Day 3 of less of me

Day 3 of less of me, and it a faster mooch around the block and MrsPdubyah stays in bed citing not a morning person as an excuse. Still it's a 3-peat for me.

The all new me, day 2

Consecutive walks. 6am, cold as a cold thing, but 40 solid minutes of walking. Problem is I'm now hungry in the car on the drive to work.

The Tax system as explained in beer

From the email today , and freely available on many other blogs, far too numerous to mention.....

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240"] Tax (Photo credit: 401K)[/caption]

When pondering the question of mining super taxes and the structure of our tax system in general please refer to this explanation using the language of BeerJust Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this;

• The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.


• The fifth would pay $1


• The sixth would pay $3


• The seventh would pay $7


• The eighth would pay $12


• The ninth would pay $18


• The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20".

Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers?

How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33.

But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

• And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).


• The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).


• The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).


• The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).


• The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).


• The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.

But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

• "I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"


• "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"


• "That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"


• "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him.

But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works.

The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction..

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

As I get older I get different - #4 -the motivational

I've got a confession. I'm lazy. It's not a medical condition it's just laziness.

I've got another confession. I'm greedy. I wish that was a medical condition then I'd be able to say I'm the weight I am because of a medical condition.

My final confession is that I decided to do something about it. It's no use getting all uppity when looking in a mirror, or feeling bloated and uncomfortable in jeans, or being out of breath from tying shoe laces. Who knew you had to invest time in new ways to put sucks on when your stomach gets in the way?, and who knew you had to invest time in new ways to tie shoe laces.

At least I'm still wearing zip up pants and a belt and not trackies or the elasticated waistband things. And I'm not yet at the level of only being able to wear slip-ons, or typing laces once and then trying to get shoes on and off with the pretence that they're slip-ons, or that they are lace up's and of course I did the laces up.

So, I invested some money in a pedometer. a flash one from Nike, to go with my flash Nike shoes that I just brought. That's all it is a pedometer. You put a sensor in your shoe and a wristband on and it guesses the rest. Oh the Shoes were c/- my employer who had a magnificent push-play allowance that lets me indulge my "the older I get the better I was" sports memories.

Having read the user material  for the Nike+ SportsBand I have no idea how it guesses how far you've gone so I'm going to have to try an work it out somehow, it says it's accurate around 90% the guy in the shop said 97%. For me give or take 10% should be ok. It's probably give 10% you want to keep the customer satisfied.

So from 102Kg as I was this morning I'm going to give it a crack to get to something more manageable by christmas. No stupid targets but I think that I should be ok for around 10Kg if I exercise and I eat goodly. I'm going to be happy with a Kilo a month to be honest.

And it'll be eating better, the same but better. No weird faddish diets based on blood types or what cavemen ate, or just rice, just better at vegetables and fruit eating, essentially the LGI diet - "Less Goes In"

and 102Kg is a lot! and it is just greedy, and it sneaks up on you bit by pit, you eat you plateau and then you eat a bit more and you do nothing and then voila you're as small as a shed! So I've confessed here on the interwebtubes that I'm going to be thinner and happier and healthier and committed. Besides I've spent money on it so I have to get something in return.

Oh and it is nearly my birthday, and as I get older I start to fret more that I'm not quite old enough to give up on life. If I have any energy I might update this, or if it's going badly delete it :-).

Unhappy Families – at least you can pick your friends - it continues.

I was all "Woe is me" recently, it'd been about 15 months since the mother died, and coming from a widely dispersed family settling the estate was proving a problem. The first problem was that there wasn't a will.

The death was sudden and without suffering, and the fact that there was no will shouldn't be a surprise. If you knew the family you'd know there was no surprise.

So as one of the furthest away from home  I'm also the one who makes the most noise. As you do.

Some of the family were so self absorbed as to be able to say "we don't need the money it'll work it's way out", and this is fine but alas things don't just happen. I was a bit pointed when I remarked that the fact that although money might not be needed by them, it might be useful to someone else, like an old people's refuge, or a injured service mans charity, for instance. Bit of a cad really.

I got a rightful serve by the family, who thought I was picking a fight and making an accusation of lazy, or worse. I felt a bit down about it to be honest. All I wanted was to resolve the estate and to let everyone get on with their disparate lives.

