We recently received a ‘letter’ from NZ Post, offering a chance to win some rather attractive prizes. All we had to do was fill in a 6-page survey asking for all kinds of personal details.

It all looked daunting, to tell the truth, but the prizes were very attractive.

Until you read the very small print. Close reading revealed that the information was to be sold to companies so they could send you spam, otherwise known as advertising and offers.

NZ Consumer, and the Privacy Commissioner have weighed in, because apparently some people thought that because the survey came from NZ Post they somehow had to fill it in:

We are concerned that a New Zealand Post household survey does not clearly state that filling in the form is entirely voluntary.

[Via : NZ Post should come clean - consumer.org.nz.]

“The important thing is for people to be clear about the commercial purposes of the survey, which is to collect their personal details and preferences. Contact details will then be passed to businesses and marketers both here and overseas.”

[Via : Media release: Privacy Commissioner comments on NZ Post survey.]

I think it’s time for NZ Post to die. The Internet is taking over much of what we used to do by Post. Let courier companies handle the rest.

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A very long time ago a chap in England tried to blow up the Parliament — Guy Fawkes failed and since then it’s been routine to burn wads of cash every 5 November in the form of gunpowder and other explosives.

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;

As a kid and as an adult I have often enjoyed the fireworks, but these days I think there’s plenty of spectacle in our lives, and I don’t see any reason for the city to burn so much money every year. Perhaps every 5 years would be special, and in the meantime leave it to the rugby matches and other such events to provide the public with explosive entertainment.

And, with every passing year I feel more and more strongly that fireworks should absolutely not be on sale to the general public. I’d be OK with them being sold to registered bodies such as schools, but not to individuals who set them off at all times of the day or night for weeks before and weeks after the official event.

Police in Hamilton are warning the people responsible for hospitalising a high school student after aiming a sky rocket at his back are likely to face serious assault charges. …the worst of the 50 fireworks-related incidents they have attended this week. … most involved young people who had been drinking.

[Via Newswire: Charges Likely After Fireworks Incident.]

Last year, when I did go up the hill to watch the show, there were idiots firing off fireworks right over our heads. When they set fire to the gorse on the top of Mt Victoria the crush of traffic prevented the fire engine from getting through. The roads are narrow and winding in these parts, people park on both sides of the road and those who haven’t found a place to stop try to pass through. There was simply no room for the fire engine. [And that patch of ground still shows clear evidence of the fire.]

This year the Council put up signs, but as I didn’t go up the hill for the show I don’t know if they worked.

But the routine damage and destruction was evident as always:

Frantic Night For Firefighters:

Firefighters have spent a frantic night answering hundreds of call-outs to fires sparked by Guy Fawkes celebrations. … the most significant [Wellington] call-out was to a fire in Stokes Valley which threatened a house and another in Palliser Road in Wellington where a helicopter was need to put out the fire.
Police also report a large number of disorder offences in the capital.

The news report continues to detail problems all over the country. But there is hope:

Hobbs Drafts Bill To Ban Fireworks Sales:

Wellington Central MP Marian Hobbs is attempting to introduce a bill to ban the sale of fireworks. … The Fire Service complained [30 October] that the season had got off to a bad start with more than 300 fires and one arson in the first three days of the 10-day sales period, outstripping previous years’ figures.

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Oh boy! The news today tells us that our rather lovely waterfront is to be spoiled by a Hilton Hotel:

Waterfront Investments plans to build a 5-star, glass-fronted hotel for the international Hilton chain.
The Council’s hearing committee received more than 1,000 submissions, largely opposed to the hotel.

[Via NewsWire.]

Meanwhile, I actually went skating yesterday and spotted a notice where the new apartments are going up opposite Freyberg Pool (picture of the cleared site). The sign said these apartments are $1.5 million each. Nine apartments have already been sold.

There’s a lot of money around the waterfront these days.

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It doesn’t seem a very good time to be royalty in the Pacific these days. In early July 2006: Tongan royals killed in car crash:

Two members of Tonga’s royal family have been killed in a car crash during a visit to the United States.
Prince Tu’ipelehake, Princess Kaimana and their driver died when a teenager crashed her car into their vehicle.

Now, mid-August, it seems the King of Tonga is in decline: Royal Family With Ailing Tongan King:

The ailing King of Tonga, who is in hospital in Auckland, has been joined by his wife, daughter and youngest son.
There are increasing concerns about the health of King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, who has battled heart disease for some time.

And, finally, the Māori queen passed away yesterday: NZ mourns death of Maori queen:

A week of mourning has begun in New Zealand, to mark the death of the revered queen of the indigenous Māori population.
Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu died on Tuesday at the age of 75, after a reign of more than 40 years.
According to Maori protocol, the lavish ceremonies will culminate in her burial on the sacred mountain of Taupiri.
She was the longest serving head of the Kingitanga movement — the royal line, which started almost 150 years ago.

Thousands of Māori are gathering at the Ngauruawahia marae for the week long tangi, and the iwi will choose a successor, to be announced on the day the queen is buried.

Note: Wikipedia:

The Māori monarch is a non-constitutional role with no legal power in New Zealand; rather, it is a symbolic role invested with a high degree of mana (prestige).

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Bad enough Japan persists in hunting whales, without reading this too:

Japan Reports High Rate Of Pregnancy In Hunted Whales:

A Japanese Government report has revealed that 70% of whales killed by the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic over summer were pregnant.
The report reveals that 224 of the 391 minke females and two endangered fin whales killed in the hunt were pregnant.

