Junior All Blacks win World Champs.

The New Zealand under-20 rugby team withstood the challenge from England to land their fourth successive junior world championship title with a 33-22 victory in the final in Padova, Italy this morning.

It took a try to fullback Beauden Barrett six minutes from time to secure the win for New Zealand who were pushed hard by an England side that were willing to spread the ball and determined to end their unbeaten run in the competition's four-year history. Beauden Barrett's try and two others to winger Charles Piutau and prop Ben Tameifuna and 18 points from the boot of first five-eighths Gareth Anscombe were enough to earn them the title.

Both sides scored three tries each, but it was the boot of man of the match Gareth Anscombe, who was successful with all seven shots at goal, which proved to be the difference. Captain Luke Whitelock, a member of the winning side last year, was proud to retain their 100 percent record in the tournament.

Coach Mark Anscombe paid tribute to the way his side defended in the second half when they came under pressure from England "That's a very good England team and they really took it to us they beat us in a lot of areas today but we showed a little bit of character out there today and hung in there," he said.

England started the better of the two sides, pinning the defending champions deep in their own territory for the opening quarter and were ahead after electric winger Christian Wade avoided halfback TJ Perenara to cross for the opening try in the seventh minute.

It was a struggle for New Zealand to make any headway as England first five-eighths George Ford, at 18 the youngest player at the tournament, kept driving the ball behind them. But when New Zealand did break out they looked threatening and winger Mitchell Scott was denied a try in the corner before Anscombe got them on the board via a penalty midway through the half.

Wade's second try after a kick and chase narrowed the gap to a point, and, with England's set-piece dominating, New Zealand's hold on the trophy looked shaky at best. But another Anscombe penalty extended the lead to four points before Barrett kicked through a pass from Piutau to finally end England's hopes and Anscombe, fittingly, added the conversion.

Rugby world cup.

100 Days to go until Rugby world cup 2011. Details of Venues.

Northland Events Centre, Whangarei






* Capacity: 20,000
* Matches: 2
- Tonga v Canada, Sep 14
- Tonga v Japan, Sep 21

North Harbour Stadium, Auckland





* Capacity: 30,000
* Matches: 4
- France v Japan, Sep 10
- Australia v Italy, Sep 11
- South Africa v Namibia, Sep 22
- South Africa v Samoa, Sep 30


Eden Park, Auckland



* Capacity: 60,000
* Matches: 11
- New Zealand v Tonga (opening match), Sep 9
- Australia v Ireland, Sep 17
- New Zealand v France, Sep 24
- Fiji v Samoa, Sep 25
- England v Scotland, Oct 1
- Quarterfinal 2, Oct 8
- Quarterfinal 4, Oct 9
- Semifinal 1, Oct 15
- Semifinal 2, Oct 16
- Bronze Final, Oct 21
- Final, October 23

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton






* Capacity: 30,000
* Matches: 3
- New Zealand v Japan, Sep 16
- Wales v Samoa, Sep 18
- Wales v Fiji, Oct 2

Rotorua Stadium, Rotorua



* Capacity: 26,000
* Matches: 3
- Fiji v Namibia, Sep 10
- Samoa v Namibia, Sep 14
- Ireland v Russia, Sep 25


Stadium Taranaki,New Plymouth




* Capacity: 26,000
* Matches: 3
- Ireland v USA, Sep 11
- Russia v USA, Sep 15
- Wales v Namibia, Sep 26


McLean Park, Napier






* Capacity: 15,000
* Matches: 2
- France v Canada, Sep 18
- Canada v Japan, Sep 27


Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North



* Capacity: 18,000
* Matches: 2
- Georgia v Romania, Sep 28
- Argentina v Georgia, Oct 2


Wellington Stadium, Wellington


* Capacity:40,000
* Matches:8
- South Africa v Wales, Sep 11
- South Africa v Fiji, Sep 17
- Australia v USA, Sep 23
- Argentina v Scotland, Sep 25
- France v Tonga, Oct 1
- New Zealand v Canada, Oct 2
- Quarterfinal 1, Oct 8
- Quarterfinal 3, Oct 9


Trafalgar Park, Nelson

* Capacity: 20,000
* Matches: 3
- Italy v Russia, Sep 20
- Italy v USA, Sep 27
- Australia v Russia, Oct 1


Rugby Park, Invercargill



* Capacity: 16,500
* Matches: 3
- Scotland v Romania, Sep 10
- Scotland v Georgia, Sep 14
- Argentina v Romania, Sep 17

Stadium Otago

*Capacity: 30,500
*Matches: 4
- England v Argentina, Sept 10
- England v Georgia, Sept 18
- England v Play-off winner, Sept 24
- Ireland v Italy, Oct 2

Flying Jetpack.

