2011

If the world survives today it will be 2011 tomorrow

and the date will be

1/1/11

As usual at our age it will be a very quiet affair. Nothing much on although we got Christine a Wii for her upcoming birthday and it is quite fun and hopefully it will make us a little fitter.

Kipp Joe and Monty

A double sadness

Sad: We don't usually get the DomPost except on a Tuesday and one of the downsides is that we do not see the Deaths. As it happens neighbours have gone away and said we can have their paper. So the other day I saw the wife of a friend of 50 years ago, now living in Auckland, died - she would have only been in her 60's.


Now today online I see author, skeptic, academic and web entrepreneur Denis Dutton died yesterday, aged 66 of prostate cancer.

Born in California he joined the University of Canterbury staff in 1984.

He gained a significant public profile for the Arts and Letters Daily website he established in 1998 - a site that I visit at least weekly.

Triple sadness: Yeah right. Ponting Pathetics. He abused the umpire for 8 minutes about a decsion not made by the umpires but by the 3rd Umpire using the 'hot spot' technology. He got fined 40% of his fee - he should have been banned from at least one match. Imagine that in Rugby - pointing at and abusing a Referee - he would have been down the tube.

The sad (!!) position with two days to go - England 513 Oz 98 and 6 for 169. It is All over Rover and great to see.

Christmas is not all roses - sometimes it is guns

Stress and other matters: This year when we went to get the Raffle draw done at the Police Station it was very quiet. I said to the person with me that some years we have crying children and woman after being bashed up, drunks etc. As we know Xmas can be very stressful for some and it is the worst time of the year for places like the Women's Refuge.

We have another couple of horrific cases.

One 5 year old dead and in the other a 9 year old being basically tortured.

Sadly sometimes children are wanted for the benefits that dependent children bring; priority for housing, extra income, and parents not having to work. They are not wanted in the usual sense but are seen as meal-tickets.

Whilst the vast majority on a benefit don't stay on it all their life and are soon generally self-supporting there is a hard core largish minority that are a real problem.

Meal-ticket children are hostages to their parent's or caregiver's lifestyles. We know that funding cannot be withdrawn from these parents because the child will suffer. A phenomenon we are now seeing is like the the Kahui case - older women in their 30's 'shacking up' with young teenage boys and having their children. Then moving on to a new person to breed some more.

So what is the answer ?

I believe that we have to withdraw the children from these "families" and any hangers on (putting them with the whanua is often the worst option, although the 'do gooders' think the opposite). Once they are taken away the person must be directed to work - even if it is a 'make work' job.

As if the child isn't suffering anyway. Living in environments with gang associations that bring a culture of violence, alcohol and drug abuse; sexual and incestuous abuse.

These children exist in their hundreds, if not in their thousands.

It seems that the more that 'poor' families are paid to look after their children, the more abuse has occurred so if more money isn't curing the problem perhaps it is time to ask if more money is exacerbating it?

Grandparents raising grandchildren will tell of bitter custody battles with their own offspring (frequently drug or alcohol addicted) intent on keeping children in their care merely to advance their chosen lifestyle - receiving a state income with no obligation to do anything for it.

Between a third and a half of people receiving the DPB became a parent in their teens when a benefit income guarantees more than an unskilled job. This group has been shown to have the longest duration of stay on welfare often adding more children, and more income, to their benefit. The incidence of abuse amongst non-working families is around four times higher than among working families.

While the taxpayer must assist parents experiencing a crisis or losing the support of a partner it should not be an open-ended lifetime income.

But it won't happen.

Boxing Day

Monty, Kipp and Mauritz on the trampoline Xmas Day

The mess

Trying out the Wiggle Car we got the boys on our trip to Perth

The big boy playing - he claims he was just checking it worked OK.

Another from the Play Centre

Boxing Day: All a bit quieter than the Big Day. We have just been down walking the dogs (ours and Sarah's) at the riverbank. Joe could not come as he is sick. Don't know if he has eaten something that didn't agree with him or he has picked up something.

Xmas Day: Went well with us all going to S & J's plus they had their current German student Mauritz. Weather was good - a bit windy but still a sunny 23C.