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New Zealand’s a bit of fragile country: it’s small for starters — from Invercargill to North Cape is about 2,100 Kilometres. The South Island is narrow, with mountains the length of it. The North Island is wider in the middle, but has plenty of mountains dotted about. The AA has maps and distance calculators. It’s a big problem when something closes a road, as sometimes it’s the only way into a place.

Generally the winter storms sweep through at about lambing time, in August or September, but this year we’ve been gripped by severe storms for most of the last couple of weeks. In parts of the South Island snow is still lying on the ground. That snow caused all kinds of disruption, including problems with the electricity supply. Almost two weeks on,

Alpine Energy says up to 650 households are still without power in the Canterbury area.

Meanwhile, the North Island’s getting thrashing too. Here in Wellington is just very wet, very windy and darn cold. Our problem is that our hills fall down for the slightest reason:

Wellington City Council workers cleared a slip from the approach to the Karori Tunnel this morning.

Up in the centre though, around Waiouru, notorious for its cold, and through the beautiful, but ever precarious Desert Road, things are grim:

The central North Island is completely cut off this evening with all major roads in and out of the region closed, and the bad weather set to continue.

[Quotes above via newswire.co.nz - Top Stories.]

At the moment it’s cold, wet and windy, and showing no sign of letting up.

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I was sorry to read today that Neroli Fairhall has died.

Fairhall won a gold medal in Brisbane in 1982 in the only time archery has been included in the Commonwealth Games.
She also was the first paraplegic to compete in the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 1984 and was awarded an OBE for her services to archery.

Back in the 80s, when I was living on a small farm near Timaru, Neroli visited us a few times. That’s when I found out that pulling an archery bow is very hard work, although I only tried the once. It was also when I found out that a lot of the items in our kitchen were on shelves too high for her to reach, and that a gravel driveway doesn’t make an easy path for a wheelchair.

I didn’t know her well, but am saddened by her death.

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We get some great skiing in New Zealand, with mountains running the length of the South Island and dotted about the North Island. Snow to ground level is always a newsworthy event though.

Today a massive storm is lashing the country. We’re somewhat sheltered in our house as there’s a hill between us and the worst of it, but around the country travel has been disrupted, power outages have occurred and a lot of people have been having problems.

Wild Weather Buffets Much Of The Country:

Heavy snow and severe gales are affecting many parts of the country as a low front sweeps across New Zealand.

Snow Causes Disruption In Canterbury:

Roads, businesses and schools are closed following heavy snowfalls in many parts of Canterbury, and access to water and power has also been affected.

West Coast Hit With Surface Flooding – Again:

The West Coast has been hit by surface flooding for the second time in two days.

Power Back On In Most Parts Of Auckland:

The power is back on in most parts of Auckland after the region was hit by a major blackout, causing widespread disruption on Monday.

Transpower Apologises To Aucklanders Affected By Outage:

Transpower says it will be investigating whether high winds alone were responsible for the power outage that cut supply to hundreds of thousands of people in Auckland today.

Mail Delivery Hindered By Bad Weather:

New Zealand Post says mail deliveries have been disrupted in many parts of the country because of the bad weather.

[Via newswire.co.nz - Top Stories.]

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Most TV ads are just a nuisance, with some being annoying or awful, for one reason or another and a very few being enjoyable and entertaining. Last month though I saw one that I found simply shocking, nasty and offensive: a couple getting ready for work in the morning were attempting to kill one another. The reason? To get the keys to a car.

I didn’t do anything about it, but I’m glad to say that 17 people complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, who have now found the ad to be offensive and malicious. It’s now off the air:

“They decided that it was a breach of the codes, particularly in relation to the issue of safety and also in relation to offensiveness due to the level of domestic violence in the ad,” says Hilary Souter from the ASA.

The ASA upheld complaints that the ad:

• Sent an inappropriate message to children.
• Was not socially responsible.
• Would encourage similar behaviour.

This is a worry though:

The irony is that while the RAV4 advert may have been missed the mark with the advertising watchdog it was a smash hit with the viewers, with an industry survey ranking it easily the most popular ad in March.

On the other hand there are and have been some great ads around. The ‘bugger’ ad still makes me laugh, in spite of an implied very unpleasant bit in the middle. The gently humorous ongoing bumblings of Ira Goldstein investigating the ASB bank for his American boss are always worth a smile. The seagulls on the Lynx ferry were also smile-worthy. I always also liked the polar bear pretending to be a penguin for the Bluebird chips and the current ‘bulls‘ ad.

Oh, and if anyone can point me to an online video of the polar bear ad, mentioned above, I’d be very grateful.

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Apparently five women in conservative Saudi Arabia underwent sex change surgery abroad because they were sick of their male dominated and repressive society. Well, good on them, if that’s what they need to do.

What I find particularly interesting is the response of the authorities: they graciously don’t arrest these ‘offenders’ and are worried about needing to fill a ‘legal vacuum’:

The newspaper quoted a senior cleric as saying the authorities have to fill what he described as a legal vacuum by issuing laws against sex change operations.

An interior ministry official told al Watan such cases are examined by religious authorities, and sometimes by psychologists, but those who undergo sex change are never arrested.

[Via Reuters .]

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