What does technical issues mean?

Spotted on Facebook:

 

 

There was no shortage of milk. cheese or yoghurt when I was at the supermarket on Friday.

Maybe it’s a regional issue which isn’t affecting products in the southern South Island.

There’s no reference to any issues, technical or otherwise, on Fonterra’s website but maybe the problem is with supermarkets rather than Fonterra.

Bill Shorten wins ALP leadership

Bill Shorten has won the leadership of the Australian Labor Party.

Mr Shorten, 46, of the right faction, is the first Labor leader to be elected under rules introduced by former prime minister Kevin Rudd, in which the result of a ballot of the Labor rank and file is weighted equally against a ballot of Labor MPs. . .

Reunifying the party after years of internal division and a substantial defeat at last month’s election will be a big job.

Word of the day

Macrosmatic – having or pertaining to a good sense of smell; Denoting an abnormally keen olfactory sense.

8/10

8/10 in Stuff’s Biz Quiz.

Rural round-up

Passionate advocate of genetics – Annette Scott:

South Canterbury hill-country farmer Chris Hampton is a sheep farmer at heart. He is passionate about genetics and is focused on making a difference in the New Zealand sheep-meat industry. Annette Scott reports.

Chris Hampton has confidence is the sheep industry and has put his money where his mouth is by investing in genetics.

He and his wife Annabelle farm an 816-hectare hill-country property at Cave, in South Canterbury.

The couple moved south five years ago from their mixed-farming operation at Waterton, in Mid Canterbury. . .

Pair switch on to magnetic mapping power – Tony Benny:

National Ballance Farm Environment Award winners, Canterbury farmers Craige and Roz Mackenzie, say electro-magnetic mapping is central to their precision agriculture operation.

Their farm, just outside Methven, comprises a variety of soil types, some far more productive than others, and knowing accurately what’s beneath the surface means they can tailor irrigation and fertiliser inputs to suit.

“Information is power and this is the background you really need,” said Craige Mackenzie.

“It’s just a base point,” said Roz. “We’re all farming the land – we need to know what we’re farming.” . . .

Hospital site to become agricultural park – Tim Cronshaw:

A former hospital site outside of Christchurch is being transformed into an innovation park for agricultural research and business.

The 65-hectare park is owned by the Mauger family. They gained clearance after long negotiations with the Christchurch City Council to rezone the special purpose hospital zoning into an agricultural business centre.

Six tenants have committed to the site. The Foundation for Arable Research (Far) is the first business to move into former office buildings, and a purpose-built work station is close to being completed for a new client. . .

Live seafood exports to Australia ‘exciting prospect’ – Bill Moore:

The export of live seafood to Australia could develop into a $100 million annual trade, Seafood New Zealand says.

The industry umbrella group says the announcement last week by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy that the ministry is to begin work on getting live trade going, coupled with the development in Nelson of a new harvesting method to bring fish on board alive, opens up exciting prospects.

There are high value live exports to other countries, predominantly rock lobster to Hong Kong and China, worth $237m in 2012-13, but Australia blocks them. . . .

Foreclosure inspires Kalamazoo artist to knit herself a ‘safe house’ –  Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood:

Inside a knitted house made of wool roving, a Kalamazoo artist sat upon a knitted couch made of the same wool roving and clicked her triple zero needles making slow but steady progress on a yellow sweater.

It was day five of ArtPrize and she had already spent many hours knitting inside her cozy entry titled simply: “Woolhouse.”

“If I’m going to sit here all day, I figured I’d rather get a sweater out of it,” said Annie Eckrich, 22, who creates art under her childhood nickname “Annie Belle.”  . . .

Biofuels plants key to UK wheat price outlook – Agrimoney:

Success in efforts to bring two major biofuel plants onstream may have an undue impact on UK wheat values, in determining the level of supplies needed to be priced to compete on export markets.  Wheat futures for November touched £151.00 a tonne in London last week, the lowest for a spot contract in 19 months, in a slump attributed to growing harvest hopes leaving the country with hefty supplies to sell abroad.  Harvest estimates, some of which fell below 11.5m tonnes after a cold spring followed an unusually wet autumn and winter, have risen substantially after early harvest results showed far better yields than had been expected. . .

2/10

Blush – a new low: only 2/10 in NBR’s Biz Quiz.

Lifetime

 

We’re here to end it I said and she said, No, we’re here to being it and then she turned and opened her arms and everywhere I could see there were people like bright birds calling with a thousand voices & suddenly I understood.

Here is where it begins with all of us together, giving our daughters a world worth loving for a lifetime to come.

