MHAW Photo-a-day Challenge Oct. 1 – My view

Posted on 1 October 2017 by SJPONeill

OK…it’s morning now…let’s go..!!!!

This is Kala (Kar-la), a young rescue Rottie that I picked up last weekend. She is the tiniest Rottie that I have ever seen – apparently she is almost three years old! – only a quarter the size of Louie.

She has made such massive progress in the last week. At first she was shy and afraid of everything and very defensive. She hadn’t spent much time indoors and until her initial rescue had been poorly-fed and -treated…

After a week, she is much more confident and this is how she woke me this morning – ‘my view’ of that wake-up…

The Challenge

Mental Health Awareness Week in New Zealand is 9-15 October this year. Each year, the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand runs and sponsors a number of awareness activities.

The MHAW Photo Challenge runs from 1-15 October Each day participants post an image that is their take on that day’s theme:

Oct. 1 – My view
Oct. 2 – Gratitude
Oct. 3 – Light
Oct. 4 – Water
Oct. 5 – Small treasures
Oct. 6 – Nature indoors
Oct. 7 – Bush walk
Oct. 8 – Art
Oct. 9 – Pop of colour
Oct. 10 – MHAW Lockout
Oct. 11 – Papatūānuku (Mother Earth)
Oct. 12 – Creature
Oct. 13 – Spring
Oct. 14 – Love my backyard
Oct. 15 – Nature is key to…

#MHAWNZ

Say no to sugar taxes

Posted on 15 August 2017 by SJPONeill

Drone alert in more ways than one…

Healthy Food Guide reports today that

“A petition calling for a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages that collected nearly 10,000 signatures was presented to Maori and Green Party MPs in Parliament last week”

That’s on the HFG site that is so paranoid that it has blocked the right mouse button function to prevent people copying or printing its articles and recipes. Heads up, team, all that does is force people to other sites more friendly (you’re not that unique), to use the browser drop-down menu, and/or just give you a miss: most, if not all of your recipes are available elsewhere (it’s not called the world-wide web for nothing you know)…just Google the recipe title to see if you can’t find the same -or often a better – recipe elsewhere…

But…back to the sugar thing…dear food fun Nazis, please get a grip…taxes don’t stop people using commodities they want to use…increasing taxes hasn’t drastically changed usage stats for spray paint, petrol, alcohol or nicotine, nor, had the legislation been enacted, would it have stopped sheep farting…all taxes on products like these is make them more expense so that people waste more money on them (less the sheep farting – sheep farts will always be free).

If you really want to stop people using something, then ban it and make it totally unavailable, except of course, for the bootleg and black market alternatives that will spring into existence the second the ban goes into effect. Bans – certainly where the market mass is most of the population – are rarely (not really!!) effective.

Ongoing effective education is the solution. Not anti-sugar propaganda because even kids can see through that. Tell it like it is. Put the truth – not truth, not your truth – out there. Be first with the truth. It’s not perfect but have a read of That Sugar Story anyway. Damon Gameau is a bit OTT at times but his basic premise is pretty good and pretty healthy – and you don’t need any laws or taxes to make it work. Consume less sugar. Avoid hidden sugars: quick tip, if it’s in a plastic wrapper that says it’s healthy, don’t touch it…you DON’T have to give up food fun to be healthy…there’s more to healthy food than water and lentils …

(lentils get a bad rap sometimes)

Stop trying to protect everyone from themselves. Nanny-stating has an opposite effect in the long term: instead of protecting the people from themselves, the increasing absence of challenge turns them into mindless drones incapable of applying judgement, solving problems or thinking for themselves.

