patches

Tool Priorities... When you're overseas visiting the in-laws for the weekend and you come across a tool deal that is too good to pass up... Despite the oversized box and priority sticker this one isn't that exciting. Just a Makita 40V Powerhead and line trimmer attachment. Figured if I'm gonna be the gardener I may as well do it with quality tools. Plus garden power tools are easier to justify to the wife, haha. Next up will be the hedge trimmer and edge trimming attachments for the powerhead.

Shared paths (the ones that have both cyclists and pedestrian symbols) are fine for riding along. Basic rule is keep left, and use the road or a dedicated bike path if you're trying to break strava records, ahah (the path along Tamaki Drive to Mission Bay is an awesome scenic shared path, but the serious cyclists find it too slow so opt for the road). Not too sure about grass riding. If it's people's property or across sports fields etc, it's likely frowned upon. If it's to make your way through a park, then it should be ok. I'm away in Sydney this weekend, but would be keen for a Woodhill trip next weekend.

Bingo! hahaha! I was going to offer my tools and services, but but didn't want to assume that Byron is fine with random unqualified persons fiddling with his bike 😅 Although as hayleyearth has pointed out, a number of us are all too well familiar when it comes to travelling with boxed bikes and the reassembly at either end. Some good memories of building up downhill bikes in dingy French alpine cellars. Anyway, @ByronH I'm also happy to help, although sounds like Wayne has a better toolbox (admittedly mine has become more dirt bike focused over the years). Drop me a DM if you're keen, I'm just a few km away. Also, we should arrange a Auckland-Saffer group ride at Woodhill sometime.

Welcome! Glenfield is just across the highway from me. I'm in Milford (just north of Takapuna). I do however spend a lot of time in Glenfield/Wairau at 2 large hardware stores 😅 As for LBS, that's a good question. Lewis & Co (bespoke high end bike shop in Ponsonby) was the go to place for those who are serious about top notch service and expertise. Sadly they are no more, so an chain store like Evo Cycles, Torpedo7 or 99Bikes is likely the easiest to get a booking. From Glenfield you could try either Kiwi Velo or 99 Bikes in Takapuna (both on Barry's Point Road). A bike build will likely be an hourly charge. Kiwi velo is about $110/hr. 99Bikes offers a "Build from Box" service, but doesn't have a price. I'd imagine also in the order of $100/hr. How knocked-down is your bike? Just the standard wheels, bars, pedals and saddle removed?

I've done a grand total of 2hrs on skis and 2hrs on snowboard at Snow Planet. It looks like something I'd really enjoy and all of our close friend group ski, so we accompany them on trips, but we usually end up doing something else during the day, haha! I have a fear of failure and my stingy-ness prevent me. (plus my wife used to ski as a kid but didn't love it). I have told myself that this year I'd give it a go, even if just for one day of the trip. So if the gang head down to Queenstown I'll try my luck. (I know Ruapehu is closer but I've heard those slopes are terrible for beginners. Crowded and icy). I do also really really want to try this next time I'm in QT during snow season https://www.snowmoto.co.nz/

My wife and I considered ourselves fairly avid campers, until about just under 2 years ago when we hired a campervan to do an awesome 2 week road trip around NZ's South Island. With Covid in full swing we managed to get one of those fully kitted Merc Sprinter campers for a steal. After the convenience of the van, we struggled to motivate ourselves to camp "conventionally". We also cannot warrant spending $150k - 200k on that type of camper (we're way too far from retirement for that, haha). So maybe these Thule tents are the middle ground. I'll have to show my wife the pics of how they might look on her XC40.

I wouldn't quite call this woodwork more like wood-messing-around. But after some recent tool purchases I found myself moving onto a 7th tool platform. My previous charging station didn't include 3 of the chargers so I decided it was time for a revamp as the bench was getting cluttered. So I took some leftover form-ply from a concrete countertop pour and cobbled together this work in progress. It has chargers for my 6 most used battery types (Ryobi being the one not pictured, but I'm slowly phasing out my Ryobi tools). I have dual charging capacity for tools that take 2x18V (like my AEG mower, or Makita track saw) It's still a work in progress. The cable management needs to be refined. Currently nothing is fastened down as I still want chargers to accessible and easily removable should I need to travel with them. I was thinking of battery storage on the lower 3rd, but I may have to come up with a creative idea as I may have too many (and still plan on getting more 😅) Anyone got any great space saving battery storage ideas?

