Miraz Jordan

When we came in to land at Palmerston North yesterday, the plane took an unusual turn out to sea because they had to hold for a few minutes. We looked down on the Rangitikei River mouth at Tangimoana, where there was a razor sharp line between the sea and the river water.

I was just listening to a podcast about the health risks to installers of engineered stone, so this article is interesting: 6 alternatives to Engineered Stone:

The silica in dust that is produced when engineered stone is cut can be inhaled if precautions aren’t taken; to reduce health risks to installers and home owners, There has been a move to ban engineered stone in Australia

Flying south before dawn.

Our friends have a second dog: Rush, the Malinois, who's a very good boy indeed.

I so wish I could have bought this gorgeous pottery goat by Fiona Tunnicliffe. I'm smitten by its expression. Just not practical at the moment though, especially as we're flying home tomorrow with cabin bags only.

Random mural in downtown Whangārei.

Last night our friends took us out for a delicious Thai meal at Sukjai Thai Restaurant. I enjoyed chicken Pad Kee Mao (mild)
Flat rice noodles stir fried with aromatic basil leaves, capsicum, fresh chilli, green bean, bamboo shoots and vegetables.

We celebrated our friends selling a house.

Busy day: we've been cruising around Ruakākā and One Tree Point. Visited a couple of cafes: The Bach cafe at Ruakākā Beach had a nice vibe. Here's a view of / from the beach (east coast).

Little Boo has a really nice setup. That’s quite a smorgasbord of toys.

Heading north again for a long weekend …

I think the last 6 weeks or so of strength and core training are paying off. When I woke up this morning I realised I'm feeling 'bigger' somehow — perhaps more present in my body. And that's one of the things I wanted to achieve.

Rest day today though.

Having bought a set of resistance tubes, today I tried the Whole-Body Resistance Band Workout (Ages 50+). It went pretty well I think, though I need to figure out the best resistance level for each exercise.

Interesting: The Micro Blog - 🔗 Articles: Wednesday 14.Aug.2024:

Guardian: Scientists find humans age dramatically in two bursts – at 44, then 60

These daffodils are a bright spot on an otherwise grey day.

My body didn’t want to do this new strength routine today, but willpower prevailed (in the end). I haven’t done the shoulder press or lateral raise before, and they were hard. I went with 1 Kg weights for those two.

• Weekly Muscle Gain Exercise Routine for Ages 50+

  • legs: quads and glutes — goblet squat

  • back of legs: hamstrings, glutes and lower back — (6"34") romanian deadlift

  • back and arms: — (7'56") dumbbell row — one hand on back of chair, one leg forward, one dumbbell — pull dumbbell straight up

  • shoulders, triceps: dumbbell shoulder press — (10'21") sit on chair, raise dumbbells from shoulder to touch above head

  • shoulders: seated lateral raise — (11'30") sit on the edge of a chair, dumbbell in each hand, bring out to the side just above shoulder height, and down

  • (12'55") bicep curl — seated, hands by sides, twist dumbbell as it comes up

  • chest muscles, pectorals, triceps: (14'18") lying chest press — lie down, legs bent, feet near bum, arms out to the sides, forearms at right angles to the ground, lift straight up

  • (15'51") calf raise on step — stand on edge of step with heels free, dumbbell in one hand, support weight on hand against wall, either two legs: raise and drop heels or one leg: raise one leg out of the way and raise and lower the other

An excellent article about our crazy punitive government’s latest crazy idea: Welcome to the benefit Olympics.

Rather than offer the help and support that people need, the government simply raise that high-jump bar by increasingly impossible amounts.