[Elvissmurf]

Hilary

Animals don`t eat cheese or chips (fries)

[Smurfysmurf]

There are several reasons why I love living the USA..but spending one fourth of my net income on gas just to get to work is not one of them. Neither is spending another fourth of my income on food that has gone up due to the higher delivery costs.

I mean...I used to spend that much on smurfs....and now I have to divide it between smurfs AND gas...

What's up with that?

[Gerda]

I guess I can't complain that we are still the cheapest, but what makes it so bad is the fact that it went up so high so fast, no one can recover from prices going up so fast.. pay wages don't even go up..

How are jobs around the world? I know close to home there are several car plants closing or cutting jobs, and now miller is moving its head office because they merged with coors so there are jobs lost. Sad times we are living in..



gerda

[Elvissmurf]

I read in the paper the other day that unemployment in the U.K. is at its highest level in 15 years...basically since the last recession.

What i can`t work out though is unemployment rose by 12,000 last month...but there was 15,500 new claims for benefit

Yet we have turds like Christiano Ronaldo bleating about being a slave on £120,000 a week.

Time for these overpaid sportstars to take a pay cut....who cares if he can`t sign for Real Madrid....not me!!!

[SmurfingH]

I think it depends what benefits you're on as to whether you appear in the unemployment statistics or not. Anybody on jobseekers would appear, but those on incapacity or disability probably don't.

[KiwiSchlumpf]

The cost of living in NZ went up over 28% from the 12 months to May and Petrol prices have increased from $1.32 per litre to $2.20 in the last 18 months.

I have a small effeciant car and only drive 16km for work + social and food etc. Most things are fairly close and my travel time to-from work is only 10 minutes, so I'm okay and its still cheaper than the bus! But when I first got my car 10 years ago I never could fit more than $20 in the tank, now I spend $60 (about $US40) every 3 weeks! Luckily boy-racers which were a big problem last year have decreased significantly.

Food prices here are shocking despite NZ making most of its food. We export so much and therefore pay export prices for foods that would otherwise be exported. These prices have increased because of the transport costs to our export markets. Due to the EEC protected markets then we subsadise these exports and therefore it is cheaper to by NZ lamb in the UK than in NZ. Cheese has nearly doubled in price in the last year. Many shops are simply not stocking items that don't have a quick turnaround. I'm a bit of a cook and so have to travel to 2 or 3 shops per week to get my groceries (thus more travel and more petrol).

I'm lucky I purchased my own home (good size, good location, quiet, modern, efficient) before property prices increased and became freehold a couple of years back. People are getting hammered with high interest rates, low wages, an over-valued kiwi dollar (low export returns) and high taxes (39%). Employment is hard to get too, despite being a senior Unix admin, DBA and network admin with just under 20 years experience and industry certs, I had to change career as there are simply not enough jobs locally. Most job adverts are market placings for agencies and often dont have jobs behind them. Heaps of jobs in Auckland and Wellington or overseas but not in Christchurch. People tend to leave NZ after being trained and work overseas where the money is better before returning to raise a family or retire. There is not alot here for someone just starting out in life.

Well enough griping from me. I'm lucky I'm in a good position to weather the storm and still adopt smurfs. Then speaking of weather... but I guess global warming is for another day!

[Gerda]

! Luckily boy-racers which were a big problem last year have decreased significantly.

what is a boy racer??


gerda

[SmurfingH]

A boy racer is an idiot adolescent male with a souped up car and a low IQ - at least when he's driving and showing off to his mates! We have them here too. They drive far too fast because they believe they're invincible and then cry when they're not. The real problem is the lives they take down with them.


Daryl - Would it be cheaper for you if I posted you a rack of lamb? It does sound like you're getting hammered down there in Kiwi-Land.

[Gerda]

Thanks hilary,

I never heard that term before, but we have them here too. I think Idiots sums it up best!!

gerda

[Smurfysmurf]

I always thought they are called ChattyDrivers

[KiwiSchlumpf]

A boy racer is an idiot adolescent male with a souped up car and a low IQ - at least when he's driving and showing off to his mates! We have them here too. They drive far too fast because they believe they're invincible and then cry when they're not. The real problem is the lives they take down with them.


Daryl - Would it be cheaper for you if I posted you a rack of lamb? It does sound like you're getting hammered down there in Kiwi-Land.

Thats okay, I just hang around the pedestrian crossings and scrape up the road kill from when these boyracers drive by

These "children with cars" tend to congregate in groups anywhere they want and race up and down suburban roads doing donuts, oil on the roads and burnouts, driving on grass etc. My 75-80 year old parents were awoken 2-3am a couple of months back when these idiots attacked their street. They called 111 emergency police number and the cops asked *them* to confront the the drunked mob and take down rego numbers. The police here are unarmed, out numbered and totally ineffectual as the law will only slap these children with warnings or fines. There are more private security on the main nightlife area of town then there are police patroling the city at night.

