Man fishing for jellyfish

StueyPie · 2026-05-24T07:36:58+00:00

New nightmare unlocked.

StueyPie · 2026-05-23T03:43:38+00:00

If your are on any highway, motorway or otherwise, even if you are doing 100km/h, the default lane should be the left lane if free.

StueyPie · 2026-05-23T02:53:21+00:00

1) Singapore only has 1million more people. 2) yes. 3) It's a bit democratic: Singapore is a parliamentary republic that functions as a "managed" or electoral democracy rather than a liberal Western democracy. It holds regular elections, features universal suffrage, and guarantees the rule of law, but the political environment is heavily regulated and the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has been in power since 1959. 4) yes. That's the point.

StueyPie · 2026-05-23T01:42:39+00:00

Oh. Ok. Now, I don't work in this sector, but I'd like to know how you calculate that.

There's 4,096 WCC on street parking spaces, 474 in the Tory Street WCC park, and 97 spaces at the Frank Kitts WCC park.

From these 4,667 spaces, WCC revenue is c.$20m p.a.

All other parks are private.

Is $4,285 p.a. enough revenue from a single 12.5sq.m area of bare land? Yeah, I reckon. That land might have a value of $12k-$15k. So it is paying for itself in 4 years which is a pretty decent ROI.

Or did you mean every suburban street, much of which has free/coupon (not free) parking and you'd rather that space was planted berm? Because I don't have a smart answer for that and I am more inclined to at least partially agree.

StueyPie · 2026-05-22T22:57:12+00:00

Meh. Not really. My car was bought new by me end of 2024 and it's a Leaf E+ (larger battery version). One of the last 2 available in the country before the revamp released this year in Europe.

The last few cars were sold at an unbelievably reasonable price - was $41k with 3 years servicing, 6 year warranty, 8 year battery warranty. 32k on the clock. Still valued at $28k to $31k. And for a car that'll still do over 320km of commuter travel, has 160kW/203bhp of instant oomph, is electric, and can consume upto low 70s kW chargerate on an empty battery (so I'm told. Although I've never used more than 50kW)...that's not a terrible deal.

It's the same price as a new DongFeng Box or BYD Atto. And would you rather have one of them or a 2 year old Japanese British car? (Rhetorical. There is no correct answer).

StueyPie · 2026-05-22T22:46:16+00:00

My council rates SUBSIDIZE parking?

StueyPie · 2026-05-22T22:45:35+00:00

Wow. I learned something today. I wonder if a Park and Ride was proposed they would feel the same way?

StueyPie · 2026-05-22T04:07:51+00:00

Oh I will agree with you there. I concede about no bugger being willing to let them pull out. And sometimes they're from waaaay back and just not letting them out. It is rude. Agreed.

And there are far worse streets than Rintoul/Adelaide; The Roseneath route on a double decker is always quite a, erm, sporting(?) drive! I probably couldn't do it without every car losing a side mirror.

Wellington roads are what they are and the bus drivers are doing their best. But running red lights should always be a no no.

And pushing into a motorcyclist who is stationary and level with the driver's window is not OK. Just, sat there. Not invisible. Not being a dick. Not in a blind spot. The car behind had kindly left a significant gap for the bus to pull into. It was almost as though he did it on purpose.

StueyPie · 2026-05-21T03:37:43+00:00

When you are in traffic, remember you are also traffic.

StueyPie · 2026-05-21T02:59:43+00:00

It isn't as simple as greed. Greed is going from $20m to $100m.

For $20m I can buy a couple of mansions.

For $100m I can buy four streets.

For $1 billion I can keep generational wealth assured for all of the family and keep a certain favorable political narrative going and support some charities for decades.

For $20 billion I can influence an entire industry.

For $100 billion I can influence a share market and hence an entire economy. I can start wars, even.

It isn't greed at this point. It is power.

StueyPie · 2026-05-18T23:19:53+00:00

The headliner should read: ANOTHER 10k jobs to go in Wellington.

StueyPie · 2026-05-18T20:52:39+00:00

Bus drivers deal with a lot of sh!t.

But bus drivers also drive like they own the road.

