I Heard On The Grapevine

That Monday’s paper will have a ‘Mitchell article’ meaning they probably went running to the media to ensure they took as much glory away from the event as they could and people think I’m a bitch?

Let’s see what I’m being blamed for now.

The Southland Times The Otago Way

Received my first Southland Times out of Dunedin and not too impressed.  Thankfully it wasn’t wet this morning because it is, in effect, only wrapped with a piece of Glad Wrap and the ends were open to the elements.

The way it was folded/rolled has resulted in multiple folds and made it an absolute bugger to read.  If the pages got out of kilter it was a mission to realign it.  I’m not sold on their packaging.

I must remember to cancel my subscription and read it online.  Unfortunately the library edition is frequently loaded incorrectly with the Queenstown/Central version, I suppose on those days I could just buy one.  I’d be saving trees too by canceling I suppose.

Tim’s Speechless (And Blind)

Mayor Tim’s column has him speechless, and rightly so, but you can see he also has on rose tinted glasses.  Yay Invercargill, all is well with the city…”In our modest southern way we are running like a smooth well oiled machine.  OK, so we have a few issues, but if you look over the fence…

Maybe if he takes his head out of the sand and removes his rose tinted glasses he may see that Democratic Responsibility isn’t happening in Bluff…

Catching Up?

Obviously someone is catching up with some reading on my file sharing site.  Since Sam shared the library website for reading the paper I haven’t had the current ones viewed.  I won’t bother uploading them anymore.  The irony is that it has finally become a normal part of my day, not any more!

You can read back issues on the library website but I had problems initially.  I could view the current issue but the calendar feature didn’t function.  I like using Google Chrome (for the kids) but that was the problem.  Use Mozilla Firefox and it’s fully functional.  I don’t like change but slowly I am adjusting to using Firefox as my primary browser.

Sorted

Been having a problem with the library website, sorted now and letters to the editor are online for April.

The latest Bluff Beacon is out and after last week’s Bluff Beacon 2012 copyright, I was expecting it to be ongoing.  I don’t see any copyright on this weeks but the suggestion has made me wonder why I bother or why I should?  It is a busy time for me now with the oyster festival fast approaching so don’t expect it online with any regularity or at all.  If you want it…you may have to ask.  As always the comments feature is ON:-)

April Fool’s Day

It would be too obvious to rant about our Bluff elected fools today of all days.

I have set up another link on the right for letters to the editor for April and I can only hope it will be the last month I feel compelled to do it.  More people have found the blog lately because it seems I’m about the only information on the ‘net regarding FHWF.  By default more people have linked to my Keep and Share site and views have been over 1,000 in a few days.

Nice to see I’m being used but it would be nice to get feedback:-)

Sussed It!

All the voyuers out there aren’t much help (Sam excluded).  I was moaning that a text version of the letters to the editor was going to do my head in.  I wanted it to look like it does when printed in the paper.  I’ve found that all I had to do was select ‘in graphic’ when printing it.  I then get a newspaper look version for printing.  Thanks to the freebie program I installed ages ago (and re-installed when my other PC died) I then ‘print’ as a PDF.  CutePDF is a lifesaver on some things that don’t allow you to save but you can print.  It’s added as a printer but prints to file.  Technology is so cool!

I’ll redo the ones I printed in text and all will be right with the world….ahhhh

Stirling Point Memorial

From today’s Southland Times we have a memorial at Stirling Point being suggested

“I just think it’s a brilliant idea to have something there for the families, the friends, and anybody else, to just go and reflect there.”

I agree but doubt anyone can ‘reflect’ at Stirling Point.  It’s bedlam there at the best of times with parking issues and sometimes the odd ice cream truck.  Doesn’t seem very conducive to quiet contemplation and reflection.

The next step would be to lobby organisations for support and funding, Mr Harrison said.

Lobby would not be the word I would use.  It will be an easy sell.

Bluff Community Board chairwoman Jan Mitchell said having a memorial at Stirling Point was not a new idea, but it was a good one.

Sometimes it’s better to NOT say something for fear of sounding like you’re trying to steal someone’s thunder.  A lot of us are used to it though.

Years before the Kotuku tragedy, Bluff man Iwi Ryan had approached the board with the suggestion to build a memorial wall at Stirling Point, but the idea had never progressed, Mrs Mitchell said.

Probably because anything that has Board involvement stagnates or turns to shit.  If  I hear ‘Mrs Mitchell said’ and ‘Kotuku’ in the same sentence ever again, she better be talking about the bird!  You gave up the right to raise that (not that you have any understanding of it anyway) FFS!

The board was not itself able to apply for funding but other groups, such as the Bluff Community Charitable Trust, could, she said.

We also have a Maritime Museum Trust and Seafarer’s Centre (constitutions may not allow though) and another Trust chaired by the skipper of the Kotuku (!) and if Bluff Promotions can justify funding and installing picnic tables surely this fits their criteria.  Just got to get the BCCT name out there, eh?  People might start believing it’s a useful organisation serving the Bluff community…so when’s the next meeting?  Can the public attend?  When was the last time the trust made a charitable donation?  Oh, sorry, that’s right you need that money for the town hall we don’t get benefit from.  Maybe the trust could support the pool?  Nope.  How about when the medical centre needed a new car? Nope.  Wonder who the History Group are getting their funding for the Oyster Sculpture through?  That will be interesting.  I digress…

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt also said he supported the concept.

Well duh!  Who wouldn’t?

While the council was under a lot of pressure to focus on things such as roading and waste management, if a charitable trust were established the council could consider lending its support, he said. “I would like to think council is always open to every proposal.”

This from the same man that recently expressed that we were doubling up on costs by not housing shared services in the same building.  Let’s just set up ANOTHER trust.

LG101 – Welcome to local government 101, now that you’re an Elected Member, you will be required to check your brains and logic at the door…you MAY be able to collect them on exiting local government (but probably not)

Reducing My Workload

Thanks to Sam sharing this link to the Southland Times (and ever other paper) I am now able to reduce my workload.  The letters to the editor are now a PDF print version of the letters.  It does my head in because I prefer it to be the actual clipping (or at least the same format) from the paper but I have too much to do.  So at least they will still be able to be read by those further afield.

In light of the online access to the paper I will be reconsidering the need to upload them at all…unless someone can argue the need to continue.  If Invercargill offers this surely every other library does and with residents legislated to have free membership at their local library there shouldn’t be a need for me to continue.  For now I will.

Call Out The Lawyers!

Tim just called me a masochist…and every other councilwatcher resident who wants to be involved in how their city is run and ensure their elected members are representing them effectively and with financial prudence.  Surely there is a case for defamation to answer here!  LOL.

Tim’s column today reads like a eulogy for Nick Smith and reiterates what we all know about the ocean surrounding us.   I do agree that the pleas for amalgamation from within the community will rear up.  Gore, of course, screams out to be swallowed up.

As I said yesterday, I eagerly await today’s mail! (Why can’t they respond by email to those that supply an email address?)

BTW Can someone tell me how to find Tim’s column online, none of my searches have worked?

UPDATE: Thanks to Sam’s link, here’s a copy of Tim’s column.