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Do the young really lack concentration?
Written By: lprent - Date published: 1:23 pm, March 1st, 2015 - 85 comments
Categories: admin, blogs, humour, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, The Standard
Tags: statisticsNow that I can no longer call myself young, the old adage that younger people simply lack concentration does appear to me to be correct. I look to the numbers on The Standard to see if there is a correlation and if I can argue a causation based on age. Are the younger readers without concentration, or are they just busy…
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Search upgraded (yet again)
Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:47 am, March 15th, 2010 - 4 comments
Categories: admin
Tags:My absence this weekend from moderation and posts has partially been because of going to the excellent Fabian seminar today. However it has largely been due to trying to get a workable search system running. One that didn’t bring the whole server crashing around my ears every few months and cut the issue of everyone having to stop receiving data for up to a minute when someone used search. One that allowed comments to be accessed as easily as posts.
It looks like it is finally working correctly, but I’d like feedback on any errors that show up.
Updated: Several different server and site updates.
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- Living wage win shows success of campaignThe Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff congratulated Living Wage Aotearoa and the Government for moving to a living wage of at least $20.55 an hour by the first of September for all people employed in the core public ...4 days ago
- Action needed over discriminationA survey of primary school leaders has found that a significant sample of Māori and Pasifika participants have experienced discrimination at work on the basis of their ethnicity. ...4 days ago
- E tū awaits Living Wage for Government contract workersE tū has welcomed the Government’s decision to move all directly employed workers in the core public service to a wage rate of at least $20.55 - the 2018 Living Wage. ...4 days ago
- PSA wins Living Wage for core public service employeesPSA members in the public service have secured a big victory - with all employees winning the right to be paid at least a Living Wage. ...4 days ago
- Dancing with the Stars, week eight: Tumbling through ecstasy
It’s a wintry theme this week on a Cato-less Dancing with the Stars. Who adjusts to the winter chill and who is left out in the cold? These puns and more in week eight’s power rankings.Note: Each contestant danced twice this ...7 hours ago - Foreign buyer ban changes better, but not good enough
Amendments to the government’s foreign buyer ban, if introduced, would give overseas investors more leeway to put money into New Zealand housing developments. But critics say the changes don’t go far enough, and the restrictions inherent in the new legislation ...8 hours ago - Nurses’ rejection of new offer ‘really disappointing’ – Clark
There is no more money in the government kitty for nurses but what's available could be restructured, Health Minister David Clark says. ...8 hours ago - Auckland firm inspected over anti-money laundering rulesGovernment authorities have carried out an on-site inspection of an Auckland company to make sure it's upholding its obligations under anti-money laundering laws. ...9 hours ago
- ‘You could say it’s a curtain raiser’: Winston Peters takes the maternity-cover stage
Winston Peters has assumed prime ministerial duties from Jacinda Ardern – well, some of them – as she prepares to go on maternity leave. Toby Manhire watches (thanks Newshub) the weekly set-piece post-Cabinet press conference.In late September 2017, Winston Peters stood ...10 hours ago - Peters chairs first cabinet in warm-up for PM stintDeputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is warming up for his stint in the top job, which will formally start when Jacinda Ardern arrives at the hospital to have her baby. ...10 hours ago
- The Spinoff goes to Field Days“God damn, that horse is beautiful.” Townie Ra Pomare heads to the country’s biggest expo of rural life.The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air. ...10 hours ago
- Why we’re marching over Tauranga’s rough sleeping banCommunity activists and charity groups staged a hikoi in Tauranga today, outraged at a bylaw prohibiting beggars and rough sleepers in the CBD. But the hikoi is also about restoring mana and hope, explains Kai Aroha founder Tania Lewis-RickardTwo years ...11 hours ago
- Live blog: New Zealand awaits the arrival of the First Baby
We provide live updates as the country anticipates the arrival of the prime minister’s baby.Sunday, July 173pm: There is no baby.Monday, July 184am: 4am is the most common time for babies to be born. However, there is currently no baby.12.36pm: ...11 hours ago - A stay-at-home dad asks: Have you seen my masculinity?
