Posts by Islander

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  • Up Front: What Sixteen Is,

    A bit OT but since Rob H brought it up...did the Postie Underworld never teach you about bike pumps? I was a postie at Sockburn (did the Riccarton Road run mainly) and Greymouth at the end of 1960s & early '70s...one of the first things I learned was
    a) take your government-issue bike pump & remove the connection tube;
    b) fill both bottom & top openings with lead (use the lead seals from postbags and remember not to breathe when you melt 'em;)
    c) understand that dogs *can* estimate the length of an object swung at them but
    d)you suddenly have a weapon about 20cm longer than they expect connecting with their snouts-

    hey, if your bike *did* develop a puncture, a mere pump wasnt going to get you anywhere...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Hard News: Loving your dog and owning…,

    Nah- just going by the electorate I vote in - no good labour candidate
    but no good alternative - soooo- we'll vote labour/labour or labour/green, or even green/labour but sure as shit not maori party
    (and never nat.)

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Up Front: What Sixteen Is,

    Jackie, love your compassion & insights, Sofie- love your compassionate insights-

    I've now watched my sibs' children grow to adulthood, and loved - & wept - over what they've become. Now, there's the greatgrands...I dont get anxious (I'd be a continually quavering mess otherwise) and I dont get prescriptive (beacause I'm not the younger whanau living their hectic eve frantic lives.) What I do - and am- is: these are the family values, within these I will support you wholly.

    Molotov-cocktail aunt here, complete with squid hooks - and recipes.

    Incidentally, I dont think human brains mature before 24-26: life experience means humans wholus bolus frequently mature beforehand: your Nanna's photo was choice Giovanni, and my Nanna, who left school at 12 and became a scullery maid, would match her...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Hard News: Loving your dog and owning…,

    Thanks Hilary Stace- apropos Auchinvole - think dairy farmers. Quite a few of those on the Coast, getting wealthier as we email, polluting a thousand waterways without effective control (local regulatory bodies seem, to me, to be captive to this subset of West Coast society, simply because of their membership) and *ruining* both land & waterways with impunity.

    Not everyone loves* 'em. Hence, look for a big Green vote.

    *Actually, an amazing number of Coasters hate 'em. Anecdotal evidence, but very widespread.

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Hard News: Loving your dog and owning…,

    The West Coast electorate can get rabid (witness the voting in of a Nat not too many years ago: she was inefficient as an MP and didnt get a second term.) Damien O'Connor will probably meet the same fate - he is not high profile in the electorate, and really doesnt have his finger on the pulse here any more (and yes, we're all aware of his very real family distresses.) Chris Auckenlick (?sorry, sp. unknown) is a Nat list MP, and will be returned. The Maori party has *no* sway here (I am a registered Tai Tonga voter and sure as shit wouldnt vote for the listed candidate- or the party.)) Watch for a substantial Labour and Green *party* vote-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Up Front: Mmmmmm, MMP,

    *Aoraki* a huge electorate?

    Try Te Tai Tonga, wherein I vote. Driving from one end to the other is not a possibility (unless it's an extremely seaworth motor vehicle...)

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Busytown: See me grow,

    My Mum *is* a matriarch, greatgran and all that, and she had the same kind of fantasy e Kerry- only most of her daughters turned out to have endometriosis (or were slightly weird,like me) and her sons - well, they bred beautifully but not all that much- so she has a wonderful pack of grandchildren & up & coming greatgrans - and not a plumber among 'em!

    But. glory be, all healthy. thriving now, and diversifying-

    you ever want to to come fishing south - here is a good place-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Busytown: See me grow,

    Kerry, your advice is sound, as was my mother's to me when I didnt know what on earth I wanted to really do with my life - "Just try all the options you're comfortable with."

    I'd didnt find out what I really wanted to be/do/spend my working life at until I was 35 and my first book was published.

    Even now, I think I may have made a terrible mistake, and I should've picked the archaeologist option...or maybe the chef?

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Hard News: Crash and Contempt,

    Or, HORansome, as Russell way back called it, the incompetence-cum-need of a specific police unit to justify themselves-

    incidentally, since you're doing a PhD on these matters - have you looked at the Aotearoa Cafe site? A friend of mine & self - who used to go on-line thought afterwards the site had become a sting operation.

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

  • Up Front: Mmmmmm, MMP,

    I'd certainly stick with MMP- not perfect, but working...even with the Winnie Factor...waaaay better than FPTP

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report

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