Noise Pollution

 Driving around greater Christchurch (but not in the central city) yesterday was fraught with unusual challenges.

Dodging the piles of Covid victims left out for collection while also avoiding the typical (very, very bad) Christchurch drivers made things interesting indeed.

One thing that really annoyed me was the incessant, obviously electronic, bell sounds and calls.

I understand the need for modern equipment to replace the old and inefficient but surely the almost-pleasant hand-rung bell ringing out melodically and the human voice, with it's imperfections are far nicer for the audible environment, even when the calls emanating from the slowly driven flat-decks is the time-honored "Bring out your dead".

For Life!

 Block roads with a large group of traffic-law ignoring scum; fantastic, go ahead.

Ride small(ish) motorbikes through suburban and city streets seriously concerning residents; No sweat mate.

Take over and block public roads; Hell, We'll help.

Hold or attend a small social gathering of fit young things, in reality immune from the virus, and we're going to lock you up!

Damn!

 The headline started: QUEEN ELIZABETH II USES CANE

I immediately thought "Finally Andy gets what's coming to him".

But no, apparently the old lady needed assistance to walk into Westminster Cathedral.

.

Andy, of course, is guilty of lying about his use of a young prostitute some years ago.

Don't Vote Then.

 On Unherd.com there is a subheading asking "How long can I vote for a Government I don't like?"

This question raises a point I have attempted to explain several times in the past: Does one have to vote to be part of democracy?

The answer, of course, is NO.

Deliberately withholding your vote if there is no one offering a set of policies (or trust) acceptable to you is as important as any other part of the democracy process.

The old "You didn't vote, don't criticise the government you got" is bullshit. 

I include in that the bone-idle lazy who find it too hard to get off their arse and to a polling booth - if they were forced (or induced in some other way) to vote they are unlikely to have put the energy into considering which team to back, which erases the point of electing representatives in the first place.

You'd probably end up with the Current New Zealand Labour Party or lying fraudster racists (or both) in power.

What a complete and utter shambles that would be!

Mad I Tell Ya, Mad!

 Headline on the AP website:

 

Woman who survived 1918 flu, world war succumbs to COVID

She was 105 for christs sake!

Goodbye, Farewell.

The PM has decided to take a tax-payer funded holiday to Europe.

Personally I think this is a great idea.

I will, however, have serious problems with the stupid bastard who lets it back into New Zealand after the holiday!

No Sir Bob, I'm Not!

 I'm an avid reader of anything that Sir Bob Jones puts into print, have been since the Muldoon years.

Don't always agree with him but love the way he uses words to put his point across. I envy that talent.

Lately however he has been using the label "anti-vax nutter" to describe those who refuse, for whatever reason, to get vaccinated against Covid_19.

I'm not vaccinated and have no intention of becoming so.

My reasons are varied, from not trusting a relatively untested vaccine that drops in efficacy very quickly to the simple fact that despite politician-led panic the vast majority of people in the world are still alive, most having not been physically affected at all by the virus - although many are dying because of the over-the-top reaction to the virus.

At the time of the virus arriving in New Zealand I, like dozens of others, was involved with the passengers of the Ruby Princess during it's ill-fated last trip.

Like many others I was enclosed in a small, confined space with these travellers for a significant amount of time.

The number of South Island drivers/guides and their close contacts who tested positive for the virus, in theory at it's most infective phase, from that contact remains zero.

Maybe the quickly-hidden Spanish study that showed the virus' transmission was reduced by sunlight, UV light and Vitamin D was correct.

I digress.

I'm not vaccinated, nor am I intending to be. I understand that I may be wrong and the virus may kill me if I am.  Just slap me a couple of pain-killers and let me die painlessly.

For the record I am NOT against vaccination, I'm not even against people getting the vaccine for Covid_19.

I'm  just this vaccine, for me, at this time.

I plead guilty to the "nutter" charge but I object to the "Anti-Vax".