This tree tends to trap those that try to travel to the top. Building barriers begat brief benefit but boys being boys brought bravado beyond builders belief.
It's a piece of street art that most people just walk past. If stopped to enquire what they thought the majority will have a view on one far side of the continuum or the other. Definitely doesn't illicit many, "Meh, it's ok I s'pose" type comments. That's art eh. The Philanthropist's Stone by Scott Eady
It's a lovely wee 'shopping arcade' inside an old Bank of New Zealand premises. If you ever go to Sydney and visit the QVC you'll get a similar feeling, because it was converted by the same company as the Old Bank (or vice versa). The Sydney version is a tad bigger.
The tour around the bowels of Archives New Zealand was fascinating and of you ever have the time then book yourself in. Like a rippling rag to the proverbial bull the "RESTRICTED ACCESS" labels on these flimsy cardboard boxes was almost too much temptation. Let me know what you find when you take a peak inside.
It's a rare find but here is Rav Riversdale, the "Miramar Marvel", circa 1927 playing a game of football at the old Mt Cook grounds. Riversdale was a stalwart of the growing Wellington football scene during the 1920s and into the 1930s with a burst of speed in defence that would leave many attackers wondering what had happened. In later years he became an inspiration to younger players with his rousing speeches and insights into the modern game.
Timing is everything in life. Back in May 2019 when I snapped this yellow leaved Ginko tree against the blue autumnal sky who knew it would represent a war in Easter Europe. #Ukraine #Україна
When the kids are the adults and have to model how to protest at Parliament to successfully make a difference. The Wellington #SchoolStrike4Climate, May 2019 was, like so many before them, loud, proud, demanding, full, focused, and most of all successful. Makes ya wonder about the adults who behave like children eh, sadly it's why the kids have to get out protest in the first place.
A tale of stolen underwear and a purloined Superman t-shirt I moved into Sara's house, with her blessing I may add, around 7 months ago and whilst I didn't arrive with much "stuff" I did have clothes. These clothes have a tendency to get dirty and require a wash within a machine. Sara's machine, a "washing machine" is housed in a small laundry room. As my clothes exhibit this "dirtiness" I would throw them on top of a basket before a critical amount is reached and the washing machine is brought into play. This wicker basket is not my basket, it is in the domain of Sara and not for me to use. Over the months this regular cycle of piling up dirty clothes on top of the basket (it has a lid, not my basket to put stuff in) before chucking them in to be washed and hung up to dry outside to dry has kept me going. Sort of. I do recall in the early days wondering where my Superman t-shirt had got to. I checked all my drawers and just put it down to bei...
So important, especially "IN THE EVENT THAT" of ... something or other. Aaaaand, by entering this carpark you agree to the conditions set out. Um, ok, whatevs.
*phew*, this is hard work. Unlike the Treaty Principles Bill which has a tonne of templates and publicly available submissions for you to copy/amend/submit, the Regulatory Standards Bill has very little out there. Update 14-Jan-2024: Did I Miss The Submission? (spoiler, no ) -------- Submission form: https://consultation.regulation.govt.nz/rsb/have-your-say-on-regulatory-standards-bill/consultation/intro/ Email your submission to: RSBconsultation@regulation.govt.nz More: Explanation & Submission [Updated] What Is A "Person" [Update 8-Jan-2024] Emily Writes (Jan 06, 2025) being awesome, OK fine, what submissions do I have to make FFS?! , "Don't worry - I got you. Here's everything you need in one place!" : Bill: The Regulatory Standards Bill Do it by: 13 January 2024. Why should I care? This bill is the twin to the Treaty Principles Bill. So much so that you can use your submission for that bill as the template to this one. It has been described as: Th...
You've done your Treaty Principles Bill submission , and that was a piece of cake eh. If that's what all Bill submissions are like then bring it on, the voice of the masses can be finally heard. Update 14-Jan-2024: Did I Miss The Submission? (spoiler, no) -------- Submission form: https://consultation.regulation.govt.nz/rsb/have-your-say-on-regulatory-standards-bill/consultation/intro/ Email your submission to: RSBconsultation@regulation.govt.nz More: Submission Guidance & Assistance [Updated] What Is A "Person" Hmmmm, seems it's different for each Bill, which sort of makes sense. The Treaty Principles Bill is something that's not going anywhere no matter what happens, so it's been made very much a, "Tell us what you think and what could be done", expecting a tsunami of, "It's crap, throw it away". The response is gonna be, "Ok, we asked and we're gonna throw it away, as we were gonna anyway." There are Bills t...
