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 and an unobstructed view of the north-eastern sky looking toward the constellation Aquarius," Aoraki says.
You won't need a telescope, just look for Venus shining brightly.
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 other," Mahfuza says with a grin. "If I get a big catch, she gets a share. If she catches more, I get mine."
“Mahfuza is my friend,” says Nur, her grey hair tied under a scarf. “She shares fish with me when I don’t catch any, even though she’s poor too.”
And when there is no fish, “I tell her, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll fish again tomorrow,’” Nur adds.
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.
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 the car at Oriental Bay to enjoy our lunch.
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 leads and remains a really good watch as the hunt twists and turns. Bonus: the scenery is magnificent.
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 require it be a site for astronomy but that it must really focus on preserving the nocturnal environment for the animals and birds that frequent the area.”
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 during a triathlon in the Solway Firth. The post-mortem reveals drugs in Hayley's system, perhaps self-administered performance enhancers. But a puncture wound in the back of her wetsuit suggests foul play.
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.
This week the photos from the builder show they've been working on the cladding of our new house; next week brickwork. 🏡
The wind is only strong rather than the fierce gales hitting Wellington today, but the cabbage trees are a good indicator of wind strength.
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 such a good episode, when Seven, seeing no need for the company of others, finds loneliness taking a terrible toll on her. She hallucinates threats; her fears being embodied by crew members who appear to her in order to undermine her confidence.
"Seven, are you… frightened?"
"I am Borg."
- The Doctor and Seven of Nine
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.
On this morning's dawn beach walk there were reflections in remnant water.
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 the author brought in a new character rather late, but it was a pleasant read.
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 through lives of poverty and sickness, trying to grow things and make lives better.
It leaves me just utterly without words …
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 words that seem common in the US and rare in Aotearoa.
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 minute drive from Mount Yasur volcano.
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 though, for a 24/7 offering. 🤣
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 (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 2) by Jane Adams. 📚
Simon thought he’d found something real with Tally Palmer, a brilliant photographer. Then, without warning, she ended things and vanished from his life. Heartbroken and unable to move on, he starts digging for answers — tracking her, questioning old friends, even compiling a secret file.
I'm wishing I hadn't already bought the third in the series and annoyingly Amazon won't let me return that unread book for a refund.