Seniornet

Yes, I know it is a long time since I posted, but you know how it is, things crop up and you just don't get around to it.

What's been happening? Well, mainly I am now involved with Taupo SeniorNet and find the time just goes so quickly! Tutoring, maintaining the website, studying manuals, and now I have accepted the Course Registrar's job. This is something I am very new at, but hope to do a good job and keep things humming along as well as my predecessor has done for the past 11 or so years.

Today was our AGM and we were very fortunate to have Grant Sidaway from Seniornet Federation speak to us. He is so motivating and a great presenter, I think we all agree on that. His talk consisted of "New Technologies" a subject close to my heart, as I just love trying out new gadgets and couldn't wait to get home and try something on my Android Tablet. Similar to the iPad, and does almost everything you can think of. (Unfortunately there is no app that will clean one's oven or scrub out the shower!)

I tried the app called Shazam. You open it and then point the device at the music which is playing and it collects the song and the information about the track, name of singer, band, etc and you then have the option of "tagging" the song. You can make a playlist, or watch the artist performing the song on YouTube. Truly amazing! I needed to do a bit of fine tuning (please excuse the pun) but I succeeded in getting a couple of my fave songs onto my Droid.

I am hoping to be able to blog a bit more in the future, so as to keep up with the different goings on in my life with Seniornet. I will try not to be boring!

For Midas

When do you stop hoping that one day soon your beloved pet will return?
At what stage do you put away the food bowls and toys that he once enjoyed?
How long do you wait to see him running along the fence or up the driveway?
What if you locked the cat door and he wanted to come in?
Will he be waiting for you curled up on the couch when you return from shopping, or be under the covers in a suspicious lump on your bed?

Where is he? Has he been taken away? So many questions remain unanswered and yet with all your heart you hope that he will return one day!

All the usual things have been done. The posters in the letterboxes, the many calls to the SPCA, the newspaper ads, the radio bulletins and the searching and calling for him on quiet nights up and down the street.

How long do you wait? One month? Three months? One year?

The most awesomest of places

Bell Block Sedona AZ
Originally uploaded by Cooky2

Not enough wows or aahs can express what you feel when you see these amazing rock formations for the first time. Sedona is a place about half way between Phoenix AZ and the Grand Canyon.
It is an area from which spring memories of childhood and all those cowboy westerns we watched as we were growing up.

Sedona the town, is now a bustling tourist destination and is filled with galleries, shops and eating places all competing for your $$. We found a lovely one called the Secret Garden Cafe, shady and private, really nice food and long cool drinks!

Sedona has to be one of the wonders of the world, that is until I saw the Grand Canyon.............

iblog

It seems everywhere you look now, there is the i!  i this i that;  What does i really mean?  i for information, i for who you are, as in i am, i for first person recognition, i am who am. (God said that once.)

Now we have iPods, iTunes, iPhones, iMacs, iChats, iPhotos, iWork.  Then there is iGoogle, iLegends and iRobots! 

Will we ever progress to we?  We the People, first line of the constitution.  We will we will rock you, we shall overcome, we are the champions, those are common ones. You the readers of this iblog, are welcome to add more i and we stuff as you come across them.

iDot

A mac is a mac is a mac

I have often wondered how a person feels when they sit with a mac on their lap.  Now I know, because I am one of them!  Many times I have thought I would make the change to something which is obviously a top of the line machine, in the outer case, hardware and software that “just works”. 

 Things I like about mac are, the robust and compact notebook style, the shiny white appearance, the glowing backlit apple on the top of the case, two finger scrolling, the really cool magnetic anti-trip power adapter and the equally magnetic close feature on the case.

Software and hardware that is happily married work as a team to produce the ease of functionality and user friendliness that is known to mac users worldwide.  The transfer of files is such a simple operation and even importing things such as address book files takes only a few clicks.  My favourite neat features include, the dashboard, photo booth and the stackability of the documents and downloads folders.  Drag and drop makes life simple, no complicated uninstalls and removals of unwanted applications.

Although I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that security is not such a big issue with mac, I feel tempted to download some sort of antvirus and anti spy/adware programs, that I for so long had to live with.  Maybe I will do some further research on this matter.  I do have the firewall switched on and this is some consolation in the meantime.  

