Thursday, November 30, 2006

what a week

what a week! the first major task was to teach the admin person how to set in motion a performance review that we are betting will end in dismissal.
the main focus of the week has been to introduce my new athletes to the concept "correct training produces results." for too long, they have been making a large but misdirected effort that has resulted in them getting their collective butts kicked. so, now we are starting to work hard, and work correctly. it is difficult for those who should have been recreational athletes and not serious. i wonder how long they will last?
a rather horrible aside from that: a teacher in afganistan, was disembowelled and the drawn and quartered. why? because he taught [educationally] girls. if that is the way the taleban wished to lead it's people, i can only shake my head in disgust. be ashamed.

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Monday, November 27, 2006

dishes

saw this card at post secret.
ms 15 is an expert. i need to buy her a hammer. then she can deal to the dishes in a more direct manner.
i have tried to explain to her that waiting for the dishes to biodegrade could take a while. i still don't think she believes me.
unfortunately i think her mum may have led her down this particular path. good role modelling sure gets results.

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born to rule buggers

the s _ _ t has hit the fan! for some reason, the welsh rugby union has decided that it has the right to dictate the use of a MAORI haka before a game of rugby. i realise that they are feeling aggrieved, but the haka belongs to us. not the welsh union, or the international union. too long have great britain tried to ride roughshod over the antipodeans. we are no longer your colony. get over it. we decide who we will challenge with the haka. not you. this tradition is ours. like it, or lump it.

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Sunday, November 26, 2006

the end of the week

the welsh rugby union tried to remove the "all black's" pre-competition routine [the haka] from the threat the "all blacks" posed to their team. the final outcome. the "all blacks" still did the haka in the changing rooms, and then went out on to the field and kicked their butts 45-10. go the ab's!

oh what a pleasure that was.

the first full week of the coaching assignment is done. young gymnasts who are not used to being coached in detail. i should say that they [the gymnasts] have been very open minded. there is a somewhat recreational attitude from most of the parents. they do not yet look at their daughters as athletes. something to work on. some talent is in the house. ms 13 has real possibilities. could be interesting.



Friday, November 24, 2006

teens part 2, the return!

i arrived home and noticed ms 15 studying the ins and outs of her latest fav soap on tv [the dishes are gathering moss]. i am however, finding it somewhat difficult to reconcile her study habits to her stated goal of being a forensic scientist????? so much for home-schooling.
oh! is that the tinkling of dishes i hear?

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Thursday, November 23, 2006

teens!

i now have two very nice flatmates that i live with in christchurch. a woman who i have known for a few years now, and her daughter who i will call ms 15. ms 15 only has one task each day, which is her contribution to the life she and her mum live. the dishes. ms 15 usually leaves her task as long as is possible. the result.....a large pile of dishes to do after her mum raves at her about being disorganised and lazy. of course, ms 15 has her reasons. all thoroughly thought through [did you like that, a tongue twister]. the most pressing, "i didn't have time!" what with two hours of television [her limit] watching to get through, two hours of lying on the sofa reading teen magazines, and listening to music i can surely see why it is so difficult to get to her task. i don't think that ms 15 notices that my dishes are done when i finish eating. i wonder how long it will take before she "gets it" that tasks done often, remain small tasks. can't remember how long it took me to figure that one out.

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

jacker puts gun to boy's head

it takes all kinds i know but this article gives new meaning to the word "useless." i guess it's just too hard out there for an honest car jacker. too many get caught.
some bright spark had a novel idea. it took three men to car jack an eight year old in cheadle, cheshire, while he sat in his mother's car at a petrol station. they even used a gun on him.
i wonder who is embarrassed about giving birth to that lot?

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

"p" for the masses

the debate about junk food and it's effect on our people is raging with the idea that we might ban advertising in places where children might see it. there seems to be an element out there that puts forward the concept of personal responsibility. people choose to put that stuff in their mouths, they must live [or die] with the consequences.
i wonder how they would feel if it were suddenly legal for drug dealers to advertise their product. you choose to use "p" or you don't. personal responsibility. i think it's about time we did something about the dealers selling junk food to our people. it's just "p" for the masses. maccas, the colonel, and other companies are making serious money on our misery. we need to do something about it.
thanks to http://tumeke.blogspot.com for the pic.

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pc bullies

sue bradford is determined to inflict her view of the world on the rest of the country. not that i disagree in essence with her view that we should not use violence on our children. i just do not agree with her pc attempt to get kiwis to do as she says. i reckon the bill will make criminals of many of us. i wonder if the collective attitude towards smacking could be addressed at the family level. as an ex teacher, i know, that it [the issue] is addressed through behaviour and modelling in our schools. doesn't work though does it. our youngsters are still violent, they are desensitised to violence [just look at our tv and dvd, videos etc]. don't forget the gangsta culture we import into our communities.

the stuff poll this morning is pretty clear 8.8% of the vote say parents should lose the right to smack their children. 88.5% say parents should retain the right to smack their children. 2.7% can't figure out what they think.

we really need more rules, don't we?

we really need sue bradford to run roughshod over most of our society.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

we won!

the "all blacks" have won over a vastly superior [from last week] france, 23 - 11. well done "all blacks," wicked defence. haere mai wales!
oz beat gb in the league last night. the kiwis play oz in the final next week.
go the kiwis, go the all blacks!
looks as though i'll be back at the doc tomorrow morning. getting very [sick] of my chest infection. might have to try some chicken soup as the antibiotics aren't working.

