As of midnight tonight, BZP party pills will no longer be available for commercial sale, as the ban on the active ingredient comes into effect on April 1^st. Sorry party people, this is not an April Fools’ joke.

The Misuse of Drugs act has been amended by Parliament to reclassify any drug containing benzylpiperazine (BZP) as class C, the same as cannabis.

Since its launch into the mainstream party scene in New Zealand in recent years, BZP party pills have been sold as a legal alternative to heavy drugs such as ecstasy - and because they have been legal, users have not been treating them as potentially dangerous.

Ingestion of BZP can result in vomiting, abnormal heart rhythms, severe pains and anxiety among other things. In rare cases, users may suffer from serotonin syndrome which can result in death.

There is an amnesty on personal use of the drug for 6 months, but possession of more than five grams of BZP (100 pills) is illegal from midnight.

Penalties for possession include up to three months imprisonment, while suppliers can face up to eight years.

There are many services in New Zealand to get help with drugs and addiction. Never hesitate to speak up and reach out.

Image from Flickr.

Latest super 14 results from this weekend’s competition (week 7, Mar 28 - Mar 30):

• Hurricanes lost to the Crusaders; 13-20 in Wellington
• Waratahs beat the Cheetahs; 23-19 in Sydney
• Force lost to the Stormers; 16-32 in Perth
• Chiefs beat the Highlanders; 39-24 in Hamilton
• Blues beat the Bulls; 23-21 in Auckland
• Sharks beat the Reds; 22-10 in Durban

Stay tuned for more Super 14 news…

Image from Flickr.

Everyday we’re swamped by savvy new advertisements from banks to help us save our money wisely, in fact television advertisements for New Zealand’s banks are some of the most artistic and memorable on our small screens. There is a lot of financial jargon out there, but what does it all mean?

Here’s an easy guide on the benefits of opening a savings account:

Many New Zealand banks are now offering online saver accounts which earn you over 8% interest per year, just by keeping your money in your account. As a great savings incentive, some banks will keep this high interest rate for you only if you don’t make withdrawals from your savings - and if you do, you will decrease your interest percentage for that month. This means it is in your best interest not to splurge, and a great way to restrain yourself from spending the savings you have put away for something special.

If you had just $1000 in your savings account, you could earn over $80 every year to keep your money there - talk about making your cash work for you! Most savings accounts cannot be linked to EFTPOS cards, so you won’t be tempted to hastily buy those shoes, or those few extra drinks that you cannot afford with your normal budget.

Because you can manage your savings entirely online, without paper statements or tellers, a lot of New Zealand banks offer online savings accounts don’t have any fees.

If you want to earn even more interest than with a standard online saver account, you can opt for a term deposit account. This means your money is invested with a bank for a pre-determined amount of time, and will earn you a fixed interest rate for that period. This is great for anyone who won’t need to call on their savings unexpectedly.

Even if the bank you belong to doesn’t offer the best interest rate available, you can still earn the highest interest rates with another bank like RaboPlus, without a messy break-up with your existing bank.

If in doubt, make sure you always talk to the professionals and make an informed decision. If you are trying to figure out which bank will work best for you, find one to suit your needs.

Image from Flickr.

With just one day left until Earth Hour this Saturday, have you made plans to reduce your carbon footprint and take part in this worldwide event yet?

At 8pm on March 29th, Earth Hour asks you to turn off your lights and non-essential appliances for one hour to promote the conservation of electrical energy in an effort to lower carbon emissions. The first Earth Hour started in Sydney last year, and as many as 2.2 million people took part. This year, Earth Hour is spanning the globe for participation, with 34 official sister cities taking part including Christchurch in New Zealand.

This doesn’t restrict all Kiwis from helping out the earth this weekend, here’s what you can do to make a difference:

• Turn off all lights around your house - luckily daylight savings‘ end is still a week away, and it’s not pitch black yet at 8pm.
• Turn off your television, heated towel rails, air conditioners, and don’t forget that computer monitor!
• Have a salad or other meal that doesn’t involve cooking for dinner - go without the oven, stove or microwave for one night.
• Don’t use your car - stay at home or walk to a friend’s place.

Many major landmarks around the country will turn their lights off for this hour - take a look around your city and see the difference we can make together.

Image from Flickr.

Latest super 14 results from this weekend’s competition (week 4, Mar 21 - Mar 23):

• Crusaders beat the Waratahs; 34-7 in Christchurch
• Brumbies beat the Cheetahs; 29-23 in Canberra
• Highlanders lost to the Force; 28-36 in Queenstown
• Blues beat the Stormers; 17-14 in Auckland
• Chiefs beat the Bulls; 43-27 in Rotorua
• Lions drew with the Reds; 24-24 in Johannesburg

Stay tuned for more Super 14 news…

Image from Flickr.

The protests that have been rolling through Tibet, since Drepung monks marched from their monastery on March 10, are continuing. By March 18, protests occurred in more than 20 counties throughout Tibet. The Chinese authorities have blocked foreign reporters from Tibetan areas, but despite severe restrictions and the knowledge of reprisals, Tibetans have been successful in transmitting their story to the outside world.

