Stupid is…

Forrest Gump had it so right…some classic examples of practical application of the Gump Doctrine in the last couple of weeks…

First prize must go to the Taliban which persists in stirring up trouble in Kabul. How hard is it to sit on your hands for a couple of years, tour the world, read a book and THEN take over the country once NATO and the US have packed up and gone home, secure in the knowledge that Afghanistan has worked…?

The Tea Party are always Top Ten ‘Gump-ers’ and this example, albeit from Mother Jones, is a classic…let’s not build any more infrastructure because Al-Qaeda will just blow it up – this would be the same AQ that got lucky ONCE in the US, once in Madrid and struck out badly in the UK with attacks on physical infrastructure?

If anyone doesn’t believe me—England and Spain. Now, if we have a more decentralized mass-transit system using buses, if the terrorists blow up a single bus, we can work around that. When they blow up a rail, that just brings the system to a grinding halt. So how much security are we going to have on this rail system, and how much will it cost?

Yeah, dude, let’s just take the horse instead…more telling is this rebuttal from The Onion:

Here’s what Al Qaeda’s new leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said in a video released in July: 

The al-Qaeda network is fully prepared to continue the jihad against the American infidels by launching deadly attacks, but your outdated and rusting transportation infrastructure needs to be completely overhauled for those strikes even to be noticed. We want to turn your bridges into rubble, but if we claimed credit for making them collapse, nobody would ever believe us.

And in this week’s third place, just when you thought he might be ‘getting it’ here’s Mike Yawn lipping off again…if anyone ever doubts whether there really are some dumb-as (second ‘s’ optional) people (the much-vaunted ‘the people’?) around, just check out his fan base like some of the clowns posting on this Yawn FB post:

One Day this American Soldier May Try to Kill Me

He’s stationed now at Kandahar Air Field. I’ve warned the Army about him numerous times. I have little doubt that he will attempt to kill me if he gets the chance. He’s a US Soldier named CJ Grisham. He published this on Facebook this week in regard to me: “I want to rip his head off and piss down his windpipe!”

I cannot warn the US Army loud enough that this Soldier is unstable. They ignore my back channel warnings.

And again today…

Criminal American Soldiers

Only a small percentage of US troops become murderers, but it happened here and it happened in Iraq.

The warning signs were there. I have cautioned only twice about dangerous American soldiers. The first one committed suicide last year after my repeated warnings that he was dangerous. I told numerous key people that this soldier might want to kill me. He’s dead now. The second one is Master Sergeant CJ Grisham, now stationed and armed at Kandahar Airfield. Our military is playing with fire by keeping this man armed and in uniform.

Let’s not forget that Mikey is currently embedded with a US unit in Afghanistan – and has been doing some good work – and so, you might think, would be less likely to snap at the hand currently (literally) feeding him…What’s CJ Grisham’s real sin? He dares criticise Saint Mikey…that’s it.

Mikey, there is a big difference between someone fantasing about what they would like to do to you “I want to rip his head off and piss down his windpipe!”,  threatening to do so…”I ‘m going to rip his head off and piss down his windpipe!”, and then actually  acting on those wordsOne of these days, you’ll be a big kid and understand…in the meantime, try not to cry too much if you get disembedded again…or maybe even slapped with a libel suit yourself…I mean, you are after all abusing your position to make unsubstantiated allegations about a serving member of the force that is currently supporting you – how big do you think its sense of funny really is?

And finally, Australia which, having been thumped at the Global Oval Ball Competition (speaking of stupid…Rugby World Cup has been so heavily copyrighted that we can’t use the three words in close proximity to each other!) by Ireland, promptly resorted to accusing everyone of being mean to it…not like when the boot might be on the other foot, eh, Diggers? Even more embarrassing when, just like the much-reported misbehaving Government Ministers on opening night, not a single shred of evidence could be found to back up the bleating….so just for you guys, Seven Tips For Fans Going To Matches in New Zealand

So get over it!!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fall

The theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is ‘Fall’ most likely because the season in the US is now Fall, which we in the civilised world know as ‘Autumn’…it’s a little moot for us where we are as 99.9% of all the trees are evergreens so Autumn is really more about a (possible) change in weather conditions i.e. here we don’t have the massive leaf dumps associated with the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter. I say possible change in weather conditions as we don’t really have a clear delineator for those either: today is the first day of daylight saving here (I’ve been ripped off an hour!!), normally a good sign of impending summer but the same time last year it was snowing!!

