What is a great blog post?

There have been times when I have sat and wondered, "What makes a great blog post?" Does it have to be hilariously funny? Does it require many witty quotes? Does it need to be a certain length? I wasn't sure. In fact, I got to the point that I almost gave up my writing altogether- I thought, "No-one wants to read me, anyway!"

Then I realised something. I write because I love to write. There is no-one standing over me demanding I write a certain thing. I have no deadline. I am not constrained to write according to some other persons political slant. With no regard to who I must be for all those around me, when I write, I am the person who I wish to be within.

Will I ever be famous? I don't think so. Maybe one day, someone will quote an article of mine in a speech or a paper. Will I ever be rich? Probably not- though stranger things have happened. Will I ever dine with the political or business powers of the world? Highly unlikely, though, if we all adopted the attitude that "every man is my teacher," then maybe I could be called upon for a small nugget of truth that I have learned over my life.

Blogging is a release. A step away from the pressures of life to a little world of cybertronics, where words are used to provide an escape. Words that will provide a way of zoning out all other things- words and a keyboard. If you feel like your writing is a waste of time, think- does it do something for you? If so, don't ever give it up!

Financially Repeating

As I rode my bicycle to work the other morning at 3:00am, I could not help but notice that more and more businesses have begun advertising "wonderful," "unrepeatable," or "limited time only," deals that are "must have, can't live without," kind of things. Get in now, because there is only one left (on the shop floor- we won't worry about the ten sitting in the stock room). Easy qualifying hire purchase finance available.

That 50in flat screen t.v, the latest model Lexus, the very fine Moroccan Leather Lounge Suite that will go perfectly with your 1960's psychedelic wallpaper, all these must - have - now - things that yesterday we didn't even know about, but today we can't live without, are what shop owners are telling us gives our lives meaning.

Marketing campaigns have been designed to condition us into thinking that we must have all these new doo-dads (to quote one of my favorite authors, Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad), or our life may be inferior to that of the "Jones" family next door.

All this pushing to make the next sale, enticing people who are already over-stretched financially to take on just one more "easy monthly payment." How many more of these can we take before the "camels back" is once again very much broken?

The world is still suffering grave financial repercussions from over-lending to under earning households. It is unfortunate, but I can see a repeat of the struggles we have recently been facing. When those on low incomes (or even those on high incomes who can't control their money) get financed to the eye-balls and begin to default on their loans, finance companies will begin collapsing, again. Investors will loose out, again. People will be going bankrupt en-mass, again. A vicious cycle of collapse and try to rebuild will be repeated- all because of greed, and our "need" of instant gratification.

Please, next time you are tempted to go out and get that new thing you feel you must have, think long and hard about how you will pay for it. Stay out of trouble financially, and many of life's other difficulties won't even eventuate- take it from someone who has his own black hole to dig himself out of- it just isn't worth it!

23 weeks and 6 days

As I sit here an write this blog, I thank God for the fact that I have three perfectly healthy, vibrant, active, children. I cannot complain that they have any disabilities, or significant problems. I cannot say they were premature. I cannot say they may not survive the first few weeks of life.

I have friends that cannot say all that. A couple of days ago, the wife of a friend of mine, delivered their first child. They are now the proud parents of a little boy, weighing in at only 660grams. This child was born at only 23 weeks and 6 days- almost a world record (but not one that anyone really wants!)

With a long journey ahead, I can not even imagine what it is going to be like for these people. Four months- at least -of living (effectively) at the hospital. Four months of travelling every day. All that time wondering if the little one will survive. Dreading the thought of infection, or illness. Knowing that any little ailment could spell the end of their child's life. It is not a position I would wish upon my worst enemy.

As a parent of 3 perfectly healthy children, it is easy to take for granted the health and welfare of my own, but when something like this happens to someone in your own circle of acquaintance, it brings to life the real possibilities of what can happen. We are just thankful that all is well at this time.

Fireman Sam

There are times when I wish I had never heard of Television. There are times I wish I had never heard of fast food. There are times I wish I had never heard of anything that may contrive to entice any person into a sedentary, fat, lifestyle!

I have joined the local Volunteer Fire Brigade, and boy do I wish fitness had been my best subject at school! I am not yet qualified to actually go out and fight fire, but the training along the road to doing this can be pretty intense. Imagine yourself with hot, fire-retardant coveralls, an air tank on your back, breathing through the face mask- blind folded.

After imagining all that, place yourself in an old-fashioned (read dangerous by today's Health and Safety standards) primary school playground, crawling around the smallest gaps the instructors could find, up chain-link ladders (and down again), through Bannister rails the height and size of a five-year-old, following only a rope (remember, this is all with an air tank and blind fold on) through all this!

