Archive for January, 2012

Hospitals of yesterday

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Dear Peg and Friends,
I have enjoyed a few hospital visits as a patient over the past eighty eight years. What with the odd accident and bout of sickness, they were a good refuge when you needed them. As well when healthy, a good place to keep well clear of, otherwise as Dr Pat Farry used to say, ‘People die in hospitals’. In early days, the Hospitals that I knew and remembered, were a large building divided into four or five wards. Each with as many as twenty beds lining the two walls. Nobody liked being allocated one of the two top beds, they were quickly labelled the ‘Death Beds’ It was a long time before I found out from someone in charge, this was where the ward sister would put her sickest patients, so she could keep a close eye on them. Naturally if you were desperately ill, bad things could happen to you. But they weren’t necessarily the place that you were put before you shuffled off this earth
Male and female were segregated into separated wards as were the maternity patients. It was very noticeable too that the nursing staff were ruled by a rod of iron through a peculiar heritage system that was in vogue at the time, and of the worst kind. After enduring some years as a ‘dogs body’ each of the Nursing Staff went through a metamorphous, when they graduated and then turned into a harridan in their own right, behaving every bit as bad as what they had been regaling against. Immediately they turned on the new suppliants, and commenced to put them through the same hell that they had endured for the past three years.
Normally the systems worked very well. However I can remember on one occasion, when a very sick patient across from my bed got into trouble, He had been given a large draught of morphine, heroin or laudanum, laced with brandy. Laudanum was prescribed for more than pain. It was an excellent cough suppressant. It  turned up too in many proprietary medicines, including cough cures. Yes, many did become addicted. Anyway as a result of this cocktail which put him into a deep coma and inert. He fell out of his bed. In doing so dislodged his oxygen mask. I was concerned while watching him, I could see him slowly turning blue. So I rang the alarm. No response, so rang again. Still no response. I got out of bed to attend to him, only to find the feed for the mask was too short. The patient needed to be moved closer to the wall, and the oxygen supply. I was busy endeavouring to lift him, when there was a screech of rage from the door. Help had arrived, I managed to understand and decipher between the yelling, that it was being directed at me.  Heart patients were not meant to be lifting fellow patients, even to help. If I expected a little gratitude, that wasn’t forthcoming either.
Hospitals of the time were full of unique practices. Vacuum cleaners were still to be invented, I suppose three pin plugs were also still coming as well. So to pick up dust, damp tea leaves were kept and scattered onto the floor, and then swept up. Window blinds all were pulled down to the same height. No sitting on beds. Counterpanes on beds all drawn up to the same height. I think some of the staff had been in the military, and saw people there, painting the stones around the huts.
Over time I noticed that some patient’s families brought in eggs. On arrival they had the patients  name written on them, from time to time these were cooked as a treat for their evening meal. I also noted trays of eggs were being brought up to the ward with the weekly supplies, but not enough for everyone. To correct this imbalance, I got out of bed whenever I got the chance, I then wrote my name on half the eggs in the tray. Now I was in a position as a benefactor to dole out eggs to any that fancied them.
Hospitals in the City were the place where you went for Surgery that was beyond the expertise of your normal provider. In the country we didn’t enjoy specialist service. Often we were lucky for a ‘specialist’ such as John Heslop make a call. He was a surgeon who called on a monthly basis, or whenever there was an important cricket match being held close by. He didn’t bring along an anaesthetist, or any specialist equipment. Just bottles of ‘local’ pain killer. However it worked, as I had a hernia repaired on a table at the local Medical Centre. The operation was about 98% pain free. My wife doubled as the theatre nurse. These surgeons provided a very valuable service, as we got access to the City’s top men.
Today not much has changed. However the Nursing staff are kinder to one another. Wards have been subdivided into cubicles. A lot of automatic monitoring equipment has been introduced. Not all is good, I particularly dislike the automatic blood pressure machines they trot out. With me, they throw up some very misleading readings. Such is the faith the staff have in their new technology, no matter how hard I suggest that the readings that they are getting are all nonsense. What would I know about such things. The fact that one has never come up with a correct reading over several years means nothing. They will learn that, just because it blinks from many lights, it doesn’t mean it is good and accurate.
Love from Christchurch,
Wally

I have enjoyed a few hospital visits as a patient over the past eighty eight years. What with the odd accident and bout of sickness, they were a good refuge when you needed them. As well when healthy, a good place to keep well clear of, otherwise as Dr Pat Farry used to say, ‘People die in hospitals’. In early days, the Hospitals that I knew and remembered, were a large building divided into four or five wards. Each with as many as twenty beds lining the two walls. Nobody liked being allocated one of the two top beds, they were quickly labelled the ‘Death Beds’ It was a long time before I found out from someone in charge, this was where the ward sister would put her sickest patients, so she could keep a close eye on them. Naturally if you were desperately ill, bad things could happen to you. But they weren’t necessarily the place that you were put before you shuffled off this earth

Male and female were segregated into separated wards as were the maternity patients. It was very noticeable too that the nursing staff were ruled by a rod of iron through a peculiar heritage system that was in vogue at the time, and of the worst kind. After enduring some years as a ‘dogs body’ each of the Nursing Staff went through a metamorphous, when they graduated and then turned into a harridan in their own right, behaving every bit as bad as what they had been regaling against. Immediately they turned on the new suppliants, and commenced to put them through the same hell that they had endured for the past three years.

