I tend to think of the Apple Mac desktop computer I use in the study as new even though it's now 10 years old. I replaced the old Mac back in 2018 when I bought the 'new' refurbished one. It was already 3 years old then.
The old Mac sitting in the naughty corner waiting to be taken to the tip
The 'new' Mac unaware that its poor performance means it will soon go to the naughty corner and worse
The new Mac has been getting slow even though I make sure that old files are trashed and that new software upgrades are kept up to date. The problem isn't in the Mac's hardware performance but in the 'advancements' on apps and software that Apple continuously undertake. These 'improvements' are supposed to be to the users' benefit but I suspect is merely a rort to drive the users (read dupes) into buying new equipment.
I looked up the internet to find out the normal lifespan of computers and was shocked. All of the answers came up something like this:
A desktop computer's lifespan typically ranges from 5 to 7 years, but can extend to 10 years or more with proper maintenance and upgrades, while younger computers can be retired sooner due to software obsolescence or hardware failure. Factors like the quality of components, your usage, maintenance practices, and the ability to upgrade individual parts significantly impact how long a desktop will last.
Bummer!
With our computer that has had "proper maintenance and upgrades" it looks like it's ready to 'buy the farm'.
I haven't told The Old Girl yet but will when we get settled in a permanent place in Wellington and can see what money we have left over and what discretionary finances we have for things like eating and breathing! I think this time I'll buy brand new to give that extra 3 years or so which might mean it lasts before I 'buy the farm'.
and I know how he felt. I seem to be measuring out my life being kept on hold waiting to talk to some agency on the phone!
New Zealand has a population of 5.3 million. 50 years ago, in 1975 we had a population of just over 3 million. That's a 72% increase, not even near double.
Why then has there been so much change in the standards and quality of service in this country?
I remember when it was the norm when needing an answer from your bank, insurance company, IRD, your doctor's surgery or retail stores, to be able to telephone their service or enquiries departments and quickly and efficiently get an answer. Nowadays it's often near impossible to find an email address or a number to call and, when you do you have to go through a convoluted process of pressing buttons for options only to end up being left on hold listening to some god awful music for half an hour. Sheesh!
I know that many of the readers don't like television game shows and, to be honest there are many that I cannot stand, particularly the low-brow and noisy ones like Jeopardy, The Price Is Right, Family Feud and Deal or No Deal. These depend on brain dead viewership which, to be fair makes up at least 70% of the population and 100% of these shows loyal followers. Their only competition comes from 'reality' shows like The Kardashians, Real Housewives, Big Brother, Survivor and Sunday-worship type programmes which Robert will be familiar with..
I do like, and watch the better quiz shows like Mastermind, University Challenge, Eggheads, The Chase, Tipping Point and a few others as they arise (and are repeated) and find that, in their one hour format are ideal to watch while I'm doing my (almost) daily exercises on the stepping machine, the rowing machine and/or the exercycle along with some floor exercises and use of free weights. I find it boring sitting on these machines and the quiz programmes seem to make the time go quicker.
I've been recently flabbergasted at the lack of knowledge of contestants on these programmes and wonder why they bother to come on to the shows. I also wonder at what's happened in education over the last 40 years in New Zealand as much as in the UK. The USA is a given. Generally the Americans are ignorant on history, geology, foreign affairs and anything not related to their own patch but, disturbingly, even American history, politics, institutions, law and current affairs have become some kind of soup with the Kardashians, Taylor Swift and Donald Trump sitting on top like scum. Go figure.
Here is an example of ignorance (there are many, many more):
Often, when a contestant gets an answer wrong on a question relating to recent history, politics, music etc. over the last 30 years, they says things like "well, I wasn't born then". OK, then how about questions that everyone else answers on the Renaissance, Beethoven, dinosaurs, the Bible, ancient Egypt and the Roman empire for example. sheesh!
Anyway, I'm staying up to watch the rugby at 10pm. Go the All Blacks!
Robert frequently, on his blog, tells me that I'm deranged. Here's an example from his recent post:
I take it as a compliment because the context is usually me taking a contrary position to his Catholic posturing and silly cataclysmic Catechismic regurgitations. It's kind of like that Groucho Marx quote:
Maybe I should get myself a bumper sticker like this:
No doubt Robert would have stickers like this:
Not to be left out Richard would best be suited with this:
However, going by the TMIs in his recent posts this would be more appropriate:
It's a big responsibility being the one mature and sensible blogger in this community.
The others, while never having been that erudite are now slipping in to their dotage accompanied by varying degrees of dementia, fatuousness and idiocy.
If you'd bothered to read their posts you'd see what I men.
Robert, who has always banged on about religion and Catholicism in particular is now slipping "into the realms of fantasy".
He uses AI Americanisms and copies nonsense from Catholic Facebook sites. Look, here's an example from his latest post:
Actually that was the entire post which shows you how far down he's gone.
Richard too, is showing signs of slipping. Being a bit self-conscious over his recent boring monologues of violin and bass practice he tries to lighten things up with a bit of 'humour'.