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Saturday, November 18, 2006

new technique

the new zealand police have come up with the ultimate policy when confronting domestic situations in the line of duty. i am in awe of the sheer thought power that must have gone into producing this advanced technique when managing out of control scenarios in the home. i get the impression that the answer came as an accident. luckily, it was observed and noted by a suitably senior officer. "when confronted by an out of control situation that may be dangerous to all involved, pull out your taser, and shoot yourself. the people involved will all fall over rolling about in utter hysterics, then you can clap them in handcuffs. due to the humour involved, they will be less aggressive, and will happily accompany the officer, hoping to see more."
click here for the full story.
thanks to the nzherald.

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Friday, November 17, 2006

friday morning

i am getting sick of the stadium debate raging away in auckland. there's a lot of not helpful suggestions from the pc aunts in aucks. the bit i dislike the most is, it takes up so much air space on our radios! meanwhile, we still can't find those two reprobates that assaulted the dutch couple on holiday here. i can't believe that they are staying. so brave. i hope that those who know the whereabouts of the two animals involved do something about it.
tomkat. you're getting married and you didn't invite oprah? let's face it. apart from oprah, who really cares? i wonder what idiot at "stuff" thought kiwis were remotely interested. i think i'm offended.
the "all blacks" play france again this weekend [sunday morning 9am nz time], yeehaa! 47-3 last weekend. "zee frog i sink heez cooked. zees week weez garlic perhaps?"

I HAVE A CHEST INFECTION AND IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!

please excuse the yelling.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

it's warm here in chch

after a few months in welly, where the weather has been less than cheerful, i am now sitting in a balmy 25 deg celcius. one whole degree colder than yesterday! it's quite a change from 18 - 19 on a good day. welly is cold today. i have had two complaints from the bros [by cell]. there is a slight downside to being so warm. i am most enthusiastic about the occasional wee lie down. snoozing would be great in the afternoon if i didn't have to work. it's not really work. i am being paid to have fun. that's what gym coaching is like. 7 enthusiastic young ladies [who happen to be crazy], is fine with me. they want to be there [unlike school].
this brings me to another thought about enthusiasm and school. over the last few years, i have come into close contact with home-school kids. i know i am a teacher by profession, but home-schooling [i'm generalising] seems a positive way to go [just thought i'd throw that in].
one of my new flatmates is a 15 year old home-schooled teenage girl. enthusiastic, and hard working, polite [not negative], really involved. i like.
yawn, time for a snooze.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

returning

slowly, oh so slowly, my navbar is coming back to normal. i wonder if blogger is doing that?
after a hot day yesterday, i am finding this one a bit on the cold side. about time nz had some good weather. we're hangin out for it. time to get myself in the mood for another training session.

teeth gnashing aggression

it's heart - warming to see our national rugby team kitted out and looking threatening. machismo is alive and well inside the "all black" camp. there were suggestions to rename the team, the "all pinks." the nz rugby football union declined on the basis that rugby is already considered a blood sport and they are loathe to paint our players as barbarians to be truly afraid of. jason eaton [lock/blindside flank] looks comfortable in his threatening training jersey.
here is the whole story.....

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Tuesday, November 14, 2006

day one

christchurch! i am here. most of my things are unpacked and i am starting to organise my life. still glowing after our [kiwi] league team trashed great britain. it was a hiding. then, just to top it all off, the "all blacks" tore the french apart. it all happened in the space of 14 or so hours. it was delicious. it's amazing the effect it has on the public mood.
spent yesterday afternoon in the gym with my new bunch of young athletes. a fizzy lot. determined to enjoy themselves. first things first. training diaries, skill and physical bottom lines. time for them to play getting good. should be interesting.

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

start

the trek begins at 12pm. i head south to christchurch to start the new job. more later.

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Friday, November 10, 2006

wassup

yaaaaaaaaaaaaa! what is happening with the navbar!!!!!!!

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

summer?

summer is just round the corner here in nz. we are at the end of our spring. the govt have been warning us about global climate change/warming, how it will affect us, what we can do to reverse the trends we are observing. we now have snow and ice creeping up from the deep south. brrrr!
sitting here in wellington, preparing to move south myself, i am hoping that the weather finishes it's cold burst before i get there.
i am, however, looking forward to our [me and the bros] trip to the caketin this weekend to watch the kiwis play gb in league. should be magic.
a shame that the nzrl have mucked up the administration of my favourite game. the pussies couldn't organise a blow job in a brothel.

