Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder, argues that the UK Government should abandon plans for launching rockets in Scotland. Anna Isaac from The Telegraph met with Peter and asked him a few questions:
What’s your business background?
I’m an engineer. Before I started Rocket Lab, I worked in a New Zealand Government lab, developing advanced materials, structures and superconductors. But even since I was a kid, I’ve built rockets. My very first one used hydrogen peroxide, which was very dodgy – very dodgy indeed.
How did you start the company?
I started the business about 10 years ago, because I wasn’t happy with how things were being done in the the space industry. The sector wasn’t looking at space with the right sense of scale. Space, so far, has been a domain for billionaires and Governments. I want to make it more accessible.
I took a holiday in the US for a month, hoping that I would find like-minded people in the industry. It was there that I realised two things. First, no one wanted to do what I wanted to do; and second, the rockets that I was building in my garage weren’t that less complicated than the rockets being creating in commercial enterprises.
Continue to read the full article here || June 26, 2017 |||
The Reserve Bank continues to broaden its engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders to provide accountability, and to promote understanding and dialogue, Head of Communications, Mike Hannah, said in a speech released today.
Speaking to the Canterbury branch of the Institute of Directors in Christchurch yesterday evening, Mr Hannah said that the Bank’s relationships were crucial to achieving the Bank’s policy objectives.
“We rely heavily on the behaviours of households and businesses being consistent with our policy objectives, ranging from their expectations of price stability and bank resilience, or credit growth, to confidence in banknotes and the payments systems,” he said.
“The Bank places a high priority on communicating with a wide spectrum of audiences, through a multitude of channels, and we are adapting to changing audience needs.”
Mr Hannah said the Bank is planning to undertake its second External Stakeholder Engagement Survey in the first half of 2018. A survey in 2014 showed that the Bank’s audiences had different perspectives and expectations, meaning that the Bank needs to communicate in the context and language appropriate to each group.
“We particularly noticed that the public and businesses had lower familiarity with the Bank, compared with specialist financial market or media groups.”
To better connect with its general public audience, the Bank has developed a range of web content – explanatory videos and animations, author interviews and audio podcasts – and ventured into social media channels such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and SoundCloud.
“But we have been cautious about using these media in a two-way fashion, such as ‘following’ other users, publicly responding to comments, or sharing other people’s content. This because of the risk of having informal social media statements being read as formal signals, as well as reputational risks that a central bank has to be conscious of.”
The Bank has an extensive programme of off-the-record presentations for business audiences around New Zealand and has expanded this to around 120 a year, as well as outreach into schools, universities and other research institutions.
“Most of these events are off-the-record as they provide a unique opportunity for dialogue, with the Bank listening and responding to questions and candid comments from a broad range of New Zealanders, whose understanding is so important to our price and financial stability objectives.”
The Bank’s on-the-record speeches, their content and timing, will always be driven by policy needs, and our interactions with markets and media are conducted within the disciplines enforced by financial market sensitivities.
“We recognise that real-time and near-real-time media reach far into an investment world beyond New Zealand and can influence our interest and exchange rates. Care has to be taken by a central bank in communicating into this world.
“We will continue to engage with the news media, through briefings, interviews, press conferences, and responses to inquiries. Equally, we will continue to provide access for technical discussions with financial market analysts.”
The Bank will continue to foster improvements in its regulatory relationships, which have benefitted from longer consultation periods on proposed regulations, and greater liaison with industry through workshops.
“Our contact with Parliamentary and Government stakeholders will remain frequent, extensive, and open, to promote understanding, and also to deliver accountability for the policies and tools that we are charged with to promote New Zealand’s economic growth.”
More information
Read the speech "Engaging with our stakeholders to promote understanding, accountability and dialogue"
It’s easier than ever for Kiwis to watch TVNZ shows with today’s launch of a revamped tvnz.co.nz bringing together Live TV and OnDemand viewing.
TVNZ now live streams all its channels – giving viewers the option to view 1, 2 and DUKE on devices at the same time as on air broadcast – and offers local TV shows, Live sports, 1 NEWS, international dramas, box sets, movies and short form videos, all for free OnDemand.
“The big growth trends among New Zealand viewers are the demand for video and viewing on mobile devices, and we’re responding to this by bringing them together on tvnz.co.nz.” said TVNZ Chief Executive Kevin Kenrick.
