Wednesday, March 30, 2011
$10,000 Tax Bill
On my desk was a little innocuous letter yesterday. It was a nice little letter from my accountant. $10,000 by next Thursday. Guess that car guzzling car will have to stay. sigh..............
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Olympic Painting
After a really big farewell to Kelly party where I got completely smashed, I had a very quiet Saturday. I am not one for drinking too much (often) but this Friday was a night of horror. Luckily, I was able to get a taxi back home before I fell apart. Needless to say there wasn't a lot of activity on my part on Saturday. By Sunday however I was good to go and I have based 200 light infantry and ordered another 4 boxes from my "man" in Christchurch (to use a little drug terminology). We also went to the car yards to look for a car but being Sunday everything was closed so it looks like this coming week will be the week for finally choosing.
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Rising Cost of Fuel
With the cost of petrol up now to $2.18 per litre it is now really difficult to drive our petrol-guzzling Toyota Estima as freely as we have previously. To that end we are kicking around whether to buy a new and cheaper form of transport. We headed down to the car yard to look for a small car and we have decided upon a Suzuki Swift or the Hyundai Getz. My wife has her heart set on the Hyundai (as a reflection primarily of her birth country - of South Korea) and I like the Suzuki because it looks nicer than the Korean car. Either way the costs are similar (in the $24000) range. They all come with great warranties and the fuel consumption are both 5.5/100kms which is a far cry from the Estima's 25/100kms. Anyway the Estima isn't going to be completely lost as I am going to sell it to my school to use it as a vehicle for taking students around the town and further afield.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Good but doubtful news for my grandchildren
A study using census data from New Zealand and eight other countries suggests religion is set for extinction in all these nations, researchers say.
The data reflected a steady rise in the proportion of the population claiming no religious affiliation.
Academics from Northwestern University, in Illinois, Arizona University and a research company in Tuscon used a mathematical model to account for the interplay between the number of religious respondents and the social motives behind being one.
The American research used "nonlinear dynamics" put a numerical basis behind the decline of religion as seen in census data from New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
"The result, reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas, US, indicates that religion will all but die out altogether in those countries," the BBC reported today.
In New Zealand, 2006 census figures show that the number and proportion of people indicating that they had no religion continued to increase, with 1,297,104 people (34.7 per cent) stated that they had no religion, compared with 1,028,052 people (29.6 per cent) in the 2001 census.
That census showed younger New Zealanders were more likely than the rest of the population to be recorded as having no religion: 43 per cent of children under 15 years were recorded as having no religion, compared with 11.8 per cent of people aged 65 years or older.
Approximately 38 per cent of those who classed themselves as ethnically either European or New Zealander said they had no religion. Only 11 per cent of people who classed themselves as having Middle Eastern, Latin American and African ethnicity said the same.
Just over 2 million people - 55.6 per cent of those answering the religious affiliation question - said they were part of a Christian religion, compared with 60.6 per cent in the 2001 census.
"In a large number of modern secular democracies, there's been a trend that folk are identifying themselves as non-affiliated with religion; in the Netherlands the number was 40 per cent, and the highest we saw was in the Czech Republic, where the number was 60 per cent," Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, in Tucson, told the BBC.
The research pivoted on the idea that social groups that had more members are going to be more attractive to join, and that social groups had a social status or utility.
The researchers found that the relative social and utilitarian merits of membership of the "non-religious" category were similar across all the countries studied, suggesting that similar behaviour drove the mathematics in all of them.
And in all the countries, the indications were that religion was headed toward extinction.
Dr Wiener noted that it was a "suggestive result" from a fairly simple model that captured data going back as far as 100 years, and suggested the likely outcome.
- NZPA
The data reflected a steady rise in the proportion of the population claiming no religious affiliation.
Academics from Northwestern University, in Illinois, Arizona University and a research company in Tuscon used a mathematical model to account for the interplay between the number of religious respondents and the social motives behind being one.
The American research used "nonlinear dynamics" put a numerical basis behind the decline of religion as seen in census data from New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
"The result, reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Dallas, US, indicates that religion will all but die out altogether in those countries," the BBC reported today.
In New Zealand, 2006 census figures show that the number and proportion of people indicating that they had no religion continued to increase, with 1,297,104 people (34.7 per cent) stated that they had no religion, compared with 1,028,052 people (29.6 per cent) in the 2001 census.
Approximately 38 per cent of those who classed themselves as ethnically either European or New Zealander said they had no religion. Only 11 per cent of people who classed themselves as having Middle Eastern, Latin American and African ethnicity said the same.
