I posted this on my personal blog, but it has a lot of design and construction innovation. Simplicity Living is a non-profit retirement/investment fund that is building high quality affordable rental (they'll own and operate) and rent to own (they'll fund) housing. It's simple, when you know how | simplicity living . kiwi - RobiNZ Personal Blog (typepad.com) Continue reading

It was great to visit the Simplicity Living Productivity Hub today and learn more about how they are building high quality affordable rental (they'll own), and rent to buy (they'll fund) housing that I own 0.0000[insert many more zeros]001% of via a portion of my Simplicity Kiwisaver (retirement fund) and separate small Simplicity Homes and Income Fund investment %) Two pours today on their Te Reiputa site with 297 new one and two-bedroom apartments in Mt Wellington, Auckland. Introducing Te Reiputa - Simplicity Living's biggest project yet | Simplicity Simplicity Living's Te Reiputa Mt Wellington Site Even better all their... Continue reading

Last night I posted this comment (without the image) on a 'The Intercooler' article by Mel Nichols about the history of the iconic Car Magazine Good, Bad, Ugly (GBU) pages: My favourite* GBU line was the 1983 (still have the August issue) 'Sum up' for a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance: "As flash as a rat with a gold tooth". I loved the GBU, kept a few key Car issues over the years including my first purchased, for a pocket money killing $1.20! The Feb 79 issue had a Fiat 131 Sport on the cover, alongside a RS2000 Escort but who... Continue reading

I went to Antarctica thanks to a Karl*, was reminded of so many memories watching Karl Watson's recent (November 2023) trip which went to several of the places we visited at the same time of year (so very similar snow etc). Watching them kayaking at Orne Harbour (ep 2) I still can't really believe have done the same. Nothing gets close to experiencing Antarctica, but this is a brilliant effort at capturing it. * I went with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in November 2019, our trip was 13 days and we had even better weather! Continue reading

A brilliant video, a fine tribute to a remarkable life. Years, no decades!, ago I vaguely knew of Beatrice Tinsley's work, on the life of galaxies, but would not have been able to name her. Then The Warehouse, who I worked for, rented some factory space in Beatrice Tinsley Cresent (Rosedale, Auckland) and I wondered who it was named for. Looked that up, made the connection and never forgotten. Several years ago I saw a wonderful performance of the 'Bright Star' stage play in Auckland. It was brilliant and portrayed the personal/career challenges she faced. I try and get to... Continue reading

I'd long thought about getting a robot vacuum cleaner to do 'between real clean tidying' but wasn't up to spending the sort of money the market leader's command. My 'real' home vacuum is a commercial backpack PacVac Superpro 700. It is powerful and has a mega-long cord so can clean the house, garage, even cars on the drive outside, without changing plugs. It's awesome but the arrival of a cat with long white, seemingly always shedding, fur meant fairly constant light cleaning was needed... When I saw the AIRROBO P20 at Jaycar NZ, for a couple of hundred dollars, I... Continue reading

I forget how many years ago Harry Capper and I connected, well over a decade and initially on LinkedIn, due to our shared (but no close relation) surname. We've kept in touch, over the years, and I was amazed to get this Facebook Message after he saw an Antarctic post I had shared: Harry's Facebook Messenger Message (shared with permission) Linda Capper and Capper Peak Although I had done lots of research (I thought!) for my 2019 Antarctic trip I didn't know of Linda or her long career with the British Antarctic Survey: Hi Robin, I know how much Antarctica... Continue reading

I saw a Facebook post on an Alan Parsons Project (APP) group wishing Andrew Powell Happy Birthday and remembered a lifetime of entertainment. As an industrial design student in 1983/84 I was fascinated by the brand-new CD technology being launched at the time. Went to look at the first of the Sony & Philips players on display at a hifi store in the Auckland, NZ, CBD. They had a tiny range of imported CDs on sale to support the launch and one was 'Andrew Powell & the Philharmonia Orchestra Plays the Best of the APP". I was already a fan... Continue reading

