Although, there’s no indication they like carbon monoxide (CO).
A useful part of the atmosphere in the circumstances.
****
STICK ‘EDUCATION’ UP THE PROVERBIAL
At Facebook:
The Dunedin City Council is keen to “educate all users to ensure enjoyment of our reserves and beaches”.
### ODT Online Fri, 9 June 2017 New horse dung rule pleases, riles
By Shawn McAvinue
Horse droppings must be cleaned from Dunedin tracks by riders but they can remain on footpaths and roads, a new bylaw states. A community board head says the new rules are a “step in the right direction”, but a horseman reckons the bylaw is “ridiculous”. Dunedin City Council recreation and planning facilities manager…said under the recently adopted Reserves and Beaches Bylaw, horse owners were expected to remove horse droppings from or near access tracks as a courtesy to other users. The bylaw allowed for enforcement, [they] said. […] Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said under the council’s Roading Bylaw owners were not required to clean up if their horse left droppings on a public road or footpath. The council received few complaints about the issue, he said. […] Horseman Keith Roberts (69), of Berwick, said he had ridden around New Zealand four times on his horse Zara and had never picked up her droppings. The bylaw would not change his behaviour, he said. “Never.” Read more
Received from JimmyJones
Sat, 17 Mar 2017 at 10:03 p.m.
Subject: RE: Reserves and beaches consultation failure
Message: Find attached an outstanding submission on the horse-hating bylaw. I am sure there were many good subs, but I noticed this one from an 11-year-old who has a horse called Tonka. She makes a very good case for freedom. Like many of the other submitters, she bypassed the professionally organised DCC misinformation and understood that the DCC are threatening a total ban on horses on beaches.
I think other people should see it, I have removed her name from the submission in case she wasn’t expecting widespread publicity.
The submitters tell us that no other Council has a ban on horse riding on beaches in New Zealand.
### ODT Online Sun, 7 Sep 2014 Preparing for super-size cruise ships
Port Otago is planning simulations to see if it can handle the next generation of super-size passenger ships. Know as the Quantum class, the upcoming giant cruise ships are being built by Royal Caribbean International. Port Otago general manager Peter Brown said the cruise company had indicated it was interested in bringing the Quantum class to New Zealand ports for the 2017 season. In the next few months, Port Otago pilots would be using a computer simulation to determine whether the port could handle the Quantum class, he said. Read more
Countdown to Quantum of the Seas
The future of cruising is almost here. In less than 100 days, Quantum of the Seas will launch. Prepare for a vacation revolution. Sail during the inaugural seasons and witness higher flying thrills, more immersive entertainment, dining to rival metropolitan culinary scenes and innovation never seen before at sea. Will you be among the first to experience it? The countdown has begun.
[er Hollywood…] Experience Quantum of the Seas, best Cruise Ship Ever built
Think you have seen the best Cruise Ship ever built, LOOK AGAIN
Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, are expected to be delivered in October 2014 and spring 2015, respectively Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas will feature game-changing firsts at sea such as skydiving; breath-taking views 300 feet above sea level in a jewel-like capsule; cutting-edge transformative venues with bumper cars, roller-skating and more; and the most spacious and luxurious staterooms – all designed to deliver vacation experiences never before seen within the cruise industry and only found on Royal Caribbean International.
Cruise News TV (Sydney Australia)
—
### stuff.co.nz Last updated 11:59 09/09/2014 Cruise ships keep dollars onboard
By John Anthony
Cruise passengers will spend less in New Zealand ports as cruise ships aim to increase revenue from onboard sales, a Canadian university professor says. Memorial University of Newfoundland Professor Ross Klein, who recently spoke at a New Zealand Tourism Research Institute seminar, said ports had unrealistic expectations for the revenue derived from cruise-ship visits. Klein has published four books and six reports for government organisations on the cruise industry. Cruise passengers would have less disposable income to spend in ports as cruise ships encouraged onboard spending, he said. Royal Caribbean Cruises announced last month a plan called the “Double-Double Program”, which aims to double 2014 earnings per share by 2017 and bring the company’s return on capital to “double-digit” percentages. Read more
—
Dunedin City Council – Media Release
New Cruise Ship Shuttle Stop Proposed
This item was published on 10 Sep 2014
Orange traffic cones may be a thing of the past when cruise ship shuttle buses park in the Octagon this season. The Dunedin City Council is proposing a trial for this cruise season, which starts on 8 October, which will see shuttle buses dropping off and picking up passengers on the lower, eastern side of the Octagon carriageway, rather than on the upper side.
