We've had a great run of beautiful weather which unfortunately I haven't been able to take advantage of.
After the operation last Wednesday I have to 'rest' the eyes for 2 to 3 weeks which means not putting them at risk of getting grit in them which would trigger rubbing. Tennis, golf, gardening, swimming, kayaking and 'handyman' activity is banned. It's a bit frustrating but it's important to follow the eye surgeon's instructions.
There are many things that I want to do but have to take it easy and watch the world through the windows.
Of course I could bother my readers with more blog posts as there's no shortage of stupidity to report on and I'm not even talking of religion here. I'm not sure if I can be bothered though.
I'm waiting for the mailman to arrive with, hopefully, a letter of confirmation of my vision tests post op. which I can take to AA to have my drivers licence changed. The 'correcting lenses must be used while driving' condition has to be removed and I guess a new photograph taken.
Is David Seymour New Zealand's version of Elon Musk in so far as they both relate to attempts to dismantle social welfare programmes, move governmental institutions and practices to private enterprise and ensure that the wealthy and privileged in our society become richer and contribute less on the backs of the poorer and less privileged?
That was a long sentence but not as a long a sentence as we will all be under if Seymour is allowed, like Elon Musk, to get away with his nonsense unchecked by a weak and ineffectual leader - Chris Luxon for us and Donald Trump for the Americans.
It seems that the only thing that these limp dicks can do is glare at their usurpers:
We have all been watching with disbelief how Trump has allowed an unelected but very rich donor to the Republican Party to take over the running of the US government. It's a slow train wreck that will have dire consequences for USA and the world as early as this year.
At home, our own train wreck, David Seymour and the ACT Party are being allowed to undermine some of our institutions to the advantage of commercial enterprise and the disadvantage of previous providers, recipients of service and benefits and I fear, our society at large.
So who are these people?
Wikipedia told me:
What are the values of the Act Party?
Principles. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natural environment and for smaller, smarter government in its goals of a prosperous economy, a strong society, and a quality of life that is the envy of the world".
That's pretty innocuous but does hide some scary intentions to strip out expensive and unnecessary government spending - in their view free education, social welfare, community housing and public health systems amongst others. There's a whiff of eugenics in there not to mention some ambitions as pronounced by the National Socialist German Workers' Party in the 1920s and 1930s.
On a personal level, Seymour states on his own webpage:
WHAT I BELIEVE
The Epsom electorate suburbs of Mt Eden, Newmarket, Parnell, Remuera, and Epsom itself are overwhelmingly defined by education and aspiration. There are 30 schools in an area of only 20 square kilometres, and the electorate boundaries are almost identical to major school zones. People have come here for hundreds of years for a better life, and that continues to this day.
My own story is quintessentially Epsom. I left home to board in the electorate at age 13 because I wanted to attend Auckland Grammar. My values and policy positions reflect this spirit of aspiration through education that I believe is at the core of our electorate.
I see it as a great privilege to represent my neighbours in Parliament. I regularly knock on doors, attend local events, meet constituents in my office, and conduct scientific polling to ensure that my representations in Parliament reflect your views. I welcome your feedback through the channels advertised on this website.
After working as an electrical engineer, I spent five years working for private sector think tanks in Canada. I also spent a year working in Parliament on the Partnership (Charter) School legislation. A robust understanding of public policy is essential for being an effective MP.
I believe the role of Government is to provide essential infrastructure; insure against misfortune through healthcare, free education, and benefits where necessary; and regulate against genuine conflicts of interest, including conflicts with the natural environment.
However, we must acknowledge that every dollar spent by Government must be taken from taxpayers, every regulation restricts possibility. Abrupt and erratic Government activity erodes confidence and reduces human flourishing. My voting record in Parliament reflects a healthy skepticism of what Government can achieve once the costs of its activities are taken into account.
On conscience issues I reflect the views of the Epsom electorate. I have sponsored the End of Life Choice Act to give compassion and choice to those suffering at the end of their life. On abortion, I have unapologetically stood for a woman’s right to choose.
