Some friends told me about the Blue Ringed Octopus. They said that it can be found in the waters off New South Wales, which made me very nervous since I was frolicking around NSW tidal pools last week, and picked up lots of beautiful shells. I didn't think that reaching down into the water to get shells from the various tidal pools would present a problem - I thought that the terrible "Cone Shell" and "Blue Ringed Octopus" were only found on the northern coasts of Australia. Hopefully, this article I've read is correct and that they really are only found in the northern parts. Ugh! Here's the lowdown of the octopus poison:
Blue Ringed Octopus Poison
DANGER! The blue rings on a blue ringed octopus are only visible when it is about to attack. The blue ringed octopus can cause death to an adult human in minutes. There is no known antidote.
The blue ringed octopus has two poison glands that secrete different types of poison through the saliva. One type is quite mild and is used to paralyze crabs and other prey when hunting for food. The other type is very toxic and is used as a defence against predators, including people.
The blue ringed octopus has a painless bite that is not much more than a scratch. The poison in the blue ringed octopus saliva, however is very strong and can kill an adult human in minutes.
Bites generally occur when a blue ringed octopus has been picked up out of its pool or stepped on so most bites are inflicted on the hands, arms, shoulders and feet.
At first the victim feels nauseous, then there is a loss of sight, touch speech and the ability to swallow. In 3 minutes, the nervous system stops working, paralysis sets in and respiratory failure commences. Without immediate help the victim will die.
Mouth to mouth resusitation and heart massage must be started straight away and continued until professional medical help is reached. There artificial respiration and heart massage will continue unitl the poison can work its way out of the victims system. This usually takes about 24 hours and leaves the victim with no obvious side effects.
Victims are aware of their surroundings throughout their ordeal but are unable to respond in any way. They may appear dead but if aid comes quickly enough, they will survive.
Because the poison is in the saliva, it can be injested through the skin. Some people have reported a tingling in their hands after touching rocks or water recently occupied by the blue ringed octopus.
A friend of mine at the "doggie park" said he loves Australia because it is so DANGEROUS!!! Excuse me? What is he thinking? I suspect he wouldn't be quite so cavalier if it were his kids that found one of these unfriendly creatures.
Hmmmm. I guess I need to find out the typical bite/mortality rate of these charming little critters. :)
Luv Ya, Judi
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Random observations from our trip
- It is possible to buy a good bottle of Shiraz for $1.99. I did so in Coff's Harbor. Actually I bought 6 for $11.99. I wish I'd bought more. We're big fans of clean skin wines. Our current favorite is a Shiraz-Viognier that Dan Murphys sell for $6.50 a bottle in a case.
- Nimbin is one of the armpits of the world. I'm not particularly opposed to inhaling but this place made me think again - there are a lot of seriously wasted people here.
- North NSW is spectacular - well worth visiting. We'll definitely go back.
- Southern QLD on the beach has been Californicated. We'll have to route around it next time if we want to go further north.
- You just can't eat too many fish tacos when close to the ocean. Reading this it's ambiguous so let me say it plainly - eat all the tacos you can when close to the sea!
- It is possible to survive 12 days without checking your email.
The dogs had fun, I think, though I believe that I managed to exhaust Sammy by all the walking I did. In the end he sort of refused to go with me on a walk, which was a first.
I hope we can go again soon.
Tim
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Our Maiden Voyage
This is going to be hard, because I have already forgotten a lot of what we've done. Hmmmm. We were going to try to leave on Saturday, but it became clearer that we wouldn't get organized in time. Even on Sunday, it took a while to get it together - but we finally did and set off around mid-day. It takes some time to set up a camper caravan for a maiden voyage. I had downloaded checklists from the net, so I had some pretty good lists to go by - but even with all my preparation, I still forgot some important items. I also thought that I had forgotten a few items only to find them later tucked efficiently into some nook and cranny in the caravan.
