Posts by Andre
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We had a crowded house from 5pm onwards. The undercard bouts were excellent. The first fight was great: Light Middleweight: Steve Chur Heremaia (NZ) vs Frank Lo Porto (AUS). Heremaia just squeaked through having knocked his opponent down twice in the first round. Lo Porto has a huge heart - if it had gone another couple of rounds he probably would have won.
Watching the Heavyweight John "smell my finger" Hopoate get knocked out by Colin Coal Miner Wilson was also an unexpectedly fun experience because everyone expected Hopoate to win.
And Tua turned it on big-time. Over 4 hours it cost less than a buck per hour per head for some great entertainment. We couldn't hear the neighbours over our own noise but there were lots watching here too (Bayview, North Shore).
Apparently Tua said O for oarsman BTW according to his Mum - and I don't think I'd be arguing much about it with him if I saw him in the street. A friend just came over and said that after the bout Tua was hugging Cameron and said "I'm off to Burger King now - do you want some fries with those Classic Whoppers I just gave you..." -
The whole saga has been morbidly depressing to watch. Parts of Auckland (mainly the wealthy areas for sme strange reason) have brand new footpaths and great looking parks etc. There are millions being spent on beautification while our sewerage system is stuffed. We are bearing the brunt of mass unplanned immigration and cheap asian import cars without the needed infrastructure as well. Our public transport system was neglected while they tried to cope with more cars.
Extending the motorway from Puhoi to Warkworth makes more sense than going all the way to Wellsford but both suggestions suck in reality. Puhoi to Warkworth is 14 kms and Warkworth is the regional service hub for Rodney. The Forestry land next to Pohuehue Viaduct could be used as well and getting rid of the trip up Schedeweys Hill would make sense. The other 20kms to Wellsford is much more difficult terrain.
They are saying that because the $365 million Northern Gateway toll road was successful they will spend $100 million on planning this $2.18 billion road. On that basis even the road to Warkworth maybe a step too far. In the end the run from Omaha to the closest McDonalds may get a bit quicker (it's in Wellsford) but that's about it... -
"I have been advised the minister is ignoring uncomfortable benefit/cost assessments that indicate a Wellsford motorway simply does not stack up against other transport projects" Joel Cayford
We need a motorway from Warkworth to Wellsford? Really? It'll maybe save 5 minutes - probably less.
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In 1975 the teachers brought a B&W TV to school so we could watch the Thriller in Manila. Muhammed Ali will probably never be replaced - especially with 3 organisations competing to run the sport. It was an awesome spectacle - especially for a 6 year-old. They'd probably call in CYPS if the local school tried it on today. It was great!
Tua and Cameron are the best heavyweight boxers in New Zealand currently. One of them will hang up his gloves at the end of this fight so there is something more important than a belt on the line tomorrow. It will be an interesting competition between two guys who don't back down. I originally thought Tua might have been paid in the Lennox Lewis fight but then figured I just wasn't giving Lennox his due. Tua fought him at Lennox's best - and Tua just couldn't get inside him without being hurt.
We've bought the fight and have a dozen or so spectators coming over - but it won't beat Joe Frazier fighting until his eyes closed so much that he couldn't enter the ring for the 15th round against Ali.
Did you know that Burt Lancaster called the original "Fight of the Century" in 1971... maybe they can get Russell Crowe over to call tomorrow's fight - he seems to like scrapping. -
It feels like National is just removing local government from Auckland and hopes that no-one interferes with their asset-grab.
Auckland's waste water issues are huge http://www.nzherald.co.nz/water/news/article.cfm?c_id=362&objectid=10444425
The current council just deferred the plan to stop sewerage running into the harbour every time it rained - there were much more important things to do
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10540049
In December 1995 we ran a story in NZ Local Government magazine explaining how 20,000 tonnes of raw sewerage pours into the Waitemata Harbour every week - 2 million kilos of poos a week! It all stems back to 1911 when the system was designed with projections to 1940. In 1992 the council's plan was to remove the problem by 2027. Hubbard pushed it out to 2033. Banks will still have us swimming in faeces in 2043... -
Herne Bay is on the link bus route... and 'tards are still drink-driving.
"If Auckland is to go ahead as an international city it needs that retrofitting of urban mass transit" Mike Lee
BTW the Link bus is the best public transport initiatives for years - and it works. Why can't they just design more routes like it that run in continuous concentric rings around the city? Britomart and the Link bus have proven that when it comes to public transport if you build it they will come...
www.aucklandtrains.com is also good for commentary on Auckland's public transport woes.
I think it stinks that the government is trying to remove any local control Aucklanders have over transport etc in their obvious plan to strip us of any local assets they can sell... -
Wellington City Council has 179,000 people but Greater Wellington (including Hutt Valley & Porirua etc) has 460,000 versus Christchurch's 369,000.
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It is the first time that anoyone has ever posited the idea that an incease in temperature affects the earth's crust. We've known for years that volcanic eruptions cause global cooling a la nuclear wnter but not the reverse.
http://feww.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/climate-change-for-what-youre-about-to-receive/
It may take a while to happen - but is cause for concern. It does mean it is more likely that earth changes can happen catastrophically rather than gradually for example. -
@ Lucy et al. I was referring to this (as posted earlier in this thread)
How about the fact that warming of the sea and atmosphere results in increased volcanic activity and causes other changes in the earth's crust: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327273.800
This is the biggest news for months. "Even slight changes in weather and climate can rip the planet's crust apart, unleashing the furious might of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides."
So if the temperature rises, the crust weakens and we get more earthquakes and volcanoes - and landslides. And those landslides might occur on the coast, causing tsunamis etc as well.
These reports are the first on climate change from the international organisations representing geologists. Up until now we've only heard from meteorologists. It's not a great time to live in a volcanic field... -
The existing ones won't re-erupt but a new volcano will appear somewhere else in the zone. Rangitoto happened 600 years ago and contained 59% of all the volcanic material in Auckland - ten times bigger than any other Auckland volcano. The scientists conclude that the next one is overdue and may be as big or bigger. The fact that climate change is also affecting the whole scenario makes volcanoes even more of an issue... and other than the Auckland Museum's marvellous exhibit we seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room.