Posts by Lucy Stewart
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The Japanese government, 3410 (quite a different matter from the people of Japan.) The grabbernments of Norway, Iceland, and various hangers-on. Human with minds like their digestive systems, especially the end part.
I don't think it's even about the food - it's about national pride, and that's why it's so damnably hard to negotiate. Think of it as the nuclear-free policy of Japan.
Only, um, with more whales. And blood.
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Lucy: I think the tea partiers know very well what they're arguing about.
Then they are doing their very best to hide all evidence of the fact. Signs like the one I mentioned have gone somewhat beyond hyperbole.
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This has been the most maddening thing to watch take shape. Sometimes, the petulant liberals blaming Obama for everything were near as bad as the Republican nutjobs screaming "NO!" at everything that moved.
Well, actually, they weren't that bad.
There was a photo in the press today of a protester holding a sign saying "Vote No, I don't want to be a government slave".
It really brought home to me the total and utter disconnect not just between what Americans want for their healthcare system, but what they think they're arguing about. The lack of ability to actually communicate and debate the same issue is actually more frightening than the people who really think the market solves everything, even in healthcare. I wasn't sure that was possible.
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I'm just not going to kid myself that I don't take my life into my hands every time I get onto one. I don't think it's fair to think of that as everyone else's fault.
You take your life into your hands every time you get in the car, too. Cycling is not a special death-defying feat.
Apropros of all this, there was an article in the Press about a spate of accidents involving cyclists (if three = a spate, to be fair). I think it illustrates rather aptly a dangerous combination of motorists forgetting cyclists exist and cyclists forgetting that having right of way does not induce invulnerability.
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This seems to have some empirical support: for example, the UK driving test includes a "hazard perception" section where they test you on your ability to spot possible upcoming hazards, such as people stepping out into the road, cars pulling out of driveways, etc. You can fail your driving test by not spotting hazards. That implies to me that they're aware that this is a separate skill, and that they're requiring people to learn it rather than just assuming you get it in the package once you've been driving for a bit.
When I sat the full licence test here in 2006, it included hazard perception, just as you describe. In fact, that was the major focus of it, IIRC.
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(well, he was Ngati Porou)
Well, what do you expect? ;) (My Maori teacher at school was Ngati Porou, so we mostly learned their reo and tikanga. I still have a soft spot for them.)
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On the subject of photo ID, my partner just got his very first passport, at the grand old age of twenty-five. He regards it with great suspicion. I'm not sure what he thinks will happen now he has one, but apparently it portends ominous things.
Also, re: The Great Cycling Debate - I think we've done this before. Can we all just agree that some people are prone to dickishness while upon the roads, no matter their form of transport* and that it is imperative upon all concerned to do their best to use their particular form in a way that is safe for them and other road users?
*Pedestrians, this does include you. Especially those of you who think bicycles have magical instant stop buttons. You know who you are.
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I wonder if the panellists are fans of the 'Big Bang Theory?
I was surprised at how highly it ranked in weekly ratings when I glanced at them in the Press the other day. It obviously has wide appeal in NZ (caveats about the Nielsen system aside.)
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Just some observations for anyone teaching programming to young people.
When my 11 year old daughter needed to learn a computer language for analysing images for her science fair project, I taught her Python.My brother-in-law (who is 15 and high-functioning autistic) seems to have got quite a bit out of two Python texts, one of which is written around learning to build computer games; I've used the other, which is slightly higher-level, to self-teach and it's been very good. They're both available free online - Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python and Think Python.
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and Those Damn French Rainbow Warrior bombers
but that was the '80s...
things are different nowFor starters, the French are very unlikely to need to resort to terrorism to spoil the rugby world cup for us.
(Also, if we're indicting people for misuse of the word "hysteria", I have a nomination.)