Posts by Sam F
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hard News: Change for the Better, in reply to BenWilson,
We await their pleasure, on a work that would take them about 1 day, if they actually worked on it.
I've been avoiding this stretch as much as possible - mainly by reverting to the old on-road cycle route parallel to the motorway and then taking the underpass at Mountain View Road - but the times I've been past St Lukes intersection lately it does look like progress is happening (at least that's what I think the shifting fences and lumps of rock all over the temporary path mean).
-
Hard News: Art with a job to do, in reply to Matthew Hooton,
New Zealand has grassy-green or snowy-white mountains. Australia has red peaks. Red peak has no meaning for New Zealand.
You’ll never look up in this country and see a red Southern Cross in a blue sky either. And I would say a white mountain with a red core is actually highly meaningful for New Zealand, if you’re going to go the route of judging flags as if they were geography lessons.
Given the energy that went into promoting fern based options like the Lockdoow flags, and that they just look that much more like our current flag than Red Peak does, I’m not surprised they did so well. Red Peak couldn’t really compete with the recognition factor of the Blue Ensign and Silver Fern combined. I don’t think 1.2 million voters were entirely wrong – their choice – but I do suspect that number includes quite a few people who voted for the flag/s most similar to our current ensign and who will probably vote for retention of the current flag in March. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
The Point Chevalier & Aro Valley comment is a cheap shot and beneath you. 150,000 votes is a fair number of New Zealanders, especially for a design that was basically completely unknown until after the shortlist was announced. They chose an interesting design in opposition to the Lockwood options, possibly not in any expectation that it would ever win. Can I suggest you stop projecting your contempt for these particular New Zealanders onto other people?
-
No worries, Ben. Yup, I've seen similar confusion over diagonal cycle crossings' signs and lights elsewhere - I think it's a byproduct of their being fundamentally a stupid idea.
I practiced what I preached on Nelson Street this morning, using a new secondhand bike with lovely big 700c wheels - the big caveat is to watch the lights at Fanshawe carefully, as it's a hard downhill haul on the brakes if you're moving at a clip and the lights at the bottom of the hill shift to yellow...
-
Hard News: Public Address Word of the…, in reply to Hilary Stace,
I want a word that means why do we have to keep fighting for the same things over and over again. Latest issue. Radio NZ cutting staff including one of my favourite programmes, the gentle and intelligent, Nights. We had a big public meeting to save RNZ a few years ago and here we have to do it again and again.
That's a shame - I really enjoy Nights, the only radio programme I reliably listen to almost every day. Don't particularly care if that makes me a young fogey in some people's eyes (I'm not that young anymore anyway).
No idea what new word to invent, but there's a great old one. Beats me what the gods are punishing us for, though.
Right, I'll stop introducing derails now...
-
Hard News: Public Address Word of the…, in reply to BenWilson,
Presumably a panel of people doing it are "Circle Hosking"
I find it hard to reconcile hosking with anything that more than one person is enjoying at a time, but sure, whatever your psyche and stomach can handle.
-
Hard News: Public Address Word of the…, in reply to Cecelia,
Radicalised
My top pick is still "twitterati", but that's a solid second choice.
Closely followed by hosking.
To be honest, I'm not quite convinced by "hosking" as a bike-related verb (veloneologism?).
I'd like to propose two different usages:
1. Antonym of fisking ie. completely uncritical parroting of received opinion, especially opinions of the powerful. "We need serious analysis but [news commentator] has just been hosking the official line all week"
2. An unpleasant self-indulgence far better done in private than public. "[News commentator] is entitled to his opinions but I wish he'd have a quick hosk at home instead of in front of the nation in primetime". -
Lifehack for the diagonal cycle crossing at Victoria/Nelson Street: if you want to go down towards the viaduct or Quay Street quickly and in peace, punch the button to activate the crossing, then when it goes off, head along it for a couple of metres and then drop straight downhill on Nelson Street in the regular lanes. You get the nice downhill run and the activated crossing will keep the traffic off your back until you get to Fanshawe Street at very least.
-
I think I’m going to have to go for twitterati too. Illusory and meaningless yet it was everywhere you looked in NZ in 2015, either being name-checked by the clueless or chucked around like a hand-grenade online, or both at the same time.
2015’s quintessential word for name-calling and pointless squabbling while important issues are left wanting: let’s tie this one around the neck of the year almost gone and deep-six them both.
-
Hard News: Change for the Better, in reply to BenWilson,
(well except that for about 3 months they just used the stretch of it past St Lukes Rd to park digging machines and diverted all bikes up a whole bunch of suburban hills to get across what was a 100m downhill cycleway stretch before - I don't know if this is now fixed)
Confirmed for no. Anyone going east of St Lukes is apparently going to be climbing those goddamned hills for another 2-3 weeks minimum (I've learnt not to treat AT's claims about when paths will reopen as gospel).
-
I bought Chandler's The Big Sleep to keep me sane on a work trip, and was very pleased to find rich veins of humour and snappy repartee alongside the hardboiledness.
I finished a large part of it during an afternoon's downtime at a café in Palmerston North, so I now have a rather odd fictional overlay to my memory of my first visit to the Manawatu.