TDB Open Mic
TDB Open Mic is The Daily Blog’s community noticeboard.
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TUESDAY 17th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Chainsaws were first invented for childbirth. It was developed in Scotland in the late 18th Century to help aid and speed up the process of symphysiotomy (widening the pubic cartilage) and removal of disease-laden bone during childbirth. It wasn’t until the start of the 20th Century that we started using chainsaws for woodchopping.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites – Nelson Mandela
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Polls flicker and fade
Leaders smile, shake steady hands
Storms behind the scenes
MONDAY 16th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Earth’s poles are moving. This magnetic reversal of the North and South Pole has happened 171 times in the past 71 million years. We’re overdue a flip. It could come soon, as the North Pole is moving at around 55 kilometres per year, an increase over the 15km per year up until 1990.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Everything is political. I will never be a politician or even think political. Me just deal with life and nature. That is the greatest thing to me – Bob Marley
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
On the marae floor
Voices carry through the years
Land remembers all
FRIDAY 13th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Comets smell like rotten eggs. A comet smells like rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and… almonds. Traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide were all found in the makeup of the comet 67P/Churyumove-Gerasimenko. Promotional postcards were even commissioned in 2016 carrying the pungent scent of a comet.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: We’ve become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that’s been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I’ve ever seen in my life – Jimmy Carter
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Treaty words debated,
old ink meets a modern storm,
marches fill the street.
FRIDAY 13th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: NASA genuinely faked part of the Moon landing. While Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface were categorically not faked, the astronaut quarantine protocol when the astronauts arrived back on Earth was largely just one big show.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self – Ernest Hemingway
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Budget papers stack,
numbers promise different things,
families feel it.
THURSDAY 12th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Most maps of the world are wrong. On most maps, the Mercator projection – first developed in 1569 – is still used. This method is wildly inaccurate and makes Alaska appear as large as Brazil and Greenland 14 times larger than it actually is. For a map to be completely accurate, it would need to be life-size and round, not flat.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: An empty stomach is not a good political adviser – Albert Einstein
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Coalition morning—
coffee, polling, talking points,
winds shift by lunchtime.
WEDNESDAY 11th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Our solar system has a wall. The heliopause – the region of space in which solar wind isn’t hot enough to push back the wind of particles coming from distant stars – is often considered the “boundary wall” of the Solar System and interstellar space.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands – Plato
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Across Aotearoa
Many flags, one restless wind
Future up for vote
This is a telling statement. ‘Ministry has cancelled 13 services after a review it says is routine.’ It surely seems routine for the authorities under our present government to do away with services and practices that we citizens had decided or agreed were of use to us and should be provided. Who asked for such changes; that our whole way of life be decided by people with no interest in community?.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586447/just-not-fair-manawatu-parents-using-savings-and-loans-for-school-buses
Manawatū parents and caregivers are dipping into their savings and even taking out loans to fund a bus service to get their children to school. This comes after some school buses that used to run into Palmerston North were axed as a result of a Ministry of Education review into more than 250 routes nationwide. One high school reports that 300 of its students are affected by the changes.
Could we end with a ‘free town’? Watch this, listen for 29.03 while the difficulties are unfolded when one attempts to live by theories and ideals..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG3rLciXnnQ | USA The Libertarian Town that ruined life for everyone. (Grafton New Hampshire.)
And second | https://digg.com/offbeat/mJ0C7Yq/the-libertarian-town-that-ruined-life
Discussion…https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21534416/free-state-project-new-hampshire-libertarians-matthew-hongoltz-hetling…Background – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_Project.
Who’d be indigenous ah…
What’s worse throwing a bomb into a crowd of Noongar, Yamatji, Wankai and Kimberley peoples – Or burning an Aussie flag?
Funny how the far right keep getting a free pass from sections (Murdock) of the media.
Just remember folks, being indigenous in the eyes of many, means their lives equal = bugger all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ySBrqQsxtk
After reading about being indigenous and how it can be painful, the word mortify came to mind. Merriam Webster gives three different meanings to the word. And perhaps we could all improve before we actually worked our way through to finality…
mortify – verb: 1: to subject to severe and vexing embarrassment: shame… was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters’ beauty and her own.. — Jane Austen….2: to subdue or deaden (the body, bodily appetites, etc.) especially by abstinence or self-inflicted pain or discomfort…- mortified his body for spiritual purification…3: obsolete : to destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of.
