Category Archives: High Seas

Klay Thompson is working his way back to the basketball court. After each of the last two seasons were taken away from the Golden State Warriors sharpshooting wing due to injuries, Thompson has spent the early part of this season on the road to recovery, and its believed that he hopes to suit back up for the Dubs sometime before Christmas.

While Thompsons been going through this, hes carved out a niche as the NBAs premier boat guy. Thompson will go live on Instagram while hes on a boat, navigating the open waters with vibes that are absolutely pristine. In his latest video, Thompson explored the high seas and expressed his belief that the fine city of Seattle, Washington deserves to get an NBA team again.

Bring back our Sonics! Thompson exclaimed. Seattle deserves a team. Give Seattle our team back. Bring back our Sonics!

Thompson, of course, went to Washington State and spent time in Lake Oswego, Oregon as a child, which is a few hours away from Seattle. He actually grew up a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers his dad, Mychal, played for the team growing up but wanting the Sonics back in Seattle transcends any type of fandom.

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Klay Thompson Wants The NBA To 'Bring Back Our Sonics' - UPROXX

Todays chart is best viewed full-screen. Explore the high resolution version by clicking here.

Sailors have been circumnavigating the high seas for centuries now, but what could be found beneath the sunlit surface of the ocean remained a mystery until far more recently. In fact, it wasnt until 1875, during the Challenger expedition, that humanity got its first concrete idea of how deep the ocean actually was.

Todays graphic, another fantastic piece by xkcd, is a unique and entertaining look at everything from Lake Superiors ice encrusted shoreline down to blackest, inhospitable trench (which today bears the name of the expedition that first discovered it).

The graphic is packed with detail, so well only highlight a few points of interest.

Deep in Siberia, abutting a mountainous stretch of the Mongolian border, is the one of the most remarkable bodies of water on Earth: Lake Baikal. There are a number of qualities that make Lake Baikal stand out.

Depth: Baikal, located in a massive continental rift, is the deepest lake in the world at 1,642m (5,387ft). That extreme depth holds a lot of fresh water. In fact, an estimated 22% of all the worlds fresh water can be found in the lake.

Age: Baikal (which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is estimated to be over 25 million years old, making it the most ancient lake on the planet.

Clarity: Interestingly, the water in the lake is exceptionally clear. In winter, visibility can extend over 30m (98ft) below the surface.

Biodiversity: The unique ecosystem of Lake Baikal provides a home for thousands of plant and animal species. In fact, upwards of 80% of those species are endemic, meaning they are unique to that region.

Since 1964, a hard-working research submersible named Alvin has been helping us better understand the deep ocean. Alvin explored the wreckage of RMS Titanic in 1986, and helped confirm the existence of black smokers (one of the weirdest ecosystems in the world).

Though most of the components of the vessel have been replaced and upgraded over the years, its still in use today. In 2020, Alvin received an $8 million upgrade, and is now capable of exploring 99% of the ocean floor.

We know more about the surface of Venus than the bottom of the ocean. The potential for discovery is huge. Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Professor of Microbiology, PSU

The deepest point in the ocean is the Mariana Trench, at 11,034 meters (36,201 feet).

This trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam and the trenchs namesake, the Mariana Islands. While the trench is the most extreme example of ocean depths, when compared to surface level distance, its depth is shorter than Manhattan.

Obviously, the context of surface distance is wildly different than vertical distance, but it serves as a reminder of how narrow the explorable band of the Earths surface is.

The ancient Greek word, byssos, roughly means unfathomable, bottomless gulf. While there is a bottom (the abyssopelagic zone comprises around 75% of the ocean floor), the enormous scale of this ecosystem is certainly unfathomable.

Objectively, the abyssal plain is not the prettiest part of the ocean. Its nearly featureless, and lacks the panache of, say, a coral reef, but there are still some very compelling reasons were eager to explore it. Resource companies are chiefly interested in polymetallic nodules, which are essentially rich manganese formations scattered about on the sea bottom.

Manganese is already essential in steel production, but demand is also getting a substantial lift from the fast-growing electric vehicle market. The first company to find an economical way to harvest nodules from the ocean floor could reap a significant windfall.

Demand for resources can force humans into some very inhospitable places, and in the case of Deepwater Horizon, we chased oil to a depth even surpassing the famed Marianas Trench.

Drilling that far below the surface is a complicated endeavor, and when the drill platform was put into service in 2001, it was hailed as an engineering marvel. To this day, Deepwater Horizon holds the record for the deepest offshore hole ever made.

After the rigs infamous explosion and subsequent spill in 2010, that depth record for drilling may stand the test of time.

