Category Archives: Life

What happened in 2008 (for Lance)

Posted on December 30, 2008 by

(Apologies for the “all about me” post. This sort of thing helps to motivate me for the year.) Early last year I posted a plan for 2008 – daring to call it a manifesto. I’d just  turned down some very … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Life, media, Mobile Translation, NZ Business | Tagged | Leave a comment

Burj Dubai

Posted on November 22, 2008 by

From Boston.com – the world’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai. More stunning Dubai pictures if you follow the link. It will be interesting to see how they weather the low oil prices and economic crisis.

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The power of the internet

Posted on November 19, 2008 by

Oh the power of the internet – the 35 to 40 million or so people using it, the 386 computer, 8Mb RAM and don’t forget the 14.4 kbps modem so that you can capture the true multi-media internet experience. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet Business, Life, media | 2 Comments

Helping societies drink responsibly

Posted on November 16, 2008 by

In a not entirely unsurprising finding, a researcher in the USA has discovered that alcohol related deaths will fall if you increase taxes on alcohol. No kidding. We seem to have that pretty well figured out in New Zealand and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, NZ Business | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Rowan returns

Posted on November 13, 2008 by

I can’t imagine why Rowan left out this photo from his travels in Nepal post. Worth reading.

Posted in Life, media | 1 Comment

Proud to be American again

Posted on November 13, 2008 by

An American friend sent me this, and granted me permission to publish it. Stunning. To my friends around the world— A week ago today, on November 4, 2008, I cast my vote for the next US president. That day I … Continue reading →

Posted in Life | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

We are living longer

Posted on November 10, 2008 by

It seems that we now have a longer life expectancy – 82.2 for women and 78 for men, up 1 and 1.7 years However there is still a substantial difference for Maori – with Maori newborns having life expectancy of … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Macro Trends, Life, media, NZ Business | 1 Comment

NZ Election winners now confirmed!!!

Posted on November 8, 2008 by

Here they are. In first place:Electionresults.govt.nz – updates every handful of minutes and is the official source. In second place: TVNZ. There is no rolling text commentary: But despite a tag saying video is only available to NZ viewers the … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet Business, Life, media, NZ Business | Tagged | 1 Comment

I almost purchased an apartment

Posted on November 1, 2008 by

Along with stocks we are also seeing a plunge in housing prices. The mortgage payment/rent equation is still wacko (it should be about 1-1) but 3 weeks ago I decided to place a tender offer on an apartment that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Life | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Three Rules of Life – and why not to break them

Posted on October 27, 2008 by

I have a few rules of life that have generally served me well: 1: Never drink anything that is on fire 2: Never annoy people that cook or serve you food and never send food back Coogee Bay Hotel ‘served … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Macro Trends, Life, media | 1 Comment

Help us with Lingopal

Posted on October 27, 2008 by

We are still putting on the final touches, but Lingopal is looking pretty good these days. To check it out point your browser, mobile or other wise, at m.lingopal.com – and let us know what you think. Lingopal offers phrase … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Lingopal, Mobile Translation | 4 Comments

Saving New Zealand from the crisis

Posted on October 22, 2008 by

Mark Welden and David Skilling went to Davos, got back to NZ, clearly talked a lot over beers and came up with what I can only term a business first over-reaction to the current global gyrations. Good on them for … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Life, media, NZ Business | 5 Comments

Grandads

Posted on October 16, 2008 by

One Grandad, Grev Wiggs, was an ad man at Inglis Wright – he even did the first NZ political ad. This is the other one – Lance Johnson – a new bio from the NZ rugby museum. He was quite … Continue reading →

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Portfolio judgement month hits hard

Posted on October 12, 2008 by

It’s been a rough ride for everyone on the equity markets. I really have not followed my own advice and got out of my short positions far too early and went hard into Apple long options. I’m too scared to … Continue reading →

Posted in Investing, Life | 1 Comment

Lotto online – lots of colour but some serious work to do

Posted on October 12, 2008 by

The good news for those that have only a tentative grasp of statistics and economics is that you can play Lotto online in New Zealand. It’s not bad, but a few fatal flaws need to be addressed before sales can … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet Business, Life, NZ Business | 3 Comments