Real 'home-cooked' French food now available in New World stores. Great!

I love French food. When a company launched a ready-made food product into New World stores around the country, I was delighted. Not that I would eat the serving in one sitting, but having something 'a bit different' to the usual fare, most definitely tempts my taste buds.'
The proof will of course be in the eating and I shall get back to you with this 'supposedly taste just like French food, cooked in the home,' offering.

Read the article, below, in the NZ Herald.

www.authorneilcoleman.com 

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French food firm tastes success

By Christopher Adams

5:30 AM Thursday Jan 2, 2014
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Small Business
Founder of French cuisine company says business-friendly New Zealand key to achievement.

Thomas Dietz' ready-to-eat French meals are now sold in supermarkets and groceries all over the country.
Thomas Dietz' ready-to-eat French meals are now sold in supermarkets and groceries all over the country.
Global surveys often rank New Zealand as one of the easiest places in the world to run a business, and Frenchman Thomas Dietz would be inclined to agree.

The 37-year-old founded Tomette - a ready-to-eat French meal company - in Auckland in 2012 and the firm already has its products stocked in supermarkets across the country.

Dietz reckons his chances of success would have been pretty low had he established the business back in his home city of Paris.

"It would have been very difficult," he said. "It would have required lots more money and a lot more time."

Dietz was amazed by the ease with which a company could be set up here.

"It's really super-easy, whereas in France you have so much administration and everything is very complex," he said. "Here in New Zealand you just pay $167 and you're registered. Everything is set up to help you."

Dietz said his start-up had received a lot of support, both from the Government-run Food Bowl food innovation centre in Manukau and Auckland business incubator The Icehouse, which owns a 6 per cent stake in the firm.

Tomette's fresh (unfrozen) meals - which include beef bourguignon, chicken basquaise and lamb provencale - are now stocked in more than 30 New World supermarkets and specialty grocery retailers from Kerikeri to Dunedin.

Dietz said the meals were based on his late grandmother's recipes.

"It's not complex French cuisine," he said. "What we want to do is make French cuisine accessible - you can eat French food that is like made at home."

Dietz said ready-to-eat meals were a growing segment because people were "time poor".

Tomette's aim was to not only provide good-quality food but to take people on a "tour de France of gastronomy" in the two and a half minutes it took to prepare a meal.

Dietz said sales of Tomette meals had grown rapidly over the past year.

"In the second month we were selling four times as much as we were planning for after eight or nine months."

Dietz previously spent 10 years working for cosmetics company L'Oreal - a job which brought him to this country six years ago to work in the giant French firm's New Zealand division.

He is married to Jennifer Zea, a Venezuelan singer who recently produced an album with well-known Kiwi jazz musician Nathan Haines. The couple have a 6-year-old daughter called Obaya.

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My NZer(s) of The Year award goes to-----The hard-working people of NZ who struggle to keep their heads above water!

Yes, forget about the high-profile people who have been honoured in the New Year's honours list. Yes, they deserve their awards, most of them, but the people who have and continue to struggle against all odds to keep their kids in school, out of trouble, fed, clothed and give that most important of gifts; time and love---they are ones who win any award in my opinion. They are the unsung heroes, the consistent, givers and the winners in NZ. They do this despite the Government's actions or inaction on a range of fronts. They do this despite the lack of a living wage, felt most strongly in the big cities where people have to live, because that is where the majority of the jobs are. That is their responsibility you say. of course it is, but must to be so hard. Must the gap between the top 10% and the rest become ever wider, causing an accumulative effect on those  who once considered themselves middle-class? They don't complain as we would expect them too. They just get on with life, taking a cursory interest in the politics of the nation;perhaps that is their only downfall. They are simply too busy, looking after their kids, doing the 'right thing,' to have time for what they consider a waste of time. They know that they will not be listened to by our leaders, who arrogantly get on with their agenda, to sell NZ to the highest bidder, usually the mates of those at the top. Yes, the real heroes are ordinary NZers, who have put up with an uncaring Government for so long. They will seek answers in the coming year, but once again they will risk being hoodwinked by a dishonest Government, who will trot out platitudes and once again fool the people---unless they truly 'wakeup.'
Have a wonderful New Year New Zealanders, of all persuasions!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Papatoetoe---I took a drive and a short walk through 'nostalgia---where have all the gardens gone?

