Lest we forget…..history.
Posted by Leeb - 22/10/08 at 02:10:00 amI have just finished watching the latest [more polished -somehow shinier] zeitgiest offering. www.zeitgeistmovie.com
Want to carry on being a slave? then don’t watch it.
I love the idea of resource bas ed economy….only had the chat with my missus yesterday about metal electricity carrying induction grids laid into the roads. All cars are induced [like the toothbrush/razer non-contact chargers...] and the odometer is the electricity meter! Simple. We can have member measuring talks over the size of our "is yours a 50kW AC or DC motor in that mate"…or "lead yeah? oh, mines are lithium-ion!" electric cars.
Where can I buy one I hear you cry?….you can’t yet…cos we’re still entrenched in our money-based society……
…Oh and pedestrians won’t get electricuted either….’cos they will be on a www.baxi.co.nz…and the grids are buried -remember?! ciao.
Well I am back….and a little bit of MKP…
Posted by Leeb - 14/10/08 at 12:10:00 pmHave been incredibly busy…..although on reflection and being truthful here I have obviously decided to put everything ahead of blogging.
2 weeks ago I attended a ‘training’ weekend provided by a group known as the Mankind Project www.mkp.org. I knew nothing about this group but was looking for some personal development and life context expanding work to do - MKP seeemd to be a cool idea.
I normally Google anything I might be upto and this instance [along with some encouragement from my mate www.timdejardine.com] I did my research.
OMG - some of the stuff I found was less than appealing. One guy said he had been raped, another touched up, some emotionally scared, others led-down-the-exploited-path, brainwashed by a cult etc, blah blah blah.
Well here’s the truth of MY experience. Bollocks! I have to admit I had my moments on day 1 [Friday night] when I did my donkey impression and dug in the old what-a-load-of-hockey-bullshit heels. This was my problem. I went with ‘an open mind’ but had all the baggage of modern maleness sheilding me from a great learnign experience. Looking back I wasted day 1.
I found the group of guys, the location and the training a truley awesome experience - I am not brainwashed and I am of resonably clear character and sound mind to know when I am being taken for a ride. I have to say I am changed for the better.
I think that the guys mentioned above could have had a negative experience as they described -but I think not. I -and I am going out on a limb here- think that they might have the same experiences if they took any challenging task which invited any self assessment, except maybe being raped…which I couldn’t in a million years see how this would happen on a weekend likle the one I attended! The course literature and its leaders even stated that sex was prohibited on the course…not that I am into hairy asses anyway - but some guys are I suppose…]
So if there are any guys out there all I can say is don’t believe the crap on the web…go find some dark bits of yourself and grab em by the ears! www.mkp.org.nz
Handover…..
Posted by Leeb - 14/08/08 at 02:08:00 amSorry I mean Hanover.
I have ‘lost’ a reasonable amount of my cash when I need it working for me. Yup, I am one of thousands who took the fitch rating given to Hanover Finance as a sign of a thumbs up. Poppy Cock.
I am also feeling stupid, feeble and angry at my self for not doing my homework and being dare I say it, Greedy.. It’s funny that I do more research into buying a fridge or PC than I did investing [should that be donating?] in Hanover Finance…
Lessons learned from this little doctorate of life:
1) Don’t believe the hype. Nice recognised Kiwi homely guy -Richard Long- doing the ad voice over, flashy sponsorship of NZ morning business TV program, massive media coverage in evry format, …must be good - looking at the 10% interest rate on 1st Ranking SECURED debenture stock…
2) Look at the rating. Now I have learned what ‘Non Investment Grade’ means. I have to put this lesson up with the one I learned as a kid…the one about not sucking lemons! I thought a Fitch B+ would be good. Here’s the list…look where Hanover sits.
Investment Grade
- AAA : the best quality companies, reliable and stable
- AA : quality companies, a bit higher risk than AAA
- A : economic situation can affect finance
- BBB : medium class companies, which are satisfactory at the moment
Non-Investment Grade (also known as junk bonds)
- BB : more prone to changes in the economy
- B : financial situation varies noticeably [Hanover]
- CCC : currently vulnerable and dependent on favorable economic conditions to meet its commitments
- CC : highly vulnerable, very speculative bonds
- C : highly vulnerable, perhaps in bankruptcy or in arrears but still continuing to pay out on obligations
- D : has defaulted on obligations and Fitch believes that it will generally default on most or all obligations
- NR : not publicly rated
If you are gonna part with a reasonable amount of cash into an investment….talk to people who know, don’t know and those who have no opinion. Then make up your own mind. Don’t do as I/we did…and get sucked into the “woohoo… $6K in only 12 months for doing nothing” closed group chat thing…I have done very much more than $6k’s worth of worrying, pleading, letter writing, moaning and now crying in the last 12 months.
4) And when you’re down in the dumps about the bad investment you/I made, don’t listen to all the pricks who come out saying things like “well I warned you…” or “you should have known” blah blah blah. Hindsight is awesome.
On a final note it will be interesting to have a little look-see in about 25 years when people want to draw on their nice kiwi-saver scheme pension….shock horror….”what do you mean it wasn’t guaranteed? that’s my life savings mate?”…
I can’t believe the NZ Government will stand by and let these two F$#%&^s just carry on with their oh so fantastic [rich] lives when this blows over them….
