Posts

Showing posts from April, 2021

Missing Palace

Image
The Salvation Army's People's Palace, before becoming the Railton Hotel, Trekkers Hotel (where Jude and I stayed on our very first visit to Wellington back in 1992), and through a few other owners and name changes before ending up as the C Hotel which is a lot fancier than when we were there. [info source: NZPlaces ]

Feeling Tipsy?

Image
Well, are ya?

Molecular Alcohol

Image
Someone told me that these lights in the Whistling Sisters Brewery Bar are in the shape of the alcohol molecule, anyone able to confirm that?

Information Request Relating to the Prime Minister

Image
The Prime Minister in question is John Key, and we can neither confirm nor deny that he is a shapeshifting reptilian alien . Yes, this really was an official Feb 2014 document in response to a real OIA request, genius!

Pondering

Image
There is so much emotion that can be added by us, the viewer, to this photo.  What is going around and around in his head?

Carrying The World On Their Shoulders

Image
I found this mildly humourous as someone who is obviously very proud of their recent world travels asks for directions. Where do you think this person is originally from? I reckon Western Europe somewhere.

The Adam Buxton Podcast

Image
Another of my go-to podcasts , The Adam Buxton Podcast , hosted by ... well, you're a clever person I'm sure you can work it out :) It's very much a talking heads situation, Adam sets up the person coming up, they have a chat which can range from hilarious to deep and back again. Whilst the interviews are almost always fascinating (check out the recent one with Lee Mack , I learnt so much) they are always conducted with kindness and love ... can be a tad duvet-ish at times and so I have to be in the mood. Oh and they might not be the only reason I listen, but something that makes me smile everytime I listen is his theme music and the musical stings , they are just plain brilliant. But when I am in the mood and that theme music kicks in I always smile and know it's gonna be a good next hour. I added one more podcast to the giant podcast bin Now you have plucked that podcast out and started listening I took my microphone and found some human folk Then I recorded all the n

There's Always One

Image
"That's it girls, well done, come together for a quick chat ...", I don't know how many times I've heard Mark say that to the team at the end of a successful/not-so-successful game. And yet, even though he says it every single time , there is always one that forgets that's how the game ends.

Goalie! DIVE!

Image
Not the finest of pitches, and I can't remember how many times the goalies had to dive but I do remember Jack (another Jack) ending the game as a mud monster.

Another Christchurch Ruin

Image
Yet another devastated Christchurch building from the February 2011 earthquake. As with the other photo this was taken in May 2018 so I'm sure it's been cleaned up by now.

Damaged CF Cotter Building

Image
Probably all gone now but was still being held up in May 2018 after the devastation of the Canterbury earthquake in February 2011.

When A Team Delivers

Image
It's high fives for all!

Love Napkin

Image
Wasn't me, but someone gave something to Anika Moa at the end of the ActInSpace 2018 Hackathon .

Cuckoo Emporium

Image
I don't think I know of anyone that doesn't like Cuckoo bar down on the Wellington waterfront.

No More Emails From This Blog

Image
If you have ever signed up to receive updates via email for my fantabulous blog then I'm afraid you're gonna be disappointed from July 2021+ as Google is turning off the email subscription part of the feed from this blog. Starting in July, we are transitioning FeedBurner onto a more stable, modern infrastructure. This will keep the product up and running for all users, but it also means that we will be turning down most non-core feed management features, including email subscriptions, at that time. [source:  Upcoming changes to FeedBurner ] What do I suggest you fine email subscribers do ... um, er ... I dunno tbh as I don't use email to subscribe to blogs. I am a big user of Feedly where you can definitely find me, maybe that's the way to go. Or any of the many other RSS readers that are out there.

Happy Lens Flare

Image
Coloured event people again but it's the big smiley lens flare that's get it a place in the Daily Photos album .

Don't Say You Have A Bomb

Image
It's not funny. Although it can be, sometimes, but knowing the audience is key to a successful delivery ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Cheers Tauranga

Image

Heads Watching

Image
It's a glorious sight to see a large event space full to the brim and lit beautifully.

