Culture clash in action

Police have advised Asians, those from Southern Asia in particular, to not display national flags, lights and decorations on their properties and basically anything that marks them as being ...well... from Asia.

This is due to a continuing spate of burglaries where large amounts of cash and jewelery are stolen.

The Asian community are finding this advice odd.

Let me 'clue you up' if you are of the same opinion.

In several Asian cultures keeping large amounts of money, valuables and expensive, often heirloom, jewelery at home close at hand is normal.

My culture doesn't.

Even if there is a safe our valuables are often not on site but in a bank or very well hidden in an unlikely place. Like the middle of the flour bin in the kitchen.

I know this and so do the burglars.

So whose home is going to be burgled mine with the New Zealand flag being used as a curtain or the one next door with an Indian Flag and pretty lights on during Diwali?

If you keep large amounts of portable easily sold valuables at home - don't advertise and don't keep them in the master bedroom.

And if you come home to discover that the thieves have sifted the flour - congratulations. The would be thieves still think you are worth robbing - and Pakeha.

Will raising the driving age work?

Two things happened in the last week that have prompted me to put in my 2 cents worth on this.

1. Eldest child, one month over 15, has just passed her learner's licence. Her motivation to do so was a combination of a goal setting exercise and the government announcing that they were going to raise the age to 16.

2. My secretary got a lift with a friend recently. The friend is the mother of an 19 year old girl and was complaining about her daughter getting egg all over her car after some high jinx at youth group. Kids as passengers in car with Miss 19 driving throwing eggs etc.

So far so normal if not good.

This is the kicker.

It seems that Miss 19 is still driving on her Learner's Licence having never sat her Restricted.

Not only was she carrying passengers on this occasion in breach of her licence. Last year she was doing a training course away from home and using her mother's car to commute WITH HER PARENTS FULL PERMISSION unsupervised.

Better still this girl is now a qualified Nanny so it is conceivable that she will not think twice about driving a car with somebody elses children on board.

Secretary is in a bit of a quandary, this girl's mother is in a position of moral responsibility and in training to go higher up the ladder. She is also someone the secretary is going to get a reference off when applying for paid work.

So far the secretary has wimped out of expressing her true condemnation and just commented that the girl is risking a big expensive fine. Should she speak out?

Changing the driving age from 15 to 16 has been calculated as saving 4 lives a year. The problem is that there are 120,000 drivers caught every year driving in breech of their Learner's and Restricted Licence conditions.

How many, like Miss 19 are not caught?

How many of these law breakers are responsible for deaths and injuries on our roads?

I wager it is more that the number of lives that raising the driving age and toughening the test for a Restricted licence will save.

Changing the law will not alter the actions of those not obeying the law as it stands nor make them easier to catch.

Eldest Kid is not even getting behind the wheel of the old car before the insurance is changed to cover her and she will not be driving it in breech of her licence.

Only time will tell if that will make her a better driver than Miss 19 but it will make her a more law abiding one.

Beer bill board?

No.

The secretary couldn't resist taking this photo in a place once known as Drunk Bay because that is where the sailing ships of old used to anchor in order to sober up their crews after leaving the Port of Auckland.

Is this bit of litter from an anonymous storm-water drain in the City of Sails or is its origin closer to hand?

Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island is still a favourite haunt of boozed up yachties.

Chips or a Banana, which would you choose?

MP Rahui Katene issued a press release fretting that Maori would eat cheap junk instead of quality food. She worried that a mother confronted with one banana costing the same as a big packet of potato chips would choose the chips. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10625653

The press release is really about GST on food. http://www.maoriparty.org/index.php?pag=nw&id=821&p=release-rahui-katene-take-the-gst-off-healthy-food8207.html

So with the right number of coins in you hand, no more, no less, which would you choose?

Eldest kid would choose the chips.
Middle kid would choose the chips.
Youngest kid would choose the chips.
He who earns money and has big pot belly would choose the chips.

Why?

They don't like bananas. They like chips better.

My secretary might choose the banana, but only if it was unbruised and at the correct state of ripeness (green tip, pale yellow skin). She knows, as does everyone else in the house, that the banana is the healthy choice and she is trying to lose her excess weight.

