Posts by Russell Brown
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I had a discussion about all this with my driver home last night. He was concerned.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to Bob van Ruyssevelt,
You have misquoted Geoff Cummings – he said company employees do not need a Passenger Service Licence (if the company holds one) not that they didn’t need a P Endorsement on their driving licence.
Oops. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Polity: A short history of half-baked…, in reply to Lindsey Rea,
Wasn’t that Hobsonville? A good mix of social housing and private housing – scotched by Key as soon at the NACTs came into office.
Yeah, Hobsonville, The tragic irony is that Key's much-vaunted state house upbringing was in the pepper-potted suburb of Brydnwr – exactly the kind of mixed housing he scorned in Hobsonville. That's how he was able to attend Burnside High.
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Hard News: How the years flew by ..., in reply to Jim Cathcart,
In the case of Australia and NZ, it seems as equally as bad as it ever was. The general understanding was that the Australian banks were prudent, yet most people are unaware that the banks in Australia were bailed out by the Federal Reserve.
That's fascinating. I'm not so bothered by two banks seeking temporary credit during the worst of the crunch – that's what lenders of last resort are for – but the fact that the media narrative was so different is quite unnerving.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Digging in New York, in reply to Hugh Wilson,
Among other stuff I got a Fatback LP for $1 out of the cheap bins
Oh man, the cheap bins.
The amount of good stuff for $1 and $2 is amazing.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Digging in New York, in reply to Hugh Wilson,
Good lord, have never seen that Slim Smith LP before in my life …
Not in that sleeve, no. It must have been Jamaica-only.
Cleaned up nicely too!
Props for cleaning your purchases too – something I am sadly religious about
A Spin-Clean isn't that expensive and it makes a huge difference. The first time I played out after getting mine (and cleaning, like, 100 platters in two days) I just kind of stood there thinking how nice they looked and how good they sounded.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber driver, in reply to BenWilson,
The taxi drivers I know all paid between $20k and $50k to buy into their business. That’s quite an investment which takes years to pay off. If the government allows Uber to operate illegally, it’s the equivalent of sticking a big bureaucratic finger in the faces of thousands of registered NZ taxi drivers. Their investment in their business just went down the tube.
On this one, I have to say I’m not so sure. That $20-50k was not compliance costs, it was pure profit to the taxi empire they were buying into. Uber having broken that up is not something I personally lament. I’m sorry for any driver who did it recently, of course, because it was a bad investment.
In theory, Co-op drivers get many costs covered by virtue of buying in. They also get Co-op competing against them via the various budget brands it also owns, which seems shitty.
Still, at least it’s not the madness they’ve seen in Australia. Government policy changes and competition from Uber have finally forced down the price of a taxi licence in Australia – to a mere $375,000. It’s been a disgraceful situation up till now – license owners haven’t even needed to drive, just sit back and be rent-takers.
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Just cleaned a batch of 25 records. Forgot to mention this one from Good Records ($10). Jamaican Studio One pressing.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Digging in New York, in reply to Peter Darlington,
Great stuff on the Brooklyn digs. I remember P-Money tweeting some great finds when he was working over there a few years. It’s on my bucket list!
And I didn't even make it to Academy, which is supposed to be a real trove.
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BTW, it's not on the vinyl version of Women's Love Rights, but this is the track that got me interested in Laura Lee:
It's on a compilation I bought at a record fair. Total banger.
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