Since becoming an at-home father, Adam Mamo has been on a desperate search for his masculinity – after all, he keeps being told it’s gone missing.You needn’t look far back in time to when being a stay-at-home dad wasn’t really ...12 hours ago - Bridges to somewhere: why National’s climate U-turn is such a big dealClimate change is not a partisan issue, and the need to take big steps to reduce emissions is urgent. So the opposition support for a Climate Change Commission is very welcome, writes climate scientist James Renwick.In climate policy-land, things are ...13 hours ago
- The Monday Extract: The secret diary of Charles Brasch
He viewed Greymouth as “sub-human”, rather wished James K Baxter would STFU, and regarded the poetry of “plump and round” Bill Manhire as “promising”. A new book shares the 1968 diary of Landfall founder Charles Brasch. January 25, 1968Jim [Baxter] talks so ...13 hours ago - We must make the hard decisions: in defence of the YHA boardLast month a former YHA board member argued that closure of the Opoutere hostel showed the organisation had stopped listening to its membership. That’s a misleading characterisation, counters YHA head Mark Wells. In mid-February YHA’s national board confirmed the closure ...13 hours ago
- Police release Gayford media emails
Police have released emails showing the steady stream of media enquiries they received about false allegations involving Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford - and the pressure they felt to respond. The documents show the NZ Herald, which was first ...13 hours ago - Better together: Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s ‘Everything Is Love’, reviewed
Yesterday, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s album ‘Everything Is Love’ was released with no warning. Is it any good?If Lemonade was the release and 4:44 was the repentance, then Everything Is Love is, indisputably, the glorious reconciliation. Over the weekend, the Carters released ...14 hours ago - ‘Stay safe’: the enraging advice for women to steer clear of violent menThe rape and murder of Melbourne woman Eurydice Dixon has reignited the conversation about women’s role in protecting themselves from stranger danger. Criminologist Bianca Fileborn explains the problem with ‘stay safe’ advice.This week, a man allegedly raped and murdered a ...15 hours ago
- ‘We cannot footnote our way to freedom’
The Pacific Media Centre’s Dr Sylvia C. Frain talks to human rights lawyer Julian Aguon, who recently won a landmark case in the Guam Supreme Court upholding the separation of powers doctrine, on issues ranging from law school and social ...15 hours ago - I set up Facebook ad targeting, and it’s even creepier than I imagined
Facebook knows everything about you, and by extension, so do a million marketers and corporations. And now so do I.Eighteen months ago, in a sudden fit of self-importance, I decided it was time to get myself a Facebook ‘brand’ page. ...15 hours ago - PNG troops arrive in Mendi – PM and politicians apologise for riot ‘distress’
Southern Highlands protesters declare “No Southern Highlands government, then no PNG gas project or government services”. Image: Freeze frame from social media video by Sedrick Ranpi Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk More than 100 Papua New Guinea soldiers from Taurama ...15 hours ago - Disturbing Asia-Pacific millennials in the digital communication ecosystemThe digital age and the power and challenges of the Millennials as presented by keynote speaker Professor B P Sanjay, pro vice-chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, at the AMIC2018 conference at Manipal, Karnataka, India, on 7-9 June 2018. The ...16 hours ago
- No Man is an Island – bringing communication and connectivity to the PacificTHIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED: The Pacific Ocean is life itself. It’s on the frontlines for the fight for our planet. The Floating Foundation provides a platform for doctors, nurses, and marine scientists to help the environment and ...16 hours ago
- National party shock at government scrapping police policiesThe National Party has expressed shock after the government ditched two of its key police policies - and it is calling for them to be reinstated. ...16 hours ago
- Ingredients bulk up food fibre counts
Are the fibre counts for foods getting bloated? Browse supermarket shelves, and it's easy to find ice cream, yogurt and brownies with impressive fibre totals. That's because companies add ingredients to boost the fibre, a practice they say helps people ...18 hours ago - US Govt ends alcohol study
The US government is shutting down a study that was supposed to show if a single drink a day could prevent heart attacks, saying ethical problems with how the research was planned and funded undermine its credibility. The National Institutes of ...18 hours ago - The Bulletin: Police to reopen Pike River case?
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pike River case could be reopened, public service workers to vote on strike action, and police accused of behaving like a private security force.Police could reopening the Pike River mine case, ...20 hours ago - EU Trade Commissioner makes case for NZ deal
After years of discussions, the European Union is officially launching trade deal negotiations with New Zealand. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström is headed to New Zealand this week, and spoke to Sam Sachdeva ahead of her visit about what the ...20 hours ago - Mega sporting events suck at creating infrastructure, actuallySpend money to make money? Not really. It turns out there’s very little in the Commonwealth Games for a host other than cost.In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens and shared a similar fate to many ...21 hours ago
- The ironwoman who just wanted a hug
After years of pain and anguish, Teresa Adam still can't believe she is New Zealand's latest Ironman star. Suzanne McFadden reports. As Teresa Adam crossed the finish line of the Ironman in Cairns, she was overwhelmed by successive waves of emotion – ...21 hours ago - Frustrated PNG tribesmen capture 2 policemen – seize vehicles, weapons
