Posts by Gregor Ronald
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We had next-door neighbours in the red zone who left for Nelson - a professional couple with two primary-age boys. They needed to get the kids into a secure school setting, and luckily their employment worked out well. Now they enjoy a great lifestyle in the sunshine, while Christchurch gets crappier by the day.
We're in our 60s and we know we'll never see a viable city centre - life has shrunk to a series of suburban malls with occasional bars and restaurants dotted about, and city administration has become a struggle between quangos and the CCC.
I still have sympathy for the Council, but their performance is far from adequate, especially with issuing building consents. Having Key and Brownlee blame the CCC for flooding that's a direct result of the quakes is not helping, but I still hope the flood victims can be helped by somebody.
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It sounds like an extension of Godwin's Law to me. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=godwin%27s%20law)
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If you make selling the village's opium crop attractive enough (i.e. a Hilux ute and satellite TV for the headman, and cellphone access for everyone in a village) then anyone who breaks ranks and risks cancelling the deal will be a pariah. Once you have farmers that you can talk to, with a regular income, you can start on substitution programmes.
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Great news - another step towards Maori TV becoming our de facto national channel.
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I used to live in a holiday town in Otago, and these holiday-home break-ins by local kids came in cycles. (I know this lot didn't go inside, but anyway...) Usually they got caught by the cops, the school became involved, and the kids were publicly shamed at a school assembly. (With the approval of their parents.) All the kids in the school got the message and the problem went away, until 4 or 5 years had passed and a new crop of Year 9-13 kids grew up. Then the cycle was repeated.
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More proof that if you're 60+, broadcast TV has very little to offer. Yet I have more disposable income now than I've ever had, surely someone wants to sell stuff to my demographic? I doubt that a 20-something TV producer has any idea about how to do this, though.
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These Republicans swore an oath to protect & defend their country. Why are they not being charged with treason?
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Your first River Rd photo is next to our house, demolished 11 months ago. The last neighbors in the block left a few weeks ago, after months of night time prowlers and looters, and the fear of arson. We were lucky being zapped by the first quake, we were sorted and moved before it all turned to custard. What does Brownlee plan to do with the zone? A plan would be nice.
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In Christchurch, around half the roads I ride on have restrictions for repairs. In the narrow lanes of cones, I'll dodge onto the footpath to let the cars go past. I have a helmet mirror, which helps me see if I am blocking anyone. Lots of people give a toot or wave, so it's good PR.
I always use pedestrian lights and crossings at a couple of places where it would be suicide to mix it with the traffic, e.g. Blenheim Rd. I guess the same applies to 6-lane major urban roads anywhere.
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Up Front: Oh, Grow Up, in reply to Angus Robertson,
Yep, Angus, you're right. I'm 65 next birthday, but my brain still thinks I'm 25-30. Shame about the body...