On law and order, we must ensure that policy is set to protect the needs of law-abiding citizens, and victims in particular, first. However, we must also recognize (sic) the paradox that effective rehabilitation of prisoners is one of the most efficient ways to promote public safety.
OK, Seymour manages, in a short statement, to contradict himself numerous times. It's as if MLK said "I havea dream .." only to go on to say that actually he doesn't sleep well and never dreams.
Thinking and writing about this I can see that this could become a series - a long one if each of Seymour's (and Musk's) attacks on socialist-leaning government policies and community initiatives are investigated.
The ACT Party does not believe in government helping the weak and the disadvantaged, seeing them as, on the one hand bludgers and a drain on the economy and, on the other hand as cheap labour that should be exploited by smarter and by definition, richer people aka ACT and National supporters.
There's one Seymour-driven and ACT Party initiative that's playing out like that slow moving train wreck at the moment. Like with Trump's Musk-driven wreck this is interesting to watch and to expect it's obvious ending but - to the people closely involved and affected by it, it's not funny. I'm talking here about Seymour's school lunch programme.
The previous 'school lunch programme' was more of a community-driven programme than a commercial, profit-driven one. Schools shared the activity amongst themselves and the communities that they support. The inputs were results driven not profit motivated and, by and large were successful. An interesting by-product in addition to inter-school cooperation was promoting families and communities to become more involved with schools' functions and budgets. Localised provision was used and it was easier (and safer) to cater to dietary and faith-driven requirements. Everyone was happy - or, they should have been until the right wing leaning, free enterprise loving and 'where's the bottom line?' ACT Party was enfranchised. Sheesh!
What was the intention of the school lunch programme you might ask.
Well, luckily for you reader(s) I have the answer.
The former school lunch programme was delivering a dual benefit: healthier children more able to concentrate and achieve in the classroom, and healthier communities for whom the school lunch programme had become a force for social cohesion.
- Scoop
Now I find that interesting. There are only positives there: Health; achievement; community wellbeing; social cohesion. I like it.
Scoop and Gordon Campbell told us:
More to the point, the former school lunch programme was also a sin against commerce. Community involvement – and the inter-school efficiencies of scale – were ripping profits from the hungry mouths of corporate providers, who have now been invited to deliver a shoddier product at less cost to the government, while still enriching themselves in the process. Because hey, if you can’t make a profit from feeding hungry kids, what’s the point?
There's the rub (thanks Hamlet).
Campbell said:
The school lunches saga gets worse by the day. Bland, repetitive menus, failures in heating, failures in timely delivery, failures to deliver halal meals that are truly halal, endangering children who have known allergies by giving them food that may contain the triggering ingredients, etc etc. It's not as if this new system was sprung on anyone overnight. The private sector, for all its alleged efficiency, had been given eight months notice to get prepared, and get this right.
And:
If ACT leader David Seymour can’t/won’t now admit that this brainchild of his is a total disaster...what more evidence pray, does he need? Do children have to die in the school cafeteria before Seymour will admit the error of his ways, and revert to the old system, as previously funded?
I agree with him. Seymour is pushing his own agenda, like with Charter Schools and his Treaty interpretations at the risk of vulnerable and needy people who haven't his wealth and influence to counteract decisions that affect them.
Now you are probably, if you bothered reading up to this point (sorry Robert that I didn't include your name, mention of Jesus, Mary and The Holy Ghost and treatise on evil) wondering how this ties in with that immature scrote Elon Musk and his current (but soon to be side-lined) enabler Donald Trump. Well, wait no longer as, if I can borrow another quote from Gordon Campbell:
"What ACT is doing – with the support of coalition partners like Education Minister Erica Stanford – is in line with an age-old method of cutting public services. First, reduce the quality of an essential service so drastically that the demand for it plummets. Then, with fewer people using the service, more “savings” can be made by cutting back further on the programme, which will end up delivering an increasingly shabbier product to fewer and fewer end users. The “savings” will be immense!
With good reason, the main focus in the school lunches debacle has been on the repetitive fare and bad taste/poor quality/inept delivery of the food, the subsequent waste, and the likely impact on the educational outcomes for children now going hungry. The related social cost has been paid less attention, but is worth considering."
