Posts by Carol Stewart

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  • Hard News: The back of a bloody envelope,

    Sweet as, Bart. The chance to discuss chemistry doesn't come along very often at PA, so I jumped at it!

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: The back of a bloody envelope,

    Bart, can we agree that although cyanide (CN-) contains a carbon atom, it behaves as an inorganic ligand except when it's a nitrile functional group? You probably know as well as I do that in the context of mining we're dealing with inorganic chemistry.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: The back of a bloody envelope,

    Hang on, cyanide is organic

    Actually it's inorganic but I know what you mean.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: The back of a bloody envelope,

    Forest and Bird, bless 'em, have got an e-card campaign available on their home page. Go to it.
    Update: be warned, you will get an instant response from the offices of John Key, Gerry Brownlee, Kate Wilkinson and Nick Smith.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Field Theory: Friday at the test,

    I'm glad you (and others) called those assholes on their behaviour, Haydn. Because it's not good for anyone if women feel too intimidated to get along to games. I remember going to a one day game at Eden Park when I was much younger - about 18 or 19 - and too timid to stand up for myself, and it was just so unbelievably hideous for women that it put me off going back to a game for about 10 years.
    When I finally did get back to a game I sat in the family section with friends and it was really delightful. Imran Khan, Martin Crowe, sandwiches and a thermos - what's not to like?

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: Still crazy after all these years,

    Members of both the NZCPR and the Tino Rangatiratanga* crowd have bees in their bonnet over vaccination,

    I think it's more to do with an anti-science world view. The Greens are pretty suspicious about vaccination too.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: Still crazy after all these years,

    I'm still not convinced that you can get from there to what is a pretty unremarkable (although IMHO stupid) pro-business/global warming-denialist platform and say that the former caused the latter.

    I don't know, Andre, it seems to me that ACT's wacky beliefs and their public policy are pretty well intertwined - most visibly in the case of climate change policy.
    In the case of the Labour party example you mention, I think it's a big and robust enough party that fringe beliefs, like the ones you refer to, will get the stomping they deserve. But ACT is such a tiny outfit that they don't have those kinds of checks and balances.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: Still crazy after all these years,

    But how much of that stuff ever makes it past the forum (or the podium) into real policy?

    Andre, pretty much all the weird stuff on climate change on Muriel Newman's surpassingly weird website translates into ACT party policy on climate change.

    Here's a sampler:

    Oil is NOT a Fossil Fuel
    By Peter J. Morgan B.E. (Mech.), Dip. Teaching


    We all grew up believing that oil is a fossil fuel, and just about every day this ‘fact’ is mentioned in newspapers and on TV.

    Take that, you ... geologists.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Island Life: Everyone loves a quiz.,

    Family is not a fair target

    I'd add that lack of family is not a fair target either. I bet Helen Clark doesn't miss being snarked at because of her lack of descendants.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

  • Hard News: "Creative" and "Flexible",

    Eagle vs Shark ... that film annoyed me in about 15 different ways
    Same.
    Sigh.

    Yeah, me too. The ingredients were great but somehow they made the cake inedible. Or maybe an acquired taste.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report

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