I have a vague memory of today, it’s been totally erased from my memory hopefully. We had a meeting with Adrian, Tiff, David and I out at Ranandi this morning, till 11am. Adrian is adamant he has never said anything to Keithie or Bruce about anything, so I must have been having a bad dream the last couple of days listening to him in the office telling Keithie and Bruce about the truck, the crew, etc. He’s going back to Brisbane next Tuesday for 4 weeks, which means I’ll have a pleasant Christmas without having to worry. I lost my temper a bit with him this morning, which I shouldn’t have, personally I don’t mind him, at work it is different though.
Anyway, onward and hopefully upward.
Tiff and I have the photos and stuff set up in Mendana Hotel for tomorrow, it wasn’t all that busy today, more everyone wandering around looking at each others stuff, tomorrow should be better. CSP (Community Sector Programmes) are happy, they have been sponsoring all of the training programmes for the past couple of years, and it’s a good opportunity for them to show everything they have achieved. As usual with successful programmes, the funding has been cut as the need is no longer there, as we have trained everyone. How they work that out I have no idea, last time I looked around town there were about 20,000 teenagers with no skills or work asking for more education opportunities. I know, it sounds stupid, teenagers asking for more school work, but that is how it is here. The kids really want to learn, they know it is the way out of being unemployed, admittedly some of them look like you wouldn’t like to meet them on a dark night, or even on a well lit day, but underneath the dreadlocks, the bandannas, the tattoos, the betel nut stained teeth, they want to learn. I’ve found the rougher looking people have the best attitudes, and also the nicest and friendliest attitudes as well.
I’ve seen a few of the headlines coming out of Copenhagen, I don’t know the word for the hysteria and panic the looney left are promoting. All of their data for the past 20 years has been shown to be falsified, altered beyond recognition, adjusted to suit their agenda, why keep the pretence up? Well, ok, the money, power and control, and driving the western countries bankrupt are some of the reasons.
It isn’t science anymore, it’s just total belief, worse than some fanatical religion.
Add in how all the Pacific Island States think they are going to be first into the trough for any money and it goes beyond belief. Where the hell is the money going to come from if you shut down all the industries? Turn countries like the USA, Britain, Europe into basket cases by cap and trade, shutting off the power generation, closing “non-green” industries? It’s no wonder China and India, and Japan have decided that it isn’t going to happen for them thank you.
Why not spend some time fixing the actual problems, like over population on some of the Islands? Degrading the soil, clear felling and logging forests, over fishing the seas? Or do those go into the too hard basket and it’s easier to parrot “Climate Change” and hold the begging bowl out. Which won’t fix the problems, and how much of that money would actually reach the people concerned after it has passed through all the politicians hands.
The water has been shut off again in Honiara. At times I really think I’d be happier living in a community like Komunimboko, without power/water etc, because you would have no expectations, you know that if it rains it fills the water tank to gravity feed the shower under the house, so long as the sun shines a bit there will be a trickle from the solar panels to recharge batteries etc, and there is always firewood available. Better that than coming home to find there is no water, the power goes off without any warning, the fridge has defrosted and everything is off.
I remember at the orientation week with VSA, the discussion about how all the little things gradually build up and become major things, so that it doesn’t take much to have you wishing you’d never volunteered. I don’t think I’ve got to that stage and wanting to leave, I can still see the end result slowly coming from what I’m doing, but I’m having a bad week for losing my temper at times, and snapping instead of discussing. Taking big bites of stuff to have done in a short time frame doesn’t help, given the length of time it takes to get things done here. You might have a deadline or timetable, but no one else does, and they aren’t going to work to your agenda.
Thursday 10th December
We had a good day at the CSP Forum. A lot of people came through, including a few Government ministers, and some of the Province Representatives. The stall next to us was the Solomon Island Coconut Oil Producers, they had used a grant from CSP to establish a cheaper and friendlier alternative to the Copra Processing process for coconut oil, and paying the producers a slightly better rate per kilo of oil as well. I was impressed with the process, they have a shop in town just behind BJS I’ll go in tomorrow and have a look. Coconut oil, Soaps, creams etc, all cold processed, so it is as close to pure oil as possible.
The Coffee Producers Group were there as well, 2 types, dark roast, and expresso, giving away free samples all day, and as they were just behind us, I was very happy. Ok, it cost me $50 in the end for 2 packets of coffee, and a jar of peanut butter, which at Lime Lounge prices would have got me 2 cappacinos.
I had a long conversation with the Provincial Member for Malaita, Dudley. He saw the photos of the chipper, and the crew making compost and using it for the nursery plants, and was interested in getting our style of programme started on Malaita. That led into one of my favourite themes about the cattle farms, and why don’t we bring in Water Buffalo again, he began to see the validity of the argument, considering that there has been $8 Million wasted so far on bringing in European cattle breeds which don’t do well in the heat and wet season. He’s got my contact details, so hopefully it will give me a few more things to get involved with.
I’ll really try to get more money allocated for the next forum, we were the poor relations at it today, everyone else had laptop projector set ups, or tv/dvd presentations going, the best we could do was have some photos up, and my laptop on a slide show of all the photos I’ve taken of the crew and the work the last year. Still I know all our money has gone on the crew and the actual work and training, well, certainly since I’ve been here anyway. I’m still not Mr. Popular with some people, but SEB is as honest as I can make it and I can’t be bothered with people trying to fiddle Aid money.
The water problem at home has been finally solved. They found that the inflow pipe to the header tank on the hill opposite me has never had a non-return valve fitted, so unless the main pump is going, it siphons all the water out of the tank and runs it back to the pump at the bottom of the hill, and presumably, back past it to lord knows where. So until that is fixed, I’m still without water in the house as usual. It’s only been 10 months that I’ve been here trying to get it sorted. And last night while I was under the house trying to see if I had any leaks or blockages, I found that the original plumbing runs up one of the steel pipes the house sits on, then the hot water line, and the copper inflow line, run across the top of the pipe, to the bathroom. Which doesn’t sound like too much of a problem, till you realise that the floor joist also sits on top of the pipe and is slowly crushing the pipes.
I’ve finally given up trying to find packaging for sending things back to NZ. It’s going to be recycled cardboard with newspaper wrapping. Still, the good thing is that we do have a postal service in Honiara. Bruce and Gwen have to wait till there is someone coming over to Guadacanal before they can get anything sent.
The Government Departments are still not paying any accounts, we are owed 3 months from Ministry of Infrastructure and Development (MID) which is causing a few cash flow problems. Close to $68,000 now, and the usual arguments each fortnight with Keithie over the wages because we are having to pay out and not being paid for the contract. We should get the payments finally in February next year, so long as the Government doesn’t fold or default on the accounts. Just getting through till then and keeping Tiff and the work crew going is getting harder every time, And my Australian nemesis hasn’t helped. TG he’s going back to Australia for a month.
I’ve spent the last couple of days working out how to set the phone. It works still, which is a blessing, I’ll have to get a neck cord for it, so I can hopefully keep it drier than the last one.
Belated Birthday Greetings to Gytha for last Friday?Thursday? the time difference always gets me mixed up with days.
Did anyone else see that absolute load of garbage about the cannibal polar bears because of AGW? It’s time some people got out more often into the real world. Polar bears aren’t cuddly, they are the top of the food chain in the Artic, they will and do eat everything they can find, and if it includes cubs, they will. It’s why the females keep the cubs with them for so long to keep them away from the males. I wish most of the people at Copenhagen would go visit Churchill in the polar bear season and go rush up and try to cuddle one. What is it going to be next, Save bloody Nemo????? Don’t eat that oyster, it may be pregnant? Turn off your lights? Well, that is going to a non choice when all the power stations get closed, then you won’t be allowed use candles because they give off the dreaded poisonous toxic CO2.
Collective religious hysteria in action. With “scientists” who peer review each others work, instead of putting out for everyone to check, Weather Offices that “adjust” “modify” “smooth” temperature records to fit the AGW scenario, including NIWA in New Zealand. I had been sort of hoping that there might have been some honest people in NIWA, but I’ve been totally disillusioned over what they have done with the data as well.
There’s been no sunspots, Cycle 24 is now the quietest cycle for a few hundred years, welcome to the Maunder Minimum again. Or certainly the next 30 year cooling cycle, if Cycle 24 doesn’t start soon it will be like the 1890’s to 1920 cold period. The Pacific Decahedral Oscillation started it’s cooling phase a couple of years back, about 2007, so this El Nino we’re meant to be having this summer here will possibly be the last big warming we’ll have for a while. So we’ll have the looney left lentil munchers trying to stop that next. I’ve never been so disappointed in a conservation movement as I have been with the Greens and all the other ecology groups. It’s as if they have had any intelligence removed and replaced with religious dogma.
When you think of the millions of $’s, €’s, ₤’s wasted on the whole thing that could have been better spent already getting rid of the pollution, instead of the whole stupid AGW hysteria.
Speaking of religious dogma, the Solomon Star for the past couple of weeks has had 2 people having an involved and earnest discussion via several pages in each issue about “Which is the Real Christian Church” and “Which is the True Sabbath Day” Both quoting reams of stuff going back to the Council of Nicea in 398? And it looks like every religious text since then. Full Biblical quotes, the last few days the Sol Star has had full page replies that just consist of quotes from every source you could ever think of, and then some I’ve never heard of as well. They take Religion seriously here, especially Christian ones. So long as they don’t do it on the streets and frighten the horses I can’t be bothered.
Here is my list of Solomon Island Time Definitions, thanks to Zoe for the initial idea and suggestions.
Solomon Island Time Definitions
Einstein never visited the Solomons, if he had the Theory of Relativity would be vastly different. Time is an elastic substance here, it bears no resemblance to time as measured elsewhere. The following definitions are an approximation of life here.
Today. A word fraught with danger for those new to the country. It is loosely tied to the calendar, eg. Today is Monday, after this it wanders down a twisting turning road of its own choosing. The phrase “I will do it today” has so many non-verbal clauses attached as to be meaningless,
“I will do it today………………
if my wantoks don’t borrow my hammer/spanner/saw/workboots/car
if I am going past the shop/store/factory
when I am next in town
if I remember before you come back
when my wantok bring back my saw/hammer/workboots
Tomorrow. It means “not today”. It has no further meaning nor validity in the conversation, other than as a starting point for the inevitable discussion 3 days later about why something wasn’t done yesterday.
