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13 April 2026 — : This series! This was a book I didn't want to read because then it would have been read and I wouldn't still have it ahead of me. The more of this series I read the more I love these books. The Mystery of the China Horse (The Antique Shop Mysteries …

13 April 2026 — : The other day I spotted the first of the panels in place for the new solar farm just down the road. Not the greatest picture but it's not the easiest place to grab shots while driving a car. In the background, Mt Manaia.

12 April 2026 — : Now it's Sunday afternoon and the worst of Cyclone Vaianu has moved south of us. While others north and south have had a rough time, again we escaped the worst weather. The ground is wet and apparently the river's very high. At breakfast time I took …

12 April 2026 — : This was a well-written and gripping story which took off in unexpected but interesting directions — Murder on the Norfolk Broads (Detective Geldard Mysteries Book 1) by Heather Peck. 📚 A human skeleton is unearthed in a forgotten World War 2 …

12 April 2026 — : It's almost 4 a.m. and ex-Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is bringing us rain — and probably wind, but it's too dark to see out, and the sturdy house means we don't feel it. There are other parts of the country where the effects will be felt much …

11 April 2026 — : The Artemis 2 mission to the moon leaves me in awe — of what 'we' can achieve when we turn our minds and money and skills and training to a goal. When 'we' work together to research and plan and execute in detail. I'm a dreamer. What say 'our' …

11 April 2026 — : Hah, excellent, on Integrity splashdown: 🚀 Captain Wiseman reporting 4 green crew members. That's not their complexion, but their status. 🤣

10 April 2026 — : Some people pay a lot of money to get an armchair that vibrates. For us it's free … thanks to the ongoing earthworks next door but one. 🤣

09 April 2026 — : What I liked most about this book was that it was written by a Kiwi in NZ English and set in Aotearoa in places I'm a little familiar with. Those are exceptionally rare for books I read. Dark Sky: Murder Among the Stars by Marie Connolly. 📚 a …

09 April 2026 — : I presume we're about to have many more praying mantises …

09 April 2026 — : It’s a very pleasant day so I stopped at the information centre for a cup of tea on my way to pick up Deb at the airport.

08 April 2026 — : Well, it's been a really rainy and windy week. Now we have a few days reprieve before Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is forecast to hit. This afternoon: sunshine and muggy heat. 😅 I managed a brief bike ride to enjoy the air and sun. MetService says the …

07 April 2026 — : Leaders: down or up? Last night I saw Nicola Willis on TV talking about the fuel crisis and was struck by the weird camera angle, looking down on her. Today on Radio NZ we see a still from that (less obviously so than in the video) and nearby a shot …

06 April 2026 — : I really like this whole series and Book 5 does not disappoint. Keen to read more in the series. The Mystery of the Village Theatre (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 5) by . 📚 Things aren’t looking bright for Lina. A flashy new antique centre has …

06 April 2026 — : Several weeks ago I thought I'd make an effort to go to the beach 2 or 3 times a week. How many times have I done that? Ummm … Today's walk bumped into nearly high tide, with an easterly breeze driving in the waves. On the horizon, two cargo …

05 April 2026 — : Finally went to the gym today for a brief weights session — the effects of the flu jab have receded. In the women's loo was an inspiration board. 💪🏼 My favourite read: You haven't come this far to only come this far. I also liked one that …

05 April 2026 — : Move over brain surgeons — I think an organist, simultaneously using 3 keyboards for their hands and another for the feet, along with all kinds of buttons and whatnot, has amazing skills. How does a pipe organ actually work? | Anna Lapwood: …

05 April 2026 — : In this book Gabe's childhood trauma reaches a troubling crescendo while conflicting accounts in the current case prove hard to resolve. A good read. Left in the Ashes (Detectives Martin & Stern Book 3) by Anna Britton. 📚 A derelict building in the …

04 April 2026 — : Oh, that's right. It's time to not Spring Forward, but to Autumn Back. 🤣 Daylight Saving ends on the first Sunday in April Reminder: Put your clock back for the winter.

04 April 2026 — : 'Our' white-faced heron continues to delight me. This was its second visit today as it inspected me (inside) from about 4 metres away. 🐦 Earlier I'd seen a movement in my peripheral vision and saw the heron closer, walking past the window, watching …

04 April 2026 — : Amazingly creative — made me laugh with delight — and immediately brought to mind The Fifth Element and its opera scene : Rosalía Berghain Live: the official video of Berghain by Rosalía (feat. Björk & Yves Tumor) See also …

03 April 2026 — : I think Wednesday's flu jab has caught up with me. A wee lunchtime nap on the couch turned into a 2 hour sleep, and I think an early night is ahead of me. 🥱

03 April 2026 — : Silver lining to the fuel crisis cloud: EV 'fomo' drives sales to their highest level in years amid fuel crisis, dealer says | RNZ News: Waka Kotahi data shows monthly registrations of full battery EVs last month jumped nearly four-fold from recent …

02 April 2026 — : I've tuned in to the Live TV for NASA: NASA’s Artemis II Crew Launches to the Moon Less than an hour to go now.

02 April 2026 — : Heh, 5.45 am and I'm back from dropping Deb off at the airport (45 minute drive each way) for her regular Zen retreat. Surprised to see they're pouring concrete at this early hour (in the dark) for the new house on Lot 1.

01 April 2026 — : This was actually a good read, and the Jersey setting was a bonus. The Channel Islands Mystery (The Gull Bay Mysteries Book 1) by Ashley Cain. 📚 April has poured every penny she owns into renovating the rundown beachfront café she inherited from her …

01 April 2026 — : The section we bought for our house was Lot 3 in the development. A few weeks ago work began on Lot 1 where the house now has foundations. Today earthworks have begun on Lot 5.

01 April 2026 — : It was raining when I entered The Anchorage cafe for breakfast after my flu jab, but before long the sun made a welcome appearance.

31 March 2026 — : I enjoyed Velocity Weapon: Book One of The Protectorate by Megan O’Keefe, as recommended by Bookish Alex. 📚 [Gunnery Sergeant Sanda] wakes up 230 years later, on a deserted enemy starship called The Light of Berossus Lots of twists and turns and …

31 March 2026 — : Something I've recently started doing during my weights sessions at the gym is to move my foot or hand position for each set. This has revealed that small adjustments to position can affect the demands on the muscles. For example, on the horizontal …

30 March 2026 — : A New World. Sounds good in these difficult times.

29 March 2026 — : When I couldn't rewatch The Closer I discovered its spinoff Major Crimes on Neon so decided to rewatch that instead. What I'd forgotten is that Major Crimes is just all around superb — great scripts, great acting. I'm having the biggest problem …

29 March 2026 — : For those who delight in the finest points of punctuation, this 23 minute video gives a lot to chew on — The commas that cost lives. A particularly fun item: the fellow who wrote a whole book with no punctuation whatever. Reprints addressed his …

28 March 2026 — : Deb and I had partly booked and planned a trip for after Easter: fly to Christchurch, hire a car, visit the West Coast. Today we cancelled all the bookings. Between the fuel crisis, rising costs, general political uncertainty, it all just seemed …

28 March 2026 — : This chin scratch must have gone on for more than a minute before I got tired of waiting and took the photo anyway. Then, after a bit more scratching it finally stopped. 🐦

27 March 2026 — : The recent rain has filled the Ruakākā River, which looks very brown. It has also filled the ditch behind our place that recent digger work has exposed. Apparently the Council require the ditch to be covered over for subdivision work to proceed. …

27 March 2026 — : After about 180 mm (7 inches) rain in the last 2 days, this morning is warm and misty.

26 March 2026 — : This clue and answer in a recent crossword delighted me! 🤣

25 March 2026 — : I don't follow sports but can at least usually understand the headlines (more or less). This one totally had me stumped: 😆 White Ferns win T20 dead rubber against South Africa Via RNZ - NZ News, Current Affairs, Audio On Demand. The answer was …

25 March 2026 — : Interesting. With severe weather forecast for the next 2 or 3 days I received a text from our insurance company (some details removed): FMG here, just checking in due to the Red weather warning in parts of your region. Put your safety first. You can …

25 March 2026 — : This morning's visitor.

24 March 2026 — : Horses in paddocks beside the racecourse.

24 March 2026 — : Four in the morning and I've been awake for hours. Just one of those nights where sleep and I parted company. I want to be friends with sleep again! 🥱😢

23 March 2026 — : In some rare good news: $50m plan to double the number of public EV chargers | RNZ News: The government is providing interest free loans of $52.7 million to two companies to boost the number of electric vehicle public chargers around the country. The …

22 March 2026 — : Oops. Still sometimes accidentally hitting that camera button on my phone. Guess where I went this morning …

22 March 2026 — : Early in Book 3 I was ready to abandon this set as the books just weren't that good. Also, the author had a strong penchant for annoying (word-count padding?) lists. Jamie Quinn Mysteries Books 1-6 (Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries) by Barbara …

21 March 2026 — : On today's beach walk I spotted several swimmers, a bunch of shapes on the sea too far away for me to tell what they were, cargo ships far away, a nearby sailboat and a bunch of gulls.

21 March 2026 — : I was enjoying listening to frog songs over recent nights, but Claude has helped me discover it's not in fact frogs, but almost certainly the Black field cricket or pihareinga (Teleogryllus commodus). These may well be the same crickets Deb's upset …

20 March 2026 — : There's a slight hill behind our house, which meant a better view of work behind us. This photo shows the digger clearing the land behind our house in preparation for subdivision work. We learned today it will clear the whole area over the next …

20 March 2026 — : Biked to one beach entrance this morning and walked on the beach in the glorious sunshine. Someone was water skiing, and several folks were surfing. What a grand place to live!

19 March 2026 — : The subdivision plan shows that behind our house will be another house, then a wee road, then another house. Behind that will be the existing house seen in the photo. Today a digger has started work on the wee road. I used the AI Eraser in Nitro to …

19 March 2026 — : Hah! An interesting language snippet where a bike tech talks about teaching tightening and loosening and how clockwise and anticlockwise doesn't mean anything to kids any more — The Truth About eBike Maintenance: I thought of a of a different …

18 March 2026 — : Whew. I tried 3 times earlier in the year to sell my old ebike with no nibbles. Finally tried again (now oil prices happen to be skyrocketing). A last minute bidding war extended the auction by about 10 minutes. Sold for more than shown here! Hurrah! …

18 March 2026 — : Urgh! So glad I have recent phone, laptop and watch. AI boom creating shortage of key elements for consumer technology | RNZ News: Since the AI boom, manufacturers had pivoted away from making hardware like RAM and hard drives for general consumers - …

17 March 2026 — : A few nights of restless sleep, not eating as well as I might, not exercising so much, and maybe still the after effects of a Covid jab a couple of days ago have led me to feeling under the weather today. I forced myself to a very short gym session …

16 March 2026 — : Visiting a friend today. Boo is tired out. 🐶

15 March 2026 — : Our beach visit this morning was to take part with hundreds of others in a protest to Save Bream Bay Sand: McCallum Bros are using the Fast Track process to green light its proposal to extract 8,450,000 m3 of high value marine sand for private …

15 March 2026 — : Through the window. This morning's visitor. 🐦

15 March 2026 — : March 15 [2019] taught me how to read the world: I invite people to consider one thing: that violence rarely appears without warning. It whispers first – in speeches, in comment sections, in policies that quietly divide people into “us” and “them”. …

14 March 2026 — : It's been a long while since the previous book in this series I enjoy, and I suspect this is the last — Something Prowling in Paradise Park (The Accidental Detective Book 7) by Kris Bock. 📚 It was a quick but enjoyable read. three cases—all …

14 March 2026 — : The view from The Anchorage (retirement village) cafe is very enjoyable.

14 March 2026 — : Covid booster jab achieved. 👍 Next up: breakfast at The Anchorage almost next door. I love living here.

13 March 2026 — : I popped down to the beach on a muggy evening. It was cooler and moody down there. I saw someone on a jet ski speed past.

13 March 2026 — : I hadn't realised when I started watching The Closer on Netflix that I was using a VPN that put me in the US. Today Netflix noticed that and declined to let me watch any more. 😫 Luckily NZ Neon has Major Crimes, the spinoff, which was also excellent. …

13 March 2026 — : Half way through The Antique Store Detective (A Bella Winter Mystery Book 1) by Clare Chase I decided to skip to the end — something I don't usually do. 📚 finding eccentric local historian Professor Oliver Barton dead in the ruins of Raven Hall …

12 March 2026 — : I watched The Closer when it was first on TV a couple of decades ago and am rewatching on Netflix. 📺 The Closer is an American police procedural television series starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department deputy …

12 March 2026 — : This news item inspired me to book a Covid jab for Saturday — As Covid hits again, New Zealand confronts its pandemic past | RNZ News: Another wave of Covid-19 is circulating again through New Zealand communities … in a single week, 50 …

12 March 2026 — : Just learned about this, bird lovers — Kākāpō Cam: Rakiura the kākāpō – 2026 nest 🐦. A hidden world revealed: We’re live from the nest site of female kākāpō Rakiura on the remote, predator-free island of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island in Aotearoa, …

12 March 2026 — : This view, on a clear day, normally shows Mt Manaia behind all the yachts. Today we have drizzle.

11 March 2026 — : Whew, 3.5 hours later the power's back. Now for that hot drink (water as it's too late for tea).

11 March 2026 — : The power went off 2 hours ago so of course I’m desperate for a cup of tea. 😆

11 March 2026 — : It's encouraging to see notices like this one up by Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri. 🐦 A huge amount of work is restoring native birds to a few areasof the New Zealand landscape.

11 March 2026 — : Interesting: Only 16% of US dairy farms are pasture-based, although some estimates put the figure at 5%. In New Zealand the dairy cows tasked with supplying milk to Fonterra are 96% pasture-fed. The yellow colour of our butter comes from the …

10 March 2026 — : I enjoyed this set of books, even though some cases were highly complex. Detective Winter Meadows Books 1-6 by Cheryl Rees-Price. 📚 In the shadow of the Black Mountains, the quiet village of Bryn Melyn harbours secrets that refuse to stay buried. …

10 March 2026 — : Today's 3Km walk started at the east end of Rama Road, 600 metres away from the actual beach. I walked north along the beach to some kind of outfall, then returned via the Pipeline Track, starting at Mair Road. There was a lot of soft sand to deal …

09 March 2026 — : While in Kerikeri I tried to visit Wharepuke Falls but may have simply walked through the Peacock Gardens Reserve and caught the tiniest glimpse of the falls. It was all a bit confusing. However, the greenery was very green and there was an …

08 March 2026 — : While Deb watched powerlifting in Kerikeri I visited Rainbow Falls. It was a very pleasant walk and the falls were lovely. There were some impressive rocks on the way down. Pareidolia much?

08 March 2026 — : Here was another impressive vehicle from the Car Show in Kerikeri yesterday. At the Domain were hundreds of other vehicles, including trucks and motorbikes. One bike was handbuilt with wood for the chassis (no photo).

07 March 2026 — : The Kerikeri Klassic Car Show Is getting ready to kick off.

06 March 2026 — : 2 hours drive north of Ruakākā, at Kerikeri for the night, in a pleasant motel with a recently felled forestry block behind it. We walked 5 minutes into the heart of the town and found The Grill #21 where we shared a very large pizza that was quite …

06 March 2026 — : I've been waiting a few days for a parcel I ordered. First it was delayed, then an email told me it had been delivered, although there was no sign of it. I contacted the courier company. It's good to know it will arrive today after the driver …

05 March 2026 — : There's a lot of equipment in the gym I go to. I've finally 'learned' where the machines I use are placed. This morning most machines had been moved to a new position in response to customer comments and to create more space. Sigh.

04 March 2026 — : Frequently after breakfast I do a little 30 minute ride to the estuary and back. Much of that is through private land (with permission). Today I diverted past one of the entrances to the racecourse where there's a good view. It was not long after …

03 March 2026 — : Me, speaking to my watch while making breakfast: Hey Siri, add tomatoes to the Groceries list. Siri, from my phone several metres away: OK, I've added cinnamon toast to the groceries list. Sigh.

03 March 2026 — : Every morning when I first get up to make a cuppa I look out the sidelight by the front door to check on the world. This morning's view included a yellow full moon. 🌕

02 March 2026 — : It's always a good morning when the kids drop in for a visit. 🐦

02 March 2026 — : Hooray, first time in a couple of days I feel Miraz-normal rather than like a zombie. On today's agenda: a session at the gym, and maybe a bike ride.

01 March 2026 — : I'm still feeling blah today so went looking in my 1998 photo album. Ah yes, this was the July morning we needed to rush to visit Deb's dad in hospital and when we got up to the road we found all 4 wheels had been stolen off my Honda Del Sol. That …

28 February 2026 — : Yesterday I did an easy 10 km bike ride and handled a few emails. In the evening we went out to an enjoyable pizza night with a dozen other people. Today I'm absolutely exhausted in both brain and body. Hello book.

27 February 2026 — : While looking up how to create iPhone shortcuts I've found my two missing shortcuts in the Automation section, rather than the Library. 🤷🏼‍♀️

27 February 2026 — : Meanwhile … there is somehow a shortcut for me to call a person I've tried very hard to remove from my phone, computer and anywhere else they might turn up. I don't want any contact with that person ever. Yet, there's a shortcut I don't want …

27 February 2026 — : A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a problem with a shortcut on my phone. I fixed that. Which led me to ask yesterday why I'd started a Cycling Workout but the shortcut didn't trigger. Checked my phone and the shortcut no longer exists. Nor does the …

27 February 2026 — : A new space race could turn our atmosphere into a ‘crematorium for satellites’ Last month, SpaceX applied … for permission to launch one million more satellites for untested “AI data centres”. sheer number isn’t the only issue. SpaceX’s … planned …

26 February 2026 — : What a great day to be alive!

26 February 2026 — : Hah, well this is interesting. I own various shares through Sharesies. The other day I received a glorious $3 or so in an Apple dividend. Now I see I have a dividend coming from Smart Global Aggregate Bond ETF. It's for less than 1¢ NZD. So how will …

26 February 2026 — : Interesting snippet about Ruakākā solar energy development: Harapaki Wind Farm and the Ruakākā battery energy storage system (BESS) are now operational, while construction continues on the Ruakākā and Te Rāhui solar farms. Ruakākā is on schedule for …

25 February 2026 — : I love that this Pied Stilt at the estuary is on a lean. 🐦

25 February 2026 — : Princes Street also has a lovely bunch of subtropical trees (and the rocks that are so characteristic round here). I used the magic retouch tool in Photos to remove a couple of inconvenient power lines.

25 February 2026 — : About a 4.6 Km bike ride away is Princes Street, by the estuary (I have to bike north, cross the river, then south again). From the bottom of the road comes a splendid view of Taranga (Hen Island). This island is what's left of a volcano that …

25 February 2026 — : Although I've enjoyed other series by this author, the books in this series are pretty lightweight and I might not read any more — Dark Sky Jeopardy (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 3) by Lakota Grace. 📚 A mega-lottery winner is killed …

25 February 2026 — : I so appreciate people who take the time to make videos like this — Mazda CX-3 Smart Key Fob Battery Replacement (2016 - 2019).

24 February 2026 — : At the moment the area behind our house is carpeted with scraggy grass and interesting bushes well used by pukeko, white-faced herons and other birds. In the coming months though there will be earthworks to transform it into (bleak and boring) lots …

24 February 2026 — : We bought our house at the early stages of a new subdivision, so we knew building would happen over the next few years. Our place is Lot 3 and Lot 2 had already been built. Today ground work has begun on Lot 1, and Lot 5 will start before long. …

23 February 2026 — : This was such a lovely 18 minute movie. Do watch! Butter Tea - New Tibetan Short Film (Losar 2026) - YouTube: In a small Tibetan cafe in Queens, a cup of butter tea becomes a bridge between generations.

23 February 2026 — : A couple of great photos of the giant wind turbine parts on their way across the motu — Kaiwaikawe wind farm convoys begin: First giant parts leave Northport - NZ Herald: The first convoy of windfarm parts leaves Northport for the Kaiwaikawe …

23 February 2026 — : Today's mystery: a low flying helicopter dangling a shiny cylindrical object below, flying in odd patterns nearby. I wouldn't have thought they'd mount a camera or other sensor like this rather than affixed to the structure of the helicopter, but …

23 February 2026 — : One of my favourite series continues — Death by the Dozen by D.B. Borton: 📚 When a local historian begs Cat to find the villain who stole her beloved pig — Gertie, a cupcake-loving micro-mini with a mischievous streak — Cat figures it’s a …

22 February 2026 — : We visited Harbour Keys Cafe at One Tree Point where I ate quite a bit of a huge plate of honey roasted oats with fruit and greek yoghurt. For unknown reasons I'd thought it'd be porridge …

22 February 2026 — : Now every time I see a heron within cooee of our place I wonder if it's one of 'our' herons. In this case it was at the beach close to our house. 🐦

21 February 2026 — : After yesterday's dog minding our friends took us to Ainga, beside the Ruakākā Tavern, for Japanese Western Fusion food. Ruakaka Tavern and Ainga. I ordered Roasted plum Duck Roast duck in plum sauce, bok choy, shitake mushroom, cinnamon, cashew …

21 February 2026 — : Today's mid-summer supermarket craziness: $6 per head for iceberg lettuce. Perhaps, to be fair, lettuces are mainly grown in the places covered by the 8 weather-related States of Emergency declared in Aotearoa so far in 2026. Severe weather States …

21 February 2026 — : I love learning about the science of tea — The Hidden Half of L-Theanine NOBODY Talks About | NEW (2026) Science Reveals What It ACTUALLY Does (18 minute video): In this video: The science of ammonium toxicity and how tea plants "detox" using …

20 February 2026 — : We have Boo visiting today, so took her for a walk past the paddocks beside the racecourse as far as the beach. 🐶 With an offshore wind the waves were very calm. Horses in the paddocks beside the racecourse. Bream Bay sparkles. For the Pacific …

20 February 2026 — : This 20 minute video was so interesting — The Longevity Metric Nobody Is Tracking (It’s Hiding in Your Smartwatch): We’ll cover: What heart rate variability actually measures How the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic vs parasympathetic) …

20 February 2026 — : When you think our government has reached the bottom, they manage to dig a bigger hole. Environment comes last as Government abolishes dedicated ministry – Greens: “At a time when climate change is flooding our communities week after week, costing …

19 February 2026 — : It's been almost 2 years since I read the previous in series, mainly because of price. This book was reduced, and still a great read! Gathering Mist: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima. 📚 Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is …

18 February 2026 — : This clarifies why the AI written book I read recently was so bland — Semantic ablation: Why AI writing is boring and dangerous: When an author uses AI for "polishing" a draft, they are not seeing improvement; they are witnessing semantic …

17 February 2026 — : I enjoyed Hell to Pay: A Texas Private Investigator Mystery (Iris Raines Mystery) by Denise Diana Huddle. 📚 This gritty Texas private investigator mystery is fast-paced and relentless—blending danger, corruption, dark humor, and shocking turns into …

17 February 2026 — : Excellent 26 minute interview — Expert Feature: What happens to all that space junk? | RNZ: What happens when satellites stop working? As the saying goes, what goes up, must come down, so will we see more space junk landing on earth? Here to …

16 February 2026 — : Today I enjoyed a brief but pleasant walk to Raumanga Falls: a cascading 15m waterfall. The crickets were loud but the video didn't pick them up. Lovely native trees. Dappled rock.

16 February 2026 — : I picked up a 1cm crack in my windscreen. Today I took the car to Smith and Smith Whangārei where parking was horrendous, the staff person friendly, but booking a chip repair via the Reception tablet defeated me. I called in to a place up the road …

15 February 2026 — : After brunch at One Tree Point our friend A, from Leigh, a 90 minute drive south, invited us to visit so we did. She had made two loaves of bread: a buckwheat loaf and a spelt sourdough. Both were delicious.

15 February 2026 — : My cup of tea at The Anchorage this morning came with a shortbread and glitter heart, presumably left over from Valentine's Day. Delish.

14 February 2026 — : Ahhh, this explains a lot — Maisy Marple: Maisy Marple appears to be a pen name originally used by a publisher who hired multiple authors to ghostwrite various series. In 2025 they appear to have switched writing all the new books using AI. …

14 February 2026 — An excellent celebratory meal at TopSail in Whangārei : We dined with friends at an excellent waterfront restaurant.

13 February 2026 — : On a whim we went to The Bach cafe at Ruakākā Beach for breakfast. My hot chocolate was fine and the scrambled eggs weren't. On another whim we visited FEOH Espresso and Roastery in Waipū where Deb's coffee was excellent, and I brought home a …

12 February 2026 — : During today's outing I called in at Marsden Bay, which looked rather lovely in spite of the rain that kept me in the car. I used the new AI-driven removal tool in Nitro to get rid of some inconvenient fence posts.

12 February 2026 — : These white cylinders at Northport are almost certainly components for the Kaiwaikawe Wind Farm near Dargaville: The wind farm will have 12 turbines; seven in the northern cluster of the development and five turbines in the southern cluster. The …

11 February 2026 — : This series goes from strength to strength. I enjoy hanging out with this group of decent people (apart from the baddies, of course). The Mystery of the Stolen Snuffbox (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 4) by Judith Cutler. 📚 when [Lina] …

11 February 2026 — : Today's gym workout had an extra reward. Apparently, according to Hevy, since I started using the app, over 50 sessions I've put in : 31 hours of effort and 214,395 kg lifted. See, little bits add up!

10 February 2026 — : Today's plans were quickly rearranged when I was reminded I had to drop my car in for a service. It was a pleasant 30 minute walk home, interrupted by mediocre scrambled eggs on toast and some kind of flavoured water, supposedly green tea. Most of …

09 February 2026 — : Best story this week! 🤣 ‘Crime-Fighting’ Llamas Catch Thief by Surrounding Him in a Field Until Cops Arrive: The crook was fleeing the scene after stealing from a woman in Derbyshire, England, and he decided to squeeze through a fence onto farmland …

09 February 2026 — : For several years I've used an action on my iPhone so when I start a Cycling or Other workout Siri tells me the date, time and weather conditions. This has usually worked well. This morning though, 09 February 2026, Siri cheerfully informed me it was …

09 February 2026 — : It took me a few uncertain chapters before this book had me completely gripped. It's an excellent space adventure. Forgotten Suns by Judith Tarr. 📚 Aisha, the daughter of the chief archaeologists, tries to save the expedition by opening a sealed tomb …

08 February 2026 — : One of the tracks to the river mouth takes you through a sea of golden rushes. I visited at low tide, just after dawn, and the area was a vast mudflat where birds were feeding. 🐦 NZ dotterel. Shag. White-faced heron.

07 February 2026 — : I visited the estuary south of the river today. Midday, blazing sun, no hat, loads of people at the beach, high tide — conditions were far from ideal so no photos. Then I saw clouds of birds whirling away from some disturbance. Thousands of …

06 February 2026 — : We watched The Friend, a film about a writer who inherits her friend's Great Dane when the friend dies. The movie was a bit odd, but the dog acted beautifully. Mainly I felt rather sad about the dog's loss of its owner.

06 February 2026 — : The other day there was a fatal accident at a dangerous nearby intersection I often drive through. Today I signed a petition asking for a roundabout.

06 February 2026 — : Here's some good news — Green Party celebrates decision to decline Taranaki seabed mining | RNZ News: In a draft decision on Thursday, the fast-track approvals panel declined Trans-Tasman Resources' (TTR) bid to mine 50 million tonnes of seabed …

05 February 2026 — : I'm catching up on books that were part of a sci-fi bundle sometime. I'd read part and then left it for some reason. On coming back to it I enjoyed the ways the characters approached different dilemmas, and the creative ideas about the aliens. …

04 February 2026 — : We really enjoyed episodes 1 and 2 of Riot Women 📺 : The themes of the series include the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation. But episode 3 must count as one of the most …

04 February 2026 — : Billionaires are taking over Low Earth Orbit without any real constraints, control or accountability. And there are real dangers to human life and culture — both from satellites crashing to earth or burning up in the atmosphere, and from the …

03 February 2026 — : These drawers for the garage came as a kitset. Yesterday, on an extremely hot and sticky day, I sweated over the shell. I only had to undo and redo two things. 😆 Today it's much cooler and the drawers were assembled in a flash. Very pleased with my …

02 February 2026 — : Occasionally the herons come back to visit. 🐦

01 February 2026 — Not riveting; trash; rampant heterosexuality; creepy - reasons I abandoned books last year : 9 books or book sets I abandoned in 2025.

01 February 2026 — : Proto: A New History of Our Ancient Past by Laura Spinney is rich in information but easy to read. 📚 Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words. Thousands of years ago our ancestors were speaking to one another on the steppes, …

31 January 2026 — : After reading 10 chapters of Book One and a few pages of Book Two I've abandoned The Complete Tarnfield Cozy Mysteries Books 1-6 by Lis Howell. 📚 Tarnfield looks like a postcard-perfect Cumbrian village — rugged fells, stone cottages, winding lanes. …

31 January 2026 — : Hmmm, even more solar panels are being put in not far from us. These are to produce hydrogen to run vehicles — Northern Advocate, Page 3 (PDF): A massive truckload of solar panels arrived at Ruakākā this week as Hiringa Energy pushes ahead with …

30 January 2026 — : Apple Photos tells me this is probably a South African Praying Mantis. And that this is: Dasypodia cymatodes, the northern old lady moth or northern wattle moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in …

30 January 2026 — : Hmmm, seems I abandoned this ages ago. I just didn't like it. It was a free download at the time. Lost And Found: The September Day Series Book 1) by Amy Shojai. 📚 She doesn’t trust people. But can she team up with a service dog to save a missing …

30 January 2026 — : I didn't read these 8.5 books all in one go, but interspersed other books. Nevertheless, once I'd got into the 'groove', I enjoyed The Complete Potting Shed Mysteries by Marty Wingate. 📚 Determined to follow in the footsteps of her English mother, …

29 January 2026 — : We've seen 2 episodes of this, and are keen for more. Move over Brokenwood, Blue Murder Motel is here | The Spinoff 📺 : There’s a bright and breezy retro charm to Blue Murder Motel … The series taps into the quirks of small town New Zealand …

29 January 2026 — : I have a terrible sense of of direction. Usually the more strongly I feel I need to turn right the more likely it is I should turn left. So, although today's 90 minutes drive (each way) to Albany was really just: get on State Highway 1 then go …

28 January 2026 — : Well, that's a shame. I speculated no-one died in the crash that caused me to go the long way round to the gym this morning. I was wrong — Motorcyclist dies in crash with car | RNZ News: Police said the crash occurred at the intersection of …

28 January 2026 — : A minor inconvenience for me today — taking the "long" way to the gym — was someone else's very bad morning. Apparently it was motorbike vs ute at the annoyingly awkward intersection opposite the gym. Presumably no-one died as the road …

27 January 2026 — : I hate the process of selling stuff, but have finally grasped the nettle. Photos taken of my old bike so I can list it on TradeMe.

26 January 2026 — : Woohoo. Prof. Sam Lawler, @sundogplanets@mastodon.social is coming to Whangārei next week. Astronomy and the Billionaire Space Race: Learn how the booming billionaire space race is reshaping international law, low‑Earth‑orbit safety, atmospheric …

26 January 2026 — : (Good quality) Green tea is good for you, as explained in this 16 minute video — THIS is Your Brain on GREEN TEA: New (2025) Science on the Brain Health Benefits of Green Tea. Includes: Acute Calming and Anti-Stress Effects Chronic Brain …

25 January 2026 — : I read all of Murder in Norfolk (Detective Anna McArthur Book 1) by Sadie Norman, but didn't like the main character and believe the writing could have been very much improved by a good editor. 📚 She went for a walk to clear her head. She found a …

24 January 2026 — : This crash closed our usual route home from visiting our friends. Luckily there was a scenic alternative. Road closed, serious injuries after three vehicle crash in Whangārei | RNZ News: State Highway 1 near Whangārei, is closed following a serious …

24 January 2026 — : Today we find ourselves watching the Northland Region Novice Powerlifting competition. I’m at the back with a restricted view. About a dozen competitors and maybe 50 people watching.

24 January 2026 — : On Netflix I watched Boots, which was based on the 2016 memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White: Cameron Cope, a closeted gay American teenager, impulsively follows his best friend Ray McAffey into the United States Marine Corps. Set in 1990, when …

23 January 2026 — : I bought this at a sale price and enjoyed it reasonably well. I found the couple's arguments rather manufactured. Last Chance Chicago by Diana DiGangi. 📚 Attorney and recovering cocaine addict Sam DiCiccio didn’t think she was ever going to see her …

23 January 2026 — : The time flies when you're having rum.

23 January 2026 — : I woke in the middle of the night with hiccups. How does that even work, to be fast asleep and get hiccups! They went on for ages too. Now I'm awake again, way too early. Not one of my most successful nights of sleep …

22 January 2026 — : Over the last few days parts of the country fairly near us — both north and south — have suffered terribly from wind and rain: Person swept away in river, floods close highways, red rain warnings | RNZ News. We simply had around 80mm …

21 January 2026 — : Today I learned door lock terminology: bolt and strike. We were thrilled to get a digital keypad on our front door, so we didn't need to carry keys with us … until sometimes the lock wouldn't actually lock or unlock from the keypad. Today the …

20 January 2026 — : Oh, some areas north of us have suffered severe flooding, but we've just had a bunch of rain — about 32mm. It's damp, but no problems for us. The forecast for tomorrow though is for about 80mm. Council have declared a precautionary state of …

20 January 2026 — Not New Year's resolutions, but New Life's resolutions : Rather than making a New Year’s resolution I thought about how I want the next 30 or so years to go. My focus is on staying mobile, active and strong. What’s yours?

20 January 2026 — : Someone needs to learn not to mix oil and other ingredients in a large open bowl with an electric whisk! 😵‍💫 Not the first time I've done it …

20 January 2026 — : I'm interested in Tiny Homes. This one in the UK is just gorgeous — After a Divorce, She Built This Incredible Tiny House and Reclaimed Her Life (30 minute video): The design of this tiny house is incredibly clever. The space feels open and …

19 January 2026 — : As this series goes on I'm enjoying it even more. Preordering the next book. The Mystery of the Gold Rings (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 3) by Judith Cutler. 📚 The characters are very endearing, the plots original. Driving home from an auction on …

18 January 2026 — : It's corn on the cob season, so I located my handcrafted, customised Kindle corn protection cover. 😆 It's essentially a plastic bag. 🤣

18 January 2026 — : Last night Deb and I dined with friends at Whangārei Basin at The Quay Cafe, Restaurant & Bar. We shared a delicious pizza: Donkey Kong Chicken, mozzarella, eggplant, lime, sesame aioli, coriander and a side of Market Greens — Lemon …

17 January 2026 — : This was a perfectly good read. May read others by this author. A Lesson in Murder: A DI Kate Medlar novel by Lin Bird 📚: Who would want to kill Elise Betteridge, the dedicated headteacher of Blaiseforth Manor School for Girls?

17 January 2026 — : Yesterday we 'discovered' Waipu’s River Walk: an accessible route through heritage-rich areas, providing ample opportunities to enjoy nature, with stunning river views along the way. It was a pleasing walk though we'd forgotten hats and the sun was …

16 January 2026 — Why I'm a paid subscriber to Fix The News : Both legacy and social media are explicitly designed to show you what’s breaking, what’s terrifying, what’s going wrong. Progress doesn’t spike cortisol. Disease elimination doesn’t trigger shares.

16 January 2026 — : We tried a new cafe in Waipū: Unit 6. THREE EGG CHILLI SCRAMBLE Local Pasture Farmed Eggs, Punch Chilli 0il, Avo, Organic Sourdough It was good, though we forgot to ask for no onion for me so that spoiled my breakfast a bit. They had a great mural. …

15 January 2026 — : I took a little 20 minute post-breakfast walk to the Dune Lake, which is about 500 metres away, then back round the houses a bit. 1.40 Km in total. I liked this cloud. And I noticed the way these two tall palms frame the end of the side street. …

14 January 2026 — : Not the most engaging book, but an enjoyable read still. Murder At The Folly (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 11) by Jane Adams. 📚 Rina’s seen plenty of drama over the years. But nothing like the chaos she finds on location at Septon Hall. Her …

14 January 2026 — : Really interesting and enjoyable music. I'd definitely enjoy this again — CONSTANTINOPLE - Kiya Tabassian & A Filetta - Clair-Obscur 🎶 : Between sea and mountains, between eastern modes and polyphony — Clair-obscur is born of the desire for …

14 January 2026 — : Luckily I have no plans for overseas travel at the moment. The USA is already a place I won't go to, for what should be obvious reasons. Now it seems the UK will be another place I won't travel to. I was born in the UK and held a British passport …

13 January 2026 — : Today's little bike ride became a gruelling slog when the surface of the Pipeline Track turned into deep sand that I foolishly thought would soon turn back into solid ground. It didn't. I eventually managed to exit to Rama Road and go home on the …

12 January 2026 — : At 0510, a while before dawn, I could hear a Ruru | Morepork in the nearby trees. 🐦 I used Fission to amplify the sound so there's quite a bit of background noise but the calls are clear. I love hearing this bird.

11 January 2026 — : LOL — Good News in History, January 10: 188 years ago today, the first tea leaves from the Indian state of Assam arrived on a ship in Great Britain, with the effect of … dramatically increase the health of Londoners, as a city that had …

11 January 2026 — : Yesterday we went to The Kauri Museum: Kauri forests once covered much of the land north of the Coromandel … Abundant with bird life and a diverse range of flora and fauna the forests lived on this landscape for 100 million years. Land …

10 January 2026 — : Been out all day doing various sightseeing things. One highlight was discovering this amazing Moreton Bay Fig in a tiny beach camp called Pahi. The New Zealand Tree Register: The tree is not only big and old but very shapely, one of the best looking …

09 January 2026 — : Another shot from the heron kerfuffle the other day. 🐦

09 January 2026 — : Hah hah. I happen to have studied German so have no problem with this word, but I love the total non-explanation of how to pronounce this sequence of letters that looks very complex to an English speaking person 🤪 — The Germans have given a …

09 January 2026 — : This was a very intense read. The oppressive heat and humidity of New Orleans was almost a character in its own right. Interesting and different, but I may not read more from the series. Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery by Margot Douaihy. 📚 …

08 January 2026 — : I enjoy this series, but this book didn't feel quite right at the start. Warwick and Bell don't enjoy an easy friendship, but the mystery is solved in the end. Murder on the River (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 5) by Janice Frost. 📚 A murdered …

08 January 2026 — : Recently the adult white-faced heron and two chicks had a kerfuffle on the fence. Here was one shot, with the parent looking decidedly unimpressed. 🐦

07 January 2026 — : Some of the hundreds of people at Waipū Cove on this warm and sunny summer's day. We had to park some distance away from the cafe where we had lunch. I ate a delicious panfried fish with tabbouleh.

06 January 2026 — : Today's music — Metamorfosi - Constantinople, Kiya Tabassian 🎶: The ensemble aims to create a dialogue that recreates the spirit of the cultural exchanges between Venice and Eastern capital cities, such as Constantinople. The spontaneous …

06 January 2026 — : This 20 minute Doctor Alex video is very useful — 6 Warning Signs You're Ageing Faster Than You Should Be include: Declining energy and slower recovery after stress or poor sleep Loss of muscle and strength (sarcopenia) You don't need to …

05 January 2026 — : I heard part of this 4 minute track on the radio and its compelling rhythms drove me to find it on YouTube. Excellent Kiwi musician: Aaradhna - SHE (Official Music Video).

05 January 2026 — : Down at the river mouth this morning, with the camp ground on the opposite shore and people swimming, kayaking, standup paddle boarding, and generally enjoying the day.

05 January 2026 — : I so much enjoy this series, and this book kept me reading after I should have gone to sleep — once the adventure starts it's hard to stop reading. Urgent Track (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries Book 11) by D. L. Keur. 📚 It’s high summer …

04 January 2026 — : Today we drove with our friends J&H and their dog Boo to Ocean Beach, out at Whangārei Heads. It took just over an hour. We stopped for lunch at the busy Parua Bay Tavern. Mount Manaia closeup Ocean Beach view.

03 January 2026 — : Now we don't have animals to worry about, I love a good thunderstorm. Lightning and thunder are excellent reminders that nature is way more powerful than we humans can ever hope to be. Bring it on! ⚡️

03 January 2026 — : The lead character and setup suggested I'd enjoy The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A swashbuckling, seafaring romp by Shannon Chakraborty. 📚 when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her …

03 January 2026 — : This 15 minute video was very informative and useful. 3 Warning Signs Your Sleep Is Harming Your Health (Doctor Explains Why): Poor sleep doesn’t just make you feel tired. It disrupts blood sugar, blood pressure, hormones, brain function, and …

02 January 2026 — : We watched and I enjoyed Prime Minister about our former Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern: The 102-minute film documents the five years of Ardern's tenure, including both her political and private life. … The film includes information on the …

02 January 2026 — : This morning's music was a nice find, with a women's choir: Venetian Splendors: Sacred Baroque Music with Women's Choirs. I especially enjoyed the Vivaldi: so bright and compelling. 🎶

01 January 2026 — : Hah hah. It's been a while since I've noticed a nice Timeline adjacency.

01 January 2026 — : My now traditional New Year's Day selfie. 😀 I take a selfie every single day but almost never post them anywhere.

31 December 2025 — : Playing Monopoly Northland with friends on New Years Eve. We own Northport, Ninety Mile Beach and Marsden Cove Marina among others.

31 December 2025 — : The Ruakākā River is literally a 3 minute walk from our front door — a contributing factor to our buying in this location. It's pleasant to walk beside it.

31 December 2025 — : I'd forgotten that I enjoy madrigals, like these: The Book of Madrigals: Amarcord performing Renaissance songs. 🎶

30 December 2025 — : We did a little 1.2km loop walk at Limeburners Creek Wetland in Whangārei. We saw a few birds, including this probably leucistic Mallard. Note the tiny duckling behind the small duck at bottom right. 🐦

30 December 2025 — : Our perceptions are skewed by the news media that outrages us for profit, but there is much much more going on in the world. This essay is the single most interesting and most important thing I've read all year. Here's just one quote: We have built …

30 December 2025 — : This is what the beginnings of a 250,000 solar panel installation looks like.

29 December 2025 — : I've suffered from Gastric Reflux for years, though it's getting better now. This PDF from The Centre for Strong Medicine in Australia provides a lot of useful and detailed information, including explaining which gym exercises can make reflux worse, …

29 December 2025 — : This is interesting — Fix The News 321: Brain epochs 🧠 🌟: In one of the world’s most comprehensive studies of how neural wiring changes from infancy to old age, scientists in Cambridge have identified the five major “epochs” of human brain …

27 December 2025 — : Today, with a new bird-watching friend, H, I visited the Waipū Bird Sanctuary. We saw lots of Oystercatchers, Godwits, gulls, NZ Dotterels, ducks and a few other birds, but of particular note was a bird new to me — the Ruddy turnstone 🐦 : An …

27 December 2025 — : I mainly enjoyed The Complete Detective Siv Drummond Mysteries: by Gretta Mulrooney. 📚 I'd already read another series by this author, and the first of the books in this series. Book 5 didn't grab me so much for some reason.

26 December 2025 — : A fellow down the road breeds and protects rare Cape Barren geese. 🐦 Today I spotted half a dozen of them near the river and was struck by how very big they are: Length: 85 cm Weight: 5.3 kg (male), 3.8 kg (female)

26 December 2025 — : Such a delight, listening to Handel's Messiah - Lausanne Cathedral 2025, all 2 hours 20 of it. 😁 🎶

26 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Home. 📷 Grandma in chair — photo of a printed photo taken around 50 years ago, probably around Christmas time.

25 December 2025 — : Traditional Christmas morning at the beach. ☀️

25 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Feast. 📷 Thai food in Taupō on 18 June 2023.

24 December 2025 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 At Mangawhai, 40Km south of Ruakākā.

24 December 2025 — : ''

23 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Baking. 📷 Christmas fruit mince pies, 06 December 2025.

22 December 2025 — : Ohhh, can't wait for this movie to come out mid-2026. It looks delightful and hilarious: The Sheep Detectives. Do watch the trailer. n this witty, new breed of mystery, George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved …

22 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Grinch. 📷 Hermit crab in large shell, 04 June 2024.

22 December 2025 — : The sun rose at 06:02 on this Summer Solstice and I went to the beach to watch it. ☀️ Haere mai te Raumati.

21 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Solstice. 📷 Solstice moonset 21 June 2024.

20 December 2025 — : September's pukeko chicks have been independent for a while now. This morning we spotted 3 tiny new chicks that are all black fluff and legs. 🐦

20 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Sparkle. 📷 A good frost at Waikawa Beach on 21 June 2018.

19 December 2025 — : A local knitter made this bear and when I saw it I realised perhaps our house could use some Christmas decoration after all. So cute. 🐦

19 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Beard. 📷 Green-lipped mussel with 'beard' on 12 February 2019.

19 December 2025 — : With the characters and setting well established from Book 1 this series is settling well. I've preordered the next in series. The Mystery of the Silver Dish (The Antique Shop Mysteries Book 2) by Judith Cutler. 📚 The dish is valuable. Too valuable. …

19 December 2025 — : It's hard to believe this series is already up to book 12. I'm still enjoying it. Fakes and Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 12) by Jane Adams. 📚 the world of art forgery and high-stakes deals hides ruthless collectors — and killers who will do …

18 December 2025 — : Good on our new local Council! — Councillors vote to oppose plans for fast-tracked sand mining at Northland's Bream Bay: Whangārei district councillors voted unanimously to oppose plans for fast-tracked sand mining at Northland's Bream Bay. …

18 December 2025 — : The last time I spotted jellies in the sea I was in Wellington. This one was swimming around at Marsden Cove Marina the other day.

18 December 2025 — : It sounds like this guy had committed horrendous crimes and was planning another. I'm glad he was foiled and jailed. FBI tip-off helps authorities foil mass stabbing attack at court, Hastings man jailed: What worries me though is this: On 28 …

18 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Evergreen. 📷 Evergreen trees at Lake Takapō on 23 March 2024.

17 December 2025 — : We live very close to the Ruakākā racecourse and I thought I'd throw $20 away in a bet on some random horse today. As it happened I didn't get all the way in to the racecourse when the first race came thundering round the bend before the home …

17 December 2025 — : By the Ruakākā Racecourse is an entrance to the beach. It leads the eye straight towards Sail Rock. I used the Cleanup function in Apple Photos to remove an annoying power line.

17 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Firelight. 📷 Firelight from the woodburner on 19 March 2024.

16 December 2025 — : For most of the last week I've been a bit under the weather with digestive issues, lack of appetite, low energy (not surprising since I've hardly been eating). Today finally I was able to get back to the gym, and that felt good. 💪🏼

16 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: Cozy. 📷 🐶 Oshi cozy in his tower of beds on 23 June 2019.

15 December 2025 — : I enjoyed a good reading session with The Winter Dead (Detective Shona Oliver Book 6) by Lynne McEwan. 📚 Always happy to read another in this series. A blood-soaked hammer is discovered in a lorryload of wood delivered to a local pub. DI Shona Oliver …

15 December 2025 — : OK, I read Book 1 and now I'm abandoning this as just too silly and annoying. Cadbury & Merrydrew Cozy Mysteries Books 1–5 by Christine McHaines. 📚

15 December 2025 — : Micro.Blog photo challenge: frost. 📷 Waikawa Beach, Frost on the sand on 05 July 2024.

15 December 2025 — : 🗣️ ‘But you and me, Sister, we’re the lucky ones. We don’t have to be anyone. Out there, everyone’s an individual. Their unique self. Their wellness, their self-improvement, their apps. People are burdened with having to be a self. But you and me, …

14 December 2025 — : There's something about the Sister Agnes books that just enchants me; they're just so "right" somehow. This was yet another excellent read. The Earth Weighs Heavy (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 9) by Alison Joseph. 📚 ‘Guilt. That’s what it is. Terribly …

14 December 2025 — : Took a little 7 minute drive to buy Thai takeaways. Checked out the For Sale signs in a nearby shop window. Got a spare $1.8 million for a yacht? I think that's the one berthed just in front of the restaurant.

14 December 2025 — : This morning's delight — music from the 13th Century. Codex Las Huelgas: Casta catholica (Conductus Motet) (Folio 121 verso - 122 recto). 🎶

14 December 2025 — : I'd already read Book 2 and this was a similarly lightweight, easy to read mystery that I got free. A Santa Stabbing (Shop 'Round the World Book 1) by Geri Krotow. 📚 [Angel] finds a dead body in the shop murdered with one of her specialty Santa …

13 December 2025 — : Started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I didn't see all episodes when it originally aired in 1987 and didn't recall any of S01E01. 🖖🏼 The sexism of the times shows. Two alien blobs are mates — a pink one and a blue one. Sigh! And Q …

13 December 2025 — : NZ racism hits different: ‘I’m not even going to try to pronounce the next name’: Come exam time every year, an external supervisor would take the roll. And every year, without fail, he’d stop when he reached my name. “I’m not even going to try to …

13 December 2025 — : Late yesterday, when I put the sprinkler on, the pukeko were delighted and came to play in the water. 🐦

12 December 2025 — : The last time I hard boiled eggs they had nasty bits of runny white. Yuk! Jenny Jones Hard Boiled Eggs instructions worked perfectly: Place eggs in a saucepan. Cover completely with cold water. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Bring to a full rolling …

12 December 2025 — It's definitely not all bad news : Links to 5 sources of good news in today’s world.

12 December 2025 — : Our little pohutukawa tree is flowering. Looking good, little tree!

11 December 2025 — : The herons do so enjoy hanging out on the fence. This young one is a bit ruffled in the breeze. 🐦

11 December 2025 — : Today's good news: I took my 10 year old car in for its annual Warrant of Fitness check and there were no additional costs because nothing needed to be fixed or replaced. And then, even better news: they asked me if I have a Gold Card (available to …

10 December 2025 — : I really enjoyed After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian. 📚 when [Patrick] takes in a drifter who seems to be hiding something, and his best friend and her newborn move into the apartment upstairs, his life gets turned on its head. Thanks to …

10 December 2025 — : At the river were two shags on a branch in the water. One is a Pied Shag but a clearly smaller shag was nearby. I think the smaller one is a Kawau tūī | Little black shag 🐦 : Little black shags are similar in size to little shags, but they lack any …

09 December 2025 — : A fellow down the road has a very large property by the river mouth and is happy for respectful folks to ride their bikes or walk there. He breeds the rare Cape Barren goose 🐦 : Cape Barren geese are almost wholly terrestrial, inhabiting open …

09 December 2025 — : Comfy pukeko. 🐦

08 December 2025 — : We drove to Warkworth today for breakfast with friends A & M at So French (FB link). Warkworth is quite pretty really and is one of the filming locations for the NZ series The Brokenwood Mysteries. I'm eating carefully today as my digestion seems …

07 December 2025 — : On Netflix I really enjoyed the Spanish series Old Dog, New Tricks 📺 : As the bills pile up and his farmer neighbors start paying him in eggs, Antón swallows his pride and considers a job at his niece's fancy pet store. It was fun and funny. I use …

07 December 2025 — : This is a very interesting 24 minute video — The English words nobody can explain: Some of the most ordinary words in English have origins that no one can explain. Among them: "dog", "big", "bird", "donkey", "boy", "girl" and "puzzle". The gay …

07 December 2025 — : The neighbour's fence was the place for all the cool birds to hang out this morning. 🐦

06 December 2025 — : Ahhh, on a hot day a little after-dinner beach stroll. Very pleasant.

06 December 2025 — : Something for me to experiment with on these hot days — Three ways to make cold tea this summer | The Tea Curator: Cold brewed 'still' tea A super-simple, set and forget method. Add dry tea leaves into a teapot, glass, jar or pitcher - any …

06 December 2025 — : This morning, through the slightly open door, I watched one of the baby herons (who have now left home) hang out on next door's roof. Then a couple of Pukeko strolled around the garden. 🐦 I really like the effect caused by the very narrow view I had …

05 December 2025 — : In this rather picaresque novel Blue takes a couple of decades to find herself — Finding the Grain by Wynn Malone. 📚 The tornado that ripped through Blue Riley’s family farm tore her teenage life apart, killing her parents in her last month of …

05 December 2025 — : That little doohickey in the middle of the shower head is a flow limiter thingy. The other day the plumber removed it and now my shower has more satisfactory pressure. 😁 I removed the disk from the other shower head too.

05 December 2025 — : Kimberly Hirsh wrote: After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian 📚 Cat Sebastian’s work unfailingly delights me … I found the book on Amazon.com on my iPad where I'm not logged in. OK, $6.99 … I switched to my Mac, where I am …

04 December 2025 — : My special glass teacup is a slippery thing, especially when being washed. It also explodes into many shards when it bursts from my wet and soapy hands. 😢 The explosion was very musical though.

03 December 2025 — : We had low flow shower heads installed when we built our house — great for water conservation, but after 3 months of showers being frustratingly not quite strong enough I asked about it. The plumber removed a tiny plastic flow restrictor from …

03 December 2025 — : Not just a smart watch! Smart watches give family violence victims 'a sense of protection' | RNZ News: A smart watch that doubles as an alarm for women at risk of family violence is helping to reduce police callouts.… It looks like any other …

02 December 2025 — : Hooray for the 8x iPhone zoom that allowed me to capture this Spoonbill feeding in Ruakākā River. It's the first Spoonbill I've seen up here. 🐦

02 December 2025 — : After a few very hot and sweaty days I thought some new bike clothing would be a good idea. My shorts and top from Silversky arrived today and I already love them! They fit perfectly and feel great. 🚵🏻‍♀️ Kiwi designed in Wellington N.Z. and …

01 December 2025 — : Yesterday evening the very late sunlight was really red. Trees a few metres from our house. Fern garden with big rock.

01 December 2025 — : It's been a while since the last Jana DeLeon book but Coeds and Cattails didn't disappoint. 📚 The team have to track down who killed a very unpopular snitch before the daughter of a friend is unjustly accused. Some gripping and funny scenes, as …

30 November 2025 — : Fancy reading something cheerful? 🐈 46,000 Knitted Mice Donated to Rescue Cats: Woman’s Weekly magazine … invited readers to create woolen mice for rescue cats living in shelters across the UK—and the response enor-mice. Using the free pattern …

30 November 2025 — : Our new lawn is all of 13m2, so we laid out just under $100 for a push lawn mower. I haven't used one of them for decades.

30 November 2025 — : Hey @manton @help I just needed to edit a Reply I just made and can’t do it. I go to my Replies page, click the Edit button and then get a blank page. Please bring back our Reply edits… 😀

30 November 2025 — : In the heat of yesterday afternoon, I biked to the beach on the south side of the river mouth and took a short walk. Loads of people were on the beach and in the water. On the horizon a trail of ships headed past Tuturu | Sail Rock towards the port. …

29 November 2025 — : Today I looked up when I started going to the gym: around July 2024. In the last 18 months I've made enormous progress, gradually increasing both the weights I work with and the variety of exercises I do. I hadn't planned for 2025 to have a focus on …

29 November 2025 — : Cat Caliban delves into the events and culture of the 60s in this cold case — Eleven Hours to Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 11): by D.B. Borton. 📚 Back in the summer of ’69, rebellious teen Leila Perle secretly boarded a bus to …

28 November 2025 — : Huge commotion at the heron nest just now as the adult chased off a potentially marauding hawk! 🐦 Pleased to see a hawk, but not if it's going after baby herons!

28 November 2025 — : I was checking out the baby White-faced Herons. 🐦 … … when one took off … … and flew … … a short distance. Well done baby heron!

28 November 2025 — : Yesterday I took a different route on the way home from the gym: via One Tree Point Road and McEwan Road before heading back down Marsden Point Road. 🚵🏽‍♀️ That ride was about 9Km and was blissfully free of trucks roaring past. When I visit Fitness …

27 November 2025 — : Hey, all you North Americans, please stop eating so many hamburgers! We Kiwis want to be able to afford to eat NZ grown beef too! price of beef mince soars by 18%: "New Zealand exports most of our beef, 80-odd percent, and … the most volume is …

26 November 2025 — : I've enjoyed this author's murder mysteries, but this time there's no murder. The hunt is on for a book and a family member. An unusual read, with a tinge of My Fair Lady about it in the friendship between Griff and Lina. The Mystery of the Missing …

26 November 2025 — : Our new landscaping is almost done. The guys add final touches today. General view of the garden, with concrete pavers connecting the patios, a winding shingle path, plants on either side. We specially love the big rock and fernery. Mulch covers our …

25 November 2025 — : Today I incorporated an approx 13 Km bike ride into my trip to the gym. Port Marsden Road (SH15) was OK, apart from the backwash from the dozen or so mainly logging trucks that roared past relatively close. Next time I'll try avoiding SH15 by going …

25 November 2025 — : Old bike: AHHH SHIIIINGGGLE ROADDDD! New bike: Shingle, what shingle? 🚵🏻‍♀️ 😁

24 November 2025 — : Hello to the new family member: Gepida Berig. Sadly, my beloved Gepida Reptila was excellent for tarseal and concrete but the new Berig gravel bike will give me a better ride on the many very rough shingle and potholey paths around here and further …

24 November 2025 — : Big day: at least one of the two baby white-faced Herons will fly today. Calisthenics have been underway. 🐦

23 November 2025 — : There's a mysterious little lake (or two) on the corner between McEwan Road and the intersection where Port Marsden Highway meets Point Marsden Road. (Who came up with these confusing names!?) There was a black swan pair with two young on the …

22 November 2025 — : Moody Mt Manaia.

22 November 2025 — : Hah, I got Royal We-ed: “Would we like anything else?”

22 November 2025 — : I found Sappho Farms by Alex Washoe interesting and a positive read, with a view into aspects of life (trans and ADHD) I'm not very familiar with. 📚 MC Molina is a rising star in PR, living in a sleek Seattle townhouse with her brilliant, …

22 November 2025 — : 🤯 Well, fellow females, today I've learned about the (historical) Bourdaloue: a boat-shaped vessel with a raised lip at one end and handle at the other, a bit like a gravy boat and the maid would be expected to carry this for her mistress and …

22 November 2025 — : I was looking back at previous blog entries and found it's exactly 12 months since we signed the contract on this new house. It's also 3 months since we moved in. And we're loving living here! I'm sitting here on a warm Saturday morning listening to …

21 November 2025 — : I've been expecting the White-faced Heron babies to launch themselves from the tree any minute, but zooming in, I can see there's still a bit of fluff on the top of the head. The parents are leaving the babies alone for longer and longer now. 🐦

21 November 2025 — : Yesterday while chatting outside in full sun with our landscape designer I noticed the ground beside me kind of shimmering. I looked up to see a very large flock of birds (perhaps godwits?) flying directly overhead, casting shimmering shadows. That …

20 November 2025 — : Our new garden features 3 2 large rocks. Manoeuvering them into place takes finesse. Here are two. These are lava flow rocks from the Hikurangi area. They were blessed before they left the collection site — they are of 'unknown' origin and …

20 November 2025 — : The landscapers worked hard yesterday putting the 'bones' of our garden in place. Today the plants arrive, along with a couple of big rocks, about 1.2 metres tall. They need a different digger to handle that weight. North side of the house, looking …

19 November 2025 — : Dr Geoff Lindsey does a very interesting experiment at the end of this 27 minute video. The results really interested me — What if Gary Stevenson and Jimmy the Giant spoke British Received Pronunciation? : YouTubers Gary Stevenson and Jimmy the …

19 November 2025 — : At Ruakākā — For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

19 November 2025 — : Through a window on a dreary morning, but although I often hear the pheasant, today I actually saw it. 🐦

18 November 2025 — : The transformation of our 'lawn' is underway. This will be a path through various sections of mainly native plants.

18 November 2025 — : Another good read in a series I enjoy — Murder at Miners Bluff (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 6) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 The remote location has no road access and the terrain is so extreme that a helicopter can’t land. … Can they …

17 November 2025 — : Yesterday we lunched with our friends R and R at Schnappa Rock Restaurant at Tutukaka. My panfried tarakihi with chips and an Iceberg Wedge was very delicious. Oh, and there was live jazz that we enjoyed too. An unexpected surprise for a Sunday …

16 November 2025 — : We took our visiting Wellington friends R & R to the Helena Bay Gallery today, north of Whangārei. On the way home we visited a few eastern beaches, including Matapōuri Bay, which was rather lovely. Note: that's Sugarloaf Rock on the right, not …

16 November 2025 — : Luckily this enormous Newfoundland dog I saw today belonged to the Helena Bay Cafe and Art Gallery, and not to the owner of the teeny tiny Triumph sports car in the carpark. 🐶 😆 (There were two tiny red sports cars in the carpark!)

15 November 2025 — : Less than 10 metres from me : adult heron grooming. 🐦

15 November 2025 — : Another chick at the river mouth the other day — this time a dotterel. These birds are so hard to see: follow the post at mid-top down to the bottom third of the photo to see the chick. Its parent is on guard nearby. Oystercatcher in the …

14 November 2025 — : At the river mouth the other morning I spotted this Oystercatcher with two tiny chicks. 🐦

14 November 2025 — : View from our front door this morning. @crossingthethreshold 🌈

13 November 2025 — : When we moved in to our new house we had a tiny bit of garden and the rest in grass. Today the team are ripping up most of the grass so they can install more privacy panels, gardens and paths. Nothing grand: the whole section is only 600 m2 and the …

12 November 2025 — : Caitlin Doughty delivers a very thoughtful consideration of the issues in this 15 minute video — Watching AI Testimony at a Real Murder Trial: Would you want an AI version of you speaking from beyond the grave?

12 November 2025 — : Another from a series I quite like: 4th Silence (Schock Sisters Mystery Series) by Misty Evans and Adrienne Giordano. 📚 Thirty years ago, eight-year-old Tiffany was found murdered … Now, as the anniversary of her death looms, sisters Charlie …

11 November 2025 — : Those white-faced heron chicks are getting quite big. The parents seem to leave them alone a bit more now. 🐦

10 November 2025 — : Cooked Easy Balsamic Chicken: Succulent baked balsamic chicken, loaded with flavor from a bold balsamic marinade with garlic, lemon juice, and herbs! The recipe neglects to mention marinade time, and the extra 30 minutes or so if you make your own …

10 November 2025 — What is the right (affordable) ebike for me? : I ponder changing my urban ebike for an ebike more suitable for rough-surfaced trails.

09 November 2025 — : Before driving home we made a quick visit to Haruru Falls, just outside Paihia. The chickies by the entrance were cute. 🐦 The falls were lovely.

09 November 2025 — : I really enjoyed the lesbian romance, Under the Witness Tree by Marianne K. Martin. 📚 After inheriting an old plantation house, Dhari Weston heads south to settle the estate and meets intriguing Dr. Erin Hughes, a local history professor with in …

09 November 2025 — : A lovely spot for breakfast at Zane Greys. The author visited here a century ago, loved the fishing and started a tourist trend.

09 November 2025 — : One delight of the day was that we spontaneously added an extra day to our trip, driving to the east coast to visit Paihia in the Bay of Islands. We enjoyed an excellent pizza funghi last night at Charlotte’s on the waterfront.

09 November 2025 — : For various reasons, including rain, we biked only 8Km round trip yesterday on the Hokere end of Pou Herenga Tai. The part we cycled included about 1.25 Km of boardwalk, a part I particularly wanted to bike along.

08 November 2025 — : View from the lobby of our hotel in Paihia, Bay of Islands. Enjoying an afternoon cuppa and a lie down in our room with its car park view.

08 November 2025 — : View from the cafe at Māngungu Mission. In the end we biked 8 Km round trip at the west end of the Pou Herenga Tai bike trail.

08 November 2025 — : Today’s forecast is rainy. Weighing whether to go ahead with the cycling part of our trip. We could do it some other non-rainy day…

07 November 2025 — : The view at Opononi/ Omapere is so beautiful on a good day. In fact, any day at all probably.

07 November 2025 — : Ten Clues to Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 10) by D.B. Borton. 📚 Cat Caliban thought her biggest challenge this holiday season would be surviving her annual family Monopoly game. But when a member of her local writers’ group calls in a …

07 November 2025 — : Another good (and mouthwatering) read — The Mumbai School for Murder (A Temple Hill Mystery Book 3) by Meeti Shroff-Shah. 📚 When fiery teacher Ms Venus is found slumped across her desk, the school insist she died of natural causes. But Radhi’s …

07 November 2025 — : Today we're heading off to the Hokianga over on the West Coast. We'll be visiting Manea Footprints of Kupe: a 75-minute multisensory journey of guided storytelling – through art, taonga (cultural treasures), film, performance, digital interaction, …

06 November 2025 — : Somehow when I got my new phone I thought Call Screening would be a good idea. Pah! Yesterday I missed 6 calls from a person I'd said could call me. Today two calls from a tradie. Now it's OFF. How To Turn Off Call Screening On iPhone (iOS 26). I …

06 November 2025 — : So pleased I thought to grab a (shaky) video of an adult white-faced heron feeding two chicks in the nest close to our house. 🐦 No sound — they were too far away for that.

06 November 2025 — : A few times recently I've heard a Ruru | Morepork in the nearby trees. 🐦 Before dawn it carried on hooting for ages, allowing me to get this audio file. I used Fission to amplify the sound so there's quite a bit of background noise. There are also …

06 November 2025 — : Last night I went to sleep to the bangs and whizzes of fireworks in the neighbourhood. Today's first news story is a good one — Photo gallery: Pets relaxing to RNZ Concert's soothing sounds for Guy Fawkes | RNZ News: Pets around the country are …

05 November 2025 — : I rewarded my gym session with a splendid brunch at The Anchorage. It's a beautiful spot — who needs to fly to a Pacific Island with this only a 10 minute drive away (or 20 minutes in my case since I managed to get lost 🤣).

04 November 2025 — : Baby white-faced heron is growing and developing the white face. 🐦 Extreme zoom and crop.

04 November 2025 — : In the last couple of weeks, every time we go out and about, to the shops, for example, we see hikers with backpacks and walking poles making their way around the place as they walk Te Araroa Trail: one of the worlds’ most diverse long distance …

03 November 2025 — : Today we met our friend JM at the far end of the Onerahi Shared Path, at the Beach Road Reserve. Then we biked to Pohe Island, and onto part of the Hātea Loop Shared Path – Huarahi o te Whai until we reached a cafe next to the Hundertwasser building. …

03 November 2025 — : Hooray for YouTube I had visions of not being able to go on a planned outing today and of having to call a locksmith when my working door key simply could not be pulled from the lock. There's a simple answer, — hold the cylinder in place: Key …

02 November 2025 — : We went to the Bream Bay Combined Arts Group exhibition today where I scored this nice image of Mt Manaia for $35. It's done in felt!

02 November 2025 — : A couple of days ago "our" white-faced heron chick looked like this. 🐦

01 November 2025 — : My friend J suggested we visit the Hundertwasser Art Centre — I'd only ever been to the restaurant before. It was actually very interesting, but my favourite part was the afforested rooftop (I had no idea about the forest). Small forest on the …

01 November 2025 — When your ordinary is someone else's meaningful : A researcher in the UK found my everyday photos of a sand scarab useful in their research.

31 October 2025 — : My friend J and I visited the subtropical Whangārei Quarry Gardens: In 1944 Hardie Brothers established a stone quarry … Severe flooding in 1974 curtailed the operation and the … land lay fallow for 20 years, used mainly as a rubbish …

31 October 2025 — : Our white-faced heron neighbours have finally hatched one or more chicks! These photos are with a 100-400 zoom on a Fuji X-T5, then heavily cropped. 🐦

30 October 2025 — : Today I took a closer look at the World War 1 memorial in downtown Whangārei. After some fruitless research about the figure, I asked Claude, who replied in part: The Whangarei District Memorial was erected to honor those from the district who fell …

29 October 2025 — : Eru Kapa-Kingi: The first declaration of Māori sovereignty and why it still matters: He Whakaputanga was the first pou in the ground making our presence known to the globe. Te Tiriti was the second pou to its side, which then created a waharoa – a …

29 October 2025 — : Baby Magpie is becoming more visible. 🐦

28 October 2025 — : I wasn't happy yesterday to find this small paper wasp nest on the inside of the shed door.

28 October 2025 — : Woke at 0100 to a massive thunder, lightning, rain storm. At least it's warm though. Yesterday afternoon we were battling a northwest wind whose gusts made our house 'growl' and tried to scatter our outdoor furniture around the neighbourhood. 💨

27 October 2025 — : I didn't get down to see this the other day, but well done kids (and adult helpers). The offshore sandmining should not be allowed to go ahead. A community group opposed to a fast-tracked sand mining proposal in Northland's Bream Bay has set an …

27 October 2025 — : When I biked to the shop this morning I forgot to tuck the end of my shoelace into the shoe, so sure enough, my lace got caught up in the chain as I was taking off. Which reminded me to pay another visit to the most excellent Ian's Shoelace Site to …

26 October 2025 — : Dutch Cities Are Building These Tiny Staircases to Help Cats Exit Their Canals: Two cities in the Netherlands are mounting tiny staircases on the sides of their canals to help cats escape if they fall in the water. Between the capital of Amsterdam …

26 October 2025 — : We enjoyed a few minutes walking by the Whangārei marina, spotting this tree covered in butterflies. We also saw a Spotted dove 🐦 : A native of south and south-east Asia, the spotted dove was introduced to New Zealand in the 1920s, when some were …

26 October 2025 — : Last night we had dinner with friends at The Quay Cafe, Restaurant & Bar by the marina in Whangārei. I had a huge chunk of pistachio stuffed Lamb Saddle, with parsnip and shiitake mushrooms, which was delicious, but too much meat. The view from our …

25 October 2025 — : Setting up a brand new Mac from scratch is a bit of a hassle, but I love it. Downloading the apps, choosing fonts, finding extensions, rearranging Toolbars, setting Settings, realising I no longer need certain apps …. It's all a nice …

24 October 2025 — : I had to wait all day for the courier, but my M5 MacBook Pro finally arrived. Turns out that after logging in to Micro.Blog, the first two apps I installed were Keyboard Maestro and TextExpander. BTW: there was a charger included in the box.

24 October 2025 — : We haven’t had fish and chips from the shop for ages. Ruakākā Takeaways did a nice bit of battered snapper and the chips were good too. As usual, the fish was better without the batter. 😆

24 October 2025 — : Someone down the road is revving their boat engine, making lots of noise and clouds of smoke. As you do. One of the features of a beach community in Bream Bay, I guess. On 25 November 1769, the Endeavour sailed into a large bay. Cook commented: We …

24 October 2025 — : In our flash new house we don't have mere blinds and curtains; we have "window treatments". These arrive today. Here are a couple of Before photos: dining area and lounge. I like this uncluttered look with its clean lines.

23 October 2025 — : This strawberry is pretty much the first fruit of our food forest. Yum. I'm really surprised "our" magpie hasn't scoffed it. Too busy chasing off "our" white-faced heron I guess. 🐦

22 October 2025 — : Another lesbian romance: Fire Fall by JD Glass. 📚 Bennie Grego, an EMT by day and comic book artist by night is forced to make a near impossible decision. I guess romance books, of any ilk, just don't sit that well with me (though I keep hoping). …

22 October 2025 — : Sometimes a recipe I've found online specifies Kosher salt. I've never been able to find that here in NZ, so finally searched for alternatives. Two videos were very helpful, explaining it mainly just means flaky salt. Do I Need to Use Kosher Salt?: …

21 October 2025 — : After insufficient sleep I was a bit reluctant to drive down to Waipū Cove for the walking group but decided I just needed to push through it. When the road was closed though, I figured fate had stepped in and simply returned to enjoy this splendid …

20 October 2025 — : I'm a little mixed about the lesbian love story Beowulf for Cretins: A Love Story by Ann McMan. 📚 A burned-out English professor toiling away at a small college in Vermont’s Champlain Islands finds love and ensuing complications that very well may …

20 October 2025 — : People pay thousands to go to a Pacific Island for a holiday but here we are living just down the road from a cafe with tables outside and a view across the marina to Mt Manaia. Bliss.

19 October 2025 — : Drove with our friend J to brunch at the Anchorage Cafe, then biked around the area seeing sights. Mount Manaia across the Whangārei harbour entrance. Close up of the distinctive rocks atop Mt Manaia. [Legend says Manaia] began battling Paeko with …

19 October 2025 — : Spotted this sticker on a car. 🤣

18 October 2025 — : I've been monitoring a magpie nest high in a nearby tree for a while now and I believe there are new chicks up there. I saw 2 adults leave the nest, but there was still movement. I'm pretty sure I could see a chick's head. 🐦 Nest and head outlined. …

17 October 2025 — : Mallard ducks on the Dune Lake. 🐦

17 October 2025 — : Pretty sure I just heard a horse whinny. According to Google Maps the closest possible horses would be about 350 metres away on the far side of the slight rise behind our place … 🐎 Beyond that is the racecourse. This photo from 10 October …

16 October 2025 — : A flash of very vivid blue caught my eye across the river — it turned out to be a Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher. It's barely visible in the two photos below, flying at centre right. 🐦 Meanwhile a Matuku moana | White-faced heron took flight.

16 October 2025 — : Today I strolled across the road to the river — a 3 minute walk. After going about 500 metres south beside the river I turned and took this photo looking upstream. The trees on a small hill behind the river are on an old pā site, not far away. …

16 October 2025 — : Yes! This is in my near future — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip: Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip … faster storage, up to a phenomenal 24 hours of battery life M5 also includes a …

15 October 2025 — : This was a very interesting 1 hour podcast episode: Clutterbug Podcast - Why You’re Still Drained — and How to Get Your Energy Back: If you’re exhausted, unmotivated, or mentally fried, this episode is for you. I’m sitting down with Dr. Saundra …

15 October 2025 — : I always find this nerve wracking. Multiples of triple checks. Especially since roads round here aren’t the highest quality. Made it safely though.

15 October 2025 — : Opened Apple Maps, put in the address for the first of today's errands (driving) and was bewildered by all the surrounding street names at my destination. Looked closer. Of course Apple Maps had me driving to Sydney Australia from my home near …

14 October 2025 — : Today my new iPhone 17 Pro stopped being able to make or take calls. I checked my provider's Outage Status page, checked my account, failed in being able to make contact with them, decided to follow up tomorrow when I go to town. Deb's suggestion: …

14 October 2025 — : On our train ride up by Kawakawa the other day we spotted this Kawaupaka | Little shag in trees by the line: 🐦 the little shag’s diagnostic short-billed and long-tailed silhouette, along with its small size and stubby yellow bill. Shape alone is …

13 October 2025 — : On yesterday's vintage train ride out of Kawakawa we had to stop for a few minutes for staff to open huge gates that blocked access to a bridge. I was interested by the sign cautioning people, especially cyclists on this part of the Twin Coast Cycle …

12 October 2025 — : Today we travelled for 2 hours on a special outing of the Bay Of Islands Vintage Railway: pass through beautiful countryside, past rivers, native wetlands and over the longest curved wooden bridge in the Southern Hemisphere. … the first …

12 October 2025 — : This Granny Smith apple tree was planted around 3 months ago, in about July 2025. Look at all the blossoms!

11 October 2025 — : Easy to make and totally delicious. Pearl Barley Soup - RecipeTin Eats: Barley Soup! Simple to make, clean-flavoured and filled with nourishing veggies, the little trick that elevates the taste here is sautéing a small amount of herbs and spices for …

11 October 2025 — : This tiny skink lives round our house. I'm happy to see it, but don't know what kind it is. I just hope it's not a Plague skink: Native to Australia, plague skinks were first recorded in Auckland during the 1960s and are now posing a threat to our …

11 October 2025 — : This Nadia Lim recipe for Microwave scrambled eggs was easy and delicious. Easier than cooking eggs on the stovetop and cleaning up afterwards. They don’t have the exact same consistency of scrambled eggs cooked in a pan, but they’re pretty good …

10 October 2025 — : Several flights of Kuaka | Godwits flew north while I was hanging out at the Dune Lake. One lot flew right over me, and so low I could hear the whirring of their wings. It was magical. 🐦 Photos from a different group.

10 October 2025 — : Paradise Ducks would be a great alarm system — they spot you from miles away and don't stop squawking till you leave. These were down at the river mouth yesterday. 🐦

09 October 2025 — : This interesting display seems to be permanent outside one house on Marsden Point Road.

08 October 2025 — : While waiting for moonrise last night I looked west and saw the last signs of a setting sun. Note: I uses the magic eraser tool in Photos to remove power lines.

08 October 2025 — : A major new report … Our Marine Environment 2025 from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ [found] that New Zealand's oceans are warming faster than the global average, marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, the risk …

07 October 2025 — : I drove 5 minutes to the beach to watch the Harvest Supermoon rising. I had to wait till it cleared the cloud. [Heh, it's spring in this part of the world, not harvest time.] For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

07 October 2025 — : When we moved in to our house one side of a sliding door was badly scratched. The glazier theorised that whoever had cleaned it had a tiny chip of concrete or similar trapped on the rag. Now, several weeks later they replaced the glass and I was …

06 October 2025 — : Today we drove south slightly to look at Langs Beach, about 3 Km south of Waipū Cove. Then we drove a tad further to Mangawhai Heads and Mangawhai, all rather built up. The Mangawhai sandspit The sandspit is home to the extremely endangered Tara …

05 October 2025 — : Author D. L. Keur has several series I enjoy, and Toxic Deceit (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 3) was no exception: 📚 When a young woman exhibiting signs of psychosis is killed, it seems like a drug-induced frenzy… Then, another woman …

05 October 2025 — : Hmmm, this is the second time in a couple of weeks that my M1 MacBook Pro has thrown up this message after being asleep for a few hours. My 8Gb RAM is really starting to be a problem. The next one I buy (in a few months I hope) will have at least …

05 October 2025 — : This pukeko was hurrying by with a tasty morsel. 🐦

05 October 2025 — : Magpie yodelled at me from the corner of the fence this morning. 🐦

04 October 2025 — : Unfortunately we don't see this view from our house. On the other hand, it's only a 2 minute walk up a small incline behind our house to reach this viewpoint.

04 October 2025 — : This 7 minute video from MinuteFood explains why bread gets hard as it stales, thanks to retrogradation, while cookies / biscuits go soft. A good watch. The REAL reason bread goes stale.

03 October 2025 — : Most of Knight Shadow (Jorja Knight Mystery Series Book 8) by Alice Bienia was interesting and enjoyable. 📚 When her boss sends her to check on an old army buddy displaced by a fire, Jorja leaps at the chance—only to find him dead in a downtown …

02 October 2025 — : About 10 minutes drive from our house is Wilson’s Dam: created as a water supply reservoir for [Ruakākā] and now regularly stocked by Fish and Game with both rainbow and brown trout. I don't fish but visited to see if there were any birds around. …

01 October 2025 — : Māori were the first people to arrive and settle all over Aotearoa somewhere around the year 1200-ish. Thank goodness people (usually) word their signage more carefully these days than this plaque from 1992:

30 September 2025 — : The museum wax I needed and was looking for yesterday for a project turned up today, of course. 😆 Meanwhile, I've discovered a photo I've been looking for for a while. Here, a photo of a very old photo — my maternal grandmother, age 84 when I …

29 September 2025 — : Black swans and mallard ducks on the nearby Dune Lake. 🐦

29 September 2025 — : A few weeks ago in this video, From Osteopenia to Ninja Warrior at 73!! Ginny's Unique Formula for Aging Strong! I came across the concept of a Dead Hang where you hold onto a bar above your head and just support your body weight. It apparently: is …

28 September 2025 — : Today's entertainment: with putting our clocks forward an hour the Northland Emergency System tested the tsunami sirens: a whoop whoop sound followed by a voice saying "Test Only". The nearest siren is ~600 metres away in a straight line. …

28 September 2025 — : Daybreak at an east coast beach.

27 September 2025 — : Cows and gulls in a paddock opposite the shopping centre.

27 September 2025 — : On our drive to the gym today we spotted a farmer using a large drone, presumably spraying the gorse on his property. It was pretty big — about as big as a medium size suitcase. It may well have been one of these: P150 - Airborne Solutions. …

26 September 2025 — : I enjoyed The Sydney Mysteries — three gripping crime thrillers by Jean Bedford. 📚 Anna Southwood never meant to become a private investigator. But after her charming, corrupt ex-husband turns up dead in a locked car on a remote mountain track — and …

26 September 2025 — : Bream Bay is undoubtedly beautiful, especially on a sunny morning.

26 September 2025 — : I watched the South African movie, Valley of a Thousand Hills, a lesbian story, but didn't get the light, happy, 90 minutes I'd been hoping for. This reviewer, Blessing Chinwendu Nwankwo, makes a nice point: Valley of a Thousand Hills … gives …

25 September 2025 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 About an hour after high tide. Looking south. A dramatically cloudy sky.

24 September 2025 — : The 8x optical zoom on the iPhone 17 Pro is quite something. 🐦 A 1x view through a window, across a patio and green grass through pouring rain to tall trees about 100 metres away. An 8x closeup on a tree. In the middle of the picture is a …

23 September 2025 — The bitterest of teas : Why don’t baristas in tea drinking countries learn how to brew tea?

22 September 2025 — : You can tell it’s spring. A pukeko family of 2 adults and 3 chicks on the grass not far from our house, and a pair of white-faced herons nesting in the tree closest to us. 🐦

22 September 2025 — : Meanwhile, someone was exercising their horse on the racetrack just behind the entrance to the beach.

22 September 2025 — : This dreadfully terrible photo of the partial eclipse does show a bite out of the sun at top left. I tried holding my eclipse glasses over the phone's cameras.

22 September 2025 — : I came to the beach anyway even though it’s cloudy.

22 September 2025 — : Woke this morning and remembered: Oh yes. Go to the beach before dawn to see the partial solar eclipse. Looked out the window: it's cloudy and raining. Sigh.

21 September 2025 — A pretty plooty part of the area : The Anchorage area of Marsden Cove is where folks berth their often very large yachts outside their back door.

21 September 2025 — The Anchorage Retirement Village Cafe was a good place to eat : Great views, good cutlery, pretty good food, not too expensive.

20 September 2025 — : Deb and I went to the gym this morning and she took a photo (unposed) of me doing leg extensions.

20 September 2025 — : Got a new phone — iPhone 17 Pro — so I took a photo of the clouds at dawn.

19 September 2025 — : When I bought my Series 9 Apple Watch a while ago I never got around to selling the S7 it replaced. Instead I use the S7 when the S9 is charging. Last night I left the S7 on the bedside table and when I picked it up this morning it told me I'd tried …

19 September 2025 — : At yesterday's checkup with the optometrist I discovered this is relevant to me — Dry Eye Disease 👁️ : Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) is a widespread eye condition and the number one cause of Dry Eye Disease. There are 30-40 glands in each …

18 September 2025 — : Taking the opportunity before a routine eye test in Whangārei to visit Otuihau | Whangārei Falls.

17 September 2025 — : New space observatory opens in South Wairarapa | RNZ News: A new observatory in South Wairarapa lets visitors watch exploding stars far away - and take the photos home with them. The Cretney Observatory, which opened Saturday 13 September, boasts a …

17 September 2025 — : My iPhone 13 Pro Max is busy updating my Apple Watch so I reached for the tiny iPhone 5 I can't bear to dispose of because it's so cute. I wanted to grab the sunrise.

16 September 2025 — : Pretty excited that today when I moved a couple of fabric bags that had been left outside I startled a small dark coloured skink. [No photo.] Hooray for wildlife!

16 September 2025 — : Joined a new group today: The Waipū Cove Walking Group. No joining fees, no committee, just a bunch of people who meet at the same time same place each week to go for a 1 hour walk, then socialise (if they feel like it) in the cafe across the road. …

16 September 2025 — : Note to self: New Zealand one of just a handful of countries to see upcoming partial solar eclipse: Monday, 22 September [2025], a rare partial solar eclipse should be visible (weather permitting) in the early hours across the country.

15 September 2025 — : Kiwis, or folks who know NZ Birds, give Birdle NZ a try. 🐦 Birdle 🇳🇿 15/09/2025 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 https://birdle.nz Voting for Bird of the Year closes on 28 September 2025. Bird of the Year ‹ Forest & Bird

15 September 2025 — A light in the blackout : News from 26 June 1940 when dad revealed a “lighting” offender.

14 September 2025 — : I was sorting through a folder of old papers, hoping to dump some. Now I know why I kept the City Voice from 04 July 1996. In the 1990s and 2000s I did a lot of work introducing people to the Internet, teaching how to use it. Soon after that I …

14 September 2025 — : The murders continue in Malvern, but Jude Gray notices the things the murderer wants to keep hidden and provides invaluable clues for the detectives. A Very Merry Murder by Kate Wells. 📚 a beloved national TV show is coming to film their Christmas …

13 September 2025 — : We can see this tree topped hill from our dining room window. It's just across the river and slightly north of us. Aerial views show it's the site of a water reservoir and pine plantation, and a cell tower. Historical records (PDF) say it's a Pā …

12 September 2025 — : At the gym in Levin I used weights in multiples of 5 kilos. At the gym in Ruakākā weights are in multiples of pounds so I'm updating my routines to weird amounts. [NZ adopted the metric system 50 years ago now.] For example, my chest press set …

11 September 2025 — : Today I plugged "Marsden Point" into the car's GPS. 7 minutes later we pulled into a public carpark, surrounded on all sides by the industrial area around the commercial port for Whangārei. Across the channel (looking more or less into the sun) is …

11 September 2025 — : We're completely prepared for today's power outage … which is apparently next week. 🤦🏽‍♀️

10 September 2025 — : Hanging out in downtown Whangarei on a sunny day. It’s so beautiful here.

10 September 2025 — : With this being nearly 3 weeks away, I bet the tsunami siren test on 28 September will still take us by surprise. The nearest siren is only about 650 metres away.

09 September 2025 — : Hah! 109 years ago, the Van Buren sisters completed a 5,500-mile solo ride in motorcycles across the United States in a bid to prove that women could serve as military dispatchers. … During the ride, they were arrested numerous times, not for …

09 September 2025 — : Today's visitor, moments after it started to rain heavily. 🐦 Pukeko crosses the lawn (through the window).

09 September 2025 — : I want to thank Microblogger Patrick Taillon for putting me on to this 2 hour long video — LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching which I watched over several sessions. 🐦 Partly documentary, partly mockumentary, it was a great look into …

08 September 2025 — : A very satisfying story with pleasing characters and a delightful location. Killer in the New Forest (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 3) by Carol Cole. 📚 Detective Inspector Callum MacLean should be unpacking boxes in his new home. But when a …

08 September 2025 — : Another good read in this series, though rather gruesome. A Murderous Mind (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 11) by Jane Adams. 📚 When the mutilated body of a student is found in her university room, the scene is horrific.

07 September 2025 — : This 45 minute Howtown debate put forward really interesting points. It is a useful contribution to the public discussion. Can we really blame social media? A research showdown.: we dive into the academic controversy … which argues that social …

07 September 2025 — : The Ruakākā Rec Centre gym didn't really work for us so we signed up with Ruakaka | Z 24 Hour Fitness. They have fabulous machines by Inotec which are really smooth and easy to use. Unfortunately I was too enthusiastic in trying out the hip adductor …

06 September 2025 — : A few hundred metres from our new house is a dune lake. Dune lakes are rare ecosystem types on a global scale yet, Northland is home to over 400 of these lakes. Via: Northland’s dune lakes - Northland Regional Council. The other day after a little …

05 September 2025 — : First there was one, then two, Matuku moana | White-faced heron. 🐦

05 September 2025 — : By 12.30 today: the guy we thought was coming yesterday turned up at 11 with his bobcat and moved in 15 minutes two loads of soil that would have taken us hours of hard labour to shift the dishwasher repair guy who was supposed to arrive before …

04 September 2025 — : Glad I double-checked the venue for the Meet the Candidates (City Council elections) event before I went along tonight … It's on next week. 😆

04 September 2025 — : Three different locals who are moving took away all our packing boxes and some of the mountain of paper the packers had used. Today I found my way to the Uretiti recycling centre, a 10 minute drive away, with the rest of the paper. Now, with luck, …

03 September 2025 — : Such an interesting 45 minute video — Sleep, Neurodiversity & The Myths Holding Us Back: Ben Branson sits down with Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan - a Neurophysiologist, Author and Sleep Expert … Nerina brings rare honesty and depth to the …

03 September 2025 — : A sofa we bought 10+ years ago had some kind of black fabric stapled across the bottom. That fabric rotted and turned to 'soot'. Today we carefully unwrapped it from bubblewrap and removed what remained. Nobody needs their new carpet covered in …

03 September 2025 — : You never get too old to rescue puffins: it's part of who we are. Summer Puffling Patrols: Saving thousands of baby puffins from light pollution 🐦: In this 13-minute Wild Hope video from Nature on PBS, biologists Erpur Snaer Hansen and Lucas Canas …

03 September 2025 — : DOC director-general Penny Nelson said research showed 89 percent of New Zealanders thought the country's nature was in good shape - which she described as "disconnected from the reality of the situation". "There are just 238 kākāpō left, fewer than …

02 September 2025 — : A westerly breeze on this east coast beach at Ruakākā makes for gentle waves. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 And look how clear the water is!

02 September 2025 — : Woke around midnight with the most excruciating cramp in my left calf. Eventually went back to sleep, after rubbing on some magnesium cream, but this morning it's still a bit sore. 😾

01 September 2025 — : I've finally retrieved my childhood teddy bear (now at least 65 years old) from amongst the myriad packing boxes. // @alexandrawolfe.ca I'm pretty sure you posted recently about a specific brand of teddy bear and I said I had one of them.

01 September 2025 — : Hah, an excellent turn of phrase: last week Prime Minister Chris Luxon officially identified as non-spinary over the escalating carnival of war crimes that Gaza has mutated into. Via: The Daily Blog.

31 August 2025 — : We drove 5 minutes to the Porthouse Bar & Eatery, where we shared 6 enormous chicken wings in honey and soy sauce, and a rocket salad with cheese, pear and walnuts. It was fine. We were the only lunchtime customers until another couple arrived as we …

31 August 2025 — : There were small deep patches of shells on the beach — such diversity.

31 August 2025 — : Yesterday late afternoon we enjoyed a walk on Ruakākā Beach. It was sunny and warm, and with the wind from the west (on this east coast beach), the sea was calm. This photo looking north towards (probably) Bream Bay Head.

30 August 2025 — : I’d already read book 1 of The Maybridge Mysteries — three gripping cozy murder mysteries by Liz Fielding and enjoyed the next two as well. 📚 Welcome to Maybridge, a picture-perfect Cotswold town where the roses bloom, gossip runs rife — and …

29 August 2025 — : Hmmm, I checked my Micro.Blog profile and discovered I follow loads of people — Micro.blog - [@Miraz](https://micro.blog/Miraz): Following 872 users The problem is, I don't recognise most of the names. So I've started checking the unfamiliar ones …

28 August 2025 — : Today I enjoyed an exploratory 6.5 Km bike ride around Ruakākā. It took me past the NIWA research facility, the Marsden substation and along the first part of the track parallel to the Ruakākā Pipeline road track (then the puddles got too big for me …

28 August 2025 — : Uh oh. I think living here is going to cost more than we budgeted for. 🤣

27 August 2025 — : After weeks of not going to the/a gym we finally got back to it today. The gym at the Ruakākā Recreation Centre's machines are somewhat different from the ones at the Levin gym. I got it figured out though and did a basic routine. Not great: the …

27 August 2025 — : This was a surprise. Yesterday, as part of signing up to a new medical centre, I had a 30 minute interview with a pleasant and competent nurse. She drew blood for routine checks. The needle went in easily, the process was smooth. Hence my surprise …

26 August 2025 — : So, it turns out our fancy new dimmer switches have firmware updates and an app.

26 August 2025 — : US post suspension: 'It seems very strange to not be able to send a package': New Zealand Post announced last week it was temporarily suspending parcel shipping to the States and would only carry letters and documents. It said the move was a …

25 August 2025 — : A view across the Ruakākā Racecourse from the southwest corner. It's been a bit rainy.

25 August 2025 — : At the mouth of the Ruakākā River, standing on the north shore.

24 August 2025 — : In a minor triumph, I have found the charger base for the vacuum cleaner!

24 August 2025 — : Meanwhile, it turns out we have our very own White-faced Heron outside the back door. 🐦

24 August 2025 — : A dawn walk at the beach took me to the sandspit on the north side of the Ruakākā River mouth, a wildlife refuge, where birds nest. 🐦 There were quite a few NZ Dotterels and Variable Oystercatchers, along with black-backed gulls, a shag and possibly …

23 August 2025 — : No photos yet, but so far the birds I've spotted around here are: Mynah (they don't live as far south as Waikawa Beach) Sparrows Gulls Magpies White-faced heron I may also have heard spur-winged plovers. I've located my bird feeder, but …

22 August 2025 — : Well, we're moved in! 🏡

21 August 2025 — : At Taupō the other day we stopped to charge the EV and grab a bite to eat. I've also been thinking about buying new shoes and Shoe Clinic was just round the corner. An excellent assistant called Christine helped me choose Merrel Moab 3 for walking …

21 August 2025 — : Delicious Roasted Chilli Paste chicken — A well balanced sweet and spicy dish, stir fried with basil leaves, seasonal vegetables and a hint of fresh garlic — at Sukjai Thai Restaurant in Kamo, Whangārei. 🍲 Mild was plenty spicy for me.

20 August 2025 — : We paused on our way to Whangārei at the junction of SH1 and SH15, where I took this photo looking across Ruakākā towards the Hen and Chicken Islands in Bream Bay. Isn't it beautiful! Homework for me: learn the Māori names for all these places.

20 August 2025 — : Stayed with whanau in Putāruru overnight. Today we go through to Whangarei to stay at a friend’s place. The dreaded Auckland motorway is today’s challenge.

19 August 2025 — : We took a short break on the shores of Lake Taupō.

19 August 2025 — : We spent a comfortable night at Aspen Court Motel in Taihape. It was warm and had space for both cars. Today we drive to Putāruru (230 Km away), crossing the Desert Road which has a snowfall warning. We need to do that late enough for the frost to …

19 August 2025 — : As a naturally early riser, I realised the best time to charge up the EV was at 5:30 in the morning. No traffic, no competition for the charger. 🤣 I even brought a thermos of tea.

18 August 2025 — : It seemed moving day would never reach its conclusion, but we're now ensconced in a motel in Taihape, having arrived just after full dark. And that's important because I have trouble driving in the dark because of the glare, especially bad if it's …

18 August 2025 — : Hmmmm, moving day is involving an awful lot of waiting around. We might get away before dark.

17 August 2025 — : We had quite the farewell sunset tonight.

17 August 2025 — : We went to Cobb and Co in Levin for lunch. They actually have a Seniors menu with 2 courses for $35; show your Gold Card for 10% off. It was the right amount of food and pretty good. I had roast pork followed by Apple Tart.

17 August 2025 — : Ahhh, the delight of a cuppa at 2.30 am, otherwise spent stressing about how our garage stuff will fit into the new place …

16 August 2025 — : Moving house: there is always something else to be cleaned …

16 August 2025 — : Cat's new career as a detective is developing nicely as she solves a decades old murder with almost no clues to work with. Nine Burned Lives (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 9) by D.B. Borton also has a very nice twist or two. 📚 Cat Caliban never …

15 August 2025 — : Mid packing — after an interruption where they spent ages trying to get the van unstuck from soft sand in front our house. Eventually, with the help of several muscly blokes and a 4-wheel drive ute, they managed to free it. Half packed. One …

15 August 2025 — : The chaos before the packers arrive. Today we have three classes of goods: we take them personally in the cars; we use them over the weekend and then they go in the truck; they get packed ready for the truck.

15 August 2025 — : Our neighbour up north has sent an inspirational photo, saying the photo doesn't do the view justice. They're on a slight hill. We won't see Mt Manaia as they do.

14 August 2025 — : The concept of Death Of A Ghostwriter (Wye Valley Widows Book 1) by Gaynor Torrance was interesting: a chap dies and it turns out 3 current wives are notified … 📚 The execution though wasn't satisfying. I think the book needed a really good …

13 August 2025 — : We don't actually leave for a few days but I decided just before sunset on a sunny and relatively warm afternoon would be a good time to do a farewell visit to the beach. My bird photography skills have rusted over winter. 😒 🐦 Pied Stilt in remnant …

13 August 2025 — : It's pretty chilly this morning.

13 August 2025 — Our racist government : Our government’s latest attempt at racism by removing Māori words from books for kids makes just as much sense as any other racist action: none at all!

12 August 2025 — : Another very big milestone with our new house today. 🏡 At 11 am the building inspector visited for the final inspection and by 2.30 pm we had the Code of Compliance certificate. Next, of course, we received our final invoice from the building …

12 August 2025 — : There's a big list of items the movers won't take that we need to either dispose of or take in the cars. While we don't need to worry about military weapons, black powder, arsenic or formaldehyde, we do have aerosols, a few bottles of alcohol, boxes …

11 August 2025 — : I eventually realised that Ellie's infuriating inability to stand up for herself in Book One was because the author left plenty of scope for character development. Ellie Quicke Mysteries Books 1–7 by Veronica Heley. 📚 Meet Ellie Quicke. Devoted cat …

11 August 2025 — : Chlöe Swarbrick, one of our excellent politicians, in her Green Party AGM Speech 2025: human beings are strongest when we define ourselves by who we are and what we stand for, not what we are in opposition to. We stand for love. We stand for peace. …

10 August 2025 — : It was quite a crowd yesterday in our little house, with 14 people crammed in over drinks and nibbles. Just as well another half dozen couldn't make it as the weather was too horrid to be able to flow out onto the deck. It was a good get together, …

09 August 2025 — : Clean, tidy and rather empty. Waiting for guests for farewell drinks.

09 August 2025 — : First!

09 August 2025 — : For me, the scariest part of our move north is the 1 to 2 hour drive along the motorway through Auckland. I tried Google Maps street view but it failed me at a crucial point. Then I thought to try YouTube and found an excellent video that I was able …

08 August 2025 — : It's a random photo kind of day, like this one of Oshi and Sasha from December 2018. 🐶

07 August 2025 — : In today's Northern Advocate (07 August 2025) I was struck by these two articles. Different countries and all that, but still… On Page 3 (after 2 pages of ads for fridges): Census data shows an ongoing trend of increasing homelessness in New …

06 August 2025 — : We weren't expecting these landscaping rocks in the garden, but they're a very nice addition. 🏡 We're also taking up a couple of bags of pumice and a few small bits of driftwood collected over the years from Waikawa Beach. I wonder how they curve …

05 August 2025 — : The Joy of Tech doesn't always resonate with me, but this … We are better than this!

05 August 2025 — : Sad news today when I heard my little dog friend Willow passed away yesterday, aged almost 15. 🐶 Here she is back in March 2019 in my car with Oshi and Sasha as I took them all to the beach. Sasha, Oshi, Willow.

05 August 2025 — : I've been taking MyComplete mushroom pills from Flowstate for ages now. After pausing recently I noticed the difference and chose to restart. However, with changing addresses and skipping a subscription date I ended up in a huge tangle. Ian helped me …

05 August 2025 — : Will Harlow gives good tips in this 15 minute video. Implementing many has helped me sleep better. Poor Sleep Ages You Faster — Fix It With These 15 Habits (50+). For me though, I need to feel warm so the tip about being cool in order to sleep better …

04 August 2025 — : One of these rocks is not like the others … I needed to fetch something from Deb's zendo last night and my torch caught this wee swallow huddling above the door in the cold. I wished I could give it a blanket to keep it warm and toasty.

04 August 2025 — : It was a milestone moment this morning when the Op Shop truck took away a bunch of mainly larger items: an old freezer, chest of drawers, huge cabinet, bookshelves and smaller sundry items. We're pretty much ready for the movers to come next week.

04 August 2025 — : Well! The dirty truth about what's in your socks: Your socks might say more about you than you realise. In a US murder investigation, forensic scientists used soil bacteria found on a suspect’s socks to link them to the burial site of a victim. I …

03 August 2025 — 5 light links 03-Aug-2025 : Recycling single-use medical devices; Encouraging girls and women into sports; UK Harvest Mice get new homes in used tennis balls; A truly wonderful story about caring milk tanker drivers; Duck Wardens escort ducks through town every night.

03 August 2025 — : As we look to moving 600 Km north from Waikawa Beach to Ruakākā we can expect more sunlight. Times for 03 August 2025: Waikawa Beach Sunrise 07:23; Sunset 17:27 — Daylight hours: 10:04 Ruakākā Sunrise 07:16; Sunset 17:40 - Daylight hours: 10:24

02 August 2025 — : Turns out it's breeding season for the Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel. 🐦

01 August 2025 — : Our new house is nearly done. 🏡 Just as well since we move in soon. 😆 The deal included basic landscaping. We've started with privacy panels across the front. We expect grass to be planted in the new layer of topsoil. We need bushy, 'soft' plants to …

01 August 2025 — : Hmmm, on the south side of the river mouth, but not too far from our new home … Sources quoted suggest wasps or bees. Wasp warning: Ruakākā Beach walker warns public after being stung 50 times: A Northland woman is warning people to be wary of …

31 July 2025 — : We decided to go upmarket on the light over the kitchen island in our new build. 🏡 Months ago a lighting shop had a big sale and we bought this flash lamp. So pleasing to see it in place.

30 July 2025 — : A small success at the gym today. I use a leg curl machine similar to the one in this video: Lying hamstring curl with weight machine. The first time I tried a couple of months ago I couldn't do even one with the minimum 5 Kg weight. Today I …

30 July 2025 — : Roughly 10,000 Km away there has been a huge earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula: Wednesday's magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of far eastern Russia is one of the largest in years, raising fears of a tsunami around the Pacific. That's …

29 July 2025 — : Hmmm, the builder's photo of the Family Room on our new build is interesting. The space is 3.6 metres wide. 🏡 I'm incapable of visualising how our 3-seater sofa, couple of chairs and some side tables can be arranged in any useful way.

29 July 2025 — : OneNZ (Internet and phone provider) have *generously* waived the fee for cancelling Internet with less than 4 weeks notice because the WiFi we currently use isn't available at our new address so we're switching to fibre, and staying with OneNZ.

29 July 2025 — : Beautiful light at dawn this morning. A view through the bedroom window, past the garage, to nearby trees.

29 July 2025 — : Things are coming together very quickly as our new house is in the final stages of being built. 🏡 The builder hadn't specifically mentioned adding a load of topsoil to the property, but it seems that's happening. And presumably it'll be grassed once …

28 July 2025 — : I've been watching videos about food forests on the YouTube channel Byron Grows. We're going to have an approx 15 m2 food forest at our new place. 🏡 That's rather exciting. A food forest, also called a forest garden, is a diverse planting of edible …

28 July 2025 — : I smiled as I picked up Eight Miles to Death (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 8) by D.B. Borton because I know I can rely on this series to be entertaining and enjoyable. 📚 Meet Cat. Retired housewife. Budding private investigator. Reluctant …

27 July 2025 — : The Canada Geese round here need a bit of practice in Vee flying. 😆

27 July 2025 — : I've been drinking more milk lately and mentioned to Deb my concerns about the small mountain of plastic bottles going into the recycling. Yesterday Deb found this bottle of locally produced Udderly Organic milk in a glass bottle we can get refilled. …

26 July 2025 — : Another super cold morning with heavy frost then a blue sky day. Deb drove us into Wellington for brunch with friends, which was enjoyable. After 5 hours out of the house though I was just knackered. Enjoyed a brief afternoon nap then maybe a really …

25 July 2025 — : More photos from the builder, who tells us carpet is going in next week. We have a fancy letterbox, and fans in some rooms. 🏡 Fan in a bedroom that has an ensuite and a feature wall. Front of house with fancy letterbox.

25 July 2025 — : I heard a funny story yesterday. My sister's 79 and once a week drives to the supermarket and library. I guess occasionally she may visit the doctor or dentist. She recently had to get all 4 tires on her car replaced — not because they were …

24 July 2025 — : Big tick: On the very first page of the Te Tai Tokerau Regional Accessibility Strategy (PDF) is a list of alternative formats: This initiative includes Whangārei District Council where we'll be living soon.

24 July 2025 — : Awake at 0232 pondering on identity and how it's altered by a death in the family. And feeling powerless in a world run by madmen. Hooray for a Bagua Shan Shiji Chun Oolong tea. ☕️

23 July 2025 — : Thanks to a huge High over the country yesterday and today we've had the hardest frosts I think I've ever seen here. So cold! Frosty grass up near the house. Down in the lower part of the property.

22 July 2025 — : I'm boggled. I just created a web app in 3 minutes … with Claude doing all the work. It's not quite as explodey and flamey as I'd wish, but wow! Last year I blogged about wanting an app where: I type (or paste) in a bunch of text. Now delete …

22 July 2025 — : A quick iPhone snap never does it justice but there was a gorgeous golden sliver of moon low on the horizon beneath bright Venus on this very cold morning (probably around 0C). 🥶

21 July 2025 — : Turns out my brother, who I hadn't actually seen or spoken to since Mum died back in 2013, died earlier today, aged 77. The message pointed out that recently he was very accepting of the news that he had very little time left, acknowledging it was to …

21 July 2025 — : The other day I watched an interesting video which then led me to Hanging Exercises for complete beginners and older adults. I had a go the other day at a dead hang, without success so I rewatched the first part of the video linked above and tried …

21 July 2025 — : On the rare occasions I get Bracket City out without mistakes, hints or outright revealing answers I really enjoy the "Destroyer of Worlds" plaudit.

20 July 2025 — : A series I seem to enjoy more with each book. Seven Deadly Sins (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 7) by D.B. Borton. 📚 [Cat's] sleuthing skills are called on when sixteen-year-old Peter Baer washes up on the banks of the Ohio River — a length of rope …

20 July 2025 — : I did a 5 Km beach walk at dawn, and took a photo of the 'lake' the sea leaves behind where the river runs out.

20 July 2025 — : This morning for the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society I thought I'd take a wide view. 🌊

19 July 2025 — : That was unexpectedly fun to see NZ's own Rhys Darby in the role of Wedding Planner on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S03E02. Nicely played too.

19 July 2025 — : This 23 minute video from Howtown is excellent The poison that made half the US a little dumber: Leaded gasoline, paint, and pipes left a toxic fingerprint in the baby teeth of half of all Americans — and those tiny clues reveal how silent doses of …

19 July 2025 — : A dozen of these messages overnight. I get them all the time, but not usually so many at once. I keep wondering if I should change my longstanding fairly strong password for a stronger one.

18 July 2025 — : I'm always happy to buy and read books by Cari Hunter, such as The Stolen Girl. 📚 Detective Inspector Jo Shaw is bored, desk-bound, and absolutely not supposed to answer the phone call that sends her to a body in an empty house. Quality writing, set …

18 July 2025 — : Cool! Orcas Appear to Be Sharing Their Prey With Humans—but What Does It Mean?: The researchers identified 18 different types of orcas “gifts,” ranging from several species of rays to a strand of seaweed. Other gifts included a green turtle, an ocean …

18 July 2025 — : This poster is on the window of our gym. It makes me chuckle. When I do things with weights I grimace with the effort. One guy, "the grunter", at our early gym sessions lifts big weights and grunts all the time. I feel like suggesting he reduce the …

17 July 2025 — : Moments after I hung out the bird food the tauhou were eating their way through it. 🐦

16 July 2025 — : Pīwakawaka | Tirairaka | Fantails are notoriously hard to photograph in flight as they flit, dart, squirl in the air. 🐦 Today was apparently "Sit On The Railing Day" which gave me a rare chance. For comparison: Piwakawaka: Length: 16 cm; Weight: 8 …

16 July 2025 — : Our new house has a posh al fresco area on the east and north corner. 🏡 I digitally removed a worker in this photo from the builder. Looks like at 2 pm in winter there's still plenty of sun to enjoy.

16 July 2025 — : Little spotted kiwi found on New Zealand's mainland for first time in 50 years | RNZ News: Conservationists are delighted after a unique kiwi was rediscovered in Aotearoa for the first time in 50 years. The little spotted kiwi, or kiwi pukupuku, was …

16 July 2025 — A brutalist approach to roads : Our government is right on track to cut everything back to the bone for the people in order to hand profits to the few.

15 July 2025 — : Tl;dr — today's headlines: death, doom, destruction and chaos. (So, what's new?) 😵‍💫

15 July 2025 — : One of the things we're really looking forward to in our new house is the pantry with plenty of shelves for our food, crockery etc. 🏡 Looks like these are adjustable too.

14 July 2025 — : The builder sent us a swag of exciting photos today as our house nears completion. 🏡 The kitchen isn't quite finished yet, but it's looking so good. It even has a warning to the builders not to put their gear on the surfaces.

14 July 2025 — : I jumped into this series with the last available book Body at the Doctor's (DI Jordan Carr Book 9) by Diane M. Dickson. The book's set in Liverpool and I really enjoyed the 'local' language. I may read others in the series. 📚 "I wouldn't fit in …

14 July 2025 — : Wow, I joined a mailing list and look at this first email: it's clean, clear, uncluttered. Sentences, well spaced. No photos, images, ads, fancy fonts, layout, upsell, 'stuff'. It's so refreshing. I joined after viewing I Sucked at Photography, …

13 July 2025 — : Last week the tilers were busy working on our new bathrooms. 🏡 This photo was slightly surprising. Those are the tiles we chose months ago. Because our friends have black tiles in their bathroom I kept thinking ours would be black too …

12 July 2025 — : We went in to Wellington today for brunch with half a dozen old friends at The Lab. It has high ceilings and is very noisy, especially when full of folks chatting, and with the noise of the coffee machines. My scrambled egg and bratwurst was …

11 July 2025 — : Will Harlow talked (32 minutes in) about a Deload Week — 15 Mistakes That Stop You Gaining Muscle After 50: You're still turning up. You're still lifting weights, but doing much less than you normally would. You might cut your workout time in …

11 July 2025 — : This is an interesting 16 minute video — Rebuilding Mum & Dad: See Frailty Reversed Through Strength Training | 5-month Update: catch up on my parents’ progress five months after starting weight training in their 80s, as they work to rebuild …

10 July 2025 — : I finally hung some bird food in the olive tree by our front door. Sparrows and Tauhou are enjoying it. 🐦

10 July 2025 — : This is just up the road from Waikawa Beach. I love driving past all these flags! Ngāti Tukorehe to fly more flags after 'racist attack' on its whenua | RNZ News: Ngāti Tukorehe members are flying their flags even higher following what they call a …

10 July 2025 — : As a romance this was an OK book, but it could have done with a good editor to tighten up a few awkward spots. The Love Plot (The McCarthy Sisters Book 3) by Elle Douglas. 📚 Best-selling first time author Kendra Green fears a sophomore slump. She …

09 July 2025 — : Excellent news today that we've sold the house we're living in at Waikawa Beach. We had an unconditional cash offer, so it's a done deal. No waiting around for conditions to be fulfilled. 💸 We relocate to Ruakākā at the end of August. So relieved to …

09 July 2025 — : I enjoyed this, though I wasn't so keen on the spy / intrigue element. Dead Silence (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 7) by Jane Adams. 📚 Journalist Jamie Dale is investigating an explosive story involving the military when someone silences her for good. …

09 July 2025 — : Our new build in Ruakākā is nearly done. This week the kitchen's going in, electricians are doing lights etc, tiling is starting on the bathrooms and outside more concrete is being poured. 🏡 The builder sent photos of bathrooms and a pile of kitchen …

08 July 2025 — : Today I made a tasty Simple Mushroom Barley Soup. I'd never heard of baby bella mushrooms but established that our supermarket's online store did list them. On the day though there were none so I bought Swiss Mushrooms instead as they looked the …

08 July 2025 — : A curious use of the words "may" and "some". I would have thought "will" and "all" would be more appropriate.

07 July 2025 — : Via a friend — New Astronaut Camp for Girls Named After Star Trek Actress Nichelle Nichols, Honored as Role Model: the Nichelle Nichols Space Camp honors someone who pioneered … an idea that color barriers didn’t exist in outer space. …

06 July 2025 — I really want to upgrade my M1 MacBook Pro : As the machine ages, lack of RAM and free hard drive space are causing glitches; Apple Pay has never worked.

05 July 2025 — : Two excellent word games that are new to me: Waffle: Rearrange the letters into the correct words, horizontally and vertically. Drag letters anywhere on the board. The letters will change colour to show whether they are in the correct position. …

04 July 2025 — : In a dry spell within several very rainy days I finally did my part for the annual New Zealand Garden Bird Survey. Scores were low, as usual: Blackbird x 2Pheasant x 1Chaffinch x 1Black backed gull x 1Magpie x 1Waxeye x 1Sparrow x 2Fantail x 1White …

04 July 2025 — 5 light links 04-Jul-2025 : A flock of goats helps get rid of weeds and unwanted species in a city park; Teaching kids how to be safe around dogs; Fairy Tern numbers are increasing; A bushcraft programme to help kids get on the right track; A way to cut cow methane emissions.

03 July 2025 — : I'm enjoying this series more and more. Six Feet Under (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 6) by D.B. Borton. 📚 Rocky Zacharias is a troubled soul with an equally troubled past. She’s finally out of jail, but not out of danger. There are snippets I …

03 July 2025 — : I made a very delicious Broccoli, Cheddar & Spinach Frittata for lunch. I made half the recipe, left out the onions, and added a couple of fresh mushrooms. Delicious.

03 July 2025 — : This article links to an excellent 16 minute documentary about women claiming their indigineity, their female strength, the power of working as a family. ImillaSkate: The Cholita Skaters of Bolivia: ImillaSkate is a Bolivian female skate collective

03 July 2025 — : Nice tip from Daniel: On a Mac: Select any number of files in the Finder Hold the option key and select File -> Slideshow Items danielpunkass https://danielpunkass.micro.blog/2025/07/02/on-a-mac-select-any.html

02 July 2025 — : Hmm, our safe NZ has become a bit more dangerous — New venomous spider makes New Zealand home: A new venomous spider has officially made New Zealand home. The noble false widow spider is one of the world's most invasive arachnids. It was first …

01 July 2025 — : The fence on the south side of our new house has been finished. 🏡 There will eventually be one on the east side too (there's already one on the north) but not while the land behind is not yet even for sale. It's an optical illusion that the fence …

01 July 2025 — : A friend came up by train from Wellington to meet me at Paekakairiki for brunch. Then we walked beside the sea for a bit in the sunshine and fresh air. That was very pleasant.

01 July 2025 — : Brilliant comic from Tom Gauld on grammatical voices for use in scientific writing | New Scientist: SOME GRAMMATICAL VOICES FOR USE IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING ACTIVE VOICE e. g. Our team collected samples and then we tested them. PASSIVE VOICE e.g. …

30 June 2025 — : Seems it's fungus season. This basket fungus is past its best.

30 June 2025 — : For this morning's dawn beach walk I entered by a different track, then paused to take in the sweep of coast. With only a few weeks until we leave for northern parts I wanted an aide-memoire.

30 June 2025 — : There was a degree of friction for me while reading this book. It was partly slightly awkward language, partly somewhat off-putting characters. It was OK, but I may not read more by this author. Bitter Roots: Police Procedural Mysteries by C. J. …

30 June 2025 — : I've enjoyed others in this series but this one just didn't gel for me. Shee McQueen: Bloodlines (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 9) by Amy Vansant. 📚 An invitation to an elite tactical training retreat unleashes a torrent of family …

29 June 2025 — : I generated a random date and looked in my photos. I came up with this picture from March 2018 of Sasha the dog and Ares the cat side by side on a walk. 🐶 🐈

28 June 2025 — : Deb and I drove to Wellington to clean out her office — books and bookshelves, cushions, paintings, pot plants and the like. On the way though we stopped at Kowhai in Ōtaki for a delicious brunch. I had fried eggs and halloumi on ciabatta, and …

27 June 2025 — : It was probably someone on Micro.Blog who linked through to this, but now I want to encourage others to get the free or paid Fix The News newsletter. If you're sick of doomscrolling, find out about the good stuff going on in the world instead: Each …

27 June 2025 — : An enormous loss when we move will be the (lack of) views. 🏡 Here we look over paddocks or greenery to the hills, or barely visible neighbours. Every window has a view. In the new place there will be a 1.8 metre wooden fence only a short distance …

27 June 2025 — : Joss Fong and Adam Cole do such a fabulous job in their Howtown videos. Love this one about Quetzalcoatlus — You're telling me this thing could fly?: Quetzalcoatlus, one of the largest known flying animals, survives in science as sixteen wing …

27 June 2025 — : Good news at Waikawa Beach — At-risk Waikawa Beach footbridge to be replaced | The Post (paywall): It was recommended the bridge be replaced after a recent structural assessment. The bridge provided the only pedestrian access to the northern …

26 June 2025 — : I'm enjoying this series and the wit sometimes makes me laugh out loud. Between my daughter Franny and the Mel and Al duet, I’d been lectured so often on the effects of fat on women my age that I did most of my fat consumption in private these days. …

26 June 2025 — : The painters have been at work inside our new build at Ruakākā. 🏡 This photo from the builder puzzled me until I worked out the painters have stood up some internal doors in the main living area, presumably to make painting easier. Meanwhile our …

26 June 2025 — : I was feeling very blah and 'untethered' this morning so took a brisk 5 Km beach walk at dawn: morning light and walking by water lift mood exercise is grounding and movement shakes off low feelings exercise is good for health fresh air I met …

25 June 2025 — : I had no idea there was a women-only labour camp in Nazi Germany! This was a very interesting ~30 minute listen. Lynne Olson - resistance at Ravensbrück | RNZ: Lynne Olson's new book The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück tells of defiance in a notorious …

25 June 2025 — : The archaeological research (PDF) I was looking at the other day reveals that around 150 years ago: The 1887 electoral roll lists 69 voters in the Ruakākā area, 36 of whom were gum diggers. Gumdigging was one of the principal late nineteenth century …

24 June 2025 — Research ahead of big projects adds to the store of our local knowledge : The Meridian Solar Farm project has revealed a bunch of native birds, including bittern, can be found near our new house.

23 June 2025 — : First visit to Wellington in a while and everything's so quiet — almost certainly related to this awful government hacking back civil servants, services, everything really. I'm waiting in the Library for Deb to finish a dental procedure next …

23 June 2025 — How many people can be the parents of one child? : A case in New Zealand of a throuple all being listed as parents has been appealed because apparently the ‘system’ can’t handle it.

23 June 2025 — : This was a bit of froth I got for free — Death by the Dunes: A Pelican Shores Cozy Mystery by Bessie Barr. 📚 Nothing ruins a gorgeous coastal sunrise quicker than…a dead body. Bystander asks a few questions, solves the mystery.

22 June 2025 — : Imagine the nightmare for word-processing software if this hadn't settled down: Like the Greeks, the Etruscans and Italic-speakers wrote from right to left at first. Later they went through a phase called boustrophedon or ‘ox-turning’, when a line …

22 June 2025 — : I wasn't entirely gripped by Death at Dark (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 2) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚 a summer squall reveals the wreckage of a legendary pirate ship … Conservationists, treasure hunters and media descend on the exclusive island to …

22 June 2025 — : This was a worthwhile 7.5 minute watch from Minute Food, a useful channel — The secret loophole in food advertising: There’s a robust system in place to protect US consumers from misleading advertising…but that doesn’t mean you should actually …

21 June 2025 — : We went sightseeing today along the newly opened Te Ahu a Turanga | Manawatū Tararua Highway: The road features a range of mahi toi (cultural art) at lookouts, roundabouts and on bridges that have been designed by the project’s iwi partners. There is …

21 June 2025 — : We visited Nanyang Flavours in Shannon which now opens for lunch. For $15.50 I had an extremely delicious and filling Sweet BBQ 'Char-Siu' Bento: Roasted chicken marinated in a sweet BBQ 'Char-siu' sauce served with rice, hard-boiled egg and seasonal …

20 June 2025 — : LOL, our builder said the painters are working on the inside of our new house and wouldn't let him in because he'd track in dirt and muck. I'm glad they want their work to be best quality. 🏡 Meanwhile, someone from the firm who stays at a nearby …

20 June 2025 — : Why Puanga is the star of this Matariki: Māori ways of marking time are inherently place-based, whakapapa-based, and deeply rooted in the local knowledge of each hapū. … we don’t just read the stars – we read the land, the tides, the birds, …

20 June 2025 — : Hmmm. Colonisation via timekeeping — Why Puanga is the star of this Matariki: With colonisation came a new system of timekeeping – the Gregorian calendar. In 1868, New Zealand became the first country to have a nationwide time decided by the …

19 June 2025 — : I guess the fact that this was book 22 in the series shows that I enjoy this author's work. Murder Under the Sun (DI Hillary Greene Book 22) by Faith Martin was enjoyable as always. 📚 Fifteen years ago, Imelda Phelps was battered to death in the …

19 June 2025 — : This random find has been a very relaxing 3.5 hours accompaniment this morning — Black Cats Sax & Deep Bass Show (music only, no video). No rules, no rush—just a natural flow of music that feels effortless and deeply soothing. This playlist …

19 June 2025 — : Sunrise this morning was OK.

18 June 2025 — : There was a decent frost this morning. Looking south, towards the paddock with the neighbour's gorgeous horses it wasn't so evident. But looking northeast the frost was a lot more obvious.

17 June 2025 — : Popped in to the supermarket, which was busy with lines at every checkout. Then I realised it's superannuation day …

17 June 2025 — : Hmm, this is the part of the country we're moving to in a couple of months … The future for Northland weather: Storm alerts are 'the new normal' | RNZ News: This year has already brought almost every possible weather extreme to Northland, with …

16 June 2025 — : My initial reaction was that the businesses that destroyed the habitat should be paying for this — but it turns out that is the case. I'd say the headline's careless / provocative. DOC spends hundreds of thousands to care for snails after …

16 June 2025 — : I'm seeing more and more of this on things that come out of Australia — acknowledging the ancestral lands. It's so good to see. Is it OK to exercise less in winter? | RNZ (my emphasis): Mandy Hagstrom is an exercise scientist at the University …

15 June 2025 — : Oh yeah, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds — every episode a gem. 😁 S01E07 (Those Old Scientists): An accident while investigating a time portal sends Ensign Brad Boimler through time from the twenty-fourth century, and Captain Pike and his crew …

15 June 2025 — : I totally expected to toss this bit of fluff aside in disgust within a page or two but actually read the whole thing — Paws, Claws, and Curses (A Purr-fect Relic Cozy Mystery Book 1) by DeAnna Drake. 📚 It was a lightweight read, suitable for a …

14 June 2025 — : A few days ago when looking for something enjoyable to watch I landed on Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on TVNZ. A guaranteed good show that I've seen before. Suddenly though it's available for only one more day, and I'm less than half way …

14 June 2025 — : Luckily before we firmed up dates with the moving company we checked with the builder for our new house. Seems our moving in date is some 2 weeks later than we expected. 🏡 Oh, well, our tidying and sorting and disposing of no longer useful items …

13 June 2025 — : In the southeast corner of our new property is an attenuation tank 🏡 : Stormwater attenuation is the storage of excess stormwater during the peak of a storm, followed by controlled release of the stored water. The rate of release is designed to be …

13 June 2025 — : I found this way more gripping and enjoyable than I expected — A Chain of Pearls (Martha's Vineyard Murders Book 1) by Raemi A. Ray. 📚 I'll read more in the series too. When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown …

12 June 2025 — 5 light links 12-Jun-2025 : Couple honoured for having fun (tracking asteroids); Kiwi kids win major awards at US Science Fair; Tara Iti population grows; Cockatoos work drinking fountain controls; Electric ferries launched in Auckland

12 June 2025 — : Femicide — Invisible victims: How Colombia plans to support kids orphaned by femicide | Al Jazeera: According to the United Nations, eight Latin American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Ecuador, have passed similar laws to …

12 June 2025 — : Abandoned this free book because it was all a bit silly and it annoyed me with its carelessness (eg missing words). A Dashie Discovery (The Pecan, Texas Pet Groomer Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by M. Alfano. 📚 While taking a pair of Pomeranians home, she’s …

11 June 2025 — : I'd never noticed before, but Google Maps does something clever. I checked a driving distance for a book set in the US and results were in miles. When I checked a New Zealand distance, results were appropriately in kilometres. Good on you Google.

11 June 2025 — : Cat Caliban goes further afield in this enjoyable story — Four Fatal Elements (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 4) by D.B. Borton. 📚 Louella’s uncle, Red McIntyre, is dead. A tragic car crash on a rural Tennessee road. But something doesn’t add …

11 June 2025 — : Our new house build is inspected at certain progress points. Yesterday was drainage. The report we received contains this: Your next inspection will be: Final. Woohoo! 🏡 The builder sent us 19 photos yesterday. The garage has a door; architraves etc …

10 June 2025 — : Booming space industry could hurt ozone layer's recovery - NZ study | RNZ News: The ozone layer is healing because of countries phasing out CFCs - but rocket launches could slow its recovery if the space industry grows as fast as it wants to … …

10 June 2025 — : As the clear nights and frosty mornings of winter bite down it became clear we don't have enough firewood to see us through the next 6–8 weeks … This morning's task, having already organised the shed, will be stacking the 2m3 of pine when it …

10 June 2025 — : While sorting out the firewood shed I came across this white blob under some pieces of pine. Closer inspection revealed what it was.

09 June 2025 — : In the local good news department: The Brokenwood Mysteries returns: The reliably charming local murder-mystery behemoth The Brokenwood Mysteries returns [on 15 June 2025] for an 11th season, with Neill Rea and Fern Sutherland still on the beat …

09 June 2025 — : Wow, this is just a very mild cold, but I cooked and ate shepherd's pie for lunch then crashed for the afternoon — 2 hours sleep! 🤧

09 June 2025 — : This was a good read. I enjoyed and kept reading it while developing a cold, even though I really wanted to fall asleep. Legacy of Lies (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 5) by Jane Adams. 📚 When Naomi Blake and her partner Alec inherit a crumbling house in …

08 June 2025 — : I will miss glancing up from the kitchen bench and seeing this view through the bedroom window.

08 June 2025 — : After cleaning up for today's Open Home we enjoyed a delicious pizza at the Old Courthouse Eatery: Chicken, mushroom, blue cheese, sun-dried tomato.

08 June 2025 — : I have a strong suspicion I'm coming down with a cold. Meanwhile, to the southeast, more snowy peaks.

07 June 2025 — : Hah! Looking through some old emails and found this from March 1997 with my first ever domain name (and I still use it!): key:firstbite.co.nz [digits obscured] This is your first official test message with your new domain name. You are now know to …

07 June 2025 — : We knew it was darned cold this morning, but seeing the nearby snowy mountain tops from the main street in Levin really brought it home.

07 June 2025 — : I'm using the iCab browser for some research and often want to capture the page title and URL for my notes. Claude AI very helpfully gave me an AppleScript I trigger with Keyboard Maestro. The guts of it: tell application "iCab" tell front window …

07 June 2025 — : Interesting article — What's protein, why do we need it, and how do you get more?: The average adult needs about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight - so a person who weighs 80kg needs about 65g of protein per day. … We also …

06 June 2025 — : This was a good 17 minute watch, NZ MP, Willie Jackson at the Oxford Union Debates. One fun moment, about the guy who really kicked off colonisation here: Q: So in terms of Captain Cook, hugely well known in New Zealand, but … Is he known in …

05 June 2025 — : The books in this series are ones I really enjoy. Murder At Mount Ida (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 5) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 Two days. A bomber on the loose and a killer who’s not afraid of heights. I'll definitely read more in this series.

05 June 2025 — : A bit rough out there today. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

05 June 2025 — : Yay. This cafe has just opened only 7 Km from our new house. Sounds good. Oregano Eat and Drink One Tree Point | Cafe & Restaurant in Marsden Cove, Whangarei: Nestled in the scenic beauty of One Tree Point, Whangarei, Oregano Eat and Drink invites …

05 June 2025 — : I watch all the Will Harlow videos and do at least some of the exercises. The ONLY Exercise You Need for Stronger Arms Over 50 is one I've done parts of but never as a whole unit. Sit down in your chair and hold one weight in each hand Keep a …

04 June 2025 — : Heavy edits on this photo from the builder of our new home. I lightened shadows, straightened the image, and casually 'magic-removed' two workers from the left side, so the post looks a bit odd. 🏡 This is the main bedroom with gib stopping complete. …

04 June 2025 — : Met a friend at Lock Up at 52B Marine Parade, Paraparaumu, for brunch. The toasted cheese gem (no photo) was delicious. I was taken with the cheerful teapot.

03 June 2025 — : Another build update for our new house. 🏡 I think the photo from the builder shows Gib stopping and plastering progress. With the door at the end slid back and 'doubled up' it really shows the effect of having tinted windows. We get to see a bit of …

03 June 2025 — : Spotted from / at the supermarket car park today. 🤣 Bonus supermarket activity: I got to pat a lovely wee patient dog that was a cross between Poodle and Lowchen.

02 June 2025 — : Another in an easy reading series I enjoy — Killer at the County Show (The Malvern Mysteries Book 5) by Kate Wells. 📚 Tensions are high at the Three Counties Show when accusations of cheating add fuel to a longstanding feud. For Jude Gray, …

01 June 2025 — : A simple but delicious fried eggs on toast at Cafe 66 in Ōtaki. We decamped there during our Open Home today and discussed still to be decided details about our new house: where should the washing line go? Where should the toilet roll holders go? Do …

31 May 2025 — : Detectives Leo and Shan make a good team against a sweltering Yorkshire summer in Fire on the Fells (Detectives Donovan & Young Book 2) by Cath Staincliffe. 📚 beneath the façade, dark secrets smoulder. It’s only a question of which was worth …

31 May 2025 — : Hmmm, tailor-made suits — Shane Ave Suits (my emphasis): In designing your suit, you will have over 500+ fabrics to choose from. You will also have the opportunity to choose your own styles, linings, shirt collars and cuffs. You can even …

31 May 2025 — : The builder on our new house tells us: 🏡 This week all the Gib fixing has been completed and now the guys have started Plastering. [After the plaster dries, the workers] will start the Finishing Lines and Hanging Interior Doors. Apparently, Finishing …

30 May 2025 — : It's a good thing it's not Dotterel nesting season. Last night's tide seems to have been unusually high and would have wiped out the nest. They last nested just by that larger bit of driftwood only a couple of metres from the white tape. 🐦

29 May 2025 — 16 Authors I like : 16 authors whose books I’ve enjoyed since July 2022. Mainly, but not exclusively, murder mysteries.

29 May 2025 — : Gorgeous colours this morning at the little lake just near our house.

28 May 2025 — : Two podcasts I've just discovered that I'll probably subscribe to: Women of Steel with Miriam Grace: Miriam Grace talks to remarkable women about their lives and challenges through the lens of her work as a psychotherapist. Recorded in Sheffield, …

28 May 2025 — 5 light links 28-May-2025 : Native jumping spider; Wind-powered cargo ships; Video of a scrap between tuatara and takahē; huge 30 year old fungus; Owls in towels.

28 May 2025 — : Glanced up from messaging a friend to see this splendour.

28 May 2025 — : Hmm, two author interviews I've listened to in two days now … This morning: Interview with Cari Hunter, a favourite northern English lesbian. I've very much enjoyed Unbreakable A Quiet Death Cold to the Touch Alias A Calculated Risk No …

28 May 2025 — : If you're having a bad morning, afternoon or evening, Jason Kottke has you covered: These are owls in towels. That’s it, that’s the post. Best link ever!

27 May 2025 — : After a false start a couple of years ago, I finally read and enjoyed The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red by Martha Wells. 📚 A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red I was drawn back to read it after watching a very interesting 22 …

27 May 2025 — : We just bought new Eufy P2 Pro smart bathroom scales. This device tracks 16 essential body measurements, such as Heart Rate, Weight, Body Fat %, BMI, BMR, Protein, Body Age, Nutrition Tracking, and more. Apparently, I'm a bit low on protein … …

27 May 2025 — : Three for the Kill (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 3) was another lightweight but entertaining mystery by D.B. Borton. 📚 The author comes up with amusing turns of phrase, like this: [After buying a new used car] Already I was in love. I had forgotten …

26 May 2025 — : Looks like the builders have put up all the gib on our new build. 🏡 Photo by the builder, as usual. Next up, plastering: The Plastering will take approx 1.5 weeks, now the temperature has cooled down the Plaster takes a bit longer to dry between …

26 May 2025 — : Yup, that worked last night.

26 May 2025 — : Finally went for a dawn beach walk again. The view across the little lake was good. Although mainly overcast, the sun peeked through briefly to light the wave caps. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

26 May 2025 — : Well, this is unusual round these parts: today both high and low temperature forecast are 16/16C — all day it'll be 16C!

25 May 2025 — : Putting up gib board continues at our new build. 🏡 The builder was standing at the front door to take this photo through to the back of the house.

25 May 2025 — : I enjoyed reading the Library ebook Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi. 📚 This was a creative and interesting story, well presented. Project Nought is a 336 page LGBTQ+ Sci-fi graphic novel by a New Zealand author and set in Auckland. Ren Mittal's last …

24 May 2025 — : How cool — NZ wool being used to make eco-friendly caskets: Low-emissions caskets and urns made from New Zealand wool are an environmentally friendly option for eternal rest … Three fleeces worth of wool go into each casket. They're made …

24 May 2025 — : From the Whangārei District Library I borrowed the ebook of The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish. 📚 A young lesbian in Maine and a young gay guy in New Orleans swap homes for a month. Romance ensues for each. I enjoyed the read, but there was some rather …

24 May 2025 — : Today's random interesting fact — What Would You Win in an Elizabethan Lottery? | History Hit: The first lottery in England was held during the reign of Elizabeth I, on 11 January, 1567. England’s power was growing and more funds were needed to …

23 May 2025 — : When we returned from our visit up north I found this delight in the letterbox. My thanks to @jean for this gift. 😁

23 May 2025 — : I enjoyed reading Killing a Stranger (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 4) by Jane Adams. 📚 Teenager Rob Beresford stumbles home in the middle of the night, drenched in blood and claiming to have killed a man. Rather than Naomi, it was actually the friend …

22 May 2025 — : Today the builder sent us more progress photos of gib board being put up in our new house. I've digitally removed a worker from the photo below. 🏡

22 May 2025 — : This approximately 25 minute speech on Yale's Class Day by The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand is absolutely worth your time. She was one of our best leaders and speaks about leadership, and how we …

21 May 2025 — : It was so blimmin cold this morning that today I went down to the shed and retrieved the extra winter bedding. We don't have very much firewood left and won't be buying more before we move. I don't want to use it all up before even June rolls around …

21 May 2025 — : When I first glimpsed a black bird hopping along the railing I assumed it was 'our' Blackbird. Then I realised it was actually a Tui. See the white bobbles on its throat in this terrible quick iPhone snap through the window. 🐦

21 May 2025 — : The builders have started putting up Gib board in our new house. 🏡 Photo by the builder. There was a better photo but it shows three workers too clearly and it doesn't feel OK to me to put that online.

21 May 2025 — : Our Whangārei friends are incredibly hospitable and generous and their house is very comfortable, but it's so good to be back home. First really good night's sleep in a week. Two cups of tea before 7 a.m. Ahhhh. OTOH, our house was only 11C when I …

20 May 2025 — : I love the creativity of the Hundertwasser museum and precinct in Whangārei Basin. This area of paving could have been simply flat. Instead it has a flat trail for those who need level ground, with small bumps, hillocks and curves for aesthetic …

19 May 2025 — : We ate lunch at Deluca Cafe (FB link), 6/8 Rust Avenue, Whangarei 0110. That's pretty much opposite the Library. My hot chocolate wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad. My fried eggs on wholegrain toast with grilled tomatoes and chicken tenders …

19 May 2025 — : Yesterday afternoon we went with our friends to visit friends of theirs in Waipu which is about 10 Km south of our soon to be home in Ruakākā. We made pizzas in an outdoor pizza oven and spent a while chatting. My pizza toppings were a bit on the …

18 May 2025 — : These books were good enough, but not brilliant. Havard and Lambert Books 1–5 by Pippa McCathie. 📚 My biggest problem is the author uses the technique of hiding information from the reader, like this example (one of many): “Do you mean you know who–” …

18 May 2025 — No onion in my meals please : A poor experience at Acropolis Cafe, Bar And Grill in Whangārei.

17 May 2025 — : Most people at Barge Park today, including us, were walking dogs. Then there were a dozen or more doing something different. The 24 Hour Challenge: We encourage you to bring along your own miniature pony or you are most welcome to hire one of ours. …

16 May 2025 — : It was a gorgeous and hot day at Ruakākā beach today. A few people were swimming. Taranga (Hen), Marotiri (Chickens) and Taturu (Sail Rock) lie on the horizon of Te Ākau (Bream Bay). In the distant far right is Hauturu o Toi (Little Barrier Island) …

16 May 2025 — : An exciting time today as we saw our new house for the first time "in the flesh". 🏡 We didn't know it had already been insulated and today it passed the inspection that allows gib board to go up next week. The north side of the house. A slight oddity …

15 May 2025 — : We flew over our new house as we came in to land at Whangārei. It's in the green area in the bottom right quadrant of the photo. 🏡 Threading through the top half is the Ruakākā River flowing from right to left. The riverbank walk is only a couple of …

15 May 2025 — : Yay. Boarded our plane to Whangārei, taxied, sat, returned to terminal, engineers fixed a small problem but noticed a complication. Now we’re sitting in the terminal again.

15 May 2025 — : Mountain rises above the clouds in central North Island. Sunrise above the clouds.

15 May 2025 — : After leaving the house at 5 a.m. airport eggs on toast was not only welcome but very delicious!

14 May 2025 — Energy Farm goodness at Ruakākā : The new energy farm at Ruakākā is developing wetlands and planting to support native species.

13 May 2025 — : This morning the bricks were half way up the wall on our new build. By the end of the afternoon the photo from our builder's rep shows a lot has been done. 🏡 This photo from the south.

13 May 2025 — : Favourite typo in a book I'm reading (my emphasis): Fabia got out pickles and took a cucumber from the vegetable wrack and handed it to Dilys. Vegetable wrack conjures up images of wilted lettuce, aged mushrooms, sad celery …

13 May 2025 — : Our building company rep sent a photo of bricklayers hard at work this morning on our new place. 🏡 This is a view from the east. I guess once the brickwork is complete the house will be 'weathertight', triggering another progress payment.

13 May 2025 — : Our government: protectors of profit above all else! 🤮 Forest & Bird Says National Parks Not Game Parks: “The Minister has today announced he is going to start a process to provide special protected status to Wapiti deer, an introduced feral …

12 May 2025 — : Our appalling government has cancelled overnight outstanding claims to get equal pay for low-paid women — Government’s political gamble backfires as backlash to pay equity reform grows: Hundreds of people turned out … to protest the …

11 May 2025 — : In the cafe we visited yesterday an older woman was sitting nearby. She wore about 4 or more gold bejewelled rings on each finger. Anyway, that led me to dig out a couple of inherited rings and try them out. They must have been either Mum's or my …

10 May 2025 — : One of these things is not like the others … This sign amused me while I was eating brunch across the road.

10 May 2025 — : We visited Kowhai on the main road in Ōtaki for brunch. I had a very delicious French Toast with vanilla mascarpone, maple, raspberries & caramelised pear. Plus a little dab of pink candy floss. 😁 The cafe itself is clean and pleasant. Would …

10 May 2025 — : OK, Netatmo wind gauge, you seem to be hallucinating. I think I would have noticed wind gusts of around 170 Kph …

09 May 2025 — NZ and the space age — I'm angry : NZ has no business ‘competing’ in space spending. We have real problems of poverty, homelessness and unemployment that need attention.

09 May 2025 — : The removal company assessor inventoried our stuff to be moved; now we await the eye watering quote. Good news: light stuff can go into the drawers in chests of drawers. Also they won't carry certain hazardous items so that solves questions like: …

08 May 2025 — : This week painters have been working on the wooden parts of the cladding on our new house. 🏡 This photo from the builder shows the north side of the house: BGC Duragroove in the (dark) Karaka and BGC Innova NuLine Plus Horizontal in 1/8 Tana (pale). …

08 May 2025 — : Sigh, pillows! After an age of waking in the mornings with a sore neck I researched pillows. Four came well recommended — ranging from $50 to $175 (on special at 50% off). Given the only real way to try out a pillow is to buy and use it I chose …

08 May 2025 — : I want to know who had the job of counting the ants. 🤣 — ‘Ant Gang’ smugglers sentenced in Kenya wildlife trafficking case: Two Belgian teens caught with 5,000 rare ants in Kenya were sentenced to 12 months in prison or a fine of $7,700.

07 May 2025 — 5 light links 07-May-2025 : Little spotted kiwi; Book brigade; Bumper blue penguin season; School lunches show community cares; Powelliphanta augusta snail lays egg on video.

07 May 2025 — : Ocean near New Zealand warming faster than anywhere else, study finds: A study has found New Zealand's slice of the ocean is absorbing more heat than any other. One of the scientists behind the work says the effect is not just making the sea feel a …

07 May 2025 — : I'm glad to see this toolkit for women putting themselves forward for public office — Tools to cope with social media vitriol: Developed in collaboration with online safety organisation Netsafe, it includes interactive educational modules, …

06 May 2025 — : Checking my previous blog posts and found this: Uhhh, so, has anyone beeped Buffy yet? It seems way past time.

05 May 2025 — : After Book 2 was such a stinker I almost didn't even start Let the Woman Go (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 3) by Jane Adams. 📚 I'm glad I did though because I was hooked in and enjoyed the read. Imagine being held hostage in a bank robbery. Now imagine …

05 May 2025 — : How to watch the Eta Aquariids meteor shower in New Zealand this week | RNZ News: Thursday will likely be the best day - but prepare for an early morning, peak viewing time is after the Moon has set, between 3am and 6am. "All you need is a clear sky …

05 May 2025 — : Definitely worth reading: The woman braving tigers, crocodiles and pirates in Bangladesh’s mangroves | Women | Al Jazeera: Mahfuza has found strength in the friendships she has built with the other fisherwomen from her village. "We look out for each …

05 May 2025 — : Time for my annual Speedtest check: Down: 114.93; Up: 27.50. Hmmm, on this day in 2023 I posted my Speedtest results (100/22). Today I tested again, with 128/13. 2024 via: Hmmm, on this day in … | Miraz Jordan.

04 May 2025 — : After cleaning up for the Open Home today (good news: a couple of bites) we packed a wee picnic lunch and drove to Wellington to sign some papers with our lawyer. Then under overcast skies and with a biting southerly, after battling traffic we sat in …

03 May 2025 — : Blazing red at sunset tonight.

03 May 2025 — : Deb and I just finished watching Series 9 of Shetland: Amid spectacular scenery, in an isolated and fascinating environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing. The show seems a little less grim with the two female …

03 May 2025 — : I hadn't heard of Nocturnal Preserves before, but what a good idea! Why – and how – to rewild the night: “In the case of nocturnal preserves,” says Bob King, national chair of the RASC light abatement committee, “we allow brighter skies, and we don’t …

03 May 2025 — : I'm always happy to read another in this series. A Troubled Tide (Detective Shona Oliver Book 5) by Lynne McEwan. 📚 I specially enjoys the Scots words, phrases and accents. I love when a book sends me to the dictionary. 😀 PC Hayley Cameron drowns …

02 May 2025 — : Yesterday I made these yummy egg bites with red capsicum, edamame beans, a little minced fresh ginger, grated cheese and a hint of chilli flakes. Quick and easy.

01 May 2025 — : This week the photos from the builder show they've been working on the cladding of our new house; next week brickwork. 🏡 Cladding north side of house. Lounge area inside the house, looking east.

01 May 2025 — : The wind is only strong rather than the fierce gales hitting Wellington today, but the cabbage trees are a good indicator of wind strength.

30 April 2025 — : I rewatched Star Trek Voyager S04E25, One: After the rest of the crew is placed in suspended animation to protect them from dangerous radiation, the immune Seven, with only The Doctor for company, is placed in control of the ship [for 4 weeks]. It's …

30 April 2025 — : Came upon some really old photos: me as a pupil at Christchurch Girls' High School. I do not recall the names of most of the other people. I'm in the middle of the third row of teachers at Ashburton College. Probably late 1970s. Middle of the …

29 April 2025 — : On this morning's dawn beach walk there were reflections in remnant water.

28 April 2025 — : It turns out I find romances easier to read when they're lesbian romances. I enjoyed Jones by Gerri Hill. 📚 When a girl’s weekend in Port Aransas ends with a lifelong friend dead, Nina Evans’ world is shattered. It wasn't terribly challenging, and …

28 April 2025 — : This breaks my brain: World military expenditure reached $2718 billion in 2024 Via Sunday’s Trailheads | scattershot. We human beings spend $2,700 billion per year to kill people and destroy parts of our world. Meanwhile billions of people scrape …

28 April 2025 — : I do several word puzzles of US origin and every day they reveal just a bit more about how different US English is from the variant I speak. Today's problem word was 'candy' — I tried 'sweet' and 'lolly', which didn't work. One of hundreds of …

27 April 2025 — : Feeling a bit meh today after an Open Home with no visitors so found a random photo from my album. Vanuatu, 2002, taken with a Canon PowerShot A20. Extensive Internet searching has failed to turn up the name of this waterfall. It's located about a 20 …

26 April 2025 — : Deb and I go to the most excellent 24/7 Fitness Gym in either Levin or Paraparaumu, though they have some other lower North Island locations too. When we move to Ruakākā we intend to join the (different) 24/7 up there. Interesting opening hours …

25 April 2025 — : I didn't like this book at all, and ended up skipping about a third of it only to read an unsatisfying end. The book was very little about Naomi Blake and mostly about an unpleasant group of people called Simon, Tally and Jack. The Camera Never Lies …

25 April 2025 — : Got up to check out the helicopter flying overhead before dawn — rather unusual, but then I realised it'd be on its way to a Dawn Parade for Anzac Day. Then I spotted the waning crescent of the Moon in the East with Venus and what turns out to …

24 April 2025 — : It's quite something when the helicopter pilot flies at eye level straight towards our lounge window and then banks at the last moment only about 50 metres away. The video doesn't show the window vibrating and the air pulsing.

24 April 2025 — : I've been watching Cornwall Air 999 - Cornwall Air Ambulance and have two key take aways: I won't be climbing any more ladders, nor will I be going anywhere on a two-wheeled motor bike. 😆 This gripping documentary series follows the dedicated air …

24 April 2025 — : Landed an hour or so ago in the paddock next door. Perhaps it's picnic time … 🤣

24 April 2025 — : Wow, I had no idea this was possible — Text Fragments Enable Deep Linking on Web Pages. The article explains more what deep linking is and how it works. I encourage you to start using text fragment links when you share information from the …

24 April 2025 — : What a big High over the country does: a couple of days ago it was 29C (about 85F) mid-afternoon; this morning we had our first frost of the year.

23 April 2025 — : With Easter over I ventured out early to the supermarket today. In the fruit and vege section the shelves were mainly empty! At first I blamed Easter but then recalled most of the country has had awful weather over the last week, so maybe it's supply …

23 April 2025 — : This second book was a bit too unbelievable, a bit too glaringly obvious. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first. A Case for the Yarn Maker (Ainsley McGregor Book 2) by Candace Havens. 📚 It’s all fun and games until George Clooney, Ainsley’s Great …

21 April 2025 — Very readable: The Complete Travelling Cook Mysteries 📚 : At just under $2 it made sense to buy this 7-book box set for the two books in the series I hadn't yet read. Totally enjoyed them too! Martin skilfully provides all the clues to the reader, but it's Jenny Starling who puts them together. The Complete …

21 April 2025 — How flu vaccines are created : The old way: growing the virus in embryonated chicken eggs. The new way: growing in mammalian cells instead of eggs.

21 April 2025 — : Woke at 3 am from a ridiculous (and unpleasant) dream. Told my brain the concepts it was playing with there just don't work and to try out other ideas instead. Made a cuppa to help settle back down.

20 April 2025 — : Two Pied Stilts at the beach today: one doing yoga and the other taking a bath. 😆 🐦

20 April 2025 — : Speaking as a person who does not live and has never lived in any kind of combat zone, I believe the single biggest threat to any human on this plant is climate change. Threat of climate change downgraded in defence force plan | RNZ News: The 2025 …

20 April 2025 — : So many quotable parts in the article about Mae West, but I chose this one. I had no idea Mae West was so interesting and staunch. Forgotten Hollywood: Mae West: She refused to wear the costume department’s diamonds and wore her own real ones. “They …

19 April 2025 — : Bit of a headache this afternoon and very slightly concerned about a bit of red in the corner of one eye, so I looked for a Favourite photo. This Kea from 2007. Possibly taken at Arthur's Pass. 🐦

18 April 2025 — : Watch the 8 minute video of Hannah Einbinder — it's such a powerful speech. Via Dorothy Surrenders: My Weekend Crush: Hannah Einbinder should be rapidly becoming your favorite outspoken queer celebrity. Not just because she is openly queer and …

18 April 2025 — : While cleaning up my hard drive I stumbled on Xena: Warrior Princess, S01E15: Warrior … Princess and it was a very fun watch. This is one of several episodes where Lucy Lawless plays Xena, but also plays Xena playing a princess, Diana. And …

18 April 2025 — : I do like this author. I can't believe this is already Book 4 of 5. Death in the Hills (The Malvern Mysteries Book 4) by Kate Wells. 📚 When Jude Gray and DI Binnie Khatri join a local walking group, their expectations for a peaceful outing to the …

18 April 2025 — A tiny group of vocal feminists set back women's autonomy : Those in power should not be telling us who we are and how we can be.

18 April 2025 — : Answer Engines vs Search Engines — AI Answer Engines Are Worth Trying: Search Engines: Formulate your search, Review the results list, etc etc etc. Answer Engines: Ask your actual question. … Ultimately, only you can determine whether …

17 April 2025 — : Abut 700 Km away Ex-Cyclone Tam is wreaking havoc on the north of the North Island (where we'll be living before long): Meanwhile at Waikawa Beach it's overcast and so calm there's only one wave breaking. My video for the Pacific Wave Appreciation …

16 April 2025 — : In the last 65 days rainfall added about 8,000 litres to our water tank. That covers about 30 days of use. That's why for the first time ever the water tanker returned today, within just a couple of months, to add another 12,000 litres. 💦 At least we …

15 April 2025 — : I believe tomorrow the pre-wire of our new house will take place. Meanwhile, here's our front door from the inside. Photo by the builder. 🏡

14 April 2025 — : I almost exclusively use Safari on my Mac and for years have watched TV shows via Safari. Since the latest Mac OS update though (to Sequoia 15.4) I can't stream any videos at all. I can watch YouTube just fine, but nothing from TVNZ, Acorn, Netflix …

13 April 2025 — : I feared A Case for the Winemaker (Ainsley McGregor Book 1) by Candace Havens would fall into the dumb cops / smart amateur groove, but luckily it avoided that trap. 📚 Ainsley is surprised by how well things are going–right up until the moment her …

13 April 2025 — : Luckily our Netflix sub didn't cancel when it was supposed to so we got to watch the excellent show North of the North 📺 : A young Inuk mother tries to reinvent herself after a spontaneous and extremely public exit from her marriage with the town's …

13 April 2025 — : The other day I cooked The Best Chicken Soup You'll Ever Eat | Ambitious Kitchen and it was delicious. Somehow the celery fell off the shopping list and I suspect I used less fresh ginger than suggested (it's so hard to grate). This was also the …

12 April 2025 — : D.B. Borton's Two Points for Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 2) is a fun lightweight book. 📚 No task is too small for a detective-in-training, so Cat takes on the routine task of finding the lost kitten of a heartbroken boy. But the case takes …

12 April 2025 — : Wow, something I'd never thought of, but insurance makes sense — Add Protection from Scammers with Cybercrime Insurance - TidBITS: We all hope we are clever enough to recognize malicious interactions, but criminals are becoming ever better at …

11 April 2025 — : In the last few days our new house gained windows and doors. I've processed the photo from the builder to bring out the red of the new front door. 🏡

11 April 2025 — : Turns out my flu and Covid jabs are a bit harder to get over than I expected. I need to remember that as we age it takes just that bit longer to recover from anything. Today my neck's really stiff — more so than yesterday. Taking things easy …

10 April 2025 — : This was a lightweight but enjoyable read, that was free when I 'bought' it. A Mid-Summer Murder (Shop 'Round the World Book 2) by Geri Krotow. 📚 Only Angel Warren, a retired Navy Pilot and owner of Shop ‘Round the World, can turn a summer day at the …

10 April 2025 — : Two days ago I had my flu and Covid jabs. I expected I'd feel a bit greebly for a day or two, and that was indeed the case. Today I feel pretty good, but my neck's really sore. Makes my morning neck stretches pretty uncomfortable, but it should ease …

09 April 2025 — : NASA to launch rugby stadium-sized balloons from Wānaka Airport | RNZ News: Two super pressure balloons, each the size of a rugby stadium, will put NASA's technology to the test … The heavy-lift balloons would travel the South Hemisphere's …

09 April 2025 — : Abandoned: The Complete Detective Bailey Thrillers by Kate Watterson. 📚 When it comes to solving crimes, Detective Chris Bailey plays by his own rules. You'd think the first book would be about the detective solving crimes, but it's mostly a tedious …

09 April 2025 — : Not exactly "news", but something everyone should know about. This will be going on in every single country in the world (that even allows women in government). Research finds rape threats against female MPs common | RNZ News: A new research paper …

08 April 2025 — Vaccination status: Flu and Covid shots received : Covid : JN.1 variant; Flu: Victoria, Croatia, Austria, Phuket variants.

08 April 2025 — : Well, we just had a torrential downpour: 10 mm in 30 minutes, with a bit of thunder and a blip of a power cut. Someone nearby lost a shed roof and an empty 25,000 litre water tank to a mini tornado. 💦 I'm going out soon to get my flu and Covid jabs. …

08 April 2025 — : LOL — Mystery of the missing minutes: Why are TV shows shorter in New Zealand? | The Spinoff: White Lotus S3E01 is one hour and one minute long on HBO Max. Here on Neon, it’s just 58 minutes. Severance also appears slightly severed: S2E01 is 50 …

07 April 2025 — : Another good read in the series by Kate Wells: A Body by the Henhouse (The Malvern Mysteries Book 3). 📚 When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, [farmer and glamping site owner Jude Gray] does her best to cater for their celebrations. … …

07 April 2025 — 5 light links 07-Apr-2025 : Endangered green turtles released; Native lizard enclosure; Art Form That Makes Silent Voices Heard; Kiwi fight in a backyard; local Kākāriki population grows

06 April 2025 — : Here’s the iPhone. Here’s the iPhone With Tariffs. - WSJ (via John Gruber): This is what Apple pays for components inside its bestselling phone, and how [the] China tariffs could raise the bill Heh, when I buy a new Apple product it ships direct …

06 April 2025 — : Our new house is coming along. The builder sent photos on a couple of days. 🏡 I had Apple Photos magically remove a worker. Look closely and you'll see where, but it's not a bad job. Almost the same photo, but now soffits have been added. Look …

06 April 2025 — : This looks like so much fun. Excited! Season Three Trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

05 April 2025 — : Deb made delicious pikelets for lunch.

05 April 2025 — : I really enjoy such timeline adjacencies. Puppets!

04 April 2025 — : A nide of 5 pheasant chicks wandered around in the rain by my window this morning. Here are two of the well-grown chicks. 🐦

04 April 2025 — : I very much enjoyed Coercive Power (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 2) by D. L. Keur, an author whose other works I've liked too. 📚 Chief Deputy Mike Murphy is in trouble. The military is doing its best to press gang him back into uniform. He …

04 April 2025 — : Sigh. Things don't change. My emphasis: A local woman’s phone call to Switzerland 20 years ago led to the Manawatū River Estuary becoming an internationally recognised wetland/bird sanctuary. … “We printed leaflets and delivered them to …

04 April 2025 — : The good news started sometime in the night — I heard rain in the gutter. 💦 The forecast suggests we'll get rain over the next few days too.

03 April 2025 — : I enjoyed this start of a new series by an author I know from the Rina Martin mysteries: Two Little Blonde Girls (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 1) by Jane Adams. 📚 It’s been a long time since ex-copper Naomi Blake has heard Helen’s name. Naomi was …

03 April 2025 — : Aargh! I'm at the point in my morning where I go to run the Keyboard Maestro macro I spent ages tuning up yesterday evening, with date and time calculations, and it's just not there! Did I somehow delete it accidentally? It must be that, because KM …

03 April 2025 — 5 light links 03-Apr-2025 : Charity hospital; Wild horses help prevent wildfires; 60 year old geckos; Kea flock size growing; Extinct otter found

02 April 2025 — : Our new house is being wrapped. 🏡 This photo by the builder shows the south (cold) side of the house — garage window and door, bedrooms and bathrooms.

01 April 2025 — : I occasionally spot a hedgehog on our property, and with mixed feelings. They are quite cute, but: Hedgehogs cannot coexist with our endangered species. Removing them from the environment is an essential step to saving what makes Aotearoa unique. …

01 April 2025 — : Thanks to Virginia DeBolt at Old Ain't Dead I've been watching The Residence on Netflix. I just watched Episode 06. The series so far has been interesting, intriguing, enjoyable, but E06, The Third Man, was outright hilarious! 🤣 Cordelia Cupp, an …

31 March 2025 — : I quite enjoyed The Earth Concurrence (Colonial Explorer Corps Book 1) by Julia Huni. 📚 Not entirely sure I'll read more from this series though. Surprising finds and dangerous conditions cause her father to overreact, keeping Siti on a tight leash. …

30 March 2025 — : Yesterday was a stunning blue sky day so Deb and I went to Waikanae for breakfast then tried out a trail new to us: Barry Hadfield Nikau Reserve: 11 hectares of regionally significant kohekohe and nikau forest remnant. Views from the lookout were …

29 March 2025 — : Blueberry icecream from Waikawa Blueberries. Yum.

28 March 2025 — : Whew, that quake started with a sharp jolt and a very loud crack then gave us a really good shake. I even considered getting up and going outside but it stopped before I needed to. 〰️ It was very close to us and not that deep really. I would have …

27 March 2025 — : Well, well, well. I spotted the photo below with its caption about a new tsunami siren at Ruakākā. When I checked the map it turns out it will be … right next door to our new house. 😆 At least I guess we'll be the first to know about a …

27 March 2025 — : I enjoyed Stranger in the Village (The Malvern Mysteries Book 2) by Kate Wells. 📚 I thought I'd cottoned on to the perpetrator early in the book, but things were way more complex. things take a turn for the worse when a hit and run outside The Lamb …

27 March 2025 — : Handy link — Export bookmarks [from] Safari…: [Safari File menu] "Export Browsing Data to File". When you click it you'll be able to choose which data to export. I've realised my Safari Bookmarks are incredibly cluttered with all kinds of …

26 March 2025 — : This morning I enjoyed a thoroughly restorative walk in Waiopehu Scenic Reserve: The remnant native podocarp forest has some large old Rimu trees. This land was proclaimed as a scenic reserve in 1913-15 after previously being set aside as a …

26 March 2025 — : This will be literally just down the road from us — about a 5 minute bike ride — after we move in a few months. Construction of Meridian Energy’s 130MW Ruakākā Solar Farm south of Whangārei is set to begin in August 2025 … With …

25 March 2025 — : Hooray! Whangārei to fluoridate water after court dismisses district council’s challenge - NZ Herald: Whangārei District Council’s legal bid to stop water fluoridation was rejected by the High Court. Justice Karen Grau stated that the council’s …

25 March 2025 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. The video was cut a little short as I was standing too close to the incoming waves. 🌊

25 March 2025 — : I went out just before dawn for a beach walk. First I walked past Lake Puna o te Ora which was reflecting a still greyish sky. By the time I stepped onto the sand a few minutes later the sky was starting to gain its reds, as reflected in the lagoon …

25 March 2025 — : When the Chinese warships were doing live fire drills not far away recently Deb reminded me no-one needs to invade Aotearoa if they want to take us over — they could just cut our cables. Now this: A new Chinese tool capable of cutting the most …

24 March 2025 — : Another good read in a series I enjoy. Straw in the Wind (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 2) by Carol Cole. 📚 I had my suspicions about one character but things weren't as they seemed. A nice surprise.

24 March 2025 — : Based on the sample, I bought The Complete Rain Morgan Mysteries Books 1–5 by Lesley Grant-Adamson. 📚 Book One was OK. Book Two was really boring and annoying. I dipped into Books 3 and 4 and found them unlikeable, so I didn't even try Book 5.

