Graaaagh

[whyBish]

Any chances of snowboarding? at what time of year? And exactly how good is the surfing?

I'm considering doing one year of my education in NZ, so any input would be nice. And no, I refuse to choose out of the quality of the schools :)

Well, I would have to plug my own Uni which you can find out about at www.massey.ac.nz
Its' main campus is located in the central north island, within reasonable distance of ski-fields. However, since it is central I don't think you'll find much surf.
Other universities that would be suitable (location-wise) would be Otage university situated in Dunedin which is a coastal city (Hope you like cold-water surf ;) ), not sure what its closest ski-field would be, or Canterbury University located in Christchurch which again is coastal, but not as far south as Dunedin, not sure how the surf is.
Also note that the various major universities tended to have different focuses so some degrees may not be available, not sure how much of that remains however(E.G. Victoria University Wellington was known for Law, whereas Massey does not offer Law at all etc.).

[whyBish]

Whybish , are you seriously considering coming over ? Which state / job market / weather pattern you lookin' for ?

I've been serious for the last 18 months. Trouble is, I like to look at things long-term so have no interest in coming over on a work permit, hence looking for permanent residence (lower risk). Problem is, I need a minimum of two years work experience to satisfy the U.S. (Which is coming up by the end of this year), a job offer of at least one year, that cannot be filled by labour within the U.S., and at the prevailing rate (i.e. I can't offer to work for free for the first six months :angry: )

I'm looking for jobs in the I.T. industry in any state with a weather pattern that will allow tennis to be played 'often' (or an indoor tennis court :D ). Hopefully the flexibility will be an advantage when I start looking for positions.

[whyBish]

Good place to post what's happening in N.Z.

It feels like living in a piece of history at the moment. The following things have been or are looking at being legislated:

1) Prostitution has been decriminalised (legalised?). Sorry, I haven't been keeping up with the whole thing, and there doesn't seem to be much clear coverage from the media. The main points they raised were:
- Passed by 60-59 with one abstension(sp?) Focus being put on the person that abstained
- The amount of lobbying, the issue was one of conscience.
- Police already concerned with potential for child prostitution
- Occupational Safety and Health already stating that they realise that brothels will not be like ordinary businesses and are looking at guidelines for things like disease transmission reduction etc.
- Fines for not having safe sex, but these seem low compared with levels of income $2000 per worker, or $10,000 max per brothel. But I see T.V. advertise rates of $160 per hour, so is this fine really a deterrent?

2) Legislating state ownership of the coastline.
- Triggered by a Maori Land Court ruling that stated that fore-shore ownership could be claimed
- There are claims that the legislation created may break international law (not sure why).
- Brings up ethical considerations: Should anyone be able to own coastline and/or control beach access? Should a group of people be compensated for things that happened to their ancestors at the expense of another group of people (not neccessarily mutually exclusive groups, and includes people that did not neccessarily have ancestors who actually committed 'offenses')

3) Fat tax: Under investigation
- Unfortunately ;) it is not the same as I proposed back when I was 16 where people would be taxed by their weight at specified intervals. The government is considering (amongst many proposals) taxation on food based on fat content. Too early to know what forms they are looking at, it may be a tax on all foods, or just fast foods. It may just be limited to fat, or may be extended to other things.

And just to round things off lets poke some fun:
Governments use carrots and sticks. Here it seems their aim is health of the population. They are using the stick to get people off fatty food, and the carrot of 'legalised sex on the beach' to get them exercising :lol:

[kandrathe]

Brings up ethical considerations: Should anyone be able to own coastline and/or control beach access? Should a group of people be compensated for things that happened to their ancestors at the expense of another group of people (not necessarily mutually exclusive groups, and includes people that did not necessarily have ancestors who actually committed 'offenses')

This is the ages old argument regarding the ownership of land. The Bolsheviks use to say about mother Russia, "You cannot own your mother." Here in the States, I think coastline issues and in general land ownership issues are dependant on state laws. In general though, if the government wants some land they need to buy it, albeit usually be means of Eminent Domain. Which is, that they force you to sell your property to them for the market price.

I actually heard a blurb on our local radio this morning about the brouhaha in the Solomons.

[whyBish]

Ah yes, the Australians claiming that the U.N. is becoming irrelevant... wait, haven't I heard that somewhere already? :P

[Occhidiangela]

No, but then, they may be expressing a classic Grouchoism:

"I would never want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member."

Or, maybe it is a more chauvanistic slant:

"I would never want to be a member of a club that lets so many wogs be members."

[whyBish]

.

So, you have listed the 'outdoors' with a minor mention of alcohol.

Exactly the same promotion offered to foreigners by the government.

But what use are these things to an I.T. worker/Gamer, especially one that doesn't drink?

Last time I enjoyed the outdoors was a tramp in sixth form through real bush™ in the Urewera national park.

Even if those were a reason to come to a country, they are a better reason to come here for a holiday, than to come here to stay (i.e. how much time will you spend in the outdoors if you work fulltime...I would say that an energetic person would be one weekend a month tops, it would be a poor decision making process if you base it on that (18/365 days ~5% of your time))


Interesting note: N.Z. just passed immigration laws under urgency last night tightening rules around permanent residency. We match U.S. now in the sense that the person must be employed in an industry that 'matches their skills', it used to be that you could become a P.R. by flipping burgers or cab driving. (Note, I'm only using the media definition, not sure on the actual definition, so I wont claim that it is a case of a good time to have no skills ;) )