Two things making the news right now, ever increasing house prices, especially in Auckland, and the plunging milk price paid to dairy farmers.
Is it Chinese buyers bidding up house prices? Well I think, only partly, in a broader sense it's everyone buying houses, not just the one ethnic group of immigrants and investors.
What I think is going on is monetary inflation, or something akin to that, with money brought in by the banks, not just investors. If you look around the world most developed economies offer very low returns, while others such as Greece are actually bust. In NZ returns are much higher, so the banks look to shift their funds from low interest countries to places like NZ, and the result is funds available for lending to everyone. That means more money available chasing the same number of houses, equalling a general rise in house prices.
We are all recipients of this, particularly when we sell our houses at inflated values. The safety valve of sorts is that a large proportion of those sale proceeds heads to Australia, particularly the Gold Coast.
There is no easy fix here. If NZers are stopped from house trading then the result for the NZ economy will be dire. The house price inflation is just about all that is holding things up. To a certain extent NZ is like a drug addict, hooked on the banks supply.
A possible solution would be controls on the inflows and outflows of foreign exchange. A return to the seventies. It may have to happen.
Then we have the milk export price farmers receive. Something not pointed out but I think is relevant; what happened to world population, did they suddenly stop eating? Hmm? No they didn't, so the drop in NZ milk export price must mean global supply has increased.
What did you think New Zealand, did you think the rest of the world would be prepared to sit there paying for your milk rather than make it themselves and much cheaper? The big buyers, like China, aren't sitting round twiddling their thumbs, they're setting up farms at much lower cost than in NZ and producing milk at home and in South America, Africa, Asia, even the USA.
Further complicating this is the ban by Russia on imports from the EU. Dairy makes up a large proportion of that volume and now the EU are dumping their output anywhere they can find a buyer, directly competing with good old NZ.
Here yet again, is another lesson NZ fails to heed. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. NZ gets carried away on the latest big thing, and forgets we need a balanced, diversified and developed economy, making products with real value, middle and high tech, the lot. If we fail to develop, then we're going to see more boom and bust.
August 08, 2015
August 05, 2015
SETI Alien Discovery Getting Closer
The below link outlines the new Wow signal and the hint that, possibly, maybe, aliens do exist...
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1000282/pg1
We are all familiar by now with 1977's Wow signal, the problem being of course, it has never been detected again.
Now this new Wow signal comes along to tease us.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1000282/pg1
We are all familiar by now with 1977's Wow signal, the problem being of course, it has never been detected again.
Now this new Wow signal comes along to tease us.
July 07, 2015
New Basketball
I've played and coached basketball all my life. I grew up in a town called Nelson at the top of the South Island in New Zealand where it isn't rugby that is king - it is basketball.
Having said that, I'd like to revamp the game, making changes to open the flow and at the same time reward height and defence. Yes, you heard right. I think with the way things stand right now, height isn't rewarded, the three point line is in the wrong place, and defence is penalised.
My NEW basketball.
Four quarters of 8 minutes each, stop clock play. No zone defence allowed. 5 second back court, 22 second shot clock, no reset of shot clock unless a shot is taken that hits the rim or backboard.
Use the NBA ball or brown leather, no coloured panels or red, white and blue. Multi coloured clothing allowed, FIBA rules in this regard are restrictive.
The hotspot or restricted area shrinks to line up with the outside dimensions of the backboard. Hotspot time shortened to 2 seconds. Do away with the no charge zone.
Shots from inside the hotspot count 1 point unless a dunk, which is 2 points. Shots from outside the hotspot but inside the three point line count 2 points. Layups, put backs, tip ins are all 1 point, as is any other shot not a dunk from within the now shrunken restricted (hotspot) area. A dunk is a downward shot placing the ball into the basket while the wrist(s) remain above the rim. Jams would count for one point as that means the ball travels upward at some point in its flight, they are not a real dunk.
Move the three point line out six inches beyond the NBA line to 22'6" in the corner and at the arc 24'3". Beyond that line score 3 points.
Introduce a four point line which would be across the court and line up with the outer perimeter of the centre circle. Shots behind that line count 4 points, 5 points if inside the centre circle and in the front court. Behind the centre line, 6 points but the ball must be legally in the back court.
What this does is reward shots, height and defence. To mitigate the extra points that can be scored by long shots, I allow goal tending, which is deflecting or catching the ball in free flight toward the basket ( even if moving downward to the goal ). Any touch of the net, backboard, rim, or putting the hand up under and through the basket to deflect a shot would be still disallowed.
Substitutions do not occur through game stoppage. Players enter the court inside the four point line area, and a player must have left the court with both feet outside the line before his replacement can enter. Breaking this rule results in a technical foul, two shots and the ball back at halfway for the non-offending team. But like handball, players can run on and off. You get a much faster game this way guys.
Jump off to start each quarter and any tied possession. None of this NCAA and FIBA direction arrow nonsense. Defence is rewarded. The jump ball at second and third quarter time to occur nearest where play stopped, while at the start of the game and after half-time the jump occurs at the centre circle.
Held ball 4 seconds.
Dribbling strictly enforced with only downward pressure acceptable. Most dribbling today is carry ball.
Travel strictly enforced. Many players travel today.
Two referees in general play, the third manages substitutions, the four point line and beyond.
One time out allowed per team in each quarter lasting 45 seconds. Play resumes with an inbound pass from where play ceased when the time out was requested. None of this advancing the ball to centre court.