Soon. This is a danger signal, if something is going to be done “soon”, you are best off going on that 3 month trip to the outer islands, possibly extending the trip to take in Vanuatu, New Caledonia and if finances allow, Rarotonga. On your return, you will be greeted with the words, “It is almost finished” or in exceptional circumstances the word “soon” will be added. “It will be finished soon, maybe tomorrow” cf.
Urgent. Never use the word “urgent” in any conversation, it is a confusing word having neither meaning nor relevance to life here. “Urgent” will be placed in an ever changing priority list, it may rise to the top 5 places at times, but is always trumped by wantok.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday 8th December 5.30am
I’ve mentioned about Adrian getting fixations on things for a week or so, this week it is the big truck. He’s been trying to find it since last Thursday, going around to David and Tiffanys Thursday/Friday, over the weekend, and he was quite agitated about it by Monday, to the extent that he’d gone to Keithie about the truck being missing. Unfortunately having the radiator develop a leak on Friday and the truck being in at the local White River fix it man didn’t help when he found out.
I get a headache just thinking about him now, Tiff and I try to have everything organised before he arrives at work, we never know when he is going to turn up though. We might not see him for a week or more, then he’s like a bad rash and all over us for a few days.
I thought I was over my weekend stomach upset, why is only weekends I get ill anyway? Going to work yesterday may not have been the smartest thing, another day sleeping would have been preferable but there is the class to take, Tiff and I have stuff to get done this week, so I’ll persevere with catching up with everything till Thursday or Friday then possibly have a long weekend in bed. Although I’ll feel ok by then and not bother.
I’ve got a phone that works again. It’s been my week for everything, Kiwibank, ANZ Bank, telephone, a small private garden to do for the Charge D’Affaires at the UN Office, well, not so small, but it will give 3 or 4 of the crew something to do for a few days, mostly replanting and tidy up.
Telekom had fun trying to get the phone to work. I went in last week and they managed to unlock it, but trying to use it got a recorded “You are not allowed to make this call” message. So back there yesterday. 2 hours later and after a lot of head scratching it now works. I have no idea what they did, the poor guy behind the desk was on the phone to their tech person, pulling up stuff on screen, dialling in various sets of numbers, till it finally burst into life. I got the feeling he wasn’t all that sure about what he’d done either, but it was working.
It is still trying to rain, the sky is all clouds and angry looking thunder heads, with a few low grumbles back in the hills, but that is all at the moment. Eventually the wet will arrive and by the end of it we’ll all be hoping for sunshine. Perverse bloody lot that we are.
8.45pm.
Ok I tried taking the day off, by 7am I wasn’t feeling as though I could drive, light headed, flashes of light and sparkly bits in my vision, coppery metallic taste in my mouth, migraine symptoms, so a day in bed with the curtains pulled and the ceiling fan going overtime was what I was hoping for.
Rang Tiffany about 8am, told her I was having a mental health day, rolled over and went back to sleep for 30 min, when she rang back with the news Adrian was out there causing problems. He doesn’t know how lucky he is at times, If I’d been able to drive I would probably have driven right over him out there.
Finally went into work about 10am, and found Adrian there telling everyone about the radiator having a leak, the work crew driving all over the place without anyone knowing where they are, how it’s all disorganised. Tiff was nearly in tears, Keithie was in her indignant mode, giving forth with more rules and regulations based on what Adrian was saying. If he’d bother to have asked first he would have found out the truck was in town Thursday and Friday, Tiff used it to get to work, and we’d hired it out Saturday to get a load of house timber for one of the work crew girls, after we had the radiator fixed, and we’d been organised till he arrived and sent the crew off to the wrong gardens and work places. I should have stayed in bed.
I’ve got all the pictures printed for the Forum on Wednesday/Thursday, I thought it was just Wednesday, Tiff told me today it’s actually 2 days, so we should get a good response for the courses next year.
Still waiting for the rains, everything is looking dry, well, for the tropics it is looking dry, Honiara itself always looks dusty and grubby, all the side streets are just crushed coral that dries out quickly and the dust gets everywhere.
Trying to get irrigation equipment here, solenoid valves, proper irrigation pvc pipe, rotator sprinkler heads is fun. I spent another bit of time at Island Enterprises, they should be able to get everything from Australia, but will let me know for sure Friday.
I need 580m of timber for the seats in Commonwealth Ave, plus 273 steel frames to be made for them, I need prices first though so MID can decide how much they want to spend. Pavers are another problem, they have to be imported, and they weigh heavy so the import costs are high. Everything else we have, I have the palms sorted out, and the palms and hibiscus for the Post Office are sorted.
I’ll have to catch up with the news from Copenhagen soon, I’ll try and read online tomorrow at some stage.
I get a headache just thinking about him now, Tiff and I try to have everything organised before he arrives at work, we never know when he is going to turn up though. We might not see him for a week or more, then he’s like a bad rash and all over us for a few days.
I thought I was over my weekend stomach upset, why is only weekends I get ill anyway? Going to work yesterday may not have been the smartest thing, another day sleeping would have been preferable but there is the class to take, Tiff and I have stuff to get done this week, so I’ll persevere with catching up with everything till Thursday or Friday then possibly have a long weekend in bed. Although I’ll feel ok by then and not bother.
I’ve got a phone that works again. It’s been my week for everything, Kiwibank, ANZ Bank, telephone, a small private garden to do for the Charge D’Affaires at the UN Office, well, not so small, but it will give 3 or 4 of the crew something to do for a few days, mostly replanting and tidy up.
Telekom had fun trying to get the phone to work. I went in last week and they managed to unlock it, but trying to use it got a recorded “You are not allowed to make this call” message. So back there yesterday. 2 hours later and after a lot of head scratching it now works. I have no idea what they did, the poor guy behind the desk was on the phone to their tech person, pulling up stuff on screen, dialling in various sets of numbers, till it finally burst into life. I got the feeling he wasn’t all that sure about what he’d done either, but it was working.
It is still trying to rain, the sky is all clouds and angry looking thunder heads, with a few low grumbles back in the hills, but that is all at the moment. Eventually the wet will arrive and by the end of it we’ll all be hoping for sunshine. Perverse bloody lot that we are.
8.45pm.
Ok I tried taking the day off, by 7am I wasn’t feeling as though I could drive, light headed, flashes of light and sparkly bits in my vision, coppery metallic taste in my mouth, migraine symptoms, so a day in bed with the curtains pulled and the ceiling fan going overtime was what I was hoping for.
Rang Tiffany about 8am, told her I was having a mental health day, rolled over and went back to sleep for 30 min, when she rang back with the news Adrian was out there causing problems. He doesn’t know how lucky he is at times, If I’d been able to drive I would probably have driven right over him out there.
Finally went into work about 10am, and found Adrian there telling everyone about the radiator having a leak, the work crew driving all over the place without anyone knowing where they are, how it’s all disorganised. Tiff was nearly in tears, Keithie was in her indignant mode, giving forth with more rules and regulations based on what Adrian was saying. If he’d bother to have asked first he would have found out the truck was in town Thursday and Friday, Tiff used it to get to work, and we’d hired it out Saturday to get a load of house timber for one of the work crew girls, after we had the radiator fixed, and we’d been organised till he arrived and sent the crew off to the wrong gardens and work places. I should have stayed in bed.
I’ve got all the pictures printed for the Forum on Wednesday/Thursday, I thought it was just Wednesday, Tiff told me today it’s actually 2 days, so we should get a good response for the courses next year.
Still waiting for the rains, everything is looking dry, well, for the tropics it is looking dry, Honiara itself always looks dusty and grubby, all the side streets are just crushed coral that dries out quickly and the dust gets everywhere.
Trying to get irrigation equipment here, solenoid valves, proper irrigation pvc pipe, rotator sprinkler heads is fun. I spent another bit of time at Island Enterprises, they should be able to get everything from Australia, but will let me know for sure Friday.
I need 580m of timber for the seats in Commonwealth Ave, plus 273 steel frames to be made for them, I need prices first though so MID can decide how much they want to spend. Pavers are another problem, they have to be imported, and they weigh heavy so the import costs are high. Everything else we have, I have the palms sorted out, and the palms and hibiscus for the Post Office are sorted.
I’ll have to catch up with the news from Copenhagen soon, I’ll try and read online tomorrow at some stage.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday 6th December
Another hot humid sweltering weekend. The rains keep trying to arrive, we had a great downpour on Friday, and into Saturday morning, but then it all dried up and we are back to the steamy sauna feeling again.
It’s been a fun week in Honiara. On Wednesday the land owners where SIWA draw the town water supply from decided they needed a SBD$18 million advance on their land fees, well, they did apply for it some time back, and as it hasn’t been forthcoming, they pulled the plug on the water pumps. So Honiara was without water for all of Wednesday, and most of Thursday. It took till Friday for it to reach my house, I was quite pleased it rained Friday evening, I was standing outside in it for a while, getting thoroughly soaked. I get the feeling my neighbours think they have a mad palangi staying next door. The land owners accepted SBD$4,000 on Thursday morning.
Tiff and I have an invite to put a display stand up at the Solomon Island Education Forum on Wednesday, at Heritage Hotel. I’ve got a lot of photos of the last lot of students, Tiff has discs full of photos as well, so we will be able to get them printed up, with a handout to give to anyone interested in training next year. I’ve got the handout written up, it will need to be edited a bit, I sat and just wrote it yesterday, so it is a bit of a mouthful to bite on. I’ll try and get it down to 3 pages, with lots of big headings, and just enough information.
I found that my system isn’t as immune to the bugs here as I’ve been thinking. With the water being flushed through the pipes last week, it obviously disturbed a few things, and I’ve had one of those weekends when I haven’t been far away from the white porcelain telephone. Breakfast this morning came up faster than it went down, same with dinner last night, it’s been fruit juice and boiled water all day today. All that’s left is a bit of a headache now, but it was interesting.
I’d like to give a medal to whoever released all the emails from East Anglia Research Unit. Finally some proof that the data they keep pushing through the IPCC has been altered so much it is worthless. Plus losing all the original data so it is impossible to see where or how they got the results they publish. And Phil Jones resigned. The loony left wing lentil munchers are in damage control saying he was only a minor player, hello? Phil Jones is one of the group of 10 who decide on what goes into the IPCC reports, that isn’t a minor position.