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Visualizing the Accumulation of Human-Made Mass on Earth - Visual Capitalist

Sign warns drivers to engage lower gear on some of the steep roadways on an icy / snowy Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy

The National Weather Service in Honolulu, Hawaii has raised a Blizzard Warning for portions of the Big Island where heavy snow and winds with the potential to do damage are expected tomorrow into Saturday. The Blizzard Warning is in effect from Friday night through Saturday night and includes the higher elevations of the Big Island of Hawaii which include Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Several inches fell on Mauna Kea on Tuesday, prompting officials to close roads due to ice and snow conditions there.

According to the National Weather Service, a foot or more of snow is possible between Friday and Saturday; however, what will make conditions really bad will be the powerful winds. Wind gusts higher than 100 mph are possible, which is the equivalent of a mid range Category 2 Hurricanes winds on the Saffir Simpson wind scale.Blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility at times, with periods of zero visibility, the National Weather Service Warns.

Bluntly, the National Weather Service warns, Travel could be very difficult to impossible.

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant snow or ice accumulations that may impact the summits. Anyone planning travel to the summits, including hikers and campers, should monitor the latest forecasts and consider postponing their trip until improved weather returns.

In addition to the Blizzard Warning, the National Weather Service has also issued a High Wind Warning. In addition to the higher terrain of Hawaii Island, the High Wind Warning is also in effect for Maui and Haleakala, a popular tourist attraction on the Valley Isle. The High Wind Warning is in effect from 6pm Friday until 6am Monday local time. Southwest winds of 50 to 80 mph are likely with localized gusts over 100 mph. The National Weather Service says, Winds this strong will make driving and walking extremely dangerous. The winds can cause significant damage or injuries.

Tourists and local residents should avoid the Blizzard Warning and High Wind Warning zones until this significant winter storm passes. The warnings are up for elevations at and above 6,000 feet.

While most people dont associate the tropical paradise Hawaii is known for with snow, theyre surprised to learn that it does snow in the winter due to the elevation of these volcanic peaks. Mauna Kea is the highest of the bunch at 13,803 feet. Mauis Haleakala is much lower at 10,023 feet. Because of that difference, Hawaii Island will see snow more frequently than the lower Maui Island. Just one storm last Januarydropped 2-3 feet of snow on Hawaii Island and created snow drifts that were far deeper.

In addition to coating Mauna Kea, this new snowstorm could bring snow to Mauna Loa, considered to be the worlds largest active volcano. While its larger in volume than Mauna Kea, its a tad bit shorter, standing up at 13,678 feet compared to Mauna Keas 13,803. Because Mauna Loa is an active volcano and Mauna Kea isnt, there isnt much in the way of buildings or telescopes on it. While there are science stations and the HI-SEAS Lunar / Mars simulating lab are on Mauna Loa, a single narrow road rides up the slope and it stops short of the summit. Both roads up Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are likely to be closed during and immediately after the storm.

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Hawaii Winter Storm Watch Upgraded to Blizzard Warning - Weatherboy

Here's What You Need to Know:Weaponeers are working at helter-skelter speed to remedy the U.S. Navys range shortfall.

Ah, yes, the carrier-killer. China is forevertoutingthe array of guided missiles its weaponeers have devised to pummel U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). Most prominent among them are its DF-21D and DF-26 antiship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), which the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has made a mainstay of Chinasanti-access/area-denial(A2/AD) defenses.

Beijing has made believers of important audiences, including the scribes who toil away at the Pentagon producing estimates of Chinese martial might. Indeed, the most recent annual report on Chinese military powerstatesmatter-of-factly that the PLA can now use DF-21Ds to attack ships, including aircraft carriers, more than nine hundred statute miles from Chinas shorelines.

Scary. But the U.S. Navy has carrier-killers of its own. Or, more accurately, it hasshipkillers of its own: what can disable or sink a flattop can make short work of lesser warships. And antiship weaponry is multiplying in numbers, range, and lethality as the navy reawakens from itspost-Cold War holiday from history. Whose carrier-killer trumps whose will hinge in large part on where a sea fight takes place.

Thatcarrier-killer imageryresonates with Western audiences comes as little surprise. It implies that Chinese rocketeers can send the pride of the U.S. Navy to the bottom from a distance, and sink U.S. efforts to succor Asian allies in the process. Worse, it implies that PLA commanders could pull off such a world-historical feat without deigning to send ships to sea or warplanes into thecentral blue. Close the firing key on the ASBM launcher, andpresto!, it happens.

