Go GO BUSES!

Ahh, no longer shall I have to endure walking 40 minutes in the windy, wet weather to get to my boyfriends house. Now there's an alternative, the long awaited Sunday bus service. The idea was proposed some time ago and has since been in the making. A little while ago people from Environment Waikato went on the buses and gave surveys out to people. I remember taking this particular survey on one bus trip home a little while ago. The survey was to help Go Buses determine how necessary Sunday buses were. Another survey was done before that which was given out to everyone and outlined the long term plans for the bus system.

Obviously the Sunday buses had positive feedback because on Sunday September 28th, a free bus day celebrated dramatic changes in the bus timetable. Key routes will be running on Sunday which includes Pukete, Silverdale, Dinsdale, Flagstaff, Glenview, Nawton, Fairfield, University, Rototuna, Hamilton East Uni, Te Rapa and the Orbiter. The Orbiter goes to 10pm on weekdays and til 8pm on the weekend. That's a very big increase in operating hours that have been well received by the public. Being a regular bus-goer myself, I always hear other people talking about how great it is that the buses go on Sunday. People also use them a fair bit on Sunday. I haven't gotten on one that's been empty on a Sunday yet. The buses also now run on public holidays which is totally blissful.

Other changes to the bus system includes new advantages for SuperGold cardholders. The SuperGold card is available to all eligible New Zealander's aged 65 years and over and those under this age who receive the New Zealand Superannuation or the Veterans Pension. From 1st October 2008, SuperGold cardholders are entitled to free fares during off-peak travelling hours. This applies to buses on all Hamilton city routes and bus routes to Cambridge, Huntly (21, 41, 44), Taupo, Mangakino to Tokoroa, Mangakino to Taupo, Paeroa (22) and Raglan (23). Off-peak times are 9am-3pm and 6.30pm to the end of the service on weekdays, and any time on weekends or public holidays. I think this is a really good idea for senior citizens since most of them are on the pension and that doesn't provide a lot of money.

I think the operation of buses on Sunday will benefit our city. For starters, when people without a licence want to go somewhere, they don't have to get rides from others, they can just hop on the bus. Fewer cars on the roads means less car exhaust being released into the air. You might not think it makes a difference but every little bit helps. The extension of the Orbiter hours is also beneficial because the route goes to all four corners of the city, almost covering every suburb.

A fire to REMEMBER.

On Saturday the 5th of April, 2008, I was going about my weekend job, scanning groceries, handling grumpy customers, all while being in what I like to call "a supermarket daze". I got a text from my friend saying something about a fire and how there was smoke over the city. Interested as I was, I couldn't ask what she was talking about since I was working. So I kept working, desperate to get outside before dark so I could see the smoke. Thanks to the lack of daylight savings at this time of the year, I knew darkness would blanket the city well before I would leave the building.

Then a customer came along and said something about a fire. Since I only had this half of the story already, I pumped the customer for information because I wanted to know where the fire was. He said it was out at Tamahere, by the airport. Information kind of poured in after that, thanks to various customers who were in the know since they weren't stuck behind a checkout. I found out that it was at the IcePak Coolstore and that fire fighters were badly injured and fire fighters were missing. It wasn't sounding good to say the least.

The next day, April 6th, the fire was all over the news. It was on the Australian news as well. It was an absolute fielday for reporters. The fire made the front page of every newspaper and the pictures showcased bloody injuries that might make someone with a weak stomach throw up. But it was effective and it really hit close to home. It was revealed that the fire was caused by an explosion due to flammable gas. The fire killed senior station officer Derek Lovell and injured seven other fire fighters. As if that wasn't sad enough, the maddening thing was the report released just last month. The report found that there was no smell of gas before the explosion and no signs warning that flammable gas was present. If there had been then fire fighters would not have entered the coolstore. The Fire service also had no prior notification that hazardous substances were at the premises.

Icepak wanted to rebuild on the site but the community wouldn't have a bar of it. The coolstore site is now for sale and Icepak are facing charges. The community have every right to oppose the rebuilding of the coolstore because they are the ones that suffered after the explosion. One resident's window was broken due to the shock waves of the blast and for weeks after the explosion the area stunk of the cheese that burned in the coolstore. The nearby school had to be closed and it's no surprise that the gas in the air raised potential health hazards.

