KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS

 Not like these guys:

Jesus when he first spies Mary Magdalene in town.

"Cor! Look at those knockers."

Richard checking out what Robert's up to.

"Don't be dirty Robert."

No, I've been busy and will be doing another 'tip-run' today but do have a quick look at the other blogs and sometimes, when merited, drop in a comment or two. Not this morning though as the posts are pretty pathetic even for those old jokers.

NO, I WON'T BE CALLING YOU, AL

We've all noticed the intrusion of Ai into our lives with the downside being indiscriminate and unchecked usage in social platforms, communication, media, commerce and even government.

This might have been OK if the idiots dupes academically challenged people who overuse it wouldn't blindly rely on the artificial information that they are promulgating being accurate and meaningful.

No doubt, when watching television or watching Youtube videos and podcasts you will have experienced Ai subtitling, voiceovers and even documentaries that are inaccurate, have bad grammar and often make no sense. The perpetrators of this nonsense don't care, either because they are lazy at editing or, because they themselves are used to inaccuracies, use bad grammar and often make no sense.

Sheesh!

Now, on this holiest of holy blogs - The Curmudgeon, Ai is trying to reach out to me and make friends.

Shee ... oh, sorry, I just said that.

Look at these recent examples:

Although I suspect that was Richard posing as Ai.

Then Robert sourced and printed out a lot of Ai gobbledegook (although, to be fair it was better quality gobbledegook than he normally writes).

I had to answer that - not in a positive way...

 ... which just about sums up my views on Al, sorry, Ai.

NEPO BABIES RULE , OK?

Do you remember when the orange idiot recently decreed that all inclusive and enhancing employment initiatives implemented by the Biden government must go?

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military. This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office, when he issued Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

ENDING WASTEFUL DEI PROGRAMMES

Well, it seems that this hypocritical fool doesn't see any contradiction in him enabling his granddaughter to seriously line-jump when it comes to gaining a spot in the exclusive LPGA golf event ahead of many, many more worthy (but less connected) hopefuls.

KAI TRUMP 'INVITED' TO PLAY IN LPGA TOUR EVENT

What a shit family.

 

I'M BACK ... SORT OF

 

"People who aren't used to quality always choose quantity" - is a quote someone once said. Maybe it was me.

Anyway a MOC who obviously the above quote applies to, has been bemoaning the fact that he's been left alone to stew in his own juices to write blog posts for the last couple of days because Robert ... well, you know about Robert's posts ... and I have been 'off air' a bit.

Robert ... well, you know about Robert's posts ...  did manage to squeeze out a dribble before transmission was interrupted and cut out but we know that either transmission will be reinstated or a new channel created soon.

As for me, I've been busy handling everything to do with the house sale and transfer dealing with lawyer, estate agent, new buyers, insurance company, removal company and storage company along with getting things nice in the house which meant getting a plumber and a carpet layer and a masseause in. I've also arranged for a house cleaning company to do a major clean*(Robert will be interested in this - it's costing $900) and a gardener to do a big tidy up of the section. The gardener is a really gorgeous woman of whom Lynn has instructed me to look into her eyes when she's bending down. She confirmed the date that she will be doing the job today and I didn't tell her that I regretted it not being Nude Gardening Day on that date which I'd heard about on National Radio Nude Gardening Day I didn't want her to think that I was a weirdo after all.

Along with lots of other things like transfer of the mooring in the bay, packing boxes, cleaning and clearing the attic, the shed, the garden shed and under the house with trips to the tip, the Sallies and running and managing Free Stuff ads I've been busy ... oh ... I forgot to mention that I've driven twice to Wellington and back over the last fortnight in atrocious weather and driving conditions so I'm bloody tired! OK? But ... mustn't grumble.

I've cooked roast pumpkin and roast potatoes along with a broccoli, cauliflower and cheese bake for my dinner which I'll have soon along with a decent sized glass of pinot noir.

How's your day been?

* Actually, The Old Girl arranged the cleaner, on-line from Wellington but I did show the agent around the house and gave instructions.

ANY OLD IRON, ANY OLD IRON, ANY, ANY, ANY OLD IRON?

In the 19th century, rag-and-bone men typically lived in extreme poverty, surviving on the proceeds of what they collected each day. Conditions for rag-and-bone men in general improved following the Second World War, but the trade declined during the latter half of the 20th century. 

       -Wikipedia  

We younger chaps recall Steptoe and Son as being the point of reference for rag and bone men.