Dunedin City Council General Manager Infrastructure and Networks Tony Avery says this option has several advantages. The lower side of the Octagon carriageway has a full canopy for shelter and a larger flat area for passengers to wait. Under the previous arrangement, orange cones were placed on the roadway to separate shuttle parking from traffic. Some people criticised this traffic management approach, saying it was visually unappealing. Under the proposed arrangement, the centre line would be moved and a 50m long bus stop for cruise shuttle buses only would be introduced on the lower Octagon side. There would be some traffic signal phase changes and right-hand turn options at either end of the carriageway would be removed.
Mr Avery says key stakeholders such as the Police, the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Otago Regional Council, taxi companies, tourism operators and nearby businesses are being asked for feedback on the proposed change. Staff will review the feedback and make a decision in time for the arrival of the first cruise ship on 8 October. If the proposed change is introduced, the trial would last for the cruise ship season and be reviewed in May next year. During the trial, the DCC would monitor and assess traffic volumes and public feedback.
Cruise ship visitor numbers have almost doubled in five years to about 200,000 visitors a season. Cruise ship passengers now make up 8% of the city’s visitors. “This means cruise shuttle parking, as part of looking after our visitors, has become an important issue,” Mr Avery says.
Dunedin scored a cute hug at the Airport. Don’t know if Dunedin or the Stadium got any new fans, globally — Hello, Dunedin? Are we a tourist destination or a comfy klutz. Where are our statistics? Don’t answer that. If only the industrious Hillside Workshops had still been open for a visit. Perhaps Cunliffe’s right (link).
—
”Web hits are one nice measure, but the bigger impact is the media coverage itself. It’s out there now. They visited us, they had a sensational visit, the weather was beautiful and sunny and they did a couple of iconic Queenstown activities, so now that’s just spreading around the world.” –Graham Budd, DQ
### ODT Online Tue, 15 Apr 2014
Queenstown Hews Global interest rockets after royal visit
By James Beech
Global interest in Queenstown has rocketed following the visit to Amisfield Winery and Shotover Jet by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Sunday. The dividends in publicity generated by the media pack of 120 regional, national and international reporters are being counted by Destination Queenstown and Tourism New Zealand this week.
DQ chief executive Graham Budd said the number of visits to Queenstown’s official website gave the only immediate indication of the domestic and worldwide effect being achieved and more was expected. Read more
—
Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
*Image: telegraph.co.uk – Shotover Jet: Royal Whitewater
Dunedin, March 2010. Benchill (Wikimedia Commons).
### ODT Online Fri, 3 Jan 2014 Streetlight ideas from US trip
By Debbie Porteous
Seeing the bright lights of some major American cities has given the man responsible for a street lighting revolution set for Dunedin some solid ideas. Dunedin city council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring went to the United States last year to look at different technologies and visit cities that have started updating their street lighting. Read more
Puzzled. The news story says Peter Standring went to USA.
But lower down, it says (our emphasis):
“Los Angeles was in many ways the world leader in the procurement, installation and development of LED technology, and the group was “very lucky” to have had one and a-half hours of Mr Ebrahimian’s time, Mr Standring said.”
What group? A DCC group? (or a USA group he tagged along with?) What have we paid for? A 2013 trip for one person to Los Angeles, Durham, Racine, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco —or a trip for a group of staff and their wives?
Clarification, please.
****
[via Upstart Incubator (@UpstartDunedin) who tweeted at 9:29 AM on Tue, Dec 31, 2013]
### mckinsey.com September 2013 How to make a city great
By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. That could mean great things for economic growth — if the cities handle their expansion wisely. Here’s how.
