James Cook High School in South Auckland has a secret!

All too often the schools of South Auckland get bad press. This is regularly way off the mark and written by people who usually pass by on the motorway heading South. If they looked a little closer or listened to grass roots, then they may well discover a little gem of a secret.

One such school will no longer be able to keep secret that it has one of the best ‘girls’ rugby teams in the country. What started as a ramshackle bunch of good natured young women just trying to have fun has turned into a serious challenge to be one of the top teams in the north Island.

This group of young women have taken on the best and refused to lay down in defeat. They have probably surprised themselves; they give their all, take the hits and bounce right back up. So far in a series of ‘stepped-up’ games, each one at a higher level, they have met the challenge and pulled off victories. Their latest escapade had them hosting the highly ranked team from Rotorua Girls High and once again, they came up trumps.

 Now, after they have rested and returned to a ‘non-injury state,’ they head to the National Champs in Fielding in September. Money is short and no doubt they will take short cuts re costs, but they are determined to get there. A little help for them would go a long way. These girls have gained hugely from their successes. Their self-esteem has taken a grand jump, something that can help them in so many other areas of their lives.

Perhaps someone out there can send this on to the ‘press’ who more often than not ignore the good things about South Auckland

 Well done girls and your hard working coaches and managers. The school? --- James Cook High of course!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Call them what you like, but label them 'evil and dangerous.'

The report in Today’s Herald about synthetic cannabis being sold as ‘Tai High’ at a dairy before the substance was banned begs the question about how far we should go in putting a complete stop on the sale of these insidious products. The Government has acted and it feels like they are getting a handle on things.

We must ask the question though about why dairies have been allowed to sell these items, often to ‘at risk groups.’ In my view any substance fed into a young teenager, at such a crucial time in their physical and psychological development is like pouring poison onto a growing plant, in this case a developing young person. The results are unpredictable at best and totally damaging in the worst case scenarios.

Diaries should never have been allowed to be points of sale and if there needs to be a law change to prevent them selling this whole range of products, then please let us have that law change.

The reports from Oamaru today definitely lend weight to that argument. Come on MR Dunne--- you have done damn well on this issue--- step up again and tighten up the regulations. You won’t lose votes; you can only gain respect. Keep our kids safe.

Outsourcing--the new-age miracle---Lets do it!

The world is changing so fast, we hardly notice anymore. What was here yesterday is quickly forgotten as yet another new product or service hits the ‘shelves’ or computer screen. Much of this momentum is underlined by the new-miracle, ‘outsourcing.’

Of course it isn’t exactly new; it has been around for ages and various segments of the economy have been fighting a losing battle against this wonderfully efficient and humane movement. Like the dinosaurs, this opposition has been decimated by climatic shifts in reality therapy.

The world of the near future has already evolved to some extent; just think of all of those wonderful calls you get around dinner-time; many of them are from friendly highly trained vernacularly-proficient operators, from parts across the seas. I know you all look forward to their informative and unobtrusive offerings.

We can expect a huge increase in the scope and number of outsourcing opportunities. We should embrace them as they take away the less meaningful aspects of what many of us consider being boring and unfulfilling employment. We will be able to sit back and relax, as tasks we once thought of as being beneath us are carried out remotely or sometimes with ‘guest outsourcing,’ a whole new concept that we haven’t yet fully understood. Yes, I know that in some countries these ‘workers’ are called ‘illegals, but not so here.

Take a closer look at the possibilities. Teaching will become a totally different occupation as the numbers of teachers drop. Remember all of those fractious classes that teachers so often struggled with. That will become a thing of the past as ‘remote teaching units’ kick in. The face to face teacher will only be needed for ‘extension’ work and to visit students in their homes on occasion.

Grocery shopping will all be online; only the ‘corner dairy’ will continue much in the same way as we know it today. Of course for those unfortunates who never entered the ‘new technological world,’ well they will have to rely on ‘guest outsourcing’ to meet their needs.

The need for travelling will also be outsourced; that is for those who really want to travel. With restrictions in place, because of increased terrorism attacks at tourist hotspots, the desire for ‘live travel’ will have diminished to a point where it is no longer viable. Nevermind, ‘neo-reality-tourism,’ will increasingly take-over. No more upset tummies or infections--- no way--- ‘travel’ will always be pristine and much cheaper.

There is another obvious example where outsourcing will benefit us most. Yes, I have saved the best for last. We will be outsourcing our politicians. Many of those calls you have been getting from offshore of late, have been your future ‘politisourced local member of parliament.’ One may even have been our future Prime Minister. The Beehive in Wellington will be turned into a huge ‘neo-reality’ pleasure palace---ghosts included. Everything; all government departments will be outsourced to various secret locations. The need for secrecy is obvious. With increased infiltration from criminal elements (but don’t worry--- the police will have been efficiently outsourced to Kazakhstan) there have been cyber-attacks on the medical records of many of our citizens. Hopefully, with the new measures put in place, remotely of course, that should soon stop.

It is good to know that we will all be safer, better informed and safely overseen by the latest of the outsourced robotic security force. Oh, I can’t wait.

 www.authorneilcoleman.com