Well, maybe.Why obsess over technical minutiae like firing range? For one thing, the nine-hundred-mile range cited for the DF-21D far exceeds the reach of carrier-based aircraft. A carrier task force, consequently, could take a heckuva beating just arriving on Asian battlegrounds. And the range mismatch could get worse. Unveiled at the PLAs military parade through Beijing last fall, the DF-26 will reportedlysporta maximum firing range of 1,800-2,500 miles.

If the technology pans out, PLA ballistic missiles could menace U.S. and allied warships plying the seas anywhere within Asias second island chain. The upper figure for DF-26 range, moreover, would extend ASBMs reach substantially beyond the island chain.

From an Atlantic perspective, striking a ship east of Guam from coastal China is like smiting a ship cruising east of Greenland from a missile battery in downtown Washington, DC. Reaching Guam would become a hazardous prospect for task forces steaming westward from Hawaii or the American west coast, while shipping based at Guam, Japan, or other Western Pacific outposts would live under the constant shadow of missile attack.

Now, its worth noting that the PLA hasnever testedthe DF-21D over water, five-plus years afterinitially deployingit. Still less has the DF-26 undergone testing under battle conditions. Thats cause to pause and reflect. As the immortalMurphymight counsel, technology not perfected in peacetime tends to disappoint its user in wartime.

Still, an ASBM will be a useful piece of kit if Chinese engineers have made it work. The U.S. military boasts no counterpart to Chinas family of ASBMs. Nor is it likely to. The United States isbound by treatynot to develop mid-range ballistic missiles comparable to the DF-21D or DF-26. Even if Washington canceled its treaty commitments today, it would take years if not decades for weapons engineers to design, test, and field a shipkilling ballistic missile from a cold start.

Still, the U.S. Navy isnt without options in naval war. Far from it. How would American mariners would dispatch an enemy flattop in combat? The answer is the default answer we give in my department in Newport: it depends.

It would depend, that is, on where the encounter took place. A fleet duel involving carriers would take a far different trajectory on the open searemote from fire support from Fortress China, the PLAs unsinkable aircraft carrierthan if it unfolded within range of ASBMs, cruise missiles, or aircraft emplaced along seacoasts or offshore islands.

The former would be a fleet-on-fleet affair: whatever firepower each force totes to the scene of action decides the outcome, seamanship, tactical acumen, and lan being equal. The latter would let PLA commanders hurl land-based weaponry into the fray. But at the same time, the U.S. Navy would probably fight alongside allied naviesfrom the likes of Japan, South Korea or Australiain near-shore combat. And, like China, the allies couldharness Asias congested offshore geography,using land-based armamentsto augment their fleets innate combat punch.

In short, the two tactical arenas differ starkly from each other. The latter is messier and more prone to chance, uncertainty, and the fog of warnot to mention the derring-do of an enterprising foe.

Submarine warfare would constitute a common denominator in U.S. maritime strategy for oceanic and near-shore combat. Nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) such as U.S.Virginia- orLos Angeles-class boats can raid surface shipping on the high seas. Or they can slip underneath A2/AD defenses to assault enemy vessels, including flattops, in their coastal redoubts.

In short, SSNs are workhorses in U.S. naval operations. Thats why its a grave mistake for Congress tolet the size of the SSN fleetdwindle from fifty-three today to forty-one in 2029. Thats a 23 percent drop in the number of hulls at a time when China is bulking up its fleet of nuclear- and conventionally propelled substo as many as 78 by 2020and Russia is rejuvenating its silent-running sub force.

American submarines, then, are carrier-killers regardless of the tactical setting. Now, theres a bit of a futurist feel to talk about battling Chinese carrier groups. At present the PLA Navy has just one flattop, a refitted Soviet vessel dubbedLiaoning. That vessel is and will probably remain a training carrier, grooming aviators and ship crews for the operational carriersmost likely improved versions ofLiaoningthat arereportedly undergoing construction.

Lets suppose Chinese shipyards complete the PLAs second carrierChinas first indigenously built carrierat the same clip that Newport News Shipbuilding completed USSForrestal, the nations first supercarrier and a conventionally propelled vessel with roughly the same dimensions and complexity asLiaoning. It tookjust over three yearsto buildForrestal, from the time shipbuilders laid her keel until she was placed in commission.

Lets further suppose that the PLA Navy has made great strides in learning how to operate carrier task forces at sea. If so, the navy will integrate the new flattop seamlessly and speedily into operations, making it a battleworthy addition to Chinas oceangoing fleet. Our hypothetical high-seas clash thus could take place circa 2020.

