Stunning discovery !

The heat is a killer on mid day runs which, combined with kiwifruit, bananas and carrots guarantees a .... need. I can now confirm something heard but not quite believed til now , that Dock leaves do the job and in fact are rather soothing.

The reason being they contain alkali which will neutralise acidic bee stings, ant venom and gastric acid. Maybe I can convince Mark Ellis to market them and put Mr Spencer out of business.

Say goodbye to going out on the piss 'with the boys' Tea

I'd rather not be a fly on their wall.

Just as well she's blond. A redhead told me I'd get a jwb if I was lucky

"Where've you been?"

"Nowhere much" said Sam.
We don't live in Haythornthwaite like Sam and Aunt Mill, nor do we have one of them magic balls to dispense punishment to our #1 'Mustavacrisp', W Bell who is a rotter.
Life was much simpler in 1971.





Great show Nigel !

If the rest of Nigel's shows are as good as tonight's we'll all learn plenty about our communities and the problem of serious offending - yep that's all of it - over the next 5 weeks. This guy definitely has 'practical hard core knowledge and experience of the system in operation'.

Talkback will go nuts about the reality of our ability to handle these guys and give our kids a safe future. It will be fascinating to see how the pendulum swings re the soft versus hard options. I'm firmly on the fence supporting both - whatever works.

Police Concert at Western Springs

Classic venue ruined by the seating arrangements. No wonder Sting said "Whats the matter Auckland?" and some zombie said "Sit down! I didn't pay $350 to watch you standing in front of me" (no I didn't hear this one). The pricing policy of $$$ = SIT up front means plenty of people who want to dance have to get into it miles from the stage where there is no vibe going.

I hope the promoters reconsider and allow at least some of the 'general admission' access near the stage. True the old days of pushing and shoving against huge gang members weren't that great either but I fondly recall following Cindy barging up to the front at Tina Turner back in the days she remembered what weed is. Since when are dance floors at the opposite end of the hall from the band? Moronic. I'd have to say this was the straitest crowd I've ever seen at a concert and had a laugh picturing the gang bangers buying their Police T Shirt and answering mum's/the local Sgt at Arm's "Where have you been ?" with " At the Police Concert. It was Awesome !" Kind of cuts out a chunk of potential audience right away.

RE Samsara's "Only Gripe was they did not have enough bathrooms and the line was literally 200m at one point". As with the Stones I was once again pleased to see one or two guys among the v. long ladies que for the gents sit downs and pleasantly assured by pervy hand washers that the sight was "Nothing we haven't seen before". No problem with the bar closing at 8.30 except I missed Fergie doing Black Dog while in the JD que.

Texas Hold'em and Last Card

Great games for the whole family.

Niece (6) of H1 and my #3 (7) whipped 4 others, me included, one recent evening. Awesome to watch their shocking table talking and upping the ante at every opportunity. Very intimidating when you've got squat in the way of cards or chips. Increasing minimum bets and going 'all in' cleans out the losers and bluffers real fast.

Have been challenged to 'first to 3 wins' Last Card every day for two weeks by #3 who has whipped me 3 zip on occasions, I maintain there are winning techniques which I'm trying to hone with each series, like using an ace to change suit if opposition is Last Card (rather than using a card, cutting odds they have same card diff suit) and laying down the 2 or 5 asap and holding another out card to bluff having 2. The kids also get into Cheat LC which I can't get off on having read Edward's bio on Helen, whose dad was strongly anti it. Just joking, saying 'X of hearts' 5 times in a row is pretty cool.

Commie plonker !

John Minto's response to Mike Moore's article on poverty is unconstructive bullshit. His only contribution to inspiring a future direction was to state "It's worth remembering that democratic rights, to the extent we have them, were never granted freely to anyone. People have only gained civil and political rights after bitter, violent struggles".

Yes I can appreciate that many of the countries leading the GDP/PPP stats have struggled but does he believe the only civil rights are gained only via violent struggles? Where were the violent struggles that gained women the vote in NZ (or Switzerland in 1971) or knocked down the Berlin wall? (Damn shame that was, don't you think John?)

