Miraz Jordan

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 is a sticky electrical switch. ⚡️

A specially good reason to ride my bike around the village today. Blue skies, sunshine…

This angel is guarding a gate in the neighbourhood. A cheerful addition.

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 tracked, traced and dealt with.

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 book brings.

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.

Tonight’s viewing: Avengers: Endgame. Hard to believe this was one of the highest grossing films of all time. 🥱 😴

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 prisoners in a garden competition.

This is the ‘south track' to the beach. Nice, eh!

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 air! Must be a world record flight.

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.

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 bike / pedestrian / horse trails could be created to join the satellite communities to Levin and one another.

One possibility might be beside the railway line. These trails should NOT simply be beside the extremely dangerous traffic along SH1 as the current partial bike paths are, but should be completely separated.

Such trails would contribute to public health outcomes, and reduce pollution from taking a car on a shopping or cafe trip that could be achieved by electric bike or on foot.

If electric bikes continue to increase in popularity then people in Waikawa Beach, Manakau, Ōhau could reasonably cycle or walk between communities on a separate pathway for errands or just for fun.

It would also create an opportunity for the cycle tourists we sometimes see beside SH1 to be removed from that danger.

Waikawa Beach speed bumps

Under the Land Transport item on Page 34 and following I would like relief from the speed bumps on Strathnaver Drive and Sarah Street.

There are 5 speed bumps at Waikawa Beach: one on Drake Street, near the north end; one on Sarah Street and three in a one kilometre stretch of Strathnaver Drive. The Drake Street speed bump isn't of concern to me as it affects only the last few metres at the north end of Drake Street.

All the speed bumps use the old-fashioned half-circle profile, rather than the flat rectangular kind used for example on the road to the beach at Ōtaki.

The speed bumps are very uncomfortable and dangerous for cyclists.

The Sarah Street and Strathnaver Drive speed bumps are effective at slowing cars and trucks. On Strathnaver Drive motorbikes and quads simply drive around them on the grass verge. Many people avoid the speed bump on Sarah Street by using Manga Pirau Street instead.

However, as Waikawa Beach becomes more and more popular with families cycling on the relative safe streets, the speed bumps are not only inconvenient but dangerous for cyclists.

Riding around the ends of the speed bumps is a difficult and scary proposition. The grass verges on Strathnaver Drive are rutted, full of soft sand, rabbit holes, shingle and occasional bits of wood or other debris. While motorbikes and quads can easily handle that terrain with large tires, suspension and engine power, cycles have only narrow tires and usually no suspension. A bike can easily slide and slip on that kind of surface.

The speed bump on Sarah Street terminates right in the gutter and the grass verge on one side is barely navigable because of trees and shrubs. There are still bumps to cross the gutter.

Going over a speed bump on a bicycle requires slowing almost to a stop, standing on the pedals and jolting carefully over the bump, ideally crossing at an angle. That is very uncomfortable and also scary, especially when cars are heading for the same speed bump at a much greater speed than the cycle.

Surely speed bumps aren't intended to unfairly disadvantage cyclists?

I would like relief for cyclists so as to help provide safe, convenient and efficient transit of people within Waikawa Beach. Cycling has benefits for health and environment and the 5 or 6 Km return ride between the village and the beach via Strathnaver Drive is very popular, especially in summer as an exercise route or a family outing.

I suggest cutting the middle portion out of each speed bump or perhaps cutting the ends short so cars and trucks would still have to slow but cyclists could just bike through.

In this era where climate change is a major concern and now we all have a refreshed emphasis on good health and exercise thanks to Covid-19 I believe the Council needs to pay even more attention to making it easier for us to cycle and walk, for fun or for more serious reasons like errands.

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 job was to trim a couple of flax plants.

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 subscribed yesterday.

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 are still going well.🌱

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. 🦠

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.

🤞🏼