Work in progress II

It has been suggested that there are not enough tools visible in the original photo. They were out of shot (that end was a real mess!)

The Golden BB

The guided bullet!

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2012/01/31/the-first-self-guided-bullet/

Don't expect to see this on the gun shop shelves anytime soon, as it costs more than a reasonable rifle.

Cheaper and easier than moving

The solution? Turn the garage into another lounge. (my shipping container plan was vetoed)

All the old crap in the lounge relocates to the garage, making the inside of the house look bigger and tidier. Men don't care if the furniture has hole in it- the one in the arm of the chair makes a convenient can-holder.

Now that the garage has been partially cleared (about 3 ute loads) the reorganization has started and the plans are drawn up for cladding the walls and putting a ceiling down the lounge end. A floor to ceiling bookshelf will partition off the workshop and loading bench, so all my crates of books in the ceiling can come down, assuming they have not been eaten by mice.

Of course I will have to buy an assortment of power tools to do all this work...

A work in progress

I have heard of people keeping cars in garages. Don't believe it, though!

Some cultural activities are more equal than others

"Defence spokesman John Gordon said the plan would retain the regular force army band, based at Burnham, the air force band based in Wellington and the navy band based at Devonport, Auckland. They were all manned by full-time bandsmen and women.

The aim was to cut $900,000 from the $5.9 million spend annually on military bands..."

Link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6326211/Cost-cutting-could-silence-Defence-Force-bands

One trusts, as the bean-counters cut away yet another piece of military tradition, they will be also cutting the inevitable primate threat displays, spear-waving and chanting that curse every kind of official gathering.

What?- no bets on this one?

A poverty of imagination

I'm so sick of hearing whining kids (and adults) bitching about ' how there is nothing for young people in this town'.

Oh, really?

How about the new skatepark?- the numerous very large sports fields, playgrounds, walkways and reserves. The lake 3 km away and the rivers slightly more- a short bike ride on flat roads. The Tararuas and Rimutakas on the edge of town. The public library. The host of sports clubs and the pool that costs all of a dollar. The games club, Friday club, St John cadets and a heap of others i can't recall right now. The endless wind for flying kites.

The fact that there is a video shop that has dirt-cheap hire on slightly older movies. The second-hand shops that have piles of cheap books. That many families have internet, Sky, DVD players and big-screen TV's (the 'poor' all seem to have these!)

But no- there is 'nothing to do'

I'm betting that if some philanthropists payed for a hall full of all the modern wonders free, a certain group would bitch if they were put under the imposition of having to follow a few rules in order to use this facility- such as not selling/using drugs or being able to play the thug.

Actually, this is pretty much what has happened here...

Do not adjust your chemical levels

As we are experiencing a solar storm, a display of Aurora Australis is due tonight. This is not due to a really good growing season for weed.

Tonight, the funny colours in the sky are on the house.

My camera is charged and waiting...

Too broken-arsed to post

So I will put up a picture of why:

Out hut-bagging again. I still have a shit-load of exploring to do, up this valley.

The end of a favorite hut

Oaks Hut, Orongorongos.

You will be missed.

It's a pity DOC doesn't value this sort of history...

Late Christmas present

I have to give credit where it is due. After a number of posts attacking the process leading to this award- which resembled watching glass flow from the top to the bottom of the window frame, the REAL people who did the actual work, were a model of efficiency.
Eight weeks from submitting my application to receiving it and that was over the Christmas period.

Having stamped more than a few medals and knowing the numbers coming through- well done!

Have rope, will travel

"A 16-year-old Turangi boy has pleaded guilty in Taupo Youth Court this morning to the violent sexually motivated attack on a five-year-old girl at a holiday park before Christmas.

The youth, whose name is supressed, pleaded guilty before the judge to three separate charges; sexual violation by rape, burglary, and causing grievous bodily harm at Club Habitat, Turangi on December 21..."

Link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6275360/Teen-admits-campground-sex-attack-on-five-year-old

He should now be counting the days to Jack Ketch- fat chance here!

But even more disturbing are the pronouncements of the criminal-huggers that dare to question the good in locking the fucker up and whine about what might happen to him inside! That's you Peter Williams! You are as big an oxygen-thief as the crims you love.

And now HIS (the criminal's) life is ruined? That's a big SO WHAT? It should be about to come to an abrupt end, as the rope and gravity do their work.

Shit happening- caused by shit

"A group of gang members did a runner from an accident they caused in the Awakino Gorge yesterday, leaving injured members of a family in their crashed car.

The gang members appear to have been racing their two cars – one of them stolen – north through the gorge when they forced the southbound family off the road and into a ditch..."