I forget how convenient it is to have piped natural gas. The gas geyser unit we use doesn't need any power connection. It just has a peizo and a pilot flame.

I know the campsite instant heaters to which you refer and you're right they are terrible. The units they use on homes here don't seem to have the same issues. We've stayed in a number of AirBnB's over the years that have these. Most of the time we're with 1-2 other couples and they seem to handle 6 adults using 2 bathrooms. Perhaps they're more efficient or perhaps it's because they're only serving a single home, and not a campsite ablution block with half a dozen people or more showering at once.

Sorry if I missed this in previous posts, but are instant hot water heaters a viable option for those on the Eskom Exodus? Something like the Rinnai Infinity series. Here they're the go to for many households as they have LPG or natural gas options, take up very little space, and don't have the risks and issues associaed with geysers (like bursts and water damaged ceilings etc. My home uses the middle ground solution. a on outdoor gas geyser like this: Not Exactly a thing of beauty, but it's tucked round the side of the house, where it's accessible but not an eyesore. It runs on mains gas and the 160L capacity offers that buffer under high demand.

Had me a quick gander at the local pricing here. Mid and top spec models available now. Entry level on pre-order for mid-August. *exchange rate is roughly 10 ZAR to 1 NZD With my only eBike experience being a entry level rental eMTB for a touristy trail ride with my wife (non-cyclist), I am definitely not qualified to advise. But, here in hobbit-land, most MTBing is hilly, twisty forest single track. 15km on these trails feels like 50km of what I was used to (but that may just be my appalling fitness). Hardly any XC bikes out and about. Most riders are on 140mm - 160mm bikes. Trail and enduro styles of riding capture the majority of the market, so eBikes are becoming more prevalent as riders chase the thrill not the burn or the clock. I think this "mid-eBike" will be well placed to entice a few fence-sitters over to the assisted side. Hell, if I had the money, I would buy one, I think it's one of the best looking eMTBs out there!

I wish NZ would hold the government and politicians as accountable as they hold the All Blacks and their coach 😅

Aaand I'm back on to Solar Opposites (with Season 3 now out) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8910922/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Very similar style to Rick & Morty (thanks to Justin Roiland). In some ways I prefer it to the more recent seasons of Rick & Morty as they try too hard to be insane, or try carry a joke to long. Personal preference (like I prefer American Dad to Family Guy for similar reasons), but enjoy all of the above. Worth a watch for those who have not seen it before but like a bit of odd sci-fi-ish humour.

I live in an area where I've had 2 power outages in 6 years. The longest was about 1hr. The other was 10min. Without getting into the great emigration debate (as those threads can turn toxic and get shut down very quickly), I can say that whilst 1st world countries bring 1st world services, they also bring 1st world prices and 1st world problems. And whilst 1st world problems can be objectively trivial, they have the potential to bring as much anxiety, unhappiness, frustration and anger as far bigger issues. That's the beauty of being human. The ability to soldier on through hardship with a smile, or blow small things totally out of proportion. But yeah, load shedding sucks so kudos to those on here making their own plans.

