New Ideas & Other Stuff

Fifteen homes threatened as a hillside in Torbay slips away. One house condemned and the others regarded as seriously at risk. Many people in the South Island evacuated from their home because of flooding. Hundreds and hundreds of mature trees some more than 85 years old blown over. Roads closed by floods and slips. Schools closed. Roofs blown off windows blown in and water supplies disrupted. Five people drowned in the sea or flooded rivers. Seaside homes have been destroyed by the raging seas. A cruise ship has more that fifty people injured and is returning to NZ. Early insurance claims exceed ten million dollars. A big clean up begins..............

During the recent storm in New Zealand the P&O cruises ship Pacific Sun was hit by 7 metre swells and 50 knot winds when it suddenly rolled 600km north of Auckland. Forty-two people on the cruise have received medical treatment.
The storm has continued to lash New Zealand as it has moved down the country towards the South Island. It has been confirmed that the person lost has drowned while trying to cross a river and it seems likely that her husband who is also missing may have also drowned. Some initial estimates of the damage caused by the storm put the costs at millions of dollars.
The weather is still stormy but hopefully the worst has passed.

The second major storm in less than a week has caused a lot of disruption for many people. There are many fallen trees, slips and flooding blocking many roads. The far north is cut off from the rest of the island. Police have advised motorists in Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Coromandel to drive cautiously and stay off the roads if possible. There have been no reported causalities so far. Considerable damage has been done to property and the environment.

Tonight a second storm approaches New Zealand. Although the intensity will not be as great the fact the soil is saturated from the weekend almost guarantees that the will be major`flooding and land slides. People have been told to prepare for isolation of up to 3 days. People have been stocking up on food batteries and gas cookers. It is also important to have a supply of water as the normal water may well not be available or may be un fit for consumption. Since the last post it has been determined that 3 people lost their lives in the storm 2 on a fishing boat and one on a canoe.

A loss not just to New Zealand but to the world.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10524027

Some sad news --- http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10523689
I guess peolpe have always taken big risks to get big thrills.............

The last 12 hours the North Island of New Zealand has been buffeted by winds of up to 150k and heavy rain. There have been more than 50,000 homes without power as tress blew down and crashed through power lines. The speed on the harbour bridge was lowered to 60k and people were told to stay at home and not venture out unless necessary. We are fortunate that there has been no loss of life although there is damage to property. The storm has passed its peek and it is more settled....... but forecasters are predicting a possible repeat next Wednesday.

The fever builds towards the next general election. Each day the news papers are featuring those with political aspirations and what the have or have not done. With an MMP system those who want to gain power are very keen to get the party vote and are keen to discredit those who would take it away from them. To be honest it is getting a bit hard to take and there is a long way to go yet ......….months and months. The leader of the opposition had his photo in the main news paper this morning and a story about being one of the richest people in NZ. It won’t make me vote for him. Well at least it looks like it might be a decent day. Hope so….........

The weather has been wet cold and rainy for three days. There has been thunder lightning and cold wind. Had to work inside the last few days. Worked on the computer most of the time produced some multimedia resources.
Petrol down again great news

Well it looks as if the looming power crisis is off. The long awaited rain has come and the storage lakes are now more than 60% full. It is good that we will not face black outs. The infrastructure will cope and the proposed wind farms will assist in the future.
Petrol is still down and that will greatly assist. The general low... and talk of depression will at least be off - the tip of peoples tongues even if it is only for a short time. Some positive news has been badly lacking for some time.

Well this was the last day of the school holidays. Kids back to school after the week end. Mothers will be pleased Teachers less pleased.
Bad weather forcast for Saturday & Sunday. Oil has continued to fall. Everyone is very happy as this will be a big help in NZ. We are not getting too excited however as it may go up again.

For the first time some weeks petrol was down in price. This made the news and there was a lot of people at the pumps. The petrol prices have hit people hard in NZ particularly in the country and farming sectors. Costs have been up in food and other areas due to the transport component in each transaction. However the question is will it last? The bulk oil price has been up and down so much it is hard to be particularly hopeful.

Dispite an exhaustive search I have not been able to find out why the traffic was sent through our town.
The weather is good again and we are very lucky. Have not been too good today and will retire early tonight..... sorry not a lot to post today.......

For the last half hour heavy trucks and cars have passed our gate.Few if any ever do so. I think there must have been a major incident on the southern expressway and all traffic re directed through our little town. They all going the same way and heading south. Have checked news sites and TV and radio news nothing available.
Will post more detail when it becomes available.

Well the weekend is over and it is back to work for another week. There is always plenty to do and it is a challenge to see how much you can get done, and how to organise things ..... to get the best results in the shortest possible time. With petrol so expensive you need tp eliminate or minimise the use of the car as this is a quick way to cut spending or increase it. We all want to do our best and if we give things our best we may stand out head and shoulders above the rest.

Well after three days of showere and rain it is fine again. There is a lot of fog and the airport has been closed. There are a lot of people out and a lot of traffic. Petrol is now $2.19 a litre. It has made me think twice about using the car. It also must impact on prices and milk and cheese are forecast to rise in price.

After several days of fine sunny weather the forecast is not good for the next few days. It is to blow and rain once again over the next few days as another low moves on to NZ. It is not as cold tonight and that is a blessing.

Still no letter has been received I find it rather strange as we have had copies of all other letters sent to us

Well believe it or not a decision has been made but no letter came...... had phone call from the Advocate who had received notification that entitlements have been restored. What will this mean? Well to start with ACC have 28 days to appeal. If this does not happen Mum should get what she needs to live her life with a lot more facilities than she currently has. This is good news for once.
A wonderful sunny day today warm if you were out of the wind. Clear skies and almost like a summers day. Hope we get more of them.

Well it looks like the Polar Blast is over. The weather looks much better for this week. I am sure lots of parents will be thrilled as the next two weeks are school holidays. It is tough on both the parents and the kids if they have to stay in all the time.
Hope to get the letter from ACC this week and I guess that it will come when they are ready.
Have a great week every one…

"If life were just, we would be born old and achieve youth about the time we'd saved enough to enjoy it."

Well it was NZ's turm..... trucks went into the cities and towns this morning. The objective was to object to new road user charges. Road user charges are a tax on heavy vehicals used to help maintain roads. It is difficult to understand what will be achieved by this. One thing for sure a lot of oil will be used... (estimated cost $500 000)....and a lot of time used up. It will give them a lot of exposure and I guess that is the main objective.

Still no letter received to date well past the 28 days now

"Waiting is a trap. There will always be reasons to wait. The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don't count.”
Dr. Robert Anthony

I feel a bit like I am in a trap waiting on this letter.... I have found that the reviewer has had a good reason not to meet the required deadline and this is helpful and helps me think that the results may still be in in the pipe line...

There is still no letter arrived. Review was the 28 May decision was to be notified in twenty eight days. Perhaps it is a difficult decision.
Yesterday was once again a fine and sunny reached 15 degrees. Was nice if you could find a place out of the wind. Went do get some things from the shops. A lot of people around but most were not spending much. Seems most people are holding on tight to what they have at the moment. Cost of petrol food continue to rise and in the paper today there is a story about a 7.5% rate rise.(Local tax) This is making everyone a bit nervous and a lot more cautious than normal.