Commercial Ventures and the Public purse – #6 – Kiwi FM Radio

Radio Broadcast Studio (Photo credit: Leonardo Rizzi)

An ailing radio station given $300,000 a year in government funding to play exclusively Kiwi music will bow to commercial reality today and play overseas bands. via Kiwi FM Radio Station to Play International Music | Stuff.co.nz.

The station, which receives $300,000 a year from New Zealand on Air, never reached above 0.4 per cent of the listening audience and was currently at 0.1 per cent, Andrew Szusterman, of MediaWorks Radio, said.

Kiwi FM was launched in 2005 but failed to gain a large-enough audience and the next year the Government stepped in to save it by giving it new FM frequencies.

It's been broken for 7 years!!!

Using some dodgy maths lets say 7 years 300K = $2,100,000.00 That's a fair crack of the whip for a lame idea from a lame company and those making the decision need to really think through what it is they're buing into.

The article quotes "There were not enough radio-quality acts in New Zealand to keep a station afloat. "The quality [of New Zealand music] has got better ... but there's not a huge number of acts.""

What he doesn't say is that  There are over 70 New Zealand radio stations that stream on-line content! Who knew! In Auckland alone there are 53 Radio stations to listen to, never a dull moment ! And it appears that's out of a total of more than 130  in NZ

I don't know where to begin with that, simply put there isn't a commercially viable amount of music to play, not historical, not current, just not. What kind of poor business decision is it where you all sit around a big table and the big talking head says "all kiwi, all the time" and everyone nods and mumbles. Madness.

The fact that it's costing $300,000 and the 0.4% is probably the WAG's of the DJ staff should indicate the next best business decision they should make, which is pushing the BRB (Big Red Button) and putting everyone out of their misery. This is a minorities station of the wrong sort, and the money would have been better going to student radio stations such as bFM for a slice of their time and a niche show, not some full funded run-around-the-block.

I'm annoyed that this again is a public venture, a for profit venture, one with share-holders behind it, that relies on a public handout to operate, it's not a charity. Or where do I sign up?

Growing up and letting go - sporting your life vicariously

At 17 it's come down to a battle of wills.

Miss does not want to play club hockey this year. We already agreed that the representative competitions weren't going to be a feature, it still  seems to be about favouritism and who knows who, who's the coach and who's the manager, I'm not saying that the daughters of the various "officials" get picked, it might be the other way around, that it's accidental that the players are picked then oh can mum or dad be the coach/manager/etc.

Anyway we long ago decided that it wasn't fair or proper to insist on Miss participating in a short season of representative grade hockey, and frankly it's a cheaper option.  She has played for various A grade and occasional B grade teams over many years, and this year enough is enough, there wasn't going to be enough excitement in it. Besides which it could encroach on earning opportunities and a part-time job

School Hockey is fine, we're down with that, and I think she was hoping to be captain of the 1st XI this year, secretly if not openly. It may come to pass, she has a reasonable chance, but then it's down to the coach. And the coach is the same one that coaches the rep team. We'll see how that plays out.

But club hockey is another thing altogether. She played for the championship winning team last year, as probably the youngest team member, alongside a couple of very good current and ex black-stick and junior black-stick players, acquitted herself well, scored a couple of goals and generally seemed to enjoy it.

This year though after the summer break it seems that the fun isn't there any more.

And this is where, as a parent, it gets tough. I think we've been pretty fair and even in pushing and insisting on sports and achievements. Not to the point of forcing her to play, but making sure that we supported and encouraged where possible and supported the decisions that she wanted to make. It's cost us a fair bit of money too, it's not cheap, kit, travel, turf fees, club fees , physio visits, gym memberships etc.

With age and experience I'd prefer that she continued, at least for this year, at least untill she went to University, or got a job, and then I'd be happy to let it go. Accept that adulthood and decision-making has arrived and needs to be respected. I've even suggested that she start the season and then decide.