Interestingly enough though, I knew a Wellington rag and bone man who was the son-in-law of a friend of my dad. This was in the late 1950s/early 1960s and he referred to himself as a rag and bone man - not a scrap or second hand dealer. It intrigued my brother and me as we couldn't imagine someone going around collecting old rags and bones. He must have been doing good business though as he drove, not his work vehicle, a massive yellow Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

Dad borrowed it once and we all, mum, dad, my brother, me my three sisters all got lost in the interior and we drove up the Kapiti Coast for a picnic feeling like film stars.

So, why rag and bone men you might ask?

Well, I've been busy yesterday and today listing items on Freestuff and Community Gifting sites. You'd think that it's easy to give things away for free but, not so. 

First the items have to be of quality and useable otherwise it's just a cheap way (no tip fees) of throwing away junk. This is quite different to when I was a kid as getting junk for free was a real treat and we even enjoyed going to the council rubbish tips to fossick for stuff. Actually this continued right up to when I was at university and Tony, Noel, Mike, me and sometimes Richard would make a Sunday afternoon out of it. Sad really and obviously reflected the fact that we didn't have girlfriends who would no doubt have disapproved of this activity.

The problems that I run into with the free giveaway on-line sites is that immediately after listing there will be a flurry of interest with several people requesting the item. To be fair, I confirm with the first person who asks and inform the others that the item has gone. All good so far? No. Twice already the first person who asked and I confirmed with either did not get back to me or then said that they were not interested so I've had to go back to the people I said no to to see if they still want it. To be honest I've got better things to do and might end up taking good things to the tip.

Where's a rag and bone man when you want one?

WORST BLOODY THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU

Hello readers, it's Lynn here aka 'The Old Girl' just dropping in.

I took the liberty of reading through the posts on this blog and on Richard's blog and have concluded that Peter aka The Curmudgeon and Richard aka RBB are like a couple of silly old men who try to outdo each other on writing silly and time-wasting blog posts.

They remind me of Pete and Dud as you can see in this video clip:

Do you see what I mean?

HERE'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR ... THE HUGE POST*

 

* The inspiration for that joke came from Richard's Bass Bag. No need to thank us.

** HOLD THIS SPACE! **

There will be a huge post forthcoming...

... but I've been busy today playing tennis, arranging a gardening clean up and giving away furniture - very heavy furniture that 3 of us (guys) struggled with to get out of the house and on to a trailer and variously munted our backs, shoulders and knees - in my instance sorted by a hot bath with epsom salts - so posting other than this quick snapshot is out.

Stay posted!*

* Richard might be interested in a TV series on The Pony Express titled 'The Young Riders' on PRIME TV.

OH-OH WHAT A DAY THAT WAS

 

Makes sense to me.

Here are some excerpts of the lyrics that suited my endeavours yesterday:

 

Oh well, I'm dressed up so nice
And I'm doin' my best
And I'm startin' over
I'm startin' over in another place ...

Oh-oh what a day that was

Oh-oh what a day that was
Oh, oh a day that was
Oh-oh that's the way it goes ...

Moving in every direction
And if you feel like you're in a whirlpool
You feel like going home.

I took a full carload of stuff down to Wellington and arrived Saturday morning. On Monday morning I left Wellington and stopped overnight at Ohakune. In hindsight I should have kept going north.

At 7am on Tuesday I left Ohakune and headed off north via Taumarunui and Te Kuiti ... well, that was the plan. The weather was atrocious with driving rain making visibility marginal and the roads treacherous. I don't get New Zealand drivers. At the early hours the dawn light was very dim and made worse by the rain. This didn't stop many fools driving too fast for the conditions and WITHOUT THEIR BLOODY LIGHTS ON!

The road to Taumaranui was littered with small boulders from rock falls but the road from Taumarunui to Te Kuiti was much worse with flooding, slips and more rock falls. It was getting dodgy. Just before Te Kuiti the road was blocked by cars with flashing lights and I thought that there had been an accident. They were road maintenance people who told me that a major slip  a little further along had blocked the main road and that I would have to turn back. It had just happened so as yet there were no diversion signs set out. 

I turned around and drove back to Taumaranui as I knew that just past there was a secondary route to Turangi. I didn't experiment with any of the minor side roads  which was just as well as I later learned that on some of these flooding isolated communities and evacuations were necessary.

I made it to the secondary road which got me to Turangi, having to drive carefully as conditions were getting worse. As it turned out I turned around and retraced my steps just in time as not long afterwards another slip blocked the road nearer to Taumarunui. I might have been stranded in the middle.