Link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6261751/Family-left-in-ditch-as-gang-hoons-flee

I think that we need to lose the hangup about being 'judgmental' and get a damned sight more judgmental. Gangs need to be condemned and hounded every inch of the way. Every time they set foot outside there should be a copper waiting to search them, check their car, run a check for warrants. Every shop they go into should issue a trespass order and refuse to do business with them. Every time their dog barks or they fart, the local council should issue an abatement notice. And they should be shunned by the rest of us. No law-abiding citizen should give them the time of day or do any kind of business transaction with them.

Then we should start making their lives hard...

From the 'If only they knew' file

Obviously not a Happy Meal

"An Auckland man who smashed up a Wendy's store in Lynfield has been charged after his burger order saw him fly into a rage.

David Junior Ilolahia will appear in Auckland District Court, charged with threatening behaviour, assaulting police, disorderly behaviour and resisting police after he allegedly smashed tills, flipped tables and attacked a police officer.

The Blockhouse Bay resident verbally abused the Wendy's staff after his order placed at the drive-through came out wrong..."

Link:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6257468/Man-flies-into-burger-rage-at-Wendys

We do have some charmers here!
I'm betting another 'Vitamin P' case...

When women were REAL women- not stick insects!

A different perspective

For those who don't know the history, this is General (note: GENERAL) Patton pissing in the Rhine- symbolically pissing on Nazi Germany.

It's a soldier thing. You pissed me off and now I'm pissing on YOU. I'm showing contempt for a sorry sack of dead shit.

Some cunt in a comfortable radio station studio holding court on the talkback is never going to understand what it's like to be shot at, have someone's brains splattered over you, been on the end of a mortaring, gone without more than 2 consecutive hours sleep  for a few months- you get the picture?

Feral scum spawning rabid animals- on our dollar

"Featherston police have confirmed children, some under 10 years old, have been roaming the town committing crimes and abusing people.

Sergeant Kevin Basher said the problem had surfaced about six months ago, when a core of three or four troublemakers, with as many as 15 others, embarked on a campaign of crime - lighting fires, stealing, damaging cars, shops and houses and abusing people in the street.

Featherston Fire Chief Colin McKenna also said children as young as 6 had been seen wandering the streets until 2am...:


More here:
http://www.times-age.co.nz/news/town-tormented-by-child-thugs/1235643/

I have an idea!

For repeat /recidivist offenders, remove them and put them in an orphanage, where they can learn structure and discipline. At the same time cutting off an income stream to the feckless breeders that spawn them...

Unfortunately- History DOES repeat

Hat Tip:

http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/

Dumbass kid and parents

"An online video of a brave little girl facing down a massive lion at Wellington Zoo has some people flinching at the lion's reaction.

Malik the lion was tucking into his breakfast of meat when Sofia Walker, 3, hopped onto a viewing platform and pressed her hands and face against the glass enclosure.

In an attempt to scare curious Sofia off her perch, Malik glared, growled and twitched his mane before pouncing on the glass and pawing at it..."

Link:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6231539/Wellington-toddler-faces-down-massive-lion: 

Not 'Brave'- too stupid to recognize a clear and present danger. As for the parents- do you really want to have that much faith in a piece of glass?- installed to council specifications.

Been there myself- I decided it was time to leave. Potential for becoming a chew-toy aside- is it fun and clever to wind up a caged animal?

Not for me...

Surprise, surprise, surprise

Or; 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.'




"A Kaiapoi housing project is in jeopardy after being stifled by Government intervention intended to free up land for development..."


Rest of story here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/6224391/Loophole-stalls-Kaiapoi-project

Did anyone else NOT think this sort of thing was going to happen?

Balloon Crash

"Eleven people are dead after a hot air balloon burst into flames and smashed to the ground near Carterton this morning..."


Link:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6224922/Hot-air-balloon-crash-near-Carterton-kills-11

I was watching this balloon on the way to work this morning, just before it went down! I was thinking that they had the perfect day for a flight- warm and not a breath of wind...

Time to get out of Dodge yet?

"A magnitude-4.7 earthquake hit Christchurch at 8.04pm tonight, hours after a magnitude-5 quake interrupted a special briefing on aftershocks..."

I really don't think this is done yet.

Meddling with Time

Or: 'Ain't 'alf been some clever bastards!'

"It's one thing to make an object invisible, like Harry Potter's mythical cloak. But scientists have made an entire event impossible to see. They have invented a time masker.

Think of it as an art heist that takes place before your eyes and surveillance cameras. You don't see the thief strolling into the museum, taking the painting down or walking away, but he did. It's not just that the thief is invisible - his whole activity is.

