Miraz Jordan Avatar
Miraz Jordan
she/her
I love simplicity and silence. I enjoy taking photos of birds. I also enjoy drinking tea — green, white, yellow, but not black. I live at Waikawa Beach in New Zealand, which I love, and strive to be an actively decent human being. Apparently the bizarre is normal now. Now 69, I'm super happy to be getting old — it means I'm not dead yet! Proudly independent. 100% human (she / her). I joined the MB community on 05 January 2018. Follow me on Micro.Blog at https://micro.blog/miraz .
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

It was a pleasant enough day that Deb and I went for a little bike ride round the village. 8.5 km. Dropped a small gift off to the neighbour who had given us lots of firewood from his felled pine trees earlier in the year. Chatted briefly with a local who has two gorgeous white Great Danes. Each dog... miraz.me
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@jtr Sounds unpleasant. And also, if you're able, that you should stay in bed and rest / sleep.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I've very much enjoyed D. L. Keur's other series so was interested to try Night Trouble (The King & Midnight K-9 Mysteries Book 1). I'll definitely be reading more. The odd editorial quirk / typo but a really good read with great characters and an interesting plot. 📚

Book cover: Night Trouble.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@ArnoldHoogerwerf @pratik @KimberlyHirsh @Manton To pick up on that - a very private 'thumbs up' function visible only to the admins and not even to the poster could help the community 'suggest' a post for the Discover section. So perhaps, not even a Thumbs Up but a Magnifying Glass or something.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@lzbth Glad you're all good with the quake. They're curious beasts (we get a lot here) — every one is different.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@val @Cheri @ddanielson Oh, I wasn't out till all hours. My parents were pretty strict about such things. It was Cheri and Dave I think.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@cheribaker Oh, that snobbery, that only certain types of writing are 'good enough' to learn about! 💩 🤧

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@cheribaker @ddanielson I was very surprised. But then, as a Kiwi, many many aspects of life in the US are unfathomable to me. 😆

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@anniegreens I knew that. 😆 Other characters have also disappeared or appeared infrequently. It's quite possible that those actors have found other roles or moved overseas. Aotearoa is a very small country and many people need to go overseas to find opportunities, especially in a career like acting.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Huh, I'm reading a fiction book set in Arizona where they mention a curfew for young people. I just searched to see if that was part of the fiction, but no, it's a real thing! Amazing. Curfew Laws by State - NYRA:

We have created a list of over 400 towns, cities, counties, and states where it is illegal for young people to be outside of their homes at certain times of the day.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@anniegreens LOL, I wouldn't think so. 😆

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@billbennettnz I'm with One (was Vodafone). They've never done that. (I added the 'was Voda' because I can never remember if One is its current name or the name of something else. Stupidest name ever.)

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

A show I really enjoy — Brokenwood - the international hit with a Kiwi accent | RNZ News 📺 :

But in amongst the [TV] industry's slow crumble, is a beacon of hope - The Brokenwood Mysteries, which premiered on Prime TV 10 years ago before moving to TV1, and is now screened in 150 countries. Filming for season 11 is now underway.

So glad there's another season on its way.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I finished Marsh Madness by Jana DeLeon, the latest in a long series of Miss Fortune books. 📚

when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their ten-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead.

It was enjoyable enough but the "Gertie mishaps" gags are a bit tired now. I think the shine is gone.

Book cover: Marsh Madness.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@alexandra And yet it goes on, and on, and on…

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@jabel Nice setup. The steps are a lovely touch.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I always think the 6 p.m. sunset is a bit of a milestone.

Sunrise 06:35; Sunset 18:00.

Unfortunately that will all change in a couple of weeks when we fiddle with the clocks …

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@iangriffin Thanks for the reminder. Gorgeous!

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@maique Amazing colours in the first one.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@bradbarrish Interesting! I'd had unread Mails like that but a restart fixed it.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@pkboi Congrats to your FiL!

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@jayeless Those sunbeams are the best, eh!

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@mroutley So sorry for the loss of Lucy. The best dog, I'm sure!

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Hooray! Te Puhi Ariki Ngawai Hono i te Po Paki, 27, to succeed her father Kiingi Tuheitia as Māori monarch:

Kiingi Tuheitia's youngest child and only daughter has been announced as the new monarch of the Kiingitanga.

Te Puhi Ariki Ngawai Hono i te Po Paki is the eighth Māori monarch and the second woman. The first woman to hold the position was Kiingi Tuheitia's mother, Te Atairangikaahu, who died in 2006. And at 27, Ngawai Hono i te Po is also the second youngest Māori monarch to be appointed.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

For the past week or so I've had scratchy eyes, a bit of an itch on the roof of my mouth. Figuring it was hay fever, I bought eyedrops yesterday that immediately helped.

Now the farmer next door is hard at work cutting down the gorse and lupins in the paddock next to us. That should help a lot too.

