Garbage Warrior

The movie I saw last night was Garage Warrior.... amazing film, by Oliver Hodge, about a 'sustainable futures' architect, called Micheal Reynolds, who has been experimenting with self sustainable housing design in New Mexico for 30 or so years.

He has designed and been part of the building of "earthships" and earth ship communities in a place called Taos in New Mexico (which looks like a dry godforsakenly wretched barren place to me!).


At the end of the 90s he was stripped of his architectual license because experiemental housing does not fit in with the codes, rules and regulations in most places. He then spent 8 or so years trying to get a bill passed in New Mexico to allow people to create and experiment with new sustainble housing concepts on test sites (we test all sorts of other things like BOMBS.. so why not housing...) his houses are great - they need no power or sewage or water lines. They incorporate greenhouse features to grow a range of vegetables and fruit.


His designs are very popular in other places in the world and after the tsunami he was asked to go and help people rebuild sustainable housing - also in places hit by hurricanes.

When the architectual board in the US saw the work he had done for the boxing day tsunami people they gave him back his license and soon after that the bill passed in his state to allow sustainable housing testing.

He builds the houses with earth packed tyres, earth and plastic bottles and beer cans. They are amazing structures (although some are pretty 'ugly' I guess as they are free form structures and very unconventional).
You can check out the website and watch the trailer here

I am seriously considering sending him a wee thankyou card after watching the frustration and resilience he showed through the whole process of dealing with the senate over the experimental housing bill in New Mexico. GOODNESS!

Truth is Irrelevant

The more I live life the more I lean towards truth being irrelevant.
Perception is all important and it is an individual thing.

Something that is true for me exists as truth in my perception.
You can have a totally different perception that can still be true to you at the same time my totally different and seemingly contradictory truth is true for me.
I think it is cool when people argue that their perception of truth is truth because then these two or more different truths exist simultaneously.
I like to live in a world where simultaneous truths exist. I don't think one person's truth means another person's truth is not true! If it is the perception they are living by it is certainly true for them!

Facts are human perception of truth and not the truth itself.

I think (without having spent too much time thunking on it) that even science doesn't prove real truth. It concludes a best guess at truth based on the knowledge and technology of the humans percieving it. Many of the things science is not able to prove currently are because we as perceiving humans have yet to invent the knowledge, method or technology to perceive it. That does not prove something is not true. When we create new technology (eg: better microscopes or whatever) a new "truth" emerges.

"All roads lead to Rome" and I believe sciences and religions are some of those roads that will lead people, via their own perceptions, to the same destination.

This is my truth.
If it differs from your truth that just proves my truth *winks*

TEOTWAWKI* or Why the World WON'T End on Sept 10 - you decide

I must admit I have been surprised lately that surprizingly few people are talking about the imminent impending doom that could happen, rather inauspiciously, next Wednesday.

Bigger than tax increases, bigger than inflation, bigger than world food shortages, bigger than Ben Hur (and the Titanic), and even bigger than *gasp* ‘global warming’.

What could be bigger than global warming I hear you ask…

how about NO GLOBE at all!!


Next week scientists, in an underground lab in Switzerland, will switch on a machine that has been created with the involvement and funding of 85 countries, 8000 scientists and bas been 20 years in the making - namely the large hadron collider (LHC)... a massive atom smasher designed to recreate the big bang, (the moment when the earth was formed).

You can perhaps forgive some people for thinking this will create a massive black hole that will swallow the earth and trying various methods to stop it (which failed, obviously).

In light of this some people are pretty worried.. what do you think?

Personally, I am so distractingly awed looking at this picture by it's scientific symmetrical beauty I am not really compelled to think of the impended doom part right now

You can find out more info on these links
Wiki’s LHC page
LHC set to start a big bang of scientific discovery

Tests clear way for "Big Bang" experiment

So, it's TEOTWAWKI .... and I feel fine....

* TEOTWAWKI = the end of the world as we know it....

You are what you eat....

