SCENIC DOWNUNDER

Posted on Facebook by New Zealand author Maggie Rainey-Smith

Wellington, New Zealand - sometimes called the world's southern-most
capital, is one of the most scenic cities in the South Pacific

Maggie Rainey-Smith, author, poet, book-lover, book-reviewer.

About Turns 2005 Random House

Turbulence 2007 Random House

Review: “Rainey-Smith frees herself from the constraints of a great deal of women’s fiction by steering away from romantic love. Instead, she explores themes of friendship, infidelity, literature and class in New Zealand.” (Kimberly Bartlett Herald on Sunday)

Short stories published in Sport, Spring 2001, Victoria University Press, Takahe, Creative Juices, Harper Collins 2002, the 4th Floor 

CHINA AND THE WORLD

Top of Form

Chinese economy hits three-year low

Friday 13 July guardian.co.uk

Growth rate of 7.6% is worst since depths of global financial crisis and could drag on countries supplying Chinese industry.

China's economic growth has slowed to a new three-year low, dampening hopes it can make up for US and European weakness, but analysts have said a rebound might be in sight.

The world's second-largest economy grew by 7.6% in the three months ending in June compared with a year earlier, down from the previous quarter's 8.1%. It is the lowest since the first quarter of 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis.

China's slowdown could have global repercussions, especially at a time when the United States and Europe are struggling. Lower Chinese demand could affect Asian economies that supply industrial components to its manufacturing industry and exporters of oil, iron ore and other commodities such as Australia, Brazil and African nations.

Other indicators, though, including strong June bank lending, which is closely tied to business activity, suggest the low point of the decline might be past, analysts have said. "The Chinese economy has already bottomed out in the first two quarters," said Xiao Li, an economist at Industrial Bank in Shanghai.

"It is not certain whether or not there will be a strong upward rebound. But at least the economic growth rate will stop coming down."

The slump raises the threat of job losses and political tension. The ruling Communist party is trying to enforce calm ahead of a planned once-a-decade handover of power to younger leaders.

China's export growth has fallen steadily and consumer spending has weakened despite stimulus measures that include two interest rate cuts since the start of June. The government is pumping money into the economy through higher investment by state-owned industry and more spending on low-cost housing and other public works.

Quarterly growth was in line with the government's official target of 7.5% for the year, which private sector forecasters say China still is likely to achieve.

"The growth rate of 7.6% is already an achievement because the economic situation facing China has been complex and severe," said Sheng Laiyun, a government spokesman, at a news conference. "We have seen tepid domestic and external demand."

Sheng rejected suggestions by some analysts that the slowdown might be deeper than reported and that Beijing ordered companies to make the economy look healthier by inflating data on electric power consumption, a key industrial indicator. "I want to say right here they are wrong," Sheng said.

China's economic growth has slown down for eight quarters, the longest slowdown since the government began reporting such data in 1992, according Yu Bin, a cabinet researcher. He said the previous record was six quarters.

The slowdown is due in part to government controls imposed in 2010-11 to cool overheating and inflation fuelled in part by Beijing's huge stimulus in response to the 2008 crisis. Chinese leaders reversed course last year and began easing controls after global demand abruptly plunged.

The government is moving cautiously after its 2008 stimulus pushed up inflation and spurred a wasteful building boom. Authorities have said curbs imposed on building and home sales to cool surging housing prices will remain in place, even though pumping up the country's slumping construction industry offers a quick way to boost growth.

Peter’s Comment

While the rest of the world struggles the Chinese economy keeps marching on at just a slightly reduced pace.

Even at the slower growth rate of 7.6%, the Chinese economy is in spectacular shape and must be the envy of many economies including the USA and the European Union.

However, there is a popular belief that China’s success is putting people out of work, lowering wages and forcing businesses to close in the western world. Some believe that Chinese goods should be boycotted because of the low wages paid in China.

Those ideas are misguided. In fact a boycott would force Chinese wages even lower.

On the other hand, if we buy Chinese our demand will help raise wages in China and as Chinese people become better off they will increase their spending with rest of the world.

China, with approximately 20% of the world’s population, is likely to achieve standard of living parity with the rest of the world when it has 20% of the world’s production of goods and services.

But where would the rest of the world be if China’s economy was growing at only the 0-2% that has been normal elsewhere for the last five years?

We should be thankful that there is at least one strong economy to save us from an economic catastrophe.

NEW ZEALAND TRAVEL

Scenery without equal

Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

BusTravel NZ Limited

Travel with the Company that Cares

About Us

BusTravel NZ Ltd was formed in 2008 when Leopard and Greg Paul Coaches joined together to create a new partnership to supply a broader range of coaches in both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

BusTravel NZ Ltd has undergone a total re-brand to reflect the clean green image of New Zealand. We operate vehicles ranging from a luxury sedan of three seat capacity up to 48 Seat tour coaches. The majority of our fleet are 24 seat tour coaches with a luxury specification not normally seen in vehicles of this size.

