Southerly by David Haywood

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Southerly: Now I Am Permitted

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  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Steve Barnes,

    I have been in the construction industry for over 40 years

    The impression I got was that if the folks doing the surveys had the qualifications they would have the requisit knowledge to do it properly. Not that it was impossible to do it properly without the certificate that says you know what you were doing.

    Moreover, he was objecting to actually experiencing the unqualified folks who were doing the surveys doing an inadequate job. If the unqualified people had being doing a good job I don’t think you’d have got the same response.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to David Hood,

    I alternate between standing and sitting as comfortable

    Yeah I have to change position a lot as well.

    Actually my problems started after exercise - I'd go for a run or ride and then after getting my body all warm and loose I'd slouch on the couch. My warm back would bend into a really really bad position ... followed by whimpering on the floor :(.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Moreover, he was objecting to actually experiencing the unqualified folks who were doing the surveys doing an inadequate job.

    There is also a point worth baring in mind. If all the damaged houses had to be assessed by qualified structural engineers then the 2 year wait would pale into insignificance, we just don't have enough qualified people for the job.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • Isabel Hitchings,

    Actually dying of laughter here.

    We are in the middle of a remarkable disaster saga here involving a flooded house, rescue by fire engine, a loss adjuster who appears to be a black hole into which information disappears forever and a cleaning company who are unable to function without a nanny. Pretty sure it'll be badger-ants at the root of it all.

    Christchurch • Since Jul 2007 • 719 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Barnes,

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report Reply

  • David Haywood,

    Many thanks for all the kind comments and helpful suggestions RE: back pain...

    Steve Barnes wrote:

    I would dispute this man’s findings

    I'm not going to get into an argument over this (really I'm not), but the bits that raised my hair were:

    1. Regardless of whether it is an acceptable deviation, the DBH apparently came up with the value of 50mm over 10m even though their own measurements showed that "normal" variation was only half this figure. Then apparently they claimed that their figures showed that typical variation was actually greater than 50mm over 10m. It is hair-raising to me that the body in charge of deciding how houses, etc. are built apparently operates in such a manner.

    2. The author of the piece complains about the techniques/training of the insurance inspectors. He cites a case where the floor was 150mm out of level, but the inspectors "measured" only 50mm. Even if you think 50mm over 10m is okay, there's a big difference between that and 150mm. I find the prospect of this sort of error (perhaps in thousands of houses) to be rather hair-raising.

    I'd also point out that there is a big difference between a house built in 1926 (probably timber-framed with very good bracing on a suspended timber floor and with weatherboard cladding?) and a typical modern house. In our neighbourhood all the modern houses fell to bits at once; the hundred-year-old villas were much less affected.

    For what it's worth, I completely agree that the current system of builder registration, etc. is stupid. I'd much rather have any house of mine built by my father -- an 'unqualified' builder (amongst other things) with many years experience -- than some of the Master Builders operating in CHCH right now.

    So be a little more understanding

    I really do try. But I can't help fearing that this rebuild is going to be Leaky Homes, Part 2 (with the taxpayer ultimately footing the bill all over again in the near future).

    That's my final word on this subject; I'm moving on, remember?!

    Dunsandel • Since Nov 2006 • 1156 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to David Haywood,

    Re: back pain, I hesitate to offer advice to anyone, but I had chronic neck and lower back tension and pain which has been improved more than I would have thought possible by an osteopath. Her treatments changed my life, and I don’t say that lightly.

    I’d had some help from physio/exercises and pain relief from acupuncture and prescription meds: none of that really made much difference. But a little bit of expert wiggling, and -Huzzah!- I feel like a new person.

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Geoff Lealand,

    Oh, shit. What a horror-show!

    But great to have you back, even though it would be advisable for us to stay upwind.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • andin, in reply to David Haywood,

    For what it’s worth, I completely agree that the current system of builder registration, etc. is stupid. I’d much rather have any house of mine built by my father – an ‘unqualified’ builder (amongst other things) with many years experience – than some of the Master Builders operating in CHCH right now.

    Ahh! experience counts for something, except in politics where its all made up as the fucktards roll along

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Isabel Hitchings,

    a cleaning company who are unable to function without a nanny

    misread that last word

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe,

    Well done; and you've retained a sense of humour! We have badgers too, big buggers. I should have thought of them as the problem...

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Ross Mason, in reply to David Haywood,

    That’s my final word on this subject; I’m moving on, remember?!

    No David. Please join in and get the jargon right. You are moving FORWARD.

    See your quote Sir:

    I shall, in the words of that nice Mr Key, be moving forward.

    And to Steve Barnes:

    However, using a laser level over 10mtrs would show this but laser levels were not generally common, even 20 years ago.

