Posts by Russell Brown
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One other thing that freaked me a little: it seems it's possible to feed the pokies from a stored-value card. For security reasons, it's advisable to have your card on a string -- or, rather, a coiled plastic lead.
This leads to the odd sight of middle-aged ladies physically leashed to their machines.
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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. I've never been able to figure out what the difference is between the winning and the losing, which maybe is part of the point.
I was struck by the way that you couldn't really tell from the faces of the players whether they were winning or losing. You'd hear the coins cascade, but see barely a flicker across the face of the player. Its even rare to see people talk to each other.
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I think you got a bit carried away here.An abattoir?
That was just the image that came to mind, looking down from the mezzanine at people gambling on a weekday morning.
I rather dislike the patronising look-down-the-nose attitude to the leisure activites of hoi polloi. I have elderly relatives who love their weekly visit to the casino and get great enjoyment (and often winnings) from the experience.
Yes, and I know lots of people who derive innocent pleasure from, say, the occasional ingestion of marijuana. The law takes quite a different view of the two activities.
I did look at the respective redeeming merits of pokies and cannabis for Peter Dunne's benefit a while back. Pokies don't seem have inspired any major creative works, while pot can claim the Beatles and Bob Marley.
There are surely controls that can be put in place for the so-called addicts but I resent laws restricting my pleasures because of the minority who can't handle them. Just like the whole class being put in detention becasue a teacher can't be bothered sorting out the culprits
So you're up for decrirminalisation of other pleasures then?
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Anyway, delay it for a month and then what? What are the Government's plans if rights holders and Internet companies can't reach an agreement?
Go into urgency and repeal it through 3 readings, or just sit on it, and maybe amend it or repeal it some time in the future, after considering what the best thing to do with copyright law is?
Chris Finlayson has told people that if a code of conduct can't be agreed, he will write a more detailed and prescriptive law himself.
This might have the effect of spooking both sides into agreement -- better the devil you know, etc -- but it doesn't really answer your question about the status of the present law.
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Buggered if I know, but I'm sure Ted Haggard can score you an ounce. :)
LOL.
But seriously, I don't think I'd trust him as my drug dealer.
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By all the lavatory talk, perhaps?
Indeed. Although it should be noted that the listeners seemed to pitch in very keenly on the theme ...
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Our David Haywood in 'Playing Favourites' with Kim Hill this morning was just the bees-knees.
That was great fun. I'm sure somebody was scandalised.
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Latest on BobbyJindal: he borrowed a key story in his speech, claiming to have been at the shoulder of a New Orleans sheriff during the Katrina crisis, talking tough to a federal bureaucrat to get things done.
Despite his vivid personal recall he, er, wasn't there.
What on earth are the Republicans doing?
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In case anyone hasn't noticed, here's Keith's second post from the summit, covering the four-day week discussion.
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That's why we're probably not going to see any economic rescue packages which focus on reducing hospital waiting queues for the elderly. Little economic stimulus, not much economic flow on effects, sorry elderly.
I was talking last night to an old friend in Wellington who works in the union movement.
He said the number of layoffs they were seeing coming through from the manufacturing sector was really scary.
The problem with that is that manufacturing jobs are bloody hard to get back once they've gone -- especially when other, lower-cost manufacturing economies are bleeding badly already.
So if your aim is to try and prevent damaging job losses in the short term, it does make sense to target the sectors where the jobs are at risk, even if they're not where there might be the most compelling public good arguments.
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