Miraz Jordan

I’m over airports. Glad to be nearly home though. 1.25 hour flight then an hour drive. 🤞🏼

The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries (8 book series) has been so engrossing I've read the first 4 without writing about them 🐶 :

A series about … a woman who, after having trained as a CSI, has fled a career in law enforcement, only to find herself and her canine friends more deeply involved in it than ever she could imagine.

I've already ordered the next 4.

On 11 January 2023 I wrote about my M1 MacBook Pro:

2 years on and battery life is still phenomenal.

You know what? Add another 12 months and battery life is still phenomenal. It just goes all day.

So… given Deb’s positive Covid test, we’re extending our stay with our friends in Whangārei rather than flying home. This trip is full of surprises. 😵‍💫

Today we reverse our trip and fly Whangārei to Auckland then on to Palmerston North, then drive home. Given Deb’s unwell, I’m hoping this will be a lot smoother than our trip north. No delayed planes… 🤞🏼🛩️

Spotted this Ngungutawa | Sand Scarab larva (Pericoptus truncatus) on the beach track the other day.

The Rolling Ball Clock in Whangārei is pretty special. Poor photo I'm afraid and I only had a moment to watch it work.

Balls are released onto a wire track at precise intervals to accumulate in spots that tell the time.

The sculpture features spirals, a Newton’s cradle, racing balls, an undulating track, a loop-the-loop, banked corners, a sawtooth track, and switches.

Went out to lunch at Aqua Restaurant & Bar, based in the amazing Hundertwasser Centre in Whangārei Basin. The meal was delicious.

Our friends have several tanks with tropical fish. This one is called a Discus.

Here I am with my other new BFF — a black Malinois called Rush. 🐶

This is my new friend Boo, a German Spitz Mittel, keeping an eye on the world. 🐶

This shot was made with an unusual camera: the front camera on my M1 MacBook Pro, using Photo Booth.

We made it to Whangārei in the end. Whew. Much earlier in the day we flew past Taranaki maunga.

We missed that connecting flight to Whangārei by 2 minutes — the doors closed as we walked into the terminal. 7 of us (random strangers) on the same flight. Now we get to spend 7.5 hours hanging around in Auckland Airport Domestic terminal before the next available flight. 🛩️

Left home at 4.30 am. Drove through fog to the airport. Boarded the plane. Sat for half an hour. Debarked. Had breakfast at the cafe. Hoping to reach Auckland in time for our connecting flight to Whangārei. 🛫

Spotted on the beach today, a Taranui | Caspian tern:

Although widespread now, Caspian terns remain uncommon in New Zealand, with around 1300-1400 breeding pairs estimated.

Wellington asks for government funding for new bird 'super sanctuary':

The Puketaha fenced eco-sanctuary would be built in Wainuiomata on 3000 hectares of native bush.

… once the area is predator-fenced and pests eradicated, it could provide sufficient habitat to shift the threat status of kākāpo, rowi kiwi and hihi.

Weird: I've used Keyboard Maestro for one or two decades now and it's never occurred to me before to use the Clipboard History Switcher with its nearly 200 items.

I've always used some other app — currently ClipTools which I'm very happy with, but still …