kgwilson

A complete clown with the intellect of a retarded amoeba but the rust belt still think he is their saviour despite failing to entice any industries that moved offshore to return or reduce the jobless rate in these states. A friend & LAME who is in IOWA working reckons they still think the sun shines out of his arce. He is of course a self proclaimed genius as we have all been told..

Clinton was ultimately acquitted. The political judiciary closed ranks. Nixon was also impeached but resigned before anything happened. Trump is so slippery nothing may ever be done even though his corrupt conduct is now legendary. The latest is that he always cheats at Golf. His caddy always gets his ball out of the woods so it mysteriously appears in the middle of the fairway and is the only one who ever checks hit tweets but that is only during the day. His lies & false or misleading statements are fast approaching 10,000 since taking office.

A great initiative. It bears some resemblance to the Mini front on. EVs other than Tesla seem to have uninspiring grilles, which of course they don't even need.

Sydney university has developed a gel version of the zinc bromine battery & now has a venture capital partner now to develop it. The company is Gelion. The technology is 100 years old and always needed a liquid reservoir to pump the liquid around as it only worked as a flow battery. The good thing about this gel technology is it is stable, non flow, is scaleable from mobile phones to huge building size, that there is hardly any deterioration over time and cost is low. See Gelion Technologies I'm glad they didn't ask the government for help. That would have been a sure fire way to bury it.

May be true but the hydrogen burnt really well. If it had been helium the result would have been much different.

Sweden used to drive on the left but decided to change to fit in with the rest of Europe. It was called Högertrafikomläggningen meaning Right-Hand Traffic Diversion and happened on the 3rd of September 1967.There was relatively little chaos & the accident rate actually decreased due to the publicity and discipline of Swedes plus the fact that half the cars were already left hand drive.. Canada changed in the 1920s. Most ex British colonies drive on the left. China drives on the right but Macau & Hong Kong now part of China drive on the left. Maybe we should all drive in the middle of the road & solve the global population explosion.

Whoever they get, it doesn't really matter the place is fotally tucked anyway.

I have been to a number of Marae & have stayed there overnight & lived 12km from the Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia the seat of the Maori King movement, for more than 25 years. I was always treated with respect and respected their culture and customs. In pre European times some were cannibals and the Maori I knew acknowledged that without any denial. An old friend and neighbour Bob Tipene died just before I left for Australia & I attended his Tangi (funeral). I was treated like family. It was a humbling experience and I felt honoured to be there among his people and to be treated as one of them. Like every culture there are the ratbags and those with an axe to grind but the Elders generally keep them in line. Too many white Kiwis have never had this experience and take their views from hearsay and their own internal white prejudices which have descended through the generations of white superiority. There are a number of Maori based gangs in NZ & they are pretty intimidating. They too have their structure and culture. One of the most fearsome is the Mongrel Mob. After the shooting in Christchurch the Mongrel Mob approached the local Muslim community and provided free security for their Mosques not just in Christchurch but around the country. Jacinda Adern is an inspirational leader who espouses kindness, empathy, love and compassion. She has held NZ together at a most difficult time. There is no-one here that comes close. At the UN she spoke of these things while holding her new baby. She got a standing ovation. Trump got up & stated that he rejects Globalism and embraces patriotism. Deadly silence. If the rest of the world follows her advice I do not fear the future.

It really doesn't matter how much factual information you have and can prove. Some people refuse to hear or be swayed from their point of view by the truth. Trump has made an entire career out of lies and misleading information and he does it both ways depending on what he wants. An example is to get loans he exaggerated his wealth by multiple millions and then reduced it by multiple millions when being asked to provide information for the US IRS. There are now well over 9000 lies or false statements he has made since taking office. All are well documented and fully referenced. Of course when it came to the government workers not being paid, it was Trump who refused to sign the order. He of course blamed Congress & the democrats (after saying on TV he would not blame them) for not giving him 2.5 billion to build a wall that he originally said Mexico would pay for. Trump supporters can't see this as wrong. The US economy was going well largely due to the policies put in place by the Obama administration but of course Trump took the credit. His promise to bring back industry to the mid west "Rust Belt" has not materialised and some manufacturers have moved more production out of the US. Now the economy is faltering with the rate of growth declining since 2017 with a sharp fall from 4% in late November to 1.96% now.