So, anyway, the line I’ve taken with this week’s challenge is the more common association with the word ‘fall’ and I dredged up this photo taken on a school camp early in 1981. I know it was early ’81 because late ’81 I wasn’t in school anymore…It’s at a place called Camp Iona on the Kakanui River south of Oamaru – no idea whether it’s still there or not… the slats supporting the upper bunk bed have been removed in anticipation of the unsuspecting occupant leaping up on the bed bed without performing a precautionary prank check…you’ll note that the occupant of the lower bed has placed himself safely at one end of his bed – maybe he was in on it?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Faces

Penny

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge Both busy and a bit under the weather this week, physiologically and meterologically, so short and to the point…

Pacific Dreams

Just perusing Facebook during one of my breaks and noticed that the New Zealand short film, Pacific Dreams, is an early announcement for the Show Me Shorts Film Festival here in November. Although I support most NZ film initiatives, Pacific Dreams is of particular interest because it is the brainchild of an old friend, Dave Strong and his company, Morepork Films. There’s nothing quite so satisfying as seeing someone leave the service and actually do what they set out to do and quite successfully too.

PACIFIC DREAMS was also accepted to compete in the Mobile SIFF Competition at the prestigious 2011 Shanghai International Film Festival in June, and screened at the recent 2011 New York City International Film Festival.

PACIFIC DREAMS was a recent winner at the 2011 Rhode Island International Film Festival, with Dame Kate Harcourt taking home first prize for Best Female Actress for her role.

Even though my part in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was minor and administrative, I have a healthy respect for the time, effort, resources and skills it takes to bring even a  short film to the big screen and so have nothing but respect for Dave for having the courage of his convictions and staying the course with his dream. Hope this is but the start of an illustrious and developing career in film…

For those interested and geographically able, the 2011 dates and locations for Show Me Shorts that are confirmed so far are:

Capitol Cinema, Auckland – 3-13 November

Bridgeway Cinema, Auckland – 3-13 November

Waiheke Island Community Cinema, Auckland – 3-13 November

Matakana Cinemas, Matakana – 3-13 November

The Internationalist, Rothesay Bay – 3-13 November

Paramount, Wellington – 10-20 November

Hollywood, Sumner, Christchurch – 10-20 November

Rialto Cinema, Dunedin – 10-20 November

Bay City Cinemas, Tauranga – 17-27 November

Mayfair Cinema, Kaikoura – 17-27 November

The Regent, Taumarunui – 17-19 November

The Monkey House, Whitianga – 5-15 January (2012)

Rapt to see the screenings planned for Taumarunui but, curses!! I will be shivering in European snow that week…will have to keep any eye out for any other local-ish screenings – or make sure I pick up the compilation DVD when it comes out…previous years DVDs are available here

Weekly Photo Challenge: Textured

This could just as easily be a good entry for a ‘shiny’ challenge as one for ‘texture’…it is the prototype Fisher P-75 fighter in the R&D Hall at the National Museum of the USAF near Dayton, Ohio…I’d seen many pictures of aircraft in natural metal finish before but this was the first time I was ever up close and personal with one…”Oooo…shiiiiny” was my first response…”Man, that’s big!” was the second: because the hall is so packed it was difficult to get decent shots of some of the larger aircraft simply because there wasn’t enough room to back away…Hence I shot this one into the light and was surprised when it came out so well…

My next take on ‘texture’ is this afterburner can from the B-1B ‘Bone’  (B-One – get it??) in the modern hall at the Museum…this is where they dump hundreds of litres of raw fuel in order to get more thrust from the engines – and so the crew can see the needle on the fuel gauge move – downward!

And finally…

One iteration of the Interceptor from Mad Max at the recent Scale Model Expo in Wellington…it is relatively simple to get smooth shiny unblemished surfaces on models, it is somewhat more difficult to give an impression of dirt, grime and roughness…I thought this builder pulled it off rather well…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Path

Purakanui Steps

This week’s challenge shows the path from the road down to a little whaling cottage we used to own in Purakanui – the little village I also used in the ‘Old Fashioned’ challenge.

The cottage was really small...

...with a rusticly basic kitchen and two small bedrooms...

...but it had pretty cool views across the inlet - even though this one's on a crappy day...