Kiwi ingenuity is alive and well and flying a Jetpack 5000 feet above sea level.

No longer the stuff of comic stories, the Martin Jetpack is soaring to incredible heights, and could go even higher, according to its inventor Glenn Martin.

The Jetpack, which relies on two powerful fans to get airborne, is attracting international interest, including from the US military, but its potential uses are wider.

Japanese authorities dealing with the earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power station even looked into using it to take test samples above the plant.

The flight near Ashburton on the Canterbury plains in New Zealand was piloted by remote control, with a crash-test dummy in the pilot's position. The machine flew to 5000 feet, then down to about 2000 feet before firing a rocket-propelled parachute. From there it sailed safely to the ground without damage.

A dummy was flown first for safety reasons and a real person will be second.

The jetpack can go places where helicopters can't, such as the sides of cliffs and between trees and buildings.

The next step would be to develop a parachute similar to those used on jet pilot ejector seats which opened faster than the rocket-propelled type.

To develop the jetpack to this point had cost $12 million in savings and venture capital and 30 years of Martin's life. And the intention was to float the company on the sharemarket, to raise capital to get the jet pack into mass production. Early estimates were that one might retail for about $60,000.

RNZAF Skyhawks going to museums.

The 10 year long saga of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's 17 mothballed Skyhawk fighter-bombers has finally come to an end, with nine being given away to museums and some being sold as spare parts.

The Skyhawks have been up for sale since 2001, when the previous government scrapped the Air Force's strike wing. The asking price for the 17 skyhawks was $155 million. In the past 10 years it has cost approximately $34 million just to store and maintain since they were decommissioned by the Labour government in 2001.

New Zealand minister of defence said he would offer eight of the jets to public museums in New Zealand and one to Australia as pieces of our aviation history for future generations.

The remaining airframes, engines, spares, ground support equipment, role- specific equipment, and documentation and publications will be sold separately through a request for proposals process.

In December, Dr Mapp said the Skyhawks and 17 Aermacchis had cost $34m to store and maintain

F1 Calendar 2011

Dates	Races
13.03.2011	Grand Prix of Bahrain
27.03.2011	Grand Prix of Australia
10.04.2011	Grand Prix of Malaysia
17.04.2011	Grand Prix of China
08.05.2011	Grand Prix of Turkey
22.05.2011	Grand Prix of Spain
29.05.2011	Grand Prix of Monaco
12.06.2011	Grand Prix of Canada
26.06.2011	Grand Prix of Europe
10.07.2011	Grand Prix of Great Britain
24.07.2011	Grand Prix of Germany
31.07.2011	Grand Prix of Hungary
28.08.2011	Grand Prix of Belgium
11.09.2011	Grand Prix of Italy
25.09.2011	Grand Prix of Singapore
09.10.2011	Grand Prix of Japan
16.10.2011	Grand Prix of Korea
30.10.2011	Grand Prix of India
13.11.2011	Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
27.11.2011	Grand Prix of Brazil

School -- 1957 vs 2010

Scenario:
Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2010 - Police called, arrests Johnny and Mark.. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it. Both children go to anger management programs for 3 months. School board hold meeting to impliment bullying prevention programs

Scenario:
Robbie won't be still in class, disrupts other students.

1957 - Robbie sent to office and given 6 of the best by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2010 - Robbie given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. Robbie's parents get fortnightly disability payments and School gets extra funding from state because Robbie has a disability.

Scenario :
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

20010 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison.

Scenario :
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1957 - Mark gets glass of water from Principal to take aspirin with.

2010 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.


Scenario :
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from Guy Fawkes, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a bullant nest.

1957 - Ants die.

2010- State Police, Star Force, Federal Police & Anti-terrorism Squad called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, Feds investigate parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated. Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario :
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary . Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.

2010 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

This is how stupid the world has become.

Rugby sevens gold again.

New Zealand increased their streak to 23 wins and 0 loses at the Commonwealth Games, wrapping up gold again with a heart-stopping win over trans-Tasman arch-rivals Australia.

Whatever opposition teams throw at them it's almost as if the Games sevens title is now New Zealand's by right.

With four bit-part All Blacks in his ranks - Ben Smith, Liam Messam, Hosea Gear and Zac Guildford - ironically it was Gordon Tietjens' sevens specialists who delivered the winning tries. Final score, New Zealand 24 - Australia 17.

Sevens will be on the Olympic program for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said that now had to be the goal for New Zealand. He had an inkling Delhi would bring deliverance after a disappointing year in the sevens tournament, plumping his squad with All Blacks.

Boobs on Bikes 2010

After lifting itself into the news over the past years, the annual Boobs on Bikes parade down Auckland's Queen Street fell a bit flat this year.