“It’s all about giving viewers the choice and control – whether they want to watch broadcast TV, time shifted TV, TV streamed on a mobile device, Live or OnDemand,” he says.
Features of the new mobile optimised site include simplified navigation, a new video player and smarter integration for social feeds and content.
TVNZ is extending the amount of time its programmes are available online. “We’re giving people more time to watch episodes before they expire, more box sets and more stacking of episodes one after the other, so viewers can watch at their own pace,” says Kevin Kenrick.
Viewers can work their way through whole seasons of cutting edge dramas Clique and Cleverman (season 2 arrives 3 July), and all four feature length episodes of Oliver Stone’s The Putin Interviews – all new and exclusive to tvnz.co.nz.
TVNZ will be on more streaming devices with a Chromecast app set to launch next month, followed by an Apple TV app later this year, says TVNZ.
TVNZ is available on the following supported devices:• Apple iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus; Apple iPod Touch iOS9; Apple iPad 2, 3, 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2; Apple iPad Mini, Mini 2, Mini 3, Mini 4 (iOS9 and above)• Apple AirPlay• Android devices including the Samsung Galaxy S7, Edge, and Tab A 10.1 (Android version 4.3 and above)• Samsung 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Smart TVs and selected models of Smart Blu-ray players and Smart Home Entertainment Systems• FreeviewPlus TVs, set top boxes and MyFreeviewPlus Recorders• Playstation3 & Playstation4• Microsoft Surface and Mobile• Xbox One
Coming soon: Chromecast (July).
TVNZ Live streams are available in high definition at 720p resolution.
| A TVNZ release || June 26, 2017 |||
CONGRATULATIONS TEAM NEW ZEALND
Luna Rossa named Challenger of Record for next America's Cup
Grant Dalton: Tell Russell I'll call him back
Southern Spars boat builders rejoice over America's Cup TeamNZ win
Dynamic Composites behind a story of two champion wheels, one on land,the other on sea
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Callaghan names six firms to run founder incubator services
Maisey Injects New Life into Homewares Brand Perroplas
NZ Pure Blue wants to send millions of litres of Waikato water offshore
Trade Minister Todd McClay says he believes the time is right to launch trade talks with Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia as part of the Government’s push for better access in Latin America.
Mr McClay leaves tomorrow to attend the Pacific Alliance Leaders Summit where a trade deal will be top of his agenda.
“We’ve been talking to the four Pacific Alliance countries about better access for Kiwi exporters for the last two years. With direct flights to South America there is increasing opportunity for New Zealanders to do more in these growing markets,” Mr McClay says.
“New Zealand currently has more than $1.1 billion dollars of two-way trade with the countries of the Alliance. But our exporters face high tariffs rates on many products, including dairy, which is currently our largest export.”
“A high-quality free trade agreement with Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru as part of the Pacific Alliance trading bloc presents a huge opportunity for New Zealand companies exporting to this fast-growing region because there is so much room for growth.”
Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru are home to 221 million consumers and have a huge combined GDP of US$3.85 trillion. The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration and trading bloc.
“Under Trade Agenda 2030, the Government’s new trade strategy, we have set the ambitious target of covering 90 per cent of our goods trade under FTAs and the Pacific Alliance is an important part of reaching that goal,” Mr McClay says.
| A Beehive release || June 26, 2017 |||
Some helpful advice brought together by Peter Crawley who was asked recently if there was a method to notch, bend, and straighten hollow sections using Inventor. I’ve discovered a couple a couple of methods, both of which are shown below. There are probably more, but these two look worthy of sharing. If you have any feedback or want to suggest an alternative, please use the comments below. (Notch and bend description – see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notching)
Unfolding the part pictured above
Being a fan of Frame Generator, I was keen to see if I could find a method that could be used to unfold an existing frame. In conjunction with an unlikely partner (Sheet Metal) it can! See the second method below for details.
Method 1 – Notch and bend using the “Bend Part” feature
This method assumes you can straighten the design in your head before modelling it and bending it into shape. If you have the brain for that process, then this is the method for you because it’s quick and easy. If you’d prefer to model the final result and then “unfold” it, skip over to Method 2 below.
Depending on your preference for modelling steelwork, this might appeal because it uses standard sketch-based features on the part file itself. I like it for its simplicity, but for multiple bends, it can quickly become difficult to calculate exactly where the cuts should be made, especially if the part is bent in more than one plane.
Continue to read the the full article here | Monday June 26, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242