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That there is ALWAYS a worse job

...is something I constantly remind myself- although coal mining is far from the bottom of the list- and yes, I HAVE been inside a coal mine while blasting was going on!

Trouble with underground mining, is that when things go wrong, they REALLY go wrong. Unlike, say, forestry where they get knocked off one by one.

I certainly don't envy the chaps who will go in to search the mine- who knows what state the mine is in after a large explosion. But they will go in and are do doubt incredibly frustrated in being held back. It's not just the flammable gas, but now there may (probably) be concentrations of highly lethal carbon monoxide. A fireman's BA is only good for about half an hour- a specialized mining rebreather more than that, but they will not be traveling fast.

I took part in a cave rescue exercise some years ago and that was a real headache getting a stretcher case out about 400 meters. In good air and a stable cave.

I think next time I'm outside working in the hot sun, I will remind myself of the lot of the miner...

Cowboys and Aliens!

Village of the Damned to get an IQ boost

"New Zealand will soon have its first gorillas when the head of Sydney's Taronga Zoo gorilla pack, a 210-kg father of 14, will move to Christchurch in a few years to enjoy his retirement..."

I wonder if this is to fill a void left by the removal of that bloody awful 'Outrageous Fortune' soap?

The public's insatiable desire to watch primate threat displays and simian behavior...

And it came to pass

...that the unbelievers did not heed the word of the prophet that the sins of past neglect would come back to bite the unbelievers on the bum.

And they did switch on the infernal machine and a wave of pestilence did spread throughout and all was woe.

A great wailing and gnashing of teeth was heard throughout the land and I did say "told you so!" and "THAT will teach you to spill your seed on the ground", as the people of the village cried out in their anguish.

And their tear were for naught, as the parts now have to come from the Land of the Sodomites. Or it could have been Auckland- I had crap cellphone reception.

Here endth the lesson.

Bugger off is also a good answer

"Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says Maori protesters wanting to meet him over a Far North coastal area they claim belongs to local Maori can "go to hell"..."

GOOD- now just keep repeating that- every time the moochers come looking for a handout.

Say it loud, say it often!

Thought as much

"Evidence has emerged that 72% of all alcohol-related deaths on the roads are caused by drivers who are either blind-drunk or repeat offenders...

...The Transport Ministry research shows that in 2009 88 deaths – 72% of all alcohol-related deaths – were caused by 73 drivers who were either at least 50% over the current limit, or who already had a previous conviction.

Of those 88 deaths, 34 people were killed in crashes where the driver at fault had a previous conviction and 57% – or 50 out of 88 deaths – were caused by drivers with twice the legal alcohol limit.

In 2008, 108 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes and 28 of those – 26% were caused by drivers with a previous drink-driving conviction, while 77 deaths – 62% – were caused by drivers who had consumed more than twice the legal alcohol limit..."

So perhaps diddling with a lower allowable alcohol level is NOT going to be the answer. Bet the facts won't stop that happening, mind.

Man's domain

Book Five- kiss your sand-scoured arses goodby

Commander Jamieson's Engineering battalion fixes a large gravatic drive to a ten kilometer iron-nickel asteroid and drives it into....

There seems to be a plague of this sort of thing

Passive–aggressive behavior, a personality trait, is passive, sometimes obstructionistresistance to following through with expectations in interpersonal or occupational situations. It is a personality trait marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavowed resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations.

It can manifest itself as learned helplessness, procrastination, stubbornness, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible.^[1]

Signs and symptoms

The book Living with the Passive-Aggressive Man lists 11 responses that may help identify passive-aggressive behavior:^[1]

• Ambiguity or speaking cryptically: a means of engendering a feeling of insecurity in others
• Chronically being late and forgetting things: another way to exert control or to punish.
• Fear of competition
• Fear of dependency
• Fear of intimacy as a means to act out anger: The passive aggressive often cannot trust. Because of this, they guard themselves against becoming intimately attached to someone.
• Making chaotic situations
• Making excuses for non-performance in work teams
• Obstructionism
• Procrastination
• Sulking
• Victimization response: instead of recognizing one's own weaknesses, tendency to blame others for own failures.

A passive-aggressive person may not have all of these behaviors, and may have other^{[clarification needed]} non-passive-aggressive traits.

^{These bastards are in dire need of bastinado followed by keel-hauling- for a first offense.}

^{Dealing with a couple of these right now and they are rapidly approaching the need for percussive therapy!}

One minute its summer and then...

Friday night- summer to winter in a couple of seconds. The white spots are very big hail stones.

When councils spend our money

Cost never seems to be much of an issue.

"...Men going about their business at a stainless steel urinal will make a return to central Wellington as part of a new publicly funded $560,000 toilet block in Courtenay Place..."

How the hell does a pissor cost over half a million?

Even a house in overpriced Wellington can be brought for less!

How much stainless steel, concrete and two-pot paint does it take to build a sanitary, functional and vandal-resistant crapper?

Ghostbusters- wadda ya want?

"...Christchurch Paranormal Investigators founder Anton Heyrick said his team had received an "interesting influx" of phone calls and emails after the 7.1-magnitude earthquake, with more than double the usual number of inquiries.

"People are calling us, saying that they had always felt like there was something in the house, but since the earthquake it had become more intense," he said.

Most cases related to strange noises, although one man said he had been attacked by a ghost..."

Like I always said- Christchurch IS the Village of the Damned!

Don't panic, it's only the gates of Hell opening under your six-toed feet!

Good to see

...that despite what you would gauge from the press, there are a lot of folks out there that ARE NOT idiots.

Along with several other parties, I was stranded out in the bush on Saturday, when the river came up. It turned out to be a short stranding, our departure being delayed by about eight hours. It was good to see that EVERYONE paid heed to the warnings about the dangers of swollen rivers and waited until it was safe to cross.

Also, they all were carrying extra food and supplies for the possibility that this might happen- even better, as we met up on our travels to check the water level- everyone asked if the others were in need of supplies should we we going to have to spend another night out.

You only hear about the ones who get themselves drowned or need a taxpayer-funded helicopter ride out...

FTW

Summer to midwinter in 30 seconds, the river is rising fast and it looks like I'm not getting out of here tomorrow morning.

And I give a damn- why?

Gone Bush

We know what is best for you peasants

With talk of 'phasing out' tobacco, expect some massive tax increases over the next few years. The sheep have swallowed the news of an eventual banning, so that will be taken as tacit approval to go nuts on taxing fags.

Well done, you let them trample over you AGAIN!

Also, expect the goalposts to shift soon. This is going to happen sooner than the 15 years talked about- mark my words.

And do enjoy a few drinks now- YOU are next!

Meanwhile, the gangs are delighted at the prospect of another huge income stream being handed to them...

Gerry fucking Brown- you got what you degenerates deserve!

Contrition

He talks the talk, now needs to walk the walk.

No appeals, not whining. Whatever the charges.

Accept your punishment with humility and be a model inmate.

When released, live the best life you can.

You have to do the good works of two people now.

What about pointed sticks?

Another knee- jerk reaction to an inanimate object- pounced upon by the media as an easy article for their bread & butter.

The knives are not the problem- it's the criminal intent. Anything can be used effectively to maim or kill a person.

Now if the POS that used the knife in this murder had been PROPERLY put away to keep the public safe (the MAIN role of the so-called Justice system) He would have been still doing hard time for his PREVIOUS knife attacks and MURDER.

Our Judiciary is as much the problem as our criminals!