Posts by Rob Stowell

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  • Hard News: Death Spiral!,

    What I've been wondering more recently is why the imported stuff I buy hasn't gone down by 20%

    The other side of the "death spiral" is what would happen if the NZ sank rapidly to a "comfortable" US$0.65.
    We'd see some very uncomfortable price inflation- fuel being the one that would do the most damage. Bollard could ignore it as a "one-off"- but for most people it'd probably hurt more than the interest rates are starting to- and fuel wage inflation and then...

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Hard News: Death Spiral!,

    I/S- yeah, that's the elephant in the room. We (indirectly) import from a firm in taiwan, and they are now trading in euros. I don't know how common this is, but it seems increasingly inevitable. While there are some advantages to the US in the dollar lowering, it's uncomfortably vulnerable. The Chinese hold approx a trillion; they can afford to "peg" the yuan. But how long will they be happy to sit on it?

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Busytown: Word!,

    Better not to ever open The Tale of Tom Kitten, then. As a 4-year-old it scared me witless- I wouldn't let mum read it. I still have dreams about hidden passages and secret byways in old houses.
    Second kids are entirely intruiging tho- number one, you tend to think: that's what kids are like. Number two, and you realise that's not it at all. Time to look into Frank Sulloway, maybe?

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Busytown: A real page-turner,

    Russell Hoban's The Mouse and his Child is good to read aloud. Also quite a few Dahl's are good: we've got a tape of Fantastic Mr Fox the kids have listened to again and again. But there are many others.

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Hard News: Public health: the new terror…,

    I'm more worried about how good they are. Any fifteen year old with internet access should be able to make a bomb. Boy scouts would do it. A wacko like McVeigh could do it.
    These guys dump some petrol and gas cannisters in- yeah, two mercedes, just to prove they're really doctors- well, with planning and executions skills that slip-shod, I'm glad they're not looking after my health!

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Southerly: A Slow Journey and a Quick Arrival,

    Congratulations Jen and David. What a lovely wee boy!
    Seems every birth has a story: the human prologue. Hope things settle down for a while! ;-)

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Hard News: TVNZ: The Sub's Pencil Strikes,

    MMmmm might just be me missing it, but seems Extras is even better this series (so far!)
    Wot I want to know is- why isn't Prime on Freeview? (Sky own it, of course, but still!) and why can't we harvest a digital bounty on it, with, eg a feed of BBC World, SBS etc etc...

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Island Life: This just in: incumbent…,

    There are of course a few that do involve oil.... but Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and, oh, Saudia Arabia are playing the oil-game with the Texans and have "protection".

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Radiation: Sensational,

    Curses, foiled, this will put back our evil plan for the chch symphonic stormtroopers to conquer the world by- decades!

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

  • Random Play: A missive from an ancient mariner,

    Who hasn't looked at the chose sport of recreation of others and thought- "Why?"
    Riding horses, shooting ducks, scragging the first-five: maybe I don't have the talent, the knack; maybe you just didn't get hooked at that right time of life. We just gotta accept it, take what we can enjoy.
    We do have a maritime history (fast disappearing in the international market for lowest-wage mariners) and many of us still enjoy mucking about in boats.
    Are we a "nation of great sailors"? It's like "are we a nation of great rugby-players"? Most of us don't sail or play rugby. But some of us do both as well as they are done competitatively. And many more of us enjoy watching them!
    PS- Butterworth IS one of the great kiwi sportsmen, and it would seem he prefers golf. (Mind you, it might just be relaxation he's after- put him on the PGA for a year and he'd be longing for a relaxing sail...)

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report

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