Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Saturday, January 28, 2012

#1708 ... Ride for friends

I may be working but my friends can come along for the ride. Karori, Wellington

Friday, January 27, 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

#1706 ... 8

Rowing practice on the harbour ... looking north to Kaiwharawhara

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

#1705 ... The Art Hotel

Whenever a visitor asks Rumi where to stay in Wellington, he always ask them to check out the Museum Hotel as the first choice. I must admit I do too. Rumi has been wanting to photograph it's stunning lobby for a while, but never got around to doing so. Rumi created these two images by shooting multiple exposures (a technique called bracketing) and compiling the images using a technique called HDR (High Dynamic Range).  PHOTOS by rumi ... THANKS

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

#1704 ... High Jumping

Waterfront was busy on Monday ... Wellington Anniversary Day ... heaps of people wondering about enjoying the many free entertainment options. This guy is dancing wearing the high tech jumping Stilts
PHOTO by rumi ... THANKS

Monday, January 23, 2012

#1703 ... Bricked Inn!

The old brick wharf buildings on Jervois Quay ... now apartments. A good contrast to the glass facade, new office blocks.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

#1702 ... Summer Reigns!!


This morning, hot sunny weather and then all of a sudden ... a big downpour of rain ... and it was even forecast

Saturday, January 21, 2012

#1701 ... On the Road ... NZ

This not my photo or anywhere near Wellington, although it could be ... I have come across this may times while driving around NZ and this image is worth sharing. David took this photo while travelling in the North Island. If you are lucky or unlucky depending on how much of a hurry you are in, you may come across a scene like this.
Thanks David Pears ... I can smell the rural aroma!!

David's comments: This is a road hazard that is pretty typical for NZ... a farmer (in this case a young woman on a quad bike who was off to the left of the frame retrieving a stray) moving sheep from one paddock to another along a highway.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

#1700 ... Isolation

Doesn't look much but in a place like Wellington ... with many earthquake fault lines running through the landscape ... these seismic isolators are are more common in the construction of significant buildings. These are in the new Wellington Hospital building ... Te Papa has them as well.

How do base isolators work?
Base isolation is a technique developed to prevent or minimise damage to buildings during an earthquake. It has been used in New Zealand, as well as in India, Japan, Italy and the USA. A fixed base building (built directly on the ground) will move with an earthquake’s motion and can sustain extensive damage as a result.

When a building is built away (isolated) from the ground, resting on flexible bearings or pads known as base isolators, it will only move a little or not at all during an earthquake. The isolators work in a similar way to car suspension, which allows a car to travel over rough ground without the occupants of the car getting thrown around.

Base isolation technology can make medium-rise masonry (stone or brick) or reinforced concrete structures capable of withstanding earthquakes, protecting them and their occupants from major damage or injury. It is not suitable for all types of structures and is designed for hard soil, not soft.

One of the original base isolated structures – the William Clayton building in Wellington – uses about 80 lead rubber bearings, but this number depends on how engineers want to distribute the load.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

#1699 ... Which Bus

Not the latest electronic version to find out which bust to take ... but very reliable and robust .. and with interesting pipework.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

#1698 ... On Yer Bike

Heading home ... another of the many cyclists in the city. Not the latest and greatest bicycle ... but superb self powered transport anyhow. Lambton Quay

Monday, January 16, 2012

#1697 ... Vibrancy

The vibrancy of the red pohutukawa flowers in a city setting. Taranaki St.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

#1696 ... Blanket Man



An icon of Wellington has gone. Ben Hana .. the "Blanket Man"

A public service is being planned for Wellington's most famous vagrant and he will be buried in the capital, his daughter says.
Renee Temaari said funeral and burial plans for her father Ben Hana, also known as Blanket Man, were yet to be confirmed but would both happen in Wellington this week.

There would be a private ceremony for family, followed by a public service. She had talked to her father about two weeks ago on Courtenay Place.

"He was good - we talked, just the same as normal." Mr Hana had left behind no money and the family would welcome any donations towards funeral costs. "We were wondering how we're going to pay for it all,'' she said.

TRIBUTES: A tribute (the photo taken by PHIL REID/Dominion Post) to Mr Hana has sprung up on Courtenay Place, where he spent most of his days. He was a divisive figure in life, but in death there was a feeling of sadness among Monday morning commuters at the memorial today.

Some added their own tributes on the wall or posted newspaper clippings, while others just stopped and contemplated his passing. "He was a legend here ... he's just always been here. He meant a lot to people," one local said this morning. "Some people saw him as a nuisance at times, but a lot of people will miss him."

After years spent living on the street, he suffered from medical problems stemming from heavy alcohol use and malnutrition, lawyer Maxine Dixon said yesterday. While authorities had been concerned about his declining physical condition in the weeks before his death, his latest trip to hospital had been part of a regular three-month checkup. Ms Dixon went to the hospital yesterday morning to speak to Mr Hana's social worker about getting him a new blanket, and was expecting him to check out the same afternoon. He had seemed happy on Friday and Saturday, she said. She was unsure what had led to his sudden death, and a Wellington hospital spokeswoman would not give further details.

