tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54877214822716468202024-02-08T12:57:19.371+11:00Urbane ScrumpingWhat was the question?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-67998489350809637322010-07-11T21:48:00.001+10:002010-07-11T21:50:05.433+10:00The curse of the internet (and Tasmania)<a href="http://blogs.abc.net.au/tasmania/2010/05/sustainable-transport-design-ideas-michael-hopkins.html">Fuck. </a><br /><br />I sound like a squirrel on a mixture of meth and nitrous oxide. <br /><br />Mind you, it was a nice day to spend in Hobart.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-10283566312610694242010-02-21T20:09:00.004+11:002010-02-21T20:33:46.838+11:00Fabulously Meeting FinbarStrange thing happened on the way to the opera, or might have, if I'd been going to the opera. I wasn't, but that didn't stop the strange thing happening. I got a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/">Flickr</a> mail from Sean, a former <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/sets/72157594388272609/show/">365 day challenge</a> comrade from Bracknell in the UK. Sean, aka <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar/">misterpulcri</a>*, and his lovely wife Paola, were in Melbourne following a flying visit to Wellington, and we arranged to catch up.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qm6bPjg_JF_-EfSQWps1tM3uVC3C8vQcLf3_TCtOOTOJLZHfhVYJJHv89NpJuYz2DuBftI8MLW080KNMjMAOd0lgPl6Rd8-kUcTWUeO4IFJ1ggICKlEAlFu8nSLwzaeQztiDLO5HrYU7/s1600-h/P1060946.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qm6bPjg_JF_-EfSQWps1tM3uVC3C8vQcLf3_TCtOOTOJLZHfhVYJJHv89NpJuYz2DuBftI8MLW080KNMjMAOd0lgPl6Rd8-kUcTWUeO4IFJ1ggICKlEAlFu8nSLwzaeQztiDLO5HrYU7/s400/P1060946.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440301229721338386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Tasting Will's rejected lemonade<br /><br /></span></div>We met and a beer or so in Victoria Street at the <a href="http://www.theaviary.com.au/">Aviary </a>on Victoria Street with a plan to wander down and get something to eat, probably Vietnamese, later. We wandered down the street after a couple of beers, looking for somewhere to eat. By industrial-size coincidence, Sean and Paola had eaten at our fave, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ccdoh1/">Thy Thy 1</a>, it having been mentioned in the Rough Guide. They were happy to go back, so we did. Hilarity ensued.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnD4KduC977bwsRdE6b67mFclIdmtpGocWa0zkHx_k7SwfEkNcioZZC_tZYHqLn_AtFVN_bj1qRcQzrXy99gxVoLUWznmP-bVnHNZF8zvCR0AC037VK_hu4OfP9xC_QUmGg2EoVeBrLk1/s1600-h/P1060965.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnD4KduC977bwsRdE6b67mFclIdmtpGocWa0zkHx_k7SwfEkNcioZZC_tZYHqLn_AtFVN_bj1qRcQzrXy99gxVoLUWznmP-bVnHNZF8zvCR0AC037VK_hu4OfP9xC_QUmGg2EoVeBrLk1/s400/P1060965.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440301213733075410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Paola has wonderful and very Italian hands.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXQOvQZuuACoVGNuBJsT0DGi6DZPJjM7aU5znwhb_cAivAI3ndLmC-bKAcKP79RdKj2tsyVIKcPEbll3H-oZUoFZGavj4Vyu0zkEFa4YtrwtrpIwqqHBE39chBRU0wKaKJyemyab6t-9c/s1600-h/P1060978.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXQOvQZuuACoVGNuBJsT0DGi6DZPJjM7aU5znwhb_cAivAI3ndLmC-bKAcKP79RdKj2tsyVIKcPEbll3H-oZUoFZGavj4Vyu0zkEFa4YtrwtrpIwqqHBE39chBRU0wKaKJyemyab6t-9c/s400/P1060978.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440298659313791762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Cain in reflection</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xkQzYm56Yw8APnQOvrlsuq7vrEvOwHjVdpeXk8Kb3LtTbuQxBCjoC-_XHlgF8cQVuD0qJQxwYViHa6Y9z_f3Tot0Z3TmKPG7rUK9Cpw_-9yxtEkaU-oUM8ihg45zKMwDU-VrR5Uz0C11/s1600-h/P1060945.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xkQzYm56Yw8APnQOvrlsuq7vrEvOwHjVdpeXk8Kb3LtTbuQxBCjoC-_XHlgF8cQVuD0qJQxwYViHa6Y9z_f3Tot0Z3TmKPG7rUK9Cpw_-9yxtEkaU-oUM8ihg45zKMwDU-VrR5Uz0C11/s400/P1060945.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440298639312747922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">He'll always be Finbar to me<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP97aALL6j7GrtORG_7f4PYLVikvmogZF4UjJHn6iFPZzGXXb2bdZnhnZtZXYPQ4w0dYrRCeOtiYcilydMWd7BZsnL3nijTiF_0igsmpLRg5NLuoDGNdz5xeaNpMRk6fsebWE5SdXyLWEM/s1600-h/P1060938.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP97aALL6j7GrtORG_7f4PYLVikvmogZF4UjJHn6iFPZzGXXb2bdZnhnZtZXYPQ4w0dYrRCeOtiYcilydMWd7BZsnL3nijTiF_0igsmpLRg5NLuoDGNdz5xeaNpMRk6fsebWE5SdXyLWEM/s400/P1060938.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440298622888998530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">A perfect moment</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo_pn5k7KHdf5waqKRwmsNHrxJ_lpnv9TkT2qTfAdXuOWPdg-DxUBBjziCjvRWM9_BmMtmJbH4LboLhKvT6YYeGa4xreXsN5wQ8O3wXXFp0BWQB_dm_SEZErQIO4sLki2sZz0mJPzTEMd/s1600-h/P1060934.