Posts by BenWilson
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Hard News: Paths where we actually ride, in reply to casahuia,
It seemed the perfect opportunity to have continued this flush with the motorway, rather than having to terminate in side roads and necessitate a dismount at the Zebra crossing.
Yes, this! I've been watching it the entire time during construction for signs of such an obvious improvement. They've literally built and destroyed roads 3 or 4 times just for all the vehicles doing the work there which looked like they could have been the thing we always wanted, a nice little stretch beside the motorway from Waterview to Chamberlain Park. Probably it would need to be the very last thing done, for that reason. They have to have somewhere to drive and leave all those vehicles. They already requisitioned a stretch of the cycleway just past Chamberlain for this - I don't know if that's all done with yet.
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Hard News: Paths where we actually ride, in reply to Jolisa,
There’s definitely a plan for a connection from New Lynn to Waterview – along the railway line. Consultation imminent, I hear!
Would be awesome, although I'm a little confused about where that actually goes. It looks like it's along Oakley Creek, which I think is not really a practical commuter option, but if it follows the railway path and then sort of follows the ridge toward Carrington Rd, that would save quite a lot of traffic grief AND take away the ascent to Carrington Rd from the bottom of Gt North Rd in Waterview. I'd guess it would have to pass through parts of Unitec to do that, though. Presumably that's not public land.
I have actually stealth biked through a potential path there. It's public land, but not with developed paths, and it ends up ON the railway (hence the stealth, to get out I had to lift the bike over a fence), but it would be a great place to put a path, both for pedestrians and cyclists, so long as a safety fence preventing access to the railway itself is in place. It would open up a good walking route from Avondale to Unitec that would not have the big descent/ascent to the Creek that is currently required, nor the detour through Mt Albert.
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The Newton Road Problem will be subject to consultation in the next few months, and then, hopefully sooner than later, a new path will be made through the small reserve by the bridge to connect with a cycleway on Ian McKinnon Drive making for a single, easier climb.
That would be primo. I use this route all the time. Since it's at the actual hub of the bike route, it makes so much sense, affecting pretty much everyone using the cycleway for commuting (or any other kind of tripping) to the city center. Removing a 30m ascent (and a big dogleg with a traffic crossing to boot) wins a lot of friends.
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Hard News: The flagging referendum, in reply to Alfie,
I can’t agree with your I’m far too busy, let other people decide attitude, but hey… each to his own.
If we were having a referendum about something important I would probably do it. Like ALL of the Swiss ones are. I do actually care about things like whether there should be a UBI, and changes to medically assisted reproduction laws. On something like a tunnel construction, I might not take a position, if, say, it was in the South Island. That's important but not necessarily my business. There could be reasons that it's controversial enough to pose to the people that really only go to the interests of people living far, far away from me.
But this flag shit is neither important nor really my business. My only wish is that it never happened, and since that failed, that it will come to a close soon, and the majority who care will get whatever they want. Whatever that is, which I don't care about.
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Hard News: The flagging referendum, in reply to Brent Jackson,
Tick, rip, seal, post is a lot less time than write, write, post, write, write, post.
It is, certainly. However, the things I write might have more impact. I consider them worth the time. Also, I like writing, debating and arguing. Filling out silly forms and mailing them, not so much. Obviously others may differ on that, and really enjoy the whole thing. But that's not the vibe I'm getting from pretty much anyone about it.
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Hard News: The flagging referendum, in reply to Brent Jackson,
Only the first 2 actions, have any effect on the outcome. Even if the number of invalid votes outnumbers all the valid votes put together, they will still not affect the outcome.
So I suggest people vote for the outcome they want, from the only 2 that are available.
What if the outcome I want is minimizing my own personal wasted time on a matter of trivial importance, in which I have been given very little genuine choice? Not voting is available as a third option, and it will certainly affect that outcome.
I mean seriously, if our democracy were organized so that there was a referendum for everything, it wouldn't be long before people saw the sense in not voting on trivial matters they don't give a shit about. It's only because we're so generally disempowered by our system that this Clayton's choice even seems like something worth discussing. They could do this for every stupid matter of inconsequential stylistic taste, for which the government is responsible. There are thousands of such decisions to be made. What picture should be on the coins and notes? What color should the Beehive be? Should the Department of Internal Affairs have a new letterhead?
By all means, empower yourselves by voting. Feel that massive surge of democratic sauce flowing through your veins, and then unleash it on a tick and trip down to the mailbox. Revel in the difference it will make. If that's your thing.
It's not my thing.
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Hard News: What you lookin' at?, in reply to Rich Lock,
Context. All of these shows (and Dr Who is another example) need to be seen in the context of the time of original broadcast. A show with an unapologetically bad-ass arse-kicking female warrior as the lead, without her needing to be rescued by a man? Pretty left-field back in the ’90’s.
My kids have become fans of old Sooty and Sweep episodes. Because there's nothing much like it on TV now.
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I have little time for TV generally, my wife and kids being the main users of the device. She's a fan of reality shows, cooking and renovation. When we watch together we're recently doing Cuffs, Shannara Chronicles, Unforgettable (best heterological show name ever - I watch it only to play meme bingo), Forever, Sherlock, Elementary, Orphan Black, Vikings, Black Sails, How To Get Away With Murder, Game of Thrones, The Fall, Poldark. My wife watches the superhero shows. On my own, Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Luther, True Detective, Silicon Valley (my favourite by far), Doctor Foster.
When I say it like that, it sounds like I watch a lot of TV. But really, that's just an hour 3-4 times per week, and by "recently", I mean over the last year.
Method: MySky or downloads.
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Hard News: What you lookin' at?, in reply to oga,
I have a soft spot for the Chronicles of Shannara, mostly for the locations around NZ that I recognize.
Me too. "Oooo, the North Head tunnels! Oooo Stoney Batter! Oooo Woodhill Forest! Ooooo Bethells". I'd sort of never realized when I first read the stories that the setting is post apocalyptic, and so the juxtaposition in a fantasy series of a old rusty Zephyr in the swampy part at the bottom of some farmland are not really out of place. Still can't see Manu Bennet without superimposing Crixus on him, full frontal nude, drawling the C word every second sentence. But he's doing great nonetheless as the Gandalf the Druid. My thought about the series is that it's way better than the books, which is rare.
The Walking Dead is really hitting its stride this season with these episodes that follow the comic book. I am excited for the Negan episodes coming up because I loved that part of the comics.
I keep wondering - is the Jesus character a homage to the cartoon series Jesus Hates Zombies?
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Hard News: The flagging referendum, in reply to linger,
Non-votes conflate at least two distinguishable types of disengagement:
Sure, and the binary choice in the referendum conflates a whole range of views too. Most people saying keep the Union Jack are not doing it out of love for the Union Jack. All the signals are diluted. My signal is that this process is a waste of time and money, and I find not wasting my own time on it the clearest possible signal of that, beyond, of course, spending hours on the internet saying so :-)
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