Southern Highlands tribesmen show off seized police vehicle and assault rifles. Image: EMTV News Facebook Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Two Papua New Guinean police vehicles travelling from Hagen to Hela in the Highlands after servicing were fired on today ...1 day ago - Disturbing Asian millennials in the digital communication ecosystemThe digital age and the power and challenges of the Millennials as presented by keynote speaker Professor B P Sanjay, pro vice-chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, at the AMIC2018 conference at Manipal, Karnataka, India, on 7-9 June 2018. The ...1 day ago
- Survivor week nine: Alliances break, dreads form
We’re back again for week nine of Survivor NZ, and with only nine castaways left we’re starting to see old alliances fall apart, as new partnerships form. Luke Harries recaps.The old tribal lines of Chani and Khang Khaw are more ...1 day ago - Ardern’s challenging last full week as PMPower Play - The Prime Minister's due date marks the start of the handover to Winston Peters, after a week in which coalition bonds were tested, writes Jane Patterson. ...1 day ago
- The best of The Spinoff this week
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website.Hemma Vara: Five great sustainable, ethical clothing labels – all made in NZ“WORLD founder and ethical fashion champion Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet claimed it’s almost impossible to manufacture clothes in New Zealand, ...2 days ago - Welcome to bot-land: a journey to the most annoying corners of Instagram
Ever wondered why some random always leaves the same emoji on your photos? Lucy Revill introduces the ghastly robots of the ‘gram.How long have you spent on Instagram this weekend? It’s a bit of a time suck, right? Well I ...2 days ago - On ya bike! The charity getting kids on Wellington’s mountain bike trails
Ash Peters is passing on her love of mountain biking to hundreds of families around the Wellington region. She spoke to Thalia Kehoe Rowden about what draws her to the hills, and how her charity is reaching all sorts of ...2 days ago - I went to the Gatsby party at the Toy Mansion and all I got was an empty bottle of Moët
Hosted by Jake Millar and the multi-millionaire Mowbray siblings, New Zealand’s new, young entrepreneurial elite gathered at the famed Dotcom/Toy Mansion for a night of tuxedos, evening gowns, and abundant champagne. Jihee Junn reluctantly went along.The first thing you see ...2 days ago - A delicious foot: the natural wines made in urban Wellington
Samuel Flynn Scott explores the buzzy flavours of the natural wineries of downtown Wellington. I’m in the Garage Project Taproom with my long term comrade in music Lukasz Buda. We’re entertaining Marlon Williams and his lovely band The Yarra Benders. We ...2 days ago - Unravelling National’s hunt for relevance
Peter Dunne analyses how National might handle soon-to-be-Prime Minister Winston Peters, and why the former governing party is still struggling for relevance Many observers are speculating that the Prime Minister's maternity leave, leaving the country in the hands of her ...2 days ago - PNG opposition demands PM O’Neill resign over Mendi torching riot
Oro Governor Gary Juffa speaks during the Opposition demand for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s resignation. Video: EMTV News Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea’s Opposition has demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill over this week’s rioting in ...2 days ago - Kontras urges Jokowi to resolve Papuan Wasior human rights case
3 days ago - Re-offending rate shows new approach needed – LittleIf the prison population continues to spiral, the government will need to build a new prison every two or three years, the Justice Minister says. ...3 days ago
- Six ethical, sustainable (and stylish) clothing labels for men
Thinking about consumption is sometimes easier said than done, so we’re here to help: check out The Spinoff’s guide to buying ethical clothing for men.Last weekend we posted about a number of stylish and purpose-driven New Zealand womenswear brands, but ...3 days ago - All the things I learned from Angela Lansbury’s 1988 wellness video
The 80s were a time for wellness videos from all kinds of celebrities. But the best one? Dame Angela Lansbury’s. Sam Brooks found the tape, and dug through it for the gems.Look, Angela Lansbury is a damn treasure. She’s got ...3 days ago - Meet the men behind New Zealand’s most deranged conspiracy websiteWhat on earth would possess someone to publish a cacophony of fabrications so unhinged that they make Infowars look tame?January 19 2018 was a day that changed what normal meant in New Zealand’s political history. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced ...3 days ago
- Yesterdaze: another leaky building crisis
When a Minister isn't a Minister and Auckland Council's leaky building crisis - James Elliott looks at the news of the week. There was good news for home buyers during the last week. House prices have come down significantly as measured in ...3 days ago - Focus on Politics: The Final ACT?For the first time in a decade the ACT party is out in the cold. It's languishing in the polls, and its leader told Jane Patterson about a possible name change and dancing up some publicity. ...3 days ago
- A child of politics: Advice about growing up in the spotlightCheckpoint - With the due date just days away, RNZ's Katie Scotcher investigates what it could be like to grow up as the child of the Prime Minister. ...3 days ago
- $35 tourist tax not enough to cover need – mayorIt's the right of the government to sting tourists for more at the border, as long as the money raised goes where it's needed, the tourism industry says. ...3 days ago
- Mayor: $35 tourist tax not enough to cover needIt's the right of the government to sting tourists for more at the border, as long as the money raised goes where it's needed, the tourism industry says. ...3 days ago
- O’Neill imposes PNG curfew, vows arrests in wake of Mendi torchings
Mendi’s courthouse was among two buildings set ablaze by the protesters over an unsuccessful appeal over last year’s general election. Image: Scott Waide/EMTV News Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea authorities have imposed a 6pm to 6am curfew ...3 days ago
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