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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Just before Xmas one of my sons, his wife and her parents came over to the island for a couple of nights, so I borrowed my friend's van as my car would not accommodate five adults...We did a swap, however when my friend dropped my car back, he pointed out damage to the front righthand side panel and the front bumper of my car, by the looks of it someone had reversed into it, and judging by the puncture marks in the damaged panel, it was most probably a tradie in a ute...At my friend's place there's only on road parking...
It must have happened late night or early morning, whoever did it took off...So I have to pay the insurance excess...
Finally on Monday I took the car to the panel beaters who the insurance had accepted the quote from...Anyhow not sure how long my car will be there, as the PB mentioned that he is still waiting for the parts to arrive...
So when necessary I've been using my electric bike...and today I visited one of my favourite Op shops, then took the scenic route back ...Stopping for a while at my favourite spot ...Palm Beach look out...
Unfortunately the waters around the island (especially on the Palm beach side) are polluted, due to the recent storms, slips and floods, not sure when it will be safe to venture back into the water....I guess it might be quite a while as there's another tropical cyclone on its way, forecast to arrive either on the weekend or beginning of next week...
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
How aggravating @shoshin1, it’s always annoying when people do you damage ans are unwilling to stump up for the cost.
Ukelele? I've got a nice soprano pineapple shaped one I bought when I was in the UK back in 2014.... sounds really lovely. Last song I tried to learn was "Always look on the bright side of life".
I've been keeping postcards which I have received from my children, my sister and friends on their overseas travels...( also the Christmas and New year greetings postcards I receive each year from a Swedish friend)
Yesterday at the op shop I bought a large photo album (you can see it on the back of my bike in the video) in which I can display the postcards...it turns out I have around 120 from all over the place...
From Central, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America, The Caribbean, South East Asia, The Pacific Islands and so on...
It brings back pleasant memories when I read them...especially the ones from my children when they first started to travel overseas alone, and when reading them, I can sense their excitement of the experience and sense of adventure...
@Shoshin1 said:
I guess it might be quite a while as there's another tropical cyclone on its way, forecast to arrive either on the weekend or beginning of next week...
Hmm there was me thinking it was going to be 'just another cyclone'... correction this is going to be a whopper ...It turns out it is forecast to be the most severe cyclone to hit Aotearoa this century...
Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is located in the Coral Sea and is expected to move southeast towards New Zealand. We expected to see impact from this cyclone from Sunday starting in the north and spreading to a wider region early next week. Metservice is expecting significant wind, rain and swell from this cyclone. This is a widespread, significant weather event, so it is important to keep up to date with the latest Metservice forecasts as watches are likely to be upgraded to Warnings, changes are made and more areas are added.
Heavy Rain Watch for Auckland, Great Barrier Island
Issued: 3:33pm Thursday, 9th February 2023
Area: Northland and Auckland north of Whangaparaoa
Valid: 1:00am Sunday to 12:00am Wednesday
Periods of heavy rain. Rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria during Sunday. >However, a more significant period is expected to be from Monday morning through to >Tuesday morning, where we may see rainfall amounts of 150 -200mm in 24 hours. >Note, this will likely be upgraded to an Orange or possibly Red warning in the coming days.
Strong Wind Watch for Auckland, Great Barrier Island
Issued: 3:33pm Thursday, 9th February 2023
Area: Auckland north of Whangaparaoa
Valid: 6:00am Sunday to 12:00am Wednesday
East to southeast winds may approach severe gale in exposed places. Note, this will likely be upgraded to an Orange or possibly Red warning in the coming days.
Strong Wind Watch for Auckland
Issued: 3:33pm Thursday, 9th February 2023
Area: Auckland south of Whangaparaoa
Valid: 6:00am Monday to 12:00am Wednesday
Southeast winds may approach severe gale in exposed places. Note, this will likely be upgraded to an Orange or possibly Red warning in the coming days.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Exciting! We don’t have cyclones in the Netherlands.
Yes experiencing Mother nature flexing her muscles can be quite a spectacular sight, but sadly more often than not, sentient beings are caught up in the spectacular events, eg earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, bushfires, floods, etc etc...
