Douglas Horrell
@cleftcraft.bsky.social
Gardener on the edge. Lover of natural complexity. Bike life. Making and teaching craft with http://rekindle.org.nz in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, NZ. instagram.com/cleftcraft/
Wonderful! I meant to ask if you'd got along...
I have a busy couple of weeks teaching my last craft classes for the year - the last day is the 22nd. How about a beer at Moon sometime after then?
I have a busy couple of weeks teaching my last craft classes for the year - the last day is the 22nd. How about a beer at Moon sometime after then?
November 6, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Wonderful! I meant to ask if you'd got along...
I have a busy couple of weeks teaching my last craft classes for the year - the last day is the 22nd. How about a beer at Moon sometime after then?
I have a busy couple of weeks teaching my last craft classes for the year - the last day is the 22nd. How about a beer at Moon sometime after then?
There are two kinds of people: people who don't understand how they'd use a basket, and people with lots of baskets.
November 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
There are two kinds of people: people who don't understand how they'd use a basket, and people with lots of baskets.
Gemma and Diana are making some lovely work at the moment.
November 6, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Gemma and Diana are making some lovely work at the moment.
Ate there last night. While our food was okay value, they were totally running the kitchen down - things went off the menu as we sat there. I'll miss their original location with its better prices (and undoubtedly cheaper rent) much more than the bistro. Sad it didn't work out for Flip though.
November 2, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Ate there last night. While our food was okay value, they were totally running the kitchen down - things went off the menu as we sat there. I'll miss their original location with its better prices (and undoubtedly cheaper rent) much more than the bistro. Sad it didn't work out for Flip though.
@jostle.bsky.social this is one for you!
October 29, 2025 at 9:12 PM
@jostle.bsky.social this is one for you!
@wiremu a friend has furniture he built from cheap construction lumber while living in Norway. Beautiful dense and even pine that is polar opposite to our radiata. Absolutely fit for fine work and inside the home.
October 29, 2025 at 6:33 PM
@wiremu a friend has furniture he built from cheap construction lumber while living in Norway. Beautiful dense and even pine that is polar opposite to our radiata. Absolutely fit for fine work and inside the home.
I wish NZ had got onto the mixed plantation natives and hardwoods model. Yes the initial yield is slow but the product is so much more valuable for future generations. As the Fonterra deal this week once again demonstrates we're stuck on chasing short-term wins at the expense of future security.
October 29, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I wish NZ had got onto the mixed plantation natives and hardwoods model. Yes the initial yield is slow but the product is so much more valuable for future generations. As the Fonterra deal this week once again demonstrates we're stuck on chasing short-term wins at the expense of future security.
Interesting. Also reminiscent of a James Hitchmough image I once saw of growth rates when mulched vs lawn up to the trunk. As a woodworker I'd use both for different things. Mixed coppice grown hardwoods are faster still and useful for processes like steam bending where density is a problem.
October 29, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Interesting. Also reminiscent of a James Hitchmough image I once saw of growth rates when mulched vs lawn up to the trunk. As a woodworker I'd use both for different things. Mixed coppice grown hardwoods are faster still and useful for processes like steam bending where density is a problem.
The point of "making sense" for Bishop is to spend less on cycleways. Just imagine if our roading spending made actual sense... We'd probably have a moratorium on new roads like in Wales.
October 17, 2025 at 9:50 PM
The point of "making sense" for Bishop is to spend less on cycleways. Just imagine if our roading spending made actual sense... We'd probably have a moratorium on new roads like in Wales.
Because of roadworks, currently I'd have to take a 2km detour to use the Quarryman's Trail to commute - maybe that's fine in a car but for bikes it's ridiculous so I'm stuck riding busy Lincoln Rd instead. It'd make sense for the cycleway network to be much more comprehensive actually.