Normally the systems worked very well. However I can remember on one occasion, when a very sick patient across from my bed got into trouble, He had been given a large draught of morphine, heroin or laudanum, laced with brandy. Laudanum was prescribed for more than pain. It was an excellent cough suppressant. It  turned up too in many proprietary medicines, including cough cures. Yes, many did become addicted. Anyway as a result of this cocktail which put him into a deep coma and inert. He fell out of his bed. In doing so dislodged his oxygen mask. I was concerned while watching him, I could see him slowly turning blue. So I rang the alarm. No response, so rang again. Still no response. I got out of bed to attend to him, only to find the feed for the mask was too short. The patient needed to be moved closer to the wall, and the oxygen supply. I was busy endeavouring to lift him, when there was a screech of rage from the door. Help had arrived, I managed to understand and decipher between the yelling, that it was being directed at me.  Heart patients were not meant to be lifting fellow patients, even to help. If I expected a little gratitude, that wasn’t forthcoming either.

Hospitals of the time were full of unique practices. Vacuum cleaners were still to be invented, I suppose three pin plugs were also still coming as well. So to pick up dust, damp tea leaves were kept and scattered onto the floor, and then swept up. Window blinds all were pulled down to the same height. No sitting on beds. Counterpanes on beds all drawn up to the same height. I think some of the staff had been in the military, and saw people there, painting the stones around the huts.

Over time I noticed that some patient’s families brought in eggs. On arrival they had the patients  name written on them, from time to time these were cooked as a treat for their evening meal. I also noted trays of eggs were being brought up to the ward with the weekly supplies, but not enough for everyone. To correct this imbalance, I got out of bed whenever I got the chance, I then wrote my name on half the eggs in the tray. Now I was in a position as a benefactor to dole out eggs to any that fancied them.

Hospitals in the City were the place where you went for Surgery that was beyond the expertise of your normal provider. In the country we didn’t enjoy specialist service. Often we were lucky for a ‘specialist’ such as John Heslop make a call. He was a surgeon who called on a monthly basis, or whenever there was an important cricket match being held close by. He didn’t bring along an anaesthetist, or any specialist equipment. Just bottles of ‘local’ pain killer. However it worked, as I had a hernia repaired on a table at the local Medical Centre. The operation was about 98% pain free. My wife doubled as the theatre nurse. These surgeons provided a very valuable service, as we got access to the City’s top men.

Today not much has changed. However the Nursing staff are kinder to one another. Wards have been subdivided into cubicles. A lot of automatic monitoring equipment has been introduced. Not all is good, I particularly dislike the automatic blood pressure machines they trot out. With me, they throw up some very misleading readings. Such is the faith the staff have in their new technology, no matter how hard I suggest that the readings that they are getting are all nonsense. What would I know about such things. The fact that one has never come up with a correct reading over several years means nothing. They will learn that, just because it blinks from many lights, it doesn’t mean it is good and accurate.

