White & Black / Black & White
Richard Beddie's take on simplifying the world we live in
This is just awesome – the Lost Generation
28 months ago
by Richard
in Cool Stuff
I reserve posting random YouTube clips for the awesome ones. This is one of them:
Watch it till the end.
Black and White Version: Just awesome! (share it).
Hat Tip: Shannon’s BlogSpot
Pam Ann – not funny with Aids FaceBook post
08 months ago
by Richard
in Random Rant
Comedian Pam Ann crossed the line today in a rather stupid outburst on Facebook.
Known to have a HUGE gay following (I would estimate three quarters of her audience are gay, due to the theme of her work), and Pam make constant references to her gays during both her stage acts, and here regular FaceBook posts.
Today, in reference to Ryan Air’s new beds and blowjobs business class (link to Youtube if you wanna watch it) across the Atlantic (that’s Ryan Airs marketing for it!), Pam decided to be TRY to be funny and made the following post:
Blowjobs on Ryanair’s long haul business class I’d rather catch aids in Africa lol
I fully get that some humor will be offend some people, and I am all for pushing the boundaries, but this crossed the line. WAY over. And based on comments from those on FaceBook, many would agree.
Of course people can make mistakes. Comedians included. So LOTS comments asked Pam to delete the post, and apologise. I think the matter would have ended there.
But instead Pam left the post up, and clearly seeing the backlash from her gays, changed her profile picture to a rainbow flag.
Sorry Pam – this makes it worse. You clearly see the issue, but choose to try to make up for it by pretending to be gay friendly, when clearly you are EXTREMELY ignorant on both Aids, and in particular those in Africa who suffer from it.
So, this post is all about exposing Pam for who and what she is.
Comments welcome!
Black and White Version: Pam’s funny, but she needs to remember her core audience and how hurtful her ill-thought out comment was. When you’re a one trick pony, best not to p*ss off your audience. Apologise now Pam, please. (quoted directly from Tania on FaceBook)
Christchurch City Council’s Draft Development Plan
39 months ago
Yesterday the Christchurch City Council released its draft plan for the development of Christchurch post the recent earthquakes.
If you click on the link above you will get an online flip page style book, or if you prefer something you can download, here’s the pdf version of the CCC plan.
Let’s cut to the chase here:
This document ROCKS! (and not in a bad, earthquake way, excuse the unintended pun). I strongly recommend any Christchurch resident reads it and gives feedback.
IMHO, it’s the right balance of vision (it gives us all something to think/look forward to) with some practical now stuff.
To balance off my praise for the CCC, I give a HUGE brick bat to Gerry Brownlee, who has been the ONLY poor performer out of ALL the agencies and people involved in the earthquake recovery:
- CCC have done a good job (and a great job on this plan)
- EQC an average job (too slow, but OK)
- The Government have done a good job (with a very fair compensation package to red zoners who can’t rebuild). Key, in particular, has come across as very reasonable and level headed.
- CERA have done a good job – getting the right CE was probably half of that!
But Browlee has performed poorly. Why? Because less than one week prior to announce the compensation packages for homeowners that were not able to rebuild their homes, he arrogantly refused to give ANY idea of when info would come out on it. Instead of saying I can not confirm an exact date, but we hope to have information out to those effected in a matter of weeks, not months. But no, he just said I know, but I am not telling you, it’s complex. (Note: I have paraphrased here, he didn’t say these exact words) Can you say Arrogant Prick any louder, Gerry?
But it gets worse; Brownlee was reported as commenting on the CCC plan (link includes a video of Mayor Parker’s presentation)
However, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee called the plan “a pretty big wish list”.
Gee, thanks Gerry, that was constructive! (in case you missed it, that was me being sarcastic).
Contrast this with how Key responded:
Prime Minister John Key is a fan of light rail for earthquake-hit Christchurch but he’s less clear on who should pay for the city’s $2 billion rebuild plan.
To to a degree, both are right, coz they say the same message, but in totally different ways. There’s a lot not costed in the plan. The CCC says about half will be paid for by the Council (ie ratepayers) and half by a mix of Government and private investment. So yes, the issue of where the money comes from needs to be answered at some stage. But notice how Key’s message is Yes, but … and Gerry says No, unless … even though they have a similar message of who’s gonna pay?. Gerry you could learn so much from your leader!
Anyway, back to the plan, it rocks, read it and give feedback.
Black and White Version: The CCC have the right mix of vision and practicality in their latest plan. The challenge will be funding it, but now is the best time to try for things like this.
Hug a Gay Day – 11th August.
79 months ago
For some reason some people on the inter-web, especially Facebook, are saying today (August 11) is Hug A Gay day.
