The handy man in me

I wouldn't exactly call myself a handyman around the home. I can change light bulbs, do the washing up after meals & I'm good at programming TV's & video's, and I would even consider myself a bit of a computer wizz; but when it comes to using a hammer & nails & putting things together, you would probably be better off getting the experts in.

Over the last few weeks we have bought a few household items that require DIY assembly. We bought a bedside cabinet for Jo, which I managed to put together in about an hour, once I figured it out & found the correct size screwdriver.



Mum then bought a new TV entertainment center. That was a little trickier to work out & took me about 2 and a half hours to complete.



Both these items are still standing properly, as you can see, so I must have done something right.

You can bank on security

Yesterday I heard a news story about the National Bank here in NZ implementing a security dress code for customers using their branches.

They have announced that they are banning Hoodies (hooded jumpers), beanies & balaclava's, and helmets to be worn inside their branches. Anyone caught wearing these items inside the bank, will be asked to remove it so that their face is visible.

I think it is a great idea to improve security & to reduce the robbery rate. I wonder how long it will take for the other banks to follow suit.

It's all good

You may or may not know that Jo is 20 weeks pregnant with our second baby. Yesterday we had our Anatomy scan of our little baby to check that everything is where it should be and also to determine the baby's gender.

The good news is that everything is all good, AND we are having a little boy. I never thought I'd be a little boy's dad. Am I happy about it? Absolutely!

Here is the image of the anatomy scan.

When it rains...things get wet

Here in Christchurch we've had allot of rain over the past 24-48 hours, check it out here.

As you would know, my family & I have recently moved here from Perth, and as a result we have several boxes & other household item stored in our garage. During heavy rainfall, the water seems to get into the garage under the side door.

We had allot of stuff on the floor at the front of the garage where the water was getting in, after the rain had stopped this morning I went out to the shed to asses the damage. I spent about half an hour clearing stuff away from where the water was & then sweeping the water out of the garage, onto the lawn.

There were a few boxes that had water damage on the bottom, but they were empty anyway, so it didn't really matter.

So now I have moved all the stuff to the back of the shed so that when it rains again, nothing will get wet.

Rain is good, and we need it, but just make sure nothing valuable will get in the path of the water.

The Principle of Tithing

I have always believed in the principle of tithing. In the Bible, God commands us to give back to Him 10% of our income. Now this can be in a number of ways, whether you put money into the offering bag when it comes around at church, or whether you give to a ministry or individual, or however else God tells you to give.

Over the last 18 months is has not been easy for Jo & I, after Jo quit her job to have a baby, and so we went from 2 good incomes down to one which proved a challenge. At times we were living from one pay check to another & often we found that we didn't have enough money to tithe after all our expenses had gone out.

I was thinking about the whole tithing principle & all of a sudden God gave me a revelation that I have never realized before. God says that He requires the first 10% of our income, and in Matthew 6:33 it says "Seek first the kingdom of God, then all these things will be added to you". So basically if I honour God with my tithe first, he will make sure there is enough for everything else. It's a simple principle, but one that I have never considered until now.

I don't know what tithing means for you, if anything, but I truly believe that if you apply the Biblical principles as God has commanded, you will feel such satisfaction & peace, just like I have now.

Partial Movie Syndrome

What is Partial movie syndrome? It's when you see a movie several time without actually seeing it in it's entirety.

Now while I have seen Terminator 2 once in it's entirety, I have seen it many times in parts; usually the first half and then bits of the ending.

It was on the telly last night again, but it started quite late, so I only saw up to where Sarah Connor escapes from the hospital, then it was bed time.

Do you have the same trouble? Isn't it annoying when you don't quite get to see a movie all the way through, more than once?

What movies have you had Partial Movie Syndrome with? I think I might have to purchase my own copy of T2 on DVD.

Are We Spoiling Our Kids?

Take a walk down memory lane in your mind, and go back to your childhood days when you were about 8-13 years old; what gadgets (toys) were you using?

I was playing with action figures, toy trains, and the old Commodore 64 computer & then Sega Master System.

Now that we're on the 21st Century it seems that the new electronic gadgets are the in thing. Kids today have Play Stations, X Boxes, Ipods, and mobile phones.

Also allot of kids have their own TV in their bedroom & the internet has become an everyday activity. I remember we had one TV in the main lounge & then we had 1 12inch TV which was shared around between the three bedrooms on a rostered time table; and that was a luxury.