Along with that good news, the big panic over Antarctica melting because there are icebergs drifting up to New Zealand again, the second time in a couple of years. I wish people would put their brains in gear first. If the ice was melting you wouldn’t have icebergs, the ice sheet is growing and calving, which is normal, it can’t sustain the size once it reaches a breaking point, so the edges break off, and go visiting. Beautiful things though, from the pictures in the NZ Herald last week. I wonder how that is going to be addressed at Copenhagen, and if it will be used to rush through more stupid CO2 is poison legislation. You really have to wonder where people went to school, and what they were taught. No CO2, no plants, no plants, no food, no food, hello, where does that leave us?
I’d be happy with CO2 at about 600ppm, plants grow better and faster, and don’t need as much water, and can grow in hotter temperatures.
We’ve got a couple of really busy weeks between now and Christmas, the Post Office job starts next week, the gardens through town need a good trim to cover us for a few weeks over the holidays while the crew have a fortnight away. Thankfully the Commonwealth Avenue job won’t start till next year, we can have everything ready for that though, so it should go smoothly. I’m looking forward to it, a bit of paving work again, more than a bit actually, close to 80 sq metres down the centre. I’ll resize the concept drawing and post it in there next week.
Zoe and Murph, you have snail mail on its way, hopefully it will arrive in the next month. As soon as I can get some scrap cardboard I’ll send the presents to NZ for everyone. Not that anyone is getting much, I’m turning into a miser here, I don’t have much choice, it costs too much for anything other than basic food.
Dave, if you send me US$25, I’ll send you SBD$200 in good notes and coins for your collection if you’re interested, that’s my food money for a week, and cigarettes as well in there. Unless I decide to splurge and get a carton of chocolate milk or a bottle of coke.
Here is the article I managed to have printed in the Solomon Star a couple of weeks back
Climate Change and Hysteria.
The Earth is getting warmer. That is not in dispute. For the last 150 – 200 years since the end of the Little Ice Age approximately 1850 – 1900 the global temperature has risen at 0.7*C per century. This rise has not altered in the long term, there have been fluctuating periods when it has risen faster, and also periods when it has stopped or decreased. These periods follow a 30 year cycle of alternate cooling followed by an equal period of warming.
The first global warming panic was in 1912 when the Washington Post posed these questions: "Is the climate of the world changing? Is it becoming warmer in the polar regions?" On November 2, 1922, the Associated Press reported that "the Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the waters too hot." On February 25, 1923, the New York Times concluded that "the Arctic appears to be warming up." On December 21, 1930, the Times noted that "Alpine glaciers are in full retreat." A few months later the New York Times concluded that there was "a radical change in climatic conditions and hitherto unheard of warmth" in Greenland.
After the warm weather of the 1930s gave way to a cooling trend beginning in 1940, the media began speculating on the imminent arrival of a new Ice Age. This culminated in the Global Cooling Ice Age predictions in the 1970’s by the same scientists that are now predicting an overheated world.
The IPCC hypothesis of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) and/or Climate Change is based on a small increase in CO2, and a theoretical amplification of the infra-red spectrum that CO2 absorbs into a runaway global heating effect. So far this remains a hypothesis, the predictions that the IPCC made based on this hypothesis have not eventuated, nor have they been found in the real world outside the computer models that the IPCC base their predictions on.
CO2 is a trace element, it is also one of the most important gases on Earth. Without CO2 plant life would not exist, taken to the natural conclusion, no plant life, no people. Life on Earth is carbon based, we need carbon to make plants grow, they breathe in the atmospheric CO2, utilise the carbon molecule, and breathe out the oxygen into the atmosphere. At present levels of CO2, estimated to be 380 (+/- 5) ppm, plants are still starved of carbon. As a horticulturist I am quite happy working in propagating facilities using 2,400 ppm – 3,000 ppm CO2, which is a common practice in nurseries and propagating facilities worldwide, as plants respond quicker, make faster growth, and require less water at those levels.
Trials have been conducted over many years using CO2 enrichment in food crops, timber crops, pasture, and it has been shown and accepted in peer reviewed trials that minimum levels of CO2 for optimum plant growth and productivity are 600ppm, a level that is slowly being attained.
CO2 as a heat absorber/transmitter. CO2 absorbs infra-red light in 3 very narrow and specific wavelengths, all towards the narrower end of the IR spectrum, taken together they total less than 8% of the total IR wavelength. Adding more CO2 to the existing levels does nothing, there is only so much IR radiation available, and what there is now is being fully absorbed. Water vapour (H2O) absorbs 92% of the remaining IR spectrum and also absorbs IR radiation in the same wavelengths as CO2. Remember that CO2 is less than 0.018% of the atmosphere. The IPCC computer models are designed to treat CO2 as a major multiplier, fortunately their predictions have not proven correct. For every 100,000 molecules in the air, only 38 are CO2.
The North Pole ice sheet will melt and flood the world. The people who came up with this scenario obviously missed school a bit. The Arctic Ice sheet floats in the Arctic Ocean. It is not land based as is Antarctica. We know it floats there because during the height of the Cold War America sent a nuclear submarine under the ice to the North Pole to show Russia that America controlled all the seaways that Russia might consider using. Knowing that all the ice is floating in the sea then leads us to a basic fact of science that has been known for 3,000 years. When an object is placed in water, it displaces a volume of water equal to the density of the object. If all the Artic ice melted, it would not affect sea level anywhere as it is already displacing a volume of water equal to its size now.
If you doubt this, put a large block of ice in a bowl, then fill the bowl to the brim with water and wait for the ice to melt.
But the Antarctic Ice sheet is breaking off. I’d be more concerned if it was shrinking, rather than growing to the extent that it breaks due to the size it reaches. The parts that have broken off the ice sheet are over the sea, and once a certain size is reached the weight of the ice becomes more than the frozen mass can hold, and the sheet breaks. Yes it does cause a large hole, or gap, but this fills as the sheet continues to grow out from Antarctica.
Sea levels are rising and flooding the Pacific Islands. Sea level measurements are not entirely accurate, or rather they have not been reliable for a long time. They can be altered by building subsidence, earthquakes, land subsidence, any number of factors. Since satellite data has been available for the past 20 – 30 years, sea levels have shown a slow rise associated with the gradual return to a warmer Earth from the Little Ice Age. The average sea level rise is 0.07 mm – 3 mm per year, although this also drops an equal amount depending on the effects caused by the ENSO weather pattern.
But Tuvalu is being flooded. A tidal gauge has been used on Tuvalu since 1977, this was replaced in 1999, by a more accurate one. So far the record from Tuvalu is that it is not the tide rising that is causing the damage as sea levels have not risen, and for a considerable period, levels actually fell. Tidal measurements from Tuvalu are now subjected to “smoothing” by the IPCC, and adjusted to match tidal measurements obtained from Hawaii.
Funafuti atoll is made up of 30 islands, islets, and barely above sea level atolls, the main island is 1/3 – ½ covered by a runway, paving, road and housing. When the runway was built during WW2, most of the centre of the island was scooped out for building material, vegetation was removed, and is still being removed as people build houses, the coral reef surrounding Funafuti is slowly being destroyed by sewage, rubbish, leachate from the “borrowpits” and the freshwater under the island is being depleted faster than it can replenish now that the island is paved over. This is not to say that the people of Tuvalu should not receive help, but perhaps it is time to actually consider the actual problems, and fix those, rather than call it global warming.
The Cartarets are another group of islands frequently put into centre stage as being affected by AGW. The Cartaret Group consist of a coral circle which is based on an undersea volcano. The part of the tectonic plate that this volcano sits on is slowly being subsumed by the Pacific plate as it slides over the Indo-Asian plate, we know about the effect this has on the surrounding islands, the Solomons are affected by the earthquakes caused by this movement. The volcano that the Cartarets are on is slowly but surely sinking, and in time will be swallowed back into the earth as the Pacific Plate continues its movement westward. Again, the inhabitants of the Carterets need assistance, but lets acknowledge the true cause of their plight, not some unproven hypothesis.
But the coast is being eroded. Coastal erosion can be caused by many things, not just sea level changes. Clear felling of forests as happens in the Solomons due to short sighted and corrupt business deals will devastate the coral reef around the island from soil, leachate, an increase in freshwater runoff as the forest is no longer slowing and retaining the water, once the coral is dead or dying, it breaks off removing the protection for the island or atoll. Again, consider what is causing the problem, an effect does not mean correlation, removing vegetation as happens with clear felling will slowly but surely deplete the water reservoir under the island by allowing the water to run off the soil instead of soaking through and replenishing the underground storage.
It’s getting hotter. As I stated at the beginning, yes the Earth is getting warmer. For the past 3,000 years (+/- 1,000) the Earth has fluctuated in temperature in a narrow 3*C band. As we recover from the Little Ice Age, we are going to warm up again. It is perfectly natural, and if we take into account the effects caused by ENSO and the Atlantic Mulitidecadal Oscillation we will experience a slow warming up to what the Earth considers to be the right temperature, not what the IPCC considers to be the “right” temperature. Remember that the IPCC decided that 15*C was the “right” temperature, with no scientific or peer accepted basis for this number. If they had chosen 16*C as the “right” figure, we would be trying to heat the earth up, it is just an arbitrary figure, the Earth will continue to do what it wants when it wants.
How much hotter will it get? I can’t say with certainty, but if the past is anything to go by, eventually the Earth will be about 1*C warmer than now. At the present rate of increase of 0.7*C per century, by 2200 it will stabilise, unless there is another ice age. Remember that between 1400 and 1900 the Earth was only 1*C/1.5*C cooler than now, and that was enough difference to create the coldest period in 12,000 years.
If it isn’t CO2, then what is warming the Earth? Go outside in the daytime and look up. All the warmth and light on Earth comes from the Sun. Some of the heat is trapped by what have now been called “Greenhouse” gases, of which water vapour is 97%. Without those gases, Earth would be frozen over. The Sun fluctuates and goes through a series of cycles, of which sunspot occurrence is proving to be of major interest. Lack of sunspots is directly related to periods of cooling as evidenced during the Maunder and Dalton Minimums from 1400 – 1900. It appears that the Sun is now going into a cool phase again, Sunspot Cycle 24 is now 3 years late in starting, and this is showing up as a decline in temperature as measured by the radar satellites now used to measure Earth Temperature.