Mother Nature's can destroy in seconds what has taken Father Time a life time to build/grow....
The ground is still quite boggy from the last storm, so when this one hit there will be more flooding and slips and the emergency services are already stretched to the limits dealing with the last one....
This too shall pass...Hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst...
@Shoshin1
You mentioned that...
Unfortunately the waters around the island (especially on the Palm beach side) are polluted, due to the recent storms, slips and floods, not sure when it will be safe to venture back into the water.
Is the pollution industrial, residential or agricultural run off?
@how said: @Shoshin1
You mentioned that...
Unfortunately the waters around the island (especially on the Palm beach side) are polluted, due to the recent storms, slips and floods, not sure when it will be safe to venture back into the water.
Is the pollution industrial, residential or agricultural run off?
Domestic sewage, industrial sewage, and storm sewage...
Walking home after work...I could see the calm before the storm...
A hazy skies over the Coromandel Peninsula (you can see in the distance...)
I'm sitting at home now and the wind has started to pick up already...My washing is on the line and with this wind it will dry in no time...
I called into the supermarket on my way home...there was a sense of impending doom in the air...I guess some can remember when cyclone Bola hit back in early March 1988....It packed a power punch...
The ferry companies (the passenger and car ferries) are cancelling all sailings to and from the island on Sunday ....
This morning's jolk, the guy who makes the small tables and chairs for the beach was busy collecting them and putting them up on higher ground
Don't think I'll be jolking a long the beach for the next few days
Later I walked back into the village and was going to walk via the beach...
however I thought better of it, and took the high road, the sea was getting a bit too rough, the tide was coming in and the wave were getting bigger...they are predicting the storm surge to produce waves up to 7 metres high in some areas...
Pick up some emergency supplies (bananas, & pears 'to add to my smoothie' and a couple of cans, bake beans and kidney beans),, then popped into the local op shop to see what bargains to be had, then headed home...In the village it looked like business as usual, still lots of tourists around...
Plus my hay fever symptoms have started up, blocked nose and scratchy throat, I guess it's all the pollen being picked up and carried by the wind currents...Thunder storms, cyclones, hurricanes, tornados and the like have been known to increase symptoms for asthmatics and hay fever sufferers...
The movements of Cyclone Gabrielle
The rain as started but not too heavy at the moment and wind gusts are gradually increasing...
Heavier rain and stronger winds are meant to arrive later this afternoon/evening, as Gabrielle slowly makes her way down from the top end of the North Island...
Whether the weather is cold or whether the weather is hot
We'll weather the weather whatever the weather whether we like it or not
Hmm...Or....
Whether the rain is heavy or the winds are strong
If one can remain mindful one can't go wrong
Gabrielle is meant to intensify over the next couple of days as she moves down from Northland before dying down...
No doubt there will be a power outage when the strong winds hit, so I might be offline for a while...
As it stands Wifi connection is not the best in the area where I live anyway, we are still using copper cables, fiber is not in our area yet...
The alert warning for Northland, Auckland and parts of the central North Island areas have been updated from Orange to "Red" ....meaning heavy rain warning...Northland is already experiencing it...
Update...
Last night I stayed in the spare bedroom of my neighbours who lives in the lower part of the building below me...The winds had picked up and the tall gum trees just outside my lounge window were swaying back and forth not a pleasant sight to see them bending down towards my place.. they could topple Any minute, so I grabbed my emergency snatch pack and headed down to my neighbours... I'll stay here to ride out the cyclone.. The power and internet went off at around 5.30 yesterday evening, it's on now but not sure for how long...
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Thank goodness you get on with your neighbour! Stay safe, let us know how it goes...
Earlier today...We are getting strong wind gust , then it calms down then picks up again...When I look at the trees swaying from side to side, it reminds me of when the dentist pulled out two of my molars, by pulling the tooth from side to side to loosen the root...
The trees are at the edge of the pond, so the surrounding earth is already quite soggy...
Not sure how long we will have the internet for...
