I don’t post much technical stuff here, but I’ve been into Linux (specifically Ubuntu) for a long time. I’ve been geeking it up tonight installing Chromium OS on my netbook, and decided a head-to-head boot-up speed test was in order. I measured how long it took for each OS from pressing the ‘on’ button to [...]

Freedom, Miscellaneous, Personal, Science, Technology | 2 Comments »

Yet another anti-alcohol study has popped up: Otago University researchers say people are more likely to binge if there’s an off-licence nearby. Otago University Professor Jennie Conner says … “We found that the more liquor outlets you live close to the more harm you’re likely to report from drinking”. A classic case of poor science [...]

Brewing, Education, Free Speech, Freedom, New Zealand, Science | No Comments »

“Our most basic freedoms are threatened by an outrageous attempt to shut down peaceful activist magazine NORML News,” declares Libertarianz Drugs Spokesman Luke Howison. Three issues of the popular cannabis activism magazine NORML News have been submitted to the Office of Film & Literature Classification for ‘classification’ – which is potentially a precursor for a [...]

Catastrophes, Culture, Free Speech, Freedom, Libertarianz, New Zealand, Police, Politics | 1 Comment »

I’ve noticed something weird going on in Karori recently.  Check out this sign from the window of the Karori Post Office (click for big): That’s right.  It’s a serious-looking Big Brother poster warning Karori residents that surveillance and recording of their physical whereabouts, conversations, phone calls, text messages and internet use “may” be operating, for [...]

Culture, Freedom, New Zealand, Photos, Police, Politics, Wellington | 4 Comments »

On Saturday April 24th 2010, Phil and I went along to the Wellington protest against the Search and Surveillance Bill, which proposes: Sweeping powers to spy, bug conversations and hack into private computers could be given to a web of state agencies as diverse as Inland Revenue and the Meat Board. The Human Rights Commission [...]

Free Speech, Freedom, Libertarianz, New Zealand, Personal, Photos, Police, Politics, Wellington | 1 Comment »

I was fascinated to read about the Sentinelese recently – a tribe of 250-odd hunter-gatherers living on a fairly big tropical island off the coast of India. They are extremely hostile to visitors and appear to have had no more than cursory contact with people from the outside world. This picture is the typical view [...]

Culture, Freedom, Linkage, Non-state actors, Pacific, Photos, Science, World | 2 Comments »

Labour’s Lianne Dalziel said deprivation of liberty was a core function of the state … From TV3′s report on private prisons.

Freedom, Labour, New Zealand, Politics | No Comments »

I spar regularly with the posters and commenters at The Standard, and the hypocrisy of the Left with regard to anonymity and privacy has not gone unnoticed in the past. I will, however, applaud lprent today.  He got something right yesterday when he withdrew Bill English’s address from a post. Well done.

Freedom, Labour, New Zealand, Politics | 2 Comments »

I read in the Kapiti Observer this morning about council plans to distribute 34,000 fluorescent lightbulbs free to every household.  This will involve a $74,000 interest-free loan from the EECA.  The report contained estimates that the bulbs will save Kapiti residents $5.8 million – that’s a huge return of $74 per $1 spent over the [...]

Education, Energy, Freedom, New Zealand, Science, Wellington | 3 Comments »

John Key’s official holiday in Niue has so far included dancing, feasts and drinking kava. When Michael Jones described Noni juice as leaving ‘a bad taste, despite being good for you’, Key apparently said this was ‘A bit like raising taxes,’ according to The Dominion Post. Hopefully that was just the kava talking, John. Raising [...]

Freedom, Libertarianz, New Zealand, Pacific, Politics | No Comments »