Eden Coffee----more than just one of the 'also rans.'

Today I ran out of coffee beans and that meant a visit to Eden Coffee in Mt Eden Road. I now only buy my beans from there, simply because the quality of the beans and passion of the people there is hard to beat. This time I decided to warm myself up with a cup of coffee to see if it was any different from that I make at home. I pride myself on making a pretty decent cup of coffee with my little Italian machine. According to the friendly barista, this is as it should be. The difference between commercial machines and the home ones is that the former are capable of making cup after cup of good coffee, while the later is good for a few at most, if made continuously. I had noticed that when I used some of the cheaper machines in the past to serve more than about 4 cups of coffee---well the quality declined somewhat.
One reason I like going to Eden Coffee is the interest the baristas take in the product they sell; that includes knowing their customers and asking for feedback about the coffee chosen. Not only that, but they remember what I brought last time and make suggestions about 'where to go next with my coffee adventure.' Today I even sat at the 'bar,' and had a flat white; one  made with the same beans I had purchased. The weather outside was bleak, but the mood in the little café was quite different----friendly, helpful and warm. Going home through the rain and hail, I smiled as I thought about how much I looked forward to making my coffee at home and for a price that is not excessive. Thank goodness my recent operation hasn't precluded me from enjoying my favourite beverage. Yes, wine doesn't figure quite so much now. If I had to, I would give up wine, before my lovely coffee from Eden Coffee. Yes, I love my little brown pellets from heaven.

Whats happening ot our seeds?

HI Sam,

I read your article and I had this feeling come over me that ranged from anger to a sense of absolute frustration. I have a great deal of catching up to do before I can fully understand the ramifications for much of the world re your article. I am not sure about how much this is affecting New Zealand, but from time to time there has been publicity about the effect of GE food crop experimentation. I would not be surprised if our universities who are conducting these ‘experiments’ are  under the influence of the company you have exposed as being the main driver of ‘seed ownership’ One thing I can understand is the fact that it is all about money and the increasingly small number of companies who are slowly but surely exerting their control over food production, globally. Governments seem to be in their ‘pockets,’ and this is worrying in itself. The trend is one that is part of the general globalization of many products, trade and means of production. I guess I have reached the point whereby my sense of growing discontent needs an outlet. I shall embark upon a journey to better equip myself for the battle that must happen and one that must be won for the good of the planet and the little people who wish to do no more than grow their own food, free from the domination of ‘world companies.’ Thanks for your article.

Neil Coleman

www.authorneilcoleman.com

neilcolemanauthor@gmail.com

This self-publishing thing is driving me nuts, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

I have embarked on a huge learning curve, with the self publishing of my three books. I have felt like giving up many times and the expense has been quite a strain. My first book, 'Coastal Yarns,' has sold most to date, but that would only be about 200. I released a newer version with fewer mistakes last year. 'Roskill 'has and still is a nightmare. I am simply not a skilled writer. Yes, I can tell a story, but that is not enough in this tough publishing world. One has to have perfection, or risk the trap of producing a book that is not up to the mark, re punctuation, spelling and general 'correctness.' My three books, ( the third one is called Talk To Me) lack the finesse demanded by publishers and the likes of Amazon. Anyone can self publish if they are willing to pay. Hell, I have most definitely achieved that goal---paying for it.
I made up my mind to go back and get things right. I started with getting Roskill re edited and proofread. I have just received the final product but it needs a little work from a 'designer.' I have to admit that I have no idea who or what that is. I am seeking help to push Roskill over the line, not the cliff! I guess that means paying yet again. I am very happy with the work my editor has done and hopefully he will let me name him once things are settled. I have also decided to 'dump' all of the previous copies of Roskill because of the lack of quality. I shall let you all know when it is on Kindle via Amazon and it will cost you very little to read the final result. After that I shall put the other two books out there on Kindle and get my next huge series (Son of Orpheus) up to standard.
Feel free to give me any helpful suggestions. I have come way too far to give up now.

Mr Dunne is going ot bring the ban on drugs being sold in our shops forward.

While I am happy that the plan to bring the ban on sales of synthetic cannabis in our dairies forward, I know that we will still have to contend with these substances and that our A and E departments will still have to deal with the aftermath our youth experimenting with these products. We all know that the sales will simply go underground and that the criminal circles will take control of the sales. The programme on TV last week showed us the individuals who push these substances to be people who only care about profit. When asked to take one of these products themselves, there and then,'  one of them explained that the building was 'smoke free' and even he admitted that SC was more dangerous than cannabis,  We have seen this stance before by the leaders of the tobacco industry so why would we be surprised? The same can not be said for those in the wine business!
Once the ban is instituted, it will be important to keep up education programmes and levee the producers and sellers of SC for the cost and treatment of the resulting issues. They should be taxed at a higher level than that already in place for tobacco and alcohol products.
In the meantime, the battle continues and the putting forwards of this legislation is most welcome Mr Dunne.

