Journal: A bit of a Shock.
Yesterday I got a quote for a customised new computer... the box only. It was really 3 quotes for 3 different combinations.
I swallowed twice or was it more. I knew it would be high for a high end machine but to see it staring out at me in bold black and white, it well made me swallow.
To day I felt better and started to pare the listed parts down. I will see Greg tomorrow morning and talk the changes over with him.
Snails. Caught 6 of the little blighter's in the glasshouse this morning... I though I had got rid of them, I was only catching one or two now and then.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Journal: Synod
Sunday morning and Pat left for the Synod early just as she did yesterday morning. Each morning she was off well before 8 a.m. picking up Phyll, her friend and fellow Synod member on the way.
As she gave me a goodbye peck her eyes were shining with anticipation of what lay ahead today. I smiled and wished her a pleasant time. Arriving in Hamilton she gave me a quick call on he cell phone and told me that she had arrived safely with no wrong turns in Hamilton.
The Church Diocese yearly meeting, she never fails to tell me each year, is the church parliament where the church laws are made and re-made or modified and the future is discussed. She thoroughly enjoys the experience.
Yesterday was a long day. Pat left before 8 a.m. and did not arrive home until after 9.30 p.m. Today will be shorter, with business probably concluded by 3 p.m.
Sunday morning and Pat left for the Synod early just as she did yesterday morning. Each morning she was off well before 8 a.m. picking up Phyll, her friend and fellow Synod member on the way.
As she gave me a goodbye peck her eyes were shining with anticipation of what lay ahead today. I smiled and wished her a pleasant time. Arriving in Hamilton she gave me a quick call on he cell phone and told me that she had arrived safely with no wrong turns in Hamilton.
The Church Diocese yearly meeting, she never fails to tell me each year, is the church parliament where the church laws are made and re-made or modified and the future is discussed. She thoroughly enjoys the experience.
Yesterday was a long day. Pat left before 8 a.m. and did not arrive home until after 9.30 p.m. Today will be shorter, with business probably concluded by 3 p.m.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Journal:Republican sympathies fade in New Zealand.
Most days I read the British Telegraph on the Internet and the following piece caught my eye this morning. I think the author has hit the nail on the head.
Although I am not a Monarchist by any means, I do tend to think conservatively in that I don't agree with change for changes' sake. Or to put it in a more pragmatic way, the famous saying "if in ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind when some warbling, shallow-minded dork comes along, stands on his soapbox and burbles, "we gotta have change".
Why? He usually doesn't really know.
Now I will get off my soapbox.
Here is the piece in question.
By Paul Chapman, in Wellington
(Filed: 23/07/2005)
A highly successful visit by Prince William, a good-humoured tour de force from British Lions rugby fans, and the London bombings have rekindled in New Zealand a sense of kindred with "the mother country" unlike anything seen for years.
A poll shows that support for the monarchy has soared, a campaign to remove the Union flag from the national ensign is foundering, and the big spending rugby-following Barmy Army gave the economy a huge midwinter fillip.
Only 27 per cent now believe New Zealand should become a republic, an opinion poll published this week showed. Earlier this year it stood at 41 per cent.
Although Helen Clark, the current Labour prime minister, holds republican sympathies that are shared by politicians on both sides of the House, she admitted that, like the rest of the nation, she found Prince William utterly charming when he visited.
New Zealanders have felt a special affection for the prince since his first visit, with his parents in 1983, at the age of nine months.
They were flattered that it was to be in their country that, on July 10, he carried out his first solo official duties.
When he bowed his head before Auckland's war memorial to lay a wreath in memory of New Zealand's war dead, there was an unspoken understanding that the nation was sharing his grief for those who perished in the London bombings.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the country prided itself on her role as Britain's most dutiful offspring. It sent more than 100,000 servicemen to the First World War trenches, one-tenth of the entire population, and suffered a horrific casualty rate.
Forty or so years ago, older New Zealanders still referred to Britain as "home", but a sea-change in the relationship came after London signed up to the Common Market. Until recently a growing drift towards republicanism in the corridors of power in Wellington had loosened traditional ties.
Most days I read the British Telegraph on the Internet and the following piece caught my eye this morning. I think the author has hit the nail on the head.
Although I am not a Monarchist by any means, I do tend to think conservatively in that I don't agree with change for changes' sake. Or to put it in a more pragmatic way, the famous saying "if in ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind when some warbling, shallow-minded dork comes along, stands on his soapbox and burbles, "we gotta have change".
Why? He usually doesn't really know.
Now I will get off my soapbox.
Here is the piece in question.
By Paul Chapman, in Wellington
(Filed: 23/07/2005)
A highly successful visit by Prince William, a good-humoured tour de force from British Lions rugby fans, and the London bombings have rekindled in New Zealand a sense of kindred with "the mother country" unlike anything seen for years.
