FUNNY THAT

I've been making fun of Robert's religion again. Sorry about that.
Actually I'm not really sorry as he's the one that puts it in everyone's face and expects us to just accept the illogical and nonsensical statements and affirmations as truth. When we don't he says that it's because we lack faith but never mind, Jesus still loves us (not Richard though who he says is going to Hell). What the hell do we make of that? ......

Click on the above to read the dialogue clearly

....... We laugh at it of course, although Catholics (and philosophers) might disagree.

I feel that I'm entitled to laugh at the silliness of religion and especially the Catholic version of it as I was schooled by nuns, Marist brothers and priests. They tried for years to get me to believe in the fairy tales that they called Catechism, and Christian Doctrine, (I like the 'doctrine' in that title) was my worst school subject and one that I often failed in school exams because I had either not read the rubbish that they wanted me to regurgitate or made facetious comments on the exam paper when it came to questions like: "what is transubstantiation?" Answering that it is an underground railway platform automatically resulted in a 'D'.

Incredibly enough this Christian Doctrine rubbish was part of the school curriculum right through to the 7th form! I'm sure that the priests seethed that it wasn't part of the national curriculum and a compulsory subject for School Certificate, University Entrance and Bursary.

I resisted it then so I don't see why I shouldn't resist it now.

I've got no real objection (beyond incomprehension) that Robert and others believe in this stuff. Hey! Everyone is entitled to an opinion or a belief. What I do object to is when it 'gets in your face'.
I try not to (and should not -I've got to get better) make derogatory comments to Robert's posts unless he goes too far with the nonsense, but when he transports it to comments on my blog posts I react as I did when he made a comment (soon after deleted) that "Jesus loves you". There wasn't even a context to this. To me it sounded like stalking so in the spirit of the 'Me Too' movement I replied:

"First of all - how do you know that?
Secondly - I don't want him to.
If he persists then that is unwanted attention bordering on stalking.
'No' means no. What part of that does the creep not understand?"

That's all that I'm going to say on this subject.*















* Just kidding.

UPSETTING THE NEIGHBOURS

There's a community website named NEIGHBOURLY  which purports to connect people in their local communities via a network of interactive on-line platforms.

This is what they say about themselves:

"About Neighbourly

 Neighbourly is a New Zealand owned company founded by a team of individuals passionate about building stronger, safer and more vibrant communities.

Neighbourly's mission is to create an easy way for neighbours to talk and share online, creating more real world connections and ultimately growing stronger, safer and friendlier communities."

All good and it is a useful service for local news, discussion, buy and sell and community messages.

There is a dark side to it however where it is a place for people to vent their fears, hatreds, biases and  bigotry in the most vitriolic way. If you want to see the underbelly of racism in this country check out NEIGHBOURLY's  'Crime and safety' pages. It can be quite shocking.

Recently when our recycle bin went missing I decided to play devil's advocate and posted a question on NEIGHBOURLY asking why anyone would want to steal a council recycle bin. The responses were interesting with many people dismissing this as a 'crime' and ignoring, like Robert does the crimes and misdemeanours of the catholic church, it as theft. I pursued this argument in the best tradition of Richard's Facebook discussions to the point of suggesting that the theft - which is what it is - is symptomatic of society's decline in values. This got a few idiots ranting. I've noticed that some people who cannot put a proper argument together resort to being abusive and threatening. It got to the point where I deleted the post and all of the comments. I doubt if I'll post anything further.

In this case, and others that I've followed NEIGHBOURLY is certainly not growing "stronger, safer and friendlier communities."

THE DAILY POST

So what's been happening in the blogging community (you may well ask)?

Richard finally got around to writing a new post - he's averaging about two a week nowadays which is probably due to the fact that he is 67 years old. Things slow down a bit with age although I'm sure that he pees a lot more frequently.

A synopsis of his latest post is:

• A greeting to imaginary readers
• Acknowledgement that he's staying up later since he's forsaken chardonnay
• An update on his violin practising
• A threat to play in cemeteries
• A lament that he doesn't get invited back to play
• A complaint that his Italian house-guest couldn't be arsed to teach him Italian
• A sign-off in Italian.