If she was really hungry or the banana slightly over ripe or too green or bruised however even she would have the chips. Like the others she likes the taste of chips better than the taste of banana too.

The result would be much the same if it was an apple rather than a banana even though they all like apples.

So if you were a shop keeper which would you stock?

The banana is delicate, easily damaged and perishable.

The chips though also delicate and fragile are packaged well so don't damage as easily and they have a much longer shelf life.

Almost all dairies, service stations, lunch bars and supermarkets sell chips. I can't recall one that doesn't.

Most supermarkets sell bananas and they are generally in good condition.

Some dairies and lunch bars sell bananas, condition however is very hit and miss.

When was the last time you saw a banana at a service station?

Weaning the population off junk food isn't as easy as making fresh healthy food GST free.

A sad reality

An intellectually disabled, autistic boy who escaped from a locked respite home was found dead, face down in a creek.

Less than an hour passed between Julian Stacey, 11, disappearing from the Spectrum Care facility in Mangere and his being found by police in a nearby creek on Sunday afternoon....

Julian's death is not being treated as suspicious, but the care home had a padlock with a number combination and children are supposed to be supervised.....

He said it was possible Julian had learned the combination for the lock.

Mrs Hankins said Julian was autistic and had a severe intellectual disability.

"He would have no idea of personal safety," she said. ' Julian was a good climber who scaled fences easily and loved water. But he would never have waded deeper than waist-height, she said.

"They think he may have fallen and may have been unconscious when he got to the water."

full article here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10625691

Assessing intellect in people like this is like looking for clear, colourless marbles in a bunch of transparent coloured ones.

The retardation (for want of a better term) is pervasive, sometimes very pervasive, but it is not global like it is in most intellectually retarded people.

I live with a child like this. She is of near normal, possibly above average intelligence so has grown out of escaping, mostly.

She still vanishes, in plain sight.

Turn your head for an instant and she is gone.

She comes back when called these days....most of the time....

Time to cover the books

Yes, the new school year has begun and the new year's stationery has been purchased.

I am not complaining about the cost. $21 for a pile of exercise books to last a year plus pens, pencils, ruler etc is a bargain.

My problem is the covering.

If you're not careful the cover-seal/ contact/ duraseal to cover 3 books can cost more than the books.

Easy to see why the pretty printed stuff is off budget here.

By the way a 1 metre roll covers 3 1B5 books or similar and produces 12 sticky triangles and 6 sticky slivers. More than enough to make life annoying for the average unwary cat. Don't ask me how I know this and please don't tell Bobby, he hasn't figured this out yet and I am looking forward to watching when he does.

The kids here have come up with ingenious solutions to individualise their school books.

As many parents and children have found out in the past. Gossip magazines (those aimed at women) are a poor source of pictures if you have no interest in so called celebrates.

The adverts in them are a better source of pictures. As are old calenders, special interest magazines, old birthday cards, junk mail, travel agent catalogues and new or recycled wrapping paper. Some of those book clearance shops even sell out of date calendars at 5 or 10c for the purpose.

Eldest kid's Pet Magazine subscription with just 4 issues a year produces a wealth of pretty animal pictures.

The other trick they use is to print out digital photos on plain paper.

My image stares out on the cover of a number of books as do the pictures of the other household pets both past and present.

I notice even Jet Boy (Mr Biscuit's brother, and Inky's son) who was put down after breaking his back in 2007 has pride of place on Youngest's maths book.

On the naming of names

This is worth a read.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/opinion/3235251/Michael-Laws-I-m-right-behind-bloggers-challenge-to-suppression

I don't often agree with Michael Laws and even in that column I would like to give him a whack around the ear with a paw. He does make some very good points about the ridiculousness of name suppression and the damage it can to do completely innocent parties.

His description of Bloggers still deserves a slapping (and I know exactly where his carpark space is) but I will be nice and not use my claws.