These days Shine is extremely aware and, in fact, wary of what she consumes (and generally what she buys and uses, truth be told). I seek out and purchase organic or free-range produce where I can, fully scrutinize labels and research products online.
One could certainly not make a solid claim that I am one of the masses living in apathy and denial that just because someone is allowed to sell it/buy it then it must be good for you (or even ok for you for that matter).
However there are certain things that one knows are just horrid but one finds it rather hard to resist them at every juncture.
One of these things is the good old humble meat pie.

A piping hot, readily available traditional NZ meal on the run.
Behold; The Pie.



When I was young I liked pies but they were easier to avoid then because the majority of them had PEAS in them. Now days I like peas but that is mostly because I can cook them how I like and how I don't like them is steamed-to-crap* all day in a boiling hot pie until they are mushy and bring to mind the texture of perished elastic.

These days most pies I happen to encounter at most junctures do not contain peas.

Most of us think of pies as gloriously lush meaty goodness encased in delicious pastry and feel very little inclination (in an ignorance-is-bliss kinda way) to limit one's consumption of said (alleged!) meaty goodness.
Some of us are more educated (ie: not in denial) and are fully conscious of the fact that pies probably (in the very least) contain at least a golf ball of fatty lard per hand sized pie (and know that this does not include the pastry...) *drool*
And some of us (and when I say us here I actually mean me) are not apathetic to the wily and consumeristic nature of the business world and have an inkling that there is much darker business at hand than this and generally like to not dwell on this as we know if we did we would eat them even less than we already sensibly do (or don't as the case may be!).

Well... for the sake of an interesting blog entry I must dwell and you should listen.

In the olden days, pies and sausages and such were actually made with up to 85% MEAT, with some bread crumbs and herbs and such thrown in. Now days these kind of pies and sausages are more for the high end market and the general everyday mass produced pie are made very differently.
Excuse the pun but I am not going to MINCE words here... in NZ and Aussie, for a meat pie to be a meat pie it must only contain 25% of actual MEAT and (it should be more disturbing to note) the species of animal from which the meat is derived must be identified in the ingredients list (the reason for adding this wee snippet will become clearer down further...).
This in itself is quite a thought when one thunks on it but it is actually (and rather sickeningly) not the worst of it and not even the worst of it when you find out that most pies actually don't even have THAT much meat.
Tests have been done and consumer watch dogs are monitoring pies and weighing and recording the MEAT content of MEAT pies down under.

Yes. I did say that was not the worst of it... I am compelled (and I do not apologise!) to put this thought in your head...
There is the horrible and quite disgustifying fact that the vitally critical and important factor here (and if you are determined to continue enjoying your MEAT PIE treats please look away RIGHT NOW) is that the very DEFINITION OF MEAT needs to also be pondered upon and considered!

AND I AM NOT JOKING.

If you are an in-denial-pie-eater and you have gone as far as to accept the fact that pies contain at least a golf ball of fat and still indulge yourself every now and then accepting consequences and such, please keep in mind that you would not be silly to assume that the very least percentage of the MEAT in the food industry's definition of meat** (which the pie makers, who are, after all, out to make money NOT actually provide you with a good wholesome healthy nutritional meal) is actually the thing YOU consider to be >>MEAT<<.

NB: This is so much of a concern that currently there is an application before the food standards board of Australia to amend the Definition of Meat Pies "to ensure that meat pies can only contain ‘meat flesh’ and not just ‘meat’."
This is obviously one of those tough issues to resolve (bringing to my mind the similar but on a vastly more grand and sinister scale issue of the sugar industry conspiracy) because the application is dated as being received Sept 2003...


* steamed-to-crap is not at all swearing and is, in fact, a technical culinary term...