In 2020, as today, the carrier air wing will remain the surface U.S. Navys chief carrier-killer. U.S. CVNs can carryabout 85 tactical aircraft. While estimates of the size of a future Chinese flattops air wing vary, lets take ahigh-end estimateof 50 fixed-wing planes and helicopters. That means, conservatively speaking, that the U.S. CVNs complement will be 70 percent larger than its PLA Navy opponents.

And in all likelihood, the American complement will be superior to the Chinese on a warbird-for-warbird basis. It appears future PLA Navy flattops will, likeLiaoning, be outfitted with ski jumps on their bows to vault aircraft into the sky. That limits the weightand thus the load of fuel and weaponsthat a Chinese aircraft can haul while still getting off the flight deck.

U.S. CVNs, meanwhile, slingshot heavy-laden fighter/attack jets off their flight decks using steam or electromagnetic catapults. More armaments translates into a heavier-hitting naval air force, more fuel into greater range and time on station.

For example, F-18E/F Super Hornet fighter/attack jets can operate against targetsaround 400 nautical miles distant, not counting the additional distance their weapons travel after firing. Thats roughly comparable to the combat radius advertised for Chinese J-15 carrier planesbut again, a U.S. air wing will outnumber its Chinese counterpart while packing more punch per airframe. Advantage: U.S. Navy.

By 2020, moreover, promising antiship weaponry may have matured and joined the U.S. arsenal. At present the surface navys main antiship armament is the elderly Harpoon cruise missile, a bird of 1970s vintage with arange exceeding 60 miles. That pales in comparison with the latest PLA Navy birdsmost notably the YJ-18,which boasts a range of 290 nautical miles.

Weaponeers are working at helter-skelter speed to remedy the U.S. Navys range shortfall. Boeing, the Harpoons manufacturer, isdoublingthe birds range. The Pentagons Strategic Capabilities Office recentlyrepurposedthe SM-6 surface-to-air missile for antiship missions, doubling or tripling the surface fleets striking range against carrier or surface-action groups. And on it goes. Last year the navytested an antiship variant of the Tomahawk cruise missile, reinventing averyverylong-range capabilitythat existed in the late Cold War. A newlong-range antiship missileis undergoing development.

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Beijing's Nightmare: How the U.S. Navy Could Sink Its Prized Aircraft Carriers - The National Interest

We greet the 8th Anniversary of the passing of President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela with news of protest from Nkosi Dalibhungas burial place at Qunu. The community complains that they have not had running water for the past 8 months. Meanwhile barely 20kms away at Madibas birth place Mvezo Komkhulu there hasnt been running water for the past 27 years since the dawn of democracy. As Shakespeare says in Hamlet: Theres something rotten in Denmark.

Its as if we have already forgotten the powder keg of failed insurrection that was lit and erupted this past July 2021. Driven by grinding poverty, rampant unemployment and social discontent over land, housing and lack of access to economic opportunities; the embers of disruption are smoldering and alive.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has been calling for hope and renewal since Nasrec 2017 and yet we have logged our worse Local Government Elections result since the dawn of democracy with the ANC dropping below 50% for the first time. What is amiss and where is the hope?

Undoubtedly, we have entered a new era with the dynamics of coalition politics coming sharply to the fore. However, the vultures and prophets of doom have a lot to do to explain their Armageddon scenario predictions. President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandelas ANC may be in deep trouble but it is far from dead or dying.

LGE 2021 was a shock but not entirely unexpected. Political analysts are at pains to explain that the ANC won an outright majority in 160 or so municipalities in comparison with the largest opposition parties the DA and EFF winning an outright majority in about 20 and 10 municipalities respectively. This requires a myopia of a special kind to justify the public presence and space that the official opposition occupies. That unfortunately is the nature of South African politics and not necessarily a bad thing.

The ANC remains a formidable force for change in South Africa but it better heed President Ramaphosas calls for renewal, rebuilding and restoring hope. We still have much of Tatomkhulus legacy in tact although revisionists pop up now and then with half baked theories of selling out, compromising the poor or other far-fetched conspiracy theories.

We give credence to these false narratives about Nkosi Dalibhunga and the future of the ANC and South Africa when we dont listen to the people. LGE 2021 is now firmly in our past yet it is as if the penny has not dropped and for some its business as usual.

I listened to the impassioned pleas of our communities in Port St John on the eve of elections unhappy with the subversion of the ANCs new candidate selection process. By what logic do we appoint leaders that the community rejects. This is arrogance of the highest order and vitiates against everything Madiba and his generation of elders stood for.

Listening alone wont suffice for as Amilcar Cabral reminds us in

Return to the Source: Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyones head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children. . .