Since the 1998 Super El Nino which caused a massive increase in global temperature, global temperatures have shown a slow but steady decline, and any increase up to the 1998 event has now been negated by the drop in measured temperature. It is being accepted that the Earth may be entering into another 30 year cooling cycle, which will be more severe than the last 1940 – 1970 period due to the slow start of Sunspot Cycle 24. Should this happen and it is becoming more likely as more and more data is collected and reviewed, the Solomons may become a haven for people escaping the winters in the north and south hemispheres.
What will be the effect of the proposed “cap and trade” and other legislation aimed at curbing CO2 emissions. The first thing that it will do is make Al Gore the richest man in Earths history. The companies set up to manage carbon offsets, trade and emissions are owned by him in partnership with Goldman Sachs and others. But while it may make him rich, it will be of no value as it will destroy the entire western industrial nations. It will be of no help to the Solomon Islands, if anything it will push the Solomon Islands further backward due to the cost of fuel for the existing generators, if we are still able to have them. Solar power and wind generators are fine for small scale village/house use, but for industry or any modern functioning city or country there is not enough ability in both of those methods to provide sufficient constant power.
And all for what in a few years will be recognised as a period of collective hysteria based on faulty computer models that cannot predict the weather in 2 weeks time, let alone predict accurately 100 or 200 years into the future.
I fully support cleaning up our environment, stopping pollution, improving living conditions for people, but doing the right things for the wrong reasons does not make the reasons correct.
It’s been a fun week in Honiara. On Wednesday the land owners where SIWA draw the town water supply from decided they needed a SBD$18 million advance on their land fees, well, they did apply for it some time back, and as it hasn’t been forthcoming, they pulled the plug on the water pumps. So Honiara was without water for all of Wednesday, and most of Thursday. It took till Friday for it to reach my house, I was quite pleased it rained Friday evening, I was standing outside in it for a while, getting thoroughly soaked. I get the feeling my neighbours think they have a mad palangi staying next door. The land owners accepted SBD$4,000 on Thursday morning.
Tiff and I have an invite to put a display stand up at the Solomon Island Education Forum on Wednesday, at Heritage Hotel. I’ve got a lot of photos of the last lot of students, Tiff has discs full of photos as well, so we will be able to get them printed up, with a handout to give to anyone interested in training next year. I’ve got the handout written up, it will need to be edited a bit, I sat and just wrote it yesterday, so it is a bit of a mouthful to bite on. I’ll try and get it down to 3 pages, with lots of big headings, and just enough information.
I found that my system isn’t as immune to the bugs here as I’ve been thinking. With the water being flushed through the pipes last week, it obviously disturbed a few things, and I’ve had one of those weekends when I haven’t been far away from the white porcelain telephone. Breakfast this morning came up faster than it went down, same with dinner last night, it’s been fruit juice and boiled water all day today. All that’s left is a bit of a headache now, but it was interesting.
I’d like to give a medal to whoever released all the emails from East Anglia Research Unit. Finally some proof that the data they keep pushing through the IPCC has been altered so much it is worthless. Plus losing all the original data so it is impossible to see where or how they got the results they publish. And Phil Jones resigned. The loony left wing lentil munchers are in damage control saying he was only a minor player, hello? Phil Jones is one of the group of 10 who decide on what goes into the IPCC reports, that isn’t a minor position.
Along with that good news, the big panic over Antarctica melting because there are icebergs drifting up to New Zealand again, the second time in a couple of years. I wish people would put their brains in gear first. If the ice was melting you wouldn’t have icebergs, the ice sheet is growing and calving, which is normal, it can’t sustain the size once it reaches a breaking point, so the edges break off, and go visiting. Beautiful things though, from the pictures in the NZ Herald last week. I wonder how that is going to be addressed at Copenhagen, and if it will be used to rush through more stupid CO2 is poison legislation. You really have to wonder where people went to school, and what they were taught. No CO2, no plants, no plants, no food, no food, hello, where does that leave us?
I’d be happy with CO2 at about 600ppm, plants grow better and faster, and don’t need as much water, and can grow in hotter temperatures.
We’ve got a couple of really busy weeks between now and Christmas, the Post Office job starts next week, the gardens through town need a good trim to cover us for a few weeks over the holidays while the crew have a fortnight away. Thankfully the Commonwealth Avenue job won’t start till next year, we can have everything ready for that though, so it should go smoothly. I’m looking forward to it, a bit of paving work again, more than a bit actually, close to 80 sq metres down the centre. I’ll resize the concept drawing and post it in there next week.
Zoe and Murph, you have snail mail on its way, hopefully it will arrive in the next month. As soon as I can get some scrap cardboard I’ll send the presents to NZ for everyone. Not that anyone is getting much, I’m turning into a miser here, I don’t have much choice, it costs too much for anything other than basic food.
Dave, if you send me US$25, I’ll send you SBD$200 in good notes and coins for your collection if you’re interested, that’s my food money for a week, and cigarettes as well in there. Unless I decide to splurge and get a carton of chocolate milk or a bottle of coke.
Here is the article I managed to have printed in the Solomon Star a couple of weeks back
Climate Change and Hysteria.
The Earth is getting warmer. That is not in dispute. For the last 150 – 200 years since the end of the Little Ice Age approximately 1850 – 1900 the global temperature has risen at 0.7*C per century. This rise has not altered in the long term, there have been fluctuating periods when it has risen faster, and also periods when it has stopped or decreased. These periods follow a 30 year cycle of alternate cooling followed by an equal period of warming.
The first global warming panic was in 1912 when the Washington Post posed these questions: "Is the climate of the world changing? Is it becoming warmer in the polar regions?" On November 2, 1922, the Associated Press reported that "the Arctic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the waters too hot." On February 25, 1923, the New York Times concluded that "the Arctic appears to be warming up." On December 21, 1930, the Times noted that "Alpine glaciers are in full retreat." A few months later the New York Times concluded that there was "a radical change in climatic conditions and hitherto unheard of warmth" in Greenland.
After the warm weather of the 1930s gave way to a cooling trend beginning in 1940, the media began speculating on the imminent arrival of a new Ice Age. This culminated in the Global Cooling Ice Age predictions in the 1970’s by the same scientists that are now predicting an overheated world.
The IPCC hypothesis of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) and/or Climate Change is based on a small increase in CO2, and a theoretical amplification of the infra-red spectrum that CO2 absorbs into a runaway global heating effect. So far this remains a hypothesis, the predictions that the IPCC made based on this hypothesis have not eventuated, nor have they been found in the real world outside the computer models that the IPCC base their predictions on.
CO2 is a trace element, it is also one of the most important gases on Earth. Without CO2 plant life would not exist, taken to the natural conclusion, no plant life, no people. Life on Earth is carbon based, we need carbon to make plants grow, they breathe in the atmospheric CO2, utilise the carbon molecule, and breathe out the oxygen into the atmosphere. At present levels of CO2, estimated to be 380 (+/- 5) ppm, plants are still starved of carbon. As a horticulturist I am quite happy working in propagating facilities using 2,400 ppm – 3,000 ppm CO2, which is a common practice in nurseries and propagating facilities worldwide, as plants respond quicker, make faster growth, and require less water at those levels.
Trials have been conducted over many years using CO2 enrichment in food crops, timber crops, pasture, and it has been shown and accepted in peer reviewed trials that minimum levels of CO2 for optimum plant growth and productivity are 600ppm, a level that is slowly being attained.
CO2 as a heat absorber/transmitter. CO2 absorbs infra-red light in 3 very narrow and specific wavelengths, all towards the narrower end of the IR spectrum, taken together they total less than 8% of the total IR wavelength. Adding more CO2 to the existing levels does nothing, there is only so much IR radiation available, and what there is now is being fully absorbed. Water vapour (H2O) absorbs 92% of the remaining IR spectrum and also absorbs IR radiation in the same wavelengths as CO2. Remember that CO2 is less than 0.018% of the atmosphere. The IPCC computer models are designed to treat CO2 as a major multiplier, fortunately their predictions have not proven correct. For every 100,000 molecules in the air, only 38 are CO2.
The North Pole ice sheet will melt and flood the world. The people who came up with this scenario obviously missed school a bit. The Arctic Ice sheet floats in the Arctic Ocean. It is not land based as is Antarctica. We know it floats there because during the height of the Cold War America sent a nuclear submarine under the ice to the North Pole to show Russia that America controlled all the seaways that Russia might consider using. Knowing that all the ice is floating in the sea then leads us to a basic fact of science that has been known for 3,000 years. When an object is placed in water, it displaces a volume of water equal to the density of the object. If all the Artic ice melted, it would not affect sea level anywhere as it is already displacing a volume of water equal to its size now.
If you doubt this, put a large block of ice in a bowl, then fill the bowl to the brim with water and wait for the ice to melt.
But the Antarctic Ice sheet is breaking off. I’d be more concerned if it was shrinking, rather than growing to the extent that it breaks due to the size it reaches. The parts that have broken off the ice sheet are over the sea, and once a certain size is reached the weight of the ice becomes more than the frozen mass can hold, and the sheet breaks. Yes it does cause a large hole, or gap, but this fills as the sheet continues to grow out from Antarctica.
Sea levels are rising and flooding the Pacific Islands. Sea level measurements are not entirely accurate, or rather they have not been reliable for a long time. They can be altered by building subsidence, earthquakes, land subsidence, any number of factors. Since satellite data has been available for the past 20 – 30 years, sea levels have shown a slow rise associated with the gradual return to a warmer Earth from the Little Ice Age. The average sea level rise is 0.07 mm – 3 mm per year, although this also drops an equal amount depending on the effects caused by the ENSO weather pattern.
But Tuvalu is being flooded. A tidal gauge has been used on Tuvalu since 1977, this was replaced in 1999, by a more accurate one. So far the record from Tuvalu is that it is not the tide rising that is causing the damage as sea levels have not risen, and for a considerable period, levels actually fell. Tidal measurements from Tuvalu are now subjected to “smoothing” by the IPCC, and adjusted to match tidal measurements obtained from Hawaii.
