Hi all,
This is a quick note to say I have discontinued this blog, mainly due to most posts being interesting to friends and family only.
Content that would normally be posted here will in future be placed directly onto Facebook.
If we know each other, even if you've just commented here in the past, feel free to contact me via my FB account: https://www.facebook.com/rodney.maas.
Cheers,
Rodney
PS: my aviation blog, www.flying.geek.nz, continues as usual!
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Home improvements
This is a quick update on the exterior repaint that has been happening recently...
Firstly, most of the prep work has been completed, including the primer/ undercoat for almost all of the main body of the building and much of the railings on the deck. Nice. A portion of the window and door prep is also complete. It is mainly the deck surface and a couple of trickier bits of the building to be finished.
Assuming the weather improves, that should be all but complete in the next few days, then on to the top coats. The three of us who own the building are all but agreed on the top coat colours - I hope to have confirmation in the next day or two, so that can start next week.
I doubt it will be finished before my next holiday, but it would be well and truly finished, and looking rather flash, when I get back from my break!
Firstly, most of the prep work has been completed, including the primer/ undercoat for almost all of the main body of the building and much of the railings on the deck. Nice. A portion of the window and door prep is also complete. It is mainly the deck surface and a couple of trickier bits of the building to be finished.
Assuming the weather improves, that should be all but complete in the next few days, then on to the top coats. The three of us who own the building are all but agreed on the top coat colours - I hope to have confirmation in the next day or two, so that can start next week.
I doubt it will be finished before my next holiday, but it would be well and truly finished, and looking rather flash, when I get back from my break!
A funny video...
Here is a very funny video. I came across this cruzin the interwebs the other day. Its sooo funn3y! :-)
Saturday, 5 July 2014
The prep is almost finished
This weekend's update shows the progress that is being made with the prep for painting. The painters are sanding back the original prep work, and the builders have just about finished the minor repairs that are needed [thankfully there was very little on my unit that needed repair].
I was told today that the primer might be applied as soon as Monday, which would be a great result - it is only 2 weeks since the prep work started.
Having said that, even once the main building have been done, there's still the desks, balustrades, stairs to do, so I can't imagine that it will be all finished at the end of next week as originally suggested - but still much closer than I expected!
Anyway, here are a few pictures from today.
I was told today that the primer might be applied as soon as Monday, which would be a great result - it is only 2 weeks since the prep work started.
Having said that, even once the main building have been done, there's still the desks, balustrades, stairs to do, so I can't imagine that it will be all finished at the end of next week as originally suggested - but still much closer than I expected!
Anyway, here are a few pictures from today.
Saturday, 28 June 2014
The prep continues....
The preparation for the repaint continues with more sanding, more anti-rust stuff and a strange yellow-tinged paint being applied in several parts... not sure what this is for, but it's different to what appears to be primer applied to other parts...
Today is the first time I've had a good look in the light. Hopefully the painters are noticing what appears to be some basic repairs needed [I must have a word with them on Monday when they are back in] and are not going to just paint over it! There will be words if they do...
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures...
Today is the first time I've had a good look in the light. Hopefully the painters are noticing what appears to be some basic repairs needed [I must have a word with them on Monday when they are back in] and are not going to just paint over it! There will be words if they do...
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures...
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Exterior repaint is underway
The long awaited exterior repaint of the building I live in is finally underway!
While I am a little sceptical about how long it will take [after all, it is winter in New Zealand], you can't fault the enthusiasm of the painters. They also look to be doing a reasonable prep job and it's very clear that given the state of the outside, the prep work will be even more critical than many jobs...
Anyway, here's a photo of the scaffolding that has been erected under my kitchen window - not a great photo - it was a 2 second exposure and I was trying to hold still :-)
There will be more photos as the work progresses!
While I am a little sceptical about how long it will take [after all, it is winter in New Zealand], you can't fault the enthusiasm of the painters. They also look to be doing a reasonable prep job and it's very clear that given the state of the outside, the prep work will be even more critical than many jobs...
Anyway, here's a photo of the scaffolding that has been erected under my kitchen window - not a great photo - it was a 2 second exposure and I was trying to hold still :-)
There will be more photos as the work progresses!
Saturday, 29 March 2014
A few more pictures from Christchurch
As noted on my Aviation Blog, I was working in and about Christchurch and Dunedin last week. There wasn't much time for sightseeing as such, but here are a few pictures from the IBIS hotel we stayed at while in Christchurch.
The Ibis is right in the central city area and so has views of the destruction from the 2010/ 2011 earthquakes - including that icon of the city, the Cathedral.
The Ibis is right in the central city area and so has views of the destruction from the 2010/ 2011 earthquakes - including that icon of the city, the Cathedral.
Thursday, 20 February 2014
More Fog!
As I had predicted, the fog returned this evening. At this point it is no where near as bad as yesterday evening. I had to go shopping, so I took the long way to the supermarket [via the airport :-)] and took a photo from a couple of beaches at Lyall Bay and Island Bay.
I've converted to these images to monochrome... they just look better.
I've converted to these images to monochrome... they just look better.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
... still rolling in
... and now the visibility is well under 100 meters. This photo taken at 8:07pm this evening and I imagine it will get worse... Welcome to summer :-)
Here comes the fog
After a really nice, dare I suggest even hot, day in Wellington today, it was obvious that was about to change as evening came. Bussing home, the fog was rolling in from the south over the airport and now it has arrived at home. What follows are two photos taken at 6:36pm and then two more at 7:30pm.
