Aucklanders and their trains

Aucklanders are complaining about some of their trains being overcrowded.

Meanwhile, Wellingtonians are regularly catching trains that are up to 60 years old -and the most modern trains were purchased in the 1970s, packed in sardines, with services regularly late.

Only difference is - Wellingtonians have put up with this for 10 years. It's a new phenomenon in Auckland, but something we've grown used to.

Who ate all the pies?

Community Service workers in Taranaki don't want pies for lunch. It's unhealthy, one of them says.

I'm unsympathetic - If you don't want Department of Correction pies for lunch, then don't commit any crime.

Jacque Rogge vs Usain Bolt

Jacque Rogge thinks that Usain Bolt's antics during and after winning races are unseemly and unsportsmanlike.

I say that if Usain Bolt has enough time to showboat and fool around before finishing a race, and still win, then he has every right to tell the world that he is number one.

Personally, I think it is a good sign that an athlete enjoys winning - after all, Vince Lombardi once remarked that when it comes to sport, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

And if other athletes want respect from Bolt, then it's up to them to earn it - by going faster.

Changes for the Olympics

Take out:

Soccer - the Olympics is a third rate competition behind the Word Cup, and the various regional championships.
Tennis - Who won the last Olympic Gold for Tennis? And who won the last four majors?
Baseball - The sport is big in North and Central America, but a complete nothing everywhere else.


Then add:

Kabaddi - the politically correct may have banned Bullrush, but this is as close as you can get to it.

Boycott...

Every day there is a news story about the Chinese Government imprisoning dissidents, forced evictions, and other human rights infringments - all to prepare for the Olympic Games.

As an event, the Olympic Games is reliant on the money from sponsors to pay for the infrastructure and running of the games. If the sponsors refuse to support future Olympics in countries with poor human rights records, then the IOC will have to listen.

So during the Olympics I will not buy the products of the Olympic Games sponsors - no Big Macs, no Coke (or Powerade or Pump Water), no sponsors products at all.

Even the Pro-EFA protesters don't like the EFA!

Final proof that the Labour Party don't like the EFA - Otherwise the Labour Party protesters distributing the flyer outside the National Party Conference would have added an Authorisation to this anti-National flyer:

Re-opening of Epuni Station

For the past two months I've been unable to catch the train from the closest station - Epuni - as it has been closed due to asbestos being found in the roof.

It has been due to reopen in "Late July", but was still closed when August began. On Friday I rang TranzMetro and spoke to the manager responsible - shortly after my first call, a news article on the progress of remedial work was placed on the TranzMetro website. There will also be publicity at Wellington and Waterloo stations so commuters will be aware of the re-opening.

The station will probably re-open later this week, sans roof - but it will be better (and drier) than walking to Waterloo in the rain as there will be limited shelter from the rain.

I am impressed that the contractors have completed the job only slightly behind time as July has been very windy and wet - especially the last two weeks. Also, when removing asbestos workers must be extremely cautious as even one small fibre getting into their lungs will cause major health problems.

Image from the Wikipedia page for Epuni Railway Staion

It's just not like the old days ...

I've spent the day at the National Party conference in Wellington. Labour had their conference earlier this year at the same venue, and there were rowdy protests against the EFA, support for US by having troops in Afghanistan, against the police raids in the Ureweras, and probably a dozen other causes.

Outside the National Party conference - not a single protester.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day - we'll see what it brings!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Okay, you've probably seen this by now, but ...

I think Winston is being brilliant

Winston Peters has started tossing the dirt around in Parliament, with his first target being ACT Leader Rodney Hide. The dirt he's throwing is all old news, and not very good - some of it not even true. (I've never heard any ACT staffer call any group of donors 'the girls'.)

To someone like me who follows politics closely, it looks like a desperate attempt to divert some attention away from what are serious allegations of impropriety. If the SFO begin an investigation

But as a strategy, it's brilliant. It's not aimed at me - someone who is not likely to ever vote for NZ First - but it tires the general public of the scandals by making it a part of empty political mud-slinging and hollow innuendo. Pretty soon they will not want to hear any more about the allegations as it's all just politicians behaving badly, again. Most people will wonder why 'they all do this name-calling instead of something about fixing the problems in this country'.

First in line ...

Beer and Books! What a great combo - Sign me up!