Funafuti atoll is made up of 30 islands, islets, and barely above sea level atolls, the main island is 1/3 – ½ covered by a runway, paving, road and housing. When the runway was built during WW2, most of the centre of the island was scooped out for building material, vegetation was removed, and is still being removed as people build houses, the coral reef surrounding Funafuti is slowly being destroyed by sewage, rubbish, leachate from the “borrowpits” and the freshwater under the island is being depleted faster than it can replenish now that the island is paved over. This is not to say that the people of Tuvalu should not receive help, but perhaps it is time to actually consider the actual problems, and fix those, rather than call it global warming.
The Cartarets are another group of islands frequently put into centre stage as being affected by AGW. The Cartaret Group consist of a coral circle which is based on an undersea volcano. The part of the tectonic plate that this volcano sits on is slowly being subsumed by the Pacific plate as it slides over the Indo-Asian plate, we know about the effect this has on the surrounding islands, the Solomons are affected by the earthquakes caused by this movement. The volcano that the Cartarets are on is slowly but surely sinking, and in time will be swallowed back into the earth as the Pacific Plate continues its movement westward. Again, the inhabitants of the Carterets need assistance, but lets acknowledge the true cause of their plight, not some unproven hypothesis.
But the coast is being eroded. Coastal erosion can be caused by many things, not just sea level changes. Clear felling of forests as happens in the Solomons due to short sighted and corrupt business deals will devastate the coral reef around the island from soil, leachate, an increase in freshwater runoff as the forest is no longer slowing and retaining the water, once the coral is dead or dying, it breaks off removing the protection for the island or atoll. Again, consider what is causing the problem, an effect does not mean correlation, removing vegetation as happens with clear felling will slowly but surely deplete the water reservoir under the island by allowing the water to run off the soil instead of soaking through and replenishing the underground storage.
It’s getting hotter. As I stated at the beginning, yes the Earth is getting warmer. For the past 3,000 years (+/- 1,000) the Earth has fluctuated in temperature in a narrow 3*C band. As we recover from the Little Ice Age, we are going to warm up again. It is perfectly natural, and if we take into account the effects caused by ENSO and the Atlantic Mulitidecadal Oscillation we will experience a slow warming up to what the Earth considers to be the right temperature, not what the IPCC considers to be the “right” temperature. Remember that the IPCC decided that 15*C was the “right” temperature, with no scientific or peer accepted basis for this number. If they had chosen 16*C as the “right” figure, we would be trying to heat the earth up, it is just an arbitrary figure, the Earth will continue to do what it wants when it wants.
How much hotter will it get? I can’t say with certainty, but if the past is anything to go by, eventually the Earth will be about 1*C warmer than now. At the present rate of increase of 0.7*C per century, by 2200 it will stabilise, unless there is another ice age. Remember that between 1400 and 1900 the Earth was only 1*C/1.5*C cooler than now, and that was enough difference to create the coldest period in 12,000 years.
If it isn’t CO2, then what is warming the Earth? Go outside in the daytime and look up. All the warmth and light on Earth comes from the Sun. Some of the heat is trapped by what have now been called “Greenhouse” gases, of which water vapour is 97%. Without those gases, Earth would be frozen over. The Sun fluctuates and goes through a series of cycles, of which sunspot occurrence is proving to be of major interest. Lack of sunspots is directly related to periods of cooling as evidenced during the Maunder and Dalton Minimums from 1400 – 1900. It appears that the Sun is now going into a cool phase again, Sunspot Cycle 24 is now 3 years late in starting, and this is showing up as a decline in temperature as measured by the radar satellites now used to measure Earth Temperature.
Since the 1998 Super El Nino which caused a massive increase in global temperature, global temperatures have shown a slow but steady decline, and any increase up to the 1998 event has now been negated by the drop in measured temperature. It is being accepted that the Earth may be entering into another 30 year cooling cycle, which will be more severe than the last 1940 – 1970 period due to the slow start of Sunspot Cycle 24. Should this happen and it is becoming more likely as more and more data is collected and reviewed, the Solomons may become a haven for people escaping the winters in the north and south hemispheres.
What will be the effect of the proposed “cap and trade” and other legislation aimed at curbing CO2 emissions. The first thing that it will do is make Al Gore the richest man in Earths history. The companies set up to manage carbon offsets, trade and emissions are owned by him in partnership with Goldman Sachs and others. But while it may make him rich, it will be of no value as it will destroy the entire western industrial nations. It will be of no help to the Solomon Islands, if anything it will push the Solomon Islands further backward due to the cost of fuel for the existing generators, if we are still able to have them. Solar power and wind generators are fine for small scale village/house use, but for industry or any modern functioning city or country there is not enough ability in both of those methods to provide sufficient constant power.
And all for what in a few years will be recognised as a period of collective hysteria based on faulty computer models that cannot predict the weather in 2 weeks time, let alone predict accurately 100 or 200 years into the future.
I fully support cleaning up our environment, stopping pollution, improving living conditions for people, but doing the right things for the wrong reasons does not make the reasons correct.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
2nd December
At times I just want to pull the sheet back over my head and stay in bed for the day. Usually after I’ve got up, and gone to work.
2 high points of the day, Adrian and Kiwibank. I use “high points” in the sense that they were significant, not necessarily beneficial or enlightening.
Adrian decided to take Tiff and get some chain to secure the truck battery in place this morning, I forgot to mention yesterday that the truck battery was stolen from the road outside Tiffany and Davids house, well, ok, track not road, and Adrian wanted to take half the crew yesterday morning to help put the spare one off the chipper into the truck. At 8.30, just as we’re trying to sort out who was going where. I still had the small truck to take everyone around, but Adrian was having a major panic over the battery instead. I had the battery down the list about #29, deal with it later, at the moment we need to get the crew working instead of sitting around watching Adrian have a panic attack. Anyway, Tiff and I got the crew sorted, and loaded into the small truck, Tiff went with Adrian to put the battery in, Adrian wanted to take 2 of the guys as well, when I asked why he said to help put the battery in. I looked at Tiff, looked back at Adrian and told him Tiff could lift the bloody battery with one hand, why take the crew?
Ok, Tiff is built like a match with the wood shaved off, but she’s a Solomon Island girl, never challenge one to arm wrestle, you’ll lose.
That was yesterday, today Adrian wanted to buy some chain to secure the battery in with. I told him, Tiff told him, we don’t have the money for it, so he goes and buys some anyway, $166 worth, and 2 padlocks, $578.50, and wants to be reimbursed. We tried again to tell him that we haven’t any money in the SEB account, it’s all going into the Nursery, and if he wants to go and spend his money without authorisation from Tiff, me or Keithie, well, tough.
I’ll end up paying him from my account, then maybe Tiff and I can get it reimbursed, but he’s like a loose cannon at times, you never know what or where he is going to be, he saw the girls walking through town yesterday, instead of asking them where they were going, he got them into his Rav 4 with all the rakes, tools etc, and took them back to Ranandi. He doesn’t understand pijin very well, and couldn’t understand what the girls were telling him and made the decision that they should be back at Ranandi. Instead of walking through town to the next roundabout to work on. Which Tiff and I didn’t find out about till 2pm, when he came into BJS to ask why we weren’t out at Ranandi with the crew.
He’d sent them all back there. For why I have no idea. So Tiff had to drive out to Ranandi, and get them all bought back into town to finish the work for the day. I really need to sleep in some days.
Today, after the chain buying episode, he went into Central Market, saw a young kid fixing his bicycle, and being Adrian, he had to go over and help (take charge), when a few of the rastas in the market decided to have a bit of a play, and started joking around, so Adrian pulled a knife out, threatened the guys, and the police got involved, which is always a good look when your wife works for RAMSI. He called into the office late today with the news that Coralie (his wife) is suggesting he might be better off back home in Australia. Hello???????
That was high point #1
Kiwibank surpassed themselves today. Please, if you know anyone working for Kiwibank this is not a criticism of the people that work there, they have been unfailingly helpful and have really tried to sort out the problem. Samantha from Kiwibank rang back today, I had all the paperwork with me, so it was quick, painless, she reset a password, made sure I had it correct, wished me well, apologised for the 6 months we have been trying to sort it out, and left me to it.
So, logged into Kiwibank, entered the details and got locked out in less time than it took to open the page. First attempt got the “You have entered the wrong information 3 times. This account is now locked, please contact HelpLine etc”
I think Kiwibank have an IT problem, and I don’t mean Information Technology, I’m talking Idiot Technicians.
I give up with it, ANZ have hooked me up with internet access, so when I finally get back to NZ, Kiwibank will lose another customer, and I’ll make sure VSA warn any other volunteers that it isn’t a friendly bank for overseas customers trying to log in.
All I want it for is to pay my credit card in Ireland with, I’ve tried transferring my Visa Card to NZ, but that is up there with World Peace, curing AIDS, paying off the US deficit and solving the Israel/Palestine conflict. When they wanted me to go to the branch in Ireland where I opened the account and confirm my identity I realised it was just a bit too much trouble. So Visa slog me in exchange rates every time I use it, and I haven’t had enough time with a bank in NZ to get a card there. More people to put on my list of “First up against the wall when I’m King”.
We got told today that someone is too busy to write up the German Embassy Funding Proposal, so as we don’t have a lot on at the moment, could either Tiff or me write it up before Friday please. Guess who has power at home, and who doesn’t.
If Zoe is reading this, please accept my humble apologies for the last couple of weeks, I haven’t figured out which way is up yet.
I dropped the parts list for the irrigation off at Island Enterprises this morning, I knew as soon as I got to the office I’d left stuff off it, but that’s ok, I’ve got more quantities than really needed, so I can fudge the actual figures later, and substitute stuff. I hope we can get this to work, I’ll put a retail garden section in, and start bringing in irrigation supplies, it is too small a market for Island Enterprises at the moment, but I can see it growing over the next few years and SEB might as well be the ones making something off it.
I still haven’t found anywhere in town that sells postal packaging, so I’ll do the Solomon Islands packing and use cardboard cut up for wrapping, and I’ll get everyones Christmas presents posted this weekend.
I’ve managed at odd times to upload more pics into webshots, http://community.webshots.com/user/VWKombi if anyone wants to see more pics from here other than the ones I’ve posted in this.