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIo_pn5k7KHdf5waqKRwmsNHrxJ_lpnv9TkT2qTfAdXuOWPdg-DxUBBjziCjvRWM9_BmMtmJbH4LboLhKvT6YYeGa4xreXsN5wQ8O3wXXFp0BWQB_dm_SEZErQIO4sLki2sZz0mJPzTEMd/s400/P1060934.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440298612892549506" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The view from F's saucer</span><br /></div><br />Anyway, the food was great, but that wasn't the point. The salted quail were fantastic; Singapore Noodles with Lotso-Omelet<span style="font-size:78%;">(tm)</span>, nice wine and Mr W was very well behaved. But it was really about meeting someone I felt I knew, putting a voice to a face; and a sense of timing to a sense of humour. I had a great time.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-56704256309295097072010-02-15T21:53:00.003+11:002010-02-21T20:13:38.492+11:00Family goneMy grandmother died last month, which although it was expected was still upsetting. Upsetting less because she'll no longer be with us, which I've long known was always going to happen, and more because it made me think of all the other family connections that I've allowed to fall into disrepair.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/4358374639/" title="Family by Hopkinsii, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2780/4358374639_7366fed332.jpg" alt="Family" height="382" width="500" /></a><br /><br />This photo was taken by my mother's uncle Ron, and family consensus has it that it was taken either the day before or immediately after Kim and Glenys's wedding, which collective memory says was in Hamilton in 1972.<br /><br />I'm wearing the blue shorts, my sister Anita is in the glorious cape. My parents to the left (on screen), the groovy Kim and Glenys in the middle, grandparents to the right of centre (only in the photo), and Philip in the natty suit on the right.<br /><br />When I was young Kim was my hero, and still today I suspect we have a lot in common. We're very different in many ways, but I still look up to him, perhaps as one of the first adults I felt I could communicate with (and let's face it - that's never going to be a parent (he says, as a parent)). I also felt close to Glenys - they were both creative and were the grooviest people I knew. They separated years later (I was in my teens), and I haven't really kept up with either Kim and his partner Maggie or with Glenys. I regret that on both counts.<br /><br />And then, in the last five years, my own life became more complicated than I would have chosen. Except that I did choose it, because choosing simplicity meant choosing what was easy rather than what was right. I still agonise about my choices, and I assume I always will.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-55337016179171642792010-02-03T21:35:00.000+11:002010-02-03T21:36:18.997+11:00Food, in the other placeI posted about <a href="http://eatourwayuphighst.blogspot.com/2010/02/cooking-quail.html">food</a>, in the other <a href="http://eatourwayuphighst.blogspot.com/">place</a>.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-15486410515745986502010-01-07T22:35:00.002+11:002010-01-07T22:36:06.970+11:00An educational film about drugs<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.todaysbigthing.com/betamax/betamax.swf?item_id=2370&fullscreen=1" width="400" height="300"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" quality="best" value="http://www.todaysbigthing.com/betamax/betamax.swf?item_id=2370&fullscreen=1" /> </object><div style='padding:5px 0; text-align:center; width:480px;'>See more <a href='http://www.todaysbigthing.com/'>funny videos</a> and <a href='http://www.todaysbigthing.com/'>TBT Videos</a> at <a href='http://www.todaysbigthing.com/'>Today's Big Thing</a>.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-56356135220226229572009-12-12T23:27:00.003+11:002009-12-12T23:31:19.535+11:00Fun with noise<object height="250" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PA09bUXd1Eo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PA09bUXd1Eo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="250" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Guess what I made? A Doomsday Device from Get LoFi mounted in a cigar box.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-11833660903939254432009-12-02T19:23:00.001+11:002009-12-02T19:23:32.184+11:00Beatles 3000<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1925309&fullscreen=1" width="480" height="360"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" quality="best" value="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1925309&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1925309&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="480" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><div style="padding:5px 0; text-align:center; width:480px;">See more <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/videos">funny videos</a> and <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/pictures">funny pictures</a> at <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/">CollegeHumor</a>.