If I've told you once...

Pregnant 14-year-old

theotherdave — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:49:40 +0000

Ok, so how about this,

Pregnant, drink-driving ‘child’ dismays police

A 14-year-old Whangarei girl, legally too young to have sex, buy
alcohol, or drive a car, has shocked police who this week caught her
behind the wheel, five times the drink-drive limit and four months
pregnant….

Then there’s this;

Pregnant girl, 14, accused of drink driving – again

A 14-year-old pregnant girl has for the second time been nabbed for
allegedly being over the breath- alcohol limit while driving.

And she was briefly on the run from police and Child Youth and Family officials after fleeing from custody on Saturday night…

And just when you thought it could’nt get any better;

Pregnant 14-year-old escapes CYF again

A pregnant 14-year-old accused of drink-driving twice in the past week
in Whangarei has escaped from Child, Youth and Family care. CYF has grave concerns for the girl, who escaped from a supervised home in Auckland yesterday.

Dude… She’s out driving to, or from a bottle store.

The organisation’s deputy chief executive, Ray Smith,

said that in
hindsight the girl’s determination to reject help had been
underestimated.

Ya think? How bout just chaining her somewhere.

My space?

theotherdave — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:29:32 +0000

The other day an advertising campaign was implemented on my local public transport system. Cleverly linked to web and television spots, the campaign notably put images on the backs of most of the seats in my bus, giving the impression of seat-back tvs, like the ones on aeroplanes. I think thats mostly fine, if it keeps the cost of my bus ticket down, but it got me thinking.

I remember another recent piece on the bus shelter from a prominent New Zealand artist.

Below this, someone had written something to the effect of, `its not very good, call me when you get inspired‘. Perhaps unintentionally Frizzell et al had created a platform for two-way advertising. Advertising 2.0?

As opposed to interactive advertising.

As advertising creeps into more and more public spaces could there be a side effect?

If the line between public space and advertising space blurs, combined with a prosumer culture, where the audience of texts feels empowered enough to contribute either negatively or positively to the texts, could the result be people with cans of paint and pens take to the streets to create their own brand identity?

The issue of tagging has been very high in the media agenda of late. Here and here. But something missing from the commentary is the idea that kids are growing up searching for brands and associating brands with success. They see advertising on almost every visible inch of public space and importantly are also growing up with the knowledge that individuals can increasingly interact with messages.

The result might well be this. I dislike this. But I can see that in a frantic visual space grab, people will take what they can to get their message across.

Perhaps there needs to be a definition of tagging. It must be created because we risk losing fine works like those of Banksy, or images like the one I have included finally.

Moral cost of video games

theotherdave — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:25:02 +0000

The moral cost of video games

Lovely. A brand new take on why computer games are wrong. The article says in a nutshell, that because there are no consequences in computer games they are wrong. The author uses “Manhunt 2″ as his opening example and manages to compare it with online pornography. He also trots out the tired old unproven argument about copying violence, finishing with this paragraph;

“Countless studies have tested the alleged links between virtual
violence and its real counterpart. Conclusions vary, but I certainly
don’t need a panel of academics to explain to me that the teen across
the street isn’t going to attack me with a garden spade.”

Penquins exported – 09 Feb 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

Was penguins really spelt with a q?

In other news, I found this article on wired, I read it twice so I thought it merited being posted here: (If you get in fast enough and are in the US you can get a free copy of wired)

Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business

O rly?

theotherdave — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:58:29 +0000

BBC NEWS | Health | Are we all to blame for Britney?

But these days, perhaps are we more ready to learn from what we see.

Much was made of the so-called Kylie effect in 2005:
women apparently became more aware of the dangers of breast cancer
after the Australian singer declared she had been diagnosed with the
disease.

Could public displays of mental ill health make us all more aware and indeed sympathetic to these problems?

The charity Sane has little time for this view. Britney
watching appears to be as much a spectator sport for us now as queuing
up outside Bedlam was 300 years ago.

“However sad this latest incident may be for Britney
Spears herself, the fact that it is exploited as part of the ‘must
have’ breakdown of any record-breaking singer serves only to belittle
her genuine suffering – let alone the suffering of countless others who
do not have the consolation of fame and fortune,” says Marjorie
Wallace, the charity’s chief executive.

