Last weekend there was a scrub fire near the beach between Otaki & Waikawa. The DomPost reported that the fire was 50 metres wide, and 1.5 km long. It ran along a natural gully just back from the beach. Not far from houses...
The smoke & flames were visible for miles & miles.
On our way back, we saw the first of two helicopters arrive with monsoon buckets. These photos were taken at dusk & I think they'd have been busy through much of the night.
On the positive side, there was a great sunset that night.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Scrub Fire
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
As seen on the Reuters feed...
Wooh! I've been sampled. Click through & let them know what you think of this blogger!
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Friday, April 18, 2008
The ugliest cat alive
It looks like a refugee from a Harry Potter movie.
Furless feline fit to be showstealer - Stuff.co.nz
It's called Sphincter or something.
No wait, it's called Angel, the breed is called Sphynx.
Friday, April 11, 2008
A balanced diet - Tui shout shows the way
6000 slices of bread, 4000 sausages, two tonnes of meat ... and three lettuces
Drought shout brings relief - Wairarapa Times-Age
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Grow your own potatoes
Kiwiblog » Blog Archive » The Public Health Bill
Get a bucket, any old bucket.
Drill 3 or 4 holes in the bottom.
Put a couple of inches of compost into the bucket.
Followed by 3 or 4 potatoes. They don't have to be seed potatoes - I do this regularly with jersey bennys bought from the supermarket.
Cover with compost, but not to the top of the bucket - just enough to cover the potatoes.
Sit in the sun somewhere & water every couple of days.
The potatoes will send up shoots & leaves. Every few days, add more compost around the shoots, until the bucket is full, by then it will be quite a lush looking plant.
Keep watering every few days.
When the leaves start to go brown, empty the bucket & you will find it full of fresh potatoes.
Plant one of these buckets every three weeks or so & you'll have home grown spuds all year round.
Cardiff City for the FA cup
In 1972 I would sometimes tag along with my uncle to Cardiff to see their football team play. And usually lose.
Cardiff City were near the bottom of the 2nd division in those days, Leeds United were the Manchester United of the day.
So I thought I'd misheard the radio when they reported Cardiff City are in this year's FA Cup Final. Amazing! I wonder if my uncle will go.
FA Cup success good for business in Welsh capital - icWales
Incontinence pants for toddlers!
I dunno, if I spotted anyone, child or adult, wearing these things I don't think I could get in the pool.
Might as well print "Stand back, I'm gonna take a dump!" on the front of them.
'Code Brown' causing a splash - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
For Sue
My sister Sue had a presence that belied her tiny size. And in the short time we’ve had with her, she’s given more than most people would in a 100 years.
She had an incandescent energy that nothing could suppress and she lived every moment to the full .
She had an inexhaustible capacity for love. Her generosity touched the lives of so many people from one end of the earth to the other.
Her heart was in her family. Her best friend and loving husband Murray; her two wonderful boys Rorie & Owain; the wider French & Llewellyn families; the Mitchem clan that she lived with for a few years in Wales; and the Prices in Avalon; her friends were her family and her family were her friends.
My little sister Sue was, at different times, my confidante, my counsellor, my advisor, my comforter, my friend and on occasion, my conscience - if that’s what she thought I needed. I was clearly her older brother, so she was always diplomatic and respectful, but she had no qualms about calling to suggest I consider a certain course of action. Just consider it, mind you.
I was proud of my little sister:
She was about family.
She was an organiser.
She was fiercely Welsh. A leek carrying, red dragon wearing, Max Boyce quoting, Welsh patriot. Sue gave me a Welsh flag one year for Christmas and berated me for not visiting a coalmine the last time I was in Wales.
She had a ready & infectious laugh.
She was a loving mother, enormously proud of her beloved boys. She told me about a recent assembly where Rorie & Owain both spoke. She was just bursting with pride.
She was a loving wife. And a loved wife.
She loved her mum and they enjoyed a close bond.
She was a Sci-fi geek. Sue & I regularly discussed the merits of various cult films, books & TV series over the years. Just recently, we caught Jason & the Argonauts on TV, and we both hooted with laughter.
She was not one to shy from challenges.
And she was just the bravest little sister in the world.
I’m going to miss her love, counsel, advice, respect, comfort and regular “To do” lists
Sue filled our lives with laughter, love & order. She’s left a huge hole in our hearts, but her passing has brought us all closer together.
To all of you – families and friends – we were so lucky to have had Sue in our lives. We’ll hold her in our hearts forever.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Man shoots wife dead installing satellite TV - Stuff.co.nz
The moral of the story is: Always keep your cordless drill charged & do not be tempted to make a hole with a firearm.
Aside from that, words fail me.
Man shoots wife dead installing satellite TV - Stuff.co.nz
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The very best exchange of the evening... #2
What is it about weddings that bring out the best (or worst) in people? We attended a fantastic wedding a few years ago in Whitianga, where I heard the funniest thing by means of an introduction to someone...
SunnyO: The very best exchange of the evening...
But this Easter weekend we attended a very different wedding celebration. It was outdoors in a lovely garden (around 5 hectares as best I can figure) that's been groomed for a special day.
I won't go into details because google will betray me, but it was what we happily referred to as a "bogun wedding". That was a reference to many of the guests, friends of the groom. And the fact that there were two baths filled with ice & beer & possibly 6 bottles of wine in all. I drank beer.
But onto the best exchange of the afternoon - Mrs Llew & I were chatting to a woman we know, who was there on her own & who was also bemoaning that she'd overdressed for the occasion - she was wearing a very nice cocktail dress & was standing next to a woman in her very best jeans & boots, just across from a guy in his very best denim shorts (I'm sure the others he had were far more ripped) and gumboots.
