Busy and the Bott

The Bloggers lament. Haven't updated for a while as just so damn busy. And to make matters worse I have now have picked up a cold - not quite the flue - I am calling it the 'Bott'. As it happens I am due for my free (ie Taxpayer Funded) flue shots but haven't heard anything yet.


On TV1 at the moment is the story of the 1968 Wahine disaster. My abiding memory of that day was simply the weather. It was just so bad, it was unbelievable.

I remember the NZBC news on the on the day kept saying that everything was under control, while the BBC news (in those days they used to broadcast it over the radio - through all the static) was saying it was bad news.


I walked down to work through the rain and wind to work at the BNZ North End. After coming down from Auckland in 1963 I thought I had experienced all the worst of the Wellington weather but this was something different. The BNZ was opposite the old Reserve Bank in Stout Street and the weather was so bad it set off the fire alarms in the Defence HQ across the road. Although it was obvious there was no fire - not that it mattered as there were no fire engines available - they made the staff all leave the building to stand in the atrocious weather. Madness!!

So we went out and got them all to crowd into the banking chamber.

Another problem I remember was getting the combination holders in to open the strongroom.

We were lucky as ours managed to make it into work, but the Reserve Banks didn't, so we had to lend them some of our cash - not that they needed much as basically little work could be done.

The Zimbabwe "election". When we were there last year it was an economic disaster and it seems to have got worse. Probably, whatever the outcome it will lead to riots and deaths by the dozen.

Shape Shifter

An update at last. Been busy, but not too busy to visit the Shape Shifter display in the Hutt which was put on by Hutt Rotary.

We finally got around to going last Saturday. We originally planned to go to a Thursday evening session, but we forgot. As it was finishing on the next Tuesday it was now of never or we would have missed it. It was a wonderful exhibition and well worth visiting, especially as the entrance fee was only $5-00. We took some great photos which I will put up here once we have downloaded them.

Am reading Bill Bryson's book 'A short history of nearly everything'. As a believer in science, rather than superstitious mumbo jumbo, I have found it a fascinating read. A couple of interesting points - When you tune to a blank TV channel and get all that static - 1% represents the remnants of the Big Bang that created the universe. So if their is always something on TV - the creation.
Another is that arguably, the most important tooth in paleontology, is held by Te Papa - but it is not on display!!!

Also sad to see the death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke. He had many quotes but my favourite is
'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'

Friday night

The weekend almost upon us. Went to our monthly Probus meeting this morning where our speaker was Alf Kirk who is Kiwi working for the World Bank as an Economist in some of the old Soviet states such as Georgia, Armenia etc. Pleased that I was instrumental in getting him to speak after he spoke at Rotary and I also knew him from 30 years ago when I worked with his ex-wife.

As he said in talking about his work -

'we don't know how lucky we are'

A safe, stable, non corrupt, decent and tolerant democracy.

Democracy has been in a bit of turmoil - well by our standards - this week with John Key showing some of his inexperience. Saying he would axe the scientific fund just established by the Government, will get him offside with many of his farmer constituents. His real problem was that he seems to have made the decision off the cuff and didn't announce an alternative. Also he got caught out by the Govt. over sale of Auckland Airport when he tried to have a bob each way.

Had a phone call from Telecom during the week asking what I thought of our Broadband experience. Of course I told them, in my usual way, what a pathetic outfit they are and as for the Bubble experience !!! She of course couldn't say much except she would pass my views on. Being in an area where they have a monopoly there is nothing much we can do.

Weekend and a kip

Kipp outside our back door in the sunshine.

The weekend was going to be different with a trip to Kapiti Island planned. However, it wasn't to be when we got a phone call at 7 AM to advise the weather was not good enough and it had to be cancelled. I suppose the upside was that I still hadn't recovered fully from the 'bug' and had the opportunity to go back to get some sleep - that is to get some extra kip. The problem now is that the trips are so heavily booked it will be next May before we can go again - and again it is so weather dependent we could miss out again.

Another upside was I could have another bit of a kip and watch the NZ - England cricket and celebrate a good win. One of my pet hates is the commentators saying 'that was a great cricket shot' - well it wasn't a softball or polo shot - what else could it be if you are playing cricket? If it is a straight out slog and a baseball type shot then just say so.

Now onto the Kipp again - not kip. Haven't posted some photos for a while so here we go again.







One thing he does like is our letter box.

A bug and a busy Friday

A very busy Friday, but the day before I picked up a 24 hour bug, so was feeling a bit under the weather and not eating. As I had to go out all day and half the night on Friday I even took some pills, which I normally don't do. Was up half the night on Thursday, but thank heaven, Friday morning I felt a little better.

So I was able to attend a SeniorNet regional Meeting at Upper Hutt - about 32 of us there, and again I see that attendance was 80% male although our membership is about 70% female. It was illuminating that one Learning Centre was unable to get a Committee so they called a Special General Meeting to close down and soon got a Committee together, and a lot of people signing up for a course.

The day went well, although our Regional representative is not standing again and we are looking for a replacement and, as usual,nobody would put there name forward. And, as usual, I was asked but with Rotary etc I said, as usual, too much on but I suppose if push comes to shove and nobody else will do it I will reconsider.

After that meeting I was the Treasurer for a Te Omanga Hospice Golf Fund Raiser which didn't finish till around 10 that night and I still have to do the accounting side today. The fund raiser was a tremendous success with $10,000 raised. Naturally the weather was typically fine.