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Neighbours

Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Dear Peg and Friends,
Over the years I have enjoyed the companionship of some very interesting neighbours. A pair that stood out were Dusan Lajovic, and Sandy Burnett one of his business partners. Dusan lived in Sydney, and Sandy, Wellington. A situation that was not the best for owning a home and keeping you finger on the pulse, of their home in Queenstown. So that’s where I came in. Both Sandy and Dusan were characters in their own right, and both gave me the task by default, of looking after their home. Fixing anything that required fixing, without making any fuss or bother. This job if you can call it that, included the task of looking after their guests from time to time of any of them that really needed looking after, as there were no staff. There are still people in this world who need a minder.
As many of the guests, and there were many who didn’t have even basic home keeping skills. It would seem that many were used to being looked after in every respect. You never really knew what problems were liable to rear their head until they were on your lap. For instant, you don’t put a pot of spaghetti without emptying it, into the dishwasher. It bungs the machine up. I knew that, of course you did. But I was not surprised that some didn’t. I became an instant expert in getting things up and running again, as I was a Mr fix it. But my guests by default, went on their merry way causing minor situations. Nor it would seem, do you put ‘dishwashing’ liquid into the dishwashing machine. The resulting foam it creates destroys the machine’s ability to sense the water levels, and renders the machine useless.
Nor do you grill steak on the ovens racks. Obviously if you do things like this, you have never cleaned an oven. Of course this cooking mode really messes up the oven. Small problems too such as your kid locking himself into a bathroom. There is a quick release trigger on most bathroom locks which can be activated by pushing in a small kebab bamboo stick in a hole provided. There is no need to destroy the lock.
There were a procession of guests of some note over the years, covering a broad spectrum of both domestic and foreign folk. A Catholic Cardinal, President of Slovenia, various ambassadors, Business leaders and  General Managers, I treated them all with respect, but kept a close eye on them so they didn’t get into trouble while they played with the toys that came with the home. A $100,000 4×4, a 125hp runabout. Most people were easy to get along with, but occasionally a free loader turned up. These contributed nothing, and immediately proceeded to drink up all the free booze that they could lay their hands on. Thankfully they were in the minority.
It so happened that Dusan was appointed to the position of the Ambassador for Australasia over the period that I knew him. My duties now increased to the ‘general factotum’, and expected to be an expert on all New Zealand matters. It was never dull when Dusan was around. One night I was expecting him and a friend for dinner and by 9.00pm when they hadn’t turned up I became concerned. I phoned the Capt of the Earnslaw and asked him, would he mind to scanning the Lake with his ‘RADAR’ to look for a stray boat? At this hour all commercial activity had ceased Dusan was up at the head of the Lake somewhere and as it turned out, he had run into trouble. But he didn’t want to be rescued, especially by the Earnslaw, and the media attention that it would generate. I jumped into the car and went to search for them. Wet and cold, as they had both fallen overboard  and knowing that hypothermia is always a problem under these conditions. The Lake is long deep and cold (About 60 km) and narrow, with the road running close to the shore. Knowing the general direction where they were, I soon located them. Bundled them into my car. Tied up their craft, said I would retrieve it on the morrow. Got them home for a hot shower, something warm to eat, and off to bed. Dusan said something very kind to me as I was tucking him in. ‘I knew you would come for us’.
Sandy was as different from Dusan as you could get. I had actually done business with Sandy back when I had the milk run and we had two chests of tokens stamped out in copper and cupronickel. I was certainly a leader in this regard. Initially they didn’t go down very well with the public, but I had to do something about the theft of money that people were putting out. Sandy was one of the old school in that his word was his bond, he got very upset when he met someone who would weasel themselves out of any arrangement. I really enjoyed his company over the years. He spent a lot of his time on the golf course.
After the boat incident I purchased a cell phone and gave it to Dusan to keep a tighter rein on him. Immediately I received a call from Sydney asking me to explain why I purchased that particular service, when there were better ones on the market. I said what I had bought the one that gave the best local coverage, regardless of what their ability was in other places. End of story. I realised then that even while in New Zealand, Dusan was under close observation from his family. On most visits to New Zealand Dusan usually brought along most of his Grand Children. On these trips Dusan operated under the ‘No Rules System’, The kids could do as they wished regarding bathing, sleeping, or eating matters. The system worked as they all turned out well behaved and adjusted young adults.
