Posts by InternationalObserver

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Stories: Employment Lore,

    I've always found the job interviews more amusing

    Yes, and the crappier the job the more ridiculous the interview...

    Why do you want this job?
    Because I need a job, I have bills to pay.

    What makes you the best candidate for this job?
    I haven't seen all the other candidates have I?, so how can I say I'm better?

    What are your career goals?
    Right thru High School I dreamt about a career in (name the dead-end low-skilled job you're applying for). I dropped out of University because I realised what I really wanted to do was (name the dead-end low-skilled job you're applying for).

    How much experience have you had in this type of work?
    Extensive! (Zero practical experience but I have done extensive research online, thankyou Google)

    Are you afraid of long hours and hard work?
    Not for the first 3 months. That's when your guarantee with the Recruitment Agency expires and that's when I start working to rule. It'll cost you another small fortune to recruit someone else to replace me; so you'll decide to keep me for a little while longer, hoping I'll improve.

    When can you start?
    Well, with unemployment being at record lows I guess I'll take a 3 week holiday before I start this job. And of course I need to give 4 weeks notice to my current employer, which I won't do until after I've taken the 14 sick days I'm owed, so ... shall we say just before the Xmas holidays?

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Island Life: This just in: incumbent…,

    Funny too how Noriega only became the Demon Du Jour in the War On Drugs after he told the US they would have to pay significantly more for access to the Panama Canal...

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

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

    The chip-on-the-shoulder attitude towards the Charter doesn't seem to be present any more, and there is a more positive embrace of public broadcasting obligations. In large part, of course, that is because the new delivery platforms emerging this year allow for the warm, fuzzy feeling of delivering public value, without the cold reality of shedding viewers on the two core channels.

    You're sure they weren't fixed smiles of the please-don't-make-me-redundant-I've-got-with-the-programme variety?

    Is Freeview uptake into triple digits yet?

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

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

    please stay focussed on the news that matters Tony!

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Random Play: A missive from an ancient mariner,

    -- yachting is not big in China, you know --

    Yeah, it's not big anywhere, despite what Mallard and Team NZ PR would have us believe. This really is the stuff of 'bread & circuses' - the Govt are only supporting this because there is no public appetite for them not to. Mallard says that of the $34million given by the Govt they've got most of it back in taxes (GST etc). This is such BS! The same could have been said if Mallard gave $34million to provide breakfasts to schoolchildren!

    Mallard says he has a crack team of Trade & Enterprisers working out the net benefit of NZ's investment in the current (failed) campaign; and that will determine how much they contribute for the next campaign. OMIMFGOD! Does anyone think it won't come out in glorious support? AC is the ultimate junket and it's unlikely T&E are going to suggest downsizing their presence at Valencia for the next round. It's all about networking y'know, a great opportunity to forge relationships, build up 'Brand NZ', blah blah blah.

    As for the claim that kiwi sailors who sail for other teams are traitors -- when Hillary 'knocked off' Everest he was climbing as part of a British team!!

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Stories: Employment Lore,

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Hard News: Don't Panic,

    how to carry a weapon in a safe manner ie finger off the trigger

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Hard News: Taking the rise,

    I honestly can't see why I'd care.

    heh heh - good for you (I mean that). I consider myself fairly liberal, except when it comes to business/money. At which point I become very defensive of my stash. (I was sending emails to parents & friends warning against Bridgecorp 12 months ago)

    McD's are definately the worst offenders, even going after non-food use of the word McDonald. You're also right about how wrong it is that expensive litigation is req'd to defend a TM. The TM attorneys definitely skim over that bit when they take your money to register your TM.

    NB - for those too lazy to click on RB's wiki link, it's worth it just for the item on HR PufnStuff (amazing!) and Viz.

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Hard News: New Rules,

    So why didn't HNZ issue a completely legal 90 day notice of termination?

    Are you sure they didn't?

    Pretty sure, because if they had of then the Salt family tenancy would be terminated with 90 days notice. And if they had tried it already (but failed), it would have been leaked to the media.

    I think that you could count the number of actual, state tenant evictions, over say the last 10 years, on one hand.

    I think your comments confirm then that HNZ don't actually evict tenants. Probably because there are no 'bad' tenants, just tenants who have been mis-understood. (But probably also because HNZ have a mandate to house people in need - if the Salt's can prove they're 'in need' how do you terminate?)

    And I also take the points that Michael Fitzgerald makes. It would have been better just to terminate the tenancy rather than try and evict them via the court of public opinion (hence the media being used).

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

  • Hard News: Taking the rise,

    The reporter, Juliet McVeigh I think, spent the whole report referring to Tamsin as Tasmin, despite frequent shots of the brand showing the correct spelling, even alongside the footer graphic showing her name incorrectly spelled Tasmin. It was hysterical

    Thank you Nick - I thought I was going mad! I posted about this in the Radiation (TV) blog last night but no-one responded so I thought I'd been imagining it. I taped the 10.45 bulletin to double check but TV1 had cleaned the whole thing up completely.

    But onto more pressing matters:

    Meanwhile, I'm pleased to see that that the trademark suit taken by Trelise Cooper against her namesake Tamsin Cooper has been settled - because it should should never have been launched in the first place. Tamsin Cooper trades under her own name, but that's about where the similarity ends. She's in Arrowtown; Trelise Cooper is in Auckland. She makes accessories; Trelise Cooper makes frilly frocks for middle-aged women. The two businesses are very different in scale, and, as far as I can tell, there was to be no direct similarity in the trademarks. It looked like nothing so much as a big, wealthy businesswoman trying to bully a small one, and I'm glad that it didn't pay off.

    I have to disagree completely RB. I'm not remotely interested in fashion, but I have had some experience in protecting trademarks. If Trelise failed to take action against Tamsin when she did (ie early) then Tamsin could later start producing dresses and claim (if challenged) that Trelise had failed to assert her trademark earlier (ie that Tamsin had been trading unchallenged for X years) and the court would likely find in favour of Tamsin.

    This is why McD's jump on anyone trying to use the name McDonald. A Trademark is only as good as the funds you have to protect it, which is why trademark lawyers love it. Any battle is usually won by the one with the deepest pockets because the litigation lasts for years. Which is probably why Trelise bailed out, she knew it was going to be expensive and she'd already lost from a PR standpoint eg: It looked like nothing so much as a big, wealthy businesswoman trying to bully a small one, and I'm glad that it didn't pay off.
    Your latter comment makes me wonder how you would feel if someone usurped your blog; started one called -- say -- Public Redress but insisted it was not about politics, it was about citizens being able to express their dissatisfaction with whatever is bugging them. (yeh yeh, I know: you're only a 'small' site yourself - but imagine how you'd feel if you built this site up to something big in 10 years and then Public Redress popped up)

    Other points in Trelise's favour were that Tamsin Cooper was 'only' her married name and the marriage didn't last long; Tamsin originally started importing accessories sourced from Asia before 'designing' her own, also made in Asia; and that Tamsin's range has already progressed beyond accessories, as has her distribution - she is no longer a cottage industry producing goods for the lower Sth Island. Trelise is a big business and exports overseas - that would have been her motivation to protect her trademark.

    Anyway, it's over now. I wonder how long before Tamsin decides to try her hand at frock-making! Maybe start with a line of denim jeans ...

    Since Jun 2007 • 909 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 79 80 81 82 83 91 Older→ First