New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[intern]

Well, some people seem to be surprised that businesses are, well, businesses and not charities. 

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/121391205/coronavirus-mackenzie-mayor-attacks-hotel-closures-and-tourism-job-cuts

Staggering, isn't it.

 

And now we are seeing figures from Sweden - a sampler: Of the entire population 50 or over, less than 0.065% has died of Covid19.

[intern]

So, remind me again why we destroyed our economy and trialed totalitarianism?

 

And now there's this (either Hamish Rutherford or Hamish quoting David Seymour):

"The Government's refusal to release the advice it used as the basis of its decision to place New Zealand into a highly restrictive lockdown is coming close to an abuse of the extraordinary trust the public has granted it."

[intern]

In other words, the government isn't confident the advice it was given will stand up to scrutiny. Remember, this is the same government which, when Ardern was anointed by Winston Peters, said it would be the most open and transparent government ever.

There's a bottom line emerging here. In the final analysis, we'll discover that very few people die from COVID, most who have had it won't even know they had it at all, and only those who are hospitalised and or are sick enough will be tested, creating a self-selecting group.

Compare to flu (and yes I know that's a risky one). Normal flu season sweeps up some 800 New Zealanders every year. My 35 year old healthy neighbour was very nearly one of those last year.

Let's say there are 1600 people who have the flu bad enough to require hospitalisation.

Does this mean the case fatality rate for the flu is 50%?

Of course not.

So apply the same logic to the WuFlu and what do you get? Mass death? Or a disease that Swedish numbers seem to indicate better than 99.9 percent will recover from.

 

This whole thing is a ffing disaster of epic proportions, and the juice most definitely wasn't worth the squeeze. This will become apparent only when people feel their own pocket pinched, because we all only feel our own pain. Until then, the Labour love in will continue...but money has a habit of running out real fast, so I think September is a bridge too far for them.

 

Great piece by Damien Grant in Stuff, too, if you're interested: 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121362657/simon-bridges-qualified-to-tear-down-most-popular-prime-minister-in-a-generation

[patches]

This may not equate to the protests going on in the US and all that, but I undertook my own mini-act of civil disobedience this weekend.

 

...I didn't wait for my appointed Bunnings collection time   

I drove past, saw there was an open bay, so drove in, acted natural, and collected 30hrs earlier than they wanted me to 

The funny thing is, that living in SA I was used to having to do such things just to keep up with life there. After some time in NZ such a small breaking of a "rule" makes me feel somewhat rebellious, and I don't know if that is just because I have become accustomed to a generally more law abiding population, or because the lockdown has "every person a policeman"

[intern]

This may not equate to the protests going on in the US and all that, but I undertook my own mini-act of civil disobedience this weekend.

 

...I didn't wait for my appointed Bunnings collection time   

 

I drove past, saw there was an open bay, so drove in, acted natural, and collected 30hrs earlier than they wanted me to 

 

The funny thing is, that living in SA I was used to having to do such things just to keep up with life there. After some time in NZ such a small breaking of a "rule" makes me feel somewhat rebellious, and I don't know if that is just because I have become accustomed to a generally more law abiding population, or because the lockdown has "every person a policeman"

 

I totally broke Level 3 this past weekend. I hung out with my mate Grant and his family, we had a braai (pizza on the weber). Then I've hung out with my neighbour Tau and his daughter has been coming over to look after my boys for the past week while me and the Mrs go dirt biking down at Coastlands/Thornton (you're going to have to come Patches, you'll love it). And even when I visited the vet because my dog is unwell, I handed him the dog's medication and neither of us was wearing gloves.

Around the country, people everywhere are breaking cover in their own small ways. Totalitarianism might feel kinda nice and even necessary for a short while. But people's patience only goes so far and it doesn't take much or long before people get bored or start asking the questions they should have been asking from the start.

Like, for example, why and how are Maori roadblocks permissible? Or is it legal for the police and the government to quarantine healthy people and close their businesses? Or is it worth destroying the economy to save a few hundred or a few thousand lives?

May you live in interesting times - so goes the Chinese curse. And oh boy, do we.

[Wayne Potgieter]

This whole click and collect thing is bonkers - at least, Torpedo7's version of it.

 

I am urgently looking for an ANT+ usb adapter.

 

Torpedo7 are the only ones with stock. I do an online order and a banner pops up on the site saying that if I want it sooner, I should consider click and collect. Given that I am ordering it on Saturday at 7am, i figure, that would work. I place the order.

 

By sunday afternoon, I have heard nothing so I contact Torpedo7 to find out whats going on. They tell me that the device is sitting at the despatch centre to be couriered to the nearedt branch and then they will contact me to collect.

 

The despatch centre is physically located less than 1 km from the branch. 

 

So the item timeline is:

 

Order Saturday.

Despatch overnight on Monday to travel 1km

Unpack and arrange collection by Tuesday Afternoon

Collect Wednesday.

 

How exactly is that faster than just having it couriered directly? 

 

I dont like being mislead by big corporates and have cancelled my order out of sheer childish spite.

[intern]

This whole click and collect thing is bonkers - at least, Torpedo7's version of it.

 

I am urgently looking for an ANT+ usb adapter.

 

Torpedo7 are the only ones with stock. I do an online order and a banner pops up on the site saying that if I want it sooner, I should consider click and collect. Given that I am ordering it on Saturday at 7am, i figure, that would work. I place the order.

 

By sunday afternoon, I have heard nothing so I contact Torpedo7 to find out whats going on. They tell me that the device is sitting at the despatch centre to be couriered to the nearedt branch and then they will contact me to collect.