Being out I missed the Hurricanes game but again, as usual from the competitions Jekyll and Hyde team, Mr. Hyde turned up and from all reports it was terrible.

Language and as usual - our money

While it's important to recognise that everyone has rights, sometimes common sense just disappears out the window. And when it goes, so does the taxpayers money.

Currently several people are facing charges from the recent 'terrorist' raids. These people now want all evidence, charges, and court procedures to be carried out in Maori because they say 'although they are fluent in English, they would like to speak in te reo because they are more fluent in it.'

What rubbish. We, and probably most of the developed world, speak English. Do they mean that they haven't bothered to learn the language of New Zealand and the world. What have they been doing with their lives.

And of course the usual people pay - you and me, the taxpayers.
I would be interested in knowing how many of these people hold real jobs - that is not taxpayer funded wishy washy PC correct positions.

The sale of Auckland Airport has been a nice finesse by the Government as most people without considering all the facts, believe we shouldn't sell assets like this. So John Key is between the rock and a hard place.

Middle of the week and SPORT

Great result - I said I thought Rob would do it but I preferred Mahe as I believed he deserved it - and he came through. It now seems Rob has a heart problem but I think it would have been quite unfair to select Waddell.

Chris Rattue in the N Z Herald summed it up in my view

' Drysdale was the incumbent selection, the best in the world, the man who had qualified the New Zealand boat, the people's new champion, a man who fully deserved to be an Olympic single sculls certainty until the remarkable Waddell quietly slipped into his comeback.

As great as Waddell has been, this should never have been regarded as a trial between two equally weighted combatants.

Waddell ambushed Drysdale to a degree, forcing a man who had every right to regard himself as an Olympic certainty to alter his preparation course.

If Drysdale had been given plenty of warning that his well-earned Olympic spot was under threat, then fair cop. But Waddell timed his surprise comeback for a vigorous sprint towards selection, while Drysdale had been physically and mentally preparing for a longer build up towards China.

Drysdale initially reacted with easy-to-understand pique, and then set about peaking. He's confronted the challenge, and showed his true grit. '

Was Mahe foxing at the N Z Champs, realising that what happened there didn't really count. I only hope that having to peak twice doesn't wreck his medal hopes in Beijing.

A friend phoned me during the race - she doesn't follow sport - really weird!!

Rugby - The ELV's are being used in the Super 14 and after a couple of rounds already the Northern Hemisphere are going crook. No wonder they are so bad at the game - never looking forward, always complaining. The irony is that I understand many of the ELV's were their idea. Personally to date I have liked what I have seen.

Watching the Reds Brumbies game and the 10 minutes it took to take Julian Huxley from the field on Saturday night, I, like the commentators, was mystified at what had happened from what was an inocous tackle. Now we find out he was convulsing due to a benign brain tumour they discoverd. Lucky it happened on the field with good medical support - imagine if he had been driving.

The AB's are going to play in Hong Kong against the Wallabies. Some are against - a quote 'will they be playing in Disneyland next!!' But, I think we have to promote the game and we will not go to a city unless a profit can be made therefore there will be spectators. I prefer that to the Super 14's being privately owned, which I am convinced will lead to the problems the Northern Hemisphere have with their Clubs.

Cricket - The first Test against England starts today. A joke - The only animals allowed into the ground are seeing eye dogs. Who would want to take a seeing eye dog to a cricket match? Billy Bowden!!

Oz got beaten 2-0 by India. How sad. How sad also for the streaker shoulder charged by Andrew Symonds. Some idiots, as per usual, are talking about assault by Symonds - what a bunch of nutters.

Not Sport - On to less important things - the US Presidential race. Just saw the Hillary advert showing a phone ringing at 3 AM and asking who would you like answering it - a person experienced like her or an inexperienced person like Barack Obama. If I was Obama I would say the phone rang just before the invasion of Iraq and Clinton voted in favour - I voted against - who has been proven correct.

Quiet weekend

It was a quiet weekend, the only item of note being the change in the weather. It rained!! Good grief - probably the first decent rain during the day time since November. And it also became relatively cold compared to what we have been used to. Anyway, we were still able to take Rhett for a walk along the riverbank on Sunday which should have tired him out but he barked off and on during the night and kept us awake.

Rowing - A tough contest with the result at one all after this monings race with one to go. I seems crazy that, of the worlds top two single scullers, only one is allowed to compete at the Olympics. Personally I prefer Mahe as he stayed at the sport while Rob left for the money (and I can't blame him) of the Americas Cup but I favour Rob to actually win.

The problem is that there is so little between them.

Watched the first episode of the series on Captain Cook and it looks as if it will be enlightening. However, I am concerned that it will degenerate into a overly critical look at the man, judging him on todays standards and attitudes, rather than those of his times. What I hadn't realised was that his wife lived until her 90's and outlived all of their 6 children.

Our video is so old it has to be programmed at the date of 1991 to reflect the current years, as it can't go past 1999. However, this morning when going to set it, quite by chance I noticed the date showing was the 4th instead of the 3rd (the 3rd being my brothers birhday - Happy 65th!!)
Damn - it is Leap Year and it can't cope with that. So after a bit of mucking about I found that 1997 is the date for 2008 after 1 March. I am sure (talking about dates) that I have said it before how I loathe the old fashioned American dates system of Month ahead of Day.
The flow is wrong.