Posts by Nick D'Angelo

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  • Hard News: Tragedy into Crisis?,

    You're expressing precisely the view that Kerre described. Somehow people in uniform are lesser beings than you, less worthy of life, with a subordinate right to go home at the end of the working day just because they've got a uniform on and a duty to help the public.

    Ah yes, that perhaps explains why our soldiers are now only fit for peacekeeping duties. Or performing the Haka for Laura Bush in Afghanistan.

    Honestly, like the SUV thread I fear this one will not change anyone's opinion. Maybe we should all talk about the Rugby, I think we can all agree we won that!

    I was the first to complain when the Police shot Steve Wallace in Waitara. I felt they overreacted and could've handled the situation with less haste. If there's a live powerline on someone's car I don't expect the EMT to rush in with a wooden broomstick and try to pull the guy out. But (inquiry pending) I think it reasonable to accept the families assurances that the criminals have gone, and to enter the building with due caution. It's wrong to think that the cops should only have accepted the word of an off duty cop inside the liquor store.

    And doesn't the latter sound just a little like a TV cop show? If we're really going to live our lives like the plotline of a TV thriller then there really are Terrorists Among Us. (Which seems to be the on-going theme on SVU lately).

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Hard News: Tragedy into Crisis?,

    The fact that the police may be wonderful people doing a difficult job is neither here nor there. The issue is that they are useless. They need to either shit or get off the pot.

    I second that.

    As (a) good keyboard commando, what action do you suggest the police should have taken?

    Get in there and assist Mr Singh who was bleeding to death. If Singh was a Cop do you really think they would have waited 30 minutes?
    Pending any inquiry, it seems to me that they arsed around following 'protocol' because ... because ... what?
    Did they think the family were lying when they said the robbers/gunman had fled? Did they think the gunman had staged the robbery as a pretext to lure the cops so he could kill them? According to 'protocol' that's exactly what they had to believe until they were certain the crime scene was clear.
    And meanwhile a man lay bleeding to death. Honestly, I do expect more from our Police. I expect them to show common sense and be able to assess a situation quickly.
    The obvious lesson from this is that if you ever find yourself confronted with an armed offender don't for gawds sake tell the Police he has a gun. Because you'll be on your own until they feel it's 'safe' to intervene. Tell them he had a knife and they'll come busting in. Tell them he's got a gun and they'll form a perimeter.

    Asian victims

    This has been going on for years and the media won't talk about it. 2 years ago I intervened in a driveby bag snatching in Manukau that was exactly the same as the one that has just left a woman dead. I really thought it would make the news (the incident, not my minor role) but it didn't. I guessed the cops didn't want the incident reported for fear of copycat activity.

    Too late for that now, as it's happening every week. And yes, they pick on the Chinese because they think they will submit or not report it.

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Island Life: BP-Fuelled Rage,

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=NOr6EFoXZMk

    Indeed.

    **WOW!!**

    That clip gave me an adrenalin rush. And not in a good way. I cannot believe Greenpeace actually made that clip and put it up for all to see. I will now have no hesitation in telling the next clip board holding donation seeking Greenpeace 'volunteer' to F@CK OFF!!.

    If people want to shun the guy at work with an SUV then fine, but to spit in his coffee?? What next - why don't the lads give him a good thumping in the toilets, or maybe just smash his car up in the carpark? Because we're trying to save the planet people, it's an eco-war, the revolution is here and and it's time to start lining people up ...

    Seriously, this whole SUV discussion has really been about something else. People have decided they know what's best and the rest of us better fall into line. If you drive an SUV you're a Rich Prick and you deserve what you get. That's why (as I explained in another thread I found myself in a road rage incident with an Angry Man. I pist him off because I was driving an Audi (not mine) and I tooted at him to choose a lane. The same as I do in my own Mitsubishi, but then I just get the finger.

