmas present" from the sender and her friend. The seductress further suggested our man remove his clothes before entering the house, all in the name of saving time. It was a stupid move—Dr Pepper adverts should have been ringing through the Kiwi's head; unfortunately, he wasn't thinking with that head. He embraced the advice, and shot into a completely unsuspecting household. God only knows what, er, state he was in, but the homeowner was not amused. The police were called, and the man was arrested for unlawful behavior. The siren was later tracked down and charged with the misuse of a telephone; they both evaded prosecution, but were cautioned for the nuisance caused. There is a valuable lesson here for all of us: don't believe random offers of a threesome—your life is not a porno. Sorry. [Reuters; image via Inside]

Microsoft privacy defence delays police [Stuff via Kotaku]