tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87757537841846370342012-02-01T21:14:22.716+13:00Tales from the frontlawnDion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.comBlogger1971100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-15859018945235211062011-12-13T21:43:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:50:09.280+13:00

Another batch of Zealandia photos --- I've been making an effort to get better use from my annual pass there. I have a soft spot fro the Wellington jeweled geckos; at least I think that's what they are called. They were all out in the sun this time, and finally, I saw one eat a fly. They are very fast when they want to be!                 I think this little chap is a scaup

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25743507845888962622011-12-13T21:21:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:26:30.981+13:00

We avoided the Rugby World Cup final by heading for the hills and making a round trip from Otaki forks, over the Tararua peaks and along to Junction knob then down via Waitewaiwai hut. Three days of pretty nice weather as these things go, but no views from the main range. The gpx file is here here.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-72458857378574693682011-12-13T21:10:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:18:01.403+13:00

                                    Maglev!        

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-72917937217662848642011-12-13T21:07:00.000+13:002011-12-13T21:10:34.414+13:00

At the Xining museum.     And in the market...             Temples and such on the hill behind Xining.                                    

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-30113077899226522642011-12-13T21:03:00.001+13:002011-12-13T21:04:42.900+13:00

Back on the train from Lhasa to Xining.         And in Xining, at night.            

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-47622461499580564392011-12-13T20:37:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:51:29.707+13:00

These are the animals that weren't actively showing psychotic behaviour from being kept in small cages. The snow leopard and bears were particularly upset. The only animal not in a cage. This Yak had complete freedom throughout he gardens around the zoo.                                

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-85055624045748056452011-12-13T20:29:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:50:56.387+13:00

  Morning exercises for the department store staff.   The Potala Palace       View from the Potala Palace.       Outside Lhasa, heading to the hot springs       Is that giant Tesla coil?   At the hot pools, the beauty of the setting seemed to be lost on whoever built the pools.   View from the hot pools   And

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-53544599551131028682011-12-13T20:23:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:50:10.744+13:00

  Potala palace   Pilgrims outside the Jokang temple   On the temple roof     It was over 30 degrees in the sun, but some people seemed to have preconceptions of Tibet that they were unwilling to let go of.        

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-71708371456706335482011-12-13T20:19:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:49:20.903+13:00

The altitude change caused my pre-packed novelty breads to puff up in their plastic packages with the pressure change.       Yak yak yak yak yak             There were several rock arches like this along the ridge.   More yaks, at around 5000 masl       Enthusiastic photographers   Such pretty yaks.   Another

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-39596701947065147672011-12-13T20:12:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:48:38.734+13:00

           

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-13991561859512760062011-12-13T20:09:00.000+13:002011-12-13T20:48:09.149+13:00

In, and around, Xining in Qinghai. At about 4000 masl  At the barley "wine" factory Hmmm….

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-48384067858288030562011-09-23T21:18:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:47:30.485+13:00

As good as the warriors were, the drive there was just as interesting; particularly the bit where the mini-bus crashed into a car in the middle of a six lane roundabout, then stopped there, blocking traffic, while the drivers of the two vehicles got out and argued in the middle of the road.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-78876674564888068782011-09-23T21:04:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:46:41.224+13:00

...where the excellent 7 Sages hostel can provide kitty snuggles in addition to the good rooms and a good restaurant in a courtyard. Other photos are from the bell tower and the drum tower in the centreof the city.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25939403945556806882011-09-23T20:59:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:46:14.472+13:00

We arrived three hours late. Heavy rain for two weeks beforehand meant there were lots of track repairs going on. But when we weren't traveling at 15km/hr we managed. A respectable 100-160km/hr. I know because the GPS told me so.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-15738791311050586232011-09-23T20:53:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:45:50.783+13:00

...for sacrificing animals in order to ensure a good harvest. Most impressive, and set in another nice park.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-55605414358424338382011-09-23T20:46:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:45:26.021+13:00

Since we are doing a lot of traveling by train on this trip (something like 4000km of it) it seemed appropriate that we should visit the railway museum in Beijing. It's rather fun! Lots of train related bits-and-bobs, including various pieces from the new 350km/hr trains that run in parts of China (but not the parts we're going to). Also, the original Apple store?