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Because of roadworks, currently I'd have to take a 2km detour to use the Quarryman's Trail to commute - maybe that's fine in a car but for bikes it's ridiculous so I'm stuck riding busy Lincoln Rd instead. It'd make sense for the cycleway network to be much more comprehensive actually.
Cycleways make sense almost everywhere. As a web throughout the city, linking places people need to get to with safe routes. They're not like motorways and it's bizarre to treat them that way.
October 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Cycleways make sense almost everywhere. As a web throughout the city, linking places people need to get to with safe routes. They're not like motorways and it's bizarre to treat them that way.
A tragedy! Such good stuff happened there.
October 13, 2025 at 3:42 AM
A tragedy! Such good stuff happened there.
I'll give my last word on this discomfort to a classic strip by the always excellent First Dog on the Moon: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Vegans! Why won't they leave us alone to consume the flesh of tortured animals in peace? | First Dog on the Moon
I would prefer not to eat meat but I do because it is delicious and I am lazy. But I agree with vegans that it is bad for the planet!
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I'll give my last word on this discomfort to a classic strip by the always excellent First Dog on the Moon: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This thread is about discomfort and inaction around diet in the climate movement. Personally, as a vegan of 30 years, I don't think veganism is THE solution. But it's almost certainly one of many, many solutions to the problem of making individual behavioural change stick in a diverse world.
October 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
This thread is about discomfort and inaction around diet in the climate movement. Personally, as a vegan of 30 years, I don't think veganism is THE solution. But it's almost certainly one of many, many solutions to the problem of making individual behavioural change stick in a diverse world.
Perhaps the stereotyping is the problem? The diversity of people who ride bikes or choose to eat vegan is huge. Why should they be reduced to stereotypical depictions (unless that happens to serve status quo narratives of what is, and what isn't, acceptable behavior/activism)?
October 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Perhaps the stereotyping is the problem? The diversity of people who ride bikes or choose to eat vegan is huge. Why should they be reduced to stereotypical depictions (unless that happens to serve status quo narratives of what is, and what isn't, acceptable behavior/activism)?
Both veganism and cycling function as symbolic acts (as well as just doing the thing that needs to be done). That's why proponents of inaction or delay go after vegans and cyclists so hard. It's easier to denigrate someone who makes them look bad than thank us for actually addressing the problem.
October 4, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Both veganism and cycling function as symbolic acts (as well as just doing the thing that needs to be done). That's why proponents of inaction or delay go after vegans and cyclists so hard. It's easier to denigrate someone who makes them look bad than thank us for actually addressing the problem.
It always fascinates me when this kind of stuff is referred to by media as "strategy". It's the exact opposite. Short-term blind power grabs that masquerade as policy. No idea that the future will be different than today.
October 2, 2025 at 8:17 PM
It always fascinates me when this kind of stuff is referred to by media as "strategy". It's the exact opposite. Short-term blind power grabs that masquerade as policy. No idea that the future will be different than today.
Actually, I know a number of people with Pyroclassic burners and they're great. Lots of heat and very efficient. One friend days she burns half the wood for the same heat as her old non-ULEB burner.
September 28, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Actually, I know a number of people with Pyroclassic burners and they're great. Lots of heat and very efficient. One friend days she burns half the wood for the same heat as her old non-ULEB burner.
Can't help, but our burner permit expires 2026 so I'm very interested in the answers! (Unfortunately, we have an inbuilt fire so currently that limits us to only two ULEB fires.)
September 28, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Can't help, but our burner permit expires 2026 so I'm very interested in the answers! (Unfortunately, we have an inbuilt fire so currently that limits us to only two ULEB fires.)
Exciting! All the best things take time. This week I had a visit from Tiana, a Hawaiian weaver and hale builder, to harvest leaves from palms I grew from seed 20 years ago. So happy to be able to help out.
September 24, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Exciting! All the best things take time. This week I had a visit from Tiana, a Hawaiian weaver and hale builder, to harvest leaves from palms I grew from seed 20 years ago. So happy to be able to help out.