So are we spoiling our kids too much, or is the world changing so much, that we need to be exposing them to the worlds technology at a young age.?

What are your thoughts?

Tips for Re-fueling Your Car

With the price of petrol as high as it is today, we need all the helpful information we can get. I received the following information through the email today. Take a look.

Tips on Filling your Vehicles...

This is a Message received from a friend:
I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol... but here
in Durban, we are also paying higher, up to 47.35 per litre.
But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now,
so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth
for every litre.
Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline, where I work in Durban, we
deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the
pipeline.
One day is diesel; the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP
and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total
capacity of 16,800,000 litres.


ONLY BUY OR FILL UP YOUR CAR OR BIKKIE IN THE
EARLY MORNING WHEN THE GROUND TEMPERATURE IS
STILL COLD. Remember that all service stations have their
storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground,
the denser the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so
buying in the afternoon or in the evening.... your litre is not
exactly a litre.
In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the
temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and
other petroleum products play an important role. A
1degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business.
But the service stations do not have temperature
compensation at the pumps.


WHEN YOU'RE FILLING UP, DO NOT SQUEEZE THE
TRIGGER OF THE NOZZLE TO A FAST MODE. If you look,
you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low,
Compiled by Ramesh Patel on 16.03.2008 @ 10:00Hrs. Page 1 of 2
middle, and high. In slow mode, you should be pumping on
low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are
created, while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump
have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate,
some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour.
Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the
underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for
your money.


ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS IS TO FILL UP
WHEN YOUR TANK IS HALF FULL. The reason for this is,
the more fuel you have in your tank, the less air occupying
its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can
imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating
roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol
and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.
Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that
we load is temperature compensated, so that every litre is
actually the exact amount.


ANOTHER REMINDER, IF THERE IS A FUEL TRUCK
PUMPING INTO THE STORAGE TANKS, WHEN YOU STOP
TO BUY, DO NOT FILL UP - most likely the petrol/diesel is
being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you
might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the
bottom.
Hope, this will help you get the maximum value for your
money.


DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! LET’S SHARE
INFORMATION AND BENEFIT ALL, FOR THE BETTER OF
MANKIND.
***********************
Compiled by Ramesh Patel on 16.03.2008 @ 10:00Hrs.

Very interesting. Does it make sense to you? I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

Don't Dial & Drive

It's been on the news here in NZ recently about a new law they're trying to pass about using a hand held mobile phone while driving. It's ok to use hands free.

It would seem that they're a bit behind here in NZ. This law has been in place in Perth for several years. That was one of the things I noticed when I first arrived in Perth back in 2002, using your phone while driving is illegal.

Personally I think there should be a complete ban on the use of mobile phones while driving. Whether you are holding the phone or not, you have to concentrate on the conversation, which takes your complete concentration off the road, especially in busy areas or peak hour traffic.

I have to admit to talking on the phone while driving, but I do make the effort not to send text messages. How about you?

Park n Ride.....if you can!

This morning on TVNZ's Breakfast programme, they were testing whether it is quicker to drive to work on the busy freeway during morning peak hour or catch public transport, ie, bus or train.

They had two people leave a specific point in Auckland at the same time; one drove his car while the other rode the bus. The person who took the bus arrived at the destination point 20 minutes before the person driving the car.

What they didn't do was include the time it takes to get to the bus or train station & find a car park. They then showed us a live aerial shot of the car park at the bus station which was pretty much full by 7:30am.

Now having lived in a city like Perth, where they have a large public rail system, I often found the problem finding a park at the train station after 7:30am. Often you have to drive around the car park several times or even drive further away, which can often add 20-30 minutes to your travel time. One has to ask whether it is quicker to drive.

Do you have the same problems where you are? Public transport is great, if you can get to it!!

Do You Pay Much Attention?

Here are some questions for you about things that we take notice of (or not) in everyday life. This is mainly based on Aussie. info, so use all lobes of your brain.

This can be more difficult than it looks - it just shows how little most of us really see!
There are 25 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think-- it just shows you how little we pay attention to The commonplace things of life. Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using anything on or in your desk or computer! Can you beat 23?? (The average is 7) Write down your answers as you go. Check answers (on the bottom), AFTER completing all the questions.
REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! BE HONEST!!! That means no looking at your phone or anything on your desk...
BE HONEST

OK here we go.