This actually had its advantages, because one thing I forgot (i.e., "thought" I forgot) was my pair of Tevas. I nearly drove Tim crazy searching stores for a replacement pair - they had to be water durable, comfortable, and when I thought Ialso had forgotten my hiking boots, sturdy. The advantage came about when we stopped for lunch in the town of Kempsey. Kempsey does not look particularly prosperous. The first building we walked past after parking the car was the AA meeting place and then there were the Salvos (Salvation Army) type stores and more than its share of cheap variety stores. No one in Kempsey looked healthy and not surprisingly, I think everyone smoked - even the five year olds (kidding). I digress. After a nice lunch of a prawn sandwich on Foccacia bread, we walked back to the car via the main street. Always on the lookout for shoe stores to replace my sandals, I dashed into a small shop. Guess what? I found my shoes! They are fashioned after Keen brand water shoes and marked down to $19.95 from $59.95!! There was one pair left and it was a male shoe (I'm not fussy), but in my size. Wow, what luck. Even Tim was impressed with my find, but I think the shop lady thought I was nuts.
Let me back up. After leaving home on Sunday, we headed up the coast not knowing exactly where were going - we knew we were going north and we knew we wanted to start out by the beach. I had done lots of research on the net for dog friendly caravan parks that offered powered sites (Tim needs electricity to run his cpap machine - it forces air into the mouth for sleep apnea). We REALLY wanted to bring the coffee machine and bread machine... but that would be overdoing it I guess. One park was a comfortable distance for our first day of driving and was rated five paws for dog friendliness. The park's name is Weeroona, and it is located at Manning Point, NSW, which isn't far from Taree. Weeroona Holiday Park turned out to be an excellent choice for our first park stay. We wound our way through rows of aging permanent caravans (and their aging residents) to the back of the park and chose a site near the entrance to the beach.
Twenty five meters on the other side of our site was a small tract of rainforest.... and it turned out to be aptly named.
Our first night at the park was lovely and we had a long walk on the absolutely gorgeous beach. Karma and Sammy had a great time. Sammy would wait for a wave to come in and then before it got to him.... run up the beach to get away - just like a little kid. The next morning we woke up to some nice weather but the skies looked slightly forbidding. Tim is walking a lot to get extra points on his weight watchers diet. He's being incredibly good on this diet -- good food and exercise - go figure. So Tim, the dogs and I went for a long walk on the beach. A looooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggg way down the beach the skies opened up -- it poured and we had nothing with us - no coats, no hat, no umbrella, no nada. Not too smart. The dogs didn't like it any more that we did so they were using us for shelter. Tim took the hero role and wrapped his body around me to protect me a bit from the wind and rain and to warm me up --- I was sooooo cold. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I know that I didn't take my eye off the snake that was sharing the beach with us - only meters away. In all my summers as a kid loving vacations on Cape Cod - not once - not once!! - did I ever see a snake on the beach.
Ok OK. Let me start from now and then go back and then forth again. Our current locale is at Corindi Beach Caravan Park. Our site is grassy and overlooks the beach which is about 50 meters down the hill.
The beach goes for miles and miles and miles - beautiful sand, interesting shells, and fun tidal pools.
The surf in front of us is a little too dangerous for swimming, but down the way a bit is a nice beach for swimming and surfing. This is not a patrolled beach since it is far from any major town. The caravan park is dog friendly which is how we happened upon it. Dogs are supposed to be leashed while in the park, but the beach is leash free and the dogs love it. One of the funniest things we saw this trip is Sammy and Karma discovering a crab. You don't see the crabs too often since they usually stay hidden down their holes, but unwary crabs - look out - dogs! It actually wasn't clear who was winning for most of the "contest," but I'll tell you the dogs finally won out. Until that time, Sammy spent his energy barking at the crab and whenever the crab went toward him, he would madly back up - still barking. Karma, a herding dog, decided the way to deal with an ornery crab was to keep running around it - round and round and round. If the crab ran towards him, he would trip over Sammy trying to get out of the way. Unfortunately for our crabby friend, Karma got braver and braver and tried to bite the crab a few times, eventually giving it a good chomp - goodbye crab. Neither dog showed any interest in eating the crab, but I don't think the smell clicked any innate canine yearnings. This whole little dance would have made a great video complete with music... perhaps an opera depicting dueling gentlemen.