What makes a great city? It is a pressing question because by 2030, 5 billion people — 60 percent of the world’s population — will live in cities, compared with 3.6 billion today, turbocharging the world’s economic growth. Leaders in developing nations must cope with urbanisation on an unprecedented scale, while those in developed ones wrestle with aging infrastructures and stretched budgets. All are fighting to secure or maintain the competitiveness of their cities and the livelihoods of the people who live in them. And all are aware of the environmental legacy they will leave if they fail to find more sustainable, resource-efficient ways of managing these cities.
Explore six diverse initiatives aimed at making cities great places to live and work.
To understand the core processes and benchmarks that can transform cities into superior places to live and work, McKinsey developed and analysed a comprehensive database of urban economic, social, and environmental performance indicators. The research included interviewing 30 mayors and other leaders in city governments on four continents and synthesizing the findings from more than 80 case studies that sought to understand what city leaders did to improve processes and services from urban planning to financial management and social housing.
The result is How to make a city great (PDF, 2.1MB), a new report arguing that leaders who make important strides in improving their cities do three things really well:
█ They achieve smart growth. Smart growth identifies and nurtures the very best opportunities for growth, plans ways to cope with its demands, integrates environmental thinking, and ensures that all citizens enjoy a city’s prosperity. Good city leaders also think about regional growth because as a metropolis expands, they will need the cooperation of surrounding municipalities and regional service providers. Integrating the environment into economic decision making is vital to smart growth: cities must invest in infrastructure that reduces emissions, waste production, and water use, as well as in building high-density communities.
█ They do more with less. Great cities secure all revenues due, explore investment partnerships, embrace technology, make organisational changes that eliminate overlapping roles, and manage expenses. Successful city leaders have also learned that, if designed and executed well, private–public partnerships can be an essential element of smart growth, delivering lower-cost, higher-quality infrastructure and services.
█ They win support for change. Change is not easy, and its momentum can even attract opposition. Successful city leaders build a high-performing team of civil servants, create a working environment where all employees are accountable for their actions, and take every opportunity to forge a stakeholder consensus with the local population and business community. They take steps to recruit and retain top talent, emphasise collaboration, and train civil servants in the use of technology.
Mayors are only too aware that their tenure will be limited. But if longer-term plans are articulated — and gain popular support because of short-term successes — leaders can start a virtuous cycle that sustains and encourages a great urban environment. Link to source
*Image: commons.wikimedia.org – Central city view of Dunedin, New Zealand, at night from Signal Hill lookout. The dark horizontal band above the centre of the photo is the Town Belt. Some landmarks including First Church of Otago and the Dunedin Railway Station are visible near the centre. Photo by Benchill, 9 March 2010.
To whom do we refer? Why, of course, the chaps at DVML, DVL, DCHL, CST, ORC, ORFU, and good ol’ DCC. Our fortunes will turn around with a daring bout of animal cruelty coming to a stadium near you! We always said gladiatorial blood sport was a far better thing than thugby, and we have the precise fodder to please the crowds. Roll up! Roll up!
—
We woke from warm wandering dreams to idle news of a one-off rodeo. It’s still animal cruelty, and will appeal to all rednecks, but maybe we can run the local mobsters at the bulls instead – at the very least give them a sorry arse from bronc riding… it’ll all work out.
Or to the aged people from overseas who might sing stadium swansongs for us. The stadium going out to Stevie Nicks, in a snagged broken crumble of flaked paint and rusted trusses would be the ultimate romance. Bye cruel world…
Dunedin is dark.
—
Meanwhile, our southern sister city Christchurch walks the walk.
Received this morning:
It’s about the opportunities people in Christchurch have had – have TAKEN – to do stuff that was awesome while the authorities were too busy to find a rule to stop them. Now they’ve got the bit between their teeth: doing things to make the city better is being reclaimed piece by piece. Shows how well a city can do things when it can’t manage to mobilise enough staff to prevent initiatives that aren’t owned by themselves, over-priced, micro-managed and generally a bit on the downhill side of ineffectual (from what we see in Dunedin).