Our children will have no future if we do not step away from the fires of the July insurrection with a clear plan about what we must do about the underlying problems it highlighted. For one we know it was incited, orchestrated and fanned even as the flames flared. We owe South Africa answers or face the likelihood of a fatal recurrence.

There may well be those who prefer to knock holes into the hull of the ship to spite the captain and crew. President Ramaphosa and our ANC government have this reality to contend with as well as the imperative of rebuilding a ship on the high seas. President Mandela and his leadership collective intervened at a critical moment in our history to avert civil war and bloodshed. I thought of this as the failed July insurrection unfolded and I am on record saying too little too late.

We must honour Nkosi Dalibhungas legacy by doing a deep introspection as individual South Africans and as a nation. Yes there are conflicting interests yet the inevitable destiny awaits if we are lulled back into inaction, indifference or the dreaded silence. We either hold on firmly to the legacy of our founding father of the nation or there will be nobody around to hear the rest is silence.

We have been planning and talking for too long now. Its time we act and act decisively. To have real impact is not to theorise. Our people are tired of promises. Hope doesnt fill stomachs!

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8th Anniversary of Madiba's passing is an opportune moment to reflect - Totalprestige Magazine - Totalprestige Magazine

Light rain expected in some parts of the UAE during the long weekend Image Credit: NCM

Dubai: Ready for the long weekend? Keep your umbrellas handy if you are in these parts of the UAE.

The National Center of Meteorology shared the weather forecast during the period of the 50th National Day weekend from November 30 to December 3, 2021.

On Tuesday,cloudy skies and light rainfall were reported in parts of Dubai, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.

Tuesday also sawlight to moderate winds, especiallywith formation of convective clouds.

Over the long weekend, the NCM will continue to dispatch cloud seeding flights to enhance rainfall in the region,depepnding on the formation of convective clouds.

Weather on the first day of the long weekend

On Wednesday, which is National Day, theamount of clouds will decrease.

There isa probability of light rain during daytime over some eastern areas and islands of the eastern and northern coast.

Weather on the 50th National Day

The weather is expected tobecome stable by Thursday. High humidity levels are expected by eveningwith a probability of fog or mist formation by the following morning. The skies will bepartly cloudy to clear.

Humid weather and a probability of mist will continue on Friday. Partly cloudy weather is expected northward, probably accompanied withlight rainfall.

Light southeasterly to northeasterly winds are expected on Friday, gradually becoming westerly and northwesterly.

Rough seas at times

If you are planning a beach trip, be on the lookout for rough waves at times, especially on Tuesday, when it is cloudy over the seas.

Over the rest of the week, slight to moderate waves are expected in general in the Arabian Gulf and Oman Sea.

Decrease in temperatures

Maximum expected temperature during this period will be 26 to 29C in coastal areas like Dubai and Sharjah, and the islands.

Internal areas will see temperature highs of 28 to 31C, and mountainous regions will be at 16 to22C.

Minimum expected temperatureduring this period will be 26 to 2918 to 25C in coastal areas like Dubai and Sharjah, and the islands.

Internal areas will see temperature lowsof 13 to 18C, and mountainous regions will be at 10 to 16C.

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UAE's 50th National Day weekend: Rain and cloudy weather in these parts of the country, rough seas at times - Gulf News

Lets call Margaret McHugh troublesome - she wont mind.

And in any case the oh-so-commonly applied description forthright doesnt begin to cover it.

Her new autobiography/cookbook book The Real McHugh stands tangy testimony to her ability to apply heat, spice and dashes of sauciness as artfully in her storytelling as in her cooking.

Nowadays Picton-based, shes a chef sprung from Winton whose already strong sense of independence was further liberated in 1970 Londons still-swinging South Kensington, before she returned to Queenstown where she became a firebrand councillor and deputy mayor.

Hers was a happy upbringing enhanced by good farm cooking centred around the always-alive coal range.

Picture, if you will, a young girl waking to fresh-from-the-oven lamb.

Live ones, mind you.

They had gone into the warm open-door environs half frozen and emerged the next day fighting fit, toddling around the kitchen for a look before returning to the fields.

She grew up learning about good food though the boys on the school bus had their own view about her juvenile palate, twice a day joining in that classic refrain: Catholic dogs, sitting on logs, eating the gutses out of frogs.

To be clear, this was hardly a childhood trauma. She lambasts modern-day mollycoddling with the confidence of one who, even as a child, always felt comfortable in her own skin.

Even so, taunts required response. Hers drew just enough blood that it was deemed best she sit right up front with the driver.

Speaking by phone, she laughs at the life lesson.

The naughtiest girl on the bus gets the best seat on the bus.

