Energy’s Iron Triangle.

Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 11th, 2020 - 62 comments
Categories: energy, Environment, global warming, uncategorized - Tags: ,

For those who don’t trawl through all the comments; a little personal background. I’ve been fortunate enough to have just finished up a 40 year career in technology and automation, most of it in heavy industry. Looking back it’s been one hell of an adventure, tough at times, but I’ve been one of those lucky people who find their work intrinsically rewarding. While most of my working life was based in NZ, a good 20% or so was in other countries. Some of them reasonably exotic locations.

At the same time, I’ve always maintained an interest in a range of non-mainstream alternative views of the world … the list is long and varied, I’ll spare this forum from listing the peculiar tangents I’ve explored over time. But in a nutshell, I may have earned a living in a deterministic world, but my soul always yearned to have a few non-deterministic mysteries left.

The two world views have not always sat comfortably with me; neither the eco-loon nor the engineer could fully answer the questions I asked of them … where the hell are we going? The engineer informed me of just how our incomprehensibly complex, inter-dependent, industrialised world sustains us all; while the eco-loon declared that same world often destructive in unintended ways, alienating and ultimately perhaps doomed. They both spoke truth, even if their sensibilities and voices conflicted.

The Eco-Modernist movement attempts a reconciliation, and this piece references in particular their manifesto outlining a path forward. Let’s start with what has been achieved in the unique, turbulent and astonishing period we have come through:

Humanity has flourished over the past two centuries. Average life expectancy has increased from 30 to 70 years, resulting in a large and growing population able to live in many different environments. Humanity has made extraordinary progress in reducing the incidence and impacts of infectious diseases, and it has become more resilient to extreme weather and other natural disasters.

Violence in all forms has declined significantly and is probably at the lowest per capita level ever experienced by the human species, the horrors of the 20th century and present-day terrorism notwithstanding. Globally, human beings have moved from autocratic government toward liberal democracy characterized by the rule of law and increased freedom.

Personal, economic, and political liberties have spread worldwide and are today largely accepted as universal values. Modernization liberates women from traditional gender roles, increasing their control of their fertility. Historically large numbers of humans — both in percentage and in absolute terms — are free from insecurity, penury, and servitude.

Moreover our population is going to increase more than ten-fold, from just under 1b in 1800 to probably a bit over 10b in 2100. A world of 10b mouths to feed is fundamentally different to one of 1b; each and every day these people are fed, clothed and largely kept alive by an industrial system of immense complexity, a web of energy, resources, methods and mechanisation spread across the globe. A photosynthesis constrained world (muscle and wood energy only) simply never did this; our so-called ‘carrying capacity’ under those conditions was probably somewhere between 0.5 and 1.0b. Unwind the industrial system and there is little reason to think this is not the population (and similar social conditions) that will eventually prevail; a fast or slow collapse … the outcome would eventually be a reversion to very similar pre-industrial conditions.

Yet without belabouring the obvious, this same industrial system rests heavily on fossil carbon fuels that we know we cannot continue to consume without another equally unhappy outcome; a climate/resource crisis that will destabilise everything. Again slow or fast … the outcome will be the same. And there is no rule that says we might not stumble into both crisis’ at once, an economic/technology collapse and climate change both feeding into each other.

This is a stark outlook. The current industrial path we are on appears to be a literal dead end, yet abandoning it altogether and reverting to the pre-industrial world is equally catastrophic. Neither is an acceptable plan … and for the purposes of the argument being made here, I am firmly setting both aside as essentially strawmen arguments.

This leaves us with two broad options; the most popular is the idea that we might retreat a little, downsize our consumption habits  to somewhere around the developed world in the 1950’s. There is merit to this, we’ve been there before and thus we know it can be done. But it comes with at least three problems.  One is that selectively unravelling what technology and consumption we want to keep (nice things like birth control, computers, etc) while shutting down the ones we have to let go is a non-trivial problem. Assuming we can maintain the benefits of  modernisation, while unwinding much of underlying physical basis of it at the same time is a risky assumption.