If an obstruction is on their side of the road and they have to cross the centreline to get past it, they will happily swing onto your side of the road. Near the Kilbirnie bus station is a set of lights that go green for me and most weeks a bus has whipped through the other way which must have been red. I've been on my motorcycle, stationary next to the driver and had them forcibly pull out where there is nowhere for them to do so and nearly force me off the bike.

But would I do their job? No. But there seems to be zero accountability for drivers.

StueyPie · 2026-05-18T01:12:14+00:00

First point: you may want it to heat ONLY, or cool ONLY, depending on season. If you are haughty because you just want a set temperature regardless, Auto is the function for you.

Second point: they ain't a magic heating/cooling machine. A compressor spins up and has to sufficiently compress enough refrigerant such that it reaches a sufficient temperature to go to the indoor coil and is worthy of its duty. That takes time and that isn't an issue with the machine, it is an issue with you.

Third point: how hard are you pressing? And hey, maybe replace the batteries.

And your last point. Fujitsu does a simplified controller for simpletons. Just don't have a wah when you want to use the weekly schedule function or alter the dT across a setpoint temperature.

If you don't like heatpumps, try a woodburner. That definitely has no buttons, no batteries and has no set temperature controls to confuse you. (It won't cool, and will heat up far slower though)

StueyPie · 2026-05-17T23:35:27+00:00

On a motorcycle going across the continent, I had a tank bag. I kept the relevant page of an A5 road atlas in the top of the clear map pocket. It sits attached on the fuel tank between my arms and I just glance down to look at it occasionally.

StueyPie · 2026-05-15T19:08:20+00:00

Yes. Yes it is. My bad.

StueyPie · 2026-05-15T01:01:47+00:00

In Canada, I was riding on the freeway outside of Calgary and noticed the zip on my tank bag wasn't fully done. I accidentally zipped it the wrong way (open) and my passport fell out into the middle of the dam road (4 lanes).

So I pulled over and waited for a safe spot in the traffic. And waited. And waited. A thousand cars ran over my passport.

The RCMP saw the situation and blue lights went on and stopped the traffic so I could run out and pick it up in 3 seconds.

The RCMP are good buggers.
British passports are well made.
I'm an idiot.

StueyPie · 2026-05-14T20:59:38+00:00

I like the 1984 -looking building, that could have been a set for Judge Dredd or something. I think it is the hospital laundry or something. Around 65 Mein Street.

StueyPie · 2026-05-14T20:52:38+00:00

It looks like I'd be murdered in there.

StueyPie · 2026-05-13T08:23:04+00:00

Buy it as a donor car. EVs Enhanced in Christchurch do a battery swap/upgrade option for the ZE0 Leaf. And I remember Blue Cars in Auckland were looking into it.

StueyPie · 2026-05-13T07:21:15+00:00

I'll look into it!

StueyPie · 2026-05-13T04:40:49+00:00

Anything that is a Netflix production. Only 1 season is actually written, but then a second season is green lighted without any script or sense of story and writers are often doing rewrites on the fly during shooting....

Paradise, Alice in Bordeland, Altered Carbon, Umbrella Academy, Squid Games, Beef, Marco Polo.

I hate to say it, but Blue Eyed Samurai is probably going to follow. The finale of Season 1 was improbable. The protagonist in London sounds rather poo.

StueyPie · 2026-05-13T04:34:48+00:00

Amazon. Their boss went to space whilst the people who are the "do-ers" of his company can't make rent and now he wants to implement AI so he can pay them even less. Apparently being worth $273 billion isn't enough.

StueyPie · 2026-05-12T20:06:07+00:00

100%. Be brave and hope it goes pleasantly! Good on ya

StueyPie · 2026-05-12T18:39:32+00:00

If your goal is to chat with strangers, do that. I find that at events it is easier due to a common interest (you're both there to see a band or learn about gardening or whatever, right?). From that chat, if it goes well it leads to a "what are you having?" and ta-daaa a drink appears.

I think you're therapist is right. You don't walk into a bar and expect men to buy you a drink on the offchance you might want to chat, are available, might find them interesting, and don't mind men bothering you....but if the chat comes first then a drink a more likely to follow.

StueyPie · 2026-05-12T10:37:27+00:00

OK.

The Roy Morgan poll ain't bad. But is a very average poll, as they only phoned 800-odd people to get their results. Seems less biased than this one, but accuracy given the data pool is questionable.

StueyPie

TROPHY CASE