Huka Falls Jet ride video

our video just came in the mail

Earthquake

I have experienced my first earthquake in New Zealand or ever as far as i know. Apparently there have been a few since my arrival but they were small enough for me not to notice ect. This one measured 4.3 on the Richter scale and was located 10km north of Eketahuna, at a depth of 40 km. No worries, it was just a curiosity that I could barely feel. I was napping upstairs

Richter scale #	Description
0 - 4.3	Vibrations are recorded by instruments
	People at rest upstairs notice shaking
	Shaking felt indoors; hanging objects swing
4.3 - 4.8	Dishes rattle; standing cars rock; trees shake
	Doors swing; liquid spills from glasses; sleepers awake
4.8 - 6.2	People walk unsteadily; windows break; pictures fall off walls
	Difficult to stand; plaster,bricks, and tiles fall; large bells ring
6.2 - 7.3	Car steering affected; chimneys fall; branches break; cracks in wet ground
	General panic; damage to foundations; sand and mud bubble from ground
	Most buildings destroyed; large landslides; water thrown out of rivers
7.3 - 8.9	Railway tracks bend; roads break up; large cracks appear in ground; rocks fall
	Total destruction; "waves" seen on ground surface; river courses altered; vision distorted

Happy Thanksgiving from New Zealand!

I baked a pecan pie substituting 2 ingredients, made corn syrup and a shell, but hey it tastes ok... even if it doesn't look too good. Silvia is here this week, the German girl I spent so much time with up north and she says it looks like ham. 
Had to mix the biscuits in a wok but it all tastes good! licking my fingers clean of biscuit batter and smelling pecans is the closest i've been to home in a while. nom nom nom :D Taking it to work and hope they like 'em too!
Happy Thanksgiving!


P.S. No they do not have Thanksgiving in New Zealand. The Pilgrims did not land here and eat corn or kiwi fruit in the summertime with the polynesian islanders. Nor do we in the states celebrate boxing day or the Queen's birthday

Hukafalls Jet

Sky Swing

This is from the Sky Swing in Rotorua on the side of  Mt. Ngongotaha!

Goes to 50m above the ground

and speeds up to 120kmh

New Apartment

As some of you know my roommates engagement is forcing me to move. Not in a bad way but I know she wants to rent the entire house instead of individual rooms and I'm not keen on being responsible for that much rent and the responsibility of finding tenants. So instead I have found a place to move to in town which is close to work, shopping, library, and grocery stores. It also eliminates the need for me to get a car which was something I was kind of worried about. Mostly because I have no experience driving on the other side of the street and NZ's weird laws ( who give way, ect) all of which will be changing next year anyway to match Australia and the UK. I'll be picking up the keys on monday. A tricky weekend as I believe Silvia will be coming to visit. We'll see...

above cafe cuba, a 5 min walk to work

bedroom, mine will also have windows on the right

living room

Mini-Putt

mini putt has become the sport of loudhailer; that or the wii. In any case, we thought it would be fun for the group and it was. good times.

todd being a goof t-ing up

rachel stealing todds ball, todd going "where did it go?"

Rachel mocking todd

whoot hole in 2 dara

Day 2 Rotorua

These are from Te Puia...

me and rach

Maori wood carving

wood carving illustrating traditional maori tattoo patterns

natalie sized house

chris and jess

food storage house

really big canoo, you can's see the back but I would guess at least 30ft, almost the length of the building on the left

more really big canoo

100th Post and Great times

'Ello All! Posting pics from my vacation in Rotorua on Loudhailer's Christmas trip! More to come

Team Loudhailer! 

Rach, Me, Jess, Chris, and Todd before speed boat to Hucka Falls

Going up to the Luge

Veteran's Day

A day late here but since it is yesterday in the states I find it a appropriate.

A blessed Veteran's Day to: Earl Wilkey, Maxine Wilkey, Bob (Pop) Smith, Eudora Smith, Uncle Roy, Larry Smith, Bro Jerry Johnson, Bro Hugh Stone, Bro Joe Stone, Bro Jack Stone, Bro Fred Richards, Bro Buddy Beasley, Bro Buddy Willis, Ben Guess, Joshua (Pumkin') Brasher, Nick Betros,  Tom Smith, and all my other friends and family who served...

thank you

A change of scenery

A change of scenery is in order for living purposes it seems. My roomie is getting married in January and looks to rent out the entire house verses individual rooms at that stage. Since I do not wish to rent the entire house, that means I need to be moving on to the next flat. Started looking online today and will keep you posted if there are any places that look like a winner.