More pragmatically, there is no global solidarity for such a program. Neither the developing world would buy into it, quite reasonably they would see it as the rich world denying them the benefits they have briefly enjoyed, or a rogue nation might cheat on the deal and seize a hegemonic dominance. Absent any global means to reliably enforce such a powerdown, indefinitely into the future, it’s an idea set up to fail in my view for these two reasons alone.

But in more seriously a world of maybe 2 -3b humans we can make the numbers around such a managed retreat work. With 10b it’s much less clear that they do. No matter our good intentions here, I do not believe we can “save and efficiency’ our way out of this in the long run. (Note: None of this implies that reducing waste, gross profligacy and moderating our material demands on the world should not be done where possible; it’s just an insufficient action in isolation.)

The takeaway here is a version of the classic ‘Iron Triangle‘, three constraints appear to define our future; one is destabilising environmental cost of continuing with our present industrialised base, the other is the unsupportable cost of abandoning it, and the third being an absolute ethical requirement to ensure a world of 10b people can thrive in both hope and dignity.

Right now we occupy the triangular space between them … and it’s shrinking. To escape we must find a path past one of the boundaries.

PS: During the process of writing this up a new page appeared at OurWorldInData just yesterday. It explores this theme and provides much greater background data and detail.

62 comments on “Energy’s Iron Triangle. ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Robert Guyton 1
    11 December 2020 at 9:05 am

    Engineer.v. eco-loon ???
    Perhaps techno-loon .v. eco-loon?
    In all fairness 🙂

    Are all comments for this post being moderated before publication? That’s odd!

    • RedLogix 1.1
      11 December 2020 at 10:08 am

      That’s odd!

      My bad; it's been so long since I put up a new post that I ticked a wrong box. All good now I trust, but can you reply here just to check I've applied the right fix please?

      Perhaps techno-loon .v. eco-loon?

      Fair enough; I just wanted the two words to start with 'e'. And I used the the word 'loon' in it's affectionate sense. (Like when Aussies call you the c-word, and you haven't done anything obvious to piss them off, it means you've entered the matezone.)

      • Robert Guyton 1.1.1
        11 December 2020 at 10:57 am

        All good, but now I can't help by see, "eco-loons and techno-c**** 🙂

      • Phillip ure 1.1.2
        11 December 2020 at 7:24 pm

        can I question your assumption of population to be 10 billion..?

        back in July the bbc reported how birthrates are dropping rapidly..

        with most ..if not all countries seeing major drops in population from now..

        ..with some countries seeing their populations halving…

        ..this falling birthrate being noticed now is being put down to more women getting educations..and increased use of contraceptive…

        how would this eventuality colour your reasonings..?

        • RedLogix 1.1.2.1
          11 December 2020 at 7:48 pm

          Good question; yes in many places population has plateaued or is falling. Some quite surprising places like Brazil for instance have an inverted demographic pyramid, and will peak within decades.

          But it's Africa where the projections just keep on rising. I really like this site, it's fast and makes the core demographic data extremely accessible. Really worth a few minutes banging about on.

          There are a range of scenarios from a high to low, but again the best summary I know is again here at OurWorldInData. Basically as people move to the cities, and move toward modernisation, family size drops precipitously.

          Will the future always looks this, while these trends always hold? I don't think anyone knows the long term answer to that question, but these projections look reasonable for the rest of this century.

          • Phillip ure 1.1.2.1.1
            11 December 2020 at 8:13 pm

            ..one could quite reasonably assume that further education..(formal..or via mobile phone/online..)..will see that rise in women getting educations/using contraception more in those african countries also..

            and the ensuing drop in their birthrates also..?

            you'd think…?

            since finding that out..back in July…

            I have accepted that as underlining the fact that the overpopulation thing just isn't going to happen..

            and this must affect any plans/thinking etc..?

            given that that overpopulation chimera has coloured most thought/attitudes..

            has been viewed as a given..

            ..for as long as I can remember…

            • RedLogix 1.1.2.1.1.1
              11 December 2020 at 8:37 pm

              The best metaphor I can think of is that collectively humanity has gone through an adolescent growth spurt so spectacular it was easy to think it was going to continue indefinitely.

              • Phillip ure …
                11 December 2020 at 8:41 pm

                so…we can park that 10 billion prediction..?

