ENTROPY

ENTROPY
noun

1. PHYSICS
a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.
"the second law of thermodynamics says that entropy always increases with time"

2.
lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
"a marketplace where entropy reigns supreme" 

- The Oxford English Dictionary

Let's concern ourself with the second meaning here - 'gradual decline into disorder.'

I've written about entropy in the past

ONE

TWO

THREE

..... but fear that my warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
Oh well, who cares. My ears are becoming deaf too.

Last week I wrote a post about my dining experience at our local club: HERE

Tonight I went to the club again because The Old Girl is in Melbourne and I couldn't be arsed cooking dinner just for me. I arrived at about 7PM, ordered my meal (delicious fish cakes, chips and salad), got myself a glass of chardonnay and settled down at a corner table. This was about the same time that I had arrived last week but tonight the club was quiet and, more importantly the dining area was fairly empty - no noisy kids and neglectful parents.  I settled in and enjoyed my meal. I did notice however that there was a very long table set up, to cater to about 14 or more people. It hadn't yet been used. That was ominous. Sure enough, at the end of my meal the invasion started. At least three families noisily arrived - late 20 or 30 something parents with troops (I use the word selectively) of kids who managed to turn a pristine table into what looked like the aftermath of a chimps tea party in minutes.

I took my plate and utensils to the cleaning are and retired to the drinking area of the lounge.

Now the drinking area of the lounge isn't that far from the dining area so the simian feral energetic children were able to freely distribute themselves over this area and the games area as much as they had already done over the dining area. Oh joy!

*****************

I took my glass of wine and found a seat at one of the high bar tables and was shortly joined by a woman I know from the local tennis club. She was with two companions and we settled in to enjoy our drinks and discuss the fortunes - past, present and likely future - of the club. It turned out that they too were unhappy at the change of demographic and the behaviour (or lack of it) of the new parents of unruly children. I thought of Richard's last post about the lack of respect that children  now show to schoolteachers nowadays and, looking at the drongo parents supposedly in charge of this lot and could definitely see the connection.

These families reminded me of the dysfunctional families portrayed in television dramas like Shameless 

and the 'gypsy' holidaymakers who upset New Zealanders last Christmas.

Believe me, unfortunately this isn't far from the truth. I don't want to be a misery guts but I feel that members who pay annual subscriptions deserve better. Casual visitors should, if anything behave to a higher standard than the regulars.

I know, I know, I'm applying old fashioned standards to modern day situations ........ the stuff of arguments between me and my father back in the 1970s.

***************

This club is in trouble. The AGM is tomorrow and I will attend. I will voice my opinion but I won't volunteer to stand for office. I understand that there are problems with finding people willing to stand for election and there have been numerous resignations among existing officers. This club then is wide open to the drongos but I know that they won't be able to run it. It will close before Christmas - that's my forecast.

Shameless!

THE LITTLE RED HEN

You know the story. I was going to post it but remembered that when I posted the entire story of The Gentle Giant a while ago some old guy complained so blame him.

Well the other day I helped neighbour Rod to trim some trees on his property . We spent a couple of hours up ladders and with long handled saws to bring down a big pile of quite solid branches.

He said that he was giving them away to his neighbour Paul for firewood.

This morning I received a surprise as Rod turned up with a carload of wood for my woodshed. He and his son had chainsawed the branches into smaller pieces and they stacked them in my shed to weather until next season.

One good turn deserves another etc.




That's all.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Timothy Leary - LSD advocate

THE MOODY BLUES - TIMOTHY LEARY

There was an interesting segment on National Radio yesterday:

EXPERIMENTS WITH LSD

Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, from the University of Auckland is planning a world-first study into the effects of micro-dosing LSD based on the anecdotal ‘success’ stories of micro-dosers and the new wave of scientific research into it as a remedy for psychological ailments and as a benefit for "physical and cognitive performance."

OK, that's all very well and I for one would be interested in giving such micro-dosing a go but it is a bit worrying that this comes on the back of liberalisation of the laws against the misuse of cannabis and some attempts at debunking the negative effects of other illegal drugs. What next? A study saying that methamphetamine use is good for sharpening up driving skills?

LSD, discovered and experimented with in the 1940s was originally devised as a migraine remedy.

Hey, I get migraines - gimme some.

It's a brave new world we're entering into ....... oh wait, that was the 1930s and psychedelic drugs were part of the thinking then too.

SOCK IT TO THEM

🎵R-E-S-P-E-C-T  /   Find out what it means to me / R-E-S-P-E-C-T / Take care / TCB / Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me) /     A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)🎵

                                - Otis Redding

Richard, of Richard's Bass Bag which purports to be the original bass bagging site, whatever that is wrote a good post today. SEE:

MY WEEKEND STARTS EARLY

He recounts an episode at the high school he is doing some relief teaching at:

"This week was a tricky little three day event at NLHS. There are some lovely students but there are also a fairly large number of little self obsessed tyrants who seem to have no limits to their revolting behaviour. As I stood in front of one class, there was a guy throwing plastic felt pens at me. Technically this is assault, though I guess I might be accused of being too PC here. There were quite a few students who refused to follow any instructions and just wanted to cause any disruption they could. I think they wanted me to break down and cry, or something."

