New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, davetapson said:

I came through Darwin or somewhere having spent an extended time in SEA.

DEA type guy: "Do you have any hard drugs?"

Me: "Geez dude, if I did, would I tell you?"

Him, looking a bit non-plussed: "Well... do you?"

Me: "No."

I always wondered:
  a: just what a stupid question it is
  b: just how badly that might have gone.

Maybe they ask you and watch your reaction.

If you answer no, and then then find some on you, then you you are deep poo poo as you had a chance to declare. Either way they would nail you, but if you declared you may get off a little easier.

[Slowbee]

The declare stuff mainly has to do with all the digital stuff we are bringing into quarantine.

 

I have since found out it is something to do when we leave a country and intend coming back, as opposed to coming in for the first time. Prove that it is yours and you are not importing stuff.

 

 

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

1 hour ago, Slowbee said:

The declare stuff mainly has to do with all the digital stuff we are bringing into quarantine.

 

I have since found out it is something to do when we leave a country and intend coming back, as opposed to coming in for the first time. Prove that it is yours and you are not importing stuff.

 

 

Its more for short term stays, so you don't get taxed on return. They can, and usually will, say that you purchased it while abroad and hence need to pay tax on the electronics.
We usually stop off at the SARS counter and declare our devices and test equipment when working abroad for this reason.

 

[IceCreamMan]

2 hours ago, Slowbee said:

The declare stuff mainly has to do with all the digital stuff we are bringing into quarantine.

 

I have since found out it is something to do when we leave a country and intend coming back, as opposed to coming in for the first time. Prove that it is yours and you are not importing stuff.

 

 

Have you moved money to NZ yet? 

Rand taking a lil beating currently. 

 

[eala]

On 8/18/2021 at 3:23 PM, Steven Knoetze (sk27) said:

The governments approach has always been to try and get the entire population vaccinated before re-opening. That could take a very long time.
Then consider that research seems to show that the vaccine is ineffective against the new Lambda variant from Peru......
After this post I won't comment more on the "C" topic, will derail a good thread unnecessarily. 

So if it does not do that then why do it. To be responsible?
In fact people who have survived pre vaccination infection are dying, not to mention the side effects.
I am no anti-vaxxer, have had all the shots needed to travel into deep Africa but the science is sketchy for little to no reward.
Read this as a start, have a friend with an uncle perfectly healthy who is suffering:
https://www.openaccessjournals.com/articles/are-subdeltoid-bursitis-and-polymyalgia-rheumatica-preferances-of-covid19-vaccine-14563.html

You can  treat a shoulder discomfort ,but some covid survivors suffer from lung damage months after they were out of hospital .They need to take high corticosteroid dosage and use oxygen permanently.Above is so minor it is not worth mentioning 

[davetapson]

23 hours ago, davetapson said:

I always wondered:
  a: just what a stupid question it is
 

It's like the entry form for the US: Are you a terrorist, or do you belong to a terrorist organisation, sorry organization?

Hmm, I wonder what I should answer.

Given 9/11 I'd take a wager that it doesn't catch everyone...

[IceCreamMan]

Reminds me of the time we went to NZ. At the time I used to suffer from gout severely so used to travel with a few syringes and ampoules of voltaren. Flying via Sydney to Wellington was a 24 hour ‘fun’ affair with a 9 month old. Arriving at Wellington around midnight and I get selected for a search. Unboxed Ampules and needles found. It became even more fun.

luckily we had Internet in those days (2008) still took a couple of hours to sort out. 

 

 

[davetapson]

14 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

 gout

 

 

Enalapril combined with SAB...?

[patham]

18 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Reminds me of the time we went to NZ. At the time I used to suffer from gout severely so used to travel with a few syringes and ampoules of voltaren. Flying via Sydney to Wellington was a 24 hour ‘fun’ affair with a 9 month old. Arriving at Wellington around midnight and I get selected for a search. Unboxed Ampules and needles found. It became even more fun.

luckily we had Internet in those days (2008) still took a couple of hours to sort out. 

