All go!!

All go with SeniorNet Committee meeting, quiz evening, finalising the Raffle for the Auditor and today an Open Day at SeniorNet all day.

The Open Day has been a real success as we have had close to 40 people through and have been quite busy.

Because of the SeniorNet Committee meeting I couldn't attend the Quiz evening. As Joe Brainbox also couldn't attend we had a revamp of the team with Christine, AJ and our next door neighbour going along. They didn't win, but they also didn't come last. And considering they had only three in their team, while some they competed against had 5 or 6, it was a good effort.

Unfortunately it was decided that Sarah would look after Kipp rather than Christine. Unfortunate because Sarah's name was drawn from the hat to win a DVD player but you had to be there to win.

Bugger !! but thats life - you win some and you lose some.

Toothing - Kipp now has four teeth and at this rate he will soon become dangerous. Is walking more confidently than ever, being able to turn quite easily now and seems to be endeavouring to talk. He gets agitated and noisy when climbing off something and he is unable to feel the floor with his feet.

Meantime the golden weather continues. This is becoming quite a concern as we will need to have some decent rain - in the right places - soon or real problems are going to arise.

Funerals and Kipp eating

Went to a friends funeral today. He was taken at 72 - far too young. We will be going to another tomorrow but she was a bit older having had a great innings of 101. She had a tremendous life and would have been 102 next month.

At the other end of the scale is young Kipp. The photo shows him having scoffed all the food, he then started on the plate!!

Just another Friday in Kiwiland and beyond

We had a very good Friday culminating with the Seachers show in Upper Hutt.

Meantime the world goes on its normal way. Only two murders on Friday - in one a 16 year old has botched a robbery and killed a 22 year old Indian who was looking after his parents shop. I wonder what the race of the murderer is? Also I wonder what the killer will be charged with. The lawyers will argue he didn't mean to do it and he was sorry. He only carried the knife because he was frightened, or some such excuse. So he will be back out in the community in 10-12 years.

The good news, if there can be any in such a tragic event, is, I suppose, that some members of the public chased and captured the killer. The way it is here now, they will probably charge them with assault!!

Meantime the bloody twerps who run this world carry on with their stupid decisions. As reported in this mornings Dom-Post -

The family of a man murdered by Graeme Burton have been told to repay up to $19,000 in legal aid granted for an inquest into his death.

Karl Kuchenbecker's former partner is on the domestic purposes benefit while she raises their two boys. But while taxpayers will pay about $40,000 for double-killer Burton's amputation and prosthetic leg - a result of the shootout that followed Mr Kuchenbecker's murder - she has been told to repay legal fees for a four-day coroner's inquest at $25 a week.

At that rate, the bill of $19,027 will take 14 years and 31 weeks to pay off.

The boys' mother can apply to write this off, but said it was a shock to be asked to repay it.

Everybody but the idiots who run this show know this is insane. Of course, the Government will realise that they are on a hiding to nothing and will make sure she doesn't have to pay, but they should have used common sense at the start.

But we are not the only nuts.

From the BBC -

A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned down by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.

The digital book was rejected by judges who warned that "the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

So something positive - the tennis.


The defeat of "The Fed Express " will be great for the game. He probably has reached his peak and the younger guns will now have him in their sights although I think he will still be a force for the next couple of years - if he wants to be.

Searchers

Just back from the almost freebie show by the Searchers at Upper Hutt. The show was sponsored by the Rimutaka Licensing Trust with entrance by a gold coin donation with the funds raised going to a charity.

We went with a group of seven others and it was, as is usual lately, a beautiful hot then very balmy evening. The music and show was excellent with the Searchers being on stage for about 1 1/2 hours. The opening group was Eclipse from Upper Hutt who I thought were pretty good.

After the show we went for a chat and cup of tea at a friends place. While there we watched a bit of the semis of the Australian Tennis Open and when we left Roger Federer was struggling.

Off to bed now as we have Kipp staying with us overnight for the first time. We will have him from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon.

The new Rhett and the old Kipp

Rhett back from the groomers is about 3/4 the size.
Kipp ,meantime is going the opposite way - he is getting bigger

The photos of Kipp were taken over the 2008 Wellington Anniversary weekend.

In absentia and the Austrian Knicker Bocker Hunting Society

Read a great letter to the Editor in the Dom-Post. The writer pointed out that we have about 18,600 people who have not turned up for trial and therefore the cases have had to be abandoned meantime. What a waste of time, resources and money. The writers suggestion is that all cases of those who don't turn up should still go ahead and if their side is not put that is their problem.

