A correspondent writes:

I discovered today that choko is actually from Mexico where it is known as chayote or chayote squash.
Imagine how well choko would sell if it were presented in trendy western suburbs greengrocers as chayote.

On Thursday, I wrote here: I hope the queue for tickets to next week's Steve Irwin memorial doesn't get heated.
Today, The Courier-Mail reports: Grief-stricken fans of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin shed fresh tears after tickets to his memorial service ran out in 15 minutes yesterday, sparking a scuffle and accusations of dirty tricks.
I sure there were some genuinely "grief-stricken" people there, but there would also have been a number of people who just wanted to be a part of something big. Being sad at the loss of somebody you admired but never knew is one thing, but some people are going way overboard with their public outpourings of emotion.
PS: In the Courier-Mail story, somebody is accused of being "unAustralian".

This whole issue of "Australian values" is getting quite absurd. I know Australians who have very different stances on matters of politics, race, gender and sexuality, religion, whatever - and that doesn't make any one of them necessarily better or worse than the others. Being "Australian" is often simply an accident of birth. Diversity is what makes life interesting, but it seems both sides of politics now see that as a bad thing.
PS: For at least one person's opinion of what isn't Australian, try typing this into your browser: unaustralian.com

Have you ever noticed how people in customer-service jobs now seemed programmed to give often-inane answers to inquiries? At a cinema today, a woman who noticed the box-office was unattended asked a young employee where she cold buy her ticket. "Tickets are now on sale at the candy bar for your convenience," he replied automatically. Exactly how having to queue up after giggling teenagers who can't decide what kind of drink and what size popcorn they want is more convenient, I don't know. What he really should have said is: "Tickets are now on sale at the candy bar so the proprietor can save money on staff."
PS: And it should be the lolly bar.

Ipswich councillor and professional stirrer Paul Tully has questioned the conventional wisdom that Channel 9's Bruce Gyngell was the first Australian face on television. Tully says Janet Gaynor's face was telecast from Brisbane to Ipswich as early as 1934 in one of a series of experiments by amateur radio enthusiasts.