Breaking news from one of NZO top Deluders. Or How To Conduct a Country Coup while the Citizens are Comatose:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586323/auckland-mayor-wayne-brown-says-government-unqualified-to-lead-city-s-economic-recovery…’Auckland mayor Wayne Brown says the government is unqualified to lead the city’s economic recovery and should leave it to local council. The comments came as Brown again renewed calls for a bed levy tax….despite the government’s opposition to the move.’
(What if he is right and it is a good, practical move? But the gummint is locked into the inertia of neoliberal control of government by pan-world trade treaty agreements which have triumphed over governments’ scruples relating to their ethical responsibilities and sovereignty? Is ‘our’ government virtually super-glued to their seats hence the saying ‘They are flying by the seat of their pants*’!)
* Aviation Innovation: “Flying by the Seat…” National Postal Museum |..|https://postalmuseum.si.edu › exhibition › fad-to-funda…
“Flying by the seat of your pants” means to do or take action without a plan, to go by feel, to make decisions in the moment.
Isn’t this bloody pathetic. I think that the people in control of all our services down or up from menial CEOs to master politicians – should be put on a code ’emergency’ as inclined to be mentally unreliable, valueless and clueless. Get Rid Of Them. I want a better country – don’t you?????
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586352/a-cascade-of-errors-johnathon-taituma-died-after-st-john-ambulance-delays-coroner-finds
TUESDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Mount Everest isn’t the tallest mountain on Earth. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the twin volcanoes, are taller than Mount Everest as 4.2km of their height is submerged underwater. The twin volcanoes measure a staggering 10.2km in total, compared to Everest’s paltry 8.8km.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Man is by nature a political animal – Aristotle
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Budget night arrives
Numbers fall like winter rain
Households feel the cold
Sydney protest organisers accuse police of ‘state violence’ as Greens call for investigation.
Protesters who gathered on Monday night to oppose Israeli President Isaac Herzog were beaten, pepper-sprayed and arrested by police.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/police-clash-with-protesters-as-thousands-rally-against-president-herzogs-visit/ysljl9ehd
Help for start up businesses. Good if it is for the micro kind as what is termed small business is big in Kiwiland. And help them run it well, have opportunity to talk over service tips. (Notice ex Airnz Greg oran is going to work for some large USA corporate.) Let;s invest in our own people and keep the money in NZAO and reinvest in more and so on.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/586313/early-stage-angel-investment-in-start-up-businesses-grows-for-first-time-since-2021
Mayor Wayne Brown. Our God lead us to neolib heaven.
A New Zealand first: Judge faces conduct panel over alleged behaviour towards Winston Peters at Northern Club
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360935699/new-zealand-first-judge-faces-conduct-panel-over-alleged-behaviour-towards-winston-peters-northern
“Aitken and Galler later wrote a note of apology.”
Silly boy Dave. Why apologise for tour wife telling the truth! I realise you empathise and understand how some old curmudgeon can have gone down the rabbit hole in a desperate bid to repair a legacy that’s now an utter joke, but never apologise for telling it like it is.
It’d probably be easier to park the old c*&t up in a French Castle with an unending supply of whiskey and nicotine (or even heroin).
No no no – keep calling out the bullshit artists
MONDAY 9th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: The fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. The 36-letter word was first used by the Roman poet Horace in the first century BCE to criticise those writers with an unreasonable penchant for long words. It was American poet Aimee Nezheukumatathil, possibly afraid of their own surname, who coined the term how we know it in 2000.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists – Ernest Hemingway
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Polls flicker and fade
Leaders smile, shake steady hands
Storms behind the scenes
Japan’s Leader Takaichi Wins in a Landslide snap election, Clearing Way for Hard-Line Agenda
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/world/asia/japan-takaichi-election-landslide.html
There is so much going on all the time and facts and comments flying around in all media and on every raindrop etc. Things can be overlooked. This is a good coverage of salient present problems here in NZAO right in this blog – a lot of good horse sense, and even we donkeys can recognise it. If you are ahead of events, this will help keep your advanced place.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/taxpayers-union-manipulations-3-waters-hysteria-and-wellington-downing-in-french-privatisation-sht-welcome-to-nuzilind/…
Dr Bryce Edwards stresses that Wellington’s primary wastewater plant built in 1998 has failed regularly when being assessed and in practice.