Half time 2 minutes, 1 minute between quarters. Extra time 3 minutes 30 seconds.
Fouls - Six allowed for each player but any unsportsmanlike or individual technical foul disqualifies that player from the game altogether ( removed from the game on committing the seventh foul or when unsportsmanlike or technical ). No team foul rule resulting in shots, if a team commits more than eleven fouls in a quarter, they lose a player on the court (down to four) for the rest of the quarter and if within two minutes of the end then the quarter following, and another player for every three fouls after that.
Ten players on a team. Five on the court at any one time.
I'd consider raising the ring six inches, and increasing the size of the ball for men a tad. Women stay with the ball they use now but maybe lower the ring six inches.
What do you think?
Pictured below is a rough diagram of what the court would look like, on the left my dimensions ( maybe showing the three point too far out ), and compare with the NBA court on the right. The four point/substitution area is also drawn. The area in blue is 1 point unless a dunk, outside there and before the three point line 2 points, then 3 behind the three point line, 4 within the substitution area and 5 from inside the centre circle in the front court, 6 anywhere legally behind the half way mark. Only allowed in the blue area for 2 seconds.
Having said that, I'd like to revamp the game, making changes to open the flow and at the same time reward height and defence. Yes, you heard right. I think with the way things stand right now, height isn't rewarded, the three point line is in the wrong place, and defence is penalised.
My NEW basketball.
Four quarters of 8 minutes each, stop clock play. No zone defence allowed. 5 second back court, 22 second shot clock, no reset of shot clock unless a shot is taken that hits the rim or backboard.
Use the NBA ball or brown leather, no coloured panels or red, white and blue. Multi coloured clothing allowed, FIBA rules in this regard are restrictive.
The hotspot or restricted area shrinks to line up with the outside dimensions of the backboard. Hotspot time shortened to 2 seconds. Do away with the no charge zone.
Shots from inside the hotspot count 1 point unless a dunk, which is 2 points. Shots from outside the hotspot but inside the three point line count 2 points. Layups, put backs, tip ins are all 1 point, as is any other shot not a dunk from within the now shrunken restricted (hotspot) area. A dunk is a downward shot placing the ball into the basket while the wrist(s) remain above the rim. Jams would count for one point as that means the ball travels upward at some point in its flight, they are not a real dunk.
Move the three point line out six inches beyond the NBA line to 22'6" in the corner and at the arc 24'3". Beyond that line score 3 points.
Introduce a four point line which would be across the court and line up with the outer perimeter of the centre circle. Shots behind that line count 4 points, 5 points if inside the centre circle and in the front court. Behind the centre line, 6 points but the ball must be legally in the back court.
What this does is reward shots, height and defence. To mitigate the extra points that can be scored by long shots, I allow goal tending, which is deflecting or catching the ball in free flight toward the basket ( even if moving downward to the goal ). Any touch of the net, backboard, rim, or putting the hand up under and through the basket to deflect a shot would be still disallowed.
Substitutions do not occur through game stoppage. Players enter the court inside the four point line area, and a player must have left the court with both feet outside the line before his replacement can enter. Breaking this rule results in a technical foul, two shots and the ball back at halfway for the non-offending team. But like handball, players can run on and off. You get a much faster game this way guys.
Jump off to start each quarter and any tied possession. None of this NCAA and FIBA direction arrow nonsense. Defence is rewarded. The jump ball at second and third quarter time to occur nearest where play stopped, while at the start of the game and after half-time the jump occurs at the centre circle.
Held ball 4 seconds.
Dribbling strictly enforced with only downward pressure acceptable. Most dribbling today is carry ball.
Travel strictly enforced. Many players travel today.
Two referees in general play, the third manages substitutions, the four point line and beyond.
One time out allowed per team in each quarter lasting 45 seconds. Play resumes with an inbound pass from where play ceased when the time out was requested. None of this advancing the ball to centre court.
Half time 2 minutes, 1 minute between quarters. Extra time 3 minutes 30 seconds.
Fouls - Six allowed for each player but any unsportsmanlike or individual technical foul disqualifies that player from the game altogether ( removed from the game on committing the seventh foul or when unsportsmanlike or technical ). No team foul rule resulting in shots, if a team commits more than eleven fouls in a quarter, they lose a player on the court (down to four) for the rest of the quarter and if within two minutes of the end then the quarter following, and another player for every three fouls after that.
Ten players on a team. Five on the court at any one time.
I'd consider raising the ring six inches, and increasing the size of the ball for men a tad. Women stay with the ball they use now but maybe lower the ring six inches.
What do you think?
Pictured below is a rough diagram of what the court would look like, on the left my dimensions ( maybe showing the three point too far out ), and compare with the NBA court on the right. The four point/substitution area is also drawn. The area in blue is 1 point unless a dunk, outside there and before the three point line 2 points, then 3 behind the three point line, 4 within the substitution area and 5 from inside the centre circle in the front court, 6 anywhere legally behind the half way mark. Only allowed in the blue area for 2 seconds.
July 06, 2015
Re-inventing Athletics - Let's Make It Interesting
Hey guys, don't you find athletics boring? I enjoyed running cross-country but attending athletic events was a pain. I remember spending a whole afternoon waiting to see Hasely Crawford run ( he won of course ) and thought even then there had to be a better way.
First off, let's get rid of most of the distances competitors run and scrap all the current field events with the exception of one. My competition looks like this;
Foot race
No starting blocks.
