The Amazing Race

On Friday ANZ National Technology were involved in a team building event on Waiheke Island. It was the Amazing Race! There were four teams of four people each. The idea was to score as many points possible and win the race.

Prior to going to the Island our team went into The Warehouse and purchased some team hats. We picked some pirate hats. One of the other teams were quite funny in their wearing of hats with "cow girl" written on the top of them!

The following people were in my team; Anupaum, Alex, and Chris. We were briefed on the ferry on the way over, and the games began as soon as we arrived. We had various tasks to do which varied from taking photos of particular situations, to flinging eggs at a target on a sports field.

When we arrived on the ferry we were given a set of tasks, a jeep, and a digital camera to take photos. There were short time limits and we needed to meet several times at certain "pit stops" to receive our further instructions/tasks. At the pit stops we were given an option to do one of two options. Typically one was more intellectual-based while the other was a physical activity.

Failure of of activity would give rise to another activity you would need to complete instead. For example, when on the sports field we failed to hit the target with our supply of eggs and had to complete some brain-teasers. Full credit to Chris for his excellent work here.

After the event we went to a bar (The Lazy Lounge) on the island and had alcohol and nibbles. a thoroughly exciting day!


Video: Returning to the ferry after the amazing race!

Additional Information: Waiheke Island is a picturesque blend of farmland, forest, beaches, vineyards and olive groves. There is a great range of activities on Waiheke. Options include sightseeing, mountain biking, sea kayaking, a relaxed vineyard tour and much more.

Stream Which Flows into the Hole in the Ground

On Saturday morning Anisha and I took a drive to the Waitomo Caves for the Glow worm tour. Anisha had mentioned that she wanted to see the caves for some time now, so I booked the tour online. By booking online we saved 10% on the entry price and didn't have to worry about lining up for tickets when we arrived.

The tour takes you though the caves and then onto boats which takes you further through the caves. The tour guides insist on complete silence while on the jetty waiting for the boats, and on the boats themselves.

They do not permit photography or filming inside the caves so unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos of the inside of the caves. Glowworms are very sensitive to light you know! They are quite happy to sell you a $30 photo, postcard, and DVD set as a souvenir after the tour ends.

After visiting the caves we went to Hamilton and stayed overnight with the grandparents. The next morning we did a quick stroll along the riverside walk. Nanna and Granddad took us out to lunch. My new car had excellent fuel economy on this trip. Nick had a tune-up done on the car before I got it.


Video: Waitomo Caves (Glowworm Tour)

Additional Information: Undulating green fields, tumbling waterfalls, spectacular rural vistas and, of course, its world-renowned limestone formations and cave system make Waitomo a destination like no other. - waitomo.com

A PC and a Car and a Dinner

On Friday night Anisha and I went to Dick Smith Electronics in Sylvia Park. I had the full intention of spending just over $100 to get a cheap personal laser that they had on clearance when we came across a major computer special. Until Sunday, Dick Smith were running a 20% of special on HP computers. After doing some quick calculations it appeared that the discounted price did in fact represent an excellent price. So that night I purchased a new slimline HP computer for NZ$1040.

The machine had good specifications when compared to the Dell offerings I had previously investigated, plus Dick Smith had three flexible packages including one which did not come with a monitor. Given that I had previously purchased a large Dell LCD Display to use as a TV replacement, it looked like this is what I needed.

The package did not skimp on components either. It came configured with a full TV Tuner card, a discrete nVidia graphics card, and a generous 320 Gigabyte hard drive. It came with Windows Vista Home Premium which of course contained the Media Center component. It also came with an HP OEM Windows Media Center remote control. I believe I got a good bargain here.

Later that night we went to the supermarket where I bought some items required for the weekend. On Saturday morning Anisha and I walked to McDonalds where I was shouted breakfast.

On Saturday night we went out for dinner with the family at the Windross restaurant in Cockle Bay. Dick and Val were over from Scotland for a visit. Dick, Val, Mum and Dad, Scot and Amber along with Anisha and I were present. I had the Chicken Mango for dinner and had no complaints about that. The service at the Windross was very prompt. Later on, I helped Val print out a family tree she was unable to print out from her email. I told Dick about my blog and websites which he will look at some time.

I also took possession of my new car this weekend. Anisha and I washed and cleaned the inside and outside of my old Primera.

On Sunday night the family had dinner at Charlene and Nicks. We watched CSI afterwards and then went home.

Additional Information: The Windross is located at 41 Shelly Beach Pde in Cockle Bay.

The Events of Late

On Friday night Anisha and I went to Gina's Restaurant, located at 209 Symonds Street. Anisha has been there before with her team at Cogent and said the food there was great. Gina's is an Italian restaurant.

We both ordered Pizza. The Pizza comes in only one size and the price you pay is staggered into three pricing groups which depend upon the amount of ingredients used. For example, if you order a pizza with few ingredients you wont pay as much as for a pizza with a lot of ingredients on it. An interesting pricing structure.

Anisha told me that Jolene's Courier bike got stolen which is sad to hear. On Saturday I dropped Anisha off at a neutrometics meeting in Ellerslie .

On Saturday night I installed "Untangle - The Open Source Network Gateway" on my network. This Unified Threat Management gateway is the easiest to install and configure Linux gateway that I have ever worked with. After installing Untangle and specifying a gateway and Lan IP address all that is required is to use the two-click installation of up to 14 individual security applications.

You can install Snort with two clicks of a mouse, as with ClamAV, Web filtering, and any of the other 14 security applications available. The Untangle server unifies all these applications into an easy to use package. From start to finish I was configured in just over an hour. In fact the related hardware which I performed took much longer. Untangle does a fantastic job at making the installation of a Linux-based UTM gateway very painless.

At this stage I would fully recommend giving Untangle a try!

Additional Information: Gina’s Pizza & Pasta Bar has been around for many years. Gina (for whom the restaurant is named) is your typical Italian mamma: She fusses over you, cooks you anything you ask and will do everything she can to make you feel at home. She really is - as our son Massimo calls her – our Fairy Godmother. - www.ginas.co.nz

Jeremy Jung

I came to work this morning at my usual early time. A contractor from Gen-i was in the building looking for a PC to use. Given the temporary status of our building there was not too many spare for this unannounced visitor.

When he motioned to to Jeremy's PC as being a potential spare I advised in casually that this was Jeremy's PC and that he must be running late this morning and to expect him in. Some hours passed and Jeremy still had not arrived at work.

My Manager Aaron Gissing is away on holiday in Fiji with one of the experienced Gen-i contractors Llyod left to hold the fort. He came around and asked everyone in client services to come to the board room. There he made the announcement that Jeremy had had a heart attack and had passed away.

Jeremy was only 24 and this had come as an awful shock. With both of us being new at the bank (at least new in Auckland for Jeremy) I had not got a chance to get to know him a great deal. Of the few lunches we had and conversations spoken, Jeremy was a lively character who was a great asset to the team. He was a bit of a joker but I loved his jokes.

Additional Information: Gen-i was formed four years ago when Telecom Advanced Solutions (TAS), Gen-i and Computerland joined forces under the Gen-i brand. Today, the company has 2,000 staff across 17 locations, revenues in excess of $1.6 billion and a client list that spans 3,300 public and private sector organisations on both sides of the Tasman. -gen-i.co.nz