What scientists at Cornell University did was on a much smaller scale, both in terms of events and time. It happened so quickly that it's not even a blink of an eye. Their time cloak lasts an incredibly tiny fraction of a fraction of a second. They hid an event for 40 trillionths of a second, according to a study appearing in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature..."

Read More:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6217696/Scientists-create-time-cloak

Just wondering

... about how the police have an obsession about road safety, when it is cars & trucks- yet unregistered or warranted and oversized agricultural vehicles around here seem to get a free pass. It's the same with stock movements without any warning or signage and I'm not talking gate to gate here- we are taking driving beasts for kilometers.

To be clear, I'm not talking about back-country roads that see more hooves than wheels- I'm talking about SH2, and the main back roads.

When the rest of us are being hounded for very minor breaches- what is going on here?

Camping- Pleasure or Pain

It can be either.

Picture a small tent n a crowded camping ground. Kids tracking mud inside, the incessant rain, a screaming baby two tents over and a diet of burnt sausages. An hour to blow an air mattress up, to have it go flat in the middle of the night. The route march through sand and mud to a fetid toilet block. The sound of jungle drums and shrieking from a group of pissed teenagers, that continues until dawn...

No wonder some folks hate camping!

Then there is camping as I have known it. A remote coastal location or a river valley in the bush, well away from all others. Access by 4wd or a short walk to the campsite. A group of good company, well-experienced in life outdoors, with all the gear needed to make life comfortable- good tents, lighting, chairs, tables and plenty of ice. Days spent hunting, fishing, swimming- or just reading in the shade. Warm, clear nights around the campfire, watching the stars, enjoying good wine and cold beer after feasting on game...

It's even easier now, with some of the whizzo new camping gear, such as portable battery/gas showers, affordable generator sets, solar panel chargers, Ipods, self-inflating mattresses and LED lighting.

No wonder some of us love it!

It's hard to manage 'just plain stupid'

"Police Minister Anne Tolley is blaming stupidity for a cruel string of deaths at the tail end of a year which saw the fewest road-crash fatalities since 1952.

"Perhaps the weather had something to do with it, and general stupidity, from the sound of it," she said yesterday, after the holiday road toll since Christmas Eve soared to 17..."

Links:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10776263

http://lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com/2012/01/stupidity.html

A bit of plain-speaking for a change!

I have been following the news on crashes and more than a few involve that COMBINATION of excessive speed for the conditions, intoxication and stupidity. It could be argued that the two former are the result of the latter and I would be inclined to agree. A point often missed it that it is usually a combination of several factors that lead to a smash- not just one.

Stupidity will not be a popular causation with those who presume to know what is best for us. Making dumb decisions smacks of the individual being responsible for their actions and that will not do.

We can't have folks getting the idea that they should take personal responsibility for their lives. That could be doing the ruling classes out of a job!

Try asking why

"Dismayed judges have ordered Corrections bosses to read an expert's book on rehabilitation after being shocked a P-addicted prisoner would be forced to wait years for drug treatment.

In a Court of Appeal decision last month, three judges cited Roger Brooking's book Flying Blind, which slams the government's hard-line approach to law and order.

Long-term inmates must now wait until they are eligible for parole before being offered drug and alcohol rehabilitation in prison, but judges quashed Glen Fleming's minimum non-parole term of four years so he could seek treatment sooner..."

Link; http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6205532/Judges-throw-book-at-prisoner-drug-rehab

Firstly, imprisonment SHOULD be drug treatment, in that it should be easier to stay off drugs in a controlled environment. OK, here we insert the Tui Ad bit, as the opposite is true. It is easy to get drugs in, as the powers-that-be will not commit resources to effective enforcement, such a boundary patrols, scanner technology and adequate specialized search units. 

Secondly, the legal fraternity is the first to start the shrill wailing about 'inmate rights' and harassment when a drugs crackdown occurs. Judges- that's your union buddies.

Taking the pragmatic approach, Corrections give the treatment at the end of sentence, in the fainthope that at least the inmate is released clean. 

Want to get real on managing drugs in prison? Try the following:

• Mandatory regular screening for all inmates, using the lower cost kits, not the gold-plated standard tests, required by legal appeals.
• NO contact visits- all visits from behind the plexiglas.
• Effective 'Boarder patrolling' of prison property.
• More detector dog units.
• Use the new body scanning technology- if it's good enough for citizens using an airport, it's good enough for crims.
• NO personal property in prisons.
• Severe penalties for attempting to smuggle contraband.

You WILL get results.