I'm just glad that I had sandwiches made for me by a loving mother and the opportunity to add on a tuck-shop pie or Friday fish and chips when I was at school in the 50s and 60s but understand how difficult it is nowadays.
My aunt sent me a photograph taken of her and me back in the 1950s.
It came with a letter and my uncle's funeral card.
At the time I was living with her in Karori for nearly a year while my mother was recovering in hospitals and back in Eiffelton with her parents following surgery after a bad accident. I was 'farmed' out to my Aunty Bridie; my brother was sent to Ashburton to stay with an uncle; my older sister was sent to Blenheim to stay with another aunt.
Dad was busy with his contracting business and was spending every spare moment building our house in Vogeltown. It must have been a stressful time for mum and dad. This photograph brought back a lot of memories of my life with my aunt and uncle (who died last month).
“For those of us who believe in physics, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion".
It's a gorgeous day here and the real estate agent has been taking photos of the house (inside and out) and the location (the bay, the surrounding mountains).
The house looks better than it has for years - probably since we moved in 15 years ago following a couple of months of decluttering, fix-it stuff, painting, landscaping and cleaning. Whew! The Old Girl spent hours yesterday and this morning scrubbing, polishing and dusting and I've been warned not to make a mess. This basically means not moving, not touching things, not using the showers or toilets and basically - not breathing. I have been allowed to sit quietly and read a book and, now that the inside photography is done am allowed to sit in the study (my side only) and use the computer as long as ... you've got it ... I don't make a mess. I've been rewarded with a glass of Deutz rose though so I must have been doing something right.
I can't wait to see the photographs. The agent is a bit of a camera buff but also had a professional photographer with him as well. He's been operating a drone for the high and long shots which I know will look good as I've taken some stunning pics in the past from my kayak just using a basic digital camera or my phone.
I just took a few phone photos showing how the inside looks but these are pretty basic compared to what the pros will produce. Here's a selection:
The Old Girl and I, on the weekend discussed how we love living here and, if the house doesn't sell at a reasonable price, we're very happy to stay. Looking at the house and our location today I'm tempted to hope that no-one else wants to buy the place and that, as we've mentioned before, they'll have to carry us out 'boots first'.
Pope Francis IS 88 and has been in hospital for over a week. The prognosis doesn't look good.
By and large I've liked reading about old Pope Frank. He's shown some guts and determination in the role as pope albeit being constrained and overly influenced by Vatican tradition and that silly religion he's part of. Even while generally 'toeing the line' he has made significant pronouncements on the rights of LGBQT people and has spoken against vile right wing racists like Donald Trump. He will be missed when he resigns or dies.
"The Vatican hierarchy tried to tamp down speculation that the pope might decide to resign. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated.
Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to rumours about a possible resignation."
- The Guardian
Yeah, well, it's inevitable.
The problem is though that, in this world of reactionary thinking where advancements and reforms are under attack by the far right, white supremacists, fascists, oligarchs and dictators (that just about sums up Trump and his cronies) we may not see another pope with free will and intelligence like Pope Francis. The Catholic Church is ultra conservative and has had close relationships with dictators and fascists in the past. The cardinals might elect someone who will do a Trump/Musk job of dismantling the changes that Frank pushed through over the last decade.
I guess Catholic 'apologists' like Trent Horn would be happy to see a new conservative pope - one who doesn't say outrageous things like:
"All religions are a path to reach God. They are like different languages, different idioms to get there but God is God for everyone."
- Pope Francis
No doubt Robert agrees with Horn.
What would be nice to see is the election of an even more liberal, intelligent, pragmatic and progressive pope with real 'christian values' to replace Pope Francis.
Robert and Kylie are going bushwacking today and ...
... sorry, I'll rephrase that: Robert and Kylie are going bush-bashing today on Kapiti Island. See this post but be quick as it'll be deleted soon: OF BIRDS
Not these guys
They are going to watch the birds there:
Probably not these as that would be a sin ...