Now I am all for hugging gays. But, no, today isn’t the special day for it.
As I blogged about back in Feb, it’s 2nd Feb, and has been for years.
Oh, while I am on the whole Gay Theme, here’s a very cool page listing the best Effective Signs for gay marriage. Click on the image below for more
Black and White Version: You can hug gay folk whenever you want. But today isn’t the official day for it. You’ll have to wait about 6 months for that.
Richard’s Bed Tips
09 months ago
by Richard
in Random Rant
Here they are, Richard’s black and white tips for the playing in the bedroom:
Before I start it’s best to clarify that some people may be offended by this post, some may not. Some might even be disappointed. Anyway, read on:
- Buy a duvet cover that has a patten on one side, and a plan colour on the other. That way you can find the corners easily when changing the cover.
- Buy a duvet cover and duvet one size bigger than the bed. Looks great, and means there is more duvet to share if you sleep with a duvet hog
- Drop the top sheet. Just get a fitted sheet and duvet. It means making the bed takes 20 seconds. It DOES mean you wash the duvet cover with the sheet, but that’s hardly a biggie.
- Only ever ever use natural fibres, preferably cotton, next to your skin. So that means sheets, duvet covers, and pillow cases.
- NEVER skimp on a bed. You spend almost a third of your life on one!
I told you some people might be offended. But I figure if you had a dirty mind you had already stopped reading. (When I said playing, what did you think I meant?).
Black and White Version: Setting up the bedroom linen is easy, but don’t skimp on $.
Predictions – for 2011 and beyond
69 months ago
OK, here are some big (and no so big) predictions for the next 12 months and beyond:
Apple will release its 5th generation phone (iPhone 5, or 4s) in September. Potentially more significant, it will also do is push the 3Gs as an entry level phone (or less likely, introduce an iPhone lite), with a far lower price point, and sell it outright (no contract). This will be the nail in the coffin for Nokia et al, and mark the move of Apple into more ‘mainstream’ mobile phone market.- Google+ WILL eventually be the major social networking platform. It will be significantly large to be one of two (FaceBook being other other) by the end of 2011. FaceBook will survive though.
- National will win the next election in New Zealand. I actually predicted this in 2009, but wanted to restate it here. Labour will get caned, but not as much as current polls say. Even if National can govern alone (which will be close), they will invite others into a coalition. Key is clever like that.
- Obama will (re)win the US Presidency in 2011. It will get nasty.
- The NZ dollar will stay high (around 80c against the US $) for most of this year. But drop back to 70-75c by late 2011/early 2012
- The US economy will crap itself in 2013. Finally. China will help.
The above predictions were written on 27th July 2011.
Update 4 August 2011: The 2011 Rugby World Cup final will be between Australia and NZ. If NZ make it to the final, they will win it. South Africa will bomb out early.
Black and White Version: My predictions for 2011 and beyond. Who knows if I am right or not. Time will tell!
IT Hub for Christchurch – but needs money
29 months ago
by Richard
in Random Rant
I read with interest today an article in the Christchurch Press (online) about an IT hub plan to spark revival.
The idea was it was a group of businesses planning to set up an IT hub in the Christchurch CBD to help reinvigorate the city after the earthquake (remember most of the CBD is still off limits, and many businesses have moved out). Great idea I thought. But as I read on what struck me as amusing was the lack of a business sustainability here:
The IT business group, Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus (Epic), has asked the Christchurch City Council, which owns the 4000-square-metre block, to grant it site use for three years at no cost.
and
Anderson said the cost of setting up the IT campus would be substantial and the group had approached the Government for funding.
OK, so let’s get this clear: They want the council to give them free use of the land for 3 years, and the government to pay for the cost of setting it up?
Although it’s not all one sided:
Epic co-leader Colin Anderson, director of IT consultancy Effectus, said a cluster of IT companies would add much-needed vibrancy to the central city because IT workers were socialisers, had more disposable income than many people and were aligned to inner-city living.
I was wondering if I offered to move back to the CBD and buy my groceries there, would the Council give me free land, and the Government build me a house? Probably not.
Black and White Version: Sometimes I wish the media would actually analyse a story more that just printing an idea.
Ab Circle Pro 2.0 – still crap
1510 months ago
The ab circle pro is back. Well the ads are, and a ’2.0′ gets added. But it’s still crap.
As I have already blogged that the Ab Circle Pro is a scam.
It was reviewed by clinical exercise physiologist, Dr William Sukala (a VERY knowledgeable guy!) who hammered the claims in detail in his post here.
