No, I am not kidding. The Press reports:

New Zealand’s spy agency, the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), wants universities to alert the SIS to any illicit science relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

SIS director Dr Warren Tucker met the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee (NZVCC) and sent university managers a letter and a brochure called A Guide to Weapons of Mass Destruction: Your Role in Preventing Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Well that makes me sleep better at night.

Large, heavy projectiles will be hurtling through the air at Longbush later this month powered by weapons of medieval destruction.

It has always been Mike and Lara Ferguson’s grand plan to buy some land in the country and create their own historical village and now they are starting to turn that dream into a reality. In just over a week they will be hosting the Longbush Fling when historical re-enactors will converge on their 64 acre property and enjoy a weekend through the ages.

A key member of the Roman artillery group 22AD, Murray Hill, is bringing his powerful ballistics machines, which will be a feature of the event. His trebuchets and catapults can fire lethal objects with devastating accuracy- when he gets his eye in. The Wellington Rifles are coming and the Order of the Boar is planning to be there too.

Mike and his friends have built an authentic Roman fort complete with a moat and ramparts. There are other structures in the valley including medieval marquees and an authentic ancient building under construction. Mike and Lara helped build a timber frame out of English green oak using traditional methods and they shipped it back from Britain.

I’ve played with some of Murray’s machines and they are indeed accurate. Should be a fun place to visit for those in Wairarapa at the weekend.