Almost Xmas

Almost Xmas. The countdown begins. Charity raffle I am involved in is nearing its end and we will all be having a break over the Xmas period both from this and SeniorNet. Have recently found some more music sites which has enabled me to pick up a few more unusual tunes from the 1950s & 60s.

Aim is to try and write a Blogging course for SeniorNet over the Xmas break.

Nearly Xmas

Nearly Xmas and an update at last. However been busy with visitors from Oz and other happenings at both Rotary and SeniorNet.
The All Blacks did OK in Europe and as for the Haka. If they (the Welsh and any others) want to set the rules then - tough. As they say it is for the players and we set the rules as to when we do it and if they want to change them and we don't agree then we don't do it. What we mustn't accept is that because they are the hosts they say when we do it and that we MUST do it. The choice is ours whether or not we do it.
Found some great music sites recently which I visit at least once a week.
Weather - unbelievable - almost as unbelievable as the 2nd Ashes Test result.

Returned

Nothing written as we been overseas (Hong Kong UK Spain Portugal and Morocco) for past couple of months. Great trip and while in HK visited Macau for the first time and found it very interesting and different from HK. Morocco was an enjoyable place - although it is probably amongst the more liberal and democratic Arab states, it is still quite backward in many aspects. Never saw one woman in a burka - they must all live in London!!

Weather, especially in the UK, was good. Expensive of course by NZ standards. The other half took thousands of photos - the beauty of the digital camera.

Rugby - All Blacks - team selected is almost what I would have selected. Pleased to see Nic Evans in as I beleive he is the second best First Five in the country. Wellington Lions - not in same class as Waikato.

ALMOST LEAVING

Almost away on holiday but a slight hiccup with the latest security problems. However we are told they will not affect us.

Read an interestiing article that one of the problems of the "Liberal secular democratic" countries is that the barbarians play upon our decency. For example, we try to limit civilian deaths as best we can while the barbarians just don't care no matter what they say.
Sometimes it seems half the world is mad.

Rarotonga and wet wet wet

Went to Rarotonga for 8 days which included a friends wedding. Good experience but an expensive place to visit. Warm at 27 degrees but it rained most of the time which was a real bummer. However, it cleared for the wedding which was good news.

Stayed in Auckland for a few days and visited an old school mate who I hadn't seen for 50 (fifty) years!!! We had a great time reminiscing. Stayed at the Quality Inn while in the City of Sails but won't use them again. Booked at the Wotif site and it said they provided a free continental breakfast. Turned out the word a meant one meal for two people. What!!!

They knew immediately what site we had booked through and upon my return I see they have now changed the wording to clarify the offer. Still it was pathetic.

Away again shortly so no updates for a while.

Up Up and Away

We are about to be away with first stop Rarotonga after a few days in Auckland where I will meet up with an old school mate I haven't seen for almost 50 years!! Then back home for a short time before taking off again to Europe.

Will miss a bit of Rugby but will cope I hope. Don't know what happened with the Boks but being ever the pessimist I wouldn't take them lightly next Saturday.

Finally bought an MP3 player so I can now listen to my wonderful music without driving others mad.

With our trip, no updates for a while.

Rugby and a wedding

Maybe that should be a wedding and then Rugby as our eldest was married at the weekend and her day was of course far more important. Everything went off well with a couple of surprise visitors from the UK and the weather wasn't too bad considering the bad spell we have had lately.
She and her husband are now honeymooning in much hotter climes.

The other good news I suppose is that we get to look after her cat and with the loss our cat after 16 years we do miss having a cat in the house.

As for Rugby - like many I underestimated the Irish and it was a struggle.

I am involved with SeniorNet and we have been looking for new premises but it looks like matters are now being resolved and we now just await the the lease from the lawyers.

Rugby,weather and marriage

Ireland were a lot tougher than I thought they would be however we prevailed after a struggle.
Updating so soon as I thought I would go on the Net as the weather is just terrible. With my daughter getting married this weekend and the in-laws to be flying in from the UK today I can only hope it improves.

