Filling the Tank .... November 1st 2012

I am still adjusting to buying petrol (gas) by the liter - at New Zealand prices. Basically one has to fill up when one has to fill up, but that did stop me from having a mini panic attack when I filled the tank on the rental Toyota Corolla. NZ $ 103.24.  I hadn't really thought through how much it would cost.
The exchange rate is essentially 0.85 (US 85 cents = NZ $1), but it always seems like 1:1 because everything is much more pricey here.

I almost drove to Christchurch and back on a tank (I did Dunedin to Christchurch then back south as far as Glenavy - the warning light was on ....). After beautiful, Sunny, warm Christchurch, it started to get cold and wet in Oamaru. It is cold and wet in Dunedin as I write this.

More on Christchurch when I get a chance. I have to hunker down and wrap up Eyre Creek without distraction.

Dance-O-Mat - Christchurch Oct 30th

Dance-O-Mat from a distance. Note cranes in distance.

It still all seems quite surreal; I am in 'post-apocalypse'(okay, post-earthquake) Christchurch, whilst Hurricane Sandy bears down on NJ (my mother) and NY (Joshua) and the eastern and central US, and it all sounds very grim. I could write reams about my Christchurch experience, but have selected one 'highlight' that captures the spirit of the City. I should add that today was the first day since being in New Zealand that I was WARM. Clear blue sky and SUN - finally! I even had to opt for shade at one point. That isn't the only reason I am upbeat about Christchurch, I am just amazed at how they are managing the demolition / reconstruction / rebuild, and the creative energy that one sees all over the place.

Introducing the Dance-O-Mat

 Witness the Dance-O-Mat. I wasn't quite sure what
it was when I came round the corner, but the following pictures should be self explanatory - (click on them so you can enlarge and read the instructions). More to follow in later blog posts. Oh, I also had a really productive meeting with one of my Lower Paleozoic collaborators in the Geology Department at Canterbury, so I'm feeling much better about stuff. In fact, visit me when I am in Christchurch, and we can go out to the Dance-O-Mat ! Go to http://www.gapfiller.org.nz/its-back-dance-o-mat/ .

How to use the Dance-O-Mat

About the group that designed / created it - 'Gap-Filler'

 

Another view of dance-O-Mat. Car park area behind was
formerly a building.

Another view. This time note the source of the dance
music on the left of the dance floor. Also note the disco ball.

Look under the lit for the instructions

Closer up of the whole thing.

Lid needs to be down to work. Don't forget change.

Plug in your ipod / mps/anything with an audiojack here !

URL for Chch Earthquakes

http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/
http://www.canterburyquakelive.co.nz/

These are two of many websites you can go to if you want to find out whether there have been any 'significant' earthquakes in Christchurch. I am in the middle of reading up on / learning more about the earthquake(s) (a good way to avoid other work ...).

Photomicrographs October 26th 2012

Photomicrograph of radiolarian chert The little white blebs
are recrystallized radiolaria (microfossils).

Yeehah! I spent all afternoon taking photomicrographs (photographs through a microscope of a rock thin-section - i.e. a 30-micron thick slice of rock). This is the task I had been dreading and putting off, because it used to be so 'messy' and complicated, BUT they have a totally AWESOME digital setup here. I didn't even have to calculate the field of view or scale bars. I'm very happy about that. Now, I just have to wrap up the drafting and text. My aim is to finish (yes, you've heard this before ...) the Eyre Ck. mss. this wknd. Then I can move on to the Northwest Nelson mss. !! Ultimately, as long as I submit Eyre Creek before I leave NZ for AGU I'll be happy.

Guess this is part of my experience

Why? because I am heading up to Christchurch Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday to see some geologists there and to scope out the accomodation / cottage I have organized for February through May. I am kind of nervous about the visit because everyone tells me how overwhelming the earthquake devastation is. I'd better get used to it I suppose.