23 March 2025 — : Today Deb and I went to the gym at Paraparaumu instead of Levin. They have HOIST Fitness CPL ROC-IT Selectorized machines which are really cool and easy to use. I liked them better than the machines at Levin. Just like last Sunday afternoon at Levin, …

22 March 2025 — Unexpected Chaffinch and Greenfinch : Claude.ai helped me identify two birds on flax that I spotted from the window.

22 March 2025 — : I wasn't entirely sure at first, but by the later part of the book I was gripped. Murder on the Farm (The Malvern Mysteries Book 1) by Kate Wells. 📚 Things definitely didn't turn out as I thought they might.

22 March 2025 — : Cat lovers: this is a very fun 5 minute video. Extreme Cat Hide and Seek with Ralph and Bella | The Kid Should See This. 🐈

22 March 2025 — : Two small shakes in a row to keep us on our toes this morning. Both were shallow and only about 15 Km away. 〜 It's the pheasants that alert us before we even feel the shake. They have a special earthquake squawk.

21 March 2025 — : Every Friday our builder gives us a report on the new house. Now the roof is on, the next payment milestone is watertight, except for the garage. Our builder, Steve, says: First the guys will wrap, then do soffits, install window joinery, fit cavity …

20 March 2025 — : Invoice time: Trusses & Roof Stood milestone on our new build achieved. 🏡 This builder's photo shows the north side of the house, where the kitchen and living room areas will be.

20 March 2025 — : Today's sunny start …

19 March 2025 — : Less than 2 hours after emailing BBEdit Support I have a helpful response which has solved my problem: The OS will generally quarantine files that have been downloaded, but may do so for other reasons; there are various tools for correcting this, but …

19 March 2025 — : Something I very rarely need to do: I contacted BBEdit for support. For years and years I've successfully run all kinds of Applescripts from the Scripts menu within BBEdit to perform all kinds of operations on my texts. In the last few days though …

19 March 2025 — : Woke to the unusual but welcome sound of rain on the roof this morning. Real, proper rain. 💦

18 March 2025 — : Our new house now has a roof, as the photos from the builder show. 🏡 Across the longrun Colorsteel monopitch roof from the northwest corner. Across the longrun Colorsteel monopitch roof from the southwest corner.

18 March 2025 — : Physiotherapist Will Harlow makes excellent videos on strength and mobility for the over-50s so signing up for his special Lifelong Mobility course was a quick decision: To help people just like you – active, health-conscious individuals over the age …

17 March 2025 — A visualisation requirement led me to abandon a Mandarin course : A free Mandarin course turned out to be not right for me, with pressure sales funnel techniques and a requirement to create visualisations.

16 March 2025 — : There was a beautiful light at 10 minutes to sunset tonight.

16 March 2025 — : I watched Still Alice — a very moving and powerful film that I wish I had seen before my mother's dementia diagnosis a couple of decades ago: Dr. Alice Howland, a linguistics professor at Columbia University, celebrates her 50th birthday …

16 March 2025 — : It's pretty standard stuff, but Deb and I are enjoying watching the TV show Return to Paradise. Set in Australia, it features a quirky but brilliant detective whose impeccable eye for detail and ability to connect clues allows her to solve seemingly …

16 March 2025 — : Such an interesting 9 minute video: Successful season for rare New Zealand fairy tern! 🐦 : Follow along as we incubate, hatch and hand-rear tara iti (New Zealand fairy tern) for release into the wild. First, they head to a purpose-built …

15 March 2025 — : One of my go-to sources for how to do stuff on my Mac, iPhone, iPad and other Apple devices has always been Take Control Books. I've learned so much over the last couple of decades … If you want to boost your knowledge then check out the …

14 March 2025 — : Really interesting 22 minute interview video: How Ibtihaj Muhammad made Olympic history. This was a particularly interesting moment 😵‍💫: Q: While you were competing you also wore your hijab. Again, it was a huge talking point but did you receive any …

13 March 2025 — : This was a lightweight and rather enjoyable read which took us as readers in unusual directions. Cat relies on her skills honed as a mother of three to help solve the case. One Deadly Take (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 1) by D.B. Borton. 📚 Armed …

13 March 2025 — : Yesterday I picked 8 Kg apples off my Granny Smith tree — that's about $35 worth. I also left some on the tree as they didn't really seem willing to leave home yet. Now I have to peel and chop them all, stew and freeze them!

13 March 2025 — : As expected, there were no bids on our house for sale at the auction. Now folks who wanted a firm price and who will make conditional offers will emerge from the woodwork.

12 March 2025 — : Tomorrow is the auction where our Waikawa Beach house may not sell. We met with the auctioneer and estate agent to discuss the reserve price and what happens next. We can expect offers though within the next two weeks. Apparently this is normal …

12 March 2025 — : This morning I pulled a fresh T-shirt from the drawer. I don't generally have black clothes so I expected this to be my Presentation Zen T-shirt. It was not. It was a black T-shirt with a white heron on the front. 🐦 Perhaps someone gave me this? I …

11 March 2025 — : This book was not only a good read, but the team of detectives were all people I was happy to spend time with. Murder in the New Forest (The DI Callum MacLean mysteries Book 1) by Carol Cole. 📚 I stayed up too late reading this and will definitely …

11 March 2025 — : Our new house passed another inspection today. 🏡 I'm not quite sure what these builders photos show, but they were working on roof trusses. One seems to show some lengths of the long run Colorsteel that will cover the building. Next steps are roofing …

11 March 2025 — : On this morning's rather brief walk I spotted a Royal Spoonbill at the lake, then two more, with a Dotterel, at the beach. 🐦 Also at the beach were a small flock of White-fronted Terns (only a few of them in this photo — I liked that group of …

10 March 2025 — 5 light links 10-Mar-2025 : Fish doorbell; flightless takahē recovery; kākāriki karaka growth; air pollution falling; rare white weka

09 March 2025 — : We also visited the gym where we were alone for a while so I had some fun trying out the various machines. Made a pleasant change from dumbbells. I was disturbed to find I just couldn't do lying leg curls, even with only a 5 Kg weight. 😳

09 March 2025 — : For our third and final Open Home Deb and I took ourselves to Old Courthouse Eatery in Levin for lunch. I had a Steak Sammy: seared steak, brie and salad, which was fine. I wish they'd asked me how I like the steak as it was a bit too red for me. …

08 March 2025 — : If you're even remotely interested in wildlife or amazing scenery then the TVNZ documentary series Endangered Species Aotearoa is a must see. I hope my overseas pals get a chance to view it too. It's perfectly put together, as the hosts and camera …

07 March 2025 — : This 50 minute podcast episode is just mind-blowing. With AI we may soon be able to translate between animal 'languages'. But should we? Digital Dr. Dolittle: decoding animal conversations with artificial intelligence: Chris talks to Aza Raskin, …

07 March 2025 — : Work continues on our new house up north. 🏡 This week the roof trusses were put in place. Photos courtesy of the builder. House with roof trusses in place, looking east and north. Roof trusses detail. Looking west and south.

07 March 2025 — : I usually visit Harrison's Cafe and Garden Centre with my good friend J but she's away at the moment. I had hoped they'd have their excellent ginger gems, but I was unlucky with that. Hence a hot chocolate and gingerbread person were consumed solo. …

07 March 2025 — : It was so blimmin cold this morning I went down to the shed in the dark and brought up firewood for our first fire of the year. 14C in the house and 6C outside. Luckily I took a photo and looked at it soon after as I'd forgotten to remove items we'd …

06 March 2025 — : This morning's dawn beach walk netted me a Matuku moana | White-faced heron. 🐦 And just like on this day, 06 March 2023, a Ngutuparore | Wrybill. Note how the bill curves to the bird's right.

05 March 2025 — : Half a dozen things in our house beep when power is restored after an outage — that's why I woke from a sound sleep at around 0230 this morning. However, it must have gone out again straight away. It was an hour or two before it was back again. …

04 March 2025 — : Apparently Whangārei offers free parking for the over 70's. I've just spotted this in the Bream Bay News, 27 February 2025: Sounds like finding somewhere to park is a whole other issue though. 😆

04 March 2025 — : We used to have Micro Monday around here, to help community members be discovered. Here are a dozen of the many Micro.Bloggers I enjoy: @jean @val @klandwehr @Annie @Lzbth @kirabug @V_ @the @writingslowly @cliffordbeshers @peterw …

03 March 2025 — : Another engrossing read from Anna Britton: Close to the Edge (Detectives Martin & Stern Book 2). 📚 I like the way the author intersperses interview transcripts, text messages, emails, narrative, reports and other forms of information. Chaos …

02 March 2025 — : We loved the film Tinā. 🎥 It should win a load of awards. Excellent story, excellent actors, excellent singing. Tears, funny bits, and a feeling of satisfaction at the end. I grew up in Christchurch, so there was a whole extra layer for me. Also …

02 March 2025 — : Every day I check earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions to see what's up in the weather around us. Today's map was interesting with 6 cyclones all around us being held off by a high overhead. Then there's also this warning …

02 March 2025 — : For the last few days this happens once per day. It forces me to restart because I can't connect to any website at all: Error message: Safari Can't Connect to iCloud Private Relay. The setting's off in Apple Settings on my MacBook Pro but I'm …

02 March 2025 — : As I lay awake in the middle of the night I wondered if animals suffer from insomnia. Is there some little bird out there, clinging to her perch, worrying about whether she'll find enough food come daylight? How will she survive the next storm? How …

01 March 2025 — : Excellent turn of phrase, referring to our Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon. "Wind sock", hah! : He seems to wait until public opinion can be gauged before sharing his own. If he has convictions, they are starting to resemble a wind sock to those …

28 February 2025 — : Having enjoyed another series by this author, I was gripped by this book too. Litany For A Broken World by LJ Cohen. 📚 When the three strangers, each broken in some way, are pulled into a conflict between those with the ability to travel the …

27 February 2025 — : About a week before we expected it the frames on our new house were stood. The panorama photo from the builder gives a probably much more accurate impression of the size — after all, it'll be twice as long as our current house and somewhat …

27 February 2025 — : After the near approach of Chinese warships recently I was inspired to try learning Mandarin. After watching some introductory videos and signing up for an inexpensive (with coupon) Udemy course I'm now also going to sign up to the free Mandarin …

27 February 2025 — : Every day at this time of year a few Warou | Welcome swallows hang out on the deck railing. I'll miss them when we move. 🐦

26 February 2025 — : I guess it depends how you define "people" — clearly "people" do still want to visit the square — to shower, poop, hang washing: Hamilton City Council is wrestling with what to do about people showering in a central city fountain. …

26 February 2025 — : Having already read and reasonably enjoyed most books in this cheap box set, I bought it for Books 5 and 6. Book 6 was a decent story. Book 5 was such boring, confusing twaddle I soon skipped to the Epilogue just to discover what happened. The Rina …

26 February 2025 — : Our health care in Aotearoa is free, but that excludes teeth. Seeing the dentist always costs a lot, even for a routine checkup. Report highlights urgent need for “life-changing” free dental care: almost half of New Zealanders report unmet need for …

26 February 2025 — : So interesting: Witches of Bucha: Ukraine’s women protecting the skies | Al Jazeera (17 minute video): “No one invites us here to cook borscht or make a pie. We are just here to work with weapons that kill.”

26 February 2025 — : Yesterday I thought I was a bit unwell. Turns out a day of resting up sorted me out. Whew. I spent part of the day learning a little about Mandarin. BBC - Learn Chinese would have been good, but they did everything in Flash back in the day, so now …

25 February 2025 — : I had thought a rare 9+ hours sleep would be a good thing, but I rather suspect I'm not 100% well today. Staying in bed for the moment. More sleep is likely. It's lucky there's nothing specific requiring my attention today.

24 February 2025 — : At this time of year the stream outflow from Lake Waiorongomai to the sea is dry. In this dawn photo you can see the inversion layer over the lake at bottom right, while the sun rises on the left.

23 February 2025 — : One billion is a huge number. Look at this billion pixel rectangle to get an idea of how infinitely vast it is: What Does One Billion Dollars Look Like? This is occupying my mind a lot at the moment: The [2024] annual Forbes list of the world's …

23 February 2025 — : This 1.5 minute video is hilarious. 🤣 Dear English Language. Via: Which word is always misspelt?

23 February 2025 — : Yesterday I spotted a Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher on a flax spear near the house. 🐦 I haven't seen the kingfisher so much lately and this one looks like it's maybe a juvenile.

22 February 2025 — : Hmmm, just a secretive superpower carrying out warlike exercises next door. Nothing to worry about … China did not inform New Zealand about their warship activity in the Tasman Sea before an apparent live fire training … A furore broke …

22 February 2025 — Eeeugh to Aaahhh : We have a freestanding oven and cooktop and it's mandatory to have a small gap either side. That gap is exactly the right size for splashes of sauce, random escaped cooking ingredients and crumbs to enter and way too small to get into to retrieve …

22 February 2025 — : What's real and what's AI? This 20 minute video I tried to prove I'm not AI from Joss Fong and Adam Cole of Howtown gives clear and considered useful information about the problems and possible solutions for proving what's a real photo and what's …

21 February 2025 — : So worth reading! Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words. 📚 Early on the author explains two key concepts: Grammando: … One who constantly corrects others’ linguistic mistakes. … wordie describes …

21 February 2025 — Pained the eye and stunned the ear : I've been slowly reading Anne Curzan's Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words. 📚 In chapter 32, passives were corrected, she quotes from a grammar critic in 1830, who writes: “For some time past, ‘the bridge is …

21 February 2025 — : Back in November 2021 I bought A Cotswolds Murder Mystery Box Set Books 1–4 (Alex Duggins crime mysteries box set) by Stella Cameron. 📚 I thought I hadn't read it yet but the first two stories seemed familiar and then I realised I just didn't really …

21 February 2025 — : Sharing this because it's a cool good news story. Read it, watch the wee video. Smile. 🐶 Meet Bosco, the surfing dog making waves in support of Te ao Māori | RNZ News:

21 February 2025 — : We now have a concrete floor. 🏡 Now nothing happens for a couple of weeks while the concrete cures.

20 February 2025 — : At dawn there were a few gulls and Oystercatchers at the sea edge. Up in the dunes the tiny clump of yucca are flowering. 🐦 My theory is that several years ago someone who thinks of the beach as a convenient dumping ground for garden waste included …

19 February 2025 — : The raft foundation went in today ready for concrete to be poured this week. 🏡 a polystyrene ‘pod’ with hardfill, laid over an under-slab polythene ground sheet. This type of foundation is quicker and easier to construct, with less excavation and …

19 February 2025 — : Having completed the earthworks not long ago, the builders dug chunks of it up again to install the ducting required below the concrete slab to be poured soon. 🏡 Photos supplied by the builder make it look like everything's much closer together than …

18 February 2025 — : Today I made Pan-Seared Chicken Tenderloin and it was delicious. Borderline too spicy, so it's a good thing I left out the Cajun seasoning (because we didn't have any). Easy to make and would make it again.

18 February 2025 — : LOL: "unshackled himself from the chains of entry-level intelligence and basic human decency" : That wasn’t Tamaki’s first scientific breakthrough. In 2016, he unshackled himself from the chains of entry-level intelligence and basic human decency to …

18 February 2025 — : I've discovered that after great physical exertion I just don't sleep well. 😒 Yesterday I washed the west and south sides of our house with one of those brushes on a telescoping pole that plugs into a hose so it can spray water and soap (ideally on …

17 February 2025 — : The sale page for our house has gone live. Auction scheduled for 13 March 2025. Open Homes next 3 Sundays.

17 February 2025 — : Legal personhood for Taranaki: transformative or tokenistic? Legal personhood oversimplifies indigenous cosmological relationships. From a Māori perspective, natural entities such as maunga are tuakana – our evolved, senior kin. It is, therefore, …

16 February 2025 — : Deb made us these delicious, light Drop Scones (Scotch Pancakes). She didn't add any essence and reduced the sugar from 50 grams to 30. She also used 115 grams plain flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder. That's a definite must cook again recipe!

16 February 2025 — : House building always seems to progress in fits and starts. After earthworks were completed, the next step was boxing, ready for underslab plumbing and then the concrete pour. 🏡 I suspect the lens and the angle of the photo make the house appear to …

16 February 2025 — : A few days ago I took this photo of a Pohowera | Banded dotterel. 🐦 There have been too few bird photos on my blog lately.

16 February 2025 — : The ingenious NZ-designed hijab breaking ground overseas | RNZ News: A New Zealand-designed hijab, created after the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, is breaking ground with its slick design deemed suitable for emergency services. … It's …

16 February 2025 — : Finished reading The Jeri Howard Anthology: Books 1-5 by Janet Dawson, and enjoyed it in parts. 📚 Somehow I got this free back in January 2021 and read the first book and part of the second. I picked it up again last week. The second story wasn't …

15 February 2025 — : On Thursday the full moon was setting in the west around dawn. Meanwhile, the inversion layer on the paddock next door on the east side left a group of trees standing like an island.

14 February 2025 — : Clear skies and no wind this morning so the sea was super calm below the setting full moon. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

14 February 2025 — : After Maique mentioned the 65x24 photo format I downloaded the app and gave it a try. This was looking east from the beach at dawn as the sun began to rise above the mountains.

14 February 2025 — : Around 4.30 this morning I decided not to wait to get a cup of tea. Strolled into the kitchen to find this surprise, that the lovely Deb had left out for me when she came home late last night. 🥰

13 February 2025 — : I tried something completely new to me today: a visit to The Cave in Palmerston North. I paid for a 1 hour Virtual Reality Session in which I took off with Apollo 11, participated in the flight to the moon and watched as Neil Armstrong took his first …

12 February 2025 — : Today is house-washing (outside walls) day. So far I've washed the north wall, which is second easiest. Luckily it's a gorgeous sunny and warm day. The hardest, south wall may have to wait for another day as it's very tiring work. The drone shot …

12 February 2025 — : Much as I don't care for the politics of Winston Peters, he can be very quick-witted and funny: Chlöe Swarbrick, during a question about the government’s new school lunches ending up in landfills “as a result of them being inedible”, produced three …

11 February 2025 — : Every day Warou | Welcome swallows come and sit on the railing outside our lounge and watch what I think of as Swallow TV, starring Miraz and Deb. It's lovely! 🐦 Here was one, this morning.

11 February 2025 — : There was this drone with its tail: A few seconds earlier the scene looked like this: Just fishing …

11 February 2025 — : This solar farm and battery storage facility will be only a few minutes drive from our new house. That pleases me. 😁 Ruakākā Solar Farm gains planning consent | Meridian Energy: With up to 250,000 solar panels, the Ruakākā Solar Farm, south of …

10 February 2025 — : Whew, we called on Aqua Gold Water Supply 2024 today to add 12,000 litres of drinking water to our tank. No more immediate worries about forecasts of dry weather.

10 February 2025 — : It's been a while … This morning I pumped up our bike tires and we did a 10 Km bike ride round the streets here. Siri started an Outdoor Other instead of a Cycling workout for me, but apparently my heart rate was in the range 109–137 …

10 February 2025 — : A really interesting 16 minute video — THIS is Your Brain on GREEN TEA: New (2025) Science on the Brain Health Benefits of Green Tea: This video explores the recent scientific research on the brain health benefits of consuming green tea. It …

09 February 2025 — : I made this Greek omelet today when my friend J visited. It was delicious, but I was totally unable to 'roll' it out of the pan. It was more of a 'flop'. 😆 Delicious though. And I forgot to take a photo …

09 February 2025 — : And then read the rest. 📚 And if you enjoy the freebie, the rest of the series is available as a discounted book bundle. (Only in my web store.) Thanks for supporting indie authors on Mastodon! https://cheribaker.com/products/ellie-tappet-bundle …

09 February 2025 — : I really enjoy @Cheri's books. This is a good deal. 😁 📚 Hey, mystery fans! Want a murder-vacation in your imagination? My book The Case of the Missing Finger is free on all retailers through February 16th. Also from my web store, DRM-free. …

09 February 2025 — : Yesterday in the supermarket I walked past a stand of Hot Cross Buns. Folks, Easter isn't until mid-April! That's 70 days away!

08 February 2025 — : Good to know — I've just discovered the Frankie Drake Mysteries Wiki. 🔗 I love the way Frankie Drake Mysteries manages to include snippets of Toronto / Canadian history in its episodes.

08 February 2025 — : DOC 'cautiously optimistic' for New Zealand's rarest bird, the fairy tern | RNZ News 🐦 : With fewer than 40 tara iti left, every nest, egg, and chick was critical to the survival of the species. … Tara iti bred at only four locations in New …

07 February 2025 — : Oops, carelessly fell asleep while reading out in the midday sun. Maybe only 15 minutes, so fingers crossed no harm done. Siri tells me the current UV reading is 6 …

07 February 2025 — : Things have been so busy I haven't done a dawn beach walk for a while. Rectified this morning. 5.5 Km. Around high tide, waves driving into the river mouth. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 The video looked terrible. Here's another …

07 February 2025 — : Annie makes a lot of sense, as always — I’m gonna keep making shit and I hope you will too: every single tiny little unimportant thing we make is one more thing that is not terrible.

06 February 2025 — : Random bit of fun spotted in a parked car at the cafe where I met a good friend for brunch this morning.

05 February 2025 — : The photographer has been and gone and now it's a couple of weeks till the first open home. We can relax for a while, thank goodness.

05 February 2025 — : I enjoy this series by Anne Shillolo, and Murder at Hay River (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 4) was another enjoyable read. 📚: A photographer is killed and abandoned in a macabre display on the banks of the Hay River. Constable Ezra McCann’s home …

04 February 2025 — : Tomorrow the photographer will take pretty pictures of our house so we can advertise it for sale. Today I'm transforming our home into a house someone else should want to buy. Gone are the pet photos, the piles of our clutter, the smudge on the …

04 February 2025 — : We were near Whanganui yesterday when three large military aircraft flew low and slow in a sweeping arc ahead of us. I was slow to take a photo. 😒 Turns out it was part of a farewell tour: To mark the [official retirement] of the [RNZAF C-130H …

03 February 2025 — : We stopped at Main Street Cafe in Waverley for lunch. They had a pleasant garden area. Next door, on the street was a life-size statue of a racing horse and jockey. It turns out the horse Kiwi was reared in Waverley and made racing history: At the …

03 February 2025 — : This puriri tree at Pukekura Park is about 2,000 years old!

02 February 2025 — : We visited the gorgeous and popular Pukekura Park in New Plymouth: Pukekura Park is an idyllic, inner-city botanical wonder that was first opened in 1876. Once swamp land, the 52-hectare park is both a garden and a public recreation ground. …

02 February 2025 — : While Aotearoa is in the South Pacific, I guess technically both Waikawa Beach and New Plymouth are actually on the Tasman Sea, and South and North Taranaki Bight respectively. Nevertheless for the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society, the following …

02 February 2025 — : Two minutes walk from the Devon Hotel in New Plymouth is the coastal walkway and beach. Looking southish.

01 February 2025 — : Our friends J & H, keen motorcyclists, have ridden their bikes 510 Km from Whangārei to meet us in New Plymouth — a 280 km drive for us. The Devon Hotel is comfortable and has free EV charging. It's good to get away for a day or two from …

01 February 2025 — : You’re never in any doubt where you are when stopping at Bulls for lunch.

01 February 2025 — : I enjoy the Detective Clare Mackay series by Marion Todd. Dead Man's Shoes (Detective Clare Mackay Book 9) was another good read 📚: A young man is found dead near a nightclub. He has marks on his neck, the signature of the Choker, a killer who has …

01 February 2025 — : A couple of years ago I didn't care for one of Tannis Laidlaw's books, but I thought I'd give a different series a try. It didn't work: I can't stand the characters in Darkwater Lake Mysteries: Box-Set - a complete series of 5 psychological suspense …

01 February 2025 — : I usually take my Waikawa Beach photos from across the estuary, somewhere south of the river throat. That's several hundred metres south of the river throat where a groyne is. Standing at the groyne looking south on a particularly high tide gives …

31 January 2025 — : This was such an interesting podcast episode! Lingthusiasm Episode 99: A politeness episode (1 hour): …different uses of “please” in UK vs US English, levels of indirectness, email etiquette across generations and subcultures, rudeness and …

31 January 2025 — : For my own future reference — Hawaiian Language: Hawaiian diacritical marks, ʻokina (ʻ) and kahakō (macron) are not just symbols but essential components of the Hawaiian language. The ʻokina represents a glottal stop, a pause in speech, and is …

31 January 2025 — : Hah, a potential buyer is coming to look at our house this afternoon, in the single hour today when the 100% cloud cover drops to 27%. 😀

30 January 2025 — : Ugh. Looks like creepy spam. Blocked!

30 January 2025 — : It turned out today was floor washing day — prompted in part by the full cup of coffee that started the process in the lounge. Our floors are all vinyl: we learned while building that houses close to the beach shouldn't have carpet because of …

29 January 2025 — : Wiped myself out today sorting stuff in the grounds and garage, carting stuff around and loading a skip. Even used both chainsaw and weedeater, as well as a spade. Whew! It's amazing how much stuff you can clear out when you're moving …

29 January 2025 — : I apologised to this rather chubby Green and Golden Frog for making it homeless. I'd just removed a pile of stuff it was sheltering under on the property. Glad to see the frog at all though — we're concerned there seem to be fewer around these …

29 January 2025 — : What hope does a non-American have when the answer to a puzzle is that 4 words with 3 different vowel sounds have the 'same' vowel sound: Words with the same "aw" vowel sound: Claws, Pause, Sauce, Toss. From Conlextions #505. Post delayed …

28 January 2025 — : Quite a rattle to wake us at 1130 at night. 〜 Magnitude 5.2, 33 Km deep, not very distant. No harm done; just a rattle.

28 January 2025 — : Not the most gripping, but an easy read — An Unfortunate Christmas Murder (The Dinner Lady Detectives Book 2) by Hannah Hendy. 📚 Margery [and] her wife, Clementine … are caught in the crossfire when the stage lights collapse at the first …

28 January 2025 — : Yay. Our building company uses a service called BuilderTrend. They started sharing photos of our new build with us. 🏡 All the empty land behind and beside our new place will eventually have houses on it, but until then we get a bit of a view.

28 January 2025 — : Between having guys working in the 'garden' stirring up sand, dust, pollen etc yesterday and a painter in the house sanding and painting, I think my hay fever is really doing its thing. No sneezing but I have sore eyes, headache and woolly brain, …

27 January 2025 — : It's turned in to a hot day. We have a painter in the house touching up spots that need it, and two men in the garden cutting back flax, toting mulch, weed eating. I've been dragging stuff up from under the house. It all feels very busy. And hot!

27 January 2025 — : Last night I left the south facing window above my bed wide open to keep the room cool. That didn't work out so well at 1 a.m. when a southerly front blasted in, showering me with wind-blown rain while I slept. Still it was a good opportunity for a …

26 January 2025 — : The whole hour of this Lingthusiasm podcast episode (#98) is fascinating — Helping computers decode sentences. The part about pragmatics, especially so: if you really want the computer to behave the same way that a person would behave if they …

26 January 2025 — : I was struck by a phrase in an interview (my emphasis) with an Australian woman: I grew up on Bunuba country, which became a pastoral property when colonisation came into the Kimberley … The land itself is country that we and our generations of …

26 January 2025 — : Out of nowhere I thought of Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner and their huge shouting matches, from the early days of Coronation Street when I was a kid. Hooray for YouTube where I found this: Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner vs. Ena Sharples (27th …

25 January 2025 — : Not something I've seen in the skies above Waikawa Beach before now. 😳

25 January 2025 — : This applies to Ruakākā, where we're moving to later this year — Fast-track legislation stirs up opponents of Northland sand mining plan | RNZ News: If the proposal goes ahead, 250,000 cubic metres of sand will be removed per year from an area …

25 January 2025 — : I've been suspicious that the Command key on my M1 MacBook Pro isn't working properly — I go to Paste with Command V and instead get the letter V. Then I realised it's a user problem: I have arthritis in that thumb, verified by an X-Ray last …

25 January 2025 — : The Kuaka | Godwits were resting or feeding near the Terns. 🐦

25 January 2025 — : I don't visit the beach quite as much at the moment, but this morning's trip brought Caspian Terns, White-fronted Terns and a Gull hanging out with them. 🐦

25 January 2025 — : Our house hasn't been this clean and tidy since before we moved in. 🤣 Even though we haven't yet finished prepping for sale next month a possible buyer is viewing it today. 🤞🏼

24 January 2025 — : I laughed a lot while watching 2 seasons of Loot on Apple TV: It follows newly single Molly Wells, whose divorce from her tech billionaire ex-husband has made her the third-wealthiest woman in the US, as she decides to run the day-to-day work of the …

24 January 2025 — : This New Zealand native bird, the Huia, Heteralocha acutirostris, is one that can only be seen mounted in glass cases, like this pair on loan from Te Papa Tongarewa. This pair was part of an excellent ‘Korori, Korora’ exhibition at Foxton: A dynamic …

24 January 2025 — : This fabulous map shows where any point on earth is in shade or sun at any given moment. Many thanks to HowTown for the link. I already know our current house gets pretty much all day sun all year. Looks like the house we're building will do OK too. …

23 January 2025 — : Pronouns are interesting. As a native speaker of English I've never entirely come to grips with the intricacies of pronouns in Te Reo Māori, and that's on me. (2 or 3, including or excluding listener? 🤯) Very handy though that when you refer to one …

23 January 2025 — : Change doesn't happen overnight. Back in the 1970s I lived and taught teenagers in small town New Zealand. When I made it clear that my correct title was neither Miss nor Mrs but Ms there was a huge ruckus. It took about 2 years before the kids I …

22 January 2025 — : Before they can start building our new house they have to add some height to the building platform. 🏡

22 January 2025 — : Yesterday started with an extremely delicious strawberry from the tunnelhouse.

22 January 2025 — : I've long hated Facebook but there were one or two valid reasons to stay on there. With those reasons more or less gone, and with a birthday coming up in a few weeks I gave myself a cheap present today and cancelled my FB account. It's a bit like …

21 January 2025 — : I enjoyed reading this book set in Australia but written by a Kiwi. The Beautiful Dead (Cal Nyx Mystery Thrillers Book 1) by Kim Hunt. 📚 Working alone in the vast reaches of the New South Wales bush, park ranger Cal Nyx finds a body. When the remains …

21 January 2025 — : Ours is not a seaweed beach, but this morning there were clumps like this all the way along. The waves were calm at dawn. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

20 January 2025 — : One of those timeline adjacencies! // @cygnoir@social.lol @danielpunkass

20 January 2025 — : Big day today. In theory they've started breaking ground at our new Ruakākā property. Meanwhile we just signed all the million forms to engage an estate agent to sell our Waikawa Beach place. Nope, not a meth lab. Nope, no one died here. Nope, no …

20 January 2025 — : We had an unexpected visitor this morning when maybe a juvenile Pīwakawaka | Fantail flew into the house but didn't manage to fly out again. Luckily I caught it in the corner of the kitchen and took it back out into the great outdoors. 🐦

20 January 2025 — : After I'd gone to bed last night Deb reminded me about the comet so I got up and went down to the beach. Didn't find the comet, but did get to enjoy the gorgeous after-sunset.

19 January 2025 — : A good measure of progress on our clean up, clear up, pack up project to ready the house for sale is how much of a tip the place is. We have boxes of stuff to be given away or packed; cleaning gear and 'stuff' on tables and floor. We should be ready …

19 January 2025 — : The small patch of ground cover I planted a few years ago is finally starting to cover the ground.

18 January 2025 — : Washed the car today — just a quick brush with water — but the sun and background make it look good.

18 January 2025 — : It's possible this is one of this year's baby swallows, sitting on our deck railing, having a chat. 🐦

17 January 2025 — : The whole Halcyone series was excellent, and this final book was a good read that wrapped up the story. A Star in the Void: Halcyone Space Book 5 by LJ Cohen. 📚 I'm only sad to have finished this series, so I won't be able to hang out with these …

17 January 2025 — : Might not look like much, but that Portaloo near the white sign marks the corner of our new property at Ruakākā, and indicates that work is about to start on our new house. 👯‍♀️

16 January 2025 — : I've spent all day helping a dear friend move boxes of stuff to a storage unit. Knackered now!

16 January 2025 — : I'm guessing everybody has a junk drawer … Just how many does that 'a' extend to? Currently working through my fourth … 🤭 Found a treasure trove of loyalty cards I never use — they're headed for the bin. Oh, and what the heck was …

16 January 2025 — : Half an hour before dawn and there was a mystical ground fog over the paddocks.

15 January 2025 — : I didn't expect to find a hilarious Australian Christmas movie on CBS, but there we are. Nugget Is Dead: A Christmas Story: During Christmas, Steph Stool's family dog falls ill, forcing her to return to her Australian hometown. She must deal with …

15 January 2025 — : Six planets to line up in night sky | RNZ News. I sincerely hope the picture heading this article is a faithful representation of what I'll be able to see. 😆

15 January 2025 — : After I do a lot of physical work I don't sleep well. Yesterday I moved half a dozen shovels full of shingle and gravel, spent 10 minutes cutting back flax, moved stuff, and did a bunch of random light tasks. Last night: awake for ages. Now we've …

15 January 2025 — : Yesterday morning by the river mouth at the beach things were very quiet. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

14 January 2025 — : I like the characters and setting in this series but the plotting in this book is a bit hard to go along with. Hidden Agenda: Murder in the Clouds (Gina Santoro Mysteries Book 2) by Kay Hadashi. 📚 There are better things to do in Hawaii on a sunny …

14 January 2025 — : I was already in bed last night when Deb got me up to look at the rising Moon. So glad she did. 😁

14 January 2025 — : A very handy list for Kiwis: Public holidays 2025: All the dates you need to know (and how to make the most of them). Coming up: Wellington Anniversary - 20 January Waitangi Day - 6 February Good Friday - 18 April Anzac Day - 25 April King's …

13 January 2025 — : When I planted flaxes beside the driveway I made a big mistake, not thinking about how massive they'd get. From time to time I trim them. Before and after shots of one bush.

13 January 2025 — : We had a stack of (very heavy) concrete pavers that we kept when our rental property no longer needed them. This week, in preparing our house for sale, I finally moved them into two spots: in front of the shed and in front of the tunnelhouse. 😅

13 January 2025 — : Well, 7 years on Micro.Blog. My move in 2018 away from WordPress was a very good decision. I love this Micro.Blog community and the bloggers and creators who make it such an excellent place to blog. Thank you all. For the last few years I've tried …

12 January 2025 — : Before we can sell our house there's a heap of tasks to do. In the last couple of days I've been trimming flaxes. The zendo has been revealed! Trimming flaxes is very hard work! Cutting the leaves with a specialised flax knife is easy, but it's a …

11 January 2025 — : I'm not a big fan of the romance genre, but sometimes make an exception for lesbian romance. I read Midnight Rainbows Over the Little Village (Broclington Romances Book 4) by Ella Cook. 📚 The book felt a little 'off' and I almost abandoned it part …

11 January 2025 — : Today we tried out the new restaurant Jamboree at Tatum, where I ate a pretty good: Korean fried chicken Served with steam rice, seaweed salad, pickel daikon. The building and grounds have an interesting history. The freshly renovated venue is a bit …

11 January 2025 — : Overall a fair read — Gale Force Danger (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 2) by Lakota Grace. 📚 Rán Hollander, Investigative Consultant, returns from vacation to find her desk at the constable’s office usurped by a brash rookie cop …

10 January 2025 — : Today was pizza day.

09 January 2025 — : I mainly enjoyed the movie Good Grief: follows a man mourning the loss of his husband as his two best friends help him on his journey of grief and acceptance. There was a bit in the middle where it felt rather bogged down, but it was a pleasing …

09 January 2025 — : In today's news — smoke is smoky. Large vegetation fire at Whangārei Heads triggers emergency response | RNZ News: A large amount of smoke can be seen at Whangārei Heads. A resident in the area says it is smoky.

09 January 2025 — : Over Christmas and New Year our fridge freezer started leaking water and storing up ice below the freezer drawer. After we tried various troubleshooting suggestions without success, today the service person examined it and declared the drain blocked …

08 January 2025 — : I enjoyed watching the kids movie Luck 🎥 : Set in the Land of Luck, the story follows the unluckiest person, Sam Greenfield, as she must unite with a talking black cat named Bob to turn her luck around. Favorite scene: Sam was chasing someone but …

08 January 2025 — : With this dreary weather the Tararua Range can be quite moody.

07 January 2025 — : I really recommend this book, on sale today: US$3.10. It's good for all adults, not just us older folks. Thriving Beyond Fifty (Expanded Edition): 111 Natural Strategies to Restore Your Mobility, Avoid Surgery and Stay Off Pain Pills for Good by Will …

07 January 2025 — : Something I learned when we sold our Wellington house — there were a million clean-up things to do, so by and large I didn't work from a plan, but just grabbed an item and did it. Tomorrow an estate agent is visiting for an initial talk so …

06 January 2025 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. Waikawa Beach, with a stiff southerly. 🌊

06 January 2025 — : A good read by an author whose previous books I've enjoyed. Lake Effect Murder (The Rán Hollander Mystery Series Book 1) by Lakota Grace. 📚 When Rán Hollander’s sister calls with the news that their father had a tragic accident on Lake Michigan, Rán …

06 January 2025 — : I really enjoyed The Six Triple Eight: based on the 2019 magazine article "Fighting a Two-Front War", by Kevin M. Hymel, on the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II. …

05 January 2025 — : Deb made shortbread biscuits today and they are delicious! The recipe for Shortbread Cookies says: Homemade shortbread cookies trumps Walkers!! And I think I agree! Walkers have been my favourites, but perhaps no longer. Yum!

05 January 2025 — : We don't yet have a start date for the house build at Ruakākā, but we expect to move perhaps mid-2025. Now that 2024 has come to a close we're turning our thoughts to selling up here at Waikawa Beach. And so we're beginning the process of cleaning up …

05 January 2025 — : By the end of the 11-book Sister Joan series I was sad to leave this world, though the last book dwelt rather on outright Evil. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books 9–11 by Veronica Black. 📚 After a shaky start in Book One I did enjoy this series very …

04 January 2025 — : We watched A Remarkable Place to Die: a New Zealand-Australian crime drama series [that] follows Detective Anais Mallory on the homicide beat in Queenstown and as she also uncovers more about her sister's mysterious death. Come for the amazing NZ …

04 January 2025 — : Many thanks to Alan Jacobs for putting me on to the most excellent Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Loads of good puns, superb nail-biting action and lots of laughs. 🎥 It features the return of the villainous penguin Feathers McGraw from The …

04 January 2025 — : Spotted one of these in the wild the other day and it intrigued me enough to look it up — JPOD | Jayco: The J-Pod is a lightweight trailer perfect for couple’s or single’s wanting a short break. It can be towed behind your average sedan or …

04 January 2025 — : In this 10 minute video Will Harlow, a physiotherapist, explains the science of why we lose height as we age (spinal changes and also posture) and provides 3 simple exercises to help regain some height. Regain Your Height and Confidence with 3 Simple …

03 January 2025 — : Things are getting more complicated in the 4th book of an enjoyable series — Parallax: Halcyone Space, book 4 by LJ Cohen. 📚 knowledge brings new threats and Halcyone's crew is drawn more deeply into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy …

03 January 2025 — : It's a shame; I've enjoyed doing the Classic Daily Cryptic Crossword - The Globe and Mail lately. It's a good starter before heading on to harder cryptic puzzles. Now it'll just be New Daily Cryptic Crossword - The Globe and Mail and the brain …

03 January 2025 — : Today is different from the other days so far this summer: the rain's coming from the north rather than the south. 🌧️

02 January 2025 — : Back in 1998 I owned a Honda Del Sol sports car. We had no garage in Wellington and lived about 140 metres walk down a footpath from where I would park on the road up the hill. One morning we found the car like this. 😒 So glad we have a garage with …

01 January 2025 — : 2025 is off to a good start, with these strawberries from the tunnelhouse. Yum!

31 December 2024 — : Deb put in a lot of work to make very delicious Lemon Meringue Tarts. Our friend D was supposed to drive up from Wellington to lunch with us, with these tarts for dessert, but gale force winds and rain were deterrents. It was as well she didn't drive …

31 December 2024 — : In Episode 1 the whole premise of Ludwig was too ridiculous, but by the end of the season I was well hooked: John Taylor is a reclusive puzzle maker …. His identical twin brother, James Taylor, is a successful Detective Chief Inspector in the …

30 December 2024 — I plan to build muscle strength to walk better and avoid falls : When I walk I've noticed I scuff one foot or other approximately every 15 steps. Years of dog walking also taught me to walk slowly (dog peeing and sniffing caused big delays). Per Will Harlow though, This Walking Mistake Leads to FALLS in Ages 65+ …

30 December 2024 — : It's been a while since I did a decent beach walk, but today I stowed the camera in the backpack and hustled down from the North Track to the Waiorongomai Stream and back — 5 Km all up. It tired me out. River mouth from the North Track. In …

30 December 2024 — : The first story in Rogue Stars: 7 Novels of Space Exploration and Adventure (various authors) was somehow 'off'. It just didn't sit right with me. The second was too dark and gritty for my taste. I decided to abandon this free book. 📚 Jump into seven …

29 December 2024 — : Juxtaposition of the day … Number of lithium-ion battery fires double in four years | RNZ News: In March 2024, Island Bay resident AJ Hunter was woken by his wife at 4am after his neighbour's Tesla spontaneously combusted with the blame being …

28 December 2024 — : In December 2008 I was in Hawai'i for a few days where I took some not very good photos, including this one of the Hawaiian Cowboy Memorial: In 2008, the monument stood as a landmark during the community’s “Waiomina” celebration of the 100th …

28 December 2024 — : I feel I've hardly noticed any Pōhutukawa flowering this year. This photo is from December 2005.

27 December 2024 — : Capitalism working flawlessly to separate people from their money. 😵‍💫

27 December 2024 — : I was a bit iffy about the first Sister Joan book, but when the chance came to buy 9 books for less than $2 I decided to risk more in the series, and I didn't regret it. The series grew on me and I'll read more yet. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books …

27 December 2024 — : At 3.30 a.m. Deb and I decided to have a cup of tea after being woken by wind gusting to 55 Kph (35 mph). The forecast is for moderate gales up to about 60 Kph by mid-afternoon. Presumably the gusts will be stronger. 🌬️

26 December 2024 — : Red One was a lightweight and fairly funny movie, with great creativity: On Christmas Eve, a black ops team breaks into the North Pole complex and kidnaps Santa. Magnificent reindeer, polar bear and other critters. Some very clever magical tricks.

25 December 2024 — : Christmas lunch was perfect: an appetiser of two bacon, pesto and haloumi bites, followed by roast duck legs with plum and Orzo Salad. Simple, easy and delicious. And washed down with a cold Bundaberg Blood Orange drink.

25 December 2024 — : Who knows whether they're coming or going? NZ Dotterels on the move. 🐦

25 December 2024 — : When I checked the swallow nest above the zendo door all the little warm bodies were gone, but this tiny egg was alone in the nest. 🐦

25 December 2024 — : A jolly good read — Star Nomad: Fallen Empire, Book 1 by Lindsay Buroker. 📚 Steal a dilapidated and malfunctioning freighter from a junkyard full of lawless savages. Slightly suicidal, but she believes she can do it. Her plan, however, does not …

24 December 2024 — : Baby swallow photo, with added baby swallow. 😆 🐦

23 December 2024 — : Good local news: The Horowhenua Star will be published by ID media, which already publishes community newspaper Otaki Today. The news comes just days after the final issue of the 134-year-old Horowhenua Chronicle, which was closed by parent company …

23 December 2024 — : Uh oh. This is a road we may be using a fair bit after we move north — : SH1 Whangārei to Marsden Point - Northland: NZTA said that from 2011 to 2021, 22 people had lost their lives and 73 people had been seriously injured on that stretch of …

23 December 2024 — The system I use to track my reading : Hollie wrote about wanting to keep track of reading. I almost exclusively read books I've bought from Kindle, but find the Kindle device worse than useless for organising and tracking. I created a list in OmniOutliner on my Mac that tracks title, …

23 December 2024 — : For some reason I don't so often post photos of the Australian coots on the wee lake down the road. Rectifying … 🐦

22 December 2024 — : OK, compose the picture of the baby swallow on the zendo roof, carefully and slowly depress the shutt… Gone! 🐦

22 December 2024 — : At brunch at Floriditas in Wellington yesterday I was looking out on this electronic billboard and space mural.

21 December 2024 — : It's rare to see BBEdit discounted, but WinterFest 2024 is offering a coupon: BBEdit is the leading professional-strength text and code editor for the Mac. Crafted to serve the needs of writers, web authors, software developers, and everyone else who …

21 December 2024 — : Today we visited Wellington for brunch at Floriditas, where I ate Brioche french toast, Lewis Farms strawberries, strawberry caramel syrup & chantilly, first with a hot chocolate and then with a green tea. It was fun to join half a dozen others …

20 December 2024 — : It's baby rabbit season.

20 December 2024 — : Working on a friend's tiny plain HTML and CSS web page. Grr, doesn't work … still not working … still not working. Brain wakes up: try editing the correct file. 😵‍💫 Well! Would you look at that! 😁

20 December 2024 — : I wanted to watch something light and fluffy. The Grinch did not disappoint. I liked all of it, but especially the animals, Max the dog, Fred the reindeer, the reindeer family and also the goat. It was a fun watch. 🎥

19 December 2024 — : A wee reminder for Kiwis who may have $20 to spare. This time of year family violence intensifies. Gift A Safe Night to Women's Refuge: One night of safety at Women's Refuge for a woman and child costs just $20. It includes A safe, clean bed; Secure …

19 December 2024 — : Thrilled that there were 3 little Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel chicks hooning round on the beach this morning. This one was watching me carefully. 🐦

19 December 2024 — : Not sure about this, but I think the Spur-winged Plovers that hang around the beach have also reared chicks. The one closest to the camera looks smaller than the other two. 🐦

19 December 2024 — : The adventure continues in Dreadnought And Shuttle: Halcyone Space, book 3 by LJ Cohen. Our team of heroes are enterprising and creative. Another good read. 📚 As the former shipmates track Maldonado down, each course they plot endangers the life of …

19 December 2024 — : Beautiful and amazing 5 minute video — 5,000 drones light up the night sky in a record-breaking winter show – The Kid Should See This — included Santa and his reindeer flying over planet Earth: Like pixels in a three-dimensional display, …

18 December 2024 — : Well, today's Waikawa Beach news. The driver can't have known there's nowhere to go with a car once at Waikawa Beach. And those Walkers Lane paddocks — just a short sprint from our house. But look how quickly it went down: about 10 minutes.

18 December 2024 — : Thanks to Collin Donnell for the Image Playground inspiration. This was fun. Our two dogs, Oshi and Sasha, as camper and astronaut … Collin Donnell said: I asked Image Playground to make one of my dogs a fantasy hero and the other a chef. …

18 December 2024 — : You may have to look very closely at these photos to make them out. Above the zendo door is a mud bowl swallow nest. Yesterday when I touched my fingers inside the nest I could feel warm bodies. There was no squeaking though. The camera angle is …

17 December 2024 — : Last night around 10 pm a southerly storm arrived suddenly. I went round and closed all the open windows. Rain lashed, wind, where gusts normally rock the house, was almost vibrating the house, sheets of lightning flashed frequently and thunder …

16 December 2024 — : Someone needs to get on our roof to pull a huge clump of grass from the gutter. Foolishly I went with some rando who advertised on the local Facebook group. The day he was meant to come it was rainy so he begged off — fair enough. Since then …

16 December 2024 — Mars Edit Post Category Counter AppleScript : I had Claude help me write an AppleScript and prepare this blog post. The AppleScript helps solve the problem of counting posts in categories on my Micro.Blog. Mars Edit Post Category Counter AppleScript This AppleScript is designed for bloggers and …

16 December 2024 — : I quite often have good ideas for work someone else can do. 🤣 I've just sent in a Mars Edit feature request for some kind of on-demand Stats report. I've easily discovered that in this calendar year to date I've posted around 842 times. Getting …

16 December 2024 — : The Oystercatcher chick is of course getting bigger, and darker, every day. 🐦

15 December 2024 — : Yummm. The 2-hour Fastest No Knead Rolls, Crusty Rolls | Jenny Can Cook were delicious. After browsing the comments I changed the recipe in a few ways: I brushed the rolls with butter before baking, and I baked them for only 20 minutes. I also placed …

15 December 2024 — : Another good read in a series I enjoy — Critical Traces (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries Book 10) by D. L. Keur 📚 : An injured horseback rider, then two missing ATVers, a gunshot through the engine of one of the machines--thus begins a …

14 December 2024 — : The other day Deb cleared and planted one vegetable bed. Today I added mulch and netting to keep the wild rabbits out.

14 December 2024 — : Darn it — I backed the car into a low fence at an unfamiliar location today. Luckily it's done minimal damage, but Grrr. 🚗

13 December 2024 — : Nice one! When getting nowhere with the lackeys, go instead straight to the boss: The Iwi Chairs Forum has penned a letter to King Charles III, urging the monarch to intervene over state actions in relation to te ao Māori. “Your new coalition …

13 December 2024 — : Sleep update: Deb left the house around 0430 to drive to Wellington airport for an early flight. I enjoyed a cuppa and 2 hours additional sleep, moving me from woefully inadequate to merely inadequate. I predict more daytime sleep. 😀 Image Playground …

13 December 2024 — : Drat. For no particular reason it was one of those nights where I was asleep not very much and awake far too much. I ended up finishing my book, but the day is starting with much yawning. 🥱

12 December 2024 — : We've had our Mazda CX3 for 9 or 10 years now. The other day we received a Rearview Camera Safety Recall, so today I drove the 1 hour to Palmerston North to have the camera checked. With this advice: We do require at least half a day to carry out the …

10 December 2024 — : Can you even see the two almost microscopic Dotterel chicks? 🐦 One is dead-centre, the other diagonally down and to the right. I've left the landscape in to help show just how tiny they are. You can really only spot them when they move.

10 December 2024 — : The Oystercatcher chick had strayed further from its parents today. 🐦

10 December 2024 — : I usually can't bear to read the Government's Press Releases, but this is welcome news … Government announces [end] of greyhound racing in New Zealand: While fewer dogs are dying, injury rates, while down slightly, have plateaued and remain …

09 December 2024 — : I must have had an effective session at the gym yesterday — all the muscles I worked are (good) sore. 😁

09 December 2024 — : A kiwi 'christmas' parade: We still have Santa who comes along with us to celebrate, but we recognise Hineraumati as our summer maiden, who opens up our summer time for us as iwi Māori. For us the big thing was to have our own pūrākau [stories] …

08 December 2024 — : Every couple of days I plug a 4TB drive into my MacBook Pro and use Time Machine to run a backup. Over recent weeks though it's failed repeatedly somewhere in the process. Today I gave in and reluctantly erased the drive to start fresh. After an hour …

08 December 2024 — : This is a slim book in the way a surgeon's scalpel is slim — and equally effective Understanding Te Tiriti. 📚 A handbook of basic facts about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. No 200 page academic treatise, this book cuts right to the point, clarifying …

08 December 2024 — : My Granny Smith apple tree is on track to produce a good crop this year. I'm going to miss this tree when we move.

07 December 2024 — : The corner of the deck railing is the super popular spot for birds this year. This Yellowhammer sang me a nice tune. 🐦

06 December 2024 — : I think this is the same Dotterel chick I took a photo of a couple of days ago. Today I spotted its one or two siblings (they move so fast I just wasn't sure if it was 2 chicks or 3). 🐦

05 December 2024 — : Cooking Tip: Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs: It’s easy to make perfect, easy to peel, hard boiled eggs with no green ring.

05 December 2024 — : That was fun, with such excellent and well-known musical pieces — The Magic Flute: a 2022 German musical fantasy film directed by Florian Sigl and written by Andrew Lowery, based on the 1791 opera of the same name by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. …

05 December 2024 — : Today I made this Creamy Body Wash: 50 g hot water 25 g coconut oil 1 tsp xanthan gum 200 g water – additional 100 g liquid castile soap 30-50 drops essential oils I used 25 drops lemon, 15 lavender, 15 bergamot. Tomorrow I get to see how it turned …

05 December 2024 — : Another enjoyable adventure with this young group of friends — Ithaka Rising: Halcyone Space, book 2 by LJ Cohen. 📚 When Barre's brother Jem disappears, Barre and Ro race to find him before he sells his future and risks his mind for a black …

04 December 2024 — : Look at all that fluff! I think this Barbary Dove was just a youngster. 🐦

04 December 2024 — : The forecast for the next few days at Ruakākā and Waikawa Beach shows a bit of difference. 🥵 I enjoy a bit of heat!

04 December 2024 — : A month ago Cheri posted a no-knead bread recipe; today I finally tried baking it. Crusty ✔︎; easy to make ✔︎. It didn't rise a whole lot and was a little doughy but it tastes great all the same. Maybe next time I'll give it longer in the first stage …

04 December 2024 — : Three of 5 well-grown Black swan cygnets on lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

03 December 2024 — : I enjoyed the movie Space Oddity. 🎥 Alex is going to Mars — it was a dream he and his big brother had. But then Daisy comes along …

03 December 2024 — : This littlie was hopping / fluttering along the beach. 🐦 Research and a bit of guessing led me to believe it is a Kairaka | Eurasian skylark: A small brown and creamy-buff bird with off-white underparts, streaked breast and throat, variegated brown …

03 December 2024 — : I tried this Vegetable Lo Mein recipe and was very pleased with how it came out. I couldn't get snow peas or chow mein noodles, but random noodles worked fine. I added snow pea shoots. Easy to cook and delicious.

03 December 2024 — : OK, this excellent word puzzle is going in my daily puzzle set: Gisnep | Daily Quote Puzzle. Via: Lynneguist List.

02 December 2024 — : The Poaka | Pied Stilt babies can only be seen from quite far away. There are 3 here, between their parent and the log. 🐦 Here's a very cropped view.

02 December 2024 — : This Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel parent is keeping a very close eye on me. 🐦 Why? because I was taking photos (at some distance) of its baby.

02 December 2024 — : Good grief! Hanging out in the public library while my car's serviced. My phone has no signal so I'm using the free WiFi. When I try to do Lex's word games I get this notice:

02 December 2024 — : Weird notification as I hotspot on my MacBook Pro from my iPhone: Low Battery Do you want to disconnect from Naida Phone? My iPhone charge is 100%; my MacBook Pro charge is 92%. Huh?

01 December 2024 — : Sand Scarab.   Man, that party last night was a blast!

01 December 2024 — : Recently hatched Oystercatcher sticking close to mum. 🐦

01 December 2024 — : This little mite hopped away from our front door when I went out. Eventually it found a spot in a pile of shingle. Sparrow presumably. 🐦

01 December 2024 — : Messages from a friend yesterday that I only spotted today 🐦 : Bad news, dotterel eggs are gone, good news, baby dotterel! At least 2 Baby oyster catcher too 3 pied stilts too I see a beach walk with camera in my near future. 😁

30 November 2024 — : While looking for something else I came across my citizenship certificate. Almost exactly 20 years since I became a citizen of NZ. In 1840 Māori signed a treaty with the British crown. It's thanks to that treaty that I'm able to live here in …

30 November 2024 — : God defend the breast screeners of New Zealand | The Spinoff: After having her first mammogram, Anna Rawhiti-Connell finds efficiency, reassurance and care in a beleaguered public health system. Hear hear!

29 November 2024 — : Today's Crusty French Bread Rolls went quite well. They are crusty, and delicious.

29 November 2024 — : The farmer next door was busy yesterday. This morning I got up to see this and thought: rural idyll. 😁

29 November 2024 — : Sigh. By the end of next year this will be our Council: Whangārei District Council votes 7-6 against adding fluoride to water supply | RNZ News. Double sigh, as if following the US were a good idea, especially these days: A spokesperson for Fluoride …

29 November 2024 — : Kiwis : Submission Opposing Treaty Principles Bill: Submission template created by lawyer, author and educator, Roimata Smail. She also has a book — Understanding Te Tiriti: Leveraging her two-decades of legal expertise in Te Tiriti o …

28 November 2024 — : Aargh, between anti-Money Laundering Measures and anti-scam and anti-fraud measures, trying to do anything relating to money these days, like paying for a piece of land, is a nightmare. Lots of proving identity, getting signatures witnessed, calling …

28 November 2024 — : I've been benefiting from these books for years. If you use Mac, iPhone, iPad etc do yourself a favour and learn something new. The Take Control Books Black Friday Sale 2024: Black Friday sale, which runs through Tuesday, December 3 at 11:59 PM CST. …

27 November 2024 — : A shout out to JPs: we had to sign a paper form today and have it witnessed. Our local JP who lives not far away did a stellar job, with very friendly service. No cost either.

27 November 2024 — : I think someone on Micro.Blog mentioned Derelict: Halcyone Space, book 1 by LJ Cohen. 📚 Although I enjoy watching sci-fi I don't always enjoy reading it. This book though kept my attention and I enjoyed the characters and the story. I'll definitely …

27 November 2024 — : I was already awake when this little shake came through. Seemed quite long. 〰️ When: Wed Nov 27 2024 3:46 AM; Where: 35 km south-west of Taumarunui; Shaking: Weak; Magnitude: 5.0; Depth: 176 km They seldom have earthquakes up north, and funnily …

26 November 2024 — : New fish rite of passage for Ruakākā: A multi-agency partnership is paving the way for migratory native fish to be able to navigate their way past a Ruakaka weir used for a public water supply. … “We now know some fish, particularly those with …

25 November 2024 — : So many documents to sign when buying a house and land package. Luckily we can do most electronically. For that, Docusign is a blessing: the lawyer sets it up then it's just a matter of clicking on the yellow box to initial or sign, then clicking …

25 November 2024 — : Today's Pacific Wave Appreciation Society photo post. A busy sea. 🌊

25 November 2024 — : Whale update: most were saved. Most of the 40 pilot whales that were stranded on a Northland beach have been refloated following a mammoth effort from volunteers. Whale rescue organisation Project Jonah received calls about 4.30pm Sunday that the …

24 November 2024 — : So sad the whales have stranded; so glad so many people are helping — Rescuers race to help 40 whales stranded at Northland beach | RNZ News: About 40 pilot whales have stranded on [Ruakākā] beach, and hundreds of locals and volunteers are trying to …

24 November 2024 — : You probably don't want to read the this gripping psychological suspense, The Door at the Top of the Stairs by Alison Naomi Holt. 📚 I nearly stopped early on but persevered through the descriptions of terrible torture relived by a young woman. The …

24 November 2024 — : Not the best Tūī photos, but it's good to have this one hanging round the garden. 🐦

23 November 2024 — : Another in a series I really feel comfortable with, and an author whose writing I enjoy. This particular book seemed a little less than the others though and didn't quite grip me as much — A Poisoned Chalice (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 8) by …

23 November 2024 — : The other day there was a hawk circling right by the house. 🐦

23 November 2024 — : I'm thinking a lot lately about what makes identity. Saving this para for future reference — Japan’s gender-bending history: Although the gender-bending look appeals equally to young Japanese women and men, the media have tended to focus on the …

22 November 2024 — : Well, at long last it's official — all signed up for a land and house package at Ruakākā on the east coast, a 20 minute drive south of Whangārei. We expect to be living there by this time in 2025. 🏡

22 November 2024 — : So interesting! How we developed sign language for ten of the trickiest climate change terms: Carbon offsetting … This sign visually represents the concept of reducing atmospheric carbon to sustainable levels. The sign begins with a “C” …

21 November 2024 — : This morning's beach walk brought new life 🐦 : a duck and 6 ducklings on the lake 3 Dotterel eggs in a nest 3 Oystercatcher eggs in a nest

20 November 2024 — : Another annual eye test completed with my favourite optometrist. She tells me I'm not a danger to the public. 😆 My left eye has lost a few letters and the cataract's in a tricky place, but otherwise all good and no need for new lenses. As our eyes …

20 November 2024 — : In a random cafe on Lambton Quay in Wellington while I wait for Deb to finish work so we can drive home. Tracey Chapman's Talkin Bout a Revolution is playing. I asked for honey with my Sencha Green tea but apparently here at Belen they're vegan, so I …

20 November 2024 — : A tiny bit of exaggeration there, Apple Mail … I hope! If not, I'm in trouble. 😆

20 November 2024 — : Maybe 50,000 people at yesterday's hikoi — Was the hīkoi New Zealand’s largest-ever protest? | The Spinoff: Experienced protest crowd counter Grace Millar put the number at 50,500 people who “went past the end of Lambton Quay… Not including …

19 November 2024 — : LOL, local dogs lose access to rubbish bags for rummaging. WE APOLOGISE TO KAPITI'S DOGS IN ADVANCE Kerbside collections just got safer, cleaner and easier with the introduction of our integrated wheelie bin system.

19 November 2024 — : The hikoi is ramping up at Parliament. Here's a live feed. About an hour till everything really kicks off. Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrives at Parliament to protest Treaty Principles Bill | 19 November 2024 | RNZ - YouTube. Or also: Hīkoi mō te Tiriti - …

19 November 2024 — : Here's one way Aotearoa has changed in the last decade or more: increasingly Te Reo Māori forms an essential part of the language spoken here. I love it! The hikoi is being led by all the kaihaka groups who led the various marches. Each region …

19 November 2024 — : Big day today with Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti 2024 reaching parliament. Tens of thousands are expected: 12pm: Activation at Paremata (Parliament Grounds) Deb has left an hour earlier than usual today to be sure of reaching Wellington in time to see her …

18 November 2024 — : Outdoor table at The Herb Garden cafe in Ashhurst, Palmerston North. A moment’s inattention is risky. 🤣

18 November 2024 — : We've had our EV for a whole year now and need to take it in for a service and possible software updates. When we first bought it we were nervous and the experience of driving it was quite different from a petrol car. Now we're just used to it and …

17 November 2024 — : Another very good read from a favourite author — Echoes on the Fens (Detective Nikki Galena Mysteries Book 15) by Joy Ellis. 📚 I really like these characters and how they go about things. Three days. Three murders. No leads

17 November 2024 — : Not quite exactly the first strawberry of the season from the tunnelhouse, but the first I had all to myself, and not half eaten by the slaters / birds that got to it first. 🍓

16 November 2024 — : It was a couple of days ago I caught this shot of a Pied Stilt with captured food in its beak and a spray of water all around. 🐦

16 November 2024 — : Former PM Jenny Shipley is on the other end of the political spectrum from me, but her comment is spot on — Treaty Principles Bill 'inviting civil war': "[The Treaty of Waitangi] is a relationship we committed to where we would try and find a …

15 November 2024 — : OK, rhetorical TV world question: if the victim's hands are tied in front of them why don't they take the gag out of their mouth? 📺

15 November 2024 — : Those, like me, frustrated at not seeing the actual haka I mentioned yesterday, can see it on YouTube. Stirring! The stuffed shirt on the parliamentary front bench they confront is the instigator of the awful Treaty Principles Bill.

14 November 2024 — : Anne writes some seriously good stuff, like this: In praise of creating crap: The value of creativity is not in the quality of what you create. The value is in the act of creativity itself. The value is in the energy you spend, and the fact that you …

14 November 2024 — : I love that this can happen in our NZ Parliament! Watch: Haka interrupts vote for the Treaty Principles Bill | RNZ News (2.5 minutes): A haka led by Te Pāti Māori interrupted voting for the Treaty Principles Bill this afternoon. ACT's Treaty …

14 November 2024 — : The Pied Stilts must be nesting. Based on last year's experience, if you come within 50 to 100 metres of their nest they dive bomb you — they flight straight at you and swerve at the very last moment. 🐦 Normal speed 25% speed.

14 November 2024 — : Maybe I shouldn't post this because there are goosenappers about … But there are so many Canada Geese around at the moment, it may be safe. 🐦 Flock of 40 or more Canada geese in a nearby paddock. Goose honking on lake Puna o te Ora.

13 November 2024 — : There were several Caspian Terns on the beach this morning. This new burst of warm sunny weather is bringing the birds back at last. 🐦

12 November 2024 — : I came across an older book I hadn't read from an author whose work I enjoy. This was a really good read: Alias by Cari Hunter. 📚 A car lies crashed below a Welsh mountain road. One of the young women inside it is dead, the other badly injured, with …

12 November 2024 — : For a calm, quiet, sunny morning there was a bit of energy in the waves. Kāpiti Island in the background. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

11 November 2024 — : We visited Palmerston North on errands today so I had my usual favourite lunch: Chicken Teriyaki at Mr Choi.

10 November 2024 — : It's been weeks, what with visiting Whangārei then Deb being quite sick and me being slightly below par. Finally today we went back to the gym, where I did 5 Km on the bike, then some lat pulldowns, rowing, Russian Twists and Overhead Crunches. …

09 November 2024 — : Ohhh, so that's why … How to Tame Sequoia’s Window Tiling - TidBITS: Have windows on your Mac started to expand to fill the screen since you upgraded to macOS 15 Sequoia? … having windows change size underneath your pointer can be …

09 November 2024 — : Heavy on the religious minutiae, it was interesting that Sister Joan was able to ferret out wrongdoing in spite of the enormous limitations of a very contained life. I may not read more. A Vow of Silence (Sister Joan Murder Mystery Book 1) by …

09 November 2024 — : This book grew on me as I read more, but it didn't entirely grab me. Blindsided (Grace Smith Mystery Book 2)by Liz Evans. 📚 When Grace Smith, a down-on-her-luck private investigator with an unimpressive track record, gets a call from an elderly man …

08 November 2024 — : Today's Bird World adventure — the flue of our woodburner wears a 'sock' to keep birds out, so it was very surprising to see this sparrow head sticking out into the lounge in the gap between the flue itself and the plate on the ceiling. I …

08 November 2024 — : Nicely said: @checkervest I still skip! It's best to be yourself, early and often. Lest you fall in with the wrong crowd by accident. 😀 Cheri https://writing.exchange/users/cheribaker/statuses/113442975502064574

07 November 2024 — : Volume up! This little Yellowhammer was singing right outside my open door. 🐦

07 November 2024 — : A wonderful moment today as traffic stopped to allow a Paradise Duck mama to walk her half a dozen or more babies 50 metres along (and all over) the road to a new location. iPhone photos from the car. 🐦

06 November 2024 — : A friend has roped off the Dotterel nest on the beach in an attempt to keep vehicles and pedestrians, horses and dogs away. He has also seen 3 eggs in the nest. 🐦 The nests of northern New Zealand dotterels are simple scrapes in the substrate …

06 November 2024 — : Reposted: Yellowhammer through the window. 🐦

06 November 2024 — : Explained: Why Kiwis don’t know what a proper cup of tea is | Stuff: There are also numerous boutique tea blenders in New Zealand like The Tea Curator , Webster’s , Mikaku , Tea Total , Harney & Sons , t Leaf T , Noble & Sunday , Ritual , …

06 November 2024 — : 6 ways supermarket tea is different to artisan tea | The Tea Curator: The leaves used for artisan tea are almost always handpicked … usually the newly-emerged bud and one or two leaves or the bud only. For supermarket tea, the leaves are …

05 November 2024 — : Dammit: had a filling at the dentist today — it was quick and easy, but I had two injections. Now I can't drink a cup of tea without dribbling. 3 hours later and my lip's still numb …

04 November 2024 — : Urgh, I expect today's brain fog, headache, blurry eyes and lack of oomph are hay fever reactions. Not a fan!

04 November 2024 — : I have a dim memory from years ago about an announcement for being able to see a transcript or hear a recording of a voicemail right on the phone's screen … I think … Anyway, it's now landed in Aotearoa for me, and Wow! That's …

03 November 2024 — : This little Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel came within 2 metres to check me out. A friend has seen a 'nest' with 3 eggs at the beach. He thinks this dotterel and mate are responsible. 🐦 Images may be slow to load.

03 November 2024 — : This is the view — from south to north — on arriving at Waikawa Beach over the north track off Reay Mackay Grove.

03 November 2024 — : I actually don't mind at all being awake and drinking tea at 3 am. Yesterday I was tired all day and totally crashed out at 7 pm, so I've actually already had about 6 or 7 hours sleep, and will surely have more before dawn. This morning's tea, a …

02 November 2024 — : Little waxeyes were feeding on the small flax flowers — their heads turning orange with the pollen. But before my camera could focus they flew away. 😒 Rabbit eating grass.

01 November 2024 — : I was just browsing through photos in my album and came across these Warou | Welcome swallows on the railing from January 2015. 🐦

01 November 2024 — : Hiatus resolution, glottal stops … what's not to like in this interesting 16 minute video from Dr Geoff Lindsey? — A interesting development - YouTube: A investigation into a increase in the use of a indefinite article without 'n' . Is …

31 October 2024 — : By some miracle Deb achieved a same day doctor appointment. Bronchitis confirmed; drugs acquired.

31 October 2024 — : I really enjoy this series, in part for the very ordinary and likeable characters who work at the supermarket in small town Kingsleigh. The Missing Heirloom Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 5) by Rachel Ward. 📚 Several mysteries here and I …

31 October 2024 — : Well, colour me surprised! I thought this was a Mexican / Spanish word! Honcho Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster: A relic of the large U.S. presence in Japan in the years following World War II, the word honcho comes from the Japanese word …

31 October 2024 — : One of those nights where sleep and I just weren't good friends … And I've been doing so well lately. 😒 On the upside, was a super early cup of Three Moons tea: a semi-oxidised oolong that is lightly roasted multiple times over three months – …

30 October 2024 — : Well, I was out for brunch this morning for the first part of the all-day powercut. Back by about 1 and the power came back on at 1.30. Here's hoping it just stays on now. And hooray for a hot cup of tea!

29 October 2024 — : The master of all he surveys. 🐦 Peihana | Pheasant on a hill.

29 October 2024 — : This series has such excellent writing — Cast the First Stone (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 7) by Alison Joseph. 📚 For example, this sentence in the middle of an intense and difficult discussion: How brilliant: the silence muffled the traffic …

29 October 2024 — : I was trying out Nitro for photo editing and this Kuaka | Godwit shone out at me from my photo album. 🐦 Gentlemen Coders was founded in 2016 by Nik Bhatt, an 18 year veteran of Apple. His roles in the Photo Apps group included Senior Director of …

29 October 2024 — : We no longer have any pets, but this is handy info: Dogs on leash now allowed in Whangārei CBD, seven more dog-friendly beaches unveiled - NZ Herald. See also: Changes to dog bylaws - Whangarei District Council.

28 October 2024 — : A rather facile movie, but I watched it through because the underlying ideas were somewhat interesting — Uglies: In the future, the world has fallen into chaos after exhausting all natural resources. To keep humanity alive, scientists first …

28 October 2024 — : Waikawa Beach rain. @JeremyWxBaker

27 October 2024 — : The crew. 🐦 6 Kuaka | Godwits in a line on the wet sand in front of the waves.

26 October 2024 — : The sunset spotlight.

25 October 2024 — : RNZ broadcasts first Concert for Animals on Guy Fawkes Night | RNZ News: 🐶 In a radio first, RNZ and the SPCA are hosting a special Guy Fawkes Concert for Animals, with music specially selected to calm your pets. RNZ Concert content director Liisa …

25 October 2024 — : And, BTW, Claude saved me some hair tearing. Q: I'm using the hex colour below as the background for a web page. I want the colour to be paler. Give me 5 options, in hex, for a paler yellow. The hex colour I'm using is: #FEDC91 Answer: Here are 5 …

25 October 2024 — : I agreed to update a friend's (a former client) web page — a simple task. But I'd forgotten about the power of MS Word users to cause utter confusion! So glad I don't do that work any more. And the page update? It used to be 5 lightning fast …

24 October 2024 — : This is our resident blackbird who spends much of the day sitting on our deck railing, singing to me (and the world). 🐦

24 October 2024 — : I think I'm done with this series: The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Books 11–15 by Veronica Heley. 📚 Book 12 in particular was a bit silly and repetitive. The others lacked the occasional writing sparkle that previous books had. The stories have grown …

24 October 2024 — : Well, that was fun: the Barbie movie.

23 October 2024 — : 0850 and I'm as ready as I can be for an all-day power cut. With power off we can't get water pumped from the rainwater tank so the toilet and handbasins won't work. Nor can I boil the kettle for a cup of tea, and the Internet will go off. The Yeti …

23 October 2024 — : Hooray, it's an excellent show: Jason Kottke: Ooh, a preview clip from season three of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I like this crew. Season three premieres sometime in 2025 and, huzzah!, has been renewed for a 4th season.

22 October 2024 — : I always love to see a Spoonbill, and the Pied Stilt is a bonus. 🐦

21 October 2024 — : On my way to Palmerston North to collect Deb from the airport. Eggs on toast with tomatoes for lunch at Levin Mall. Inexpensive but delicious. Noisy though!

20 October 2024 — : Kingfisher on a flax spear by the lake. 🐦

20 October 2024 — : I get the feeling I'm in trouble … 🐦 Weiweia | Dabchick floating on a lake and glaring at me.

19 October 2024 — : Unsuccessful comet hunting, but it was alright down at the beach after sunset.

19 October 2024 — : Spotted a pair of ducks with at least half a dozen tiny ducklings on the lake. Unfortunately, by the time I'd stopped my bike and extracted my camera they had disappeared without trace. I waited a while, but with no luck.

19 October 2024 — : I was absolutely delighted when I arrived home from 10 days away to find this postcard from @Odd in my letterbox. I must say, Hell doesn't look like too bad a place. 😁 Luckily I live in a place with very few residents and I have an unusual name. …

18 October 2024 — : We flew over a wind farm just before landing at Palmerston North.

18 October 2024 — : When nouns verb and verbs noun … New research documents accelerating plant growth At first I wondered how research documents can accelerate anything. Then I twigged …

18 October 2024 — : Mā te wā. Farewell Whangārei.

17 October 2024 — : A tricky mystery to unravel, and an enjoyable read: Knight On Edge (Jorja Knight Mystery Series Book 7) by Alice Bienia. 📚 When a distraught woman hires her to confirm suspicions of her husband’s infidelity, Jorja welcomes the seemingly routine job. …

17 October 2024 — : Ready for anything! 😆 🐶

17 October 2024 — : Our Whangārei friends have a very pleasant and comfortable place but their Internet is really poor. So sick of photos taking forever to load. Deb's done a few Zoom calls — with difficulty. I need to stay offline while she does that. I'm looking …

16 October 2024 — : Nice: we've ordered pizza to be picked up from Pizza Fusion nearby, and a live update on the web keeps us informed about where things are up to.

16 October 2024 — : We're dog sitting for Whangārei friends while they're on holiday. Their house is large, very comfortable and pleasant to stay in. I'm missing my own bed though, and my own stuff around me. I'd also forgotten just how much energy goes into even very …

15 October 2024 — : Yesterday our friend Amanda drove up from near Auckland to visit. We had dinner at Pimarn Thai Restaurant where I ate Pad Him Ma Pan — stir-fried fresh vegetables, sweet chilli paste, cashew nuts, capsicum and mushroom with roast duck. It was …

14 October 2024 — : At 3.30 am I had to let the dogs out for a pee. The bonuses were that I'd already been awake for ages and could now make a cuppa, that I spotted the full moon setting and caught sight of a shooting star.

14 October 2024 — Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS : Kiwis have chance to glimpse 'once in a lifetime' comet not seen in last 80,000 years: Stardome [astronomer] Josh Aoraki told the Herald that the best place to see [Comet C/2023 A3] would be anywhere that has a clear unobstructed view of the western …

13 October 2024 — : A highlight for today: panfried fresh Gurnard with handcut fries at Jolt Cafe in Maunu. Truly delicious!

13 October 2024 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society two videos. The first from Waipu Cove about 40 Km south of Whangārei. The second, an hour later, from north Ruakākā Beach just a few Km north of Waipu. 🌊

12 October 2024 — : At Ruakākā North Beach. Look at that white sand!

11 October 2024 — : An excellent reason for banning dogs from Whangārei Quarry Gardens: there are kiwi in the hills.

11 October 2024 — : Deb and I visited Quail Cafe in Whangārei Quarry Gardens. The food, beverages, ambience and service were excellent. I look forward to visiting again and enjoying a long walk round the gardens themselves.

11 October 2024 — : I rather like this blend of hearsay and heresy. Nicely combines the idea of incorrectness and dissidence.

10 October 2024 — : We're in charge of Boo and Rush for a few days as their family members have a holiday. The dogs enjoyed their walk at the park this morning. 🐶

09 October 2024 — : Off to a good start on our travels today with Air NZ letting us know before we'd left home for the hour's drive to the airport that our flights were moved around. 🛩️ All packed up and ready to go, we now have an extra 2 hours at home. And our 1 hour …

09 October 2024 — Sand mining proposal for Bream Bay endangers birds : Perhaps the most controversial project on the [Government's Fast Track consenting] list - given opposition to similar operations further down the coast - is a proposal to mine sand off Waipū Cove in Bream Bay. Natalie Jessup, general manager of …

08 October 2024 — : A pair of Paradise Ducks announced their arrival in the paddock next door. Meanwhile a blackbird serenades me from the railing of our deck. (Volume up; apologies for the shaky cam.) 🐦

08 October 2024 — : An excellent quote from Moira on Schitt's Creek S05E06, Rock On! 🤣 : Oh, Jocelyn, you'll soon learn that we aging mortals are blessed with weakening eyes and memories so we don't have to really see ourselves.

07 October 2024 — : We learned of a new cafe in Levin, opened just a month ago, so we visited today for lunch: Old Courthouse Eatery. Deb's coffee was apparently good; my hot chocolate was good. We both had bagels — in my case with halloumi, pesto and mushrooms. …

06 October 2024 — : Having just finished Book 7 in the series by Melissa Good, I moved on to Storm Surge: Part 1: Book 8 in the Dar & Kerry Series (Dar and Kerry Series 10) where I kept thinking I must have missed something … It's right there in the link: even …

06 October 2024 — : Yesterday there were visitors at the place across the lane — it's a bit higher than our house. Around 10.15 pm their headlights as they left lit up my bedroom wall, with shadows from the cabbage trees outside dancing in the breeze.

06 October 2024 — : First, we're all good, no damage etc. Second: shaken awake by a fierce 5.8 quake this morning. That was quite something! 〰️ 5.8 quake on 2024-10-06 at 05.10.43. 33 Km deep, 25 Km west of Wellington.

05 October 2024 — : A few highlights from today: Deb made delicious pikelets; I wore my shorts for the first time this season and did my weight training on the deck. My outdoor temperature sensor has died, but a neighbour's unit, about 1 Km away, says it's currently …

05 October 2024 — Humpback whale breaches in Whangārei Harbour : See the video: Northlanders up close with humpback whale, as Whangārei Harbour listening starts: A humpback whale has put on a stunning display in Northland, breaching in front of a boat off Whangārei’s coast. The encounter occurred at the same time …

04 October 2024 — Buoy to alert shipping to dolphins and whales in Whangārei Harbour : A new device, which can detect when marine mammals are present in Whangārei Harbour was installed last week at the harbour entrance. … The new acoustic recording system has software that can identify the species of animal and, if several hydrophones …

04 October 2024 — AppleScript to save a post selected in MarsEdit : An AppleScript to save a post selected in MarsEdit to a file in the Downloads folder. Use at your own risk. Let me know if you improve on it. 😁 -- very rough starter; use at your own risk -- 04 October 2024 -- takes details from a post selected in …

04 October 2024 — : Four, with water droplet. 🐦 Pied stilt with leg lifted, water dripping off one foot, and legs seeming to make the shape of a 4.

04 October 2024 — : Ages ago I watched the first episode of Schitt's Creek and immediately saw it wasn't for me. After about 10 different people, over the years, said how brilliant it was I relented. The first season was definitely iffy, but now, I'm loving it. So …

04 October 2024 — Whangārei’s cruise ships : Whangārei’s fledgling cruise ship industry expected to boom: Four cruise ships are expected into Northport at Marsden Point, about 35km from Whangārei, between January and March.… Whangārei’s fourth cruise ship visitor will kick off the 2024/2025 …

03 October 2024 — : On 03 June 2024 the Beach Access post by the north track off Reay Mackay Grove is gradually disappearing. Note how the sand comes up to just below the bottom S. On 01 October 2024 that bottom S has almost been buried. Here it was on 15 July 2020 …

03 October 2024 — : Census data has revealed one in 20 New Zealand adults identify as LGBTIQ+ - or part of the rainbow communities. For the first time ever, the 2023 Census collected data about gender, sexual identity and variations of sex characteristics. The LGBTIQ+ …

02 October 2024 — : Quite often when I sit on the deck to read in the sun a little friend joins me for a chat. 🐦 Warou | Welcome swallow sits on the rain gauge. Warou on the rain gauge.

01 October 2024 — : Bit of a rattle this afternoon. 〰️ When: Tue Oct 1 2024 5:49 PM; Where: 25 km north-east of Seddon; Magnitude: 5.0; Depth: 12 km.

01 October 2024 — : This was another reread from 2009 and was a bit all over the place. Maybe the fan fiction aspect explains that somewhat. Tropical Convergence: Book 7 in The Dar & Kerry Series by Melissa Good. 📚 There's trouble on the horizon for ILS when a rival …

01 October 2024 — : When these two little Barbary doves saw me coming along the lane they flew over to the gate to check me out more closely. 🐦 😍

01 October 2024 — : Down at lake Puna o te Ora today the Southern Bell Frogs were in full voice. Your browser does not support the audio tag. And as I listened to the recording, I realised the birds were busy chirping too.

01 October 2024 — : A quote for the day from my friend Debra, who is not only working hard at her own job, but putting a lot of effort into the local community: I'm trying to get some change because it's all too annoying! That's an excellent reason to try to change …

30 September 2024 — Consent granted for large solar power station at Ruakākā : Consent granted for large solar power station at Ruakākā in Northland | RNZ News: Consent has been granted for a solar power station at Ruakākā in Northland that will produce more than three times the energy of the biggest solar farm currently …

30 September 2024 — : About half an hour before sunrise I noticed a sliver of yellow crescent moon rising above the hills. The birds were welcoming dawn with their chorus (volume up). Your browser does not support the audio tag.

30 September 2024 — : Finally seen my first comet: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), approx 90 minutes before dawn. Couldn't see it with naked eye but binoculars were great.

29 September 2024 — : Nice to see horses on the beach today. For a while now it's been tricky for them to gain access, thanks to changes in terrain. Today: 3 riders, two on beautiful Arab horses. Sometimes they ride flat out, like this person in 2016. When we first came …

28 September 2024 — : Sunrise and sunset times today and tomorrow, after the clocks go forward an hour. 😒

27 September 2024 — : It's 3 months to Christmas Day. Farmers in Levin has a whole Christmas shop up and running with trees, and baubles and stuff. 3 months!

27 September 2024 — : This really interesting 15 minute Howtown video explores nuances of measuring happiness — The happiness contest Finland keeps winning: Origins of the happiness list The data source The ladder question Positive emotions Cultural response styles …

26 September 2024 — : Good news up north near Whangārei: Two hundred thousand solar panels [will] be installed to construct the 100-150MW [Ruakākā Energy Park] which would produce 150-200GWh of electricity annually. Via: Consent granted for 172-hectare Bream Bay solar …

26 September 2024 — 172-hectare solar farm to be built at Ruakākā Energy Park : Independent hearings commissioners have granted an application by Meridian Energy Limited (MEL) to build a multi-million dollar 172-hectare solar farm across three sites at Marsden Pt, Ruakākā. … The application also proposed the creation, …

25 September 2024 — : I've spent years working on building up my sleep duration and this year am doing pretty well on it. This interesting 9 minute video by researcher Nessy Hill also mentions the importance of other factors such as sleep regularity. The Formula to Stop …

24 September 2024 — : Things that puzzle froma book published around 2011: Luckily I'm old enough to remember that once upon a time we had to sign a piece of paper when making a credit card purchase — something I haven't done for so long now it's ancient history. …

24 September 2024 — : I warmed up to and enjoyed Terrors of the High Seas: Book 6 in The Dar & Kerry Series by Melissa Good. I bought it back in 2011 so this was a reread. 📚 This is essentially a fanfic for the Xena TV series, a show I used to really enjoy. Expect a high …

24 September 2024 — : The Kuaka | Godwits are back after their epic journey from the top of the northern hemisphere and they're hungry. 🐦

24 September 2024 — : It's spring and this beautiful little Weweia | New Zealand dabchick was watching me from lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

23 September 2024 — : Today Deb and I went to the gym at Paraparaumu where I had a very successful workout. Afterwards we went to Longbeach Cafe where I enjoyed delicious fish, chips and salad. The batter was rather indifferent, but everything else was very good.

23 September 2024 — : If you have any affiliation with or interest in Wellington in Aotearoa, this fascinating history is well worth a read — The first Wellingtonian | The Spinoff: Te Whanganui a Tara, which translates to English as The Great Harbour of Tara, is a …

22 September 2024 — : So who actually did the hitting? Headline: Deer hits car. Image caption: Deer hits car. First line: Deer hits car. Later in the article: Police said … car hits deer. Via: Deer on loose in Christchurch suburb, one hits car | RNZ News.

22 September 2024 — : LOL: deer on the run! The [wild] deer were last seen by [animal management] officers two hours ago, and "have not been seen since". Via: Deer on loose in Christchurch suburb, one hits car | RNZ News.

22 September 2024 — : 2 years ago I blogged about enjoying this online concert: Faia Younan, so today I listened again. My favourite part starts at around 16 minutes and is about 5 minutes long: Faia Younan I فايا يونان. 🎶🎶 The singer has such a beautiful voice.

21 September 2024 — : Back in June 2012 I bought a Wacom Intuos 5 Small Touch Tablet. For a few years for some reason I didn't use it but a year or two ago put it back into use. And with relief … I thought Sequoia killed it, but mucking around with reinstalling old …

21 September 2024 — : There are many stories about the origin of the name Ruakākā. One tells of two kākā parrots that flew in different directions along the beach. But local iwi say it's actually an ancient name from Ngāti Manaia and Ngaitāhuhu tūpuna, who Patuharakeke …

21 September 2024 — : Ahhh, that 3 am cup of tea really hits the spot… There may well yet be more sleep in my immediate future. Hooray for Saturdays.

20 September 2024 — : This was a clear and useful 15 minute video — AI Chatbots Comparison 2024 - Grace Leung from 24 August 2024: ChatGPT4, Claude Pro, Gemini Advanced, Perplexity Pro It includes discussion of the free versions.

19 September 2024 — : It was a foamy day at the beach.

19 September 2024 — : I used the Mono filter on this. It was already so 'gloomy' it didn't really make a huge change. Super high tide today with a strong push from the west so the bay was full. Cloudy, cool, rainy day.

19 September 2024 — : Te reo Māori needs to go digital to survive - innovator | RNZ News: A Māori tech innovator and language revitalist wants to see te reo Māori thrive in-person and digitally. … Te Hiku Media … has been developing artificial intelligence …

19 September 2024 — : Apple’s AI feature set will expand to include localized English in the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand in December, with India and Singapore joining the mix next year. Via: Apple Intelligence Will Come to More Languages

19 September 2024 — : The supermarket carpark was surprisingly busy for its 7 am opening time.

18 September 2024 — : Learning about prompt engineering for AIs. Here's an interesting (and surprising to me) conversation start with Claude: You are a tutor of the Māori language. Ask me how I am today. Kia ora! Kei te pēhea koe i tēnei rā?

18 September 2024 — : Putting aside all politics, and purely on a mechanical level, how does anyone cause a pager to explode by remote control? I totally don't understand this at all. eight people were killed and 2750 wounded in the pager explosions Via: At least 8 dead, …

18 September 2024 — : Today we needed this info: Restart Apple Watch: Force Apple Watch to restart Do this only if you’re unable to restart your Apple Watch. To force restart, hold down the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time for at least ten seconds, until …

17 September 2024 — : It took me a long time to get into this book — I put it down several times to read others — but towards the end I kept reading late to learn the outcome. Lest Bridges Burn (DS Liz Moorland. Major Crimes. Book 2) by Phillipa Nefri Clark. 📚 …

17 September 2024 — : A year or two back someone I follow on Micro.Blog mentioned Logseq for notes etc. My curiosity piqued, I installed and have been using it since. As I come to understand more and more of its features I love it more too. Alan Young has a superb YouTube …

17 September 2024 — : I'd like to remind folks updating their Apple devices today of the most excellent Take Control Books – Expert Advice from Leading Tech Authors. Worth every penny. For example: Take Control of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 and Take Control of Sequoia. Read as …

16 September 2024 — : After an interesting chat today with a friend I decided to learn more about AI. There are interesting free videos around, like these: Google’s AI Course for Beginners (in 10 minutes)! 99% of Beginners Don't Know the Basics of AI Master the Perfect …

16 September 2024 — : Huh! Making a hash of it: The lowdown on Inland Revenue and your data: The encrypted details of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are being given by Inland Revenue to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google for targeted advertising - but how good …

15 September 2024 — AI for the good of NZ birds : How artificial intelligence may help NZ birds | RNZ News: A study to identify individual kākā using AI has received a funding boost of $1 million, one of a number of research projects using artificial intelligence "for good". … The project …

15 September 2024 — : A good review of a movie I really enjoyed — Review: Thelma | RNZ News: Thelma succeeds because it didn't realise it was meant to be a cosy, old folks feel-good movie. It thought it was a Mission Impossible action film. So why not be both?

15 September 2024 — : Urgh, that was a shock. I needed to add up a column of fractions, like this: 1/4 1/4 1/10 1/10 1/25 1/25 1/25 I quickly realised I had not the faintest idea how to do it! Thank goodness for spreadsheets. An online calculator then converted the sum …

15 September 2024 — : Bit of a rare double rainbow to the southwest just after dawn this morning. 🌈

14 September 2024 — : Reading a Sister Agnes book is like luxuriating in a hot bath. I highlighted several sections in Shadow of Death (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 6) by Alison Joseph because they delighted me. 📚

13 September 2024 — : Cow relaxing in the rain.

13 September 2024 — : Sparrows in the rain. 🐦

13 September 2024 — Endangered birds at the estuaries : Beyond the wintry beaches of Bream Bay: Spot endangered birds at the estuaries The river estuaries at Waipū and Ruakākā are internationally significant bird-nesting habitats. The rare and endangered New Zealand dotterel, variable oystercatcher, New …

13 September 2024 — : An amazing 9 minute video about train graphs — a ruler, paper and a pencil could prevent train crashes. How did this simple chart keep trains from crashing?: Ibry displayed a chart that could show simultaneously the locations of all the trains …

12 September 2024 — : The other day we visited the Silky Otter movie theatre in Palmerston North. It was excellent and we'd go again. There were two movie trailers, no ghastly ads. The seats were comfy leather recliners with a proper tray and a tiny light over the tray. …

12 September 2024 — : Another good read in a series I enjoy: The Man Who Kept Secrets (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 8)by Amy Vansant. 📚 When former patients start dying in strangely symbolic ways, Dr. Skinner hires Shee McQueen and her band of freelance …

11 September 2024 — : It was a very unusual visitor to Waikawa Beach. My friend Stephen Betts found this injured bird on the beach and took it to Wellington Zoo for care. 🐦 Photos by Stephen Betts and used with permission. The zoo updated: the albatross is bright this …

11 September 2024 — : In the last several decades I acquired more T-shirts than I ever needed. Most have been well-worn. Some were downgraded from 'good' or 'house' to 'garden' wear. Many are yellowed, saggy, faded, or have holes. Today, as part of my ongoing …

11 September 2024 — Tamure Place, Ruakākā : Big day as we signed up for a land and house package at Ruakākā, on the east coast about 20 minutes drive south of Whangārei. This time next year (or before) we'll be living up there. Artist concept.

10 September 2024 — : The central city part of Palmerston North is full of pleasant surprises. Coleman Mall had blossom trees and some quirky bollards.

09 September 2024 — : I ate a delicious chicken sandwich at Cafe Jacko in Palmerston North (Facebook link): Chicken Sammie* $19 - Grilled chicken on sourdough w greens topped with brie and cranberry sauce w fries. Unfortunately the green tea I ordered was one of the …

09 September 2024 — : We really enjoyed Thelma (links to PDF) 🎥 : Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin’s own grandmother, THELMA puts a clever spin on movies like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. …

08 September 2024 — : It was a pleasant enough day that Deb and I went for a little bike ride round the village. 8.5 km. Dropped a small gift off to the neighbour who had given us lots of firewood from his felled pine trees earlier in the year. Chatted briefly with a …

08 September 2024 — : I've very much enjoyed D. L. Keur's other series so was interested to try Night Trouble (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 1). I'll definitely be reading more. The odd editorial quirk / typo but a really good read with great characters and an …

07 September 2024 — : Huh, I'm reading a fiction book set in Arizona where they mention a curfew for young people. I just searched to see if that was part of the fiction, but no, it's a real thing! Amazing. Curfew Laws by State - NYRA: We have created a list of over 400 …

07 September 2024 — : A show I really enjoy — Brokenwood - the international hit with a Kiwi accent | RNZ News 📺 : But in amongst the [TV] industry's slow crumble, is a beacon of hope - The Brokenwood Mysteries, which premiered on Prime TV 10 years ago before moving …

06 September 2024 — : I finished Marsh Madness by Jana DeLeon, the latest in a long series of Miss Fortune books. 📚 when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their ten-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead. It was …

06 September 2024 — : I always think the 6 p.m. sunset is a bit of a milestone. Unfortunately that will all change in a couple of weeks when we fiddle with the clocks …

05 September 2024 — : Hooray! Te Puhi Ariki Ngawai Hono i te Po Paki, 27, to succeed her father Kiingi Tuheitia as Māori monarch: Kiingi Tuheitia's youngest child and only daughter has been announced as the new monarch of the Kiingitanga. Te Puhi Ariki Ngawai Hono i te Po …

05 September 2024 — : For the past week or so I've had scratchy eyes, a bit of an itch on the roof of my mouth. Figuring it was hay fever, I bought eyedrops yesterday that immediately helped. Now the farmer next door is hard at work cutting down the gorse and lupins in …

05 September 2024 — : Important day today: Kiingi Tuheitia to be laid to rest, new Māori monarch welcomed: Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died on Friday, aged 69 … Tainui have been hosting mourners and dignitaries from throughout the motu and further …

05 September 2024 — : First time since midwinter that I've noticed the morning sun finding its way into my west-facing bedroom. Nice!

04 September 2024 — : This morning the river was full after heaps of rain in the hills; the tide was nearly full, with a 2.5 metre swell. When the two met at the river mouth it was all action. The sea had also carved out half metre high 'fingers' in the sand. For the …

04 September 2024 — : Down at the beach today I thought I saw a piece of fluff blowing in the wind. Then I realised it was actually a Black-fronted Dotterel (16-18 cm; 30-35 grams; orange beak). Then I spotted a Banded Dotterel (20 cm; 60 grams) too. Then I managed to get …

04 September 2024 — : Whoo! 🌋 : Talking about the Taliban: culture versus politics – language: a feminist guide: So, don’t tell me that as a white western feminist it’s not my place to condemn the Taliban; but also don’t tell me that as a white western feminist I can only …

03 September 2024 — : Faster 110km/h speed limit to accelerate Kāpiti: A new 110km/h speed limit for the Kāpiti Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS) has been approved to reduce travel times for Kiwis travelling in and out of Wellington This is such a have. I …

03 September 2024 — : The On This Day script on my blog today brought this amazing music back to mind. Just loving the listen: Holland Festival: Ensemble Rhoum Bakkali, Orchestre Temsamani, Zainab Afailal & AAO.

02 September 2024 — : Rough weather over the last few days has thrown big driftwood onto the beach. There were also occasional Bluebottles. Not shown: the about 3 metre tentacle on this big one.

01 September 2024 — : I stopped reading Orleans Avenue (Remy Fontaine Thrillers Book 1) by Robin Mahle a couple of weeks ago and left myself this note: Not a very good book. I'm abandoning it. No more by this author for me.

01 September 2024 — : It seems people around Special Agent Nikki Hunt keep getting knocked off. Lost Angels (Nikki Hunt Book 3) by Stacy Green. 📚 It all gets a bit personal and her team wonder if she should still be leading the hunt. Good read. Nikki is devastated to see …

01 September 2024 — : One reason I'm awake at 1 a.m.: 28.66 mm rain fell since midnight. For the metric impaired that's 1.13 inches. In one hour …

31 August 2024 — : OK, that's a bit of fun: Your Name in Landsat 🛰️: Thanks to @chadkoh for the link.

31 August 2024 — : I didn't warm to A Cotswold Killing (The Cotswold Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Rebecca Tope. 📚 The village people were weird, the main character not specially endearing, the story a bit flat. Then, early on, there was troublesome behaviour towards an …

31 August 2024 — : We visited friends in Paekakariki for brunch today. Their dog Gracie, an 8 year old Vizsla, was permanently optimistic that food may fall from the table, however, none did. 🐶

30 August 2024 — : It's been a few months since my last burst of activity on the Lego build, but the Lego Technic Surface Space Loader is now complete. Whew. I have a friend whose grandkids would probably enjoy pulling this apart and putting it back together, so …

30 August 2024 — : I'm really enjoying bingeing Rutherford Falls 📺 : The show uses humor, jokes, and irony to highlight the biases that are present in today's society surrounding Native Americans. … While hard-hitting topics are presented throughout the show an …

30 August 2024 — Southern right whale near Whangārei Harbour : Southern right whale spotted near Whangārei Harbour a ‘promising sign’ - NZ Herald, 26 August 2024: A couple fishing in Whangārei caught more than they bargained for when a southern right whale decided to give them a majestic performance. Pauline …

29 August 2024 — : The Wild is a great podcast. In Ben Goldfarb: How America’s roads alter our ecology there's a fascinating part about animal crossings where the speaker points out that wildlife needs more than just some narrow 'bridge', but instead a whole habitat …

29 August 2024 — : Well, thunder and lightning! And as I typed that a huge crack of thunder overhead sounded like a massive explosion! That got the heart rate up! 💗

29 August 2024 — : A different view from last time of the fast flowing river carving off chunks of sand from the edge. It's only a small chunk, but that splosh is satisfying.

28 August 2024 — : Our little peach tree is convinced it's spring.

27 August 2024 — : Those earbuds were specially delivered after I queried the Fliway helpdesk. Their website hadn't told me the parcel had been passed on to Courierpost, with its own tracking number. Apparently Courierpost claimed it had tried to deliver them several …

27 August 2024 — : Being mid-winter there are few birds around. I was pleased to see the spoonbill back. It was joined by a couple of spur-winged plovers and a dozen Pied Stilts. 🐦

27 August 2024 — : Our normally sluggish river is quite swift today thanks to loads of rain up in the Tararua ranges. That means it's carved a deep channel through the sand and the bank regularly crumbles. Fun to watch for a minute or two on my walk.

27 August 2024 — : Peeved. I ordered Sony earbuds on 17 August. Here we are 10 days later on 27 August 2024 and they've struggled down from Auckland to Palmerston North (an hour's drive away) where they're having a nice long rest (5 days so far). Can't wait for the …

26 August 2024 — : Another good read: A Hymn of Death (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 5) by Alison Joseph. 📚 I didn't find the plot quite as interesting, but the author's wordsmithing skill more than made up for it. This seems conclusively the last in the series, but I …

26 August 2024 — : I keep highlighting excellent turns of phrase in the book I'm currently reading: A Hymn of Death (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 5) by Alison Joseph. The author has a way with verbs … 📚 The window shivered with raindrops. Connor O'Grady hugged …

25 August 2024 — Home made muesli : A friend gave me this muesli recipe. It gives me an enjoyable and healthy breakfast every day. I add stewed apple, milk, and a couple of other things too. Muesli Ingredients 2 cups of whole oats 2 cups of quick cook oats 1/2 cup honey (can add maple …

25 August 2024 — : Whew, stewed apples, made juice and made muesli all at the same time. Forgot the crucial step of tipping the still hot oats into the big bowl and mixing with the other ingredients before cooling, but, oh well. The juice was delicious, the breakfasts …

24 August 2024 — : Occasionally, like yesterday, I sit for a few minutes at the picnic table by the south track to the beach and watch the world go by. (We inherited the picnic table when we bought our property, but it was surplus to our needs so a neighbour with a …

23 August 2024 — : I found One Perfect Grave (Nikki Hunt Book 2) by Stacy Green to be a good read. 📚 When the remains of two bodies are found in an open grave along a desolate highway … Special Agent Nikki Hunt knows exactly who they are … the missing boy …

23 August 2024 — : LOL (my emphasis): Luxon’s speech was met with groans and various oral expulsions of disapproval. Via: Luxon has officially abandoned localism | The Spinoff.

23 August 2024 — : It's almost dawn and this is my view from bed.

22 August 2024 — : Electricity supply crisis: What you need to know | RNZ News: New Zealand is heading towards an electricity supply crisis. … in 2023, 60% of New Zealand's electricity was generated through hydropower, 18% through geothermal, 9% through gas, 7% …

22 August 2024 — : When we came in to land at Palmerston North yesterday, the plane took an unusual turn out to sea because they had to hold for a few minutes. We looked down on the Rangitikei River mouth at Tangimoana, where there was a razor sharp line between the …

21 August 2024 — : I was just listening to a podcast about the health risks to installers of engineered stone, so this article is interesting: 6 alternatives to Engineered Stone: The silica in dust that is produced when engineered stone is cut can be inhaled if …

21 August 2024 — : Only US$0.99 today. I'm excited to buy another in this series by Alison Joseph. If you're interested, jump in. A Hymn of Death (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 5). 📚 I'm on the Joffe Books mailing list and pick up many titles I enjoy (and some I don't) …

21 August 2024 — : Flying south before dawn.

20 August 2024 — : Our friends have a second dog: Rush, the Malinois, who's a very good boy indeed.

20 August 2024 — : I so wish I could have bought this gorgeous pottery goat by Fiona Tunnicliffe. I'm smitten by its expression. Just not practical at the moment though, especially as we're flying home tomorrow with cabin bags only.

20 August 2024 — : Random mural in downtown Whangārei.

19 August 2024 — : Last night our friends took us out for a delicious Thai meal at Sukjai Thai Restaurant. I enjoyed chicken Pad Kee Mao (mild) Flat rice noodles stir fried with aromatic basil leaves, capsicum, fresh chilli, green bean, bamboo shoots and vegetables. We …

18 August 2024 — : The more books in this series I read the more I enjoy them. False Idols (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 4) by Alison Joseph was another great read. 📚 It seems more that several interesting lives intertwine, rather than a dedicated investigation. Then …

18 August 2024 — : Busy day: we've been cruising around Ruakākā and One Tree Point. Visited a couple of cafes: The Bach cafe at Ruakākā Beach had a nice vibe. Here's a view of / from the beach (east coast).

17 August 2024 — : Little Boo has a really nice setup. That’s quite a smorgasbord of toys.

17 August 2024 — : Heading north again for a long weekend …

16 August 2024 — : I think the last 6 weeks or so of strength and core training are paying off. When I woke up this morning I realised I'm feeling 'bigger' somehow — perhaps more present in my body. And that's one of the things I wanted to achieve. Rest day today …

15 August 2024 — : Having bought a set of resistance tubes, today I tried the Whole-Body Resistance Band Workout (Ages 50+). It went pretty well I think, though I need to figure out the best resistance level for each exercise.

15 August 2024 — : Interesting: The Micro Blog - 🔗 Articles: Wednesday 14.Aug.2024: Guardian: Scientists find humans age dramatically in two bursts – at 44, then 60

15 August 2024 — : These daffodils are a bright spot on an otherwise grey day.

14 August 2024 — : I was initially uncertain about The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt Book 1) by Stacy Green, but the book grew on me and in the end I quite enjoyed it. 📚 Nikki Hunt's current case takes her back to where she grew up, and where her parents were murdered. …

14 August 2024 — : My body didn’t want to do this new strength routine today, but willpower prevailed (in the end). I haven’t done the shoulder press or lateral raise before, and they were hard. I went with 1 Kg weights for those two. Weekly Muscle Gain …

13 August 2024 — : An excellent article about our crazy punitive government’s latest crazy idea: Welcome to the benefit Olympics. Rather than offer the help and support that people need, the government simply raise that high-jump bar by increasingly impossible …

13 August 2024 — : I might have seen my first aurora — rather subtle, but the iPhone brought out the colours. Thanks to Ian Griffin's tipoff post from last night. This was around 5 am at Waikawa Beach, north of Wellington. // @iangriffin@mastodon.nz

12 August 2024 — Thriving on the internet, July 1998, with bonus cat : Hah hah. I discovered this article about me from July 1998 when I was mainly training folks how to use the Internet, or their Macs, or both. Turns out I could see the future. 😆 "Internet sites will one day be as common as phone numbers," says Jordan. …

12 August 2024 — : Another good read by Anne Shillolo: Goodbye Quinn's Landing (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 9). 📚 DC Holly Towns sees a bigger picture than the rest of the team have realised, but the pieces gradually come to light and fit together. Port Alma ends …

11 August 2024 — : Today's beach find was a first for me: a 2 metre Blue shark (Prionace glauca). So much bigger than the sharks that usually wash up on Waikawa Beach. Also known as the blue whaler or blue pointer, the blue shark’s upper body is a striking cobalt blue …

11 August 2024 — : I'm finding the videos by Will Harlow clear and interesting — HT Physio – Over-Fifties Specialist Physio - YouTube: tips on reducing pain, improving strength … As a physio, he calmly explains what the muscles are doing, and he shows …

10 August 2024 — : At the gym today I enjoyed a trip through Arches National Park while on the bike. Then when we came home there was a splendid double rainbow just at sunset. // @crossingthethreshold

10 August 2024 — Ruakākā Wastewater Treatment Plant : Bream Bay News 08 August 2024, Page 4: In the Bream Bay area, we’ve committed to the upgrade and expansion of the Ruakākā Wastewater Treatment Plant to keep pace with growth. The damage to the community's wastewater system in Kepa Road is currently …

10 August 2024 — : Havoc (Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran Book 2) by Deborah J Ledford. 📚 Guns and kids are never a good mix. Add in bullying and a bank robbery, and a bit of well-meaning naivety, and Lightning Dance has quite a tangle to unravel. More excellent insights …

09 August 2024 — : For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society, a few small waves, with Kāpiti Island barely visible and a cloud lit by the rising sun. 🌊

09 August 2024 — : My dawn beach walk was delightful. I saw these bird footprints, then a horse and rider appeared behind me before going into the shallows.

08 August 2024 — : Today on a whim I went to see Bookworm, a New Zealand film: about a young girl named Mildred embarking on an adventure with her estranged American father Strawn Wise to seek out the mythical Canterbury panther in order to help Mildred's ill mother. …

07 August 2024 — : Today I enjoyed a walk through the bush at Papaitonga just up the road at Ōhau. Here are two views of Lake Waiwiri. On the road out I spotted the first lambs of the season.

06 August 2024 — : This fine pheasant was feeding in the paddock next door. 🐦

06 August 2024 — : 20 minutes before sunrise and the Tī Kouka were reflected in lake Puna o te Ora. Bright in the background, native toetoe, or more probably, invasive pampas.

05 August 2024 — : I have an opinion: I believe "sixths" is the most difficult word in the English language for anyone to pronounce, even native speakers. I came across the word in a puzzle recently, and have been turning it over since. The word starts at the front of …

05 August 2024 — : I'd already read books 6 and 7 as standalones, but enjoyed the other 3 books in this set. Some of the situations became quite bizarre, but the series keeps evolving in an interesting way. The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Book 6–10 by Veronica Heley. 📚 …

04 August 2024 — : Sometimes Deb and I go to the gym together, sometimes we go separately. Sometimes I do some weights or core work at home. This was the gym on a quiet day last week. There were a handful of other folks there, but I managed to exclude them from the …

03 August 2024 — : In the middle of the day it was warm and sunny. When I glanced up from my book, the snowy mountains were beautiful above the deck railings. At sunset they were lit from another angle.

03 August 2024 — : It was -3C in the early hours. Now the sun's been up for nearly 2 hours it's crept up to almost 0. The Tararua ranges have snow on the tops.

02 August 2024 — : Busy day preparing food: I steamed broccoli and put it in the freezer, stewed apples, made stew, made celery soup. Then of course, came dish washing. Much of the soup will go in the freezer, and some of the beef stew, to be enjoyed later this month.

02 August 2024 — : When I prepared apples for stewing today I put the cores on the picnic table. The Tauhou | Waxeyes were very happy with that arrangement. 🐦

01 August 2024 — : The thing the video below can't convey is how bitter the southerly quarter wind was at the beach today. At least the wind wasn't as strong as yesterday when walking into it was excellent resistance training. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. …

01 August 2024 — : I finally decided half way through to abandon Murder in Time by Veronica Heley. 📚 The author writes a different series I enjoy but this story has a rape as a central issue and the author's handling of it is weird. It could as well have been a …

31 July 2024 — : Came back into the house only to find a completely unexpected visitor. 🐸 It must have come in amongst the kindling, and had gathered fluff and bits of garden stuff on the way.

31 July 2024 — : A modest proposal – language: a feminist guide: … don’t I think that women and girls can be “just as bad” as men and boys? If that’s a general claim about moral conduct, then the answer is yes: for me “the radical notion that women are people” …

30 July 2024 — : Another in a series I enjoy, but not the strongest entrant. Murder at the Hotel (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 10) by Jane Adams. 📚 All the usual characters had their parts to play but there was less ferreting out of information and more view into …

30 July 2024 — : Such an interesting discussion on Lingthusiasm #90, What visualizing our vowels tells us about who we are, especially: vowel spaces are linked to other aspects of our identities … as well as gender and sexuality. … cis straight men …

30 July 2024 — : Some success today when I made my own variant of Bubble and squeak for lunch. After watching a video about how to cook with stainless steel pans I managed it with very little food sticking to the frypan for a change. Heat the pan. Test for a bead …

30 July 2024 — : A delicious start to the day with Three Moons Oolong tea from Vietnam. Three Moons is a semi-oxidised oolong that is lightly roasted multiple times over three months – or ‘three moons’ – to give it characteristics of an aged tea. This enigmatic tea …

29 July 2024 — : Gym session alongside Deb this morning. She did her thing while I worked on my weights routine. Booked a session with the trainer for later in the week — I'd bet I'm doing some things incorrectly and I hope I can increase a couple of weights …

28 July 2024 — Birds and archaeology at Ruakākā : Bream Bay Strategic Plan 2006: It is a place unique for its variety of coastal and shoreline bird-life, the Ruakaka and Waipu estuaries and nearby open shores providing an internationally important habitat for several species which are critically …

28 July 2024 — Ruakākā development : Bream Bay: Ruakākā Ruakākā area is made up of Ruakākā Beach, Ruakākā Township and Marsden Point. Ruakākā has seen development due to its proximity to the expansion of the country's only oil refinery at Marsden Point during the 1980s. A timber …

28 July 2024 — : It's been a welcome quiet day. I went for a brief walk on the beach where I chatted with an acquaintance, D, and his sweet dog, Millie. It was a cool, grey day though, so I was glad to light the fire when I came home.

27 July 2024 — : Earlier this month I sent off a bowel screening test. As expected, I received a negative result. Hooray!

26 July 2024 — : The final third book in a series I've very much enjoyed — Honour Thy Father (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 3) by Alison Joseph. 📚 Agnes is working in a London prison now, but her mother in France is dying, and taking family secrets with her. …

26 July 2024 — : Foxton has a strong Dutch heritage, so when I visited yesterday I ordered Pannenkoeken at the De Molen Cafe. I thought the apple would be cooked inside the pancake rather than lying on top. The cinnamon sugar was a bit strong, but overall the pancake …

25 July 2024 — : This morning I drove to Foxton for a stroll beside the estuary. There weren't a great many birds around today, but I did spot a dozen spoonbills. Also I saw a whimsically painted shed.

24 July 2024 — : An unusual sight on the beach today: a Karetai hurukoko | Cape petrel, probably exhausted — it didn't move when I came close but managed to get away from a small wave. 🐦 New Zealand status: Native; Conservation status: Naturally Uncommon.

23 July 2024 — : I've started watching The Law According to Lidia Poët on Netflix and it's pretty good: … loosely based on the life of Lidia Poët, the first modern female lawyer in Italy. Also: Lidia Poët (26 August 1855 – 25 February 1949) was the first …

23 July 2024 — : Today I feel so free and energised. I've taken control of this situation with the ex-friends who've been harassing me, recognised my own unique nature, made friends with my rage which is actually there to support me, and have been yelling my …

23 July 2024 — : A reward for 40 minutes weights work at the gym. 🤣

23 July 2024 — : You know how 'they' say you should write out the stuff in your head, making sure to use pen and paper because that's the only 'real' way. Then throw the paper away. Well, I've discovered a better way. I record my voice to a file, then transcribe it …

22 July 2024 — : Since 07 November 2023 we've had roughly 480mm rain, which has added about 31,000 litres to the water tank. Nevertheless, the tank that was almost full on that date was approaching empty yesterday, some 37 weeks later, so today the tanker delivered …

22 July 2024 — : A free Mac app idea for some clever coder — I type (or paste) in a bunch of text. Now delete it all with a splendid animation of it going up in flames. 🔥 Later versions could delete it with a huge explosion, fireworks, punchy monster or some …

22 July 2024 — : I find I'm quite taken with Sister Agnes, having just finished Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 2) by Alison Joseph. 📚 Sister Agnes is less than pleased with her latest assignment. Teaching French in a remote little …

21 July 2024 — : In good news today, Deb and I both went to the gym where I did mainly stretches, along with some lat pulldowns and rowing on the machine. This afternoon was gorgeous: sunny, still and warm so we both went for a bike ride round the village. 🚴🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️ …

21 July 2024 — : A skill I have is to make a rule to archive unread emails that I don't want. [update 21-Jul-2025: I've deleted the rest of the original post as seeing it reminds me of unpleasant times] Sad it has to come to this, but we seem to have moved on from …

21 July 2024 — : Sigh. I will need to write approximately 1 million pages whose sole destiny will be to feed a bonfire before I'm able to craft an acceptable reply to an email I received before dawn today. 🔥

20 July 2024 — : Another in a series I enjoy — Road to Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 6) by Judith Cutler. 📚 Now Fran and Mark are retired they lack the authority and resources of being Police officers. That doesn't stop them investigating …

20 July 2024 — : Seems to me the problem is more one of using a single platform. As with farming, monoculture: risky; diversity: resilient. CrowdStrike glitch: What caused the global cyber outage?: governments and businesses alike have become increasingly dependent …

19 July 2024 — : Hooray for Time Machine. In an idiot move I deleted an Audio Hijack 'Session' instead of a recording. I found the sessions file at '/Users/miraz/Library/Application\ Support/Audio\ Hijack\ 4/Sessions.plist' and restored an older copy. Sorted! Turns …

19 July 2024 — : It was probably someone on Micro.Blog who put me on to the Reasons to be Cheerful news website. It does cheer me every morning, with articles like this — A Vibrant Local Food System Grows in Colorado: GoFarm is working to make affordable …

18 July 2024 — : I enjoyed No Harm, No Foul (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 5) by Judith Cutler. 📚 Fran and the team find themselves overloaded with work as they carry out two separate investigations. One missing child. Twenty skeletons, walled up in a derelict …

17 July 2024 — : I must say that Radio NZ specialise in "dicey" headlines: I'd love to see a whale having a cuppa. 😆

17 July 2024 — : Today I had brunch with my friend J at Ōtaki then we drove around 12 Km southeast to where the road to Ōtaki Forks is closed on account of a slip about 4 years ago. I've never been to that area before, and it's gorgeous. We walked a couple of …

17 July 2024 — : It's been just the weather for the basket fungus, Ileodictyon cibarium, to appear — warmer the last couple of days, and damp with a few millimetres of rain.

16 July 2024 — : Aaand, the power came back 2 minutes after my previous post. A total outage of about 1.25 hours.

16 July 2024 — : Hmmm, the power went off just before 6 pm and may come back on in a couple of hours, if we're lucky. Fortunately I'd already eaten dinner. The new Portable Power Station is getting its first workout: charging a phone, watch and laptop. I hadn't …

16 July 2024 — : On the beach this morning: a (seeming giant) Spur-winged Plover next to a (truly small) Black-fronted Dotterel. 🐦 Plover: Length: 38 cm; Weight: 350 - 370 grams Dotterel: Length: 16 - 18 cm; Weight: 30 - 35 grams

15 July 2024 — : I enjoyed Thou Shalt Not Kill (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 1) by Alison Joseph. 📚 It strikes me that this series would probably work well on Acorn TV. Sister Agnes Bourdillon … belongs to an open Order in gritty Central London. … [but …

15 July 2024 — : At first I wondered why the street we were walking down in Palmerston North the other day had stencils like this on all the parking spaces. Then I realised they were all "Georges": Gershwin, Prince George, etc. Aha: George Street! Whimsical and …

14 July 2024 — : It was dusk when we left the movie yesterday and birds were roosting in the big trees along the Square in Palmerston North. 🐦

13 July 2024 — : Deb and I watched Fly Me to the Moon at the movie theatre in Palmerston North. 🎥 It was excellent: funny, interesting, lightly romantic, well written, well acted. Recommended. A relationship develops between the NASA director in charge of the Apollo …

13 July 2024 — : With a big high still bringing us cold nights and lovely days, and no wind to speak of, the sea was so calm again this morning. Hardly any waves at all. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

13 July 2024 — Major port expansion in Whangārei Harbour rejected : Northland iwi 'vindicated' by rejection of plans for major port expansion in Whangārei Harbour: A Northland hapū says it has been vindicated by a surprise decision to reject plans for a major port expansion in Whangārei Harbour. This week, …

12 July 2024 — : New shoes day — Orba Shoes — Women's Ghost Sneaker: Designed in New Zealand, Orba shoes are handcrafted using the finest, most renewable plant-based materials in the world. Matched with excellent lacing — Ian's Shoelace Site …

12 July 2024 — : I'm so naive sometimes. I had no idea individuals would have helipads on their houses. I'm shocked — Auckland residents unite against multimillionaire Anna Mowbray's helipad plan | RNZ News: If the helipad is approved, it will become the ninth …

12 July 2024 — : A friend, Sophie, is currently travelling in Sweden to visit family and then on a week long knitting tour in Scotland and the Shetlands. She seems to be having a lot of fun. She probably doesn't realise though that she's blogging her trip as she uses …

12 July 2024 — : We Kiwis don't like to toot our own horns much but I wanted to keep this for future memories. For years I worked on behalf of the local community and wrote a monthly newsletter. I stopped doing all that recently. Then Tim emailed: It is a precious …

11 July 2024 — : At dawn this morning there were 3 Royal Spoonbills in the ponded area of the beach where the Pied Stilts like to hang out. I was delighted, as I thought the spoonbills had abandoned us. 🐦 Pied Stilt: who dis? Three spoonbills snoozing.

10 July 2024 — : I came across the weirdest thing on the beach this morning. It was about 2 metres long and to my eye looked like an octopus (or squid maybe) and a shark had got into a fight and drowned together. In one photo below you can easily see a tentacle …

10 July 2024 — : There was another hard frost this morning, so when I visited the beach at dawn the sand was white at the base of the dunes. There was an intriguing cloud over Kāpiti Island — like a poorly balanced see-saw.

10 July 2024 — : This was free with a newsletter signup — The Opposite of Dark (Casey Holland Mysteries Book 1) by Debra Purdy Kong. 📚 The more I read the more complicated and convoluted the story became, until eventually it just seemed like a soap opera. I …

10 July 2024 — : So cool to see tech being used for good — Drones Are Whizzing Lifesaving Supplies Across the 'Last Mile': By land, it would take about four hours to reach this region of the mountainous country. Instead, the journey took just 18 minutes. A …

09 July 2024 — : I was meant to have a third intro session with a trainer at the gym this afternoon but I begged off. Yesterday I had a covid jab so my left arm's ever so slightly sore. Today I had routine blood draws in my right arm and I'm not sure gym would be a …

09 July 2024 — : Today is poop day. 😆 I've done my bit for the National Bowel Screening programme. It's easy and painless and could save me a lot of anguish. A friend of a friend had a problem picked up this way, and after some surgery is now fit and well.

08 July 2024 — : Heh, The Brokenwood Mysteries has 'storylines so good' people believe the characters are real | RNZ News: Police officer and fan of the show Bryan Ward … [said] … Probably one of the great strengths of that show is the storylines are …

08 July 2024 — : It's one of those days where one weather system is taking up most of our bit of the globe.

07 July 2024 — : Why has it taken me so many years to realise I can add useful notes to a Kindle book. Like this one: Now I don't need to continue reading when I see weeks later this book is unfinished … 📚

07 July 2024 — : Deb and I are very much enjoying the light-hearted Frankie Drake Mysteries on Acorn: In Roaring Twenties Toronto, crime has never had it better, and cases have never been more unconventional. This new era calls for a new kind of detective, and …

07 July 2024 — : This mystery Bea has to solve pretty much on her own, her usual helpers being otherwise occupied. She still comes up trumps though. A False Alarm (The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Book 7) by Veronica Heley 📚: Someone set a tripwire across the top of …

07 July 2024 — : A slightly odd one in the series, but still enjoyable. Furtive Prey (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries) by D. L. Keur 📚: a crisis of national security proportions pits Sheriff Landon Reid against the Department of Homeland Security … after a …

07 July 2024 — : Sometimes these winter days are perfect: glorious sun out of a clear blue sky. 20C, no wind. I can hear the birds. Just gorgeous.

06 July 2024 — : Flaxes beside the garage trimmed back. Now I can try to tidy (and weedeat) the area between the garage and the fence.

06 July 2024 — : Got myself out in the garden earlier to do some needed weed eating. Hauled out the weedeater, only to find that when I put it away 3 weeks ago I hadn't noticed the spool and cover had fallen off where I stopped. I ended up cutting back some overgrown …

05 July 2024 — : Cold enough this morning that we had a decent frost. The snow on the top of the mountain was no surprise. There was even frost on the beach. A bird had made its way through one frosty patch of sand.

04 July 2024 — : I didn't get to the beach today, as I was too busy with other things. Yesterday though there was a very cold and blowy southerly.

03 July 2024 — : All up, power was only out for 20 or 30 minutes. Phew! No need to test out my new Portable Power Station.

03 July 2024 — : I bought the 8 book set for less than $2, but was glad to reach the end of the first book. Some great turns of phrase but just not a terribly enjoyable story. The Miss Pink Mysteries Books 1–8 by Gwen Moffat. 📚

03 July 2024 — : Well, just talking to Deb who's driving home and everything was plunged into darkness. Three minutes later and a couple of lights came on, then everything went off again. Oh well, at least the woodburner's keeping me warm.

03 July 2024 — : Today, with a cold southerly wind, but in the sun, I took part in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey, with poor results. blackbird : 2 magpie : 2 sparrow : 1 spur-winged plover : 2 starling : 2 thrush : 1 waxeye : 2 Pathetic!

03 July 2024 — : Aargh! New Zealand standardised its recycling rules – why is it still so confusing?: On average, each New Zealander is estimated to have generated 700kg of waste that ended up in landfills in 2021, meaning that New Zealand is one of the highest waste …

02 July 2024 — : Second gym session today and we did some stretches and also some work with 5 Kg or 2 Kg dumbbells. That included squats and lifts. The trainer and I have differing opinions on whether I'll be able to walk tomorrow. 🤣

02 July 2024 — : I really enjoyed the movie Wicked Little Letters 🎥: Based on a true scandal, it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of numerous crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of seaside town Littlehampton. So clever and funny, with …

01 July 2024 — : Interesting definition of 'meal', AirNZ. Not sure the knife and fork will be useful.

30 June 2024 — : Today I took photos of Ngunguru. It's very pretty, warm and relaxing.

29 June 2024 — : We visited Ngunguru (Apple Maps link) today — about 30 Km from Whangārei. Gorgeous place, but I didn't take photos … Just off the Ngunguru coast are the Poor Knights Islands, a protected marine reserve. Ngunguru is a Māori-language word …

28 June 2024 — : I started Murder at the Opera House (A Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Mystery Book 1) by Dawn Brookes ages ago then stopped for long enough I'd forgotten how it started. 📚 Finished now, and it was OK but I probably won't bother with more in the series.

28 June 2024 — : Mt Manaia from Ruakaka Beach.

27 June 2024 — : In Whangārei.

26 June 2024 — : Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman works on against a backdrop of a frustrating system. Meanwhile doggedness and persistence eventually winkle out a couple of clues in an apparently intractable case. In Harm’s Way (Detective Fran Harman …

26 June 2024 — : I started out 'naming' this year Surprise. After immediately getting Covid I changed it to Spontaneity. Apparently that change didn't stick though, as various events this year could attest. My latest surprise is that I'm about to join a gym. I had an …

25 June 2024 — : First glimpse for this year of a visiting Kererū, well hidden in the tree lucerne. Can you find it?

25 June 2024 — : Yesterday's mist also highlighted a large spider web in the flax.

25 June 2024 — : It's been misty the last couple of mornings.

24 June 2024 — : Sigh, somehow I skipped Book 3, so a few elements in here were a little surprising … It was another good read in a series I like. No Harm Done (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 4) by Judith Cutler 📚: Fran’s no stranger to murder on her …

24 June 2024 — : There was a lot for Jorja to unravel in this book. I enjoyed the read. Knight Vision (A Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Book 4) by Alice Bienia. 📚 : as Jorja begins her hunt for the predicted killer, her client’s lookalike is found dead.

24 June 2024 — : Another excellent science-based video from MinuteFood: Dishwashers vs hand-washing: which wins? (8.5 minutes). You’ve got a pile of dirty dishes…should you hand-wash them or use the dishwasher?

23 June 2024 — : Goose and ducks at the Auckland Domain duck pond. We've had a great lightning visit to Auckland to celebrate two birthdays with friends.

22 June 2024 — : Cyclists: beware the troughs in the surface!

22 June 2024 — : The moment I saw these World of Wearable Art models I knew @Cheri would love them.

22 June 2024 — : It’ll be Gate 16 for us this morning.

21 June 2024 — : In June 2022 we had a 19-hour power cut and @jean suggested a small portable generator. Now, 2 years later I've finally bought a Yeti 200x Portable Power Station from Goal Zero. Up in Northland some homes are without power days after a pylon fell …

21 June 2024 — : Knowledge that isn't shared is not knowledge. Source: Kōkōrangi: Māori astronomer guiding crowds into the New Year.

21 June 2024 — : Happy New Year! Today is the June Solstice and the start of my personal new year — Day 01. It's a cold, crisp morning, the (98%) full moon is on its way to setting and the sun will rise at 0743. What a great day to be alive! 🥳

20 June 2024 — : There was no wind this morning, though if there had been it was nominally from the east. For this west coast beach that means a very calm sea. From the top of a nearby sand dune it almost looked like a millpond. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation …

20 June 2024 — : Quite a find! On TVNZ+ an animated Māori language sci-fi TV Show called Tipua: Ārepa Simmons feels like her world is going crazy. Lacking all motivation for a future she’s been working towards for years, she's awakened when she receives a mysterious …

20 June 2024 — : This morning's tea: a lightly roasted oolong: Bagua Shan Siji Chun 2024: Following oxidation, compression, rolling and curing, they are gently roasted at the end of processing. The result is a light and silky-soft infusion with moreish notes of …

19 June 2024 — : A Google image search led me to Megabalanus, and then I found my way to Pink Barnacles (Beach Barnacles Of New Zealand) · iNaturalist NZ. Of course I'd heard of barnacles but I had no idea that's what this is. It's not uncommon to find these on …

18 June 2024 — : This was a quick read, thanks to my enjoying this series so much. I find the main characters very appealing. A False Report by Veronica Heley 📚: Bea’s investigation leads to the discovery of a circle of crooks with links to high society. This book …

18 June 2024 — : Interesting — Should you add milk to tea?: In European salons [in the 1600s], tea was served in delicate fine bone china, easily cracked by the shock of hot tea being poured into the cup. Adding milk first served to reduce the temperature of …

18 June 2024 — : What to expect from 'seal silly season': Vomiting in public. Snoozing in the middle of busy roads. Hanging out in KFC car parks, and waking up on strangers' couches. … all activities that perfectly normal juvenile seals get up to at this time …

18 June 2024 — : One of the book series I really enjoy — Detective Nikki Galena Mysteries (15 book series) by Joy Ellis is available at low cost for a few days. 📚 This is your chance to buy the books if you want to read the series. Meet Detective Nikki Galena. …

18 June 2024 — : How kiwi returned to Wellington We learned that in areas with no pest control, virtually 90-100% of chicks were being eaten before they could defend themselves. The number one perpetrator was the stoat.

17 June 2024 — : Yay, Season 10 of The Brokenwood Mysteries has started on TVNZ. Episode 1: After dinosaur fossils are discovered in the foothills of Brokenwood, the town buzzes about the potential boost for tourism. But when a paleontologist turns up dead, the …

17 June 2024 — : Today I attended a really interesting talk by Associate Professor Phil Battley, Zoology & Ecology Group, Massey University at the local Forest and Bird branch meeting. Red Knots … The Secrets they Hold Despite being the second-most …

16 June 2024 — : I wasn't really expecting to enjoy The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries Books 1–5 box set by Veronica Heley but I was quite wrong. 📚 The characters are interesting and evolve over time. Mrs Abbott has delightful quirks, such as perhaps wanting to wring an …

16 June 2024 — : There were two Tīrairaka | New Zealand fantails at the beach this morning. They're so small and I was so far away. And they flit around constantly. Length: 16 cm; Weight: 8 g This is an extreme crop.

16 June 2024 — : Oh yeah, I always like to start off the day with a good belt of Smirnoff and lemon … Heh, no! I haven't drunk alcohol for decades now. I picked this up off the side of the road on the way to the beach.

15 June 2024 — : A bit of a rainbow.

15 June 2024 — : That's quite an impressive weather system over Aotearoa at the moment. Via earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions.

14 June 2024 — : An acquaintance who lives not far away messaged me to ask if I'd like a load of good quality horsepoop for the garden. I happily said Yes, of course. They delivered it the other day. That's about 5 barrow loads. One horse produces that much each …

13 June 2024 — : I'm continuing to simplify my life and to step back a bit from all kinds of things. I've just sent out the final edition of the Waikawa Newsletter and will no longer be updating the Waikawa News blog, though I need to create a new homepage to make it …

13 June 2024 — : At 7 am, still about 40 minutes before sunrise, I stepped on to the beach. Although there was barely any light the pair of Paradise Ducks on the nearby remnant lagoon loudly announced my arrival. In the background are a few birds twittering. 🐦 Your …

12 June 2024 — : Mindblowing: I talked to people who had never seen trees! Great 11 minute video — Canadian Arctic Expedition: Snowy Owls, Ivory Gulls, and Sanderlings were the targets on a Cornell Lab expedition to collect sound recordings in the Canadian High …

12 June 2024 — : Such a thoughtful and considered article. Everyone should read this — Weighing in on "Man or Bear": the most common question I get about my travels is some version of, “Aren’t you afraid to bike/hike/travel alone as a woman?” By naming my …

12 June 2024 — : An interesting 11 minute interview — NZ's smallest bird makes new sounds | RNZ 🐦 : A new study shows the tiny titipounamu or rifleman has the ability to learn to make new sounds, just like parrots.

11 June 2024 — : Hmmm, a piled-river. 🤔🤔 That's a new one on me. Nicole was as hypersensitive as a piled-river. 'Oh dear,' was all she could say. Ohhhh. Kindle hyphenation … Pile-driver!

10 June 2024 — : There's a pile of mulch by the south track to the beach. It'll be used around some plantings to be carried out soon. With the warmth and actual rain of the last day or so, these beautiful fungi have made an appearance.

10 June 2024 — : In March 2022 I posted about planting cabbage trees by the gate. Here's how they looked then: And here's how they look today, some 2 years later. I'm very pleased with their growth. The tips of the leaves on the tallest are just above my head.

10 June 2024 — : I somewhat liked this, but not enough to read more — The Sigma Surrogate: An Electrifying Cyberpunk Thriller by JT Lawrence 📚 : As Keke races to solve the mystery—dodging religious terrorists and doomsday cults—she stumbles upon a conspiracy …

09 June 2024 — : Today I tried making Fluffy Flapjack Pancakes. They were good and indeed very filling. I reduced the sugar to 2 tablespoons and might next time try less. Warning: it made more like 12 than 8. Photo shows what's left on the plate after we'd eaten …

08 June 2024 — : Although the weather is gorgeous — I've been sitting in the warm sun reading and napping — today's a real brain fog kind of day. A wee nap helped a bit, but not enough.

07 June 2024 — : This Karoro | Black-backed gull was enjoying the comforts of a clump of washed out river weed. Zoomed in, it looks like both Caspian Terns are wearing bands on each leg. The middle Variable Oystercatcher has grey legs … this may be one of …

07 June 2024 — : Today's refreshing Oolong tea — Himalayan Beauty, Nepal: a beautifully balanced, delicate and fragrant tea with a smooth, creamy texture. Initial floral notes give way to fruity aromas - orange peel, apple skins and muscatel grape – which …

06 June 2024 — : This Pohowera | Banded dotterel has somewhere to be … 🐦 While this Black-fronted Dotterel is looking good …

06 June 2024 — : Such an interesting 6 minute video. Do watch: Sea lions - The return of a native taonga?: Up to half a tonne of big-eyed, long-whiskered, galumphing curiosity, feeding, breeding and cavorting in the shallows, slumping across roads or snoozing on beds …

05 June 2024 — : I often show the Tararua ranges as seen from our house, but this morning thought I'd try a video from the beach where you can see so much more. I was intrigued that the Fuji X-T5 didn't maintain focus very well as I panned. In real life the …

05 June 2024 — : This 11 minute video explains how dishwashers work, and how to load them. Are you loading your dishwasher wrong?: We dug into the science of dishwashers to finally put an end to all your dishwasher debates. Definitely worth watching.

05 June 2024 — : Yesterday's beach trip revealed lots of driftwood 'mulch' near the river mouth. In it were many five-armed starfish. I also saw my first ever Hermit Crab, in quite a big shell. Kia ora. When I touched the shell the crab retreated.

05 June 2024 — : BEV update. We've had our MG 4 Essence 64 for 8 months now and the nights are getting cold. It's currently 0C outside and Deb's on her way to work. With the cold Deb's seeing higher power use every day. Today the battery charge indicator is being …

05 June 2024 — : I love the challenge of the The Guardian Cryptic Crosswords; they're so hard. On first pass I may get one or two answers at most, then I worry away at it, sometimes exclaiming Of course! when I see how an answer works. Anagrams are my secret power, …

04 June 2024 — : This morning's tea is Bagua Shan Dong Pian. Perfect! Dong Pian is a special Taiwanese tea. It is harvested in the Winter Solstice when the weather is unseasonably warm which tricks the plants into thinking Spring has arrived, so they produce new leaf …

04 June 2024 — : I very much enjoyed The Fells (Detectives Donovan & Young Book 1) by Cath Staincliffe. 📚 I found intriguing that it's written in the present tense, by an all-seeing author, which gave the effect of a TV show or movie where the camera shows us the …

03 June 2024 — : I do all my book reading on a Kindle. Today I upgraded from a Kindle Paperwhite to a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. It feels much snappier, the text feels sharper and it charges wirelessly on my iPhone charger or can use a USB-C cable. I'm …

03 June 2024 — : There's a blue marker post on the beach that (theoretically — it's almost invisible behind beach grass) shows where one of the pedestrian tracks to exit the beach is. This morning I took a photo of it, noting it's now half buried in sand. Here …

02 June 2024 — : Ours isn't the kind of beach that has seaweed. Except today it does, and a lot of it. Clumps of seaweed along the high tide mark. Close up on some seaweed. There was some kelp too.

02 June 2024 — : If you're into dogs at all this 11 minute video is a must-watch. So interesting! The Canine Rainbow and How Dogs See the World 🐶 : The first episode of Howtown from Adam Cole & Joss Fong is all about dog vision I've subbed to the Howtown videos too. …

01 June 2024 — : Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman works on a frustrating case of stalking in Do No Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 2) by Judith Cutler while another team looks into an unpleasant serial flasher. 📚 I found this very readable and am …

01 June 2024 — Whangārei District population is almost 97,000 : 2023 Census maps and data. Whangārei District population is almost 97,000.

01 June 2024 — Whangārei city and environs : Whangārei lies about 165 Km north of Auckland and about 260 Km south of Te Rerenga Wairua | Cape Reinga, at -35.5515, 174.3414. Nestled in a broad valley between hills to its west and east, the city lies on a long inlet of Whangārei Harbour on …

01 June 2024 — : The cows in the paddocks next door have been yelling a lot the last couple of days. This morning they're too busy eating. 😁

31 May 2024 — : Different day, same (presumably) kōtuku white heron.

30 May 2024 — : I was so pleased to discover iCab allows AppleScript. This script in TextExpander allows me to grab the Title and URL of the front tab and copy it as a Markdown link. tell application "iCab" set theName to name of current tab of front window set …

30 May 2024 — : It's been a whole week since I spotted an unusual visitor to Waikawa Beach and I assumed it had left. But today I again spotted the kōtuku white heron by the river and was able to get quite close. Such beautiful birds. 🐦

30 May 2024 — : Yesterday afternoon I lit the fire early — there was a cold wind. This morning we have our first snow on the mountain tops.

30 May 2024 — : After a supermarket trip this morning I’m treating myself to breakfast at Salt and Pepper in Ōhau. Avocado and salmon smash for me.

30 May 2024 — : Each month I post on Waikawa News that I've sent out a Newsletter. Now I can duplicate the previous post as my starting point, thanks to the update in MarsEdit 5.2. Select Duplicate Post from the File menu. And more space for Alt Text! The Alt Text …

30 May 2024 — : A big and very welcome update to MarsEdit today with 5.2, including: The “Search” field in the main window now features a filter selection to toggle between searching everything or searching just the current selection. … A new menu item for …

29 May 2024 — : Today’s random beach find: a large blue piece of tin.

29 May 2024 — : Bah, last night I realised that on 22 May 2024 I wrote about a book I'd read, but somehow managed to use the wrong title and link and book cover. I'd tangled up books 1 and 2 in the series. Sigh. Now corrected: Detective Chief Superintendent Fran …

29 May 2024 — : Ugh, woke just after midnight and still awake in these wee hours where the world is adrift. Stress always turns up the volume on the tinnitus too. Ugh.

28 May 2024 — : An enjoyable read, but not riveting. A complicated case …Baskets and Beignets by Jana DeLeon 📚: Fortune has solved cold cases before, but never one with so little evidence and so many suspects with not only strong motive but opportunity. Can …

28 May 2024 — : Something I love about Waikawa Beach … … is the wide open space, and lack of other people.

28 May 2024 — : I went down to the beach before sunrise today. I love walking through the avenue of toetoe / pampas (I think it's pampas, but I can't tell the difference). There was just enough light to shine on the water. And the river wound golden across the …

27 May 2024 — : I bought this M1 MacBook Pro in January 2021. This morning after 3 hours of use, including a couple of videos at full brightness and high volume, there's still 75% battery left! I still can't get over the battery life on these machines.

27 May 2024 — : Pleased to report that last night's Emergency Alert Test Message was received very loud and clear.

27 May 2024 — : Hah! Trivial pursuits? – language: a feminist guide: In crosswords the influence of patriarchal, racist and heteronormative values is most apparent in judgments on the “puzzleworthiness” of words. … [that] reflects the vocabulary and the …

26 May 2024 — : We went to our nearest town this morning for some errands. Here's the main road through Levin on a sunny Sunday morning.

25 May 2024 — : Nicely said: Manton Reece - Audio narration in Micro.blog We want to see the personal side of someone, not just the polished brand. We want to see the imperfect, the creative, the emotion. We want authenticity.

25 May 2024 — : This 45 minute documentary was so interesting. This Civil War Submarine Vanished for 136 Years: A Civil War submarine powered by hand cranks and lit by candlelight. What could possibly go wrong? Meet the HL Hunley. I had no idea submarines were so …

25 May 2024 — : What a delight to start my day with Himalayan Moon Drops oolong tea from Nepal: Harvested in June 2023, … is crafted using hand-harvested leaves from Japanese and Taiwanese tea plant cultivars grown at an elevation of 1850m. The steeped …

24 May 2024 — : Yesterday morning I spotted a shag that was a bit different from our usual white-chested shags. The Bird ID Facebook group helped me learn that this is a native Kawaupaka | Little shag: A small shag with a short yellow bill, black feet, a relatively …

23 May 2024 — : My day went awry in the best possible way. I cut short my bike ride to collect my Fuji X-T5 and take photos of a rare visitor to Waikawa Beach: a Kōtuku | White heron. 🐦 Such amazing birds! Peekaboo!

23 May 2024 — : Today's beach photo is toetoe reflected in a pool of water left behind by the tide.

22 May 2024 — : Check out this gorgeous late afternoon sun.

22 May 2024 — : Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman faces many challenges in Come to Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 1) by Judith Cutler. Menopause symptoms create problems, her elderly and very demanding parents are a long drive away, and the cold …

22 May 2024 — : I knew it was still too dark at dawn to take photos of the Pūkeko by the lake, but I did anyway. I like the effect on this shot. Fujifilm X-T5, lens: XF100-400mm, ISO 12800, 600 mm, 1 ev, f22, 1/30 s. 🐦

21 May 2024 — : Calm ocean on an overcast day with hardly any waves. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 Here was the view to the north, with dark clouds lowering.

21 May 2024 — : OMG. I have shares currently worth a massive $16 in this company, and here's a screenshot from today's shareholder update. (I invested $140 initially.)

21 May 2024 — : It’s totally beautiful down at the beach this morning. So glad I came out even though rain was threatened.

20 May 2024 — : I've seen plenty of birds on our local lake, but a model boat on Lake Puna o te Ora was a first.

20 May 2024 — : It's not at all uncommon to find dead fish on the beach. Usually gulls have had a feed. This poor little thing though was unusual for being intact, and because it was only as big as the palm of my hand. The dead fish are usually bigger, often small …

20 May 2024 — : Still in the beautiful Milford Sound back in March 2024. Young seals on a rock. Bush clad slopes. Waterfall down bush-clad cliff face.

19 May 2024 — : At the beach this morning: 3 spur-winged plovers and a pied stilt. In the next there's a spur-winged plover, a pied stilt, a black-fronted dotterel (in the background), while a swallow flies by. 🐦

19 May 2024 — : Back on 26 March 2024 we took part in a two hour cruise on Milford Sound in Fiordland, Aotearoa. Ours was the smaller boat on the left. In an area that has some 7 metres (23 feet) of rainfall per year, the waterfalls are significant. You may (just) …

19 May 2024 — : I went to bed horrendously early last night. That's why it's now 0230 and I'm catching up on the Micro.Blog timeline. 😁

18 May 2024 — : Tonight I made @alexink's Chicken Cacciatore, with a couple of modifications. This dish was new to me, but I enjoyed it. Modifications: no onion or garlic and I switched out the red wine for a 50/50 mix of fresh lemon juice and water. I also added a …

18 May 2024 — : The Globe and Mail has Cryptic Crosswords. I'm so out of practice with them! It's taken me a day or two to get back into the swing. So nice to have a good challenge though!

17 May 2024 — : Can't wait now for Book 5! — The Language of Power (Steerswoman Series Book 4) by Rosemary Kirstein was another excellent read, bringing our heroes closer to their goal. 📚 The Steerswoman teases out some important discoveries that help on her …

17 May 2024 — : The latest in a series I enjoy — The Man Who Came Back (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 7) by Amy Vansant was another enjoyable read 📚: Mason’s fellow retired SEAL buddy, Arturo, invites him and Shee to his Florida lake house for …

16 May 2024 — : Soon after sunrise today this sand 'cliff' was lit by a shaft of sunlight and reflections from the water. The cliff is probably less than a metre high and was formed by the river carving out the sand.

15 May 2024 — : Pretty much the last sight at Wai o Tapu is one of the most spectacular: an almost fluorescent green / yellow lake, Roto Kārikitea.

15 May 2024 — : A favourite on my walk: this lone chestnut coloured fungus. It was the only fungus I noticed on the whole walk.

15 May 2024 — : The 'green' walk was the furthest and hardest at Wai o Tapu, with so many stairs. My calves were sore for days!

15 May 2024 — : At Wai o Tapu the Artist's Palette certainly had water and steam aplenty. I could see a red colour around the edges.

15 May 2024 — : Hmmm. Guess the gender of the CHAT GPT personality — Introducing GPT-4o: 24:46: BARRETT ZOPH: The reason I'm in a good mood is we are doing a presentation showcasing how useful and amazing you are. 24:50: CHAT GPT: Oh stop it, you're making me …

15 May 2024 — : This morning's Gong Mei, 'Royal Tribute Eyebrow' white tea is perfect to start the day: Flavour: soft & sweet, floral and citrus … made famous in the Qing dynasty in China, being served within the imperial court. It is made from the Cai Cha …

14 May 2024 — : Good reminders in this 13 minute video: The #1 Most Important Exposure Rule You Should Follow, and How You Can Apply it in Your Photography by Dan Bailey.

14 May 2024 — : At Wai o Tapu some pools of mud contain unrefined crude oil!

14 May 2024 — : Yesterday, after our few days away, I was absolutely wiped out — had zero energy, was so sleepy. I just went with it. Today I've been a domestic powerhouse: washed and dried two loads of laundry, made a batch of muesli, made beef stew, washed …

13 May 2024 — : A couple of days ago I visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It was a warm sunny day after a cold start, and the skies were mainly clear blue. I did all 3 walks — there were many steps on tracks 2 and 3. Typical landscape at Wai-o-Tapu with …

13 May 2024 — : We might have missed the aurora, but we were in Rotorua for the coldest morning in 50 years — Will the aurora lights be visible tonight?: At about 6.30am [on Sunday 12 May 2024], Rotorua was recorded to have the second-coldest temperature of …

13 May 2024 — : Great news! Success for new giant wētā breeding programme: The Kiwi House now have 120 young wētā, and a second group of adults are breeding and laying eggs. It has aimed to breed 3000 Mahoenui giant wētā for release into a local predator free …

12 May 2024 — : View from Lime Cafe, this morning’s brunch spot.

12 May 2024 — : On today's walk I noticed the amazing waka taua — Closing the loop on the Rotorua Lakefront Development: Waka taua is a vessel that transports war parties, a function that holds great mana or prestige. The Te Arawa waka taua is 20 metres long …

12 May 2024 — : Hooray for good news: our friend is being discharged from hospital today after all. We won't be leaving till after lunch though so will be late getting home. It's a 6 hour trip, including stops for food and recharging.

12 May 2024 — : Yesterday took a surprising turn when the friend we drove to Rotorua with, also at Deb's conference, went to hospital with chest pains in what may well be a heart attack. She stayed in overnight and we're waiting to find out if she'll be coming home …

11 May 2024 — : Ohhhh, folks on the Waikawa Beach Facebook group have been posting spectacular aurora photos … and I'm away up north. Darn!

11 May 2024 — : Made it to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Valley.

11 May 2024 — : My plan for today is to visit Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, a 30 minute drive away. I'm having trouble getting started on the day though …

10 May 2024 — : In Rotorua the National Kiwi Hatchery is totally worth a visit. Kiwi are nocturnal so taking photos of live birds is forbidden. These taxidermied chicks in a display case with life-size egg have to do for photos.

10 May 2024 — : The recently redeveloped Rotorua lakefront area is 💯 Such a beautiful space with walkways above and around the lake, native plants, rock, tiers of smooth and rough concrete, tiered gardens full of native plants, little bays, geese and swans, a huge …

09 May 2024 — : Deb and I are in Rotorua for her to attend a conference and me to lounge about sightseeing. Staying at a fairly fancy hotel (Novotel) with its own free thermal spa pools. A lovely way to warm up before bed.

09 May 2024 — : Lake Taupō from the car as we whistled past on the way to Rotorua on our first road trip with the EV. 🚗 Our range anxiety was allayed with charging stops at Mangaweka, where we had lunch and Taupō where we had desserts at an excellent bar called …

08 May 2024 — : Around 0720 a fuel tanker rolled a few Km north of Waikawa Beach. In spite of detours, that effectively closed the road so traffic north and south has been a nightmare all day. It's taking Deb ~3.5 hours to get home from Wellington (a 1.25 hour trip) …

08 May 2024 — : Persistence finally paid off. In about 15 minutes this morning, between about 0545 and 0600, I saw 10 meteors from the Eta Aquariids — two streaks and 8 flashes. It was very moreish, but also very cold and a cup of tea was calling…

07 May 2024 — : I found Cliff Diver: A Detective Emilia Cruz Novel by Carmen Amato to be a tough read. 📚 The setting is drug cartels, police and official corruption, sexual assault and other grim crimes. I found myself reading only in the day, saving something more …

07 May 2024 — : Today's beach find: this fishing hook with 3 rusty barbs. It was tangled in some weed just waiting for a horse, dog or barefoot kid to step on it. Hooray for my trusty Swiss Army knife to help remove it from the ball of weed.

07 May 2024 — : OK Pacific Wave Appreciation Society — some gentle Waikawa Beach waves to start the day. 🌊

07 May 2024 — : Tiny crescent moon rising an hour before dawn.

07 May 2024 — : North Yorkshire Council to phase out apostrophe use on street signs: "I think we should be using apostrophes. "If you start losing things like that then everything goes downhill doesn't it?" Love it! Those nebulous and un-pin-down-able things will …

06 May 2024 — : Solving a 30 year old cold case is actually very hard — Murder in the Parish (DI Hillary Greene Book 20) by Faith Martin 📚: Thirty years ago, two days before Christmas, the much-loved Reverend Keith Coltrane was hit over the head and left to …

06 May 2024 — : Another enjoyable read in the series — Malice in Tarnished Spaces: (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 6) by Lakota Grace 📚 : When Pegasus Quincy, sheriff’s deputy, steps into the leaky rowboat to investigate a murder at a mysterious …

06 May 2024 — : Yesterday we drove to Palmerston North and watched the excellent movie The Great Escaper starring Glenda Jackson and Michael Caine. 🎥 It was very nuanced, layered and moving. Based on the true story of 89-year-old British World War II Royal Navy …

05 May 2024 — : This morning there were 5 Black-fronted dotterels in the estuary. Black-fronted dotterels are … recognisable by the striking Y-shaped black plumage on the chest contrasting with white plumage above and below, and a conspicuous black stripe …

05 May 2024 — : Just before dawn today, with clear skies, a bit of a frost and mist over the ground.

05 May 2024 — : Hmmm, on this day in 2023 I posted my Speedtest results (100/22). Today I tested again, with 128/13.

04 May 2024 — : I haven't yet listened to this Quirks and Quarks podcast episode, but other Micro.Blog dog lovers may be interested too: May 4: Quirks goes to the dogs | CBC Radio: A whole show dedicated to the latest science around our canine companions I'm …

04 May 2024 — : Someone on Micro.Blog mentioned the iCab web browser recently. I used to use that years ago. Just paid for a licence. 😁 Bonus: Apple Pay actually worked on my Mac!

04 May 2024 — Counting on my fingers against the Topic : For the last week my mind has been preoccupied by a Topic. I don't want it to be. When I walk I like my mind to be free-spirited, bopping around loosely from one idea to another. That's healthy. Yesterday and today while I was walking Topic kept …

03 May 2024 — : It was a beautiful morning when I went for a walk in the bush at Papaitonga.

02 May 2024 — : We had over 18mm rain last night, and there was probably much more in the hills. Which will be why there are clumps of river weed near the river mouth this morning. And my other beach find — a little 5-armed starfish.

02 May 2024 — : At the west end of Homer Tunnel, from a carpark below, we can see the avalanche and rockfall protection roofing, and the amazing view down the Cleddau Valley. On the east side they're rebuilding the avalanche roof which was flattened by a rockfall. …

01 May 2024 — : On our bus tour to Milford Sound we had to wait for 10 minutes to drive through the Homer Tunnel, a 1.2km-long tunnel through solid rock. This was on the east side at an elevation of approximately 800 metres. Before the tunnel opened in 1954 after 19 …

01 May 2024 — : Last week a friend generalised something I said then used it in a way that undermined me within a group we both belong to. There was more to it than that, of course. I was angrier than I've been in a long time and it's severely damaged our …

01 May 2024 — : This morning I joined a couple of other members of the Horowhenua branch of Forest and Bird to do a bird count at Waikawa Beach estuary. We don't have so many birds around at the moment, but along with the usuals we spotted a flock of maybe 60 …

30 April 2024 — : What an excellent idea from Kāpiti Coast District Council: Encouraging chatter that matters: Chatterbox seats aim to normalise a culture of chat. They help connect communities and strengthen people’s mental health and wellbeing. People are encouraged …

30 April 2024 — : One feature of the book Tempting Fête was that every character was introduced with a reference to their race. 📚 That did effectively raise my awareness of my own assumption of default whiteness. So that's something I can work on …

30 April 2024 — : I bought Tempting Fête (Men Who Stitch Mysteries Book 1) by Kate Silvers partly because its designation as A Diverse Cozy Mystery intrigued me. 📚 It was OK, but the diversity message was truly hammered home. In fact I suspect the diversity aspect was …

30 April 2024 — : After a recent excellent holiday I fell into a slight slump and finally realised the last 7 years have been intense with local community activity. I need to step back a bit. I declared the @ custom Micro.Blog finished. That's one. I also stepped …

29 April 2024 — : I didn't manage to find Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks on this very clear night, even though I went to the beach to have a clear view of the western horizon. I did manage a photo of Orion above the remains of the sunset though. ✨ There were numerous …

29 April 2024 — : Deb had a social engagement in Palmerston North today so I went along for the ride. I enjoyed an excellent Chicken Teriyaki dinner and a bit of a read at Mr Choi's.

28 April 2024 — : An excellent movie, inspired by true stories — The Beautiful Game 🎥: Advocates to end homelessness, organize an annual tournament for Homeless [people] to compete in a series of football matches known as The Homeless World Cup.

28 April 2024 — : Grim reading: There's an Awkward Link Between Plastic Production And Pollution We're Not Considering: Our new research found the relationship is direct – a 1% increase in plastic production leads to a 1% increase in plastic pollution, meaning …

28 April 2024 — : Another in a series I enjoy: Silence in West Fork (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 5) by Lakota Grace. 📚 Pegasus Quincy and her former partner, Shepherd Malone, have some difficult choices ahead when Shep’s daughter is caught with a murder …

27 April 2024 — : We really enjoyed the hilarious and heartwarming film The Phantom of the Open, based on a true story. 🎥 Maurice Flitcroft, a shipyard worker in the north of England, entered the Open Golf Tournament in an attempt to win the big prize. He'd never even …

27 April 2024 — : A mere 29 Km (by road), 25 minute drive south of Waikawa Beach is Peka Peka Beach. Small waves at Peka Peka Beach with Kāpiti Island in the background. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

26 April 2024 — : Now I See You (Mountain Resort Mystery series Book 1) by Shannon Work wasn't a favourite read, though I kept with it. It uses an Omniscient viewpoint that I found annoying — we were in the heads of half a dozen (or more) characters, including …

26 April 2024 — : On our bus tour to Milford Sound we stopped for photos at Monkey Creek. What’s in a name? | New Zealand Geographic: Monkey Creek … commemorates a downpour that flooded a creek and washed away a surveyor’s dog, called Monkey. He fortunately …

25 April 2024 — : In the last couple of days Deb and I have watched Vera S13E01 and My Life is Murder S04E01. That's some good quality telly there. 📺

25 April 2024 — : This week I've tracked my sleep. Estimating Sleep Stages from Apple Watch: Apple Watch contains 3-axis accelerometer signals that track motion. They record not only large movements … but also more subtle movements … [Then] an algorithm …

25 April 2024 — : The Cascade Creek conservation campsite in Fiordland National Park was a gorgeous location. Apparently the sandflies are bad there. We just stopped for a cuppa and a scone. And photos. This is one of my favourite photos from the whole trip — …

24 April 2024 — : I took this shot of a mountain from near Mirror Lakes in Fiordland. I'm afraid I have no idea which mountain it is.

24 April 2024 — : One of my best recent purchases: Hand Warmer Wheat Bags. 60 seconds in the microwave and moments later my hands are wrapped round a toasty wheatbag. I have self-diagnosed Raynaud's Phenomenon so random fingers sometimes go white and numb. The …

23 April 2024 — : Darn it! I went to read Bridges to Burn (Detective Clare Mackay Book 8) by Marion Todd today, only to find I'd already read it (and given it 5 stars). I recall nothing about it! 📚

23 April 2024 — Eglinton Valley photos : As promised yesterday, more photos of Eglinton Valley in Fiordland National Park. All show steep beech-clad snow-topped mountains rising from a valley floor covered in golden tussock.

23 April 2024 — : LOL Text in image: Today's marine biology lecture is on sharks. We all know them as the scary triangles of the sea, but recent research has revealed that the triangle is only a small portion of the shark-over 90% of it is hidden beneath the surface. …

23 April 2024 — : In a series I enjoy, Standing Dead (A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Book 8) by Margaret Mizushima was a good read. 📚 Mattie’s K-9 partner, Robo, makes a grisly discovery—a body tied to a dead pine tree. Mattie is shocked when she realizes she knows the …

22 April 2024 — : Like all of Fiordland National Park, the Eglinton Valley was beautiful. A broad flat valley floor covered with golden tussock, with steep beech-clad mountains meeting it in a sharp line. Behind, snow-covered peaks. My next post will contain several …

21 April 2024 — : On our recent holiday we took a bus trip from Te Anau to Milford Sound where we cruised for a couple of hours up and down the Sound. Our first brief stop was at Te Anau Downs Scenic Lookout on Lake Te Anau, with amazing light, as so often on this …

21 April 2024 — : Delighted when I opened a window at 6 am to hear a Ruru | Morepork in trees around 500 metres away. Calls are given almost exclusively at night. The onomatopoeic ‘more-pork’ call is the most characteristic and often heard call.

20 April 2024 — : Pied Stilt (and friend). 🐦

20 April 2024 — : This Pied Shag kept an eye on me while drying its wings at the beach. 🐦

20 April 2024 — : Another gripping book in the series: The Lost Steersman (Steerswoman Series Book 3) by Rosemary Kirstein. 📚 Rowan goes exploring in more strange and dangerous territories, encountering demons, hunting for Slado and making amazing discoveries.

19 April 2024 — : This item about Google Plus codes was really interesting: On the Navajo Nation, Accurate Mailing Addresses Save Lives. If you want to find your own Plus Code start with Technology - Plus Codes. It's very simple. For example, Hank Edwards Reserve at …

19 April 2024 — : Here's some handy info for my Kiwi pals: Māori Greetings Signoffs for Letters Emails (PDF). The new one I learned today: Ngā mihi maioha : Thank you with appreciation.

19 April 2024 — : At dawn (8 am) we waited outside our expensive but basic motel in Te Anau for the bus tour to Milford Sound. You can see in the video the sprinkling of snow on the mountain tops. We needed our warm rain jackets.

18 April 2024 — : From Queenstown we travelled to Te Anau where I was able to spend a few minutes walking round Punanga Manu | the bird sanctuary. I had a wonderful close-up view of a total of 5 takahē. 🐦

18 April 2024 — : Yesterday I took a bunch of rubbish photos at the beach. Today I applied more thought. A pair of white-faced herons was keeping an eye on my process. 🐦

17 April 2024 — : This Paradise Shelduck pair stood out on the lake today. 🐦

17 April 2024 — : This 20 minute video was super interesting: The most important CONSONANT in English by Dr Geoff Lindsey.

16 April 2024 — : The rains must have brought this big clump of weed down the river and onto the beach.

16 April 2024 — : We spent a night in Queenstown where the countryside is very beautiful. The town itself is cramped and busy, accommodation very expensive. It's full of tourists and tourist stuff. Loads of cafes, hotels, outdoor shops. Utterly atypical of Aotearoa at …

15 April 2024 — : Today I attended a meeting near the Levin War Memorial. I've driven past plenty of times but never before taken the time to stroll around the garden. Pets and mascots have always been part of military culture They offered comfort solace and simple …

15 April 2024 — : The Cromwell Heritage Precinct has old stone buildings and a view over the Clutha River where jetskis and others were hooning around.

14 April 2024 — : On our holiday, between Lake Pukaki and Cromwell I just watched the scenery go by, and took a few photos from the moving car.