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
2. How many states are there in the Australia ? (Don't laugh, some people
don't know)
3. In which hand is the United States' Statue of Liberty 's torch?
4. What 3 colours are on the our shop SPOTLIGHT logo?
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?
6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?
(Don't you dare get up to see!)
7. How many matches are in a standard box?
8. On the Australian flag, how many stars are there ?
9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?
11. Which way does a 'no smoking' sign's slash run?
1 2. What is the channel range available on a AUST TV ?
13 On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?
14. Which way do fans rotate?
15 How many sides does a stop sign have?
16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?
17 How many wheel nuts are on a standard car wheel?
1 8. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?
19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?
20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
21 On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?
22 On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening
between the slats?
23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no
Digits?
24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?
25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?


And now for the answers.

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom? BOTTOM
2. How many states are there in Australia ? 6 (plus the two territories)
3. In which hand is the United States' Statue of Liberty 's torch? RIGHT
4. What 3 colours are on the our shop SPOTLIGHT logo? BLUE, RED, WHITE
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them? 1, 0
6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg? RIGHT
7. How many matches are in a standard box? 50
8. On the Australian flag, how many stars are there ? 6
(FEDERATION STAR +5 IN THE SOUTHERN CROSS)
9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial? 87.5
10. Which way does water go down the drain, clockwise or anti-clockwise ? CLOCKWISE
11. Which way does a 'no smoking' sign's slash run? TOWARDS BOTTOM RIGHT
12. What is the channel range available on a AUST TV ? 2 ABC
13 On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons? LEFT
14. Which way do fans rotate? CLOCKWISE AS YOU LOOK AT IT
15 How many sides does a stop sign have? 8
16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side? LEFT
17 How many wheel nuts are on a standard car wheel? 5
18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil? 6
19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing? BASHFUL
20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package? 6
21 On which playing card is the card maker's trademark? ACE OF SPADES
22 On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening
between the slats? LEFT
23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no
digits? *, #
24. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip? 3
25. Does a merry-go-round turn clockwise or anti-clockwise? ANTI-CLOCKWISE

So how did you go? I got 11 right; thought I did better than that, but obviously I was wrong. If you're not ashamed to tell us how you did, you can leave a comment below. This is also something that yo could post on your own blog, if yo have one.

Eat Your Vegies

It seems that men today are not eating their veggies.

A 2006/7 survey of more than 17,000 people has found that the proportion of men eating enough vegetables, declined by 7.3 percentage points to 56% from the last survey taken in 2002/03.

So it would seem that the majority of men are meat eaters more than veggie eaters.

I have to admit that I certainly do prefer my meat over veggies. At potluck dinners or serve yourself, I often find myself going for twice the amount of meat than veggies; even to the fact that if I don't get veggies, I'm not to concerned about it. Thankfully my wife, Jo, knows the great importance of regular veggie eating, & we have at least 3 servings of veggies with our evening meal most nights. Thank God for the women in our lives.

Will you admit to being guilty of not eating enough veggies, or do you actually make sure you get your daily serve of veggies.

One man who was surveyed who was a veggie eater, added that the old myth of "eating enough veggies will put hairs on you chest", he has found to be a fallacy! Eating veggies for 35 years has not done him any good.

Perhaps, that's WHY we don't eat our veggies!

Fly Fishing Guide

I've just started selling a new product online. "Fly Fishing, Learn To Angle Like the Pro's", is a e-book about fly fishing that I've just started to sell online; so if you or anyone you know is interested in fly fishing, this book is available (for a price) here at my website.

If you have your own blog or website, can I ask you to place a link to my website on your blog to help get the word out there about this new product. All the extra traffic I get will obviously help. Thanks.

My website address is http://easyflyfishinguide.com





Technorati Tags: Fly Fishing - E-book

All Tests Complete

It's finally done.

For the past several weeks I've been doing study & taking tests to obtain my P (passenger) Endorsement to be able to drive a taxi here in Christchurch. I've had to do a theory test about carrying passengers, special needs, & special requirements for a passenger service license holder. I was very happy to pass this test with 100% (i have sat this test previously, years ago).

Today, I sat a practical driving test with a testing officer; again I did exceptionally well (I have been driving for 13 years).