I caught up with an old friend last week – someone who I had not physically seen 2007 but whom the miracle of Facebook had kept me in touch with. She made the very telling comment that the more support services we offer, the more people demand AND the less capable they become of thinking and fending for themselves. More and more people expect everyone to be nice to them and for ‘someone else’ to doing all think and supporting for them as well…

The truth is that sometimes life throws up challenges; life is sometimes a bit hard; things do not always go according to plan. ‘The people’ need to make their own decisions and accept the consequences of those decisions. They need to be given opportunities every day to exercise and practise those skills. Taking away their ability, indeed their right, to make lifestyle decisions for them and their families doesn’t make us smarter or healthier as a nation…

Look askance at any politician babbling in support of a sugar tax…

Cowspiracy

Posted on 18 August 2016 by SJPONeill

cowspiracy cover

My green journey started when Bubble asked me if I had seen Cowspiracy…seen it? I had only vaguely heard of it…but in the spirit of learning and breaking down preconceptions (of which, I may or may not have a few), I tracked down a copy, put my feet up one night with a cold root beer and watched…

…and watched…

…but this guy really just didn’t do it for me…nor did his story…

Cowspiracy presents like a ‘real crime’ expose…but the producer is so sure that everything is part of some great but unstated conspiracy but all his smoking guns are wet bus tickets. I think the point is is trying to make – bit never does – is that any sort of dairy farming is unsustainable.

That may or may not be true but his logic never gets to the point and the narrative wonders from one conspiratorial form of commercial agriculture to the next. He accuses Greenpeace and other organisations of being complicit in the conspiracy and then wonders why they don’t want to speak to him – which he then presents as further evidence of the conspiracy.

From my own research I get that feeding cattle wheat-based products has an effect on the environment. I get that this may lead to a profit-motivated clearing of forest for cropland. I get that extensive marketing drives over-consumption of meat products. But Cowspiracy didn’t tell me that. The only things I got from Cowspiracy was the clever title and an unpleasant sensation that ‘antis‘ like the producer of Cowspiracy do more harm than good to their cause and that crossing the road to avoid them is probably a good idea…

But I’m glad that Bubble recommended that I watch it. It made me think and so my own research and develop my own opinion. I love a good steak, dripping with garlic; I love my homemade burgers and nothing beats a good roast on a winter weekend. But, like most things, in moderation. the thing that really discouraged me from commercial meat products was the Hot Doc’s comments about the amount of hormones and other additives in the commercial food chain. So now, I aim for free range or organic chicken and when I do buy meat, it is an unprocessed as possible, no marinades, crumbing, etc…

So good things come from pseudo X-Files exposes like Cowspiracy…and from Cowspiracy, Bubble led me on to That Sugar Movie which is well-produced, logical and inspired me to think about me and sugar…

Natural | The Daily Post

Posted on 22 June 2016 by SJPONeill

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt: natural.

Source: Natural | The Daily Post

My first thought for this prompt, since I have now apparently joined the ranks of the indoor beanie-wearers, was to simple post a shot of me and my beanie. I must admit that, even though it has only been a week or so, wearing the beanie inside feels so natural that I feel a little lost without it – as I do at the moment after I leaving it at work last night, still plugged into the USB charger…

I’m subscribed – who isn’t? – to a range of forums and sites that have – or had at some point – some fleeting interest to me. Hardy’s is a chain of health food shops and my purchase of flax seed, coconut oil and natural antallergen caps found me subscribed to their blog. Most of the time, I barely scan these things and rarely click on any of the links but Hardy’s caught me in a moment of weakness.

This post is better written than much similar fare and it’s content struck a chord. If you’ve been following my green journey, you’ll be aware that my life has taken a turn for the better following a friend’s chance comment last year. As cynical as I might be about the ‘health’ industry, I can not deny the positive effects on me by reducing the quantity of processed food and sugar in my daily diet.

