intern

This,too, is well worth a read. https://thebfd.co.nz/2020/04/28/ardern-bloomfield-should-never-have-imposed-lockdown/ An extract: In separate studies conducted in California, Professor Ioannidis’s team found that the number of persons likely infected with COVID-19 was 28 to 55 times (those aren’t typos) higher that the official figures suggested. Most of these individuals were completely unaware that they had contracted COVID-19 due to the fact that (as has now been unequivocally established), in the vast majority of individuals COVID-19 has no or only very mild symptoms.

And here comes the daft 'buy local' idiocy, as if on cue: https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/back-your-backyard/300006414/new-zealands-immediate-focus-should-be-on-domestic-tourism-before-we-look-at-a-transtasman-bubble Here we go again with standing in a bucket and trying to lift ourselves up by the handle. This is why everyone should have at least a basic understanding of economics. After all, economics describes how the world works, which may well also be the reason it's called the dismal science. (the real reason it's so described, of course, is because unlike other branches of science, economics isn't an exact one).

He's a Sir, lads, so we'd better listen to ole Bob eehhhh

Check this quick commentary from Sir Bob Jones: https://nopunchespulled.com/2020/05/06/simon-bridges-scores/

You weren't paying attention Wayne. This is Bond stuff.

Source: Did some minor masonry work around my house, now consider myself an expert.

Yep, stretcher (or running) bond is one of the easiest to lay. For stacked, you need a higher tolerance on the bricks or blocks to achieve that perfect vertical line...

All in all though, it's just another brick in the wall.

You get different types of bonds with masonry; the overlap is generally called Running Bond (with variations in the pattern including Flemish Bond, English Bond, Common Bond, James Bond, Bondi Blu, Bondi Beach, etc). When they are in a straight stack, they're called Stack Bond. Generally you'll find those are reinforced with steel ties - they are no less structurally sound than other bonds, but they do look weak to the slightly trained eye which expects the overlaps...

Uh maaate you ARE old now...

While we there Bob, who is that in your profile pic,Zooey Deschanel? Once had a gf who looked a lot like ZD...

Another OG hubber.

WHAT the actual! Haven't seen explosives deployed like this for some time. Word, dawg.

Some old boys in here eh. Oct 2006, something over 1000. Man a lot has changed since then.

That's magnificent!!

Here's a ray of light. Emigration takes a really long time (unless you are hired by a firm that really needs you) so the planning and action can take a year or more. Getting your ducks in a row is a big and expensive job, so take your time with it, spread the cost, cover your bases (and something something more jargon) and then be ready to shift when the time is right. You also make the time right yourself. Of course, there is no denying that emigration is risky as a matter of course. It is now doubly so as we can expect a massive wave of unemployment which as WP says, will make it harder for emigres to find work. Best of luck to you.

The renters with lumpy sums as yet uninvested in property are in the pound seats now. Though you do face currency risk and a devalued dollar with the largesse being dished out and just recently Grant Robertson saying 'banks have not met our expectations or those of small business' and making available low/no interest government loans to one of the riskiest customer bases.

Brah when it comes to half finished degrees, I've been led to believe it's the second half you want to have in the bag. Not that I have a degree. CAD monkey meet typist.

Thanks - we like it too, but houses and cars etc are not things to which you should form an emotional bond. Bicycles and motorbikes of course are in an entirely different category.

Patches definitely the kind of guy to read the TV manual

Selling purely because of the economic chaos New Zealand is about to encounter. A few things: Tourism is gone. AirBNBs, which have put the squeeze on the long term rental market, are about to flood back into the market as there are a ton of landlords who have daisy-chained AirBNBs thanks to cheap finance and positive cashflows. They're going to find those cashflows seriously reversed and as small investors highly leveraged, they do not have the capital to carry more than 2 or 3 months before something's gotta give. Not all those rentals will be in demand, because set up as AirBNBs, they will be more expensive ones. Also, demand is likely to drop as we won't have any new immigrants for a while because we are expecting up to 230k more unemployed NZers. In short, I think there will be a housing glut soon, with prices coming down and difficulty selling. Bear in mind, post-2008, when tourism took a knock because of the GFC (Global Fried Chicken), you could buy a beachfront 4-bed house in Ohope for around $380k. Until recently, the same sort of property would run you north of 800k. With tourism now completely deleted, the outlook is grim. So I want to become a renter again.

I'm sorry to hear that Kranswurm. All the best.

Yep; I only have the 1 ;-)

In anticipation of the coming economic bloodbath, I have listed my house for sale today. It is a reluctant move but if I can get a sale now, I will be pretty happy - and I will take 50k less for it than I might have expected to fetch 6 months prior.

Bloody awesome. Love the engineers approach to DIY; were it me, there'd be no planning, just some seat of the pants stuff. I have the same or similar AEG mitre saw. One of my favourite tools; when you need one, you really need one, and when you have one, you need it often.