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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

family stuff

it's little bro [n's] birthday. he no longer has the "i'm young" excuse. he turned 30 today. took him to the movies last night to see the clint eastwood movie "flags of our fathers." pretty good. even got him a packet of chocolate peanuts! gonna miss him and the other bro [k] when i head south on sunday. out of the claustrophobic metropolis [naenae] into the big city lights [christchurch]. the packing has started. will go to the airport this arvo to pick up the step sis and her brand new baby. she is working hard at repopulating nz. lives in christchurch too!

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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

what planet does the "ol fullah" inhabit?

the "ol fullah" needs hearing aids. he's had them for a while now. you can't see them cause they are really small. the technology is pretty good. he hears well when he wears them. do you think he will wear them? not on your life. for some bizarre reason, he refuses to wear them. he seems to think it's funny that it causes quite a few misunderstandings. this arvo he was down in the bustling metropolis that is the naenae shops, when talking to a shop keeper [who was talking about his phone] was heard to respond with the question, "carving bone?" this really tickled my mum's fancy. she had to withdraw and find a nice quiet place for her mirth filled breakdown. she was still giggling to herself when she arrived home later to tell us all about it. you know, he still missed the point.

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teens

guy fawkes. nothing like it was when i was a child. i cannot imagine today's teens in charge of such monstrosities as the "mighty cannon." they'd kill each other. they pretty much manage that with the limp watered down explosives they can get hold of in these most pc of times.
somehow, we, as a nation, have managed to selectively isolate the "stupid" and "egocentric" genes, and then ensured that they have been inserted into the geno-code of our youngsters. it worked. it was a risk but the experiment worked. i wonder if anyone will tell them what we did?
we have tested it thoroughly. we lowered the drinking age (binge culture), we made education and condoms easily available (rising teen pregnancy), we imported high performance japanese cars (boy racers), we now have tazers (and electronically dancing queens teens), we imported the after party culture (drunken teen riots). yup, it worked. it gave us something to do.
i think it's time to fix it though.

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Monday, November 06, 2006

birthdays

er indoors [mum], little bro and i, all have our b'day's in november. to this end, we and other little bro went out for dinner last night. steaks all round. i managed to pour two daiquiri's down her [mum] a mango and a strawberry. she was a bit rosy in the cheeks. enjoyed the meal. the 70's are here.
got up early this morning and watched the all blacks demolish england at twickenham. oh that was a real pleasure. 41/20, at that level, a hiding. go the ab's!
looks like saddam hussein is in for it. iraqi here in nz seem to want him to hang. not into forgiving him at all. you get what you ask for.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

religious intolerance

another auckland man, 23-year-old website developer eyad arwani, wrote on a local muslim discussion website: "just as there is [sic] thieves among men, there are those who cannot control their sexual desires, and if a woman attracts attention of such men and is violated, then she can only blame herself."
eyad, you are in new zealand. in this country, what a woman wears cannot be used as an excuse to rape her. in new zealand, women may wear what they wish. no one may use their religious belief to dictate what another person [outside their religion] must do. you are welcome here, but do not inflict your intolerance on us!
full story.

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Thursday, November 02, 2006

friendship

don't ya just spit when you thought someone was/is your friend, and you're wrong? lots of positive feedback, lots of back scratching, platitudes abound.
i think i prefer rua. i know she's the whanau kuri [dog], but she is always honest. rua isn't even my kuri. i have been training her as she was unwalkable, wouldn't do as she's told, jumped up, flogged food, nipped those who were [she thought] below her in the pack.
now she will walk beside me, sit when told, stay when told, and not steal the cat's food without my permission, no nipping. now i have to figure out how to pass the training skill on to the whanau so she will behave for them.
she is becoming a good m8 too.
far better than someone, who shall remain nameless.
phew [mentally shakes himself off]! got that one off my plate [ish].

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engrish


my engrish is improve?

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Wednesday, November 01, 2006

interesting

the first task has arrived to do with my new job [coach]. i haven't even started yet!
it seems that one of my soon to be athletes has a stress fracture in her lower back. i got this plaintive e-mail asking for my advice. it felt good to be useful. the usual advice, see the sport physician, get a definitive diagnosis, put a rehab plan in place ..... etc, etc. the contract is agreed to, the moving day decided, travel booked on the ferry to cross the cook straight, my moving allowance [from them] is in the bank. all good. i even have somewhere to live organised. time to let my guitar students know it's all about to end. one more lesson to go.
at last, our govt has caught on to the " climate change/global warming " problem we will all face in about 10-15 years. our science fraternity are busily arguing the "pros" and "cons" and seem to be hung up on the name of this impending economic and ecological disaster. what a pack of munters. upon reading about the phenomenon i found out that "climate change" is the general term and "global warming" one of the specific scenarios that can manifest inside of "climate change."
"
The term "global warming" is a specific case of the more general term "climate change" (which can also refer to "global cooling," such as occurs during ice ages). In principle, "global warming" is neutral as to the causes, but in common usage, "global warming" generally implies a human influence. However, the UNFCCC uses "climate change" for human-caused change, and "climate variability" for other changes [5]. Some organizations use the term "anthropogenic climate change" for human-induced changes."
freaky huh?

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