It's been a quiet week here at RR headquarters. Mainly due to a large amount of fishin' and shootin' and not a lot of writin'.
So it's timely to bring you some feedback on the missing sock issue, highlighted a few weeks back. We were ‘flooded' with responses. Here are both of them:

Chris reports – I have been well aware of the sock problem for quite some time now, and came up with a slightly different solution. Rather than continuously buying different colours of sock, I have for the past 15 years only ever bought plain black ankle high socks (I was six when I first had the idea, and have stuck to it ever since). While I have of course lost many socks, nobody has ever noticed if I wear them odd, and I have no need for a collection in the bottom drawer.
Then we have this from Kathryn Michel -
Having just read your Rabbits I thought I may be able to help you with the 'Lost Sock” syndrome.
First of all I think the problem is not with the washing machine but with men leaving their socks on the floor! My cat then steals in to the room and takes them – especially if they smell – I think this is in consideration of the wives and to teach the men to pick up their socks. I have a great collection of odd socks that my cat has brought in!
Secondly, my son has solved this problem for himself by buying all his socks matching. In this way he has no idea when one goes missing or when it turns up again. Instead of each sock having a partner he just has a family of socks and they share.
Thanks for your great humorous look at life.
Thank you, Kathryn. Although we raised an eyebrow on this concept of 'sock family”. It all sounds a bit like Centrepoint Commune, you think?

More wailing
Meanwhile, Pete Bethune's free holiday in Japan continues to drag on. You can say what you like about Pete and his antics with Sea Shepherd in our southern waters – at least someone is doing something.
They've possibly achieved more in a few months than the whole of our lily-livered government's ‘polite' politicking has achieved in three decades; and Greenpeace's ineffective fannying around.
Including the pointless moratoriums, which have achieved feck all from a dead whale's viewpoint.
As for Geoffrey Palmer's ridiculous suggestion that we should go weak at the knees and maybe agree to SOME whaling to save the rest… what a load of weasel talking nonsense. This is the sort of pathetically soft attitude that resulted in him breaking all records for the shortest stint at PM in the history of New Zealand.
One whale is too many. There should be no namby pamby negotiation to 'halve” the slaughter. Key and his team need to get tough – take a leaf from Australia on this, and stand firm against wholesale killing of endangered species.
If whales were as common as fleas or politicians (same species?) it would be a different story. But this is one simple way to save a species – all the world has to do is stop killing them.

Tax freedom day
Finally, if you think you've been working for yourself this year, think again. Until this week, you've been effectively working for the government all year.
That's because 'tax freedom day” is calculated to be Monday, May 17 – the day in the year till which the average New Zealander has had to work, to pay our taxes. Only what we earn after May 17 is ours to keep.
Once the nation's tax bill is earned, we can finally start putting cash in our own coffers.
Some commentators say it's the first time NZ has lagged behind all three other countries we like to keep pace with. Aussie beat us by three weeks last year and we're getting further behind, apparently.
It's not surprising that so many are hoofing it across the Tasman to keep more of their dosh in their back pockets and giving less to our glorious leaders to squander.
This year the poms beat us by a day; despite some of their outrageous public spending such as cleaning their moats; and the US only had to work till April 11 to pay its tax burden; and that included bailing out General Motors.
Roger Thompson of accounting firm Staples Rodway tells RR that Kiwis are paying about 37 per cent of their earnings to the government.
On a brighter note, Rog says its likely to improve next year with the GDP (Good Dollop of Pay) expected to recover and our Tax Freedom Day is likely to come earlier.
Thanks Roger. January 2 would be acceptable.
We won't hold our breath.