Douglas Horrell

Probably overkill, but more people should know that www.shuk.co.nz will cut gaskets to any size you want. Have an obscure brand of 1960s espresso pot that needs new seals but no time machine to buy them from the original company? They have you covered.

Our Prunus mume flowered weeks ago.

📌

And it's a prime tourist spot. That returning to a shared path could be a remotely good idea... 🤯

"Mayoral hopeful plans to mix pedestrians with fast scooters and bikes on busy city street" doesn't have the same ring does it.

Punky is usually quiet Wed/Thurs.

Actually read that campaign as people leaving NZ for Australia 🤭
(Hope the last one to leave turns the lights off...)

Vegans! Why won't they leave us alone to consume the flesh of tortured animals in peace? | First Dog on the Moon I would prefer not to eat meat but I do because it is delicious and I am lazy. But I agree with vegans that it is bad for the planet!

Looking forward to reading this and appreciate your review. It reminds me of my favourite cartoon on the subject:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#nzpol
For those who have joined Internet NZ, please register to vote at the AGM tomorrow. There are a few motions that have been put by David Farrar in particular that seek to erase Te Tirīti, tikanga and everything Māori from this organisation. Please register to vote against this takeover

There's two useful metrics for severity of a cold night in Ōtautahi: a frost that kills off tender foliage, and a frost that kills tender plants above ground. I haven't seen the latter since the 2000s.

@sharonm.bsky.social good collection. The dangers of Tool Acquisition Disorder are always with us! For info on the Stanley planes you can't go past this mad little site - some old school internet nerdery as an antidote to modern AI summaries: supertool.com/StanleyBG/st...

Red bicycle leaning against a wall, with heart rimu 4x2s strapped to it.

So true. Bikes are incredible. For years before getting a bakfiets I overloaded my regular bike chronically and it always took it. Had to replace spokes regularly though!

Stupid autocorrect: Flammulina velutipes

Cool and potentially delicious... Obviously all mushrooms should be completely and carefully ID'd before picking BUT that looks a lot like Flammilina velutipes, the velvet shank mushroom. It's related to enoki/straw mushrooms and often appers with the onset of cold weather.

Empire of AI — Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi Empire of AI — Hao, Karen

Me too. Karen Hao is excellent at getting to the substance: christchurch.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S3..., and Nicholas Carr has done a good series on it here: open.substack.com/pub/newcarto...

I do absolutely agree that reasonable people should speak up more, but we have to choose effective modes: in person, email, community forums. Places where the noise won't drown out the signal.

Likewise it's a problem when local politicians rely on Facebook for community engagement. Yes, there are a lot of people there, but any progressive comments are buried under a steaming pile of negativity so quickly that many of us just disengage. The platform promotes this conflict so it's stuck.

It's pretty special. Designed and built here in Ōtautahi by Pete Thornton AKA www.cargobikeworld.com. A big bike, it was made with transporting our greyhound in mind so it's locally known as the "greyhound bus".

The road to electric is filled with tiny cars Forget Tesla: Millions of people in China are embracing tiny, off-brand competitors.

Something I read years ago that I'm still thinking about about regarding transport change: restofworld.org/2021/tesla-v...

Good question. It's a two part problem - any new infrastructure needs to make space and we should be asking council and community boards for that now. For existing narrow lanes, I think future transport shifts will force them to be upgraded eventually, political delay can only exist short term.

$3.99? Hold the phone! Where was this fava bargain? If you ever get tired of perpetual stew, ful medames is a delicious alternative.

I have a stack somewhere I was saving for an artist friend. I'll have a hunt...

@duncanwebbmp.bsky.social @sarainchch.bsky.social I'm really hoping to see these kind of changes supported at all levels of government. We may not be able to turn back the clock on urban sprawl but we can definitely change how we do transport in places like Ōtautahi.

Definitely, but weve had some wonderful gains already and a lot more is possible. It's no longer the case here in Ōtautahi at least that the only people on bikes are those who are "comfortable being uncomfortable".

Don't get me started on bell etiquette! 😂

Many of the early separated sideways just aren't wide enough for diverse use. The specs need to change, but we probably need to develop a patient and kind culture until they do. Faster users waiting to pass, slower users pulling over to allow passing etc.

Very good elderly dog named Jess relaxing in her comfy bed in the front of a cargo bike.

There's a failure of imagination in our incrementalism on transport issues. Why shouldn't the elderly take over bike lanes with their mobility scooters? Who said you need an SUV to take your dog places? Why don't businesses use cargo bikes for their sub 10km trips to avoid being traffic?
7/7

Why not reimagine our separated cycleways as mobility lanes? Bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and mobility vehicles could share the space. Enforced speed limits would be crucial, as would designing streets with space for maneuvering and parking diverse vehicles without blocking footpaths.
6/7

What we need, especially in the case of cargo bikes is adequate power to push a heavy load up a steep hill, and good braking to safely arrest momentum, but heavy e-bikes traveling over around 30km/hr can endanger other users. Regulations should favour enforced limits on speed rather than power.
5/7

The next point is regulations. Our current law considers e-bikes as powered bicycles, and their motor power is limited as such. But most of the negative issues from ebikes come from excessive SPEED.
4/7