On reflection though this would be quitting, and I've never let my children quit half way through a team commitment.

So I have a quandary, give up and let go, or push because that's what I'd like to see happen.

No Bain no Gain

I was spurred on by this today about David Cullen Bain :  David Bain Defence Still Less Than Convincing | Stuff.co.nz.

I'll put my stall out before I get to the article;

My opinion on this is that Robin didn't do it. Despite insinuation and denial it's not that cut and dried. It could have been if David had testified in the re-trial, which he chose not to do, relying on fear, uncertainty, doubt and liberal attitudes to sway an unpredictable jury.

For me the key piece of doubt relies on the time that the computer was switched on.

The time. What exactly was the time, compared to what time, there was no "reference time", everyone looked at their own watches and decided that was the time. It's was a nonsense from the get-go

So how do you tell when a computer was started, I might have missed a trick or two but I still do not know how or where a computer of that age would have stored that kind of information, and I then assume that it was a guess. A guess based on some "expert" pressing the go button and timing with a stopwatch the time it took him, an expert, to type in the mystery message. Like a said a nonsense.

Lets assume that there was a record, somehow, in a history boot file, or something unknown to me, that only tells us a relative time, it's not "the time" it's the time that the computer thinks it is.

If I could get that answer straight in my head then I'd be happier. I might be the only on banking on that drum though, the prosecution and certainly the defense don't want to answer  the question. I even asked the defense team once and got a very off hand reply.

Any way via David Bain Defence Still Less Than Convincing | Stuff.co.nz.

The second item of key evidence is the bloody footprints found in the Every St house. Clearly, if Karam can show the footprints were made by Robin Bain, then he is home and dry. This is because Robin's socks, when he was found, had no blood on them, showing he must have changed them between shooting the family and then himself.

Robin's foot was 270mm long and David's 300mm. A bloodied footprint in the house measured 280mm, but the scientist who did the testing stressed the footprint might not show the "extremities of the heel and toe".

Karam hangs his hat on testing done by both defence and prosecution experts who had subjects dip their feet in a tray of pig's blood and then walk on various surfaces.

These tests showed it was very unlikely a person with a foot of David's size would make a 280mm print under luminol testing (it is usually larger). As with most reconstructions, this testing was flawed from the start. The variables were huge. Were the socks the same? Was weight put on the feet the same? Did the carpet in the tests match the Every St carpet? Was the amount of blood on the socks the same?

...

At the trial I counted at least 20 items of important evidence which, in my view, pointed to Bain's guilt. According to the book, they all have innocent and logical explanations, but key points such as the damaged glasses found in Bain's room, sister Laniet's gurgling, the fingerprints on the rifle, the blood on Bain's clothes and the bruises on his face are formidable although admittedly not unimpeachable pieces of evidence.

Interestingly, Karam does not mention the bizarre if not ludicrous scenario that would have played out if Robin had been the killer. This involves Robin putting his bloodied clothes in the washing basket and then changing his clothes and socks before killing himself in a highly unusual way.

The trial-by-ambush scenario as trumpeted by the title of the book is not sustained. I had to wonder if this was because the defence was not immune to springing things on the prosecution and had to be counselled by the judge on several occasions.

...

Karam is right about many things in the Bain case. Some of the police bungles were inexcusable, but neither was it the shoddy inquiry he makes it out to be. It's true some tests, if done, might have exonerated Bain, but also they might have supported his alleged guilt.

I doubt this book will change many minds. Karam has once again done a superb job for David Bain. Perhaps more debatable, in my opinion, is whether he has done such a fine job for justice.

I've been known to change my mind before, on many thing's, and I've read the books, read various web pages, articles, Wikipedia entries, and pro and anti sentiments. The family was dysfunctional and Robin was a "strange egg" but whilst it's not unusual for the police to get the wrong man, for me in the case they didn't and we've had an ongoing tragedy played out before us.

