Why more NZ SAS soldiers are being killed in Afghanistan

And yet another NZ SAS soldier has been killed in Afghanistan with a shot to the chest. But why are more New Zealand troops dying than ever before? It's because of the army taking new steps to get people into the SAS. Previously you would have to do some years in the army before you could have been selected but now the NZ army is recruiting more SAS soldiers and you can say you want to go join the SAS as soon as you sign up. It is not however the NZ Army a fault, the SAS are the troops that really fight the Taliban. 


The public of New Zealand are calling out to the government to pull the troops out of Afghanistan. They some how get in their heads that the NZ SAS don't want to be in Afghanistan. If they didn't want to go, they wouldn't join the army. Many of the troops are in fact almost asking to go and help. The unwritten purpose of an army, is to kill people. Although that may sound harsh, it's true. 
That said the NZ Army to a lot of good Afghanistan, such as helping out the local communities. But their total aim is to free the world of terror threats and that means you have to kill people. 


Besides some of the New Zealand deaths in Afghanistan don't even count as war casualties. Other New Zealand soldiers have died when their trucks rolled when they were not under attack.


And finally having NZ in Afghanistan is important for country relations and trade. Since declaring ourselves nuclear free, the USA has disliked us because they can not bring their war ships into our waters. Being part of the Afghanistan effort puts us back up there with Australia. 

Why Blogger Is The Best Blogging Platform

Not all users want to have a self hosted wordpress blog and just want to be able to share their posts with the world, friends and family. Some migh has the wordpress has better plug-ins and so on. But you need wordpress self hosted to do so. The advantages of blogger are:

• Stability - Blogger is always online and up and running.
• Simplicity - All you need to do is create a Google Accound and you can host a blog on the blogspot sub domain or on your own domain from company.
•  User Interface - With Google being the company behind blogger it is no wonder that blogger has an easy to use interface with clear navigation. 
• Creativity - Blogger now allows you to easy edit your blog template with no coding skills required using the Blogger Template Designer. You can change almost anything about your blog easily and quickly. If you still want the full level of customization you can edit the html directly as well as installing thousands of templates that are on the web.
• Free - Blogger never costs money.

The video below shows what great things blogger is doing.

      Conclusion: Blogger is the best platform for personal use and if far better for that purpose but if you want an advanced CMS than Word Press is your solution.

Speech Tips For N00b's.

Before I start I would like to say that I'm no expert when it comes to public speaking but I do know what looks good. These tips are for everyone of all ages but these tips are based off what my classmates do wrong and can improve on.

• Look confident from start to finish and look genuinely happy to that you are speaking. You don't actually have to be confident but when you look confident the audience can relate to you more and feel more relaxed and ready to listen.
• Use Cue Cards even if you don't know your topic or speech very well. Eye contact is one of the most important things you can do to make sure you audience is involved in your speech. If you don't know your speech very well just put down key points and make it up as you go along.
• Move around if you have space to and choose 3 points at the back of the room for you to look at throughout your speech.
• Don't speak in monotone. Variety of voice, and speech techniques are very underrated as they keep your audience interested in your speech.
• If you get to choose your speech topic or you have options. Choose the one that is most interesting to you. Choosing a topic you want to do is good because you can speak passionately about it and you can make it interesting to the audience as well.

I find public speaking fun, but it still gets me nervous even in front of small crowds. The key is to just  take a leap of faith and just go for it. As hard as it sounds, it is the best option when you are really nervous.

Snapper VS Smart Card

In Wellington there are various ways you can pay for public transport electronically. Snapper and Smart Card. But which is better?

Snapper is used on the NZ Bus network of buses which is owned by infratel. Snapper is also used as a form of payment mainly in dairy's and can be topped at any store with a snapper machine. The idea is that you tag on, and tag off the bus every time you use it.

Smart Cards are used on the fleet of Mana Coach Services and Newlands Buses. The main difference is that you can top up at drivers but not at shops and can not be used as a form of payment.

Although the Snapper cards are more advanced and can be used in more places than Smart Cards you have to tag of the business when you leave otherwise you will continue to be charged money. With Smart Cards you simply tell the bus driver your destination for that trip. He will type in a few numbers and once you have placed your card or wallet on the scanner you will be printed and receipt, and then you board the bus. This is great because you don't need to tag off and many people do forget to tag off.

The advantage of Snapper is that its fast. Tag on, Tag Off. You don't need to say anything to the bus driver and they don't need to know where you are going. You just get on it. The biggest problem with snapper is topping up your balance. You have to find a diary to top it up at and it can not be done from the bus drivers. There is also a small fee for topping it up. With smart card you hand them drivers the money and they top it up instantly.

Conclusion:
Although snapper has some cool features, Smart Cards are more convenient for me anyway and it is easier to manage your balance and bus fares.

Google Transit Wellington

You have to give props to Google in this one. They have got a good amount of public transport information from Metlink and have made a decent system for Wellington. It is not as advanced as in America but it is still useful. Although Metlink is the most advanced and informative. Google Transit is simple and easy to understand. It also has a good mobile site. Trip planning is also faster but it could be more advanced.

The times are fairly accurate and up to date but I can't help but feel that Metlink has done a better job. Although the data is from Metlink it self the things you can do are not as advanced as I use them.

Positives +

• Fast
• Easy
• Simple
• Visual 
• Mobility Capable 

Cons -

• Not as much information - prices, school buses ect

Portal Gun

Something worth sharing.