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Post by Starsinger on Nov 6, 2020 3:53:32 GMT
Oh, we do both. And feel very lucky that we don't have to deal with it personally.
Ooh, so what are they then? ;P
Yeah, that was the argument for that made sense to me.
We use the single transferable voting system for local elections (mayors, city councillors, regional councillors etc), but for national elections we are the same as the UK like that. We vote for one party, which can be a disadvantage if you don't like the leader, but overall I prefer that system, because I find it enough work to figure out what the party stands for, let alone each candidate, and this way you're not necessarily giving all the power to one person, because ultimately the party runs the government.
And I like that there are more than 2 parties, because you can then end up with a coalition government (where a smaller party within a certain range of votes co-rules with the major party -although it does allow a major party that didn't win the popular vote to get in government, like our previous elections, where there was a coalition of 3 parties ruling and the lead from the major party as PM (Jacinda Ardern), it means groups with different sets of ideals have to agree on something. This year Jacinda was so popular that the party won enough votes to rule alone, with some choosing to vote for them who normally wouldn't because they wanted one of the parties from the coalition out of government (Greens, who are kinda extreme environmentalist, anti-farmers in policy almost), but they have still chosen to form a coalition with the Greens, because they're long-term planning with the idea that they'll need the Greens to maintain power in the next elections and so don't want to burn that bridge. So that was a mess for some people.
Ah, Brexit, that was a long process XD
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 7, 2020 20:04:24 GMT
Normal rants: agriculture (which we've already talked about), and the need to think outside of tribalism and perceive the world on a more global scale. The size of America is a blessing, but it's also easy to think only of America. Otherwise, I really enjoy social behavior/psychology/people watching but that's a hard one to have outside of face to face because there is so much unspoken stuff happening simultaneously. What are some of your go-to passion topics?
I forget that other nations already implement STV and I don't have to describe it as a new concept. XD That's awesome you have that.
So how many large parties (like the US democratic/republican) do you have? And do they pretty much stick to a defined 'doctrine' of how they vote? When they are a coalition, how do citizens feel about that? The Green example is a perfect example of how I would possibly vote against the majority party (and vote for the minority) to break-up the whole coalition if that would be the only way to get the Greens out of a position of power. I know all politics is a lot of bartering and alliances, but it's weird to think of it displayed so clearly.
And does the queen have anything to do with NZ anymore? Did Brexit affect you?
How are the exams going?
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 8, 2020 8:03:55 GMT
Honestly, mine are pretty similar. Agriculture, mental health, people’s quirks and the psychology behind.
So there are basically only 2 major one which are Labour (centre-left) and National (centre-right). They will sometimes change up their policies they want to push in order to get votes, so this year Labour said they weren't going to introduce capital gains tax so long as they were in power in order to earn votes, and a couple other things that almost moved them to the same alignment as national. Coalition in general is fine, people would have a moan no matter what. The last one wasn't great, because NZ First made up the 3rd party (normally would side with National, but the leader said he'd go with labour if they made him deputy pm) and they put the spanner in the works a lot, and weren't particularly helpful. Farmers aren't pleased with the Greens as part of a coalition, because they farmer pays the price basically. So they're not happy at Labour getting enough to rule alone yet still choosing to go with the Greens. I do appreciate that the bartering and alliances are displayed, makes it slightly less underhand.
She's pretty much symbolic, technically has the power to overrule, but basically have an agreement that she stays out of affairs, other than her appointed representative (the Governor General) basically signing off on all laws put through etc, I don't believe they have ever interfered though. So we are basically as good as independent. Brexit affects us mainly in trade deals with Europe, because we're under the Queen and part of the commonwealth, we have had a history of trade with England, and then through them being in the EU we had a direct link to the rest of Europe for trade, so again, primary sector (farming) making up the majority of our exports, pays.
Oh, all finished as of Wednesday.
