Archive for the 'New Zealand' Category
August 30th, 2010
About a year ago when I subscribed to the local paper the Nelson Mail, they also made mention that the paper could be accessed digitally too.
After registering and getting accustomed to the service, it all came to an halt once the “trial online subscription” ran out. They wanted payment not just for the physical papers delivered to my mailbox each week, but also another payment sub for the online version.
At that stage I thought one was enough so went with the newspaper print version.
Then about 6 months or so back I got wind that the local council, Nelson City Council that is………allow you to use this online resource as a part of your library card membership.
And I’ve been using it ever since, its great.
I discovered that thinking most everyone was aware of this, was an error in my judgment.
I have spoken to quite a few over the last month or so, and most were none the wiser such a resource existed, and that it was available to all Nelson City Council library card holders.
UK ex pats living in Nelson Bays can read the paper the day of publication, and in the format they are used
Over the last 10 ~ 20 years the Nelson Bays region has become much more cosmopolitan, and its not uncommon to hear US, German and UK accents every day while traveling in the area.
A service like this will be a boon to these folk so that they can, if they want, keep up to date with happenings back home and share in discussion with friends and family when next they talk on the phone.
Quite a few papers available actually......
My interest was piped again a few weeks back when I noticed the local council via their Nelson Life householder delivered print medium discussing PressDisplay again.
This time they were mentioning it as part of “Library Week”, where they were holding demonstrations in the library to show folk what it was and how to use it.
examples of current Editions avail. at 4pm today
The list of features is actually quite surprising
1] the layout is exactly the same as a print newspaper
2] for any overseas newspapers, you read them in their original languages
3] translation is available for most articles (into and out of English)
4] options are there to email or print articles (watermarks are inserted)
5] content search is comprehensive within a specific newspaper, or across selected, or all, newspapers. This includes classifieds, notices and adverts.
6] most New Zealand papers are online as soon as they are produced, in the format in which they are printed. This includes the Nelson Mail, and the weekly Friday produced Nelson Property Press
7] text can be enlarged, or headphones can be utilized to listen to an audio version of selected articles
The Papers online equivalents are available for 60 days from date of publication.
In fact its amusing to see that Flip-Pad app for the Apple iPad is actually going back to the future with their implementation of a newspaper /magazine style layout aggregation of social media mediums.
So if you are a NCC library card holder head on over to PressDisplay here.
Just enter your library card barcode number as shown above, and you’ll be in.
For further info…….
Ask at the Libraries or check our website www.nelsonpubliclibraries.co.nz
August 30 2010 | General and Nelson and New Zealand and Technology | No Comments »
August 29th, 2010
And it’s all because of Bill. In case you were not aware that’s the nickname of the Webb Ellis Trophy – the Cup I’m looking at below.
The same one that all those qualifying rugby teams from around the globe will be playing for next year in New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup 2011, with 2 official matches right here at our newly upgraded Trafalgar Park, in Nelson.
"Bill" & I yesterday contemplating his permanent move to a new home in NZ in 2011
Nelsons upgraded Trafalgar Park was opened officially yesterday morning, jointly by Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall…..
World First in Nelson
……….and local Nelson Member of Parliament, Dr Nick Smith.
Official Trafalgar Park Upgrade unveiling - Saturday August 28th 2010
New Zealands RWC 2011 supremo, Martin Sneddon was also there, and mentioned “fond” memories of playing on the field back in the mid 1980’s, when as the skies got darker, cars were quickly assembled on the embankments, with all then turning on their headlights to assist with the completion of the game.
Martin Sneddon sharing a fond memory of Trafalgar Park.....
Whats World First?
Trafalgar Parks turf has been growing nicely thank you to the $7.4m upgrade, for the last 6 months on top of what is a world first for a Rugby playing field. Glass! Yes a bed of Glass.
Comparing the two "sands" - spot the Heinekens?
Underneath that green stuff is a base of crushed glass, no not as those science boffins know that silica is, I’m talking about real crushed glass.
Good drainage is the key
The chap from Opus joked that if you look at it finely enough you can make out the Heineken, Speights Old Dark and Tui bottles from their obvious respective colours.
Opus were the main project managers, working alongside many other local architects and suppliers. In fact this point was made loud and clear by Mayor Marshall who indicated the council had a massive preference to source the work locally wherever possible.
on a very non-Nelson type of weather day....
2,800,000kg of the stuff
While thanking the government for their $1.5m contribution, Mayor Kerry Marshall, mentioned sustainability as the cornerstone of the new Trafalgar Park upgrade where 2,800,000 kg of recycled glass was used to make the playing field, thats 7% of the total amount of glass accumulated in one year in the South Island.