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-13307726446938185402009-11-22T21:00:00.002+11:002009-11-22T21:02:03.270+11:00Animation - YonderWhile I'm thinking of stuff...<br /><br /><object width="380" height="214"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7400034&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7400034&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="380" height="214"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7400034">Yonder</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/jillemilia">Emilia</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-82524169160102687512009-11-05T18:42:00.001+11:002009-11-05T21:34:23.312+11:00Nick Sagan and the (occasional) joys of Stumbleupon.I <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/">Stumble </a>from time to time. I used to enjoy it, but recently I mostly get the latest meme and vast fields of shit. Weird architecture, tech rubbish, Russian photos, the occasional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat">lolcat</a>, computer mods and lots of atheist jokes all turn up, which probably says more about me than I'd happily reveal in one go. For most nights that involve staring at the <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_90_of_waking_hours_spent">glowing rectangle</a>, the first press of the Stumbleupon button signals the point at which I should have gone to bed. It usually happens at least an hour before I go to bed, sometimes more.<br /><br />Sometimes, just sometimes, I discover something that makes me feel something. It happened tonight, with <a href="http://nicksagan.blogs.com/nick_sagan_online/">Nick Sagan's blog</a>. "Sagan", as in son of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan">Carl</a>. And in particular, a <a href="http://nicksagan.blogs.com/nick_sagan_online/2006/12/dad.html">beautiful post</a> about his memories of his father.<br /><br />I saw "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage">Cosmos</a>*" when it was first aired by <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/">Auntie</a> and I was fourteen or fifteen and my dream was to be an astrophysicist. Yes, I remember the polo-neck and amusing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M">pronunciation</a>, but most of all I remember the sheer enthusiasm at the wonders the universe offered. To me, it was the only way anyone could feel about stars, the universe, physics and the future... Bursting with enthusiasm and joy was the only rational response, yet of all the people on telly, only Carl Sagan seemed to share that same bursting feeling.<br /><br />So thanks, Carl. And thanks Nick. And even thank you to a bit of browser-plug-in-software-meets-advertising-meets-social-networking in Stumbleupon for reconnecting me with the Sagans. Oh, and thanks to Youtube for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlpyGhABXRA&feature=related">something stupid</a>...<br /><br /><br />*Until reading the Wikipedia article on Cosmos, I didn't realise that Carl Sagan had modeled the show on "The Ascent of Man" by Jacob Bronowski - another show that introduced me to jaw-dropping, intelligent television. I now have torrented recordings of both and both still move me, unlike, say, "I Clavdivs" (he jests) of the same time, which looks ridiculous....Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-45409675230811036622009-11-03T22:17:00.005+11:002009-11-03T22:43:16.140+11:00Nexus-6<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIAg9QWF7xg2yveQIB7NBZvHTpsI6MW0VJqI3YmXpseKViX3uOI8ZCv_sNyQoD9xofDpL2AFy_BTxidMmqNekLl0FOJEkWuqk0f-2zsBtE51EAip1dN3BGKK4ytfDsQBban30zzlV-bs/s1600-h/P1050993.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIAg9QWF7xg2yveQIB7NBZvHTpsI6MW0VJqI3YmXpseKViX3uOI8ZCv_sNyQoD9xofDpL2AFy_BTxidMmqNekLl0FOJEkWuqk0f-2zsBtE51EAip1dN3BGKK4ytfDsQBban30zzlV-bs/s400/P1050993.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399837527688705170" border="0" /></a>I am not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicant">replicant</a>. The Nexus-6 t-shirt is nerdy, silly, obsessive and typical of me, but there is no way anyone would go to all the trouble and expense of genetically engineering a human to be the lounge lizard I am.<br /><br />If I was designing a replicant, she/he'd be able to talk about prog rock for anything up to two minutes; would make the perfect cup of tea; would love films by Terry Gilliam and the Coen Brothers; and would never shoot Harrison Ford. They'd make a brilliant vinaigrette; roll a neat joint and just *know* exactly what to do when setting up a tent.<br /><br />But I'm not a replicant, and no one else is either. Bummer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2C50zbslovxjV0REJ3M7f8glkgFwFNXD00nLRi9zcqQM8K9hSIlb6S3OB4z1eZI0anVnlD7O00f57jbV6bfeWVvmRbee39NM93mE3LpEME6kZga3rGp1xQeQdqqPWiiM5yIkcLL3Csd8/s1600-h/P1050986.