The good thing about Christopher Luxon is that he says the quiet part out loud. He’s very clear about what he thinks, and what he will change if the coming election puts him in power. This is also a good thing for those opposing him, and I include myself in that number. We have to ensure that his articulated perspectives and stated aims are not obscured by the inevitable promises of lower taxes and less regulation.

My observation is that the only people in Aotearoa New Zealand who are negative, wet, whiny and inward-looking are those desperate for a National government which will save them from efforts to make us a more equal and forward-thinking country.

I’ve been using Quickddit for Reddit on #SailfishOS, and still waiting for some indication on future direction from the developer.

While there are a lot more of them, these sorts of places aren’t new.

In 1973 my job moved me from Timaru to Christchurch, and I had two weeks before I could move into the flat I’d rented. I took a room at a down-at-heel central city establishment which had been one of the city’s leading hotels in the thirties and forties.

The police were through every night, often with dogs. The staff advised me to keep to my room between 10:00am and 1:00pm, because things could get fairly fraught. The prostitutes and gay clientele were OK, but the pimps and crims were nasty. I was pleased when my fortnight came to an end.