We're not a  close family and despite a few attempts we are never going to have a reconciliation or a get together, just ain't going to happen.

But wait.... since then, younger brother has got his wriggle on, and has sworn an allegiance to the queen or whatever it is you have to do in front of a judge, and has managed to secure a deed of probate which essentially means he is in control. FTW!

So the Letters of Administration will be issued and he will be in a position to make the Bank give up their secrets and allows him the power to withdraw the funds and that, essentially close the estate and divvy up the proceeds.

Except..... #1 sister is playing hard to get. This is the sister who spent a lot of time with the mother, and has made a big effort to make the funeral happen and to tidy up the edges. But at the same time #1 sister made some huge judgment calls about trinkets and trivia that benefitted those close. Don't get me wrong these might have been the right calls and I'm not disputing or going to question it.

But there is some paperwork and some forms that need to be sent from A to B, and so far that hasn't happened. Which is a can't or won't thing.  I'm not  saying that there is nefariousness or underhand at play, and I think that whatever is afoot is played out daily with family estates everywhere. nothing new, no new stories.

But what it does mean is that the mothers estate might only be a couple of months away from settled, and then the family can settle down to it's own life again.

Related articles

• Unhappy Families - at least you can pick your friends. (pdubyah.com)


• Wills and Estates are not for the deceased, but the family left behind. (sassinannasworld.wordpress.com)


• Avoid these 4 awkward issues when drafting a will (business.financialpost.com)

Beer – #25 in a series – "The Doctor" is in the house

Tonight for my delectation I have from The Sawmill Brewing company Leigh, procured me "the Doctor", a Dopplebock.

I looked it up, as I do, on the interwebtubes and they say

THE ‘DOCTOR’
A complex blend of four malts combined with a duo of traditional hop varieties. Rich, warm roasted caramel and toffee notes with a lasting finish and smooth mouth feel. For serious lovers of fine ales. ‘Strong, dark and handsome’. 6.5% alcohol by volume.

I love it when they talk it up. Stephen Bier Liked them and that's all I could find on the interwebtubes, I didn't really try that hard though, it has a name that'll pop up all sorts of weirdness, try it you'll see

So... It's 500ml of a 6.5% ABV beer and they present it in a swing top bottle, so it's looks fantastic, the white label, and the sticker over the swing, all little things that make you go mmm.

Before I even open it I'm worried now that I paid for design over substance, it's not often you'll get a small independent doing something a little odd.


Well Lordy! for dark beer this was dark!

It pours nice (technical term) and has a nice head. And it has a pleasing malt taste, with just enough edge to remind you that it's a beer from the strong end of the shelf. Very nice. And it sits well in the glass after a couple tastes. And (enthusiastic like) it's not a fizzy beer. You'll know what I mean if you know what I mean.

It is a beer that deserves to be with food however, but I'm not so sure it's a match for the prawn curry MrsPdubyah has in mind.

For me then this has then got some substance to back up it's style, and I'm glad I made a difficult choice today from the beer shelf at the Liquorland on Forrest Hill Rd.

And so onto the arbitrary Pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary points. This is a nice beer, with a nice taste and nice color, in a nice bottle with tiny writing that my old man eyes can't read, and it's a hit at 8 out of 10 arbitrary things out of 10. So there. Best beer for a while and I've had some corkers.

p.s. I lied about the old man eyes, I've got perfect fuzzy vision.
p.p.s. Didn't spill beer on the keyboard again, that's like 3 in a row now.

As I get older I get different – #3

The one thing that I learned from Twitter is that you have to talk about Religion, Politics, Finance and the weather.



And so Religion.  I don't think it's a secret that I'm Atheist. Dead set I am. But I don't think that it's something that I have to share in public, or in conversation, nor do I have to justify my position.

And I have  full respect for anyone that is "of the faith", any faith and has the need to have a "God" that they worship. I do.

