This is one of my favourite poems, written by New Zealand poet James K Baxter.
Central Otago
High Country Weather
alone we are born
and die alone
yet see the red-gold cirrus
over snow-mountain shine
upon the upland road
ride easy stranger
surrender to the sky
your heart of anger
Personal computers and data transport systems are changing the way we live our lives.
I’ve noticed that I’m increasingly using my PC in place of other tools that I would have used five, ten or more years ago.
For example, I use an electronic diary, whereas a few years ago I used a filofax, and before that, just an ordinary desk diary. And 15 different notebooks and lists scattered throughout my home and office. Now everything gets entered into my diary – meetings, appointments, visits from friends, also reminders (transfer money to my current account, go to school to collect kids, go to the gym etc) that go ‘ding’ at appointed times and grab my attention.
Currently I’m working from home so everything I need is in my house. I have a lovely, light laptop which I can carry around in one hand. I have a simple wireless network, which means that the desktop has a grunty hard drive which the two laptops can access. So I can sit down at any of the PCs and access my data, meaning it’s useful to have it all there.
Take cooking, for instance. The desktop is in the kitchen and if I need an idea of how to, for example, extract vanilla from a vanilla bean or make pizza dough, I just Google it and watch the video on YouTube. Or for ideas on what to do with a tomato, some yoghurt and a bit of leftover roast lamb, I’ll Google ‘recipes’ and include those ingredients. And I have a whole heap of recipe documents on my shared drive. I do still have cookbooks and have favourite recipes written down, but I find myself more and more often turning to the PC.
And isn’t YouTube just the thing? Everything is there. I wanted to show the kids some classic ads from when I was their age – the KFC ad with Hugo and the girl in the back of the car, the ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ ad, and the Goodnight Kiwi. It’s all there. I missed the last episode of Stylistas the other week, so what did I do? I watched it over five videos on YouTube.
I sometimes wish I could catch the news on TV during the day, but I want to be in the kitchen washing dishes or something useful. I’m looking forward to when IPTV becomes more prevalent, so I can watch local channels from wherever I am in the house. I do have a lovely big TV, but I’m pretty busy and I seldom take the time to sit down and watch it. And anyway, I’d have to fight the kids off watching Wipeout (urgh!).
However, I am finding with so much going on (I’ve just seriously got into one of the apps on Facebook, and so has my son), we are racking up the gigabytes of broadband traffic. If I ever get that video editing business going, I’m going to have to seriously look at some bigger pipes, probably SDSL because leased line is still not affordable, as we’re forever exceeding our monthly ASDL allocation, and upload speeds, if I’m posting to my blogs or uploading graphics content, are not great.
So, it’s a changing world we live in, but a fun one.
The anti-smacking debate is set to take centre stage again in New Zealand.
In 2007 New Zealand law was amended to make it a criminal offense to use force on a child, removing the statutory defence of ‘reasonable force’, but gave police discretion to not prosecute in cases where the offense is considered inconsequential.
A citizen’s initiated referendum is purporting to challenge that law change by asking the question, ‘should a smack, as part of good parental correction, be a criminal offence?’
An opinion poll earlier in the week resulted in more than 80% of respondents stating that no, a smack should not be a criminal offense. The results of the referendum are currently being tallied, but both sides of the debate expect the outcome to be a majority of votes of ‘no’.
The trouble with opinion polls and referenda is that the people most likely to respond at the ones who care passionately about the subject matter. So the people that care most about whether or not children should be smacked are the ones that want to smack them, it seems. It also probably means that a lot of other New Zealanders are unsure. Certainly the wording of the referendum question didn’t help make things clear, and both the Prime Minister and leader of the Opposition stated they would not be voting. The question was “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offense?” Bit of a conundrum, really, as even answering the question could be seen as accepting that smacking can be part of ‘good’ parental correction.
I don’t understand why, when there is so much scientific research warning of the dangers of using force against children, those in favour of hitting a child trot out the arguments of ‘common sense’. ‘Smacking children is not harmful’, lawyer Ruby Harrold-Claesson declaimed back in 2006 when the Bill was being debated. She goes on to assert that smacking a 16-year-old who has thrown an axe at a younger sibling, or smacking a 15-year-old who has pushed her mother down the stairs (these incidents are apparently true), is not violence. I confess, the hair on the back of my neck prickled reading these statements. If these are not violent situations, I don’t know what kind of family environment Ms Harrold-Claesson comes from. This is advocating meeting violence with more violence. This is trying to assert control over nearly fully-grown people (how do you smack a 16-year-old?) with aggression. When is smacking not violent?
On the other side of the debate are the results of international research by psychologists and researchers that has consistently shown that smacking leads to “poorer mental health, diminished problem-solving skills, aggressive and delinquent behaviours, and impaired parent-child relationships’. Certainly the relationships described by Ms Harrold-Claesson seem impaired.
Clinging to the belief that use of violence against children can be justified because it is necessary for parental correction is an excuse to avoid moving on to more effective forms of parenting, brought about by a lack of education. There are better way to parent than by hitting your child.
