Absolutely the most delightful book I've ever read. 100% recommended for adults and kids with any interest at all in birds — Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook by Giselle Clarkson (author and illustrator). 📚
It's informative, beautifully written and drawn, funny and a total page-turner.
Apparently it's roughly 12 months since I started trying to do a dead hang at the gym.
From not being able to do it at all I've worked myself up to 3 x 40 seconds and feel good about that.
I make sure to do a dead hang every time I go to the gym.
It's the time of year for the Godwits to return from the northern hemisphere … and on today's visit to the beach I was delighted to find maybe a thousand of them resting up. 🐦
NZ dotterels really are my favourites. Usually they dart about. This one decided to have a more leisurely moment. 🐦
As I left the beach I spotted this vibrant flower, perhaps a Cape Weed, in the dunes.
I almost never buy books on paper, but Omnibird: An Avian Investigator's Handbook by Giselle Clarkson (author and illustrator) was an instabuy for me. 📚
Omnibird investigates 18 common birds from habitats around the world―eagles, owls and seabirds, starlings, ducks and swans. Explore the incredible internal structure of bird bones, learn what a gizzard stone is for, find the fascinating in bird calls, bird poop, feathers, and flight patterns.
The text and especially illustrations grabbed me.
I've seen quite a few of these weird plants in this part of the world.
Siri tells me:
This appears to be an Agave attenuata, commonly known as the Foxtail Agave or Swan's Neck Agave. It is known for its distinctive, curved flower stalk that can reach up to 10 feet in height.
Pleased to report our vacuum cleaner sucks. The application of a drain cleaning 'snake' fixed it. 😆
Now it no longer simply relocates dirt. 😅
Dinosaurs down the road — near the supermarket is what we first thought was a circus, in good time since school holidays have just started. But, no, it's The amazing dinosaur discovery. How cool for the kids.
… [an] interactive dinosaur walk through that brings prehistoric times alive again!
Explore the prehistoric ages and discover over 30 lifelike dinosaurs. You don’t want to miss the crowd favourite Tyrannosaurus Rex, the 12m long neck of Brachiosaurus or the much raved about ROBOTIC RAPTORS! Watch them move and hear them roar!
Grisly murders feature in Killing on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 10) by Heather Peck, but while they have to be solved the author doesn't linger over the nasty details.
I enjoyed this book. 📚
Detective Greg Geldard is still reeling from a blazing row with his partner Chris when the call comes. A body in a derelict farmhouse outside the quiet Norfolk village of Themelthorpe.
Awkward!
Some people may have looked at this list of drinks, and deduced that the Ginger Beer had alcohol in.
Apparently I (who haven't drunk alcohol for 30+ years) am not one of them. 🤣
The first sip alerted me, then I was foolish enough to take another few sips. 😵💫
At least it was delicious.
This was really interesting (from a licensed doctor in the UK) — Why This 1 Minute Dementia Test is So Revealing - YouTube:
Can you pass this 60-second dementia test?
It also explains what's going on.
I was relieved to score very well. 😀
Abandoned: Three Good Weapons (A Horus Thriller Book 1) by A. R. Shaw. 📚
The Horus Thrillers combine covert operations, near-future technology, international intrigue, and explosive action in a gripping series where no mission is what it appears to be—and no one can be trusted.
I'd imagined travel, tech, slick undercover work and the like. Early on though were prolonged shooting, violence, gruesome killing. It's not the book for me.
This morning's pre-dawn clouds are fun.
It's a while since I entered the beach from the track opposite the racecourse. As I parked the car I startled a white-faced heron. I thought it was going to lead me all the way to the beach, but before long it flew over the fence and into the dunes. 🐦
The track leads the eye to Hen Island.
From The Conversation:
All very well, but promises can be abandoned once a party is in government, especially with our system where it's usually a coalition.
More relevant, for parties that have already held power, would be their record of what they've done, and what their overall approach is.
It's about 18 months since I read Litany for a Strange World by LJ Cohen, but having started the next in series I realised I needed to refamiliarise myself with the story.
It was again an enjoyable read. 📚
This new watch is enormous. Clearly I need to add some routines at the gym to bulk up my forearms. 😆
I'd forgotten just how easy it is to set up: point the iPhone camera at the whirly pattern, wait a couple of minutes, done.
So good to see this kind of collaborative approach to developing assistive tech. Robotic sign language interpreter for deaf Māori in development:
New robotic interpreters built by experts at the University of Auckland will bring sign language underpinned by a Māori worldview to Turi Māori - Māori who are deaf.
… the signs have been developed in partnership with Turi Māori, whānau, Iwi and Hapū.
Although I posted about mynoise.net in 2018 and again in 2020 I've just remembered it again and am enjoying the ambient sounds in the background. Calm Lake is one favourite, while Japanese Garden is another.
I specially love the sliders for adjusting elements if I fancy a change.
Congratulations to the Karure for winning 2026 Bird of the Year, which this year features the letters K and A. 😆
Black robin bucks shy tag to take Bird of the Year 2026:
The diminutive karure black robin has won Bird of the Year.
The kākāpō came second, leaving the kārearea in third place.
Fourth and fifth place went to the kea and takahē respectively.