My parents raised me Church of England, which in an of itself is a breakaway church, which makes me smile. When I say "raised" I mean sent me to Sunday School. I don't actually recall attending church on a regular basis at any time. I doubt that we did, despite my sketchy memory of my early childhood. I did R.I. at school, and had parts in the annual nativity at primary school. Fully grounded then in all aspects :0)

What I'm not comfortable with is bagging people of the faith. On a personal level. I'm happy to talk about the irrelevance, the inconsistency and stupidity of religious dogma, but I shy away from confrontation. It's not that important. But also what I'm uncomfortable with is having a label, even if it's "atheist", as if having a label makes it more legitimate for scorn or derision.  I feel the same way about my stand on climate change, and my own belief that despite what you think I'm sure in my own way that it's not man made,  and that because I have that belief I don't enjoy being called a "Denier", I don't deny climate change, just that man did it.

I enjoy learning about the aforementioned inconsistencies in religious teaching to reaffirm that I'm not just a bit weird.  The more you read, and absorb logical and reasoned argument, the further you get away from a belief in a "supreme being".

I wish I could pinpoint the day when I realised that I didn't have to believe in a sky god and that it wasn't going to end in tears. I know it was a long time ago, and that as I get older, and experience more things, and witness more pain, heartache, illness and death I realise that there in fact can't be a caring God, and that confirmation bias just does's cut it.

Related articles

• I had a better impression of Canadians before I read that tripe (freethoughtblogs.com)


• Atheism is not a Religion (kingmidgetramblings.wordpress.com)


• Why I am an atheist - Anonymous (freethoughtblogs.com)


• My Deconversion Story: Living After Faith (mindi.authormeanders.com)


• What Faith Is... (acommonsea.wordpress.com)

As I get older I get different – #2

Space, the final frontier. What a wonderful concept, infinity. UFO's. How romantic are they when you're 14, 15, 16.... the idea that flashing lights in the sky are visitors, from another planet. Stoked by such films as "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and "Close Encounters", TV series such as Gerry Anderson's UFO, and Space 1999, and of course Star Trek and Star Wars.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"] 2 Gerry Anderson UFO series aliens on a desert planet. I made the image with CGI. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

And how can you not believe? How can you possibly not look at the sky and wonder who it can be that there isn't life on other planets. A long way away planets, a long long way away. But plants, aliens, visitors.

Aliens, ancient aliens, greys, reptoids, blues, blond nordics, chupacabras... you name they've been everywhere.

Of course they've all been to Earth, why not, we're significant, we're rulers of a planet, with resources.  They've all been here, mostly at night, mostly to prod things up our backside, dismember sheep, implant tracking devices or breed. Of course.

And then one day perhaps not. After you read some books, and thought about it, the question was "How?, followed by "Why?". Two important questions, two of the very best.

And so the slightly older me smiles when people talk of Alien visitations, visitors, abductions, formations of spacecraft in the sky.

Now I know there are enough wonders in the back yard to keep me occupied, without having to have a feeling that there is something out there.

And I think this goes hand in hand with my Atheism.  Sort of.  Except that there must be other planets, and there must be life somewhere else. It's an infinite universe with infinite suns,sort of. Infinite in the sense that there must be an edge somewhere, a long long way away and I can't quite grasp the distance to Alpha Centauri for instance, and so the other side of the universe must be a long way away, infinitely far.

And whilst it's understandable that some people think that Aliens must walk amongst us, there are people that think there is an imaginary sky god. They're not so different. That they both are in out imagination is all they have in common.

So I've changed, we are alone, all alone, at least on this planet, and possibly alien me thinks the same thing.

My love of science fiction films is in no way diminished by my beliefs, it's in fact the opposite.

Related articles

• Space: 1999 Reboot Threatened (mikecanex.wordpress.com)


• Aliens & UFOs - Welcome to Planet Earth (disclose.tv)


• Saturn Is a Giant Ufo! (weeklyworldnews.com)


• U.f.o (urbanhype101.wordpress.com)


• Our Close Encounters: Meet the Alien Abductees - and the Pictures They Drew to Prove they weren't Imagining It all... (the2012scenario.com)


• That's one small tweet for a man, one giant tweet for mankind (suicidalsuburbanite.wordpress.com)


• Your Spouse May Be an Alien! (weeklyworldnews.com)

As I get older I get different - #1

It's clear from some of the conversations that I have with my children that as I get older my attitudes to many things have changed.