I wish David well, I have no personal malice or desire to cause him hurt harm or distress, only he knows for sure, and only him, and he had the chance to say, and he chose not to.

I rest my case.

Related articles

• Timeline: David Bain - one of New Zealand's most controversial murderers to claim compensations... (peter-petterson.blogspot.com)


• Retired Supreme Court judge to head New Zealand inquiry (theglobeandmail.com)

Beer – #11 in a series – Renaissance Man

Today it's a bit of a dash with Renaissance Paradox Blonde

Renaissance, a Craft Brewery based in Marlborough, New Zealand. Brews include the Winner of Best Stout at the AIBA 2011. Loving creator of ales for the enlightened palate.

The Paradox Blonde. Well blow me down if this isn't one chuffing good drop of beer. What have been doing dancing around it for so long? The label says, and I have to agree, that this is a Quaffing beer. And in a pint size and at the lower end of the alcohol level (4%) this would be a beer for the evening.

seriously a 9 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars on the arbitrary pdubyahometer. Get some at all good places, I got mine at New World, and they have the whole range, this could be an adventure!

Related articles

• Beer - #10 in a series - Introducing the Bishops Finger (pdubyah.com)


• Beer - #3 in a series - The Cornish Wheat Beer (pdubyah.com)


• Beer - #9 in a series - Badger Blandford Flyer (pdubyah.com)


• Beer - #6 in a series - Fursty Ferret (pdubyah.com)

It's not what they say it's how you read them - Personalised Plates

I'm curmudgeonly at best, according to MrsPdubyah, but as age and reason take over youth and exuberance I find myself questioning a few things. So then  Personalised Plates

I was driving home recently and was driving behind a Black Kia Cerrato what had the number plate "SHITOT" I know it's a Black Kia because I looked it up on carjam.co.nz :-)



The next day I cruised up behind a blinged up Honda Civic



Being a bit of a curmudgeon I thought I'd look to see what constituted offensive and inappropriate in terms of what you can and can't have as a number plate. Seems you can't have a number plate starting with  ARS, BUM, CUN, DUM, FAK, FAT and FUZ which are among 25 of those that the NZTA has banned already.

Stuff.co.nz reports :

From July 2010 till August 2011 the agency blocked six plates from being made after it was contacted by Personalised Plates Ltd. The agency also recalled a further six after complaints from the public.

Of the dozen plates, three used the c-word, including one in Afrikaans, which was recalled after it was issued. A Broadcasting Standards Authority survey last year found the c-word to be the most offensive swear word in New Zealand.

Two featuring the f-word were banned, and three with racist references to black people were recalled, as was CTKLR (cat killer).

A plate referring to the Hiroshima bombing in 1945 was blocked from being made.

Message plates allow smaller lines of text to be written above and below the central word, so the plate would have read "The Big Bang Theory ENOLA Gay".

Enola Gay was the name of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which killed about 140,000 people. After a second bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed about 74,000, the Japanese surrendered and World War II came to an end.

The plate was blocked before it was produced because it was "likely to offend", Transport Agency spokesman Andy Knackstedt said. A plate that said only Enola was allowed.

Also reported elsewhere Personalised plates which have not been allowed include FNC0LD and OHCOCK, while RDY24Q and DARKIE are among those which have been recalled.

But it seems SHITOT is ok, as is BOLX. In an email exchange with the Plates.co.nz people they said that SHYTOT was still on a vehicle and  that  B0LX could be B naught Fity TEN  maybe a dairy farmer.  - who knew that B0Lx was a dairy term.

I'll concede that SHYTOT could be just that a SHY TOT - tot of course being a slang for a young child, I did check and SHYBOY isn't issued but that SHYGAL is (i've done research!).

Like I stated with I get the desire to have an expression that in anarchic, a finger to the establishment, and fair play if you can get one past them, but  I've now contacted the NZTA and have to write to them with a complaint, this will calm the inner crank in me.