Fewer boobs, fewer bikes and fewer bystanders. The top half of Queen St had very few spectators whereas in the past it had been extremely busy.

Even the central shopping area lower down had fewer camera-wielding enthusiasts than in previous years.

The estimated crowd attendance was at around 3000 which is about a 10th of the number who in May marched down the same street to protest against the Government's plans to mine in national parks.

Huge crowds watched in 2007, after it was opposed by lobby group Family First NZ and Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard, who called the parade "morally repugnant".

Queen St was also packed for the 2008 and 2009 events.

The event will continue through New Zealand over the coming weeks but the future of the annual event is greatly under threat of dying off.

The parade helps promote 2010 Erotica Lifestyles Expo, and raises money for breast cancer awareness.

10 Lesser Known Murphy's Laws.

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

2. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

3. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

4. Those that live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

5. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

6. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

7. The things that come to those who wait will be the things left by those who got there first.

8. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat all day, drinking beer.

9. In a darkened room, the shin bone automatically turns into a device for finding furniture

10. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

BBQ Rules reminder.

For everyone that's now entering the BBQ season, Remember it's important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ, the following chain of events are put into motion:


Routine...
(1) The woman buys the food.
(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.
(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.
(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:
(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL..

More routine...
(6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.
(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:
(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

More routine...
(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.

And most important of all:
(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ' and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women!

Rally New Zealand

The weekend of May 9th and 10th is the New Zealand round of the world rally championship.

This year sees a return to the country's biggest city, Auckland. This means some classic high-speed stages in the Northland region are back on the itinerary after a four year absence, as well as more familiar tests in the Franklin and north Waikato districts to the south of the city. Mixed surface stages and two Super Specials are also on the cards.

Two new Super Special Stages: One all-asphalt test will be built at the recently completed Hampton Downs motor racing circuit, the other one is in Auckland city's oldest park - the 75 hectare Auckland Domain, And a new Service Park will be located on Auckland's Queens Wharf, a short walk from the downtown area.

Rally New Zealand is the oldest WRC event in the Southern Hemisphere, It is renowned for its fast flowing gravel roads and the beautiful landscape of the North Island.

Blind crests, flat-out kinks, fast jumps and huge cambers make the roads somewhat more challenging than most, but their sweeping, undulating nature means most WRC drivers love them. When it's sunny, the stages can be glorious, but when it rains, they turn muddy and extremely slippery.

The challenging terrain rewards the drivers with the very best car control. You need to be brave to do well in New Zealand but the high speeds mean the slightest mistake is punished severely.

Most recent winner of rally New Zealand was Sebastien Loeb back in 2008.

How safe are you...

There are millions of people worldwide that are using online social networks and the majority of us have huge concerns about the information shared on the internet, 90 per cent said they worried about the information their children revealed online.

A high percentage of social network users are children, and we need to encourage vigilance in protecting them on the internet as they do give away information about themselves, without necessarily being aware of the consequences.

A survey issued recently revealed nearly 50 percent of people have online profiles - most of which are on Facebook - which is up from 32 percent last June, And a surprising 58 percent believed social networking sites were mostly private spaces. In actual fact, personal details or pictures can easily accessed by anyone, There is no privacy on sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Flickr.

Just recently in New Zealand, 19-year-old boy pleaded guilty to forgery and criminal harassment after setting up a Facebook page to harass a teenage girl who had rejected him. There have also been cases of identity theft of children as young as 10 which resulted in online abuse on Facebook.

Workplace Bullying

If you feel intimidated at work, you are not alone.

New international research says one in five workers are bullied on the job, Bullying in the workplace is in the majority of cases reported as having been perpetrated by management and as high up as company directors.

New Zealand workplaces are amongst the worst in the world and it could be costing businesses millions of dollars with unhappy staff not turning up for work, or leaving altogether and timely investigations and employment court hearings.

The survey finds that the worst of the bullying is in the education, health sectors and in the hospitality industry.

Workplace bullying can include a wide variety of forms:
Disclosure of staff contract details, Threatened with dismissal, Being quick to criticize and slow to praise, Any form of undermining behavior, Character assassination, Unfairly treated, Smear campaigns, Public humiliation, Taking credit for work that another has done, Spreading malicious rumors and Physical assault.

So if your a workplace bully, Watch your back. You just might end up in Employment court.

How to catch speeding motorists.

Lately motorists seem to be driving faster than ever before, Cars have much more power than in the past and handle better than older cars. Therefore there has been a lot of talk lately about how to catch speeding drivers here in New Zealand.

