RobiNZ Personal Blog

How things change: It's in the bag

Never thought of antique TV game shows as source of economic inflation comparison. I grazed into a TVNZ Heartland repeat of an early 80s "It's in the Bag". A contestant turned down $800 and took the bag. She won: - Zip Appliance Package: Toaster, Jug & sandwich maker. Value $600 - A years supply of Petrol. Value $1500 Translate that to today and the appliances would be worth, say, $120? The petrol ~$6250! Read more →

Tata Nano, all the car you actually need?

I think I stole the title from an old Citroën 2CV advert: “All the car you actually need”? The Tata Nano hasn’t quite hit the sales predictions but cheap doesn’t have to mean bad, simple is clever. As I said when it launched, this little car really embodies the thinking which created iconic cars like the VW Beetle, Fiat Nuova 500 (Bambina in NZ) and Mini. It’s certainly closer than their modern, marketing driven, parodies have managed. Jay’s Garage is worth watching, if only to see how Tata have made the world’s cheapest car outperform a McLaren supercar. I also... Read more →

A fine liner but not a Dream

I looked up knowing a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was somewhere in New Zealand. I even knew earlier in the day @dannews had been fortunate enough to fly to Christchurch in it. Immediately above a sleek twin engine jet was passing over glinting in the sunset. It's hard to judge the size of an aircraft without reference to the horizon, maybe it was the 787? Web tech to the rescue as the Flightradar 24 phone app proved this was an Emirates 777-300 at 11,000ft. A very nice aircraft indeed, but not a Dream. Read more →

Fiat punks VW on Google Street View

Very clever Fiat brilliantly punks VW on Google Street View | Technically Incorrect - CNET News Fiat workers notice a Street View car filming in their area. So one staff member decides to drive right up to the door of VW's nearby headquarters and park a Fiat 500 there… Read more →

Lawrence Krauss, brilliant about Nothing!

When I heard Lawrence Krauss, author of A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing , was giving a lecture at The University of Auckland I had to be there. I’ve always regretted missing Richard Feynman’s 1979 Douglas Robb Memorial Lectures. I was 13 and although aware of Richard Feynman’s work — thanks to Isaac Asimov — a lecture on Quantum Electrodynamics probably wasn’t high on the priority list. Later on, having read his books and several about him, I sought out the lectures on VHS (this was before YouTube!). It was a treat to see Feynman... Read more →

Invest in science, get your name ‘drawn’ in glowing bacteria!

Siouxsie Wiles is a microbiologist and bioluminescence enthusiast who heads up the Bioluminescent Superbugs Group at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. I know her through the Auckland Skeptics in the Pub Meetup Group. BSG make bacteria that glow in the dark to better understand how to prevent and fight microbial infection. She is currently fundraising for her RocketHub SciFund Challenge Project. The aim of this crowd funded project is to study bacterial evolution. RocketHub is not an investment or charity. It is an exchange; funds from you in exchange for rewards. The more you donate, the better the reward!... Read more →

Traffic Light Thought – Did it really need that plate?

I mean, even without the personalised plate, it’s obviously a: HUMMER Read more →

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Flash mob in Wellington

Members of The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with guitarist Justin Firefly Clarke performing the track 'The Ride' from the Good for Nothing feature film soundtrack. Composed by John Psathas. Video by Bryson Rooney. http://www.goodfornothingmovie.com/ http://www.nzso.co.nz/ Read more →

TVNZ7 scrapped in favour of One DVR with an hour delay

Brilliant, TVNZ7 quality replaced by delayed screenings of cooking and reality shows. i.e. TVNZ One Meanwhile, NZ On Air fund the GC… TVNZ7 scrapped in favour of repeats channel | Stuff.co.nz The scrapped TVNZ7 channel will be replaced with a "plus one" channel that will be a duplicate of TV One run an hour later…. Read more →