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2C50zbslovxjV0REJ3M7f8glkgFwFNXD00nLRi9zcqQM8K9hSIlb6S3OB4z1eZI0anVnlD7O00f57jbV6bfeWVvmRbee39NM93mE3LpEME6kZga3rGp1xQeQdqqPWiiM5yIkcLL3Csd8/s400/P1050986.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399837244728365506" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a long Cup weekend over four days. I've done bugger all... Lots of short, functional trips (to the dry cleaners, printers, work to hang some pictures etc). <a href="http://eatourwayuphighst.blogspot.com/2009/11/night-at-home.html">I cooked </a>tonight, visited Mark and Bianca last night, helped Mark set up a blog, smoked and slept in this morning. I paid no attention to the Melbourne Cup and now I'm ready to go to bed.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-2928586271879371272009-11-03T12:31:00.004+11:002009-11-03T12:35:26.656+11:00Snatch WarsOK, I think I'm getting re-enthused by the concept of blogging. A modest start in sharing...<br /><br />Warning: Contains unequivocal language.<br /><br /><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kDKiQfBs9lo&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kDKiQfBs9lo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="225" width="360"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-88267335714973510652009-09-22T22:09:00.003+10:002009-09-22T22:11:07.403+10:00Marketing DisastersIs it just me, or is there something cruel about the banner/flag I saw flying in Sydney today (day trip) that said:<br /><blockquote>"Remember Dementia Awareness Week"?</blockquote>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-51206379507375843092009-09-20T14:34:00.000+10:002009-09-20T14:35:48.370+10:00Nudge this!<object width="390" height="400"><param name="movie" value="http://embed.inudge.net/nudge.swf"><param name="wmode" value="window"><param name="FlashVars" value="id=13g"><embed src="http://embed.inudge.net/nudge.swf" flashvars="id=13g" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" width="390" height="400"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-27323691591515576892009-08-29T10:24:00.003+10:002009-08-29T10:37:47.363+10:00Going to leave this blog along for a bit...While I was away I realised how much time I either was, or needed, to spend on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZC67wXUTs">intertubes </a>to do justice to this blog, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZC67wXUTs">other </a>blog, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/">flickr </a>and now <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/hopkinsii">youtube</a>. Flickr is still my first priority (it's the photos, stupid), and vids will be uploaded from time to time. <div><br /></div><div>I'm going to give this blog a rest for a while. Writing will be limited to comments on flickr and <a href="http://eatourwayuphighst.blogspot.com/">food</a>. So there you go.</div><div><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-64634475947374124412009-08-16T21:16:00.001+10:002009-08-16T21:17:26.734+10:00HomeI got home a few hours ago. Little to put into words at this point (even compared to the little of the last few weeks), but at least I have some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/hopkinsii">video</a>.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-79470131844263063982009-08-04T10:03:00.001+10:002009-08-04T10:06:06.792+10:00Whatever happened to...No postings for a while. Net access has not been great and I haven't been able to upload photos.<div><br /></div><div>More importantly, I've been focussing on photo and video and haven't really wanted to write for fear of devoting too much of my holiday to recording that holiday...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Photos are <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/sets/72157621741913904/">here </a>and videos will be uploaded when I get home.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-36156244254743387302009-07-25T18:41:00.002+10:002009-07-25T18:57:35.076+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day Six<b>Monday (20 July)</b> started with a trip to Reptile Centre so Will could see the thorny devils, his favourite reptile. While the Reptile Centre screams "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Pissweak</span> World - Come and See the Amazing Bungalow!" from the outside, inside the reptiles are plentiful and fascinating. Will got to see thorny devils, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lis</span>, Emmy and I got to handle an Olive Python and we all fondled lizards. Lots of fun.<div><br /></div><div>In the afternoon, Em, Will, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lis</span> and I drove down the Ross River Highway, stopping at Emily Gap, Jessie Gap and finally <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Trephina</span> Gorge to see the eastern part of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Macdonnell</span> Ranges. I almost ran over a bearded dragon, which let me pass over it and then ran off, and did hit some sort of pigeon-like bird which exploded into a mess of feathers. Oh dear.