As intense as this all has felt, I know that it is as yet nothing compared to the week long basic training I will be doing in January. As tough as it is, I absolutely love it. I should have joined up years ago, and if I could afford the drop in pay, I'd join up full-time. There is something about riding the fire truck that just brings out the little boy in me!

The fire truck in the photo is the truck the volunteers use at my station. Its specialty is as a hose laying truck, meaning we carry about three times the amount of hose as an ordinary truck. We have everything else too, just less of it all!

To do, or Not To Do...

At different times in our lives, we must make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. Now, usually when we have such a major decision to make, we have a group of people with whom we confer to receive counsel, or for help with seeing "the big picture."

What happens then, when those to whom you would ordinarily turn to, are the very cause of the situation which brought about the need of the decision? Frustrating, right?

Every day. Every moment of every day, we make small decisions that gently mold us into who we are- what to eat, what to buy, when to go to bed, what car to drive... But then, on a much less frequent scale, we are faced with a decision that may potentially dump our world upon its head.

It is this type of decision I am faced with- but the answer I choose holds a great deal of consequence- not only for me, but for at least five other lives. I could just say "be damned! I'm going to do this...." but then I could really screw something up!

Once you get married, or enter a relationship of similar status, once you have children, life gains an enormous complexity that is just did not have previously. Do I do this? Do I do that? Until the right choice becomes clear, I guess I must muse upon the choices and pray I make the right one.

When the time comes to finalise my decision, I will let you know. Until then, I am just going to wait.

Spills, Thrills, and Fireworks!

Last night Baypark Speedway held its annual Guy Fawkes fireworks night, so I thought it would make a great night out for the family. The youngest we left with Grandma and Grandpa (somehow I didn't think a one year old would appreciate the noise of the cars, the very late night, and the lights of the fireworks- maybe next year for him), and my wife and I headed on over just as soon as I finished work.

I always do enjoy the racing, even videoed some of it last night. I was able to take some neat footage of a couple of races, but then Murphy's Law set in. You better believe it- a two year old and a three year old can only "hold on" for so long before disaster approaches! And with my wife being nine months pregnant, it was up to yours truly to facilitate toilet runs. You wouldn't believe it, as soon as the camcorder was off, a big pile up of saloon cars happened right in front of us- eh!

Venturing into the men's room with my little girl was an interesting experience. She was more interested in finding out what the urinal was than my three year old son! I received a few strange looks as I explained to her that this was how boys went wee wees when they are not at home. Hopefully her experience will not give her nightmares for life.

The second night of the Speedway season for 2009/2010 was much more successful from a spectators point of view than the first- meaning there were a few more spectacular crashes, fires, and general mayhem than the first week. One driver being taken away in an ambulance. In all seriousness, I trust the driver of that car is ok, and that it was just a precaution. If I find out otherwise, I will mention it here.

All in all, I was glad to have my family with me for an evening of great fun. Perhaps one day, if I can procure the right sponsorship, I may even be able to race a stock car of my own- a nice thought anyway!

My Condolences

To all those in the Samoan Communities- both here in New Zealand, and in the Devastated Country itself, I offer my most sincere sympathy to all those that have been affected by the earthquakes and tsunami.

I pray that you will be able to get through this and that the loss of life will not be excessive (a relative term as I think even one life lost is excessive). I know a number of people from the community, and my heart goes out to you all.

Be Strong, and rescue all that you can.

KiwiSaver Savings

Up until recently, I have been of the opinion that KiwiSaver was not for me. Not because I didn't think it necessary to save for my retirement- I think this is very important! But more the fact that I didn't want the government having anything to do with the investing of my money!

I thought that Mr. Cullen had devised a way to get his greedy little hands on my money to use at his whim (money other than the tax he was so willingly grabbing every week). I didn't like the idea that a government could risk my money, in a way that I was not willing to allow.

I have been enlightened.

I seems that, other than making sure the programme goes ahead, the government is taking a back seat. It does not invest the money, nor does it store up and use it. Quite simply, after it has come out of my wages, the government doesn't see it again! On the contrary, it is private firms, the one I choose to be precises, who direct the investing of those hard-earned dollars!

Anyway. All that to say this. If you are in KiwiSaver, or are not in but want to join, please consider FidelityLife to be your fund provider. A New Zealand owned company, FidelityLife offers a few little extras to make your KiwiSaver just that little bit better. But enough said on here- if you are even a little bit interested, please email me at jayceedistributors@gmail.com.