But that's by the by - we were standing there taking in the very pleasant ambience, when the groom approached with a man who resembled Brisco County Jr.
Groom: Tash, this is my mate Dave. He's single.
Tash went silent, but Mrs Llew reports she took her arm & dug her fingernails into it. Dave stood behind the groom grinning like a congenial moron. I really wanted to 1. Burst out laughing and 2. Suggest maybe they'd like some time alone together.
Tash: (Embarrassed) Hi Dave.
Groom: Well y'know, I just thought people could get happy, have a few drinks, have a good time... actually Tash, you probably wouldn't get on with Dave, he's an alcoholic.
Mrs Llew: My goodness, this gets better the more we get to know Dave.
Groom: No. It's true, all my mates are alcoholics.
Me: I think it's catching, I'm going to find another beer.
Tash tagged along looking for wine & avoiding Dave. She slipped away not too long after. Without Dave, we checked :)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
TradeMe Message Boards
Woohoo! What a discovery! I must promise never EVER to return, it may prove addictive.
Already I have learned that Scott Watson is innocent (it's that ketch - it DOES exist apparently, it's just that no-one looked for it. Except the people wqho did look for it & couldn't find it. But anyway...), that evolution is a crazy notion, and that some people are idiots, and have bred more idiots. Although the 2nd comment is just priceless.
TradeMe - New Zealand Online Auctions and Classifieds
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Stupid is.... etc
I'm not an experienced Trademe user... I've sold a wardrobe & a dog kennel & that's that. However, chance saw me spot something yesterday - old fashioned hand water pumps for sale - and I bid on a couple of those, hoping to score one of them anyway. And thus inspired I set off to replace the old trampoline that rusted away a few years ago.
And stupidly, I didn't reead the entry closely enough & it seems I have bid $50 on a round trampoline safety net. Not the trampoline itself.
Should I win, I guess I'll be in the market for a 10 foot diametre, round trampoline...
Pictures - Taken Just At The Right Time
Pictures - Taken Just At The Right Time | Bling! It Blog
hat tip to the Welliongtonista crew who sent this & other things through to cheer me up.
A dog is truly a man's best friend. If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.
Lock your dog and your wife in the boot of the car for an hour. When you open the boot, which one is really happy to see you?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Another old photo
Rememeber this guy? My grandfather.
SunnyO: More Tall tales & True from the Legendary Past
Family sources have sent me a new photo of him, with his sisters (possibly one is his aunt).
It may be my imagination, but he resembles my nephew.
This may be Edwardian, the house they're outside was, I think, where I used to visit my great grandfather Pop - pretty much right across the street from where my grandparents later lived & my dad & his brothers grew up.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Vi - short for Very Strange
Actually, it's short for Visual Editor. Yes, Vi. Which may suggest the person who named it was an ediot.
But by golly, vi is the strangest & least user friendly text editor I have ever encountered. It's one for anyone who has been frustrated by Microsoft Word... it is Mars, to Word's Earth.
Pray you never have to use it.
UNIX: vi Editor
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Much as I deplore Macca stories
Lord McCartney of the Mull of Kintyre makes a good point about the theme song to the new Bond film - WTF rhymes with "solace"?
Beatle seeks Winehouse for Bond film - Stuff.co.nz
Chuck Norris was at my place last night
How timely, I was only yesterday remarking to someone sitting across the dinner table from me:
"Why does your rowing t-shirt say "Chuck Norris beat Rob AND Mahe, and he was paddling with tea spoons while riding a sunken log.... oh. I see. It's a joke!"
The reply was inevitable.
"Do you know who Chuck Norris is?"
Chuck Norris the only WMD in Iraq, say US troops - Stuff.co.nz
Friday, March 07, 2008
The 'O' song
Don't ask me why, but this song goes through my head now & then. I probably haven't actually heard it for more than 30 years though. There are more lyrics than I remember. And different too :)
YouTube - Sesame Street - The 'O' song
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Unstable star threatens Earth.
Phew! I was getting worried about Peter Urlich on Dancing with the Stars. But now I feel better.
Unstable star threatens Earth, says astronomer - Stuff.co.nz
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
An emotional reunion between Dad and his Girl - Wairarapa Times-Age
Update on Ken Simmons & his old cow. Been quite a year for them both.
An emotional reunion between Dad and his Girl - Wairarapa Times-Age - 2008-02-11 05:00:00.0 - localnews
Monday, March 03, 2008
Another sad animal story
But kind of nice too.
Pumpkingirl's horses
Hat tip to Pumpkingirl at Lifestyleblock.co.nz
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wellington
This was part of a series of posts for the Wellingtonista.
SunnyO: Stand the hell back, I'm gonna post it!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
'That could turn a gay man straight!'
Did you catch the first episode of this year's Hayley Holt Show? I did. And appropriately enough, I have nothing intelligent to say about it.
But giving Hayley a good run in the hot blonde dancer stakes is Nerida Jantti (I don't get this - she used to be Nerida Lister, then shacked up & bred with Shane Cortese... so now somehow she's Nerida Jantti?). Have you noticed her pointy ears? She's got this whole elf thing (if elves dressed like strippers) going on. I like it.
As for the Slebs themselves... here's where google becomes my enemy... how come Geeling Ng looks so old?
And as Jane Bowron pointed out in a piece I can't find online, now the dancers are more famous than the Slebs.
Anyway... no politicians this year. Pity. And somehow they made Miriama Smith look like a front row forward wearing a cocktail dress. How do they do that?
'That could turn a gay man straight!' | DANCING WITH THE STARS | TV ONE | tvnz.co.nz
Ironically named "Lifestyle Village" proposed near SunnyO
SunnyO is in a zone designated "Rural". However, it is quite near to residential land & State Highway 1.