The Wiggle Bike (or whatever it is called) seems to have been a success. Kipp took it with him to the riverbank walk this morning and seemed to really enjoy it as he continues to learn what he can do with it.

Almost Santa

Tomorrow is the BIG day out: With the Raffle having finished tonight the workload lessens a bit. It was a worthy winner who won this year - living in a State flat and a good person who Christine semi-knows as she lives near one of our daughters.

Just watched Bill Maher's 'Religious' film on the Rialto Channel. It was brilliant and proves that a sucker is born every minute. Interesting that until the 1850's the US Congress used to sit on Christmas Day as it wasn't a religious day or a holiday. I suppose this from a Church sign in Auckland sums it up.



Meantime both boys have caught a rash; Sarah's dog escaped, got picked up and put in the Pound where he picked up Kennel Cough that he has given to all her dogs and ours!! Grrrr.

ACC: National plan to privatise it again. This time they say they won't be going as far as they did last time.

Again the hard question is not asked - As compensation can last 30-50 or more years into the future what happens if the Insurance Company falls over like FAI did in Australia ?

Again we know the answer- the taxpayer will pick up the tab but won't be able to reclaim the profits made over the years as they will have been well gone. Once again it will be Privatise the Profits: Socialise the Losses!!

Telecom: I got a phone call from a woman whose English left a lot - and I mean a lot - to be desired. Also the connection echoed and it was almost impossible to hear let alone understand her. If I didn't know better I would have thought it was a scam. Anyway she asked me how my last communication with them went. I tried to tell her but she has a preset list which I didn't fit into so she hung up. They remain the worst large corporate in NZ.

BNZ logo: Just noticed the childish logo has been amended.

Before : After

Latest Version - better but still pretty bad

WikiLeaks - The Drug Companies

The Druggies: Surprise surprise - it has been revealed Drug companies tried to get rid of Helen Clark when she was health minister.

And furthermore the leaked US Embassy cables claim that one major drug firm so strongly objected to restrictive drug buying rules that it lobbied against New Zealand getting a Free Trade Agreement with the US.

The cables also reveal that the drug industry changed tactics in trying to get us to change our drug pricing policy. Instead of directly lobbying the Government, the embassy was told of plans to agitate patients by providing them with information about drugs that weren't available. It would "educate New Zealanders."

Medicines NZ chief executive officer Denise Wood said the industry had changed from six years ago. Yeah right!

Santa Claus

Preparing to venture out

Arriving at the Playcentre - notice the change of colour in the beard. We used the beard from the Playcentre suit rather than the one from our friends.

Exhausted

Kipp and Santa

Monty and Kipp and Santa

Kipp in his outfit at the Playcentre ready to meet Santa - Dec 2010

Getting his present

Kipp got a helicopter

Monty in the swing - Dec 10

Our backyard

At Queensgate - Dec 2010

Santa for the day: Well I was on the 18 December 2010. Dressed up in the outfit which we borrowed from a friend. The Playcentre had one, but our friends one was better, except for the beard.
I think it went off OK and Kipp didn't recognise me which was good.

We were met by a Policeman and he took me in. Prior to that I hid in the car covered in a blanket so the kids couldn't see me.

Other matters: Obama is a real disappointment. He has just caved in to the Republicans and agreed to extend the tax cuts for the ultra-rich.

This quote about this turnabout is from a member of the Senate, Bernie Sanders, who is the Independent member from Vermont is -

I can live with the President fighting for something and failing; what I can’t stand is a politician who changes his mind for the sake of expediency and then pretends that was what he believed all along.

Saunders is a a real oddity for a US politician.
He calls himself a Democratic Socialist. A Socialist - good grief!!

He is probably to the right of ex Labour (now ACT) Minister of Finance Roger Douglas.

Sanders ran for mayor of Burligton and won thanks to a vote split (isn't First Past the Post great) and then won three more terms. In his last run for mayor, in 1987, he defeated a candidate endorsed by both major parties.

In 1990 in an upset, he became the the first independent member of the House since 1950. Later in 2006 he stood and won a Senate seat.

What animals don't have a tail?

Or maybe a Kipp Tale.

This was a question Kipp asked his Mum the other day.