I find this to be appalling. School days should be the best days of a person's life. A time of wonderment and learning and it's such a shame that these students are mean-spirited and uninterested in learning.

Later, Richard says:

"So, what could be so horrific about standing in front of a bunch of teenagers?The teacher is there to teach and guide - teachers are assessed quite regularly on their ability to do this. Sometimes a class will sense that a teacher is vulnerable and not able to 'get on top of' the class. Sometimes the class will decide to push things to the limit. When this goes ahead it is psychological torture and makes the teacher feel worthless and vulnerable. It really messes with your mind and your feeling of self worth. I've been there a few times in my long, non illustrious career. A few too many times. Some people like to talk about respect and how it must be earned. I prefer to ask, "How badly are you prepared to treat someone?"

This is insightful. We often talk about respect and how it is to be earned but Richard turns this around and puts responsibility squarely back on the protagonists: - "How badly are you prepared to treat someone?"
Is this a conscious decision by these young people? Do they even think about what they are doing? I'm a believer in everyone being responsible for their actions and don't give leeway to excuses for behaviour having been dictated by the influences of other people - parents, teachers, employers and
peers etc. This is kind of like free will and conscience - a personal morality if you will that I call ethics. I'd like to use that question sometime if the occasion comes up and ask someone who is being an arsehole by abusing others.

"HOW BADLY ARE YOU PREPARED TO TREAT SOMEONE?"

Obviously before doing a Jack Reacher and punching him in the face.*

* Don't get your knickers in a twist. I wouldn't do that

GOTCHA!

And if you haven't been got then it's only a matter of time.

It's interesting seeing all of these paedophiles and rapists getting their comeuppance recently with the likes of Jimmy Saville, Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein and Cardinal Pell being outed, charged or convicted and the Me Too movement digging into questionable and criminal behaviour. There are millions of other people, mostly men who will be quaking in their boots and wondering when they will be called to explain themselves. Soon hopefully major celebrities like Donald Trump and Bill Clinton will be in the dock along with that creepy Prince Andrew.

"HEE HEE. DID I TELL YOU THAT YOU REMIND ME OF MY DAUGHTERS?"

It's not OK. OK?

I've known people in my working career who have bragged about the women that they've had and activity that, to them, made them manly and to be envied. Arseholes. I like the fact that the Me Too exposés and other investigations can look into actions and events that have taken place decades before.

Bad boys, bad boys
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When they come for you

BAD BOYS - INNER CIRCLE

THE LOVE OF ONE'S LIFE

Carrickfergus castle Northern Ireland

I listened to a few different versions of the song Carrickfergus tonight and there are quite a few of them with the best, for me, being Van Morrison's studio rendition:

CARRICKFERGUS - VAN MORRISON

Bad love, sad love, lost love and unrequited love is the stuff of films and music but that is because it is part of life.

I'm not going to bang on about my lost loves even though I, like many others have these because I do have, and have had for the last 30 plus years the true love of my life. The Carrickfergus songs (and lyrics) that I listened to reminded me of a poignant story that my mother told me many years ago.
My grandfather, my mother's father died in the 1960s. I remember his death and my mother travelling down to to the South Island for the funeral and I think it was in 1962 when I was at Marist Newtown.
I have some hazy memories of my grandfather from school holiday visits when I was very young. He always seemed stern and distant and I can't recall any particular interactions with him.

My grandmother died in about 1982. I last saw her in a nursing home in Ashburton in 1977. I was on the (albeit roundabout) way from Wellington to Christchurch to go to Tony's first wedding. Robert and Noel were in the car with me and they waited outside while I called in to visit my 'Nana'. Robert, you might remember this.

After my grandmother died my mother told me an interesting thing. She said that before my grandmother married my grandfather she had been engaged to another guy - the love of her life.
He was killed in the First World War. Some years later my grandmother married my grandfather and they lived a long life together and brought up many children. When my grandfather died however my grandmother took out the engagement ring given to her by the 'love of her life' about 50 years before and wore it until she died.

Love huh. There's nothing new under the sun.

A BIT OF CULTURE

I spent the weekend in Auckland and had an enjoyable time with The Old Girl. On Sunday we went to the organ recital at the Town Hall where Benjamin Sheen was playing the amazing town hall organ.

For the dullards out there this isn't a boring musical instrument. It's fascinating having been completely restored and upgraded in 20110. Sheen played it like a virtuoso getting sounds out of it like Jimi Hendrix did with his Fender Stratocaster.