A local developer has applied for consent to take 3.6 hectares of Otaki Maori Racing Club land & turn it into 56 "lifetyle" units (plus one manager's residence), to be sold to people over 50 years old (i'm not quite sure about the reasoning for this).
3.6 Ha & 57 units? Do the math. Nice "lifestyle".
The developer, Mr R Ker, and his surveyor, Mark Edgar of Cuttriss Consultants insist that the land is residential (smoke & mirrors - it is zoned Rural & in any case, their proposal flouts residential rules!) & they believe they should be able to inflict 57 ticky tacky units on a shoebox of land, in a rural cul de sac which currently serves olive plantations, a racecourse, a stud farm & SunnyO.
Radio New Zealand National - Checkpoint
Mr Ker can be heard in the clip above insisting that local residents (such as me) are over reacting or some such, given (repeat the lie often enough...) the land is residential.
Mr Ker, it is not, and you know it, and locals do not want high density residential developments on the front doorstep of what is clearly, a country lane.
Cripes, we're not even on town water! No-one in the street is. And I don't fancy the run off from 56 ticky tacky units (and one manager's residence) polluting my drinking water!
The Kapiti Coast District Council began promisingly enough, by criticising the proposal for attempting to set a precedent of annexing productive arable rural land for dreadful subdivisions. But they seem to be backing down, implying tacit approval for the project should certtain information be supplied.
It should be turned down flat. The land will probably be needed for growing biofuel in a few years. Or food.
But anyway, as Peter Campbell said (neighbour & first person interviewed on checkpoint) in his submission, this proposal fails to meet any of the rules governing rural land use (and most rules governing residential land use), why are we wasting our time with it?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
SunnyO: October 02
I'm going to post this one too, purely because it explains the mixed tense throughout these posts (lazy editing).
SunnyO: October 02
Sunny O Begins
Bit busy at the moment with various bits & pieces, so let's take a trip down memory lane & repost some notable SunnyO moments from the past!
Starting with my second post ever (the first wasn't very consequential).
How things have changed...
SunnyO: Project Sunny O
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Great Mysteries of Our Time #69
Why is Tony's Tyre Service fronted by a guy called Steve?
Wheel Alignment New Zealand, Mag Wheels New Zealand : About Us
Monday, February 18, 2008
Mislaid the camera...
Which is by way of an apology for no photos to post.
We were within a few minutes of seeing the twister that came from Kapiti Island to Raumati, even crossing State Highway 1!! We wondered what was causing the hold up.
And man, if we'd seen it I'd have been mightily miffed that I've mislaid the camera.
In other news, we also missed the tragic mid air collison between a chopper & a light plane. It all happened on K Coast this weekend.
I spent the weekend mowing & digging. As is my lot it seems sometimes. The orchard got mowed & sprayed for weeds - that took half a day! Nuts are already beginning to drop from some of the trees, harvest isn't until July at the earliest.
I also dug up two olive trees that had been planted in a bad spot & replaced them with two weeping pears. Mrs Llew turned the ground underneath these trees from patchy lawn to lily beds, bordered with boxed hedge. (Less to mow :)
I've also been watching a large branch that started to fall from a very tall tree (sounded like machine gun fire) & now hangs over the sleepout & compost bins. One day soon I believe I will find about 2 years worth of firewood sitting on or near the compost. It's a bit high up to think about helping it along.
And I tested my new, improved orchard hook. It looks like a bought one. Except I don't believe anyone makes them to sell. Basically, it's a telescopic pole which extends from 2.5 to 5 metres. I got the telescoping pipes from Ulrich Aluminium, and drilled holes at intervals so that I can insert a pin to hold it in place. I drilled far too many holes at first until I decided it only needs to extend to 2 or three lengths, not dozens of lengths at several centimetres' intervals. So I wound duct tape around my extra holes & it looks like a purpose made handle!
I'd have taken a photo.
And the chestnut & apple trees, including those of the crab variety are groaning under the weight of fruit - I don't think I've ever seen such big chestnuts & they're nowhere near ripe yet. (And as I noted to Mrs Llew yesterday, the chestnut tree itself is a young 'un at 10 metres tall... we can expect it to at least triple in size as the years pass. (then I'll need a 30 metre telescoping orchard hook).
But most impressive of all was the small punnet of home grown strawberries we ate on Saturday. Best of the season. And... I snipped heaps of runners off them & planted them out (some had taken root all by themselves & I just snipped their lifelines). Lots & lots of new, free strawberry plants.
Friday, February 08, 2008
What's newsworthy about this?
Precious Porsche bent out of shape - Stuff.co.nz
How many similar accidents take place every day? Is it just because this is a porsche & we can have a chortle at the hapless "rich pricks" who might own & drive one?
OK, a couple of years ago some guy took a porsche for a spin & drove it over some rocks into the sea near Shelly Bay - that WAS amusing, because the driver wasn't the owner of the car & somehow, (don't ask me why) that made it funny.
But I dunno about this one, go see a porsche with a dent in the front wing, ha ha!! No, that doesn't really do it for me.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Summer snaps
These were taken at the Annual Waikawa Beach Boat Day. It's a lovely (if somewhat god foresaken in parts) spot. Each year, since time began (at least my mid 30 something nephew remembers taking part in this more than 25 years ago), the residents of the sleepy little beach community at Waikawa gather at the river mouth & hold a series of races. Very serious some of them are too. Must have been a couple of thousand people there, a PA system set up for the race officials, a sausage sizzle, and hundreds of picnickers. It was good fun.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Mexican in talks to direct new Hobbit films
I have no problem with this - but two films? I can't see why the source material requires two films, beyond making punters pay twice to see the whole story. Particularly if they're both 3+ hours long.
