Natural sand art

Allie took us out to Birthday Beach a few weeks ago. We call it that, although it's really just an northern extention of Muriwai, because we first went to this particular spot on Allie's birthday a few years ago. It's a rough sort of place. The beach is wide and flat and is used extensively by 4 wheel drive trucks and dirt bikes. The speed limit sign on the beach says 60 kph (36 mph), but I've observed that most vehicles pass by at better than 60 mph. I don't think there is much danger of getting hit. The beach is so wide and when we are there, we stay up near the dunes and away from the traffic. 

As I walked along the sand that day, I noticed the patterns in it, and I thought I might like to do a post of just sand art. So, here we go. 

This next series of pictures reminds me of comets. Think of the shell piece and the patterns in  the sand as being in the night sky.  Seen against a background of a billion stars at high magnification, the comet's long tails spread out behind them.

This last series of sand art was spotted by Jeanne on Oneroa Beach on our anniversary. I've used various filters to give each its color. I call these pieces Sand Forests. 

Not the artist, just an observer          -djf

The University of Auckland

It's Brain Day again. Once each year, The University of Auckland hosts this exposition.  It showcases the latest developments in brain science and research and is organised by the Centre for Brain Research and the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand. 

Allie has always helped to host the ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) display. This year, she is working the booth all day. 

I rode in with her this morning and helped carry in some of the materials she'll be using. After that, I limbered up my camera-clicking finger and wandered through part of the campus, collecting photos as I went. I then made my way over to Albert Park and from there, down to the waterfront area. I spent a little time on a bench, watching the ferries come and go. 

Remember, it's the middle of winter (July 21st) when I took these pictures. It looks a bit dreary. 

I don't think I will comment on many of them. This will simply give you a look at what the university looks like. 

This post is in honor of the starting of school all over the U.S. 

This is the building that hosts Brain Day. 

I was pleased to see this building because I have read some of Frank Sargeson's writings. 

(that's his pen name, by the way) 

That's the end of my University of Auckland photos. 

The fountain in Albert Park

Toddler-sized fountains you saw once before. 

I'm down on Quay Street. It runs along the waterfront. You're looking at Kelly Tarlton's 'Shark Bus.' It'll take you to the underground aquarium. Cool place.    

I decided not to take the train back to Henderson. Instead, I caught the 133 bus. This allowed me to hop off in Grey Lynn for 1/2 an hour and visit a butchery there. They make a delicious black pudding. (blood sausage) They are Portuguese and advertise themselves to be a traditional old-world butcher.

Good stuff. When I eat it, I'm reminded of Aunt Mary's blood sausage. She made us some when we butchered William. (one of the pigs we raised long ago) Her's was made from a Bohemian recipe. I find it interesting that both versions are so similar in taste and texture. 

 -djf

I'm amazed

Rather than show a number of captioned photos in my post today, I want to share some thoughts with you all instead. 

I find myself amazed at so many things. Things that I see for example. Fruits, fish, sea  shells, copal, foods and dozens of other things of the natural world that I had no personal knowledge of before coming to New Zealand. And technology. What is taken for granted today would have seemed like magic or at least sci-fi, not that long ago. (translation: when I was in school)

I have wondered (briefly) if this amazement that I feel so often here is a product of senility? Is it proof that my brain is going soft on me? I don't really think so. I think it is because I finally have enough time to more fully experience things. Back when my main focus in life was earning a living, and building a retirement fund, there was no time to look closely at the world. With retirement, I have now been given that opportunity. With this amazement comes an appreciation for what we've been given and with that comes gratitude. 

And amazement, appreciation and gratitude are what drive me to want to share what I see with all of you. This blog is a good way to fulfil that need.

Enough philosophising, let's get back to the topic on my mind today. 

Technology is a part of what I want to tell you about. 

A few months ago, Allie put a typing tutorial on the boy's computers. They began working at f f f , j j j, and so on. She did not put a lot of pressure on them to practise daily, but told them to work toward mastering this skill because it is a necessity in today's world. (Her's and my opinion) The boys were soon showing that they were getting familiar with the keyboard. 

Time passed. In Arram's classroom, (called year 5 here, grade 4 in the U.S.) a fortunate coincidence occurred. One of the boys in the class brought his computer to school one day and showed several other boys, Arram among them, a typing game that he was playing. 

In this game, the kids can race cars. They propel their cars by typing. The game displays the phrases and sentences to type and the kids do their best to copy them as the words scroll along. Their cars can be seen to move along the race track at the top of the screen, their speed based on how quickly the child is typing. The computer keeps track of words per minute and the accuracy attained and reports the results at the end of every race.

The really cool thing about the game is that the child is automatically placed into each race with other 'racers' who are also playing the game at the same time. They might be anywhere in the world, and each car will finish the race based on each child's performance. OR, the child can make the appropriate connections in the game and race against other kids in his class from school. I have heard Arram after school making plans with his friends to be on the game at 4 p.m. and then saw his four or five friends racing their cars across Arram's computer screen. Each boy is of course at his own home taking part in the race on his own computer. They have all now spent many hours, both at school during free time, and at home, practising their typing together.

What this has done is amazing to me. As of this morning (9/05/18) before school, Arram had 'raced' over a thousand races. (30 seconds duration each) He now can type better than 40 words/minute with excellent accuracy and he continues to improve. (His high score, so far,  was 46 words/minute.) That's incredible. He's nine years old. And he tells me that he is not the fastest or most accurate typist in the class. His friend Aaron's personal best (so far) is 65 words/min! Arram told me that about half the kids in his class are still actively racing/learning to type. Incredible.

