Pitcher Perfect

To cheer and support Nathan, some friends and I recently attended one of his baseball games. However when his team was a player short, i was handed the spare uniform and cap.

A friend took this photo of the two of us, and i played with the colour scheme to give it that 1920's "Babe Ruth" kind of feel.

ps. for the record, i fielded the ball twice, and had two turns at bat - struck out once, and made first base once.

Southbank Sunset

Some photos you plan - some just happen. At the last minute i'd decided to catch the ferry instead of the train, and we approached southbank just as the sun was going down behind it.

ps. i know physics people will tell me that the sun can't set in the south ... i guess there's some poetic licence in the name ... "west-southwestbank" just wouldn't be as catchy.

Horror-gami

I'm sure when the Japanese invented the art of paper-folding, this is not what they had in mind.

If you type in "origami brisbane" into Google, the first hit you get is a post by my friend Naomi. So when a local kids tv programme needed origami assistance for an episode - a quick internet search gave them their 'local expert'.

After a small-scale practice, some 3 and 4-person folds, and the struggles of handling 2 square metres of paper - our oversized crane was ready for its tv debut.

Monster House

Some friends and I caught the 3D version of 'Monster House' - my first 3D movie in quite a while. Gone are the days of coloured cellophane and cardboard glasses. These days we look less like moviegoers, and more like contestants in a Roy Orbison look-alike competition.

So to complete the look, i made a black and white version (just incase you're running such a competition ;) This is our entry...

The Invisible Bike

This was originally an attempt at getting a dusk photo of the city view from my friend's balcony. Obviously a fairly long exposure time was needed - and during this time a motorbike sped past.

While the bike was too quick for the camera, it did leave a trail of light from it's headlight and taillight. (You can click on the photo for a larger image)

Riverfire

This is Daymon and I at 'Riverfire'. I tried to take some photos that included actual fireworks - but the attempts just provided more evidence that i am really not very good. Fortunately, Daymon got a reasonable shot (although it does look a bit like something exploded out of the back of my head ;)

Exterminate!

You know recycling is going well when even the bins themselves have been recycled. I'm not sure whether this one used to be a Dalek from Doctor Who, or the Rocket Clock from Playschool.

Again, this is a photo from a bike ride. In fact, the same ride as the one where i found myself - courtesy of a helpful map.

Green and Gold

During the World Cup, friends came around to my house to watch some matches, and to celebrate Australia's Socceroos even being in the World Cup.

This is Nate and myself enjoying my own special brew of green and gold lemonade. It may have been during the Australia-Japan match, but i'm not quite sure.

Where Would We Be Without Maps?

If you know me, you'll know that I can't resist the obvious (and usually not terribly funny) joke. So naturally I couldn't help but do this picture of a map stating the seemingly obvious. For those playing along at home, this was taken (during a bike ride) at the entrance to a park in West End.

Oh, and if you're wondering where my eyes disappeared to ... it was an incredibly sunny day ... which is great for a bike ride, but not great for having your photo taken looking into the sun!

A Balloon Bird in a Park Tree

In my local park, someone had kindly gone around making balloon animals and placing them around the place. The highlight was this bird placed in the tree.

I'm not exactly sure what type of bird it is. I'm thinking 'toucan', but that may be from eating too many froot loops as a kid. If you have an opinion feel free to comment.

It's All a Blur

You may have noticed that blogs tend to have a photo of their writer. My pic is not that crash hot, so i set my camera on a bookshelf - to take a photo of myself (using the timer function).

As i grabbed the camera off the shelf, one finger landed on the trigger and the result is this "action" photo featuring part of the lounge room.

Under the Bridge

Brisbane people might recognise this as being the Storey Bridge. I took this shot on a recent bike ride with a friend. Good teamwork is when one person has a camera, and another person has an artistic eye for what might be a good shot. Clearly, I am the person with the camera ;)

While this photo 'should' be turned 90 degrees, i have left it horizontal as i think it makes a reasonable desktop picture. To get the fullsize version, just click on the small one (which i guess you could call the 'abridged' version - haha!)

Basketball

Who can resist a sale on sporting goods? Clearly not me!

I wasn't even thinking of making a purchase as i came across a collection of basketballs. I live near a half-court, and liked the look of this one - so i got it (although my friend Troy will say it's because of the 'instructional diagram' on the side).

Anyhoo, i tested it out at the local half-court and it seems fully functional, although it doesn't go through the hoop as often as one would like. After my shower, i discovered the ball having a rest on my bean bag. It guess it must have been tired from all that rebounding ;)

University 0 Visitors 2

This is the scoreboard at the soccer match. It's fairly rare that a local sports ground has an actual scoreboard, so I decided to post the match score. It strikes me that being scorekeeper for a soccer match must be one of the cushiest jobs around.

Soccer

Some of the action from a local soccer match. Seconds after this photo was taken, my goalkeeper friend Renae made yet another save. It's still early in the season, but she is yet to concede a goal. Pretty impressive, huh?

Part of my "Garden"

... if you can call a couple plants on a balcony a 'garden' ;)

Queue Etiquette

This is my local post office - i tried an experiment here. With plenty of time on my hands (and with others looking hurried) i decided to let people go in front of me in the queue.

Have you ever tried to offer someone your place in a queue? You really have to work hard to get them to take it. Even though it is clearly to their advantage, unless you insist, the person will refuse. Despite the repeated glances towards the clock on the wall, and the deep breathing (having dashed from the carpark) the person will refuse your offer (unless you really insist). Why is this so? Is it politeness - or do they think it's a trick - that there's some sort of catch?

So next time i tried something a little different. When someone was behind me in the queue, instead of offering them my spot, i would just leave the queue and pretend to look at merchandise. You can guess what happened. Though the store is small (see photo) and my absence was a mere 6-8 seconds, my place is taken.

Offer somebody something, and they refuse. Leave it unattended for a moment, and they take it. What does all this mean? I'm not quite sure.

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

Spotted this group of Australian cricket supporters on their way to the Gabba on Sunday

Finally...

... some water that has a slope! Now, if only i could find a lake with a slope - i could go water skiing (hahaha)

Is it just me...

...or are chocolates packed like cigarettes? I suppose the really yummy ones (like these) could be addictive. Having unwrapped them, i was told it was a 'token' gift (the real gift is not wrappable). I was already quite chuffed with my choccies - and the great card that came with them! Apparently i'm very easy to please.