Posts by DaveC

  • Southerly: Sign this Petition,

    #DONTBEACANT, seriously, is this all one big childish troll?

    And if you zoom in real close on the advert you can just make out the name in the promoter statement of what they’ve apparently decided is an election advertisement under the EFA. It’s “M. Salole”, the Greens’ national campaign manager.

    Should these paragons of ethics, honesty, and integrity really be hiding this sponsorship/affiliation in the small print? Will your petitioners’ email addresses also become attached to an astroturfing submission on the next n environmental issues?

    EDIT FROM DAVID HAYWOOD: THE INFORMATION ASSERTED BY THIS COMMENTER IS INCORRECT, SEE MY RESPONSE BELOW.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Going solar?,

    Assuming you're in the Vector area, the Vector solar deal http://vector.co.nz/solar is much better value. You get about $35k worth of panels and battery for a low up-front price and a small monthly payment. The battery means you use more of your generated power directly, rather than having to take whatever pittance the power company wants to pay you for selling it back to the grid. You never own the system but by the end of the trial there will be something much better available anyway.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • OnPoint: The Big Guns: Truecrypt and Tails,

    You can’t hide secrets from the future with math.
    You can try, but I bet that in the future they laugh
    at the half-assed schemes and algorithms amassed
    to enforce cryptographs in the past.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Fluency, ease of manner - and…,

    At one point he even proposed to a submitter that if people didn't want to be snooped on, they could just use encryption (not under his government's own Telecommunications Intercept Bill, they couldn't).

    Yes they can, just use any means of encryption that the network provider doesn't have keys for, as explicitly described in the Bill. Techliberty's only objection to it is based on an ambiguity in the wording, but it's irrelevant to encryption that is provided by the client rather than the ISP.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: That page doesn't exist ...,

    Even though many tenants will have no phone -- or only prepaid mobiles, from which 0800 numbers don't appear to be free calls

    0800 numbers are free from prepaid mobiles. The called company may choose to block calls from mobiles, but HNZ don't.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: One Hundred and Thirty-one…,

    Painted cycle lanes do increase cyclist safety. Segregated cycleways that have road intersections are often no better from a safety point of view, and in some cases worse, than cyclists using the road. http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/research.html

    Measures like creating and enforcing no-parking zones in bike lanes on arterials, advanced stop lines at intersections, and a joined-up well-signposted cycle network would be great. Christchurch already has a good start on this - http://www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/gettingaround/cycling/index.aspx - and I agree that this is an excellent opportunity to improve it. But we can't afford a gold-plated solution.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: We still died at each other's…,

    Here is the full quote from a later Herald article (not online it seems, got it from ProQuest):

    Annette King's comments linking the full moon and crime and John Key's hongi with Tame Iti at Waitangi were recurring themes of cross-party combat in the first question time of the year in Parliament yesterday.

    Ms King, the Justice Minister, wasn't there to defend herself against National's Simon Power but Associate Justice Minister Rick Barker said her comments did not represent her own views.

    Ms King's comments arose when she was talking to reporters after a spate of murders last month. Asked if January was getting madder, she said: "No, I don't think it's getting madder but it's interesting speaking to Superintendent Shortland, something the police tell me is that hot Januaries where people are on holiday and the full moon - also at times when there genuinely is some unusual things that have happened - and it's well documented within the police - and the view is that we often get things happen in this month that we wouldn't have happening in winter."
    The New Zealand Herald. Auckland, New Zealand: Feb 14, 2008. pg. A.6

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • OnPoint: Let it die. Please.,

    You'd think someone getting on their high horse about numeracy would know the difference between a percentile and a decile, wouldn't you?

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: The Casino,

    Not in the same way. Roulette is biased against you winning but it does not do any balancing. A win in roulette does not make the chances of a loss in the next round any higher.

    I am under the impression that this is what pokies do. I can't really say that I know this, but I have heard so and I would not expect a casino to do things any other way unless explicitly legislated for.

    No they don't, at least they're not supposed to. Every spin is supposed to be an independent random event, but the house edge (the amount that the casino is statistically guaranteed to keep) is usually higher than other casino games. A lot of players think otherwise of course; if they didn't they wouldn't be playing. For those who want more info see here.

    I know this because back in the early days of online casinos there were some fantastic earning opportunities when the fledgling casinos were handing out big starting bonuses that you could play off against low-edge games like Blackjack. Armed with good statistical info you could rake in thousands with no risk. Sadly those days are pretty much gone now, but back then I did a lot of gambling and the rush when you won big (beating the odds) was indeed fantastic.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Citizens,

    <quote>Based on figures from 2004? Try 2008 Annex Table 25.

    That would be total, rather than core crown figures (the difference is explained well upthread). Try again.</quote>

    Take it up with Russell I/S, I was commenting on his going hyperbolic over the 2004 version of the same table.

    Since Nov 2007 • 22 posts Report Reply

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