I can’t help comparing Air NZ and Telecom. They face very similar circumstances, and yet are reacting very differently. Both are ex Government owned, now private. Air NZ is quasi-private of course. Both have a public-good role – to provide a network to the population.Both have a profit motive, and both benefit from quasi-monopoly position …
Category Archives: Life
xkcd strikes again….
New mac keyboard
If you have a mac, then get one. End of story.
The new paradigm in shavers?
I keep breaking my Philips shavers. I have (had?) two – one for home, and one for travel, and they’ve been great. Both were usable in the shower, which is good, but sadly both were susceptible to the stone-hard floors found in the bathroom. They both (and they are different models) broke in the same …
Aussie bush motorcycle excursion
I finally got out into the bush today. No snakes or kangaroos, but some distinctively Australian scenes. First – some bush: A great track which made me feel like I was in the middle of nowhere: A somewhat awkward pose as I rush to get in place for the timer.. ..”Aerial Burn Planned” – time …
Trade Me Travel Press Release
Media Release Sunday 9 September 2007 Trade Me Launches Travel Trade Me today launches its new travel website “Travelbug” with an initial focus on accommodation. Aimed at everyday New Zealanders, Travelbug launches with over 1500 accommodation providers and over 10,000 rooms from Ahipara to Stewart Island. “We’re delighted by the take-up we’ve enjoyed from the …
psst… want to go to Yale?
You can – with Yale eLine. Via iTunes.Yale.edu
Remove yourself from love lover and crush calculator txts
It’s strange, but this post on Love Calculator that I wrote months ago consistently gets a few views every day. It even seems to be growing. It seems that our scamming friends are wandering the world. Just this week there have been a comment from the UK (a 14 year old girl) and a ‘contact …
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After xtra: Which email should you use?
It may seem surprising, but it seems a few Xtra Mail customers are unsure of what to do, now they have been stung with the transition. Perhaps Telecom will spring for some cash, but I’d not be surprised if many xtra!mail customers want to leave, but do not know where to go. Surprising because you’d …
NZ’s regressive tax system
It’s strange. I always thought that New Zealand has a pretty progressive tax system – that the richer people get taxed more than the poorer, and that we have a share the spoils system that helps make NZ a great egalitarian society.. Meanwhile the USA is meant to be a dog eat dog place run …
$850 for a new Apple mac….
Dick Smith is selling Mac Minis for $848. That’s an Intel mac (or make it a PC is you must), 1.83GHz core duo etc. They also have iMacs (the old ones) from $1600. I’d be buying as the new wave of macs is going to be imported at the new ‘improved’ exchange rate….. No excuses …
negative equity
Front page of today’s Wall Street Journal: One Family’s Journey into a Subprime Trap FULLERTON, Calif. — Nearly two years ago, Mario and Leticia Montes found a home they loved, a gray stucco bungalow with a hot tub in the backyard in a middle-class neighborhood of Orange County. …With a December “reset” on their loan …
Apple Numbers….
I’m playing with Apple’s new OSX spreadsheet – numbers. It is lovely to look at – you can put multiple sheets on a page, and so you can really drive to a good looking layout without worrying about the column sizes in the first table affecting how you lay out a table below. Let’s try …
Contact Energy sucks sucks sucks
I arrive back home to find my gas has been disconnected. For the second time. This year. AND my electricity was disconnected once this year. It is no wonder that this industry killed someone – their approach to customer service is arrogant beyond belief. My bills are always overpaid, and indeed I am over one …
pay phones, funny money, income and Telecom
Chicago’s OHare airport is ripping out pay phones and replacing them with power sockets, chairs and counters. Bless them – I’m sick of wandering around (usually american) airports looking for power sockets. Disposable income for “Managers” is largest in Saudi Arabia, small in the USA and generally better in third world countries than first world. …
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Lance Wiggs 