It feels like a billion is just a bit bigger than a million. Obviously it's bigger but it fits on the same scale as a million, surely. It doesn't. A billion is so so so much bigger than a million. I've trawled the internet finding graphics and videos that show the VAST difference between one million and one billion. Oh, and just to finish with a different misconception about space starting with the classic opening line from the great Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy : “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”
Apart from the timing and the large set of questions (which you don't have to answer, just send in the submission for you want), the most insidious part of the Bill is the use of the word "persons". Update 14-Jan-2024: Did I Miss The Submission? (spoiler, no) -------- Submission form: https://consultation.regulation.govt.nz/rsb/have-your-say-on-regulatory-standards-bill/consultation/intro/ Email your submission to: RSBconsultation@regulation.govt.nz More: Explanation & Submission Guidance & Assistance [Updated] I take this from the extremely helpful and detailed, Proposed Regulatory Standards Bill : Explainer & Submission Guide , written by Jen Bennett and Melanie Nelson with contributions from several others. What does “individual” or “person” mean in this Bill? Most government action should think about all of us - not just some of us. The Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) focuses on individual interests. In the Bill the term "individual" or “perso...
On ya, finally got to submit your Treaty 'Principles' Bill thoughts BUT that's only part one of two! Don't be fooled into thinking you've done your dash, the Treaty Principles Bill was probably always going to die and absolutely will now because of the overwhelming public disdain for it, your submission will add to that - top work! The Regulatory Standards Bill is sneaking in behind, like a Slytherin behind Potter, and if passed could be a game changer for this country ... it's astounding. I can't say it better than Emily Writes, and her awesome Jan 6th post, OK fine, what submissions do I have to make FFS?! , "Don't worry - I got you. Here's everything you need in one place!" , so I won't: Bill : The Regulatory Standards Bill Do it by : 13 January 2024. Why should I care? This bill is the twin to the Treaty Principles Bill. So much so that you can use your submission for that bill as the template to this one. It has been described ...
Too many people comfortably plump themselves into an army of one type or another . Surrounded by those that sound like you, listen to you intently whilst nodding, and echo your thoughts on why the fight is a good fight and that the other side are such bad terrible people. I used to be more like that than I am nowadays ... hmmmm, aren't we humans meant to become more conservative and reactionary as we age, strange Mike. These thoughts have me thinking of two UK comedians that have been tagged as "right wing", which is putting them into an army for the benefit of someone but, I suspect, not them. First up, Simon Evans who makes me laugh when he's talking about his family, kids, and life in Brighton. He then hit my ears big time with: Simon Evans Goes to Market , has had six seasons, delighting audiences with his witty and insightful take on the comedically unpromising territory of economics, all of which prove among the most popular downloads on the Sounds App. On the...
The office has all been moved around - new desks (with starter handles to raise and lower them), new high(er) speed network and ... the same old work. At least I have a differing view of the world, my team (well, the team I'm a part of not "my" team) is a lot closer - finally - and it's like an office from the 80's ... or even a classroom. But I still have time to move the crap off the PC : ------ Any man who hates dogs and loves whiskey can't be all bad. Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??! Who stole the cork from my breakfast? Now don't say you can't swear off drinking, it's easy. I've done it a thousand times. Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit, no use being a damn fool about things. Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they alwa...
Every Kiwi that has ever been on a roadtrip up / down State Highway 1 knows about the Mangaweka Cookie Time Douglas DC-3 café. You may stopped off and had a look around inside, the kids and I certainly have. But in 2021 it was suddenly gone, what happened? Well, it seems the plane was owned by two Mangawekan (?) business people who had a falling out. One dark and stormy night one decided to ship it away without the knowledge of the other (sort of). Shifting the plane meant they had to take the wings off first and now the body lives in Shannon at 2 Ballance Street, just next to the Club Hotel / bar. Apparently it's being restored and will go back .. it won't. The wings, well who knows where they disappeared to but I understand they're not gonna be joining the body anytime soon. A little history lesson for us all: ZK-APK was delivered to the RNZAF in August 1945, then sold to the newly-formed National Airways Corporation (NAC) in 1947 and given the name Poaka. NAC was New Ze...
The submission form: https://www.parliament.nz/en/ECommitteeSubmission/54SCJUST_SCF_227E6D0B-E632-42EB-CFFE-08DCFEB826C6/CreateSubmission The hīkoi mō te Tiriti was the calling card, a start, a bringing people together from across the nation so that the work can now begin. Why? The Act party is already rallying it's members around the messages it wants to flood the select committee with. It is here they think they can insert their divisive messages. Act, David Seymour, and his backers (notably Atlas, but also other foreign neoliberal billionaires) are willing to play the long game, this is merely the start for them. Having said that, I suspect they've probably taken a small step back due to the sheer amount of people saying, "No, we do not accept this" culminating in today's 45,000+ show of will, but that won't mean anything in the coming weeks. Tomorrow the hard work starts. Let's not get too work-y though, first up something simple, add you voice to the...