Winter Comin' Round Again

In the spirit of experimentation, tonight I'm attempting a video link. Over the weekend we were inside on a blustery day and I took a quick vid with the camera. Loaded on to Google Video and hey presto that worked, so now attempting to embed it here. The footage shows what X and E were up to: EJ making a list of potential activities after complaining of boredom, and Clay running around bashing into things and generally enjoying it all. We are headed back to the North Hemisphere summer pretty soon and we are pretty excited about that, both in terms of reconnecting with friends and family and having a visit with Mr. Jolly Old Sol, the sun hisself. But now and then it's nice to settle in front of the fireplace in our lovely house:

The Rugby

Rugby is the national sport. The other night, at Highlanders v Reds, Estin had his picture taken with the Highlander hisself. The Highlander is a nice fellow who the kids flock to. However, even the most casual observer notes that he is very not from the Scottish Highlands but instead of Polynesian (Maori I reckon) bloodlines. Then again, if you check out the NZ-Maori team playing currently in the Churchill Cup, you'll see a couple of guys with red hair running around.

Every little boy aspires to be an All-Black, a member of the National team. The ABs are the pride of New Zealand and are current favorites for the galatic championship, to be held on our home planet, in France, this year. For a little island nation to be the best in the Milky Way, well how can you blame people for getting so excited about it?

In other sports, like basketball in the US, players stay out of the National side for fear of getting injured and ruining their NBA season. Not so with the ABs--the coach has enough sway over things that 20 players were actually held out of the first half of the recent Super 14 season, ostensibly on a reconditioning program but we all know it's to give the boys rest before the big one in France, so they can peak at the right time.

But what really says it all: you go to a soccer game or to a basketball game, but you don't go to a rugby game. You go to "the rugby". EJ and X and I were invited to see the Highlanders with EJ's best mate, Mark, and family the other night, so I painted some faces and we went on out to the rugby.

Rape and Pillage in the Rock and Pillar

There is big debate these days about a proposed windfarm in Central Otago's Rock and Pillar range. The cons don't want to degrade the landscape or kill too many raptors, and are accused of NIMBYing about and keeping New Zealand behind the times. The pros don't understand what all the fuss is about and are accused of rape and pillage. Me, I think windfarms aren't ugly -- the non-native pine trees spreading around are a much worse impact on the landscape of Central Otago. I also think windfarms are a clean source of energy. But here's me problem: insulation. There is none. No insulation to speak of in homes, no double-glazing on the windows. Most folks use electricity for heating, not uncommonly spending upwards of $500 monthly, or alterntively seeing their breath inside the house. I can't abide by a decision to dam rivers and build windfarms while the power goes poof, poof, out through the roof, and a cool southerly blows right through the windows. Before we put in the windfarm, let's tighten up the houses and buildings to make ourselves more comfortable and decrease the burden on the power grid.