Institute of Sport and Adventure building accommodation
### ODT Online Fri, 30 Jul 2010 Stadium site too expensive
By Allison Rudd
Otago Polytechnic has decided against moving its Institute of Sport and Adventure to the Forsyth Barr Stadium, saying fit-out and lease costs are higher than it can afford.
The indicative fit-out costs of $800,000 and annual lease costs of at least $75,000 were “higher than we can afford”. The move also posed “too much risk long term due to lack of ownership, the necessary length of occupation to recoup the fit-out costs and some access issues.”
-Otago Polytechnic
NZPassItOn is Kea’s innovative campaign to leverage the Rugby World Cup and turn New Zealander’s everywhere in roaming ambassadors for New Zealand.
“New Zealand has some of the coolest stuff in the world that nobody has ever heard of. But with the Rugby World Cup heading our way in 2011, it’s a good time to share some of our best kept secrets.”
Kea New Zealand is working on an innovative digital and ‘bricks and mortar’ global campaign – called ‘PassItOn’ – to involve the worldwide network of Kiwi expats in the Rugby World Cup. We are leveraging the international attention that the event will attract to tell a bigger story about our country. We want to promote everything that is cool, exciting and desirable about New Zealand.
“PassItOn will profile organisations, ideas and individuals, however we don’t just want to share their stories, we also want to ask the global community of New Zealanders to help achieve some specific outcomes.” Read more
PassItOn is scheduled to launch in late March 2010 but with nearly $300,000 in prizes on offer and some amazing stories to tell, well, you best register your interest now!
Now, the fairytale has overheated: “With only seven of the planned 19 peaks completed and the artificial glaciers only partially frozen….”
### theonion.com January 14, 2010 Dubai Debt Crisis Halts Building Of World’s Largest Indoor Mountain Range
DUBAI—Representatives from the emirate of Dubai announced with disappointment this week that its recent debt crisis has forced developers to halt construction on the city’s long-planned 22-mile-long indoor mountain range. The culmination of a decade’s worth of ambitious and expensive building projects, Dubai’s estimated $100 billion debt officially brought work on the artificial mountain range to a stop on Tuesday.
“This is a very sad day for the emirate of Dubai,” Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum told reporters at a press conference held inside the gold-plated anti-gravity chamber in his palace.
“Although I believe it is the basic right of all who visit us to be able to scale to the top of a 15,000-foot-tall manmade snowcap, these tough economic times have made it an impossibility. Never before has our proud municipality faced such a grave crisis.” Read more
Twitter is brilliant for brainstorming, join us there…
Following news yesterday Dunedin is seeking a new slogan and promotional strategy, Paul Le Comte @five15design started a ‘hashstream’ at Twitter saying the search is on for a #NewDunedinSlogan, an invitation open to all Tweeps…
We’re publishing here two twitterfeeds (minus avatars), the side-stream first compiled from @10PARK‘s account, and the main flow generated by @fivedesign‘s #NewDunedinSlogan, in three parts.
DRAFT DISCLAIMER What if was only listening and collecting from Twitter’s open platform… UNTIL SOMEONE COMPLAINS we are sooo innocent on all counts, and we are prepared to negotiate for our survival… we’ll work out the real disclaimer later.
### sstlive.co.nz Last updated 05:00 10/01/2010 Finlay Macdonald: Dubai edifice a monument to all that’s wrong in the world
By Finlay Macdonald – Sunday Star Times
As symbolism goes, it’s hard to beat Dubai’s just opened Burj Khalifa. A mostly empty monumental extravagance, built with borrowed money on shifting sands, the world’s tallest building more or less sums up the demented excess of modern speculative capitalism. It was even hastily renamed (having begun life as the Burj Dubai) in honour of the ruler from down the road in oil-rich Abu Dhabi who bailed out the bankrupt emirate. Talk about being on the Zeitgeist.
