I need an ISP. No. I hook on to the world through lesamoa.net and Taulau and the team there is more than fine! Do they teach ‘Time Management’ in those Institute Strengthening Programs everyone is claiming taught them a lot more than just how to scoff biscuits and slurp a few coffees? As Spindle would have put it, I have been busier than a blue-arsed spider in the last few days and ended up filing my planned application for a European Union Micro-projects grant in the bin when I couldn’t get it in by the cut-off date. I couldn’t take a day off to hunt down the people named in the application for their signatures. I was hoping to get a grant to buy a couple of sets of cricket gear and build some practice nets for the Lupe ole So’aga (English) Cricket team. I even found a supplier of lawn rollers to put a pitch down at the village primary school grounds.
Not getting that application in on time would have been devastating if I hadn’t learnt in a former ISP course that it is pointless to dwell on the negatives and that there is always AusAid. Or the Kiwis. I reckon I could roll out a few more Ross Taylors in a couple of years to keep the Black Caps going after everyone had gone over to that rival Indian competition. From what I have seen so far, everyone in the village team plays across the line as well. Gives an average bowler with better than medium pace and who knows about ‘line and length’ some incredible figures even if it’s only team practice! But they are keen and willing to learn and I already have a couple of opening batsmen with about half the team capable of generating some frightening speed with the ball. I think we would be even better once we swap the Samoan kilikiti bats and ball for the proper gear!
Someone told me at another training course that had nothing to do with cricket, but wasn’t too bad with the coffee and bikkies, that about 0.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere for every kilowatt of power generated from a fossil fuel fired power station. Actually, he said that it was 0.763kgC/kW but I am very skeptical of such accuracies to three decimal places when my small shopkeeper’s brain, which finds the government approved 20% markup on most products but not cigarettes, beer and soft drinks a bit of a struggle, could not imagine how one could go about measuring the carbon dioxide emitted from the Tanugamanono Diesel Power Station without getting at least a bit from plant photosynthesis and other natural processes to stuff up your figures. Palai has some huge breadfruit trees nearby. But seriously, according to the “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2001 : The Scientific Basis (U. K. 2001)” (www.eia.doe.gov), 6.3 billion metric tons of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions produced each year world wide is from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes. Big numbers!
Measured against that, carbon dioxide emissions from our old clunkers at Tanugamanono are but a rat’s fart in the forest! But in terms of Carbon emissions trading, our Finance Minister’s budget would look quite impressive with expected income from Carbon Trading written into it. So the big producers of greenhouse gases will pay money to keep on producing those gases instead of reducing their production levels to those agreed to. Something wrong there somewhere my brain can’t figure out at the moment without the compulsory pre-Sevens tourney Vailima!
Applications for the position of Media and Public Relations Officer – or something like that – with the Electric Power Corporation closed last Friday, I think. (I have always maintained that I am not a real journalist so I am allowed to be unsure of the accuracy of my information. It also means that I cannot be stupid like all journalists according to our PM!) The job description said what I interpreted to mean that part of this person’s job is to write some nice stories about the EPC. I was actually interested and would have applied until I got to that bit. The last power failure flat-lined my computer monitor. What sort of nice warm-fuzzies story can you write about the EPC after that and many other cases of expensive electronic equipment going belly up because of dodgy supply? They are going for the typical Spin Doctor’s cure of raising company profile through the media with a survey asking people to tell them if they still did not have access to electricity yet, as well as a public safety campaign and tips on how to save power. Highly commendable if only the supply was not prone to sudden and numerous attacks of musu!
Poor Misa has been under the media spotlight for his Wellington Sevens attack of musu. Actually, in cricketing terms, a lot of people had waited expectantly for Misa to come out to bowl his first over with the new ball. It turned out to be pretty expensive with a couple of wides and two no balls! The ‘overwhelming majority’ has now been used to justify the unfair terms small retailers at Lealailepule Rimoni’s electorate are faced with in trying to compete with Wholesaler/Retailers. The reference to supermarkets in New Zealand opening long hours was so wide off the mark the ball didn’t even land on the pitch! I am totally upset about this so-called era of professionalism where the referee’s decision is final and everyone including Deputy Prime Minister’s are reminded to respond to any result in the most sportsmanlike and professional of behaviors. I miss seeing public displays of officials spitting the dummy and making an absolute ass of themselves! I was absolutely gutted when the Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl because I had hoped so much for Junior Seau to win a final and a ring. But when he was interviewed afterwards and showed his true professionalism and sportsmanship in defeat, I thought that ring or not, he was a true hero. He did not go musu eh Misa? Have a nice one folks and GO MANU at San Diego!
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