It’s not quite Wall Street, but over the last year Zoners have been competing against each other on NZX virtual trading to see who can grow a biggest virtual share portfolio. The virtual shares are based on actual NZX-listed shares. Each of the six teams started with 50,000 virtual dollars (v$). Several teams lost interest and were taken out of the running for not submitting their financial reports in time, while the winning team, Foley Contractors, was able to grow their virtual wealth by over by over v$25,000. My team, VeldCorp came in a close second after a strong rally in the final quarter while the Codd Squad were able to pick up the bronze medal, despite barely making enough to buy a virtual cup of coffee, because nobody else finished the race. Click on the graph to embiggen.

David McLeod

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A new McDonald arrived today.

Stella Ann McDonald

7 pounds 3 oz

Born Oct 7, 2009 (around 12pm)

Congratulations to Richie and Lori.

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I have just returned (landed in Chicago late last night) from 2 weeks in NZ and some time in Sydney. As such this blog will be a little be random as my thoughts are still in another TimeZoneOne.

What is jet lag?

It is a physiological desynchronization caused by travel between different time zones.

The severity can vary according to the number of time zones crossed as well as the direction of travel-most people find it difficult to travel eastward (i.e., to adapt a shorter day as opposed to a longer one). The resulting symptoms include extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, loss of concentration, disorientation, malaise, sluggishness, gastrointestinal upset, and loss of appetite.

In general, adjustment to a new time zone takes one day for each hour of time difference.

Well Done to the BancVue team…

During the last couple of weeks the TimeZoneOne BancVue team has been flat out getting the new campaign ready to market. This project has many moving parts and many deliverables but with hard work, creative thinking and a positive attitude we have broken the back of it. Upon my return to the office today I asked Hamish how he had been copying with the very late (1am) nights. See photo.

Lor on the road…..

This morning I caught up with Lor who also returned yesterday having had a week traveling around NZ with Patty.

How was the weather?

We had great weather. It only rained a couple of times when we were driving. It didn’t even rain in Doubtful Sound. (Where it rains 190 days a year, 230 feet annually).

Best moment?

We flew from Mt Cook on a small plane over the mountains and landed on the Franz Joseph Glacier. The landing was so soft and when the engine was off it was so quiet, nothing but clear sky and bright snow. The eerie blue ice of the glacier ice made it seem like we were standing on a huge slice of blue cheese. If only I had a giant cracker. 

How was the driving?

The driving went fine, although there is not as much hard shoulder as I would have liked. As the towns are quite small we had no traffic problems especially after I understood the ‘secret of the circle’.

One odd thing about NZ cars is that each time I went to indicate the windshield wipers went on.

Meet any good people?

I was on a jet boat going across Lake Horoko and the driver said ‘this lake is 98% fresh water’.

Another passenger asked ‘what is the other 2 percent?”

The driver replied, ‘fish shit’.

Gotta love kiwis.

5 Highlights…

1.       Mac Black beer

2.       See Mel in Queenstown, yelling at her until she couldn’t ignore me any more

3.       Getting slowly drunk on the wine tour

4.       Meeting Paul the Hump Ridge jet boat driver. Eating his BBQ.

5.       Paying $50 to see a 3D movie the Hermitage Hotel.

When biscuits become cookies….

A NZ trip always means a new office stock-up of biscuits. The aim is that our clients can get a wee taste of NZ when they visit, but they have to be quick as general office consumer is high.

Thanks to the Creative Team….

It was great to catch up with the C Team recently. Thanks to y’all for your hospitality.

Tatts

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Being the resident TimeZoneOne golf analyst it would be remise of me not to mention the latest outstanding young golfing talent from the “The land of the long white cloud” - Aotearoa.

Hail Sir Danny Lee (well he hasn’t been Knighted yet, but look out he may be soon). 

Danny Lee’s golfing resume is quite impressive given the fact he is still 18 years of age.

Danny Lee’s Short Resume

In 2008 Danny Lee becomes the Youngest U.S. Amateur Champion ever at the age of 18 years and one month old, six months and 29 days younger than Tiger Woods.  The victory gives Lee exemptions into the U.S. and British opens, a probable invitation to The Masters and a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Amateur as long as he remains an amateur.

On the road to Danny Lee’s 2008 US Amateur victory Danny Lee had won the prestigious 2008 Western Amateur Championship and join an illustrious fraternity of winners that includes Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

The biggest and most impressive of all Danny Lee’s victories came this year in the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic (this is a professional Australasian/Asian/European Golf Tour’s event).  In winning this event Danny Lee showed a golfing maturity well beyond his young years in birding the last two holes for a one stroke victory and became the youngest ever winner of a European Golf Tour tournament.

Hail the Folksey appointed Sir Danny Lee.