**meat means the whole or part of the carcass (the whole carcass including, you know... BITS) of any buffalo, camel, (CAMEL!!!!!!!) cattle, deer, goat, hare, pig, poultry, rabbit or sheep, slaughtered other than in a wild state, but (thankfully...) does not include –

(a) the whole or part of the carcass of any other animal (umm... after reading that I am too flabbergasted to actually call to mind ANY other animal...) unless permitted for human consumption under a law of a State, Territory or New Zealand; or
(b) avian eggs, or fetuses or part of fetuses.


errr... pie anyone? (you can have mine!!!)

Bedtime and The Socks

I like that feeling after you have been in bed for a while, then you take off your socks.

Conglomeration Is Bad

(Part of the retro blog recovery series...also posted at original retro date July 15th, 2007)

So… it’s been a while - believe me, I know it has and it grates on me, but here I am.

I was talking this evening, with someone more definitely worthwhile talking to, about the latest Pixar release. The details of that part of the conversation is not pertinent at this juncture, but what popped up during that, is.

Pixar was a little fish. Pixar was eaten by The Big Fish; Disney.

Now there are some, quite seemingly, valid arguements to make this actually a good idea. Almost, actually quite possibly, a case where the small fish steers the big fish in a positive direction. But I don’t care, on principal.

What got me ranting today was when I found out that Pixar/Disney has now gobbled up another smaller fish; Zemeckis’ CGI house “Imagemovers”.

I don’t like conglomerates. Conglomerates are bad.

The argument was made to me that Lasseter wanted to aquire some talent because he needs more people and I am not at all denying that is the case but I don’t care. And I don’t care in a 'quite frankly' kinda way.

Conglomerates are bad. And here is why.

Because mediocrity sucks.

Conglomeration is how everything gets sucked into being the same. It is how one person/mindset gets to own everything and everything we get is a filtered down version of the same one mindset. What they like, what they believe in, what they think is ok for us to see. It is how great shows like Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip get canned after one season.

Conglomeration is how The Big Fish gets to eat all the little fish and the uniquely special parts of the little fish are disseminated and filtered through to become just parts of the big fish and the small fish is no longer around to be appreciated and compared to other fish and the big fish gets all the credit for those little tiny sparkly bits that were much bigger on the small fish and quite unexpectedly beautiful.

Do you know what the land does? What the wind and erosion and the rivers and the rain do? The ultimate goal of those processes is to smooth out the land. To remove the variations and this is what I am talking about here.

Conglomeration is what wrecked Route 66. It is the antithesis of “variety being the spice of life”. There is a reason that saying was invented you know! Because variety is good and great and just and supports our growth and development as people.
Conglomeration is the creation of mediocrity.
Conglomeration is mediocrity.

A mediocre man is always at his best.

And that is BAD.

Conglomerates suck
on principal
I don’t care that I love Pixar.
racism sucks too and I don’t think any individual racism is ok even if it serves a good purpose.

mass controlling and buying up and driving towards mediocrity is bad.
mediocrity is bad

Ego and the Attachment to the Perception of Others

For your own sanity you must give up this ego need to understand people.
You can't ever really understand the thoughts and motivations of others and you don't need to.
Heck - I have enough trouble working out and understanding my own motivations a lot of the time - let alone trusting that someone else has any sort of honest concept about why they do what they do.

You don't need to understand people.... you just need to be you.
Other people's crap is their own and not something that is your responsibility or that you need to understand.
If you can manage to react to and approach everything that comes your way from a foundation of good intention that is the very bestest thing you can do.
Give up that struggle to understand others.
Release yourself from that task.
Give responsibility for other people's stuff back to other people. It's not yours.
You really are of no real good to anyone else if you are no good to yourself and that is only a decision away.
I say this in an EMPOWERING way - the only thing you can control in this world is you and your reaction to the stuff that happens.

Sometimes when you are in a place in your life where you are ready to move forward into something more than you have experienced - that can feel like a struggle when the people we are attached to are not moving or at least not going in the same direction.
Sometimes moving forward can mean you need to let go in order for the things that are trying to get into your life, and make it less of a struggle, can come in.
It's challenging but there are always choices - (sitting on the fence is one by the way and if that works for someone and makes them feel fulfilled and at peace, then it's valid and where they are meant to be for the time being).

