Robin Lamb

@troyburns (1405)

New Zealand

Joined myLot 9 years ago

All Activity

Discussions (59)

Robin Lamb's Discussions

Just add questions and stir

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 12 Mar 16

Hi folks. It's time for another soup post. One with lots of questions. 1. Asking a "what do you think?" question seems to be a popular tactic with (mainly new) MyLot members at the moment. I've seen far too many non-posts...

13 responses •

14 people

Stop blaming the media!

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 9 Mar 16

I've been a miserable sod for several years now and I recently found out why. It's because I read too much news. According to Rolf Dobelli, author of The Art of Thinking Clearly, news is bad for me and giving it up will make me...

11 responses •

12 people

New Zealand in the news

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 7 Mar 16

I've never lived in America and I'm never likely to, but I do love writing about the place. It's powerful and influential and just so darn interesting. I like to think of it as a soap opera with added mousetraps. New Zealand, on...

7 responses •

8 people

I changed my mind

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 3 Mar 16

Good grief! It's almost two months since I last posted anything but a comment here. Feel free to lie and tell me that you missed me. Through most of January and February, my head wasn't really in the right space for happy...

16 responses •

17 people

Move along...Nothing to say here

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 13 Jan 16

I've had a lot of different ideas running through my head in the past few days, but putting them into words that are coherent, unbiased and inoffensive requires an investment of time and concentration that I just don't have right...

22 responses •

24 people

Bombs away!

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 6 Jan 16

I don't know about the rest of you capitalist running dogs, but I'm not exactly quaking in my boots over claims that North Korea has detonated an H-bomb. Although the successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb represents a step-up...

11 responses •

12 people

One for the too hard basket?

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 5 Jan 16

I was wondering if someone - anyone - on myLot might be interested in writing something - anything - about what's going on in Oregon. You know, that standoff between the Feds and a, well, unregulated militia at the Malheur...

8 responses •

9 people

Mad world

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 2 Jan 16

On New Year's Eve four people were shot dead in California following a domestic dispute over a washing machine. The apparent senselessness of these killings made them newsworthy, but otherwise it was just business as usual....

13 responses •

15 people

A few childhood memories

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 31 Dec 15

I've enjoyed reading about the childhood experiences and memories of our fellow myLotters. Were things really so different and so innocent then, or is this just how we choose to remember them? A bit of both, perhaps. Electronics...

9 responses •

9 people

Crystal ball

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 30 Dec 15

With the new year looming, it's time for me to gaze into my crystal ball and reveal what 2016 may hold for us all. Please note: None of these predictions come with an ironclad guarantee. The spirits are notoriously fickle,...

8 responses •

10 people

MyLot News

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 29 Dec 15

While most of us have been knee-deep in holiday preparations, the world has been moving right along in its own curious way. Here are some of the strange and disturbing news items you may have missed in the past couple of weeks. A...

7 responses •

8 people

New Year Thoughts

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 28 Dec 15

The death-knell is tolling for 2015, and although this is a time for reflecting on the year just passed, it's also a time for looking ahead. In fact, it's probably better to be looking toward 2016 at the moment. This can be a...

5 responses •

6 people

Something about Christmas

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 23 Dec 15

School holidays and Christmas preparations mean there's not been a lot of time for scribbling my usual nonsense lately, and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. So here's a quickie post about Christmas which uses the word Christmas...

14 responses •

15 people

New users, old content

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 18 Dec 15

One way we can all help MyLot to survive is to take a daily look at the 'new users' list. Perhaps you'll find someone with interesting things to say who will become a valued member of our community and perhaps even a new...

25 responses •

22 people

The great gun debate

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 15 Dec 15

Three years have now passed since a young man bearing a rifle and two handguns shot up Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the days and weeks that followed this appalling incident there were loud, clear and inevitable calls for...

9 responses •

11 people

O Holy Goat

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 14 Dec 15

My favorite Christmas song is "O Holy Night", that haunting, uplifting and altogether wonderful holiday classic. For years I've been searching out and downloading different versions of it; an endless endeavor, apparently, as...

8 responses •

7 people

I'd really like to know

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 13 Dec 15

I have more questions than time so I'll be brief: 1. This weekend marked the 10th anniversary of the Cronulla Riots, Australia's most infamous case of interracial violence since the Gold Rush days. Australians are more tolerant...

3 responses •

5 people

It's time to laugh again!

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 7 Dec 15

"No, no! I can't just wallow in sadness. It's time to laugh again!" - Homer Simpson I agree, Mr Simpson. There's been no better time for a joke since the 14th century and if I'm going to plunge headlong into the abyss, I want to...

14 responses •

11 people

Spot the difference

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 6 Dec 15

I'l keep this brief because it's the weekend and I'm tired and just a wee bit emotionally drained. Two things, and then a joke: 1. I note there has been a stabbing incident on the London Tube. A man who reportedly shouted "This...

12 responses •

14 people

Your thoughts and prayers

Robin Lamb @troyburns (1405) • New Zealand 3 Dec 15

In early October, President Obama spoke a now famous line: "Our thoughts and prayers are not enough," he said. Obama was speaking in the wake of a mass killing at Oregon's Umpqua Community College in which 10 people, including the...

9 responses •

6 people