Technology Grrrrs

 

I don’t consider myself as being stupid, but sometimes I have great difficulty in figuring out technology.

It has been some time since I added a new contact to my email list, but when I tried to do so today everything is different!  The old way of doing it is no more, and I had the greatest trouble trying to work out what I needed to change.

In the end, I got Son to look at it – and it took him a few goes to work it out, but we eventually got there. 

Four years ago today, I went for a walk below the Arizona Snowbowl ski field

Why, oh why, do THEY have to keep changing things?

Blogger does it to me, Facebook does it to me, Windows does it to me.  Even my phone does it to me!  And just when I think I have the television worked out, it wants to do an update and sends me cryptic messages that throw me all out again.

It was a glorious autumn day

Sometimes I want to throw my hands up in frustration and say I don’t want anything more to do with technology, then I remember my grandmother refusing to buy a certain fridge “because it has a computer in it” and realise we have to adapt to our times and go with the changes.

These fallen Aspen leaves looked like golden pennies scattered on the ground

I get used to the changes eventually 😊

Margaret.

 

Reducing Carbon Emissions

 

Today the Government announced they were going to be spending $2.9 billion on an Emissions Reduction Plan to combat Climate Change. 

Perhaps I was being naïve or overly-optimistic, but I thought they were about to say they were going to do something really practical and helpful.  Instead, it seems most of the money will be going on various working groups to investigate how they can use either carrots or sticks on high-energy users like farming and the transport industry, to get them to reduce their carbon emissions.  A lot of this research has already been done overseas. 

What about spending $2.9 billion on something practical like establishing recycling centres for electronics and batteries, or creating more infrastructure to cope with the expected demand for electric vehicles, or maybe promoting more energy efficient housing, along with educating the public on how to reduce their environmental footprint, or even developing public transport so people don’t need to use their cars as much?

The stated hope is that by 2035 we will be less reliant on cars and will be travelling 20% less kilometres than we do now.  That is a great ideal, but is it practical? 

How much individual responsibility does the world expect us to shoulder?  I’m told that our current daily rate of carbon emission is equal to about one hour in China, so how much do we really need to do to be able to say we are doing our part?

Photo Credit:  New Zealand Embassy of Ireland

New Zealand is a reasonable sized country – our land mass is 10% greater than the United Kingdom – and yet our population is a tiny five million.  To put that into perspective, it is about the same as the population of Melbourne (Australia), a little more than half of the population of London (England), and a little less than half of the population of Los Angeles (United States of America).   

We don’t have enough people to support grandiose ideals and the re-invention of the wheel.  But we do have enough people who love their country and would be only too willing to make lifestyle adjustments if they were given a little incentive and some practical direction.

And now I will apologise and say, “Sorry.”  I normally try not to rant and rave on my blog, but I felt so disappointed this afternoon that I had to say something.

I must say, I feel better now that I have said my piece!

Margaret 😊

 

Exempt From The Rules?

 

Our country is currently in electioneering mode.  I am your classic fence-sitter when it comes to politics and usually avoid any political discussions that happen around me.

But this weekend I have been disgusted by the behaviour of our current prime minister, Jacinda Ardern.

New Zealand is under Level Two restrictions because of a cluster in Auckland of people with Covid.  Businesses, especially small ones and those in the hospitality industry, are really struggling financially because of the limits being placed on them, even though there have been no cases throughout the rest of the country.

On the whole, I don’t think people mind the sacrifice they are making if it can be shown it helps protect others, but Jacinda’s show of hypocrisy hurts.

(photo retrieved online from stuff.co.nz)

Since when did the covid regulations apply to everybody except the person who should really be setting the highest example?  The students she had crowded around her are not even wearing masks, and the incident was apparently not an isolated one.

The government is expected to announce this afternoon what level of restrictions Auckland and the rest of the country will be facing for the next week.  I hope they decide that things can return to a more normal state again.

At least these two, Mittens and Millie, have no worries or concerns about Covid or elections!

Have a great day 😊

Margaret.

Headache

I really hate having a headache.  My head pounds, my eyes hurt, I cannot think straight, and I seem to be incapable of doing anything at all.

I woke this morning with a real doozie and it has totally wiped me out for the day.  I managed to read some blogs, watched a bit of TV, dozed in front of the fire (that son kindly lit to keep me cozy) and have swallowed as many painkillers as I am allowed.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be fine again!

Hugz to everyone J

Margaret.

Growing Grumbles

I have been speaking with a guy who couldn't see any point in lock-down.  Nobody in their area had been sick and he couldn't see any relevance in it.  Yesterday and today we have had zero confirmed new cases and no further deaths, which has only reinforced his viewpoint.

There seems to be a growing groundswell of grumbles that our restrictions are too severe.  More and more people are blatantly ignoring “the rules” and heading out to do their own thing.

It is left to the elderly and the vulnerable to feel fear about the virus, as the majority of the population begin to feel unaffected.

Part of the problem, I feel, is that our government’s strategy was too successful.  They were too efficient in preventing Covid-19 taking a hold here and the result is that many now feel blasé about it all.  As one person stated, it hasn’t really “arrived” here yet so the general public has no concept of the horrors of rampant community transmission and multiple deaths.

Our government is between a rock and a hard place.  Do they continue to restrict citizens for health reasons, or do they relax the rules so as to promote economic recovery and prevent thousands from facing severe hardship and mental distress?  It is a fine line that they are walking – a dangerous tightrope, in fact, with this being election year.  I don’t envy them.

Whatever people’s personal opinions are, it is surely our duty as citizens to follow the regulations the government decrees.

Stay safe and be kind to each other,

Margaret J

Roaming Dogs

This is a bit of a moan post tonight.  We were comfortably watching TV after dinner when a noise outside made my son go and investigate.

What he found were two small dogs that had baled up one of our cats in a corner of the garden.  The dogs ran away when they saw son, but the poor cat was absolutely terrified and took off for regions unknown.

It was a good 30 minutes before we were able to find her and coax her back into the house.  The other two cats were already inside, so no problems with them.

Why do people insist on owning dogs when they cannot be responsible owners? 

We have never seen either of these two animals before and so know that they do not belong to anybody who lives close by.  That means they are out loose and wandering the streets, and no doubt their owners would deny that they ever left their home properties.

Surely it is up to a dog's owner to ensure the animal remains on their own property if they intend to let them out during the evening.

I wonder who else has had their cats terrorized by these offending animals?

Margaret.