This is a good explainer and useful in the debate we need to have around AI data centres: Explainer: What is a data centre and why is everyone freaking out now?:
data centres have existed in some form here in New Zealand since the 1980s …
So if they've existed for decades, why is everyone freaking out now?
The crucial differences between any of these examples, and what is being opposed in New Zealand and globally, are scale and purpose.
The new data centres being proposed and constructed are AI data centres - to train and run proprietary AI models.
One for my blog pals who love knitting (it has a very happy ending): ‘I felt sick’: How one Dunedin knitting group fell foul of the law:
[Jan Aitken] decided to open the doors to her garden studio in the suburb of Wakari, offering somewhere for knitters to gather together, and Crofters Yarn was born.
Around 3 am I had a nightmare that woke me up and left me feeling a bit shaky. I got up to sit in the lounge with a piece of liquorice and a cup of strong green tea to anchor me back in reality.
Now, finally at 4.30 maybe I can get a bit more sleep …
The Odyssey was loud. It didn't drag. Parts were very icky (Circe turning the men into swine). The Cyclops was brilliantly conjured. The battles and storms were fearsome.
I guess the central journey was an exploration of who Odysseus actually was, as his core was stripped away and rebuilt.
An alert on my banking website this morning:
Under the More Info link was this, which included the statement, that among other things they collect:
the names of other apps installed on your device
And apparently, if we don't like them collecting that info, well, there's always banking in person …
This all makes me feel very uncomfortable and a sight less safe.
When we went to The Odyssey yesterday we bought ice creams. $9 each for two scoops of chocolate-dipped vanilla in a cone!
Before the movie were shorts for 4 films I definitely don't want to see and the usual two hokey ads for the cinema itself.
No wonder people prefer streaming!
I'm relieved to know there should be 2 more books in this series to come, as I really enjoyed this (and the previous). A bit of a cliffhanger ending makes me keen to read the next when it turns up. Trapped on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 7) by Heather Peck. 📚
Someone is torching farms across Norfolk. And as the attacks grow bolder, one of them claims a life.
Even worse, two children are still missing, and Geldard's superiors are pushing him to drop the case.
New Zealand doesn't have any problems, which is why the government had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find one to solve — English to become official language of NZ alongside Te Reo Māori and sign language | RNZ:
Speaking in Te Reo Māori, Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara spoke … "What benefit will come from this kaupapa, from this event? Why are these hours and the time of all of these Members being used up in this way? Why are we spending all this time on this bill, when we know that English is already the main language of New Zealand?"
Hmmm, I think I read The Odyssey when I was a teenager … but maybe I didn't. I guess the movie this afternoon will help me recall.
Another good read. Also a rarity in that it's set during Covid, with overburdened hospitals, distancing precautions, staff away sick and all the rest. It's surprisingly rare to come across a book that acknowledges Covid, let alone weaves it into the story. Lost on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 6) by Heather Peck. 📚
A traitor on his team. Two frightened children still in danger. Geldard must race against the clock to stop a killer who’s close than he thinks.
Including travel, I was away for 4 days at the weekend, during most of which we had mid-winter rain and gales. The bad weather (and shingle roads) wasn't conducive to the beach explorations and hilltop walks I had in mind, and I ended up not really exercising at all.
Being away, even for an enjoyable trip, seems to take it out of me and I've needed a few days to get myself back into gear.
Strength training yesterday, walk by the river today, and some healthy food, are starting to sort me out.
The other day there was this really weird wind pattern going on by the West Coast. It looks like air is coming up out of a vent and flowing out in all directions. First time I've seen something like that.
This book picks up where the previous one ended, with an informant murdered and a detective abducted. Another good read in the series. — Revenge on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 5) by Heather Peck. 📚
As Geldard races to find [his colleague] Sarah before the killer finishes what he started, he’s forced to confront the unthinkable: someone on his own team knows exactly who’s taken Sarah. And they’re making sure the killer stays one step ahead.
A kiwi detective story I enjoyed. It include very contemporary themes about climate change and flood risk, along with corruption and illegal drugs. Flood Zone by Brett Austin . 📚
Former Detective Sam Cole seeks a quiet life in a pretty seaside town on the Coromandel Peninsula. Instead he finds murder and corruption.
I took a break from this book to read others, then when I came back to it I realised it didn't grip me and I just didn't care what happened or who did it. Abandoned — Framed For Murder (Detective Inspector Amber Kash Mysteries Book 1) by T.L. Haseeb. 📚
Three nights ago, Joanna witnessed a murder. The killer? A beautiful, rich and very dead woman whose own brutal slaying was the subject of the show.
And a couple of hours later, Joanna is dead too.
St Thomas Anglican Church sits prettily on a small hill behind the main street of Kawakawa.
Winter stark tree near the EV charger by Te Ahu library in Kaitaia.
Hah, Sharon Murdoch nicely summarises our government's Climate Change approach.
A: it's great to ask drivers to slow for the extremely rare Bittern on this stretch of road on the Karikari Peninsula. B: it's fabulous that the cryptid Bittern have been spotted in this area.
It's mid-winter so crowds in this tourist region weren't a problem. On the other hand, rain and gales didn't make the top of a hill the best place to stand. Here's a 360 degree view from Rangikapiti Pā:
Rangikapiti Pā provides panoramic views over the Mangōnui Harbour. It is a significant site to Ngāti Kahu, and the terraces and defensive ditch around the pā make it a distinctive feature on the landscape.