Original text from Stuff.co.nz

A surprised 91-year-old resthome resident woke to find an 18-year-old sleeping off a big night in the chair by his bed, a court has heard.

Kerrien James Weale, 18, unemployed, from Takaka Hill, was ordered to pay the pensioner $150 for emotional harm when he appeared in the Nelson District Court this week.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer said Weale entered the pensioner’s cottage through a ranchslider. The man woke to find Weale asleep in the chair, and called for help. Weale did not know where he was.

Defence lawyer Herman Roose said Weale had written a letter of apology to the man straight away.

Weale had been very drunk and thought he had made his way to a mate’s house, Mr Roose said. He had not intended to commit a crime in the pensioner’s home.

Judge Tony Zohrab ordered Weale to pay $150 to the 91-year-old, who he had “frightened the bejeebers out of”.

An Auckland pie-lover has been arrested after allegedly stabbing his stepson in the neck.

The man approached police as they were conducting an examination at the scene in South Auckland, but when police ordered him to drop his hands, the man refused to drop his pie, 3News reported.

“It’s only a pie,” the man told police.

When police tried to lead the accused away he attempted to make a deal – the rest of the pie, which had been left on the ground, as reward for handing himself in.

It was believed the two men began fighting about 6am and both had probably been drinking, Detective Sergeant Len Leleni of Manukau police said.

A 25-year-old man had received stab injuries and defence wounds.

The victim was now recovering in Middlemore Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

His alleged attacker was this afternoon charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and will appear in court tomorrow.

See the original site

This isn’t the only thing to happen in the land of pies involving the New Zealand Police, either.

Embedded behind the cut, but here’s the youtube link.

Wait, does that mean I’m back in New Zealand now? After all, I don’t have any relatives in Canada!
Well, actually, I do have relatives in Canada, I’ve just never met them. They live up in Vancouver. To answer the question, however, yes I am back in New Zealand. I’m just somewhere in the South Island as opposed to the North Island.

Currently editing: Lionheart. Wordcount: I’m not looking.

Some may notice that the website has undergone some changes. I’m still working out how to use the different pages. Actually, that’s a lie. I know how to use the different pages, I just haven’t had enough time to look at the Internet to go forth and fix them. With luck I may have those done by the end of today. It’s a nice design by Catherine Haines (yes, that’s the person who I’m using as a host. Yes, that’s the person who runs On The Nightstand. Yes that’s the person for whom I beta), and while it’s actually one of her older designs, it’s the one that I liked the most (her other desk-design was a trifle too tidy to suit me. Please don’t judge me by how ridiculous the desk gets, it just tends to become scattered with computer parts. I can still find things on it).

Right now, I’m attempting to apply for an Administration-type job. No, this doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on the Policing, it means that I have to get a full New Zealand Driver Licence and relearn how to swim (gotta do 50m in 54 seconds) and do an awful lot of running (no, that’s not a Rickroll), and frankly, money is important. Even for me.

So I’ll leave now with a question, because I’ve been asked to do this sort of thing on the Beta Blogs site:
In Canada, what is the difference between a Peace Bond and a Restraining Order? Answers in the comments.

From Stuff.co.nz, By The Press’s Giles Brown

When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. However, a young West Coast man has found out that there is a time and a place.
Ryan Stentiford, 21, of Greymouth, has pleaded guilty to trespass after entering a police car park.
On November 1, Stentiford walked into the Greymouth Police Station carpark and relieved himself on a police car.
The Greymouth District Court heard yesterday that Stentiford, who was drunk, was walking along the town’s Guinness St when he made a detour for his toilet stop.
“It was like sticking your hand up and saying ‘book me’,” Sergeant Nigel Orpwood, of the Greymouth police, said after Stentiford was arrested.
Defence counsel Vicki Walsh told the court it was “rather unusual behaviour, and clearly the defendant is embarrassed by his own actions”.
“He doesn’t have a clear memory of the event or why he went onto police property.”
Police officers had caught Stentiford in the act and had made him wash the car.
Yesterday, Judge Jane Farish gave Stentiford, a mine worker, an ultimatum.
“If you go and clean one of the cars at the police station, you can come back this afternoon and I will discharge you without conviction,” she said.
“I will clean the car, thanks,” Stentiford said and left the court.

Okay, this one’s mostly just for the sheer amusement factor. Not for the issue that he was charged with, but for the community policing involved in the sentencing.

Sometimes, I just adore my country’s attitude.

When and how did you find out about NaNoWriMo? How did you go?
I found out about NaNo sometime in 2002, then a friend suggested I participate in it in 2003. Naturally, being 14 at the time, I knew I wouldn’t have the patience to do that sort of thing, so instead I edited another person’s entry.

How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?
I haven’t! This round’s my first – I haven’t done a NaNo beta in six years either.

How many times have you won? If you haven’t won, what was your best result?
The closest I’ve come to entereing was doing 19000 in November for an entirely different reason.

How did you go last year?
That 19000 was last year.

