Decision making - 2

'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.' Proverbs16:3 NIV

Here are two important things to remember when you're making an important decision: (1) Believe that God is directing your steps. Because He is! 'The Lord directs the steps of the godly...Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand' (Psalm 37:23-24 NLT). God didn't say you wouldn't stumble. He just promised to pick you up, dust you off, correct you when you need it, and keep working with you. JI Packer says: 'A moment of conscious triumph makes one feel that after this, nothing will really matter; a moment of...disaster makes one feel like this is the end of everything. But neither feeling is realistic, because neither event is really what it's felt to be.' So don't get bent out of shape; by God's grace you'll handle it and come out wiser. 

(2) Realise that God can bring good out of bad situations. 'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them' (Romans 8:28 NLT). In every success story you'll find struggles and setbacks. And you'll also find tenacious faith that refuses to give up. After listing a series of adversities that would make your worst day seem like 'a trip to the beach', Paul writes: '...None of these things move me...' (Acts 20:24 KJV). Where does such an attitude come from? It comes from knowing that God is working in you, He's working with you, and He's working through you. And as Ethel Waters used to say, 'My God don't sponsor no flops!'

I am so tired. It has been a long day.

It was lovely to arrive back home late this afternoon and plonk my rain soaked self down with a hot drink in front of the Olympics. The gymnastics are my favourite part of the Olympics. I love every event. Every event except the balance beam.

I was a gymnast as a kid. I do not have fond memories of the balance beam. In fact i can still feel the pain of landing on my crotch every single time i watch one of those gymnasts do a flip on that evil, evil beam.

Watching them this afternoon caused my blood pressure and my stress levels to rise.

Amen to this

Kerre Woodham | Save sympathy for the twins

Good on Campbell Live for getting an interview with Macsyna King on the day coroner Garry Evans' report came out into the deaths of her twins, Chris and Cru. 

The report in effect blamed Macsyna's former partner and the father of the twins for the death of the babies - but given that Chris Kahui has been tried and acquitted for the murder of his twins, it seems likely that yet again in this country no one will be held accountable. 

Macsyna spoke very well in the interview but towards the end, the poor me's started to get on my nerves. 

Sure, she may not have inflicted the fatal injuries on her twins but if she loved those babies so much, why had she not picked up the earlier rib fractures the twins suffered, before they were fatally injured? 

Everyone understands mothers of new babies need to take a break, but most new mothers don't bugger off for close to 24 hours when their children are so young, especially when they know the father of those babies is angry and resentful at being left in charge. 

Macsyna said for years she had endured taunts and horrible words from members of the public and she and members of her family had had threats made against them. 

While I don't condone vigilante justice, does she really think her hands are clean when it comes to the death of her children? 

If my child had been killed, I would spend the rest of my life blaming myself for her death. Trying to paint herself as an innocent victim doesn't work for me. 

Yes, we all make mistakes as parents, but most of ours don't result in the death of our children. Yes, she's suffered for the mistakes she's made - but not as much as those twins suffered. They're the ones buried six feet under; she's alive and well and walking the Earth. 

Some who saw that interview felt enormous compassion for Macsyna King - they told me so on the radio. Good on them. I wish I had their depth of humanity. 

But I used all my compassion for those defenceless twins. The mother, who made her own choices and must bear the consequences of her decisions, can take care of herself.

I watched that interview in absolute disbelief that John Campbell had given Macsyna King so much - poor me - blubbering time. It was weak journalism. He got that interview by promising to be nice to her and shed her in a good light. The lack of any hard questions was evidence of that.

Watching the fall out online - i watched in amazement how people who had previously condemned Macsyna - all of a sudden changed their minds.

The Campbell Live segment and the subsequent expressions of opinions regarding Macsyna King could have been an amazing social experiment in how people let the media dictate to them what they should think and feel.

Previously the media had told us that Macsyna's babies had been murdered while she was out partying, cheating on their father, and smoking P. Now the media is telling us that she was an amazing mother - and she is crying and snotting all over my TV screen - so it must be true.

Truly. Amazing.

I am with Kerre on this one.

My sympathy is with the innocent babies who lost their lives at the hands of the people that were supposed to love and protect them - and that includes the people that neglected them by "driving around Auckland for 24 hours because she couldn't afford a trip to Australia for a break " - while they were being beaten.

Decision making - 1

'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.' Proverbs 16:3 NIV

If all your life you've been warned about making bad decisions, fear can cause you to miss God-given opportunities. 'If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle' (1 Corinthians 14:8 NIV)? Now you're like the mule standing between two bales of hay. Unable to decide which one to eat and afraid of making the wrong choice, you starve to death. You must act! Your need to do things perfectly and your desire to control every possible outcome will keep you stuck.

So: (1) Stop trying to please everybody. 'Fear of man is a dangerous trap, but to trust in God means safety' (Proverbs 29:25 TLB). Once you know what brings you fulfilment, as long as it's God's will, chart your course accordingly and refuse to let the opinions of others stop you or colour your view. (2) Remember, over time your goals can change. What's needed today may not be right for you a year from now. So reassess your plans regularly and be willing to change direction. 'We should make plans - counting on God to direct us' (Proverbs 16:9 TLB). When your spiritual gut says no, pay attention. (3) When God is on your side, you'll prevail. Somebody asked Abraham Lincoln if he was sure that God was on his side.

He replied, 'I haven't thought much about it. I just want to know I'm on God's side.'

It's normal to speculate about how you'd like things to turn out, but God alone controls the future. Just trust Him. 'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.'

I am sitting here watching the Olympics and contemplating part of an assignment that i have to complete today in preparation for tomorrow's class.

Midget weightlifters are looking so much more interesting than Peer Supervision right about now. Is it just me - or does everyone else imagine those womens' internal organs being pushed out every single time they squat down and then attempt to lift more than twice their own weight over their heads?

Just me huh?

Ohhhh k.

Back to Peer Supervision and the topic of the day - Personal values and disclosure.

1. Is it possible for practitioners to remain neutral with respect to their client's values? - Justify my answer
2. Choose a character from the Alligator River Story whose behaviours you least agreed with. Imagine you are working with a client who has behaved in the same way as that character. How might that impact on our work with that client? Why?
3. Why is it not ethical or professional to try to influence your client's values, according to your own or to another set of society's values?
4. How do you decide when is it appropriate to honestly disclose your values, attitudes and/or private or professional information to your client / colleagues and supervisor?
5. Identify some of your own values where you would find it hard to remain neutral (with clients, colleagues or your supervisor). How would you handle this?

This is seeming like too much hard thinking for a Sunday to me. How does one separate their own values from their work and remain neutral ? 

Midget weightlifters - for just a Little. While. Longer.

How Bronwyn Pullar tried to get $14 million compo

A really interesting read from the NBR.

Money, mayhem and murder: How Pullar tried to get $14 million compo

Sovereign Insurance feared bad media publicity if it did not pay Bronwyn Pullar $14 million – a sum it said was greatly excessive and to which she was not entitled. 