50 metres sprint, starting at the 60 metre mark, runners line up in two parallel lines and go head-to-head like top fuel eliminators, winner to the next round, losers to a repechage. The top two times that are also winners in each round face one another in the final ( all losers can only be second or third at best ). The race is a flying 50 metres. No false starts, just are you fast, and the event takes place across two lanes while the field events are taking place.
Middle and longer distance - scratch and handicap
If handicapped the result is first across the line wins. If an event from scratch ( all start at the start and run the same distance ) then points are awarded for race performance.
Scratch 800 metres - first across the line at 400 metres scores a point, then points at the finish.
First - 4 points, Second - 2 points, Third - 1 point, Mid-race 1 point. In a tie mid-race decides.
Like this - a runner wins the race but he was at the back at the end of the first lap = 4 points.
Then the guy who comes second was second from last mid-race = 2 points
The guy who was third won the mid-race = 2 points.
Gold - 4 points
Silver - the person third across the line with the mid-race victory.
Bronze - the guy second across the line and second from last at the end of the first lap.
This structure prevents runners from hanging around the back and sprinting at the end. It rewards those who do well and try during the race.
Scratch 1600 metres - 4 laps - mid-race points scored at lap 2 and 3. This lets the field sort itself out during the first lap; 1 point each mid-race winner, first three across the line at the finish score.
First - 5 points, Second - 3 points, Third - 2 points, Mid-race - 1 point. If a competitor won both mid-race points and came second, he'd win the race as clearly he had done the best.
Scratch 3200 metres - 8 laps - mid-race points scored at 2,3,4,5,6. First across the line at lap 8 - 10 points, Second - 5 points, Third - 3 points.
Once again it is possible for those who make an effort mid-race to achieve a high place.
Finish outside the top 5 though and points wouldn't count. For points to count, the runner must finish in the top 5.
This structure keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, with something always happening.
The event could start with middle distance handicap, then scratch races, culminating in sprint eliminator with field events at the same time as the sprints.
Field events - scrap all current field events apart from the pole vault, which would be changed to jumping through a target window, which must be penetrated without touching the sides.
Basketball shooting - points scored 1, 2, 3, 5, 6; in one minute from pre-determined points.
Soccer kick accuracy - points scored for hitting the target at pre-determined points, more points scored the harder the kick, such as bending the ball around an obstacle.
Rugby passing - hit the target, suits all forms of hand-held ball sports. Once again more points from farther away and around an obstacle.
Standing jump, good for basketball and volleyball players and lineout jumpers, hit the tag with your hand, height raised until there is a winner.
Running jump - same as for standing but allowed a run up.
In all there are 6 field events, and 4 running distances meaning 8 events both scratch and handicap.
Relays could be held, say 50 + 1600 + 20 baskets at 20 feet + 800 metres.
A field event could be added I call a bat and ball biathlon, hitting and throwing a ball like a cricket or baseball, miss and they have to run a set distance - first across the line wins.
What do you think?
Famous races from history, how would they look if my system was used? Obviously races would be run differently, so bear that in mind, but just for arguments sake;
1976 1500 metres Montreal - the result stays the same but the winner John Walker scores 6 points as he won lap 3 and the finish. But the bronze would be in play as Eamon Coughlan came fourth but won a lap, if he'd taken another one he'd displace Wellman for third based on race performance.
1980 800 metres Moscow - the bronze would go to the Brazilian Agberto Guimaraes and not the Soviet runner Kirov. Guimaraes won the mid-race and came fourth ( remember my rule you have to be top five for the points to count ). This is fairer as the Brazilian ran a good race and did better, with the Soviet runner simply cashing in at the end.
First off, let's get rid of most of the distances competitors run and scrap all the current field events with the exception of one. My competition looks like this;
Foot race
No starting blocks.
50 metres sprint, starting at the 60 metre mark, runners line up in two parallel lines and go head-to-head like top fuel eliminators, winner to the next round, losers to a repechage. The top two times that are also winners in each round face one another in the final ( all losers can only be second or third at best ). The race is a flying 50 metres. No false starts, just are you fast, and the event takes place across two lanes while the field events are taking place.
Middle and longer distance - scratch and handicap
If handicapped the result is first across the line wins. If an event from scratch ( all start at the start and run the same distance ) then points are awarded for race performance.
Scratch 800 metres - first across the line at 400 metres scores a point, then points at the finish.
First - 4 points, Second - 2 points, Third - 1 point, Mid-race 1 point. In a tie mid-race decides.
Like this - a runner wins the race but he was at the back at the end of the first lap = 4 points.
Then the guy who comes second was second from last mid-race = 2 points
The guy who was third won the mid-race = 2 points.
Gold - 4 points
Silver - the person third across the line with the mid-race victory.
Bronze - the guy second across the line and second from last at the end of the first lap.
This structure prevents runners from hanging around the back and sprinting at the end. It rewards those who do well and try during the race.
Scratch 1600 metres - 4 laps - mid-race points scored at lap 2 and 3. This lets the field sort itself out during the first lap; 1 point each mid-race winner, first three across the line at the finish score.
First - 5 points, Second - 3 points, Third - 2 points, Mid-race - 1 point. If a competitor won both mid-race points and came second, he'd win the race as clearly he had done the best.
Scratch 3200 metres - 8 laps - mid-race points scored at 2,3,4,5,6. First across the line at lap 8 - 10 points, Second - 5 points, Third - 3 points.
Once again it is possible for those who make an effort mid-race to achieve a high place.
Finish outside the top 5 though and points wouldn't count. For points to count, the runner must finish in the top 5.
