Spontaneous explore around Paton Stream Dam Track. Blue mushrooms near Hihi clearing. Click picture to view gallery…

 

Well packaged for Delivery. Box containing a Microsoft Office 365 box wrapped in Air Pillows. The only important bit was a line of code to activate your Office 365 subscription online.

Of course an argument could most certainly be made that it would have been cheaper and easier to simply E-mail me the code… though obviously packaged like this as a “matter of process” / “Matter of course” and to their credit, it did showed that Noel Leeming takes the effort to ensure goods are packed in a way to minimize the chance of damage during transit.

As part of the unexpectedly routine Triennial web host move, I have moved this site from Stablehost at Arizona to Cloudways / Digital Ocean in Singapore on a trial basis for a few months just to see. Continue reading “Moved Webhosting to Cloudways” →

Traditional Backyard Maori Hangi on Christmas day 2018. Click picture below to access gallery…

So here it is… Matrix is an Instant Messaging chat protocol. It is one that appeals to me the most out of plethora of a bunch of less than ideal bunch of instant messaging protocols and systems out there. The reasons why I favour Matrix include…

• You can host a node / server yourself.
• Each node can communicate with each other (Federate)
• Users are not tied to one single server / provider. They have a choice who they create their account with, and they can communicate with any one else on the Matrix network, regardless of whether or not they exist on the same server.

As of 21st December 2018, I have bitten the bullet and set the Matrix server back up at mana.nz. Will probably start posting some social events on there. May be I could use the power of FOMO to pull people onto the Matrix protocol. Continue reading “Matrix Instant Messaging server Re-established” →

It seems for (at least) Friday 8th December 2018 and Today, Saturday 9th December 2018, Air Vanuatu (NF) Flights that use the De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft have allegedly all been cancelled. Who the flip knows when they will be back in Action. Known locations affected include (but NOT limited to)…

• Craig Cove, Ulei (Ambrym)
• Paama
• Tongoa
• Norsup (Malekula)
• Lamen Bay (Epi)
• Dillion’s Bay (Erromango)

Upon arrival to Craig Cove Airport on Friday (Yesterday) Morning, The agents in contact with Air Vanuatu head office keep announcing ever later estimated arrival times and relayed excuses from Head office from Mechanical Failure to the weather as reasons for the delay. After 2 hours of delay, ended up ringing Air Vanuatu Head Office myself, but they kept referring me back to the agents on the ground who in turn were similarly frantically via phone trying to get a grasp of the situation from Air Vanuatu Head office.

At about 4 hours after the flight was supposed to arrive, the agents announced that the flight had been cancelled and suggested that the next flight out of Craig Cove would be on Tuesday 11th December 2018 (Too late for me). Ended up calling a private charter flight to get us off of Ambrym allowing us to return back home to New Zealand as scheduled on the next morning.

Reviewing the flightradar24 upon finally returning home this Afternoon (As scheduled), it was revealed that all flights using De Havilland Twin Otter had been cancelled… Continue reading “Air Vanuatu Domestic Twin Otter Flights Cancellations” →

Hikes undertaken for weekend 29th – 30th September. As per usual, click photos below to access the gallery and trip report for each.

Ananui falls from Franklin Road end…

Wharekirauponga Track…

Lynch Tramping Track has already shut sadly.

 

Finally was coaxed by my current ISP, Spark, to move from ADSL1 to Fibre (100Mbit), when they sent a letter threa… er… advising that they will add $5 to my bill for staying with the old copper ADSL1 connection.

Fibre is considerably Faster I guess. Everything is more snappy, Graphics intensive NUI.NZ loads in a blink of an eye along with all the other sites. But is this more of sign of how websites in general have become so incredibly bloated.

There is only a $10.00 monthly price difference between the smallest plan and the unlimited plan. I’m aware they have in the past throttled and traffic shaped unlimited plans, but it looks like this may have been relaxed.

BTW, Pictures from an NZSA Auckland branch visit to Chorus Auckland Offices… Continue reading “Connected to Fibre (Properly)” →

Extended weekend spent in Tahiti. Click picture below to access the gallery and trip report…

19th to 21st August 2018 – Family affair mostly. Driving relatives to Rotorua and Waitomo. Attractions covered include: Agrodome, Rainbow Springs, Te Puia (+ Pohutu Geyser), then Waitomo Glow worm Caves.  Click picture below to access photo collection…

Weather wasn’t that co-operative this time. The best weather was on the Sunday when we visited Agrodome.

Sharing family photos into mainland China has been an increasingly difficult issue to overcome. Often the server and front page of any given site is accessible, it doesn’t mean that the Great Firewall of China doesn’t employ some heuristics to block certain behaviors from occurring rendering the given site effectively inoperable to visitors in China. Apparently tried and true (domain) Email still works

 

Karangahake Rivers, being Ohinemuri and Waitawheta Rivers after sustained rained. Click picture below to access gallery…

28th and 29th July 2018 – Two walks around the lower Paeroa / Waitawheta Area. Click photos below to access each gallery.

Bluff Steam Kauri Loop Waitawheta…

Old Wires Track + Waipaheke Motorbike Track…

 

22nd July 2018 – Day Trip out towards the Dargaville direction to Hike up Mount Tutamoe Track and Hukatere Reserve (Both scheduled to be closed). Click picture below to access gallery…

Another spur of the moment (Snap decision) walk on Saturday 14th July 2018, this time around Te Arai and Mangawhai. Click Picture below to access gallery…

Quick Drop in visit to Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens en route back to Auckland. Click Photo below to access the gallery…

They recommend about 1 and half hours to walk around. Could easily spend 3 hours there if you include Don’s loop at a leisurely pace. Hills are moderate (Easy for a seasoned hiker, may be challenging for though for the less fit)

I have been an investor for a while with Harmoney. They seem alright to date, however will admit that I have started to feel unease at the amount of “Charged off” loans appearing on my books. Interest rates seem to be trending downwards for across all risk grades with a feeling that the platform fees are gradually edging up, slowly putting the squeeze on any NET Returns. I have also noticed that the Platform RoR is also gradually declining.

As such, I’ve now decided to stop reinvesting the proceeds and started backing out by way of their Auto-Withdraw facility as I feel the risk reward has gradually become less favorable.

Walk with the Auckland Hiking Group Meetup to Waipu, click photo below to access gallery…

Weather was pretty Rainy through much of it, with fine breaks.

Short little walks around Clevedon and later on, a stroll around Eden Gardens. Click Picture below to access the gallery…