Tags: anti-smacking legislation, anti-smacking referendum, good parenting
More of the strange and wonderful from the world of local advertising.
* For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers.
* Wanted: Unmarried girls to pick fresh fruit and produce at night.
* Have several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition.
* If you think you’ve seen everything in Paris, visit the Pere Lachasis Cemetery. It boasts such immortals as Moliere, Jean de la Fontain, and Chopin.
* Sheer stockings. Designed for fancy dress, but so serviceable that lots of women wear nothing else.
* Man, honest. Will take anything.
* Modular Sofas. Only $299. For rest or fore play.
* Our experienced Mom will care of your child. Fenced yard, meals, and smacks included.
* Illiterate? Write today for free help.
* And now, the Superstore–unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience.
* Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours.
* Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
* Tuesday at 4:00 PM there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
* The service will close with “Little Drops of Water.” One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.
* At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.
Tags: advertising, humour
Are our youngsters getting more violent, or are they just emulating their role models?
A weekend schoolboy rugby match between two of New Zealand’s prestigious schools has ended in an unseemly brawl that has focused attention on the role of teachers and coaches in encouraging violence in sport.
In a match watched by All Blacks coach Graham Henry, and New Zealand rugby great Wilson Whineray, the brawl broke out at the end of the 20-9 win to Auckland Grammar in the Auckland Secondary Schools semi-final against Kelston Boys. As well as players in the two teams, up to 100 spectators came onto the field and took part in the five minute ruckus.
Appropriate disciplinary action is being considered by Auckland Rugby Union, though Kelston Boys has already suspended seven of its players. One of the most disappointing aspects of the incident has been the finger pointing of the principals of both schools, each blaming the other schools’ players for starting the incident. This is little better than juvenile playground behaviour and very poor modelling for the students.
Manoj Daji, chief executive of College Sport Auckland, has blamed glamour coaches and teachers in Auckland for the increase in violence in school sports. Of ten incidents reported so far this year, he says nine can be attributed to poor behaviour of teachers, coaches or administrators.
“Right at the heart of [this issue] would have to be the discipline that is instilled in them [players] in the various schools, and that comes back down to the leadership in terms of the the tone set by the principal, the tone set by the coaches on the teams,” Mr Daji said.
Tags: Auckland Grammar School, Kelston Boys’ High School, ruby brawl, schoolboy rugby
I spotted something interesting in today’s paper.
A Dad writing about what a disaster it is when he tries to dress his baby daughter. But he’s obviously not aiming for success, with comments like: “if there’s one thing us blokes are sure to be worse at than the ladies it’s getting the kids dressed.”
And of course, the support from Mum: “Oh no. What’s daddy done to you” and “No. How ’bout something nice. Nana’s coming to stay”
With that kind of attitude, it’s no wonder he’s hopeless. And I wonder who buys the clothes in the first place? Maybe him? Nah.
His final comment is interesting: “[when she’s a teenager] …over my dead body will she be walking out that door wearing a mini skirt…”
Good luck to him, I say. If minis are still in fashion then, if she’s not walking out the door in one, she’ll be hitching up the waistband once she’s out of sight.
kids' couture
Maybe Dads need to get more involved in their daughter’s fashion choices, if Mums are the ones that are dressing them like mini adults, or worse still, mini sex symbols. The sexualisation of our pre-teen and even younger girls is becoming big business and a big issue. The photo at the top of the article shows a shot of a well-known NZ designer’s kids’ couture at the NZ fashion week a couple of years ago. The clothes generally look fun, though I’m not sure how kid-friendly that double-breasted coat is. But it’s the little girl on the right that worries me – she’s posing coquettishly and appears to be hitching up her skirt. To show a little leg, perhaps? So, why is a four, maybe five-year-old girl wanting to show some leg?
Julie Gale is an Australian comedian who started a campaign against the sexualisation of children, and the delivery of sexual imagery to children in the media, advertising and clothing. Her movement, Kids Free 2B Kids, is a lobby group against the corporations that are targeting our children, particularly girls, particularly in the 8-12 year age group, with messages like “spend lots of money to look sexy and you’ll be popular.” The message hasn’t changed greatly over the years, but the age of the target audience is getting increasingly younger. This is not only about sexualisation of girls, but the message that the only relationship between boys and girls can be of a sexual nature. The psychological fall-out of that is huge.
Tags: image and fashion, Kids Free 2B Kids, kids’ fashion, sexualisation of pre-teens, tweens
Researching my story about bathrooms, I came across this wonderful page of dos and don’ts for shower enclosures. The advice has delightful appeal – it’s charming.
Here are some excerpts:
Towel Bar and Handle Warning
Towel bars and handles are not to be used as grab bars.
For many people, grab bars in showers are a great assistance for getting in and out of the tub or shower. However, if your tub or shower enclosure is equipped with a towel bar, you should not use it as a grab bar. It will not support your weight. Do not hang from it. Do not stand on it. If you use excessive force, it could snap off, shatter your shower door, send glass everywhere, or do goodness knows what. If you have small children who love to hang on things, and you are often heard to call them “my little monkeys” (in an affectionate way, of course), it’s probably a good idea to instruct them not to hang from the towel bar. However, your towels and washcloths should be quite happy hanging from the towel bars.
