Posts by John Fouhy

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  • Hard News: The March for Democracy,

    @deborah coddington:

    why do issues like raising children have to be a "right wing/left wing" thing?

    Right wing / left wing is literally one-dimensional, which presents problems when it comes to pigeonholing people. For instance, the idea of gay marriage is disliked by conservatives, and conservatives are seen as right-wing. Thus if you support gay marriage, you must be left-wing. Right? But what about gay people who prefer a more free-market economic policy? Which box do we put them into?

    That's why I'm a fan of the political compass, which seeks to give a two-dimensional representation of political opinions. If you were in ACT, but you dislike their law and order policies, perhaps you'd find yourself down in the bottom-right somewhere (near DPF maybe :-) ) -- but take the quiz, if you want to know. (here's how they rated NZ political parties at the last election)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Hard News: New Lounge Toy Update,

    re. iPhone dock, perhaps one of these: http://store.apple.com/us/product/TX672LL/A ? Obviously this is most worth the money if you want to use your phone as a satnav (which require's TomTom's expensive iPhone app, and also a recent iPhone).

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Speaker: How to Look Good as a Nazi,

    [forgive me for jumping in without reading the 100-odd preceding posts]

    There is an interesting article on Ars Technica on Nazis as demons. It talks about the fact that in US culture (and NZ too), particularly among the young, Nazis are Bad Guys without redeeming features. I guess Indiana Jones has a lot to do with this, and Wolfenstein 3D too.

    In many ways, Nazis have the same cultural status as zombies (and, in fact, Nazi zombies turn up all over the place). Perhaps therein lies the problem: people dress up as zombies all the time.

    (a side story: A former flatmate of mine once ran a one-off roleplaying game where the bad guys were undead Nazis. He put together a soundtrack for it to add atmosphere, and I helped him burn it to CD. A German friend later discovered the soundtrack in my music library, including at least one track of nationalistic Nazi music that is today banned in Germany...)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bowie for the BDO?,

    Also, if you're going to WoW, this may be useful:

    Restaurants with pre-WoW dinner specials

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bowie for the BDO?,

    Perhaps The Mutton Birds, with _The Heater_:

    Or _Still Alive_?

    And since the topic is Bowie, I have to suggest Space Oddity:

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Up Front: Actors Don't Hunt in Packs,

    Also, everything you’ve ever heard about actors is true.

    Do you have to do a silly dance if I say "Macbeth"?

    And will sandbags really fall on your head if you whistle at the wrong time?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Hard News: Be the party of good science,

    Saw this today: China Tells The World It Won't Keep Temperatures From Rising More Than 2C

    An adviser for the Chinese government came out today and said the obvious: There's no way the country will be able to keep its emissions in check, and yes, the temperature will rise above the dreaded 2 degree centigrade marker.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Hard News: Screen Wars,

    Leo informed me last week that Disney had acquired Marvel Comics, and we were discussing the implications.

    Here's one implication.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Gotcha?,

    I don't follow Whaleoil or Cactus Kate so this gotcha thing is news to me. So I did the obvious, and clicked on the 'About Us' link.

    I was expecting to see something like 'Gotcha is a partnership between bloggers Whaleoil and Cactus Kate to [blah blah blah]'.

    I _wasn't_ expecting the first thing I read to be 'Gotcha is hidden in a secret place. If you want to sue us, here is our lawyer.'

    Um ... because the _first_ thing I do when I go to a new website is to make sure I know how to contact their lawyers...?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

  • Up Front: Does My Mortgage Look Like a…,

    He wasn't very Celtic was he?

    Ah, true. For some reason I was mentally confusing celts and gauls.
    (and I guess the Normans were only half-gaul at best)

    So can we blame? Boadicea?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 87 posts Report

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