Kids in Cars Gets Hit By Some Nasty People !!!!

Its is with sad news to tell you that after all our hard work on the drive car for the kids(finally getting her finished) that while i was away on holiday somebody(s) decided that they wanted our new wheels and tyres even more that we did – not only did they take two sets of brand new rims and tyres but also smashed the window of the KIC pace car – and proceeded to make a hell of a mess and left with nothing – apart from the broken window and a huge mess for me to clean up.

The rims that were taken are very distinctive one – one set is a brand new set of 18′ DTM spoked rims – painted white – and the other set is again a one of a kind FPV rims power coated white – ps these have Michelin slicks on them(GT Porsche tyres on them) – there are some very special marks on both sets that only a couple of KIC members know about…

If you could all please keep your eyes peeled for them – they will stick out in the crowd.
We cant offer a reward – but if anyone can point us in the right direction – then we can offer a hot lap or to in her – or if the person(s) who took these could also return them – no question asked.
We all have worked dam hard for this for the kids and this theft has left a huge sour taste in all our mouths !!!!

Thank you all for your support

Kind regards the KIC crew.

Here are some images for you all to look at too:

To: IT Guy Who Shall Remain Nameless

Re: Spam Filter

The spam filter is still very hyperactive. Can you turn it down from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 3 or something? It likes to stop remittance advices and invoices, but lets the Viagra through. I’m starting to wonder if its taking bribes or if there is a corrupt official working inside the filter.

If you get this email, it means I have successfully circumvented the filter. If not, my body is located at our Auckland premises.

I rang the retailer on the Tuesday 1st June this month letting them know that there is a fault in the wood, and the beam has cracked, causing the bed to squeak TERRIBLY to the point where I dread rolling over, because it will squeak from the movement generated by this crack. They doubted it was a fault with the wood and the lady in the service department told me I must have broken it for it to have cracked. I offered up a photograph, which they accepted by email.

As it appears that they can only return calls once a day, it took a day for them to read my email and then another day for them to ring back and tell me that they didn’t have any spare parts in Auckland, but they would ring their Whangarei store and check. Another day went by. They rang again, no Whangarei doesn’t have any parts. So by now its Friday. They said they would come and collect the admittedly faulty beam on Tuesday the following week

They then rang on Saturday to tell me they would now collect it on Wednesday, sometime between 11am and 1pm. They rang at 1.30pm to say they were on their way over. A 2pm collection is not ideal in my books. By the time I turn around and go back into work, theres really no point, so I took some work home. It could have been worse, it could have been a Tuesday collection, which would have stuffed up my payroll processing around!

Today is Tuesday the 15th, a week after it was collected (a whole 15 days since my first phone call) and to date, I’ve heard nothing from them about what they’re doing to fix this side beam of my bed. In the mean time, I’m sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I have a dodgy knee, so getting up/down off the mattress is really quite difficult for me, specially when its strapped and I can’t bend my knee!

I’ve rung and left a message today to see what is happening with the repair/replacement of the side beam, but as yet, they haven’t returned my phone call and I’m not holding out much hope of hearing from them today. Kudos to Furniture City for jeopardising any possible future sales you were going to get from me given the amount of money I spent with you at Christmas partially furnishing a house. Now I’m off to find other retailers to see what they have in the way of buffet units.

So its now friday night, and they dropped the part back today. It was a replacement part, with no knots in the wood. The best has been assembled and I will find out soon enough if it squeaks each time I roll over in my sleep Of course, I did have to ring them a few more times to find out what was happening with the part, but 2.5 weeks later, tsk tsk.

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It’s no longer fun for me. I’m over giving my time up and missing out on other things in life to help this sport. I’m no longer blind to the politics that surround it. The worst bit for me is that feeling that we absolutely have to turn up, or find an excuse to get out of going. When did it get like this? When did being a volunteer become such a burden?

To perform or offer to perform a service of one’s own free will.

The final straw for me happened back in February. I can turn a blind eye to the health & safety gripes of lack of access to toilets and having to pay for my own safety equipment, but when we told the organiser of our group that we would be taking a month off due to family commitments, we were told that we have no commitment. Since when did we have to have commitment? Isn’t volunteering something I do of my own free will?