Amongst pieces from Walton, Strauss, Debussy, Bach, Bingham, Whitlock and Bossi, Sheen played an outstanding piece by Calvin Hampton which was my favourite. I've always been a fan of atonal and discordant music from writers like Kurt Weil, Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, Philip Glass and Scott Walker and this hit the spot with me. The finale was a piece by David Goode which was a kind of homage to Gershwin and gave Sheen the opportunity to 'pull out every stop'. Marvellous.

Richard (of RBB) in a comment on my previous post said dismissively:

 "Personally I'd rather listen to those kids than bloody pipe organ music."

Referring to some noisy and objectionable children who I'd complained about in my post . I replied that it was just 'organ envy' on his part and I suspect that he's got a snitcher on organs because they're bigger than his double bass and he'd never be able to get one in his car to go to a gig.

SO CALL ME A GRINCH

I don't care. I'm old and I'm allowed to be grumpy.

I don't have kids, never have, never will and don't want them so fussing parents and doting grandparents can just walk away now. Get out of here!

************************

Last night I went up to the club for dinner. The Old Girl usually comes up on Thursday or Friday but this weekend is in Auckland as I'm going there today. We are going out for dinner and to the free organ recital at the Auckland Town Hall tomorrow afternoon.

The organist will be Benjamin Sheen who is pretty famous in New York and London so will be a treat to listen to. We went to se Indra Hughes a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it See: HERE

Anyway, last night I went to the club where they have a pretty decent restaurant attachment and cook great gurnard (battered or crumbed), chips and salad for $18.

The dining area is just off the main club lounge but there is no separation so it is an easy flow through to the bar area and games areas (pool and darts). I've noticed in recent times that families (visitors not members) are bringing their kids in to dine as the kids meals are ridiculously cheap which of course is the benefit of clubs where food and drink is subsidised. 

I mentioned a cheeky kid in an earlier post: HERE who pissed me off and whose parents were basically irresponsible. Last night was more of the same with kids running about, screaming their heads off and acting up while the stupid parents supped their drinks and chatted amongst themselves totally ignoring what their brats were doing.

Is it OK to step in and take control of other peoples' kids? I was sorely tempted and considered remonstrating with the 'stupid parents who supped their drinks and chatted amongst themselves' but decided to finish my meal and my glass of wine (large $7 glass of heavily subsidised chardonnay) and go home.

I'm pissed off with this. 

A DAY IN THE LIFE *

I drove into town to collect my bike from the bike repair shop this morning. It has had two new tubes and tyres fitted plus a new seat that will be more comfortable for my comfortable bum. It looks snazzy and the yellow writing on the new tyres are bound to make it go faster. I think I'll put a piece of cardboard in the spokes to make a cool motorbike noise. Yee ha!

On the way back I called in at the local shopping centre to pick up a few things. On returning to my car the remote opener didn't work. I'm used to this though and tried it at different heights and angles and jiggled the door handle a few times with no success. The remote opener might need a new battery as the bloody thing often does this, especially when it's raining.
I noticed an elderly couple standing on the footpath watching me and whispering to themselves. I then had a closer look at the car I was trying to open and saw that it was a Mazda. A silver one. Nice, in good condition and probably a couple of years old. All good so far but the only problem is I don't own a silver Mazda.

My car is a silver Toyota Corolla. Nice, in good condition and a couple of years old. It was parked a few cars down from the Mazda.

Boy did I feel silly particularly when I then tried to open my own car with the dodgy opener which took about five tries before it worked. I must have looked like a car thief.



Maybe I should stick to my bike.

* The Curmudgeon blog where interesting things are recorded without banging on about religion or music theory.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

I often start a post after listening to the National programme on the radio or reading news feeds on my iPad (national and international).

This is due to something outrageous, stupid, reprehensible or annoying that catches my attention.

Sometimes I start with a post header and get no further and at other times I start writing a post that either never get's finished or one that I don't publish.
The reasons for not publishing are:

• My annoyance or anger is dissipated
• The topicality has gone
• The post is too salacious, offensive, libellous or downright disgusting
• Half of my readership (Robert) will never understand it

Today I looked through the posts by going to:

↳Design

↳Posts

↳Draft

at which a chronological list of non-published posts (including first drafts of published ones) is shown.

I looked at the list and the titles (where I had entered one) and here are a few of them.

• IF I DIDN'T CARE. This one had a link to the great Ink Spots song which is so nice I think I'll publish it if I can ever remember what I was going to rave on about. I think I was going to justify my blogging along the lines of how I only go to the effort because I'm a caring and sensitive person which is a real low point for a curmudgeon. I must have had a gin and tonic before dinner instead of a glass of wine that day.

• WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE? This one was about the renaming of Victoria University of Wellington and how it is being done subtly with a few of the university colleges being quietly renamed out of the public eye. I got myself all righteously angered until I remembered that I didn't graduate from 'Vic' and basically 'I DIDN'T CARE'.

• THE WHITE SPORT COAT AND PINK CARNATION SOCIETY - A HISTORY.  Intriguingly this was only a title without any narrative in the post. strange that and maybe one that needs to be resurrected.