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 8, 2020 17:25:37 GMT
"people would moan no matter what" XD Best line about politics I have heard in a long time! What I have learned from our conversation is politics is a headache everywhere. Different structures, same people tendencies. If politics wasn't such a massive machine, I would consider trying to enter to improve it... but I also know the constant conflict and counting would drain me within a few years. If I may ask, are you pro or opposed to Brexit? I see both sides, but also don't have to deal with the repercussions or actual implementation. Summary of my understanding is Britain felt the EU was putting too many limitations on them and also demanding too much funding for weaker countries (Turkey/Greece) and wanted out so they don't get dragged down with the rest of the continent. I feel this logic is part of why the US hasn't made our provinces into states. (Beyond having to redesign the flag and no longer be a nice even 50 states. ) Our government is happy to support those nations (for tourist/trade reasons), but they also don't want to invest in infrastructure, safety, constant hurricane relief, etc. It's a poor motivator but on a gov. level makes sense. Congrats! I am sure that is a relief. When do you think you'll be staying at your step-brothers?
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 8, 2020 23:58:25 GMT
Haha, it's the same as weather. I think moaning is a human condition :'D Yeah, that sounds right. My thinking is that the people who generally get into it have a bit of a power complex. I have had similar thinking. Um, I haven't really thought too much about it. I can see the benefits for us if we were to have the new commonwealth trading scheme (apparently a secret superpower to rival the sates...if you trust random youtube commentary people www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHglo_N7P_Y XD). I think that covid's going to have more of an impact than Brexit will, I think it probably makes sense for the UK as a whole. Yeah, although it took a couple days to really get excited about it, seeing as this year's basically been survival mode and lowered standards. Also, gotta fight with the student loan provider to get my loan for summer semester which starts in a couple weeks. Um, probably in a month, that's how much I have left on my contract anyway, plus I still have the puppy until my friend's flatmate moves out so she can keep him at hers, I could move with him, but it's just a bit more hassle and he's already going to be doing heaps of travelling when my friend moves, so no point unsettling him just yet. Plus I'll have finished a clinical trial by then so I won't need to drive back and forth for that.
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 9, 2020 18:35:23 GMT
This CANZUK is an interesting concept. Still not fully understanding how much it is trade agreement vs. political. If it is primarily trade, it makes perfect sense. But are they trying to merge the 4 nations together into one political structure/nation? Do you think it is just talk, or is it actually something that is in the works? And yes, Covid kinda stole Breixt's spotlight for 2020. XD To me, it seems like it is more of a direct response to the Chinese Silk Road Initiative. (Which I give China credit, it is a genius way to get developing nations as allies/in debt.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IgN88aLRGg&ab_channel=VoxCANZUK and the Silk Road are excellent examples of how I wish America would think on a global scale. I know there are people (mostly high business people and politicians) who are engaged with stuff like this, but I would guess 80% of our population has no real idea of what is going on in global trade and power. This is because our news stations don't cover anything outside of local riots, national political drama, and Covid. What courses are you doing for Summer? And what kind of puppy? I had a housemate with a super-smart German Shepard and loved the arrangement because I got the fun of having a dog around but not the responsibility of ownership.
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 10, 2020 8:38:07 GMT
I think mostly trade agreement, although I cannot claim to be an expert on the topic by any means. Historically we've always supported each other in war anyway, and there's no way they'll be merging into one political structure/nation. I don't think that would go down with anyone. Oh yeah, China's got their plan well sussed. As well as building islands to claim so that they can control disputed seas which have valuable resources. I will grant them credit for creativity on that. Maybe not for ethics though. Oh, honestly that's pretty much all the 'world' news is over here, whatever is happing with you guys. I don't remember it I mentioned it here or elsewhere, but I have a friend in India who would have to go out of his way to actually find out the covid situation in his own country, because the news tends to be saturated by the States, even there. Controlling Weeds (the focus being in Agricultural systems), and Alpine Field Geography/Geomorpholgy. He's a NZ working breed, basically short-haired border collie (same as my own dog). I posted some photos of them for Leilani a page or two back perhaps. I'll edit in the link. That is a good arrangment. One of my flatmates also has a dog, staffie x Lab x mutt in general who is sweet, but barks too much for my liking, also doesn't particularly like my dog which exacerbates it. Edit: heedtheprophecies.proboards.com/post/56048/thread ('twas off topic in a different thread)
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 10, 2020 22:40:54 GMT
I am so sorry you have our news constantly in your ear... why? Like why do NZ and India care about our Covid numbers? (outside of trade reasons?)