Anning is so close to being a terrorist it isn't funny. Hanson & Katter share many of his views but they are politically aware enough to know that they'd lose votes if they kept him on. How someone who gets only 19 votes & is elected through party preferences can stay in the senate when kicked out of that party & spend our money travelling around to right wing fascist rallys to expose his racist hatred is mind bogglingly pathetic. The law must be changed to prevent this in future. Good on the kid for egging him. Annings disgusting diatribe has caused far more harm than that did. Below is an excerpt from a statement given after the shootings by Dame Anne Salmond a former NZer of the year and it applies equally or even moreso here. You may not understand the Maori but will get the idea. "In the wake of this terrible tragedy, let's be honest, for once. White supremacy is a part of us, a dark power in the land. In its soft version, it looks bland and reasonable. Eminent New Zealanders assure their fellows that Māori were "lucky" to be colonised by Europeans, that te reo Māori is worthless, that tikanga Māori have nothing to teach us. Others simply assume that ancestral legacies from Europe are superior to those from the Pacific – in the law, science, social and cultural life. In its hard version, it's violent and hateful, spewing out curses, incarcerating young Māori in large numbers, denying them a decent education, homes and jobs, telling them they have no future, and are better off dead." After Māori, the indigenous people of these islands, this sense of white superiority spills out over "other" groups – Pasifika, Asian people, and now Muslims in Christchurch. Many of these people have been sworn at, punched and jostled, treated as aliens who have no place among us. Just talk with members of these groups, and they will have traumatic experiences to share. Contempt breeds contempt, and hatred can breed hatred. Sometimes they strike back, as you would expect – although more often than not, at those close at hand. The doctrine of white superiority is based on arrogance, and ignorance. Since other cultures, languages and religions are worthless, there's no need to learn about them. The "others" are dehumanised, making their misery and suffering unreal. This helps to explain our tolerance for the terrible statistics of youth suicide, incarceration, and family violence in New Zealand. Like the song of the Orcs, this kind of hatred echoes in deep, hidden caverns in our society, menacing and frightening. Every now and then it flashes out in actions that are simply terrifying, like the shootings in Christchurch. So let's be clear about this. White supremacy is a black strand woven through our history as a nation. It was deeply rooted in Europe, even before arriving here in New Zealand." Fortunately, though, it's not the only legacy we have to draw on. From the outset, ideas of justice and kindness, equality and mutual respect have provided a counterpoint to greed and colonial ambition. Interwoven with notions of tika, a and manaakitanga, this has led to moments that light up the dark. When James Cook's Endeavour arrived in New Zealand in 1769, almost 250 years ago, there were shootings. The next day, Cook and an unnamed warrior put down their weapons and exchanged a hongi on a sacred rock. Four years later, when a group of his men were sacrificed in Queen Charlotte Sound, Cook commented of Māori: "I have always found them of a Brave, Noble, Open and benevolent disposition, devoid of treachery, but they will never put up with an insult if they have an opportunity to resent it." He had come to admire Māori and understand something about mana, manaakitanga and tika, lessons that many New Zealanders have yet to learn. In 1840 when Te Tiriti was signed at Waitangi, for instance, the text describes an exchange of gifts between Queen Victoria and the rangatira, a balance of powers between her agent, the governor (kawanatanga), and the rangatira (tino rangatiratanga), and a promise of equality between Māori and the Queen's people (nga tikanga rite tahi). This promise was utterly smashed by the incoming settler government, which proclaimed and practised white supremacy. 135 years later when the Waitangi Tribunal was set up, the New Zealand government took a step away from this doctrine, although the promise of equality has yet to be amply fulfilled. In the present, let's face it. Online, on talkback, in taxis and around dinner tables, the doctrine of white superiority is still alive and well in New Zealand. Sometimes it's loud and ugly, at other times simply taken for granted, and all the more insidious and dangerous. It's absolutely right that our prime minister should take a stand for kindness and generosity, aroha and manaakitanga in the relations among different groups in our country. Like many other Kiwis, I support and admire her for that. But let's not pretend that there's not a dark underbelly in New Zealand society. It's real, and its twisted, and its been here forever. The rest of us have to name it, challenge it when it comes to light, and replace it with different, better ways of being Kiwi. The Muslim community has suffered a terrible, heart-breaking loss, and it needs all our love and support. It is not the only group who are targeted by white supremacists, however, and there are more ways of killing and maiming people than with a gun."

Baseload power is a myth used to defend the fossil fuel industry. It is peak demand that power production is required for. Coal fired power stations take a long time to start up and can not be shut down as the time and cost of starting them up is huge. They also take time to adjust to peak demand. Baseload is the minimum that can be produced to keep things running & it means that coal fired plants generally run at very low efficiency, typically at around 50%. Coal will continue to be an important part of the energy mix but as renewables and storage improves, the reliance on coal will diminish and eventually disappear. It could happen by 2023 but there is no political will to make it happen.

