Northland adventures

Hobbits aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy New Zealand’s amazing landscapes. In October, we took up lodging in Ahipara, about 4 hours northwest of Auckland, in the remote Northland. Ahipara is a surfing destination, a bit boring, but it’s a great base for exploring far more interesting and beautiful places up thataway.

Signs of the times

When people ask me why I moved to New Zealand, I have all sorts of canned answers. Today, I have a very concrete and unique one: because the scale of things here allows thinkers to wrap their heads around complexity at the level of society. American society, especially when you get into urban planning, regulatory…

New Zealand, defy your government

It is astonishing to me that New Zealand’s parliament, by a vote of 107-10, today increased the powers of the SIS, or Security Intelligence Service. They used the World Rugby Cup as a catalyst for this. The powers include improved ability to deal with high-tech communications like computers and mobile phones. In short, they have…