I’m currently reading this book: I strongly recommend it. I’m up to Lee Kuan Yew. I wish New Zealand had this type of leadership. Let me quote the good Professor: In Lee’s perception, excellence meant much more than individual performance: the quest for it needed to permeate the entire society. Whether…
Scoundrels and rogues
Thank you, I have just come back from a very lovely lunch with my H2R recruitment consultant, Sharyn Saxby.And on the way, I came across this sign about Edward Wakefield one of New Zealand’s “Founding Fathers”:Here’s a picture of Ed:The signs are located on a unassuming concrete wall, at 90…
Low pass rates in trial of NCEA literacy and numeracy tests alarm principals
From here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/474261/low-pass-rates-in-trial-of-ncea-literacy-and-numeracy-tests-alarm-principalsIn response to concerns that New Zealand school students are leaving school all NCEA qualified, but without having even basic literacy and numeracy skills, the Ministry of Education is rolling out a test.A recent trial of the test found: “some of the schools with poor results had good…
Cycling Belmont Regional Park
Sunday 4 September was a glorious day, for no other reason than the sun was out for the first time in what felt like months. But I had another: the day before I had just brought a brand new carbon fibre mountain bike. So, of course, I had to take…
The Dead Hand of Government in Health
ADDENDUM: PROGRESS ON WAITING LISTS – August 2022 As predicted back in May, the expert committee’s action proved ineffective. Former DHBs were told by the Expert Committee they need to book everyone in for surgery (stellar advice!) (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473303/hospitals-directed-to-book-surgical-slot-for-thousands-of-patients-by-month-s-end) And… Not much else happened: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/473204/south-auckland-s-elective-surgery-backlog-up-251-percent-in-year ORIGINAL POSTING FROM MAY: I can’t…
Reading signs
Always take the opportunity to read signs. Here’s one I found on my travels. It’s a very functional sign, devoid of hyperbola or ceremony. It speaks nothing of the time this road took to make, the amount of labour effort which went into it, nor the loss of whatever it…
The Real Land of the Free
Singapore really is, for me, the Land of the Free. It’s big news is they’re just about to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality. All good. But the Singaporeans are concerned about the impact of the change on its society and its culture. It’s not worried…
Falling health sector productivity
Productivity – how much output is created from a given volume of inputs – is one of economic’s most important metrics. Productivity captures everything about economic development and economic ordinance. Technological change, process change, labour skills improvement and capital improvement are all get captured in a productivity metric. Countries rise…
Meaty, beefy, big and bloaty
One of the reasons why market solutions are superior to centrally planned solutions is that there tends to be a better match between supply and demand when provision is left to the market. Scarcity or abundance, reflected through price change, is a far better and faster signal of shifts in…
My father, age 48
Inflation is ALWAYS Caused by Too Much Money Creation
Pinning New Zealand’s latest inflation figures on overseas factors misses a distinction between a temporary “price shock”, and an increase in “permanent” inflation. New Zealand is experiencing permanent inflation, and it was caused by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. New Zealand’s inflation rate, back in March, was an annual…
Back yourself
Decolonisation of Periods?
From here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/hair-and-loathing/story/2018813537/culture-colonisation-and-the-short-and-curlies Firstly I heard from Ana Mcallister, she’s a artist writer, Instagram influencer and a body positive wahine Māori -@Nope.thank.you.very.much There has been a lot of mahi around wahine and the decolonisation of their periods. Ana said there isn’t the same focus on this in terms of body-hair but…
Lockdown Opportunity Cost and the Statistical Value of a Life Saved
I’m currently watching an acquaintance doing the Tour of Aotearoa on bicycle (https://vicsefton.wordpress.com/). It’s a four week unsupported cycle from Cape Reinga down to Bluff.I tried it last year, but got into mechanical difficulties north of Auckland at exactly the time the government decided to put Auckland into lock down…
Marketing, Government Style
Of course, the government could just announce the next step in its Omicron response….But it would much rather announce its intention to announce the next step in its Omicron response, and get two sucks at the media headlining saveloy…
Sign o’ th’ times
All of New Zealand is in “the red zone”. Everyone in Wellington is staying away. Here’s Lambton Quay, Wellington’s “Golden Mile”, at 12:15pm today … Businesses are struggling because economic demand is being strangled by the government locking New Zealand down
RNZCGP Medical Director on COVID Fear
FROM THE HERALD – 16 FEBRUARY 2022 Dealing with Covid needs a mindset change Let’s keep calm, keep healthy and, more importantly, get vaccinated and boosted. In the end we will get there and back to our ‘new normal’. The New Zealand Herald Dr Bryan Betty is medical director at…
Testing, public sector style
So, I’m sitting at the Lower Hutt COVID testing center, waiting to get a test. I’ve been here for over two hours now. The government coordinating this is a complete mess, and waste of time. The reason for the long time delay turned out not to be related to volume:…
Injustice
CONTEXT: I WATCH TOO MUCH TV I’m watching a documentary on Netflix called, “The Tinder Swindler” about a con artist. The antagonist is an evil swine who stole what the documentary maker guesses was approximately $10 million dollars from innocent women whom he met over Tinder. My blood boiled. I…
Follow Vic Sefton on the Tour of Aotearoa
Last year, Victoria Sefton was one of my regular blog readers while I was doing the Tour of Aotearoa. This year, she’s going to be pumping her own peddles and doing the hard kilometers. Follow her travels and support her: https://vicsefton.wordpress.com/home/vic-sefton-tour-aotearoa-blog/ Also, every tour rider contributes to a charity. Feel…