This structure keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, with something always happening.
The event could start with middle distance handicap, then scratch races, culminating in sprint eliminator with field events at the same time as the sprints.
Field events - scrap all current field events apart from the pole vault, which would be changed to jumping through a target window, which must be penetrated without touching the sides.
Basketball shooting - points scored 1, 2, 3, 5, 6; in one minute from pre-determined points.
Soccer kick accuracy - points scored for hitting the target at pre-determined points, more points scored the harder the kick, such as bending the ball around an obstacle.
Rugby passing - hit the target, suits all forms of hand-held ball sports. Once again more points from farther away and around an obstacle.
Standing jump, good for basketball and volleyball players and lineout jumpers, hit the tag with your hand, height raised until there is a winner.
Running jump - same as for standing but allowed a run up.
In all there are 6 field events, and 4 running distances meaning 8 events both scratch and handicap.
Relays could be held, say 50 + 1600 + 20 baskets at 20 feet + 800 metres.
A field event could be added I call a bat and ball biathlon, hitting and throwing a ball like a cricket or baseball, miss and they have to run a set distance - first across the line wins.
What do you think?
Famous races from history, how would they look if my system was used? Obviously races would be run differently, so bear that in mind, but just for arguments sake;
1976 1500 metres Montreal - the result stays the same but the winner John Walker scores 6 points as he won lap 3 and the finish. But the bronze would be in play as Eamon Coughlan came fourth but won a lap, if he'd taken another one he'd displace Wellman for third based on race performance.
1980 800 metres Moscow - the bronze would go to the Brazilian Agberto Guimaraes and not the Soviet runner Kirov. Guimaraes won the mid-race and came fourth ( remember my rule you have to be top five for the points to count ). This is fairer as the Brazilian ran a good race and did better, with the Soviet runner simply cashing in at the end.
June 12, 2015
Don't Take That Last Fateful Step
I have commented on the statutory safety framework for quarries in New Zealand on LinkedIn.... Please click the embedded link > > Quarry Operators New Zealand << This is in response to the tragic death of Murray Taylor, who died when rock fell on him in a quarry he leased from the local district council.
What I expect to now happen is hand-wringing, politicians grandstanding, but very little done to address the parlous safety culture within NZ's extractive industry.
The current system doesn't work. It is designed for medium to large quarrying operations with a management structure already in place. The smaller operators and farmers, of which there are thousands, are left out in the cold. If they hear about such a thing as a Certificate of Competence, they run a mile.
I have an idea....
The Regulatory Environment
What could be done is scale certification to the size of operation, so with a farm quarry or a sole operator with one or two staff, they attend a one day course on safety, dealing with the key reasons people are injured or killed (see how to create a safety culture below ).
Such a system would reach far more, and would get these guys on record. Then as their businesses grow they can advance further by adding to their competency, finally arriving at the A grade quarry manager certificate. By setting the hurdle so high, with the B grade certificate right from the start, many never try and so they end up expanding and often ignoring safety. Or far more likely, they do some things effectively but others they miss. Get them on board early, then work with them.
Creating A Safe Workplace Culture
Current certification deals mostly with physical things, such as machinery and geology, while in fact most accidents are caused by behavioural considerations - tiredness and sickness, recklessness, poor judgement, pressure to perform and the real biggie which most are simply unaware of - complacency. That's right, those things you get used to are the things that up and bite you on the arse.
Experienced guys get injured or killed when they're no longer scared. Scared is good, it means you'll be careful, watch out, watch others and if you have the right culture, watch each other and talk about things, like hazards and the real biggie - close calls. You need to internalise those close calls as well as have it out in the open.
It takes a big boss to bring this culture to the workplace. It means dis-empowering the manager to a certain extent and empowering the workers. If a guy says to the manager "I don't like the way that guy comes around behind me, he's too close and this morning I nearly backed in to him." What does the manager say in reply?
"Bring it up at smoko, this is something we need to talk about". Or does he say, "Just you do your job and I'll look after safety round here." I've heard the latter said a lot. It's not safe and leads to poor communication, less caring ( warm fuzzies I know) and consequently more accidents. Top down doesn't work, bottom up does when it comes to safety. Most business owners and senior managers reject the notion, because they're scared of the implications, the big gorilla in the room, workplace democracy.
All extractive industry would benefit from my approach - whether it be mining, farming, forestry, fishing or quarrying.
The Last Fateful Step
I can hear my father's voice in my head as I write this, he trained me so well. Just turning up to work, being in a hurry, getting frustrated with something and going at things like a bull at a gate (my biggest crime when young and starting out), doesn't immediately get you injured. It just increases the risk. What gets you injured is taking that last fateful step; slipping, not paying attention, taking your eye off things, and standing right there or moving in the way. Turn up to work having had two hours sleep (yes I've done it when young), then going flat out to catch up (yes me again), then standing right behind a wheel loader while he's backing up? Want to get yourself killed? That last thing I've never done, in fact my father trained me so well to always keep alert and to stay out the way, I've never suffered an injury at work, nor has anyone who's worked for me. Not a single trip to the doctor, and nothing more than a scratch on the hand.
Training isn't about how to be a great machine operator, it's about knowing how to identify the condition you're in, and how to minimise that risk to yourself and others by critically examining the actions of others and by examining your own habits. It's this last step that is noticeably missing and why serious accidents are increasing. Learning how to trigger comes about by talking to one another and the manager being on board and inclusive. It's about training how to think.