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-24221955858605884012011-09-23T20:40:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:44:55.321+13:00

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-83270129964063536992011-09-23T20:37:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:44:26.038+13:00

From our last day in Beijing. I highly recommend Bei Hai park for a nice stroll around the lake. The entrance fee is about $7 and includes entry to the temple on the island in the lake, with good views south over the Forbidden City.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-38313458052818703032011-09-20T14:33:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:43:59.672+13:00

We'd only been able to get train tickets as far as Xian, and it seemed like we would have to give up on our plan to go to Tibet since no one seemed to know how to get the necessary travel permits, and everyone said there were no train tickets available. Then we found Michael Wang at the travel desk in the Beijing Dreams Travel Hostel. This is a total plug for him; he phoned around

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-44333638792189861412011-09-20T14:16:00.001+12:002011-12-13T20:41:52.686+13:00

If one wants, one can buy a small (10cm^3) sealed plastic pouch, filled with coloured water, and a small goldfish of turtle. I guess they live for about a day before the colouring or the lack of air or the general being trapped and worn on a neckless kills them. These fish were much luckier. They happily live in a cafe near ourhotel in Beijing. There are many excellent cakes!

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-48520993142111099362011-09-20T14:09:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:43:27.525+13:00

Puffy deep-fried bread and a bowl of hot soy milk.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-43764641107777365202011-09-20T14:08:00.001+12:002011-12-13T20:39:59.846+13:00

More delights from the Military Museum! it had the most amazingmish-mash of military bits-and-bobs, all set out with no real focus oninformation or education, but rather, the overall effect that a hallfull of silver missiles and large guns might have on small children.What were we doing there, you might ask? We were on our way back fromgetting train tickets to Xian and the museum was the biggest,

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-59597770655748274622011-09-19T23:14:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:39:59.882+13:00

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-78153295086698142602011-09-19T23:11:00.000+12:002011-12-13T20:42:59.457+13:00

There is also a least a dozen other types of weird crap, including a golden gun thing and a secret Chinese weapon - a dragon! More photos to follow soon. I can only post five at a time via e-mail for the moment.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-51070180539468874072011-09-17T12:39:00.001+12:002011-12-13T20:42:22.777+13:00

I'm off to China tonight, and since blogger is blocked there (I think) I thought I should test sending an update post via e-mail. The photos are from last weekend when N and I had fondue in Otaki withAurelie and Nico. I highly recommend it; Stefan's Gasthof, just northof Otaki.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25941976597271805882011-05-08T02:24:00.000+12:002011-09-03T21:37:12.440+12:00

A few pictures from a weekend in Sydney with N. We took the train out to Katoomba --- I highly recommend doing so. The ride takes a couple of hours (perhaps a little longer) but the ticket is only $10 or so. Katoomba is very pretty, even if you don't make it as far as the main attraction: The Three Sisters, a lookout over some rocky spires and the Blue Mountains.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8689009 151.2070914-34.2908004 150.5753774 -33.4470014 151.83880539999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-19812167801605650882011-05-01T14:20:00.000+12:002011-09-03T21:23:50.908+12:00

Low cloud half-way up Kelburn hill made for strange light in central Wellington in the morning

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0109 Ghuznee St, Te Aro 6011, New Zealand-41.2924945 174.7732353-41.295477 174.76829980000002 -41.289511999999995 174.7781708tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-8296106680407373012011-04-28T14:39:00.001+12:002011-09-03T21:00:33.636+12:00

The rest of the bounty!

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-29496144312602400542011-04-28T14:34:00.001+12:002011-09-03T21:00:21.059+12:00

Last week I found a couple of birch bolets (Leccinum scabrum) under atree at work. Today I went for a walk to see if there were any moreand came back with about a kilo of them. I also found some very tastylooking young fly agarics (Amanita muscaria; see Donn's blog forcooking instructions). I also found a couple of different lookingbolets. I think these are Boletus versicolor (aka B. Rubellus).

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-38904733869972863072011-04-25T20:53:00.000+12:002011-09-04T09:37:02.123+12:00

A tramp over easter with Chris and N in the Ruahines. We started at Mokai Patea and walked to (almost) Runahine corner hut, via Lake Colenso. Highlights were seeing blue duck on the lake, and in the stream between Lake Coleso and Ruahine Corner. 11-04 Ruahine Range Colenso Hut

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Ruahine Range, Hawke's Bay 4171, New Zealand-40.0 176.1-40.0973105 175.9420715 -39.9026895 176.2579285tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-36465455292086488412011-04-19T17:25:00.003+12:002011-09-03T21:01:27.190+12:00

Chermoula. Pretty; tasty.2 cloves chopped garlic1 tsp ground coriander1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp sweet smoked paprika1/2 tsp turmeric1/4-1/2 tsp ground chilli1 medium chopped tomato1 handful chopped fresh coriander3 Tbsp olive oilzest + juice from one lime (or lemon)salt and pepperBlend. Marinate something in it for half an hour (prawns work well). Fry your stuff, not for too long.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-40065446619602646432011-04-17T21:32:00.001+12:002011-09-03T21:01:59.636+12:00

Old Porirua road (nowhere near Porirua), with a southerly building.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-88447545958778254392011-04-17T20:14:00.000+12:002011-09-03T21:03:01.447+12:00

Butterflies and mushrooms at Otari-Wilton's Bush.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2Otari-Wilton's Bush (Otari School), Wellington 6012, New Zealand-41.268314 174.756594-41.269805999999996 174.7541265 -41.266822 174.7590615tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-2844346106362268872011-04-12T21:40:00.003+12:002011-09-03T21:04:09.515+12:00

Soooooooooo. I've been sitting on these photos for a month or so now. While Romaric was in NZ I headed down to the southisland with him and Bastien for a spot of tramping. I'd planned a trip around Hokitika to visit some remote Westcoast huts. The weather forecast looked a bit dodgy for the middle of our trip and Romaric started fretting about getting stuck in a hut with me and Bastien. Instead,

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-54390103089301950672011-03-20T20:35:00.001+13:002011-09-03T21:04:32.195+12:00

N. and I volunteered as marshals for the RaboPlus Big Coast mountain bike ride organised by Hutt City Council. The ride began at Te Marua in Upper Hutt and headed over the Rimutaka Fell Incline rail trail to Western Lake Rd in the Wairarapa before heading south to the camp site. The course for the second day followed the south coast along Ocean Beach past Turakirae head, over the top of Baring

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-32689083791745201872011-03-12T21:08:00.000+13:002011-09-03T21:05:27.128+12:00

More post-dated (out-of-date) pictures. These ones from the "Fill the Basin" charity cricket match to raise funds for people affected by the Christchurch earthquake.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2Basin Reserve Park, Mt Cook 6021, New Zealand-41.3003208 174.7801835-41.312249800000004 174.76044249999998 -41.2883918 174.7999245tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-42861189970208292162011-03-04T20:58:00.002+13:002011-09-03T21:06:03.258+12:00

Some pictures of the hills north-east of Martinborough.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Martinborough, New Zealand-41.2190932 175.4600651-41.2668692 175.3811011 -41.171317200000004 175.53902910000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-69685543823107459662011-02-18T23:04:00.003+13:002011-09-03T21:11:24.093+12:00

From Somes/Matiu Island, with Romaric and Bastien:The regular (non-flash) gallery is here:11-02 Somes Island

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Somes Island 5012, New Zealand-41.2557376 174.8652105-41.2796121 174.8257285 -41.231863100000005 174.90469249999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-861933634128039252011-02-13T21:48:00.003+13:002011-09-03T21:08:03.257+12:00

Romaric is back in NZ for a holiday. Below are a few of pictures from a trip with him (and several others) to the hot springs on the Mohaka River in the Kaweka Forest Park.11-02 Mohaka

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1Mohaka River, New Zealand-39.106038 176.717744-39.303183999999995 176.40188700000002 -38.908892 177.033601tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-10950111034772481192011-01-30T20:37:00.005+13:002011-09-03T21:10:33.914+12:00

As part of (i.e. pretty much all of) my training for the Tararua Mountain race (now postponed until next summer), I ran the Jumbo-Holdsworth Trail Race. The race is about 26km and goes from Holsdworth Lodge along the Atiwhakatu track to Rain-gauge spur, where it climbs to Jumbo hut and the Jumbo Summit. From Jumbo summit the trail turned south, over Mt Holdsworth, and the weather turned to crap.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Mount Holdsworth, Wellington 5581, New Zealand-40.8666667 175.4166667-40.9627312 175.2587382 -40.770602200000006 175.5745952tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-44246963745306356162011-01-09T21:50:00.000+13:002011-09-03T21:09:29.466+12:00

The last couple of years N and I have gone for a post-Christmas tramp of a week or so in the Tararuas. This year we branched out and fly south to walk from Nelson Lakes to Lewis Pass. We did the trip pretty much as it is described in the book "Classic Tramping in New Zealand" by Shaun Barnett and Rob Brown.Day One: We flew to Nelson and got a lift to St Arnaud with Nelson Lakes Shuttles,

