Pentatonix Power!

I have to admit to a new addiction in the past few days..Pentatonix! With all my free time I've been watching YouTube videos, and I've been hooked on their videos!

For those who haven't heard of them before, they are a 5-person acapella group, who originally entered an American TV competition called The Sing-Off and they won.

This is one of my favourite performances..

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_YcIaWirew)

They have even done a cover of Royals by our local heroine, Lorde!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9XQ2MdNgKY)

The guys who do the low parts and the percussion are amazing! Now I'm really starting to sound like a fan boy! I definitely wouldn't complain if they decided to pay New Zealand a visit though.

Let's Move On

I don't really know what to think about same-sex marriages becoming legal. I understand where those for same-sex marriages are coming from and I respect that, but due to my beliefs and my background, I have to admit to feeling a little uneasy about the whole issue and debate.

To be honest, I haven't been very impressed with either side. Both have been quite hostile, attacking and denigrating each other. It hasn't been very pretty. OK, so some people are gay, but they shouldn't be bashed for that. Some people believe in God. They and their beliefs shouldn't be bashed for that either.

I favoured the option of having a referendum, where everyone would have the opportunity to have say, not just MP's, many who weren't even directly elected by us (i.e. those list MP's). When it's a conscience vote, who do these MP's represent, themselves or the people?

Congratulations to all those who won, and commiserations to those who lost. Hopefully everyone will show a bit more respect for one another from now on!

Pharmacy's Not Too Bad After All!

The Careers NZ website has appeared in the news a lot tonight regarding its new tool allowing people to compare just how much they could expect to earn after graduating with various degrees.

I thought I'd compare a few with Pharmacy (purely for fun. Some aren't specific degrees, and I don't know how well it reflects the real world). It looks like we don't do too badly...

Bachelor of Pharmacy vs Masters of Accounting

Bachelor of Pharmacy vs Masters of Business and Management

Bachelor of Law vs Bachelor of Law

Bachelor of Pharmacy vs Post-Graduate Certificate in Public Health

Bachelor of Pharmacy vs Graduate Diploma in Teacher Education

Bachelor of Pharmacy vs Bachelor of Medical Studies (OK maybe not as good as this one!)

One of those Moments I'm Glad I'm Old

NCEA results are out! Oh how I'm glad I'm not at that age where I'd be fretting about them right now!

It's to be expected that no one can even log in and see them, but I guess everyone will eventually get there!

I'm quite anxious for a few people I know who are expecting results today. I hope they do well!

All the best, guys!

Still Alive!

Well it looks like we're all still alive post-21st December.

Some reckoned the end of the world was actually midnight GMT dayime, which would mean 12pm later in the day. That came and passed, and nothing happened!

Probably the most memorable quote from the day came from a friend who just wanted to check up on me right after midnight...

Ten Rules for Happier Living

I saw this on the wall at work today and found it quite interesting:

Ten Rules for Happier Living

1. Give something away (no strings attached)
2. Do a kindness (and forget it)
3. Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance)
4. Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel)
5. Laugh often (its life's lubricant)
6. Give thanks (a thousand times a day is not enough)
7. Pray (or you will lose the way)
8. Work (with vim and vigour)
9. Plan as though you'll live forever (because you will)
10. Live as though you'll die tomorrow (because you will on some tomorrow)

Dropping Off the List

The Top 100 Male and Female Baby Names for 2011 have been released.

Liam was the most popular name for baby boys for the second year in a row, with Joshua was second most popular and Oliver the third most popular for the second year in a row.

Ruby was the most popular name for baby girls, with Olivia and Sophie the second and third most popular respectively. Those three names were also the three most popular names for baby girls last year as well, just in a different order.

Now for the important ranking of Callum - not even in the Top 100 this year! This is after being ranked 78th last year, and as high as 53rd in 2006!

Hamish didn't make it in the Top 100 either, but Angus comes 66th.

The full list can be found here.

Gay or Nay?

A visiting pastor and lecturer at the Bible College gave a talk at our church for Sunday School today on homosexuality and Christianity's stance on it.