That is they get tried "in absentia". I agree.

Of course any legitimate reason for not turning up would later be taken into account but 99% are just absconders. However, I can hear the screams now of all the do-gooders claiming the poor criminal didn't get a fair trial. Tough!!

We took Rhett to the dog groomers yesterday and he is a brand new looking dog. He looks really great and I will post a couple of pictures of him over the next couple of days. I didn't realise how difficult it is to get into a dog groomers. The normal waiting time is two to three months. We booked Rhett in about 3 months ago and just got in now. While we were there the groomer was telling another customer that she could pick up her dog at 8 PM. Good grief!! I t seems to be the occupation to take up.

Quiz - went to a Quiz night last night which we won as we had Joe Brainbox with us. But no prize as they were locked away!! Anyway we also had the best team name ' The Austrian Knicker Bocker Hunting Society' although the quizmaster kept calling us Australian.

I see that with the death of Heath Ledger the second most queried name on Google after that is Keith Ledger - the fans really know their stars names.

Money Money Money

World markets and the U S economy heading for Recession - with a capital R - seems to be the theme of the morning.

Having been in Zimbabwe last year we are highly experienced in handling hyper inflation - Yeah Right.

We just spent it. The problem we found was the change given after we had paid in US Dollars. With an Official Rate of US$15,000 to the Zimbabwe dollar (and probably an unofficial rate of 100,000) and no goods to buy, the hundreds of thousands in change was worthless. When we left we gave what we had over to Matthew our guide as a tip.

Apart from a few minutes and the News, didn't watch the Hillary funeral. At times we appeared to be descending into the "Diana Syndrome" especially on TVNZ. However, we seem to be getting over it and will probably all be forgotten in a few days, particularly if the Stock Markets keep falling.

We were supposed to get the tail end of Tropical Cyclone Funa but as usual didn't and the great weather continues albeit a bit of wind gusting about.

Before and after

BEFORE

A photo taken at a birthday party Kipp went to. The better half then cropped it to make a much better picture. Notice the little waving of his hand. Sometimes technology is brilliant; if they would only it make it simple and not give people 100 options when they want ten.

AFTER

Upper Hutt trips

Went to see the stone sand sculptures at Upper Hutt today and will be returning tomorrow to visit a friend who has just got out of hospital after a hip operation. We thought they were at Harcourt Park but were in fact at Maidstone, although the sign at the entrance to Harcourt didn't say this?? However, by chance we found them. I thought they were fairly innocuous and uninspiring.


THE SEARCHERS - NOW AND THEN









Then being 1964.

On Friday, we are again returning to Upper Hutt when we are going to see the Searchers, the pop group from the 1960's. It is to be an outdoor concert so we hope the weather holds.

Our daughter has just lost her Japanese student who has gone to live out her final days (sounds like a death sentence!!) with the family who organises these exchanges prior to her return to Japan in six weeks. It hasn't really worked out a she made little attempt to communicate and learn English - which was the reason she came here.

Another BBQ, the Royals and Oz India

Another BBQ today in the magnificent weather. No real rain for weeks and it is not looking good as we need some. Probably when it does come it will bucket down.

The Royals - as I surmised, the point that they never attend funerals except for Heads of State and family friends has been lost. Newspapers both in N Z and the UK are generally critical and I suspect the majority of the public consider some sort of, even token appearance, by somebody, was warranted. The Palace should have said that although the didn't normally attend they would send a representative on this occasion as it was a significant event, the climb having been done on the eve of the Coronation. It certainly aids the Republican cause.

Not that any of it would have bothered Sir Ed in the least.

I think, from memory, he said at the time he would have rejected the knighthood if given the option but the PM Keith Holyoake had accepted it for him. Listening to a documentary on Radio NZ this morning Sir Ed mentioned that both Holyoake and Muldoon had refused to shake hands with him at one stage. Ed was of course a Citizen for Rowling member.


Then again the No Royal Show may be, as Baldrick would say

"all part of a cunning plan".


Realising that Charles may not be acceptable to the Colonies the Palace are pre-empting the succession by trying to annoy us and thereby ensuring we take the first steps towards a Republic.


So we almost end on a quote from Blackadder:
Baldrick: I have a cunning plan to solve the problem.
Blackadder: Yes Baldrick. Let us not forget you tried to solve the problem of your mother's low ceiling by cutting off her head.

