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2013-05-22 02:18:55 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

A somewhat astonishing turn of events in the life of the NZ Constitution passes by almost unheralded, if you'll pardon the pun. What the hell people?

2013-05-22 02:18:31 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

A somewhat astonishing turn of events in the life of the NZ Constitution passes by almost unheralded, if you'll pardon the pun. What the hell people?

2013-05-21 22:25:12 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Update on my bed race campaign, complete with soundtrack. There's still time to donate! http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/BNIMetroAuckland/

2013-05-18 21:31:32 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Our team in training for www.greataucklandbedrace.co.nz - raising money for South Auckland Hospice. Race day is one week from now! If any of you feel so inclined you can visit our tumblr (http://bni-metro.tumblr.com) or our donations page (fundraiseonline.co.nz/BNIMetroAuckland/). Even better, if you're in Auckland you may want to show up on the day and watch us win :)

2013-05-18 21:30:30 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Our team in training for www.greataucklandbedrace.co.nz - raising money for South Auckland Hospice. Race day is one week from now! If any of you feel so inclined you can visit our tumblr (http://bni-metro.tumblr.com) or our donations page (fundraiseonline.co.nz/BNIMetroAuckland/). Even better, if you're in Auckland you may want to show up on the day and watch us win :)

2013-05-16 01:42:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I'm fundraising again. Yes, about every two years I get roped into doing something for someone else. It's a drag, but I gotta keep up appearances.

Right now I'm raising money for Hospice. I'm the lynchpin of a team of dedicated runners in the Great Auckland Bed Race, which is occurring in just over a week. You can learn more about our efforts on our team blog (http://bni-metro.tumblr.com), or simply give us money by heading to http://fundraiseonline.co.nz/BNIMetroAuckland/

Hospice is a helluva worthy cause: so please pitch in if you can. Every bit counts.

2013-05-04 23:39:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Three days left in our membership offer at Kingsland Martial Arts: Join for 3 months, get a free uniform worth $80. If you ever wanted to learn a martial art, now's your chance.

2013-05-03 20:47:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

If we were to burn all of the known fuel reserves we have, global temperatures would rise to an unacceptable level. So what are we (oil companies and our governments) doing? We're out looking for more reserves.

2013-05-02 21:28:37 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

Just quietly, I've been working on this little beauty for the last few months. Getting the media queries right for the mobile version was a real trick. If you're in anyway theatrical, you might enjoy this:

2013-04-26 02:23:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

My insurance advisor, Michael Cave, is running a marathon next week, and he says he's only fundraising for a charity because it helps give him some motivation. I reckon it's because he's a big softie. Good on him. The charity is awesome (www.kidscan.org.nz) and deserves every cent. 

2013-04-24 04:14:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Colin Craig decides to test whether the Streisand Effect is some sort of magical make-believe by threatening political satire with legal action.

2013-04-24 03:16:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

For any Kiwis that haven't stumbled across The Civilian yet, I promise you this link will provide a good twenty minutes of sniggers, guffaws and possibly even the opportunity to laugh out loud. 

2013-04-24 03:12:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

+Philip Plait - nice to see your article crossing the oceans to appear in my local news stream this morning: 

2013-04-06 21:27:47 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I recently finished reading 'Karoo' by Steve Tesich. I found myself somewhat at sea by the end, but every page was a dense treat of humour and intelligence.

"Life, it seems, is not meaningless but, rather, so full of meaning that its meaning must be constantly murdered for the sake of cohesion and comprehension. For the sake of the storyline."

2013-04-06 18:24:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I thoroughly enjoyed this diagram and it's corresponding blog post, having recently had arguments with representatives of several intersections...

2013-04-01 23:19:01 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

My wonderful wife +Tawnee Sowman bought this for me the other day - a great blues album. This isn't any disrespect for Ben Harper, but listening to it I actually forgot it was Ben Harper.

2013-03-22 18:31:19 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Awesome post on the concept of "digital natives".

"Calling kids 'digital natives' seems to leave technology education up to forces of nature, as if kids are somehow going to learn how to properly use a computer by osmosis - much like we've done with sex education, and look at how that's turned out."

2013-03-22 18:00:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

From what I hear, it's going to be a seven-book cycle...

