Amazing Encounter with the Amazing Race

A couple of days ago I found myself in the middle of a TV spectacular, by accident.

There's a TV programme called *The Amazing Race*usually filmed out of the US, where teams of two race each other around the world, following clues, and performing tasks. First home win US$1000000!!

We watch it here because of the interesting places that the teams visit, and the sights they see, and a couple of times they have been through New Zealand very briefly.

On Monday the wife and I with our two homestay students were taking a winter break and driving towards the town of Rotorua, when we took a tea stop in a town called Tirau. This town is famous for its information centre, which is a huge corrugated iron sheepdog, with an equally large sheep next door.

We stopped to fill with petrol next to the dog, and were amazed to see camera crews racing around, filming pairs of people who were also filling up identical Ford Territory cars.

Suddenly the penny dropped!! - there were the famous yellow and black clue envelopes being ripped open, and we were in the middle of the Race.

I paid for my fuel, and as I walked away one of the girls asked me some directions, so I finished up signing a waiver, and may well make a walk-on appearance in the programme - what a buzz!!

A little later we found ourselves at the Blue Lake in Rotorua, where there was a setup for one of their tasks - it'll be interesting to see what it looks like.

Special Asian edition we think - may screen around Christmas

MV3 - the machine

I just spent a week with MV3.

Lying in the dark watching the operating head wheel in the gloom like a telescope, lying on my table with padded legs and headrest, like some astronomer on his couch.

Watching laser beams align, assistants call out calibrations, setting up.

But this is no glimpse of the Cosmos - this is almost time travel.

MV3 is (I think) a cavity magnetron.

It will push electrons and neutrons (if it needs) through my tissues as if they aren't there, easing bone pain, untrapping nerve endings, reducing lesions.

Giving me some relief - some hope - a little extra time.

Bless you MV3.