The Lockdown - its implementation and consequences
For starters: I do think that using the concept of staying out of the infection-spreading zone of other people is a really, really good idea. I'm in the high risk group of people; trust me, I do not want to catch the virus.
My wife went to go shopping yesterday. It took her hours to get into the supermarket. HOURS. There were lines formed and directed outside by the staff, and she tells me that no way were the lines at a safe distance from each other. Then some supervisor shouted if someone over 70 was there, there was, and the gentleman was led along the line of other people in the queue --- no distance at all, instead of being led around the outside.
Get this: he was led along the queue, exposed to ever single &^%$* other person waiting, with no distance kept at all. My wife jokingly said to him "you're not 2m away from me" and he just about jumped out of his skin and apologized to her. It wasn't his fault.
They are spraying and 'sterilizing' the trolleys outside the shop. When it got to checkout time, she got shouted at because the packer felt she was too close to the cashier. They packed all her goods into the trolley used by the person before her (sic!) instead of using hers, and when she wanted to walk out she had to pass right by the packer who made no moves to distance herself.
The whole thing is, pardon the pun, a sick joke. The basic idea is good, but the implementation is lousy, and inept, in some cases plain dangerous (talking about exposing the 'over 70' bloke to everybody else waiting in line, here). It is implemented by people who don't understand the underlying principles and flounder around trying to comply with 'rules' they don't really comprehend. In this form, the spread of the virus is highly likely to continue, never mind what.
Keeping people waiting outside the shop for hours (around 4 hours it took!) is NOT sanitary. With my arthritic knees and still recovering from a heart attack, I'd not even consider it, I'd sooner dig up grass roots and carrot weed in the paddock and eat those. And, to wit, the delivery system is completely overloaded.
The other food stores should be OPEN. That would reduce queues. The regulators who came up with this plan have handed a de facto monopoly to foodstuffs and woolworth, which is being exploited (are there any specials at all just now?) and the quarantine measures, as I said above, are poorly understood and implemented.
By and large I am pretty disgusted by the situation.
Incidentally, I notice that the traffic on SH1 through Kauri has picked up by a lot today. Yesterday it was quiet, the day before it was very quiet; today? Quite busy all day ...
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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31.7% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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68.3% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Something we all seem to have forgotten
An Obituary to Common Sense printed in the London Times
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated valuable lessons like:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge)
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher
fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death;
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason
He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers;
- I Know My Rights,
- I Want It Now,
- Someone Else Is To Blame,
- I'm A Victim,
- Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing…
This is a modified version of a text that is originally attributed to Lori Borgman. However, it is more true today than it was when first written. It is not the version I remember, but it still gets the point across. Enjoy and remember.
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