On Saturday it was time for the Annual Banff Mountain Film Festival. A showcase of lots of different (short) films with an outdoors / extreme sport bent. Excellent. Quite sad that one of the feature films was about ice-climbing…. in abandoned mines… because that may be the future of the sport in our warming / changing world. What interesting times we live in.

Maaike has been settling in – going through the joys of trying to find a job (which is never easy, no matter how experienced, when you’re on a working holiday visa!). I was dead lucky to get mine… If you’re thinking of moving here / coming for a while… I would seriously consider looking into getting residence *before* you arrive. I’m not sure how easy it is – but I think that’d be the way to go. That way you could work in your job until you get residence – and then head off…

Being a far more … cultured.. person than I ;) Maaike suggested we go to one of the University of Canterbury Platform Arts Festival gigs. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.. but we went to a Modern Jazz piece.

It was *weird*. It’s called ‘Cobra’… or something.. and is a game. Basically there are a series (about 20) cards which the performers can choose at any time by indicating to the conductor what it is they want. For example, touching their nose and making the number 3 means they want to play the card ‘Nose 3’… and the card Nose 3 may indicate that they players should:

• Play Faster/Slower
• Louder/Softer
• Players who are playing should stop, and those who are not playing should start
• indicate a particular player should continue playing (with other people or on their own)
• players should remember the current sound and start playing it again when it is recalled
• etc…

So yes.. all in all quite interesting really… I was *so* happy they explained what was going on – as otherwise I would have been really lost. Coupled to the weird game was that the performers could play whatever ‘instrument’ they wanted… e.g. blowing into a tin tan / rattling chains etc. Very odd. My friends Barry & Tom & James may have already played – if not I must suggest :)

So.. this week in Dublin a conference kicked off which will hopefully lead to the effective banning of cluster munitions.

My super wonderful (and irritatingly good at scrabble) cousin Thomas has been coordinating work on this for the past 3 years. You can read an article about it (and partly by him) on BBC news. Really hope it works out.

Update
Al posted a comment with a link to a six-one news 3 minute interview with Thomas. Awful haircut but the message was good ;)

Unfortunately no pictures of TWALK this year… my camera battery decided to die. Again. Long story… and not a happy one. Still, it was good. My legs just about held up – and Steve’s navigation was as excellent as ever. Great event.

And then on Sunday Maaike arrived back – which was great. Not too jet lagged (outwardly anyway)… now she has the joy of coming off the high of 10 months of uninterrupted travel, and finding a job/house/transport/visa… Always a fun time.

So this post is likely to be all over the place. Bout time too.

We’ll start off with a picture.. of the Olympics – that beacon of hope, peace etc. etc.

Bit sad really isn’t it? And is seems pretty damn ridiculous to me to bring the torch up to the top of Everest. I mean really. Isn’t it supposed to stay lit? How are they going to manage that with so little oxygen about? And I wonder how many people will die to complete the stunt. Not that the Chinese are likely to let us find out as the entire thing seems to be shrouded in mystery.

Sigh.

What else…. Work is going well.. playing about with some fun technologies and learning a bit – which is all to the good. Looking forward to the new ski season – and getting www.snowpool.org.nz up and running again. Need to spend a little time on that over the next week or two.

So yes, the other random thing – does anyone out there ever actually catch themselves and think damn this is weird. I mean… life… it’s very odd really. Where it comes from, what it means etc. My friend Marcel said some (clever) mathematician has postulated that on balance of probability that this is all just a simulation anyway. Like the Matrix.

I’m not sure I want to die and then have the equivalent of a game over screen flashing Game Over, you scored 10,213,998 points. But I mean it is remotely possible that we are all on a starship passing between the galaxies at sub-light speeds and using this pretty damn cool game as a way of passing the time.

I mean I’m not saying it is like this… but who knows? Can’t prove it either way! That’s the beauty of it.

I was reading on Wikipedia about Dyson Spheres and how were there to be extra terrestrials they would most likely be building these things (basically a shell around the sun taking all the energy)… and we can’t see them.. So maybe we are at the start of the whole thing (and not already travelling the stars). Then again… in this simulation we may have just taken the most exciting part of human existence to play again and again.

Anyway, I’m waffling and the silent watchers are out there and might come after me ;) hehehe.

Had a really great dinner and evening with Graham & Myra – except that Myra won the first (And her first ever) game of Tantrix. Great game… Also Autumn is here – and with it is far colder weather – but some lovely sights.

I don’t like complaining about New Zealand, in the hope that it may eventually attract many of my friends from Ireland to come and live over here, and the friends I have made here and who have left, to come back. However!, Kiwi building standards are utterly contemptible. Really are. A Kiwi’s face will go completely blank when confronted with words like “Insulation” and “Double Glazing” let alone “Central Heating”… and as for the drivers…

So it was ANZAC day here so the red poppy was bought and I drove up in my friend Paul & Chloe’s car to Nelson Lakes where we picked up a very entertaining guy – Nick – before heading on the next morning to Paynes.

Nick I think, must have Irish blood in him somewhere. When Dad & I were kayaking we we met an Irish guy called Martin… there was nothing but constant slagging for 2 days. Fantastic. It’s something I really miss about Ireland actually – a really great and slightly different sense of humour. Nick was pretty good – but like so many Kiwis of his age (a couple of years younger than me) is off to Europe to seek his fortune for a year or two.

Anyway coffee was drunk – and funny signs seen…

The climbing was good – but I am so out of shape it’s ridiculous. Climbing is one of those sports.. if you don’t keep it up you loose it so quickly.

Off to Pu Pu (Te Waikoropupu) Springs… the cleanest fresh water springs in the world.

And yes.. it has been measured. So there. Unfortunately you’re not allowed to go near it any more ‘cos DOC is worried that Didimo (invasive algae introduced accidentally a few years ago :( will spread into the waters. It’s a real shame.. really.

Beer was drunk at early hours of the day – and the riverside cafe (what a place) was visited and cards were played. All in all a great weekend.