Folksey

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Last week the SMG Captivation Awards web site went live for our client SMG. A big well done goes out to all the team who worked on this project. Rob and Mel deserve a special mention for the great job they did in managing this technically challenging project.

The site provided our client with a live virtual space to announce award winners daily over the past week for their global annual in-house awards programme. It featured winners videos, live comments from the SMG team around the world plus profiled all the finalists from SMG offices around the globe.   

The site looks great! 

Nigel 

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The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, multi-use building, recognized around the world for its distinctive architecture, prestigious location and presence on Chicago’s skyline.  When completed in 1969, it was the tallest building in the world outside New York City.  It is the third-tallest skyscraper in Chicago and the fifth-tallest in the United States, after the Sears Tower, the Empire State Building, the Bank of America Tower and the Aon Center.  When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,500 feet (457 m). The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums and contains the highest residences in the world.  The Observatory is situated on the 94th floor and offers breath-taking views of both the city of Chicago and Lake Michigan.  It is one of Chicago’s most popular attractions.

Some interesting facts

At the peak of construction, more than 2,000 people worked on the project; some five million man-hours were required to complete the development.

• Enough steel to make 33,000 cars was used to make the frame, which took three years to complete and weighs 46,000 tons.
• Its four corner columns weigh up to 100 tons each.
• The building’s 1,250 miles of wiring carries enough power to supply a city of 30,000 people.
• There’s enough aluminum in the building to cover 12 football fields.
• Its 11,459 extra-thick, bronze windows contain enough glass to produce a single, 5ft sheet 13 miles long.
• Because of John Hancock Center’s lakeside location, caissons had to be sunk into 10ft holes drilled 190ft into bedrock.
• The unusual design required innovative construction methods, including the use of “creeper cranes,” previously used only in bridge construction, to hoist steel beams into place.
• Prefabrication of the immense corner joints meant construction proceeded at a rapid pace - up to three floors a week.

In June of this year, TZO partnered with the John Hancock Observatory to rebrand and create new signage surrounding the building.  The existing signage had been in place for 15 years and was looking much the worse for wear.  Also, people would often circle the building unsure about how access the Observatory Lobby.  TZO was tasked to create new signage employing the updated Observatory brand.  This has been quite a process and has been quite a logistical challenge.  The job is now complete and the John Hancock Observatory has directional signage worthy of a building of its stature.

Hamish McDonald

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It was meant to be a big sporting weekend for some of us southern zoners. Starting on Saturday with the Peak to Pub, a race which consisted of snowboarding or skiing down Mt Hutt, biking down the access road and then running to Methven. A few hardy souls had entered but were at the mercy of New Zealand’s infamous changeable weather. The warm nor’wester brought with it strong gale force winds which forced the event to be postponed to Sunday. Unfortunately most had other plans so were unable to compete which was a shame.

On Sunday morning the wind had changed and brought rain. Three more zoners got up early to compete in the Physiomed Women’s Triathlon. The initial adrenaline was a little dampened when we arrived, and the longer we stood in the rain waiting for the event to begin the more our enthusiasm waned. Luckily by the time the race started the weather gods had noticed our sun dance and the rain stopped while we were swimming, and stayed away for the duration. We all managed to stay upright and on our bikes which was a bit of a feat due to the slippery conditions. After some amazing photo finishes we waited to see if any of us placed our respective categories. Sadly, not this time, but watch this space!

A great effort by all, big ups to Maria (2 time duathlete) and Liz (triathlon newbie).

Rose ‘tri veteran’ 3 time triathlete  

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Week 2 of the University of California Bears 2008 college football update presented by TimeZoneOne College Football Analyst - Folksey.

Cal Rolls to Victory in Rout of Washington State

Jahvid Best ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns

Sept. 6, 2008

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Jahvid Best ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as California blasted Washington State 66-3, spoiling coach Paul Wulff’s first game back in Pullman since he was a star player in the late 1980s.

Best made his first career start and California (2-0, 1-0) produced 505 yards for its most lopsided victory over Washington State (0-2, 0-1) in the 69-game series, topping a 61-0 win in 1922.

Best rushed 14 times for an average of 14.3 yards per carry. The 5-foot-10, 193-pound speedster earned the start by rushing for what had been a career-high 111 yards last week against Michigan State. The Bears finished with 391 yards rushing, including runs of 80 and 86 yards by Best.

Wulff, hired in December, is the first WSU alum to lead the team since Phil Sarboe in 1949. Washington State opened the season with two losses for the first time since 1999.

Washington State mustered only 167 yards of total offense, and barely preserved their string of scoring in 275 consecutive games, second longest streak in the nation after Michigan’s 300 straight. They have not been shut out since 1984.

This game was over early as Cal scored on its first three possessions and piled up 171 yards to take a 21-3 lead after one quarter.

Best set the tone on the first play of the game, darting 80 yards up the middle for a 7-0 Cal lead.