14 April 2024 — Fungi at Waiopehu Scenic Reserve : Today I wandered around Waiopehu Scenic Reserve. It's a dim, damp and cool bush walk where I spotted all sorts of fungi I can't identify. It was a pleasant half hour. White underneath and black on top. White underneath and black on top. Little ones …

13 April 2024 — : I was in the mood to read all day and lost myself in Murder Against the Odds (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 3) by Janice Frost. 📚 It was a good, engaging read with some unexpected outcomes.

13 April 2024 — : Morning waves. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊 Morning waves on a dull day.

12 April 2024 — : Murder on a Country Walk (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 4) by Janice Frost was another enjoyable read. 📚 I like these lead characters, though in this book one of the victims / suspects was seriously unpleasant.

12 April 2024 — : Heaven forbid we feed kids just because they're hungry! Associate minister of education David Seymour wants a “robust, statistically significant comparison that has been able to find that the [school lunch] programme has increased attendance at …

12 April 2024 — : OK, my new endeavour: Portuguese for Beginners | Udemy. Day 1: obrigada. 🇵🇹

11 April 2024 — : When Waka Kotahi built the Kāpiti Expressway they installed a sealed shared path (bikes, pedestrians, horses) alongside it. Today I did a little 12 Km return bike ride along the path.

11 April 2024 — : I seem to be in a phase where I'm generally low level irritable and scratchy and want to shed some involvements, engagements and responsibilities (I don't even have many). Someone asked me to do an easy task many others could do and I had to work up …

11 April 2024 — : Oh, April 2024 Photo Challenge Day 11: sky. The sky was vibrant in scarlet for about 30 minutes this morning!

11 April 2024 — : This sounds interesting. As a lover of words and language in general I'd be up to give this game a go. Scrabble: Mattel launches new version of game which is 'less competitive': … a new version of Scrabble designed to be more collaborative and …

10 April 2024 — : This morning I drove about 20 minutes to Lake Papaitonga Scenic Reserve and enjoyed a shady bush walk. The boardwalk splits around a tree. A brilliant fallen Silver fern leaf shone out on the ground.

10 April 2024 — : Another excellent Braincraft video: How to cope when life is terrible - YouTube.

10 April 2024 — : Aha! 2028 total solar eclipse in New Zealand: before the total eclipse [on 22 July, 2028], Aotearoa would also be treated to a small dress rehearsal on 22 September 2025. "There's a really big partial eclipse of the sun which isn't total, but a lot …

09 April 2024 — : From Takapō we headed south, with a momentary stop at Lake Pukaki, so blue! I believe that's Aoraki | Mount Cook visible on the right.

09 April 2024 — : I'd forgotten I'd read other books by Judi Daykin, with varying enjoyment. The Wild Thyme Farm Murder (Detective Sara Hirst Book 6) was well-written though, held my attention, and managed to produce several viable suspects. I enjoyed the interactions …

09 April 2024 — : I haven't visited the beach with my camera so much lately — many of the birds have gone. Today I took the camera and captured this Tarapunga | Red-billed gull. 🐦

08 April 2024 — : About 9 pm at Lake Takapō, in the Dark Sky Reserve (on 23 March 2024). This was the view from our excellent rental apartment. An almost full moon shines on the lake; fog rolls in between the mountains; township lights are muted.

07 April 2024 — : I enjoy Anne Shillolo's murder mystery series, but Murder at Lost Lake: (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 3) had a couple of important plot points that stretched my belief a little too far. That made the book just a little less enjoyable. 📚 Four …

07 April 2024 — : What bliss! Lying on the outdoor couch on a warm (finally) sunny blue sky day. The distant sea faintly in the background. Bees buzzing nearby. Birds chipping and cheeping and singing. An occasional high plane droning. The tiniest breeze. What a day …

07 April 2024 — : Such a moving essay about environment: The Sunday Essay: Piercing the living waters | The Spinoff: I was promised dolphins, whales, and maybe even manta rays, but the surface of the sea was broken only by wind and the occasional gannet trying its …

07 April 2024 — : Apparently in April 2022 I advised myself about having spent too little time sightseeing: It's easy to look back decades later and make judgements. A great reminder as I've recently berated myself for not frequently visiting Takapō when I lived only …

07 April 2024 — : I saw this video a couple of days ago after the huge earthquake in Taiwan and told Deb to watch it. She couldn't find it, so here it is for posterity: Watch: Taiwan earthquake shakes man in rooftop pool.

06 April 2024 — : Bag 3 of the Lego build complete. It required only a minor fix where I must have messed up in a previous stage. 😅

06 April 2024 — : I encouraged this little Southern Bell Frog out of the garage yesterday. So glad to spot a frog again — they seem to have been in short supply.

06 April 2024 — : MB April Photo Challenge: windy 📷 Sasha, tail flying, on a windy day at Waikawa Beach in August 2019.

05 April 2024 — : Just before our tour to the Mt John observatories (photos strongly discouraged up there because of stray light). This was Lake Takapō at 8 pm with fog rolling in through the mountains and an almost full moon illuminating the lake. Takapō is so …

05 April 2024 — : Having recently visited Tekapo I was intrigued by this new murder mystery set there: Dark Sky: Murder among the stars - by Marie Connolly. But I don't buy / read books on paper (it's a real chore for me) and it seems there's no ebook. 😢 📚 The Dark …

05 April 2024 — : Not a new thought, but today it really hit home to me — someone on the radio said "grow the economy" and I thought: what say as a society we valued wellbeing above all else (rather than growth or money)? Wellbeing of humans, plants, animals, …

04 April 2024 — : Four Distinct Sleep Types: According to the team behind the study, extra effort needs to be made to educate people about the benefits of good sleep and the link between poor sleep and poor health. Yup, keep 'educating' me on how my poor sleep …

04 April 2024 — : Maybe half way between Temuka and Takapō is Fairlie, with its James MacKenzie and Dog statue. The Mackenzie District: is named after James Mackenzie, a shepherd and would-be farmer. … Said to be immensely strong physically, he was admired as …

04 April 2024 — : I was doubtful about The Jenny Starling Mysteries Books 1–4 by Faith Martin at first but really rather enjoyed the books with their understated gentle humour. 📚 When she wasn’t saving the trees, whales, or whatever else needed saving, Jenny’s mother …

03 April 2024 — : Winchester, in Te Wai Pounamu, lies between Temuka and Geraldine. We were recommended to breakfast at Mia Flora (FB link), a residence, garden shop and cafe. The food was good, the grounds lovely and the hospitality excellent.

03 April 2024 — : Today I was out the door at 7 am to visit the supermarket, then spent the whole morning making muesli, mushroom soup and beef stew. Whew! To follow, some photos from our recent holiday.

02 April 2024 — : It annoyed me while on holiday that the Sunrise/Sunset complication on my Apple Watch stopped working. I've finally fixed it thanks to Sunset / sunrise Apple Watch not working: sunrise/sunset on AppleWatch comes from the “clock” app not the “weather” …

02 April 2024 — : It flows slowly, the Waikawa River, but it's still a 'flower'. 🤣 MB April Photo Challenge: flowers 📷

02 April 2024 — : The waves might be little in our barely moving air from the east, but they're still Pacific. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

02 April 2024 — : Brooklyn 99 is perfect to (re)watch while I eat breakfast. Every single episode leaves me laughing.

02 April 2024 — : This sounds bad — DOC spent nearly $500,000 to kill one stoat in Fiordland until we see this: [Auckland University Professor of Conservation Biology, James Russell] said half a million dollars does sound like a lot of money but people should …

01 April 2024 — : At the Dark Sky Project in Takapō I bought this Great Spotted Kiwi backpack clip as a memento. Not that I saw a kiwi there, I just like to collect these NZ native birds as I travel around. 😁 MB April Photo Challenge: Toy 📷

01 April 2024 — : I did this Online Hearing Test a few years back and have just gone through it again. Hmmm, having found my previous test results, it looks like my hearing has declined. May be time for a professional test.

01 April 2024 — : Nice to see that a] the beach was still there 🤣 and that b] someone had been having a good time.

31 March 2024 — : I had a wonderful time away on holiday, but am thrilled to be home to my kettle that I can set to the correct temperature for my tea, and my most favourite teas. Ahhhh.

31 March 2024 — : Partly because it's Easter I followed official advice and arrived at Christchurch airport early to allow extra time for security. There is no security screening for my flight to Wellington. LOL Also changed to an earlier flight so I'll be home …

30 March 2024 — : My friend Anne and I dressed warmly against the sharp wind in Christchurch at the Travis Wetland. Me on the left in the blue jacket standing upslope of Anne on the right with a green jacket. Photo by Ruth.

30 March 2024 — : Autumn colours in Te Māra Huaota o Waipapa | the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

29 March 2024 — : This morning we enjoyed a pleasant walk around the 119 hectare Ōruapaeroa / Travis Wetland in Christchurch. At some points we had views of the Port Hills.

28 March 2024 — : Rakaia Gorge is scenic from the lookout.

28 March 2024 — : Staying with a friend in Christchurch. This is one year old Felix. 🐈

27 March 2024 — : Athol is a tiny place about half way between Te Anau and Queenstown. It has a very convenient public toilet, a tearooms, and this interesting Memorial Seat for the Returned Services Association.

27 March 2024 — : Back in Takapō for the night. From the back I thought this was a car, but it turns out to be a Mustang Thunderbird touring bike.

27 March 2024 — : Such a cool use of the Internet: Fish Doorbell in Utrecht: … viewers around the world can watch a livestream of the camera and, when they see a fish, press a doorbell to open the lock allowing the fish the opportunity to continue swimming …

26 March 2024 — : This photo probably most represents Milford Sound. Huge craggy sheer cliffs, greenery, numerous tiny or massive waterfalls.

26 March 2024 — : What a long day. The bus picked us up at 8 this morning for our Milford Sound Tour and after a busy day we returned at 5. A quick meal at Thai Anau and now we're all wishing it was already bedtime! Milford Sound and environs are so scenic!

25 March 2024 — : At the Te Anau bird sanctuary I spotted Takahē and Whio (Blue Duck). 🐦 Punanga Manu o Te Anau/Te Anau Bird Sanctuary Two Takahē in Te Anau. Two Whio at Te Anau.

25 March 2024 — : Spent the night in Queenstown. Today we drive 2 hours to Te Anau then tomorrow, with any luck, we visit Milford Sound for a cruise — Milford Sound Tour from Te Anau with Fiordland Tours.

24 March 2024 — : Lake view from Earnslaw Lodge on Lake Wakatipu in Tāhuna | Queenstown, east to west.

24 March 2024 — : The landscapes in Mackenzie and Central are just jaw dropping.

24 March 2024 — : Aoraki (Mt Cook) from Lake Pukaki.

24 March 2024 — : I’ve never been to Cromwell on Lake Dunstan before. Stark mountains all around.

24 March 2024 — : Delicious breakfast at Jack Rabbit in Takapō before we drive to Queenstown.

23 March 2024 — : Dishes at the Dark Sky Diner were pricey, but the Fire grilled salmon served with roasted pumpkin, grilled asparagus, smoked cauliflower puree and caper cream was very delicious.

23 March 2024 — : Filling in a few hours till our 11 pm tour — Takapō Stargazing at Mount John: The Summit Experience: start by looking at the stars with the naked eye, as our guides point out the sights with handheld lasers. … Then you’ll dive deeper, …

23 March 2024 — : Lake Takapō.

23 March 2024 — : We're travelling in Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) with our friend Amanda from north of Auckland. Last night's accommodation was lovely: Hall on the Terrace (Facebook link) in Temuka (Te Umu Kaha): a renovated Presbyterian Church Hall offering …

22 March 2024 — : Waimakariri River just north of Otautahi | Christchurch. So blue! And a famous braided riverbed.

22 March 2024 — : So cool 🐦 : 3D printed eggs used in fairy tern rescue programme | RNZ News: Staff remove the [real] eggs, take them to incubators at Auckland Zoo, and the terns continue incubating what they thought were their eggs. … a record-breaking …

21 March 2024 — : Hmmm, still none the wiser. Bizarre film. Asteroid City 🎥: It is Anderson's homage to popular memory and mythology about extraterrestrials and UFOs witnessed in the American Southwestern desert in close proximity to atomic test sites during the …

21 March 2024 — : The Outskirter's Secret (Steerswoman Series Book 2) by Rosemary Kirstein was as gripping as the first book. 📚 The world building in this series is phenomenal and as we learn more about steerswomen, outskirters and wizards there are some hints about …

21 March 2024 — : Fun moment: distance between where I live now and where I was born: Distance Between Cities Places On Map Distance Calculator: 18,759 km or 11,656 miles Thanks to @crossingthethreshold.

20 March 2024 — : Waikawa Beach, 20 March 2024. The Pacific Wave Appreciation Society appreciates even the smallest of waves. 🌊

20 March 2024 — : Hmm, I'm reading out a brief speech from my iPad at a Horowhenua District Council meeting today. I had the speech in Apple Notes but was worried about accidentally editing (deleting) as I scroll. You can't make Notes read-only. I ended up pasting …

20 March 2024 — : I'm usually good with anagrams so was initially disappointed with my first try at Lex Friedman's By A Vowel puzzle. I was relieved that after solving the first couple in the archive and remembering the answers have a theme, my results improved. Whew. …

19 March 2024 — : With Equinox tomorrow, I lit the first fire for 2024.

19 March 2024 — : Waikawa river mouth shines in the early morning.

18 March 2024 — : In 2 days time I will be speaking to our local District Council for no more than 5 minutes on an incredibly divisive local topic: vehicle access to Waikawa Beach. The community has been polarised. I support a pedestrian-friendly beach where vehicles …

17 March 2024 — : Ate dinner with neighbours at Samrat Indian Restaurant in Waikanae. Just like last time, the food was delicious. I had a goat curry. It was followed by a surprise amuse bouche of vanilla ice cream.

17 March 2024 — : Bag 2 of the Lego build complete, with no parts left over. 😅

17 March 2024 — : So quiet today — I took a nap in the sun with crickets for company. Delightful.

16 March 2024 — : Kāpiti Island and Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) on a clear sunny day.

16 March 2024 — : Hah hah — love it! Note: the title attribute reads: Doug's cousin, the one from London, runs a Bumble love cult.

15 March 2024 — : Whew, I've completed the first pack on my 5-pack Lego build. After discovering a leftover piece 😳 I returned to Page 11 and inserted the missing parts. And corrected another mistake. Then I took a photo. Then I corrected the wrongly inserted parts …

15 March 2024 — : I don't often read fantasy, but on Annie's recommendation (what Annie said goes for me too) I took a chance on The Steerswoman (Steerswoman Series Book 1) by Rosemary Kirstein. 📚 I found it really engaging and immediately bought the next. I like that …

14 March 2024 — : Also spotted this morning.

14 March 2024 — : A different kind of bird low overhead at the beach today.

13 March 2024 — : Hardly a challenging plot, but the movie 80 for Brady was fun. 🎥 Hard to go wrong with a cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field.

13 March 2024 — : Heh, quote of the year: I speak fluent typo! 😆 cygnoir https://micro.blog/cygnoir/33360506

13 March 2024 — : I'm enjoying playing Lex Friedman's Lexicogs.

12 March 2024 — : I didn't get off to a good start with the first book in this series, but Murder at the Wedding (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 9) by Jane Adams was a darned good read. 📚 I like these characters who are quirky and interesting, and the story cleverly …

11 March 2024 — : This mantis on our front door today may be a South African mantis. [Later] The NZ Bug Identification Facebook Group confirms this as a Praying mantis (African) Miomantis caffra.

10 March 2024 — : Deb and I really enjoyed The Miracle Club 🎥 : In 1967, in a hard-knocks community in Dublin, three generations of women have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, a place where miracles occur. The miracles …

10 March 2024 — : I picked about 5 Kg Granny Smith apples off the tree. I'm looking forward to stewing them up and eating them with my breakfast every day for quite a while.

10 March 2024 — : I'm 69 and have never played with? built? Lego. After hearing it mentioned the other day I bought a $50 Lego Technic Surface Space Loader set and am looking forward to experimenting. First web search: how to open the box without destroying it. First …

09 March 2024 — : That custom email domain I've had trouble with for the past couple of weeks … I fiddled, deleted, started over, double-checked, waited and finally it works! At last!

09 March 2024 — : Deb and I watched the excellent Australian mini-series True Colours on Netflix. 📺 It explores complex questions of culture and justice: white-man's justice vs black-fella justice. Also touched on are questions of the relationship of traditional art …

09 March 2024 — : This page lists Custom Email Domain Availability. Since Aotearoa is included I'm stumped as to why, a week or two on, I can't make it work for a new domain. I've checked settings, tinkered etc. No joy.

09 March 2024 — : On the beach yesterday. 🐦 Social distancing for NZ Dotterels. NZ Dotterel looking fine. Immature red-billed gull up close.

08 March 2024 — : Here's a stabilised version of the birds and waves video I shared before. Many thanks to @sod for the suggestion.

08 March 2024 — : Something I've noticed recently is that my hand holding the camera steady is no longer 100% successful in its task. Sorry for the shakes in this morning's video. I was thinking about exploring the possibilities of a monopod. But I already have enough …

08 March 2024 — : Waves? What waves? 🐦 Waikawa Beach, Aotearoa, for the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

07 March 2024 — : There was one Ngutupapa | Royal Spoonbill at Kuku Beach this morning. 🐦

07 March 2024 — : Kuku Beach Estuary is a 3.5 Km walk north along the beach, but I drove there by road this morning. A local told me there had been a lot of birds there yesterday, but today there weren't so many. Lots of ducks though. 🐦 Oystercatcher and godwit …

06 March 2024 — : Chilly at the beach this dawn. We're now in one of the official Autumns. 🐦 Oystercatcher and almost grown up chick. Oystercatcher with a tasty grub, and a friend, possibly an adult chick.

05 March 2024 — : Somehow I started reading Murder at the Willows (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 8) by Jane Adams forever ago and then only just came back to it. 📚 The clues soon point to murder. But dear Jean was beloved by the community, who would do such a thing? …

05 March 2024 — : Visit to the dental hygienist today, after too long a break. Now all my teeth feel weird … Now they're all super clean and everything I'm indulging in a jam doughnut as a treat. 😆

04 March 2024 — : Long-tailed bat the weight of a AAA battery believed to be NZ's oldest | RNZ News: A bat of at least 26 years is officially New Zealand's oldest known long-tailed bat/pekapeka. Before people arrived in Aotearoa, nearly 1,000 years ago, bats were the …

04 March 2024 — : Such a good read! Gone to Darkness (Sydney Rose Parnell Book 4) by Barbara Nickless was perhaps even more intense than the previous three in the series. I hope there will be more books with Sydney. 📚 She's coming into her own as a rookie police …

04 March 2024 — : From the Good News files — Aotearoa New Zealand’s first fully electric bus network launches in Palmerston North and Ashhurst.

04 March 2024 — : There's actual rain (and high winds) forecast for today. 🌧️ 33.6 mm (1.3") rain forecast and winds up to 67 kph (41.6 mph).

03 March 2024 — : Through the window. A rather scruffy looking Starling. 🐦

02 March 2024 — : Half a dozen Kōurarini | European goldfinches were outside my bedroom window this morning. 🐦

01 March 2024 — : Not sure I've seen a dozen or more Poaka | Pied Stilt all together at our beach before. 🐦

29 February 2024 — : Bird footprints on the beach. 🐦

29 February 2024 — : Sydney is growing into civilian life, but the past still haunts her. Another good read. Ambush (Sydney Rose Parnell Book 3) by Barbara Nickless 📚 : From the dark alleys of Mexico City to the mean streets of Denver, Sydney and her K9 partner, Clyde, …

29 February 2024 — : Because it's Leap Day I'm messing around with fonts in some apps — just to shake things up a bit.

29 February 2024 — : Starting the day with a bit of a shaker — GeoNet: Quake - 2024p158594 〰️: Magnitude: 4.7 Depth: 20 km

29 February 2024 — : Happy Leap Day folks. Enjoy the gamboling and capering. 😁 💃💃

28 February 2024 — : This 8 minute video is particularly interesting and useful — Your freezer is messing with your food: Freezing is an awesome way to preserve food - but it isn’t perfect. Find out what actually happens when food freezes and tips for improving …

27 February 2024 — : There is a small group of Warou | Welcome swallows who spend a proportion of their days perched on the deck railing, about 3 metres away, watching Miraz TV. Sometimes they also air their opinions on the failings of the plot or characterisation. 🐦

26 February 2024 — : I took this photo the other day of Kuaka | Godwits in breeding plumage. Do you like the halo? 🐦

25 February 2024 — : Today's bird, on Lake Te Puna a te Ora: Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler. 🐦 New Zealand status: Native; Conservation status: Not Threatened Shovelers are specialist filter-feeding waterfowl with a large spoon-shaped or shovel-shaped bill that is …

24 February 2024 — : The Girl Who Found Joy (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 6) by Amy Vansant. A somewhat complicated plot. Since the reader has more info than the detectives do, I suspected the outcome by maybe 2/3 through. Still a very engaging read. 📚

24 February 2024 — : Some of my Micro.Blog pals might be interested in reading this Waikawa News blog post: Who are all those birds in the Estuary? 🐦 See photos of the 21 birds that commonly use our estuary — excludes common birds like ducks, magpies etc. Sample …

24 February 2024 — : Jana DeLeon has created another engaging and fun story in the Miss Fortune series with Swamp Spies. 📚 This book opens with an undercover spy mission to rescue Carter before yet another Sinful resident turns up dead in suspicious circumstances. …

23 February 2024 — : I very much enjoyed watching The Marvels. It was fun.

23 February 2024 — : We have a 20,000 litre rainwater tank that serves our house for drinking and other water. Since it was last filled by tanker at the start of November 2023 we've had only about 175 mm rain (6.9") adding ~11,000 litres. That's just not enough, so today …

23 February 2024 — : For those who just want the pretty pictures — 🐦 A juvenile Tarapirohe | Black-fronted Tern. New Zealand status: Endemic Conservation status: Nationally Endangered Length: 28 cm; Weight: 95 g; More at Juvenile Black-fronted Tern.

23 February 2024 — Juvenile Black-fronted Tern : At this time of year we see flocks of White-fronted Terns hanging out in the estuary near the sea, but on 22 February 2024 this bird was sitting apart from the flock. Looking closer, it was a bit different, but has been confirmed as a juvenile …

23 February 2024 — : Tarāpuka | Black-billed gull 🐦 : The black-billed gull is found only in New Zealand … The black-billed gull is more slender than the red-billed gull, with a longer bill. Breeding adults have a white head, neck, rump, tail and underparts, and …

22 February 2024 — : West coast waves — at Waikawa Beach in Horowhenua in Aotearoa. See Jean’s west coast waves, North America.

22 February 2024 — : My friend Rachel has a thing or two to say about ageing and being old — A taxonomy of aging based on the elder tree: the “old” are forever the Other, older than us, not like us. Until they are like us. And we are them. … a mature tree …

22 February 2024 — : 6 am and look at that: Venus side by side with Mars in the morning sky. ✨✨

21 February 2024 — : Juvenile Tarapunga | Red-billed gull, a native whose conservation status is Declining. 🐦

21 February 2024 — : It's a ground misty kind of morning. With Venus and sunrise.

21 February 2024 — : Another in a gripping series — Dead Stop (Sydney Rose Parnell Book 2) by Barbara Nickless 📚: With Denver beset by a series of monsoonlike thunderstorms that threaten to flood the city, Sydney and her K9 partner, Clyde, must wade through a murky …

20 February 2024 — : Spotted this roughly 5 cm grasshopper on the outside of my bedroom window this morning.

19 February 2024 — : First time for everything: this Blokart had come up from Ōtaki. I haven't seen one on Waikawa Beach before.

19 February 2024 — : Cyclone categories no longer fit for a heating planet: Increasingly strong cyclones may mean a new higher-wind-speed category needs to be created, researchers say, as global heating ups the forces at play. … climate change is turbo-charging …

18 February 2024 — : The swallows love hanging out on the railing by our east window, in the early evening sun. 🐦

18 February 2024 — : Such a good read I've preordered the next in series — Redemption (Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran Book 1) by Deborah J Ledford 📚 : a Native American sheriff’s deputy risks it all to find a friend who’s gone missing. Set around the Taos Pueblo …

18 February 2024 — : I suspect this juvenile Oystercatcher was one of the babies from early January. Its parent was looking a bit fed up, to my eye. 🐦 A little further along a flock of a dozen Kuaka Godwits was feeding at the water's edge.

17 February 2024 — : The movie Orion and the Dark was a delight — so creative, and also fun. It's worth a watch. 🎥 I also really liked the characters: Dark, Unexplained Noises, Quiet, Sweet Dreams, Sleep and Insomnia. And of course Light. So clever!

17 February 2024 — : I visited the Ōtaki Kite Festival today. The small kites were huge compared to a normal backyard kite. But the giant kites made the small (huge) ones look tiny. One of my favourites; a group of sharks and a dog.

17 February 2024 — : This fine bulldog was a brief visitor at our place the other day. Our cat-sized waterbowl had to be refilled twice! 🐶

17 February 2024 — : Today's good news for conservation — Pest control reverses 'downward slide to extinction' for kiwi | RNZ News: The Fiordland tokoeka population at Shy Lake is growing about two percent a year. The Department of Conservation (DOC) said chick …

17 February 2024 — : I used to use a Keyboard Maestro action to open my Time Machine System Preference but with some OS upgrade it stopped working properly. It would open the General section but not specifically Time Machine. Yesterday I finally solved this via …

16 February 2024 — : What the heck! 🐦

16 February 2024 — : Behind you!!! 🐦

16 February 2024 — : Black and white (and orange). Tern next to Southern Pied Oystercatcher. 🐦

16 February 2024 — : It was darned hot at the beach this afternoon, but I was so glad to spot baby Oystercatcher again. 🐦

15 February 2024 — : Big and Little: Kakīānau | Black swan and Pāpango | New Zealand scaup. 🐦 Length: 110 - 140 cm; Weight: 5 - 7 kg (male), 4 - 6 kg (female) vs Length: 40 cm; Weight: 695 g (male); 610 g (female).

15 February 2024 — : Big and Little: big Taranui | Caspian Tern with little Tara | White-fronted Tern (I think …) 🐦 Length: 50 cm; Weight: 700 grams vs Length: 42 cm; Weight: 160 grams.

15 February 2024 — : Yet another in a series that grips me: The Gathering Storm (Detective Shona Oliver Book 4) by Lynne McEwan. 📚 DI Shona Oliver’s past and present collide when James McGowan, her ex-classmate – now a famous actor – comes to the area to make a Robert …

15 February 2024 — : I highlighted many parts of Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner but the last third was draggy and weird (possibly over my head) 📚 : With cool feminist sophistication and … the paranormal and bizarre, … Warner depicts the classic …

15 February 2024 — : Something special happened last night. There I was lying with my eyes open hoping sleep would capture me. I could see a couple of stars through my west-facing window and put my glasses on to identify them. Orion was sinking. Then a small brief …

14 February 2024 — : On my bike ride today I drank a can of L&P (Lemon & Paeroa, lemonade), then when I came home I drank far too many cups of tea. That's why it's almost midnight and I'm still awake. 😵‍💫 That's what happens when you turn 69. Nice long birthday …

14 February 2024 — : I biked 10 km beside the river in Palmerston North and I’m having a rest and enjoying the view before I head back to the car.

14 February 2024 — : Today's adventure: bike along the Manawatū River Park Pathway in Palmerston North then have lunch at my favourite, Mr Choi, where the chicken teriyaki is delicious.

14 February 2024 — : Listened to this interview yesterday — so interesting — Record-smashing Tonga volcano sheds new light on how underwater volcanoes blow: This particular eruption was so powerful, NASA actually detected the cloud rising to 57 kilometres …

13 February 2024 — : Birds I noticed at dawn at the beach today: NZ Dotterel, Royal Spoonbill, adult pair and baby Oystercatcher. 🐦 NZ Dotterel. Royal Spoonbill. Adult pair with baby Oystercatcher.

13 February 2024 — : Flocks of birds in flight at the beach today. 🐦 Black swans in flight. A small flock of Rock Pigeons.

12 February 2024 — : I planted two Grevillea New Blood today. A stunning deep red flowering ground cover. It is a quite vigorous frost-hardy plant that flowers over a long period from Autumn to Spring. Best suited to well-drained soils in full sun but will tolerate …

12 February 2024 — : Thanks to @bsag I'm currently reading Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner. There are some wonderful turns of phrase … On Sunday mornings Henry would wind the clock. First one and then the other the quivering chains were wound up, till …

12 February 2024 — : Deb and I brunched today at Harrison's cafe and garden centre in Pekapeka. It's such a peaceful environment and the food is fine. While waiting to pay for a few plants, the next-door cat, who thinks the cafe and its people who give it cuddles are …

12 February 2024 — : Loved reading A Matrimonial Murder (A Temple Hill Mystery Book 2) by Meeti Shroff-Shah. For me the location and people are exotic. There's so much about Indian food — items I've never heard of. It's all so colourful and vibrant. I suspect …

11 February 2024 — : There were also plenty of birds on Lake Te Puna a te Ora, including many Pāpango | New Zealand scaup. 🐦

11 February 2024 — : Today I noticed juvenile Karoro | Black-backed gulls 🐦.

11 February 2024 — : What a lovely essay: Por Por’s broth | 婆婆煲噶湯 | The Spinoff: she is painfully excited about my learning Cantonese; … 婆婆 always wants to hear my progress. We develop a set conversation we have almost every time we meet. Hundreds of times I have …

10 February 2024 — : An excellent movie. Watch it! One Life 🎥 : based on the true story of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton as he looks back on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and flee in 1938–39, just …

10 February 2024 — : The whole article is really interesting — Of melting pots and mongrel languages: If a few soldiers, 958 years ago, had shown a bit more self-restraint, we’d all be speaking a different English. We wouldn’t, for example, know the word different. …

09 February 2024 — : Today's 'haul' — Dotterels and a Hawk in flight. 🐦

09 February 2024 — : I enjoyed this and may read others by this author if there are any, but somehow I never felt quite connected with the characters. Shot in the Dark (Detectives Martin & Stern Book 1) by Anna Britton. 📚 Unusual with its blend of texts, emails, reports, …

08 February 2024 — : Also on the beach and in my camera's view this morning, this Matuku moana | White-faced heron. 🐦

08 February 2024 — : And here's my new S9 Apple Watch, a full 6 days before I expected it! 😁

08 February 2024 — : Success! Not only has the population of baby Oystercatchers doubled overnight, but I managed a photo or two. Like this one of the two chicks seeking refuge under their parent. 🐦

07 February 2024 — : This parent Oystercatcher was very upset with me today for walking too close to its baby (maybe 10 or 15 metres away). I was getting the works! 🐦

07 February 2024 — : On very rare occasions an odd looking item turns up in the supermarket Fruit and Vege section. Turns out it's a Dragonfruit. I looked up what it was and how to eat it then laid down $8 to buy one! You eat it raw and they say it tastes like a cross …

07 February 2024 — : This is super interesting (Waikawa Beach has a terrible erosion problem in one particular spot) — Cyclone Gabrielle: Parts of East Coast lost 10 metres of shoreline (my emphasis): "Commercially, they've been operating these very high resolution …

07 February 2024 — : At the beach I saw, but didn't manage a photo of, a brand new baby Oystercatcher! Huzzah! Meanwhile, at home, Warou | Welcome swallows keep lining up on the deck railing to keep an eye on me. 🐦

06 February 2024 — : Today is one of NZ's most important days: Waitangi Day. We commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi between Māori and the British Crown in 1840. It is the founding document of our nation. First came He Whakaputanga, the Declaration of …

06 February 2024 — : Waitangi Day 6 Feb 2024 7:57 AM: A Ngāpuhi kaumātua says He Whakaputanga needs to be elevated in the national conscious as the "matua", the parent of The Treaty. He Whakaputanga - known in English as the Declaration of Independence of the United …

05 February 2024 — : I like this series and enjoyed the fast action of The Girl Who Saw the Truth (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 5) by Amy Vansant. It seemed though to be a book of two separate and unconnected stories. 📚 Shee and Mason investigate who's …

05 February 2024 — : Just wanted to note this — Oxford gains dark sky park status | RNZ News: Oxford [north of Christchurch] has become the 6th New Zealand community to gain dark sky accreditation. Dark Sky International has granted international dark sky park …

05 February 2024 — : With a birthday (69) coming up I followed a whim the other day (unusual for me) and ordered a new Apple watch mid-cycle. Upgrading from a S7 to a S9. It should be with me on my birthday. 😁

04 February 2024 — : Hmmm, in the first week of April Deb and I might spend a few days in Te Wai Pounamu (The South Island). Which could mean doing this — Takapō Stargazing at Mount John: High atop Mount John’s 1,029- metre peak, you'll be at the heart of the …

03 February 2024 — : Kawau | Pied Shags on the beach this morning. 🐦

03 February 2024 — : Bumper breeding season for NZ's rarest bird after disastrous season last year | RNZ News: … five fledglings already striking out on their own and as many as eight more chicks to follow. That might not sound like many but given that the total …

03 February 2024 — : Earlier this week I thought I was over Covid but just not up to par. Yesterday and today I realise I actually feel well. I have a growing spark of energy. Yesterday I lay down for a nap in the afternoon and couldn't get to sleep. Previous days I've …

02 February 2024 — : I read this in two widely spaced hits: Island on Fire: The extraordinary story of Laki, the volcano that turned eighteenth-century Europe dark by Alexandra Witze and Jeff Kanipe. 📚 Excellent writing and gripping stories. 1783&84 were the most …

02 February 2024 — : Just in case Deb and I do ever end up travelling to the Arctic — Top Arctic Wildlife Photography Tips for the Perfect Shot: Mastering Arctic Photography Techniques Photographing in the Arctic requires mastering specific techniques to overcome …

02 February 2024 — : While the Warou | Welcome swallow sat on the zendo roof the Kāhu | Hawk was out hunting. 🐦

02 February 2024 — : Another from an author I enjoy: Someone Rotten Riding the Rails (The Accidental Detective Book 6) by Kris Bock. 📚 Two Russian crime families have rented a private historic train to the Grand Canyon for their children’s wedding Our detective team have …

02 February 2024 — : I quite enjoyed The Birthday Girl (A Mallory Dawson Crime Thriller Book 1) by Sarah Ward. 📚 A remote island location, a devastating storm, a serial poisoner, an injured ex-detective, an increasing number of bodies …

01 February 2024 — : Pied Stilt stands guard on 3 juveniles. 🐦

01 February 2024 — : This is such an interesting podcast episode: Werthwhile Language – The Vocal Fries Pod: Carrie and Megan talk with Dr Suzanne Wertheim about her book, The Inclusive Language Field Guide: 6 Simple Principles for Avoiding Painful Mistakes and …

01 February 2024 — : It seems I have a case of the 3am blahs. 😱

31 January 2024 — : Whew, drove to Pekapeka for brunch with a friend, bought a few groceries on the way home. Exhausted now.

30 January 2024 — : Today's other beach bird is this NZ Dotterel showing off its jewellery. 🐦

30 January 2024 — : Today's beach bird is … a sparrow! It had found a tasty morsel for its dinner. 🐦

30 January 2024 — : Lay down for a few moments … and woke an hour later! Missing out on this glorious hot and sunny day.

29 January 2024 — : A fairly good read, though it didn't utterly grip me — Lest We Forgive (DS Liz Moorland. Major Crimes. Book 1) by Phillipa Nefri Clark. 📚 While Liz’s hands are full chasing an escaped criminal, Vince … pieces together a compelling theory …

29 January 2024 — : There were so many birds at the estuary this morning. I went for photos of groups. No chance of photos of the flock of Dotterels — they were too speedy. 🐦 Godwits and Pied Stilts. Terns. Gulls, royal spoonbill, shags.

28 January 2024 — : Deb made this wonderful Chicken Barley Soup (Soupe Jo) for dinner. Definitely one to have again.

28 January 2024 — : Still haven't regained my energy after testing clear of Covid over a week ago. Today I took recycling bins up to the road and spent half an hour doing random weeding and light garden chores. That took so much out of me I ended up in bed fast asleep …

27 January 2024 — : I finished Star Trek: Prodigy, and enjoyed it. I was a bit lukewarm for the first half dozen episodes but then it found its feet and eventually became quite gripping, with a very satisfying conclusion. Favourite episode was when they found the planet …

27 January 2024 — : I didn't quite gel with Fall (Detective Harriet Foster Book 2) by Tracy Clark at first, but the book did grow on me. The political intrigue aspect just isn't my big interest. 📚 a twisted journey into the underbelly of Chicago as Harriet and her team …

26 January 2024 — : The Tea Masterclass has been fascinating. The episode I watched today particularly so: Global Tea History: Ancient Origins To Today's Tea Renaissance which took us from 2737 BC to present day. From boil water notices to replacing alcohol with tea to …

26 January 2024 — Earthquakes and me and you : I've lived most of my life in Aotearoa — that's 60+ years. And in this country we get earthquakes. They're frequent. Mostly we don't even know they've happened because they're too small or too far away to notice. Geonet records about 20,000 …

26 January 2024 — : Yesterday I sent out a community newsletter that also contained a clearly labelled opinion piece. I received two responses — one a thank you with a query about birds. The other from an abusive bully. Screenshot shows one line … I found …

25 January 2024 — : Shaken awake at 0318 by a 5.2 quake. 〰️

24 January 2024 — : I had only 2 minutes at the lake this afternoon. How lucky to spot a Matuku moana | White-faced heron, Ngutupapa | Royal Spoonbill, heaps of birds including black swans, and my favourite Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. 🐦

23 January 2024 — : Look who's hanging out on our bathroom window today: this stick insect (about 10 cm long — 4 inches).

23 January 2024 — : Friends, here's an ebook bundle to sit back and enjoy. I love these books. The Complete Ellie Tappet Box Set Cruise Ship Mystery Bundle by Cheri Baker 📚: Set sail for friendship and fun with Ellie Tappet, the crime-solving grandma readers can't stop …

23 January 2024 — : Five climate lessons from Māori communities (that are guaranteed not to depress you) | The Spinoff: you’ll often hear the phrase “climate change is going to hit indigenous communities first and worst”. Invariably, it isn’t Māori saying it. That’s …

23 January 2024 — : Hey crossword-loving people, I use Daniel Jalkut's fantastic Black Ink app to do crosswords every single day on my Mac. If you're more an iOS person then take a look at the new Black Ink for iOS: Like its Mac counterpart, core features are free to …

22 January 2024 — : A somewhat amusing read, poking gentle fun. The Dinner Lady Detectives: A charming British village cosy mystery by Hannah Hendy. 📚 Margery and Clementine are enjoying a peaceful middle-age together … eagerly awaiting retirement from their work …

22 January 2024 — : How an unknown app helped mobilise 10,000 people at Tūrangawaewae | The Spinoff: An efficiently organised pōwhiri saw 10,000 guests through the gates of Tūrangawaewae within half an hour for hui aa motu … How did thousands of people even …

21 January 2024 — : I was told about this kudos for my work with Waikawa News, but now have seen it for myself (PDF). Miraz Xan Tha is my Facebook screen name. Screenshot of thanks. We would also like to acknowledge the work of Miraz Xan Tha and Charlie Strivens in …

21 January 2024 — : Back on 01 January 2024 I thought my word for this year would be surprise. Well, with Deb's gallbladder op, our travel delays, and both of us catching Covid, I don't feel that's worked out too well so far. Deb has suggested a better word: …

21 January 2024 — : Such impressive wings on this critter I found on the washing line this morning.

21 January 2024 — : Ten memorable quotes from te hui aa motu | The Spinoff [held Saturday 20 January 2024]: Te hui aa motu was a monumental moment in the history of Aotearoa. Not since the foreshore and seabed protests in 2004 have Māori and their allies come together …

20 January 2024 — : I was hooked from the first with Blood on the Tracks (Sydney Rose Parnell Book 1) by Barbara Nickless. Such a riveting read, and I've immediately bought the next. 📚 Excellent writing, with some turns of phrase I noted for the way they hit home. …

20 January 2024 — : Country life: sitting in bed of a rainy Saturday, reading and wondering what the weird noise was. Glanced out the window to see a horse, no saddle or bridle, galloping away down our lane. Flurries of activity … the owners put a notice on the …

19 January 2024 — : Deb and I managed a slow 25 minute walk on the beach. We encountered 1 angry Pied Stilt who, surprisingly, did not dive-bomb us, and two angry Oystercatchers who complained loudly. No humans, angry or otherwise.

19 January 2024 — : Disappointed to do another Covid test this morning and find I'm still positive. I'm feeling better, though still tired and with very low energy. Definitely missing going to the beach. 🦠

18 January 2024 — : I read The Nugent Case (Mine for the Taking Book 1) by Torie Raben when I was in a bit of a daze, I think. More spy story than detective. It was OK, but I won't bother with more in the series. 📚

17 January 2024 — : With The Arc (DCI Ellie McVey series Book 1) by J.A. Rainbow I realised: I watch without complaint TV shows that are equally vague and 'unrealistic' about police investigations. I could also overlook the crime / mystery aspect and just see it as a …

17 January 2024 — : A very curious thing about those 8 DL Keur books I read. The author was a stickler for using the ® symbol after certain names, like Stetson and Kevlar. I've never ever seen an author do that before and it jarred every single time.

17 January 2024 — : I nearly stopped reading Deadly Bond (Kate Kinsella Mysteries Book 5) by Christine Green but returned to it in the end. 📚 I won't read others in the series. Sometimes the author has turns of phrase that appeal. My nostalgia, like an orgasm, didn't …

16 January 2024 — : Welcoming nightfall. At our friends place in Whangārei.

16 January 2024 — : I thoroughly enjoyed the The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries, as I mentioned already. Dead Falls (Book 5); Troubled Pursuit (Book 6); Game Trail (Book 7); Cold Scent (Book 8) did not disappoint in the least and in fact very pleasingly developed the …

16 January 2024 — : I'd read one of the other Daph books so knew what I was in for with this light and fluffy read. Daph On The Beach by Phillipa Nefri Clark was a little bit of candy floss. 📚

15 January 2024 — : I never know which mountain is which, in the central North Island. When we flew home the other day we had this outstanding view of Tongariro / Ngauruhoe / Ruapehu.

15 January 2024 — : Deb spotted a stoat running past the quail run just before I went to feed Fliss, the Japanese Quail. I think it must have bitten her through the wire. RIP Fliss. 🐦 That's truly the last of our pets. Fliss, aged 5 years in December 2023.

14 January 2024 — : Three features of today in Covid-land: Deb, now somewhat better, is looking after me superbly. While still quite unwell, I've struck the 'better' side of the curve. I've consumed and enjoyed about 200 mls of delicious mushroom soup.

13 January 2024 — : To all my many Micro.Blog pals who have wished Deb and me well with our current Covid+ status: thank you. Deb is getting better. I'm now in that phase of feeling miserable and sleeping a great deal. More than I can manage to name everyone just now. 🥴 …

13 January 2024 — : Amazing, my 6th anniversary at Micro.Blog. A wonderful community. Thanks everyone who created it and makes it so. I try to post here at least once each day.

12 January 2024 — : Once Deb was positive for Covid, it was inevitable that I would follow. Confirmed today. At least we managed, well-masked, to get home. 🦠 I don't feel too bad: tired, headache, slightly scratchy throat.

12 January 2024 — : I’m over airports. Glad to be nearly home though. 1.25 hour flight then an hour drive. 🤞🏼

11 January 2024 — : The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries (8 book series) has been so engrossing I've read the first 4 without writing about them 🐶 : A series about … a woman who, after having trained as a CSI, has fled a career in law enforcement, only to find …

11 January 2024 — : On 11 January 2023 I wrote about my M1 MacBook Pro: 2 years on and battery life is still phenomenal. You know what? Add another 12 months and battery life is still phenomenal. It just goes all day.

10 January 2024 — : So… given Deb’s positive Covid test, we’re extending our stay with our friends in Whangārei rather than flying home. This trip is full of surprises. 😵‍💫

10 January 2024 — : Today we reverse our trip and fly Whangārei to Auckland then on to Palmerston North, then drive home. Given Deb’s unwell, I’m hoping this will be a lot smoother than our trip north. No delayed planes… 🤞🏼🛩️

09 January 2024 — : Spotted this Ngungutawa | Sand Scarab larva (Pericoptus truncatus) on the beach track the other day.

09 January 2024 — : The Rolling Ball Clock in Whangārei is pretty special. Poor photo I'm afraid and I only had a moment to watch it work. Balls are released onto a wire track at precise intervals to accumulate in spots that tell the time. The sculpture features …

08 January 2024 — : Went out to lunch at Aqua Restaurant & Bar, based in the amazing Hundertwasser Centre in Whangārei Basin. The meal was delicious. Imaginatively tiled ramp up to the entrance. Part of the building from nearby. One wall inside. In the bathroom.

08 January 2024 — : Our friends have several tanks with tropical fish. This one is called a Discus.

07 January 2024 — : Here I am with my other new BFF — a black Malinois called Rush. 🐶

07 January 2024 — : This is my new friend Boo, a German Spitz Mittel, keeping an eye on the world. 🐶 This shot was made with an unusual camera: the front camera on my M1 MacBook Pro, using Photo Booth.

06 January 2024 — : We made it to Whangārei in the end. Whew. Much earlier in the day we flew past Taranaki maunga.

06 January 2024 — : We missed that connecting flight to Whangārei by 2 minutes — the doors closed as we walked into the terminal. 7 of us (random strangers) on the same flight. Now we get to spend 7.5 hours hanging around in Auckland Airport Domestic terminal …

06 January 2024 — : Left home at 4.30 am. Drove through fog to the airport. Boarded the plane. Sat for half an hour. Debarked. Had breakfast at the cafe. Hoping to reach Auckland in time for our connecting flight to Whangārei. 🛫

05 January 2024 — : Spotted on the beach today, a Taranui | Caspian tern: Although widespread now, Caspian terns remain uncommon in New Zealand, with around 1300-1400 breeding pairs estimated.

05 January 2024 — : Wellington asks for government funding for new bird 'super sanctuary': The Puketaha fenced eco-sanctuary would be built in Wainuiomata on 3000 hectares of native bush. … once the area is predator-fenced and pests eradicated, it could provide …

05 January 2024 — : Weird: I've used Keyboard Maestro for one or two decades now and it's never occurred to me before to use the Clipboard History Switcher with its nearly 200 items. I've always used some other app — currently ClipTools which I'm very happy with, …

04 January 2024 — : Today a baby Oystercatcher walked past really close to me. What a sweetie! 🐦

03 January 2024 — : With its mottled brown back and head this is definitely a baby Pied Stilt. 🐦

03 January 2024 — : Caught the baby oystercatchers yesterday dashing about. 🐦 (This should be an animated gif.) For users of Acorn app: Open image, then File - Add Images … . Arrange layers to suit. Then File - Export - Web and other - Animated Gif.

02 January 2024 — : Sometimes our neighbours would call and point out Oshi was down at their place (he'd escaped). Today their dog Willow decided it was her turn to make an unannounced visit, to us. Apparently there was too much going on next door, with visitors. 😀 🐶

02 January 2024 — : Those baby Oystercatchers are growing! 🐦

01 January 2024 — : Since I have a tradition of posting a selfie on New Year's Day, here's 01 January 2024. See also 2023, 2022 and 2021.

01 January 2024 — : The Oystercatcher chicks are getting so grown up. Here's one with its parent. 🐦

01 January 2024 — : Hmmm, my 2024 smart photo album seems to be empty. Better put that right. 🤣

01 January 2024 — : Surprise 🌈 I read a few Micro.Blog posts where people mentioned their word of the year and thought: Oh, I don't have one this year. Then I saw @clifffordbesher's post and photo about wandering off the road: Let the wind and sand shift new patterns …

01 January 2024 — : Good morning and welcome to 2024! I was up at 2.30 am to shut my bedroom window against a blustery southerly that came up and woke me. Not quite the start I'd hoped for but it did allow for a couple of cups of my favourite green tea: Himalayan …

31 December 2023 — : I cooked a variation of Spring vegetable broth with shredded chicken for dinner and it was delicious (and healthy). I used cannellini beans, broccoli and bok choy because I couldn't get borlotti beans, asparagus or spring greens. I also varied …

31 December 2023 — : Road to Copper Hollow (Mining For Justice Book 1) by Katie Trapp was heavier on relationships than on plot, but as the lead characters were lesbians I didn't mind too much. Very quirky language — perhaps typical for the part of the US setting? …

31 December 2023 — : I quickly abandoned The Complete Maxie Reddick Mysteries Books 1–3 box set by Helen Bridgett. 🐦 I really didn't like the lead character — she was just 'off' and I felt uncomfortable with her methods.

31 December 2023 — : I quite enjoyed reading the 5 books in Charlotte Dean Mysteries eBook Bundle by Phillipa Nefri Clark. 🐦 You'd barely know the books are set in Australia, but the good characters are amenable, the bad characters rotten. Some things are a little too …

31 December 2023 — : I unsubbed from something and really don't like the message on the confirmation page. Seems hostile to me …

31 December 2023 — : I don't usually go in for yearly roundup posts but there were a lot of Special Moments in 2023.

31 December 2023 — Special Moments from 2023 : I don't usually go in for yearly roundup posts but there were a lot of Special Moments in 2023. I did a bunch of stuff on behalf of the community, spent a lot of time taking photos of and learning about birds, bought some new gear that has proved …

30 December 2023 — : If you're a human being who does like dogs this will be the best 8.5 minutes of your year: We Rate Dogs: The Dogs of 2023 (Facebook). 🐶

29 December 2023 — : Françoise Bettencourt Meyer: L'Oréal heiress first woman to amass $100bn fortune: The net worth of Ms Bettencourt Meyers … crossed $100bn on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making her the 12th richest person in the world. I can't even begin …

29 December 2023 — : Hah! Apple Photos just gave me a new 2023 Year in Review Memory. More than 95% of the photos are birds! Fantastic. 🐦 This was useful: Export photos, videos, slideshows and memories in Photos on Mac - Apple Support (NZ). Some random annoying music is …

29 December 2023 — : Well well well, for the first time since I bought my M1 MacBook Pro in January 2021 I was able to successfully use Apple Pay to make an online purchase. Hurrah! Must figure out how to use Apple Pay out in the world too. I guess it could be quite …

28 December 2023 — : Such a gorgeous summer morning with the dawn chorus, a hazy full moon setting in the west, Venus rising in the east behind pink-tinged cloud. 🐦 Your browser does not support the audio tag.

28 December 2023 — : The Matuku-hūrepo | Australasian Bittern is an extremely rare and endangered bird, but one sometimes turns up in these parts. Last night a large dark bird startled beside the road and flew off. In those few seconds I didn't see what it was, but …

27 December 2023 — : Thanks to my many Micro.Blog pals who sent good wishes for my partner Deb's gallbladder surgery. Five days after first rolling up at the Emergency Department she's finally had the gallbladder out and is now sleeping off the anaesthetic. All seems …

27 December 2023 — : Uh oh. Arrived at Deb's hospital room at 9 am and it seems she's been abducted by aliens. Awaiting the ransom demand!

26 December 2023 — : After 5 days sitting beside a hospital bed (still no op for Deb) I'm missing the beach and the bird babies. This afternoon I came home early. This little Oystercatcher chick was sticking close to mum. 🐦

26 December 2023 — : It's still dark so this photo is from a week ago. Fliss the Japanese quail turns 5 today. What a survivor. Her sister died a year ago. Fliss is still going strong! Occasionally she even lets me 'pat' her. 🐦 Baby Fliss. Fliss, still going strong 5 …

25 December 2023 — : Oh, OK, Netflix — is there something I can watch? Oooh, Star Trek: Prodigy — at last!

25 December 2023 — : Seeing a fair bit of this view these days as Deb waits for gallbladder removal surgery. Could be worse.

25 December 2023 — : Poster in the Womens Surgical Assessment Unit at Palmerston North Hospital. 😀

24 December 2023 — : A bit of Christmas in the Women’s Assessment Surgical Unit at Palmerston North hospital where Deb is awaiting a gallbladder removal operation.

24 December 2023 — : Turns out the wee 3 in 1 Foldable Wireless Charging Dock I bought myself a few months ago is invaluable for Deb in hospital. I've just taken advantage of a Boxing Day Sale (yes, on 24 December) to buy another.

23 December 2023 — : Deb's gall bladder removal was supposed to be today: first at 11 am then shunted to 5 pm. After 5 the nurse came in and said it wouldn't be today, but might be tomorrow. Deb was very relieved to be able to have a cup of tea at last. Painkillers and …

23 December 2023 — : Keeping Deb company as she waits for the op to have her gallbladder removed. This dog poster is good for a smile.

23 December 2023 — : How cool is this! People using mobile devices with low data but needing info from a load of different Government websites (health, benefits, etc etc) can visit a special site to get access at no cost to their data.

22 December 2023 — : An off-duty ultrasound machine at Palmerston North Hospital. The operator was amazing, looking at what I saw as some kind of blurry moonscape and knowing exactly what was what. There's the gallstone and That's the liver …. Respect!

22 December 2023 — : When we left the house at 07.30 after Deb suffered a night of probably gallbladder pain, I didn't really expect to still be sitting in Palmerston North Emergency Department at 4.30 pm waiting for a bed to free up so Deb can be admitted. With any luck …

21 December 2023 — : Another Oystercatcher baby! 🐦

20 December 2023 — : So pleased (and relieved) to see a Ngutupapa | Royal Spoonbill in the estuary again (at last). I hope more turn up soon. 🐦

20 December 2023 — : Not very happy with an invoice I received. Back in October we had a charger installed for our new EV. There were glitches and I was advised there would be extra costs. OK. We received a poorly worded invoice that we paid. Now there's another invoice …

20 December 2023 — : I find this just gobsmacking! I don't even know what to say … It's part awe, part disgust. It represents almost $50 per person in Aotearoa! The 80-metre superyacht Artefact, owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, arrives in the …

19 December 2023 — : Needed to renew the firstbite domain name I've had for ~25 years. Renewing several years at a time saves money. I thought about going with 10 years. In the end I went with 2 years, renewing 2 other domains at the same time. But, here's the thing: at …

19 December 2023 — : We had plenty of warning of today's scheduled 90 minute power outage, including Tips such as making a cuppa beforehand. I made a note for myself in my Daily List. Guess who still forgot and now wants a cuppa more than anything! Pronto! Stat! 39 …

19 December 2023 — : Not my usual bird photo: man and dog line fishing off the beach.

18 December 2023 — : The 74 page Shadow Of Temptation: A Prequel To Margot Harris Mystery Series by Nora Kane didn't inspire me to go on and read more of the series. It was simplistic and the female cop being 'tough' by pulling out her gun just didn't work for me. 📚

18 December 2023 — : The 96 page Goodbye Elora Inn (A DC Holly Towns Mystery Novella) (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 8) by Anne Shillolo was a quick and easy read. Not a specially complex plot: someone's murdered in a remote and snowed in Inn. Investigation takes place …

17 December 2023 — : Today's success: 3 oystercatcher chicks and both parents. 🐦

17 December 2023 — : I may have a link in MarkDown but need it in HTML, or even the Other Markdown that Dokuwiki uses. I now have a couple of Keyboard Maestro macros that Search and Replace the System Clipboard Using Regular Expression and then paste the result. For …

17 December 2023 — : Loving the Audio Hijack Transcribe feature: watching a 3 minute instructional video about focus on my Fuji X-T5 and I could keep a written copy of what the instructor said. Now to implement the settings.

17 December 2023 — A thump, then silence — a helicopter crash nearby in August 2017 : At about 1 pm on 24 August 2017 I took my lunch onto the deck here at Waikawa Beach and glanced over my shoulder at a helicopter buzzing round in the low-fly training zone nearby. Then I returned my attention to my meal. Moments later I heard a very …

16 December 2023 — : Our new government, so smart! Minister pulls brakes on cycling and walking initatives: Simeon Brown said he told the New Zealand Transport Authority (Waka Kotahi) to halt work on cycling and walking initiatives … [and] the cycling and walking …

16 December 2023 — : The drizzle stopped. We hardly ever get a Mackerel sky like this.

16 December 2023 — : Well, that was fun — Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget where the chickens had to break in to a chicken farm, rather than out of it. Very ingenious, some good laughs.

16 December 2023 — : Woohoo, it's a cool and drizzly day, so great for staying in and relaxing. I made delicious mushroom soup for lunch. Now I plan to settle down with Netflix and watch Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. 🐔 🎥

16 December 2023 — : A couple of days ago this Tara | White-fronted Tern was hanging out with a pal at the beach. 🐦

15 December 2023 — : I just can't get enough of the tiny Oystercatcher chicks. 'Caught' one today. 🐦

14 December 2023 — : Two months after requesting signs, finally they were installed today. Now the birds seem to have stopped nesting and are busy rearing their chicks in a slightly different spot … Anyway, maybe some people will see the signs and stay clear. 🐦

14 December 2023 — : It's been some time since I last went non-grocery 'shopping'. Between times I manage to forget how much I absolutely hate 'shopping'. 5 minutes in the first shop reminded me. Ugh. Returned home empty handed. Ate a mediocre Bibimbap Don at the …

14 December 2023 — : Sitting at the beach in the sunshine, waiting for the fellow to arrive to put up the Birds Nesting warning signs. Now that most of the birds eggs have hatched! 🤣 Life could be a lot worse…

14 December 2023 — : These Matuku moana | White-faced heron were down at the lake yesterday. 🐦 This post was originally scheduled, appeared in RSS and on the blog, but not on the timeline.

13 December 2023 — : Wow, watch the first 90 seconds of the Maiden Speech of NZ's youngest Member of Parliament Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, an amazing wahine Māori. She is 21. Support from the Gallery out of shot.

13 December 2023 — : Previously I've been using Aperture Priority for my bird photos. Today I tried Shutter Speed priority. This morning I could see only 1 Oystercatcher chick — perhaps it was from a different pair … The slight blur is a tape between posts in …

13 December 2023 — : Another rare book-on-paper purchase this year: the delightful Critters of Aotearoa by Nicola Toki and Lily Duval. 📚 50 Bizarre But Lovable Members of Our Wildlife Community It's written with humour for people of all ages, including kids. An easy and …

13 December 2023 — : Late evening yesterday and the light was on the highest peaks of the Tararuas, where I could just discern the faintest dusting of snow.

12 December 2023 — : There is a railing on the deck beside a large area of glass on the east side of our house. It's popular with birds. I feel sometimes like a zoo exhibit. Today I think an adult Warou | Welcome swallow was showing me to her baby. 🐦 Adult swallow …

12 December 2023 — : One of the Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher pairs has managed to produce two chicks. Made my day to see them! 🐦

12 December 2023 — : It's the time of year when the Spinifex develops spiky seed heads. Soon they will separate from the plant and the wind will blow them to a new place where they can grow a new plant. Spinifex builds up the beach like nothing else.

11 December 2023 — : I always enjoy books by Joy Ellis, so on a day where I felt slightly unwell and stayed in bed all day this was an engaging read: The Bag of Secrets (Detective Matt Ballard Mystery Book 6). I like that the two private investigators gather a whole …

11 December 2023 — : The helicopter moved on to spraying the lupins right beside our house.

11 December 2023 — : Came home from errands to find spraying by helicopter going on just behind us.

10 December 2023 — : Yesterday was the day to maintain our UV drinking water filtration and sterilisation system. It's an annual job. I replace the lamp and the filters, coarse and fine, that take sediment out of the water. They do a good job too.

09 December 2023 — : A month ago I had a blurry photo of two Warou | Welcome swallow eggs in a nest above the zendo door. Today's photos are of two Swallow babies in the nest. A bit hard to see but look closely. 🐦 The location's so tight I just can't get photos from any …

09 December 2023 — : I wanted some fun socks. Thanks to Bamboozld I now have some in bamboo: Naturally eco-friendly, antibacterial, breathable and luxuriously soft …

09 December 2023 — : Abandoned: Body Count (FBI-K9 Series Book 2) by Jodi Burnett. Although it was obvious in the description I failed to notice it's a heterosexual romance involving a somewhat creepy guy who'll probably end up using emotional abuse to control his love …

09 December 2023 — : I've been so focused on other birds recently I've ignored the little Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. They're such cuties! 🐦

08 December 2023 — : There's something about this series that I just love. Maybe it's the very ordinary people: Bea and Ant, checkout operator and trolley guy. The Missing Red Carpet Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 4) by Rachel Ward. 📚 A royal visit, a missing …

07 December 2023 — : I think this little waxeye on the deck railing (and through the window) might have been a juvenile. 🐦

07 December 2023 — : Those baby stilts weren't visible today, but I paced out where they were yesterday and it was 65 to 130 metres from my possie. Meanwhile today I concentrated on the adults divebombing me while I looked for their kids. Their fury is continuous! 🐦

06 December 2023 — : Baxter K9 Hero by Jodi Burnett was a freebie for joining the author's mailing list. It's a prequel to a series which is probably why it was a simple and straightforward story of searching for a missing girl. Nothing too complicated. 📚 I've bought …

06 December 2023 — : I enjoy this series, so Someone Murderous at The Midnight Motel (The Accidental Detective Book 5) by Kris Bock was a good read. 📚 when Kate’s hot flashes wake her in the middle of the night, she wanders outside to cool off and stumbles over a dead …

06 December 2023 — : Hmmm, given: Among the early tasks of the new, three-handled broom of government is giving primacy to English names (What is ‘NZTA’? A user’s guide to the new, English names) they should start referring to themselves as the ealdordōm, a good English …

06 December 2023 — : Pleased to see this brief video online — Maori MP performs haka before swearing oath to King: New Zealand politician Rawiri Waititi … and five other parliamentarians chose to first pledge allegiance to their grandchildren, to young …

06 December 2023 — : In my quest for better photos of Pied Stilt chicks I was at the beach for a windless, cool dawn. Alas, I'm still not up to the task of good photos of teeny tiny sand coloured birds at a great distance. However, I really like this shot of an adult …

05 December 2023 — : Well, we seem to have our first chicks of the season: a couple of tiny Poaka | Pied Stilt. Photos are a bit fuzzy, thanks to the heat haze, I'm afraid. 🐦 Two chicks on the bank, with swallows swooping around.

05 December 2023 — : Tuned in part way through the Swearing-in Ceremony for our new Parliament. Pleased to hear some swearing their oath in Māori and sometimes another non-English language. All are being Signed, of course. Parliament On Demand. There are some English …

05 December 2023 — : I broke my rule today and am now paying the consequences. Walked Willow the dog to the beach and saw through binoculars two tiny fluffy Pied Stilt chicks. Did I have my camera with me (the rule)? No! Do I have photos? No … 😭 👿 Went back later …

05 December 2023 — : Occasionally things about words get my goat, though in general I like to be positive about language change. Who the heck thought up the word carkoi⁉️⁉️ It jams together English car with Māori hikoi (march, walk). May this die a quick and sudden …

05 December 2023 — : As the new government try to wind NZ back on many measures — climate and things Māori in particular — it's good to remind ourselves of the basis of this country: Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Hooray for RadioNZ keeping that foremost with: tangata …

05 December 2023 — : So fantastic to see protests on the opening day of Parliament led by our new racist, colonialist government of National, ACT and NZ First. Protests led by The Māori Party who have 6 of the 122 seats. Te Pāti Māori protests - Day of action focuses on …

04 December 2023 — : I emailed the Bird Banding office about this photo and they replied: The details that we hold for this bird: Northern New Zealand Dotterel, Tūturiwhatu Metal band number: DP-10352 (left tibia) Other markings: Coloured band – Yellow (right tibia) …

03 December 2023 — : We went to brunch at Field and Green in Wellington yesterday with a group of friends, most of whom we've known for decades. I enjoyed a Wilfred's Spritz mocktail and French toast brioche, banana, honeycomb butter and bacon.

02 December 2023 — : Those Glossy ibis photos I took during the week … These are the images I kept in the end. A sliver of late sunlight helped. 🐦

02 December 2023 — : It’s 0330 and I’ve drunk the cup of tea I just made. After hours of restless sleep with odd and annoying dreams I’ve given up. Lovely quiet morning though. I can hear the sea if I listen carefully. Too early for birds…

01 December 2023 — : Incredibly dumb, wasteful and offensive policy from the new government of Aotearoa — The uncertainty around how much it would cost to rebrand government departments : the Government’s NZ First coalition agreement vowed to “ensure all public service …

01 December 2023 — : I rarely buy books on paper, but the first couple of pages of Sylvia and the Birds: How The Bird Lady saved thousands of birds and how you can too by Johanna Emeney and Sarah Laing had me hooked. 📚 This gorgeous NZ book is: Part graphic biography, …

01 December 2023 — : Another darn good read — Murder At Arrow Pass (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 2) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 A catastrophic pileup on the treacherous winter highway through Arrow Pass draws Inspector Casgrain and her team into a web of violence that …

01 December 2023 — : Absolutely fascinating 20 minute interview — Does biology trump free will?: If [testosterone hormones] were higher than average for you this morning and you're looking at a face with a neutral expression, you are now significantly more likely …

30 November 2023 — : Poaka | Pied Stilt are very aggressive when it comes to defending a nest, and they seem to have a 100 metre radius for action. 🐦 Pied Stilts are streamlined rockets in flight. When they want to warn you off they fly straight at your head and swerve …

30 November 2023 — : Today Golden Turtle oolong tea is perfectly suiting my mood. Very delicious. Definitely smooth and velvety. I only bought a sample pack; now ordering more.

30 November 2023 — : Ecosia search engine now has an AI Chat feature. Gave it a whirl with this search: mac os terminal command disable Game Mode and lookee here: To disable Game Mode in macOS, you can use the following terminal command: defaults write …

30 November 2023 — : Game Mode while doing jigsaws was driving me nuts! Then I found Use Game Mode on Mac. From the Game Mode menu in the menu bar, choose Turn Game Mode Off. It remains off for that game until you turn it on again — even if you quit and reopen the …

29 November 2023 — : Tonight the light was better and I got smarter with camera settings so the Glossy ibis photos actually worked out. 🐦 Last night's photos were disappointing. Here's just one for the moment.

29 November 2023 — : When I made Crusty French Bread Rolls today I think I should have put the dough in a bigger bowl to rise. 🤣 The finished rolls? Not bad …

29 November 2023 — : Better photos from last evening were this Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler pair with chicks and Canada Goose with chicks. 🐦 Unfortunately Canada Geese are a bit of a pest species round here. They certainly make a racket. There are loads of them …

29 November 2023 — : Close to sunset yesterday a neighbour invited me to the wetland on their property where a very rare visitor was feeding: a Glossy ibis. Bit disappointed with my photos … It was really windy, so the video is quite shaky. 🐦 Oops! Nearly missed …

29 November 2023 — : Yesterday's seal that wasn't reminded me of this horse thrashing through a rough sea in June 2016. Also just driftwood, but oh-so-realistic!

28 November 2023 — : When I rounded the corner on the track to the beach and glimpsed this shape at a distance, I thought it was a seal on the move … But no, it turned out to be driftwood.

28 November 2023 — : Heyyyy, check out the ring! Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher

27 November 2023 — : Up in Smoke (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 6) by Charlene Weir just didn't really gel for me — I even skimmed several (rather irrelevant) chapters rather than reading them. A couple of characters with very dark back stories, endless political …

27 November 2023 — : Waking a sleeping language – our plan to revive the speaking of ta rē Moriori: Moriori's closest linguistic relative is te reo Māori, with many grammatical and lexical similarities. But there are also significant differences. For example, Moriori has …

26 November 2023 — : When it's a good summer it gets way too hot in the tunnelhouse. Today we installed shadecloth over the internal framing. The difference was immediately noticeable. It's loosely hung and can be used like a curtain — pulled to one side if needed. …

26 November 2023 — : Yesterday, reading some of the things our new right-wing government plan to do, I felt angry. I didn't relish the prospect of feeling angry for the next 3 years. However Stoicism reminds me I can't control what the government do. I can control how I …

26 November 2023 — : Went to a community get-together yesterday afternoon where I drank 2 small glasses of no-brand lemonade. Came home, ate dinner and basically then crashed out and slept to 5 am. Today I have a headache. 😵‍💫 No more fizzy drinks for me. Moving from …

24 November 2023 — : Mummies was quite a fun movie. Lightweight, not meaningful. The film follows three mummies from the underworld who … end up in present-day London in search of an old ring belonging to an Ancient Egyptian Royal Family that was stolen from a …

24 November 2023 — : Whew, with NCIS Sydney S01E03 they've finally got over themselves. Instead of cringeworthy "Hey hey hey, we're in Australia where they talk funny and have venomous / poisonous / weird wildlife" we finally have a plot with an actual storyline and …

24 November 2023 — : I knew the conservatives with their awful ideas won the recent election, so why did I torture myself reading details of their awfulness now the 3 parties have actually signed off on their Coalition of Awfulness? ! Bah!

24 November 2023 — : Too many photos! 🤣 I tried Pre-shot ES on the X-T5. 📷 This adds photos to a buffer if the shutter is pressed halfway then stores them on taking the shot. It requires high-speed burst mode and electronic shutter. I came home with 511 photos @ about 20 …

23 November 2023 — : This sparrow sized bird didn't look quite right to be a Banded Dotterel. On checking I found they were actually Black-fronted dotterel. See more photos at A new bird joins the estuary crew: a Black-fronted Dotterel. They run around so fast and …

23 November 2023 — : I was concerned 2 years ago when I bought my M1 MacBook Pro that 8GB RAM wouldn't be enough. It's been no problem at all, until today, importing 511 photos @ 20MB each (10 GB). No biggie: I just quit a bunch of apps that didn't strictly need to be …

23 November 2023 — : Every single thing about this 9 minute video is astonishing — J.S. Bach : Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 / Liene Andreta Kalnciema live at Riga Cathedral 🎶: that Bach could conceive of and write such music the organist's skill and …

23 November 2023 — : A long read, worth every second — Goodbye, Kim Hill: a day with the doyenne of NZ radio: Unlike most, she asks questions to which she does not know the answer. “A lot of the time I genuinely don’t understand things I think other people do,” she …

23 November 2023 — : First BEV fail: for some reason the car didn't charge overnight, leaving not enough juice for Deb to drive to Wellington and back for work. A long busy day makes it impractical for her to charge during the day. The petrol car is on its way to work …

23 November 2023 — : I've been wanting to grab a photo of a Pahirini | Chaffinch for a while now. Finally one flew in while I was waving my camera around learning about settings. 🐦

22 November 2023 — : I've enjoyed previous books in this series by Alice Bienia, and this was another engrossing read: Knight In The Museum (A Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Book 5). 📚 When the daughter of a former police officer asks Jorja to look into her …

22 November 2023 — : Yumm. Just like the last time I made them (a year ago, thanks On This Day): Lemon Butter Biscuits. So delish!

22 November 2023 — : Oliver's input into the competiton ruffled a few feathers, but saw donations to organiser Forest and Bird soar. Boosted by the publicity, the conservation organisation received $600,000 in donations associated with its Bird of the Year competition - …

22 November 2023 — : Surprise! … 😼 A new review of archaeological evidence and human physiology strongly suggests that modern gender roles have colored our reconstructions of the distant past. Source: One of The Biggest Hunter-Gatherers Myths Is Finally Getting …

21 November 2023 — : I set a couple (literally) of settings on the new X-T5 and went out to experiment. Focus was set for bird recognition. I'm thrilled with these shots. 🐦 📷 Pied stilt in flight. NZ Dotterel. Oystercatcher on nest. Marvellous colours of the sea …

21 November 2023 — : Today: ring shop to check my trip won't be wasted. Drive from home to Waikanae (30 mins), train to Wellington (1 hour), walk to shop (25 mins). Exchange trade-in Fuji X-T2 camera + $$$ for Fuji X-T5 camera. Lunch nearby. Do the reverse trip. All up: …

21 November 2023 — : Whew. The 12 year olds have left the train. The sound level has dropped from maybe 100 decibels to close to zero! Great kids though. Chatty but well behaved.

21 November 2023 — : The train I’m on is chock full of schoolkids who raised funds for this trip to the swimming pools in Porirua. The teacher is requiring kids to stand so adults can sit. 😎

21 November 2023 — : I love language(s), words, pronunciations, so this 27 minute video Out of date dictionaries–with native speakers from UK/USA/Australia! was utterly fascinating and fun. Some of my own pronunciations are very old-fashioned! But then, I'm 68, so what …

20 November 2023 — : Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole is a delicious dish. I've made it twice now — the second time with a bit less salt. I use Smoked Paprika for extra yum. Be warned that prep time is way more than the claimed 10 minutes. Instead of monterey jack …

20 November 2023 — : If any of my Wellington / Kāpiti / Horowhenua pals need a good Massage​ Therapist, then Natalie Waddell from Functional Bodyworks in Paraparaumu just can't be beat. She is so good, and the 2 people I've put onto her so far strongly agree.

20 November 2023 — : Where do recipe writers get their Prep times from? I reckon they must roll the dice. 10 minutes, pah! More like 40!

20 November 2023 — : Good words today from 12 graphs that show New Zealand isn’t doing as badly as you think | The Spinoff: There are many reasons not to be cheerful, especially where the climate is concerned. Yet this attitude can blind us to all the things that are …

19 November 2023 — : I made a loaf of Classic white crusty bread today. It was OK but not fantastic — the dried yeast was a bit old and it's so hard to find a warm enough place in the house for the dough to rise. I guess practice will make perfect.

19 November 2023 — : The way you are when you're very old you're all ages at the same time. Sometimes you might feel 5 years old. You almost never feel 95 years old. Most people of that age, maybe 80% of them apparently feel about 20 years younger. Rachel McAlpine: Is …

19 November 2023 — : Turned on the radio for a minute only to think "I know that voice!" It was my good friend Rachel: Rachel McAlpine: Is life worth living after 90? | RNZ: She also walked the footpaths of Wellington asking people how they see their life unfolding at …

19 November 2023 — : There's no wind, so it's a calm day and not cold. I'm enjoying listening to actual rain on the roof. And the birds chirping, of course. We badly need this rain — 14 mm (0.55 inches) in the last 12 hours.

18 November 2023 — : We went out to dinner tonight for a change — to Hell Pizza. Yum.

18 November 2023 — : It's been a two nap kind of day, with a third possible too … 🥱🥱

17 November 2023 — : Ahhh: The Hidden Secrets of the Fn Key - TidBITS: Fn-E: Open the emoji picker

17 November 2023 — : I was surprised to realise I bought my Fujifilm X-T2 camera 5 years ago. I wanted to learn to take better photos. I believe I've achieved that, handling the camera way more confidently now and achieving better results. A Fuji X-T5 may be in my future …

16 November 2023 — : This book was distinctly odd. Maybe it's a 'thing' I don't know about, a genre I don't usually read … I just don't know. I probably won't read more in the series. 📚 The Thin Woman (The Ellie Haskell Mysteries Book 1) by Dorothy Cannell: Ellie …

16 November 2023 — : An unusual but very pleasing part of today was the affirmation I received that at least one person finds my contributions (of thoughts and ideas) in a certain area very valuable. They want to get my input from time to time on things that come up. 😊😊

15 November 2023 — : I looked for somewhere to go for a walk and decided on Horseshoe Bend Reserve at Tokomaru, about 45 minutes drive away. A pleasant little spot for a picnic or swim, it wasn't really a place for a walk. I managed to stretch things out to 25 minutes. …

14 November 2023 — : See all those low bushes covered in yellow flowers? They're lupins and I'm highly allergic to them. November can be miserable for me as the pollen stabs my brain like a thousand needles, makes my eyes, nose and mouth itch, causes sneezing. …

14 November 2023 — : Like @ptrck I too am very happy to see that The Brain Scoop is back. One of my favourite sciency video creators.

13 November 2023 — : Kansas in winter sounds brutal. I have no understanding of how anyone survives. A Cold Christmas (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 5) by Charlene Weir has some complex trails to follow, with the cold almost a character in its own right. Another in an …

13 November 2023 — : I'd missed reading this first in a series, so remedied that. The Winter Widow (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Charlene Weir explains the back story and is an enjoyable read too. 📚

13 November 2023 — : I started Blood Orchids (Paradise Crime Mysteries, Book 1) by Toby Neal but found the interpolated inner joys of a sadist disturbing. Then I realised I could skip those segments. When the two threads collided I put the book aside for a while. Now …

13 November 2023 — : When I feed my friend's chooks there's an extra scoop for the doves. 😆 🐦

12 November 2023 — : Haven't had one of these birds visit our garden before. I assume someone's pet canary found its freedom … 🐦

11 November 2023 — : It was one of those gorgeous sunsets at the beach: still, calm sea, clear sky.

11 November 2023 — : The chooks were singing themselves to sleep when I went to tuck them in at sunset. 🐦 Your browser does not support the audio tag.

11 November 2023 — : Harrisons Garden Centre is a great place for brunch on a sunny day.

11 November 2023 — : With that look I was glad to be on the other side of the wire today. 🐦

11 November 2023 — : Why has it taken so much of my life to realise that if my hands are cold I can zap a wheat pack for 60 seconds in the microwave then warm them in a minute or two? Ahhhh. 🤔

10 November 2023 — : Good morning! 🐦

09 November 2023 — : Before and after: I cut down a couple of lupin bushes that were intruding on one of the tracks to the beach. It was a gorgeous day for it.

09 November 2023 — : When my little buddy Willow came to visit today I think she just wanted a quiet time. She did enjoy the beach walk but otherwise just rested and relaxed. 🐶

08 November 2023 — : This broken blue egg I found on the ground may have belonged to a song thrush perhaps? 🐦

07 November 2023 — : Today Reggie gave me 13,000 litres of pure fresh water in exchange for $368. Where the water level in the tank was previously 162 cm from the top, it's now 50 cm from the top. With no meaningful rain likely soon, we can now relax. Fortunately we have …

07 November 2023 — : This morning I emptied our 65 litres of 'emergency' water onto plants that need it. In a few hours we'll be filling our tank with 14,000 litres of fresh water, as there just hasn't been enough rainwater to keep our tank full enough. Then I'll refill …

06 November 2023 — : I don't watch sports, in real life or on telly, so was surprised to really enjoy Nyad 🎥: Nyad is a biography of Diana Nyad, played by Annette Bening. The film describes her efforts to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Excellent movie; …

06 November 2023 — : New Zealand’s low-emission vehicle revolution is here | The Spinoff: In July 2023, a whopping 55% of New Zealand new vehicle registrations were low emission, overtaking fossil fuel registrations for the first time in NZ’s history. The trend continued …

06 November 2023 — : The centre console on our MG 4 Essence 64 does this magic thing when in Reverse or just starting off. The centre console display shows an overhead live view on the left. (The light streak is reflection from inside the car.) 🚗 I guess they use the 4 …

06 November 2023 — : This blurry photo was the best I could do: two Warou | Welcome swallow eggs in a nest above the door of Deb's zendo. 🐦 There was simply no space to get the iPhone further away. Here's the mum back on 10 October 2023.

05 November 2023 — : It's not often you get to meet a Borzoi! 🐶

05 November 2023 — : Kawau | Pied Shag flies off. 🐦

05 November 2023 — : Two Karoro | Black-backed gull. 🐦

05 November 2023 — : The Poaka | Pied Stilt are so delicate and fragile looking. 🐦

04 November 2023 — : I just love these birds — they're so cute. Weweia | New Zealand dabchick. 🐦

04 November 2023 — : I finished reading Murder: Take Two (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 4) by Charlene Weir. 📚 It was a pleasant enough read which made us familiar with the characters, but the solution was ultimately reached through an external source rather than through …

03 November 2023 — : The app for charging our new EV after an ~170 Km return trip to Wellington shows last night's charge required ~2 Kg of CO2 emissions. I found various figures for CO2 emissions for the 2016 Mazda CX-3 previously used for those commutes, but that car …

02 November 2023 — : Excellent! — Auckland Airport a sanctuary for engandered dotterel | RNZ News: Auckland Airport wildlife manager Lucy Hawley said the airport was a perfect place for the bird with high fencing around the perimeter keeping out predators. "This is …

02 November 2023 — : Not my most favourite thing, to come home and find a controlled burn-off going on only a few hundred metres away. Luckily the wind is blowing towards the fire. I think the helicopter heard in the second video just happened by. It's a lot of smoke. …

02 November 2023 — : At the lake today: duck and 6 ducklings! 😍 🐦

02 November 2023 — : We're starting to learn the fuel savings with our new MG 4 Essence 64 BEV. The commute previously would cost ~$150 per week in petrol. The 3 charges in the screenshot show that it needs about 30 kWh per charge. Actual cost is ~$5.25 per charge ($30 …

02 November 2023 — : 5.30 am. The sleepy eye of dawn starts to open. The birds sing it into being. 🐦 Listen to the birds

01 November 2023 — : I did better with the Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher, one of whom I see has been banded. 🐦

01 November 2023 — : At the beach I spotted a couple of Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel. Between lifting my fitover sunnies and getting my camera out I lost them in the glare. Thus I have my first photo: Ceci n'est pas une Dotterel. 🐦 🤣 Large bone on the beach. NZ …

31 October 2023 — : Just for kicks I drove up to the Lookout on Mt Victoria in Wellington. It reminded me of the absolute terror of driving that road — I used to drive it almost daily. Narrow — more or less one lane with cars parked, winding, loads of blind …

31 October 2023 — : Wellington and Harbour from Mt Vic Lookout. Wellington city and hills. Wellington Harbour and hills, with departing cruise ship.

31 October 2023 — : In Wellington which is so loud and where parking breaks the bank. My annual eye test was fine, though my left eye has more floaters and the small cataract has been joined by a couple of friends.

30 October 2023 — : Today's delight: two tiny ducklings on the lake. I believe these are native Tētē-moroiti | Grey teal 🐦 : Length: 42 - 44 cm; Weight: 505 g (male); 470 g (female) A small grey-brown teal with pale-edged body feathers, pale cheeks, chin and throat, …

29 October 2023 — : In 2005 they blew up and sank an old Navy ship off the south coast of Wellington to form an artificial reef. The ship was towed into place. Fireworks as the ship explodes. There she goes!

29 October 2023 — : Throwback to January 2005: cats in our Wellington garden. 🐈 My boy Ares. Olive sits in the grasses.

29 October 2023 — : We’re Searching for Our Bird of the Century 🐦: Aotearoa New Zealand’s favourite election is back, and the stakes are higher than ever before. This year marks a whole century of Forest & Bird speaking up for nature. Join us in celebrating our 100th …

29 October 2023 — : We finished watching Sex Education (TV series) and I was relieved that all the story lines were resolved without any really dark outcomes. 📺 What an excellent show! I particularly enjoyed the character development of Amy. Favourite actor / character: …

29 October 2023 — : In my dream I was leaving a part of Waikawa Beach that had nightclubs, shops, restaurants, thinking: How weird I've lived here nearly 8 years and never found this area before. The map above clarifies how tiny Waikawa Beach is. It also has zero …

28 October 2023 — : This 13 minute video: I have APHANTASIA (and you may too...without realising it!), linked by Jason Kottke: Does Your Brain Picture Things? is excellent. I also can't visualise, although I can (sort of) call up memories of photos. It's always a bit …

27 October 2023 — : Seven hours from start to finish, with 3 workers being diligent, we now have our new EV charger.

27 October 2023 — : I like to take relatively detailed photos of significant work around our place. Fortunately several photos have been helpful for the Evnex charger installers today. 2014: Behind the main switchboard.

27 October 2023 — : One of the things we've learned as home owners is that the project (whatever it might be) will always encounter glitches and will always cost more than expected. Our Evnex EV charger in the garage is no exception: a concrete pad, and sand in the …

26 October 2023 — : This Tōrea pango | Variable Oystercatcher pair have found their spot in the driftwood, ready for nesting. 🐦 A pair was in a similar location last year too.

25 October 2023 — : Manu pango | Eurasian blackbird on flax. 🐦

25 October 2023 — : We plugged the EV in to trickle charge. After 12 hours it had gone from 29% charge to 54%. That's roughly 2% per hour. Today I drove to Levin and plugged in to a public charger while I shopped. It charged from 50% to 80% in 24 minutes — about …

25 October 2023 — : If you've never benefited from Take Control books it's time to start. Buy a book now! It'll be $5 very well spent indeed. Take Control Books – Expert Advice from Leading Tech Authors: 20th Anniversary Sale! To celebrate the 20th anniversary … …

25 October 2023 — : Spin-off effects … we bought a new EV so that meant getting a charger installed (this week, I hope). The EV allows us to change our electricity plan — it gives us 50% discount from 2100 to 0700. So now I've learned how to program our …

24 October 2023 — : I couldn't imagine using my Mac without Keyboard Maestro, so this is excellent news. I see that KM tells me my Time Saved: 12 days! Stairways Software: Stairways Software Pty Ltd is pleased to announce Keyboard Maestro 11.0, the new version of its …

24 October 2023 — : Range anxiety with the new EV — having cleaned up* the corner of the garage where the charger will go, will the 5 metre cable reach? * Cleaned up = moved junk around temporarily.

24 October 2023 — : Ugh, our garage has been a shambles since it was built. I need to clear out at least one corner of it for the people who'll install our Evnex charger later this week. Off to do battle!

24 October 2023 — : Whew, I suppose it's only right that it takes me many hours over several days to write my monthly Waikawa Beach Newsletter. I guess the longer it takes, the easier it is for folks to read in just a few minutes. Maybe … NZ Scaup. Small dark …

23 October 2023 — : One of my questions about the app for our new car has been answered: one person can create an account and bind to the car. The app gives them access to loads of possibilities. They can share a key that allows another person limited access, such as …

23 October 2023 — : This was a good enough read, though a bit slow and very rainy. A Prescription for Murder (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by Charlene Weir. 📚 I think I still have another book in the series to read.

23 October 2023 — : Darn it. Up at 2 am — perfect time to see the Orionid meteor shower — but of course it’s cloudy. 😒

22 October 2023 — : Baby dune among spinifex, with squiggle patterns and bird tracks.

22 October 2023 — : The river mouth was busy with whitebaiters this morning.

22 October 2023 — : So handsome! 🐦 Male pheasant in splendid colours, in grass near a tree trunk.

21 October 2023 — : My little buddy Willow is very good at entertaining herself with a ball and her bed. 🐶

21 October 2023 — MG 4 - a computer on wheels : For various reasons we bought a brand new electric car before we meant to. The car is an MG 4 Essence 64. That led me to doing a lot of research and learning in a hurry. I'm still learning and I'm still hazy about some things. Here are some random …

21 October 2023 — : I'm working my way through the superb video series: MG4 Tutorial - Owner's Manual, User Guide, Complete Feature Walkthrough, Every Function Explained - Jerry Pan - YouTube. No blurble, no junk, 'just' a really clear explanation of all the features. …

20 October 2023 — : I was so glad I tried my first ever use of a public charger at 7 am after dropping friends at the train station. Had no idea what to do! Had to move the car a few times to get the charger to reach. Blundered through, then was unable to remove the …

19 October 2023 — : 3 new apps: now we have a brand new MG 4 Essence 64 EV I so far have apps and accounts for: the car itself, the EvNex home charger (not yet installed), the ChargeNet public charging network. Aaargh!

19 October 2023 — : At 5 am, before turning lights on to make a cuppa, I stepped outside for a few minutes. Jupiter, who had greeted me through my bedroom window, was there in the west, close to the Pleiades, Taurus, Orion and Sirius. The Milky Way, so bright. Crux and …

18 October 2023 — : It beats me that 10 people will spend a collective 15+ hours digging a ditch to move water away from the vehicle entrance so they can get their vehicles on the beach. Yet none of them ever turn out to help plant 4,000 spinifex plants. A single …

18 October 2023 — : Folks interested in Waikawa Beach and its birds … take a look at this morning's Waikawa News blog post: Wrybills vs Dotterels. 🐦 Wrybills and two kinds of Dotterels are tiny, cute, and starting to show up for the season. Small pale bird with a …

17 October 2023 — : Respect to Maya Sharma and the others — Same-sex marriage: The lesbian activist seeking equal rights in India - BBC News 💪🏻 : Ms Sharma doesn't want marriage for herself - in fact, she "despises the concept" … "The term marriage comes …

17 October 2023 — : Gulp. Handed over a chunk of our retirement savings today for the EV I collect tomorrow. It'll reduce our annual CO2 emissions and we'll be saving a heap on petrol. It's goodbye to the now 20 year old petrol guzzler I've driven the last 7 years. I'm …

16 October 2023 — : I love The Spinoff — they almost always make me laugh. The Greens won three electorates and what may become their highest ever vote share by employing two clever political tricks: Offering to help people with their number one concern. Not …

15 October 2023 — : As expected for our 2023 Election, the country swung to the right so we'll have a National-led Government supported by Act. Te Pāti Māori took a few seats too, and the Greens did well. By my count, there are 53 women who will be in Parliament — …

14 October 2023 — : Election Day is the one day every 3 years when no local politics are aired in media. So blissfully peaceful. In about 10 minutes though the polls close and for the next age we'll be barraged with results, analysis, guesses, coalition talks, policies. …

14 October 2023 — : The best coverage of today’s election in NZ: Election 2023: Dogs at polling booths | The Spinoff 😆 🐶

14 October 2023 — : Your payment is pending confirmation wasn't an advice I expected to see … for a free book. 🤣

13 October 2023 — : I watched all 8 episodes of Sweet Kaaram Coffee and it was a delight. 📺 Three generations of women from one family take a road trip, so, of course, things change … I don't want to give anything away so won't elaborate, but it's excellent!

13 October 2023 — : As I walked to the beach yesterday I became aware of a beautiful scent in the air. I soon spotted the reason: it's spring and some of the Tī Kōuka | Cabbage Trees are starting to bloom. I wish I could bottle up that scent and send it to you — …

12 October 2023 — : I read 3 chapters of Dead Before Dinner (A Maddie Swallows Mystery Book 1) by Kat Bellemore then stopped and read a few other books. I did eventually read the rest, but it wasn't a favourite. 📚

12 October 2023 — : I don’t know why I never thought to do this before … Today I took several photos with my iPhone, exported the GPS data and then made a map to show where the new spinifex plantings and driftwood are, south of Waikawa River and estuary. I used …

11 October 2023 — : Bad news: Climate outlook for Aotearoa predicts rivers in the sky, heatwaves in the sea: NZ's average air temperature has risen 1.26C since 1909, and that … is already having huge impacts. Extreme weather (causing floods, slips and droughts) …

11 October 2023 — : For 2 years some folks upset by their inability to get their motor vehicles onto the beach 24/7/365 because nature sometimes cuts off access have been trying to get the local Council to create a vehicle track across our much loved pedestrian-only …

11 October 2023 — : It was almost dark last night when we went to check on something in the zendo. The entrance was being guarded by this little Warou | Welcome swallow. Her nest was in the tiny space between the top of the door and the roof of the porch. I was relieved …

10 October 2023 — : Kiwis (and others) buying an electric car. I found these sites very helpful: EV Beginner’s Guide Compare all electric cars available in NZ WLTP Explained Explained: On-road costs Servicing an electric car: what you need to know Evnex mounted …

10 October 2023 — : This is a super busy week with a lot of things going on — new car will need a charger, bank stuff, insurance stuff. Meanwhile a gigantic local issue about how (and if) vehicles can access Waikawa Beach will be debated tomorrow and I'll do a wee …

09 October 2023 — : In Aotearoa at the moment petrol's getting really expensive. With an election in a few days the government is likely to do quite a right turn and they'll kill the current electric vehicle incentives. Then there's the turmoil with Israel. Things are …

09 October 2023 — : Today we signed the papers for a new MG4 Essence 64 to be collected next week. This was the first we drove and liked it so much we didn't bother with the others we'd arranged. It gets great reviews, and felt really good. I'd have preferred orange …

09 October 2023 — : This 13 minute video is superb: Berkeley professor explains gender theory (includes transcript, but the video is worth watching for the imagery). What if gender wasn’t a predetermined reality, but a fluid construct formed by culture, history, and …

08 October 2023 — : The maunga peeked out from behind cloud as we came back across the footbridge.

08 October 2023 — : Today’s plan includes looking at and walking across Te Rewa Rewa bridge on the Coastal Pathway in New Plymouth, the Len Lye exhibition at the Govett-Brewster Gallery and maybe a visit to the Gardens before heading home.

08 October 2023 — : Last night’s Chicken, cashews and veges in a potato basket dish from Siam Thai in New Plymouth was piping hot and delicious.

07 October 2023 — : In the Puke Ariki museum in New Plymouth: Giant White Shark. Impressive.

06 October 2023 — Why you don't want to get Whooping Cough : I originally published this post in 2011 on my now long-defunct KnowIt blog. I think it has value for its detailed description of my bout of Whooping Cough. If you're eligible for a vaccine or booster for this awful disease, please make sure to take …

06 October 2023 — : The tides the last few days left behind this wonderful houndstooth pattern in the sand. I boosted the contrast.

06 October 2023 — : I quite enjoyed Amazon.com: A Lesson in Murder (Kansas Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Charlene Weir. 📚 I didn't figure out the guilty party, but the clues had been there. Going ahead now to read the next one soon.

06 October 2023 — : No jab for me today. The nurse concluded I'd had the Whooping Cough booster last time I had a jab for something else, although my records weren't clear. It seems they group jabs these days: tetanus and whatever and whatever. The plus: no side effects …

06 October 2023 — : About to get my free Boostrix shot: Boostrix vaccine boosts immunity against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. It was undiagnosed but I suffered from Whooping Cough from March to May 2011. It was debilitating for months. I found an interesting …

05 October 2023 — : For heaven's sake! I wasn't sure if the book I was thinking of buying was NZ$2.49 or US$2.49 (NZ$4.21) but at that price it doesn't matter. On clicking Buy I had to log in, only to be greeted with a 100% price hike to NZ$8.11 and this message: The …

04 October 2023 — : Got a bit caught up this morning playing with Artimator - Free AI Artwork Generator. Didn't exactly give me what I wanted after several tries, but I liked this rather joyous image of two women dancing and wanted to share. Two women dancing — looks …

04 October 2023 — : The biggest problem with the recipe for Mini Gingerbread Loaf for Two is that the loaf is so quickly used up. Yesterday I got smart and doubled up. Photo from January 2022 because yesterday's loaves are gone now. 😆

03 October 2023 — : Yay, Candice Renoir S07 is back on Acorn. I love this show. 📺

03 October 2023 — : I naively thought those huge optical telescopes pointed a big mirror at the sky and then took photos. I guess they do, but it's everything between plan to point and getting images that's absolutely astounding. Tom Scott explains in a 30 minute video: …

03 October 2023 — : The abundance of satellites is causing the overall brightness of the sky to increase all around the globe. Some researchers have estimated that, on average, our darkest night skies, located in the most remote regions of the world, are 10% brighter …

03 October 2023 — : 4 am and it’s cuppa tea time. We’ve both given up sleeping as gales roar around and shake the house. 💨💨

02 October 2023 — : We still have gales, very high tides and swells. This gull was having a hard time flying when I visited the track where vehicles enter the beach. In the video, at about 13 seconds, you can see it was blown backwards. 🐦 The brown sea / river water is …

02 October 2023 — : Voting in our national elections opened today. I took my voter card (not required but helpful) and visited a church in Ōtaki set up for advance voting. Tick, tick and done! Now we just wait till Election Day on Saturday 14 October 2023 to see who's …

01 October 2023 — : A big high tide and a cold wind today at the river mouth. Here was a bit of a surge coming in, though smaller than the previous one a few minutes before. Still the whitebaiters were out braving the cold. The big pile of driftwood is supposed to …

30 September 2023 — : Changing Gears by L A Wright held my interest. 📚 When Jen embarks on a scenic cycling tour in France, she never expects to have her life upended by Abi, a captivating Scottish travel writer with a magnetic personality. A fair few annoying typos. …

30 September 2023 — : Southerly gales in the last few days brought a good layer of snow to the Tararua peaks.

30 September 2023 — : I really liked the patterns the tide left around this piece of driftwood.

29 September 2023 — : In spite of chilly weather, a cold wind, a high tide and a big swell the folks fishing for whitebait today were undaunted.

28 September 2023 — : Thanks to spring I'm starting to see a few chaffinches around. Not the best shot, but there's time yet …

28 September 2023 — : I was fairly interested in buying a S9 Apple Watch, but fell at the last hurdle — I don't care for the colours. I want one the same gorgeous blue as my S7. Meanwhile, after 2 years, the battery's not quite so good as it was when new: maximum …

27 September 2023 — : I loved this excellent book by an author whose previous books I've also really enjoyed. A Calculated Risk by Cari Hunter kept me reading. 📚 Jo has to risk her career to save a woman’s life, and a bad night gets worse when the trauma surgeon turns out …

27 September 2023 — : Woohoo: macOS Sonoma 14.0.

26 September 2023 — : Male pheasants are colourful and bold. The females stay more hidden. Last night though one all but knocked on our front door. Today she was poking around the neighbour's driveway. 🐦 First photo: her head's hidden but it shows her colouring really …

25 September 2023 — : The Cleaner, the Cat and the Space Station (The Shantivira Book 1) by Fay Abernethy sounded interesting. The story was spoiled by the huge amount of rather didactic exposition. I admire the author's wish to present us with alternative ways of …

25 September 2023 — : The sea this morning was pretty calm and a rare milky metallic blue as though it was from a glacial stream.

24 September 2023 — : Update, 24 September 2025: that link has died. 😒 Luckily I kept a copy of my version of the recipe itself, so here it is below. Today I made Mushroom & Broccoli Pasta. It was quick, easy and tasty. Forgot to take a photo until I'd already eaten …

24 September 2023 — : Turns out with WatchOS 10 I keep needing this: Apple Watch User Guide

24 September 2023 — : Since the update to WatchOS 10 my S7 watch is only charged to 80% when I put it on in the morning. I finally found where to turn off Optimised Charging: Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Scroll down, then tap Battery. Tap Battery Health. …

23 September 2023 — : I'm not actually doing the September Photoblogging challenge but decided to send in this photo for Date in the Life. Today is dreary, but I noticed how this tree looks with mist and cloud and hills behind. This tree was left behind after all its …

22 September 2023 — : I actually took this photo about a week ago but forgot to post it. This is the river mouth winding across the beach shortly after sunset but before full dark. Kāpiti Island and the light from a (probably fishing) boat in the background.

21 September 2023 — : With spring the birds are starting to show up again. Down at the lakes I spotted a black swan pair with half-grown cygnet, Pāpango | New Zealand scaup, Australian coot, and some ducks. 🐦 Black swan on the lake. Cygnet on the lake. Australian Coot. …

21 September 2023 — : Ring necked doves. Photo from today, but these Barbary Doves are so tame they just hang around. Yesterday when I drove down the lane I had to stop because they didn't move. In the end I had to get out and scare them off so I wouldn't drive over …

21 September 2023 — : On one hand fantasy and romance … not my things really. On the other time travel and lesbians, and lots of interesting women. I read and pretty much enjoyed Sweet Paladin (In the Queerness of Time Book 1) by Alex Washoe. 📚 Harks back to Xena …

20 September 2023 — : Went out to lunch for a neighbour's 69th birthday. Eleven of us there. A couple in their early 60s and the rest older. The oldest 86. I was the only one who has never been admitted to hospital. 😳 Fried eggs on toast with greens and delicious Aoraki …

20 September 2023 — : Little Fliss the Japanese Quail hatched on 26 December 2018. Yesterday she laid the first egg for this season. 4.5 years old and going strong! Also regular. Exactly 1 year ago she laid the first egg for last season. 🐦 Fliss laid two eggs starting 19 …

19 September 2023 — : I feared 'our' pair of black swans had disappeared from the small lake Puna o te Ora at the end of the road, but this morning I spotted them with a half-grown cygnet. Hooray! They must have been hanging out elsewhere. 🐦

19 September 2023 — : I was lucky enough to beta read Outlaw Justice, The First Guardian, Book 1 by Cheri Baker 📚: Mars hasn't had a murder in 70 years. Until today. I said to Cheri in part: What a superb book! I loved the characters, the setup, the chain of events. …

19 September 2023 — : Now that iOS and iPad OS 17 are out, my first stop after updating is at Take Control Books to grab Take Control of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

18 September 2023 — : Is it within 364 days of Christmas? Why yes, yes it is. Must be time to display the Christmas chocolates then … Christmas chocolate display at Farmers on 18 September 2023.

18 September 2023 — : Awake at 3 am thanks to gusty gales shaking the house and rattling mysterious things outside. 💨

17 September 2023 — : I really enjoyed watching Nimona 🎥 In a medieval-futuristic kingdom, the citizens are protected by the Institute for Elite Knights, established by legendary heroine Gloreth, who, a thousand years ago, vanquished a Great Black Monster and enclosed the …

17 September 2023 — : On this day in 2015 we visited Batalha in Portugal, with its amazing Monastery. Constructed in fulfilment of a vow by King João to commemorate the victory over the Castilians at Aljubarrota (15 August 1385), the Dominican Monastery of Batalha …

16 September 2023 — : The first part of A Fine and Bitter Snow (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 12) by Dana Stabenow seemed to involve a lot of recaps of things we knew from previous books. Then there were some deaths and things ramped up. Mid way I recalled the who and …

16 September 2023 — : It's cold (7C outside) and grey this morning so for a bit of cheer here's a photo I took of Lake Waimarie — only a few hundred metres from our place — the other morning. I love these colours.

15 September 2023 — : Around Equinox and Solstice I run a casual naked eye star watching event called Starry Time for the local community. For tonight's session I created a set of Keynote slides for me to refer to during the session. Here they are as a PDF. Probably of …

15 September 2023 — : One of the great things about taking my neighbour to the ophthalmologist in Palmerston North was that she then shouted me lunch at my favourite eatery, Mr Choi's. Superb chicken teriyaki was consumed. Yum. Chicken teriyaki dish with rice, seaweed, …

15 September 2023 — : My neighbour unexpectedly needed me to drive her to Palmerston North hospital today for an urgent and painful eye problem. Hospitals are so big and complicated and busy.

14 September 2023 — : A very handy tip for those who don't want to be blinded by a page of notes while looking at stars: iPad / Phone full red mode: put your ipad or iphone into red mode easily … To enable this: Settings-Accessibility-Display and Text Size-Color …

13 September 2023 — : This is a good book. The concepts about crime and treatment and punishment are interesting, but I can't cope with the ghastliness of it all and am stopping reading at about 25%. The Treatment: A mind-bending gripping speculative crime thriller by …

13 September 2023 — : That classic looking over the shoulder pose. Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher (Through a window.) 🐦

12 September 2023 — : I more or less binged all 16 episodes of Extraordinary Attorney Woo1. It's an absolute gem. After episode 1 I listened to the original soundtrack and read subtitles, following advice from Pratik. Near the end I could hardly bear to watch, knowing it …

11 September 2023 — : Dana Stabenow's The Singing of the Dead (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 11) was split between a crime on the campaign trail of a state senator and a crime that took place back in 1915. Eventually the two crimes were shown to be linked, but I'm not …

11 September 2023 — : At 5 am I was making a cup of tea and looking at the starry sky when I noticed a weird small column of orange light among neighbouring houses on the hill to the north of us. Maybe a fire in a house? … but it wasn't flickering. Binoculars …

10 September 2023 — : Biked along the new shared path from Otaki to the cafe at Pekapeka (10 km). All gravel so a bit nervewracking. The cafe’s the best bit. Not in my top 10 of bike paths.

10 September 2023 — : Out at 0520 and the sky was clear, the magpies warbling. Crux Australis was low in the southeast. Then the SkyTrain glided past — beautiful, yet so problematic. You may need to make the video large on screen to see it traverse top right to bottom …

09 September 2023 — : Serendipity. 30 minutes to sunset I took a burst of 3 shots of a small plane flying past. But wait, is that a gull or something nearby? Look at this extreme zoom crop of the middle photo! Extreme crop shows a commercial jet seemingly balanced on …

08 September 2023 — : I hope this morning's D'oh moment will fill my quota for the next few years: Oh no! All my photos are blurry! Checks lens, filter etc. Aargh! I may need a professional to fix it. My Autofocus is broken! A few moments later. Hmmm, maybe if I take it …

07 September 2023 — : Me at the beach: this glare is terrible. I wonder if it's possible to get sunglasses that go over my prescription specs? After a search: TIL there's a whole category of sunglasses called fitovers that do just that. Wow. Note: If I'm taking photos I …

07 September 2023 — : The Spinoff once again demonstrates brilliance! 🤣 Plucky Foodstuffs takes bold stand against children on bikes: The new route would allow thousands of Wellingtonians to safely cycle to their store, and the retailer simply will not stand for it. It’s …

06 September 2023 — : I really enjoyed the first episode of the Korean TV show Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Fortunately I could listen in English, rather than reading subtitles. It was delightful, funny (not at the expense of the lead character) and interesting. 📺 Being …

05 September 2023 — : I liked Blood and Money (McBride & Tanner Book 1) by Rachel McLean pretty well. It seemed fairly straightforward. Apparently the author has written a couple of other previous series that might have been useful to read first. 📚

05 September 2023 — : It was 2 minutes after sunrise when I arrived on the beach and spotted this end of a rainbow.

04 September 2023 — : Wow! Rarely Glimpsed Shark That Lives For Centuries Unexpectedly Surfaces in Caribbean: Greenland sharks are the longest-living vertebrates on Earth, with an astonishing lifespan of 250 — 500 years … The sharks live thousands of feet …

04 September 2023 — : Looked out this morning to see three cows in the neighbour's property. They were supposed to be where the white one is, on the other side of the fence between them. A bit of yelling and encouragement and they crashed through the fence back to the …

03 September 2023 — : Hard to believe it's 8 years since we visited Spain, Portugal, Morocco. Fátima was so memorable — a pilgrimage destination with narrow streets, enormous tour buses, gift shops stuffed to the rafters with religious statues, knickknacks and images. The …

03 September 2023 — : Even though it's only 10 weeks since I first read the Dana Stabenow book Midnight Come Again (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 10) I had not fully remembered it. 📚 This time round (and with the book in context) I recognised the central role of Kate's …

03 September 2023 — : First time I've seen the word overtourism. A very useful concept indeed. tourism agencies have spoken out against the proposed … airport at Tarras, concerned about "overtourism" it would create. Proposed Tarras Airport would increase tourists …

03 September 2023 — : Crepuscular rays, this morning at 15 minutes before sunrise.

02 September 2023 — : It's Warou | Welcome swallow time of year. We have to be careful about leaving the garage door open or they start building nests of mud in there. 🐦 Here they are on the roof of the zendo. Such bright orange and shiny black!

02 September 2023 — : Kāhu | Hawk in flight. 🐦

02 September 2023 — : I have a folder of .mp3 files and want to be able to just play a random track. I spent ages finding out how to make an AppleScript to count files in a folder, get a random number between 1 and the number of files. I was banging my head on how to then …

02 September 2023 — : 'Library rooficer': Dog captures hearts of many library goers 🐶: at Northcote Library, there is a dog who has captured the hearts of many. … [Koko the dog] kind of calms everything down, people come in and they look around, it gives that kind …

01 September 2023 — : These days I watch the tide charts. There's a dramatic difference at Waikawa Beach between mid-lunar month (low variation) and full (super) moon (high variation). Tides for 25 August 2023 show low highs and high lows. Tides for 01 September 2023 …

31 August 2023 — : Willow didn't really want to do a selfie with me today. 🐶 😒

31 August 2023 — : (No spoilers) The NYT crossword for 30 August 2023 was a particular delight — all the Across clues tell a story.

30 August 2023 — : This beauty used to graze near us, now she’s further away and we don’t see her so often. 🐴

29 August 2023 — : The sunrise this morning was OK down by the Strathnaver lakes, Waimarie and Te Puna a te Ora (Tranquil Waters and The Wellspring of Good Health).

29 August 2023 — : I've been watching the NZ TV show Far North based on true events of drug smuggling. If this were a fiction it'd never get to screen as it's just too ridiculous 📺 : the show is mostly based on a true story … much of the action plays out exactly …

29 August 2023 — : In re-reading Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak novels I delayed Hunter's Moon (Kate Shugak Novels Book 9) because I knew it had a couple of momentous plot points. Maybe Midnight Come Again (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 10) which I actually first read …

28 August 2023 — : Yesterday and today I planted 3 Tītoki trees and 3 Manuka. I'm hoping that the tītoki will, in time, attract the kererū who seem to have moved into the area. Hard work though — I'm out of practice at planting stuff.

27 August 2023 — : Is it spring yet?: New Zealand [has] a 2 month summer and a 2 month winter… the other 8 months are a long drawn out spring and autumn … at least from a weather point of view. … we’re in a “Goldilocks” belt of weather that isn’t too cold in …

27 August 2023 — : Abandoned at 35% — with its omniscient narrator and sordid sex-based crimes there was far too much time spent within very nasty events. Dark Game (Detective Kelly Porter Book 1) by Rachel Lynch. This was not the right book for me. 📚 A shame, as …

26 August 2023 — : This series by Lynne McEwan has caught hold of me. In The Girls in the Glen (Detective Shona Oliver Book 3) I had my suspicions about the ultimate bad guy from around half way through the book. A satisfying and well-told story. 📚

25 August 2023 — : Heh heh. Housebroken S01E08 at approx 7 minutes in. The Hamster(?) is reading a magazine article: It says you died. What?! I live in a third Grade classroom most of the year, RIP stands for "really is dead". The 'p' is silent.

25 August 2023 — : For my own reference 🚴🏼‍♀️ : Kāpiti Coast Trails Map Kāpiti Coast Cycling Map

24 August 2023 — : The second book was as gripping as the first — Dead Man Deep (Detective Shona Oliver Book 2) by Lynne McEwan. 📚 Interesting fact about Beaufort's Dyke, a real-life natural trench between Scotland and Ireland and a key plot point: well over a …

24 August 2023 — : In August 2022 I spotted a Kererū at Waikawa Beach for the first time. This year there are two! I only managed a photo of one. 🐦

23 August 2023 — : There are still very few birds around on the beach: a white-faced heron, some black-backed gulls, a pied stilt or two and a handful of oystercatchers. I could hear a skylark. It was a very low tide and there were islands of driftwood 'mulch'. And …

23 August 2023 — : Haven't been for a dawn beach walk for a while, so that's this morning's first planned item. I wonder if a few more birds may be around?

22 August 2023 — : I'm also really enjoying HouseBroken, an American adult animated sitcom, where a poodle runs therapy sessions: from the perspective of the animals, each one having various issues that usually stem from their owners, the show details the various …

22 August 2023 — : I'm enjoying watching Season 1 of the Australian crime drama Mystery Road. Detective Jay Swan [is] assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of two young farmhands on an outback cattle station, one a local Indigenous football hero and the …

21 August 2023 — : A compelling read — I stayed up late for this one. In Dark Water (Detective Shona Oliver Book 1) by Lynne McEwan. Now to buy the next in series. 📚 The author manages to convey the sound of a southwest Scots accent with minimal gestures in the text. …

20 August 2023 — : Our Kāhu | Hawk keeps thwarting my attempts to take a good photo. Yesterday that included flying off just as I was waiting for it to turn around to face the camera.

20 August 2023 — : One of the great features of the NetNewsWire RSS reader is you can use your own stylesheet for how to display articles. I recently realised that when I catch up on the Micro.Blog Timeline I constantly have to scroll down, just a bit, to see photos. I …

19 August 2023 — : Hmm, I thought, as I looked down from the lounge window. That bull looks bigger than usual. … And shouldn't he be behind the flax? Yes, yes, he should. Luckily when I yelled sufficiently he pushed his way back through the fence to the paddock …

19 August 2023 — : This was a complicated book, and I still haven't figured out what to say about it — Deaths of Jocasta by J.M. Redmann. 📚 It was a tangled book of emotions, sex, poison pen letters, anti-abortion protestors, vicious murders, all while lead character …

18 August 2023 — : A few months ago I set the Desktop Picture on my MacBook Pro to pull from my Favourites in Photos and then to change the picture randomly every 5 minutes. That created the problem of wanting to see the picture hidden behind my active window. …

17 August 2023 — : It's a special day today as my good friend Willow has come to visit for a while. 🐶 If the rain holds off we'll head to the beach.

16 August 2023 — : Depending on rain, wind and tides, the river sometimes carves deep into the sand at the mouth. Then chunks are rather splendidly and randomly carved off.

15 August 2023 — : I was slow to get into this book, but then I was hooked and reading solidly: Death by the Riverside (Micky Knight Mysteries Book 1) by J.M. Redmann. 📚 It's so refreshing and rare to have an actual lesbian protagonist. Some parts are definitely NSFW. …

15 August 2023 — : When we went to Samoa I totally wanted to avoid any Roaming fees so turned off all kinds of stuff on my Phone. I regret it now, when somehow iMessages are only turning up on my Phone not my Mac, and a phone call I actually wanted just failed to …

15 August 2023 — : Ohhhh, I just caught up with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E09 — the musical episode. I loved it! Just brilliant! 🖖🏼

14 August 2023 — : People round here go to some lengths to get their vehicles onto the beach (legally a 'road'). The river loops back on itself just now so there's nowhere for most vehicles to go. Locals dug a channel between the two streams to send the river straight …

14 August 2023 — : Another good read: Killing Grounds (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 8) by Dana Stabenow. The 4th of July hijinks were fun too. 📚 Cal Meany is a cheat, a poacher, an abusive father and an adulterous husband. So nobody is that surprised when Kate …

14 August 2023 — : Erratum: that seal photo I posted yesterday — apparently it wasn't a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal: It appears it was a Subantarctic Fur Seal, and DOC were quite excited as they do not normally come this far north. Reports are that after a nice …

13 August 2023 — : It's the season (August to October) when some of the driftwood on the beach turns out on closer inspection to in fact be a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal, come ashore to rest. Update, 14 August 2023: apparently this isn't a Kekeno: It appears it was a …

12 August 2023 — : One of the things I loved about our Traditional Garden View Villa at Sinalei Resort was the almost or fully outdoor bathroom. Here was the shower. 🇼🇸

12 August 2023 — : On the plane to Samoa one of the bathrooms was painted to resemble shelves full of books. Titles included: The Importance of Aiming Origami Guide for Toilet Paper Race to the Outhouse by Willie Maykit The Porcelain Polishers Guide Designing for …

12 August 2023 — : And, 12 hours after leaving the resort in Samoa, at a pleasant 28C, we’re finally home where it’s 0C. 🥶🇼🇸

11 August 2023 — : On the AIRNZ flight it took forever to get a cup of hot water I could put my green teabag in. Eventually it arrived. For a second cup I just had them fill it with cold water. That sort of worked. Kinda.

11 August 2023 — : Samoa’s airport scanners must be on the older side. Had to remove shoes, and even my watch. Meanwhile the plane is delayed 45 minutes, so now we wait. There’s a big array of solar panels right next door too. 🇼🇸

11 August 2023 — : Today we leave Sinalei Resort in Samoa and make our way home. That involves about 5.5 hours in the air, a couple of hours driving, and of course lots of waiting around in airports. 🇼🇸 Sometimes members of staff entertain us with singing at breakfast. …

10 August 2023 — : Just had the best lunch ever at a surprising cafe in Apia called Rivaiv. It was like a Wellington cafe. Utterly delicious Teriyaki bowl with chicken. 🇼🇸

10 August 2023 — : There are worse places to sit and read. 🇼🇸

09 August 2023 — : That earthquake I felt this morning was listed at M 5.9 - Tonga. It was some distance away and moderately deep, so for me, sitting in bed, it was just a gentle shake. Deb was standing up and didn't even feel it. 〰️ 🇼🇸

09 August 2023 — : Pretty happy with this handheld shot on my iPhone of the Milky Way just by the tail of Scorpius. 🇼🇸 Stellarium screenshot.

09 August 2023 — : This 10 minute video will interest many I think: This town banned cars (except tiny electric ones): Zermatt, in Switzerland, bans all private cars and all gasoline cars. But if you run a business, you might be able to buy one of the special, tiny …

09 August 2023 — : It seems there's a Fish Reserve by the Piula Theological College in Samoa. There are quite a few rules about ways not to fish. I liked number 2: No fishing with dynamite or poison. 🇼🇸

09 August 2023 — : Cows, owned by families in villages, roam around the nearby countryside in Samoa. I don't think either this cow, or the Myna Birds would find anything much to eat among the discarded plastic bottles. 🇼🇸

09 August 2023 — : On Monday we went for a drive around the island of Upolo in Samoa. I've been welcomed to websites before now, hotels, houses, conferences… but never a bridge! 🇼🇸

09 August 2023 — : I see Joy Ellis as an author I enjoy but this book just didn't sit right with me. In The River's Edge (Jackman & Evans Book 10) we sometimes see things from the point of view of the baddies who used veiled language to talk about things like The …

09 August 2023 — : So far today major events haven’t included photos. Very small earthquake this morning. I spotted a Humpback whale playing offshore. Then I saw a Frigate Bird high overhead. ✅ 〰️ 🇼🇸

08 August 2023 — : Apparently the Sopoaga Falls are about 54 metres. They’re on private land, and the owners have set up a lovely garden (with named plants) on the extremely brief track to a viewing point. 🇼🇸

08 August 2023 — : Nice moves, pigeon! 🇼🇸

08 August 2023 — : A joke I heard today: Q: What do you call a pair of crows? A: Attempted murder. 🤣

08 August 2023 — : Here we have the dining fale at Sinalei Resort, the desk at reception and looking up into the ceiling at reception. Very distinctive Samoan architecture. 🇼🇸

07 August 2023 — : Between glasses with an old prescription, the snorkel mask, the water, and not really being able to see the screen on my Sony TG-80 camera I was sure my trip to Palolo Deep near Apia today would only produce loads of blurry nothingness. Instead, a …

07 August 2023 — : At Amanaki Bar and Restaurant in Apia, Samoa for lunch. I’ve ordered lemon cheesecake. The harbour is just across the road. 🇼🇸

06 August 2023 — : Coconut palms (without coconuts). 🇼🇸

06 August 2023 — : There are quite a few Red-vented Bulbul around the resort. They behave like sparrows, popping into the dining fale to check for crumbs. 🐦 🇼🇸

06 August 2023 — : Oi! I did not give you permission to take my photo! Pacific Black Skink at Sinalei Resort, Samoa. 🇼🇸

06 August 2023 — : It was a bit of a pain to haul my camera and large heavy lens along, but I'm so glad I did. I believe this is a Pacific Black Skink. I've seen quite a few here at the resort. 🇼🇸

05 August 2023 — : Not entirely happy with A Death at Seascape House (A Jemima Jago Mystery Book 1) by Emma Jameson. Such a lot of miserable people and a couple of poorly thought out scenes, eg how did the killer get out of the ‘locked room’? Scilly Isles …

05 August 2023 — : These birds seem common around the resort. I believe this is a Miti Tai | Polynesian Triller. 🐦 🇼🇸 A rather long-tailed and long-winged bird with a short stubby head … black crown, eye-stripe, back, and tail with a prominent white eyebrow, wide white …

05 August 2023 — : The pool is great for cooling off of course. Behind is the distinctive roof of a traditional style fale — in this case it’s the bar. 🇼🇸

05 August 2023 — : The resort has a friendly little dog called Princess who has recently had pups. She’s a pro at declaring herself starving. 🤣 🇼🇸

05 August 2023 — : This little yellow lizard was hanging around the dining fale last night. 🇼🇸

05 August 2023 — : This little Ve'a | Buff-banded Rail potters around on the grass at our Resort. It seems like a smaller version of a NZ Weka. 🐦 The gardens here are lush and I've seen other birds flying around. Making the most of a post-breakfast laze though. 🇼🇸

04 August 2023 — : Sinalei Resort in Samoa. Bit different from Waikawa Beach eh! Also, about 25C. 🇼🇸

03 August 2023 — : This is Bellabot which brings plates of food to the tables at the Sudima Hotel in Auckland. It takes away the empty plates too.

03 August 2023 — : The cloud lifted enough to show snow on the foothills near us. Brrr. 🥶

03 August 2023 — : Perfect weather for going somewhere else. 😆 🇼🇸

02 August 2023 — : I totally enjoyed the 4 episode French series The Best of Us on Acorn TV. 📺 When local star athlete Abel Guérin is found dead in a snowy field, a bullet in his head, his little village is in shock. Awa Sissako, a young police captain from the city, …

02 August 2023 — : Another enjoyable read from Marion Todd: A Blind Eye (Detective Clare Mackay Book 7). 📚 a local solicitor is found in his car, throat slit. DI Clare Mackay … learns that Harry was not the upstanding man he seemed to be. … Then the wife of one …

02 August 2023 — : Waikawa Beach where I live is at about 40° south of the Equator. We get a great view of the Southern Cross, but never see Ursa Major. Samoa however is about 14° south of the Equator. On checking Stellarium today I find I should be able to see …

01 August 2023 — : Last year the Blackbird couldn’t figure out how to get at the feeder. This year’s another story. 🐦

01 August 2023 — : The birds queue up to let me know it’s dinner time! 🐦 There is also some grumpiness about the throng at the feeder. Others, like this Waxeye, wait patiently.

01 August 2023 — : Today I drove to Paraparaumu — the closest location for my phone provider One (was Vodafone) — and they switched me to use the eSIM in my iPhone 13 Pro Max. Then I started packing for Samoa. Luckily we can take 1 carryon and 1 checked bag each and …

31 July 2023 — : It’s been an intensive research day for our upcoming holiday in Samoa. Put together useful travel info in one Apple Note (thanks @annahavron for (sort of) suggesting that in one of your posts). Worked out the best deal for Internet while there …

30 July 2023 — : Went back to a book I started weeks ago, and recalled why I stopped reading. I'm now declaring it abandoned at 18%. Spite Your Face (Detective Carol Wren Mysteries Book 1) by Emmy Ellis isn't for me and I shouldn't have bought it. It takes us into …

30 July 2023 — : Breakup: … when Alaska awakens from its Arctic slumber. Snows melt. Rivers flood. Winter's secrets emerge. Kate is having an extremely bad day. Then things get worse … and worse … and worse. Another excellent read: Breakup (A Kate Shugak …

30 July 2023 — : This morning Tiu | House Sparrows are enjoying hanging out on the dead panicles of the Tī kōuka | Cabbage tree only a couple of metres from my bedroom window. 🐦

30 July 2023 — : The snow on the hills nearby has come down even lower, I think.

29 July 2023 — : Greedy developers are looking for ways to exploit resources the Native people should be controlling. Luckily Kate gets pulled into the whole thing by her grandmother Emaa. Blood Will Tell (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 6) puts Kate and Mutt in …

29 July 2023 — : Sometimes you glance up and wonder, where did the world go?

28 July 2023 — : Apparently the Library in Levin has a Friday lunchtime concert — a singalong. What a cool thing. Most folks attending seem to be older. One table of about 8 are chatting away all through — in NZ Sign Language. 😆

28 July 2023 — : An experimental photo. I'm hanging out in the Library in Levin while my car has a service and an annual Warrant of Fitness check. This photo was taken using the front facing (and only) camera on my M1 MacBook Pro, using Photo Booth. Not bad.

27 July 2023 — : A cold southerly has brought snow to the tops of the Tararua range.

26 July 2023 — : Season 9 of one of my favourite shows, New Zealand murder mystery series Brokenwood, has just started. This 28 minute radio interview with head writer and co-producer Tim Balme is very interesting. 📺 Brokenwood is somewhat Tardis-like, he says. It …

26 July 2023 — : These golden plants at the beach are native Pīngao. Fantastic for binding sand.

26 July 2023 — : I have an Olympus Tough TG-870 camera that I last used in 2018 when we went snorkelling in Niue. With a holiday in Samoa coming up I've dug it out, charged the battery and am now checking the manual. 16 megapixel, 21 to 105 mm zoom, 21 scene modes …

25 July 2023 — : Apparently when a Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher hangs around I am compelled to take photos of it. 🐦 Their beaks fascinate me.

24 July 2023 — : Just a little clip from the other morning of a Scaup and a Shoveler on the lake.

23 July 2023 — : At Harrison's Garden Shop cafe for brunch with my friend J today I noticed Bushy Tailed Tea: green tea with echinacea and lemon. Turns out to be delicious. Oh, and brunch was good with a different good green tea and perfectly cooked scrambled egg …

22 July 2023 — : Another Dana Stabenow book down: Play With Fire (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 5). This one wasn't my favourite but is still a reasonable read. It's heavy on the discussion of extremist religion; not so big on the action that made the last few so …

22 July 2023 — : Hah hah. I'd heard about the TV series Deadloch and have now watched episode 1. It's definitely over the top, part sendup of small-town cops meet serial killer, part caricature, fairly funny, and inverts the usual sexism. Nice to see a series from …

21 July 2023 — : Well! Watched a recording of the Nigeria v Canada football match. Lots of yellow cards and even a red card. I’ve now in two days watched more sports than ever before in my life I think. Also, I’m exhausted, after watching all that running …

21 July 2023 — : I wrote that word minorities in my previous post and now regret it. In my world, as a pale-skinned woman born in England and living most of my life in Aotearoa, stories have always been about white men or boys. In fact, they are the minority in this …

21 July 2023 — : Yay, Uhura! Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E06 — it's like they're getting round to telling the other stories from the Original Series … the stories about what the other crew members did. 🖖🏼 It's like real life: stories of what women (and …

20 July 2023 — : Who am I? I watched the first match of the 2023 Women’s World Cup Soccer, NZL v Nor. ⚽️

20 July 2023 — : Decades ago when I lived in Edinburgh for a bit I enjoyed Delia Smith's cooking show on TV so bought the books. Today I've referred to her fruit crumble recipe. The apples were stewed up a while ago and frozen. They came from the tree at the property …

20 July 2023 — : We have several Barbary doves that hang around our place. This one by our gate was calling to another in a tree across the lane. 🐦

19 July 2023 — : A particularly interesting fragment from a podcast episode, Gayle Lemmon on making the invisible visible | Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, 22 June 2023: You cannot talk about Climate without talking about Gender … We wrote a paper in 2014 …

19 July 2023 — : Dammit, there are two items on the agenda for today’s meeting of the Horowhenua District Council that particularly interest me. They’re about Waikawa Beach. The live stream though lasted all of 4 seconds. I’ve reported it and hope …

19 July 2023 — : This is quite something: As the Women’s World Cup approaches, a clever marketing video employed the latest deepfake technology to challenge gender stereotypes. An ad by telecoms company Orange shows an epic sizzle reel of the French men’s soccer …

19 July 2023 — : Heh heh. This Nike ad featuring footballer Megan Rapinoe as a superhero is pretty cool.

18 July 2023 — : It's hard to take photos of Tīrairaka | New Zealand fantails — they flit and flutter so fast. Photos often end up like this. But occasionally you might get lucky. They're so cute with their white eyebrows and necklace. They're friendly too. One of …

18 July 2023 — : Stayed up too late last night reading Dana Stabenow's A Cold Blooded Business (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 4). 📚 Kate went undercover at the oil drilling site on The Slope to learn who was bringing in drugs. She made herself a bit too …

18 July 2023 — : I know that Musk's and other multitudinous satellites are wrecking astronomy and are bad in all sorts of other ways too. This morning though, while looking at the stars before dawn I thought I saw a meteor streak. Looked closer and it was maybe a 40 …

17 July 2023 — : Blackbird. 🐦

17 July 2023 — : Number 169 asked for a photo. I obliged. 🐄

17 July 2023 — : I’m having a phase of unfollowing or blocking as relevant nincompoops and nitwits in my online life. Feels great! I wish there was some way to do the same in real life…

16 July 2023 — : Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S02E05 continues the excellence. I'm loving this series so much. Lots of exploring the nature of who we are and how we interact with others. This episode: all the feels. 🖖🏼

16 July 2023 — : Wow! Dead in the Water (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 3) by Dana Stabenow went by so fast as I had to keep reading. 📚 I wouldn't last 2 seconds on the crab boat Kate has to work on for weeks to solve this mystery. The smell! The heaving seas! The …

15 July 2023 — : Today we moved the (very heavy) sofa bed out of the way and I cleaned all the accumulated gunge off the floor — dust, dead flies, a couple of mouldy dog biscuits! Window frames got washed, windows cleaned — I'll be able to see the birds so much …

15 July 2023 — : Dana Stabenow's consummate skill as a storyteller is evident in A Fatal Thaw (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 2). 📚 With lesser writers intensely descriptive passages make me (metaphorically — Kindles are expensive) throw the book across the room. …

14 July 2023 — : We went down to the Ōtaki Pottery Society Star Glaze show at the racecourse and came home with a couple of items. I bought two bowls and a mug. The blue bowl and mug are by Harriet Bright (Facebook link).

13 July 2023 — : I've started entering a few photos in competitions. This is a local Capture Your Horowhenua competition. Photos are put online and also displayed in the Library for folks to vote. My two are the birds.

12 July 2023 — : It was … invigorating … at the beach on this winter morning. To my west the energetic waves and a definite breeze. To my east, my buddy Willow. 🐶

12 July 2023 — : A Cold Day for Murder (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 1) by Dana Stabenow sets Kate on the trail of a missing Park Ranger, and the missing guy who went looking for him. 📚 I love the way Stabenow somehow makes the reader an inhabitant in the culture …

12 July 2023 — : I started my Dana Stabenow Kate Shugak reread with the short story called Nooses Give. It introduced Kate and the setting well. We learn Kate is dogged and determined, clever and sometimes ruthless. Her constant companion Mutt, a part-Husky …

12 July 2023 — : So cool; indigenous sports — How ripped ears are preserving a rare culture in Alaska: Kakaruk says she imagines her ancestors playing the same games hundreds of years ago, watched by village elders assessing who to include in their next hunting …

11 July 2023 — : After finishing the latest Kate Shugak book I wasn't ready to leave the world so effectively created. I've downloaded all the books in the series to my Kindle to start again at the beginning. I began buying these books in May 2011. That should be …

11 July 2023 — : Folks who enjoy magnificent photos, astronomy, auroras, Aotearoa, I recommend you follow @iangriffin@mastodon.nz. Check out his latest amazing shot. Flashback to #Matariki last year. Here's a panorama I shot showing the famous star cluster rising …

10 July 2023 — : Heh heh. Star Trek: The Animated Series S02E04 (at 18 minutes): McCoy: Anything Spock? Spock: Negative. File … doesn't recognise these symptoms. McCoy: Blast it Spock! Work harder! They're in the terminal stage.

09 July 2023 — : Such a good book, as are all in this series! Not the Ones Dead (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 23) by Dana Stabenow. 📚 The only thing wrong is I've finished reading and have to wait for the next in series. White nationalists create trouble in The …

09 July 2023 — : Again, a fresh look reveals sexist assumptions: A lavish burial site from the Copper Age… is not the final resting place of a young male leader, as scientists once assumed. … 'Ivory Man' is actually an 'Ivory Lady'. Identity of a Copper …

08 July 2023 — : Received a spam text in Messages on my Mac and had to search for how to block it. Found Block messages in Messages on Mac - Apple Support: select the conversation, choose Delete and then you can Delete and Report Spam.

08 July 2023 — : Back in 2019 my two cats, Aphra and Ares, passed away. Their sister Sophie, who lives with our friend, is still going strong at the age of 21 and a half. Her food is on the kitchen bench so the rascally Samoyeds don't eat it. She has her own 'ladder' …

08 July 2023 — : The friend we visited in Wellington overnight has a 6 year old and a 7 year old — Samoyeds. They’re big. They’re cheerful. They fill up a small house. 🐶 Rosie the Samoyed in a bed on the floor. Rosie in her bed, while Benson sits beside …

07 July 2023 — : It was weird today, driving to Waikanae to catch the train — the road was very busy in both directions, but it was all cars and small vehicles. I didn't see a big truck until the Ōtaki Expressway on-ramp. Normally there's at least one big truck …

07 July 2023 — : 👍 Government launches measures to protect native biodiversity: The Government is launching … measures to protect native wildlife and at-risk habitats, to help halt the decline of nature due to human activity … “Aotearoa is home to …

07 July 2023 — : Train time.

07 July 2023 — : I needed to rummage round in the shed looking for something and nearly froze my hands off! Zero degrees C and a hefty frost. Luckily I found what I was looking for: the charger that came with my Apple Watch. I'd left it in the packaging and put the …

06 July 2023 — : Thanks to the Sky Guide app on my iPhone, my watch now alerts me to passes of the ISS. Here the ISS came up from the southeast and passed by Crux Australis before eventually disappearing in the northeast. This is a mere 10 seconds of an approx 5 …

06 July 2023 — : These two used to often be in the property across our lane. These days we only see them from afar. 🐴

05 July 2023 — : The stretches I started doing daily a week ago are really starting to pay off. It's much easier to get out of bed and I feel a bit 'looser' in my body. On Day 1 I could barely even get into position, now I'm starting to look at form and really …

05 July 2023 — : I really enjoyed The Complete Blue Ridge Mountains Mysteries 1–5 by Cathy Pickens. 📚 I very much liked the main character, Avery, and the author seemed very grounded in the setting — specially interesting as it was totally unfamiliar to me. Make …

05 July 2023 — : At 8.06am [NZ time] on Friday, July 7, Earth reaches aphelion …the furthest point from the Sun in its elliptical orbit… At aphelion, Earth is about 152 million Km away from the Sun … about 5 million Km farther than at perihelion A window into …

04 July 2023 — : I liked this notion in a book I'm currently reading (has local relevance): Opinions became more subtle and more difficult when mixed with knowledge and friendship rather than mere speculation. Source: Location 22166 of 23750 in The Complete Blue …

04 July 2023 — : My little buddy Willow is visiting for a bit today. 🐶

03 July 2023 — : So cool: NASA Seals Volunteers Into Isolated Habitat For Year-Long Experiment: four volunteers entered a simulated Martian habitat … to learn more about the logistics – and the human psychology – of living long-term on another planet Inside 160 m2 …

03 July 2023 — : After bookmarking a page in Micro.Blog I was stumped about how to Highlight a section. I tried for a while then gave up. Today I tried again, searched fruitlessly for instructions. Finally I tried unchecking Enabled in the Stop The Madness extension. …

02 July 2023 — : Nuttin' — just hanging around… WOAH!

02 July 2023 — : More bias exposed — Women Hunt in Most Foraging Societies: narratives of 'man the hunter' and 'woman the gatherer' are crumbling in the face of new evidence. …ancient sites around the world strongly suggest that women have been fishing, hunting big …

01 July 2023 — : Another excellent NativLang video (17 minutes): Why is this the most popular word order across languages? – SOV — Miraz the blog post wrote, for example. If you're interested in words, language, languages, do watch.

30 June 2023 — : I really enjoyed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season One, but Season Two is just “out of this world”. Loving this season so much. Such fantastic stories. 👏🏼👏🏼 🖖🏼

30 June 2023 — : Just scraped in at the end of June with my (briefer than usual) monthly Waikawa Newsletter. One of the things I like about Buttondown is that it checks for alt text and the validity of links before I send.

29 June 2023 — : Glanced up from making breakfast to see our neighbour's Huntaway dog bounding through the paddock next door. Not something he's ever done before. Then I grabbed the binoculars as he bounded back again to discover it was in fact a deer! What the heck? …

28 June 2023 — : In this year's NZ Garden Bird Survey I saw (or heard) way more birds than last year: 6 sparrow, 1 fantail, 30 canada goose, 4 pheasant, 1 shag, 1 blackbird, 1 waxeye, 2 magpie, 1 grey warbler, 4 swallow, 2 hawk, 3 starling, 1 chaffinch, 3 thrush, 10 …

27 June 2023 — : Starting today (27 June) July 2023 will be a month where I focus on my health, in particular getting my body more flexible. I have my own stretches, plus two exercises from my massage therapist, and I’m adding in Yoga For Neck, Shoulders, Upper …

26 June 2023 — : Had the most wonderful massage today with Natalie Waddell from Functional Bodyworks in Paraparaumu. My back and neck have been so stiff and sore lately — not helped by all the car travel of the past week or so. That was so good I’ve booked …

25 June 2023 — : Whew. After 2084 Km in our car plus another 220 Km with friends in their car, it’s good to be home. We saw some great sights and had good times with friends. We ate good food and excellent food. We’ve come home with an idea for the porch …

24 June 2023 — : I wouldn’t normally dream of posting a naked selfie, but occasionally there are mitigating circumstances … (Deb took the photos.)

24 June 2023 — : Today’s drive was marked with narrow winding roads to start, pouring rain, crawling past an accident, a visit to friends, roadworks, 110 Kph on the Waikato Expressway (highest speed limit in Aotearoa), and a surprisingly good panfried fish, veg …

24 June 2023 — : Deb bought me this wonderful Deejo folding pocket knife with tattooed blade. It’s so gorgeous!

23 June 2023 — : Time to head home now — a 12 hour drive. We’ll visit friends along the way and have a couple of overnight stops. Rain forecast for the rest of our trip.

22 June 2023 — : Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua heritage: after death, all Māori spirits travel … to the pohutukawa tree on the headland of Te Rerenga Wairua. They descend into the underworld (reinga) by sliding down a root into the sea … then return to the land of …

22 June 2023 — : From Taipā Beach, on the East Coast in the Far North of Aotearoa. Just before dawn. Also just before I got drenched in a downpour!

22 June 2023 — : It was almost dark and still pouring with rain when we arrived at Taipā Beach Resort near Coopers Beach so I’m looking forward to dawn in a couple of hours to be able to enjoy our beach view. Last time we visited Coopers Beach we spotted a …

22 June 2023 — : Yesterday afternoon we drove through pouring rain to our booked holiday home in Coopers Beach, Northland. There was delay getting in, then the house stank, was damp and dirty and hard to access. After I carried our bags in through the rain and …

21 June 2023 — : This corridor feels endless.

21 June 2023 — : Last year I decided my personal year would run from (my) Winter Solstice to (my) Winter Solstice (as nature intended). That makes today New Year’s Eve. I actually have a resolution for the New Year: to do some stretches every day. I’m far …

21 June 2023 — : Today we leave Paihia in the Bay of Islands and drive about an hour north to Cooper’s Beach. Tomorrow we do a day trip up to Cape Reinga, about 1.5 hours drive. Unfortunately the weather looks like it’s going to be rainy and windy. Views …

20 June 2023 — : Tāne Mahuta, 2000 years old, is enormous and awe inspiring.

20 June 2023 — : Today we plan to visit Tāne Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree: Trunk girth: 13.77 m Trunk height: 17.68 m Total height: 51.2 m Trunk volume: 244.5 m³ According to Māori, Tāne is the son of Papatuanuku the earth mother …

19 June 2023 — : We arrived at Opononi in the Hokianga after sunset, but the view of Hokianga Harbour from our room at The Heads is splendid.

18 June 2023 — : I totally recommend Thaidelight Restaurant in Taupō. The food arrived very quickly and was extremely delicious. The service was excellent and the decor rich and welcoming.

18 June 2023 — : A private spa pool. Hooray! Maybe my multi-day headache will decide it doesn’t like hot water and will disappear.

18 June 2023 — : Ahhh, relaxing with a Yunnan Yellow tea, looking over Lake Taupō. The Moomaa Cafe, a bit up the line from Bulls, was very popular. The Hot Chocolate (me) and Flat White (Deb) were excellent. The fries and aioli (me) and Cheese Roll (oniony) and …

17 June 2023 — : Somehow I had missed reading Midnight Come Again (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 10) by Dana Stabenow, even though I’d read all but #23. 📚 Now put right and it was, as expected, an excellent read! I love the Alaska setting in these books and …

17 June 2023 — : I enjoyed reading Three Dog Knight (A Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Book 3) by Alice Bienia. 📚 Jorja is one unlucky detective who narrowly escapes with her life on several occasions. The book held my interest though, and I expect to read …

17 June 2023 — : Last night I was thrilled with the Starry Time session I ran down on the beach. People enjoyed learning about the objects we viewed and liked my tale of the magic car that would travel the 94,000,000 Km to Venus non-stop at 80 Kph (50 mph) in a mere …

16 June 2023 — : Yesterday I noticed tree felling had begun ~800 metres east of us. Incredibly, this morning it’s still 1 hour till sunrise, a brisk -3C (27F), and they’re back already.

15 June 2023 — : Went out to check out the night sky to prep for tomorrow’s Starry Time session. It was gorgeous. Two handheld 10-second iPhone shots of the Milky Way: one with Crux, the other with Scorpius. 🤩 Crux and the Coalsack. Milky Way by Scorpius …

15 June 2023 — : I ran out of energy and useful space in the shed so the last, small bits of firewood just got thrown in haphazardly. 4 cubic metres of firewood in the shed!

15 June 2023 — : Waikawa Beach has nice dark skies so tomorrow night I'm running a community event I've called Starry Time: a casual hour of looking at stars with the naked eye or binoculars. I hope we can see Mars, Venus, Large & Small Clouds of Magellan, Southern …

14 June 2023 — : 4 cubic metres of firewood to stack.

14 June 2023 — : Hanging around waiting for 4 cubic metres of firewood to be delivered. With only a couple of hours to sunset I’m unlikely to get it all into the shed before dark…

13 June 2023 — : A bit of fun: this was meant to be a photo of the ship/s? in the distance. What I really like is the wave in the foreground.

13 June 2023 — : Uurgh, with my iPad erased and then easily restored by bringing it near my iPhone, it’s setting up the email accounts again that’s a hassle. Go to the provider, download the special profile then hunt out the correct password. I also …

13 June 2023 — : Step 2, while the non-charging iPad still has 20% battery: disconnect from iCloud, full device erase, in case I decide to sell it as is. Or in case I decide to fix it. Good thing the iPad is my third tier device, after MacBook Pro and iPhone. So, if …

13 June 2023 — : Today I start with research on my iPad which isn’t charging. Tried the basic troubleshooting with cables etc, now onto cleaning out fluff from the port-type tips. Not sure yet what I’ll do if I can’t get it going — maybe just use my …

12 June 2023 — : Today I made a special trip to Wellington Zoo to see two Snow Leopards — sisters, Asha and Manju. I went past the enclosure several times which meant I eventually got to see one of them barely a metre away, behind the glass. The most noticeable …

12 June 2023 — : Wellington Zoo is today’s outing.

11 June 2023 — : A midwinter dip in the sea with friends is not something a Miraz does … until today. 😆 A perfect day for it with blue sky, warm sun, no wind and a calm sea. You can see Kāpiti Island, and to the right, the top of the South Island across Cook Strait. …

10 June 2023 — : Some of the first mandarins off our tree. The one I ate was delicious!

10 June 2023 — : Those into Tiny Homes may enjoy this writeup and photos of a tiny home right beside the main entrance to Waikawa Beach: Designer’s Two-Bedroom Tiny Is Ultra Creative, Hides a Cool Sliding Ladder. The original owners sold, and the property it stands …

10 June 2023 — : I’ve been promising Fliss, the Japanese Quail, for ages that I’d clean out her run. Today was finally the day. I popped her in the glass recycling bin while I did the work. 🐦 Before: old stale straw, pine shavings. After: deep, clean …

10 June 2023 — : Checked the Library's ebooks and found Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Comic Issues #1-5: … shows what life is like for cadets at the galaxy's greatest school! Witness the student days of the iconic cast before they joined the Enterprise! Never was a …

09 June 2023 — : Although I never saw Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) when I was a kid watching it now reminds me of those times. All the stories were about the men having adventures. Nyota Uhura and occasionally Nurse Chapel, the only visible women, did what …

09 June 2023 — : One of the excellent things about today was that we paid someone to do a couple of hours weedeating, garden clearing and mulching. That would have taken us longer to do, and instead we got to sit back, read, enjoy the sunshine. Except Deb has a cold, …

08 June 2023 — : First day for winter of putting out food for the birds.

08 June 2023 — : There’s a cracker frost today!

07 June 2023 — : Well, bizarre! Looked at Netflix again and there’s Star Trek: The Animated Series, just as I expected but couldn’t find this morning… Was it some quirk of the VPN, I wonder? Both times I’m sure I was set to NZ…

07 June 2023 — : I added the RSS — Bring Crime out of the Closet | A celebration of LGBTQ+ characters in crime fiction 📚: to examine … how LGBTQ+ characters have been handled in crime fiction … from first … being cast as the villain/victim, to today’s much …

07 June 2023 — : I really enjoyed Star Trek: The Animated Series S01E04 that I watched on Netflix yesterday. I’m finding the series fun and interesting. … … Today the series is nowhere to be found… 😤

06 June 2023 — : Shell fish.

05 June 2023 — : I enjoyed reading The Dead Swede (The Sheridan County Mysteries Book 3) by Erin Lark Maples. 📚 There was a heap of terminology relevant to brewing beer as the book is set at a local homebrewing contest. I hit the dictionary a fair few times. …

04 June 2023 — : From this morning: Waiting outside a funny little bakery on a street corner in Waikanae to meet a friend. Olde Beach Bakery. Their donuts were good but had too much filling. I didn’t much care for the chocolate I chose…

03 June 2023 — : No, the oven did not preheat to the required temperature while I was preparing ingredients, because I’d forgotten that the clock was somehow unset. Dinner will be 30 minutes later than expected… Learning about the old ‘set the …

03 June 2023 — : I found this little Southern Bell Frog on the lane when I went out this morning. That’s a relief — I haven’t seen many frogs around lately.

02 June 2023 — : It’s taken me the longest time to figure this out: an AppleScript to set the date on a Post in MarsEdit. tell application "MarsEdit" make new document tell front document set published date to date "Sunday, 4 June 2023 at 09:01:02" end tell end …

02 June 2023 — : I absolutely loved the Icelandic movie Woman at War. 🎥 I loved the concept, the quirks, the gentle comedy and the incredibly serious topic, the acting, the landscapes, the music and musicians, the story. Best movie I’ve seen in a very long …

01 June 2023 — : Hah! Never had much interest in Lego, but maybe I’ll visit — who knew there’s a new exhibition centre opening in Wellington? Tākina launches with hands-on Lego Jurassic Park exhibition Six million plastic bricks have been used for …

01 June 2023 — New binos: someone turned on the light : I recently withdrew a chunk of savings and bought, after much research a pair of Nikon Monarch M7 8x42 binoculars specifically for looking at birds and wildlife. My first impression is: Wow! It's like someone turned the light on. The image is bright …

01 June 2023 — : It pays to look up. Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher in a neighbour’s tree. 🐦

31 May 2023 — : On today's beach walk I saw a large mussel shell and a couple of oystercatchers. 🐦

30 May 2023 — : Somehow I never watched Star Trek: The Animated Series (1974). I just watched S02E01 (by mistake, I’ll start back at Season 1 next time). Wonderful 1974 futuristic sci-fi cartoon!

30 May 2023 — : Another good read from Jana DeLeon, with some switching around of secondary characters and an intriguing plot — Fortune Teller. I enjoyed this book. Even with so many prior books in the series, and a few long-running gags, such as Gertie's handbag, …

29 May 2023 — : Folks on Micro.Blog mentioning places they’ve visited. For me much of Western Europe, Scandinavia, UK and Ireland, Pacific Islands. Of special interest: I lived in Düsseldorf, West Germany and visited East Berlin when those distinctions were …

29 May 2023 — : The other day LeonP wrote about blogs being viewable on any device. That led me to wonder how my blog looks on my 2018 Kindle Paperwhite. The answer is: not too terrible.

29 May 2023 — : Heh, Aotearoa becomes more multicultural. Stories are legion of immigrants and visitors asked to "bring a plate" to an event who have turned up with an empty plate, puzzled about needing to bring it. 🤣

29 May 2023 — : Hmmm: When we hear the word 'fungi', [mushrooms are] what we think of first. But … only about 10 % of fungi species produce mushrooms. And they only do so when it suits them. Most fungi species are microscopic, like yeasts. Fungi of Aotearoa, …

29 May 2023 — : It's Samoa Language Week here in Aotearoa. This 25 minute documentary about traditional tattoo as service is so interesting, and moving: Tautua: Inked in Service. BTW: Samoa is pronounced with the stress on the Sa. That syllable has a long a and …

28 May 2023 — : Wowee: The new imitation game — … CarynAI, a bot which “replicates [Caryn Marjorie's] voice, mannerisms and personality”. Interacting with it costs $1 a minute: in the first week it was available it raked in $100,000. Thanks to A Feminist …

28 May 2023 — : Another one for folks interested in language — 18 minute video about weak and strong forms of words, and how in English the positive may just disappear: The Genius of Weak Forms. Still from the video shows the word was is barely spoken while the was …

27 May 2023 — : This afternoon I thought I’d try photos of sea spray. The sea was a bit rough today. B&W filter via Photos.

27 May 2023 — : Kei te pēhea tonu tātou? How are we really doing?

26 May 2023 — : If you’re at all interested in language, or in indigenous culture take 10 minutes and watch this fascinating documentary (via Kottke) — Hand Talk: Hand Talk sign language has been used by indigenous communities for thousands of years

26 May 2023 — : This is a very heartening good news story. Take a moment to read this non-fiction comic by Toby Morris : The Side Eye: Anahera, our neighbour. 🐦 Note: Kiwi is a Māori word. There are very few specific plural forms in Māori, and definitely no plural …

26 May 2023 — : I was already pretty cheery this morning but listening to Korolova b2b Jonas Saalbach @ Praia da Adraga, Portugal (55 minutes) just lifted me right up. I just love the beat in this one.

26 May 2023 — : Ahhh, my rejoicing was premature… After a couple of minutes the left AirPod just stopped working. From memory, if I put it back in the charging case for a few minutes it’ll work for a few minutes again. Still, I guess the right earbud still …

26 May 2023 — : It’s a miracle: my AirPods (1st gen) live again! Last year there were problems, fixes didn’t work, they were dead, they sat in my Must ship to Apple for recycling pile for months. Then I discovered an issue with my charges-everything …

26 May 2023 — : A Micro.blog Community Library. What a great idea from @KimberlyHirsh. Time for a needs assessment! Micro.blog community, what resources do you need in the Micro.blog Community Library? Kimberly Hirsh, PhD …

25 May 2023 — : Nope. No Kuaka | Godwits round here. Nope. 🐦

25 May 2023 — : Our beach doesn’t have rocks (unless you count chunks of pumice) but there’s plenty of driftwood. Sometimes a buried log will emerge after the tide flows out.

24 May 2023 — : Late afternoon and I was just walking from one room to another when I noticed these (perhaps juvenile) Eastern Rosellas on the flax plants nearby. I love their bright colours. Photographed through the window. 🐦

24 May 2023 — : Anna Havron is a generally smart person. I like what she has to say here — Inner Trolls and Better Angels: Being a Person, Online: I see great value in sites that post personal observations. They do what novels do: they help us grow in empathy and …

24 May 2023 — : I realise Micro Camp 2023 left me on a real high — took me all day to calm down afterwards. I’m really energised by the presentations, keynote and other discussions, the chats and what others have posted since. I learned a heap, and now …

24 May 2023 — : This 9 minute video is so good and the food looks delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a wide assortment of mushrooms in our shops. Julia Child’s Favorite Mushroom Risotto | Cooking with Lidia Bastianich The actual recipe: Risotto …

23 May 2023 — : What’s that big star in the west, Deb asked. The crescent moon, I smartly replied … and Venus. 🤣

23 May 2023 — : There's always one who's late to the meeting… Pāpango | New Zealand scaup on Lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

23 May 2023 — : A new series but another excellent police procedural from Anne Shillolo: Murder at Elk Ridge (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 1). Nice character introduction and development, great setting, good story. Can’t wait to read the next in series 📚

22 May 2023 — : Pukeko at the edge of Lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

22 May 2023 — : Pro tip: when Micro.Blog seemingly just refuses to publish your post — make sure it’s not set to Draft. 🤣 (Wasted a fair bit of time earlier…)

22 May 2023 — : Apparently this orange plastic cylinder I spotted washed up on the beach today is a Burley Pot. The idea is to put bait in it to attract fish.

22 May 2023 — : On this morning’s beach walk I walked in amongst a big spread of driftwood of all sizes. When I turned round I spotted this wonderful orange fungi on a log.

21 May 2023 — : Whew, I thought we’d just watched the last ever episode of Vera. In fact it was the last available episode. Vera S12E04.

21 May 2023 — : After the disappointing movie yesterday we had excellent Thai food at Tuk Tuk Waimea in Waikanae. I had stir fry chicken with fresh vegetables and ginger. A smidgeon too salty but very delicious.

21 May 2023 — : Micro.Blog pals — a 1 day coupon for MarsEdit! I usually only offer discounts of 10% or 20%, but in celebration of Micro.camp 2023 I’m offering a 50% discount on MarsEdit. Use this link and see the 50% discount when you continue to checkout: …

21 May 2023 — How to customise the MarsEdit Preview : When you write a blog post in MarsEdit you can see a Preview right in front of you as you type. I like to arrange my windows side by side, with the editing window on the left and the Preview on the right. As I type or paste in text and add images I …

21 May 2023 — Resources for my MarsEdit presentation at Micro Camp 2023 : See my presentation on YouTube. These resources go alongside my Micro Camp presentation, Take the Captain’s Chair of your Micro.Blog with the MarsEdit App for Mac: Time Travel, Replicators, Warp Speed and More : 19 MB PDF of all the slides with …

20 May 2023 — : We went to see the movie Aftersun 🎥 : a 2022 coming-of-age drama film … an 11-year-old girl, on holiday with her father at a Turkish resort on the eve of his 31st birthday. … It was also named one of the best films of 2022 Load of twaddle. Go see …

20 May 2023 — : I’d totally forgotten that MarsEdit can do TypeWriter Scrolling in the composition window. It’s right there under the View Menu. Don’t care for it myself, but I know some love it.

20 May 2023 — : Just now pondering at a very shallow level, whether there’s a role at future Micro Camps for a brief pre-Camp Zoom checkin session where we can discover we need to download a newer version, have forgotten our passwords, how to raise our Hand, …

20 May 2023 — : Excellent start to Micro Camp 2023 today. Thanks to everyone who participated but especially to all those who helped organise! The sessions were interesting and engaging. I enjoyed hearing everyone's thoughts on all the topics raised.

19 May 2023 — : I had read this somewhere recently, but thanks to @billbennettnz for Apple satellite SOS service now live in New Zealand: NZ-based Apple iPhone 14 users are now able to use the company’s Satellite Emergency SOS service. The service lets phone users …

18 May 2023 — : Recycling — maybe not always a good thing…

18 May 2023 — : I love Aotearoa but this is unconscionable — The twin crises that fuelled the hostel fire: 10% of our population are so poor and stressed they can’t afford a place to live or food without government help to pay their rent, or to eat without food …

18 May 2023 — : Back in September 2017 I came across this little cutie on a driftwood log on the beach. The Kekeno | New Zealand Fur Seal pups often come ashore on our stretch of beach to rest during winter and spring. I haven't ever seen more than one at a time …

18 May 2023 — The MarsEdit Browser extension : While checking posts from my now defunct KnowIt blog I spotted this mention of MarsEdit from 01 February 2008, emphasis from today: To post this blog entry I visited the MarsEdit 2 What's New page, selected some text and clicked on my MarsEdit …

17 May 2023 — : Hmmm, not entirely sure about this step in the online recipe for Crispy Chicken Nibbles… 🤔

17 May 2023 — : Just enjoying a pleasant lunch time on the beach with my good buddy Willow. 🐶

17 May 2023 — : When I was on the beach yesterday 3 Kakīānau | Black swan flew in and landed on the estuary. Here are two, with a Karoro | Black-backed gull in the background. 🐦

17 May 2023 — : Crescent moon and Jupiter in the pre dawn sky above flax spears.

17 May 2023 — : So frustrating when every world map in Too HOT and HUMID to Live: Extreme Wet Bulb Events Are on the Rise cuts off Aotearoa New Zealand — either completely or mostly. It’s not a great feeling when 5 million Kiwis are overlooked, ignored and …

16 May 2023 — : I struck a lucky shaft of rising sunlight at the estuary this morning, with this Poaka | Pied Stilt. 🐦

16 May 2023 — : I haven't read this yet but want to boost Sod's link about writing good alt text for images 🔗 : Alt-texts: The Ultimate Guide is another hands-on article that I like, with tips and tricks for writing great alt-texts.

16 May 2023 — : I haven’t been for a proper walk on the beach for the last month. Now I’m finally over the ghastly flu, it’s time to get back out there. I hope not all the birds have gone away… Sunrise in 30 minutes, better get myself sorted.

16 May 2023 — : A very clear and very helpful post by Alan Jacobs about the true nature of Micro.Blog 🔗 : I wrote about the Three Paths of micro.blog. Alan Jacobs https://social.ayjay.org/2023/05/15/i-wrote-about.html

15 May 2023 — : I stayed up way too late last night, not being able to get this AppleScript (or any other technique) to work. Today I found the ‘missing piece’. I had a BBEdit text file with blog posts, each on its own line. I wanted to split that file …

15 May 2023 — : Visited with my buddy Leo today. 🐈

15 May 2023 — : Remember when blogs were fussily called weblogs? While checking posts from my now defunct KnowIt blog I spotted this mention of MarsEdit 1.0 from 11 December 2004: Ranchero Software's MarsEdit 1.0 … is a weblog editor for Mac OS X that makes …

15 May 2023 — : Too big for your boots, AI! I made my Micro Camp 2023 presentation video and then had the wonderful free Mac app Aiko transcribe the audio (brilliantly). Except this line at the end: Huh? I never said that! I edited my video, so transcribed again. …

14 May 2023 — : For my Micro Camp 2023 presentation I used Apple Keynote. I wondered about accessibility for those who can’t see the screenshots. Keynote Help let me know I can add image descriptions, so that’s underway now. Keynote Help tells how to add …

14 May 2023 — : A MarsEdit tip for including MB usernames in Posts: Micro.Blog automatically converts usernames to MarkDown links on posting. That can lead to confusion if posting from MarsEdit with HTML. To avoid that, in MarsEdit’s per-blog settings uncheck …

14 May 2023 — : Thanks to @Danielpunkass and @Manton for the kind words about me in Core Intuition 557: …talk about Micro.camp …summarize some of the planned talks, and weight the pros and cons of … an all-online event. I don’t feel any pressure at all… Micro …

14 May 2023 — : Apparently New Zealand Sign Language week finishes today. While I’m very interested in language and have learned various amounts of several I’ve never tackled Sign. I need to remedy that. Meanwhile, here’s a start: My Name is Miraz. …

13 May 2023 — : I don't often buy reference books, but this seemed like a must-have: Fungi of Aotearoa: A Curious Forager's Field Guide by Liv Sisson. 📚 I realised I can read it in Kindle on my Mac to enjoy all the colour photos.

13 May 2023 — : Same old stories: The truth is that women are perennially and perpetually angry about male violence, but every time there’s a public explosion of that anger the news media will report it as if no one had ever noticed the problem before (it’s called …

13 May 2023 — : Heh, this came up today on my daily check of my blog’s Surprise me page: Kea gyms!. Next weekend find out why that’s a bit of random serendipity…

13 May 2023 — : Two — almost 3 — a.m. I seem to have mislaid my sleep…

12 May 2023 — : This was a gripping read: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. 📚 Hannah’s husband just doesn’t come home from work after his boss is arrested for fraud. She sets out with his teenage daughter Bailey to figure out what’s going …

12 May 2023 — : This morning we had the first frost of the season, and there was snow on the high tops of the Tararua range too. Winter is nearby.

12 May 2023 — How rich folks could really help poor folks in NZ : We have some mega rich people in Aotearoa New Zealand, and a heap of folks who depend on food banks and the like to scrape out a hard existence. The mean [average] estimated net worth of the families in the Project population for 2021 is $276 million …

12 May 2023 — : Good news story out of NZ today — 8 year old Josh asked the local Council for a swing for his friend in a wheelchair. the council … unfortunately couldn't put a swing onto Hudson Park. But they said '… if Josh is okay with it, we could put an …

11 May 2023 — : There were about 20 Kawau | Pied Shags at the edge of the sea today. And 20 more nearby but out of shot. The sea was moving in with some energy.

