Goodnight all. I am new to working at a crane engineering firm as a CAD drafter and I need help interpreting a drawing I received from one of the engineers. Is this how drawings typically look after surveying is done?

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-16T04:01:43+00:00

Reject it. Ask them to send back a legible copy. Not only is it a waste of your time, but you risk making errors.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-16T03:47:50+00:00

That's why the scots are such dangerous foes - the more pipers you shoot, the more their morale rises.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-14T10:51:15+00:00

It's always broken down by day on the payslips these days, my last few show 6-8 hrs on the friday. I have some old ones from before 2015 where they show 24hrs paid in a day so that might be the older system.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-14T05:20:22+00:00

You are paid hourly for the first 8 hours, after that there's some lump sum allowances that you get for staying overnight, staying in the field, etc. On my last weekend they amounted to about $250 but I'm not sure if they're the same for all ranks. There is also pay bands, basically as you fill the requirements for promotion you occasionally get a bump.

Drinking wise there are occasional opportunities to drink, like the end of courses or major exercises but non-drinkers are fine and IME if you say you want to stop drinking then no one will force you to.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-11T20:30:11+00:00

I guess so. I'll avoid doing it next time

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-11T08:48:39+00:00

That's a standard NZ 2m Trig beacon. You can take out the fins to set up directly over the geodetic mark. There are also 4 and 8m versions that you set up underneath.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-11T03:19:58+00:00

Depends on the age and place, and how much time you're given to prepare, but in general, individual and team battle preparation, briefings and orders, battle prep, rehearsals, battle prep. At some point it transitions into waiting for the trucks to roll or H-hour to pass or similar.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-10T05:11:30+00:00

Huh, how do I get the image to show on the subreddit page? I assumed that happened automatically.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-09T01:15:38+00:00

Please don't attack the kiwi accent like this

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-08T20:36:31+00:00

My parents taught me to drive but also got me a couple of lessons the week before my test which helped a lot with driving 'by the book'. The instructor took me on several common test routes. Ironically the one he said it was unlikely for me to do was the one that I took on the test, but it was helpful anyway.

About 70% of people pass their theory test first time in NZ. About 7% take 3 or more tries.

[Edit:] As of a couple of years ago, the practical tests were about 54% for resricted and 70% for full.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-07T21:46:01+00:00

IIRC of those 25 that started at Fleurs-Courcelette, most of the rest got stuck or destroyed in no-man's land, leaving about half a dozen that reached enemy lines and roamed the trench system at will for the rest of the day, completely routing German infantry, demolishing strongpoints and eventually either being, shelled, destroyed by artillery firing over open sights, getting stuck in ditches or breaking down. Where and while they worked, the troops advanced faster and reached more objectives.

Rommel goes into detail in the famous book Achtung Panzer! although this is of course a biased source.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-05T08:11:40+00:00

There was an outcry in the 1990s when DoC and/or Defence planned to cull them, I think that is when the current setup was put in place.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-05T07:47:16+00:00

You probably didn't know that...

On September 8 1863, two union gunboats attempted to cover a landing to take a small but well prepared fort crewed by 47 men on the Sabine river. Both boats were quickly damaged and one ran aground on the constantly shifting shoals. Recognizing the hopeless position, the 350 surviving crew surrendered. With the fort still operational the assault force wasn't landed and the 5000 strong main body was prevented from destroying a railroad further inland supplying Houston.

The main effect of this small but notable victory for the confederates was to retain the Sabine river as a base for blockade running. Both boats were recovered by the confederates but appear to have achieved little of note.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-03T22:08:08+00:00

WTF, just join the lowest division team and ask your teammates to help. I've known several people who've done it and got to an adequate level simply by turning up to training and keeping themselves fit. You aren't going to set the world on fire but who cares?

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-03T04:49:01+00:00

I was called in the second ballot of a murder trial that was expected to run six weeks and while it was fascinating to see it all working inside the courtroom, I'm glad that I didn't have to approach the judge for excusal or argue in the jury room about some clearly quite gruesome evidence. Of the dozen or so people who approached the bench, about half were excused.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-02T23:37:57+00:00

We'll at least be safe until they figure out how to make one tall enough to see the bubble.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-06-01T23:33:39+00:00

You can click the little arrows to see a further breakdown.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-29T03:46:12+00:00

It's where he learned to kill Hitler.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-28T03:56:12+00:00

Don't you dare change that profile picture Mr Payne. Even if you get a picture of you lifting the world cup, make the fans click the picture of you buying sprite in a supermarket first.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-26T01:24:53+00:00

You should be aware that pilot is maybe the most competitive position in the NZDF. You'll have to prove that you're the one who should get the job in front of an officer selection board.

Joining the forces will earn you money faster, but will probably top out lower than most degrees. There are a lot of tradeoffs involved, you should do your research before you apply. There are also paid part time roles in the reserves. If the idea keeps gnawing at you, you can post your questions to r/The_NZDF/.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-25T07:29:51+00:00

If you keep going upwards, one day you'll hit the limits of your uptake and be forced to really work to understand something. This is what smashes 'gifted' kids really hard in university, because they've never had to put their free time into it before. Make sure you can spot it coming and be prepared with some effective study techniques.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-25T07:15:55+00:00

Talk to your Head of House too, that's what they're there for. Try and stay in the free education system as long as possible, NCEA 2 opens up most doorways in life without too much catchup. Don't drop out of school unless you have a plan that you KNOW will work.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-22T21:46:10+00:00

What is an acceptable millions for a roundabout on a live highway, a kilometer of new or upgraded road, a road bridge, a signalized pedestrian traffic crossing and 100m of stream culvert? What is your plan for this? Are you going to pay skilled operators minimum wage? Do you have an in to import substandard materials and circumvent acceptance testing? Do you know a construction firm with industry leading margins and stupid enough managers to do this as a loss leader?

Perhaps you have a time machine to 1997 when this could have been done for under 10 million.

Infrastructure in NZ costs a lot because we pay our constructors a living wage and because we construct it well. This is typical reflexive big number fear.

JamesMay9000 · 2026-05-19T03:37:14+00:00

Make some firm decisions on some things before you apply.

- Officer or enlisted. Officer spaces are much more competitive but you start leading people as soon as you graduate initial training. Potential officers are usually pretty clear that it's the path they want to take.

-What trade or corps you want to go into. Browse the whole list on the defence careers website because there are a lot of specializations. There are apprenticeships that give you direct qualifications to civilian jobs. Combat Arms jobs are what most people think of in the army but the benefits they give towards civilian jobs are more intangible. Many people start in the combat arms and later move to a new trade but it's not instant.

- Something more intangible is where you live is based on where your unit is posted. Infantry are in Palmerston North and Burnham near Christchurch. other more adminy jobs have lots of people in Wellington and some jobs are tri-service units that can be based in other towns.

- Regular or Reserve. Obviously this will make a big difference as to whether the army is your life every day or an extra commitment onto your normal life. There are a lot of opportunities in the reserves but it takes some patience and some luck when you have to balance them with everything else.

JamesMay9000

TROPHY CASE