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.
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 changes, sharp contrasts and unusual rhythmic groupings in this program provide fertile ground for the musicians of Constantinople, who always welcome the chance to free themselves from the cultural codes of old Europe.
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 overhaul your entire life overnight. What matters most is consistency across a few key pillars. The first one is build and protect muscle mass through resistance training at least twice a week if you can and eating enough protein. Research from numerous studies show that maintaining muscle mass is one of the strongest predictors of healthy aging.
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).
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.
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 when, after a SAR dog trial, Jessie’s pack mascot, Duchess, goes missing, and, in finding Duchess, Jessie’s dogs discover a child lodged in a hole deep below ground. Then Jessie’s dogs find evidence of another …and another.
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.
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! ⚡️
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 old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.
Unfortunately the many mystical horror aspects just aren't my thing, so I skipped chunks of descriptions of fantastical stuff and ground my way through many chapters.
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 long-term disease risk, often years before obvious symptoms appear.
I've been working for years on improving my sleep and have seen noticeable benefits.
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 Christchurch mosque shootings, the 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The load she carried was huge and the personal vitriol and abuse she endured was horrendous.
My only real criticism is the movie should have reminded us how in early Covid times we just didn't know anything about the virus.
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. 🎶
Hah hah. It's been a while since I've noticed a nice Timeline adjacency.
My now traditional New Year's Day selfie. 😀 I take a selfie every single day but almost never post them anywhere.
Playing Monopoly Northland with friends on New Years Eve. We own Northport, Ninety Mile Beach and Marsden Cove Marina among others.
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.
I'd forgotten that I enjoy madrigals, like these: The Book of Madrigals: Amarcord performing Renaissance songs. 🎶
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. 🐦
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 the safest civilisation in human history while convincing ourselves that we live in the most dangerous. Billions of people experienced measurable improvements in health, safety, and material conditions in 2025. That progress didn’t make the news. But it happened anyway, one vaccine, one school meal, one kilowatt-hour at a time.
This is what the beginnings of a 250,000 solar panel installation looks like.