Not everything, because that would be weird, but a lot of things. I'm more tolerant of things like gay marriage, and that's not to say that I was ever against it, but having been married for 24 years I'm prepared to concede that it's not all it's cracked up to be and that if you want to get married go for it.

The gay "fear" is no longer a subtext in anything. If you review the 70's and 80's TV you'll find all sorts of caricature characters that frankly belittled gay men, mostly, can't think of a sit-com that has a lesbian woman in it offhand.

Many of my generation were fed a fear diet of how bad, camp and effete gay men are, and that given the chance they'd man-rape you in a blink of an eye. True. Unless I'm over-reacting or making memories up. That sometimes happens. But not in this case.

So get married if you want. Like all marriages it's a hard work full time job, not a romantic interlude on a Saturday afternoon of fluffy dresses and cheap champagne. I doubt that given enough of a statistical pool that any one marriage of any kind is any different from another kind of marriage.

And on reflection all this made we appear to be mildly homophobic, got to work a bit harder on that, and I think you might confuse my liberal attitude to my personal phobia and fear. Not the same.

p.s. MrsPdubyah if you're reading this I didn't mean it about not being all it's cracked up to be.

p.p.s. Just because Barack came out and said pretty much the same does not make this a BroWaggon post.

Beer - #24 in a series - Nøgne Ø Two Captains Double IPA

Tonight a bit off the beaten track is  a bit of TWO CAPTAINS Double IPA 

500mls and 8,5% ALC/VOL

 They say "Jan Halvor Fjeld, winner of the Norwegian home brewing championships 2010 brewed his champion Imperial IPA at Nøgne Ø. We at Nøgne Ø are of course proud to be with him in making this happen".

They also say "This double IPA is truly American inspired. It is fairly dry, which allows the hops to dominate. There is bitterness up front, some balanced malts in the middle and complex fruity and resiny hop aromas which simply has no end."

So I'm a little bit looking forward to this.... and then ... oh wow,to say that this is an unusual beer would not to do it justice. It has that sour smell that I associate with Pale Ale, but does not carry that smell to the tongue, It carries a  kind of citrus taste and has a long taste, it's also surprisingly and not unpleasantly bitter.

So what do I really think? This might be the kind of beer you get out a party, it's not something that I think you'd have as a go-to beer. It's bitterness will put you off.

On the pdubyah-o-meter then an arbitrary 8 1/2 stars. Not my favorite beer by a long way, but not the worst that I had the pleasure of drinking.  Nøgne Ø make a few different beers all with interesting back stories, I may have to linger longer here.

Related articles

• 5 of the Best Craft Beers from Around the World


• Nordic Flavours|Nøgne Ø Beer

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• Food for Hopheads: What To Eat With Double IPA (drinks.seriouseats.com)


• CBAS meet no7: beer list pt 1 (therealcbas.wordpress.com)


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• Beer bLoNg: 

Growing up – the one with the frustration.

I care about my children a lot, and whilst by no means the best parent I think that between me and MrsPubyah we did an okay job.

Currently #1 son is looking for a full time job. His motivation is increasing as his desire to leave home and move in with his girlfriend increases. But it's not an easy ride, and he seems to lack a get-up-an-go that perhaps I'd like him to have. Now this isn't to say that he isn't truing I'm sure he is, it's just that he'd rather slope off to his room and play online games in the evening than try a conversation.

#1 daughter is a totally new frustration. Having given away top grade hockey because "she didn't like it" was given a chance to go do some top grade umpiring for the National U18 tournament. This means that she needs to put some top work in umpiring the top grade hockey that she gave away. Frustratingly she doesn't get that she can't keep passing up opportunity, they sometimes don't knock again.

She also doesn't get that you have to commit to people if that's what they expect.

She also doesn't get that she has certain things like a fully insured car and petrol based on her past activity level. Also a pretty expensive gym membership. And she wants to go to the ball, and needs a ball gown, and no doubt shoes, handbag, makeup  and all sorts.

She also has an idea that she wants an 18th birthday party.

There are some things that I can accept, that after a lot of hockey you need a rest, but to forgo being with high performing people at a time that you need motivation in your life isn't a good idea. We support her not playing hockey, it's the right thing to do, but I'm struggling with supporting her lifestyle choices at the moment, particularly as she's prevaricating and making it difficult for her and others to organize around.