Mexican in talks to direct new Hobbit films - Stuff.co.nz
Monday, January 28, 2008
Natural selection
I was walking along the beach the other day, as you do, when ahead I noticed 5 adults, one with a toddler on his shoulders, watching a young boy performing donuts on a small quad bike.
"Retards", was my first uncharitable thought, only that morning I'd been reading an article in the DomPost about quad & motor bike accidents on the beach.
Next time I looked over at them, the adults were all running over the sand towards the toppled quad bike which was now on top of the young boy.
He was alright though, they picked him up, and the bike, stuck him back on & urged him, with some taunting because he wasn't keen anymore, to get back out there making donuts!
Beach speed limit 'ridiculous' - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz
Friday, January 25, 2008
SunnyO: Spread the word, we've found Olive
RESULT!
Last October I reported that a neighbour's 7 year old black labrador was apparently stolen from outside his house.
Well early this week I saw him out walking her in the morning. Seems a few days before Christmas he got a phone call from the Lower Hutt dog control people to say they'd found a black lab matching Olive's description wandering the streets of Taita (Olive hails from Central Wellington).
It was her, about 10 kg heavier, but unmistakably her.
SunnyO: Spread the word, we're looking for Olive
Unfortunately, I'm told that there are notices up in shops for another black lab missing from the area.
Maybe they should take a drive around Taita this weekend.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Oops
I resisted the urge to send this little story to Sideswipe, complete with names... and I describe the sorry tale with names & places changed to protect the innocent & the stupid. And me, since I might get sprung on this.
Friends up North, are about to head to Europe for a few years' secondment. One of them is already there, his family are still in NZ making last minute preparations to join him soon.
The one in Europe, he has a company car here, which he was due to pass on to his successor at the beginning of this week.
In the weekend, his father offered to take the children, including a 15 year old with a learner's license to the beach.
After they'd left, the wife had a thought, and rang the father in law:
"Whatever you do, don't let the fifteen year old persuade you that she can drive tha car home. It will have been a long day & she'll be tired."
A short while later, she called him again, realising that her daughter was argumentative & persuasive, to reiterate the point.
Later, she did so again.
Late in the afternoon, she got a call from a relative to tell her that she had the kids, and the grandfather at her place & they had been in some sort of accident.
Yes.
15 year old learner driver, had persuaded her grandfather that she was competent to drive her dad's company car home.
Somewhere on the Auckland motorway, she changed lanes, without looking.
You can fill in the rest. No one hurt fortunately, aside from a few bruised egos & two mangled cars. At least one outraged mother's temper lost in the aftermath.
I confess I have been told off for finding this hugely amusing.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I am scared
Not as scared as she is. Nor her sons & husband. Nor our mum. This is not the first time we've had to face the thought of losing her.
And it twists my gut that I cannot tell her it will be alright. Because I don't know. And I am scared,
Crohns is a vile disease, which will cause you to starve to death unless treated. Sadly, the treatments are barely less life threatening than the disease itself.
I am scared.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Have a Happy Festive Occasion!*
Light blogging for a month or so, while I swan around my orchard getting bronzed** & toned***
* Non denominational season's greetings.
** & *** Festive code for pissed & fat.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Armoured Bears
Since I read & loved the Hotel New Hampshire, I've often said that everyone needs a bear... I guess if underneath the hair & stuff they looked like Nastassja Kinski, it'd be a bonus.
The movie version of Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights (filmed as The Golden Compass) is getting mixed reviews. But I'm keen to see how Iorek Byrneson is portrayed.
Because really, if you have to travel a dangerous wilderness, what better and safer company than a talking, armoured polar bear.
Rock on.
Update: "If I were you... I'd hire myself an aeronaut & an armoured bear."
Trailers here. The "teaser" one is best.
"I have a contract with the child!"
The film isn't doing so crash hot at the box office, Berardinelli reckons sequels aren't on the cards. Pity. It looks quite good.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ancestry
My mum sent me some old photos of her family, that someone sent on to her. Remember I mentioned my mum's grandparents a while back? They lived up the mountain & they'd take the donkey a few hours up into the hills & get water from a spring?
Well here they all are:
These are my great grandparents on my mum's side, they're her mother's parents.
And this is them with their family - I believe I would have known some of these when they were very old. In fact, I think I visited the youngest sister when I was last in Wales, she was a spry ninety something. One of the reasons they lived up out of the polluted valley, was because she had TB as a child.
The hottie 4th from the left at the back is my grandmother :)
Now we're getting obscure - this might be the kids from above a little older - I daresay an email will swing my way soon with loads more details.... My grandmother is not in this photo however.
This is Great grandfather Levi on the left.
And here he is with his faithful donkey, Jinny, whose bones were unearthed on the mountainside not that long ago. Some animals, especially I guess, beasts of burden, live hard lives. I bet though, with that many kids at hand it had some good times too.
Notice the early Nike 'swoosh" on his pants? We're filing retrospective trademark suits as we speak.
And one more - purely because these dresses are remarkable.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Rainy Day
In an effort to make this visitor from the Hawkes Bay's day, someone clever photoshopped him into this picture of American actor Giovanni Ribisi kicking back at the Mighty Mighty last week. Damian was only recently saying that there should be more celebs in Wellington.
Meanwhile, off topic completely, this year's nut harvest at SunnyO is all over. Bar the drying. We stripped 6 trees (and have a slight suspicion there should have been another one ready to go somewhere), and harvested less than 20kg! This is a lot less than I expected, but they are biennial & this is the light year. That makes around 70 kg for the year.
I expect 5 times that next year.
