RobiNZ Personal Blog

The Pencil and the Battery Electric Vehicle

Had a chance, and interesting, coincidence today in my podcast playlist. Pocket Casts has my favourite podcasts set to auto-download and add themselves to ‘Play next’. Two episodes were ready to play when I left for the morning commute. The power of graphite; in pencils First up a new season of The Boring Talks* kicked off with ‘Pencils’: Brian Mackenwells on why we should all appreciate the pencil. Part of it (~0:05:00 onwards) told how a limited source of pure graphite (needed for pencils) in the 16-18th century made the British Cumberland graphite deposit a strategic asset. From its discovery... Read more →

Neko, Danco, Pingu, BBQ? | Antarctic Mission Log 05

After a perfect first day on the Peninsular we awoke to find similar weather on the second. It was still eerily calm and clear below a high cloud cover. I remember (from the 1990s) a book* of stunning Antarctic acrylic/pencil/watercolours works by NZ Artist David Barker and it seems we woke up in one. The clear water and muted light, thanks to that cloud, created a watercolour palette, absent of harsh sun glare, as we glided into the first landing spot of the day. My only rostered activity was not until after dinner, but there was plenty to see and... Read more →

Drake Passage Crossing | Antarctic Mission Log 03

After casting off, from Ushuaia, we headed East along Beagle Channel. It's about 73NM (135km) before you turn South across Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsular. Ortelius cruises at around 10.5Kn (19km/h) so we would not enter Drake Passage until sometime overnight. The channel was very calm and the forecast for Drake Passage promising, but nothing can be guaranteed once heading South of Cape Horn. Although not prone to motion sickness (never had it coastal sailing, inter-island ferry or flying) this was my first open ocean voyage. I had mild OTC 'Sea-Legs' and prescription Ondansetron motion sickness medications. Following the... Read more →

David Byrne, American Utopia in Auckland

Oh wow, David Byrne American Utopia Tour, so impressive. Kimbra opened, note the cables to instruments. None of that for David Byrne; entire 12 piece band used wireless connections, danced complex choreography while playing, the whole performance. Just astonishing Set list from www.setlist.fm I Zimbra (Talking Heads song) Slippery People (Talking Heads song) I Should Watch TV (David Byrne & St. Vincent cover) Dog's Mind Everybody's Coming to My House This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads song) Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song) Doing the Right Thing Toe Jam (Brighton Port Authority cover) Born Under Punches... Read more →

One of these cars is a work of art

Guess which.. The Fiat 500 acquired by The Museum of Modern Art in New York - www.fiatpress.com Read more →

Jill Perrott Manukau to Muriwai Exhibition

Excuse the rubbish photo but good to see (in the window of the local orchard) my favourite Westie Artist has an exhibition coming up. She has an amazing ability to capture the essence of this dramatic landscape. April 29 - May 28, West Coast Gallery. Piha www.jill-perrott.co.nz www.westcoastgallery.co.nz Read more →

Parrs Park Evening

TEDx Auckland 2015 Victorious? | #TEDxAKL @TEDxAuckland

My notes & photos from TEDx Auckland 2015. I only took the phone (for both notes & photos) and was sitting right at the back of the hall so my shots are a bit ‘distant’. The italics are the speaker profiles sent out by TEDx Auckland The bullet points my OneNote notes taken on the day (which may contain errors) and a few post-TEDx thoughts after. SIOUXSIE WILES Award-winning scientist Dr. Siouxsie Wiles describes herself as a microbiologist and bioluminescence enthusiast but to others she is “that pink-haired science lady”. She believes that playmakers like Lego should lead the way... Read more →

TEDx Auckland 2014, unexpected Himalayan cycle tour preparation!

When I saw TEDx Auckland 2014 announced I really wanted to go but was a bit torn. I loved the 2013 event but it meant a precious day of weekend gone. Weekends were crucial as I was trying to get fit for a rather demanding cycle tour in the Himalayas. The TEDx 2014 theme was ‘Ascending’: Ascending is about individuals and society rising to a higher level of consciousness. Ascending is about finding the positives in any situation and building on them to make our lives, community, business and planet better. As it turned out, the day spent at TEDx... Read more →

TEDx Auckland — 2013 remembered, bring on 2014!

While buying my ticket to TEDx Auckland 2014 remembered I’d never gotten around to writing a post about the 2013 event. Earlier this year there was some flack about TED, prompted it seems by some ‘dubious’ TEDx events. From my experience at TEDx Auckland it certainly wasn’t one of those. The Aotea Centre was full, the speakers uniformly excellent and it covered a wide variety of topics. In his intro MC @VaughnDavis (below right) made a comment which summed up my TEDx experience. He said with TED on-line you tend to self censor, focus on the familiar, topics of interest.... Read more →