RAW DATA:  

The Sovereign letter to BoagBoag email to Collins 

The insurer said it was told in mid-2007 Ms Pullar’s case would be “taken to the media” if it didn’t pay out on her $14 million claim. 

TV3 60 Minutes reporter Melanie Reid was already primed by Ms Pullar or someone in her camp. 

Ms Reid had confronted Sovereign’s managing director with allegations of misrepresentation and misleading sales literature, mishandling Ms Pullar’s claim, taking advantage of a head injury patient and blocking her rehabilitation. 

In June this year, five years down the track, Ms Reid, a friend of Ms Pullar’s for between five and seven years, prepared a TV3 60 Minutes report sympathetic to Ms Pullar and which allowed Ms Pullar and spin doctor Michelle Boag to launch an attack on ACC. 

And while Ms Reid was involved in Ms Pullar’s bid to extract $14 million from Sovereign, no mention of the Sovereign episode was made in the recent 60 Minutes story. 

No comment from Pullar 

Ms Pullar told the National Business Review this week she could not comment on the Sovereign claim because it was settled and covered by confidentiality. 

Letter details claim 

Details of Ms Pullar’s $14 million claim and Sovereign’s view of negotiations are in a nine-page letter sent to Ms Boag, at PR People, by Sovereign’s then head of marketing and product management Vena Crawley on July 30, 2007. The document is available online at www.nbr.co.nz/pullar1. 

By 2007 Sovereign had been paying Ms Pullar for lost income due to illness or accident for more than four years. 

What Sovereign was paying her 

Mr Crawley calculated Ms Pullar would receive a minimum of $124,904 a year, until she was 65, from a combination of ACC payments, income from work and Sovereign’s payments.
One friend estimated her annual payment from Sovereign was about $80,000. 

In a move said to be intended to put pressure on Sovereign, Ms Pullar’s claim for $14 million was “backed” by a list of 28 names, including prominent individuals such as Sir Selwyn Cushing, John Key, Jenny Shipley and Wayne Mapp. 

An underlying message of the List of 28 appears to have been: Pay up or these politically influential people could make things go badly for Sovereign. 

Take case to the media  

In the July 30, 2007 letter Mr Crawley told Ms Boag, who became involved in the claim the previous November: “You personally have stated that Bronwyn’s case will be taken to the media if her claim is not settled in a manner that is satisfactory to Bronwyn.” 

Sovereign, which has denied mishandling Ms Pullar’s claim, inferred Ms Boag and/or Ms Pullar would seek to obtain media coverage detrimental to Sovereign. 

“You have raised Bronwyn’s case on Radio New Zealand National and TV3’s 60 Minuteshas been appraised of the situation,” Mr Crawle told Ms Boag. 

At the time, the claim being made on Ms Pullar’s behalf, which amounted to “some $14 million,” was “greatly in excess of her entitlement,” according to Mr Crawley. 

Despite personal representations by Sir Selwyn Cushing to ACC board members and senior executives to intervene on Ms Pullar’s behalf, Sovereign rejected the $14 million lump sum claim but is understood to have settled on a figure said by family and friends to be about $2.8 million. 

Ms Boag was reported earlier this year saying she could not remember the Sovereign letter, that the List of 28 was Sovereign’s definition and she had never supplied any list. 

Pullar and the List of 28 

But in a statement after brief details of the Sovereign letter were made public, Ms Pullar said: 

“Media have speculated about the reason why John Key and other senior National Party figures were mentioned by my insurer in a letter to Michelle Boag written by one of their senior executives. 

“One of my advisers has asked me to prepare a list of known people who were aware of my dispute with the insurer and who the insurer may encounter in the course of their business. 

“This was in the context of us entering into negotiations to reach a confidential settlement. Provision of this list was necessary in case the insurer subsequently faced questions from these parties who had knowledge of the dispute.” 

One thing several associates are sure about is that Sir Selwyn, whose name appeared in the List of 28, has Ms Pullar’s Sovereign payout invested on her behalf. 

The ACC leak scandal 

Ms Pullar, who comes from South Island National Party stock, is now at the centre of an Accident Compensation Corporation privacy leaking scandal after accidentally receiving emailed details of about 6700 confidential ACC client files. 

The ensuing fuss sparked a wave of official investigations, a defamation claim by new ACC Minister Judith Collins and an almost unprecedented political fallout, which led to former ACC minister Nick Smith resigning, followed soon after by ACC chairman John Judge, deputy chairman John McCliskie, board member Rob Campbell and ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart. 

Separate investigations by the auditor general and the privacy commissioner into circumstances surrounding the leaks are well under way, with results from both expected in late August – if not before. 

Boag email to Collins

 This is the email which – when leaked to selected media – made the affair public.
The email revealed ACC committed what was said to be one of New Zealand’s biggest privacy breaches when a staff member accidentally emailed about 6700 client details to Ms Pullar. 

Ms Pullar received the details in August last year at a time when she wanted ACC to continue another two years’ compensation for injuries received when her bicycle hit a car in Auckland in 2002. 

Drinking before accident alleged 

Hong Kong-based lawyer Cathy Odgers – skeptical of the extent of her friend’s injuries – said they were received after they had been out drinking in Auckland the night before. 

In a subsequent email to NBR Ms Pullar said she had only one drink that night. 

Some years earlier, according to a family member, she is said to have received about £30,000 compensation after a pallet fell on her in London while she was working either for Zespri or the Apple and Pear Marketing Board. 

A person who worked with Ms Pullar at the time said it was a forklift truck which “knocked” her while she was inspecting a produce distribution centre outside London and it was believed by workmates she received compensation from the forklift company. “It was about 1996 or 1997, after she worked in the US. She was working for Zespri at the time and came home with a limp and a walking stick,” the former colleague said. 

When asked earlier by NBRabout the London incident and payment, Ms Pullar would not confirm the amount or if it was Zespri she sued. 

In July 2008, Ms Pullar put her company Wynar – incorporated in 2000 – into liquidation after it ceased trading and she resolved to wind it up. 

A well-placed party insider said an ambitious Ms Pullar might have felt she was in line for a top communications job when her friend Michelle Boag became party president for one year in 2001. 

What the Boag email says 

Ms Boag’s email – published on NBR ONLINE as Raw Data – gives details of Ms Pullar’s ACC claim and circumstances surrounding her receiving the ACC client files. 

Ms Boag spoke of years of “extensive mishandling of Bronwyn’s claim” at a time just after Ms Pullar approached an unidentified ACC board member, and senior managers Phil Murch and Hans Verbene met Ms Boag and Ms Pullar to discuss her continued receipt of ACC. 

In the email Ms Boag says this meeting, in December 2011, was to “come to a reasonable settlement on the way forward.” 

Ms Boag said Ms Pullar wanted recognition she was unable to work a full time week but wanted ACC to allow her two years to get on with trying to re-establish her consultancy business. 

