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Blue penguin in Wellington Harbor

by Jeffrey on December 23, 2008 · No Comments · in catcher, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life

While walking home from work I saw a baby blue penguin floating in the harbor.

Blue penguin

I think he was enjoying the sunshine. Pretty cute.

Summer in Wellington

by Jeffrey on December 13, 2008 · No Comments · in catcher, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life, memory

The weather in Wellington is as volatile as the New Zealand currency rate. Yesterday was freezing. But today:

Suicide man

Very refreshing! And the pōhutukawa are in bloom by Waitangi park.

Yesterday night I went to a birthday party. The theme was “Hollywood.”

I went as the red carpet.

Now I have three meters of red felt. I didn’t think that one through.

Thanksgiving dinner 2008

by Jeffrey on November 16, 2008 · 3 Comments · in american-ism, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life, memory, patriotism

This year I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Craig and Catherine’s home. This was the menu, taken from Catherine’s blog:

Thanksgiving Dinner 2008

Toasted Le Moulin baguette with:
Cream cheese & caramelised onions

Roast turkey with wild rice & cranberry stuffing
Kumara & orange gratin
Coleslaw

Apple pie & cream
Christmas fruit mince pie

Catherine made everything from scratch, even the coleslaw! Here’s a photo of my adopted family in Wellington. Catherine (the chef) and Craig (the sous-chef) are on the right:

The start of dinner

And here we are at the end of dinner, waiting for dessert:

Look at those pies

So good! It reminded me of dutch apple pie, without the cinnamon.

Thank you so much C & C, it was superb!

Photos from Queenstown & Milford Sound

by Jeffrey on October 24, 2008 · 5 Comments · in catcher, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life, memory

I shot eight rolls of film on my holiday and here are a few:

The view from my room in Queenstown

This was one side of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound

There are hundreds if not thousands of waterfalls in Milford Sound, and the captain had a wet sense of humor

Queenstown vacation

by Jeffrey on October 16, 2008 · 5 Comments · in catcher, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life

Since Sunday I’ve been in Queenstown and Te Anau. I shot eight rolls of film, this picture is from my phone:

View from Coronet Peak

I drove up to the top of Coronet Peak. Who knew the south island was so sunny?

Cure your winter blues by skiing at Whakapapa

by Jeffrey on September 14, 2008 · 9 Comments · in jeffrey-ism, jinxed, kiwi-ism, life

Each winter my writing trickles to a stop. Who knows why?

Last weekend I went skiing on the North Island’s most popular volcano and it was beautiful:

Skiing on Mount Ruapehu

This photo is pathetic! You have to see it for yourself.

When I arrived at the ski area, I went to the ticket counter to buy my gear and lift pass.

“Hi, can I have skis, boots and poles, and a upper mountain lift pass?”

“Sure, you might be eligible for a youth discount. Are your parents here? How old are you?”

“I’m 27.”

By the end of the day, I had a fresh set of bruises from:

falling off a t-bar lift with Anouk

As Egon said about crossing the streams, “Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.” The same applies to crossing your skis. Anouk was not happy!

jumping into a wall of snow

Not nice, fluffy snow. The water which formed this snow used to flow in the sewers of Gary, Indiana, I’m sure of it.

dodging a boy (like a good samaritan), who happened to fall next to a ski ramp

When I landed, my skies, gloves, hat, etc. were scattered across the field, as if I were Mr. Potato Head and a screaming child threw me against a wall.

In a few weeks I’m flying to Queenstown for some more skiing (yes, I am a masochist). Feel free to fly down and join me!

How my taxes are spent in the United States vs. New Zealand

by Jeffrey on June 8, 2008 · 9 Comments · in american-ism, jeffrey-ism, kiwi-ism, life, oblivious, rants

Rowan published a New Zealand tax statement of how the government might spend the tax collected from the average household income ($67,973 NZD).