Some things to remember
What other people think is none of your business
What other people think OF YOU is none of your business.
You can't control it, so give up living your life trying to. People are gonna think what they want no matter what you do because - and this is the imporant part to under stand - what they think of you (and the things you do) has NOTHING to do with you or the things you do!
The way people perceive things is based on their own emotional baggage and past experiences.

You can't be the you who you are meant to be when you are busy trying to be what you want other people to think you are.

Changing Consciousness

I was at a seminar on Friday where a panel of local people (MPs, local government, business, “green teens”) spoke on the question “What does a sustainable future look like?”
It was an interesting thing to listen to – as what seemed to emerge out of all the different people’s comments was the need for a change in the way ‘we’ (as a collective modern western society kind of entity) think. A change in the very nature of what we habitually do, what we hold important, what we strive for.
It made me think about how there is a growing movement around the world of people that believe there will be some sort of an “event” near the end of 2012 (some even narrow this down to Dec 21 2012, in conjunction with what equates to the final entry of the Mayan calendar). Some people believe this will be heralded by calamity – a huge series of natural disasters that will devastate the entire infrastructure of the modern ‘western’ world – a situation many of them refer to (somewhat ironically in my opinion) as a “reboot”. Some of these people believe that this event is actually about a shift in consciousness.
I have been pondering what important components of this consciousness shift might be or rather, what I would hope they might be.
So far I have loosely come up with;
• becoming more mindful of why we think what we think and do what we do
• living more meaningfully
• practising what you preach/being the change you want to see
• sharing more of self (ideas, believes, actions) in local community


On deeper delving I have come up with the following.
This consciousness shift is something humans are capable of.
I think the general (and increasing) lack of this now is easily attributed to the society we have created for ourselves in the modern world**. In a culture where money and stuff is the measure of success it PAYS to complain, take things personally, be defensive and/or aggressive and have almost a victim attitude. It does not pay, in that materialistic way, to be compassionate and forgiving to those people you judge to have transgressed against you. You can sue, you can be recompensed, you can get newspaper articles written about you and get a gang of followers supporting you with an atmosphere of "poor you" further perpetuating your disempowerment and literally keeping you down.
This, in my opinion, tends to be a negative way to live, the way most people do it (which is in that disempowered victim type way and not the positive empowered standing up for your own rights way).
Perhaps this is one of the options for the consciousness shift - coming to terms with this balance between standing up for your rights/being compassionate to the motivations of others (positive) and whinging about everything that seems unfair and taking everything as a personal attack (negative).
I see it even here on this website and of course it is a natural normal human reaction and if that is where you are in your personal development and you are happy and content to be that way, that's fine and dandy (and normal) - we do what we know how to do and when we know better, we do better - and this is what we are discussing here - the opportunity to transcend the natural normal human reactions and utilise the new abilities that evolution has brought to this human creature. Mindfully becoming more than we have been before and are now.
This is the new evolution.

Feeling empowered and positive is a far more energy efficient way to live than having a negative, poor-me, everyone-is-against-me, look-it's-happened-to-me-again, oh-I can't-do-that-coz-I’ve-got-< insert condition here> attitude.

The human being is equally able to choose to take a positive compassionate attitude as they are to choose a negative attitude. I know which one puts a genuine sincere smile on my face and gives me more energy and motivation to get out in the world spreading the love and being of meaningful use to others.

And that is what it is... a choice - meaning that YOU are in control of you, learn to be worthy of that and live up to all that it means.
I would like to see more people choosing the positive on a more consistent basis and in the very least take a NEUTRAL stance, if you can't assume the positive at least do yourself a favour and don't assume the negative.
If you perceive someone is being an arse to you
* firstly, remember that that IS your perception and it could well be that they aren't even talking about you and it's just your ego and perceptions of your self that make the cap fit (so to speak)
* secondly, detach yourself from you ego and actually look at what they have said and see if it has any merit or is even an attack and not just a comment of fact that you have taken a dislike to because of your own emotional baggage (something helpful here coudl be - does this situation occur with other people, is it a familiar thing that always seems to happen to you whereever you go?)
* thirdly, if they are in fact, without a doubt, abusing you, that's THEIR problem and, of course, says screes about them and has nothing to do with you personally (especially in the anonymous environment of the internet!) and don’t let yourself be drawn in to it (don't dignify it with a response).

