Miraz Jordan

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 I’m keen for Season 2!

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 active. 😒

I aim to find people from other countries, provided I have some kind of hope of understanding what they're writing about — that's just a language issue. The Discover feed is a great source for finding people.

Photos of dogs, cats, landscapes are highly likely to 'hook' me. I also try to follow any women on Micro.Blog.

I currently follow people who are in or seem to be from these countries and who seem to still be active:

1. New Zealand (of course)
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Brazil (added 27-Nov-20)
5. Canada
6. Denmark
7. England
8. Finland
9. France
10. Germany
11. Iceland
12. India
13. Ireland (added 26-Nov-20)
14. Italy (added 04-Jan-20)
15. Mexico
16. Netherlands
17. Norway
18. Philippines (added 26-Nov-20)
19. Poland (added 26-Nov-20)
20. Portugal (added 26-Nov-20)
21. Puerto Rico
22. Scotland
23. Sweden
24. Switzerland
25. Turkey
26. USA
27. Vietnam (added 27-Nov-20)

This list of countries may not be utterly accurate — sometimes it's my best guess. There may be others I follow where I just don't know where they live. I must say, 19 countries is a pretty pleasing number.

Update 19-Dec-19: added India, so now 20 countries.

Update 26-Nov-20: I checked my list and added several countries. Note: visit [micro.blog](https://micro.blog/)[name]/following to see the list of follows.

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 over and free up some bandwidth for the rest of us.

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 heavier than males. Females of the largest species weighed as much as 240 Kg while their mates were a mere 34 to 85 Kg.

And science, really? ‘Reverse sexual dimorphism’ when females are bigger? That language needs to change.

The other day I posted a Dawn Chorus. Here’s a 6 pm chorus at the end of a busy day.

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 a gate to a new stage of life.

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, entertainment, media, sport and many more.

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 or 600 years ago.

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?

Life lessons from Star Trek: Voyager:

Our situation is deperate. When faced with desperate circumstances, we must adapt.

Seven of Nine, Demon, S04E24. 🖖🏼

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 ever dance across your pathway.

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 repair technicians.

Guess which two dogs named Sasha and Oshi had their 13th birthday today. Special treats were enjoyed. 🐶

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! 🖖

Taper Cafe in Levin (opposite the Mall) is owned by friends. This is my first visit. Great ambience. Excellent food choices.

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 from. Just have to get it onto my phone.

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 the river, or just enjoy being out in the fresh sea air.

The Godwits and Gulls, the Terns, Oystercatchers, Shags, Stilts, Royal Spoonbills, White-faced Herons, Dotterels and Ducks all provide excellent opportunities for keen photographers, and those who just like to sit quietly and observe.

Over the Christmas break the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association puts on family activities for anyone at the beach, especially for the kids. There's a Sports Day with its egg and spoon, sack and wheelbarrow races, and a Boat Day which gives people the opportunity to race their kayaks or to build something that's supposed to float (but often doesn't really). The BBQ and drinks afterwards are always well appreciated.

Sand Sculpture Day gets families digging in the sand, creating fabulous scenes, large and small. Dragons, dogs and dinosaurs, ships, volcanoes and robots — you never know what creators might bring to life out of previously featureless sand flats.

The Christmas holiday brings visitors from near and far to enjoy the beach (though it's hard to beat the 12,000 Km non-stop flight of the Kuaka).

One highlight of the summer break is the Christmas Lights at the corner of James Street. Santa climbs towers, reindeer haul gifts, a helicopter arrives, a UFO launches. Each year brings a new scene. It's a very much-loved feature of the holidays.

At this time of year Waikawa Beach really wakes up. Let the fun times begin.

Originally published in [Ōtaki Today, December 2019](https://issuu.com/idmedia1/docs/_taki_today_dec_2019), page 25.

Note the Christmas cartoon. Can you pick out me?

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 simply plays the tracks. 👍👍

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. …