Afternoon roundup

The afternoon's worthies, as I close the tabs from one of the many open browsers....

• Joel MacManus tracks down the management-book origins of Prime Minister Luxon's favourite terms, from 'chunk it down' and 'big rocks' to 'gates of implementation' - which seems original to the PM. 
• Portuguese rules create black markets in port. Now I'm wondering whether NZ accession to the crazy European naming rules mean our port producers will have to come up with a new name for it.
• Rules that make it hard for landlords to remove problem tenants lead them to discriminate against potential tenants perceived as being more likely to cause problems. Latest iteration: COVID-19 eviction moratorium rules in the US. NBER working paper; Reason piece by Ilya Somin. 
• There've been a lot of stories around on loss of trust in media. Uri Berliner's from NPR is simply superb. I'd say it's must-read. Henry Cooke also good on the NZ angle. 
• The InfraComm report on council debt limits is very good. Just finished recording a podcast with author Graham Campbell on it, along with Peter Nunns and our shop's Nick Clarke; should be up on the Initiative's website in due course. I should have remembered to congratulate them for their advice on Auckland light rail. 
• $250 USD up front, never have cavities again. Checking into options to get it muled into New Zealand...
• I always used to tell my Econ 224 studies to be sceptical about assessments that rely heavily on existence value and option value. NZIER's case for rebuilding the Christchurch Cathedral hinges on existence value and option value of $8.9-$30.6 million per year, and an assumption that tourists will stay longer in New Zealand specifically to see the Christchurch Cathedral, and will spend up to $20.8 million per year during that extended stay. I'm .... sceptical. I used to present the students with a case for a 50-meter gold statue of me in Cathedral Square...
• Firms investing in R&D see employee departures to found start-ups when the new opportunity discovered as part of the research is too far from the company's main line.