A poll shows that support for the monarchy has soared, a campaign to remove the Union flag from the national ensign is foundering, and the big spending rugby-following Barmy Army gave the economy a huge midwinter fillip.
Only 27 per cent now believe New Zealand should become a republic, an opinion poll published this week showed. Earlier this year it stood at 41 per cent.
Although Helen Clark, the current Labour prime minister, holds republican sympathies that are shared by politicians on both sides of the House, she admitted that, like the rest of the nation, she found Prince William utterly charming when he visited.
New Zealanders have felt a special affection for the prince since his first visit, with his parents in 1983, at the age of nine months.
They were flattered that it was to be in their country that, on July 10, he carried out his first solo official duties.
When he bowed his head before Auckland's war memorial to lay a wreath in memory of New Zealand's war dead, there was an unspoken understanding that the nation was sharing his grief for those who perished in the London bombings.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the country prided itself on her role as Britain's most dutiful offspring. It sent more than 100,000 servicemen to the First World War trenches, one-tenth of the entire population, and suffered a horrific casualty rate.
Forty or so years ago, older New Zealanders still referred to Britain as "home", but a sea-change in the relationship came after London signed up to the Common Market. Until recently a growing drift towards republicanism in the corridors of power in Wellington had loosened traditional ties.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Journal:
Well it is almost a week since Ian left to return to the UK. Time flies, but then in that time we have had 3 days of heavy rain and then sunny once more and I potted a few plants for the coming springtime. Freezing this morning... Friday, and I turned the heating full on ... all of it for an hour. Equal to 6-7 kilowatts when I calculated it out. We were down to 2 C. last night... cold for this part of NZ.
Pat will be spending all her time in Hamilton over the next 2 days as church Synod member. She enjoys the position and all the debating.
I need to upgrade my computer to run the new edition of Tranz Rail Simulator due out next month. I now have the specifications and will need a bigger processor and 2 Gb of Ram plus a few other things. I will get a new box. No need for new monitors... my 2 19 inch models are more than adequate. Good job I had put a few dollars away for the purpose.
The Kings Head, Usk. 2003.
Happy Memories.
Well it is almost a week since Ian left to return to the UK. Time flies, but then in that time we have had 3 days of heavy rain and then sunny once more and I potted a few plants for the coming springtime. Freezing this morning... Friday, and I turned the heating full on ... all of it for an hour. Equal to 6-7 kilowatts when I calculated it out. We were down to 2 C. last night... cold for this part of NZ.
Pat will be spending all her time in Hamilton over the next 2 days as church Synod member. She enjoys the position and all the debating.
I need to upgrade my computer to run the new edition of Tranz Rail Simulator due out next month. I now have the specifications and will need a bigger processor and 2 Gb of Ram plus a few other things. I will get a new box. No need for new monitors... my 2 19 inch models are more than adequate. Good job I had put a few dollars away for the purpose.
The Kings Head, Usk. 2003.Happy Memories.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Friday, July 01, 2005
Journal: Thoughts and Memories.
This sunny Friday morning I decided to clear up the leaves on our large back lawn. It is winter here in NZ and not long past our mid-winter day. I use a modern leaf blower now as opposed to the old fashioned way, with a leaf rake. Blowing the leaves into a long line then picking them up into the barrow, I collected 3 barrow loads well pressed down and put them into my composting area to await room in the bin.
I still had to use the old fashioned leaf rake to tidy up the remains afterwards.
This reminded me of the time when I was a boy at Kidside and I used to rake up the leaves down the long drive up to our home lined with mature trees down either side. Autumn leaves were everywhere and I would put the leaves into piles along the edge of the drive. There were much too many to do anything with and it was my job to burn the piles of leaves in situ then rake the remains onto the grass verges. I still remember the pleasant woody smell of the burning leaves as they turned to carbon which, when washed into the grass and soil by the rains helped to continue natures cycle during the following spring growth.
This sunny Friday morning I decided to clear up the leaves on our large back lawn. It is winter here in NZ and not long past our mid-winter day. I use a modern leaf blower now as opposed to the old fashioned way, with a leaf rake. Blowing the leaves into a long line then picking them up into the barrow, I collected 3 barrow loads well pressed down and put them into my composting area to await room in the bin.
I still had to use the old fashioned leaf rake to tidy up the remains afterwards.
This reminded me of the time when I was a boy at Kidside and I used to rake up the leaves down the long drive up to our home lined with mature trees down either side. Autumn leaves were everywhere and I would put the leaves into piles along the edge of the drive. There were much too many to do anything with and it was my job to burn the piles of leaves in situ then rake the remains onto the grass verges. I still remember the pleasant woody smell of the burning leaves as they turned to carbon which, when washed into the grass and soil by the rains helped to continue natures cycle during the following spring growth.
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