Ms Pullar also asked for the privacy breach to be investigated. 

Ms Boag said it was verbally agreed with Messrs Murch and Verbene that Ms Pullar would return the document containing the ACC client details. 

In a letter eight days later, Mr Murch allowed Ms Pullar one year to re-establish her business rather than two, which Ms Boag said was not regarded as sufficient. 

Boag says what she wants 

It was here Ms Boag cut to the chase and told Ms Collins about conditions they wanted met before Ms Pullar would return the private ACC client details. 

“While Mr Murch asked for the return of the data,” Ms Boag told Ms Collins, “he did  not acknowledge that this would be contingent on reaching an agreement acceptable to both parties …” 

Did that mean Ms Pullar would not return the thousands of sensitive ACC client details unless ACC agreed to her demands for more money? 

What would happen if ACC did not agree to pay her for another two years? 

There appears to have been a condition attached to the return of the client details. 

More unanswered questions 

Ms Pullar has been portrayed by some media as a powerless victim up against a heartless ACC juggernaut. She clearly has some major issues with ACC. 

But why did she not promptly return the details of the ACC clients – material sent to her by mistake which she knew she was not entitled to have or use – to ACC as soon as she found out she had them? 

Why did her possession of those client details play any part in Ms Pullar’s talks with ACC about her own claim? 

Did Ms Pullar see herself as lucky to have in her camp a friend with such influential political connections as Ms Boag, a former National Party president and skilled public relations spin doctor? 

What was the motive behind the List of 28 which confronted Sovereign Insurance in 2007, when Ms Pullar wanted a $14 million payout? 

Were they just mates or a hand-picked line-up of influential political and business heavy-weights who might make things go bad for Sovereign if it did not bow to Ms Pullar’s demands? 

What can be made of the role of Michelle Boag in the whole affair?

Make of that what you will.

Words of a killer

Teens tough talk turns deadly

April 16, 2011 

Online conversation between Theodore Derrick-Hardie and his then-girlfriend: 

Only reason you should worry near me, is if im worried cause then someones gonna die ... or get eaten ... or im gonna kill someone or possible eat them ... or myself ... Depends if im drinking gas again. 

April 25, 2011 

Online conversation between Derrick-Hardie and his then-girlfriend (he had just been talking about joining the army): 

Derrick-Hardie: But its my calling 

Girlfriend: how do you know!? 

Derrick-Hardie: Because im a dangerous person, this way im using my talents and mind to serve and protect, because if I didn't do this 

Girlfriend: Your dangerous!? Haha don't make me laugh! I know you're the kindest person there is 

Derrick-Hardie: I would be selln meth again stabbing n****rs ... I know I've changed a lot. And danger is not in the hands of the beholder. Its in the heart and mind ... When you think about murdering someone because they ... Mocked you 

February 25, 2011 

In one online conversation with a woman, he talked about men being "made like robots".
"We are made to do what were born ... kill or be killed. Give or take if we in kill mode." 

He went on to write in text speak: "We made fast choices ... quicklyjsut do this or that ... and dnt think about it ... jsut stab stab stab."

I knew there would be a methamphetamine link to this crime.

Unbelievable that with all those warning signs - no one intervened before he killed Warren  Rosillo.

Mind you - his insane banter sounds very similar to the insane and deluded rantings of someone that has threatened my life on several occasions. I guess it is difficult to know when someone will cross that line and actually follow through.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Swish

;-)

Have a fantastic weekend!

This was close to home

Party kiss murder: Teen named

The teen who stabbed a fellow partygoer to death over a kiss can be named for the first time. 

Theodore Derrick-Hardie was just 17 when he pulled out a knife and stabbed Warren Rosillo at a birthday party last year. 

Derrick-Hardie had initially pleaded not guilty to murder but changed his plea on Monday morning, the day his trial was due to start at the High Court in Auckland. 

The court heard this morning how Derrick-Hardie carried knives in the months leading up to the killing and discussed stabbing people on the social networking website Facebook. 

On July 29 he and his ex-girlfriend were at a birthday party in the east Auckland suburb of Pakuranga. 

Crown prosecutor Warren Cathcart told the court that Derrick-Hardie's ex had been flirting and talking with Mr Rosillo before Derrick-Hardie asked her to leave with him. 

They went to the front of the property where an argument broke out. Mr Cathcart said Mr Rosillo stepped in. 

Derrick-Hardie accused his ex-girlfriend of being unfaithful. She responded by kissing Mr Rosillo who returned the kiss. 

Derrick-Hardie grabbed Mr Rosillo by the neck, and stabbed him in the chest, face and abdomen. 

Mr Rosillo died at the scene. 

Derrick-Hardie was arrested the next day at the Heritage Hotel in downtown Auckland.
He will be sentenced in September.

My daughter went to intermediate with Theodore Derrick-Hardie. He had been at a party that she was at just a few weeks before this happened.

What the heck is wrong with that kid?

Where were his parents?

Did no one notice that he was behaving strange? I would like to think that if one of my children were in a head space that they felt the need to carry knives around with them, and was talking about stabbing people - i might notice and become concerned.

The photo above shows that the amount of remorse this kid feels is virtually nil. He doesn't even appear concerned about his impending prison sentence.

That he was on the periphery of my daughter's social circle is nuts.

Everyone that knows me accuses me of being over protective of my children. I get laughed at for constantly checking on them when they are out with friends, and for phoning home every hour when i am out. T gets annoyed at me for staying up half the night on weekends so that i can pick them up from their social outings rather than have them catching buses or relying on friends who have cars. I get told non stop that i need to let them be miniature adults and let them do their thing.

No way.

I don't care how annoying i am to them - or anyone else.

Comedian Sentenced

...and sentenced properly this time.

Child sex abuse comedian sentenced to 8 months home detention

A comedian who admitted he sexually assaulted his young daughter has been convicted and sentenced to eight months home detention. 

Judge Mark Perkins at Auckland District Court imposed the sentence after the High Court dismissed an earlier discharge without conviction. 

Permanent name suppression was continued to protect the identity of the child who was three at the time.

Eight months home detention is a far cry from an absolutely ridiculous discharge without conviction.

Hopefully drug and alcohol counselling will be part of that sentence.

That is going to be one long eight months for him. Home detention is no picnic. It is no fun at all. 

Are you drifting off course?

'...Cross-examine me, O Lord...' Psalm 26:2 TLB

The story's told about a guy called Bill who telephoned his boss and said: 'I believe you're looking for an experienced, talented, hard-working manager for your front office. I'd like to apply for the job.' The boss replied, 'We already have someone in that slot and he's doing an excellent job. By the way, your voice sounds familiar. What's your name?' The guy replied, 'It's me, Bill; I was just checking up on myself!'