A simple question – we changed over to provision of services bought from businesses which should have greater nous than government, and much has been been built by large overseas entities. It appears that we as citizens have government acting as an agent to obtain the expertise for us with government’s superior knowledge of which entity is most suitable and reliable. So are we being treated right?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586251/drainlayer-panel-beater-loses-fight-for-cover-from-acc-for-lung-disease-because-of-pet-parrot
We should not be surprised at this denial of cover for lung problems. At present there is a long-running game on to deny that Kiwis ever had the right to a welfare state, and even to attain rights to a little bit of land with a dwelling on it for ourselves. Etc etc – denial of access is the theme du jour. Or in vulgar terms GFY.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585964/auckland-homeowners-not-advised-of-rule-change-affecting-flood-buyouts-advocate-says
I just saw this from 2/2 and thought others might have missed it and it would mean a lot of importance to many people affected.
SUNDAY 8th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain by 7.5 per cent. A study in 2018 found that wearing a necktie can reduce the blood flow to your brain by up to 7.5 per cent, which can make you feel dizzy, nauseous and cause headaches. They can also increase the pressure in your eyes if on too tight and are great at carrying germs.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind – George Orwell
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
On the marae floor
Voices carry through the years
Land remembers all
Trump’s Dangerous Diversionary Device: Using Race to Erase Discourse.
https://time.com/7372895/trump-obama-video-diversion/
2degrees customers with Noika/HMD 4G volte phones, have phones that no longer work since the 3G shutoff.
Why are Nokia/HMD phones not supported by 2degrees, when competitors Spark and OneNZ do support them?
Why is 2degrees driving customers with Nokia/HMD phones to its competitors?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There is no public indication that 2degrees plans to add VoLTE support for HMD devices in the future.
Unless 2degrees updates its compatibility list, there is no expectation of future support.
As of January 22, 2026, no HMD (Nokia) devices appear on 2degrees’ official VoLTE-compatible phones list.
HMD devices like the Nokia 4.2 and Nokia 7.1 are supported on other networks (e.g., Spark, One NZ), but 2degrees has not enabled VoLTE for them, likely due to lack of carrier provisioning or device lifecycle limitations.
Forum discussions (e.g., Geekzone) confirm that HMD has previously declined to add VoLTE support for older models upon carrier request, citing end-of-life status.
With the 3G shutdown completed on February 2, 2026, unsupported HMD devices will no longer function for calls or texts on 2degrees.
Interesting.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/586186/northland-councils-team-up-on-local-government-reform… } Submissions on the Bills to replace the Resource Management Act close on Parliament’s website on 13 February. A consultation on the plan to replace regional councils with ‘combined territories boards’ is open until 20 February, through the Department of Internal Affairs website……
Consultation on whether the government should force them to cap rates increases to within a range of 2-4 percent a year will also end soon.
Local Democracy Reporting said the proposed changes could affect councils’ ability to increase rates above a defined threshold, local authorities’ planning remit, and the structure and function of all the regional councils…..
Kaipara, Far North and Whangārei, along with the Northland Regional Council, are backing a ‘by Northland, for Northland’ approach.
They said the local government minister heard Northland councils were eager to engage early with the government and held a meeting with Simon Watts on Thursday, before Waitangi Day……They aimed to demonstrate that, as local leaders, they could be trusted to deliver solutions that work on the ground. [!!!!!!!]
SATURDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: All the world’s bacteria stacked on top of each other would stretch for 10 billion light-years. Together, Earth’s 0.001mm-long microbes could wrap around the Milky Way over 20,000 times.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge – Isaac Asimov
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Treaty words endure
Old promises, new arguments
History speaks still
Just found another genocide that I hadn’t heard about before. (If a genocide happens and there is no observer able to report it, has it really happened?) Sort of, if a tree falls in the forest etc. (AI puts it this way – The famous philosophical riddle is: …| “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”. It is a thought experiment exploring perception, existence, and whether physical events depend on being observed. The answer depends on defining “sound” as either physical vibrations (yes) or auditory perception (no)…
…indigenous inhabitants of the Mesopotamian marshlands in the modern-day south Iraq, as well as in the Hawizeh Marshes straddling the Iran–Iraq border.[4] Comprising members of many different tribes and tribal confederations, such as the Āl Bū Muḥammad, Ferayghāt, Shaghanbah, Ahwaris had developed a culture centered on the marshes’ natural resources. Many of the marshes’ inhabitants were forcibly displaced during the AHWARI GENOCIDE when the wetlands were drained during and after the 1991 uprisings in Iraq…..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Arabs
I’m getting interested in Syria. Have Agatha Christie’s book ‘Come Tell Me How You Live’ about her time there with second husband Max Mallowan, Archaeologist. And the book – Syria’s Secret Library. About : Embrace the Middle East https://embraceme.org › blog › the-making-of-syrias-secret-library…The making of Syria’s secret library: – We have built an underground secret library, filled with every kind of book you can imagine. There we can escape the devastation, the killing and the hunger.”…..(Trying to format this so it can be read easily.)
These people seem very advanced and I thought that the western countries were supreme! Hah- I think we are inclined to raid past civilisations and take home keepsakes but imbibe no real knowledge, respect or value what we find. That’s just my impression, could be wrong but perhaps we are following ancient traits that come to the top FTTT. See reference to 1591 in this item below.
Note: Hidden Compass https://hiddencompass.net › story › libraries-beneath-th-sand | Libraries Beneath the Sand – Hidden Compass
In 1591, Morocco invaded Mali, intent on looting the libraries, so local people took books to their homes and buried them in the desert. It would not be the last time.
FRIDAY 6th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: A chicken once lived for 18 months without a head. Mike the chicken’s incredible feat was recorded back in the 1940s in the USA. He survived as his jugular vein and most of his brainstem were left mostly intact, ensuring just enough brain function remained for survival. In the majority of cases, a headless chicken dies in a matter of minutes.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind – George Orwell
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Press release lands first
Facts arrive slightly late
Headline already
“This Friday, the 25th Winter Olympics will open in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. How big will the Games be? Will Russia be allowed to participate in the competitions — and what about security and doping?”
Let’s see what dramas unfold in the coming weeks.
https://www.dw.com/en/2026-winter-olympics-what-you-need-to-know/a-75716782
ICE Agents at Milan Olympics, the frikken nerve.
https://www.dw.com/en/ice-agents-spark-controversy-in-italy-over-olympics-plans/a-75683434
Like “POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce – Karl Marx” |…
I’m thinking up a theory? along those lines. Maybe the nub of coping with a harsh future.
Suggestion – any acronyms, shortened forms used – have full version explanation bottom of page at end of site. We all don’t know everything eg I don’t know what CTF means and when I look it up on the net there are a thousand and one meanings. Short-forms save space but need to be explained and bottom of site FYI would be good. TQ.
THURSDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Most people stroke cats the wrong way. Research shows they often just tolerate it for the food and attention. The safest spots? Under the chin, cheeks and base of the ears. The worst? Their belly and the base of their tail – touch there and you’re more likely to annoy them than bond with them.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce – Karl Marx
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Two words fill the room
Everyone hears something else
Treaty stays silent
What do you think of Sensible Sentencing wanting minimum sentences added to the government’s coward punch law?
WEDNESDAY 4th FEBRUARY 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: Water might not be wet. This is because most scientists define wetness as a liquid’s ability to maintain contact with a solid surface, meaning that water itself is not wet, but can make other objects wet.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love – Marcus Aurelius
HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Two words fill the room
Everyone hears something else
Treaty stays silent
This is scathing and down to earth about science limited by lack of foresight, funds and professionals and understanding of the reality.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2602/S00007/science-reforms-failing-before-theyve-started-yet-again.htm
Now what? https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/585759/what-you-need-to-know-about-tiaki-wai-the-entity-replacing-wellington-water
Water has been hijacked by government policies from we citizens (highwaymen). I think a relative said that the French have bought Auckland water supply and she pays $190? a month. For a pretty regular house and garden (not large). Amazing them selling life resource to another country!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/585725/nz-s-dollar2-5-billion-shoddy-building-bill-how-to-fix-the-build-now-fix-later-culture
Quick turnover for business, slow and sure,repair costs later. That’s it in NZ?