Prestige comes from owning a mac and I feel quite snobby sometimes, until I think back to my early Windows days when I was so proud to even own a computer at all.  Ah what fun, all those mistakes and problems!  I feel I have earned the right to own this mac as a reward for those trying times.

 Macs are cool!

Wahine Day

On the 10^th April 1968 I was 20 years old and my memories of that day are very clear in my mind. In New Plymouth that morning, sitting around the kitchen table were my father, sister, brother in law, brother and me.

I was due to take the train to Wellington, to catch the ferry to Christchurch, when we heard on the radio that the inter island ferry Wahine, was in trouble in bad weather at the entrance to Wellington harbor. The others at the table joked about the bad weather and that “It was going to sink” and I “shouldn’t bother going if I were you!”

It was the ferry that I was supposed to catch to Christchurch. I didn’t know at the time that my other brother was meant to be on the Wahine and that he missed out on getting a berth on it. He wanted to come to Wellington and surprise me and travel back together.

I caught the train around 9 am and as we got closer to Wellington the weather got worse and I saw trees down on the road and all the traffic held up. Someone on the train had a transistor radio and we were listening to the updates on the ferry situation. It was not good and by the time we reached Wellington, it had indeed sunk!

Wellington railway station was in utter chaos when I arrived and there were bus loads of survivors being brought in to the station as that was the designated place for the civil defence. I was pretty worried by that time, not knowing if my brother had been on it or not and I kept listening to the announcements of the passenger list over the PA system.

It seemed like a long time before I found out from someone that I was able to get accommodation at “The People’s Palace” a hotel in Willis St. The shipping company paid for it for any one holding tickets for the Wahine’s return sailing to Christchurch. My memory fails me at this point but somehow I got word to my family in New Plymouth to let them know that I was going to be returning home the next day. In the meantime, they’d had a telegram from my brother in Christchurch saying that he wasn’t on the Wahine.

That night, I and all the other patrons at the hotel cried as we sat around the television and watched the news report of the sinking. So many heroic stories and so many tragic ones emerged from that terrible day in NZ shipping history. One in particular I recall, was told to me on the bus on the way back to New Plymouth the next day. I sat next to an elderly lady who had been washed up on Seatoun beach. She had been helped ashore by a young man, but he went back into the sea before she was even able to get his name.

51 people lost their lives. That is one day in my life I can never forget.

Boat_trip 012

Boat_trip 012
Originally uploaded by Cooky2

Thanks to Geonet NZ.

Photograph of the interior structure of a rhyolite dome, showing a radial pattern of cracks formed as the lava cooled. (Mason’s Rock on the north shore of Lake Taupo)

The main hazards of dome growth are tephra fall from explosive eruptions and avalanches of hot lava from the sides of the dome.

Volcanic gases and acid rain

Gases are the driving force of explosive eruptions. The main gases are water vapour and carbon dioxide, with small amounts of sulphur, hydrogen and other gases. These gases rarely pose a direct threat as they quickly mix with the air and are diluted as they blow downward. Some of the gases, such as sulphur dioxide and hydrogen fluoride mix with water droplets in the eruption plume to form acids which will attack skin, clothing and metals. Rain falling from an eruption plume may be very acidic and this acid rain will attack foliage and crops over a wide area, perhaps even greater than the fall of tephra. The acid rain may also contaminate water supplies. Acidic water is not a major health hazard, but the acid may leach lead from nailheads and flashing on roots and lead poisoning may result. There is the remote possibility that heavy gases (mostly carbon dioxide) emitted before or after an eruption will collect in low-lying areas or confined valleys and cause suffocation. Generally there is enough wind about the lake area to disperse any gas cloud that may form.

Random musings

Fresh'n'fruity yoghurt is absolutely yummy! I don't care what's in it, it is heaven in a pottle!

All cats are created beautiful, even the cunning, thieving one which surreptitiously comes into my home and steals my affection!

Sunny warm days are shared by everyone, even those who are not happy.

Cabernet Merlot tastes better with good company.

Sometimes lots of family are good at a distance.

A walk in the rain is good for the soul, but still wetting.

It's actually fun to sing to yourself.