Have a look at this from his latest post:
Personally I think that he's been spending too much time with his grandsons. Either that or he's gone doolally.
I'll just have to try and get things back on track.
I guess that you are aware of Trump's latest lunacy - creating a false narrative to bring the armed forces back from international placements to 'occupy' American cities that, surprise surprise are ones governed by Democrat mayors and that are designated blue.
In addition to sending military and military-type forces to LA, Washington DC, Chicago and Portland, the deluded old fool now wants to use cities as training grounds for the military.
His rhetoric and bluster might fool most of his voters but anyone with a brain can see what he's up to. Trump - enabled, empowered and influenced by his fascist entourage is seeking to normalise the situation of armed military being seen as peacekeepers and law enforcers not unlike the controls seen in authoritarian countries like China, Russia and North Korea. It's the old 'frog in boiling water' scenario.
This is part of the extreme right's Project 25 plan, the elements of which are being put in place step by step. It's a very scary situation for Americans and surprisingly they seem to be getting away with it.
Trump of course is seen as the leader who controls the minds of the MAGA voters but in reality he is frail and failing. While he no doubt believes what he says and in the actions that he authorises but the real proponents are people like this guy:
Germany in the 1930s saw similar things that America is seeing now. The gradual and insidious creep of Nazi power and dominance in the name of improvement, justice, economical independence, nationality and, of course, pure whiteness and anti immigration. The reality was far different to the promises.
The news keeps pounding A warning to the brain La de da de de, la de da de da
Democracy was once the rage, uh huh History has turned the page, uh huh MEGA's the current thing, uh huh Manbaby is our newborn king, uh huh
The grift goes on, the grift goes on
The grocery store's for the super rich, uh huh Fascists still break our hearts, uh huh And men still keep on marching off to war Only now they don't know what for
The grift goes on, the grift goes on
Boomers sit in chairs and reminisce About the good times that they miss The grift gets stronger all the time But now it's billionaires, not bums who cry, "Hey buddy, have you got a dime?"
... and the grift goes on - below the radar of MAGA voters apparently.
Usually you'd have to have been living under a rock to not notice the criminality and grifting that Donald Trump undertakes daily but his loyal (and stupid) supporters just cannot see any bad in the boy.
Here are just a few of his grifts, scams and money-making ventures while using the presidency as influence:
Trump Crypto Coins.
The Trump family’s crypto meme coins— $TRUMP and $MELANIA—have added billions to their net worth. Investors have admitted that their goal is to curry favor with Trump and purchase policy outcomes and favorable treatment
World Liberty Financial.
In September 2024, Donald Trump and his sons launched a cryptocurrency venture called World Liberty Financial; the venture is structured to function as a new type of internet bank, allowing users to borrow and lend money digitally The Trump family and affiliates received 22.5 billion units of the World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency, worth at least $1.1 billion on paper; the Trump family owns a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial and receives 75% of the net income from token sales and operations. More recently, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm announced it was making a $2 billion investment in Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. This transaction is being facilitated using a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were present at the announcement. Estimated value to Trump: $2B+
Foreign Real Estate Deals
Trump-branded real estate projects have landed billions in new deals, with new hotels, towers, a golf club, and licensing arrangements coming amid diplomatic visits and policy shifts. Middle East business ties (in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and other countries) have more than tripled since Trump’s first term Trump ventures have recently expanded to other nations, such as India, Turkey, Vietnam, Serbia, and the Philippines. Estimated Value to Trump: Billions
Trump Media & Technology Group (Truth Social)
Even though its parent company (Trump Media & Technology Group) reported $400 million in losses in 2024 alone, Truth Social is now valued in the billions; investment in Truth Social is similar to investment in his “meme coin”—think of it is as a “meme stock” as opposed to relating to any underlying value. Estimated Value to Trump: Billions.
Direct Foreign Gifts and State-Supported Assets
Qatar will provide a luxury Boeing 747-8 jet worth approximately $400 million. It is being labeled as a “temporary Air Force One” and future museum piece for Trump’s library. Estimated Value to Trump: $400M
The Executive Branch — (Private Club)
Donald Trump Jr. founded an exclusive new club DC, where membership fees are $500,000. It’s clearly about access. The plan is to invite 200 members. That’s $100 million in potential revenue off the bat.
Estimated Value to Trump: $100M+
Inauguration and Political Contributions
2025 inauguration donations hit a record-breaking $239 million. In 2017, Trump's inaugural committee spent much of the money on event planning, with nearly $26 million paid to a firm run by a close friend of the Trump family, and only about $5 million donated to charity.
Payments at Trump Properties (Hotels, Golf Clubs, Social Clubs)
Millions continue to flow into Trump-owned hotels, golf courses, and clubs from political groups, foreign delegations, and special interests. Estimate Value to Trump: in his first term, Trump properties, golf clubs and resorts generated between $1 billion and $2 billion. This included activity that clearly involved foreign governments currying favor.
