The ghost of Vaianu

[toprob]

Late in the week I had decided just to give up on my plans for a road trip, what with the price of fuel and the flakey ferries. So I thought I'd just buy an Xbox, grab a game pass, and settle down in front of the big screen for the winter. I checked the stores online, and the one I wanted was available at The Warehouse, Upper Hutt, so I got up bright and early yesterday morning, after a wild night of wind and rain, to treat myself.

Didn't get far, this is our driveway.


I have no idea when it'll be cleared, there's a lot of work to do over the hill in Stokes Valley, which had major flooding, so this won't be a priority. The slip originated on the council reserve above the house, so I guess it's their responsibility. At the moment my son is putting in steps down to the neighbours, so at least we can walk out, I might end up taking the train into Upper Hutt.

[Splitpin]

Bloody hell Rob And Im sure you will be checking the met ....not looking good for you right into Wednesday.
Take care

[toprob]

Yes, an orange rain warning for 31 hours from 11am tomorrow.
The council had a look today, but it does seem like there's no real procedure for something like this -- it ended up with my son and daughter-in-law negotiating right there on the driveway. Although they didn't stand a chance against the daughter-in-law. Hopefully we'll see their contractors in the next clear spell, whenever that may be.
This reminds me of after the earthquakes, I'd had a long run of relationship and health issues, then it seemed like you couldn't even rely on the solid ground. If I wake up tomorrow and the northern hemisphere is a nuclear wasteland, I'll be very depressed.
Fingers crossed.

[cowpatz]

Bugger that is a mess. Did the Hutt get any of the thunderstorm rain this morning' or was it more Wellington central?
I hope that you get normal operations soon.

[toprob]

Wellington was heavily hit last night, that's for sure, I haven't seen anything like that in the 5 years I've lived up here. At the moment the Hutt is under a red rain warning for the next 30 hours, with an additional 100 - 150mm expected for the valley. The Hutt river is already high, so there's a real danger of flooding down below.
A team of 5, with a digger and three trucks, have been working since 10am on the slip, and they do hope to at least get the driveway clear this evening. Currently down to one truck, with an hour turnaround to empty it, so things'll be tight. If it is cleared enough, I'll pop my car on the street, I think, at the moment we have three cars trapped up here.

[Splitpin]

Wishing you well Rob.

[toprob]

Things seem ominously calm now, with a bit of sun today. I finally headed into Lower Hutt to buy an Xbox, but all of a sudden they weren't in stock at Noel Leemings or the Warehouse. Honestly, you'd think it'd be easy to buy one, back in my day the stores would have piles of them. And I mean back in the original xbox days, plus a bit of Xbox 360.
None in Upper Hutt, either, but I did manage to find one at JB Hifi, ordered it online and collected it in the afternoon.
Today's games are amazing compared to what I've played in the past, but I might try some of my early Halo and Gears of War favourites. Picked up a game pass, another subscription cost but I did get a super-ann increase this month.... I did try MSFS 2024, but just using the controller is frustrating. And I don't have many addon airports, as I can't use my own on the Xbox, and most of what I've bought weren't purchased in the Marketplace, so they don't show up either. Default airports are not a good selling point for the sim.

Here's the current state of our driveway, not the most beautiful landscape, but at least it should hold any short-term slippage. These blocks are temporary, at least until the council can fix the runoff from the reserve.

[Fozzer]

This always reminds me of the collapse of the Scenic Pacific Highway 1, in Southern California, due to a landslip into the Pacific Ocean, in March 2024, creating a major disruption to traffic, which I followed very closely on the daily news, and my Microsoft Sim Flights in the area.

...>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOAxxw0zF20&t=22s

Took 3 years to get it back again into running order again, costing loadsa money!


Keep away from areas of Wind, Rain, and Fire!

...(Americans (USA) never learn).... ...!

Paul....my back garden ...>>> Gentle breeze, occasional showers, and no bonfires.... ...1

[emfrat]

Speaking of roads falling into the sea, in my old stamping ground they built a bridge over the Pacific to solve the problem.
This video shows it well, and also shows a couple of places of aviation interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zUT4l27zjo
Bald Hill, at Stanwell Park, was home to Lawrence Hargraves, an Australian aviation pioneer who did a lot of research into airfoils in the mid 1800s, and the hang gliding folk who flock there today owe a lot to his work. About 40 miles further south, we come to 7-mile Beach, from where Kingsford Smith took off on the first trans-Tasman crossing. The little memorial park in my avatar overlooks that beach.

[cowpatz]

None in Upper Hutt, either, but I did manage to find one at JB Hifi, ordered it online and collected it in the afternoon.
Today's games are amazing compared to what I've played in the past, but I might try some of my early Halo and Gears of War favourites.

Rob did you use your Super Gold Card at JB Hifi? They give us seniors a very good discount. I think the heating subsidy kicks in next month too, which might help with your subscription.

[toprob]

Hey, I'll keep that in mind for next time:) I don't often shop at JB Hifi, simply because they are in the mall, and malls can be hell for autistic folk. But apart from that, they offer a great experience, their staff all acknowledge you, even say goodbye when you leave without buying anything. And no payment surcharge, which is a pet hate of mine.
However, their website is kind of early internet comic-book manic.
Yeah, looking forward to the winter payments!