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-23689216673589605492009-07-25T18:23:00.003+10:002009-07-25T18:40:58.278+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day Five<b>Sunday (19 July)</b> was the drive from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Coober</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Pedy</span> to Alice Springs. It was a swift, efficient drive, with little to see except the barren, beautiful emptiness of the landscape. After six or so hours the space between my ears was as empty as the scenery. I had expected the desert to become more intense, more empty as we headed north but the opposite was true. The land around <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Coober</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Pedy</span> (and the Breakaways in particular) is the nadir of life in the desert, and as we drove towards Alice Springs the vegetation slowly returned as the red of the soil and sand became more intense.<div><br /></div><div>Lovely to see everyone again, and we spent the evening on Anzac Hill overlooking the town. Alice Springs is nestled behind the Macdonnell Ranges, raw layers of stone pushed up from one of the angrier circles of Hell. </div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-27007164521353131222009-07-18T16:08:00.006+10:002009-07-25T17:54:58.536+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day Four<div>OK, so obviously a whole lot of catching up to do....</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>Saturday (18 July)</b> was spent in Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy and its surrounds are well and truly where dead things go to die some more. It's hard not to use the phrase "<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3740372559/">post apocalyptic</a>" once you've seen it, or the Mad Max films shot in the region, so I won't use it. Emily and I spent the morning visiting an underground mine, some underground <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3741686807/">churches</a>, the underground everything else before returning to our underground hotel. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-monospace; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3741029278/" title="Our hotel at Coober Pedy by Hopkinsii, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2603/3741029278_496ef67d3e.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Our hotel at Coober Pedy" /></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Coober Pedy is The Land That Town Planning Forgot, which actually contributes in a major way to its charm. Some blocks are houses, mines, industrial sites and tourist locations all rolled into one. Large scale mining equipment is everywhere, as are piles of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3741279334/">industrial refuse</a>. It's a boys town.</div><div><br /></div><div>After some faffing about, we jumped in the car and drove through the Breakaways, about 50kms to the East of Coober Pedy. And now is the time to whip out that "post apocalyptic" phrase I spurned earlier. Some of the country here not only looks post-apocalyptic, it looks like its been through several apocalypses, a handful of deathly visitations, a whole handcart of hells and has passed through end times at least twice. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3742462212/">Eerie</a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3742462212/"> white and ochre sandstone</a> rises from the plain which is devoid of vegetation and covered in sharp, broken rocks. And in the middle, a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3741626981/">dingo fence</a>. I thought of my father fencing in King Lake, where a team of four can do 200 metres a day, and look at a small section of over 4000kms of fence. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: -webkit-monospace; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3741475152/" title="Dingo Fence by Hopkinsii, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2443/3741475152_c121bf6bd8.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="Dingo Fence" /></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:-webkit-monospace;font-size:13px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopkinsii/3740556195/" title="Breakaways by Hopkinsii, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3740556195_e4b5489643.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Breakaways" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:-webkit-monospace;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div>Saturday night we went to Coober Pedy's best Greek restaraunt (I know, that's far too obvious a set up). It was good.