RobiNZ Personal Blog

Impressive service for an affordable AIRROBO P20 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

I'd long thought about getting a robot vacuum cleaner to do 'between real clean tidying' but wasn't up to spending the sort of money the market leader's command. My 'real' home vacuum is a commercial backpack PacVac Superpro 700. It is powerful and has a mega-long cord so can clean the house, garage, even cars on the drive outside, without changing plugs. It's awesome but the arrival of a cat with long white, seemingly always shedding, fur meant fairly constant light cleaning was needed... When I saw the AIRROBO P20 at Jaycar NZ, for a couple of hundred dollars, I... 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 →

Traffic Light Thought–Lost my memory in the car?

The first PC I owned had “a massive170mb hard drive” which was about the size of a large novel. Tonight I accidentally dropped 64GB memory (micro SD) in the car and heard a ‘clink’ as it fell and bounced somewhere. After 10 minutes searching I gave up looking as the takeaway noodles were getting cold. The search will resume in the morning light… Read more →

Life in the future: Spotting B on the band

I'm walking Alfie, in damp wintry West Auckland, and a buzz on my wrist* lets me know exactly where B is cycling in Japan. I remember, and it wasn't that long ago, when this was science fiction. Isn't technology wonderful. Sent from Outlook Mail for Windows 10 phone * Latest toy is a Microsoft Band 2 Read more →

Citroën C4 Cactus inspired by the 2CV?

Does this explain why I — who doesn’t like any other SUV (including the podgy Fiat 500x) — find the Cactus rather appealing? The 2CV is one of my favourite cars and certainly my favourite Citroën. That is saying a lot given the brilliance of the DS and Traction Avant. I hadn’t really connected the C4 Cactus with the 2CV until I read this wonderful article, with lovely Parisian photography, by Gavin Green. While from a different era, and different class of vehicle, in the Cactus the light*, large and ‘happy’ philosophy of the mighty 2CV lives on. Citroen C4... Read more →

Weekend Variety Wireless and Bing music magic

I really like the Weekend Variety Wireless “Outsiders” feature. Gerard Hindmarsh shares tales of Kiwis who have chosen to opt out and live, often alone, in remote places. There is an audio archive if you want to hear them but that isn’t what this post is about. The theme, a short instrumental piece, had been driving me crazy. I knew it but just couldn't place it. Took a while, ok several weeks, before I realised had the podcast (thanks for the podcasts Graeme) on my Windows Phone. Played the podcast, the Bing search in the same phone listened to it,... Read more →

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 →

Uncle Johns' retirement project kit aircraft

Last time I saw this 'Miss Dixon' was a collection of parts in a hanger. Although it looks like a Mustang this is 3/4 size Titan T-51 kit aircraft. Well, to be more accurate, was a Titan T-51 kit as John has put a lot of effort into modifying the bundle of bits which arrived in the crate. Several years of fabrication, flight testing and modification have resulted in a very impressive aircraft. It was very cool to be allowed to sit in the pilots seat and start her up (with John instructing from the rear seat) but that is... Read more →

Enzo Rallye?

So why do you need a 4WD suburban tractor? Via www.topgear.com/au/ Read more →

Fiat’s 875cc Two Cylinder Hummer

CAR first look at all the off-roader you really need… Fiat Panda 4x4 TwinAir (2013) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online When the very first Big Willie tanks clanked and crawled across the killing grounds of the Somme, it quickly became apparent that weight is not helpful for vehicles off the beaten track… Read more →