Just frustrating. It's not my life to live, but if I had had the opportunity and exposure that she's had to things then I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed them. And I'd hate to look back on my life and wonder what would have been if I hadn't given it all up.

Beer – #23 in a series – Steampunk Strong Ale

I have bottle 353 of the limited edition Steampunk Strong Ale. From the Nelson based Monkey Wizard Brewery.

A Belgian style ale with a fruity finish and subtle hoppy aroma

Strength: 7.3%  Size: 750ml  Champagne bottle

 This is a rich strong Belgian style ale with a fruity finish and subtle hoppy aroma. Availaible soon in 750ml Champagne bottles. Limited amounts of bottle conditioned ale can be purchased from the brewery wired and sealed with champagne corks

With a bit of trepidation since this is a "strong" ale,  and I've been known to be overly generous when I'm happy on fine beer.  I was a bit overawed by the 750ml size, but that really is only a couple of glasses, and 4 drinks to be fair.

On taste this was a little sour,  dark as expected, and reflective of the strong belgium beer tendency. It's not unpleasing but it's not drop dead gorgeous.  It sits ok in the glass, nothing special by way of head, aroma or colour

And that brings me to the pdubyah-o-meter and this is 6 from 10 arbitrary stars, it was expensive, playfully labelled and intriguing, however like all things harking to things past,  more romantic in the read than the deed.

Thanks Liquorland Forest Hill Road, always a treasure chest!

When stupid talks you get this "Mila The Elephant 'Had Motive'"

Straight from the top shelf of nonsense is this dumb-is-as-dumb-does shockingly stupid story in the press about Mila the Elephant.

Elephants killing their handlers isn't as uncommon as you'd think. They're a bit big, and we're not.

The story starts here  and carries on here Mila The Elephant 'Had Motive' - Ex-keeper | Stuff.co.nz. From the story today it starts:

Mila the elephant most likely intended to kill her keeper at Franklin Zoo, says her former owner.

Robin Ratcliffe, brother of Mila's former handler Tony Ratcliffe, said they warned officials that someone would get hurt if her transition to the zoo was not handled correctly.

"This tragedy was in the making," he said. "We didn't have any doubt. It was only a matter of time."

Tony and Robin, neither of them noted Elephant Handlers brought Mila, for reasons of their own, and it seems never to be mentioned, when she was 5 years old, imported her from Hawaii, and sent her to work in a traveling circus.

I've no idea why you'd buy an Elephant and import it into NZ to be a circus animal, but I could make some guesses;

• It was only a business transaction, buyer meets seller and seller meets buyer.


• I have so much money that it seemed like a good idea at the time.


• I'm slightly different in my thinking and I can actually talk to the animals.


• No only  a business opportunity, I've always wanted to be a Carney in a traveling Circus, I brought my own Elephant - go on gizzajob!

There is no mention if Mila was a bit unpredictable and moody at 5, but after having "cared" for her by making her perform cheap tricks for amusement, for 28 or 31 years (depends where you read) you come up with a revelation that you've actually no idea what you've done, and how your pet is going to behave in any situation and it's all got a bit dangerous.

The SPCA had expressed concerns about the elephant's physical and mental well-being before Mila went into the zoo's care.

Robin Ratcliffe indeed right when he says "This tragedy was in the making," he said. "We didn't have any doubt. It was only a matter of time." And as CactusKate2 on Twitter said of Mr. Ratcliffe  "he's like an angry ex wife isn't he?"

So the idiot of a reporter chooses the "romantic" notion of "talking to the animals" and makes it appear as if the Ratcliffe brothers used to stand outside the zoo wringing their hands in worry, Why then did the Ratcliffe brothers abandon their Elephant? Did they want a free gig at the sanctuary zoo? Like that was going to happen. Franklin Zoo had a motivation to care for the Elephant in a sanctuary not keep it associated with it's previous owner who's speciality was making it kneel and perform like a Pavlovian dog. You don't adopt a rescued pet from the SPCA and invite the previous owners to take it for a walk.

Training an animal and making a animal perform tricks are different. Not being an Elephant trainer myself  have no proof but I doubt they understand English, and that direction and encouragement is by way of bamboo stick, prodding, poking and physical means. I've been to Thailand and ridden Elephants I've seen the way handlers get them to do things. It's not with a nod of the head.

