I think I'm technophobic or summink

You see' I decided to singlehandedly drag myself kicking & screaming into the 21st century & shout myself an mp3 player. I mean how cool is that ? here's old Flattie, the King of Vinyl, (in the form of records, so lift ya dirty minds) movin on up. Its a neat little gizmo. I've managed to put 4 tracks that I have coaxed & wheedled out of frostwire onto it & can play them.. I also thought that I had downloaded my latest Bob Dylan album to it, but that would seem that I havent. Or at least nowhere in that little beast that I can find... I guess that I'll figure it out eventually. At least I havent got a yodelling cat which is summink I guess...

Not sayin it was cold today

But the term Brass monkeys does spring to mind. The first pic is the stone guard on my truck this morning. (I wasnt driving Ok ?) The second is the towing hook on the front bumper. Guess what the white stuff is?

We stopped at the Waihou Tavern today to collect a pallet full of crates of empty beer bottles. While there I had occasion to "Ease Springs" as it were . This sign was above the urinal in the Mens toilets. Its a shame its not in a few other more prominent places as well....

John Kay, you're an asshole...

Some time back, Radio Hauraki announced that John Kay & Steppenwolf would be touring New Zealand. I was mildly interested I must admit, but decided against investing in tickets for a number of reasons. The Auckland concert was going to be mid week & its a hassle organising time off. The main reason I decided not to eventually was that John Kay was the only original Steppenwolf member to be touring, the rest being what ever session Muso's he could round up at the time. I would have been more interested in going to Crosby Stills & Nash, but for some reason decided not to chase that one either. At least they had a legitimate reason to postpone their tour. Crosby was suffering complications induced by his recent kidney transplant. Thats a fair reason. John Kay didnt give a reason for opting out of his tour, at least that we know of. Nobody in NZ has been able to contact him or his management company to find out. Today, the news has come out that he is due to play a big gig in Canada round about the time he was supposed to be here. Dollars obviously speak louder than loyalty to fans.

Kiwi's unite ! Cash your tickets in. This tired egocentric hasbeen is more interested in money than keeping promises to fans.. John Kay, take your magic carpet & give it to the pusher. I'm certain that he will insert it far enough up your geriatric asshole to be really uncomfortable.. Meanwhile, I'm born to be wild..

What to write ?

well its been an eventful weekend. Yesterday, we went down to see Tish & uplift these..

Why did Tish have them ? Because we're too stingy to have our own credit card & because Tish is just an absolute wizz at getting really good tickets for concerts. Quite aside from that, its always good to have an excuse to go see Tish & the kids, Oh, & don't forget Nushie & Loopy. I have this private theory that Thomas is just a figment of Tish's fevered brain, because we never see him> Nushie however, considers herself a star of stage & screen

And you must admit that there is a certain rugged individual beauty there. Also to be visited are Tish's spawn of her loins. We are always assured of a dignified but enthusiastic hug & a welcome from Ads, & a wonderful smile & an unreserved hug from H.

Tish, as usual, had some more goodies to cram into my puter, so while she was doing that , H took me for a drive in the little Brmm. She is progressing nicely with her driving abilities & I should be off tranquillisers altogether sometime in the next week or so.

On the way home, we stopped of at the Forta Lisa (sp) restaurant for another very tasty meal. While there, we got to talking to a very nice young chap who, it turns out, is the head chef at the vector arena. Got some wonderful insights into up & coming events, but Herself assures me that if I do go to any more events after these two, it will be minus some very sensitive parts of my anatomy. Now you know that I like my music a lot but there are limits I can assure you.

Was cold last night. Tigs came in about midnight & made straight for her favorite spot in behind my knees under the blankets. She didn't budge until well after I got up. Managed to actually get my self imposed chores done today. All the tools back in their places out of the boat, & all the gear stowed back where its supposed to be in the boat. The fire got lit early, the dog got bathed, the groceries got got & the 3 leaking tap washers in the house got replaced with no major drama. I say this, because normally, something breaks or strips or I don't have the right gear or washers to do the job, but it all went well today.

At the moment I'm reading a couple of crap Clive Cusslers yarns. Very light weight. You always know what to expect with Cussler. The obligatory cameo appearance of himself in his book,(ego ego ego) & the good guys always win. Our local library has come up with a winning idea. They are now totally on line, so you can search their title base, renew & reserve books all online now. Only thing you cant do is read em online. You still have to get up off your arse & go get them. Well, thats about it from me. You'll hear from me if anything exciting happens.. Later

So I'm gonna be a Grand Dad

Not that I don't consider myself to be one already, Herself's daughter has two beautiful littleys, check em out for God sake.. Who couldn't be more than happy with a couple of cute little tackers like this ?

But my eldest son rang me at about 10.00PM last night. He rang me to tell me that his lovely wife is pregnant looking at February for the happy event. Tell me that there isn't anything special about the first born to continue the blood line.. Tell me all you want, but I wont believe you. I'm absolutely over the moon with joy. Have been floating on a cloud all day...

So, big deal

So herself & me have got good tickets to go see the man... So big deal... You'd think that i would be excited at the first chance I have had in my life to see someone that I have listened to & admired since I was 18. Someone that I have virtually all of his legit albums, most of his bootleg ones & a few that have never been released to the general public.. You would think that I had been babbling about it to everyone I met. You would also think that I would be eternally grateful to Tish, who gave of her time, effort & credit card limit, to get not only Dylan tickets, but also Steely Dan tickets.

Uhm well actually, excited doesnt really cover it.. Not sure just how good it feels, but it feels bloody marvellous at the least WOOOOHOOOOOOO.............DYLAN HERE WE COME.....................

FLASH !!!!!!!!!!! AAAH AAAHHHH

As you might have guessed, this is Flash. He lives at the tea rooms at the Te Aroha Domain, where the hot springs are. His exact position is extremely difficult to define, but I suspect that it lies somewhere between General Mangler & Quality Control Officer. His name imparts a certain irony, because the lovely ladies that Flash allows to care for him assure me that he aint no speed king.

He was quite difficult to get a picture of, because the moment the squatting position is assumed for the purposes of photography, Flash assumes that one is there to pay homage to his delightful self & so does his level best to smooge the camera lense.

His pedigree is about what you would expect. A wild stray from the delightful native bush that comes right to the rear of the tearooms, he was seduced by honeyed words & delectable food into adopting the good life, gladly (We surmise) paying the price of enduring deworming, defleaing & desexing. Not necessarily listed in order of importance or impact.

Anyway, if you happen to be anywhere near Te Aroha, check out the Hot Pools & particularly the Tea Rooms. You will be certain of a warm welcome at both places, specially if you mention at the tea rooms that you read about them in Flattie's blog