A new dimension, a find

I discovered the game 'Evo Explores' on miniclip.com and after about three or four nights straight where I kept playing from the beginning each night, I finally got to the end. The only time I needed help was on the first 'chapter' of level 14 where I just couldn't figure out how to press the button.

My God, it's a great game because it really makes you work mentally. Perspective and patterns and rotating and buttons. The colours pull you in, the design is clean and smooth.

Level 13, I think it's the first part, which is cool. I didn't find it hard myself.

It's hard to describe the game, it really is something you have to experience. I think I may try 'Evo Explores 2' if I can and 'Monument Valley' (I think that's its name): I read a comment 'Evo Explores' is a rip-off of 'Monument Valley'.

I'm not installing on my phone or paying to play I'm sorry.

But I did see the cost and downloads of a game in my app store and thought if the total amount of money goes to you and nothing is deducted for tax, that's not bad. Or even with tax, it's still a large enough amount of money.

Maybe I will go back to "Motherload", I don't know.

Not to take the spotlight from 'Evo Explores' away but 'Little Big Planet' on PlayStation is an awesome game too.

- A.M.

Death by water and on the road

Congratulations New Zealand: a high holiday death toll on the road, deaths and injuries related to water and now I bet a lot of you are talking about the heat.

I'm fairly certain most if not all of the deaths and injuries were preventable but New Zealand has a driving problem in the sense there are too many deaths. And a dangerous drinking culture.

As for the heat, really? That's nice. Too hot? Go stand under a tree for ten minutes or less; and be thankful you don't have 90% humidity. Heat is fine, humidity is not. I actually wrote a post about this, https://welcometohighonlifeandtravel.blogspot.com/2021/06/heat-and-humidity.html.

I remember feeling it once. It was high 20s at the least and I could feel "oh my God it's so hot I'm not going to work or move I'm just going to lie on my bed otherwise I'll die." Really? Then don't ever go to Cambodia or Australia or Africa where they're used to more than 30° Celsius. Also, be thankful NZ basically has no humidity. Hong Kong is 'nice' at 70%, but you have to get used to 80-90%.

Climate change you can control to an extent, but in general there's not much you can do when the mercury hits 30° and you just have to deal with it. However, I am sure you do not have to drive drunk and/or speed and/or have to get to your destination that urgently and/or do it with drugs in your system. That is entirely preventable. You get one life. If your heart stops, you die. You do not get a second chance. If you're brain dead, you cannot look after yourself, literally. Is it really worth the risk?

It's not just about you either. It's about the impact your death will have on others. I know you might not think of that when you get behind the wheel. But it doesn't mean your death won't impact other people.

Yes, the pandemic. Yes, Summer. I don't know if the pandemic is an excuse or reason. In any case, it doesn't matter. You are still taking a risk and you are still dead.

For as long as I lived in Aotearoa and as much as I know about it, drinking and people dying on the road has been a problem. That has more of a social effect than smoking for me: you don't die if you smoke a few cigarettes then drive home; you will likely not hit someone because you've been smoking whereas the risk is higher if you've been drinking. Smoking or not smoking will not cause you to get injured by water-related situations or die by drowning. Not being able to swim can cause drowning, not understanding the water and yourself can cause injuries and death.

Pain and love are some of the strongest emotions humans feel. If you can prevent pain, it's better.

- A.M.

The 'work from home' dynamic and possible future

Fifth Harmony's "Work from home" may have been funny at the beginning of the pandemic and even played purely to dance to, but around two years since China announced the as yet unnamed appearance of covid-19, formerly known as the "Wuhan virus", many, many people are over working from home and lockdowns.

I myself have only worked from home for one calendar month since January 2020 and I think that was because the government, and by extension my employer, weren't completely sure of covid's properties then. After we were back in office there was a large cluster so us working from home definitely wasn't related to case numbers. So I'm lucky.

We also had a strong typhoon while we were working from home but of course we didn't get paid extra because we didn't need to travel.

For the almost negligible amount of time I worked from home, I enjoyed it. Also, everything I needed was in close proximity. My job is one I leave at the office door too, which I think helps in this pandemic where the professional and personal life lines have blurred for many.

I don't think working from home purely as something that has come about from the pandemic will pick up for some jobs. Why? In-person is tangible and builds better relationships and overall health for all parties. In any case, the employer will want regular in-person check-ins. Humans by and large are traditional and in this case that means they have been working mostly in-person for years, it's familiar.

Technology can fail. It can fail in-office too but then you're less likely to get distracted in-office while you wait for it to be fixed than at home.

Ideally, I think many people who have sufficient experience working from home due to the pandemic would agree a separate room for work is preferable. And one per employed person. Which then means you might need to rent/buy a place with one or two rooms specifically to work. And one spare room for isolation purposes. Which not everyone can afford and indicates possibly what needs to be done on a general population level and for the general population going forward. Do we need living spaces with home offices for each person and a room for isolation purposes? If yes, that is new buildings governments have to build for people to live in.

An interesting note: being single and/or alone often seems to be something to be sad about if you're the subject and/or the subject should be pitied. Not being romantically involved and/or living alone seems to be the safest way to live right now to avoid catching covid-19 at home if you don't live with family/flatmates/a friend(s). I mean if you happen to not be romantically involved and/or happen to live alone. And if you feel safe being around strangers and do meet someone from a romantic point of view, it may be easier to go out to eat, the movies etc. as less people is preferable.

Covid-19 has had negative and positive impacts on all relationships.

One 'positive' I see is because it is a pandemic, millions of people have a general collective experience they can understand; and hopefully learn about cleanliness, the importance of the healthcare sector, the importance of teaching etc. SARS impacted Hong Kong the most; Ebola in 2014 Sierra Leone, mad cow disease in the UK (I think). Covid-19 is a connection millions have to varying degrees, but many from different places will be able to talk about mask-wearing, travel restrictions, vaccines etc.

Bisous.

- A.M.