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1Nelson Lakes National Park, 7072, New Zealand-41.9642893 172.6915429-42.342121799999994 172.0598289 -41.5864568 173.3232569tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-76296310087718498782010-12-25T21:15:00.000+13:002011-09-03T21:11:05.040+12:00

I know, that date of this post is a lie. But it's when I would have put up these pictures, if I'd put them up in any reasonable time frame.10-12-Christmas

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Martinborough, New Zealand-41.2190932 175.4600651-41.2668692 175.3811011 -41.171317200000004 175.53902910000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-39177657098976568502010-11-23T15:43:00.003+13:002011-09-03T21:13:40.287+12:00

I've been trying to think of something clever to say about the week or so I spent n Switzerland at the end of October. I'll give up now and just post some photos instead.Here's the gimmicky flash slide show version:And here's a a link to the Picasa gallery.I had a great time there catching up with people and hunting mushrooms. We ate 21 different species of mushroom which we collected ourselves,

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0Switzerland46.818188 8.22751245.4274325 5.700656500000001 48.2089435 10.7543675tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-40910254392813532372010-11-23T15:31:00.001+13:002011-09-03T21:14:11.425+12:00

See N at 1:23.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0109 Ghuznee St, Te Aro 6011, New Zealand-41.2924945 174.7732353-41.387938999999996 174.6153068 -41.19705 174.9311638tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-85470847624363421822010-11-23T10:45:00.001+13:002011-09-03T21:14:41.512+12:00

I was cycling to work when I heard a loud clatter coming from somewhere around the drivechain on my bike. I pulled over and found a four cm long piece of metal stuck through my rear tyre. It looks like the spike had entered through the centre of the tyre and then been deflected by the tyre liner and come out through the side wall. I pulled the spike out and, since the tyre didn't start to deflate

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2Petone, New Zealand-41.2270384 174.8851015-41.2509234 174.8456195 -41.2031534 174.92458349999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-57840180993617199402010-10-14T11:49:00.003+13:002010-10-14T12:22:28.016+13:00

Sitting in the airport in Hong Kong and Paul Henry's in the SouthChina Morning Post. Great what one small-minded bigoted jerk can dofor New Zealand's international reputation. It also made me thinkabout how tenuous our reputation is in other areas; the clean greenmyth which we rely on for our tourism billions for example. Oneincident which gets the attention of the international media is enoughto

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-22780880492126362642010-10-09T15:43:00.007+13:002010-10-09T16:58:36.541+13:00

"So we reckon it's time that a New Zealand APA pulled on its Dockers, flashed its Blackberry, and generally talked louder than everyone else at the bar. Here it is."

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-72698736463139904882010-10-09T15:43:00.003+13:002010-10-09T15:43:36.653+13:00

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-51463827761050128072010-10-09T15:20:00.003+13:002010-10-09T16:02:55.761+13:00

I had bought a FYO rigger or two of the Tuatara APA from Regional Wines and Spirits a month or two back. At the time I thought it was one of the tastiest beers in the country. My opinion didn't change much at the launch party (also at RW&S) when the beer was released in bottles.In general, I prefer my beer fresh from the keg, especially with styles like APA where the large amount of aromatic hops

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-48316662508142674242010-10-04T20:39:00.000+13:002010-10-09T16:51:30.649+13:00

Mike's Oktoberfest at Urenui outside New Plymouth. Not much to be said really; great weather, great people, great beer. Some curious local entertainment, and some even more curious locals. And (what looked like) good surfing the next day at "The Graveyard", a small beach off the surf highway south of the city.Picasa pictures here.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-70565175235272478212010-09-27T20:03:00.002+13:002010-10-09T16:09:47.598+13:00

A couple of photos from the trip last weekend to Waiopehu hut with Dmitri, Shriv, Matthias and Lisa. While the rest of the country had gales and storms, we just had clag. No views, but no real wind or rain either.10-09 Waiopehu HutWaiopehu Hut

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-9256580691031367562010-09-03T20:19:00.005+12:002010-09-23T20:31:51.445+12:00

Fourteen hours on Friday to moves all our boxes and such.Then two more days to shuffle boxes and furniture around and finding space for things in our new home.It's all worth it though.Many thanks to David and Dmitri and Lorraine for all their help moving things.10-09 Moving House

