A very bad idea
Considering a few of the really bad ideas that happened in our industry, the use of lead in paints and plumbing pipes and using...
Material quality
During a recent visit to Sydney I watched a report on television about substandard imported building materials — specifically concerning the safety of electrical...
Knee jerk reaction
You can be sure that as soon as there is any sign of a likely early summer dry spell in the South Island, the...
Softly, softly
Think of Barcelona, and other than the 1992 Olympic Games (especially the theme song performed by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé) most first-time visitors...
Faulty Towers
Basil Fawlty, always looking for someone else to blame for any misfortune, would have revelled in the latest debacle with Auckland’s super city —...
Smart cities
Napoleon was talking about the tactics of warfare. However, the same can be said about amateur politicians putting the tactics of political expediency —...
Mine is bigger than yours
Last year I visited the World Financial Centre in Shanghai. One hundred storeys high and, for about five minutes, it was the tallest building...
Risky business
At this year’s England/New Zealand one-day cricket match in Auckland a man dressed as a rabbit was ejected from the ground for encouraging spectators...
Bog standard
They no longer make toilets in New Zealand. In fact, we don’t seem to manufacture very much at all anymore. We’d rather bring...
Space
Anecdotally, Australia contains 40 different species of flora and fauna that can kill you. But the main difference bet ween Australia and our friendly...