</div></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-86163172384187473692009-07-18T15:57:00.006+10:002009-07-18T18:31:49.997+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day Three<div style="text-align: left;">Day Three starts with the laughable pomposity of North Adelaide and finishes among the utes and four wheel drives of Coober Pedy. North Adelaide reminds us that Adelaide is the town that gave us Alexander Downer, the man whose ambition was surely fulfilled as head prefect.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Friday started early, and we did well to get off to an early start. Out of Adelaide before 9.00am and well on the road northwards. The country is a lush verdant green near Adelaide, but becomes more and more scrubby until there is just saltbush and the occasional mulga tree growing from the dry, red soil.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8figk2rGfzdSXRQdLTVQDmTW0CT7U7LSLZWg8P0ByUIp1wdeOwd-OafY6I-Be2CO74tLAY5UhlxN6ET26ADrcXd_fasQhho1ZC2Ui21q0wRyHa4w4Oq2JeC8FqpDppVfoA50Hvr_Gs1U/s400/DSC08597.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359682852647082386" /></div><div>The transition from pasture to scrub was gradual, a point emphasised by the orderly saltbush farm, where clipped saltbush was grown in neat rows. Who can tell? Trees coming and going, always red dust-like soil, occasionally a smattering of dead grass.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Wildlife highlight was seeing a Wedge Tailed Eagle eating a road kill kangaroo</div><div><br /></div><div>Port Pirie an interesting port town and I'm disapointed I didn't get too close to the port. Port Augusta, on the other hand, must have been hidden in a ditch.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnG1CWBMeVoICLAkBhbeCyIvLl4ixAjhV-htuurofG4nn-7M6GAebizLd8BSXU4_LcUe14kKpmNA-UsZRODPoQJkWVligQcCQsNLL1CiD8f93jKb0r_O3biIVIKtYvi2SRYvm56VebQk/s400/DSC08599.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359682847491186722" /></div><div>There was much laughter in the car - enjoying just doing stuff together.</div><div><br /></div><div>We got into Coober Pedy in the dark. The hotel, like much of the town, is dug out. The woman at front desk was wonderful, helpful suggestions - Emily points out all the good places to go that she’s been to here before…</div><div><br /></div><div>We had dinner in Cobber Pedy's pizza place - Friday night is busy. Miners, locals, tourists… staff harried. Decided against the "Coat of Arms" pizza with both emu and kangaroo sausage.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over dinner more joking, merriment. Emily hadn't realised the shed at our house used to be stables, and thought there must have been a small door hidden behind the washing machine - it would only be big enough for an evil, mini pony… Discussed turning the backyard into a bog, because Emily wanted a pony, a bog and scooter. I didn't understand either.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-71457156264498057992009-07-16T15:01:00.016+10:002009-07-18T15:57:29.654+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day Two<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6xuou4HkpkGd222aovXufdgTJatIkzJTbBYT_Aqb3SiVL1uFH6r2Ze9ZHTeqxnf6vm0LkgBBq-cvKxOf0sIS3oNnLOjtdKDBLDSWwQpYeN5E8oO48YiH8v2enk3wWP8jHwV4Y9EWqZk/s1600-h/DSC08543.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6xuou4HkpkGd222aovXufdgTJatIkzJTbBYT_Aqb3SiVL1uFH6r2Ze9ZHTeqxnf6vm0LkgBBq-cvKxOf0sIS3oNnLOjtdKDBLDSWwQpYeN5E8oO48YiH8v2enk3wWP8jHwV4Y9EWqZk/s400/DSC08543.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358946556078959442" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">Emmy and I had an early start this morning and were out of the hotel by 8.00am, which is unheard of for us, especially any combination involving Em. We walked up to the market, wandered around, had coffee, bought some things for lunch with a plan to eat them at the zoo.</div><div><br /></div><div>I really like Adelaide market, in part because it reflects my broader perceptions of the city. It's an extremely neat, compact and well-ordered market with an obvious German influence. Pork can be found in many of its forms, mostly smoked and often fatty. We bought some double-smoked kassler to have as part of lunch and it was glorious. Charcuterie (or whatever the Germanic equivalent is) is also frequently blessed with humorous double-entendre names - Bung Fritz, Smoked Knobs - just fantastic.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Like many atheists, the only really convincing argument I've heard for the possibility of divine intervention is bacon. Surely, the logic goes, something SO perfect is proof that divine perfection is not only plausible, it is necessary to explain bacon, kassler, the German pork tradition and any number of glorious Vietnamese dishes that use every part of the pig except the squeal.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>In any event, much pig was on display, and lo, I almost prayed.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEE7QJ3cn-eEG8tdR_pJMV6RtX9mpjtA0VTWCuRsEvGlS7FkhHRXdjbKEgyvdzKeJVmA6xHE0adYEiZtE0N9SYyWimLyHaInxiclOL7N2MxcA3YKCkywlwKgdoO0ajPEKwkatZRz0gqTY/s400/DSC08556.