Of the three changes that the article recommends, I am already sold on the benefits of reducing sugar. It’s not hard and doesn’t require much more than a little thought: sacrifices are minimal and there are still sweets to be had: they just rely less on processed sugar. Occasionally, I miss having instantly accessible munchies in the pantry – it’s been over six months since I last knocked back a big bags of crisps – but an apple or orange fills the same gap and it’s not hard – just needs a little forethought – to bake some healthy cookies…

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…although growing external demand often means that there are none left for me…

Brain exercise is an area where I have been negligent…with a lot of other things going on the last couple of years, I have not been as intellectually active as I once was. As much as I love the people side of my job, it does lack on the intellectual front and I am starting to yearn for the same cerebral workouts that distinguished my Army and Air Force roles I don’t want to go back…I just miss the mental workouts…

I know I’ve said it before but one way of taking the grey matter for a run is blogging and if the good people at WordPress are happy to spam my inbox with prompts and number of times a day, that I should be taking some of those ideas and converting them into coherent thoughts and tap them out…I just have to force myself back into the habit..

The final change relates to getting enough sleep. I think that this may be a little chicken and egg, for me anyway. Since starting my green journey, I have been sleeping a lot better but not a lot longer. If I go to sleep before eleven o’clock, I’ll wake around four or five and stay awake, only starting to doze off thirty seconds before the alarm goes off…

Tips for good sleep…?

Make the bed properly…a mussy bed and slip-slidey covers are not conducive to restful sleep.

In winter, crank the ‘lectric blanket: easing between hot sheets is a pleasure I anticipate every night – although Louie has now worked out which beds are warm, which is why the ‘kids’ are now banned form upstairs after lights out.

Build a regular sleep routine. Do one thing, the same thing each night so that your mind learns this as a sleep trigger. For me, it’s to read a little each night before I kill the light; for others it might be a hot chocolate or light coffee before nigh-nighies…each to their own: just kept it consistent…

And here’s a shot of the beanie in all its high tech glory…

A study in growth…

Posted on 7 May 2016 by SJPONeill

On Thursday, I conducted an unintentional but educational experiment.

In the interests of science

Mid-afternoon, I decided to drive to Taupo to do some shopping.

Having skipped lunch – not intentionally, I was just doing stuff and not feeling particularly hungry to that point – I stopped at the Turangi BK for a Big Feed; Whopper, fries, nuggets, caramel sundae and big Coke. I must admit I did hesitate slightly when the TV screen asked me “Coke for the drink?” – I would have opted out if I could have remembered what else BK had to offer but went with the flow, which is probably the whole idea of such a leading question. Later thought: I could have asked what other options they had to offer…

For old me, stopping for lunch at the Turangi BK was pretty much a habit on my way to points further…new healthy me had a brief think about the options – there aren’t many in Turangi and less when you’re hungry NOW and in a hurry (to get to Taupo before 5) – but habit won out..

Shopping in Taupo completed, once again habit took the helm and I found myself in the drive-in queue at the Taupo KFC – in the full knowledge that every time I have KFC, it reminds me why I don’t have KFC…a three piece quarter pack and a Big Snack burger…all that grease suppressed healthy conscience’s pricking as I drove back west…

Two things I noticed.

Firstly, how absolutely sweet both the BK and KFC offerings tasted to Way Less Sugar Me…coming up to six months along my green journey and this cynic is pretty much sold on the notion that there is a direct connection between sugar/sweetness in food and food craving…

Secondly, by the time I got home – 90 minutes max and that includes stopping at the Turangi New World and stocking up – on healthy food, I might add: baby beets, pineapples ($2.99 each!!!), pumpkin, kumara, ginger (yes, it’s time for that ripper soup again) and more, more, more bananas…Depending on my smoothie mix for the day and less any consumed in cooking, I’m averaging three bananas downrange each day now…Oh! And, almonds, in quantity as well: after reading the label on my store-bought almond milk – all the words to big to pronounce in a hurry – I am somewhat motivated to try my hand at making my own…

Compensatory healthy stuff

Oh, I distract myself…hey, look, groceries..! do I need to get out more, I wonder..? So anyway, secondly, by the time I got home, my belt was distinctly tight and uncomfortable and I had this craving for sweet, sweet, sweet stuff. Now, when I stick to my healthy options, I can and do consume a lot but never, never, since I started this journey have I felt so bloated, yuk and uncomfortable as then…lesson identified…time will tell about it level of learnedness…