You need to check up on yourself regularly. The Bible says, 'We must listen very carefully to the truths we have heard, or we may drift away from them' (Hebrews 2:1 TLB). That word 'drift' should set off alarm bells. It doesn't happen overnight, but slowly and imperceptibly you drift off course and end up in places you never thought you would be - places you may not be able to get back from. A plane flying just one degree off its assigned flight plan can end up hundreds of kilometres from its destination. And if it's out of fuel, it's only going one place - down.

Knowing his propensity to drift and to turn a blind eye to his defects of character, the Psalmist prayed: 'I have tried to keep Your laws and have trusted You without wavering. Cross-examine me, O Lord...test my motives and affections too. For I have taken Your loving-kindness and Your truth as my ideals' (Psalm 26:1-3 TLB). Notice the words 'cross-examine'! Cross-examine what? (1) Your motives, or your reasons for doing things. (2) Your affections, or the things toward which you are being drawn. Are you drifting off course?

I am so looking forward to the weekend. I have had the busiest week ever this week. Today is the only day that i have had where i have had a few minutes to myself. I have managed to spend those few minutes cleaning the mould off the windows in my yucky home. I am half way done. Honestly - where does all that black stuff come from? It seemed to just appear over night and has bugged me ever since i noticed it.

My CCP ( Client Centred Practice) lecture on Wednesday was horrifying - sort of. The morning went sweet. I sat there listening to the tutor for 3 hours. All good. When it was time to break for lunch she advised that the class would be doing the "Fish Bowl" in the afternoon. I had no idea what "doing the fish bowl" meant but when i returned from lunch and found out, i suddenly wished that i had begged off sick for the afternoon.

My fear of public speaking is being tackled without my consent.

The 'Fish Bowl" consisted of two students sitting in the middle of the room with the rest of us sitting in a circle around them. One student was role playing a client. The other student was role playing the counsellor. The lecturer then walks around the room and taps one of us on the shoulder and that is our cue to get up and sit in the counsellor chair and take over the role play - with no warning and with the whole class observing.

I seriously contemplated doing a runner while this was being explained to me.

I didn't though. I sat there for the next hour and a half absolutely willing with all of my power that lecturer and his pointing finger away from my shoulder.

It didn't work. He was immune to the mental telepathy signals i was sending him that were trying to warn him that if he touched my shoulder he might lose a finger.

Three times that finger touched me. Three times i had to face my fear of people watching me and worrying about what they were thinking. Three times i had to focus on blocking everyone else - except the person who was role playing the client - out of my head.

I don't think i have ever been as happy to see 3pm as i was that day.

I felt pretty awesome when i walked out of there though. In February - it took all my strength to introduce myself to the class when first day introductions were being done. If i had been faced with the fish bowl on that day - i would have high tailed it out of there and never returned.

Change is an amazing feeling - even when it is slow change.

It has been a good week.

Dedicated to John Banks

I love the way you lie - NZ Police

8 Inspiring lessons from the life of Sally Ride

Career Lessons from the Life of Sally Ride

1. Take the long shot Ride was not sought out by NASA to serve as the first woman in space. Rather, she answered a newspaper advertisement for astronauts. At the time, she was finishing her studies at Stanford University, where she earned degrees in physics, astrophysics and engineering. In 1982 Ride told the New York Times that she had seen the NASA ad and said to herself, “I’m one of those people.” Ride beat out 8,370 other applicants for the position, at a time when the astronaut corps was made up entirely of men. Ride credited the women’s movement with opening the door to her at NASA. “The women’s movement had already paved the way, I think, for my coming,” Ride said.

2. Focus your passion As a teenager, Ride exhibited outstanding performance as an athlete, especially in tennis. At Stanford, she became the No. 1 women’s singles player and achieved a national ranking. While teaching at summer tennis camps, she met Billie Jean King, who wanted Ride to quit college and turn professional. But Ride knew herself, knew that she cared more about her academic and professional interests, and turned down the opportunity.

3. Stay cool Before she made her first flight on the shuttle Challenger in 1983, Ride had to endure a laundry list of questions based on her gender. How would space flight affect her reproductive organs? Did she ever cry when she was at work? At a NASA news conference, Ride wasn’t at all defensive, but simply observed: “It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along.”

4. Be fearless When she started training at NASA, Ride had to confront many challenges. She learned to fly a jet. She trained in parachute jumping, water survival and weightlessness, and she learned to endure the dramatic force of a rocket launch. She also wasn’t afraid, as an undergraduate, to marry an interest in science with one in Shakespeare, and earned degrees in physics, astrophysics and English.

5. Develop a specific area of expertise At NASA, Ride worked on developing a robotic arm for the space shuttle. Her skill with the device helped prompt the Challenger’s commander to tap her for the June 1983 Shuttle mission. She was one of five crew members on that flight, which was in space for six days. During that time, she used the 50-foot-long robotic arm to deploy and retrieve a three-ton satellite. The experiment showed that NASA could recover broken satellites, fix them aboard the shuttle and then send them back into orbit. Her knowledge of that arm was what made her stand out.

6. Resist the lure of the easy route Though Ride could have made lots of money if she had accepted the many offers she received to endorse products, write memoirs and tell her story through film, she chose instead to reject most of these opportunities and focus on her space career and later her interest in science. In 1986, she and her friend and then-Washington Post staff writer Susan Okie published To Space and Back, the story of Ride’s space career. But in the decades afterward, she turned down many opportunities for publicity — and money.

7. Do what you believe in After her second and last mission in space in 1984, Ride stayed on at NASA for three years, leading a study team that wrote a report on the future of the space program. After she retired from NASA, she devoted herself to teaching and conveying the excitement of science to children, especially girls. She became a science fellow at the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford, and in 1989, she became a professor of physics and director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego. She helped found the Challenger Center for Science Education in Alexandria, Va., and in 2001, she launched her own company, Sally Ride Science, that provides science-oriented school programs and teacher-training materials.

8. Keep your personal life to yourself if that’s what you want At Ride’s request, NASA did not publicize her illness. She also chose to keep her personal life private. After her marriage to astronaut Steve Hawley ended in divorce, she lived with a woman, Tam O’Shaughnessy, for almost three decades. Although she chose not to publicize this fact, she didn’t keep it a secret either, her sister Bear told BuzzFeed yesterday. Her sister said that Ride preferred not to make her personal life public. “Sally didn’t use labels,” said Bear. “Sally had a very fundamental sense of privacy, it was just her nature, because we’re Norwegians, through and through.”

 “It’s too bad this is such a big deal. It’s too bad our society isn’t further along.”

I wonder if she ever thought that way when she was having to keep her sexuality a secret for 27years? 

On the one hand it is no one else's business. What people do in the privacy of their own home and who they have relationships with is something that they have a right to keep private. On the other hand she would have been an amazing role model for young women who are currently struggling with those issues.

Anyway - i thought the 8 inspiring lessons were pretty cool.

Anyone else notice the resemblance?