The long drive from Turangi to Whangarei, with the added abortive drive to Te Kuiti and back took 10 and a half hours with just a half hour stoop at a supermarket, petrol station and cafe. I could have, in better conditions, driven all the way from Wellington to Whangarei in that time. I think it's the longest continuous drive I've made and I was exhausted last night. The car performed well - good old Toyota and I'll treat it to a check-up before the next drive.

 I will be making another trip in a week or so and, if the weather is good might do the trips in one go without an overnight stop.

STEEL WOOL

Sorry, that image isn't of steel wool but I can see why you might get confused. It's of a Moeran christian careering at full tilt towards oblivion.

Here's the image of steel wool:

For an explanation go to the comments in Riccardo's Basso Bagno blog's latest post (if you dare)

Robert the Moeran christian (it's a very small society) in his latest post said a lot of silly things - I know, I know, you are asking "so what's new" but hey! Stay with me. This latest post from his is a doozy.

Robert said:

"Evidently the local elections have come and gone. Hang on while I get another coffee. Yelling comes from the street "Why are you doing this to me?". Lots of F words. A women is yelling at a young man attired only in shorts (he's doing the swearing) as they walk up the middle of the road. He yells back in the incensed righteous way of drunks. So it goes. The problem with local elections is that we have zero feedback about performance. I believe we need more scrutiny of council members. An independent body that rates their performance or looks into prospective representatives qualifications and past behaviour. That's partly why I didn't vote. The envelope sat in my lounge. No one said when the elections were. So I just left it and left it. Now it has been. I'd just be ticking random people anyway for the afore mentioned reason. K told me that Margaret Cousins (former deputy mayor) was pleased with the new Mayor that was elected. She is kind of conservative in her preferences. That is good. A smallish city like Hutt can't afford 'think big' projects. Another problem is one never knows if projects are local, regional or Government funded. Do I blame our mayor for the ridiculously expensive Eastbourne cycle/walkway or the huge project underway to safeguard Hutt against a 1 in 500 (maybe its 200) year flood?"

In the interests of making you all suffer like Richard, sorry Riccardo, and I had to do by reading his entire blog post I decided to copy and paste entire swathes of this diatribe dialogue. No need to thank me.

I feel that I must point out some key statements in his dia ... dialogue:

"That's partly why I didn't vote. The envelope sat in my lounge. No one said when the elections were. So I just left it and left it. Now it has been. I'd just be ticking random people anyway for the afore mentioned reason. "

OK, there's a lot there and I recognised it when I first read this stuff and the entire post which, believe me, contained a lot of other stuff that needed ranting remonstrating over. The trouble is though that after a tiring drive through bad weather, exacerbated by a couple of glasses of chardonnay (delicious Craggy Range Hawkes Bay Kidnappers) I think I've lost the plot.  I still think that what Robert wrote was nonsense in that, with regard to the local elections, there has been ample information sent out by post, by major news media, by local newspapers and by social media shit like Facebook that I know that Robert subscribes to. The information on the regional electorates has been adequately promulgated. The issues have been discussed in the various media and opportunities to attend local meetings have been provided and lobbied for. I've been to some in my local area.

The information regarding the candidates pedigrees, current activities, intentions and political associations is all available and, to help voters, has been summarised in the documentation that came with the voting papers. The dates of the elections, the timing for getting votes in and the procedures have been spelled out personally and directly to the voters via the mail-outs and ad nauseam through social media, mainstream media and local newspaprs. What more does Robert want? Guidance from the Holy Ghost, Mary or Jesus? Sheesh!

I'll leave it To Riccardo, sorry, Richard to put it more succinctly in his morning post that wasn't fuelled by chardonnay" 

"Actually, Rob didn't vote in the local election. Maybe the task was too difficult?
Here's what they expect you to do:
Get a letter from your letterbox.
Open it.
Check the voting form.
Read about the candidates.
Tick a few boxes.
Put the information in a supplied envelope.
Pop the envelope into a postbox.



Rob and I both live in 'The Hutt' so I had to go through this process too. I knew of a few candidates, but some I had to read about in the included pamphlet. It was all pretty clear, and I completed the task in a short period of time. It certainly didn't take hours, or weeks. I measured the time it took in minutes."

Well said that man. 

"'ALLO, 'ALLO, 'ALLO"

Yes I did arrive safely in Wellington despite the weather turning foul after leaving Foxton. The motorway through Transmission Gully was a nightmare with severely reduced visibility due to driving rain and low cloud. This didn't stop some idiots (in utes) barrelling along at high speeds.