Whoopee! 

All that accompanied by some nebulous images.

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

Robert deleted his entire blog (again).

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

The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ have all been busy helping The Curmudgeon clean out his shed and the basement and taking a very large trailer load of things to the tip - rubbish, reusable and recycle stuff.

It cost $45 and, it was a job well done. Thanks to all who contributed.

This coming week will be busy. Here's a quick look at what's coming up (and which might not be posted on):

• Major housekeeping as houseguests arrive on Wednesday
• The Old Girl's cousin and her two sisters-in-law arrive for a stay of 3 days
• Dentist
• Probus committee meeting
• Probus newsletter to produce
• Some tennis
• Some golf
• Some bowls
• Weed-spraying
• Helping my neighbour build a composting facility
• Apartment sale administration
• Swimming if it remains as hot as it is today.
• Civil Defence training session.

Whew!

Баяртай

RAINMAKER

NILSSON - RAINMAKER

WTF!

Yesterday I walked around the bay to my sister's place to check her electricity meter for her.
We haven't had rain here for a couple of months and Northland is officially in a drought situation.
I checked the meter and headed back home walking along the shore at mid-tide. It rained. Torrential rain. I had about one and a half kilometres to walk and got soaked.

Today I decided to clear out the shed and sort items in order:

• Keep
• Donate
• Dump

It was a nice sunny morning and I put most of the contents on the driveway.

It rained. Heavy rain. Fuck!

I put all of the perishable and keepable or donateable things back in the shed and came indoors.

Now the rain has stopped. Fuck!

I've put a load of washing through. It needs to be hung up. The sun is now shining. Should I risk it?

THIS CARTOON IS FOR RICHARD

NEWER POST - THE RELIGIOUS CURMUDGEON

GAME CANCELLED

NEW POST - THE RELIGIOUS CURMUDGEON

GAME ON

NEW POST - THE CURMUDGEONLY LUDDITE

HANDY, MAN

NEW POST - THE BLUE MAN

BLUE ANIMALS

"IS EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?"

HEARTS - JESSE BARISH

When I went to Auckland before going to Wellington I had an appointment with a heart surgeon who I'd been referred to. After some ECG tests he discussed possible procedures to fix the continual atrial fibrillation I've been experiencing.

He explained Catheter Ablation in some detail.

Ablation for Arrhythmias. Catheter ablation is a procedure that uses radio frequency energy (similar to microwave heat) to destroy a small area of heart tissue that is causing rapid and irregular heartbeats. Destroying this tissue helps restore your heart's regular rhythm.

This is done in a surgical procedure under anaesthesia with, he said, "a minor risk of death during the operation". Oh joy. As my sister, my GP and a local heart specialist  had all suggested the worthwhileness of this I said that we should give it a go. The surgeon then dropped this bombshell:

"The first operation is seldom effective and often two, three or more procedures are necessary"

Great! I asked if there was an alternative which he happily pulled out of his bag of tricks.

"Cardioversion" he beamed. "Cardioversion is a simpler procedure, done under anaesthesia where we give you an electric shock with paddles like you've no doubt seen on TV".

Great! I said that we should give this a go.

"Cardioversion might or might not work though" he said. "Even when it works the beneficial effect is usually only temporary and the atrial fibrillation comes back."

"OK" I said, beginning to see some sort of pattern here. "What else have you got?".

"Flecainide" he answered with what seemed like a bit of excitement in his voice. "Flecainide will help bring the heart beat into a normal pattern and needs to be taken prior to and after the cardioversion procedure".

"Great" I carefully proffered, expecting that there was a negative somewhere ......

"But" he replied "the results will only be temporary"

"Oh" I said and, seeing that I was a bit crestfallen he said that the positive side was that I'd be able to 

experience normal heart rhythm for a while and could then evaluate whether having catheter ablation was worth the risk worth giving it a go.