A big orange digger with mowing attachment on the arm mows lupins in a paddock.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Important day today: Kiingi Tuheitia to be laid to rest, new Māori monarch welcomed:

Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died on Friday, aged 69 …

Tainui have been hosting mourners and dignitaries from throughout the motu and further afield … at the tangihanga at Tuurangawaewae Marae.

… at 10am the Tekau-maa-rua (the Kiingitanga advisory council) will usher the new Māori monarch to the throne.

The ceremony will be followed by the funeral service for Kiingi Tuheitia.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

First time since midwinter that I've noticed the morning sun finding its way into my west-facing bedroom. Nice!

A rectangle of sunshine on a wall beside a window. There are round photos of birds on the wall.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@crossingthethreshold Yes, birds are tricky with just a phone and the smaller the bird, the harder it is. Be good to see though. 😁

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

This morning the river was full after heaps of rain in the hills; the tide was nearly full, with a 2.5 metre swell. When the two met at the river mouth it was all action.

The sea had also carved out half metre high 'fingers' in the sand. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

Fingers of sand at the shore.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Down at the beach today I thought I saw a piece of fluff blowing in the wind. Then I realised it was actually a Black-fronted Dotterel (16-18 cm; 30-35 grams; orange beak). Then I spotted a Banded Dotterel (20 cm; 60 grams) too. Then I managed to get both in one photo. 🐦

Banded and black-fronted dotterels near one another.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@odd If I buy new shoes the first thing I do now is undo the lacing and use a more relaxed pattern. It makes so much difference!

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Whoo! 🌋 : Talking about the Taliban: culture versus politics – language: a feminist guide:

So, don’t tell me that as a white western feminist it’s not my place to condemn the Taliban; but also don’t tell me that as a white western feminist I can only condemn the Taliban, and not the male supremacists in my own backyard. It’s perfectly possible—and in the current state of the world, I would say, necessary—to do both.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

@crossingthethreshold It's like a big soap bubble…

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Faster 110km/h speed limit to accelerate Kāpiti:

A new 110km/h speed limit for the Kāpiti Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS) has been approved to reduce travel times for Kiwis travelling in and out of Wellington

This is such a have. I did the sums. It's approximately 25 Km of road. Travelling at 100 Kph that takes 15 minutes. At 110 Kph it takes about 13.5 minutes.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

Rough weather over the last few days has thrown big driftwood onto the beach. There were also occasional Bluebottles. Not shown: the about 3 metre tentacle on this big one.

Two big driftwood pieces by the edge of the water. Large transparent bluebottle.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I stopped reading Orleans Avenue (Remy Fontaine Thrillers Book 1) by Robin Mahle a couple of weeks ago and left myself this note:

Not a very good book. I'm abandoning it.

No more by this author for me.

Book cover: Orleans Avenue.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

It seems people around Special Agent Nikki Hunt keep getting knocked off. Lost Angels (Nikki Hunt Book 3) by Stacy Green. 📚

It all gets a bit personal and her team wonder if she should still be leading the hunt.

Good read.

Nikki is devastated to see the victim is her childhood friend …

Book cover: Lost Angels.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

One reason I'm awake at 1 a.m.: 28.66 mm rain fell since midnight. For the metric impaired that's 1.13 inches. In one hour …

Graph shows 28.66 mm rain fell between midnight and 1 a.m.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

OK, that's a bit of fun: Your Name in Landsat 🛰️:

Images of landforms from Satellite photos spell out Miraz.

Thanks to @chadkoh for the link.

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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I didn't warm to A Cotswold Killing (The Cotswold Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Rebecca Tope. 📚

The village people were weird, the main character not specially endearing, the story a bit flat. Then, early on, there was troublesome behaviour towards an animal, and I can't abide that. Abandoned.

Book cover: A Cotswold Killing.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

We visited friends in Paekakariki for brunch today. Their dog Gracie, an 8 year old Vizsla, was permanently optimistic that food may fall from the table, however, none did. 🐶

A mid-size sleek brown dog waits at attention near the dinner table.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

It's been a few months since my last burst of activity on the Lego build, but the Lego Technic Surface Space Loader is now complete. Whew.

I have a friend whose grandkids would probably enjoy pulling this apart and putting it back together, so that'll be its future home.

Lego Technic Surface Space Loader - complete.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

I'm really enjoying bingeing Rutherford Falls 📺 :

The show uses humor, jokes, and irony to highlight the biases that are present in today's society surrounding Native Americans. … While hard-hitting topics are presented throughout the show an overarching sense of comedy, irony, and light-heartedness is evident from the beginning.

Rutherford Falls poster.
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Miraz Jordan
@Miraz

The Wild is a great podcast. In Ben Goldfarb: How America’s roads alter our ecology there's a fascinating part about animal crossings where the speaker points out that wildlife needs more than just some narrow 'bridge', but instead a whole habitat that also blocks road noise and so on. Transcript.