11 May 2023 — : Oops, I stumbled across the 2023 Eurovision Semi-Final 1 and thought I’d have it in the background while doing whatever else. Instead I’m hooked, watching it… Enjoying (quite a lot of) the music. 🎶

10 May 2023 — : And then there’s this: Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Performed by Kerry Washington

10 May 2023 — : This poem, and video, is so powerful: AI, Ain’t I A Woman? - Joy Buolamwini. a spoken word piece that highlights the ways in which artificial intelligence can misinterpret the images of iconic black women: Oprah, Serena Williams, Michelle …

10 May 2023 — : We had an old iPhone 5 with a dead battery. The phone’s so cute I wanted to keep it and use it as a radio. With a new battery and toolkit (NZ$20), and the help of an excellent video, it took me 10 minutes to install the battery. 5 minutes were …

10 May 2023 — : In The Case of the Unlucky Gardener (Connie McKinnon Sailing Detective Cosy Mysteries Book 1) by Tina Mclachlan Brassington the characters bat chunks of dialog to and fro. I finally realised it was more like exchanges of email: chat chat chat; reply …

10 May 2023 — When online form validation goes wrong : In 1963 our family moved from England to Aotearoa New Zealand. Back in London our phone number was like this: CROWN42. That’s fake, just to be on the safe side, but yes, it had a word and numbers. So when an online service years ago had me set …

09 May 2023 — : It's been a while since I've posted a photo of Fliss, my one remaining Japanese Quail. 🐦

09 May 2023 — : Covid booster finally achieved 👍

08 May 2023 — : Why we perceive ourselves negatively as we age: As we get older … there is a subtle decline in memory, but we overstate it… older people blaming every memory failure they experience on their age is a symptom of ageism… Everyone has memory failures, …

08 May 2023 — : I've never seen Kosher salt in any NZ shop so looked it up, since it seems to be in most (overseas) recipes I see. Technically, kosher salt is a type of sea salt … There’s no rabbi blessing large industrial bins of salt in a warehouse somewhere. What …

08 May 2023 — : When I started working on my Micro Camp presentation about Mars Edit I checked my email archives. I started using ME in or before May 2004. That’s almost 2 decades. Then I found this testimonial I wrote a few months later. It’s fair to …

08 May 2023 — : Thrilled to boost 2023 Micro Camp: Micro Camp Presenter Topics and Schedule micro.campMicro Camp https://micro.camp/2023/05/07/micro-camp-presenter.html My session — Take the Captain’s Chair of your Micro.Blog with the MarsEdit App for Mac: …

07 May 2023 — : Looking at In photos: Coronation for King Charles III. Zoom in to see how a coloured collar, Charles's posture and the lines on a clerical vestment line up so it looks like he's on a lead. Britain's King Charles III and … Camilla, Queen Consort …

07 May 2023 — : How I thought my recovery from the ghastly flu would progress vs How my recovery from the ghastly flu is actually progressing.

07 May 2023 — : As usual, The Spinoff wins at commentary: The “robe of righteousness” and the “gown of salvation” were put on his heaving shoulders, while those at home watched on in a cardigan of bewilderment. Everything you missed from King Charles’ coronation

07 May 2023 — : Aargh. For the purposes of making screenshots for a presentation I rearranged the MarsEdit Toolbar. That moved the Send to Blog button into the position where I usually have the Format drop down. Twice now I’ve published a Post when I meant to …

06 May 2023 — : The book Little Girl Lost (Georgiana Germaine Book 1) by Cheryl Bradshaw just didn't sit right by me. 📚 The detective had some mysterious tragedy in her past that was a driving force but whose shadowy nature was just annoying. Also I found the …

06 May 2023 — : This morning we have gunshots at dawn … thanks to the opening of Game Bird Hunting Season, and the fact we have lakes nearby (not the lakes I post photos of). Hoping our dog neighbour Willow isn’t freaking out. Bad time for the birds …

05 May 2023 — : Today's new tea: Laoshan Imperial Green tea. Different from all the others I've tried. I think I like it… Laoshan Imperial Green tea.

05 May 2023 — : Did a speedtest on my 4G WiFi broadband connection after billbennettnz wrote about speeds. Happy with our rural residential speed (I can see the cell tower from here) here at Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua. Speedtest shows 100MB down and 22 MB up. …

04 May 2023 — : Things just aren't going well for Peg, in relationships or work in Peril in Silver Nightshade (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 4) by Lakota Grace. 📚 Somehow she ends up dealing with Silver, a talented con artist who trusts no-one but herself. …

04 May 2023 — : So far mine looks like this: I put my thoughts into words and words into action… or something… Mandaris Moore https://mandarismoore.com/2023/05/03/i-put-my.html @mandaris

03 May 2023 — : One of the ‘features’ of living at the beach is that sometimes dead animals wash up. Presumably they’ve been washed down from one of the rivers north of us. Today I reported a dead calf and asked the Council to remove it …

03 May 2023 — : Flu vaccination: Nearly 600,000 people had jab in first four weeks of rollout: The flu season has started earlier this year, with… nasty strains circulating.… for those who were otherwise healthy, this year's flu could be more serious than the …

02 May 2023 — : Woohoo, later this year we’ll be spending several days at Sinalei Reef Resort and Spa, Samoa South Pacific - Island Resort. See the video.

02 May 2023 — : It was a beautiful still and warm morning at the beach — 19C. Someone had cleverly stacked driftwood to make a seat. I sat there and recorded the sea for a few moments.

01 May 2023 — : Another in a series I enjoy — Goodbye Linden Square (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 7) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 The crimes keep piling up in Port Alma — dead bodies, a bomb on a boat, sniper fire, kidnapping — but are they all connected? And why?

01 May 2023 — : A nice prequel short story to the Pegasus Quincy mystery series by Lakota Grace — Bad Day at Black Canyon: 📚 When Peg leaves for Arizona and her new job as a rookie sheriff's deputy, she discovers major roadblocks ahead, not to mention a gremlin or …

01 May 2023 — : After 2 weeks of the flu I’m better but still nowhere near fully recovered. The coughing is reducing, thank goodness but my energy levels are really low. A quick trip to buy groceries and PJs meant we were out for 2 hours. Then I needed a nap! …

30 April 2023 — : I can never remember how to tell native Toitoi apart from exotic Pampas Grass. Whichever this is down by lake Te Puna a te Ora it looks pretty fab.

29 April 2023 — : Whew. Deb and I have done final cleanup at the house we’ve sold, passed keys to the agent, signed papers with the lawyer. All that’s left now is to see the money in the bank account. A few more days…

29 April 2023 — : This ~7 minute video is a really useful explainer from MinuteFood about how a microwave oven works — what it actually does to the food inside. Recommend. The weird thing about microwaves

28 April 2023 — : The anti-woman language of gynaecology, eg the hostile uterus. Listen to the ~1 minute clip from Quirks and Quarks, A view on the womb. Leah Hazard … the more she learned about the uterus, the more she was surprised about what scientists and …

28 April 2023 — : Bought back in September 2020; I must have read the first book then. Totally forgot what it was about. Read the second book this week and it ranks very high on the improbability scale. That aside, it was an OK read. The Girl and the Ocean — Boxset by …

28 April 2023 — : I walked ‘all the way’ to lake Te Puna o te Ora in the sun and fresh air and quiet this morning. (It’s less than 500 metres away.) Although I did drive to the doctor yesterday this was my first ‘outing’ in over a week. …

28 April 2023 — : Autumn sunrise.

27 April 2023 — : One of life's eternal mysteries: if there's a duvet cover in the wash how does all the other washing end up inside it by the end?

26 April 2023 — : This 35 minute podcast episode is so interesting. Pet lovers, tune in! Death in the Afternoon: INTERVIEW: Uncovering Pet Death’s Greatest Mystery: The author of history’s most influential piece of animal mourning literature had been …

26 April 2023 — : Well, that's unusual: two sizeable quakes within moments of one another. The pheasants were busy with their special earthquake alarm calls. 〰️ A 5.7 at 1016 and a 5.4 at 1019.

26 April 2023 — : Reading Persons Unknown (Manon Bradshaw, Book 2) by Susie Steiner was how I imagine white water rafting would be. You dip a toe in the river not sure if you really want to engage, take a step, and then you're off, swept along irresistibly. What a …

25 April 2023 — : Fire in Broken Water (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 3) by Lakota Grace was a thoroughly good read from an author and in a setting I enjoy. 📚 feuding over water rights … suspected drug dealing, and a blackmailer … all lead Pegasus astray on …

24 April 2023 — : Woohoo, a proper holiday (with friends) coming up later this year. There is an island or two below that red dot… 🇼🇸

24 April 2023 — : This was another gripping read from Tracy Clark: Runner (A Chicago Mystery Book 4). It's a great shame there are only 4 books in the series. It's a story worth telling. 📚 Chicago in the dead of winter can be brutal, especially when you’re scouring …

23 April 2023 — : Seems a bit woo-woo but sometime last night while I was asleep my little battlers announced to my brain that they’d defeated whatever infection this has been. And indeed, I feel different today — definitely getting better at last. Negative …

22 April 2023 — : Took me a few starts but in the end I enjoyed Poodle Versus The Mob (Cottage Country Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Anne Shillolo well enough. 📚 Zora Flynn, local newspaper publisher, and Rocco, her pampered poodle, are faced with a mini-crime wave. Not …

22 April 2023 — : I enjoyed reading Murder Among The Roses (Maybridge Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Liz Fielding. 📚 Abby is horrified to discover the bones of a baby buried under a rose bush. … And then, just two days later, Abby finds Howard himself. Lying dead in the …

21 April 2023 — : In Murder Never Retires (DI Hillary Greene Book 12) by Faith Martin our favourite DI is back on the job but in a different role. 📚 20 years ago … Anna McRae was found beaten to death … with a rolling pin. She’d been having an affair with her …

20 April 2023 — : Today, while my sore throat morphs into a cough, I’m resting up, mainly reading, dozing and answering urgent last minute calls from our lawyer about the house we’re selling. 🤞🏼

20 April 2023 — : Today had a visit from our favourite Kōtare | Sacred Kingfisher. 🐦

20 April 2023 — : Another excellent mystery from Faith Martin — Murder at Work (DI Hillary Greene Book 11) 📚: Michael Ivers was a gambler and a notorious womaniser … there is a long list of people who might have wanted him dead. Hillary has just days left to solve her …

20 April 2023 — : I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the novella Catnip & Brimstone by Jessica Nickelsen. 📚 Nine-year-old Beth and her tabby kitten Charley become BFFs … When Charley is catnapped by a strange man in a dark cloak, Beth does everything she …

19 April 2023 — : A couple of photos from the other day of one of my favourites: the Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel. On close inspection, I see this one has a yellow band high on its right leg. 🐦 These little Tūturiwhatu are only about 25 cm vs 37 for a gull or …

18 April 2023 — : Turns out I’ve been wrong for at least 5 days now in my belief that Fliss had stopped laying for the season. Quail only lay when there’s at least 12 hours of sunlight… 🐦

18 April 2023 — : On This Day reminded me that in 2018 and 2020 I did an online hearing test. So here's another. I attribute where there is improvement at 500 and 1K to the fact that tinnitus now seldom bothers me very much. Looks like high pitch has declined though. …

18 April 2023 — : Hmmm, yesterday I was tired and my throat was a bit scratchy. Today, after sleeping poorly, I’m still tired and my throat is more scratchy… But in better news, yesterday we accepted an offer on the house we’ve been hoping to sell since …

18 April 2023 — : Started this book so long ago I’d forgotten what was going on. Picked it up and finished it with some enjoyment. The Country Inn Mystery (Jenny Starling Book 7) by Faith Martin. 📚 Jenny Starling is [cooking for] a Regency Extravaganza … …

17 April 2023 — : I tossed out some apples that weren’t good enough to cook. This morning a black bunny and a grey bunny were enjoying fruit for breakfast in the back yard.

17 April 2023 — : Got up to make a [second] cup of tea and found this going on outside. Seneca: Moral letters to Lucilius/Letter 101: begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.

16 April 2023 — : I was really hooked in to the 5 books in Detective Hillary Greene Books 6–10 box set by Faith Martin. 📚 Book 10 suggested an unwelcome change but I see there are 20 books in the series in total. Whew. Well-written with interesting characters and …

16 April 2023 — : I quite enjoyed reading What You Don’t See (A Cass Raines Mystery Book 3) by Tracy Clark. 📚 Vonda Allen … Everybody adores her. Except the people who work for her. And the person who’s sending her flowers with death threats. … Cass Raines … …

15 April 2023 — : On the beach this morning was a sizeable flock of Tara | White-fronted Tern. The photo shows about 1/3 of the flock. Nearby was a pair of the much chunkier Taranui | Caspian Tern — I suspect an adult and a youngster. 🐦

14 April 2023 — : I attended the same school as murderer Juliette Hulme (Anne Perry) but over a decade later. My friend Rachel though was in the same class and writes powerfully of the Impact of a murder on an individual schoolgirl, [her]self and the smallish trauma …

14 April 2023 — : Hmmm, apparently flights from Auckland to Kathmandu take approximately 18 hours…

14 April 2023 — : Whew, it took 8.5 episodes of hogwash and bunkum but finally Picard S03 is at a place where I’m not just waiting for the whole thing to be over. (It’s Trek so I keep watching…) Boomers vs whatever the current Gen are FTW. Still hoping …

14 April 2023 — : On my beach walk yesterday I came across this wonderful orange fungus in the dunes. So big!

13 April 2023 — : Today's dinner was Tangy Braised Chickpeas — thanks to @tracydurnell for the link. It was delicious.

12 April 2023 — : I didn’t watch the video but really enjoyed listening to Troy Kingi’s music: Black Sea Golden Ladder – The Visual Album.

12 April 2023 — : Spam has got weird. After a flurry of folks offering me wealth there’s now a stream of messages quoting (I suppose) passages from old texts — many anti-semitic or with other repulsive sentiments, some seemingly just from regular tales.

12 April 2023 — : 40 mm rain or so in the last couple of days (25 mm in the last 7 hours) has been enough to bring back the paddock puddle. I expect it won’t last long, but it shows groundwater levels must still be quite high.

12 April 2023 — : Useful — Define Your Own Principles: Do you have your own rules for life, your set of principles you steadfastly stick to in any situation and can default to when faced with tough choices? With a clear focus on your guiding principles, you can …

12 April 2023 — : Not surprising the rain woke me: 13.5 mm per hour is a decent fall!

11 April 2023 — : A couple of days ago when I walked on the beach at dawn these folks were down floundering. Mt Ruapehu in the background.

10 April 2023 — : I keep thinking maybe I can hear thunder — or some loud truck nearby on this public holiday. Given this sky in the southwest, I suspect it’s thunder.

10 April 2023 — : Wow, big day today: I’m really in the money! 🤣

09 April 2023 — : A walk today at Kitchener Park right next to Manfeild Race track near Feilding was accompanied by the roar and whine of racing cars and motorbikes. So loud. Most of the track was a dirt path, a little had interesting trees nearby, a bit was in among …

09 April 2023 — : Thanks to the Eastern Rosellas who alerted me that the apples on my Granny Smith tree were ripe.

08 April 2023 — : This set of decals is now on the wardrobe door by my bed. From Top left, clockwise: Me and Sasha, Sasha and Oshi, Olive, Harriette. Centre: Aphra and Ares. 🐈 🐶 I pondered including my original Blue Burmese cats Arakhan (died young), Amrico, and …

08 April 2023 — : Our neighbours are taking down some pine trees that are about 30 years old. They’re a bit unstable apparently. I guess all the birds that use those trees are now looking for new homes…

08 April 2023 — : 10 hours of sleep! It’s a miracle!

07 April 2023 — : A thoughtful and interesting essay: Don’t fret about students using ChatGPT to cheat – AI is a bigger threat to educational equality: AI tools also perpetuate the global dominance of English at the expense of other languages, especially oral and …

06 April 2023 — : That was a fun movie: Desconectados: Victoria is addicted to the internet and work, and has bad relationships with her teenage kids … Her life changes when her kids visit for a few days and a solar storm causes a global internet blackout.

06 April 2023 — : Aha, plane mystery solved: Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow 2023. Wow, I’m not any kind of vehicle nerd, but there’s an impressive lineup at the show.

06 April 2023 — : That’s a worry — while I was posting my previous item another 9 planes went past in formation! Photo shows 4 of them. Has our whole airforce gone south? 😆

06 April 2023 — : I was way too slow going out to check on the unusual aircraft noise. It turned out to be 7 planes in formation! Since NZ has 11 T–6C Texan II craft, but only 4 of the other candidate I’m guessing they were Texans. They usually fly way …

05 April 2023 — : I remember the day back in 2002 when Ares and Aphra first discovered there was World beyond the front door. 🐈

05 April 2023 — : Had my flu shot. Asked for the Covid booster too but they only do them on Fridays… Booked that one for 28 April.

04 April 2023 — : This was simple to make and very tasty: Black Beans and Brown Rice. Will cook it again.

04 April 2023 — : I can't exactly pinpoint where this tree felling is taking place. It may be about 700 metres to the southeast of our house. The bottom of the slope has been cleared already. I'm curious to know what vista will open up for us once all the trees are …

04 April 2023 — : Airing out the cobweb.

04 April 2023 — : I was briefly awake at 1130 pm last night. Through the open window I could hear not only the sea, but also a Ruru | Morepork. That’s the first time I’ve heard one here. I’m thrilled to know we have a Ruru in these parts.

03 April 2023 — : Great explanation — The core of karakia: Karakia is karakia. You’ve got ka - it ignites - ra - connectivity and kia is the essence of your voice, the tone of your voice, your sincerity, the words you are saying. … a karakia’s about …

03 April 2023 — : Guess the problem (watch the video). I'm torn between good coverage and wrecking the night sky. Mobile coverage across the country with SpaceX: We're very proud to announce a new collaboration with SpaceX to provide 100 percent mobile coverage across …

03 April 2023 — : Our local Council livestream meetings then make the recordings available. After sitting through a few hours that didn’t interest me I emailed and asked for chapters or timestamps, even if just in the Description. Heard back today that they like …

03 April 2023 — : Over on the Micro.Blog Help site @manton has provided a list of 20 allowed file extensions for Micro.Blog file uploads. File type upload was a problem for me recently.

02 April 2023 — : Bit of an ethical dilemma today, in a post on another blog. I linked to an 8 minute radio interview. Their copyright says I can link but not publish the audio file. Fair enough. I had the AI Aiko.app generate a transcript. Transcripts aren’t …

02 April 2023 — : The entertainment at the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival was excellent. It continued all day with a lot of variety. Very short clips below of a swing band, a marching band and a sea shanty group.

02 April 2023 — : Kimbolton is a 90 minute drive northish from Waikawa Beach. At their Sculpture Festival they knew how to entertain, kids especially. Lots of food stalls, but also a pen of Dorset Downs sheep, a Mystery Wool Dig, a jump-in trampoline, a boat race pond …

02 April 2023 — : The Sunday Essay: Confessions of a cryptic addict There is, however, no disputing the pleasures cryptic puzzles bring. Astle says when a clue is solved, “the endorphins spike and the cortisol and the adrenaline drops – so there is this real general …

01 April 2023 — : At the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival were this horse head made from motorbike parts, stag made of horse shoes and bull made from bicycle tires.

31 March 2023 — : Wait … is that a UFO?

31 March 2023 — : Well, well, well. This 6 minute video is so interesting: What Are The Different Types Of Cinnamon?: Did you know there are different types of Cinnamon? And the cinnamon you’re noshing on today is not the same kind your Granny used to sprinkle …

31 March 2023 — : Nice: Words from the land of the long white cloud: New Zealand English additions to the OED: In its latest update, the OED is putting the spotlight on the country that its first inhabitants, the … Aotearoa—the land of the long white cloud—as the …

30 March 2023 — : Just checking the recipe for the chicken wings I want to cook shortly for dinner: Honey and ginger chicken wings | Jamie Oliver recipes: place in the fridge to marinate for 24 hours 😳

29 March 2023 — : Further back there seems to be some tree felling going on. That may well be on a different property — it gets a bit confusing round here.

29 March 2023 — : It’s all go round here today, in the teeth of a cold southerly. The farmer next door is harvesting a crop that is probably maize. The harvester looks pretty flash, so I imagine it’s a contractor.

29 March 2023 — : I knew it was chilly this morning, with a cold wind, and that way down south there were snow warnings for the mountains. Still, I was very surprised when I went out for lunch to see the tops of the Tararuas had a fairly decent coating of snow too.

29 March 2023 — : What, you've never seen a rabbit eating a peach? Well you have now. 🐇 Wild black rabbit on grass eating a peach.

28 March 2023 — : Visited a neighbour not far from us the other day. They had this wonderful small log with orange fungi in their garden. Weird, in Photos the orange is really vibrant. Here it looks muted. Interesting orange fungi on a dark log.

28 March 2023 — : I write a monthly newsletter for our local community. A kind resident made this wonderful cartoon on an extremely topical and important issue and I've had such a turbulent week I forgot to include it until just after I pressed Send. So annoyed. 🐦 …

28 March 2023 — : So many people have said such kind and generous things about Sasha — too many for me to list all. Thank you so much for your thoughts and kind words. I appreciate it deeply. She was the last of them: Olive 🐈, Aphra 🐈, Ares 🐈, Oshi 🐶 and Sasha 🐶. A …

27 March 2023 — : Sasha in August 2008, aged about 18 months. Such a beauty! 🐶 Sasha said Goodbye to everyone today. Thanks to all blog pals who left kind and caring comments over the years. She was staunch and willing to the last. The best dog.

27 March 2023 — : Sasha does a selfie. 🐶

27 March 2023 — : Just out for a stroll. 🐦 Peihana | Pheasant.

27 March 2023 — : Sasha says: Thanks — breakfast was the best! 🐶

26 March 2023 — : Out to it at the end of the day. Sasha. 🐶

26 March 2023 — : Sasha, aged 16 and a quarter. Her back legs, well all her legs, are having trouble supporting her. Breakfast was a bit of a problem this morning. 🐶 Today will be a Very Good Day for her with her favourite foods and treats. Her friend Willow will …

25 March 2023 — : Look at this little poppet, back in February 2007 when she was just 3 months old. Sasha's come a long way in the last 16 years! 🐶

25 March 2023 — : Sasha, aged 16 and a bit, was out to it on her rug, until I poked my phone in her face. 🐶

24 March 2023 — : I’m so thrilled. Look at this shot I got tonight (iPhone 13 Pro) at our wee star viewing. Crescent Moon with Venus and bird. Below that cloud, then a strip of sea, a strip of sand, river.

24 March 2023 — : Crescent Moon and Venus. @odd

24 March 2023 — : Sasha in her crate earlier today. 🐶

24 March 2023 — : I prefer my own company to groups, so what induced me to organise a community Star Viewing tonight? These are things I’m hoping we can find / look at: Sirius Orion Orion Nebula Taurus Pleiades Mars Southern Cross Large and Small Magellanic …

24 March 2023 — : The sleepy eye of morning.

23 March 2023 — : Back in January I made Crusty French Bread Rolls and results weren’t great. I tried again today, with the mixer, and they’re my most delicious bread rolls yet! Before and after baking. They could have been a little taller, but …

23 March 2023 — : This is the time of year for the couple of Yucca gloriosa in the dunes to flower. The long lens in the first photo makes distant hills look really close.

22 March 2023 — : Thinking about that 1.5C global warming number … it seems so tiny, yet its effects are huge. We need to find a Consequences Score (CS) and start to use that. Let’s start talking about reducing the CS from 1,000,000 to 100,000, for example. A …

22 March 2023 — : Every morning I check earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions to see what’s going on with weather around Aotearoa New Zealand. I find it educational and informative too. I love seeing how the land forms affect wind flow. …

21 March 2023 — : Watched B5 S01E03, Born to the Purple, with its love, intrigues, machinations, wiles, compulsion, slavery, compassion and forgiveness. B5️⃣

21 March 2023 — : BTW: Sasha has to stand on the carpet now to eat her meals as otherwise her legs slide out from under her. She no longer has sufficient strength in her legs to control that. She used to eat sitting down (she has a long body). Even a year ago she was …

21 March 2023 — : Sasha told me at length that breakfast didn’t meet her requirements. Only after I added some of the expensive gourmet wet food did she consent to eat it. 🐶 I hope when I’m her age (16 as a dog, but the vet says that’s like being 100 …

21 March 2023 — : Thanks to a crossword I have now heard of three Impressionist painters: Marie Bracquemond, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. Lovely!

20 March 2023 — : Watched B5 S01E02, Soul Hunter. Interesting ideas about how different cultures can view something from opposing perspectives. We learned some interesting things about the Minbari called Delenn, who is more than she seems. B5️⃣

20 March 2023 — : And I say again: “Sea levels are rising. We gotta deal with climate change.” 🐦

20 March 2023 — : Watching Lingthusiasm: Bringing stories to life in Auslan - Interview with Gabrielle Hodge. I have utmost respect for sign language interpreters who are saying what went a moment ago while observing what is current. What skill! Paying such close …

20 March 2023 — : Oh Siri … sometimes you drive me pineapples! Me: Hey Siri, add Vanilla Wine Biscuits to the Groceries List. Siri: OK, I’ve added chocolate to the Groceries list. What????

20 March 2023 — : Somehow on my Babylon 5 rewatch I completely forgot to start with the pilot, The Gathering. The ambassadors arrive, the Station Commander is accused of attempted assassination of the Kosh ambassador, and we find everyone has secrets, or mysteries. …

19 March 2023 — : Whew, Babylon 5 rewatch, S01E01, “Midnight on the Firing Line”. There’s a huge amount happening in the universe and we’re dropped right into the middle of it. We have xenophobia, hostilities between cultures, tension between …

19 March 2023 — : Today’s lunch included a very rich yet delicious Broccoli-Cauliflower Casserole via @mbkriegh. I halved the cheese and sauce parts of the recipe as I didn’t think we had as much broccoli and cauliflower as required.

18 March 2023 — : Good news today. Oxford English Dictionary adds more Māori words: The Oxford English Dictionary updates every three months … 47 new New Zealand words have been added to the dictionary, they include ‘hooning’ … Kupu like whenua, e hoa, …

18 March 2023 — : Deb picked up Thai Takeaway on her way home last night from Thai Tara in Johnsonville. I had Ginger and Vegetable Stir Fry with chicken, mild and it was good. Would buy from there again.

17 March 2023 — : A good read: Borrowed Time (A Cass Raines Mystery Book 2) by Tracy Clark. 🐦 It could be murder. But why would anyone kill a dying man? Cass’s persistence attracts unwanted attention, putting her life in danger and uncovering sinister secrets she may …

17 March 2023 — : Usually I eat my breakfast while listening to the latest episode of Sasha’s “My life as a dog” podcast. Amazingly, it autoplays, triggered by my sitting down to eat. Today though some glitch occurred and it didn’t play. 🐶 …

16 March 2023 — : Today’s tea Moonlight Pavilion: You’ll notice the aromas undulate between floral, buttery and vegetal, with a pleasant astringency at each temperature. Yes, it is a pleasant astringency.

16 March 2023 — : A fascinating 1 hour podcast episode — After an initial discussion between the hosts about whale vocalisations, Megan and Carrie talk with Rachel E. Gross about her book, Vagina Obscura, and the language we use to describe pregnancy, vaginas, …

16 March 2023 — : Had this Soft Scrambled Japanese Tamago today. It’s quick, easy, delicious: whisk together eggs, mirin, sugar, and soy. Add … along with butter to a cold pan … stir occasionally over medium-high heat … about 2–3 minutes.

15 March 2023 — : This is an extreme crop of a photo at nearby Lake Puna o te Ora: two birds shaking, with water droplets spraying around them. The birds are likely Rakiraki | Mallard, with a Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler enjoying a quiet moment in the …

15 March 2023 — : Today’s tea is golden yellow and delicious. Amber Hojicha roasted green tea: This special Hojicha tea is made with sencha leaves which are roasted; a process that transforms the leaves into a warm brown colour and changes their flavour. Amber …

15 March 2023 — : Morning is the youth of the day, when everything is bright, fresh, and easy of attainment; we feel strong … all our faculties are completely at our disposal. Do not … waste it in unworthy occupations or in talk; look upon it as the quintessence of …

14 March 2023 — : It’s been that kind of day.

14 March 2023 — : I was just getting nicely lined up on this Makipai | Australian Magpie at the beach — hoping it would sing — when it flew away! 🐦

14 March 2023 — : By 0650 the sun was rising. The paddock below the sunrise, with cows lying quietly in the autumn mist.

14 March 2023 — : It’s just before 6am and a chilly 7C as I take Sasha for her walk. Everything’s dark. There are stars in the clear sky, washed out by a very bright half moon. I can make out a little of the Milky Way below the Southern Cross. …

13 March 2023 — : Today’s tea — White Moonlight: This is a fun, fragrant, light-bodied white tea with an intricate cascade of notes… I like this one. It is fragrant and light-bodied. Refreshing. I make it with 1 teaspoon of leaves. White Moonlight tea packet. …

13 March 2023 — : Yesterday I made Deep dish apple pie. I bought the pastry. Everyone said it was delicious. Prepping 2 Kg apples took forever as they came off the tree full of bad spots to cut out. Cook up apple with spices and sugar. Blind bake pastry. Pie ready to …

12 March 2023 — : Aargh. I’ve been making Traditional deep dish apple pie, with ready made pastry. It’s taken all afternoon! I didn’t realise it’d be so time consuming.

12 March 2023 — : This odd looking thing is a Red Kiwifruit: This fruit has a deliciously sweet berry-tinged flavour and vibrant red flesh … the distinctive red flesh stems from Anthocyanin - a unique and naturally occurring pigment within the fruit that is linked to …

11 March 2023 — : Courtesy of Anne Shillolo’s newsletter I downloaded her Murder At Aspen Creek prequel novella for free. It was a quick and enjoyable read — I’m already a fan of her Port Alma Murder Mysteries. I’ll be reading the new series too. 📚

11 March 2023 — : I’m going to stop reading A Space Girl from Earth (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 1) by Christina McMullen. I’m not the target audience and I’m more annoyed by it than interested. 📚 not only is Ellie an alien, but … the forbidden …

10 March 2023 — : Another fascinating interview: Ann-Helén Laestadiu: Sami, the reindeer people: Stolen is the story of a young Sámi girl’s coming of age. It is informed by painful real-life events: the killing … of reindeer, and the hatred Laestadius has seen as a …

10 March 2023 — : Fascinating interview: Angela Saini on the origins of patriarchy - A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard: Her latest book, The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule … explores the roots of gendered oppression and how patriarchal systems became …

10 March 2023 — : At 6 am I shone the torch into the quail run to check on lonely Fliss the quail. I spotted this Leopard Slug - Limax Maximus leaving the food dish: Limax maximus is the largest slug introduced to New Zealand from Europe.

09 March 2023 — : The books in this series by Kris Bock are good reads: Someone Missing from Malapais Mountain (Book 4 in The Accidental Detective series). The mystery is interesting, the characters enjoyable. 📚

09 March 2023 — : I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to make this little Keyboard Maestro macro to convert a Markdown link to an HTML link… I’ve needed it a lot recently. Copy a Markdown link to the clipboard, run the macro which does a Regular …

09 March 2023 — Change the date format in Alpine Theme : After installing the Alpine Theme on two hosted Micro.Blogs, I was extremely keen to change the date format. That took me ages as I blundered around through different theme files. Eventually though, I mainly got it done. The original The Alpine …

08 March 2023 — : The annoying thing about cooking Foolproof slow roast chicken is I’m starving and there’s more than an hour of cooking left to go…

08 March 2023 — : Hah! Against Copyediting: Is It Time to Abolish the Other Department of Corrections?: I was less the advocate of adventurous commas or paradigm-shifting syntax than a weary cleaner of the tiniest, most sparkling closet, working through the nooks and …

08 March 2023 — : Life with Sasha 🐶 these days: I start to do a thing… Sasha: Ohhh I really need to go out right now. … We walk aimlessly, or sit or just stand. 😵‍💫

08 March 2023 — : Dates on Micro.Blog bug me. I changed the theme on my blog and now see this date format: 1:11 PM, Mar 6. I hate it. The trouble is, to get my preferred format: 1311 on 06 March 2023 I have to go through a million theme files to find the right ones …

07 March 2023 — : I always enjoy a visit from the Eastern Rosellas. 🐦

07 March 2023 — : I saved out half a dozen photos of the Wrybills I watched yesterday, but this one stood out as my favourite. 🐦

06 March 2023 — : Thanks to @tracydurnell for linking to the recipe for Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. Friends have invited me to dinner so I experimented with making these. The one I’ve tasted is just fine. I used White Vinegar plus Milk to replace the Buttermilk.

06 March 2023 — : Those Ngutuparore, Wrybill are so cute. They came within about 3 metres of me as I sat on the sand. And they run so fast (see the second half of the video). Length: 20 cm (7.87 inches) Weight: 55 grams (1.94 ounces)

06 March 2023 — : Probably not technically on Micro.Blog, but I love following @Words@social.vivaldi.net because of the gorgeous daily fox photos. Followed them on Twitter for years.

06 March 2023 — : I haven’t looked through all ~150 photos I took of 3 Ngutuparore, Wrybill at the beach just now, but this shot clearly shows its bill curves to its right. 🐦 A relatively small pale plover with a long black bill curving to the right I …

05 March 2023 — : Another very enjoyable read from Kris Bock: Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek (The Accidental Detective Book 3) 📚 Kate … receives a message claiming Mayor Todd Paradise is taking bribes … Kate sets out to discover the truth, with help from her …

05 March 2023 — : I popped up the road for a quick treat today. Yum!

05 March 2023 — : June 2012 we went zip lining in Rotorua. I coped by clutching the safety straps so tight. The first person in this video is the guide who helped me strap in and turn the camera on. Then I fly!

05 March 2023 — : Heh, I was looking for a different photo but came across this one from September 2003. Remember the Iomega Zip Drives? I probably took this photo to sell it.

04 March 2023 — : RIP my Japanese Quail Glee, which leaves only one now, little Fliss, the striped one. Glee was full of zip, until she wasn't. 🐦 Baby Glee hatched on 24 February 2019. Glee (and Fliss) on 28 February 2023.

04 March 2023 — : I enjoyed watching Britt-Marie Was Here 🎥: The plot follows the titular protagonist Britt-Marie, a 63-year-old homemaker … who leaves her cheating husband of 40 years and reluctantly takes on a job as a youth soccer coach in the remote town of Borg. …

04 March 2023 — : Well, at least one of us is asleep at 1.30 a.m. 🐶

04 March 2023 — : Oh 1.30 a.m. I’m getting to know you all too well. 🥱

03 March 2023 — : I'd completely forgotten about this almost 2 minute video: Rosario Procession, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Sunday 13 September 2015.

03 March 2023 — I'm moving 2 Publii sites to a single Micro.Blog site via Mars Edit : I tried Publii static site builder for over a year. Now I’m moving two sites (what a mistake!) to a single site on Micro.Blog, which means manually transferring ~350 posts. Thank heaven for MarsEdit (a key reason I’m moving). Partial list …

03 March 2023 — : This Ring-Necked Dove was totally unfazed when Sasha and I walked past less than 2 metres away. They’re so friendly. 🐶 🐦 Now I understand why professionals have to stabilise their videos!

02 March 2023 — : I was enthralled by the sample: this was an immediate buy and a fantastic read. You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner. 📚 Themes of identity, friendships and finding a place in the world, all while being Deaf. Highly recommended.

02 March 2023 — : Jana DeLeon somehow manages to keep her Miss Fortune books fresh and interesting. Clue Krewe (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 24) was another very enjoyable read and a great adventure with Fortune, Gertie and Ida, while not forgoing explosions and chaos. …

02 March 2023 — : Hmmm, after wondering what had gone so wrong that everything Micro.Blog was down I tried Down for Everyone or Just Me which said it was just me. Switched my location with Unlocator away from my own ISP and behold: everything Micro.Blog is working …

01 March 2023 — : This is one of my favourite trees around here — a neighbour’s tī kōuka | cabbage tree on a slightly misty morning. 🌴

28 February 2023 — : A wee shake just to keep us on our toes. 〰️ M4.6, 46 Km deep. Update: later settled at M4.8, 28 Km deep.

28 February 2023 — : Dja reckon? Gonna rain?

28 February 2023 — : Cool! 9 minute video from Tom Scott: This is “impossible”, but New Zealand is trying anyway.: common wisdom is that, once an invasive species is truly established, it can’t be eradicated — but the team from Predator Free Wellington think they …

27 February 2023 — : This is one of the Spinifex plants volunteers put in 4 months ago on a severely eroded part of our beach. The weather’s been perfect for plant growth, warm, wet, warm, wet etc. So pleasing to see such growth.

26 February 2023 — : This mama pheasant was guarding a bevy of her babies. She stood her ground for a long time. 🐦

26 February 2023 — : Another photo from times gone by. 20 September 2015, a suit of armour in the hotel at Santa Cruz de Mudela. In the Region of La Mancha, this is half way between Granada and Madrid.

26 February 2023 — : Once I was used to the noirish language I enjoyed the adventure of Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space Book 1) by S.C. Jensen. 📚 Does she like her job? No. Is she good at it? Also no. She can’t afford to be too good. The last time … cost her a job, a …

25 February 2023 — : Excellent 5 minute linguistics video: Do New Zealand and Northern England have the same vowels?!

25 February 2023 — : And another: Gaudi Cathedral, Barcelona, Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus.

25 February 2023 — : And another: Gaudi Cathedral, Barcelona, Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus.

25 February 2023 — : I may have a cold so am laying low today. This photo from the archives, 02 September 2015: part of the amazing and fantastical Gaudi Cathedral in Barcelona. Base of the seemingly melting cathedral.

24 February 2023 — : Nearly 2 weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle, more than 50 people still unaccounted for, communities and food growing land wrecked by flood and silt and forestry slash. More heavy rain on the way. Toby Morris cuts through the sludge with The Side Eye: A …

23 February 2023 — : This makes for very sobering reading: New Zealand Historic Weather Events Catalogue. So many huge storms that have caused enormous damage.

23 February 2023 — : Once I finished procrastinating I steeled myself to cook Chana masala with cumin rice … only to find I don’t have enough of the ingredients. Postponed till after I go to town tomorrow and can shop.

23 February 2023 — : It’s Census time (07 March) and our forms were delivered yesterday. We can complete it on paper or online. The online 2018 Census had the lowest response in more than 50 years and the 2011 Census was postponed to 2013 because of the …

22 February 2023 — : I always enjoy a visit from an Eastern Rosella. 🐦

22 February 2023 — : Cyclone Gabrielle that wrought so much destruction in the north and east of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island didn’t affect us directly, beyond a bit of ‘normal’ wind and rain. But we do get the indirect effects of …

21 February 2023 — : Apparently I walked about 11 Km (nearly 7 miles) yesterday on Kāpiti Island. Today I’m feeling it! I feel I should be fitter than that!

21 February 2023 — : Why women are especially vulnerable after a disaster: there is years of evidence here and overseas that family harm increases after a disaster and that women are more vulnerable to violence and death as a result of disaster compared with men.

21 February 2023 — : This little green cutie is the Korimako | Bellbird 🐦 : Bellbirds are green with a short, curved bill, slightly forked tail, and noisy whirring, fast and direct flight.

21 February 2023 — : One of our more colourful birds, the Tīeke | North Island saddleback. 🐦 North Island saddlebacks have striking black plumage, a rufous chestnut saddle across their back, bright reddish-orange wattles … and a thin pale yellow band on the leading edge …

21 February 2023 — : Easy to photograph are Weka as they hang around on the ground looking for opportunities to break into bags to steal food. 🐦

21 February 2023 — : I wasn’t up to the challenge of photographing birds in dense dappled foliage. This is a Kākāriki | Red-crowned parakeet on Kāpiti Island. 🐦

21 February 2023 — : I asked Makewera, one of the Kāpiti Island guides, what these were. He told me they’re the fruit of the Kohekohe tree. notable for having characteristics normally associated with trees growing in the tropics … its flowers and fruit grow …

20 February 2023 — : I had an excellent trip to Kāpiti Island today. I heard tons of birds but seeing them was a challenge with the dense dappled foliage. Luckily this little North Island Robin posed for me. 🐦

19 February 2023 — : Well, that was a mistake — to watch Star Trek Picard S03E01 today. Now I have to wait a whole week to see episode 2! Pretty blimmin’ good! 🖖🏼

19 February 2023 — : I enjoyed the lightweight and mildly humorous sci-fi Independent Living (EarthCent Universe Book 1) by E. M. Foner. 📚 a group of retirees leaving Earth and a young woman in EarthCent’s new witness protection … are all going to live on Flower, …

19 February 2023 — : OK, the plan for tomorrow is to visit Kapiti Island on a day trip. Making sure my camera batteries are charged! I expect to see lots of birds.

18 February 2023 — : 0215 and Sasha 🐶 took me a long way down the lane before she had a pee. It’s a beautiful night though, still and not cold. The stars were so bright; Orion setting in the west and Scorpius rising in the east. The Milky Way was stunning. I could …

17 February 2023 — : There is so much about this book that makes it unlikely I would enjoy it — romance genre, sports, genius level maths…. I was riveted: Simply Connected: A Lesbian/Nonbinary Sports Romance by Alex Washoe. Leaves me with much to think about. 📚

16 February 2023 — : Apparently, Kāpiti Coast earthquake upgraded to magnitude 6.3 〰️: A strong earthquake centred off the Kāpiti Coast on Wednesday night has been upgraded to a magnitude 6.3.

15 February 2023 — : I’m still shaking. This M6.1 quake started with a really loud noise followed by enough shaking to get me out of the house. No damage though. 〰️

15 February 2023 — : Thanks to @Cheri for mentioning Racing Hearts by Alex Washoe. I kept reading even when other things demanded my attention. 📚 a grumpy/sunshine opposites attract romance. Contents warnings for encounters with transphobia and bigotry and for …

15 February 2023 — : We had minor wind and rain. Elsewhere in Aotearoa NZ homes, towns, roads are devastated by Ex Cyclone Gabrielle. Then this — Auckland’s emergency pet shelter: four greyhounds have just come in, the owner had to carry them out of the house in …

14 February 2023 — : I really enjoyed this Australian light cozy mystery. A gentle fun read: Till Daph Do Us Part (Daphne Jones Mysteries) by Phillipa Nefri Clark. 📚 Daphne Jones has travelled … to officiate a wedding … a member of the bridal party ends up face down in …

14 February 2023 — : My neighbour Chris makes the very best Afghan biscuits. It’s rare for me to buy Afghans anywhere that are as delicious.

14 February 2023 — : Amazing: we’re under a Strong Wind Warning here in Horowhenua yet it’s barely a bad weather day as yet. A bit grey, almost no wind, a few drops of rain. Meanwhile elsewhere up country there are 12 States of Emergency, flood, slips, gales and worse …

14 February 2023 — : Deb gave me these SealSkinz Waterproof All Weather Ultra Grip Knitted Gloves for my 68th birthday. I’ll be using them as photography gloves, given that these days random fingers go numb when I’m out and about. Not easy to press the …

13 February 2023 — : Part way through a game of Carcassonne yesterday. A friend was teaching 4 of us how to play. I happened to win, thanks in large part to a farmer who was able to walk to quite a lot of towns. All those traditional values about owning (strategic) …

12 February 2023 — : This wētā made itself big and scary when I mowed the lawn today at the house we’re selling in Ōtaki. I was accordingly cautious and kept my distance.

11 February 2023 — : We went to a friend’s 80th birthday BBQ. One of her guests had done this amazing job icing chocolate cupcakes as if they were roses. So clever!

11 February 2023 — : While organising some papers I found this copy of the September 1945 letter to mum advising her that dad had been freed from the Japanese Prisoner of War camp. Even though it's almost 80 years ago, I've obscured a few details.

11 February 2023 — : The Top 5 Dogs of the Week! makes me tear up every week.

10 February 2023 — : ROFL: Poker Face S01E03 and the racist, fascist, sexist, homophobic MAGA dog! Natasha Lyonne is hilarious.

10 February 2023 — : My car problem could be the transmission, but the mechanic with decades of experience who took it for a drive thinks it’s a sensor problem. Booked for a sensor replacement in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile I can still drive the car. Such a …

10 February 2023 — : Taking my 19 year old car in to get Dash error lights checked out. Could be an easy fix loose wire, or, my Internet research tells me, it could be super-expensive problems. Of course, I’m hoping for the loose wire. Meanwhile nervous about the …

10 February 2023 — : There is one single reason why I pay the NYT for games and that is to be able to do the fortnightly Acrostic. This morning I was greeted with this notice, followed by incredible stupidity about how to cancel.

09 February 2023 — : Sasha seems happier now she’s had about 3 months worth of woolly coat shaved off. Plus the weather’s a bit cooler. She slept well last night (which means we did too) and has been settled today. She seems less old and more sprightly than a …

08 February 2023 — : I pretty much enjoyed The Unsound Theory (STAR Academy Book 1) by Emilia Zeeland. It’s a YA book — the main characters were in their late teens. Somewhat interesting ideas. Not sure I’ll read the rest of the series though. 📚

08 February 2023 — : How to look 10 years younger in 90 minutes. Yesterday and today. 🐶 The same dog after being groomed.

07 February 2023 — : Somewhere in there is a dog. Just wait till tomorrow! 🐶

07 February 2023 — : Tuturiwhatu, Banded dotterels in the multiverse… 🐦

07 February 2023 — : I’m pretty sure this is a female Kuruwhengi | Australasian shoveler with her 3 babies on our nearby lake. 🐦 A medium-sized dabbling duck with a large black spoon-shaped bill … females are mottled light brown with a dull brown bill and eyes, …

06 February 2023 — : Here’s one for the pen and pencil fans… Actually, it’s a recycled plastic fence post, about 1.5 metres long (a yard and a half), washed up on the beach.

06 February 2023 — : This, my friends, is almost certainly a Hemideina crassidens — Wellington tree wētā. It had made itself comfy on our neighbour’s outdoor chair. Probably about the size of my index finger (or maybe longer).

06 February 2023 — : Busy day: walk the dog (15 minutes these days) walk on the beach — took a load of photos brunch with a good friend, followed by a 15 minute walk at a nearby reserve teaching someone how to post to the local Ratepayer Association’s WordPress …

05 February 2023 — : I find it interesting that the Google Alert I have in place for Waikawa Beach found me an item about Kai Iwi beach. No mention of Waikawa in the source.

05 February 2023 — : The invitation words that always fill me with terror 😱: bring a plate to share

05 February 2023 — : Today’s tea is a rich golden colour. Thyolo White Peony: To create this tea, each pluck is three leaves and a bud. Gathered together, the leaves are dried in partial sun and shade, before being finished in the tea factory’s air drier. 3 …

04 February 2023 — : A pair of Eastern Rosellas has been taunting me for weeks now. Today I finally “caught” them. 🐦

04 February 2023 — : Not actually a floor mop. Sasha on the floor in the early morning. I’ve finally been able to get her in for a groom next week. 🐶

03 February 2023 — : Early in the piece I didn’t think my first loaf of bread made with our new Kitchenaid mixer would work out very well, but it looks fine fresh out of the oven. Basic Bread Recipe. I haven’t tasted it yet…

03 February 2023 — : This was a simple read — an easily solved murder mystery, a bit of romance. Always on Duty: Companion Novella (A Klondike Mystery) by D. B. McNicol. 📚

02 February 2023 — : These clouds seem rather opinionated. ☁︎

02 February 2023 — : I’m not a Royal watcher, but Princess Anne seems like the pick of the bunch. Princess Royal to visit New Zealand: Princess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is …

02 February 2023 — : Today’s tea: Yunnan Yellow — It has a heady and exotic fruity and floral aroma, a thick mouthfeel with intense marmalade and papaya notes and hints of eucalyptus and walnut. Hmmm, tastes like tea to me. 😆 Tea packet for Yunnan Yellow.

02 February 2023 — : Sasha on another barky morning. Surely she can’t know it’s the anniversary of her brother Oshi going away and never coming home again… 🐶 Small elderly black dog by a bookcase, looking into the distance. Small elderly greying dog on a …

01 February 2023 — : Apparently, according to Sasha 🐶, 01 February is The Day of Barking. Not sure if this is a National or even International event. In any case, I’m hoping it’s one of those morning-only things… 🥺

01 February 2023 — : Today’s tea: Kyobancha This soothing tea is perfect for a cold day or as a night-time tea. March 2021 harvest.

31 January 2023 — : I’ve tried a couple of times to give blood, but they won’t let me. That could change — Ban on blood donation … likely to be lifted: A ban on people giving blood because of mad cow disease is likely to be lifted later this year … The ban …

31 January 2023 — : Ooooh, I never knew this Backing Up MarsEdit: MarsEdit stores all its data in a folder in your home folder. To open the MarsEdit data folder, hold the option key on your keyboard while selecting the Help menu at the top of the screen, then select …

31 January 2023 — : The unusual mystery writer conceit in Secret Sleuth Box Set (Books 1–2) [dead link] by Patricia McLinn took a bit of getting used to, but the books were a good read. 📚

31 January 2023 — : Enjoyed the hunt in Graves On The Fens (DI Nikki Galena Series Book 14) by Joy Ellis. 📚 It arrives in the morning. An old-fashioned airmail envelope addressed to Detective Nikki Galena. Inside, on a single sheet of blue airmail paper, are three …

31 January 2023 — : Today’s tea: Himalayan Evergreen Autumn, Nepal: Grown at 1850m, these leaves were hand-plucked on the sunny morning of 30 October 2021, then quickly withered, pan-fired, rolled and oven-dried. The result is a delicate tea with a citrusy, …

30 January 2023 — : A neighbour called and said she was watching the Matuku-hūrepo | Australasian bittern nearby so I rushed down to join her. My first time seeing this extremely rare and cryptic bird. 🐦 Status: Native, Nationally Critical Bitterns are extremely …

30 January 2023 — : I’m copying 325 blog posts from Publii to Micro.Blog via MarsEdit. AppleScript helps a lot. I was stuck on choosing the right blog. @danielpunkass sorted it: tell application "MarsEdit" make new document set current blog of document 1 to blog …

29 January 2023 — : On 20 September 2013 there was an enormous thunderclap right above our house in Wellington. Next day when I was walking the dogs I noticed a tree only some 50 metres from our house (and above the level of our house) had been hit by lightning.

29 January 2023 — : There is thunder rumbling round. So glad Sasha can no longer hear it (and react to it with terror).

29 January 2023 — : Fascinating read The sense-defying magic of the Pitcairn Islands: Pitcairn is so high and solitary that there is nothing out there but the Pacific. From where I’m standing the curvature of the Earth is discernible, and from that curved horizon to …

28 January 2023 — : Soooo clever: chose the theme Anatole for the new site. Downloaded the theme Arabica so I could easily search the files for stuff I wanted to change. No wonder I can’t find stuff… 🤦🏽

28 January 2023 — : I’ve been active on Micro.Blog for 5 years, modified my theme a few times. Feedback on a new blog: setting up a new Micro.Blog account is hard, frustrating and confusing. Even choosing a theme from Plugins is hard: not enough info, info in the …

28 January 2023 — : 9 inches of rain in 24 hours! Auckland flooding: Auckland is under a state of emergency after being battered by torrential rain, with more than 230 millimetres falling yesterday.

27 January 2023 — : Back on 05 December 2021 I thought I’d try Publii for my Waikawa Beach blog. It works adequately, but I really truly miss being able to work with Posts via MarsEdit. Plus there are blog features Micro.Blog is just so much better at. I’m …

27 January 2023 — : Woohoo. We’ve just ordered a Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer - KSM160. That should help a bit with our cooking explorations. Bread products here we come.

26 January 2023 — : This is Sasha, out on a walk with me specifically for the purpose of her having a pee… I guess I'll be carrying her back inside again. 9.3 Kg… 🐶

26 January 2023 — : You know what Plugin I’d like Micro.Blog to have? Something that puts a small banner at the top of the Timeline and says: Since midnight you have posted [n] times. Help me easily catch days I haven’t posted yet.

26 January 2023 — : Whew, writing this 1700 word article for my Waikawa News site has actually taken weeks, including research. It should help inform local discussions to take place soon about vehicles on beaches though. Balanced beaches: birds, babies, bikes, boats

25 January 2023 — : Whew. First I did research that took at least a week. Then I spent at least another week trying to write a big article for my Waikawa Beach blog. Finally I have a draft. Read-through tomorrow when I’m fresh, then I’ll publish. It’s …

25 January 2023 — : In written Māori macrons over vowels indicate a lengthened sound. I’m pleased to say that these days I aim to use macrons correctly. In earlier, more naive, times I ignored them. Learning to say placenames correctly is an ongoing challenge …

25 January 2023 — : Apparently Seneca had thoughts on personal blogging 😆: They asked him what was the object of all this study applied to an art that would reach but very few. He replied: “I am content with few, content with one, content with none at all.” …

24 January 2023 — : This may finally explain why I had to eventually give up trying to post faulty earbuds to Amazon — vapes confiscated from checked-in flight baggage: Aviation Security said the charger case for … wireless earbuds was a form of power bank, which was …

24 January 2023 — : Today’s walk was 6.6 Km at Mangaone Walkway: follows an old bush tramway in low hill country east of Waikanae. A very enjoyable easy walk through bush, mostly screened from sun. My second swingbridge this month. A few muddy patches, but the …

23 January 2023 — : We heard a really loud sneeze just outside the door. When I looked though, there was no-one there. Sometimes the cows in the paddock next door cough, but nope, no cows. But wait! What’s that? A grey bull hiding in the lupins. And sure enough, …

22 January 2023 — : The first stick insect of the season has set itself up inside the open window but on the outside of the insect screen.

22 January 2023 — : We’re on the move — about 4 cm so far this year thanks to a slow-slip earthquake. Not all earthquakes are short sharp shocks. GeoNet: ~3–4 centimetres of motion has occurred on the subduction plate boundary … ~30–40 km beneath the …

22 January 2023 — : 98 second video shows a bit of what our recently resigned Prime Minister endured: Glimpse into the kind of daily abuse Jacinda Ardern had to weather. Shocking viewing and definitely NSFW.

21 January 2023 — : Maybe this is why Apple Pay never works on my M1 MacBook Pro: With an M1 Mac, the most likely reason is you enabled its Reduced Security mode to install a kernel extension required by some software that taps into low-level drivers, like some of …

21 January 2023 — : Today we visited the Ōtaki Pottery Show, which had a lot of craft goods for sale and a great many visitors. My photo shows only a small part of the show. I really liked these blue dishes from Jailhouse Pottery and bought one of the small ones.

21 January 2023 — : I use a Global Macro Palette in Keyboard Maestro to give me quick click access to some of my macros. The palette is usually collapsed but expands on mouseover. I wanted to customise it to be light green. Convert HEX to HSL helped with values.

20 January 2023 — : Today in Keyboard Maestro actions I discovered “Switch” instead of nested “If…Then” actions. There are 3 Facebook pages I occasionally need to view. I call up a window where I can select which I want. Then Case lets me open …

20 January 2023 — : I was thinking we need a plainer and more powerful word than the clinical and remote misogyny. It’s all academic and posh with its Greek roots. I think we’re past the feeble woman hating of yore too. How about something like woman …

20 January 2023 — : Re the resignation of PM Jacinda Ardern: it is becoming more challenging for women to be taken seriously… "Particularly if they are younger and particularly if they don't cleave to a masculine style, which Ardern does not." …misogynistic sentiment is …

19 January 2023 — : Nice: neighbours over the mountains. South Wairarapa and Carterton’s night skies will know be known under the collective name, ‘Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve’, covering an area of 3,665 square kilometers. — Wairarapa districts become …

19 January 2023 — : In her term as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern: encountered a major biosecurity incursion, a domestic terror event, a major natural disaster, a global pandemic and an economic crisis. Oh, and she had a baby. Jacinda Ardern’s resignation

19 January 2023 — : Hand mixed because we don’t have a kitchen mixer (yet), but I’m trying to make Crusty French Bread Rolls. Not optimistic at the moment while the dough rises.

19 January 2023 — : Sasha’s long overdue a haircut. 🐶

18 January 2023 — : I’m not sure what happened on the mountains this evening — I suspect it was a gap between clouds that threw sun onto one level of the hills between dark layers. I’ve also discovered my editing skills aren’t up to making the most of …

18 January 2023 — : A particularly interesting segment of Quirks & Quarks podcast talks about how eyes work — fascinating stuff! Dec 31: Our annual holiday question show: Are human eyes interchangeable, or are they distinctly left or right like hands and feet?

18 January 2023 — : A photo achievement I’m pleased with: getting a clear shot of this dragonfly on the wing. This one was in focus; the other 20 or so weren’t… 😆

18 January 2023 — : This Matuku moana | White-faced heron saw me watching and kindly fished up something out of the lake for me. 🐦

17 January 2023 — : Deb and I brunched at Bush Street Cafe. Deb’s coffee was great, my green tea was good. The food was delicious. I had the Caprese Toastie. And something you almost never find in Aotearoa’s cafes and restaurants: the knife was sharp enough …

17 January 2023 — My lying brain : In a few weeks I turn 68. These days I’m only too aware of how this 68 year old body doesn’t always meet my expectations. Of course, it’s my expectations that are at fault, not my body which has actually served me very well these …

17 January 2023 — : Yesterday I hiked Sledge Track, an hour’s drive away. I found it harder than the claimed “easy walk”, doing the 5 Km out-and-back to the Swing Bridge in 2 hours, plus several rests. It’s a shady walk through bush beside a …

16 January 2023 — : Terrible photo, but it was what I could get. I thought 2 rabbits were playing in the lane way ahead of me. Then I realised one was too long in the body, had something in its mouth, wasn’t moving like a rabbit. I think it was a ferret, a …

16 January 2023 — : And another view of the day before sunrise.

16 January 2023 — : Look at this gorgeous morning — 20 minutes before sunrise.

15 January 2023 — : Bored now. My little buddy Leo. 🐈

15 January 2023 — : Applescript to tidy Black Ink crossword app windows: tell application "Black Ink" set baseFrame to bounds of window 1 repeat with thisWindow in windows set bounds of thisWindow to baseFrame end repeat end tell -- script by Daniel Jalkut, 15 January …

15 January 2023 — : Just one reason @danielpunkass is a favourite app developer — I emailed asking for a way to tidy up Black Ink crossword windows scattered all over my screen. Minutes later Daniel sent a great Applescript solution. 😀

14 January 2023 — : After a few hours the baling machine comes along, sweeps up the cut grass, then rolls it into big round bales, wraps them up and poops them out every couple of hundred metres.

14 January 2023 — : Today the farmer next door was spinning the mowed grass into piles ready for baling.

13 January 2023 — : As usual I was concerned when I went out that Sasha would be stressed. I came home to this! 🐶💤

13 January 2023 — : I’m so ‘something’ that my neighbour has now seen the extremely cryptic and Nationally Critical Matuku-hūrepo, Australasian Bittern at our local lake 3 times, yet I haven’t seen it even once. She gave me permission to post her …

13 January 2023 — : This article is chock full of useful info for all users: The real secrets of iOS and accessibility.

12 January 2023 — : The farmer next door is mowing today.

11 January 2023 — : I missed the focus on this but still wanted to post this adult and two baby Oystercatchers. 🐦

11 January 2023 — : Heh, followed a link on a webpage to this address: h​t​t​p​s​:​/​/​b​-​o​k​.​c​c​ (I’ve added invisible characters to ‘break’ it here) and got to this FBI Seized notice.

11 January 2023 — : Whew, I’ve struggled my way through Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Translated (in 1862) by George Long. The language is dense so it’s hard going. I’d love to see a modern feminist translation. I’ve clipped a number of pithy …

11 January 2023 — : This post from 11 January 2022 took me by surprise today: It’s a year since I ordered my M1 MacBook Pro. I was just thinking yesterday how much I love this Mac. 2 years on and battery life is still phenomenal.

10 January 2023 — : This rather ruffled looking baby bird stumbled across the deck and took refuge in the passionfruit. 🐦

10 January 2023 — : These days when Sasha eats she spreads biscuits all over the floor. 🐶

09 January 2023 — : Just found this printed photo in the archives. When I was a teen back in the late 60’s and early 70s I begged my parents to get us a Miniature Poodle. This was Andre. Of course I was in charge of walks etc. 🐶

09 January 2023 — : Today I tried making Dorset apple traybake and it was delicious. We only had plain flour, not self-raising, the vanilla essence ran out, and we can’t buy Molasses at the moment. Even so, very yummy!

09 January 2023 — : If you’ve never watched this 15 minute speech from 2012 then you should: Julia Gillard misogyny speech in Australian Parliament. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

09 January 2023 — : Sometimes it’s an old movie that brings the thought for the day: Pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll find you’ve collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make today worth remembering. Meredith …

08 January 2023 — : I enjoyed reading Mountain Town Murder: Jackson Hole Moose’s Bakery Not So Cozy Mystery #1 by Sue Pepper and may well read more of the series. I specially enjoyed the author’s life views on topics such as worker housing, and awareness of …

08 January 2023 — : I just love timeline adjacencies! M: The one downside of weekends in a house with many people? Noise. There’s always someone doing something, walking somewhere, closing a door,… T: Getting ready to watch the Netflix version of All Quiet on the …

07 January 2023 — : Today’s surprise discovery 📚: the Southern Cross [constellation] hasn’t always been ours. Thanks to a phenomenon known as precession … it formerly belonged to the northern hemisphere skies … Source: Southern Nights: the story of New …

07 January 2023 — : Deb and I went to see the most excellent A Man Called Otto. At the same time sad, funny, and heartwarming, the movie was beautifully done. Not a thing out of place, subtle, gradually unfolding and developing. Definitely a must-see. 🎥

07 January 2023 — : Like mother like daughter — Oystercatcher adult and chick. 🐦

06 January 2023 — : Noon was feeding time at Ngā Manu for the Longfin Eels: The longfin eel is one of the largest eels in the world and it is found only in the rivers and lakes of New Zealand. I was told these were males, probably about 20 years old. They were …

06 January 2023 — : This Tuatara at Ngā Manu Reserve kept its back to me. Tuatara are a rare reptile found only in New Zealand. They are the last survivors of an order of reptiles that thrived in the age of the dinosaurs.

05 January 2023 — : Can't believe how knackered I am after today's outing (and last night's poor sleep)! One photo from today's visit to Ngā Manu Reserve, Waikanae: this green and white gecko — Barking gecko.

05 January 2023 — : Today’s Stoic thought was “memento vivere”: remember to live. I took it to heart, ignored the rain, realised I could have an outing, with Deb home to deal with Sasha and the plumber, and took off to the Ngā Manu Reserve in Waikanae. …

05 January 2023 — : I learned so much from Dan Bailey's book about the Fuji X series cameras that his new Fujifilm Autofocus Course was an instant buy. I'll walk you through the entire Fujifilm AF/MF system, show you all the features, settings and controls, teach you …

04 January 2023 — : In a clean-up moment I admitted to myself that most of the sciency YouTube videos I was subscribed to via RSS I was no longer really enjoying. Also they may have filled in a few minutes but I wasn’t retaining any of the information. I slashed …

04 January 2023 — : I love it when this mother and son pair come to graze in the paddock nearby.

03 January 2023 — : There’s a big block of land nearby that almost always has cows in it. Whenever I bike past I get a whiff of cow poop. I actually like that — it’s a good reminder that we live in a rural area. Back in November 2017 these cows were …

02 January 2023 — : Did a short beach walk: almost no birds — one pair of nesting Oystercatchers are hanging in there. Instead, as always at this time of year, loads of people, dogs and cars doing beach things. At this time of year it’s no longer ‘our’ …

02 January 2023 — Keyboard Maestro is a super useful Mac app : Keyboard Maestro is one of the must-have, first installed apps on my Mac. Why? Because it does so much for me: little things, bigger things, things that I could do just as well all by myself or some other way, but they’d take longer and be …

01 January 2023 — : I don’t do reading lists and goals and all that, but have thought maybe I should deliberately include some additional variety in my 2023 reading. Hence: Books I might Read. Update, 01-Jan-2025: looks like I deleted that page since the original …

01 January 2023 — : It seems I’m making a tradition of posting a selfie on 01 January each year. See 2022 and 2021. So, here’s 01 January 2023.

01 January 2023 — : I started this Gregorian Calendar 2023 year with a dawn visit to the beach. But I was thinking I’d like to align my personal year with the Solstices and Equinoxes, so New Year would fall on 22 June 2023 with the local winter solstice. Or on 23 …

01 January 2023 — : For the first time ever I tried recording video with my Fuji X-T2. This shifty looking character is either a South Island Pied Oystercatcher or a hybrid with the regular all-black Tōrea pango Variable Oystercatcher 🐦

01 January 2023 — : Mōrena. Welcome to 2023. Pahirini Chaffinch 🐦.

31 December 2022 — : I’ve found The Happiness Lab podcast invaluable. Now Dr Laurie Santos has created The Science of Well-Being for Teens. Parents, you may be interested…

31 December 2022 — : If you hate dogs look away. For the rest of us The Dogs of 2022 is four and a half minutes of delight. 🐶

31 December 2022 — : Sasha had me out taking her for a walk at dawn.

30 December 2022 — Solstice and Equinox dates for the next few years : Since I just looked this up for myself. Year March equinox June solstice September equinox December solstice 2022 21 March 04:33 21 June 21:13 23 September 13:03 22 December 10:48 2023 21 March 10:24 22 June 02:57 23 September 18:50 …

30 December 2022 — : I didn’t have my watch with me, but I got to spend maybe 20 minutes out admiring the warm, still, partly cloudy night while Sasha walked us around before finally having a pee at a quarter to one. 🐶

29 December 2022 — : Another book from an author I quite like: The New Teacher (The Sheridan County Mysteries Book 1) by Erin Lark Maples. 📚 The story flows well, and I’m intrigued by a few American words I’m not familiar with.

29 December 2022 — : Hmmm, The Raven’s Mark by Christie J Newport just wasn’t really my thing. 📚 Beth must break all the rules to stop any more girls from suffering. But will her everything be enough to stop a sick murderer?

29 December 2022 — : I quite enjoyed Knight Trials by Alice Bienia, though it felt a little tangled in parts. One page that sticks in my mind was a couple of paras of totally gratuitous tech jargon, presumably aiming to make a point. 📚

28 December 2022 — : Today I cleaned the used straw and shavings out of the quail run and gave the girls a fresh deep layer of bedding. 🐦

27 December 2022 — : This was a really good TV series. I hope we’ll get a Season Two. Darby and Joan 📺 : A retired Australian detective and an English nurse work together to solve the mystery of her husband’s recent death.

27 December 2022 — : Why herbal tea isn’t actually tea | The Tea Curator: Tea is said to have been first discovered in China way back in 2737BC by Emperor, scholar and herbalist, Shen Nung. According to legend, he was sitting under a native Camellia Sinensis tree, …

26 December 2022 — : Oystercatcher: Ah yeah, gidday. Just sitting on my nest. You? 🐦

26 December 2022 — : The positive about taking Sasha out for a pee at 2 am was the gorgeous bright stars. Mars was prominent by Taurus. Orion and Sirius were ahead of us, the Pleiades low near the horizon. Just beautiful.

25 December 2022 — : Christmas lunch with friends: tiger prawns and chicken on the barbie; a bowl of fresh raspberries and blueberries. Plus lots of other delicious dishes, not shown. 😆

25 December 2022 — : memento mori [is] remembering death so you don’t waste the time you have in life. Memento vivere, remember to live … is making the details of the moments of your life matter, the thrilling ones and the mundane ones. Via: Remember To Live - …

24 December 2022 — : Superb article: Inside Wikipedia’s great macron war: In 2007, New Zealand got … its first street name with a macron: Kōkiri Place … the mayor of Taupō … got sick of waiting for new road signs with macrons over the “o” so started changing them …

24 December 2022 — : Today I updated an old post which also meant I ended up finding, re-editing and re-exporting photos from my collection. It made me realise how much more I know about photography now than 5 years ago. 😀 Those old photos almost make me cringe.

23 December 2022 — 4 years ago I wanted Micro.Blog to help me write more : Update: thanks to @artkavanagh for pointing out that I'm just shy of 5 years, not 4! Hah, on 13 January 2018 I wrote on my new Micro.Blog with a link to my now removed and archived KnowIt blog: A fresh start in 2018. In which I stop posting on my …

23 December 2022 — : Excited to subscribe to en clair podcast: … a casebook of forensic linguistic cases, literary detection, and language mysteries. It also looks at codes, cryptography, undeciphered languages, and linguistic myths and legends. Each episode presents a …

23 December 2022 — : Always a welcome web page: Winners of the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

23 December 2022 — : More good sense from @annahavron — Schedule ONE Daily Thing, That is Not Work-Related: With a daily routine that a) incorporates at least one thing that gives life to your spirit, and that b) you are committed to CHANGING until it actually works for …

22 December 2022 — : The beach was very calm this morning — almost no waves. Kāpiti Island in the background.

21 December 2022 — : I made 30 Minute Easy Dinner Rolls (1/3 recipe) and Mushroom soup for dinner. Left out the cream from the soup and it was still yummy. Quick and easy meal.

21 December 2022 — : Yesterday Deb brought me this wonderful and delicious treat: a yuzu tart (lemon meringue pie) from Origami in Cuba Street.

21 December 2022 — : I’m really enjoying this new-to-me podcast: Subtitle: A podcast about languages and the people who speak them. Fascinating episodes.

21 December 2022 — : Just thinking about how my ideal Christmas Day would look — in a campervan or cabin, by water — river, lake or sea — with plenty of supplies and far away from everyone else, sunny, warm, not windy.

20 December 2022 — : No-one wants too much detail on this, but for the last week Sasha’s been having some 💩 problems. I think things are improving. Let’s just say the floor has never been this clean!

20 December 2022 — : Yesterday afternoon. I’m choosing to believe this wasn’t commentary on the lateness of dinner. 😆 🐶

19 December 2022 — : Oooh, pretty clouds. And someone up the road’s getting a good dump of rain.

19 December 2022 — : @help Seems like today I can’t get more than ~30 posts on the Timeline (Safari on web). There’s no Show More button or anything… Is it just me?

19 December 2022 — : Hmmm, had to dig deep in the memory for this. I’m trying Suzume Sparrow Kukicha, roasted green tea: made entirely from stems of summer harvest leaves. Not a favourite: the taste makes me think of the used grounds from percolator coffee.

19 December 2022 — : I was already uncomfortable with Karen as a general term of abuse. Now I learn that Space Karen refers to Elon Musk, who is behaving badly. This goes to the ancient tradition of blaming women for men’s behaviour. If Elon is being obnoxious then …

19 December 2022 — : Low sun, dark sky, cabbage trees and flax spears. Ahhh morning.

18 December 2022 — : The Kiwi barbie: Craig from Horowhenua District Council cooks saussies on a BBQ in a trailer, under an umbrella, in the rain, for the opening of the new Waikawa Beach ‘amenity’ block (aka toilets) yesterday.

17 December 2022 — : Interesting! I think I’ve struck this (but ended up just typing in the number): Beware When Pasting Phone Numbers Copied from Contacts - TidBITS: Contacts on the Mac encloses all phone numbers in two zero-width (and thus invisible) Unicode …

17 December 2022 — : Sasha tells me it’s breakfast time. 🐶

16 December 2022 — : People go on at length about how to make a cup of coffee, but no-one talks about tea… I was thrilled to discover The Tea Curator, with detailed posts like Six types of loose leaf tea – which will be your favourite?

16 December 2022 — : The newly completed toilet block at Waikawa Beach (replacing a 50- to 60- year old facility) also has fresh new signage — in Te Reo Māori and English as all our local Council’s signs are these days. Very pleasing!

16 December 2022 — : So important! Go and read and act on New Year’s Resolution: Make Information Accessible, for Those Who Survive You: My opinions here come from working in a field where I routinely see the Kafka-esque admin situations that many survivors deal with, …

16 December 2022 — CareHQ virtual GP : Note for future me (and other Kiwis): CareHQ is a virtual GP consultation service that is open 7am–7pm, 7 days a week. You meet with a New Zealand registered expert doctor who is a Fellow of the RNZCGP. You don’t need to enrol with CareHQ - …

15 December 2022 — : The Yellowhammers are singing a lot these days. This one was singing just by the house. Photo from January this year. 🐦

15 December 2022 — : 28 October 2018 I planted lemon thyme by the dog yard. Today, 15 December 2022, it looks and smells fabulous! A bit of watering and weeding from time to time, but otherwise benign neglect. 😀

14 December 2022 — : I’m 26% of the way through The Cardiff Killings (DI Jemima Huxley Crime Thriller Book 1) by Gaynor Torrance but have decided to read no further. I have no points where I can relate to a person desperate to have kids and who cuts herself to …

14 December 2022 — : It’s barely 9 am and the Levin clock tower tells me it’s already 26C (79F). It’s gonna be a hot one today.

13 December 2022 — : Hmmm, I think one Kołaczki at the front maybe looks like the ones the real cook made. Some ‘squares’ were too small so I didn’t even try to fold them over. A bit odd — kind of like shortbread with jam.

13 December 2022 — : Sasha winning at Hunt The Anchovy on her 16th birthday. 🐶

13 December 2022 — : Listening to Kismet (1967). I hadn’t realised there were quite so many famous songs in this one show. I first heard “Stranger in Paradise” when I was a kid. 🎶

13 December 2022 — : One of the fantastic features of MarsEdit is easily finding and fixing old posts. When I checked my On This Day page today a few photos from 2018 had gone missing. The solution was to change http to https. So easy in MarsEdit. Fixed a few other bits …

12 December 2022 — : Not off to a good start cooking Kołaczki — ignored the timer for a moment to finish an email reply and burnt the pot with apricot filling. 😒

12 December 2022 — : Sasha, aged 15 years 364 days, snoozing. 🥰 🐶

12 December 2022 — : This is the kind of conversation I love on Micro.Blog.

12 December 2022 — : My current music fave is Korolova from Ukraine. I’m working my way through listening to all her music videos. Her music stays with me during the day too. 🎶

11 December 2022 — : I enjoyed reading Knight Blind (Jorja Knight Private Investigator Mystery Series Book 1) by Alice Bienia. Jorja is relatable, and gradually reveals some of her background while chasing down leads in an unexpected case. I’ll read more in this …

11 December 2022 — : Deb and I have been watching and enjoying Three Pines but it’s a bit grim and intense. The story lines tend to include the atrocities of the Canadian Residential Schools. For relief, we’re also watching Recipes for Love and Murder which …

11 December 2022 — : This is such a bird-filled time of year. All the birds come and sit on the flaxes by the house. This Kōurarini European goldfinch was just outside the window… 🐦

10 December 2022 — : Yay. Waikawa Blueberries is open again. Time for real fruit icecream, fresh blueberries and award winning olive oil. Yum!

10 December 2022 — : A greeting to the day: He kore, he kore He pō, he pō He ao, he ao Takiri mai te ata Korihi te manu Tino awatea Ka ao, ka ao Ka awatea Tihei Mouri Ora From the nothingness (potential being) Into the different stages of darkness And finally into the …

09 December 2022 — : Another good story and an enjoyable read. The Girl Who Lost Him (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 4) by Amy Vansant. 📚

09 December 2022 — : I quite enjoyed The Sled Dog (The Sheridan County Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Lark Maples: After the race, [Elizabeth] discovers an abandoned, injured dog and her family falls in love with their new foster pup. But things aren’t that simple… 📚 …

09 December 2022 — : Mystery lift sign in Montserrat, Spain. No people if the lift is already occupied by bats…? // @designatednerd

09 December 2022 — : Listening to the most excellent The Ink Spots: Swing High Swing Low. 🎶

09 December 2022 — : I heard a noise this morning I couldn’t quite make out. I thought maybe it was a hawk but it was too close and repeated too often without moving. Turned out it was this lovely Tikaokao California quail on the mulch pile by the front door. 🐦

08 December 2022 — : I’m so used to adding images to my blog posts by using Command 3 in MarsEdit I’ve had to write a Keyboard Maestro macro to use Command 3 to attach items to Apple Mail messages. I kept hitting the keystroke and ending up in a weird place …

08 December 2022 — : This kind of attention to detail and insistence on making things smooth and easy for the user is why Daniel Jalkut’s software is best-in-class. MarsEdit 5’s upgrade process: License screen shows existing license code. and adds it …

08 December 2022 — : Sasha, hanging out on the grass. 🐶

08 December 2022 — : This is exactly why you should give MarsEdit a try: MarsEdit’s role as a blogger’s best friend. From: MarsEdit 5: Microposting, Markdown Highlighting, and More!

07 December 2022 — : swear words around the world … lack 'approximants' – sounds made by bringing our lips, teeth, hard palate or tongue close … without making contact … [it] makes them sound harsh, regardless of the language. Most Swear Words Have a Common Feature, …

07 December 2022 — : I’ve taken the extremely rare step of filing a dispute with my bank about the defective earbuds. Amazon have promised a refund when they receive the returned package (that I’m unable to send) but have failed to respond to my further …

07 December 2022 — : I’ve spent hours trying to return faulty earbuds Amazon shipped me. I’ve driven 3 times to the Post Office, spent hours researching… I was about to pay today when I fell at the last hurdle. According to the PO worker earbuds themselves …

07 December 2022 — : I heard these Kuihi Canada Geese coming way before I could see them.

06 December 2022 — : Folks, you might like to see Take care for the Pied Stilt chicks about the baby birds currently trying to survive on our beach. Includes fantastic photos by Corne Ferreira, a visitor I was chatting to the other day. Location: Waikawa Beach, …

06 December 2022 — Take care for the Pied Stilt chicks : Very small baby bird sitting on beach. Photo by Corne Ferreira and used with permission. These baby birds are so hard to see they're at huge risk of being trampled, run over or grabbed by a dog. Back in early November 2022 I almost stepped on a …

06 December 2022 — : Thanks to the global Light pollution map I now know the sky where I live is almost as dark as it can get, at Class 2. On a clear night I can see the Clouds of Magellan with my naked eye. ⭐️ Wellington, OTOH, comes in at Class 6: bad.

06 December 2022 — : The other morning on the beach I spotted a group of Kuaka Godwit doing their thing then realised one bird looked quite different. I believe this is a Ruddy turnstone — I haven’t spotted them around here before. Second photo shows Kuaka for …

06 December 2022 — : For Micro Monday I suggest @Denny who lives a low impact life, cycles, is interested in how we live in the world in harmony with nature. He also has wonderful photos of birds and fungi.

05 December 2022 — : This was my Sasha when she was only a couple of months old. 🐶

05 December 2022 — : One of these things is not like the others… Turns out the printed product manual for our UV water filter and purification system contains an incorrect product code. Plus, look how much gunk the filters actually remove. That coarse filter is filthy.

05 December 2022 — : A powerful essay — Where women were cloaked in shame: We Iranian women … have been ashamed of talking about what’s been done to us, and … so scared of speaking up about the atrocities

05 December 2022 — : Kiwis, a reminder that this time of year ramps up family violence. Gift A Safe Night at Women’s Refuge and help a woman and kids escape family violence. $20 very well spent.

05 December 2022 — : Wow, 3 years today since I got my beautiful kirituhi tattoo. Still loving it! Birds, sea and cabbage tree.

04 December 2022 — : Thrilled with this photo from my beach walk today: Kuaka Godwit. 🐦

04 December 2022 — : Our neighbours are sneaky — they had a big party today for their 30th anniversary. None of us knew they were actually getting married! (Not even the caterer.) A great time was had by all.

03 December 2022 — : I really enjoyed this Lingthusiasm podcast episode. Question formats are surprisingly interesting in English and other languages. Who questions the questions?: In this episode, your hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about …

03 December 2022 — : A few months ago we had Bird of the Year, now it’s New Zealand Bug of the Year 2023: Aotearoa is home to over 20,000 species of insects and spiders Hmmm, what to vote for…

02 December 2022 — : Hmmm, that quake came in two parts — I just knew it was going to get bigger. About a minute long. All good — just a shake — another day in the life of Aotearoa New Zealand. 〰️ Fri Dec 2 2022 6:07 PM 20 km south-east of Tokoroa Shaking: Light …

02 December 2022 — : Huh, I thought (cooking) salt was salt, but it turns out there are different types with different characteristics. Which salt is best for cooking?: Why are there so many different kinds of salt, and does it really matter which one you use?

02 December 2022 — : Thanks to @gregmoore and @mtt I now have the Recoleta font on my Kindle. 📚 How to Install Custom Fonts on Your Kindle

02 December 2022 — : As I use my Mac and iPhone and websites and apps and whatnot I realise that the more ‘security’ I have to pass through the less I pay attention — yeah, yeah, just give me what I want. I’m a human, not the holder of the secret …

02 December 2022 — : I had simply never registered that Z keyboard command in Photos.app and have spent a lot of time over the months trying to use the slider control to zoom to 100%. If only they’d added the bit of text I’d been wanting to see under a menu: …

02 December 2022 — : Morning dog. Sasha, only a few days away from her 16th birthday. 🐶

01 December 2022 — : A couple of weeks ago I paid Amazon ~$20 on top of purchase price to ship me a pair of new earbuds. They were defective. Turns out I can’t ship them back because international parcels can’t contain more than 2 batteries. The postal worker …

30 November 2022 — : I have supervisors. A couple of little Warou, Welcome swallow spend the day sitting on the rail by the lounge. Such cuties! 🐦

30 November 2022 — : And for today’s yoga session we have a simple little neck twist with head tuck. 🐦

30 November 2022 — : Weird thing, but Aotearoa New Zealand Law says that beaches are roads. Land Transport Act 1998: In Part 1, the Interpretation, it says: “road includes— (c) a beach.” Weirder: the Law doesn’t actually define ‘beach’. 😆

29 November 2022 — : While one Kāhu | Hawk was flying around, another was relaxing on a fencepost. 🐦

29 November 2022 — : With the flax spears opening Tūī | Tui are visiting to feed. 🐦

28 November 2022 — : I’m outta here! 🐦

28 November 2022 — : My old girl Sasha, eating her dinner last night. 🐶

28 November 2022 — : Listening to what I think is a Korimako | Bellbird this morning. 😍

27 November 2022 — : This makes me happy. I’ve now sent out 10 issues of a local monthly community newsletter I write (Buttondown is great for this). My subscriber count is gradually growing. This issue went out to 52 subscribers.

27 November 2022 — : A new skill I’ve learned today: How To Compare Two Images. Makes a web page with a slider to compare two images. See Compare 2016 and 2019 images of the North track area and Compare 2016 and 2019 images of the Miratana track area.

27 November 2022 — : We had 300 grams of mushrooms that were getting a bit old, so I experimented with making Mushroom soup. That was easy and delicious. I only wish I’d been able to buy some yummy bread to go with it…

27 November 2022 — : Flax spears in late sun.

26 November 2022 — : Not Boss at parking!

26 November 2022 — : When I want to learn how to best use my Apple stuff I turn to the utterly excellent Take Control Books. For a few days they are on sale: 50% off. Sale begins on Thursday 11/24 and runs through Thursday 12/1

26 November 2022 — : I just watched Why Am I Craving Sweets? | Serving Up Science: When we eat foods that contain lots of fat and sugar, it’s the natural chemical dopamine that gives us a rush of elation and desire for more. Interesting! I’ll watch more …

25 November 2022 — : Aaargh! I’m sitting here feeling peckish and wondering what to make for dinner. Meanwhile all my US blogpals are posting photos of Thanksgiving food…

25 November 2022 — : I’m not in the habit of posting photos of public toilets, but March 2022 just before demolition of the ~70 year old building: 1. a row of 3 inaccessible cubicles for women, 2. the interior of one cubicle (yuk). Then, 25 November 2022, a new, …

24 November 2022 — : The first time I’ve heard the Pīpīwharauroa | Shining cuckoo at Waikawa Beach. I’ve never seen one. It has the most annoying call: Voice: the main call is a loud upwardly-slurred whistle repeated several times; the sequence usually ends …

23 November 2022 — : Mighty disappointed that the right earbud on the pair that arrived today just won’t work in spite of charging, pairing and unpairing, resetting and general mucking about. Nothing. Amazon will refund when I return the buds. Now bought Sennheiser …

23 November 2022 — : Took far too long to find out if a flashing white light meant the earbuds were charging or charged. Charging the headphones: Flashing white: Charging Lights in white for 12 seconds, and then turns off: Charging complete Flashing white quickly: …

23 November 2022 — : On 16 November 2022 I ordered two items from Amazon that I couldn’t buy from Aotearoa New Zealand (out of stock or wrong size / colour or just not available here). Amazon told me the items would deliver on 06 December. Today (23 November) they …

22 November 2022 — : Researching the topic: vehicles erode beaches. It seems fairly clear that vehicles cause damage to beaches and their structures (eg dunes), bird, insect and other life, and are a danger to humans, dogs etc who also use the beaches.

22 November 2022 — : These MinuteFood videos are enjoyable and very interesting. I recommend you give them a try. Today’s watch: Why do some leftovers suck?. Rule of thumb: better by cooking longer ☛ better by sitting longer gotta cook fast!! ☛ gotta eat fast!!

22 November 2022 — : I was a bit mired in a couple of books that just weren’t grabbing me. I turned to Something Deadly on Desert Drive (The Accidental Detective Book 2) by Kris Bock. As with the first book, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Bock knows how to …

21 November 2022 — : I’ve always very much enjoyed SEAL Team (TV series). This Season 6 though has been truly special. No spoilers, but a few episodes have left me very deeply moved, shocked even. Excellent drama and not actually just all about war and fighting. 📺 …

21 November 2022 — : Whew, I passed the squirrel test. We don’t have squirrels in Aotearoa New Zealand. I guess that top square that I only noticed when resizing the screenshot was a clue…

20 November 2022 — : I didn’t know I could do this: Bring Yourself Recurring Joy with Apple’s New Lock Screen Photo Shuffle. Now in place. 😀

20 November 2022 — : The taste test left me really wishing I hadn’t halved the recipe! I hope there are some left for this afternoon’s visitors…

20 November 2022 — : One of the quirks of halving a recipe is ending up needing half an egg. Luckily, as I have Japanese Quail, this is no problem. 4 quail eggs ‘equal’ a hen’s egg, ergo 2 quail eggs do just fine. Lemon Butter Biscuits. 🐦

19 November 2022 — : I try to avoid grumbling here but I slept poorly last night and I’m suffering hayfever symptoms — itchy eyes, nose, throat. Today I’m also a bit foggy and ‘skin crawly’. I can’t settle. Not enjoying either of the two …

19 November 2022 — : With about 70 mm rain in the past two days, our old friend the puddle in the paddock next door is back. Clearly the water table hasn’t dropped that much.

18 November 2022 — : After getting far too hot this morning weeding and mulching along the driveway I biked 5 minutes to the beach and went for a dip in the sea. This is pushing my comfort zone. I waded in a bit then, when the waves seemed suitably far apart, dipped down …

17 November 2022 — : The native grasses beside our driveway have grown well. I had boards around the area so I could weedeat easily, but today removed the boards so I can weedeat right up to the grasses and have a more integrated look. This area is a work in progress.

16 November 2022 — : It took longer than I expected to mulch this bit of garden on a steep bank by the lane.

15 November 2022 — : A year ago I complained about publishers (incorrectly) guessing which Amazon store I’ll buy books from. I solved this annoyance with Keyboard Maestro. I just tried Redirect Web for Safari which may work more seamlessly. HT: Redirect Web for …

15 November 2022 — : To be fair, I’m not the target audience for The Valentine Voyage: Book Six: The Cozy Cruise Mysteries by Lizzie Josephson. The main genre is het romance, with a side of mystery. It was an easy read but the romance resolution was kind of …

14 November 2022 — : 10 cubic metres of pine mulch will keep us busy over the summer.

13 November 2022 — : I read I Bury Dead People: A Hilarious Cosy Mystery by PJ Vye. I quite enjoyed it though the credibility of the unravelling didn’t really sit right with me. A fair few typos that need sorting out. 📚

12 November 2022 — : For the first time in my life I watched a rugby match (on the telly). Saw the Kiwi women’s team the Black Ferns win against the English in the Rugby World Cup. Even I got invested in a close match. Well done the women!

12 November 2022 — : Whew, the rain stayed away for the community picnic we organised. A good number of people turned up — maybe 40? And we invited our two new Horowhenua District Councillors who joined us for the whole time. Lots of food and chat. I believe it was a …

11 November 2022 — : I’ll see your 1 and raise you 300. Auckland suburb raises solidarity flag after homophobic incidents: 🏳️‍🌈 I suggested: if they’re upset about flying one pride flag… let’s fly a lot more 300 pride flags will be raised … for …

11 November 2022 — : Sasha looks good after her groom. 🐶

11 November 2022 — : Sasha was a good girl, quietly waiting while I hung out the washing. 🐶

11 November 2022 — : Excellent: Anna Havron’s Inner Trolls and Better Angels: Being a Person, Online: I see great value in sites that post personal observations. …they help us grow in empathy and imagination. They help us see one another as full human beings …

10 November 2022 — : Another in a series whose characters are so appealing: The Missing Babysitter Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 3) by Rachel Ward. 📚 a body found on a building site … has been buried for 15 years. Could it have anything to do with the …

10 November 2022 — : Crime, and also lesbian romance; I enjoyed Goslyn County by A.M. McKnight. 📚 While investigating three burglaries, Goslyn PD Detective Olivia Winston meets IRS Special Agent Maureen Jeffries who is pursuing a tax fraud suspect. Their cases are …

09 November 2022 — : I’m not a sports fan myself, but this level of success for women’s sport is phenomenal — Eden Park sells out for Black Ferns’ Rugby World Cup final: The Black Ferns and England will face off in front of a sold out crowd of over …

09 November 2022 — : Yesterday on a radio show the host welcomed a guest, Anjum Rahman, with “As-salamu alaikum”, a greeting seldom heard here. It could be seen as a token, but on reading Dot Scot — Matt Gemmell’s “ostensibly small things can be …

08 November 2022 — : Those eggs I saw on the beach the other day weren’t from an Oystercatcher, but rather this dedicated gorgeous Pied Stilt. Such delicate creatures with such long legs! 🐦

08 November 2022 — : Four of the half dozen black swans at the lake this morning. 🐦

08 November 2022 — : For Micro Monday I’d very much recommend @annahavron who writes intelligent, thoughtful articles about life, but who also posts cool photos of cats, trees, birds and other things.

07 November 2022 — : We have 3 flavours of the food Sasha used to eat (recently). Last night and this morning she wouldn’t eat anything. Sigh. Finally I relented and added some wet food. At least she ate the wet food off the top. 🐶

07 November 2022 — : Volume up! 0900 on a Sunday morning (yesterday): the sounds of silence. Listen for the birds. One of the things I love about where I live. What does it sound like where you live (or are at the moment)?

07 November 2022 — : Many thanks to @cheri who pointed out this superb 33 minute mini-documentary on Angela Lansbury’s life and work: Proud to be a Gay Icon: Angela Lansbury’s Life & Legacy

06 November 2022 — : Restricted Area Please Keep Out.

06 November 2022 — : The lawn at the house we’re selling looked terrible a few days after someone we hired mowed it. This weather just makes grass grow! Today I took the motor mower down and trimmed it up for the Open Home. Hard work!

05 November 2022 — : I nearly stepped on this clutch of 5 Oystercatcher eggs on the beach. The birds lay them in the sand near a bit of driftwood. I was actually looking for a suspected nest further away and almost didn’t see this. 🐦 Update, 07 November 2022: My …

05 November 2022 — : There’s spam and then there’s ham. Supermarket ham, to be precise: Made in New Zealand from imported and local ingredients. Pork butchered in the following countries may have been used in the production of this product: Australia, …

04 November 2022 — : As it was set in Aotearoa New Zealand, I had high hopes for this book but was sadly disappointed. The Long Island Iced Tea Goodbye (Career Crisis Café Mystery Book 1) by Emily Selby was facile and riddled with careless typos and missing words. 📚

03 November 2022 — : Sasha and I had differing ideas about why we went out just before bedtime. The outing did not include peeing after all. Since it did include sitting, I figured a glamour shoot would be rewarding. 🐶

03 November 2022 — : Absolutely worth a listen — Hannah Gadsby on redefining comedy in A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard: Hannah Gadsby is an Australian comedian … her multi award winning show, Nanette, pairs punchlines with personal revelations on gender, …

03 November 2022 — : Note to future me: when Publii refuses to complete syncing this may help — Website not syncing completely - Publii Forum: remove file files.publii.json from your server and the sync website again (it will upload all files of your website). It …

02 November 2022 — : Aw heck. S03E10 of My Life Is Murder seems to be the last. It was a darn good show. 📺 follows the adventures of fearless private investigator Alexa Crowe, who solves the most baffling crimes as well as coping with the frustrations of everyday life. …

02 November 2022 — : This book’s title made me dubious about whether I should bother but I was hooked from the first paragraph. It was an excellent read: Something Shady at Sunshine Haven (The Accidental Detective Book 1) by Kris Bock. I’ve bought book 2 …

01 November 2022 — : A pair of Canada Geese on the lake. 🐦

01 November 2022 — : Yay, my new glasses are ready to be collected and it so happens Tuesdays are the day I can make a trip to Wellington. With any luck I’ll have them by the end of the day. 😀

31 October 2022 — : Here’s a new one on me: a blackmail scam that appeared in my RSS reader, courtesy of the email address Feedbin provides that I use for subscribing to newsletters.

31 October 2022 — : The Woman King was impressive and powerful: textured, moving, absorbing, heart-breaking and thought-provoking, and inspired by true events. 🎥 the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of …

31 October 2022 — : Thanks to @cheri who drew my attention to this wonderful rap video a couple of weeks ago: Rock Wren for Bird of the Year. And look who won! Bird of the Year: Pīwauwau/ rock wren crowned as 2022 winner. 🐦 Photo: The pīwauwau / rock wren. Photo: CC BY …

30 October 2022 — : Wrong way, Sasha! 🐶

30 October 2022 — : Yesterday I visited my little buddy Leo, who has a play loft he likes to hang out in. Even though he’s an old boy now he’s nimble on the ladder. 🐈

29 October 2022 — : Halfway I considered skipping ahead to see who the culprit was, but I persevered to the end. Buried Identity by Rosaleen Flanagan just wasn’t my thing. I found it unfocused, with too many characters, locations, dates, times and sub plots. …

29 October 2022 — : Oh, this is new: Kindle Rewards Beta. I buy a lot of Kindle books, most for less than $5. This could add up though.

29 October 2022 — : More conscious than ever that Sasha’s time with us is dwindling I’m trying to remember to take more photos. We no longer have ‘walks’ as such, but this from this morning’s outing. 🐶

28 October 2022 — : I must be learning … It’s unusually early in the season for me to realise that no, I’m not getting a cold, but instead have the start of hayfever symptoms. Sigh. Foggy head, slight headache, scratchy throat, feeling kind of blah.

28 October 2022 — : So here I was waiting for my toast to pop when I read the packet on the “Canadian” Brunswick sardines that would go on the top. Turns out these were “Made in Poland”! ‘Made in’? Huh?

28 October 2022 — : Three of the 4 chooks I’m looking after for a few days. They’re a bit grumpy that I haven’t let them out yet I think. 🐓

27 October 2022 — : The sunset became even better. By the time I returned the chooks were all tucked up on their roosts. 🐓

27 October 2022 — : I’m looking after a friend’s chooks, and I’m supposed to shut them up for the night. Unfortunately the two who were in bed got out of bed again when I arrived. Now watching the Sunset for a few minutes. That’s a really nice …

27 October 2022 — : It’s baby rabbit time of year. 🐰

26 October 2022 — : Oops.

26 October 2022 — : It’s likely my lack of knowledge or understanding of Indian culture coloured my response, but I found this book melodramatic and overdone. It was somewhat annoying, but I did read to the end. Kiss of Salt (Darya Nandkarni’s Misadventures …

25 October 2022 — : The Spinoff (news site) consistently reminds me of its excellence. Who is the new British prime minister? This month: Rishi Sunak is factual. Funny. Brilliantly written. The highlight: a 405 word sentence under the heading “A quick …

25 October 2022 — : Heh, “WARNING STRANGE DOG”. 🐶

25 October 2022 — : Yay, Pages 116 & following of Take Control of Ventura – Take Control Books actually explain in a way I can understand what Passkeys are and how they work. At last! Take Control Books are the best and worth every cent! 📚

25 October 2022 — : Nice to get a mention in macOS Ventura - New Features: Autocorrect supports three new languages: English (New Zealand)…

25 October 2022 — : All I can say is it’s a good thing there wasn’t any oncoming traffic. 😆 s l o w r o a d s

24 October 2022 — : Very much enjoying watching S10 of Doc Martin 📺: The villagers eventually discover his fear of blood, and the frequent and debilitating bouts of nausea and vomiting it causes. In spite of this handicap, Ellingham … gradually gains grudging respect …

23 October 2022 — : The Man Who Died Twice: (The Thursday Murder Club 2) by Richard Osman continues the adventures of the Thursday Murder Club. Still amusing, its novelty has lost a little lustre, so all the way through I felt a little sceptical. 📚

22 October 2022 — : Very uncomfortable topic for a cozy mystery, but I like this series and its characters who are very real: The Missing Pets Mystery (The Supermarket Mysteries Book 2) by Rachel Ward. 🐦 all is not well in the little town of Kingsleigh. Three cats have …

22 October 2022 — : Gathering rosebuds: carpe diem: “carpe diem” [is] usually translated as “seize the day”, but it’s a lot more than that: “carpe” could also mean “harvest” the day, or “tease it out” like wool, or “press on” with it like a journey, or “pluck” it like …

21 October 2022 — : I made myself teriyaki chicken bowl for lunch. It was pretty good.

21 October 2022 — : I’ve been reading some Horace Odes. Ponder this: What may be tomorrow, take care not to ask – whatever kind of day Fortune brings, put it down as profit, and don’t turn down sweet loves and dances while you are young Via: Soracte - Pantheon …

20 October 2022 — : Since a friend introduced me, I’ve enjoyed Daily Organics Summer Kombucha. Now I’ve bought a Scoby from them and am about to try making my own. The biggest problem is it came with no instructions. Found something online and giving it a …

19 October 2022 — : Spring! Spotted today at the local pond, a duck with, I believe, 10 ducklings. Look at those little mites! 🐦

19 October 2022 — : An often used TextExpander snippet grabs title and URL from Safari. Tab groups upset it. Updated: tell application “Safari” set theName to name of current tab of front window set theURL to URL of current tab of front window return …

18 October 2022 — : Another good read from an author I enjoy: Goodbye Sky Field (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 6) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 DC Holly Towns is working on a high-profile meth lab case … but keeps getting drawn closer to a plane crash site and its secrets.

18 October 2022 — : I love Welcome Swallows: they’re small, colourful, fast and generally cute. This one came to sit on our deck railing. Photos through a window. 🐦

18 October 2022 — : LOL: Underbirds are go! Aotearoa New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition has started. I think this year I might vote for the Ruru — I thought I heard one last night for the first time round here.

18 October 2022 — : Pleased with myself that today I checked my camera settings before getting click-happy on the shutter. This morning there were about 15 Kuaka feeding on the beach. 🐦

17 October 2022 — : We have some large, though pale, Kiwifruit (from the shops) at the moment. Yum. Note for people outside NZ: a Kiwi is a] a bird b] a person. A Kiwifruit is an edible delight.

17 October 2022 — : Excellent practical steps — How To Use Stoicism To Remove False Impressions : apply calm reason to the assumptions And throw away what is obviously false. “Other people judge me sometimes.” — Probably true “I dislike criticism.” — True “I am …

16 October 2022 — : Last year I gathered half a dozen delicious apples from my Granny Smith tree. Right now new blossoms are coming in.

16 October 2022 — : A gorgeous morning at the beach, where the sea was gently lapping tiny waves just like on a tropical island. Kāpiti Island in the background.

15 October 2022 — : From one part of the beach this view of cloud snugging round the Tararuas.

14 October 2022 — : I was heading to the deck when I pulled up short. A California Quail (a rare and occasional visitor in these parts) was hanging out on our deck railing. It waited quietly while I took a bunch of photos. ❤️ 🐦

14 October 2022 — : A Day In The Life Photo Challenge 2022. Taken at 08:40 at Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua, Aotearoa. Flowering Ti Kouka (Cabbage tree).

13 October 2022 — : I tried Mini Apple Pancakes Recipe. Turned out I didn’t have Greek Yoghurt so used 1 tablespoon Sour Cream instead. Sugar, egg, cinnamon and apple — what’s not to like? But the recipe could do with editing. 1 Greek Yoghurt is what …

13 October 2022 — : Hmmm, looked up a crossword answer (a music track I’d never heard of). Now enjoying a blast from the past with Tracy Chapman, Annie Lennox, Janis Joplin, Grace Jones, Joan Armatrading and other greats from my ‘yoof’. Photo.

12 October 2022 — : I’ve come to like this series, and with some very interrupted sleeps I read my way through these fairly quickly. They’re good entertainment on a sleepless night. The Rina Martin Murder Mystery Box Set Books 1–4 by Jane Adams. 📚

12 October 2022 — : I made French toast today for the first time and served it with icing sugar, sliced banana and maple syrup. It was pretty good. It was a great way to use bread from a fresh loaf that didn’t taste as good as usual, and six of a mounting number …

12 October 2022 — : I’m looking forward to A Day in the Life of Micro.blog Photo Challenge. Now to figure out when it starts in my timezone (Aotearoa New Zealand) … Hmm, adding it to my Calendar tells me that’s 6 am on 14 October 2022.

11 October 2022 — : I’ve owned Jigsaw Puzzle Epic for years, used to play, fell out of it for a few years, and now do a puzzle or two per day. Thank goodness for the Wacom graphics tablet I’ve owned for years, also fell out of using and also rediscovered …

10 October 2022 — : Our tenant has left the house we’ve been renting out and the estate agent is now in charge of selling it. One of today’s jobs was to record the water meter reading to charge the tenant for water she’s used since the last bill.

09 October 2022 — : One of our local ring-necked doves was hanging round by the house this morning. Very convenient! 🐦

09 October 2022 — : At least my good old point and shoot iPhone captured this small flock of Canada Geese flying by. Good way to avoid operator error.

09 October 2022 — : Out of 30 or so photos of Kuaka (Godwits) this is probably the only one where the bird was actually in focus. So annoyed with myself for mucking up this beach photowalk so badly. 🐦

09 October 2022 — : This is not the splendid photo of a Godwit I imagined I was taking on the beach this morning. With a 1/9 second shutter speed how could it be? I must learn to check the settings on my camera before enthusiastically taking a load of photos. 📷

08 October 2022 — : This morning’s job, with other community volunteers: plant thousands of young spinifex plants at the base of the dunes, to help retain and build the beach. Here are just a few of the plants in their root trainers.

07 October 2022 — : After peeling, coring and slicing a bunch of apples the other day for Easy Apple Crisp, I bought a device that does it all. That arrived today. I have yet to try it out. My previous device cored and ‘eighthed’, but didn’t peel.

06 October 2022 — : Today’s polar blast makes me very thankful for my wonderful warm down jacket.

06 October 2022 — : I’ve really tried (for a couple of months now) to like Airshow, but have given in and reverted to Overcast. I need to have more control over what I listen to and when. Whew, no more automatically moving to the next podcast in the queue, unless …

06 October 2022 — : I’m guessing I originally watched Andromeda week by week on actual TV back when it was new: The series premiered on October 2, 2000, and ended on May 13, 2005. Rewatching via Prime Video. I suspect I never saw the first few eps, but recall …

05 October 2022 — On getting specs that are correctly tuned for me : Yesterday I had an hour-long eye exam with Anne Matheson and then maybe an hour with Roger Sercombe, Dispensing Optician, who helped me choose frames and lens options for my new specs. Roger also identified that my current everyday lenses …

04 October 2022 — : My favourite optometrist dilated my eyes so now my screen’s blurry. I was also surprised to learn my sunglasses are progressives not single-focus as I thought. Well, well, well. New progressives in my future, once I’ve chosen frames.

04 October 2022 — : I’ve always suffered from cold hands and feet. Recently some of my fingertips sometimes go white and numb. It has a name: Raynaud’s syndrome: The colour change is due to changes in blood circulation with narrowing in the small blood …

04 October 2022 — : Excellent 33 minute podcast episode: Nerd Out! The Happiness of Being a Fan: Really love a TV show; … sci fi movie; or celebrity? We’re often too embarrassed to admit adoring some things … but we may be missing out on the happiness benefits that …

03 October 2022 — : The quail run needed a refresh so yesterday I took out old straw and pine shavings and macrocarpa twigs. Today I went and bought more pine shavings, then loaded up the run with fresh materials. Can you spot the stripey quail in the last photo? 🐦

02 October 2022 — : Excited to see on my beach walk this morning that the first Kuaka (Godwits) have returned from their sojourn in the Arctic.

01 October 2022 — : I love these occasional Micro.Blog timeline adjacencies. // @jayeless @Burk

01 October 2022 — : Note to future self: don’t use this angle to take photos of food. Today I cooked Easy Apple Crisp and it was totally delish! Thanks to @tracydurnell who linked to the recipe back in September. In Aotearoa New Zealand we’d call this Apple …

01 October 2022 — : Booked in for early November: Waimangu Volcanic Valley, walk down the valley and 45 minute cruise around the tranquil waters of Lake Rotomahana. I’ve visited before, but too briefly to really soak it all in. Photo: Inferno Crater, August 2020. …

01 October 2022 — : In Aotearoa there are 67 threatened [bird] species - about 30% of the country’s bird population … due to the introduction of rats, cats and possums which had devastated bird numbers. Source: Climate change a growing factor in dismal fate of …

30 September 2022 — : I’d seen it before, but watching Pitch Perfect 3 was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a cool grey Friday afternoon. 🎥

30 September 2022 — : One freshly groomed dog. Sasha 🐶

29 September 2022 — : A bit of rain overnight meant it was a good time to weed this patch of garden along the lane. I haven’t finished yet, but am about half done. The lavender and leucodendron are flowering nicely.

29 September 2022 — : Well, that was a damn good read! The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery by Rachel Ward. Great characters, a story that kept me reading. 📚 Checkout girl Bea Jordan is determined to find out what happened to her friend. … And the only person who will help …

28 September 2022 — : This morning Sasha wanted to snack on a little grass. 🐶

28 September 2022 — : The book Timber City Masks (Royce Madison Mysteries Book 1) by Kieran York kept me reading but it seemed to have been marinated, and for too long, in the Poetry Thesaurus. 📚 Eyes never just “met” but would ‘seam’, …

28 September 2022 — : Read the standard marketing blurb about a name change for my phone and Internet provider — yawn. Then perked up when I saw they had also written their email in Te Reo Māori. 👍

27 September 2022 — : Things are moving along suddenly. Signed with a real estate agent this morning to sell the property we’ve been renting out. It’s time to cash up the retirement savings. Also booked a visit to my longtime (former) optometrist for next …

27 September 2022 — : Nice language use (disgorges, chthonic, skerricks, fragments, glean, tidbits): Every now and then, the Earth disgorges clues to their nature: tiny chthonic diamonds encasing skerricks of rare mineral. From these tiny fragments we can glean tidbits …

26 September 2022 — : If I sit out in the sun to read my Kindle Paperwhite (2018) sometimes refuses to turn the page. I’d persuaded myself I needed a denim blue All-new Kindle (2022 release). Unfortunately it turned out what I needed was to force a hard restart of …

26 September 2022 — : How would anyone even know this is the home page of the Horowhenua District Council?

25 September 2022 — : This morning I’m in that weird haze of “what time is it really?” as last night we changed the clocks. Ahead: changing the time on oven clock, kitchen clock, 2 cameras, car, toothbrush clock, towel rail (reset — it doesn’t have …

24 September 2022 — : Hah, I hate stereotypes about older people. However … 7 of us at brunch, aged between 64 and maybe 76. First topic of chat: eyesight problems. Followed by discussion of hearing problems and forgetfulness. Sigh.

24 September 2022 — : We drove to Wellington today to help a friend celebrate her birthday at Field & Green. I had smashed peas and avocado with smoked salmon. Very delicious.

24 September 2022 — : Fascinating 45 minute documentary from the most excellent Caitlin Doughty: The Forgotten Disaster of the SS Eastland (1915 in Chicago, 844 dead): A massive ship, an unthinkable tragedy, a chance to make sure the victims of the SS Eastland aren’t …

23 September 2022 — : Painters are working almost next door. Meanwhile our bathroom ceiling (~4 m2) is flaking. Last painted July 2019. Today Leon came and prepped the job. In a couple of days he’ll do the painting. Great, quick work! 👍

22 September 2022 — : Well a 5.8 quake is one way to be woken while just drifting off to sleep. All good. No damage etc. another day another quake in New Zealand. 〰️

22 September 2022 — : This 50 minute concert was a delight: Faia Younan I فايا يونان. From the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation.

21 September 2022 — : Massively enjoyable: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Humorous, great characters (old folks in a seniors village, where ‘giving a talk on tablets’ has a whole other meaning). Well worth reading. 📚

20 September 2022 — : Equinox egg. First quail egg of the season. Such clever girls! 🐦

20 September 2022 — : Every second of the Royal Funeral is designed to reinforce status and power. The organisation of the event dwarfs something like the Olympic Games. And who knew there’s a Royal Trumpeter and a Royal Drum Horse?! Let alone the Royal Company of …

20 September 2022 — : Dipping into The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II - BBC. Spot the Mountie (with horse), and the Kiwi soldier.

19 September 2022 — : This recipe looked easy and delicious and it was, but fiery hot. Next time I’ll use only 1/3 the spices I think. 🔥🔥🔥 Delicious chickpea spinach curry | Food with Chetna.

18 September 2022 — : I’ve read as much as I’m going to of Life in the Shallows The wetlands of Aotearoa New Zealand. The book is excellent (it’s just due back at the Library). It’s very easy to read, the tone is light and the pictures very …

18 September 2022 — : Sasha on the grass. 🐶

17 September 2022 — : A nice treat after a few errands. Chocolate ice cream at Brown Acres. Yum.

16 September 2022 — : A neighbour has a couple of sheep on his property, and recently lambs have appeared too. They weren’t very keen on my taking their photo.

16 September 2022 — : New Watch OS9 feature that I love: Save a Custom Timer — swipe left on the timer and tap the Star. I use 2 minute and 3 minute timers all day when I make a cup of tea. Now they’ll stay in my list whatever other timers I may also use.

16 September 2022 — : A bit of 7 am drama today as the Rescue Helicopter landed at the beach entrance where apparently there were 4 cop cars. Rumour has it the cops are looking for a silver vehicle containing a person with a gun.

15 September 2022 — : Some of the most hilarious and clever scientific names have been applied to spiders or insects … a spider named Apopyllus now, a beetle named Agra phobia, a fly named Pieza rhea and a wasp named Verae peculya. Source: Life in the Shallows The …

15 September 2022 — : Blood in Tavasci Marsh (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 2) by Lakota Grace was a great follow-on to Book 1. I like the setting and the characters and the story flows well. 📚 Peg is furious when her life is threatened. But she must discover …

15 September 2022 — : I very much enjoyed Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Box Set by Lynda McDaniel. I’d already read Book 1. Book 2 was a bit preachy and put me strongly in mind of Forrest Gump. All told though, it’s a good series, interesting and very …

14 September 2022 — : This is intriguing. I typed my previous post in BBEdit on Mac then copied and pasted to iPhone. Look what BBEdit did with the facepalm emoji — turned it into 4 characters: base character plus colour plus presumably zero width marker plus female …

14 September 2022 — : On Monday I happened to be there when our rubbish bin was emptied. Of course, it would have been a better video if it hadn’t taken me so long to remember to actually press Record. 🤦🏽‍♀️

13 September 2022 — : I’ve discovered I really enjoy Andalusian music. Here’s an almost 2 hour joy: Andalusian Echoes: Abir el Abed & Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra. 🎶

12 September 2022 — : I visited Palmerston North today and looked at the aviaries in the public gardens. This Cockatiel was a good-looking bird.

11 September 2022 — : I really enjoyed spending the day reading Death In Copper Town (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 1) by Lakota Grace. It’s very readable, in a great setting, followed a logical process and the characters were believable. I’ll …

10 September 2022 — : ROFL — Police respond to ‘racist’ flag in Wānaka, find Klingon insignia: Police responding to reports of a racist flag [at] a Wānaka property found the home was instead flying the colours of the Klingon Empire from Star Trek. It’s …

10 September 2022 — : Aha! I wondered about this after grating the Havarti — How to Grate Soft Cheese: Place wrapped cheese in the freezer. Only keep the cheese in the freezer for ~15 minutes. You want it hardened but not frozen. Re: Today I made Roasted Cauliflower and …

10 September 2022 — : Today I made Roasted Cauliflower and Cheese Mini Frittatas. They were pretty delicious. The recipe lists red wine vinegar in its ingredients, but doesn’t actually use it. 🤷🏼 Roasted cauli; The mix ready for the oven; The finished product. …

09 September 2022 — : The commander had to issue the “Fire” command 96 times! Clouds of smoke filled the air as the shots bounced around re-echoing off the hills of Wellington. And indeed, it took about 16 minutes to fire all the shots. Won’t happen …

09 September 2022 — : Here it comes (video): Queen Elizabeth II Death Gun Salute to mark her passing. At 1 round every 10 seconds (my guess), 96 guns must take ~16 minutes. That’s a lot of guns!

09 September 2022 — : Wow — The Queen’s death: All you need to know about what happens next: There will be a 96 gun salute starting at 6pm, Friday night on the Wellington waterfront in front of Te Papa. 96 guns. I’ve heard a few less than 20 in my time, but 96! …

09 September 2022 — : Today’s neighbours include some who are beefier than usual.

09 September 2022 — : An interesting little snippet: Queen Elizabeth Sent the First-Ever Royal Email in 1976!: On March 26, 1976, the Queen visited the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, a telecommunications research centre in Malvern, England, and using ARPANET… …

09 September 2022 — : I’m no Monarchist but this is still a huge moment: Queen Elizabeth II … has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. her eldest son Charles … will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth …

08 September 2022 — : I was weeding a patch of driveway garden when a Green and Golden Bell frog appeared. It moved away. Moments later, when I moved some greenery aside to weed further there was a sound like a tiny scream. I guess I gave it a fright. 🐸

07 September 2022 — : The local rabbits must have had a working bee overnight. For months there’s been a hole in the bank, presumably leading to a burrow. This morning there was a (relatively) huge pile of sand and the hole and tunnel have been massively expanded.

06 September 2022 — : The mountains have a touch of snow today, thanks to an icy wind straight off the Antarctic. Fujifilm Astia film simulation. Trying for a @cliffordbeshers look. 😀

06 September 2022 — : The Orville S03 seemed different from the first 2 seasons so I went back and rewatched those seasons recently. I enjoyed them as much as the first time, maybe even more. They were ‘lighter’ than S03 but explored interesting life issues …

06 September 2022 — : The neighbour’s pine tree is loaded with pollen. Ah-choo!

06 September 2022 — : OK, Celebrate Tongan Language Week: There are only 17 letters in the ‘alafapeti faka-Tonga: A E F H I K L M N NG O P S T U V ‘ The ‘alafapeti includes the fakau’a (glottal stop), which comes before a vowel

05 September 2022 — : Fascinating: Scientists Discover That a Surprising Factor Improved The Effects of Ketamine in Mice: ketamine worked better when administered by males because [male] scent stresses the mice, activating the CRF system, which enhances their …

04 September 2022 — : An almost pastoral idyllic scene as a cow relaxes by the shore of the rainwater lake in the paddock next door.

04 September 2022 — : Spotted on today’s trip to the supermarket: Wakachangi Beer. I suppose the ‘humour’ is supposed to somehow neutralise the use of a stereotyped swooning woman with breasts all but exposed…

03 September 2022 — : Good grief! I was listening to some Andalusian Arabic music and wondered about an instrument that sometimes sounds like a cross between a duck quacking and a dog barking. I figured it was a bowed two-string instrument and called up Wikipedia’s …

02 September 2022 — : The movie Master Cheng, aka A Spice for Life, was an absolute delight. A Chinese man and his young son arrive in a tiny village in the north of Finland, looking for someone no-one has heard of. I don’t want to say more and spoil it, but I loved …

02 September 2022 — : Sasha: Excuse me. I’m pretty sure it’s Anchovy time. 🐶 [Because she’s blind, she doesn’t know she’s not actually looking at me.]

02 September 2022 — : Excellent 7.5 minute video: Where does the name “black hole” come from?: …used to be called “gravitationally completely collapsed objects” so where did the name “black hole” come from? Especially considering …

01 September 2022 — : With the wet Winter and now Spring all the grass and weeds and whatnot are growing. I spent an hour and a half weedeating today. One small portion was the track down to and then around the septic tank.

01 September 2022 — : Lynda McDaniel kept me reading avidly in A Life for a Life (Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Book 1): Laurel Falls, N.C. … looked like heaven to me—ancient mountains brimming with tall trees and songbirds, peace and quiet. Until I found the body. …

01 September 2022 — : Jana DeLeon manages to keep her Miss Fortune series fresh, not just repeating plots. In Swamp Spirits (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 23) one minor recurring character has been elevated while another doesn’t actually appear. A good read! 📚 A …

01 September 2022 — : A good and well-written read: The Sheriff’s Wife (The Sheridan County Mysteries) by Erin Lark Maples: When she stumbles over a body on a favorite hiking trail, the sheriff’s wife becomes the chief sleuth 📚

01 September 2022 — : Recently read a 2-book freebie with Cooking Up Trouble (The Fun Cruise Mystery Series, A Sweet Romantic Cozy Mystery 1) and Undercover On The Calypso: Book One: The Cozy Cruise Mysteries, both by Lizzie Josephson. 📚 I enjoyed Undercover On The …

31 August 2022 — : This is one of 3 ring-decked doves that hang out on our lane. They let me get so close. 🐦

31 August 2022 — : Mother and son napping in the late afternoon sun. 🐴

30 August 2022 — : Loved Seasons 1 & 2 and really looking forward to S3 — My Life is Murder is Lucy Lawless’s love letter to Auckland: It’s not often a series about murder is full of joy, but [this] breaks the mould. … a lighthearted, easy watch full of quirky …

29 August 2022 — : Finally a duck came to explore the temporary pond on the paddock next door. Didn’t stay long though. 🐦

29 August 2022 — : An important woman who helped bring the Māori language to the forefront — Remembering Hana Te Hemara’s Māori language petition, 50 years on: Hana Te Hemara was the driving force behind the Māori language petition that led to the revitalisation of te …

28 August 2022 — : I’ve used MarsEdit for >18 years now. (Back in the day it belonged to Brent Simmons.) You’d think I’d know it pretty well. However, my latest feature request was solved by simply using the Status Bar menu item already available …

28 August 2022 — : My iPad just popped up this photo of two pigeons from 2004. Taken in Wellington I think, on Oriental Parade. 🐦

28 August 2022 — : The neighbours we’ve been helping with dog walking for the last few weeks bought us lunch at Salt & Pepper in Ōhau. I had beer battered Terakihi, fries and salad. It was delicious, but 2 big bits of fish were more than I could eat. …

27 August 2022 — : The pre-dawn light really shows up the two new ponds in the paddock next door. This year’s excessive rainfall has created two large ponds. The groundwater level is so high they just can’t drain away even though it’s all sand round …

26 August 2022 — : This was fun: Medieval Hip Hop Mixtape — Bardcore / Medieval Style Instrumental Cover.

26 August 2022 — : I had no idea! There are two types of rain, and one of them is almost impossible to forecast. Watch the excellent 4 minute MinuteEarth video Why is Rain So Hard to Predict? about frontal rain and convective rain.

26 August 2022 — : 25 minute drive each way to the vet at Ōtaki. 5 minutes max at the vet for Sasha to get her monthly Arthropen shot and anal glands done. The Arthropen eases Sasha’s restlessness, helps her appetite and possibly helps her sleep all night. 🐶

25 August 2022 — : 3 am and I’ve drunk a cup of Premium Snowbuds white tea and eaten a Griffins Vanilla Wine biscuit or two. I’ve taken Sasha out for a pee. Maybe I could go back to sleep now, and not have more of the silly dreams I woke from… 🐶

24 August 2022 — : In the last week or so I’ve noticed birds flying by, beaks stuffed full with nesting materials. Others, like the hawks and black swans, seem to be busy impressing potential mates. Today I realised the gorse bushes in a nearby paddock are in …

23 August 2022 — : Sasha’s wellness is in a good place at the moment. Here she trots smoothly along the lane, head up. 🐶

22 August 2022 — : A superb explainer — What to know about monkeypox: Monkeypox is far less dangerous than Covid–19, but a severe lack of vaccines and lingering homophobic stigma are putting the brakes on attempts to eliminate it. Siouxsie Wiles and illustrator …

22 August 2022 — : I really wasn’t sure about Hacks (TV series) at first and almost didn’t bother watching after E01. I’m so glad I did though: by half way through S01 I was hooked. Next up: S02. 📺

21 August 2022 — : The Spinoff is bringing such excellent journalism. I read many more stories than from any other News website. Today’s excellence — The Sunday Essay: 林 / Ling: What’s in a name? Emma Ling Sidnam considers the meaning behind the words that make …

20 August 2022 — : One of the hazards of a rural area. This is the main entrance to our beach. Someone’s cows have bust out…

19 August 2022 — : An ‘atmospheric river’ of rain has dumped excessive water from the tropics on parts of Aotearoa New Zealand: Live wild weather updates: Nelson, Far North brace for more rain. A friend who lives north of Auckland visited on her way to …

18 August 2022 — : Yumm, buttermilk hotcakes at The Gorge in Ōtaki. Delicious.

17 August 2022 — : Turns out it requires special skill to take good photos of a glass paperweight, and I don’t have that skill. Anyway, here’s the paperweight I made at the workshop the other day. It has blue swirls.

17 August 2022 — : Another excellent Toby Morris cartoon — The Side Eye’s Two New Zealands: The Table. Follow the link for the other panels in the essay.

16 August 2022 — : When I was in Whanganui the other day this interesting mural caught my eye.

16 August 2022 — : When they were handing out adjectives to authors this one went back for thirds. I feel like I need a shower to wipe the muck off. Book discarded. 📚

16 August 2022 — : I really enjoyed The Orville, all 3 seasons, and very much want it to be renewed. S1 took itself much less seriously, but all seasons explored some very interesting issues. One standout for me was S01E07 Majority Rule — about a society where Likes …

16 August 2022 — : Ahhh — why episodes in The Orville S3 were so much longer than in Seasons 1 & 2: the show moved from Fox to Hulu — The Orville: …Season 4 Renewal Chances… Disney+ Views Could Be Game-Changer: on network dramas… you have to cut everything down to …

15 August 2022 — : Hooray! Maybe it is okay to not pursue potential and just be okay with being. Why must there be a reason for everything? Winnie Lim » on leading a purposeless life. Thanks @benwerd for the link.

14 August 2022 — : I’m finding I really enjoy this author. The quirky English has come to be a feature. The Season of Killing: (Lost in Alaska Book 5). In particular, Chapter 7 is enormously evocative of the perils of winter travel above the Arctic Circle. 📚

14 August 2022 — : First time ever I’ve seen a Kererū at Waikawa Beach. They do live 4 Km away (as the bird flies) but have never been down here before as far as I know. 🐦 Length: 50 cm; Weight: 630 g

13 August 2022 — : At the Make a paperweight workshop in Whanganui the glassworking area is on the bottom floor. The central furnace at 1100C is a vat of molten glass. The one on the right is simply for heating. The table has examples of paperweights. My work must cool …

13 August 2022 — : Today I’m in Whanganui for a 30 minute glassmaking workshop. First a cup of kawakawa fire tea at the cafe next door.

13 August 2022 — : It’s very bracing this morning, with an overnight low of –3C, and a good frost. There’s even ice on the puddles that developed in the paddock next door after recent excessive rain. Brrr.

12 August 2022 — : On a mid-winter day with no wind, clear blue skies and warm sun the sea was lapping gently against the shore as though it was a tropical island.

12 August 2022 — : At dawn, in the frost, I saw a beautiful full moon setting behind the lake at the end of the road.

12 August 2022 — : Beach mushroom.

11 August 2022 — : Don’t start listening to this if you’re supposed to be doing something else… 2Cellos - live at Sydney Opera House [Full Concert].

10 August 2022 — : Nearby land is very productive. As I drive I see teams working hard, picking veges in freezing cold or pouring rain. Many are probably seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands. This article about terrible conditions is a new insight: Paying to work: …

09 August 2022 — : Yes, Autocorrect, I was in fact trying to buy Harraways Rolled Goats at the supermarket! Or was it Rolled Boats? 🤣

08 August 2022 — : A short, easy read. Shadow Council Book 1: Money Makes it Deadlier by Julie C. Gilbert. Not sure I’ll read more though, given they all seem to be novellas. 📚

08 August 2022 — : We’ve now had enough rain that the paddock by the speed bump, that turns into a bit of a lake when it’s wet, has actually overflowed onto the road. First time I’ve ever seen the water manage to get beyond the grass berm. 🌧

07 August 2022 — : Deb and I watched and enjoyed Falling For Figaro. No surprises in the plot, but great landscapes and singing. A perfectly pleasant way to fill a slow afternoon. Nice to see a [fictitious] tiny Scots village supporting opera rather than sport. 🎥

07 August 2022 — : Woken by heavy rain. Time for a cuppa. So glad it didn’t wake Sasha as then I might have had to take her out in it for a pee.

06 August 2022 — : That time in September 2015 when we went on a camel trek in Morocco. Thanks iPad for the memory.

06 August 2022 — : I’ve enjoyed this free 7-day email course — Discard Your Anxiety: A clear and practical Stoic pathway to start making immediate progress with your anxious feelings. Today it introduced me to the wonderful term Hypomnemata.

06 August 2022 — : Interesting news today — Joffe Books Acquires Two Novels by Māori Writer Renée:  Otaki-based Renée is a much-loved and prolific writer … in her native New Zealand. She published The Wild Card, her first foray into crime fiction, in 2018 at age …

06 August 2022 — : Anna Havron gives us more interesting food for thought in Don’t Hold a Job, Hold an Office Instead: What if you thought of your jobs and your roles in life as offices, where you make vows or affirm an oath of office? What would your code of conduct …

05 August 2022 — : Another enjoyable read in the series: Flame and Fortune (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 22). Not nearly as many hijinks, but that works. Take a drink at every “We all laughed” though. 📚

05 August 2022 — : Interesting article: The Human Mind Is Not Meant to Be Awake After Midnight, Scientists Warn: our attention to negative stimuli is unusually heightened at night. When I’m awake in the middle of the night I often remind myself that nothing …

04 August 2022 — : My little friend Willow likes to keep one paw elevated while she eats. 🐶

04 August 2022 — : Our resident Kingfisher is so photogenic. 🐦

04 August 2022 — : About 10 days ago I reported a bloated dead sheep on the beach to Greater Wellington Regional Council, as it was in their area of responsibility. Today I followed digger tracks and saw they had buried the sheep.

03 August 2022 — : This was intriguing and enjoyable music: DakhaBrakha - Full Performance (Live on KEXP). A group from Ukraine. Interesting listening to their rap. Their website: DakhaBrakha official site - ДахаБраха офіційний сайт.

03 August 2022 — : Excellent Nichelle Nichols cartoon for August 3, 2022 from Kiwi cartoonist Sharon Murdoch. 🖖🏼

02 August 2022 — : Heh, November 1999, when I had long hair and thought having the camera automatically date stamp photos was a good thing.

01 August 2022 — : A nearby hill / mountain had a hat on this morning. Also, I’m messing around with edits to the image.

31 July 2022 — : This year so far, according to my rain gauge, we’ve had more rain than in the whole of 2020 or 2019 and we’ll soon exceed the whole of last year. No wonder the paddock next door is turning into a lake. 🌧

31 July 2022 — : Whew! Some server problem meant that for the last week or two I’ve completed the WSJ crossword on the web. That was a nasty experience. Finally though I can get back to the delights of completing it in Black Ink from @danielpunkass.

30 July 2022 — 186+ mystery books I've loved : I read a lot of mysteries. Some are mediocre — I abandon the ones that are too rubbish — while others are good, or even excellent. I’ve now developed for myself a list of authors whose mysteries I will always read. Note: I read on Kindle and …

30 July 2022 — : Such an impressive channel! Anyone at all interested in languages will find this video fascinating: What Makes Papuan Languages So Unique?: Melanesia has the most languages on earth, most of which are Papuan. These features set them apart from …

30 July 2022 — : Then I moved right along to Close to the Edge (Detective Sarah Burke Book 7) by Elizabeth Gunn because I knew it’d be a good read, and it was. 📚 Why was a kindly man, dedicated to looking after the elderly, gunned down by a team of hoodlums …

30 July 2022 — : I raced through Close to Home (Detective Sarah Burke Book 6) by Elizabeth Gunn. She’s an excellent author who tells a good story. 📚 The victim has no phone, no Medicare card. His neighbors don’t even know his name. Why would someone do this to …

30 July 2022 — : After a few days I can say that using a feedreader is the best and easiest way to catch up with the overnight Micro.Blog timeline. Thanks to @todor for the link to ‘Friends posts’ in Feeds - Developers - Micro.blog Help Center. I use the …

29 July 2022 — : December 2008: flamingos at Honolulu Zoo. What on earth is that one at the back doing with its neck?! 🐦

28 July 2022 — : This cabbage tree serves me as a kind of a high groundwater indicator. Normally it’s several metres from the water in the lake, but with all the rain we’ve had it’s close to being surrounded by water. The second photo of the tree is …

27 July 2022 — : Hang in there! 🐦

27 July 2022 — : My thanks to whoever on my timeline mentioned enjoying Only Murders in the Building. I’m loving it so much! 📺

26 July 2022 — : Such a lovely short story by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Free Fiction Monday: Star: On the night Anna’s boyfriend tried to kill her, Anna’s badly injured cat Star disappeared. Now, half a continent away, Anna’s neighbor tells her about a white cat with …

26 July 2022 — : This is useful: Create Your Own Acceptance Mantra: The purpose of an acceptance mantra is to act as a sort of trigger. It can be used as part of a simple practice to reset your mind when it comes time to accept the situation you find yourself in.

25 July 2022 — : Loved @Cheri’s latest book: Death at Dagger Cove (Butterfly Island Mysteries Book 2) by Cheri Baker. I’ll confess I read an advance copy, now I’m rereading and loving it just as much. My comment after first reading was: I really …

25 July 2022 — The UP! 3D printer blog post originally published in November 2011 : Note: the article below was originally published on my now defunct KnowIt blog in November 2011. Links have been updated or adapted, or may be broken. I guess most of us have printed a letter, photo or invitation at one time or another. And for most …

25 July 2022 — : Looks like it was November 2011 when I was sent a 3D printer to test out and write about on my KnowIt blog (now defunct). Now the iPad stand I printed is doing duty as a Kindle stand. [Kindle screen shows @Cheri’s excellent new book: Death at …

24 July 2022 — : The storms we had this month must have ripped out someone’s pine plantation. The beach is strewn with dozens of young pine trees, roots and all. I imagine they came down the Whanganui River.

23 July 2022 — : This is very interesting. Giving it a whirl: Use AssistiveTouch for Customizable Shortcuts on the iPhone and iPad - TidBITS.

23 July 2022 — : Another excellent read from a good author: Closing Ranks (Detective Sarah Burke Book 5) by Elizabeth Gunn. To solve a current crime Sarah has to delve into an older crime or two. 📚 An ex-cop. An apparent suicide. Three bizarre deaths.

23 July 2022 — : I like to add Titles to my Photos in the Photos app on Mac, but half the time what I type gets eaten up. Pasting works fine though, which led me in the end to this Applescript, triggered by Keyboard Maestro. The linked script is a text file.

22 July 2022 — : I wanted a messenger style bag to carry my camera with its big lens when I walk on the beach to take bird photos. I found what turned out to be a perfect bag at Army and Outdoors NZ. It’s a Vintage Canvas Messenger Shoulder Bag. Roomy main …

21 July 2022 — : Darn! So intent on measuring out 710 mls from a 750 ml bottle of milk I totally forgot I was supposed to heat the milk before adding it to the rice! How to make Mary Berry’s Classic Rice Pudding. Oh well… too late now.

21 July 2022 — : This is a great little story — Taranaki man’s e-bike wheelchair carries his wife to see the sea: he explained how he made some clever alterations to the frame of his e-bike to connect it to Bev’s wheelchair. … the invention allowed her …

20 July 2022 — : Yesterday I sponged a patch of matted hair on the back of Sasha’s neck and found an open wound (the size of a small finger nail). No idea how it got there! Mary the vet thinks it was maybe a White-tailed spider bite. She cleaned it up and Sasha …

20 July 2022 — : I read Micro.Blog via Safari on Mac (mainly). Every morning it’s the same thing to catch up on the timeline: refresh, scroll, scroll, click the More button, scroll, scroll, click… It takes about 5 screens usually. Now Keyboard Maestro does the …

19 July 2022 — : The first third of Murder on Sea (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 1) was a bit annoying and not really my thing. I was considering reading something else instead. Then suddenly it all fell into place and I really got caught up in the story. May well …

19 July 2022 — : Finally had my second booster Covid jab. Hurt a bit going in but feels good being better protected. 😎

18 July 2022 — : Just amazed at the cleverness of NYTimes Sunday, July 17, 2022 Crossword Puzzle: Note:
Players seek to combine one or more of the cards they hold with cards laid out on the table to make the best possible five-card poker hand. Can’t say why …

18 July 2022 — : Really enjoying listening to Sona Jobarteh & Band (1 hour): Sona Jobarteh is the first female Kora virtuoso to come from a west African Griot family.

18 July 2022 — : Heh, the Spinoff are spending a week talking about a huge deal in the lives of over half the people in the world who are over about 12, and which is almost never talked about openly: Why we’re talking about periods all week on The Spinoff.

17 July 2022 — : Two free books I abandoned: Ambassador 1: Seeing Red by Patty Jansen. Should have been obvious it’d be all politics but that’s just not my thing. Probably pretty good. Hash Browns And Homicide (no link) by Karen McSpade was silly and …

17 July 2022 — : Some very grim topics in Under Violent Skies (Detective Sara Hirst Book 1) are probably why I started the book months ago but only picked it up again this week. A murder, a criminal gang, violence, racism, sexism, xenophobia. I’ll read more in …

17 July 2022 — : It’s not too surprising that I really enjoyed Old Bones Lie (Detective Clare Mackay Book 6 by Marion Todd, given I’ve enjoyed the previous 5. Another great read. 📚

17 July 2022 — : I wanted to like this writer who lives mainly in Aotearoa New Zealand, but the book simply missed its mark. It just didn’t quite work for me. Death at Grenstead House (Madeleine Brooks Mysteries) by Tannis Laidlaw. I’m unlikely to read …

17 July 2022 — : It’s 3.45 am and I’ve had a cup of tea and a biscuit after being awake for a couple of hours already. It’s that ‘untethered’ time in the middle of the night when all the unreal things come out to play. Maybe I can sleep …

17 July 2022 — : I’ve suggested our library buy this. It looks really interesting and is relevant around here. Life in the Shallows: How wetlands work, what lives there, and what we can do to protect them This whole coast was once wetlands, most now drained. …

16 July 2022 — : Sasha, mostly blind, stopped at the white line on the road then tiptoed carefully across. Next she ended up on one side of the ‘Give Way’ triangle and walked carefully along the line. The world can bewilder her. 🐶

15 July 2022 — : Planning a trip out for dinner tonight to nearby Shannon, a 35 minute drive away. Including say 1 hour to eat that’s a 2.25 hour trip and I can (just) leave Sasha that long. Now, how to schedule her dinner and post-dinner walk? Old dogs can be …

15 July 2022 — : Silver and gold: this morning Sasha and I made it all the way to the lakes (approx 500 metres away). Looking southwest I saw the setting silver almost full moon. Looking northeast I saw golden reflections of the soon to rise sun.

15 July 2022 — : We’ve achieved a point where Sasha’s food, meds and the cool temperatures mean she trots happily along on our brief walks. I wanted to capture that this morning. Because she’s blind she goes off-course a lot. 🐶

14 July 2022 — : The setting Supermoon at dawn.

14 July 2022 — : Sasha won’t go down to the dog yard any more so she now gets half a dozen ‘walks’ per day for toileting. I stopped to take a photo of the setting Super Moon and also Sasha this morning so she spent the time circling me. Not helpful. …

13 July 2022 — : It was a bit impressive down by the sea at high tide this morning. It’s winter so lots of rain, gales, high tides and big swells out in the open sea are only to be expected… Check out this foam mountain though.

13 July 2022 — : Nice! Amber Clyde: never take criticism to heart from somebody you wouldn’t go to for advice. Via This is what the future of New Zealand looks like: Meet the 2022 Y25

13 July 2022 — : I’m always a bit suspicious when military helicopters fly over in gangs. Today it was a gang of three, right overhead.

13 July 2022 — : On Mangawhero Forest Walk I spotted these really really white fungi on a tree trunk.

13 July 2022 — : Rimu Walk and Mangawhero Forest Walk at Ohakune share a common entrance. I enjoyed both. Both are easy walks. On the Forest Walk I came face to face with a Ruru, usually only around at night. No photo of the bird, sadly, only the branch it was …

13 July 2022 — : Ohakune is a town just below the very popular Turoa skifield. Next to a walk I was about to do I found this memorial stone and info about Mollie, an ill-fated circus elephant who died there in 1957, aged 13, poisoned by eating the plant Tutu. 😿

13 July 2022 — : I was surprised how much I enjoyed the 1 hour 40 minute concert Loreena McKennitt - Nights From The Alhambra. Generally for me a little Celtic music goes an extremely long way. Much seemed to have middle-Eastern influences though. Some instruments I …

12 July 2022 — : My handmade leather iPhone sleeve by @aa was so excellent (it’s serving me beautifully) that I ordered a leather wrist strap for my camera with big heavy zoom lens. The strap arrived today and is exactly what I wanted.

12 July 2022 — : Ridge Track at Whakapapa is a short little trail that climbs up behind the Chateau offering views. In the last the snowy cone of Mt Taranaki is just visible.

12 July 2022 — : Chateau Tongariro at Whakapapa is an impressive building, seeming to sit alone on the landscape. It’s certainly comfortable in the lounge where you can get tea and alcohol and smaller or bigger meals with a view. Meals are expensive though. …

11 July 2022 — The Taranaki Falls Track : The Taranaki Falls Track is a 6 Km loop on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu. It passes through both native forest and open land. The Falls spill through solid rock. Snow-topped mountains Ruapehu and neighbour Ngauruhoe appear of course, but also Taranaki, …

10 July 2022 — : In December 2008 I taught 3 WordPress courses over a weekend as part of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa Pacific New Media Outreach program. One day on my trip I visited Mauna Kea and the observatories, unaware of controversies around use of …

10 July 2022 — : Mounds Walk at Tongariro was another short track, with several information boards. After a few minutes there’s a view across the landscape. The Mounds were created by volcanic rubble and slabs of rock that swept down the mountain 11,000 years …

10 July 2022 — : The Tawhai Falls Track was very short but led to a really nice waterfall. Midwinter and two young men were wrapped in towels having just been for a dip. Brrr!

09 July 2022 — 9 kinds of fungi on Silica Rapids walk : I don’t know anything much about fungi, except I like to look at them. The Silica Rapids walk was bounteous when it came to fungi. I don’t know the names of any of the fungi in the photos below, or anything about them. Enjoy.

09 July 2022 — My Silica Rapids walk : I think the Silica Rapids walk at Tongariro was my favourite, even though the weather was a bit dull and drizzly. Native forest, alpine bogs, streams. I loved it all. Theoretically there were birds in some spots but I didn’t see them.

09 July 2022 — : Why is it anyone wants to live in Auckland? Three news items in a row in my feed this morning: a home shot at, a stabbing, and a woman dies after an assault — all in Auckland.

07 July 2022 — My Lake Rotokura walk : Lake Rotokura is near Waiouru and is an easy ~30 minute walk, although there were a few fallen logs to clamber over. There were several interesting fungi. The ‘dry’ lake had water in it, along with a heap of dead trees still standing. …

07 July 2022 — : Before I went off walking I relaced my boots. In my photo the right boot is the old way (how they came from the shop). The left boot shows the new, incredibly much more comfortable, way. I should have done this a year ago… If you’ve never seen …

07 July 2022 — : It’s not fair to laugh at a dog who’s old, blind, mainly deaf, frail, etc, but sometimes I have to: Sasha was looking intently at the gap between the fridge and the pantry with the firm conviction that’s where I was. I was at the …

07 July 2022 — : We have to accept the little facts of life. Bland indifference is a start, but cheerful whistling is even better. Source: Accepting The Little Facts of Life Thanks @kitt for the link to this.

07 July 2022 — : Woohoo, the book I co-wrote in 2006 is still earning me royalties. What shall I do with my 17 cents, I wonder?

07 July 2022 — : This 22 minute doco is a delight: Inside the wonderful world of Hairy Maclary creator Lynley Dodd. What Kiwi doesn’t know the immortal words: “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s dairy”, along with the characters Slinky Malinki and …

06 July 2022 — : I somehow got this free: A Dealer Dead Ahead (Law & Carter Cozy Mysteries Book 1). I read it to the end but didn’t care for it a whole lot. It just wasn’t very good, in any way. I might read another if it were free. Maybe this author …

06 July 2022 — My Tongariro National Park visit — summary : Last weekend I visited Tongariro National Park to do some short walks. The winter weather was very obliging and I had a wonderful time. My favourite was the Silica Rapids Walk, even though it was a bit misty / drizzly from time to time. If I could …

06 July 2022 — : Took me a while to get to this, but then I really enjoyed The Murderer’s Son (Jackman & Evans Book 1) by Joy Ellis. Of course. Ellis is an excellent writer: 📚 a man called Daniel Kinder walks into Saltern police station and confesses to …

05 July 2022 — : These fungi on the Mangawhero Forest Walk at Ohakune were very white.

05 July 2022 — : I rounded a corner on a trail and saw a dark lump on this branch. Then I realised it had a short tail. Then I saw the eyes and pointed beak that told me it was a Ruru. I took a sec to get my phone out and it left silently. (Photo re-uploaded)

05 July 2022 — : It only takes 3 and a half hours to drive home, and that includes a detour to a track. I should visit this area more often: stunning scenery, amazing short (and long) walks.

04 July 2022 — : One of my favourite photos from today’s Taranaki Falls track — steps just beyond the Falls.

04 July 2022 — : From the road to Whakapapa — look leftish and there’s Ngauruhoe; look rightish and there’s Ruapehu.

04 July 2022 — : That was me, though at ~1200 metres, not the tippy-top: MetService: To anyone standing on top of Mt. Ruapehu right now, there is not a single cloud within approximately 125km of you… in any direction.

04 July 2022 — : Well that was a … relief. Things aren’t always so … convenient at 1200 meters altitude.

04 July 2022 — : Today’s plan is to drive to Whakapapa again, walk to Taranaki Falls — 6 Km loop, then Ridge Track — 1.4 Km return. Still thinking of yesterday’s wonderful Silica Rapids walk. Here are two different blue fungi from that track.

04 July 2022 — : Useful words: Accept that the present moment is rarely unbearable. … Accept that the past is gone and isn’t coming back. … Accept that the future hasn’t arrived and will always remain uncertain. … Source: A Better Way To Escape Pain - What Is …

03 July 2022 — : Caution road sign: Kiwi crossing at night. With Mt Ruapehu in the background.

03 July 2022 — : Silica Rapids walk could be named Fungus walk. I came across black, brown, white, blue, chestnut and even gold coloured fungi. These were pretty special!

03 July 2022 — : Silica Rapids on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu. It was a fabulous walk through varied mountain landscapes.

03 July 2022 — : My plan for today is to visit the Silica Rapids Walk and Punaruku Falls near Whakapapa Village. I won’t walk the loop, just there and back. Checking weather, roads etc as I don’t ‘do’ snow. A lot of visitors to that part of …

02 July 2022 — : Mount Ruapehu appears across Lake Rotokura. I had a lovely 75 minute walk there but saw only a very few birds.

02 July 2022 — : As I neared Waiouru snow-covered Mt Ruapehu made an appearance.

02 July 2022 — : Today’s destination: Tongariro National Park: Home to three active volcanic mountains, and iconic and majestic landscapes, Tongariro National Park has attracted adventurers of all ages since 1887.

02 July 2022 — : On the plus side: I did manage about 5-6 hours sleep and only one of Sasha’s 3 poops in the middle of the night was indoors. [yawn] Turns out we need to be alert to the slightest hint she needs to go out. Old dog problems… 🐶

01 July 2022 — : Tomorrow I head off to Tongariro National Park for a few days of easy short walks and some lounging around. Should be fun, though chilly.

01 July 2022 — : Side eye. (Kingfisher) 🐦

30 June 2022 — : I just watched Soul and found it remarkable. Uplifting, clever, funny. Loved hearing the Kiwi actor Rachel House as Terry the accountant. Visually it was amazing: the way the light played on Joe’s hands as he played the piano… 🎥

29 June 2022 — : A genre I usually avoid is (heterosexual) romance, but Kristine Kathryn Rusch is such a skilled writer that I really enjoyed The Perfect Man: [detective] Tasha Morgan finds herself dangerously attracted to sexy, mysterious Rick Chance … whose secret …

28 June 2022 — : I just rewatched How to Self-Publish A Novel from @Cheri in Micro Camp 2022 (17 minutes). This is such an excellent presentation, and packed full with useful info. If you’re thinking of publishing a novel then definitely watch. Shame I’m …

28 June 2022 — : The government just opened up second Covid booster shots for the over-50s. I was astonished to get an appointment so quickly. Off for my boost this morning.

27 June 2022 — : Today I’m watching a bunch of videos, like this one: How to use Back button auto focus with Fujifilm camera as another step in getting to know my camera better and maybe taking better photos. Hope I remember I’ve changed how the Shutter …

27 June 2022 — : Waxeye stack. 🐦

26 June 2022 — : An article that everyone should read: The Sunday Essay: My breasts and me.

26 June 2022 — : We went to see Elvis (2022 film) this morning. It’s an intense movie and we all came out quite sombre. Austin Butler did a magnificent job playing Elvis. Meanwhile Elvis’s manager Col. Tom Parker was revealed to be a man without an iota …

26 June 2022 — : I did my NZ Garden Bird Survey on Saturday and saw: 6 sparrows, 3 magpies, 3 swallows, 3 waxeyes, 1 fantail, 1 blackbird, 1 kingfisher, 1 hawk, 1 chaffinch, 1 pheasant. Tupu-a-rangi, one of the Matariki stars, is connected to all birds of the air…

25 June 2022 — : We visited the Pottery Expo at Ōtaki Racecourse today. I bought this Sea and Sky bowl by Janice McDonagh. I’ll put it in the garden somewhere as a water bowl for wildlife.

25 June 2022 — : A note for men in the US. Listen up! With the catastrophic Roe vs Wade decision you must support all women in your life. You ALSO need to tackle men: stop men’s violence against women (from tiny sexism to outright torture). What can men do to …

24 June 2022 — : I had no idea there are 43 different blood types! From Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 Jun 2022. most people are aware of the four main blood groups, A, B, AB and O…blood can be divided into …43 recognised types… A very rare type called Jk3… is found in … …

24 June 2022 — : Mānawatia a Matariki! “Matariki is about celebrating who we were, who we are, and who we want to be.”

23 June 2022 — : Sasha, aged 15 and a half enjoys: walks, food, treats, bonus rabbit poop on walks, an occasional cuddle, napping. Today we did a ‘long’ walk: ~1.2 Km return. 🐶

22 June 2022 — : Nice! “Don’t buy presents. Be present.” Mānawatia a Matariki! Tips for how to celebrate if you don’t know where to start.

22 June 2022 — : Just did that thing where you write a comprehensive email, check something in an archived email before sending then close the wrong window without saving by mistake!!! 👿

22 June 2022 — : Help on a small project I was feeling dispirited about has arrived from an unexpected quarter. What a boost that gives! I want to get an informational sign restored. It’s about an important part of our local history but was destroyed by a …

22 June 2022 — : First snow of the season on the nearby Tararuas. Brrr.

21 June 2022 — : I had errands in Palmerston North today so treated myself to a Chicken Teriyaki lunch at Mr Choi’s. As always, it was utterly delicious! It comes with rice, seaweed and miso soup.

20 June 2022 — : Tomorrow brings us Winter Solstice. The good news is daylight hours start increasing. The bad news is now the weather will be stink till something like October, November or even December.

20 June 2022 — : Storms like the ones that filled the first couple of weeks of June for us bring loads of stuff onto the beach: driftwood, weed from the river, but also rubbish: plastic, food wrappers, glass bottles, drink cans and more. Luckily locals pick up bags …

20 June 2022 — : Yesterday’s excellent movie — Whina: Dame Whina Cooper was a Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Known as Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation), she changed the course of Aotearoa New …

19 June 2022 — : This Eastern Rosella announced herself and then stuck around long enough for me to take some photos. 🐦 Updated with better quality photo.

19 June 2022 — : This little Piwakawaka was flitting round me, then landed close enough for me to be able to take a couple of iPhone photos. 🐦

19 June 2022 — : To celebrate Deb’s upcoming birthday we went with friends to Soprano Ristorante. Pricey but delicious food. We all had different dishes and each was excellent. I really enjoyed the Fettucine with chicken, red capsicum and mushroom.

18 June 2022 — : The river mouth was looking pretty good at dawn today.

17 June 2022 — : I cooked Quick Vanilla Rice Pudding while Deb was driving home. Yummm! She’d better hurry up and get here or there won’t be any left. 🤩

17 June 2022 — : In a quest for variety and expanding horizons I’m listening to new-to-me music each day. I go to YouTube and search for ‘traditional music [name of country or ethnic group]’. It gives interesting results and I’ve found a few …

16 June 2022 — : Our new Matariki national holiday, the country's first public holiday centred on Māori culture, is being celebrated on Friday 24 June this year. The three themes of [every] Matariki: A chance to reflect: remembering those we have lost and …

16 June 2022 — : My Merrell Siren Traveller 3 Women’s Trail Shoes are my favourites, but only 7 months after purchase the stitching on the seam near the toe is coming adrift. I’ve emailed the company and the store to see what they can do about it. NZ law …

16 June 2022 — : I must say, 1Password has always worked brilliantly and easily for me … until the latest version (8). Now it’s an utter pain in the bum and I have to dance around all over the show, manually opening it, searching for passwords, copying them etc …

15 June 2022 — : Goodnight Moon.

14 June 2022 — : Hooray for web searches. This solved my Quick Look ‘gone wrong’ problem: macOS 12 Monterey Quick Look preview not working? Try this workaround — Force Quit Quick Look in Activity Monitor. Before and After screenshots.

14 June 2022 — : Whew. After 18.75 hours power has been restored. Now charging all the things. 😀 And looking into @jean’s suggestion of a portable power station like this one: YETI 200X Portable Power Station - Goal Zero New Zealand

14 June 2022 — : The power didn’t come back on overnight so that’s 15 hours now and counting. At least the thunderstorms have stopped and the gales have died down. I’ve lit the wood burner to boil water for tea, and because it’s cold.

13 June 2022 — : 4 hours ago in mid afternoon we had yet another big thunderstorm. That’s when the power went off. Still in the dark… I sure would like a cup of tea!

13 June 2022 — : I was a bit surprised to find I really enjoyed listening to Tatar Folk Music, especially the track at 14:53 — Kirfiklere. Tatarstan … traditional music is a mixture of Turkic and Finno-Ugric elements, reportedly bridging Mongolian and Hungarian …

13 June 2022 — : We get maybe two thunderstorms a year round here. Except for this month where intermittent storms have been rolling through for 5 days and nights now. I’ve never known such thundery weather. It’s 3.30 am and the house is shaking with the …

12 June 2022 — : Signed up for a month of Disney+ to watch a few things. Finally saw and enjoyed and felt moved by Turning Red. One highlight for me: the amazing and beautiful scene near the start of the movie of Mei’s father preparing dinner.

12 June 2022 — : A couple of weeks ago I discovered, installed, paid for Grocery App: A smart shopping list, recipe manager, meal planner and inventory tracker for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It’s brilliant! I share recipes and shopping list with Deb now, …

12 June 2022 — : This is a wonderful story for a Sunday morning — The Sunday Essay: A never-ending pot of curry: As a child in India, Perzen Patel wished for a bowl of her grandmother’s curry that would never run out and always remind her of home. In New Zealand, …

11 June 2022 — : I wanted the ‘exoticism’ of this book set in rural Sri Lanka, but the book itself just didn’t grab me. The Body in the Paddy Field (A Sri Lankan Mystery Book 1): her friend becomes the prime suspect … the only way to help … is to …

11 June 2022 — : About 2 hours after high tide, with an open sea swell of 5 metres, and westerly gales so strong they just about knocked me off my feet while I took this photo: the Waikawa Beach estuary, full. And yes, events like this are eroding the dunes quite …

10 June 2022 — : Look who was groomed today! Sasha so clean and tidy. 🐶

10 June 2022 — : Rachel McAlpine on growing old: You know so much! From reading, hearing, viewing, and being there. … But which items swell up to become massively important and which ones dwindle away into the distance? Two points about growing old — Write Into …

10 June 2022 — : Did you know I went to Mars? You can too: Mars Photo Booth - NASA Mars. 🤣

10 June 2022 — : We’re getting a lot of these at the moment. ⛈

09 June 2022 — : Today’s order of business. ⛈

09 June 2022 — : HIP (on Acorn TV, French) is a really fun show. It’s another where a solo mum of several children solves crimes while wrangling family. Morgane’s … 160 IQ spoils her life a bit until … Her extraordinary abilities are spotted by the …

09 June 2022 — : Hmmm, this video by Jan Wegener, mainly about bird photography, had some very useful info: Take SHARPER Images with ANY camera! No More BLURRY Photos! Tips for Success. One useful point — if the bird’s far away the mass of air between bird and …

09 June 2022 — : I quickly glazed over while looking at About the security of passkeys - Apple Support. Can anyone point me to a “What the heck are Passkeys?, for Dummies” type resource?

08 June 2022 — : Today I helped a very smart friend set up a new Mac laptop with touch ID button. When it came to adding a fingerprint, she’d had a problem before I came along. Turns out she’d interpreted the instructions on screen as an invitation to …

07 June 2022 — : Deb and I enjoyed watching the all too brief Season One of Annika. No word if there’ll be another season, so fingers crossed. Annika is a British crime drama TV series… Annika Strandhed is a Detective Inspector in … the Glasgow Marine Homicide …

07 June 2022 — : Soon after I spent up large on a Fujinon XF100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR zoom lens for taking photos of birds, Fuji have come out with an even bigger and only slightly more expensive lens: Fujifilm Announces The New XF150-600mm Lens. Sigh. Still, …

07 June 2022 — : Thank you sunrise, light shower and iPhone for this early morning rainbow. 😀

07 June 2022 — : Realised when I opened my MacBook Pro this morning that WWDC keynote was live. Tuned in as I do every year. Actually closed the tab again within 30 seconds as it just felt way too hypey. Plus, I’m not planning on buying anything anyway. …

06 June 2022 — : Today’s main feature: a splitting headache, eased in the end by a one hour deep sleep in the afternoon. 🤕

05 June 2022 — : Gorgeous 5 Km beach walk to start my Sunday. Thanks to all those on my overnight Micro.Blog timeline who mentioned going for a walk: it helped get me out of bed and into the frosty morning.

04 June 2022 — : 10 years ago I bought a Wacom Intuos 5 graphics tablet, upgrading from previous versions. Not for graphics, but because after a rough time getting used to it I much preferred it to mouse or touch pad. After several years when it hid in a drawer, …

03 June 2022 — : The sun was low behind me; the hawk circling high in front of me. 🐦

02 June 2022 — : Sasha has never really been the most cuddly dog. She seems to be changing her ways though. 🐶

02 June 2022 — : Fears cultural significance of Matariki may be lost: Matariki … is a period of solemn reflection, followed by a celebration of the present and looking ahead to the future. It is an appreciation for the earth, the ocean and the environment, and for …

01 June 2022 — : Leigh Mayberry has very quirky language in her books, but still I usually enjoy them. Murderous Profits (Lost in Alaska Book 7). Looks like I skipped 5 & 6 after #4 disappointed. Perhaps I should go back to them… 📚

01 June 2022 — : A couple of mornings ago I was making breakfast when I noticed the top half of the quail run door was open. I rushed out to check on the two girls, who fortunately were sitting happily minding their own business. I must have left the door open the …

31 May 2022 — : Hey Kiwis, if you visit EECA’s tyre pressure tool it tells you what the tire pressure should be for your car. Enter your number plate and the recommended tyre pressure is shown.

31 May 2022 — : 10 minute video: Koko Ibaraki is a world class pole dancer at 50: pole dancing remains a challenging feat of stamina, flexibility and an incredible amount of strength. This is an actual sport that demands a phenomenal degree of athleticism. The …

31 May 2022 — : Keyboard Maestro helps with so much on my Mac. Sometimes I want to have the Clipboard contents in front of me, so I made a macro. I put the clipboard in a variable so a further Copy while viewing the contents wouldn’t upset anything. Here I …

31 May 2022 — : What a wonderful way to start a Tuesday morning! So energising! 2.25 hours of Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra Live in Apolo 2019 - Sandra Sangiao Last Concert - YouTube. Sandra Sangiao has a beautiful voice.

30 May 2022 — : The problem with buying a tray of 30 eggs from the farm gate shop is when you’re trying to manage a single trip from the car to the house with multiple bags, in the rain. Today 3 eggs ‘escaped’. 😒

30 May 2022 — : I enjoy this series, and just read the final 4 stories: Rachel Prince Cruise Ship Mysteries: Books 1-10. That is one unlucky cruise ship! 😆

30 May 2022 — : Loving this morning’s random listen: Andalusian Spanish Arabic Music: الأنْدَلُس - YouTube.

29 May 2022 — : I glimpsed this juvenile Kōtare, Sacred Kingfisher through the window, managed a couple of shots and then it took off. I love my 100–400 zoom camera lens. 🐦

29 May 2022 — : It’s been a busy Sunday. Among other things, I cleaned out the old straw and sawdust from the quail run and topped up with a fresh coating. The quail were pretty stressed by the activity, but seem happy now, especially since they got an extra …

29 May 2022 — : I’ve signed up for this 30 minute New Zealand Glassworks Make a Paperweight Workshop for August. Deb did it back in June 2018 as a birthday present but logistics meant I couldn’t take part then. Finally I get to have a turn!

28 May 2022 — : Today we saw an Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand flypast: the superlative Supermarine Spitfire and three modern Beechcraft T–6C Texan IIs. I thought they were simply flying along the hills then they turned and flew directly overhead. …

27 May 2022 — : Today, for the second time in our lives, we have become mortgage-free. We have no debt and everything that comes in now is ours. 🥳

27 May 2022 — : I changed an account password today. Do you think I was too hasty?

26 May 2022 — : What an amazing resource. Thank you @scojjac I’m exploring Arabic: Language Transfer (languagetransfer.org) Fantastic audio course that teaches you to think in a language, not just memorize words.…Read: its.scojjac.com Scott Jack …

26 May 2022 — : The upside of ending up in Apple Music was I rediscovered a piece of music I adore: Ramirez: Misa Criolla (5 songs, 21 minutes): Ariel Ramírez (4 September 1921 – 18 February 2010) was an Argentine composer… considered “a chief exponent of …

26 May 2022 — : Utterly bewildered that to share with my family an app I’d just bought on the App Store I had to go to iTunes/Music‼️⁉️ I’ve been using Macs and Apple stuff for how long now — 30+ years and I found that process completely confusing and …

25 May 2022 — : Fungi season: I suspect this is a fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). I like to see fungi but never know what they are. Found just across the road from our letterbox today.

25 May 2022 — : Sharon Murdoch’s excellent cartoon today: Forty kororā/little blue penguins found dead on a Far North beach. FORTY (MORE) REASONS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE. COUNT THEM. Kiwis love these little penguins that we see around parts of our coast.

25 May 2022 — : A few years ago I bought a Korg Nanokey 2 keyboard. I can’t play… Today I finally labelled the keys and began to learn to play Mary Had A Little Lamb! Woohoo! I don’t aim to be a musician, just to learn how to play some stuff. This is my …

25 May 2022 — : Since I suggested today’s Challenge word (mountain) — I can never remember which mountain is which in the central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is one of: Ruapehu, Tongariro or Ngauruhoe as seen from the Desert Road. Taken years …

25 May 2022 — : This morning’s new-to-me music: Siberian Altai Turkic Traditional Music. I like it.

24 May 2022 — Mum. Mum. Mum. Mum. Spoonbill parenting… : Seen at the beach this morning: a juvenile Spoonbill with its parents. 🐦

23 May 2022 — : When I didn’t leave quickly enough one of the adult swans warned me off. I left. 🐦

23 May 2022 — : I think this little fantail lives in the bushes near our gate. 🐦

23 May 2022 — : No-one on the lake was very happy about me emerging from behind a bush to take an iPhone photo of the two black swans and their remaining 3 cygnets. 🐦

23 May 2022 — : This morning’s very enjoyable sound track, Afghani music: Daud Khan Sadozai - live - 2013.

22 May 2022 — : Hah! I always have such a feeling of achievement when I wrestle with both logic and regular expressions and win in the end. Today I amended a Keyboard Maestro macro to make an URL out of a post title for my news.wow-waikawa.nz site. I needed to …

21 May 2022 — : At 67 I’m neither geriatric nor elderly, but am having an issue with unintended weight loss. In December 2020 I was ~59 Kg — a good weight for me. Now it’s edged below 54.5 Kg. Blood tests show nothing. Will High Calorie Smoothies for …

21 May 2022 — : At last! Eastern Rosellas have been taunting me. I’ve heard their chattering at various times recently, then they’d shoot past and my camera was nowhere nearby. Today though, one perched outside my window and my one press of the shutter …

20 May 2022 — : It’s been a bit of a morning. 24mm rain between 4 and 8 am, wind gusts up to 62Kph, thunder, lots of lightning, and a mini tornado a few Km down the road. ⚡️💨

19 May 2022 — : Toutouwai, North Island Robin at Bushy Park. These little birds are such cuties, and so tame! 🐦

19 May 2022 — : At Bushy Park near Whanganui, this huge Northern Rātā: Height 39m; Diameter 3.72m; Girth 11.70m. Detail shows a plant growing on the tree.

