NZ had to wait a bit longer … to see the moon landing in 1969.
We didn’t have a direct satellite link … so a pilot from the RNZAF flew to Sydney… picked up the tapes and then NZers were able to see the footage about 4.5 hours later.
The Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association website runs on self-hosted WordPress. Folks can sign up to receive new posts by email. The trouble is, I’m gradually adding historical info such as Minutes of meetings in 1974. To selectively stop emails I finally found instructions.
Usually the Eastern Rosellas turn up and then fly away before I can get to my camera. Today I got lucky.
a brightly coloured, broad-tailed parakeet native to south-eastern Australia. It was introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s.
Length: 30 cm. Weight: 90 - 120 g
Go on: give us a treat. Pleeeease. 🐶
Ares is being a good boy too. 🐈
Watched the 2.25 hour Luc Besson movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The plot was a bit thin, the creativity, visuals and special effects pretty good. Besson also did the marvellous The Fifth Element. There were distinct resemblances in creativity.
The annual eye check, and cataracts
Today at my annual optometrist visit I learned several things:
- My eyes are very healthy.
- My prescription has fluctuated slightly again, but not enough to need new lenses in my glasses, thank goodness.
- There are different kinds of cataract. Some make glare worse.
- A cataract is just a clouding of the lens of the eye, rather than a 'thing' in itself.
- The cataract in my left eye is slightly worse than last year.
- The cataract in my right eye is so slight it's not even on the scale.
- In New Zealand you can't even get on the waiting list in the public health system for a cataract operation until it affects your ability to drive. The waiting list is long.
The lens [of the eye] is mostly made of water and protein. The protein is arranged in a precise way that keeps the lens clear and lets light pass through it.
But as we age, some of the protein may clump together and start to cloud a small area of the lens. This is a cataract, and over time, it may grow larger and cloud more of the lens, making it harder to see.
I find driving at night to be not my favourite thing already. Oncoming headlights and bright streetlights are hard for me. If it's raining, everything's super glary and I really try to avoid driving then.
UV radiation is a possible contributing factor for cataracts and New Zealand is notorious for its high levels of UV light in summer. Good sunglasses can help.
Last night we had 21mm of today’s forecast 5mm of rain. At one point it was so loud on our tin roof that Sasha came on the bed for a cuddle. Oshi must have slept through it. Sasha does not like loud noises.
Some of the neighbour’s earthworks appear a little precarious.
I’m a huge fan of dark skies, and am lucky enough to be able to clearly see the Milky Way (and the Clouds of Magellan) from our house. So this 12 minute video is one I think everyone would benefit from: Why We Are Losing the Night Sky.
100 metres from our boundary our neighbour-but-one has subdivided 3 sections. Diggers are moving 8,000 m3 of soil (it’s all sand really). Work near us started today. Soon we’ll have even more neighbours! Grrr.
It’s a great day to stay in by the fire. 🌧
It was dog grooming day today. We have a before and an after. 🐶
Listening to the end of the cricket. First time in my life to pay attention. My partner Deb filled me in on the excitement as she left for work. 🏏
I’ve had a bit of the blahs this week, for no particular reason. Then my partner Deb reminded me I’m always a bit gloomy in winter. I respond superbly to sunshine and warm weather. I could never survive far northern parts with little winter daylight.
Damp and warm, there are plenty of these wonderful basket fungus around at the moment.
I ended up almost binge watching the TV show Rita on Netflix, it was so good! One amazing thing is that the ending was superb. So often endings can be a let-down, but this one definitely wasn’t. One important character was Hjørdis, who now has her own spin-off, so that’s next.
The river mouth shone in the morning sun. Meanwhile the sea, rarely mill-pond calm, showed its usual energy.
This week’s SciShow Talk Show Over-Apologizing Less with Vanessa Hill is one for our guinea pig lovers. The interview with Nessy Hill is definitely interesting (she does 1 of my fave shows, Braincraft), but start 14 minutes in for a Patagonian Cavy & piggy. @macgenie 🐹
Good grief, Frogfish are astonishing creatures. This 8 minute video reveals all: Frogfish Have The Fastest Bite In the World
Frogfish ambush and swallow their prey in whole.
But that’s far from all… That hairy looking thing is a female Frogfish, with a male just behind.
It’s been a while since I biked the dogs to the beach. On this mid-winter day that feels more like summer, it was a good opportunity to combine a dog walk and a bike ride. 🐶