• A LIFETIME IN WINE. This one was very detailed as befits the fact that I've spent a working lifetime in the wine industry. I'm not sure why I didn't post this but it probably is due to the fact that it's better to be published on THE WINE GUY site.

• THE SICK FUCKS! This one was the title of my most recent (verbal) rant when listening to the news and hearing that some neo Nazi Ukrainian arsehole is publishing the Christchurch mosque shooter's 'manifesto'. How sick is that. There are some bastards out there who shouldn't be. I may get around to writing something on this but feel that it's best left buried.

• BEHIND THE SCENES WITH A BAND. This was about The Prowse Boys and a follow up to a post that Richard wrote about the PBs practising. He said that the PBs were getting tighter but also recounted how they drank craft beers at the practice sessions. I was making a joke about them getting tight after drinking - ho hum.

• FOOT IN THE MOUTH. This post was almost completed and was about The Old Girl's social gaffes. I decided not to publish it in case she were to read it and beat me up.

• BLOODY RUDE. I don't know what that one was supposed to be about.

• CRUTCH, A CRUTCH! WHY CALL YOU FOR A SWORD? This was to be about The Old Girl's and my experiences in Verona since Richard and Shelley were going there but I never finished the post. The quote is from Romeo and Juliet.

That's a few of them. There are 235 unpublished drafts that may one day see the light of day.

Then again they may remain unpublished like some other works of literature.

THAT MAGIC FEELING

FROM YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY

I was listening to National Radio this morning and Graeme Downes was talking about the medley from The Beatles Abbey Road as it is 50 years today that this outstanding album was released.

I particularly like an excerpt from You Never Give Me Your Money:

Out of college, money spent / See no future, pay no rent / All the money's gone, / nowhere to go / Any job, I got the sack /Monday morning, / turning back / Yellow lorry slow, / nowhere to go / But oh that magic feeling, nowhere to go / Nowhere to go

This to me is freedom.

When I was at university and working part time at Murray Roberts and Co. I was very happy. The job didn't pay much but I had no financial commitments apart from a bit of rent and living expenses and no responsibilities. I had no ambitions given that I've always been a lazy bugger and had 'nowhere to go'. It was sheer serendipity that I fell into a job in Auckland that led to a great and long career in the wine industry which brought high earnings, travel and experience. It also brought commitments and responsibilities. I worked hard and well but often sat in my office looking out the window and dreaming of having nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Being retired is wonderful. I can daydream as much as I want, read books, do crosswords and word puzzles, watch films, go for walks - all without commitment and responsibility.

I can recommend it.

NEW POST - THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

HIGH FIDELITY .... FIDDLE DEE DEE

WHEN HE'S 64

Robert turns 64 today although by his calculations this happened before Christmas last year thanks maybe to some Harvey's Bristol Cream and some Red Band draught but we'll never really know even though Robert claims to have been there at the time. See: THREE'S A CROWD

♪🎉HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERT🎉

WHEN HE'S 64

BUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENS

SIXTY SEVEN!

Yes, it is hard to believe but Richard (of Richard's Bass Bag)* turns 67 today.
That's old.

He's been showing signs of ageing recently though and last week destroyed his blog journal that goes back a few years. Old people are known to do this kind of thing - burning old letters, photographs and other memorabilia believing that no-one is interested ...... oh. I see.

*************

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHARD

* The restarted one

COMING TO GRIPS WITH LIFE

Experience is a wonderful thing. No matter how much we are told or what information we pass on to other people it is really only first hand experience by us and them that brings the reality home.

This experience can be on minor or major things with the major list including family issues, births, deaths and marriages, major financial investments, employment and health. After those, and the list wasn't exhaustive, the other things are really quite trivial.

A friend of mine is facing a serious family issue with his wife being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
This is devastating and, given that the illness is one that the medical profession 'hang dates on' brings it much closer to home than usual. I truly feel sorry for him, his wife and their family.
I'm an atheist. I was brought up and educated in the Catholic religion but for my own reasons have abandoned that. My friend is a Catholic and is a believer and an active participant in Catholicism and its practices. I understand that his wife is also. They take 'comfort' in their religion and have a belief that the power of prayer will assist them. I'm pleased that they have this belief. To me this is the true benefit and blessing of religion. I've always seen churches as places of sanctuary and spiritual healing and for those who believe, that religion is a solace and a promise of better things.

My partner and I have experienced the death of close family members and friends as we all have, do and will do. It rips us up, turns us inside and takes many years to get through the grieving process. Frankly I wouldn't have it any other way as the power of the grief is related to the depth of the love we have for that person who has gone. This is part of life and who we are, painful as it might be.

My thoughts and concerns go to my friend, not the prayers that he has requested as I think that my own personal experiences allow me to understand how he feels better than me adopting something that I don't believe in.

Stay strong my friend.

NEW POST - THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

The Music Curmudgeon subscribes to OPEN CULTURE and the latest sent by email is a look at Joni Mitchell's song 'Woodstock'.

THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

OUCH!

I took my new second-hand Avanti Ridge Rider bike for a workout on Friday on the Whangarei cycleway. I drove in to Onerahi which is about 20 minutes from home, parked up and set out down the hill on the shared cycle path.

I rode about 2 and a half kms until - disaster' a puncture!

The wind had come up and it was spitting a bit and threatening rain. I shouldered the bike and set off walking back along the way I came from, thinking that I wasn't really enjoying this exercise.
Fortunately, about a km along, before the uphill bit, a motorist stopped and asked if I wanted a lift. I readily accepted and we put the bike in the trailer he was towing and he drove me to my car. What a nice guy. These little random acts of kindness are good for an old curmudgeon's spirits.

**************

I loaded the bike in my car and drove down to town to find a bike repair shop. The beauty of living in Whangarei is that when I found the shop there was a carpark right outside. Wonderful. The bike repair joker complimented me on my antique bike. ANTIQUE!. I'd just bought it in Auckland a week ago and didn't think it was that old. He pointed out the tyres that were showing age and perishing. "Well I'm old and perishing" I thought but I keep going. He quoted a repair price and added that the other tyre might crap out as well. I told him to fit two new tyres and tubes and while he was at it to replace the 'hard as a rock' seat with something more comfortable. I will collect the bike next week.

***************

This little episode is likely to cost me over $200. Add this to the $400 I paid for the bike and basically I'm up to the price of a new Avanti Black Thunder bike (on special for $600).
What a bummer. I wish that I hadn't been in such a rush to buy the bike when I was in Auckland last weekend.

Sometimes I think it'd be great to have a time machine to go back and correct mistakes.

LOOK OUT!

Last month I bought a one-off FanPass (SKY) to watch the cricket final. This wasn't without its hassles and I could only get it for my iPhone which isn't the ideal platform to watch a cricket game on. For one it's small and secondly it's a pain in the arse having to hold the damn thing for hours. It cost $15.99.

OK so far.

Today I received an email from PayPal telling me that they were processing a payment of $15.99 for a FanPass purchase.

What the fuck?

I contacted Sky who told me that

"These subscriptions are set to auto renew unless the customer cancels before the renewal date".

Bullshit!

No doubt this critical clause was buried in the terms and conditions or at least in small enough print that old geezers miss it.

BALLS!

I'm sick of this shit. Why should something as vital as this be the customer's responsibility to cancel out if they don't want the service? That's all 'arse about face' and contravenes good consumer practice.

I've been in contact with SKY and after requesting a refund eventually received notification from paypal that the amount is to be credited.


Remember:

HEY! LET'S BE CAREFUL OUT THERE

AUCKLAND TORNADO - FURNITURE AT RISK

Please take care when reading this as there are some events described and pictured that sensitive readers may find disturbing.

No doubt you have heard about the mini-tornado that ripped through Auckland's waterfront area last night creating havoc and causing damage to people, vehicles, airplanes, boats, buildings and ....... furniture.

Auckland is dear to the hearts of New Zealanders up and down the country to the point where southerners have coined the acronym JAFAS to refer to the residents there. I'm reliably informed that JAFAS stands for JOLLY AUCKLAND FELLAS AND SHEILAS. That's nice and denotes the quaint way that those who live south of the Bombay Hills speak.

Last night our JAFAS had quite a scare when a tornado came to town.

The New Zealand Herald, as per usual provided exemplary coverage of this event and in the attached link you will see how they covered a cross section of events movingly and with pathos.

Please link to this *BUT BE WARNED* some of the damage is disturbing.

Stroll down through the report and see Sam Sword's photograph which is captioned:

"Furniture was knocked over after high winds blasted through Wynyard Quarter restaurants tonight."

 Photo / Sam Sword

AUCKLAND TORNADO - CHAIRS DAMAGED

Do you recognise anything in this photograph? 

Yes, this is reminiscent of the disturbing image of deck furniture knocked over at The Curmudgeon's residence after a violent storm. Remember that? 

The event still sends shivers down the spines of the various curmudgeons and the images on the NZ Herald website brought back frightening memories today.

It seems that fate (or Fate if Robert was reporting this) is out to get me. Did you notice the barstool in Sam Sword's photo in the NZ Herald report?

Well I did and it is identical to the barstools that we have in our kitchen. This kitchen has French doors that lead out to the deck, the actual deck WHERE THE DECK FURNITURE WAS BLOWN OVER IN A STORM!

Creepy.

I don't know about you but I'm locking my doors tonight.

INFLUENZING

 The Oxford dictionary tells us:

influence
/ˈɪnflʊəns/
verb
gerund or present participle: influencing
have an influence on.
"government regulations can influence behaviour, but often without changing underlying values and motivations"
synonyms: affect, have an effect on, exert influence on.

Marketing Hub tells us:

What is an influencer?
An influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience.
An individual who has a following in a particular niche, which they actively engage with. The size of the following depends on the size of the niche.

