Miraz Jordan

Deb's gall bladder removal was supposed to be today: first at 11 am then shunted to 5 pm. After 5 the nurse came in and said it wouldn't be today, but might be tomorrow. Deb was very relieved to be able to have a cup of tea at last. Painkillers and antibiotics are doing their job, thank goodness.

Keeping Deb company as she waits for the op to have her gallbladder removed. This dog poster is good for a smile.

How cool is this! People using mobile devices with low data but needing info from a load of different Government websites (health, benefits, etc etc) can visit a special site to get access at no cost to their data.

An off-duty ultrasound machine at Palmerston North Hospital. The operator was amazing, looking at what I saw as some kind of blurry moonscape and knowing exactly what was what. There's the gallstone and That's the liver …. Respect!

When we left the house at 07.30 after Deb suffered a night of probably gallbladder pain, I didn't really expect to still be sitting in Palmerston North Emergency Department at 4.30 pm waiting for a bed to free up so Deb can be admitted. With any luck the gallbladder will be removed tomorrow.

I find this just gobsmacking! I don't even know what to say …

It's part awe, part disgust.

It represents almost $50 per person in Aotearoa!

Needed to renew the firstbite domain name I've had for ~25 years. Renewing several years at a time saves money. I thought about going with 10 years. In the end I went with 2 years, renewing 2 other domains at the same time.

But, here's the thing: at not far off 70 will I renew anything for 10 years?

We had plenty of warning of today's scheduled 90 minute power outage, including Tips such as making a cuppa beforehand. I made a note for myself in my Daily List.

Guess who still forgot and now wants a cuppa more than anything! Pronto! Stat! 39 minutes to go …

I may have a link in MarkDown but need it in HTML, or even the Other Markdown that Dokuwiki uses. I now have a couple of Keyboard Maestro macros that Search and Replace the System Clipboard Using Regular Expression and then paste the result.

Loving the Audio Hijack Transcribe feature: watching a 3 minute instructional video about focus on my Fuji X-T5 and I could keep a written copy of what the instructor said. Now to implement the settings.

At about 1 pm on 24 August 2017 I took my lunch onto the deck here at Waikawa Beach and glanced over my shoulder at a helicopter buzzing round in the low-fly training zone nearby. Then I returned my attention to my meal.

Moments later I heard a very loud thump — the kind you hear in a car crash — and then silence where there should have been helicopter rotors. I turned to look and waited a few moments in case it was a heavy landing but nothing happened. No helicopter flew up, no rotors made their distinctive noise. On the other hand there was no debris or smoke that I could see.

How unlucky am I that this was the second helicopter crash I've witnessed in my life? The first was a fatal crash on Mt Victoria, in Wellington. At that time when we turned to look at sudden bang and silence there was debris flying up in the air, so I expected that this time too. The pilot in that crash died.

For at least a year after that every time I heard a helicopter flying overhead I'd feel a bit anxious.

Back to 2017 though. After a few more minutes, seeing nothing, I thought I should dial 111, as perhaps I was the only witness, and the occupants, probably some 750 metres away, could be hurt.

Before long emergency services were on the scene, but meanwhile, with the aid of binoculars, I'd seen two people walking around a helicopter lying on its side.

News items at the time: Trainee pilot in helicopter crash near Horowhenua and Two escape helicopter crash near Horowhenua.

Only today, some 6 years later have I come across the the Civil Aviation Authority Safety Investigation Report. I'm uploading it here for my own reference.

CAA Investigation Report ZK-IMZ.pdf

The report said:

The instructor pilot received a laceration to the left side of his scalp, a concussion, and experienced memory loss as a result of the accident. The student pilot received a minor injury to his finger.

Oh, and that first crash I witnessed: it was all the way back in 2001. A helicopter had been working for weeks taking material from a building site on steep property in Palliser Road, Mt Victoria, Wellington. It would fly to the top of the hill, where we lived, dump the material into a truck and then fetch another load.

One day we were walking the dogs and had just turned the corner with our backs to the Lookout at the top of Mt Vic when we heard an awful noise: the helicopter had crashed into the top of the hill. We turned to see debris flying into the air and a heap of tourists running away from the crash. Then some ran towards the helicopter. We read later a visiting doctor tried to help the pilot, who unfortunately died of injuries.

Our new government, so smart! Minister pulls brakes on cycling and walking initatives:

Simeon Brown said he told the New Zealand Transport Authority (Waka Kotahi) to halt work on cycling and walking initiatives … [and] the cycling and walking initiatives were a waste of time and money. … My priority in transport is to build and maintain the roading network

The drizzle stopped. We hardly ever get a Mackerel sky like this.