The International Campaign for Tibet called upon world leaders to encourage China to allow journalists and independent observers into Tibet. “To begin to diffuse the present crisis, China should ensure that an accurate account of casualties, arrests and other conditions. Access by journalists and observers is essential to this process,” said John Ackerly, President of the International Campaign for Tibet.

For many years, one of my companies Avatar Web Promotions have been supporting Friends of Tibet (NZ) with hosting and monthly updates. Tibetans have suffered much since the Chinese invasion in 1950 and 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed. In March this year, Tibetans have been pushed over the brink, if you have empathy for Tibet’s plight, then become a member of Friends of Tibet (NZ) for a small contribution of $20.

How do New Zealanders celebrate Easter?

This holiday, traditionally a time for remembering the death and resurrection of Christ, is now celebrated as a time of new beginnings… and chocolate.

Chances are, even if you don’t consider yourself religious in any way, you’re probably still celebrating Easter with some of the most ancient symbols of new life - eggs, baby chicks and rabbits. These are all symbols of fertility, life and newfound hope. So, while you’re enjoying some hard-earned chocolate bunnies, Easter eggs and hot cross buns this year - think about the meaning behind all those delicious Easter treats!

This Easter…

Activities for Easter - Get creative with Easter crafts, go on an Easter youth camp, make gift baskets and cards, or throw a themed Easter party.

Easter baking - Nothing beats homemade hot cross buns, and they’re easy for kids to make too!

Make your own Easter eggs - Who knew it was so easy to make

Easter gifts - Give a little something at Easter to friends, family or corporate clients. Try Easter flowers, gift baskets, Christian gifts or the traditional favourite - Easter eggs.

Learn about Easter - Learn more about the traditional meaning and stories of Easter, and celebrate with others at your local church.

Latest super 14 results from this weekend’s competition (week 5, Mar 14 - Mar 16):

• Chiefs lost to the Stormers; 26-35 in Hamilton
• Brumbies lost to the Hurricanes; 15-33 in Canberra
• Blues lost to the Force; 17-27 in North Harbour
• Crusaders beat the Cheetahs; 55-7 in Christchurch
• Reds beat the Bulls; 40-8 in Brisbane
• Lions lost to the Sharks; 8-16 in Johannesburg

Stay tuned for more Super 14 news…

Image from Flickr.

Many Kiwis have Irish heritage, so there’s no excuse for lacklustre St Patrick’s Day celebrations in New Zealand. In fact, 20% of us claim to have Irish blood flowing in our veins, so New Zealand should be awash with green on the 17th March for this annual celebration of all things Irish.

St Patrick’s Day History
A popular Christian saint, St Patrick is famous for driving snakes from Ireland. While it’s true there are no snakes in Ireland today, it’s doubtful that there ever were! The snake myth may have been a metaphor for the driving of paganism from the land, as St Patrick was credited with bringing Christianity to the green isle. The day is largely non-religious today, but was originally saint’s feast day and was also thought to mark the day of St Patrick’s death.

St Patrick’s Day events and activities
As Ireland’s national day, St Patrick’s Day is a cause for celebrations and festivities not only in Ireland, but around the world too. This day is quite possibly the most internationally celebrated national day in the world. Join in the festivities:

• Grab a pint at an Irish Bar
• Visit your local Irish Society
• Enjoy a bite of Irish fare
• Attend a St Patrick’s day parade or festival

Get more St Patricks Day events online.

While some IE users haven’t yet made the switch to Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft has launched the first beta form of IE 8.

Is Internet Explorer still the most-used browser?
From our own statistics, we can see around 75% of visitors to NZS.com are viewing the site through Internet Explorer. Of these, around 57% are using IE 7 and 41% have stuck with the earlier IE 6. (In October 2007, we noted the slow uptake of IE 7 which was released in October 2006). Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still has the largest market share in Internet browsers worldwide, competing with others including Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox, Google’s preferred browser.

So, what’s new with the new IE?
Microsoft advances further with beta IE 8. Tech-eyes are scouring Internet Explorer’s newest iteration and comparing it with Mozilla’s soon-to-be-released Firefox 3. While it’s mainly suited to Web developers, this early version of IE 8 does have a couple of new user features:

• Activities - allows users to highlight text and right click to open an Activities window in the same tab, rather than opening a whole new Web page. This means you can quickly and easily view a map for an address or translate text to a different language without leaving the page.
• WebSlices - when enabled in a site, a WebSlice is detected by IE 8 and a button appears on the browser tool bar. Clicking on this button will subscribe you to the WebSlice, adding it to your favourites and enabling you to view content from the tool bar without launching the website.

There is also an enhanced security feature and a handy button to switch your browser back to an IE 7 rendering of the site you’re viewing (great for developers). And developers will be happy too with IE 8’s default standards-compliant mode.

Where can I get IE 8?
In its early form, Internet Explorer 8.0 is rated developers-only and not recommended for regular users. If you’re keen, you can download IE 8 and get exploring on the Web with the latest version.