Me and a mate did something that I was very proud of last night. Let me regale you.
Working through the wee hours as I have been lately, I have lunch with a friend at about 4am. We work in Auckland City, so wander down to the town square, which is called Aotea Square, to watch all of the early morning freaks out and about as we munch and swill coffee. I've seen some funny stuff sitting in the square. Last night was not so funny.
We went to take our usual seats and we heard a woman screaming. I
HERE the NYT reports that former classics student Boris Johnson stands a chance of beating Red Ken for mayor of London. Can anyone across the pond tell me, What do Brits think of Boris?
I apologise. I have just seen an artists impression of the new Swindon Library on the wall as I popped down to log on this morning, and the carbuncles are indeed shown. The colours used by the artist played down the visual effect and therefore I hadn't noticed them.
Plane Crash In Kent
A tragic accident in Farnborough, Kent, where a Cessna Citation business jet ran into engine trouble after take off and attempted to return to Biggin Hill, only to lose control and crash into a housing estat
On Monday I summoned up my courage and asked for (and got!) a raise, and more hours. That turned into more stress than I needed, but alls well that ends well, and I did get a raise and more hours (and the increase from my old weekly income is going to go right into my savings.)
It took me most of the week but I found a DSL provider, for less than I actually expected to pay! I ended up going with the phone company, which I DIDN'T want to do for various reasons, but I did have to as Verizon wa
Yesterday my brother got married to his childhood sweetheart. What a day.
I've attended four weddings so far this year and I'm still no more enamoured of the idea. Familiarity is breeding contempt. What a freakin' production. I was happy for my brother and his new wife, but when you hear the phrase 'your special day' what I reckon is really meant is 'the bride's special day'.
What is it about the day of marriage that makes perfectly reasonably, sane, women turn into slathering egomaniacal cont
Our local councillor, SP, is a man with a mission, and he's talking rubbish. Yes, I said rubbish. His five point plan on waste issues in our area is now posted through everybodies door - he means business. Well good luck SP. I know you mean well, but lets be honest, if you want to cure fly tipping what difference are adverts, thicker bags, and busibodies telling you to recycle a bottle going to do? Not a lot. Old mattresses, discarded clothes, and an endless supply of black plastic bags will sti
Entering the office of New Deal, the agency that handles the unemployed in Britain, I notice the young security guard at reception looking at me in that 'Don't I know you?' way.
"Have you claimed in the last three months Sir?"
I truthfully reply I that I hadn't. He looks me in the eye and clearly doesn't believe me. This does not bode well. What worries even more is that the familiar faces of the dole office aren't there... Uh-oh...
Fossil of the Week
Goes to a chap in america who
You may have seen the story on the news about the diabetic girl that died because her parents wouldn't take her to the hospital because they thought praying would heal her. I knew her. She sold me food at the cafe...
Idiots.
I've been working nights for the past months, and in that time I have come into contact with a building site administator who has the people skills of a flesh eating virus.
I'm Maori. There is a popular perception here, long held and deep seated amongst the ignorant, that we are not very bright as a race. I deal with this every working day and try to change perceptions.
The fact that I am a labourer does not help me. It kind of reinforces the aforementioned perception of me and my people. I d
I got promoted! This is the first entry of my first ever blog on the net. Thankyou UNRV, Primus Pilus and anyone else important whose arse I may have neglected kissing. I love this site, and this is a signal honor in my opinion, even if to other more experienced people it is 'just a blog' and a ho hum kind of achievement. Not to me, mates. This is the shizzle.
I'm writing a stand up comedy routine at the moment. There is an open mic at the local comedy club next month for new talent (read victi
A somewhat battered and bruised Robinson Caldrail crawls slowly up the beach of Washout Island, surrounded by the detritus that shipwrecks usually leave riding the surf. Alone and castaway, this is not the first time I've been marooned on this particular island. Right now I'm too devastated by what happened at the height of the storm. Captain AD, determined to brave the foul weather aboard his unseaworthy vessel, ordered me thrown over the side to stay afloat. I wasn't suprised. I'd considered a
And it's well-deserved, dammit.