Lawsuit Settlements
Trump has directly benefited from lawsuit settlements that took place after he became president: Meta (Facebook’s parent); ABC News (Disney); X. Paramount and Trump are currently in discussions to try to settle his suit against CBS News (for its 60 Minutes interview of Kamala Harris), with Trump demanding $25 million; this is happening as Paramount seeks regulatory approval for its $8 billion sale to Skydance Media. Estimated Value to Trump: close to $50 million and counting
Can you see a trend here?
Is he slowing down? No way. If anything his grifting is becoming more overt and includes his broader family. You know about Ivanka and Jared's grifts of course where they are said to have made over 600 million whole being associated with the White House. Now we're hearing of his granddaughter getting in on the act. see: KAI TRUMP
As if using the White House as a launch platform wasn't bad enough it seems that she 'borrowed' the logo from elsewhere! See: HERE
I just wonder how much money Trump is making out of the TikTok deal.
The other bloggers have been writing about the Mass in Latin for some reason.
Well, Robert started it by mentioning that his new squeeze is in Melbourne and attended a Mass in Latin. I didn't know that they still had those and would be a starter to go (3P influence) as the only thing I liked about Catholicism was the big and beautiful churches, the smell of the incense at Benediction and the Mass in Latin especially if it was accompanied by Gregorian singing. Any way all this is moot (Robert would say 'mute') as he deleted his post soon after writing it.
Richard followed up in his latest post with some recollections of being an altar boy and learning Latin responses for Masses. It was a welcome relief from some stuff he wrote - in some kind of esoteric code - about music practice.
So, I can hear you ask, what is all this about Mass in Latin?
AI Overview in Google Search tells us that:
The Latin Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass, is a form of Catholic liturgy celebrated in Latin, the universal language of the Roman Rite, before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. It is characterized by its ancient prayers, Gregorian chants, and symbolic gestures, fostering a contemplative atmosphere centered on the Eucharist. While originally the standard for centuries, its use has been restricted by Pope Francis, though it continues to be practiced by many who see it as a vital link to Church tradition and a profound way to worship.
Key Characteristics Language: The Mass is almost entirely in Latin, fostering a sense of universal prayer and tradition.
Focus on Tradition: Adherents see it as the "Mass of the Ages," connecting them to a continuous line of Catholic history and the prayers of countless saints.
Reverence and Silence: It features moments of silence, especially during the Eucharistic prayer, which encourages contemplation of the faith's mysteries.
Sacred Artistry: The liturgy includes ancient Gregorian chants, specific gestures, and vestments that together create a profound sense of the sacred.
Theological Significance: The Mass emphasizes the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist, with the priest acting as a mediator between the community and God.
Historical Context Pre-Vatican II: For centuries, this was the standard form of Mass celebrated worldwide, codified after the Council of Trent in 1570.
Second Vatican Council: The Council of 1962-1965 allowed for the Mass to be celebrated in vernacular (local) languages, leading to the development of the Novus Ordo Mass.
Pope Benedict XVI's Decree: In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI declared the 1962 Missal as the "Extraordinary Form" of the Roman Rite, affirming its place alongside the "Ordinary Form" (the Mass in the vernacular).
Recent Restrictions: In recent years, Pope Francis has further restricted the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, requiring bishops' permission for its use.
Why It Matters to Its Adherents Connection to the Past: It provides a powerful link to the Church's pre-Vatican II past and a connection to the faith as experienced by past generations.
Spiritual Depth: Many find its ancient rites and contemplative nature a deeper and more reverent way to experience the Mass and the presence of God.
Beauty and Order: The structured liturgy, with its specific gestures and prayers, is seen by its supporters as fostering a prayer
Got that?
It's actually interesting and I find that, while I'm suspicious of AI information, I find AI Overview quite helpful as a snapshot of what's going on (cue the Marvin Gaye song if you like). I like the fact that the Vatican disapproves of it and wonder why, given the 'smoke and mirrors' approach of the Vatican to things like the truth, reality and good common sense that they would suppress a form of Mass that basically disguises all the silly mumbo jumbo. Go figure!
I too was an altar boy at St Anne's church in Newtown. See: HERE
I stepped up (see what I did there?) my exercise regimen and increased the time I spend on the stepping machine in addition to rowing. All good and I feel better for it but (see what I did there?) my arse is sore today.
The primary buttock muscles are the three gluteal muscles: the large gluteus maximus, the medium gluteus medius, and the small gluteus minimus. These muscles are crucial for stabilizing and balancing the lower body, supporting body weight, and controlling movements like hip extension, abduction (moving the leg away from the body), and rotation.
I had to laugh at that. It's a down to earth look at the silly story. If my mum was alive I'd love to show that to her. She would whack me on the arm and tell me that I was a heathen and would go to hell.
I wonder how Richard's fence mending is going? I don't mean him apologizing for being rude to robert over their musical theory and practice differences - I mean how he's helping build a fence for his neighbour. I hope that there aren't any cows near that fence. Richard is afraid of cows.
Meanwhile Robert is wishing that he could start up an op shop franchise like St Vincent did. His church shop empire hasn't really taken off. Maybe he should ask his sister in law Sue for some advice.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)