Posts by Bart Janssen
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Speaker: Rugby, Racing and Emotions, in reply to Steve Barnes,
an unhealthy obsession for many
Which is an entertaining anecdote. However, given the lack of frothing hordes at Auckland Blues games I'd say that dogma is much more a product of the media than one based in data.
Yes there will be some mad fans but the vast majority of those watching are just enjoying a couple of hours.
-
Speaker: Rugby, Racing and Emotions, in reply to David Haywood,
this song
Yeah nah
I watch sports for the simple joy of seeing talented humans do something really cool. I invariably find myself rooting for the losing team. I also love watching while exercising. It isn't about vicariously living through some sportspersons talent and honestly I think that's an incredibly uncharitable view of sports fans.
I'm disappointed when "my team" loses. That includes the All Blacks. But it isn't the end of the world. Maybe it's because I've always been a New Zealand cricket fan that I'm more comfortable with losing.
-
I am also very concerned about climate change, however news reports (RNZ) this week said that Mr Teitiota was an overstayer who had been fired from his job for assault on a woman at his place of work. According to the report the police warned him officially but did not charge him (I have no idea what that really means).
Based on that news report I am considerably less sympathetic to his particular case.
I agree countries like Kiribati are front and centre of the oncoming disaster and New Zealand will need to play a role in helping the people put at risk.
I am not however certain that this individual should be the poster child.
-
Hard News: The positive option of Red Peak, in reply to Hilary Stace,
What about the law of nature that change is the only constant?
Are you suggesting a flag that evolves over time, printed on some kind of intelligent fabric that alters colour and shape with seasons ...
-
You know what I'd really like to see at this point. Someone, perhaps a political party, perhaps simply someone with some money, anyway someone get say a dozen of the top design/artist gurus to come up with say 10 different flag designs and just throw them out there for the public to look at.
My bet it that 10 such designs would be very obviously better than 35 of the 40 on the long list.
I'd also really really like it if people stopped thinking as if it was the 1500s and you needed a simple flag that was recognisable from both sides from across a 1000m battle field or over 5000m of sea. Because it is 2015 now!
But that's just me.
-
Hard News: The positive option of Red Peak, in reply to Hilary Stace,
Do we really need just one?
Nope. But apparently because that was the way it was done 500 years ago we have to do it that way now.
-
Hard News: The positive option of Red Peak, in reply to chris,
your existing T-shirt
The T-shirt analogy is false.
With the T-shirt you are the only person wearing it, you are not deciding for the entire population which T-shirt they will wear.
With the T-shirt you are spending your personal income not the income of the entire country.
Bad analogy is bad.
-
I personally don't like red Peak. To me it says nothing about New Zealand. That it is at least different to the other four is a plus but the whole process has given us 5 bad choices from a list of 40 average choices
I'll vote to keep our current flag.
-
Speaker: The government's Rules…, in reply to Steve Barnes,
if your contractor didn’t set the foundations out correctly then he was not a builder
That's circular.
He was a BAD builder
If you define BAD builders as not builders then all builders are good and hence need no regulation
-
Speaker: The government's Rules…, in reply to Steve Barnes,
why hire someone to do what you should be able to do yourself
There is a point where I decide that it's Ok to pay someone to do work I could do myself because I'm kinda busy doing work that I've trained for 20 years to do that not many other people can do.
BUT damned if I'll skip the process of talking to them properly and figuring out for certain that they know what the fuck they are doing.
AND I'll damn well check on them as they go, the first round of block laid for our foundations would have made our home 20 cm skew whiff if I hadn't measured the diagonals!
Even then I'm kinda happy to have building inspectors check as well.
I've never met a good workman who minded having their work checked - what pisses them off is when they have to wait around half a day for someone who then only does a half-arsed job of checking anyway.