Posts by Deborah
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Southerly: Village People, in reply to Aidan,
I used to live in Kaleen in Canberra, just one suburb over from your neck of the woods, Aidan, and it was brilliant for cycling. I could get all the way down to the ANU riding on bike paths all the way, bar the 50 metres it took me to get to one from my home. I hardly ever took the car down to university, because it was just so easy to get on my bike.
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Who would come to Christchurch under such conditions?
Well, we would, and we are...
I saw how you cunningly slipped that into the conversation, @Stephen Judd. You say it's not for economic reasons, so I'm guessing it's for the cycling.
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Up Front: One, Redux, in reply to Lilith __,
… but all you folk in other parts of the country have made such an effort to understand and care for us.
Yes, because there’s not a lot we can do, except listen, and listen, and listen, for as long as people in Christchurch want to talk. Or not, just as suits each person living in Christhchurch.
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I'd join you in a solidarity ciggie, except that I don't, except for maybe once every three years or so and then only under the influence of alcohol and bad company, so it will be a contemplative cup of coffee on the verandah for me. Thinking of you and yours.
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Happy birthday, David.
The temporary earthquake village looks very sociable. No doubt soon you will be found hanging over a back fence and sharing a quick ciggie with your neighbours while you share stories of the year that has passed.
Why are you hugging us so hard, Daddy?
Since my darlings arrived, I have found that whenever I hear of disasters and great hardships that other people are facing, my response is to hug my daughters, and whisper quietly that I *will* do my utmost to make sure that they ae okay, that they are able to grow up in love and peace and in the knowledge that I am always there for them, until they are ready to venture out on there on. And even then, I will still be be right here when they need me. Sometimes, it’s all I can do.
ETA: There is an Albert Otter fan in our house too - my quirky 10 year old. 'Though she has issues with the princess not being able to rescue herself.
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The (non)desirability is one of the fundamental areas of disagreement in our marriage. My husband loves to soak in them for hours, and I get bored after 10 minutes. Even with other people, and alcohol, involved. When we were house hunting the presence of a spa pool was always a major negative for me. And a positive for him.
An excellent read, as usual, David. And like everyone else, I am in awe of Bob's building abilities.
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Hard News: This Is Not A Complicated Issue, in reply to Hilary Stace,
That poster made me shudder, Hilary. "Thanks for sharing" doesn't quite seem to be the right response, but even so, thank you for sharing it.
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an old white man issue
From a post I wrote yesterday, whoop which I’m not going to offer the obligatory apologies for self-linking, because it’s highly apposite. In any case, this is the most salient bit.
I am starting to see in Smith a resolute defender of the patriarchy. In his first term as speaker, he was lauded for imposing more discipline on Question Time (one, two) and he himself took pride in restoring some of the daily ceremonial to parliament (source). But recall the way that he wouldn’t let Hone Harawira offer a statement in Maori before taking the oath. It has become the accepted practice for MPs who oppose some or all of the words in the oath to make a short statement first, and then to take the oath to fulfill the form required by our law (source). But Smith refused to allow that practice to continue when it came to a radical Maori man taking the oath. And now he won’t allow a woman with a disability to participate in Parliament.
It’s all about sticking with the way we do things around here, that is, the way that suits men with white skins and able bodies. Heaven forbid that we should try to do something different, try to find a new way of organising our government that celebrates diversity instead of privileging those who are already powerful.
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Hard News: Staying Alive, in reply to James Butler,
There’s one intersection on my way home where if I can’t get across the two lanes of through traffic to the turn right lane, I just go straight ahead, get off my bike, and walk it across the intersection with the pedestrians. Much safer and much less stressful, and I lose maybe a a minute at the most. But, it’s the only point on my way home where I sometimes need to do that. I imagine that cyclists in bigger places face many more obstacles, and doing this every time would become very frustrating.
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I’ve been doored. A van driver opened the door of his van and sent me sprawling across George St in Dunedin. He just didn’t look. It made me very aware of the need to keep an eye on parked cars.
I’m reasonably impressed with the cycling infrastructure here in Palmerston North, ’though it could be better. Marked cycle lanes on all major roads, and a separate track on the busiest route of all out to the university. I think that what makes a real difference however, is the sheer volume of cyclists. Masses of secondary school kids bike to and from school, and plenty of people bike to and from the university. Car drivers seem to be much more aware of bike riders just because there are plenty of them. Even so, I’m worried about sending my 13 year old out there on her bike. I think it’s because the window between “Able to ride a bike” and “Able to ride a bike safely” might be quite large: 10 hours to learn to balance, pedal, steer, brake etc, but maybe 500 hours to develop an awareness of traffic and surroundings so that you don’t take risks. It’s things like knowing what reversing lights on a car look like, or noticing that someone is sitting in a car and may open a door. Of course, prima facie someone who is reversing or who opens a car door on a cyclist is at fault, but that’s no consolation for being seriously injured or dead.
As for the very sad case in Auckland, it really does look as though the big problem is road design.