Doggie Dootie - so to speak.
Kisses, Judi
This actually had its advantages, because one thing I forgot (i.e., "thought" I forgot) was my pair of Tevas. I nearly drove Tim crazy searching stores for a replacement pair - they had to be water durable, comfortable, and when I thought Ialso had forgotten my hiking boots, sturdy. The advantage came about when we stopped for lunch in the town of Kempsey. Kempsey does not look particularly prosperous. The first building we walked past after parking the car was the AA meeting place and then there were the Salvos (Salvation Army) type stores and more than its share of cheap variety stores. No one in Kempsey looked healthy and not surprisingly, I think everyone smoked - even the five year olds (kidding). I digress. After a nice lunch of a prawn sandwich on Foccacia bread, we walked back to the car via the main street. Always on the lookout for shoe stores to replace my sandals, I dashed into a small shop. Guess what? I found my shoes! They are fashioned after Keen brand water shoes and marked down to $19.95 from $59.95!! There was one pair left and it was a male shoe (I'm not fussy), but in my size. Wow, what luck. Even Tim was impressed with my find, but I think the shop lady thought I was nuts.
Let me back up. After leaving home on Sunday, we headed up the coast not knowing exactly where were going - we knew we were going north and we knew we wanted to start out by the beach. I had done lots of research on the net for dog friendly caravan parks that offered powered sites (Tim needs electricity to run his cpap machine - it forces air into the mouth for sleep apnea). We REALLY wanted to bring the coffee machine and bread machine... but that would be overdoing it I guess. One park was a comfortable distance for our first day of driving and was rated five paws for dog friendliness. The park's name is Weeroona, and it is located at Manning Point, NSW, which isn't far from Taree. Weeroona Holiday Park turned out to be an excellent choice for our first park stay. We wound our way through rows of aging permanent caravans (and their aging residents) to the back of the park and chose a site near the entrance to the beach.
Twenty five meters on the other side of our site was a small tract of rainforest.... and it turned out to be aptly named.
Our first night at the park was lovely and we had a long walk on the absolutely gorgeous beach. Karma and Sammy had a great time. Sammy would wait for a wave to come in and then before it got to him.... run up the beach to get away - just like a little kid. The next morning we woke up to some nice weather but the skies looked slightly forbidding. Tim is walking a lot to get extra points on his weight watchers diet. He's being incredibly good on this diet -- good food and exercise - go figure. So Tim, the dogs and I went for a long walk on the beach. A looooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggg way down the beach the skies opened up -- it poured and we had nothing with us - no coats, no hat, no umbrella, no nada. Not too smart. The dogs didn't like it any more that we did so they were using us for shelter. Tim took the hero role and wrapped his body around me to protect me a bit from the wind and rain and to warm me up --- I was sooooo cold. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I know that I didn't take my eye off the snake that was sharing the beach with us - only meters away. In all my summers as a kid loving vacations on Cape Cod - not once - not once!! - did I ever see a snake on the beach.
Ok OK. Let me start from now and then go back and then forth again. Our current locale is at Corindi Beach Caravan Park. Our site is grassy and overlooks the beach which is about 50 meters down the hill.
The beach goes for miles and miles and miles - beautiful sand, interesting shells, and fun tidal pools.
The surf in front of us is a little too dangerous for swimming, but down the way a bit is a nice beach for swimming and surfing. This is not a patrolled beach since it is far from any major town. The caravan park is dog friendly which is how we happened upon it. Dogs are supposed to be leashed while in the park, but the beach is leash free and the dogs love it. One of the funniest things we saw this trip is Sammy and Karma discovering a crab. You don't see the crabs too often since they usually stay hidden down their holes, but unwary crabs - look out - dogs! It actually wasn't clear who was winning for most of the "contest," but I'll tell you the dogs finally won out. Until that time, Sammy spent his energy barking at the crab and whenever the crab went toward him, he would madly back up - still barking. Karma, a herding dog, decided the way to deal with an ornery crab was to keep running around it - round and round and round. If the crab ran towards him, he would trip over Sammy trying to get out of the way. Unfortunately for our crabby friend, Karma got braver and braver and tried to bite the crab a few times, eventually giving it a good chomp - goodbye crab. Neither dog showed any interest in eating the crab, but I don't think the smell clicked any innate canine yearnings. This whole little dance would have made a great video complete with music... perhaps an opera depicting dueling gentlemen.