    What's next on the list? After we've stopped everyone driving SUV's maybe we can go after the people who live more than 10 miles from their work environment? Maybe we should ban all clothes made of unnatural fibres? Do women really need pantyhose? What purpose do they serve? If it's cold in winter stop shaving your legs ...

    If my car (no, its not an SUV) has poor mileage (it doesn't) so what? Do you think a day will come when you can't fill your tank because I used up all the petrol? Oh, but that's not the issue - it's about Saving The Planet.

    Here's a challenge: make a list of everything we can do to reduce carbon emissions. I'll sign off on it and the whole planet will follow your list. Then we'll be on our way to fixing the planet, right?

    And then another Volcano will erupt and we'll still be fuct.

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Island Life: BP-Fuelled Rage,

    If I should ever choose to own and SUV, it is my call. I pay for it, I pay to run it, I determine how I wish to use it. If you want to tell me what I should drive, perhaps I should come around to your houses and tell you what to read, or what music to listen to, or what causes you can support. How successful would that be? In my experience, telling people what they should, or shouldn't do, drive, believe, or think just doesn't work.

    Shuddup! Are you trying to put the ad agencies out of business? How would they survive without all those Govt sponsored campaigns to stop smoking, stop smoking in the car, stop the car at stop signs, eat more vegetables, push play, mind how you drink, don't drink and drive, don't speed, slip slop slap - but don't smack!

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Island Life: Helen who?,

    Using a stock photo sourced from the US didn't bother me in the slightest. But yes, this really pist me off:

    Not after the flak they copped for their Working for Families ad with iPod-bedecked kids in a designer kitchen.

    It just rankled.

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Random Play: Carter The Unstoppable Dick…,

    but seriously nick, desperate housewives?

    Seriously? Life On Mars actually.

    how the heck can someone think that is a rational response?

    I was driving someone else's Audi, hence my reluctance to get out of the car and see who's equipment is biggest. This doesn't happen to me when I'm in my Mitsubishi, so I wonder if it was the car. Did he think I was a 'Rich Prick', and if he did does that justify his response? And if it doesn't then do we blame Cullen for stirring a class war?
    But he coulda just been Random Angry Guy.

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Random Play: Carter The Unstoppable Dick…,

    Yanno, there isn't a gun to your head.

    Tee Hee Hee. I was going to say exactly that when I asterisked the following:

    Nothing drives me more crazy than having someone driving down the motorway at 95kmph in the 'fast lane' forcing me to overtake on the inside lane*

    i.e. (Cue response: no-one's forcing you to - is a life really worth the extra speed?) but deleted it because if I said it myself then no-one would actually say it. Of course you're right Danielle, but I'm right too. I prefer to get somewhere in a timely fashion and not be held up by someone who feels they're going fast enough thank you so just fall in behind. (and I'm not suggesting Dannielle does this, it's a generic 'you')

    Actually, we do have that road rule. It just is not particularly well enforced by neither peer pressure nor police punishment.

    Thanks for that it's no saved to my Toolbar favourites. I shall forward to all and sundry. (And they in return shall mock me).

    BTW, it was me in 1997 that started the whole "Let-People-In" movement in Auckland.

    Heh heh. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Why am i always stuck behind the car that lets in the other car from the side road. but the car he lets in is always trying to get across two lanes to turn right and ends up blocking all lanes because the way is not clear? :)

    what my other 1/2 has taught me, is to use the horn. ...I never really used them until I saw how well they work. A toot to be polite,a longer beep to bring attention to inconsideration and a full on stay on horn until the twit in front ... moves!