A Moment in NZ Technology Politics

Image
It's rare to be present at the moment a 'political scandal' (media words, not mine) starts on its public journey ending up with a Ministerial resignation and ructions in a whole industry. But there we were, filming the Derek Handley speech as he laid out what he saw a Government CTO appointee should apply themselves to. As someone on the night whispered to me, "I just heard, "And I like to announce my nomination to the position of ...", without him actually saying the words 😜

Tui painting

Image
Tui painting / print at the AirBnB the three of us stayed at for our Auckland leg of the Techweek TV 2018 tour.

The Iconic Access Granted Photo

Image
"Suit up", was a term Raj and I used on the 2017 Access Granted NZ Road Trip as we popped on the famous red t-shirts before introducing ourselves to the latest venue. In 2018 as we prepared for the first ever broadcast of Techweek TV Raj suited up a la Superman style and the photo was snapped 👍

Smiley

Image
My first ever nickname was Smiler, coz I squinted in the blazing Swaziland sun . But I digress, and so early. "The greatest spy author", or words to that effect have been bouncing around my feeds for a while now. I finally popped over to Wikipedia and discovered that there were a number of Smiley books written by John le Carré (as his pen name has it). "But they're tedious, and slow, and about olden days and the Cold War", I thought as I borrowed the first one, Call For The Dead (1961) from the Wellington City Library - god I love Libby ! Well bugger me with a bestseller it's bloody good, I was hooked by 'page' 3 and can't stop reading it now. A classic whodunnit with a massive dollop of whydunnit as le Carré takes me on an all enveloping journey with his incredible writing. I s'pose all those awards and opinions weren't built on nothing after all. I'll let you know who and why dunnit later, once I've read all the books 😜 In

The Haunting Of Jacinda

Image
It's well known here in New Zealand that Jacinda Ardern is not in fact alive and has been a ghost since the late 1920s. Despite this she is still more popular than anything the opposition can muster. She is seen here haunting one of Auckland's popular theatres, a regular spot to catch a sighting.

Death In The UK

Image
There was a widely reported death in the UK recently, here's a few NewsBiscuit headlines for you ... Queen Sells Up And Moves To Ibiza DofE Awards now worthless Queen tears up telegram she was going to send on 10 June. Financially independent tiara-wearing horse lover. Seeks similar Royal Christmas cards for 2021 sent back to the printers Philip dead – Meghan to blame says Mail

Shedunnit podcast

Image
Another in my "these are the podcasts I'm currently enjoying , maybe you will as well" series. Shedunnit , ("The podcast that unravels the mysteries behind classic detective stories") written and presented by Caroline Crampton , is a sheer delight and one I look forward to each week. I have thought a few times that maybe the Golden Age of Detective Fiction isn't a subject that's going to sustain this podcast past a few episodes but Caroline just keeps coming up with novel (!) and engaging ways to not only look at the stories themselves, but the authors, the times, and how it all connects with us listening today. I find Shedunnit to be a perfect dinner prep podcast with each self contained episode informative, engaging, and reflective of the subject itself - that intro music for example! Brilliantly Caroline puts up the transcripts of each episode, something I wish we had done on Access Granted NZ , ho hum.

Woman With Longest Fingernails Gets Them Cut After 29 Years

Image
I've been blogging since 2004 and it didn't take long for a post to consistently hit the number one spot, " The worlds longest fingernails - something for Jack ". I don't know why, I don't know how but it is always my most read post by a country mile. I even decided to update it in 2019 as the the photos no longer worked, and many of the links had broken. Today I was served up the following headline Woman with the world's longest nails cuts them after nearly 30 years Ayanna Williams of Houston broke the Guinness World Record for the world's longest fingernails in 2017, when they measured nearly 19 feet long. It took her more than two bottles of nail polish and 20 hours to do her manicure then. Before getting them cut over the weekend, she got one final measurement: 24 ft, 0.7 in. That manicure took three to four bottles of nail polish over the course of a few days. Williams got the task done at a dermatology office in Fort Worth, Texas, where an electr

Theatre Lights

Image
I can't remember if this is backstage, a public concourse, or what, but it's at the Auckland ASB Waterfront Theatre. Lit up like a Christmas tree eh.