2013-03-07 08:14:53 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

It's all in the name
Why the national census causes me a crisis of identity

This week was the New Zealand Census. I think I've completed maybe four of these as an adult. Each time I do, I bridle at the 'ethnicity' question. It smacks of racism, and I can't help feeling I'm being asked what colour I am. Of course I know all of the arguments for collecting such data, and I've tried to intellectually accept it. But each time I read the question I nevertheless experience a gut-level distaste.

This year I decided I'd work out why I got that feeling. The answer that kept coming back to me? None of the available answers represents how I feel about my place in this society. The term 'ethnicity' is itself a euphemism and I don't believe it can be accurately or scientifically ascribed by anyone. It refers more to the cultural group we... more »

2013-03-07 07:52:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

"Bankers profit when times are good, and allow the public to bear the burden when times are bad"

The Icelandic president poses the obvious question: "Why would citizens of an enlightened democracy put up with this?" Iceland decided they wouldn't put up with it and they let the banks go bankrupt. Now their economy is booming again.

2013-03-03 07:12:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

If you're in Auckland, and you aren't vegetarian, you could do worse than Cazador. Meaty, retro, relaxed, all in one.

2013-03-03 06:46:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wealth inequality on this scale is criminal, in any country.
#economics  

2013-02-23 01:06:38 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Herewith my brother tries to paint his drinking in a positive light, to which I heartily raise a glass. I'm with him on the FDR Martini. It's only 1pm, but I've just returned from a children's birthday party at McDonalds. Fortification is exactly what I need.

2013-02-07 05:03:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

We're at war with ourselves, and never more together
or...why I love Waitangi day

Yesterday was Waitangi day. For those of you that are not New Zealanders, it's often considered our 'national day' - commemorating the signing of the treaty of Waitangi in 1840 which brought Maori tribes and the colonising people together, ostensibly, as one nation. And yet every Waitangi day is fraught with politics and argument, protests, thinly veiled racism and hurt feelings of national pride.

So you'd be forgiven for being confused when I say that nothing makes me more proud to be a Kiwi than this troubled national holiday. That's because it's an honest expression of our feelings toward each other, from recent to not so recent migrants: as a nation, we don't take each other, and our nationality, for granted.

As one commentator put it,... more »

2013-02-02 17:24:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

In stark contrast to NZ where we provide helicopters and police with automatic weapons to arrest somebody for copying files on a computer.

2013-02-01 06:51:38 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

I'm usually the guy ordering the engineer to solve the impossible problem:

2013-01-30 00:25:00 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Online newspaper readership has been revised downwards, it seems, which doesn't surprise me because there are usually far better sources of news online than newspaper websites...which are usually reprints of AP or Reuters stories with some local chaff thrown-in.

2013-01-26 21:05:34 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The 28th of February this year is 'Rare Disease Day' (in NZ at least) and to be honest, I don't think I've ever previously noticed. However, now that I have a rare disease self-interest has kicked in ;)

I'm trying to think of something I can do that is low-key but which contributes in some way. Any ideas?

2013-01-25 09:10:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Auckland Seminar - March 2, 2013. 

2013-01-25 09:07:31 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

As a designer and Google consumer, I've been following this process keenly - the article paints a picture of a sort of 'distributed design' process, where a given set of constraints produces a consistent set of results:

2013-01-25 07:45:44 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Social media participation is a reflection of one's sociability. I'm acutely aware that I've made few contributions to the discussions of others over the last month, and few posts of my own. I could blame the fact that it's summer, I've been on holiday and I haven't opened the laptop: but in actual fact I've been online a great deal and have also been reading a great deal - particularly from posts here on G+. In effect, I've spent the last month as nothing but a lurker.

This is a state of being that brings into question, for me, the validity of many measures of social media participation: I know plenty of people that share this passive relationship with social media platforms, adding little to 'engagement' stats.

I try not write about social media as I find discussing such platforms, while using them, particularly inane. But i've become... more »

2013-01-25 07:26:16 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

In other news, Gareth Morgan applies for new position as the official heckler of the NZ public.

2013-01-21 18:00:18 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

How about ranking degrees by their contribution to society instead (would we have fewer law graduates?)

2013-01-19 06:44:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

There's an orange sun in the sky, filtered through the millions of small pieces of a burning Australia floating over my head. It's a strange feeling ;)

2012-12-17 05:50:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Nicely put together, Google.

