Miraz Jordan

In my On This Day scan I also found reference to lower back problems.

About 6 months ago I started doing deep squats and have now built up to about 10 minutes at a time. Transformative!

See How to Asian Squat - 3 Exercises You Need and If I were to start again, Here is what I would do.

Apparently it's 2 years since I started going to the gym regularly. It's been life-changing — I certainly feel stronger and fitter, my posture's improved, and I also seem to have gravitated to learning a lot about health. I've also improved what I eat (and when). All around, a good change.

Interesting: Study Finds Many Older Adults Will Improve Over Time–Depending on Their Mindset

those with more positive age beliefs were significantly more likely to show improvements in both cognition and walking speed, even after accounting for factors such as age, sex, education, chronic disease, depression, and length of follow-up.

The findings build on Dr. Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory, which posits that age stereotypes absorbed through a range of domains including social media and advertisements eventually become self-relevant and biologically consequential.

Dr. Levy’s prior studies have found negative age beliefs predict poorer memory, slower walking speed, higher cardiovascular risk, and biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The current study shows that those who have assimilated more positive age beliefs often show improvement

Now that the shortest day has passed, a couple of days ago, today we get a whole extra minute of sunlight. 9 hours 44 minutes in total. Shame it's pouring with rain. 😎

Link (a Kiwi 20 minute film): They/Them (Non-binary Short Film):

Juliana explores their gender identity while navigating high school, facing scrutiny from peers and faculty. Through poetry, they search for a true sense of self that extends beyond traditional binary labels.

This morning's tea is exquisite — Oolong Tea: Himalayan Moon Drops:

Jun Chiyabari, meaning ‘Moonlit tea garden’, is a family run, high mountain tea estate led by brothers Bachan and Lochan Gyawali. The tea plants are set in small plots scattered between forests, bamboo groves, boulders and streams, at an altitude of 1650m to 2100m in Dhankuta, east Nepal. The terroir, the brothers’ commitment to organic production and careful processing creates rare, high quality, light and aromatic full-leaf teas.

This expresses in much better words some of what I wrote in my submission on The Definitions Of Woman And Man Bill — Open letter to Aotearoa: Definitions of Woman and Man Bill · QueerSpace:

This puts trans people at real risk while producing the very outcome its supporters say they fear. It doesn't add any real safety but creates suspicion.

Think about who gets stopped at a bathroom door under a law that invites strangers to judge who looks female enough. Not only trans women — but the tall woman, the broad-shouldered woman, the woman with short hair. Overseas, cis women have been challenged and humiliated at bathroom doors for exactly this. This bill would give that suspicion the backing of New Zealand law.

Link: The Person I'm Most Worried About Feels Fine (14 minute video):

Feeling fine is not the same as being capable. This episode is about the danger of the quiet years, when nothing hurts and your body is quietly losing capacity you won't miss until you need it.

Cirrus clouds today.

From the terrace at Sage Restaurant up near Russell.

We zipped down to the beach for an 'un street lit' view of Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury all in a line. All my photos of them are blurry.

But the couple of shots of the Milky Way came out OK. Handheld iPhone, night mode.

Another lovely morning at the beach.

For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

Last weekend we bought rather firm kiwifruit from the grower at the Whangārei market. She gave us good tips: don't store them in the fridge, do prick each end about 4 times around the centre point to help with ripening.

Today's fruit were just right for ripeness. 😁

Who knew!? I can't use screens in a moving vehicle, so I've turned this on and may eventually find out if it works — Vehicle Motion Cues — a.k.a. Apple’s Weird Anti-Nausea Dots:

Introduced in 2024, Apple’s Vehicle Motion Cues promise to tap into your device’s accelerometer and gyroscope to reduce or, in my case, even eliminate the motion sickness felt when trying to use an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook inside a moving vehicle.