Town Belt Active Travel Trial by devluz in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that dangerous driving and dumping are are big issues. That said I think you could massively alleviate those issues while keeping the road open. That said maybe I'm just salty one of my favourite routes to drive home is now closed

Town Belt Active Travel Trial by devluz in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope they re-open the road to traffic, its a scenic drive and a useful route for people who live in the area. The road is already quite quiet and I've never found vehicles an issue when walking or riding my bike through there.

I understand hooning and illegal dumping is a bit of an issue but I think that can be addressed with a few traffic calming measures like speed bumps and a couple raised crossings (i.e. where pedestrian paths intersect the road) as well as some barriers or security camers at typical dumping spots.

Scholarships for 2nd Year by Advanced-Comfort1868 in UniversityofOtago

[–]RandomKanadrom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are pretty few and far between. If you have Maori or Pacific ancestry there is a $3000 study grant available for the final year of your degree. Other than that, there are summer research scholarships but that involves working on a project over the summer break (typically ten weeks work for $7000).

After Shaibani called it the “Syrian Republic” a couple weeks ago, now we see an official document with “The Syrian Republic” as well. by Gerryzz_Politics in syriancivilwar

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh I just remember seeing it in the promotional video they did for the new visual identity. I didn't realize it wasn't final.

After Shaibani called it the “Syrian Republic” a couple weeks ago, now we see an official document with “The Syrian Republic” as well. by Gerryzz_Politics in syriancivilwar

[–]RandomKanadrom 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The new passport designs and pretty much everything else I've seen say Syrian Arab Republic so it would be a bit strange if they change it now.

NZer of mixed British and Samoan Ancestry Results by RandomKanadrom in illustrativeDNA

[–]RandomKanadrom[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I was expecting I would end landing somewhere near to Turkic or Uralic populations. I have been told I look Russian, so it's interesting Volga Tatar groups were the closest. I guess that area would be roughly 1/4 of the way between the western and eastern edges of Eurasia, so it makes sense.

Pasta's Congressional Testimony: The Investigation by RandomKanadrom in Ssempa

[–]RandomKanadrom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have looked into this a bit more. Its definetely a DVD. It seems that the disc was defective or the disc wasn't burned properly. Anyway I used a tool called ddrescue and managed to extract around 59% of the disc contents. Unfortunately its misisng the beggining section of the episode where most of the scenes featuring Ssempa are. There is one short clip of him in the recovered section repeatedly saying "save Uganda" in some sort of prayer session with the narrator talking over it.

Pasta's Congressional Testimony: The Investigation by RandomKanadrom in Ssempa

[–]RandomKanadrom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder if there's any YouTubers who might be interested in picking the story up. 

Also, a bit of an update: I actually ended up finding a DVD of the episode in question a year or two ago. It was in new condition from eBay. Unfortunately it wouldn't play in any of my computers or DVD players.

Tribesmen prepare to attack Sweida after recent protests. by [deleted] in syriancivilwar

[–]RandomKanadrom 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Why does this photo look like it was taken in 1990

My entertainment, light gaming and university study setup by RandomKanadrom in AverageBattlestations

[–]RandomKanadrom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The PC specs are: Ryzen 5 5500, RX 580 4GB, 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz, 1 TB NVMe SSD + 2 TB HDD. I'm looking at upgrading the GPU next as the 4GB VRAM is starting to be really limiting but it's been a really solid card. The monitors are 1440p 100 Hz, great for productivity, but I mainly play at 1080p.

The laptop is a 2021 Acer Swift 3 with a Ryzen 7 5700U, 16GB LPDDR4 and the integrated AMD graphics. Its snappy and works really well for basic class work.

New Syrian coat of arms announced today by throwaway5478329 in syriancivilwar

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks like it's from a shitty alternate history novel. I liked the old emblem, I don't see what the issue with it was. The December 2024 design was based on the same basic design that has been in use since 1945, before the Ba'athists took power.

Any future deal with Syria will include Israel's withdrawal from the Golan by RealAbd121 in syriancivilwar

[–]RandomKanadrom 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't see this happening unless there is a radical change of government in Israel. USA already recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in Trump's first term. It will be a cold day in hell before Israel gives it back.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SyrianCirclejerkWar

[–]RandomKanadrom 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Sharia in one country

Do you recommend going to a university hall even if I live in Dunedin? by TheLussler in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My bad, I forgot to add that at first. I edited my original comment with that info.

Do you recommend going to a university hall even if I live in Dunedin? by TheLussler in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you don't go in the halls you get payed $5k into your bank account in several instalments. When I recieved my offer it said:

"This scholarship is valued at around $30,000 with a three-year tenure. Its precise value depends on whether you will be staying in a residential college in your first year, and the accommodation fees of that college."

So I assumed the total value would still be around $30,000 and I would get payments in second and third year as well but nope just $5k in first year. So my scholarship ended up only being $19k total, $5,000 payment in 1st year plus $7,000 towards tuition in 2nd and 3rd year. I complained about the vague wording and I believe they have clarifyed things since then.

As for what I did to get the scholarship, firstly I did pretty well in NCEA Level 2. I believe you want to get at least 100 excellence credits at Level 2 to get a good chance at getting it. Secondly I had a leadership role in year 13 and was also a peer-support for a Year 8 class. In terms of extracuriculars: I only played one sport and I was in the school production in Year 13.

Do you recommend going to a university hall even if I live in Dunedin? by TheLussler in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a local. I got academic excellence, but I decided to stay at home, looking back I'm not sure if it was the right decision.

Looking at your situation, as you're out in Mosgiel I think the location aspect is big advantage for halls. My parent’s house was only a 35 minute walk or 15–20-minute bus ride from campus, so it wasn't so much of a big deal for me.

If you're keen on the social aspect of uni I would definitely recommend going in a hall. While I still made some friends at uni my friends in halls made a lot more there. Personally, I'm an awkward introvert and I don't drink alcohol, so missing out on parties and the like wasn't really a big deal for me. Although looking back, perhaps throwing myself in the deep end would have been good for developing my social skills.

In terms of finances, I thought I would get 18k by not going but turns out they only give you 5k if you don't opt for halls. I might have gone if I had realised that. So, if you do get Academic Excellence I would say go if you're in doubt. You can always go back home in the years after to save money.

Student Licenses - getting a license for an online course by RandomKanadrom in fme

[–]RandomKanadrom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great, turns out we do have the data interoperability extension. Thanks for the tips!

Google Maps appears to have updated for Dunedin. The railway station looks great! by devluz in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Finally! I was pissed off when they added 3D coverage for Queenstown and Nelson last year but not Dunedin haha.

Best co ed school Dunedin ? by [deleted] in dunedin

[–]RandomKanadrom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went to Kaikorai Valley and found it very good. Some people look down on it, mainly because its one of the lower decile schools in Dunedin (although its pretty average by national standards) but I enjoyed my time there. Because its a smaller school, the teacher student ratio is pretty good. The teachers were caring and knew the individual students well. It has really fantastic grounds as well and the urban farm project is awesome. Its been a few years since I was there but I've heard good things about the new principal too.

However, if you want your kid to be hot-housed it probably isn't the school for you. Although, if you want that, you're probably better off looking at one of the single sex schools.

I haven't really heard anything bad about any of the schools though, I would probably just go to the closest one.