So I got off my arse and updated Don's script to put all tracks.org.nz content in one big KML file.

Looks great in Google earth as it contains all NZ now not just Wellington.

File is attached to this post.

Here is Mike Moore's intro.

So you can ask him anything you like and he'll post video responses.

The questions and discussion are on reddit.

 

 

The Guardian's greenwashing columnist has exposed New Zealand's clean green image.

 

Quote:

"New Zealand secured a generous Kyoto target, which simply required it not to increase its emissions between 1990 and 2010. But the latest UN statistics show its emissions of greenhouse gases up by 22%, or a whopping 39% if you look at emissions from fuel burning alone."

Link to article

As pointed out here the guardian article didn't even take into account the consequences of super-phosphates on NZ waterways

If you trace a line in google earth then save it out as KML it will not have altitude data. This annoying because often GPS logs are not really accurate enough to make a nice map. I was the wanting to plot a section (elevation chart) from the traced KML. For example the site tracks.org.nz has a lot of these traced KML files on it.

It turns elevation data can be extracted via the google earth api. (god knows why its not written out to the KML in the first place). So I wrote a script to automate writing the elevation to KML files.

It needs the following to be already installed.

• python
• python-com (http://sourceforge.net/projects/pywin32/)
• pygoogleearth (http://code.google.com/p/pygoogleearth/) 

 

It seems the pygoogleearth project is a bit bung and requires a minor modification to work

Replace this line:

return gehelper.point_dict_from_terrain_point(terrain_point)

With this line:

return terrain_point

Script attached (rename to ele_lookup.py)

 

The script works by using the COM api in google earth and "drives" the camera round the course of the KML its kinda funny to watch. (for low values of "funny")

Recently Guardian Music Weekly covered Warp record's 20th Anniversary. I hadn't realised that so much stuff I listen to had a common record label.

• Aphex Twin
• Nightmares on Wax (great track African Pirates)
• Autechre
• Boards of Canada (best track Telephasic Workshop)
• Tim Exile (great track: Don't think we're one)

 

If electronica is your thing, listen to the podcast below

Did day night thriller 12hr race recently and incorporated a trip to Whakarewarewa mountain bike park in Rotorua.

Here is a sample of some tracks we rode in Rotorua.

Pondy
Billy-T
Split Enz

More later...

Here is my response to Don's music video post.

This talk is a good explanation of how the current economic crisis came about. In short, a big crash in the nineties was delayed by additional borrowing, now all that borrowing is catching up.