    No they weren’t. But laser levels do not a surveyor make. Good old telescope type Dumpy Levels “in the hands of a qualified and trained person” are just as good as a laser in the “hands of a qualified and trained person”. Such a person, I am certain, would be able to do this with a hose, some clear tubing, two identical rulers and water and measure floor levels well within 5mm over the length of the hose.

    Any level measurements from the hands of Joe Blow who does not understand the principles is suspect.

    From the blogger’s comments there appear to be numerable Joe Blows out there.

    That is sad. The point of making any measurement is to enable someone to make a decision. If the number obtained from the measurement is suspect and does not easily fit the criteria of being “fit for purpose”, a proper, rational and unambiguous decision cannot be made.

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report Reply

  • Ben Austin,

    Glad to see you writing again.

    I was just thinking of you the other day when I found my copy of the Reserve Bank Annual

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report Reply

  • linger, in reply to Hebe,

    I should have thought of them as the problem…

    "We don’t need no steenking badgers” [ UHF (1989), parodying Blazing Saddles (1974), parodying The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)]

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Kyle Matthews,

    which largely got better when I changed to a funny keyboard and started slouching on my chair under medical advice. Relaxed muscles.

    Yup adjusting the working environment is much more likely to help than trying to adjust your posture consciously, because when you're working, you really haven't got mental time for thinking about it. Strengthening postural muscles would probably be best done at a time set aside for that purpose.

    @Bart

    Actually my problems started after exercise

    I've noticed that most of my aches and pains have actually become less as I get further and further from a body trained for sport. It's very hard to find a generally healthy kind of exercise - everything creates some kind of asymmetry in the body. Also, it seems somewhat unusual to actually train with nothing but health in mind - always it's with some other purpose, to get better at the sport, usually. To run further, faster, to cycle longer and harder, to lift more and more weight. You always end up "putting your back into it". Since I stopped doing that with exercise (figuring that my back is worth more than the exercise) all the strange aches and pains that have plagued me for years have melted away.

    I'm finally treating my body like I want it to last another 50 years.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe,

    Re the aches and pains: as an early adopter of crippling OOS over 20 years ago, I trudged a long and tortuous path of conventional and alternative solutions seeking. Everything from drugs, prescribed and illegal, to Feldenkrais. I came to realise it was about how I was using the keyboard and my overall bodily condition, not to mention emotional stress. Many things helped.

    The solution was tai chi which to me is a moving meditation and dealt to all those areas at once. I had the great good fortune to come across Loo-chi Hu– who stressed the “do what you can” approach to teaching. Some of his students are teaching in Christchurch – I can give you contacts if you wish.

    The main thing I found is that no one solution fits all. For some it is as simple as physio and tweaking their work setup. For me it was many things, and an acceptance of needing to change my life!

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to BenWilson,

    Actually my problems started after exercise

    I’ve noticed that most of my aches and pains have actually become less as I get further and further from a body trained for sport.

    My issue was slightly different, since it was definitely really bad posture immediately after getting my back all warm and flexible.

    It's been long known that triathletes suffered fewer injuries than long distance runners, that led directly to cross training.

    @Hebe
    For me it was Yoga and the discovery that I had become quite inflexible over the years. But it doesn't happen quickly - it's a long term solution slowly building better flexibility and gaining strength in those little balance muscles and more even strength across all parts of the core in particular.

    Also like Tai chi, yoga has an element of stress relief - it's hard to be worried about work when all you can think about is how much longer do I have to hold this pose without falling over and looking stupid.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __,

    My first 18-months or so of learning tai chi, people would say, "Oh that must be so relaxing! So meditative!"
    And I would say,"You must be bloody joking!"
    It takes time and effort to learn. Once you know a form, it really begins to reward you.
    Not trying to put anyone off: there are rewards and satisfactions through the process of learning. But don't expect a quick fix. :-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen,

    No, unbelievably, she just laughed.

    And you expect people to believe you aren't married?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Yoga has been on my menu at times too -- it's the mind-body connection that is the key, whatever way it takes you.

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • Hebe, in reply to Lilith __,

    Are you still going to Caroline's? I have slipped back this year because... of getting derailed,. Again. sigh. When will I learn?

    Christchurch • Since May 2011 • 2899 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    My issue was slightly different, since it was definitely really bad posture immediately after getting my back all warm and flexible.

    That happened to me too. Car seats are posturally terrible, and that's often the seat I was cooling down in. But when your postural muscles are exhausted, there's very few actually good ways to relax. Prone on the floor, maybe?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Lilith __, in reply to Hebe,

    Yes. :-)

    Dunedin • Since Jul 2010 • 3895 posts Report Reply

  • DexterX, in reply to Sacha,

    currently refurbishing cardboard box

    in middle of the road - Sheer Luxury!!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1224 posts Report Reply

  • Miche Campbell, in reply to Ross Mason,

    Don't you mean "going forward," Ross?

    Dunedin • Since Feb 2011 • 79 posts Report Reply

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