Miraz Jordan

We’ve been driving through sheep country. The paddocks are full of little lambs. It’s lovely.

I love this kind of info:

figures showed that occasional napping – once or twice a week – was associated with a lower risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke compared with not napping at all.

Don’t read too much of the rest, about why there might be no relationship. 😒 💤

I was invited to write a column for the monthly Ōtaki Today newspaper. My first column was published today: Waikawa bounty reveals the detritus of the human race. It feels good to be doing some published writing again.

Every day the tide gifts Waikawa Beach with a fresh scattering of its bounty: here is a plastic drink bottle, there a piece of rope. Rubber gloves, fishing glow sticks, plastic bags in every shape and size, and random bits of hard plastic dot the beach, along with the odd drink can or shard of broken glass.

And most days, at least one generous-hearted person will be out there with bag in hand, picking up what rubbish they can find, carting it off to the nearest bin.

Come the holidays though there's a whole new burden of rubbish to be dealt with. Suddenly there are partly buried, often burned and broken bottles and cans. There are food wrappers, socks, paper or plastic plates, and sometimes even fiercely sharp metal knives and forks. Even though there's a rubbish bin at every single beach entrance, for some people it's just too much effort to pick up what they carried to the beach but no longer need.

The Beach Buddies grumble then redouble their efforts, longing for the holidays to be over, the visitors to go back to their own homes, and for the tide to be the sole delivery agent of the world's rubbish.

When recent big tides and winds dumped an extra helping of detritus someone on Facebook put out the call for an even greater effort. Readers acted without hesitation to clean up.

These Beach Buddies take pride in our beach, and it makes a huge difference. You gain the impression it's a well-cared for, well-loved place, because it is.

You have to wonder though just what is in the world's rivers and oceans. How does it come about that dead possums, goats, sheep and even cows end up on our beach? Where do the plastic vehicle parts come from, the old computer stuff, the bicycle tires, and shoes? And don't even mention plastic straws — they are a plague.

We're proud of our Waikawa Beach Buddies who do a fantastic job keeping our beach clean. They should be commended for their dedication and hard work.

But how about we all do what we can to minimise our draw on the world's resources, and reduce what we dispose of as rubbish? Can we all be Buddies and help keep this stuff out of the rivers and oceans in the first place?

OK, I’ve decided on a present for myself. I have a big birthday coming up in 5 months. I wanted to get a tattoo, but can’t decide what design I want. Meanwhile a new Apple Watch will decorate my wrist. Hope I can sell the Series 3 I currently wear.

I only just read Death By Team Building, Kat Voyzey Mysteries Book 3 by @cheri . 📚

As expected, it was a fun read, with some good misdirection about the culprit. I hope there will be more books forthcoming in this series.

My good pal Rachel, 79 years old, has created a podcast: How To Be Old:

we can’t imagine ourselves being older, let alone very old. … We still feel young … getting old takes us by surprise … Your future old self will always be a mystery. … But … pick up clues from other people.

When I moved a plank by the quail run I found this huge (~9cm) slug. It’s apparently a Limax maximus, or tiger slug:

Limax maximus is the largest slug introduced to New Zealand from Europe. … one of the largest kinds of keeled air-breathing land slug in the world

I sat for a while on the deck with my face to the warm sun. The silence was full of a dozen different bird calls and the distant hum of a weedeater. To the east, across the paddocks, the Tararuas are tipped with snow. How perfect.

Ares 🐈 is still hanging on. He likes to join me when I’m out in the garden, so while I moved the quail he found a good spot under the peach tree.

I’m still getting over this horrid cold, so basically stuck in the house. This time a year ago though we were on holiday in Niue. Here’s one of the 3 or 4 beaches on the island. First, down the steps though. The photo shows the entire beach. The guy’s a snorkel instructor. 🇳🇺

Feeling rather grotty, and was wondering if in spite of this season’s flu shot perhaps it’s flu not a cold. However, A cold or the flu? tells me it is just a cold. I wish the headaches would go away. I need to get well asap: I have a small holiday coming up. 😷

Wow: “Cellphones … Today … are made from about 75 different elements, almost three-quarters of the periodic table.” That may include tantalum from Rwanda, potassium from Belarus, silver from Mexico, tin from Myanmar, carbon from India, and germanium from China.

Something I figured out this week: if you strive for a virtuous goal it is likely that some who are petty, narrow minded and mean spirited may try to block or divert you. Don’t let them distract you. Stay focused on the goal.

Struck down today by an icky cold. Had to be vertical for some appointments. Finally horizontal for a few hours. That’s so much better.

I forget between times how some people are petty, narrow-minded and mean-spirited, so it’s always a shock. Luckily I’ve learned over time not to engage, except on facts. I retreated to Micro.Blog as a ‘safe’ place where kind people are reasonable and generous. 😀

For my Māori language course I had to write 200 words for an assessment. Here's what I wrote. Note: there may be errors — we'll see what the tutor says when they grade it.

That last line is part of a proverb: Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei or Seek the treasure that you value most dearly, if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.

Part of the assessment is to read aloud what I've written. I need to practice a whole lot more. Here's a somewhat stumbling rendition. Also, my accent needs work. In particular, I'm the kind of person who pronounces the English word car as ka not kar. In Māori there should be a definite bit of a trill. Aue!

It’s been years since I made the dogs wear their raincoats. The coats did keep the dogs a bit drier though on today’s rainy walk. 🐶

Great news: Micro.blog test blogs

Micro.blog now lets you create a free test blog for your account with a URL like username-test.micro.blog. There’s a button to create the test blog under Posts → Design → Edit Custom Themes. It will appear as a free 2nd blog on your account

Cook Islands to change name to remove any association with Captain Cook

The tiny Pacific nation of Cook Islands plans to change its name to drop the reference to the British explorer Captain James Cook in favour of a title that reflects its “Polynesian nature”.

Several things have left me feeling grumpy this morning. However, I’ve just been given an interview appointment time next week for a 6-month part-time role I’m really qualified for. That’s perked up the day. Next up though: 3rd attempt at getting a new crown on my tooth.