Story People by Brian Andreas.

The lovely folk at Story People will drop an email with a daily does of whimsy like this to you if you click on the link above.

Nearly bare bear surprise

This is cool in both senses of the word:

 

Do as we say . . .

Dunedin mayor Dave Cull has been critical of SOEs and crown entities moving from Dunedin and says the government isn’t doing enough for the city.

But his City Council appears poised to outsource part of its water maintenance work, and 30 of its staff, to Christchurch City Council-owned company City Care.

If this happens the work has to be done in the city and at least some of the workers will live there but the contract isn’t going to a local company.

The council has a duty to get the best deal and the cost will be a major consideration just as it is for the businesses, public and private.

But the the council has criticised them for not buying, or staying, local and says they ought to consider other factors too.

This looks like a glaring example of do-as-we-say-not-as-we-do.

Southern election results

The ODT covers Otago election results:

Central Otago District Council.

Clutha District Council.

Dunedin City Council.

Queenstown Lakes District Council.

Waitaki District Council.

The Southland Times covers Southland:  Invercargill City, Gore and Southland District Councils.

Lonlieness of lone campaigner

Apathy was the winner in many parts of the country with low voter turn outs in the local body elections.

It must be so disheartening for the candidates, most of whom are genuine in their desire to make a positive difference to their communities.

And it must be hardest of all for those who campaign alone.

I’m grateful that we don’t have party politics in local body elections in my area but I can see the appeal of a ticket which means candidates are part of a team.

In general elections you’re usually saying not just vote for me but vote for my party.

In local body elections it’s all vote for the individual and it’s not an easy thing for most people to put themselves forward in this way, especially if they’re doing it alone.

It must be harder still when so many people don’t care sufficiently to vote.

One of the challenges facing those who were successful and will be serving on councils is to reignite some interest in and engagement with local authorities.

At least that way next time those lonely lone campaigners might not have to battle with apathy.

Sunday soapbox

Sunday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, to muse or amuse.

October 13 in history

4 Nero ascended to the Roman throne.

1307 Hundreds of Knights Templar in France were simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair

1332  Rinchinbal Khan, Emperor Ningzong of Yuan became the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.

1773 The Whirlpool Galaxy was discovered by Charles Messier.

1775 The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).

1777  British General John Burgoyne’s Army at The Battles of Saratoga was surrounded by superior numbers, setting the stage for its surrende which inspired  France to enter the American Revolutionary War against the British.

1792  The cornerstone of the United States’ Executive Mansion (known as the White House ) was laid.

1812 War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights – As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer were repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.

1843 Henry Jones and 11 others founded B’nai B’rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).

1845  A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approved a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, would make Texas a U.S. state.

1862  Mary Kingsley, English writer and explorer, was born (d. 1900).

1884 Greenwich, was established as Universal Time meridian of longitude.

1885 The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) was founded in Atlanta.

1892  Edward Emerson Barnard discovered D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13–14.

1904 Wilfred Pickles, English actor and broadcaster, ws born (d. 1978).

1915  The Battle for the Hohenzollern Redoubt marked the end of the Battle of Loos in northern France, World War I.

1917  The “Miracle of the Sun” was witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.

1918  Mehmed Talat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resigned and signed an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.

1923  Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital of Turkey.

1925   Lenny Bruce, American comedian (d. 1966)

1925 – Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, was born.

1934 Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician, was born.

1941 Paul Simon, American singer and musician (Simon & Garfunkel), was born.

1943  World War II: The new government of Italy sided with the Allies and declared war on Germany.

1946  France adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic.

1959 Marie Osmond, American entertainer, was born.

1962 The Pacific Northwest experienced a cyclone the equal of a Cat 3 hurricane. Winds measured above 150 mph at several locations; 46 people died.

1968 Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone (Il Divo), was born.

1969 Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater, was born.

1970 Paul Potts, British opera singer, was born.

1972  An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176.

1972  Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains. By December 23, only 16 out of 45 people were still alive  to be rescued.

1975 Dame Whina Cooper led a land march to parliament.

1976  A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashed in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, killing 100 (97, mostly children, killed on the ground).

1976  The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy.

1977 Four Palestinians hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demanded the release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.

1983 Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois.

1990  End of the Lebanese Civil War. Syrian forces launched an attack on the free areas of Lebanon removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.

1992  An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines crashed near Kiev.

1999 – The United States Senate rejected ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

2010 – The 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Copiapó, Chile came to an end as all 33 miners arrived at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia