Saturday, September 30, 2006

Editorial Comment

So, our Presbyterian Church has upheld a decision made in 2004 to ban anybody in either a homosexual or de facto relationship from holding a position of power within their church. I admire an organisation that stands on it's founding principals & doesnt surrender to our current touchy feely hug a tree attitudes. They arent saying that such folks arent welcome to worship there. They are just saying that to make policy & advise the flock that leaders must be a good example to the flock. I dont see anything wrong with that.

I guess it all depends on which part of the bible you place most credence in. While Christ says love all men as brothers, the old testament is very specific about what you should or shouldnt do. There is nothing wrong with the 10 commandments as a basic principal to base your life on. I have always held that if you love someone, then you should be prepared to stand up & be proud enough to formalise that love in front of your God & the world in general. That to me is a founding part of being a thinking being. What is the one thing that links us as a race of beings ? You got it. Some form of celebration or ritual that says ,"I love this person enough to want to spend the rest of my life with them." The form may vary, but the sentiment remains.

Presbyterianism stems from the dark dour days of John Knox in Scotland. One of the brave few who saw the oppression & misery created by the Roman Catholic Church & actally dared to read a bible for himself & attempt to right what he saw as wrong. The Scots are a proud & stubborn race & you must expect any form of religion that comes from there to cling ferociously to its values & I for one as a lapsed Presbygahooligan am glad to see at least someone take a stance on the moral high ground.

As far as homosexuality is concerned , I very much have a quid pro quo attitude, but if I was a member of a church that believes most strongly in the sanctity of marriage between a man & a woman, then I dont think that I would like to see a homosexual in the pulpit or in a policy making position either. If we are going to go all the way with this current policy of anything goes, then surely a church should be able to decide who does what within their organisation without being publicly condemned & raked over the coals. After all , if you dont like it, you dont have to go.. Its a free world.... Isnt it ????

Friday, September 29, 2006

I had a dickey dongle port




But I have sorted it all out now, so will probably be boring you all shitless with pictures from here on in.. Here is Chloe, our big fat bone idle Calicoe cat that we inherited from my Mum. Her interests include sleeping, swearing & the consumption in massive quantities if she can of cheese & bacon. Exercise doesnt figure highly in her daily routine













I saw these two signs deep in the bowels,(pardon the pun) of the Thames Hospital today. Evidently there have been some fiendish genetic experiments going on down there..




















I never knew that bogs had "innies" & "outies" Remind me to be VERY careful next time I sit down on a strange Bog bowl.. Could this be a fiendish plot to turn us all into card carrying Presbyterians ??



















I saw this bike at a factory in Waihi today.. Lovingly cared for. The rider is a member of the Ulysses Club. It even has a fitting for a towbar. Its an older style Yamaha thats a wannabe Harley , but hey thats Ok, its a nice bike. What I really dig is the massive great truck horns it has fitted. Yes folks, one each side. You can see one of em directly above where the exhaust pipes come out. Groovy huh ?? Hey & these are pretty good pics from my little camera phone huh ?

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Cool Mailbox

I do like this mailbox. It epitomises the way I feel about bills & junkmail. The only think that worries me a touch is that stain on the door. I hope its only rust.... Or is it ?????

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Thanks for this little lot Hawkeye..

Contemplative sentences

1. SAVE THE WHALES. COLLECT THE WHOLE SET.

2. A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE IS LIKE, NIGHT.

3. ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT FINGERS.

4. I JUST GOT LOST IN THOUGHT. IT WASN'T FAMILIAR
TERRITORY.

5. 42.7 PERCENT OF ALL STATISTICS ARE MADE UP ON THE
SPOT.

6. 99 PERCENT OF LAWYERS GIVE THE REST A BAD NAME.

7. I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL
UNIVERSE.

8. HONK IF YOU LOVE PEACE AND QUIET.

9. REMEMBER, HALF THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW ARE BELOW
AVERAGE.

10. HE WHO LAUGHS LAST THINKS SLOWEST.

11. DEPRESSION IS MERELY ANGER WITHOUT ENTHUSIASM.

12. THE EARLY BIRD MAY GET THE WORM, BUT THE SECOND
MOUSE GETS THE CHEESE.

13. I DRIVE WAY TOO FAST TO WORRY ABOUT CHOLESTEROL.

14. SUPPORT BACTERIA. THEY'RE THE ONLY CULTURE SOME
PEOPLE HAVE.

15. MONDAY IS AN AWFUL WAY TO SPEND 1/7 OF YOUR WEEK.

16. A CLEAR CONSCIENCE IS USUALLY THE SIGN OF A BAD
MEMORY.

17. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, EXCEPT FROM VENDING MACHINES.

18. GET A NEW CAR FOR YOUR SPOUSE. IT'LL BE A GREAT
TRADE!

19. PLAN TO BE SPONTANEOUS TOMORROW.

20. ALWAYS TRY TO BE MODEST. AND BE PROUD OF IT!

21. IF YOU THINK NOBODY CARES, TRY MISSING A COUPLE OF
PAYMENTS.

22. HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE IN PSYCHO-KINESIS? RAISE MY
HAND.

23. OK, SO WHAT'S THE SPEED OF DARK?

24. HOW DO YOU TELL WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF INVISIBLE INK?

25. IF EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WELL, YOU HAVE
OBVIOUSLY OVERLOOKED SOMETHING.

26. WHEN EVERYTHING IS COMING YOUR WAY, YOU'RE IN THE
WRONG LANE.

27. HARD WORK PAYS OFF IN THE FUTURE. LAZINESS PAYS OFF
NOW.

28. EVERYONE HAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY. SOME JUST DO
NOT HAVE FILM.

29. IF BARBIE IS SO POPULAR, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BUY HER
FRIENDS?

30. HOW MUCH DEEPER WOULD THE OCEAN BE WITHOUT SPONGES?

31. EAGLES MAY SOAR, BUT WEASELS DO NOT GET SUCKED INTO
JET ENGINES.

32. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET SCARED HALF TO DEATH TWICE?

33. I USED TO HAVE AN OPEN MIND BUT MY BRAINS KEPT
FALLING OUT.

34. I COULDN'T REPAIR YOUR BRAKES, SO I MADE YOUR HORN
LOUDER.

35. WHY DO PSYCHICS HAVE TO ASK YOU FOR YOUR NAME?

36. INSIDE EVERY OLDER PERSON IS A YOUNGER PERSON
WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED?

37. JUST REMEMBER - IF THE WORLD DID NOT SUCK, WE WOULD
ALL FALL OFF.

38. LIGHT TRAVELS FASTER THAN SOUND, WHICH IS WHY SOME
PEOPLE APPEAR BRIGHT UNTIL YOU HEAR THEM SPEAK.

Most definitely food for thought in that lot I think..

Monday, September 25, 2006

Religious road signs

A dear friend of mine from Canada sent me this one. I think they must have different road rules there.. I think I like Canadian road rules........

Saturday, September 23, 2006

My rock garden

This is sorta a picture of the rock garden that I am building. Its a slow process, because I like to plant a bit & see how it goes before I do any more. I made the bridge & there is actually a pond with fish under it. Hopefully I will get better with taking pics with me new phone. The big challenge at the moment is sorting out the download via the dongle setup. But I'll get there ...

A good idea

Every once in a while, someone comes up with a really brilliant idea.. You know what I mean. Something like velcro, sliced bread, a station that streams back to back Goon Shows. Automatic transmissions for motor vehicles. Labour saving, energy efficient, planet redeeming save the world block busters. This is NOT one of them. This is plain & horribly wrong.. The poor little bastard looks horribly uncomfortable & would more than likely far prefer to be home dry humping mummy's favourite cushion instead of being bounced up & down on a bony hip like he must be. I must be getting old I think, but God forbid that airheads like this should ever get in to positions of power, let alone have any position of authority, like being in charge of my rest home when I get old & dribbly.. this is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG..

Friday, September 22, 2006

Alright Kathy , I surrender

You know what I mean .... Rant time.. For some months now, there has been a roadworks project to provide an extra passing lane on a very busy patch of highway.. the marker cones have been left in place & two road crews present all day doing nothing for some months now. I was moved one morning out of idle curiosity to stop & enquire why. Its like that because there are three low spots in the seal that the grader drivers told the engineers about, but nothing was done to remedy it , the seal laid & the median barrier erected. After three odd months, agreement has finally been reached for repairs & (One hopes) eventual opening. So when do they start the work ? Friday afternoon at the start of the school holidays...The mind boggles..