The heavy rain's arrived... https://youtube.com/shorts/NQIHbgTK_m0?feature=share
Well more trees down blocking roads ferry terminal at Matiatia closed due to slips, trees blocking road, plus no power, and this goes for many parts of the island..
One of the people at the house (the landlord's ex), took me up to see her place which is close to the cliff edge, (around 50-75 metre from where we are all staying) .. A pine tree had toppled over and slid down the cliff, there are another two large trees close to her house already leaning over, ready to fall, fortunately leaning towards the cliff edge and not her house... https://youtube.com/shorts/XdHWH89IL_s?feature=share
Also had a walk around the property to assess the damage, surprisingly not much, however there were a couple of guys with chain saws cutting up what looked like a large tree which had toppled over in the Kindy carpark fortunately all schools/kindys are closed ...
Plus the sea is surprisingly calm at Oneroa bay...however the wind is starting to pick up again...so not quite out of the woods yet. https://youtube.com/shorts/tYQDhAvjEeE?feature=share
On the brightside, had a call from the panel.beater to say that the parts have arrived and the car should be really either tomorrow or Thursday...I asked how it has been at his part of the island, he said quite calm and that he had even been out fishing... It's amazing how selective Mother nature can be at times...
Well after three days the power is finally back on and I'm back in my place but compared to many in other parts of the North Island, the island I live on got off lightly, I'm just watching the news it's as it the entire North Island is waterlogged, floods & slips thousands have lost everything, some communities/towns are still cut off , high tides are threatening to reflood some parts...The extent of the damage is still being assessed...The government had better have deep pockets it's going to be in the billions...
Sadly four deaths confirmed so far, but around 1400 people still unaccounted for ...
And to top it all off there was just an earthquake...
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 48 km
50 km north-west of Paraparaumu
My daughter just felt it, she's in Wellington and people in Auckland also felt it...
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited February 2023
This was hilarious and educational… on belief, brain and the backfire effect
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I'll be honest with you @Jerome, the whole thing left me feeling "yeah... So what?" and felt more concerned for @Shosin1's predicament than giving a toss about all that malarkey.
See, I simply don't care. Everything has to be abandoned and left behind at some point. And what George Washington had in his mouth was yesterday. Today is today, and today is all that matters. To me.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Since the beginning of this year, we have had a number of applicants, 10 of which I have approved. All gave sound, sensible reasons for wishing to join, focused mainly on finding a sangha, wanting to learn more, or wishing to join a community for discussion and learning.
Do you think any one of those 10 new members has even bothered to come in and introduce themselves, join in, contribute, ask, chat or even observe?
Hard to fill a full cup. Maybe they are learning how to pour it out and will join once they do.
I know my periods of silence are usually because I have no idea how to respond. That or I know my mind's in a state where no understanding will be taking place. Right contribution can be hard to understand and like your avatar motto @federica, sometimes better to be silent than speak when it's unclear what's to be said.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Oh I agree with your comment, @FleaMarket. but the 10 members have been admitted over the period of one month or so... If I tell you that last year we were in the upper 50's - and still, nobody new has come in and joined the discussions... well... I'm just not sure how their minds are working, exactly.... \meh....
Sunrise now offers the barking cries of boisterous sea lions 2.5 km away, wafting through an open meditation window. A West coaster's equivalency of morning roosters.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Here its loud birdcalls… I’m in the center of a semi-urban area of 80,000 people, so not much real wildlife, for deer and foxes you need to make a fifteen minute walk to the forest around the corner. But we have all kinds of birds, all over.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Taking my walk around a local lake (old quarry, filled in. Very deep in the middle, but replete with wildlife) I chanced to see not one, but 2 water voles! How delightful! I was immediately transported to think of "The Wind In The Willows". Who knows? Badger, Mole and Mr Toad were possibly nearby...
So... one week ago this self-admitted sugar & black tea hound decided to experiment with eliminating added sugar, caffeine & between meal snacks from my diet. I'm an Ovo/lacto vegetarian who usually has two meals a day. (breakfast & dinner).
The cons...
The next morning I had a bit of a headache.
The pros...
The roving joint and back pains that I just thought was age related arthritis is 90% gone.
My blood pressure has dropped enough to stop needing blood pressure medicine.