TUESDAY 3RD FEBRUARY:
FACT OF THE DAY: Animals can experience time differently from humans. To smaller animals, the world around them moves more slowly compared to humans. Salamanders and lizards, for example, experience time more slowly than cats and dogs. This is because the perception of time depends on how quickly the brain can process incoming information.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time – Malcolm X
HAIKU OF THE DAY:
River claims the road
Minister blames the weather
Maps float downstream
Well that was unexpected. Or was it?
Erotic Parody ‘Melania: Devourer of Men’ Sales Surge on Amazon Amid Documentary Flop.
https://www.404media.co/erotic-parody-melania-devourer-of-men-sales-surge-on-amazon-amid-documentary-flop/
Shane Jones shut down NZ involvement in ‘road map’ away from fossil fuels
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/585632/shane-jones-shut-down-nz-involvement-in-road-map-away-from-fossil-fuels
Monday 2nd February 2026
FACT OF THE DAY: The Universe’s average colour is called ‘Cosmic latte’. In a 2002 study, astronomers found that the light coming from galaxies averaged into a beige colour that’s close to white.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future – John F. Kennedy
POLITICAL HAIKU:
Groceries whisper
“Was it cheaper yesterday?”
Wallet says nothing
From the right honarable cronygarch, Shane Jones.
“Major milestone reached with launch of Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List”
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/major-milestone-reached-launch-minerals-strategy-and-critical-minerals-list
This is an example of the way that social media has become obligatory, essential. This woman has enabled another to create a hell for her through her tech sites. If she could bear to give them up then it would be difficult to carry out this stalking campaign. Have we entered another period where women represent themselves as victims again? Womens lib was about being empowered, strong.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585617/former-student-stalked-harassed-teacher-then-had-affair-with-her-husband
Hi what was wrong with my earlier comment: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/open-mic/#comment-352640?
You need to advise about what not to do apart from the ones about not stirring up madness or badness. I did put up another blog address of a private person which I thought made a positive point. Was that it? I am trying to bring to life either somnolent interest in our country and fellow citizens, or prod busy people to pass on their thoughts, be part of the discussion in this election year. Which I would imagine is your desire also. So if I do crop up a lot it is only noticeable because many others have been crushed by the system in some way. I like the idea of being a sort of concertina player keeping the music flowing – we need while we struggle, some lightness, amusement and appreciation.
SUNDAY 1ST:
Pinch and a punch for the first of the month and no return!
FACT OF THE DAY: Your brain is constantly eating itself
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed -Mao Zedong
POLITICAL HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Three leaders agree
By disagreeing loudly
Budget waits outside
Fom the Guardian.
Melania review – Trump film is a gilded trash remake of The Zone of Interest
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jan/30/melania-review-trump-film-is-a-gilded-trash-remake-of-the-zone-of-interest
SATURDAY 31ST:
FACT OF THE DAY: Earlobes have no biological purpose.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake – Napoleon Bonaparte
HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Wellington rain
Umbrellas lean left and right
No one stays dry long
Hmmm gonna be one long comments section but ok.
