intern

You're on to it Patham. $3-billion being wasted on 'regional development' with that oaf Shane Jones. Winston Peters 'two wongs don't make a white' the racist, anti immigration hypocrite PM The Kiwibuild fiasco. The Karel Sroubek fiasco. The Meka Whaitiri fiasco. The Clare Curran fiasco. The nuking of Charter Schools in favour of the Unions. The Tax Working Group chaired by a political appointee (former Labour finance minister). The removal of targets to measure health OUTCOMES. Etc etc. As is all too often the case with leftists, the focus falls very heavily on spending and intentions. As anyone over a certain age or maturity should understand, intentions count for nothing (hence the old expression on what the road to hell is made from). It is outcomes which are important. Ardern is known for talking up intentions, but shying away from targets or measurements. As for compulsory voting, I think it a very bad idea. Anyone who cannot get themselves to a voting station to exercise their rights is not likely to be someone who has taken any measure of care or diligence in understanding what they are voting for.

Sadly Ardern is all style and no substance. She's very good at looking concerned and very good at reading speeches, but not very good at policy detail, keeping her ministers under control, or legislating. That said, people who aren't political tragics like me tend to value style over substance because the feelz are easier to generate than the thinks.

I'm nio instagram expert, but what I have seen and experienced of it, people mostly post there to show off and some go to great lengths (such as hiring a grounded private jet) to show off the 'good live' they are supposedly living. Or photoshopping the living daylights out of images, be it selfies or otherwise...all to make others envious, or, as you say, to sell stuff.

Heh was saying the same thing Slow

I started that purge process probably 3 or 4 years ago. I literally got down to 0. Then realised I have google photos and onedrive storing my pictures. So I deleted the lot. Gphotos and onedrive remind you of past pics all the time, so there's that.

PS I'll allow cocaine in the Coke, just sayin'.

The thing with social media, it is so addictive people will do almost anything in pursuit of meaningless 'likes' and 'shares'. They will ruin their relationships. They will behave like assshholes. They will ignore their children. But by golly, they will be on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter; evbery picture taken is designed to make someone else envious, every post made designed to showcase rapier wit and devastating insight, every comment carefully crafted for maximum 'thumbs up'. It's all sad and pathetic. And it doesn't matter what illegal, unethical or immoral things these social media providers do. People will not quit, because they can't. They'll immediately justify use with 'well, it helps keep in touch with people all over the world'. Yeh OK, mate: when you phone someone and have a chat about your weekend and they don't go 'Oh, yes, I already saw on Facebook', well, then your interaction will be so much richer. And also, you will only stay in touch with the people who really matter...and have meaningful interactions with them.

You can't put the poo back in the donkey...

Love your tagline by the way Herman.

Social media is not social, it is antisocial. It makes people see others very one-dimensionally, it is all about ego and showing off and who shouts loudest. Best solution? Delete facebook, twitter, instagram and don't look back. I realised some time ago that you could do almost anything other than being on Facebook and it would be better for you.

I had an Exocet which cracked when I was in std 9, effectively put an end to my cycling 'career'. Then Wally Flint at Jowetts Cycles sponsored me a Peugeot Classique frame made of Tange 1. I put Coke bottle tops on the ends of the bars as plugs and won the junior section of the Kokstad Tour in around 1993 I think it must have been. One of the okes said to me, 'Please for the love of all that is good, buy yourself some proper plugs because those Coke tops have been irritating the sh*t out of everyone'

Yes. That too wasn't funny. Today it's an egg or a dildo, tomorrow maybe a half brick. The net result of antics like that is our politicians (like James Shaw who got punched earlier last week) aren't going to be people just like the rest of us, they will be pushed into bubbles and become inaccessible. I like being able to walk up to Winston Peters or John Banks or Micheal Cullen or Simon Bridges and saying 'howsit bru how's things'. Wouldn't want that to change.

I don't agree with Fraser Anning's views. And I also don't agree with attacking him with eggs or anything else other than words.

My first 'racing bike' was a blue Western Flyer with Shimano Tourney gears...

A bit of 'yes' and 'no' here. Agreed the consenting bollocks is WAY overboard; it was something of an overcorrection to the leaky homes debacle of the 80s and 90s (or thereabouts). Now, consenting drives costs up massively - effing gimps with clipboards, hate them. But on DIY, it depends where you are. I've ton a metric shet ton of DIY on my place (s) without issue. Probably a bit diffs in Akl to the Bay of Plenty...but...ja. Resource consent is ugly and expensive.

It's destiny brah

Rode Redwoods yesterday again and went up to the top without the shuttle to get on to Billy T (some of you will know where that is). It's a maybe 15 minute climb if you're taking it easy, really not too bad at all, you could easily do it 3 or 4 times. The descent though, from Billy T then into G Rock I think it is, takes probably 25 or 35 minutes and it is freakin awesome. Even on a busy Sunday there's no to very little 'traffic', didn't have to wait for anyone not once....the stoke is real, chaps, the stoke is real.

PS Ross, having met you and seeing your Strava, we're riding the uphills, no shuttle required ;-)

Yep, that's Redwoods. It's epic in every way. Let me know when you're here and I'll come ride with you.

Yes, this is an hour from me. I rode there the weekend before last. It's free to get in and you can ride all day long and not do the same trails. Thing is I have 2 young boys, one is riding his bike, the other not quite. So even though Redwoods is up the drag, I rarely go. When I got on there the other day, my skillz were super swak at first. But by the end of the sesh (did 70km), around 25 of which was in Redwoods) I was shredding. Promised myself to take...myself...back again before long. Our local MTB park closed around a year and a half ago. Which sucks, it was awesome, but got smashed in a storm then the closed it for logging anyway as it was pointless to repair it just to have it logged a few months after. So my S-Works MTB gets precious little action...

Woodhill is a damned good MTB park...

Also, bike packing can be a real cheap way to get round, too- stay in backpackers etc, meet cool young people from all over the world, etc.

Tons of folks bike pack around, easily done and a great way to see some country. Seek out the back roads, not the SH (State Highways). Going to SI will be rewarding and awesome, but it is also super expensive to get there; costs more to go to SI than it does to get to Australia, even if you catch the ferry from Wellington to Picton. There's so much to see and do in the NI though that you'll be kept waaay busy in 3 weeks - NZ is a big country, though it's often considered small (roughly same size as UK, or Italy, or Japan, for comparison).

Not quite sure what you mean - white men are a hunted species like everywhere else, with lots of feminism going on around why aren't women CEOs and why is there a gender pay gap (answer: there isn't) and some jobs are reserved for Maori if not de jure then certainly de facto, but all in all, if you are competent and hard working, you'll find work in your field pretty readily... Mind you take all of this from whence it comes, a self-employed layabout who works mostly with women in a female-dominated industry...

If you have 3 weeks do bring a bike,will be well worth it. March is still quite lekker here (we've been having the most epic summer, haven't seen a drop of rain in months, long hot days every day). Make sure to go to Rotorua and the Redwoods. Forget about seeing the South Island, 3 weeks is barely enough to touch the north, and SI is like another country (unless you want to go there specifically for a day or 3). Also try get up to Bay of Islands its pretty cool there, make sure to take a boat trip. Travel safe and have fun.