Adobe Contribute

So this Adobe Contribute is now able to edit Blogs - who knew?

What's the Good Oil on Eden Park?

OK so Gregor Paul in Herald on Sunday starts ratting on Eden Park and how it is an embarrassment to NZ and it

"... will be the worst stadium to host a World Cup final since ... Eden Park hosted the 1987 final."

His main focus and complaint seems to be that it isn't all covered seating and that some temporary seating will be used for the finals.

I decided to write a comment at the end of the article, which 12 hours later still hasn't been published - admittedly the comments are moderated, so maybe the Herald on Sunday moderator takes Sunday off?

So to appease myself I am publishing the comment I wrote here:

"Seriously? Is this the best you can come up with? Whinging about whether or not the precious wee overseas fans are going to have their hair-do mussed up?

Because fans were soaked and chilled the previous week, they stayed away the next week? How many fans were actually there the previous week? More than 16,000? Of course you managed to leave this out because it may have countered your weak argument!

Stop creating strawmen, and do some real journalism, present all the facts, not just those that support your warped opinion!!

Agreed, we need to do more in NZ to get people along to games at a local level (Not counting the RWC), but harping on about the lack of covered seating is probably the least of our concerns - how about working more closely with local clubs - make it as easy as possible for the true fans of NZ rugby to get to the games and out again - put on buses leaving from clubs to and from Super Games and ITM Cup, discounted ticket prices for playing club members and their families. Stop catering to the corporates, so much.

Most of just want to watch the rugby!!"

I would add to that a comment made by someone on the no8.co.nz facebook page - that NZ and Auckland's infrastructure simply will not support a full-time 60,000+ seat stadium - "Why would they build a new stadium to international standards when they simply dont have the critical mass of population to make it a viable enterprise??"

Simply put, Eden Park is perfectly adequate and in fact better than a lot of others of hosting international rugby matches. If people want warm, covered seating they can either fork out for a corporate box (yeah right) or watch it at a pub or in your own home, where both options means you lose the atmosphere that feeling the elements in your face brings to the enjoyment of watching live rugby!!

For me, I want to be close enough to the field so that I can hear the tackles and know which way the wind is blowing when Dan Carter lines up the winning conversion!!

Sharing a Gem: 40 Year Old Woman....A New Journey!

My beautiful wife has started her first blog. She is a wonderful woman who has been a blessing to me for 19 years. If I do nothing else in this blog, the least I can do is link to her blog!

I encourage you to check it out and share it with others who you think might be interested:

40 Year Old Woman....A New Journey!: Here I am....: "A blog. Why create a blog? I'm not really sure! I have always had a diary that I would periodically write in diligently in the first week of..."

Goodbye Sally-Ann

An old school friend of mine passed away today!

I hadn't seen her for 14 years, but I knew if we saw each other at any time those years would just melt away, she was that kind of friend.

Unfortunately living on different islands and with families to raise it hasn't been easy to stay in touch.

So to today and she is no longer with us! A life gone in its prime - 43 years young. Coincidentally the same age that my sister Joan died. When Joan passed away it seemed she was an older woman with grown up children. Now that Sally-Ann has gone at the same age I understand exactly how much living we still have to do - 43 isn't old, it's just the beginning of knowing who we are.

This post isn't to look back with regrets but to celebrate a woman who grabbed life by the scruff of the neck and enjoyed it to the full. Sally was a free spirit in her time on earth and now her spirit is truly free from the restrictions our human body puts on us.

Some of my fondest memories of Sally include:

Sharing a flat with her fiancé Craig and spending many a night enjoying some rough red wine out of a box, or some other cheap alcoholic beverage in front of some nasty 80's TV.

Going away camping with her and Craig to Kai Iwi Lakes and spending evenings around the fire just talking and laughing.

Giving her a ride on the back of my motorbike to go and get her swimsuit so we could go swimming with Caroline - she was a rather nervous passenger.

Going to watch her dance at some theatre at Auckland University and her showing us her bloodied toes afterwards from her point shoes - that girl had composure!!

Attending a birthday party at her house where we had a mystery menu that included green macaroni.

Enjoying many a mexican meal at Pancho's restaurant in Auckland city along with many other friends - she nearly always ordered the Pollo!!

Going to the Queen concert with Sally & Caroline at Mt Smart Stadium in the back of her bright green Fiat Bambina - coincidentally it is the anniversary of Freddie Mercuries death tomorrow!! One of the best concerts I have ever been to.

Stopping in at her house when I was supposed to be working and spending an afternoon just chatting about what we really wanted to be doing with our lives - she never did sign up for Teacher's College with me!!

The last time I saw Sally was when we had come up to Auckland for the first time since I moved south. Our baby girls enjoyed having a bath together and then we had a lovely dinner with her and Javier. That will be 14 years ago this January!!

So to all my other old school friends, cherish our memories, we don't know when we'll see each other again, or if! This thing called the internet is a wonderful thing for getting some idea of what we're all up to, despite the miles that separate us.

Sally helped to make this world a little more cheerful and a little more enjoyable for all of us. She will not be forgotten by those whose lives she touched.

God Bless Sally-Ann. Be at peace!!

Love, your friend,

Alan

The Installer Commandments

John C. Welch aka Bynkii delivers the 11 Commandments of the Installer

"VII.  Thou shalt never, ever, ever lie or mislead the suer about your installer and what it's installing.

Adobe Reader? Looking at you pal. Making your installer look like a platform standard installer, but then having that not really be what it is? That's just bullshit, and means that not only did you fail to use a native installer, but you also lied to your users about it. That is unforgivable."

Brilliant!!

[RANT] Who wants a dimmed screen?

I've been having an issue with our Macs at work that I have been unable to find a suitable 'fix' for.

I have posted on Apple's discussion forums here to no avail, no response in a month and even linked to two unanswered  yet archived threads about the same issue.

 So what the heck is going on.

Sequence of events: (Jan 2008 - to present)

1. New Aluminium iMacs arrive with drop-in Leopard upgrade DVDs.
   
2. Put current image on them running OS X v10.4 - Tiger. No issues with screens on these or the older Intel iMacs (White)
3. End of year (2008) - start creating new image for 2009 with OS X v10.5 Leopard.
4. Machines start booting with screen at minimum brightness
5. Search the intarwebs high and low for a 'fix' to this issue. Find plenty of similar stories but no solutions.
6. Classes about to start - still no solution other than Automator workflow to maximise brightness on login. 
7. So decide to post on blog about it.
   

So that's about it in a nutshell. I currently have some half-arsed solution to quite a major issue (especially in a graphic design and photography school).

I simply cannot believe that this has not been brought to Apple's attention by those far more knowledgeable and connected than me.

Anybody reading this and can point me in the right direction for a solution, please feel free to comment.

It lives!!

Yep I'm still alive.

Man, it has been a long time!!


Had a lovely holiday in Ruby Bay.


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Might visit here a bit more often this year. You never know!!