Alan McDiarmid, a Kiwi and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, died today aged 79. I saw an interview with him last year on Campbell live and he said this quote " I am a very lucky person. And the harder I work, they luckier I seem to be" Alan McDiarmid – 2006
When you look at this picture what do you see? What does it bring to mind? I found this rock/stone/pebble while sitting on the sea wall at the Tauranga Marina the other day watching the world go by. I wondered if the rock used to be a part of a bigger rock. I wondered if … More Is it a rock, a stone or a pebble?
"It is like climbing into a new car when you have been used to driving a car that is 25 years old." citied Roger (CFI) when I asked him about the new Alpha 160A (R2160) that the Waikato Aero Club has replaced the Cessna 152's with. A week or so later he is proven correct … More Flying an Alpha 160A
This is a part of John Keys speech yesterday. My father died when I was a young child. I do not remember him.I was raised, along with my sisters, by my mother, in a state house in Christchurch. Back then I thought I was poor and, by most standards, we were. As I grew up, … More John Keys Speech
I have blogged before about the interactive mocca that you buy from the 'Naked Grape' in Tauranga. Well, now I have found an interactive Muesli in Hamilton. It's a new cafe that opened in Te Rapa called AGIO, which is Italian for 'relax'. It does average coffee, but a great Muesli. Check out the photo … More The perfect cafe
There they are! The Marlborough Sounds. The picture from my PDA does it little or no justice, but I simply had to take some photos. The lady in front of me had a real digital camera and I thought of asking her to email them to me, but my courageous contemplation turned to weak actions. … More Woolgathering at 17,000 ft about the Marlborough Sounds.
By means of introduction, a gobblelygook is a device that sits in your sink, that you run water through and it mashes up the food into waste water. From there it is mixed with all sorts of waste water delights like #1’s and #2’s and other stuff and pumped to the sewage treatment plant. In … More Wasted Food.
Last Thursday after we got into the Fast 50, I took a few people from work out to dinner with me to celebrate. At the table was Hav who just has an immense passion for agóge; Rob jnr who has such a detail mind and who keeps so many things I hate doing on track; … More Authentic Community
We have all seen the Oscar's or MTV awards. Someone gets an award that they just didn't expect and end up babbling into the microphone about nothing. I have, in my own opinionated way, thought it was bizarre that these stars would speak publicly so badly. Anyway last Thursday a group of us went to … More Lost for words
I apply the brakes and decelerate for the booth ahead. An oldish graying lady slowly opens the booth window and greets me very pleasantly for 6am. Handing over a dollar coin is eventually followed by the barrier arm rising and my accelerating off down Route K towards Tauranga City. I am quite sure I it … More Buying Time
I have always understood that we are all made unique, entirely individual and wonderfully complex. But the implication of these thoughts often escapes me in action. I think the problem is that I have never really, honestly believed that we are hard wired differently. A lot of the people that work for me that are … More Ok, I admit it, I was wrong!
It is incredible to consider that in the last 2 days I have learnt more about myself and how I interact with other people, than I have probably done in the last 2 -3 years. On Sunday evening I had Vinney from idynamx staying with us from the US. He is a very astute and … More Styles of Influence
[Sara] Serendipity. It's one of my favorite words.[Jonathan] It is? Why?[Sara] It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident. I don't really believe in accidents. I think fate is behind everything.[Jonathan] Oh you do?… So everything is predestined, we don't have any choice at all?[Sara] No, I think we make … More Serendipity …
Here is the video clip that Trevor the A320 pilot sent me. We were chatting about how easy it is to end up in the right seat (first officers seat) of a jet overseas nowdays and that a day is potentially coming when pilots end up in the right seat without having ever flown a … More Cockpit/Crew Resource Management
Boarding your plane and taking a seat next to an Air NZ pilot wouldn't excite most of you, but it was one of the most interesting flights I have taken. I sat next to Trevor an Airbus A320 captain and pilot trainer as he was being repositioned back to Auckland. Trevor has been flying for … More Fly by Wire
People Matter ∴ Do Good 