(yes I check daily) It's now 114/75 where it normally was averaging around 128/85.
My eyesight has noticeably improved.
No more needing a siesta to make up for tiredness during my day.
Mental acuity is more pronounced.
Sugar cravings have largely diminished.
It's kind of how I remembered my health being about 20 years ago.
I don't know how long this might last but it sure makes life easier right now.
I expected that there might be some small improvements if I did this for a month but even the differences after 3 days were surprising.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
It’s wonderful how much tackling these kinds of subtle addictions can do for the body. For a while I went without sugar some years ago, it made tea and coffee a very different experience but the cravings disappeared after a while.
I’ve also been cutting down coffee to three cups a day and going without tea or having just one tea for a couple of years now, call it a lifestyle change, and I find the reduced caffeine wholesome for my body.
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JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I was on my bicycle on my way to the apothecary to collect medications when I saw a beautiful bird with white, powder blue and light grey plumage, I was later told it was a Jay. Lovely.
Bluejays are considered to be one of the smartest birds around and build & use tools for food collecting. They teach their offspring these skills. Often are in adversarial relationships with any nearby squirrels as they both compete in collecting, stealing, and hiding of each other's nuts for winter. Deliberately rub the folic acid found in ants on their feathers to protect them against mold and fungus...and the list goes on & on.
We have Steller Jays around here who revel in lording it all over the local cats and collecting in large groups around fruit when it starts to ferment to party like there's no tomorrow.
On the property where I live we have an array of different birds, different species of Ducks & Chickens, Kingfishers, Pukekoes, Doves, ( two species) Tuis, Eastern Rosella parrots, I often hear the noisy Kaka plus Fantails, Blackbirds, Starlings, Thrushes, Goldfinches ...The list goes on and on...
At the moment I'm listening to a Cicada serenade with the occasional Kingfisher song......
Walked into the village, it was business as usual, lots of tourists ...It's as if there was no cyclone....Compared to many other parts of Aotearoa the island got off lightly, some flooding a few slips and trees down, some local lost their cars to flooding and a tree toppled onto one local's car which was parked outside the mechanics shop, waiting on a warranty of fitness check... fortunately the car's owner was not in it...the car's a write off...
On the way back I bought some organically grown grapes, from a unmanned stall outside a house (they have an honesty box there)...and they are the yummiest I've had in a long while and well worth $5...
Bunks voluntarily left the forum for reasons I will not go in to, but he is quite happy. I have occasionally heard from him on Fb Messenger (he kindly asked to keep in touch with me regarding my current situation) so I will be sure to pass on all and any good wishes, which I'm sure are both plentiful and unanimous...
Had my first skinny dip in quite a while.... my last dip was in early January not long before the first cyclone, cyclone Hale ...
Fished out a large piece of plastic as I entered the water, sadly no doubt, there's plenty more where that came from...
I think the first cyclone I experienced was back in 1981/2 when travelling overland from Oz to Europe and the UK, we were staying in a cheap hotel in Dacca Bangladesh when all of a sudden an hotel staff member banged on our door when we opened it, he just said cyclone is coming stay in your room and rushed to each window and closed the thick wooden shutters...all we could hear was the loud deafening roar of the wind and things flying around and smashing into things on the outside, it didn't last long, but was quite unsettling, not knowing what was happening outside....
The trees outside my room are getting a bit wild. The ravens moved in a year or so ago and have recruited the crows to their caws. Now a couple months ago two owls moved in and are very vocal every day and night. At first the ravens and crows had a problem with the owls but now they have meetings every so often.
There's also a young hawk that's been frequenting recently and I think has a nest near by. Sometimes all three congregate around the same few trees and investigate each other and the whole thing gets quite noisy and fun to watch. I still haven't spotted the owls yet but caught a glimpse of what looked like one swooping down to a lower branch. They really blend in well.
Had a dental appointment at lunch time today in Auckland, had a filling and filing ...However they filled the wrong tooth (fortunately it turns out the old filling did need replacing anyway) the tooth I thought I was going to have filled they smoothed the sharp edge so my tongue wasn't catching it...The dentist said I can book another appointment for a later date to have that one refilled ...