Inspiring Max liked my post Earth this evening so, as I try to do, I checked out Max’s blog, it’s a tit for tat, you scratch my back bloggie thing for me…in Coffee Catchup #6, Max asked readers “If we were having coffee I would ask you what you have been up to this last week, let me know in the comments.” Since the question had been posed, I did…and this discovery popped out as I burbled out my week in response…then I thought (it happens sometimes) “…well, if this is profound enough to contribute to someone else’s blog, it’s good enough for me as well…”

So here I am, at 8-30 in the PM, writing a post, after my first day back at work after three weeks off – and it went very well, thank you very much – when I should have dinner well under way…which is how I get to skip meals and then conducting unintentioned experiments like that above…still, dinner tonight will be quite simple: a reheat of the korma I made last night where I learned how much tastier food is when cooked in coconut oil than vegetable oils like Canola…

OK, now it’s time for food and a rewatch of Spectre, surely one of the better Bonds in the last five decades…?

spectre 007

That Sugar Book

Posted on 4 May 2016 by SJPONeill

that sugar story.jpg

I posted this on Goodreads but decided to use it as the basis for a post as well because it is so fundamental to my green journey. Although I was already on the this path before I saw the movie (another great Bubble recommendation!), I thought that it would be interesting and add more substance to the movie’s messages to read the book – so when I saw it going for a good price at the The Book Depository…

That Sugar Book is an enjoyable read but not as effective in getting the counter-sugar message across as the movie – I would give the movie 5 stars for both entertainment and narrative…Possibly because it is in written form, and equally possibly because the author is a movie-maker not an author by trade and thus more experienced getting his messages across graphically, the messages are more subject to critical analysis in the book…

It is not quite clear in the book whether the message is counter-sugar or more against processed food with a high and possibly concealed sugar content. The author’s light approach is effective in the movie but does not translate as well across to a print medium and he comes across in a number of sections as more flippant than serious. He doesn’t help ‘the science’ of his case by sprinkling sugar over common food – trying too hard to make his point – instead of sticking to his stated programme of only eating apparently healthy food. Even in the recipes, he uses bananas but with a caution about their high fructose (bad sugars!!!) levels – I thought this was quite inconsistent: fructose is either bad and should be avoided or it just needs to be mitigated – just because it comes delivered in a fresh banana doesn’t make any any less bad – does it?

For me, possibly because I am already sold on the main message, the best part of the book is the last section which is also recipes. The narrative sections, I can take or leave…I think that the author needs to be clearer in his conclusions as to whether sugar is bad (we need some sugars to live), whether apparently healthy foods with concealed high sugar ratings are bad, and/or whether processed food in general is bad.

I lean towards these in reverse sequence of weighting i.e. processed food is bad, then foods with high levels of concealed sugars, and then finally some sugars being bad. This is based on my own experience as recently as yesterday when the apparently healthy muffins that I made for my granddaughters – even with the sugar halved – still set off a massive sugar craving that was aggravated by having commercial crumbed chicken – with a very sweet (and not stated on the label!) crumb mix – for dinner…it didn’t take long before the munchies had me climbing the wall…I only managed to quell them with a pineapple and coconut smoothie and three (big) glasses of water…

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If I wasn’t sure before, this definitely convinced me that there is something to this sugar rush/craving/addiction thing: if I still had stocks of chips and chocolate bars in the house they would have taking a hammering last night!!

If you buy this book, buy it for the recipes…if you’re more into the message, get the movie…

Admiration | The Daily Post

Posted on 3 May 2016 by SJPONeill

In your response, depict something or someone you admire. Bonus points if you share a paragraph or two on the source of your admiration.