Mornings aren't so bad, as long as it isn't too long till lunch.

Dreaming of a villa in Tuscany is alright, so long as you don't try to buy one.

Just when you wonder what is going to happen next, something does!

The world is full of successful people, so why aren't you one of them?

When you meet someone in the street, and they say "how are you?' Why don't you just tell them the truth and say, you are feeling really bad and the rellies are getting on your back and the cat threw up on the mat and you have a pain in the .......!

Watching a good movie with a friend is great, as long as the friend doesn't want to talk about something else all the way through it!

Well, I could go on, but hey, maybe next time ay?

Flags of our fathers

I think that is an appropriate title for this blog, because soon it will be Waitangi Day in New Zealand. A treaty was signed on the 6th February 1840, between the participating Maori tribes, or Iwi, and the Government of the day.
A chief called Hone Heke objected and twice cut down the flag at Waitangi. The flag being what we call the Union Jack.
Our flag now has the Union Jack plus the four stars which represent the Star system, the Southern Cross. It's a bit odd that in our National Anthem, there is a line that goes, Guard Pacific's Triple Star! What the? I don't think anyone knows the true answer to that, and yet we all sing along and place our arm across our breast in the patriotic fashion.
Is it time for a change? This question has been tossed around in the mouths of various governments and spat out so many times in the past few years. The Maori are the indigenous race in this country and yet are not represented on our present flag. (Another what the?) I am all for one nation, one flag, hence the included picture. With maybe a Union Jack somewhere in the corner?

There's gold in them thar hills!

Coromandel_2007 037
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

The last of the Thames goldmines was fully operational up until 1951. Now it is owned and operated as a tourism venture, where it produces a small amount of different quartzes and the out buildings serve as a museum and souvenir shop.
My intrepid friends went down into the actual mine on a guided tour, and looked the part in the obligatory hard hats. I personally am not too keen on holes in the ground, so I stayed outside and tried my hand at panning in the trough. No luck with that, but it was fun scooping the stuff up in the pan and sifting it through.
From the old photos in the museum/gallery, you can tell that it was a very hard life for the miners and their families in the 1860s when the goldfields first opened up. Nowadays thousands of people go through this very historic relic of New Zealand's past.

On the Peninsula

Coromandel 020
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

There is this beautiful piece of paradise just up past Coromandel called Papa Aroha. We stayed there at the campsite for two nights in the tiniest little cabin imaginable.
You'd have trouble getting a cat in the door, let alone swing it!
Lucky we only really had to sleep in it, which we did as we were so tired swimming in the sea and exploring along the beach and playing scrabble and dominos till all hours.
The weather was warm, the sea was lovely when you got in and the boogie board got well used. The beach was stoney though and all along, there were loads of scallop shells, having been cracked open by the gulls and relieved of the succulent morsels.
The drive up around the coastline is spectacular to say the least and as we left there and meandered our way back down, promises were made to return sometime in the future...........

Crusty's Bar Mitzvah

Help! It is the last day of 2006 and I don't have a subject!
Switched on the TV and the first thing that popped on was the episode of the Simpsons where Crusty the clown declared that he didn't have a Bar Mitzvah. I am not familiar with this at all, having been instructed in the Christian way from an early age.
I have since learned that Bar Mitzvah is a ceremony whereby a young Jewish boy becomes a man. (Did Jesus have one?)

In a more familiar world to me, was the fact that I attended Midnight Mass at the local St Patricks Catholic Church. I only went there on Christmas Eve to sing along with the carols, pre the Mass. I ended up staying for the Mass. My reasons being:

1. I was seated in the middle of an obviously very Catholic bunch of people.
2. I seemed to remember all the responses, especially the ones in Latin.
3. Couldn't remember where the car was parked.

It's what it's all about, this Christmas thing. It doesn't really matter whether you believe in it; what matters is that you believe in something, anything! It's what gets us all through. I hope that the new year of 2007 (according to the Gregorian calendar) will bring us all new understanding and acceptance of our human compatriots.

May the force bless us all! And a Happy New Year!