I put my 2kw system in, in March 2013. There are 8 x 250W panels grid connected on a Net usage basis. Cost was a bit over $4000.00. That will now get you a 6kW system. As at 1/3/19 I have produced 19,138 kWH. If I had to buy that much now at the current peak rate of 31.7c/kWH the cost would be $6,066.75. Of the kWH produced I have consumed 9595 kWH and sold 9543 kWh at around 11.1c/kWH so have been credited $1,059.27. The system paid for itself in 4 years. My electricity bills are around $200.00 each quarter. If I was going to do it now I'd put in a 6kW system & a 10kWH battery or put in the system & wait a bit as batteries are reducing in cost & getting bigger all the time. I have a 7.5 kW air conditioner that consumes a maximum of 2kW of electricity. In the hot weather I turned it on early and it usually ran on lowered consumption of 800W or less being an inverter so the aircon, fridge, freezer radio etc cost nothing to run during the day.

Pells lawyer Robert Richter trivialised the issue by calling His crimes as "no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case". No 13 year old kid that has been sexually abused deserves that sort of demeaning statement. He has since apologised but he said it none the less. I think it displays some of HIS (Richters) character. I think that you would have to be privy to the details of the case to be able to make judgement. Those that were did and he was found guilty. Many older devout catholics prefer to believe what they think and not the evidence presented. The problem now is that how will they find a jury capable of making an unbiased decision.

When the earth received the energy from the sun, captured it over 4 billion years & stored it as coal and oil, then humanity discovered how to release that energy, it provided the path for human expansion, innovation and exploitation. While we have been using coal for thousands of years it wasn't till the industrial revolution that the pace ramped up. In 200 years we have simply taken most of that energy that took 4 billion years to accumulate and used it releasing all the waste and by-products into our atmosphere. In that 200 years the worlds population has expanded from 1 billion to nearly 8 billion. It defies any form of logic that such a massive release of energy from within as well as the same amount coming from the source of all energy, the Sun, being received at the same time has had no effect on the earths climate. It took almost 200 years for humanity to even realise this and there are many who have a vested interest in denying it. The pace is accelerating and Governments still talk of "Growth" not sustainability. We are heading towards the tipping point where it will become irreversible. Of those alive today only the very young may be around to witness it. Humanity may survive but the cost will be complete apocalypse.

After I have cleaned up the yard and mowed the lawn late on a hot humid Saturday & I am hot & sweaty, there is nothing like sitting back on the Patio with a glass of cold craft beer made by me at home. I haven't been to a pub in years other than for a meal & I had a glass of a very nice Marlborough Savignon Blanc for my 69th birthday lunch, the first in months. I like good quality craft beers, my favourite style being India Pale Ale and my own home brewed ales. I always keep some IPA or PA in the garage for the times someone comes who won't try my home brew. That's only happened once as everyone else has said yes (some reluctantly) but everyone has been very complimentary afterwards. I have 4 bottles of Tower 10 IPA by Karl Strauss left from the 6 pack I bought last August. I probably drank excessively when I was young but hated getting drunk. The hangover just wasn't worth it. I can't stand any of the popular beers they sell at pubs and bottle shops. Totally devoid of real flavour with too much gas & little hoppy bitterness & no finish.

Absolutely correct. As soon as Coles started their $1.00 milk Woolies & Aldi were right there with the same price. Price fixing in reverse. Retailers claim it is just being competitive.

Coles, Aldi & Woolies are only a part of the problem. ASIC did a study & found all the hype was BS. The farmer sells to a milk processor. Many of these are farmer co-operatives so they own the processor. The processor then sells to Coles/Aldi/Woolies. All of the processors need to get together and set a minimum price they will sell to C/A/W. Do they do this? Nooo. That is far too sensible. They let the retailers dictate terms & bargain them down to the lowest price by promising big sales or they won't take the milk. If they all said NO, you must accept our minimum & pass that back to the Milk producers what would happen if C/A/W refused? They wouldn't get any milk would they & consumers would get rather pissed off. They might try & import Milk. Where would this come from? NZ is closest but they have a system that links the price to what they get on the world market so that wouldn't work & it would be too expensive to import from anywhere else. So Aussie Dairy Farmers and Milk Processors get together with everyone in the dairy industry nation wide & take them on. Will this happen? Not likely as they can't agree on anything except to blame the retailers.

