One of the cool things about work is having a desk right by a window, something I haven't had in most offices. This is what I can see.

( Two photos and two volcanoes )

They had another Newmarket viaduct segment signing today ( see here for the first one featuring Ceiling Cat) so we went in and signed the insides of two. As it's also Sebastian's estimated first birthday, one of them got signed as "Sebastian's Birthday Seggie".

( Photos of cats, viaduct, Big Blue Thing, and a Scotsman )

People, it snowed today! There hasn't been snow in Auckland since 1939. There had been hail earlier in the day but suddenly people in the place I was working started shouting there was snow falling and we rushed out onto the roof deck. Some people said it was more hail, but it was real, drifting snow, glittering on our hair and clothes though it ( Read more... )

It's a blustery and occasionally wet Sunday as a storm the size of Australia passes over, which means that it's not worth going out to Ardmore for the Battle of Britain air show, dammit. They have the Warbirds (vintage war planes) there and it would have been wonderful in decent weather. We wouldn't be able to see them with the rain and low clouds ( Read more... )

Remember the Newmarket Viaduct that has our names in it (and Vila's for that matter)? They've completed the new southbound lanes so they opened them up yesterday (Sunday) for the public to walk over. Greg's been looking forward to it for weeks, and I was keen too, depending on the weather. I said if it was raining I'd stay home. It wasn't when we ( Read more... )

Yesterday as part of the Maori midwinter festival Matariki, there was a Kite Day held on Bastion Point which belongs to the local iwi (tribe), Ngāti Whātua. As it was a stunningly beautiful winter's day, we decided to go. There were some amazing and huge kites, all based on sea creatures.

( 15 photos of gorgeous big kites, Maori marae, and area--all fairly small )

I have a soft spot for heavy engineering (which my father used to indulge with visits to dams and bridges). The motorway viaduct over Newmarket is being replaced while still in use, and on Sunday they had an open day. The process is pretty cool: the huge self-launching gantry (fondly known as The Big Blue Thing) is being used to build the new ( Read more... )

Scrapbook seems to be working again now, so I'll have another go.

There's been a big ad campaign here for the Steven Spielberg series The Pacific about the war there, probably because it all happened fairly near us and a lot of our people were involved. It started with a very good facsimile of a real letter written home during WW2 by a US marine ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

Take a picture of what is outside of your window right now and post it.

( Two from upstairs )