 

The despatch centre is physically located less than 1 km from the branch. 

 

So the item timeline is:

 

Order Saturday.

Despatch overnight on Monday to travel 1km

Unpack and arrange collection by Tuesday Afternoon

Collect Wednesday.

 

How exactly is that faster than just having it couriered directly? 

 

I dont like being mislead by big corporates and have cancelled my order out of sheer childish spite.

 

 

Yeesh bru I still remember how you unleashed on Garmin for the poor quality Sapphire Crystal on your Fenix 5!

[intern]

But more to the point, they are figuring out 'new logistics' in our post kill-the-economy world...

[patches]

This whole click and collect thing is bonkers - at least, Torpedo7's version of it.

 

I am urgently looking for an ANT+ usb adapter.

 

Torpedo7 are the only ones with stock. I do an online order and a banner pops up on the site saying that if I want it sooner, I should consider click and collect. Given that I am ordering it on Saturday at 7am, i figure, that would work. I place the order.

 

By sunday afternoon, I have heard nothing so I contact Torpedo7 to find out whats going on. They tell me that the device is sitting at the despatch centre to be couriered to the nearedt branch and then they will contact me to collect.

 

The despatch centre is physically located less than 1 km from the branch. 

 

So the item timeline is:

 

Order Saturday.

Despatch overnight on Monday to travel 1km

Unpack and arrange collection by Tuesday Afternoon

Collect Wednesday.

 

How exactly is that faster than just having it couriered directly? 

 

I dont like being mislead by big corporates and have cancelled my order out of sheer childish spite.

 

 

Yeah, Bunnings was about as bad.

 

 

Thursday morning - Ordered

Friday morning  - they contact me saying 1 of the items was out of stock, all good, it was minor.

Saturday Morning - Nothing, so I call. they follow up and say the order is nerarly ready and will call me back shortly.

Saturday midday - Get an email saying I can book a collection time. Earliest spot available is Sunday 5pm. I decided screw that! Drove down straight away and got my stuff in a 15min round trip.

 

These days I'm an amateur tradie on weekends, no time to wait for tools!

[patches]

This past weekend's project...\

 

Before

 

 

Crappy old cabinetry and shelves, with a dead space on the right. Wanting something cleaner and more modern...

 

Concept & Planning

 

 

...so I modelled up a concept. First just a quick 3D one in AutoCAD

 

 

Then a more detailed structural drawing in Revit, showing what needs to be demolished (red), what stays, and what's new

 

 

Execution

 

Then I summoned my inner tradie. Ordered materials, rented a nail-gun, and justified the purchase of some more power tools (mitre saw and screw gun).


The "chop-shop"

 

I was ***-scared of this thing at first, but got the hang of it.

 

Framing done!


Gib fixed in place.

So yeah, despite the crappy weather this weekend, I managed to keep myself busy.

 

Next weekend is plastering/gib stopping.

 

But man, my body is feeling it. Being a tradie (and an amateur one) isn't for the weak

Edited May 3, 2020 by patches

[Wayne Potgieter]

ANyone have a dongle for me? 

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

 

But man, my body is feeling it. Being a tradie (and an amateur one) isn't for the weak

I bought my daughter a flat pack bunk bed.

 

My back was totalled after 6.5 hours of reading mandarin and building it.

 

#ifeelyourpain

[intern]

I bought my daughter a flat pack bunk bed.

 

My back was totalled after 6.5 hours of reading mandarin and building it.

 

#ifeelyourpain

Haaahhahahahahaahahaa thanks for the awesome belly laugh WP!!

[intern]

This past weekend's project...\

 

Before

 

IMG-20200404-WA0044.jpeg

 

Crappy old cabinetry and shelves, with a dead space on the right. Wanting something cleaner and more modern...

 

Concept & Planning

 

IMG-20200419-WA0007.jpeg

 

...so I modelled up a concept. First just a quick 3D one in AutoCAD

 

TV Area Concept Image.png

 

Then a more detailed structural drawing in Revit, showing what needs to be demolished (red), what stays, and what's new

 

Demolition SW View.png

New Wall SW View.png

 

Execution

 

Then I summoned my inner tradie. Ordered materials, rented a nail-gun, and justified the purchase of some more power tools (mitre saw and screw gun).

 

IMG-20200502-WA0006.jpg

The "chop-shop"

 

IMG-20200502-WA0019.jpg

I was ***-scared of this thing at first, but got the hang of it.

 

IMG-20200502-WA0012.jpg

Framing done!

 

IMG-20200503-WA0003.jpg

Gib fixed in place.

 

So yeah, despite the crappy weather this weekend, I managed to keep myself busy.

 

Next weekend is plastering/gib stopping.

 

But man, my body is feeling it. Being a tradie (and an amateur one) isn't for the weak

 

 

Bloody awesome. Love the engineers approach to DIY; were it me, there'd be no planning, just some seat of the pants stuff.

I have the same or similar AEG mitre saw. One of my favourite tools; when you need one, you really need one, and when you have one, you need it often.

[intern]

In anticipation of the coming economic bloodbath, I have listed my house for sale today. It is a reluctant move but if I can get a sale now, I will be pretty happy - and I will take 50k less for it than I might have expected to fetch 6 months prior.

[Wayne Potgieter]

In anticipation of the coming economic bloodbath, I have listed my house for sale today. It is a reluctant move but if I can get a sale now, I will be pretty happy - and I will take 50k less for it than I might have expected to fetch 6 months prior.

The Whakatane house?