My family left the farm in Taranaki in the early 1960,s and for the most part my education at pre-tertiary level took place in that suburb. Back then our street could claim that every home had  a garden of sorts, many of them quite magnificent. I well remember my father turning our version the 'quarter acre paradise' into a pleasurable and very productive garden. There were fruit tees and many vegetables; much needed by a family of six children. The flowers were there for Mum too and we often had to help weed them. That was before the days when Dad managed to learn that if you didn't like roses, you mowed the buggers down!
I remember the sports-fields and the swimming pool too. Today I took Perdy for a walk on the Papatoetoe Recreation Grounds. No, I didn't take her on the sports-fields----we skirted the edge so that we didn't disobey the rules!
I was struck by the redevelopment of the swimming pools  but I could not see a soul swimming there. Maybe I was just too early or is it that kids don't fill their days there any more? We used to bake (not very sensible in hindsight) in the sun between swims and listen or not listen to the twit who used to yell at us over the loud speakers if we even dared to move at more than a snails pace around the pool area. Who says that we bring up kids with cotton wool surrounds now?---it had its beginnings with him!
After our walk, where we admired a few survivors of the traditional garden and back sections facing the park, we resumed our journey through the streets in my little Hyundai, I was again disappointed at the lack of care most of the sections had. It looks like most of the homes are rented or that the people no longer care about appearances and beautifying the suburb. (Mrs 'Bouquet/Bucket would have been most put out!) Mind you, Papatoetoe doesn't have that on its own now. We don't spend the hours in the garden any more. Is that because we are too busy, lazy or just don't care? Take your pick. I am surprised, given how busy many of the garden centres are when you visit in the weekend. I suspect that the effort is going into smaller patio-style gardens now but I wish there could be a revival re gardens per-say.
Another change in Papatoetoe now is the cosmopolitan nature of the suburb. The shops had been going through a it of a down-turn over the last few decades but the advent of a large Indian population has brought back some colour and vitality to the shops, especially in Hunter's Corner. I was assailed by colourful clothing shops. I like the myriad of colours in Indian styles. Bring it on, I say!
Oh well, nothing stays the same. Maybe Papatoetoe will continue to evolve, much like the rest of Auckland. I am not moaning---I embrace the differences. I still love the big older well-built houses of that suburb from my youth.
www.authorneilcoleman.com 

I think it must be 'holiday time,' around the world because many countries are reading my blogs---now read the books!

It is so nice to see so many countries a reading my blogs today: Mexico, Spain, Germany, China and all the old favourites. Help me spread the word about my self-published books. Go to my site   www.authorneilcoleman.com  and download ROSKILL on Kindle or your reading App. Just follow the links from the site. Please let me know if you have done so by emailing me from the website using 'messages'.

Russia faces the ultimate dilemma--I don't envy them.

What is Mr Putin to do? He has it tough on two fronts; (at least) the issue of his particular way of holding power and the increasing opposition to him, and also with the rise of terrorist Islamic cells who are using the Winter Olympics to raise their profile. That they use terror, murder and bombs is the manner in which they operate everywhere, including amongst the nations that are at the heart of Islam in the Middle East. Now the 'fight'has hit home in the Russian Republic.
The latest attack on innocent people in the city of Volgograd brings home the seriousness of what Putin faces. Just when he was using the Olympics to cynically raise his own status as a forward-thinking, 'caring' leader, this happens. How he responds is crucial, both for the future of Russia and the fight against terrorism in any of its forms around the world. He could take a wider view and look at the reason why terrorists operate; be it in the middle-East, the USA, Europe or Africa. He could do this in conjunction with the other nations facing this peril; namely, the USA, China, India, much of  Africa and parts of Europe and Asia. it seems that a concerted effort to identify the causes of terrorism would be a good start.
Putin also has problems within his own political sphere. He can no longer ignore the rights of those who would oppose him in a democratic manner. He can no longer side-line, by devious and bullying methods, these people, because they need to be with him if he ever hopes to defeat the forces of those who would use bombs and guns to terrify a populace. It is time for Putin to reach out in a genuine manner. I wonder if he is capable of seeing the 'new reality.' If he retreats behind the walls of the Kremlin, he is merely following the same old pattern that the Tsar and the Soviet Regime that replaced him. Putin and the other world leaders need to reconcile their differences and engage in dialogue with the moderates of the Islamic World, because they too face a dilemma about their direction; to be part of the world of nations or members of  'fragmented' group of disparate groups who would call themselves 'nations', whose citizens face a daily struggle to steer clear of the combatants---and live.
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Cyber-warfare, (part 2). What do you think would happen if things went haywire?