Peaceful Destruction

I am somwhat amused by the naive expectation of President Obama that there will ever be lasting peace in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Palestine. I am even more amused that he thinks he will be the one to bring about this peace. I wonder if he has looked into the history of this part of the world, and if so, did he just overlook the fact that they have effectively been at war (in one way or another) for thousands of years?

These two groups of people- Israeli's and Palestinians- have a bloodline stemming from the very same person. Two nationalities, one Patriarch. Both of these peoples feel they have the exclusive right to the Fertile Crescent. Both of them believe the other should be destroyed. Both of them will not give up. What President Obama fails to see, is that, this feud is far greater than Gaza. It is more far-reaching than one presidency, than one man, than even the world!

Many US Presidents have tried to bring about peace in the Middle East (some of them far better men, both politically and spiritually, than Mr. Obama), but all have failed. This in not going to change, not without divine intervention- and this is coming. Maybe, instead of trying to fix the world, the Obama Administration should focus on trying to fix America.

Mr. Obama's speech to the UN General Assembly was very insistent on this peace thing. I fail to see how this peace is going to become either a reality, or a good thing. I don't like war, but somehow I think that war helps to keep our world balanced. If we achieved a truly world wide peace, I believe the only logical next step would be world wide destruction.

Mr. Obama, please work on fixing your own country before trying to fix the rest of the world.

Dismal Day

Proud to be a supporter of the All Blacks? Not likely.

It was an unusual event for me- to actually watch a rugby game. I didn't do it on purpose- I was at work during a quiet period, and just watched what everyone else was watching. How disappointing! I would have been better off reading the phonebook- I'd have gotten more out of it.

Dropped balls, knock-ons, hand-overs, intercepts, stupid decisions. Just a few of the mistakes that I could see- and I don't even watch the game. The performance of the All Blacks against South Africa during Saturdays game was pathetic. Makes me glad to be Australian! It would have been heart-breaking for any dyed in the wool supporter who can see nothing but black.

The commercialisation of Rugby has been its downfall. If we could go back to the days of part-time players, if we could have them work a job as well as play the game, then maybe the passion would be at the right place. Take away the money, make it an honour to play for the country, and get on with the game.

I feel that the country would be better off without such an emphasis on the sport. We need to set better priorities, sport is great- but it is not the be all and end all of life.

Naive or Just Plain Stupid?

"I'm a hottie"; "Available"; "I want it now"; "Call Me"; and "I'm Waiting".

Looking at this list of phrases, you could be forgiven for thinking that it came from a filthy magazine, advertising a bunch of down and out prostitutes. However, sadly, this list of phrases did not come from a book- I wish it had. This list did in fact, come directly off the tee-shirts I have seen many of our nation's little girls wearing.

Maybe I am a little naive. Maybe this is ok. Just maybe it's normal for seven, eight, and nine year old girls to be advertising themselves to the boys and men of our society as available for sex. Maybe, as parents, we no longer have a responsibility to our children to protect them from the predators that are out there looking for an excuse prey on one of these precious young children.

How stupid can a parent or caregiver be? "It's their right to wear what they want." Rubbish! I have a daughter of my own, and Hell would freeze over before she wore anything remotely like this, while she lives under my roof. We are teaching our children that it's ok to be sexually and morally loose, right from the word go. Not only does it condition our little girls to think it's normal to be that way, it also enables our boys and young men to think that any young girls is an available target, and she "wants it"- it said so on her tee-shirt.

Maybe I'm just being too old fashioned. Maybe it is ok to be sexually promiscuous, without any shame at all. Or maybe it's time some people stood up and declared they would not go that way. Maybe we could pull our nation out of the depths of despair by some people deciding they were going to look at the way we were a century ago, and work at getting our moral standards back to that. Maybe there is no hope.

Do We Need a Stand Alone Holiday for Matariki?

As an employee, the fact that the idea of another public holiday being introduced is entirely satisfying! I don't know of anyone who wouldn't love to have another paid day off, putting their feet up, and just raking in the free money. Employees in New Zealand work hard, and deserve another public holiday, right?



No. It seems incredible that there are people who feel we don't already have enough time off. I can't really grasp how these people think, and I don't see this move (if it were made law) helping our economy at all, and the impact on business seems to be irrelevant to many! Without a doubt, there are many small to medium businesses who will be on their knees, begging God to not allow this to go through!



Sometimes people get an idea in their head, start running with it, and then realise they haven't actually thought through the consequences. However, once they realise it's not going to work, they feel they need to follow it through in order to try to save face. How unfortunate.



There have been suggestions that we replace one of our current public holidays with one to celebrate Matariki. Why? Is it really that necessary? Why not combine the celebrations of Matariki with those of another, already existent public holiday? This feels to me like someone in government trying to create something simply to be creating something.