Weekend

Friday night after work is pretty much when the weekend starts for me. By then, all of us at Loudhailer are completely dragging from mental exhaustion brought on by clients with their last minute before the weekend design emergencies that really aren't as important as they would like to believe. So the girls and I loosened it up with a fun game of Munchkin, which if you don't know is a nice geeky board game of fun. I lost both games but it was still a blast. It was actually nice that Jess won since she hasn't won any game we have played since my arrival.

Saturday started off by calling the folks and chatting with them for a bit, completely obliterating my data cap for the rest of the month. The rest of Saturday and Sunday was pretty lazy. Sunday night I spent out with Rachel at the movies watching "Red" which was fantastic. more later! time to go

From Yahoo News

Norway best for the good life: UN report

Thu Nov 4, 10:55 am ET

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The going only seems to get better in Norway which on Thursday was named by the United Nations as the country with the best quality of life for a record-matching eighth time.

The UN's annual A-to-Z of global wealth, poverty, health and education highlighted in its 20th anniversary edition though that despite "growth surges" in the Asia-Pacific region, it is becoming ever more difficult to break into the rich club of nations.

Oil-rich Norway -- with its 81.0 years of life expectancy, average annual income of 58,810 dollars and 12.6 years of schooling -- has now topped the Human Development Index (HDI) for all but two years since 2001.

It is not the best in any individual category -- average income in Liechtenstein for example is a wallet-busting 81,011 dollars -- but Norway's all-round performance gave it a crushing superiority in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) annual rankings.

Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Ireland took the following places in the top five. Zimbabwe came bottom of the 169 nations ranked, behind Mozambique, Burundi, Niger and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zimbabwe, where in stark contrast life expectancy is just 47 years and per capita income 176 dollars, has come bottom of the table for the past five years.

DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe have seen their HDI value fall below 1970 levels in the four decades since, said the study.

"These countries offer lessons on the devastating impact of conflict, the AIDS epidemic and economic and political mismanagement," said UNDP administrator Helen Clarke, the former New Zealand prime minister.

The study aims to give a broader assessment of quality of life than just income -- by including, health, education, gender equality and political freedom -- and its lead writer Jeni Klugman said most of the world has seen "dramatic progress" since 1970.

Average life expectancy rose from 59 to 70 years, primary school enrollment grew from 55 to 70 percent, and per capita incomes doubled to more than 10,000 dollars. Many of the poorest countries achieved some of the greatest gains, she said.

"Overall they are healthier, more educated and wealthier and more power to appoint and hold their leaders accountable than ever before," Klugman added.

"But some countries have suffered serious setbacks, particularly in health -- sometimes erasing the gains of several decades," Klugman added.

"The recent global financial crisis was a shock for many, especially for those who have lost their jobs."

The nations which have risen most up the rankings in the 20 years that the report has been produced include "growth miracles" such as China, which has risen eight places in the last five years to 89th, Indonesia and South Korea.

But there is also Nepal, Oman and Tunisia "where progress in the non-income dimensions of human development has been equally remarkable," the study said.

The new good life nations have taken different paths to success.

"Many countries have done well in the long term by emphasizing health and education; others have strived for rapid economic growth, though sometimes with a high cost to environmental sustainability."

In six sub-Saharan African countries and three in the former Soviet Union, life expectancy is now below 1970 levels. Mainly because of HIV and tougher conditions for adults in former communist nations.

And even though incomes have grown dramatically, the poor nations are not necessarily making the same economic strides as they are in health and education.

"On average rich countries have grown faster than poor ones over the past 40 years.

"The divide between developed and developing countries persists: a small subset of countries has remained at the top of the world income distribution and only a handful of countries that started out poor have joined that high income group," the report concluded.

Guy Fawkes day

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence [or By God's mercy] he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!