Speaking of naughtiness, as a pupil in the cloistered environment of St Philomenas in Dunedin, she read about some carry-on in Britain that piqued her curiosity enough to later ask her mum what she knew about Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies.

Keystone/Getty Images

Mandy Rice-Davies, left, and Christine Keeler.

A detailed answer would have been that they were two young women central to the 1963 Profumo scandal involving a Government minister and socially unsanctioned rumpy-pumpy.

Her mothers explanation was more pithy

Dirty, dirty girls.

By 1970, living in South Kensington, working at the Turks Head, she came to know Rice-Davies as a regular, and occasionally Keeler, who struck her as less stylish but who showed a rather flattering interest in her.

Here McHughs storytelling forays well away from anything youre likely to read in an Alison Holst-styled book. She recalls Keeler inviting her along to a get-together that had orgiastic intimations. Declined, we should add.

SUPPLIED/Stuff

Margaret McHugh's former place of employment, the Turk's Head in London. She flatted upstairs and her aristocratic neighbour's long-window home was to the left.

It was a vibrant time, living above the Turks Head in an exceedingly posh part of town. Once, hastening with places to go and things to do, she bustled purposefully past a young man and an older figure - her reliably pleasant neighbour, whod struck her as a well-dressed sailor type.

Her colleagues were swift to tell her she was a Kiwi peasant. That pair who had to make way were Lord Mountbatten and his nephew, Charles.

Europe was close at hand but by the end of 1973 she was to be found among Greek hosts during the Athens student uprising against the ruling junta. Amid the turmoil, their son lay dead in the street below, his throat cut.

Might be time to come home. Her dad certainly thought so.

Supplied/Stuff

The crew of the TSS Earnslaw in the 1980s. Caterer Margaret McHugh second from left.

Before long she was working in Queenstown as a sous chef at the Skyline. Later , contract caterer on the TSS Earnslaw where, lets just say, we made our own fun.

Come 1985 she scraped on to the Queenstown Lakes District Council by fully 11 votes, which it turns out was a margin gratifyingly similar to the number of her regular bar buddies at Wicked Willies.

Her four terms on the council were never going to be placid and there was an arguably inevitable lawsuit threat resolved by a very insincere apology.

She also rails against and far-from-occasional instances of brown-nosing, coercion and bullying.

McHugh would reliably vote against going into committee as it was so often done to protect staff and councillors arses and do deals behind closed doors.

She writes of one councillor complaining about her comments while rolling on the balls of his feet and with hands thrust in his pockets, the sight of which prompted her to raise a point of order, objecting to him having a good time at my expense.

Councillors, she contends, need to shrug off work pushed at them by the administration, disregard the calls to see themselves as essentially part of a team, and should instead focus on strengthening their connections to the people theyre meant to be representing.

After four terms she resigned and soon moved to Auckland where she ran a delicatessen and out-catering business for eight years.

In time she and her partner Bill Brown tied the knot - their relationship already two years established after shed caught his eye with her big hair, big lipstick, diamonds sparkling on her fingers and a large gin in her hand, holding court

And how did they spend their honeymoon? Apart. She was at sea boatful of blokes.

McHugh had long wanted to do the ship-on-high-seas thing but not on an overcrowded cruise ship with its noise and nonsense.

Instead, seizing a two-month opportunity, the new bride found herself furiously reciting the rosary out of vertiginous fear as she climbed the steep gangway to the mighty container ship - CMA CGM Alexandra Von Huboldt. The length of four footy fields. Just her, 16,000 containers, 16 Filipino crew and 8 Croatian officers.

Settle down.

They were the loveliest guys, she recalls on the phone. Her cooking was gratifyingly appreciated and throughout the trip they were respectful and I was respectful.

She made sure they had dessert every night and she didnt talk too much.

Men, she airily adds, like peace and quiet. Unless theyre on the prowl.

I know men. I know how to get on with them and keep them at arms length with a smile on my face rather than a peg on my nose.

Its a bit of an art, but she finds they appreciate it.

SUPPLIED/Stuff

Margaret McHugh in Marlborough farmers' market mode.

Where McHugh does get in trouble, its often in circumstances that dont have her feeling troubled.

Not even when, by this stage operating the Gourmet Food Store in Picton, she engaged in an email exchange with a customer - who struck her as a tad too entitled - that resulted in international news enlivened by such McHughian observations as: You were probably bottle-fed til late teens.

If Margaret McHugh ran the world, or at least was more persuasive in it, wed certainly eat better, and there would also be a good deal less helicopter parenting and general sense of entitlement.

She doesnt contribute to food banks. She does, however, drop notes into the slots saying shes willing to teach the holder, free, how to cook for themselves. Nobodys ever taken her up, she says. Apparently what they really want is biscuits.