Skite time... I finally got my vouchers worth$150.00 for a new phone, so am off tomorrow morning to buy a new phone.. this is the one I am getting.. Its a Sharp GX17 & it has a camera, so I will be able to bore you all shitless with heaps of pics that dont mean a lot to anyone but me.. Seriously, I be gonna try & show you a little of my world thru a windscreen. All I gotta do now is go to the Dr Seuss Shop & hunt down a beast called a Blue Toothed Dongle that will help me download me pics.. More later

Sunday, September 17, 2006

The Goon Show

A dear friend sent me this link for streaming radio. It is soooo funny
GoonShowRadio

You can find anything on Google


God I love it.... Some folks have far too much time on their hands.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

I've been thinkin

Herself & I got to chatting in the spa pool as we do. The subject of political unrest & terrorism round the world came up. Herself has the wonderfully simplistic view that if we closed the national borders we could contain them all. It made me think.. Just how would we go about solving this problem we have. To solve a problem , you first have to find a cause. You dont have to go much further than religious fanatacism for that. Age old problem. Why is it worse now ? because weapons are so much more powerful. next step, who is the real criminal ? Not the activist who is only fighting for a cause he believes in. OK, if he didnt have AK47's & RPG's etc., he would still probably throw rocks, although I would rather be hit by a rock instead of a bullet.

To me, the real criminals are the arms manufacturers & dealers who supply to these people knowing full well what is going to happen to the gear. They quite simply work on greed. At least the terrorist is working for a faith, however misguided he may be. So the answer is easy. Set an embargo on the weapons & round up all the dealers.. That would be fine in a perfect world, but there are too many greedy people there to make it work.. John Lennon summed it up fairly well..


Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


Be nice wouldnt it ?

RIP Bob

A good friend & neighbour , quietly gone. He went at home surrounded by his family. May the seas always be calm, the wind mild, the boat sound, the beer cold, the bait fresh, the company good & the fish always big & ready to bite.. We'll miss you mate..

"Wrap me up in my oilskins & blankets,
No more on the docks I'll be seen
Just tell me auld shipmates
I'm taking a trip mates
& I'll see you some day on Fiddlers Green."

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Well that was fun.................. Not

Picture one weary old trucker finally finished hard day & a hard week. The little Nissan is all parked up for the weekend, paperwork is in the "in" basket & yours truly is just about ready to close the door & go home, like everyone else has. Out of the darkness, yes folks its THAT late, comes a lady, obviously distressed. Well , old Flattie, being the knight in shining armour that he is, cant resist a damsel in distress. Turns out this particular damsel has had a domestic disagreement of epic proportions with her squire & said squire has decided to end it all by flinging himself off the end of our wharf, which is just across the road from our depot. Oh yay !!!!!!!!!!!

So Flattie being the gennulman that he is, raced to the office & dialled the law. Now a lot has been said in a derogatory manner about response times for the police in this country. Before I had finished talking to the dispatcher, a unit was already in attendance. I dont have any problems with that. This woman was by this time babbling to the point of incoherency. I sat her down with a coffee & waited for the law to arrive. By this time, from the content of her talk I suspected something more than shock was motivating her. I was right.

When the constables came over to the depot, it turns out that the water must have been too cold for her fella, because he got out & buggered off. The pair of them are both very well known to the local law it seems. Well known enough that they were on first name basis. All this woman wanted to do was get to Auckland, to see her daughter who has a P habit. From her behaviour,I suspect the abuse of class A drugs may run in the family. Well, alls well that ends well I guess. The nice lady constable gave her some sound advice on how to get to Auckland in the safest manner & we all parted company. The law went on their lawful way, this lass went off , presumably to a dripping wet fellow somewhere along the line, & I went home to several cold beers, a loving wife & a big feed of mutton chops, cos she knows how much I like my chops

Thursday, September 07, 2006

We dont know how lucky we are

Old Fred sure got that one right. Hey we all have hassles & from our own personal perspectives, our own problems are always far more pressing than anyone elses. Every once in a while though reality rears its ugly head and shows us that in reality our own problems fade. One of the freight contracts the company I work for involves the distribution roughly once a month of a pallet of Solutions & associated hardware needed for those folk unfortunate enough to have disfunctional kidneys & needing dialysis. Over the years, I have gotten to know most of them & their stories. Some are very sad, like the young 21 year old currently waiting for a kidney transplant, to the guy who has no one but himself to blame because of a dissolute life style involving the consumption of large quantities of alcohol.

There is one couple , however, who occupy a very soft spot within my heart. They are comparatively elderly, in their 70's I believe, & just absolutely wonderful. Every time I delivered to them I was given either a lovely fresh scone or a piece of home grown fruit. They moved to the particular area they are in to avail themselves of a relaxed lifestyle & do a bit of fishing. Then it all turned to custard. She suffered renal failure & he developed progressive emphysemia. Still nothing was too much trouble. There is a small reserve next to their house & they managed to keep it looking tidy & well planted. When we delivered, he was always waiting at the front with his ride on mower with a small trailor to load the cartons on to to take as far as the back door. You dont mind doing a bit extra for people with heart like that.