Geomorphology sounds like it could be fun. Are these still online courses or are you able to meet?
Love the picture of Queen and Grendel (I am a cat person) but both dogs look super sweet. Is either of them trained in anything?
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 11, 2020 2:36:42 GMT
No idea. We don't, other than to sit and raise out eyebrows and sip our coffee and watch the country burn. I do not know enough how the media works to offer an explanation.
It's online over the summer because our Uni chancellor has made stupid decisions so they're shutting the entire uni (except vital services) for a month over summer to save money. The Geomorphology one has a 10 day field trip.
Queen is a partially trained herding dog, retired now. Dante's only just around 5 months, but my friend's keen to do agility and scent training when he's old enough.
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Post by Ellron Silvertree on Nov 11, 2020 19:55:13 GMT
I took a ride on the wayback machine today. It was fun to see these old pages and reminisce. What younglings we were.
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 12, 2020 2:33:29 GMT
Starsinger : I hope the field trip is a nice break from Covid for you. And that must be fund having a trained dog. If I ever have one, which to be honest I don't think is likely because I hope to travel for work, I'd like to get it trained for something. Likely bird hunting. Ellron Silvertree : Hey! Yes, I can't believe how much time has passed. What are you up to in life?? I enjoy the Way Back Machine... Great idea searching the old website on it.
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Post by Leilani Sunblade on Nov 12, 2020 13:36:13 GMT
Oh storms. It's been a while. I had almost forgotten what the old green site looked like. That's kind of sad, actually . . .
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 12, 2020 20:24:44 GMT
Goldarrow: Thanks, it's looking like it's going to be really cool. And see some places I haven't seen before. Yeah, it's cool and she loves it, but she was never quite fully trained, so she'll only work for by brother-in-law (who I got her from) and works second, so just keeping alongside the sheep to keep them from breaking away, she's not sure how to actually push them. I'd definitely love to travel for work as well, and work overseas, but I don't regretting getting Queen because she's made these years at uni probably a whole lot more bearable than they otherwise might have been (still bitter the uni doesn't allow dogs on campus though). But she is already 7 1/2, and showing signs of older age (benign mammary growths etc) so it's realistic that I'll be able to hang around for her last years finishing off study and getting a bit of experience in first. That site definitely has a bit more nostalgia and homelike feel than this one.
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 13, 2020 17:18:29 GMT
She sounds like a really good dog. Sad to be at the time you are already thinking of saying good-bye. Hopefully, she has many healthy years ahead of her. I do like the old layout more, but I do not miss the constant spam the site had. It's give and take.
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 30, 2020 2:12:10 GMT
Goldarrow I hope so too, sadly she already has grown some new lumps since her surgery a couple months ago. Still fairly confident they're not cancerous, but she'll potentially be in and out of surgeries for the next wee while at least. Sorry for poofing, I just needed to retreat for a bit and was helping my friend prepare to move with the puppy, and then just buried myself in reading for a week as consolation. Yeah, the spam was no fun for sure. So d you do hunting? (looking at your ealier post about liking to have a dog trained for bird hunting so question's not completely out of context xD )
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Post by Goldarrow on Nov 30, 2020 17:02:32 GMT
Sounds like sad puppy times. No worries about poofing! Life happens. I've tried hunting but during Spring turkey all I saw were hens and then during Winter deer my teeth were chattering so hard the deer likely heard me a mile away. I should have gone to my grandparent's land (1.5 hr away drive) this year (We've seen a 10 point buck) but my grandfather isn't in good health and I am horrible at engaging with elderly people. Which I know is sad. I have a medical degree, so my grandparents expect me to help, but what they don't realize is an athlete is very different from someone in his late 80s. How about you? Do you hunt? What are the hunting laws like over there?
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 30, 2020 21:43:29 GMT
Sadly I don’t, I would love to. As a kid is was only something they guys got to go on trips to do. But wild venison has to hands down be my favourite meat, so I’d be keen to learn, I quite like the idea of doing it myself. I’ve made a couple friends since moving who potentially could teach me to shoot, or mayhaps i could convince my brother-in-law to take me out when I go to the farm as they have plenty wild deer, and also plenty turkeys which are a pest for them.
