People must have gone mad during this year's celebrations of Saturnalia. To a certain extent I agree with the following writer on the subject:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/jk-rowling-cancelled-woke-outrage-mob-saying-biological-sex-real
"Rowling being cancelled is particularly ironic given that she has thrown her weight behind virtually every ludicrous ‘woke’ crusade in recent years, including by claiming that her character Hermione was black despite her being described as having a “white face” in the Harry Potter books."
What was Rowling's crime? Saying this in defense of Maya Forstater who lost her court case, brought by Forstater after losing her job for having alleged transphobic views:
Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?
With any set of views there are bound to be those more extreme than others. Clearly, Rowling was attempting to be more reasonable, and ended up being shouted down by those who took exception. The internet has always been a bit of a shouting match, but often that shouting takes place in a sealed room, with the sound not emitting to the wider world. The result is people end up shouting at one another, with not a single thing being changed as a result. I think this will be one such case.
For Rowling, this will have been an experience she won't forget. But she hasn't destroyed the left, c'mon, that was far more effectively managed by Jeremy Corbyn and his crew of ex student politicians turned Labour fruit-loops. Rowling wrote a ripping yarn and should be celebrated for it, she made a bundle, justly deserved. What she thinks about a subject, well, debate her on it if she's willing to listen, if not, leave her alone. We are all entitled to a bit of peace and civility.
December 22, 2019
December 17, 2019
New Zealand's Top 50 Plank list of 2019
The Planks of 2019. What is a plank? Ask yourself when reading the name, plank or not? If yes, they're a plank (this is all NZers apart from two mentions at the bottom).
1. Mike Hosking 2. Helen Clark 3. The Blues 4. Jason Kerrison 5. Iain Lees-Galloway 6. Matthew Hooton 7. Kim Hill 8. John Key 9. Clarke Gayford 10. Fletcher Building
11. Russell Crowe 12. Duncan Garner 13. Tau Henare 14. Mark Richardson 15. Eric Watson 16. Lisa Prager 17. Lianne Dalziel 18. The Breakers 19. Jack Tame 20. Jesse Mulligan
21. Peter Thiel 22. The Warriors 23. Sam Neill 24. Lorde 25. Nick Smith 26. Clare Curran 27. Dan Corbett 28. John Campbell 29. Judith Collins 30. NZRU
31. Russel Norman
32. Auckland City Council
33. NZ Bus 34. Shane Jones 35. Heather du Plessis-Allan 36. Bryce Edwards 37. David Farrar 38. Lizzie Marvelly 39. Chris Trotter 40. Auckland Grammar
41. Justin Lester 42. Colin Craig 43. Trevor Mallard 44. Air NZ 45. David Seymour 46. Simon Barnett 47. Patrick Gower 48. NZ Herald 49. Aussie Banks 50. Guy Williams
Badge of Distinction for non-New Zealander: Scott Morrison
Honourable non-New Zealander mention: Elon Musk
1. Mike Hosking 2. Helen Clark 3. The Blues 4. Jason Kerrison 5. Iain Lees-Galloway 6. Matthew Hooton 7. Kim Hill 8. John Key 9. Clarke Gayford 10. Fletcher Building
11. Russell Crowe 12. Duncan Garner 13. Tau Henare 14. Mark Richardson 15. Eric Watson 16. Lisa Prager 17. Lianne Dalziel 18. The Breakers 19. Jack Tame 20. Jesse Mulligan
21. Peter Thiel 22. The Warriors 23. Sam Neill 24. Lorde 25. Nick Smith 26. Clare Curran 27. Dan Corbett 28. John Campbell 29. Judith Collins 30. NZRU
31. Russel Norman
32. Auckland City Council
33. NZ Bus 34. Shane Jones 35. Heather du Plessis-Allan 36. Bryce Edwards 37. David Farrar 38. Lizzie Marvelly 39. Chris Trotter 40. Auckland Grammar
41. Justin Lester 42. Colin Craig 43. Trevor Mallard 44. Air NZ 45. David Seymour 46. Simon Barnett 47. Patrick Gower 48. NZ Herald 49. Aussie Banks 50. Guy Williams
Badge of Distinction for non-New Zealander: Scott Morrison
Honourable non-New Zealander mention: Elon Musk
December 16, 2019
Merry Saturnalia
December 17th is the Roman festival of Saturnalia, today we call it Christmas.
Why is Christmas December 25th? Over time, Saturnalia grew until it occupied most of December. Somehow Christmas was changed into a date closer to the end of the month rather than in the middle of it.
Read about Saturnalia here: https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/how-did-the-romans-celebrate-christmas/
When did Christmas start to replace Saturnalia? The earliest references to a celebration we'd identify as Christmas, occurred in Rome in the 4th century.
Why is Christmas December 25th? Over time, Saturnalia grew until it occupied most of December. Somehow Christmas was changed into a date closer to the end of the month rather than in the middle of it.
Read about Saturnalia here: https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/how-did-the-romans-celebrate-christmas/
When did Christmas start to replace Saturnalia? The earliest references to a celebration we'd identify as Christmas, occurred in Rome in the 4th century.
December 13, 2019
UK Election Result 2019
A stunning win then for the Conservative party in the UK General Election. Surely this must put to rest any doubt over Brexit. Areas that voted Leave in the EU referendum, have swung to Conservative. The Brexit party played a part, taking votes away from Labour and acting the spoiler, making it possible for Conservative to come through the middle.
Jeremy Corbyn is a good campaigner, but his message was too confused for people to digest. Johnson kept it simple and avoided tricky questions. He was pilloried over "Fridgegate" but it hasn't hurt him (this was where he hid in a chiller to avoid a journalist).
