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Messages - PaulP

1
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: General Discussions
Quote from: DJC – on
...................................

And, speaking of rain, does anyone else think that the new BOM website is rubbish?

It felt a little awkward and needlessly complex initially, but over time I've got used to it and it feels quite okay now. I like the fact that you can geek out if you want to, or you can just check the basics.
2
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Trumpled (Alternative Leading)
If he’s that interested in trash awards, he should demand the Economics prize, aka the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Whilst not actually an economist, his groundbreaking work in the areas of tariffs, tax cuts for the rich, personal enrichment, to say nothing of his numerous business failures, reveal a deep, rich and complex understanding of both Neoclassical and Keynesian economic theory.
3
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Trumpled (Alternative Leading)
Quote from: DJC – on
Quote from: PaulP – on
What's happening with Trump's border wall ? I don't hear about it these days.

A significant part of the wall's path is in Texas and most Texas land is privately owned.  Court cases attempting to secure the land for the wall started during Taco's first presidency weren't resolved.  Apart from that, there are practical, financial and logistical barriers to construction. The White House seems a little coy about providing facts but the Texas Facilities Commission reported that it had completed 66.4 miles of wall and it's believed that the US Government has finished around 140 miles.  That's for a 1,254 mile border in Texas and the Texas Government has quietly defunded their works.

Of course, there are "smart walls" and water barriers in addition to physical walls; the Rio Grande makes up around two thirds of the border.  Taco is claiming that the wall, whatever that is, will be completed in late 2029. 

Bottom line; no-one really knows what's going on   :-\ 

Yes, that's the impression I got as well, or if they do know, they're not giving much away.
6
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
I think the main reason you don't go hell for leather in Test cricket is because there's no need to. I would have thought that Test cricket allows for more judicious and conservative shot making, and thus batsmen don't need to take unnecessary risks. I think beyond that, Test cricket is more about the mental and strategic side of the game - over a maximum of five days, trying to understand the weather, pitch condition, opposition strengths and weaknesses, making decisions wrt declaration, sending in nightwatchmen etc. There's more to consider, more decisions to make.

I think the 5 day format also allows for the full range of skills to be on display. More variety in bowling, showing both defensive and offensive batting technique etc. From my limited observations the skills on show in the shorter formats are more limited.

I don't watch cricket much, but I would expect that there is some kind of cross pollination occurring, where techniques, skills mindsets in each of the formats spill over into the others, although at present it seems that the shorter formats seem to be spilling over into Test cricket, not the other way round.
7
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Trumpled (Alternative Leading)
Quote from: DJC – on
A major factor in shootings by US police/enforcement agencies is the prevalence of gun carrying by the public.  YouTube is full of clips of officers shooting drivers and drivers shooting officers after traffic stops.  Officers are expecting the worst and shooting first and asking questions later is self preservation.  That's not going to change without reform of gun ownership and that's not going to happen without a major change in attitude towards the Second Amendment.

A US National Library of Medicine study found that the incident rate for fatal police shootings in the ten high-gun states was 3.6 times greater than in the five low-gun states. As an aside, the study notes that USA has very high rates of homicide by police compared to other high-income countries ... and that's bleedingly obvious.

A former police officer was recently sentenced to 33 months in prison after being convicted of violating a black woman's civil rights by using excessive force in fatally shooting her during a raid on her home. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment and Taco's administration asked that the officer be sentenced to one day in prison.

The first paragraph is a fair point DJC, but these situations will unravel with greater frequency when you have untrained amateur goons, given crazy amounts of money, with little instruction and seemingly unlimited impunity, roaming US cities.

Study after study shows that guns make societies less safe, not more.
8
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Trumpled (Alternative Leading)
America's record for killings by cops or other law enforcement officials is dismal, one of the world's worst, keeping company with Donny's much beloved "s h i t hole" countries.
10
The Sports Desk / Re: God help me - the Test Cricket thread
One needs to mediate carefully between the group and the individual. There may be a small element of truth to certain groups conforming to certain behaviors, but that needs to be measured against that fact we are individual minds, and you need to be wary of flattening or erasing any nuance or legitimate difference that exists between members of a group.

In terms of parental pushiness, my experiences were decidedly mixed, with 2 children involved in soccer, cricket, swimming, ballet, fencing, drama, choir, art classes, gymnastics. Pushy parents come in all shapes and skin colors, as do chill parents.
11
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: Name your team for Opening Round
Forwards :
McKay
Motlop
Williams
Hayward
Kemp
Moir

Mids + Ruck :
Pittonet
Cripps
Hewett
Walsh
Cerra
Smith

Defenders :
Weitering
Newman
Haynes
Dean
Florent
Cowan

Interchange : Evans, Byrne, McGovern,  O Hollands, Ainsworth

You could select a few combinations and still have a decent team. I found it tougher to select a starting line up than I have in several years.
12
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Trumpled (Alternative Leading)
Trump is pretty easy to criticize, and whilst IMO all the criticism is deserved, despite the surface theater and pyrotechnics, not much has changed under his rule. Endless wars, bloated defense spending, desertion of the working class, growing inequality, wage stagnation, diabolical healthcare system, weakening of environmental protections, increasing surveillance and police state conditions for US citizens, and many others are byproducts of a 2 party system that has been wholly captured by the donor class for decades. 

In a counterintuitive way I "like" Trump, because he clearly doesn't care about surface niceties. He represents the ugliness and brutality of an unconstrained capitalism, capitalism in its purest state. Everything is transactional, everything is for sale, and laws, protections, future negative outcomes, people etc. be damned.
13
Robert Heatley Stand / Re: List Building - More than one way to skin a cat
Quote from: DJC – on
Sportsbet had:

Collingwood - $5
Brisbane - $6.50
Melbourne - $7
Carlton - $8
Greater Western Sydney - $9
Port Adelaide - $10
Adelaide - $15
Geelong - $15
Sydney - $15
Western Bulldogs - $21
St Kilda - $26
Fremantle - $41
Gold Coast - $41
Essendon - $51
Richmond - $51
Hawthorn - $81
North Melbourne - $251
West Coast - $251

Probably not the best way to predict a team's fortunes  ::)

Thanks. At this point in time, those 2026 odds are mostly for entertainment purposes IMO.

Humans will never tire of trying to predict the future.
15
Blah-Blah Bar / Re: Shawny’s concerns about Victorian and Australian Governments
Quote from: Baggers – on
It is embarrassing that so-called leaders apportion blame to the incumbent PM.

Holy mackerel this is a problem that goes back decades and centuries, FFS. Need I say that the shallowness and opportunism of some is breathtaking... and vulgar. (and Baggers steps down from his soapbox).

Yes, leaving aside the inflammatory nature of this stance, it also lacks intellectual and analytical rigor.