Posts by Russell Brown
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Tim: thanks for that. I've now discovered the remote login option - mwahahaha, more data!
Tom Coates presenting at Webstock 08: "You can never have too much sweet, sweet data."
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Off to row up the Avon at the behest of the good Drs Haywood... I trust you lot to work the government stroke and keep the discussion alive while we re-enact Swallows and Amazons.
Rowing? Or paddling from the Antigua boatsheds? Many a happy hour spent, etc ...
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Stalag Fairfax isn't behaving much better
It's worth noting that that story is actually quite different from last night's version of the report, which had the entire budget loaded into an "overnight retreat", which made it seem pretty steep.
But now we find out that it was a two-day conference.
Staff in its property development team racked up a bill of nearly $36,000 for a two-day conference at the Hotel and Spa de Vin in South Auckland in 2003 - part of what Housing NZ boss Lesley McTurk says was a pattern of "inappropriate" venues.
The lodge at Pokeno boasts 48 chalets, fine dining and wines, and a range of plush beauty treatments.
OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!
I've been to this place. It has basic leisure and conference facilities, but it's not that flash. And the chalets certainly aren't.
But too flash, I gather, for appearances. Especially when you're "racking up a bill" rather than simply paying for meals and accomodation and conferebce facilities.
And this is what we're down to. Henceforth, internal conference organisers will be expected to find the shittiest possible venue for the price.
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During discussions a bit later on, he suggested that random drug testing gave an effective "out" to students who were looking for an excuse to not partake when offered by their friends - something like "Shit no! I've got a trip to Maardi Cup (insert any other sporting or cultural trip here) coming up. If I get tested, I wont be able to go."
This is a pretty common claim; I was reading the same material this morning. I think it takes a rather rosy view of the reality of randomly piss-testing high-school students.
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Cannabis has serious impacts on mental heath
For the very large majority of people who ever use it, it doesn't. We do now know that its use in the early teenage years is a bad idea and can cause various problems later on, and that it increases the chances of developing psychotic symptoms later in life amongst a group of genetically susceptible individuals.
& lets not forget its cancer causing properties.
Yes, smoking is bad for your lungs.
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Actually, seeing as I'm in avoidance mode on real work, I might as well address this point.
__but please try and bear in mind that it's my house.__
that's an interesting concept.
It's a fact.
I don't know that I agree with you entirely on that.
My understanding is public address is an open discussion forum, and this is your blog in that forum.I'm responsible for Public Address. I own the site and pay for the development and if (god forbid) a defamation writ should one day arrive, it will have my name on it.
It depends on if you see your blog on public address as a route to frank and honest feed back to your other activities such as your media show or listener column or if you see it more as a fan site for you, like a band website etc.
Oh, don't be so pompous. The original blog post wasn't about me, it was about some issues that warranted discussion. You can sit in judgement all you like about whether I'm "qualified" to have an opinion, it's just not very useful.
Public Address seems somewhat of a media experiment.
Not really. It's based on norms about online discussion that have been established over the past 25 years, in the first instance in Usenet newsgroups. I've been participating in such discussions for 15 years and I've certainly made my mistakes along the way. The desire to not turn into Usenet is a fairly powerful principle in managing online discussions.
Can you have open and frank interaction with the public in an open forum?. people might say things you don't like.
What do you do about it when they do?
you could disable their account but then the experiment has failed cos you're silencing that which you don't want to hear, not really in the spirit of the internet and open access.Lots of people say things I disagree with. That's cool. I participate in discussions attached to my posts much more than most bloggers (and certainly most journo-bloggers), but I also have a role as a moderator in maintaining the environment for everyone else -- the alternative is that it turns into Usenet. Your occasional baiting of people makes that difficult.
Rob, I actually really respect the work you do with music, I'd like to help what you do, but you do have a way of pissing people off that doesn't aid your cause.
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___Who's the band, Rob ... ? I would genuinely like to know because, despite our philosophical differences, I am interested in what knowledgeable people in the industry consider to be "one of the best bands (they've) seen in 10 years".__
Why would you think you have more insight and knowledge from your background or at least the knowledge to dismiss my input?
I'm not dismissing your input. But compare the respect Brendan showed you there with what you've repeatedly said about him in this thread.
I think I addressed those issues after brendan undemonised himself by entering into debate, and undid a lot of my resentment toward him for avoiding it, and good for him.
After you'd expressed a good deal of that resentment in personal terms, and implied I was lying when I explained the delay in him responding to the discussion. That's the kind of thing that annoys me.
I still disagree with the way the system has been run and you also feel it has failed so we're not exactly on opposite sides of the fence.
No, we're not.
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Russell, you'll remember me from the Drugs Roundtable at Parliament two years ago. I saw Sabin on the telly last night, and he was absolutely full of it, completely ignoring the raft of positive findings regarding harm reduction, and the recommendations that have been made for improving drug education.
And what bugs me, as a journalist, is how many other journalists are merrily prepared to buy into the idea that he's right and somehow the bulk of real expert research is wrong.
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When I was working at a certain government-owned corporation that specialises in housing people, Methcon were called in to give seminars on recognising the manufacture and use of P... that being an increasing problem amongst tenants and hazard for the staff.
And I think that's quite valid and practical advice.
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my problem is that I suspect that, your problem is you say things like the above and expect me to treat you with respect.
I've sort of given up on that.
do you really think I'm that stupid, that I haven't given any thought to this. I'm asking for clarification, I'm asking these questions cos thats the way it looks and people have said things in private that make it look that way.
But you're generally not "asking for clarification", you're making allegations. There's a difference.
Look, I share concerns that the present funding system is failing in some respects. I think it needs some new thinking. I've written various things to that effect. I just don't accept the need to personalise it and demonise people the way you do.
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