Avast, me hearties…

With effect yesterday, a new law comes into effect here that introduces penalties for people detected downloading copyrighted material off the internet…

Driving home from Wellington last night, I was listening to Radio Live as I do until I find the headphones for my MP3 so I can go back to my Audible books – still bracing myself to carry on listening to the current one with George Friedman prattling on about how Turkey, Mexico and Poland are the next generation of regional powers…Anyway, of course, this new law – which is no surprise as it was well socialised before becoming law – was the hot topic of discussion, as it was on breakfast TV yesterday morning…

It amazes me how InternetNZ and TUANZ can blatantly bleat about how unfair it all is that current international copyright law does not allow free downloading of copyrighted content and how copyright is all just one big conspiracy by US interests (ho-hum…yawn) to maintain the current outdated copyright system that expects that users might actually have to pay for copyrighted product…

Disinformation was rampant from both InternetNZ and TUANZ but the simple bottom line is that both need to ante up and accept that illegal access to copyrighted material, even under the pseudo-glamour of piracy, is nothing more than plain and simple, black and white THEFT!!! Just the same as hopping a fence and helping themselves to stock and produce just because there is no big sign written in geek that says ‘Private Property’; or bowling into someone’s house because they left the front door open and again just helping themselves…

The reason that they are all worried is because the Government has introduced some quick hefty penalties – in fairness, with a graduated system of warnings – for offending account holders…up to $15,000 per offence – don’t want a $15k fine? Then DON’T STEAL, you THIEVING geeks…!!!!

Worried that your neighbour will tap into your wireless and download copyrighted material? Then you are too dumb to have an internet account…

Worried that your kids will earn you a $15k fine? They will probably find a way to do this anyway – at least illegal downloads don’t involve fire, explosives or fast cars…

Worried that your employees will abuse the work account? Introduce individual accounts and police them like you should be doing anyway…

Laziness and stupidity are no excuses for THEFT.

Want to see the latest series of Castle, Justified, Thunderbirds, etc before it arrives here? Either breakaway from the box and get a life or buy it from Amazon et al – YOU LOSERS!

It sickens me that the me-me-me generation just don’t get that there are no freebies and that there is this thing called work that means to get get money to buy you things…the internet does not = Notting Hill style help yourself…I’ve been around enough activities creating intellectual property for long enough to have a healthy respect for those who create and nothing but contempt for those who steal be it with a brick through the window or a dodgy file sharer somewhere in Eastern Europe…

In other news

Happy Feet the Emperor Penguin {PDF: Penguin Happy Feet becomes a Wellington celebrity] is off home again. This was a bigger national story than a pensioner who laid dead in his flat for over a year.

The cost of the Christchurch earthquakes has almost doubled to just over $7billion – to counter this the government has invented discovered significant oil and gas under the southern ocean…

Teams for the Rugby World Cup have started to land this week – gee, I hope there is a ‘not-rugby’ channel for the next six weeks….

Weekly Photo Challenge: Flowers

Flowers for this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge are still a bit sparse in this part of the world at this time and they’re not really one of my more common photo subjects – although we have just had our heaviest snowfall in a few years (like, a whole three days worth!!), I noticed this morning some flowers already blooming under one of the maples…they were kinda straggly though…instead I found this much hardier flax flower up the top of the driveway…

…and it must be spring – just as I posted this I heard the first blowey for the season start droning around the light…time to get some natural pyrethrins back in the air…go, go Robo-Can…

Who dares…

Have been offline since leaving home yesterday morning for a weekend in the big smoke…it was only a chance meeting of an old friend at the Expo this morning, ironically while chatting about Patient Tracking systems, that I learned that a member of the NZSAS team in Kabul had been fatally wounded during a rescue mission…

Our condolences to CO, officers and all members of the unit, another fallen in the line of duty, doing the business…a reminder that this is a dangerous but necessary business…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Entrance

The entrance to the Lodge when we arrived in 2004...

...and as it is now, looking back the other way...

Yes, sports fans, it’s another WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge post…all that maintains my presence in the blogosphere recently…I’m enjoying my first real weekend off since February and so, apart from checking for booking requests for the Chalet, have been staying offline and recharging batteries… This is the busy period for ASIC and so much of my time is spent hammering the keyboard managing our part of the programme and also drafting various products…maybe too much of this work has got me in a mindset of thinking I need blog posts to be more like articles so I might look at going back to more but smaller items just to keep up the steady patter of ambient noise… Please don’t forget though that it is the bi-ennial Scale Model Expo in Lower Hutt, Wellington this weekend, where this will be on display (with Hawkeye UAV sponsoring a prize as well)… …from the 2009 Expo…

By land...

...by air...

...and by land again (couldn't find any good shots of ships from 2009 ( they were there just my dodgy photos)...