When I got back to the island I was walking along the wharf when I saw a lot of ducks swimming close to the wharf and when I looked closer there was also a manta ray ...
The video of the manta ray is not the best, the water was quite murky ...It was swimming between the ferry and the shore...I've seen a few larger manta rays in the past, swimming very close to shore...
So I've had a busy day today ....It always seems a long day when I have to go over to the mainland...
Comments
Well on this morning's jolk, it was not a dog shark I spied...😱
...it was a dog dolphin 😉😎
Just before Xmas one of my sons, his wife and her parents came over to the island for a couple of nights, so I borrowed my friend's van as my car would not accommodate five adults...We did a swap, however when my friend dropped my car back, he pointed out damage to the front righthand side panel and the front bumper of my car, by the looks of it someone had reversed into it, and judging by the puncture marks in the damaged panel, it was most probably a tradie in a ute...At my friend's place there's only on road parking...
It must have happened late night or early morning, whoever did it took off...So I have to pay the insurance excess...
Finally on Monday I took the car to the panel beaters who the insurance had accepted the quote from...Anyhow not sure how long my car will be there, as the PB mentioned that he is still waiting for the parts to arrive...
So when necessary I've been using my electric bike...and today I visited one of my favourite Op shops, then took the scenic route back ...Stopping for a while at my favourite spot ...Palm Beach look out...
Unfortunately the waters around the island (especially on the Palm beach side) are polluted, due to the recent storms, slips and floods, not sure when it will be safe to venture back into the water....I guess it might be quite a while as there's another tropical cyclone on its way, forecast to arrive either on the weekend or beginning of next week...
How aggravating @shoshin1, it’s always annoying when people do you damage ans are unwilling to stump up for the cost.
Yes it's annoying when things like this happen, but what's done is done and I just have to make the most of the situation...
got up..went tu Uke session...came home...good lunch...sunshine
Ukelele?
I've got a nice soprano pineapple shaped one I bought when I was in the UK back in 2014.... sounds really lovely. Last song I tried to learn was "Always look on the bright side of life".
I've been keeping postcards which I have received from my children, my sister and friends on their overseas travels...( also the Christmas and New year greetings postcards I receive each year from a Swedish friend)
Yesterday at the op shop I bought a large photo album (you can see it on the back of my bike in the video) in which I can display the postcards...it turns out I have around 120 from all over the place...
From Central, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America, The Caribbean, South East Asia, The Pacific Islands and so on...
It brings back pleasant memories when I read them...especially the ones from my children when they first started to travel overseas alone, and when reading them, I can sense their excitement of the experience and sense of adventure...
Hmm there was me thinking it was going to be 'just another cyclone'... correction this is going to be a whopper ...It turns out it is forecast to be the most severe cyclone to hit Aotearoa this century...
Exciting! We don’t have cyclones in the Netherlands.
Yes experiencing Mother nature flexing her muscles can be quite a spectacular sight, but sadly more often than not, sentient beings are caught up in the spectacular events, eg earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, bushfires, floods, etc etc...
Mother Nature's can destroy in seconds what has taken Father Time a life time to build/grow....
The ground is still quite boggy from the last storm, so when this one hit there will be more flooding and slips and the emergency services are already stretched to the limits dealing with the last one....
This too shall pass...Hoping for the best but being prepared for the worst...
Be safe Shoshin..!
@Shoshin1
You mentioned that...
Unfortunately the waters around the island (especially on the Palm beach side) are polluted, due to the recent storms, slips and floods, not sure when it will be safe to venture back into the water.
Is the pollution industrial, residential or agricultural run off?
Domestic sewage, industrial sewage, and storm sewage...
Walking home after work...I could see the calm before the storm...
A hazy skies over the Coromandel Peninsula (you can see in the distance...)
I'm sitting at home now and the wind has started to pick up already...My washing is on the line and with this wind it will dry in no time...
I called into the supermarket on my way home...there was a sense of impending doom in the air...I guess some can remember when cyclone Bola hit back in early March 1988....It packed a power punch...