I'd love to watch the expression on the faces of Palestinians, Israelis Iraqis, Somalis (and everyone else living in a war zone for over 5 years) if he could be given the opportunity to stand in front of them and say: "The only way to for you to gain civil and political rights is after bitter and violent struggles".
I have no doubt there would be many cheers, but mostly stunned silence meaning 'What a fuckwit!'

Does he repeat this drivel to everyone he meets? Should he speak to this guy?

A mini republic of lawlessness operates that police find hard to crack.

W S Moss wrote in 1950 "I should explain that ....'swiping' or 'pinching', but hardly 'stealing' - is something of a ...sport. ...it is an institution rather than a passtime, and therefore provides little amusement for the foreigner, but in both places sympathy is usually on the side of the 'pincher' rather than the loser. If you allow someone to steal from you, it is you who are the mug, he the clever fellow. It's quite simple really."

Enjoying simple pleasures

Unlike JK I can't yet stand on my board but that didn't stop me enjoying an hour floating and paddling around in the crappy 1.5m onshore surf at Waihi.
Now I'm back home.
Same depressing state of affairs. Countdown has run out of Chorizo. Bloody Jamie Oliver strikes again.
And "Yes , it's reasonable not to check the 'dairy' part of the fridge at the bach and leave the unopened parmesan behind!"
Life's tough. Next week at work then another 2 off. Bummer.

"There is never a duel with the truth."

Darrow and Bryan in court during the Scopes Trial 1925.

"The least that this generation can do...is to give the next generation all the facts, all the available data, all the theories, all the information that learning, that study, that observation has produced—give it to the children in the hope of heaven that they will make a better world of this than we have been able to make it. ......For God’s sake let the children have their minds kept open—close no doors to their knowledge; shut no door from them." (DF Malone, Scopes trial, 1925)
No duel today either but words aren't the problem in this debate according to Richard Dawkins whose book I'm about to finish.

The God Delusion was recommended to me last year by my best mate through high school and bio degrees at Waikato. Churches aren't my favourite place. In the last two years I went with him to his dad's funeral and was a pall bearer for my father in law. Both were great kiwi's and staunch Catholic's, Dutch and Irish versions.

Anyway despite the baggage some of us carry, and the risks Dawkins takes, this is a must read and ought to be talked through. I must have been asleep to have missed it when first released because it is great. Humerous, riddled with philosophy, history, facts, current references and analysis of God, religion and truth.

A couple of quotes to give you an idea of the tone - imagine reading these in a cosy room with the two gents refered to above (or their daughters), along with George, and Osama:

"...reminds us that the common cold is universal to all human peoples in much the same way as religion is, yet we would not want to suggest that colds benefit us."

"Hunter-gatherer peoples such as Australian aboriginal tribes .....are superb survivors under conditions that test their practical skills to the uttermost.....The very same peoples ...simulataneously clutter their minds with beliefs that are palpably false and for which the word 'useless' is a generous understatement."

"There are two ways in which scripture might be a source of morals or rules for living. One is by direct instruction...the other is by example...Both scriptural routes, if followed religiously ...encourage a system of morals which any civilised modern person, whether religious or not, would find - I can put it no more gently - obnoxious. To be fair, much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird....."

"I know, yes, of course, times have changed, and no religious leader today (apart from the likes of the Taliban or the American Christian equivalent) thinks like Moses."

"And the Bible story of Joshua's destruction of Jericho, and the invasion of the Promised Land in general, is morally indistinguishable from Hitler's invasion of Poland, or Saddam Hussain's massacres of the Kurds or Marsh Arabs."

"So, in order to impress himself, Jesus had himself tortured and executed, in vicarious punishment for a symbolic sin committed by a non-existent individual? As I said, barking mad, as well as viciously unpleasant."

"Purgatory is not to be confused with Limbo, where babies who died unbaptised were supposed to go. And aborted foetuses? ...Now, with characteristically presumptuous aplomb, Pope Benedict XVI has just abolished Limbo. Does this mean that all babies who have been languishing there all these centuries will now suddenly float off to heaven? Or do they stay there and only the newly dead escape Limbo? Or have earlier popes been wrong all along, in spite of their infallibility? This is the kind of thing we are all supposed to 'respect'."

