Posts by Zippy Gonzales

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  • Hard News: The Cullen investment,

    Zeppelins are making a comeback.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Hard News: Problems,

    hey, it's the 21st century. Elephants with lasers.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Cracker: Post St Patrick's Day Blues,

    Ah, 1987. $500 is a lot for a schoolboy to lose on the sharemarket. Lesson learned. Then again, my best mate lost ten times that much back then. He's in finance now.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Missionary Position,

    From my experience in situations where I could die, my thoughts in these situations is usually some variant on "Well, this is going to hurt."

    Strange. I get a worrying sensation about the unaffordability of insurance premiums, combined with a stupidity of death comparison to the guy who died by a landslide while screwing a chicken.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Speaker: Memorandum To: Citizens of NZ,

    Thanks for the post. Nice advice on the tension on the free and frank front. I gather the State Services Commission has been examining this Gordian Knot for a few years.

    Screw the media. It's no longer a matter of being solely reported by them, or swamping the public with trivialities such as in Yes Minister. Google changes everything. Bloggers do the rest. You'll find some that are constructive in their criticism ;-)

    If the advice is sound and reasonable, stand by it. Don't fear the OIA, use it as a platform. The truth will out.

    The State Sector Act 1987 cut at the strength of the Public Service by demanding it be run as separate businesses.

    To be fair, quite a bit of good was done by Rod Deane downsizing the Public Service rulebook. Silo-isation of the Public Service was done for the best of reasons. Fiefdoms and turf wars existed before as well as after the Act, but I'd agree there is some room for improvement.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Casino,

    I never witnessed any examples of seat-peeing while working there, but you'd be amazed at how many spilt drinks a table game's cloth can absorb. I'm no obsessive clean freak, but environmental biologists could do their PhDs on the bacteria of gaming chips and tablecloths.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Casino,

    A win in roulette does not make the chances of a loss in the next round any higher.

    Have you heard of section spinning?

    Roulette was designed by Franciscan monks, possibly as an elegant form of meditation. Fate and chance dance together, and at the end of the day the house always wins.

    If religion is the opiate of the masses, I'd rather have opium.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Casino,

    Russell, there is no point using facial tricks to accept reward from a machine. Or maybe it's just pokerface. It's an internalised kick, which is why your opium den reference is so apt.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Casino,

    I really don't get pokies. You put your money in, a bunch of lights flash and things go around, and then it tells you that you've lost, or won.

    And being told they're a winner by a machine that takes their money will probably be the only positive reinforcement that these people ever get.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

  • Up Front: The Holland Diaries, Pt 1,

    Given that Deaf tend to read books more than the average contemporary hearing person, is there sufficient numbers to sustain an NZ Deaf tertiary institution? The US has Gallaudet University, for example.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report

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