NATIONAL PARK : HEATPUMP STANDS & ELECTRICAL INSTALLED : MARCH 2009
It was a marathon weekend installing the rather 'unique' stands for the heatpump/aircon units, ensuring that in the midst of winter as snow builds up outside they will be clear of the snow layer. All electrical work is complete, so the hours of crawling under the house are thankfully over ... whew !!! The house will be exceptionally warm this winter.

NATIONAL PARK : Paperwasp Nest Discovered in the Wall Lining : March 2009
While stripping off the wall lining in preparation for heatpump installation next month this incredible paperwasp nest was found, with another in the upper corner of the wall. It appears to be some decades old, so from the original location in Napier ... thankfully the previous inhabitants have since left.


Read more about Paperwasps in New Zealand:
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biocons/invertebrates/Wasps/index.asp
NZ Wasp's and Bees :
http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/WaspsAndBees/1/en

"If anyone is to be characterised by their flaws, and not their successes, of which everyone has a mix of both, then we are all to be ridiculed and consigned to the scrap heap ... for under such a rule no-one has merit, as none are perfect."
-- Karl Johann von Hochstetter

A STUDY OF BRIDGES : ACROSS THE DITCH
Taking a break from work in Sydney I managed to capture a few images of the Sydney Harbour Bridge ... both in the early hours of the day and at night

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LABOUR MINI-BUDGET PROMISED IN THE 2008 ELECTION???
After all the fuss about Labour having a miracle 'mini-budget' ready to be implemented before Christmas 2008, if it were to be elected, I am wondering what was actually in it, and if it were to be of any use whatsoever, why have Labour (now in opposition) kept it secret, when it was purported to be the solution to our recession woes???
Anyone know where that 'mini-budget' is?
Did Labour lose it, or did it really exist?
Perhaps they had written to Santa Claus asking for a solution to the recession, and hoped to see it on Christmas morning?