And we rejoiced! For yesterday afternoon it rained for the first time in ages! And it rained all night! Our massive rainwater tank was half empty & I was slightly worried. Within two hours of rain falling theough, the tank was full again, as was every plastic bin & bucket I could lay my hands on.
It's gonna be a long hot & dry one folks. But we're ready.
I should have known it was going to rain, because I organised it by spending the day prior installing a simple irrigation hose in the berry house - of course it always rains when irrigation gets installed. At least we have the water to run through it.
In beast news... there was a rat in our barbecue when I uncovered it. Not on the cooking surfaces, down in the guts of the thing. And later, while I was watching buckets fill with rain, a rat darted past me & up one of the phoenix palms. Just where is our large predator when we need her?
I seeded the place with rat bait. That'll learn him.
Reconsidering getting a big air gun too.
Oh - and here's the real photo with Hadyn.
Friday, December 07, 2007
2nd Annual Wellingtonista Awards
Fantastic night - I think I may have met Bret McKenzie. Should my memory of the night return, I'll tell you all about it.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
I spent a lot of the weekend mowing lawns
Well... some of it anyway. Spent Saturday night drinking, eating & making merry with friends. We were supposed to be greeting the 15 year old at around 7pm when she was to be dropped off from her Wanganui rowing regatta earlier in the day. We got a text at 6.30 saying they were just leaving...
No-one was keen to stay sober to go pick her up from the drop off point, so at around 10pm, 6 middle aged drunks & a labrador staggered 600 metres down the road & around the corner.
Mission accomplished.
For the next two days I struggled to get the mower to start twice in a row without having to recharge the battery. I got the lawns done, and the orchard, in the end.
While doing the orchard, something interesting happened. A large rat sauntered through the grass. I charged it, it moved away (the mower isn't very fast). I screamed at it! And wondered where my faithful hunting hound was.
Then the hound turned up - Mrs Llew had heard me scream & came over in case I'd just mowed my leg off or something. The brave dog knew a rat had been there, but she ignored Mrs Llew's shouts to "Look this way" at the calmly retreating rat carrying a big macadamia nut.
Finally, when the rodent was nearly through the fence into a neighbouring paddock, Wilma spotted it. Man she moved fast. But too late. Too late.
I might get have to get a gun after all. I can ride shotgun on the mower.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Photos from November
That little white spot between the coast & Kapiti isn't a speck of dust! It's a whale!!
Meanwhile, here are some unposed pics of part of the garden. These were taken last week & if anything, the laburnum is even more impressive. But I couldn't be bothered taking more pics...
Chestnut tree in flower
And... the pumphouse, with an old bedhead secured to the wall.
It was the snowball
How do I delete my Facebook entry? I pretty much turned off all notifications, the snowball was the last straw - not that it was a problem or anything, I suddenly wondered "Why?"
So I turned all notifications off, severely limited what would appear on my page, then I came across "deactivate".
However, anyone know how to delete me from it completely? It says my account is deactivated, but will reactivate if I ever log in again. Hmm.
Complete. Waste. Of. Time.
And I should know, I'm gifted in this respect.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Touting Dumbarses
"Hi there, have you heard of Barnardos?"
"Yes"
********************************************
"Hi there, let me SHAKE your hand...... ...or not."
********************************************
"Excuse me sir, are you busy?"
"Yes"
********************************************
"What do you know about the Red Cross?"
"Lots"
********************************************
"Sir, can I ask you..."
"No."
"Don't you want to save the world?"
"WTF? NO!"
********************************************
"No"
Website ranks stupid holiday gifts
Hee hee... I reckon the Hillary Clinton nutcracker looks more like Ellen Degeneres
Website ranks stupid holiday gifts - Stuff.co.nz
Court decision could shut out Team NZ
That's what I love about yachting, it's all about the captain, the crew, and who's got the best & fastest boat. A sport of kings.
Court decision could shut out Team NZ - Stuff.co.nz
Yeah right.
More on the tree that did it.
This accident happened in Gore's Main Street (which hang on a mo' I'm guessing is Gore's main street), but it somewhat reminds me of visits I used to make to the deep south, a long, long time ago.
I was working for the coal mines at the time, my duties sometimes saw me winging to obscure provincial airports & then either being picked up by someone, or renting a car & heading into REALLY obscure parts of the country. Like Huntly, Westport, Greymouth and Ohai.
You've probably heard of all of those places except Ohai. Ohai's a tiny town about 50k north of Invercargill. There's nothing there but a pub & 5 or 6 coal mines. Or that was the case in the 1980s anyway. Back then there was a population of about 400. Goodness knows what it is now, but I recall that they were selling houses in nearby Nightcaps for $10 a few years ago.
What reminds me of these racers though, is a trip I took in a rickety old landrover driven by one of the locals, between Invercargill & Ohai. Once you're in the countryside, the route pretty much takes the form of long, long straight roads for miles, abruptly terminated by T intersections. As you approach each intersection, you cannot help but notice that directly in front of you across the road, is a massive tree.
The driver told me that loads of kids head for the big smoke each Friday, liquor up, and then drive at speed back into the sticks.
Every one of those trees and intersections, he told me, was responsible at some stage, for at least one high speed fatal collision - in the dark, it's easy to forget that a right angle turn & a big tree are looming up at 150km/h
I was wondering last night, as I did at the time, why they didn't remove the trees so that idiots would crash through the fences & maybe survive.
But then I figured they probably put the trees there to protect the fences.
Tree cops it for road death - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Cheney found to have irregular heartbeat
Doctors amazed he even had a heart.
Cheney found to have irregular heartbeat - Stuff.co.nz
The tree did it. Apparently.
Maybe they could've got a bit more airborne & flown over it?
Tree cops it for road death - Stuff.co.nz
Friday, November 23, 2007
New Zealand Photo Library - Houses
The things you find on the web. No. 8 is the house at SunnyO. Taken quite some time ago by the looks.