An Elephant (any animal) will do what an Elephant does, I don't know what they think. In many instances I can predict their actions and behaviours. Domestic cats for instance, are very regimented, and you can associate their routine for human like behaviors. It isn't. However I didn't have to physically encourage my cat to sit on my lap by command.

I'm saddened by the sugar coated performance of the reporter in this news story,it's poorly written, poorly researched and has no opinion, except they seem to believe that Animals have human emotions and  that you can associate human emotions to animals.Perhaps they think their writing a story about Barbour the Elephant, or Dumbo with Jiminy Cricket. Mad.

Related articles

• Cost of moving elephant could reach $500k (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)


• Agitated elephant crushed keeper (news.ninemsn.com.au)


• Police say elephant killed handler by accident (abc.net.au)


• Agitated elephant crushed zookeeper (skynews.com.au)


• Elephant's fate yet to be decided (radionz.co.nz)


• Killed N.Z. zookeeper had hoped to move elephant to Calif. (ctv.ca)

Beer – #22 in a series – Hawkes Bay Amber Ale

C/- Hawkes Bay Independent Brewery who talk it up a bit:

"A rich malt body with mild hop characteristic adds complex fruitiness and a pronounced bitterness to this deep amber ale. Batch brewed using traditional methods and cold filtered to give a smooth, crisp finish"

Well it initially smells fantastic, and the initial taste is somewhat pleasing. However, it's fleeting and, for me, has that "pale ale" after burn which that I tend to shy away from. Not to say that it isn't a pleasant beer, but I'd be wary of going back for more.

The taste falls away very quickly with this beer, which is something rather unusual, and not something that I recall happening before. It doesn't sit in the glass well either, and seems somewhat flat and lackluster. Of course the next mouthful I have changed again, which means that this is either very complex or just odd!

They've also changed the bottle shape on this, and the two that I picked up have different labels and lids. Looking at this review. I'm a bit miffed that I didn't get the unique unique bottle and not the pint size one that I have that, although the one I have is very reminiscent of a wine bottle in shape.

I've struggled to find a "good" review for this beer, and that in itself was odd, although to be fair it is a local beer for local people so the quantity of reviews is smaller than usual, however they're all pretty much a much, this isn't a winner.

So, to the pdubyah-o-meter for this, Despite it's 500Ml (pint sized) bottle  of 4% ABV it's disappointingly well average and struggles to make a 4 out of 10 arbitrary stars.

You'll not again that I learnt a bit from the last debacle of being artistic with the tilted glass with a cunningly lit beer, only just though, nearly ended badly and expensively.

Thanks to the people at New World in Albany who have a rather fine range of beers to choose from.

Related articles

• Beer | Upslope Belgian Style Pale Ale (selectism.com)

Not a complete disaster but...

tragedy could have been averted by not driving at 40 in a 50 zone and 50 in a 60 zone.

Driving like you're driving for Miss daisy isn't going to get you a full license, so for Ms17 it's back to a re-sit and a bit of a delay.

And of course this is another story that my daughter has that ended in tears.

Some Questions for the Whangarei daycare

I have two views on these stories : Daycare 'bullies' for kicking out HIV boy - National - NZ Herald News.  and  HIV boy childcare ban a human rights issue

My first one is strictly a business related question, and it pretty much applies to any private business. Surly a business owner has a right to chose with whom it does business with. If, in this instance, the daycare, chooses not to have as a customer a particular child then that surely must be their right as a business. If they choose only to deal with some customers and they have viable business model than I have no issue with that.

My other view, and this this is very specific to this issue is this:

• Is this a decision based on Fear?


• Is this a decision based on Panic?


• Is this a decision based on Ignorance?


• Does the day care allow un-vaccinated children to attend?


• Does is preclude disabled children from attending?


• Does is preclude special needs children from attending?


• What about a child that has, say for example, leukemia?


• Does if actively ban or supervise, check or make sure that children with Measles are excluded from daycare when they have that particular virus?


• Does if actively ban or supervise, check or make sure that children with Mumps are excluded from daycare when they have that particular virus?