Just over 2 million people - 55.6 per cent of those answering the religious affiliation question - said they were part of a Christian religion, compared with 60.6 per cent in the 2001 census.
"In a large number of modern secular democracies, there's been a trend that folk are identifying themselves as non-affiliated with religion; in the Netherlands the number was 40 per cent, and the highest we saw was in the Czech Republic, where the number was 60 per cent," Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, in Tucson, told the BBC.
The research pivoted on the idea that social groups that had more members are going to be more attractive to join, and that social groups had a social status or utility.
The researchers found that the relative social and utilitarian merits of membership of the "non-religious" category were similar across all the countries studied, suggesting that similar behaviour drove the mathematics in all of them.
And in all the countries, the indications were that religion was headed toward extinction.
Dr Wiener noted that it was a "suggestive result" from a fairly simple model that captured data going back as far as 100 years, and suggested the likely outcome.
- NZPA
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Audit of the Audit of the Audit. I hate NZQA
I hate NZQA. They are the epitome of a wasteful government department who exist simply to justify their existence. Here is an example; Under NZQA regulations we must have an accountant sign off as to the accuracy of our accounts. That is fine and every business should do this however... WE must pay for an audit of that audit by another accountant and a separate audit of any money under $300 which we receive from students. WE even pay for the audit of our Public Trust monies which will make up 90% of the money we receive.
One the bright side we have a site audit to look forward to next year. How does $10000 in audit fees per year sound?
Basically to be an education provider in New Zealand is to have a thirsty bloodsucking government leach attached via statute to both testicles.
One the bright side we have a site audit to look forward to next year. How does $10000 in audit fees per year sound?
Basically to be an education provider in New Zealand is to have a thirsty bloodsucking government leach attached via statute to both testicles.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Better Late Than Never and India.
Well today over a month since the cash transaction went through I will be recieving my 5 boxes of French Light Infantry. Thankfully, this should mean a month or two of blissful evenings painting. I am finally up to podcast number 13 where Napoloen defeats the Third Coalition at Austerltz.
On another note, the politics of Indian agents continues anew with one agent who sends us nurses setting up on his own. We have had a long relationship with the organisation which employs but it seems that he was the worker responsible for actually sourcing the students from India. We are working with both agents but I think the original will wither on the vine. On the other hand, for me it willl mean a trip to India (southern) every 4 months to deliver a one week IELTS class to a big audience of prospective students. I hate flying so am considering doing these trips business class. The nice lady at the travel agency says that if you fly business (a few times?) from then on if you buy Economy you will be automatically be upgraded to Business class. I have got to weigh up the initial costs of this though... is it worth paying three times the ticket price a few times simply to get into the comfy mid price ticket range from then on?
On another note, the politics of Indian agents continues anew with one agent who sends us nurses setting up on his own. We have had a long relationship with the organisation which employs but it seems that he was the worker responsible for actually sourcing the students from India. We are working with both agents but I think the original will wither on the vine. On the other hand, for me it willl mean a trip to India (southern) every 4 months to deliver a one week IELTS class to a big audience of prospective students. I hate flying so am considering doing these trips business class. The nice lady at the travel agency says that if you fly business (a few times?) from then on if you buy Economy you will be automatically be upgraded to Business class. I have got to weigh up the initial costs of this though... is it worth paying three times the ticket price a few times simply to get into the comfy mid price ticket range from then on?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Osprey Collection
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| Here is my burgeoning collection of mainly Napoleonic Osprey books. I need about another 20 to finish the collection. |
Rising Petrol Prices
Well it seems that petrol is rising now to $2.15 per litre with the possibility of it rising as high as $2.50. This means that for our family and thousands like us we will be cutting back on our trips in the van. I have been kicking around the idea of selling the van to the company and buying a cheaper hatchback or something which doesn't drink so much. This is a real pain for our recovery as the government has forecast a flat GDP for the next financial year. I am not sure but if there is a net decline for the next two quarters we could be technically in recession.
On a brighter note I am expecting the arrival of more soldiers and have just bought three new Osprey books namely....
On a brighter note I am expecting the arrival of more soldiers and have just bought three new Osprey books namely....
By the end of the week I should be busily painting 200 more light infantry as well!! Yipeeeee!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
What I've been listening to.
I am now up to episode 12 of the Napoleonic podcast. I usually listen to it as I wander down to work in the mornings. It has been really enjoyable so far and it is surprising how much of the information is new to me. I have just listened to the story of the Peace of Amiens (?) which was fascinating.
The Napoleon Podcast
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