Talking of speed, I received a speeding ticket at Hunterville today. I know that this is a concept that Richard doesn't understand - speeding - but a police officer pulled me over and told me that he 'clocked' me doing 108kph in a 100 kph area, a whopping 8kph over the limit! I didn't tell him that earlier, around the Desert Road area I'd been doing 120kph as I didn't think this would help the situation. I was worried that this could be a fine of hundreds of dollars but an internet search told me that for 10kph or less over the limit the fine is $30. I can live with that which is what the anti speed campaign is all about I guess.

I've successfully unloaded the car and packed the wine and pantry items I brought down, away in the under-stairs storage area. Luckily this apartment has good storage but I wouldn't like to live here long-term. The Old Girl thankfully has come around to my way of thinking that a townhouse or a cottage close to the inner city is preferable to apartment living. We'll see how we get along now that we have the  certainty of the money in the bank even if it means renting for a while (not this apartment) after the lease runs out in March 2026.

I'm a bit tired so we are eating in this evening and I think that The Old Girl has arranged something tomorrow night. I leave early on Monday morning.

I'll ring Richard tomorrow to see how he's fixed (is he broken? -ed) but don't expect he'll be free for a catch up at short notice. I plan to be back down again in a couple of weeks anyway.

"BEST REVIEW THE SITUATION THAT YOU CAUGHT UP INNA ...

... to be a true player, you haft know how to play
If she say "A night" convince her to say "A day"."

Some people lie so often that's a default setting for them.

Have a look at this famous liar making such a hash of it but, because he's a narcissist, thinks that he's getting away with it.

“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?” 
“Well, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ, I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.” The fatuous fat fool said.

 

Give us a break. This unfolding disaster is his ''Marilyn Monroe', 'Watergate' or 'Monica Lewinsky' affair that scuppered earlier presidents (although Kennedy was assassinated before his affairs properly came to light that would have led to impeachment). For him to say that he hasn't heard Maxwell's name recently and that he was unaware of her current appeal rejection is just stupid. It's the way that children lie when caught out saying things like "I don't know anything about it" or "it wasn't me".

 

ALL FOR NAUGHT(Y)

I tend to think of the Apple Mac desktop computer I use in the study as new even though it's now 10 years old. I replaced the old Mac back in 2018 when I bought the 'new' refurbished one. It was already 3 years old then.

The old Mac sitting in the naughty corner waiting to be taken to the tip

The 'new' Mac unaware that its poor performance means it will soon go to the naughty corner and worse

The new Mac has been getting slow even though I make sure that old files are trashed and that new software upgrades are kept up to date. The problem isn't in the Mac's hardware performance but in the 'advancements' on apps and software that Apple continuously undertake. These 'improvements' are supposed to be to the users' benefit but I suspect is merely a rort to drive the users (read dupes) into buying new equipment.

I looked up the internet to find out the normal lifespan of computers and was shocked. All of the answers came up something like this:

A desktop computer's lifespan typically ranges from 5 to 7 years, but can extend to 10 years or more with proper maintenance and upgrades, while younger computers can be retired sooner due to software obsolescence or hardware failure. Factors like the quality of components, your usage, maintenance practices, and the ability to upgrade individual parts significantly impact how long a desktop will last.

Bummer!

With our computer that has had "proper maintenance and upgrades" it looks like it's ready to 'buy the farm'.

I haven't told The Old Girl yet but will when we get settled in a permanent place in Wellington and can see what money we have left over and what discretionary finances we have for things like eating and breathing! I think this time I'll buy brand new to give that extra 3 years or so which might mean it lasts before I 'buy the farm'.

"TIME FOR YOU AND TIME FOR ME..."

"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons"

wrote T.S. Eliot in his poem  The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

and I know how he felt. I seem to be measuring out my life being kept on hold waiting to talk to some agency on the phone!

New Zealand has a population of 5.3 million. 50 years ago, in 1975 we had a population of just over 3 million. That's a 72% increase, not even near double.

Why then has there been so much change in the standards and quality of service in  this country? 

I remember when it was the norm when needing an answer from your bank, insurance company, IRD, your doctor's surgery or retail stores, to be able to telephone their service or enquiries departments and quickly and efficiently get an answer. Nowadays it's often near impossible to find an email address or a number to call and, when you do you have to go through a convoluted process of pressing buttons for options only to end up being left on hold listening to some god awful music for half an hour. Sheesh!

How did things get so bad so quickly?