Scenario
Two wheel loaders working around the mobile crushing plant, you're in one with your offsider in the other.
Step 1 - You need to acknowledge both machines are very powerful as well as the crushers. You were up late the night before with a crying baby so could be tired.
You notice that your offsider is often jumping out of his cab, running across the ground to clear a blockage from the crusher, and he does so without indicating he's about to do it, either by radio talk and in the absence of a radio by making eye contact followed by hand gestures.
Step 2 - As he scurries over the ground you reflexively move your machine toward him without thinking, he jumps to one side, no problems, and he does his job. Note to self to watch these mistakes of yours.
Step 3 - As the day goes by you note that both of you are not always watching where you're going and there are other close calls. You talk about this at the end of the day and you both resolve to communicate better between operators and to watch where you're going.
Step 4 - Think about your habit of taking off without thinking, correct it over the next few days until your habit changes to one where you check your ground before moving.
It's these steps that are the hardest to achieve.
What I expect to now happen is hand-wringing, politicians grandstanding, but very little done to address the parlous safety culture within NZ's extractive industry.
The current system doesn't work. It is designed for medium to large quarrying operations with a management structure already in place. The smaller operators and farmers, of which there are thousands, are left out in the cold. If they hear about such a thing as a Certificate of Competence, they run a mile.
I have an idea....
The Regulatory Environment
What could be done is scale certification to the size of operation, so with a farm quarry or a sole operator with one or two staff, they attend a one day course on safety, dealing with the key reasons people are injured or killed (see how to create a safety culture below ).
Such a system would reach far more, and would get these guys on record. Then as their businesses grow they can advance further by adding to their competency, finally arriving at the A grade quarry manager certificate. By setting the hurdle so high, with the B grade certificate right from the start, many never try and so they end up expanding and often ignoring safety. Or far more likely, they do some things effectively but others they miss. Get them on board early, then work with them.
Creating A Safe Workplace Culture
Current certification deals mostly with physical things, such as machinery and geology, while in fact most accidents are caused by behavioural considerations - tiredness and sickness, recklessness, poor judgement, pressure to perform and the real biggie which most are simply unaware of - complacency. That's right, those things you get used to are the things that up and bite you on the arse.
Experienced guys get injured or killed when they're no longer scared. Scared is good, it means you'll be careful, watch out, watch others and if you have the right culture, watch each other and talk about things, like hazards and the real biggie - close calls. You need to internalise those close calls as well as have it out in the open.
It takes a big boss to bring this culture to the workplace. It means dis-empowering the manager to a certain extent and empowering the workers. If a guy says to the manager "I don't like the way that guy comes around behind me, he's too close and this morning I nearly backed in to him." What does the manager say in reply?
"Bring it up at smoko, this is something we need to talk about". Or does he say, "Just you do your job and I'll look after safety round here." I've heard the latter said a lot. It's not safe and leads to poor communication, less caring ( warm fuzzies I know) and consequently more accidents. Top down doesn't work, bottom up does when it comes to safety. Most business owners and senior managers reject the notion, because they're scared of the implications, the big gorilla in the room, workplace democracy.
All extractive industry would benefit from my approach - whether it be mining, farming, forestry, fishing or quarrying.
The Last Fateful Step
I can hear my father's voice in my head as I write this, he trained me so well. Just turning up to work, being in a hurry, getting frustrated with something and going at things like a bull at a gate (my biggest crime when young and starting out), doesn't immediately get you injured. It just increases the risk. What gets you injured is taking that last fateful step; slipping, not paying attention, taking your eye off things, and standing right there or moving in the way. Turn up to work having had two hours sleep (yes I've done it when young), then going flat out to catch up (yes me again), then standing right behind a wheel loader while he's backing up? Want to get yourself killed? That last thing I've never done, in fact my father trained me so well to always keep alert and to stay out the way, I've never suffered an injury at work, nor has anyone who's worked for me. Not a single trip to the doctor, and nothing more than a scratch on the hand.
Training isn't about how to be a great machine operator, it's about knowing how to identify the condition you're in, and how to minimise that risk to yourself and others by critically examining the actions of others and by examining your own habits. It's this last step that is noticeably missing and why serious accidents are increasing. Learning how to trigger comes about by talking to one another and the manager being on board and inclusive. It's about training how to think.
Scenario
Two wheel loaders working around the mobile crushing plant, you're in one with your offsider in the other.
Step 1 - You need to acknowledge both machines are very powerful as well as the crushers. You were up late the night before with a crying baby so could be tired.
You notice that your offsider is often jumping out of his cab, running across the ground to clear a blockage from the crusher, and he does so without indicating he's about to do it, either by radio talk and in the absence of a radio by making eye contact followed by hand gestures.
Step 2 - As he scurries over the ground you reflexively move your machine toward him without thinking, he jumps to one side, no problems, and he does his job. Note to self to watch these mistakes of yours.
Step 3 - As the day goes by you note that both of you are not always watching where you're going and there are other close calls. You talk about this at the end of the day and you both resolve to communicate better between operators and to watch where you're going.
Step 4 - Think about your habit of taking off without thinking, correct it over the next few days until your habit changes to one where you check your ground before moving.
It's these steps that are the hardest to achieve.
June 05, 2015
Proud Father
My daughter graduated this year with a BCom in Accounting and Taxation from Victoria University of Wellington, upholding the family tradition of academic excellence.