Not to mention Islam, the mutual exclusiveness or gender issues - which he does. You very rarely hear this stuff discussed by politicians or anyone!
I note RD goes out of his way to be as relatively inoffensive as he can manage in this radio discussion on whether athiests should sing Christmas Carols.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Want to help orphans from Darfur?

These do-gooders are learning the hard way that going the extra mile trying to help can be an extremely bad idea.

Converting the fine using the weekly Chad food bill the 40 million CFA francs (NZ$116,064 = US$89,780) for each of the 103 children involved, works out at : 262 weeks worth of food for a US family but a massive 72,992 weeks worth of food at the Aboubakar family's weekly food cost (Where is dad by the way?).

Extrapolating to account for each of the 103 poor victims of this heinous crime is 7,518,162 weeks of food for a Chadian family of 6 (or 7 ?). Put another way enough to pay for 1403 years worth for each pair of "duped parents" who handed over their children, assuming they eat the same as the Aboubakars.

Shame we don't have a french family to do a fair comparison. Better still we could invite the Zoe's Ark ers to adopt from NZ then snap them for kidnap/duping here (much more believable with their priors) then impose a fine based on pro rata'd weekly food consumption.

(Thanks to KR for the link to comparisons)

"Very funny honey"

...was the reaction, along with a pat on my behind after I handed this on.

A woman goes into the Husband Store to find a husband. The sign on the first-floor door reads:
Floor 1 These men have jobs. The second-floor sign reads: Floor 2 These men have jobs, and love kids. The third-floor sign reads: Floor 3 These men have money, love kids, and are extremely good looking.
"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads: Floor 4 These men have money, love kids, are good looking and help with the housework.
"Oh, mercy me" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!" Still she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 These men have money, love kids, are good looking, do the housework and have a strong romantic streak.
She is tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6 You are visitor number 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
The store's owner opens a new Wife Store just across the street. The first-floor has wives that love sex. The second floor has wives that love sex and have money. The third fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.
(Thanks SideSwipe NZHerald 1.1.08. The minor editing's mine)

Risk, adventure and living.

Watching the Burt Munro film last week I rememember his take.

Danger is the spice of life

And this quote from my Xmas reading of "Where Soldiers Fear to Tread"

Men are not made for safe havens.

The fullness of life is in the hazards of life

- Aeschylus 524-456bc (perhaps unsurprisingly "the father or the founder of tragedy")

Paddling by day, drifting at night when he slept ... McAuley..crossed 1500 kilometres of ocean. On ...February 9, he was within 30 nautical miles ..of the South Island of New Zealand, close enough to take photos of high mountains.
Tragic. Good on you mate.

Not having Anton's tact I won't compare my kayaking to Andrew's or these magnificent two who aren't due til 12 January suffice to say I'm saddened how few people get off our coasts in kayaks.

Low risk is fine by me sometimes. For example J. Kyle Bass had balls describing shorting Quick Loan Funding as a "...once-in-a-lifetime, low-risk, incredibly high-reward scenario...". More great holiday reading from the NZHerald. Must get that Prof Fabozzi book.

..new Government advice...tells staff to resist their "natural instinct" to stop boys playing with weapons in games.

I was in bed this morning reading when in comes #3 with his light sabre whizzing and humming and rapier style, 2 handed for extra power and control, stabs me in the nads then takes off my legs at the ankles as I go into the foetus then takes off my head (the sabre making a 'wuuupppp' noise with each contact) and steps back with a big grin on his face.
I stare at him then start laughing at him looking so dangerous with his bright orange boxers and Mr Puniverse build and he laughs back.

I remembered the linked article and thought "No, don't make this something it's not" and went back to my book.

As he left he signed WEWO (flip the middle 3 R hand fingers up then rotate 90 to the left back up, then the 'O' of OK), his own derivative of 'what ever' with 'wierd o' added. No point pulling him up yet on the attitude or spelling either I figure.
He'll have Aussies to compete with when he gets older.