patham

You are a bit better than us. We get cleaners in once a week to do the hard yakka of vacuum, floor mop and bathrooms. But otherwise self-sufficient.

Pretty close for us too except: Wash everything together on a 60min 30-40deg cycle. No separating as that means additional loading waiting and unloading.Tumble dry socks, undies and other clothing that I don't care too much about. (Tumble driers are essential in Auckland, especially during the rainy winters). Not needed in sunny QLD except for maybe 2 days in a decade when we have a double cyclone hit Hang everything else ASAP on an indoor clothes rack. This is the particular clothes rack I have and I hang shirts directly on hangers to dry.The trick is to hang as soon as that washing machine finishes, before the creases start getting engrained...

Well, we have some points in common and some less so. I suggest we just see the humour in this, although it may have done the rounds before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7_YdqWsWRU

If you extrapolate what I think the gist of your argument, it is that all diseases and hence epidemics / pandemics are equal in nature, and thus all the science is known in advance. The principles might be, but not all the details. My original point is that for a new virus, not all of that is known. In the early days in Wuhan no-one even knew how this was transmitted, so how can you model that what you don't know? By assumptions. Over time, as you get a clearer picture and the data condenses, you can start to refine the science, but it needs to represent the evidence at hand, not that of 1918. And the reality is, sometimes it is not what scientists know, its what governments and society prioritise that makes the difference. And it seems like only Taiwan and some of the other Asian countries had kept in mind the priority of an epidemic and were well prepared to deal with it. For the rest of the world it was way down the list of things to worry about.

Are you allowed to touch 240 V in NZ without a sparky license? Here in Aus they don't even allow the masses to change a plug. I remember the old days in Africa, when appliances were sold without plugs and you had to fit your own. The days before HSE.

At this rate there won't be much choice for an overseas jaunt.

Definitely. In some ways (from a cold-hearted scientific basis) it is good there are a few countries that have not gone full lockdown mode, as maybe years down the line that provides real data from different scenarios that can then be compared & evaluated for when the next big new one hits. Assuming this one does not mutate into the next new big one on Friday the 13th !

All I know for sure is that actuaries are going to be in great demand trying to work out how insurance premiums need to change. Most science only happens in hindsight, once data is known and can be analysed. Science on the fly is never going to be that reliable, but it is still better than random guessing on the fly (typical Trump style). And as I have mentioned before on this thread, there are going to be plenty of academic papers to be written in this field in the long term, and looking at actuarial death rates over a statistically meaningful time period will be one of them.

I don't want to nitpick what is your perfectly valid opinion, but using a share price as a proxy for the prognosis of a company, industry or economy is not appropriate. It assumes the market is rational and all-knowing, and I don't think anyone can claim to have those skills in these times. It discounts aspects such as prescribed assets for pension type funds who have little choice in what to invest, and given interest rates are pretty low in this corner of the world, holding cash provides little return. In the hyper-inflation days in Zim, the stock exchange there had awesome returns in paper, if only because there was nothing else to buy. Having said that, looking at how the simple indices have reacted over the last few months, the US and NZ markets have not had such a high % fall from peak as compared to Aus.

I have been on a Q400 on the last flight out from a mining town before an impending cyclone arrived. Wall to wall lowish cloud cover, but at cruising altitude (guessing about 24 000 feet), there were a multitude of cumulo-nimbus pinnacles heading up as far as the eye could see. They looked as though they stretched as far up as they did down from our level We threaded a very roundabout route to skirt them all on the way home. But the flight itself was pretty calm. And yes, I am always buckled in, although on the long hauls I tend to give myself a bit of slack for wiggle room.

So what worked for you in the end ? With nothing else to go on, for most music I would have changed the default "Spinal Tap" settings of volume 11 on all bands back to flat (0 dB), and then played around - maybe tweaking the 31 Hz level slightly down further.

The problem is this word "better." That could mean many things to many people, but the only instrument you have at hand is your own ears. So trial and error. I tended to have less bass response than factory settings as I only wanted to fill in the sound, and not make the house shake. Most movies overdo the low sound effects to my ears.

Private Investigations by Dire Straits is a great reference track to compare audio systems !

Very nice indeed. I assume when you run your turntable that you use your amp in pure stereo mode to turn off the sub-woofer and centre channel, otherwise when rocking at high volumes won't the needle jump ?

Agreed. But to add to the sentiment with regards to people who are exploring immigration to NZ or other countries, the dwang is pretty widespread and you will struggle to find a place in the traditional destinations that will not have significant impacts. In times of trouble, nations become insular and will want to look after their own first. The US has already pronounced some sort of immigration limit. Places like Aus/NZ may not necessarily make dramatic press announcements but will throttle entries by means of slowing processing times or raising of points requirements to ludicrous levels so that only Doogie Howser M.D. can enter. (I hear millenials googling frantically to get the reference )

And Wayne, with your double post you perfectly illustrate the concept of Stack Bond, where all the elements line up vertically superimposed. You must have been paying attention after all You can collect your internet expert qualification on your way out.

Still more training than 99.8% of all expert opinions found on the internet.

I know the simple overlap bond being Stretcher. I do not know the NZ building code, but maybe having a vertically stacked bond system for hollow blocks allows for vertical rebar and concrete reinforcement at strategic locations? But I was taught by my one master builder boss that the running bonds are always better for plain masonry. They also disguise minor imperfections in the laying / spacing process than having a visible rectangular grid.

#4257, October 2008. So should anyone below let's say # 10 000 be exempt from the minimum of a 1000 posts rule ?

Great video. Just a pity that someone in You-tubey internet-land felt he had to rename it as "Plane flyover city skyscraper in Sydney", as it is the Riverfire flyovers from Brisbane that I posted back in October... He obviously thought that people in a global audience have only ever heard of Sydney

It's one of those strange things in economics. If one person does it, it's a good thing. If everyone does it, does the same hold true ? If one slashes the entire CBD office demand by 75%, so that 75% of the office space is no longer needed, stands empty and the developers of 3 out 4 buildings go bust - passing the pain onto the banks holding the mortgage. Probably not a nice scenario to be in, and certainly won't be a pleasant neighbourhood to walk through at night.

Similar scenes in Sydney I gather, loads of AirBnB's being dropped into the normal renting pool due to total lack of tourists, so rentals are being dropped drastically. Some suburbs with different property demand drivers will be impacted less though, areas which are catchments for exceptionally good state (i.e. free) schools tend to be sheltered from the highs and lows.

I think you are right in theory, but I also gather that freighters are in high demand at the moment. So any capacity will get used. I think the Antonovs have pretty large crews, with multiple flight engineers and loadmasters. The demand is so strong Airbus are offering a way to convert normal passenger planes into half-baked temporary-freighters. https://www.flightglobal.com/air-transport/a350s-become-freighters-through-airbus-pallet-for-seat-swap/138161.article

All the best LWB. Although SAA was on it's own self-inflicted trajectory, the airline industry world-wide is disrupted. The online news here in Aus recently ran a story about Qantas captains who have taken temp jobs as supermarket cashiers and construction traffic controllers to give themselves a reason to get up in the morning. https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/coronavirus-pilot-becomes-traffic-controller-after-qantas-stood-him-down-during-covid19-pandemic/5fd27e03-c675-423d-a215-fcfac0a3703b

You may have mentioned it in the previous 268 pages, but why the sale if I may ask - moving area or ridding of an albatross ?