Posts by BenWilson

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  • Polity: The pantheon of sporting dominance,

    Ronda Rousey is totally dominant in women's MMA. She has never been beaten and has won all of her fights by knockout or submission. She is head and shoulders above all the other female fighters in her weight class. She's also great to watch, a technically excellent competitor.

    But to compare her to the male MMA champs would be crazy. She's only had 12 professional MMA fights in total. It's a fiercely competitive sport at the top, making big money for the successful athletes. To dominate the men's competition in the way she has for the women's is pretty much unthinkable. None of which is to say that she isn't amazing. And that's comparing people in the same sport. To try to compare to a team in a different sport is just ... well it's fun, but it ain't robust.

    The same tale could be told about the Black Ferns. That they dominate women's rugby tells you something about women's rugby, rather than giving us useful comparisons between the All Blacks.and the Black Ferns' achievements. On paper, the Black Ferns own it.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Polity: The pantheon of sporting dominance, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,

    That's all pretty much how I see it too. There's a strong will to dominate this strange sport, so we do. I don't really think it detracts from the achievement of today to not find a killer statistic that says they're the best team ever. There's no robust metric for the comparison. But winning 3 world cups, two of them back to back, is remarkable enough without overegging it. It's a first for rugby.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Polity: The pantheon of sporting dominance,

    Statistically, we're simply not comparing like with like. Features of the games themselves and the nature of the competitions will account for most of the differences. The low scores, the sheer number of people playing, the number of people on the field/court/pitch/whatever, and the level of exclusiveness to the play. We're probably up there with Ozzie in sheep shearing and dog trials. The New York Yacht club held the America's Cup for over 100 years.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing,

    The advertisement makes it sound highly desirable.

    Yes, somehow they make it sound like a really fun kind of bicycling rather than a really dangerous kind of motorcycling. Especially since that is technically a tricycle, with all the amazing performance characteristics that entails.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to Russell Brown,

    decided I could do without it.

    So the bag just flops about without even really being secured to the bike? Surely it would bounce off at the least excuse?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to grant,

    A fossil fuel powered fossil!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to Peter Calder,

    Needless to say, nothing ever gets stolen, from anywhere, by anyone.

    Except the cops, and then they take the whole thing with no comeback. Not sure if that's a better system.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to Sam F,

    The convertible backpack pannier from Rode that Russell put me onto a couple of years back has been bloody good for commuting. It takes about 20 seconds to do the conversion, and it's a perfectly good bag for keeping papers and laptop/tablet separate from clothes/food, with 3 further pockets for stuff, although I tend to just use the top pocket for everything frequently used, phone, wallet, keys, pens, thumb drive, bike lights, etc. It's a reasonably comfortable backpack too. It's basically my biking grab bag, containing stuff for every biking contingency. Very well made gear, hasn't frayed or worn at any point.

    I don't really like the idea of leaving a bag on the bike with anything in it when I'm not there. I tossed around the idea of little handlebar or saddle bags, but realized I would never leave them on the bike so they'd just end up being another thing to carry. A lockable box might work out, at least for the repair kit, and somewhere to put the lights, odometer, etc, if I think they're in any danger of being swiped. But that's something you'd see on a motorbike, not a pushbike. So I end up carrying the extra kilo of gear that's just for biking. But when it's in a backpack I don't really notice it at all. In a shoulder bag, I definitely noticed it.

    Can't carry a lot of shopping, though. A bonus pannier on the chain-side would be handy for that sort of thing.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to Su Yin Khoo,

    I’m not a fan of these or any ones that require me to lift up my quaxing bike

    There is a trick to it that takes out the heavy lifting, although it does take practice. Standing on the side which has the rear brake control you squeeze the brake and pull backwards on the seat. It swings up into vertical quite easily. Then you balance it on the rear wheel (still controlling the brake so it doesn't get away from you) and wheel it into the spot. It's a handy trick. I often use it to get out of parking spots when tangled up in the handlebars and pedals of other bikes. It's a good way to turn a bike around in a very tight space, like an apartment or office or some kind of storage space.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Stand for Quaxing, in reply to JessicaRose,

    The vertical storage makes it economical on space in a confined environment like a footpath. And comparatively easy to relocate, store and assemble.

    Also, I think, the bikes are a little less in danger of falling over, which is a problem with a big long overcrowded rack of bikes all sitting on their stands, or worse, with their front wheel jammed in one of those awful low down racks.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

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