Some children don't have licences or have been disqualified. They borrow money to buy these cars and then become bankrupt teenagers when they can't afford them and the court costs if they are procescuted. They form gangs and close down city streets or even whole towns with their drunken behaviour.

We have a system here that you aren't allowed to punish children so they don't respect anyone or anything. Recent "anti-smacking" laws prohibit parents from disapplining their children and teachers had corpral punishment band over 20 years ago. Their role models are violent PC games (shooting, car theft etc), american gang TV and rap music. Murders have increased significantly and have included a recent case where a youth drove a car into large party killing a group of young girls and maiming nearly a dozen. Knifings by children are nearly weekly events lucky we don't have many firearms in the country. Roberies and prowlers are also big business here, and the police merely right reports for insurance companies to cover. They don't bother investigating most of them.

I'm a 6 foot, fit, 37 year old male and I dont go to town at night alone. I have been attacked numerous times when in town by gangs of children. As someone who has employed people in the past I would never employ a youth as they are more trouble then they are worth, poor work ethic and disruptive to others.

heck I am on a role...

[Gerda]

You can keep ranting we don't mind.

sounds awfull. luckily there aren't too many guns on the streets I could just imagine things then.

I think in a way things are going down hill all over the place. I know here we are not suppose to hit our kids as punishment anymore. When i first had my oldest it was so bad that people got turned in for shaking a finger at there kids, it scared me shitless thinking I can go to jail if someone sees me yell at my kid in public so I always did the "you wait till we get home" well that don't work. now I'm of the mind that if they want to take me away for yelling, pointing or spanking my child let them, I need the vacation. I say let parents raise there children and not know it all goodie goodies who feel children are pretiouse little gifts that need to be pampered and given everything there hearts desire I don't go by that rule, I see children in the stores now with there parents and they just fill up the cart and the parents buy it because they don't want the kid to make a scene.. the world is going downhill.

speaking of downhill.... does any one else have these "feel good comercials out" We have a comercial out now for miller geniune beer and it shows a person at a bar and the bar tender gives back too much change and waits to see if anyone steps up and catches the "mistake" most stick it in ther pocket and walk off but the ones that don't get big praise. there is another one where they leave a cell phone in a cab and finally someone returns it. The plot is "the genuine are out there" It's kind of neet but sad to see how many just walk away and don't do the right thing.

gerda

[SmurfingH]

It is happening everywhere. I'm lucky because I live in a quiet neighbourhood with nothing but the local cats and the occasional owl to disturb the night. I wouldn't want to go into the wrong parts of Clacton or Colchester on my own at night but both these places are really quiet and safe compared to other towns and cities. Shortly after I moved here there was a big news story about the town I used to live in as a major serial rapist had just been caught there. Scary stuff! I'm really glad I don't live in a major city. I know I'm lucky.

It's scary to think what the future might hold when these ill disciplined and respect-less kids are in charge. Fortunately, I think there are still enough parents bringing their kids up properly to keep things in some sort of check for another generation. Hope so, anyway.

I bet all the bleeding hearts who came up with this law don't have kids. If they do, I bet they don't practice what they preach!

[Syd Smurf]

The top 5 most dangerous cities I've crossed the roads in

1. Boston, Massachusetts
2. any street, road or even sidewalk in Tennessee
3. Brussels, Belgium
4. Sydney, Australia
5. Amsterdam/Berlin....due to maniac bike riders

I was lucky that when I was in Tennessee when Moey was driving....I was actually in the car and not crossing the street.....and when I say "in the car", I mean crouched up behind the backseat with a helmet on becoming religious.....a special mention should go to Veronique too.....I remember flying over speed bumps one night where I think she actually sped up when she saw one instead of slowing down.....it was great for a headache

Dyar

PS - Ok no one mention about my habit of driving on the wrong side of the road in the US

[Smurfysmurf]

I was lucky that when I was in Tennessee when Moey was driving....I was actually in the car and not crossing the street.....and when I say "in the car", I mean crouched up behind the backseat with a helmet on becoming religious

Yeah, one night you even used the Bible on the backseat as a helmet Your prayers worked...we arrived at our destination....eventually ...after ..um....you took over the driver seat

Now, THIS is what I call a miracle

[SmurfingH]

PMSL!!

[KiwiSchlumpf]

Far be it for me to start a rumour, but I think they may have updated this smurf to make it more believable... spot the difference!

It could also be "how do we spot a fake smurf"... well the original petrol pump didn't have enough digits on the price to be real

[Smurfysmurf]

I love it

[Gerda]

gerda

[KiwiSchlumpf]

One feels one is now justified in buying petrol again as it has now been endorsed by the enviromentally friendly smurfs.

Oddly I am suspicious as to if our friendly local smurfs are on the payroll of the big corporate oil companies.