... more like these
I feel envious as I've never been to Kapiti even though I spent a lot of time at Paraparaumu and Waikanae over the years.
I hope that the weather is kind to them but, from the list on Robert's post it looks like they've taken everything that Mount Everest climbers would need - including suishi (sic).
"Often, to have a monkey on one's back means to have an addiction that one can not control, or to be addicted to drugs or suffering withdrawal from a drug addiction. The origin of this idiom may be the stories of Sinbad, the earliest known works are from the seventeenth century."
- Quora
Funny, I just learned today, on Richard's Bass Bag* that the creator of the world and mankind, god, might have been a monkey.
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I've been watching a US TV series called Goliath recently about a Californian lawyer who gets involved in very tricky cases. It's well written and acted and worth a look. It was over four seasons.
The one that I just finished concerned the opioid crisis with 'Big Pharma' being taken to task over the poisoning of millions of Americans and the deaths of over 200,000. You'll remember the court cases of the companies like Purdue and the Sackler family who were fined billions of dollars but of course had much of that overturned on appeal.
I'm glad that I didn't overuse the pain medications I've had for shingles, back problems and the hip tendinopathy. Fortunately I don't have an addictive personality although some might disagree when I talk about the wines we consume. Hey ho.
After a week of no alcohol I'm going to have a couple of glasses tonight - probably rose as I have a Tipping Point Rose in the fridge. Mea culpa Robert.
Empirical knowledge is a great learning tool whereby people learn from their errors - like touching a farm's electric fence and not wanting to do that again.
"Once bitten, twice shy" is a saying relating to this or, as we joked in 3P class:
"Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu (nothing is in the intellect which has not first been in the senses)."
No doubt the 3Gers would have said something like:
"Don't cut off your nose despite your face" or some such.
Is society becoming dumber? Certainly the overuse of social media and computer apps and programmes that take away knowledge requirements - like spellcheck are adding to this and this is before AI and all its developments have properly taken hold. Common Sense is becoming something of the past.
Do you remember those Jackass programmes on TV? These featured stupid, painful and embarrassing stunts that the idiots performed on each other and the public, with the consequence that even-lower IQ fans copied them and ended up immolating, drowning, blowing up and otherwise injuring themselves sort of like the Darwin Awards' real-life tragedies.
This occurred to me yesterday when reading of a woman tourist in the Caribbean who had both hands bitten off by a bull shark while she was trying to take a selfie with it in shallow waters.
Also, yesterday I read of two cars that skidded off the main road out to our bays here - one ending up in a ditch and the other in the sea. We had two days of rain after a long fine period but some people don't change their driving styles and speeds on wet roads. I guess empirical knowledge might make them think better next time.
Robert (Rob) has deleted all of his posts again. I wonder if empirical knowledge was in play there?
This (an AI overview) came from the web:
Empirical knowledge is knowledge based on observation, experimentation, and direct experience. It's also known as a posteriori knowledge.
How is empirical knowledge gained?
Observation: Using the senses to perceive phenomena Experimentation: Repeatable experiments to test and verify knowledge Measurement: Using calibrated scientific instruments to gather data Why is empirical knowledge important?
It's grounded in real-world experience It's invaluable for research and business strategies It can help us make better decisions and understand the world around us How does empirical knowledge compare to other types of knowledge?
It's often contrasted with a priori knowledge, which is derived from reasoning, logic, or intuition
Science is a method for ascertaining the accuracy of empirical knowledge.
OK, but when those other bloggers read that they'll no doubt misinterpret 'a posteriori knowledge' as being 'posterior' knowledge which, when you think about it is apt.
I don't want to be seen as one of those zealots who pushes fanatical ideas in pursuit of my own religious (read ethical), social and political ideals but ... some things have to be shared.
I've written a few posts recently about geopolitics and the looming disaster of the second term as president of Donald Trump and have done so in the full awareness that the many, most, some of, the two readers of this blog's posts haven't been living in a vacuum and are up to date with these momentous happenings. There's just so much information circulating on the web, in print and written on toilet walls though (not mine as The Old Girl's coming home tomorrow and everything has to be clean and tidy) that it helps when some good stuff is shared.
