Ok, so it didn't quite happen

Ok, so clearly doing a "blog each day" thing during exam-month was a bit optimistic.

But now that semester is over, let's give it another go...

Nov 28 - Cost of Coal
Nov 29 - Most Important
Nov 30 - Vatican Sees the Light

Filler Material

As a loyal reader, you may have noticed a lack of posting recently.

My old computer is on life support (it looks terminal) and my groovy new laptop doesn't yet have any useful image editing software. (I tried sizing down a photo in ms paint - you don't wanna know).

Anyway, enough excuses, you want blog action - and you've come to the right place. Inspired by my friend doing a "post everyday for a month", i'm doing likewise (on my various blogs). So for some daily action, check out...

Nov 14 - Possession Obsession
Nov 13 - Not Really a Backbone
Nov 12 - Part 2
Nov 11 - Remembering The Departed
Nov 10 - Bike Stats
Nov 9 - Uniting on Emissions Trading
Nov 8 - A Challenge
Nov 7 - Drinking Green
Nov 6 - What Would Hayden Do?
Nov 5 - Leaving the Islands
Nov 4 - Back-Up Plan
Nov 3 - Wheely Popular
Nov 2 - Electric Car Video
Nov 1 - Chaser's War On Coal

The In-Between Sunset

Further down the road from yesterday's sunset. I like the way it glows between the high-rise and the tree. This is one of the great things about walking - the ability to pause and enjoy stuff like this.

Indro Sunset

OK, so it seems that i'm going through a sunset phase at the moment. There's probably a meteorological reason why there seem to be some good ones recently.

Anyhoo, i was on my way home when this one happened. For those playing at home, it's taken from outside the Coonan St shops, looking west (obviously!)

New Record

OK, i realise that the whole world is catching Olympic fever, but even Coles is in on the act - setting a new record today.

I purchased one item (a 3-pack of sponges) and before you know it the checkout chick is plastic-bagging it. Despite being the approximate size of a tv remote, and the weight of a tennis ball, these sponges are apparently too cumbersome to be transported without assistance - according to Coles.

Obviously i refused the bag, but if i had have been sharper i could have asked for additional bags for my wallet and phone... maybe even an third bag to carry my house keys in :)

I guess this is how we managed to used an extra billion plastic bags last year. Anyway, that's the record. If you can beat it let me know.

Cloud Fine

Bonfire!

It had been aaages since i'd experienced a good bonfire. There's just something about being outdoors at night, standing around a raging (but controlled) fire - and feeling toasty warm on an otherwise freezing evening.

The thing was several 'people-high' (my unit of measurement for tall things) and was quite impressive - as well as warm. Definitely worth waiting around for.

For Comparison's Sake

Ok, so that you can fully appreciate the artwork (previous post) this is a photo of Grace - also taken at the festival.

Apologies for the poor lighting - it was a combination of the glow of Grace's mobile, and some stray light from the performance stage.

In days long gone by, bands used to know they had connected with an audience, when cigarette lighters would sway with the tempo of the slower songs. I wonder if current bands observe the glow of phone-lit faces to mean precisely the opposite.

Blackboard Grace

Recently i was coaxed into going to a winter festival with my friends Grace and Kate. Whilst the music was fine, hours of sedentary listening need to be interspersed with more than musing over whether or not a one-night event can legitimately be called a festival (Grace is a writer and is fascinated with words). So to break things up, Kate sketched Grace's face on a nearby blackboard.


I was impressed with the likeness - and the speed (approx 10 secs). Before i got a pic, someone added a heart and what appears to be a superhero cape - don't know what that's about. Perhaps she could be the "Amazing Grace" (haha ;)

Beef Strogan Off

Who gives recipes their names? And why did they think it was a good idea to include the word "off" in the name of a meat-based dish?

These are questions i did not ask, when helping a friend prepare for a dinner party (when i say helping i mean cutting mushrooms - and some occasional stirring)

"Blue Steel"

What have we learnt today?
1. David is not Zoolander
2. A monochrome gradient works wonders
3. Model poses should be left to models

Wheels

Super-Tight Security

I took the following photo for an article in another blog. As you may notice, it's not entirely horizontal.


As my finger was pressing the button, an official informs me that photos are not permitted ... for "security" reasons. I tried to explain that the photo contained mere bus arrival times - and the existence of timetables meant this was hardly top-secret information. My logic fell on deaf ears.

So while i'm still kind of concerned at the ever-growing list of things that are apparently "security" concerns; i'm also trying to figure out an explanation - even if it's only remotely plausible.

The best i've come up with is the newsagency in the background. If the these locations become known, terrorists may launch "operation golden casket" where they buy up all the scratchies - striking the gambling community at its core ;)

Open 24 Hours

Apparently this tank is available to collect rain at any time of day...


I would have thought this'd be true of all water tanks ;)

Do you reckon it's a deliberately joke, or just an obsession with putting advertising on every available surface...?

Smile !

If you had to decsribe me in 5 words, "photogenic" would be a long way from the top of your list. So a profile-style pic was always going to be a challenge. But with a very patient friend behind the camera, and a bit of photoshop magic, we produced something reasonable.

ps. i should have mentioned that it was for a tech-related article, so it had be computery. A perfect opportunity to show off my friend's widescreen monitor!

City Art

Cityscape

Long-time readers may remember the Southbank Sunset that i blogged some time ago. The photo was taken from the ferry looking across the river.

Having crossed the river, i then took another shot back towards the city side. It didn't turn out that great, but today i was desperate for a "Brisbane" photo for my uni project.


It's amazing what some cropping and colour saturation can do.

Flags Are Up

My good friend Murray and I recently headed to the Gold Coast for the Titans' first game of the season - and the first at the new stadium. Actually Murray was keen to see the visiting team - his beloved North Queensland Cowboys (but the less said about their performance the better).


As the commentator said on the coverage "If there are 27,000 fans here, there must be at least 26,000 flags". Talk about excitement... the enthusiasm in this picture is just for the team running onto the field! You can imagine what happens when they score.

Taking Flight

Today was the day the little guys decided to have a go at flying. The first guy almost slipped off the branch before he eventually managed a successful flight, albeit to a lower balcony (more of a controlled fall really).


Then the second guy decided he could manage this aswell. Although he is much more of a look-before-you-leap kind of bird. I had put my camera away before he finally had a go. (hmm, perhaps he was just shy)

Bird Update

Ok, it's been a few days now. So after several days' worth of being sat on, the little birds have hatched. Sometimes they will be sitting in the nest by themselves, sometimes mum or dad will come along with food for them. This is one feeding time when the little ones had just been given their food.

Nest-ling In

One of the things i like about Brisbane is that even though i live in the "inner suburbs", there is still a fair bit of nature around. The latest example is this bird which has set up camp in a tree just outside my window.


There's actually two of them, but they rarely sit around long enough for me to grab my camera. If you've got any idea what type of bird it is, i'd be interested to know.

Me and Mark Waugh

I had a go on the Weetbix Face2Face Challenge. According to the face-recognition software, the Australian Cricketer I look most like is Mark Waugh. (73.5%)

I think the main differences is about 16,500 runs for Australia ;)
If you give it a shot, let me know how you go.