Here's a summary of his recommendation that he sent to my local heart specialist.

"I have recommended that the best approach at this point in time is to restore sinus rhythm and evaluate his symptomatic status without the presence of atrial fibrillation. In order to do that I suggest he has a cardioversion.  In order to try and maintain sinus rhythm for a period of time after this - and provide a window of symptomatic assessment - I have given him a prescription for Flecainide-CR  and advised him to start this 1 week prior to cardioversion. He should have a Flecainide level 2 weeks after starting this (i.e. 1 week after the cardioversion). If his symptomatic status improves significantly further while being in sinus rhythm this provides additional impetus to pursuing a rhythm control approach in the more medium to long term. I would favour initially continuing with Flecainide and at the point where arrhythmia breaks through this, undertake a catheter ablation procedure at that point. "

So, it looks like I'll be having the electric shock treatment first with the likelihood of the full monty later.  If the cardioversion works and I feel significantly better with a regular heart rhythm I can then consider the ablation operation. If the cardioversion works and I don't notice a significant benefit then it's hardly worth the risk of the ablation. I'd better keep up the Southern Cross medical insurance payments.

READY TO GO

Well, I'm back from my travels to Wellington and Auckland having had a pleasant time.
I drove down and back again, enjoying the sights on the way.

Wellington was great. I walked about visiting old haunts (not Shelley's relatives' place in Berhampore though) and am looking forward to doing a lot more of this in the following months.
We had a great evening with Richard, Shelley and their house-guest Donato which will probably get mentioned again in later posts.

The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ are a bit miffed however by the aspersions thrown at them in the latest Richard's Bass Bag post.

Not these

Richard inferred that the curmudgeons were lazy and had been slacking off while The Curmudgeon was away. The best thing to do is for each of them to post in order.

Hold onto your hat.

ARE CURMUDGEONS GETTING A FAIR DEAL?

I read this today on The New Zealand Herald app.  HERE


This influencer use of Give-a Little is getting out of hand.

But ....... maybe I could Give-it-a-Go since old curmudgeons aren't getting a fair deal.

How about you readers funding a poor old curmudgeon in his travels?
I'm off to Wellington again and will need money to properly enjoy the sights and sounds that the wonderful city has to offer. You don't want your favourite curmudgeon to have to dine in cheap cafes do you?

ONE MEAT BALL

Wellington has some of the best restaurants in the country - Logan Brown, Ortega, Boulcott Street Bistro, Jane Bistro etc , but you need a bit of dosh to go there especially if you have the misfortune of only being able to drink rare and expensive wine.

"Those who donate won't go home empty-handed however" as I promise to write blog posts on my experiences. Contributors will be able to vicariously experience the visits to these fine dining places without feeling embarrassed at what wine to order or which meal order will impress the waiter the most.

Please send your pledges through to this blog and I will arrange a direct credit into my bank account for you. Thank you.

BLACK & DECKER

Well, it seems that I won't be doing a series about my pot plants after all. Richard doesn't want it and Robert can't read and understand anyway so why bother?

Here's what I did today instead.

I played tennis this morning which was pretty good except for the fact that one of the guys who thinks he's good, poaches his fellow players shots and runs across both sides of the court. He does this effectively bullying behaviour especially when partnered with a woman. I asked him if he shouldn't consider playing singles instead of doubles. I don't know if he understood the sarcasm.

After tennis, as it is slightly cooler today I set about trimming a couple of annoying trees at the front of the house.

Some protective gear was in order - boots, sunhat and gloves. Here's a picture of one of my boots.

Of course the tree trimmer gets clogged up with leaves and bits of branch and stops. This is what I expect. Fortunately I have Black & Decker equipment that is easy to dismantle, clean and reassemble . I wish that all garden equipment was like this. I think I'll buy a Black & Decker line trimmer.

The result was a clearer view of the water and the bottom of the drive.

The trailer is full now so I'll take this lot to the dump tomorrow.

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

Now, wasn't that more interesting than posts on god, religion and used car salesmen?