Fractured conversations

Well, here I am again babbling on about nothing in particular. (Although the particulars are quite important to me and mine.)
Recently at a family gathering, not being a particular happy one, I somehow got caught up in the presence of this occasion.
She says, "Thank you for coming, blah blah". I say, "I am so sorry, etc." The snippets of conversation go on....

Do we really listen to the other things that are not said? eg. I feel very sad. I will miss him/her so much! (Please have another one of these delicious savouries, I baked them myself!) Did you know that he/she was into making such lovely crotchet rugs?
There were all the good times from this persons life, a long and happy marriage, children etc.
Do you remember the time? We are living such a preoccupied existence, all relevance to this person's life are momentarily gone and we get on with whatever we have to, to get us past this moment.

I couldn't help wondering, are you related to so and so who's mother is your cousin's aunt? Oh no, he is my uncle on my grandfather's side.....

Heavy Metal rocks!

A few weeks ago I went to watch the heavy death metal band, Necroternal. I thought I'd better go along and see what it was all about, since I am sort of related to one of the band.
I took my neighbour and her teenage daughter (who was suitably attired with piercings in all the right places and the weird hair etc).

The place: A pub in the town
The atmosphere: Buzzing with expectancy
The crowd: Average age of twenty-five
The drinks: Flowing nicely

Necroternal came on as the second act, the crowd went wild! The head nodding began! These guys have a following here I could tell. The singer called out "Ready for some Country and Western?" Reah right!
The band then launched into a cataclysm of heavy sounds with the throaty growls of the singer just audible above the drummer's frenetic pace.

I have to say that it was an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world, but then I am somewhat biased.....Check them out here

It was cold up the mountain

It was cold up the mountain
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

This will be my last entry for the American blog. If it hadn't been for these two very lovely people in the photo, I wouldn't have been able to go and do all the wonderful things and seen all the places I have seen in America.
I thank you both most deeply for making this trip such a special time for me.
I went to look for America and discovered the real West Virginia.

A walk in the woods

A walk in the woods
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

Near the summit on Cheat Mountain there used to be a Fort for the Union soldiers in the Civil War. A lot of them actually froze to death and were placed in temporary graves, just about where I took this photo. The bodies were exhumed later on and now lie at rest in the Grafton National Military Cemetery.

The real West Viginia

More colour
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

Driving down through the State, in convoy with Ken and his daughter Kelly, and Daisy the part wolf dog, we saw the most stunning Fall colours.
It was so worth the long drive, from 9.30am till 11.30 at night. On the way through the town of Elkins we came across the annual Forest Fair and the traffic was backed for quite a way. We ate lunch at a great diner and then drove on to Cheat Mountain.

A favourite place

Leisure_pool
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

Here's a great place to chill out, or warm up! The swimming and fitness complex is a fairly recent addition to WVU.

See more pics here.

It's Hanover, but not in Germany

16 miles East of Gettysburg is the town of Hanover, where we stayed in a lovely old house which was built in 1834 and is now a Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Our room was upstairs and we had our own little porch on the balcony where we sat and happily worked on our cross-stitch. I could imagine ladies in elegant crinolines 150 years ago, doing the exact same thing or maybe entertaining their beaus and discussing the days affairs. No cellphones or laptops then, and we purposely did not bring ours; they would somehow have seemed rather out of place.

In the early evening we took a walk into the main town area and photographed some of the old buildings there. Americans really love their flags and all along the streets the Stars and Stripes were displayed on porches and even in the planted boxes on the sidewalks.

Breakfast was prepared and presented beautifully, smoothies, a baked pear with raisins, followed by eggs cooked to perfection in bacon "cups". This was accompanied by friendly service and interesting conversation with our hosts.
Soon it was time to get on the road to Gettysburg.

An uncivil war

USA_2006 012
Originally uploaded by Cooky2.

How do you blog a battle? Union one, Confederates nil?

At Gettysburg on July 4th 1863, after three days of intense fighting, about 50,000 soldiers lay dead. This number was more than the actual population of the town.
Sons, fathers, uncles, all brothers in arms; such a sad and wasteful loss. There are around 1,400 monuments and markers on the main battlefield area; all tell a story of struggle and bravery.

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial located on the field of battle, is symbolic of peace and union and was dedicated by Franklin D Roosevelt in 1938, the 75th anniversary of the battle.