Hi to Gytha, Zoe, Rhonda, John, Carlos, Jerome, Damian, Tarsha, Jesse, Hayden, Lou and Scott, Kelly, Makayla
Edit. Thanks Dimitri and Samantha at Kiwibank, I've just tried again, and it is all working. I appreciate your patience and assistance. Thanks once again. Warren
2 high points of the day, Adrian and Kiwibank. I use “high points” in the sense that they were significant, not necessarily beneficial or enlightening.
Adrian decided to take Tiff and get some chain to secure the truck battery in place this morning, I forgot to mention yesterday that the truck battery was stolen from the road outside Tiffany and Davids house, well, ok, track not road, and Adrian wanted to take half the crew yesterday morning to help put the spare one off the chipper into the truck. At 8.30, just as we’re trying to sort out who was going where. I still had the small truck to take everyone around, but Adrian was having a major panic over the battery instead. I had the battery down the list about #29, deal with it later, at the moment we need to get the crew working instead of sitting around watching Adrian have a panic attack. Anyway, Tiff and I got the crew sorted, and loaded into the small truck, Tiff went with Adrian to put the battery in, Adrian wanted to take 2 of the guys as well, when I asked why he said to help put the battery in. I looked at Tiff, looked back at Adrian and told him Tiff could lift the bloody battery with one hand, why take the crew?
Ok, Tiff is built like a match with the wood shaved off, but she’s a Solomon Island girl, never challenge one to arm wrestle, you’ll lose.
That was yesterday, today Adrian wanted to buy some chain to secure the battery in with. I told him, Tiff told him, we don’t have the money for it, so he goes and buys some anyway, $166 worth, and 2 padlocks, $578.50, and wants to be reimbursed. We tried again to tell him that we haven’t any money in the SEB account, it’s all going into the Nursery, and if he wants to go and spend his money without authorisation from Tiff, me or Keithie, well, tough.
I’ll end up paying him from my account, then maybe Tiff and I can get it reimbursed, but he’s like a loose cannon at times, you never know what or where he is going to be, he saw the girls walking through town yesterday, instead of asking them where they were going, he got them into his Rav 4 with all the rakes, tools etc, and took them back to Ranandi. He doesn’t understand pijin very well, and couldn’t understand what the girls were telling him and made the decision that they should be back at Ranandi. Instead of walking through town to the next roundabout to work on. Which Tiff and I didn’t find out about till 2pm, when he came into BJS to ask why we weren’t out at Ranandi with the crew.
He’d sent them all back there. For why I have no idea. So Tiff had to drive out to Ranandi, and get them all bought back into town to finish the work for the day. I really need to sleep in some days.
Today, after the chain buying episode, he went into Central Market, saw a young kid fixing his bicycle, and being Adrian, he had to go over and help (take charge), when a few of the rastas in the market decided to have a bit of a play, and started joking around, so Adrian pulled a knife out, threatened the guys, and the police got involved, which is always a good look when your wife works for RAMSI. He called into the office late today with the news that Coralie (his wife) is suggesting he might be better off back home in Australia. Hello???????
That was high point #1
Kiwibank surpassed themselves today. Please, if you know anyone working for Kiwibank this is not a criticism of the people that work there, they have been unfailingly helpful and have really tried to sort out the problem. Samantha from Kiwibank rang back today, I had all the paperwork with me, so it was quick, painless, she reset a password, made sure I had it correct, wished me well, apologised for the 6 months we have been trying to sort it out, and left me to it.
So, logged into Kiwibank, entered the details and got locked out in less time than it took to open the page. First attempt got the “You have entered the wrong information 3 times. This account is now locked, please contact HelpLine etc”
I think Kiwibank have an IT problem, and I don’t mean Information Technology, I’m talking Idiot Technicians.
I give up with it, ANZ have hooked me up with internet access, so when I finally get back to NZ, Kiwibank will lose another customer, and I’ll make sure VSA warn any other volunteers that it isn’t a friendly bank for overseas customers trying to log in.
All I want it for is to pay my credit card in Ireland with, I’ve tried transferring my Visa Card to NZ, but that is up there with World Peace, curing AIDS, paying off the US deficit and solving the Israel/Palestine conflict. When they wanted me to go to the branch in Ireland where I opened the account and confirm my identity I realised it was just a bit too much trouble. So Visa slog me in exchange rates every time I use it, and I haven’t had enough time with a bank in NZ to get a card there. More people to put on my list of “First up against the wall when I’m King”.
We got told today that someone is too busy to write up the German Embassy Funding Proposal, so as we don’t have a lot on at the moment, could either Tiff or me write it up before Friday please. Guess who has power at home, and who doesn’t.
If Zoe is reading this, please accept my humble apologies for the last couple of weeks, I haven’t figured out which way is up yet.
I dropped the parts list for the irrigation off at Island Enterprises this morning, I knew as soon as I got to the office I’d left stuff off it, but that’s ok, I’ve got more quantities than really needed, so I can fudge the actual figures later, and substitute stuff. I hope we can get this to work, I’ll put a retail garden section in, and start bringing in irrigation supplies, it is too small a market for Island Enterprises at the moment, but I can see it growing over the next few years and SEB might as well be the ones making something off it.
I still haven’t found anywhere in town that sells postal packaging, so I’ll do the Solomon Islands packing and use cardboard cut up for wrapping, and I’ll get everyones Christmas presents posted this weekend.
I’ve managed at odd times to upload more pics into webshots, http://community.webshots.com/user/VWKombi if anyone wants to see more pics from here other than the ones I’ve posted in this.
Hi to Gytha, Zoe, Rhonda, John, Carlos, Jerome, Damian, Tarsha, Jesse, Hayden, Lou and Scott, Kelly, Makayla
Edit. Thanks Dimitri and Samantha at Kiwibank, I've just tried again, and it is all working. I appreciate your patience and assistance. Thanks once again. Warren
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
1st December
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For anyone that was wondering what happened to all the curry that was obviously left from Sunday nights dinner, I add more rice to it, then make curry and rice rolls, and freeze them for week day meals when I just can’t be bothered thinking. It’s easier some nights to just open the freezer and put 3 or 4 rolls into the little oven to cook, while I start catching up on the day.
I can get spring roll pastry sheets for $19.50 per pkt of 20, which is enough to clear up the left over curry or stirfry each week, although I did go a bit overboard with the curry this week, and I ran out of pastry, and still have enough for another 12 or so rolls. I don’t usually deep fry them, unless I have one of those grease needed urgently cravings. Then afterwards I remember why I put off having grease or fried food. And I go all holy and sanctimonious and swear off grease/fat/fried food, for about another month.
I’m at the stage with the nursery irrigation system that I really miss civilisation. I’ve got downloads, printouts, a huge folder filled with stuff on the laptop, the only thing I can’t get is prices for anything other than the pipe work. Island Enterprises is great to deal with. “Add a nought” (Phil) really does try to get stuff for you, but it does take time, I’ve still got a bit of western thinking that will have to go. Hoping that he could get stuff for me soon is probably not the best attitude to take into any conversation.
He got called “Add a nought” years back, when he first started Island Enterprises, and was importing everything, as he still does. Then the exchange rate, customs duties, import duties, all the other various charges on goods resulted in everything having a Solomon Dollar price equivalent to just adding a 0 to the overseas price, regardless of country of origin. So whenever anyone wanted to know what something would cost to have imported, Phil would tell them to find out the price overseas and add a nought. And the name stuck. It isn’t quite as bad as that now, although sometimes you have to wonder, but Phil is still known throughout the Solomons as “Add a nought”
But that diversion into Solomon Island naming practise doesn’t help me at the moment. I have a long list of irrigation equipment to price hopefully by Thursday so Tiff and I, well, Tiff mostly, can enter it into the German Embassy Proposal, and get it to them on Friday. I’ve also got the rubbish bins to price, the timber seating, and the pavers for Commonwealth Ave to price, I’m running classes every morning this week, till midday, we’ve lost 2 more staff who have found 5 day week jobs, so the work crew is really down to minimum, only 4 girls left to do the town gardens, and 5 guys to do the median strip and road sweeping, and there is still talking about cutting the staff back further.
Then we have the Post Office revamp starting in 2 weeks, a major cleanup through town the same fortnight the Post Office is being done to get ready for Christmas, and people wonder why Tiff and I are getting a bit touchy lately.
The good bit for the day is that we have 300 Archontophoenix (Alexandra Palms) and some Cycad seed finally in a seed bed. I had Hendry and Josephine learning how to make compost and seed beds this morning with the mulcher, feeding wood chip and stored chicken manure through, and making a seed bed. We’ve had the chicken manure in black rubbish bags for a couple of weeks now, so the initial ammonia burst is gone from it, and it smelt quite nice today, well, ok, you have to be really into horticulture to describe chicken manure as smelling nice, but it didn’t climb up your nostrils and attack your sinus tissues.
Hopefully in a few weeks we should have some palms coming through the bed, which will be a first for SEB, and hopefully it will continue, instead of just going into the bush and digging out plants.
The Cycad seed we cracked open slightly, so it could get water into the seed itself, instead of waiting a few months for the shell to let water permeate through. The Archontophoenix I’ve had soaking since Friday, and with a bit of luck they will have got some moisture through to start the seed. I’ve read about using sulphuric acid to scarify the seed coats, thought about getting some battery acid and trying it, then thought about the staff and the work practises, and decided it would not be a good thing to have around. It is still very much touch and learn society, you can tell people this will kill/maim/wound/turn your toes green, and they will try just to see if it does.
David is still off work, he’s really sick, lung infection, plus ulcers breaking out all over his body now. Trying to get him to go to Hospital, # 9, is a lesson in futility, so I don’t even bother now. Adrian still keeps trying, but as only Adrian can, he starts in at Tiff about not feeding David properly, without considering that he gets as much in a week as she does a month, and his money is just for him. He can be so blind to stuff at times, and if you point it out to him he gets all defensive, or starts in at me for getting my allowance. We don’t tell him about the baking and other stuff that Tiff and I organise between ourselves, it would be another thing he couldn’t understand.
