That's my 21st blood/plasma donation done. I try and give plasma every month now because it's in short supply. It takes a bit longer but you get more snacks. I just stick a podcast on and the time flies by.

Sky is lookng weird in Auckland. Everything is tied down. Torches and lanterns are charged. Stay safe folks.

AOC: “This is a threat of genocide & merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing & cannot be trusted. To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat”

Busy night at the chippie. Fish on Good Friday is obviously still a thing.

I think the winner of the #GreatHXBHunt might actually be these that I made today from a Recipe Tin Eats recipe.

Another great chat. I learn something new every time we record one of these interviews. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.

EASTER SALE! Stuff's slow and everyone needs a treat, so I've popped a sale up on my store :3 🐝 All tees are 10% off 🐝 Enamel pins are 20% off 🐝 Stickers are buy 3 get 1 free <3 pepperraccoon.com

Tonight I sat outside one of my favourite pubs with a hugely varied crowd, talking about all sorts of shit. It was fucking awesome. Pubs rule.

My first visit to Takapuna Surf Club Bar tonight. A lot of money has been spent, but they seem to have got the most important thing right - the staff were excellent. Attentive but not pushy, friendly but switched on. Asahi have put Balter beer in, but there were some local options too.

Fairly serious flooding on Fanshawe Street by Victoria Park in Auckland. Buses are getting through but I wouldn't chance it in a car.

Power went out while I was in the shower this morning, which was a bit awkward. Then had to brute-force the garage door to get wife's car out, and it won't close afterwards, so there's an expensive callout. Great start to the day.

An excellent, if long, day at 16Tun in Tāmaki Makaurau acting as head judge for the Rare Beer Challenge. Sixteen interesting and creative beers brewed to support Rare Disorders NZ. The remaining beers will be on tap over the weekend, so I encourage you to go and try them.

Another awesome chat.

This time of year is amongst my favourites for dog walking. Yes, we have to go out in the dark but we get to see the sunrise over Rangitoto.

Happy St Guinness' Day for all those who celebrate.

I've been writing about beer again: hoppiness.co.nz/beers-a-plen...

Warriors fans all checking the price of flights to Sydney in October today, for no apparent reason.

Next Friday I'll be Head Judge at the Rare Beer Challenge, to be held at 16Tun in Auckland (some beers also at Malthouse in Wellington) and benefiting Rare Disorders NZ. I've been looking at the entry forms today and there are some wild and wacky beers. Get on down there and try them.

One of the best times of the year!

Hot cross bun #4 of the season (#3 was a rather forgettable effort from Pak & Save Albany) is from Dusty's Depot, with thanks to @twistedlogic.bsky.social. Nice texture, excellent spice, could have used a bit more fruit. Very good though. #TheGreatHXBHunt

Up with the larks to light the smoker for my mum's 80th birthday party. I love the peace and tranquility of pottering about on the deck in the pre-dawn light. The dog is most confused, however. Why are we not going for a walk??

Up the Wahs! What a game! We also managed to surprise my mum on her 80th birthday weekend by flying in the daughter of her best friend (who sadly passed away a year ago) to meet us at the game.

For any fellow Firefly geeks who are not on the Instagram, there has been a series of short videos with Nathan Fillion turning up at the houses/workplaces of fellow cast-members (Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite etc.) and saying something along the lines of "It's time". Hype levels peaking

Second hot cross bun of the year: another supermarket one, this time from New World Long Bay (who have an excellent bakery, their donuts are legendary). Tasty, but too fluffy. HXBs need to be a bit dense. Also too big to fit in the toaster without squishing. #TheGreatHXBHunt

The best thing about gigs at the Powerstation is pre-loading in Galbraith's beforehand.

Heading into town to see Transvision Vamp at the Powerstation. I first saw the band during my first week at Uni in, er, 1988. Like many teenage boys, I had a poster of Wendy James on my wall. She's now 60. It would appear I am old.

Hard to beat a full English for lunch.

I've really been looking forward to this episode. @totalcurtis.bsky.social does a great job with these podcasts and it's a fascinating topic.

Keep going. Trump next, please. Former UK ambassador to US Peter Mandelson arrested www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

First hot cross buns of the season: Woolworths own brand traditional. Not bad for a supermarket HXB. Bit on the small side. Any recommendations? Anyone suggesting Fruitless will be instantly blocked. #TheGreatHXBHunt

Tasty bowl of corn chowder for dinner. A bit of effort but worthwhile. With bacon, of course.

Now do Trump

Ooh, the sex offender formerly known as Prince Andrew arrested on his birthday. We CAN have nice things, it seems.

The latest episode of our podcast is now live. Martin went to Mount Maunganui to chat with Pawel, head brewer at Mount Brewing, about his brewing journey and the upcoming celebration of 30 years of Mount Brewing. Listen wherever you get your podcasts: linktr.ee/third.pint.t...

Another plasma donation done. The center was fairly quiet tonight. I encourage more people to sign up.

I really wish the RNZ app would respect my notification preferences. I have it set to Breaking News only. "What should I put in my grab bag?" is not that.

We don't currently have a Facebook page for our podcast (@thirdpinttheory.bsky.social) and I'm trying to figure out if I should be setting one up. We have Instagram and Bluesky, but I'm keen to get more feedback and engagement so do I need to set up FB? Does anyone still use that?

It's a bit blowy in Auckland

I'm making smashburgers today, so yesterday I went to get some beef mince from the supermarket. The cheapest beef mince (which is what I want, coz of the fat content) was 19 bucks a kilo! Brisket was the same price so I bought that instead. Ran it through the mincer with some streaky bacon.

A unique piece of UK brewing history has been saved by one of England's best breweries. Excellent story, beautifully told.

Thank fuck for the fucking kākāpō. Check out this article from The Spinoff: Good news: It’s kākāpō fuck season thespinoff.co.nz/science/13-0...

Batten down the hatches, Auckland friends. It feels like the weather is turning to shit.

Pepper makes the best t-shirts. Great designs and super-comfy.

I finally made the viral doner kebab recipe/technique that's been all over my YouTube feed for the last few weeks. Yup, it works. Will make again. But do not, I repeat, do not use Lebanese bread from Pak&Save. Loses all structural integrity during the wrapping process. Where to find good lavosh?

Despite the slight cloud cover, I just watched the ISS fly over Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

We watched the first four episodes of Wonder Man tonight. I haven't been so emotionally invested in a Marvel TV series before, and it has been quite a while since a Marvel movie elicited a similar response. Sir Ben Kingsley is a bloody marvel (pun definitely intended).

For some reason, our latest podcast episode did not post to Apple Podcasts correctly yesterday. It's there now: podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/b... Also available on Spotify, YouTube and other places via the RSS feed: linktr.ee/third.pint.t...

Appropriate attire for a Waitangi Day dogwalk #ToitūTeTiriti

Another fun interview to do. Scotty is a legend.

My wife and I both do Birdle every morning. The initial image is always way more blurry and monochrome on my phone. No idea why.