The trouble with Name Suppression

The following is the coded version of the name of someone accused of kiddy fiddling:

00110100 00111001 00110010 00110000 00110110 00110001 00110110 00110011 00110110 00110011 00110111 00110101 00110111 00110011 00110110 00110101 00110010 00110000 00110110 01000100 00110111 00111001 00110010 00110000 00110110 00111000 00110110 01000110 00110111 00110101 00110111 00110011 00110110 00110101 00110010 00110000 00110110 01000100 00110110 00110001 00110111 00110100 00110110 00110101 00110010 01000011 00110010 00110000 00110100 00110010 00110110 01000110 00110110 00110010 00110110 00110010 00110111 00111001 00110000 00110000

...or is it.

That is one of the problems with name suppression. If that is a name subject to a suppression order I could be in deep trouble if caught. On the other hand how do you or I for that matter, know?

I have seen what may be the code posted by Whaleoil. Since I didn't see it at the source, on Whaleoil's blog, I don't know for sure.

All I know was it was a name and bit of googling pulled up several entries for a former Member of Parliament beyond that I have no idea.

Whether you agree that name suppression is over used or not that sort of rumour mongering is potentially damaging to the person named. If you still don't get what I mean decode that sentence with name above.

Just copy and paste here then copy, go to the hex page and paste here.

Remember this:
Name Suppression prevents trial by media and gossip monger and protects the victim and family of the accussed in one case.
Not suppressing names allows "naming and shaming" and prevents more victims and allows other existing victims to come forward.

Take you pick.

Once there was a nut tree with similar DNA....

In April 2008, the final piece of the jigsaw fell into place when Reekers was caught stealing a salami from a supermarket in West Auckland. After he was convicted and discharged for theft, police gained an order compelling Reekers to provide a DNA sample, which matched the sample found with Jamieson. Reekers pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared in the high court last month and will be sentenced in April. It was the first time familial DNA had been used to solve a murder in New Zealand,....
.....Bishop said her brother was denying the murder at that point. "I said to him, `were you on drugs and you can't remember?' He didn't answer me – I knew then." She had spent the Christmas before his arrest with her brother, but at no point did he give any indication that he was harbouring a secret or under pressure. "I don't know how he lived with it, keeping it to himself." She said her elderly mother was devastated and had a nervous breakdown. Bishop has also had a breakdown and is on medication. She is having flashbacks to the killing of her husband, Morton Bishop, at their home in One Tree Hill, Auckland, in 1973.
Full article here

I guess sometimes the nuts don't fall far from the tree.

I wonder how many nuts will fall out of other criminal's family trees if they are given a good shake with a DNA sample.

De Bunking - coming soon?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10618202

A two year old manages to suffocate himself climbing/falling off a top bunk. His family has spoken out in order to help prevent another tragedy.

It seems that the safety standards for bunks are under review again. one of the ideas considered is to limit the use of a top bunk to children 12 and over.

What kind of bollocks is this?

Bunks are used by every family who has to house two kids in a room that is only a double in real estate agent speak.
Hint: a true double bedroom can hold two single beds, two tallboy chests of drawers while still being able to open the wardrobe, bedroom door and windows and not climb over any furniture to do so.

Eldest kid, has been sleeping in a top bunk since the age of 4, a bunk that doesn't meet current safety standards at that. It has no safety rail and they stopped using the ladder years ago. The worst thing that happened was that she fell out one night (she has only fallen out 3 times in 10 years) and landed on her sister. It was such a thumping impact that neither girl woke up even though the adults in the next room did.

Exactly how much cotton wool do we want to wrap kids in?

Another hint: 2 years old is a bit too young to put any kid in a top bunk.

Oh, for Christ's sake!

Oh boy, have a bunch of Catholics and Family first NZ got their collective knickers in a twist over this bill board.

In a country where in shops otherwise amply supplied with Christmas decorations it is near impossible to buy a Nativity set, the secretary managed to find just 2 after looking through 3 shopping centres and 2 malls, both missing shepherds.

You would think that they would be happy that this is causing so much comment while reminding the ignorant who Christ is.

To add to the irony that bill board was put up by and outside St Matthew's-in-the-City, a large Anglican church in central Auckland.

As for the Atheists and Agnostics - some people really do need to research some of "non-religious" Christmas customs that many of them hold dear.

I dear say some will lose their fondness of Santa Claus aka the fourth century Bishop of Myra, candy canes, decorated trees, wreaths etc as a result.