I have the November report to write this week as well, which I’m sure will go down really well, like last months report did, but at least we have some positive things to put into it this time, Post Office, Commonwealth Ave, which Tiff has been responsible for without Keithie. Also ANZ have agreed to the increase, and picked up the corner gardens around the roundabout, so that is now worth $4,000 a month from January. Ok, there is a lot of work needed, MID want us to trim one of the corners down, the Hibiscus have grown well over head height and cars turning into the Chinatown Road can’t see pedestrians coming through, so there are a few interesting moments there. But it means a lot more cuttings for Jennifer and Imelda to propagate from, so by the time we get the new Nursery started it will be nearly full. Well, ok, not full, I’ve got a huge area now to play with, 3 x 50 metre layout beds, 8 metres, 6 metres and 5 metres wide, with another 1/3 of the area to develop as needed in stage 3.
The rains are still delayed, it has been the driest November for a while now, which if past weather patterns mean anything, December through to March are going to be floods and landslide time again. I read back through this to February and March when I arrived, and the amount of rain we had then compared to now is really apparent. And half the bridges and roads that were washed away then still haven’t been repaired yet.
The Honiara City Council have increased the fines for littering to $1,000 up to $10,000, for shopkeepers, but they don’t have any staff to police it, so the gardens by the Chemist at City Centre are still turning into a rubbish tip every day. The girls picked up 37 bags of rubbish out of the Childrens Playground yesterday, Jacinta was there today on her own, and still collected another 28 bags. This is with rubbish bins in the park and outside the gates and fence. The average from each roundabout is 12 bags of rubbish a day, I’m always amazed at how much people can dispose of just by throwing stuff out the car windows as they are driving through the roundabouts.
We collect over 200 bags of rubbish a week just from the gardens we maintain, the betel nut stalls everywhere are a major cess pit through town, but as most of them have wantok working for the Council or Police Force, they don’t get moved on. So the spitting, betel nut shells, and assorted rubbish collect around those areas. I’m past the horrified stage about it, it’s something that you have to learn to live with here, it will change, but slowly, which is what we’re working towards with SEB, and the Commonwealth Ave upgrade. I’m tempted to do what Steve told me about Port Moresby, where they hire gangs of Rascals to patrol the streets, and they keep the fines they impose on people for littering. Not that you or anyone is likely to argue with a dreadlocked kanak holding a bushknife in your face and telling you there is a $20 fine for dropping that coke can, or bit of paper. There are enough young guys looking for something to do in the Central Markets, I’d be giving 4 or 6 of them a stretch of street or road, and telling them it has to be kept clean, and they can keep whatever they earn from fining people for littering. I’d even supply the bush knives.
Kiwibank rang me today, they finally got through and all I need now is to remember to have my passport with me tomorrow in the office, and hopefully my account will get unlocked. After nearly 6 months. And several emails, letters and visits from my sister. I know I could have rung them, but at $15 per minute or $25 on mobile, from the time the connection starts ringing, and knowing how slow help centres are, I didn’t feel like wasting money to be ringing several times, as I know the connection gets broken from here for overseas calls roughly every 3 minutes, so you have to ring again, and again, and again. And the first minute has all the charges on it, the next ones are just flat rate.
We have the phone connected at Ranandi, it rang today, now all we need is for SIEA to find a meter for the board and we’re shifting back.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A Wok and a Pot Sunday 29th November
Sunday 29th November A Wok and a Pot
Ok, I’ve had a few requests for recipes, well, ok, one, but I’m sure everyone else wants to know but are too shy to ask. And also do I really just have a Wok and one pot to cook with? Yes to that question, and the following is how I manage.
Dinner for tonight is going to be Garlic and Chilli Pita Bread, with a Kumara (Sweet Potato) and chilli curry, with rice.
Garlic and Chilli Pita Bread + 2 plain Bread Loaves.
This started on Friday night when I made up a sponge batter of 2 cups of flour, 1 packet of dried yeast, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 good teaspoon of salt and 1½ cups of water. Stirred till smooth and left on the bench till Saturday night. It did get very active, it’s been over 30*C all week here, and high humidity.
Saturday night I put 6 cups of flour, a good tablespoon of salt, about ½ cup of Olive oil into the Wok, and stirred it about till blended. Then tipped the yeast batter into the Wok and added 1 cup more of water, then mixed it all together. I needed another ½ cup of water to get it right, no dry bits, and a slightly sticky consistency. Put the lid on the Wok and worked on the irrigation plan for the Nursery till 11pm out in the porch.
Sunday morning I added another cup of flour to the Wok, mixed it in, then went to Kukum Fish Market. When I got back the dough was rising well, tipped it out onto a floured bench top, then started kneading, adding a handful of flour as needed to keep it soft and smooth without being sticky.
Split the dough into 3, made 2 loaves and put them into the tin and covered till they rose.
The other 1/3 piece I added chopped chilli and chopped garlic to, then put into the fridge for an hour while I baked the bread. Out of the fridge and split into small balls, a bit bigger than a golf ball, I don’t have scales so it’s all by guess, let them sit for a while then rolled them out to small circles about 10mm thick and 6” across. Cleaned the Wok and got ready for part 2.
Put the Wok onto low heat, I know Joe at www.joepastry.com recommends high heat, I haven’t got a wood fired oven, cast iron skillet, or baking stone for the oven, and the Wok is thin metal, so I use a lower heat.
Dropped each pita bread into the Wok, turned them over when they puffed up, and were still a bit soft, I’m using them for pocket bread so they need to be a bit softer than a crisp hot bake would give. I found if you drop them into the wok with the dryer side down, they puff up better, the side that has been sitting on the bench top or whatever will be softer and damper, and has more elasticity, so it will rise more.
I ended up with 24 Pita Breads, I’ll freeze most, and have a few with dinner.
Kumara and Chilli Curry
I cheat with this, I can’t get the ingredients to make my own curry, so I use the Solomon Islands generic Punjas Hot Curry Powder. If anyone wants a good reference book and a lot of recipes, Charmaine Solomons Asian Cookbook is the only one you’ll ever need.
Ingredients.
Kumara (Sweet potato)
Pineapple
Chillies
Onion
Garlic
Split yellow peas
Split Green peas
Red kidney beans
Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
Curry powder if using, or your own mix.
Ok, we’ve only got a Wok and a pot, so preparation and a bit of thought now. The Pita bread is made, the Wok is cleaned up again.
½ cup yellow peas, same of green peas, red kidney beans and chickpeas into the pot to soak, I did this early this morning before I went to the Market. Covered with water and sat on the bench.
Bought a pineapple, more chillies, and some kumara at the market, so we’ll start with the pineapple, follow the photos and you can’t go wrong. Top and tail, trim the outside off, cut the eyes out, then slice and cube, into a bowl, cover and put in fridge.
Kumara, you can peel if you like, I just rub with a scourer and then chop into cubes, cover with water, it will stain black otherwise.
Onion, chillies, garlic, peel onions, chop into slices/small bits, however, chillies need care, do not use bare hands if you get a reaction, do not touch your face, eyes, nose, until you have repeatedly washed your hands after handling and chopping. Crush the garlic, no need to chop, it is going to have a long cooking time and you don’t want all the flavour to evaporate away.
Drain the dried beans, peas and refill the pot and put onto boil, once boiling turn to simmer and leave to cook, about 45 minutes if the beans have had a good long soak, slightly longer without soaking. Drain when cooked and set aside.
Allow 1 – 1 ½ hours to cook the curry, long and slow is always best for this, quick and fast has it’s place but not with this.
Put the jug/kettle on to boil.
Tip the onions, garlic, chillies into the Wok, with about a tablespoon of butter/olive oil based margarine/vegetable oil, and cook gently till the onions are soft, add as much curry powder as you like, I use about 2 tablespoons. Once the onions are soft and the curry powder is starting to darken, add boiling water slowly and stir to mix, then add about 2 – 3 cups of boiling water and bring the mix to a boil.
Add the drained beans/peas/chickpeas, kumara, top up with more boiling water, to cover, bring to the boil and turn down to simmer.
Wash the pot out, and put 1 cup of rice, and 1½ cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in. Bring to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat, and cover the pot, set aside on the stove top till needed. It will cook very well, without any further heat, do not feel tempted to lift the lid and check every 5 minutes, it will be perfectly fine.
Stir the curry every now and then to make sure it doesn’t stick, slow heat and long cooking is all it needs now, about an hour, or a bit longer is good.
About 30 minutes before serving add as much pineapple as you like, keep the rest to make fruit salad with.
There, that was nice and simple, it’s probably taken me longer to write it up, and take photos as I went than it has to cook everything.
It’s been a mixed week, as they all seem to be lately. We’re slowly getting closer to moving to Ranandi, I was overly optimistic about Telekom and SIEA, it may be next week for Telekom, and as for SIEA it is up to the various Gods that live around here I think.
Tiffany managed to get most of the Japanese application done, I’ve been reworking the irrigation and other stuff to suit the German Embassy Funding. It’s been a few years since I did major irrigation plans, so it has been another steep learning curve. Plus not having anywhere here that stocks irrigation supplies I’ve had to rely on internet sites for information, and prices. All the stuff I am used to is still available, NaanDan rotating sprinklers, and the dripper trickle systems, so it has been a matter of starting with them and working backwards to sort out pump and pipe sizes to get the correct working pressures and delivery rates. As I noted up above, I was still working on it at 11pm last night and finally thinking I can do this!
I’m a lot behind in other stuff I have promised a couple of people, one in particular will be thinking I’m never going to finish what I’ve started for them. Does feeling guilty about it get me any brownie points?
It is going to be a panic in a week or so when we start the Post Office job, as well as do a major clean up through the gardens before Christmas, I still have prices to get for Commonwealth Ave, classes every morning this week, prices and sources for the irrigation, mark out the nursery on the ground, and all I wanted to do was come here and go fishing.
I’m trying to concentrate on getting one thing done at a time, but working out of the office in town makes that almost impossible, both of us keep getting given other stuff that is “more important” to do, then we have to explain why the other “important” stuff hasn’t been completed yet. It’s no wonder I’m drinking more and more coffee at work lately, samesame with Tiffany.
Ok, I’ve had a few requests for recipes, well, ok, one, but I’m sure everyone else wants to know but are too shy to ask. And also do I really just have a Wok and one pot to cook with? Yes to that question, and the following is how I manage.
Dinner for tonight is going to be Garlic and Chilli Pita Bread, with a Kumara (Sweet Potato) and chilli curry, with rice.
Garlic and Chilli Pita Bread + 2 plain Bread Loaves.
