Posts by Russell Brown
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Emma, it's too late right now to go exploring all the things you've said, but it doesn't take long to say this: you're a sensational prose writer.
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t's a bit tough to blame Ryall who has his sights firmly fixed on better medical services when Helen Clark etc had loads of time and ideology to move on pay equity.
She did. Ryall canned it. But I feel bound to point at that Ryall has had his sights fixed on the area where there has been political mileage -- elective surgery -- rather than those that a more strategic approach might have prioritised. So I'm not sure it's "tough" to find fault with him n this case.
The special ed lobby has won some substantial victories but, as in all public services, there has to be a balance and also fairness for all kids.
I recoil a bit at the use of the word "lobby", frankly. It suggests a degree of sway that really isn't there.
Our system has long been underpinned by the the idea that every child has the right to an education. The practice doesn't match the theory; not nearly. I think it would be a matter of "fairness" if it did.
As a nation we also have to decide the best use of limited resources and dollars and that always means some groups are going to grumble.
It's been a long day and I'm really not going to go there, apart from pointing out that over the years I've contributed quite a lot to those limited resources ...
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I wouldn't go out of my way to hear Lily Allen's new stuff either, but what I have bumped into by chance has been okay as pop goes.
I like Lilly Allen. I like the fact that her songs are witty and about something and are generally good pop music. I think she's going to have a problem with range -- she sings everything in the same meter -- but it's fun for now.
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Starting ...
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This week's BBC Panorama programme, Credit Where It's Due , looks interesting, although is possibly a little hysterical, as Panorama can be these days.
It asks whether Britain's banks are doing enough to help small businesses, which are failing at a rate of 120 a day -- even though the government has instructed the banks to do so:
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__I'm pretty comfortable with our jury system, and a system that allows judges who have heard all the evidence to ... um ... actually judge__
really?
Yup. The American justice system has been bent out of shape by gimmick sentencing laws passed by cynical politicians. Sentences should be set by someone who has heard the evidence , not as a form of political marketing.
When you combine that with sweeping prosecutorial discretion and plea-bargaining, you wind up with a system in which natural justice has been lost.
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I went to have a look at the Foo videos on the media 7 blog and the TVNZ site insists on wanting to load some kind of Windows media extension. As I'm on a Mac using Safari I find this a bit disconcerting. (Pretty sure that only works on a PC meaning the Foo vids are PC only?)
You;ll be needing the free Windows Media components for QuickTime. Works perfectly.
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This blogging thing seems to be working for Leo. He just came out after installing a five-CD shooter he bought on Trade Me (we had to copy the contents of disc 5 onto a flash drive; couldn't even make an iso, but it worked) and declared:
"This is the digital embodiment of the sin of gluttony."
I think this counts as home schooling ...
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(So it'll probably turn out Chrome stole it from Opera. But who uses that besides a few complete weirdos?)
Heh. I did see a blog comment earlier complaining that IT'S ALL STOLEN FROM OPERA AND IT'S JUST NOT FAIR.
Chrome is really good, I'm torn between using Firefox with all of my beloved extensions, and Chrome which is just so blisteringly fast - and so completely out of the way, with its delightfully minimal UI.
No Chrome on the Mac for a while yet, unfortunately. It'll be interesting to see how the two measure up -- although the first few benchmarking efforts seems to suggest that Safari 4 is faster than anything, ever.
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Another frustration is the lack of access to the US iTunes store. There are lots of iTunes only releases of rare Dylan performances That I cannot buy.
Sometimes, I really hate the iTunes Store. There are the geographical differences you note, and the fact that it's much more mainstream than my tastes. I still love pop music, but the fu in pop these days is what's breaking right now_ , not whenever iTunes NZ gets around to it, if ever.
Although ... it does seem to have improved lately.
I gave up on Beatport because their password reset emails all got spam-filtered out.
eMusic remains my online music store of choice, plus Amplifier for the locals.
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