I personally don't see the need, or particularly want another public holiday, nor do I want to see one that we already have replaced. I like it the way it is. Any more holidays will result in unnecessary pressure placed on the already stretched resources of New Zealand business, and my preference would be to not replace one of our existing holidays!

What do you think? Feel free to let me know by adding a comment!

How much welfare is too much?

Phil Goff, Leader of the New Zealand Labor Party, has suggested the New Zealand Government should do away with means testing on welfare benefits, during the current recession. This would allow people who have a partner who is working to still go ahead and draw a benefit. This, to some extent, would alleviate the financial struggle many families are experiencing. However, I expect this would only cause problems in other areas.

The ready availability of welfare support in New Zealand is not necessarily a bad thing. There are times when a person or family is genuinely in strife, and need a temporary hand up. These are people who would prefer to be working, but for one reason or another, cannot. This happens at times, and I am glad that this safety net is there!

There are other people, people who do not take such a view of the benefit. Every so often you get someone who is determined to live perpetually by grabbing the hard earned tax money of decent New Zealander's. Not only would the proposed policy provide ample opportunity for those who would to take undue advantage of the system, it would also place extreme stress on the financial well being of the entire country!

It is a relief to hear, therefore, that the government has decided not to even entertain the idea. It makes you think that their may be some people in the Beehive that actually exercise the muscle ensconced inside their skull!

A Sure Bet

There aren't too many things in this life that are sure. You've got death and taxes, and that's about it! So when I heard my colleagues at work emphatically stating that the All Blacks could not win in Saturday's test against the Wallabies, all I could do was smile and nod.

"The All Blacks can't win, not with their line up!" was the catch cry. "A sure bet" was another line. For several days there was talk on pretty well nothing else, just the All Blacks and their certain defeat. Not once did anyone suggest another outcome- no one seemed to believe it possible that the Wallabies would be beaten! The work social club even went so far as to withdraw their savings to enter a syndicate, betting their monies on this "sure bet."

Sadly for them, the "sure bet" did not turn out to be quite so "sure!" I do not gamble. I have found it to be a past time with no real future, a waste of time and money. Sure, some people make a few buck here and there, many fewer take a big win, but in the long run, the House always wins. I guarantee- if you keep your money in your pocket, you'll win every time!

Death and Taxes- the ONLY sure bet.

Pardon Me?

With the prison population in New Zealand at an all time high, it has been said that we need to find ways to reduce, not only the current population, but also the new and recidivist offenders.

I personally have no problem with any of these opinions. At least, not until you hear how it has been proposed we do this!

First of all, we have New Zealands Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias recommending our justice system let go early all those that do not need to be inside.

Secondly, Howard League for Penal Reform president Peter Williams, QC starts telling us that "there are a large amount of people in our prisons who don't need to be in prison,"

I can but ask, If they don't need to be in prison, why were they sent there? It seems ludicrous to me to start suggesting we let prisoners go because they don't need to be there! Surely, if they didn't need to be there, they wouldn't be there.

I have a simple solution to our prisons over-crowding problem. My promise is not that it will change things over-night, but simply in the long run, we will see many fewer people itching to get themselves cast into the merciful hands of our justice system!

The following is a short list of changes I propose will help our justice system solve the prison population explosion:

1. Remove all the room comforts our prisoners get. Eg: underfloor heating, airconditioning, television, etc. Many homes of law-abiding citizens don't have these luxuries, yet their tax money pays for the scum of our country to enjoy these very things.
   
2. Cause all prisoners to work long, hard, days, no matter the weather. Get them out cleaning up graffiti, picking up rubbish, tidying council gardens, breaking rocks on a chain gang, whatever, just make them work! Without pay.
   
3. Make every prisoner work for and earn a degree or trade, so that upon release, they are actually useful to the community. However, I do not agree with the current practice of giving them these qualifications for free! Make them take out a student loan- if the honest people in this country must pay to learn, so should they.
   
4. Reinstate Capital Punishment. I am a proponent of the Death Penalty in relation to certain crimes (murder, pedo-phillia, and some other seriously violent crimes). I must state, though, that I believe it should only be used in cases where it is proven the criminal is guilty- without any doubt what-so-ever.

This list of things to do will not fix the country's problem overnight, neither will it remove the problem altogether on its own, but it is a start that will make a gigantic impact on the prison population levels.

Neither releasing prisoners early, nor keeping them out of jail in the first place is going to help our country. All that will do is lead to far greater offending rates as people see how easy they can get away with their crime. Tougher penalties, tougher surroundings, and a tougher life is what is going to turn people from a life of crime!