Yes, I know it’s not a competition, but it’s still nice to hear when one’s kids do well. My kids raised over $300 dollars for World Vision each in the recent 40 Hour Famine.
I’m especially proud of my 7-year-old daughter, who raised more than any other child at our church, and was 4th overall. And at something over $8600 we apparently raised more than any other church in New Zealand.
But I’m not competitive.
I like maps. Especially old maps. Especially old maps of places I know.
Just the other day I came across an old book of maps on TradeMe. It was issued by the A.A. quite a while ago — long enough ago that it predates publishers annotating maps with the date they were drawn. The maps inside are in good condition, although the cover shows evidence of a life in a grubby glove box.
Although there’s no direct evidence of the date of publication, there are enough clues in the maps themselves that I could probably pin it down reasonably well. These are artifacts that someone from New Zealand, especially the areas I’m familiar with, will be aware of. Here are some of the things I’ve noticed:
This is some of the most fantastic and beautiful delicate art work I have ever seen:
Carved eggshells. Like nothing I've ever seen.
Slovenian (I think) Franc Grom carves these eggs using a small hand-held electric drill. His more complicated pieces have literally thousands of holes.
Franc Grom works on another egg.
There are a few more photos here, but precious little else that I can discover about him online.
One of my favourite kids’ books is coming to the movies.
It’s a great story book, and the beautiful pictures really make it. The monsters look just right in the trailer. I can’t wait to see it on the big screen.
MIT geeks have all the fun. Here’s a talk from this year’s TED where grad student David Merrill demos the coolest toy blocks ever.
The Resurgence roastery
On our Christmas break I was very pleased to come across a small coffee roastery I’d previously never heard of. I was going to call it “boutique” but that sounds terribly pretentious. Nevertheless, Resurgence Riwaka Roasting is run out of a converted garage on the outskirts of Riwaka (just out of Motueka) and does seriously good coffee.
The roaster — that’s William on the right — has a long history of roasting in Christchurch, and has now set himself up in Riwaka. His beans are all good quality Organic and Fair Trade. He knows his stuff and roasts them well. There’s a (very) small café run out of the roastery where he can make you the best short black you’ve ever had. Seriously.
You can find their coffee in some of the local stores or buy through the web site (like the rest of the web site, the online shopping experience is nothing to write home about, but it’s there). However, if you’re anywhere near the roastery it’s well worth dropping in and seeing for yourself. They’re on the North side of Riwaka, on your right as you leave town heading for the Takaka Hill or Kaiteriteri.
If you’re coming some distance just for the coffee it might pay to call ahead — they’re not always there, and there is talk that they might be moving soon — but it’s worth the trip. I’m always keen to support the small business taking on the large faceless corporates, and in this case it’s an easy choice — the coffee is some of the best I’ve tasted in a long time.