New Zealand Photo Library - Houses Page One
Voting now open in the Awas!
I'm so over old cows now. That was so 5 minutes ago.
Well mostly. I did find myself soaring over Carterton on Google Earth at one stage :)
But onto business - the voting has opened in the Second Annual Wellingtonista Awards - I probably should be putting all sorts of banners & badges on this site somewhere.. um... but I haven't read the instructions.
So click on the link below & get along & vote in the 20 catagories that make up the Second Annual Wellingtonista Awards! There is even a ceremony night! With celebrities & stuff. But it's oversubscribed aqlready, so maybe I needn't have mentioned it. Sorry.
Voting now open in the Awas! | the wellingtonista
In other news, I have some photos to post up at some stage, photos of the garden mostly - like our Laburnum March, which we're told is one of only two in the country, the other being at Larnach Castle. Anyway, it looks amazing, with long yellow flowers hanging from the the canopy that's grown over a long, what do you call it, pergola? , and photos of the sea, with whales underneath, not that you'd notice though.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Man, I'm a Sook
Still affected somehow by Ken Simmons & his cow. I think maybe what gets me is the cow clearly loves & cares for Ken as much as vice versa. Anyway, I sent them a treat for Christmas.
Meanwhile, in other cute animal news, we saw whales playing between Otaki Beach & Kapiti on Saturday. I'd have taken a picture, but when they were most visible & for longest I was under the misapperehension that they were a boat speeding away from us.
Not until we came across 20 or so people gazing out over the sea, did I discover my error. We did see them again after that, several times, but too quick for the slow old reflexes of my camera.
Monday, November 19, 2007
The old man and the cow - The Dominion Post
This story in the Weekend Post profoundly moves me. Basically, there's this 85 year old guy in the Wairarapa, who every day, leaves his retirement village & cycles 3 km to spend the day with his 38 year old cow.
Yes, 38 years old. He's basically keeping the old girl alive with the food he brings, because she's fairly toothless, and she produces milk (years after bearing her last calf) which he uses for custard & scones, it makes her feel she's doing something for him, he says. They spend the day walking the lanes, she grazing the berm, until in the afternoon she lets him know it's time to go home. He drops her off at a quarter acre section he owns for her & then returns to the retirement village where he entertains himself watching the documentary channel.
She's the last of a herd he owned decades ago, he sold all but two when he retired, the other died some 5 years ago.
I must be an old softie, this story chokes me up. Here are pictures with sound.
The old man and the cow - The Dominion Post
And here is a a slightly more comprehensive text version.
Coincidentally, my Mum visited in the weekend & told me a story vaguely reminiscent of this old guy & his cow - when she was a child, in the 1940s I guess, she & her family would climb the Welsh "mountain" above her valley, and visit her grandparents who lived miles up into the hills. Her grandparents had a donkey & they would take it and walk further up the mountain to an ancient quarry, where there was to be found a well-spring. The donkey would carry the water back.
Maybe 10 years ago, my mum was back in that village, and she mentioned to family there that the distant hillside looked different.
It transpires that they had filled in the old quarry, because the water feeding the spring posed a potential danger to the village below. Further, mum's informant happened to be one of the surveyors who worked on the quarry project. He told mum that they had found caves containing Roman tools & implements, so the quarry may well be REALLY ancient. But most interestingly of all, they came across the bones of the old donkey. I have no idea when it would have died, probably before I was born though.
These animals can be remembered for a long time.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Health concerns over BBQ fuel - What's wrong with this picture?
Health concerns over BBQ fuel - Stuff.co.nz
Actually, I don't care what's in the briquettes, what's wrong with this story is this:
Mr Curran complained to Solid Energy Ltd, which imports the briquettes from China.
WTF are we doing importing briquettes anyway? The South Island is made of coal & we can't sell it all because no-one, other than China, is really burning it.
So why aren't we making our own briquettes?
UPDATE
OK, so I consulted this energy engineer I've heard of, and he basically tells me (very nicely) that I may* be talking through my arse.
Briquettes usually aren't made of coal.
* He wasn't going to commit.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sling Blade
Y'all seen Slingblade? If you haven't rush out now & rent it, it's great.
It's funny, last week I saw two movies with Billy Bob Thornton, one was an obscure film called U Turn, which has a most impressive cast - Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, John Voight, Nick Nolte, and of course Thornton, but is somewhat unsatisfactory. The other was Slingblade, which I have just remembered earned Thornton an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (from his own play), and an Oscar Nomination for Best Actor (Geoffrey Rush won for Shine, bad luck that there werer two "mentally challenged" movies that year). Thornton directed Slingblade too.
Arguably, Thornton was robbed of the Best Actor gong, because his outing here is a tour de force. He plays Karl Childers, a simple man recently released from a hospital for the criminally insane (he axed his mother & her lover to death when he was 12), who makes his way to his old home town & befriends a young boy & his family.
Thornton is pretty much unrecognisable in the role, he's pretty much played Billy Bob Rogue in every movie since & possibly before, but for this one, he is Karl Childers, a man haunted by his past (not just the murders, but also having had to bury his prematurely born, and deformed younger brother alive, when he was around 6 years old.)
He talks in a funny voice, appending a thoughtful "Uh huh" to every sentence. Except for one marvelous moment, when the boy reminds Karl that the bible says it's wrong to kill people, and somehow, Thornton wrings a mighty Mississippi of regret & resignation from the "Uh huh" that ensues. Just magic.
No idea why I'd never seen it before, but I'm real glad I have now. We have debated at home, whether the ending was positive or not - I think there's a case to be made that it is.
There are plot spoilers in the wikipedia entry below.
