Alex Hallatt 12/23/20 Alex Hallatt 12/23/20

Happy Holidays and a Reason to be Cheerful (Puppy!)

I'm not sure how long this will last, given that everyone in New Zealand seems to have forgotten about the pandemic raging around the world, but we are still Covid free here and it is wonderful as we head into the summer holiday season.

It's a bit late for Christmas, but if you know someone who needs cheering up, or you would like to buy a fun book for your e-reader (because it is full colour, the print version is a bit pricey unless you want to REALLY treat yourself), Reasons to be Cheerful could be right up your alley.

Ebook: https://books2read.com/cheerfulreasons

(You can search your favourite bookshop for the print version using the ISBN: 9780473542542)

And finally, we have a wonderful reason to be cheerful in our house this week. We picked up a Jack Russell puppy. Her name is Molly.

Expect to hear more about her once I am back to sleeping normally.

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Alex Hallatt 11/30/20 Alex Hallatt 11/30/20

Illustrated Epistle Extract: Kayaking Abel Tasman in a Time of Covid

We hired a kayak from Abel Tasman Kayaks who have been in business since 1986. In 1996 I had tried to kayak with them but they were booked out. For days. But now the international tourists are gone. They’ve had to lay off 25 guides and they are one …

We saw another penguin and a ray, but no dolphins. Maybe they had been laid off because of Covid too… We were on a four day kayak/camping trip and our first night was at Te Pukatea Bay. We shared the beachside campground with two pairs of kayakers, …

The next day we continued north, leaving the day trippers behind. Our campsite for the next two nights was on the beach at Mosquito Bay. Nobody was there. No mosquitoes either. The only things to bother us were wekas. After a lot of pest control, we…

On the morning of a third day we woke to watch a dolphin and a pot of orcas swim past. I hope that the orcas were after the rays in the park. The weather was due to worsen, so we went on a quick paddle, made shorter by the sea becoming noticeably ch…

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Alex Hallatt 11/27/20 Alex Hallatt 11/27/20

Arctic Circle Comics - Artificial Intelligence Cartoons

Is artificial intelligence better than the regular kind?

Alex Hallatt 11/18/20 Alex Hallatt 11/18/20

Reasons to be Cheerful: Electric Bikes are Better Than Electric Cars

My new electric bicycle is a game changer. I had good intentions last year of cycling over to the beach and swimming and cycling back. I did it once. I was knackered. But now I can get there and back in two thirds of the time and not break a sweat. I’m looking forward to a great summer.

Although there is an environmental cost to manufacturing an electric bike and battery, it is a lot more environmentally friendly than an electric car.

But the great thing is I can charge the battery using my off grid solar panels in the studio. There is no way I would be able to charge an electric car up there!

More than 101 Reasons to be Cheerful are now in a book. Get it at your favourite book shop by giving them the ISBN, 978-0-473-54254-2, or click here to buy the ebook: https://books2read.com/cheerfulreasons