Posted by alexandra_k on October 29, 2018, at 5:40:02
In reply to Re: coal and god, posted by sigismund on October 27, 2018, at 5:38:58
> Yes, I read that somewhere. Wellington traffic was described as 'krypton factor on acid' in the Lonely Planet, so we decided not to drive.
Hmm. I didn't know that. I have been to Tasmania, for conference. We took 1/2 a day to take a look around and drove literally around and around and around the one way street system. Everything was then closed, because it was Sunday afternoon, and that's the religous day, or something. It was very bizarre and people thought we had two heads (each) for expecting things to be open.
> It was a puzzle to me why Wellington houses were so bad.
Yep.
> I was comparing them for no good reason to Tasmania...
Which seems reasonable.
> So all this attention needs to be paid to light, which is what I spend my time avoiding where I live.
Yes. In Wellington there seems to be something magical about the ultraviolet radiation rays killing the slimy mould bugs. Or similar. Not just Wellington. If you are on the dark side of a hill or in a little bit of a valley water will pool / hang around in your house... It feels like it gets into your bones... There is a very odd cold... I think (I think, I think) I have learned it is an evil combination of high humidity together with cold so you heat and you heat and you heat and you heat and you heat and you heat and you heat your wooden house and it never gets properly dry and the mould (or whatever it is) simply will not die. But direct rays of sunlight... Yeah... And a particular house can have uninhabitable rooms... Or a whole house can be uninhabitable... Or whatever... And it all depends (rather a lot) on how many hours of direct sunlight the house gets each day. Because the frames are treated timber but the treatment doesn't appear to prevent the growth of mould and it grows in the walls...
But the new builds aren't much better...
Which might be something to do with why we are trying to subsidise a smelter? I don't know...
> Many of the wooden buildings have problems with wood rot, something I had never heard of.
Yeah.
> Tasmania has all these lovely stone buildings, many from the military occupation. Maybe they would have fallen apart in Wellington earthquakes? Maybe not enough extractive wealth?
I don't know. Maybe both. There are stone buildings in Dunedin built around goldrush times, though, so that was it. I think the stone buildings (churches, mostly) were damaged in the Christchurch earthquake... Damaged... But still standing... And of course whoever does the cost estimates think they can get something newer built for cheaper than a proper repair job... So pressure on people to abandon the churches was last I heard (but I haven't heard anything in a while).
In Dunedin the building architechture is odd. There is a really nice clocktower building with ornamental stone stuff. Then you can see slightly newer buildings. Then slightly newer buildings. Then slightly newer buildings. Newer is uglier. The stone quality is poorer. The workmanship is poorer. Looks like it's been downhill since fairly much the start of things, here...
I think now Otago Stone is mostly exported. There is a quarry... There's a lot of stone laying about the landscape if you drive for a bit, too... But I don't know anything about stone. Expensive to ship, I bet.
> Too much meth? It's a ridiculous drug anyway. I don't know what happened to old fashioned biker speed.
It is, isn't it. I was raised on good old fashioned speed, too. Haha. No. I tried speed a few times. Meth only a couple. Not enough to have a preference or to have particular feelings about one being better or worse than the other... Just something something about the skinheads and the shipments so time to switch since nobody wants to have anything to do with those guys (stabby in the back types rather than having any kind of sense of honour or fairplay). At least... That's what the boys told me, and I'm sure they knew...
> I'd like to drive up that cold section between Wellington and Lake Taupo in winter. There must be somewhere to stay around there. I didn't mind Napier, the art deco place levelled by an earthquake?I liked Napier, too. Very pretty / cute little town. Wealthy region, apparently. Vineyards and cheese and Rushman Rose icecream... Lots of pretty blocks doing things like that. I had a friend who was tied up with Maaori land in those parts. Spent some time with her family and saw the beach land... Forestry... Pretty trees...
I was hoping to take a bike trip... But I think trawling the length of this country might be a bit ambitious for my first multi-day trip... Especially since I'll need to cart all luggage on my back-pack. Ideally... I'd road trip with people who could drive my gears for me... If I end up back in Auckland I think it's more likely I'll road trip my way down the country. I would like to get out to Queenstown / Arrowtown while I am down here... But I don't know that I will, honestly. Once I've paid off my power bill... We'll see...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1101042
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20180816/msgs/1101648.html