I’m am tired of being treated like dirt, still judged for errors that I made many years ago, but to be told that I have no commitment when I have spent tens of thousands of dollars volunteering for this sport in New Zealand and Australia is an insult. It is the verbal equivalent of a spit in the face. I don’t want to think about how many weekends per year I’ve given up (I suspect its around 20 something per annum) because while it was fun then, its beyond stupid now.

So I think I have better things to do with my time. They’ve already called looking for volunteers this weekend, and I’ve said no. I have given no explanation. I shouldn’t have to. My free time is subject to my free will.

I’m two seconds away from quitting for good and one second away from quitting the big meeting next weekend. Just my lack of free time is stopping me from dwelling on what to do.

Originally my goal was to complete the 9 assignments and single test in the space of 10 weeks, as if I was attending the classes had they not been cancelled by low enrolment figures. I did not factor in moving house or having family staying for a fortnight, but even against the odds, I did the full course by correspondence and finished it.

Whilst learning about Small Business Accounting, I learnt that if I really applied myself I can do it, and while I haven’t got the marks back from my final assignment or test, I achieved 98% or higher. Something I am so very proud of. I cannot wait to receive my marks. The anticipation will be excruciating over the next week while my assignment and test are marked and returned to me.

So while I wait, I am looking to the future. Tonight I am weighing up my options to do the NZDipBus in Accounting and maybe extend that further to include two other areas I am passionate about – Management and Information Systems, but as I think about setting foot back into a formal education system (not my informal one of on the couch with a whole season of Chuck playing in the back ground) I get those feelings of fear, procrastination and self doubt trying to creep in. The last time I set foot in a tertiary institution was 2000 when I did a Certificate in Production Graphics. And back then I was useless at getting my assignments completed without the usual last minute panic on the day they were due.

But whatever I choose to do in the future, because I am a working adult now, will require cooperation from my employer. And that doesn’t help the fear because there is someone other that myself counting on me to get results for the time I put into whatever I decide to do.

But I am a strong believer in always upskilling and maintaining education throughout life and so I shall just suck up this fear, this self doubt and procrastination and throw myself into whatever I choose to do next. But its very typical of my family. I’ve had to get almost into my 30s to decide what I want to do with my life. Maybe I’m growing up?

April Fool

I pranked my co-worker with this screen saver found here

Logitech Portable Lapdesk

I’m guilty of using my laptop on my lap in the lounge. But I’ve given myself a few sore shoulders making piles of books etc so that I can use my mouse instead of the track pad. I prefer to play my games and drive my laptop with a mouse, but its not practical to do so. This weekend I picked up a Logitech Portable Lapdesk. Already, the improvement is awesome. I’m using my mouse and comfortable – no shoulder or arm pain to be found.

The lapdesk has a sliding part that comes out and is more than ample for using a notebook mouse. Its also washable (!) and very lightweight, making it very portable. It also is doing a good job of keeping my lap cool and assisting in ventilation. I’m really loving this Lapdesk and now I’m wondering why I haven’t picked up one earlier!

alikatnz rating – 5 / 5

Belkin iPhone Car Holder

After driving through road works, highways and suburban streets with this attached to my windscreen, I have one piece of advice. Save your money and don’t buy this. I have lost count of how many times this fell off and smacked me in the knees on the way down with my iPhone still attached. It even fell off my windscreen while my car was parked up at work and in the driveway overnight. Belkin stuff is usually great quality, but their iPhone Car Holder has dropped the ball. Big time.

alikatnz rating – 0 / 5

Logitech Harmony PS3 Adapter

Its one less remote, what can I say? It was set up within all of 3 minutes and works straight out of the box like anything Logitech should. I’ve heard there are a few faulty ones out there, so I’m going to reduce the score, but if you have a PS3 and a Logitech Harmony Remote, you MUST get one of these!

Its small receiver is barely noticeable on your hi fi rack and in true Logitech fashion, is pretty stylish. You may find yourself not wanting to hide it away on the rack and have it somewhere more visible – potential poser value! The receiver does a fantastic job of taking the infrared signals from your Harmony Remote and converting them into the Bluetooth commands that only the Playstation can understand. As for the X O etc buttons, they’re custom buttons on the screen of my remote, but other remotes may be different. And I love having one remote!

alikatnz rating – 4 / 5

I’ve bought some other gadgets and accessories and I will review them in good time! I’ve got my hands on a selection of iPhone cases… DISCLAIMER: I paid for all of these from my own pocket. Simple. Now broke. Please use the contact me form to arrange sending me your gadgets! LOL!