Posts by Jason Kemp
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Thanks for sharing Russell - families are so important.
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Great news - all the best for the new show
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A few years ago I had almost the opposite experience. It turns out I had sleep apnea and since then I use a CPAP machine. For years I had been half awake and did more than my fair share of coffee. I could go to sleep anywhere but lacked deep sleep and felt tired most of the time.
When I first got the CPAP machine my sleep and life was transformed. What I discovered was that a very high percentage of people with sleep apnea were undiagnosed and just learned to live in a sleep deprived state. For anyone reading that suspects they have continual sleep deprivation it is worth getting tested.
After a while I found that I had other health issues which had been masked by the lack of quality sleep. I’m still working through those but it is a journey and there have been no magic bullets. What works for me or anyone else may not work for you. As we age our metabolism changes.
In 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s we feel indestructible. A bit later the playing field is distinctly not level as we may have to work around impaired organ function.
I can drink full strength coffee at any time and sleep fine but I do sometimes go for months on decaff if I get hyper sensitive to coffee which does happen to me. I’ve found Omega 3 fish oil has been a good thing to do for background health.
All the tips about sleep hygiene are good but if you get into a changed phase it might be time to have some medical tests and see how ( in my case – the kidney) the body is holding up.
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Cant really go wrong with this 1966 song by Ramsey Lewis. This version has vocals by Marlena Shaw
Enjoy
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I didn’t know about this recent change to the Crimes Act ( Mar 2012) it almost certainly doesn’t apply but in view of current events it shows clear intention.
New Legislation: Crimes Amendment Act 2011
**Section 195A – Failure to protect child or vulnerable adult**
New section 195A of the Crimes Act 1961 is targeted at persons who have frequent contact with a child or vulnerable adult (the victim) and are members of the same household as the victim or are a staff member of any hospital, institution, or residence where the victim resides.
With the exception of those under the age of 18, such a person will be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years if he or she:
(a) knows that the victim is at risk of death, grievous bodily harm, or sexual assault as the result of —
(i) an unlawful act by another person; or
(ii) an omission by another person to discharge or perform a legal duty if, in the circumstances, that omission is a major departure from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person to whom that legal duty applies; and
(b) fails to take reasonable steps to protect the victim from that risk.
Not sure if age and statutory rape has been considered earlier. The thought is that for any of the victims who were under 16 – no consent can be given. If they are under 16 its an offence full stop.
It may be that “boys” were engaging before they turned 16 as well.
That doesn’t magic up any evidence but it does show that the whole issue of consent has been very misunderstood.
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The irony here is that, if natural cannabis was available in New Zealand, there would be very little demand for the synthetic stuff.
Yes and the “follow the money trail”
There are obviously lots of questions but I’m betting Treasury will want to know how much tax growers might pay and the business side seems to be left out of this paper.
I remember working on a project in Kaitaia many years ago and one of the measurements we looked at was cash / to charge ratios at various branches of a building supplies chain.
In that town the cash ratio was higher because of the local dope farmers. I would think being able to put some kind of $numbers on the sector would be a useful element in any policy making.
Footnote: The synthetic stuff might be useful as a proxy indicator for demand but while the market overlaps I don't think it is the same unless you don't mind testing dodgy chemicals on yourself.
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It sounds like the film industry is one which is sufficiently different to say farming or manufacturing which would benefit from some strategic insights by government.
15% of nothing is nothing. The rebates apply to projects that would otherwise not be in NZ.
And yes Australia has a higher rebate but the exchange rate is less favourable. I wonder what the various Au states are doing about this. I'd guess they have more local drama to make.
On a more positive note ( maybe)
MediaWorks TV Chief Executive Paul Maher said the move freed up cash to invest in local programming.
"So while there will be some scheduling changes in the short term, we have a much stronger financial position from which to aggressively target the programmes our viewers want," McGeoch says.
from Fox loss challenge for Mediaworks programmers a programming disaster at TV3/4 could create an opportunity?
However what they think their viewers want is more reality tv awash with product placement.
There has to be some icy roads near Queenstown for a local ice road truckers surely.
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Hard News: Narcissists and bullies, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
That 2007 Commission of Inquiry was what I have been thinking about
Deputy Police Commissioner Rob Pope to resign from 2011
"The man who led some of New Zealand's biggest investigations is walking away from the police in the wake of a damning report into the force's culture."
...."Pope's announcement comes a day after a Pricewaterhouse Coopers released its third report following the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into police conduct.
The report revealed nepotism, discrimination against women and poor performance among senior staff as problems within the police force."
and a summary of the progress report found
Among the report's findings were:
No action over poor-performing senior staff at police headquarters.
Police files revealed "highly inappropriate behaviour" by staff which was worthy of dismissal but received only a warning.
Rosters based on staff needs, not risk and demand.
Many staff felt the wrong people were sometimes given senior roles.
Wide inconsistency in the abilities of area commanders.
Little confidence in the detection of any concerning staff behaviour.
The commission of inquiry lacked impact as a driver of change.
Police need to implement "basic management concepts".
I hope our faith in the IPCA is justified but given the history so far it would seem little has changed.
I wonder if there are any women in Senior roles with the Police as it must be a very tough culture
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Speaker: Gender quotas (and helping…, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
I think the methodology is wrong there. There are never the same two teams being played and while the history contributes to the mythology it is not as predictive as you might think. Especially in the MMP era where I'm a Labour party supporter but I keep voting Green because Labour keeps shooting itself.
Anyhow I think it is a massive distraction from the important points. We need more women in parliament so lets make that happen. There are definitely some male Labour MP's who should be stepping down because they are past their use by date.
I don't think anyone should be too fussed by the actual calculations.
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The history has swung around a few times over the 400 years. For that early period it began as a crime by Catholics and then became an anti- Catholic event fairly quickly. Now it is just an excuse to blow things up.
Australia banned the event in the mid 70's and while there are still big firework displays there especially NYE in Sydney it has not been a problem.
I think we should restrict fireworks to public displays under controlled situation the same way as they do in Australia.
In a conversation on the topic last night the banning of Guy Fawkes was seen as being too "PC" however I pointed out to the guy that the local zoo keepers and the fire brigade were grateful it was so wet last night.
And that despite the sale restrictions we still have "pipe bombs" and multiple fires and other health and safety breaches.
It has never made much sense to have explosives freely available to so many people. I compared it to gun control. In NZ we have public policy which controls firearms and a culture that mostly abides by that so not closing down Guy Fawkes doesn't make much sense to me.
I did like the Parihaka idea a few years back. Celebrate that instead of Guy Fawkes. If we want fireworks there is always Diwali, New years eve, Chinese New Years eve and plenty of other events that have more positive connotations to celebrate with fire.