Source: Admiration | The Daily Post

So there is life below 90kg…

My green journey never started out as any sort of journey or programme…it simply fell out of a conversation with Bubble in the US, some simple culinary challenges…previously my health binges have all been largely exercise-based, with only secondary attempts at dietary reforms…

The last time that I made a sustained effort towards a change towards a healthier lifestyle was following a posting from a particularly intense role where I was granted, from a great height, certain latitude in my new posting in order to decompress and ‘get my life back’. Then, I averaged 3-4 hours a day cycling, running and in the gym, often with a walk along the river after dinner – it was summer – but still, almost as a point of principle, maintaining my standard ‘eating in the Mess’ profile: big boys breakfast, big boys lunch, bar snacks and big boys dinner. By ‘big boys’ I mean all the courses, and all the options, justifying this as necessary to sustain my exercise programme. Then, with a lot of concerted effort, over three or so months, I got my weight down to around 92kg…

This time, without a great deal of willpower or effort, I’ve broken through the 90kg barrier without even noticing. I never thought to record my weight at the beginning of this journey but I never realised that I was starting any sort of journey other than to try some new ideas in the kitchen…Maybe two months ago, I stumbled (literally) over the scale in the the back pantry and found that I was around 95kg – I’m pretty sure that I was over 100kg when I started…

Pineapple, coconut and tumeric smoothie

So what have I changed that has rendered this result?

I’ve reduced dairy to almost nothing. I still use butter for cooking and occasionally might have an ice-cream like a Trumpet…

trumper ice cream

…I still have store-bought fish and chips and, when I am travelling, still succumb to the call of the major food groups: KFC, McDs or BK…but not nearly as much as I used to. Where I used to fall back on a big back of chips and/or chocolate bars like Crunchies and Mars Bars if I had the munchies, now I’ll just have a smoothie, a drink of water or just go without…I think there is definitely something to this sugar/salt addiction thing…

I have made an effort – about the only one – to reduce, if not eliminate, as many processed foods from my diet, now buying more raw materials and making my own food…

Spicy chewie apple cookies

Why bother with store-bought snacks when I can make a dozen or so of these in half an hour…and when two will hit the spot for filling me up…

What I haven’t done is dramatically change my exercise routine. In fact, after injuring my leg in January, I have done less exercise than I would normally and the bulk of that has just been working around the Lodge. It has only been in the last couple of weeks that I have done any serious walking and only today that I got back on the rower…

My advice to anyone thinking of making similar changes is to sort your diet and the rest will take care of itself…

So, in the context of this prompt, I admire Bubble for nudging me in this direction and I admire me for staying the course, although it hasn’t been terribly difficult: not much more than thinking a little differently and not being afraid to try new things…

We normally tend to admire others – and I do – but it is also a sign of good health to be able to admire yourself when you get things right and I really think I have this time…

Tongariro – the back way

Posted on 19 April 2016 by SJPONeill

Wow! I haven’t had such a good day on my own for a long time…

I have two weeks off to consume accumulated public holidays and time in lieu…with three days of fine weather forecast this week, normally I’d be working on the Lodge but this week I’m letting my muse drive me…

Today – and I am trying to write this while the memories are fresh and before I face-plant the keyboard as I am just a little jaded – to venture up the ‘alternate’ route up to Mt Tongariro from Mangatepopo, across to Red Crater and then back down the Crossing trail to Mangatepopo. It’s probably a by-product of my green journey and its muse that I feel attracted back to the outdoor environment; that, and wanting to get some me time away from people ( natural enough when you work with hundreds of visitors every day).

An early start to make sure I could get a park at or near the Mangatepopo car and I was legging it towards Mangatepopo Hut by 7-30. No pix of the car park: although it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as it can be there were still heaps of people milling around and I just wanted to get underway.

The hut is only about fifteen minuets from the car park. I made a quick stop there to enter my trip into the hut book – you can never be too careful – and away I went…

Mangatepopo Hut

There is quite a well-formed track that heads off north-eastish from the hut down to the stream. Some parts of the track towards the stream are quite heavily eroded and you need to be a little careful especially when it is a bit damp/slippery, as some of gouges are a metre or so deep. I followed that across the stream and up the opposite slope where the track is still pretty clear. From the sign it is fairly well-used.

Target for today: Mount Tongariro

The climb up is pretty easy but already the day was warming up well past the forecast 0-5 degrees.