                  • Phillip ure …
                    11 December 2020 at 9:33 pm

                    @t.a..

                    did you even read the link you posted..?

                    it confirms that population will level out/drop by 2100..

                    this due to a precipitous drop in the global birth-rate..

                    so chrs for backing up what I said..

                    that the population-bomb..doom!..doom..!

                    is essentially bullshit..

                    ..and just a distraction from what we have to do to ensure that world is liveable for that population..

                    ..many of whom are being born today..

                    • The Al1en …
                      11 December 2020 at 9:47 pm

                      Of course I read it, and while the quote above confirms a lower birth rate over time, it also states population numbers will continue to grow regardless.

                      Again "The UN Population Division report of 2019 projects world population to continue growing, although at a steadily decreasing rate, and to reach 10.9 billion in 2100 with a growth rate at that time of close to zero"

                      The page does state some other projections a bit lower, and they also rely on low total fertility rate, but bet on it falling more rapidly than the UN report.

                      So while 10 billion isn't guaranteed, it certainly can't be 'parked' either. Understand now?

                    • RedLogix …
                      11 December 2020 at 9:49 pm

                      I'm thinking you're both misreading each other here.

                    • The Al1en …
                      11 December 2020 at 9:55 pm

                      I'm thinking you're both misreading each other here.

                      I'm not sure how

                      so…we can park that 10 billion prediction..?

                      Countered with

                      The UN Population Division report of 2019 projects world population to continue growing, although at a steadily decreasing rate, and to reach 10.9 billion in 2100 with a growth rate at that time of close to zero

                      Can be misread in anyway.

                      But then these are interesting times.

                    • Phillip ure []
                      11 December 2020 at 10:46 pm

                      @ t.a..

                      the main point is that the population doomsayers.

                      ..predicting growth forever..

                      ..leading to inevitable doom and gloom'…are/were wrong..

                      that is not going to happen..

                      understand now..?

                    • The Al1en …
                      11 December 2020 at 11:04 pm

                      Actually, the only point I've commented on, is your 10 Billion population can be parked, which as per the UN projection shows, cannot be taken as certain fact.

                      The rest is for you to debate, honestly, with that point now made.

                • RedLogix …
                  11 December 2020 at 8:57 pm

                  Somewhere between 10 and 12b is the most reasonable prediction for the rest of this century.

                  But it is the business of the future to be a dangerous place … devil

  2. Ad 2
    11 December 2020 at 9:07 am

    Haven't read that last link, but Red it's great to see you contributing in long form.

  3. mango 3
    11 December 2020 at 10:15 am

    It's good to see your position set out clearly. Some of the comments you have received have been a bit unfair and personal (That's the internet for you).

    • RedLogix 3.1
      11 December 2020 at 10:26 am

      That research link you provided the other night was especially helpful in that it did provide a sound basis for describing a minimum Decent Living Energy floor (DLE). I was going to link to it, but the PostCarbon Org site I used instead makes a more broad based and comprehensive case.

      However the next post I'm planning will endeavour to show that a retreat to even this low DLE is still too much in isolation.

    • RedLogix 4.1
      11 December 2020 at 10:37 am

      I have a meeting to get to at the moment, but yes both do look highly pertinent …

      I'll take a look later.

    • RedLogix 4.2
      12 December 2020 at 11:18 am

      That SEED's author makes some excellent points about how fundamental energy is to economics and he makes his case well enough.

      To get anywhere at all with our investigation, we need to start by recognizing that the economy is an energy system, and not a financial one. Money is a human artefact used to exchange the goods and services that constitute economic output, but all of these are products of energy. Our economic history is a narrative of how we have applied energy to improve our material conditions.

      As a starting point I totally agree, but as he progresses I think he misses something important that I'll try to explore later.

      Cheers

      • Pat 4.2.1
        12 December 2020 at 1:01 pm

        I will keep an eye out for your post to see what you think he has missed….I note his argument is the same as that of Susan Krumdieck (and others) albeit in slightly different terms

  5. AB 5
    11 December 2020 at 10:49 am

    That's a useful way of thing about it. Some of those 'iron' boundaries are mental as much as they are material – so are possibly more prone to breaking, and not necessarily in a good way.