He also mentioned the Cricket Pitch that was a feature in the middle of the old Trafalgar Park, had also been recycled.
Fittingly, 40 m2 of that dirt, including its foundation Waikari clay, (“best stuff to use for a cricket pitch” – according to Mayor Marshall) has been transferred up to Nelson Boys College, the birthplace of Rugby in NZ.
Related photos about this here.
NZ's Oldest Rugby Club
I suggest fittingly considering their links to the establishment of the game of rugby in New Zealand.
One of the understated features of the new glass sand, is that in each of the coming 30 years (that’s how long the Mayor said it should last) any top-ups required to maintain the grounds “as new” can be completed with almost scientific precision. The reason why is that the original composition is documented so clearly its almost like a recipe out of a cooking book, so apparently relatively easy to top up / replace, and match the exact same grading of the sand particles.
Nelson Mayor Kerry Marshall, "Bill" and local MP Dr Nick Smith
Local Member of Parliament, Nick Smith mentioned in his speech that he believed Kiwi’s really hadn’t grasped the enormity of the coming 2011 Rugby World Cup. To highlight this he said it was the 3rd biggest sporting event in the world. To put it in perspective, he added New Zealand will probably not see an Olympic Games, and it was just as unlikely that a FIFA Football World Cup would grace our shores either.
....Game on!
So this World Cup will be, and quite possibly will stand in history, as the largest sporting event ever to take place in New Zealand.
Upcoming Matches at Trafalgar Park 2010
Nelson Bays/Marlboroughs own Mako’s have a few home games here this year.
Lets home they repeat the formula shown last weekend……………
Win or Lose - everyone can now see
where they beat last years defending champions, Canterbury, 27 to 25.
August 29 2010 | General and Nelson and New Zealand and Technology and rugby | No Comments »
August 26th, 2010
On behalf of an overseas client looking to buy a home in Nelson, I have just been reviewing the recent inventory stats from last months NZ Property Report, which comes out on the 1st of each month.
Unsold Inventory per Region - JULY 2010
You might be interested to see that Nelson has, just like last June, finished up at the end of the month with the 2nd lowest volume (on a per weeks basis) of unsold property inventory across New Zealand.
Its interesting because when you consider that the national number is up in the mid forties, we are experiencing a quite major 40% difference to this number.
DATA – NZ Property Report
August 26 2010 | Buyers and Nelson and New Zealand and Sellers and Stats / Sales Data | No Comments »
August 20, 2010
We really rely on our international airline, simply because we really have no other mainline regularly scheduled transport system to connect us downunder with the rest of the world. And so it is the same for many new immigrants, they too would have been transported to these shores by Air New Zealand.
A short while back I highlighted some safety video presentations that Air New Zealand were going to show travellers on flights.
Crazy about Rugby
After all the name of the game is to;
1] make sure everyone watches them, and
2] make sure they clearly understand the content.
Well, our International,
Airline, Air New
Zealand, has just
gone and done
it again, this time
from the “pinch me
if I don’t smile”
category comes this beauty with a bit of help from some rugby players, some of whom you might just recognise.
This is what they said they did;
We jammed a plane full of rugby fans, some crazy Air New Zealand staff and asked some of our All Black friends to lend a hand.
This could go viral.
August 20 2010 | General and New Zealand and rugby | No Comments »
August 16th, 2010
In a word, yes. Let me explain.
Be very careful next time you feel like saying….
“well of course you would want to invest in a rental property….when compared to….Exhibit A ….Exhibit B or Exhibit C”
…..well….just don’t!
If you do make such a statement, and you are not a qualified person under the new Act, you could very well find yourself in serious trouble, possibly in contravention of the new Financial Advisers Act 2008.
In case you are unsure about this, the words in the FAQ over at the NZ Securities Commission website say;
“…..only Authorised Financial Advisers can give advice on Category 1 products.”
And yes, Real Estate is included in the list of Category 1 products, as in;
Category 1 products are securities (for example shares and many types of investment products), any estate or interest in land, and futures contracts.
They spell it out pretty clearly too….
Q: What is financial advice?
A: The Act covers people who are in the business of giving financial advice, making investment transactions or providing a financial planning service. For the purposes of the Act, people give financial advice if they make a recommendation, or give an opinion or guidance in relation to acquiring, holding or disposing of a financial product. Providing factual information only about a financial product, in the absence of any recommendation, opinion or guidance, would not be considered financial advice.
I’ve highlighted above in orange the “interesting” bits.