Influencers are like a modern version of mosquitos. You don't want them near you when you are socialising, relaxing or otherwise going about your business but there they are, buzzing, biting, stinging and generally being annoying. They look pretty but you can't trust anything they say as they are saying what the say because they are being paid to say it.

Marketing Hub tells us that there are four types of influencers.

Types of Influencers

The majority of influencers fit into the following categories, with the last category rapidly becoming the most important:

• Celebrities
• Industry experts and thought leaders
• Bloggers and content creators
• Micro Influencers

The bulk of social influencer marketing today occurs in social media, predominantly with micro influencers, and blogging. Industry experts and thought leaders such as journalists can also be considered influencers and hold an important position for brands. Then there are celebrities. These were the original influencers, and they still have a role to play, although their importance as influencers is waning.
Bloggers and influencers in social media (predominantly micro-bloggers) have the most authentic and active relationships with their fans. Brands are now recognizing (sic) and encouraging this.

These people reach thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of people and make silly amounts of money from doing so. (think Kylie Jenner who has supposedly become a billionaire from being and influencer and marketing cosmetics and other 'must have' products).

Looking at Marketing Hub's list I note that I could be an influencer as I have quite a few blogs and already have two readers and followers. I haven't checked whether I'm making any money yet but the potential is there. I just need to hook up with some brands and products that are looking for an outlet.

I was going to say that I'll let you know when I do but the best influencers go about their business subtly with their readers and followers not realising that they are being influenced. Pol Roger Champagne.

*****************

I'm thinking though that Influencing and Influencers are more like some sort of virus - Influenza.

Wikipedia tells us that:

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by an influenza virus. Symptoms can be mild to severe. The most common symptoms include: high fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, headache, coughing, sneezing, and feeling tired. These symptoms typically begin two days after exposure to the virus and most last less than a week. The cough, however, may last for more than two weeks. In children, there may be diarrhoea and vomiting, but these are not common in adults. Diarrhoea and vomiting occur more commonly in gastroenteritis, which is an unrelated disease and sometimes inaccurately referred to as "stomach flu" or the "24-hour flu". Complications of influenza may include viral pneumonia, secondary bacterial pneumonia, sinus infections, and worsening of previous health problems such as asthma or heart failure.


Yes, that's a bit like the feeling you have if you ever read a Jenner or Kardashian website or Instagram post.

".... OH LORD I WANT TO BE IN THAT NUMBER ....."

Richard (of RBB) that well known atheist fancies himself as a bit of a canoniser even though by his own admission he abandoned his catholic beliefs some time ago. Anyway, Richard wants to bestow the title of 'Saint' on me.

"Bless you my followers"

Yes, it is understandable. I was in the 'P' classes at secondary school so have the advantage there and some of my posts have been if not saintly then certainly other-worldly.

********************

The problem is though that there are already a couple of saints in existence who have claimed the curmudgeon title. Bastards!


Saint Jerome. (ca. 331—ca. 420)

St Jerome had a reputation for being cantankerous and irascible - traits that are sought after in curmudgeons and tended to piss off everyone around him. He had no time for idiots and liked to be left alone in his studies. He had a reputation as a translator and is said to have translated the bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. I suspect that this gave him the opportunity to insert thoughts, facts and statements of his own that had nothing to do with any of the original stuff. This too is in the curmudgeon tradition of plagiarism and never letting the truth get in the way of a good story.

Jerome was popular with the Christian 'Who's Who' and had impressed Pope Damasus with his  knowledge of Hebrew, which few Christians knew at the time. He also became a spiritual advisor to a number of rich, aristocratic women whom he encouraged to embrace the ascetic life by arguing that the good of marriage is limited to the future consecrated virgins who might come from the marital union. (thanks Wikipedia). This led to him inventing the Virgin Mary nonsense amongst other fabrications made all the easier because hardly anyone else knew Hebrew and he was probably the only one around who had a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. The lucky bugger could hoodwink left right and centre.


Saint Polycarp (second century)

Not this

Polycarbonate

This guy

Saint Polycarp

Polycarp was bishop of Smyrna and devoted his life to teaching sound doctrine and opposing heresy.
He was a bit outspoken though and tended to upset emperors and dignitaries.

From Wikipedia (the odd spelling is theirs):

Despite his longevity, his outspokenness was about to catch up with him. By mid-century, governors began to require Christians to worship the emperor. In Smyrna mobs packed the amphitheater to watch Christians forced to fight wild animals. But the crowd wanted Polycarp. Polycarp was betrayed by a servant and taken to the amphitheater. In a circular letter that the Smyrnean church distributed after his death, this account described what happened:

"A great shout arose when the people heard that it was Polycarp who had been arrested. As he was brought before him, the governor asked him: "Are you Polycarp?" And when he admitted he was, the governor tried to persuade him to recant, saying: "Have respect for your age ...; swear by the Genius of the emperor. Recant. Say, 'Away with the atheists!'" Polycarp, with a sober countenance, looked at all the mob of lawless pagans who were in the arena, and shaking his fist at them, groaned, looked up to heaven, and said, "Away with these atheists!" The governor persisted and said: "Swear and I will let you go. Curse Christ!" But Polycarp answered: "For eighty-six years I have been his servant and he had done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my king and savior?""