This evening I watched an ABC News In Depth report written and presented by Matt Bevan who I trust titled "The shocking story behind Trump's plan to own Gaza - if you're listening."
This is 19 minutes long but is well worth watching - and listening to - because it is a good essay covering the background leading to the situation today that exposes not only that idiot Trump but the egregious other players like the greedy simp Jared Kushner, the criminal Netanyahu and the oligarchs like, in this case, Ronald Lauder who stand to benefit.
Yes, you guessed it. The Old Girl arrives home tomorrow so I have to get the house back to the pristine condition she left it in a couple of weeks ago.
"You'd better not make a mess matey" she said before she left.
Over the last couple of weeks I've done quite a few jobs around the house both inside and out - touching up paintwork, planting flowers, tidying up the basement, taking stuff to the tip, trimming trees etc but have been a bit remiss when it comes to housework.
After I hang out the washing (fresh sheets on the bed) I'd better do some dusting, vacuuming, wooden floor washing and bathrooms cleaning. This will be the last opportunity for me to use my failing eyesight as an excuse (all going well) as I have my eyes operation this coming Wednesday. They say that my vision will be drastically improved which means that dust, dirt and grime will soon be noticeable.
I'm a bit tired today, having had one of those almost sleepless nights. I turned the light out about 10.30 and slept I think before being awoken at 2.30 by a noise either in my dream or outside. I got up and looked around and saw nothing but it was quite windy and we had a brief but torrential downpour. I went back to bed, read and dozed until some bloody animal (neighbour's cat I assume) decided to gallop over the roof making a hell of a racket. After that I couldn't sleep any more so watched YouTube videos, read my novel and caught up with news from around the world. I checked the blogs which took about 2 minutes seeing that those Lower Hutt guys must have been sleeping although Robert came on-line at about 4AM to tell us - something or other including that he was going to change the colour of his house. I recommend a sort of whitewashed stucco like his pal Jesus might have painted his house back in the day.
The washing machine is telling me that it's finished so I'd better get on with it.
Have any readers noticed ... I'll rephrase that ... has Richard noticed that Robert writes posts and then, maybe days later, deletes them?
I suspect that it's because he doesn't like the interest shown in them according to the comments he receives. The thing is though that he could just, as he has in the past, delete the comments but .... hold on, maybe it's because the comments suggest that the post is nonsense and Robert or Rob the author agrees.
We know that Donald Trump is a coward and his macho posturing is done to hide his weaknesses. He's like a school bully really. We've seen his weakness and cowardice in his latest cow-towing to Putin and in allowing Elon Musk free reign in an unelected and probably illegal position. His latest embarrassment though is almost beyond belief.
Trump let Musk conduct a press meeting in the oval office while he sat in his shadow. To make it worse Musk again brought one of his kids with him, the one that he's wheeled out like a prop in other interviews. which was inappropriate in the setting.
Trump remained seated at the Resolute desk while Musk and his kid stole the limelight.
Maybe Trump was worried that Musk might steal his desk again.
It was what the kid named X ( X Æ A-Xii) did during Musk's interview though that makes Trump the world's laughing stock.
X: "You're not the president and you need to go away,"
Trump: (nothing)
X: "I want you to shush your fucking mouth."
Trump: (nothing)
Musk during this kept wittering on, spewing out his nonsense and lies and ignored the interaction of X and Trump like parents of spoiled and indulged children do.
Trump just sat and glared, probably hoping that his Secret Service bodyguards would shoot the kid.
Can you believe this?
It's true and if you haven't seen any of the clips yet, watch these:
Note that the scaredy-cat media mostly reported that X said "Shush your mouth" when a 'hot mic' actually picked him up saying "I want you to shush your fucking mouth".
Donald Trump's presidential terms are reality that is stranger than fiction.
While not exhaustive that list does cover the major influences and catalysts that led to the decline and fall of most civilizations. The Wikipedia article is an interesting read though and has a nice historical snapshot of the many civilizations that the world has seen.