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-88200333330225235462010-08-28T17:21:00.005+12:002010-08-28T22:03:59.726+12:00

I ran the Mukamuka Munter last Saturday, along with Erich and Krista. It was a little sketchy as to whether I'd run in the end; I'd had some sort of flu for the week leading up to the race and on Thursday afternoon I found myself out of breath after going up the stairs at work. Friday night I had some pre-race nerves and it seemed a shame to waste them by not running. We needed to get up before

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-57680336275477529102010-08-15T18:36:00.003+12:002010-08-15T19:28:00.352+12:00

I'm sick as a dog today, with some nasty fluey/cold thing that came on super fast. (Erich will hoping that it slows me down for the race next Saturday but he won't be so lucky!) One consequence of this bug is a lot of sitting around at home, hence these two posts in quick succession. Another consequence is more packing.N. and I bought a little apartment the other month and so I've been spending

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-86163058912678457702010-08-15T17:57:00.002+12:002010-08-15T18:33:49.881+12:00

Flat tyres are the curse of my cycling life. There are few things less pleasant than having to stop on the side of a busy road, in bad weather, to change a bike tyre which is covered in who-knows-what-toxic-road-sludge and all because some drunken moron (who will probably run me over in a month's time) threw his empty beer bottle out the car window. At one point I was getting a puncture every

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-13228472725801243962010-08-05T12:55:00.002+12:002010-08-05T13:17:49.785+12:00

I see it's almost a month since I last posted something. What have I been doing with my time? Not so much of interest it seems. Though I did run the last two races of the Wellington xterra trail running series.The third race of the series was held out at Belmont regional park over a nice trail which climbed to an open ridge, descended a reasonably steep & rocky track then followed the Horokiwi

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-30536023029409149722010-07-07T22:10:00.003+12:002010-07-11T18:16:59.096+12:00

Congratulations to Dmitri (Pictured below, intently discussing football at the Southern Cross) who successfully defended his PhD on "computational tooling".10-07 Dmitri

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-9620714210417897882010-07-03T17:57:00.002+12:002010-07-11T18:06:49.218+12:00

A couple of photos from a Saturday morning walk up Tinakori Hill. The weather was particularly good; almost no wind, plenty of sun and fantastically clear views all the way to the Kaikoura mountains in the South Island.10-07 Tinakori Hill

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-7806939791291546572010-06-27T21:16:00.000+12:002010-07-11T17:57:46.058+12:00

Nico wanted to go to a bach on a beach somewhere out of the way for his birthday. Pourerere beach did the job well. The number of baches and caravans there suggest that the place is quite busy in summer but we were about the only people there that weekend. The beach is sheltered from the Pacific ocean by a large mudstone reef. I don't really understand why the reef hasn't been washed away yet.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-28413632339133234342010-06-21T20:49:00.000+12:002010-07-05T20:54:32.993+12:00

Erich had been pestering me to enter the Mukamuka Munter run with him and the Wainuiomata Mountain Run, at the start of May was well timed as a warm up (for the originally posted date for Mukamuka). I'd done no real exercise since coming back from Melbourne so I was a bit surprised to come in 6th of the 23 guys in the 12km race, at 1:07:11, six seconds behind Erich.While we were out for the

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-38716984241854573342010-06-20T17:00:00.003+12:002010-07-11T17:03:32.018+12:00

Hopefully we"ll see you again soon; either in NZ or Germany

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-2016120982213222992010-05-22T21:31:00.005+12:002010-07-05T21:45:41.450+12:00

It was a particularly nice early winter afternoon so I went for a walk along the south coast between Wellington and the Wairarapa. It's certainly the nicest way to get past the Rimutaka hills.Turakirae Head at EveryTrail - Click here for schmancy version of the map using Adobe flash.More photos here:10-05 Turakirae Head

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-11090711676178583402010-05-11T22:00:00.004+12:002010-06-21T23:18:46.664+12:00

The things one has to do for a silly hat these days!I had a great day!For a limited, but indeterminate, time the full set of photos from the day are available here to look at, or, if you want to download all of them in one go, you can get the zipped file here (391MB!)