Working primarily at a community college, there's nothing more satisfying than to hear that one of your students is going to go onto a 4-year degree. For the benefit of the non-Americans, our educational system here has the 4-year universities (where one earns a Bachelor's degree, or more) and 'community colleges' or 'junior colleges'. These CCs offer several types of courses, and one can get their Associate's degree so that they can either enter into the wo
Here's to a chap in America, reunited with his stolen '67 Mustang after 38 years. I can only imagine how the guy felt. Something along the lines of another old gent invited to a reunion with his former 'office'. A genuine 1940 Battle of Britain Hawker Hurricane, found derelict in India and lovingly restored to flying condition last year. What a terrible shame he was unable to fly it again himself. There was a tv program not so long ago when another ex-RAF pilot of that era was given a chance to
Here's my recommendation to all the chocolate lovers:
Chocolove 61% Dark Chocolate Bar
This tops any other chocolate I've had, though I admittedly don't go out of my way to find new chocolate to taste. It's like crack.
Philip Zimbardo, an american university psychologist, has been interviewed on BBC News 24. I've never heard of the guy before, but apparently his research shows that 'good' people become 'bad' people in certain circumstances. Now his work has been controversial - a 1971 experiment with students being given roles as guards and prisoners had to be closed down early when it became apparent that mental and physical abuse was getting out of hand.
Why are we so suprised at this? The most glaring e
So I downloaded Apophysis again. Been having fun. One of my newest:
(not exactly my cup of tea but I have a couple of friends who really like this sort of thing.)
I'm more into stuff like this:
Walking along an old railway cutting near where I live, I noticed the rocks had fallen away. Now I know the rocks of that particular place were once the sandy floor of a shallow sub-tropical sea during the Jurassic Age, so out of curiosity I clambered up to where the rock face has come away and examined those rocks for any sign of fossils. As much as I'd like to find something special, it wasn't likely. This area was an archipelago back then, a coral reef to the northwest, and right here a seasi
Earlier this morning I opened my emails. As usual there was the usual collection of unsolicited and unwanted stuff from people I've never heard of and probably don't exist.
Salvador Hale - Male Enhancement
Hampus Showers - Arissa says I feel tight in her now
Shan Spivey - Enter her with your throbbing manhood
Grant Saunders - She loved my large manhood
Abhijit Lukic - Non stop bedroom action
And so on. Those were the polite titles too. Who sends all this rubbish? Does anyone seriousl
If there is a line between "house plant" and "plant house" I think I'm about to cross it. Seriously.
I used to not be able to grow ANYTHING but I now have...ten plants that are *definitely* mine, and my mom has I don't know how many that are *definitely* hers, and then there are a few we fight over...
My most recent additions (this week, in fact) are a beautiful palm from the local nursery and a GORGEOUS sago palm. I LOVE cycads...and I certainly hope that my new sago loves me. I manage
Cue upbeat theme music and close ups of scantily clad women between clips of Caldrail goofing
Hi there, and welcome to Eye on Rushey Platt. I'm your host Caldrail. In todays entry -
Did Miss L do that to her hair on purpose?
Why has AM been banned from his favourite library PC?
Does DS know I've heard her mocking me as she walks past my home on Friday night?
Is there any truth to the rumour that SB is about to get his revenge?
But first, a shocking new development down th
Anyone who knows me or has been around me quite a bit knows that I'm basically a ball of energy. I can run at a high level for a long, long time. I do my best work in the afternoon and evening, especially when I work-out in the morning; I never go to bed before 11:30pm, and I still wake up refreshed in the morning. But when I crash...look out.
This week has been a difficult one, not because of anything in particular. I know I'm starting to crash, and it's the week before Spring Break. I
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
Thats apparently a valid english sentence...
..as someone noted in the comments of that link,
"...but even though I know better, each time I look at it, I think it is spelled incorrectly."
If you've wondered why I don't say much about fun things at work, its because work isn't fun right now. AD, the guy I've been trained to replace, has decided not to retire after all. Orders are small and right now I spend about ten minutes every morning labelling goods for transport. Job done. I know there are people who would give their right arm for a laid back existence like that, but isn't an inactive workplace the worst possible place to be stuck in? The clocks move backward, everyone else