Doggie Dootie - so to speak.
Kisses, Judi
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Saturday, February 3, 2007
To Galston Gorge
I walked to Galston Gorge this morning. It's about 10km of fairly tough walking and took about 3 hours. The paths in this part of Sydney typically go up and down a lot. It's excellent exercise which helps with my new endeavor - to lose weight via Weight Watchers For Men.
Here's the track I made with my new GPS. I finally got one (a Garmin Legend C) that knows about Australia AND can talk to a computer.
Tim
Sunday, January 28, 2007
More stuff....
I got a good giggle yesterday while looking at my flickr photos. I was checking to see which photos have been viewed most by visitors and was surprised that my "Birdie Porn" photos have been displaced by: The Boys New Bike Tights (A scanned, poor quality, blurry photo). Now, I could be kind and say that hundreds of women are lusting after Tim and Gavin in their sporting togs.... but when you think about it.... hmmmmmmm. Are these viewers women?
My little baby Lorikeet is growing less little and more assertive. When I go onto our balcony with grapes, he (she?) immediately jumps onto my hand/wrist and starts eating the grape as I hold it. I have to sneak the other grapes to its parents, because he wants those grapes as well. Assertiveness, however, is a trait common to Lorikeets. I haven't seen the bird who is "bird" enough to stand up to them, and size doesn't matter. Particularly amazing is the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. This large bird (+/- 20 inches) is twice the size of the petite Lorikeet, yet is scared off screaming (and I mean screaming!) by the little birds. For this small service, I am grapeful (er, I mean grateful). I have heard many horror stories of innocent home owners who feed the lovely Cockatoos, only to have their homes destroyed, pecked by angry - "can't get enough to eat when I want it" - Cockatoos.
Lastly, I want to tell you of the wonderful Australia Day we had Friday, January 26. A coworker of Tim's and friends, John and Alison, invited us on their boat for the day. The weather was perfect - not killer hot like the previous day - perfect. Australia day seems to be a good reason for all Australians to party - something, I must admit, they do very well. We boated out into Sydney Harbor to watch the Ferry Races, admire the Tall Ships, drink some good wine, swim a bit... life is hard. Our captain, John, should get several stars for safely navigating through a gazillion boats of varying sizes while tipping to and fro in "washing machine like" conditions. I got a couple of good photos during all the excitement, but Tim snapped some interesting photos that really captured the different moods of the day: Festive, Frantic and Serene.
An understated vessel...
Arghhhhhhh!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh....
....and some native wildlife....
I took one beautiful photo of a tall ship, but it was nothing compared to this one - Tim's life in actual peril!!!!
Love and Kisses! Judi
(PS: That's a bull shark - actually found in this particular swimming spot, and actually dangerous!)
PSS: I forgot to mention... I was taking the sheet off the laundry line outside, and ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!! a GIGANTIC spider the size of my palm was sauntering down the sheet - ugh!!! Then he disappeared, so I had to encourage his journey to the ground. Had he been a funnel web spider, he would have raised up like he was going to strike. I think this guy (or gal) was a Wolf Spider - not a killer, but a painful biter. Fortunately, I don't have to report how a bite feels, and I was impressed at how casual and non-aggressive this spider seemed to be. Hmmmmm, a spider in wolf's clothing perhaps?????? (Almost scared the sheet outta me!!!)
