It was time for Anna and I to join Maaike in The Netherlands. Absolutely stunning view of Taranaki as we flew up. You can see the distinct circular boundary of the national park. It’s literally a 6 mile radius from the summit!. Very cool.

Long haul flights are never fun, but, it has become infinitely easier to travel with Anna now that she’s a bit older. She gets unlimited screen time so is perfectly happy ;). Singapore Air are pretty nice for the kids, they get kids-themed headphones, the apps etc. are locked down to them (annoyingly though they didn’t have games – you had to have your own device and I wasn’t going to give that to Anna). The food is also a little on the spicy side, even when you choose kids meal. Still, we got through it fine having a stopover in Singapore.

We had planned on going to the in-airport swimming pool, but, it was only open for an hour after we arrived and I wasn’t quite sure if we needed to completely exit security or not, so, in the end we just footled about for a few hours. It was fine.

So, 20 million hours later we flew into NL and were reunited with Maaike (and her Aunt and Uncle who came to pick us up). Being made to stay up while you get trains & bike home definitely helped with the jetlag. Still took a few days to get over but not too bad all told.

It was Matariki, big thing at Anna’s school (Māori new year) and they had their usual display of florescent creations. Pretty fun.

There was also the fireworks out at New Brighton which we went to. It’s absolutely mental getting in and out of New Brighton when the fireworks are on. The council however put on an excellent bus service so you could park at one of the malls and then there were busses every 5 mins on the way in and out. Absolutely smashed the queues (as you just skip past them all). Zero stress of finding a carpark etc. Would totally recommend.

Maaike had headed over to visit family in The Netherlands a couple of weeks before Anna and I are due to follow. We’re being sent pictures like this (needs login)

Mind you, it’s not all fun and games as Europe is currently in a massive heatwave. Like, 38° or something silly. Very glad we’re not there for that as I melt if it goes over 30°.

I wasn’t quite sure how this one was going to go, being somewhat unfit and with navigation being a little out of practice. Anyway, originally it was going to be a team of three with Malc and Gabby (my climbing partners), but, Malc had to drop out unfortunately. I was really happy with how well it all worked. Our navigation was basically perfect (we opted for a straightforward route, but, we found every control we went for without toooooo much searching). Our timing was also pretty spot on, getting about about 10 minutes early in the 6 hour event.

The weather couldn’t have been kinder. It was beautifully sunny, almost a spring like day (rather than the heights of winter!).

There was one part we probably did get wrong, ending up in a “short” amount of “fight” we needed to get through. It put up a good fight!

The food at the end was hot and very welcome and a perfect end to a really fun day out. Looking forward to doing more events!

I am a little hesitant about DIY, but, decided to give this one a go. It wasn’t actually leaking, but, an oily residue was coming out. Apparently this was suggested that the o-rings needed replacing. AI assured me that I could turn off the valves under the sink (there are no valves, and it wasn’t necessary anyway). YouTube to the rescue with a simple video showing how to do the replacement. Worked fine. Total cost $15 or something (mainly the plumbers silicon) and done.

Cousin Thomas was in town and we caught up for lunch which was lovely. After a quick chat he decided to try AI to create a portfolio website he needed. Took about 10 minutes and worked perfectly. Far more beautiful than anything I would have created by scratch. It’s kinda ridiculous to be honest.

Speaking of AI, I remain quite unconvinced, or at least uncertain how things are going to turn out. There’s no denying that it’s useful, nor that it was created by ripping off copyright on a massive scale. It’s also true that it can do an incredibly job, far better than any junior could do (except the AI does not learn from mistakes, not really). However, while I do use it daily, I absolutely shepherd it towards the solution I want, pointing out edge cases, making trade offs etc. So, I feel that currently seniors are still needed. The real question is: will AI catch up and surpass seniors (if so, how is it learning that as its only trained on what material is available and it doesn’t really understand anything. And also, what happens to the industry if no one hires juniors for 3+ years? As an undergraduate / trainee, how do you resist the temptation to just use AI and smash stuff out, but, if you do that how are you actually going to learn what works and what doesn’t.

I have no idea, I really don’t. I’m feeling incredibly thankful that I found a role quickly after Vibrant Planet came to an end (for me). I’m still a little sad about that one, it was a great role and in the fullness of time climate work is definitely something I’d like to return to. In the meantime I’ll continue with snowpool I guess!

Anna had a good time at the holiday programmes in August. Elements is one she currently enjoys. I’m dead jealous of all the exciting sports and skills kids can be exposed to during the term breaks. When she’s a bit older I hope she’ll enjoy sailing and climbing and, well, anything else she cares to try. Pretty cool.

I went for some walks in the hills. I love it once I’m out, mustering the oomph to just get out there is sometimes lacking. Give me a break, I just started a new job ;)

We went out to try and see the Panstarrs comet. This is not my pic:

I took out the tripod, pointed in roughly the right direction, but, couldn’t find it. I think I waited a little bit too long and it was far enough away. Or maybe too much light from the city. Or maybe I need a better lens ;). It was quite fun though getting out stellarium and working out how to get the data for tracking the comet into it so I at least knew which part of the sky to look at.

I bought a mortar and pestle and made chimichurri (don’t think I actually used that recipe, but something like it). Was yum, and we were out of the cheapy red wine so opened a very nice bottle which I’d been given by an old colleague from California. Was an absolutely excellent dinner.

And the fall colours are just lovely this time of year :)