Huttz World - My weekly selected posts: December 2007

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Stingrays not so harmless down under in New Zealand....

We keep reading about these sea creatures who have attacked a number of humans, some fatally over the years.

The latest occurred in recent days in New Zealand. A Dannevirke, North Island, man in his 40's was dragging a net at Herbertville Beach in the southern Hawkes Bay, when he was attacked.

One of the stings went into one side of his leg and out the other, breaking off the barb.

He was treated at the scene by ambulance officers and then taken by rescue helicopter to Palmerston North hospital. An ambulance spokesman said he had been in considerable pain.

It is well over a year since since Australian television celebrity and iconic crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin, was fatally stabbed in the heart by a stingray barb.

His death was similar to that of an 18 year old New Zealand woman in 1939, who was at first believed to have been a victim of a sexual attack, but a post mortem later discovered that her heart wounds were caused by a stingray barb.

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Diary of a House Sitter: The recovery was slow..................

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Friday the 13th - the legends, superstitions a plenty...

Friday the 13th - the legends. Just why is it so? Superstitions a plenty.

It allegedly goes back to Friday to the 13th of October, 1307. On this particular day it is claimed the Pope in Rome conspired in conjunction with the King of France and carried out a secret deal against and a warrant for the arrest of the Knights Templar. This was an attempt to obtain the source and whereabouts of the claimed great fortune of the Knights Templar. They never found it, if it actually existed. The Knights were terminated as heretics and the few survivors never held their former power again. Their Grand Master, Jacques De Molay, was arrested, tortured, crucified and killed. He never revealed the whereabouts of the alleged fortune. One particular story suggested that wagon loads of gold was smuggled out of the city while the Knights Templar were being arrested.

As some superstitions would have Friday the 13th as a lucky day, we would have to go back to the ancient Romans who dedicated the sixth day of the week to their beautiful but vain goddess, Venus. So when the ancient Norsemen adopted the Roman method of naming days, they too adopted Venus as their sixth day of the week. Their closest translation for Venus was Frigg or Freya, later evolved into Friday, their luckiest day of the week.

Muslims claim Friday as the day Allah created Adam; legend also claims Adam and Eve ate their forbidden fruit, the apple, on a Friday and also claim they died on a Friday as well. Christians claim Friday as the day Jesus was crucified to death.

Scandinavians believed Friday the 13th as being unlucky because of their mythological 12 demigods who were later joined by a 13th, Loki, an evil cruel demigod who brought them great misfortune. The No 13 in the Christian faith is because of the 13th guest at the Last Supper was Judas, who betrayed Jesus to the Romans.

These are all former beliefs that became superstition. Todays beliefs may be tomorrow supervisions too so don't step on a crack or walk under a ladder today. These are just a few instances of what involves Friday the 13th.

Kiwi Riverman

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Robbie Deans should be Wallabies rugby coach by the end of the week...

A New Zealander, Robbie Deans should be Australian Wallabies rugby coach by the end of the week...

A New Zealander, Robbie Deans, from my home town of Christchurch in Canterbury, is now the favoured candidate to takeover as coach of the Australian Wallabies Rugby team, after being turned down by the NZRU.

Most American readers probably don't realise that a New Zealander coached the American Eagles Rugby team at the recent Rugby World Cup.

Rugby Union may not be that well known by North American readers, but it is more of a a world sport than American football which is primarily a North American sport like baseball. Only basketball can be considered a world sport.

So let me be the first to predict that Robbie Deans will be Wallabies coach by the end of the week; and with the losing New Zealand All Blacks coach, Graham Henry, inexplicably reappointed for another two years, will I have to change my allegiance to Australia to ensure I support a winning team?

Kiwi Riverman

Friday, December 7, 2007

This Skippy lived 25 million years ago - and galloped not hopped...

My Australian friends around the blogesphere will find this one difficult to accept:

If there had have been a Melbourne Cup 25 million years ago,a kangaroo may have lined up to gallop with them.A Skippy that galloped with the herd!

He would have been called a nambaroo (which meant "big muscly forearms")and showed he galloped or bounded like a possum.

It has been described as a discovery that skips conventional wisdom about one of Australia's greatest icons.

Scientists believe the 25 million year old remains dug up in Queensland in the 1990's, are from a newly discovered species called nambaroo gillespieae.

The nambaroo was part of an extinct kangaroo group known as the Balbariae, which scientists claim was replaced by the modern day kangaroo species.

The nambaroo was about the size of a small dog, had canine fangs, and was a quadruped, or four legged.

This was the great,great,great,great, grandfather of the modern kangaroo.

The remains were found in the renowned fossil fields of the Riversleigh world heritage area in North Queensland.

It was claimed the find would unlock the genesis of todays kangaroo.

Writers Lounge

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Something debated over the ages - just who is the more intelligent gender - man or woman...

Something debated over the ages - who is the more intelligent gender - man or woman...

As a mere male, let me tell you this little story; and you know Hutt likes to tell the odd story or two.

After the disaster, eleven people were being carried on a rope suspended from the helicopter that had rescued them.

The storm continued and the helicopter was being badly buffeted, side to side, endangering the lives of the many people inside the helicopter.

The pilot called out on his speaker that the load had to be reduced, or everybody's life would be endangered - somebody on that rope had to sacrifice their life in the interests of all!

It so happened that of the eleven people hanging by their hands on the rope suspended from the helicopter - only one was a women. She announced, with tears streaming down her face, that being a woman, she had sacrificed her independence to her husband, her children and to society in general all her life,so therefore she was prepared to make the final sacrifice here.

Emotionally moved, the men began to clap...

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The Writers Lounge

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I was bloody rich -- and the bills can wait awhile this time...

How was I going to pay the bills... hey I'm rich!

I woke up this morning and thought about how wealthy I am; hey I'm actually as poor as a church mouse! Well, lets see how much there is in my wallet. I opened it and was nearly hit in the eye by a cloud of moths; I obviously hadn't been in there for a while because those moths had been settled in by the look of it!

I grabbed my bank statement, found my phone bank and account numbers and rang up. An almost metallic voice uttered, " You have sixty cents only." I slammed the phone down. I looked around at my unopened mail lying on the kitchen table. The power bill: $345 .00; the phone account including my internet, $398.00; my Farmers card account, $378.00. A repair bill for my car, $765.00. There were more envelopes there, but I didn't open them. What was the point?

I was in deep shit; I was broke; how the bloody hell was I going to pay these outstanding accounts? Get another personal loan from the bank? I owe them about five grand already! I could imagine myself going down to the bank and seeing that tightarse Harris, and the likely comments. " Are you serious Mr Hutt? You owe us over $5,000 and you are behind with two months repayments already! "

I looked out at the driveway, where my car should be. It wasn't there! God almighty, they must have repossessed it already. Yeah, I was behind on the payments alright. I went over to the fridge and took out a can of beer. I drank it down in a couple of gulps! It tasted good, and made me feel a little better. I felt even better after the next three cans.

I felt in my pocket and took out a handful of bits of paper. A betting slip for the horses. It wasn't any good, as I expected, A few receipts, load of rubbish really. What was this one, all screwed up? It looked like a Lotto ticket. I'd better check it out, though. Just for the record. I looked around for the Sunday paper and checked the ticket out... I skimmed through quickly... and through again more slowly. And again...I looked at six winning numbers worth a half a million dollars. I had shared first prize with somebody at the other end of the country.

I was rich... I was bloody rich and the bills, the bloody bills were going to be paid, and the prick at the bank, whats his bloody name...Harris, will get his money this week. And I can get my car car back too! Yahoo! I'm rich!

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Huttz World - My weekly selected posts