I have accepted a wager from Peter that I will buy an iPad within 6 Months. The terms are if I buy one then he wins the bet. If I don’t buy one then I win the bet. If I get given one or win one then no one wins the bet.
The bet will finish at 14:49 on 21 January 2011. The iPad is released in New Zealand on 23 July 2010.
I discovered a secret squirrel announcement on the TranzMetro website yesterday while looking for delays. It details a free travel day on Friday 26 February and a 5% discount on March Monthly and Quarterly passes. This is to apologise for the delays that were experienced by train commuters last week.
While on the site, I also discovered that TranzMetro are keeping (or attempting to keep) performance information. The target is 95% of services arriving and leaving within 3 minutes of the scheduled time. I assume the averages are for all services. It would be interesting to see what they are for peak times as I have never ever been on time at my destination. The express is supposed to take 50 minutes but it usually arrives in a little over 60 minutes in either direction. So a 0% average from the stats I’m keeping.
The cars that I want to own are so far out of my reach it’s not funny. I know this but yet I still want them. That is the hold they have on people. It’s has to be some sort of magic spell. I’m heading up to Top Gear Live this weekend to see such cars. Cars that cost more that my house and driven with no worries about insurance premiums, maintenaince costs, fuel bills or garaging. I can’t wait!
Yesterday evening I got passed by one of these super cars. An Audi R8, in silver. It was only the V8 version . . . I mean come on, 400+ HP is not nearly enough ;) He came out of no where and passed me in my 4 door family sedan. However, do you think he disappeared off into the distance? Not a change. The reason being, we were merging into a single lane of a goat track. Stuck behind several trucks and a line of cars not willing to attempt the speed limit.
This makes me wonder as to the practicality (as far as a super car can be practical) of these vehicles. All cars out there will break the speed limit; some you’ll be trying hard to though. With the number of speed enforcment folk hiding out on corners or at the end of passing lanes, is it worth having a vehicle that doesn’t just get you from A to B in relative comfort?
Yes, I still want a super car . . . but will settle . . . for a M3 :)
I’m not referring to me, but sometimes I do think I missed my calling. Then I get passed by a 4WD who’s carving up the twisties and realise that maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a race car driver after all. Anyway, what I’m referring to are the numerous individuals and groups of pedestrians that walk along the footpaths of my city. The inconsiderate people who always manage to make themselves as wide as possible so that passing them requires considerably more effort than what it should be. It’s also common practice that we walk on the left hand side of the footpath. After all, we drive on the left so to avoid confusion walk on the left please.
Also, don’t stop in the middle of the footpath to have a chat or because you have no idea where you want to go. Move over to the side so people can pass freely. So, it is my thinking that the way in which people these days own the footpath could easily translate to the race track.
This news is a bit late. Some of you may be aware that the house we bought a year ago has had a somewhat darkish cloud hanging over it since August 2009 when it was announced by the Transport Minister that a proposed expressway would go through Paraparaumu. From the proposed plans, the two options proposed would go through three new subdivisions which would see about 400 newly built homes (including ours) knocked down.
I am pleased to say that on 15 December 2009 a third option was chosen. It’s the only sensible route along the already designated Western Link Road path which had already been ear marked as a two lane road and land set aside by Council. However, because it will be widened from two lanes to four lanes there are still properties that will be affected.
You can check out The Third Option site for all the details. This site was setup by Dr Kath Knight on behalf of the Waterstone residents and others in the path of the oiginal proposal.
In December 2008, my wife and I bought our first house home in a lovely little sub-division in Kapiti called Waterstone. We have a playground for children and wetlands with two lakes which many ducks, geese and Pukeko call home. The residents of Kapiti and in particular Waterstone have recently found out that the Government wants to put a 4 lane expressway through our sub-division.
The two options proposed will either travel along the railway line and require the demolition of newly built houses in our sub-division or through Otaihanga towards Waikanae Beach which will require newly built houses in our sub-division to be demolished.
The residents are taking action. A site has been created called The Third Option where information, articles and views are being captured. Please visit the site and show your support. A community meeting has been called and is scheduled for Friday 4 September at 19:30 at the Memorial Hall on Tutanekai St. Please come along.
Articles (and comments):
Update – 27/8/09
Update – 1/9/09
Update – 3/9/09
Update – 8/9/09
I’ve finally uploaded our wedding photos. Photographers were Paul and Julia Rondel and they did a fabulous job!
Feel free to browse and let us know which ones you like.
I was invited to the Topaz Company Conference this year which was held in Taupo. This is an interesting situation because I don’t actually work for Topaz. This is the company I currently contract through. It was very nice of them to invite us. Not only that, but it’s a family thing so all family members are also welcome to attend.
We were put up at the Bayview Wairakei Resort which is right opposite the Wairakei Golf Course. We drove up on Friday afternoon and arrived about 7:30pm. We had the evening to ourselves as there were no events scheduled until Saturday. Of course there was the gathering at the bar on Friday where berverages were available.
Saturday morning had us scheduled for a team building event. There were four activities. We were split into fours teams with a even spread of kiddies and adults. Our self proclaimed team leader was a 6 year old girl who did an excellent job of . . . advising . . . the rest of us on best method practices :)
With the team building over we were left to our own devices for the afternoon. Again, an excellent way to run a conference. It’s about meeting people you work with and their families, rather than boring company things that can be better handled at work. After food, Carissa and I went to visit one of her Uncles who owns a hair salon in Taupo. Uncle Tuka and his wife Auntie Dawn. A man who is full of energy. The banter between Tuka and Dawn was absolutely hilarious. I think everyone should be like this. We stayed longer than intended but the tea and biccies were good.
Saturday evening saw the main event. Activities and a feed at the Prawn Farm. Most people stuck to the prawn fishing. There were some huge prawns caught. Richard Fowler’s family pulled up two 30cm fellas! As per usual, Carissa caught four with very little effort and I caught a big fat zero :(
There were presentations just before dinner, but the bar was open so it was a very jovial atmosphere. The food was great. Prawns were overflowing. I loved it!
It was a great event which I think other companies should embrace. It was also good to see the ABs scrape by with a win thanks in large to Dan Carter’s return. Good to see him back, but a bit sad that a nations confidence in their national rugby team relies on a single individual.
Sunday was travel day. First, a morning swim before breakfast. They keep the pools between 35 and 38 degrees celcius. Perfect when the outside temperature is more like 5 degrees. Showered, packed, feed we headed into Taupo for some shopping. We had some time to kill before Carissa flew to Auckland to pick up Tyler. I was driving back to Wellington to pick them up from the Airport. It was good to have a break from Tyler, but I think a week is too long and we missed him heaps.
There’s an article in the New Zealand Hearald about a home owner who is wanting to break his fixed mortgage. Have a read of the article, but my beef is not with the break fee (which is what the story is about) but with the lack of customer service from the bank.
We have a situation here where the home owner knows that they will eventually default on the mortage which after all the processes are followed will cause the bank to have to sell the property in a mortgagee sale. The owner wants to break the fixed mortgage and re-fix at a lower rate. He is willing to pay a break fee that was advised in an email to the home owner, but the bank is now wanting a substantially higher break fee. This issue is currently before the banking Ombudsman.
If I was the bank I’d be looking long term. While I will miss out on interest initially I’d still retain the customer and his future business.
Those of you who watch Manga may recall the title Blood: The Last Vampire which was released in 2000. It’s basically about a Japanese half human/half vampire school girl who’s mission is to slay vampires.
I have just found out that there has been a live action movie made. It’s directed by Chris Nahon who also did Kiss of the Dragon.
