http://pacificempire.org.nz Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:26:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Update: Phil and I are now living in separate flats; I'm out in Mana now.  There is a lot to see out this way, it is a really beautiful location. What follows are a bunch of panoramas I have made using the excellent Hugin panorama software.  I highly recommend checking ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2010/02/25/panoramas/ Made by me (click to embiggen). If you are confused, look here. http://pacificempire.org.nz/2010/02/24/telecom-xt-rage/ I was amused by this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about iMac problems. Faults reported on forums range from cracked glass, screen flickering, yellow tinged or noisy screens and have been experienced by users around the world as far afield as North America, Europe and Australia. It's ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/12/16/smh-fail/ Labour's Lianne Dalziel said deprivation of liberty was a core function of the state ...From TV3's report on private prisons. http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/11/26/labour-on-deprivation-of-liberty/ I really like UK online bookstore The Book Depository - they have low prices and free shipping, even halfway around the world to New Zealand - but readers should note that they have two domain names serving what appears to be the same site:bookdepository.combookdepository.co.ukThe important thing about this is that ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/11/26/confusing-book-depository-urls/ Yep, we're all doomed. http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/08/25/skynet-step-1/ ACT's David Garrett is on the front page of the papers again, accused of tough-talking Clayton Cosgrove in a closed-session law-and-order select committee meeting, alledgedly suggesting they "take it outside" during a disagreement.The man is a complete embarassment to the tattered remnants of the classical liberal wing of ACT."Aren't ACT ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/08/07/conservative-garrett/ 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. http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/08/06/common-sense-at-the-standard/ 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 ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/07/31/kapiti-free-lightbulb-program/ A bizarre blog post on The Stranded contains some extremely odd thinking.  During the debate about Matariki, ACT MP David Garrett asked Chris Finlayson in Parliament: Is the Minister aware that Dr Paul Moon, a professor of history at the Auckland University of Technology and a well-known expert in pre-European history, ... http://pacificempire.org.nz/2009/07/30/david-garrett-racist/