On WSU’s first possession, Gary Rogers was intercepted by Syd’Quan Thompson, who returned it 18 yards to WSU’s 12. Kevin Riley hit Sean Young for a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead only 1:31 into the game.

On Cal’s next possession, freshman Shane Vereen dashed up the middle for a 39-yard touchdown run and a 21-0 lead.

WSU’s Chris Ivory returned the kickoff 68 yards to Cal’s 22, but the Cougars were pushed back and had to settle for Nico Grasu’s 43-yard field goal.

Cal’s Zack Follett returned a blocked field-goal attempt 65 yards for a touchdown and Riley dashed 27 yards for a score to make it 34-3 in the first half.

Thompson’s 90-yard interception return set up Best for a 5-yard TD off a direct snap that put Cal up 42-3 at the half.

Kevin Lopina replaced Rogers at quarterback for WSU to open the second half, and marched the Cougars to California’s 13 before throwing an interception. On the second play, Best ran 86 yards for a touchdown and a 49-3 Cal lead.

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Week 1 of the University of California Bears 2008 college football update presented by TimeZoneOne College Football Analyst - Folksey.

Strong Cal Offense Gets 38-31 Win Against Michigan State

Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns

Aug. 30, 2008

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and Shane Vereen broke an 81-yard scoring run with 4:21 left in California ’s 38-31 victory over Michigan State on Saturday night.

Jahvid Best rushed for 111 yards and a score, while tight end Cameron Morrah and fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou caught Riley’s TD passes in a solid debut for the Golden Bears’ brand-new collection of starting offensive skill players.

Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards, hooking up with Mark Dell for nine catches and 202 yards, the fifth-biggest yardage total for a receiver in Michigan State history. Javon Ringer rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns for the Spartans, but they couldn’t catch up in a back-and-forth second half featuring 45 total points and 503 yards of total offense.

Bryant Nnabuife returned a blocked punt for the first score as Cal won for the fifth time in seven openers under coach Jeff Tedford. Cal rebuilt its entire offense, and Riley looked sharp in his second career start along with Best and Vereen, who ran for 101 yards in his Cal debut.

Otis Wiley returned an interception 31 yards for an early TD for the Spartans, whose trip to the West Coast was a long-delayed return of Cal’s visit to East Lansing in 2002. The Bears upset the nationally ranked Spartans 46-22 on that trip, propelling Tedford’s first team into the rankings just three games removed from a 1-10 season.

Perhaps looking to recapture a bit of that 2002 magic, the Bears called a double pass for their opening offensive play - nearly the same play Tedford used for a stunning touchdown on Cal’s first snap of his rookie season against Baylor. Vereen underthrew it, but the redshirt freshman made up for it later.

After struggling on offense for three quarters, Michigan State converted three third downs and got a roughing-the-punter penalty during a 97-yard drive that ended with Ringer’s 10-yard TD run with 10:45 to play, pulling within 24-21.

Cal replied with its own lengthy drive ending in Ta’ufo’ou’s scoring catch with 5:45 left. Michigan State trimmed the lead to seven points, but Vereen then broke his impressive scoring run on an innocuous first-down play.

After an apparent interception by Cal’s Darian Hagan was overturned by replay, Dell caught a 29-yard TD pass with 3:09 left. Michigan State got one last chance, but Hoyer threw four straight incompletions at midfield.

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This Sunday is Father’s Day in New Zealand.  So this weeks ‘Zoner of the Week’ goes to all the Dads at TimeZoneOne for creating so much more than just extraordinary creative, Nigel Foley, Andy Carruthers, Murray Grossmith, David McLeod (me) and Hamish McDonald. Mark Cornellison gets an honorable mention, but narrowly misses out on new socks and hankerchiefs this year, his baby is not due for another month.

Here’s a little Father’s Day entercation…

Although normal English punctuation guidelines indicate that the holiday should be spelled “Fathers’ Day” (as it is a plural possessive), common usage dictates that the ostensibly singular possessive “Father’s Day” is the preferred spelling.

In New Zealand…

the average age of fathers of new babies is 33 years.

Fathers with children aged under one year manage 42 minutes less sleep than the average of 8.5 hours.

Over a lifetime, fathers have seven fewer Father’s Days, on average, than mothers have Mother’s Days. This is because men generally start parenting later in life and women have a longer life span. So make the most of it.

More than a quarter (28 percent) of babies born in New Zealand last year were to fathers who were not themselves born in New Zealand.

In the USA…

Father’s day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June (In New Zealand, it’s the 1st Sunday of September.).

there is an estimated 64.3 million Dads.

Americans spend around $11 billion on gifts for Father’s Day. This is about $7 billion less than the amount spent on Moms for Mother’s Day.

David ‘top of the fooseball ladder’ McLeod

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