So now it's a waiting game. My application is now being processed by LTSA (Land Transport Safety Authority), and once they have approved my license I can start driving taxis.

I've driven taxi's in the past when I lived in Christchurch previously so I'm looking forward to getting back into it. I'll let you know when it's all comes through.

I'm Fed Up

Is there anyone else out there who is fed up with Microsoft?

I'm operating Vista on my PC at current, & it's really annoying how slow it can be at times. I often re-set it at least twice a day, sometimes up to 10 if it's real bad. It just freezes for no reason.

Anyway, I'm in the process (with the help of my friend in Perth) of changing to Linux. First I have to back up all my files. If I decide to go back to Windows (unlikely), I have the Vista installation disc.

Have you had problems with Windows, to the point where you feel like throwing the thing out the window? I would be interested to hear what you have experienced. Just leave a comment in the comments section.

Our Weekend Away

During the weekend Jo & I went up to my hometown of Blenheim to visit the family.

It's about a 4 hour drive, but with a young child & having to make a few extra stops it took us about 4 and a half hours; we arrived about 6:30pm on Friday night.

We went shopping with my Uncle (who we were staying with) on Saturday morning & then my Nana & Aunt joined us for a BBQ lunch. We finished up about 2pm & spent the rest of afternoon lounging around the house.

Sunday of course was Mothers Day; now while my own mum is still overseas with my sister in Perth, it was Jo's second Mothers day, and so we went out with the rest of the family for a Mothers day lunch at a nice restaurant in town; the family very generously paid for Jo & I.

My good friend Warren then took us for a drive to a small seaside town called Picton (my family has a holiday home in the sounds and so I grew up around Picton allot). Warren then came back to my uncles place & joined us for a roast dinner, as if lunch wasn't enough.

Today (Monday), and unfortunately the weekend was over & it was time to make the 4 and a half hour drive home to Christchurch. We arrived home about 3:45pm. A lovely weekend away; Jo & I both agree we'll have to go away more often. Next time we'll make sure the digital camera has fully charged batteries.

How often do you get to venture away from home for a few days? Where is your favorite destination?

A bug I didn't want

Probably not the best topic to blog about, but I have never felt this bad before in my life.

I got struck with a nasty stomach bug yesterday afternoon; I woke up in the morning feeling rather tight chested & slightly nauseous. It gradually got worse as the day went on & then about 4pm all hell broke loose; I shall say no more about that.

I could not find a comfortable position to sit or lie, without feeling major discomfort in my gut. It was an uncomfortable night as I didn't sleep much, but when I woke this morning I felt better, had some dry toast for breakfast, & slowly started to feel better as the day went on.

Anyway, here I am at 1030pm, feeling much better, but this time 24 hours ago was a much different story. I hope I never have to feel that ill ever again.

Here I am

I thought it was about time I posted to let you know that I'm still alive & well.

Jo, Chloe & I are in Christchurch, New Zealand. It has been a very challenging time over the last 6 weeks, we have been living in several Motels while looking for suitable rental accommodation, which we have found & been settling into over the last two weeks. I will post some photo's of our place soon.

I have not yet found work, but have several options up my sleeve, and so should be in a job soon. Praise the Lord for being our provider. Also not having a computer & internet access has been challenging, but it has taught to appreciate what I have.

I'm not going to post allot now, so stay tuned for more soon.

Departing Australia

In about an hour we will be leaving to go to the airport to board our plane out of Perth; we fly direct from Perth to Auckland & then connect to a domestic flight to Christchurch. We arrive in Christchurch just after 9am tomorrow morning.

Hopefully I'll have internet access soon to keep you updated on how our life in NZ is going, but if my posts suddenly stop you'll know why. I'll be back soon.

GOODBYE AUSTRALIA





Technorati Tags: Travel

The Fun Begins

After several weeks of preparation we are now into our final week here in Perth. There is still much to do;

Finalizing accommodation in Christchurch
Closing down accounts here
Packing enough stuff to see us through about 8 weeks while we wait for our stuff
Removalists, cleaners & gardeners coming during the week
Left over stuff to get rid of

The list goes on.....

Have you had much experience in moving? Have you moved overseas before? Did you find it easy or difficult. I suppose it doesn't matter how far you move, it's always a hassle.

I don't anticipate doing it again in the near future.





Technorati Tags: Moving