Sling Blade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monday, November 12, 2007
3 Phase Power
There are many things in life with which I am unfamiliar - tripe, P, understanding Demi Moore's career success, to name just a few - and in the normal course of things, this is not a problem.
This weekend though, I briefly rued not having any idea what the deal is with 3 phase power.
This is because one of those phases stopped working.
And I still have no idea what that is about.
But anyway, when we bought our place, the vendor showed me a fusebox - one of half a dozen fuse boxes we have around the property, and proudly said "we have 3 phase power!"
I nodded my appreciation, and then filed the information away for future.
This weekend, we pretty much had everything going on - TV showing the netball world cup, spa pool heating up, oven on making pizza, dishwasher on cleaning plates in time for pizza, washing machine, clothes dryer...
And then it went all quiet & serene.
And the TV, oven, dishwasher, half a dozen hot points through the house, spa room & more, had all stopped working.
I checked all the fuses, - except for these half dozen, very scary looking 3 phase fuses - and they were all fine!
So I called our electician & left a message - I ran over the problem & asked him if he was able to check these big mothers & said to give me a call - it wasn't urgent because only some things were broken, and we could run extension cords where necessary.
A few hours later, someone noticed that everything was working again...
The next day, the electrician visited, because I'd forgotten to tell him it all came back to life, but he told me that it may well have been a problem outside of our property affecting only one of the phases.
I nodded my appreciation at this news, and would have asked for some sort of explanation, but he was in a hurry.
So. In 25 words or less, WTF is 3 phase power? And how can we lose power to some of the property, but not all?
Friday, November 09, 2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Crowd attacks North Shore police with fireworks - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
All hail the North Harbour youths who put in a last minute effort to demonstrate that they're not too stupid to be entrusted with small explosives.
Should a ban ensue, I suggest you blame arses like these, not the so called "nanny state".
Crowd attacks North Shore police with fireworks - Stuff.co.nz
Still waiting for Mr Plumber
Been two weeks now since I called them. I talked to the actual plumber first. He told me to call his office. I talked to the call centre that takes the calls & left a message.
Later that day I called back & actually spoke to the office. That's when we made the time for Mr Plumber to call.
Then I called back on the day when he hadn't turned up.
That's the last I've heard from them. Although I left another message with the call centre on Monday. It's now Thursday.
Oh, and I also emailed them on Monday - you can see their email form here - go for your life, I don't think they go anywhere - certainly no one ever replies.
MR PLUMBER
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Waiting for Mr Plumber
As part of a comtinuing series of whinges, here's my latest adventure in tedium waiting for that salt of the earth, the great New Zealand tradesman.
A few weeks ago I noticed that whenever someone is having a shower, or the washing machine is running, the toilets "bubble".
A quick shifty around with google told me that this is a problem in waiting, either a partial blockage of the sewer pipe, or a partial blockage of the vent.
I have a list of tradesman who have worked on our place over the past few years & I resolved to call the local Mr Plumber.
But before that, by coincidence, a friend & her fiance arrived to visit. He's a plumber. And so we consulted the garden plans & began digging for the sewer inspection pipe.
Eventually I found it. And the plumber guy started to help clear the pit I had dug, and he cleared right through an electric cable feeding the pumphouse (hint: No water at that point).
Anyway, he patched that up & I resolved to call an electrician - which is interesting in itself, I rang a company we shall call Peace Electical & told them I had a live & naked cable running half a metre deep under the lawn. They told me that was illegal & asked if the pumphouse had a switchboard. I said "yes". They said it was probably dodgy as the cowboys who installed it must have been cowbaoys because they left a naked cable under the lawn.
Later, I chortled as I read the "Installed by Peace Electrical" sticker on the switchboard.
But back to the plumber. The guy with me was showing all signs of being stoned - overt signs like rolling up a joint for a "top up", so I decided to forgo his services & expertise & ring Mr Plumber. Who probably installed all the plumbing.
He said he'd be there Friday.
I had many things to do Friday, including source a new axle for the mower & replace it. I made sure I was at SunnyO in heaps of time for our appointment at 1.30pm.
At 2.30pm I rang & enquired as to his whereabouts. The person in the office told me he was awash with emergencies & they'd call me soon to confirm the time.
That was last Friday. Today is Tuesday. I am still waiting.
In fact I've left a message & sent them an email.
And so it goes.
Meanwhile, a mate who is an electrican has come & fixed the naked cable situation.
MR PLUMBER - probably fantastic - if they turn up.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Viewing this site could cause heart disease.
Heart Attack Grill
How about that Quadruple Bypass then?
Then there's the staff... who will wheel you out to the Cardiac Unit next door.
Hat tip to Mark in a comments field at Mrs Smith's
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Return policy
Conversation at Sounds CD Store, Lambton Quay.
"Hi there, can I exchange this Talking Heads Greatest Hits CD please? Someone bought it about 5 minutes ago & what we really wanted was Stop Making Sense. But you don't have that, so can I exchange it for this Bob Dylan CD?
"Certainly. I'll just get you to fill in this return form."
"Sure. Which bits?"
"The bits I haven't filled in"
"You want my name, address & phone number? Isn't that like, an invasion of privacy?"
"It's our Head Office's policy."
"Why do you want it? Here's the receipt from 5 minutes ago - proof of purchase - are you planning to contact me or something?"
"No, no. It's just that our HO insist on these details."
"Why?"
"Because the CD you returned is no longer sealed. And you may have removed the seal & copied it"
"But you removed the seal before you sold it, and you sold it like, 5 minutes ago, can they be copied that fast? - I watched you just unseal that Dylan CD too."
"It's just the policy - no name & address, no exchange"
"Poo - OK. Rumpelstiltskin, Not That It IS Any Of Your Business - Wellington."