SUPPLIED/Stuff

Margaret McHugh's roasted strawberry shortcake - a signature dish.

Nowadays a familiar figure in the Marlborough firmament, she and Brown run Kippilaw House and do what they can to infuse their community with good food, whether its through farmers market stalls or holding classes - some for women who have had cooking classes all over the world and others for older, single, live alone men.

Within its 400-odd pages,The Real McHugh is prodigiously stocked with recipes and not short of attitude when it comes to topics like the failings of supermarkets and the nonsense of best-by dates.

Copies are available through McHughs Gourmet Deli business in Picton and in Southland will be sold once theyre unloaded on to our shores at Windsor Stationery and Lotto.

She will also be travelling this month on speaking tours, combining promotion, serving gin, juice and gems as charity fundraisers. Shell be at the Winton Garden Bar on December 14, Otatara Golf Club on December 15 and Arrowtown Lodge December 16l]

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Margaret McHugh: forthright and then some - Stuff.co.nz

The last day of our cruise brings us to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Ideally, I prefer to have my last day onboard be a sea day, but I will never complain about spending time at CocoCay because of how much fun it is spending time there.

While this may have been my fourth time visiting CocoCay in two weeks, the weather last week was far from perfect, so today looked to be a way to end on a high note.

We did not arrive to CocoCay until almost 10am, which meant there would be a rush among guests to get off the ship at the same time. Moreover, we were sharing the island with Independence of the Seas.

What does two ships mean? There are 4100 passengers on Harmony and 3000 passengers on Independence, so while far from a full capacity day (CocoCay can handle 9-12,000 guests), it certainly would be busier than earlier this summer.

We started off with breakfast at Park Cafe, partially because I neglected to put a breakfast order in with my Genie the night before. I certainly don't mind a bagel and schmear to start my day.

By the time we finished eating, the gangway was open and we were on our way downstairs.

Walking down the pier, it certainly looked like a great day. Not oppressively hot and low humidity meant a comfortable outdoor experience.

We had nothing reserved, so grabbed a chair near Oasis Lagoon and then hopped into the pool. The pool was indeed very cold. We all braved the temperature and shivered a bit before getting used to it.

Later in the afternoon, the sun came out more and that helped make being in the water a bit warmer.

The kids went to Splashaway Bay for some kiddy slide time. While not the CocoCay water park by any means, it got some energy out for the kids.

For lunch, I had to go to Snack Shack for my favorite complimentary food: mozzarella sticks and the "secret sandwich".

To my surprise, the line for Snack Shack was really long and moved slowly. I'm not sure if they were just overwhelmed with a lunch rush, or something else, but it was the longest line I've ever experienced there. Regardless, they got the line moving and I had my food soon enough.

The afternoon was spent at the pool, and it was an opportunity to hang out with friends from the group cruise one more time.

All aboard was 4:30, so we headed back to the ship in mid-afternoon.

Since it was a 7-night cruise, unvaccinated kids needs to get a covid test done prior to disembarkation. Our genie escorted us in and got the tests complete quickly.

Back in the room, we showered, changed, and snuck in a quick nap.

Chips and dips from Sabor were waiting for us in the room, which was a nice pre-dinner snack.

We were not sure which restaurant to go to for dinner, but decided on going back to 150 Central Park.

I was glad we went back, because their entrees are really good. I really liked combining the halibut with cauliflower to combine flavor and texture.

After dinner, we said our goodbyes to friends in the pub before calling it a night.

Overall, it was a fantastic group cruise and it felt so good to see friends and make new ones along the way. After two other cancelled group cruises, this was an especially important sailing that I am glad happened without any incident.

If you'd like to join us for a group cruise in 2022, we have two more scheduled.

Thanks for reading this live blog. Our next live blog begins in a month when we fly to California to sail on Navigator of the Seas!

Excerpt from:

Harmony of the Seas Live Blog - Day 7 - Perfect Day at CocoCay - Royal Caribbean Blog

Max Meyer, 22, said he was inspired by some of the founders he met as charter guests during his five months living the Below Deck dream after high school.

Beyond hitting the high seas as a deckhand at 19, he is also the youngest law and commerce school valedictorian to come out of Queenslands Bond University.

Bond University law and commerce graduate Max Meyer says hell be looking for the most ambitious founders.Madeline Begley

Ill be looking for the most ambitious founders in sectors that are going to supercharge tomorrow, Mr Meyer said.

While the Australian venture scene is arguably best known for business-to-business software investment success, Mr Meyer said he was interested in finding founders working in clean technology.