  6. Robert Guyton 6
    11 December 2020 at 11:02 am

    Are you proposing then, RedLogix, a doubling-down of this " unique, turbulent and astonishing period we have come through", despite saying that "The current industrial path we are on appears to be a literal dead end"?

    • mango 6.1
      11 December 2020 at 11:16 am

      To be fair to RedLogix, I think that his position is that while reduced consumption might be necessary he doesn't think it will be sufficient by itself. Hence his advocacy of new technology.

      • Robert Guyton 6.1.1
        11 December 2020 at 11:29 am

        Having seen first-hand some repurposing of existing technologies by inventive people from South-East Asia, I don't see that a return to the 1950's is even a possibility; some materials present in the world now are practically indestructible (the blades of diggers etc…) and won't disappear in the event of an economic collapse. New technologies generally emerge from the military complex, we've been repeatedly told, so I'm anxious when faith in those is advocated. What will come with. such thinking? Who will call those shots?

      • Robert Guyton 6.1.2
        11 December 2020 at 12:00 pm

        Here's one: biodegradable rat-traps, delivered by drone!

        "The current prototype had a small cone, sized between a thimble and a shot glass, just big enough for a rat’s head to fit inside.

        When a rat nibbled the bait, a biodegradable elastic band would snap around its neck and quickly strangle it."

        https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/123631385/tiny-biodegradable-rat-traps-can-be-dropped-by-drone-and-leave-no-trace

  7. mango 7
    11 December 2020 at 11:09 am

    https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2018/01/how-much-energy-do-we-need.html

    I would recommend this source for all it's other content with the caveat that some of the thought experiments sometimes go a bit further than is reasonable.

  8. Andre 8
    11 December 2020 at 11:14 am

    What would it take to build enough zero-carbon electricity to replace the fossil fuels currently used? Let’s do a ten-minute wild-ass guess at that.

    The world currently uses energy at the rate of about 18 TW (TW is a trillion watts).

    https://ourworldindata.org/energy

    That's the primary energy used – ie electricity output from non-fossil generators, plus the chemical energy contained in coal, gas, oil, regardless of where it's used . When fossil fuel is burned for process heat, most of that primary energy goes to its intended purpose of heating. But when it's burned in some sort of heat engine to turn it into electricity or mechanical motion, the efficiency ranges somewhere from 25% to 55%. Considering this loss of energy wouldn't happen if all those mechanical energy users were electrically powered, let's hand-wave and say 10TW of total electricity supply would be needed to replace all primary energy currently used.

    Renewable energy costs around USD3 per watt to build, for a rough hand-wavy number for the sake of argument, allowing for 3x overbuild in capacity to allow for intermittency. Nukes around USD6 per watt to build.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

    So, really rough order of magnitude guess, building enough zero carbon electricity generation to supply all of humanity's current energy use would be in the range of of 30 to 60 trillion US dollars. Plus the cost to change over to electricity all the machines that currently burn dino-juice. Call it another 30 to 60 trillion. 60 to 120 trillion USD to get ourselves to zero-carbon worldwide.

    Current global GDP is around 85 trillion. Put 10% of global efforts to getting to zero-emissions, and we'd be there in somewhere around a decade.

    With World War 2 level mobilisation and sense of urgency, it looks doable.

    • WeTheBleeple 8.1
      11 December 2020 at 11:33 am

      Now we're talking.

      There's still a paradigm shift required around 'reasonable consumption', where ecological literacy and the continued deification of the lifestyles of the rich and famous are problematic to environmental and social progress.

      Clean energy for all would be an incredibly good springboard to launch a brave new future – for all.

    • RedLogix 8.2
      11 December 2020 at 12:53 pm

      Nukes around USD6 per watt to build.

      They used to be around the USD1 per watt, but this has been greatly inflated by a range of 'soft costs' over the past few decades. Mostly because building massive 'one off' plants as site builds entails a whole range of commercial and project management risks.