I have to admit I'm a little conflicted in my stance on this. The overall feeling I got from the talk is that homosexuality is a sin, but no bigger sin than any other sin, and that homosexual and heterosexual rape is bad (obviously). There is no such thing as a gay gene, or in other words you're not born gay or you don't inherit it from your parents.

I do have to say that I do find homosexuality a little out-of-the-ordinary, seeing two same-sex people together, make out, etc. but I don't have anything against them and they deserve a chance to be happy. I don't think forcing them to be heterosexual or single for the rest of the lives is fair on them. 

As for whether homosexual couples should be parents or would make good parents, I can't really say! 

I guess I'm slightly more liberal than most Christians are perceived, or maybe I just don't know God's word as well as others do? 

Let's just say I like to keep an open mind!

What a Game!

What a game that was! Lately I've avoided netball, as I don't really rate it much as a sport, but I have to admit the NZ vs Australia Commonwealth Games gold medal match last night was quite exciting!

Aonghas was screaming like a girl, I was dissing everyone and my mum was in disbelief as NZ came from behind to take the lead and then blow it to finish full-time tied with Australia.

The two extra halves were also tied and so went into sudden death mode. It just kept going on and on and on, and so I thought I'd have time to get myself some dinner.

Finally NZ stretched the lead to two goals and won the game! It's about time we beat Australia to win a gold medal!

Congratulations Silver Ferns!

University of Auckland Slips Again

The latest QS World University Rankings for 2010 have been released, and the news isn't that great for NZ universities:

- University of Auckland drops from 61= to 68th, lying right between University of Texas in Austin and University of Sheffield
- University of Otago drops from 125 to 135
- University of Canterbury drops from 88 to 89
- University of Victoria has risen from 229 to 225 though

The top universities will come as no great surprise though:
1. University of Cambridge
2. Harvard University
3. Yale University
4. UCL (University College London)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
20. Australian National University
23. University of Hong Kong
24. University of Tokyo, The
31. National University of Singapore
37. University of Sydney
41. New York University
50. Seoul National University
61. Monash University
68. University of Auckland
94. Taiwan National University
130. University of Virginia
135. University of Otago
142. Yonsei University
189. University of Canterbury

The Best and Worst Auckland Schools 2010

In the latest issue of Metro Magazine they have published their own ranking of Auckland schools for 2010, and it comes with a few surprises. The rankings look at NCEA results from the past three years, retention rates, and also 'added value'. I can't give away too much, for fear of breaching copyright, but here are some of the highlights:


- Half of the top 20 schools have religious character
- Six of the top five schools were girls schools
- Best NCEA schools included Marist College, Mt Roskill Grammar, Epsom Girls Grammar, Carmel College, McAuley High School
- Worst schools included Mangere College, Henderson High School, Tangaroa College, James Cook High School, Al-Madinah School.


The Top 10 ranked schools are:
1. Marist College
2= Epsom Girls Grammar
2= Mt Roskill Grammar
4. Carmel College 
5. McAuley High School
6. St Cuthbert's College
7. Waitakere College
8. Western Springs College
9. Marcellin College
10= Auckland Girls Grammar
10= Dilworth School 


Because West Auckland is of interest to me since I attended a West Auckland school (Rutherford College), here's how they fared:

7 Waitakere College
13= Kelston Girls College
29= Massey High School
44 St Dominic's College
45 Rutherford College
68 Green Bay High School
69 Kelston Boys High School
74= Henderson High School


So unfortunately Rutherford hovers around the middle of the table!

To read the full article, check out the latest Metro Magazine, or for all you University of Auckland students just find it through Voyager!

Books for All!

One big question that was at the top of my mind when the formation of the Auckland Supercity was announced has finally been answered:

According to Newstalk ZB just now, Aucklanders will have access to ALL libraries in the Auckland region! That's good for those of us who live outside of central Auckland who want to borrow books from the ginormous Central City Library!

No longer will I feel like an outsider when going into that library!