James Hogan's Personal Blog
My partner and I were coming back from dinner when I recorded this display of people-trash making public trash.Walking back from dinner, we had already passed two separate areas of homeless people, each camped out around Victoria and Manners streets.Before I snapped this tirade between three homeless, or whatever people…
Do you remember when your cat was young and new?You’d play with him, and he would come and cuddle with you. You were the most important thing in his life. And his fragility and new-ness to the world made you feel special. You might just be the dopiest prick in…
Before she, thankfully, stood down from re-election in October, Eugenie Sage from the Greens already ranked highly on my shit-list of worst political decision-makers ever.She was the “brains” behind the outlawing of single use disposable plastic bags. A Really Bad Decision-makerShe wasn’t alone in her left-wing appetitite for using public…
What got me into this blog topic was a recent posting by Real Engineering on Nebula looking at how video streaming services work. In the posting, the presenter gave some arm-wavy stats on the relative breakdown of their costs.Oh, by the way: Rebecca Drew is AWESOME (she told me if…
After a painful battle with cancer, Dave’s tragically short life ended today. But by his own decision, and with the full consent of the State. The Young HusbandI’ve known Dave since 1992, when I first met him in Dunedin whilst at University.Dave was married to Sarah Heal who studied history…
Stats NZ released its Consumer Price Index today. Booze & Ciggie InflationHere’s what’s been happening to the relative cost of your weekly booze and smokes.Booze and smoke annual prices increased approximately 1.6% faster than other goods and services between 1988 and 2009. All other goods and services increased in price,…
Lots of the talking heads think that Wellington needs to return to the office for both productivity reasons, and also the good of the inner city.I’m currently at the Bank of New Zealand, and I asked my team why they don’t want to come into the office more. The most…
Rebecca and I landed in Brisbane last night, and we’re staying at the Emporium Hotel in South Bank. We have this phenomenal view of the Brisbane CBD. Check out this photo. It wasn’t clearly defined, so I added red marks over each.There are 13 cranes helping construction in Brisbane’s CBD….
Woo hoo!!Rebecca and I are off to Brisbane for a week!!I’m hoping to catch-up with one of my best friends, Peter & Leigh Wysocki, and their family Trixie and Theo.Peter and I are going to the Nick Mason concert! And Rebecca is going to hang out beside an infinity pool…
Oddest sign…… why does NEW ZEALAND have milk supply issues?!?!But it looks like it’s backed up by evidence:I’ll be damned… That’s not good for both June GDP, and New Zealand, especially given inflation and a contracting monetary policy stance.
Hot from the “Straight Out of ThunderBirds” file, comes the soviet Caspian Sea Monster Look at this baby!It’s called an Ekranoplan. Unlike other planes, this modified sea plane is designed to fly just meters over sea level, exploiting a aerodynamic effect called the Ground EffectThis beasty was created at the…
ResponsesFirst response in from ACT Does ACT have a view on the Commission’s opinion around a 50-50 split, and would it seek to implement the Commission’s advice in the elected new parliament?ACT has not formed a position on the 50:50 split as advocated by the Law Commission in 2019. We…
I’m watching These Final Hours. All the best movies are grounded in economics.This wasn’t a Wall Street movie. It wasn’t about money, or greed. It was about economics: choice, constraints, outcomes and uncertainty. It was an apocalypse story based on economics. Wasn’t this an Australian Sci-fi?That’s the thing about sci-fi…
I’ve gotten myself a new drum kit 
It’s a Alesis Mesh Drum KitLast week, I wasn’t feeling that great on Monday, so I took the afternoon off sick. Of course, with a new electric toy, my first idea was how do I connect it to my computer 
A few years…
I’m reading the late Brian Gaynor’s articles on the activities of the New Zealand government and corporate New Zealand in the early 1990s, especially around the privatisation, and ultimate sale of the BNZ to the National Australia Bank. Poor management and irresponsible lendingUp until the bank was partially privatised in…
From the Bad Supreme Court Decisions file comes this latest missive: Fiona Margaret Mead v Lilach Paul and Brett Paul.A relationship property case starring one guy (Brett) and two women (Fiona and Lilach) all sharing the same bed for 15 years, temporarily swapping in and out other partners, before finally…
I’m currently reading The Bertrand Russell CollectionBertrand was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, and widely regarded as a super smart guy with his head in many different subjects. Political IdealsBertrand had a lot to say about the State which I’m finding, when you look at…
Back on the 26 March, I wrote a gear-list for what I expected I’d need on the Sounds to Sounds ride. Also, I’ve reconciled the total cost of the event as a guide for future riders. CostIn total, for the 17 days on the road, I spent $5,702.18, or $4,442.35…
Day 17 – when I was doing my big push up into Milford Sounds – could have turned out extremely differently, and cost me my chance at glory because of a very very simple omission.But it ended up in MASSIVE GLORY, beersies, a steak dinner and me sleeping with three…
Wet wet wet: shitty 1980’s band and nasty way to start a 87km ride between Mossburn and Te Anau, but that’s bike packing for you.The day was tricky because I’m so close to finishing, it was difficult getting my head into the right place for this ride. That’s my reason…