So after hypocritically stating that I'm selling off my Ryobi tools to reduce down on battery platforms, I went and invested in a new one for this... Bosch GEX 18V 125mm Random Orbital Sander. Influenced by Project Farm's shootout (and other reviews) the Bosch seemed like a top contender. I like its lower profile, and on control, dust collection, vibration, and noise it seemed to smash the competition. It also hooks up nicely to my little Makita 2x 18V dust extractor The cheapest way I could find to get onto the Bosch Professional 18V platform was to buy a brushless hammer drill kit with 2x 4.0Ah batteries. and a charger. I should recoup some money though the sale of the unneeded drill, and the free 40M laser measure claimed through a Bosch promotional offer. Looking around the garage now, I realize I need to do something about battery and charger storage. 7 platforms 7 chargers 18 batteries

New nail gun day today. Upgrading the 18ga Ryobi brad nailer with a Milwaukee version (trying to cut back on them battery platforms). Brushless motor (more power), bump-fire mode and reduced hammer marks and here it is, dwarfed, next to the big-boy nail gun

Yup Labour Day, October 24th is the next one. So 4 months between Matariki and that one.

I very nearly made more terrible financial decisions yesterday. Bunnings (big box hardware store in Aus and NZ) currently has a deal on a 9 piece AEG cordless tool kit. Usually the kit is $2,000 (approx R20,000), but at the moment that have it for $1,600. 20% off for tools that would cost well over $3,500 if purchased individually) PLUS, one gets a free 10" mitre saw and stand (valued at $850) via online redemption. If I didn't have most of those tools and hadn't just sold one of those exact mitre-saw stand combo's, my wallet wouldn't have survived the window shopping.

The bad... It's that time of year when it's the long-weekend drought. No public holidays for 4 months (unless you live in Hawkes Bay or South Canterbury). I may need to make my own long weekends. 17x 5 days weeks in a row sounds terrible! haha

Just finished watching The Terminal List (Amazon). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11743610/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 I wouldn't say it's groundbreaking as it's the generic "former special forces commander gets wronged and wrapped up in a conspiracy and goes out for vengeance" story line, like half-a-dozen other shows/movies. It was enjoyable easy watching, but not sure it deserves and 8.2 rating.

Not cycling related... not even running related (as I am far too lazy), but decided to purchase some new "work shoes". I wear tekkies most days as I walk to and from the bus stop and run around the hospital. I only change into more formal shoes or safety-boots if I'm attending big-boy meetings or wandering around construction areas. Ashamedly this is the 2nd most expensive footwear I have ever purchased. MX boots being first. I know these are an overkill for walking shoes, but I just liked the look 😅 (I better grab my flame-suit for when the running thread peeps see this, haha) On Running Cloudace

Yeah, my wife spent a lot of time looking at her phone or iPad during those scenes (it's her defence mechanism), but overall enjoyed the humour and drama of the show. I think what made matters worse is that we haven't had kids (yet), so some of those scenes may have had a birth-control effect on her 😅

Just started watching this last night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13111040/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 2 episodes in and I'm really enjoying it. Anyone else watching it?

We have some close friends (originally from Perth) moving back. Family, house prices, and salaries are the biggest drivers. He's an engineer but decided to leave consulting and do his teachers degree, and although teachers salaries here are vastly higher than SA , they are still a fair bit lower than Australia (especially for graduate teachers). Being from Perth they also struggle to get their heads around the $1.2m+ house pricing in Auckland. they've showed us what $800k in Perth gets one and it's almost tempting. (That said, the mental jump for us Saffers is way bigger. Imagine a R12m house in an SA equivalent suburb... seems completely absurd and out-of-reach). They have admitted that as a city they prefer Auckland, and Perth does feel isolated from the rest of Aus. But after a 5yrs "OE" they are returning home (for a bit). My wife (Aussie) has hinted at the prospect of an Aussie stint for us, once I get my NZ citizenship (aka 2nd class Aussie residency). But that would more likely be to "Seed-nee' (the kiwi pronunciation) as he family is there, and anything more than 3hrs away means we may as well stay in NZ (borders remaining open and all that).

I asked my wife (she's the head of global mobility for a large NZ corporate) and she said (as suspected): "no immigration issues if the individual isn't physically working in Australia", and that "tax implications are dependent on the individuals remuneration arrangement with the employer". (Disclaimer: She's not an immigration adviser so takes no responsibility, hahaha) Considering the massive uptake in remote working in the last 2 years, and the generally higher salaries in Australia, this is a whole other avenue of poaching NZ based talent.