• Does if actively ban or supervise, check or make sure that children with Chicken Pox are excluded from daycare when they have that particular virus?


• Does if actively ban or supervise, check or make sure that children with Nits are excluded from daycare when they have that particular infection?


• Does it allow children with peanut allergy to attend?


• Does it allow children with flu or cold symptoms to attend?


• Does each child require a health compliance certificate to ensure they are not in some way genetically impaired?

As reported this is pretty disgusting. If this is a decision of the owners and is based on a threat of children being pulled out of the ECE center then let them go, apparently ECE centers would have us belive that there an over supply of children and under available of places. No one is under any health threat that is not understood, or known about.

Ir this was about a religious preference, or stigmatism based on religiousness then I'd be horrified. This isn't something to be horrified about this is something that makes you pity the ignorance of some people and makes you wonder if we're still living in the 1800's.

Related articles

• Daycare Dangers Preview (fox2now.com)

Slightly Angry and confused

This I imagne would be all too common a communication from the Police;

I'm contacting you in regards to the burgalry (sic)  that occurred at your house approximately 3 weeks ago.

The Police have caught an offender, who has admitted his involvement. He is 16 years old, and the file has been forwarded to the Manurewa Police Youth Aid section for action.

The youth aid team will have a meeting with the offender and his parents and decide the appropirate  (sic) way to proceed. It is possible that the offender will be charged and have to appear in the Manukau Youth Court, however there are several meetings between the offender, Police and youth advocates before this decision will be made.

The Youth Aid team will call and advise you of updates as the case proceeds.

Realistically the case will take several months until its completion. Unfortunately the Police have not recovered any property at this stage.

So, of legal age do do many things (although of age does not equate to of competence), and has confessed or admitted guilt. Couple of questions;

• Why not deal with this in court now?


• If he's confessed to burglary then he's disposed of the burglarized property somewhere to someone. The stupid part of me says follow the money and see where or who he sold it to and eventually you'll get it back? How naeive is that?


• Advocates? for what?


• Police Youth Aid?  How about Police Youth Crime solving and sentencing?


• More meetings? for what?


• It's only 'possible' that a self-confessed burglar may go to court.


• Can't the police spell?

Likely then that the advocates, an overworked police force, and the parents will agree some sort of dubious reparation and wrist slapping punishment that means the "youth" might learn a short term lesson, but when a new shiny thing becomes his desire then he'll be in the back window quicker than you can blink.

Or I'm being cynical and this is a half for the good guys, it might have been a one but there is no sign of the missing items, yet,

Beer – #21 in a series – Wigram Kortegast Red Sparkling Ale

Shut up!

the Wigram Brewing Company wishes to advise that our Red Sparkling Ale Full Strength Beer has been crafted from Historical Hops which were discovered still growing on the banks of the Hokitika River. The original hops were grown by a pioneer Hokitika brewer, Mr William CJ Kortegast. His Crown Brewery was one of the very first West Coast Breweries. Remnants of these Kortegast hops have been incorporated into our Sparkling Red Ale, which is red in colour with low to medium bitterness and the aromatic flavour of the Hokitika hops on the finish. WJC Kortegast died in 1897 and the source of his hop supply was lost, although the memory of his famous brews lingered on. This Sparkling Ale is dedicated to WJC Kortegast and the pioneer brewers of Hokitika.

Ok then, so a traditional "red" beer. As an aside I quite like the "Beamish Red" a bit. So this intrigues me somewhat.

It's darker in the glass that you'd think, sparkling isn't really an indication that it's really effervescent, I guess it means not a flat beer (like a Guinness Stout flat), but a darker "heavy" with a fizz.

Just NZ$7.00 a bottle (Pint) and it's a decent "import" strength of 5%. A proper need a bottle opener lid too, it's all on! The bottle is a stock standard brown, no fancy shape, ridges, or giveaways, it looks like a posh home-brew if you want to be mean-spirited.

It's a bit earthy in taste  for me to be honest, doesn't have that creaminess of finish, or color on the head. But it does drink well in the glass, it leaves that ring of progress for each mouthful. Hows that for a technical overview of a beer! Getting a bit good at this aye.