This started on Friday night when I made up a sponge batter of 2 cups of flour, 1 packet of dried yeast, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 good teaspoon of salt and 1½ cups of water. Stirred till smooth and left on the bench till Saturday night. It did get very active, it’s been over 30*C all week here, and high humidity.
Saturday night I put 6 cups of flour, a good tablespoon of salt, about ½ cup of Olive oil into the Wok, and stirred it about till blended. Then tipped the yeast batter into the Wok and added 1 cup more of water, then mixed it all together. I needed another ½ cup of water to get it right, no dry bits, and a slightly sticky consistency. Put the lid on the Wok and worked on the irrigation plan for the Nursery till 11pm out in the porch.
Sunday morning I added another cup of flour to the Wok, mixed it in, then went to Kukum Fish Market. When I got back the dough was rising well, tipped it out onto a floured bench top, then started kneading, adding a handful of flour as needed to keep it soft and smooth without being sticky.
Split the dough into 3, made 2 loaves and put them into the tin and covered till they rose.
The other 1/3 piece I added chopped chilli and chopped garlic to, then put into the fridge for an hour while I baked the bread. Out of the fridge and split into small balls, a bit bigger than a golf ball, I don’t have scales so it’s all by guess, let them sit for a while then rolled them out to small circles about 10mm thick and 6” across. Cleaned the Wok and got ready for part 2.
Put the Wok onto low heat, I know Joe at www.joepastry.com recommends high heat, I haven’t got a wood fired oven, cast iron skillet, or baking stone for the oven, and the Wok is thin metal, so I use a lower heat.
Dropped each pita bread into the Wok, turned them over when they puffed up, and were still a bit soft, I’m using them for pocket bread so they need to be a bit softer than a crisp hot bake would give. I found if you drop them into the wok with the dryer side down, they puff up better, the side that has been sitting on the bench top or whatever will be softer and damper, and has more elasticity, so it will rise more.
I ended up with 24 Pita Breads, I’ll freeze most, and have a few with dinner.
Kumara and Chilli Curry
I cheat with this, I can’t get the ingredients to make my own curry, so I use the Solomon Islands generic Punjas Hot Curry Powder. If anyone wants a good reference book and a lot of recipes, Charmaine Solomons Asian Cookbook is the only one you’ll ever need.
Ingredients.
Kumara (Sweet potato)
Pineapple
Chillies
Onion
Garlic
Split yellow peas
Split Green peas
Red kidney beans
Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
Curry powder if using, or your own mix.
Ok, we’ve only got a Wok and a pot, so preparation and a bit of thought now. The Pita bread is made, the Wok is cleaned up again.
½ cup yellow peas, same of green peas, red kidney beans and chickpeas into the pot to soak, I did this early this morning before I went to the Market. Covered with water and sat on the bench.
Bought a pineapple, more chillies, and some kumara at the market, so we’ll start with the pineapple, follow the photos and you can’t go wrong. Top and tail, trim the outside off, cut the eyes out, then slice and cube, into a bowl, cover and put in fridge.
Kumara, you can peel if you like, I just rub with a scourer and then chop into cubes, cover with water, it will stain black otherwise.
Onion, chillies, garlic, peel onions, chop into slices/small bits, however, chillies need care, do not use bare hands if you get a reaction, do not touch your face, eyes, nose, until you have repeatedly washed your hands after handling and chopping. Crush the garlic, no need to chop, it is going to have a long cooking time and you don’t want all the flavour to evaporate away.
Drain the dried beans, peas and refill the pot and put onto boil, once boiling turn to simmer and leave to cook, about 45 minutes if the beans have had a good long soak, slightly longer without soaking. Drain when cooked and set aside.
Allow 1 – 1 ½ hours to cook the curry, long and slow is always best for this, quick and fast has it’s place but not with this.
Put the jug/kettle on to boil.
Tip the onions, garlic, chillies into the Wok, with about a tablespoon of butter/olive oil based margarine/vegetable oil, and cook gently till the onions are soft, add as much curry powder as you like, I use about 2 tablespoons. Once the onions are soft and the curry powder is starting to darken, add boiling water slowly and stir to mix, then add about 2 – 3 cups of boiling water and bring the mix to a boil.
Add the drained beans/peas/chickpeas, kumara, top up with more boiling water, to cover, bring to the boil and turn down to simmer.
Wash the pot out, and put 1 cup of rice, and 1½ cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt in. Bring to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat, and cover the pot, set aside on the stove top till needed. It will cook very well, without any further heat, do not feel tempted to lift the lid and check every 5 minutes, it will be perfectly fine.
Stir the curry every now and then to make sure it doesn’t stick, slow heat and long cooking is all it needs now, about an hour, or a bit longer is good.
About 30 minutes before serving add as much pineapple as you like, keep the rest to make fruit salad with.
There, that was nice and simple, it’s probably taken me longer to write it up, and take photos as I went than it has to cook everything.
It’s been a mixed week, as they all seem to be lately. We’re slowly getting closer to moving to Ranandi, I was overly optimistic about Telekom and SIEA, it may be next week for Telekom, and as for SIEA it is up to the various Gods that live around here I think.
Tiffany managed to get most of the Japanese application done, I’ve been reworking the irrigation and other stuff to suit the German Embassy Funding. It’s been a few years since I did major irrigation plans, so it has been another steep learning curve. Plus not having anywhere here that stocks irrigation supplies I’ve had to rely on internet sites for information, and prices. All the stuff I am used to is still available, NaanDan rotating sprinklers, and the dripper trickle systems, so it has been a matter of starting with them and working backwards to sort out pump and pipe sizes to get the correct working pressures and delivery rates. As I noted up above, I was still working on it at 11pm last night and finally thinking I can do this!
I’m a lot behind in other stuff I have promised a couple of people, one in particular will be thinking I’m never going to finish what I’ve started for them. Does feeling guilty about it get me any brownie points?
It is going to be a panic in a week or so when we start the Post Office job, as well as do a major clean up through the gardens before Christmas, I still have prices to get for Commonwealth Ave, classes every morning this week, prices and sources for the irrigation, mark out the nursery on the ground, and all I wanted to do was come here and go fishing.
I’m trying to concentrate on getting one thing done at a time, but working out of the office in town makes that almost impossible, both of us keep getting given other stuff that is “more important” to do, then we have to explain why the other “important” stuff hasn’t been completed yet. It’s no wonder I’m drinking more and more coffee at work lately, samesame with Tiffany.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday 25th November.
It’s been a busy week, I’ve got the drawings done for Commonwealth Ave, Tiffany and I have a meeting with MID tomorrow to go over the concept plan, and hopefully get an idea of how much they are going to put towards the budget, we’ll probably have to canvass the businesses along Commonwealth Ave, I can’t see the Chinese owned ones paying anything though.
It’s finally raining. Steady rain that should last the night out by the looks of the clouds.
We had the bush pigs visit town last night, 14 Alexandra Palms along Ranandi Highway near work were chopped down, all 7 year old palms, just starting to get good solid trunks and that grey colour to them. I wrote a short piece and sent photos to the Solomon Star again. I wanted Tiffany to write it, but she said I use stronger words than she would, so it would be better if I did it. It's in todays Solomon Star in the Letters section. www.solomonstarnews.com
I’ve got 350 seeds from one of the Alexandra Palms in town to start, by the ANZ. I was in there with Tiffany and we saw the crew outside so I sent Jack up the trees to shake the seeds off the bunch. Spent last night washing the pulp off and then nicking the seeds so they start faster without having to wait for the shell to split. Huge amount of non fertile seeds from them, only half the seeds were fertile, I floated all of them in the sink, then doubting what was happening I split some of the floaters open. All hollow, so I didn’t bother checking any others, just kept the ones that sank.
We’ve got a lot of stuff done this week, it’s one of the things that happens. I’ve got pricing to do for Commonwealth Ave, the Post Office is costed and agreed, we start there soon. I’m trying to get more compost made before then, the girls have run out again for the Nursery, plus we have orders for about 3 truckloads to go to private gardens. It is turning into a good earner provided we can keep the supply up. Moving out of the Botanic Gardens has mucked the process up a bit, and I’m reluctant to start large scale processing until we have the lease and agreement signed on the area at Hasting Deering.
The drawings and costing have to be into the Japanese Consul on Friday, I still haven’t heard back from NZ Aid about the scholarships for Andrew and Emory, another thing to chase up tomorrow, I only have till Monday to have them registered in Dunedin Polytech so I can see it is going to be a last minute rush. Like everything here turns into.
It’s finally raining. Steady rain that should last the night out by the looks of the clouds.
We had the bush pigs visit town last night, 14 Alexandra Palms along Ranandi Highway near work were chopped down, all 7 year old palms, just starting to get good solid trunks and that grey colour to them. I wrote a short piece and sent photos to the Solomon Star again. I wanted Tiffany to write it, but she said I use stronger words than she would, so it would be better if I did it. It's in todays Solomon Star in the Letters section. www.solomonstarnews.com
I’ve got 350 seeds from one of the Alexandra Palms in town to start, by the ANZ. I was in there with Tiffany and we saw the crew outside so I sent Jack up the trees to shake the seeds off the bunch. Spent last night washing the pulp off and then nicking the seeds so they start faster without having to wait for the shell to split. Huge amount of non fertile seeds from them, only half the seeds were fertile, I floated all of them in the sink, then doubting what was happening I split some of the floaters open. All hollow, so I didn’t bother checking any others, just kept the ones that sank.
We’ve got a lot of stuff done this week, it’s one of the things that happens. I’ve got pricing to do for Commonwealth Ave, the Post Office is costed and agreed, we start there soon. I’m trying to get more compost made before then, the girls have run out again for the Nursery, plus we have orders for about 3 truckloads to go to private gardens. It is turning into a good earner provided we can keep the supply up. Moving out of the Botanic Gardens has mucked the process up a bit, and I’m reluctant to start large scale processing until we have the lease and agreement signed on the area at Hasting Deering.
The drawings and costing have to be into the Japanese Consul on Friday, I still haven’t heard back from NZ Aid about the scholarships for Andrew and Emory, another thing to chase up tomorrow, I only have till Monday to have them registered in Dunedin Polytech so I can see it is going to be a last minute rush. Like everything here turns into.
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