A few weeks ago in this video, From Osteopenia to Ninja Warrior at 73!! Ginny's Unique Formula for Aging Strong! I came across the concept of a Dead Hang
where you hold onto a bar above your head and just support your body weight. It apparently:
is good for the brain, decompresses the spine and improves grip strength.
My first few attempts went nowhere but now I can support my weight for about 10 seconds. I like the spinal stretch.
Today's entertainment: with putting our clocks forward an hour the Northland Emergency System tested the tsunami sirens: a whoop whoop sound followed by a voice saying "Test Only".
The nearest siren is ~600 metres away in a straight line.
Technically, we're in a safe area, if there is a tsunami.
Daybreak at an east coast beach.
Cows and gulls in a paddock opposite the shopping centre.
On our drive to the gym today we spotted a farmer using a large drone, presumably spraying the gorse on his property. It was pretty big — about as big as a medium size suitcase. It may well have been one of these: P150 - Airborne Solutions.
First time I've seen this use, or a drone that size.
I enjoyed The Sydney Mysteries — three gripping crime thrillers by Jean Bedford. 📚
Anna Southwood never meant to become a private investigator. But after her charming, corrupt ex-husband turns up dead in a locked car on a remote mountain track — and leaves her a small fortune of dirty money — Anna figures she might as well put it to use doing some good.
It's also enjoyable to read books set in the southern hemisphere.
Bream Bay is undoubtedly beautiful, especially on a sunny morning.
I watched the South African movie, Valley of a Thousand Hills, a lesbian story, but didn't get the light, happy, 90 minutes I'd been hoping for.
This reviewer, Blessing Chinwendu Nwankwo, makes a nice point:
Valley of a Thousand Hills … gives a good representation of the queer community—the experimentation, the struggle of coming out, and the societal stigmatisation. The film is a decent watch, and if you are not impressed with the story, you will love the view of the hills.
For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊
The 8x optical zoom on the iPhone 17 Pro is quite something. 🐦
The bitterest of teas
While baristas train to make 20 kinds of coffee, 99.9% of the tea available in cafes and restaurants in Aotearoa is prepared by shoving a teabag (or two) or leaves in a pot or cup, adding boiling water and serving.
I've learned to extract the tea strainer or bag very soon after the drink is served. Then I just grit my teeth and swallow an inferior drink.
Today's green tea though was so undrinkable I sent it back.
As tea steeps for longer it becomes more bitter. More leaves make it stronger too. The cup I poured was awful.
Then I looked in the strainer I'd removed from the two-cup pot. There were enough tea leaves for the 15 or 20 people at the table!
You can tell it’s spring. A pukeko family of 2 adults and 3 chicks on the grass not far from our house, and a pair of white-faced herons nesting in the tree closest to us. 🐦
Meanwhile, someone was exercising their horse on the racetrack just behind the entrance to the beach.
This dreadfully terrible photo of the partial eclipse does show a bite out of the sun at top left.
I tried holding my eclipse glasses over the phone's cameras.
I came to the beach anyway even though it’s cloudy.
Woke this morning and remembered: Oh yes. Go to the beach before dawn to see the partial solar eclipse.
Looked out the window: it's cloudy and raining. Sigh.
A pretty plooty part of the area
The Anchorage area of Marsden Cove is where folks pay upwards of $1.8 million just for a bare land section that allows them to berth their yacht outside their back door. 🤑
One house we saw would be at least 10x the size of our 150 m2 house.
There was a tiny beach where you were allowed to swim, not too far from the sand though. I digitally removed a person who was accidentally in shot.
The Anchorage Retirement Village Cafe was a good place to eat
Today, after visiting the rather disappointing Artisan Market at One Tree Point, we had breakfast at The Anchorage Retirement Village Cafe.
Deb enjoyed her coffee and I enjoyed my hot chocolate.
Deb chose soft scrambled eggs with bacon on toast and found it delicious.
I chose fish and chips. The fish itself was tasty but the batter was pale and soggy. I was probably the first person of the day to order that dish and I imagine the fryer wasn't properly heated.
They had good quality cutlery though and our meals totalled less than $50.
Our views were over the lawn bowls area and parts of the marina. In the distance we could see Mt Manaia.
We'd go back again.
Deb and I went to the gym this morning and she took a photo (unposed) of me doing leg extensions.
Got a new phone — iPhone 17 Pro — so I took a photo of the clouds at dawn.