The End: Oz - India .....Cricket. What a great game and result. What a good decent person Kumble seems to be.

No Royal Show

St Edwards Crown - The Crown of England

The announcement that no member of the Royal family will be attending Sir Ed's funeral may be a harbinger of the future. I would think whatever one's views most people would be disappointed that some representative will not be attending. The PM is in an invidious position and has been reasonably defending and John Key probably reflects most peoples views being "disappointed".

However, in defence, the Queen obviously, on the grounds of age alone, could not attend. And it seems that the remainder of the immediate family all have prior engagements but more importantly I read that the Royals never attend a funeral in an official capacity unless it is a Head of State or their spouse.

So I suppose the difficulty is that they do not want to set a precedent.

With the Republic issue recently revived by Mike Moore only a week or two ago, I have a feeling that locally this decision will be a PR disaster for the Royalists and a decision the Republicans will be only too happy to exploit.

Personally, on the question of a Republic I am ambivalent but tend towards a change. However, I am firmly against an elected President. I believe that is a recipe for disaster. I favour a continuation of the present system of appointment by, supposedly Parliament, of the Governor General with a vital difference.

The present system is that the GG is appointed in consultation with the Opposition. Unfortunately under Muldoon this went out the window when an ex-politician Keith Holyoake was appointed and Labour then got their own back by selecting Kath Tizard. Thankfully this stupidity has now gone.

So how do we overcome this.

I believe the present system whereby Parliament appoints a new GG (or a President if we became a Republic) should continue with a significant change. A Law should be enacted that the Government nominates the new GG (President) and presents the name to Parliament. The appointment then is approved by a vote of the House with the proviso that 80% of the members must vote in favour. This would mean the Opposition would need to be consulted and agree to the person prior to nomination.

With an 80% requirement even the minor parties would usually need some input and consequently with this method an apolitical person would then be chosen. I think this was the Presidential selection method favoured by the ex-Australian PM Paul Keating.

Be interesting to see what, if anything, develops over the next few days on the Royals front or affront!.

Ill

That is not three lines (III) in the Title above but rather the word ill.

A virus - not the computer sort, but the human affecting type, has struck. I have been sick with what seemed to be food poisoning like symptoms. As my daughter and her husband were also sick with the same symptoms Christine thought the link was the BBQ. However, talking about it, and discovering that others who had gone to the BBQ were alright put us onto a different hypothesis. Sarah found that several people who had attended a children's party that she went to were ill plus a friend has told us the virus is so widespread that it was being mentioned on talkback radio. So we now think she picked it up at the birthday party. Interestingly Kipp has been OK and she said none of the breast fed babies had been ill.

Not a great listener to talkback, although I think generally as an outlet of expression it is a good for democracy. The problem is that the few times I have listened the quality of expression leaves a lot to be desired both on behalf of the callers and the hosts. We cannot receive Radio Live at our house but I can hear it when I am in the car and sometimes I listen for a short time to Michael Laws, who I find is reasonably sensible about 80% of the time - probably the other 20% is stirring!!

Talking about common sense; I think the only politician I have ever heard over the past few years who has always talked sensibly is Ron Mark. The problem is that even people like Pita Sharples will say something that is logical, then the next minute will say something absolutely stupid - in my sensible opinion.

As for the United Nations questioning us about the raids in the Ureweras. If I was the PM I would write back and explain we are a democracy and, unlike 99% of the members of the UN, we do not give the Police instructions - they are independent and the UN should write to the Commissioner.

I would think the explanation would be beyond their understanding.

BBQ and other matters

Went to our usual beginning of the new year Rotary BBQ. Weather of course was hot and sunny. A very pleasant evening out especially when you don't have to cook or wash up. Washing up brings me to a very mundane matter. Our dishwasher packed up last night. Oh no !! We have to wash up by hand for a couple of days.

Cricket was a farce - playing Bangladesh is almost like N Z playing Australia.

I see my favourite site for music has closed down. Oh well that is life. I have some sympathy when people are putting up recent music, but my peeve is that the music I want is 40-50 years old and impossible to buy as the business model being pursued by the industry is 30 years out of date. However, I still think they are pissing into the wind as those who want it will get around any barriers.

Petrol has dropped to around US$90 from the previous US$100 a barrel but - surprise,surprise - still nothing happening on the home front. They now say they need a"sustained period" of price stability but no problems in raising it within 24 hours of reaching the $100 peak.

