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.
It seems a little early for the pōhutukawa to be flowering … 🤷🏼♀️
Note the bonus, uh, duck, I think.
I did OK with the first 3 books in this series, but have abandoned this one as it's just silly and annoying — The Channel Islands Village Murder The Gull Bay Mysteries Book 7) by Ashley Cain. 📚
The well-dressed stranger was striding purposefully towards April’s café when she suddenly dropped dead. Natural causes? Maybe. But something doesn’t add up.
Nice cover though.
Saw this message …
… and suddenly flashed back several decades to the first time I called up a video on my computer screen. It was tiny and lasted only a few seconds but took f o r e v e r to load. It may have been over a 14.4K modem. 😁
Deb made extremely delicious, light and airy pikelets. Yummm.
There were more than two … 😆
We've been watching Best Medicine:
Best Medicine is an American medical comedy drama television series based on the popular British television series Doc Martin
It was a bit hard at first to get over it not being the actual Doc Martin, but by episode 3 we were more able to see it in its own lights. 📺
I must say, I'm looking forward to Episode 4.
Another good read in a series I enjoy — Fear on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 8) by Heather Peck. 📚
An elderly woman has been run off the road on her bike, dumped in a ditch and left to die. And she isn't the only one.
Another body surfaces in the water near Martham. An old man knocked from his bike and swept into the river, still wearing his bicycle clips.
Just spotted two tiny children biking past on the footpath on tiny bikes with training wheels. An adult was cycling impossibly slowly behind them.
A moment later they were on the opposite side of the road going the other way.
Yay for bikes! 🚴🏻
Our Manuka bushes are still quite small, but they're putting on a good show of white flowers.
Wow, after several days of feeling grotty with headaches, tiredness, shockingly bad sleep, digestive problems and the like, last night I slept a solid and unbroken 8 hours and feel pretty darn good. Hooray!
I've been feeling a bit below par so had plenty of time to read and enjoy The Sheriff Hank Worth Mysteries by Claire Booth. 📚
Across these five mysteries, [Hank] faces a brutal killing in a quiet home, a scheme preying on elderly tourists, an explosion that leaves one body too many, and rumours of buried Civil War gold that lure treasure hunters deep into the Ozark woods.
Across the 5 books the main characters gained a lot of depth and also dealt with some big traumas whose effects lasted beyond the book.
On her way to work this morning Deb dropped me off more or less opposite our house, but on the other side of the river, so I could enjoy a brisk 30 minute, 2.7 Km, walk home.
The main house visible in the photo is on a small rise right behind our house, and beyond that Bream Bay and Hen Island.
A delightful start to the day. At 0535 I was passing an open window when I heard a Ruru | Morepork call half a dozen times from nearby trees. 🐦
This terrible photo from 2008 is the only one I've ever managed to take. I think it was at Zealandia in Wellington.
Just wait till they plug in the AI decision-makers!
MSD told thousands food was ‘not an essential need’:
The Ministry of Social Development has told thousands of people that food was “not an essential need”, in what it now calls an admin error …
More than 318,000 individuals – nearly 6% of the New Zealand population – asked for grants for food in 2025 alone, with the ministry paying out more than $130m. On average, each person asked for help around four times.
Nearly 6% of the New Zealand population! That's a shocking number.
Two birds caught my eye at the estuary today: a kingfisher and a New Zealand Dotterel. 🐦