Someone needs to tell James Holmes that the ability to open your eyes REALLY wide and having a REALLY bad haircut is no defence for murder. 

Someone already tried that.

It won't get you a sane girlfriend either. 

A clear conscience

'...Keep your conscience clear...' 1 Timothy 1:19 NLT

Speaking of conscience, Paul writes: '...I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people' (Acts 24:16 NLT). He lays it on the line to Timothy: 'Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked' (1 Timothy 1:19 NLT). Now a captain doesn't set out to wreck his ship. But if he falls asleep at the wheel or takes his eye off the compass, he will end up on the rocks anyway.

The question is not, 'Can I get away with it?' No, the question is, 'Can I live with it afterwards? How will it affect my confidence before God? How does He feel about it? Will it prevent or promote His blessing in my life?'

Edgar Guest wrote: 'I have to live with myself and so, I want to be fit for myself to know; I want to be able as days go by, always to look myself in the eye. I don't want to stand with the setting sun, and hate myself for the things I've done. I want to go out with my head erect; I want to deserve all men's respect. Here in the struggle for fame and wealth, I want to be able to like myself. I don't want to look at myself and know, that I'm bluster and bluff and empty show. I can never hide myself from me, I see what others may never see; I know what others may never know; I can never fool myself and so, whatever happens I want to be, self-respecting and conscience free.'

I love that. We can never hide from ourselves and that - for me - is a pretty darn cool feeling these days. Obviously it wasn't always that way for me - which makes me feel even more blessed.

I have not had much time for the blog this week - and i probably won't have much time for it after this post. I am having a busy one. I had a full day of classes yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday and the discussions that we had in one of my classes. We were discussing ethics and values for the first half of the day. It was so interesting to witness how every single one of us has different values -where we acquired those values from - and how some values that we were taught when we were young stick with us while others don't.

The lecturer gave us all a copy of the following story;

Alligator River Story:

Once upon a time there was a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore f a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river that separated the two lovers was teeming with man eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed away by a heavy storm the previous evening.

So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat captain to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would consent to go to bed with him before he takes her across. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want to be involved at all in the situation.

Abigail felt her only alternative was to accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory.

When she told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Abigail turned to Slug with her tail of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was happy to see Gregory getting his due. As the sun sets on the horizon, we hear Abigail laughing at Gregory. 

After reading that pretty lame story - we then had to discuss within groups who we rated from worst to the best of a bad bunch - and why.

Do you think any of us could agree?

Hardly. We all thought the people in the story were bad or less bad for different reasons. My rating went like this;

Worst - Slug - because he resorted to violence, and broke the law.

Second worst - Sinbad - because he took advantage of Abigail's problem and would not help without there being something in it for him.

Third - Abigail - because she was impatient, had no problem solving skills and just wanted an easy answer to her problem. She was then spiteful in regards to laughing at poor old Gregory taking a beating.

Fourth - Gregory - because he lacked any form of empathy and was basically just a judgemental dork that was willing to write off someone he loved and lacked the ability to forgive - but he really didn't do much else wrong.

Least worst - Ivan - i didn't actually think he did anything wrong. I wouldn't have wanted to get involved either - unless i happened to have a boat.

Like i said - no one agreed with me. What was the most amusing though - was that the men in my group all rated Abigail as the worst! They had all sorts of reasons for this - it was rather funny.

Anyway - the whole exercise was amusing in that it highlighted how we all place different value on different ethics, morals, and values that are instilled in each of us and how even in a group of only four people - we could not all agree.

Fortunately - no lawsuits ensued!

Today was an exciting day for me. I started my placement. Time flew. I loved every minute of it. I can't say much else because i signed a confidentiality agreement which means that i can never talk about anything to do with the organisation or my experiences there. I had a wonderful day and i will just leave it at that.

I suspect that as i get further and further into my studies i will be blogging a lot less until i end this wonderful blog of mine on a wonderful note. There is so much confidentiality involved in my choice of career - and certain ethical standards relating to confidentiality that i will have to adhere to - that having a blog will probably not be all that appropriate. That will be a wonderful way to end old Wonderful Now though.

At that point in time i will probably start an anonymous blog. I doubt i will ever give up writing about my life. It won't have the readership that Wonderful Now has but that won't matter. I have never felt the need to hide who i am on the internet or say or do anything anonymously. That might be a nice change.

Anyway - full day of classes tomorrow. Early night for me. 

Too kind

PM: Kiwis at front of sale queue

Any New Zealander wanting to buy up to $2000 of shares in Mighty River Power when 49 per cent of it is floated will be guaranteed to buy them, Prime Minister John Key said today. 

He also confirmed that the minimum purchase will be $1000.

Doesn't that just show how out of touch with the reality of average New Zealanders John Key is?

My power bill was $367.00 last month. I had to take a day off from my classes and miss lectures on the week that i paid it because i could not afford the petrol and the $13.50 a day early bird parking that i have to pay on the days that T can't drop me in there.

Why John Key thinks that i would even be able to entertain the idea of buying shares, let alone be able to manage when the price of power goes up once the company is sold is beyond me.

Apparently - 93% of New Zealanders won't be buying shares in the public companies that they currently own, and the average Kiwi family has less than $2000 in the bank.

Wake up John Key.

Jevan - Making it Loud

I hope Jevaaaaan! remembers us little people when he is all famous and stuff.

;-)

I am purposely ignoring the Georgina Beyer bit at the end. 

That is just awful. 

Ugh - Poor Michele!

Michele Hewitson Interview | Martin Devlin

Is the broadcaster and sports nut Martin Devlin a right plum? Of course he is. It's the best possible description of him and he wrote it, in, of all things a press release. 

The press release was to announce the lifting of a suppression order in relation to a bonkers incident during which he had a row with his wife, former TVNZ PR manager, Andi Brotherston, and sat on the bonnet of their car "for some inexplicable reason", as he wrote in that press release, on Quay St. The silly bugger. 

Does he know why he did it? "Yeah, because she was probably going to run me over otherwise." Is that true, or one of his jokes? "I married the only person in the world who's never been wrong." 

And she married the only person in the world who's never been wrong. "Probably." (Actually, they probably both came up with that "right plum.") He was charged, he thinks, over the bonnet sitting on "the suspicion of disorderly behaviour". I would think that with him there is always the suspicion that disorderly behaviour is lurking not very far beneath the surface. 

He has a new gig, although not yet a start date, as the breakfast host for Radio Hauraki - my reason for going to see him - although beyond saying his show would be "talking a load of bollocks about stuff and doing it again the next day", we didn't actually talk about his new show. 

Instead he talked a load of bollocks, and I sat there trying to decide what was true and what was truly bollocks. 

Almost all of it, alas, turned out to be true. He really does collect taxidermied animals, for example, and he really did say, when I asked why on Earth he'd want a dead bear as a rug, that it was so he could do things to the missus on it. That's the sort of thing he loves saying, and the sort of stuff that really is utter bollocks, I hope. 

