Yesterday I received a letter from Council advising me of a working party which was supposed to consider how rates could be spread equitably across the district. The letter included a sample rates invoice showing the effect of the proposed changes. According to my sample rates invoice my rates are going to go up by over 20%.

What is fair and equitable about increasing my rates by such a huge amount when I have no method of recovery? The majority of residents in this district cannot claim back part or all of their rates as a business expense or claim back the GST portion of their rates whereas businesses, including farms, can.

This change is likely to adversely affect those on a low income. What is fair and equitable about increasing the burden on the elderly and others on fixed low incomes?

We had an excellent leg of lamb last night.  To prepare it I chopped together a couple of handfuls of italian flat leaf parsley with half a dozen garlic cloves until it was all finely chopped.  I then mixed this with a little olive oil and a couple of teaspoons of manuka smoked flaky sea salt (from Prenzel) and freshly ground black pepper.  I cut some deep slits in the lamb and filled them with the paste and rubbed the remainder all over the leg (after puncturing the skin with the tip of a sharp knife). This was left to sit for 3+ hours.

I cooked it in a hooded barbecue on the barred grill with indirect heat.  The temperature was about 150 degrees. After putting the leg on the barbecue I took the remains of the garlic/parsley paste and mixed it with a little red vincon (also from Prenzel) and used this to baste the lamb every now and again.

Hayce and Jed jamming on drums and bass at Sanctuary Sounds.  Sanctuary Sounds is a local music event held a couple of times a year in Pukehou.  The next one is in December.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwkOQBBAuaw

With the dramatic rise in fuel costs and the likelyhood of peak oil being either on us or very near, it's looking like the Government's purchase of NZ Rail is a smart move. As fuel costs rise rail will become a more attractive option for business to move large quantities or heavy loads long distances.

We may be on the verge of seeing a change back to the door->road-Rail->road->door freight movement of the past instead of the Door->Road->Door movement which has been common since the mid to late 80s.

If so, the both the government and the company that owned the rail have made smart moves. The Government invests in the long distance infrastructure which has been woefully run down, and the former owner has ensured they get an income stream from the road business they kept hold of.

Personally I will welcome seeing fewer trucks on the road. This may help reduce the maintenance costs of the roading network as well.

Yet again we see another article filled with incorrect and very out of date information regarding climate change. This time the article appeared in the CHB Mail.

I suggest the author of it read the New Scientist website's series about climate change titled " Climate Change: A guide for the Perplexed ". This series demolishes the 26 most common myths and misinformation regarding climate change, including those in the article such as the " Hockey Stick " graph.

I also recommend people do some research on the author of the original article from which the Mail's article was derived. S. Fred Singer admitted back in 1993 that he did climate change research for oil companies such as Exxon, Texaco, Arco, Shell, and the American Gas Association.