Also I totally get the elderly people thing...although it doesn’t help that one grandmother is from a prim/proper and reserved background, and the other is blunt as heck and can be hard to take sometimes 😂
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Post by jliessa44 on Nov 30, 2020 22:33:58 GMT
Can you read the old pages on the way back machine?
Not to pop into a convo. But also hi lol
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Post by Starsinger on Nov 30, 2020 22:57:27 GMT
Mm, I've never managed to. On the thread on this forum for members of the original UG heedtheprophecies.proboards.com/thread/2/members-first-underground-click the last post Leilani shared links to files for the entire first character conversations thread which I sent to the sentinels, I probably still have the files somewhere as well. I remember copying it so we'd have something to look back on once the old site started to look in really bad shape.
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Post by jliessa44 on Nov 30, 2020 23:21:02 GMT
Ohhh. Cool! I have maybe a handful of pages from character conversations somewhere in my emails I think, but I didn’t get to save very many
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Post by Ellron Silvertree on Dec 2, 2020 16:27:38 GMT
You can read some of the threads, but each page is saved individually I believe so what the main UG page shows might not reflect how much of a certain thread is available
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Post by Goldarrow on Dec 2, 2020 20:30:23 GMT
And don't you need the exact URL to look them up? I'd love to go back and read/laugh/reminisce some of the old Epic Adventures we had. Starsinger: That's kinda how my dad grew up with hunting. It was only for the adult men, so for him, as a kid, it wasn't even an idea. Since we did competitive shooting it was considered normal for boys/girls/adults all to hunt. I am glad to have had the option, even if I never really picked it up. That sounds like some fun/interesting family dynamics.
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Post by Starsinger on Dec 2, 2020 23:25:43 GMT
Goldarrow Ooh, competitive shooting would have been fun...although I'd have loved to do it with archery. But there are few places to do that, and I grew up in the city (suburban anyway, because that's mostly what our cities here are) so we didn't have space to do that, and currently outside my budget as a student. Haha, interesting would be a suitable word. Definitely have a thicker skin for it. The problem nowadays is when I go back to my hometown to visit them, they both live in the same wee retirement village thing, so you can't just go in and see one because the other will know you've been. And then balancing the time to see them both, and try and make it equal means you end up looking at the clock a lot. I do love them, it just is complicated XD
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Post by Goldarrow on Dec 4, 2020 5:52:07 GMT
Starsinger: I am seriously laughing out loud imagining your two grandmothers in the same retirement home and it plays out like a sitcom. I just watched a play called "One Man, Two Governors" and I think that you could easily write a short story or skit on your experiences. (I don't envy you though) XD Archery is a good sport. Surprisingly a lot of strength and you stay in shape walking to get your arrows all the time. Hopefully, you can pick it up someday. (Though warning: once you learn proper archery form, watching movies with archery becomes a little annoying... Hunger Games almost hurts.)
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Post by Starsinger on Dec 4, 2020 6:39:04 GMT
Goldarrow More like retirement villas. But it’s funny though, because most of the people who live there know each other and you will just walk up the driveway and spot an old lady peeping into another one’s house to see if they’re home or who they have around 😂 I have done/learned enough to already be pained by such things 😂 it’s just something that I’ve always been relatively good at and would enjoy the chance to see just how good I could get.
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Post by Goldarrow on Dec 5, 2020 16:52:56 GMT
Yeah... definitely could me a sitcom from that place. (:
What kind of archery have you done? Do you know what kind of bow you used?
Also, how is Christmas prep going? As a Northener, I have never been able to wrap my brain around Christmas in Summer.
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Post by Starsinger on Dec 5, 2020 17:29:27 GMT
Pretty much just target practice. Back in the day, pre-quakes, my home city had an archery range, been there a couple times. And then done a bit on camps. And I’ve used both your standard recurve and compound bows. For the life of me would not remember what poundage though. Have you done a far amount of archery then?
Honestly I haven’t done any prep, probably won’t do much. I’m not going home to my family this summer, I’ll just be up here with my sister and brother-in-law and his family most likely. Mm, I’ve always loved the idea of at least one white Christmas. To us the idea of a winter Christmas is completely normal as well because all the movies and songs and imagery is centred around winter. Whereas you guys don’t really grow up with the idea that it’s different elsewhere so it seems odd.