Even though I am not permanently on that particular run any more, I have still kept my eye on the freight going through the depot looking for shipments heading their way. I haven't seen any in a while now. Today, as happens once in a while, I had occasion to do that run. Its Ed's run now, but as we need an extra truck for Auckland most evenings now, Ed does two nights a week on that & I do the other 2. I like to do Monday & Wednesday so that I can watch Dr Who. Anyway, today was Ed's day for Auckland, so I did the Waihi run. As there was a delivery down the road where my friends live, I decided to drop in to say gidday & catch up. I was extremely saddened to find out that they had separated & gone their own ways, with him on his own in the house & her resident in Hamilton. I could see the hurt in his eyes as he told me. I would have liked to gone inside with him & sat down for a cuppa & a yarn, but unfortunately I still had a fair bit of freight to kick off, So had to go.

I came home to a lovely meal & a loving wife. As I sat there , I reflected on how I would cope if, perish the thought, I ever happened to lose Herself for any reason. Not terribly well I would suspect.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

God I love this song...

Heard it on the way home from Auckland tonight.. I think you all know the catchy little tune


"Star Trekkin'"
by "The Firm" (not the popular group, another one)


Chorus:
Star Trekking, across the universe,
On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk.
Star Trekking, across the universe,
Boldly going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse.

Lt. Uhura, report!

Uhura:
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow,
starboard bow.
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow, Jim.

Analysis, Mr. Spock!

Spock:
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it,
not as we know it.
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it, Captain.

Uhura:
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow,
starboard bow.
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow, again.

Chorus:
Star Trekking, across the universe,
On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk.
Star Trekking, across the universe,
Boldly going forward, still can't find reverse.

Medical update, Doctor McCoy

McCoy:
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim.
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim, Dead.

Spock:
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it,
not as we know it.
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it, Captain.

Uhura:
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow,
starboard bow.
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow, Jim!

Starship Captain, James T. Kirk

Kirk:
Ha-ha! We come in peace, shoot to kill,
shoot to kill,
shoot to kill.
We come in peace, shoot to kill,
shoot to kill, men.

McCoy:
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim.
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim.
Dead, Jim, Dead.

Spock:
Well, it's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it,
not as we know it.
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it, Captain.

Uhura:
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow,
starboard bow.
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
scrape 'em off, Jim.

Chorus:
Star Trekking, across the universe,
On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk!
Star Trekking, across the universe,
Boldly going forward, and things are getting worse!

Engineer, Mister Scott

Scotty:
Ye canna change the laws of physics,
laws of physics,
laws of physics!
Ye canna change the laws of physics,
laws of physics, [yet|Jim]

Kirk:
Oh, we come in peace, shoot to kill,
shoot to kill,
shoot to kill!
We come in peace, shoot to kill,
Scotty, beam me up!

McCoy:
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim!
Dead, Jim!
Dead, Jim!
It's worse than that, he's dead, Jim!
Dead, Jim, Dead!

Spock:
Well, it's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it,
not as we know it.
It's life, Jim, but not as we know it,
not as we know it, Captain.

Uhura:
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow,
starboard bow.
There's Klingons on the starboard bow,
starboard bow, again!

Scotty: Ye canna change the script, Jim!

McCoy: It's worse than that, it's physics, Jim!

Kirk: Bridge to engine room, warp factor nine!

Scotty: Ach! If I give 'er any more she'll blow, Captain!

Scotty: Ye canna change the status of the (auxiliary) ax'l engine eh?!

<>

Na..na..na..na..na..na..na..na..na

Chorus:
Star Trekking, across the universe,
On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk!
Star Trekking, across the universe,
Boldly going forward, 'cause we can't find reverse!

Star Trekking, across the universe,
On the Starship Enterprise, under Captain Kirk!
Star Trekking, across the universe,
Boldly going forward, still can't find reverse!

We come in peace, shoot to kill.

Damn it is sooo good.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Happy Birfday to me...

Had a lovely day today. Brekky in bed care of herself, Wander round the market with a mussel fritter or two followed by coffee at Sola, phone call from Morty & the kids & a lovely suprise visit (mostly) from Richard, Sharon & the kids, so spent a lovely afternoon playing the mad Poppa. After they left, we found where they had conducted a funeral for 3 snails by carefully wrapping each one individually in tissues & interring them under Jude's Magnolia tree. Heard from Sean, which sorta made my day, then went out to the Golden Dragon for tea, all in all a very pleasant way.

Hopefully , I have another day of being spoilt rotten ahead of me tomorrow... Aaaah, the compensations of being a Fathers Day present...