What people believe about you is their business.

Please use your power to choose.



**This 'modern world' humans have created (the 'developed" world) is like most human led schemes - it was not well thought out for the long term and to quite a degree indulged the percieved wants and needs of the people with the power rather than the people with the appropriate intelligence.
(eg: one such scheme is european colonisation of New Zealand - a very unique ecosystem dominated by birds with only ONE kind of terrestrial mammal (teeny insect eating bats who prefer to scurry on the ground than fly) and birds who have evolved many mammalian traits and fill the niches that mammals do in other places. This influx of people led to the introduction of many mammal species that have devastated our environment. One of the things these european settlers thought was a good idea was to introduce possums to start a fur trade. Possums directly compete with our native birds for food and also eat eggs and females birds on the nest and have led to the local extinction of many native plants and creatures. Another 'bright idea' not well thought out was the introduction of stoats with the intention that they would eat all the rats. No one bothered to think from the stoat's point of view... why on earth would they bother to chase agile wily fast rats around when there was a wealth of flightless birds who's idea of defence was to freeze and camoflage.... but I digress!!!)
We really strived to create this modern 'western' society where we have all this stuff but we have not thought throughand put processes in place to constructively and purposely utlise the benefits this modern world has created for us and do in in a sustainable way that will leave the world in a better state than we found it.

Bip Bippadotta

fat
cat
sat
hat
fat fat fat
cat cat cat
sat sat sat
hat hat hat

A fat cat sat on a hat, saw a rat on the mat, got a bat, had a chat with a gnat that he'd pat in a vat that was flat, oh yeah!
oh yeah...
sorry about that

small
ball
tall
wall
small small small
ball ball ball
tall tall tall
wall wall wall


see a small ball on a tall wall see it fall in a hall see it crawl give it's all and call hi y'all! see it stall, wear a shawl oh yeah!
oh yeah...

red
head
fed
bread
red red red
head head head
fed fed fed
bread bread bread

see a red head being fed bread on his sled made of led as he speed to be wed he fled instead out ahead up to Ted in his bed and he said

Red, head, fed, bread
Small, ball, tall, wall
Fat, cat, sat, hat
And that's that!

SCAT!

We Like The Moon

This post has been brought to you by "dredging up the past" productions *giggles*

Caution....

ORANGE RIBBON Campaign

NZ Friends of Tibet are launching the Orange Ribbon campaign here tonight - 08/08/08 to remind China that we have not forgotten the illegal occupation of Tibet while China enjoys world attention from the Olympics.

“Light Candle4tibet and wearing of Orange Ribbon on Friday and during the term of the Olympics are reminders that, all is not as harmonious as China is promoting, and that the people of Tibet will not be forgotten “ said Thuten Kesang, the Chairman of Friends of Tibet (NZ)."

Early this evening I will be wearing orange, lighting a candle and attending this talk

Life in Tibet Today with Amnyi Trulchung Rinpoche
Rinpoche will give an up to date account of the current situation in Tibet, the progress and changes that all Tibetans face in the modernising Republic of China and how it affects the Tibetan people across the country. Ju Mohor Monastery, Rinpoche’s spiritual home, is situated in the upper reaches of the Dzachuka Valley, Sichuan Province close to the recent earthquakes. He will talk of the Vista Project which is helping young Tibetans retrain to support themselves in a changing world.

I will not be watching the olympics.