      The good news is that everyone innovating in this space is totally aware that if a 4th gen nuclear tech is ever to be useful, the price has to be under that of coal/gas and solar. The critical innovation to achieve will be to build smaller standard designs in a factory, and then ship them to where they're needed.

      • WeTheBleeple 8.2.1
        11 December 2020 at 5:50 pm

        What's your take on China's fusion project?

        • RedLogix 8.2.1.1
          11 December 2020 at 7:53 pm

          Sorting out hype from reality is always hard with China, but my guess is that they're not as far advanced as they'd like us to think they are, but at the same time they've made a lot of progress they don't want us to really know about.

          Especially in military applications. For instance I've seen informed speculation around a molten salt fission based nuclear submarine being far more advanced than the search engines will readily show.

          They know they are terribly exposed to disruption of Middle East oil supplies and are highly motivated to reduce this.

          • WeTheBleeple 8.2.1.1.1
            12 December 2020 at 9:20 am

            Thanks RL. It seemed to me a combo of vanity project but also some blue sky type research which I always appreciate.

            'Exposed to disruption' – good point, justification enough to run with such projects.

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    11 December 2020 at 11:22 am

    "This leaves us with two broad options; the most popular is the idea that we might retreat a little, downsize our consumption habits to somewhere around the developed world in the 1950’s."

    The problem with this proposal is that unless the seemingly-ingrained human need to "improve" their circumstances, no matter what those circumstances are, will lead to the same "progress" that brought us to this point; a re-set to a less-destructive state will only be of value if somehow we are able to rein-in our rapaciousness, hence my call for a "change of heart", a re-culturing that results in a secure and accepted way of being for humans that holds discretion as the highest ideal. We have to learn a number of things for this to work; a sense of scale, a sense of responsibility, a reverence for everything and everyone on the outside of our own skin.

    • Tricledrown 9.1
      11 December 2020 at 2:13 pm

      Cambridge Analytica did a survey on how Americans think many wanted to go back to the fifties when men were men and Women knew their place .

    • RedLogix 9.2
      11 December 2020 at 4:29 pm

      hence my call for a "change of heart",

      Yes, this is essential too.

      And again if we look back over the past 200 years, consider how much 'change of heart' we have already undertaken. This is very encouraging.

      Because while we always carry with us the biological scripts our physical bodies have inherited from millions of years of evolution, I firmly reject the idea that 'human nature' is fixed and irredeemable. Quite the contrary, we demonstrate a remarkable capacity to adapt our desires and behaviours to changed circumstances.

      • Robert Guyton 9.2.1
        11 December 2020 at 6:02 pm

        " I firmly reject the idea that 'human nature' is fixed and irredeemable. Quite the contrary, we demonstrate a remarkable capacity to adapt our desires and behaviours to changed circumstances."

        Agreed. Who has, or which culture has, the best "take" on what "human nature" is, do you think, RedLogix?

        • RedLogix 9.2.1.1
          11 December 2020 at 7:57 pm

          Good question, but forgive me for proffering an answer beyond the acceptable bounds of what is a political forum.

          Let me just say this much; the unity of the human race is the core moral challenge of our particular era. Everything else flows from this.

          • Robert Guyton 9.2.1.1.1
            11 December 2020 at 8:00 pm

            Indeed. What do you see as the essential beliefs that unify the human race at this point in time?

            • Ad 9.2.1.1.1.1
              11 December 2020 at 10:53 pm

              Betterment and eating.

              • Robert Guyton …
                12 December 2020 at 8:16 am

                Complicated by bettering our eating, leading to obesity, ridiculous trade set-ups, the extinction of tasty-but-frivilous species, cruelty to animals and a whole raft of other abominations; our stomachs rule our heads and are causing the destruction of the other-than-stomach world!

  10. Maurice 10
    11 December 2020 at 11:23 am

    So … if we downsize back to the 1950's will we bring back Mark One Zephyrs?

    Asking for a friend (who wants one) .. or will we get electric Ford Prefects?

    • Robert Guyton 10.1
      11 December 2020 at 11:36 am

      I yearn for winklepickers!

    • Phillip ure 10.2
      11 December 2020 at 12:19 pm

      can we all smoke ciggies again..?