Here is my idea on how to catch these idiots. For a start, how about police cars that don't stand out, Big lights on the roof that can be seen coming from the opposite direction from 2 kilometers away tells drivers that a patrol car is approaching so slow down, And what about the colors that stand out and reflect headlights at night? Isn't this common sense? Don't you think that plain colored cars that you see everyday are a better choice? and mount small inconspicuous lights behind the grill of the car?

Lay down beds in Economy class.

Air New Zealand announced a few months ago its plan to have lie down beds in economy class on its long haul flights which will be a world first, Its a project that an Air New Zealand team has been working on for the last three years.

Just today they released the design, Its a row of three seats which will provide a flat surface for two adults to sleep on, Later this year Air New Zealand takes delivery of the first of its new Boeing 777-300 aircraft that will be fitted with these new lay down beds (Skycouch).

A Skycouch ticket will be based on buying two seats at the standard price and the third seat at half-price, there will be Twenty-two sets of Skycouch seats and they will be going on sale from late April.

The 340 seat 777-300 aircraft will be configured with 246 in Economy (including 66 seats creating 22 Skycouch combinations), 50 in Premium Economy and 44 in Business Premier.

The first routes to offer travelers the new Skycouch seats will be on selected services between Auckland and Los Angeles from December this year, and then followed by dedicated return services between Auckland and Los Angeles and through to London from April 2011.

Air New Zealand will also be re-fitting its existing fleet of eight Boeing 777-200s fromJune 2011 and its Asian, North American and UK services should have the new skycouch in 2012.

Kumeu Classic car festival

Just a quick post, The photos are from the recent Kumeu classic car festival just out of Auckland , New Zealand. Ive been attending this event for many years, It just gets bigger and bigger all the time.

Enjoy the photos.

Adrenaline junkies, This is for you.

The adventure capital of New Zealand (Queenstown) has launched a new hair-raising activity with Ziptrek Ecotours which combines adrenaline and nature. The company has been planning its Queenstown launch on iconic reserve land on Bob’s Peak for over four years and is now set to open later this week.

Like many of the adventures in Queenstown, it involves wearing a hard hat as well as a harness but in this case it is to go on a series of flying foxes which is more than four hundred meters long, The ride goes shooting down a mountain side and the ride can even go upside down. Ziptrek have planted roughly 600 trees to make the project work.

A spokesman from Ziptrek Ecotours' says "It's just about having fun in the outdoors and this is just an extension of a lot of childish ideas about flying foxes and treehouses,"
.
Ziptrek brought the idea over from Whistler, Canada, where it has been running successfully for seven years.

"We are now the number one activity operator in the Whistler market taking out tens of thousands of people every year and the response we received there was one of the reasons why we looked at Queenstown as a great place to come," says David Udow from Ziptrek, Whistler.

First Boeing 747-8F

On the evening of November the 17th, Boeing moved the first 747-8F from the paint hanger in Everett, Washington.

Boeing says the aircraft is painted with an oversized number 8 on the background of the tail and 747-8 featured on the belly of the aircraft. The first flight of the 747-8F is scheduled for early 2010, with Cargolux being the launch customer and is scheduled to take delivery of the first 747-8F during the fourth quarter of 2010.


The Boeing 747 has been a very popular plane and is the worlds most recognizable aircraft. Boeing claims that design of the 747-8F will be quieter, more economical and more environmentally friendly than all previous versions of the 747 and has the economic benefit of similar training and interchangeable parts.

For the 747-8 family of aircraft, Boeing has given the wing an extensive overhaul that will improve the lift over drag and also the engine, This will incorporate all the newest techology that is going into the 787 project, This will allow the airplane to fly further and in a more efficient manner than preceding 747’s.

The passenger version of the 747-8 is called the Intercontinental (747-8I), It will be capable of carrying up to 450 passengers in 3-class configuration over 8,000 nautical miles (14,816 km) at 0.86 Mach, The Intercontinental is not expected to be on the flightline for quite some time yet unfortunately.

The best gift ever.

Yesterday was my birthday, My lovely wife did something for me that Ive only ever dreamed about doing, She got me flying lessons, Flying has been a passion of mine for many years, I never really gave much thought about flying a plane because of the costs involved, Now i only wish i had done it years earlier. The plane was a Grumman AA-1C trainer and although we had 24-28 knot crosswind gusts it was extremely stable.

So where to from here? I may consider taking this passion further, I definitely intend to find out more about whats involved and if i can afford to do it then why not give it a go.

Thanks and Goodbye.

Well this it, Its goodbye from me on Entrecard. Its honestly just not worth it anymore. The latest decision regarding sponsored ads has made me re-think my time that i spend on Entrecard.

Ive subscribed to many of my favorites from Entrecard and i hope to see as many entrecarders as possible in other social networking sites.

Good luck to those who decide to stay with it, I wish you all the best.