The Olympic Handshake -"With this handshake, we reach out to one another as citizens round the world in the Olympic spirit of friendship and excellence, committing to hold all our governments to a higher standard of peace, justice and respect for human dignity wherever they fall short – be it in Tibet, Iraq, Burma or beyond. Dialogue is the best way forward,
for China, and the world."

08 08 08

8 is my favourite number.
I remember the 8th of the 8th '88 and I remember it being a special day for me.

Tomorrow I plan on having an especially amazing day!

Below one of my fav 8 logos...the space programme ROCKED.




Jackson Pollock's number 8





You can bet I am gonna be watchign a bunch of antique sesame street tomorrow because antique sesame street makes me happy!

"My Penguin Is Filthy!"

well... he is!!!! Just check out his flipper!




People look at you funny when you suddenly realise such things and are so shocked you blurt out that kind of sentence in public, by the way.

nothing will ever be the same again...

this evening

I
M A D E
C H E E S E ! ! !


I feel like Chuck Noland in Castaway when he made fire...


Below is what I did and to be fair, it was MUCH easier than making fire (sorry, Chuck) and I am surprised, being the huge cheese addict I am, that I have not tried it before...

1. Place one cup of milk in the saucepan, slowly bringing the milk to a boil while stirring constantly.
2. Turn off when it boils, leave it on element and stir in two teaspoons of vinegar - leave to sit for 5 to 10 mins
3. Put curds and whey onto paper towel (tuffy works just as well as cheesecloth or hanky!) and press, squish, squeeze to get as much of the moisture out as you can (I used a few paper towels)
4. Open cloth and add some salt, mix it in and squish moisture out again
5. Form into shape you want, put in mould or cling wrap and put in fridge for a while

Things That Are Important

yeah there was an eclipse, the whole water on mars thing has been confirmed, nasty storms hit my town (and the rest of NZ!), a farmer had a double arm transplant, someone is paying 14million dollars to be first to publish jolie-pitt baby pics, live fish were found at record depths, California had a pretty good sized quake, jesus' face was seen in cat fur, and Sir Richard Branson unvieled his space plane

But... instead of all that - go play with this!!!
(my fav is classic)

There Are No Bad Things

This is a statement I believe - and as with all beliefs, putting them into practise does not always go smoothly. I think it is the developing of beliefs and the putting them into practise, that make up the important part of our life.

Of things that happen to you, there are no bad things and conversely, no good things either - just things.
I know this to be true as I have observed many of the same things happen to different people and result in very different reactions. Meaning that it is the internal workings of the person that change a thing that happens into a bad thing or a good thing - not the thing itself.
For myself I know that in different parts of my life the same things have happened to me and *I* have reacted very differently.
Take the last few days for me, for example.
I have had some things happen - more than usual and although I know from my beliefs these are just things - in the very least they were extreme in the ups and downs department. The single most personally devastating conversation with a person of long standing importance in my life, meeting and shaking the hand of our prime minister, a hearing test confirming significant hearing loss in my right ear, a stressful situation at work, an astounding opening of a Tibetan photography exhibition, and a beautiful meditation class.
There are no bad things or good things - just things, and our reaction to them.
Some people when presented with things that happen see a pile of nasty sour lemons and screw their faces up and complain, other people, when presented with the same things see the opportuntity to make themselves lemonade and others take that lemonade and give it to their family and friends - others still take the lemonade and share it with everyone.
The things I listed are all just things. In the past I would have crumbled and been resentful of the world and miserable. Now days I am more contemplative. I am selfreflective about the feelings that arise for me. I ponder. Most of all I am grateful. I inwardly say thankyou for all things and the insights they bring me about myself. Just as I allowed myself to feel pride that I had worked hard to be in a position to meet our prime minister and I smiled, I also felt sad and wept for the devastating conversation.
I am grateful for both experiences and the opportunites they give me for personal growth.

There are no bad things or good things that happen - just things that happen.
We live in a world and it is the nature of this dynamic living wonderful world that things happen.

Things happen.