Love from Christchurch,
Wally
Over the years I have enjoyed the companionship of some very interesting neighbours. A pair that stood out were Dusan Lajovic, and Sandy Burnett one of his business partners. Dusan lived in Sydney, and Sandy, Wellington. A situation that was not the best for owning a home and keeping you finger on the pulse, of their home in Queenstown. So that’s where I came in. Both Sandy and Dusan were characters in their own right, and both gave me the task by default, of looking after their home. Fixing anything that required fixing, without making any fuss or bother. This job if you can call it that, included the task of looking after their guests from time to time of any of them that really needed looking after, as there were no staff. There are still people in this world who need a minder.
As many of the guests, and there were many who didn’t have even basic home keeping skills. It would seem that many were used to being looked after in every respect. You never really knew what problems were liable to rear their head until they were on your lap. For instant, you don’t put a pot of spaghetti without emptying it, into the dishwasher. It bungs the machine up. I knew that, of course you did. But I was not surprised that some didn’t. I became an instant expert in getting things up and running again, as I was a Mr fix it. But my guests by default, went on their merry way causing minor situations. Nor it would seem, do you put ‘dishwashing’ liquid into the dishwashing machine. The resulting foam it creates destroys the machine’s ability to sense the water levels, and renders the machine useless.
Nor do you grill steak on the ovens racks. Obviously if you do things like this, you have never cleaned an oven. Of course this cooking mode really messes up the oven. Small problems too such as your kid locking himself into a bathroom. There is a quick release trigger on most bathroom locks which can be activated by pushing in a small kebab bamboo stick in a hole provided. There is no need to destroy the lock.
There were a procession of guests of some note over the years, covering a broad spectrum of both domestic and foreign folk. A Catholic Cardinal, President of Slovenia, various ambassadors, Business leaders and  General Managers, I treated them all with respect, but kept a close eye on them so they didn’t get into trouble while they played with the toys that came with the home. A $100,000 4×4, a 125hp runabout. Most people were easy to get along with, but occasionally a free loader turned up. These contributed nothing, and immediately proceeded to drink up all the free booze that they could lay their hands on. Thankfully they were in the minority.
It so happened that Dusan was appointed to the position of the Ambassador for Australasia over the period that I knew him. My duties now increased to the ‘general factotum’, and expected to be an expert on all New Zealand matters. It was never dull when Dusan was around. One night I was expecting him and a friend for dinner and by 9.00pm when they hadn’t turned up I became concerned. I phoned the Capt of the Earnslaw and asked him, would he mind to scanning the Lake with his ‘RADAR’ to look for a stray boat? At this hour all commercial activity had ceased Dusan was up at the head of the Lake somewhere and as it turned out, he had run into trouble. But he didn’t want to be rescued, especially by the Earnslaw, and the media attention that it would generate. I jumped into the car and went to search for them. Wet and cold, as they had both fallen overboard  and knowing that hypothermia is always a problem under these conditions. The Lake is long deep and cold (About 60 km) and narrow, with the road running close to the shore. Knowing the general direction where they were, I soon located them. Bundled them into my car. Tied up their craft, said I would retrieve it on the morrow. Got them home for a hot shower, something warm to eat, and off to bed. Dusan said something very kind to me as I was tucking him in. ‘I knew you would come for us’.
Sandy was as different from Dusan as you could get. I had actually done business with Sandy back when I had the milk run and we had two chests of tokens stamped out in copper and cupronickel. I was certainly a leader in this regard. Initially they didn’t go down very well with the public, but I had to do something about the theft of money that people were putting out. Sandy was one of the old school in that his word was his bond, he got very upset when he met someone who would weasel themselves out of any arrangement. I really enjoyed his company over the years. He spent a lot of his time on the golf course.
After the boat incident I purchased a cell phone and gave it to Dusan to keep a tighter rein on him. Immediately I received a call from Sydney asking me to explain why I purchased that particular service, when there were better ones on the market. I said what I had bought the one that gave the best local coverage, regardless of what their ability was in other places. End of story. I realised then that even while in New Zealand, Dusan was under close observation from his family. On most visits to New Zealand Dusan usually brought along most of his Grand Children. On these trips Dusan operated under the ‘No Rules System’, The kids could do as they wished regarding bathing, sleeping, or eating matters. The system worked as they all turned out well behaved and adjusted young adults.