Where do you write and with what do you write?
I have three computers, googledocs, a small notebook for ideas when I can’t access one of those computers (which is unlikely; the smallest is one of those netbook things and is going with me EVERYWHERE these days).

How do you find time to write?
I cut out sleep.

Are your partners, friends and family allies or enemies?
No partner (TT_TT), but I have a few friends doing this. My family would much rather I do all of my homework and inventory for moving (and I don’t blame them for this) and then spend more time with the dog.

What are you strengths and what do you use to help you get to the end?
The ability to take a prompt and run with it, for over 1000 words in 20 minutes.

What are you weaknesses, obstacles and challenges that hinder you from finishing?
Time. I have very little of it. Too many prior commitments, and a working knowledge of the gentle art of procrastination.

Do you plot/outline/plan or do you write by the seat of your pants? How much do you plot or how unprepared are you?
I know where I’m starting, who my characters are and what they’re like, and where everything’s going to end up. Beyond that, however, I have no plan.

Do you participate in the real life community, go to write ins and meet ups in your area?
One of my friends has suggested I come to a write in with her IRL. That might be interesting. But see above about the prior commitments.

What are your writing aids? Special snacks, music, totems, rewards or punishments?
I have an iPod stuffed with music and the promise of ongoing adventures. And a panda who sits on top of my desktop and looks at me if I don’t write.

Well, that’s fairly deep – I might even go so far as to call it zen-like, but that may be the influence of watching Life again. And it’s a piece of advice I recently gave to a writer who happened to be completely stuck.
But what does it mean within an editing context? Well, actually, nothing. But it may help in the writing.

Some people like to work with an outline firmly in place. Others seriously do not, and frankly, that’s okay. Lots of people need to write things in direct order, but for those who don’t?
If you’re stuck, it may be an idea to write something from the far future – or perhaps from the far past – of your story. Keep the characters, or at least the world, and just write. Hell, it may even be the end of your story. But don’t let Writer’s Block get you down. Just work out a way to move around it.

As a beta, my task is equally about the journey as the destination. After all, the journey is nothing more than what is built and layered upon the previous steps for that same journey, while the destination is the culmination thereof – and all the little details from the journey need to be checked over, so that it does indeed fit with the ending – and vice-versa. For us, the destination doesn’t matter until we get there – and by then, it may be time to restart the whole journey all over again.

Hey, don’t tell Catherine this, but I’m gonna start on another beta job of hers. It’s gonna be a surprise, so I’m swearing ALL of you to secrecy.

Shhhhhhhh…

Oh, P.S.: I appear to have started my own novel with another friend of mine. Be afraid, be very afraid…

I just did three chapters in one sitting. Be impressed, dammit.

Looks like the music thing is seriously working. I’m now going to go look for some yoghurt, and then go for a run.

I’m a beta – that’s an unpaid editor for those who can’t be bothered to click the ‘about’ button on the site. But hey, I’m human. I like a bit of music.

For my first big beta job (by which I mean ‘not for fanfiction’ – the soundtrack for those was typically the weekly top 40 with Ryan Seacrest, simulcast to New Zealand FTW!), I literally hid off in my room for a long weekend and put in various CDs. I think that time it was the ‘Telecom Animals Collection’ (a CD which iTunes has only started to recognise the tracklist of in the last three months), then current radio (top 40 again, another simulcast of Top of the Pops I think…), a little bit of Star Wars soundtrack, and… no, that was my ‘not touching the Spice Girls’ phase.

My second job (oddly, for the same person; you can buy the book in question from here), I buried myself for another long weekend, slipped on the Japanese Pop and classical music. I staggered out after 36 hours, several refills of my waterbottle and about eight (no, sorry, nine, but four of them were mochas and one was instant) cups of espresso. Oh, and the top 40. Again. This is just before I changed the radio stations I listened to.

Third job, nonfiction this time. This was dad’s book, and he didn’t want to listen to any music while we were going through it. Also the only time I have ever done anything by hand, the only nonfiction job, and the only time I’ve ever done an index, and the only time I’ve ever actually been paid for doing this. $40, since you’re wondering.

All of those – except for In the face of the Enemy – were done to music, and they were all done quickly, compared to my current jobs.

Fourth on the list, and it’s actually been a good few years. I’m almost done with the second readthrough of Blood Bound, and I’m glad I’m doing this, but I think I’ve finally realised what’s been missing: Music! I’ve been doing these to nothing but the sound of a computer humming and the occasional youtube video (this week we have A Very Potter Musical, and OMG I really <3 Voldemort)! This must cease.

And all it took was listening to the Top 40 at work to realise what was missing.

In an effort to avoid the same songs over and over again, however, I’m using the iPod, and my ‘vaguely freaky’ playlist for Blood Bound. Betaing Vampire stories to Rob Zombie. Hrm.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got three chapters of Blood Bound and another thirty of Cat’s Quill to get through.

(P.S.: Catherine mentioned that I call a certain vampire ‘Callum’. I feel it only fair to provide pictures here…)