KIPP - just better mention that he has started to walk and is going great guns. Also a picture of him in a not so happy mood when he saw Santa at Queensgate. I think he preferred his mother.

A bit of flippancy

A bit of flippancy (as you will see a pun) for the weekend.

Being at the bottom of the world sometimes funny things happen, such as all of a sudden when you are typing the text will suddenly turn upside down; that is it will do a flip - really -

¡¡sıɥʇ ǝʞı1 - ʎ11ɐǝɹ sǝʎ

Made possible by a website http://www.fliptext.org/ - click to visit.

The Greatest

The death of Sir Ed made me think - who are the greatest New Zealanders of the past century.

My top three are Rutherford, Hillary and Upham. How you separate these great men is beyond me. Maybe that is the correct order.

Edmund Percival HILLARY, KG, ONZ, KBE (20 July 1919 - 11 January 2008)

When they use the word "icon" today they attribute it to some of very little stature on the World scence. Ed Hillary was a true icon. Easily the greatest New Zealander of my time. The important thing is what he did after Everest when he went on to demonstrate what a truly great humanitarian he was. Ed was a decent, common sense, humble Kiwi of the finest quality.

My memories of that year 1953 go back as a 12 year old in Auckland. It was a truly auspicious year. It was the year my mother won the N Z Bowls Pairs Championships, it was the Coronation and Hillary and Tenzing conquered Everest.

My parents owned a dairy in Symonds Street (No. 99 - now a Hotel complex) and everybody wanted to buy what till then was an unknown brand - Hillary's Honey. I can remember my first taste - it was great honey. And like Sir Ed I went to Auckland Grammar.

His statement upon returning to Camp to his lifelong friend George Lowe (and other Kiwi in the expedition) was typical Kiwi "Well George, we finally knocked the bastard off."

I see that his death has knocked the US Election campaign off the top of the Google News.

The flag at Scott Base has already been lowered to half mast.

A stuff up

I saw that Blogger has an option that you can view the pictures used in the Blog through Picasa. So I went and opened up the account but in my usual way decided I would do a bit of tidying up. So I went through and deleted some of the pictures held there before reading the box that said they would be deleted from the Blog.



Grrrr!!!

So I had to go back and resurrect some of the photos etc. So if any human on the planet ever delves into my Blog past they may find a few pictures missing.

Find it very interesting that most people seem to be on India's side in the dispute with Australia. Is it jealousy or just that even some Australians realise that their team is a bit over the top.

Light Bulbs

Another Soviet story I read.

Q - What was a used light bulb worth in the Soviet Union.

A - Nearly the same price as a new one. Why?

It seems light bulbs were hard to get in the Soviet Union but factories and work places had to have them. So the enterprising would take their dead bulb to work and surreptitiously swap it for the good one. In order to build up a stockpile of good bulbs at home or to sell them on the black market, dead bulbs attracted a value.

Sledging and more words

I was going to put in a couple of quotes I saw but events in Australia have overtaken me. And I don't mean the floods but the Indian tour. The result with Oz winning in the last couple of overs was incredible, but the following furore is taking the headlines.

I find it strange that a man can be found guilty of a statement that is basically (from what we read), a "he says - she says" situation. I see some Kiwi cricketers have said the Australian complaints seem to be a "calling the kettle black" situation as the inventors and proponents of sledging were Australia.

Wikipedia says - According to Ian Chappell "sledging" originated from Adelaide in an early 1960's Sheffield Shield season. A cricketer who swore in the presence of a woman was taken to be like a sledgehammer, and so called a "Percy" or "Sledge"—from singer Percy Sledge (whose song When a Man Loves a Woman was popular at the time). Thus, directing insults or obscenities at the opposition team became known as "sledging".

The outcome will be interesting.

Moving on - Quotes -

Some forms of success are indistinguishable from panic - Edgar Degas

I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical. - Arthur C. Clarke

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

I have always liked the final quote as it sums up my attitude towards science and the world. Once we thought nature was magic then science explained why things happened; people got sick = germs etc. This annoyed many of the establishment, which in those days was the religious leaders. This attitude that science and its ideas are anti-religious still pervades many groups today. I find it almost unbelievable that in the US Presidential race, when asked if they believed in the Theory of Evolution, some didn't. I don't think they, like President Bush who was quoted as saying "its only a theory", don't really understand what the scientific meaning and context of the word theory is. Maybe they should be asked if they believe in Atomic Theory and if they think "it is only a theory", ask them to stand under an exploding nuclear bomb.