I had an hour with him during which he was (for him) actually pretty well behaved, except for the swearing at the top of his voice. This was in a cafe, where a few kids seemed mildly intrigued by the shouty sweary man in the way kids would be if a clown had wandered into the cafe and had lunch. 

Anyway, it is very nice of him to see me because there was a row with this paper over an incident in which he was escorted from a Jetstar plane by the police. This is a long story but the outcome was that he complained to the Press Council about the paper's coverage and, according to him, "We dicked their arse, didn't we, really? I mean, we picked their freckle big time!" I think that's what he said, although that's a new one on me and I was talking over the top of him at the time, trying to shut him up, with predictable effect.
It was as profitable as trying to get a mad dog howling at the moon to shut up; you just encourage it. On he went, howling:"We just absolutely took the cane and we gave them six of the best and then we gave it to them again!" 

If he says so, and of course he does, with enormous enjoyment. He likes a good shout. I did wonder why he was so bothered about the Jetstar story because it doesn't do his image any harm to be seen as a bad boy, surely? "It's okay to be a larrikin. To be accused of abusing somebody who is working puts you in wanker mode, doesn't it? I mean, God, I was humiliated. I didn't want to go out of the house. [A mother of] my kid's friend basically banned her son from playing with him because of what his father did on the plane. Some dickhead at mum's work cut out the story and put it in her bag." 

Had he forgotten that he was talking to somebody who works for the paper who he, or so he says, gave six of the best and so on and on to? That is entirely possible. He sent the editor a congratulatory note when he got a promotion. 

That is the part of him that is the boy who was raised a Catholic and went to St Patrick's College, Silverstream, in Upper Hutt. His definition of being a Catholic is "you realise that all it teaches, really, is to be kind to people and not to f*** other people off and try to raise your children nice." That is possibly not strictly a theological definition, or quite how his teachers might have put it, but the sentiment is there. 

He's a funny fish, one of those puffer ones, perhaps, which blows itself up when threatened and is toxic if not prepared properly and regarded as a delicacy to anyone brave enough to risk eating it, or in his case, employing him. He swims around perfectly peacefully, if loudly, the rest of the time, at home, where he does all of the cooking, and the washing. 

His wife, who I dealt with in her role as formidable and seldom passed gatekeeper at TVNZ, sent a text to ask if I would include that he lies around the house all weekend in his "baggy undies" tweeting, in the hope that he'd stop it. I was just glad to hear that he was wearing something ( although we could all have done without the "baggy" information). I hope he doesn't do the housework in the nude, and I certainly wasn't going to ask because he'd already told me more than enough about how he takes his clothes off when he's watching Manchester United play. 

I'm not sure of the details because I really didn't want to know, but the clothes come off when his team is winning, I think. Does he get over-excited? I really shouldn't have asked. "Sometimes! I just whack it in the fridge door!" What? No, let's move on.You try moving him on. 

He has some mad ideas about the differences between men and women. I hadn't asked because, who would? The only publishable example of how "you're weird, you women" is his "theory" that "I can walk into a shop and buy a pair of jeans and I'm trying them on in the booth and all of a sudden there's a knock on the door and [Australian model] Miranda Kerr, who is the shop assistant, says, 'I want to ... so I probably will.' [I've deleted the rude bit, but you get the gist.] A woman would phone the police, he reckons, and "that is the fundamental difference between men and women. Number one." 

I said, desperately, trying to get him off his over-active fantasy life, that I was glad he was now happily married. I really am. If he's terrible now (his favourite word is "rooting"), imagine what he'd have been like single? It doesn't bear thinking about. So, thank goodness, he and Brotherston have been married since 1996 and they adore each other. So why does he go on like that? He's a bloke. 

He's one of the blokey-iest blokes I've met, one who does all the cooking and washing and whose wife does the hammer and nails stuff and can rewire a sound system and set up the MySky and he's hopeless at any of that. He said, proudly, "she's a farm girl. She can drive a tractor." 

He told me he pinched her from Steven Joyce (now an MP) and that I wasn't to put this in, but of course he wanted me to. What's more, he gave her the eye in front of Joyce, who was showing him around the New Plymouth radio station where Joyce was the boss, where Brotherston - who was living with Joyce - was working and where Devlin was about to start working. He didn't quite drag her off by the hair back to his man cave, but it's that sort of manly story. He was living with someone at the time too. So he was cheating on her. 

"I've always been a believer in the Bill Clinton philosophy on this: "I didn't have sexual relations with that woman." This led to another of his loony rants on the nature of men versus women and it is that, 'You can be walking past a window and all a sudden, you're completely nude, getting rooted, and it may not mean anything." I think he read too many Playboy magazines in his youth. 

And it's all just talk. His wife might be even stroppier than he is. If you whack him, you'll get a harder whack back from her. They are inordinately protective of each other and it's widely held in media circles that she's the one who runs his career and his image. "I think she'd be horrified to be accused of that!" He does have a point. When he was about to go on Dancing with the Stars, Brotherston was at a meeting at TVNZ where the contestants were described as "D grade celebs whose careers are f***ed". I won't say who said it, but he turned and said, "Oh. Andi. I didn't mean your husband!" She said, "Of course you did." He swears it's true. 

He also swore that she tracks his movements through his phone - neither of us had a clue how this might be done - and that she asked him recently what he'd been doing in Titirangi. He said he hadn't been in Titirangi and she said he certainly had: "I tracked you on your phone." "Is that normal? Is it normal that your wife has actually got your password and changes it?" I thought he really was making this up, but when I told her he'd said this, she said, "Guilty." I don't know if it's normal that his wife does his salary negotiations, but he says he's hopeless at that too. 

He loves it really, being stalked by his wife, via his phone. I think he loves the idea that there's one person, a woman, of all weird creatures, who can, almost, control him, if not his career. He says he and Brotherston sat down at one point and made a list of his potential employers and "I'd pretty much told the whole to F off." But why had he? "Because they all deserved it!" 

He's an explosive, unpredictable character who was an annoying kid - "All the time" - and can be an annoying adult. He says he's clever and while he is, you want to give him a good slap for saying so. Of course he's a right plum, but there is something rather sweet about him. His definition of ambition is earning enough money so that his mum can stop cleaning toilets, which she does to support family. That's sweet. Saying so might do more damage to his reputation than anything he's ever done, but serves him right for all the bollocks.

I think it would be fair to say that one of the drawbacks of Michele's wonderful job would be having to be seen in public with a sweating and foul mouthed Devlin.

She has obviously felt the need to make the rest of us pay for her misfortune by placing visions of Martin Devlin running around his house cleaning furiously, while wearing nothing more than underwear that he is unable to fill out, in our heads

The only thing that makes that mental image bearable is the thought of Andi Brotherston on her computer while he cleans - pounding away while she protects his reputation, spittle dribbling from the corners of her mouth while she screams "I am going to show that PROSTITUTE who is boss this time plum baby!!!" over the roar of the vacuum cleaner.