2012-12-15 19:18:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Wow, creative ad Google!

#googlemaps   #iphone   #ios  

2012-12-14 22:40:28 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Just bottled: a very drinkable and rather intoxicating Feijoa wine, from our bumper crop of feijoas in March this year - all dressed up and ready to be sent on their way to friends and family as a Christmas tipple. Normally, pre-pending the words "Avondale's finest" to anything isn't the most confident statement of quality - but I think it adds some local flavour, so to speak.

2012-12-14 22:35:41 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Just bottled: a very drinkable and rather intoxicating Feijoa wine, from our bumper crop of feijoas in March this year - all dressed up and ready to be sent on their way to friends and family as a Christmas tipple. Normally, pre-pending the words "Avondale's finest" to anything isn't the most confident statement of quality - but I think it adds some local flavour, so to speak.

2012-12-14 18:18:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2012-12-14 01:22:03 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

New Zealand, it's not just about #Hobbits  , ooooh no ...

2012-12-04 06:05:58 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

I'm a New Zealander. Our Government is currently considering following Australia's lead and forcing cigarette companies to sell their product in plain packaging. I'm personally in favour of the idea, but leaving that aside, it was brought to my attention this morning the effect that such a decision might have in light of the TPP negotiations currently happening in my home city of Auckland.

Imagine that the NZ government does decide to enforce plain packaging for cigarette companies. We pass a law to that effect. Not everyone likes it, but that's democracy in action and for the good of our health we roll with it.

Imagine that tobacco companies then decide we've hurt their profits, and are legally supported in their right to claim those profits from our Government by taking us to court, not in NZ, but offshore.

Then imagine this ridiculous scenario applied... more »

2012-12-02 07:19:26 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Princess Bride Photo Shoot: 25 Years Later

2012-12-02 06:16:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

The awesome new Project Sputnik developer laptop, the Ubuntu-powered Dell XPS 13, is now $100 cheaper making it cheaper than the Windows version - be sure to grab one at http://www.dell.com/us/soho/p/xps-13-linux/pd.aspx - it is a stunning laptop.

2012-11-23 20:24:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

2012-11-23 20:16:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Last week I received a phone call from the secretary of a National list MP. She asked to set-up an appointment between Mr Goldsmith and myself. I assumed he needed some web development work, which is why I normally meet with people, but he instead turned up to politic for an hour - perhaps he thought I was influential in his electorate (though that would be flattering myself, and thanks to the fact he took a dive at the last election to allow John Banks into parliament, he doesn't really have an electorate - something he quite surprisingly raised by himself at the start of the meeting.) Maybe he just doesn't have enough work to do on his budget committee ;) I'm considering sending his office an invoice for the consultation.

I did use the opportunity, however, to make my feelings on the TPP clear. He seemed....non-plussed by my tirade. To his credit, he took notes. Find out more about... more »

2012-11-12 09:42:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

This is for +Tawnee Sowman  and the other Kiwi teachers out there - US teachers being demonised as the problem in education when not enough students pass the standardised tests, even when they're inspiring students and achieving excellent, even record-breaking results. Hey, maybe we should do the same in NZ! What could possibly go wrong?

The bit about teachers is at 13:32 onwards...

2012-11-10 23:47:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

"I've been thinking a lot about the concept of whether or not human evolution is a story of brains over brawn. I study the evolution of the human body and how and why the human body is the way it is, and I've worked a lot on both ends of the body. I'm very interested in feet and barefoot running and how our feet function, but I've also written and thought a lot about how and why our heads are the way they are. The more I study feet and heads, the more I realize that what's in the middle also matters, and that we have this very strange idea —it goes back to mythology—that human evolution is primarily a story about brains, about intelligence, about technology triumphing over brawn."

2012-10-30 20:03:18 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Money and politics

2012-10-29 02:18:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Random Penguins!

2012-10-26 06:41:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Sir David Attenborough says scientists and environmentalists have been cautious of overstating the dangers of global warming, but recent evidence of melting polar caps shows the situation is worse than had been thought. He also discusses population growth and disappearing habitats

• You can listen to a longer version of this interview at http://guardian.co.uk/scienceweekly on Monday 29 October