But then, the whole of Dubai is very much an offering to the gods of vulgar materialism. As such, all right-minded aesthetes and ascetics hate the place. It represents everything that’s wrong in this sub-prime world – tacky, boastful, exploitative, corrupt and unsustainable. Read more
—
Finlay’s reply is not exactly the reply I started writing after the base jumping news. It’s still in draft form and shaking with vertigo, or new science or something. I’ll polish it off in a day or two of reflection about why I’m pumping What if? with mega projects, shall I?!
Ahmad Al Matroushi, managing director of UAE of Emaar Properties which built the Burj Khalifa, said: “The base jump undertaken by the UAE national and his trainer is another human achievement that complements Burj Khalifa’s accomplished track-record of pushing frontiers.”
### http://www.dailymail.co.uk Last updated at 5:23 PM on 8 Jan 2010 Don’t look down: Sky diver sets new world record after base jumping 2,205ft from top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai
By Mail Foreign Service
An expert sky diver from the United Arab Emirates has set a new world record for base jumping from the top of the Burj Khalifa. Nasr Al Niyadi and his trainer Omar Al Hegelan made a perfect landing after jumping 2,205ft from the 160th floor of the world’s tallest building in Dubai on Tuesday. The pair, from the Emirates Aviation Society, made the descent at speeds up to 137mph in under one and a half minutes. Read more + Photos/Videos
### ODT Saturday 2 Jan 2010 (page 40)
To the point
In the twilight of our lives, we have discovered a new game. Mornings in bed, six days of the week, we have fun spending time searching for small snippets of news among the colourful advertisements in our Otago Daily Times. On Sundays, we actually are finding we are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, not being able to play this game.
Gaynor and Baden Gilchrist, Ranfurly
Available in print and digital editions of the Otago Daily Times.
****
If like Ross, you’re waiting for “100% off our normal price for a new TV”…
### ODT Wednesday 30 Dec 2009 (page 16)
Letters to the editor Shopping bargains
What is a good deal? The question has to be asked when day after day large retailers offer discounts ranging from 20% to 50%. What are these discounts off? In business, giving discounts all the time means that your retail price has a large markup, or you are going to go broke.
{continues}
Ross Davidson, Kew.
View other photosharing files to see the full height of the observation tower.
Reminds me of simple things NOT to do… like not scrapping the Port Otago mobile cranes that used to ‘inhabit’ the Dunedin wharves (sob, too late) – if ever we needed structural-sculptural expressions of working port history at the Steamer Basin, to make a contemporary edge-place for public gladness and wonder.
This secondhand from notes scribbled on the history of Otago Harbour Board achievements at the Dunedin wharves:
“Major improvements were made to the wharves in the 1960s, including the replacement of wooden decking to take forklift and articulated truck operations, construction of a new oil jetty (the first cargo was delivered on 18 January 1963), new wharf sheds at the X & Y berth – these came into service in 1964, to enable contractors to start on the T & U berth and two sheds almost immediately. T & U received a much more extensive reconstruction than X & Y, with the old wharf giving way to a wide, modern, steel sheet-piled concrete-decked structure, two new sheds and four very futuristic looking Stothert and Pitt 5 ton cranes. The contractors handed the berth over to the board in December 1966.”
Great engineering workhorses are NOT to be confused with that vertical element planned for the Otago Settlers Museum.
How to decorate around utilitarian architecture. Now, about the stadium and its immediate deathly surrounds.
How for it not to look like an impoverished aircraft hangar on the tarmac – can we walk over the main span like Auckland Harbour Bridge for new vantage points? We’re talking leisure and recreation over the dead duck…aka Dunedin adventure sport, a spot of goodwill hunting and DESPERATION to make it pay.
KiwiCato 17 June 2009
When New Zealand’s Southern Region (Otago, Queenstown & Southland) needed a tender document for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, they turned to Cato Partners to help bring their submission to life. Filmed on a small budget, but made possible by the big hearts, enthusiasm and energy of the people of Otago & Southland, the resulting video, ‘Spin It Wide’, demonstrates what makes this region so very unique, and is a demonstration of what can be achieved when a community becomes connected and energised. Photography by John Crawford. Music by Thomas Oliver. (4:55)
### ODT Online Thu, 11/06/2009 – 7:01am.
Comment by TheWatcher on Stadium pile-driving
It was an eye-opener to yesterday see a pile being driven for the Stadium foundations suddenly drop vertically over 8 metres under its own weight due to a lack of sound ground below where the grandstand will be built. Now what did the “experts” say about that area being sound and extra deep foundations not being required?