While I am truly amazed at the technology that makes this game possible, I am also amazed that the kids here, so many of them anyway, would care to take part in this sort of game. I don't know that it would happen this way everywhere.  It took me a semester in 10th grade to learn to type. Arram has learned it painlessly, by playing with his friends. And these kids are enormously interested in soccer. They almost always play soccer for a half hour after school and before going home. After they arrive there, (and, in Arram's case, after chores are done) they get linked up, and begin practising typing. Go figure. 

I think the fact that it does happen here is in part due to the importance that is put on education in this NZ society. A lot is expected of these kids. Amiri's Mathex questions were tough. There's no way I could have handled that kind of math when I was in 6th grade. I think that part of the reason might also be that so many of these kids are from immigrant families. Academics are stressed in the home. 

We've had so much fun with this game. Arram climbed into my lap as I sat in the big recliner one day and had me try it.  I muddled along. I don't remember my score, but I sure didn't win my race, and Arram figuratively patted me on the back afterwards as he said consolingly, "That's okay grandpa, you're old, and you would have done better if you were sitting at your desk. I'm used to typing on my lap."

Another time, back when Arram was typing about 20 words per minute, he asked Allie to type for him in a race. His friends were astonished when, in the next race, his car flew down the track at nearly 80 words per minute. He bragged afterwards that his Mum was his 'secret weapon.'  He's noticed once in a while that some friend will also suddenly develop super-speed for a race or two. He generally figures that this friend brought in a 'ringer,' just like he had. This experience has been so good for him. And he now has that skill that he'll use all his life.

So, if any of you know someone who might benefit from a fun way to learn to type, give them this information. Actually, truth be told, I should start racing myself and see if I could limber up these old digits again. I was once fairly fast, I think. (If my race car design was modelled on my current abilities, I would be driving a model T.) Well, I may be slow, but I'm inaccurate too.  (If you care to, look down at your own keyboard right now and see which keys are the shiniest, indicating of course, which keys you hit the most. One of my shiniest keys is the backspace.)    

Here are the sites: https://www.typing.com/ and https://www.nitrotype.com/

Since I have no pictures in this post, I felt as though I ought to include some other item of interest. 

I have long been a fan of the music of Poe, most specifically of her album, Haunted, that she did to complement her brother's book, House of Leaves. Since one of the cuts on that album is entitled Amazed, I decided that it was fitting to offer it to you in this post. And by the way, Mark Z. Danielewski's book is a best-seller and is by far, the most unusual book I have ever read. Consider trying it. It will make you work for the story.   -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smc18aecLuI

Tradition says it should have been some sort of sapphire...

...but she told me some time ago that she no longer wants gifts of jewelry. So, I got Jeanne some Black Opium perfume instead for our forty-fifth wedding anniversary. 

And I asked her what She would like to do to mark the day? She said she'd like to go exploring. After all she pointed out, the first thing we did after getting married was to go off to Spain for four months. Why not go somewhere new for our 45th?  Somewhere like Waiheke Island, por ejamplo? 

Now, we had taken a Waiheke Island wine tour several years ago, compliments of Allie, but we really don't know the island at all. Why not take the ferry from Auckland out to Waiheke, hop an island bus and get off at some beach? We could walk the shore, pick up shells, study the lava and admire the ocean. We Love doing that. And it counts as exploration since we've never been to this beach before.

So that's what we did. The ferry ride out took about 40 minutes. We had some fog on the way out and the day was a little more overcast than I prefer. My pictures turn out better in full sun of course, but it didn't rain on us and we saw some wonderful sights, so, no complaints... 

Come along and share the day that we enjoyed...

 On the ferry, still in the harbor

 These ferries really go and look, we're out of sight of land already. It's the fog.

 Passing Rangitoto and quite a few sailing ships

 Arriving at Waiheke's Matiatia Bay. The fog is lifting somewhat.

 We're waiting for our lunch and you can see it's still foggy in the distance.  Burger and fries for me and fish n chips for Jeanne.

Walking down Oceanview Road above Oneroa Bay

 We're on the beach and looking west

A rugged volcanic coastline

 And look what's under foot. I love shells. 

 All those rocks are still sharp, even after all the weathering they've taken.

 Another one of my favorite things, a cave. Just a modest little one.

Dianne, we've got to get you out here. Look at this place.  

I think the soles of our shoes aged a couple of months out here today.

More rocks, and a tiny tide pool

 Looking east now 

 We're having afternoon coffee from an outdoor cafe.

 Our bus back to the wharf won't be along for about half an hour so we came back down the beach again. It has cleared up. I think that the land straight out that we're seeing is the Coromandel Peninsula. At the very left is a hint of more land farther out and that might be Great Barrier Island. Hard to tell if it is land or clouds. 

I'm guessing that this is a white-faced heron. 

What a great day we had. Our legs were tired from all the bending to pick up treasures and our feet were sore from walking on sharp rocks, but what a blast we had. Forty five years have passed since we tied the knot, but inside, we're pretty much as we were. We love to explore and we love to have adventures. And living here, we're in just the right place to do both. And just think, because we both carry Gold AtHop cards, ALL of the traveling we did yesterday was free. 

To close this post, here is a short, quiet video. I simply sat on a rock at one point, early in the day while the overcast was still quite heavy, and just admired the gentle ocean.  -djf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4lFOwm9kHs&feature=youtu.be