It's interesting to read that the reasons for the fall of civilizations include damage to the environment, depletion of resources, rising costs of living, wars and invasions, disease, decay of social cohesion, wealth inequality, gender and race inequality, concentration of power in the hands of elites (oligarchy), the long-term decline of cognitive abilities, loss of creativity and natural disasters.
I think that we can all recognise these triggers as becoming more pronounced in our time.
There's good and bad news in this though.
The good news is that complete extinction of our culture is not inevitable, and new societies that will arise from the ashes of the old one. Like a phoenix from the flame. Here's ... oh, that's right, I used the Sinead O'Connor clip in a previous post.
The bad news is that the new societies will take some time to develop and we'll be long gone.
Natural disasters and climate change
Many civilizations declined through natural disasters like the massive droughts that decimated Africa and asia many thousands of years ago followed by flooding in East Asia as a result of seasonal disruption. Earthquakes, sea level changes and volcanic eruptions had great effects on climate which in turn reduced food production and led to population decimation and relocation.
Diseases
Climate change has had a link to the spread of infectious diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, plague, smallpox, measles and a host of other pandemics. Because it forced population drift and movement, climate change was linked to mass migration and famine which helped spread disease. Living with livestock, having poor sanitation and contaminated water supplies along with no medical knowledge was a breeding ground for illnesses and caused deaths in the hundreds of millions.
.... that's enough - class dismissed but do your reading and, if you wish, report back to me.
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We're seeing most if not all of the triggers for past empire falls and societal collapse and they are happening much more quickly than the earlier ones.
Irreversible environmental damage, over-extraction and indiscriminate use of resources, rising costs of living, wars and invasions, pandemics and the resurrection of old diseases, decay of social cohesion, wealth, gender, race and demographic inequality, the rise of the billionaire class and resultant concentration of power in the hands of elites and the oligarchy, the long-term decline of cognitive abilities and loss of creativity through overuse and misuse of social media, AI and the internet, and natural disasters whether caused by climate change or not. We're on a hiding to nothing.
Do I sound pessimistic?
Well, I am even for a curmudgeon. The news from the north, or, from the news platforms I watch about USA, Europe and the rest of the world is doing nothing to assuage my fears. That big ball of noxious gas (orange) Trump and his, on the one hand sycophantic Republican politicians and on the other, his cynical and manipulative billionaire 'friends' and their weasley support crews are hell-bent on destroying democracy, accelerating the decline of the USA 'empire' and making life uncomfortable for all of us.
I watched this morning a great speech from good old, and unfortunately getting older and becoming more frail, Bernie Sanders (USA Senator).
See:
Please watch this as I fear good old Bernie will soon be sidelined. Listen to his scary announcement that, in USA, 3 men (Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos) collectively, have more wealth than the bottom half of Americans (170 million people). That's not fair.
These unofficial and unelected supporters of Trump's administration, spearheaded by Musk are deliberately and systematically gutting American governmental agencies that pose a threat to their businesses and wealth and that provide social welfare support for the 170 million that they, bizarrely, see as a threat to themselves. Don't just take my word for it - check it out but you'll have to look beneath Trump's 'red herrings' like the Gaza real estate nonsense, the Panama Canal bravado, Mexico, China and Canada posturing, the name change of the Gulf of Mexico to The Gulf of America and the Greenland (did you know that some dickhead US senator has promoted a bill to change the name of Greenland to Red, White and Blueland?) silliness. These are all just distractions from what Trump and his cronies want to achieve and what Trump and his boss Putin are really after - expansion of Russia and the nobbling of NATO.
OK, OK, I hear you, that reader ... "But The Curmudgeon, what have these things got to do with us?"
Well reader - “You! hypocrite lecteur! —mon semblable,—mon frère” to quote T.S.Eliot who 'borrowed that from Baudelaire (sorry about that but it's been a busy day and I'm unwinding - or coming apart - with a glass of vodka and tonic) - this USA debacle and its posturing against Europe, South America and - well, the rest of the world really will cause a USA recession, a worldwide recession, trade wars, international conflicts and ... well, you know the rest. Check out the history of the 1920s and 1930s. Did I mention that we're on a hiding to nothing.