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-31273570019861198192010-04-11T21:40:00.003+12:002010-06-21T23:17:42.214+12:00

A couple of photos from a day walk up Kapakapanui with The French. Kapakapanui peak is in the western Tararuas, just behind Waikanae --- a perfect day walk. The top of the ridge there is at a height that would normally be covered in forest, but a fire early last century has left the area with just alpine tussock and a bit of scrub. The day we were there we had perfect views. Mts Taranaki and

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-69317094606573358702010-04-05T11:37:00.005+12:002010-06-21T23:42:24.708+12:00

I'm well overdue to post something from my trip to Stewart Island. In the two months since I was there, I've probably already shown photos from the trip to anyone likely to read this. But for completeness, and since I've been putting off posting other things, on account of wanting to post this first, (this post is back-dated so that I can still add other things at about the correct dates), I'll

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-54752627572504772872010-03-14T20:59:00.003+13:002010-06-07T16:26:23.494+12:00

A couple of pictures from around Fitzroy and central Melbourne from my last weekend before leaving.And from a last beer or two at the Mountain Goat brewery, one of my favourite places brewing one of my favourite drinks in Melbourne.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-35259653622202137662010-03-08T20:35:00.003+13:002010-04-29T20:55:11.715+12:00

I'll back-date this post (and the next one) since I'm a month and a bit late in putting these pictures up. They're from Healesville Sanctuary, an excellent zoo of Australian wildlife about one hour's drive from central Melbourne.The reptile house was great, as was the birds of prey display. In fact, I liked the whole place and Simon and I spent most of a day there without noticing the time

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-76753146912447245742010-03-04T16:58:00.002+13:002010-03-04T17:30:59.462+13:00

In a follow-up to the comment I made on Tuesday about the annual Melbourne bike survey, The Age has the story Number of peak-hour cyclists soar.The number of cyclists on Melbourne's roads has soared by up to 50 per cent during peak hour in the past year, according to new figures.What they actually mean, is that the increase in numbers at some intersections was up to 50 percent. The overall

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-14032819113873265732010-03-02T11:06:00.002+13:002010-03-02T11:16:32.776+13:00

It's national bicycle counting day in Australia this article says: "Numbers expected to be up in annual bike count". It's also the first day since being here when I've taken the tram to work instead of cycling.While I missed out on potentially being recorded as one of the many cyclists in Melbourne, I have some statistics of my own. Since moving to Fitzroy in early September I've cycled 2599.39km

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-54627793876330146522010-02-21T14:25:00.002+13:002010-02-21T14:28:49.451+13:00

From the first Australia -- West Indies cricket match a couple of weeks ago.10-02 Cricket

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-46348119803704465272010-02-14T12:58:00.002+13:002010-02-14T13:07:08.212+13:00

A couple of photos from walking between Fitzroy and Flemington a week or so back.10-01 Flemmington Walk

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-80261328134633114252010-01-30T13:20:00.003+13:002010-01-30T13:37:42.465+13:00

A couple of weekends back, Simon, my housemate, and I caught the train out to Warrnambool. The coast road between Melbourne and Warrnambool is the Great Ocean Road tourist route. Our train took an inland route so we didn't get any ocean views until we got to Warrnambool, though we did get good views of some industrial areas on the fringe of Melbourne.The coast around Warrnambool is a mix of sandy

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-6149738869301142482010-01-28T20:17:00.006+13:002010-01-28T22:26:02.388+13:00

I was back in NZ for a week or so after Christmas and managed to fit in a walk in the Tararuas similar to the previous year. This time N. and I were joined by Chris and Kelly. My plan was to try and visit some of the more remote huts without revisiting too many that I'd been to already but with gales and snow forecast during the trip, I was willing to be flexible.The map below shows our path as

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-51736244077885763832010-01-19T11:33:00.003+13:002010-01-19T11:35:42.476+13:00

From BikeSnobNYC. No words can add to the wonder that is the goat bike.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-75749129706881980732009-12-16T12:00:00.002+13:002009-12-16T12:12:30.800+13:00

In Australia, flatmates (or roommates if you American) are housemates. So flaties become housies. Last night we had a housies Christmas dinner and secret Santa. (It seems that secret Santa is called Kris Kringle in Australia.) Anyway, lots of food and fun all round. And sing-along carols in a key of one's own choosing.09-12 HousiesXmas

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-87590599657407497522009-12-14T11:36:00.002+13:002009-12-16T12:00:46.152+13:00

Google maps says it's a 1700km drive from my flat in Fitzroy, Melbourne to GT's house in Gilston, Southern Queensland.View Larger MapThis is about the same as the total distance I've cycled to and from work since I've been living in Fitzroy. Does this mean I can say that in some way I've offset half the carbon emissions from flying to and from Queensland to visit GT and Sandra last weekend?

