RobiNZ Personal Blog

Remembering September 12 2001 | 9/11 in NZ

It may seem strange but I don't remember anything at all significant about September 11, 20 years ago. September 12 though... I'll never forget. New York, NY, USA | Tue, 11 Sep 2001 | 8:46 a.m. Auckland, New Zealand | Wed, 12 Sep 2001 | 12:46 a.m. I woke, as usual, about 6am, and turned on the radio to catch up with the news. Before long was, like so many, staring at the TV in disbelief. As it was a Wednesday, went to work but not as usual. Colleagues similarly stunned, reinforced by our office view of the Auckland CBD... Read more →

West Roast, Best Roast

There's a local takeaway place I go to irregularly, more often in winter than summer. Because I (still) use Quicken for managing finance it only took a couple of clicks to see over the last decade it's on average monthly, sometimes a couple of times a month in winter but with gaps of several months in summer. Run by a couple, open long hours seven days, the food is always good. The only reason for sporadic visits is I don't frequently eat what they offer, but what they do, they do very well. Last week I went in and was... Read more →

Memories of... | Antarctic Mission Log 20

This is written about a year after I boarded Ortelius. In the lead up to the trip I had heard, read, many people say that something about you changes after experiencing Antarctica. I thought twelve months would be sufficient to process what this trip meant but still can't express it. More than any other travel I've done, this trip changed me. It was a rare combination of places, people, and experiences I will never forget. The staggering beauty and isolation The people: fellow guests, the host, guides, and crew who made it possible Experiencing the locals in their element, all... Read more →

Antarctic sounds and not sleeping on ice | Antarctic Mission Log 06

Sometimes procrastination is beneficial. Had I written this post closer to the time, November 2019, it would have been very different. As I wrote the initial draft, several months later, some sad news further increased the significance of this remarkable experience. It changed what I had to write, adding another storyline which strangely paralleled aspects of the first. I have abandoned and revisited this several times since then. Not the usual writers block of what to say, more not knowing how to express an experience which was the culmination of a near four-decade journey. That is why (although backdated to... Read more →

Just a bit less of me

A “The Conversation” tweet about weight loss caught my eye yesterday. I know, thanks to an old blog post, in November 2006 I weighed 68 kg. I also know, thanks to another old blog post, I also weighed ~68 kg in 2013 but had been up to 75 kg sometime in between. I’m currently back down to about ~67 kg and wondered how their tips applied to what I have been doing over the past few years. Ten strategies to lose weight – backed by new research - theconversation.com Look up information on how to lose weight from sources you... Read more →

Cycle commuting vs driving

I like driving but was thinking in car tonight. When commuting by car/bus/train life begins when you get home. By bike as soon as you leave work.— Robin Capper (@robincapper) December 27, 2017 Read more →

Kiva loan $1 billion!

It was cool to get this email today; Yesterday, Kiva crossed $1 billion in loans to students, farmers, women, refugees and so many more entrepreneurs around the world. This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without our passionate community of lenders, volunteers, partners, staff and supporters like you. Your dedication to creating a better world and your willingness to share Kiva’s mission powered this movement from day 1 to make this moment a reality. Here's how you helped make $1 billion in change! 931 Loans supported $23,420.00 In impact 67 Countries We’re looking forward to the next billion in loans, and... Read more →

Proof of how dismally Google+ knows me

I read this as: Robin, discover ‘delete delete’ no point reading any further Read more →

Roots, then and now

Quite sobering watching the 2016 version of “Roots” having visited the US plantation location used for episode one. I saw Evergreen Plantation, Wallace, Louisiana in 2007 when I was in New Orleans as part of a tour. Still privately owned it was rather unusual in retaining real evidence of the slave era which built these places. They had retained the less salubrious accommodation the slaves ‘enjoyed’ and evidence of their trade. I particularly remember a tax return on display; people valued, listed as assets. So elegant and lovely on a sunny day, such a bleak history. The only resident there... Read more →

@jessecase, thought of you as I posted my poo

I haven’t been a very active* listener to Jesse Case’s “Jessie Vs Cancer” podcast but have heard every episode and it has made a real impact. I first heard Jesse as a co-host on the “Probably Science” podcast but he started “Jesse Vs Cancer” to document life after being diagnosed with (in his words) “Stage IV arse cancer of the arse”. He doesn’t hold back in these podcasts and somehow kept on recording them through the worst of surgery, chemo and radiation therapy (thankfully all successful so far). It’s been an incredible journey and I really admire Jesse for sharing... Read more →