They burnt him at the stake.

******************

"And when the sun refuse to shine

When the moon turns red with blood

On that hallelujah day

Oh when the trumpet sounds the call 

When the revelation comes 

When the rich go out and work 

When the air is pure and clean 

When we all have food to eat 

When our leaders learn to cry"

............. When the saints go marching in?

No,  that's not going to happen. I think that I'll leave it to those two old jokers.


.

ON MY BIKE AGAIN

I sold my bike to my neighbour as I wasn't using it and it's a bit dangerous riding on the open roads around where I live. I used to ride it a lot in York where the roads are safer, the motorists generally more considerate and there are virtually no hills. I brought the bike back with me but for the last 3 years it has sat in the basement unused. The Old Girl said "Use it or lose it" so I sold it to Rod.

Rod is about as coordinated as a giraffe on a pogo stick and he's also a bit of a wimp so he hasn't been riding on the road. He drives 15 minutes to a place near town where a cycle way starts and rides on the cycleway loop. It's a great way to get fit and he wants someone to go with him.

Last week I went to see the orthopaedic surgeon about my knee and he recommended cycling as a non-stress way to exercise so yesterday, in Auckland I bought a second hand Avanti bike at a bike shop.

It's a nice bike and cost me $400, considerably cheaper than a new one. I haven't fallen off it yet but ...... give me time. Richard is convinced that I harm myself in all the sporting activity I undertake and The Old Girl doesn't have a lot of confidence in me either.

I bought a helmet to comply with the law:

And will probably have to buy some lycra:

RUGBY'S THE WINNER

I stayed in our Auckland apartment on the weekend and was able to watch the first Bledisloe test as we get Sky TV there. At home here we don't have SKY TV and I'll have to listen to next week's test on the radio.

What a game of rugby that was. I've never seen the Australians play so well before. Well done the Wallabies!

Steve Hanson, the All Black's coach said:

"I'm really impressed at how well the Wallabies played. Those gentlemen are special and frankly amazing. The wonderful game of rugby football has never before been so well represented. I'm proud to be associated with the game. Our chaps had their chances and unfortunately let too many mistakes overrule their play. Never mind, it's only a game."

"Gosh Mr Wallaby, well played sir."

Michael Cheika, the Wallabies coach said:

"Ha ha mumble mumble Straya"

"Straya ya bewty!"

SATURDAY MORNING AND ALL'S WELL

Hello Readers. Note that I gave you a capital 'Readers'. Robert will particularly recognise this as he and his Religion (see what I did there?) capitalise everything that they think is important and over everything and everyone else.

Here are some examples:

God for god.
Catholic for catholic.
Church for church.
The Holy Spirit for The holy spirit) -- Ha, got you. You wondered why I capitalised the 'T' in 'The' didn't you? Well it was because it was the start of a new sentence. Ha, ha, ha - the grammatical jokes are the best aren't they? Just ask Richard.

IF I DIDN'T CARE

Well it looked like the scheduled post thing worked so here's another one.
I've written this on Wednesday afternoon and, with luck this will be posted on Friday morning.

**************

You maybe wonder why I go to all this trouble.

"Why do you go to all this trouble The Curmudgeon?"

Well, I'll tell you: I care because it's important that I get to you the lessons I've learnt in 67 years on this planet (not that I have plans to live on another planet but what if Robert is right and soon I'll go to heaven which might be a planet like Earth but set up like a massive Club Med?). No, maybe not but I can be a guide for my readers while we're alive.

The Ink Spots can likely put it better:

IF I DIDN'T CARE.


I was worried that if I was unable to post for a few days my readers would think that I'd forgotten them. OK? Silly I know but then, that's me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. HAPPY ....

You know the rest.

If you are reading this today then the delayed publishing setting I used has worked.

I'm going to be away from the desk top computer for a couple of days and find it difficult to publish posts on my iPad. I can access the blogs and read posts and make comments (which default to The wine Guy).

Yes, it's my birthday today - the 8th of August - 8/8/1952.
This is a lucky date in Chinese terms - the 8th day  of the 8th month. The year is the year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar. This is also seen as being lucky and, when combined with the 8th of the 8th, especially so.

Here's a birthday song to me:

STILL CRAZY

FIT FOR .......?

I go to the gym occasionally and do some cycling, rowing, free weights and machine weights. I'm not obsessive about it and only spend about 40 minutes there when I go.
It is good for toning up the old body though.