So if you believe that you could find yourself accidentally saying something like that mentioned in the first sentence up above, or have said it already, then I suggest you head on over to the Securities Commission site. (link below)
And once there, make sure you are very familiar with the new Financial Advisers Act (FAA) 2008. (there’s plenty of links to the actual Act but more importantly, plenty of down to earth info in the FAQ section written in easily understood plain English)
Alternatively if you want your 15 minutes of fame, having your name or photo broadcast by the media on the nightly news as a result of them publicizing a court case about the 1st NZ Real Estate salesperson charged under the new Act, (which becomes 100% operational on 1st Dec 2010) then ignore what I have cautioned about at your peril.
Sunday Star Times - August 15th 2010
You may have noticed this in one of the Sunday papers. Let not yourself be one of the first to help establish precedents / case law for these new Acts.
Financial Advisers Act 2008 (latest versions available)
NZ Securties Commission Financial Advice Section – FAQ regarding new Financial Advisers Act 2008**
** NOTE – Changes were made to the Financial Advisers Act by Parliament on 23 June 2010. As a result, the following (link above) material is currently under review by the Securities Commission.
August 16 2010 | Buyers and General and Mortgages Finance Money and New Zealand and Sellers | 1 Comment »
August 14th, 2010
Remember this…
Proposed New Hangar
It was April earlier this year. The 80m x 60m building has only taken 9 months to complete.
Hangar now ready for business (click on photo to enlarge to monster size)
Well she’s all finished now and today was the official Opening, Official blessing and Public day all rolled into one.
Open Day was today
Just to complete the picture, a Mt Cook ATR72 showed up too.
Mt Cook Airlines ATR72-212A arriving
These are the planes from Air New Zealand’s Mt Cook Airline division that Air Nelson will now be performing maintenance on, and can only perform work because of the existence of this new hangar.
John Key and party arrives
The official ceremonies got underway when the official party arrived.
Nelson MP Nick Smith arrives late...
Local MP Nick Smith arrives.
the ceremony continues..
The blessing and official welcome continues….
Inside Hangar (click to enlarge / monster size)
And this is what its all about…
ATR was popular
The “not usually sighted in these parts” ATR72-212A was a popular choice for many of the hundreds of sightseers on the day.
ATR72-212A Information
On account of the new maintenance contract though, these planes will now become a more common sight around Nelson airspace.
Air NZ's Q300s lined up on a Sunday morning earlier this year
Alongside Air Nelsons existing 23 x Q300’s, Mt Cooks ATR72’s have now meant Air Nelson could employ up to another 30 aircraft engineers, a great boost for the local economy.
There were many extra exhibitors there too and quite a selection of interested sightseers meant a busy time for all.
August 14 2010 | General and Nelson and New Zealand and Technology | No Comments »
August 11th, 2010
Being the sunshine capital of NZ the day to day meanderings of the sun are very important to us locals. In fact, we haven’t lost out too many times lately.
More often than not, its one of, if not the main reason why someone moves here.
Along with a re-jig of their website, Australasian franchise group LJ Hooker have just launched a new Real Estate iPhone app.
And not just any little app either.
TPE – The Photographers Emphersis (sample screen)
I’ve shown many times here the benefits of online sunshine/sun direction climate aids like Gaisma.com, The Photographers Emphersis (above), the US governments Solarcalc and who can forget, the sun shader button on Google Earth.
All great stuff for real estate buyers when it comes to finding out which direction the sun rises, falls, its angles and how much daytime sun there is, at any time of the year.
It would seem according to their blurb, mobile help is at hand when it comes to answering the “which way is north?”*** question.
They are going to be bundling a like program, “Sunlocator” with their iPhone app download.
So – at this stage if you are an iPhone owner, and want to check it out, head over here.
*** that’s what it is for us down under, northern hemisphere folk will be asking “which way is south?”
August 11 2010 | Buyers and Nelson and New Zealand and Sellers and Technology | No Comments »
August 9th 2010
One subject no one really likes to talk about, or rather hear about today – is the subject of unemployment.
Usually when the topic comes up, its in a non-positive way.
Figures just out Friday from Statistics NZ tell the story that we still haven’t turned the corner yet, and in fact as a country, unemployment is rising.
It would suggest that there isn’t a bright light shining on the horizon just yet…..and in their own words…
…… indicates a period of volatility in the labour market.
Statistics NZ manager of Labour Market Statistics, Peter Gardiner, cautions;
“These movements indicate that the labour market is still adjusting to the changing economic climate.”
Undoubtedly there would have been a high component of seasonal labour out of work, however the facts are that in the June 2010 quarter, the number of people unemployed jumped up by 19,000 to 159,000. 79% of this increase was made up of unemployed males, while the number of unemployed females rose by 4,000 (6.4 percent) to 74,000.
So where does Nelson figure in this.
I think you get the picture from the photo above.
To view and read the full article from the Nelson Mail, head over here.
August 09 2010 | General and Nelson and New Zealand and Stats / Sales Data | No Comments »
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