Updated at last and some thoughts about Rugby etc.

Finally got around to updating my blog. Since my last epistle the unbundling saga has come and almost gone. Telecom say they will not be obstructive. The proof will be in the pudding.

Rugby - As a Hurricanes supporter I have to admit the Crusaders are just too good and would probably have won by more if it had been decent weather. Ireland have arrived and although the UK teams have a habit of playing some tests above their level the last few years have not treated them well except for England. So I can't see them getting within 20 points of the AB's.

Tasers - Some heated discussion about use of these by the Police. Simple don't do the crime and you will have no problems!!

The day the sky fell in and the Aardvark

Well Sky TV went down the tube for a while when a satellite had a malfunction. However all is well now. The interesting thing is that a website I read every day without fail www.aardvark.co.nz predicted this several months ago. It is run by one Bruce Simpson - a bit of an eccentric I think - but a person whose views are more often than not spot on. His site is well worth visiting.

Doctor to patient - I'm sorry I can't tell you what is wrong with you unless you pay a royalty !!

Below is part of an article by the well known author Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) writing in the New York Times which proves that the world is still going mad.


This Essay Breaks the Law .........by Michael Crichton

• The Earth revolves around the Sun.
• The speed of light is a constant.
• Apples fall to earth because of gravity.
• Elevated blood sugar is linked to diabetes.
• Elevated uric acid is linked to gout.
• Elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease.
• Elevated homocysteine is linked to B-12 deficiency, so doctors should test homocysteine levels to see whether the patient needs vitamins.

ACTUALLY, I can't make that last statement. A corporation has patented that fact, and demands a royalty for its use. Anyone who makes the fact public and encourages doctors to test for the condition and treat it can be sued for royalty fees. Any doctor who reads a patient's test results and even thinks of vitamin deficiency infringes the patent. A federal circuit court held that mere thinking violates the patent.

All this may sound absurd, but it is the heart of a case that will be argued before the Supreme Court in the US. In 1986 researchers filed a patent application for a method of testing the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid, in the blood. They went one step further and asked for a patent on the basic biological relationship between homocysteine and vitamin deficiency. A patent was granted that covered both the test and the scientific fact. Eventually, a company called Metabolite took over the license for the patent.

Although Metabolite does not have a monopoly on test methods — other companies make homocysteine tests, too — they assert licensing rights on the correlation of elevated homocysteine with vitamin deficiency. A company called LabCorp used a different test but published an article mentioning the patented fact. Metabolite sued on a number of grounds, and has won in court so far.


Powerful forces are arrayed on both sides of the issue.

In addition, there is the rather bizarre question of whether simply thinking about a patented fact infringes the patent. The idea smacks of thought control, to say nothing of unenforceability.

For example, the human genome exists in every one of us, and is therefore our shared heritage and an undoubted fact of nature. Nevertheless 20 percent of the genome is now privately owned. The gene for diabetes is owned, and its owner has something to say about any research you do, and what it will cost you. The entire genome of the hepatitis C virus is owned by a biotech company. Royalty costs now influence the direction of research in basic diseases, and often even the testing for diseases.

Such barriers to medical testing and research are not in the public interest. Do you want to be told by your doctor, "Oh, nobody studies your disease any more because the owner of the gene/enzyme/correlation has made it too expensive to do research?"

The question of whether basic truths of nature can be owned ought not to be confused with concerns about how we pay for biotech development, whether we will have drugs in the future, and so on. I f you invent a new test, you may patent it and sell it for as much as you can, if that's your goal. Companies can certainly own a test they have invented. But they should not own the disease itself, or the gene that causes the disease, or essential underlying facts about the disease. The distinction is not difficult, even though patent lawyers attempt to blur it.

First post

My first posting!!
Just started this, my first blog, after hearing how easy it was to do at a SeniorNet Regional meeting. The question now is - will I keep it up to date??? We can only wait and see.