LOCAL NEWS
The second chopper was found and early reports were vague on the status of the occupants. They weren't alive. I don't like helicopters, I am not sure I would ever fly in one. Give me wings any day. The other one hasn't been found yet.
Men overestimating their swimming skills and their ability to defeat the power of nature is blamed for the high incidence of drownings over summer. Boaties consider those that wear life jackets to be geeks. Darwinian evolution at its best if you ask me. Drowning continued to dominate the news after two died in an incident at Browns Bay (flat beach near where Diana's Mum lives). Nineteen people have drowned in New Zealand in the eighteen days of this year so far.
Local minority (and useless) All Black Caleb Ralph has been seeing Zara Phillips (minor royalty).
Ducks are dying from botulism in shallow lakes, probably due to dry conditions. It is due to rain a bit this week but it has been very dry for weeks.
Apple growers are whining that there aren't enough itinerant workers prepared to work for a pittance to pick their bumper crop. Well, think about it lads.
In the political arena, employers are bitching about changes that I haven't even started to find out about. On the basis that I am not an employer and don't intend to be, plus the fact that my opinion on the matter counts for nothing, I think this is fair enough and I should enjoy my ignorance of the matter.
A SHORT RANT
In an attempt to curb drownings, authorities are telling parents they must supervise their children whilst swimming at beaches. This infers that they weren't doing so before. It fails to take into account events like the father that died yesterday trying to save his seven year old who didn't drown (that happens a lot). It also suggests to the people who are likely to take any notice of such instruction that they needn't bother supervising their children in pools, after school, in town, crossing roads, or whilst they construct homemade fireworks. It also fails to account for the fact that parents stupid enough not to already supervise their children at the beach are unlikely to obey news stories instructing them to change their ways ("Ooh look, Gladys, it says here we are supposed to keep an eye on the kids while they swim in the sea. It never would have occurred to me to do that, let's start being responsible parents").
Rant over.
WORLD NEWS
The Doctor that felt he had the right to end patients lives, Harold Shipman, has died in jail. Turns out his lawyer was a confidence trickster that tried to buy MGM studios and $57m worth of property in New Zealand without any actual money.
A Doctor claims to have cloned a human being. Let's hope that it isn't someone awful like GW or Kylie Minogue.
There was another bomb in Iraq.
France seems to be attracting unwanted attention by banning muslim headscarves in school. This could get nasty, Hamas seems to have become interested already.
SPORT
The local tennis tournament has been absolutely full of epic battles if the papers are to be believed. I won't bore you with the details.
The Pakis fell to pieces batting first on Wednesday and the Black Caps reached the target in 22 overs and lost 2 wickets. The Blacks Caps just managed to win the last game and won the series 4-1, which flattered them a bit.
Man Utd lost to bloody Wolverhampton, then Liverpool lost to a shite team as well (Spurs) and Leeds lost again. If Arsenal win their game they are back on top.
An Australian Pro just beat a local Amateur for the New Zealand Golf Open title.
MY SAD LIFE
On Wednesday, I went to Hamilton to work. Hannah was acting funny the night before, she said she didn't want me to go, so I asked her if she would like to come. The answer was yes. We were going to leave at 6:30 in the morning to beat traffic and give us some time on the way home. As I finished shaving, I opened the bathroom door about 6:10 and sure enough she appeared (she had been awake since her alarm went off at 5:00am) with her lunch all packed and everything. We drove down, I met with my client and sorted things out while Hannah drew pictures and played on her Neopet. Then we popped in to see my friend Chris who lives and works in Hamilton. On the way home, we stopped anywhere we thought would be interesting. We diverted to a place called Candyland which took some finding, but was worth it. Hannah had a great time looking at all the sweets for sale. We bought a few and carried on home. We stopped at a few other places, a toy shop in Huntly, and so forth. Had to divert to another client in Auckland, but Hannah stayed in the car and played with her neopet. She didn't act tired after we got home, but it was a fun day. I saw the checklist she had done the night before, and it was very detailed. She behaved pretty well (the kids both seem to enjoy having the complete attention on a parent).
We spent the last few days cat-sitting at the Goodins. The cat provided much entertainment. She spewed on the carpet, caught and ate a fly, caught a bird, and a butterfly. (she is five months old and still has stitches from being recently spayed). She slept with the kids and Diana, and woke me up when she hunted a book. The kids made sure the pool was working, by swimming in it. I didn't enjoy commuting to my office, and had to visit the house every day that we were away for a variety of reasons. The Goodins were at a wedding up north somewhere. I think they need a teleporter to get coffee to the bedroom whilst hot, or a coffee machine in the bedroom.
Spent time on two occasions trying to sort out Ross Coles personal effects. It's not fun. I am trying to sell a few items on trademe to help recover some costs.
Paul, Roger, Shin, and foetus are all visiting New Zealand at the moment. They are off to Nelson or Blenheim later this week for about a week. We saw Paul on Saturday but haven't managed to see the bump and Shin and Roger yet.
I did another hour on the radio with my best mate Alice Worsley on Radio Pacific yesterday talking about digital cameras. Becoming a well-seasoned professional amateur radio person (note the deliberate non-use of the word personality).
A JOKE WITH A PERSONAL FLAVOUR
Most people know this sort of joke:
Q: How can you tell when an Australian has burgled your house?
A: Your beer has been drunk, your jandals are missing, and your barbecue has been cleaned.
After staying at the Goodins for a few days, I have to realistically acknowledge some personal character flaws. Here we go:
Q: How can you tell when Rob has been house-sitting for a few days?
A: Some new channels have been tuned on your TV, the clocks have been corrected, there is blood and short hairs stuck on the (very low for normal people) lampshades, and toys have been reassembled and repaired.
I admit that as I grow old I am getting more and more sad. I think I am a closet obsessive-compulsive.
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