OK, let's tone it down a bit and localise things to little old New Zealand where ... holy shit! This National-led government, amongst all the other horrible things it's done is attacking the health sector and laying off people like they were add-on aunties at a family business WTF!
"Look, I mean" to quote Alf Garnett. We're witnessing and unfortunately living through it, a mini-version of Trump's America with a silly wealthy business man with delusions of grandeur, attaining a powerful position where he hopes that he can help himself, his family, his friends and the other 'top 2%' of wealthy people in this country by giving them tax breaks. To achieve this he has needed to reduce government spending on social welfare, health, education, arts and critical thinking programmes. He has also needed the support of others - the coalition who have their own agendas not unlike Trump's cronies. -- (maybe to be continued)
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As my many two readers know, The Old Girl and I are selling up and moving to Wellington. If this happens we will move to Wellington once we've sold and have money in the bank. As it's unlikely that we will immediately be able to find the apartment or townhouse we want to buy we will rent for a period until we do. The likely weekly rental is enough to bring tears to your eyes - between $700 and $1000. Fortunately we will be able to afford it.
Today, while driving and listening to National Radio I heard a segment on the unaffordability of renting and buying in New Zealand. Now we know that this is nothing new but I wonder if our current National-led government members know it. Recently these stuffed shirts cancelled the previous government's housing initiatives by reducing or suspending the new build programme for accommodation for those in need. An interviewee spoke of how difficult, impossible really it was to afford a $700 a week rental for him and his family while being on an unemployment benefit. Look it up - the figures don't gel. I get it. We are on the verge of social collapse here, not necessarily from an uncaring government but an unaware one. I don't blame the landlords. They buy properties at market rates that, in New Zealand are massively above those of similar countries but - we are at the bottom of the world. They have to price their rental properties at a rate that reflects their borrowing costs, maintenance, tax liabilities and to allow a (reasonable) profit. still it's not working and something has to give.
In the year 2525, if man is still alive If woman can survive, they may find In the year 3535 Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie Everything you think, do and say Is in the pill you took today In the year 4545 You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes You won't find a thing to chew Nobody's gonna look at you In the year 5555 Your arms hangin' limp at your sides Your legs got nothin' to do Some machine's doin' that for you In the year 6565 You won't need no husband, won't need no wife You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too From the bottom of a long glass tube In the year 7510 If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then Maybe He'll look around Himself and say Guess it's time for the judgment day In the year 8510 God is gonna shake His mighty head He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been Or tear it down, and start again In the year 9595 I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive He's taken everything this old earth can give And he ain't put back nothing Now it's been ten thousand years Man has cried a billion tears For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday In the year 2525, if man is still alive If woman can survive, they may find
We decided on a real estate agent to market our house after comparing the appraisal submissions from three agents from three different companies. They were quite different in their approaches and summaries but we found it easy to select one.
The one we selected is a bit of a wide-boy but has the gift of the gab, is well-known in the area and, most importantly is very positive. His appraisal was higher than the others but this wasn't the main consideration. The higher appraisal and suggested listing price matches his get up and go and it could be that he'll get a good price for us.
The funny thing is that I wanted to go with him from the start and it was The Old Girl who wanted three competing offers. He is the glass half full sort.
The other two are the glass half empty types and, in conversations and in their submissions were at pains to emphasise:
How tough the market is
'Vintage' houses are hard to sell
There is uncertainty in the market due to the current government's cutbacks
etc.
One of them, in a phone call even said that we might have World War Three soon so selling might be tricky! Bloody hell! I suspected that both of these would acquiesce to mean purchase offers.
We are not silly people. We don't have outrageous expectations but we do understand marketing. To each of them we said that we will go for the top dollar marketing package, will pay for a LIM report and have a building inspection done. We didn't quibble about commission rates as basically they are all of a muchness and negotiating their earnings down can prove to be penny wise-pound foolish. We want them to have an incentive to sell.
