Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Five further thoughts

446 Responses

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  • Alfie,

    Fonterra confirms that Sri Lanka has suspended the sale of Anchor milk powder because it has made children sick.

    Dunedin • Since May 2014 • 1440 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Grevers, in reply to Dylan Reeve,

    “don’t let this millionaire criminal hijack our election”

    But the election WAS hijacked by a millionaire criminal - if you accept that back in the day JK particiapated in the biggest ever currency raid on the New Zealand Dollar (wiping the odd $billion of the value of NZ companies), that stands as at least morally criminal, even if the law is bent out of shape enough to allow it.

    New Plymouth • Since Jul 2011 • 143 posts Report Reply

  • krothville, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    Hyup, indeed. So many things about this world are just sick and wrong.

    Since Sep 2014 • 73 posts Report Reply

  • krothville, in reply to Richard Grevers,

    Yes! Yes! Crazy that it hasn't been brought to light, when he gained the National leadership (or was challenging for it? Memory's a bit dodgy that far back) that would have been the ideal time.

    Since Sep 2014 • 73 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    but no Kalashnikovs. Guns for butter would have been a step too far,

    Could that also have been a reluctance to flood an already saturated market?:

    This fully functional AK is one of a small number brought back to NZ by the NZ Army.Solid steel lower receiver with 1966 manufacture date & chinese markings NZ OHMS Number 25 on butt.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to mark taslov,

    Could that also have been a reluctance to flood an already saturated market?:

    I guess if Miss Fisher had happened upon one of these the magazine would have already been emptied.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    With that tendency in mind; had we the nouse of the Tazzies, we could have built an empire.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • linger,

    Meanwhile, Scott Adams nails the appeal of Key:

    Leadership is an illusion created by the abuse of underlings.
    The more pain I force you to endure, the more of a leader I appear to be.

    ( Dilbert , 5 Oct 2014)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov, in reply to linger,

    Additionally I assume that at some point or other Key bought into this:

    Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Farmer Green,

    It strikes me as slightly remiss that there is no talk of environmental impacts surrounding these discussions of increased dairy output.
    Maybe the West Island has got this sorted :-)

    http://www.rabobank.co.nz/Research/Documents/Reports/Report_Dairy-IN_NZ-Sep2014.pdf

    Lower North Island • Since Nov 2012 • 778 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to mark taslov,

    John Key Forex Trader PM

    There was me thinking he was in some kind of 'David-Hockney look-alike' competition...

    ;- )

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    The Dairy Board was also NZ distributor for the Lada vehicles they’d traded for agricultural produce.

    Was this still the case in the late 80s or early 90s, when TV's Country Calendar was officially brought to you "by the Lada Niva, Cossack and Tigre"? I would have been pretty young then and I still wonder if I somehow hallucinated it.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to Sam F,

    I don’t know much about how the Dairy Board operated, except that it appeared to be in mysterious ways. What I do remember is that they were probably the only big corporate customer for the Commodore Amiga computer.

    The later incarnation of the graphics-geek friendly Amiga was hyped by the local distributor as a cheap colour rival of the Mac. Unfortunately it suffered from the kind of instability that only a bleeding edge enthusiast could love. The regularly encountered guru meditation must have provide hours of fun for the hapless milkies.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Sam F,

    shit. had forgotten about that but same memory

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    The later incarnation of the graphics-geek friendly Amiga was hyped by the local distributor as a cheap colour rival of the Mac. Unfortunately it suffered from the kind of instability that only a bleeding edge enthusiast could love. The regularly encountered guru meditation must have provide hours of fun for the hapless milkies.

    Urban legend has it...

    When Commodore was producing Amiga 500s in its West Chester, PA facility, the engineers and other employees became fond of drag racing on the parking lot. Subtler means having failed to dissuade this practise the company had speed bumps of ever-increasing size installed. The bumps got to the point of shaking the shipping trucks so much that the socketed main chips would loosen in the motherboards, causing sporadic failure. It got to the point where dealers were instructed to take their freshly delivered machines and drop them several feet to reseat the chips.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Grevers, in reply to Sam F,

    When his trusty 1968 Morris Oxford wagon finally died (early 90s?), Dad bought a Lada wagon - one of the Fiat 125-clone ones. Biggest tool kit I've ever seen provided with a car - gotta fix it yourself in Siberia I guess. Interesting features like headlight wipers and a knob to lower the headlight angle (e.g. when riding tail-heavy). Uncomfortable seats and spartan, plastic linings. Heavy car with no power steering, drove like an underpowered tank (mind you, the Morrie had been much the same).

    I remember the White Fiat 125 adorned with "Not a bloody communist Lada" driving around Christchurch.

    New Plymouth • Since Jul 2011 • 143 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand, in reply to Richard Grevers,

    Also with a heater that seemed designed for the Siberian steppes? We drove our Lada three times around the clock and, although we tried our best to kill it, it would not die. Finally sold it to my graduate student, who ran up many more kms,,then on-sold it for more than he bought it for. For all I know, it might still be running.
    It used to do bizarre things like the car horn going off unassisted or the lights going on full for no apparent reason.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    DeepRed:

    the socketed main chips would loosen in the motherboards, causing sporadic failure

    Because Amigas relied on extra custom coprocessors to handle audio, video & direct memory there'd have been more chips to loosen I guess. The last working Amiga I saw was twelve years ago, a 2000 set up as an animation pencil tester in a Sydney studio. Even then it was something of a curiosity.

    Some Amiga applications survived the machine's demise. The Magellan file manager evolved to become Directory Opus for Windows. For those who like such things it's an even sweeter ride than the Mac finder.

    Richard Grevers:

    I remember the White Fiat 125 adorned with “Not a bloody communist Lada” driving around Christchurch.

    A sensible precaution against nearsighted ZAP devotees, who were given to smashing Lada windscreens in secluded spots like the University car park.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    A sensible precaution against nearsighted ZAP devotees, who were given to smashing Lada windscreens in secluded spots like the University car park.

    Some property rights believers they are.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    a knob to lower the headlight angle

    Most station wagons have those, unless they are Citroens with self-levelling suspension.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Grevers, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    None of ous had - ok, a 1981 Chrysler Avenger is hardly a high-spec vehicle :-)
    But our '97 Camy doesn't either. That's a car which is keeping on keeping on - 360,000 ks and did 35K last year. Just having bits of the exhaust fail one by one.

    New Plymouth • Since Jul 2011 • 143 posts Report Reply

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