The ferry companies (the passenger and car ferries) are cancelling all sailings to and from the island on Sunday ....
This morning's jolk, the guy who makes the small tables and chairs for the beach was busy collecting them and putting them up on higher ground
Don't think I'll be jolking a long the beach for the next few days
Later I walked back into the village and was going to walk via the beach...
however I thought better of it, and took the high road, the sea was getting a bit too rough, the tide was coming in and the wave were getting bigger...they are predicting the storm surge to produce waves up to 7 metres high in some areas...
Pick up some emergency supplies (bananas, & pears 'to add to my smoothie' and a couple of cans, bake beans and kidney beans),, then popped into the local op shop to see what bargains to be had, then headed home...In the village it looked like business as usual, still lots of tourists around...
Plus my hay fever symptoms have started up, blocked nose and scratchy throat, I guess it's all the pollen being picked up and carried by the wind currents...Thunder storms, cyclones, hurricanes, tornados and the like have been known to increase symptoms for asthmatics and hay fever sufferers...
The movements of Cyclone Gabrielle
The rain as started but not too heavy at the moment and wind gusts are gradually increasing...
Heavier rain and stronger winds are meant to arrive later this afternoon/evening, as Gabrielle slowly makes her way down from the top end of the North Island...
Whether the weather is cold or whether the weather is hot
We'll weather the weather whatever the weather whether we like it or not
Hmm...Or....
Whether the rain is heavy or the winds are strong
If one can remain mindful one can't go wrong
My new mantra
Let us know when it passes and you are OK.
Will do...
Gabrielle is meant to intensify over the next couple of days as she moves down from Northland before dying down...
No doubt there will be a power outage when the strong winds hit, so I might be offline for a while...
As it stands Wifi connection is not the best in the area where I live anyway, we are still using copper cables, fiber is not in our area yet...
The alert warning for Northland, Auckland and parts of the central North Island areas have been updated from Orange to "Red" ....meaning heavy rain warning...Northland is already experiencing it...
Update...
Last night I stayed in the spare bedroom of my neighbours who lives in the lower part of the building below me...The winds had picked up and the tall gum trees just outside my lounge window were swaying back and forth not a pleasant sight to see them bending down towards my place.. they could topple Any minute, so I grabbed my emergency snatch pack and headed down to my neighbours... I'll stay here to ride out the cyclone.. The power and internet went off at around 5.30 yesterday evening, it's on now but not sure for how long...
Thank goodness you get on with your neighbour! Stay safe, let us know how it goes...
Earlier today...We are getting strong wind gust , then it calms down then picks up again...When I look at the trees swaying from side to side, it reminds me of when the dentist pulled out two of my molars, by pulling the tooth from side to side to loosen the root...
The trees are at the edge of the pond, so the surrounding earth is already quite soggy...
Not sure how long we will have the internet for...
The heavy rain's arrived...
https://youtube.com/shorts/NQIHbgTK_m0?feature=share
Well more trees down blocking roads ferry terminal at Matiatia closed due to slips, trees blocking road, plus no power, and this goes for many parts of the island..
One of the people at the house (the landlord's ex), took me up to see her place which is close to the cliff edge, (around 50-75 metre from where we are all staying) .. A pine tree had toppled over and slid down the cliff, there are another two large trees close to her house already leaning over, ready to fall, fortunately leaning towards the cliff edge and not her house...
https://youtube.com/shorts/XdHWH89IL_s?feature=share
Also had a walk around the property to assess the damage, surprisingly not much, however there were a couple of guys with chain saws cutting up what looked like a large tree which had toppled over in the Kindy carpark fortunately all schools/kindys are closed ...
Plus the sea is surprisingly calm at Oneroa bay...however the wind is starting to pick up again...so not quite out of the woods yet.
https://youtube.com/shorts/tYQDhAvjEeE?feature=share
On the brightside, had a call from the panel.beater to say that the parts have arrived and the car should be really either tomorrow or Thursday...I asked how it has been at his part of the island, he said quite calm and that he had even been out fishing... It's amazing how selective Mother nature can be at times...
Cyclone...What cyclone???