 

 

I think I would be too squeamish to self-inject. However, having had one excruciating gout experience (ankle & below but mainly the big toe) I would have had no reservations in doing so. I reckon that if I had Patches' level of home DIY woodworking gear I would have just amputated the offending limb at home with only a disprin- it could only have felt better. I sent the Mrs off to get emergency steroids, but in the rush she locked herself out the house. I think it took me 10 minutes to walk the 10 steps to let her back in. 

I have huge empathy now for anyone who has experienced that - its no joke. And I have sworn off the offending dietary item - fresh OJ. 

A colleague had a gout episode when he was in the middle of nowhere QLD, on a cattle station which was base camp for studies for a green fields mine site development. The horse steroids the owners scrounged for him worked a charm ! 

 

[patham]

On 8/20/2021 at 7:48 PM, IceCreamMan said:

Have you moved money to NZ yet? 

Rand taking a lil beating currently. 

 

The cross -rates may still be relatively OK. The AUD and NZD have also dropped recently versus the USD.

[IceCreamMan]

1 hour ago, patham said:

I think I would be too squeamish to self-inject. However, having had one excruciating gout experience (ankle & below but mainly the big toe) I would have had no reservations in doing so. I reckon that if I had Patches' level of home DIY woodworking gear I would have just amputated the offending limb at home with only a disprin- it could only have felt better. I sent the Mrs off to get emergency steroids, but in the rush she locked herself out the house. I think it took me 10 minutes to walk the 10 steps to let her back in. 

I have huge empathy now for anyone who has experienced that - its no joke. And I have sworn off the offending dietary item - fresh OJ. 

A colleague had a gout episode when he was in the middle of nowhere QLD, on a cattle station which was base camp for studies for a green fields mine site development. The horse steroids the owners scrounged for him worked a charm ! 

 

Gout is the most debilitating ailment i have ever had. Its off the charts painful and its relentless. After years of struggling with it i eventually threw in the towel and went onto puricos and now very rarely have an episode. Only twice in 8 years ot so and both times were my fault. 

In my case, i went hi tech and invested in home blood test machine etc etc to determine which foods kicked it off and it just seemed no matter what i ate i was vulnerable to attacks. 

Puricos for the win. (Allupurinol here)

Edited August 22, 2021 by IceCreamMan

[Beer4Recovery]

Is it worth it to take electronic devices over from SA, or just buy new in NZ? Like a TV?

 

Had suggestions to buy new in SA, then take over to NZ. Does NZ use different power adapters?

[patches]

10 hours ago, Beer4Recovery said:

Is it worth it to take electronic devices over from SA, or just buy new in NZ? Like a TV?

Had suggestions to buy new in SA, then take over to NZ. Does NZ use different power adapters?

Same voltage. Different plug. For TV's I'd rather get one here as they have FreeView Tuners built in. Those enable one to watch around 20-odd free-to-air digital TV channels and have access to On-Demand streaming content.

SA TV's generally don't support this and you'll need to buy a decoder.

Not sure what TV prices are like in SA now, but in NZ the key is to keep an eye out for sales. Prices fluctuate weekly. Websites like pricespy.co.nz help one track the trends and see if they are actually getting a good deal or not. Seen here as an example:

 

[davetapson]

16 hours ago, IceCreamMan said:

Puricos for the win. (Allupurinol here)

My experience with gout is that all common wisdom is wrong.

My worst case got set off by over concentrated electrolyte solution on a training ride.  Oh, and that SAB products are a real problem, but I liked Windhoek, so ok.

I eventually determined it had mainly to do with my hydration state, and if I had not been drinking sufficient water, I'd get it.  I'm not a fan of water, so that' like, well, I've only drunk tea, coffee, beer for a week or so.

That and that I was taking Enalapril Maleate for blood pressure, and that raises uric acid slightly, just enough to tip me over.  Stopped that, and haven't had gout since.

I hate drugs.  I always think that it might fix one thing, but then causes another...

[Slowbee]

8 hours ago, davetapson said:

I hate drugs.  I always think that it might fix one thing, but then causes another...

Tend to agree. But them pain killers at the right time are lovely.

 

[davetapson]

So how is it that they won't send a new Milk Frother (yep, crisis) because 'Not Essential' yet my daughter's boyfriend gets cupcakes delivered to her same day...?