Foreign Intelligence Brief #406: Kiwi Troops Welcome Home Dead With Big Haka : Scout Magazine

We have some friends from the UK visiting town at the moment. Their girls and our 2nd born were school friends in the UK and they kept in touch these last 12 years.

Anyway, we did the tourist thing with them this weekend, and their dad and I naturally got to chatting. The parents are originally from New Zealand, and much of our conversation was about the islands, Peter Jackson and all things Kiwi.

It was apt then that I came across this piece about the recent NZ troop deaths in Afghanistan.

Whether it’s rugby or soldiering, the NZ men have kept the fierce bonding dance of the haka as truly theirs, and in this video they pay homage to their fallen comrades. Fair brought a tear it did…

Foreign Intelligence Brief #406: Kiwi Troops Welcome Home Dead With Big Haka : Scout Magazine.

Goodbye, Space Man

Now THAT is a giant step!

Safe travels wherever you are heading now…

Goodbye, Space Man « Flickr Blog.

More from the Toronto Sun. 82 – not a bad innings at all, considering the miles he had on the clock!!

Seen In Vancouver #392: Cheekily Defiant “Post No Bills” Artwork On West 4th In Kits : Scout Magazine

Oh, the waggish wit of Vancouverites…

Seen In Vancouver #392: Cheekily Defiant “Post No Bills” Artwork On West 4th In Kits : Scout Magazine.

Swiss Army Knife with animals instead of blades – Boing Boing

Switzerland came up in conversation today. Well, that and IKEA. Simplistic, functional design. “What have the Swiss ever done for us?” I mentioned cuckoo clocks and banking… but forgot two of the BEST things! Chocolate (what was I thinking?!) and Swiss Army Knives. I’m quite convinced Scouting would never have lasted the 100+ years it has, had Victorinox not had such a great little plaything for boys to have accidents with (apart from the one they’re born with obviously).

Then I saw this article on Boing boing… Perfect!

Great quote from David Suhami, the designer: ”the piece is made for adults who still enjoy playing with small objects.” MM – it’s all for you, my friend!

Swiss Army Knife with animals instead of blades – Boing Boing.

Former homeless man walks from Calgary to Vancouver – British Columbia – CBC News

Regulars may recall I wrote about Joe Roberts a little while ago. Check here for a reminder.

He’s going to walk coast to coast, but his “test run” was Calgary to Vancouver.  He left Calgary on July 1, and arrived in Mission, B.C., on Sunday after trekking more than 1,000 kilometres along the busy TransCanada Highway.

More here: Former homeless man walks from Calgary to Vancouver – British Columbia – CBC News.

Super Punch: Steel and blown glass rocketships by Rik Allen

So this is where Flash Gordon gets his rocketships…

Super Punch: Steel and blown glass rocketships by Rik Allen.

More of Rik Allen’s work can be found here.

Zombie walk – News – CBC Player

Seems it wasn’t safe to walk in Vancouver today… unless you had a cricket bat and some old 33rpm records to hand!

Let’s just go down the Winchester until this whole thing blows over…

Zombie walk – News – CBC Player.

No fuchsia in it

So my work’s photo club set us an assignment of “macro” this week. I don’t really have a macro lens, but my Canon A590 IS point’n'click does a reasonable job.

Second born has recently developed a green thumb (no – not from snot), and we have a lovely display of fuchsias at the moment. I think this variety is “Lena”… but I could very well be totally wrong!

Cow week: Welsh cattle hate dog walkers – Boing Boing

My father-in-law is a keen hiker, and by and large pretty fearless. But he hates cows. Well, not in a nice pepper sauce with mashed potatoes. But in a field. Actually, “hate” is the wrong word. He’s scared of them. Now I’ve read this article, I’ll no longer poke fun at him for it!

Cows kill more people each year than sharks, it seems!

This is actually about risk analysis, and why we fear what we do, and don’t fear what we should.

Cow week: Welsh cattle hate dog walkers – Boing Boing.

When geeks go retro…

Now this is taking things to the extreme. Maybe not QUITE as bad as surgically implanting your iPod into your arm, but getting there.

Here’s how to use your iPhone case as a photographic plate to make a one-of-a-kind iPhone. If you’ve got nothing better to do. Like have a life…

Bruton Stroube : Blog.