The home page now resembles an invitation to the Queen’s garden party.
Gone is the photographic banner showing protest…in its place a statement:
STOP THE STADIUM!
SAVING DUNEDIN FROM UNCONTROLLED SPENDING
****
Our worst fears have been realised. STS has stupidly inflated its brief within the thrust of one line – that is, gone beyond the unequivocal brief enshrined in its deed of constitution.
STS is now intent on SAVING DUNEDIN.
We would’ve thought preparations for the Court of Appeal hearing would keep things amply in perspective. But no. We’re about to be saved.
****
Item 3 of the STS constitution says:
Objects
The objects of the Society are:
* To ensure through effective action that the construction of a publicly funded stadium at Awatea Street is prevented from happening.
* To ensure that the views of the members of the Society are communicated effectively through all means at the Society’s disposal to the wider community.
* To provide an asset base for associated research and communication in line with the Society’s aims.
****
We think it’s nearly time for the STS Annual General Meeting. To explore progress, governance and finances.
** {Re deletion and substitution above, a follower says by email: “public dissing of that sort is what alienated the exec from its membership and the general public”. Hell, Charles could be right about the ‘Tamaki’ phenomenon. So ah, keep it tight, people, keep it tight.}
### ODT Online Tue, 26 May 2009 Demolition starts at stadium site
By Chris Morris
Dunedin Mayor Peter Chin was invited to do his worst yesterday when he took control of an excavator to officially launch demolition work for the Forsyth Barr Stadium. Read more
Don’t believe too much of what the McFarry PR and marketing machine tells us these days.
CST offering Mr Sprey first ‘instalment’ at the stadium opening is hilarious.
Money talks. Whose money.
(Hard sell to Mr Sprey includes the Monopoly line: ‘Ratepayers are the Bank’?)
Will Mr Sprey bring something acceptable to town – how much for him to make some calls. Are we paying him already.
He suddenly sees Dunedin in lights with half-dead grass underneath.
Never mind, has to look good on opening night – we can’t vouch for the rest.
Where is the rumoured Britney in all this (not in your palm…). Ah well – sorry, not interested.
Forked out for the best flat screen, the flatmate is chef, unparalleled – great deal from Green Man, family’s vineyard gives pick of the cellar. The cousin dropped off venison. Sister-in-law bringing the salmon. All set. What? Head to the stadium tonight? And miss having friends round before we head to Central tomorrow. Nah. Staying in. Glenorchy’s gonna be great. Winter Games coming up too. Got plans.
****
Hell, even WDC aims to contribute less to the stadium – all being well (or sick, depends on who’s counting) that’s another $2M for the McFarry fundraising scheme.
Plus.
Whatever millions it could cost (CST/DCC passes everything to Ratepayers) if the June 1 construction deadline is missed.
D Scene did us a favour today…cracks starting to show. Yeah, things not going brilliantly for CST/DCC right now.
Is it cheaper for Ratepayers and Residents to “stop the stadium” ie cause the termination of contract, or to build the stadium and operate it for so little profit (read ongoing losses) it will sink us.
No brainer.
Burt Munro Challenge [southlandexpress.co.nz]
[slohorsenews.net]
![Quantum Class [media.royalcaribbean.com]](https://dunedinstadium.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/quantum-class-media-royalcaribbean-com.jpg)
![Quantum [meyerwerft.de]](https://dunedinstadium.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/quantum-meyerwerft-de.jpg)
![Shotover Jet - Royal Whitewater [telegraph.co.uk]](https://dunedinstadium.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/shotover-jet-royal-whitewater-telegraph-co-uk.jpg)
![Dunedin at night [commons.wikimedia.org] 1](https://dunedinstadium.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dunedin-at-night-commons-wikimedia-org-1.jpg)
What if? Dunedin... 