I am unashamedly on a roll, after publishing my first little teaser about cyber-war, a few days ago. What propelled me to write this second instalment is the 'thinking and observation' I have been doing over the last 48 hours. I know that some of my postings have been quite tongue-in-cheek,' but there is an underlying seriousness and even a fear beneath my words. I have even taken the piss out of some of the preppie books that I have read, but that does not mean that I do not take some of their 'observations' as being without some truth.  It is the 'Tea Party' attitude and religious exclusivity that goes with many of the books that gets me going.
So what are the features of these groups and their dire predictions that resonate with me? If we accept that something along the lines of a melt-down occurs as a result of a massive cyber-attack which in turn leads to a world-wide or at least regional failure of services that we all take for granted; including the power grids, water supplies, government services and access to food and health services, something akin to societal breakdown would probably occur. Why do I suggest this?
Have you ever been to a massive sale that has been extensively advertised and joined the queues waiting to score a bargain?. Queuing?---well for a while. Even the security guards have extreme trouble trying to control the  uninhibited behaviours of those wanting to get their hands on that 'special' item. 'Decency' goes out the door as people change from polite individuals to a group of rude, pushy and sometimes violent desperadoes. I am overreacting, you say. Well take the other common example of how humans change in certain circumstances---the example of 'road rage.' We regularly see the news featuring the more extreme types of RR on our screens. There are many other examples of how the norms of law and order break down when individuals snap into some sort of 'survival mode.' All the teachings, upbringings and attempts to moderate such 'urges' go out the window when people (and their loved ones) feel they are threatened or likely to miss out on a perceived 'need.'
Am I wrong in thinking that as a society (world-wide) we have lost a little of that self-control that helps us to 'get along' in a relatively unselfish manner?Perhaps it is that there just that many 'more of us on this earth now, increasing the pressures that we face. In any society that does not have strong social controls in order to control access, shape behaviours, law and order rapidly breakdown. This breakpoint is reached more in areas of the world where there is not a forum in which to influence those who rule us or if there is a perception that large groups are denied access to that which most of us in richer countries take for granted.
Sometimes, that tip-point is not reached because power brokers (politicians etc.) repress any move to challenge their rule, through fear and state mechanisms that do not allow for expressions of discontent.
Back to the spectre of nations failing when the mechanisms and shared norms breakdown, because of a massive interruption to the means of delivering human needs; chaos and 'survivalist' tendencies emerge---quickly, once the ramifications of the 'failures' sink in. Society would turn on itself, unless for some reason the 'State' maintains a level of communication and control to alleviate the worst aspects of the 'failure.' If that does not happen, then the rule of law would rapidly breakdown as individuals and groups try to impose their own rules to survive as resources become scarce and very life is threatened.
That we have become so dependant on technology and a belief that 'the Government' will help, is the underpinning that drives the thinking of survivalists and post-apocalyptic groups. That they appear 'quaint' at least or sinister to others goes without saying but they do have a point. That is why they squirrel away resources and the means to protect them and their loved ones, especially in parts of the USA. I am not aware of nay major movements in my own country (NZ) but no doubt if one searched hard, they could be found. Maybe the fact that NZ is small and at the end of the world (Middle Earth?) fools us into believing that 'she'll be right, mate,' lulls us into a false sense of security, but those same 'survivalist' instincts would emerge, come the 'day.'
Before you start wondering about me---no, I am not about to set up some 'off-the-grid group or join one that possibly exists; I just raise the point that the possibilities for massive societal failure, caused by the breakdown of the forces that we have always believed acted in our best interests, would at the very least create a situation that would be akin to returning to a world we escaped from, many centuries ago.
Does that mean we take the words and actions of the 'preppies and survivalist' groups seriously? That's over to you, but I suspect that 'they' would like 'us' to continue in the manner we are. THAT, suits them.
Food for thought, or mere playing with words? Am I going to write a book soon with the scenario I have alluded to?---- maybe---but I have to sell my other books first. Go to my website and check them out!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

Cyber warfare---is that our future?

Maybe I have I reading too many books from the science-fiction, 'preppie' and post and post-apocalyptic genre. Maybe I have an imagination that loves to dwell on such issues, real or unreal, but when I saw an item on BBC TV today about just such a possibility; that is, one the portrays cyber attacks from many nations, sometimes on so-called 'friends,' is  a fact that is being acted upon every day. It is not just the 'big boys' on the block undertaking such hostile actions and it is not only governments that sponsor these activities.
On a daily basis, according the to the reporter, actions are being taken to counteract the activities of individuals and government, intent on 'testing' the resolve of big companies and governments to resist such cyber attacks. Closing down water supplies and energy grids are an example of the targets involved, although there are many reasons for the actions of these hackers, call them what you will, sanctioned or not by their home governments.
It is only a matter of time before a major 'close-down' of infrastructure' will occur; not if, but when. What is particularly worrying is the huge number of individuals and governments 'pushing the keyboards and learning ever-new methods to play out their potentially deadly 'games.' One does not have to think too deeply to imagine the results of any 'successful' attacks from some of the countries and organizations who are joining the 'fray' everyday.
What is being done to prevent a 'preppies' heaven? Apparently many governments are spending large amounts of money to insure that the hackers do not succeed. But if money is the major 'calling' for those behind the cyber attacks, it goes without saying that sometime very soon we are going to see a major result, taking down a huge energy grid or water supply, causing massive public disorder. That it has not happened is down to luck as much as any 'preparedness' on the part of nations.
If the attack is on military complexes and the computers that keep them running, then the scenario is elevated to even scarier heights. Just read a book from the plethora of titles out there to come close to understanding the ramifications on that front.
If your heart is not in your mouth now, then perhaps you have coped in the same manner I do; stick your head back in the sand and get on with the 'here and now' of your life; watching an inconsequential sporting game on TV or insulting a politician making an announcement on the nightly news. There are many other issues to divert us from an unthinkable act of cyber-terrorism after all. Hell, don't even get me started on the reality of 'cyber-bullying.' Maybe you are more like me, and just hope that those charged with 'protecting us' from the mind-boggling scenarios I have described, will keep us safe. Perhaps you just don't want to think about it!
www.authorenilcoleman.com