Miraz Jordan

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We've had a deal of rain, so today at mid-tide the river was full of dirty looking water.

I've gone past this neighbourhood tree a number of times but today actually noticed it for the first time.

This is interesting — stereotype embodiment theory:

… stereotype embodiment theory means that there's a stereotype of what aging is, which is a loss of physical and cognitive function. And if we expect that to happen, we stop engaging in the things that will prevent that from happening. And therefore, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So, it's at least partly driven by what we expect and we expect less of ourselves as we get older. But there are dozens of studies using a wide range of interventions from physical activity to cognitive training to dietary changes that show that cognitive function can improve even in people's 60s and 70s as long as they start to engage in those processes.

Via 7 habits a neuroscientist swears by to keep your mind sharp at any age with Dr Tommy Wood.

Hmmmm, NZ’s new flood maps are missing a hidden threat – the water quietly rising from below:

The latest update of nationwide flood maps, to be released next year, will give communities across New Zealand the clearest picture yet of the regional risk of flooding.

But as it stands, this state-of-the-art tool leaves out a critical piece of the puzzle: the water table in shallow coastal aquifers, which fluctuates with the seasons and, over the long term, rises with sea levels.

Haha, I was doing some Terminal stuff with text files and managed to put into effect what Claude describes as a classic "catting a file into itself" problem. 🤣

I hadn't expected that turning 4 separate files, each less than 2KB should make a 32GB file!!!

It's been more than a week since I ordered an Xteink X3, and after weird items in the tracking, it's finally now with the "last mile carrier".

Weird: It was 5 days between "Nancheng / Depart from facility to service provider" and "Hand over to airline".

Maybe it'll arrive soon?

It's rainy but not cold today so I went for a local walk. My good raincoat meant I only needed to change a few clothes on my return. 😀

On the east side of the Dune Lake someone has created a good looking garden.

I came back along the river where this large pōhutukawa stands on the bank. Or maybe it's more than one tree …

Well, this was very delicious: Quick Smoky Red Lentil Stew with Greens.

We didn't have enough smoked paprika, but I was able to make it up with unsmoked.

Chopping the veg was time-consuming, but otherwise it's quick and easy.

Dinner for today and tomorrow sorted. 👍

A neighbour a few doors down invited our next door neighbour to strip his fruit trees. Even though it's midwinter, our neighbour passed on a whole bag of enormous oranges to us before she goes back for more.

I've never seen such huge oranges.

On Thursday and today, on the way to the gym, a large shaggy black dog was on the loose on a short section of road. It wanted to attack the front tyre of the car. We had to stop, and edge off carefully. Blasting the horn moved it away briefly. 🐶

Frightening, as I didn't want to run it over! 😱

Hmmm. The other day I linked to Dark Hours, but things have changed — ★ Retraction: The App Store Rejection of the Week That Was, in Fact, a Correct Rejection:

Earlier today, Godier took his web app down and redirected his darkhours.io domain to Beher’s darkhours.app.

We were just discussing with a friend how long the panels on the solar farm being constructed nearby may last, and what happens to them at end of life.

It seems 35 years is the answer:

The solar panels have an expected lifespan of around 35 years. Being made largely of glass and aluminium they are highly recyclable, so we expect them to be recycled and reused at the end of this period.

It was pretty chilly this last week. One of NZ's warmest Julys followed by record-breaking lows | RNZ:

Meteorologist Braydon White said parts of the country plunged to record-breaking minimum temperatures on Thursday and Friday. …

White said Taupō, Palmerston North and Whangerei all broke their August minimum temperature records this week.

Dark Hours, what's actually visible in your sky tonight is very cool — an instant bookmark!

Via: Daring Fireball: App Store Rejection of the Week: Dark Hours.

Update, 09 August 2026:

★ Retraction: The App Store Rejection of the Week That Was, in Fact, a Correct Rejection:

Earlier today, Godier took his web app down and redirected his darkhours.io domain to Beher’s darkhours.app.

This is clever — Aotearoa New Zealand's native birds out of LEGO® bricks:

Welcome to Bricks by Mike! I build a lot of Aotearoa New Zealand's native birds out of LEGO® bricks, and sometimes other creations too. I design and sell custom brick building kits, often in collaboration with Forest & Bird or other conservation groups, raising funds for and awareness of our precious native wildlife.

At last there is tracking info for my Xteink X3 reader. It's on its way from China.

And at dawn, of course, the temperature dropped further. I can see a slight frost out the back (where they're doing massive earthworks to build out the subdivision).

We've lived at Ruakākā almost 12 months now and this is the coldest it's been overnight. Currently 0530.