For Silk Kadala, 28, her initial foray into the business world came through watching her parents run a gelato store.

Ms Kadala graduated from high school at 15, obtained three degrees from the University of Western Australia, helped to develop a university-to-industry consultant pipeline start-up called Western Australia University Consultants and, more recently, worked as a product analyst at a medical technology company.

In the last year, I took a step away from consulting to really reflect on what was next in my career, Ms Kadala said. I dived into researching the venture capital space, found out what they do on a day-to-day basis, and now Im super-excited to have a job in the area.

Nicole Marino cut her sales teeth selling off the plan houses at 19. Tash Sorensen

Consulting is a great job, its definitely accelerated learning, but you dont see your impact quite as much. You work really hard, you learn about a whole lot of industries, but I think on the investment side, you have multiple touchpoints, multiple founders and building multiple companies.

Ms Kadala said she was drawn to Blackbird because of its reputation, its technology investment mandate and the visibility of women such as Samantha Wong, Phoebe Harrop and Florence Doreen in senior roles.

Nicole Marino, 24, was the first person in her family to go to university. She learnt the art of sales and negotiation at 19 by selling off the plan houses often by pretending to be 25 at the time.

Ms Marino then studied economics at the University of Melbourne, graduating with first class honours.

She said Blackbirds contemporary branding was appealing and very tech.

At Blackbird, they said to me that they want to create a meritocracy, and while I dont yet know if thatll be the case, I did like the fact that they said theyd be open to my opinions, even if Im a junior, she said.

Christie Jenkins, 33, an elite athlete who learnt about the art of start-up investors as a partner at Athletic Ventures, is also joining the crew in Melbourne.

The final member of the contingent is Clare Birch, 25, a quantum chemist and former programs co-ordinator at Deadly Science, which teaches STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills to young Indigenous students.

The rest is here:

Young high-achievers head to VC land to hunt unicorns at Blackbird - The Australian Financial Review

The Rotary Club of Rutherglen marked a welcome return to regular, in-person meetings with a fascinating insight into all things maritime.

President Eddie Goldberg confirmed that meetings have resumed on a bi-weekly basis on Thursday evenings at 5.30pm in the Kings Park Hotel in Rutherglen. These will alternate with online virtual meetings on Zoom every other Thursday evening at the same time.

At the most recent, well-attended get together, everyone enjoyed an excellent presentation by member, Elizabeth Nairn.

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Elizabeths knowledge of the high seas, which began with an interest in stamps, has developed into a true passion, judging by her comprehensive description of Clyde-built shipping.

In particular, Elizabeth gave a very interesting description of the history of the worlds oldest clipper, the City of Adelaide. Built in 1864 to carry immigrants to Australia and later renamed The Carrick, the ship saw service in the North American timber trade, then as a hospital ship, and ended its working life as a Royal Navy Training Ship, finally retiring as the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Club (RNVR ), moored on the Clyde.

Elizabeth followed this with a potted history of the huge contribution made by shipbuilding on the Clyde in both the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy, as set out in her excellent display, and ended with a poignant section relating to Remembrance Day.

A well-deserved vote of thanks was given on behalf of the club by Past President David Paul.

While the pandemic prohibited physical meetings, the club continued to make contributions to local and international good causes.

Recent donations included three Shelter Boxes for the European Flooding Disaster. Erskine Hospital was the worthy recipient of 1000, and a further contribution was made to the local Cambuslang and Rutherglen food bank.

The Club donated 500 towards the National APS awareness and fundraising campaign of recent guest speaker, Rotarian Phil Godfrey. It will go to APS Support UK, which helps people with antiphospholipid syndrome - an auto-immune disease which affects the blood's ability to clot.

Another recipient of a 500 donation was Kay Aschaber, daughter of former Rotary member, the late Phil Spence. Kay completed a sponsored West Highland Way walk in aid of the Queen Elizabeth Colorectal Service, which cared for her dad.

During the pandemic, The Rotary Club of Rutherglen made donations to: CHAS; Christian Aid; Healthy n Happy (CamGlen COVID) Rain or Shine; Shelter Box; Erskine; PoppyScotland; Disaster Aid; MS Society Scotland; Freedom from Fistula; Brothers in Arms; Rutherglen High School; Ashton School Fund; Haiti Disaster Appeal; Salvation Army; Kilbryde Hospice; Well-Fed Scotland; Kidney Kids Scotland; Polio Plus; The Haven; Rutherglen Social Work; APS Support UK; Colorectal Surgery Fund; CamGlen Food Bank.

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Continued here:

Good causes ride on the crest of a wave, thanks to Lanarkshire Rotarians - Daily Record