The reason I wanted to write about this is because I really feel passionate about it. I was completely enraged at the report's findings and the obvious measures Icepak could have taken to prevent this tragic outcome. Derek Lovell had been serving in the line of duty for 25 years. He died in Waikato Hospital at around 11pm, April 5th, as the coolstore fire continued to blaze into the night. He had a baby daughter. He didn't deserve to die. I was there the day all his colleagues gathered to give him the send off he deserved. The road was closed and people gathered in the hundreds for a procession like no other. Firemen were all in their best suits, fire trucks littered the scene, a helicopter flew overhead and Derek Lovell's body rode on the special 1938 vintage fire engine known to all firefighters as "38". It was a very emotional moment and really touched me. I think that's partly why I feel so saddened by Derek Lovell's death, even though I didn't know him personally.
Walking past the fire station days after, I saw the pile of bouquets that the public had placed in front of the station in honour of Derek Lovell. It was just really beautiful.

Icepak should feel completely responsible for, what I feel, was the murder of Derek Lovell. This fire taught me about the importance of living each day as if it's your last. It also reminds us of how much the fire fighters do for this community. Everytime there's a fire, they put their life on the line to protect us. Is there any greater act of heroism? I would hope that April 5th will become as memorable as September 11th, especially for Hamiltonians. I can't remember there ever being a disaster this close to home.

It's NOT A HOAX!!

GLOBAL WARMING!! It's all you hear about nowadays. Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising. This is called the greenhouse effect. There's movies been made about it. We are all aware. The other day I heard someone talking about global warming and how in all its glory, it's a hoax and Al Gore is a fake. I don't understand how people can be that thick-headed! There's this little thing called evidence and it used to matter...

If you think about it, we abuse our planet so much. We take for granted the beautiful blue skies and the way the trees blossom in spring. But what if one day, our beautiful country is buried beneath water? I'm not saying it's going to happen, I'm saying that it could happen if we don't do something about it. We don't restrict the use of our cars because we don't seem to care that the gases we are releasing into the air is polluting it. The surface temperature of the earth is warming up and the drastic change in weather over the past few years is no lie. Oceans are warming, glaciers are disappearing, sea ice is melting in the Arctic and Antarctica and Greenland's ice sheet is melting!! The number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the past thirty years, the flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade and at least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles. This is pretty extreme and can't exactly be ignored or shrugged off as "circumstances of nature".

Some people who don't believe in global warming don't deny that our earth is warming up but they just think the causes are not man-made. But what else could it be? I don't see anyone else polluting the air with greenhouse gases! And REGARDLESS of who or what caused it, it's still happening!! Our earth is crying out for help and we are not listening because we are creatures of habit. We will keep doing what we've always done until global warming reaches a level so critical that it affects our daily lives.

Why do people continue to ignore the science? And why is it that people keep saying that scientists don't believe in it? They do. According to a survey released by the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS), over 8 out of 10 American climate scientists believe that human activity contributes to global warming. They know that global warming is already happening so why can't we? What kind of world are we living in if we can't believe scientific evidence anymore? Freedom of speech might be our ultimate destruction.


I read an article where one guy was rambling on about how global warming is fake and that scientists don't believe in it. However, the only impression I got after reading this article was that he cared more about boasting about his many degrees and apparent credibility than whether global warming is real or not. I've just shown you statistics and what proof did he have? None, none I tell you!!


Global warming is not a hoax. Sadly, if I ran all over town in my underwear screaming this chilling fact, no one would listen to me. In fact, I'd probably just end up in Henry Bennetts. So perhaps I'll stick to blogging. Al Gore started a global trend with his global warming campaign so why don't we follow suit? Let us be sheep. Let us save our planet.

Social networking..Why do we love it??

Social networking is a popular pastime for young people all over the world. Being the biggest fad to drown the world since cell phones, I felt the need to write about it. It's become such a meaningful thing to do in life, that it's taken precedence over porn on the internet. Amazed? No... not really. I mean, do you have a Bebo? Or Myspace? Or Facebook? Of course you do!! We all do. I'm sitting here in the hub (in the early hours of the morning I might add) thinking about the appeal that social networking has. Maybe you participate in social networking for any of the following reasons:

-Your a sheep. You conformed.

-You enjoy spending countless hours telling the world all about yourself.

-You just like keeping in contact with people (honest, that's the only reason..)

-You have stalker tendencies and social networking doesn't breech any restraining orders that may/may not have been placed against you.

-You are experiencing the phenomenon for reasons completely beyond your control. Maybe it's for an assignment? Or maybe your psychiatrist recommended it?

-Someone put a gun to your head and said "join a social networking website now..before I kill you".

-Your a mean, mean person and simply use social networking as a means for cyber bullying. (Mean, mean, mean!)