Where in the world have I been

By chance I found this site www.world66.com which amongst many things allows one to create a world map of where they have visited. It tells me that I have been to 14% of the countries on the globe.

In the news

Toxic Algae from the Hutt River

We often take our dog, as does my daughter with her three dogs, to the Hutt River dog walk. However, following the death of two dogs due to a naturally occurring toxic algae dog-owners are being urged to stop their pets straying to what has become a deadly river. Two Basset hounds have already been killed by the toxic algae that have invaded the Hutt River.

As it happens, when I read the article about a the dog owner who lost two of his dogs, I realised I knew him through work and SeniorNet. We will be being careful in future and not letting Rhett into the river and instead will probably take him to Petone Beach more often.


In the Dom-Post the headline story on Saturday was about a 35 year woman who was brought back from the dead thanks to her quick-thinking seven-year-old son who phoned 111 when her heart stopped. I didn't realise that she was a friend of my daughters until she came around and pointed it out. Then again I haven't seen her for several years.

Happy Birthday

CHRISTINE

Born Monday 5 January 1948

Wow 60 - but only looks and feels 40. Looking at Google a lot of famous people have their birthday today ranging from the King of Spain to the only All Black captain to win a World Cup - so far - David Kirk. So she is in exalted company. Got her a present- we are going to arrange for some rememberance bricks to be placed at the Dowse Gallery for deceased family. Was given the idea by a friend who like many today had her parents cremated and no real memorial stands.

Sixty

She who must be obeyed is the big six-oh tomorrow.

The Soviet Dustbin and New Years again

A Soviet Union era story.

I was at a work function about 3 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and got into a discussion with an ex-Trade Commisioner to Moscow. He said he thought the Soviet Union would collapse within 20 - 30 years.
Whhhat!! - this is one of the worlds superpowers - he must be mad. Of course it had gone within about three years so he did know what he was talking about.

To illustrate his point that the economy and the country was a facade and disaster waiting to happen, he told me a story.

He went to visit a dustbin factory. The Central Planning Committee decided to put the factory that made the lids in one town alongside a river. The factory that made the bottoms was another town further downstream and the assembly point and sales department further down the river.

He asked me what do you think happened when they barged the lids and bottoms downstream for assembly. I thought they wouldn't fit. He said no, that was fine - in fact they were a great dustbin. Only one style but they were solid and would last for 20 years. However, when he looked around he saw piles of lids for as far as he could see just rusting away. Literally millions of them. He asked what was going on.
The answer was that for every bottom they made three lids so they just threw away two!! This had been going on for over 30 years.

He said this is crazy - why don't you make less lids. What - and put all those people out of work!! Mad capitalists.

This was an example he said of the inefficiencies of the system. More stories another day.

Meantime, New Years with an 's'. From todays N Z Herald about words that are becoming annoying

"....... would like to add "New Year's" to the list of words that should be banned. "The event is New Year as in 'where are you going for New Year?' Not New Year's. What is correct, however, is New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. But all you ever see and hear these days is: What are you doing for New Year's or New Years? It is now so rife I fear it may never be stamped out."

Quite right. It is 17th century English that Americans still speak today. But it is not confined to them as the Scots say "6 stones 4 lbs" and at a Rugby match Bill McLaren always said " the ball is now to be thrown into the lines-out"

The Beatles

I'm back again - or should that be "I'm bach". I said in a previous entry that I was reading Bill Bryson's book The Mother Tongue and it is an oddity of NZ that we pronounce the composer Bach as back but the Kwi beach house is (in the North Island) a bach - pronounced batch.

THE BEATLES

I found this on the Net. It has dozens of Beatles songs within it and your mission is to find the ones I've missed.

Please Mr Postman, see that this letter arrives safely.

Dear Prudence,

A long, long, long time ago, I asked you to tell me what you see and with eyes shut, you said, 'Do you want to know a secret?', She loves you, but you're going to lose that girl'.Well, I've just seen a face. It was yesterday, or was it the night before, when I saw her standing there.

I saw Lucy in the sky with diamonds, (sister of Michelle and now married to Roccy Raccoon), and it all came back to me.Lucy left me because she caught Polythene Pam as she came in through the bathroom window. I tried to act naturally, joked that everybody's trying to be my baby and played some rock and roll music.