View from the village this afternoon...
Well after three days the power is finally back on and I'm back in my place but compared to many in other parts of the North Island, the island I live on got off lightly, I'm just watching the news it's as it the entire North Island is waterlogged, floods & slips thousands have lost everything, some communities/towns are still cut off , high tides are threatening to reflood some parts...The extent of the damage is still being assessed...The government had better have deep pockets it's going to be in the billions...
Sadly four deaths confirmed so far, but around 1400 people still unaccounted for ...
And to top it all off there was just an earthquake...
Magnitude: 6.1
Depth: 48 km
50 km north-west of Paraparaumu
My daughter just felt it, she's in Wellington and people in Auckland also felt it...
This was hilarious and educational… on belief, brain and the backfire effect
https://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
I'll be honest with you @Jerome, the whole thing left me feeling "yeah... So what?" and felt more concerned for @Shosin1's predicament than giving a toss about all that malarkey.
See, I simply don't care. Everything has to be abandoned and left behind at some point. And what George Washington had in his mouth was yesterday. Today is today, and today is all that matters. To me.
Since the beginning of this year, we have had a number of applicants, 10 of which I have approved. All gave sound, sensible reasons for wishing to join, focused mainly on finding a sangha, wanting to learn more, or wishing to join a community for discussion and learning.
Do you think any one of those 10 new members has even bothered to come in and introduce themselves, join in, contribute, ask, chat or even observe?
Have they heck as like...
Hard to fill a full cup. Maybe they are learning how to pour it out and will join once they do.
I know my periods of silence are usually because I have no idea how to respond. That or I know my mind's in a state where no understanding will be taking place. Right contribution can be hard to understand and like your avatar motto @federica, sometimes better to be silent than speak when it's unclear what's to be said.
Oh I agree with your comment, @FleaMarket. but the 10 members have been admitted over the period of one month or so... If I tell you that last year we were in the upper 50's - and still, nobody new has come in and joined the discussions... well... I'm just not sure how their minds are working, exactly.... \meh....
That's too bad... are we not friendly enough?
I joined last year. Did I ever introduce myself?
One out of approx. 50 ain't bad then!
Sunrise now offers the barking cries of boisterous sea lions 2.5 km away, wafting through an open meditation window. A West coaster's equivalency of morning roosters.
Here its loud birdcalls… I’m in the center of a semi-urban area of 80,000 people, so not much real wildlife, for deer and foxes you need to make a fifteen minute walk to the forest around the corner. But we have all kinds of birds, all over.
Taking my walk around a local lake (old quarry, filled in. Very deep in the middle, but replete with wildlife) I chanced to see not one, but 2 water voles! How delightful! I was immediately transported to think of "The Wind In The Willows". Who knows? Badger, Mole and Mr Toad were possibly nearby...
Educational yes. I didn't see any hilarity, until a subsequent demonstration of the backfire effect. Now I agree on both counts.
So... one week ago this self-admitted sugar & black tea hound decided to experiment with eliminating added sugar, caffeine & between meal snacks from my diet. I'm an Ovo/lacto vegetarian who usually has two meals a day. (breakfast & dinner).
The cons...
The next morning I had a bit of a headache.
The pros...
The roving joint and back pains that I just thought was age related arthritis is 90% gone.
My blood pressure has dropped enough to stop needing blood pressure medicine.
(yes I check daily) It's now 114/75 where it normally was averaging around 128/85.
My eyesight has noticeably improved.
No more needing a siesta to make up for tiredness during my day.
Mental acuity is more pronounced.
Sugar cravings have largely diminished.
It's kind of how I remembered my health being about 20 years ago.
I don't know how long this might last but it sure makes life easier right now.
I expected that there might be some small improvements if I did this for a month but even the differences after 3 days were surprising.
It’s wonderful how much tackling these kinds of subtle addictions can do for the body. For a while I went without sugar some years ago, it made tea and coffee a very different experience but the cravings disappeared after a while.
I’ve also been cutting down coffee to three cups a day and going without tea or having just one tea for a couple of years now, call it a lifestyle change, and I find the reduced caffeine wholesome for my body.