18 May 2022 — : Given it’ll be winter, and ski season, I jumped in while a room was available and booked my next long weekend holiday for early July at Tongariro National Park. I don’t ski, but everything will soon be booked up by those who do. I plan to …

18 May 2022 — : The Veronica Loop Track in Egmont National Park is ~3.5 Km long, with an elevation gain of ~240 metres. This ‘moderately challenging’ route about killed me! On the map below I started with the right-hand side of the route and the …

18 May 2022 — : Feature request @help : after editing a Post via the web interface can we have a link to go straight to the published post please?

18 May 2022 — : Actual Kiwi (the birds) are rare in Aotearoa New Zealand and sadly hard to find. At least on Taranaki Mounga, although I didn’t see or hear any, I was alerted to their possible presence.

18 May 2022 — : An OK read: Death by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series Book 3) by Jennifer S. Alderson 📚. This was free — I haven’t read the others in the series and probably won’t. Some very unlikely …

18 May 2022 — : Not great. It all seems very stuffy, old-fashioned and rather unlikely. The Death of Amelia Marsh (Sally Nimitz Mysteries Book 1) by MaryJo Dawson 📚. Just not my thing, I guess and it was a mistake to buy it.

17 May 2022 — : I’m only just this minute home from holiday, but look at these wonderful tiny pink fungi I saw at Bushy Park near Whanganui.

16 May 2022 — : Steps going up Veronica Loop Track with Taranaki Maunga rising up behind. Don’t know why it’s sideways. I’ll correct that in a day or two. Update, 18-May-22: photo orientation corrected and alt text added.

16 May 2022 — : The almost 4 Km Veronica Loop Track at North Egmont National Park took me a bit over 2 hours and left me beyond knackered! The first half was steps all the way up. The second was tricky track. 211 metres elevation gain! Amazing though.

15 May 2022 — : They’re serious about not letting dogs into Egmont National Park. 🐶

15 May 2022 — : You get the best views from half way up the mountain at 1150 metres (probably, if it’s not pouring with rain).

15 May 2022 — : I was hoping to walk a couple of 1–4 Km trails today at Egmont National Park, Te Papakura o Taranaki. However, this region’s under a Heavy Rain Warning and my plans have switched to visiting a couple of cafes and relaxing. Volcanoview Stratford …

14 May 2022 — : Mountain shaped ginger chicken at Siam Thai restaurant in New Plymouth. Super delicious.

14 May 2022 — : Taranaki mounga is enormous! Very imposing from the surrounding countryside.

13 May 2022 — : Here’s one of our friendly neighbourhood horses enjoying the warmth of dark ground on a chilly morning.

13 May 2022 — : The first episode of CW ☛ Naomi was very interesting and enjoyable. Thanks to Winding up season 1 of Naomi - Old Ain’t Dead for cluing me in to the show. I thought I was bored with superheroes, but I’ll be watching more of this one. 📺

12 May 2022 — : That ‘pimple’ centre screen is where I’ll be this coming weekend. 😀

12 May 2022 — : I have a rare holiday coming up: 4 days visiting Egmont National Park for some short walks, sightseeing and photos. Guess I’d better pack rain gear. 😒

11 May 2022 — : Sasha, still under the influence of post-surgery opiates. 🐶

11 May 2022 — : I’ve been a little on tenterhooks this morning as Sasha went in for dental surgery. The vet says all’s well. She took out 14 teeth! which leaves Sasha with 10. Dogs start out with 42. Soft food from now on though. Not bad for 15 and a …

11 May 2022 — : Hah! Picard S02E09: “We have to super urgently go there and do that. We’ll just stop every couple of minutes and explore our feelings for a while…” (paraphrase)

11 May 2022 — : This is why I can’t donate blood: perhaps you lived in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s so you’re at risk for passing on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Via: Why has the ‘gay blood ban’ still not been lifted in New …

10 May 2022 — : It took a rather ridiculous and surprisingly exhausting 2 hours to assemble this garden cart today. Trundles nicely though.

10 May 2022 — : A flock of about 20 cyclists went past while I was walking Sasha this morning. About 20 older people enjoying the fresh air. 🚴🏼

10 May 2022 — : Interesting short video. Ever wondered what happens to milk at the factory?: In this video, Glen explains what happens to milk at the factory. He takes us through the process and explains what is pasteurisation, homogenisation, standardisation and …

09 May 2022 — : The Tīrairaka, New Zealand fantail is a tricky bird to photograph and I’m still on a quest to get excellent photos. It flitters and flutters and is so fast! 🐦

09 May 2022 — : It may be 3 months since Oshi passed away, but Sasha has finally stepped into his ‘shoes’ with the ‘it’s dinnertime’ sit-in. And it will be dinnertime, in about an hour. Sigh 🐶

09 May 2022 — : I was trying to take photos of the elusive fantails who were flittering just outside the window. What I did get were these European Goldfinches, with their bright scarlet faces. 🐦

09 May 2022 — : I’ve used the wonderful Pastebot for Mac for the longest time but for some reason only today learned how to use sequential paste. 🤷🏼

08 May 2022 — : There’s something about the opening of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that grabbed me right by my childhood viewings in the 60s of the Original Series. I got all teary! It took me right back to my childhood when the Space Age was new. ST:TOS was …

08 May 2022 — : In its second year my Granny Smith apple tree produced 7 apples. One fell off early in the season. I ate one recently. These 5 weigh 1 Kg in total. Very pleasing result. The birds ‘showed’ me they were ready to pick. 😆

08 May 2022 — : That was a treat! Deb made a delicious omelette for breakfast. Yum.

08 May 2022 — : This was an enjoyable read: Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) 📚: Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death?

08 May 2022 — : This detail intrigues me: Two officers from the helicopter ran to the scene and took the seven youths into custody before they could get away. Seven arrested after helicopter police chase Two officers arresting 7 people seems pretty impressive to …

07 May 2022 — : Striding. 🐦

07 May 2022 — : Skating! This little New Zealand dotterel turns out to be banded, when I zoom in. They’re very small, fast birds: 25 cm and about 150 grams. Perfect on the beach: dark upper and white below so you think you’re just seeing shells on sand — till it …

06 May 2022 — : I’m surprised I finished reading Murder by the Book (A Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery 1) by Lauren Elliott. It seemed confused and rushed, had basic logic flaws and the romantic elements were annoying. I’m unlikely to read more in this …

06 May 2022 — : I very nearly stopped watching Grace and Frankie in the middle of Season 7. It had been so long since the previous episodes aired and it dragged a bit. I’m so glad I stuck with it though. The ending(s) were spot on. So good to see old folk (and …

05 May 2022 — : Misty morning. Cobweb. Flax spear.

05 May 2022 — : Naughty little House sparrows sitting on the roof (pooping in the gutter that supplies our drinking water). 🐦 Update: the photo I exported at Medium resolution looked terrible. I’ve replaced it with a better version.

04 May 2022 — : Hey southern hemisphere types: do some sky watching over the next few mornings before dawn: The Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower Is About to Light Up The Skies, Here’s How to See It. ☄️

04 May 2022 — : Meanwhile, the Australian coots were having a bit of a dust-up (volume up). 🐦

04 May 2022 — : To my delight, this morning’s walk brought me two Kakīānau, Black swans with 4 cygnets, already swimming. 🐦

03 May 2022 — : Sasha 🐶 was not a cooperative model today, either before grooming or after.

02 May 2022 — : Not too bad to while away a few hours: A Welsh Murder Mystery Box Set Books 1–4 by Cathy Ace 📚: women of the WISE Enquiries Agency turned their backs on their previous careers to work together to help others. ‘Enquiries’ rather than …

01 May 2022 — : The Alton Brown Shepherd’s Pie I cooked tonight was delicious. The photo doesn’t do it justice.

01 May 2022 — : [Accidentally, while cooking] confirmed the smoke alarm still works. 👍

01 May 2022 — : Touching. Pied Stilt. 🐦

30 April 2022 — : Kāpiti Island rises from the dawn mist.

30 April 2022 — : This Karoro, Black-backed gull was keeping a close eye on me this morning. 🐦

29 April 2022 — : I did a heap of things today that I wanted to do. Some are unfinished, and that’s fine. The sky was blue, the sun warm, the day was still. The air is clean and I listened to birds. How fabulous to be alive! 🤩

29 April 2022 — : Fake puppies!: Police urge potential new pet owners to be wary following an influx of scams involving fake puppies and cryptocurrency. … potential red flags… [the scammers] will often use colourful text, Emojis and exhibit poor grammar. … payment …

29 April 2022 — : This post by @gregmoore reminded me of this day back in 2003 when Aphra 🐈, on top of the shower, was wondering if there was a yet higher place to reach.

29 April 2022 — : Aotearoa New Zealand is right in the middle of a giant high today, giving us cold clear nights and warm blue sky days. And no wind! 🤩 earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions

28 April 2022 — : Things fell into place today for Deb and me to eat dinner out. We visited for the first time Nanyang Flavours in Shannon, a 35 minute drive from home, where I had Nasi Goreng. It was a very large meal and extremely delicious. I have leftovers for …

28 April 2022 — : Nothing special: just a photo from when I was walking Sasha 🐶 back along the lane to home, on a perfect morning. Blue skies, warm sun, not a breath of wind, silence apart from birds.

27 April 2022 — : This was such an interesting episode of Lingthusiasm: What it means for a language to be official. It’s way more complicated than I’d ever thought.

27 April 2022 — : Hah! Scifi writers note: to write a character who is… expert… Give them a deep, intense hatred of some oddly specific wow-I-did-not-even-know-that-was-a-thing-and-it-would-have-never-occurred-to-me-that-it’s-a-bad-thing thing they’ll gladly rant …

26 April 2022 — : Deb did a clean out and found an old iPhone 5. It’s so tiny! Look at it next to my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

26 April 2022 — : A neighbour and I drove to Foxton today to visit the Ans Westra photo exhibition. I specially loved her photo of this young Māori girl (not named) who is clearly a warrior in the making. Picture of photo by Ans Westra of a young Māori girl looking …

25 April 2022 — : Pukeko at the lake. 🐦

24 April 2022 — : Our dog groomer has come down with Shingles. Ouch! That means we need to find an alternative groomer for Sasha 🐶 who’s about due for a trim. 😒

24 April 2022 — : Something I’d like is more information in the list of Micro.Bloggers I’m following (micro.blog/[name]/following) @help. Useful would be: date they last posted &/or how many posts they’ve made. I follow ~600. I recognise 50—100 …

23 April 2022 — : Amazon have made a change I really dislike. When I look at a page of listings my eye now sees first in giant red letters a (supposed) discount amount to the left of the actual price in smaller black type. My eye sees the red, reads it as a price, I …

22 April 2022 — : On a day where I seem to be feeling a bit off-colour I’ve really enjoyed eating some Celery soup. Really easy and quick to make, once you’ve chopped up a load of celery and potatoes. Just right today.

21 April 2022 — : Tonight I made Roast cod on spiced Puy lentils — delicious. There was no cod available so I cooked a fish I’d never heard of before: Elephant Fish. Now I’m horrified to find it’s in the list of fish to avoid because of ecological …

21 April 2022 — : This month I am finally doing a chore I really have trouble getting to: selling stuff I no longer require. So far this month I’ve sold an Apple Watch, a Fujifilm zoom lens, a broken version of that same zoom lens. Today I’ve listed a 27mm …

21 April 2022 — : This is interesting: The streets have eyes, including the bit that says: One of the problems is the [facial recognition] software doesn’t perform well across all ethnicities. … the software has been designed with lighter skin as the default.

20 April 2022 — : Aaargh, Candice Renoir quickly became one of my favourite shows on Acorn TV. Just finished Season 4 which ended with a major event! I know 8 seasons exist altogether. I’m so hoping we get to see the rest soon!

20 April 2022 — : I think I’ve realised why my Netatmo rain gauge sometimes stops working. At this time of year we get little rain. When I go to investigate the rain gauge failing to work I have to clean out lots of spider webs. Once I do that, it works again. …

19 April 2022 — : I’m so much enjoying Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery. Only a couple of episodes left to watch and I’m having trouble not just bingeing them!

19 April 2022 — : Breakfast time for Sasha. 🐶

18 April 2022 — : I’m especially fond of waterfalls and have just discovered: the New Zealand Waterfalls website. 🤩

17 April 2022 — : Sasha 🐶 very obligingly naps in the car while I water the front lawn of our rental property. We could do with some decent rain! Maybe Thursday will bring some…

17 April 2022 — : I enjoyed Murder at Sugar Rush Beach (Detectives Preddy & Harris Book 3) by Paula Lennon 📚: Detective Preddy hoped for a quiet start to the new year. But there’s a murder at Sugar Rush Beach. A man is stabbed through the heart with an antique …

16 April 2022 — : Looked out the front door and spotted these two young pheasants moseying about. 🐦 They scurried off when they saw me though.

15 April 2022 — : I’ve been having a great Easter Friday, doing crosswords, watching videos, and during daylight, enjoying warm sun and fresh air. Also cooked Red lentil & carrot soup, which was kind of thin but nevertheless pleasing, and Homemade croutons, …

15 April 2022 — : In case it’s useful for someone else — I wanted to be able to grab the title and URL of an article I was viewing in NetNewsWire and make a Markdown link for posting to Micro.Blog. I used Applescript for this: tell application "NetNewsWire" set …

15 April 2022 — : I find recipes on the Internet then try out some of them. I’m forever converting measures of ingredients. This is useful and 🤯: Cooking Weights & measures, eg: [English and New Zealand] flours are milled differently [so you have to change …

15 April 2022 — : Wow. This 10 minute video An Interview with a Professional Jump Roper is quite something. Sometimes Tori Boggs and her rope are both moving so fast I can’t even see the rope and her hands and feet are just a blur. Her strength and endurance are …

14 April 2022 — : The pre-dawn sky is delightful. Look east to see Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn. On the 24th the Moon will join in. Check Stellarium Web Online Star Map for IDs. Screenshot below from 24 April 2022 at Waikawa Beach (with Māori names added).

13 April 2022 — : Whew. Finished watching Season 1 of Bel Air. That was quite an ending! Side note: I can’t get over the absolute wealth on display. It’s staggering to think there are folks who could buy their 17 year old a top of the line brand new sports …

13 April 2022 — : Update on Sasha 🐶. Her ultrasound today went well. Her liver looks like you’d expect for a 15 year old dog, with no evidence of tumours or anything. We’ll check liver enzymes in a month and if OK her dental surgery will go ahead, …

12 April 2022 — : This seems to be a busy week — it’s rushing by. One of my errands today though was to get this year’s flu shot. ✔︎

11 April 2022 — : Sasha, 15 and a half 🐶, is on her way to the doggy dentist (ie the vet) this morning for tooth surgery so we took a precautionary photo…

10 April 2022 — : I enjoy this author’s books and this was no exception: Striking Range: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima 📚: Deputy Mattie and her K-9 partner Robo are called to help investigate the death of a young woman found in a campground …

10 April 2022 — : En Pointe. South Island Pied Oystercatcher. 🐦

10 April 2022 — : We don’t often see starfish on our beach which doesn’t have the rockpools they may more usually be found in. This morning though I saw one (or maybe two — photos from different stages of my walk). They are the native Eleven-Armed Sea …

09 April 2022 — : In February 2022 @patrickrhone linked to the Meat/Less newsletter course. I’d wanted to reduce the amount of meat I eat and took up one suggestion the course made to eat vegetarian on weekdays. I’ve mainly done that now for a while and …

09 April 2022 — : Back in January of 2022 a huge branch from a 40 year old pine tree on a neighbour’s property fell down for no apparent reason. Last month they cut down the whole tree. Yesterday, by invitation, I gathered small branches, pine cones and several loads …

08 April 2022 — New midwinter public holiday in Aotearoa New Zealand : In the Northern hemisphere Christmas in December is a midwinter holiday, bringing hope and the renewal of the light when life is dark and cold. In the Southern hemisphere the December timing makes no sense as we enjoy long hot days. In Aotearoa New …

07 April 2022 — The information switch : The other day I was reading a book set on a cruise ship on the Rhine in Germany. At one point the characters did some interesting sightseeing tour and I flashed back to the year I spent in Düsseldorf am Rhein in 1976. I didn't do nearly enough …

07 April 2022 — : Whiled away a day with Death of a Blogger: A Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe Mystery Novella by Dawn Brookes 📚: a gossip blogger joins a tour party with victims of her malicious words…

06 April 2022 — : I’m a bit ambivalent about Murder in Midwinter (Oxford Dog Walker Crime Thrillers Book 2) by Annie Dalton with Maria Dalton 📚. An interesting concept but a few too many coincidences and some parts dragged. … the Oxford Six. One by one, the surviving …

05 April 2022 — : It feels like it’s been forever since I took a healthy dog to the vet for routine stuff. 🐶 Sasha’s teeth need some attention, so she’s booked in for a procedure next week. It’s great to see Sasha so well these days, even …

05 April 2022 — : Interesting: Trying to Keep Aging Neurons Healthy and Growing: That set me on a tentative and then growing effort to become creative in the ways I approached ordinary elements of my daily living. Now this was something quite different.

05 April 2022 — : Unknown Baby Girl, a short story by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, is very powerful. As always from this author, a superbly written story. Read for free before 11 April 2022. 📚

04 April 2022 — : I enjoyed These Little Lies (Detective Inspector Siv Drummond Book 1) by Gretta Mulrooney 📚. A new police procedural series from a British author I like: Detective Inspector Siv Drummond is looking for a fresh start. What she gets is two dead …

04 April 2022 — : Deb, leaving for work, told me to get out of bed and look at the sunrise. it was worth it. 😎

03 April 2022 — : Deb and I enjoyed Dream Horse 🎬 : the true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their earnings … The group’s …

03 April 2022 — : I like to do my beach walks at dawn, when the sun just catches the tips of the waves.

02 April 2022 — : We see some excellent sights from our lounge window, like the two Air Force Hercules aircraft that just flew past really low. Air Force marks 85 years of service to New Zealand.

02 April 2022 — : Another in a series I enjoy: Close to Death by Elizabeth Gunn 📚. Detective Sarah Burke is called out to a mass shooting in a quiet residential street … it’s nothing she can’t handle. That’s until one of the ‘dead’ bodies wakes up. At least now …

02 April 2022 — : Scenes from this morning’s dawn walk.

02 April 2022 — : A hard but powerful read: This is How You Died | The Order of the Good Death: A physician who worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic addresses an auditorium she imagines is full of her patients who died.

01 April 2022 — : My first attempt at a Chocolate Mini Loaf Cake, which thought it was maybe a volcano! Tasted good though!

01 April 2022 — : I can’t believe how many times I need to correct a Post or Reply after publishing. Thank you so much @manton for making it easy to do that! 🙌🏼

01 April 2022 — : A big walk for Sasha 🐶 these days is to go all the way to the speedsigns, 500 metres away. On our early morning walk today we rounded a bend in the road to see this beautifully lit scene. Behind those dunes is the sea.

31 March 2022 — : Ready for some feelgood, with dogs? the dogs had to learn about 80 new behaviors before they [could] get their paws on the wheel of an actual car. … little things … like desensitising them to seatbelts … The day the dogs drove. Video: Driving Dogs. …

31 March 2022 — : An even better morning display today at 0644: low in the eastern sky a crescent Moon, right beside mighty Jupiter. Arrayed above them, Venus, Saturn and Mars. My photos don’t do them justice. ☽🪐 To keep an eye on the sky, Stellarium Web Online …

30 March 2022 — : This is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s smallest birds, often heard but seldom seen. I got lucky a few months back. Riroriro, Grey Warbler 🐦 : Length: 11 cm; Weight: 5.5 - 6.5 grams Riroriro, Grey Warbler song.

30 March 2022 — : I had Keen shoes that were new many years ago, were demoted to dog walking several years ago and finally to gardening. This year they fell to bits. For gardening I’ve now replaced them with Hard Yakka Women’s 3056 work boots. They should …

30 March 2022 — : This is bizarre: it’s not quite 5 am, pitch dark and I’ve been hearing a loud motorbike roaring around for 5 minutes or more. They may be on the beach — we hear it clearly from here — but why would someone be hooning on the beach in the dark? I guess …

29 March 2022 — : I had low expectations for what turned out to be an excellent book. Murder on Port Meadow (Oxford Dog Walker Crime Thrillers Book 1) by Annie Dalton with Maria Dalton 📚 drew me in immediately and held me engrossed to the end. I’ve bought Book 2.

29 March 2022 — : Has Apple Maps always had this? Just today I discovered Guides, and that I can add places to a Guide I’ve created. Very handy for a trip to Palmerston North. It syncs from my Mac to my iPhone too. Now, if only it would sync to the car’s GPS…

29 March 2022 — : At 6 am I remembered Mars, Venus and Saturn were to be close together in the morning sky. I popped outside and found the Moon hanging out too. Handheld Phone photo, plus Milky Way by Scorpio and Southern Cross. 🌌 Bonus sighting of ISS. 👍

28 March 2022 — : I’ve been listening to and enjoying @Matti’s excellent podcasts, The Early Riser and The Puppycast. That’s probably why I found myself speaking into Voice Memos on my phone as I set off for my beach walk this morning. Drafts app transcribed it for …

28 March 2022 — : Just experimented with Drafts transcribing a brief Voice Memo I made. Not bad at all. The hardest thing was getting the Voice Memo into Drafts. Sharing it did nothing. Voice Memos files, BTW, are stored at: ~/Library/Application …

27 March 2022 — : I suppose articles like Escape from Kyiv are ten a penny just now. It moved me deeply though. And made me think about how NZ is so remote I can’t even begin to imagine invading bombers flying overhead. We’re so sheltered here.

27 March 2022 — : I’m not given to sharing Wordle results, but today’s was very unusual: Wordle 281 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

26 March 2022 — : Abandoned 40% through: A Deadly Course (Sugarbury Falls Mysteries Book 1) by Diane Weiner 📚. Amateur detectives leap to various conclusions. I think I prefer trained detectives.

26 March 2022 — : I abandoned Aged for Murder (A Tuscan Vineyard Cozy Mystery—Book 1) by Fiona Grace 📚 about 33% through. The write-up didn’t make clear it’s a romance with lots of ‘chiseled jaw’ and ‘stunningly handsome’. Romance …

26 March 2022 — : I quite enjoyed Murder Under the Palms (Detectives Preddy & Harris Book 2) by Paula Lennon 📚. It was a little slow though.

26 March 2022 — : I bought myself an autumn day treat while out and about this morning. A very delicious real fruit blackberry icecream cone at the nearby blueberry farm.

25 March 2022 — : Hah, remembering this day in 2020 when global Covid cases numbered less than 500,000.

25 March 2022 — : I don’t often listen to music but this morning I’ve been captivated by Deva Mahal. For example this just released All Your Ships Have Sailed by Troy Kingi, performed by Deva Mahal and ensemble. Lyrics What a voice!

24 March 2022 — : I’ve had this M1 MacBook Pro for over a year now. Today after 9 hours of use the battery has ‘already’ dropped to 50% charge from full. How easily expectations change! Any of my previous MacBook Pros I’d be amazed to get 9 …

24 March 2022 — : Up, up, down, down. 🐦 Canada Geese, on the wing.

23 March 2022 — : These ring-necked pheasants are very common round here. They’re splendid birds, but also kind of incredible. That eye belongs in a cartoon. 🐦

23 March 2022 — : My new favourite — Shedunnit: a storytelling podcast that unravels the mysteries behind classic detective stories. I’ve listened to 3 episodes so far and it’s just so good! If, like me, you enjoy reading mysteries, or perhaps if you …

22 March 2022 — : We see Kingfishers around here quite often — usually in the garden. I didn’t really expect to see this little one on the beach yesterday. 🐦 Kōtare, Sacred kingfisher

21 March 2022 — : I spent an age today making a Big List of Waikawa Beach Birds. Counting only live birds, not those washed up on the beach, there are over 50! 🐦

21 March 2022 — : These Rock pigeons, although common everywhere, are actually not that easy to find at Waikawa Beach. 🐦 I first spotted them a few months ago, but it was only yesterday things came together for a quick photo of one. It flew away immediately. 😒

21 March 2022 — : This spammer failed to trick the detection engines by using these intriguing font forms. However, I do like the overall look. Must have been a big job to create.

21 March 2022 — : These two annoyingly distant Spur-winged Plovers were at the beach this morning. I’ve been wanting to get photos of them, but am a bit disappointed with the results. 🐦

21 March 2022 — : A few small shakes overnight, 2 very close and shallow 〰️: Sun Mar 20 2022 8:28 PM: 15 km south-east of Seddon; M4.5; Depth: 10 km. Sun Mar 20 2022 11:50 PM: 10 km west of Levin; M3.2; Depth: 5 km. Mon Mar 21 2022 12:08 AM: 10 km west of Levin; …

20 March 2022 — : I was never really very fond of gulls, but I’m coming to quite like the ones at Waikawa Beach. Tarapunga, Red-billed gull. 🐦

19 March 2022 — : The Kuaka, Godwits were being very obliging this morning.

19 March 2022 — : I really enjoyed The Girl Who Killed You (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 3) by Amy Vansant 📚: Shee quickly tracks [a missing] boy to a Bahamian island playground … The job seems such a breeze, she hires her daughter to infiltrate the …

19 March 2022 — : Waikawa Beach at 9 am on a cool, clear, sunny, still morning. Paradise.

18 March 2022 — : After completely draining the batteries on my original Airpods and case as a problem solving step (I hope), today I thought it’d be good to run my M1 MacBook Pro battery right down for a change. Takes a while…

17 March 2022 — : Sasha getting back to basics. 🐶

17 March 2022 — : Some kind of spacecraft launching gantry? No. Pouring concrete at the new subdivision, starting an hour+ before sunrise at 6 am! Photo at 7 am, just before sunrise. I’m not super happy about this pre-dawn activity.

16 March 2022 — : This is now my official preferred scrambled egg dish: Soft Scrambled Japanese Tamago Rice Bowl. Totally yum!

16 March 2022 — : The garden shop down the road has had Cabbage Trees on sale for a while now. I’ve already planted 14 in various spots but today I bought another 7 and planted them by the gate where we had a pile of mulch we’ve used up.

15 March 2022 — : In the next-door-paddock-but-one the farmer grows corn or maize. Today was harvesting day. One machine harvested the maize and blew it through a chute into a trailer, then the tractor would take away the full container and replace it with an empty …

15 March 2022 — : Another really good read in the Goodbye series: Goodbye Lake Street by Anne Shillolo 📚: Police and a secret group of citizen investigators are locked in a battle for child safety, and Detective Constable Holly Towns finds herself trapped between the …

14 March 2022 — : OK. A] Add a video to Micro.Blog: click the upload button, write text, Post. 👍 B] Add a video to a static blog via Publii: log in to YouTube, upload video, click a load of settings, struggle to get the embed code, add embed code to the correct editor …

14 March 2022 — : The public toilets at Waikawa Beach were built around 50 or 60 years ago. They’re now in a state of decay. Today builders started demolishing the men’s side. The women’s side will become two accessible unisex toilets, a family room …

14 March 2022 — : This morning on the beach I was lucky enough to get a decent shot of this Tuturiwhatu, Banded dotterel 🐦: Length: 20 cm; Weight: 60 g A small compact brown and white plover with a short black bill, relatively long dark legs and large round dark …

13 March 2022 — : Someone recently was asking about women podcasters (unless I imagined that…). Here are two that are utterly superb: The Happiness Lab Podcast with Dr. Laurie Santos - Pushkin Industries A Podcast of One’s Own with Julia Gillard (former …

13 March 2022 — : Two photos from a couple of days ago of a Kawau, Pied Shag at the beach. 🐦 Length: 65 - 85 cm; Weight: 1.3 - 2.1 kg; A large, relatively slim …shag … white face, black feet, blue eye-rings, yellow facial skin. Black back, nape and upperwings … white …

13 March 2022 — : This new channel was an instant subscribe: MinuteFood: MinuteFood serves up the science of what we cook, eat, and drink - all with the goal of unlocking ultimate deliciousness. MinuteFood is created by Kate Yoshida, Arcadi Garcia & Alexander …

13 March 2022 — : Many thanks to all those who worked so hard to bring us Micro Camp, and to all the presenters and those who joined in the chats etc. It was excellent!

13 March 2022 — : Proof that space and time are the same thing. 😆 Referring to the Micro camp online sessions I said I like the space between them. What I meant was the time between them. QED.

12 March 2022 — : On 03 March 2022 we had turf laid at the rental property we own. It must be watered daily. That water comes from a roughly 9,000 litre rainwater tank that also feeds the toilet in the house. Otherwise the house uses a metered town water supply. A …

12 March 2022 — : About 5 Km away is an organic Blueberry Farm that also has olive trees and makes award winning olive oil. This morning I stopped there and bought oil, and also a wonderful blueberry icecream. Didn’t think of a photo till I’d eaten more than half the …

11 March 2022 — : A new favourite photo: a Kuaka Godwit at the edge of the sea today. 🐦

10 March 2022 — : A View to Die For by Cheri Baker 📚: When a wealthy painter is murdered at the luxurious Londonian hotel, Paul and his new partner Andrew Kim take on the case. Another excellent story from @Cheri, with wit and humour and even the occasional Kiwi! …

10 March 2022 — : Me: I wonder if I can Base64 encode text somehow on my Mac? Keyboard Maestro: I got you with one click: manual:Filters [Keyboard Maestro Wiki]. Of course!

10 March 2022 — : Sasha was groomed yesterday. Here she is eating dinner. 😀 🐶

09 March 2022 — : I avoid driving my car because a] CO2 and b] petrol costs. Today I put 2/3 of a tank in: ~40 litres for almost NZ$120. The price is hovering round $3 per litre and is likely to keep rising. For 1 litre ($3) I could instead have bought 3/4 of a cup of …

09 March 2022 — : I’d love to see this as a movie! Great article! How Death Positive Women Kickstarted a Civil War: By October [1846 in Portugal], two governments had been deposed and the country was neck-deep in a civil war. And all because an old woman had …

09 March 2022 — : I think I’ll be watching this. It looks fun. Apollo 10 1/2 📺

08 March 2022 — : Before I could plant these 3 cabbage trees I spent a couple of hours over several days digging out lupins, gorse and blackberry, weedeating, gathering mulch and tires. Finally today I spent about 45 minutes in the heat actually planting. 4 more to …

07 March 2022 — : Sometime I want to bike along this trail myself. Really interesting article today: Lake Dunstan Trail: 55,000 more riders than expected in first year. In … January, 12,068 people passed the trail counter – almost as many [as] they’d [expected …

06 March 2022 — : Busy day but it started with a dawn beach walk and an encounter with Taranui, Caspian terns. 🐦

05 March 2022 — : Only 2.5 minutes in on this 12 minute video and I’ve already learned a really useful tip about longer night exposures. How to capture the night sky with a phone & camera | 3 TIPS for astrophotography beginners

05 March 2022 — : It’s roughly new moon, very little wind, and a 0.3 metre low tide almost 2 hours before this photo. With our gently sloping beach there was a vast expanse of damp sand between the dunes and the water’s edge. Photo looking south at 1x on iPhone 13 Pro …

04 March 2022 — : I almost missed seeing this brilliant scarlet sunset.

04 March 2022 — : This is a very thoughtful piece by Anna Rawhiti-Connell in The Spinoff : Aotearoa is different now who reflects on the recent occupation of NZ’s Parliament grounds and the riot when occupiers were cleared out. She also considers the pandemic and the …

04 March 2022 — : Enjoyed Broken Places (A Cass Raines Mystery Book 1) by Tracy Clark 📚: Cass Raines took a bullet in the line of duty… Now, the Chicago PD has one less African-American woman on the force and Cass is the head of a one-woman private investigation …

03 March 2022 — : 6 years ago we bought a property we’ve been renting out. The grass at the front was terrible. After a year or two we had it taken out and planted as garden. That led to years of battling weeds. Now we had that ripped out and turf laid. …

02 March 2022 — : The other day I found several jellyfish on the beach, mainly brown and dead looking. This 15 cm specimen was an impressive translucent red. The Wildlife of New Zealand Facebook group confirmed it as a Lion’s Mane.

02 March 2022 — : Some of the (male) illegal occupiers are berating Police for advancing when there are women and children in the protest. Well, a] women can look after themselves! and b] children should be removed by their caregivers in any case.

02 March 2022 — : At long last Police seem to be actually working on clearing the occupiers at NZ’s Parliament: Live: Anti-mandate protest enters 23rd day as police descend on Parliament: Police are descending on Parliament, with at least 4 large paddy wagons … …

01 March 2022 — : Sometimes folks fish off the beach with a kontiki — a motorised thing that takes hooks and lines up to 4 Km. Today a fellow had rods and reels set up on the beach and used a drone to take the hooks out to sea. He was fishing for gurnard, trevally or …

01 March 2022 — : This is an amazing thing. Not sure I’d be brave enough to do this ‘walk’ in Fife, in the south-east of Scotland: The Elie Chainwalk is safe, as long as you follow the signs. 3.5 minute video.

28 February 2022 — : The Carrot & Coriander Soup I made tonight was delicious and really easy and quick. Next time I may try adding just a hint of ginger. Forgot a photo, unfortunately.

28 February 2022 — : Sometimes Sasha likes to rearrange the rugs and towels in her crate. 🐶 Today things went a bit awry… until I finally gave her a hand to sort it out.

28 February 2022 — : Sand scarab 1: “Man, I was so drunk last night I nearly forgot the way home.” Sand scarab 2: “You were drunk… It took me 3 hours just to get in the front door…”

27 February 2022 — : Sasha 🐶 enjoyed being one of the humans when we went with neighbours to Tuktuk Waikanae for Thai food lunch. Top down isn't my preferred angle for dog photos, but it was the only possible option. Sasha was *so* well behaved too.

26 February 2022 — : Swallows nest above the door to Deb’s zendo. Today we took the nests down (and won’t let them return) and cleaned masses of bird poop off the doors, aluminium door frame and deck. The Internet was right: warm water, dish soap, white …

25 February 2022 — : Gotta say: way back in the mists of time I enjoyed watching Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Which led me to watch the currently screening reimagination of the show. It’s excellent. Not funny, but a realistic drama beautifully …

25 February 2022 — : Wowee, this was so delicious I didn’t think to take a photo. Quick and easy too: 20-Minute Chickpea Soup. Yum!

25 February 2022 — : In normal life I weedeated around the raspberry canes, as well as other spots. In abnormal life, NZ’s Covid case numbers doubled for the second day in a row, and I’m hoping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine doesn’t mean we’ll …

24 February 2022 — : I think my immediate dislike of the narrator got me off to a bad start. I so much wanted to like this Australian book 📚 but it just kind of annoyed me. Murder in Murloo (Dusty Kent Mysteries Book 1)

24 February 2022 — : After a rest I planted the other 4 cabbage trees. Now I just hope they actually grow.

24 February 2022 — : The other day I bought 7 cabbage tree plants at $3 each. Mostly they looked a bit sickly which is probably why they were so cheap. Today so far I’ve planted 3, continuing a line the previous owner started, but the day’s getting quite hot. …

24 February 2022 — : This 40 minute podcast episode is seriously interesting for anyone who uses written English: Why Does the Letter “A” Look That Way?: English lettering was borrowed from the Romans, but where did they get it from? And where did the …

23 February 2022 — : The mistakes we learn from: if a plant will get wide, plant it further from the border. A few years ago I planted flax bushes along the drive. I should have planted them further back so I don’t have to keep trimming them!

23 February 2022 — : Aha, learned something: Overwintering Parks in New Zealand | The Butterfly Musketeers 🦋: The overwintering stage in New Zealand starts in April or May. This is when swarms of Monarch butterflies form regularly to overwinter at places around the …

22 February 2022 — : Love this: Scientists Attached Tracking Devices to Magpies 🐦: Within 10 minutes … we witnessed an adult female … trying to remove the harness off of a younger bird. … By day 3, even the dominant male of the group had its tracker successfully …

22 February 2022 — : Finally refreshed the straw and shavings in the front part of the quail run. 🐦 Put the soiled straw round nearby vege garden. Trimmed back flax plant for easier access to quail run. The quail should love to scratch the straw around. It’s all in …

22 February 2022 — : This is a very informative article: The Wellington protest is testing police independence and public tolerance – are there lessons from Canada’s crackdown?: The [NZ Police] act independently of the Crown and serve only the law.

21 February 2022 — : As usual, our load of firewood had a few bits that would be unlikely to fit in our woodburner. In the past I’ve chopped them up with an axe where I could but my new Ozito 356mm 1800W Electric Chainsaw made short work of them! Those not already …

20 February 2022 — : I very much enjoyed Murder in Montego Bay (Detectives Preddy & Harris Book 1) by Paula Lennon 📚. Set in Jamaica and featuring Jamaican dialect was a bonus. Local ice-cream magnate Carter Chin Ellis is shot dead. Shortly after leaving Pelican …

20 February 2022 — : OK, that’s some heavy rain right there.

19 February 2022 — : We live at Waikawa Beach. Travel to the two closest centres, Ōtaki and Levin, means using State Highway 1. There is no alternative. That stretch of road is notorious: in 2021 the road was closed 5 times, 26 times there were delays, and 8 people …

19 February 2022 — : Folks have rights: get drunk drive vehicles smoke work in an office remain unvaxed work in proximity with other humans and responsibilities to obey laws: don’t drive drunk don’t smoke in the office don’t work in people-focused …

19 February 2022 — : After Oshi 🐶 died I spent heaps of time going through my Photo Library finding and labelling photos of him. Then I created an album of ‘possibles’ for a photo book from HappyMoose. Faced with whittling down 107 to 21 I realised I could …

18 February 2022 — : No photo, but today for the first and maybe only time in my life I came across a Briard 🐶: a French breed of large shepherd dog, traditionally used both for herding sheep and to defend them. Very big dog, loads of hair, and looked amazingly strong. …

18 February 2022 — : This little 4 minute silent video is so powerful and thought-provoking: When the Giant Cruise Ships Came to Town: The [cruise ships] that pull into the harbor now are so tall and broad that they block out views entirely, fundamentally changing …

17 February 2022 — : I enoyed Safe (Merrow & Clarke Book 1) by Jane Adams 📚, though the frequently mentioned Organised Crime Gang torture was a hard read. Now 17 year old Lauren’s on the run knowing her father will murder her, just like he murdered her mother.

17 February 2022 — : Yesterday + 2.25 hours work = today.

16 February 2022 — : Big congrats today to Dylan and Jeremy: NZ duo involved in music for major Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer: New Zealanders Jeremy Glenn and Dylan Jones, a drum and bass duo who record under the name of The Upbeats… I knew Dylan well …

15 February 2022 — : Weird that while Sasha was sick she didn’t snore. 🐶 Now she’s better she’s back, full throttle. Maybe she’s more relaxed now…

15 February 2022 — : Finished Straight Up (A Ruby Steele Mystery—Book 4) by Mia Gold 📚. I quite enjoyed it but there are things that strain credulity. [on a group holiday] a rich wife … wakes up with her best friend’s husband sleeping beside her—dead. Ruby Steele has …

15 February 2022 — : Pleasing dog news 🐶 : Sasha’s eye ulcer is almost healed. Some vascularisation that would worry the vet in another dog, but since Sasha’s already blind it won’t damage her vision further. Sasha’s also a whole lot more settled …

14 February 2022 — : I tend to see ngutupapa, Royal Spoonbills on the beach solitary, in pairs or even three at a time. Today is the first time I’ve seen a flock of maybe 12 or 15 — I was unable to actually count because of distance and the big piece of driftwood. …

14 February 2022 — : I wonder why four military helicopters are flying south in formation? Going to help clear protesters overstaying their visit to Parliament?

13 February 2022 — : Cancelling the reservations I made for the bike tour in April. I just don’t want to do that any more. I may instead do some random closer-to-home weekend type trips where I can take the bike on the car. New Plymouth, for example, has an …

13 February 2022 — : Many thanks to @cheri for the excellent idea of delaying the birthday I’m not in the mood for! I’ve made myself an IOU. I feel better about it all already.

13 February 2022 — : I slept an unbelievable 10 unbroken hours last night! Didn’t even have to get up to pee. Hope I’m not sick… 7 hours or less is more usual for me.

12 February 2022 — : Birthdays aren’t really a big thing for me but I’ve never felt less inspired by one (soon) than this year. I guess there’s a few things going on: our dog Oshi died; his sister is missing him, unwell, confused and frail; some local …

12 February 2022 — : It’s a rainy Saturday and my wonderful partner made delicious pikelets. Yumm!

12 February 2022 — : The very essence of Kiwi: while the French police are readying water cannons against protestors our police are deploying lawn sprinklers to get protestors off Parliament Grounds (after 4 days of ‘occupation’). 😆 🇳🇿

12 February 2022 — : While I enjoyed the first 2 books in the series this third one just didn’t gel with me. Too Close to Kill (Detective Sarah Burke mystery and suspense Book 3) by Elizabeth Gunn. 📚 They always seemed so good together. But did Frank shoot Lois …

11 February 2022 — : Neighbours gave us a Leptospermum scoparium Red Damask as a remembrance of Oshi 🐶. Today I planted it on ‘Cemetery Hill’, a hillock where the previous owner of the property buried her two cats, and where my cats Olive, Aphra and Ares are …

10 February 2022 — : Sigh. Hundreds of times over the last x years, lift Apple Watch say: “Hey Siri, set timer [x] minutes”. Siri sets timer. Today: “Hey Siri, set timer 18 minutes”. Siri: “You don’t have the timer app …

10 February 2022 — : Today more than 56,000 people received Covid booster shots while up to a couple of thousand protestors opposed to “Covid–19 vaccine mandates” camped out in Parliament grounds. Anti-vaccine mandate protest convoy arrives at …

09 February 2022 — : Crunch, crunch, crunch. 🐶

08 February 2022 — : The vet’s pleased with how Sasha’s 🐶 sore eye is coming along and we continue with drops. We’re now also giving Gabapentin for additional pain relief and as a slight sedative to calm her restlessness. Tonight she sleeps in her …

08 February 2022 — : Someone had fun writing this headline and teaser. Filling the big hole in Wairoa’s dental service

07 February 2022 — : I’m working back through my photo library finding all my photos of Sasha and Oshi and labelling them. The further back I get, the worse the photos are, in quality, composition, sharpness … everything. I guess that means I have developed in …

07 February 2022 — : 31 December 2009. “Yes, quite comfortable, thank you. Why do you ask?” 🐶

07 February 2022 — : Heard a snippet of this then sought it out. Magnificent! Prefer it to the song! Leonard Cohen … poetic reading of Simon’s “Sound Of Silence.” The striking cadence and the precise enunciation delivered in Leonard’s unique voice resonates with the …

06 February 2022 — : I enjoyed Death by the Thames (Tyrone Swift Detective Book 9) by Gretta Mulrooney 📚: Respectable, dull Sam Goddard is found dead in the River Thames the evening before his wedding, with a 15 year-old girl. They were both sedated.

06 February 2022 — : Suffer insomnia? Sasha’s 🐶 proven tips for best sleeping position. January 2014 and February 2022 — proof of effectiveness.

06 February 2022 — : As I work through my photo library I find photos typical of Oshi 🐶. They make me feel fond and happy, rather than sad. He loved to roll around, especially on the beach. 12 March 2017.

05 February 2022 — : I was towelling Sasha 🐶 off after her last pee in today’s pouring rain — she’s so good and reluctantly lets me do it. When Oshi was here too he loved being towelled dry, so I’d dry him first. Then when I’d turn to Sasha …

05 February 2022 — : This sticker I spotted on a car in 2016 gave me a laugh just now as I work though my Photo Library labelling photos of Sasha and Oshi.

05 February 2022 — : Love it! Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett with “Mama’s Rap” (1989). Fabulous!

04 February 2022 — : First time Sasha 🐶 has been home completely alone: 2.5 hours this evening. I shouldn’t have left her. 😒 Poor thing must have been ultra distressed in her soft crate. Came home to a 💩tsunami — in the crate where she couldn’t get away and …

04 February 2022 — : I think we won’t need to water the garden this weekend. 💦

03 February 2022 — : And to keep our run of vet visits going, today we took Sasha in for what Mary the vet thinks is a “Melting Ulcer” on Sasha’s left eye. 🐶 We’ve come home with Chlorsig / chlorafast drops and a checkup booked for Tuesday.

03 February 2022 — : Thank you so much to the many many people who sent well wishes for Oshi 🐶 and to us. I really appreciate that I have Micro.Blog pals around the world who had a thought for us. 🙏🏼 Give your dog / cat / kid / friend an extra hug today. 😀

03 February 2022 — : I firmly believe publication to be an essential step in the proofreading process…

03 February 2022 — : It’s new Monarch Butterfly day. The chrysalises are hatching. Life goes on. 🦋

03 February 2022 — Stories of Oshi : One day in February 2007 I had a brief errand in Ngauranga Gorge. Deb decided to come with me but wanted me to drop her off at the Animates pet store. By the time I returned to pick her up, only a few minutes later, she was in love. She'd picked up …

02 February 2022 — : When we saw Oshi 🐶 this afternoon he was benefiting from heavy duty pain relief for his total kidney failure. I’m not sure he recognised us but his eyes seemed to be saying “I feel weird and tired and I want it to stop.” We gave him …

01 February 2022 — : Thanks to the 36 people who joined in on my little Daylight Poll the other day. It was fun to learn that my day length in Waikawa Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand was longest at 15 hours 24 minutes, while the shortest was @svenseebeck in Oulu Finland, at …

01 February 2022 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 58 Manga Pirau Street. 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 176 m2 floor, 985 m2 Land.

01 February 2022 — : Tundra Courage by Brenda Bowie Wise 📚: While on a village trip to watch her students demonstrate their [nursing] skills, Meara encounters a victim of circumstances that don’t make sense. It is up to her to find the truth. Set in a Yupik village in …

01 February 2022 — : Oshi 🐶 update: he didn’t improve since yesterday’s vet visit. Now he’s at the vet for an overnight stay with monitoring, tests, fluids etc. A very unhappy boy. We fear the worst. Photo: he spent most of yesterday asleep.

31 January 2022 — : Oshi 🐶 update: he’s had pain relief, anti-nausea shot and if he’s not a great deal better by tomorrow he’ll have a hospital visit for closer examination. We’re to try hand-feeding as it may be too painful for him to stand to …

31 January 2022 — : Things you realise too late: after Mary the vet ascertained Oshi 🐶 needed to poop I should have taken him to the dog park for 10 minutes rather than leaving him in the car while I went into the supermarket… 💩 😫 Big clean up required.

30 January 2022 — : Our 15 year old dog Oshi has always loved food. 🐶 For the last 2 or 3 days though I’ve been coaxing him to eat, with almost no success. I’ve tried a range of things, even cheese and peanut butter. The only thing he’ll consent to eat …

30 January 2022 — : Deb and I have been watching some Acorn TV together. Vera’s great but can be so sad. Agatha Raisin was lightweight fun as was Queens of Mystery. Today I started in on a French show called Candice Renoir. 📺 Hooray for subtitles, but it’s a …

30 January 2022 — : Seems I bought this 📚 7 years ago but only just finished reading Innocent in Las Vegas (Tiffany Black Mysteries Book 1). Tiffany Black is determined to leave her job at the casino. She’s one small step away from acquiring her Private …

29 January 2022 — : When Canada Geese, Oystercatchers or Pied Stilts fly over you know all about it, thanks to the racket they make. 🐦 With other birds you hear the clatter of wings. You're lucky to spot the gorgeous Royal Spoonbills though as they glide over completely …

28 January 2022 — : It's a while since I read others in this series so the style of Murder in Pembrokeshire (Tyrone Swift Detective Book 8) by Gretta Mulrooney was a little jarring. 📚 Afan has disappeared. The next day, Swift discovers Afan’s body on a lonely stretch of …

28 January 2022 — : New fave TV quote. Legends of Tomorrow S07E10, ~20 minutes in: Sarah: I always used to know what the next move was, now … I don’t know, nothing’s working … Nate: We don’t need a perfect plan .… We got something those hotshots …

28 January 2022 — : Having trouble with my posts taking ages to show up on the timeline — for example, one from 2022-01-28 9:13 am hasn’t shown up while other folks posts at 09:33, 09:36, 09:43 and the like have. Been going on for several days now whether I post …

28 January 2022 — : Quick poll of Micro.Bloggers, with my answers: where are you? (Waikawa Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand) date? 28 January 2022 sunrise? 06:22 sunset? 20:44 day length? 15 hours 24 minutes

27 January 2022 — : Today's discovery: a 2012 Māori language scifi book — Ngā Waituhi o Rēhua by Katerina Te Heikoko Mataira. 📚 4 teenagers live on Rēhua, a planet settled after Earth is destroyed by ecological disasters and global war … they discover an …

27 January 2022 — : It was pretty nice this morning at sunrise.

27 January 2022 — The Wow Waikawa! Photo Fest: community and heart : Last year I devised a community event called the Wow Waikawa! Photo Fest and asked a friend to help organise it. Today I submitted the final project report to the funders. It’s very satisfying to have run this community event and to have received …

26 January 2022 — New Zealand retains top spot in global anti-corruption rankings : Good to see: The 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index released by global anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International, ranks New Zealand first equal with Denmark and Finland, with a score of 88 out of 100. … “New Zealand has a …

25 January 2022 — : The amazing Kuaka, Godwit flies between Aotearoa New Zealand and the Arctic every year to feed and breed. 🐦 They are a similar size to the more delicate Pied Stilt. These were on the shore this morning.

24 January 2022 — : Enjoyed very much: Murder Across the Lines (Warwick & Bell Crime Mysteries Book 2) by Janice Frost. 📚 At a busy crossing in Lincoln city a motorbike skids to a halt. A man jumps and grabs a young girl waiting at the lights. … The girl falls to …

24 January 2022 — : Our dog Sasha, who’s 15, is pretty much blind. 🐶 She does not approve of the massive rearrangement of the furniture. What’s more I’m sitting in a different spot. She’s been restless the whole time since we moved things around. …

24 January 2022 — : It’s ~6 years since we moved to Waikawa Beach and yesterday we finally achieved the ‘right’ arrangement of furniture in the living area. I took out all the small furniture to properly vacuum and mop the floors. Then we changed …

24 January 2022 — : Another in an excellent series: Goodbye Haldane Hill (A DC Holly Towns Murder Mystery) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 the body of a young woman in Haldane Hill Park rings alarm bells for DC Holly Towns. But can she even say the words ‘serial killer’ and be …

23 January 2022 — : Sasha was a reluctant participant in this selfie. 🐶

22 January 2022 — : Came across this photo of Harriette the Fox Terrier from back in 2004 when she was about 14. Taken at the top of Mt Victoria, Matairangi, in Wellington, Te Upoko o te Ika. 🐶

22 January 2022 — : The other day I took photos of a Karoro, Southern black-backed gull as it flew by. Hand held. Pretty pleased with the results. 🐦 Black-backed gulls are often seen on the water’s edge where they scavenge corpses and fish frames washed up on the tide. …

21 January 2022 — : Dr Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford does excellent monthly night sky updates. She includes how the sky will look for us southern hemispherics too! Is Pluto a planet again?! Plus JWST updates | Night Sky News January 2022 …

21 January 2022 — : Excellent article: Love letter to the electric bike 🚴🏼‍♀️: New Zealand imports of new e-bikes … are on track to outstrip imports of new cars. For every electric car on our roads, there are at least 5 electric two-wheelers. The EV revolution is …

20 January 2022 — : This is a really interesting 30 minute video about concussion — Why I stopped watching football: I discovered so many awful truths about football (and contact sports in general) and their relationship with concussions, dementia, and chronic …

20 January 2022 — : This is a learning site I want to explore more: BBC Bitesize. For example, my Physics education was over 50 years ago and I suspect things have changed. I’ll review: Physics to brush up. I landed on English after searching for a particular …

19 January 2022 — : I really enjoyed At Close Range (Detective Sarah Burke Book 2) by Elizabeth Gunn. 📚 … a double homicide in a rich neighborhood. While the property developer husband is away on business, his party-loving wife winds up dead in their king-size bed …

19 January 2022 — : Eating oneself out of house and home… The multitudinous Monarch caterpillars have stripped every leaf from the Swan Plants and now, in desperation, are working on the seedpods.

18 January 2022 — : Tonga may not get comms back any time soon: Tonga’s undersea cable could take weeks to repair: The cable carries … internet and phone communications in and out of Tonga. It was damaged after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic …

18 January 2022 — : Tonga is tiny islands in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. It’s no surprise that a huge volcanic eruption on the doorstep of the capital cut off communications with the world. Internet is via a now-broken undersea cable. Satellite comms are …

17 January 2022 — : Many thanks to Batch Resize Images Quickly in the OS X Terminal for giving me a quick and perfectly adequate way to make thumbnails for a web page from 32 photos: sips -Z 256 *.jpg Destructive! Work on copies.

17 January 2022 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 75 Strathnaver Drive; Offers over $849,000; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 95m2 floor area, 8794m2 land area, 2 garages.

17 January 2022 — : I haven’t spotted any Pukeko at the lakes recently so was glad to see a couple at sunrise today. 🐦

16 January 2022 — : Fiji to Tonga is 800 Km! Turn up the volume and watch this video clip of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption as heard in Fiji. Must have been deafening in Tonga.

16 January 2022 — : It seems the Hunga eruption in Tonga was a one-in–1000-year event: Radiocarbon dating suggested one major eruption of this scale occurred about AD1100 and another in AD200 And we heard it here at Waikawa Beach, 2,500 Km away. 🌋

16 January 2022 — : I very much enjoyed the Swedish book Still Waters (Sandhamn Murders Book 1) by Viveca Sten (Author), Marlaine Delargy (Translator) 📚 On a hot July morning on Sweden’s idyllic vacation island of Sandhamn, a man takes his dog for a walk and makes a …

15 January 2022 — : Watch these videos at Stunning satellite animations of extremely powerful volcanic eruption in Tonga. That’s amazing stuff. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano. Lots of aroha for our neighbours and friends in Tonga!

15 January 2022 — : What’s that repeated thumping / booming we asked one another as we ate dinner outside. It sounded like maybe the army shelling nearby. The answer apparently is: shockwaves from the enormous volcanic eruption in Tonga about 2,500 Km away! …

15 January 2022 — : Kee-yah!

15 January 2022 — : On our Swan Plants some Monarch caterpillars are thriving. Meanwhile, the gory scene in the second photo shows a Paper Wasp devouring a young caterpillar.

14 January 2022 — : This proved very handy today when I had 32 photos to deal with: Create a Contact Sheet of Thumbnails with Automator in Mac OS X. Slightly outdated, but still extremely helpful.

14 January 2022 — : How lucky was I to get this shot of a Greenfinch on a moving flax spear! The flax spear was waving around all over the place, yet on this one shot the bird’s clear and in focus, even with a glint in its eye. All other shots deleted for being …

13 January 2022 — : I know others have felt unwell for a day after their Covid booster. I’m not quite up to par after yesterday’s jab, but it’s mainly just a bit of a headache and needing some extra naps. That could be equally attributable to not …

13 January 2022 — : Murder mystery with a huge helping of travel writing: Destination: Maui (Destination Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Ann Shepphird. 📚 I liked it well enough but I think on balance I prefer more investigation and less travel writing… Maybe a different …

13 January 2022 — : I borrowed on paper from the Library Backyard Bird Photography: How to Attract Birds to Your Home and Create Beautiful Photographs, 2014, by Mathew Tekulsky 🐦 Not so much a “How-To” as a “How I did”. Disappointing and I was …

13 January 2022 — : Wow, this 28 minute film is entrancing: Hargila 🐦 : Through the efforts of a remarkable conservation leader, Dr. Purnima Devi Barman … the [endangered Greater Adjutant storks] are now protected, celebrated, and increasing their numbers locally. …

12 January 2022 — : As all us ‘rich’ folks get Covid jabs 1, 2 and 3, The World Health Organisation now says that Africa (the entire continent of 1.3 billion people) won’t reach its target of vaccinating 70% of its population until late 2024. …

12 January 2022 — : Covid boosted. 💉

12 January 2022 — : If you enjoy reading mystery stories by excellent authors then you may be interested in Make 100 Mystery Stories: Crimes Collide: 100 Mystery Short Stories by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith in Five Volumes The Kickstarter has already …

11 January 2022 — : Little Yellowhammer on a flax spear, singin' away!

11 January 2022 — : Errands in Levin today. As we drove north past the consecutive rail and river bridges and round a bend we passed a petrol tanker stationary on the side of the road by Tatum Park — flashing lights, cones, cops etc. It had lost a whole front wheel and …

11 January 2022 — : It’s a year since I ordered my M1 MacBook Pro. I was worried about moving from a 15“ to a 13” screen. Took me forever to get used to the small screen but now I love that this machine is light and small enough to take anywhere.

10 January 2022 — : Having recently bought mini loaf tins I thought I should actually use them. Found and cooked this: Mini Gingerbread Loaf for Two. It was delicious! Luckily there’s some left for a snack tomorrow morning before breakfast.

10 January 2022 — : I’ve seen a few Spur-winged plovers around recently but haven’t had a chance to take a photo of them yet. This picture from October 2018 will have to do for now. 🐦

10 January 2022 — : For sale: 10 Arthur Street, Waikawa Beach: Offers Over $709,000; 2 bedrooms; 1 bathroom; 70m2 floor area; 809m2 land area.

09 January 2022 — : Interesting: Risk of Death For Female Patients Is Much Higher if Surgeon Is a Man, Study Reveals. It’d be interesting to know data for cross-cultural and other groupings too.

09 January 2022 — : Sometimes I try reading romance, but it’s unsatisfying like when hot chocolate is all froth… When Love Wins by Sherryl Hancock. 📚 Tyler has been openly gay, Shenin always dated men … the government’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell …

09 January 2022 — : This photo from February 2020 turns out the be the only one I have of a Goldfinch. 😒 Poor little mite flew into our window and was stunned. 🐦 Need to look out for one to take photos of.

08 January 2022 — : So pleased with my new zoom lens. Juvenile Starling on a flax spear; rabbit on the grass.

08 January 2022 — : Hey @g see how you get on with this Applescript you asked for. Copy the contents into Script Editor and see if it works for what you want. I bet others could do a way better job, but it’s a start. There are also probably much better ways to …

08 January 2022 — : I chose dawn today to bike round the village. Slightly chilly but perfect conditions, with no wind. The river was super low, despite it being 2 hours before low tide. The river is more usually about where the bolts attach that diagonal crossbeam on …

07 January 2022 — : Enjoyed, in spite of numerous typos: Unknown Victim (Gina Santoro Mysteries Book 1) by Kay Hadashi. 📚 Rookie Police Officer Gina Santoro … makes a career change … Now working in landscape management, she finds … a dead body on her front porch. …

07 January 2022 — : Last night I met that rare and elusive beast, 8 hours good sleep. 😴 It’s life-changing! 💪🏼

06 January 2022 — : I got lucky today: Wordle 200 3/6 🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

05 January 2022 — : Tonight we visited our weekender neighbours. Amy, the vet assistant, brought Doodlebug, the rescue guinea pig to the beach for a holiday. I got a “wheek”. 😀 // @jean

05 January 2022 — : Oh my! ❤️‍🔥Katharine Hepburn as a boy in 1935’s Sylvia Scarlett 🎥: as she chops off her hair she declares, “I won’t be a girl. I won’t be weak, and I won’t be silly. I’ll be a boy, and rough, and hard. I won’t care what I do! Don’t worry, I’m …

05 January 2022 — : Some folks are so desperate to get their vehicles onto the beach they’ll even drive through a high tide.

05 January 2022 — : Well, today I achieved variety, with breakfast anyway. Someone accidentally switched the locations of ground chilli and cinnamon in the pantry and I didn’t look closely. Chilli on porridge is … interesting. 😆

05 January 2022 — : This morning we’re heading out to a Waikanae Estuary Bird Tour. It’s only a 40 minute drive south. Mik will show you where to find roosting shags, the oyster-catches, scaup, dabchicks, herons, banded dotterels, terns and many other …

05 January 2022 — : I wasn’t entirely sure about Close to Her (Detective Sarah Burke mystery and suspense Book 1) by Elizabeth Gunn at first. Then I loved it and am ready to read more. 📚

04 January 2022 — : Today I kayaked 2 Km upriver. It was sunny and peaceful. After watching some ‘how to paddle’ videos I think my paddling technique has improved a little. Never gone so far before. Tired now! 🛶

03 January 2022 — : I’m learning a heap of useful info from the free videos from The Cornell Lab Bird Academy. Here’s one example: Inside Birding: Size & Shape. If you want to learn more about birds this is great stuff! 🐦

03 January 2022 — : I have a huge job ahead of me over the next unknown amount of time. I’ve been very poor at labelling the photos in my Apple Photos.app collection. I’ve now set up a Smart Album, just for last year to start with, and will work away on it a …

02 January 2022 — : With temps in the high 20sC we took the for us unusual step of going down to the beach for a “swim”. For me that means jumping over waves. Our beach is so shallow we waded out maybe 30 metres or more and were still only thigh deep. Pretty …

02 January 2022 — : It was a perfect sunset last night. I found I could even see the Makara Wind Farm (via binoculars) some 100 Km away. In the third photo most of the land on the horizon is the South Island or islands in Cook Strait.

01 January 2022 — : I love that BBEdit can compare documents and I can selectively copy text between windows.

01 January 2022 — : I have a lot to learn about taking photos of shags in trees. Just look at this dork though! 😆 🐦 Try zooming in.

01 January 2022 — : This is for @Cheri. Deb and I both looked at this Facebook Post and couldn’t figure out at first why someone wanted to give away half a bathroom sponge… [@Miraz](https://micro.blog/Miraz) I enjoy Britishisms, but eating a sponge sounds so …

01 January 2022 — : I don’t post my daily selfies, but did on 01 January 2021. So here’s my New Year’s Day 2022 selfie. 😀 On the beach at dawn, waiting for sunrise to see in the new year.

31 December 2021 — : I don’t do reviews, resolutions or plans these days — not sure I ever did really anyway. But this evening the thought popped into my head that I should make sure 2022 includes variety — it’s so easy to end up in a rut. So I guess …

31 December 2021 — : Every year a local couple mount a huge display of Christmas Lights on their house. The lights tell a story as Santa and elves move around delivering presents. Now others are putting up displays of lights too, like the tree at the village entrance. …

31 December 2021 — : Initial results of my new zoom lens are very pleasing. Two different Oystercatcher chicks at the beach. 🐦

31 December 2021 — : I hadn’t realised just how ginormous my new zoom lens is compared to the old. Camera: Fuji X-T2. Old lens: Fujifilm XC 50–230mm f4.5–6.7 OIS II. New lens: Fujifilm XF 100–400mm F4.5–5.6 R LM OIS WR. The price is also …

30 December 2021 — : Trip to Wellington today. Photo of the Wellington waterfront on a nice summer’s day from a 9th floor apartment on Oriental Bay.

30 December 2021 — : Haere rā, e hoa. RIP, Alana.

29 December 2021 — : Hmmm, this book didn’t quite gel with me: Nookie (Alex Dixon Humorous Mysteries Book 1) by Katrina Kyle. 📚 Alex Dixon has problems. She’s unemployed, unattached, and may or may not be in hot water with her former employer, the US …

29 December 2021 — : For a while now I’ve been eying up the Fujifilm XF 100–400mm F4.5–5.6 lens to attach to my Fuji X-T2 camera. I was planning on buying when we sell a rental property in a few months. Today though I gave way — all the birds I …

28 December 2021 — : Out of nowhere the other day, I wondered what a Mint Julep tasted like. I don’t drink alcohol so made a Virgin Mint Julep. It was easy and delicious, but has so much sugar. If I ever make it again I’ll cut the sugar way down.

28 December 2021 — : The other day on a whim I bought a couple of mini loaf tins. Today I baked White Bread Mini Yeast Loaf. I brushed on egg white to make a shiny crust. This bread was easy and delicious!

27 December 2021 — : Today I noticed the Australian coots on our nearby little lake have babies. 🐦 When I arrived with my camera they hurried off, but a couple of shots worked. That white frontal shield is a giveaway.

27 December 2021 — : A very useful read: 😀 Baking and baked goods are a perennial source of US/UK miscommunication—in large part because most of our current baking/eating habits were only invented after the split between American and British English. See: Separated by …

27 December 2021 — : Yesterday I learned a good lesson about getting the right light for photos of birds on a lake. 🐦 I went back in the afternoon and managed to ‘catch’ the New Zealand dabchick and the New Zealand scaup.

26 December 2021 — : At the lake this morning, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to take a good photo of the New Zealand Dabchick. I did manage to capture a photo of the Uropetala carovei | Bush giant dragonfly on the wing. Previous pics have been on my hand.

26 December 2021 — : The introduced Green and Golden Bell Frogs down at the lake this morning were making a racket: Waaaahhhhh woof woof. 🐸

25 December 2021 — : The Oystercatchers were protecting eggs recently. Now we have a fluffy grey baby to watch out for! 🐦

25 December 2021 — : Caught in the act! This Banded Dotterel, Tuturiwhatu, found something yummy! 🐦

25 December 2021 — : Many beach birds are quite big really: Gulls, Terns Oystercatchers, Pied Stilts. The ‘nationally vulnerable’ Tuturiwhatu or Banded Dotterels though are tiny, more sparrow sized. They scurry along the beach in a quite hilarious way. …

25 December 2021 — : Royal Spoonbill, feeding, flanked by two Pied Stilts, with a Black-backed Gull in the background. 🐦

25 December 2021 — : Merry Christmas, folks. At 7.30 am the beach was for the birds, including this group of Black Swans. Can you spot the odd one out — the ‘ugly cygnet’? 🐦

24 December 2021 — : It’s so trivial, but this “Enter This Side” sign at the store’s exit, irritates me every time. Unless they consider you’re entering the mall, but I see myself as exiting the store. 👿 Perhaps there is no one truth…

23 December 2021 — : Remembering Alana Bowman. RIP.

23 December 2021 — : Word's out about the railing! Today a Warou, Welcome Swallow, opted for the full photo shoot, even including the over-the-shoulder pose! 🐦

23 December 2021 — : Vehicles on the beach is a hot topic where I live, so this is interesting: Vehicle access to popular Auckland beach to close over holidays A permit system was introduced in 2015 to manage the volume of traffic and to ensure drivers were aware of …

23 December 2021 — : We seem to have our very own house Sparrow. This little cutie likes to sit on the railing outside the east door to our deck from the lounge and either keep an eye on us or just enjoy the view.

22 December 2021 — : Noone tends the grass verges along our private lane but I hate when they get too overgrown, so today I tidied things a bit with the weedeater. An hour’s work. Before and After.

21 December 2021 — : Today the farmer came and picked up the bales of hay. That was a two tractor job.

21 December 2021 — : This is cool. 5.5 minute video. Folks who write detective fic with high tech elements would like this. Comes under Linguistics! Hidden background noise that can catch criminals: Electrical Network Frequency analysis, ENF analysis, matches background …

21 December 2021 — : A couple of days ago the farmer next door mowed the cow paddock. Later he came back with his tractor and spinner to flip the grass and rake it into piles to dry. Then the next day he baled it all up. I love living in the country.

20 December 2021 — : Every single time I use Regular Expressions in BBEdit I just want to shout out my joy! Before and after screenshots.

19 December 2021 — : Today I made Courgette frittatas for breakfast. They were pretty good. Fresh courgettes from the tunnel house and a very small stick of finely chopped celery. I used thyme rather than dill.

19 December 2021 — : In the last 2 weeks we’ve had almost 200 mm rain (over 7 inches), and variously heat, high winds from several quarters, still days, cool grey days. Yesterday’s beach showed the effects: a lot of driftwood, and interestingly sculpted shore …

18 December 2021 — : The Royal Spoonbill was also a little wind-ruffled, while at least one of the nearby ducks was keeping a close watch on me.

18 December 2021 — : Annoying: I put my bike on its side stand so I could take photos of a Royal Spoonbill at the lake. A big gust of wind blew my bike over (it’s OK) and snapped off the stand!

18 December 2021 — : Rats! Apple Watch Locking: Other issues that can impact sensor performance include wrist tattoos. Thanks to an inconvenient mosquito bite overnight I’m wearing my watch on my left wrist. The watch keeps asking me to unlock it. Must be the …

17 December 2021 — : My friend Alana, and fellow Xena fan, gave me this fridge magnet many many years ago. Alana is very much in my thoughts at the moment.

16 December 2021 — : That was a cool little 20 minute film: Little Miss Sumo. It’s worth a watch (Netflix) 🎬: The premise revolves around the 20-year-old sumo wrestler Hiyori Kon, one of few women practising the sport.

16 December 2021 — : I’m glad these girls get to expand horizons: When I first came to New Zealand, I didn’t know what sport was …because I’m a girl and wasn’t allowed to play sport [in Pakistan] because I was a girl. Source: ‘I …

16 December 2021 — : Uh oh: Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has confirmed the country’s first case of the Omicron variant has been found at a MIQ facility in Christchurch. Source: Covid-19: Omicron case found in Christchurch MIQ

16 December 2021 — : Hooray for the NZ Invertebrate ID group on Facebook. I now know this insect is a Bush gadfly (Scaptia adrel). It was hanging out on the wall of our garage today. It’s roughly 3 cm long.

16 December 2021 — : I have two Japanese quail. Today, less than 2 Km from our house, I spotted a not-very-often-seen-round-here California Quail. 🐦 Pretty different, eh!

15 December 2021 — : I enjoyed A Mumbai Murder Mystery by Meeti Shroff-Shah. 📚 Some great turns of phrase, insight into a culture I’m not familiar with. So much food I want to taste! Radhi returns home to Mumbai … gets caught up in the mystery surrounding the …

15 December 2021 — : This was long overdue but today I finally took all the dirty straw out of the quail run and added fresh straw and pine shavings. 🐦 That all created a lot of consternation, as you can see by the slightly open beaks. They should enjoy it once …

14 December 2021 — : Some publishers use a service that detects which Amazon Store a newsletter reader might want to use and sends me incorrectly to Amazon Australia when I click a link. Keyboard Maestro to the rescue: I copy the title, KM turns it into an Amazon.us link …

14 December 2021 — : Love this music! Dufay is famous for being the first really major Renaissance composer and breaking from the medieval traditions, … his isorhythmic motets are more exciting than average. Source: Dufay’s Isorhythmic Motets | Azimuth Thanks to …

13 December 2021 — : Oshi, 🐶 aged 15, is arthritic, has a heart murmur and doesn’t see so well. He can now walk ~500 metres max, and still enjoys peeing on everything (male dogs!).

13 December 2021 — : Sasha, 🐶 aged 15, is pretty much blind and almost deaf, arthritic and has weak legs. I have to lift her up and down steps, on and off the bed. Her walks are now limited to ~200 metres max, and that can take 10 or 15 minutes. I hope she enjoys the …

13 December 2021 — : Sasha and Oshi turn 15 today! 🎉 They had some extra treats in their breakfast. Here are some silly birthday photos. 😀

13 December 2021 — : Happily noted: Nichelle Nichols played the role of Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series. 🖖🏼 Recently, Astronaut Appearance Specialist Denise Young bestowed on Nichols NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for her …

12 December 2021 — : From a couple of days ago: Thrush on a fence post.

11 December 2021 — : I enjoy Anne Shillolo’s Port Alma mysteries very much. Unfortunately, I found Frozen Fear, part of a different series, somewhat annoying. I should know by now I’m not a big fan of romancey stories.

11 December 2021 — : Peekaboo. Cloud over the Tararuas.

11 December 2021 — : At the start of this week we had almost 100 mm rain over 2 or 3 days, with associated flooding around the place. Now there’s another 100 mm forecast over the next 7 days.

10 December 2021 — : The Welcome Swallow, on the other hand, just seemed inscrutable.

10 December 2021 — : This waxeye on the flax spear was a bit grumpy looking.

10 December 2021 — : This little Yellowhammer was also busy singing out loud on a flax bush yesterday. 🐦

09 December 2021 — : A late afternoon songster, this European greenfinch. 🐦 😀

09 December 2021 — : Time flies! Thought I should get ready to be able to easily type 2023 now we’re soon to be in 2022. Found my TextExpander snippet of y3 still expanded to 2013. That what happens when you use an app for more than a decade! Also found several old …

08 December 2021 — : It was time to replace lamp and filters on our Puretec HYBRID-G9 UV water treatment unit. I watched a maintenance video and noted 35 steps then took my courage in hand. It actually wasn’t that hard. I’ve made a note to set aside water for …

08 December 2021 — : We had 100 mm rain (4 inches) in the last 2–3 days. I’ve written about it with photos on the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association blog: A bit damp in early December 2021.

07 December 2021 — : With all the rain the last couple of days this wild baby rabbit found a sheltered spot under the overhang of the quail palace roof. Handy nibbles right there too! 🐇

06 December 2021 — : I went out when it wasn’t raining quite so hard to check on things in this area. There was heaps more rain in the mountains than here so the river was pretty full. Islands of river weed are being washed away (and that’s good).

06 December 2021 — : This boy Oshi 🐶 has no manners — he barges in, pushes himself around, generally has no regard for anyone else. Except when he’s on my bed. Then he waits respectfully at the foot till invited closer, sits quietly, is a model dog.

06 December 2021 — : I’m finding the Publii documentation to be excellent. Clear, well laid out, comprehensive.

05 December 2021 — : I’m giving Publii a try, with good results so far: Publii is an open-source static site generator for every skill level, from beginner to developer. Now I know it works I’ll start building up the site. 😀

05 December 2021 — : Yesterday a starling flew right in through the open door and fetched up in the corner of the kitchen. It was not happy. It looked like it could inflict real damage, but armed with oven gloves I was able to pick it up and take it outside.

05 December 2021 — : The forecast is for a heap of rain in the next few days. We’ll see how much actually arrives. At least it’ll help fill the water tank.

04 December 2021 — : I recently took a deep breath and bought an iPhone 13 Pro Max. Then I wanted to protect it properly with a leather sleeve. After some missteps I finally did the smart thing and asked @aa to craft one for me. It’s fabulous! Even the …

03 December 2021 — : There are days when the sea is so calm I could be enjoying a tropical Pacific atoll. Very soothing!

03 December 2021 — : I made a smart choice today: was boiling with rage about something going on locally, selected an appropriate person to chat with about it. She cooled me down and brought extra perspectives and actions. [What! No patting oneself on the back emoji?]

02 December 2021 — : XKCD’s Edge Cake is particularly excellent. For those who don’t know: hover to get additional text.

02 December 2021 — : Love, love, love the “dog who looks like Patrick Stewart”: Dogs That Look Like Celebrities 🖖🏼

02 December 2021 — : Ever since I discovered the New York Times Acrostic I’ve been doing one per day, starting with the first in the archive. Sadly, that binge means I’m now all caught up. Now I have to wait a couple of weeks for each new one. I’ve …

01 December 2021 — : Your place or mine?

01 December 2021 — : For Sale: 38 Manga Pirau Street, Waikawa Beach: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 80m2 floor area, 809m2 land area.

30 November 2021 — : Yet another brilliant animated cartoon-style explainer (maybe 30 seconds) — this time about Antimicrobial Resistance from Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris.

30 November 2021 — : Centuries of colonisation, racism and neglect have put Māori in a very bad position. Now (as always) they fight back: Low Māori vax rates not considered in alert level change Iwi say no to Rhythm & Vines over Covid-19 risk Iwi looking to …

30 November 2021 — : 7.15 am. This is the hour or two when the dogs check in every 15 minutes or so in case it’s breakfast time. 🐶 They have another 45 minutes to wait. 😆

29 November 2021 — : One of the tracks to the beach that I use has flaxes either side of the entrance. Sometimes the leaves grow right across the track. I couldn’t be bothered asking the Council to trim them, and just did it myself. Only took 15 minutes.

28 November 2021 — : I don’t always find the lead character endearing, but I enjoyed The Rachel Prince Mystery Series: Books 4–6 by Dawn Brookes 📚: a body … is found … on the first day of her Antipodean cruise. Can a seemingly harmless …

28 November 2021 — : Keeping tempers cool at Waikawa: Community irefighting.

28 November 2021 — : There are several interesting points in Declining Eyesight Could Be Given a Boost by Short Morning Doses of Seeing Red, including: Longer wavelengths spanning 650 to 900 nanometers improve mitochondrial performance to increase energy production.

27 November 2021 — : Hmmm, now we’re getting a handle on Covid Delta, this from WHO: Classification of Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Source: World Health Organisation

26 November 2021 — : Our Swan Plant had one microscopic Monarch caterpillar on it when a friend offered to bring some of her surplus caterpillars round. Of course I accepted. Hers are much much bigger.

25 November 2021 — : Because I was sitting quietly on a log, the Pied Stilt came closer, checking me out.

25 November 2021 — : Pied Stilt, strutting her stuff. 🐦

25 November 2021 — : Saw these little birds at the beach today. Thought they were one thing, but a search eventually told me they are New Zealand dotterels. One photo has an Oystercatcher to show the relative sizes.

25 November 2021 — : My brain doesn’t do well with pictures that replace words: on the cooktop it always takes me time to figure out which knob controls which element, in a lift my finger hesitates above the silly arrows for opening or closing doors. So I was …

24 November 2021 — : Near the beach is a house being built from the outside in. After laying the floor they put up door jambs and installed the doors. Next come the outside walls. Usually, after the floor, framing goes up, then walls and doors go in. It’s weird…

24 November 2021 — : It was stunning at the beach before 7 am today. In the photo, about one third of the way across the horizon from the right, you can just make out Mt Ruapehu.

23 November 2021 — : Blackbird.

23 November 2021 — : For no special reason, a photo from August 2012, at Ha’atafu resort in Tonga. Reading.

22 November 2021 — : How do these adjacencies happen so often? Is this really just a coincidence? No one talks about ravens then suddenly @cheri and @hollyhoneychurch both mention them, one after the other!? What’s going on? 🤨 …

21 November 2021 — : Well, well, well: Kobayashi Maru 🖖🏼📺

21 November 2021 — : Misremembering Something May Be Evidence That Your Memory Is Actually Working 🤔: people tend to remember the general gist of an item … while forgetting its fine details. …people tend to mentally “fill in” missing details with the most …

20 November 2021 — : The Grey warbler, Riroriro has a very distinctive song that I’ve often heard. I’d never seen the bird though until today. Very excited to report my first sighting, near our gate, and photos! This bird is even smaller than the tiny …

20 November 2021 — : Happened to have camera in hand when I saw this Tui on the flaxes.

20 November 2021 — : Ahhhh, mystery solved. I wondered why my author friend @cheri kept leaving out words in her blog posts. Now I know to blame Reader mode on Safari, which I use because I hate reading pale text on a dark background.

20 November 2021 — Blood moon November 2021 notes : I caught some glimpses of the eclipse last night, between cloud. Just after 10 pm, it looked just like this, in binoculars. My couple of photos were garbage. so, just to remember this: The longest partial lunar eclipse visible in New Zealand in more …

19 November 2021 — : I managed to see the almost total lunar eclipse in spite of loads of cloud. Pretty darned special, particularly with good binoculars. Took two bad photos. I wanted to focus on binocular views instead of camera fiddling tonight. 😀 Off to bed now.

19 November 2021 — : Absent-mindedly opened Camera app on my phone instead of the Covid–19 Tracer app to record a visit. Camera kindly offered to open the correct app for me.

18 November 2021 — : My Granny Smith apple tree should produce a good crop this year.

17 November 2021 — : LOL juxtapositions. On Netflix: The Flash with Dash and Lily.

17 November 2021 — : I’ve really enjoyed this series. Just finished 3rd Tango: (Schock Sisters Mystery Series) by Misty Evans and Adrienne Giordano. 📚 Looks like the authors have written other books, but in genres that aren’t really my thing. With any luck, …

17 November 2021 — : Hmmm, hope this URL works. I keep a diary / journal /TODO thing in a file on my Mac using OmniOutliner (OO). I’ve created a calendar document for 2022 that you’re welcome to grab and use. List items under the date. Use OO to Expand or …

16 November 2021 — : These maps are really interesting: Ancient Earth globe. For example, 240 million years ago Aotearoa New Zealand was situated close to the South Pole. By 66 million years ago it was roughly where it is today.

16 November 2021 — : I really enjoyed this 45 minute doco: No one had ever asked the journalist and broadcaster why he drank, but when he stopped everyone asked him why he didn’t. Source: Proof: Guyon Espiner’s alcohol documentary

16 November 2021 — : This is handy: Apple has quietly added a new tool in macOS Monterey for measuring your device’s Internet connectivity quality. You can simply call the executable networkQuality Source: The secret of the macOS Monterey network quality tool | …

15 November 2021 — : From a neighbour’s place, a view across to the Tararuas. Our house is the pale building on the right, our garage the pale building on the left.

14 November 2021 — : New shoes day: Merrell Siren Traveller 3. Great shoes! designed for women’s feet.

14 November 2021 — : I found 2nd Strike: Book 2 of 3: Schock Sisters Mystery Series by Misty Evans and Adrienne Giordano as compelling as Book 1. 📚 Now on to Book 3. Fifteen years ago, a newborn … was kidnapped … Then-FBI Agent Charlie Schock solved the crime … But it …

14 November 2021 — : I really enjoyed Juniper 🎬 : a self-destructive teenager is … asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother … the crazy time they spend together turns his life around. A good read: Charlotte said yes: How we got a French screen icon to star …

13 November 2021 — : There are special bars across our footbridge designed to stop motorbikes from getting onto the bridge. What they actually do is make it very hard for human beings to get on the bridge, especially those who have dogs on leads, kids, wheelchairs, …

13 November 2021 — : This test of @manton’s script: Micro.blog via AppleScript has worked well. 😀 Thanks Manton.

12 November 2021 — : For sale 18 Henham Lane, Waikawa Beach: Bareland, 22155 m².

12 November 2021 — : Intense and very readable: 1st Shock: A Schock Sisters Private Investigator Mystery by Misty Evans and Adrienne Giordano. 📚 Elite forensic sculptor Meg Schock is obsessed with solving cold cases and bringing justice to victims. I’ve bought …

11 November 2021 — : Sometimes our military helicopters like to do a little bit of formation flying — directly overhead.

11 November 2021 — : Until this year we always said “If Oshi won’t eat, we know there’s a problem”. 🐶 This year it’s been increasingly difficult to get him to eat his biscuits, especially in the morning. We’ve tried various …

10 November 2021 — : Today I was looking at the Coastal Risk Screening Tool and suddenly recalled seeing the tsunami siren in Niue. That whole coral island is at least 25 metres above sea level.

09 November 2021 — : Breakfast … with friends.

08 November 2021 — : This grew on me: The Rachel Prince Mystery Series: Books 1–3 by Dawn Brookes 📚 The language is kind of prissy, but I got used to it — or perhaps it eased as the books went on. Cruise ship cozy.

08 November 2021 — : It was too hot for all of us by the time I took the dogs to the beach this morning. But boy it was a stunning day!

07 November 2021 — : A bit of an earthquake 〰️ just to keep us on our toes. Not far away but quite deep. Magnitude: 5.4 Depth: 189 km

07 November 2021 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 13 Holly Way. 2.01ha Land.

06 November 2021 — : We really enjoyed The Starling 🎬 As if Lilly’s troubles weren’t bad enough, a starling whose nest is in a tree in her backyard begins to harass and attack her and she becomes obsessed with stopping it.

06 November 2021 — : Wowee: parrots have names and use their own and one another’s names too. They learn the names in the nest. How a Parrot Learns Its Name in the Wild | Bird Academy • The Cornell Lab.

06 November 2021 — : These are my special friends for a few days while their mum takes a break.

05 November 2021 — : The majority opinion was in favour of an afternoon nap. Who was I to stand agin them? 😴

05 November 2021 — : From 2018: a small boat being launched off Waikawa Beach. // @odd

05 November 2021 — : With a barely perceptible easterly this morning our West Coast sea had almost no waves at all. So still and quiet!

05 November 2021 — : I love my iPhone 13 Pro Max. I was worried it would be too large, but it feels great in the hand and the camera is performing nicely. The blue is paler than I imagined. I also love my Apple Watch Series 7: nice big easy to read face and the touch …

04 November 2021 — : For Sale: 53a Reay Mackay Grove, Waikawa Beach This house will be visible from our place.

04 November 2021 — Our unfriendly roads : An email to NZTA today: For exercise and also to do my bit to reduce car use and save putting some CO2 into the atmosphere I biked from my home at Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua, to the dairy at Manakau today to get the bottle of milk I needed. That's …

04 November 2021 — : For Sale: 8 Sand Dune Grove, Waikawa Beach.

03 November 2021 — : That time when setting up a new watch led me to discover my phone was set to use Icelandic as a secondary language…

02 November 2021 — : I’ve finally found my perfect use case for the Apple Pencil on iPad: solving crossword puzzles that otherwise must be printed out, for example, the brilliant The Haunted House. Now I can also do a heap of the Times Archive too.

02 November 2021 — : Every November the tree lupins Lupinus arboreus come into full flower and play havoc with my allergies. I get itchy throat, nose, eyes along with blurry vision and head fog. Today’s Kenacort steroid shot is already helping.

01 November 2021 — : I’m booked on a bike tour for next April. The company will now require Covid vaccination certificates for all participants. Seems like a good thing to me. 💉

01 November 2021 — : I like the idea that after my death my body could become compost, feeding plants that nourish and protect animals, continuing the cycle of life. I hope this is available when I need it. Let’s Visit the Human Composting Facility!

01 November 2021 — : Last night Sasha 🐶 had to go out about midnight then started being restless again, wandering round the house. I put on a little solar powered lamp as a nightlight, put her back on the bed and she settled till morning. Maybe the lamp helped? I think …

31 October 2021 — : Lying awake in the night sped me through this very good read: Next in Line (Detective Clare Mackay Book 5) by Marion Todd 📚 Clare wonders why no one who knew Russell seems capable of telling the truth, and whether there is more than one …

31 October 2021 — : We had a difficult night with Sasha the dog 🐶 who is almost 15, pretty much blind, and hard of hearing. It may be a signal she has dementia. She was restless all night, pacing, barking, wanting out (but not really), on the bed, off the bed. She …

30 October 2021 — : An author, some of whose books I enjoy, wants to be helpful and send customers to the ‘right’ Amazon Store, based on geolocation. She’s not the only author to do this. It infuriates me! I use US Amazon not Aus. I end up at the wrong …

29 October 2021 — : A pleasant read: Swamp Sweets (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 21) by Jana DeLeon 📚

29 October 2021 — : My favourite time, when cabbage trees flower — those white panicles. Their perfume is utterly gorgeous.

29 October 2021 — : Cows in the mist.

29 October 2021 — : Don’t Choose Extinction: At least we had an asteroid. What’s your excuse?

28 October 2021 — : I had an idea, worked on it with a friend and today we’re launching a summer photo event for Waikawa Beach: Wow Waikawa! Folks submit photos that show the delight of Waikawa Beach, we print some and put them up over summer. It’s been fun getting …

28 October 2021 — : Feature request, @manton — today, using the web interface, I hit Post instead of Add Photo. Then I had to go back and mess about to add the pic. I realised the Post button should be alone on the right. I think it makes more sense to move the …

28 October 2021 — : This 5 minute video was really interesting: Why Some Fruits Won’t Ripen On Your Counter: Trying to ripen some fruits on your kitchen counter is totally fruitless - here’s why.

27 October 2021 — : Tonight the mountain peak directly east of us was absolutely luminous in the sunset.

27 October 2021 — : Wow. A word puzzle led me to discover Yma Sumac, 1932-2008, a Peruvian singer with a range of at least four and a half octaves. Listen to Yma Sumac sings Queen of the Night and Clair de Lune. I’d never heard of her before.

26 October 2021 — : My Granny Smith Apple tree is covered in blossom. That’s good for the bees. 🐝

26 October 2021 — : macOS Monterey Day. Version 12.0.1. 🎉

26 October 2021 — : I like this Wind Turbine Wall idea: Designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional, this “kinetic wall” is made up of an array of rotary blades that spin individually, driving a mini generator that creates electricity.

25 October 2021 — : I love TextExpander. Used it for years. Setting up a new email address for the local Association. I type the trigger and now I can choose the old email address or the new. This is one of my most essential apps.

25 October 2021 — : Apple Mail is OK, but I’ve sent emails from the wrong account because Mail chose the sender on my behalf. I need to be more in charge. This tip helps: select a ‘dummy’ account for the default ‘from’ account, then …

24 October 2021 — : A brilliant book by a favourite author: Unbreakable by Cari Hunter. 📚 Dr. Grace Kendal never stands a chance. The injured woman comes out of nowhere, bleeding heavily and holding a gun. Compelled to help her, Grace is dragged into Elin …

24 October 2021 — : Short on sleep this morning, so my brain cells are groggy. Not convenient when I have a committee meeting for Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association to attend, with a long agenda.

24 October 2021 — : I’m slowly learning that as I get older my body is less able to handle sugar. At a friend’s birthday party last night I drank ~500 mls of Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters. Then I was still awake at midnight. 😒 It didn’t …

23 October 2021 — : Is this new in Find My? When I checked on Deb’s progress as she drove home last night I got a Live view where the blue dot moved in real time. Forgive the shaky camera please.

22 October 2021 — : Darn it! Spent ages hunting for the ‘right’ sleeve for my new iPhone 13 Pro Max. Recalled years ago I had a nice sleeve from Pack and Smooch so ordered this beauty. Then they emailed: NZ Post won’t accept it, so I had to cancel. …

21 October 2021 — : I need to listen again to this invaluable 45 minute podcast: You Can’t Always Want What You Like why our brains don’t encourage us to do things that we know we’ll enjoy … strategies to help us do more of the activities that will result in happier …

21 October 2021 — : Five quail eggs in a box. Four of them, as usual, weigh 11 grams. The other one weighs 15 grams! Last time this happened the larger one was a double-yolker. 🐦

20 October 2021 — : Sunset / moonrise straight out of the iPhone. 3x telephoto.

20 October 2021 — : The other thing to arrive in the mail today was my new iPhone 13 Pro Max (blue). Setting it up between various other activities…

20 October 2021 — : This was one of two good things to arrive in the mail this morning: Letter advising “no evidence of breast cancer” after a recent routine mammogram.

19 October 2021 — : I want to include this photo in a (mainly birds 🤓) quiz. Trying to decide which one of these military helicopters it is. Hmmm, I’m thinking SH-2G(I) Seasprite.

18 October 2021 — : Another excellent read from a favourite author: Fear on the Fens: (DI Nikki Galena Series Book 13) by Joy Ellis 📚 [they] must find a man who’s been missing for two decades and unravel the painful past of a broken family before anyone else dies. … …

17 October 2021 — : The dogs don’t like it when the grass in the dog yard gets too long. 🐶 It must tickle their bottoms or something and then they poop on the water tank, which I don’t want them to do. So it was time to tackle the long grass with the …

16 October 2021 — : I spotted this small yellowish-green bird on a flax spear but couldn’t make out what it was. I took a couple of photos through the window, but as soon as I opened the door for a better look it flew off. Greenfinch. 🐦

15 October 2021 — : It’s duckling season. 😀

15 October 2021 — : One reason I’m looking forward to an extremely high Covid vaccination rate in Aotearoa New Zealand is so the flood of [everything] encouraging people to get vaccinated can stop. So many articles, posts, memes, campaigns, news reports, ads, …

15 October 2021 — : Mysteries featuring black lesbians, with a touch of romance, are few and far between. Smoke Before Fire by A.M. McKnight 📚 I give this developing author a pass on the many typos, but the price should be half what it is on a lightweight book. …

15 October 2021 — : Yay, Apple are finally thinking about shipping me the iPhone I ordered a month ago. Selling some shares to cover the cost. Bought Applecare for this one too since it’s both so expensive and so droppable.

14 October 2021 — : Today I was rung by someone from LINZ who asked if I could put the broken marker post I reported yesterday back in the ground. When I dug into the hole I could see the post had been snapped off. There is a building site opposite and I suspect a truck …

13 October 2021 — : Waikawa Beach, 3 properties for sale: 13 Drake Street 27 Sarah Street 33 Sarah Street

13 October 2021 — : Way back in February 2017 I noticed small white posts appearing around the place — as in the background of this selfie. The closeup shows more of the post. Turned out they are Geodetic Survey Marker indicator posts. Today I reported one that …

12 October 2021 — : Another excellent read: What They Knew: (Detective Clare Mackay 4) by Marion Todd 📚: there’s a strong chance that there’s a killer on the loose in St Andrews. Clare and her team will have to look past the obvious conclusions and …

12 October 2021 — : Apparently critics really didn’t like Q-Force. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed it: Queer Force (Q-Force) [is] a group of undervalued LGBT superspies … as they try to prove themselves on personal and professional adventures image

12 October 2021 — : 3 am: Sasha 🐶, on my bed: I need to go out … Ohh noo, it’s raining out there … back on the bed instead. I’m awake, read, settle back to sleep at 4 am. 4.01 am: Sasha 🐶, on my bed: I really need to go out. I go out, in the rain, to guide …

11 October 2021 — : Heh: Bird of the Year: Bats join the competition Including the mammals in the Bird of the Year competition is certainly setting the bat amongst the pigeons, so to speak The long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa, is one of two native bat species in New …

11 October 2021 — : My 🐈 buddy Leo has an excellent view from his spot on the sofa. This was taken yesterday.

10 October 2021 — : My 🐈 buddy Leo’s family have a spa pool they urged me to use. That’s a nice way to begin a cool and grey Sunday. Ahhhh.

10 October 2021 — : I really enjoy this writer. Goodbye Sea Angel: A Port Alma Murder Mystery by Anne Shillolo 📚 was another great read: DC Holly Towns takes an extra paid shift on board the Sea Angel party boat … But before the night is out … a …

09 October 2021 — : My buddy Leo was relaxing in the play loft today. 🐈 I enticed him down the steps though.

09 October 2021 — : It was high tide when I took the dogs to the beach, so we had to negotiate our way through driftwood.

08 October 2021 — : I’m visiting my buddy Leo today. 🐈

08 October 2021 — : Finally, yesterday, the part of our shared private lane closest to the road was resurfaced. The existing surface was scraped off, shingle laid and graded, then rolled. At last now the sun has come out, and as the shingle dries out it will harden. Now …

07 October 2021 — : By the time I came home this morning the part of our driveway from the garage out past the gate had been completed. Thanks to the rain it’s all a bit sticky right now, but once it dries out it’ll be a good solid surface.

07 October 2021 — : Every couple of years I get a free mammogram with BreastScreen Aotearoa. It’s 10 minutes of having my breasts squished and squashed uncomfortably. Could be lifesaving though, so it’s a small price to pay. Simple delicious eggs on toast …

06 October 2021 — : Today workers scraped off the bottom part of our driveway and started spreading fresh shingle from the garage to the gate area. Tomorrow they finish adding shingle and then compact it.

06 October 2021 — : Lone kowhai flower.

06 October 2021 — : These are ‘before’ shots from today of the road end of our private lane. Tomorrow a contractor will scrape off the top, add fresh base coarse shingle and compact it. Maybe then I won’t have to clench my teeth while cycling along it …

05 October 2021 — : Hah! Hands off our Hairy Maclary! (wonderful kids book): this mistake has been calcifying for … 40 years. The Scots have thought Hairy’s theirs for as long as we in Aotearoa have known he’s most indubitably ours. It’s… as entrenched as Hairy’s… …

05 October 2021 — : Spammers don’t discriminate. Here’s the latest ‘Nigerian princess’ email, this time in Te Reo Māori.

05 October 2021 — : This 5 minute video was intriguing — I thought the Schmid Peoplemover was impossible: An elevator that can go smoothly from horizontal to vertical isn’t possible… right? Turns out the conventional wisdom is wrong, and the Schmid …

04 October 2021 — : After much fruitless messing about trying to crop photos to a circle in Acorn I checked Help and found: Acorn: Clipping to a Shape Layer. Brilliant. A couple of clicks and it’s done. Test image.

04 October 2021 — : Oh, the New York Times Acrostic for April 1, 2018 was excellent fun and a joy to solve. So clever!

03 October 2021 — : I’m far from a frog expert, but my Internet searches suggest this is a Green and Golden Bell Frog that was in our long grass.

03 October 2021 — : Excellent! Sexual violence prevention programme: Minister for the prevention of family and sexual violence… said one of the first priorities would be promoting respect and consent in relationships. The programme would also address …

03 October 2021 — : I really enjoyed Cold Deal (Kina McKevie Private Detective Book 1) by Lisa Ambrose. 📚 It kept me reading past bedtime. I hope the next in the series comes soon. Kina McKevie is back in East London more than a decade after killing her …

02 October 2021 — : Good grief! USPS won’t carry mail to NZ for a while: … “unavailability of transportation”. “refrain from mailing items … until further notice”. Disrupted USPS services to NZ include … airmail and surface mail. …

01 October 2021 — : Glee and Fliss, the Japanese Quail, are now back in their outdoor run. 🐦 They don’t care for change much so were very cautious and fluffed up to start with.

30 September 2021 — : The quail have been living in our garage since mid-July when we went away for two weeks. 🐦 Now the worst of the winter and spring weather is over it’s time for them to go back into their outdoor run. Today I added a transparent roof …

29 September 2021 — : Earthquake prone building.

28 September 2021 — : Woohoo! Wowee! ‘Babylon 5’ Reboot in Development at The CW From Original Series Creator J. Michael Straczynski Source: Variety Thanks @alexsavin for the news. Photo

28 September 2021 — : It was a chilly morning with a cool wind from the south. Then when I took the dogs to the beach I got the full force of the southerly, and it was bitterly cold! I was so glad of my down jacket. The southerly has brought more snow to the peaks of the …

27 September 2021 — : On this day in 2015, 25 September, we were in Morocco, trekking through the desert by camel to stay overnight in a Berber camp. That was an amazing experience.

26 September 2021 — : Noooo! When you finish Full Bodied (A Ruby Steele Mystery—Book 3) by Mia Gold 📚, knowing there’s a Book 4, so you go straight to buy it and see: This title will be auto-delivered to your Kindle on December 14, 2021.

26 September 2021 — : At 2 am today we put our clocks forward an hour. [Insert all the usual gripes about Daylight Saving.] At least now we really are on the way to summer! I’m a bit stiff and achey after yesterday’s planting efforts. A good day to read a good …

25 September 2021 — : Somehow Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1 didn’t really grab me. I’m so glad I stuck with it though as I’m finding Season 2 hilarious. I specially love the immensely stupid Pakleds. And also the Tamarian cultural references still used …

25 September 2021 — : Micro.Blog Mac app request for @help : If I’m adding a bunch of photos it’d be good if the app could remember my previous selection in the dialog box — I’m often adding several from one folder and have to recall which from the list …

25 September 2021 — : Each year the Horowhenua District Council supplies thousands of spinifex and pīngao plants which volunteers then plant to protect and advance the sand dunes. In 1.5 hours today ~40 volunteers planted 4,000 plants. 🙌🏼 Some drill holes while others …

24 September 2021 — : This series keeps me reading well past my going to sleep time! I really enjoyed Extra Dirty (A Ruby Steele Mystery—Book 2) by Mia Gold 📚: A 40-something female tourist seeks out Ruby, desperate for her help. She was out partying all night with her …

23 September 2021 — : Dog grooming day for Oshi and Sasha 🐶 — before and after.

23 September 2021 — : Today’s dilemma: I have to take the dogs to the groomer very soon. I’m supposed to walk them first. It’s rainy and windy. Take them out and we all get soaked? Or leave it. (I’ll be spending the morning at the Library, hanging …

22 September 2021 — : Tonight I made Roast cod on spiced Puy lentils | delicious. magazine, using Monk Fish as that’s what I could get. Pretty good!

22 September 2021 — : Oh dear. I ate too much chocolate cake. First time trying this recipe: Six-Minute Vegan Chocolate Cake | Moosewood Restaurant & Recipes. Super easy. Light and fluffy. Delicious. I decided not to ice it.

21 September 2021 — : Here’s my GPS feature request: give me driving directions but let me choose that they only kick in when I’m ~10Km from my destination. I know my way around near me and can get to roughly my destination. It’s the fine details at the …

20 September 2021 — : I really enjoyed On the Rocks (A Ruby Steele Mystery—Book 1) by Mia Gold 📚: Welcome to the Bahamian world of Ruby Steele … her local dive bar, … her major drinking problem, her (way) too many fights, her inability to get herself out of trouble, and …

20 September 2021 — : There are 5 properties on our little lane. 3 have houses, one has a ramshackle ‘container’ set up to weekend in. The other has today started clearing all the gorse and blackberry so building a house can get underway. It’ll be noisy …

19 September 2021 — : With the thought that my iPhone is my most often used camera I’ve decided to go big and upgrade from iPhone 11 to iPhone 13 Pro Max. Yesterday I ordered a blue one. I may even also sell my underused iPad and Pencil to help fund it. I hope the …

18 September 2021 — : Canada geese flying at dusk.

18 September 2021 — : Another thing I keep forgetting how to do: How to Save Voice Memos on the Mac as Audio Files: [drag the voice memo from the left column of the interface] onto the Mac desktop This Grey Warbler, Riroriro was singing in the Levin dog park today.

17 September 2021 — : I quite like cheese, but just in a casual way. I’m surprised at how interested I am by this excellent 45 minute long video. I’m watching in 5 minute ‘bites’: How to Cut & Serve Every Different Kind of Cheese.

16 September 2021 — : In the last couple of weeks we’ve had a load of rain (even more in the hills), gales and some high seas. This has cut off the access for vehicles to our beach — a sudden 2 metre drop into water. We blocked access with a nearby picnic table. Now …

15 September 2021 — : At nearly 15 Oshi now seems to consider himself able to come home alone from the beach. 🐶 The only problem was he forgot to tell me that’s what he was doing… 🥵

15 September 2021 — : Cool, I was hoping for a new Apple Watch. The cycling workout features in Series 7 and other features are very appealing. I’ll be upgrading from my Series 5. 😀 Deb still has a Series 2. I’ll be encouraging her to upgrade too.

14 September 2021 — : Action at the bird feeder. Sparrows and Waxeyes. 🐦 Who knew sparrows had tongues!!!

14 September 2021 — : We really enjoyed the movie Happiest Season 🏳️‍🌈: the film follows a woman who struggles to come out to her conservative parents while she and her girlfriend visit them during Christmas. the film is a semi-autobiographical take on [Duvall’s] …

14 September 2021 — : I need to remember this: Not to capture but to create — The Power of Abbreviation in Photography: A tutorial on why you should abbreviate your scenes and invite your viewer to fill in the blanks and imagine the rest of the story.

13 September 2021 — : We’ve had 20mm rain today down here at Waikawa Beach at the coast. I imagine that up in the hills there’s been a great deal more. There’s a lot of water about in the paddocks and on the sides of the road. The river is very full and …

12 September 2021 — : There are only about 150-200 Kotuku, White herons in Aotearoa New Zealand and they are rarely seen beyond their breeding ground on the South Island. Miraculously there has been one at Waikawa Beach for a couple of days. Today I took photos of this …

12 September 2021 — : On a shop window we passed last night — no clothing? 😳

12 September 2021 — : Happy that one of my favourite podcasts is back from summer break: Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald | CBC Radio: presents the people behind the latest in science … also examines political, social, environmental and ethical implications of …

11 September 2021 — : When I was a kid Aotearoa New Zealand had 3 million people and 60 million sheep. Now we have 5 million people and dairying has replaced most of the sheep farms. A neighbour has 4 or 5 sheep on his property though. 🐑

11 September 2021 — : I’m on a quest to take photos of all the birds we see round here. 🐦 I’m also longing for the rather costly 100-400mm zoom lens, but actually have a 50-230 — some birds I just can’t get closer to. Success today with the Eurasian …

10 September 2021 — : I was down at the lakes today, bracing against strong wind gusts, trying to get photos of the Australian Shovelers on the other side of the water. A couple of Mallard ducks flew off and I happened to get a decent shot of them in flight! 🐦 These …

09 September 2021 — : Such a sad tale: The Scam | Loading Docs 2021 | The Spinoff - YouTube: The ultimate scam lures an elderly beekeeper around the world, from Greymouth to São Paulo, in this wild true crime tale. A trusting guy with cognitive impairments lost all his …

09 September 2021 — : I drove to Raumati South and biked along Te Ara o Whareroa – Paekākāriki.NZ Te Ara o Whareroa is mostly flat with a nice, flowing sealed track hugging the inland edge of the Queen Elizabeth Park sand dunes. A very enjoyable 12 Km return ride. Great …

08 September 2021 — : Experimenting with my camera. I saw part of the mountains lit while the rest was dark. This may have used the Acros film simulation. [Doesn’t pay to be feeding dogs, cooking and eating dinner, retrieving runaway dog between taking the shot and …

08 September 2021 — : This was a fascinating 13 minutes: How Much Of You Is Alive?: You’re alive right now… at least I’m pretty sure you are. But you’re not TOTALLY alive. Bits of you are always breaking down, being thrown out, and being replaced.

08 September 2021 — : This 10 minute movie was lovely: When Long Distance Works: Long (first-date) story short: She asks her to her best friend’s wedding. The … series spotlights 3 emerging women and non-binary filmmakers who each created a short film inspired by a …

07 September 2021 — : I read and enjoyed The Chase: (The Diving Series Book 15) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 📚 I backed the Kickstarter and received an early copy. The first half confused me a little with several different storylines. The second half wove them all together …

07 September 2021 — : It’s typical spring weather today: rainy, windy, changeable, cool. So I dug around and found 4 photos from this day in 2018 when we were on holiday in Niue. That was a good holiday.

06 September 2021 — : I’ve used BBEdit for years now. It’s fabulous for working with and processing text. Today I whisked up an Applescript that numbers selected lines so as to create a Markdown numbered list. The built-in line numbering function doesn’t …

06 September 2021 — : Today I happened upon these recipes I want to try: My Everyday Green Smoothie Cheese Scones Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with Peanuts and Basil Pasta cacio e pepe Six-Minute Vegan Chocolate Cake Maybe this week I’ll give a couple of them a go.

05 September 2021 — : They’re far from perfect but they beat any of my previous attempts to catch a hawk in flight by a mile. 🐦 I’m reading and learning from Dan Bailey’s book: X Series Unlimited.

05 September 2021 — : Pushed myself today on my bike: rode to the intersection with State Highway 1, 9.2 Km away. Total return ~19 Km. 🚴🏼‍♀️ Some head winds were a challenge. Mix of light battery assist and none.

05 September 2021 — : I often bike around Waikawa Beach on a ~9 Km circuit. Yesterday I went beyond this slightly for a ~12 Km circuit and turned the battery on my electric bike off for ~4Km. Today I’m slightly achey. I have till April to build up for my West Coast …

04 September 2021 — : After @cheri’s photo of Dutch Apple Pancake, with its perfectly placed apple slices, I decided to have another go at making it. Again, delicious! Better slice placement (I use way too much apple and like it like that!). Tried a couple in muffin …

04 September 2021 — : I bought my Fuji X-T2 camera a few years back with the intention of growing into it. 📷 That growth has been given a big nudge this week with my discovery of Dan Bailey’s tips and lessons. Practical, easy to follow. I’m looking forward to …

03 September 2021 — : At the river mouth this morning: looking left and looking right.

02 September 2021 — : Cuties from the deck this evening. Baby rabbits from a burrow in the paddock next door. Welcome Swallow, Warou, on the Zendo roof. 🐦 🐇 You have to watch out for the swallows: they build mud nests over doorways and light fittings, and in the garage if …

02 September 2021 — : I only recently discovered the free Merlin Bird ID app and it works well (for photos, not so much sounds) even here in NZ. 🐦 users answer a few simple questions or, snap a picture and then [see] a short list of possibilities tailored to location and …

02 September 2021 — : Apparently I keep forgetting how to do this: Rename flags In the Mail app on your Mac, click the arrow next to the Flagged mailbox in the Mail sidebar. … Click the flag name, click it again, then type a new name… Source: Flag emails in Mail on Mac …

01 September 2021 — : Formation flying.

01 September 2021 — : Black-backed gull.

01 September 2021 — : Gull flying with bivalve in its beak.

01 September 2021 — : (Mount) Taranaki.

01 September 2021 — : Whitebaiter with (Mount) Ruapehu and bird.

31 August 2021 — : Excited: I’ve booked on the West Coast Wilderness bike tour for April 2022. We bike through unbelievable scenery, from wild coastlines to lush rainforests … beautiful sweeping downhill trails … historic waterways, … past waterfalls and … on …

31 August 2021 — : Hmmm, downloaded free samples of two Kindle books: The Odyssey by Homer (Author), Emily Wilson (translator) and The Iliad by Homer (Author), Caroline Alexander (Translator). It might be interesting to read these again, some 50 years later, and …

31 August 2021 — : I was a teen when I read the Iliad and the Odyssey. The ‘teeth’ of this quote have always remained with me. Today I found the source (my bold): Son of Atreus, what manner of speech has escaped the barrier of your teeth? Homer, The Iliad …

31 August 2021 — Cooking the recipe : OK, you’ve bought ingredients, rewritten the recipe and you’re ready. You’ve set up your workspace, got the pots out, found the knives, measurers and stirrers and whatnot. Now on with the cooking. Tip: follow the recipe exactly, at …

31 August 2021 — : I like the author, the book’s well written, but I need to stop reading as the grisly bits are infiltrating my brain and my dreams: Beware the Past (Detective Matt Ballard Book 1) by Joy Ellis. 📚 I bought this in 2017 — perhaps I read it then. …

31 August 2021 — : Kiwis: if you’d like to make a donation to Afghan refugees arriving soon in Aotearoa New Zealand this GiveALittle page might be of interest.

31 August 2021 — : Hey @help I’ve seen an interesting bug in the web interface — see screenshot. The Reply box multiplies. It’s the morning. I reply to someone and get one box. I reply to another and get 2 boxes. By this screenshot I was on my 5th or 6th …

30 August 2021 — Get ready to cook : As A Reluctant Cook I’d regularly get really stressed while cooking. That still happens sometimes, but a bit of prep goes a long way to making the whole process smoother. First rewrite the recipe. I find most recipes are written for people who …

29 August 2021 — : It rained a lot the last couple of days, but was relatively warm. Those conditions probably created this very white low cloud in the valleys of the Tararuas, with the peaks standing clear above.

29 August 2021 — : I was pondering how Delta won’t be the last variant we deal with… What next? 🦠 For those who don’t know their Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, …

29 August 2021 — : Spammers crack me up sometimes — ‘sping’⁉️From our Waikawa Beach community blog: Hello, You misspelled the word “sping” On your website. Sometimes errors > like can hurt your web traffic. Maybe check out a service that …

29 August 2021 — : Watched and loved CODA. 🎬 coming-of-age comedy-drama film that follows a hearing teenage girl who is a child of deaf adults (CODA for short). This shocked me: a mere 9 months! She looked expert: Jones took voice lessons and learned ASL for nine …

28 August 2021 — Find an easy recipe : Following on from A Reluctant Cook, I started my exploration of cooking by searching the Internet for a recipe I thought I might like. I’m happy to eat good quality mince (Americans seem to call this ground beef) so that was a good starting …

27 August 2021 — A Reluctant Cook : Although I’ve always enjoyed eating delicious food I’ve also always disliked cooking. I never learned how to cook, though I could muster up often acceptable dishes like scrambled eggs or some kind of meat and vegies. Something happened a …

27 August 2021 — : Finally another International Breakfast: Mini Dutch Apple Pancakes (the recipe website is abominable!). This was so delicious. Will definitely make this again. Eggs, butter, sugar, milk, cinnamon, flour, lemon zest — how could this not be tasty!

27 August 2021 — : Cool! And 75!!! Two dogs … among the first to go to a new refuge for animals affected by domestic violence, have been reunited with their owners. The purpose-built Pet Refuge … is able take up to 75 animals at a time. Source: RNZ News

27 August 2021 — : Very nice! My advice (for what it’s worth) for success and happiness: Compete with yourself and root for everybody else. Source: Candice Millard

26 August 2021 — : Our community Facebook group is OK, useful; the moderators great. A member, whose avatar shows a middle-aged white guy, posted an appalling anti-woman ‘joke’ about his wife not doing chores so he’d chain her to the gate for someone …

26 August 2021 — : We want the dogs to get used to their new soft crate so we just put it up in the lounge, added a few treats and dog blankets and ignored it. Oshi ate the treats; Sasha was anxious. Now it’s become a good place to have a nap, though only one at …

25 August 2021 — : The MB web timeline jams photos together unpleasantly (Before screenshot). I wanted them spaced (After). I use Safari on Mac so I made a stylesheet and pointed Safari to it. CSS: .post_text img {margin-top: 1.5em; background-color: #ffffff; …

25 August 2021 — : Today I walked on the other side of the Waikawa River, heading north. After floundering through undergrowth to avoid a wet-weather lake I eventually found a wide, smooth, well-used track. After ~1 Km I turned west, found my way through the dunes to …

25 August 2021 — : Uh oh. Hamilton Zoo animals are bored in shutdown: animals often look around confused at how quiet the Zoo is …. We spend a lot of time making sure we … give them extra treats and attention… because one of their main forms of entertainment …

25 August 2021 — : The dogs are of an age where they pee in the house if we’re out for too long (eg 2 hours). 🐶 We took to crating them to prevent that but the crate is now housing quail in the garage for the worst of winter. We’ve bought the dogs a new …

25 August 2021 — : I watched Ije: The Journey. Its subject matter turned out to be hard, but the unravelling and the perspectives were interesting. Chioma travels from Nigeria to the US to aide her sister Anya who is being charged with the murder of three men …

24 August 2021 — : Undermined: A Gay Mystery (Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries Book 1) by Ripley Hayes. 📚 An unusual book for me to read, featuring male lead characters. A single, surprisingly graphic, sex scene. Leaned more to romance than mystery, but I did enjoy it.

24 August 2021 — : Another good read from this author: Goodbye Calais Club: (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 2) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 Disappointed I have to wait for the third book in the series. there’s no way Holly can investigate on her own. Or is there?

24 August 2021 — : I quite enjoyed The Complete Monica Noble Murder Mysteries, a 3 book set, by Faith Martin 📚. I had to take a break after book 2 as they’re a little cloying. A fairly easy read with a woman who has an eye for detail. Interesting acknowledgment …

24 August 2021 — : Whew! I’ve clicked Submit on a funding application for a fun photo project to run in our community over summer / Christmas. Having the idea in the first place was simple — the funding application was a lot of work. Not sure when we’ll …

24 August 2021 — : The dogs prescription came in 🐶: Veterinary exclusive Hills prescription diet Kidney Care clinical nutrition improves & lengthens quality of life Now we gradually introduce the new biscuits over the next few weeks. Roughly 2 x the cost of their …

23 August 2021 — : Very pleased that the government has, as widely expected, announced the whole country will stay in Level 4 shutdown until at least midnight Friday (Auckland for longer) thanks to the Delta variant of Covid running through the community. As expected, …

23 August 2021 — : A quick report on our new 4G internet connection: good riddance to VDSL! We now both speed along at the same time on the interwebs and Deb can even do Zoom calls from her zendo (home office / meditation room). We’re happy!

23 August 2021 — : Whew! Was about to start submitting a prepared funding application whose leisurely timeline began in October when I spotted the statement : “Note: Round 1 projects cannot begin before November 2021”. Quickly pushed all October activities …

23 August 2021 — : I don’t know that The Daily Mail is a news site to trust… but, I think this article is worth a look. After the 9/11 attack most news sites went text-only to even be able to deliver info. This article has screenshots: 9/11 and how readers …

23 August 2021 — : For our last holiday adventure we ate a magnificent dinner at Plato, a restaurant set in an unlikely, deserted, industrial part of Dunedin. My panfried hapuka photo doesn’t do the food justice by any means. The restaurant is quirky, full of …

23 August 2021 — : I already wrote a little about the Royal Albatross Centre, but wrapping up our recent holiday, here’s more. We viewed the birds from a hide, through glass. Several adults swooped right past the window and huge chicks were just outside. Older …

22 August 2021 — : We arrived in Ōtepoti, Dunedin, in miserable weather. We were hungry so we parked near The Octagon, and after some wandering, found ourselves at The Perc Cafe. I enjoyed a very delicious green pea and ham soup with bread. We returned the next day for …

22 August 2021 — : It’s a rare occurrence for me, but last night I slept 8 hours without interruption and the sleep quality was good. Today I feel as though I could do anything!

21 August 2021 — : A darn good read: Project Charon 1: Re-entry by Patty Jansen: Tina needs money, and needs it fast. Another creditor is impossible to find. That leaves her one option: to return to the world she fled fifteen years ago and Kelso Space Station 📚 Well …

21 August 2021 — : I so much enjoyed Project Charon 1: Re-Entry, by Patty Jansen — one of the books in the Cosmic Visionaries StoryBundle! I’ll definitely be buying Book 2 in the series. If you enjoy space opera take a look at the bundle, available for another 18 …

21 August 2021 — : People have assumed that attention and executive functions decline with age… our large study indicates that critical elements … actually improve during aging, likely because we practice these skills throughout our life. Source: Some Key Mental …

21 August 2021 — : The Catlins portion of our holiday ended with Purakaunui Falls: a short walk from a car park area through impressive podocarp and beech forest. We did stop to look at a couple of fossils in limestone but that wasn’t very impressive. Next …

21 August 2021 — : Just signed up for this inexpensive course: Joy of Birdwatching | Bird Academy • The Cornell Lab.

21 August 2021 — : Vroom vroom. 🚀 Today’s the day! Before the postie came: VDSL modem: DOWNLOAD Kbps 10799, UPLOAD Kbps 693. After the postie: 4G modem: DOWNLOAD Kbps 100575, UPLOAD Kbps 27696. 10x download speed and 50x upload speed. 🎉🥳👯‍♀️

20 August 2021 — : As probably everyone expected, Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole stays in Level 4 shutdown till midnight Tuesday. There are now 3 community cases in Wellington. Makes sense to stay shut down.

19 August 2021 — : On 10 February 1982 I spent the afternoon in a second story cafe in Bodø, Norway, watching rain showers pass across the harbour. I was thrilled to be in the Arctic Circle. I nearly fell on the icy footpaths though. // @odd

19 August 2021 — : It’s almost exactly 40 years since I sat on a train in Norway travelling from Oslo in the south to Bodø in the Arctic Circle. I have a few ancient (and bad) photos from that trip where this Kiwi marvelled at the snow and the northern buildings. …

19 August 2021 — : I’m not always happy with what our Labour government is doing or has done, but as I watch our Prime Minister speaking at a Covid press conference I’m still in awe at her excellence. She’s clear, straightforward, friendly, caring and …

19 August 2021 — : Nice quote about space opera: Or is it mostly just that space opera is so gosh-darn cool? The ships…the technology…the planets…the ray guns and laser swords. In many ways, it’s the ultimate escapist genre, transporting us to places and …

19 August 2021 — : In The Catlins, Nugget Point, Tokata has a lighthouse, a spectacular view and rocks that resemble gold nuggets. It was really windy up there, with sheer cliffs beside the track… One false step and that’d be the end of you. Fabulous views on a …

18 August 2021 — : Currently rationing the bird food for the Waxeyes. I was intending to buy more today but with the Covid shutdown the shop is closed and I shouldn’t be going out anyway. The birds will just have to go a bit short for a few days.

18 August 2021 — : Heh, healthy Kiwis. 😀 People are panic buying because of the lockdown, but: According to Foodstuffs, bananas and broccoli are top of the list of what people are buying. Toilet paper is at number 5.

18 August 2021 — : After another thunderstorm around 5.30 am the power has come back on. Immediately made a cup of tea. Thanks to the lines workers out in this awful weather and under a level 4 shutdown keeping us powered up!

18 August 2021 — : Woken at 0330 by loud torrential rain (now stopped). I’d like a cup of tea but the power’s still out. 😢

17 August 2021 — : Thunderstorm took our power out. 😒 Good thing we’ve got the fire going.

17 August 2021 — : Aotearoa New Zealand today has a case of Covid in the community that can’t be linked to the border. Precautionary assumption is that it’s the Delta variant. The whole country is going into Level 4 shutdown from midnight tonight for at …

17 August 2021 — : Feature request or suggestion @help : put some of the info from or even just the link to Exporting from Micro.blog - Getting started - Micro.blog Help Center on the page where one can actually export via the web interface. I spent ages trying to find …

17 August 2021 — : OK, today Vodafone rang me about our Internet upgrade. — Maybe our days of VDSL slow Internet are over — A new 4G modem is on its way. By the end of the month we should be speeding across the Interwebs. 😀 Also a cheaper plan, no contract and still …

17 August 2021 — : At Roaring Bay rare Yellow-eyed Penguins come and go at dawn and dusk. We spotted two. 🐦 A much more distant view than on the Milford Wanderer when a couple floated by looking like driftwood, till they put their heads up! Zoomed and cropped. …

17 August 2021 — : The Seascape Accommodation in Kaka Point, The Catlins was a superb place to stay. Gorgeous units with a super view, directly across a not very busy road from the beach. The hosts were extremely welcoming too, with extras like a packet of chips, some …

16 August 2021 — : My two Japanese quail are clearly independent thinkers, having produced these first eggs of the season. Thing is, we have 10.5 hours of daylight today and they “shouldn’t” start laying till we have 12 hours daylight per day — ie …

16 August 2021 — : Hmmm, I see there’s an OS update to 11.5.2. Updating…

16 August 2021 — : BTW: not looking for troubleshooting tips or anything on my Mac randomly rebooting. It’s more just a record.

16 August 2021 — : Nice views of Tautuku Bay from Florence Hill Lookout in The Catlins. 3Km southwest of Papatowai, a short gravel road leads to sweeping Tautuku Bay, which can be viewed from … the Florence Hill Lookout. The glow isn’t your imagination, …

16 August 2021 — : My M1 MacBook Pro just randomly restarted itself (3rd time so far in the last month), losing the Micro.Blog post (brief text and 3 photos) I’d written in the Mac app but not posted. Starting to be annoyed / concerned about these restarts. All …

16 August 2021 — : Lake Wilkie was nice from the viewing point at the top, but at eye level it was spectacular. formed after the last ice age when water became trapped in a depression between ancient sand dunes and a cliff. … it’s called a “bog lake” …

16 August 2021 — : Geneticists have … found evidence that natural selection more than 10,000 years ago probably provided a genetic basis for the dog coat patterns we see today. Source: New Study Finds We Probably Can’t Take Credit For The Diversity of Dogs' …

15 August 2021 — : Thank you for your Micro Camp talk @amit I really enjoyed it. Great story about the donkey! And 👍 the shoutout to us Kiwis.

15 August 2021 — : Had a magical wildlife encounter today when this White-faced heron, matuku moana followed me home from my dog walk and hung out on our deck for half an hour, pretty much within arm’s reach. It lives at the lakes about 400 metres away.

15 August 2021 — : Fungus on a tree at Lake Waiwiri, Papaitonga.

15 August 2021 — : Tautuku Estuary was another brief walk, but wow was it a stunner! The first sight of the broad expanse of golden reeds was breathtaking. Tautuku is a spectacular, forest-fringed bay that sweeps round to an impressive headland. Perhaps best seen on …

14 August 2021 — : 22% through and I was considering abandoning When Murder Comes Home (Aileen and Callan Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Shana Frost. 📚 Then this para decided me👎🏼: Steaming pots of savoury food effused mouth-watering aromas that drifted through the …

14 August 2021 — : On 28 June 2021 in The Catlins we started with a visit to McLean Falls. I loved the native forest, and the 22 metre cascade waterfall was well worth the short walk.

14 August 2021 — : My Micro Camp presentation is now available at Open for Inspection 🔍. There are also a few support files.

14 August 2021 — : Uh oh. I’m up now on Micro Camp! 🤞🏼

13 August 2021 — : Yet another excellent book in a series by a favourite author: Warn Me When It’s Time (Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Book 6) by Cheryl A Head. 📚 FBI agent, James Saleh, … helps the Mack Agency infiltrate and take down a homegrown militia …

13 August 2021 — : In the Catlins we passed through Waikawa, spotted a couple of Kereru on a power line and took a photo of Māngai Piri, Niagara Falls: … named by a surveyor with an obvious sense of humour who had seen the large North American falls and named these …

13 August 2021 — Graphic photo warning — dog skin lesion : Our dog Oshi is nearly 15 and having various health problems, including arthritis and an ulcerated eye. He gets eyedrops 4-6 times per day and will see the vet again in a few days. He’s always been a licker — he licks himself, Sasha, the floor, …

13 August 2021 — : Many Māori were raised with the knowledge that the first person to see the islands, Kuramārōtini, called out from her waka, “He ao! He ao! He Aotea!” Source: The racist aftermath of the Aotearoa debate | RNZ News

13 August 2021 — : One of life’s odd quirks — I just posted about watching Wellington Paranormal. In today’s local paper is an item that one of the lead actors comes from our local town, Levin, and will be back in a few days for a special screening of a …

12 August 2021 — : I’ve been attending weekly line dancing classes for months now and things are clicking quite well. I realise this is one of my favourites at the moment: Mozart & Roses. My head can’t handle dances that have a lot of spins and turns in …

12 August 2021 — : I’ve been drafting a funding application for a summer photo project for the community. It’s hard work! Now looking for something to watch for some down time.

12 August 2021 — : Wooo. Maybe our days of VDSL slow Internet are over… An email today from the ISP: modern, superfast, reliable Wireless Broadband that runs over our 4G mobile network. It’s the future. It’s ready for you now. Unlimited data plan on Wireless …

12 August 2021 — : On a whim the other day I bought TextSniper - Capture and extract any text from your Mac’s screen | images. I just tried it on the Curio Bay info board photo and am blown away by its speed and accuracy! This is a keeper! Years of pounding by …

12 August 2021 — : We visited the Curio Bay petrified forest. 180 million year old trees! Photo of me by my neighbour Chris. petrified wood like this is incredibly rare. The entire logs and stumps were preserved because the silification was within a matter of weeks …

12 August 2021 — : Invercargill to Dunedin via the coastal Catlins route with no side trips is only about 250 Km. We spent 4 days on the drive because those scenic side trips are well worth the time. We stopped at Chaslands (1 night) and Kākā Point (2 nights). Of …

11 August 2021 — : I spotted a headline recently that the Wellington Paranormal TV show was mystifying Americans. Just started watching on The CW and finding it hilarious. Maybe you have to be a Kiwi to ‘get’ this.

11 August 2021 — : In Invercargill we stayed the night at Quest Apartment Hotel where the bathroom was the size our cabin on the Milford Wanderer had been. Whew! It was good to spread out. Next morning we picked up a rental car for Part Two of our holiday with friends …

11 August 2021 — : At Glowing Sky merino shop I discovered the glories of a Merino Tube Neck/Ear Warmer. This beats a scarf in so many ways and is so warm. Wish I’d known about these years ago. Icebreaker used to be great but quality plummeted. Glowing Sky merino …

11 August 2021 — : On the last day of our Rakiura Cruise some went for a brief walk in the morning, but I stayed and packed. After lunch we docked at Oban in Halfmoon Bay, then we had a couple of hours before the catamaran took us back to Bluff. We bought superb merino …

11 August 2021 — : Managing a blind, elderly dog is a whole new learning experience. TIL unfamiliar places make Sasha anxious so she needs to be on the lead. Plus I need to actively guide her past obstacles. I’ve become a ‘guide person’ to my dog. Deb …

11 August 2021 — : Today my neighbour and I walked the dogs on the north side of the river, with a glimpse of snowy mountain peak. I liked a mossy tree. Poor old (blind) Sasha was very anxious in the ‘new’ place, especially after she walked into a low …

10 August 2021 — : Today I tried this Hungarian recipe: Pogácsa. I didn’t have enough white flour so used wholemeal to make up the amount. They were very delicious. Sort of flaky. They were easy to make, but use a heap of butter.

10 August 2021 — : Camo cow.

10 August 2021 — : Late in the last afternoon of our Rakiura Cruise we did a 1 hour easy walk at the Whaler’s Base in Paterson Inlet. The golden hour light was superb. The base operated from 1923 to 1933 and serviced Norwegian whaling chaser boats hunting in the …

10 August 2021 — : 10 August 2020: Oshi has an ulcerated left eye 10 August 2021: Oshi has an ulcerated right eye… Chlorsig/Chlorafast drops to be administered 4 to 6 times per day. Probably both dogs lost weight at the kennels from stress. Sasha might have diabetes. …

10 August 2021 — : The icy blast from the last couple of days has moved on, leaving snow not only on the high peaks of the Tararuas (happens several times each year) but also on the foothills. That’s pretty unusual.

10 August 2021 — : 6.55 am and at only a few minutes to sunrise it’s light enough out to see distinctly. We’re definitely on the way out of winter and on the approach to summer. 😀 Also, yesterday’s southerly blast is over and a big High is on its way …

09 August 2021 — : Hmmm, second time in a week my M1 MacBook Pro has frozen and restarted itself while I was writing in Apple Mail. All standard up-to-date release versions of software.

09 August 2021 — : The country’s in the teeth of a southerly storm, with many high altitude roads closed for snow. At 3.30 am I really thought the house might lift off in the 67 Kph gusts — we’re very exposed to the south where the icy wind (and just now …

08 August 2021 — : Some of us opted for the slow easy walk on Ulva Island. Our guide, Gabriel, shared a lot of info. We spotted Kiwi and Penguin tracks on a pristine beach, various birds — robin, kākā, kakariki, bellbird and others. There was Umbrella Moss, ferns only …

08 August 2021 — : On the last full day of our trip Sandy King and Detector Gadget (and her other trainee dog, Mawson) came aboard the Milford Wanderer. Sandy talked about getting rid of rats on the protected predator-free island, then the dogs checked our bags before …

08 August 2021 — : Careless writing: Women, on the other hand, can sometimes not work … These cultural expectations condemn them to be a burden… They won’t be lazing with their feet up but will be slaving at home! Unpaid work! 12 Countries Could …

08 August 2021 — : Hmmm, I’ve abandoned Blood in the Bayou: A Bone-Chilling FBI Thriller by CM Sutter just under half way through. There was too much point of view of a particularly nasty criminal and the FBI agents seem to be overlooking some obvious things. …

08 August 2021 — : On Sunday 25 July 2021 we were moored at Paterson Inlet, Rakiura, ready for two more adventures. But first: the sunrise.

08 August 2021 — : Good thing I’m proof-watching my Micro Camp video! There’s stuff I need to fix yet, but what do you call a verbal typo/autocorrect? “Microsoft.Blog⁉️⁉️⁉️ What the heck! How do I bleep that out?

07 August 2021 — : After motoring north for 6 hours, late Saturday afternoon we were taken by local guide Bevan for a walk (1 hour each way along a gentle grassy track) on The Neck — a low sandy isthmus at the mouth of Paterson Inlet on Rakiura, and an area with a rich …

06 August 2021 — : On Day 3 of the cruise I opted to relax aboard the Milford Wanderer in the morning while others went walking. In the afternoon I enjoyed a tender ride around Small Craft Retreat. There were sealions galore! And even more when we were back on the …

06 August 2021 — : Both our (old) dogs lost weight during their 2 week kennel stay. After I queried for issues the owner sent me back a very useful and extremely detailed log of their food, behaviour, management, staff observations etc. Now considering vet checks for …

05 August 2021 — : Pikihatiti or Port Pegasus, with its 5 metres of rain per year, is near the southern tip of Rakiura. I said I’d give it a go to walk up the 230 metre granite Bald Cone (47°S). The ‘track’ was 95% deep sucking mud. Amazing views …

05 August 2021 — : Had to get up around 3 am to let Oshi out then was awake for a bit. I was just wondering about getting back to sleep when there was a very loud and weird noise outside, followed by more noise and a bit of shaking. Earthquake Details: 30 km west of …

04 August 2021 — : I’m excited to be a presenter at Micro Camp 2021 and now I’m back from holiday I’m getting into the preparation. My topic will be Open for Inspection 🔍 — how to use the Web Inspector to help with customising your blog. Think …

04 August 2021 — : At Abraham’s Bosom beach on Rakiura I learned about the Turpentine Shrub (will keep fires burning), spotted a paua shell, and was intrigued by the rocks with their vertical layers of soft and hard.

04 August 2021 — : Once we were aboard the Milford Wanderer we motored off to Port Adventure where we landed for a brief beach walk at Oyster Bay and Abraham’s Bosom. Mollymawks floated round the boat. Lush bush grew almost to the water’s edge. A young curious …

03 August 2021 — : My credit card expired this month so I now have a new card. Now visiting services that hold my card number and updating the details — about 15 of them! So glad I made a list I keep with my card details in 1Password.

03 August 2021 — : On the Rakiura cruise expeditions from the Milford Wanderer always started with a tender ride, piloted by Gibby. The tender hung from the stern of the MW and there was plenty of help to board. Steps at the front were for landings. Gabriel and Annette …

03 August 2021 — : This large item was on the beach today — a shark fin?

02 August 2021 — : Our Rakiura Cruise was aboard the Milford Wanderer. The crew soon told us the sails are just for show! The cabins are tiny: 2 narrow bunks with a mini gap between, a teeny space at the end of one for luggage. The saloon has tables and bench seats, a …

01 August 2021 — : The holiday was utterly fabulous, but I’m also thrilled to be home in my own bed, with clean clothes, slippers on. Now for a good night’s sleep!

01 August 2021 — : In a visit to Otago Museum I learned the extinct Moa came in various sizes. The giant moa is in the photo. The male is small. When I stood level with the female my head came to about her rump. Then her neck and head stretched way above me.

01 August 2021 — : Heh. Dunedin Airport.

01 August 2021 — : This is the abundant but declining NZ native tarapunga, red-billed gull. 🐦

31 July 2021 — : For the final adventure of our holiday we visited the Royal Albatross Centre on Otago Peninsula. 🐦 the only mainland breeding colony of Northern Royal Albatross (toroa) in the world. The birds have a 3-metre wingspan. Chicks weigh ~10 Kg before …

30 July 2021 — : Behind you!

29 July 2021 — : Nugget Point Tokata had stunning landscape, along with its lighthouse.

29 July 2021 — : Purakaunui Falls rewards the use of the 27mm lens.

29 July 2021 — : Also at Roaring Bay last evening this huge black blob in the grass — a resting sealion.

29 July 2021 — : McLean Falls was wonderful for both the falls and the amazing “shrubland and fern and moss-rich tall forest”. If I lived nearby I’d visit all the time.

29 July 2021 — : The Tautuku Estuary boardwalk was a surprise — walking out into a sea of golden reeds. I think I heard a Fernbird.

29 July 2021 — : Yesterday we visited Lake Wilkie — Mirror Lake. The view from above was good, but down on the boardwalk there were stunning reflections.

28 July 2021 — : Today at dusk at Roaring Bay we were thrilled to spot two yellow-eyed penguins on the beach. Heavily cropped photo. 🐦 Yellow-eyed penguins / hoiho are one of the rarest penguins in the world and are only found in New Zealand (endemic).

28 July 2021 — : The view from our front door for a couple of days. Guess we’ll cope…

27 July 2021 — Catlins Day One: lighthouse, Jurassic fossil forest : This morning we picked up a rental car, squeezed in ourselves and our luggage, picked up groceries and squeezed them in too and headed from Invercargill, Waihōpai, for The Catlins. Route map. There was no hurry — this part of our holiday …

27 July 2021 — : The Waipapā lighthouse was built of rimu and totara. It was automated in the 1970s.

27 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise, Day Four : The morning of the fourth day featured a 6 hour cruise to Paterson Inlet. The previous night I took Sealegs pills and was somewhat anticipating a repeat of the rough seas of the other day. However, this time we had the tide behind us and although …

27 July 2021 — : On Ulva Island, Rakiura, Aotearoa New Zealand, with its pristine golden beaches: kiwi tracks and penguin tracks. And always watch out for seals and sealions.

26 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise, Day Three, afternoon : After lunch the tender went out twice for about 30 or 40 minutes at a time. With 28 passengers, the tender can hold half at any time. This was an amazing trip to Smallcraft Retreat, a nearby cove. From the time we left the Milford Wanderer until well …

26 July 2021 — : Here’s my new profile pic: a cheeky little South Island robin on Ulva Island. It was so dark in the bush I had to crank the camera to ISO 12800.

26 July 2021 — : A delight of the day was to see two yellow-eyed penguins swimming by the boat (no photo). They look like floating sticks until they lift their heads then they look like a kind of squashed duck. From behind they look like tiny seals. Nationally …

26 July 2021 — : Well, I can thoroughly recommend Thai Thai on Spey Street in Invercargill for a delicious meal. I ate a delicious cashew, chicken and vegetable stirfry. I’m temporarily online, but I suspect the next few days will be offline again.

26 July 2021 — : Back on dry land but may well be offline the next few days too.

26 July 2021 — : Yesterday’s late afternoon view.

25 July 2021 — : This sunrise at Ulva Island is a lie, sadly. The long exposure has really saturated the colours.

25 July 2021 — Typical bush clad hillside : The day we were anchored near Disappointment Cove I took these shots from the boat. These were my second attempt — I learned from the first attempt to increase shutter speed, because the boat is always moving, making shots a bit soft. Anchored …

25 July 2021 — : Sea lions, get yer sea lions here!

25 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise, Day Three, morning : Wow, I slept well! I woke feeling quite stiff and achey though and decided to spend the morning on the Milford Wanderer. Quite a few opted to go on the morning’s walk: a less difficult walk than yesterday’s but still demanding, …

25 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise Day Two : Whew, what a day! After breakfast of boiled egg, hash brown, tomato, sausage, plus as much toast, cereal and fruit as we wanted, the anchor came up and we motored off to Pegasus Bay — a 3 hour trip through open sea. It was rough! I had taken …

25 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise, Day Zero : To start with we needed to travel from home to Invercargill. That meant setting off with our neighbours in the car at about 0915. We drove ~100 Km to Wellington Airport, parked in the long-term carpark, caught the free shuttle to the terminal and …

25 July 2021 — Rakiura Cruise, Day One highlight : Rakiura Cruise, Day One: one highlight was the teenage male sealion that came up on the beach at Port Adventure, where oysters were first harvested commercially in the 1800s. Rakiura cruise teenage male sealion heads for the beach. Rakiura cruise - …

24 July 2021 — : No connection in this mud!

21 July 2021 — : 46 degrees 36 minutes 54 seconds south.

20 July 2021 — : I really enjoyed this Canadian story: Goodbye Port Alma (A DC Holly Towns Murder Mystery) by Anne Shillolo. 📚 DC Holly Towns is on the team that has to untangle a far-reaching web of sex, drugs, and money, and solve a crime that threatens to tear …

20 July 2021 — : The Kaikoura Ranges were looking snowy today.

20 July 2021 — : Wellington airport features these birds from Lord of the Rings.

19 July 2021 — : Photo by Willow’s mum — with the whole back seat to spread out on, three dogs decided to create a tight little dog puddle. Willow at front, Sasha to the left and Oshi in behind. 🐶

19 July 2021 — : Hmmm: Around 95% of NZ’s sheep meat and 87% of beef is exported, and what’s left for locals is sold at a premium. If a housewife in the middle of Oxford in the UK is prepared to pay a certain price for a cut of meat, we have to match …

18 July 2021 — : Happened upon a cassette tape recording I made in 1976 of my mother’s parents. Fascinating to hear how they speak. Grandad, born in Islington, London, was a London bus driver in his youth. My grandma was born in Stoke Newington (also London). …

18 July 2021 — : Yesterday’s storm (for us, at least) was nowhere near what we expected. Some strongish winds, about 17 mm rain (not the 60-90 mm forecast). The sea must have been rough though — the high tide took driftwood right into the dunes. We were lucky: …

18 July 2021 — : Heard something today that jogged my memory about NZ’s infamous Six o’clock Swill. From December 1917 to October 1967 pubs closed at 6 pm: 🍻 resulted in a mad rush to drink as much alcohol as possible in [1 hour], leading to unruly …

17 July 2021 — : We tried a new restaurant last night: Ōtaki Kitchen at 30 Main Street, Ōtaki. Service was great and food excellent. I had the Roast fish (Blue Whiting) with brown butter and nut crust, pea puree, charred carrots, tomato tapenade and lemon beurre …

16 July 2021 — : Hey @jack Way back in March you mentioned the Johnny Decimal system. Thanks so much for that. It has allowed me to finally sort out my beyond chaotic filing ‘system’. It all kind of fell into place for me and it’s transformed how …

16 July 2021 — : Heh 🐈 🐶 🍽: New Zealand has the highest per capita rate of cat ownership of any country in the world, with 41% of households owning cats and 34% owning dogs. Who’s eating New Zealand: What your cat is eating | RNZ News Since 1990 our [cats] …

15 July 2021 — : Spotted ‘the’ Kingfisher today — perching on top of the tunnelhouse. Managed a photo through the window, but when I went outside it flew away.

15 July 2021 — : Damn good read, so well put together! The Case of the Fond Farewell (Ellie Tappet Cruise Ship Mysteries Book 6) by Cheri Baker. 📚 When tragedy strikes in the dark of night, Ellie and her friends investigate. The trail of deception leads to a …

15 July 2021 — : Niue reaches herd immunity, with 97% of eligible population vaccinated: Niue … vaccinated almost 100% of its eligible population. The Pacific Island nation, population ~2000, reached the milestone within two months. A national celebration was …

14 July 2021 — : A big storm is forecast for this weekend — gales and loads of rain. Plus it’s midwinter and we’ve had some solid frosts and we’re going away soon for a holiday. Today I moved my two quail into the garage, using the dog crate to hold …

14 July 2021 — : The forecast rainfall for this weekend has already reduced by ~20 mm, thank goodness. Still way high though.

13 July 2021 — : According to this crazy forecast we might get 144 mm (about 5.7 inches) of rain over 4 days this coming weekend! I imagine in the end we’ll actually get more like 15 mm, but if we do get all that’s forecast, things could be a bit wet!

13 July 2021 — : Knockout (A Holly Hands Mystery—Book 1) by Mia Gold had a very strong start. 📚 A new and original character and compelling premise. I found it strained credulity overall though and sometimes just annoyed me. Not sure I’ll read the next one.

13 July 2021 — : Vaccinating a load of people in a city is one thing. But how do you vaccinate a handful of people on a tiny tropical atoll 500 Km from the nearest island? NZ Navy ship delivers Covid-19 vaccine to remote Tokelau, northern Cook Islands

12 July 2021 — : And … ✔️

12 July 2021 — : Just waiting for COVID vaccine shot #2. It’s busy but we get to sit while we wait.

11 July 2021 — : This week for our International Breakfast Deb cooked New Orleans-Style Beignets. Very yummy!

11 July 2021 — : Today Deb and I attended a Stacking Rings Workshop in Wellington. We made textured or twisted rings from copper or silver. It was quite interesting but my interest has now been sated. I made a twisted copper and a textured silver ring in the 3 hours.

10 July 2021 — : The best thing ever! We Are Lady Parts 📺 We ended up bingeing. Hilarious! Excellent! Nida Manzoor’s anarchic and irreverent music comedy about a Muslim female punk band - called Lady Parts - who are on a mission to find a lead guitarist and …

10 July 2021 — : After our Rakiura Cruise later this month we’ll visit The Catlins, New Zealand for a few days. We’ve already booked a Royal Albatross Tour at the Royal Albatross Centre: visit the only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross in the world. …

09 July 2021 — : We’re heading later this month to Rakiura, a Dark Sky Sanctuary so now I need to discover how to take photos of the Aurora Australis. These may help: How to photograph the aurora The Idiot’s guide to Photographing the Aurora Australis 🤞🏼📷

09 July 2021 — : This was a pretty good read: Old Sins, Long Memories by Angela Arney. 📚 Meet Dr Lizzie Browne. After her divorce she moves to a small coastal town for a quieter life. Now her patients are turning up dead.

09 July 2021 — : I forget I have a 27mm prime lens for my Fuji X-T2. I also have a wriggly dog and a dog who refused to open his eyes. 🐶 Nevertheless, Sasha (x3) and Oshi. I should have used this lens more often with the pets.

09 July 2021 — : Heh, the telephoto lens makes Kāpiti Island look like you could wade out to it — it’s actually 20Km away. A shot of birds in the estuary at Waikawa Beach this morning.

08 July 2021 — : I’m getting quite excited: at the end of the month the Milford Wanderer will be our home for 6 nights as we sail round Rakiura. Designed along the lines of a traditional sailing scow, she has old-world charm combined with modern facilities and the …

08 July 2021 — How to maintain your speaking voice : As I get older I’ve become a little concerned about my voice. Sometimes when I try to call the dogs on the beach my voice ‘cracks’ and even disappears. Sometimes when I talk with people I think my voice isn’t reliable and can …

07 July 2021 — : Our new splashback installed. It’s a colour called Resene Koru to match our feature walls. Tricky with reflections… Really gives the kitchen a lift though and we could never properly clean the wall behind the stove.

07 July 2021 — : I love these little cuties. More waxeyes at the bird feeder.

07 July 2021 — : Get! Scram! Clear off!

07 July 2021 — : This is a ‘before’ of our oven and wall and rangehood. Soon there should be an ‘after’.

07 July 2021 — : Aha: an explanation of the planes: RNZAF carrying out low-flying around Manawatū, Rangitikei & Whanganui | NZDF tactical flying exercise … a Hercules training activity used by No. 40 Squadron … provides crews with a range of flying training

07 July 2021 — : We live not too far really from a military airfield (60 Km direct). I happened to be taking photos of the birds at the feeder, heard a noise, looked up and these two huge very low flying C130-H Hercules were heading straight for me. They banked …

07 July 2021 — : Sometimes at the supermarket I see workers with big trolleys assembling customer orders for delivery. This approach is utterly astonishing: How many robots does it take to run a grocery store? In Ocado’s grocery warehouses, thousands of …

07 July 2021 — : I think this is my third night in a row of restless and broken sleep. I’ve been having a good run of sleep lately after working on it, so this is annoying. Not sure what’s going on. 😴

06 July 2021 — : Sexual Harassment is a bit of a problem by Sharon Murdoch.

06 July 2021 — : This started well, became a bit suss and then by 66% through was annoying: Last Call (The Janet Black Mystery Series Book 1) by Libby Kirsch 📚 I read to the end just to see the explanations really.

06 July 2021 — : Fascinating: Who’s eating New Zealand?: New Zealand produces enough food to feed about 40 million people but given our population is just 5 million, who are these people we’re feeding and what are they eating? Answer: people in other …

05 July 2021 — : Today’s International Breakfast was Drop Scones/Scotch Pancakes. I had problems — I had the griddle too hot (the recipe didn’t specify) and we had to use way more milk. Also used half the sugar. They were OK but could be better next time. We …

05 July 2021 — : Watching line dance tutorials. I can understand why the instructor wants to face the camera, but then I get very confused: I need to move in the opposite direction. I much prefer the tutorials where they turn their back to me. CopperKnob is a great …

04 July 2021 — : Someone gave me 18 header images for our community website but at 2400x560 instead of the 1200x280 I needed. I copied all images to a new folder then ran this one Terminal command on the folder. A moment later all were correctly resized. sips -Z …

04 July 2021 — : Rabbit ears.

04 July 2021 — : Hmm, I read The Uniform (Detective Helen Carter Book 1) by Jodie Lawrance. 📚 Set in Edinburgh in the 1970s the relentless grimness makes this a bit hard going: every single page contains dirt, grime, overt sexism, smoking, excessive drinking, …

03 July 2021 — : Wall decal dots are very cool — I have several in different sizes on the walls. We’re investigating a community art project for summer that would involve these. Today I took one of mine and roughly tested whether it would stick to a variety of …

02 July 2021 — : I enjoyed Lowcountry Box Set (A Liz Talbot Mystery) by Susan M Boyer. 📚 I’m not usually into ghosts but this was an inoffensive plot device much like hacking skillz or martial arts expertise. I skipped a few pages of the hetero-romance gory …

02 July 2021 — : The river at Waikawa Beach was pretty high the other day after loads of rain — it had been higher than this photo shows. Then today it was really really low. Maybe because it broke through the sand bar at the mouth it’s able to flow out more …

02 July 2021 — : The little silvereyes sure do love the birdfood! 🐦

02 July 2021 — : In the traditional Māori calendar New Year falls at mid-winter. From next year it’ll be a public holiday: will celebrate Matariki as a public holiday…, beginning on 24 June 2022. The calendar date … will shift each year to align with the …

02 July 2021 — : The frost lingered in shaded spots on the beach, and the track back to the car brought a great view of a snowy peak in the Tararuas.

02 July 2021 — : The dogs were right of course! It’s chilly but fabulous down at the beach.

02 July 2021 — : The dogs are giving me their full-strength ‘take us to the beach' glares even though it’s only 2C at the moment and the ground is mainly still glistening with the overnight frost. I may have to give in… 🐶

01 July 2021 — : I’m so pleased to be able to say that today I spent some time sitting on the front deck in the sun reading. It’s silent apart from birdsong.

01 July 2021 — Playing ball with a blind dog on the beach : Sometimes over the years Sasha 🐶 has had fun chasing a ball along the beach. This photo from 2019 shows her chasing a ball I’d rolled for her. She has never really been up to seeing a ball thrown through the air. Sasha and a ball on the …

30 June 2021 — : I try not to get too hung up about language change, but the total loss of a perfectly good word upsets me. I don’t want the word ‘fact' to simply mean ‘information. False facts mistaken for reality by about half of New Zealanders | RNZ …

29 June 2021 — : Having procured pine shavings today I replaced some of the dirty straw in the quail run with a nice deep layer of shavings. I hope Glee and Fliss enjoy it. Also stapled back on the plastic roofing that came adrift in the gales yesterday. All between …

29 June 2021 — : Well, all the smart birds were snugged up in their little beds while I was trying to watch for them today. Wind, rain, cold are not conducive to bird activity. I did see 1 hawk, 3 magpies and a black-backed gull. A group of 5 birds rocketed by so …

29 June 2021 — : Even though the weather’s rotten I’m doing my bit this afternoon for the NZ Garden Bird Survey. There are worse things to do on a cold rainy day than look out the window and hope to spot some birds. Maybe I’ll spot a ring-necked pheasant …

29 June 2021 — : And here we have what seems to have become a daily power cut post. 🤨

28 June 2021 — : Yay. 😒 Winds gusting to almost 80 Kph and the power’s gone out. I presume a line has come down somewhere. Outage looks quite widespread.

28 June 2021 — : So much rain over the weekend localised flooding closed a couple of roads. The Waikawa Beach river’s running very swift — we had 43mm rain (1.6 inches), but up in the hills they surely had a heap more. The river has also managed to breach the …

27 June 2021 — : Lovely! Loaded up the dishwasher, turned it on and a moment later there was a loud pop and the house went dark. It was just us — the dishwasher seems to have blown up. We had trouble with it recently and tried to buy a new better one but supplies are …

27 June 2021 — : Last night we drove to Palmerston North to celebrate Deb’s recent birthday. Arranged Marriage provided delicious meals from the Kerala region of India. I had: chicken cooked in fresh spinach and cashews ground together then sautéed with roasted …

26 June 2021 — : On this cool, grey, rainy day we had our 15th International Breakfast : Churros. Yum! They were light and airy fingerfood. As usual we had to improvise a bit: an icing bag with no special nozzle, milk instead of heavy cream. It’d be interesting …

25 June 2021 — : It’s a Big Cuddle day for Oshi. 🐶

25 June 2021 — : Hmmm, coming later in 2021 is NCIS: Hawaii: NCIS: Hawaii stars Vanessa Lachey as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant, Yasmine Al-Bustami as Lucy, Jason Antoon as Ernie, and Noah Mills as Jesse. I’ve always enjoyed NCIS (original). I mostly sorta …

25 June 2021 — : I check the global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions every morning. Today’s map shows an amazing air stream that flows down from the sub-tropics, across Aotearoa New Zealand and then right down to the Southern Ocean.

25 June 2021 — : What a great short read: Send in the Bugs. The Michelangelos Need Cleaning. The team washed [Night’s] hair with Pseudomonas stutzeri CONC11, a bacterium isolated from the waste of a tannery near Naples … Via OrderoftheGoodDeath (@OrderGoodDeath) / …

24 June 2021 — : The local Canada Geese seem to be stirred up by the full moon. They’re flying around honking mightily. Volume up.

24 June 2021 — : I watched the documentary Lift Like A Girl On a busy, noisy high-traffic street corner in Alexandria, Egypt, a seemingly vacant corner lot surrounded by chain link fencing is the training site of Egypt’s most elite champions – female weightlifters. …

24 June 2021 — : I can understand why an online film festival like Doc Edge Festival 2021 needs to know my birthdate but why on earth was I required to select a gender? As a matter of principal and as an objection I selected Other.

24 June 2021 — : I thought I’d give Arepa de Queso a try. I had a few glitches, like forgetting the oil till a later step, having the heat too high so it’s a bit burnt / raw, wrong kinds of cheese. Worth a try though. Plus, perhaps I should have flattened …

23 June 2021 — : I suspect this is a slightly more distant neighbour’s cat. Such a beauty! A very hasty photo through the window as it turned back for a moment while running away.

23 June 2021 — : Dammit. A Covid+ traveller spent time in Wellington last weekend, so now Wellington region has to move to Alert Level 2. Luckily we live outside the region, but Deb works in Wellington several days per week. Fingers crossed there has been no …

22 June 2021 — : This 6 minute Tom Scott video is well worth a watch: History forgot these old fireworks. We recreated them. Around the old mining areas of North Wales, you find rock cannon: old Welsh firework sites. Most of the world has never heard of them: so we …

22 June 2021 — A Kiwi Covid shot part 1 : Yesterday I was wiped out by the time I got home. I drove to Levin to drop my car off for new tires, a window fix and a few other minor repairs. Then I walked briskly to the vaccination centre. After my Pfizer Covid–19 shot I walked briskly to …

21 June 2021 — : OK, COVID vaccine part one ✅ Part 2 on 12 July.

20 June 2021 — : We have some splendid Kāhu Swamp harrier around us. They soar past our lounge window, wings spread and sometimes sit on fence posts. Today I glanced out and saw one on a nearby post. I grabbed a couple of photos through the window, but when I opened …

19 June 2021 — : Ambivalent about Pineapple Lies: (Pineapple Port Mysteries 1) by Amy Vansant. 📚 The mystery solving seems to involve mainly having some random notion and declaring someone ‘the killer’. There’s a lot of (hetero) romance too. I may try book 2. …

19 June 2021 — : Deb and I have been really enjoying (re)watching Scott & Bailey, a British police procedural series. The three lead characters are compelling, and the dynamics complex and textured. Above all though there is hope and redemption, along with human …

19 June 2021 — : The best kind of little free community library: The Good Dog Library at the dog park in Levin. 🐶 Love it!

18 June 2021 — : I’m enjoying this author’s books, including The Girl Who Was Forgotten: (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 2) by Amy Vansant. 📚 No more in that series so I’ve moved on to a different series by the same author.

18 June 2021 — : Hooray, just got confirmation after an online booking request: my first Pfizer Covid shot is scheduled for Monday 21 June. 😎 Deb had her second shot today. Meanwhile, apparently, anti-vaxers in Levin are graffitiing pharmacy windows. 😒

17 June 2021 — : The excellent 2 hour Indian movie Skater Girl brought tears to my eyes several times. The lead character, teenaged Prerna, finds freedom on a skateboard but her social environment keeps trying to restrict and limit her. There is controversy about the …

17 June 2021 — : Ugh. We sold a laptop with a troubled history — described as accurately as we could. We believed it was working fine. 3 weeks after purchase the buyer is disputing, claiming the Touch Bar doesn’t work. Breaking my brain considering what is …

17 June 2021 — : This 2-minute video is about the stars of Māori New Year, Matariki, which happens at this time of year. ✨ How to find the Matariki star cluster Māhutonga : Southern Cross Hinetakurua : Sirius Tautoru : Orion’s Belt Puanga : Rigel Te Matakāheru …

16 June 2021 — : The new bike rack arrived and I put it on my car. I checked a few videos about how to do it as the manual helpfully only had pictures without words. Grrr. Got my bike on then tried to add Deb’s bike. I was interrupted before figuring out the …

15 June 2021 — : Global Extinction of Languages Is Threatening … Human Knowledge: Among 12,495 medicinal uses for plants in indigenous communities … over 75% of those plants are each tied to just 1 local language. If these unique words trickle out of use, so too may …

15 June 2021 — : Brunched with a friend at Rosetta Cafe in Raumati South. The Big Brekkie (1/2 size) meal was superb: sourdough toast, roasted tomato, pan-fried spinach and mushrooms, polenta fries. With green tea. I opted out of the chilli bean mix because I …

14 June 2021 — : When we drove to Levin in the rain today we were delayed by yet another accident near Ōhau. Fortunately this was a simple nose-to-tail so emergency services cleared it quickly and it seems no one was injured. Makes a change from the many recent …

13 June 2021 — : This was a darn good read: The Girl Who Wants: (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 1) by Amy Vansant. 📚 Shee’s quest to recover the life and loves she’s lost brings a depth of emotion rare in such page-turning suspense. Now for book 2.

13 June 2021 — : This week’s International Breakfast was a risky experiment we won’t repeat. The recipe was more of a memory aid for the writer and we didn’t have Cascaval cheese. So, Moldovan peasant food, Mămăligă, was generally weird. We added scrambled eggs and …

12 June 2021 — : Today we went to Paraparaumu for a Line-dancing social. The songs in red were Beginner level (that’s us). There were about 60 people there, including our teacher and a bunch of folks from other groups in the region. It was fun. Our teacher, …

11 June 2021 — : Hmmm, I enjoyed Mousse and Murder (An Alaskan Diner Mystery Book 1) by Elizabeth Logan. 📚 It strained my credulity a bit though. There seemed excessive attention to the cat. I’m not sure what exactly didn’t sit quite right, but I’m …

10 June 2021 — : We had to call on Reggie, our local water guy, to fill our drinking water tank today. I couldn’t tell whether we had one week’s water left or a bit more. Now I can relax. The last time we bought water was March 2020.

10 June 2021 — : Took my car through the carwash for what may be the first time in the 5 or 6 years I’ve owned it. The carwash and blow dry led me to the interesting discovery that one of the rear windows doesn’t go all the way up. The button will lower it but not …

10 June 2021 — : Researchers explored Māori storytelling in spoken word, weaving and carving and found: Polynesian narratives … include voyaging into Antarctic waters by Hui Te Rangiora … and his crew on the vessel Te Ivi o Atea, likely in the early seventh century …

09 June 2021 — : Once I finally got myself and the correct gear (nearly left the paddle behind) out on the river I really enjoyed it. I’d forgotten how serene it can be to paddle or float on a quiet river on a sunny day. My new neoprene gloves were excellent …

09 June 2021 — : I really have been meaning to take my kayak out again and today’s weather leaves me with no excuse. I see it’s been almost exactly a year since I last took it out. No wonder I’m finding it hard to actually organise myself.

09 June 2021 — : Blue beach morning.

09 June 2021 — : Ordered a tank of water as our rainwater tank is worryingly low. We need 30mm rain every week to cover our needs and forecast rain just keeps on not happening. Or decent rain is forecast and we get a dribble. Long-range forecast is for normal or …

08 June 2021 — : First time in my life, I cleaned my bike chain. It’s a messy business, but I think it went OK. 🚴🏼

08 June 2021 — : Ooooh, multiple timers! Yay!

08 June 2021 — : I use Siri quite a lot — on-device processing should be a big help. Siri quite often can’t help me when I’m out and about round here because of poor cellphone coverage.