My little baby Lorikeet is growing less little and more assertive. When I go onto our balcony with grapes, he (she?) immediately jumps onto my hand/wrist and starts eating the grape as I hold it. I have to sneak the other grapes to its parents, because he wants those grapes as well. Assertiveness, however, is a trait common to Lorikeets. I haven't seen the bird who is "bird" enough to stand up to them, and size doesn't matter. Particularly amazing is the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. This large bird (+/- 20 inches) is twice the size of the petite Lorikeet, yet is scared off screaming (and I mean screaming!) by the little birds. For this small service, I am grapeful (er, I mean grateful). I have heard many horror stories of innocent home owners who feed the lovely Cockatoos, only to have their homes destroyed, pecked by angry - "can't get enough to eat when I want it" - Cockatoos.
Lastly, I want to tell you of the wonderful Australia Day we had Friday, January 26. A coworker of Tim's and friends, John and Alison, invited us on their boat for the day. The weather was perfect - not killer hot like the previous day - perfect. Australia day seems to be a good reason for all Australians to party - something, I must admit, they do very well. We boated out into Sydney Harbor to watch the Ferry Races, admire the Tall Ships, drink some good wine, swim a bit... life is hard. Our captain, John, should get several stars for safely navigating through a gazillion boats of varying sizes while tipping to and fro in "washing machine like" conditions. I got a couple of good photos during all the excitement, but Tim snapped some interesting photos that really captured the different moods of the day: Festive, Frantic and Serene.
An understated vessel...
Arghhhhhhh!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh....
....and some native wildlife....
I took one beautiful photo of a tall ship, but it was nothing compared to this one - Tim's life in actual peril!!!!
Love and Kisses! Judi
(PS: That's a bull shark - actually found in this particular swimming spot, and actually dangerous!)
PSS: I forgot to mention... I was taking the sheet off the laundry line outside, and ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!! a GIGANTIC spider the size of my palm was sauntering down the sheet - ugh!!! Then he disappeared, so I had to encourage his journey to the ground. Had he been a funnel web spider, he would have raised up like he was going to strike. I think this guy (or gal) was a Wolf Spider - not a killer, but a painful biter. Fortunately, I don't have to report how a bite feels, and I was impressed at how casual and non-aggressive this spider seemed to be. Hmmmmm, a spider in wolf's clothing perhaps?????? (Almost scared the sheet outta me!!!)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Is Photoshop Elements 4.0 Worth All This?????
Adobe continues to astonish and amaze me (and not in a good way). Since my last post, I received three emails from Adobe. One email was from Adobe Asia/Pacific and incredibly it was from an actual human - obviously a human who had not read my complaint. This human suggested that I log into my account first so that I can view my order and download history. Well, duh!!! Then, I received two more emails - duplicates. Guess which Adobe group is responding to my "Open Case?" UK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What are they thinking (or not)????
More amazing still is that the messages contain a pdf document that I could read or I could go directly to the UK open case site. The message on each was the same - log in to view my case history. There is no Adobe response listed - all they have is my initial request!!! Have I fallen in to software company Hell??? Is there no end to their incompetence? ADOBE, IF YOU ARE REALLY OUT THERE.... PLEASE HEAR MY PLEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers? Judi
More amazing still is that the messages contain a pdf document that I could read or I could go directly to the UK open case site. The message on each was the same - log in to view my case history. There is no Adobe response listed - all they have is my initial request!!! Have I fallen in to software company Hell??? Is there no end to their incompetence? ADOBE, IF YOU ARE REALLY OUT THERE.... PLEASE HEAR MY PLEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers? Judi
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Summer in Australia
It's hot - very hot. I went for a walk on Sunday morning and the temperature rose about 10 degrees C while I was out. Somehow my brain got fried and I didn't realize how hot I actually was until I got home. Took me most of the day to recover. Highest temp was about 41C at our house. It was actually too hot to go kayaking if you can imagine that.
Other news....
On Australia Day (Friday), we have an invitation to go sailing with some friends in the harbor. The ferry boat race is a highlight, evidently.
Life is mostly good, obviously.
Tim
Other news....