Wellington Community Ministry director Stephanie McIntyre, who saw Mr Hana every week, said she was "upset and shocked" at the news. "It's just one of those really sad situations ... I know that a lot of people made many efforts to engage with Ben and to support him, and by and large he chose not to accept their support. "There had been times when he had been offered housing and that sort of thing. What a sad situation when someone is so unwell that they would choose the life he did." She believed Mr Hana had begun to believe in his "iconic status" as Blanket Man, and felt he belonged on the street. "It gave him an identity ... he latched on to that whole notion of a public persona, and that became more important to him than being well."

Mr Hana turned to a life on the street in the late 1990s. He could most often be seen sitting on the Courtenay Place pavement, clad in a loincloth and blanket.

DIVISIVE CHARACTER, BUT PART OF THE CITY
Mr Hana was a polarising figure in Wellington.Many deplored his dishevelled state and the revealing views he provided to passers-by, especially on a hot day. But plenty of others had a soft spot for him, buying him food and proudly pointing him out to visitors as the city's only mascot.Facebook and Wikipedia sites have been set up in his honour, there is a Twitter account in the name Blanket Man and at least one song has been written about him.
In 2007, Victoria University got in on the act, with a lecture called World Famous in Wellington: Blanket Man as Contemporary Celebrity.
But it hasn't always been this way for Mr Hana. In 2010 The Dominion Post revealed he had once lived an ordinary life as a married father of four, and held down a job.However, a series of personal disasters, including killing a friend while drink-driving, led him to rock bottom. He split with his wife, who died a few years ago, and lost contact with his children.After spending time in Tokoroa, he arrived back in Wellington in the late 1990s and racked up a list of convictions, pages long.In various appearances at Wellington District Court he defended his nakedness as "moon bathing", claimed he smoked cannabis for "peace" and alleged the car he was caught drink-driving in was a waka.On another memorable occasion he was deemed unfit to fulfil his community service work because he would not wear shoes, and had not done so for seven years. But perhaps most famously, a judge was forced to issue one of the country's more bizarre bail conditions  that Mr Hana wear underwear at all times. "I was walking down Courtenay Place and I'm sure he was exposing his genitals," the judge said. "It's just not something the public should have to tolerate."

In late 2010 Mr Hana was released from a stint in Wellington Hospital's psychiatric ward. Markedly more coherent after his release, went back to his spot in Courtenay Place but his health declined and he was admitted to hospital at the weekend. He never returned to his favourite corner, and while some may rejoice at his now permanent absence it is likely many more will feel a tinge of sadness next time they walk down Courtenay Place.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

#1695 ... The New Ronald McDonald House

The new Ronald McDonald House in Newtown ... opposite the hospital ... a home away from home for family of children in hospital ... the original house, which was much smaller, was on the southern end of the site ... and this will triple the accommodation for families.
In the upper left with the curved roof is part of the original house.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

#1692 ... Tarmac Graffiti

Perhaps the lines have purpose ... sometimes when viewed from a different angle it looks like random graffiti. Wellington Hospital carpark

Monday, January 9, 2012

#1691 ... Once was Modern


Riddiford House is Wellington’s last remaining nurses’ hostel.

The 59-year-old brick and plaster building has been home to a wide mix of people, from nursing students in the 1950s to late ’70s to Cook Strait ferrymen in the 1990s.

More recently it has been home to Capital & Coast District Health Board staff, medical students and restaurant cooks from overseas, as well as families from out of town staying to visit family members today.

It is expected, the building once known as Number Three Residence will meet the same fate as the other two and be flattened to become a car park.

The building often brings “a wave of nostalgia” to visitors as they recall their student nursing days. Then there are the men who get “misty-eyed” thinking about the student nurses they took out on dates, while the “home sisters” guarded the front doors.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

#1690 ... 5 plus 5

Outside Wellington Hospital ... five palm trees and five taxis ... all aligned ... a bit like getting your ducks in a row!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Friday, January 6, 2012

#1688 ... More Log Inspectors

... and here is the next ship of log inspectors ... another cruise ship entering the harbour.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

#1687 ... Logged Off

Logs on the wharf waiting to be shipped out .. this is what the cruise ship visitors first see when they land in Wellington!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

#1686 ... On the edge of your seat

A mix of the traditional and the new alternative ... somehow less inviting to take a seat though ... and you each have your allotted, pre-calculated space; Greytown, Wairarapa

Monday, January 2, 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

#1683 ... NY Fish & Chips

NY Day and fish and chips for lunch at Lyall Bay ... yes the rain has finally eased ... and finer weather is on the way.