I was on my bicycle on my way to the apothecary to collect medications when I saw a beautiful bird with white, powder blue and light grey plumage, I was later told it was a Jay. Lovely.
Bluejays are considered to be one of the smartest birds around and build & use tools for food collecting. They teach their offspring these skills. Often are in adversarial relationships with any nearby squirrels as they both compete in collecting, stealing, and hiding of each other's nuts for winter. Deliberately rub the folic acid found in ants on their feathers to protect them against mold and fungus...and the list goes on & on.
We have Steller Jays around here who revel in lording it all over the local cats and collecting in large groups around fruit when it starts to ferment to party like there's no tomorrow.
On the property where I live we have an array of different birds, different species of Ducks & Chickens, Kingfishers, Pukekoes, Doves, ( two species) Tuis, Eastern Rosella parrots, I often hear the noisy Kaka plus Fantails, Blackbirds, Starlings, Thrushes, Goldfinches ...The list goes on and on...
At the moment I'm listening to a Cicada serenade with the occasional Kingfisher song......
Walked into the village, it was business as usual, lots of tourists ...It's as if there was no cyclone....Compared to many other parts of Aotearoa the island got off lightly, some flooding a few slips and trees down, some local lost their cars to flooding and a tree toppled onto one local's car which was parked outside the mechanics shop, waiting on a warranty of fitness check... fortunately the car's owner was not in it...the car's a write off...
On the way back I bought some organically grown grapes, from a unmanned stall outside a house (they have an honesty box there)...and they are the yummiest I've had in a long while and well worth $5...
https://youtube.com/shorts/5Lr0BmOnLik?feature=share
Anyone heard from @Bunks ?
Hope all is well with him....
Oooooh, it does seem to've been a while . . .
Yeah he’s been gone a good seven months… I believe @federica said he was taking a break from forum activities.
Bunks voluntarily left the forum for reasons I will not go in to, but he is quite happy. I have occasionally heard from him on Fb Messenger (he kindly asked to keep in touch with me regarding my current situation) so I will be sure to pass on all and any good wishes, which I'm sure are both plentiful and unanimous...
May you and your family be well and stay safe and stay mindful @Bunks
Good luck @Bunks, hope to see you around!
Had my first skinny dip in quite a while.... my last dip was in early January not long before the first cyclone, cyclone Hale ...
Fished out a large piece of plastic as I entered the water, sadly no doubt, there's plenty more where that came from...
I think the first cyclone I experienced was back in 1981/2 when travelling overland from Oz to Europe and the UK, we were staying in a cheap hotel in Dacca Bangladesh when all of a sudden an hotel staff member banged on our door when we opened it, he just said cyclone is coming stay in your room and rushed to each window and closed the thick wooden shutters...all we could hear was the loud deafening roar of the wind and things flying around and smashing into things on the outside, it didn't last long, but was quite unsettling, not knowing what was happening outside....
The trees outside my room are getting a bit wild. The ravens moved in a year or so ago and have recruited the crows to their caws. Now a couple months ago two owls moved in and are very vocal every day and night. At first the ravens and crows had a problem with the owls but now they have meetings every so often.
There's also a young hawk that's been frequenting recently and I think has a nest near by. Sometimes all three congregate around the same few trees and investigate each other and the whole thing gets quite noisy and fun to watch. I still haven't spotted the owls yet but caught a glimpse of what looked like one swooping down to a lower branch. They really blend in well.
Had a dental appointment at lunch time today in Auckland, had a filling and filing ...However they filled the wrong tooth (fortunately it turns out the old filling did need replacing anyway) the tooth I thought I was going to have filled they smoothed the sharp edge so my tongue wasn't catching it...The dentist said I can book another appointment for a later date to have that one refilled ...
When I got back to the island I was walking along the wharf when I saw a lot of ducks swimming close to the wharf and when I looked closer there was also a manta ray ...
The video of the manta ray is not the best, the water was quite murky ...It was swimming between the ferry and the shore...I've seen a few larger manta rays in the past, swimming very close to shore...
So I've had a busy day today ....It always seems a long day when I have to go over to the mainland...