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-32128892998044538322009-12-10T13:45:00.003+13:002009-12-10T13:53:24.279+13:00

I saw this in a post from Ken Perrott's blog on the Sciblogs.co.nz site of the NZ Science Media Centre. Other stuff there is well worth checking out too, particularly the video discussing the claims made by climate change denialists about the e-mails that were stolen from the Climate Reasearch Unit in the UK.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-25385445394914388352009-12-02T13:00:00.002+13:002009-12-02T13:06:31.083+13:00

I just got an e-mail from Kat, the editor of Argus where my article on tricams appeared. It seems someone even liked the article. Here's the message they sent to Kat:I thought the current argus was the best version to come out in 3 or 4 years, really top notch. I really appreciated reading the technical articles about tricams and anchor setups - for me, Argus has relevance to the extent it

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-61796401869983651112009-12-01T19:02:00.003+13:002009-12-01T21:05:35.310+13:00

In the car on the way out to Mt Arapilies the other weekend I was saying how much I liked tricams. Probably in an effort to get me to shut up, Kat asked if I would be able write something about them. I thought it was an odd question and said "yes, probably". It turns out Kat was serious about me writing something: she's the editor of Argus, the magazine of the Victorian Climbing Club. A month

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-49308888404081509552009-11-24T12:28:00.003+13:002009-11-24T13:48:35.701+13:00

The Melbourne Age had a great example of uninformed, science fearing, luddism in the paper today. The revelation that that there are small things in make-up. If it sounds like science, it could be a killer!The use of nanotechnology is common in some top-selling cosmetics - but don't expect to find anything about it on the label.Those are the findings of a new Friends of the Earth report that

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-22367599657483596832009-11-19T13:56:00.002+13:002009-11-19T14:05:48.579+13:00

I'm not sure exactly what the temperature was when I went out for some cross-fit yesterday evening. The overnight low was 30 degrees so I assume it was a few of degrees that since the sun was still out. I started straight after I cycled home from work so I'm going to include the bike ride as part of the work out. It certainly meant I was warmed up. Anyway, here's the workout:13km bike ride (

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-76466641852905843192009-11-13T11:55:00.004+13:002010-07-05T20:55:30.315+12:00

Friday; the first day this week I've been able to walk properly. I did a short cross-fit workout last Sunday, and didn't think much of it at the time, but those 20 minutes of exercise were enough to leave me with aching legs four days later --- bad enough that I was limping about and clutching the hand rail on the stairs like and old me. The workout that did all the damage?Five reps of:100 squats

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-66165253589326905462009-11-09T11:37:00.003+13:002009-11-09T16:39:28.283+13:00

Wellington and Melbourne aren't at very different latitudes, and both are near the coast but the difference in forecast temperatures is pushing 20 degrees at the moment.Update: The latest temperatures on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website say that it's currently 35.2 degrees at the weather station nearest to my work. No wonder I have a headache.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-17260308488311434852009-11-06T11:50:00.002+13:002009-11-06T12:11:44.539+13:00

The NZ Herald reports that two thirds of Bachelor degrees award in NZ last year went to women.Between 2006 and 2008 the number of male students completing a bachelor degree fell from 7600 to 6900.In the same period the number of female students completing bachelor degrees increased by 100 to 12,900.And that currently females make up a higher proportion at all levels of education from level one

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-33546801932110312492009-11-05T19:56:00.003+13:002009-11-05T19:59:59.330+13:00

A few more photos from climbing at Arapiles. The first gallery are photos from the first weekend there with Chris, Erich, Steve and N. The second gallery is from last weekend when I tagged along with some people from the Victorian Climbing Club.09-10 Araps_Olympus09-11 Araps2

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-18207844935377980802009-11-03T12:28:00.000+13:002009-11-03T12:29:29.671+13:00

Melbourne is nice and quite out near my work at the moment. Classes at the university finished last week, and today is Melbourne Cup Day, so most people in Victoria get a holiday. Cycling home yesterday evening there were so few cars since people mostly take the Monday off work and use Cup Day to make a four day weekend I got home in 25 minutes (instead of the usual 30) on account of not having

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-46594714431534446032009-10-30T21:31:00.002+13:002009-10-30T22:50:22.274+13:00