I tried to be proactive with my investments for my future but I suppose greed and stupidity/naivity on my part led to this. So I’ll suck this one and get on with it. I’m only 34.
Some older people arn’t so lucky. I hope Eric and Mark get their big dollop of karma….
Our closest friend…….
Posted by Leeb - 11/07/08 at 03:07:00 pmIf our closest neighbour thinks this……what is Uncle Sam thinking? Many a true word is said in jest…
http://invadenewzealand.com/
Sorry it’s been a while…..
Posted by Leeb - 10/07/08 at 03:07:00 amSince my last blog….
I’ve been sitting outside the Vodafone store on Lambton here in freezing Wellington,NZ with all my friends… waiting for the new iphone. It’ll be midnight soon and I’ll be able to show everyone my new phone which only 100 million [best guess] other people in the US/Europe already have [ok mine will be a newer generation but hey]……On second thoughts maybe I could wait outside the store in 2nd Life and be warm….
What is the World coming too? Do we need recongnition that badly? I think I’ll wait til I need one….
I might have to get a 2nd job in 2nd life to pay the VodafoneNZ plans though…
Does a child deserve a go?
Posted by Leeb - 07/06/08 at 01:06:00 amWhy do people get a choice in whether or not to give away their organs?
In NZ in 2006 ther were less than 40 people on the donor list. Myself and partner are 2 of them!
This is apretty shitty state of affairs if you ask me. Does a child not deserve a go at life when someone departs in an accident?
If everyone was [forced?] to donate a pint of blood a year…we pay rates compulsarily for pete’s sake!…..would there be a blood crisis?
like being changed. When the PR campaign shows the sweet little girl who would be dead if it weren’t for [your family member] donated blood or organ…this would probably stop.
Vote for me. I’ll bring in the prison lotto and help save the animals and kids.
waiting for something?
Posted by Leeb - 07/06/08 at 01:06:00 amI am an athiest. Agnostic at best, and then I only believe in aliens.
If you believe in something else, something better…how can you put 100% into this life?
I only have one life in the closet..and I am going to do EVERYTHING I can…
If I die in a small plane [crash], then so be it. Apart from the burning to death bit…I will be doing something I love. Could I ask for more?
Reckon the millions of Eygptians who built the pyramids would have done that if they realised that they had only the one life? I think not.
Eating animals….
Posted by Leeb - 02/06/08 at 12:06:00 amI have no problem with eating meat…so why am I trying to go vegetarian?
Living on a boat has seen some changes, not only in the way we consume -or not consume- as the case may be, but how I/we think about food.
The fish we catch have a good life. They are swimming soing their thing and whammo the next thing is me bashing their head in. They don’t know or hopefully feel anything. Quick. As I would expect to be processed if someone were unlucky enough to have to eat me. Baseball bet to the head when I don’t expect it sort of thing.
The cows, sheep, pigs and worst of all chickens and sea caught fish arn’t so lucky. They know whats going on.
Why can’t we pay more for meat? This would mean that the animals might see daylight whilst they are alive. Chickens might be able to scratch in a field, pigs roll in the mud. We eat to much meat…just look at all the fat people around…
You eat veg…you don’t get fat.
c’mon lets all boycott the intensively farmed meat and eggs
Baby on board…
Posted by Leeb - 02/06/08 at 12:06:00 amSo what?
Are these a badge of some sort? Like a scouts honour badge? Congrats to the people in the car in front…you had a baby…clap….clap….clap.
-or-
Are they somehow meaning that the occupants are special and shouldn’t be involved in an RTA? “Please mister idiot 4×4-driver-who-is-tailgating…. go for someone else obviously less valuable than me ‘cos they don’t have a little yellow diamond in the back window declaring my ability to procreate successfully”..
Maybe I should get a little diamond too….maybe it will keep me safe from bad drivers too!
Lost time….
Posted by Leeb - 29/05/08 at 02:05:00 amI get frustrated by the morons who tailgate.
We arn’t supposed to be able to sue for traffic accident damages here in NZ because we have been bestowed with the all seeing and all powerful Accident, Compensation Corporation. I think this is wrong.
I am a contractor, this means when the moron hits the back of my car, the clock should start running for all damages…the ACC will only pay me 80% of my ‘wages’ whilst I recover…but who will pay for my mental anguish caused by my spainal/neck injury causing me to be afraid of driving ever again? The ACC wont thats for sure. What about my car?..I know it’s a 1988 Corolla with a book price of less than a grand…but I have spent heaps of my time maintaining this vehicle in top mechanical nick for the last 150,000kms…finding another [more time and $$$] in the same shape would be a nightmare.
Therefore I want to be able to opt out of the ACC fantasy and take my own legal action to recover damages and all my new costs. I want to sue the moron who hits me for the TORT of negligence - they should have been paying attention and leaving [dare I say it?] a stop gap. Complete disregard for me and my passengers should be recoverable via legal means.
insurance company can then at leisure, recover from their insuree. This would drive up premiums on sporty cars and 4×4’s and boy racer vehicles making these things expensive [especially when 3rd party compulsary comes in soon]. With high insurance premiums and lost no-claims bonus’s [should that be bonii?], arising out of my little case law win, people might think twice about tailgating.
Oh, I forgot these morons are incapable of thinking….that’s why I wrote this blog!
Next time some one rams me….I might try suing.