Tonight i defend my claim to a sparkly pink tiara at Bloggers Predict 2010
Thursday 28 January 2010
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Where: Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, level 28, The Majestic Centre, 100 Willis Street

The 2010 lineup
Brenda Wallace (@br3nda) Current tiara-holder, Brenda was UP Visionary of the year for 2009, can she defend her title in 2010? The Capital City’s geek girl extraordinaire and queen bee of the software community, Brenda is to mobile technology and open source what honey is to brown bread, she makes it taste better! Brenda blogs on Coffee.geek.nz about coffee, gadgets, opensource, wellington, new zealand, music, and above all things: freedom.
Philip Fierlinger (@skyrize) From Silicon Valley to Silicon Welly, Philip’s web design expertise and has been eagerly sought after by online businesses and conference-goers alike. Currently design chief at Xero, blogger at Turntable Media Philip’s passion for web usability also led him to establish his own consultancy.
Mauricio Freitas (@freitasm) Geekzone head honcho and microblogging enthusiast. If there’s a new gadget being launched you can be sure Mauricio has an opinion about it. Been renovating his kitchen for last 6 months and has forgotten how to cook, however is on first name basis with all the (good) cafe owners in town. Possibly Wellington’s most avid “Tweeter”.

There's an e-petition on Wellington city council website, to ban smoking on the golden mile. Lambton Quay, Willis Street, Manners Street/Manners Mall and Courtenay Place.

This will create a corridor from railway station to mount vic where you don't need to be breathing in second hand smoke - while leaving many alternate routes for smokers.

I have asthma. I cannot walk behind a smoker for more than a moment. If I do my airway closes, and someone better call an ambulance quickly. It's not fun.

If there's a smoker, I try to overtake as quickly as possible. Right now i'm 7 months pregnant so cannot over take anyone. So, if I'm walking with a smoker near by, I have to stop, and wait for the smoker to meander ahead, and then watch carefully that I don't catch up to their killer stench. -- and then hope there isn't another smoker just behind me.

Likewise, when i'm at the bus stop, I shouldn't have to stand out in the rain while smokers puff away under the shelter. Every bus stop on the golden mile being smoke free is a great start.

People are welcome to smoke - do whatever you want to yourself - just don't do it in places i need to be in ways that mean I'm breathing it too. I need to walk down the street in Wellington. I ought to be able to do this without their choice to smoke meaning I have to actively avoid them. They can smoke on the next block.

Please Sign the petition

Wellington city council have a section on their website for "e-petitions".

The petitions currently active are:
Ban on smoking along the city's "Golden Mile" - A proposal to ban smoking along the streets making up the city's Golden Mile - Lambton Quay, Willis Street, Manners Street/Manners Mall and Courtenay Place

A Positive Dog Policy Petition - allowing dogs into more areas of the city, and allowing dogs to be let off leads in the townbelt, as well as fencing and poop rubbish bins in existing exercise areas

Ban the sale of 300-330ml glass beer and RTD bottles from off-licences in Wellington. - title says it all really

Resolution of traffic pinch-point on Tory St/Courtenay Pl intersection. - Change the configuration of the lanes for north-bound traffic on Tory Street where it crosses Courtenay Place.

Downhill traffic via The Rigi - change to the top of The Rigi to stop people going down it

As you will know, there is a lot of anger at the Government's decision to cut funding to night classes by 80% - a cut which will effectively mean the end to affordable, life-long learning in local high schools around NZ after the end of this year.

We have been fighting these cuts and thank everyone who has signed the petition, sent a postcard, written a letter or email and even visited their local MP to discuss the issue.

We are now marching to Parliament to show the Government the strength of feeling against the cuts and again ask for your support.

Please join us this Tuesday 4 August. The march will leave Wellington High School at 2.15pm, aiming to arrive at Parliament by 3pm.

The route will be from Gate 4 on Taranaki Street (by the pedestrian crossing next to the school gym - please assemble around the gym outside area), then down Taranaki Street, along Dixon Street to Victoria Street, then down Manners Street to Willis Street and along Lambton Quay to Parliament. If you can't be at the start, just join us along the way or meet us at Parliament.

Please spread the word - we need to show the Government that this is a short-sighted decision that will have an impact on all communities around New Zealand.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information - and apologies if this email has already been sent to you.

Regards
Robyn

Robyn Hambleton
Coordinator
Wellington High School ACE Centre
Ph: 385 8919
www.cecwellington.ac.nz www.stopnightclasscuts.org.nz

i'm on the panel for this year's Bloggers Predict.

http://up.org.nz/predictions-2009/

The rules:
Each blogger will make 3 to 5 predictions in the following categories:
Gadgets & Games
The Internet, Web 3.0...
Business & Technology
Wellington/NZ/the Universe (open slather)

Predictions made by blog readers in comments are allowed, but must be credited.

Cheating -- by using insider knowldge, in-depth simulations, latent psychic powers, reasoned analysis, alcohol, ouija boards, etc -- is strictly encouraged.
The Event:

When: Tuesday 27 January, 2009, 5:30 for a 6:00 start
Where: Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, level 28, The Majestic Centre, 100 Willis Street

We predict that this will be an UP event like no other. Come to drink, meet and mingle, and at 6pm we will assemble to hear the bloggers reveal all--their own forecasts, and those made by their readers.

Then you will vote for the blogger who has made the most plausible yet unexpected claims about the year ahead. The blogger with the most votes will take the prize...

The evening will conclude with a traditional Unlimited Potential feast: free pizza and beer! RSVP now to reserve your spot!

 
6pm @ Catalyst, level 4

Speaker + topics =

Brenda Wallace  Heap-Only Tuples
Jonathan Harker         Full Text Search
Mark Kirkwood   Optimising the Planner
Sam Vilain      Implementing Transactions and Nested
Tim Goddard     Top-n Sorting

Level four, 150 Willis street, Wellington

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4521911a10.htmljust WTF! one quarter? they must not have polled in Wellington. i'd say 80% of Wellingtonians leave their cars at home every single day -- that is assuming they even have a car, which a good chunk of them don't.crazy people in the rest of the country, refusing to pay for public transport, electing folks who just wanna build more roads instead...

take on bagette - preferably from the moulin in willis street, or aro bake.. anything better than supermarket will docut in halffill with dark ghana chocolate - schoc tablets are good - whitakers will also do.place in panini press until flatter, and choc melted...yet, with lotsa of napkins. very messyresult = success. :-)

Well - less than 24 hours after we ordered the headphones, they arrived on my desk at work.

They are the Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset

It's doing bluetooth 2.0, which means many things, but most importantly it copes well in a room that's already full of wifi.

Things i'm doing with these
Listening to ipod, which is in my jacket pocket, wirelessly
Listening to podcasts stored on my cellphone
answering my cellphone, and talking on the telecoping microphone

@import url(http://coffee.geek.nz/css/image.css);
Well - less than 24 hours after we ordered the headphones, they arrived on my desk at work.

They are the Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset

It's doing bluetooth 2.0, which means many things, but most importantly it copes well in a room that's already full of wifi.