I think that to label them as bad or good sets up an environment where it is possible to fall into the trap of being judgemental and assigning blame. This thinking makes it easy to be unhappy and feel overwhelmed with the fact you cannot control things that happen.
You cannot control things that happen. You can waste a lot of energy and time trying.
You cannot control things that happen. You cannot control how people will react to things that happen and you cannot control how anyone thinks.
You can only control yourself, your thoughts and your reactions.

There are no bad things or good things that happen - just things. You are not responsible for the things that happen. They are not in your control. You are responsible for your actions and reactions. These you can control.

Do we always react, think, do the wise, sensible, responsible action, thought, reaction?
No. Because we are imperfect beings, humans, in this life to experience what the universe has for us to learn. We do the best we know how to do and when we know better, we do better.
Do not be so hard on yourself for your percieved mistakes. Learn from them, don't be ashamed. Give yourself some credit where it's due, be kind and forgiving to yourself. If we were perfect we would be elsewhere.
Life on Earth is about trial and error, experiments, having a go, adventure - adapting to what comes.
Making the most of the things that happen.

Enjoy it.
And say thankyou.

Human Ego vs The White Whale

Found this article today on the BBC news page. At first it’s innocuous enough but then some things are said that just, quite frankly, p*** me off.

New white whale spotted

"A new white humpback has been sighted off Byron Bay on the east coast of Australia.

The newcomer, which was filmed by a television news helicopter, has excited marine scientists who think it may be related to Migaloo - to date, the only known all-white humpback whale.

Migaloo is somewhat of a celebrity down under. Why? "Because as far as we know, he is globally unique," said Professor Peter Harrison from the Whale Research Centre, Southern Cross University.

It now seems that Migaloo, (whose Aboriginal name means "white fellow") might have competition."


The last line there is the kind of thing that exasperates me about the most journalism and reporting. The competition they are referring to is for the media spotlight. Migaloo has been a ratings boon for various reporters and news sites and tv stations since he was first sighted by people. I can understand it.. I find him as interesting as all get out and I already LOVED humpback whales. But seriously… the whales don’t even have a perception of the media reporting on them other than the annoying fact that almost every time they come up for air in Aussie waters some helicopter or another is buzzing over them or some boat is polluting their sound reception systems with unimaginably annoying frequencies of noise.
The competition they are referring to is of their own creation and if they had a splattering of anything other than creating more money for themselves they would not make such statements.

Although predominantly white, the new whale does have some black markings near its head and tail. So who is the newcomer?

A white calf was spotted with a normal humpback mother in Byron Bay two years ago. Experts say the new whale could be the offspring of Migaloo but further tests need to be carried out.


This last sentence makes me cross at the “scientists”. Further tests NEED to be carried out??? Who are you kidding? Leave the whites whales alone! You are creating a reason to hunt, chase, SAMPLE these creatures for the satisfaction of your own human ego selves. If you need something to do go and create a humane instant kill system and give it to the Japanese. THAT is something that will help the whales in the here and now.

There is a bit more article so click the article title above to check it out if you want.
Sites about migaloo www.migaloowhale.com, wiki and Migaloo's aussie site (note the term MARKETING at the top of the page *sigh*)

"This is how we love, Buddha-style:

impartial to all, free from excessive attachment or false hope and expectation;
accepting, tolerant, and forgiving."
Lama Surya Das, “A Buddhist Valentine"

some people label this avoidance.


I thought I had more to say on that... turns out I don't.

The Mexican Medium and My Wasted Data Allowance

i missed ep one of season four of medium last week coz i went out to the science lecture in such a rush I forgot to turn on the recorder... so i have been driving myself nuts to get this torrent of it downloaded
Have been on limited browsing for days to try and get the torrent download finished
Stayed up late to wait for it just now (because some one was leeching it off me and i didn't want that to go on all night because it uses up my data allowance for the month)
It has been creeping in soooOOOOooOooOOooOoO slowly (av 1.5kbs)
It just finished
So i open it, straight away to watch and it is a really great quality clip!!!


except it is in mexican...