The Wigram Brewing Company then, highly commendable ! they're beginning to make a bit of splash in the beer world, and rightly so, and they have an array of beer that makes me think that I need to persuade someone that beer reviewer would be a good thing to have in a daily newspaper :-)

Not getting carried away however, this is 7 out of a 10 arbitrary stars on the all important and somewhat opposite of influential pdubyah-o-meter. Would I go again? yes I would, but would I pick this first amongst equals possibly not.

oh and a bonus tip, when you're trying to be really clever and show a caramel color of the beer by slightly tipping a full glass (as in the picture above), don't. It never ends well. Trust me.

Related articles

• Mauldons - Beer Festival Brewday #5 (thatchersbeerblog.wordpress.com)


• A Pint With: Jeremy Danner, Brewer at Boulevard Brewing Co. (drinks.seriouseats.com)


• Crouch Vale Brewery - Beer Festival Brewday #4 (thatchersbeerblog.wordpress.com)


• Out and About: Thomas Hooker Brewery (morefruitplease.wordpress.com)


• The story of Picaroons Traditional Ales (Northampton Brewing Company) - Fredericton, N.B. (atlanticcanadabeerblog.wordpress.com)

My Weird Belief System- Involuntary mass medication

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240"] Bread (Photo credit: ulterior epicure)[/caption]

I was reminded today when reading an article about Folic acid in bread to  'reduces' birth risks -  Folic acid in bread 'reduces' birth risks - National - NZ Herald News.

I'm always been against Fluoridation of Water, for example, and in the last couple of years there has been a bit of a push to mandate the addition of folic acid additive into all bread for everyone all the time, so that a few can benefit.

I'm pro-vaccination. My children have all theirs, I have all mine, I even get a flu jab every year, even though the flu it's likely to prevent won't be the one I get, I've had Mumps, measles, chicken-pox and possibly a few others. We eradicated Polio by vaccination, vaccinations are good. They don't give you downs syndrome, autism, kill you or maim you. If you'd like to argue that they do bring your best arguments to the table, you'll go home hungry.

But I'm against mass medication as a principle. There was a time that arriving in New Zealand from Overseas the cabin-crew would walk though the aircraft with a couple of "flea-bomb" cans and spray the whole cabin from top to bottom, everything, everyone. They don't do it now. (Probably sneak it in some who during the flight - who knows?)

from the repeated bit in the Herald today then

it also found wide variations in the amounts of folic acid in the bread samples - most commonly too little....

Professor Skeaff said yesterday voluntary fortification of bread had contributed to the women's improved folate status, but just how much was unclear because of the concurrent increase in the number of breakfast cereals and other foods that had folic acid added to them.

"Folate status is improving through voluntary fortification, but there's no doubt mandatory [fortification] will improve it more. It will likely reach a lot more women because instead of just being approximately 30 per cent of breads, it will be all breads.

So if it's in cereals, why does it need to be all breads, and are they sure that every pregnant woman will eat 3 slices of uniformly medicated bread a day. Why no just give pregnant women packets of cereals and dietary advice. Why not do that? Why do I a middle aged man, who's being hectored to eat whole grains all the time also need Folic acid? How is this compatible with a green and health lifestyle. Doesn't whole grain bread have Folic acid in it? WTF!

Being a bit more specific though;

There were 63180 live births registered in New Zealand in the March 2011. The Poplulation of NZ is give or take 4.2 million. The birth rate is in fact falling.

That would be 0.015 % of the population being pregnant then, that the 99.985 of non-pregnant people have to have a involuntary additive in their diet. That's why I don't like it, and that's why I'm against it. This isn't a pack health issue, this is about an interest group forcing something on everyone.

Oh I'm not about to start a Facebook page, or write a letter to the TV Guide or petition against the addition, it's just that in this instance the emotive nature of the argument makes we uneasy. I'm not dismissive of the number of children that have a birth defect, that's not my point, I'm not dismissive of the fact that in some cases folic acid may have been beneficial, some being the word of note.

Perhaps they should just add Folic acid into cigarettes, take-away food and soft-drinks. Problem solved.

Related articles

• Folic Acid (cooloasis.wordpress.com)


• Fortifying Corn Masa Flour With Folic Acid Could Help Prevent Birth Defects Of The Brain And Spine Among Hispanic Babies (medicalnewstoday.com)