Welcome

Congratulations to President Elect Donald Trump on his win.

Please note TVNZ and Stuff.co.nz You will probably find that there are many New Zealanders who feel they should be able to vote for the President of the United States. A TV station and maybe two are perfectly willing to let them know who their choice should be. These public service media should look to Benjamin Franklin Quotes:
Half a truth is often a great lie.

We Still Here From Voyager 1 - an amazing story - Link

Wine is not the answer, Wine is the question.
YES is the answer

Me, I think a tip is just another form of a gift ... a 'thank you' gift.
Having a daughter that was a waitress for many years and seeing her 'thank you' for good service being taxed by the government, I'm all for getting this intrusion into our privacy removed.

There is no such thing as a grouchy old person. The truth is that once you get old, you stop being polite and start being honest.

Did you know the power and light switches in New Zealand are down for on and up for off? After over 38 years, we still get confused.

JUST SAYIN'
Corona beer: is owned by Belgian company AB InBev ... you know Bud Light. The Corona sold in New Zealand and Australia is made in China.
On the other hand: Heineken: who owns Sol beer, has kept the majority of production of Sol in Mexico to stay true to it's Mexican roots.

2/3 of New Zealand journalists are left wing. It's really not that surprising - Link to Data

Virtue Signalling:
You want an electric car, great! BUY ONE! You want a gas powered car, BUY ONE! But let's stop forcing everybody to subsidize your electric car so you can feel smug about it.

Not so eco-friendly? Paper straws contain more 'forever chemicals' than plastic, study says - Link

Stranded F-150 Lightning Owner Calls EVs "Biggest Scam Of Modern Times" - link


Auckland Named Top Place to Travel - Not that I'm a fan of the New York Times either, but they got this one right - Link

From the pages of "Virtue Signalling Quarterly"
The New Zealand Police have whipped the covers off the first pure electric vehicle added to its frontline fleet; a BMW i4.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has confirmed that five fully electric BMW i4s are set to be rolled out at five different locations around the country as part of an operational electric vehicle trial. The trial will also include the installation of EV chargers at each of these locations.

The operational trial comes at a cost of approximately $1.7 million, with funding sourced as part of the State Sector Decarbonisation Fund, with collaboration with EECA.

State sector decarbonisation. EECA administers a $219.5 million 'Government' fund to reduce carbon emissions in the State sector.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is a New Zealand government/Crown agency responsible for promoting energy efficiency and conservation.

Meanwhile:
Two electric fast ferries under construction for Auckland Harbour. The NZ government announced it would provide NZ$27 million to Auckland Transport to support their construction.
The government said on Tuesday that the grant would cover approximately 75% of the cost of building the two new electric ferries.

I find it hard to believe I once had a phone attached to a wall, and when it rang, I picked it up without knowing who was calling.

Price of Petrol in New Zealand
I'll use the price of petrol at the station down the road from us. It will be 'relatively' similar throughout New Zealand.
The price of 91 octane recently is NZ$2.74 per litre.
1 US gallon = 3.785 litres.
NZ$2.74 X 3.785 = NZ$10.37 per US Gallon.
The present exchange rate USD to NZD is approximately 1 NZD = 0.61 USD
So we are paying the equivalent of US$6.33 per gallon.
Note: Of course we don't use US Dollars so we are paying NZ$10.37 for a US gallon of gas.

Do you know how weird it is being the same age as old people?

Excerpt from the book "A Man Without a Country" (by Kurt Vonnegut)
Kurt Vonnegut tells his wife he was going out to buy an envelope:
Oh," she says, well, you're not a poor man. You know. Why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in a closet?
And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.
I meet a lot of people. I see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And I ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, I don't know ... The moral of the story is We're here on Earth to fart around.
And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And it's like we're not supposed to dance at all anymore

Google search Question:
Can you eat eggs raw in NZ?
Answer From the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand Inc:
Yes! Just make sure you cook them.