Financial 'experts' sometimes make me laugh! Trouble is---they are being serious!

I regularly see so-called ‘financial gurus’ making statements about the NZ economy and the threat of the high NZ$ to our exports and general economy. They have predicted the NZ$ to rise to giddy heights; some even suggesting that we would hit .90$ against the US$. There are many of these commentators around. We watch them on TV, we hear them ion the radio and various others forms of media making all sorts of dire predictions about the Kiwi dollar.

Minions like myself and no doubt many other sort of ‘believe’ these people and wonder what will happen to our hard earned money and we worry about the flow on effects to our often precarious financial situations.

Today I awake to see that the NZ$ has slumped to almost .80 against the US$. How can this be, when we were heading the other way? Do these clever ‘experts’ not factor into their guesses about where we are headed or is it that they really are just making guesses or worse still---betting!?

I am left wondering who to believe and that any decisions I make about such issues should be based on the colour of the jacket the commentators where, something akin to picking a winning horse because of the pretty riding gear adorning a particular jockey. Damn, there must be thousands of people making a living out of ‘guessing’ the trends in the financial world. At least it doesn’t keep me awake at night. I suppose tomorrow all the trends towards a lower NZ$ could reverse again. Where does that leave ‘us?’ Oh well--- I think it means taking each day as it comes.

Australia is in deep doggie---you know the rest!

The announcement that Ford may be moving out of Australia by 2016 is a sign that things are changing for the ‘Lucky Country.’ Not only is the price for what they ‘dig out of the ground’ dropping like the proverbial brick SH, but their manufacturing base; one that has been an integral part of their economy is coming under threat. That threat comes from countries that can do what the Aussies do, only much cheaper. International giants don’t give a rats butt when it comes to caring about workers or regional economies.

We in New Zealand lost our car manufacturing base many years ago and since then, mush of our other manufacturing businesses have gone the same way. Our agricultural sector has adapted to the brave new world and what we grow is still in demand.

We should not be smug about the position our ‘across the ditch’ cousins find themselves in, because what happens in that country, affects us hugely. Yes, China has overtaken Australia as our main trading partner, but if recent events that show how volatile that market can be become the ‘new norm’ then we too are in for a rough ride. Perhaps this is the time to strengthen our ties so that we can weather the storm together. Treating our two countries as one market and manufacturing base may just be the start of defending our South Pacific patch.’ This is one gang that I support!

NZ and Australia compete in many ways but when the chips are down the ANZAC spirit comes to the fore. Now is the time for relationship to grow even stronger. Our sense of ‘mateship’ must go beyond the jokes and barbs we shoot at one another. This time it must be far more than a mere ‘tweaking’ of the bonds that

London's horror----let's try to take a 'balanced' approach.

The horrific attack on a young man in London will stir up a great deal of anger in the UK and that is understandable. When the Brits are attacked we all know that the effect is to solidify opinion against the aggressor, in this case, possible Jihadists type terrorists. However one has to look at the bigger picture.

In many parts of the Middle East, there are on-going conflicts, most of which have their roots in History, political and religious. There are unresolved ‘land issues,’ and of course underpinning this is the access to oil question. The latter is often the driving force h=behind much of the policies followed by the West and China.

Put these issues aside for a moment and we are still horrified at the nature of this latest attack where the young man was hacked to death in a style reminiscent of some of the video execution footage we have seen form extremist groups. The vast majority of the UK populace will be sickened by this attack, including a huge proportion of the Islamic community. There will be a backlash from misguided groups and the target will be innocent victims who are easily identified as Muslim. This is unfortunate and the PM must move quickly to prevent this happening.

At the same time, we need to acknowledge that the actions of the two ‘suspects’ do not arise from a void; they are driven by a belief that their community in the wider sense is being treated unfairly. That is a weak description of the long term problems that have led up to such attacks, both on a small scale and in a more widespread ‘war on the West.’ Such attacks happen because of the unresolved issues and we will continue to see them. Now we await the reaction of the Government and no doubt we will see counter reactions from home grown anti-Islamic groups, some of whom are nothing more than ignorant, uninformed and dangerous ‘haters.’

The history of the UK is ne whereby many groups have arrived in this ‘fortress island’ and slowly become part of the culture, going back to well before Roman times. At some stage the large Islamic group will truly feel ‘British.’ It is the minority hard-line sympathizers of Taliban-like groups that will grab the headlines and force the Government to take actions that are more designed to placate a voting public than result in any real change. To achieve a real co-existence with Islam, the Government of the UK, the USA and China, along with much of the remainder of the community of nations, must come to terms with the mistakes of history and seek a real and lasting understanding. That will involve ‘undoing’ those mistakes.

The Islamic world too will need to move away from the extremist actions that fuel a continuance of these sad events. Will we witness such an ‘accommodation’ in our life time? I guess that depends on whose life-time we are talking about!

It is hard to remain positive about the future, for all of us, while the streets of London are witness to the horrors of the last day.