There could be any number of reasons, and maybe your reason has not be listed. Part of me feels that social networking is merely the tip of our hunger for popularity. Everyone wants to fit in at a young age, particularly at school. Because believe it or not, school is a popularity competition nowadays. There's generally the cool people, the smart people, the people that get along with everyone and the freaks. Young people can treat other young people very unkindly. I'm sure at one point of your life, you've fallen victim to the malicious things children can do to other children. Social networking is possibly separating the "losers" from the "popular people" by means of how much profile views you get, how old your comments are or how much Bebo luv you receive. Sound sad? Yes, it does. However, are you telling me that you've never felt a little unloved or neglected because your Bebo luv count is down?

Different age groups prefer different social networking sites, as do people with different interests. For example, Facebook is seen as a website for older people while Bebo is more for teenagers. Myspace is a site for people who are into music because there's numerous band pages. Myspace is ranked as the top social networking website in the world, with Facebook coming second and Bebo third.

I wasn't surprised at Myspace's popularity because it attracts a wider audience including music lovers and social networking fiends. There's also a lot of social networking sites that haven't quite grasped the momentum to be highly recognised in the cyber world. Sites such as Zorpia and Hi5 pale in comparison to leading sites like Myspace. However, they still generate a large amout of visitors. When I was in school, Hi5 was all the rage. This leads me to believe that social networking is like fashion, trends come and go and when somethings in, it's big.

So, why do we love social networking websites? Maybe a more sentimental blogger would say it's a way of keeping in touch with who we are. I'm going to say that it gives us a sense of identity. It tells the world who we are, what we are. It also allows us to keep in contact with others. But the thing with that excuse is, why can't we just ring them on the phone? Why the obsession with social networking when the person we're talking to, may very well live down the road? Thinking about that (excluding correspondence with people overseas obviously) sort of narrows down the reasons behind this compulsive behaviour and our need to pour out our soul over a shiny black keyboard. Maybe we're just stalking ourselves.

Online reporting ban.

On the 25th August, in the hum of Manakau city, Judge David Harvey issued a suppression order over the publication of the names of two men charged with the murder of 14 year old John Hapeta (left). The judge ruled that the two accused could be named in newspapers, on television and radio, but not online. The ruling was also restricted to New Zealand websites. Fairfax Media and APN News and Media are likely to appeal the ruling. Now why would any judge make a ruling like that? Many offshore websites still carry the identities of the accused, as does a New Zealand website that continues to defy the ruling. So what is the point?

David Harvey has been a district court judge for 13 years and been involved with computers for 21 years. He teaches the Law and Information Technology course at the Faculty of Law at the Auckland University. Now, looking at his background, we can see that perhaps his ruling wasn’t as random as it was ludicrous. Many people are calling Judge Harvey an internet censor and while he doesn’t want the names mentioned online, he welcomes discussion on the ruling. When the media questioned the Judge about whether the suppression order would stay in place, he said: “That is really up to you. I’ve invited argument on this point.”

Confused? I certainly am. It almost seems that he wants publicity, that he’s inviting attention towards the case. The names of the accused can be published anywhere and everywhere with the exception of the internet so by now, the public knows their names. This means that we aren’t left wondering yet we are left talking about it. There’s the possibility that he wanted to avoid it been discussed online and would rather it discussed on more influential mediums such as the television. Was this Auckland judge really after fame? Or was there plausible reason behind his ruling?

Delving deeper into this issue, I found that Judge Harvey tried to have a formal meeting for discussion on the ruling but to his disappointment, only two reporters turned up. For a tech-savvy man, he seems to be making a good job at looking like an internet hater. He wants to take the discussion away from the realms of the internet world, and make it more personal. However, I read on something on a blog that seemed very true, that journalists are busy people and he’s only likely to get a good discussion going on if it was done online. Judge Harvey seems intent on avoiding this. It’s possible he’s learnt that the internet has become a field of rubbish and that intellectual minds would be better exercised in formal discussions.

These opinions are not simply from out of nowhere, because we can all see the proof. The only thing that differs is what people read into it, therefore, we all have different opinions on the matter. No one person can say why Judge Harvey made this ruling, we can only guess with the evidence that’s been put in front of us (courtesy of the relentless media).

Future?

Everytime someone asks me what I want to do when I've graduated I respond with a reflective silence or a mere shrug which suggests my indecisiveness. At first, I was unsure if working for a newspaper was what I wanted. I thought I'd much rather enjoy feature writing and while this is still a future goal, newspaper journalism is definetly growing on me. The idea of being out in the field excites me and having a busy lifestyle will keep me motivated.