Thoughts on Afghanistan from a Veteran's Wife - It Was Not In Vain - Link

Then there's this
You don't know me personally but by the things I write, you know I'm an old fart! That's okay. Because you see:
I am one of the children that came of age in the late 40s and early 50s. No one will ever have that opportunity again. America was united, prosperous and confident in the future. Our leaders were interested in doing what was best for America. We were given one of our most precious gifts: Living in the peaceful and comfortable time. It was created for us by the 'Greatest Generation'.
What we lived - link

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

Mrs Wilderness and I were down and almost out for a few weeks last year. We didn't know it at the time but we were part of a very large group of people in New Zealand suffering from RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus.

Apparently this thing, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), was discovered in 1956 and has since been recognized as one of the most common causes of childhood illness. The misses and I had only recently heard about it and really didn't care what it was called, we just knew we were very sick.

Now we find, we weren't alone. The headline was "RSV: Six dead in Auckland as Covid-19 takes its toll on our national immunity." We were told nine people across the country have died after becoming infected with RSV this winter - including six in Auckland's central suburbs.

Last year at six of New Zealand's main hospitals, the number of people admitted for RSV spiked to 951 in the week ending Monday, July 18.

WW Truism:
You can tell you are getting older when, on your way home you stop at the pharmacy and the liquor store and the pharmacy package is bigger!

Soccer Fan Falls Off Couch - Live Action - Click Here

I was hinting to Mrs Wilderness what I wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
I said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 seconds."
She bought me a bathroom scale.

When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. The pain is only felt by others.
The same thing happens when you're stupid.

Play it safe - Read Up on BBQ Rules - Click

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Isn't it weird that in America the flag and the culture offend so many people but the benefits don't.

Scary Facts:
The US has 5% of the world's population and 66% of the world's lawyers!

Have you ever noticed: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are XL
I have become very familiar with XL these last few years.

Not So Scary
Behind almost every great man, there is a surprised woman.

Wife arrested - Husband forgot anniversary - Link

Man steals car - calls owner for help in starting it - I'm not kidding - Link

True Comedy - The Way We Were - Link

This is also who we are - Link

Thief shoots self in wiener robbing hot dog stand - I am not kidding - Link

A Vietnamese Immigrant Thanks God He is an American

Check out Freedom Camping in New Zealand - Link

AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE FROM THE FRONT PORCH
BANANA ATTACKS GORILLA THEN SPLITS!
I'm just going to report this the way I found it.
By Melissa Reid Fox 8 News Reporter
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio - There is a banana at large in Strongsville.
Police say that someone dressed up as a banana and attacked the Wireless Center's mascot, a gorilla, last week.
"I noticed a kid in the bushes. Then he just emerged, dressed up as a banana, and sprinted as fast as he could at our gorilla," said Brandon Parham, the manager. "The kid just speared our gorilla."

Parham and another employee witnessed the attack. "The kid was in mid-air, flying. He just looked like a Spartan from that movie '300,' except he was a banana," added Parham.

The Wireless Center uses the gorilla as an advertising tool on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

"After he got tackled, the gorilla just got back up and adjusted his head. He kept on waving his sign around," said Parham.

Police say the person, dressed up as a banana, split and headed south on Pearl Road.
According to Parham, the person who was wearing the gorilla costume will recover.

"This is just bizarre. It's really not normal of the food chain. That's not really how this works. The gorilla should have won," said Parham.

Police were unable to locate the banana. They believe it was a prank.

Samuel Adams:
"It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush-fires of freedom in the minds of men."

Check out South Pacific wind patterns - Where New Zealand stands - Link

Barstow California Bids To Host The Olympics - Link

"Fathom the odd hypocrisy that the government wants every citizen to prove that they are insured, but people don't have to prove they are citizens to vote."

Gas or Petrol
'Petrol' is used in most of the Commonwealth Countries while the term 'Gasoline is basically used in North American Countries. Etymology of petrol is also quite interesting. The word 'gasolene' first came into existence in 1865 which was modified to the modern spelling 'gasoline' in 1871. Initially any other fuel other than diesel or liquefied gas which could be used in engines was termed as gasoline. The word 'petrol' came into existence in early 1892. Carless-Capel & Leonard, a German wholesaler, was the first company to register 'petrol' as a trade name.
Source: The Origin Of - Link here

Come back often, have fun, keep in touch and may God Bless You.
Mr and Mrs W-W