At long, bloody, last.

The subject of one of the most bitter planning rows in the 20-year history of North Shore City opens for business today.
But its decade in the making brings benefits to users of the new Birkenhead library and civic centre.

After 6 years (5 years longer than predicted) the library is back in the centre of Highbury and finally open.

Why the heck is a library still important or even necessary in the age of the internet? Particularly in a area where computer ownership and internet access is high?

... because when the old library closed, the foot traffic in the CBD fell and shopowners could not wait for us to come back to the centre," said Mr Chamberlain.
"Also, we have positioned our libraries to be the heart of the community - a focal point to meet and greet. It used to be the post office, but now that's gone there is hardly anywhere like that. People go to libraries for reasons not all to do with books."


That says it all.

Intruder Alert!

Now I knew that after the deaths of my former house mates, Minnie and Smudge, that eventually I would be presented with a small fuzzball for a "companion".

I didn't expect what arrived last weekend.

Given the problems I have had with the Fluff Monster next door and conversations I have over heard I was lead to believe that whatever newcomer arrived would be small and wouldn't have a tail as wide as my head.

I came inside on Saturday afternoon and came face to face with .... a pale grey and white thing as big as I am, somewhat heavier and a whole heap fluffier.

A Fluff Monster in other words, called Bobby of all things.

Worse still he talks.

A lot.

Possibly even more than I do which is saying something.

He has already failed to understand one basic point;

Sidekicks need to be able to be side kicked!

I wonder if he will get the message if I cannonball him?

Please enter username and password

reasonably safeguard your User Name and Password;
not allow someone to observe you entering your User Name and Password;
not disclose or allow your User Name or Password to become known to anyone else (including family or those in apparent authority such as the Police, or ####Financial Services staff);
not write them down, record or store them anywhere in written or electronic form, including in a file on your computer or in any password saving facility .
reasonably safeguard your User Name and Password;
choose a User Name and Password that are unique and not the same as or similar to User Names or Passwords used for any other services you may use, including non financial services.
If you believe for any reason that your User Name and/or Password could be known by someone else, or if you discover any unauthorised use of your User Name and/or Password has taken place, you must change your User Name and/or Password immediately, then call us ...

On the face of it all that sounds very reasonable - for a store credit card.

The problem is that near identical conditions apply for the power bill, the phone bill, the gas bill, internet banking, trademe, email, MSN, SMF, Pet forum, Knitter's forum, Blogger, online magazine subscriptions, job seeking websites, any big company who lists vacancies on their own websites, NZ Herald "have you say", the local library, photobucket, every single online shopping site... the list goes on.

Not all of them require both upper and lower case and not all of them require a number or two in the user name or the password. All of them however are very clear on one point. DO NOT WRITE DOWN YOUR PASSWORD OR USER NAME.

That is all very fine and dandy but if you use different names and passwords as you are supposed to how the hell to you remember them all?
There are 18 in that list for a start.

Even doubling up and using the same password for several sites doesn't help when several sites helpfully allocate a user name for you. You still have to remember which password goes with what.

Then there is the joint account problem. Do you give your partner access to your online magazine subsciption? If it was a paper copy you would just pass it over or leave it on the coffee table.

How about internet banking for joint accounts, does your partner need their own log in?

What triggered this rant?

The Secretary needs to pay the phone bill. The account is in He Who Earns name and he set up the account. She can't remember the username or password because she didn't set them. He doesn't pay the bills so he can't remember them either. Better still she can't fix the matter via phone during office hours because it is his account and he is too busy working to hang around on hold to sort it out.

The death of Guy Fawkes night

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot;

I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot.

A stick and a stake for King James’ sake!

Holla, boys, Holla, make the town ring;

Holla, boys, Holla, boys, God save the King.

Is it the recession?

Is it the PC banning of rockets, double happies and the like?

Is it the injuries and out of control fires of Guy Fawkes past?

Is it the PC restrictions on the sale of fireworks and the idiots they are aimed at?

Is it all of the above or something else that is seeing the slow demise of the celebration of a failed 17th Century treason attempt?