"And phone number?"
"pffft. Thanks so much. Insincere apologies for being grumpy."
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Spread the word, we're looking for Olive
Her owner & his friends would love to get her back. Click through the link for photos & details.
Pets on the Net, NZ's nationwide database for lost and found pets + pets for adoption
It's Begun
The CD STore was blasting Spice Up Your Life onto Lambton Quay.
It's begun. But are we ready?
Spice Girls to perform nude on tour - Stuff.co.nz
Also - I predict the lights will be off. 'Cos I can't see them inflicting a naked Posh on the fans.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Oh Calamity!
Where has the Barbeque Factory gone? I have a date with a new barbecue for summer & nowhere to buy it!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Best Roast Lamb EVA!
Been a while since we had a recipe. So here's one that is a corker - we've been living off this in the weekends for months - we'll have all ways, with salad, with nothing much but avocado, and with spuds & veges. You can't lose.
You need:
Leg of Lamb
Dozen or so anchovies
A whole bulb of garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
Big handful of rosemary
Half a cup of capers
Salt/Pepper
One & a half cups of breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Pretty much quantities to taste.
Chop the anchovies, mix with rosemary leaves, capers, breadcrumbs, garlic, oil & seasoning. Slice the lamb right around, at about 1cm intervals, right down to the bone. Stuff the gaps with the anchovy & breadcrumb mix.
Roast at 250 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. Turn down to 190 degrees for another 60-75 minutes.
Rest for 5, then carve across the bone so as to get chunky fingers of meat & stuffing.
Enjoy.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Conversations with Dog
"mmmmmmmmm... wuff"
"No."
"Snort"
................................................
"Come here Wilma!"
"....."
"C'mere Wilma!"
"....."
"Come. Here."
"....."
.................................................
"Nyeeeryammmngugungnnnnnyea"
"Aw... come & get your ears scratched."
.................................................
Amazon.com: Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1): Books: Neale Donald Walsch
BTW: Olive, the lovely black lab who lives at the top of Aurora Tce, has gone missing. Presumed dognapped actually. Anyone seeing a young black lab without a collar roaming the streets, feel free to drop me a line.
Warmer & drier through to Xmas
WTF? Anyone else remember NIWA Weather Doctor Jim Salinger, about a month ago, telling us to expect weather warmer & drier than usual, between then (aside from a few days' cold snap at the time) and Christmas & maybe beyond...
Wet and wild weather for holiday weekend - Stuff.co.nz
Not that I'd ever attribute blame to anyone... but join me for an effigy burning, tonight, 10pm, Flagstaff Hill.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
A really rotten trick
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sex-accused nurse scared co-workers
Sex-accused nurse scared co-workers - Stuff.co.nz
OK, speculative punt here - do we have a match?
I am Hitlers Wet Nurse
Monday, October 15, 2007
Committees
Circumstances have seen that in just over an hour's time I shall attend a committee meeting to find out what is in store for parents of participants of a particular sport over the coming season.
What will happen is:
- I will arrive on time
- I will spend 30 minutes outside in the cold & wet because no-one else has arrived
- Someone will ramble, and tell "amusing" and long stories about previous seasons
- Almost nothing of use will be imparted.
- And if anything is, it'll all change
- We'll trade email addresses
- Next year I'll enquire as to why we've received no emails over the season
- I'll be told that they must have the wrong email address for me.
- I will get home around 9pm
I used to be the president of a committee of a fairly large organisation. Under my reign... the average committee meeting lasted 12 minutes.
I'm not sure if that pleased the committee, or otherwise.
Call me negative...
But I predict we won't have a stadium ready for the final in 2011.
Banks throws 2011 Cup plans into turmoil - Stuff.co.nz
Who'd have thunk it?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
For the French...
At least a couple of readers click through each day from France (probably Kiwis I'm sure), here's a link to Che of the Dropkicks, expressing his respect, and displaying none of the bad sportsmanship demonstrated by this tosser here. If being unsporting was an actual sport, Mr Souster would be the undisputed world champion. I'd have thought his audience would prefer to read about the triumphant English team beating Australia, but no, he decided to dedicate his column to putting the boot into the All Blacks.
But I digress, here's Che.
Facing the Haka | The Dropkicks: "Doesn't make us any less pissed off, but respect, all the same."
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Anyone managed to get any help...
...from the automatic Telecom phone answerer yet?
"Welcome to Telecom. Now, to help me direct you to the right place, tell me what you're calling about."
"Broadband"
"You want to talk to someone about internet broadband?"
"Yes"
"I'm sorry I didn't get that"
"Yes"
"I'm sorry I didn't get that"
"YES!"
"Let me get this clear, you're wanting to talk to someone about internet broadband?"
"Yes"
"I'm sorry I didn't get that"
"FUCK!!"
I hate bluffers
Can we force this knuckle dragger to build his gang house?
Architect's threat: I'll build a gang pad - Stuff.co.nz
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Independant Inquiry into the campaign
WTF? Did we have an Inquiry onto the yachting thing? Did we hey, we just poured money into it.
I'm as gutted as most (not as gutted as some, and more gutted than others), but it's only a game.
Meanwhile, a forlorn ticker tape parade is desperately seeking some guests of honour...
For Sale - One Ticker Tape Parade, Unused. | the wellingtonista
Monday, October 08, 2007
Poo.
The young guy looked at his boss, "Are we still giving away the black flags?"
"I don't want one." I uncharitably offered.
The old man rolled his eyes, "Nah, that's all over. We've ordered French flags."
On the way out, a woman gave me a wry smile "Think how they feel" she said.
"Who?"
"the All Blacks!"
Utterly blank now... "Who?"
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