Over the years we have built a reputation for supplying well-maintained, reliable and safe coaches, along with courteous and highly trained drivers. Our customers can rely on our high level of service and we aim to always exceed your expectations. Our performance has stood the test of time.

Company History

Greg Paul NZ Coach Enterprises was established in 1989 by Greg and Jennie Paul. Both Greg and Jennie have extensive experience working in the tourism, bus and coach industry in New Zealand and overseas. At the time of the business’s inception, the need for quality small coaches to transport overseas visitors and locals alike at a comfort level normally reserved for larger coaches was recognised.

With this in mind in 2008 BusTravel NZ was formed when Leopard Coachlines and Greg Paul formed a partnership to supply a broader range of coaches and services within New Zealand.

Our Coach Captains

Our drivers are our ambassadors.

To ensure they are efficient and skilled at their profession, our drivers undertake specific and regular training programmes, including first aid and road skills to ensure they provide you with an exceptional travelling experience.

Bus Travel NZ coach captains are considered to be some of the best in our industry. They are sufficiently multi-skilled that we regularly hire them out to other coach companies. Their special skills and knowledge are gained from many years of experience, and we always try to match our coach captains with your requirements to ensure that you have a unique experience.

Our staff, including our operational personnel, are the backbone of our company. We will provide the right driver and the right coach for your specific requirements.

Our coach captains are there to make your trip a safe and enjoyable one.

They will:

§  provide a full commentary if required

§  handle your luggage movements from hotels to coach

§  help you with any itinerary advice

BusTravel NZ Limited

Travel with the Company that Cares

Organising group transportation can be quite stressful. At BusTravel NZ, we understand the logistics of transporting groups around New Zealand. 

We'll take care to ensure your group arrives safely and on time and exactly where they need to be. 

BusTravel NZ Limited, 21 Brigade Road, Manukau 2154, New Zealand
PO Box 107-063, Airport Oaks, Manukau 2154, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 917 5175  Fax: +64 9 917 5177                               info@BusTravelnz.co.nz

Old Pipers at Oshkosh

AirVenture ‘Cubs 2 Oshkosh’ Event 

Celebrates J-3’s 75th Anniversary

By Stephen Pope / Published: Jul 10, 2012

Related Tags: Pistons, News, Piper Aircraft, Piper Cub

A Piper J-3 Cub

If you’re headed to Oshkosh later this month for EAA AirVenture, expect to see a lot more yellow on the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport -- specifically, Piper Cub Yellow. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the legendary J-3 Cub, the model that launched Piper Aircraft Co. in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, in 1937, and saw nearly 20,000 built before production ended a decade later.

To celebrate the milestone, the Experimental Aircraft Association is organizing “Cubs 2 Oshkosh,” an effort to coordinate the arrivals of more than 200 Cubs from around the United States and Canada and celebrate one of general aviation’s most iconic models.

Considering that the J-3 has an endurance of only about two hours and maximum cruise speed of around 85 mph, reaching Wisconsin will be difficult task for more far-flung owners. To make the journey more fun, EAA has established a website at www.cubs2osh.eaachapter.org where participating Cub owners can make plans with others to meet up at staging airports along the way.

Cub-related events at AirVenture 2012 will include a display of artifacts and memorabilia in the Cub FBO shack across the road from the VAA Red Barn, as well as a variety of Cubs on display around that building. On Tuesday, July 24, a variety of J-3s will participate in flying demonstrations, with commentary provided by Cub experts Clyde Smith Jr. and Roger Peperell.

Among the unique Cubs expected to make the journey to Oshkosh this year will be a rare J-3P Cub equipped with a Lenape Papoose three-cylinder radial engine. Owned by the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon, it is thought to be one of only two Cubs still flying with this engine.

Also be sure to check out the August issue of Flying for a special 10-page tribute to the legendary J-3.

Peter’s Comment

I traveled many New Zealand air miles the J-3 successor, the PA-18 Super Cub, including two tours the length of the country in 1957 and 1958. The Super Cub had many improvements and could stay airborne for about seven hours.

RETIREMENT READING

A trucker in retirement

 

Shared on Facebook by Brett Aiken

A Trucker’s Travels

He’s a roving ol’ trucker from Margie, Minnesota,

Months on the road behind a long nose  Detroit motor,

From the Florida Keys to the broad plains of Ohio.

To be loaded in Kansas and sent back to Toledo,

He’s travelled every interstate, highway and byway,

From New York to Chicago and across to LA.

Springfield, Mansfield, Bakersfield or any place in betwixt,

Dayton, Denton, Trenton, a trucker never knows where next.

He’s hauled Hondas to Huntsville, paint to Pittsburgh,

Machinery from Michigan, whiskey to Spartanburg,

Chemicals, textiles, carpets, ice cream and herbicide,

Picking-up and delivering coast-to-coast and nationwide,

Boondocks to metropolis to unload in a shady back alley,

Running the routes with the trucker’s Bible, a Rand McNally.