He went on to review the new ad Ab Circle Pro 2.0 ad here, and says:
The only things left after a nuclear blast? Cockroaches and the Ab Circle Pro V 2.0
I had hoped the Ab Circle Pro would die a quick death after my exhaustive product review from June of last year (Ab Circle Pro Review: Fat Marketing Claims Thin on Truth). The article went viral across the global fitness industry and I received a tremendous number of supportive emails and not a single negative one (a sign that legitimate exercise professionals are fed up with the product). But much to my chagrin, Jennifer Nicole Lee is back with a rehashed version of the product not so creatively dubbed the Ab Circle Pro version 2.0. As far as I can tell, V 2.0 appears to be virtually the same as the 1.0 model without any noticeable structural changes. The only appreciable difference I noticed had nothing to do with the product, but more to do with their questionable marketing and barely legal claims.
In summary he states:
Ab Circle Pro V 2.0: New and Improved Garbage
and
Bottom line: I advise consumers NOT to purchase the Ab Circle Pro 2.0
I could not agree more. DO NOT BUY ONE!
This product does NOT do what it claims, and is pandering to the inherent laziness in us all (hey who doesn’t want the magic bullet – perfect body for no work? But sorry, it just doesn’t work that way).
But don’t believe me, have a look at any of these:
- read Dr Sukala’s own research here, or
- click on the image at the top right of this post to see the Close Up show about the Ab Circle Pro, or
- read the dozens of negative comments people made about the AbCirclePro in response to my original blog post – not a happy read!
Black and White Version: The Ab Circle Pro is a scam, and does NOT do what it claims. Don’t buy one (can I be any more black and white here?)
The Brooks Review
010 months ago
The Brooks Review (written by Ben Brooks) is an awesome commentary blog site on all things tech.
His latest post today on Google+ was classic. Here’s his summary on various social media sites:
GeoCities: Was epic, and the best place to share animated GIFs.
MySpace: It was the place to go for crappily designed user profile pages and scantly clad pictures of women that you don’t know. To check out bands so that you could later tell you buddies: “I was listening to them way before they were main stream. It was the GeoCities of the early 2000′s.
Facebook: It is the place that you go to see what your ex is up to, if what’s her name from high school is still hot, and well who took a bikini vacation recently? It is also the place that will yield preposterous valuations, and shoot you an average of 30 clicks just for posting a link. Facebook made social networking an acceptable activity for everyone. Also: FarmVille.
Twitter: It’s the place where no one can deny your “friend request” and ADD heaven. Where millions can declare their allegiance to people they hardly know, and where a relative nobody 1 can get rather instant tech support.
Tumblr: This is basically the modern day GeoCities with better templates and (sometimes) faster loading sites. Also, it’s taking blogging to be a mainstream accepted activity.
Google+: …?
I have to agree with him on all counts (and funny too!). I do disagree a bit on his commentary on Google+ – from what I see so far I like it (well more than he does).
Black and White Version: Brooks review is a very informative tech site. Read it.
Firstin.co.nz rip off AGAIN
210 months ago
It looks like firstIn.co.nz are at it again with misleading retail prices.
I have blogged about FirstIn’s inflated prices before here, and also their misleading specs on products here. And yep they are at it again!
Today I see they have an 2nd hand (they say refurbished – but by who?) MacBook Pro for $1599 that they say saves $300. (In case the page disappears I have pasted a screen shot below).
Well I did a comparison with the only site I know always sells refurbished Apple gear – Apple NZ. And I find their STANDARD price on this unit is $1527 (again image shown in case this link dies). Now I will explain that the Apple product is a 2.4GHz processor, where as the FirstIn is 2.53, but Apple also have the 2.66GHz model, with a larger (320GB) hard drive for only $1699. So that’s $200 LESS than the supposed standard price FirstIn claim, for a BETTER unit. Take a look for yourself – Apple sell heaps of refurbished stuff all the time. So where is the $300 saving? What’s this based on? In fact it’s $72 MORE than Apple, plus Apple do free shipping, so that’s (up to) another $10 saved, depending on where in NZ you are.
It took me 30 seconds to find this price, so FirstIn cant claim they didn’t know. This what they do for a living (sell stuff online), and they REPEATEDLY inflate their so called RRP to show larger discounts than are really there. In this case they are actually charging MORE than a comparable unit. I would MUCH prefer to by direct from Apple – I trust them when they say its refurbished, and I also trust Apple’s pricing (coz they don’t mess with it, and they rarely discount). It goes without saying I don’t trust FirstIn.
Black and White Version: FirstIn.co.nz continue to be misleading on their pricing/discounts. I don’t trust them.
PS: Click on either image below for a larger view. Both images copied from their respective web sites at 1.15pm on 12 July 2011.
