intern

There is nothing trivial in which I do not have an interest (signed, not knowledgeable, but opinionated A-hole...yes I know nobody likes a smartass, doesn't stop me though ).

Some harsh realities being shared here. All the best guys, sometimes life comes at you hard. WP made a telling comment though, you have to act for the next generation. Also, a word on frogs in pots. I looked this up. Turns out, someone (probably a Frenchman ) tested the theory. Turns out frogs are pretty good thermometers and will get out of the pot if the temp exceeds something like 25C. Thermoregulation is necessary for survival, apparently.

Coming just as soon as I get the scooter - collecting Sunday, broken bones Monday :-D

Another harsh reality Travis; if and when you have kids and have no support structure here, believe me your view (and even your wife's view) of the pets will change. Now you'll have the relentless demands of a baby or 2 on your hands, the pets become even more of a burden - you have to clean up after the kids and the pets, it is a major further overhead on your life. Being in a new country with no support with babies or very young children is seriously difficult; it ruins your productivity, one of you will have to at least go to part time rather than full time, and you'll have no time for anything fun and even taking Fido for walkies can be somewhat unbearable in this Brave New World . It's a LOT of money and effort putting pets through the travel grinder. And when you can't get a decent rental, when you can't go away for a weekend, and when you're cleaning up pet poop and vacuuming up cat and dog hair in your not so ideal pozzie, and when life's looking like that scene in Very Bad Things with an ankle biter making his or her presence felt, you may ask yourself... How did I get here? Anyway, I did all of the above with my pets. Loved the dead dog dearly, love the living one dearly. But would I do it that way again? Certainly not. Both would have been perfectly happy with family or mates back in SA, and I would have been happy enough without them, though would undoubtedly have missed them. But having kids tells you one important thing about pets: they are not furbabys or 'like children' at all. They are dogs and cats. Precious, sure, but not comparable...

Sounds appealing BUT: Dude I bought it from is collecting a KTM 690 Adventure from Rotorua either this Saturday or next and will bring the Yammie with. How nice n helpful. My bum's burning to get on the scoot though as you can imagine. And I'm moving house this weekend, too, not that that minor inconvenience would prevent me from riding or fetching bike!

Also, I once landed a hagfish. Now that was horrifying!

Sounds like landing a barracouta here...snoek in South Africa. Over here it's considered a bloody pest, as is kahawai...

Hey Patches just bought the 2017 WR450F, only has 1500km on it. Now I have to go to Whangarei to fetch. Yeeehaaaaa!

I'm now an expert on the sqeeker, Patham, so go ahead and ask me anything you'd like to know about it

Patches, SHOT. I'll go with the Yammie I reckon, I know and love the KYBs, and the rest of the Yam has that good old Japanese build quality, too. And I can't be arsed with tuning suspension. I've been changing oil every 1000 with the WR250; did a valve clearance check last weekend. They're on the edge of tolerance...not sure I am sufficiently confident to re-shim them myself, but hey, who knows. Managed to ride around 16 hours last week in 6 sessions. This moto thing is addictive, especially when you're ripping it through paradise

This is for Travis - not nice or easy to say, but leave the pets behind if you can rehome them. Finding a rental is hard, it is MUCH harder with pets. Also, you will be in a new country with no mates or family, and pets will make it impossible to go exploring etc for more than a few hours or maybe an overnighter. It's a tough one, of course. But the costs and the crimps on your lifestyle make it very hard to justify bringing the pets with. I say that with my beloved beagle at my feet - my other dog I brought with died a few years ago.

I do almost anything to avoid working, so now I am reading up on synodontis...

You're not supposed to let the catfish out the bag with that fishing technique!! edited in light of new information.

What's a squeeker guys? Have tried Google (with 'zambesi') but nothing promising...

Dude, make some time. Even better, come down to Whaka-side so I can show you some of the awesome trails we got on the doorstep. You won't regret it! In other news, I am weighing up a WR450F (2017) vs a FE450 (2016). Right now I am leaning to the Yammie as I know and love the WR250F, which is to become my wife's bike and we'll flick off the Honda CRF250 Rally (which has been a superb starter bike and which, with the addition of some dirt tyres, is a surprisingly fun and capable offroader). Have you opinions on the comparison? The KYB suspension is A+ on the 250 and I have heard the WP suspension isn't universally appreciated...

Note the rear mudguard/fender/number plate on my bike is all smashed off. Wheelie practice and also looping out at the top of obstacles like this one:

Patches this one is for you (and specifically, why you should not put your moto away for the winter). I've been riding around 4-6 times a week the last while. It's not all bad, that's for sure!

Comprehensive reply, thanks. Yes I think if you need two vehicles, one EV runaround is the way to go; maintenance likely far less given the lack of moving parts/simplicity of an electric motor vs ICE. Of course there is eventual battery replacement to factor in, too.

Just as a matter of interest, how have you found that vehicle? What do you like, not like about it?

Yep, National a major shtshow at the moment. JC is the right person for the job, but the caucus seems hell bent on self-destruction. The Falloon thing...SMH randy politicians, when will they ever learn.

Thanks man! Probably around 6500 dollars I spose...

No it's not. Buy it for him and he will love you, especially when he's 13

Medium.

Haha, Wayne, that is such an odd position, but it beautifully represents an open mind. ACT and Labour are diametrically opposed, policy-wise. Seymour/ACT is in favour of cannabis reform, but it isn't a major focus for the party which I somehow find endearing. Because it is neither here nor there, in the greater scheme of things - in other words, schmoke it up if you're into that sort of thing, because you probably are anyway, whether legal or not. There are bigger fish to fry and they relate to the economy, health and education. BTW JC is a hugely accomplished individual. Like anyone who has ever achieved anything, she has made missteps along the way - none of them fatal. The biggest card played against her is the 'Oravida scandal' (look that up), when she visited a factory or offices of Oravida, of which her husband David Wong-Tung is a director/owner, in an 'official-looking' capacity as a National party government minister. A subsequent inquiry found there was no wrong-doing. It was, by all accounts, a very bad look though.

Also applicable to the discussion on kindness vs results, Churchill also famously never said "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."