Hartford, Rockford, Rumford, Sanford or any place in betwixt,

Great Falls, Little Falls, Niagara, a trucker never knows where next.

At a customer’s yard he prays for a quick drop-and-hook,

To accumulate the miles faster in his dubious logbook.

Avoiding the speed cops and weigh stations makes him smile,

Because as an interstate trucker he gets paid by the mile.

He’ll drive eighteen hours from state to state as time flies by,

Until he finds a parking lot, ramp or shoulder for shut-eye.

Amarillo, Chico, Fargo, Hugo, Waco or any place in betwixt,

Altoona, Elmira, Wichita, a trucker never knows where next.

From the Golden Gate Bridge to the Great Smoky Mountains,

Passed lakes, rivers, falls, forests and high-spurting fountains,

Monuments, Statues, deserts and the winding Mississippi,

With his eighteen-wheel sleeper he’s an incurable  gypsy.

He’ll follow the blacktop through Oregon, Maine and Wyoming,

Until he reaches the  freeway in the sky and the final homecoming.

Chesapeake, Yakima, Kerman, Saginaw and every place in betwixt,

Bozeman, Kingman, Kerman,  the trucker trucks till the end is next

From Highway America by Peter Blakeborough

Great eBook reading . . .

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     HAPPY READING

BOOTING THEM OUT

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
and the new carbon tax.

     John Goodwin shared this on Facebook

ETERNAL LIFE - ON EARTH

Man pays $50k to go in deep-freeze when he dies

By Greg Ansley New Zealand Herald

5:30 AM Thursday Jul 12, 2012

Deck Hazen, time traveler

Mr Hazen, a retired IT specialist living in Kerikeri, is one of 10 start-up investors in an Australian cryogenics facility expected to open within two years to store bodies in the expectation that science will eventually bring them back to life.

"It's a crap shoot," said American-born Mr Hazen, who moved to New Zealand in 1986 after meeting his wife, Marion, during the installation of a computer system for the former BCNZ.

"There are no guarantees, but I think that the technology and the people and our world have interesting prospects ahead, and I'm very keen to see that."

Mr Hazen has invested A$50,000 (NZ$60,900) in Stasis Systems, a not-for-profit company that intends building a facility in regional Australia to preserve bodies at cryogenic temperatures of -196C.

The facility, only the second to be built outside the United States, will initially provide storage for 60 bodies but is designed to expand with demand.

Article continues below

More than 250 people have been cryogenically preserved in the US and Russia, with about 2000 more signing contracts for the future storage of their bodies.

Mr Hazen has been following the technology of cryogenics since the early 1970s and heard about Stasis Systems through the fledgling NZ Cryogenics Group and its Australian counterpart.

He was sufficiently impressed to sign up, even though he will know it worked only if he is revived at some point in the future when scientists have worked out how to rejuvenate whole bodies rather than single cells - as at present - as well as cures for whatever finally ended his life.

"People who are inclined to want to see the future have to be optimists," Mr Hazen said.

"You have to believe the future is going to be better and we have to believe that technology is going to play a part in that betterment."

Mr Hazen said there were creatures that could withstand the effects of freezing, such as frogs that could be frozen rock-hard in nitrogen, then revived with working memories.

Their ability to learn their way through mazes had been demonstrated in experiments.

People who had drowned in cold water could also be revived.

"These sorts of things, combined with a blind faith or hopeless optimism about how things will work in the future - an understanding of nanotechnology, for example, and the potential that holds - suggests to me that it's possible," Mr Hazen said.

"The other side of that is that if you don't undergo that sort of operation, you're surely not going to see the future.

"If you undergo the operation now, there's a slim chance you could come out the other side and see what the future looks like."

Nor is he overly concerned that a future world may not want to bring the cryogenic survivors of our time back to life.

"If you had the opportunity of talking to somebody that had actually lived in the 18th century, wouldn't you be curious about a personal, first-hand explanation of what life was like back in that period?"

And Mr Hazen believes he could handle the shock of an entirely new world. He said he would miss loved ones, as he missed the relatives he had already lost in this life.

"But by focusing on the tasks of the day, making new friends, exploring the wonders that are sure to be available when one emerges into the future, I think you would go through the grieving process and come out the other end, hopefully strong enough to carry on."

His wife will not be with him. Mr Hazen said she was not optimistic about the future and thought that "all this stuff is nonsense".

But Mr Hazen reckons it's worth the shot, long as it may be: "I want to stand on the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek, exploring new worlds with Captain Kirk."

Peter’s Comment

Old style morgues everywhere will be abandoned

Cryopreservation has been around for fifty years or more with limited use and selling freezer-plots to super optimists has been around just as long.

It is known that tissue frozen to a temperature of  -196°C can be preserved with zero biological activity for possibly 1,000 years (no problem with that) but the tissue, if not damaged while the temperature is being lowered, will likely be damaged during the process of raising it again to room temperature.

However, the real problem that I see with this eternal life sales pitch has to be getting your money back if it doesn’t work.