We Are Go For Liftoff

Image
Auckland Sky Tower as seen from the suburb of Freemans Bay, quite spectacular isn't it. You can jump off it if you have the money.

Auckland Airport

Image
Air NZ domestic terminal entrance at Auckland Airport. 

Ripples

Image
Ripples in the land and on the water.

Gorgeous Hertford Canal

Image
From a mate in the UK, he sure does make pretty videos eh - top work Andy.  

Wellingtown Ahoy

Image
Not a bad looking city centre eh.

Quiz Time!

Image
Yes, it's that time of the year and it's QUIZ TIME! What does it say on the t-shirt across my moobs? First prize: the warm inside feeling of knowing you're a better human being than most others. Leave your answers in the comments below ...

Mr. Cholmondley-Warner IRL

Image
I'm sure you've seen the Harry Enfield sketches in which Mr. Cholmondley-Warner and his manservant Greyson parody 1930/40s English public improvement films by asking you to "Look At It This Way" and "Look Listen & Take Heed". Just the titles give you a hint at how it all goes, " The Working Class ", " A short film about that Mr Hitler ", " The Conjugal Rights Guide ", and my favourite, " Women: Know Your Limits! " Imagine my ... delight ... horror ... and jaw drop, when this was served up by the machines, an actual in real life "Mr. Cholmondley-Warner" with a 1940s 'instructional film'. It's, well, it's quite something and the aggressive approach from the 'teacher' will have your eyebrows raised. How To Improve Immigrants' English (1940s Instructional Film) [HD]. Originally called '48 Paddington Street', British Pathe issued this as a cinema newsreel in the 1940s, alth

Kids Sports

Image
You may be lucky enough to have a kid that's sporty and wants to join up to various sporting ventures during their formative years. There is a meme that is passed down generation by generation that is summed up by saying that the weekend is gone because of it,  or youre just a taxi for the kids sports. It's akin to the, "My child is in the terrible twos", or, "I hear he's gonna be a teenager next year, good luck".  The myths and stories we pass on and the world we create around our kids are some of the biggest hurdles they have to break through.  Of course breaking the cycle is VERY VERY HARD! Anyway, I always enjoyed watching my kids play sport. I love the drive there and back, and the chatter no matter what the score.

She Can Code

Image
Big ups to Victoria MacLennan for her many years of advocating and working for women already in and, more importantly, thinking about coming into the tech industry. I still have my #SheCanCode t-shirt (photo taken in May 2018) but it's now a bed-shirt, although on the odd day I'm in the mood I'll wear it out, the message still needs to be heard eh!

The Man Who Didn't Fly

Image
One of my feeds suggested The Man Who Didn't Fly  as worthy of a read and being a sucker for a good crime novel I was in. The author, Margot Bennett , has a glorious turn of phrase, an almost modern feel despite being published in 1955. People fall in love and they die, and no amount of poetic advice has ever helped them to do either of those things more successfully.  They are interested in love for a few years, and later they are afraid of death. But they are always interested in money. Everyone, everywhere is interested in money all the time. There’s never been an age when people agreed so heartily to be interested all at once in the same thing. They’re crazy about money, even if it’s only to buy a bar of chocolate or a diamond necklace. She also has a wicked humour placed in the mouths of her characters. 

Build For Tomorrow podcast

Image
Working with people alongside the tech they use has me working in change and for what is often perceived a 'better tomorrow'. I found Build For Tomorrow podcast during my research on this are when it was called Pessimists Archive (a terrible name and luckily they recently changed). The host, Jason Feifer, has an extremely engaging tone and it's not just the subject matter but the ways he comes at it with enthusiasm and curiosity that I love. (writing this post had me visit the podcast official website and there at the bottom are the sponsors with Charles Koch Foundation listed, hmmm!)

Random Text To A Stranger

Image
The idea flowed past me on the feed recently, I shared it with mates and we had a giggle. Yesterday I was in the bus heading into work and noticed someone had scrawled their/someones mobile number on one of the QR notices. It worked a treat. There's a tonne of these out there, some are very very funny ...

Stately Pictures

Image
It's a wonderful cinema and venue to hang out in.

Purdy

Image
Wall decoration at The Embassy, I think.