Two of them - the two not selected, had a pretty mundane approach and 'padded' their appraisals with all sorts of statistics, sales histories and frankly, waffle. I studied and passed the New Zealand real estate course and attended sales training courses and seminars with a major company in Auckland who offered me a job (which I turned down because we went to Canada). I know how all the padding bullshit goes and just needed the bare bones. The guy we selected is a straight shooter and cut through a lot of the rubbish. With luck he'll do the job for us.
We will be getting professional photographs taken soon in advance of marketing the house.
As we have a big old house we thought it best to get the windows professionally cleaned inside and out. The cleaners turned up today and will be here for a couple of hours.
... Not me. When The Old Girl's away I manage to sneak in some potato chips, eat some chocolate and drink an extra glass of wine. The outcome is certainly not a Michelangelo's David-like-figure.
Maybe more like this one:
Not Robert either since he's self-appointed himself as an ice cream evaluator. I can't imagine any skinny ice cream eaters can you?
No, this post is about the annoying bin liner bags we use that seem to be becoming ever thinner and more tearable.
Now I'm all for conservation and the reduction of plastic use in the environment but when you have to double up bags because of splitting and tearing then it seems to be a wasted exercise.
I've tried the compostable ones as well but, unless you use up the roll as soon as possible they begin to decompose and tear to shreds.
We've got a drawer full of various plastic bags from Eco to industrial, most of which we don't use because they are useless.
It's been well over a year since we had a Curmudgeons Incⓒ quiz.
As readers will recall the popular weekly event was discontinued after Phillip Nis threw a hissy fit. We need not go into details here but needless to say the guy's a cock.
Moving on I thought it a nice idea to invite The Art Historian Curmudgeon to present a quiz in the reestablished Sunday quiz which has risen like a phoenix from the flame.
OK - by popular request here's the entire powerful song.
Over to you The art Historian Curmudgeon.
🎁*******************🎁
Thanks TC - look I know that you're busy but have you looked at pressing the button for activating my blog site?
Anyway, here's my quiz which I'm sure will wake up the readers...
.. ha ha - a little art history joke there.
Question one.
Who Painted The Ceiling Of The Sistine Chapel?
Michael and Angelo Simoni Housepainters
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Baccio Bandinelli (also called Bartolomeo Brandini)
Question two.
Which Artist Is Known For The Painting ‘The Persistence Of Memory’?
Sal Mineo
Salvador Dali
Salivate Daily
Question three.
Robert the artist formerly known as Rob and now known as Rob professes to have an unhealthy interest in 'artistic' impressions of who?
Madonna Louise Ciccone
Sophia Madonna
The Madonna aka The Virgin Mary
Question four.
Which style of art, also known as Late Baroque began in France in the 1730s?
Rococo
Ricotta
Cocoa
Question five.
Which Artist Is Known For The Mural ‘Guernica’?
Joan Miró
Pablo Picasso
Francisco Goya
Best of luck to you all and remember: You are on your honour so no peeking at Google Search.
There've been some silly things said on the blogs recently - and not all of them said by me.
Look! Here's an example OK?
"The thing is, just for a bit of fun, I've put it into a different tuning. It is now tuned like a big, deep cello. It is tuned in fifths. The deepest note is a very low C. This makes it entirely different to play from the normally tuned bass in fourths."
From G D A E vs A D G C post on Richard's Bass Bag giovedì 6 febbraio 2025
You see what readers have to put up with?
What does that mean?
You'll no doubt have noticed that he mixed in some Italian spelling there as well.
I decided to ask Richard in order to clarify the situation.
TC: Richard, you say in that post that it's a bit of fun to tune your big fiddle to different things. I don't get the joke.
RBB: Ha, I'm not surprised. I guess that you don't come from Wainuiomata where the girls are smarter and we have our own sense of humour.
TC: Mmm, that's correct. I don't come from there. I played in a rugby game there once and the Wainuiomartian players chased the ref off the field. I didn't think that was funny.
RBB: It'd probably be best if you settled down in somewhere like Moera.
TC: Moera! Noooooooo ...
RBB: Ha ha just kidding ... sorry about that - just another Wainuiomartian joke. You'd be better off in Ngaio or Wadestown.
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