I suppose you could call this truth in advertising

The Perfect Woman ?? ... October 24 2012

Well, turns out I missed a couple of major events last weekend. First of all, I missed the New Zealand Gold Panning Championships in Arrowtown - but based on my experience thus far, I don't think I would have done too well.

The many talents of a Perfect Woman ???

More importantly, I forgot to sign up to take part in Wanaka's Perfact Woman Contest. I don't think I would have done too well in that either - the lamb-skinning would have got me. They did miss computer drafting as one of the items, which I would like to substitute for the Lamb-skinning.

The Finalists
Appropriately oriented for the Southern Hemisphere

In other news, it looks like the Vanuatu 'TSA' might be in for a bit of trouble given that someone flew from there to Auckland with a live artillery shell in their luggage.

Most importantly, I (finally) finished drafting 3 more figures (see down below). Still got the most complicated ones to go, but I'm moving forward S L O W L Y.

Baldwin Street etc. Oct 22nd

Sign at bottom (and top) of Baldwin St.
It is a dead end street.

Must be a slow news day - even the weekend paper was missing its usual interesting items. Was watching TV news last night and it turns out that the hair product "Fatboy" used by Romney is made by a Kiwi http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/mitt-romney-s-hair-receives-some-kiwi-support-5144331 who insists that the product is "for the people" - seems to be happy with the PR, but somewhat embarassed about being seen as helping the Romney machine.

Snow down to 300 m forecast. It is Labor Day Wknd here. It is gusting hail as I write.

"My" house - it was really a workers cottage - had an
outside bathroom, and an excellent coal/wood range.

Yesterday I walked up the NE Valley - where I used to live when I was a grad student. I owned the house (and land) at the top of the steepest street in the world - before it got all the publicity it does now. Turns out that the person who bought the house/land from me subdivided the land, and there are now three (ugly) houses up behind "my" house, and "my" house has not been cared for - the bushes in front have grown out of control and one can't sit on the verandah and look out over the valley (the whole reason for living on a hill like that). It was strange walking up the hill (as I used to do, twice a day) with tourists that were discussing how someone would have to be mad to live on / up the hill !!

View down Baldwin Street from beside "my"
house. 

The view is still stupendous - even improved, now that the quarry across the valley is quite overgrown. A walk through the gardens afterwards with colourful azaleas to brighten the day.

"My" house is just uphill to the right. Together with the view
down the street, this is what you would see if you looked
slightly to the right from the verandah.

Taken from the Otago Museum grounds, looking somewhat
uphill. My room is in the yellowish house to the right of
the 50's school building. It takes about 15 minutes to walk
to or from the Geology Department.

My current "flat" - actually it is really just a room in a boarding house - is just up the hill above the city. It is all quite Dickensian - except that the landlady does not live in the building. The Dunedin Hospital is about 6 blocks from me, and I can hear the helicopter ambulance coming in - which is often 2 or 3 times a day. The noise doesn't bother me, it is just troublesome especially at night (11 pm - 5 am) because one knows that someone has probably been horribly injured or killed in a road accident.

Mailed (via courier) my Ballot - Oct 20th

My US Election Ballot.
Minnesotans: Vote NO in NOvember.

I finally got over to the post office and figured out how to courier my U.S. Election ballot. I am so nervous about it getting lost, misplaced, challenged etc. The only way to mail it so I can track it and make sure it arrives is a special International Courier run by NZ Post. I had to put a value on it. I was tempted to put '3 trillion', but opted for 'priceless' - but was told that it would be returned to me if I did not put an accurate value. She said three trillion was out of the question, and would require insurance, so I opted for $1.00. Ugghh. Well, here is to hoping that both amendments fail, and that Obama is re-elected. It was quite scary mailing it - it should be there within 6 days - and I am tracking it!

In other news, it has been very quiet, even the newspaper has been very run-of-the-mill. Apparently I missed the parade downtown for the opening of the Babywearing Library. People can rent various contraptions for carrying their babies.


Oh, and it turns out that the US Election is on the same day as the Melbourne Cup (which is the Australian equivalent of the Kentucky Derby).