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Hobbies

Sunday, January 15th, 2012
Dear Peg and Friends,
I was thinking about the next subject I would like to discuss. ‘Hobbies’ seemed to be the number one standout, and they are something that I have spent far too much time on. I have never been bothered with computer gaming, but I seem to have played around with most diverse other things that have interested me over the years. Some were only of a passing interest. The longest lasting of all my hobbies has been was Fishing. It has been top of the list for a long time. Manytimes I have put my gear away, but I have always returned. Without a doubt it’s something that I have had to work at, but the one kind of fishing I found the hardest, and most difficult to get  some reward for my efforts is Salmon fishing. I have really tried, but I gave it up after several barren years. I never returned once I worked out that each salmon that I caught was worth several hundred dollars by the time it ended up in the pan. I don’t have enough patience or money for that kind of result. Too often I was thinking of just how much it was costing me, but after one bad season when I caught absolutely nothing. I just gave it away. I decided from then on I would just buy my salmon at $14 a kilo from the salmon farm when I was in the area.
I liked Hand Lining off the rocks around Blue Skin Bay. but this too has become difficult, today there are not many sizeable fish left. The problem is that there is only a very small rocky foreshore on parts of the East coast. This reef area where fish love to frequent, unfortunately in some areas they have nearly been fished out. Today you really require a boat to move off shore, and look for a reef that’s been overlooked by other recreational fishermen.
The one area that seems to be neglected and overlooked are the Sand Banks at the mouth of Otago Harbour. The fish there that I’m after are flounders who move in and out of the harbour with the tides. I have used various methods of catching a meal. I have had the most success with a  small spear when walking at low tide at night, and carrying a petrol lamp. The whole area appears to be a nursery for flounders, as you will see hundreds of undersized fish when out on a nightly wade. Or in deeper water, when you can fish with a longer spear, but then you needed a simple light box.
Once I had taken several of the young companions  from the Bank out on an fishing expedition. It was a mistake, as I spent more time herding my fellow fishermen into safe areas, than fishing. As it happened, there was another party fishing in our area. And very well equipped too, with car batteries, all carried in an inflatable boat, and finished off with automotive sealed beam lights. As I approached this other party, who turned out to be complete novices. By chance on approaching them I stood on a fish. Until I could get a spear, I kept my foot firmly planted on what I thought and hoped was a captive fish. But at this stage I didn’t know exactly what I was standing on. Most fishermen are tricky devils and reluctant to give away any of their secrets, or many times even to tell the truth. When the other party confessed that they couldn’t even find a single fish, I volunteered to give them a demonstration, which I did by sliding the spear along side my boot and pulling up a very large flounder. To say they were impressed would have been an understatement. In fact they were completely flabbergasted. They all said they were wasting their time, as they couldn’t even see the bottom, after the sand was stirred up. Yet I was catching fish right under their nose in very difficult conditions.
Photography was another hobby. As soon as I purchased my camera, a single lens reflex, I also joined the Dunedin Photography Society. As I wanted to take ‘Good’ Photographs. When I thought I had taken some acceptable photos, I was bold enough to enter some into their competitions. These were shown one night with all the other dud non accepted photographs for critical examination. I suffered stinging criticism, but I was learning, and finding out what the photographic world considered what was a ‘Good Photograph’. I was grateful for the lessons I received, and what I had learned by osmosis. It was a very painful experience, but after many lessons and suffering much humiliation, for a few years I did learn how to take an acceptable photograph.
Another hobby was trap shooting. I got into this through the War. The Air Force recognised this kind of shooting was of a great training aid, while learning to become a fighter Pilot. The way you go about Shooting down another Aircraft, is the same as hitting any moving target. It’s a matter of leading your target, and following through. In my day you had to learn all the angles, and I quickly discovered that the small angles were the ones you were more likely to Miss any target. For instant 60 to 90, degrees were always a full deflection shot, all other angles, say 30 degrees was the product of 60 degrees. 30/60 is fifty per cent of the speed of the target. The gun sights of the aircraft back then was calibrated by speed bands of 100 or 150 mph. I never lost my love of shooting, the only down side was the cost. It’s an expensive hobby. I purchased all the components and a reloading machine to reload my own ammunition. This helped to keep the costs affordable. Understanding the ballistics of the 12 gauge cartridge was a big help.
One day the Bank I worked for took a huge step forward and entered the electronic age. They had decided to integrate some of their operations, such as ‘ledger keeping’ fully into the computing world. I had read some about computers, and wanted to know more. So immediately I went out and purchased a basic model for myself. It was a Commodore 64 and what a learning curve and hobby that started me on. It had only a limited memory, but over the years this has increased until today, all the Bank’s operations are now part, or fully computerised. So much so, that today you don’t need all that much knowledge to be a Bank Manager, all that’s required is to be just to be a little computer savvy, with a large dollop of common sense.