- Man escapes from shark by vicious poke in the eye (man pokes shark, that is).
- Teenager dies from brown snake bite but man lives after a bite. The moral is if you get bitten, rest, bind the bite area, and send for help rather than go yourself.
- Australia is crushing all comers at cricket (was England during the Ashes but now includes New Zealand). No link since (*sarcasm alert*) there hasn't been any reporting about it here.
- Bush fires up the valley from us. Probably an arsonist. No danger to our neighborhood but we can smell the smoke.
On Australia Day (Friday), we have an invitation to go sailing with some friends in the harbor. The ferry boat race is a highlight, evidently.
Life is mostly good, obviously.
Tim
Friday, January 19, 2007
ADOBE.COM uses bad Muzak and Robots to terrorize customers!
I don't complain that much. Really! But this got me sooooooooooooo mad. The major source of irritation? ADOBE.COM. I generally like Adobe products, especially Adobe Photoshop Elements - 2, 3 and now 4.0. Did you hear that Adobe???? 4.0!!! I have it. I downloaded it from your website after I paid for it. Why don't you remember me? Why do I have no history? Why do I not have any downloads to return to so that I can reinstall? Why I ask you - WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???
But, that's not the worst part. Do you think I have been able to get Adobe to rectify this problem. Not a chance.
The sad history:
December 18: I wrote an email to Adobe telling them about my problem.
PROBLEM: No response.
Then, about two weeks ago, I called Adobe customer service in the US. After a robot suggested I press #1, I was taken to Muzak Hell. First call: nine minutes of muzak. Second call: nine more minutes of muzak. Just the robot and the muzak. No human. Not even another robot!
Then I tried a chat which is conveniently only available 9-5 Pacific Time. This time, I didn't get muzak, but I'm pretty sure I got a robot. The robot's name was Kendall. I won't bore you with the whole conversation (he didn't send me the transcript by email like the first three chat's that got cut short). The bottom line, however, is it seems that the problem is theirs (Adobe's), and Kendall says it isn't a problem they can rectify with the chat opportunity (Although the chat is shown to be a method to correct registration problems - which mine is!)After Tim fed me some tranquilizers and a few days passed... and before I opened a so-called "case," I called customer service again (I'm not usually this masochistic!)...
two more 8-minute sessions of muzak. Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I opened a case with Adobe. They promise to contact you about your case within 1 business day. It's January 19 here in Oz Land.
Please note this was completed and sent to Adobe January 15.
I have quite a few issues at the point in time, but the main one is that
you don't show an order history for me or any downloads. I have had
Photoshop Elements for Mac 3.0 and several months ago purchased
4.0.
Trying to rectify this problem I have written one email with no response
dated December 18, 2006, called customer service twice and without
any indication of what is happening, was stuck listening to some terrible
muzak for eight minutes each time - I finally hung up as I didn't know if
anything was happening. The worst experience though, was when I did
the "chat". I don't know if you use computers to do the "chat" with
customers or if this was a human - I really couldn't tell, except that
"Kendall" never sent me a transcript of our conversation, and the three
previous times (was disconnected) received e-mailed copies of the
chat. So if that was a computer the computer chose not to pass along
any incriminating evidence. Kendall told me that I had to talk to
customer service and that my problem seemed to be one on your side
(Adobe's). When I mentioned that I had already tried to call twice, he just
repeated the same words. He eventually just hung up on me. It was truly
the worst customer experience I have ever had.
I guess I really don't expect any helpful response from this email, but I
don't know where else to turn in order to access my download so that I
can reinstall my Photoshop 4.0. If there are actually any humans at Adobe,
I hope I have the opportunity to interact with one.
Judi Lowell (judi.lowell@gmail.com)
Hey, thanks for listening to me, and I know only some of you are robots.