    I took your advice this afternoon on Balmoral Rd heading towards Greenlane. A chap couldn't decide what lane he was in and since I wanted to turn left at the intersection ahead I gave him a polite toot. He shifted right, allowing me to pass on the left, and turn. He then followed my left turn, and chased me, hooting continuously. At the next stop sign he tried to get out of his car, but I continued on, and he continued chasing me, hooting continuously. At the next stop light he got out, thumped my car, and insisted I get out. I did not. He continued chasing me, hooting continuously, until giving up halfway down Gillies Ave. I believe he only stopped because he could guess I was on the phone to the Police. Little did he know they were not much help since they wanted to know exactly what part of Gillies Ave I was at, and what his registration number was. Sorry Constable but he is tailgating me and I am unable to read his number plate, or the numbers on the letterboxes I am passing. Should I pullover, get out, and have a look?

    And of course if I did that I'd end up thumping him, probably killing him with just one punch (yes, my hands are lethal weapons) (makes up for my tiny equipment) and then I'd be in the dock ...

    Oh look, Desperate Housewives is almost on ...

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Random Play: Carter The Unstoppable Dick…,

    As an Aucklander used to people changing lanes with no warning I didn't know that law was still on the books ($150 fine apparently).

    Here's a thought: instead of nailing Carter for saying what we all might have wanted to say in that situation, let's hail the vigilance of that cop and get him down to Auckland -- and a few more like him.

    Ah yes, because Auckland needs more Police to enforce traffic laws. Nevermind the BS going down in SthAk, we need more motorway cops.

    Why have they upped the penalty for running red lights to 75 demerit points? Because they're introducing new technology red light cameras which mean they can just ping away $150 at a time. No new cops required.

    In Thailand they have a digital timer above the red light counting down the seconds until it goes green. Makes everyone more patient I presume.

    But yes, running red lights is evil (seriously) - it shows a callous disregard for others.

    And don't get me started on people in fricking great SUVs waiting to turn left who make it impossible to see whether there's anyone coming straight through anyhow. Forget the dangers to the environment; the things make driving actively dangerous for those of us in small cars.

    Don't be such a size queen. It would be the same if it was a truck or a van. If it's really such a problem get yourself a bigger car. You really can see further from up high.

    **But if you read only one thing - READ THIS**

    The law we don't have on the books, which we should, is to require motorists to KEEP LEFT UNLESS PASSING. Nothing drives me more crazy than having someone driving down the motorway at 95kmph in the 'fast lane' forcing me to overtake on the inside lane*. In Europe you must keep left and everyone does (if you don't you get tooted) and it really helps with traffic flow.
    But here in NZ people drive as they please and only speed up when you try to overtake them.

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Hard News: Better, faster ... prettier,

    But the deeper story, as I said, is what's happened to freelance pay rates in general in the last 15 years, while largely foreign print media owners have pocketed the returns. It's bad.

    Ah, you've never submitted a story to Pavement then? Barney paid me with a byline and a copy of the mag when printed! Said that was his 'standard' fee ... :)

    But there is nothing quite like sitting down in a comfy place and perusing . You can't peruse, in the old fashioned sense, on a computer. Flicking through the pages etc - large part of it for me.

    oh gawd, you're not one of those people who prints out their emails so they can read them are you?

    Photographers are really feeling the pinch as they compete with ridiculously cheap micro stock agencies to get paid a fair rate (or paid at all) for their work.

    Is this another dig at the government?

    Russell - why are you actually leaving? ... I appreciate you may be unable to fully say so given that Fiona works there, but feel free to be euphimistic.

    Have they dumbed down so much that they can't read between the euphenisms?

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

  • Hard News: New Sky,

    Freeview seem to me to have missed the bus by not having a MYSKY equivalent at launch date.

    I have one, but it doesn't have the official Freeview EPG and it's a satellite decoder. The boxes available later in the year will be Freeview HD ones.

    You got a Topfield eh? I just bought a SatMate with a PVR in it off TradeMe for $400. The FV works fine (the EPG is lacking - only tells you what is screening now) but can't for the life of me get the PVR sorted.

    And the manual makes no sense ...

    Prime on FV in 2010?? Gimme a break - someone should legislate now! We own the airwaves, not the broadcasters. Make them play ball ...

    Simon Laan • Since May 2008 • 162 posts Report

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