Blog Archive 2023
Blog Archive
2023
December
Approximately 270 toothbrushes are thrown away every second to live in landfills for (most of) the lifetime of the planet. I don't know how many jibbitz are thrown away every second. Don't know what jibbitz are? Read on ...
Ever got a scented owl candle in a Secret Santa exercise and wondered how soon you can dispose of it (like before leaving the party)? Christmas traditions are peculiar things. Whatever your Christmas situation, here's wishing you a relaxing holiday break.
Sorry frog, you're in the road when it comes to progress. Shane Jones is out to provide jobs for neffs at the expense of the environment. What's a neff? Should their jobs overrule the rights of frogs?
We're soon getting a Ministry for Regulation. Should we be pleased? Or not? And just how Orwellian might this title be?
Where the Labour government was about doing too much all at once, our new coalition seem focused on undoing all at once. They have announced forty-nine steps for their first hundred days - where will those steps take us?
November
'Black' days are generally not days you want to remember. What's the origin of 'Black Friday' and what's to like about it?
NZ is waiting to get a new government. Winston Peters, stalwart politician since 1979, is influencing the outcome and I'm having to like him more than I thought I did.
Halloween has been and (thankfully) gone. Superstitions galore. Can a scientist have superstitions? I have a short list I allow myself to indulge in.
My age cohort talks frequently about retirement. But does anyone ask Margaret Atwood when she's retiring? I had an epiphany about retirement while planting onions this week.
October
The line between truth and fiction is stretched thin to the point of invisibility. We encounter this line constantly, in the media, and in memoir. Memories are fallible. Do we care?
Mullygrub - an excellent word with a four-hundred-year etymology that has taken it from referring to a headache to referring to an Australian bowling an underarm cricket ball. Or is that the same thing?
What does one need to know? World news? Election results? The names of flowers? Or just the number of kilometres to your destination?
Are New Zealand tramping huts too complex and expensive? Here's a simple Ozzie alternative - we're impressed.
September
We have a spectacular crop of blossoms this year with the promise of a bountiful fruit crop as well as the present joy of the blooms.
Music is a powerful force to uplift and unite us, as I remembered when we sang along with 2000 people in Tim Finn's recent concert, reliving his hit songs.
The general election is coming, like Christmas but even less fun than hearing Snoopy's Christmas every day for two months. The hoardings are up. So how do they look?
Ski touring is a relatively risky activity. We had a trip planned but deliberated mightily over snow conditions, including likelihood of avalanches. Should we go? Luckily we did.
Can using someone's preferred name be idealogical unpalatable? And is this something the Free Speech Union should be protesting about? An interesting New Zealand case is in the news again.
August
The (likely) assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin this week is more worrying than satisfying, however despicable the leader of a mercenary force invading Ukraine might be.
What makes a holiday? Different things for different people, without a doubt - here's what makes a holiday for me.
Monuments and museums memorialise people and philosophies, including the Stalin Museum in Gori. When we change our attitude to past events, should we change our monuments?
Safety systems have a place – how can we be safe enough but not have a safety surfeit?
July
Sometimes you just have to go. But what do you do when there isn't an appropriate place to go?
Bike derailleurs come with limit screws to stop chain 'going off the rails'. Unfortunately, humans and societies don't come with similar, easily adjustable limiting mechanisms.
Georgia is littered with plastic bags while NZ has implemented first-in-the-world legislation banning single use plastics. How can we do even better?
Mountains and peanut butter crackers make for an excellent birthday - how happiness can stem from minimum options.
June
The OceanGate submersible crew went down to the Titanic in the spirit of discovery. How much military effort and media interest did this incident deserve?
Travel is a always great way to encounter different people and open your eyes to possibilities you didn't previously know existed, even if they aren't for you.
How well do we assess safety? How much of our subjective fears about safety should we transmit to others? And where in the world does this flag call home?
How much do we value creativity in society? How much are we willing to pay for it? And do you like our new moa? We do!
May
Vegetable gardens with long rows of identical plants look tidy but are they the best approach? I'm trying something different.
How much decadence is too much? We mull over this quandary while dining at a local high-end restaurant.
The next AI off the block, Pi, is going to make you a better human. Really? What happens if humans interact more with AI than other humans?
School camp - pushing children and adults alike outside their comfort zones as they go, blindfolded, into the dark.
April
Humans use 1.75x the amount of ecological resources the planet creates in a year. If everyone lived like NZers, we'd need 3 planet Earths. Where to from here?
How much investment should governments make in creative arts relative to R, S & T? I'm arguing creative arts deserve more.
To make headway, a waka requires everyone paddles in the same direction. How important is meeting in person to ensure we are paddling in concert?
Posie Parker is a horror. However, can we learn from the inherent absurdity of her demands?
Can New Zealand afford a new bridge across Auckland harbour? And is such a bridge visionary thinking or an impediment to a sustainable future?
March
Shared stories cement our connections. That's my thesis in my novel Broken is Beautiful, just launched, and in life.
Been scammed? It feels pretty bad. Which is why I was sceptical when I got a phone call saying, "You have won a prize ... "
Tui trying to look more intelligent than a chatbot
Contrasting NZ and Oz. Is the critical difference Ocker Gumption?
February
Frogs jump out of gradually heating water, but humans stick with failing paths of action. So why do we keep dissing frogs?
Some NZ bookstores won't stock books referring to vaccination in any way, including my new novel. What does this mean for our society?
When life serves you cucumbers ... you could put them on your face. Or, preferably, make great soup.
What is the similarity between singing and biking? In the learning, it turns out, as I discovered this week.
January
Are AI text to image models of practical use? I found DALL.E very handy this week, when I needed to create a logo for a publishing imprint for my novel, Broken is Beautiful.
Jacinda Ardern has stepped down. Is this a surprise? Might a change be good?
The US could be powered by solar panels on 100 square kilometres. Really? How much land would we need to solar power New Zealand?
New Zealand has an egg shortage. Is keeping chickens a cost-effective way of getting eggs? No chickens were harmed in writing this blog.