The pair of them are very strange individuals. Mind you - Martin might have an excuse. Anyone would be at risk of becoming a bit strange if their partner felt the need to track their every move via their cell phone.

That Andi is one scary lady.

I was flicking through stations while driving the other afternoon and heard Martin's whiny voice on Radio Live. I left it there long enough to hear him whinny - like a horse - while reading the sports news.

I am not joking. It was a mixture of a horse noise, a long drawn out grunt, and a maniacal laugh.

Thank goodness he is going to a radio station that i have not listened to since 1992. Radio Hauraki is not even programmed in to my stereo.

Andi Brotherston

Happiness is a warm gun

I am thinking the residents of Denver, Colorado would be disagreeing with this - again - right about now.

71 Shot at Dark Knight screening

I am just waiting for the NRA to issue a statement now.

I wonder if they will head to Denver and hold a pro gun rally, like they did in the weeks after the Columbine shootings?

"Theres whackos out there" - No sh*t. 

Mr President

I heart Kim Dotcom.

5 billion dollars could not buy recovery

Tetra Pak heir arrested on suspicion of murdering wife

It doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, how educated or uneducated you are, if you are doing your drugs with street workers or smuggling them into the American Embassy  - substance abuse and dependence always leads to the exact same place.

Quite unbelievable really.

The Tim and Freya Show

Tim and Freya's train break up

Scottish comedian Janey Godley boarded a train in June simply hoping to make it from Glasgow to Oxenham in a timely manner. Instead, she found herself witnessing a breakup between fellow passengers Tim and Freya so dramatic it may as well have been a scene right out of a teen melodrama. So what's a woman to do? Godley elected to live-tweet the whole thing. (click here to see her tweets.) 

Tim and Freya's volatile relationship seemed doomed before the train even left the station. As Godley sat down, she overheard Tim tell Freya that she had an "inability to accept the truth." Freya responded, "I can accept the truth; you are incapable of speaking it. Now who the f**k is Tia and why did she email you?" (Spoiler alert: Their conversation didn't end well.) Over the course of the train ride, Godley tweeted 102 times giving all of her nearly 10,000 followers a play-by-play of the couple's "private" -- but very public -- moments.

Nothing is sacred any more. Social Media is ruining everything. Who would risk having a public domestic these days when there is every chance that it will end up on Youtube or Twitter?

I need to start riding public transport before the chances of witnessing a public breakup - or the right to indulge in one - is completely eradicated.

Poor Tim. Seriously. Poor Tim.

He ends up literally jumping off the train to get away from Freya, obviously leaving Freya a very broken - but unpregnant - woman.

Don't go until you get it

'...David inquired again of God...' 1 Chronicles 14:14 NKJV

The Bible says: 'David inquired again of God; and God said..."When you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees...go out to battle: for God has gone out before you" ...David therefore did as God commanded him: and they drove back the...Philistines...' (1 Chronicles 14-16 NKJV).  

Observe three things in this story: (1) David refused to make a move until he first talked it over with the Lord. Notice the words, 'David inquired again of God.' It wasn't just something he did occasionally or in times of crisis, it was something he did on a regular basis. (2) David waited until he heard a certain sound: 'A sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees.' Do you know God well enough to recognise the sound of His voice? With time and testing you can. 'You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things' (1 John 2:20 NKJV). Not only will you know what God wants you to do, He will actually create within you the desire to do it. 'It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure' (Philippians 2:13 NKJV). (3) David went, knowing God had gone before him to deal with every obstacle that stood in his way. The Bible says, 'If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally...' (James 1:5 NKJV). Wisdom is 'the ability to use knowledge so as to successfully meet the challenges of life.' You may acquire knowledge from books and schools, but this wisdom is a gift from God. Don't go until you get it!

The T and i argued last night. 

Like all relationships we have had problems that we have had to work on. We have had our ups and downs. I have refrained from writing about our downs for the most part because;

A. We have so many more ups and happy times than downs so i focus on those. 
B. I know for a fact that people from both of our pasts read my blog and would be delighted if we ever broke up. I haven't wanted to get anyone's hopes up. 

I have gotten to a point though now where i feel like i can write about a down time, because i know that we will get through it together and an argument no longer means we are breaking up. I went through a phase where every time we had an argument i would declare "THAT IS IT! WE ARE OVER!" ...(caps lock in place of red, angry face). Despite the last thing i was wanting at that point in time (or any other point in time) was to break up.

I am over that phase.

For the most part  i have reached a comfortable place where if he calls me a nag, tells me i am annoying for telling him that he needs to change lanes - while driving my car - and calls me the worst back seat driver in the world - i no longer think it is the end of the world - or our relationship. I just wait for the next time he tells me what to do while driving and call him a nag right back. When he is grumpy at me for going out of my way for my girls in the morning - at risk of making us late for class - i just laugh at him and call him a grumpy old man while my lead foot and amazing ability to not wait in queues of traffic but instead be one of those annoying drivers that races past everyone else only to cut in at the very last second - gets us to class in time.

Basically, we can argue like normal couples do once in awhile without it being THE END or to use one of his favourite words "catastrophising". I no longer see a disagreement or annoyance as a sign that he doesn't love me or a reason to be insecure like i once did. I no longer take a bad mood personally.

So last night we had this big argument which has left me wondering;

 Is honesty always such a good thing?

I have never had a relationship with anyone where i have been as honest as i have been with the T. He knows everything about me, and i am fairly confident considering some of the things he has confided in me that he has not held much back from me either. Due to the similarities regarding our past choices and mistakes we were a breath of fresh air for each other in the beginning. Being able to talk to someone about those experiences  - without relating that actual person to those experiences- was one of the things that attracted us to each other. We both knew where the other had been. We understood and empathised with the whys and hows, and we both had the same views on how to continue moving forward and recovering from those mistakes.

We understood each other and how a person could make the mistakes that we have made but still change and genuinely be a better person.

Sometimes i feel like the level of honesty that we have had with each other has been too much though. I feel like if i could go back in time and start over i might not share so much - and i wouldn't want to hear so much. Kind of like how i am honest with my teenage children but there is also a protective filter on what is appropriate to be completely honest about - and what is not.

The T and i never really considered installing a protective filter. In the wonderful whirlwind that was the beginning of our romance we blurted out EVERYTHING to each other.

I guess in some ways that is an amazing thing that we have been able to be so honest with each other. I have no secrets from that man and that is an amazing feeling most of the time. At other times - like last night - its not. so. much.

I heard the lecturer say something while in my Motivational Interviewing class that stuck with me and that i thought made so much sense - not just from a counsellor / client perspective but from the perspective that it is advice that we could all benefit from remembering and should apply to every relationship that we are involved in - whether it be romantic, or with our children, or parents - whatever.

That thing that i heard was this;

 Never use self disclosure.