I USED TO WET MY PLANTS

I pulled out all of the dead, dying and unhealthy plants in pots on the deck a few months ago with the intention of repotting a whole lot of new plants, flowers and herbs: SEE HERE

I didn't get around to doing this which is just as well since we are experiencing a heatwave up here.
We haven't got water restrictions yet as they do a but further north but there is council advice to watch water usage. I will keep the 'bird bath' filled though. This is the big stone bowl that I have on the deck.

Going forward the water will be more enticing.

I've cleaned it out and will keep it filled with clean water for the little birds. They like to bathe in this and I notice that the stream which comes down from Mount Aubry behind our house and runs out to sea is getting a bit dry.

HOT AND BOTHERED

We've been having a heat wave up here recently with early this week temperatures breaking all records. It's been difficult doing any outdoors activity (gardening, walking, tennis, golf etc) unless done very early or late in the day. Night time temperatures in the high twenties has made sleep difficult. I'm pleased that today is a bit cooler - mid twenties instead of mid thirties so This morning I got stuck into the weeding and have been cutting and slashing , getting rid of the dreaded convolvulus, agapanthus and all sorts of weeds that have sprung up. I've also started to trim trees again after the big clearance I did over a year ago. It's getting a bit warm now so I'm taking a break and rehydrating.
Later I'll continue after I've charged up the batteries for the tree trimmer and I'll load up the trailer.

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

The other bloggers haven't produced anything informative recently.
Richard's Bass Bag had the cheek to create a post on how to blog effectively. He got himself hot and bothered and wrote that other blogs suffer from:

Too much bloody religion.
Boring 'series style' posts about things like windows.
Unfair complaints about pregnant waitresses.
Too many spin off blogs by bloggers who specialise in one thing - boring posts.
Too much threatening readers with Hell.
Too many blogs that start with a hiss and a roar and then fizzle away.

I'm not sure but I think that he was criticising THE CURMUDGEONS INCⓒ there along with ROBERT THE SINNER  blog which is as you would expect.

Never mind. We won't be mean and we'll let him rant on a bit. No-one reads his blog anyway.

NEW POST - THE RELIGIOUS CURMUDGEON

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I WAS OUT ....

AFTERNOON CLUBBING*

With apologies to Grace Jones: NIGHTCLUBBING

The Grace Jones video is a bit long for a poor pun. Sorry about that.
Robert in a comment on one of his posts said:

"I think posting links is already in the past!"

Oh well, readers don't have to click on the links. I don't know where Robert got that opinion from though given that, as a catholic he doesn't have any original ideas preferring to regurgitate the tripe that's served up to him in sermons at Sunday mass.

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

I went to the club (not the Taumaranui Cosmopolitan Club) yesterday where the The John Leigh Calder Jazz Quartet played.

The last time I heard them was back in mid December and The Music Curmudgeon wrote a post about it: THE MUSIC CURMUDGEON

This afternoon was even better. It was a really hot day but the deck where the quartet played was sheltered from the sun.

The outlook is spectacular.

Sorry about the darkness. The phone camera was looking into the sun

I've been a bit disappointed with this local club over the last couple of years and, in previous posts likened it to a cosmopolitan club. A recent trip to Taumaranui reawakened old memories of how bad cosmopolitan and similar 'blokes' clubs can be and, thank Robert's god, our club hasn't sunk so low.
The music event in December and again today confirmed to me the potential that this community club has. Instead of being a boring drinking hole it can, with good selection of events and support from members, capitalise on the stunning outlook from below Mount Manaia and looking over McLeod Bay to the West.

I recorded a couple of clips.

.


In the second video you'll notice a lot of hubbub and talking. I turned around and got the attention of a loudmouth who was the worst in a group of people on the deck ignoring the music and asked him to be quiet. I didn't exactly say "shut the fuck up" but I did ask him "can you talk any louder?". He got the message and his little group moved into the main area of the club. I got a nod of approval from a couple of other people who were listening to the music.

.