But Jon if they vary from different aspects than are covered in the main blog, they will be all worth reading even after long periods. There is so much going on and different ways of viewing it that this open mike might open a portal to a new understanding. Also reveal matters that have been overlooked while attention has been drawn to other brouhaha. It reminds me of that intriguing film about a back door to someone’s brain (which I haven’t seen, but which makes my point that a new idea can find a portal to surmount the barriers of accepted norms.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_John_Malkovich
I’m ok with me being ok with it if you’re ok with being ok with it Greywarbler 🙂
Sorry Jon for referring to your comment while making a comment about the new style.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585507/monster-slip-in-northland-still-moving
…Flower said even if contractors were able to shift 1000 cubic metres of material a day, and worked every day with no further weather interruptions, it would take 12 weeks to clear the road…
Hovercaft – we need to start using them now. They are back in demand or should be. Also horses. Maori got round on them, very adaptable transport and renew themselves and they are more useful animals than we are with all our high falutin’ ways.| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercraft#
The first practical design for hovercraft was derived from a British invention in the 1950s. They are now used throughout the world as .specialised transports in disaster relief, coastguard, military and survey applications, as well as for sport or passenger service. Very large versions have been used to transport hundreds of people and vehicles across the English Channel, whilst others have military applications used to transport tanks, soldiers and large equipment in hostile environments and terrain. Decline in public demand meant that as of 2025, only two year-round public hovercraft service in the world are still in operation: Hovertravel, which serves between the Isle of Wight and Southsea in the UK,[3][4] and Oita Hovercraft resumed services in Oita, Japan in July 2025…
Gordon Campbell puts his spin on the spin.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2601/S00064/on-selling-the-recovery-mirage-and-wolf-parade.htm
Hammer falls- Sold to whomever. We have something good that hasn’t been sold, get onto it now!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585475/council-sells-city-s-auckland-film-studios
This is a win for our region’s outstanding screen production industry. Paired with Auckland’s stunning scenery it will increase the appeal of Auckland to a global screen industry,” he said in a statement.
“This is a good move that also delivers for ratepayers. We’ll be handing this over to a seasoned operator, and that’s where it should be.”
Swarbrick said the fact funding for Māori resilience had been cut was “gutting”.
“That would have enabled more investment in building that resilience, as opposed to what [the government] are doing right now, which is patting iwi Māori on the back and simply reimbursing them….
NZTA seem to think if Brain Tamaki and the loop loops walk over the Auckland Harbour Bridge tomorrow it will collapse. I think this is unlikely, but then, I’m no engineer. If the poor old bridge was that weak, it should be shut down. Obviously it has just survived a reasonable gale and not fallen over. Also I would kinda like to see it happen. Presumably it will collapse while the loops are on it caused by the tiny vibrations of their hooves. I’m no engineer, but it all sounds like interesting bullshit. 100% some other outfit will walk across it within a year unscathed. This is obviously an example of either politicised science, or magic. If I walk across the Bridge after an argument about the price of fish, does it mean my view is proved correct? Is it like some sort of magical oracle? Bit like Queen Street protests. Anyone can walk down there any day of the week yelping about anything. It isn’t the cultural centre of influence people think it is anymore. Anti GM Foods march was probably the last serious old style bring your kids in pram type turn out. Also BT and the loops aren’t protesting anything, they just want people who don’t like other people to come along and yelp in unison. By rights there should be a big National Party turn out. I’m torn between the ecological disaster, the general freeing up of inner harbour scenic space, morbid curiosity, and not wanting random bodies washing up for months afterwards stinking the place out.
You come up with interesting thoughts BR. A march for people who don’t like other people and want to yelp about it! It could be very cleansing and therapeutic – get all the nasties out of their mouldy corners into the very fresh air whistling around on the Bridge. Everything is topsy turvy now, so doing the opposite of the norm might be our saving grace. Before we actually try eating Chris Luxo – he looks meaty, and all those people who used to go on about the idea of Maori being cannibals could come out of their closets and have a go at Chris or have a great stoush guarding him. | And by the way if Queen Street is not the centre of the universe now that we have a King, where is our sacred icon, whatever it is, to be sighted – where is it sited?
Why when attempting reasoned discussion does it have to appear as a brick? Why can’t there be spaces between paragraphs. Commenters do have knowledge and valuable things to say and can be understood better with some spaces and not just one big gulp to be swallowed! Is anyone there – do things get noted, listened to, perhaps acted on? Or are we just silly chooks beneath the tech devisers gaze?
Coo, don’t take a hike. These could grow on me Trailing from my ears dangling Wise aphorisms…
Please don’t kill off any of TPM. They’re the only useful politicians we have left.
FRIDAY 30TH:
FACT OF THE DAY: Identical twins don’t have the same fingerprints.
POLITICAL QUOTE OF THE DAY: Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself. – Mark Twain
HAIKU OF THE DAY:
Budget cuts whisper
While speeches thunder loudly
Floodwater listens