Apparently the rate is based on the number of trees you plant, something like 1 a minute. Years ago I saw blokes planting pine trees & they had a back pack full of seedlings & a narrow spade. They made a cut in the ground with the spade, put a seedling in it, closed the cut with their boot & moved a couple of metres & did the same thing again. It took about 20-30 seconds each time. Not a lot of skill involved. They are seedlings about a foot high. See $400 a day to plant trees but no-one wants the job As for 1080 there is a lot of controversy over that in NZ. It is mainly used to control possums imported to NZ from Australia in the 1800s for the fur trade. Unfortunately they found the lush bush to their liking and when the fur trade disappeared the population exploded. Possum fur is really soft and amazingly insulating. The current population is around 80 million. It is a national sport to try to run them over when they cross the road at night. In the last 150 years they have evolved much bigger than their Australian ancestors. 1080 is only dropped in pellet form & there is sometimes collateral damage when it is eaten by domestic animals. Overall though it has had a beneficial effect with denuded native forest returning to good growth & returning bird life. NZ possums have a particular liking for birds eggs & the rarer the species the better.

The timber industry from planted Radiata Pine is huge in NZ. It started during the depression in the 1930s as a way to employ people planting trees. 30-40 years later and they were ready for harvest.This has continued ever since. A lot used to be exported as logs to Japan. Logs & Chips are still exported. Good straight ones now go into house framing timber. A lot is exported to Australia and most is treated to be borer & termite resistant. Ply is also made from it. The lesser quality is chipped and made into MDF & chipboard. My brother used to be Chief Engineer at Golden Edge, a huge MDF plant near Nelson at the top of the South Island. It is a fascinating process & MDF is a great product for all sorts of things. When areas are harvested they are replanted within a year & the cycle continues. There was a news article recently in NZ that they were struggling to find people to plant trees as the reckoned $400.00 a day wasn't enough.

So before humans built dams there were rivers but they didn't flow?

Various right wing politicians plus hansenites, independents that got in on 19 primary votes etc keep rabbiting on about new coal fired power as if it was the evangelical saviour. The coal industry even has TV ads about what they call clean coal technology which doesn't exist. It is just less polluting that what our existing 50 year old coal technology delivers. Not only is that 100% wrong but NO ONE on the planet is prepared to finance it. Why do you think that is? Those who have the finance, assess the risk before taking into account any consideration of the pollution that may be caused. They are not going to put their money into some long term investment that is guaranteed to fail are they? No they are much smarter than that. Wind and solar provide positive gains in the very short term. They are gaining momentum exponentially because the cost per mwh is lower than any fossil fuelled generation and the gap is widening by the day.

I first visited India in 1973. Then there were 593 million. Now there are over 1.3 billion and they will become the most populous county on earth surpassing China in 2022 according to some experts. It is no wonder the poor lead such miserable existence. Their caste system sees to this anyway but the more than doubling of the population in 45 years has enhanced their misery. I remember oppressive over 40 deg heat in Delhi in June 73, the sun just a big orange ball as there was so much dust & smoke from cooking fires in the atmosphere. Plenty of slums in the big cities, people living in cardboard boxes or anything they could find but most seemed to accept their existence & just got on with life. Walking through the old city one day I came across a bloke who had just died in the street. I stopped & looked around & people just went on with their day. A short while later a couple of blokes with a hand cart turned up & unceremoniously bundled the body on and wandered off. The pollution was bad then but now it is just atrocious. Many have respiratory problems & the wealthy stay indoors most of the time. The worst contributor to their polluted atmosphere is sulphur dioxide & guess where most of that comes from? And our politicians want Indias Adani, one of the worst polluters in the world to build a coal mine here.

The real problem is us. There are just too many of us. I was born in 1950 and there were just over 2 billion inhabitants of this planet. Now there are 7.7 billion and it is forecast there will be 8 billion by 2023. I reckon we will hit 8 billion by the end of this year. There are more than 6 million extra people on earth since new years eve. This is just unsustainable.

The human race is incredibly resourceful. Channelling that resourcefulness in the right direction is the eternal dilemma. On the one hand we have the money and power philosophy and those with it don't give a flying fuc! about climate change or what they are doing to the planet as they will have lived a very nice existence and will be dead before the sh!t hits the fan. On the other hand are those who fear for the future of their children and grandchildren and really want to move to a sustainable lifestyle but still buy consumer goods as never before, use fossil based energy without a great deal of concern other than supporting renewables and sticking solar panels on their roof and hope things will sort themselves out. Then there are others at the extremes of both philosophies. The professor who says we have only 10 years to go may very well be right & if so why not do nothing as we are all fuc#ed anyway. Personally I think it will take longer, maybe 50 or 100 years but we WILL cease to exist. Our resourcefulness is not as powerful as our greed and greed always wins.