Brilliant.

I had never thought about it before, but only animals like us (forgetting the vestiges that we have) don't have a tail - chimps, gorillas and the like. Although looking it up online if a frog is an animal (maybe it is an amphibian) then that is one.

Isn't he clever!!

Almost Xmas

The wind down or rather the wind up to Xmas is well underway. Extremely busy.

Raffle: Certainly not up to last year but on par or slightly better than the previous one. I think people last year were just starting to feel the recession but it has started to come home over the last 12 months.

Wikileaks: I see that Visa and Mastercard will not process payments to Wikileaks. Has it broken the terms of the contract - it seems not; it is just pressure from the freedom loving US. Of course they will have a 'catch all' that says they can terminate the service for any reason.

Pike River: Down the gurgler (Receivership) which isn't a surprise. Silverfern Farms deducted between 0.98 - $1-50 because their workers took part in the 2 minutes of silence in acknowledgment of the disaster. Although it is complex, as the Union were offered time to work on to make up the 2 minutes, it is a PR disaster.

They are still trying to get the bodies out. Me being me wouldn't bother as I am a 'if you're dead you're dead' person.

Putin: As in Vladimir the Russian leader. Watched his rendition of Blueberry Hill at a St. Petersberg fundraiser on You Tube. He was impressive.

Xmas: Christine has ordered a Kindle e-book reader from Amazon. Looks quite neat.
I am to be Santa at Sarah's Playcentre tomorrow. They had a Santa outfit but it wasn't the best so we have managed to source another from a friend The good news is that the new one has a wig so Kipp might not recognise me. We shall see.

Criminals Fleeing: Not Police chases as the news always says. The crooks are fleeing - if they stopped nothing would happen. Every time one of these fleeing thugs dies I am happy.

Why the Government doesn't put a percentage of 'over the alcohol limit' into law and anybody that kills a person at say 50% over the limit is automatically classed as a murderer is again beyond me (like a lot of things that are just common sense). Any mitigating factors can be taken into account by the Judge.

Rugby: Keiran Reid edged out Ritchie McCaw for the best player of the year award last night. The next AB captain certainly deserved it. Great that the team of the year was the Black Ferns. Again well deserved being a bunch of amateurs playing English professionals.

This is the prize letter for our trip to Beijing. (click to enlarge). It is going to be a busy 2011.

In the Dom

From the Dom: The details about our win was in today's paper which has meant a few phone calls and emails.
Proves how many still get a paper. The scan of the announcement is above . I have edited out our surname although, I suppose, if somebody wanted to hunt up the paper they could track us if the wanted to expend the energy.

Other matters: What else has happened of late. Quiz has been no good lately; Xmas is coming closer day by day and it is busy; Max escaped the other day and cost Sarah $77 at the Pound; while she was chasing him I spoke to Kipp on the phone and couldn't get a word in edge-ways; Dexter is back on TV; the RSA are sourcing their Poppies from China to save $150,000.

Wikileaks: Is leaking. I am ambivalent - not keen on censorship but I don't think giving some ideas to the lunatics is a good idea. From what little I've read I think the US has come out of it reasonably well. Generally they mean well but seem to go about it in a stupid and often dangerous way.

They have many many problems not the least of is that they are not a democracy in regard to how they vote. Money is the key but importantly their Electoral College is not democratic plus with the system of electing two Senators from each state it means a few small States can stop legislation. Also in their Bills they do not have a single topic like the rest of the world which means they will attach items that have no relation to the topic so people vote against the bill. Madness.

I don't believe it !!

Not much blogging - busy, busy, busy and so much to say but no time to say it (and the other day when speaking to Kipp on the phone I couldn't get a word in!!) ....BUT .....talk about lightning striking and the 3 times lucky proverb .....


It has struck 3 times .........





I am not unlucky but ..........

Luck. An hour or so ago I had just got back from the SeniorNet Tutors Xmas morning tea. There was a message on the answerphone which Christine played. The message wanted me to ring the DomPost which I did. I thought I must have won tickets to the Rugby 7's although it was in the back of my mind with them giving away about a 100 tickets would they ring everybody.

I was wrong.

It was the trip to Beijing!!!!

