Posts by Rich Lock
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hard News: The silence of the public square, in reply to Sacha,
FPP sucks, yes
My hobby horse has probably had enough of being chased around the paddock by my bugbear now, so time to shut them both up.
-
Hard News: The silence of the public square, in reply to Myles Thomas,
That's your analogy? Really?
Back when I was single and on the market, if I'd had a pool of less than a dozen partners to choose from, only two of which were actually possible relationship prospects, I'd probably have become a nun. Or chosen a job where I spend 10 months of the year at sea (I hate sailing).
And did you miss the bit where I noted that I nearly always vote? And the bit where I indicated that there are other ways to be involved in the democratic process?
If my eating-out choices are between BK and McD's, I might start putting in a few hours at the local whole foods co-op. Or growing my own.
-
Hard News: The silence of the public square, in reply to Sacha,
find something to vote for rather than against
"Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!"
For the record, I vote nearly* every time, but it seems a rather pointless exercise when one is in one of the safer tory seats in the UK.
*I didn't bother casting a vote for my local police commissioner when given the opportunity to do so. The difference this has made to anything is not measurable with current scientific instrumentation.
-
Hard News: The silence of the public square, in reply to Richard Aston,
I despair of my friends who don’t vote because this party or that candidate is not quite up to scratch on this policy or that aspirational value.
And what would your suggestion be when none of the parties on offer come anywhere close to aligning with one's personal values, across more or less their full spectrum?
I appreciate that this isn't nearly so much of an issue in NZ, with list votes and minor parties, but it's a big issue for FPTP systems like the one in use in the UK.
I don't mean to be chippy, but I get a bit annoyed at being harrangued into voting as if it were some sort of sacred duty, usually by the sort of people who stick a mark on a piece of paper every 3 years and think that's enough - who have never signed a petition, written to a minister or MP, gone to a protest, etc, etc. There are other ways of making my voice heard, and I'm beginning to think they often more effective.
-
ACT supporters are very pleased with Dr Whyte's peformance.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: Grey Fucking Area, in reply to Russell Brown,
By that phrase, I meant that I placed my shiny new compact disc in an optical drive attached to my computer and clicked the button to import the songs on it, having previously set my iTunes software to use the Apple Lossless Audio Codec, which reduces the file size without the loss of any of the original awesomeness.
So....not a sex euphemism, then?
-
Hard News: Steven Joyce: Prick or Treat, in reply to ,
It was interesting for me to learn fabrication engineering, and compleat an arts degree at the same campus. The art* academics and the boilermakers, had no idea what each other did. They couldn’t even speak the same language. I was at pains to explain to the engineers, that artists creat markets for the fabricators to employ there technology. I also tried to argue with the artists, why introducing yourself as an artist, could be seen as leading with the chin in almost all circumstances.
Something of a bugbear of mine. My experience at university in the UK was that graduate engineers had little to no idea how to actually get their hands dirty (for want of a better phrase). There was a real white collar/blue collar split between those who worked with tools, and those who sat behind a desk/CAD machine. We spent three years learning hardcore maths, thermodynamics, etc, and a cursory 2-3 weeks at the end of the course at the local college learing how to weld, bend pipes, cast metal, etc.
So this happens even in what is nominally the same tech field/industry.
-
Hard News: Steven Joyce: Prick or Treat, in reply to linger,
and leaving only politicians behind.
And the estate agents.
And don't forget the all-important telephone sanitisers!
-
Hard News: The silence of the public square, in reply to Richard Aston,
with it all taped down so tight something just has leak out.
Just to clarify: you're still talking about your first bikini waxing, right?
-
Hard News: Steven Joyce: Prick or Treat, in reply to Russell Brown,
...with a hat tip to Carol Stewart who linked to that yesterday just upthread...