I was reading a blog by Martin Moore about the Orwell Prize. It is a pre-eminent British prize for political writing. The winner is the shortlisted entry which comes closest to George Orwell's own ambition to "make political writing into an art". That's what got me thinking about the future. There are so many different things you can write about within a newspaper. There's business, entertainment, politics, crime etc. If writing about crime means being on the scene of a homicide or serious car accident, I am admitedly scared. I don't stomach those things very well but I guess I would get used to it. Afterall, you need to be thick skinned to be a journalist.

I would like to work in England one day. I've wanted to go there ever since...forever. Everyone goes there for overseas experience and I can certainly see the appeal. I think I would be good at writing opinionated articles. I'm quite passionate about some things. When something gets me going, I won't rest until my point gets across.

People keep telling me that I should know what I want to do, that I should have a plan. In one of my classes, I was told that apparently if you write down what you want to do, you will most likely achieve it. Well let me start a list then..

-First things first, I want to get my writing published. I want to relish in the glory of seeing my own name in print. I mean, I've seen it before when we've done magazines for classes but that's not quite what I had in mind..

-Secondly, I want to go to England (as I've already said). I would like to work for the Telegraph. I wouldn't want to be away from my beloved New Zealand for too long though, I know I will end up here whatever I do.

-Thirdly, I want to write a book. I don't quite know what it'd be about yet. But I don't think I'd do an biography. Who am I to say my life is interesting? That my life is worth paying $34.95 to read about? I'm not saying biographys make a person sound self-absorbed, I'd just be afraid that's how it'd come across.

I''ll keep you posted...

Beijing Olympic disaster (among other things!!)

I'm a bad blogger. Look at the amount of time between this entry and my last. I suppose I was never dedicated to begin with but I want to change that. While I never held blogging in the highest regard, numerous lectures from those more experienced than I, have taught me that it is important. What's also important is spelling. Okay, so I'm an average speller but punctuation? Nope. Not me. If you find comma's in all the wrong places in this blog it's because I never understood the concept of comma's very well. If that sounds stupid then yes, I am admitedly stupid.

I used to think this blog was about our class since it was for our class. Then I realised that we're actually free to let our minds wonder. That's a bit broad for me because without restriction, I could get lost in a sea of my own words. But are they meaningless? If they mean something to me then surely they can't be. But is a blog for me or for my audience? Intriguing questions.

I've always liked debate and blogs always seemed like a place where opinions could be voiced, opinions that might not always be well received. I like stirring people's emotions, enraging them when they discover I was right all along. Does that sound conceded? I guess it does. I hate it when I'm wrong though, I hate it when smugness seems to enlarge someone's face and I just want to slap them, even if it's someone I love dearly. I have a tendancy to be brutally honest but at the same time I keep a lot of my feelings buried. But moving on now...

The Beijing Olympics have been a complete diaster in this bloggers somewhat inexperienced opinion. This disaster did not come as much of a surprise with the olympic torch relay debacle sparking fears that the Beijing Olympics would be about politics, not sport. China was extremely adament on protecting the torch, which only invited more chaos than necessary. The Olympics also seemed to mean that the issue of China's treatment of Tibet should be repetively mentioned. Other concerns leading up to the Olympic games included the air pollution causing one athlete, Haile Gebrselassie, to pull out of competing at the August games. The lead up to the Olympics and the constant presence of China in the Media, honestly made the 2008 Olympic World Games pale in comparison.

When the Olympic games started, things continued to spiral out of China's control. Beijing thought they could get away with faking parts of the opening ceremony. However, it wasn't long before the whole world knew about the stunt, that the fantastic fire work display was faked on television. This is because the people who were filming it feared they wouldn't capture it all live, so while the fireworks really were there, people watching it at home and in the Bird's Nest stadium, didn't see the real thing but only computer graphics inserted into the coverage electronically at exactly the right moment.

It's also been discovered that Lin Miaoke(left in the picture), the 9-year old who apparently sung "Hymn to the Motherland", was actually lip syncing. The real singer, 7-year old Yang Peiyi (right in the picture) was "considered unsuited to the lead role because of her buck teeth". That's when I got angry. So allow me to be an angry blogger for a few moments. They said it was for the good of the country. Pathetic. What's more pathetic is that the actual singer is being called ugly in newspapers all over the world while the one that lip synced is considered ''a rising star''. These Olympics have been crowded by scandal after scandal. Isn't it ironic how China went to all this trouble to make themselves look good, when in actual fact, they made themselves look bad?