There is a lot of “goodness knows what” and “[xyz] can cause all sorts of trouble.” Not exactly quantifiable, but you get the picture, n’est-ce pas?
And for goodness sake…
Warning about Opening & Closing Your Shower Door
Do not use excessive force when opening & closing your Shower Enclosure.
All of us at some point get angry. Some people are physically strong, some are naturally aggressive. If you use excessive force when opening or closing your Shower Enclosure, you could shatter the glass. I mean, it is glass for goodness sake.
Er, yep.
This bit was really frustrating…
Glass Obscurity Warning
Make sure to consider all the important factors when selecting the obscurity level of your glass.
It’s expensive to change your glass after your shower enclosure is installed, so we recommend that you consider all the factors that could be important to you. Do you own a mountain cabin, and have a lovely view through the enclosure out the window? In that case you might consider clear glass to be your best option. Do you prefer a certain degree of privacy when showering? Perhaps an obscure pattern would be right for you. Is your shower enclosure the showpiece of your master bathroom? You might consider using Art Glass. And, of course, we all remember the gorilla story.
No we don’t! What gorilla story? If anyone knows, please tell me, because I’m dying of curiosity.
But the finish is the best of all, and left a big smile on my dial…
Warning to People who Fish
If you are cleaning fish in the shower, we recommend that you thoroughly remove all fish innards and sanitize your enclosure soon as you are finished. [ewww]
Not doing so can cause all sorts of trouble [my emphasis], especially if your have a significant other who is about to shower and doesn’t appreciate the fine aroma of freshly caught & cleaned fish.
Too right, mate, cos she just might wrap some of those innards around your neck and squeeze.
So, a bit of sage advice about looking after your shower enclosure. If you want to read the whole lot, go here.
Tags: humour, shower advice
A good shower was one of the must-haves about our new bathroom.
The bathroom had room for a stand-alone shower but no bath, so we looked at a variety of shower enclosures, and we were hoping to do something to improve the hot water system. This proved to be slightly tricky, but we came up with a good solution finally.
First to the enclosure – having previously had a rather unpleasant wooden cabinet lined with formica-covered MDF, the prospect of a nice, spacious, clean, light shower cubicle was certainly appealing. And this is what we got. Glass enclosed, with handy moulded shelves and ladies’ footrest for shaving, it’s a pleasure to be in. No danger from moulds as yet unknown to medical science breeding in the corners, no paint flakes when it’s cleaned, and no piddly showery dribble from the shower head.
To keep it looking nice, we make the effort to squeegee it off with one of those rubber window scraper things after every shower, and we wipe down the chrome (there’s not a lot of it). We’re careful not to use abrasive chemicals when cleaning, and we clean regularly, though not obsessively (once every month or two). It’s not as onerous or life threatening as cleaning the old shower.
One thing we were adamant about was improving the water flow. We looked at electric showers, but decided to go the whole hog and instantly heat all our hot water with a gas hot water system. The savings made by not having a cylinder sitting around full of hot water will pay for the cost of the installation in a year or two. The principle is basically the same as for an electric shower, but heats all your hot water. If you do not have access to gas, electricity can be used for heating as well.
The trickiest element was the change from our piddly, dribbly low pressure hot water system to full mains pressure. Initially, the water pressure nearly blew us out of the shower, but luckily this was fixed by installation of a low flow shower head. The shower itself has two pressure settings, so if we do want a massage, we can use the higher setting, but normally I use the low setting.
Tags: electric showers, instant water heating system, low flow shower head, shower enclosures
Are pedestrian areas more important, or is it making the buses more efficient?
Save Manners Mall
These questions have been considered by Wellington City councillors and they have come down in favour of the buses. Much to the consternation of some pedestrians. But opinion is divided.
The Save Manners Mall campaign is attempting to change their minds, with posters here and there to advise people of what’s going on.
The Manners Mall emo song poignantly (if a little flatly) laments the move.
It’s difficult to know whether it’s a good move or not – it’s the battle of the environmentally friendly options.
Tags: bus lane, manners mall
These advertisements from local newspapers in the US and around the world show how tricky the language can be.
* A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms.
* Now is your chance to have your ears pierced and get an extra pair to take home, too.
* For Sale — Eight puppies from a German Shepperd and an Alaskan Hussy.
* Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children.
* The hotel has bowling alleys, tennis courts, comfortable beds, and other athletic facilities.
* We build bodies that last a lifetime.
* Man wanted to work in dynamite factory. Must be willing to travel.
* Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink.
* Auto Repair Service. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once, you’ll never go anywhere again.
* Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating.
* Girl wanted to assist magician in cutting-off-head illusion. Blue Cross and salary.
* Don’t let worry kill you — let the church help.
* The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
* Thursday at 5:00 PM there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be “Little Mothers” will meet with the Pastor in his study.
* The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.
Tags: advertising, humour