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.
I abandoned this part way through Book 1 as I just dislike the characters and it was all a bit unbelievable. The Complete Hampstead Heath Mysteries Books 1-4 by Sabina Manea. 📚
Join ex-lawyer turned sleuth Lucia Steer as she navigates the leafy streets of North London on four cryptic and compelling cases.
A good read in a series I enjoy. Secrets on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 9) by Heather Peck. 📚
Marie Leakey was a masseuse. Popular, kind, no enemies in the world. She died alone in her modest bungalow after a takeaway curry. A curry she never ordered.
Hmmm, in today's Who would have thought it? headlines:
This book felt a little bitty, but there were some deeper currents swirling. Still a good read. A Cold Harbour: (Detective Shona Oliver Book 7) by Lynne McEwan. 📚
DI Shona Oliver is caught in the crosshairs of the National Crime Agency. They know she has information about the murder of her former boss and are determined to charge someone.
On our way yesterday to Ngawha Springs for a soak in the hot pools we exclaimed (as always) about the church at Pakaraka. On the way back I stood in the rain for a photo.
Here's (in part) what Wikipedia has to say about the Holy Trinity Anglican Church:
Built in 1873 in the Gothic Revival style, the building has a strong connection with the prominent missionary Henry Williams. …
It is surrounded by a cemetery containing the graves of many prominent early European settlers as well as Māori residents. Among them are Williams and his wife.
Did one of my least favourite things tonight and survived — drove us home (approx 30 minutes) from central Whangārei at night and through sometimes torrential rain.
Far out! After reading this — (3) 125 Tests of the New AI Siri - by David Pogue:
41. Make a photo of a turtle in rocket skates. (Opens Image Playground and makes it.)
I tried "make an image of a Kiwi on a rocket". Seconds later:
In 2015 we visited Portugal, and while there a lovely place called Batalha.
Apple Photos surfaced this photo I took of a delightful 'sheep' in the square by the cathedral, and I wanted to share.
I've used the clean-up tool to remove a person who wouldn't want their image shared.
Woohoo. On its way (already arrived in Auckland) and should be with me next week.
Another good read in the series, with lots of court case — Hidden Currents (Sheriff Hank Worth Mysteries Book 8) by Claire Booth. 📚
[Hank's] deputy sheriff Sheila is in court testifying against the men who had left her for dead in a brutal attack, and the defense will do whatever it takes to win their case.