08 June 2021 — : Whew, sitting up in bed watching the WWDC 2021 Keynote. Sasha the dog is asleep on the bed. I’m realising just how very pongy she is‼️ 👃🏼Good thing the dogs are off to the groomers in a couple of days! 🐶

08 June 2021 — : The 5 am start for the WWDC 2021 keynote is always a challenge. 🥱

07 June 2021 — : We had an unusual event at Waikawa Beach this weekend: the launch of a Little Free Library created by a couple of members of the community. Here’s Anja giving a speech before cutting the ribbon. And that’s the back of me as I introduced …

07 June 2021 — : Well, that was an interesting experiment. M1 MacBook Pro. I exported my Health data from iPhone. Then I opened the 1.7GB(!!!!) XML file into BBEdit. It took less than a minute to open and I can scroll up and down the 5,504,661 lines as though …

07 June 2021 — : A sea misty morning at the beach today.

06 June 2021 — : This week’s delicious International Breakfast was Mandazi African Donuts. Although deep fried, they weren’t oily or greasy. They were perfect, in fact. Would be ideal if you invite folks for afternoon tea. Just prepare ahead of time as the …

05 June 2021 — : My friend Anne writes cogently, coherently and interestingly about the Miss Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth. Some smart lit crit in there, and a most excellent quote from one about Hillary’s lunch. I wonder if I should try the books? I …

04 June 2021 — : Whew! A busy day doing various tasks for our local Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association: emails, blog posts, some admin stuff, update the list of members, liaise with the Horowhenua District Council about a dumped trampoline — perfect for a cool, …

03 June 2021 — : As I watch The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life and learn about so many male thinkers I have a nagging wondering about how women might have framed differing approaches to the world. Did those men cook, clean, …

03 June 2021 — : Ha ha ha ha ha… The Mitchells vs. the Machines movie was weird, hilarious, bizarre, moving. I loved all the, I don’t even know what to call them, tech jokes, Apple winks, meme jokes. Very funny! a dysfunctional family saves Earth from a robot …

02 June 2021 — : Look who I found while weeding. I think it must be a Brown Tree frog - Litoria ewingii: They all have a white stripe along the jawline from the armpit, to at least, below the eye and sometimes to the end of the snout. I didn’t think to turn …

02 June 2021 — : Whew, listed my old S3 Apple Watch for sale. People seem to still be buying them used.

02 June 2021 — : At first I was excited by the new Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy. Then I looked more closely at the instructors and the programme: there is no Māori astronomy mentioned at all and no evidently Māori instructors. Tourists should learn traditional Māori …

02 June 2021 — : Eight black swans: two parents and 6 almost fully grown cygnets. It’s amazing all six babies survived to this age. Soon though they’ll leave and probably only the parent pair will stay.

02 June 2021 — : This one was a bit disappointing: A Simple Case of Murder (Lost in Alaska Book 4) by Leigh Mayberry. 📚 Pretty much everything was out of the Police Chief’s hands and I found the ending unsatisfactory. A spelling error was important in the plot …

01 June 2021 — : Today’s International Breakfast, Greek omelet, was delicious. We didn’t have oregano so used mixed herbs. I’d reduce the herbs next time. I realised you remove pips and juice from the tomatoes to reduce the liquid. Very delicious.

31 May 2021 — : This was so delicious and easy to cook. I used chicken stock rather than plain water. Curried cauliflower & lentil soup recipe | BBC Good Food 🍜 Take one cauliflower and blend with red lentils, fennel seeds, curry paste and lemon juice [for] …

31 May 2021 — : This morning I told Deb we’d probably have to buy a tanker of drinking water soon. With only 1.8 mm rain forecast today and hardly any for the coming week, our tank is concerningly low. No complaints, but as at dinner time we’ve had 17.6 …

30 May 2021 — : Another good read: Next of Kin (DI Sarah Quinn Mystery Book 5) by Maureen Carter. 📚 Lisa Webb is beaten and left to drown … the latest victim of a serial sex offender who has been terrorising the area. But DI Sarah Quinn realizes things are not as …

30 May 2021 — : Interesting: a successful author who doesn’t read: I was shocked to discover that she creates whatever she reads in her mind. … When the heroine arrives, her mind generates an image of that person. My mind, sadly, does none of that. The question I …

29 May 2021 — : Well, the official results are in from my Ancestry.com DNA test, and surprisingly, I’m not 100% English. Looks like there’s a bit of Scots (18%) and even Norwegian (10%) tossed in. Given my last name (Jordan) I actually thought there might be …

28 May 2021 — : For the past year or more a tiny fatty lump on my neck that I first thought was a pimple slowly grew into a small very annoying lump. A few days ago my doctor removed the lump for me. Today Deb helped me change the dressing and took a photo of my …

27 May 2021 — : I have two more lunar eclipse photos that aren’t too terrible. One about half way in and the other about three quarters to totality. 🌕

27 May 2021 — : I don’t see astrophotography in my future, but provided you don’t look too closely, this is pretty much the splendid view I had of last night’s lunar eclipse. It was magical, especially how early on I could hardly see any stars, but at peak the …

26 May 2021 — : Starting to see the Earth’s shadow encroaching on the face of the moon… It’s about an hour till total eclipse now.

26 May 2021 — : Trying to get serious with camera settings, tripod etc, and getting the darn thing in focus. Full moon before the eclipse starts.

26 May 2021 — : I plan to watch tonight’s total lunar eclipse by eye rather than through a camera lens, but I do want to try for a couple of photos. Checking How to Photograph a Total Lunar Eclipse | PetaPixel and How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse and Get …

25 May 2021 — : Things I’m learning about ebike racks. My car has a 1 7/8 tow ball. The E-Rack 2 I’m considering needs a 50mm ball. These sizes are different. The tongue on my hitch is rated for 60 Kg max. The rack itself weighs 21 Kg and supports 60 Kg. …

25 May 2021 — Reina Pepiada: Venezuelan Arepas with Chicken and Avocado : This week’s International Breakfast: Reina Pepiada: Venezuelan Arepas with Chicken and Avocado. We were able to buy the P.A.N. cornflour online. These would be great for taking for a packed lunch or on a picnic.

25 May 2021 — : I love the On This Day feature in Micro.Blog. I check mine every day. I’d completely forgotten that a year ago we had an earthquake big enough that I actually left the house. // Thanks @cleverdevil.

24 May 2021 — : Thinking this might be a bike trip I could do next year: West Coast Wilderness Trail. A friend did it and said it was fabulous. The West Coast of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) is fabulous!

24 May 2021 — : Concerned by events in [Western] Samoa: Live updates: Samoa’s political crisis deepens where the party voted out in a recent election has locked the winners out of Parliament. Samoa and Aotearoa New Zealand have very close relationships. I …

24 May 2021 — : I enjoyed Lost to the Sea: A Cozy Mystery (Lost in Alaska Book 3) by Leigh Mayberry. Somehow the odd word choices and other ‘mistakes’ lend authenticity for me. I imagine the books are written by someone whose English differs from mine and it may not …

23 May 2021 — : Shocking news this afternoon that an office holder on a committee I’m on had a massive heart attack and passed away today. It can be so sudden folks — remember that. RIP.

23 May 2021 — : Well, Deb’s first outing on her new ebike was a success. I helped her learn how to stop and get off — something she’d been very nervous about. The bike barely goes into my MPV as the handlebars are high and wide. There won’t be room for …

22 May 2021 — : Called in to Torpedo 7 in Palmerston North to buy a chain cleaning kit for my bike and came out with the kit plus a new Trek 2021 Verve+ 2 Lowstep ebike for Deb. Oops! 🚲

21 May 2021 — : Back in early April Deb and I sent off Ancestry.com DNA tests. Finally the DNA is being analysed and we should have results in mid-June.

21 May 2021 — : This week I’ve been less tired, had less brain fog and less blurry vision. In the best spirit of changing several factors at once I’ve (probably) been eating better, have started taking brisk walks on alternate days and have slashed the amount of …

20 May 2021 — : Budget Day today in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Labour Government is committed to spending money in all the right places: improving health, housing, education, jobs and addressing (child) poverty along with climate change and things like rail and …

20 May 2021 — : On my brisk walk today I spotted this impressive ‘beach whare’. I now realise another angle would have made a better photo. Whare (pronounced roughly far-ry) is the Māori word for house or shelter.

20 May 2021 — : Ugh! Waikato Hospital enters third day affected by cyber attack: cyber experts are working to isolate the problem and reset individual computer systems as quickly as possible, but they were complex systems. the ransomware is now under police …

19 May 2021 — : Our local government organisations — Councils — use a system of geographic subdivisions called ‘wards’ that allow voting. There is debate about whether to establish “Māori wards”. Reading the submissions: one person thinks this is referring to …

19 May 2021 — : Heh, first some wanted to use CQD: dash dot dash dot | dash dash dot dash | dash dot dot This was a political process among the notable shipping nations of those times. At first they … provisionally agreed: CQD. CQD, in Morse code: ▬ • ▬ • ▬ ▬ • ▬ …

19 May 2021 — : Fascinating 25 minute The Allusionist podcast episode: SOS: SOS is a really versatile distress call. You … can tap it out in Morse code; you can honk it on a horn; you can signal it with flashes of light; you can spell it out on the beach with …

19 May 2021 — : 🧐 💭 What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life: The heart of compassion is the sprout of humaneness. The heart of shame is the sprout of propriety. The heart of deference and yielding is the sprout of ritual. The heart of right and wrong …

18 May 2021 — : Another Leigh Mayberry cozy enjoyed, with its endearingly odd language: A Killer Vacation: A Cozy Mystery (Lost in Alaska Book 2) 📚: Paul Coleman wasn’t a nice guy, and the deeper Meghan digs, he might not even be one of the good guys. This is not …

18 May 2021 — : Today’s village - beach loop walk added resistance training into the mix, courtesy of winds gusting up to 78 Kph at our place, probably more on the beach. I’ve also been liberally coated in sand. Still, when it wasn’t a head or side …

18 May 2021 — : 👍: Wellington dogs to swap plastic tags for metal 🐶: Wellington’s wagging goodbye to plastic registration tags for dogs in a bid to cut down on waste. … replaced with a single metal tag that should last a dog’s lifetime - … owners will …

17 May 2021 — : Super busy day today. We had 17.5 mm rain: hooray! I’m making progress at line dancing: hooray! Arrangements to launch the new local Little Free Library are falling into place: hooray!

17 May 2021 — : I listened with great interest to Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Confucius the other day then found my way to the free course at edX The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life. All part of my quest to be an …

16 May 2021 — : The 15 year old dogs have trained me to walk at a slow dawdle, with frequent stops, for max 20 minutes. Today I left them at home and did a brisk 40 minute walk, 3.6 Km round the road to the village and back across the beach. I need to build walking …

15 May 2021 — : We enjoyed watching Uncle Frank 🎬: Set in the 1970s, Uncle Frank is a road movie about a gay man who confronts his past.

15 May 2021 — : The privately owned lane we live along (with 4 other parties) needs resurfacing. We had a meeting today to discuss the quotes we’ve had and after some discussion all agreed on the middle-range option for the common area we all use. Not so hard…

14 May 2021 — : Soo… we had our first real frost of the year. Mid-May seems a bit early. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Temperature bottomed out around -1.8C. Paddocks next door show the white coating.

13 May 2021 — : I enjoyed reading A Cold Day for Murder: A Cozy Mystery (Lost in Alaska Book 1) by Leigh Mayberry and am embarking on the next in series. Numerous language oddities (missing words, wrong words) but with no info about the author I’m thinking …

13 May 2021 — : Ordered Airtags. After a week or two they were picked up by the courier in China. Nothing, nothing, nothing. 5 days later they’re in Auckland. Probably be with me by noon Monday. Now to find or make a decent case.

13 May 2021 — : Concerned when I watched The Flash S07E09. One of the bad-guys, giving people nightmares, had a fullface tattoo. The original screenshot was way too dark, but with huge overexposure it’s visible. Thing is, it very much resembles Māori tā moko. …

13 May 2021 — : Brain-explody: Comparing the world’s most well known locations with NZ’s latitude | WeatherWatch. (Using latitude co-ordinates only) Well known international locations on a map of NZ. How close are you to the South Pole and Tropics compared to …

12 May 2021 — : Already got back the results of my routine blood tests. All good apparently. ✔️

12 May 2021 — : This is an excellent time of year for taking photos of the neighbour’s gorgeous horse.

12 May 2021 — : The farmer next door runs hundreds of cows, and 4 sheep. Sometimes random animals also turn up — one year it was a Kunekune pig. This year it seems to be a deer. It looks fairly young.

12 May 2021 — : I hoped the doctor would remove a small annoying sebaceous cyst for me today, but instead she checked it and made an appointment two weeks away for the removal. Then she sent me for routine blood tests because it’s been a while, apparently. …

11 May 2021 — : Uh oh, I take that back. Now the 2016 MacBook Pro can’t load Amazon.com either…

11 May 2021 — : Hmmm, currently my M1 MacBook Pro refuses to load Amazon.com despite extensive troubleshooting. 2016 MacBook Pro though has no problem with it. Still investigating… (I had thought I’d sell this old Mac, but now I’m not so sure…)

11 May 2021 — : This was enjoyable 📚: Frightfully Fortune (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 20) a dead man gallops through the park on a black stallion and slides to a decapitated stop right in front of Swamp Team 3… another festival is about to be turned on its head I …

11 May 2021 — : I’m unhappy when I spot random bits of plastic, rope or other stuff on our beach, but we have nothing like this level of pollution: The Beach Where Lego Keeps Washing Up. Apparently studies have shown Lego in a marine environment could last 1300 …

11 May 2021 — : 💪🏼 ♀ Motherhood on the Battlefield of Death | The Order of the Good Death: For Mesoamerican people childbirth was considered a form of battle, therefore, women who gave birth were revered as heroes and great warriors.

10 May 2021 — : On 05 May I posted about a neighbouring property for sale: Waikawa Beach For Sale: 146 Strathnaver Drive. When we drove past this afternoon it had a Sold sign on it. 5 days. Not bad.

09 May 2021 — Korean Banchan : Our International Breakfast this week was Korean Banchan — Steamed White Rice, Gyeran Jjim, Sigumchi Namul, Pan-Fried Tofu with Dipping Sauce, miso soup. We invited neighbours to share with us. It was very filling and tasty.

09 May 2021 — : Predicted tracks for the LongMarch5B CZ-5B rocket body reentry are narrowing down. Our house is right under one of them (blue line). 09 May 2021 03:26 ± 2 hours UTC. So, that’ll be this afternoon for us. The Aerospace Corporation tweet Rocket …

08 May 2021 — : Sunrise at about 7.00 this morning was a very intense red.

07 May 2021 — : Pausing by the river to sit in the sun and fresh air for a bit.

07 May 2021 — : I enjoyed Dying Bad (DI Sarah Quinn Mystery Book 3) by Maureen Carter. I especially like the way the lead character abbreviates and makes more or less oblique references to cliches and idioms. 📚 [unsatisfactory answer] ‘Ok.’ If …

06 May 2021 — : Each time the chain comes off my bike I’m that bit more adept at putting it back on. Apparently this chain falling off thing is more of a problem on bikes like mine that have a single ummm cog (?) at the front.

06 May 2021 — : My first attempt at cooking crepes was a definite ‘learning experience’ (ie failure). The pan should have been hotter, the crepe thinner. We also didn’t have the right flour and the fruit I thought was a lemon must have been a lime. Next time…

06 May 2021 — : I want to give a huge shoutout to @danielpunkass A recent version of Black Ink let subscribers get the NY Times crossword. It mostly didn’t work for me and seemed a totally erratic problem. Daniel plugged away at it though and quickly solved …

05 May 2021 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 146 Strathnaver Drive: 2 bedrooms; 1 bathroom; 50m2 floor area; 3464m2 land area. Buyer Enquiry Over $695,000 Neighbours of ours. In the photo our place is the white dot near top right.

05 May 2021 — : Of course … yesterday I had a new spare house key cut. Today I found the one that had gone missing. 🧐

05 May 2021 — : This is a superb 8 minute documentary: The typeface that told the stories of Chinese New Zealanders: this set of heavy lead typeface has a fascinating story to tell about the history of Chinese New Zealanders.

05 May 2021 — : Indeed! If Aotearoa is serious about creating a future that young people can see themselves in, it’s time to divest from a very peculiar, and often overlooked fossil fuel: hobbits. The case to divest the NZ economy of hobbits

04 May 2021 — : Whew! Drama in our house this morning as Deb spilled half a glass of plain water on her MacBook Pro. Draining, drying, airing. That machine has been a trouble magnet. I’m trying to get her to buy a new M1 MacBook Pro. The battery life on mine …

04 May 2021 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 61-63 Manga Pirau Street: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 70m2 floor area; 827m2 land area. Two immediate beachfront sections. Includes self contained very well appointed tiny house. Will it sell? Land already half lost to storms. …

03 May 2021 — : At line dancing class today I was thinking about how learning goes: new new new new new new new new new 🥵 new 🤯 new 🥵 new new familiar 🤩 new new new familiar 🤩 new new new 🥵 new familiar familiar 🤩 new new new…

02 May 2021 — : I was moaning recently about listing a 2012 MacBook Pro and a 2013 MacBook Pro on our NZ auction website. Actually there were almost no stupid questions, and a good question. They sold tonight for a total almost double what I thought I might get. …

02 May 2021 — : The Ozzies so often do such great movies. Three Summers (Netflix) was brilliantly done: very funny, excellent messages slipped in sublimely, some good music. I’ll be watching this one again sometime. Magda Szubanski was superb as always: …

02 May 2021 — : This is an amazing explanation of how combustion engines work, with superb animations. I thought I understood the basics, but this step through of how things actually happen is stunningly clear and excellent. Internal Combustion Engine – Bartosz …

02 May 2021 — : Later this month we Kiwis can see a total lunar eclipse. I wrote about it on the blog for the local Waikawa Beach community: Later this month we Kiwis can see a total lunar eclipse. [Link updated 02 May 2025.]

02 May 2021 — Look up! — There's a lunar eclipse on 26 May 2021 : This was originally posted as Look up! — There's a lunar eclipse on 26 May 2021 on 02 May 2021 on the WBRA blog. A change of 'ownership' there led to a terrible act of vandalism where they removed a huge number of posts, including this one, from the …

02 May 2021 — Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice) : This week’s International Breakfast was Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Beans and Rice). We didn’t have the Salsa Lizano, so made do with Worcestershire Sauce. This was easy and delicious and I’ll be making it in future for dinner.

02 May 2021 — : Oh crikey. A local asked me to visit to chat about an (excellent) arts project he’d like to do. I knew he’d written some poems once. I’m glad I didn’t check his website before I visited or I might have been too awestruck for a …

02 May 2021 — : Doing errands in Palmerston North yesterday I briskly walked a few blocks and was tired. I realise my daily dawdle with our dogs in their 15th year isn’t ‘walking’ as such. I need to train for our Rakiura cruise in July when there are …

01 May 2021 — : Wow, the photography on The Year Earth Changed on TV+ is stunning! Photo of capybara. It’s so heartening the world had a moment to breathe during lockdown (and disheartening that everyone wants to return to the old ‘normal’). We need to …

01 May 2021 — : Hmmm, I finished Blood Stained (Detective Claudia Nunn Book 1) by Rebecca Bradley. While I kept reading to the end it didn’t sit well with me. Most of the book is about a suspect interview. It’s not a procedural. I think I won’t be …

01 May 2021 — : Yesterday I had to pick Deb up from the commuter train at Waikanae. Here it is arriving.

30 April 2021 — : A new item on my list of things I aim to do: Lake Dunstan Cycle Trail | Central Otago: The 55km Lake Dunstan Trail takes you from Smith’s Way, just out of Cromwell to Clyde along Lake Dunstan, the Kawarau River and the mighty Clutha River Mata-au. …

30 April 2021 — : A nice thing to learn: Rakiura is the Maori name for Stewart Island. It translates as the Land of the Glowing Skies. We’ll be visiting later this year. Maybe we’ll get to see the Aurora Australis? Stewart Island Experience NZ

30 April 2021 — : I’m uncomfortable about Aotearoa New Zealand becoming the “Lord of the Rings” country, attracting tourists with hobbit holes etc. After all, the indigenous Māori culture has been used and misused for tourism even while being suppressed and …

30 April 2021 — : Whew, heart pounding. A sudden loud noise like a heavy truck right beside me; milliseconds later a quake that rattled loose items. 〰️ Quake - 2021p321253 Apr 30 2021 8:43 AM; 15 km south-west of Levin; Magnitude 2.7; Depth 1 km. Not strong but only …

29 April 2021 — : At a mere 5 minutes per week the That’s What They Say podcast is one anybody can fit in. The episode The language it is a-changin’ from 25 April 2021 is specially interesting. English used to have genders for nouns (Fem, Masc, Neut) and cases. …

28 April 2021 — : I’m selling a 2012 MacBook Pro and a 2013 MacBook Pro. Forgot to take photos until it was almost dark and the screens caught random blips of light. Plus now I’m sure not which photo is of which machine. I think I’ll be taking more photos …

27 April 2021 — : I thoroughly enjoyed reading @cheri’s latest cozy: The Case of the Red Phantom. With voices from beyond the watery grave, this is quite a puzzle. But since Ellie Tappet’s on the case there’s bound to be a resolution. 📚

27 April 2021 — : Strange — I had my flu shot almost two weeks ago, but today’s the day I feel that maybe slightly fluey feeling I often get a couple of days after the shot. Spent the day reading two books alternately — one on Kindle (in bed) and one in a PDF on my …

26 April 2021 — : I really enjoyed The Woman on the Cliff crime thriller by Janice Frost. This plot went to some pretty unexpected places, and the flashback timeline was cleverly woven in. Character growth was also on-point. 📚

25 April 2021 — : Thought-provoking! What Do Doctors Owe To The Dead People They Dissect? If thinking of a dead body as a patient seemed strange at first, I’ve begun to see it as a microcosm of the health care system at large.

25 April 2021 — Lablabi (Chickpea Soup) : This week’s international breakfast was Lablabi (Chickpea Soup) - Traditional Tunisian Recipe. Even without the caraway it was very delicious. A chunky bread would have been better than the soft white sliced we had. Long prep time, with soaking …

25 April 2021 — : Darn! We’re making another International Breakfast today and somehow ground caraway fell off the shopping list (it was on the list, but fell out of my brain). We’ll need extra imagination today. Plus, added to the list is mortar and …

24 April 2021 — : And in today’s Wikipedia search failure… The page “Lorena Light-Footed Woman” does not exist. Link to “Lorena, Light-Footed Woman” page. It failed for a comma? really?

24 April 2021 — : A good watch: the 30 minute documentary Lorena, Light-Footed Woman. Tarahumara woman Lorena runs ultramarathons in her sandals and skirt with T-shirt. Favourite part: she rejects the fancy running shoes she’s sent because those who wear such shoes …

24 April 2021 — : It’s a ghastly cover and a sadistic crime, but I enjoyed reading Mother Love (DI Sarah Quinn Mystery Book 2) by Maureen Carter. 📚 Olivia Kent hasn’t been seen for 5 days. Detective Sarah Quinn needs all the help she can get …

24 April 2021 — : Never had so many problems before ordering from the Apple website, but have finally achieved it. I just wish I could use Apple Pay. Out of the 20 or 30 times I’ve tried to use it I think it’s worked exactly once. Airtag 4-pack ordered. …

23 April 2021 — : I’ve been meaning to clean up the quail run a bit. Today I scraped out some of the poop and old straw etc and added some fresh straw. I need to buy another bale of straw too. Last week I added plastic over the open part of the roof for winter rain …

23 April 2021 — : As I thought: As for strapping an AirTag to a pet, Drance says, “If people do that, they just have to make sure that their moving pet gets into range of a device in the Find My network” so its location can be tracked. Apple’s AirTag tracker …

22 April 2021 — : I enjoy watching The Rookie. Interestingly, S03E10, Man of Honor, gives us 3 separate storylines of men supporting women in achieving the goal the woman has set out for. Makes me realise how unusual that storyline is.

22 April 2021 — : This 35 minute interview was so interesting: Lisa Genova: The science of memory and the art of forgetting. I liked this bit: Our brains have a very difficult time remembering proper nouns. People’s names, cities, movie titles, book titles … are very …

21 April 2021 — : Hooray! — Massive health sector overhaul explained — Aotearoa New Zealand population is ~5 million. Our system is far too complicated … We simply do not need 20 sets of decision makers. Nor do we need 20 plans for capital investment, for IT systems, …

21 April 2021 — : Hanging out at the local Library — Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō — after finishing errands while waiting for groomed dogs to be ready. It’s a great space: free WiFi, comfy chairs, cafe, random person playing the piano (well, too).

20 April 2021 — : The night before grooming. Sasha’s a little unfocused, but Oshi’s looking his cutest. 🐶

20 April 2021 — : I visited the international Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in Palmerston North. Amazing photos. Such dedication to the art (hours waiting for the perfect shot) and planning. Here are 2 favourites: Pallas’s cats and a spoon-billed …

20 April 2021 — : I had the best ever chicken teriyaki at Mr Choi Sushi Bar, 364 Main Street, in Palmerston North. Looked pretty suss but was busy with a variety of diners so I took a chance. So glad I did. Freshly cooked, piping hot, with rice, perhaps seaweed, miso …

20 April 2021 — : Excellent and powerful article re TV: Vegas keeps the Māori warrior-gangster trope alive for another generation by Leonie Hayden. Infinite quotable bits. Here’s one: From that one simple lie to justify a failure, came the notion that all …

20 April 2021 — : Yay … 😰 75% chance of major Alpine Fault earthquake in next 50 years NZ’s Alpine Fault has a 75% chance of causing a major quake … within the next 50 years. The Alpine Fault runs about 600km up … the South Island… and poses one of the …

20 April 2021 — : Note for future me, and others in a similar situation: after extensive troubleshooting for why pressing Play on an TV+ episode just led to a beachball and no video — I had to use Vodafone DNS servers not Unlocator — to match the geographical …

19 April 2021 — : Today I visited this fine fellow for a few minutes, as his people are away. Would not look at the camera. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🐈

18 April 2021 — : I abandoned Coffin Cove (Coffin Cove Mysteries Book 1) by Jackie Elliott about half way through. It didn’t hang together well, had way too much exposition — just not really my thing. 📚

18 April 2021 — : Excellent: A Question of Despair (DI Sarah Quinn Mystery Book 1) by Maureen Carter. It was well-written, held my interest so I read it pretty quickly, and had credible plot twists. I see some US reviewers don’t understand English as it’s …

18 April 2021 — Palak Paneer Paratha : Our International Breakfast this week is Paratha from India. We made Palak Paneer Paratha. There was too much just for breakfast, so I guess lunch is organised too. 😀 Spinach was fresh from the garden.

17 April 2021 — : The neighbour I visited yesterday had this wonderful large orange fungus growing on one of his pine trees.

17 April 2021 — : Daring Fireball, John Gruber: Crazed Gun Owner Kills 8 at FedEx Warehouse in Indianapolis: So seven people get blood clots after getting the J&J vaccine and we pull it, but eight people get killed by a crazed gun owner and it’s just another …

16 April 2021 — : Other Monarchs have hatched unobserved, but here’s one I spotted this morning, still fresh out of the chrysalis.

16 April 2021 — : This statement is gobsmacking: ACC must do better to speed up fossil fuel divestment: We balance our responsibility to invest in an ethical and lawful way with our need to earn strong returns for our unique Scheme I’d like to use that if on …

16 April 2021 — : Early to bed last night with the blahs, so I watched Work It — a teenage dance film. I liked the notion of the geek girl who couldn’t dance — that’d be me. Pretty pedestrian movie but fine for an easy watch with invigorating music when headachy and …

15 April 2021 — : Glad I reserved my day after the flu shot for blobbing. I didn’t sleep so well — loads of weird dreams — and am feeling a bit blah today. My only real task for the day is to take the dogs in for routine vet stuff.

15 April 2021 — : Wow. Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus: She needed grants to pursue ideas that seemed wild and fanciful. She did not get them… Collaborating with devoted colleagues, Dr. Kariko laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines …

14 April 2021 — : This year’s flu shot done. ✔️ Apparently it has extra ‘goodies’ to stimulate the immune response in over 65s so my arm might be quite sore. Thanks Unichem for extremely simple online booking.

14 April 2021 — : Starting the day with heavy rain, thunder and lightning.

13 April 2021 — : The other surprise today was the first Monarch Butterfly to emerge from its chrysalis. Such an amazing natural process! 🦋

13 April 2021 — : While driving past the lake at the end of our road today I was surprised to see our local black swan pair have 6 moderately large cygnets. That’s the first I knew about them having babies this year. Zoomed iPhone photo. 🐦

12 April 2021 — : Busy day! I’m getting better at line dancing, hooray! The easiest dances are OK with me. Every new dance has me falling over my feet, but I know I’ll get there. Also: met our new neighbour today. She came up for drinks with our other neighbour …

11 April 2021 — : We really enjoyed Concrete Cowboy 🎬, though we had to turn on subtitles. a fictionalization of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club an urban African-American horseriding culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

11 April 2021 — : The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger was a really interesting read. Thanks to @cheri for the tip. 📚 a clear concise analysis of the heroine’s journey, how it differs from the …

11 April 2021 — : Permanently retiring a 2012 MacBook Pro and a 2013 MacBook Pro. This time I’m remembering to follow the instructions at What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support. Still good machines, though flawed with age. Hoping I …

11 April 2021 — : Our boy Oshi 🐶 always has to be at the centre of things. If we’re patting Sasha he inserts himself. Your Dog May Get Jealous Even if It Just Imagines You Petting Another Dog: research suggests jealousy can be triggered even if a supposed rival …

11 April 2021 — : This is interesting: Here’s Why Our Brains Solve Problems by Adding Things, Not Removing: The first thing that comes to our minds is, what can we add to make it better? Our paper shows we do this to our detriment, even when the only right …

11 April 2021 — : We enjoyed Thunder Force 🎬: two childhood friends invent a way to become superheroes in a world where criminals have developed superpowers. It was suitably silly, had some decent laughs and was pretty gentle. Thanks to @gaby for alerting me to it.

10 April 2021 — : 41 gun salute! Wow. A 41-gun salute will be held in Wellington at midday tomorrow in honour of Prince Philip. www.rnz.co.nz When we lived in Wellington we used to be able to hear the salutes from home.

10 April 2021 — : With the Covid vaccine still a couple of months away for me, and winter approaching, it’s time for my free flu shot. Booked for Wednesday. Mind you, with last year’s border closures and other restrictions, flu was pretty much a non-event. …

10 April 2021 — : We suddenly have new neighbours in our little lane. This extremely tiny ‘tiny house’ turned up today. Presumably for weekenders rather than permanent residents. The front side view also shows part of the house behind. It’s facing the ‘wrong' …

09 April 2021 — : Deb has a complex family and decided to do a DNA test from Ancestry.com.au. I’m keeping her company. Today we spit into the little plastic tubes and sent them off. In about a month we should get results. Maybe I’ll find some of dad’s relatives. …

08 April 2021 — : After 1,000 Km my 1 year old electric bike was due thorough maintenance. Dropped it off with the bike guy in Raumati South, then had the most delicious brunch at Longbeach in Waikanae. I’m looking forward to getting it back tomorrow with …

07 April 2021 — : I put the spare key to my bicycle battery in A Very Safe Place. Don’t know where that is? Funnily enough, neither do I… And somehow the very act of writing that, after searching the house twice, reminded me I’d put it in the car!

07 April 2021 — : Sasha and Oshi are preparing for the synchronised napping competition in the next doggie Olympics. I think they’re in with a good chance! 🐶 Oshi maybe needs to work slightly on his tail placement.

07 April 2021 — : With autumn heading towards winter we’ve cleared nearly everything out of our tunnelhouse. In future we aren’t going to plant directly in the soil, but will set up a hydroponic system of pots, like the two in the photo. Next I need to clean the …

06 April 2021 — : My Sasha has a dream. 🐶

06 April 2021 — : I’m all caught up on watching For All Mankind on TV+. It was compelling viewing. So glad to know a Season 3 is on the cards.

05 April 2021 — : I always have tinnitus. It’s worse when I’m tired. When I’m stressed I don’t get back to sleep after waking in the night. That makes me tired and gives me a headache. Then the tinnitus gets worse which stresses me more. Today it all reached a …

05 April 2021 — : Glee the Japanese Quail decided to sit on eggs a couple of weeks ago. Her sister Fliss helps occasionally. I thought they’d pretty much stopped laying so left them to it, but now there are a good dozen toasty eggs in the nest. There’s no male, …

04 April 2021 — : It’s a miracle! About 10 hours of sleep and I’m not even sick. Amazing. Normally I’m pretty happy if I can get it up to 8 hours. Hooray for circumstances aligning.

03 April 2021 — : In getting ahead of things: I’ve changed the analogue kitchen clock, toothbrush clock, 2 cameras, oven clock. Yet to change: the car clock.

03 April 2021 — : I’ve been watching, and enjoying, S01 of For All Mankind. So much smoking and drinking! I’m amazed the astronauts were able to pass any of their physicals! Nice twist, with the alternate space race history.

03 April 2021 — : Today’s a day where I wish I had a Klingon Cloaking Device. I want to be invisible to the world — go for a bike ride without anyone noticing me, sit in the sun at home without any messages or emails or neighbourly waves. About to risk that bike …

03 April 2021 — : Tomorrow’s the day to put the clocks back in Aotearoa New Zealand: Daylight saving ends when clocks go back by 1 hour at 3am on 4 April 2021. Daylight saving Next change: September.

02 April 2021 — : I’m remembering that I stopped watching The Flash somewhere in Season 6. I’ve started Season 7, but it’s utterly underwhelming — pretty boring, pretty silly. It’s a shame… I’d like to settle in and watch some stuff today.

02 April 2021 — : Just before dawn was too dark for a selfie, but I took one anyway. Apart from missing a day last week, I still do a selfie each day for my own album. It’s been years now.

01 April 2021 — : LOL: Supergirl Recap Episode 601 as Kara points out, “Only four of us can fly.” Which I think is selling themselves a little short. I think maybe saying, “And there aren’t enough of us,” would have sufficed; four is a pretty high number of people …

01 April 2021 — : I loved this 20 minute video — it was such fun. The more I see Janelle Monae perform the more gorgeous I think she is. I love to see her perform.

01 April 2021 — : This poor fellow next door has been in my line of vision for quite a while — maybe since yesterday — without moving. Today I checked on him and he couldn’t get up. I’ve alerted the farmer. I hope the farmer turns up soon.

01 April 2021 — : So well deserved: How Siouxsie Wiles became ‘the Covid lady’, then New Zealander of the year: microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles was named New Zealander of the Year – Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa …she has … become synonymous with calm, clear, …

01 April 2021 — : One of the two lakes at the end of the road was looking so blue this morning!

31 March 2021 — : Drove a 2-hour round trip (+ time for a couple of quick errands) and took the dogs along. They used to be really good in the car — we’d forget they were there. Now aged 14 those days are gone. Panting started early outbound. By half-way home …

30 March 2021 — : Waikawa Beach for sale: 4/17 Strathnaver Drive: Asking price $450,000; 0.50ha Bare Land. Deadline Sale, closing 11am Tuesday 20th April, 2021 (unless sold prior).

30 March 2021 — : I really enjoyed on Netflix the documentary A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman. I’ve long been a fan of Wallace and Gromit and think Chicken Run is supremely hilarious and rich and enjoyable. In fact I plan to watch Chicken Run again soon. …

30 March 2021 — : I try to keep this blog positive but need to vent a bit today about logins. In the good old days you’d use a username and password to log into a website. We’ve all been educated now to use good passwords too and some of us use a password …

30 March 2021 — : hey @help has something changed with the Micro.Blog Mac app? This ‘No more posts’ button wasn’t actually telling the truth when I encountered it a couple of hours ago. I was trying to catch up on the timeline since last night. I clicked anyway …

30 March 2021 — : Our friend Willow is visiting for the day. However, Willow, Oshi and Sasha were reluctant to cooperate for a quick photo. 🐶

29 March 2021 — : Today was the fifth line dancing class I’ve attended and I’m starting to get the hang of it. I wasn’t exhausted from the mental effort at the end of the beginner’s hour and was quite enjoying it. Then we started to learn a dance in waltz …

29 March 2021 — : Taumarunui has this striking Moa sculpture at the south end of town. It’s made of small bits of wood — like driftwood, but they aren’t very close to the sea there.

28 March 2021 — : 450 Km to drive home today. We plan to go down through National Park again but then through Whanganui rather than Waiouru. Just for a change. Meeting friends for lunch at National Park (they’ve been down to Levin — we had lunch with them at …

28 March 2021 — : I’d forgotten … Hamilton, home of hot air Balloons.

27 March 2021 — : On a group outing to Sky City Casino in Hamilton. I’m not a gambler and find the appeal mystifying really. The occasional Lotto ticket or a bet on a horse race once every 5 years is more my speed.

27 March 2021 — : It’s only a two hour drive from Manunui to Hamilton. First stop Taumarunui for breakfast though.

26 March 2021 — : Taumarunui, population ~4,500, has a decent Thai restaurant, unlike Levin, population ~20,000. Tom Kha Gai soup FTW.

26 March 2021 — : Correction: Mahoe Motel is in Manunui, 3 Km south of Taumaranui.

26 March 2021 — : Kiwi as! Mahoe Motel, Taumarunui.

25 March 2021 — : A wonderful news story: Auckland Zoo has welcomed 4 new baby Galapagos tortoises. Just look at these little cuties! Galapagos tortoises are endangered and very difficult to rear but each tortoise can live for about 175 to 300 years.

25 March 2021 — Regular Expressions — a 2007 intro : When @odd mentioned he should learn about Regular Expressions I recalled I once wrote an introductory tutorial for Mac users. Here it is in all its 2007 splendour, including poor quality screenshots! Imagine you have a list of reversed names like …

25 March 2021 — : Mm, hmm. Opening a 27MB file into BBEdit on my M1 MacBook Pro: “Oh no! Spinning beach…” Done. Scroll, scroll, find. Smooth as butter.

24 March 2021 — : This was an interesting 5 minute video: Why Shakespeare Could Never Have Been French: Shakespeare sounds a certain way. Why? And why could it only work in English? Learn about Lexical Stress and Prosodic Stress.

24 March 2021 — : Autumn brings morning mists. It’s actually a lovely way to start the day.

23 March 2021 — Ful Medames : This week’s International Breakfast was our version of an Egyptian meal: Ful Medames: Ful medames is pre-Ottoman and pre-Islamic. It is probably as old as the Pharaohs. We didn’t have bread and forgot the garlic. All good, and we have a …

23 March 2021 — : 12 months ago today Aotearoa New Zealand went into Level 3 shutdown, preparing for Level 4 in 2 days. This year I’m noticing the (late) Monarch caterpillars are transforming into chrysalises. They should emerge in about 2 weeks. Our ‘cocoon …

23 March 2021 — : Stunning morning at the beach, still, sunny, no-one around. The sea really was that amazing milky silvery mirror blue.

22 March 2021 — : Yay! On Wednesday I learn how to make crossword puzzles.

22 March 2021 — : I was thinking of visiting the Zoo when we make a quick family-related trip soon to Hamilton, and noticed they have Fishing Cats I wanted to see. Then look what turned up in my On This Day page today from 2020: Fishing Cat: The Cat That Hunts …

22 March 2021 — : Hey @JohnPhilpin A year ago today you visited me at Waikawa Beach: miraz.me/2020/03/2… 😎

21 March 2021 — : Almost 48 hours since a sudden new allergy to Nurofen (probably) made my face swell up. Finally the puffiness around my eyes has almost gone. Plus, after taking an antihistamine yesterday lunchtime, I also feel almost normal again. Another ‘attack’ …

21 March 2021 — : I quite enjoyed Detective Hillary Greene Books 1–5 box set by Faith Martin. There’s something about the female characters and their sexual relationships that doesn’t sit quite right with me, but I’ll read more in the series. …

21 March 2021 — : For the longest time I thought we had Banded dotterels at Waikawa Beach but after close investigation I now think they are the very similar Wrybills. I’m pretty sure that beak has a curve to the right. Length: 20 cm; Weight: 55 grams. 🐦

21 March 2021 — : Really enjoyed Moxie at Netflix: Fed up with the sexist and toxic status quo at her high school, a shy 16-year-old finds inspiration from her mother’s rebellious past and anonymously publishes a zine that sparks a school-wide, coming-of-rage …

20 March 2021 — : Hmmm, for decades I’ve used Nurofen to help with headaches. Last night I had quite an allergic reaction that we attribute to Nurofen: swollen face, constricted throat. Today the doctor gave me an antihistamine to help with the swelling. Sasha …

20 March 2021 — : I should have taken some photos of the Pukeko chicks at the nearby lake a couple of weeks ago when they were fluffier. Look at these ridiculous gangly legs. And when the chicks run their legs look like cartwheels, like Roadrunner in the cartoons. …

19 March 2021 — : Bumblebee, meet pollen.

19 March 2021 — : It’s not often we see one of these around here. They didn’t stay long. And I’ve never noticed the “Highway Patrol” text on the car before either. What are we, in an episode of CHIPS? We don’t much use the word ‘highway’ in Aotearoa …

19 March 2021 — : A few years ago now I spotted a cop in Wellington who looked like he should have had a note from mum to be off school… So this is good: NZ’s oldest police graduate celebrates after 40 year wait: Perry, 57, has finally realised her dream of …

18 March 2021 — : In the middle of this year we hope to be cruising with neighbours round Rakiura (Stewart Island) at the southern tip of Aotearoa New Zealand. After that we'll be hiring a car and visiting the Catlins. It'll be our biggest holiday since 2015 when we …

18 March 2021 — : I have now learned the correct way to put the chain back on my bike. Now I need to learn how to remove the chain guard, which would make it easier.

17 March 2021 — : I learned Latin for 2 years at school. It’s invaluable for understanding English (and some other languages). However, that understanding could be gained in other ways and perhaps dropping Latin would make way for more currently relevant …

17 March 2021 — : Yucca in the dunes with Kāpiti Island beyond.

17 March 2021 — : Oshi eating. 🐶 He’s doing fine now! Even came and lined up for breakfast like he’s supposed to, rather than me having to tempt him off his bed.

17 March 2021 — : Thanks to a word puzzle, today I learned about Machicolation: a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at the …

16 March 2021 — : Oshi update 🐶: he’s still not quite 100% but he’s so much more himself — played with his stuffed duck after dinner, scrunched up the bedding to be just right, other very normal behaviours. 👍

16 March 2021 — : The Monarch caterpillars seemed to arrive late in the season, but they’re growing nicely on our swan plants. Some pretty long and chunky caterpillars there. Equinox is only a few days away now and we’re on our way towards winter.

16 March 2021 — Teishoku Traditional Japanese Breakfast : This week’s International Breakfast was a version of Teishoku Traditional Japanese Breakfast. It was delicious, though a bit of a faff to make. The omelette in particular was very yum. For various reasons we didn’t have any pickles, but …

16 March 2021 — : Huh!!! One ‘s’!! Just deserts uses this, relatively uncommon, noun form of desert, which may mean “deserved reward or punishment” (usually used in plural), “the quality or fact of meriting reward or punishment,” or “excellence, worth.” Via …

16 March 2021 — : I was intrigued to learn about Complete Knot List | Alphabetical list of all Knots | Animated Knots by Grog, especially since I had to store a length of rope just the other day. I should have done it like this: Coil Unattached Rope. Time to go back …

15 March 2021 — : My ‘technique' for giving dogs pills is 99% torture and 1% luck. 😧 🐶

15 March 2021 — : Mini Oshi update 🐶: Had to really coax him to eat breakfast. Booked an X-Ray. Drove to vet, put Oshi on the ground and he strolled around the carpark peeing on everything and being a perfectly normal dog! As he did when I took him to the dog park. …

15 March 2021 — : On safety, and the freedom to walk home: When words fail us. 🔗

15 March 2021 — : Two years ago today, the terror attack in Christchurch — Muslim community to pray in private on anniversary of attacks.

14 March 2021 — So, what's up with Oshi? 🐶 : For the last few days we've been struggling with what's wrong with Oshi. Last weekend we thought his bottom was worrying him so when Sasha had to get a shot at the vet on Tuesday we had the vet clean out Oshi's anal glands. She also noticed some …

14 March 2021 — : Waikawa Beach recently sold, apparently ~$950,000 — 13 Strathnaver Drive. 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Floor area: 96 m², Land area: 2083 m² 13 Strathnaver Drive sold

14 March 2021 — : It’s one of those fabulous autumn days: cold start, clear sky, warm sun (cooler breeze), waves as gentle as a holiday on a tropical island.

14 March 2021 — : Waikawa Beach For Sale: 111 Strathnaver Drive. Asking price $895,000 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 177m² Floor, 0.36ha Land. 111 Strathnaver Drive for sale

13 March 2021 — : We’ve seen mysterious lights up in the hills at dawn. I finally grabbed the binoculars (and then my zoom lens) for a daylight look. Turns out they’re logging up there and I hadn’t even noticed the change from green to brown…

13 March 2021 — : Oshi update: his symptoms are puzzling. We’ve come home with Rilexine® Palatable tablets - Easy to give tasty antibiotics | Virbac and advice on additional pain relief if it seems necessary. We’re to update the vet on Monday when X-rays etc …

13 March 2021 — : Oshi still seems pretty unhappy and uncomfortable. We have another appointment with the vet booked for lunchtime. 🐶

12 March 2021 — : Oshi’s latest medication: APOQUEL® (oclacitinib tablet) Allergy Medicine for Dogs: If your dog is scratching, licking, or chewing like crazy, you want to provide fast, effective relief. APOQUEL starts relieving allergic dog itch within 4 hours …

12 March 2021 — : Hooray! : NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover @NASAPersevere: Mission scientists worked with a Navajo (or Diné) engineer on the team … to seek the Navajo Nation’s permission and collaboration in naming new features on Mars.

12 March 2021 — : We had an unexpected visit to the vet this morning to sort out Oshi’s ‘bottom' problem. We came home with a week’s worth of Apoquel anti-itch tablets. A couple of days ago he had anal glands emptied, also flea and worm tablets, but still he was …

11 March 2021 — : Looks like I’ll be getting my Covid vaccine sometime around mid-year: When, how and where do you get your Covid-19 vaccine? NZ roll-out details announced. The Pfizer vaccine is the only one to have the green light from the New Zealand …

11 March 2021 — : Funds are tight this year so I’ll be closing down my separate lovewaikawabeach.nz blog as the domain name and Micro.Blog sub expire. Things I used to post over there will now go in a Waikawa Beach category on miraz.me .

11 March 2021 — : For Sale: 60 Sarah St, Waikawa Beach. Enquiries over $650,000. 2 Beds; 1 Bath; 70m² Floor; 988m² Land. 60 Sarah Street for sale.

10 March 2021 — : I made a big mistake this morning: with my phone beside the dog food bowls I played a podcast episode while I organised food. Sasha got a fit of the terrors. She was looking up and around, shaking, and couldn’t eat because she was so upset. I …

10 March 2021 — : 🤯🤯🤯🤯 Aaaargh! Internet / computer networking is utterly beyond my capabilities. The more I read how-to’s and reviews of products the more my head explodes. I tried the free option of moving the modem closer to the dead spot. No go. Phone hotspotting …

09 March 2021 — Russian Sweet Cheese Pancakes Syrniki : This weeks International Breakfast (at lunchtime) was Russian Sweet Cheese Pancakes Syrniki (Made with Curd Cheese), which we made with Ricotta, because that’s what we could buy. Not bad for a first try.

09 March 2021 — : Cool 4-minute video: Why Real Explosions Don’t Look Like Movie Explosions.

09 March 2021 — : The whole article is an easy and interesting read, but especially: I’m glad I didn’t give up 10 years ago to fit someone else’s idea of what a scientist should be like. And I’m glad people are finally starting to realise how important communication …

08 March 2021 — : It seems late in the season for it, but we finally have Monarch Butterfly caterpillars on our Swan Plants.

08 March 2021 — : On the property just past our neighbours there’s building work happening. I suspect they’re laying a concrete floor today. This is the first building in a new subdivision of six houses.

07 March 2021 — : Excellent! Lucy Lawless bringing My Life Is Murder local spin-off to TVNZ a contemporary mystery drama with a compelling female lead who is passionate about two things: discovering the secrets and hidden agendas behind the most baffling of crimes …

07 March 2021 — : We watched the amazing and very moving documentary Sherpa: explores some of the Sherpa culture and their spiritual relationship with [Everest], as well as the heavy work and risks Sherpas take in making multiple ascents to … make the climb possible …

07 March 2021 — : This very long read is riveting and thought-provoking: Deliverance From 27,000 Feet. 5 Sherpas surrounded the frozen corpse. They swung axes at the body’s edges, trying to pry it from its icy tomb. They knocked chunks of snow from the body … pieces …

06 March 2021 — : Yesterday Waikawa Beach was under a Beach and Marine Threat Warning, while parts of the northeast of Aotearoa New Zealand were under a Tsunami Warning. Still, this Tsunami Alert sign popped up at the main entrance to the beach.

06 March 2021 — : I’ve signed up for a free crossword puzzle creating class as mentioned at Puzzle 25: Animal Crackers. Not until April, but should be interesting.

05 March 2021 — : At the start of Fortune Funhouse (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 19) by Jana DeLeon I thought some plot tropes were wearing thin. However, this proved another enjoyable read with a tricky solution. 📚 a man is murdered in the funhouse and …

05 March 2021 — : My neighbour took this photo of Sasha and Oshi. 🐶

05 March 2021 — : This map from RadioNZ shows better where the three quakes have been. We only felt the first, but there are tsunami and coastal inundation warnings for almost the whole country from the later two.

05 March 2021 — : Shaky times: the first earthquake around 0230 today was offshore New Zealand. Since then though have been two more huge earthquakes much further away but still in our region, by the Kermadecs. There are tsunami warnings along northern and eastern …

05 March 2021 — : That far away shake certainly woke us all up! It started with long light shaking then wound up to long strong shaking. In the morning I need to check the cupboards in case things fell over. Nearly got out of bed for it!

04 March 2021 — : A power cut last week led our Belling 60cm Freestanding Double Oven to misbehave: clock blinked, hob worked, top oven worked. The bottom oven though wouldn’t do anything. Troubleshooting section of the manual led us to an electrician … who came …

03 March 2021 — : Cool: symptoms of ‘the UK variant’ of Covid-19 in several languages, including Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi as well as Māori, Sāmoan and Tongan.

03 March 2021 — : Last night we drove to Feilding with neighbours for dinner at Amayjen. It was Jan's birthday. Food was great, service was great. It was a fun evening. Almost no other diners there though.

03 March 2021 — : Grooming day for Sasha and Oshi (and, not shown, me). Oshi refused to look at the camera, but Sasha’s a very obliging girl. 🐶

02 March 2021 — Swedish Breakfast : As we continue our weekly International Breakfast series … last week it was Mexican Huevos Rancheros and this week Swedish Rye Crispbread with eggs and fish roe, which we supplemented with cream cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and ham (and ate at …

02 March 2021 — : It’s annoying to come home from a brief walk and find I have to brush piripiri out of Sasha’s coat. Nasty little things, these burrs. 🐶 At least she only had a few (that I’ve found).

01 March 2021 — : Today I attended a line dancing class for the first time and learned: I have no sense of rhythm I can count to 1 It was fun though. I’m the one in the middle and somehow I was actually doing the same step as everyone else at the same time!

28 February 2021 — : Finished reading Secrets on the Fens by Joy Ellis, one of my favourite authors. Another excellent read! 📚 the bodies of two young people are discovered … in the woods … It appears to be a lovers’ suicide pact … Until …

28 February 2021 — : It’s the last day of meteorological summer and blimmin hot. My temperature gauge that I don’t trust says 27C. A neighbour’s (1 Km away) says 22C. I think it’s between the two. So glad to have some proper hot weather at last, …

28 February 2021 — : For the last day of the photo challenge I thought I’d look up one of the first digital photos I took — with a Fujifilm DX-5. From November 1997 my Blue Burmese cat Minhla. 🐈 #28: up

27 February 2021 — : The farmer seems to be seeding the paddocks next door — perhaps with grass as he usually keeps dry stock (beef) on there. This year too he mowed those paddocks for hay / silage for the first time.

27 February 2021 — : Round here the male pheasants enjoy pompasetting their finest colours and longest tail feathers. #27

26 February 2021 — : Ahhh, finally figured out what I keep doing while reading Kindle in bed that changes the font size: pinch out to make text bigger; pinch in to make it smaller. That’ll save me a tedious trip to the menu bar next time I accidentally mess up the …

26 February 2021 — : I pretty much enjoyed The Rings of Grissom: Tales of a Former Space Janitor by Julia Huni, but I preferred the preceding Space Janitor stories. 📚 When she visits the ringed planet Grissom with security agent Ty O’Neill … Triana …

26 February 2021 — : Yesterday I took some polystyrene beans out of this dog bed so it’s not so solid and high. One of Oshi’s favourite things is to scrabble at the bed to make it comfy and then lie on the deck in the fresh air. #26

25 February 2021 — : I never knew real sourdough was a very different thing from mass produced bread, but this excellent interview clarified things for me: Andrew Whitley: Flour to the People | Radio NZ. Factoid: after searching, they found lost Scottish wheat strains in …

25 February 2021 — : The beach code: protect the native plants that hold dunes together by keeping to the tracks. Europeans planted exotic marram grass because cattle could eat it as they were driven along the beach before there were roads. Marram doesn’t hold dunes. …

24 February 2021 — : Aha! We’re at Batwoman S02E05 and it’s really cranking. I’m coming to very much like Alice, and the other characters. Some very nice touches here. 🦇

24 February 2021 — : Micro.Blog Feature request: while we wait for some kind of timeline position sync across devices, how about giving us some kind of widget to instantly scroll back in perhaps 1 or 2 hour increments? See my mockup of 12 hours back. Could be radio …

24 February 2021 — : Ah, today I have a chance to revisit one of my baby Japanese Quail. Here she is sitting on a plastic lid filled with water, and stones, so she can’t fall in and drown. This photo from a couple of years ago. #24

23 February 2021 — : Yesterday we went for a little walk at Papaitonga Scenic Reserve, only 20 minutes drive from here. The lake and the surrounding wetland and lush coastal forest [is] a refuge for birds that depend on wetlands or lowland forests for their survival.

23 February 2021 — : Māori facial tattoos (tā moko) are very special with huge ancestral and spiritual significance. But the custom nearly disappeared after Europeans arrived. Older photographic techniques also made them invisible. The Puaki - Ta Moko Exhibition in …

23 February 2021 — : Paradise!

23 February 2021 — : Banana: Not a banana: #23

22 February 2021 — : We watched and enjoyed News of the World, with Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel. It’s an appropriately slow-moving, thoughtful story set in Texas in 1870. While tough to see the incredibly hard and dangerous life of that time, the mass slaughter of …

22 February 2021 — : Some people have a lot of trouble with how to spell my name. The z at the end drifts all over the place, and sometimes is even silent! Sometimes I even get called Shiraz! It’s OK. “Hey you” works as well. 🤣 #22

21 February 2021 — : In September 2018 we were holidaying in Niue, where I tried a little snorkelling (with a full-face mask). I love the colours / colors in this photo. #21

20 February 2021 — : We enjoyed watching Finding ‘Ohana. No surprises, of course — it was a kind of junior Indiana Jones — but it did seem respectful of Hawai’ian culture. Interesting to see how much there is in common with Māori language and culture. ‘Ohana = …

20 February 2021 — : Took out my laptop at a cafe to fill in an hour waiting for my bike’s gears to be fixed. Panicked when I saw it had only 40% charge. Then I remembered this is my new M1 MacBook Pro where one charge lasts almost 2 days. 40% was plenty. Amazing …

20 February 2021 — : I’m feeding a friend’s chooks for a few days. From her place this morning I spotted this low cloud covering a sliver of blue sky above the Tararuas. The paddocks are brown because it’s very dry and technically summer. #20

19 February 2021 — : In Aotearoa New Zealand it’s a challenge for our native fauna to stay alive under the onslaught from exotic pests such as stoats, cats, possums, rabbits, hedgehogs, humans and numerous other animals. This pair of native Pateke ducks are lucky …

18 February 2021 — : Here’s a picture from my recent Photo Workshop day at Pūkaha Mt Bruce. The battery on my Fuji X-T2 died about 6 hours in, but my iPhone still managed this Tieke (Saddleback) which was being fed mealworms very close to us.

18 February 2021 — : For NZ$100 we bought this 1,000 litre plastic tank from the local licorice factory. It was used to ship vegetable derived glycerine for use in their factory. We’ll be using it to help keep our vegie gardens watered once we decide where to put …

18 February 2021 — : This is a perfect day to be at home. Blue sky and sunshine, a little birdsong and an occasional cicada, otherwise quiet, no wind. Paradise. #18

18 February 2021 — : Out of nowhere this morning I started humming The Tornados - Telstar (1962) a hit from my youth. I was 7 years old when this came out and it was only 5 years since Sputnik had been launched. Investigating that led me to another childhood favourite: …

17 February 2021 — : Glad I gave S2 of Batwoman a try after struggling through S1. Alice is less mad, gruesome and sadistic and more interesting and appealing. Batwoman’s backstory is superb. I love the way they’re dealing with contemporary issues. I’m …

17 February 2021 — : I was having difficulties sending some texts on my new Mac. Turned out I needed to check the settings on my iPhone. I also logged out of Messages, restarted the app and logged in again. So many little details to sort out when setting up from scratch.

17 February 2021 — : Our unexpected visitors last night had spent 5 hours on a 3-hour ferry trip from the South Island. Fierce gales left most passengers vomiting apparently. Not as bad though as those travelling the other way: Ferry berths after strong winds cause …

17 February 2021 — : From earlier this year. Our river is tidal, but on this day it was really still. Looking southwestish towards the sea. #17

16 February 2021 — : The erudite amongst us may know this is a very fine Giant Galapagos Tortoise — a huge animal I loved seeing at the zoo in Honolulu back in December 2008. It’s a wonderful zoo I’d happily visit again, even though I’m usually …

15 February 2021 — : It’s one of those mornings where the sea is almost mill-pond calm. The damp sand caught Sasha’s reflection as I looked towards Kāpiti Island. #15

14 February 2021 — : Well New Zealand has a community Covid case today so: Auckland moves to alert level 3, rest of New Zealand to level 2 for a few days. Tricky virus!

14 February 2021 — : I enjoyed reading Spoils of the Dead (Liam Campbell Book 5) by Dana Stabenow. I love her descriptions of Alaska and the life there. 📚 the archaeologist is dead, murdered on his own dig site. And Liam Campbell is about to learn that …

14 February 2021 — : Around 2001 compassion led us to adopt Olive the cat when her owners moved overseas from next door. However, we made a huge number of mistakes with her over the next 15+ years. She was always a difficult cat and I think that was our fault. I’d know …

13 February 2021 — : I was out of the house by 6 am for the Photography Workshop at Pūkaha Wildlife centre. Home by 7 pm. Made hundreds of photos, many not successful. I really like this Kaka close-up though. It was trying to steal food from our table at the cafe.

13 February 2021 — : Here’s a green gecko to make up for my blue. Look at those ‘teeth’!

13 February 2021 — : Hmm. That wasn’t the Tui brewery in my last post. It was simply a Fonterra milk factory. 🤦🏽‍♀️

13 February 2021 — : This is the brewery in Pahiatua where they make Tui beer. (I think) #13: make

12 February 2021 — : As my friend Rachel so rightly pointed out: It’s a good day : because I woke up :) Ageism is death!

12 February 2021 — : I just wrote this to a friend and realised it belongs here too: One of my latest philosophies: every wake-up is a fresh start. It was going to be ‘every day’ but that doesn’t really account for naps. 😆

12 February 2021 — : Well, this is so sporg : tomorrow I drive to Pūkaha Wildlife Reserve for a photography workshop. It’s only 42 Km away as the tūī flies, but I have to drive 125 Km thanks to the Tararua Ranges. (I’m not sure a tūī could cross the ranges — peaks …

11 February 2021 — : On the way home one of my favourite things about living in the country: I had to stop and wait for a herd of cows to cross the road. Paddock on one side; milking shed on the other. Actually, the cow cockie stopped the cows and let me pass. I would …

11 February 2021 — : My dentist office has this handy X-ray machine stowed against the wall. Today I had a crown put on one tooth — a very quick visit, with only a little discomfort from this second part of the procedure. #11

10 February 2021 — : Apart from my normal backup external hard drive, I’ve accumulated 4 drives over the years which contain assorted uncatalogued stuff, often duplicated. Arrrgh! 😫 I want to use one to archive most of the stuff from my old MacBook Pro. Now using ls -aR …

10 February 2021 — : Ferries cross the notorious waters of Cook Strait between Aotearoa New Zealand’s North and South Islands. In 1978 at age 15 Meda McKenzie swam across in 12 hours. Her brother: The amount of energy you use as a swimmer is astronomical … …

09 February 2021 — : This is not the right time of year (🌞😎) to find muddy things in Aotearoa New Zealand, so for today’s photo prompt this portion of Mud Cake will have to do. #9

09 February 2021 — : Unfortunately people bring trail bikes and quad bikes onto the beach and they like to do ‘donuts’. It seems the sand scarabs have been getting ideas…

08 February 2021 — : It takes ages but I’ve got time… I like setting up a new Mac afresh as it gives me the chance to reevaluate settings and apps, and even what files I need. Do I really need work I did in 2010 at my fingertips, or could it just be archived? Going …

08 February 2021 — Ricotta Pancakes : Inspired by @flish cooking meals from different countries and wanting a weekly ‘date’ with Deb, we’re having an International Breakfast together once a week. Today we enjoyed Italian Ricotta Pancakes which were light and tasty. We …

08 February 2021 — : This year is … different. I haven’t seen or heard a frog in our garden for a while. A Southern Bell Frog, Litoria raniformis, would often jump out from something when I was gardening or weedeating or shifting stuff around. Where are they all …

07 February 2021 — : After exhausting myself washing down the east side of our house I was craving a strong brew of gunpowder green tea. Clean wall on the left half and dirty on the right. #7

06 February 2021 — : “Sport" is pretty much the antonym of “Miraz”, but once in a while I take my kayak a little way up Waikawa Stream. That’s the closest I ever get to sport. It’s hilarious that my body shape happens to make me look ‘sporty’ so people often …

05 February 2021 — : I was worried I’d been too heavy handed with the marmite on my sandwich, but it worked out OK in the end. White bread with butter, marmite, lettuce (home grown), tomatoes (home grown), parsley (home grown), ham and cream cheese. @martinfeld

05 February 2021 — : Given how much time it spends on my lap, and the care and attention I lavish on it, I think it’s fair to claim my MacBook Pro as one of my most treasured pets. The new 13” MacBook Pro with M1 processor arrived this morning! How clean the screen …

05 February 2021 — : I’ve been using the Atkinson Hyperlegible Font | Braille Institute for a while now and really like it: it focuses on letterform distinction to increase character recognition, ultimately improving readability. We are making it free for anyone to use! …

04 February 2021 — : A new mid-winter public holiday for Aotearoa New Zealand: Matariki holiday date announced: The first annual Matariki public holiday will be celebrated on Friday, June 24, 2022 The reappearance of the Matariki stars in our sky each year marks the …

04 February 2021 — : I’m finding Season 2 of Batwoman much less gross than Season 1 and am enjoying the play of attitudes towards an ordinary parolee vs superhero. I like the notion that we can all be superheroes if we want to and get a bit of help.

04 February 2021 — : Two sides of the stick. This fine girl was on our front door at dawn. Quite long — I didn’t measure, but perhaps a hand span or length.

04 February 2021 — : My Japanese Quail are fantastic layers. With at least 12 hours of daylight they each lay one egg every day. Impossible to get 2 birds and 2 eggs in one photo, so this post has 3 ‘layers’ of photo. 😀 #4

03 February 2021 — : This morning’s inversion layer looked pretty good moments before sunrise.

03 February 2021 — : Can animals really predict earthquakes? data showed that the animals were unusually restless hours (up to 20 hours!) before earthquakes occurred and the closer the animals were to the epicentre of the earthquake, the earlier they started behaving …

03 February 2021 — : Using a 2012 MacBook Pro while I wait for my new one. I didn’t install anything that isn’t essential. I had to have 1Password, TextExpander, BarTender, Keyboard Maestro, Pastebot, SoundSource, Drafts, BBEdit, Micro.Blog, OmniOutliner, Black Ink, …

03 February 2021 — : Woohoo, my new MacBook Pro is closer. Can’t wait to get set up on the new machine so I can stop using this temporary 2012 model and then figure out how to handle the misbehaving 2016 model.

03 February 2021 — : The weedspraying getup, backpack, long-sleeved shirt etc are hot, heavy, make me breathe hard and sweat a lot — horrible! But protecting myself from poison spray is more important than comfort. Today I sprayed gorse, lupin and blackberry on our 3,300 …

02 February 2021 — : Tonight I actually thought to come down to the beach to watch the sunset. Picnic table is working well.

02 February 2021 — : Morning Beverage: Premium China White Snowbuds, in the sun, on the deck. #2

01 February 2021 — : There are several baby rabbits that live near our front door. They just don’t seem to be getting bigger and are fairly tame. I’m calling this one Bella. Rabbits are a pest in Aotearoa New Zealand, but these babies are so cute!

01 February 2021 — : I was reminded that I bought my electric bike exactly one year ago. So far I’ve ridden it for 880 Km, and it’s fallen over only twice, including today. I need to work out how to stop the front mudguard from now rubbing on the tire.

01 February 2021 — : Oh, well said! — Anniversary days are vestiges of occasions now disregarded and obscure. Let’s replace them with something positive and relevant for today. Why NZ’s outdated regional anniversaries should be ditched

01 February 2021 — : I was saying to Deb that Anniversary Days are colonial and should go. Now: Why NZ’s outdated regional anniversaries should be ditched: Wellington – mark the landing of the first(-ish) ship of settlers … an advance party arrived in… 1839, but the …

01 February 2021 — : February 2021 Photoblogging Challenge: #1 close up — sand scarab tracks. 📷

31 January 2021 — : I am deeply suspicious about that number of unread messages in my email InBox.

31 January 2021 — : A very happy blue morning at the beach. A (rare for this summer) perfectly blue sky, no wind, tiny waves. Kāpiti Island in the distance. Air so clear we could also see Taranaki and Ruapehu in the distance (not shown).

30 January 2021 — : We watched and enjoyed Alaska Is a Drag. 🎬 It’s an off-beat, curious but intriguing movie about a gay guy and his twin sister in Alaska who dream of escaping to California. Includes a fish factory, boxing, drag, fights and drinking…

30 January 2021 — : Good to see this: Tailor-made hijab now part of NZ Police uniform for Muslim female officers: Females of the Muslim faith, if they choose to wear the hijab, it is available for them. It is an approved official piece of New Zealand police uniform. …

30 January 2021 — : I’ve just enjoyed another excellent Kat Voyzey Mystery from @cheri: Cutting the Track! Cheri’s craft is really maturing. If I was in a pickle I’d definitely want Kat Voyzey on my side. 📚 Elated at the prospect of a real missing persons …

30 January 2021 — : OK, as a dog owner I have something to say to other dog owners. If your dog comes up to mine to ‘play’ and I know my dog probably doesn’t want to play, then when I ask you to call your dog, your correct response is: “Sure. …

30 January 2021 — : I enjoyed All Together Now, a happy-ending movie about a super-angelic homeless teen, the tragedy that takes her off-course, and how her community helps. 🎬 Rotten Tomatoes: an uplifting drama that stays largely on the right side of the line between …

29 January 2021 — : At last they’ve stopped polishing my new MacBook Pro and now they’re lovingly handcrafting the box.

29 January 2021 — : Today the electrician wired in the UV filter we had installed just before Christmas. He cut out a section of the house’s baseboards (replaced later with screws for easy removal in future) and installed the necessary power point under the house. …

28 January 2021 — : Our garage was put up about 4 years ago and the personal access door lock has been a pain ever since. We just left it unlocked most of the time. Now we have more stuff we want to secure so today a locksmith replaced the lock and made it work with the …

27 January 2021 — : Good news about our dishwasher: a 2-hour empty hotwash followed by a 2-hour hotwash with cleaner might have sorted the problems. The 2-hour hotwash after that cleaned the dishes that had been left dirty previously. Phew!

27 January 2021 — : Fascinating 25 minute video about how Aotearoa New Zealand uses genome sequencing data to guide policy and public response to Covid-19 in almost real-time. Short film on genome sequencing | Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.

26 January 2021 — : On Sunday I used Drafts Pro on my iPad to take notes at a meeting. I’d started the note on my Mac. Somehow what I wrote on the iPad just disappeared in the following day. Now I discovered that Drafts has versions!!! All restored. Hooray for …

26 January 2021 — : In today’s dumb move: our dishwasher has been failing to clean the dishes. Step one is to buy a cleaner and run it through. I bought the cleaner today but failed to remove the cap before I put it through a 2-hour wash. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Trying again, but …

26 January 2021 — : I haven’t had a pan au chocolat for a very long time. This is a great size for a mug of tea too. Yum. Thanks The Gorge in Ōtaki.

25 January 2021 — : Every summer our beach community runs a Sand Sculpture competition, with categories for little kids, older kids, families. While the littlies make simple ‘castles’ some of the group works are masterpieces. Corona Virus; dog and bone; surfing …

25 January 2021 — : I often long for the ‘good old days' when I could just enter a username and password to log on to a website.

25 January 2021 — : My gorgeous Sasha. 🐶

25 January 2021 — : The Kiwi accent [is] one of the most variable accents in the world… “Over the last 120 years every single vowel has changed its articulation, which I think is probably unheard of in any other accent.” Via Major new study into how New Zealand accent …

24 January 2021 — : There is so much to Wow about and to quote in this article: Scooped: The history of ice cream in New Zealand. Just go and read it! Includes how ice was shipped from the USA to Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1860s (across the equator!!!). Egads! 🍦

24 January 2021 — : Reminder to self — when my new M1 MacBook Pro eventually arrives, install this: Hush: Noiseless Browsing for Safari.

23 January 2021 — : We really enjoyed So My Grandma’s a Lesbian!, another Spanish movie: When Eva’s grandmother decides to marry her best friend, Celia, Eva worries what her conservative fiancé and his family will think. Set on the Canary Islands which …

23 January 2021 — : Using algorithms, machine learning, and satellite technology for good: A New Method Has Been Enlisted to Help Save Elephants, And It Involves Space: images from a satellite orbiting 600 km above Earth, could survey upward of 5,000 square km of land …

23 January 2021 — : I enjoyed Holy Camp! a bizarre Spanish comedy musical: two 17-year-old girls spend summer at the camp they have attended since they were little. Both love … music; but God’s apparitions to and calling of María begin to change all their lives. …

23 January 2021 — : Good point: only the impossible problems make their way to the [leader’s desk]. Everything that’s clean and easy? That gets decided down lower in the chain of command. It’s the intractable, no-win situations that get escalated to the leader’s …

22 January 2021 — : The Ōtaki Festival of Pots opened today, and I bought a garden ornament of 3 birds on driftwood: a Tūī, a Kereru and a Piwakawaka. Now we need to work out where in the garden to put it.

21 January 2021 — : I’ve never before paid the slightest attention to the inauguration of any US President, but today I watched the event live on the web. I’m so relieved that previous stain on humanity is now gone and no longer has delegated power. May Biden and …

20 January 2021 — : I frequently admire our neighbour’s large Tīkouka or cabbage tree. What a fine specimen!

20 January 2021 — : Something to keep in mind — You Are Dying Every Day: It’s easy to see death as this thing that lies off in the distant future. …We think of dying as an event that happens to us. It’s stationary—whatever date it will happen at—and we’re moving …

19 January 2021 — : The Shoreline movie theatre in Waikanae is one of those small ones with two-seater couches. Since our last visit they have installed (presumably) Covid screens.

19 January 2021 — : What an excellent movie! A Call to Spy: inspired by the true stories of three women who worked as spies in Churchill’s Secret Army. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. Just watch it!

19 January 2021 — : Processing: I’m imagining some factory worker in China polishing the Apple logo, dusting off the chips, inspecting the connections, tightening the screws…

18 January 2021 — : What I currently miss most from my 2016 MacBook Pro: using my fingerprint to unlock 1Password. I’m so sick of typing the unlock password, and it’s only been 2 days.

18 January 2021 — : Somehow I blocked all cookies in Safari on my 2012 MacBook Pro and couldn’t log in to anywhere. Before I figured it out I switched to Firefox. So glad to be back on Safari now. Apart from anything else it allows me to use an Applescript within …

18 January 2021 — : I’m using my ‘new' old 2012 MacBook Pro while I wait for my new M1 model to be shipped. Even though I’m doing only a few things on it, it still takes a lot of setting up to get it just how I like it. Love being back with this soft touch …

18 January 2021 — : I came to very much enjoy The Complete Tyrone Swift Mysteries seven gripping crime thrillers by Gretta Mulrooney after some initial skepticism. That was a lot of reading for less than $1.50. I skipped one book that looked like it was about a serial …

18 January 2021 — : Waiting for a routine vet check. 🐶

17 January 2021 — : Our visiting friends have now left on the next stage of their motorcycle tour. These two bikes looked pretty good in our garage though.

17 January 2021 — : After the tide had gone down and the heavy rain stopped my friend with the tractor took the old picnic table onto the beach and along to where the south track off Reay Mackay Grove meets the sand. We put the table in place, but it needs a little …

17 January 2021 — : We inherited a picnic table but never use it — we have another better one. A neighbour has an ancient tractor he uses to take his boat to the beach. Today he loaded the table (and me) on the tractor tray so we can put it by the beach for the public. …

16 January 2021 — : Phew, short on sleep, and with visiting friends to consider, I forgot to take a suitable photo of Lake Papaitonga when we had a brief walk there today. It was pretty in the bush and the view over the lake was pleasant. A nice 20 minute walk.

15 January 2021 — : Whew, with visitors arriving shortly, my room has had its most thorough clean in ages. I even pulled furniture out to vacuum and wet mop behind. And I cleaned the insides of the windows! (Outsides are high and tricky.) Plus all my usual junk has been …

15 January 2021 — : Ahh, photos… Here’s one reason the food at Ha’atafu Resort in Tonga was fabulous: staff caught fresh fish in the morning. We all ate together at a long table at 7 pm. The owners even made me special versions of the food because of my allergy to …

15 January 2021 — : I had totally misremembered this photo taken in 2012 at Ha’atafu Resort in Tonga. This may be the best solution for avoiding screen glare and device shutdown while reading in the sun. 😀 📚 If travel ever happens again, Ha’atafu Resort is fabulous — a …

15 January 2021 — : Folks, @cheri’s Kat Voyzey series is one of my favourites and now there’s the Kat Voyzey Flash Sale. The first book is even free! a coworker is murdered at a Seattle hospital, an unlikely sleuth emerges from the HR department. Kat Voyzey …

14 January 2021 — : Here are Oshi and Sasha after grooming. Oshi wasn’t being cooperative again. Check out the before. 🐶

14 January 2021 — : With my computer screen full of unwanted horizontal lines, it’s hard to see photos properly. However, if you think this tree is out of focus, it’s not. It’s a NZ native called a Rimu. rimu has weeping branchlets, but these become …

14 January 2021 — : Yesterday the Kohitere Forest walk fitted perfectly into my afternoon. Finding the address to start from was super hard: it’s on the left a few metres past the Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre at 865 Gladstone Road, Levin. 6.57 Km walk, ~1.75 hours. A …

14 January 2021 — : On today’s agenda: getting a filling in a top left tooth and part one of a crown at top right, at the back. 🦷 $$$$ 🥵 Ugh, visits to the dentist get harder every time.

13 January 2021 — : Near the top of the hill I have a phone signal. Here I turn around whether I reached the top or not. 1 hour back to the car after I’ve had lunch. Not a bad lunch spot.

13 January 2021 — : I want user-centred guides to trails: you want a 1 hour easy walk? Try Walk X. A steep walk needing superfit? Try Walk Q. Don’t have a mountain bike? Here are the bike trails for you…

13 January 2021 — : Probably anyone old enough to remember computer manuals will recall the earliest versions: File menu - New, makes a new doc; Save, saves the doc; Open, opens the doc etc etc. Useless as a manual. My attempts to find bike rides and walks are meeting …

13 January 2021 — : I rarely change my blog design, but @odd inspired me today. Before and after shots. The new text links to @odd’s comment on my blog anniversary post. In case you’re not sure why “hints from the future” — Aotearoa New Zealand’s timezone is …

13 January 2021 — : Thanks to all for the affirmations on my Micro.Blog third anniversary. 😊 This is truly a wonderful community and my decision to move my blogging here was indeed the right one. Thanks for reading.

13 January 2021 — : Apparently this is my 3 year anniversary of posting on Micro.Blog. What a good choice that was! Thanks On This Day for the clue. // @cleverdevil

13 January 2021 — : A while back the Council erected (needless and incorrect) speed signs nearby then removed the signs but left the posts. Now some wag has added a smiley face to one and an intriguing clock face to the other. The clock face shows a map of the world and …

12 January 2021 — : Whew. That 20 minute drive home from the supermarket took me around 4.25 hours thanks to the road being closed. I spent a chunk of the time in the Library after turning back to Levin. After the road opened it took me about 1.25 hours because traffic …

12 January 2021 — : After listening to the whole of the latest Core Intuition without getting noticeably closer to home I turned back and am ensconced in the library. The road may be closed for hours yet apparently.

12 January 2021 — : Second time in just a few weeks that my trip home from the supermarket takes hours. 😒 SH1 ŌHAU, MANAWATŪ-WHANGANUI - CRASH - UPDATE... - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Central North Island | Facebook: SCU are now on site to investigate this crash. …

12 January 2021 — : John Gruber’s turn of phrase here really made me laugh — Why Parler Is Likely to Fold: Always seemed pretty obvious that the minds behind Parler weren’t exactly sharp knives, but it’s looking more and more like they’re on the plastic cutlery …

11 January 2021 — : Intriguing to find sand sculpting like this on dry sand up the beach rather than by the water.

11 January 2021 — : At first I thought this was an old banana peel discarded on the beach. Then I noticed the teeth! I don’t know what the fish used to be.

11 January 2021 — : hey @jean I enjoyed Voyager Revisited | Organics Are So Revolting (Episode 21) with Shelly Brisbin. I’d never noticed the first name form of address for Torres… It’s kind of you to link to my website in the show notes, but I imagine you …

11 January 2021 — : This photo should show how my MacBook Pro screen has horizontal lines where the same stuff on my iPad doesn’t. First time I’ve used Sidecar. The lines could probably be fixed but the cost worries me and this Mac is almost 5 years old. The …

11 January 2021 — : Usually I’d be very excited about ordering a new MacBook Pro. But, I’d hoped to wait until the 15" model M1 was available, presumably ~November 2021 and this is only 13”. This has been triggered by my screen showing fine horizontal …

10 January 2021 — : These two were about to get dinner and not being very co-operative. However, they’re due for a groom in a few days and I wanted a ‘before' shot. Sasha and Oshi. 🐶 They had just had ears and tails brushed.

10 January 2021 — : We enjoyed the final episode of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3. Great visuals and action, satisfying story wrap-up. It’s been such a good season of this show. So pleased to see a Season 4 is planned. 🖖🏼

10 January 2021 — : Interesting SciShow video — Tapputi-Belatekallim: The First Chemical Engineer: A perfumer from Ancient Babylon named Tapputi-Belatekallim is possibly history's first recorded chemist, and some of the techniques she used are still in practice …

10 January 2021 — : Last night we went with neighbours for dinner at Longbeach Cafe in Waikanae. Then we took a short sunset stroll on the beach. The sea was so calm. Looking towards Kāpiti Island which is just offshore.

08 January 2021 — : Such an interesting and practical podcast episode: Dump Your Inner Drill Sergeant: why being a nasty drill sergeant to ourselves is less effective than being a kind coach; and … why developing self-compassion is vital to helping us achieve our new …

07 January 2021 — : Sasha had a vet checkup as we’ve had a few small concerns about her health. 🐶 She’s to join Oshi in taking Carprieve for arthritis and I have the exciting task of attempting to collect a urine sample. 😹 Her heart and teeth are OK. She …

07 January 2021 — : Re the US riots in progress in DC right now: there are huge numbers of law enforcement there. Why don’t they start arresting the folks who are breaking the curfew?

06 January 2021 — : We really enjoyed our 2 hour Whanganui River Cruise aboard the coal-fired steam-powered paddle boat Waimarie. Recommended! Watch out for soot. Photos: skipper; sailing upriver; the wake; returning to Whanganui with the Durie Hill tower

06 January 2021 — : Off for a river cruise on a paddle boat steamer in Whanganui.

05 January 2021 — : I really dislike crime shows and thriller books which feature serial killers and prolonged scenes (or any scenes) of torture and cruelty. That’s why I figure it’s best to eat the head first on the Walkers Shortbread Scottie Dogs. …

05 January 2021 — : I say I've never been on a cruise, but … in 1963 we emigrated from England. We travelled as 5 members of only a dozen or so passengers on a cargo ship (before containers), the Port Townsville. Possibly this one. It took ~6 weeks via the Suez Canal. I …

05 January 2021 — : Excited: our big trip for 2021 is confirmed: in July a five night Rakiura (Stewart Island) cruise with 30 other passengers. Stewart Island Tours. I’ve never been on a cruise and never been to Rakiura. Ulva Island bird sanctuary … historic …

05 January 2021 — : Uh oh. As of yesterday (intermittently) I need to know MacBook Pro Display Problems: Horizontal Lines: If your MBP has blacked-out, grayed-out, flickering or faded horizontal lines going across its screen I hoped to replace this MacBook Pro with an …

04 January 2021 — : Double-tap hack for launching the Covid barcode scanning app on iPhone — slightly embarrassed I had to watch and learn all the steps, but a great idea: To make scanning in a breeze I’ve been using this iPhone double tap hack that’s super …

04 January 2021 — : Well, that’s interesting. If you press the Listen icon in Google Translate you hear the text at (probably) normal speed. That being too fast, press again and the second time it’s said slower. Then it alternates. // @tkoola

03 January 2021 — : This seems a rather handy guide: Here’s How to Watch The Most Spectacular Meteor Showers of 2021. ☄️

03 January 2021 — : We’ve so much enjoyed Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery. There is one nail-biting episode left to go. Can they fix the problems? Deal with the baddies? And can they do it in time? Best season yet of this show.

03 January 2021 — : I haven’t posted any photos of my two remaining Japanese quail for a bit, so here are Fliss and Glee. 🐦

03 January 2021 — : Woohoo, booked a birthday treat for myself in February: Wildlife Photography Workshop at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre, a 2 hour drive away. photograph our aviary birds from the outside; inside free flight aviary; wild birds; plants, trees, …

02 January 2021 — : I’ve been hearing a bird with a call that sounds like a piercing ‘pee you, pee you’. It’s taken me a while to track it down, but apparently it’s a European goldfinch 🐦: Voice: a liquid, tinkly calling, often given by flocks in flight. …

02 January 2021 — : Yay! I combined Mars Edit, AppleScript, Keyboard Maestro and BBEdit to establish that yes, indeed, I posted at least once per day during 2020. For some reason my script failed to count 3 separate days (timing issue?) but I was easily able to verify …

01 January 2021 — : Strine as! The Merger was extremely funny and infinitely more enjoyable than I expected. If you don’t speak Australian you’ll probably need subtitles. 🎬 explores the decline of a cash-strapped rural footy club and the recruitment of refugees …

01 January 2021 — : I still take a selfie every day, but rarely post them here. Here’s my New Year’s Day selfie for Friday 01 January 2021 though.

31 December 2020 — : Concluded my year by watching the just past full moon rising golden from behind a hillock. What a gorgeous way to transition to a new day, a new year, a new start.

31 December 2020 — : I was down at the lake taking photos of the Royal Spoonbills when this Matuku, White-faced heron, arrived. 🐦

31 December 2020 — : Unless you actively hate dogs I’m certain this video from WeRateDogs will bring you 7 minutes of joy: The Dogs of 2020: in a year filled with so much bad… our dogs were very, very good 🐶 😂

30 December 2020 — : Pohutukawa or Rata in flower — I can’t tell the two types of tree apart. Also, this morning, I planted a tiny Kowhai tree. Fingers crossed it can survive.

29 December 2020 — : Flax bushes are great. Birds, native and exotic, feed on the flowers. But the fibrous, stringy, tough leaves are hard to cut with a knife. They are also a nightmare when weedeating as they catch and wind round the head. That’s why I’m …

29 December 2020 — : This is a great round-up post from feminist academic, Debbie Cameron: Not unprecedented: 2020. Her posts are always informative and thought-provoking.

28 December 2020 — : Ahh, rewatched Warehouse 13 S01E01. It’s a fun show and I’m looking forward to watching more. a team of field agents retrieve artifacts that have become charged with energy that gives them dangerous powers.

28 December 2020 — : The great thing about summer this year is that I don’t have to get up super-early to take the dogs out before it gets too hot for them. Oh, and I get to wear my snuggly winter woollies more. And I get to stay indoors more and read or internet. …

27 December 2020 — : After reading several comments from Micro.Bloggers and this review I Wish “Wonder Woman 1984” Had Been About Wonder Woman, I’ve put my plans to see WW1984 on hold. I’ll wait till I can watch on my computer. Disappointing when movies don’t …

27 December 2020 — : Humans Used to Sleep in Two Shifts, And Maybe We Should Start It Again: 💤 Some believe sleep disorders, like sleep maintenance insomnia, are rooted in the body's natural preference for split sleep. Therefore, split sleep schedules may be a more …

27 December 2020 — : Wow, I’ve kept a log every day for over a year. Usually that kind of thing falls apart fairly quickly. I’ve also posted on Micro.Blog at least once per day for more than a year. Daily log is in OmniOutliner — a favourite utility app I’ve …

26 December 2020 — : Oh boy, reading with a sharp eye a book by an American author and discovering innumerable fine and subtle potential distinctions between American English and New Zealand / British English. Prepositions, plurals, word choice… 🤯

25 December 2020 — : We really enjoyed Netflix ☛ The Grizzlies. 🎬 Based on a true story, … depicts a youth lacrosse team set up to help combat an onslaught of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut. centred the perspectives of Inuit youth and did not …

25 December 2020 — : Three desserts from Christmas lunch.

24 December 2020 — : Yesterday we took the red car through the touch-free carwash in Palmerston North.

24 December 2020 — : Yesterday I visited the Wildbase Recovery in Palmerston North and saw this Kākā. The facility is amazing, helping wild birds recover and recuperate until they can be released. 🐦

23 December 2020 — : These ducklings in the gardens in Palmerston North were very bold. 🐦

22 December 2020 — : The hunt in the next door paddock. Rabbit on the left eats grass. Wild ginger cat on the right lies in wait. 🐇 🐈 The dash for safety … was successful.

22 December 2020 — : Our favourite dog pal Willow is visiting for the day. 🐶

22 December 2020 — : Milk.

21 December 2020 — : Hey @macgenie all good with you? Haven’t seen you on Micro.Blog for a few days… Just checking in…

21 December 2020 — : Another superb Aussie movie: Ride Like a Girl 🎬: Michelle Payne … became the first woman to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2015. Features Kiwi actor Sam Neill. There were some fraught moments…

21 December 2020 — : Tonight, Jupiter And Saturn Will Appear Closer Than They've Been in 800 Years: Jupiter and Saturn …between 16-25 December they'll be separated by only 1/5 the diameter of a full moon. I wish my photo were better. Taken on the 17th it might be …

20 December 2020 — : In a hilarious rabbit hole today I learned about Ruffles and flourishes 📯🥁and how Hail to the Chief came to be. Loved this: [President] Polk was not an impressive figure, so some announcement was necessary to avoid the embarrassment of his entering …

20 December 2020 — : We came home near sunset last night. Just before driving into the village we spotted this lit up Christmas tree in a paddock. Well done that farmer!

19 December 2020 — : Somehow we organised two meals out on one day. For the first time ever I had beignets. Delicious. At Quarter Acre restaurant in Manakau about 7Km from home.

19 December 2020 — : Brunch with 10 longtime friends at Field & Green in Wellington. I had a very delicious Smashed peas & avocado, with lemon, Parmesan, poached egg, toast.

19 December 2020 — : Found this illegal fire on the beach this morning. Presumably still burning after last night. I covered it with sand as best I could.

18 December 2020 — : We enjoyed watching The Prom. Music, dancing, feel good, lesbians, happy ending. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours. It was also a smidge deeper than it seemed.

18 December 2020 — : OK, fellow Star Trek (Original Series) fans, give this a try: Star Force: Sci-Fisolation. LOL 🖖🏼 Read up about it at Star Force: the surprise smash webseries is The Mighty Boosh for Trekkies Some good laughs there.

17 December 2020 — : … Writing the monthly-ish community newsletter. But first I have to make sure the community blog posts are up-to-date so the newsletter can refer to them. A blurt of blog posts…

17 December 2020 — : Ages ago I used to have a bank account with ASB / Bank Direct. Today they called and said they needed to pay me $11.94 for incorrectly taken account fees. (I’ll bet that was some legal finding.) I opted for them to direct it to their charity …

17 December 2020 — : Oh dear, Fiji — Severe Cyclone Yasa (Cat5) expected to make landfall in Fiji late today one of the most powerful [cyclones] on record in the South Pacific and certainly one for the history books – and this is before it’s even reached Fiji properly. …

16 December 2020 — : If you wondered about that red car stuck on our beach (Sometimes people drive along the beach), read how things worked out at A bit of an odyssey. Includes photos and movies.

16 December 2020 — : Thank you @NetNewsWire for allowing me to Undo Mark All (feeds) Read when I intended to simply apply it to only one feed. Whew!

16 December 2020 — : Here’s one for @macgenie and others: “Hey Siri, what does a guinea pig sound like?” Apple’s Siri can now make animal sounds like a duck quacking or a lion roaring Wheek!

15 December 2020 — : Ah, ‘tis the season of the Christmas bunny. Falalalalah lah lah lah lah.

15 December 2020 — : In the maw of the monster.

15 December 2020 — : Neck bending competition this way! 🐦 Pied shags by the river.

15 December 2020 — : Today the dogs and I drove to the village, crossed the footbridge and walked down beside the river to view the abandoned sunk car. The view along the way was OK.

14 December 2020 — : Flossing for a dentist visit tomorrow. Months ago, during Shutdown, a bit of tooth fell off a filling at the back — no pain or anything. Tonight’s flossing made another large chunk fall off the same tooth. That’ll mean a crown for sure. 🦷 💲💲💲 😒 …

14 December 2020 — : Here’s the longer story about that Oystercatcher egg. The dogs and I were walking from the beach track to the river when I almost stepped on an odd-looking ‘stone’ lying alone in the sand. I picked it up — it was quite heavy — …

14 December 2020 — : Variable oystercatcher / tōrea pango — bird and egg. Eggs bigger than a hen’s egg; birds smaller than a hen. (Bird weight 720 grams — 25.4 ounces.) 🐦 Some birds reach 30+ years of age. highly aggressive towards people close to nests or …

13 December 2020 — : From: Semicolon: How a misunderstood punctuation mark can improve your writing, enrich your reading and even change your life ‘You can never revise too often !’ I used to tell students, before I had read much James.

13 December 2020 — : From Semicolon… Having a more advanced knowledge of a language provides a wonderful opportunity to be welcoming and constructive, if you prioritise communication over a set of fictitious rules.

13 December 2020 — : From Semicolon… The semicolon represents a way to slow down, to stop,**** and to think; it measures time more… ****A stop without stopping completely. Who wants the full stop right now, with its silence and finality like a red button pressed, or a …

13 December 2020 — : I had so much fun reading Semicolon: How a misunderstood punctuation mark can improve your writing, enrich your reading and even change your life by Cecelia Watson. I feel newly inspired with writing and reading. If you love language or reading or …

12 December 2020 — : I had no idea! 🎬 How New Zealand's film industry boomed during the pandemic: According to the New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the [film] industry supports about 21,000 local jobs and contributes $NZ2.7 billion to its GDP every year.

12 December 2020 — : There are worse places to be stuck in traffic than beside a vineyard.

12 December 2020 — : My trip home from the supermarket today includes an hour or two wait because the only road is blocked. 😒

11 December 2020 — : Link: Truncating only posts with titles on Micro.blog - The Jayeless Micro Blog Micro.blog Help has a guide to showing truncated posts on your front page, but … the truncated text shown is stripped of HTML…. There had to be a better way!

11 December 2020 — : Excellent movie: Misbehaviour. I was 15 when this happened, 50 years ago! 🎬 1970 Miss World took place in London, hosted by the US comedian Bob Hope …the newly formed women’s liberation movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage …

11 December 2020 — : I’m so much enjoying the daily readings of Maria Dahvana Headley’s translation of Beowulf. Some readers are better than others, but what a story!

10 December 2020 — : I really enjoyed The Complete Merry & Neal Mysteries 6 gripping crime thrillers by Janice Frost. Well-written, they held my interest through all six. Some nice character development. Interesting to unravel the who’s and why’s. Another …

09 December 2020 — : Yes, you do want to watch this. A Canadian teenager … won a major scientific competition for an electrifying YouTube video in which she brilliantly simplifies the complicated concept of quantum tunnelling. Via: Science Alert. So this is the basis …

09 December 2020 — : Guess what! Female birds sing too. We’ve Been Ignoring Female Birdsong for Centuries: > Birdsong has historically been described as a male trait to compete for female mates, but there’s a good chance that you’ve never learned …

09 December 2020 — : If nothing else, this must-listen, wonderful 32 minute interview will explain how a semicolon shut down bars in Boston, US, and led to all-night drinking binges. Semicolons; the most misunderstood punctuation mark Also: “Punctuation Theorist” is a …

09 December 2020 — : I’m totally a fan of vaccines, but was suspicious about the speed of potential Covid-19 vaccines perhaps making them unsafe. These two items have allayed my fears: A Clinical Trials Expert Explains Why We Should Feel Optimistic About COVID Vaccines …

08 December 2020 — : The Maiden Statement by new Green MP Teanau Tuiono was funny and inspiring. He pointed out that the lifts in the Beehive look like the Tardis and the House needs to be like that: much bigger on the inside. (13:21 on) Hope to hear more from him over …

08 December 2020 — : I found this photo of me at Massey Memorial, 27 March 1989, just after I moved to Wellington. One of two times in my life I’ve had a perm.

07 December 2020 — : At high tide the estuary was full. A bunch of the shags that normally hang out in the trees near the footbridge instead chose to hang out by the estuary. Perhaps it was nice and quiet in this rainy weather.

06 December 2020 — : Our household water (rainwater) is now filtered to remove particles and then passed through a UV filter light to kill bacteria, thanks to the Puretec Hybrid G9 system: Kills 99% of E. Coli, Giardia and Cryptosporidium cysts 👍💧 …

05 December 2020 — : Kiwis: I only just discovered Safe Night. Let’s spread the word and help women get a safe night free of family violence in this dangerous season. Help the victims of family violence by booking a room for someone you’ll never meet, in a place …

04 December 2020 — : The Tribe is a Spanish comedy. It had some adult themes but was fun. Good dancing too. The human resources director of a massive corporation fires 300 people, then is caught on video having sex with an employee. He recovers from amnesia via dance and …

04 December 2020 — : Sometimes people drive along the beach, which is legally a road for historical reasons, and through the usually shallow river. Sometimes it doesn’t end well. Actually the water round this vehicle is shallow: the car’s been there 24+ hours and …

03 December 2020 — : Absolutely magnificent: Rawiri Waititi Maiden Statement. In a very powerful speech, he insisted that Te Tiriti o Waitangi must be honoured, colonialism must end. He spoke of his ancestor who was wrongly hanged. Waititi removed his tie (noose) and …

03 December 2020 — : So relieved — I’m a ‘daytime sleepy’: — Not Just Morning Larks And Night Owls: The 6 chronotypes … include the established morning and evening types, along with the 4 new chronotypes: highly active type, daytime sleepy type, daytime active …

02 December 2020 — : I really enjoyed chatting with @macgenie on the Voyager Revisited podcast 20: Voyager’s Lower Decks about Good Shepherd, Season 6, Episode 20. Janeway takes 3 overlooked crew members on an away mission that runs into trouble. Can her leadership …

01 December 2020 — : Ahhh, the pack’s complete. Sasha and Oshi welcomed Deb home from work last night. 🐶

01 December 2020 — : Disappointed that this seems to be only in the RSS feed and not the web version — Strong winds, heavy rain causing havoc in Wellington: Three portaloos have also come loose in the wind and are blowing [away]. Crews are on their way to provide some …

30 November 2020 — : This Spanish movie was on thin ice with its premise, but it was very funny. Everyone was odd. 🎬 Lo nunca visto. The village of Fuentejuela de Arriba needs 3 more people to avoid being annexed by their rivals. 4 people turn up, but their cultures are …

30 November 2020 — : Covid bust one of our major News media companies. The new owner writes: Our Truth, Tā Mātou Pono: Stuff’s day of reckoning: …we haven’t always been trustworthy …we’ve been outright racist. At other times … we’ve looked through a single, …

29 November 2020 — : So Holiday Rush wasn’t great. The highlight was Sonequa Martin-Green. The children of the family were obnoxious. Better script and editing would have improved things. Not horrible though. 🎬 DJ Rashon “Rush” Williams loses his job …

29 November 2020 — : Spanish? Basque? Swiss? A fictional Castillian village located in Basque Country tries to become part of Switzerland in this rather funny movie The Little Switzerland. 🎬 Differences between English soundtrack and English subtitles were hilarious in …

29 November 2020 — : Now this is a Miss [placename] pageant I could support: > the Miss Navajo Nation pageant, in which contestants must butcher a sheep and cook over an open fire The Deadly Loss of Navajo Women Otherwise, a compelling read about Covid-19 and the Diné …

29 November 2020 — : The genius of genomics: The revolution that helped NZ quash Covid-19: > scientists worked late into the night to match the genetic signature of the latest case to another one. genomics [gave] authorities the [data] to not confine more than a …

28 November 2020 — : My Mac Control Centre showed me this photo I took in Niue on 25 August 2016. It really seemed shareworthy. Taken with my Olympus Stylus TG-870.

28 November 2020 — : This was a fun Spanish movie — Netflix ☛ Holy Goalie 🎬. Their monastery is to be turned into a luxury hotel, but a few football matches could save their home. Manages to include car theft, illegal bank transfers, romance, a mob-run nightclub, and …

27 November 2020 — : Excellent! I really really enjoyed this Spanish movie. 🎬 Thi Mai, rumbo a Vietnam Along with her two friends, a determined woman travels to Vietnam to bring home the young girl her recently deceased daughter had planned to adopt. Vietnam: so …

27 November 2020 — : I enjoyed the Christmas movie Santa Girl: When Santa’s daughter, Cassie, gets a chance to experience the real world by attending college, will she ever want to return to her North Pole destiny? One thing I noticed: did only white folks audition?

26 November 2020 — : Yay: New Zealand Government to declare a climate emergency The Government will declare a climate emergency … Climate Change Minister James Shaw said. We are in the midst of a climate crisis that will impact on every aspect of our lives… Not just …

26 November 2020 — : I’ve updated my post Countries of follow on Micro.Blog. I think I follow folks from 25 different countries on Micro.Blog.

26 November 2020 — : A reminder for future me: to get a list of who I’m following on Micro.Blog, given my site is hosted by MB: log in on the web visit micro.blog/Miraz/fol… Interesting: some names on that list are very familiar; others I never see posting.

26 November 2020 — : Fascinating — why vaccine trials don’t need to take years. A Clinical Trials Expert Explains Why We Should Feel Optimistic About COVID Vaccines: > as a clinical trials doctor, I am going to tell you what I do for most of those ten years – …

26 November 2020 — : While watching Rene Ritchie: 8GB vs 16GB for M1 Mac — The TRUTH About RAM! I suddenly flashed back to those days of using Ram Doubler. Remember that?

26 November 2020 — : Oshi, my little shining light this morning. 🐶

26 November 2020 — : The sappy holiday movie My Christmas Inn was pretty anodyne. 🎬 It reminded me a lot of the much better Christmas Under Wraps where a doctor visits a charming remote Alaskan town then stays. Still, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Cheerful, …

25 November 2020 — : You know, I really enjoyed reading an advance copy of The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by @Cheri. And it turns out I loved reading the published book all over again. 📚

25 November 2020 — : I’m just loving the Crash Course Linguistics series. It’s superbly presented, clear and includes signed languages as well as spoken languages. In the screenshot: metathesis where sounds (or signs) are switched — ‘thrid’ became ‘third’, …

24 November 2020 — : These black clouds are looking pretty darned threatening.

24 November 2020 — : Note to future me: this Kungfood Teriyaki Chicken was delicious. Also: no onion. 😀 This Japanese-inspired meal has a generous portion of flavourful, sweet & salty Teriyaki Chicken … Served with a side of Jasmine rice and sprinkled with toasted …

24 November 2020 — : The small victories in life are important — Thankfulness for Tiny Triumphs: We’d be helpless in so many ways if we weren’t victorious in regularly finding doable ways to manage our changing capacities and overcome the hurdles we face daily. 🏆

24 November 2020 — : Still with Christmas movies, I watched A New York Christmas Wedding. Makes a change to see lesbians finding love in a sappy seasonal movie. a lesbian wedding, officiated over by a priest …filmed in a real NY Catholic Church. … Even the priest …

23 November 2020 — : Jupiter and Saturn in the evening sky around Christmas: We’re About to Witness a Super-Rare Planetary Alignment Not Seen in 800 Years. …alignment hasn’t occurred since the Middle Ages will happen again in March 2080. After that, Jupiter …

23 November 2020 — : I hope this Radio NZ interview video is available beyond NZ. Take 30 minutes to watch: Dolly Parton: ‘I’m proud to be an example for a strong woman’ “They had a sign saying ‘Dolly for president’ and I said ‘no …

23 November 2020 — : I spent an hour today weedeating a metre wide strip on either side of the first leg of our private lane. Hard work.

23 November 2020 — : Kiwis: Tradespeople: Trading stereotypes for a job well done: A directory of women and gender diverse people working in the trades in Aotearoa New Zealand.

23 November 2020 — : Heh, why we don’t blow stuff up with marshmallows, even though they have more energy than TNT: Dangerous Marshmallows?!: Burning a marshmallow can release more energy than detonating an equal mass of TNT… Thanks MinuteEarth.

22 November 2020 — : The movie Netflix ☛ Joyful Noise starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton had plenty of great music. We enjoyed it. In the film, two strong-minded women are forced to cooperate when budget cuts threaten to shut down a small-town choir.

22 November 2020 — : Lingthusiasm Episode 50: Climbing the sonority mountain from A to P was particularly interesting, introducing linguistic concepts and terms I’d never heard before, such as sonority and mirroring. “Bnick” contains English sounds, but doesn’t …

22 November 2020 — : Many thanks to @manton whose change to the Mac Micro.Blog app to ensure the New Post window doesn’t slip behind other windows now allows me to use a Keyboard Maestro macro to get selected text from a @NetNewsWire item and post it to Micro.Blog with …

21 November 2020 — : I spent $10 on a 1 metre arm extender aka selfie stick and climbed the ladder. I was able to take a photo along the gutter and determine that it is not in fact full of bird party supplies. Perhaps we’ve been imagining the noises? Or perhaps …

21 November 2020 — : I like this: What if instead of trying to be some unassailable force of moral good in the world, each of us just tried to be a little bit better whenever we saw an opportunity? What kind of cumulative difference would that end up making?

21 November 2020 — : I wish Mac Safari had a kind of ‘workspace’ concept. I have a window with a bunch of tabs re things I’m still working on. I opened a new window at the front to look at my daily checks stuff, opened by a mix of bookmarks and Keyboard …

21 November 2020 — : I loved this cozy mystery: The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by Cheri Baker, @Cheri 📚. After reading an advance copy I said: what a fabulous read! I loved every minute of this and ended up neglecting other tasks to read it! 😀 This is the best …

20 November 2020 — : I just watched Netflix ☛ Star Trek Next Generation S07E15 Lower Decks, on the recommendation of @macgenie . It’s interesting when shows take minor (unknown) characters and check out what their story might involve. See also Babylon 5 S05E04 A …

20 November 2020 — : It was lovely at the beach this morning. The remnant lake in the estuary was calm and clear.

20 November 2020 — : I was particularly touched yesterday to receive a very unexpected Amazon gift card from a generous person. I see several new books in the future of my new Kindle. 📚🤓

20 November 2020 — : Over the last 6 weeks I’ve rewatched all of Rizzoli & Isles. It’s such a great show! I love the interactions between the characters, and there is enormous chemistry between the two leads: Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles. It’s funny too. …

19 November 2020 — : The other day, after the ferry from Auckland Central had arrived at Tiritiri Matangi island, I looked into the clear water beside the wharf. There were a couple of Eagle Rays just hanging out. I took a photo of one.

18 November 2020 — : An interesting 14 minute video: Ace of Hearts: finding a home on the asexual spectrum. It includes terms new to me such as demisexual, panromantic and others. … members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions …

18 November 2020 — : I’ve had my Kindle Paperwhite since January 2013 and it’s been wonderful. I use it heaps. Lately it’s felt a bit slow though and the pages don’t always turn right. I’ve lashed out and ordered the 10th generation 2018 …

18 November 2020 — : 17 November 2019: the first day of the Covid era: Today Marks a Year of Covid-19: the first documented case of Covid-19 was a 55-year-old person living in Hubei province on November 17, 2019.

18 November 2020 — : It’s heaving down with rain right now. A few minutes ago as the dogs and I returned from our walk the first gentle drops started. It’s sheer chance, I know, but I always feel such a sense of achievement to have avoided the rain on a dog …

18 November 2020 — : Hey @martinfeld Your Lounge Rumination about gendered food and drink was very interesting. Back around 1980 in smalltown Aotearoa New Zealand friends and I went to the ‘fancy' restaurant. There were 2 menus: one had prices (for the men); the other …

18 November 2020 — : Hmmm, I was ~19 when I couldn’t retrieve the name of the street I lived on … Trouble retrieving words? You are not alone: > Silence. Long silence. Very long silence. Disbelief. …Horror. We all knew the word. We had all used it many times. …

17 November 2020 — : Hmmm, another potential Scrabble word: dyspnea dyspnea — the feeling of having shortness of breath

17 November 2020 — : I’m thrilled to see that my young Granny Smith apple tree is producing fruit this year.

17 November 2020 — : The first thing that struck me about Big Sur was the awful awful awful black menu bar. Thanks to Take Control of Big Sur I learned how to fix it: Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display and select “Reduce transparency.”

16 November 2020 — : We flew right by the Marlborough Sounds today on our approach to Wellington Airport. Looking pretty good!

15 November 2020 — : On Tiritiri Matangi island this pohutukawa tree is part of the remnants of native forest that survived vegetation clearing for farming. This tree is about 1000 years old.

15 November 2020 — : Bookmark for myself: Postcards from Aotearoa: Biking into the past on Ōpōtiki’s dunes trail - Stuff.co.nz

14 November 2020 — : The best was saved to last. My first ever good view of a Ruru (morepork). It’s not common to see them in the daylight.

14 November 2020 — : Boarding the ferry for the 75 minute trip to Tiritiri Matangi.

14 November 2020 — : Auckland Skytower last night plus fireworks. Perhaps for Diwali.

14 November 2020 — : Good to see recognition for the first inhabitants: Murriyang telescope Australia’s …Parkes radio telescope has been given a new traditional name to recognize the Wiradjuri, who own the land on which the telescope sits. The Wiradjuri are some …

13 November 2020 — : Hmm. Papakura pub. Rodeo on TV, Christmas songs on the speakers.

13 November 2020 — : So, 12.18GB huh? On my slow internet that’s a long download.

13 November 2020 — : Darn it. An unexplained community case of Covid-19 in Auckland means this isn’t a great time to be heading up that way to visit friends and family.

12 November 2020 — : Also, a handy way on MacOSX to use Terminal to get the size of a directory quickly: du -sh /directory/path

12 November 2020 — : Heh, discovered an old archive of ReadItLater / Pocket files. Briefly looked at a few. I no longer care about that stuff. Trashed. All 1.3GB!

12 November 2020 — : We have a 50 metre driveway from the gate to the house. Today finally it wasn’t rainy or windy and I was able to spray all the wretched grass and weeds that are threatening to overcome the shingle. Just made it before the bottle of concentrated …

11 November 2020 — : Mistake number 1: buying frozen veges as a just-in-case back in April. Mistake number 2: actually cooking something with the frozen veg. Yuk! I’ll stick to frozen peas, but let the others be I think. Fresh veg all the way.

11 November 2020 — : Weird reviews: on checking what others thought of my next book purchase, one review gave 1 star while highly recommending the book and loving the stories. ❓‼️

11 November 2020 — : I really enjoyed reading Murder Among Friends by Janice Frost 📚: The victim ran a group at university teaching men how to pick up women. Jane and Steph venture into a dark and dangerous world of misogyny. Also: incels and problems all women face …

10 November 2020 — : Watched the movie Operation Christmas Drop. It’s a lightweight enjoyable romcom. Utterly predictable but a pleasant way to spend 95 minutes. Set in and around very beautiful Guam. 🎬 loosely based on the real-life U.S. Air Force Operation Christmas …

09 November 2020 — : Informing yourself about the aftermath of recent events? Did you know that the ‘math’ part originally referred to mowing a field? The “aftermath” is the new growth that comes after said field or meadow is mowed. Recommended podcast, by the …

09 November 2020 — : From last night: cabbage trees and flaxes against a 9 pm sky. iPhone 11.

08 November 2020 — : This morning’s breakfast was porridge that included home grown strawberries and locally produced honey (glass jar). The cashews come from the bulk bin at the supermarket, but these days they provide paper bags for the bulk items. Porridge in …

08 November 2020 — : Booked a day trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island | Bird sanctuary & walking tours for an upcoming visit to Auckland. birdlife native forest NZ’s oldest operating lighthouse Tiritiri Matangi is 2.2 square Km. Māori say the island is a float of …

08 November 2020 — : Another excellent Aussie movie. Rams: Two estranged brothers… raise separate flocks of sheep descended from their family’s prized bloodline. … A rare and lethal illness [leads to] a purge of every sheep in the valley. Can the flock, family and …

07 November 2020 — : Sometimes being asked for an opinion can inflate the ego nicely — it can add just a little buzz to the day. 07

07 November 2020 — : Today we had our (very high) gutter vacuumed — last done in February. I also drained the first flush diverter — last drained and cleaned last week. This accumulation of muck is from just a few days. We’re also investigating a UV filter system …

06 November 2020 — : In Aotearoa New Zealand’s two referenda, Official referendum results: End of Life Choice: 65.1% pro; 33.7% against. Cannabis legislation: 48.4% pro; 50.7% against. Close vote on cannabis…

06 November 2020 — : It takes 3 weeks after Aotearoa New Zealand’s General Election for all votes to be counted. Results have changed very slightly — 2020 General Election official results: Of 120 seats total — Labour: 65; National: 33; Greens: 10; ACT: 10; Māori Party: …

06 November 2020 — : Steroid shot procured so my itchy eyes, nose, throat and head fog should soon be sorted. The doctor was more friendly than in the past. The reception and billing process needs a radical overhaul though. Slow and utterly inefficient.

06 November 2020 — : It was puzzling why my first ‘blinking LED’ circuit wasn’t working so I rechecked everything, then resorted to swapping out parts. Must have been a faulty cable. With fresh cables suddenly there was the blink I’d been looking for. 🙌 06 // …

05 November 2020 — : It’s been a busy day with weedeating, weeding, cutting down a stray large lupin in a seldom visited corner of the property, dog walking, watering the tunnel house and various other outdoor activities. Whew!

05 November 2020 — : Hey @manton I just want to say how often I find I need to edit a typo in my replies. Thank you so much for making that possible!

05 November 2020 — : It’s spring, damp and warm, so everything is growing. A lot of weeding and the like means I have to stoop. It’s kind of hard on the back. 05

05 November 2020 — : This is peak hayfever time for me, and symptoms are starting to crank up. Trying to book for the nurse to give me a steroid shot, as that has helped the last 2 years. Of course, I had to advise that I have Covid-like symptoms of scratchy throat, …

05 November 2020 — : Deb’s no longer using my old 2012 MacBook Pro, so last night I wiped it, installed Catalina 10.15.7 via Internet Recovery, and am setting it up to handle Arduino electronics kit stuff. Don’t need email or any extras. It’s so …

05 November 2020 — : Guy Fawkes Day be damned. Today is Parihaka Day: Parihaka, 5 November 1881: more than 1,500 volunteers and members of the Constabulary Field Force invaded Parihaka …many houses were destroyed, and most of the residents forcibly evacuated.

04 November 2020 — : In bed and wondering why some silly fool is letting off fireworks nearby. Then I remembered it’s almost Guy Fawkes night and the general public are still allowed to buy fireworks. Unbelievable! Poor old Sasha is terrified, and Oshi’s growling and …

04 November 2020 — : I’ve long wanted to own some Apple shares, but $$$$$. Now however, I do, or at least 0.15 of 1 share. Thanks to Sharesies allowing people to buy shares in small amounts, and even partial shares. One day I’ll get all the way to 1 share, I hope.

04 November 2020 — : I spotted this beetle on a railing near the house. It’s bright green with a reddish stripe down its back. After web searching I’ve determined it’s a beetle, but I can’t discover what kind. Very bright green though. 04

03 November 2020 — : I’m holding a thought for all my US pals on this eve of such a significant election. For all of you, and also for us in the rest of the world, I hope you can root out the evil that is in power today and set your nation back on a path to a …

03 November 2020 — : Wow, I was visiting the NZ Parliament website and came across a broken link. I clicked their email address which brought up a usefully pre-filled email asking for relevant URLs. Less than 60 minutes after sending, the link has been fixed and they’ve …

03 November 2020 — : Xena: Warrior Princess was filmed in NZ, for a US audience. One effect was that the sun rose or set in the ‘wrong’ direction (in the many speeded up rise / set sequences). And it would always astonish me, just a little. Like the LtoR sun on the Solar …

03 November 2020 — : My favourite visitor is here today. 😎🐩

02 November 2020 — : The NZ Prime Minister has announced her new Cabinet, including more Māori than ever. Hooray! In the Press Conference, when journalists asked some of their questions in Te Reo Māori, I had to really concentrate to be able to (partly) understand the …

02 November 2020 — : Excellent: NZ’s May 2021 Census: will collect data on gender and sexual identity … [with] questions on a person’s sex at birth, gender identity and sexual identity. [In 2018] we just had ‘are you male or female’ that’s …

02 November 2020 — : First time in months I took my ‘big' Fuji X-T2 with zoom lens to the beach; first time ever I saw 9 Royal Spoonbills together (I had hoped for 2). What a wonderful way to start the week! Nine of these amazing birds!

01 November 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand has a lot going for it. One of those things is most definitely not its incredibly dreary National Anthem. Though the linked video in NZ Sign Language, Māori and English makes it seem positively peppy. 01

01 November 2020 — : Kristine Kathryn Rusch is absolutely my favourite sci-fi writer, but in a shocking first I was bored by Thieves: A Diving Novel. It was part of a Kickstarter Bundle, and especially odd because The Renegat was superb.

31 October 2020 — : Hooray! Greens accept Labour’s offer for ‘cooperation agreement’: James Shaw … Climate Change Minister and Associate Environment (Biodiversity), while Marama Davidson … Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and …

31 October 2020 — : In a world where there are millions of statues of men, there is now one more of a woman. ‘Hands-on activist’: Statue of Hilda Ross: Dame Hilda Ross was … Minister of Social Security, … of Welfare of Women and Children and …of Child …

31 October 2020 — : Excellent: even though Labour won our election outright, they’re bringing the Greens on board with a couple of Minister positions using their expertise on Climate change, homelessness, sexual violence (provided Green members accept the deal). …

31 October 2020 — : When bots are used to fight for good: More than 200,000 abusive tweets towards female candidates during elections: a tweet goes through … filters … once it scores 90% ‘most likely to be toxic’, the bot replies with a positive tweet. …

31 October 2020 — : It’s meant to rain today — we already had a brief but heavy fall around 4 am. As I look east I see very dark cloud over the hills, and some weird rolling waveforms.

30 October 2020 — : The day has all but disappeared and many tasks remain undone. Read an excellent book though whose details I can’t reveal at the moment so that was a real bonus.

30 October 2020 — : Cannabis will remain illegal in Aotearoa New Zealand. That means that instead of state control on quality and distribution, it will remain in the control of gangs and other criminals who will take profits without regard to the humans affected.

30 October 2020 — : Disappointing result on cannabis law reform. Final results could change as remaining votes are counted: The euthanasia referendum has passed the public vote, with 65.2% voting in favour, but the cannabis question has 53.1% voting ‘no’ …

29 October 2020 — : Amazing video: Interviews with Titanic Survivors done in 1979 about the events of 1912.

29 October 2020 — : Lining Figures are also available in Apple Pages, as the screenshots attest. Art Kavanagh wrote: I just posted “Lining figures” in Microsoft Word: You learn something new every now and then. Lining figures, under Fonts - Typography. Old …

28 October 2020 — : I've found some old archive DVDs and am importing them to my MacBook Pro. This video from December 2000 shows my then 16 year old Blue Burmese and 10 year old Fox Terrier.

28 October 2020 — : Woohoo, after I suggested our local Library buy this, the Library replied 📚: … Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley. The library has reviewed your suggestion today and the item will be ordered as soon as possible. I’ll get to read it …

27 October 2020 — : Oh yes, my favourite crime show trope (along with ‘enhance’, of course): zoom in on the security camera footage, zoom, zoom, zoom a bit more and we have the number the victim was texting! 🤳🏻

26 October 2020 — : One for the Scrabblers: tmesis — separation of parts of a compound word by the intervention of one or more words For example, un-f****ing-believable! First used in 1550.

25 October 2020 — : Last night, while watching Discovery, I had a new experience of my own: shimmering at the top and right edges of my vision in both eyes. No pain, no nausea and I don’t think I’ve ever had a migraine. It cleared up in about 15 minutes, but …

24 October 2020 — : M4.5 quake 〰️: 30 km north-west of Levin Heard it more than felt it.

24 October 2020 — : For a holiday in March 2021, my draft itinerary is Day 1: Drive with bike from home to Paeroa: 6 hours. Day 2: Bike Paeroa to Waihi: 6-7 hours (inc. sightseeing), 24 km. Stay 2 nights. Day 3: See the sights in Waihi. Day 4: Bike back to …

23 October 2020 — : I’m looking into options for a small holiday early next year. It’s so frustrating when websites make it difficult to find the prices. I don’t fall into the category of people who don’t need to know how much a thing costs. How …

23 October 2020 — : I’ve suggested to our local Library that they buy Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley 📚: A new, feminist translation of Beowulf … a tale of entitlement and encroachment, powerful men seeking to become more …

22 October 2020 — : It’s time to sell my (not very) old bike — I just don’t ride it now I have an electric bike. The Avanti Cadent ER 2 is so light though! And fast. Sad to see it go, but the space and the $$ will be very welcome. Took it for a last very short …

22 October 2020 — : Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Covid-19 and the Swiss cheese system: Twenty years ago, James Reason, a professor of psychology at the University of Manchester in the UK, published a paper in the British Medical Journal in which he described what …

21 October 2020 — : Multitasking. Watching NASA Live | NASA (starts now): Live coverage of OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touch-and-go (TAG) maneuver to collect sample on asteroid Bennu while working on my email InBox and updating subs payments and database for the Waikawa …

21 October 2020 — : Election 2020: ‘Historical high’ - New Zealand Parliament readies for more diversity NZ’s first African, Latin American and Sri Lankan MPs are among 40 new faces in Parliament. …7 of the Green Party’s 10 seats, more than …

21 October 2020 — : Excellent video: Why Doesn’t All Thunder Sound The Same?: We’ve all experienced thunder, but what ARE all those claps, booms, and rumbles? Thunder sounds, screenshot from video.

20 October 2020 — : Today’s dog walk was in the forest across the river. We stopped by the shag colony and listened to the shags while the river flowed placidly by. 🐶

19 October 2020 — : Looking for something else I saw one of NZ’s most famous and best-loved TV ads: Bugger. A series of farming mishaps each provoke the laconic comment — “bugger”. The shock value… the role of Hercules the dog, and the… hapless farmer … made …

19 October 2020 — : Bug report from Micro.Blog 2.0 on Mac: the New Post window ends up behind the main window after switching apps. New Post Switch to [app] to copy text Return to continue writing New Post. Post window is annoyingly behind the main window. …

19 October 2020 — : Zeptoseconds: Scientists have measured … the time it takes a light particle to cross a hydrogen molecule. … 247 zeptoseconds. A zeptosecond is a trillionth of a billionth of a second, or a decimal point followed by 20 zeroes and a 1.

19 October 2020 — : Our election has significantly increased diversity in our 120 seat Parliament: All eyes on Māori MPs after an impressive battle (15 people) New Zealand now has the queerest Parliament in the world (11 people) NZ election brings in largest …

19 October 2020 — : Sharon Murdoch draws 👍 political cartoons. Our Prime Minister as author: The Second Book: OK, so the first one had a birth, a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption and a pandemic This second one, my public wants a house, a job, a recovery, equity …

18 October 2020 — : All ♀ should know — World Menopause Day is 18 October. Breaking the taboo: Women mixing menopause with martinis as a call for change: 30+ potential symptoms - some … minor, others … life-changing. … “I don’t feel like myself,” … …

18 October 2020 — : This Paradise shelduck pair were calling in the cow paddock next door.

18 October 2020 — : Pleased by strong themes of hope, trust, a leap of faith, and working together in Star Trek Discovery S03E01. (On Netflix in Aotearoa New Zealand.) Screenshot Is this a new trend in shows? They were also key themes in the sci-fi series Away.

17 October 2020 — : With most votes counted, that’s a decisive and historic win for Jacinda Ardern, Labour and the Greens. It takes 2 weeks for Special Votes to be counted but they can’t change too much now. Now the Government will have a huge job ahead of them.

17 October 2020 — : The Wairarapa candidate, Kieran McAnulty, who seems likely to win the seat for Labour actually used the word “streuth” in his interview. I didn’t know anyone actually said that any more. (“Streuth" pronounced ‘strooth’ is an …

17 October 2020 — : Polls in Aotearoa New Zealand closed just over an hour ago. Almost 2 million people voted early, which leaves maybe 1.5 million who may have voted today. At the moment the left (red, Labour Party) are well in the lead. Greens are doing well too. …

17 October 2020 — : I thought this ad for hearing loss services was very cleverly done.

16 October 2020 — : Every month or so I drain the first flush diverter and clean the filter inside. This 60 litre tank fills with the first ‘flush’ of dirty water off the roof then diverts the remaining cleaner rainwater into the 20,000 litre tank we use for all our …

16 October 2020 — : The expat Kiwis coming home They’re midwives, nurses, teachers, CEOs, engineering professionals, people who work in … all the industries the country has a shortage in. We’ve gone from losing nearly 20,000 New Zealanders a year … to gaining 7,200 …

15 October 2020 — : In Good News: Lizard hunting kicks off Wellington roading project: Before work gets underway … native lizards … in a slumber through winter will be moved to a new home. And At another … development … 27 lizards … have been moved to lizard …

15 October 2020 — : Heh, dogs keep their owners humble: Sorry, But Dogs May Prefer The Faces of Other Dogs to Those of Humans 🐶: new research suggests … that dogs' brains are equally as excited by our faces as they are by the backs of our heads.

15 October 2020 — : Home-grown tunnelhouse strawberries and store-bought Icelandic Vanilla Bean yoghurt. Yumm.

15 October 2020 — : Even more hilarious than usual: xkcd.com: Dialect Quiz wood mage wand. longwich 😂

14 October 2020 — : Moose, a big horse who used to be our neighbour left a few months ago. At least, I thought he was big till I met this giant, Bosley, on the beach today. He’s an enormous 18 hands. His mother was a thoroughbred and his father a full Clydesdale. …

14 October 2020 — : At this time of year the tī, aka cabbage tree, aka Cordyline, produces beautifully scented panicles. It’s the most gorgeous perfume. Photo: Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua, Aotearoa New Zealand, at 0945 local time (UTC+13). A Day In The Life

13 October 2020 — : I think Netflix ☛ Away was a remarkable series. While no-one has actually travelled to Mars yet, it felt totally realistic. By the last few episodes it was more like watching an actual mission. So glad this focussed on people rather than gadgets. …

13 October 2020 — : Thanks @macgenie for the thoughtful discussion on Voyager Revisited | Neelix Has Had It With Your Condescending Attitude (Episode 18). Was just pondering his role as Voyager morale officer today while watching the complicated personal dynamics in …

13 October 2020 — : Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway to appear in Star Trek cartoon: 👍 Kate Mulgrew is joining a new Nickelodeon series called Star Trek: Prodigy where she’ll reprise her Star Trek: Voyager role as Captain Kathryn Janeway. The new show will be …

13 October 2020 — : Put together Deb’s new bookshelves. Easy! Carefully followed the more complex instructions for the kitset desk. Just near the end wondered why there were 2 pre-drilled screw holes missing. And why there are two extra holes on the front… …

12 October 2020 — : I’d never heard of autoethnography before, @martinfeld. An interesting episode. Good to hear too of your long history with the German Language. I think my interest was sparked when I was ~7 when my older sister, on a school trip from England, …

12 October 2020 — : Every Monday I receive an email reminding me to fill out a survey for Flutracking.net | Tracking Influenza Across Australia and New Zealand. It takes a few seconds to respond. It’s interesting to see seasonal flu is almost absent in Aotearoa in …

12 October 2020 — : The General Election in Aotearoa New Zealand is on, with voting closing in a few days time. If you happen to want to know more about our Mixed Member Proportional representation system this is a good explainer: Election 2020: Our MMP voting system …

11 October 2020 — : I’m starting to investigate a possible trip sometime to Rēkohu / Chatham Islands, a part of Aotearoa New Zealand that’s a 2-hour plane flight east of the mainland. It’s quickly become very confusing; each site shows tours that cost more …

11 October 2020 — : Gave the quail a bit of a treat today: fresh straw and macrocarpa ‘roofing’. That white plastic tray was the best $2 I ever spent at a school fair.

10 October 2020 — : The book Open Season: Book One of the critically-acclaimed Seasons Mystery Series by Maryann Miller was an odd read that left me feeling uncomfortable. I won’t be reading more of this series. Maybe the 2014 publication date excuses its lack of …

10 October 2020 — Hardy whitebaiters : When 15 August and the start of the whitebaiting season rolls around it is still winter. Frosty mornings aren't unusual and the river water will be cold. That doesn't deter the keenest whitebaiters though who appear at first light the moment the …

09 October 2020 — : Daybreak cows in the frost.

09 October 2020 — : Hey @help A bug report from Micro.Blog 2.0 on Mac: the New Post window ends up behind the main window after switching apps with Command Tab. New Post Switch to [app] to copy text Command Tab to continue writing New Post. Post window is …

09 October 2020 — : Sex toys are one thing between consenting adults, but Internet-connected sex toys sound like a Very Bad Idea™ indeed! This smart vibrator can be ‘easily’ hacked and remotely controlled by anyone Security flaw left ‘smart’ chastity sex …

08 October 2020 — : Not quite the first strawberries of the season, but close. Yumm. Grown in the tunnelhouse.

08 October 2020 — : Today’s highlight of the trip to the beach for a dog walk: a duck crossing the road followed by 8 or 10 tiny tiny ducklings. No photo — they were too far for my iPhone and I didn’t want to risk scaring them by moving.

08 October 2020 — : OK, this looks like it should be a fun watch: The 355 - Official Trailer 🎬: When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands [4 female agents from various countries] … rocket around the globe … [and] forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the …

07 October 2020 — : The other day in the dog park at Levin I heard a Tūī in the tree right next to me. This clip starts with other birds, then the Tūī comes in. In the background someone calling a dog.

06 October 2020 — : Also on Lambton Quay, 6 chaps moving a very heavy looking and very large object up Plimmer Steps. Amazingly, the two behind the object had not been crushed when I next passed by.

06 October 2020 — : At Plimmer Steps on Lambton Quay, John Plimmer with his dog Fritz.

06 October 2020 — : Seen on Lambton Quay in Wellington.

05 October 2020 — : Today I was a good citizen and voted in the Aotearoa New Zealand general election. Polling closes on 17 October.

05 October 2020 — : With summer coming, I had a window open overnight. This morning I can hear a rooster nearby. 😎

04 October 2020 — : We’ve been really enjoying Netflix ☛ Away 📺: Away follows the first crewed expedition to Mars … The series is described as being “about hope, humanity and how ultimately, we need one another if we are to achieve impossible things.”

04 October 2020 — : Today’s weird beach rubbish find: fluorescent light tube.

03 October 2020 — : Party colours in Aotearoa. It’s so confusing seeing news about US elections because their right-wingers are associated with red and lefties with blue. In Aotearoa the left use red and the right use blue. Information about voting uses orange to …

03 October 2020 — : In Aotearoa everyone gets 2 votes: vote for a specific person to represent the electorate vote for a particular party to be in government. Once votes are counted parties with enough seats can form a coalition to actually govern. Right now …

03 October 2020 — : In 2020 we also vote on two referenda in Aotearoa: give people with a terminal illness the option of requesting assisted dying. whether the recreational use of cannabis should become legal. I intend to vote yes to both. I suspect neither will …

03 October 2020 — : Aotearoa is holding a General Election on Saturday 10 October 2020. We received info by mail a few days ago and can vote from now. I’ve cut out my voter card (optional, but helpful). In my electorate there are 8 candidates, some total nutters. The …

02 October 2020 — : Hah, nice quote: If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you, don’t make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: “He does not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these.” From: The …

01 October 2020 — : I should have known that the excellent NetNewsWire 5.1 would allow me to ‘Always Use Reader View’ for a feed where I need it. 🥳 Thanks @brentsimmons

01 October 2020 — : Window cleaning didn’t take long (outsides only). It needs a good quality sheepskin and blade, a dash of water and a drop of dishwashing liquid. A vast improvement!

01 October 2020 — : Window cleaning is on the agenda today. After this week’s storm it’s like looking through a fog. It’s probably a mix of salt and sand.

30 September 2020 — : Our dogs don’t like it when the grass in their yard gets too long. Perhaps it tickles their bottoms… It also makes it harder to find and pick up 💩. So today was weedeating day. Oshi helped by digging a hole (not visible in photo). 🐶

29 September 2020 — : Past me was pretty smart and bought all the episodes of Rizzoli and Isles. I’d forgotten that they’re pretty fun. A good thing to watch at the tail end of this spring storm where it’s still too cold and windy to be outside doing things.

29 September 2020 — : Hilarious, when all 3 telcos here don’t take the racist s**t 1 customer wants to throw: Uh oh, they’ve used the word “normal”. Christmas decorations with snowmen in summer is normal. … A language spoken continuously … for hundreds of years is …

29 September 2020 — : While looking for something else I found this pigeon photo from May 2004. 🐦

29 September 2020 — : Hey @macgenie Pheromones Defeat Death Ray! was an excellent episode of Voyager Revisited. I’m not sure I fully appreciated Bride of Chaotica when I watched it and may not have seen it twice. I’ll remedy that soon. 😀

29 September 2020 — : Given up on trying to sleep while the house shakes and the wind roars. I was having weird dreams when I did sleep anyway. Trembling dogs on the bed with me. Spring storms!

28 September 2020 — : Heh, watching (and laughing heaps) the black comedy Avenue 5 📺: On board the interplanetary cruise ship a momentary loss of artificial gravity … sends the vessel a few degrees off course. It’s estimated it will take the ship 3 years to return …

28 September 2020 — : Apparently today’s grooming session has caused Sasha to feel a little blurry. 🐶

28 September 2020 — : Decades ago mum mentioned something from her childhood called a “flower lee pone”. She couldn’t recall more about it. ❓❓Mystery solved today courtesy of a crossword: “flower Epergne”: An epergne may be used … as a designer object to hold …

27 September 2020 — : Tomorrow is grooming day for the dogs so today Oshi and Sasha had their ears and tail brushed. ‘Before’ photo. 🐶

26 September 2020 — : It is an absolute mystery to me why I read Driftwood and Death (Innisstead Sands Cozy Mysteries Book 1) to the end and why I didn’t get my money back. Unbelievably silly! 📚 No author info to be found — a 10 year old perhaps?

26 September 2020 — : Last night we enjoyed Netflix ☛ Enola Holmes: 🎬 …the youngest sibling in the famous Holmes family. … a free-wheeling, strong-willed, and boundary-pushing young woman … extremely intelligent, observant, and insightful, and she defies the social norms …

26 September 2020 — : We visited Wellington for a friend’s birthday brunch. One thing I do not miss at all is battling the wind to simply make progress walking along the street.

25 September 2020 — : Grrr, logic failure! For the last two weeks I’ve been gradually moving dog meal times in readiness for Sunday’s change to Daylight Savings Time. We’ll put the clocks forward 1 hour. I’ve been moving their mealtimes in the other direction. 🕒 🤯

25 September 2020 — : Pizza for lunch!

24 September 2020 — : The river at the footbridge was muddy, full and swiftly flowing after the last few days rain in the hills. Volume up for the birds.

23 September 2020 — : So cool! Track tohorā southern right whales on their journeys. this particular population of tohorā have recovered well from whaling from the early 1800s when numbers plummeted to as low as 40 from an estimated 30,000. By 2009, the population had …

23 September 2020 — : Cool: The Loop of Life coffin is grown from mycelium, the root network of mushrooms. … hay or hemp is placed in a wooden box-shaped mold. Fungus is added, and watered … Within a week you have a solid box that … breaks down quickly and stimulates the …

22 September 2020 — : Darn it, I finished reading Hanging Falls: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima. 📚 An excellent read!

22 September 2020 — : Sometimes I hate reading a really good book such as Hanging Falls: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima. 📚 The more I read, the closer I am to finishing… Then what? officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo stumble upon a body …

21 September 2020 — : Clockwork quail. In 2018 and 2019 my Coturnix quail laid their first egg for the season on 21 September. Today, 21 September 2020, they kept the trend going. They require 12 hours of daylight to lay, which we achieved yesterday with equilux. Clever …

21 September 2020 — : If I were in a different country I might worry… A military helicopter came from the north (where the base is) did a slow circuit north of the village then went away. Then it came back, did two slow, low laps of our house, then went away again. Weird.

21 September 2020 — : I couldn’t really get close enough and only had my iPhone with me, but that white speck around middle photo is a Royal Spoonbill. So glad to see it as I thought perhaps the spoonbills had abandoned us.

21 September 2020 — : Our View of Space Is Becoming Blurrier the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope … sits in the Atacama desert [which] has warmed by 1.5 °C over the last four decades. this causes turbulence within the dome, which degrades the …

20 September 2020 — : After a week of westerly gales, cloud, rain etc the beach this morning was absolutely stunning.

20 September 2020 — : The Equinox | MetService Blog: Equinox is on Wednesday, but due to refraction+width of sun the equilux (day with 12 hours of daylight) occurs today or yesterday in NZ depending on latitude. ☀️🕶 🥳 It’s about time my two remaining quail started …

19 September 2020 — : One of the podcasts I really enjoy is Mothers of Invention, about climate justice. The episode We Are The People Of The Beans had a particularly interesting section about silvopastoral systems, that I think Aotearoa New Zealand, with all its cow …

18 September 2020 — : Ambivalent about Murder The Boys (Detective Kate Power Mystery Book 1) by Judith Cutler 📚. The bad guy was obvious to the reader but not the Detective Sergeant who also seemed pretty wimpy for someone of her experience. Boys are being abducted, …

17 September 2020 — : I finally got around to watching (and enjoying) Booksmart. It was both moving and funny. It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two graduating high school girls who set out to finally break the rules and party on their last day of classes

17 September 2020 — : First time this season I’ve spotted ‘our’ kōtare (kingfisher).

17 September 2020 — : Wow. I updated to Apple Safari v14, then visited @cheri’s website and followed a link to one other site. Then I looked at Safari’s Privacy report. It had blocked 18 trackers! It blocked Facebook at Cheri’s site and loads of trackers at …

16 September 2020 — : Kiwis: TVNZ ☛ Origins is superb! Scotty Morrison explores the origins of the Māori people, visiting the Wairau Bar site which could be the first community in Aotearoa. He tries to locate his hawaiki, his homeland, in the Pacific, but is hawaiki a …

16 September 2020 — : Unfortunately this Common skink I found in the garden was very dead, but I was thrilled nevertheless. This proves that the extremely rare flashes of something I’ve thought I‘ve seen were very probably (live) skinks. I suspect recent frosts have taken …

16 September 2020 — : I don’t know if it was the 5 am-ness, but today’s Apple Event just filled me with yawns. I feel like I know the script off by heart — change it up, Apple. The beautiful people with their beautiful words just didn’t connect. Maybe time to …

16 September 2020 — : Ahhh, spring. Westerly gales all week, including gusts last night to 87 Kph and a thunderstorm at bedtime.

15 September 2020 — : I enjoyed reading The Death of an Ambitious Woman (Chief Ruth Murphy Mysteries) by Barbara Ross 📚: the murder of one ambitious woman forces another to decide what price she is willing to pay for success. Darn: this was only recently published so no …

15 September 2020 — : This unusual driftwood made me think of a planet and satellite moon. The two tree bases weren’t just accidentally connected but actually grown together.

14 September 2020 — : Back in 2011 I came across this Porsche Spyder and an admirer on Oriental Parade in Wellington. Quite a car!

14 September 2020 — : Oshi’s latest game: go out the wide open side door, through the gate and wait mournfully in front of the closed front door.

13 September 2020 — : A looong book, and not for the page count: Corpse Way (The Yorkshire Dales Mysteries Book 1) by Susan Parry. 📚 Ground through 70% then page-flipped just to find out the explanation. Reminiscent of Famous Five. Reminder to self: don’t buy more in this …

12 September 2020 — : It’s been chilly and rainy the last few days which means the Tararua range has snow covered peaks, some of which we see from the east-facing deck on our house. This photo has added circular polarising filter for drama this morning.

11 September 2020 — : Nothing much happening at Foxton Estuary when I biked around up there today. Felt bad my grilled fish (blue cod) and chips contributed foil, polystyrene and plastic cutlery to the planet’s burden of rubbish. At least I was back in the car …

10 September 2020 — : When I go out I give the dogs 3 instructions: no barking, no peeing, no pooping. I don’t know about the barking, but they both forgot the ‘no peeing' injunction. 😣

10 September 2020 — : A neighbour needed a lift to an appointment so we followed up with lunch at Salt and Pepper at Ōhau. I had a very delicious potato rosti stack with avocado, egg, portobello mushrooms. 🍽 The cafe was very busy. Good to know this business is surviving. …

10 September 2020 — : I was feeling grumpy about our cool weather with persistent drizzle, and looking fondly at old September holiday photos in warm places. After seeing updates from my online pals suffering from wildfires after a stinking hot summer I’m rethinking …

09 September 2020 — : Clocks go back on 27 September. Today I start moving dog meal times to ~3 minutes later each day. I wish we’d dump this whole daylight savings malarkey. And to think it was a Kiwi who started the ball rolling! 🕑 New Zealand entomologist George …

09 September 2020 — : Many thanks to all those who mentioned enjoying TV+ ☛ Ted Lasso. 📺 Two episodes today cheered me right up on a day of cold wind, grey skies and drizzle.

09 September 2020 — : Today’s racism realisation (thanks Crossword clue): The Lone Ranger was not Lone: The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws … with his Native American friend, Tonto an enduring icon of American culture. …

09 September 2020 — : Such an interesting interview (41 minutes): Georgie Harman on women and mental health: Julia Gillard talks to Georgie Harman, CEO of Beyond Blue, Australia’s leading mental health support organisation, about the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on …

08 September 2020 — : Another excellent read: Find Me When I’m Lost (A Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Book 5) by Cheryl A. Head. 📚 Charlie Mack is hired by her ex-husband’s new wife when the ex, Franklin, has been charged with his brother-in-law’s murder.

08 September 2020 — : A nice story to start the day: Scientists Clone an Endangered Przewalski’s Horse For The First Time: What makes Kurt even more exciting is that he was cloned from genetic material cryopreserved 40 years ago - reviving genetic diversity thought …

07 September 2020 — : The calves in the paddock next door are so young the farmer still brings them a small tank of milk every day.

07 September 2020 — : Sometime in the past someone’s pet black rabbit must have escaped. This wild cutie is often near our place. I didn’t even notice the more usual brown rabbit till I zoomed and cropped the photo.

06 September 2020 — : Families! 🤯 My partner was adopted very young. She grew up with one younger brother. 30 years ago she found 4 more younger brothers from her birth family. Last year an older brother (also adopted out) suddenly turned up. Last night an older sister …

06 September 2020 — : This ~10 minute video was way more interesting than I expected — the science and tech behind taking balloons and a human up to 25,000 feet: I WAS THERE! How David Blaine flew helium balloons to the height of jets (and jumped). The event itself: David …

05 September 2020 — : This happened just up the road from us (about 16 Km along the beach). Locals stunned as enormous whale washes up on beach in Levin The whale was already dead when it washed ashore, but the cause of death is not yet known. So huge and so sad. 🐳 …

05 September 2020 — : Last night we watched Palm Beach, an Australian film from 2019 🎬: A reunion party is being held at Palm Beach in Sydney by a group of lifelong friends. Beautiful scenery. Good music. Nice to see Kiwi actor Sam Neill. Not great; not terrible.

04 September 2020 — : The river has created almost an oxbow in its lazy loop between throat and sea. It’s whitebaiting season so a few folks are out with their fishing nets.

03 September 2020 — : Hmm, 5.7 but 64 Km deep and not too close: Strong earthquake occurred 10 km west of St Arnaud. Bit of a shake as I was going to sleep. 〰️

03 September 2020 — : Success: 8+ hours of uninterrupted sleep. I’ve been working on my sleep for a couple of years now and am starting to see and feel improvements. It makes so much difference to not be tired and foggy all day. I have a decade or more of terrible sleep …

03 September 2020 — : Ahhh, this is the time of year when the sun rises before 7 am. It feels like the year is really actually heading towards summer. I’m looking forward to some good warm days and not-cold nights. I’m ready for a holiday in a hot place (not …

02 September 2020 — : I really enjoyed most of the stories in Voices Carry and Other Stories of Women and Crime by Dayle A. Dermatis. 📚 I didn’t finish the first story, but found the second, Bothering with the Details, specially appealing. I bought this as part of …

02 September 2020 — : Amazing. According to Ancient Earth globe, 260 million years ago Wellington, New Zealand (close enough to where I live now) was located at the South Pole. So, in another 260 million years will it have drifted north all the way to the North Pole?

02 September 2020 — : Day Two of spring and the peach tree is already in sync. Blossoms appearing.

02 September 2020 — : Timezones! (I assume.) I diligently posted at least once each day for #mbaug photo challenge, and used that tag so I could easily collect the posts. MarsEdit shows 1 post (or more) per day. A Micro.Blog Search though shows something else — …

01 September 2020 — : Another excellent read: Tracking Game: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima. 📚 Two brutal murders, a menacing band of poachers, and a fearsome creature on the loose in the mountains plunge Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo into a …

01 September 2020 — : The fingers of the sea.

31 August 2020 — : For Micro Monday let me recommend @GeneticJen who is writing a magificent must-read series on Women in tech history. So far: Margaret Hamilton Grace Hopper the ENIAC programmers Katherine Johnson the women of Bletchley Park Hedy Lamarr

31 August 2020 — : As always with love it is inexplicable. I just love Spain. The 4 weeks we spent travelling there in 2015 were too brief. I also love waterfalls. The Fervenza do Ézaro waterfall is between Santiago de Compostela and Fisterre in Spain. #mbaug

30 August 2020 — : On 04 November 2012 we made a wonderful discovery: an empty section at Waikawa Beach. By mid-January 2013 it belonged to us and we’ve been living here 5 or 6 years now. That pile of bricks is where our house now stands. #mbaug

29 August 2020 — : Sometimes after a hard day you just flake out. My boy Ares, a few years ago now. 🐈 #mbaug

29 August 2020 — : I very much enjoyed Pretty Little Horses (an Abby Maxon mystery novel) by Annie Reed. 📚 Gripping ending kept me up late reading. The copy editor needs a better eye though for quite a few trivial annoyances, such as missing words (esp. ‘the’) or ‘the' …

28 August 2020 — : Enjoyed Gators and Garters (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 18) by Jana Deleon. 📚 This story felt more like hanging out with old friends. Didn’t have quite the zing of previous books. Ida Belle’s wedding to Walter—but the caterer goes missing …

28 August 2020 — : Living here is great for my emotions. Today’s special boost: the black swan pair with the five thriving cygnets. #mbaug

27 August 2020 — : This is what Aotearoa New Zealand wants: man who carried out mosque attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019 … sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of ever leaving jail. … pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder, …

27 August 2020 — : In 2008 I visited Hawai’i briefly and took a guided tour up Mauna Kea to visit the observatories. I had no idea at the time that it is sacred indigenous land. I hope the indigenous people can overcome the plans to build more telescopes, desecrating …

27 August 2020 — : International Day of the Dog 2020, you say. 🐶 Importing some old photos and just found this, appropriately. On High Street in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand (2009, before the huge earthquake of 2011): Corgis on High, a public artwork. I hope …

27 August 2020 — : ‘Yod dropping’! How do you pronounce emu? the evolution of emu to EE-mooh was an example of yod dropping. some words ending in that /u/ vowel in English (e.g. “blue”, “rude”) were once pronounced with a palatal — /rjud, …

27 August 2020 — : Cool: Auckland Zoo welcomes first rhino birth in 20 years The baby girl rhino was born on August 14 and is the first child of 30-year-old southern white rhino, Jamila. … after a 16-month pregnancy, with the newborn tipping the scales at a healthy …

26 August 2020 — : A superb 8 minute doco: Wahine Warrior about a woman who learned to hunt to feed herself and kids and now is teaching other women. Reinventing herself to help other wahine escape the same life of welfare and abuse, she enriches them with hunting …

26 August 2020 — : When Olive 🐈 was about 3 years old her owners, our next door neighbours, moved overseas and she came to live with us. Here she is in December 2003. I learned the value of persistence from Olive. She was relentless in pursuing her goals. It …

25 August 2020 — : A special visitor today: a Barbary dove, symbol of hope. #mbaug

24 August 2020 — : In early October 2011 we spent a weekend in Melbourne, Australia. It's a lovely city, as cities go. I loved this art work: Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch: Batman, Swanston And Hoddle. (Been looking for my Melbourne photos for days…)

24 August 2020 — : Good news on Oshi’s eye 🐶: the ulcer is down to about 20% of the surface. Previous photo from a couple of weeks ago it was about 75%. The vet also commented that Oshi seems more with it than last time. We continue with eye drops. so glad he’s …

24 August 2020 — : It doesn’t snow in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, but it did on 15 August 2011. Pretty frosty. Pretty pretty too. ❄️ #mbaug These photos from our old house on Mt Victoria. Front deck, and back yard.

23 August 2020 — : I enjoy the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries by Margaret Mizushima. 📚 Burning Ridge really held my attention and was a great read. On a rugged Colorado mountain ridge, Mattie Cobb and her police dog partner Robo make a grisly discovery—and become the …

23 August 2020 — : Sorry I didn’t respond sooner @PaulGit re your question about Shangai topiary. The photo info is below. We were only in Shanghai for a day or two. I have absolutely no idea where I was! Hope this helps.

23 August 2020 — : Graceful: this humpback whale cutting through the water beside our boat on a whale watching trip in Tonga. #mbaug

22 August 2020 — : Today I was one of a dozen volunteers who planted out 3,000 spinifex and 500 pingao plants at Waikawa Beach. They help retain the dunes and build the coast. One chap with a powered auger dug holes. We took plants from the root trainers, dropped them …

22 August 2020 — : Wait… that’s a funny looking chook! 🐓

22 August 2020 — : My friend’s chooks, who I’m feeding for the weekend, enjoy a little art critique in their home. 🐓

21 August 2020 — : Well, today is less than 4 months since a friend of the last 2 or 3 decades was diagnosed with cancer. Today she passed away — the first of our larger ‘Brunch Group’. She was a few days short of her 71st birthday. We’re all of that kind of age …

21 August 2020 — : Without a doubt Walkers Shortbread is the best shortbread. Excellent flavour and the perfect amount of crunch. So glad to be able to buy these again. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 #mbaug

21 August 2020 — : This (free) Wu Fei track put me so much in mind of Bear McCreary’s work on Battlestar Galactica Gulibita: I knew this song as Why Is The Rose So Red (花儿为什么这样红) from childhood. As far as I can find out, the melody is adapted from a Tajik folk …

20 August 2020 — : Yay, it is properly raining. We haven’t had much rain for a while, and there’s about 40 mm forecast over the next few days. 🤞🏼 40 mm would give us about 2,600 litres in the rainwater tank.

20 August 2020 — : I really enjoyed chatting with @martinfeld, who managed to draw thoughts from me I didn't even realise I had. Listen in to save the planet. Heh. For episode 40 of Lounge Ruminator, @miraz joined me to discuss the value of simplicity, whether in using …

20 August 2020 — : You may need to change direction to get to the next interesting point in your journey. #mbaug

19 August 2020 — : I bought the Mysterious Women story bundle. I really enjoyed Paper Bullets by Annie Reed. Well written, easy to read, held my attention. One simple favor for her ex plunges private investigator Abby Maxon into a deadly game of cat and mouse. …

19 August 2020 — : In August 2015 we spent a couple of days in Shanghai. They had amazing topiary. I’d give this a gold ribbon. #mbaug Topiary of dolphins and other sea life.

19 August 2020 — : Today’s newly learned word to save up for Scrabble: Xiphoid — Shaped like a sword, gladiate.

18 August 2020 — : “Our” black swans have so far managed to keep all 5 cygnets alive. Perhaps the alarm calls even as I was still quite far away are an element of their success? 🐦

18 August 2020 — : Grids everywhere. Before Covid-19 Wellington used to be a destination for summer cruise ships which berthed beside the logs for export and opposite the Westpac Stadium. The huge ships were higher than the stadium. #mbaug

18 August 2020 — : This fern is growing its own grid. #mbaug

17 August 2020 — : Oshi saw his vet Mary today, who confirmed he’s having a huge problem with his eye. She’s testing his swollen lymph nodes, but he may soon be visiting Wellington to see Dr Kellam Bayley BVSc MVSc(dist) CertVOphthal MANZCVS Dip ECVO. Who knew …

17 August 2020 — : This cuddly little bundle went on to become my boy Ares. Photo from March 2002 before he was even 3 months old and came to live with us. 🐈 #mbaug

17 August 2020 — : ROFL: “Well I’m Australian and you’re wrong.” A favourite quote from Martin Feld. 39. International Mac Nerds with Special Guests Andrew Canion and Jason Burk — Lounge Ruminator

17 August 2020 — : So, our election has been delayed by 4 weeks. It’s the Prime Minister’s decision, but so glad to hear she first conferred with all the other parties in parliament, and even with business and other interests. We have a robust democracy. 🇳🇿

17 August 2020 — : In other news: Sasha enjoys some sunshine. 🐶

17 August 2020 — : I’m feeling very unsettled today. News soon about if our General Election scheduled for 19 September will be postponed. Worried about Oshi 🐶 who’s just not come right after last week’s surgery. Had a stress dream about him. We’re …

16 August 2020 — : One of the things I love about cameras (even the iPhone 4S in this case) is their ability to freeze the moving, to catch the water in the blowholes so it appears stationary. At Mapu’a ‘a Vaea Blowholes in Tonga in August 2012. #mbaug

16 August 2020 — : This article has a clear explanation — Why Does Some Rain Fall Harder Than Other Rain? : When clouds are thin and the air is moving slowly, you get nice calm rain. Hard rainstorms happen when there is a lot of moisture in the air and the air moves …

16 August 2020 — : Half an hour till dawn and the Moon and Venus are leading the way for the sun.

15 August 2020 — : I’d read this before, but enjoyed it again. An alternate universe novella by Kristine Kathryn Rush: Recovering Apollo 8 📚: Richard dedicates his life to recovering the lost capsule…causing him to question the meaning of life, the meaning of …

15 August 2020 — : Another excellent read from a favourite author: Judge Me When I’m Wrong (A Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Book 4) 📚 I wondered where this was going at first, but enjoyed the twist. Charlie reports for jury duty and begins to unravel a disturbing …

15 August 2020 — : This silhouette from looking southwest at sunset, earlier this year. #mbaug

14 August 2020 — : Question to US sports and/or Star Trek fans. A crossword clue and answer was: “College player sitting out a year: Redshirt”. On Star Trek redshirts on away missions generally got killed or whatever. Are these two things related? 🤔🖖🏼

14 August 2020 — : My Honda del Sol was first backed into by a very apologetic neighbour. One time a fire engine took off a corner. Various folks crashed into it, smashed windows, scraped past on our narrow, winding road. One guy tried to jimmy off the spoiler. All …

14 August 2020 — : Back in 1998 I bought a brand-new to me second hand Honda del Sol sports car. Within a week it had been damaged — only 1 among many incidents (18, I think). The worst <6 months later was when thieves took all 4 wheels overnight. Trouble magnet …

13 August 2020 — : As expected, I very much enjoyed Catch Me When I’m Falling (A Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Book 3) 📚: Someone is murdering the homeless in Detroit’s Cass Corridor… These horrific crimes wouldn’t require an investigation… except one of the …

13 August 2020 — : Waimangu Volcanic Valley is only a few Km out of Rotorua and a favourite spot. We spent only an hour there. 😒Sometime I want to go back with a picnic and spend the whole day. That blue is the true colour of the highly acidic Inferno Crater Lake. 🌋 …

13 August 2020 — : Last weekend we visited Rotorua, ~5 hours drive north of here. The Redwoods Treewalk was a highlight. 9-20 metres above the forest floor, this award-winning, eco-tourism walk is 700 metres long, spans across 28 suspension bridges and 27 platforms …

13 August 2020 — Seal season : Waikawa Beach is littered with driftwood all year. Sometimes it turns up in the form of a thick mulch of tiny fragments. Mainly though it's variously sized branches and logs and chunks of wood, generally dark, sometimes light, lying hither and yon. …

13 August 2020 — : I love watching the dawn filter in. #mbaug

12 August 2020 — : Genomic Study Reveals NZ’s Tuatara Is Like No Other Animal According to new sequencing of the tuatara’s entire genome … this strange creature is neither lizard, bird, nor mammal. Rather, it’s some strange amalgamation of all three. …

12 August 2020 — : Well, the klaxon sound blaring from my phone just before 7 a.m. certainly took me by surprise. Today most of Aotearoa New Zealand moves back to Covid-19 Alert Level 2 because after 102 days of relaxation we have 4 new cases of unknown origin. 🦠 …

11 August 2020 — : Poor old Oshi is home and resting comfortably after his surgery today. 🐶 4 teeth were extracted. His eye has a bad ulcer, probably related to the rotten tooth that was below it. Xrays show the arthritis we knew about, but no other serious problems.

11 August 2020 — : On the other hand, the overnight camel trek in Morocco in 2015 was a pretty unusual mode of transport. Sunrise gave me a great shot.

11 August 2020 — : In October 2002 we took a tour on a mini submarine in Vanuatu. It was a tiny boat with a glass ‘bell’ below water. Definitely the most unusual mode of transport I’ve ever used. I think these days I’d take better photos. Canon …

10 August 2020 — : A couple of weeks ago Sasha had Xrays and minor surgery. This week is Oshi’s turn. He’s pretty poorly: an ulcerated eye, rotten tooth and general malaise. 🐶 He’s stayed at the vet’s tonight ready for surgery tomorrow. Photo …

10 August 2020 — : I’m excited to see this video series: Dianna’s Intro Physics Class. I’ve long wanted an intro course for adults. I last learned about physics a good 50 years ago and have forgotten everything. Meanwhile, the world has moved on. Much …

10 August 2020 — : Marc Chagall window, Reims Cathedral, May 1982. Photo of an old bad photo on paper. #mbaug

09 August 2020 — : In Rotorua on the Sulphur Lake sculpture trail (PDF), Rory McDougall: Ghost Soldier: For the soldiers who returned in spirit. … I try to achieve the motion of passing through and ascending upwards using negative space in silhouette – a ghost …

09 August 2020 — : I’ll write separately about the Redwood Treetop walk in Rotorua, but at night they fill the forest with amazing lights, including these ‘fireflies' which flit around. The photo does it no justice at all, but it was absolutely magical. If you’re …

08 August 2020 — : Another view of some of the thermal pools at Polynesian Spa, with lake beyond.

08 August 2020 — : One of the delights of the Polynesian thermal pools in Rotorua is being able to look out over the lake while soaking.

08 August 2020 — : Rotorua has many fine views, such as these trees in Government Gardens. #mbaug It’s a pleasure to be in Rotorua for a day or two, especially with fewer people around, thanks to our borders being effectively closed.

07 August 2020 — : Daytripping. Mt Ruapehu. #mbaug

07 August 2020 — : Am working my way through the NY Times Acrostic archive. Nearly 20 years on and I’m so aware of 11 September 2001. Like early 2020 it was a pivotal moment around the globe. In both cases air travel was forever transformed — one symptom of …

07 August 2020 — : I rarely check texts before I send (I really should) so this autocorrected exchange with my partner while out in town was weird‼️ D: just getting petroleum (a/c from petrol) Me: Petroleum! Fancy! I hope the house pillow (a/c hoi polloi) like me will …

06 August 2020 — : I really enjoyed Netflix ☛ Quartet 🎬: takes place in Beecham House, a retirement home for former professional musicians, patterned after the real-life Casa di Riposo per Musicisti founded by Giuseppe Verdi. Featuring Dame Maggie Smith. 👍 It’s …

06 August 2020 — : Bisect. #mbaug

05 August 2020 — : At the supermarket I spotted this unlabeled tray of weird objects in the fruit department. Turns out they are called Red Dragonfruit. Maybe next time we should buy one and try it.