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358922255666356290" /><div style="text-align: left;">After a longer-than-intended walk around the park around the Adelaide CBD, we went to the zoo at Emily's suggestion. We took our booty of kassler, a baguette, a soft cheese and a sheep's milk cheese rubbed in rosemary, some olives and muscatels. Yeah, life on holiday is real tough....</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSX4WAVTvEYE9ywr5plYGG4g0Yhj1ihciXPSfaE8Kxb9Vv5Oppp5kGlKTSu_9i_79qvFvDmPhpD64vY9LHnxXFXKklkwOCCW_6Y_I_ugfhOt4O_pSJ7YrEuMyO_7Jgy31IOc36siZgHRg/s400/DSC08530.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358946549057110338" /></div><div>Adelaide reminds me a lot of Canberra, or rather that should be the other way around. In retrospect (after almost ten years in the ACT), Canberra looks in many ways like it was modelled on Adelaide. Adelaide's a pretty, low-rise city that's kept much of its late nineteenth century architecture, albeit on a smaller scale than the lavish, almost pompous gold-rush funded edifices of Melbourne, Ballarat and Bendigo, for example. Ordered without being sterile, pretty without being quaint, but also spread out that means there isn't a lot of concentrated activity.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A few hours lounging around the hotel reading, writing this and editing today's video, and soon we'll walk further up Gouger St to have dinner. And tomorrow we drive to Coober Pedy....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A link to today's video is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp80_jmg2L4">here</a>.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-14254091721010405782009-07-16T14:46:00.013+10:002009-07-16T15:19:21.615+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day One (Continued...)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcW7oRfm5lVUkK0eEAWDp50sHdW98cChXhhDLt1cW2Nk39AHPLRbmsDL9cshDZWPcz4fYQjyN89FDQL1aRnp2YIRzXWKJ41LQMFWxLkfUfta9qGsmdGdvEL08fgx26nlso2UtX4iQlQo/s1600-h/DSC08515.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcW7oRfm5lVUkK0eEAWDp50sHdW98cChXhhDLt1cW2Nk39AHPLRbmsDL9cshDZWPcz4fYQjyN89FDQL1aRnp2YIRzXWKJ41LQMFWxLkfUfta9qGsmdGdvEL08fgx26nlso2UtX4iQlQo/s400/DSC08515.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358920605124056658" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">S</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">o Day One was the drive from Melbourne to Adelaide. Mostly uneventful, but longer than I'd anticipated with a detour to Halls Gap, a walk to Silverband Falls and noodles for lunch in Ararat.</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:10px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig630rZtIZTp0-saZuQ8jpyxJej5tyz0vdN8vAIpMgAXRcJmSkaae-GJRfGoVndCPWX83j5mdaOi236bkvJD6Pyv7cmo6_VU9wDGvayBVtskkXec0PvEKGGz43VApElHYdAdToxqdN730/s400/DSC08520.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358920597464304210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The drive was generally ok, but it did start raining pretty heavily between Bordertown and Adelaide, and the truck traffic was pretty manic.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The day looked a lot like </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChzY8QCClb8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">this</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></div></span>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-78859817947169510422009-07-15T07:19:00.002+10:002009-07-15T07:32:31.373+10:00Darwin by Hybrid - Day OneToday we leave for the top end. More to come.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-50822513511942571572009-07-10T21:41:00.000+10:002009-07-10T21:43:22.295+10:00DisclaimerPlease note that this page does not hosts or makes available any of the listed filenames. You cannot download any of those files from here.<br /><br />This list is automatically generated from a “.torrent” file which is simply metadata for the bittorrent protocol.<br /><br />You cannot download the “.torrent” file from here either. We don’t even cache it. If you are lucky the “.torrent” file might still be available on the pages where we found it. There is a list of URLs on top of this page where you might want to start your search. Those domains are completely independent; we have absolutely no control over them.<br /><br />Please don’t blame us if your monitor explodes.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5487721482271646820.post-77939450176132716592009-07-06T21:26:00.003+10:002009-07-06T21:34:28.221+10:00AdvertisingFrom a commercial I saw the other day for furniture:<br /><blockquote>"Turn obsessions into possessions."</blockquote>In other words, "we'll help establish a desire within you for something you don't need, and then let you buy it. Aren't you lucky?"Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08653925559083008022noreply@blogger.com1