Fascinating!¹ After seeing this I wanted to know how New Zealand compared to the United States. For example, how would the same salary be taxed in Illinois and how would those taxes be spent?

Based on the United States federal budget of 2008² and the net pay calculator for the state of Illinois during the 2008 tax year, here’s the American tax statement:³

Taxable Income in Illinois	$67,973.00
USA Federal Tax Paid	$18,017	26.51%⁴
Social Security	3,774	21.0%
D.O. Defense	2,988	16.6%
Medicare	2,396	13.3%
Unemployment/Welfare/Other mandatory spending	2,011	11.2%
Interest on National Debt	1,620	9.0%
Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)	1,297	7.2%
War on Terror	901	5.0%
Health & Human Services	430	2.4%
D.O. Education	347	1.9%
Other On-budget Discretionary Spending	321	1.8%
D.O. Veterans Affairs	244	1.4%
Other Off-budget Discretionary Spending	242	1.3%
D.O. Housing & Urban Development	218	1.2%
State and Other International Programs	217	1.2%
D.O. Homeland Security	212	1.2%
D.O. Energy	150	0.8%
D.O. Justice	125	0.7%
D.O. Agriculture	125	0.7%
National Aeronautics & Space Administration	107	0.6%
D.O. Transportation	75	0.4%
D.O. Treasury	75	0.4%
D.O. the Interior	65	0.4%
D.O. Labor	65	0.4%

Let’s compare any amount over $500 between America and New Zealand:

Taxable Income	$67,973.00
USA Federal Tax Paid	$18,017	26.51%⁴
Social Security	3,774	21.0%
D.O. Defense	2,988	16.6%
Medicare	2,396	13.3%
Unemployment/Welfare/Other mandatory spending	2,011	11.2%
Interest on National Debt	1,620	9.0%
Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)	1,297	7.2%
War on Terror	901	5.0%
New Zealand Tax Paid	$17,779	26.16%
Ministry of Transport	4,393	24.7%
Ministry of Social Development	3,414	19.2%
Ministry of Health	2,317	13.0%
Ministry of Education	2,040	11.4%
Inland Revenue Department (IRD)	1,331	7.4%
The Treasury	1,238	6.9%
New Zealand Defence Force	499	2.8%

So what sticks out? America: social security, defense, unemployment, debt and war. New Zealand: transport, social development, health, education and defense.

That’s a cynical and dangerous look at the tax breakdowns, but even so, the War on Terror would proportionately receive almost twice as much tax as the Ministry of Defence.⁵

And what’s that? Interest on National Debt?

Is New Zealand even in debt?

Surprisingly, I would pay more tax in Illinois than in New Zealand (over $2,000 more). And Americans don’t even have the same benefits as Kiwis, like public health care or financial support for accidental injuries. Plus, I don’t need to file a tax return in New Zealand (which is a service I would pay for, and apparently do). Why does the IRD receive so much money?

Which makes me wonder, if you could allocate your tax dollars to specific departments, would you? For example if you don’t want to finance “proactive war,” would you give that money to your favorite department, like the National Aeronautics & Space Administration?⁶

Decades ago this wouldn’t have been possible (logistical nightmare) but this type of government seems feasible today.

Although, it scares me to think about the nutters who would give their tax to the Department of Defense.

But it could be a way to clearly see where the people want their money spent.

_{1. This year I started tracking my personal finances. I concluded after two months I am an alcoholic, and if I didn’t drink my wages I would be a millionaire.}
_{2. The budgets from 1996 to 2009 are available online. View the budgets here.}
_{3. The calculated proportions of the budget does not distinguish between income tax, payroll taxes, corporate tax, excise tax, customs, estate and gift taxes. It’s all lumped together, so the figures are at best estimates of how the government spends income tax.}
_{4. Illinois state tax is an additional 3 percent, totalling $2039.16. This brings the total taxed to 29.51%.}
_{5. Spelling defense with a “c,” blasphemy!}
_{6. I did go to space camp, after all.}