June 03, 2015
Annoying Windows 10 icon in system tray
Windows 7 and 8 users are now getting a free update to the new Windows 10, but they've invaded our computers to tell us. There is no easy way to remove this icon and stay enrolled for the update. That's right, it's easier to just stay with it until the update happens, either in or soon after July 29 2015.
Here's a good article on what you can do if you really must, and why the icon is so hard to remove....
What is the “Get Windows 10″ Tray Item and How Do You Remove It?
The worst thing about KB3035583 is that it is an executable that starts with your system.
The executable “GWX.exe” autostarts through the Task Scheduler. GWX.exe is the system tray icon. When you click the system tray icon, it spawns the application “GWXUX.exe”, which is the upgrade dialog discussed earlier.
To make this icon and its notifications go away, Microsoft unhelpfully recommends hiding them.
This works for the current session, but restart your system (which happens from time to time), and it reappears. In other words, it’s no simple feat to make it go away. You can’t right-click on the icon and tell it not to bug you anymore, and you could remove its entry from the Task Scheduler, but that doesn’t actually remove the GWX application from your system.
If you don’t want this item on your system, we recommend removing the update altogether because we don’t feel it is critical to upgrading to Windows 10, and even if it is, you can always go back on July 29 and reinstall it.
You can uninstall the updates, take the steps described in the link, but remember to check back for updates after July 29, to ensure you get the new Windows 10, which most would want.
Here's a good article on what you can do if you really must, and why the icon is so hard to remove....
What is the “Get Windows 10″ Tray Item and How Do You Remove It?
The worst thing about KB3035583 is that it is an executable that starts with your system.
The executable “GWX.exe” autostarts through the Task Scheduler. GWX.exe is the system tray icon. When you click the system tray icon, it spawns the application “GWXUX.exe”, which is the upgrade dialog discussed earlier.
To make this icon and its notifications go away, Microsoft unhelpfully recommends hiding them.
This works for the current session, but restart your system (which happens from time to time), and it reappears. In other words, it’s no simple feat to make it go away. You can’t right-click on the icon and tell it not to bug you anymore, and you could remove its entry from the Task Scheduler, but that doesn’t actually remove the GWX application from your system.
If you don’t want this item on your system, we recommend removing the update altogether because we don’t feel it is critical to upgrading to Windows 10, and even if it is, you can always go back on July 29 and reinstall it.
You can uninstall the updates, take the steps described in the link, but remember to check back for updates after July 29, to ensure you get the new Windows 10, which most would want.
May 26, 2015
New Computer HP 15
Finding IE11 browser to be much better than the rest. Very fast. One exception, when using blogger (this blog) signing in is difficult with IE11, keep getting an error code issued by blogger. Some sort of incompatibility? Same error happened when changing the html in this site's template. I'm prompted to quote an error code but won't bother reporting the issue, if blogger and Google can't keep up that's their problem, no? So I'm using the slower Opera browser to complete that task and this post.
I'm hopping between browsers, using IE11 for its speed and Opera when I have to do something without a problem. Trouble with Opera though is it appears to have a glitch and slows down as the cache fills up, while IE11 breezes along nicely.
I'm hopping between browsers, using IE11 for its speed and Opera when I have to do something without a problem. Trouble with Opera though is it appears to have a glitch and slows down as the cache fills up, while IE11 breezes along nicely.
May 25, 2015
HP 15 and Windows 8.1
Bought a new computer over the weekend, but before I retired the old one I tried a few things on it to see what they were like. Here are are my impressions of both experiences...
Browsers
On the old machine I tried a few browsers to see how they worked and also what the download experience was like. The result was a mixed bag:-
Internet Explorer - comes installed so left this alone
Chrome - had this installed already so uninstalled and went to the website and downloaded again - went through fine. The thing with Chrome though, is it isn't that good. Much overrated.
Opera - uninstalled and installed again, went through fine, Opera is better than the above two in my opinion - with reservations (more about that later).
Avant - tried the lite version which runs on the trident engine ( IE ), the damn thing imported all my bookmarks from IE and installed itself as the default browser. OK, so promptly uninstall that nonsense.
Then tried rekonq. Oh dear, got badly infected by this, took several hours of Malwarebytes, AdwCleaner and Hitman Pro to get rid of nasties like Search Protect.
Conclusions: when buying a new computer ignore Avant and rekonq, stick with the mainstream. Didn't have time to try Maxthon and others - was this your plan rekonq ? hmmmm?
Went to Noel Leeming, bought the Hp 15 G205AU 4 Gig RAM $499
Out of the box it starts OK.
First impressions after set up, what's all this shit preloaded? An endless list of things I can spend money on? At least I didn't notice Office 2013 with this shit ( bought at the same time ). At some point I'll be getting rid of all this advertising. IE11 for instance comes with booking,com and trip advisor displayed on a toolbar at the top. Then other stuff on the start screen.
Note to equipment manufacturers and software companies - I just forked out cash, I'm not interesting in your offerings.
Installed, Chrome and Opera. Actually I sorta installed Chrome as it was bundled with Avast, Note to self, uninstall Avast and replace with AVG which doesn't do shit like that.
Critical performance issue - how do Flash videos play with this new machine? Result IE11 is the clear winner, clarity and frame rate are excellent with a broadband connection. Chrome is so-so. Opera better but a little jerky. Fiddled around with settings and no real improvement.
Setting up computer to go straight through to desktop wasn't that hard, plenty of links describing how to do this, such as....