Love from Christchurch,
Wally
I was thinking about the next subject I would like to discuss. ‘Hobbies’ seemed to be the number one standout, and they are something that I have spent far too much time on. I have never been bothered with computer gaming, but I seem to have played around with most diverse other things that have interested me over the years. Some were only of a passing interest. The longest lasting of all my hobbies has been was Fishing. It has been top of the list for a long time. Manytimes I have put my gear away, but I have always returned. Without a doubt it’s something that I have had to work at, but the one kind of fishing I found the hardest, and most difficult to get  some reward for my efforts is Salmon fishing. I have really tried, but I gave it up after several barren years. I never returned once I worked out that each salmon that I caught was worth several hundred dollars by the time it ended up in the pan. I don’t have enough patience or money for that kind of result. Too often I was thinking of just how much it was costing me, but after one bad season when I caught absolutely nothing. I just gave it away. I decided from then on I would just buy my salmon at $14 a kilo from the salmon farm when I was in the area.
I liked Hand Lining off the rocks around Blue Skin Bay. but this too has become difficult, today there are not many sizeable fish left. The problem is that there is only a very small rocky foreshore on parts of the East coast. This reef area where fish love to frequent, unfortunately in some areas they have nearly been fished out. Today you really require a boat to move off shore, and look for a reef that’s been overlooked by other recreational fishermen.
The one area that seems to be neglected and overlooked are the Sand Banks at the mouth of Otago Harbour. The fish there that I’m after are flounders who move in and out of the harbour with the tides. I have used various methods of catching a meal. I have had the most success with a  small spear when walking at low tide at night, and carrying a petrol lamp. The whole area appears to be a nursery for flounders, as you will see hundreds of undersized fish when out on a nightly wade. Or in deeper water, when you can fish with a longer spear, but then you needed a simple light box.
Once I had taken several of the young companions  from the Bank out on an fishing expedition. It was a mistake, as I spent more time herding my fellow fishermen into safe areas, than fishing. As it happened, there was another party fishing in our area. And very well equipped too, with car batteries, all carried in an inflatable boat, and finished off with automotive sealed beam lights. As I approached this other party, who turned out to be complete novices. By chance on approaching them I stood on a fish. Until I could get a spear, I kept my foot firmly planted on what I thought and hoped was a captive fish. But at this stage I didn’t know exactly what I was standing on. Most fishermen are tricky devils and reluctant to give away any of their secrets, or many times even to tell the truth. When the other party confessed that they couldn’t even find a single fish, I volunteered to give them a demonstration, which I did by sliding the spear along side my boot and pulling up a very large flounder. To say they were impressed would have been an understatement. In fact they were completely flabbergasted. They all said they were wasting their time, as they couldn’t even see the bottom, after the sand was stirred up. Yet I was catching fish right under their nose in very difficult conditions.
Photography was another hobby. As soon as I purchased my camera, a single lens reflex, I also joined the Dunedin Photography Society. As I wanted to take ‘Good’ Photographs. When I thought I had taken some acceptable photos, I was bold enough to enter some into their competitions. These were shown one night with all the other dud non accepted photographs for critical examination. I suffered stinging criticism, but I was learning, and finding out what the photographic world considered what was a ‘Good Photograph’. I was grateful for the lessons I received, and what I had learned by osmosis. It was a very painful experience, but after many lessons and suffering much humiliation, for a few years I did learn how to take an acceptable photograph.
Another hobby was trap shooting. I got into this through the War. The Air Force recognised this kind of shooting was of a great training aid, while learning to become a fighter Pilot. The way you go about Shooting down another Aircraft, is the same as hitting any moving target. It’s a matter of leading your target, and following through. In my day you had to learn all the angles, and I quickly discovered that the small angles were the ones you were more likely to Miss any target. For instant 60 to 90, degrees were always a full deflection shot, all other angles, say 30 degrees was the product of 60 degrees. 30/60 is fifty per cent of the speed of the target. The gun sights of the aircraft back then was calibrated by speed bands of 100 or 150 mph. I never lost my love of shooting, the only down side was the cost. It’s an expensive hobby. I purchased all the components and a reloading machine to reload my own ammunition. This helped to keep the costs affordable. Understanding the ballistics of the 12 gauge cartridge was a big help.
One day the Bank I worked for took a huge step forward and entered the electronic age. They had decided to integrate some of their operations, such as ‘ledger keeping’ fully into the computing world. I had read some about computers, and wanted to know more. So immediately I went out and purchased a basic model for myself. It was a Commodore 64 and what a learning curve and hobby that started me on. It had only a limited memory, but over the years this has increased until today, all the Bank’s operations are now part, or fully computerised. So much so, that today you don’t need all that much knowledge to be a Bank Manager, all that’s required is to be just to be a little computer savvy, with a large dollop of common sense.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Hobbies

