Posts by James Butler
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Southerly: One Hundred and Thirty-one…, in reply to BenWilson,
Well, it’s possible that helmets might lead to more accidents, as people would feel even more invulnerable.
Is anyone else thinking of the Offsetting Behaviour masthead?
Because they’re also effective against fists?
On one or two the occasions I have been yelled at by motorists for (legally) filtering between lanes on my motorbike, it has occurred to me that I'm the one wearing a helmet, full upper-body armour and reinforced leather gloves, so if a driver really wants to take issue with me, they're welcome to step out of the car... When I'm in my dorky (but not Lycra!) cycle gear, not so much.
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Southerly: One Hundred and Thirty-one…, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
But then, National have left Christhchurch more or less led by a strong executive to facilitate the tough decisions. A future lab/green totalitarian tree-hugging communist nanny-state could implement a cycling city under CERA with minimal consultation.
FTFY.
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Safe helmetless cycling requires good cycling infrastructure - I would be happy to cycle with no helmet in Copenhagen, but on my commute as it stands? No freakin' way.
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Hard News: Someone has to be accountable…, in reply to Bart Janssen,
Personally, I think it's a pile of crap - only fit for running German car factories
Near as I can tell SAP is really good if you are doing things like building 777s
This squares with my brief brush with SAP, when one of our customers (a large US paper/packaging corp.) wanted us to integrate with their new SAP Demand Planning system. AFAIK the project fell through because SAP was completely unable to adapt from the "many components in -> few products out" model of machinery manufacture to the "few raw materials in -> many products out" model of paper and packaging. I hate to think how they deal with running a government department.
Not that I'm complaining, my present job security hinges on my company doing things that SAP couldn't do - I'm guessing this is a growth industry.
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Also, what is it about trivial things like this (and yes, as much as I think the sign is a fucking stupid idea, it's still trivial) that makes people so pissed off? When was the last time 100+ people bothered to get off their arses to protest against the actions of a business around here?
I wonder if, precisely because no-one * disagrees that it's a stupid idea, the energy we would normally expend arguing the point with someone is all directed towards the WIAL, and each finds his/her anger amplified by others rather than absorbed.
* Except WIAL itself and, it seems, Stephen Franks, who last I knew lived on the city side of Mt Vic and thus doesn't have to look at the stupid thing. At least if DPF liked it I'd have the satisfaction of seething at someone who's worth the effort.
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Muse: Hooray for Wellywood (Really!), in reply to George Darroch,
I like Te Papa, at least on its south approach, for opposite reasons. It imposes and announces its presence. Its spaces work reasonably well
I have to disagree about Te Papa's interior spaces - the place is full of enormous, awkward voids which can neither accommodate more pieces nor add to the effect of the ones that are there. I don't know in real terms how it stacks up, but it always feels tremendously inefficient in its use of space.
I agree re. the external aspect though. I have problems with the overly fussy-yet generic (and dated) detailing, but I suspect that given the passing of time and fashions it will grow into its place. Any number of older "iconic" buildings earn the affection people feel for them not by being groundbreaking or virtuosic, but just by representing the gestalt of the time and place that produced them. Te Papa sure as hell does that.
Craig:
wishing it would quietly slide into the harbour
IIRC (my father was involved in building some of the architectural models of it when I was a child, and used to chew my ear off about such things) it would probably float around the harbour unscathed.
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Hard News: The Political Lie, in reply to recordari,
And made knowing nothing almost feasible.
Only a day late, XKCD nails it.
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OnPoint: Budget 2011: Now with 70% less wordiness!, in reply to Bart Janssen,
<conspiracy theory> The cynical side of me suspects that’s the real reason the government don’t like such a levy because it only leads to more direct levies/taxes which ultimately take control away from the powerbrokers </conspiracy theory>
Well exactly, it's one bit of revenue which they couldn't get away with turning into a top-end tax cut. I hope.
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OnPoint: Budget 2011: Now with 70% less wordiness!, in reply to Bart Janssen,
What I find sad is that in NZ we never seem willing to believe that what is found to be true in other countries – we have to learn it for ourselves :(.
We don't even seem to learn that way.
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Re. Telecom, fibre and privatization, iirc a significant bit of fibre backbone was laid up the middle of the North Island in the 80s in a cooperative effort between the Post Office and NZR - the PO needed fibre for the phone system, and NZR needed it for new signalling on the electrified main trunk line. If someone knows of examples of similar cooperation between private infrastructure companies (or even SOEs), I'd like to hear them.