Down here at the bottom of the world you could be forgiven for blaming the weather. Late spring, dry bush and fire are not a good mix after all. However this isn't just happening here but in the UK as well. Home of the very Parliament that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up.

I only know what stopped Guy Fawkes in my back yard.

The noise.

It is easy to put my rabbit friends in a room with the curtains drawn the and light on to cover up the flashes. Not so easy to muffle the screams and bangs. The screams and bangs get louder every year. They even bother me. Given that we hear mortar and gunfire from the range across the harbour about 1km away that is saying something.

If modern fireworks were quieter no doubt we would still buy a few to let off . They are rather pretty.

Last night I retired to the lounge with Cinnamon Bun, Mystery and Mr Biscuit confined to carriers and Inky hopping around trying to chase me, just as I have done in Guy Fawkes past.

Just as I will no doubt for the next couple of nights - until the neighbours run out of fire power.

If last night was anything to go by they will run out sooner than usual.

Driveways vs Kids

Yet another child is fatally skittled in a driveway by her father.

The very next day another is hit but survives.

Is a child worth less than the price of a fence beside your driveway and a gate at the bottom?

No matter how hard you try you can't watch a toddler every second of every day.

When a car is being backed up the drive is not a good time to discover that not only has the rug rat given you the slip and that when given a head start it can run faster than you as well.

How much do you value your child?

A fence is bound to be cheaper than a funeral.

Ok, who turned out the lights?

Some fork lift driver lifting a container near Otahuhu apparently.

That was all that was needed to knock out the power supply to not just a small part of Super Auckland but much of Waitakere and all of North Shore, Kaipara and Northland.

Not a huge deal given the time of day (8am to 10am) but it would have been if it lasted longer.

My secretary decided to weed the garden instead of using the powerless washing machine.

Subsequently I spent the time catching low flying buttercups and attempting to murder pansies (of the plant variety).

Still I have to wonder about the logic in supplying such a large area with just one power line and no power stations.

Does this sort of thing ever happen to Wellington?

Update: I stand corrected, there are two lines carrying electricity north. The other one was out for maintenance :S

The goverment giveth and taketh away again

Remember those tax cuts we got last year?

ACC levies are rising and not by a small amount.
After over 100 years of classes at low cost for all who wanted to learn community education is being discontinued.
Contrabutions to the Super Fund have been suspended - for 10 years.

I think I have just figured out where the money for those tax cuts came from.

Catching the surf - Tsunami style

Just as well the wave turned out not to live up to expectations.

It sort of happened like this:
Doooo Doooo Dit Dit Doooo Doooo Dit Dit Doooo Doooo Dit Dit

What is that alarm?
Why is it getting louder?
Is that on this side of the harbour?
No?

Waitakere City Council was on the ball - it turns out that was the tsunami siren warning alert signal.

Of course not living in Waitakere City meant it took half an hour of web site searching to find that out. Something the secretary didn't do until the next day.

That could have been a bit of the problem considering Civil Defence was advicing people to stay 35m above sea level or 1km inland.

We're neither.

Still that was better than North Shore City Council.

Apparently you have to sign up to receive a phone/email alert if you think your property may be in a danger zone for tsunami.

The secretary didn't know that, she does now after wondering why there were no warnings from our own council even as the "stand down" sounded from across the harbour.

As it happened I didn't get my paws wet, with sea water anyway but not as a result of any advanced warning from our local authorities.

Thank god for radio and breakfast TV.

Firstly I can confirm that contrary to popular rumour I do not have skin cancer. My ears and eyes have just been suffering from sunburn and that fluff monster next door.

The vet has confirmed that.

Yes, I have been to the V.E.T.

Now I don't really have a problem with the vet. I do have a problem with the dog in the waiting room on occasion but not with the vet himself. Well, except for that sunscreen, antibiotic paste, eye drops and flea treatment he just forced on me.

What I don't like is the trip to the Vet.

Who decided that we cats must travel in those small cages? Who decided that we had to go in those horrible metal boxes called cars?

Until I get an answer I will continue to sound like a fire engine on the way to a fire when ever I am forced to endure caging and metal box transport!

P.S. Good luck getting those eye drops in.