When someone has trusted you and had the confidence in you to tell you something - never use it against them to win an argument, debate, whatever....If we want someone to be honest with us we can't breach that trust by using that honesty against them - and then expect that honesty to continue.

This is where the wonderful honesty that the T and I have had with each other has had it's drawback and has caused me to sometimes wish that we were not so close and did not feel the need to tell each other everything.  We have both been guilty during times of conflict of throwing something back in the other's face that we have trusted the other with - in order to get the upper hand in an argument.

I am making a promise to T - the love of my life - that from this day forward i will never do that again. Self disclosure is off limits during down times for at least the next 38 years and 10 months. ;-)

I'm confused

Comedian Mike King fights driving charge

Comedian Mike King is vowing to fight a charge alleging that he rode a motorbike while his licence was suspended. 

He also claims that police didnot read him his rights at thetime. 

King was stopped on June 21 last year while allegedly riding a Harley-Davidson while suspended. 

He appeared briefly at a defended hearing at the Auckland District Court yesterday. He had appeared in court in August last year when he pleaded not guilty. 

His agent said at the time that the incident did not involve alcohol or road rage.
Dressed in a black suit yesterday, King sat nervously for several minutes outside the courtroom with his head down, texting. 

Inside, his lawyer asked if a new date could be set. 

The judge replied: "This case has been going for a long time." 

King's lawyer said his client totally opposed the charge and claimed that police failed to read him his rights at the time of the incident. 

The judge said: "I don't understand how that relates to the original charge. 

"If he was stopped and was being detained, then no matter what the charge ... there was an obligation [for police to carry out their duty]." 

King's lawyer was offered a date to reappear - in early October - but when she walked over to discuss it with King, he told her: "I'm in Australia the whole of October." 

When given several new dates, King asked the judge, "Can I just check?" before scrolling through his cellphone for 30 seconds. 

"November 5, yep. Thank you, sir," he said. 

Before leaving, the judge reminded King that because of who he was in the community, he should expect several media organisations to be present next time. 

Outside court, King told the Herald he would not give up fighting the charge. 

"I'll just be back on November 5 to defend the charge - that's all."

I don't get it.

This doesn't seem like something that should take Mike King, the Police, or a Judge nearly 18 months to figure out.

Either you had a driver's license on the day - or you didn't.

Which one is it?

How does a person "defend" a charge of driving a motorcycle while his license was suspended?

Is he going to claim it was not actually him on the motorcycle but his long lost identical twin? Are there going to be surprise witnesses? Maybe the motorcycle will end up being the wrong size, or better yet - will go missing - completely destroying the Crown's case. Maybe there were five other motorcycles in the area with Mike King on them at the time of the alleged offending, and they were all ruled out solely on the alibis of drug addicts - thus planting the seeds of doubt!

When will celebrities get it?

I don't think anyone really cares if Mike King went for a ride on his Harley while his license was suspended but the fact that he is willing to fight a charge with silly excuses like "The Police didn't read me my rights" - makes this a story.

Kind of like how celebrities applying for and being granted name suppression ensures maximum publicity, or how taking someone to court over something they have said about you - that you don't want everyone to know - ensures even more people hear about it and remember it.

So dumb. 

More lame legal proceedings

ACC Defamation case to be heard

The defamation court case, brought by ACC Minister Judith Collins against Trevor Mallard and Andrew Little, will have its first hearing in Auckland today. 

Judith Anne Collins v Trevor Colin Mallard and Another was listed on the High Court list yesterday for a first call up today. 

Ms Collins has accused the two Labour MPs of defaming her after they made public comments about a leaked email from former National Party president Michelle Boag about ACC's release of thousands of ACC claimant details to Bronwyn Pullar.

Anyone remember what the comments that Judith Collins is wasting the court's time over actually were?

Me either.

Do the right thing - 2

'...Be it known...that we will not...' Daniel 3:18 KJV

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had achieved career success, so they had nothing to gain by challenging the king of Babylon. So, why did they? Because he ordered them to disobey God and violate their convictions by bowing down in worship before a pagan image. No doubt they could have reasoned, 'Better a live dog than a dead lion. If we stay alive, maybe we can do good for God and for others.'

That philosophy would have convinced many of us, so why not them? Because they realised that Nebuchadnezzar was not the reason for their success. He may have been an instrument God used to promote them, but he was not the source of either their significance or their security. Those two things came from God - and they understood that you can't abandon the principles of God and walk in the blessings of God. You don't grieve the One who controls everything, just to get along with those who think they control everything. There will always be those who think they know what you should do.

But these three Hebrew boys knew better: '...Our God whom we serve is able...' (Daniel 3:17 KJV). Able to do what? '...Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think...' (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV). By refusing to bow, when bowing seemed like the expedient thing to do, they turned the hearts of a nation to God. Now, your influence may not be that widespread, but one thing you can count on: others are watching who will be influenced by the stand you take. So ask God to strengthen you, and do the right thing!

I have decided that i do not want pets much any more.

Sort of.

The "sort of" came as an after thought because as i typed that first sentence Nixon was looking at me with his sad, droopy eyes. He then resigned himself to his unwantedness on my germ ridden filthy couch that used to be a beautiful off white colour, and rested his chin on the arm.

I have scrubbed his filth off of my couches so many times over the last 3 years that there is barely any material left on my couches - and every time i scrub them again - the cloth ends up black.

My animal hair and dirt covered lounge suite is a health hazard.

Every morning when i wake up i barely make it to the bathroom before falling on my face - thanks to a cat that cannot wait ten seconds for me to actually open my eyes properly before screaming at me for food. Cats feel the need to get under my feet before i am allowed in the bathroom. Every. Single. Morning.

The fact that the silly things still have food left over from the previous night in their bowls - every single morning - does nothing to start my day off very good.

Somehow while i am feeding the ferals someone always manages to sneak in to the shower before me. This leaves me time to wipe down all the flat surfaces in my lounge and kitchen. This is a good thing because it gives me time to let out every profanity that i can think of - just to get the bad start to my day out of my system - while i wipe white cat hair off of everything within sight. Without this special time every morning my coffee table and dining room table would be covered in three inches of cat hair.

It is always nice to know that your cat's butt has been sitting on your dining room table while you have been asleep. I love it.

Last night - for all of my hard work and to show some gratitude - OJ the cat caught a rat that was about 6 inches long (not including the tail), chewed it's neck until it looked like something that i once saw someone vomit up after mixing red wine with a bottle of vodka, then left it in the middle of my kitchen floor for me to find when i got up for a glass of water in the middle of the night.

Thank you T, for getting rid of the rat for me while i chanted "I don't want to live on a domestic pet farm any more" while rocking back and forth in the foetal position.

Don't even get me started on the fact that Nixon hates the rain so much that he refuses to go outside to take a leak. The other morning it took me five minutes to work out why the bottoms of the legs of my jammies were wet.

I don't want pets any. more.

Any takers?