I've forced myself to find some time in my busy schedule (busy packing for my trip back to Arapiles tomorrow morning!) to post a couple more pictures from climbing at Arapiles last weekend. Actually, most of photos were rubbish (I was too busy climbing) so I'll post some topos and route descriptions from the guide book and a couple of Chris's photos too to spice things up.The first long climb we

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-39035468560055254772009-10-29T11:19:00.003+13:002009-10-29T11:22:30.833+13:00

More to come later; for the moment, a photo from Chris:And one from me:The climbing was great by the way. The rock, the weather and the company were all excellent.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-59576030774821817362009-10-22T11:25:00.000+13:002009-10-27T11:47:47.288+13:00

I'm going to back-date this post to when I should have posted it. And I'm going to make it short since I seem to be running out of time for everything at the moment. I made my first trip outside Melbourne city last weekend --- to French Island, 70km south east of Melbourne. To get there, N. and I took the train to Stony Point ($3 for a weekend ticket!) and then the ferry over to the island. About

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-42236465536380403662009-10-21T12:05:00.002+13:002009-10-21T12:18:24.782+13:00

You're one wacky dinosaur T-Rex!

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-69432427865112174982009-10-16T12:23:00.002+13:002009-10-16T14:00:12.236+13:00

"No news is good new" they say, but in my case, no news just means no free minutes near a computer over the last couple of weeks. The last week of September, I was in Adelaide at the Australian Maths Society annual conference. It was a big one, with about 400 people attending. I tried to take some pictures of Adelaide but, even at 10 am on a Sunday moring, I had to go half an hour (by tram) out

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-21930086816141318582009-09-25T17:55:00.006+12:002009-09-25T17:59:54.815+12:00

It looks like I won't be getting home dry today. 13 km to ride and this is the latest rain radar image for Melbourne (from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology).(Melbourne is in the centre of the image.)

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-20908281885809685612009-09-19T23:42:00.002+12:002009-09-19T23:46:35.150+12:00

09-09 Ian Potter Gallery

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-4055592124635605172009-09-12T23:49:00.002+12:002009-09-13T00:14:53.746+12:00

It's Saturday evening, I'm not quite feeling motivated enough to write anything about the day, so I'll let the photos tell the story. though I should explain that the first photo is from the Collingwood Childrens' Farm where there was a farmers' market this morning.More photos:09-09 Hair

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-67813213562323621172009-09-11T17:59:00.003+12:002009-09-11T18:06:31.281+12:00

It's what I've always suspected was true of broadband in New Zealand; it's faster to transmit information by carrier pigeon than by ADSL. This article from BusinessDay in South Africa reports on a trial where a carrier pigeon carried 4GB of data over 70km in a pinch under 2 hours 7 minutes, during which time only 5% of the 4GB was downloaded over a Telekom ADSL connection.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-73759377125085344452009-09-08T23:26:00.003+12:002009-09-09T00:07:11.963+12:00

I moved into my new flat last week. It's right in the centre of Fitzroy with all the associated cafes and restaurants (there's a pub right across the road). It's a three-and-a-bit bedroom apartment, which I share with three others, in an old chocolate factory. And today we got a new flatmate:He's a 12 week old Burmese called Chocolate.Here he is meeting Mette for the first time.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-69232450949553399362009-09-05T15:58:00.002+12:002009-09-05T16:40:17.570+12:00

Not nearly as good as Epic. No where near as hoppy either, despite the, (I thought), rather grandiose, claims about how many hops were used. The balance of the hops didn't seem quite right either --- not enough bitterness to balance the fruity flavours, and even they were seemed a bit, well, thin, I suppose. Not that I'm saying it was a bad beer, and full credit to the people who brewed it; or

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-17401305574829557512009-09-05T15:48:00.003+12:002009-09-05T15:57:48.974+12:00

A few photos of the glass blowing that was going at the Abbotsford Convent last Saturday.09-08 Glass Blowing

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-11097258439353232182009-08-24T22:32:00.003+12:002009-08-25T13:03:26.312+12:00

Some of my flatmates at the moment.This weekend I went to the museum with them, and to Bundoora park where one can see lizards and kangaroos (amongst other things).

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8775753784184637034.post-60041763492494007822009-08-23T10:44:00.002+12:002009-08-23T10:51:42.083+12:00

Following on from the video about artistic cycling, here's the French team. They spent all their money on their hair-dos and couldn't afford the train ticket to the competition and had to do their routine in a paddock.

Dion O'Nealehttps://profiles.google.com/107548947288206239094noreply@blogger.com6