MY FAVOURITE SUBJECT AT PRIMARY AND INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL WAS SOCIAL STUDIES

I know that many of the readers don't like television game shows and, to be honest there are many that I cannot stand, particularly the low-brow and noisy ones like Jeopardy, The Price Is Right, Family Feud and Deal or No Deal. These depend on brain dead viewership which, to be fair makes up at least 70% of the population and 100% of these shows loyal followers. Their only competition comes from 'reality' shows like The Kardashians, Real Housewives, Big Brother, Survivor and Sunday-worship type programmes which Robert will be familiar with..

I do like, and watch the better quiz shows like Mastermind, University Challenge, Eggheads, The Chase, Tipping Point and a few others as they arise (and are repeated) and find that, in their one hour format are ideal to watch while I'm doing my (almost) daily exercises on the stepping machine, the rowing machine and/or the exercycle along with some floor exercises and use of free weights. I find it boring sitting on these machines and the quiz programmes seem to make the time go quicker.

I've been recently flabbergasted at the lack of knowledge of contestants on these programmes and wonder why they bother to come on to the shows. I also wonder at what's happened in education over the last 40 years in New Zealand as much as in the UK. The USA is a given. Generally the Americans are ignorant on history, geology, foreign affairs and anything not related to their own patch but, disturbingly, even American history, politics, institutions, law and current affairs have become some kind of soup with the Kardashians, Taylor Swift and Donald Trump sitting on top like scum. Go figure.

Here is an example of ignorance (there are many, many more):

Often, when a contestant gets an answer wrong on a question relating to recent history, politics, music etc. over the last 30 years, they says things like "well, I wasn't born then". OK, then how about questions that everyone else answers on the Renaissance, Beethoven, dinosaurs, the Bible, ancient Egypt and the Roman empire for example. sheesh!

Anyway, I'm staying up to watch the rugby at 10pm. Go the All Blacks!

DERANGED? MOI?

 

Robert frequently, on his blog, tells me that I'm deranged. Here's an example from his recent post:

I take it as a compliment because the context is usually me taking a contrary position to his Catholic posturing and silly cataclysmic Catechismic regurgitations. It's kind of like that Groucho Marx quote:

Maybe I should get myself a bumper sticker like this:

No doubt Robert would have stickers like this:

Not to be left out Richard would best be suited with this:

However, going by the TMIs in his recent posts this would be more appropriate:

WHEN OLD BLOGGERS GO BAD

It's a big responsibility being the one mature and sensible blogger in this community.

The others, while never having been that erudite are now slipping in to their dotage accompanied by varying degrees of dementia, fatuousness and idiocy.

If you'd bothered to read their posts you'd see what I men.

Robert, who has always banged on about religion and Catholicism in particular is now slipping "into the realms of fantasy".

He uses AI Americanisms and copies nonsense from Catholic Facebook sites. Look, here's an example from his latest post:

Actually that was the entire post which shows you how far down he's gone.

Richard too, is showing signs of slipping. Being a bit self-conscious over his recent boring monologues of violin and bass practice he tries to lighten things up with a bit of 'humour'.

Have a look at this from his latest post:

Personally I think that he's been spending too much time with his grandsons. Either that or he's gone doolally.

I'll just have to try and get things back on track.

Watch this space!

WATCH THIS SPACE

I guess that you are aware of Trump's latest lunacy - creating a false narrative to bring the armed forces back from international placements to 'occupy' American cities that, surprise surprise are ones governed by Democrat mayors and that are designated blue.

In addition to sending military and military-type forces to LA, Washington DC, Chicago and Portland, the deluded old fool now wants to use cities as training grounds for the military.

See: HERE

His rhetoric and bluster might fool most of his voters but anyone with a brain can see what he's up to. Trump - enabled, empowered and influenced by his fascist entourage is seeking to normalise the situation of armed military being seen as peacekeepers and law enforcers not unlike the controls seen in authoritarian countries like China, Russia and North Korea. It's the old 'frog in boiling water' scenario.

This is part of the extreme right's Project 25 plan, the elements of which are being put in place step by step. It's a very scary situation for Americans and surprisingly they seem to be getting away with it.

Trump of course is seen as the leader who controls the minds of the MAGA voters but in reality he is frail and failing. While he no doubt believes what he says and in  the actions that he authorises but the real proponents are people like this guy:

THE DANGEROUS MAN BEHIND TRUMP 

Germany in the 1930s saw similar things that America is seeing now. The gradual and insidious creep of Nazi power and dominance in the name of improvement, justice, economical independence, nationality and, of course, pure whiteness and anti immigration. The reality was far different to the promises.