Electronic Books

Saturday, January 7th, 2012
Dear Peg and Friends
We didn’t realise it at the time, but the arrival of the ‘Apples’ new device called ‘IPAD’ onto the retail market, was heralding an avalanche of their product. A lot of these devices were directly introduced by the intervention of the electronic wonder boy, ‘Steve Jobs’. He didn‘t invent many of these applications, but he could immediately see what no one else could. A practical application of these recent discoveries.
He saw what could be done in a very practical way with what had already been discovered. Now just about everybody that you meet today, already has one of Apples latest offerings from their stable of electronic gadgets. Whether it be an Iphone, Ipod, or Ipad.
At date Apple appears to be out in front, but there are many similar operating systems that also come under the broad heading and name of a ‘Tablet’. All operating with similar systems such as ‘Android’. They are all busy playing ‘catch up’, and all are pushing their product into an eager market. I can see that this simple device, has the ability to change the way we use our electronic aids, this simple device is going to bring about some monumental changes to home computing.
One other contender who has arrived to sell their product is the Korean, ‘Samsung’ the mega manufacturer in the phone market. They have gone down the same path as Apple, but are much cheaper and are already claiming their market share.
The ‘Ipad’, and as well as the many other devices who use Apple, or their equivalent. The Android now offers an alternative operating system. All these devices have a breathtaking ability to take over varied tasks, be they computing, telephone, gaming. But none of these devices will ever be used to their full potential. The average lap top used by kids at school today, has enough processing power to control half a dozen moon landings, all contemporaneously as well. Their multitasking ability is unbelievable, something the average student will never avail themselves of, or test them to anywhere near their full potential. Unfortunately most will spend much of their time playing games.
They have another attribute that is just emerging, and that’s the ‘Electronic Book’. These books have been loitering for some time in the shadows, but lacked a device to exploit their potential. However with the arrival of the ‘Ipad’ and the even newer ‘Tablet’, their time has arrived. They have the ability which enables the owners of these electronic devices, to ‘down load’ whole electronic books in a flash.
When I initially found out that books were joining electronic age. I phoned our local library to find out if they too were joining this new phenomenon. They said yes they were, but were only embracing certain of the operation systems. But more to the point, none of any of books being accepted, were related to the ‘Kindle’ operating system. This is the system that is being pushed by Amazon. And Amazon is one of the largest booksellers on the world market. As well, as this International Book Shop, the Local store ‘Dick Smith’ is selling the Kindle device throughout New Zealand.
Amazon will sell you any book from their inventory ‘instantly’, (In real time about one second, and this includes the financial transaction). This transaction can take place either from a Kindle device, or from your Lap Top.
So a new marketing maverick has arrived, and like it or like it not, they can sell you very cheaply, a electronic copy of any book in stock, or even a freebie, from an inventory which numbers millions. These electronic copies, you can keep forever, or delete from your machine once read.
I have been very lucky in this regard as ‘Papa Noel’ popped a Kindle machine into my stocking. I have found to my amazement that’s it’s easy to read, and it’s the ideal gadget to snuggle up to in bed.
To put it bluntly I’m fascinated by the device,
Love from Christchurch,
Wally
We didn’t realise it at the time, but the arrival of the ‘Apples’ new device called ‘IPAD’ onto the retail market, was heralding an avalanche of their product. A lot of these devices were directly introduced by the intervention of the electronic wonder boy, ‘Steve Jobs’. He didn‘t invent many of these applications, but he could immediately see what no one else could. A practical application of these recent discoveries.
He saw what could be done in a very practical way with what had already been discovered. Now just about everybody that you meet today, already has one of Apples latest offerings from their stable of electronic gadgets. Whether it be an Iphone, Ipod, or Ipad.
At date Apple appears to be out in front, but there are many similar operating systems that also come under the broad heading and name of a ‘Tablet’. All operating with similar systems such as ‘Android’. They are all busy playing ‘catch up’, and all are pushing their product into an eager market. I can see that this simple device, has the ability to change the way we use our electronic aids, this simple device is going to bring about some monumental changes to home computing.
One other contender who has arrived to sell their product is the Korean, ‘Samsung’ the mega manufacturer in the phone market. They have gone down the same path as Apple, but are much cheaper and are already claiming their market share.
The ‘Ipad’, and as well as the many other devices who use Apple, or their equivalent. The Android now offers an alternative operating system. All these devices have a breathtaking ability to take over varied tasks, be they computing, telephone, gaming. But none of these devices will ever be used to their full potential. The average lap top used by kids at school today, has enough processing power to control half a dozen moon landings, all contemporaneously as well. Their multitasking ability is unbelievable, something the average student will never avail themselves of, or test them to anywhere near their full potential. Unfortunately most will spend much of their time playing games.
They have another attribute that is just emerging, and that’s the ‘Electronic Book’. These books have been loitering for some time in the shadows, but lacked a device to exploit their potential. However with the arrival of the ‘Ipad’ and the even newer ‘Tablet’, their time has arrived. They have the ability which enables the owners of these electronic devices, to ‘down load’ whole electronic books in a flash.
When I initially found out that books were joining electronic age. I phoned our local library to find out if they too were joining this new phenomenon. They said yes they were, but were only embracing certain of the operation systems. But more to the point, none of any of books being accepted, were related to the ‘Kindle’ operating system. This is the system that is being pushed by Amazon. And Amazon is one of the largest booksellers on the world market. As well, as this International Book Shop, the Local store ‘Dick Smith’ is selling the Kindle device throughout New Zealand.
Amazon will sell you any book from their inventory ‘instantly’, (In real time about one second, and this includes the financial transaction). This transaction can take place either from a Kindle device, or from your Lap Top.
So a new marketing maverick has arrived, and like it or like it not, they can sell you very cheaply, a electronic copy of any book in stock, or even a freebie, from an inventory which numbers millions. These electronic copies, you can keep forever, or delete from your machine once read.
I have been very lucky in this regard as ‘Papa Noel’ popped a Kindle machine into my stocking. I have found to my amazement that’s it’s easy to read, and it’s the ideal gadget to snuggle up to in bed.
To put it bluntly I’m fascinated by the device,