05 August 2020 — : At Ototoka Beach there was a small waterfall, maybe 3 or 4 metres high. It was enough for a good flow. #mbaug

04 August 2020 — : This 7 minute video makes a whole lot clear about our Aotearoa New Zealand earthquakes, and is easy to follow: New Zealand’s Twisted Plate Boundary. Interesting: oceanic crust is basalt of volcanic origin which is heaver than continental crust, …

04 August 2020 — : 34 weeks! The full pollen season in New Zealand is approximately 34 weeks long and varies in its timings each year - It begins in July or August with the Pinus season and continues into August/September with deciduous trees like oaks, elm, birches

04 August 2020 — : We used to live near the top of Mt Victoria in Wellington, beside the Town Belt. Hundreds of pine trees were planted there in a 1930s Work Programme. The 6 weeks on end in 2012 of chainsawing to maintain the trees drove me crazy — no peace at all. …

04 August 2020 — : More photos from our visit to Ototoka Beach near Whanganui. The road takes you to the top of the cliffs, then there’s an easy walk down to the beach, past a maybe 3 or 4 metre high waterfall and next to a cliff face full of deep layers of …

04 August 2020 — : We watched NZIFF ☛ The County 🎬: full of feisty female energy … sprinkled with rousing ‘you go girl!’ comic moments. I suspect the reviewer saw some other film… one woman’s fight against a co-op stifling the livelihoods of farmers in a remote …

03 August 2020 — : And in today’s superb news: ‘our' swans at the lake a couple of hundred metres away have 5 babies. 🥳 🐦 I thought I’d sneaked up, but no… Two of the cygnets hitched a ride on mum as they all glided away. Last year most babies disappeared. I hope …

03 August 2020 — : Remind me why anyone wants to live in Auckland … Volcanic Auckland: Which type of eruption happens where? 🌋: For the elevated region immediately to the south of the CBD … the most likely scenario is a magmatic eruption – or one that involves fire …

03 August 2020 — : That church in my photo? Hooray for Google Street View: Église Saint-Roch du Muret. Almost 40 years on and it looks just the same…

03 August 2020 — : Waaay back in April 1982 my friend Janet had a VW Bug. We and 2 friends drove from Hamburg, through France and Andorra to Madrid and Valencia and back to Germany. In this photo we’d stopped in Le Muret for lunch of bread and cheese. I’m leaning …

03 August 2020 — : We watched NZIFF ☛ Some Kind of Heaven 🎬: American documentary film — a stylized portrait of four residents living within The Villages (retirement community), Florida struggling to find happiness and meaning in life’s final chapters. Grimly …

03 August 2020 — : I enjoyed From Beer to Eternity (A Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery) by Sherry Harris to ~80% through 📚: A whip smart librarian’s fresh start comes with a tart twist in this perfect cocktail of murder and mystery—with a romance chaser. …

03 August 2020 — : We made a 300 Km round trip to Ototaka Beach near Whanganui. The cliffs are 1–2 million years old, show sea level change and include shell fossils. It was a great day out. These cliffs are famous for recording changes in sea water depth associated …

02 August 2020 — : We really enjoyed the NZIFF Australian film ☛ Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt) 🎬 🏳️‍🌈: a girl awkwardly angles for the attention of her high school crush with a little help from the ghost of her aunt, a queer activist. Includes …

02 August 2020 — : Floating in the air near treetops, this Microlight flyer near Whanganui. At first I thought it was a parachute but saw no plane that would have dropped them off. Then I could hear the small engine. A close crop shows it clearly. #mbaug

01 August 2020 — : We were up and out early today. We were the first customers for the day at our favourite local Fruit and Veg shop, Garden of York in Levin. They grow a lot of the produce right next door. Such gorgeously fully stacked shelves. We’ll be eating …

01 August 2020 — : We were up by dawn and watched this splendid sunrise. Yesterday’s was sheer vermilion; today’s more fiery orange. #mbaug

31 July 2020 — : We really enjoyed Mi Vida 🎬: Defying family expectations, 63-year-old hairdresser Lou travels to start a new life in the Spanish port city of Cádiz, where adventures in language and friendship await. Beautiful Spain! Delightfully slow and steady …

31 July 2020 — : We started our Film Festival with Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club, directed by Eammon Ashton-Atkinson 🎬 🏳️‍🌈: we meet one of the newer players on the team, battling depression; a key forward who dabbles in drag; and the female coach who …

31 July 2020 — : An upside of Covid-19: the New Zealand International Film Festival 2020 has gone online (NZ credit card required). 🎬 I plan to watch a few movies. First time in years…

31 July 2020 — : In the Muslim calendar it is Eid al-Adha when an animal, usually a sheep, is sacrificed ritually to commemorate God’s intervention before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son. We were in Morocco at Eid in 2015 and saw many folks taking sheep home …

31 July 2020 — : I very much enjoyed reading Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. 📚 The book cover may be execrable, but the book itself was interesting and useful and stunningly readable. He has many many delightful turns of phrase. Important fact: our brains …

31 July 2020 — : Vermilion sky at sunrise, and a blackbird (I think) welcoming the dawn.

31 July 2020 — : Yay, my favourite author, Kristine Rusch, has early copies of her next books on Kickstarter 📚: Boss, main character of Diving Universe … finally! returns in Thieves. Squishy sent out teams to destroy something the Empire calls stealth tech. Two …

30 July 2020 — : Started watching TVNZ ☛ Rebecka Martinsson: Arctic Murders 📺: When a childhood friend suddenly dies Rebecka Martinsson returns home to the north of Kiruna. But not everything is what it seems. OK so far and Swedish scenery. 👍

30 July 2020 — : Usually my photos of Kapiti Island are taken from Waikawa Beach, 20 Km north of here. Today we’re up close from Waikanae Beach.

29 July 2020 — : Just before sunset I noticed this creeping inversion layer. Odd, with cows lost in the mist.

29 July 2020 — : Somehow I’ve never read any works by New Zealand crime writer Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895 – 1982) … known as one of the “Queens of Crime”… primarily for her character Inspector Roderick Alleyn, gentleman detective who works for the …

29 July 2020 — : Why women policymakers are better at fighting the pandemic | World Economic Forum: COVID-19 outcomes are systematically and significantly better in countries led by women and, to some extent, this may be explained by the proactive policy responses …

29 July 2020 — : Heh, my name is on board the Perseverance rover on its way to Mars 🚀: 3 fingernail-sized chips affixed to the upper-left corner of a placard feature the names of 10,932,295 people. They were individually stenciled onto the chips by electron beam …

28 July 2020 — : It’s been far too long since I last used our cold press juicer. Today’s mix: carrot, Granny Smith apple, celery, ginger, lime, orange. Yum!

28 July 2020 — Applescript to copy info from MarsEdit : Micro.Blogger @hutaffe asked: Is there a MarsEdit plugin or something that helps to quickly share a Link and title with some highlighted text for Firefox? Manuel Riess https://hutaffe.blog/2020/07/27/is-there-a.html Update: after researching and …

27 July 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand has an election on Saturday 19 September 2020, so now all the nutters and conspiracy theorists are coming out to play — Covid-19 “a bioweapon being used against the public”, 5G cell towers, 1080 poison, anti-vax, fluoride… Sigh.

27 July 2020 — : We watched The Kitchen: the wives of Irish mobsters, take over organized crime operations in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen in the late 1970s, after the FBI arrests their husbands. Based on a comic book miniseries. Hmm, watched it through, …

27 July 2020 — : Sasha had her stitches out today. The vet’s happy with how the wound is looking. 🐶 Sasha’s still slightly irritated by the wound but is coping well. Such a good dog!

26 July 2020 — : World Science Fiction Convention hosted by NZ: 10 years of planning have gone into New Zealand’s first time hosting the World Science Fiction Convention. Several thousand ardent fans, guests and speakers were due to come to Wellington from …

26 July 2020 — : Our slightly more distant neighbour is now grazing her gorgeous part-Arab horse and its friend in the paddock right opposite our gate. I'm happy. 😎 🐎 The horse is very friendly too.

25 July 2020 — : Somehow the big load of firewood looks pretty small once it’s stacked in the firewood shed. We bought from the usual place, but this might be some of the best we’ve ever had. 🔥

25 July 2020 — : A former MP tells: I wake in the night shaking We can argue that women should be safe to walk streets at night, go into men’s hotel rooms, visit doctors, without fear of being sexually assaulted, but that’s never going to happen. There …

24 July 2020 — : My job for this afternoon and tomorrow is to store 4 cubic metres of firewood — a mix of pine, macrocarpa and douglas fir — in the firewood shed. Half an hour today got about a third of it. The rest tomorrow.

24 July 2020 — : This praying mantis was on the garage door today. Apparently this isn’t the native mantis, but an invasive South African mantis. 🐜

23 July 2020 — : Ugh, this wind drives me crazy. Mid-40s Kph speed, and gusts up to as much as 79 Kph! The noise alone is annoying, and then the house shakes. Tomorrow’s forecast has more of the same. 💨

23 July 2020 — : This year I’ve read and pretty much enjoyed the Nichelle Clarke Crime Thrillers, books 1 to 6, by Lyndee Walker. 📚 They had their moments though and I took a few breaks during reading. Each story was different but they felt a little …

23 July 2020 — : I love so much that I can write text on my Mac, copy, and then paste on my iPhone without any other steps in the middle. Makes it so much easier to add a photo to Micro.Blog on my phone, sort out the text on a real computer, and then finish posting …

23 July 2020 — : Over the last few weeks I’ve watched Seasons 1 to 3 of One Day at a Time (2017 TV series). 📺 I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been funny and touching. I’ve loved getting to see affirming stories about a teenage lesbian and her “Sydnificant” …

22 July 2020 — : Less than 2mm when they hatch, sunfish can grow to more than three metres long, four metres tall and weigh over 2,000kg, which is roughly equivalent to a large hippo … they have the biggest growth increase of any animal. They increase in …

22 July 2020 — : ROFLMAO 🤣: Breaking: there is one new case of a disgraced politician in New Zealand. Toby Manhire writes hilariously on our rash of politicians in disgrace. Meanwhile, in Covid-19 news: we have no community transmission; new cases now come solely …

22 July 2020 — : At sunset the the horses come out to play on the beach.

22 July 2020 — : My wishlist for Micro.Blog: a way to load new posts but keep my place in the timeline. Every morning I have endless scrolling to see what folks posted overnight. default to the aspect ratio of an included photo, not to square. let the Mac app …

22 July 2020 — : The high-pitched Riroriro or Grey Warbler at start and end, ducks and magpies. Sorry about the background which is either or both of slight wind and the nearby sea. 🐦 I’ve never actually seen a Riroriro as far as I know — only heard them.

21 July 2020 — : The weather forecaster reminded us that it snowed on 15 August 2011 in Wellington (extremely rare). We lived in Wellington then, at the top of Mt Victoria. This was the view from the lounge to the south (over Cook Strait) that day.

21 July 2020 — : Next step on the Kindle: find the books I have read and remove from the device. Then finish or remove the books I’ve read only part of. Then start the unstarted books. Some are worthy books I theoretically want to read, but maybe I don’t …

21 July 2020 — : My Kindle’s a mess. My bad habit is to start a sample book and just stop in the middle because I don’t like the book. Or I read to the end and am unsure if I want to buy the book. Some samples I haven’t even started. The samples …

20 July 2020 — : This Micro Monday I suggest @garciabuxton , Catholic, wife, mom, editrix. Ex-newsperson. Californian by birth, Midwesterner by choice. Sometimes posts Gratuitous Kitten Photos.

20 July 2020 — : So thrilled to have @jsonbecker on board at @Custom . 😁 He’s underway adding useful info for Plug-In developers! Building Micro.blog Custom Themes That Work with Plug-ins

20 July 2020 — : The beach was so calm when we went down just after sunrise. I took a brief video looking southwest to Kāpiti Island and another looking north to Mt Ruapehu. Note the sun just touching the waves.

20 July 2020 — : Was outside early and spotted Jupiter and Saturn in the west. Also took this photo (L to R) of Pleiades, Taurus, Venus, Orion, Sirius. Orion’s belt by tip of flax spear. Northern folks note Orion’s head is near horizon, sword goes …

19 July 2020 — : We watched Netflix ☛ Urzila Carlson: Overqualified Loser. Not entirely my taste in comedy but some good laughs. Best quip: I’ve reached the age/weight ratio where you no longer ‘fall over’, but instead ‘have a fall’. Born in South Africa, …

19 July 2020 — : In what world does this extract from our new oven’s manual make sense? The numbers aren’t in sequence and even the functions aren’t grouped. We’re aiming to understand the incomprehensible symbols on the knobs. We had this oven 5 …

19 July 2020 — : As I see the Taruruas I realise I really like living beside hills. I spent 25 years growing up in Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains are flat, with the Southern Alps to the west. The Port Hills are nearby. My world view was of a …

18 July 2020 — : Taking 5 metres (depth) of the seabed must have an effect: consider whether 50 million tonnes of the South Taranaki Bight seabed can be mined each year. …the proposal … would not affect marine ecosystems, whales, dolphins, fishing or kaimoana. …

18 July 2020 — : Wow. We have good friends in Whangārei — they live at the top of a hill: 220 millimetres [8.66 inches] of rain fell in Whangārei from 7pm last night until around 7am this morning. we’re expecting that once in 500 years. And the rain is …

17 July 2020 — : If this is a boring flat rectangle, I think take-up will be slow. If a clever designer makes an attractive ‘badge of honour' lapel pin though… a bluetooth contact tracing ‘CovidCard’… people only have to carry the CovidCard and don’t …

17 July 2020 — : Excellent: Netflix ☛ One Day at a Time, S3E3, abuelita has made a ‘bouquet list’: Do you mean a bucket list? No, that makes no sense. It is a bouquet list because it is an arrangement of all of the beautiful things you still want to do before …

16 July 2020 — : I was somewhat entertained by Netflix ☛ Warrior Nun Warrior Nun revolves around the story of a 19-year-old woman who wakes up in a morgue with a new lease on life and a divine artifact embedded in her back. The largely female cast was a bonus …

16 July 2020 — : Sasha’s throat Xray didn’t show anything to worry about. She has a little throat inflammation. The benign but growing cyst was removed from her back. Now 10 days of taking her on a lead to pee or for brief walks. Carprieve pain relief. 🐶

16 July 2020 — : Our dogs are brachycephalic which means flatter faces and shorter noses, breathing problems. Sasha snores a lot and has increasing episodes of ‘choking’. Today she’s with the vet for surgery to check her throat, and to remove a slowly growing …

15 July 2020 — : Hmm, I just watched a preview of a movie about Marie Curie which includes her saying “My science could cure cancer”. When I was a kid in the 1960s people around me didn’t say the terrible word “Cancer”. They’d whisper simply “C”, in case …

15 July 2020 — : Nessie Hill encourages us all to be science communicators in this 10 minute video: How to Convince Others to Wear a Mask. She talks about methods that work … and methods that don’t.

15 July 2020 — : Hey @martinfeld I listen to and enjoy most of the Lounge Ruminations. 😀 On #33 start at 6:15 you say: “the crucial element of a conversation is the words”. 🤔 Can’t speak for blind, deaf, folks with body movement issues, but gesture, posture, …

15 July 2020 — : Interesting: Why Older People Really Eschew Technology The assumption that seniors are “alienated” by technology…ignores the essence of her research: older adults’ resistance to technology is a value-based choice. Thus, many seniors resist some …

14 July 2020 — : I cleaned the window so I could see the Tauhou better. The more I watch them, the more I love them. Look at this little cutie! 🐦

14 July 2020 — : All on for Mars: The United Arab Emirates is about to launch its first mission to Mars. It will be the Arab world’s first flight to another planet. The SUV-sized spacecraft, called the Hope probe, …will reach Mars by February 2021. Also …

14 July 2020 — : a detailed DNA analysis of the genomes of more than 800 Polynesians and Native Americans, both modern and prehistoric, [shows] evidence of contact … as far back as 1200 CE. …a single contact event … between Polynesian individuals and a Native …

14 July 2020 — : Oh, there was a blast from my youth, when the good music was! The Shangri-Las ‘Leader Of The Pack’ .

14 July 2020 — : Many thanks to @agilelisa for introducing me to musicians Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei. I found this enjoyable 30 minute video: Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei at the National Immigrant Integration Conference. A wonderful fusion of Appalachian and Chinese …

14 July 2020 — : If you enjoy both nature and words then this 22 minute episode of Brit Garner’s Nature League is for you: Nurse Sharks and Other Strange Names Brit investigates how the nurse shark and other species got their intriguing English names. Seems …

13 July 2020 — : Matariki is the time when Māori celebrate the new year. The Matariki star cluster is known to many of us as Pleiades. 🌟 Now the year turns and we look towards spring. Already our peach and nectarine trees are showing buds. We have 15 more minutes …

13 July 2020 — : This Micro Monday I suggest @kimberlyhirsh , a space mermaid sparkle goth who also is a doctoral candidate in information and library science. Nice variety of posts.

13 July 2020 — : By lunchtime the Tauhou had completely emptied one feeder and the other was disappearing quickly. I bought more ‘cakes' and decided to only put food out for a few hours each day. I don’t want them to forget to forage… 🐦

12 July 2020 — : This applies to Covid-19 testing done in Aotearoa New Zealand, but tests elsewhere may well use the same methods: Coronavirus testing - how does it work?. Some excellent videos of how a nasal swab is done and how samples are processed. Great …

12 July 2020 — : One bird at the new feeder was bullying the others away so I added another feeder yesterday. We now have a flock of about 15 feeding! Egads! They are so cute! 🐦 Tauhou FTW.

11 July 2020 — : This may be handy for other users of the fabulous NetNewsWire RSS reader from @brentsimmons — an Applescript to grab an article summary and its link and mash them together ready for further editing after pasting: tell application "NetNewsWire" …

11 July 2020 — : We enjoyed Netflix ☛ The Old Guard with Charlize Theron, even though I’m a bit over superheroes. This had some nice gentle touches on various issues around immortality and the point of living, and whether we can do good in the world. 🎬 …

11 July 2020 — : Seems I bought Kindle ☛ Barbara Marr Mysteries Boxed Set back in January 2015 for $0.95, read part and stopped. Picked it up again, read a bit more, and have now deleted it. Not that interesting, not funny. Clearly just not to my taste. 📚

11 July 2020 — : These drongos make me angry. Aotearoa New Zealand has no community transmission of Covid-19 because we all put in the effort to achieve that. Arrivals must remain isolated. Four people so far have bust out of isolation: climbed fence cut fence …

11 July 2020 — : For those following along with my shifting my Time Machine backup to a new hard drive: I set my MacBook Pro to backup to the new drive around 8pm. When I had to let the dog out around 2am it had completed its backup. 🥳 Whew. I’d anticipated …

11 July 2020 — : Hmmm, Love Notes: A Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione Mystery by Penny Mickelbury just wasn’t very good. Biggest flaw was lack of ‘breaks’ between two character stories. Long sentences too packed with ‘stuff’. Worthy notions poorly expressed. I …

10 July 2020 — : And finally, after something like 32 hours of preparing to copy the backup from one drive to another, then copying about 750GB out of 950GB, I got an error message and copying ceased. 😫 I seem to have backups from February 2020 to March 2020… ‼️

10 July 2020 — : Woohoo, after about 28 hours of ‘preparing’ finally my backup is copying to a new hard drive. Estimate for copying 1TB is ‘about a day’.

10 July 2020 — No fire without smoke : And there at dawn, from behind the low hill, a thick column of grey smoke pushes up towards the sky, becoming thicker after about 20 metres and then forming itself into a broader cloud as it meets moving air. Half a dozen paddocks away someone, …

10 July 2020 — : After 5 years work, Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Dark Sky Park is near Whakatū (Nelson) at the top of the South Island: International Dark Sky Association has recently accredited Wai-iti Recreation Reserve and Tunnicliff Forest. Because a 10 …

09 July 2020 — : Another excellent (re)read of a Cari Hunter book: A Quiet Death (Dark Peak Book 3). 📚 Very difficult subject matter: sex trafficking, but well-handled. Now I want to buy more by this author, but first I’d better read other books I …

09 July 2020 — : I bought a new 4TB portable hard drive to replace the 1TB model that no longer seem sufficient for Time Machine backups. I’m now about 5 hours in on copying the backup from one drive to the other. I suspect there’s a week or two to go …

09 July 2020 — : I think Tauhou are one of my favourite birds. I put up a bird feeder near the front door a couple of days ago, and three have been visiting off and on all day. Photo through the window. 🐦

08 July 2020 — : Kiwis, and others with an interest in Te Reo Māori, the podcast: Everyday Māori has mainly short episodes with very clear and useful info. Helping you to learn and speak everyday Māori, every day. Hei āwhina i a koe ki te ako me te kōrero i te reo …

07 July 2020 — : Well, that was an interesting 28 minutes: Allusionist 118. Survival: Bequest Europeans … imposed cisgender monogamous heterosexuality on Māori as if there had never been anything else … Māori culture had included myriad sexual orientations, gender …

07 July 2020 — : Another excellent (re)read: Cold to the Touch by Cari Hunter. 📚📚 how can she investigate a crime when no one cares about the victim? And how can she stop a killer who has no identity, no motive, and no conscience? Turns out I really like …

06 July 2020 — : This Micro Monday I suggest @vanessa who often walks with her dog in some very lovely places.

06 July 2020 — : We drove to Wellington yesterday. Just north of Peka Peka traffic slowed and we passed several each of cop cars, ambulances and fire engines. It looked like a car had rolled and at least one person was being cut out. Later a helicopter came …

05 July 2020 — : The Daily Quake. 〰️ Just a little ‘wave’ preceded by a sort of click then clunk like a door closing. Weak earthquake occurred 15 km north-west of Paraparaumu. Magnitude 2.9.

04 July 2020 — : Perspective matters so much. Scared to Death had passages describing a female victim from the male captor’s perspective, including his sexual arousal. Very disturbing. Yuk! No Good Reason had a female captive escaping, told from her point of view. …

04 July 2020 — : No Good Reason (The Dark Peak Series Book 1) by Cari Hunter was a darn good mystery story. As it was apparently the first time I read it. I was surpised when my Kindle told me I’d already read it, but I did recall bits and pieces as I went …

04 July 2020 — : Ok, I got a bit ranty but some days the injustice is just too much. ♀

04 July 2020 — : Pink hair has nothing to do with online abuse! Dr Siouxsie Wiles is an Associate Professor and head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland. She's also a hero of Aotearoa New Zealand's reponse to the Covid-19 pandemic, …

04 July 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand has now had 41 consecutive months in which the temperature has not slipped more than 0.5ᵒC below the long-term (1981-2010) average. And of those 41 months, 20 have had above average temperatures and 21 have been near average. I …

04 July 2020 — : Oh dear, I can see why this spammer needs to blackmail folks. Sorry your ‘a' key isn’t working fellow, but I won’t be sending you any hush money.

03 July 2020 — : Today I finally managed a shot of the goose that lives along the road a bit.

03 July 2020 — : My favourite notice at the vet clinic.

03 July 2020 — : My camera feels so wrong with the 16–50mm zoom, but here are two photos of snow on more southern parts of the Tararuas. One at 16mm and the other zoomed to 50mm.

03 July 2020 — : I really needed to have known this after taking a longish call on my Apple Watch this morning: Switch a call from your Apple Watch to your iPhone: While talking on your Apple Watch, unlock your iPhone, then tap the green button or bar at the top of …

02 July 2020 — : Yesterday the stiff southerly was evident in the cabbage tree leaves. Today, now the cloud has cleared away, some peaks of the Tararuas are showing off the first snow of the season. The snow doesn’t get down to us. 😀

02 July 2020 — : “While socks last”.

02 July 2020 — : The Kindle book ‘Lethal Suds (Abigail Kinsman Mysteries Book 1)’ has taught me that every author needs someone to take a look at their book before publishing. Dumb characters, fairly dumb investigation process. Bored now. I ended up returning it and …

02 July 2020 — : Last week I read The Crossing Places: The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries 1. I was ambivalent about it as I read, but really didn’t get on with the ending. I very much disliked the several creepy characters. I won’t be buying more of this …

02 July 2020 — : Hmmm, Scared to Death was a book I read to the end, but I’m not sure I’ll buy any others in the series. The murder mystery was fine, but some moderately graphic scenes of torture and terror of a young woman from the bad-guy’s point …

02 July 2020 — : Volume down for the annoying wind noise. Southerly sand storm at the beach today. The dogs still had fun. 🐶

02 July 2020 — : I absolutely adore the massive vocabulary of the English language. I love words in general. So sometimes a word in a book trips me up. Twice an author referred to ‘clouds scuttling’ across the sky. Took a bit of effort to dredge from my brain: …

02 July 2020 — : Well the good thing about having to get up to let Sasha out at 1 am is that I was able to load more wood into the wood burner. With a freezing southerly storm outside it’s good to be toasty.

01 July 2020 — : I need to be careful what I read in the hours before bed. Scared to Death (Detective Kay Hunter murder mystery series Book 1) is a thriller with too many (for my taste) overly detailed descriptions of terror and torture of a young woman. I found a …

01 July 2020 — : Today I learned that Quiet parks are a thing. Wilderness Quiet Parks are large pristine areas offering exceptional sonic beauty and opportunities for extended periods of pure natural quiet. As with Dark Skies, I’m in favour of Quiet Places.

30 June 2020 — : I watched the first 40 minutes (the lecture) of this. Its fascinating stuff: Kelly Wright: Raciolinguistic profiling: Passing for American means speaking without an accent. Sounding ‘non-standard’ has real consequences.

30 June 2020 — : 5 years ago this basic Westinghouse Saturn electric oven with spiral elements was brand new. Today we’ve replaced it with a Belling dual oven with induction hob — the same oven we used to have in Wellington. My partner, who enjoys cooking, is …

30 June 2020 — : Today I spent an hour watching the front yard as my part in the Aotearoa New Zealand Garden Bird Survey. Something happens each year when I do this — all the birds go somewhere else for a nap or something. I hardly saw any birds today. 😒

30 June 2020 — : Cold southerly at the beach this morning. For once I took my camera. Photo of Kuaka (Godwits), which usually return to the Arctic for our winter, but these stayed. Oshi and Sasha also enjoyed their outing. 🐦 🐶

30 June 2020 — : This Micro Monday I suggest @jennifermjones , a local reporter who lives with her dog in the deepest darkest Southwest of Scotland and has a dailyish podcast. [Posted again as I messed up the post yesterday and cant edit.]

30 June 2020 — : We Dig Dinosaurs was great. Host Emily Graslie does a fabulous job and has so much fun. Cretaceous … T. rex dominated the planet … what happened to these tremendous animals? … how did other life forms survive an apocalyptic asteroid crash into Earth …

29 June 2020 — : I knew mid-book in Lies to Tell: An utterly gripping Scottish crime thriller (Detective Clare Mackay Book 3) by Marion Todd who the bad guy was. I was so wrong!! Good book, enjoyable series. Love the Scottish setting. 📚 Clare realises too …

28 June 2020 — : Turns out Aotearoa New Zealand is just the tippy tops of the lost continent of Zealandia: only 6% of the continent is above sea level. That part underpins New Zealand’s north and south islands… The rest is underwater Map: A map of Zealandia, …

27 June 2020 — : We abandoned Ad Astra half way through and switched to Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which was way more fun. 🎬 Singing, dancing, Iceland, it had a lot going for it.

27 June 2020 — : Our broadband died this morning. After 40 minutes on the phone to a very pleasant person in India Ive been given 100GB free data to hotspot from my phone until the issue is fixed. New modem on its way to replace the 5-year-old model. Indias in …

27 June 2020 — : 27-Jun-20: daily quake. 〰️ 4.9 near Rotorua, but quite deep. Shook us around slightly. I thought it would have been one of the Levin quakes.

26 June 2020 — : Ive become the fun police and have reported this nearby smoke nuisance to the local Council. This green waste burnoff means I have to keep all doors and windows closed. Its crazy these fires are even allowed. Discouraged but still allowed. Pollution! …

26 June 2020 — : I didnt realise how poor this photo was — it makes Sashas eyes look really weird. Anyway, freshly groomed dogs looking fantastic. 🐶 And while they were being groomed I had breakfast at Taper in Levin 👍 and finally wrote the June newsletter for the …

26 June 2020 — : It seems this year I need a section called My Daily Earthquake. There are so many quakes this year and so many nearby. When Fri Jun 26 2020 6:52 AM Where 10 km east of Upper Hutt Shaking Light Magnitude 3.6 Depth 26 km

25 June 2020 — : Sigh, sexist assumptions… : 2,600-year-old Scythian remains … considered to be male because with him were … an axe, a bow, arrows,… But the child’s DNA revealed the remains were actually female … [so perhaps] girls also participated in hunting …

25 June 2020 — : I was surprised by how profoundly moving this was, both the views of the ‘audience' and the music itself: Barcelona Opera House Reopens With a Concert for 2,292 Plants Gran Teatre del Liceu reopened … with … Puccini’s Crisantemi played before a …

24 June 2020 — The terror of the turn : Some mornings it can be terrifying trying to get across the road with the steady stream of truck and car traffic between the hours of 05.45 and 9 am. That's what one resident said when talking about her usual daily commute to Wellington from Waikawa …

23 June 2020 — : I thoroughly enjoyed the feel-good Netflix movie Feel the Beat 📺: a 2020 American family dance comedy-drama film Fairly standard plot, but lots of heart. Good to see the film include a deaf character.

23 June 2020 — : First time in an extremely long time that Ive watched ISS go overhead. Experimented with night mode: iPhone 11, with 10 second exposure. The ISS is the bright blob near centre, just about to pass the ‘sting’ in the tail of Scorpius. (Remember, its …

23 June 2020 — : Hmmm, apparently my Move It Mondays are inevitably followed by Too-Tired Tuesdays! 🥱

23 June 2020 — : A day when the breeze, if any, is easterly so while the sea isn’t quite glass, it’s just really gentle. Large in the background Kāpiti Island. About 100 km away you can see the tippy top of the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu.

23 June 2020 — : Well the WWDC20 keynote was cool. I’ll be ready for a new Mac laptop in a year or two so that’ll fit nicely with machines that use the new chip.

23 June 2020 — : 🤣 “Historic Day”, ‘undisclosed location’ … that looks like an underground bunker beneath the pool.

23 June 2020 — : Glad to see in the 2020 WWDC Apple have made much more effort to have women presenters.

22 June 2020 — : I recently decided on Move It Mondays to start my week off right. Today was so gorgeous I took the kayak to the river and paddled for an hour. Im getting better: less water in the kayak, went a bit further. Utterly peaceful.

22 June 2020 — : This Micro Monday I suggest @danielpunkass, creator of MarsEdit and Black Ink, podcaster with @manton at Core Intuition and all-round thoughtful person.

22 June 2020 — : Was that Venus looking in while I did my morning stretches? Starwalk said Yes. And it turns out Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto were all together in the west. First day after Solstice and we move towards summer now. A couple of seconds more light in the …

21 June 2020 — : We have new neighbours. Neighhh. 🐴 👏

20 June 2020 — : Emily Graslie is one of my favourite YouTube video presenters. Now shes part of the Prehistoric road trip which turns out to be not just video, but a whole experience. I havent yet watched, but plan to dig in soon.

20 June 2020 — : Today we drove to Feilding for Deb’s birthday lunch at the Amayjen restaurant, and excellent food it was too. I ate amazingly tender, beautifully spiced pork ribs and have brought a lemon cheesecake home for later. Recommended. 🍽

20 June 2020 — : Down in the dunes this morning, this wonderful fungus.

19 June 2020 — : Rain glorious rain! It rained for more than 24 hours. Yesterday alone brought nearly 40 mm. The water tank is overflowing and the garden sure needed it. It was also enjoyable spending a day in by the fire, though there was a break where I took the …

19 June 2020 — : Sleepy as last nights good shake left me awake for more than an hour. At 7.5 magnitude and only 33 Km deep its a good thing the quake originated about 1,000 Km away from me. 〰️

18 June 2020 — : I did not know this: The combined gravitational pull of the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and other planets cause the shape of the Earth’s orbit to vary from its most elliptical to almost circular on a 110,000 year time scale. Via Come Rain Or Shine.

18 June 2020 — : And on motorcycling: two keen motorcycling women friends (each has 2 or 3 large bikes) married back in February 2014. They rode their bikes to the ceremony… But look at the amazing cake another friend made for them!

18 June 2020 — : A conversation with @Strandlines about gendered protective gear reminded me of a Letter to the Editor I wrote in 1972, when I was 17 and rode a motorbike. (BTW: I've never cared an iota about fashion in my entire life.) Headline: Wanted: sensible rig …

17 June 2020 — : Such a fascinating and provocative 40 minute interview: Caroline Criado Perez: Invisible Women. Maybe health workers would like the safety of PPE that actually fits, or police would like stab proof vests that protect against pointy weapons.

17 June 2020 — : Last night Oshi drove me crazy with almost continuous barking for about 90 minutes when I went to bed. 👿 Today I may know why: one dead quail and one missing quail who left a lot of feathers behind. I think a stoat halved my flock! 😤 🐦

17 June 2020 — : Do you know about MyNoise? I use the iOS apps, but also listen on my Mac sometimes (as now). A library of customisable sounds to help with focus, distraction, tinnitus. I often use this to help me sleep. use the noises you most enjoy to mask the …

16 June 2020 — : I enjoyed Margaret Mizushima: Hunting Hour 📚: a girl has gone missing from the junior high … police dog Robo … his highly trained nose leads them right to Candice Unfortunately reading at night and a dark theme led to disturbed …

16 June 2020 — : This Micro Monday I’d suggest you follow @cheri , author of some excellent cozy mysteries and other books.

16 June 2020 — : I love watching the signers on Government briefings. The signer just now seems particularly expressive in face and body as well as gesture. Unfortunately we have 2 new cases of Covid-19 after 24 consecutive days of none. New arrivals into NZ.

16 June 2020 — : I know, slightly, the author of the NZ Health and Disability System Review, so am not surprised that measures to counteract systemic racism are included. “Create a new Māori Health Authority” is up there. 8 board members … an equal number of Māori …

16 June 2020 — : Excellent! Aotearoa New Zealand has free health care for all but the system was run down over a long time by conservative governments and was a shambles. Improvement is coming — overhaul of health system shift focus in all areas from treatment to …

16 June 2020 — : Awww, after 50+ years Diego gets to go home: Diego the giant Galapagos tortoise whose tireless efforts are credited with almost single-handedly saving his once-threatened species, was put out to pasture Monday on his native island after decades of …

16 June 2020 — : Good read: Seven of Nine Was Always Queer: 📺 🖖 🏳️‍🌈 So much of what Seven does on Voyager is to break down the binaries that exist in Janeway’s and others’ minds. Seven is not good or bad. She is not Borg or human. She is both and she is neither. …

15 June 2020 — : The person who bought my old Fuji X-M1 camera body very kindly shared some links and tips about updating firmware on the newer Fuji X-T2 I now have. I never think about updating firmware on my camera, let alone the lenses!

14 June 2020 — : I could see it was cold out (-2C) when I woke at 4.30. Dawn showed the frost that went with the low temps. Note too the very high pressure: 1038 mbar.

13 June 2020 — : This good-looking fellow was resting his head on the fork of the tree beside him … until I took out my phone for a photo. Very handsome though anyway. 🐄

12 June 2020 — : What would it feel like, I wonder, to scan the TV and movie listings in something like TV+ or Netflix, and to see 99% of the offerings showing predominantly women acting with agency, self-sufficiency, courage, … having adventures … dealing with …

12 June 2020 — : Ive been watching the TV+ series Dear… Its uplifting and inspiring. Each episode looks at the life of a well-known person, and interweaves extracts from letters from people whose lives have been profoundly changed by that person. So far: Oprah …

11 June 2020 — : Just rewatched the 14 minute SciShow video There Are More Than Two Human Sexes which so clearly explains why XX and XY are just the extremes on a spectrum. There’s so much more to both sex and gender than we originally thought.

10 June 2020 — : Niue The World’s First ‘Dark Sky Nation’ 🇳🇺 the International Dark-Sky Association … announced an important world-first … the tiny South Pacific nation of Niue is the first country to be formally accredited as an International Dark …

10 June 2020 — : Geraldine farmers go to bat for endangered species [farmers] planned to cut down a row of willows at their property near Geraldine until they discovered a colony of critically endangered long-tailed bats/pekapeka had made the old trees their home. …

10 June 2020 — : Fungi at the beach — a benefit of driftwood. Sometimes I think Ive learned nothing about taking photos over the last decade. Then I realise in the past I would have taken this boring and useless top-down wide photo. Now I know to get in close and …

09 June 2020 — : A huge downside to committing to learning a bunch of songs / waiata in the Māori language / Te Reo Māori: Ive had several of them in my head on a perpetual loop for at least 24 hours now. Combined with insufficient sleep and intrusive tinnitus I may …

09 June 2020 — : Kiwi company Lanaco makes wool face masks, used in bushfires and for Covid-19. They even bred sheep specially, to get the wool just right. Now they’re off into space: 🇳🇿 🚀 the official suppliers for critical air supply filtration on [NASA]’s …

09 June 2020 — : Warm fronts? Cold fronts? This 5.5 minute video from the UK MetOffice explains well: What are weather fronts?. 🌦 It was linked from a free course I’ve started working through: Come Rain or Shine: Understanding the Weather.

08 June 2020 — : For Micro Monday let me recommend @dejus , a Kiwi living in the US who keeps us entertained with his wonderful photos: Flock Friday, Throwback Thursday, Caturday, his building projects, such as the vege garden and duck house, his bees and even more. …

08 June 2020 — : What fabulous news for Aotearoa New Zealand re Covid-19 today: 🦠 active cases: Zero 28 February to 08 June 2020: confirmed cases: 1154 total confirmed and probable cases: 1504 recovered cases: 1482 virus-related deaths: 22 (Not good for the 22 …

08 June 2020 — : Waiata #4 to learn: Ko Mātou Ko mātou, te rōpū mahi e Ko mātou, te rōpū mahi e Ka papaki noa Ka titiro noa Ka tutuki noa Ka kikini noa Kei te aroha Ki ngā taonga Te iwi Māori e In English: This …

07 June 2020 — : We really enjoyed watching Netflix ☛ Space Force 📺 Space Force is a workplace comedy series that centers on a group of people tasked with establishing … the United States Space Force.

07 June 2020 — : Hmmm, Feedbin has been down for hours now. I’m missing my RSS feeds…

07 June 2020 — : Waiata #3 to learn: E toru ngā mea E toru ngā mea Ngā mea nunui E kī ana Te Paipera Whakapono Tūmanako Ko te mea nui Ko te aroha In English: There are three Great things That are spoken of In the Bible Faith Hope And the …

07 June 2020 — : At 13.5 Oshi has developed arthritis so now visits the vet quite often. 🐶 He has 1/2 a Carprieve anti-inflammatory pill with each meal, has had 4 weekly Arthropen injections for cartilage repair and joint lubrication (more to come) and is switching …

07 June 2020 — : I read Bullets and Beads (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 17) by Jana DeLeon. 📚 Can Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie manage to evade the killers long enough to figure out why Dwight has returned from the dead? Another very enjoyable read in the series, …

07 June 2020 — : In 2010 I bought a basic Avanti bike that served me well. In 2018 I bought a much better bike so this was relegated to towing the dog trailer. Now I have an electric bike I’ll sell the ‘good’ one. I gave this to Bike Space Ōtaki a charity that …

06 June 2020 — : At last, haircut day. Before (with 3 months growth) and after. Really enjoyed chatting with my hairdresser too. Turns out we both dislike the same Levin veterinary clinic we both no longer use.

05 June 2020 — : I just don’t like the look of these clouds…

05 June 2020 — : Waiata #2 The next waiata I want to learn is Hokihoki tonu mai: Hokihoki tonu mai - Again and again she returns Te wairua o te tau - the spirit of my beloved Ki te awhi Reinga - from Reinga, for an embrace Ki tenei kiri e - with this skin of mine Ki …

04 June 2020 — : This 2.5 minute video is really cool. Now I know why no-one would ever put on flop-flips to zag-zig down the road to look through some brac-a-bric: The English language ‘laws’ you never knew you knew. Tip: it’s Ablaut Reduplication.

04 June 2020 — : I’m watching an excellent free course called Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life Just came across this supremely relevant-for-these-times quote from Stanley Kubrick: However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

03 June 2020 — : Ohhh, absolutely ROTFFL hilarious: Netflix ☛ Hannah Gadsby: Douglas. Definitely NSFW. She is so so very clever: all the strands so beautifully woven together and so so very funny.

03 June 2020 — : Waiata #1 I want to continue extending my knowledge of Māori language and culture. My current effort is to learn the waiata Tūtira mai ngā iwi, composed by Canon Wiremu Te Tau Huata in the 1950s. Tūtira mai ngā iwi, …

03 June 2020 — : Wow, it’s 4 years since I listed anything on TradeMe. I hate selling stuff, but have several items that need to be exchanged for space and $: my old Fuji X-M1 camera, iPhone 7, and other stuff I can’t bring to mind right now.

03 June 2020 — : This week I’m on a free learning binge. Currently watching: Robin DiAngelo on topics such as Deconstructing White Privilege and Debunking the Most Common Myths White People Tell About Race. Leading the Life You Want (boring lecturer) …

02 June 2020 — : I noticed this patch of iceplant among the Spinifex at the beach this morning. Not sure if its the native plant or an invasive.

01 June 2020 — : Terminology can be such a pain. The intersection of State Highway 1 and Waikawa Beach Road is a problem. It feels dangerous and its difficult to make the turn when its busy. Im trying to write a brief article about it and need terms like ‘flush …

31 May 2020 — : Some here might like to look at the four drone photos of Waikawa Beach posted by a local on Twitter today. He likely used a Phantom 4 Pro with 20 megapixel camera.

31 May 2020 — : Oshi gets close, while Sasha has that classic over-the-shoulder look. 🐶

31 May 2020 — : Babylon 5 1994–1998, one of my all-time favourites. Set on a future space station, with a 5-season arc, it reached its peak in Seasons 3 and 4 with the war on The Shadows. Fabulous storytelling. I’ve rewatched this numerous times. 📺 Photo

31 May 2020 — : This aftershock woke me: 4.7 at almost 11pm last night. 〰️ A bit worrying, but I soon went back to sleep.

30 May 2020 — : Oooh, Apple TV+ has ordered: “Hedy Lamarr,” a new eight-episode limited series Lamarr was an actor and inventor, major contributor to the spread spectrum technology that underlies cellphones. The series will follow the incredible life story of the …

30 May 2020 — : Safari (Mac) helps me see a problem website better. Sharesies is excellent but the text is too small and some text is too pale. I set Safari > Settings for This Website to 125% Page Zoom. I wrote a custom CSS for the text color and set it in …

30 May 2020 — : Eureka 2006–2012 was a ‘hidden’ town of fictional science geniuses and their crazy inventions. Each episode featured a mysterious accidental or intentional misuse of technology. Some music by Bear McCreary. Some crossover with Warehouse …

29 May 2020 — : In Aotearoa New Zealand now it seems surreal to keep on with distancing, sanitiser etc, because: 7th day in a row, no new cases of COVID-19 in NZ. combined total confirmed and probable cases: 1,504. recovered cases: 1,481. One case is still …

29 May 2020 — : Ive lived in Aotearoa New Zealand for ~57 years and never heard of “Moving Day” till now. Mind you, when I was a kid NZ had 60 million sheep and 3 million people. 🐄 when farmers…pack up households, animals … and move to new farms for the start of …

29 May 2020 — : Warehouse 13 2009–2014 was a fun show about retrieving and storing artifacts with dangerous powers, like Ivan Pavlov’s bell. Included Jaime Murray as Helena G. Wells, and even Kate Mulgrew. Several excellent female characters — Myka, Leena, …

29 May 2020 — : Ohhh, Im not even half way through Legends of Tomorrow 514 and may not be able to finish because Im laughing too hard. Now the writers have finally realised this isnt Constantine were getting some great scripts again. Trapped in TV Shows, like …

28 May 2020 — : I’ve decided my own June challege — I’ve just decided to have a No-Apostrophe June (starting now). I believe the apostrophe is redundant and should go! Ill accept autocorrect apostrophes though as itd be too much hassle not to. Hmmm, there …

28 May 2020 — : Sanctuary 2008–2011 starred Amanda Tapping (of Stargate fame). The Sanctuary helped and sometimes contained Abnormals, extraordinarily powerful creatures and people. I didn’t like it at first, but came to love the show. Creative. Fun. No …

27 May 2020 — : Lovely: Out a 10 minute short movie on Disney+. 🍿🌈 a young gay man who has not yet come out to his parents unexpectedly has his mind magically swapped with his dog’s.

27 May 2020 — : It was a stunning morning, so my neighbour Chris and I drove our electric bikes to Peka Peka and rode 16Km on the shared track beside the Kāpiti Expressway. I’ve been meaning to do that for ages. Next time we’ll go further too. It was …

27 May 2020 — : In Star Trek: Voyager 1995–2001 Captain Kathryn Janeway leads her crew home from the Delta Quadrant. She’s not someone to go up against. Resourceful. Steely. Creative. Ably assisted by engineer B’Elanna Torres and ex-Borg Seven. The …

27 May 2020 — : Waaaay back on 29 February I ordered this bike bag from AliExpress. Then Covid-19 happened. Tracking gave weird info. Today, 3 months later it finally turned up. Meanwhile I thought it was lost and ordered another from a different store. Guess a …

27 May 2020 — : There are two of these plants in the dunes and each year I forget their name — it’s a Yucca. Last year it flowered in April, so the May flowering seems late this year. I wish Photos on Mac would let me select a photo and then Find others the …

27 May 2020 — : The X-Rite Color Challenge and Hue Test was interesting, and I was pleased with my score of 4 (where 0 is best).

26 May 2020 — : Well, I definitely enjoyed Onward, which surprised me a little. Two brothers go on a quest for magic to bring back their dead father. Nice touch with the pixie biker gang! 🍿 Good diversity too.

26 May 2020 — : I’m declaring an earthquake emoji: 〰️

26 May 2020 — : One of the ways to stop smaller ornaments falling off shelves in an earthquake is Museum Wax. It’s really just a soft wax. Put a small dob on the bottom of the object and then press down so it adheres to the shelf. You can easily lift the …

26 May 2020 — : We’ve been having aftershocks, most not noticeable. This 5.2 got me up though. Two tiny things fell off the shelf. 〰️

26 May 2020 — : Xena 1995–2001: a formidable warrior, reformed baddie. Had an intense relationship with Gabrielle, a bard who grew into a warrior. Outrageous fight scenes. Grit. Determination. Humour. Filmed in New Zealand, set in “Ancient Greece”. Lucy Lawless, a …

26 May 2020 — : I enjoy starting my day with a Tom Scott video, like this 5 minute explainer: Ə: The Most Common Vowel in English.

25 May 2020 — : Watched Mulan which was fun. It’s based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan — a young woman who takes her father’s place in the Chinese Imperial Army. I really enjoyed it. 🍿 It was good to watch a light, inspiring and entertaining movie on a …

25 May 2020 — : Buffy 1997–2003 was glorious. It introduced creative language use and a young woman who literally fought demons — her own and those of others. Impressive much? This week for the Micro Challenge I’m doing TV shows. 📺 She saved the world. A lot. …

25 May 2020 — M5.8 quake nearby really shook things up : I was doing a crossword on my MacBook Pro when with no warning at all the house started to really shake. This was a big earthquake: it felt big and things were moving around. Trivial items fell from shelves, something broke. I was worried the tall …

25 May 2020 — : Alert for aftershocks now. There have been a few minor shocks since then ~3.6 that we haven’t felt, though the pheasants have been squawking. 〰️

25 May 2020 — : Thanks for all good wishes. Earthquake was sourced about 33Km away, 37Km deep, mag 5.8. Our house is on 6 metre deep poles so shakes even when the washing machine spins. One tumbler broke, a few minor items fell from shelves. I’m still shaking. …

25 May 2020 — : SUCH a big earthquake I actually left the house. Minor things fell off shelves. All ok. More later. Shaking… 〰️

24 May 2020 — : Next week’s Micro.Blog Challenge is about Artwork and drawings — our own or others. I don’t draw, and think instead I’ll do a post a day about TV Shows I enjoy — present or past. 📺

24 May 2020 — : Miss Fortune Mysteries by Jana DeLeon. This series remains fresh and humorous, even though there are now 17 novels. CIA assassin in hiding, Fortune Redding, always manages to get in the middle of trouble in a tiny Louisiana town called Sinful. Book …

23 May 2020 — : I have a final Book recommendations challenge item coming tomorrow. 📚 But here’s a bonus author recommendation: Micro.Blog’s very own Cheri Baker, @Cheri . Currently reading and enjoying: The Case of the Floating Funeral. 👍 Who Killed …

23 May 2020 — : Actually just watched an ad (for Ecosa mattresses) all the way through, instead of skipping, because it was entertaining. Featured a woman who’s probably a famous actor.

23 May 2020 — : This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. One thing every single human being alive has in common: we’re growing older. This book explores some of the many many harmful misconceptions about age and why they’re so harmful. Book …

22 May 2020 — : My pal Rachel McAlpine, writer, podcaster and blogger, contributed this very interesting 17 minute video to the #M365May online conference: Old people and their computers in lockdown. Worth noting how personal blogs have helped lots of older people …

22 May 2020 — : We thought we spotted 3 sheep in the next door paddock but one. Unusual for a cow farm, but not unheard of. But they didn’t look right. Binoculars were no help. I grabbed my camera, zoomed and cropped (a lot). We think they’re young …

22 May 2020 — : Numbers and the Making of Us: Counting and the Course of Human Cultures. We can count up to 3 innately, but beyond that it’s all fuzzy. Some cultures use other Bases, like Base 27. Some cultures just don’t count up at all. Fascinating. …

21 May 2020 — : We watched Captain America: The First Avenger over 2 nights and it wasn’t bad. Great to spot Agent Carter too. We’ve got the free trial of Disney+, so may watch the sequels over the next few nights.

21 May 2020 — Clam Consternation : Everyone comments on how many rubber gloves wash up on Waikawa Beach. There's a strong suspicion amongst locals that the gloves and frequent large swathes of dead shellfish are connected with the clam dredge that comes through quite often. The dredge …

21 May 2020 — : I watched Batwoman, reluctantly, because of Ruby Rose. The show was too dark and gruesome for my taste. So I’m partly sad and partly relieved that Ruby Rose Is Done With Being Batwoman Now. I liked that Batwoman was a gorgeous lesbian hero. …

21 May 2020 — : I’ve been part of only a very few Zoom calls and everyone else knows more than me about using Zoom. That’s why I’m reading Take Control of Zoom by Glenn Fleishman. will take you from your current level of Zoom knowledge to full expertise …

21 May 2020 — : Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal by Joe Kissell harness the power of the Unix underpinnings of macOS! … become comfortable working on the command line in Terminal … provides numerous “recipes” for performing useful …

20 May 2020 — : Last week I thought we had a frost. This morning we definitely did!

20 May 2020 — : The Retrieval Artist Series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Mystery and Sci-Fi all wrapped up in space with a superb cast. One of my all-time favourite authors. Intelligent, well-written, so readable. Book recommendations challenge. 📚

20 May 2020 — : Dawn is on its way.

19 May 2020 — : Tl;dr: the website Free Online OCR does a fantastic job extracting text from screenshots. I really really dislike the service called Issuu. Many newspapers use it to publish online. I find it hard to read: zooming and scrolling are generally …

19 May 2020 — : The Renegat by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Sci-Fi. One of my all-time favourite authors, this particular novel is brilliant. A ship of misfits and screw-ups sent on an impossible mission. All alone in deep space. Book recommendations challenge. 📚

18 May 2020 — : Every 6 weeks or so I move the quail to a new spot. Here they are, near the house. It was a major effort to move the run uphill, but we got there in the end. The quails favourite shelter is the low plastic thing with the tree branches on top. 🐦

18 May 2020 — : Book recommendations challenge. 📚 I’m being totally self-indulgent and hopping in a time machine. From 2006: WordPress 2: Visual QuickStart Guide, 1st edition by Maria Langer and Miraz Jordan. So out-of-date now as to be essentially useless. 😒 …

17 May 2020 — : We watched Fisherman’s Friends, an excellent British film based on a true story. 🍿 … about a group of Cornish fishermen from Port Isaac who were signed by Universal Records and achieved a top 10 hit with their debut album of traditional sea …

17 May 2020 — : We watched and thoroughly enjoyed The Half of It, a movie about love and friendship. 🍿 It’s a very different story about a nerdy student, Ellie, a football player, Paul, and a beautiful girl called Aster. I totally recommend it.

17 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Violet sky in Niue. 📷

16 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Indigo. Pukeko. 📷

16 May 2020 — : I watched the first episode of The Bionic Woman which dates all the way back to 14 January 1976! 📺 I was struck by just how many men were taking charge of Jaime’s life, and how much more sophisticated TV has become in the last ~45 years. …

16 May 2020 — : We’ve been watching Miss Scarlet and the Duke. 📺 It has potential but doesn’t seem to quite gel. Scarlet is whiny and unappealing. Writing or actor? I think Jaime Murray from Warehouse 13 would really bring the character to life. Scarlet wears …

15 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Blue. 📷

14 May 2020 — : Oh hooray! Years ago the National (conservative) government cut adult education to shreds. Our Labour government, in today’s Budget, are restoring adult education! What excellent news!

14 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Green. 📷

14 May 2020 — : With confirmed daily new cases of Covid-19 in single digits or 0 for 4 weeks now, today Aotearoa New Zealand drops to Alert Level 2. Most businesses can open, domestic travel is allowed, gatherings are still very restricted. Now we wait to see if …

14 May 2020 — : Sunrise to the Northeast of me, neighbour’s house to the Southwest. I glanced out to see the neighbour’s house ‘ablaze’ with the sunrise. It was quite a sight.

13 May 2020 — : Ahhh, the Legends of Tomorrow episode Freaks and Greeks was good fun. Plenty of leading women, and a whole load of women characters working together. 📺♀ Screenshot source.

13 May 2020 — : My favourite news item of the day: Aotearoa New Zealand Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield: “it’s safe to pat dogs”. 🐶 We’re so lucky in NZ: as of today, less than 1500 confirmed and probable cases. 1402 …

13 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Yellow. 📷

12 May 2020 — : Apart from it being dark by the time the delivery driver tried to find our place, our first online & delivery supermarket order went well. I think we’ll be doing that again. Beats driving 20 minutes each way, queueing for an hour etc.

12 May 2020 — : Took a little drive to Paraparaumu today to pick up the frozen dog food brand I prefer. I enjoyed the jaunt — 30 to 40 minutes each way, and stopped to pick up hot chocolate and a baked goodie too. A bit of a treat these days.

12 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Orange. 📷

11 May 2020 — : Photos: Colour-A-Day Challenge: Red. 📷

11 May 2020 — : Good news for us: interest in fresh New Zealand produce is surging in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. “… no problems with ports or Customs clearance. [but] with air freight which is massively restricted with a lack of particularly passenger flights …

10 May 2020 — : He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata. He tāngata. He tāngata. — What is the most important thing in the world? It is people. It is people. It is people. Māori proverb. 💬

09 May 2020 — : Wow! Dolly Parton is quite something: singer and philanthropist: 100 million books given away for free … It is now one of the largest literacy programs in the world. she has responded to the global pandemic, by donating $1 million to coronavirus …

09 May 2020 — : Seven: “You have assimilated enough for one day. You have also provided invaluable assistance to the Voyager crew. You have exceeded expectations.” One: “Then expectations were insufficient.” Seven: “A simple …

08 May 2020 — : Clean and sweet smelling dogs. 😀 🐶 I retook the photo of Sasha because she did a giant yawn. I didn’t realise in the second photo she was sticking her tongue out, so here are both.

08 May 2020 — : Two shaggy dogs have been dropped off at the groomers. 🐶

08 May 2020 — : “Ever since my first day on the job as a Starfleet Captain, I swore I’d never let myself get caught in one of these Godforsaken paradoxes. The past is the future, the future is the past, it all gives me a headache.” – Janeway, …

07 May 2020 — : Wow, just watched episode 1 of The Andy Griffith Show. Ron Howard, aged about 6! I used to watch that show as a kid. Turns out RH is a year older than me.

07 May 2020 — : Finally replaced our 45 litre emergency water supply with fresh, bleached, drinking water. You’re supposed to do it each year…

07 May 2020 — : It’s been ages since I last used Screenflow. It just took me several hours to make a 40-second ‘movie' for my friend’s birthday Zoom tonight. It’s clunky and hokey and poorly put together, but she did ask for ‘one minute of …

07 May 2020 — : I’ve had problems with motivation the last few days. Today I’m trying to shake things up a bit. Already done the daily stretches and about to take the dogs for a walk even though sunrise is still 12 minutes away.

07 May 2020 — : Curbs happen. Sometimes when you least expect it. – Suzan Davis: Drop Physical, Mental and Spiritual Flab through Inline Skating. 💬

06 May 2020 — : The last few days we’ve had cloud, rain, and even the occasional thunderclap, and a rainbow. 🌈 Today’s blue sky reveals why the wind is so chill: snow on the top peaks of the Tararuas.

06 May 2020 — : At last. We had actual rain for a few days — almost 68 mm all up. That’s nearly 4,500 litres in the household water tank. 💧

06 May 2020 — : Buffy: If the apocalypse comes, beep me. 💬

05 May 2020 — : So good to read this from our Police Commissioner about community checkpoints: our approach has been driven by a desire to maintain the trust and confidence of all, something which is so important when we police with the consent of our communities. …

05 May 2020 — : Lao Ma: Nothing is soft as water. Yet, who can withstand the raging flood? 💬

05 May 2020 — : Usually Ravel’s Bolero drives me to be elsewhere, but this video is not only astonishingly creative but also utterly enjoyable: Juilliard Students Go All Out for Online Performance. A favourite bit: the garage door. [students and alumni] each …

04 May 2020 — : Thank you @brentsimmons for Undo Mark Older as Unread in NetNewsWire! My finger slipped. Phew!

04 May 2020 — : Our tunnelhouse is still producing capsicums and aubergine. Small, but still perfectly good. These will go in tonight’s dinner.

04 May 2020 — : Delenn of the Minbari: Withdraw or be destroyed! Earth Force: Negative! Do not force us to engage. Delenn: Why not? Only one human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari Fleet. He is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your …

03 May 2020 — : I’d like to thank @macgenie for allowing me to chat with her on Voyager Revisited episode 14 B’Elanna Torres: 50% Klingon, 100% Engineer. 🖖🏼 the Dreadnought missile is such a perfect foil for B’Elanna strengths and foibles 46 minutes. …

03 May 2020 — : I haven’t read these books yet, but am downloading a few: 13 Legally Free Digital Queer Books for Your Quarantine Needs. 📚 Maybe there’s something that’ll interest you?

03 May 2020 — : Aussies tend to make great telly (and movies) and My Life Is Murder, starring my favourite, Lucy Lawless, is no exception: crime comedy-drama … fearless private investigator Alexa Crowe solves the most baffling crimes as well as coping with the …

03 May 2020 — : Thanks to the many folks who said they were looking into or already using Kiva to help business people with small loans, eg $25. I see I’ve been using it since May 2006. 😀

02 May 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand is in a lucky position to trace the virus spread around the country: NZ’s first Covid-19 case … on 28 February - a person in their 60s who had arrived from Iran. … at least 35 unique introductions … from all over the world …

02 May 2020 — : For years now I’ve been lending money to individual business women in need via Kiva, usually $25 at a time. So far I’ve lent to women in 29 different countries, including places like Burkina Faso and Timor-Leste. Feels good.

02 May 2020 — : We’ve had a bit more than 100 mm rain in the first 4 months of the year. The forecast for the next 3 days is for another 100 mm. Wouldn’t that be nice. I bet we get only half that though, which will still be great. 💧100 mm would add about 6500 …

01 May 2020 — : I really enjoyed Frozen II. 🍿Great plot, music and animations. A favourite: the singing reindeer. Also 👍: Throughout the production of the film, filmmakers collaborated with Sámi experts on the depiction of the fictional Northuldra tribe. Excellent …

01 May 2020 — : Hmmm, at 13.5 it seems Oshi and Sasha are now officially in old age. 🐶 The vet confirmed Oshi has arthritis, so now he’s on pain pills. With any luck he’ll soon move more easily and have a bit more vim. Also their weights have crept up… 😒 …

30 April 2020 — : Finally finished Take Control of Apple Watch. I recommend it, even if you think you know all about your watch. For example, I just turned on Fall Detection, which was supposed to be on automatically.

30 April 2020 — : A septic tank deals with our waste and that’s fine by me. More houses should be independent in that way. The tank needs regular servicing though, and can have problems. Scotty and offsider did maintenance today and checked it out. The problem …

29 April 2020 — : A specially good reason to ride my bike around the village today. Blue skies, sunshine…

29 April 2020 — : Every day I check my On This Day page. Today I found two mistakes: a missing word in a 12 month old post and a typo in a two year old post. I can’t imagine how I would have been able to find, let alone fix, these old posts without my favourite app, …

28 April 2020 — : This angel is guarding a gate in the neighbourhood. A cheerful addition.

27 April 2020 — : As we move down one Alert Level in Aotearoa New Zealand things are looking good. New confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been in single digits for 2 weeks now. We’re on target to ‘eliminate’^ the virus here. ^means any new cases are few and can be …

27 April 2020 — : I’ve been reading Jeff Carlson’s excellent Take Control of Apple Watch and picked up a few tips in spite of wearing a watch for several years now. I’ve also just enabled the ECG app and tried it out. 😀 Excited to see what new tips the rest of the …

27 April 2020 — : These two videos might be helpful for some of us: Relieve tight shoulders with self-massage! and Relieve neck pain and tension with self-massage.

26 April 2020 — : Tonight’s viewing: Avengers: Endgame. Hard to believe this was one of the highest grossing films of all time. 🥱 😴

26 April 2020 — : Last night we watched 2 movies, Outsourced and Greenfingers. Both were lightweight and enjoyable. Outsourced sees an American sent to India where he eventually learns about the people and culture. Greenfingers was based on a true story about UK …

25 April 2020 — : This is the ‘south track' to the beach. Nice, eh!

24 April 2020 — : This Thrush was hanging round near the kitchen window this morning. 🐦

23 April 2020 — : Back on 29 February 2020 I ordered a bag to go on my bike’s carrier. It took them a while to ship it, but eventually it was put on a plane which departed China on 01 April. Thing is, now it’s 23 April and apparently that plane’s still in the …

23 April 2020 — : Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is so good in press conferences. Journalist asks a great question and gets a detailed, helpful answer. Journalist asks a really stupid question. Answer: No.

23 April 2020 — : Buying — it’s a bargain! The Mysterious Women StoryBundle Curated by Kristine Kathryn Rusch: … favorite female authors together into this StoryBundle. All of us write about crime, but we do it in different ways. I’m going to have a pile of …

23 April 2020 — Personal submission to Horowhenua District Council Annual Plan 2020/2021 : Key projects: … connecting shared pathways…With a recent steep rise in the popularity of electric bikes, and recognising the extreme danger for everyone travelling along SH1 between Ōtaki and Levin, it would be excellent if shared …

22 April 2020 — : Flax leaves (and those from toitoi and cabbage trees) are a nightmare when I weedeat around the plants. Leaves wrap themselves around the weedeater head and don’t break. However, when dry they’re wonderful for lighting the fire. Today’s …

21 April 2020 — : I’ve just discovered the NY Times Acrostic puzzles and I just love them. Can’t get enough. They’re a much better challenge than the sometimes humorous but often very simple regular crosswords I’ve been doing till now. Glad I …

21 April 2020 — : They were lost and now are found… I’m gradually cleaning up the overgrown tunnelhouse. Found 2 huge yellow and rotting cucumbers in a dark corner. Found a marrow in an outdoor bed where I wasn’t expecting anything. Capsicum and aubergine …

20 April 2020 — : Great news today that Aotearoa New Zealand’s transmission rate for Covid-19 is R0.48. A week from today we move down from Alert Level 4 to a slightly less restrictive Level 3. I’m glad we’re staying at L4 for another few days. 🦠

20 April 2020 — : I was just pondering an approach like this the other day: 🐶 the experimental project, which is seeking to establish whether the dogs can reliably detect COVID-19 in the way they can other disease. 🤞🏼

20 April 2020 — : Glad to be part of of FluTracking: 😷 to develop a system that can provide: Community level influenza-like illness surveillance Consistent surveillance of influenza activity … Year-to-year comparison of the timing, attack rates, and seriousness of …

19 April 2020 — : The second Ilsa Evans book in the Nell Forrest series and equally enjoyed: Ill-Gotten Gains 📚 A minor act of cemetery vandalism lands … Nell Forrest right in the path of historical inevitability. An apparent murder-suicide leads to … a century-old …

19 April 2020 — : On the edge of the estuary, these grasses / rushes caught my attention today. Very textured.

19 April 2020 — : I’m loving being able to see and edit the Pages on my 3 different Micro.Blogs with the alpha of MarsEdit 4.4. It’s soooo easy and works beautifully. Thanks @danielpunkass and @manton for the work to make this happen. Saves a lot of …

19 April 2020 — : June Almeida peered into her electron microscope in 1964, she saw a round, grey dot covered in tiny spokes …would become known as the coronavirus. That feat was all the more remarkable because the 34-year-old scientist never completed her formal …

18 April 2020 — : Thanks to ‘On This Day’ I found that 2 years ago I did an online hearing test. Today I tried it again. Looks like there might be a decline in the low range, but perhaps it’s just user error.

18 April 2020 — : Oh happy day! The alpha of Mars Edit shows my pages from 3 Micro.Blog blogs as well as a WordPress blog where I’ve always been able to see them. This will make my life easier for sure. There are a few pages I do or want to update several times …

17 April 2020 — As you were… : This Covid–19 version of Waikawa Beach, with roads empty of cars, vans and trucks, is how some longtime locals remember the good old days: “Waikawa the way it used to be”, as one said on Facebook. So, how did it used to be? Waikawa …

17 April 2020 — : 👍 decisive action. On the chart the red line is the model for how many Covid-19 cases Aotearoa New Zealand could have had. The black line is the actual cases we do have, thanks to a stringent shutdown instituted almost 4 weeks ago. Thank you …

16 April 2020 — : Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes high quality sci-fi. Recommended: Diving Series is 1/2 off! First novel in the series, Diving into the Wreck, is free in ebook for a limited time, the rest of the ebooks in the 8-novel series are $2.99 each, while the …

16 April 2020 — : I really enjoyed reading Nefarious Doings by Australian Ilsa Evans. Engaging text and character, wonderful dry humour. The whole Australian (stands in for Kiwi) vibe. It’s so refreshing to get beyond UK / US writing. I’ll be reading more …

15 April 2020 — : Thanks to John McWhorter in the excellent Lexicon Valley podcast episode The Many Meanings of Too for playing part of this wonderful track Cow Cow Boogie by Ella Mae Morse. If you need cheering up, give it a try. 😀 Or just listen anyway. 👍 🎶

15 April 2020 — : I hopped out of bed and spotted this pheasant watching me from the rail of the dog yard fence. I quickly grabbed this shot through a rather dirty window. 🐦

14 April 2020 — : I did sleep last night but with winds gusting up to 80+ Kph it wasn’t a good sleep by any means. Our house is on 6 metre piles and shakes even with the washing machine or a heavy footstep. Gusts of wind meant constant motion, and noise. …

13 April 2020 — : I just finished reading Nichelle Clarke Crime Thrillers, Books 1–3 by LynDee Walker, and enjoyed the books enough to buy the next box set. The books are well written, hold my attention and the solutions follow from the clues but are far from …

13 April 2020 — : The farmer next door runs dairy (not by us) and beef (over our fence). Today though there were 4 sheep in his next-but-one paddock.

12 April 2020 — : While looking for something else I came upon this photo I took in 2013. Oystercatcher. 🐦

12 April 2020 — : Two very surprising finds in the news: first name only and lack of upper case for Queen Elizabeth and Pope Francis. I’ve never seen either simply referred to by name without title before. Next up: Lizzy and Frank? I’m neither monarchist nor …

12 April 2020 — : I’m glad homeless people will have (temporary) houses, but what bugs me about this is the phrase ‘homeless community’. No-one should be homeless in Aotearoa New Zealand. These should be homeless people. The ‘community’ phrase accepts a …

12 April 2020 — : Emily Graslie works for the Chicago Field Museum and is one of my favourite YouTubers. She has such a lovely manner. If you like birds watch her 8 minute video: I put GoPros on my bird feeders - YouTube 🐦

11 April 2020 — : This ‘fountain’ in our back yard was courtesy of the warning light on our septic tank. First I jiggled the pipe that makes a stuck pump run and reduces the fluid level in the main chamber. The pump hummed but nothing else. So I found the release tap …

11 April 2020 — : This is such a clear explanation: How Privacy-Friendly Contact Tracing Can Help Stop the Spread of Covid-19 Nicky Case, working with security & privacy researcher Carmela Troncoso and epidemiologist Marcel Salathé, [explain] how we can use apps …

10 April 2020 — : There was a bit of a swell in the sea today. First walk on the beach together with Deb in ages.

09 April 2020 — : Apparently the farmer’s tractor, with post hole digger attached, is the place for all the cool cats to hang out today.

08 April 2020 — : 👍 👍 Maybe handy: Axel Scheffler has illustrated a digital book for primary school age children, free for anyone to read on screen or print out, about the coronavirus and the measures taken to control it. …expert input: …and …advice from … teachers …

07 April 2020 — : Waaaaay back on 13 February 2020 (about a lifetime ago now) I ordered a pair of neoprene booties from AliExpress. Today they finally arrrived, but I can’t go kayaking in a Level 4 Alert so I can’t try them out. They fit fine though. I wish the …

06 April 2020 — A bubble of one's own : When things happen at Waikawa Beach the caring side of the community really shines through. A few weeks ago numerous black-backed gulls were found distressed and dying on the beach. Several locals immediately started to help, scooping up sick birds …

06 April 2020 — : I’ll see your cat Paladin on the railing @dejus and raise you a dog on a tower of beds. Oshi. 🐶

05 April 2020 — : The Levin New World supermarket had things well-organised this morning. Just as I was wishing I’d brought some water while waiting in line a worker walked past offering a free bottle of water to anyone waiting. Another worker went down the line …

05 April 2020 — : Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is amazing. Relaxed, authoritative, really knows her stuff. Patient, kind, has a sense of humour, trustworthy. Every time I see her doing a briefing she just rises even more in my estimation. We’re so lucky to have …

05 April 2020 — : Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, says statistics suggest we have only 25% Covid-19 infections as modelling predicted. 1,000 against 4,000. Swift closing of borders and our self-isolation seem to be paying off.

05 April 2020 — : New supermarket rules.

05 April 2020 — : I’ve been queuing for 40 minutes since the supermarket opened and have just reached the sign telling me it’ll be about an hour wait from here. Glad I brought my book.

04 April 2020 — : A great read: Slanging match slang is not and never has been an exclusively male preserve. But each generation of critics has presented young women’s slang as … a worrying departure from the relatively recent past when girls were allegedly ‘genuine’ …

03 April 2020 — : I keep intending and forgetting to go to the beach to watch the sun set. Tonight I finally made it.

03 April 2020 — : So rewarding to do a cryptic crossword again (it’s been a while). The intuitive leaps, the anagrams… I was rusty… Thanks to Black Ink for the perfect software and to Stella Zawistowski of The Inkubator for the free trial crosswords.

02 April 2020 — : I looked up at the end of a photography training video to see the sun had set and the sky looked gorgeous. Trees silhouetted against a darkening sky.

02 April 2020 — : Self isolation Day 6 (or maybe 7 or 8): a beach walk with dogs. Looking south and looking north.

01 April 2020 — : My partner Deb’s current commute.

01 April 2020 — : Ugh, today is my least favourite day of any year: April Fools Day. I hope there’s no stupid stuff this year, of all times.

31 March 2020 — : First full day of my partner working from our 70 square metre home was revealing. I thought her job was a lot of writing papers and some meetings. Turns out it’s 95% or more meetings and calls. 😲

31 March 2020 — : This is our temporary new neighbour. Sadly, she's alone in her paddock, but she seems very calm. Someone told me she's an elderly horse.

30 March 2020 — : Passionfruit flower.

30 March 2020 — : A tranquil river on a peaceful day.

29 March 2020 — : Well, Aotearoa New Zealand has had its first Covid-19 death: an older person with underlying health vulnerabilities. 😒

29 March 2020 — : This is great news for the future: Virtual consultations very effective - doctor A family doctor using virtual consultations … says it works so well he hopes to keep using the method. He …was able to diagnose a rib sprain with an online video …

29 March 2020 — : Fascinating. See what happens in an epidemic if more or less people self-isolate. Even a few breaking the rules can prolong everything hugely. Simulating Many Scenarios of an Epidemic what if … people still occasionally go to a central location like …

28 March 2020 — : With pouring rain and a cold southerly, today I lit the fire for the first time this year. Just a little one, for an hour or so, but it sure cheered things up.

27 March 2020 — : How many times can the media, on behalf of the public ask if it’s “alright to drive to the beach or park for a walk” and for the PM to say “Yes, but keep it local”? Local is local is local! Meanwhile, folks over the road had visitors today… !!!! 😡

27 March 2020 — The anatomy of our society : This pandemic lays bare the anatomy of our society. Our response to the imminent threat of mass deaths from Covid-19 is to ask: What is essential to sustain life? In Aotearoa New Zealand the answer is food and medical help. We are at a Level 4 Alert, …

27 March 2020 — : I had a very anxious 10 minutes this morning when I went to wake up my MacBook Pro and couldn’t get it going. It was plugged in and asleep overnight. After a bit I tried a different power point and the problem was solved. It had run out of …

26 March 2020 — : What great news! Christchurch mosque attacks: Gunman pleads guilty to all charges The man [accused of 2019] Christchurch mosque attacks … pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing … admitted 51 of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one under …

26 March 2020 — : Recently added items at the Department of Obsolete Phrases: Cooee, anyone home? While you were out… I was hoping I’d catch you at home.

25 March 2020 — When our lives go sideways : When World War 2 broke out my parents were in their early 20s. Dad was sent off to war and ended up in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp for 3+ years. I can't imagine that's what he expected for his life. Mum stayed at home in London, England, working …

24 March 2020 — : Ah, finally someone has broached the subject we don’t want to think about. In Aotearoa New Zealand we always expect an earthquake. What say we have a significant quake while in Shutdown? The excellent answer: we’ve thought about and are planning for …

24 March 2020 — : So very pleased to hear our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, switching from the word ‘lockdown’ to ‘shutdown’. Lockdown connotes house arrest and probably contributes to panic buying. Shutdown also clarifies that people can actually go out if they …

24 March 2020 — : Capons! Who knew I knew that word!? One of the things I love about @danielpunkass Black Ink - Solve Crossword Puzzles With Style is that it drags these extraordinary words from the most profound depths of my brain. Also, it makes me actively love …

23 March 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand is now pretty much in lockdown. Level 3 alert, but in 2 days time, Level 4 where businesses are closed and we must stay home. These are very good measures.

23 March 2020 — : Supermarket limits.

23 March 2020 — : NZ’s leading health professionals and relevant scientists are all saying we should go to Level 4 lockdown right now. We have 66 cases at the moment, and thankfully, zero deaths.

23 March 2020 — : OK, this morning I’ve had my seasonal flu shot. The road was quieter than usual.

22 March 2020 — : Hmmm, 11pm and I ought to be asleep.

22 March 2020 — : Went with a friend to a cafe for breakfast this morning. Cafe capacity has been reduced(?) to 80 and we had to sign a register on arrival. Fair enough too. 🦠

22 March 2020 — : I love the rare occasion when I meet online pals in real life. @JohnPhilpin visited today and I enjoyed our chat. Here we are giving each other space on the deck at my place. 😀 Nano micro meetup.

22 March 2020 — : This 7 minute doco is something for our cat lovers: Fishing Cat: The Cat That Hunts Underwater. 🐈 Life in the mangroves of South Asia is difficult, but there’s one creature in this swamp that’s defying the odds, and our expectations at the same …

21 March 2020 — : My favourite quote, now we’ve learned folks 70+ should stay home: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters: Winston Peters will continue business as usual in his role of Deputy PM despite being over 70.

20 March 2020 — : Some fisher lost this, presumably crab pot.

19 March 2020 — : The last numerous episodes of Legends of Tomorrow have been irritatingly sidetracked by silly old Constantine (pah!). S05E07 Romeo v Juliet, Dawn of Justness finally got it back to being the fun show it used to be. Hilariously chaotic and wonderful. …

19 March 2020 — : So, Aotearoa New Zealand’s borders are closed to all except returning Kiwis. The ban applies to people not product, and those staffing freight ships and planes are not included. A couple of tourists who refused to self-isolate have been …

19 March 2020 — : Earlier I noticed Oshi licking rather than drinking from the dogs water fountain. Then I realised that since there was a scheduled power outage, he couldn’t get any water. I took the top off so they could just drink from the bowl. New …

18 March 2020 — : About blimmin time!! Parliament removes abortion from Crimes Act - Beehive.govt.nz Abortion has been removed from the Crimes Act under a new law passed by Parliament today.

18 March 2020 — : This photo isn’t specially great, but it marks a first for me: analyse what I wanted to capture, think about camera settings, then shoot. The sun in my eyes made it hard to see properly. I wanted the glint on the water’s edge between the …

18 March 2020 — : Did a grocery run — the supermarket featured emptied shelves, busy shelf stackers and overflowing trolleys. Then I treated myself to Hell Pizza. Ate 2/3 there and brought the rest home for lunch tomorrow. Yum.

18 March 2020 — : Detailed, useful scientific information: Siouxsie Wiles: How testing for Covid-19 works How the process runs, why NZ is not testing everyone who feels ill, and something Kiwis can do online immediately and easily to help the fight against the virus. …

18 March 2020 — : It’s an absolute gorgeous day today. Blue sky, sunshine and clear. And the beach for kilometers is empty except for the birds and us.

17 March 2020 — : Wow! NZ has created a huge Economic package to fight COVID-19. the most significant peace-time economic plan … to cushion the impact of COVID-19 …. $12.1 billion package is worth 4% of GDP, a larger plan than … in response to the Global Financial …

17 March 2020 — : I haven’t read this free ebook, but the Take Control series is stunningly good Take Control of Working from Home Temporarily by Glenn Fleishman. This author is in very high standing. how to set up a home office and balance work and home life …

17 March 2020 — : Heh, my partner and I often have a phonecall while she drives to or from work. I’ve realised ‘car metadata’ such as noise from turn signals, reversing beeps, engine noise, traffic sounds etc gives me a lot of info about where she is on her route. 🚗

16 March 2020 — : If you have school-age kids you might want to watch this 4 minute video with them: How to to create a super-powered virus fighting soap from Dr Michelle Dickinson. ideas to help children to wash their hands. … while explaining the science behind why …

16 March 2020 — : Every few weeks I move the quail to a new spot on the flat area of grass below the house. Today Flop managed to escape in the process, but I caught him before too long. They’re all enjoying the fresh straw and fresh patch of ground. 🐦

15 March 2020 — : Normally I’d tell people Facebook would be the last place to get reliable info. But when the 18 minute video is our wonderful PM, Jacinda Ardern, with Dr Michelle Dickinson and Chief Science Advisor Dr Juliet Gerrard then it’s a whole …

15 March 2020 — : Kiwis: this is a very well written explainer: How to run a country in a pandemic Rules of Parliament include no options for MPs voting remotely. What would happen if there was a domestic lock-down and politicians couldn’t get to Wellington to …

15 March 2020 — : I set the old iPad up again to see how the ginger kitten in the garage is doing. Something was off and it took over 1,000 photos! Whittled them down to a dozen — all of an adult tabby (and a few moths). Hmmm. 🐈

15 March 2020 — : If you or someone you know is transgender or non-binary then this is a must-watch 12 minute video about transgender rights at the end of life and after death. It’s US-specific but thought-provoking for all. YOU have rights! And YOU have rights! …

14 March 2020 — : NZ derives significant income from tourism and the last decade or two has really pushed tourism. Covid-19 will hit our economy hard.

14 March 2020 — : So pleased we have a sensible government, and an excellent Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Watch today’s COVID-19 announcements. NZ has 6 confirmed cases, 10,000 people self-isolated. Now we’re putting in strict measures to keep us all safe and …

14 March 2020 — : Hmm. 3 health questions but only requires action if the “answer” (singular) is “yes”. Do all 3 need to be true or only one? Deb was in Australia 14 days ago…

14 March 2020 — : With autumn come the early morning inversion layers. What a difference the moment of sunrise from behind the mountains makes.

13 March 2020 — : Arrived home from a bike ride to hear a weird noise in the garage. On investigation I found a confused Thrush bashing itself against the windows rather than retreating through the very large door opening. After a bit of messing about, the problem was …

13 March 2020 — : I’ve been working my way happily through the RNZ podcast series Elemental. The episode on Thulium - the most laborious of the lanthanoids was particularly interesting and fun. Isolating the element thulium … took many years. 15,000 …

13 March 2020 — : In Aotearoa New Zealand the clocks go back an hour on Sunday 05 April this year. I’ve started the process of feeding the dogs 3 minutes later each day, so dinner will still be ‘at the same time’ then. Apple Photos dog categories feature photos …

12 March 2020 — A recycling idea that failed : The folks at Waikawa Beach are keen recyclers. The Horowhenua District Council a few months ago switched us from one crate for everything, collected weekly, to a crate for glass and a wheelibin for hard plastics and paper, collected every second …

12 March 2020 — : 14,000 litres of clean fresh water to fill our tank. Now we have a declared drought and with no real rain forecast and a pandemic to consider, it was time to get the worryingly low drinking water tank filled. Now brim full. The entire North Island… …

12 March 2020 — : Whew! I took a photo at the beach but at home my iPhone 11 refused to turn on. This worked: Quickly press and release volume up button. Quickly press and release volume down button. Press and hold side/power button until iPhone shows apple logo. …

12 March 2020 — : Every day I check the wind flow map for Aotearoa New Zealand and our little spot on it. Today shows the wind from the south being split and then funneling through past Wellington. We’re in a more sheltered spot 90 Km north of Wellington.

11 March 2020 — : Hmmm, I find Batwoman grim and very hard with all the torture and whatnot. Yet the episode Grinning from Ear to Ear was an interesting exploration of issues of identity and honesty, epecially around trust and coming out as lesbian to family.

10 March 2020 — : And lo, two trim and tidy dogs. 🐶 Sasha and Oshi after the groom.

10 March 2020 — : Shaggy dogs before grooming today. 🐶 Bonus photo from March 2007 when they were only a few months old and Oshi’s face was all black.

09 March 2020 — : Good to see this plan to make NZ predator free by 2050 Department of Conservation … goals for Predator Free 2050… focus on … possums, … rats, stoats, ferrets and weasels. That’s a great start. I wonder how it will affect rabbits? We have so …

09 March 2020 — : This 300 page PDF by a pro photographer was definitely worth the US$13 I paid for it: Secrets To Stunning Wildlife Photography I’m looking forward to trying out the numerous practical tips, including the one for getting better photos of my …

09 March 2020 — : At last I know what makes some of the tracks on the beach. Sand scarab beetle Pericoptus truncatus is the largest of the New Zealand native scarab beetles. … The larvae, pupae and adults are common amongst the roots of marram grass and under or …

09 March 2020 — : I should remember this when I’m so often tired: Ringing in ears keeps brain more at attention, less at rest with chronic tinnitus, the precuneus is more connected to the dorsal attention network … not truly at rest… This could explain why many …

08 March 2020 — : Watching Charlie’s Angels 2019. It’s a lightweight undemanding movie for a Sunday evening.

07 March 2020 — : The literal tail ends of the RNZAF Black Falcons on their way to the Wellington Pride Parade. I think these must be the T-6C Texan II.

07 March 2020 — : Oshi approves of the new rug for the front door. The rug should add a bit of colour for winter. 🐶

06 March 2020 — : Last night I set up my old iPad Air 2 with a motion sensor app in the garage and caught a million pics of the ginger kitten before the battery died. It seems there was also a hedgehog visit. 🐈

05 March 2020 — : 3-yearly cervical smear. ✅ Tetanus booster shot. ✅ Shingles vaccine. ✅ Breakfast at Taper. ✅ Now it’s time for a cuppa and to enjoy the gloriously sunny day. My arm’s starting to get sore…

04 March 2020 — : Flight. Helicopter. Hawk.

04 March 2020 — The transformative power of a 3-letter word : I was so concerned by an article in the Horowhenua Chronicle today I immediately wrote a Letter to the Editor. We have a group of refugees coming to Levin soon, but one 'concerned citizen' is worried that we don't have enough for ourselves already so …

04 March 2020 — : This is exciting, scary stuff: using non-printing zero-width characters to hide information, perhaps as a digital watermark. BTW: BBEdit displays the characters easily. Via Chris Aldridge.

03 March 2020 — : Every year the Māoriland indigenous Film festival is in Ōtaki, just down the road. Every year I end up not going. 😒 For this year I’ve just booked tickets to two movies: Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story The Body Remembers When The …

03 March 2020 — : This cute little 6-month old Tibetan Terrier was waiting for his mums to order their lunch at the cafe in Shannon where I was eating. Thought I’d brighten your day too. 😀 🐶

03 March 2020 — : Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. I’ve been invited to take part in the free, voluntary screening programme. Back in the day I read Derek Miller who blogged at length on his experience with bowel cancer. …

03 March 2020 — : This was our Fox Terrier, Harriette, back in 2004. She definitely shed. You could bathe her and brush her and then she’d shake and a cloud of black and white hair would cover everything nearby. Guaranteed to show up on all clothes. 🐶 Lovely dog …

03 March 2020 — : Drat. Much-needed dog groom cancelled last minute because of a death in the groomer’s family. The great thing about Shih Tzu x Lhasa Apso dogs is they don’t shed. The downside is the haircuts they need. 🐶

02 March 2020 — : Next time someone asks why a woman didn’t just leave a violent relationship this is one compelling answer: The Family Violence Death Review Committee’s Fifth Report Data showed that between 2009 - 2015, half of women killed by their …

02 March 2020 — : Aha! 10 minutes later and the farmer’s turned up to feed out hay. No wonder the steers are all so excited.

02 March 2020 — : I don’t know what set off the steers in the next door paddock but they suddenly all decided to hoot and holler their way to a gathering.

02 March 2020 — : I really enjoyed the movie 3 Generations. Teenager Ray realizes and pursues his true identity as male and his mother, lesbian grandmother and absent father must learn to accept him for who he is.

02 March 2020 — : This grubby, shaggy, smelly girl (and her equally everything brother) will be groomed this week. 🐶 Today I need to do the pre-groom ears and tail brushing.

02 March 2020 — : Portrait mode helps me see this 2-metre Kowhai I planted amongst the bracken etc. Now wondering if I should add wind protection and a sturdier stake.

02 March 2020 — : In the superb (free) The Science of Well-Being Course sometimes an aspect of vision is used to demonstrate how our mind’s intuitions can be completely wrong. Which table is longer? Answer at 2’44” on video. I totally recommend this course, BTW.

01 March 2020 — : Woohoo. I happened to post a photo on 31 January, so even though I haven’t yet done the ‘vision' post I’ve gained the 30-day photo challenge pin! 😀 // @macgenie

01 March 2020 — : Success, the tiny stray / feral ginger kitten trapped in the neighbour’s garage ran straight into my cat carry crate … and then popped straight out the other end. The plastic crate is ancient and decrepit and falling to bits. 🐈 It’s a …

01 March 2020 — : Time to leap into a gorgeous new day.

29 February 2020 — : Hey @Bix Apparently one can manipulate images on a Mac via Terminal with SIPS. Try “mac command line SIPS” in your search engine for instructions. May help with your png needs? Free. 😀

29 February 2020 — : Re my last: Ever since my first day on the job as a Starfleet Captain, I swore I’d never let myself get caught in one of these Godforsaken paradoxes. The past is the future, the future is the past, it all gives me a headache. Captain Janeway, …

29 February 2020 — : Today is where I realise I should have stuck with NZ time for the photo challenge instead of trying to do it a ‘day behind' to match others. Today is 29 February and the challenge word is ‘leap’, which I’ll now do tomorrow. 😒

29 February 2020 — : Our neighbour’s house is slightly below ours. These marquees on their lawn are ready for their daughter’s beach wedding today (when it has finally rained after weeks of dry and heat). The garden needs the rain. The happy couple don’t. 😖

28 February 2020 — : Kiwis — want to know about vaccinations we can / should have? See New Zealand Immunisation Schedule. Wish I’d known to have a Whooping Cough vaccine before I was afflicted a few years back, but who knew? Seems I’m due a Diphtheria/Tetanus …

28 February 2020 — : This 20 minute discussion between 2 doctors is a must listen: I’m a grown-up. What vaccines do I need? I’d already booked for my free Shingles shot next week. Grown-ups need vaccinations too, and data … suggests most of us think we’re up …

28 February 2020 — : This is pleasing. Not only do we sometimes get 4 or 6 hours of free electricity with Genesis, but we get an annual refund too. Electra is pleased to advise that your Electricity Sales Discount of $170.93 … will be credited to your next electricity …

28 February 2020 — : I’ve only just downloaded, but am keen to read Take Control of the Mac Command Line with Terminal. If you’ve never used the command line to do stuff on your Mac, take a look. It’s really cool what you can do, and a fun thing to learn …

28 February 2020 — : Downloaded Tot notes app to try it out. The website doesn’t want to work in Safari on my Mac so I had to use Firefox. The Help file gave me eyestrain: small pale grey text on white. In a Note the Format menu allows larger text, thank goodness! …

28 February 2020 — : These two have been together (and with us) for a little over 13 years now. Sasha and Oshi. 🐶

27 February 2020 — : For some this is their weekend escape. For me it’s pretty much daily enjoyment. Beach, sea, Kāpiti Island.

26 February 2020 — : This little cutie stunned herself flying into our window. I believe she’s a juvenile European Goldfinch. Now she’s sitting on the grass, recovering.

26 February 2020 — : This is amazing! Russian Multiplication: A Different Way to Multiply. Video, 7 minutes. In Russian multiplication you can multiply any two numbers together through simple addition and doubling & halving numbers.

26 February 2020 — : This speedbump doesn’t seem much of a hurdle, but I have to bike over / round 3 of them each way to the village and back, and another to leave the village. They are a huge pain for a cyclist, and the grass either side has loose rutted sand and …

26 February 2020 — : Messing about with my camera at the beach at sunrise with ground mist.

25 February 2020 — : Yesterday, while savouring my bike ride, I noticed this lovely tree by the footbridge, rustling in the breeze. Perhaps someone who knows their trees can tell me what it is.

25 February 2020 — : Katherine Johnson, key black female mathematician for NASA’s Apollo flights died 24 February 2020 at 101 years. RIP. calculated precise trajectories that would let Apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969 and, after Neil Armstrong’s history-making …

25 February 2020 — : I wasn’t seeing double today. The single skinny ginger cat that’s been hanging around is now two skinny gingers. Probably strays, or feral, one had caught something today — perhaps a small rabbit. It’s OK if they catch pests, but …

25 February 2020 — : Hmmm, that moment when you think your partner’s at work but Find her in Wellington Harbour on the Interislander Ferry route. Something I should know? 🤣

24 February 2020 — : I was experimenting with camera settings. In the foreground are a juvenile and an adult black-backed gull. In the distance is a dredge keeping station just outside (I hope) the Kāpiti Marine Reserve.

23 February 2020 — : Not my photo: Nicolas Janberg. When I lived in Dūsseldorf it was a real spectacle in April 1976 to see the new Oberkassel Bridge move 50 metres: … was erected next to an existing bridge. The old structure was … demolished and the new bridge moved … …

22 February 2020 — : Progress just doesn’t go in straight lines.

21 February 2020 — : I was watering, when a grey ‘leaf’ on a flax stalk moved. On closer inspection I found a moth, about 5 cm long. Maybe it’s a Dasypodia cymatodes. Maybe not. Update 21-Feb–22: an expert on the NZ Bug Identification Facebook group tells me …

21 February 2020 — : The bark on this driftwood (now in our garden) looks like scales.

20 February 2020 — : The dogs and I love having plenty of space for our walks.

19 February 2020 — Interesting times ahead : One of the delights of Waikawa Beach is that there are no commercial services: no cafe or coffee cart, no vege shops or dairies to bring visitors, traffic, and paper cups blowing along the beach in the wind. On the other hand, if you’ve run out …

19 February 2020 — : Some people oppose the use of 1080 for poisoning the many introduced predators that eradicate our native birds. They should visit Kāpiti Island and see how amazing this land could be if we got rid of all the stoats, rats, possums and other pests. …

19 February 2020 — : This is more of a saved bookmark for me: Proper Technique for Paddling a Kayak. The proper technique for paddling a kayak …. By developing good technique, you will not only paddle more efficiently, but be safer on the water.

18 February 2020 — : I don’t go tramping in the bush, but the easily accessible forests and bush are silent. There’s no city / traffic noise, to be sure, but it’s very quiet. When we stepped off the boat onto Kāpiti Island there was birdsong everywhere! …

18 February 2020 — : Another interesting Tom Scott video: Sentences Computers Can’t Understand, But Humans Can. Humans can work out the ‘it’ in a sentence like “I spread the cloth on the table in order to protect it” but machines can’t because they don’t have …

18 February 2020 — : The takahē is a very cool bird. Of only 418 in the world two live on Kāpiti Island. They’re big (about 3 Kg) and were thought extinct for 50 years. the largest living rail in the world. The population stood at 263 at the beginning of 2013. … …

17 February 2020 — : After a weekend of wandering the trails on Kāpiti Island looking for birds I find today I need a rest. Here are a Korimako (Bellbird) and a Toutouwai (North Island Robin).

16 February 2020 — : North Island Robins are so obliging. They come down to the track to get the insects you disturb by walking around. They’re bold and they stick around.

16 February 2020 — : When the bird you’re trying to get a photo of is high in a tree so you’re craning your neck for a while, it’s easy to lose your balance afterwards. It’s hard to see, but this is a little native Whitehead. I’ve never seen one …

16 February 2020 — : Can you see Australia? Me either. It’s over there somewhere though, several thousand kilometers away. Taken on today’s walk to the top of a loop track at the north end of Kapiti Island.

16 February 2020 — : The bird life on the Kapiti Island Nature Reserve is phenomenal. That’s what can happen when predators are removed. The forest is loud when native birds are allowed to flourish. We heard Little Spotted Kiwi in the night.

16 February 2020 — : This Kereru sat quietly on an eye level branch about a metre away from me. They’re large and beautiful birds which live about 4km from us at home but haven’t made it to Waikawa Beach itself.

15 February 2020 — : Luckily it’s a warm day for a trip to Kapiti Island. The boat ride took 10 minutes.

15 February 2020 — : On Kapiti Island the hills are covered with bush and there are so many birds! This weka was hanging round the picnic table.

15 February 2020 — : Looking south from our deck we can see the neighbour’s house, and the hill that marks the boundary between Horowhenua and Kāpiti. Apart from the green lupins, everything is brown because of the recent warmth and the ongoing dry.

14 February 2020 — : Thank you so much to all the many folks who’ve sent birthday wishes. What a wonderful thing to wake up to on this sunny and warm summer day. It’s shaping up to be a great day and a great year! 🥳 I was late to rise and slow to breakfast. 😎

13 February 2020 — : This time last year I came to watch the sunset the evening before my 64th birthday. I decided to do it again as I turn 65 tomorrow. It’s a great way to close out a great year where I’ve achieved some things I’m very happy with.

13 February 2020 — : After listening to an interview on a podcast, I decided to try this free course The Science of Well-Being by Yale University. Others may be interested to give it a go too. you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase happiness and …

13 February 2020 — : Weather willing, our weekend destination is Kāpiti Island. I hope to walk to the top, and to see interesting native birds, including Little Spotted Kiwi.

13 February 2020 — : There comes a time when a cone no longer has a strong attachment to its tree.

12 February 2020 — : Luckily my kayak fits in the car. I drove to the footbridge today where the water was green, rather than brown for a change. Then I kayaked upriver for half an hour. With the tide going out, I sat back and made a wee video of the quiet. I think the …

12 February 2020 — : Today’s beach rubbish haul was an odd collection: polystyrene, a cassette from a typewriter(?), rubber hose from a motor vehicle.

12 February 2020 — : The river mouth is a vast plain of sand and water. It’s around 10 hectares or 26 acres of beach playground.

11 February 2020 — : You might think I took this photo yesterday BEFORE I filled the rabbit hole and stuck in a board to block it, but no, this is from this morning!

11 February 2020 — : At the all-purpose entrance to our beach is sign overload. The two small signs below the speed limit sign were placed there illegally by a disgruntled local. Access to the beach here is across privately-owned land.

11 February 2020 — : This Cynthia Erivo - “Stand Up” - Oscars 2020 Performance is just magnificent! From the motion picture HARRIET, the Original Song “STAND UP” is written by Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo. Next I need to watch the …

10 February 2020 — : I always love seeing this. Landskein.

10 February 2020 — : When there’s a lull in activity and I fancy sitting at the picnic table on the deck, the last thing I want is an active paper wasp nest underneath me. Glad I checked the bench. Fly spray does a good job at killing the wasps.

09 February 2020 — : RGB. 🐶

09 February 2020 — : Contrast: tire marks and smooth sand. I’m so glad the tide comes up each day to wash away the infernal tire tracks.

08 February 2020 — : Watched an excellent Australian movie: Top End Wedding: The film stars Miranda Tapsell as Lauren, a lawyer planning to wed her fiancé in her hometown only to discover her mother has run away. I loved seeing Tiwi Islands Aboriginal culture portrayed …

08 February 2020 — : In 2002 Deb and I visited Vanuatu for a holiday. We travelled to Mount Yasur, an easily accessible active volcano on Tanna Island. As it became dark we could see the eruptions spewing out red hot rocks above us.

08 February 2020 — : 🤯 : ‘ard’ is a real suffix in the english language just like ‘ly’ or ‘ify’, … ‘ard’ means ‘too much’ or ‘too easily’ ‘mustard’ is something that is ‘too pungent’, … ‘wizard’ is someone who is too wise, ‘coward’ … too easily cowed, and ‘drunkard’ …

07 February 2020 — : We very rarely get seaweed of any kind on our beach, but today there was a small patch of this plant. Is it perhaps sea lettuce?

06 February 2020 — : Darn, this was from Monday and I’ve forgotten what site I was on. Whenever I have to choose New Zealand from a drop down list I type ‘N’ and that gets me close enough at New Caledonia. This list uses weird sorting so I was still far from home: …

06 February 2020 — : I like things on my computer to be ‘just so’. Most windows should be tucked up to the top left corner, for example. (Micro.Blog inhabits top right.) I use a Keyboard Maestro macro to make sure my Black Ink crossword puzzles are in the right place and …

05 February 2020 — : Oshi’s had his duck since he first came to live with us at age 3 months. He ignores it most of the time, but sometimes runs round whimpering while he tries to find a good place to hide it. Sometimes he digs a hole in the sand and buries it, …

05 February 2020 — : These interesting fungi were hanging out in the strawberry patch.

05 February 2020 — : Every morning Sasha jumps on the bed for a cuddle. Then she settles down in her favourite spot at the foot. 🐶

04 February 2020 — : It took me a stupid amount of time to find this small photo. My new electric bike isn’t the first one I’ve owned. Back in around 2007 I had this Apollo eLation electric bike. It was an Apollo Altitude XC, 24 Speed Cross Country Mountain …

04 February 2020 — : It’s rare for there to be absolutely no wind. This sand dune reflection is actually from 2017.

03 February 2020 — : That’s what I wanted. Tired at the end of the day but had the urge to go for a little bike ride. eBike FTW. 9.02 km round the local area. Getting the hang of the bike and which way to turn the gear thingummy (I’m used to gear levers, not …

03 February 2020 — : I read and very much enjoyed Triana Moore, Space Janitor: The Complete Humorous Sci Fi Mystery Series by Julia Huni. The stories were interesting and fun. The lead character was smart and self-assured, but far from perfect, which made her relatable. …

03 February 2020 — : It’s not just me and folks I know: How employers are freezing the over 50s out of the job market: the “more suitable candidates” line was one older generations … despised. “It is challenging … to get rejected … with the …

03 February 2020 — : This sight has dominated our local summer. A dreary landscape. Grey skies, drizzly mist. I’m sick of it!

03 February 2020 — : Odd but pleasing dreams: a stunningly iridescent blue butterfly 3 times the size of a Monarch, that I then realised was a bird. A large tan brown fuzzy ‘bird’ that flew to me and curled up against my legs so I realised it was a flying cat. How cool!

02 February 2020 — : Although I did my best to clean our gutter recently it was seeming to overflow when we had any actual rain. I got the professionals in. Martyn came with his gutter vacuum and camera and sorted it out. Various gunk and a dead baby bird were sucked …

02 February 2020 — : I took my new bike for a ride beyond the village on to the ‘open' road. 13 Km all up. I started with an extra loop where I stopped and chatted with neighbours a bit. There were a couple of minor hillocks that usually strain my legs but were no …

01 February 2020 — : Turns out buying this Gepida Reptila 800 electric bike took most of the day. I’ve had one quick 8.6 Km ride and it'll be great. I test rode several different bikes and was humming and hawwing between the first two. Then I rode this and knew …

31 January 2020 — : Nice: Picard S1E2: people are working on a formerly Borg cube and a sign says: “This facility has gone 5843 days without an assimilation”. LOL

31 January 2020 — : Not only is Kristine Kathryn Rusch my favourite author in the sci-fi genre, but she also writes extremely good posts about the business of being a writer. Nobody Cares makes a superb point about courage: Nobody cares if I can’t do this project. …

31 January 2020 — : Good news for Waikawa Beach: we’re to get a new road: Three of New Zealand’s top 100 dangerous intersections are along this route. In the five years to 2017, there were 49 deaths and serious injuries …, making it one of the country’s most …

30 January 2020 — : This was a truly interesting 25 minute video with two of my favourite YouTubers: What should museums do with their dead?. Many museums house significant numbers of human remains, many of which were acquired without the consent of the individual in …

29 January 2020 — : I am so glad to see a little sun after a week of unrelenting drizzle. My mood lifted almost immediately.

29 January 2020 — : At Taper cafe in Levin I had my first ever (onion-free) quesadilla. It was so delicious! At a nearby table an older woman collapsed out of her chair. She seemed OK, but the cafe owner called an ambulance to be sure. In Aotearoa New Zealand such …

28 January 2020 — : It’s mid-summer, theoretically. We’re having day after day after day after day of cool, grey drizzle and it gets me down. The odd day of sunshine is a huge lift. The highlight today was when this flock of maybe 50 geese flew right by the …

27 January 2020 — : I just loved The Case of the Karaoke Killer by @cheri . It flowed very smoothly and the story was completely believable. I think Ellie is a very authentic character and I enjoyed her interactions with other characters. Now I can’t wait for Cheri’s …

26 January 2020 — : Here are some views from the motorcycle level of the numerous cars on the ground floor. So many cars: tiny and enormous, a gangster car with bullet holes, a steam car, a de Lorean. Some old cars are utterly enormous.

26 January 2020 — : Then look at this 1895 Benz Velo.

26 January 2020 — : The Southward Car Museum has something for everyone, even those not interested in vehicles. Look at this motorcycle with tank treads, for example. Or the Werner from 1900.

25 January 2020 — : This 5.4 quake 67Km deep shook us awake. There was a gentler one 4 hours ago, just to get us in the mood. Moderate earthquake occurred 45 km north-west of Paraparaumu: www.geonet.org.nz/earthquak…

25 January 2020 — : Oh, and Legends of Tomorrow Episode 501 was bizarre, chaotic fun, but can I really hope that Constantine (who I really dislike) is actually gone now? We’ve suffered him for how long now, 1.5 seasons? Let’s get back to the core timeline …

25 January 2020 — : I’ve been lukewarm on Arrow TV show for a bit; skipped a few eps here and there. 💤 Now the Crisis crossover has rebooted everything I really enjoyed E0809. 2 slightly older women (Dina and Canary) are mentoring Mia, the new Arrow. Female focus for …

25 January 2020 — : Our motorcycling friends from up north are visiting. Breakfast at Taper in Levin. They had just washed roadworks dirt off their bikes.

25 January 2020 — : Late last year volunteers planted Spinifex (silvery) and Pingao (golden) in the dunes. They are growing well.

24 January 2020 — : Hmmm, the new intern seems to be hindering rather than helping at Deb’s office today: our dog Oshi on the lap of Laurette. 🐶 Later… morning tea for Oshi and Sasha.

24 January 2020 — : Arrrgh! I should have set a timer. I put 12 quail eggs on to hard boil, meaning to turn the element down later. The noise of the clothes dryer stopped me from hearing it though and the pot just boiled dry! I guess the eggs’ll be ok. Just hope …

23 January 2020 — : This morning when I took my daily selfie something odd happened (apart from somehow the flash being on — I retook the photo without it). I recalled a photo of my mum, sitting in her armchair before she really succumbed to dementia. This photo of Mum, …

22 January 2020 — : This relatively small dragonfly got itself stuck between two sliding doors. Luckily closing the door didn’t kill it as I feared. Then it was reluctant to go.

21 January 2020 — : Heh, love it “Batwoman” Adds Another Lesbian Character and a Major Coming Out Storyline: A woman does not get kicked out of the most prestigious military academy in the country for smooching her girlfriend, move to the frozen tundra to krav maga …

21 January 2020 — : Today I paddled maybe 1Km upstream from the Waikawa Beach footbridge, past the shag colony. Then I went down ~500 metres past the bridge and finally back to base. All up it took me about an hour. Glad to get out on the kayak again. In 6 years of …

21 January 2020 — : I’ve been working slowly on an extended project: tidy and sort the garage and another shed, toss junk, give away stuff, sell stuff. Organise. Locate shelves and containers. Group related stuff. Haven’t yet sold anything (I hate the selling …

21 January 2020 — : I tried something a bit different on a stunning morning alone at the beach. This 360 degree video starts and ends looking east towards the sun. Then I turned south, west, north and back to the start. See Kapiti Island.

20 January 2020 — : Today was the first time in months that I’ve biked the dogs in their trailer to a walking spot. Today was the trees across the footbridge where it was cool. It’s about 5Km all up, with 3 speedbumps to navigate. Sasha and Oshi handle it well. 🐶

19 January 2020 — : The river’s been fairly low and still the last few days. Perhaps that’s because it’s the time of year when we don’t get any rain. I didn’t go in, but probably less than waist deep. These views West and East from the footbridge …

18 January 2020 — : Was out with a client at coffee this morning when she mentioned she was being spammed via her WordPress contact form. I investigated and was thrilled to use an IP address site Deny. Spammer was sending 8x+ per minute about a video blogging service. …

17 January 2020 — : Yesterday morning’s recording was of a Skylark (I think). Very low tide and slight Easterly meant the sea was quiet and the iPhone could actually pick up the bird.

17 January 2020 — : At the Waikawa Beach estuary this moning. Pied Stilt birdcall, with a view of the river mouth and the bird itself. Very low tide (the sea is a hum in the background). Gentle wind from the East means tiny to no waves. Blue sky. Sun. Volume UP.

16 January 2020 — Wind, tide and a fickle Waikawa Stream : After flowing west from the Tararuas the Waikawa Stream makes a sudden southward turn about 400 metres from shore. It meanders parallel to the coast for another 1.5 Km then exits from the throat onto the inlet sand where it makes a lazy loop before …

16 January 2020 — : It can pay to be friends with the owner of your favourite cafe. Taper in Levin now offer White Tea as well as black and herbal. Decent chocolate chip biscuit too.

16 January 2020 — : When I watered the tunnelhouse this morning I was surprised to find this frog on a tomato plant, about a metre or more off the ground.

15 January 2020 — : Branch, boat, horses … bird.

15 January 2020 — : A couple of years ago I ordered a down jacket and vest from Wear on Earth: Custom made down jackets and vests right here in Christchurch, New Zealand. 100% European Goose Down with 750 Loft Website and customer service were poor, but the gear is …

15 January 2020 — : Nothing odd about an overnight low of 3C if it was mid-winter! But it’s mid-summer. 🥶

14 January 2020 — : These days we tap a button and a photo instantly appears. Back in the day a tintype photo took a lot of patience and messing about. Watch this fascinating 23 minute video to see a modern recreation. Recreating 19th Century Death & Mourning …

14 January 2020 — : I haven’t been to the beach for a few days, but this morning’s visit was splendid. No wind, deep blue sky and ocean, clear air. And this fine horse and rider.

13 January 2020 — : I have a few HTML files I’d like to be able to access from other devices. They’re really only for me. Meanwhile, GitHub has been a mystery to me. Today I followed excellent and clear instructions at Creating and Hosting a Personal Site on …

12 January 2020 — : Magpies can be clowns. Spot the one hanging upside down, but twisting round to check me out. Moments later they were singing full throat together.

12 January 2020 — : Most of the wild rabbits round here are brownish-grey. There’s at least one black one though, presumably decended from some escapee pet. The black one tends to hang out and play with a couple of the brownish rabbits. They’re fun to watch.

12 January 2020 — : This morning we visited Te Horo Beach, a 26 Km 30 minute drive by road or a mere 11 Km along the beach south of us. It’s a rare ecological landscape though, being a shingle beach with a stony ridge. The colours were intense and the sea seemed a …

12 January 2020 — : I didn’t manage the best photo, but I was so excited to meet a Saluki for the first time in my life. 3 years old and they can’t get him to eat so he’s skinny. So beautiful though. Especially from the angles I didn’t catch. 🐶

11 January 2020 — : I biked round to the village today. It’s a tiny trip: 5.5 Km return, but stops me from getting completely out of the cycling way. The river was very still, and fairly low. A stand-up paddleboarder went past, and then two kayakers.

10 January 2020 — : Visit to Foxton Estuary; White-faced Heron.

10 January 2020 — : A visit to Foxton Estuary; 4 Canada Geese all in a row.

09 January 2020 — : If you’re a Kiwi (I was granted citizenship in 2004) and meet a few residency requirements, then when you turn 65 you receive a Super Gold Card. It gives you various discounts and some free off-peak travel on local buses and trains. Pretty darn …

08 January 2020 — : This shocks me: A local Kāpiti Focus Group formed early in 2019 to advocate for a cycleway, walkway and bridleway on the Ōtaki to North of Levin (O2NL) expressway, is urging NZTA and Government to commit to ensuring that plans for the …

07 January 2020 — : NetNewsWire on my iPad is so fast! So smooth and easy to use. Thanks @brentsimmons

06 January 2020 — : What a great podcast episode! Lady Bam Podcast with Mary McDonnell - Episode 11 - Kate Mulgrew starship captain and president of the universe walk into a bar… an amazing talk… Kate’s new book … their experiences growing up …

06 January 2020 — : I’m sick of the westerly wind today. Why is NZ so windy? The “Roaring Forties" is the belt of wind at latitude 40 south… the Southern Hemisphere in the 40s is mostly ocean …. With a lack of land to slow things down the wind whips up …

06 January 2020 — : Tonight’s light meal of flounder, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, camembert and mashed potato (not shown) had a large percentage of local produce. The tomato, cucumber and lettuce came from our garden. The flounder was freshly caught off our beach …

05 January 2020 — : Some here may be curious to see half a dozen Drone photos, January 2020 of where I live at Waikawa Beach. In the low-res, small photo attached to this post our house is top centre, marked with a pink circle.

05 January 2020 — : missionaries’ early accounts of enthusiasm for learning to read and write in Māori were not exaggerated. Tangata whenua were keenly interested in new ideas and technology, and literacy was manifestly a key to Pākehā culture Source: Tangata Whenua: A …

04 January 2020 — : Lines in the sand.

03 January 2020 — : By my calculations the nearly 20Km stretch of road between Ōtaki and Levin was affected by 7 vehicle crashes during 2019; several involved fatalities. My count may be incorrect and I’ve submitted an official information request to NZ Transport. …

02 January 2020 — : The Australians are doing it very very hard with the bushfires. I feel sad for the many people who have lost everything. Our NZ problem is the smoke. This image from Met Service shows the bands of smoke affecting us. Now in an atmosphere near me.

01 January 2020 — : The spinifex is starting to produce seed heads. I love when they tumble down the beach in the breeze.

31 December 2019 — : This passage about fighting in NZ in the early decades of the 1800s struck me: Those encounters showed that, while possession of a few muskets could create community fear in areas that had little access to them, it seldom deterred opposing warriors. …

30 December 2019 — : This pied shag was swimming beneath the footbridge this afternoon. I was struck by its fanned out tail, perhaps providing stability.

30 December 2019 — : This morning I attended a neighbour’s mother’s funeral. The mother was a much-loved elder of her church and the congregation laid on delicious finger food for lunch. My neighbour’s brother, a butcher, supplied a delicious ham, and …

29 December 2019 — : We only did a tiny bike ride: 3 Km, but it was a start. It’s more than a year since Deb has been on her bike and she needs to ease in. I may go out again later.

28 December 2019 — : I’m not an author but am an avid reader of fiction by Kristine Kathryn Rusch who also blogs about the Business of writing. Her post The Future of Audio 2019 would be a must-read for actual authors. Check the snippet about how software can read …

27 December 2019 — : We watched the British comedy Swimming with Men. It was odd, but after a bit became funny in a strange kind of way. When accountant Eric [has a midlife crisis] he [joins] a male synchronised swimming team [and] finds brotherhood …as they train for …

27 December 2019 — : I found a Huhu Beetle down by the garage. They’re big. If a huhu beetle lands on the hair of a person … scissors must be used for extraction. The beetles are most active at night, are attracted by the lights of the dwelling and only live for …

27 December 2019 — : This morning at the beach I liked these clouds. Looking pretty much due West. (Hello Australia! 👋🏼)

26 December 2019 — : In mid-winter at Waikawa Beach we have 8 hours of daylight and I don’t fare so well. I need my daylight and sunshine to thrive. So Murmansk at mid-winter would be pretty much bottom of my list of potential places to be. Beautiful photos though. …

25 December 2019 — : Secret Santa went down well. A present for everyone, including the dogs. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : A bountiful dessert. Christmas with Kiwis. Cheesecake, fruit salad, semifreddo, chocolate spheres.

25 December 2019 — : Wine and a board game before dessert. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : Christmas with Kiwis. Dinner with friends. Everyone brought delicious food to share.

25 December 2019 — : Deb’s been cooking Slow Roasted Pork Belly as our contribution to a shared lunch with 4 friends. She’s also made Chocolate mousse domes with raspberry coulis centre. My job is cleanup. We’ll start eating around noon and laze the afternoon …

25 December 2019 — : I was surprised to see someone out ‘surfing’ the 30 cm ‘waves’ at 6.30 this morning. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : Strawberries fresh from the tunnel house make a fine addition to breakfast. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : Fellow Kiwis, Aussies and other southern hemispherians: let’s show our fellow northern Microbloggers what our Christmas is like. Blog your day. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : Dog walk at 6 am as it’ll get too hot later. It’s only 10C at this time of day though so merino cardigan, merino jersey and possum merino hat are a must. Christmas with Kiwis.

25 December 2019 — : And just for kicks, this was 10 minutes later and includes a distant rooster.

25 December 2019 — : Dawn at 5 am on Christmas Day at Waikawa Beach in Aotearoa New Zealand. For those missing bird song.

25 December 2019 — : Our neighbours have a ‘Christmas Tree’. It’s a flax spear with lights and decoration trinkets. Christmas in Aotearoa New Zealand.

25 December 2019 — : Dawn at 5 am on Christmas Day. Waikawa Beach, Aotearoa New Zealand. A sound file of birdsong is coming but taking forever to upload from my phone.

24 December 2019 — : It’ll soon be time to start a 2020 folder on my computer. Random memory: when I was 11 my sister turned 20. I thought I would never be that old — it was too distant to imagine. Now here we are, some 54 years later and it’s [almost] 2020 …

23 December 2019 — : I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Finger. It was a nice, light read with an interesting turn or two. @Cheri

22 December 2019 — : Summer solstice today with 16+ hours of daylight. Now things should actually warm up for a few months. // @jhull

22 December 2019 — : We went to see The Good Liar last night. It’s hard to say anything about it without giving away plot points. The movie is full of twists, and of course Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen are excellent. The movie didn’t grab me though. Ho hum.

21 December 2019 — : Thanks to @shindakun and the clearly written tutorial at Adding Webmentions To micro.blog I believe I’ve now successfully added Webmentions to this blog. 🤞🏼

21 December 2019 — : E rima ngā kuaka. There were 5 Godwits by the sea this morning.

20 December 2019 — : Interesting to see this: Bachcare fined for removing negative comments in online reviews. I worked for them for a while. They have awful employment practices. They make their profits out of the pockets of the workers.

20 December 2019 — : A few years ago I bought a 12-year old car. I had a new console put in for GPS, radio and to use my phone while driving. It’s terrible. Mostly radio doesn’t work. Now it seems the radio might work but my phone won’t. The GPS is 2nd rate …

19 December 2019 — : Huh, Netflix have some wizardy that prevents either a still screen capture or a screen capture video. Disabling Javascript just stops Netflix from working at all. So much for my attempt to add a screenshot to my previous post.

19 December 2019 — : When I started watching Virgin River a few days ago I found it pleasant enough. Then after a couple of episodes I found myself more or less binge-watching. I like the story and characters, and the scenery (filmed in Canada) is just amazing. Now …

18 December 2019 — Countries of follow on Micro.Blog : I deliberately try to follow diverse people on Micro.Blog. Occasionally I unfollow someone if I find their posts just don't really interest me. Unfortunately, on scanning the list of 350+ people I follow I'd estimate half or more aren't actually …

18 December 2019 — : Sigh. This seems to be my TV-watching life at the moment. 😣 Maybe it’s just that everyone’s at the beach for the holidays and our miserable ADSL can’t cope. But nearly everyone else can use fibre now. I’d hoped they’d change …

17 December 2019 — : I think every Kiwi knows there used to be giant birds called Moa in New Zealand. They went extinct about 500 years ago. What I didn’t know was that females were generally considerably larger than males: females were sometimes nearly 7 times …

16 December 2019 — : The other day I posted a Dawn Chorus. Here’s a 6 pm chorus at the end of a busy day.

16 December 2019 — : Odd life experience: I had my documents checked today so I can receive Superannuation from February 2020. I went straight from that office to help neighbours clear out the rest home room of their mother who passed away yesterday. I felt I'm entering …

16 December 2019 — : Former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, hosts a very interesting podcast called A Podcast of One’s Own . In each episode Julia leads a thoughtful but fun discussion with well-known …leaders from the worlds of business, …

15 December 2019 — : We don’t often hear about the Moriori, so this is interesting. Moriori: Still setting the record straight: the first Moriori ancestors… arrived directly from Eastern Polynesia… Later waka came from mainland Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu… about 500 …

15 December 2019 — : The Wall Street Journal crossword for 14 December 2019 had some excellent puns. Of course, the absolute best way for a Mac user to solve it is with Black Ink 2 app by @danielpunkass. With holidays coming up why not try a few crosswords?

15 December 2019 — : Life lessons from Star Trek: Voyager: Our situation is deperate. When faced with desperate circumstances, we must adapt. Seven of Nine, Demon, S04E24. 🖖🏼

14 December 2019 — : Our Māori language teacher shared this delightful sentiment: Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana, kia tere te kārohirohi i mua i tōu huarahi. May the calm be widespread, May the ocean glisten as greenstone, May the shimmer of light …

14 December 2019 — : Best nuns ever: The Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa Order: train in kung fu and meditate … prepares them for their real duty: helping others. teach self-defense classes for women … protest against … climate change & human trafficking … solar panel …

13 December 2019 — : Guess which two dogs named Sasha and Oshi had their 13th birthday today. Special treats were enjoyed. 🐶

12 December 2019 — : Just rewatched Star Trek: Voyager S04E14, Message in a Bottle. I’d forgotten how hilarious this episode is — perhaps one of the funniest of all. Not one, but two, Emergency Medical Holograms! 🖖

12 December 2019 — : It’s the time of year when Warou, Welcome Swallows, swoop around the house, sometimes coming in and either getting ‘stuck’ in a corner, or swooping out again. 🐦 A self-introduced species from Australia … Welcome swallows first bred …

12 December 2019 — : Taper Cafe in Levin (opposite the Mall) is owned by friends. This is my first visit. Great ambience. Excellent food choices.

12 December 2019 — : Whew, felt like I had a huge and unachievable list of things to do today. I’ve checked off most and now just have one biggie to do: supermarket shopping for Deb’s Sesshin which starts tomorrow. At least I have an excellent list to buy …

12 December 2019 — Let the fun times begin : People don't come to Waikawa Beach for the shopping, the coffee, or the nightlife. We are blessed to be free of all of those things. Instead visitors take the dogs or the kids for a walk on the beach, do a bit of fishing from shore or boat, wander by …

12 December 2019 — : I enjoy listening to @hollyhoneychurch Late Night Harp. I select the file in the Finder and play it from Quick Look. If I select something else though, the music stops. I looked for a very simple music player and found Simple MP3 Player (free). It …

12 December 2019 — : I woke at 5 to a full moon setting. The dawn chorus was loud. Not sure if I can export from Voice Recorder direct to M.B. …

12 December 2019 — : So interesting. 10 minutes: Barbara Cox, the matriarch of New Zealand football New Zealand has come a long way in its treatment of female athletes, but only thanks to those who refused to put up with double standards long ago. Barbara Cox is one of …

11 December 2019 — : Everybody loves the flax flowers. Starlings are enjoying them. But I think my favourites are the little native Tauhou who prefer to feed upside down. known to spread seeds of native trees, shrubs, including kahikatea, coprosmas … assist with …

11 December 2019 — : These heroes deserve the highest honour we give out in New Zealand. it was super gassy … consistently the ash was falling, the helicopter was covered in it, we were covered in it. trying to carry people through distances and put them into …

11 December 2019 — : I’ve been attending a useful yoga class. Although the instructor gives clear explanations of what to do, I’m finding the Yoga Journal to be a helpful reference with more detail.

11 December 2019 — : I’m a little peeved that the BatWoman episode of Crisis on Infinite Earths was very light on BatWoman and heavy on all kinds of men — Arrow, Superman, Lex Luthor, Monitor, male Legends. Blimey!

11 December 2019 — : If you’re a 👩🏽 and watching Crisis on Infinite Earths then you may enjoy the Autostraddle recaps as much as I do. Great fun. I guess non-👩🏽 may enjoy them too…

11 December 2019 — : This bunch of weeds is supposed to be a shingle driveway leading from the house to the garage. It was very still this morning with a hot day forecast so I kitted up early in protective gear and turned to the poison spray. Before long these weeds …

10 December 2019 — : Today’s Bird On The Flax is the humble Sparrow. 🐦 House sparrows were introduced to NZ first in the mid 1860s. They soon became abundant and were said to be combating plagues of agricultural pests. By the 1880s, however, they were regarded as pests. …

10 December 2019 — : At last! For the longest time I’ve been annoyed by Safari Reader using white text on a dark background. Today, finally, I searched. Click the tiny AA at the right end of the URL bar then choose preferred settings. Select colours, font size and …

10 December 2019 — : Whakaari, aka White Island, erupted yesterday: 5 dead , 34 injured, 8 missing. There is no hope the missing have survived. ”2 groups on the island - those who were able to be evacuated and those who were close to the eruption." … from …

09 December 2019 — : Yup, that’s New Zealand: if we’re not having earthquakes or breathing Australian bushfire smoke, then maybe we’re having a volcanic Eruption at Whakaari / White Island. The bad news is at least 20 people have been injured, 7 critically.

09 December 2019 — : Fortunately it was easy to get my refund from the Levin Stihl shop. I asked for the guy I dealt with last time. He saw the problem and the $120 refund was immediate. They’d charged me for a whole reel of line instead of the 1 metre they put on after …

09 December 2019 — : About 10 days ago I had our weedeater repaired and serviced. The cost was eye-watering, but I was busy, stressed or unwell or something and didn’t challenge it. Today I was about to throw out the receipt when I saw it included an expensive item I …

09 December 2019 — : Thanks for the latest Trek podcast @macgenie . As a non-American I had absolutely no idea about the LA Gangs stuff. My only knowledge of LA gangs is from various crime shows. As a non-US white person I was also woefully ignorant about the Latin …

08 December 2019 — : Now that lupin season is almost finished, thank goodness, it’s Tui on the flax flowers season. This Tui appeared after today’s 25mm of rain stopped. 🐦 I’m so glad I planted flaxes right by the front door.

08 December 2019 — : Deb made Mary Berry’s scones today and they were wonderful. Very light. She had to use quail eggs as we didn’t have any hen eggs.

08 December 2019 — : Our friend Willow came to visit for a few hours today. 🐶 Meanwhile, everyone was looking at me, including Oshi and Sasha.

08 December 2019 — : Interesting note about growing older: researchers found big shifts occurred in the readings of multiple proteins around age 34, age 60 and age 78. Of 1,379 proteins found to change with age, 895 were significantly more predictive for one sex …

07 December 2019 — : A photo on my watch reminded me that in the first part of December 2008 I was in Hawai’i to teach some WordPress courses. I loved the zoo. Photos: Me at the top of Mauna Kea. Komodo Dragon. Secretary Bird and Crowned Cranes. Giant Galapagos Tortoise.

07 December 2019 — : This morning I woke from an unpleasant dream feeling slightly bewildered and anxious. I know dreams are just the brain sorting and assessing, but I was concerned this one may be predictive. A cup of tea and a bit of gardening has brought reality back …

05 December 2019 — : Today I visited Sian in Porirua for my kirituhi. We chatted, then Sian drew a beautiful work in felt pen. I approved and she went ahead with inking. The negative space represents water, the feathers represent birds and the ‘cabbage tree’ is for …

05 December 2019 — : Down in Porirua some of the pohutukawa are starting to flower. A sign that Christmas is close.

05 December 2019 — : Thanks to @bix for the pointer to this interesting article. I was specially caught by this sentence: The ability to disregard the opinions from the group that is being disadvantaged, the ability to escape accountability for actions, and the ability …

05 December 2019 — : I only ever learned our awful national anthem, God Defend New Zealand, in English. These days many sing it in Te Reo. Here’s verse 1: E Ihowā Atua, O ngā iwi mātou rā Āta whakarangona; Me aroha noa Kia hua ko te pai; Kia tau tō atawhai; …

04 December 2019 — : Why a photo of my left forearm, wrist and hand? (In some languages they would all be the same word) With any luck, this is a Before photo. Updates to come in a few days. 🤞🏽

04 December 2019 — : Black Ink 2: another superb Mac app from @danielpunkass! If you love words, you’ll love this. I’m now a fan of the free Wall Street Journal puzzles. Tab goes from clue to clue, arrow keys select cross words, while red tells me if I’m …

03 December 2019 — : Moreover, many native English speakers pronounce the Māori word ‘ngai’ as just ‘nai’, but that initial sound should move the tongue way back, tip down so it’s like the sound many make in the word ‘singing’ (not those who make a clear ‘g’ …

03 December 2019 — : Pronunciation fascinates me: exactly where do tongue, lips etc go to sound out words? English speakers put their tongue tip just behind the top teeth to start a word like ‘nock’ (as in arrow). But ‘knock' starts the same way — these days. Once it …

03 December 2019 — : As always, the latest NativLang video (10 minutes) is extremely interesting: What English does - but most languages can’t: English has unusual linguistic features most other languages don’t! These skills really make English unique compared to …

02 December 2019 — : Usually in New Zealand when a house rolls and shakes around like this it’s because of an earthquake. Today it was the delivery truck refining the position of the house. These folks will have a panoramic view of the hill in front of them.

02 December 2019 — : Some mornings you spot the house delivery truck.

01 December 2019 — : It’s the time of year when everything in the garden has had a growth spurt and these horrible grass seeds get into my socks and stab me. They’re hard to pull out too.

30 November 2019 — : The other day I prepared a new bit of garden to extend an existing length beside the drive. Today I bought a dozen Coprosma Hawera, a native groundcover, to integrate into the new area and a few other spots in the garden that need to be filled. mbnov …

30 November 2019 — : When I dug into the mulch pile today this frog bounded out. I thought it had pale specks, but realised later that’s just mulch. It’s probably a Southern Bell frog . The back of their thighs and groin area are bright blue to turquoise …

29 November 2019 — : I live in a fantastic place, but between dreary spring weather and having a lot of obligations I’d kind of forgotten to enjoy it. Today, summer has arrived and I swerved on my ‘obligations’. Feeling better already. Photo: watching Santa from …

29 November 2019 — : I really truly hope this is simply bad wording: But those on the other side of the argument – like sexual violence advocates including some lawyers – say survivors’ previous sexual experience should be off-limits in court. My emphasis.

29 November 2019 — : I came out specifically to attend a yoga class and do other errands. I want to do yoga and need to. Today though it turns out the right thing for me to do is sit in a cafe drinking tea and eat chocolate cake. I need a break from …

29 November 2019 — : Not much. You?

28 November 2019 — : Her hum: so woebegone. She needed company to feel secure. We brought our alto and bass into the mix, weaving a rich, complex sound that echoed around the empty property. It had seemed fantastic, this idea to integrate our voices in one key, but we …

28 November 2019 — : A CSS stylesheet is made up of rules. Each rule includes a Selector, and some Declarations. Each Declaration contains a Property: Value pair. To make the text of h2 headings black, for example, you would write: h2 {color:black;} . Simple. 🧐 🤣 mbnov …

27 November 2019 — : This (partly animated) brief non-fiction comic by Toby Morris is so worth reading: The Side Eye: The Trap Life. When we left Wellington about 5 years ago Kākā were just starting to be around where we lived at the top of Mt Victoria.

27 November 2019 — : I find myself frequently listening to one or other (or several) of @hollyhoneychurch harp tracks at Lateniteharp. I’ve probably listened to more harp music in the last 6 months than in the whole rest of my life. 🎶 (What! There’s no harp emoji! …

27 November 2019 — : My reward for an hour of weeding: rich Kāpiti Triple Chocolate Ice Cream and homegrown strawberries. Yum! Rich and velvety chocolate flavoured ice cream blended with real chocolate pieces and a swirl of decadent chocolate sauce. mbnov 27-Nov-19: …

26 November 2019 — : My Dad and I were probably too much alike: I didn’t get on well with him after I was about 15. Today I found a couple of photos of him. He was born in 1916, 2nd eldest of about 10. At ~24 he became a prisoner of the Japanese in the Fall of Singapore. …

26 November 2019 — : In 1990 I worked in Adult Literacy. I raised funds to attend a Conference in Edmonton, then sent a report to an MP who contributed (who had also been a favourite science teacher of mine). Luckily I still have her response as I need it in my …

26 November 2019 — : Good thing I have no scheduled activities for the rest of the day. 31 minutes into a 20 minute hold my call was answered, I said what I need, then was disconnected after a few moments of weirdness, with me saying “Hello? Hello?” Now the wait’s 34 …

26 November 2019 — : If I’d known beforehand I’d be on hold for 20 minutes I wouldn’t have finished the crossword first. At least the music mix is pretty good. I have to get a Work and Income client number to be able to apply to get Super when I turn 65 soon. 💲 …

25 November 2019 — : If I climb above the second rung on a ladder I don’t feel at all secure. The only way to get this photo showing we need more gutter cleaning was for Deb to hold the ladder. I had phone in one outstretched hand while clinging to the roof with …

25 November 2019 — : Quote of the day: Life will become more and more interesting when you are past 60. What you have accumulated in your mind until then will blossom. When you are past 70, you will have a fuller life. Source: Meet the 84-year-old Japanese app …

24 November 2019 — : On a bleak and drizzly Sunday afternoon I enjoyed the excellent company of my partner while we watched Poms, Late Night and Cracker Jack. I really enjoyed all three. All featured women and women’s friendships. ‘Issues’ were also dealt with admirably. …

24 November 2019 — : Excellent! Te Reo Māori support: Microsoft Translator supports more than 60 languages… the free application can translate te reo Māori text into English text and vice versa. It will also support Māori into and from all other languages supported by …

23 November 2019 — : For anyone wondering why the air is so hazy today that we can’t even see the Tararuas clearly: The sky is particularly hazy … today due to the smoke from the Australian bushfires. Strong NW winds … are spreading this over much of central and …

23 November 2019 — : Shih Tzu puppies can dramatically change colour as they grow. Take this little woebegone mite at only ~3 months of age: dark face and body. And at age ~13 years Oshi is really pale. He changed colour in the first year or so. He’s a Lhasa Apso …

22 November 2019 — : Half my mouth is numb after a trip to the dentist. Sometimes if I hum it can be comforting. As I get older I have less and less tolerance for dentist visits, holding my mouth open, having tools in my mouth. I just wish my teeth didn’t keep falling …

22 November 2019 — : Ahhh, breakfast, the most important meal of the day … except for dinner! 🐶

22 November 2019 — : Did I break my feed with the umlaut problem in my earlier post? The more recent post about my tattoo isn’t showing up… // @help

22 November 2019 — : When I was 30 I had a rose tattoed on my hip. Times were different back in 1985 and as a school teacher I didn’t think I could have a visible tattoo. Now I think I want a tattoo on my wrist to celebrate turning 65 soon. This artist looks right …

22 November 2019 — : Something I see often now, the phrase: The proof will be in the pudding. In the old days the phrase was “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”. ‘Proof’ in there used to mean ‘test’, as in German, prüfen - to test. How things change…

21 November 2019 — : The choice was murky. She was extremely selective, but one chocolate was rumoured to taste superb, while the other looked so much more appealing. Could she build a case to abate the appeal of the first and boost the second? She bit into the first and …

21 November 2019 — : A hollow tube came in so handy for extracting 20,000 litres of rotten water from the tank. mbnov 21-Nov-19: hollow

21 November 2019 — Why 20,000 litres of water had to go : Our house has beside it a concrete tank with around 20,000 litres capacity. Rainwater comes off the roof, through a first flush diverter that helps keep it clean of debris, and then into the tank. When we turn on a tap in the house the pump on top of …

20 November 2019 — : Today our currently full 20,000 litre rainwater tank will be emptied. 😢 Then it’ll be vacuumed, cleaned, vacuumed a second time, cleaned, checked, then filled (14,000 litres) with a tanker of water from the town supply. ＄＄ Better than E.Coli …

19 November 2019 — : The TV show Stumptown started strong. 6 episodes in it’s definitely one of my favourites. How can a show be so excellent from minute one?

19 November 2019 — : Dark sky, green paddocks, low sun. Straight from the iPhone.

19 November 2019 — : The dogs were supposed to be groomed last week but it was postponed at the last minute. Today, finally, they’ve been bathed and trimmed. Before: shaggy dogs; after: trim and tidy (and sweet-smelling). 🐶

19 November 2019 — : If you’re having a bad day, or even if you’re not, and don’t hate dogs then look at this 6 minute video: Heroic labrador helps save small dog in the sea. 🐶

19 November 2019 — : We’ve been trying to ameliorate the bad smell from our drinking water for a couple of weeks. It did abate, but we also got the water properly tested and the results are bad. Now I’m arranging to have the tank cleaned, inspected and …

19 November 2019 — : Geese by Lake Horowhenua in Levin.

19 November 2019 — : Actually, this is my first time using a laundromat. Luckily someone helped me avoid trying to wash in the dryer. 🤭I need better instructions.

19 November 2019 — Community BBQ struck a chord : The Waikawa Beach village has been filling up for decades. It's well-established with its 250 houses. An urban area, sections are smaller and houses are close together. That's an ideal setup for casual conversations with neighbours — a solid …

18 November 2019 — : Not something I expected to find on the beach this morning.

18 November 2019 — : The chef did a superb job in this build: Mushroom Hash at Cafe Royal in the centre of Palmerston North where I had errands this morning. Very delicious too. Unfortunately, and no fault of the food, another of my teeth fell to bits while eating (pic). …

17 November 2019 — : Today’s job was to climb a ladder to see what was in our gutter (that feeds our drinking water tank). Then to attach a gutter cleaner nozzle and hose to a long pole and try to wash out the gunk. Much gunk, much cold shower! Now I want …

17 November 2019 — : One of the superb things about going through old Micro.Blog posts with Mars Edit to fix missing alt text is the reminders of posts past. Ahhh, baby quail… Another superb thing is how easy Mars Edit makes working with Micro.Blog posts. // …

16 November 2019 — : As I get older I become more selective about pretty much everything. I don’t want to spend time, money, energy on things that aren’t really what I want. And for some purchases I’m more aware than ever that I may have them for the rest of …

15 November 2019 — : In the wee hours we had gusts of wind over 60 Kph, pouring rain loud on the tin roof, thunder, lightning. The dogs were extremely anxious and kept me awake for a couple of hours. In the end I brought them up on the bed where they stayed. Today …

15 November 2019 — : The Waikawa River flows out to sea at our beach. Not far east two streams converge. At the confluence, crystal clear Waikawa stream from the hills behind North Manakau is joined by murky Waiauti water from the hills behind South Manakau. mbnov …

14 November 2019 — : These are astonishing figures for our tiny country. Space sector contributes $1.7 billion to NZ economy 🚀: Space …Total employment … 12,000 jobs. total estimated revenue of the space economy was $1.75 billion in 2018-19, representing 0.27% of …

14 November 2019 — : We orbited the star for a while topping up with warm energy, then I headed out into cold space. A memory of the touch of her hand on mine made me wish it had been possible to stay but I just wasn’t able to. I put the pounamu on its cord around …

14 November 2019 — : There are a handful of Barbary Doves around here. You can tell them by the distinctive ring of black feathers on their neck. They were brought to New Zealand 150 years ago. mbnov 14-Nov-19: neck

14 November 2019 — : NZ Euthanasia bill passes final vote, goes to referendum Parliament has passed a bill legalising voluntary euthanasia in a historic vote. It will now go to a public referendum alongside next year’s general election for a final test. About …

13 November 2019 — : After buying a years-overdue water filter replacement for under the kitchen sink, I was able to replace it myself. Luckily I double-checked instructions after putting it in: check direction of flow. Usability trap: flow direction is inverse to text …

12 November 2019 — : Full moon rising 12-Nov-19.

12 November 2019 — : I also forgot to post this short video of two horses who graze nearby enjoying a little ‘it’s raining’ hijinks.

12 November 2019 — : Somehow yesterday passed without my posting these two photos of our dogs on the grooming table. Luckily they were willing to stay put while I took several photos. 🐶 Sasha and Oshi will be 13 years old on 13 December. mbnov 12-Nov-19: stay

12 November 2019 — : There’s a wingsuit training wind tunnel in Stockholm. Tom Scott tried it out in this 5 minute video: I Almost Learned To Fly In The World’s Only Wingsuit Tunnel. Wingsuit flying looks very hard!

11 November 2019 — : A volunteer job I do is to keep my local community in touch with what’s going on. I write posts for the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association’s blog and newsletter, update my own community Micro.Blog, Twitter feed and a local FB page. It’s very …

11 November 2019 — : I don’t recall who recommended A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea, but I was hooked by the sample and the book is excellent. 📚 engaging, deeply perceptive, and brilliant …

11 November 2019 — : My Siri Watch face reminded me that on 13 November 2005 the decommissioned navy frigate Wellington, F69, was sunk close to where I lived at the time. I took loads of photos, too many to share unless perhaps I make a video, but these 3 were dramatic.

10 November 2019 — : The stories I most enjoy are adventures in space. I watched Star Trek as a kid and kept watching even to current times. I never got into Star Wars though. Saw 1 movie and was bored and confused. I did see a recent one though, starring a woman. That …

09 November 2019 — : My teeth are far too sensitive to cold. That makes ice cream tricky — I have to bypass my teeth and get it further back in my mouth to melt. It also means that when I brush, I need to use warm water to rinse. At least the teeth are all mine though. 😀 …

09 November 2019 — : There are many things today that aren’t going my way. Luckily I am making progress on the automation I’m developing.

09 November 2019 — : I hate when gifs are too fast, but perhaps this one is too slow. How to find the water quality data I want thanks to the Web Inspector. I end up with an instruction I can use in Terminal.

09 November 2019 — : I went to a heap of trouble to make a 10 second video showing the annoying clicking, scrolling and hovering required to get the water quality data I want, but it doesn’t show up in the Timeline. See it at: miraz.me/2019/11/0…

09 November 2019 — : Each summer Horizons Regional Council monitors water quality at various locations. They display the result as ‘green’, ‘orange' or ‘red’ for whether or not you can swim there. I want the number of E.Coli though. Getting it means scrolling, clicking, …

09 November 2019 — : In the last couple of days I’ve listened to some excellent Kim Hill interviews. Julie Morrison: how dogs can help court witnesses Cave Diver Jill Heinerth Predictions of sea level rise severely understated. Also see an interactive world map of …

08 November 2019 — : It was all happening tonight. We went next door for dinner. The Google camera car drove along our lane just after we arrived. Then a 4.1 earthquake grumbled through, originating 19 Km deep and only a short distance west of us.

08 November 2019 — : I was pondering today the narrow use of star as adjective. Star pupil. 👍 Star CEO, star cow, star car, star cat, star hat … hmmm. ❌ mbnov 08-Nov-19: star

08 November 2019 — : Birds at the beach. 🐦 Godwits and Gull. Black Swans and ducks. Pied Shag. A flock of Black-backed Gulls and perhaps other birds. Just a bit of photo fun.

08 November 2019 — : I had a bit of photo fun at the beach this morning. Dogs: Sasha and Oshi. 🐶

08 November 2019 — : Ahhh, a very handy tip: TipBITS: Quickly Access App Updates in iOS 13 on the Home screen, tap and hold the App Store icon and choose Updates from the contextual menu

08 November 2019 — : Now this is clever. A subset of the population isn’t online, and some of them are older people, a group that advocacy organisation Grey Power serves. GP are now placing a monthly 2-page ad in the local free paper instead of printing a magazine. …

07 November 2019 — : Key lime pie! Hey Mark! Do you fancy some? What do you mean, you can’t get it round here? That cafe down the street has the best pie I’ve ever tasted. Stick the address in your phone so you remember it. It’s frightening really how …

07 November 2019 — : A good start: … optimistic a day would come soon when Māori were no longer pulled over in a car simply because police were suspicious they had done something wrong. just because you’re Māori sitting in a Porsche or a Maserati doesn’t …

07 November 2019 — : One of the local pheasants was posing beautifully. I took a photo through the window to avoid frightening it. Then I tried opening the door for a clearer shot, and sure enough… mbnov 07-Nov-19: frightening

06 November 2019 — : You have to be careful where you stick your hands while weeding at this time of year — the manuka are in bloom and the bees love them. Also in bloom and good fodder for the bees are the cabbage trees with their sweet, sweet scent. mbnov 06-Nov-19: …

06 November 2019 — : Feedback to Apple today re Siri obliterating an in-progress timer: This keeps catching me out: I use Siri to set perhaps a 30 minute timer on my watch. A short time later I’m maybe making a cup of tea so I ask Siri to set a 3 minute timer. …

06 November 2019 — : Nearby are 2 lakes. Sometimes there’s deafening croaking. I believe it’s the introduced Southern Bell frog. The sound’s loudest at the eastern edge, where a small pohutukawa tree is in bloom — spot red blossoms in centre of the photo. Also a …

06 November 2019 — : When it comes to professionals, paid to write, and editors, paid to edit, I get picky and persnickety about the details of writing. How on earth can anything be “surrounded on one side”? Newspaper article text: Police emergency tape surrounded one …

06 November 2019 — : I was excited to try out Icro for Mac — the feature list has things like saving your reading position and boy, I want that so much! Unfortunately the font is so tiny I just can’t read it. The screenshot shows Icro on the left and Manton’s …

05 November 2019 — : They dig holes and burrows, dig up plants, eat new shoots. But these mainly baby rabbits are boinging all over the grass, being far too cute. Most are brown, but there’s an adult black rabbit who is perhaps the descendant of an escaped pet. 🐇

05 November 2019 — : Forget Guy Fawkes; here’s something we could be remembering in New Zealand every 05 November: 5 November is 138 years since 1600 armed troops invaded Parihaka village. Parihaka, 05 November 1881 All part of the British campaign to dispossess …

05 November 2019 — : I’m getting a few things done around the place — slowly. Today I planted the Granny Smith apple tree, and emptied one compost frame into the garden beside it. I also managed to buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide Pour n Go water tank treatment …

05 November 2019 — : I often post photos taken from our house. Here’s one taken of our house from the street. It’s the more distant, white-coloured and slightly elevated house. It’s actually about 200 metres from where I was standing to take the photo. …

05 November 2019 — : Mother or villain? How Māori women offenders are portrayed in news reporting Pākehā women are portrayed as harmless fraudsters and drug addicts, Māori women are depicted as dangerous killers, kidnappers and thieves. None of which is reflected in …

04 November 2019 — : Guy Fawkes' backyard fireworks: Will they stay or will they go? Fireworks went on sale on Saturday and Fire and Emergency spokesman Mike Shaw said crews had attended more than 40 related incidents since then. I vote for banning them from sale to …

04 November 2019 — : This season of the Flash has taken a disconcerting turn with the whole notion of The Flash having to die to save the world. In Ep 604 he comes up with the line that “’I’ll always be with you, even after I’m gone”. 🤷🏽

04 November 2019 — : My quest to buy chemicals to treat our drinking water tank was unsuccessful — they just sold out (or whatever). I’ll try elsewhere tomorrow. Meanwhile I bought some water for making green tea and it tastes much better!

04 November 2019 — : For days I’ve been troubleshooting why our shower stinks like a toilet when we run hot water. There could be many reasons. But, today I noticed the kitchen water also stinks, which probably means our rainwater tank has a problem. 😒 Off to get …

04 November 2019 — : Folks with school-age kids will definitely want to show them this 7 minute video: In Your Face Explosive Chemistry!!. Watch the scientist light her hand on fire, breathe fire, make a ‘volcano’ and create fog, while explaining the chemistry …

03 November 2019 — : After creating numerous files named ‘kupu-xxx.txt’ I had BBEdit run through the folder to remove the ‘jxzq’ and a couple of new lines from each file in bulk. Then this command renamed each file with the contents of the first line: for i in *; do mv …

03 November 2019 — : I have a .txt file ~6,000 lines long and wanted to split it into separate files. Each section begins with ‘jxzq’. After endless Man reading and web searching I managed csplit -f ‘kupu-’ FILENAME /jxzq/ ‘{540}' in Terminal. That sort …

03 November 2019 — : In autumn we dug up a small lime tree that had never thrived and put it in a pot. We also bought a Granny Smith apple and a dwarf nectarine tree. All spent winter in the tunnel house and have been outside for a month or more. Today we planted the …

03 November 2019 — : Seafood isn’t something I fancy, but some love it. At the beach today a vehicle came along and stopped by the water’s edge. A couple carried a heavy drum to the water, emptied it, rinsed it, then loaded it and drove off. They’d tipped out …

02 November 2019 — : A couple of months ago we bought a young dwarf nectarine tree. It lived in the tunnelhouse over winter but needs to be planted. I’ve marked out a spot, but that’ll be tomorrow’s job. Meanwhile, we were surprised to find it’s already …

02 November 2019 — : As always, @cheri has incisive words of wisdom: Did I move my story forward today? Did I have fun doing it? Her advice is for writing, but would obviously apply to any endeavour. This is the kind of thing I could set up Keyboard Maestro to ask me …

02 November 2019 — : How Sleep Cleans Toxins From the Brain During non-REM sleep, neurons start to synchronize, turning on and off at the same time. …That meant less blood would flow to the brain … cerebrospinal fluid would then rush in, filling in the space left …

01 November 2019 — : This is when the lupins bloom, and I’m highly allergic. I get itchy mouth, nose, eyes. I get brain fog, tiredness, blurry vision. Last year I discovered the benefits of a steroid injection to make this time of year tolerable. Done for this year …

01 November 2019 — : Micro.Blog at 4 feet! I love such happenstance Timeline juxtapositions.

31 October 2019 — : 45 min doco every Kiwi should watch: NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara. Another Mihingarangi Forbes tour de force. oral histories, state of the art animations, re-enactments bring to life narratives of Te Ātiawa in their epic battle against the military …

30 October 2019 — : It’s nearly time for the Council to monitor the river at the footbridge for E.Coli, as they do each summer. I wondered why my bookmark kept failing. In the last 12 months Manawatu became Manawatū (see the macron?). They updated the url: …

30 October 2019 — : A gorgeous morning at the beach. Kāpiti Island to the southwest under a clear blue sky; a dead snapper (I think); recently planted Spinifex are thriving. Snapper begin life as females. In 3rd and 4th years, about half change sex, balancing adult …

30 October 2019 — : 🤣 “Batwoman” Keeps Getting Gayer and Queering Superhero Tropes - Autostraddle This week she meets Batwoman for the first time. To keep her identity safe, Kate uses a voice-modulator to make her sound like an Australian doing an American …

29 October 2019 — : Me too!: 1/3 of NZers eliminate or cut down on eating meat - research: survey of more than 1000 people: 31% … limiting meat intake over past year, further 3%: vegetarian or vegan. Health … most common reason for cutting down, then concern for …

29 October 2019 — : Hah, this 7.5 minute video by Tom Scott is very interesting: This Video Is Sponsored By ███ VPN. Perhaps you don’t need that VPN after all.

29 October 2019 — : There was a bit of a westerly breeze as we went onto the beach this morning. Sasha and Oshi headed off, while I stopped a moment to catch the sand blowing. See how it catches on any plants and starts forming a dune. 🐶 🌬

28 October 2019 — Strathnaver Labour Weekend 2019 BBQ was a hit : [Oops — I posted this to the wrong blog, but will leave it here as well. It was supposed to be over at [lovewaikawabeach.nz](https://lovewaikawabeach.nz) .] We had about 65 say they'd turn up and I believe well over 50 actually did attend the …

28 October 2019 — : I believe these to be juvenile Black-backed Gulls, especially as they breed on Kāpiti Island only ~20 Km away.

28 October 2019 — : At #16 I’m still enjoying the Miss Fortune Series by Jana DeLeon. Swamp Santa: A Christmas gala, caroling, and a sleigh ride are on the agenda. Murder is not. But when someone bumps off Santa, Fortune is aware a killer is lurking among the …

27 October 2019 — : Whew. 😅 The community BBQ a small group of us organised went off really well. 65 said they’d come and at least 50 turned up. There was enough food, and people were really pleased to meet their neighbours. The weather even turned out OK at the …

26 October 2019 — : Wild rabbits are a pest in New Zealand, but they’re also very cute. Especially tiny Spring baby bunnies just outside the front door. So cute! 🐇 // @hollyhoneychurch @jeannie

25 October 2019 — : A small group of us are organising a BBQ for our neighbourhood this Labour Weekend. ~60 are attending! Another ~15 gave apologies. Council gave a grant for the food and soft drink. Today I need to go shopping. ‼️ I’ll be glad when it’s …

24 October 2019 — : Dogs, eh! 🐶 Sasha flops, Oshi looks cute.

24 October 2019 — : In October 2007 I was lucky to attend a release of 130 juvenile tuatara into Zealandia Sanctuary in Wellington. They had come from Stephens Island. It was an amazing opportunity to get up very close. survivors of an order of reptiles that thrived in …

24 October 2019 — : 👍 Papa Reo project will digitise 25 years worth of te reo Māori archives. … create a te reo digital dataset large enough to be used for machine learning to create chat bots, online education, games, transcription of archival material, and real-time …

23 October 2019 — : I’m really enjoying the TV series All Rise. It’s a courtroom drama that features people with skill and heart delivering justice rather than sentences. The solutions are ingenious and innovative.

23 October 2019 — : As we arrived at the beach today a small flock of half a dozen birds startled. I was very excited — they are the first arrivals this season of the Kuaka, Bar-tailed Godwits, fresh from their 12,000 Km, 8 day flight from the Arctic. So glad I took my …

23 October 2019 — : Down at the beach this morning we upset a Pied Stilt who was presumably nesting nearby. 🐦

23 October 2019 — : We’re now 3 episodes in on Batwoman and I’m definitely enjoying it. I liked Batwoman a lot during the first two episodes, but I made the leap to loving Batwoman this week when Kate and Mary and Sophie ended up stuck in Gotham’s most …

22 October 2019 — : Today I attended a yoga class at the Wananga o Raukawa in Ōtaki. That’s a Māori institution of learning. I was initially puzzled by the sign for the women’s toilets, then realised it represents a woman performing with long poi. This video …

22 October 2019 — : The lupins are in full bloom — in the dunes and everywhere. Not so good for us hayfeverish types.

22 October 2019 — : Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s sci-fi perfectly matches my tastes. Her novel, The Renegat is absolutely brilliant. She weaves together two timelines and a bunch of excellently drawn characters into a riveting story. A ship of misfits and screw-ups sent on …

21 October 2019 — : Today’s garden haul will contribute well to this week’s dinners: celery, carrots, silver beet, parsley, quail eggs, strawberries. The weather still hasn’t been hot and sunny enough, but the celery’s a bit bigger, the …

20 October 2019 — : Hmmm, that was interesting. The Laundromat, starring Meryl Streep. The film follows Ellen Martin (Streep), whose dream vacation takes a wrong turn and leads her down a rabbit hole of shady dealings that can all be traced to one Panama City law firm… …

19 October 2019 — : I don’t think I’ve ever watched any of the other Spiderman movies, but I enjoyed Into the Spiderverse. Clever, and with humour.

19 October 2019 — : Interesting: the 40 minute Netflix movie Ladies First a 2017 Indian documentary on the life of archer, Deepika Kumari. … it chronicles her journey through living in poverty to world #1 to competing at the 2016 Olympics.

18 October 2019 — : Oshi and his duck have been together since we first brought him home. The duck’s a bit the worse for wear. It’s been buried and dug up again a few times, hidden under cushions and carried round protectively. It’s still hanging in …

17 October 2019 — Growing Waikawa Beach : In the earliest times of course, the dunes of Waikawa Beach were covered with native plants. They were perfectly adapted for the climate and conditions: fierce westerlies, stormy tides, cold and hot, wet and dry. Then came people who cleared the …

16 October 2019 — : It’s always good to get an all-clear after a mammogram.

15 October 2019 — : Humans left Africa a very long time ago … and ended up in New Zealand, the last place on earth to be inhabited. From Africa To Aotearoa Our Story — 25 minute video.

15 October 2019 — : A colonial view has Māori accidentally sailing to New Zealand about 800 years ago, when there is evidence to show they were expert navigators and sailors who knew exactly what they were doing. The man hijacking the Cook commemorations to tell the …

15 October 2019 — : It’s too early in the season really, and we haven’t yet had steady warm sunny days. Today though I picked strawberries, carrots, silver beet, quail eggs, celery. I’ve eaten the strawberries, saved the eggs, and the rest are cooking as …

14 October 2019 — : Woohoo.

14 October 2019 — : There was a male Chaffinch singing on the flax right by the front door.

13 October 2019 — : The tunnelhouse is coming along slowly. Today we set up an automated watering system for 4 pots: tomatoes, broccoli and zucchini. We have far too many strawberry plants 😀 The AutoPot system doesn’t use soil, but instead a growing medium with …

12 October 2019 — : As usual with all the books in the Take Control series, Take Control of Apple Mail was well worth reading. I haven’t used Apple Mail before and discovered several very nice features. Examples: inserting an iPhone photo into a message on Mac, …

12 October 2019 — : Turns out I maligned Apple Mail for something I did. At some point I set up a Keyboard command to use ⌘V for “Paste and Match Style”. That prevented me from pasting or using TextExpander in header fields when composing a new message in Mail. 😊 I …

12 October 2019 — : Read: There’s a Depressing Difference Between The Sewage of Wealthy Areas And Poorer Ones chemicals in wastewater reflect the social, demographic, and economic properties of the respective populations

11 October 2019 — : Chocolate is an important feature of my daily life. I know I’m unwell (just a cold, but urgh) when I don’t even want to eat any. 🍫

10 October 2019 — : I’m experimenting with Catalina. I’m trying out via voice control.😺 with a bit of practice this could be quite easy.

09 October 2019 — : The neighbours got their macrocarpa tree (I think) hedge trimmed today.

09 October 2019 — : Hey @manton @help Is it just me? Yesterday I upgraded to release Catalina (no betas), and I have the latest Micro.Blog app on Mac. I can only get the menu for Reply etc on the first 5 items (1 screenful) in the timeline. Not on any older items…

08 October 2019 — : In New Zealand ’Women aged between 45 and 69 years can get a free mammogram every 2 years’. Mine came around today. It’s odd stripping off shirt etc and then having your breasts placed carefully between plates that squish for a few seconds. I’m not …

08 October 2019 — Before the Kindle : Heh, back in December 2005 I wrote this blog post (lightly edited): Here's a quick list of items I need to sell. It all works. Panasonic TV: TC-21PM50Z Panasonic DVD and CD player: DVD-S35 Panasonic VCR: NV-HD630 iPod: 3rd generation, 30Gb. Includes …

08 October 2019 — : There are a few Barbary doves, aka ring-necked doves, in this area. I’m pleased there are some near us. This little one was outside our property today. The Barbary dove is … a native of the Sahel, Ethiopia and the Arabian Peninsula. … its …

08 October 2019 — : I like this use of emoji to show the weather forecast.

07 October 2019 — : Yesterday I picked and ate the first strawberry of the season (delicious ) from our tunnel house (the one at the bottom of the photo). The slaters had eaten first, but I ate around it. We haven’t had enough sun or warmth yet for them to be …

06 October 2019 — : As if anyone needs another good reason to use MarsEdit for working with blog posts. I know I have some posts without proper alt text for the photos. Make sure ME downloads all posts then search: alt="" . Bingo! Now to fix the problem posts.

06 October 2019 — : I’ve been doing a selfie per day for several years now — just for my private photo album. Last week I got an iPhone 11. The Portrait setting is producing gorgeous selfies. This one is now my profile pic.

06 October 2019 — : Thank goodness for the On This Day page on my blog (and checking it). Deb, who’s really sick with a terrible cold, and I had both forgotten it’s our 26th anniversary! Last year I posted about it…

06 October 2019 — : Back in the day a lot of the native plants around New Zealand’s beaches were cleared, leading to all kinds of problems. The local Council bought $5,000 worth of native spinifex and pīngao for our community. Last weekend and this volunteers …

05 October 2019 — : A Takfox Phone Holster for my iPhone 11 arrived. At NZ$20 + shipping the price was acceptable. It has a ‘flange' that makes it seem big, but the phone fits well. Noisy velcro, and the belt clip doesn’t seem utterly secure. I’ll try the …

05 October 2019 — : St John’s Ambulance was doing free blood pressure checks. Mine was 140/80. But they need ageism training: “How many years young are you?”, “You look good for your age”. Like every living thing I’m getting older. I’m fine with that. …

04 October 2019 — : Really interesting 26 minute interview with Geena Davis: A report by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, 15 years in the making, has just revealed that gender parity in children’s television has been achieved. But that doesn’t …

03 October 2019 — : What makes dogs so special and successful? Love. Dogs fall in love much more easily than people …evidence indicates dogs can form new loving relationships … and don’t seem to have the same level of trauma from being taken away from preexisting …

03 October 2019 — : Oshi and Sasha were just gone! 🐶 I’d stopped to take a photo of a snow-topped Tararua peak, picked up a discarded plastic bottle, turned around, and the dogs were gone. Tl;dr: I got them back after prolonged searching and enlisting help from …

03 October 2019 — : Whew!: How to switch between list view and honeycomb app grid on Apple Watch From your watch face, press the home button once to open the app screen. Then, press firmly on the display…. Press the List View icon to switch…. The app screen …

02 October 2019 — : Slomo video is fun. The audio on such videos is excruciating though. It was stupid hard to remove the audio: I eventually imported to iMovie, muted the audio and re-exported. So: new iPhone 11 and I’m playing with camera stuff. Slomo of dogs running …

02 October 2019 — : When a day becomes ’gritty’ a trip to localish cafe Salt and Pepper for lunch can give it a lift. Mushroom and bacon pasta, with green tea.

02 October 2019 — : I’ve used the Spark email app for the last year or more — very happily. The last while though it’s been using ridiculous resources on my Mac so I’ve started with Apple Mail for the first time ever. Mail won’t let me paste or use …

01 October 2019 — : This 11 minute video is so interesting: Money Is A Technological Fiction (The Invention of $$$) the history of money, from physical barter to bitcoin, … money isn’t just a lie we all agree to share, it’s been built on the back of technology and …

01 October 2019 — Shares for a new Mac : My MacBook Pro is about 2 years old now. That means that by 2022 at the latest I’ll want to buy a new one. That could cost around NZ$6,000. I had $3,000 in mind while I was walking the dogs doing the mental arithmetic that led me to believe I …

30 September 2019 — : Kiwis: there are 6 interviews in this Matangireia series. So far I’ve watched the first, with Metiria Turei. Definitely worth the 45 minutes.

30 September 2019 — : I’m starting to feel like the neighbourhood complainer… I’ve just emailed our Council to find out who to discuss the neighbours very smoky garden rubbish fires with. We’re in a total fire ban area, for heaven’s sake. I’m …

30 September 2019 — : The last 6 weeks or so were a bit bumpy: Deb had a health issue, now in hand, I had a cold that knocked me a bit, then we had a week’s wonderful holiday. The whole time I was caring for my elderly, frail cat Ares, who died last week. Today is Monday …

29 September 2019 — The fallacy of the ‘perfect human’ : I was struck the other day by these words from Vint Cerf: Anyone, no matter their disability, doesn’t wake up thinking they are disabled. They know there are things they do where they need help, like my hearing aids. But that’s a question of …

28 September 2019 — : For years I’ve used a leather holster for my phone. The linked holsters are superbly made and worth their price. However, I can’t afford that this time round and have spent hours searching for a cheaper option. I’ve ended up with a Takfox …

28 September 2019 — : Good start: Countdown ends firework sales Countdown supermarket is to stop selling fireworks. The announcement follows a recent customer survey, which found that 66 percent of customers either rarely or never bought fireworks. Let’s ban the …

27 September 2019 — : Mattel Is Releasing the First Gender-Neutral Doll The doll can be a boy, a girl, neither or both, and Mattel, which calls this the world’s first gender-neutral doll, is hoping its launch redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed …

27 September 2019 — : Fascinating: “Mother” No Longer Means “Woman” Despite UK law already recognising McConnell as male “in all circumstances” before he conceived, the authorities — specifically, the Registrar General — said he must register as …

27 September 2019 — : So many people sent good wishes about Ares that I can’t even list you all. Thank you everyone. I love this Micro.Blog community.