How about your preparations?
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Post by Goldarrow on Dec 9, 2020 16:42:44 GMT
Pre-quakes? If I had to pick a major high school sport, I would say recurve archery. There is a youth club in the US called 4-H and normally it is about animal showing and crafts, but my club specialized in shooting sports. There were about 10 other county clubs across the state and we'd host competitions and do awards, there was even a national level. Haven't truly shot in 8 years because of 3 things 1) range access/time 2) I've gotten shamefully weak and I was never strong to begin with so getting back up to strength would take a couple months 3) I enjoyed the sport of archery, but the ability to make friends through it was what I loved. One girl was a lefty and we were opponents but would stand on the line facing each other and have the best time. What is odd is, why is Christmas traditionally set in snow? Since most of the world has grey/brown/sunny Christmas. Someone posted a map made by weathermen of the historical likelihood of snow on Christmas, and just in the US, 3/4 likely won't. Even in Europe (historical story settings), I hear it's rare for them to have snow that lasts more than a day or two. Anyone have any theories as to why? Our preparations are going.... I have all my gifts purchased but need to wrap a couple. Decorating is at my mother's slow pace. We've done a nativity set and decorated the fire mantel, otherwise, the tree is cut but not up or decorated. When I had my own place I would decorate right after Thanksgiving so everything felt festive... so this is odd for me. In happy news, I got a foster kitty.
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Post by Starsinger on Dec 9, 2020 20:57:29 GMT
Ah, yeah. I'm from Christchurch originally, and it was what, like 10 years ago now that we had a big earthquake that no one was expecting that knocked the city back quite a bit. From memory, the archery place was in one of the worse-off areas, though it didn't go down in the quakes, the land is a no-build zone now. That sounds like it was a lot of fun, and it's definitely cool to meet people through things like that. I honestly have no idea... hypothesising here, but maybe because all the Santa stuff is based in the North Pole and it's always icy/snowy there? Haha, must be painful then. I don't think my family has every really decorated until a week or two before Christmas, which is about when we'd get around to start making plans XD And last year the place I was boarding at didn't do anything to decorate until Christmas Eve. So it's quite normal for me to not have anything at the moment. Although... I did always quite enjoy putting on Pavarotti's christmas album when I was home. Ooh cute! Quite a floof Also, because I don’t think I’ve said it. But Christmas in summer is really nice. Being able to eat outside and have space when you need it and get up to shenanigans is great. Like last year I didn’t go home to my family either, so I spent the early morning at a friend’s flat, then we went to have a late breakfast with another friend and her partner and her family, ate breakfast out on the deck in the sunshine. Then went out to the farm and spent the rest of the day with my sister and her husband and his family which was just really chill and pretty much the entire day was spent outside. And eating. Another year we’d been at the farm we ended up paddock sledding with even my parents and my aunt and my sister’s mother-in-law having a go. Even my 90 year old grandma was tempted to have a go 😂 Basically there are many possibilities for Christmas in summer, you could end up at the beach, or on a day hike, or just playing some kinda sport on the lawn, it’s great.
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Post by Goldarrow on Dec 12, 2020 6:23:13 GMT
Some days I wonder if I'd rather live in a tornado zone or an earth quake zone. Because of my background, I'd say tornado because when they hit it is hard on one area while a quake is a larger area but often less damage. IDK, speculation. What are your feelings? And do you have tornados in NZ? I feel that tornados are oddly a very American thing (outside of a small region in Germany, I've been told), but find it hard to believe they aren't more common globally. While living in KY, aka part of Tornado Ally, we had a large storm, and the Midwest people were on tornado alert and everyone else what like, a what? Like they only knew of them from movies. At least I don't feel so alone in my 'lack of festive decor'. We now have the tree up with lights on, but no ornaments. Seriously, it takes a week to do an afternoon's worth of work. XD Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? That actually sounds wonderful. Especially the ability to go outside and do more activities. We're limited to cooking, movies, and board games... but I'd definitely be up to learn what paddock sledding is (seriously, no idea) or have a nice meal in the sunshine. I want to get out of the US Midwest so bad... get someplace warmer and slightly more populated.
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