      • Phillip ure 10.2.1
        11 December 2020 at 12:29 pm

        but seriously…there is no way people will 'go back'.….

        dunno what the destination will be like…

        ..but we always move 'forward'..

        ..be it to a dystopia..(economic/environmental)

        ..or a more enlightened future ..

        .we can get this sorted..

        ..but not by continuing doing things the way we do now…that much is certain..

        the victorians had absolutely no idea of what the future held..

        ..and neither do we..

        all we can do is make wild guesses..

        ..and agitate for what needs doing..that is right under our noses..

        • greywarshark 10.2.1.1
          11 December 2020 at 2:30 pm

          We are going back PU. Our society is abandoning the concepts that have driven many people to sacrifice their lives to improve conditions for others and to bring in changes that keep out the darkness that threatens the human soul. We have regressed and it seems to me that we are back to about the 1960s in our thoughts and behaviours.

          The wokeness of the present parallels the flower power of the past, the search for different gender identity matches the cults that would suck in young people and then entrap them so that they had to be kidnapped and be deprogrammed for their parents to once again be part of their children's lives.

          Feminism was trying to break through barriers of prejudice; in the USA agitation for a break from the racial superiority arrogantly applied by whites was continuing and some breakthrough achieved but with immense courage from those forcing it.

          In NZ we slowly pulled away in the 1960s but even in the 1970s there were shameful examples of racism and disrespecting women.

          We have gone backwards. But not in the way we need most, and that is to a simpler life and less posing and pouting about how great our homes are, with every mod con. And we need to model this approach. Robert and his family are one example. Perhaps we can start keeping a note of those who have managed to change their lives around and keep them in a group, not necessarily under their own names which could put them in the spotlight, but with details and some images of how to go about it. Not preachy, but showing others that it can be done, and have ideas that can be followed for those wanting to make a start, from which they will expand. If there is a site on-line, to make it easily accessible, perhaps we can make a note of it here, and curate all those that come forward. Give them feedback too.

          • Phillip ure 10.2.1.1.1
            11 December 2020 at 4:19 pm

            @ grey..

            would you have been considered to be a straight..back then..?

            how was your sixties..?

            • greywarshark 10.2.1.1.1.1
              11 December 2020 at 5:48 pm

              I'm trying to be objective here. It is a societal thing and I'm not personalising it, though I can bring memories of the time to the comment. This is a big thing, and needs an overview of what is happening.

              • Phillip ure …
                11 December 2020 at 6:57 pm

                aww..!….c'mon..!

                just a quick snapshot..

                grey in the sixties..

                it isn’t a crime to have been a straight..

      • Robert Guyton 10.2.2
        11 December 2020 at 3:14 pm

        Nah – but you can tuck 'em behind your ear, if you wanna be cool.

  11. Muttonbird 11
    11 December 2020 at 3:24 pm

    All I'm reading is 'engineers made the world great, and eco-terrorists want to destroy it'.

    Straight out of the ACT party manifesto.

    • greywarshark 11.1
      11 December 2020 at 5:53 pm

      Oh dear. The engineer's practical view – I thought that might happen so I haven't perused it. There is so much to think about just now. One thing I know is there won't be an easy answer, and engineering won't save us from nature unrestrained. I did put up a link yesterday showing the underground caves fashioned about 900 BC in Cappadocia, Turkey. You had to watch your engineering there and ensure there were enough columns as the soft rock they hacked into could collapse. But they did pretty well in those supposedly primitive times.

      • RedLogix 11.1.1
        11 December 2020 at 8:02 pm

        But they did pretty well in those supposedly primitive times.

        I tend to think of our ancient ancestors as tough and smart people; they survived in a very difficult world and achieved many remarkable things given the limits they had to live with.

  12. Foreign waka 12
    11 December 2020 at 6:38 pm

    There is of cause the question whether nature will rectify what is currently a mismatch of development of technology and size of population to nourish. If, for instance the disappearance of the rain forest is continuing at the current rate, we don't need to think about any of this because the decision has been made….by sheer greed.

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    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    13 hours ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    13 hours ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    13 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    13 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    13 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    20 hours ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    22 hours ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

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