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 help run the country?
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. 🐈
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! EVERYONE has end of life rights!
NZ derives significant income from tourism and the last decade or two has really pushed tourism. Covid-19 will hit our economy hard.
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 ‘flatten the curve’. 👏👏 🤒 🇳🇿
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…
With autumn come the early morning inversion layers. What a difference the moment of sunrise from behind the mountains makes.
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 solved.
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 recrystallisations to prepare the sample
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 are hilarious (screenshot)! 🐶
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 week. Bins were delivered to most, or perhaps all, properties.
After the initial confusion this change inevitably brought, most folks now use each container for the correct materials, and quite often also put them out for collection on the right day. Our Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association added a calendar entry on the home page of our website to help things along.
Until a couple of years ago the Horowhenua District Council would send a recycling truck down to the beach every Saturday over summer to help the holiday visitors dispose appropriately of all the plastic, paper and glass that Christmas inevitably attracts. This was a fabulous service and was very popular.
Then, as always, things changed and in December 2018 a large shipping container with slots for different recyclable materials was unexpectedly stationed on Hank Edwards Reserve. There was no longer a Saturday truck.
Initially this seemed to be a great gift, but its popularity is its downfall. People arrive day and, yes, night, to smash their bottles and stuff the other slots full to overflowing. And that causes the residents across the road a huge amount of stress, often disrupting their sleep.
Some few people also fail to understand the concept of recycling and believe the container is a great place for dumping other rubbish too.
But, back to the noise issue. Waikawa Beach is a small place. There is only one public park, and it's between numerous dwellings and the river. The container is in place from mid-December to mid-March: 3 months. That's a long time for those residents to suffer the noise and inconvenience of the recycling container.
The Ratepayers Association is consulting with the Council about alternative locations for the container, but no suggestions yet fit with legal requirements and we can't have the Saturday truck any more.
So during 2020 the community will discuss whether they even want a summer recycling station, especially now almost everyone has bins that are regularly emptied.
The good idea in theory turned out to be a real problem in practise.
Published in Ōtaki Today, 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… declared as being in drought
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.
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.
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.
And lo, two trim and tidy dogs. 🐶 Sasha and Oshi after the groom.
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.
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 many unwanted predators here.
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 all-black pet(s).
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 within driftwood.