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I had dressed for the the forecast and was already feeling a tad warm so converted my trousers into ‘shorts’ with some judicious folding. Much more comfortable.

It looks pretty but…

Why do people persist in build cairns in the Park, especially things like that that are purely decorative? Do they not get that it is a national park and the whole is to do no harm. The environment here is very delicate and even moving one rock exposes fresh soil to the elements and leads to the erosion that already devastates parts of the Park.

Oh, great, people!!!

I was looking forward to some quiet introspection time so the sight of a group following me up was not welcome. I stopped to let them pass me but we ended up pacing each other and then travelling together. They were a group of Duke of Edinburgh students from Thames High School whose objective this week was four summits in four days. They’d missed out on Ruapehu two days previously as the weather had closed in and they’d decided to pull the pin – good move – but had summitted Taranaki and Ngauruhoe successfully.

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The lava flows from the more recent eruptions on Mt Ngauruhoe are very clear from across the valley. When (not if) Ngauruhoe erupts again, the historical lava route has been down the north-western slopes and we’ll need an alternative route like the one I walked today to keep the Tongariro Alpine Crossing open.

You can also see cloud forming off Ngauruhoe as the morning sun evaporates dew off the rocks. The same thing was happening on the other side as we walked up. Many people are surprised by just how quickly cloud can form up here and how thick it can be. As people found once we were on the summit, when the cloud is so thick that you can see the trail properly, the best thing to do is just sit it out.

How erosion starts 101

I encountered a number of gouges in the surface like this as I climbed further up. There were clearly man-made as some of them ran perpendicular to the flow of water off the slopes. Some of them looked like campers had carved out a little drain to divert water around their campsite; others looked like rocks had been rolled or dragged down the slope. The surface up here is that delicate that interference like this will channel rainwater and cause serious erosion in a very short time.

There is not a trail all the way to the summit but the route is fairly intuitive with only one significant scree slope just below the summit. The trick is to aim slightly left as you approach the peak and this will take to directly to the summit. The climb itself is pretty Goldilocks: not so long that you get into ‘are we there yet?’ syndrome but not so short that you don’t feel like you haven’t done any work. Cresting the summit is really “OMG, we’re here!!”

Thames High DofE group

The cloud closed in as soon as we reached the summit…

…restricting views to just the top of Ngauruhoe.

Lunch

Lunch for me was one of my bannofee smoothies and a couple of Jen Rice’s chewy apple spiced cookies – Jen says that two of these cookies are a meal and she is absolutely right: even after walking for three hours, two were more than enough to fill me up. I would have brought one of her turmeric coconut and pineapple smoothies except I’m out of pineapple until my next trip to civilisation.

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As I finished my lunch the cloud closed right in…while we waited for it to clear as it usually does relatively soon, I enjoyed talking with other waiting walkers about the Park, Lord of the Rings – always a safe subject – and the volcanoes.

A minute ago this was all cloud

Even quicker than it had appeared, the cloud disappeared and it was off down the marked trail to Red Crater

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Skirting around the rim of South Crater down to Red Crater…

Looking down into Red Crater

Most Crossing walkers had already passed this point so I didn’t encounter too much traffic in the other direction heading down towards South Crater

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A late walker heading up to Red Crater…the route is quite steep and uneven but easily negotiable in either direction so long as walkers take care and watch their foot placement. DSCF9887

Looking back across South Crater: the route up to Red Crater runs about halfway up the ridge line that runs out the left edge of the image…

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Looking down from the top of the Devil’s Staircase, over Soda Springs to the beginning of the Crossing. Mangatepopo Hut can just be made out centre left. The route down the Staircase is quite windy but easily negotiated at speed over most of its distance.

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From Soda Springs to the hut is very flat with many ‘highway’ quality board walks. I always hate this leg as it is, IMHO, quite boring and rather administrative in nature.

Today was the first time that I have been out in the Park for a couple of months. Although the solitude was not as I expected, I enjoyed meeting and talking with other walkers and exploring a path less travelled.