Jo Swinson lost her seat so the Liberal Democrats will need a new leader. They'll be soul searching. The Scottish National Party have made gains but they'll largely be irrelevant as the Conservatives can govern alone. The same for parties in Northern Ireland.
Now the UK has to buckle down and get the job done. Leave the EU and sooner rather than later. Labour will learn, under new leadership and with Brexit embraced they can win support for their campaign to save the NHS. Labour will be back but Johnson now has 5 years to enjoy. He'll be a happy man tonight.
Jeremy Corbyn is a good campaigner, but his message was too confused for people to digest. Johnson kept it simple and avoided tricky questions. He was pilloried over "Fridgegate" but it hasn't hurt him (this was where he hid in a chiller to avoid a journalist).
Jo Swinson lost her seat so the Liberal Democrats will need a new leader. They'll be soul searching. The Scottish National Party have made gains but they'll largely be irrelevant as the Conservatives can govern alone. The same for parties in Northern Ireland.
Now the UK has to buckle down and get the job done. Leave the EU and sooner rather than later. Labour will learn, under new leadership and with Brexit embraced they can win support for their campaign to save the NHS. Labour will be back but Johnson now has 5 years to enjoy. He'll be a happy man tonight.
December 06, 2019
Basically Gmail is Rubbish
I mentioned before that gmail became slow when they upgraded last time. Things have improved but only slightly. Another problem I've encountered is that emails that have been read, or marked as read, will still be showing as unread when I next log in. That's annoying. And this problem persists too when I delete the email, it will still be there in my primary inbox, or social or promotions tab when I return. I've even gone into the bin and removed items from there as well, only to have them return on next log in.
I searched around and found various ideas on how to fix this glitch. None of them worked and I think they (gmail) don't want any of it to work, they want you in the site for as long as possible, that's what it's all about. I've mentioned this glitch to people and they've said they have the same issue.
It's bloody dishonest of Google to allow such a thing; Yahoo and Outlook/Hotmail do not stoop this low. As a consequence I rarely use gmail, it is only used for some things.
I searched around and found various ideas on how to fix this glitch. None of them worked and I think they (gmail) don't want any of it to work, they want you in the site for as long as possible, that's what it's all about. I've mentioned this glitch to people and they've said they have the same issue.
It's bloody dishonest of Google to allow such a thing; Yahoo and Outlook/Hotmail do not stoop this low. As a consequence I rarely use gmail, it is only used for some things.
December 05, 2019
New Zealand Glaciers Turn Pink
The Australian bushfires have turned New Zealand glaciers red and pink. The dust from the fires has crossed the Tasman sea and settled on the glaciers.
Clearly as these glaciers are now darker in colour, they'll attract light and so melt faster (white reflects light). GCC is likely to accelerate due to these factors, namely, unforeseen effects causing more change.
Clearly as these glaciers are now darker in colour, they'll attract light and so melt faster (white reflects light). GCC is likely to accelerate due to these factors, namely, unforeseen effects causing more change.
December 02, 2019
Meat-based Meat
Another idea; a lot of talk about plant-based meat. What about meat-based meat. Meat carries with it a lot of energy in a small quantity, that's why humans are omnivores. If they were herbivores they'd spend all day eating plants and have no time left to do anything else. Eating meat is the answer. This is criticised as inefficient but it really isn't, that's why humans domesticated wild animals and started farming.
Lecture over, here's the idea. You have a factory growing beef. It works like a giant sausage factory except the factory grows the meat from basic ingredients. No, I'm not talking about feed lots, this is a factory growing the meat and then you lop off the end product and sell the steaks. When I put this idea to someone they reacted by calling the factory a giant womb, and that's the idea. The brain would be a computer controlling all the inputs. It would also produce fertiliser as a byproduct and it could capture methane (farts and belching) thus preventing greenhouse emissions. What do you think?
Lecture over, here's the idea. You have a factory growing beef. It works like a giant sausage factory except the factory grows the meat from basic ingredients. No, I'm not talking about feed lots, this is a factory growing the meat and then you lop off the end product and sell the steaks. When I put this idea to someone they reacted by calling the factory a giant womb, and that's the idea. The brain would be a computer controlling all the inputs. It would also produce fertiliser as a byproduct and it could capture methane (farts and belching) thus preventing greenhouse emissions. What do you think?
December 01, 2019
Global Climate Change - Carbon Dioxide Sequestration
Here's an idea. Australia has a lot of barren land, otherwise known as desert. Cover the desert in trees or plants and you've got a big carbon sink. So, cover the place in plants.
But wait, I hear you say, the roots would need water. They would and this idea would require some serious engineering. To begin with; plants that take large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air and deposit it deep in the soil. But at the same time, plants that require minuscule amounts of water.
Then where does the water come from? New Zealand's west coast of the South Island. The coast is the wettest place on planet earth. Then ship that water to Australia and feed it into a trickle irrigation system to keep the plants alive.
See where I'm going with this? Australia has the land, NZ the water. Australia pays NZ for the water, and the earth pays Australia for the carbon sequestration.
But wait, I hear you say, the roots would need water. They would and this idea would require some serious engineering. To begin with; plants that take large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the air and deposit it deep in the soil. But at the same time, plants that require minuscule amounts of water.
Then where does the water come from? New Zealand's west coast of the South Island. The coast is the wettest place on planet earth. Then ship that water to Australia and feed it into a trickle irrigation system to keep the plants alive.
See where I'm going with this? Australia has the land, NZ the water. Australia pays NZ for the water, and the earth pays Australia for the carbon sequestration.