What a difference an hour makes. At least it won't be too hot tonight :-)
What a difference an hour makes. At least it won't be too hot tonight :-)
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Repaint time... initial tidy up is done
After a couple of weekends, the initial tidy-up of the grounds has been done. While it hardly meets the definition of "tidy", it is good enough for the painting to go ahead.
Compared to the previous photos, it is quite different. Now it's just a couple of weeks until quotes are in for the painting. If you don't hear from me again, maybe the quotes were too much of a shock! :-)
Anyway, on to the photos:
Compared to the previous photos, it is quite different. Now it's just a couple of weeks until quotes are in for the painting. If you don't hear from me again, maybe the quotes were too much of a shock! :-)
Anyway, on to the photos:
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Repaint time... the prep continues
Following on from Thursday's start to the trimming of trees, the skip bin arrived yesterday and we started filling it today.
Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating... but we have the bin for a whole week, so plenty of time to get it filled up. If the photo makes the skip bin already look full, it's no problems because the plant material will crush down a lot... just as well, as we have flax bushes with designs on world domination :-)
Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating... but we have the bin for a whole week, so plenty of time to get it filled up. If the photo makes the skip bin already look full, it's no problems because the plant material will crush down a lot... just as well, as we have flax bushes with designs on world domination :-)
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Repaint time... preparation
It's well past time, but the three owners [myself included] of the block of flats I live in are about to get the exterior of the units repainted.
We've just sent out a request for tenders to a couple of painters and perhaps a couple more to do in the next couple of days.
First up though is a bit of a general tidy up. One of my neighbours [and unit owners] and I have been ripping out excessive vegetation. With the skip bin arriving tomorrow, the weekend should be a busy one!
Anyway, here are a few photos. These show the current state of the land; showing the what has been ripped out and what is left to remove or trim back. Hopefully there will be some more photos in the next week or so.
We've just sent out a request for tenders to a couple of painters and perhaps a couple more to do in the next couple of days.
First up though is a bit of a general tidy up. One of my neighbours [and unit owners] and I have been ripping out excessive vegetation. With the skip bin arriving tomorrow, the weekend should be a busy one!
Anyway, here are a few photos. These show the current state of the land; showing the what has been ripped out and what is left to remove or trim back. Hopefully there will be some more photos in the next week or so.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Christchurch visit: Holes, carparks and damaged buildings
Having not been to Christchurch since the big earthquakes, there were a few things that stuck me as 'very odd indeed' in a city.
The first was the number of still cordoned off buildings. It's a bit weird to think that a couple of years after the earthquakes, there are still a many buildings which are cordoned off, doomed to destruction or awaiting a decision about whether to try and save them. On one hand it seems very slow 'progress'... on the other, it was a huge event, so it's not surprising.
Secondly, there are a lot of carparks! Sad when you think that there used to be buildings on these spots, but I guess at least the space is being used.
Next up are the number of holes where buildings used to stand. Some of these have been 'remediated' as best as I guess they can for now, and some of them have just had the rubble removed, but the remains of the basement structure left.
One place I should have taken photos of but didn't was the 'restart mall', which comprises a lot of [heavily modified] shipping containers... lots of higher-end shops, plus banks, food outlets and the like - pretty much everything you would expect to see in a city mall.
Anyway, here are the photos... hopefully fairly self-explanatory...
The first was the number of still cordoned off buildings. It's a bit weird to think that a couple of years after the earthquakes, there are still a many buildings which are cordoned off, doomed to destruction or awaiting a decision about whether to try and save them. On one hand it seems very slow 'progress'... on the other, it was a huge event, so it's not surprising.
Secondly, there are a lot of carparks! Sad when you think that there used to be buildings on these spots, but I guess at least the space is being used.
Next up are the number of holes where buildings used to stand. Some of these have been 'remediated' as best as I guess they can for now, and some of them have just had the rubble removed, but the remains of the basement structure left.
One place I should have taken photos of but didn't was the 'restart mall', which comprises a lot of [heavily modified] shipping containers... lots of higher-end shops, plus banks, food outlets and the like - pretty much everything you would expect to see in a city mall.
Anyway, here are the photos... hopefully fairly self-explanatory...
Christchurch visit: The Cathedral
I visited Christchurch yesterday, and thanks to my 'tour guides' Mel and Andrew, I got a good look around. I hadn't been to Christchurch for many years [and certainly well before the big earthquakes in 2010 and 2011], so I was very interested to see the CBD and surrounds.
This first post shows the damage to the old cathedral in Cathedral Square. It's just like the pictures in the media, although somewhat larger when I'm standing right there.
The first photo is the entrance to the viewing area at the front of the cathedral. The next two are the cathedral itself. The final picture is the temporary 'cardboard cathedral'... looking good!
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
The Brooklyn Wind Turbine
It's a public holiday today and despite the less than ideal weather, I decided to get out of the house and go do something. This ended up being a visit to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine.
You'll see a couple of things from the photos... I'm not particularly skilled at photographing the scenery nor coping with bad light [I think I do much better with photographing planes...!].
Anyway, the Brooklyn Wind Turbine was [according to its owner, Meridian Energy] New Zealand's first viable commercial turbine. As you see in the photos, there is a small information display and a bit of shelter for when it's windy [which is most days...] :-)
You'll see a couple of things from the photos... I'm not particularly skilled at photographing the scenery nor coping with bad light [I think I do much better with photographing planes...!].
Anyway, the Brooklyn Wind Turbine was [according to its owner, Meridian Energy] New Zealand's first viable commercial turbine. As you see in the photos, there is a small information display and a bit of shelter for when it's windy [which is most days...] :-)
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