26 September 2019 — : Thanks to all those Ares fans who have sent us good wishes over the last few days. 🐈 He is at rest now. RIP Best Cat in the World.

26 September 2019 — : Today is dedicated to Ares. 🐈 Other tasks have been pushed aside. In March 2002 he was a tiny kitten — the first photo below was taken at about 10 weeks, even before he came to live with us. What a sweetie! The other photo is of him on the chair …

25 September 2019 — : Ahh, apparently the side effects of Metacam in cats include: decreased appetite, lethargy, … and weight loss… Your cat also may … experience seizures… This is the pain relief we’re using for Ares. Our choice was either a longer, more painful …

25 September 2019 — : This morning brought me a 40mm S5 Apple Watch with Pride Sport Loop. I’ve decided to call it Hinenui-i-te-pō: custodian of the threshold between night and day, darkness and light … seen both in the morning with the birth of sunlight, and in …

25 September 2019 — : It turns out Oshi can cry, growl, yip, bark for 5 hours straight if put in the crate overnight. Maybe longer, but I just couldn’t stand it any more. Ares is on my bed and had another seizure ~midnight. Now I just have the door shut. Dogs and cat …

24 September 2019 — : My almost-18, ailing boy Ares, sat on my lap for maybe an hour today, then suddenly had a huge seizure (first ever). 🐈 He frothed, panted and yowled. I rushed him to the vet who checked him over, and now he’s home and in bed, doing just fine. …

24 September 2019 — : Ohhh, I made a big mistake. 🤢 I want some lines in a ToDo list in BBEdit to sort by prefixing a special character. The manual: sort lines of text in Unicode collation order ☛ an incomprehensible rabbit hole. I ended up typing all characters and …

23 September 2019 — : This 46 min video made me realise I’ve seen signers at conferences translating speech to sign, but I’ve never seen them translate sign to speech. I’ve never seen a presentation by a deaf person! Lingthusiasm 36: Researching signed …

23 September 2019 — A Study in Honor - a great read! : I really enjoyed reading A Study in Honor: A Novel (The Janet Watson Chronicles) by Claire O’Dell. I loved this book. Right from the sample, I just kept reading. The story was fresh, evocative and interesting. I find this extrapolation from …

23 September 2019 — : Instant quiz: does my sub to Bear Pro expire in February or September? Please folks, if you’re responsible for ‘writing’ dates, don’t do them in that format. Month names are good…

23 September 2019 — : I haven’t seen any porcupine fish on our beach for a while. This is quite a little one. A gull was having a good go at it.

23 September 2019 — : Those golden sand, sun drenched beaches up north are all very well, but I’ve missed our beach. 🐶

22 September 2019 — : Other peoples cats must sit still for photos… Ares doesn’t. iPhone 7 takes a while to focus etc. 🐈 Today Ares is inside on a chair. The last photo shows his discoloured eye with wide open iris doesn’t respond to light, so presumably is blind. He gets …

22 September 2019 — : We really enjoyed Gentleman Jack: Set in 1832 in Yorkshire, it … is based on the collected diaries of Anne Lister (1791-1840), … documenting a lifetime of lesbian relationships. This 8-hour series was also thoroughly thought provoking. Photo

21 September 2019 — : Today is Saturday 21 September 2019 and the quail have produced the first egg of the season. 🐦🥚 We have 12 hours and 02 minutes of sun today. Last year we also had the first eggs on this day. Clever girls!

20 September 2019 — : Queenstown has a horrendous housing cost / shortage problem. Workers can’t afford to live there. He was even aware of hotels closing entire wings because they did not have the staff needed to operate them, Mr Buckley said. Hmmm, what could …

20 September 2019 — : As we drove north from Whangārei last weekend we saw numerous seemingly wild turkeys beside the road. Near Te Kao this crew on the grass verge were having quite a barney with a gang in the middle of the road.

20 September 2019 — : Link: the hilarious 2019 Comedy Wildlife finalist photos. Some guaranteed laughs here. Click an image to view large then use arrow keys (Mac) to scroll through. See also previous years entries.

20 September 2019 — : Deb has an errand in Kelburn in Wellington so dogs and I came too. I forgot how terrible parking is. We ended up at Beach Babylon in Oriental Bay for a green tea and chocolate cake.

19 September 2019 — : First contacts hapū and iwi who encountered Europeans were often willing and able participants in the trade that quickly developed. … Māori women were often used to keep Pākehā in the community. Pimping, prostitution, perhaps rape, sound so …

19 September 2019 — : Puhoi is just north of Auckland. Bohemians arrived in 1863 and ‘settled’ the ‘waste land’ that in reality belonged to Māori (as did everything in New Zealand before Europeans arrived and grabbed it). That phrase ‘first settlers’ sounds so …

19 September 2019 — : The map below may not be 100% accurate, but shows the ~2,300Km Deb and I travelled in the last week. From Waikawa Beach to Putaruru, Whangārei, Cape Reinga (via Pukenui), Whangārei, Coromandel, Drury (Auckland) and back to Waikawa Beach. Loved the …

19 September 2019 — : Up in Helena Bay, north of Whangārei, is an amazing art gallery and cafe. While visiting I spotted these gorgeous deejo pocket knives. The problem is I don’t need another pocket knife. Also, the one review I read, gave it only three stars. Still want …

18 September 2019 — : In Tirau, near Cambridge, they make the most of corrugated iron. Not the best angle on the first photo unfortunately. It’s a sheep.

18 September 2019 — : Cambridge, where we stopped for breakfast, is the horse breeding capital of NZ. The plaques in the footpath makes that clear. Plenty of money in these parts.

17 September 2019 — : Today we drove across to the East Coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, with a brief stop at Waiau Falls in amongst native bush. Now we’re in Drury, just south of Auckland to visit more family.

16 September 2019 — : Coromandel township is bordered by mangrove swamps. It looks out into the Hauraki Gulf. There are numerous small and large islands in the Gulf, and it’s very popular with boaties. Nearby there seem to be mussel or oyster farms.

16 September 2019 — : Having completed the planned portion of our week away we are now on our way home, via unplanned stops. First up, we’re visiting Coromandel, on the Coromandel Peninsula, where I have never been before. So scenic. Photos may follow.

15 September 2019 — : Cape Rēinga is at the northernmost tip of mainland New Zealand. According to Māori tradition it’s where the spirits of the dead depart by climbing down the roots of a pohutukawa tree, and into the water to then head back to Hawaiki.

15 September 2019 — : Hmmm, NZ’s first capital: The first Russell was located at Okiato, 8km from present-day Russell, in May 1840. Russell was originally called Kororāreka.

15 September 2019 — : Yesterday we lunched under 90 year old Pohutukawa trees at Russell, NZ’s original European capital. Māori traded energetically with the newcomers providing fish, greens, pork, kumara, flax, water and …women. When ships were in port … grogshops and …

15 September 2019 — : We stayed the night at Pukenui, less than an hour’s drive from Cape Reinga. The Far North is very scenic. I’m glad to say my friend has brought her gorgeous dog Ryka, a Belgian Shepherd. Today, the northern tip of the North Island. Excited!

14 September 2019 — : The Helena Bay Art Gallery and cafe has numerous gorgeous works and a fabulous view.

13 September 2019 — : The Puhoi Pub is a shock to the senses. Every square inch of wall space is occupied.

13 September 2019 — : Still not quite over my cold so a couple of hours in the car leaves me feeling ‘stuffy’. Time for a Chocolate cupcake and green tea at Bombay Hills just by Auckland. Delicious cupcake.

13 September 2019 — : There was a horrible thing yesterday, just north of Taupō. 😭 🐈 A small dark shape bolted across SH1 ahead of us, hit the rear wheel of the car in front and spun off to the shoulder. We stopped, and moved a lovely cat, now dead, off the shoulder to …

13 September 2019 — : After an overnight stop with family in Putaruru, today we head for Whangārei, 350 Km, via Warkworth, north of Auckland. Yesterday’s Desert Road stretch was so beautiful, with snow on all 3 mountains: Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. Great …

12 September 2019 — : The hot pool at Tokaanu was a welcome break in our trip. Ahhh.

12 September 2019 — : We’ve been driving through sheep country. The paddocks are full of little lambs. It’s lovely.

11 September 2019 — : I love this kind of info: figures showed that occasional napping – once or twice a week – was associated with a lower risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke compared with not napping at all. Don’t read too much of the rest, about why there …

11 September 2019 — Waikawa Ways #1 : I was invited to write a column for the monthly Ōtaki Today newspaper. My first column was published today: Waikawa bounty reveals the detritus of the human race. It feels good to be doing some published writing again. Every day the tide gifts …

11 September 2019 — : OK, I’ve decided on a present for myself. I have a big birthday coming up in 5 months. I wanted to get a tattoo, but can’t decide what design I want. Meanwhile a new Apple Watch will decorate my wrist. Hope I can sell the Series 3 I currently …

10 September 2019 — : I only just read Death By Team Building, Kat Voyzey Mysteries Book 3 by @cheri . 📚 As expected, it was a fun read, with some good misdirection about the culprit. I hope there will be more books forthcoming in this series.

10 September 2019 — : My good pal Rachel, 79 years old, has created a podcast: How To Be Old: we can’t imagine ourselves being older, let alone very old. … We still feel young … getting old takes us by surprise … Your future old self will always be a mystery. … But … …

10 September 2019 — : When I moved a plank by the quail run I found this huge (~9cm) slug. It’s apparently a Limax maximus, or tiger slug: Limax maximus is the largest slug introduced to New Zealand from Europe. … one of the largest kinds of keeled air-breathing …

10 September 2019 — : I sat for a while on the deck with my face to the warm sun. The silence was full of a dozen different bird calls and the distant hum of a weedeater. To the east, across the paddocks, the Tararuas are tipped with snow. How perfect.

10 September 2019 — : Ares 🐈 is still hanging on. He likes to join me when I’m out in the garden, so while I moved the quail he found a good spot under the peach tree.

09 September 2019 — : I’m still getting over this horrid cold, so basically stuck in the house. This time a year ago though we were on holiday in Niue. Here’s one of the 3 or 4 beaches on the island. First, down the steps though. The photo shows the entire …

08 September 2019 — : Feeling rather grotty, and was wondering if in spite of this season’s flu shot perhaps it’s flu not a cold. However, A cold or the flu? tells me it is just a cold. I wish the headaches would go away. I need to get well asap: I have a …

08 September 2019 — : Wow: “Cellphones … Today … are made from about 75 different elements, almost three-quarters of the periodic table.” That may include tantalum from Rwanda, potassium from Belarus, silver from Mexico, tin from Myanmar, carbon from India, and …

07 September 2019 — : Something I figured out this week: if you strive for a virtuous goal it is likely that some who are petty, narrow minded and mean spirited may try to block or divert you. Don’t let them distract you. Stay focused on the goal.

06 September 2019 — : Struck down today by an icky cold. Had to be vertical for some appointments. Finally horizontal for a few hours. That’s so much better.

06 September 2019 — : I forget between times how some people are petty, narrow-minded and mean-spirited, so it’s always a shock. Luckily I’ve learned over time not to engage, except on facts. I retreated to Micro.Blog as a ‘safe’ place where kind …

05 September 2019 — Strive for something of great value! : For my Māori language course I had to write 200 words for an assessment. Here's what I wrote. Note: there may be errors — we'll see what the tutor says when they grade it. Ia rā, ia rā, ka haere mātou ko ōku …

05 September 2019 — : It’s been years since I made the dogs wear their raincoats. The coats did keep the dogs a bit drier though on today’s rainy walk. 🐶

05 September 2019 — : Great news: Micro.blog test blogs Micro.blog now lets you create a free test blog for your account with a URL like username-test.micro.blog. There’s a button to create the test blog under Posts → Design → Edit Custom Themes. It will appear as a free …

04 September 2019 — : Cook Islands to change name to remove any association with Captain Cook The tiny Pacific nation of Cook Islands plans to change its name to drop the reference to the British explorer Captain James Cook in favour of a title that reflects its …

04 September 2019 — : Several things have left me feeling grumpy this morning. However, I’ve just been given an interview appointment time next week for a 6-month part-time role I’m really qualified for. That’s perked up the day. Next up though: 3rd …

04 September 2019 — : Turns out sleeping in smoke filled sheets is a terrible idea. I have a sore throat now and am awake way too early. These sheets will be washed again and dried in the dryer today. 😷

03 September 2019 — : Today started clear, sunny and splendid. With 3 days of rain forecast I washed all my bedding and hung it out to dry, anticipating that gorgeous fresh clean sheets smell. Then the wind changed, and the neighbour’s big and extremely smokey …

03 September 2019 — : When they were puppies Sasha and Oshi used to play chasing every day. It usually involved Sasha staying in one place and Oshi hooning. Now at almost 13 they don’t so often play, but freshly cut grass inspired them I guess. 🐶

03 September 2019 — : Remember our 5 cygnets from July? Unfortunately we’re down to two — but they’re looking good!

02 September 2019 — : That radiosonde I found last week — I have more info: That balloon was released from Hobart Airport on the 27th December, 2018 … Andrew Winchester | A/Observing Network Support, National Observing Operations, Data and Digital Group

02 September 2019 — : Ugh: …expectant parents … can pay $140 to take a course about “informed consent” and “natural immunity,” run by … Authentic Resistance … a vehicle for the spread of myths around vaccination safety that specifically target new …

01 September 2019 — : I wondered what the dogs were looking at, in the dark, in the dog yard, so investigated. It turned out to be a hedgehog. There aren’t very many around in these parts, that I’m aware of. In New Zealand they’re pests, posing a …

01 September 2019 — : Sometimes in the early morning when the sand is fresh and undisturbed you can see that wildlife has been enjoying the beach overnight. I’m not sure exactly what made these tracks — perhaps a crab, a hedgehog or weasel, and probably a rabbit.

31 August 2019 — : Otaihanga crash A person involved in a single-vehicle crash is understood to have left the vehicle, and has been hit by another vehicle. Initial reports suggest the woman is in a serious condition. Ugh. This is the crash we passed. Explains why …

31 August 2019 — : The dogs had to wait in the car while we ate with our friends. So afterwards we took the dogs for an extremely brief comfort stop on the Wellington waterfront outside Te Papa. It was a gorgeous day. Second photo shows Mt Victoria, where we used to …

31 August 2019 — : Our drive back from our friend Helen D’s birthday brunch in Wellington was 2 hours instead of 1.5. So glad we got to crawl past 2 accidents rather than being the accident ourselves. The more serious one closed the southbound lane on the …

30 August 2019 — : This month’s most unusual beach find: an Australian Bureau of Meteorology Radiosonde. Serial number: N4610489. Approx GPS: -40.697469, 175.136803 Update: That balloon was released from Hobart Airport on 27 December 2018.

29 August 2019 — : Thanks @smokey for pointing to this post by @vasta. Loved it! Beacons of virtual proximity: When I look at that list of green dots in Slack… I see the beacons of people who care …telling each other that we are not alone, and we are here together, …

29 August 2019 — : New Zealand isn’t very dog friendly and dogs aren’t allowed in cafes. I was delighted to see this one come into the cafe where I was eating breakfast. It didn’t want to say Hello though. 😥

28 August 2019 — : I was weeding today, at our rental property in Ōtaki, when this worm came along. It scrunched itself up when it saw me. Even so, it was about the length of my middle finger. Most of the other worms I saw, and I’m glad to say there were plenty, …

28 August 2019 — : This 12 minute video is very interesting and thought-provoking: Our Food System is Rigged The way we eat is unsustainable for the climate. …We need to convert more of our diet to plant-based foods, and away from red meat. …How can something so …

27 August 2019 — : Plaque at Ōtaki Beach: The stone monument at Ōtaki Beach, shaped like a bow of a ship…commemorates two significant shipwrecks along the Ōtaki coastline.. October 13, 1878 the barque Felixstowe October 22, 1878 the full-rigged immigrant ship, …

26 August 2019 — : We used to live at the top of Mt Victoria in Wellington. There was a toilet block and scruffy bit of grass nearby. A photo from 2014 shows this empty space. Today we visited and it’s been transformed, with interactive sculpture and even a slide …

25 August 2019 — : Getting excited about a trip “Up North" next month, which will include Te Rerenga Wairua / Cape Reinga. I’ve visited once before, in August 2004. Three photos from that trip. Luckily I generally take better photos these days.

25 August 2019 — : We enjoyed Blinded by the Light very much. It’s a 2-hour British feel-good movie based on a true story. … the coming-of-age story of Javed, a British-Pakistani Muslim teenager whose life is changed after he discovers the music of Springsteen. …

24 August 2019 — : In 2016 we escaped New Zealand’s August with a week in Niue 🇳🇺 . This photo is in a cave at the north tip of the island. The blue is utterly clear water in a pool in the cave. Photo from about 10 metres up.

24 August 2019 — : After his visit to the vet yesterday Ares the cat is doing better today. He was given hydration, antibiotics and pain relief. Must keep that trio in mind for when I’m his age. 😀 🐈

24 August 2019 — : Heh, my favourite NativLang is back with this 10 minute video today: Gvprtskvni - how is this even a word, Georgian!? Starting from one clustery word, we'll go on a journey looking for the "root" of this record-breaking consonant phenomenon known as …

23 August 2019 — : Ares the elderly cat is now down to 4.52Kg. In July it was 4.6. He now has antibiotics and pain relief and has had a hydrating treatment too. His favourite food is the gravy part of pouches that have ‘meat’ in gravy.

23 August 2019 — : My numerous attempts today to photograph Ares have all come to nothing much. These are the best two. He’s an old boy. Off to the vet today as he’s sneezing quite a bit. 🐈

22 August 2019 — : I’m getting a new crown on a tooth. Last week the new crown didn’t fit. Today a new one arrived … and didn’t fit. Numb face again and a bit fed up. Consolation fries with tomato sauce and aoli. And difficulty eating them.

22 August 2019 — : In August 2012 we escaped NZ’s worst time of year and were enjoying warm sun in Tonga. One highlight was a day trip on a tiny boat to watch humpback whales. We lunched on a minute white sand island with some of the clearest water anywhere.

21 August 2019 — : New socks day is always a good day. If I were mega-rich I’d have new socks every month.

21 August 2019 — : The diggers working behind our house disappeared a couple of days ago so I investigated an odd noise. The farmer next door is spreading lime or fertiliser or something. The cows in the paddock just have to take their chances, it seems. Rainy day.

20 August 2019 — : I was unsure at first about the Australian TV Series, Pulse but it grew on me. 8 episodes. the story of Frankie … Inspired by the man who saved her life, Frankie … becomes a doctor, working and learning in the … the cardio-thoracic and renal wards …

20 August 2019 — : One of the most-used helper apps on my Mac is PopClip: PopClip appears when you select text with your mouse. Instantly copy and paste, and access actions like search, spelling, dictionary and more. I use it constantly to change case, copy, paste …

19 August 2019 — : At sunset in a clear sky tonight I could see 3 maunga (mountains) on the horizon: Ruapehu, Taranaki, Tapuae-o-Uenuku. I always forget how many bits of the South Island you can see from here at dawn and dusk. I left my good camera at home on purpose, …

19 August 2019 — : Last night was a bit chilly — it got down to about -1.3C here at sea level. There was a good frost, and the nearby Tararua peaks were snowy. By this afternoon though we were basking in sunshine from a clear blue sky and 14.2C.

18 August 2019 — : I’m really enjoying reading the book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. Currently reading about emoji and their roles in informal text, partly replacing gesture, but with all kinds of depth and breadth. Fascinating …

17 August 2019 — : We had errands in Palmerston North today and took the dogs with us. At Animates we found a do-it-yourself dog wash, $10 for 10 minutes. Given that Oshi was pretty smelly, we tried it out. It’s easy to control and very easy to work with. Way …

17 August 2019 — : I’m feeding a friend’s chooks for a few days. She has 3 ‘new’ girls — the black and white ones, and two old girls — the big white ones. 🐔

16 August 2019 — : Feeding a friend’s chooks for a couple of days. One (new) chook was on the wrong side of the fence, to everyone’s great consternation. I used the old throw-the-jersey-over-it trick to catch her and reunite her with her sisters. Birds of a …

16 August 2019 — On 'taking a wife' : The English language, like probably most languages, is a slippery thing. Words don't always mean what you think they mean. Take, for example, the notion of one person 'taking' another as their spouse. Do you, A, take B to be your lawfully wedded …

15 August 2019 — : LOL: D.E.B.S. (2004 film) was amusing. Shades of Charlie’s Angels, Buffy, Desert Hearts. The big award for graduation was a ‘Mary Jane’. The big bad was gorgeous Lucy Diamond, whose car had the number plate: NDASKY. A fun way to spend 90 minutes.

15 August 2019 — : I watched and enjoyed the movie 28 Days. It’s from 2000 and lead Sandra Bullock looks a whole lot younger. When Gwen crashes a car while drunk she’s sentenced to 28 days rehab.

15 August 2019 — : Help! I simply cannot get @cleverdevil On This Day script to produce any entries on my page at miraz.me/odt . The key bit I have is: src=“https://micromemories.cleverdevil.io/js?tz=NZST”. I suspect the NZ time code may be incorrect. Anyone have …

15 August 2019 — : The verdict from one person on the opening day of whitebaiting season was: “slim pickings”. NZ whitebait are juveniles of 5 galaxiid species which live as adults in freshwater rivers and streams. 4 of 5 species have been classified by Department of …

14 August 2019 — : Numb face, aching jaw. 40 minutes at the dentist to get the new crown put on but there was some problem and it didn’t fit. Ah well, at least that delays the final payment by a couple more weeks.

14 August 2019 — : How does an empty bottle of Finlandia vodka of Finland come to end up on a beach in New Zealand, I ask myself.

13 August 2019 — : One of my Mac’s must-have apps is Keyboard Maestro because it’s in use all-day every day, working so I don’t have to. Today v9 has been released. KM opens workspaces at the right time, reminds me to feed the dogs, does calculations, …

13 August 2019 — : Oops. I was actually using my hand to try to shade the phone from the sun, but I actually like the effect. River mouth after days of rain and somewhat stormy weather.

13 August 2019 — : Interesting sand ‘cliff' left behind by today’s tide. It’s actually less than a metre high. Check out Sasha’s tail as an indicator of the stiff breeze. 🐶

13 August 2019 — : A very interesting 16 minute video: how 2 kinds of echolocation — passive and active — can help build a picture of the world around us. How Blind People See With Sound Molly’s brain has adapted to listen to sounds in…in ways that most of us sighted …

12 August 2019 — : Woohoo, NetNewsWire for Mac is now in beta release. If you read RSS feeds and have a Mac give it a try. It’s a ~massive~ 5MB download. 😀 If you don’t read RSS feeds then absolutely give it a try. RSS is the best! and NNW is the best of the …

12 August 2019 — : Every day I like to do a free puzzle from Jigsaw Puzzles Epic. Some days I don’t finish and save it for later. While I play I listen to some of the 10 stories in Te Reo Māori from my course. It’s a great way to multitask. Pics: a puzzle and …

11 August 2019 — : I’m watching Newton’s Law on Netflix and am enjoying it. It’s a lightweight series about a lawyer. And it actually fits with @macgenie challenge topic relief, because in a world dominated by US TV shows I’m so relieved to see one …

10 August 2019 — : This Southern Bell frog didn’t actually need the support I was about to offer when I found her on the grasses in the garden. Recently I’ve found quite a few dead frogs. @macgenie One-handed iPhone photos are tricky…

10 August 2019 — : I enjoyed Season 1 of Another Life, in spite of some very hokey moments and some icky ‘horror' bits. I’ll watch Season 2, if there is one. There were interesting turns in the plot, and all characters got time in the spotlight. Photo: Katee …

09 August 2019 — : So, Determination, @macgenie. In 2004 and 2019 I visited Tāne Mahuta, a Kauri tree 2,000 years old and part of the Māori creation story. Two millennia of life! Now threatened by Kauri dieback disease, but NZ is determined to keep it alive. 😒 …

08 August 2019 — : How did I get ahead of myself? Cabbage trees like to grow in groups. Family, @macgenie Can you see the young ones?

08 August 2019 — : Oh dear. Watched Io, a post-apocalyptic SciFi movie on Netflix. I did watch to the end but it was hard going. ‘Meaningful’, with many unsatisfactory elements. Sam Walden is one of few humans remaining on Earth. She lives alone at high altitude, …

08 August 2019 — : In other places people admire fresh snow. I admire fresh sand.

07 August 2019 — : Wow, imagine a parrot that stands as tall as your hips! World’s largest parrot found in Central Otago: Named Heracles inexpectatus to reflect its myth-like size and strength, the parrot is estimated to stand up to 1 metre tall and weighs about …

07 August 2019 — : Well, @macgenie , I think it’s relaxing to look at horses. I finally got up close to the neighbour’s white girl and her companion. I suspect the brown horse may be a Kaimanawa horse, judging by her stature and rough coat. The white one …

07 August 2019 — : I make too many assumptions in a day. One is that the text I have oh-so-carefully typed will remain unchanged. But no, autocorrect, so often so helpful, really interferes with my studies in the Māori language. I carefully type the word ‘waiata’, and …

07 August 2019 — : I’m always happy to glance out of the window and spot the neighbour’s white horse next door. 🐎

06 August 2019 — : OK. Siri gave me a great laugh. Verbal exchange: Set timer for 20 minutes. Siri: “Done.“ But look what she also wrote: “I see you shiver with antici … pation. “

06 August 2019 — : Many folks here pick up rubbish from the beach. My haul today was mainly all kinds of plastic, plus a glass jar & rusted lid, chair foam, a bag of dog poop, a drink can, paper ice cream cup, shotgun cartridges, rope & string. Photo shows part …

05 August 2019 — : It was stormy overnight but today is splendid. Photo: cabbage tree (Ti Kouka) and, ummm, oak?

04 August 2019 — : Glad to find Season 4 of Veronica Mars. Really enjoying having the show back, especially now all those main characters are adults. I’d happily watch a whole lot more. Only 8 episodes, unfortunately, and we’ve already watched 2… Poster: By …

04 August 2019 — : On Sundays we get the dog grooming table out so Deb can iron her work clothes for the week. We also brush ears and tails on the dogs. Here’s Oshi with silky ears. 🐶

03 August 2019 — : So pleased Season 2 of Derry Girls has arrived on Netflix. Disappointed there are only 6 episodes and we’ve already laughed our way through three of them.

03 August 2019 — : Crazy: I have only 10% free space on iCloud and thought I might upgrade. The only upgrade choice is from my current 200GB to 2TB. The price goes from $5 per month to $17. How about smaller upgrade steps, Apple? That’s way too big a step! And …

03 August 2019 — : In 2014 I went to Mars (well, my name did). In 2020 I’m going back again. You can too. This is a cool thing that NASA does, and it’s even free. Great for awareness and engagement. I love the boarding passes, mission patch and whatnot. Go …

02 August 2019 — : Sometimes dead animals wash up on our beach (3 goats right now) and I report them to the Council. I only just discovered that in Apple Maps (and GMaps) I can mark a location and then tap on the marker, swipe up far enough and see the GPS …

02 August 2019 — : Found this in a folder labelled screenshots. Date: 14 June 2011. Obviously the dogs had just been groomed. I’m so impressed by Oshi’s posture, sitting up, being a good boy. And Sasha looking at the camera too. 🐶

01 August 2019 — : And of course I should have waited to take that photo of the snowy peaks of the Tararuas. Sunset…

01 August 2019 — : The Tararua peaks were dusted with snow overnight.

01 August 2019 — : “Just bite together normally and hold for 2 minutes.” Except, after 45 minutes in the dentist chair and with half my face numb, my lower jaw aching from holding my mouth open, I no longer know what a ‘normal bite’ is. In 2 weeks …

01 August 2019 — : It was very chilly overnight so Sasha and Oshi had to huddle up for warmth. 🐶

31 July 2019 — : In English we put spaces between words. It turns out, we have 6th century Irish monks to thank for that. Listen to The Allusionist, Episode 9, The Space Between for the details. The podcast episode is only 10 minutes long, and extremely interesting.

31 July 2019 — : Over several sessions I watched Jupiter Ascending (2 hours). It’s about a woman, set in space. It’s massively overblown, weird, creative. Chases, explosions etc. Not terrible. Jupiter sure ascends a lot: ladders, pillars, whatever… Fave …

30 July 2019 — : Car crash at the corner on 30 July 2019 Two cars crashed on the highway at Manakau, near the intersection of Waikawa Beach Rd, about 8.40am on Tuesday The crash blocked the northbound lane of SH1 for about an hour.

30 July 2019 — : Started watching the Netflix series, Another Life: … follows the story of an astronaut and a space crew, who are on a mission to investigate the origins of an alien artifact that mysteriously appeared on Earth. Good to see Katee Sackhoff in the …

30 July 2019 — : In the last couple of weeks I seem to have got behind on everything. I’m finally starting to sort that out, for indoors stuff anyway. The rainy weather helps.

30 July 2019 — : Bukbukbukbuk. Why are the pheasants doing their earthquake warning? … shake shake. Oh.

29 July 2019 — : The sea was fairly calm this morning, but still quite noisy. This video is not too long after sunrise, looking southwest to Kāpiti Island. Volume up a bit!

28 July 2019 — : Today was quail moving day. Flop obliged with a photo. 🐦

27 July 2019 — : Today we went with friends to Foxton Estuary, where, unlike last time, there were few birds. A white-faced heron came very close though (cropped iPhone shot). And a huge flock of maybe 100 Canada Geese arrived (volume UP).

26 July 2019 — : Came home after dinner out having left the bathroom window open and a light on in the house. Found this large insect on the wall. From the tip of one extremity to the other she was as long as my middle finger from tip to knuckle. Thanks to @odd who …

26 July 2019 — : Good grief! I just sent out our Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association monthly Newsletter by Buttondown for the first time (switched from Mailchimp, thanks to recommendations here). It was so easy. Thank you to all those who discussed it.

25 July 2019 — : Whew. Second day in a row where I’ve been sitting in the midday sun listening to a podcast and woken up when it finished. 💤💤💤

25 July 2019 — : The diggers next door have moved to behind our house. They’re now ~140 metres away. Our house shakes several times an hour while they work. Maybe that’s because of the 6 metre piles that support our house? I don’t notice it as much …

25 July 2019 — : Well, that woke me up! Light earthquake occurred 15 km north-west of Levin: www.geonet.org.nz/earthquak…

24 July 2019 — : I found a trailer that would actually play. Looks great! Star Trek: Picard - Official Teaser. Not long to wait. 🖖🏼

24 July 2019 — : The Te Waiohua people, who gave Auckland its original name of Tāmaki Makaurau, settled there about 1100 AD. Moa still roamed scrublands and Rangitoto hadn’t erupted to dominate Auckland Harbour. The area … contains New Zealand’s oldest …

24 July 2019 — : Today there were 2 black swans and only 4 cygnets. One has disappeared. 😒

23 July 2019 — : It’s been a very weird day. My partner was shocked to learn she has an older half-brother who just ‘found’ her. And also that some family members died a few years back. Families can be very complicated, eh.

23 July 2019 — : Our bathroom is tiny. When the house was built 5 years ago they used the wrong kind of paint and now there are water streaks from condensation, and a few flaking parts. Yesterday the painter started repainting with acrylic, which stinks. Here’s the …

22 July 2019 — : Who knew Kiwis had so many guns?! Obviously, quite a few have more than 1. Police said 2143 people handed in 3275 firearms, and 7827 parts and accessories since the first collection event in Christchurch a week ago. Pleased to see so many being …

21 July 2019 — : My cat Ares is 17.5 now and fading. He’s lost some or all of his sight or gone a bit doolally recently, losing his way and bumping into things. He’s lost weight and a challenge is to get him to eat. He only licks at wet food. …

20 July 2019 — : We thought one of ‘our’ black swans from the lake had been killed — a neighbour saw a dead swan on the beach and one of ‘our’ pair was missing. I now suspect she was just being a diligent mum. Today we have a pair of adults and 5 little …

20 July 2019 — : In March 2017 we bought a plastic tunnel house. It’s about 8 square metres and is working well for us. Now in mid-winter we’re starting to think about what to plant this coming year. My first job though was to clean the plastic. Half way …

19 July 2019 — : Ugh: the size of the global dairy herd hasn’t changed much over the years. But every year for the past 15 years 21,803 dairy farmers close down. … roughly 50 dairy farmers with 50 cows each are being replaced by 1 farm with 2500 cows. Via …

19 July 2019 — : I thought I spotted a dog emerging from the dunes. But No! It was the first seal pup of the season. I scrambled to leash the dogs and get the camera out, but the pup took its time. I hadn't known they went all the way up to the dunes. Dog-like shape …

19 July 2019 — : NZ and the Moon Landing 🇳🇿🚀: NZ had to wait a bit longer … to see the moon landing in 1969. We didn’t have a direct satellite link … so a pilot from the RNZAF flew to Sydney… picked up the tapes and then NZers were able to see the footage …

18 July 2019 — : The Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association website runs on self-hosted WordPress. Folks can sign up to receive new posts by email. The trouble is, I’m gradually adding historical info such as Minutes of meetings in 1974. To selectively stop …

18 July 2019 — : Usually the Eastern Rosellas turn up and then fly away before I can get to my camera. Today I got lucky. a brightly coloured, broad-tailed parakeet native to south-eastern Australia. It was introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s. Length: 30 …

17 July 2019 — : Go on: give us a treat. Pleeeease. 🐶 Ares is being a good boy too. 🐈

17 July 2019 — : Watched the 2.25 hour Luc Besson movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The plot was a bit thin, the creativity, visuals and special effects pretty good. Besson also did the marvellous The Fifth Element. There were distinct resemblances …

17 July 2019 — The annual eye check, and cataracts : Today at my annual optometrist visit I learned several things: My eyes are very healthy. My prescription has fluctuated slightly again, but not enough to need new lenses in my glasses, thank goodness. There are different kinds of cataract. Some …

17 July 2019 — : Last night we had 21mm of today’s forecast 5mm of rain. At one point it was so loud on our tin roof that Sasha came on the bed for a cuddle. Oshi must have slept through it. Sasha does not like loud noises.

17 July 2019 — : Some of the neighbour’s earthworks appear a little precarious.

16 July 2019 — : I’m a huge fan of dark skies, and am lucky enough to be able to clearly see the Milky Way (and the Clouds of Magellan) from our house. So this 12 minute video is one I think everyone would benefit from: Why We Are Losing the Night Sky.

16 July 2019 — : 100 metres from our boundary our neighbour-but-one has subdivided 3 sections. Diggers are moving 8,000 m3 of soil (it’s all sand really). Work near us started today. Soon we’ll have even more neighbours! Grrr.

16 July 2019 — : It’s a great day to stay in by the fire. 🌧

15 July 2019 — : It was dog grooming day today. We have a before and an after. 🐶

15 July 2019 — : Listening to the end of the cricket. First time in my life to pay attention. My partner Deb filled me in on the excitement as she left for work. 🏏

14 July 2019 — : I’ve had a bit of the blahs this week, for no particular reason. Then my partner Deb reminded me I’m always a bit gloomy in winter. I respond superbly to sunshine and warm weather. I could never survive far northern parts with little winter …

14 July 2019 — : Damp and warm, there are plenty of these wonderful basket fungus around at the moment.

13 July 2019 — : I ended up almost binge watching the TV show Rita on Netflix, it was so good! One amazing thing is that the ending was superb. So often endings can be a let-down, but this one definitely wasn’t. One important character was Hjørdis, who now has her …

13 July 2019 — : The river mouth shone in the morning sun. Meanwhile the sea, rarely mill-pond calm, showed its usual energy.

12 July 2019 — : This week’s SciShow Talk Show Over-Apologizing Less with Vanessa Hill is one for our guinea pig lovers. The interview with Nessy Hill is definitely interesting (she does 1 of my fave shows, Braincraft), but start 14 minutes in for a Patagonian …

11 July 2019 — : Good grief, Frogfish are astonishing creatures. This 8 minute video reveals all: Frogfish Have The Fastest Bite In the World Frogfish ambush and swallow their prey in whole. But that’s far from all… That hairy looking thing is a female …

11 July 2019 — : It’s been a while since I biked the dogs to the beach. On this mid-winter day that feels more like summer, it was a good opportunity to combine a dog walk and a bike ride. 🐶

10 July 2019 — : I visited our neighbours to the west again and took a photo of our house — the whitish rectangle in the middle of the photo (not the foreground container), with farmland behind and the Tararuas in the distance. Also, bonus photo of Glee the quail, …

09 July 2019 — : My online pal Virginia talked up Rita so now I’m watching it. She’s right: it’s a great TV show. Rita’s a rebel, an anarchist, and a wonderful teacher. She’s a pretty good parent… She’s a train-wreck in the personal realtionships …

09 July 2019 — : Halide is a superb iOS app for taking photos. Except for random times when I’m ‘clicking' away and it fails to save my photos. Like today, after a visit to the neighbour to see the enormous earthworks another neighbour is doing. Suggestions for …

08 July 2019 — : In the 70s and 80s I spent a decade teaching teenagers at Ashburton College. It was an S68 plan school. With an opening roll of ~1600 each year it was one of NZ’s 5 biggest schools at the time. 1 photo shows A block where I spent most of my …

08 July 2019 — : There’s a colony of pied shags by the river. Photo from last year. Today I recorded them screeching. In the video see the tiny white dots in the trees in the middle — that’s them. It was a shame the sun was right behind them.

08 July 2019 — : I spotted this Southern Bell frog on a tire in the garden this morning. Always happy to find frogs in the garden.

08 July 2019 — : emoji in our digital messages is similar to the way we use gestures when we talk. … celebrate that emoji are creating a richer form of online communication that returns the features of gesture to language. Related — this 2.5 minute video: Victor …

08 July 2019 — : Good to see local Councils asking the Government to ban private fireworks: Local government leaders are calling for a ban on the sale of fireworks for private use. … private fireworks caused significant harm and distress - including damage to …

07 July 2019 — : Ares is such a good boy. 🐈

06 July 2019 — : And in other dog photos, my girl Sasha joined me in my morning selfie today. 🐶

06 July 2019 — : Look, I don’t know the original source for this photo, but I found it from a link to Dana Schwartz. Since I saw it this morning though, I can’t get it out of my head. It may be one of my all-time favourite photos. 🐶 I just want to share …

05 July 2019 — : From the setting up of the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association in 1974, before women were people too 😳: Present: 27 Ratepaying residents, whose names are attached herewith, some of whom were accompanied by their wives or friends.

05 July 2019 — : I have two new daily tasks that are working well so far: delete a physical item and delete a digital item. I usually delete more than 1. 😀 So far I’ve tossed out some old papers (eg receipts, study notes) and am working my way through old old Dropbox …

05 July 2019 — : It’s not easy to get a photo when my boy Ares is on my lap. Persistence paid off today though. 🐈 One of his eyes is dark, but at least you can see it glinting here.

05 July 2019 — : Add a header image to your blog

04 July 2019 — : Interesting about quiet fireworks: quiet fireworks can actually be more colourful. All fireworks are a balance between “colour-producing material in the shell versus the kaboom-producing material,” … quiet fireworks don’t need as much kaboom, they …

04 July 2019 — : Why was I surprised to learn that schools for deaf or blind people were originally set up by religious folks to ‘save souls’? I also never knew about systems other than Braille for blind folks. Heaps of fascinating discussion in this 30 minute …

04 July 2019 — : I watched the movie Full Out. It’s simple and positive, and based on a true story of Ariana Berlin, a top-level athlete injured in a car crash who then makes a comeback. It has good music and great moves. An enjoyable, feel-good 90 minutes.

03 July 2019 — : Hmmm, things that are a bad idea: letting WordPress create a URL that includes an emoji. I realised just after I’d pressed Publish. Thank goodness for a .htaccess redirect.

03 July 2019 — I'm annoyed with Siri and the approach to Timers : I use Timers all the time, especially in the kitchen. I mostly trigger a timer with Siri on my watch. Yesterday I set a timer so the meal I was making could cook for 40 minutes before I added more ingredients. Forgetting that, and after doing some …

03 July 2019 — : If I ever thought about a gong it’d be to picture someone hitting a huge metal disc very hard. The Otherworldly Sounds of a Giant Gong shows a very different reality. Watch the 3 short videos and hear the amazing sounds a gong produces.

02 July 2019 — : Fabulous to see local company Omeo Technology has received funding for development. If I needed a wheelchair (and had the eye-watering $$$) I’d use one of them for sure. Why oh why did Radio NZ use an old-fashioned hospital wheelchair picture on …

02 July 2019 — : Finally did my part for the annual Garden Bird Survey. I saw or heard a dozen starlings, 2 fantails, 1 pheasant, 5 magpies, 8 ducks, 2 sparrows, 1 hawk, 1 plover, 1 grey warbler (as always, the grey warbler was heard, not seen). Plus miscellaneous …

02 July 2019 — : Gorge cafe in Ōtaki had a good menu, including some locally produced meats. We had the hotcakes and they were delicious. The coffee and hot chocolate were also excellent. After this first visit we’ll be sure to eat there again. Buttermilk …

02 July 2019 — : Gorge on Riverbank Road in Ōtaki is a Wellington style cafe. Unfortunately it’s also large and not insulated. Needs a fire. Blimmin cold on this 8C winter morning.

02 July 2019 — : Hooo. “New Zealand has been confirmed as the primary location for the $1.5 billion-production of The Lord of the Rings TV series.” Good news for our industry, I guess. Can we handle all the extra tourists? Bad: “an incredible opportunity for NZ to …

01 July 2019 — : Here’s my job for a few hours this afternoon. I made the mistake of buying firewood earlier this year from a random guy on Facebook. Surprisingly enough he lied about the wood being dry. 😒 Today’s 4 cubic metres from a trusted source is …

01 July 2019 — : Tip for Apple users. Next time @help announces Micro.Blog down time, you can use Siri to work out when that will be. “Hey Siri: what’s the time now in Austin, Texas.” Turns out this one will be around 2 pm in New Zealand.

01 July 2019 — : Watched The DUFF. It wasn’t bad. I’m far from the target audience, but it was largely inoffensive and had a good message for teens. Bianca discovers she’s the DUFF — the person who is less popular and more accessible. People …

30 June 2019 — : In a 1 KM stretch of Strathnaver Drive there are 3 speed bumps. As they’re designed to do they slow down cars and trucks. Quad bikes, motorbikes, horses and pedestrians go around the side. They’re awful for cyclists. Going round the side means …

30 June 2019 — : My latest Micro.Blog tutorial: Add number of available pages to the pagination. Page numbering with links to older and newer posts.

29 June 2019 — : At 12 and a half Sasha and Oshi don’t play so much these days. Today they had a bit of fun though. 🐶

29 June 2019 — : Dashed out on the deck with the iPhone on noticing the dramatic sunrise today. View north to the sunrise itself and southwest behind the house.

28 June 2019 — : A new tutorial. I was sidetracked in the middle, then lost track a bit, but I wanted to finish it today. Let me know if you see any problems with it. Link to more blog pages with pagination Helpful with the Marfa theme in particular.

28 June 2019 — : And now, the amazing Kereru. Also probably in Wellington and with a Canon EOS 300D. Some live only 4KM away at Manakau (as the kereru flies), but not here, sadly. Also known as a ‘wood pigeon’, they’re large, fly slowly and are very …

28 June 2019 — : I also managed this photo I like of a magpie. Also probably in Wellington and with a Canon EOS 300D.

28 June 2019 — : Rediscovered (and imported to Photos) 1400 images from 2005. Found these two of a gull, probably in Wellington. Taken with a Canon EOS 300D.

28 June 2019 — : I really enjoyed the movie Gifted. I even shed a tear. 7-year old Mary is a maths prodigy who lives with her uncle. Her best friends are an adult woman neighbour and a one-eyed cat called Fred. The struggle is to give her a normal kid’s life.

26 June 2019 — : I have a new goal to go down to the beach and watch the sunset at some point each week. Tonight I took my eclipse glasses with me and tried them out on the iPhone. The result was fun. Pretty sure I saw that green flash at the last moment too.

26 June 2019 — : The Library & Cultural centre in Levin offers Tai Chi classes starting Monday. $6 per 90-minute session. May pay for me to give it a try. I did try about 25 years ago in Wellington, but couldn’t keep up. I’m not good at body stuff. …

26 June 2019 — : I should have made a screenshot… Next time… Booked a dental checkup online. They texted a 5 digit code. Safari just knew about it and made it available to fill with a click. Such magic! I love it!

26 June 2019 — : About 12 years ago I experienced my first bout of sporadic back pain: the muscles in my lower back do something that makes such extreme activities as putting on my socks or putting down a cup of tea excruciating. This is one of those weeks. 😡

26 June 2019 — : Watched and largely enjoyed: Dangal, 2 hours, based on a true story. A father forces his unwilling daughters to become wrestlers to fulfil his own dreams of winning gold for India. When their 14 year old friend says their lives are better (because …

25 June 2019 — : I’m really enjoying the podcast series Elemental from Radio NZ. It should be available worldwide. In honour of the Year of the Periodic Table they’re doing a 5-minute chat about each element, going alphabetically. Fascinating for those …

25 June 2019 — : I watched and enjoyed the movie Mary Kom, based on the true story of the Indian 6-time World Amateur Boxing champion. The movie was simple, a bit hokey and cheesy at times, but positive and a good watch. 122 minutes. Priyanka Chopra was worth …

24 June 2019 — : For Micro Monday I’d like to suggest @kulturnation who writes in both English and German, who has pleasing photos of nature and who is interested in automating his Mac with Applescript and Keyboard Maestro.

23 June 2019 — : Oshi is snug by the fire on this dreary day. 🐶

23 June 2019 — : Riveting 10 minute video: Could You Be a Chimera? We like to think of our DNA as a unique marker of our identity … but we’re all Mosaics, and the longer we live, the more versions of ourselves we become. Also: the mother whose kids genes …

23 June 2019 — Bionic HTML : The other day I wrote a post about my relationship with Markdown and HTML. Half a dozen people responded with thoughts about their own relationship with both. As I read those responses I realised that I never actually type HTML. Sure, what I write …

22 June 2019 — : We drove 45 minutes to Linton where there’s a military camp and (who knew?) the Manawatū Prison. And one entrance to the new He Ara Kotahi walkway. We didn’t get far — the dogs can only do short walks, but enjoyed it. Sasha didn’t …

21 June 2019 — : And in today’s episode of ‘a bad worker always blames their tools’ I will say that Markdown has never been my thing. I vastly prefer HTML which is straightforward, easy, unambiguous. The only thing I think that’s easy in MD is a …

20 June 2019 — : Potentially remarkable; just poor writing: The range of one male [cat] was found to cover 3,000 hectares, from elevations of 300 to 2,500 metres … It may have been living on Corsica for 6,500 years, since the time of the second human colonisation of …

20 June 2019 — : Handy Applescript for MarsEdit — Get title and link in Markdown: tell application “MarsEdit” set newLink to "" set newLink to (permalink of selected post) as text set newTitle to (title of selected post) as text set the …

19 June 2019 — : I’m starting to wish we had a view of the sea from here. Dashed down to the beach with 3 minutes to spare to watch the sunset. Ngā maunga, the mountains, Taranaki and Ngauruhoe were easy to see in the late light, but aren’t in these iPhone …

19 June 2019 — : Such a stunning day. Disappointed I have to go out and do errands.

18 June 2019 — : It’s winter so Mike the farmer feeds out hay to the steers in the paddock next door. They always come running when they see the tractor.

18 June 2019 — : Couldn’t for the life of me figure out where “Page 2 of 12” was coming from in my blog pagination. I was looking behind the scenes at theme files for the wrong blog. Sigh.

18 June 2019 — : Here are Oshi and Sasha in February 2007 when they were 3 months old. That black and tan scoundrel turned into the white and tan Oshi scoundrel. Such colour change is normal apparently. Jet black Sasha is now greying. Her black has faded. 🐶

18 June 2019 — : Sasha has always been much longer than Oshi. When they were 3 months old she was like a puppy, whereas he resembled in almost all ways a guinea pig. When they eat, Oshi stands and inhales food. Sasha, with her longer body, sits and crunches the …

18 June 2019 — : Thanks so much @macgenie for interviewing me again on Micro Monday and talking about customising Micro.Blog. Episode 64: Customise Your Microblog. And thanks for editing out my total memory lapse on a name I should have known. 😀 I have big trouble …

16 June 2019 — : There were also the giant tortoises, hundreds of years old, a Komodo Dragon missing a foot, and pink flamingos. I’m so glad my photography skills have improved in the last 10 years. I’d love to take these photos again now.

16 June 2019 — : A fond memory: way back in December 2008 I visited Honolulu Zoo — an amazing place. I saw this Secretary Bird and Crowned Cranes. What astonishing birds. I’m usually ambivalent about zoos, but that one was very special.

15 June 2019 — : WOW!!! Re Apollo moon landing: On the seamstresses who wove the computer memory by hand Apollo computers had a total 73 KB memory. … hired seamstresses. … Every wire had to be right. …They hired women…8 weeks manufacturing … sitting at … looms …

15 June 2019 — : Excellent: The Postcards Guide to Braille!. Go take a look. Bonus fun fact: Braille is originally based on Night writing (or sonography), a tactile reading/writing system created for soldiers to communicate silently at night.

15 June 2019 — : Waiting for my Skype meeting participant… Drums fingers… Meanwhile they messaged me: Where are you? We switched to Zoom. Today Skype just utterly failed. Last used 6 months ago. Delighted to trash the junk today. And, thanks to Hazel, all the files …

14 June 2019 — : For heaven’s sake! I can’t board a flight with an almost microscopic pocket knife, but A person, who potentially exposed hundreds of domestic passengers last week to measles, had ignored warnings to stay isolated. There should be a legal …

14 June 2019 — : I’m extremely excited to announce my new project How to customise Micro.Blog, including such oft-requested tutorials as: Add a favicon Change the date format Hide things with CSS How to style an image in a post So far, 37 posts, with more …

13 June 2019 — : This little 2.5 minute video is interesting: Ōtaki River Bridge This new bridge across the Ōtaki River is part of the Expressway build. 300 tonnes, special adaptations to move with earthquakes.

13 June 2019 — : Last year I studied entry level Te Reo Māori (Māori language) at Te Wananga o Aotearoa. Today I received my certificate. Reckon I could get into Starfleet HQ with that badge?

13 June 2019 — : It was a cool and dreary damp morning today so I lit the fire. Oshi went in his little ‘pod’ right beside the woodburner. Ares has his special chair beside mine. Sasha prefers distance and a little cool.

12 June 2019 — : Interesting 2.5 minute video: The One-Lane Bridge Shared By Cars And Trains Near Hindon, on the South Island of New Zealand, there’s one of only two remaining one-lane road-rail bridges in the country. No barriers, no lights, no sirens:… listen out …

12 June 2019 — : Kāpiti Island at dawn.

11 June 2019 — : The Waikawa Stream flows west towards the sea but then turns south across the beach. A 1991 rock groyne has submerged and a 2012 rock groyne at almost right angles has had bad results. Today two diggers excavated rock from the ‘bad’ groyne and piled …

11 June 2019 — : Here’s a tip for setting up the Micro.Blog Mac app with more than one account. Go to Prefs for the first one and click the + button. Login with your default browser & continue. The next accounts also need browser login so change your …

10 June 2019 — : I used Pages.app to make a calendar from now to August 2020 so locals know when to put their recycling bins out. If you have Pages it’s completely editable. So, if you’d like to grab the zipped file (210KB) to edit and make your own calendar, …

09 June 2019 — : One of the great things about Kowhai (this one’s a Dragon’s Gold) is that they flower in winter.

08 June 2019 — : Good read: Imperfect pitch When people complain that a woman’s voice is ‘shrill’… there’s often no objective, acoustically measurable quality .…What people mostly mean … is ‘I don’t like her’, or ‘I don’t think this position should be occupied by a …

07 June 2019 — : Your Crippling Stress Levels Could Affect Your Dog More Than You Think 🐶 evidence that increased oxytocin (the love and bonding hormone) in female dogs results in increased interactions with their owner… This effect wasn’t seen in male dogs. …

06 June 2019 — : This critter’s a Gisborne cockroach that I found in my car. I quickly relocated it to the road. They can be up to 45mm long and don’t infest food. They like the wood pile and don’t spread disease. Australian imports…

06 June 2019 — : This gorgeous girl belongs to neighbours to the southwest of us. This morning she was posing in early sun. What a beauty!

06 June 2019 — : I don’t follow sports but this 15 minute video held my attention: Anne Audain, New Zealand’s most successful road runner | Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends the only NZ woman to win Commonwealth Gold on the track after … …

06 June 2019 — : One thing that annoys me all the time about Safari on the Mac is that I click a link from another app to open in Safari and then Safari opens it in some random tab in some random Safari window, usually behind the window I regard as my operating …

06 June 2019 — : This 13 minute video on being a young female MP is worth a watch: Chlöe Swarbrick interviews Marilyn Waring NZ Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick sits down with former National Party MP Marilyn Waring. Both became MPs when they were 23 years old, one in …

05 June 2019 — : Here’s Batalha cathedral in Portugal. It’s splendid. Batalha Cathedral in Portugal is a place where the spirit can soar

05 June 2019 — Batalha Cathedral in Portugal is a place where the spirit can soar : The Siri face on my Apple Watch showed me several photos today from our 2015 visit to Batalha in Portugal. That sent me to Photos and a very pleasant spell looking at the whole collection. Then I found my blog entry from that time, and read this. As …

05 June 2019 — : I love how MarsEdit saves my work as I go along. While switching between apps in a long complex post I accidentally Quit MarsEdit. No problem — on reopening it was all still there. Whew!

05 June 2019 — : At the beach by the Waikawa river mouth, just before high tide. The river itself is in the last few frames of the shot.

05 June 2019 — : Sometimes you just want to curl up into a little ball and let the others watch over you for a while.

05 June 2019 — : If you enjoy looking at photos you should read this: Interview: Photographer Spends 10 Years Capturing the Visual Symphony of Waves The photos are absolutely astonishing. I can’t begin to imagine how he made them.

04 June 2019 — : That WWDC keynote was so chock full of info and stuff I can’t even remember most of it. Very happy to see what’s coming up in the new operating systems though, and that perhaps iPad will become more powerful to work with. #WWDC19

03 June 2019 — : Fabulous to see in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019 most or all are for real service to the community: women, Māori, Pacific Islands, sports and hobbies — genuine community stuff, rather than the business-focus under the National governments.

03 June 2019 — : Why I love living here — not one but two videos. One shows Kāpiti Island and the South Island; the other shows the snowy-peaked Tararuas behind the beach. The recent storm really cleared the air.

03 June 2019 — : This morning with the storm gone we can see more tops of the Tararua range. Now we have a day or two of fine days then I believe it’s back to storms.

02 June 2019 — : Now the weather’s cleared a bit we can see the southerly storm brought a bit of snow to the higher tops of the Tararuas.

02 June 2019 — Be smart with MarsEdit : Arrange windows — I'm making a lot of posts on another Micro.Blog blog just now. Of course I'm using MarsEdit, because I'm smart. 😀 I'm a fussy writer: I like my workspace just so. In the case of MarsEdit that means I want the editing window …

02 June 2019 — : Hooray for Dana Stabenow! A reasonably priced Kindle book in a favourite series AND I’m allowed to order it, even though I’m in New Zealand. So often these days the Kindle books are over $15 and I’m excluded by where I live.

02 June 2019 — : Even the dogs don’t really want to be on the beach when it’s a roaring southerly off the Antarctic and only 7C. Because they’re small dogs their faces are too close to the sandstorm.

01 June 2019 — : Our first winter storm didn’t waste a second, even starting on the last day of autumn. Tonight it’s a bit grim out there: cold, blustery gales, rain. Last night included thunderstorms and hail. Wind map source

01 June 2019 — : At least once a week I have reason to be glad of A Better Finder Rename. Bulk rename files, in part or in whole.

01 June 2019 — : 3 minute video: Spoken word poem about racism in New Zealand ‘Yesterday I was African, today I am lost’, New Zealand student Takunda Muzondiwa tells the Auckland audience. via Mihingarangi Forbes

01 June 2019 — : I’ve started working on a new writing project of my own devising and have been throwing myself into it with enthusiasm. I doubt it’ll earn me any income, but I’m having so much fun doing something I love. It’s been a while…

01 June 2019 — : First day of Winter; first winter fire. Oshi has the prime spot by the woodburner. Ares is on a chair by me. Sasha prefers things a little cooler. 🐈 🐶

31 May 2019 — : Those who don’t live in a monarchy might find this calendar of upcoming 21-gun salutes in Wellington amusing. Locals might find them interesting too. @herself : do you hear these across the harbour in Eastbourne?

31 May 2019 — : Back in the early oughts I wrote articles on stuff. I just rediscovered a link to one on my old blog. The WiseWomen mailing list and website was a great place for women web folk, managed and paid for by @dori . Unfortunately the domain has new owners …

31 May 2019 — : If you enjoy a big laugh, are even faintly interested in language, spelling, writing, then treat yourself to The very logical reasons why we should make English spelling less logical. 15 minute video.

30 May 2019 — : I forgot to watch the Budget so saw only the last 10 minutes. 😒 However, it seems the Government is putting money to mental health, child wellbeing, trains, Māori, education, climate change, hospitals … in other words, the right things. 👏

30 May 2019 — : The quail are fine, but it feels like the universe is out to get them. Overnight some uncontrolled dog tried to dig under the cage. There’s a print of a big-dog paw in the freshly disturbed dirt. Too many folks around here don’t control their …

30 May 2019 — : Looks like we have a few days coming up that’ll fill the water tank, give the garden a good wetting and be fairly windy but no too cold.

29 May 2019 — : Kiwis: I love the wall dots from HappyMoose and now the price has dropped a heap: we used to charge $29.95 for a set of four 15x15cm wall dots. Now you’ll pay just $19.47. Here’s a not great photo of my latest lot above my bed.

29 May 2019 — : Sunset’s gift.

29 May 2019 — : Tom Scott’s latest NZ video: Testing A Zip Line That Goes Round Corners (5 mins) is another good one. I had fun with Rotorua’s Canopy Tours zipline through native forest in 2013, (no corners). Photo: Me dangling from a zipline after finally …

29 May 2019 — : Overnight gales opened up the quail runs and I feared the worst at dawn when I saw the problem. Glee was sitting just outside and scuttled back in when I approached. Fliss was nearby and fortunately easy to catch. The other two hadn’t escaped. …

28 May 2019 — : Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors is a brilliant documentary, full of science, motion capture, 3D printing, laser scanning, genetics, forensic reconstruction. If you like science, watch it. I’ve seen Episode 1 so far. Via RNZ Saturday Morning

28 May 2019 — : Two new pest traps installed: Peanut butter on mousetrap inside catproof box for inside the Cat Palace. Egg inside weasel / stoat trap. 🤞

27 May 2019 — : The dogs have reason to be glad I use Keyboard Maestro.

27 May 2019 — : This Micro Monday I’d like to suggest you follow these folks currently in Aotearoa New Zealand 🇳🇿. Because they’re Kiwis, so you know they’re good. 😇 @billbennettnz @herself @tones @Yorrike.

27 May 2019 — : This is very disturbing — look at the videos: Samsung’s Creepy New AI Can Generate Talking Deepfakes From a Single Image.

27 May 2019 — : NZ’s first known war dog to receive posthumous medal 🐶 Ceaser left this country … in February 1916. The dog carried a satchel on his back which contained writing paper and bandages. “He dug an air-hole so the trapped man could …

26 May 2019 — : Whew. Now I’ve made 100 days for my longest move streak I can relax if I break it.

26 May 2019 — : Cropped and auto-enhanced, but these two quail photos are from the NatureWatch Camera I just set up, using a Raspberry Pi Zero. Very happy with these results. Now to work on placement. I’d like to get wildlife rather than just the quail. This …

26 May 2019 — : Excited that @brentsimmons has put up an early version of the NetNewsWire 5 RSS reader. It’s been a long time since I last used it but it feels great to have it back on my Mac. Congratulations Brent!

25 May 2019 — : This selfie isn’t up to much but it was one of the first (handheld in low light) shots with my new Raspberry Pi Zero W and 5MP camera. The gear arrived today. The instructions were flawless. Tomorrow I aim to install it in a plastic enclosure and set …

25 May 2019 — : And so they should! British newspaper The Guardian announced a style guide change. From now on, they will prioritise terms such as ‘climate crisis or breakdown’ and ‘global heating’ over the more common ‘climate …

25 May 2019 — Stoats, the quail killers : About 1,000 years ago the only land mammals in New Zealand were bats. Then Māori arrived, maybe around 1200AD and brought with them kurī (Polynesian dogs) and kiore (Polynesian rats). Europeans started arriving from around 1642 (Abel …

25 May 2019 — : In 2016 I made a video of one of my original quail crowing. Unlike California Quail who seem to say Chicago, Chicago! the Japanese Quail say Look at me! Look at me! Volume up.

24 May 2019 — : A couple of minutes in to Brooklyn Nine-Nine S01E01 I thought I’d hate the show, but so many people said such good things about it I stuck with it. It quickly became one of my favourites, with so many excellent laughs! Glad it’s been …

24 May 2019 — : The stoat, or maybe weasel, that killed 3 quail was very angry when I trapped it between a bucket and the side of the cage. See for yourself, in this one-handed video. Turn up the volume to hear its angry chittering. I was pretty scared of it.

24 May 2019 — : After @crossingthethreshold posted a photo of a road it made me think of this favourite zebra crossing I saw in ⁨Redondela⁩, ⁨Galicia⁩, ⁨Spain⁩.

24 May 2019 — : This thing is a stoat. An angry stoat, trapped in a plastic bucket behind wire. Unfortunately, as I was on my own, it escaped. This morning it killed 2 more quail. The survivors are now in max security cages. (One-handed snapshot while holding a …

24 May 2019 — : GLAAD: Movies Are Getting Better For Lesbian and Gay Characters, Staying Terrible for Trans and LGBTQ Kids’ Characters 20 LGBTQ-inclusive films were released in 2018. 45 LGBTQ characters made it into mainstream movies in 2018. Zero trans …

23 May 2019 — : I’ve really enjoyed watching Seal Team and am glad to see it’s been renewed for a third season. I like that they explore the relationships of team members with others such as family, and how folks grow and develop.

23 May 2019 — On the hunt for quail : When I checked the quail today one was dead — Felicia, the great mother who hatched the babies this year. Judging by the mutilated corpse this wasn’t pecking by the others, but presumably a rat or stoat that slid into the run and out again. I buried …

23 May 2019 — : While I was hunting for an escaped quail an Eastern Rosella made a brief appearance to laugh at me then flew off. Still hunting the escapee. 😱

23 May 2019 — : Someone requested a page listing Kiwis on Micro.Blog. Tada! @billbennettnz @dejus @herself @JacksonOfTrades @Jax @tones @yorrike Let me know if you think I should change anything. Check your own entry — it’s taken from your profile. How would …

22 May 2019 — : Green tea at the Levin Mall cafe was mediocre. The teapot & cup combo was rather charming though.

22 May 2019 — : My favourite sci-fi author’s Kickstarter has already reached 500+% of its goal with 8 days left to go and the stretch goal rewards are amazing. The Diving Universe A large new novel and other projects in the Diving Universe by Kristine Kathryn …

22 May 2019 — : Wellington is notorious for its steep hills. Many of those hills have paths, stairs and steps, which is apparently a niche interest for some who travel far and wide: outdoor stairs. My friend Alana has created a wonderful site Wellington Steps for …

22 May 2019 — : Oshi and Sasha are all freshly groomed. 🐶

22 May 2019 — : Shaggy dogs on their way to be groomed. Oshi and Sasha are ready for a trim. 🐶

22 May 2019 — : Read: The Korean Way of Tea My experience and appreciation for tea and the art and etiquette of tea truly blossomed after that experience.

22 May 2019 — : Rain today as at 7 am: 0.9mm. Rain forecast for most days this week: 0.

21 May 2019 — : I’m a very linear person: A to B to C. When I run training sessions that’s the kind of approach I take. Maybe it drives some people crazy? I find trainers who go: C, by the way A, 5, W, 57, kind of frustrating…

20 May 2019 — : Lingthusiasm Episode 32 (33 minute audio) reveals how some languages require you to say how you know something… 🤯 languages, like Syuba, [where] indicating how you’ve come to know something is baked right into the grammar.

19 May 2019 — : Beach find: this large feather, probably from a black-backed gull. Photo shows the feather resting on a 15” MacBook Pro for size.

19 May 2019 — : It was Quail moving day today. I like to move them to a fresh patch every few weeks. The two runs are now near the tunnelhouse again. There’s evidence of a bit of head-pecking but everyone seems OK. Can you see all seven birds?

19 May 2019 — : I haven’t had time to read any of this site yet, but anticipate much to enjoy: Rejected Princesses this site imagines what if we made animated musicals about the women of history and myth who refused to behave. Via Ask A Mortician ICONIC …

19 May 2019 — : Interesting article from Don Norman, 83-year-old author of the industry bible Design of Everyday Things and a former Apple VP: The world is designed against the elderly … thoughtless, inappropriate designs. … inclusive design … helps everyone. Via …

18 May 2019 — : The outdoor module of my Netatmo weather station appeared to have come back to life. After 3 hours outdoors though it just stopped again. The new one was moved from one indoor location to another and then replaced the old one outside. It’s …

18 May 2019 — : For the last week the Netatmo outdoor module sat at the recommended distance failing to connect to the base station. Today the new weather station arrived. As I moved items around on the shelf the connection finally ‘took’. Now I have a …

18 May 2019 — : This 30 minute video had a lot of interesting stuff in it: Cybersecurity and a hacker called Alien | SciShow Talk Show Jeremy Smith and Sherri Davidoff talk hacking, cyber security, and the end of the world, and Jessi stops by with Rook the Raven.

18 May 2019 — : Uh oh. Open my online banking to find a pending transaction for a service I no longer need. When I moved my Love Waikawa Beach website from WordPress to Micro.Blog I forgot to cancel the Jetpack subscription. I should keep better records! Jetpack …

18 May 2019 — : Well done, The Big Bang Theory — nicely brought to a close. 👏🏼👏🏼

17 May 2019 — : I was suspicious about my wind gauge as it seemed to be at odds with various other sources. Teetered atop a step ladder and fence post and determined it was rotated 180° . It’s not screwed in tight and can rotate. I suspect the birds who perch …

16 May 2019 — : Oshi and I had the place to ourselves last night. I washed nearly all the dog beds. Today he didn’t even wait for me to zip this one up before jumping on. He’d missed his favourite bed. Sasha’s back from the vet in better spirits …

16 May 2019 — : Caster Semenya and the myth of testosterone: An extremely fascinating 50 minute discussion about sex, gender, identity, chromosomes, testosterone, race, ethnicity, geography, sports. Kim Hill interviews anthropologist and bioethicist Katrina …

16 May 2019 — : Today I learned the woman who wrote Mary Poppins was born and raised in Australia: P.L Travers — the girl who dreamt up Mary Poppins. She also stood up to Walt Disney about how the movie would be done and what the character would be like. 👍 17 minute …

16 May 2019 — : Excellent video series by nativlang: Thoth’s Pill - History of Writing Systems In this series, we’ll see the birth and evolution of writing, from early pictographs and logographs all the way to advanced alphabets.

16 May 2019 — : 6 minute video: The First 3D Colour X-Rays University of Canterbury team …are using detector equipment originally developed for the Large Hadron Collider, and putting it to a very different use: medical imaging that allows 3D, false-colour images …

15 May 2019 — : Too Fast, Too Black, Too African: On Caster Semenya she ran smack into the global matrices of power … for being too fast, too quick … how does it become permissible to forcibly strip an 18 year old girl in front of “experts” who will determine, for …

15 May 2019 — : Sasha update: she’s staying at the vet’s overnight for observation with a saline drip for dehydration, and blood work. Bloods have already come back OK. Between cats & dogs, routine and special, that’s 6 vet visits in 5 weeks. The cost of …

14 May 2019 — : It’s been a bit miserable today, what with the lack of sleep and also being a bit unwell. It’s been a worse day for Sasha though who produced messy poop while I was at a workshop all morning and then huge amounts of vomit while I was at …

14 May 2019 — : It’s nearly 4 am. I should be asleep. Instead I’ve been woken every hour or so by Sasha the dog needing to go out. I’ve cleaned up two lots of dog poop from where I haven’t got up. Given in and made a cup of tea.

13 May 2019 — : With a swell of up to 2.5 metres, high tide and sunset coinciding, I biked down to the beach with my camera. These photos straight from the camera.

13 May 2019 — : Recommended reading: the extremely interesting and superbly written This is our story: A qualitative research report on living with dementia. tells the story of diverse lives and experiences of New Zealanders living with dementia, explores what it …

13 May 2019 — : Last night we watched and enjoyed Wine Country: When a group of longtime girlfriends goes to Napa for the weekend to celebrate their friend’s 50th birthday, tensions from the past boil over.

12 May 2019 — : My Netatmo outdoor module is on the fritz. Because I’m in New Zealand I can’t buy a replacement module but have to buy a new station. Tonight, in the pouring rain, the rain gauge shows zero rainfall! What next?

12 May 2019 — : Ate a delicious dinner with long-time friends at Thistle Inn in Thorndon for one friend’s 70th birthday. Entree: Crumbed eggplant, roast red pepper pesto & grilled haloumi. Main: Oven baked Mudfish, crushed potato, spinach mushrooms, capers …

10 May 2019 — : Someone on Micro.Blog recently mentioned ToDoist. After a few days use I’m finding it helpful for getting on with useful stuff in my day.

10 May 2019 — : Bloke takes dogs for a swim in the river, finds moa prints: fossilised moa footprints millions of years old. Seven clear footprints were found, each about 30cm by 30cm, and an action, preservation and excavation plan for the footprints was …

10 May 2019 — : What it means to live in NZ. In the last 24 hours… batteries ordered from a .co.nz site can’t be shipped to NZ. Netatmo replacement module isn’t sold in NZ. Kindle book available in US doesn’t exist for NZ.

09 May 2019 — : Sasha enjoys chasing the ball on the beach. The thing is, her eyesight isn’t the best, so I have to be careful how I roll the ball. Even then, she can lose track. It’s what comes next that cracks me up. See the diagram. 🐶

09 May 2019 — : My favourite sci-fi author, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, is doing a special Kickstarter for her next novel in the Diving Universe. Dive in.

08 May 2019 — : I’m learning lots about Māori from Taringa!. In Episode 36 of Taringa!, at ~ 23' 30" in, there’s an interesting 3 minute discussion about how Māori kept fire going: embers in a buried log.

08 May 2019 — : Ares after a couple of days at the vet hospital for observation— he’s lost 500 grams since last July, and after his sister died unexpectedly I thought he should have a checkup. Possible early kidney or liver problems. I’m not really …

07 May 2019 — : “But the proof is in the pudding” — I try not to be pedantic about such things these days, but this one always bugs me a bit. Puts me in mind of when I was a kid and the Christmas Pudding had threepenny bits in it… (and a drop of ?% proof …

07 May 2019 — : The Brain-Eating Amoebas of Kerosene Creek — a 4 minute video from Tom Scott that features Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles. Kerosene Creek is a natural hot spring near Rotorua. Warning: don’t put your head under water…”brain-eating …

06 May 2019 — : We’re still enjoying the last of the produce from our tunnelhouse: capsicum, aubergine, chili.

06 May 2019 — : The sea today was the pale grey of a glacier-fed river.

06 May 2019 — : Heh. Annoyed by Hover repeatedly emailing me about a domain I intentionally let expire, I discovered their excellent expiry notification settings.

05 May 2019 — : Foxton is proud of its Dutch heritage. We ate poffertjes at the cafe. They were a little disappointing though — we’ve had better at Bulls. These were a little heavy.

05 May 2019 — : Manawatu Estuary is a RAMSAR bird sanctuary and a great spot for a stroll. Today there were probably 500+ birds there. We spotted a couple of hundred Canada Geese, more than a dozen Royal Spoonbills, numerous Pied Stilts, ducks, a lone shag.

05 May 2019 — : My Siri watch face reminded me today about our Fox Terrier who died 12 years ago now. These two photos are from May 2004. She had so much hair! You could bathe, brush a lot and then she’d shake and a cloud of hair would coat everything: black …

05 May 2019 — : Interesting 12 minute video: How To Drink Coffee In Space Cups only work in gravity, and drinking coffee through a straw loses the aroma, so astronaut Don Pettit invented a zero gravity cup. There’s some excellent science in this video.

04 May 2019 — : Well, two entirely different Fierce Girls are interesting: podcast, Australian . TV show webseries, NZ, Canada. From athletes to aviators, scientists to spies. Australia is full of girls who dare to do things differently. Kisik (Cree, Metis) and …

04 May 2019 — Why not move a community group's website to FB? : The other day I learned a sister organisation was thinking of closing down their website and moving to Facebook. This troubled me so much I decided to butt in uninvited and explain why they should rethink. Then I thought that what I wrote to them …

04 May 2019 — : Tom Scott’s latest video shows how GPS isn’t accurate enough for the Auckland container port’s automated cranes, so they have their own local positioning system. 👍 …automating their straddle carriers… “hundred-tonne …

04 May 2019 — : Having sung the praises of the Netatmo recently, the outside sensor promptly failed. 😒 After much research I contacted the Helpdesk and followed their instructions (put it in rice, clean terminals, fresh batteries). It worked for 6 hours and failed …

03 May 2019 — : Heh, fellow Kiwis: blocked by the NZ Herald paywall? Try Inspect Element in the browser…

03 May 2019 — : Since his sister died so unexpectedly 3 weeks ago I took Ares for a precautionary checkup at the vet. Plus he’s lost a little weight and has a bit of a cough. All seems OK but the vet took blood and urine to be on the safe side. Ares was very …

03 May 2019 — : Whew, just spent an hour writing a case for why a sister community organisation should NOT dump its website and move to Facebook. I was sticking my oar in, but it’s been haunting my brain since I learned of the plan. Maybe now I can get my …

03 May 2019 — : Venus and crescent moon at dawn.

03 May 2019 — : Thanks to @patrickrhone for linking to this: Rural Studio’s $20K House has such innovative design that it’s changing the entire housing system–from mortgages to zoning laws. The main problems are legal — mortgages, building codes, zoning etc.

02 May 2019 — : This should not be: the [fishing] company claims it cannot afford to pay workers the living wage, which is due to increase to $21.15 in September. … Moana New Zealand has reported a net profit after tax of $21.4 million for the year ending 30th …

02 May 2019 — : One of the things I love about getting up early is watching Venus lead in the dawn.

01 May 2019 — : This year New Zealand’s road toll is dreadfully high already— 136 fatalities so far this year. Sharon Murdoch, cartoonist extraordinaire, sums it up.

30 April 2019 — : It’s a rare day when you find even a strand of seaweed on Waikawa Beach. After yesterday’s storm though there are clumps of it every 10 or 20 metres. Some kelp, some other stuff. Oshi managed to photobomb. 🐶

30 April 2019 — : Every morning Sasha likes to come on the bed for a big cuddle. Usually Oshi pushes in, but today he was elsewhere. 🐶

29 April 2019 — : Catching up on reading. Take Control of Siri has added considerably to the uses I’ll make of Siri. Some capabilities are extraordinary, eg, Photos app on Mac: “Show me pictures of roses”, “show me pictures of shags”.

29 April 2019 — : Today’s forecast was for almost 21mm rain — and very welcome too. Actual rain to 2pm-ish: 43mm. That gives us nearly 3,000 litres of water in the tank! Our rain forecasts are almost always way off…

29 April 2019 — : Interesting item about human composting (rather than burial or cremation): Microbes … work within a large vessel … that fits a single body along with alfalfa, straw and wood chips. Over …30 days … decomposition destroys the body, along with most …

29 April 2019 — : It seems New Zealand’s roads have been particularly deadly this month. April began with … a crash that killed five people from the same family. … The crash was about 10km from … where [yesterday] eight people were killed north of Taupō after an SUV …

29 April 2019 — : The first really solid rainfall in several months. There’s about 30 mm forecast for today.

28 April 2019 — : In January we drove north to visit friends in Whangārei. We rounded a corner on the road north of Auckland and there was a pair of huge sculptures on the horizon! Tom Scott has made a 2+ minute video about the Gibbs Farm Sculpture Park. It's worth a …

27 April 2019 — : Such an interesting episode of Death in the Afternoon: Maggots Holding High Carnival: The American Civil War left roughly 700,000 dead … With millions of pounds of rotting human flesh on the battlefields, burying the dead was a daunting, sometimes …

27 April 2019 — : There are plenty of -isms in the world, but the only one that affects all of us, especially if we’re lucky enough to survive, is ageism. Ashton Applewhite explains it superbly well in this TED Talk. Her book is excellent too and helped form my …

27 April 2019 — : I really enjoyed the Indian movie Bucket List. 40 year old Madhura looks after her family, but the heart of a 20-year old killed in an accident transforms her life as she sets out to fulfil the donor’s bucket list. Poster

27 April 2019 — : Now that Ares is a lonesome kitty I’m trying to spend more time with him. This is very tricky with our dogs. Here’s Ares on the bed this morning. 🐈

26 April 2019 — : Well, thanks to the superb Take Control Of Your Browser book I’ve installed 2 handy browser extensions, checked / changed a few settings and downloaded 2 new browsers to experiment with. And I understand a bit more about a few things. I …

26 April 2019 — : Well, by Page 25 of Take Control Of Your Browser I’ve already learned 2 useful new tips, and I’m no stranger to the Mac and its ways. Take Control books are always worth reading.

26 April 2019 — Take Control Of Your Browser : Hooray! : Take Control of Your Browser, by veteran tech writer Robyn Weisman, helps you discover your browser’s hidden talents, increase browsing speed, solve many common problems, and configure settings and extensions for maximum efficiency. If …

26 April 2019 — : Someone’s been reading the wrong book about how to craft front page headlines…

25 April 2019 — : I enjoyed the 2019 Indian film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga this morning. The title translates as “How I felt when I saw that girl”. the story of Sweety Chaudhary, a closeted lesbian, and her attempts to come out to her religious and traditional …

24 April 2019 — : I was just thinking yesterday we hadn’t had a decent earthquake in a while. So at 4.30 this morning there was a 4.8, shallow, less than 100 km from here but a good rattle. Annoying: I’d just got back to sleep after a bathroom visit and it …

24 April 2019 — : Oshi and Sasha enjoyed their visit to the beach this morning. I spent a while taking photos of Fishing vessel 63018 Clam Legend working very near the shore. 🐶

24 April 2019 — : Thanks to @tones for the Time Ball link. Just to amplify: the tribe’s history was passed down … by the women … using a … time ball. New brides … tied different knots into the twine for [the rest of their lives] and added special beads for …

24 April 2019 — : Our local paper has the most thrilling headlines. Tomorrow is Anzac Day, hence the emphasis on soldiers.

23 April 2019 — : I’ve been watching Homecoming: a film by Beyoncé. It’s an amazing show. She has more energy in her little finger than I have for a whole year!

23 April 2019 — : Thanks to one of my favourite apps Hazel and its ‘sweep’ function, when I deleted the troublesome app trial, all its tentacles went too.

23 April 2019 — : I hope they don’t really mean this! Zero privacy from spam? Mind you, they’ve already made me restart my Mac for the trial, create a login for an account I don’t want and failed 4 times to send me a login confirmation I require in order …

22 April 2019 — : Oshi, of course, is waiting for his dinner still (ie biscuits in a bowl on the floor).

22 April 2019 — : It wasn’t meant to be a canine Easter egg hunt, but what else can you do when you spill a whole scoop of biscuits on the floor? 🐶

22 April 2019 — : I really enjoyed listening to @macgenie and Brianna Wu discuss Voyager’s Equinox double episode on 3 You Can’t Underestimate Seven. In fact, I’m enjoying the thoughtful commentary in all the episodes. And who knew homework could be fun too!

22 April 2019 — : Two little Tauhou or Silvereye turned up on the flax this morning. The silvereye colonised New Zealand from Australia in the 1850s … Length: 12 cm, Weight: 13 grams. Such cute wee birds! I’m so glad they visit our garden. Planting flax bushes …

21 April 2019 — : This 14 minute video is very interesting: Why Do We Get Columbine So Wrong? Hard to believe it’s been 20 years since that Columbine school shooting. Apparently almost everything we ‘know’ about the shooters is incorrect.

21 April 2019 — : I’m really enjoying In the Dark on The CW. An irreverent blind woman … Murphy drifts through life in a drunken haze. …she stumbles upon a corpse that must be [her friend] Tyson’s, but it disappears … She resolves to solve the murder …

20 April 2019 — : My neighbour and I played Scrabble tonight. She’s very hard to beat, and played “amaze” for a high score. I added an ‘s' as part of “quest” on a double letter for ‘q’ and a double word for 67 points. I won the game. Her long run of only vowels …

20 April 2019 — : One job for this month is to tidy and rearrange the garage. Meanwhile, I re-stained the tops of two deck tables and applied stain all over my new raw pine Adirondack chair. I think it’ll need another coat tomorrow. I was advised to use a rag …

19 April 2019 — : Today I planted the kowhai tree Sophora Dragon’s Gold beside Aphra’s grave. I dug a hole in the sand, filled it with good compost and water, a fertiliser tab underneath, then mulched with pine shavings. Then I added 4 stakes, plastic netting …

18 April 2019 — : Such a glorious day! I was sitting on the deck in the sun, thinking how uncomfortable my chair was. I’ve been pondering for ages buying an Adirondack chair. Turns out today was the day. Raw pine. Tomorrow I’ll stain it.

18 April 2019 — : Thanks Happy Moose, that was a nice surprise.

18 April 2019 — : Nature at risk: Damning report warns NZ environment in serious trouble A bleak picture of the state of New Zealand’s environment has been painted by the government’s official report, Environment Aotearoa 2019.

18 April 2019 — : My Netatmo wind gauge was on top of a regular fence post. That worked well until yesterday when the neighbour’s landscapers planted flax bushes beside it. Pretty soon the flaxes will block the wind. The landscapers added another post about 1.5 …

17 April 2019 — : Sunrise, from my favourite chair in the lounge.

16 April 2019 — : Thank you! So many people have sent me well wishes after the sudden and unexpected passing of my sweet little cat Aphra. I really appreciate the connections and thoughts everyone.

15 April 2019 — : In 2002 my sweet little cat Aphra was less than a year old. She and her brother Ares shone in the sunlight while sitting on our TV set. She’s in front. Six weeks ago she looked gorgeous in the garden. Late this afternoon she collapsed and was …

15 April 2019 — : Liked, whakataukī: Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei — Seek the treasure that you value most dearly, if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain. Refuse to let obstacles get in your way while striving to reach …

15 April 2019 — : Quail update: Glee is now 7 weeks old and has brown markings on her back. Yesterday was quail moving day — they hate being moved, but love having new digs. A neighbour gave me rosemary cuttings. Can you see the stripy girl hiding behind the branches?

14 April 2019 — : I’ve just finished re-reading Anniversary Day Saga by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. She’s such a superb writer, I enjoyed it even more the second time around. 4 years ago, a bomb destroyed part of the dome protecting Armstrong, the largest city on …

14 April 2019 — : Today I discovered that 07:01 on a Sunday morning is a fantastic time to go to the supermarket. There was no traffic on State Highway 1, and pretty much no other shoppers in the supermarket. So easy and delightful. There and back in 75 minutes and …

13 April 2019 — : I enjoyed the movie Red Joan, starring Dame Judi Dench. Interesting story based on real life. And no, science and politics can’t be divorced.

11 April 2019 — : Ah, my domain registrar’s Support team have worked some magic and it appears forwarding from my old email address to the new address is working at last. Hope I haven’t missed too much in the meantime.

11 April 2019 — : My domain registrar is trying to figure out why my old email address is failing to successfully forward to my new. I’ve missed about 5 days worth of emails now. Even the Support guy commented on how much spam that old address gets. I’ve had it …

10 April 2019 — : Busy reading a jargon-filled (appropriately) geomorphological assessment of our river and shoreline, making notes and ‘translating’ into plain language. On Saturday our Ratepayers Committee will be considering the report as presented by …

10 April 2019 — : I’ve changed my main email address and it sure is quiet while the forwarder from the old address isn’t working. 🧐 Currently trying to get Support to see what’s happening. I’ve used the old address for at least a couple of decades… Not …

10 April 2019 — : The dogs visited the vet in Ōtaki today for their annual checkup and shots (all good). We took the opportunity to walk a bit along the Ōtaki riverbank at the mouth. Photos: looking east, west towards the sea, and across the wetland.

09 April 2019 — : Why kiwi and moa became flightless Researchers discovered new evidence of what made some of NZ’s iconic birds, such as the kiwi and extinct moa, flightless. … change in the regulation of protein genes, rather than proteins themselves is … …

09 April 2019 — : Study Shows Our Cats Do Know Their Names most of the time cats can indeed distinguish between their names being said and other words, even if they are similar-sounding words, and regardless of whether it’s their owner or another unfamiliar …

09 April 2019 — : I had enough stain left in the tin for 3 outdoor chairs. Now I need to buy more for the tables. This should help them weather winter.

09 April 2019 — : Occasionally exchange rate fluctuations work in my favour. Siteground renewed automatically an account I wanted to cancel. Thanks to exchange rate fluctuations, the refund was greater than the original charge. Now, how to make the most of my $1.43 …

08 April 2019 — : 4 Pied shags, kawau had attitude on the beach this morning. By lucky chance I managed some photos I just love. Pied shags weigh 1 to 2 Kg, and are about 65 to 85 cm long.

07 April 2019 — : At sunset tonight the Tararuas shone red below a pink-clouded sky. This photo straight out of the camera.

07 April 2019 — : A friend caught several Snapper from his sea kayak this morning and gave us one. It was delicious cooked on the BBQ with lemon and butter, baked potatoes and steamed carrots and green beans. Freshest fish I’ve ever eaten.

07 April 2019 — : The neighbours are having landscaping done on the area across our boundary. Now I need to try to clear a strip beside the fence on our side. There’s a lot to do.

06 April 2019 — : Scientist finds link to ancient home of Māori A Northland scientist has … pinpointed the origin of early Māori artefacts found in New Zealand to a precise location in eastern Polynesia.… the island of Mehetia, about 100km southeast of Tahiti in …

06 April 2019 — : It’s been so long since I last lit the fire I’d forgotten how. Now, finally, it seems to have caught. It’s been a cool day today.

06 April 2019 — : Video (11 minutes): Grass Roots: the women of Hikurangi Enterprises Grass Roots looks at the wāhine behind Hikurangi Enterprises, a cannabis co-op looking to revitalise Ruatoria, a Ngāti Porou stronghold with a long and turbulent relationship to the …

06 April 2019 — : If this forecast holds true (unlikely — we usually get less rain than forecast) it’ll add nearly 4,000 litres to our rainwater tank. At an average use of ~1300 litres per week that should give us about 3 weeks of water. Hooray! The tank’s …

05 April 2019 — : I’m so relieved — Siteground renewed web hosting automatically for me 2 weeks before I expected it. NZ$350 at stake. I actually wanted to cancel the service. A Support Live Chat just sorted it out easily and my refund is on its way.

05 April 2019 — : Oh, time to start paying attention to Apple Pay, as it is now available with Westpac in New Zealand. Will I be able to use it in small-town New Zealand though?

04 April 2019 — : In 2.5 hours in Levin waiting for my car’s new windscreen to be installed I: had a flu shot, visited my dental hygienist, and discovered that to use the free WiFi at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō (the Library) a Mac user needs Firefox to be able …

03 April 2019 — : Our dog Sasha loves to chase a ball. This cool early morning on the beach she had a heap of energy. Her eyesight’s poor so I have to be sure she’s looking the right way then almost roll the ball so she can see and follow it. She was …

03 April 2019 — : Our barking dog got me outside at 0524, just in time to see a sliver of moon rise below Venus over the Tararuas into a clear sky filled with stars. The Milky Way was bright, splitting by Scorpius, where Jupiter also hung out. Thank you, barking dog.

02 April 2019 — : This year I’m learning Te Reo Māori by distance from Te Wananga o Raukawa. I’m really enjoying hearing and reading fairy tales. So far: Kōuraraka, Hinarata and Ngā Poaka E Toru (Goldilocks, Cinderella, the 3 Pigs). Ka hawhe! Ka pawhe! Ka …

01 April 2019 — : Christchurch mosque attacks: Some Muslim women are still too scared to wear a hijab in public and school children fearing for their mothers' safety are needing counselling, says migrant women’s organisation Shakti.

01 April 2019 — : Clair, 60, says the streets are her home. She eats at a bus stop, wanders the CBD, and sleeps on the ground by the railway line … She says NZ’s homeless women work hard to remain unseen because they feel vulnerable to being sexually assaulted, …

01 April 2019 — : Why Women’s Voices Are Getting Deeper This video dives into why women’s voices are getting deeper, a phenomenon that spans research in 1950s Australia to the 2012 Election in the U.S.

31 March 2019 — A bit of gardening — hard yakka : A bit of our property beside our lane has always been a struggle. The rabbits dig numerous holes, it’s steep (75° according to my iPhone level) and uneven. I can’t use the mower on it and using the weedeater is very hard work. Over the last …

31 March 2019 — : A fan of space opera? I’m buying The 2019 Space Opera Bundle, curated by Dean Wesley Smith: “Space, the final frontier.”. I love the work of Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, and the other stories sound great too.

30 March 2019 — : This little Chaffinch came and sat on the flax. Photos through a window. Chaffinches are the commonest and most widespread of New Zealand’s introduced finches, and are found in a wide range of habitats from sea-level to 1400 m.

30 March 2019 — : Every Kiwi over the age of 35 well knows this feelgood #1 track from 1984: Poi E - Patea Maori Club. Watch it for the haircuts, the break dancing, the Māori performers. the song was a way to encourage young Māori to be proud of being Māori … young …

30 March 2019 — Not airforce and not an Orion : We live not very far from an Air Base so seeing military craft flying low is pretty common. The other day I spotted one I hadn’t seen before. Its RNZAF markings, and my poor visual discrimination, led me to misidentify it as an Orion. Thanks to …

29 March 2019 — : Interesting read: Personal blogs: the elements of structure

29 March 2019 — : And, indeed, the weed-spraying has already started next door. I’m a little surprised they spray even with cows in the same paddock. They’re spraying meturon, organosilicone and congest. One targets gorse, the other lupins.

29 March 2019 — : I’d say this is the helicopter that is going to spray gorse and lupins in the paddock next door to us soon. The pilot gave me a cheery wave as they passed.

29 March 2019 — : Darn it! Last night as friends and I drove to Levin for dinner a truck passed going the other way. Next moment a loud thump left this chip in my car’s windscreen. I’ll need to get it assessed. Luckily our insurance will replace glass …

29 March 2019 — : Recently this plane flew low on its way south. Royal NZ Air Force Z3546. Update: it’s a DC3. More info to come. My research leads to: Lockheed P-3K2 Orion. surveillance & reconnaissance of NZ’s areas of economic interest … (including …

28 March 2019 — : Crikey! I’m often overwhelmed with 1 acre and no cows. Chatted with our neighbour: he looks after 800 acres, 350 milking cows, a bunch of other stock, and it’s just him! Good news is he’ll be doing weed control by us soon. Too much …

28 March 2019 — : Some mornings, when you live next to a beef and dairy farm, you wake up to find two young steers tromping around in your yard.

28 March 2019 — : The first video episode of Lingthusiasm was really interesting: Why do we gesture when we talk?. I had no idea there was so much to gesturing. If you’re interested in language you should give Lingthusiasm a try. It’s been audio only up till now.

27 March 2019 — : Whew, I’m still completing the move of my Love Waikawa Beach community focused website to Micro.blog from its previous WordPress home, but if you enjoy photos from around our beach take a look. Especially look at: Birds, Beach Creatures, River …

27 March 2019 — : Scientists Discover Signs of New Neurons Developing Even in Adult Brains Human beings grow new brain cells throughout their late adult life, a new study shows, even continuing when people are approaching their 90s. Note: the oldest person studied …

27 March 2019 — : The Gender Spectrum Collection: Stock Photos Beyond the Binary The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. Via Anna Rothschild.

26 March 2019 — : Oh, turns out there were only 23 videos in the whole playlist. Unfortunately it didn’t cover including images (I really want to be able to use a header image). Excellent tutorial though and I definitely recommend it. Needs slight familiarity …

26 March 2019 — : I’ve been watching the Introduction to Hugo videos from Mike Dane and am up to #22. They’re really good. Problems so far: typos (mine) working in the wrong folder / directory files from previous videos ‘interfering’. I don’t yet …

26 March 2019 — : Sometimes the dogs and I are lucky and we have the 10 Km of beach between Ōtaki and Kuku all to ourselves. To be honest: I think I saw a couple of dots 2 km away north of the river mouth, but that could have just been driftwood.

26 March 2019 — : Yesterday with cleaning, dog walking, mowing, mulching, planting, watering I did 300% of my daily move goal. Today I’m only too aware!

25 March 2019 — : Returning from the beach, we saw these excellent textured clouds in the east.

25 March 2019 — : I don’t want to lose my rights, but at the end of the day, this is actually not about a part of society losing its rights. It’s about the whole of society maintaining their freedom. — Founder of Swazi Outdoor Apparel, who has high …

25 March 2019 — A start on customising a Micro.Blog theme : I want to customise the theme for my Micro.Blog hosted Love Waikawa Beach community website. This has set me on the track of first, several hours of head-bashing, and second, learning about Hugo and themes. Here’s what I’ve found so far, …

24 March 2019 — : Are you a weapon? Pat yourself down. Another excellent cartoon from Sharon Murdoch subsequent to the Christchurch NZ shooting attack that killed or injured 100 people at mosques on 15 March 2019.

24 March 2019 — : Why Time moves faster as we age Days seemed to last longer in your youth because the young mind receives more images during one day than the same mind in old age.

23 March 2019 — : We live at the beach so things rust and degrade quickly. That includes items like the cheap toilet roll holder that fell apart a week or two ago. Today I removed the clamp thing that had held it and installed a bamboo replacement. That shouldn’t …

22 March 2019 — : It’s been ages since I went for a bike ride, but today seemed like a good day for it. Here’s my bike at the all-purpose entrance to the beach (ie vehicles, horses), with a plethora of warning signs. Kāpiti Island in the background.

21 March 2019 — : Prior attacks in New Zealand: 1881 … Crown troops invaded … Parihaka and decimated the village. 1864, Crown troops set fire to a whare karakia (church) in Rangiaowhia during morning prayer, incinerating non-combatants, including tamariki …

20 March 2019 — : There were a couple of really noisy magpies by the house this evening. This one sat on a driftwood sculpture. Meanwhile my 17 year old cat, Aphra, was just hanging out nearby.

20 March 2019 — : Wow, a group of 3 low-flying Hercules aircraft just passed overhead, all trailing smoke. Someone else got this quick video: www.facebook.com/charlie.s… One photo with my zoom lens and Fuji X-T2, the other with iPhone 7.

20 March 2019 — : Roughly once a week I go to Ōtaki where we own a house we rent out to a long-term tenant. It’s my job to mow the small lawn round the back and to weed the front ‘beach scene' garden. I don’t think the neighbours, who all have real or fake …

19 March 2019 — : Catherine Trundle: believing oneself to be non-racist is now simply not enough. We have to be anti-racist, and that requires … publicly rejecting hatred…It also requires us to take a deep look at how the structures of our society embed racism into …

19 March 2019 — : Dame Anne Salmond: white supremacy is a black strand woven through our history as a nation. … it’s not the only legacy we have. From the outset, ideas of justice and kindness, equality and mutual respect have provided a counterpoint to greed …

18 March 2019 — : Apologies for the duplication. I just reposted two posts from this morning, but this time to the correct blog. The other blog will disappear again soon.

18 March 2019 — : What a gorgeous morning! Clear skies, inversion layer over the paddocks, sun about to rise.

18 March 2019 — : Mondays I check the level in our rainwater tank. It doesn’t rain much in the summer months here. I drop a plastic cup on a string till it touches the water, measure the string and do a few sums. We have less than 10,000 litres left, but good …

18 March 2019 — : Some background: I was brought up Church of England but as a teenager rejected that and am not religious at all. I believe in people’s freedom to worship as they see fit for themselves though. I aspire to be an actively decent human being.

18 March 2019 — : My reading suggests Islam is very pragmatic: Fasting is obligatory for every physically & mentally capable mature Muslim. Children (& some others) are exempt. annual charity is an obligation on every Muslim who meets certain criteria (eg … …

18 March 2019 — : I thought to start to educate myself about some of my fellow Kiwis: The Arabic word “Islam” literally means “submission” to the one true God (Allah) alone. … One who voluntarily surrenders their will to God is called a Muslim, who can be from any …

18 March 2019 — : You get them all posed, then one looks away. Photo: my dogs Sasha and Oshi on the back seat of the car, with guest Willow beside them. 🐶

18 March 2019 — : OK, I’ve now sent two posts to / from the wrong blog! Must be time to cancel that blog under my account and put it in its own account. I didn’t realise this would be so confusing or hard. 😒

17 March 2019 — : Yes. “they are us and we are them”.

17 March 2019 — : I was shocked to learn it’s legal in NZ for civilians to own automatic weapons. No civilian should have them. The gunman responsible for the terrorist attacks on mosques …held a standard firearms licence that allowed him to own limited power …

16 March 2019 — Our Prime Minister speaks of shared values : Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern speaks the heart of New Zealand: These [attackers] are people who I would describe as having extremist views that have absolutely no place in New Zealand and in fact have no place in the world. … Our thoughts …

16 March 2019 — : Our dog Oshi, outside: woof. Guest Willow: WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF. Me: Picks up Willow and brings her in. “Hush. No barking.” Oshi: Heh, why keep a dog and bark yourself?

16 March 2019 — : These beautiful white fungi appeared in the vege garden yesterday. Today they’re past their best.

15 March 2019 — : Ugh. Police have been dealing with 2 shootings at 2 mosques in Christchurch We can confirm there have been a number of fatalities. We cannot at this stage confirm the precise number but it is significant. So far, 4 people, 3 men and a woman, …

15 March 2019 — : This is appalling, wherever in the world it takes place. It’s almost inconceivable that it would happen in New Zealand though. Armed police have been deployed after shots were fired at a mosque where hundreds of people were praying near Hagley …

15 March 2019 — : Well! Space port ‘could be feasible’ in NZ in 10 years it’s a serious possibility that New Zealand could be the launch site for companies like Space X or Virgin Galactic, should space tourism ideas become a reality.

15 March 2019 — : Wow! Fascinating video: Polishing a Pink Mega Diamond by Periodic Table of Videos. This 13 minute video looks at how diamonds are cut and polished. It’s an amazing process — immensely delicate and time consuming, and sometimes too hard for machines …

14 March 2019 — : This year I’m still learning Te Reo Māori, but with much more enjoyment. Instead of a night-class it’s distance learning. Since I habitually wake around 4.30 or 5 am, evenings are my worst brain time. Now I can learn at 6 am! Hooray for …

14 March 2019 — : Today’s beach walk netted me several kinds of wildlife. 1] A gang of pukeko who strolled across the road in front of my car. 3 remained by the time I took my iPhone out. 2] A 1.2 metre shark, dead on the beach. 3] A group of 3 horse riders with …

13 March 2019 — : Now, 25 years later, I need two hands to count the number of fictional women who inspire me — the likes of Captain Marvel, Captain Kathryn Janeway, Supergirl, Xena and Gabrielle, Captain Sharon Raydor, President Laura Roslyn, Wonder Woman… Sometime …

13 March 2019 — : In that very first episode of Xena Warrior Princess in 1995 I anxiously held my breath. I was waiting for the inevitable disappointing moment when a man would ‘rescue' her. But it never came. And so the modern age of hero women in TV and movies came …

13 March 2019 — : As a kid I loved sci-fi and space. I grew up with Star Trek: The Original Series. I followed all the US space missions, including the first landing on the moon. But at some point I watched the movie Logan’s Run and its utter sexism put me off …

13 March 2019 — : I remain impressed with TV Show Supergirl. S4E14 has real-life politics and personal struggles. Examples: How does Agent Alex do her duty and protect a man whose views she abhors? What do peaceful protestors do when a fringe faction bring violence? …

12 March 2019 — : I heard a large plane, looked up and spotted this Royal New Zealand Air Force C130 Hercules aircraft flying very low very nearby. I whipped out my iPhone and asked Siri to take a photo. The plane went behind a tree at that moment. Then it emerged and …

12 March 2019 — : We live on the south side of where the Waikawa River flows into the sea. We seldom walk on the north side, but today was such a day. The landscape there's a bit different. The map screenshot shows the area north and west of the village where we …

12 March 2019 — : It was a nice surprise to get a shout-out on Episode 52 of the Micro Monday Podcast. Quail FTW! Photos: the newest Quail chick, Glee, hatched on 24 February 2019, on Day One and now on Day 16. She’s grown so much! 🐦 4 quail eggs, one looking …

12 March 2019 — : I hope we don’t have any really shaky earthquakes between now and mid-winter. I tried a new stacking approach to our 3 cubic metres of firewood. Let’s just say I won’t try that way again.

11 March 2019 — Mystery helicopter moves : The Ohakea Air Base is about 60 Km north-ish of us, if you fly a straight line. That would take an NH90 Helicopter about 15 minutes at moderate speed. Also, we’re pretty much on the flight path between Ohakea and Wellington, the capital city of …

11 March 2019 — : Handy: 14 Siri Tricks You Can Use Right Now. I frequently use some already, but new to me: retrieve passwords, translate, dictionary, find friends, take a panorama, find photos, turn on flashlight. Some great timesavers here.

11 March 2019 — : Yesterday’s late afternoon trip to the beach netted me these 3 iPhone photos: Shining sea with boat in the distance. Driftwood and dark clouds. View East from the beach track: dunes, houses, dark clouds. Our house is behind the closest …

10 March 2019 — : I’m so much enjoying The Orville TV show. I forget I’m not watching Star Trek. In the latest ep I was expecting a last-second beam out, but hey, it’s not Star Trek. Season One was fun. Season Two has matured nicely. Not too heavy, but still thought …

10 March 2019 — : One more on NZ history, at Kindle Loc 2625: Contact [with] foreigners began with Abel Tasman in 1642, but so briefly, and then with such a long pause, that it really began again with the first voyage of Captain James Cook in 1769. Source: Tangata …

10 March 2019 — : I’m reading Tangata Whenua: A History to learn more about the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. 📚 I may cite snippets, such as this one at Kindle Loc 661: The best estimate for New Zealand … was colonisation in the period …

09 March 2019 — : A very interesting 5 minute video: Why are All Voice Assistants Female? So why are all voice assistants female then? There’s science behind it, but there is also just a lot of bias behind it too. It’s still International Women’s Day …

08 March 2019 — : I have too many domain names, too many websites and too many email addresses. That’s bad for the bank balance. I need to figure out how to trim all this down.

08 March 2019 — : The first mistake I made with my Japanese Quail was to buy a rabbit hutch and run to house them. A raised house was reached by a ramp, and a wire run was on either side. Quail won’t go up a ramp. They stay on the ground. I ended up dismantling it and …

07 March 2019 — : Today I caught baby Glee ‘in the wild’, ie, in their house, and she posed nicely. Quail have no prey sense and no homing instinct. You have to keep quail fenced or they’ll just be gone. Mind you, when one escaped recently I found her trying to …

07 March 2019 — : Some bizarre cropping afflicted that photo yesterday of 10-day old quail chick Glee, getting even more white feathers. So, here she is again, this time not headless. 🐦

06 March 2019 — : I enjoyed Captain Marvel. It had humanity, humour and heart along with the fights and chases and whatnot. I’ve left feeling ‘warm’. 😻

06 March 2019 — : Quail chick Glee is getting more white feathers by the day. 10 days old and does not like me picking her up! 🐦

06 March 2019 — : Well, I finally sent out the community newsletter for February. Now to start on the March issue. We had a glitch around approvals. A surprisingly large number of things happen around here.

05 March 2019 — : While I’ve run out of day before I’ve run out of things I planned or hoped to do, I feel pretty pleased with what I have achieved today. 👍

05 March 2019 — : My quail are Coturnix Coturnix as in the photo of the bird in the hand below. 🐦 They’re similar to, but not the same as, California Quail, with the distinctive curl on the head: California quail, adult male. Photographed by Yathin sk, in Point …

04 March 2019 — : Glee's feathers are coming along nicely. 🐦

03 March 2019 — : To get a decent photo of quail chick Glee, now 7 days old, I had to grab her then hold the squirmer in one hand while snapping shots with the other. I love the ‘not amused’ look in the last photo. Photos: yellow quail chick starting to …

03 March 2019 — : Hard to believe it’s taken this long for women to be acknowledged like this: shearer Emily Welch won the first Golden Shears event for women yesterday … at the 59th championships … The 39-year-old… holds the women’s world record of 648 …

02 March 2019 — : Ironic really, when you’re at a dead stop in the now usual congestion. 90 minutes to reach Otaki. Normally a 15 minute drive. The sign says: Horowhenua are you moving here.

01 March 2019 — : I was about to hammer in stakes to support frost cloth when I spotted this large Paper Wasp nest only a few centimetres away. Fly spray dealt to them quite quickly.

01 March 2019 — : This is my friend Willow whose people are dealing with a family emergency today. After a morning on her own, I’m allowed to take her for a walk then home with me. After her favourite dog treat though. 😎 🐶

01 March 2019 — : What a splendid morning at the beach!

01 March 2019 — : I think someone mentioned the other day that there aren't enough cat photos round here? Aphra. 😀 🐈

28 February 2019 — : This is a good start: Auckland Council will be lobbying the government to stop the sale of private fireworks. Last year Fire and Emergency received more than 100 firework-related calls on Guy Fawkes day, the highest number since 2012. Now other …

27 February 2019 — : Is it possible to have too many photos of a baby quail? Here's baby Glee at 3 days. 🐦

27 February 2019 — : I’d forgotten how big a pile 15 cubic metres of mulch makes. Most went down by the gate, a (too) small portion arrived at the top of the drive, by the house. Now I have a lot of work ahead of me.

27 February 2019 — : Pleased to see baby Quail, Glee, up and about this morning, strolling through the chick food. This is Day Three. Last night wasn’t so cold and I moved the run to fresh grass and with a deep pile of fresh straw in their house. 🐦

26 February 2019 — : Quail chick Glee, 2 days old, is thriving. 🐦

26 February 2019 — : Brrrr: that's a chilly summer morning: 3.4C.

25 February 2019 — : Little Glee is an excellent quail chick. She’s 1 day old and looking strong and healthy. Her wonderful mother, Felicia, is looking after her carefully. Glee is yellow now so will grow up to be white. One stripy chick hatched but died without …

24 February 2019 — : Periodic Videos comes up trumps again: Diamonds Uncut The Professor looks at uncut diamonds of all shapes and sizes. 10 minute video showing diamonds being sorted by hand in Moscow. Also fluorescence caused by nitrogen, shapes, and more.

24 February 2019 — : Quail mystery solved. Two eggs from 06 February have hatched. The two from 05 February are still there, and someone had laid a new egg! I doubt the two from the 5th will hatch now.

24 February 2019 — : Little quail chick Glee is up and about and pecking for food. Three of the original 4 eggs remain. So where did this wee dead chick come from? Was Glee a twin? Could twins even be different colours?

24 February 2019 — : I was investigating what looked like a hard boiled quail egg beside mother Felicia when she moved. Welcome to the world baby quail Glee! 🐦

24 February 2019 — : Ahhh, starting the day with my favourite morning tea, China Snowbuds quality white tea buds from the Fujian province in China. The taste is dry and sweet, a treat for the tea connoisseur and lovers of white tea.

23 February 2019 — : Well, we were meant to go to Kāpiti Island (nature reserve) tomorrow for an overnight stay but the trip’s been cancelled because the weather forecast is for gales, high seas, cold and rain. It’s a bit of a relief as perhaps 4 quail chicks …

22 February 2019 — : So glad the Mothers of Invention podcast is back for Season 2. Join former Irish President Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins in this uplifting new podcast, celebrating amazing women doing remarkable things in pursuit of climate justice.

22 February 2019 — A high-ranking female Viking warrior : Luckily genetic analysis has overridden the sexism of a bunch of archaeologists who assumed that a Viking warrior must be male because they thought only males could be warriors. Apparently there's still pushback, but hooray for genes! Already in the …

21 February 2019 — : Dashed off to brush my teeth during the long ads in an online TV show. Had a sudden memory of the first 40 or so years of my life when if you weren’t in front of the TV set while something was playing you just plain old missed it. How things have …

20 February 2019 — : Last week I watched the sun set over our beach. This morning I watched a full moon set over the beach. The dogs and I arrived just in time.

19 February 2019 — : Excellent 7 minute video from Tom Scott: Why Denmark Is .07 Seconds Behind The World Measuring time is a complicated thing. Computers, banks, and stock markets in Denmark all use UTC, the international standard: but according to the law, they …

18 February 2019 — : Fascinating, thought-provoking 20 minute video: What is the Oldest Mummy in the World? The Ask A Mortician videos are always so interesting.

18 February 2019 — : Today's quail update: sometimes a bird will lay an egg that has no shell around the internal protective membrane (Photo 1). Last week's unusually large egg (13 grams) produced a double-yolker (Photo 2). 🐦

17 February 2019 — : This unusual (to me) dead fish on the beach this morning may be a Black Oreo Dory. large-eyed, silvery, deep-bodied, laterally compressed, and roughly discoid marine fish Look at those teeth! This fish is all head and no body.

15 February 2019 — : I’ve spent much of the day in bed as I’ve been feeling odd all day — a bit dizzy perhaps. On a rare trip ‘out’ I saw and heard baby quail Flop crowing. I guess that’s his sex sorted out then. Fliss almost certainly laid an egg this week, …

14 February 2019 — : There were interesting clouds at dusk tonight — braided and wave-like.

14 February 2019 — : Today’s XKCD comic has to be one of my favourites.

14 February 2019 — : Many thanks for the birthday wishes @brentsimmons, @yorrike, @pratik, @aclaman, @dejus, @macgenie and @cheri. I feel proud to have made it to 64, though my goal is 100, now 13,150 days away! 😎

13 February 2019 — : It seemed fitting on the eve of my 64th birthday to go down to the beach and watch the sun set. It was a gorgeous evening!

13 February 2019 — : Felicia is a very dedicated mother. She's sitting on 5 eggs I've left with her. In a couple of weeks they *might* hatch. 🐦

13 February 2019 — : Hen egg vs quail egg. The last hen eggs we bought are jumbo size. In the photo I put a regular size Coturnix quail egg next to the smallest of the jumbo eggs. The hen eggs are in a normal egg box. Those for the quail are in a cute ‘chocolate' box a …

13 February 2019 — : Found: The women mathematicians responsible for calculating ballistics tables for missiles being used by allied forces in World War 2. (The Top-Secret, Female Computers of World War II)

12 February 2019 — : Also on the beach today this probable green-lipped mussel, with brown ‘beard’.

12 February 2019 — : I haven’t seen any penguins on our beach — until today with this dead one. 😒 Someone had marked its location with a driftwood cross of sorts. The bird was roughly 48 cm from beak tip to ‘tail’ end. 🐦

11 February 2019 — : Florence and Felicia are two of last year’s quail. One of them laid the middle egg in the photo of 3 eggs. It’s a normal size for a quail egg (11 grams). Spot is from the previous year, and Fliss is now 7 weeks old. This tiny egg (9 …

10 February 2019 — : Today I separated the quail into two groups in separate runs. Poor little baby Flop has been badly bullied by Fatima, the male, meanwhile her mother Felicia is sitting on 5 eggs. I’ve kept Florence, a good, steady girl with them. Fatima, baby Fliss …

09 February 2019 — : Clever Siri. I said: “Hey Siri, remind me to move the lime tree in Autumn”. Siri scheduled my reminder for 09:00 on 21 March this year. Technically the first day of Autumn. Perfect.

08 February 2019 — : The beach was looking a bit gorgeous this morning. I had just dug in those sticks to help mark the track. In the distance is Kāpiti Island, which friends and we will be staying on overnight in a few weeks time. It’s a protected island where …

08 February 2019 — : Yesterday this fishing vessel was working *really* close to shore. A good swimmer could have easily reached it. Apparently they can come as close as they like until they reach their quota limit.

06 February 2019 — How to get list bullets on the Home Page with Marfa theme : The other day I wrote a post with a list in it. Mysteriously, it showed up on the Home Page of my Micro.blog-based blog without any list bullets. I use the Marfa theme. That was disconcerting and I tried a few things with Custom CSS to sort it out. …

05 February 2019 — : At our beach we sometimes get Bluebottle jellies and By The Wind sailors, but I haven't before seen these small clear jellies. There weren't loads of them, but I spotted maybe a dozen on our brief walk. The biggest was maybe a hand-span.

05 February 2019 — : Our current neighbours were looking gorgeous this morning. Photo: 2 brown horses and a black horse standing in a row. The black horse has an eye problem, hence the patch.

05 February 2019 — : Yesterday’s wasp sting was painful at the time, but I washed and iced it and it seemed OK. Today my arm's slightly swollen at the sting site, and a bit tender. More icing. Antihistamines were suggested but I truly despise taking them… So many wasps …

04 February 2019 — : Moments of the day, Monday 04 February 2019 an hour watering the garden alone on the beach with the dogs dug out a small gorse bush got stung by a wasp (ouch!) an hour mowing tidied items in the garage wrote a blog post for our community read …

03 February 2019 — : Last night I really enjoyed the movie Victoria & Abdul. It was a lot lighter than I expected. The excesses and racism of British ‘royal society’ of the time were ghastly, and left me as a born-English person feeling ashamed and horrified. Judi …

02 February 2019 — Lunch Letdowns near Levin : Yesterday I tried out Whispers Cafe in Levin. I had a hot chocolate, with fish and chips. I'd have to say the meal was fine, but somehow it didn't work. The hot chocolate was fine, and I'd have one again. The Pan Fried Crumbed Fish served with garden …

02 February 2019 — : Loved this 10 minute video: Nature Mythology From Around the World This week on Nature League, Brit and Adrian re-enact mythology tales about plants and animals from around world.

01 February 2019 — : LOL, Kāpiti Coast District Council has put up ‘selfie’ posts in scenic locations. How to selfie - with Parks Officer Mark is fun. Watch to the end. 1 minute 30 seconds video.

31 January 2019 — : Ares and Aphra relax in front of the house. 🐈

31 January 2019 — : Watched: The Poor Man of Nippur - World’s first film in Babylonian …a c. 3,000 year-old comic folk tale in Babylonian language. …a clay tablet from 701 BC …. tells the story of the three-fold revenge which Gimil-Ninurta wreaks on the local …

31 January 2019 — : Wonderful to step outside just before dawn to see a crescent Moon partnered up with Jupiter and Venus in the Northeast. Quick iPhone photo for the memories.

30 January 2019 — Hooray for nuns, and magic water : In 1963 our family moved from London, England to New Zealand. I recall very little about where I was born and lived to the age of 8, but today thought to search out information. It turns out, it's rather cool: Muswell Hill is a suburban district of …

29 January 2019 — : When it feels more like Samoa or something than not too far from Wellington, New Zealand. Screenshot: temperature is 26 but feels like 36. Celsius.

24 January 2019 — : Apparently this little critter I found on the side of the house this evening is a Small field grasshopper. Conocephalus bilineatus is a small winged member of the conehead katydids of the genus Conocephalus and is found throughout New Zealand. It …

24 January 2019 — : Read: What to do when your personal blog becomes a burden: 6 tips : When your personal blog becomes a burden: make new rules and lose blogger guilt.

24 January 2019 — : This kōtuku ngutupapa, Spoonbill, pair were on the grass today and I was able to be fairly close. Don't they look fine! And look at them showing off their spoon bills. 🐦

23 January 2019 — : These three cheerful Tirairaka sitting on a log were one of two purchases from the recent Ōtaki Pottery Show. Tirairaka are also known as Piwakawaka or Fantails. We have live ones round here too. I haven't managed a photo of a live one yet. 🐦

21 January 2019 — : Today it’s almost 4 weeks since the quail chicks hatched so we integrated the flock again. The trick seems to be to move everyone to fresh ground. The male’s been asserting himself over everyone. Can you see the 3 stripy and 3 white quail …

19 January 2019 — : Evidence of voyaging Polynesians settling in Aotearoa more than 700 years ago. An excavation at Mangahawea Bay on Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand … Carbon dating puts the first inhabitants in the area around 1300AD… Much more …

19 January 2019 — : Sir Kim Workman on his fight for criminal justice reform When I was about 20, training to be a teacher, we visited a prison for young men. I was shocked to learn many had such terrible lives prison was the only place they had 3 meals a day and …

18 January 2019 — : Looking good, kōtuku ngutupapa, the Spoonbill! 🐦

17 January 2019 — : Clearly the shutter speed was too slow when I took photos of these horses being ridden along the beach this morning. I rather like the blurry leg (and even blurry rider) effect though.

16 January 2019 — : The minute quantities along with the enormous prices are mind-boggling in this 10 minute video: Milking the Thorium Cow - Periodic Table of Videos

16 January 2019 — : A dog walk in the trees across the river got us a view of the shag colony, where there are baby shags. I think this is a juvenile Little Shag. Look at those knuckles gripping the tree branch! 🐦

16 January 2019 — : As time has passed there are 2 things that frustrate me enormously in the Micro.Blog Mac app: I can’t zoom images and when I choose to Reply I can’t see the original post. Just saying… Otherwise, it’s my main way of reading and …

16 January 2019 — 4 years of daily selfies, and counting… : Somewhere around 01 January 2015 I realised that of the thousands of photos in my albums only a handful had me in them. I decided to take a selfie every day — not for publication, just for reference. And that's what I've done. Sometimes I even …

16 January 2019 — : Bad error messages can kill companies: An Amazon suspension message lists an item along with a tangentially related category of infraction, like “used sold as new.” … Actually it’s usually nothing to do with the item being used, but something …

15 January 2019 — : Susan Bennett was the original voice for Apple’s Siri, the first AI assistant on a cell phone. It was 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, of reading pages and pages of these nonsensical things … These sentences had to be read very, very …

14 January 2019 — When men won't even let women relieve themselves… : People without a safe place to go to the bathroom can die because of unsanitary conditions. A 2016 study in India found that women who defecate in the open are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted by a stranger as those who have a toilet in their …

14 January 2019 — : So sad women have to endure this: 18 year old refugee woman Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun renounced Islam, which is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. Under the male guardianship system, a Saudi woman is required to obtain a male relative’s …

13 January 2019 — : We had a delicious and reasonably priced meal at Prah Ta Pang in Waikanae last night. I chose E4. Guireau Chha (Stir Fry Rice Noodle) Chicken, pork or beef with, rice noodle, bean sprout, peanuts, chilli, cabbage with egg on top. No photo as it …

12 January 2019 — : We went to see Bohemian Rhapsody tonight. Initially a bit reluctant, I really enjoyed it. And, of course, the music was excellent.

12 January 2019 — : A new word I learned today: enchiridion — a book containing essential information on a subject. Thanks to Micro.wiki.

12 January 2019 — : What a good thing: On the websites of many New Zealand companies women can now access information about the services offered by Women’s Refuge via a web page which will leave no trace in the browser history.

11 January 2019 — : I seem to be answering a lot of these challenges lately: all the squares with cars or roads or whatever. I just want to say: damn it, I don’t want to do your thing anyway. Seems to me a robot would be the only one happy with these. Screenshot: …

11 January 2019 — : Something I learned yesterday when asked to publish a community notice about a missing cat: not only can cats get asthma, but sometimes they use inhalers. 🐈 Screenshot: excerpts from a text message sequence about an asthmatic cat.

10 January 2019 — : 6 conventional blogging tips that may make sense for personal blogs: certain time-honoured tips apply to every blog, including personal bloggers. …Write for yourself first; Stay true to your voice; Be patient; Write catchy headlines; Engage with …

10 January 2019 — : Because women are overlooked & unsupported, & because her work is excellent, I’ve set up my first Patreon sub. BrainCraft science videos are superb. understand more about your brain, body and behaviour and how we can all navigate this …

10 January 2019 — : Women are routinely erased from history, but occasionally they resurface: more evidence female monastics were not only literate, but also prolific producers and consumers of books during the Middle Ages. … a female scribe in 12th-century Bavaria … …

10 January 2019 — : When I was a kid, back in the 60s, you could drive a long way and scarcely see another car. We had one short stretch like that yesterday on our drive from Whangārei to Waikawa Beach. NZ’s population could hit 5 million by end of [2019]. … The …

09 January 2019 — : Hard to believe that just over 12 hours ago we were in Whangārei. The drive home was smooth, in spite of diverting via Rotorua. We were lucky that we were just leaving lunch when a fatal accident closed the road ahead of us at Putaruru. Photo: …

09 January 2019 — : Today we set off for home. It’s a bit over 700 Km, or 10 hours driving. Chances are we’ll stop overnight somewhere. With dogs in the car we take frequent breaks anyway.

08 January 2019 — : At AH Reed park in Whangārei there is a merely 500 year old Kauri tree. There’s also an obligatory shoe cleaning station, on account of kauri dieback disease. Photos: shoe cleaning station; 500 year old kauri; information board about the …

08 January 2019 — : The Otuihau Whangārei waterfall is 26.3m high and falls over basalt cliffs.

08 January 2019 — : Yesterday at the Whangarei Kiwi House and Museum I saw an actual Brown Kiwi feeding. The need for dark and quiet meant no photos allowed. This Victorian taxidermied bird with replica real-size egg will have to do. 🐦

07 January 2019 — : Giant Kokopu at the Whangarei Kiwi House and Museum. A coastal species of fish endemic to New Zealand.

07 January 2019 — : 3 baby and 2 adult Oystercatchers at Uretiti Beach near Whangarei. 🐦

07 January 2019 — : Photo: looking at Hen and Chicken Islands from Uretiti dog beach near Marsden Point (on the Bream Bay coast). It's an East Coast beach.

07 January 2019 — : 10 blogging guidelines that don’t apply to personal blogs You are blogging to express yourself, make friends, develop your own ideas, learn about other lives, expand your understanding of the world, get advice or support, offer advice and support to …

06 January 2019 — : The Hokianga Harbour is astonishingly beautiful.

06 January 2019 — : A single photo just can’t show how huge Tāne Mahuta is.

06 January 2019 — : Today we aim to visit Tāne Mahuta, a tree that stood on this land for 1,000 years before people arrived and is still standing strong.

06 January 2019 — : www.radionz.co.nz Stewart Island named a Dark Sky Sanctuary

05 January 2019 — : The Whangarei Basin is a lovely spot on a very hot Saturday morning. The market stalls had variety.

05 January 2019 — : Hah, haven't seen one of these nice timeline adjacencies since I left Twitter. What will drive you? This Maserati?

05 January 2019 — : Our friends in Whangarei have the most beautiful Belgian Shepherd dog. About 5 years old. 🐶

04 January 2019 — : We were suddenly presented with these two huge sculptures on a hill as we rounded a corner (but couldn't take photos till we were down the hill). Absolutely stunning, along with others, including the one like a deckchair. By Kaipara Harbour, and a …

04 January 2019 — : As we crossed the Bombay Hills yesterday farmers were harvesting spring onions. What a stench! I’d hate to live downwind of that.

04 January 2019 — : We had a good night in Auckland with a friend, but today we head for our ultimate destination: Whangarei. It’s only another 3 hours I believe, traffic willing.

03 January 2019 — : We stopped along the Desert Road (just before the best viewing spot…) and I hauled out the good camera with the zoom lens for a couple of shots of Mt Ruapehu. Amazing to think we can sometimes see the very top of this from our kitchen window. …

03 January 2019 — : Huntly coal fired power station looks good. We also saw a train load of coal arriving. Time for this one to cease production.

03 January 2019 — : We stopped at Oruatua on the East side of Lake Taupo for the dogs to have a walk.

03 January 2019 — : Ruapehu was looking fine as we drove the Desert Road.

03 January 2019 — : A couple of hours driving brought us to breakfast at Taihape. They’re still waking up here.

02 January 2019 — : Quail chicks Day 7. They seem to be exchanging baby fluff for feathers. Photos: yellow chick and stripey chick looking patchy and scruffy. 🐦

01 January 2019 — : Today Fliss, the 6 day old stripey quail chick, is modelling for us. What a looker! Flop’s photos didn't turn out so well. 🐦

01 January 2019 — : Angel Wings. Photo: a white Royal Spoonbill takes flight from the lagoon at Waikawa Beach. 🐦

31 December 2018 — : Well, at almost 11pm I’m finding it hard to believe that 2019 is about to begin. Best wishes for this new year about to launch. May we all find peace and fulfillment.

31 December 2018 — : These baby quail, born 5 days ago now, remain unbearably cute. Photos: yellow chick peeking out from under mum’s wing; yellow chick makes a blade of grass look huge; watchful mum with stripy chick head-down in front of her; stripy chick …

31 December 2018 — : We went to see The Favourite recently and the film has stayed with me. It’s intense, unusual, and features Queen Anne and her two courtiers Sarah and Abigail who vie for the Queen’s attentions and the power that comes with that. All …

31 December 2018 — Women and rebels honoured : Look what happens when you get a government that is actually working for people, rather than the rich and business: a New Year's Honours List evenly split between women and men and covering a huge swathe of social concerns. There are scientists in …

30 December 2018 — : Whew. It took nearly 24 hours but I’ve finally modified the Comment form on our Community WordPress website to: remove URL field, improve some wording, add a required radio button for where the commenter usually lives. So blimmin hard!

29 December 2018 — : Thank you Inoreader and BBEdit! After searching all over for a way to capture items from a single RSS feed (Word of the Day in Māori) and save them, I found I could show Read items, select all, copy and paste to BBEdit where cleanup was trivial. …

28 December 2018 — : Little Flop, in her third day, finds straw a bit of a challenge. Photo: yellow quail chick in straw. 🐦

28 December 2018 — : Little Fliss, in her third day, is so photogenic. Photo: stripy baby Japanese quail. 🐦

26 December 2018 — : A few hours later: Mother quail, Felicia, and babies Fliss and Flop are doing fine.

26 December 2018 — Birds can change sex : Sex Reversal in Chickens Kept in Small and Backyard Flocks - eXtension tells us (of chickens): How does spontaneous sex reversal occur? Typically, a female chicken has only one functional ovary, the left one. The right ovary and oviduct are …

26 December 2018 — : The MOST exciting thing: we unexpectedly have 2 baby quail! Especially unexpected since the adults are all female (but apparently birds can change sex). They are soooo cute.

25 December 2018 — : Dark mode was so hyped that I switched to it immediately on installing Mojave when it was released. I really really tried to like it but have found much relief in turning it off again. Ahh, nice clean, easy-to-read screen. Screenshot: light mode.

25 December 2018 — : Are you familiar with earth — a visualization of global weather conditions? I visit daily. The screenshot below shows a ‘river’ of rain arcing down to New Zealand from the tropics. This time last year we were in a declared drought. …

25 December 2018 — : This Micro Monday I’d like to mention @smokey who is thoughtful, generous, interesting, and a pillar of this community.

24 December 2018 — : As a contribution to our shared lunch with friends tomorrow I’ve made Lemon Butter Biscuits and Gingerbread Dinosaurs. Unfortunately Halide, while a fab photo app for iPhone, sometimes loses photos. The butter biscuits photo is before cooking. …

24 December 2018 — : The Levin dog park, next to Lake Horowhenua, is splendid: 50,000 square metres (12 acres), fully fenced, large and small open areas, shaded areas, loads of trees. Free poop bags, lots of bins, drinking water for dogs, seats. Wonderful!

22 December 2018 — : A “hidden figure” in the development of GPS technology has officially been honored …. Mathematician Dr. Gladys West was recognized for doing the computing responsible for creating the Geographical Positioning System, more commonly referred to as the …

22 December 2018 — The pause point : It’s 4.45 am on summer solstice. I have been awake an hour already. Sunrise will come soon, bringing more than 16 hours of daylight. I sip my tea — a Rare Kenya Silver Tip — and am eating fresh sweet strawberries from the tunnel house. A nearly full …

22 December 2018 — : Nice: 16 hours and 12 minutes of daylight today.

21 December 2018 — : After several fatalities recently, we have new signs between Waikawa Beach Road and Levin on State Highway 1. “Keep left, high crash rate.” The new soft barrier in the median strip along some stretches might help drivers behave too.

20 December 2018 — : Today’s Te Reo Māori quirk: tātahi is the beach. You don’t put a ‘te’ in front of it, just like you wouldn’t put a ‘the’ in front of a placename. So: “Kei te haere au ki tātahi.” I’m going to the beach. “Kei te haere au ki te …

20 December 2018 — : So, any thoughts about what’s heading our way and how long it’ll take to get here?

20 December 2018 — : Interesting word of the week, bdelloid: From the Ancient Greek βδέλλα (bdella, "leech"). That bd combination at the start! Can't wait for this to come up in Scrabble. Where I got this word from: a SciShow video.

20 December 2018 — : Your New Social Credit Score: A powerful 3 minute video about a possible, even likely, future. I specially like: “If you’re a citizen of Google, Facebook, or another corporation…”

19 December 2018 — : We like the horses down the road. Moose has recently joined the other two. When he's standing right beside them you can see what a big fellow he is. The other day he joined me in a selfie. Photos: 3 horses grazing in a paddock; big horse next to me …

19 December 2018 — : Drat! Last week’s sutures from a trivial excision came out today. Except for one that resisted. Now I have 4 new sutures in the middle of my back. No actual pain, but ouchy! Plus it was so muggy I may have been approaching fainting in the …

17 December 2018 — : This Micro Monday I’d like to recommend @Pip for her photos with strong and interesting shapes and @tgray for his photos, often of cats.

17 December 2018 — : At sunrise today there was a nice little inversion layer over the paddock next door. Photo: 2 black and white steers grazing in a misty paddock with flax spears in the foreground.

16 December 2018 — : One of the delights of Te Reo Māori is that it doesn’t have to suffer apostrophes. But what I was really going to say was “Good on you Ōtaki for these bilingual road works signs”.

16 December 2018 — : This morning’s beach theme: black-backed gulls and an oystercatcher on the wet sand with Kāpiti Island in the background.

14 December 2018 — : I really enjoyed Elseworlds parts 1 & 2 under the show names of Flash and Arrow. But part 3, under the name of Supergirl, was all about the boys, extra boys even. Supergirl barely even had a role. Pretty darn perturbing!

14 December 2018 — : These starlings, I think, have given themselves orange heads by dipping into the flax flowers. Photos: starlings on flowering flax spears; flowering flax spears against a green paddock and blue sky background.

14 December 2018 — : And again it’s thundery weather. These are my favourite clouds today.

14 December 2018 — : One of the best parts of this story about a homeless man in hospital in Brazil: The pups were eager, but also patient — settling at the doorway to wait for their friend. While the staff got César squared away … they … invited his dogs inside as to …

13 December 2018 — : There’s thunder in the air. Photo: low and dark clouds.

13 December 2018 — : The farmer next door is baling hay a couple of paddocks over. Hooray for a zoom lens. Photos: tractor and baling machine collecting hay, wrapping it into big round bales, putting the bales on end on the ground.

13 December 2018 — : Jean @macgenie was kind enough to send me a copy of The Sun. By the looks of these amazing night sky photos by Marc Toso there’s some good summer reading awaiting me.

11 December 2018 — : Dogs are great! Pets are being trained to detect invasive fish: “The dogs sniffed 17-samples …holding their nose by the sample … for long enough they received a treat. If they did not detect koi carp they nudged a little lever which brought around …

11 December 2018 — : On this morning’s beach walk we saw (photos) two horses, and a fishing boat. The sea was very calm.

10 December 2018 — : Bush Giant Dragonflies often come into the house at this time of year and generally can’t find their way out again. I rescued this one (2 photos) today (finger for size). It’s about 80mm long.

09 December 2018 — : In summer the dogs and I head to the beach early. It’s too hot for them by 8 am on a sunny day. Today we saw (photos) one person (a regular) swimming, and a small group with quad bike and trailer using a Kontiki for fishing. The dogs waited …

08 December 2018 — Sounds mysterious : Aha, I knew it! Well, I didn't or I wouldn't have had to look it up. What I did know was that the speaker's accent had vowels that sounded very 'pure' English, but a 'softness' that sounded Kiwi. Ella Morton is a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised, …

07 December 2018 — : The 200 funniest words in English: That sounds funny — the science behind why certain words make us laugh. Not a family-friendly list. The surprise item: “how’d”. Apparently we do complex maths while reading / listening and that’s the basis for …

06 December 2018 — : Driving past the lake this morning I caught a quick glimpse of a baby pūkeko: a tiny ball of fluff on legs. No photo, I’m afraid, but here are 2 adult pūkeko in that same spot from last year.

06 December 2018 — : What a great story, and with a surprising New Zealand connection: The Hopeful Story of a Doomed Fox, a 7 minute video from NPR’s Skunk Bear. The Island Fox in the US Channel Islands off the California coast was brought back from the brink of …

05 December 2018 — : I had an hour today with Karen, a Clinical Massage Practitioner. It turns out all the time I’ve spent using a weedeater recently (darn this warm wet ‘growing’ weather) has really taken a toll on me. She unlocked a bunch of muscles in my back, …

05 December 2018 — : $95 worth of high-quality beef mince, stir-fry and steak from my favourite Green Meadows Beef. A pleasing gift was the unexpected free pack of venison sausages.

05 December 2018 — : Oshi will be 12 next week. He finds 6.45am far too early to be awake. Photo: Oshi the dog yawning while sitting on my lap.

05 December 2018 — : Hey, a new comet, and fairly easy to spot: “On Dec. 16th, Comet 46P/Wirtanen will approach Earth less than 1.5 million km away–making it one of the 10 closest-approaching comets of the Space Age.” See it

04 December 2018 — : When you glance out the window and spot someone lurking behind the flax bush only a few metres away… Photos: brown and white and black and white steers behind a flax bush.

04 December 2018 — : These beauties are straight from our tunnel house. Photo: 6 red strawberries.

04 December 2018 — : One of my favourite loose-leaf teas is Premium China Snowbuds, a delicate white tea. Today for the first time I actually carefully followed the recommendations for making it — 80C water, steep for 2 minutes. It was stunningly delicious!

30 November 2018 — : Hayfever sounds fairly innocent: oh, you sneeze a lot. In reality it’s like a permanent bad cold: runny nose, sneezing, severely itchy throat, itchy eyes, but worst of all is the head fog and tiredness. For me lupins get past the Beconase that …

30 November 2018 — : In November lupin bushes are very pretty, loaded with bright yellow flowers … whose pollen flies straight into my eyes, nose and throat, and maybe even directly into my brain, creating itching and fogginess. Steroid shots may help. Today’s has …

30 November 2018 — : We had an early start at the beach this morning. Sasha caught today’s moment of sunshine. Photo: small black dog by a driftwood log on the beach, lit by a shaft of sun light.

25 November 2018 — : Geese fly in those gorgeous wedge-shaped skeins… but not this gang of 35 rebels. They were all over the place as they flew past today: clumps, lines, outliers, gaps. Just before landing they nearly had it, but still not really. 13 photos of geese not …

25 November 2018 — : The fishing vessel Perseverance 66110 was our companion at the beach this morning. Photo: fishing boat near shore, small waves breaking.

24 November 2018 — : The paddocks next door usually have Friesian (probably) steers. The farmer keeps his dairy herd elsewhere. Today the herd appears to have grown by one Highland cow. Photo: Highland cow with excellent horns, beside a smallish Friesian steer.

23 November 2018 — : Caught this beauty just after coming home from dinner out. Photo: full red-tinged moon rising above paddocks.

23 November 2018 — : I love the hawks that soar around here, hunting. Today, for the first time, and through a window, I managed an OK photo of one.

22 November 2018 — The bird in the range hood : I came home from shopping to hear extremely loud and continuous bird chirps in the corner of the kitchen. Odd. Outside: no birds. Inside: loud chirps. And fluttering. It sounded like it was inside the range hood: a very odd place for a bird to be. If …

22 November 2018 — : Interesting: in this 8 minute audio we hear how beatboxers make sounds, some of which are unlike any used in human language. The Quirks & Quarks podcast this comes from is one of my favourites.

21 November 2018 — : Interesting: “Sometimes, numbers on sites like YouTube and Twitter jump up and down subscriber counts lag, like-counts bounce… Why is it so hard for computers to count? To answer that, we need to talk about threading, eventual consistency, and …

21 November 2018 — : Wow, even though I knew the outcome was good, this video of a rescue of 3 people + 2 dogs by helicopter from the California fires was gut-clenching: www.lafd.org/news/lafd… Via @mlanger on Twitter.

20 November 2018 — : The farmer next door is ploughing the paddock. The crop will probably be feed for the cows who are usually in there.

17 November 2018 — Wahine Rongonui: Dame Whina Cooper : This year I've been studying Te Reo Māori, the Māori language, through Te Wananga o Aotearoa. As we come to the end of the year we have to present a short speech about a famous person. I've chosen Dame Whina Cooper, known as the Mother of …

14 November 2018 — : Those two scruffy dogs have finally had a bath and a trim. You can see their eyes again! Photos: freshly groomed small dogs.

14 November 2018 — : Looking south towards Kāpiti Island on a gorgeous morning. Meanwhile, what were these 2 scoundrels up to? Photos: view from the beach towards Kāpiti Island; two small dogs disappearing under driftwood.

13 November 2018 — : I don’t often use cash, but today’s bonus was to receive an Armistice Day centennial coin in change. Photos: New Zealand 50 cent piece with coloured poppy in the centre; diagram showing coin’s features.

13 November 2018 — : Oshi and Sasha had a great run on the beach this morning. Photos: Oshi running; Sasha running.

11 November 2018 — : Today I made a new veggie patch and planted self-sown tomatoes and celery. Emptied and moved 2 compost bins to fill an old large crate. Old tires around the edge to deter cats and rabbits. 🤞 Photos: crate garden, with tire ‘wall’, compost bins.

10 November 2018 — : In truth, sleeping dogs: Oshi and Sasha.

10 November 2018 — : Yellowhammer: “The colourful yellowhammer is a common inhabitant of open country throughout much of New Zealand. Introduced from Britain by Acclimatisation Societies between 1865 and 1879”.

10 November 2018 — : Cabbage trees, tī kōuka.

10 November 2018 — : This morning‘s haul of 5 strawberries from the tunnel house.

09 November 2018 — : From the iPhone 7, a delicate fungus I spotted in the garden this morning.

07 November 2018 — : Kiwis: sick of fireworks? A new petition to cease retail sales. Sign by 30 November 2018.

07 November 2018 — : Interesting: in that big earthquake last week the P waves arrived first, with the S waves later. “This computer simulation shows how the seismic waves of the Oct 30th 2018 magnitude 6.2 earthquake were propagated across New Zealand.”

06 November 2018 — : Who knew … apparently there’s a town in France, Le Quesnoy, that the Kiwis liberated near the end of World War 1. They remember and celebrate us, even naming various streets after things & people in NZ (eg Helen Clark Street). Approx 13 …

04 November 2018 — : I don’t fuss about regular folks writing ‘poorly’, but professionals is another matter. Radio NZ and the misplaced ‘tomorrow ‘: “The Wellington City Council will remove a tree that fell over in last night’s storm tomorrow.” Sigh.

04 November 2018 — : Urgh, this wind is a definite incentive to stay in bed. 💨

03 November 2018 — : On my Micro.blog site styling the photos also affected my avatar at the top of the page. This CSS fixed that: img#avatar {margin-top:0; padding-top:0;}

03 November 2018 — : On my Micro.blog site I didn’t like my photos being smooshed together. This CSS has helped: img {margin-top:1.5em; background-color: #ffffff; box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px gray;} It adds space and a drop-shadow. See miraz.me for how it looks.

03 November 2018 — The map mystery : Whenever a Kiwi spots a world map in the background of some News broadcast, our eye is inevitably drawn to the space where New Zealand should be. All too often we're not there! Which is why this 3 minute video is so important. 😎 NZ where the …

02 November 2018 — : I was wondering how much CO2 I save by making hyperlocal trips on my bike. This handy CO2 calculator is useful: The approximate CO2 per litre of … petrol … is … 2.31kg. We all need to cut back where we can.

02 November 2018 — On strong role models in film and tv &mdash; we need more : Here's an excellent research-based 7 minute video from BrainCraft about how important role models are: How Dana Scully Changed Science — …we take a look at the Scully Effect, … It's had the largest impact on women in STEM, but …

01 November 2018 — : Sunset, and I glanced up at the now cloud-free Tararuas to see snow on the peaks. No wonder it’s so chilly outside. Photos: pink sunset colours on snowy peaks.

01 November 2018 — That scary rain on the roof sound : It's common in New Zealand for houses to have a tin roof. In our case that's long-run Colorsteel. So when it rains heavily it can get quite noisy. This morning we had a sudden rush of almost 15mm per hour. The noise level rocketed up from 40dB to …

31 October 2018 — : Today’s beach observation: an intact sand dollar.

31 October 2018 — : This morning I stood on the deck and took photos of some of our household and neighbours. Photos: 2 black cats; brown horse eating grass with a pine tree in the background; brown and white steer eating grass in a paddock.

30 October 2018 — : Don’t mean to harp on it, but that earthquake was BIG and LONG. I’m actually shaking still. A couple of tiny items fell off a shelf and no damage I’m aware of, but wow! #eq

30 October 2018 — : Wow. If you never hear from me again it’s because I didn’t follow the rule about “Long and strong get gone”. Very big earthquake and very long. Feeling literally shaken. 6.7!!! #eq

30 October 2018 — : I enjoy the posts from @YellowCottage . They’re a great Micro Monday follow if you enjoy photos and brief videos of cats, posts about bees, and building stuff like the house for feral cats.

30 October 2018 — : Two fine looking horses were ridden past me on the beach this morning. 2 minutes and 14 seconds later one had lost its rider in the sea and was bolting for home. Beach excitement knows no bounds.

30 October 2018 — : What the heck! I always watch the Apple Events live (at 5 am, urgh!), but this next one’s at 3 am New Zealand time! Guess I’ll just be reading about it.

11 September 2018 — : Snorkelling at Utuko Reef again yesterday I just snapped loads of pictures. Between contact lenses, mask and being underwater it can be hard to see what’s in shot. This photo pleases me. 🗺🇳🇺

07 September 2018 — : Utuko Reef.

06 September 2018 — : Utuko Reef from Crazy Unga Cafe. 🗺🇳🇺

05 September 2018 — : Getting closer. The flight to Niue takes almost 3.5 hours. We cross the dateline so we arrive yesterday. 🗺 🇳🇺

11 August 2018 — : Sitting out in the sun with my little Aphra. 🐈

22 June 2018 — : Woohoo. First (frosty) sunrise on the way to mid-summer.

20 June 2018 — : This has become one of my favourite recipes: easy and quick to make, delicious to eat. I don’t eat onion so use celery instead. Red lentil, chickpea & chilli soup.

21 May 2018 — : The Netflix animated programme called Spirit is just lovely for kids — features 3 girls, probably ~13, having adventures with horses in Arizona. Friendship, bravery, skills of all kinds. I'm not the target demographic but find it enchanting.

13 May 2018 — : I’m not actually a big fan of cutesy stuff, but these Salt and Pepper shakers had a certain appeal.

01 May 2018 — : Sometimes we gets mats of small pieces of driftwood. Nice sharp edges on this one.

29 April 2018 — : The answer to a question you may not have asked: no, you can’t eat olives straight from the tree. Straight off the tree, they are bitter, very bitter www.cooksinfo.com/raw-olives. I found out the hard way.

18 April 2018 — My favourite noise isn't the whistling in my ears : I’m working on overcoming tinnitus and improving sleep at the moment. After a professional hearing test last week, today I tried this Online Hearing Test. The results seem pretty similar: fairly normal hearing with a bit of (probably …

11 April 2018 — : There was a brief gap in the clouds so I was able to see a light dusting of snow on the Tararuas. That's because the wind today is coming straight from Antarctica. Brrrr.

10 April 2018 — : The thunderstorm at midnight really upset Sasha. Now, at nearly 9 am it's just rain and maybe dull rumbles, but she’s still unhappy, trembling and restless. 🐶

09 April 2018 — : I love how the wind smooths and ripples the sand overnight. It was rippling the river water too.

09 April 2018 — : There were a lot of birds at the river mouth this morning: Black backed gulls and White-fronted terns in particular. These were just some of them. 🐦

08 April 2018 — : On cooler mornings at dawn we can see the top of Mt Ruapehu, 164 Km away, from home. Kei te harikoa ahau. (Makes me happy.)

07 April 2018 — A Keyboard Maestro macro to help me learn long placenames : I’m using Anki flashcards to help me learn Te Reo Māori, but some longer placenames are giving me a lot of trouble. I’ve devised a Keyboard Maestro macro to help. First I created 5 simple HTML files, one for each placename. Then I created …

06 April 2018 — : Oversize vehicles are common on the stretch of road between Ōtaki and Levin, but I haven't spotted a huge concrete beam (presumably) before.

05 April 2018 — : Allbirds with Over Under Lacing and Ian’s Secure Knot.

05 April 2018 — : With a new pair of Kotare Mint Allbirds shoes on my feet I was very glad to find I still had Ian's Shoelace Site in my bookmarks. Now to find the right lacing pattern! NB: if you ever wear shoes with laces then do visit Ian’s site. There are …

04 April 2018 — : This piece of driftwood caught my eye this morning.

02 April 2018 — : Today was rather satisfying. Now April has arrived I seem to be finally settling into a useful pattern of activity. I did a bit of weeding and mulching, planted out an Avocado stone, put pegs in to brace a border board, and various other activities. …

01 April 2018 — Waikawa Beach photos from a drone : A professional operator with his own DJI Inspire v1 drone visited today and took a few photos of our property and the area nearby. I was very lucky that he did this as a favour, so I wasn’t hit with a huge fee. The following 15 second video …

30 March 2018 — : Then the sun came up.

30 March 2018 — : I love these misty autumn mornings. Such beautiful colours in the greenery. Can't decide which of the exposures I like better.

29 March 2018 — : Aphra rarely allows me to catch her or pick her up, but tonight she let her guard down. 🐈

27 March 2018 — : A gorgeous dog walk at the beach this morning. Kawau, Pied Shags: ready, set, go go go.

26 March 2018 — : Now the dog yard is secure, though unfinished, I need to start beautifying it. Step 1: replant and mulch one of the small trees that had to be moved. This could be a long job.

23 March 2018 — : Oshi in his new $8 dog cave (on the dog bed, on the rug, on the carpet, on the floor…).

22 March 2018 — Come on, Apple, give us Kiwis a choice : New Zealand has at least two official languages: English and Māori. The English we speak and write isn't *exactly* the same as Australian or British, Canadian or US Englishes. Māori has some resemblances, I believe to Hawai'ian, but it isn't the …

22 March 2018 — : The dogs are very happy in their new playground. 🐶

22 March 2018 — : Something is wrong. I heard it rain in the night. The ground is wet. But the rain gauge shows no rain.

22 March 2018 — : Noooo. Yesterday I missed my Activity ring by 8 points simply because I forgot to check before I went to bed. Darn it.

21 March 2018 — : The dog yard is sufficiently complete to put it to the test. Refinements will come (gates, handrail on the ramp, properly blocking up known gaps). It worked. 😀 🐶

21 March 2018 — : Fish heads on the beach.

20 March 2018 — : The dog yard has a way to go yet, but it’s definitely getting there. The deck on the house needs some rails and a step. There will be gates.

19 March 2018 — : Progress on the dog yard.

17 March 2018 — : Buddies: Sasha and Ares. Hard to believe Sasha (and her brother Oshi) used to chase Ares every single time she could when we lived in Wellington. 🐶 🐈

16 March 2018 — : The dog yard now has most of its posts. Still to come: rails and 2 gates. 🐶

16 March 2018 — : The secure dog yard is underway. 🐶

15 March 2018 — : At last, tomorrow the fencing guy comes to build a secure dog yard to keep these two scallywags from running away. Hooray! 🐶

14 March 2018 — : A benefit of a sudden unexpected trip to Wellington was a few moments with this harbour view. Sick partner now safely home and in bed.

12 March 2018 — : Nearly missed the whole of a gorgeous sunset. Luckily I caught the tail end.

11 March 2018 — : Ruapehu and Tongariro from the Desert Rd. Then a late lunch at Bulls, where you can’t forget where you are.

11 March 2018 — : Huka Falls was amazing as always. So much water!

11 March 2018 — : This motel has its own thermal mineral pool. A 10 minute bathe is a great way to start the day.

10 March 2018 — : The pipe bands keep coming in the street parade. Wellington Police brought their dog. 50 bands apparently. National comps.

10 March 2018 — : Rotorua seems an unlikely place for a pipe band competition, but there we are.

10 March 2018 — : Ready for a breakfast cruise on the Lake Rotorua paddleboat.

09 March 2018 — : Clear water springs at Hangarua.

09 March 2018 — : Mighty redwoods at Hangarua.

09 March 2018 — : Looking out over Lake Rotorua from Mt Nongotaha.

08 March 2018 — : Single lane stop and go around roadworks on the Desert Road. Which was open today because rain stopped the road closure intended to let them repair this bridge. Lucky for us.

08 March 2018 — : Taihape’s humorous loo signage.

08 March 2018 — : Doing all my Internetting before a 7 hour scheduled power outage.

08 March 2018 — : Middle of the night. There’s a loose pipe banging and the house is shaking a bit in the wind. But the last, long, shake was definitely an earthquake. Only a 4.0, but not helping me get back to sleep. Sigh. 〰️

07 March 2018 — : The latest new house on the block is a Totalspan steel frame build. So glad we can't see this new house from our place, thanks to a hill. We've had so many go up around here lately.

07 March 2018 — : Looks like today will be an indoor day and that the water tank will be full again.

06 March 2018 — : Enjoyed the first session of the Te Reo Māori course I'm doing this year with Te Wananga o Aotearoa. 3 hours in the evening — not my best time of day, but I managed. Tonight we learned the short and long vowels: a e i o u and ā ē ī ō ū.

06 March 2018 — Cosmic Rays are heading our way : This is … interesting … … radiation from deep space is not only intensifying, but also doing so faster than previously predicted. … Galactic cosmic rays come from outside the solar system. They are a mixture of high-energy …

06 March 2018 — : Ahhh, what a way to start the day, with Rare Kenya Silver Tip white tea: From the Kenyan plantations in Africa this is a most delicate tea — the uppermost bud carefully hand picked for brewing.

05 March 2018 — : I enjoy watching short science videos while I eat breakfast. The new Nature League is already great: Brit …goes through characteristics of life on Earth, including importance of carbon.

04 March 2018 — Safe journeys, kuaka : A few Kuaka visit our beach every year, but now it’s time for them to leave: 🐦 With the changing of the season, the first godwits have started leaving … for their long flight to Alaska. … their 17,000km-long migration to the …

03 March 2018 — : Patterns in the sand at the Waiorongomai Stream.

02 March 2018 — : Down at Waikanae for dinner.

02 March 2018 — Friday morning breakfast videos : Ahhh, Friday morning videos to watch while I eat breakfast (today: quail eggs, ham, black rice and cheese): Physics Girl: What is the Magic Russian Diamond? Emily Graslie: Water beetle HYPE. Learn more about these adorable little scuba divers. …

01 March 2018 — : When about 50 Canada Geese fly right overhead. 🐦

28 February 2018 — : There's a flock of about 50 Canada Geese (and a rabbit) just hanging out in the next paddock but one. 🐦

27 February 2018 — : It took me several hours of reading about 500 pages of PDF and writing 4,000 words over 3 blog posts to work out my response to the Council’s Long-Term Plan proposals which I can now express in 1 word: NO!

22 February 2018 — : Nice to see Royal Spoonbills around after the storm. 🐦

21 February 2018 — : Really enjoyed Black Panther tonight. Themes of leadership, loyalty, responsibility, culture were so interesting. And of course the tech was glorious. Loved the surprises. Loved that women had such powerful roles. 🎥

20 February 2018 — : After a very still day, in the last 10 minutes Ex Tropical Cyclone Gita has started to make itself felt at our place (white dot on the map). Winds gusting over 60 Kph just now, but forecast to increase. I can still see patches of blue sky though…

18 February 2018 — : Getting dark and the local pheasants start squawking. Moments later (as expected with such an efficient early warning system) a magnitude 5.0 earthquake gives us a bit of a shake. Those pheasants are so reliable. 〰️

15 February 2018 — Discovering possibility and hope again : Ohhh, Star Trek Discovery was a blimmin good story, beautifully told. And that reminder of the Original Series stirs up so much for me. I watched it as a kid at the time of Apollo missions and moon landings and discovery and hope and excitement. The …

14 February 2018 — : I stopped drinking tea and coffee in about 1981. Over time though I’ve become a green tea drinker, lately switching from bags to a variety of loose leaf teas. There are so many flavours to explore, from the subtlety of an AnJi to the gutsiness …

14 February 2018 — : This package arrived in the mail today and the Contents Description had me stumped: “aluminium pack, cotton coaster, Iron filters”. What the heck! Turns out it was the green and white teas I’d ordered, with tea sieve and free coaster. Whew.

13 February 2018 — Our thoughts with Tonga : This morning, as the day dawns, I look outside and everything is the same as it was yesterday. At the same time it is dawn in Tonga. Thanks to a direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Gita overnight, for them everything will have changed. Trees and …

11 February 2018 — : Yes! 23mm of rain today and counting. That should have added 1500 litres of water to our house tank. I love this direct relationship with the water we use every day. It rains: we get to shower, cook, wash, make hot drinks etc.

11 February 2018 — : I was wearing thick work gloves when I pulled a tall weed this evening. Good thing too as I disturbed a rather angry wasp that managed to sting my finger through the glove. I suspect things could have been worse. Just a bit sore now. I applied …

11 February 2018 — : From a better angle I can see that kite is a stingray.

11 February 2018 — : Monster kite at the Ōtaki Kite Festival.

11 February 2018 — A rich vocabulary to describe exchange and sharing : I love finding out things like this about other languages: A village in the northern Malay Peninsula … Comprising just 280 people, the villagers speak an Aslian language newly named Jedek … The community has almost no interpersonal …

09 February 2018 — : This evening when I arrived home that little Silvereye was back and waiting by the door. I had to almost pick it up before it moved. Great opportunity for a good closeup with the iPhone though. 🐦

09 February 2018 — Dawn : I stand on the deck at 6 AM as pink tinges the clouds near the horizon in the East. Between the clouds and me there are duelling roosters about a kilometre away. Cows in the paddock next door are quietly munching, sometimes blundering through the …

08 February 2018 — : I think this Silvereye must have been very young. It let me get very close this afternoon before flying away.

04 February 2018 — Spots before my eyes : In the last few years my eyes have been a little unpredictable — I feel as though I just can't see right. Frequent eye tests let me know I should be able to see just fine with my current glasses. I value my sight, so my glasses are something I spend …

04 February 2018 — : Spinifex is wonderful stuff: it helps hold the sand dunes together and build new dunes. At this time of year the spiky seedheads are blown around by the wind, looking for a new home.

04 February 2018 — : An overnight low of 5C is a bit of a shock to the system after a month or so of the temperatures never dropping below 15 or 20.

03 February 2018 — : I started the day feeling a bit overwhelmed with so many things to do. Now I’ve done a random bunch of smaller things and feel better. Whew. 😅

02 February 2018 — : Hard to believe Ares and Aphra turn 16 tomorrow. Here’s the two of them at about 6 months sitting on the TV. Then Aphra in her ’pod’ and Ares on the couch. Such sweet cats. 🐈

01 February 2018 — : Well, good morning Moon. You may no longer be blood red, but you’re still super! Nice to see you after all that cloud.

31 January 2018 — : Locals have done a grand job moving driftwood to protect young dunes and clumps of dune grasses from trailbikes and other vehicles.

30 January 2018 — Landskein: the weaving & braiding of horizon lines : Sometime last year I came across a word to describe layers of misty mountains. Fabulous! I thought. I'll remember that. And promptly forgot it. Today I finally found it again: landskein. Robert Macfarlane tells us: Word of the day: …

27 January 2018 — : 3 year old Ursula is a beautiful bonus at my generous host’s house. 🐈

27 January 2018 — : I’m enjoying Rachel McAlpine’s Summer Writing School. Here we are at lunchtime enjoying the fresh air. Somehow I look much taller than Rachel, but it’s not that big a difference really.

26 January 2018 — : I was telling someone about this fantastic 14 minute YouTube documentary today and nearly couldn't find it again — The Challenge of True Solitude: You have to be at peace with the fact that something might happen, and you might not make it through,” …

25 January 2018 — : The rural life: this morning Scotty, the septic tank guy, stopped by to see why our tank’s warning light was on. Luckily it was an easy fix and I can try it myself next time (lift and drop the pipe). This afternoon Murray from Campbell’s …

24 January 2018 — : Stopped at a cafe and my Dark Skies T-shirt sparked a good conversation which even touched on the lunar eclipse on 31 January. 👍🏼 At least we can see stars here; too many people can’t.

23 January 2018 — : Sasha and I found a tennis ball on the beach this morning. It was too hot to chase it for long though.

18 January 2018 — : It’s good to see a mum hanging out with her kids. Monarch Butterfly and Swan Plant.

17 January 2018 — : This cute little Tauhou, Silver-Eye was stunned on the doorstep when I came home. After a few moments recovery it flew away happily. 🐦

15 January 2018 — : Given the 27C heat today and anomalously warm sea temperatures I did something I never do and went for a “swim” (aka floating and bobbing around). It was actually rather fun. Kāpiti Island to the south.

15 January 2018 — : The Kuaka, Bartailed Godwits fly non-stop from the Arctic to feed during our summer. Some are kind enough to visit our beach.

15 January 2018 — : "Well, Goodbye!” Kuaka, Bartailed Godwit and Karoro, Black-backed Gull

15 January 2018 — : Sun rays.

14 January 2018 — : Today this novice kayaker braved the reach just north of the footbridge — a 20 minute paddle upstream from the vehicle entrance. I went as far as the Pied Shag colony, wrangling kayak, paddle and waterproof camera and trying to not drift into …

14 January 2018 — : I want 2018 to be a year of renewal for me. I've signed up for a Te Reo Māori course at Te Wananga o Aotearoa: Te Ara Reo Māori (He Pī ka Pao). I'll be attending Rachel McAlpine's Summer Writing School later in January. I'm experimenting with …

14 January 2018 — : Matuku Moana, White-faced Heron on Waikawa Stream. A kayak’s great: you can get quite close.

13 January 2018 — Deep in the red : The tip of the black arrow in the picture below — that's where we live. Drought maps January 2018. Source: niwa.co.nz/research-subject/drought. When I check the NIWA Drought Index today though, I see we're still actually in the deep red.

13 January 2018 — : A fresh start in 2018. In which I stop posting on my nearly 20 year old WordPress blog and take up at Micro.blog.

12 January 2018 — : Excited that at last our swan plants have Monarch Butterfly caterpillars!

12 January 2018 — Water issues a fluid topic in Horowhenua : Egads, but there's a lot to talk about with water in Horowhenua. The Horowhenua Chronicle issue Wednesday, 10 January 2018: Front page top: Lake Horowhenua's poor health. Front page bottom: Council looks at improving district's water supply. Page …

12 January 2018 — : Dog walk at Ōtaki estuary for a change. 🐶

11 January 2018 — : Bought myself a UE Megaboom Bluetooth speaker. First impression of sound: WOW!

10 January 2018 — Kea gyms! : Smart birds… A kea gym offers the birds several objects they can play with or take apart to distract them from danger or causing damage. Kea were caught shifting road cones at the Homer Tunnel. DOC partnerships ranger Sue Streatfield said the …

09 January 2018 — : 2018 may become the year of renewal for me. Experimenting with new apps, new approaches, new plans. 🐥

06 January 2018 — Earthquake or wind gusts? : The trouble with this wind is not being sure whether the house is shaking because of the wind gusts or an earthquake. 〰️ This one turned out to be an earthquake.

06 January 2018 — 26mm rain to 06 January 2018 : 26mm rain to 06 January 2018 is a start. Now we'd like some more please, as this won't have broken the drought.

05 January 2018 — : It’s so frustrating to buy an iTunes movie, connect to a neighbour’s projector for a relaxing evening, and be told the movie is protected and won’t play! The solution is here: …