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043243/how-to-boot-to-desktop-mode-in-windows-8-1.html
In windows 8.1 you can set some interesting themes:-
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-NZ/windows/themes
McAfee pre-installed and acts a bit like a virus, will uninstall when the trial period runs out. Uninstall avast which behaves a bit like a virus and I think caused the computer to crash while writing this!! Seems things run slow with McAfee in the way.
Office 2013 Word - Calibri font changed to default Times New Roman 12pt and I removed spacing between paragraphs.
Is Windows 8.1 better? A bit faster but also harder to find things, while other things easier, for instance to disable items at startup, right click task bar and go to task manager, no need to msconfig any longer.
DNS server addresses may have to be manually inserted, I had to from where I live, obtaining that DNS address automatically can be challenging, how to do it in 8.1....
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/fl/change-dns-servers-windows-8.htm
The HP15 keyboard is taking a bit of getting used to, not as good as the old HP. The screen is wider and maybe pages display better, nothing in it compared to the old HP.
Browsers
On the old machine I tried a few browsers to see how they worked and also what the download experience was like. The result was a mixed bag:-
Internet Explorer - comes installed so left this alone
Chrome - had this installed already so uninstalled and went to the website and downloaded again - went through fine. The thing with Chrome though, is it isn't that good. Much overrated.
Opera - uninstalled and installed again, went through fine, Opera is better than the above two in my opinion - with reservations (more about that later).
Avant - tried the lite version which runs on the trident engine ( IE ), the damn thing imported all my bookmarks from IE and installed itself as the default browser. OK, so promptly uninstall that nonsense.
Then tried rekonq. Oh dear, got badly infected by this, took several hours of Malwarebytes, AdwCleaner and Hitman Pro to get rid of nasties like Search Protect.
Conclusions: when buying a new computer ignore Avant and rekonq, stick with the mainstream. Didn't have time to try Maxthon and others - was this your plan rekonq ? hmmmm?
Went to Noel Leeming, bought the Hp 15 G205AU 4 Gig RAM $499
Out of the box it starts OK.
First impressions after set up, what's all this shit preloaded? An endless list of things I can spend money on? At least I didn't notice Office 2013 with this shit ( bought at the same time ). At some point I'll be getting rid of all this advertising. IE11 for instance comes with booking,com and trip advisor displayed on a toolbar at the top. Then other stuff on the start screen.
Note to equipment manufacturers and software companies - I just forked out cash, I'm not interesting in your offerings.
Installed, Chrome and Opera. Actually I sorta installed Chrome as it was bundled with Avast, Note to self, uninstall Avast and replace with AVG which doesn't do shit like that.
Critical performance issue - how do Flash videos play with this new machine? Result IE11 is the clear winner, clarity and frame rate are excellent with a broadband connection. Chrome is so-so. Opera better but a little jerky. Fiddled around with settings and no real improvement.
Setting up computer to go straight through to desktop wasn't that hard, plenty of links describing how to do this, such as....
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2043243/how-to-boot-to-desktop-mode-in-windows-8-1.html
In windows 8.1 you can set some interesting themes:-
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-NZ/windows/themes
McAfee pre-installed and acts a bit like a virus, will uninstall when the trial period runs out. Uninstall avast which behaves a bit like a virus and I think caused the computer to crash while writing this!! Seems things run slow with McAfee in the way.
Office 2013 Word - Calibri font changed to default Times New Roman 12pt and I removed spacing between paragraphs.
Is Windows 8.1 better? A bit faster but also harder to find things, while other things easier, for instance to disable items at startup, right click task bar and go to task manager, no need to msconfig any longer.
DNS server addresses may have to be manually inserted, I had to from where I live, obtaining that DNS address automatically can be challenging, how to do it in 8.1....
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/fl/change-dns-servers-windows-8.htm
The HP15 keyboard is taking a bit of getting used to, not as good as the old HP. The screen is wider and maybe pages display better, nothing in it compared to the old HP.
May 07, 2015
New Zealand Flag Debate
Is this the right time to be considering a new flag ? Labour are probably right, it's just a John Key vanity project. But if we do change the flag then for my money the only flag worth considering is the Hundertwasser Koru flag. It is beautiful, well designed, and encapsulates our country nicely. Here it is....
April 14, 2015
New Zealand eBooks
New Zealand eBooks
Check my new blog profiling New Zealand ebooks, great reads there and you can easily purchase any one of them...
http://nzbookshowcase.blogspot.co.nz
You can also buy my novel Basketball Obsession
Fun times !!!
March 22, 2015
The Last Time Oil Price Collapsed
The Last Time Oil Price Collapsed
That's right, the last time we found ourselves in this position was late 2008 and the start of the Global Financial Crisis. Michael Snyder provides the following analysis, read it and weep;Guess What Happened The Last Time The Price Of Oil Crashed Like This
Now let's be careful, I'm NOT saying the oil price drop is causing anything, what I'm saying is it's indicative, a symptom of a wider malaise, a general lack of demand for anything. Why do people need more stuff ? We've got enough already.
Less demand, lower production, less employment, lower incomes; recession.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/last-time-oil-price-collapsed-ken-horlor?trk=prof-post
March 02, 2015
Basketball Efficiency Rating and Analysis
Basketball Efficiency Rating and Analysis
I'm a keen Basketball player and in the past have coached quite a bit. All coaches want to know how their team is performing, as individuals and as a team, so they can address training in those areas which need attention. There are any number of readily available formulas out there which may be of help, the one I like the most being either a linear weighted....Player Efficiency Rating ( PER )
or a basketball version of VORP ( Value Over Replacement Player ):-Here is a simple VORP = (pts+0.75*orb+0.25*drb+0.5*ast+stl+0.33*blk)/(1.5*(fga+(.44*fta)+tov + ((0.75*orb+0.25*drb+0.5*ast+stl+0.33*blk)/2)+(mp/4))).