“She is a victim of an exploitative industry, a
sensationalist media, and a public who seem to enjoy voyeuristic-ally
the troubles of superstars and celebrities.”

Industry

theotherdave — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:49:22 +0000

Wow.
Stressed ad woman loses $1.2m claim – 10 Jan 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

Short Film

theotherdave — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 04:20:07 +0000

I saw this on the Laughing Squid.

It’s a short film about first impressions. I really like it. It is by Lenka Clayton and James Price.

A little reading.

theotherdave — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:31:14 +0000

In my last fish watch entry I linked to an article about the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This was the first time I had encountered this organisation. I am happy that they took the time to read what I had written, and thought I might see what I could find out about them. Here is the Wikipedia entry. Here is a succinct entry from a site called “source watch.” Looks like “Fish watch” is a bit of a cliche. Perhaps I can find something more creative..

I am a new entrant to the issue of sustainable fishing, so I am constantly discovering groups who have had a long involvement with it.

The MSC is a global non-profit organisation, operating independently since 1999. It was set up by Unilever ( the world’s biggest buyer of seafood, among other things) and the World Wildlife Fund in 1997. “Over 7% of the world’s edible wild-capture fisheries are now engaged in the program, either as certified fisheries or in full assessment against the MSC standard for a sustainable fishery.”

According to their video, organisations voluntarily go through three steps to obtain certification for sustainability. A pre-assessment (private), a full assessment, measuring three main criteria:

Sustainability of stock,
the effect of the fishery on the marine eco- system
the management of the fishery

Additionally the MSC audits the industries annually for the five years that the certificate is valid.

It is interesting to note that MSC works on market based incentives to encourage sustainable fishing practices.

Here is an example of the certification process in action, an article from October 2007.

Here is another, October 2007. This page is from the MSC site, and is interesting because it stirred some controversy in NZ. It is the accreditation of Hoki fisheries. The PDF is 511 pages long.

Here is a media release from Scoop, from November 2007, announcing the re-certification.

Here is the response from the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, September 2007. They disagreed with the re certification. ( incidentally, on the site there is a list of fish they believe are sustainable. It is a wallet sized pdf.)

I think we all agree, there is only a finite number of fish in the sea. If we catch them all, the world will be a worse place. ( believe me, I really wanted to use some puns there..)

Naturally, we cannot support fishing as we have been in the last 50 years. Even the last ten. People will lose their jobs. National economies will suffer. But these will adapt. If we allow the extinction of various delicious species of fish they will be gone forever.

I sincerely hope that the fishing industries of the world will be able to accept this.

Although there appears to be some cynicism, doubt and concern about whether the MSC is helping the world fish more sustainably, at least they are doing something. As long as they recognise that local groups working towards the same goals may be just as effective, possibly more so, and accord them authority when appropriate, I think the MSC is to be commended.

Here is a directory of sustainable seafood for British readers.

not as earlier reported

theotherdave — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:22:35 +0000

Man shot in the head – 07 Jan 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

and then..

Man shot in primary school after argument – 07 Jan 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

“the 46-year-old man had had pellets removed from his abdomen and thigh.”

“The man had laparotomoy surgery overnight,..”

Surely you mean;
A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving an incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity. It is also known as coeliotomy.

Go NZPA and Herald.

coolest name today…

theotherdave — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:43:03 +0000

Trade Me pulls hair – 06 Jan 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand National news

But complaints by Trade Me members saw the auction site pull the
sale at
about 4pm yesterday, stating that the hair was technically a
body part and breached its rules.

The seller, Bruce Gotobed, 46,
was frustrated at the site which has hosted more than 1000 of his
sales. He told the Herald on Sunday he could see no difference between
strands of Diana’s hair and the human hair wigs sold on the site.

Todays word

theotherdave — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:39:51 +0000

Lucre.

Although I made the connection with lucrative, (see the article ) I regret that I had to look this word up. = (

I wonder if it was neccessary to use that word. I’d like to take a poll. Of you who read this who has encountered this word before?