My knee has been giving me gyp recently and I haven't played tennis, walked or gone to the gym for a fortnight and am feeling a bit 'antsy'.
Yesterday I had an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon who basically said that life sucks, we're all getting old and we just have to put up with our aches and pains.
At least I think that's what he said as he couched his diagnosis in allusions to cars.

Yes, cars. He talked about buying a second hand car and not having a proper warranty or not being able to guarantee what that car's going to do because you don't know what's under the bonnet.
I thought for a moment that I'd come to the wrong place and had to have a quick look out the window to make sure that I hadn't come to a second hand car dealers by mistake.

Eventually I understood what he was banging on about. He was telling me that I didn't meet the criteria for a joint replacement and so he couldn't recommend one for me. He talked about the invasive surgery involved and sometimes it's better to put up with pain and discomfort until things get so bad that you are forced into the knee surgery etc.

I tell you, he seemed to be doing his best to say orthopaedic surgery is a waste of time and if he was a car salesman he's have been the worst one ever.

"Don't buy these, they're crap"

One outcome was his assurance that whatever's going on with my knee - probably arthritic degeneration - then exercise isn't going to exacerbate any problems (as long as I'm sensible) so I can walk, play tennis, play golf and go to the gym any time I like. I said that I wear a sports knee support when I walk and play tennis. He said that he sees those things as placebos and if it made me feel better then go for it. Strange chap, obviously he doesn't get any kickbacks from the medical accessory industry.

He recommended cycling as the best form of exercise.

"Great" I thought as only 3 weeks ago I sold my rusty trusty bike to neighbour Rod. "Now I'll have to buy a new one." The Old Girl when I told her put her Minister of Home Finance and Minister of Home Affairs hats on and told me to go for it so I'll start looking at Trade Me (a new blog post will ensue).


Today's a beautiful day and I'm off for a walk soon and then the gym.

*************

Talking (again) of the gym, on the weekend when I was getting dressed I said to The Old Girl:

"Hey, look, my gym work is giving me a 6-pack"

She looked over and said, rather unkindly I thought:

"What? A six-pack? You mean a half dozen cream doughnuts?"

Women!

GIVE A LOT

You know I'm getting tired of reading these givealittle stories where people have their hands out for on-line donations.
They aren't asking for coins here but usually for tens of thousands of dollars.

Just so you don't think I'm a real mean bastard I do feel sympathy for genuine family catastrophes and we have in the past donated money to funds for sick children and people in dire circumstances but recently there have been a lot of people 'aving a laugh'.

In Australia there was a woman pretending to have cancer. There was another young couple who wanted to fund their world travel plans. There's an on-going rort targeting elderly Chinese women.


This latest one really pisses me off:

SAVING MY INHERITANCE

The story behind this is the woman contracted to buy an Auckland apartment knowing full well that she couldn't afford it but was hoping to be able to quickly flick it off at massive profit due to the astronomical rise of Auckland property prices. She got caught by the slowdown in the property market and now has to front up with the purchase price or lose the $60,000 deposit. She has created the givealittle page to raise money using a pathetic 'my inheritance money' story and trying to pull on heartstrings. Here's the full story by Anne Gibson:   Anne Gibson NZ Herald




Boo hoo.

Pwetty pwetty please?

Unfortunately a lot of idiots will contribute and it doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes.

Pathetic.

WHAT SORT OF ARTIST WAS RICHARD?

"What sort of artist was Richard?" was a recently asked question.

Well this photograph taken in 1966 suggests that he may once have been a painter. We're not sure if the painting was in oils or watercolour and assume that it was in colour.



What we do know though is that nowadays he has been described as a different sort of artist.

...... LIVING IN PERFECT HARMONY*

A confused old schoolteacher

"Is Robert helping you to write these thoughts? Frankly I'm having trouble making sense of both yours and his blogs these days."

So said Richard in a recent comment on one of my posts.

It made me wonder if he really thinks that Robert and I could collaborate in post writing. I decided to research some famous collaborations to see if I could gain any clues.




The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact known as the Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed August 23, 1939.  

Well we know how that turned out:

Ebony & IvoryPaul McCartney & Stevie Wonder

Two of the world's greatest musicians at the time combined forces to record a song about racial harmony - what could possibly go wrong? Absolutely nothing. At first. When Ebony and Ivory was released in 1982 it made No.1 in both the UK and US.

In 2007 it was voted the worst musical collaboration in history. 

Innocenti and De TomasoCar designers wanting to take on the famous Mini launched this in 1974. Originally powered by an actual Mini A series engine it was changed to a three cylinder Daihatsu. The result was just awful.

Not looking too good so far ....... maybe something a bit religious for Robert.

The Tower of Babel
According to the Bible, a united human race, in the generations following the Flood, speaking a single language and migrating westward, came to the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia). There they agree to build a city and a tower tall enough to reach heaven. Robert's god was pissed off about this so muddled up their speech so that they can no longer understand each other so building the city and tower failed through misunderstandings.

OK, that's it, I don't think a collaboration between Robert and me is a good idea.

* Yeah right!