Things seem really bad there just now, food shortages mean that people there are close to desperation.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/30056...om-windows

"For weeks, China's most populous city, Shanghai, has been under strict lockdown orders in an effort to control a coronavirus outbreak.

Its 25 million residents have been trapped at home, struggling to feed themselves or get medical help for sick family members. Others have been corralled into makeshift quarantine centres and temporary hospitals, unsure when they will be allowed to leave."

... how good sardines on toast tastes.

The cat has IBD, and so occasionally a small spoonful of sardines in olive oil is good for her digestion, which she will slurp up happily enough the first time it is offered. But not the next time. So on those occasions I get to either waste food or get out the toast.

And, it being Good Friday, it is an appropriate dinner. With wine. One and a half glasses, cheers m'dears.

It was yum. Sardines in olive oil. I recommend. Just occasionally...

They offered a client of mine a $700 cheapie consumer grade rubbish laptop, as a full replacement for a commercial notebook that I supplied a couple of years ago, $1600 or so at the time...  

There is a BIG difference in specs and build quality between the two - when they are supposed to be providing a like for like replacement according to the policy terms...

Is it even ethical to offer such a budget model under the circumstances?  They got all upset when I was going to supply the replacement, insisting they need to supply it because of better buying power etc.   But clearly thats BS and they just want to try passing off the cheapie rubbish...  

If clients of insurance companies can be prosecuted for insurance fraud, why is this sort of behaviour acceptable...  A lot of folks wouldn't understand the difference in specs...

Near Taupo. If they get consents, then work could start in the summer & its likely to bring jobs to the region.
This could work really providing they've done the research.


https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nzs-largest-s...7pv43CfFzc


[b][i]"A solar farm larger than the Auckland and Christchurch CBDs combined could start construction near Taupō as soon as this summer, Marc Daalder reports [/i][/b]

was a bit shocked after reading this article, being one that avoids subscriptions like the plague, $190 a month on subscriptions...  

Quote:ItÔÇÖs not just streaming either. IÔÇÖm a sucker for subscriptions. I also subscribe to Netflix ($21.99), Sky Sports ($39.99), Disney+ ($9.99), Amazon Prime Video ($8), Audible ($17.76), NordVPN ($6.98), SmartDNS ($8.37), HBO Max ($21.27), Hulu ($17.01), Peacock ($7.08), Apple Fitness+ ($16.99), iCloud ($4.99), Google Drive ($2.99) and Arlo ($9.99).

https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/30033...el-trapped

Ten people were shot in the Brooklyn subway station this morning & 29 have been treated for injuries. They've put up a reward, & have a suspect.

Quite glad we don't live there.



https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/bro...index.html

Since the TV channel changes on 21/3/22, I have completely lost TV1 + 1 on my Sony Model 40CX520 digital TV.  It used to be on channel 11, but now I get an error message "This programme number is not available".  The Freeview app still says it's there but it doesn't appear on my TV.
I've gone through my TV manual repeatedly but the instructions are VERY muddled and unhelpful.
Can anyone guide me, gently and patiently, through simple step by step instructions on how to recover this channel.  I'm not stupid (I used to teach computing) but this is bizarre and frustrating. Thanks in advance.

do you have to be to rip off a charity?

https://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/291397-th...-shop.html

i volunteer two days a week at waipuna hospice. (not the mt maunganui store)
this shit sickens me. 
why would you?

how far down evolutions scale is the mindset that makes this ok?
someone needs to kick the snot out of these low life animals.

About time these groups were held to account.
https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/our-progr...erpins-us/

It isn't looking so good for Macron, with the extreme right having done so well in the first round. So bad in fact that even the French communist, socialist, Green & conservative candidates have now given him their backing so as to keep Marine Le Pen & her merry band of complete bastards out.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220...nst-le-pen

"In a boost for the president, Communist Party candidate Fabien Roussel, Socialist Anne Hidalgo, Yannick Jadot of the Greens and right-wing┬á[i]Les R├®publicains[/i]┬ácandidate Val├®rie P├®cresse said they would vote for him to prevent the┬áfar-right leader┬ácoming to power.

ÔÇ£So that France does not fall into hatred of all against all, I solemnly call on you to vote on April 24 against the far-right of Marine Le Pen,ÔÇØ Hidalgo said."


https://www.france24.com/en/presidential-election-2022/


Marine le Pen
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...nce-europe

"Le PenÔÇÖs meteoric rise in the first-round polls mirrors ZemmourÔÇÖs decline since the Ukraine invasion.
In mid-February, they were both on about 16%. She is now on 22-24%, with Zemmour slumped at 8-10%. It is one of the great oddities of the campaign that Zemmour has paid dearly for his Putin idolatry but Le Pen ÔÇô an even more enthusiastic Moscowteer ÔÇô has not.
ZemmourÔÇÖs extremism on race and Islam allowed Le Pen to present herself as a mainstream politician close to ordinary people. She spotted early the opportunities provided by low wages and high prices. Since the Ukraine invasion, she has reaped electoral benefits by connecting Russian sanctions ÔÇô of which she disapproves ÔÇô to the cost of living."