Posts by Che Tibby

  • Hard News: Bourdain,

    Same. I read kitchen confidential when I was working two jobs, one being dish pig. It validated what I was doing and resonated incredibly loudly off the lunatics I was working with.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Big Night Outage,

    A proper boy scout charges the battery before night time.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Big Night Outage,

    @ben yeah I just run alligator clips to a car cigarette lighter. It's mounted in the side of a wooden box for stability. Then that usb plug and you're sorted. You could probably charge 4 devices at once if you had to.

    I also bought a relatively cheap solar recharger and I'm completely independent.

    For cooking we use a marine stove. Runs on alcohol. So if things really go pete tong you can use the medicinal spirits to heat water for tea.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Big Night Outage,

    For reference sakes it's really easy to build a 12v usb recharge station for your home with a car battery and a car cigarette lighter.

    Can post specs if they're needed

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Polity: Decrypting “social investment”,

    if you're looking for an example of social investment thinking, there is this app published off the back of some predictive risk modelling treasury did.

    the general model is that the aggregate average projected costs can be offset by sensible spending, as you say. or at least that's the way it was explained to me when we developed the prototype for the treasury tool.

    so if you have a couple of million in projected costs and you can make an argument to spend $200k to prevent those costs, you've got a better chance at securing your funding. a better chance than a policy analyst with their finger in the air, for example.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Speaker: The Spirit Level, in reply to tussock,

    They were young, as most are, and mostly you just have to point out how they're wrong and they can actually see it, apologise, and get on with not being a libertarian.

    my experience is that many are heavily self-aggrandising. they work in a service station while studying, and finding that they're around or above average intelligence they become convinced they're metahumans...

    we can only hope they eventually become humans again.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Speaker: The Spirit Level, in reply to Kumara Republic,

    As for myself, even though I'm in paid work, I've basically found the ladder of opportunity missing all of its rungs.

    i've often pondered why i made it out.

    i keep landing on "white male".

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Speaker: The Spirit Level, in reply to Deborah,

    We should be able to imagine what it might be like to face this kind of hardship, and then respond with empathy. Because that's what decent people do.

    thing is, I often see statements where people claim that negative attitudes to poverty are a new thing, or perhaps "a product of the current government".

    but I can claim my own experience to argue that there is nothing new about deriding or denigrating the poor. nor it is a product of the political Right. the worst offender in my past was a Union apparatchik, and a leader in a local Church!

    so yes, empathy. but even those who have experienced poverty can express a total lack of empathy, because we live in a society that happily accords blame without consideration of cause.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Art with a job to do,

    2c. will fly it anyhow. the lockwood designs will be voted down and be consigned to the rubbish bin where they belong.

    the current anthem took over slowly from god save the queen, and the te reo version is gradually becoming predominant. so let's just keep flying it.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: The positive option of Red Peak,

    totally agree. the four options provided were, without doubt, unmitigated cack.

    i also enjoyed the contrast between the Green and Labour approach, where one used it as an opportunity to try get one over on Key, and the other just ensured that the people got more choice...

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

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