Most people will be familiar with PER, though it can be more easily dealt with if you take each playing element and give it a weighting, then calculate your total. I do it that way, here is someone who has done it also, though his weightings you may like to change as they appear incorrect ( at least at my examination ):-
The link to explain this methodology
[ FGM x 85.910+ Steals x 53.897+ 3PTM x 51.757+ FTM x 46.845+ Blocks x 39.190+ Offensive_Rebx 39.190+ Assists x 34.677+ Defensive_Reb x 14.707- Foul x 17.174- FT_Miss x 20.091- FG_Miss x 39.190- TO x 53.897 ] x (1 / Minutes).
These calculations are worked from readily available game statistics. But they don't tell the whole story as they tend to be offensively biased and don't accurately measure defensive specialists, who we'll all agree are pretty important. Thinking about this I've come up with my own system and weightings for each factor. I generally work it as a ratio not a raw number, but this is the way I look at the game:-
August 18, 2014
Top Best-selling Music Artists
Top Best-selling Music Artists
Who is the World's best-selling music artist? Interesting to know, is it Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson or Garth Brooks?According to the RIAA ( Recording Industry Association of America ) website the answer is...
1. The Beatles ( 177 million certified units )
2. Elvis Presley ( 134.5m )
3. Garth Brooks ( 134m )
4. Led Zeppelin ( 111.5m )
5. Eagles ( 100m )
6. Billy Joel ( 81.5m )
7. Michael Jackson ( 75.5m )
8. Pink Floyd ( 74.5m )
9. Elton John ( 73m )
10. AC/DC ( 71.5m )
( Barbra Streisand comes in at 11th as the first woman with 71.5 million certified units ).
August 16, 2014
Is Wikipedia Being Racist ?
Is Wikipedia Being Racist ?
I became interested a little while ago in the recording industry and who has sold what number of records. This came about largely due to my children asking, who has sold the largest number of records? I like to tumble numbers so Google being my friend, I searched for a list of the best-selling artists of all time, and got a Wikipedia list as the first link on the page. Here it is...
I became interested a little while ago in the recording industry and who has sold what number of records. This came about largely due to my children asking, who has sold the largest number of records? I like to tumble numbers so Google being my friend, I searched for a list of the best-selling artists of all time, and got a Wikipedia list as the first link on the page. Here it is...
August 07, 2014
Nigel Latta on Education
Nigel Latta on Education
I really enjoyed Nigel Latta's TV documentary on the gap between rich and poor so I was looking forward to his piece on NCEA ( TVNZ series 1 episode 2 Nigel Latta ). Oh dear, not so good. I have written him a letter outlining my concerns. The text you can read below...
I really enjoyed Nigel Latta's TV documentary on the gap between rich and poor so I was looking forward to his piece on NCEA ( TVNZ series 1 episode 2 Nigel Latta ). Oh dear, not so good. I have written him a letter outlining my concerns. The text you can read below...
June 26, 2014
New Trucks for NZ Army
OK, some minimal Defense spending from the NZ Government...
NZ go for Rheinmetall MAN
Now how about an Air Force and Navy with some real capability !?
NZ go for Rheinmetall MAN
Now how about an Air Force and Navy with some real capability !?
June 19, 2014
Manufacturing New Zealand
Good news this time, Skellerup are building a new factory making milking machine rubber parts, replacing the factory damaged in the earthquakes. Looks like this part of their business is too valuable and they know if they moved it to China, the IP would just get stolen ( the gumboots are made in China....jicydk)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10172109/New-Skellerup-plant-in-Wigram
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10172109/New-Skellerup-plant-in-Wigram
Reform of NZ Education
What went wrong?
We incentivized Teaching the wrong way, and what we incentivized we got. It's as simple as that. Forget national standards, and the expert teacher status upgrade and all that nonsense, none of it makes a difference. All that these so-called reforms do is entrench the drop. It doesn't even arrest the decline in standards.
The main problem as I see it is - as teachers become better they do less teaching. The more promotion, the more administration, and the less classroom time. In the end, all that are left in the classroom are teachers unable to get promotion, or younger ones with less experience.
We incentivized Teaching the wrong way, and what we incentivized we got. It's as simple as that. Forget national standards, and the expert teacher status upgrade and all that nonsense, none of it makes a difference. All that these so-called reforms do is entrench the drop. It doesn't even arrest the decline in standards.
The main problem as I see it is - as teachers become better they do less teaching. The more promotion, the more administration, and the less classroom time. In the end, all that are left in the classroom are teachers unable to get promotion, or younger ones with less experience.
June 18, 2014
NCEA
I've got three daughters, the eldest has been through High School and is now finishing up her BCom on the way to being an accountant, then the middle child is doing NCEA level 1 this year, the youngest being still at Primary School.
Observation - the NZ secondary education system is broken. I'm talking about State schools here, as I have knowledge of them as a parent of children attending State schools.
Basically, NCEA is flawed. Several problems as I see it:-
Observation - the NZ secondary education system is broken. I'm talking about State schools here, as I have knowledge of them as a parent of children attending State schools.
Basically, NCEA is flawed. Several problems as I see it:-