But she kept on walking and in exasperation I shouted, 'Oh darling, wait, don't let me down, I need you'. 'I'll never meet another girl like you, you really got a hold on me', and other words of love to that effect. Lucy said, 'I don't want to spoil the party, I'm out of here, helter skelter, good night'.I said, 'honey don't, what you're doing is killing me, you can't do that, help, we can work it out, you like me too much, I want you!'.

She shouted back at me, 'You're boring, that's the word, boring!'. 'All you do is listen to Beatles music!'. 'Go have a drink with the boys, and other little piggies like yourself, me, I'll follow the sun'.I became angry. 'Girl, you can drive my car or take a ticket to ride on a magical mystery tour down the long & winding road to Kansas City, Vladivostock, Elwood, Pepperland or the sea of monsters for all I care'.

She made no reply. Only then did I realise that she's leaving home. I sent her all my loving, eight days a week in letters to here, there & everywhere.I would have travelled in a yellow submarine, I would have attempted to track her down all across the Universe.In my life, where did I go wrong?

Can you explain to me every little thing, any time at all? I'd like to laugh at the memory, but I'll cry instead. I tried to console myself, I thought, it's only love, but what if I needed someone again, if I fell in love with someone else? I sometimes wished I lived back in the USSR, before the revolution. It may all make sense to me when I'm sixty four. I should have known better. I'm a loser really, a nowhere man, a fool on the hill.Each morning I would wake up to depressive thoughts, like, I'm down, I'm so tired, run for your life what goes on, your Mother should know.

But then one morning, on my birthday, after a hard day's night praying to Lady Madonna, I saw a familiar face passing my bedroom window. 'Hey Jude, here comes the sun', I exclaimed. 'Good morning, good morning', came the reply.

So with a little help from my friends, lovely Rita, Julia, Shondra & dizzy miss Lizzy, I recalled what a wise man once told me, 'You've got to hide your love away', so I told myself, 'I'll be back, I will'!!And now, things are getting better. No more misery, now I feel fine flying, free as a bird. Now, I'm a paperback writer, no longer a day tripper on the roller coaster of life.

The royalties from book sales can't buy me love, but are fixing a hole in my Bank account. Now I can carry that weight of memories passed, I can simply let it be, and get back to being the person I once was. I have even returned to my daily jogs down Penny Lane and this boy could run through strawberry fields forever.

As they say in that classic Beatles song, 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-la-da, life goes on!'. Do you remember the Beatles?, Paul McCartney made a lot of money, a taxman's dream, but if I met him today, he would probably say of me, 'Baby, you're a rich man too', or something like that.

Yours Sincerely Mr Moonlight The End

Up in the morning, out on the job...

Up early the day after New Years Day.

One of my (old fashioned??) pet hates is the Americanisation of our New Zealand (not British) English. We now seem to say New Years with an 's' in a situation where we never used to.
But ce'st la vie!

Watched the History Channel the other night which gave a listing of the top 100 people of the millenium. I have probably seen it before, but as we all know free to air TV around this holiday time is terrible. Naturally I didn't agree with all the placings, the top 20 of which are listed below. I thought Martin Luther, Columbus and Gandhi were overated but when thought through, Gutengberg was a good choice over my favourite Newton. Also it seemed a bit Euro/Amero-centric. In the top 100 list Princess Diana rated 73, above such as Jonas Salk (97) !! So as it got towards the end it slowly became less reliable - IMHO.

Johann Gutenberg
Isaac Newton
Martin Luther
Charles Darwin
William Shakespeare
Christopher Columbus
Karl Marx
Albert Einstein
Nicolaus Copernicus
Galileo Galilei
Leonardo Da Vinci
Sigmund Freud
Louis Pasteur
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Adolf Hitler
Mahatma Gandhi
John Locke
Michelangelo
Adam Smith



Only 44 days to Super 14.

Tuesday 1 January 2008

Another year. What will it hold. On the personal front we all hope it will be another wonderful and enjoyable 12 months. On the wider front I hope for some improvement but hold out little hope.

A new US President will be elected and to quote from the New York Times

" .. (the) ... shocking abuses of President Bush’s two terms in office, made in the name of fighting terrorism. There is much more — so much that the next president will have a full agenda simply discovering all the wrongs that have been done and then righting them.
We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America."

Is he the worst President the US has ever had? He must be in the top three. Unfortunately, although it can apply to many countries, I believe the US system of democracy is particularly poor in that it conspires against people of real competence and experience to be elected.

We will also have an election but, whatever that outcome, I think the status quo will remain.