March 31st means it is blog’iversary time. Twenty years since that first tentative post! I really appreciate the connections blogging, and more recently Mastodon, Substack, Discord, & Facebook, has enabled. While the other platforms have taken over much of the day-to-day activity, I still prefer having the content I really value, in terms of wanting to retain, on my ‘own’ platform. It has been a quiet year for the CAD Blog, but that's OK because I have been mostly retro-blogging on the other one about old cycle trips! To everyone, everywhere, thanks for visiting, reading, and subscribing both here and... Continue reading

Recently Substacker (Webworm), Podcaster (Flightless Bird), Director (Tickled, Dark Tourist, Mr Organ), former TV3 Journalist, David Farrier posted about dyeing his hair... (Quote from subscriber locked post used with permission) WEBWORM WITH DAVID FARRIER - The Origins of Rage I dyed my hair pink - then the angry comments began. DAVID FARRIER | MAR 30, 2024 | PAID Hi, I dyed my hair pink* this week. If I was being pretentious I’d say it was an art project. I’d used a pink-hair filter on social media earlier this month, which had people evenly split between “Oh my God you dyed... Continue reading

Guess, or click the link to see, which one I picked... Surprised they say ~6 left in the U.K., probably that many still in NZ? One, albeit the later 2001 year 155, in my garage. The best cars from the 1990s, but which is your favourite? - Autocar With the 80s having been well and truly plundered for affordable classics, the 90s is next up. Here’s your ultimate guide to the cars to buy now – before their prices soar out of reach... Continue reading

The itinerary: We transfer you to the airport & your flight to Hue. We will take an afternoon city tour around the Imperial citadel. Views from the plane Another domestic flight, not great weather (so much of it was in/above cloud) but still a decent look at the countryside on departure/approach. Huế Huế, a quiet town (for Vietnam) when we arrived but I think that was just a matter of timing. The city served as the old Imperial City and administrative capital for the Nguyễn dynasty. Our elegant Hotel Our elegant Hotel, adjacent to the Hương River (Perfume River), in... Continue reading

See 2023 Blogging Highlights on the other blog. Continue reading

Happy New Year! Another year has flown by, time to look back from a bloggy/social media (not just CAD blog) perspective at the year: @ a new 'me' on the web Twenty three, and a bit, years after starting a blog I finally got around to getting my own domain for it. It's still published with TypePad it can now be found via www.robincapper.net. [2024-09-01 reverted back to Typepad as the domain mapping has broken] Back to CAD A new role, new industry, meant catching up with some new software. Fun to learn more about Civil 3D, QGIS and more... Continue reading

The itinerary: Awake to the sunrise over Halong Bay and breakfast on the cruise back to Halong. The afternoon and evening is at leisure in Hanoi. The trading boasts approach in the early morning light. It was still overcast, but warm and calm. A floating convenience store. Majestic Junks Golden Sails, but only for appearance. Loitering on deck (Photo by Nhan). Cave Walk There was quite a climb up to the cave. Reminded me of Waitomo. (Nahn, Me, Bruce, Sharlene) Spectacular view from the cave mouth We were up there, the hole is the entry! Christine just mentioned she'd like... Continue reading

The itinerary: (Deferred from yesterday: You’ll visit Ho Chi Minh’s house where he preferred to live simply, there are splendid reminders of the great man who led the country and the Temple of Literature which was originally built in 1070.) Departing Hanoi, we travel through rolling fields and small towns to Halong Bay. Here we board a Vietnamese junk and travel on a boat trip through the magical seascape of Halong Bay’s 3,000 limestone islands & outcrops. Heading to Hạ Long Bay After breakfast it was up to the room, to grab the overnight bag, as were leave our main... Continue reading

The itinerary: This morning there is time for a last-minute shop in Saigon before we transfer to your flight to Hanoi. There an afternoon walking tour takes you around the fascinating old quarter, a myriad of narrow streets once named after each ware (silk street, tin street, etc) and Hoan Kiem Lake which is popular with locals for early morning exercise and evening relaxation. You’ll visit Ho Chi Minh’s house where he preferred to live simply, there are splendid reminders of the great man who led the country and the Temple of Literature which was originally built in 1070. (This... Continue reading