Posts by Kumara Republic
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Managing a city council just isn't the same as managing a tech startup, or any other company for that matter. Some people deliberately see no difference.
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To add: a fern is a maple leaf designed by committee.
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Hard News: Art with a job to do, in reply to Matthew Hooton,
Russell, the entire Red Peak campaign, and you post here, and the reaction and twitter and in the comments here, has been one long sneer against the 79% voters (including informal) who opted for a fern design because they believe that represents them and their country. I confess to enjoying the result.
What do you have to say to those who deliberately spoiled their ballots?
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I voted Red Peak for one very simple reason, and the architect Mies van der Rohe said it best: "less is more". Guess I'll be voting for the existing flag next year, not because I like it but because the winning design shouts out loudly "designed by committee".
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“Auckland housing bubble”
“[Redacted]”
"Red Peak" -
Hard News: Dirty Politics, in reply to izogi,
At the very least stand up to and tell their favourite party that it’s severely sick, and demand change, instead of ineffectively complaining to their neighbours about how “they’re all useless and corrupt but that’s politics”. Why is “that” politics?
In the end, maybe it will have to be “fixed” by a political opposition, if it’s even possible without multipartisan support, but the risk in this is that it confuses constitutional change for transparency and robust good government with ideological partisan meddling.
Whatever happens, hopefully it won't have to take the deaths or bankruptcy of thousands of people to fix things.
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Adele's not my cup of tea, but her 'Jenny' impersonator stunt was amusing.
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Hard News: A cog in the Mediaworks machine, in reply to Alfie,
Jane Bowron sums up the Christie and Weldon disaster and hints that the incapable duo are about to apply their magic to the 6pm news as well. God help us all.
What happens if the good ship MediaWorks goes down again? Knowing Weldon & Christie, they should do the honourable thing and go down with the ship, but more likely they'll probaby pull a Costa Concordia instead.
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Polity: Hosking’s right about jobs, in reply to linger,
But the choice of training should be up to the individual. It should be noted that dropout from tertiary qualifications is not merely a matter of “some people aren’t suited to it”, but also, and rather more importantly, “some situations – such as not having enough money to pay fees over a long period – aren’t conducive to it”. Equality of access matters too: that’s what is in Fraser, and that’s what has been lost.
I think also that people with conditions such as ADHD and ASD need a more targeted approach that they don't necessarily get from a classroom structure or a MOOC. In my case, I dropped out from a combination of running low on funds, finding the final year coursework too complex, and the realisation that what I was learning didn't prepare very well for the real world. It's proven that the tech billionaire dropout effect doesn't apply to most people, for the simple fact they have nowhere near the connections, privilege and support systems that the Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburgs had at university.
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For further reading by the same author on the topic:
How to Keep a Piece of the Pie After the Robots Take Our Jobs
I’m slightly sceptical of MOOCs as a solution, because they need an incredible amount of self-discipline to complete, and completion rates are typically far less than tradtional tertiary education courses. I suspect it’s especially true for those with disabilities and conditions like ADHD, and for such people, myself included, there’s not much other substitute for a practical and direct mentoring approach like that of an apprenticeship.