I still love being in New Zealand, and more so recently since I’ve been able to get my teeth into networking a lot more! However enlightening, forward thinking and ahead of it’s time this place is, it still is laking in many areas…

There’s little telecom competition, which keeps choices limited for net access. As most options are simply white labelled from one of a couple of vendors/incumbants. Perhaps the most notable thing I have noticed in my geeky way since getting here, is the approach of worldwide developers particularly with games and their lack of vision towards NZ….for instance, there are a number of FREE MMORPGS doing the Beta rounds at the moment on the net, and so far I have downloaded three ALL of which don’t or won’t work from within the New Zealand internet cloud…

…I mean I know we’re an island group but still!!! Poor show!

So I have to make do with reverse engineering flash into video and building a fully authored DVD for the band instead….coz I can…

Geek to the end, that’s me!

In other news…? Hmmmm…..I’ll get back to you….

edit - corrected my obvious mistake…

I promise…this post isn’t a moan I just simply wanted to share that I have recently emailed my local (recently appointed) MP with regards to the situation I currently find myself in.

So, lets see if a little bit of polite political dialogue can ‘actually’ achieve positive outcomes eh?

Watch this space!! No wait… this one >>>> [ ........ ]

So, I have just learned that the local council in Crewe are taking me to court for none payment of Council Tax, since my 6 month ‘grattis’ has apparently expired? Now. “If” I was still in the country I would concede my responsibility and cough up. BUT I have lived in New Zealand for over half a year now, and here’s my big problem with all of this….I have an empty house yes, but I have it currently on the market with every intention to sell as I am pretty settled here in New Zealand now. I am not currently in the UK, nor do I have any intention of returning for any period of time - so I cannot in any way physically benefit from anything the council tax pays for, so why the W#$%@ should I be held liable?

I have of course voiced this concern to my (ex)local council, and await their response but failing this, I will perhaps explore contacting the government more directly, alas I fear this approach will fall on completely deaf ears…but you’ve got to admit - this is pretty ‘irregular’

I can see the council’s argument “if” I was keeping the house, and intending to return, but I am not! So, the fact they are throwing court summonses my way, gets my hackles up. I’ve got enough on my plate with family, without local government in the UK adding to things!

They’ll do anything to scrape any last pennies from us serfs and peasants - it would appear to me that feudal disparity is alive and well, and currently living in the UK!

This really, really gets me annoyed!

YOB CULTURE IN UK

It’s when you continue to read things like this, that one wonders whether the UK ought to re-introduce Corporal Punishment in Schools, Teachers need to be given the legal power to hold a level of authority in the school place, as this is largely what shapes the society we live in today. Political Correctedness, and short-sited (possibly ill educated??) politicians thinking they know what’s best for the teaching establishment, I’m not a teacher and probably never will be, but in my day you listened to the teacher, and more often than not respected them. Once you loose control of kids at a school-age level? Well I don’t know about you but that’s one step short of anarchy isn’t it?

It isn’t rocket science, it’s not about spending billions from a budget, paying some long named consultant(s) to advise the government on what to tell the schools to do (or anyone for that matter)….what’s the phrase? ‘Blind leading the blind’??

I’m lucky, I’ve left the UK. The more I read stuff like this, the more I believe I won’t be coming back - which is a shame because once upon a time I was proud of the country of my heritage. There are a good deal of young people in the UK today, that should feel thoroughly ASHAMED of themselves…it’s got nothing to do with society, and nothing to do with country pride, but SELF PRIDE!!! Behaviour like the one shown in the link shows how low youth has fallen in the UK.

If teachers don’t have the power to hold a level of auhtority, then it’s paramount that parents step up to the plate; how many parents (alas predominantley young parents) have taken the ‘well it’s not my job’ attitude? Why are kids of today behaving so badly? What is the root cause?

Is it the schooling? Is it the parenting? Is it society? Is it the Media? are we failing ourselves?

I’d like to be proud of the UK one more time, so I will hold onto the hope that as a nation it can change - it is one of the few places on this planet that has risen and fallen more than many civilisations which are but a page in a history text book now. I’d like to think there is one more rise left in us Brits! Sometimes the world needs an example. If we allow ourselves to fall to the lowest of the low (and trust me we aren’t far off); then the credibility of the UK dies. We will be consigned for ever to the history books.

My little soapbox montage is not targetted at ALL people in the UK; and unfortunatley probably the correct target groups aren’t literate enough or educated enough to read this anyway, so I apologise to all the rest. I just had to get this off my chest.
Am I the only one that feels so strongly about this?

All I can say to the UK Government is this - “Regardless of which political party holds the majority, it’s about time you guys went BACK TO BASICS!!” - cut out the spin, forget the foreign policy and the world stage for a while! Until you can get your own back yard tidy. It’s pointless grumbling at the state of next door’s!!