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Electronic Books

Tattoos

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Dear Peg and Friends,
Of all the body adornments that I hate the most, The tattoos would have to head the list. Perhaps there is or was a place for them in times past, when our primitive society seem to be leading the charge and knew no better. Really as an art form that’s where it should have been kept. Back in the past. Further more there is not much in our primitive brother’s culture, that I admire, and that’s where in the main this recent outburst of expression is coming from. I have studied their culture of Tattooing. The more I see of it. The more I realise just how shallow it is. It bothers the followers not a jot. Many are obsessed by it, and as well their chanting, which they repeat endlessly. The Haka for example is something that they trot out and perform endlessly, on any occasion. And you who are on the outside, hoping for some change in their displays, forget it, they haven’t got any. What you see, is all there is, and that’s all there is to it. Just a childish repetition, over and over.
On many occasions, well on every chance they get, they broadcast a mass display. They are all candidates of the avoirdupois club. But this doesn’t stop them from performing in various stages of undress, they display more than their share of grossly overweight members. They get a lot of ‘air time’, too much in fact, If I’m surfing for a station to watch, and should I happen onto a Maori programme. It’s always the same. ‘In your face aggression’. And so help me, it never changes. Even the native kids in swaddling clothes are at it, it never changes even a little bit. Repetition, repetition. Really, it has no place in today’s order of things. We live in a very violent Society as it is, and I’m sure that a lot of our social and crime problems all lie at the feet of this of organised aggression which is being encouraged even at a the State level.
They also have taken to the idea of sticking studs into their lips, tongue, eyebrows, ears, even would you believe their nipples. This practice is something I don’t like either. Always there are some who take this extension of sticking a bone through your nose another hangover from the past, again it’s a step too far. Someone is always looking for a bigger bone.
All this leads onto body Tattoo. In early days the female was happy with a Moko which is a Tattooed chin. There were one or two around when I was a boy, but this now has given over to whole body Tattoo. The tattooing of a whole body today is rampant, and why they stop at the neck line I don’t know, something must be holding them back. Beautiful girls who were lucky enough to be blessed with a million dollar body, set about adorning it with Polynesian graffiti. Easy to put on, but it’s going to be very difficult to remove should they change their mind and want it removed down the track.
The Polynesian way today, is where the money is. They are pandered to by the State and offered free trips and education, so your display could have a financial rewards a well. However I’m happy to express my dislike of the culture and something we can well do without.
Love from Christchurch,
Wally
Of all the body adornments that I hate the most, The tattoos would have to head the list. Perhaps there is or was a place for them in times past, when our primitive society seem to be leading the charge and knew no better. Really as an art form that’s where it should have been kept. Back in the past.
Further more there is not much in our primitive brother’s culture, that I admire, and that’s where in the main this recent outburst of expression is coming from. I have studied their culture of Tattooing. The more I see of it. The more I realise just how shallow it is. It bothers the followers not a jot. Many are obsessed by it, and as well their chanting, which they repeat endlessly. The Haka for example is something that they trot out and perform endlessly, on any occasion. And you who are on the outside, hoping for some change in their displays, forget it, they haven’t got any. What you see, is all there is, and that’s all there is to it. Just a childish repetition, over and over.
On many occasions, well on every chance they get, they broadcast a mass display. They are all candidates of the avoirdupois club. But this doesn’t stop them from performing in various stages of undress, they display more than their share of grossly overweight members. They get a lot of ‘air time’, too much in fact, If I’m surfing for a station to watch, and should I happen onto a Maori programme. It’s always the same. ‘In your face aggression’. And so help me, it never changes. Even the native kids in swaddling clothes are at it, it never changes even a little bit. Repetition, repetition. Really, it has no place in today’s order of things. We live in a very violent Society as it is, and I’m sure that a lot of our social and crime problems all lie at the feet of this of organised aggression which is being encouraged even at a the State level.
They also have taken to the idea of sticking studs into their lips, tongue, eyebrows, ears, even would you believe their nipples. This practice is something I don’t like either. Always there are some who take this extension of sticking a bone through your nose another hangover from the past, again it’s a step too far. Someone is always looking for a bigger bone.
All this leads onto body Tattoo. In early days the female was happy with a Moko which is a Tattooed chin. There were one or two around when I was a boy, but this now has given over to whole body Tattoo. The tattooing of a whole body today is rampant, and why they stop at the neck line I don’t know, something must be holding them back. Beautiful girls who were lucky enough to be blessed with a million dollar body, set about adorning it with Polynesian graffiti. Easy to put on, but it’s going to be very difficult to remove should they change their mind and want it removed down the track.
The Polynesian way today, is where the money is. They are pandered to by the State and offered free trips and education, so your display could have a financial rewards a well. However I’m happy to express my dislike of the culture and something we can well do without.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Tattoos