What - Fiji, Vietnam and now China. What can I say except bloody unbelievable!!

It was funny but,with the other trips won, plus the one we have to pay for (how sad - although it is costing an arm and a leg) to Turkey/Russia in 2011, I did read the rules thinking was it worth entering as if we won, could we take it. I think it said we have until the end of 2011 so I thought it would be OK. But I never thought I would win.

So since I've been entering competitions we have won trips to Australia twice, Fiji, Vietnam and now China.

Other matters: Cricket - again how sad. The Poms thrashed the Aussies but in the meantime the Black Caps are being thrashed by India.

Rugby - Ritchie and the AB's basically won all the IRB's awards.

Raffle - sales nothing like last year but on a par with the previous year. It is the weather. If it is good the sales fall off - bad weather brings people into Malls.

Its busy so it must be Xmas

Busy: Can't update as busy with mainly the Raffle. So very quickly -

Mine disaster: What a bad year for NZ. The quake and now this disaster with it looks as if maybe up to 30 dead.

Rugby: The Grand Slam approaches and with SA losing to Scotland and it would seem Wales in disarray I hope we hold it together.


A cartoon to keep us alert - I am a fast responder and slow responders get my ............

Australia 2

Australia 11: The name of the yacht that first won the Americas Cup from the USA.

Also this years results.

We (NZ) have had a golden run against the old enemy this year. At the Commonwealth Games we defeated them in both the Netball and Sevens and apart from the last game in Hong Kong have been on top in the Rugby with the Bledisloe Cup firmly in our grasp (although they lost to England at the weekend don't write them off for the RWC 2011).

Now the League and again we beat them so the Kiwi's have won the World Cup and the Four Nations.

As for AB's 49 Scotland 3. A great game with Sonny Bill Williams outstanding. However the tall poppy syndrome is alive and well as all the knockers come out.

Back to reality

Kipp doing a flip

Back and some updating on things that have happened while we were away.

Religion (ie Rugby): Before I went away I made comments about the AB's about to be selected. My worst fears came true. Donald in the team - good grief. As I said a journeyman at best. As for some others. Messam makes an error - he is droppd. Vito makes one mistake - he is dropped and Messam is back.

I am pleased we lost in Hong Kong as it may cause a rethink.

Trouble at the League test in Auckland due to booze. I don't think they will have any trouble at the RWC as that is League and dare I say it but Rugby fans will be different.



US Election: Are they the worlds most incompetent voters. Yes!!



Guy Fawkes : Went and watched the display but viewed it from the car as cold and windy.

Paul Henry : Resigned while we were away from TVNZ and upon our return bland, bland, bland. We now have robots with no real views.

Up to the fly capital of the world and the Wave

The Wave: After Esperance we drove up to the Wave rock formation.




It is situated at the small town of Hiden where we were inundated with flies. Many of the locals seem to wear netting dropping down from their hats as protection. Luckily I had a supermarket flyer in my pocket and we used it fanatically to try and wave them away.

The Wave looks far better in the photos than real life and we thought it was not worth the long drive.

We then made a decision to abandon our idea of going down to Albany. The distance and heat were beginning to tell. Another point is that there are few places to stop and stay for the night. We could see why they use caravans and camper vans. We used caravan parks for our stays 80% of the time.

We then went to Wagin as I blogged a few days ago before heading along the Tin Horse Highway. Some pictures of this as well as a some salt lakes we passed are below.




At Perth we stopped on the outskirts for 4 days and traveled in by bus each day where one day we visited Kings Park where we went over the treetop bridge.

Some final thoughts: We thought the roads were great. You could easily drive at 140K (limit 110) but with the tremendous distances allied to the boring scenery, heat and little traffic you easily got bored.
We had no problem cashing cheques at the NAB but would have preferred to have a card - which we have tried to get for about 5 years, even going into the NAB the last time we were in Sydney. They are hopeless.
The car was good except for the cigarette smell and that we had to pay by credit card as they wouldn't accept cash.
While we were in Perth they were advertising that shops would be allowed to open on weekdays until 9 PM from Noverber. Also it seems most Sunday trading is limited to the city centre.

Then it was back to cold Wellington.