False Start

ANON of 30 October you are quite right. They have tried a start on the ACC competitive event of the marathon paper shuffle. Unfortunately there was a false start and they got called back.

The penalty was to cut a leg off of half the competitors. I believe some are still running a three-legged race.

Dissatisfied?

Is it just me or does anyone else find customer satisfaction surveys (as a customer) quite unsatisfying?

Cricket Genius?

The focus is on Daniel Vettori who has now shouldered extra responsibility with the departure of the Black Caps coach. All part of a consolidated effort to strengthen our international cricket success we are told. And so perhaps Cricket NZ have let slip their cunning plan.

If they can now convince the International Cricket Board to move to the one a side game then Daniel Vettori can be selector, coach, captain, player and team. Then our domination of world cricketwill begin.

Prophetcheering

I knew John Ralston Saul was good but I didn't realise how good.

I'm not usually given over to enthusiasm for prophecy but how about this prescient piece from Voltaire's Bastards - 1993 First Vintage Books edition:

"If the scientific-administrative structure were somehow to be won over to the Greens, it would be just as secretive, retentive and sure of itself as ever. From the self-evident truths of nuclear energy as a beneficial social good, we would pass to the self-evident truth of generalised nondevelopment."

Competition anyone?

So, they're going to open up the Accident Compensation Commission to competition. A novel idea but will it really work? Obviously the plan is to sell the TV rights, but do they really have the popular events?

They've got the red letter events obviously, the marathon paper shuffle and the queue jump but do they have the complete package? Not having any sprint events is a problem. In fact there are no speed events at all. Plenty of hoop jumping and pedalling backwards but I'm not sure that drowning in red tape is an event, per se.

And it doesn't help that everything must be done in triplicate. This will save on replays, obviously, but how many times does one really want to watch an injured person disappear under a red sea of tape. Even the red letter events won't stand up here. Who will want to watch the marathon paper shuffle a second time let alone a third.

No, a novel idea it might be but I just can't see Sky Sports beating down their door with that big offer. The Comedy Channel, though, there's a chance!

Apologies anyone

Well quite appropriately the boys at the centre of the Nazi photo problem have apologised.

The RSA properly interpreted the boys actions as "profoundly ignorant". While the Auckland Grammar School principal is reported as describing their actions as immature and unthinking.

What's the purpose of education again?

The truth hurts

Again you couldn't make this stuff up.

http://geo.worldbank.org/

This helpful world map relevant to some World Bank activity has a small window at the bottom right of the screen (for no obvious reason) that duplicates the North African region (in miniature) and completely obscures New Zealand.

Well no-one can find us on a map anyway.