With Love, Judi
Sunday, January 14, 2007
A walk in the woods
Despite her declared view that a walk is down to the shops, Judi and I went for an excellent bushwalk yesterday, along the Great North Walk. We drove to the trail head - the white building at the corner of Elouera on this map - and walked from there. The trail runs down to the GNW itself and you can go north or south. North takes you pass Westleigh, the Fishponds, through Berowra Regional Park, across the Hawkesbury and eventually to Newcastle (about 250km). South takes you through some beautiful bush to come out in Thornleigh, you can then cross into Lane Cove park and thence down to Sydney (about 40km).
I've walked along part of this trail many times now, mostly now to Galston Gorge and Crosslands. Walking fast you can go about 4km an hour at most. The path goes up and down the sides of the valley - when this occurs, the climb is usually very steep and it helps to have a walking stick. On yesterday's walk there's only really one hard place - a climb up of about 200m (in length). Apart from that it's pretty easy and mostly level walking. The bottom of the valley here is lush and green - lots of eucalyptus and causarina trees, strange Australian bushes, and ferns. After rain, it can be very humid and you almost expect to see dinosaurs poking around in the treetops and pterodactyls swooping overhead. Instead, there are birds - like the ubiquitous and very noisy kookaburras - and lizards - small ones, water dragons, and the occasional big old goanna.
On yesterday's walk, we went down the valley, through the "Jungo" and nearly down to de Saxe Close, and then back. It took about 2 hours in all. I've done a few walks close to three hours but two is a comfortable time to be out and about. Probably as it gets cooler in the fall, we'll take some longer ones, perhaps up north towards the Hawkesbury river.
The most amazing and wonderful thing, of course, is that you can bushwalk for hours in this big metropolitan area, Sydney, and not see any sign of the city. This is a great triumph of rational planning and one of the things that makes Sydney such a great place to live.
Tim
Friday, January 12, 2007
A WALK IN THE FALL IN THE DESERT WITH A PRINCESS
It's strange enough coming from the northern hemisphere where winter is December, January, etc. Here in Oz, winter is June, July, etc. Consider our Xmas. It's bloody hot! Many people have their holiday dinners midday and then a later picnic at the beach. Tim and I barely even noticed it was Xmas. If we hadn't visited friends and had an outstanding Paella (Turkey? Boooooring!), December 25 would have been just like any other day. And despite Spring being our "old" Autumn... Oh my, I'm sooooo confused.
But getting back to FALL. At our house, it is Fall all year round. During winter, leaves fall. Spring and Summer?... more leaves and bark. That's right. The gum trees shed their bark each year and grow it anew - sounds like a dermatologist's fantasy (or nightmare depending upon your perspective). Then in the Fall/Autumn... yes, more leaves... and so on. Now I'm not big on raking (and don't even ask Tim), but here in Thornleigh Bush Country, I MUST rake. If you don't keep up with the tree shed here you could A) Be in serious trouble during a bushfire, and B) Get covered and never seen again.
Now let's talk about "walks." Since I came from the US, I call a traipse around on a mountain or by a river, a "hike." If you come from England or Australia, however, those same activities are considered a "walk." To me, a walk is the two blocks to the local convenience store. For example, "Hey honey, I'm going out for a walk. Can I get you anything?" That's a walk. So when Tim invites me to go on a "walk," I think, "How pleasant... a little stroll." WRONG. A "walk" here, particularly a "bushwalk," could take several hours and take you through five towns and two shires before you even get close to your home base. Catch me once.
Tim wants me to talk about our recent musical experience - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It was outrageous and excellent and incredible. I bought front row seat tickets since Tim and I often like that "close range" approach to viewing. The seats happen to be at the end of the front row - which was fine - great seats. I have had two "15 minutes of fame" in my life. I know, you're only entitled one. Actually, neither added up to 15 minutes, so it's ok. During the song, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, the cast came down and dragged certain people up on stage to dance - notice that "drag" is the operative word here (and I don't mean as in "drag queen.") So, with the help of Tim's firm shove, I found myself on stage in front of a gazillion people (at least!) learning how to do some line dancing thing that I never could learn - even after living in cowboy land USA for the last 35 years. After the little line dancing number, the cast had us all hold hands and dance around in a big circle - wow, that was fun! Since I was oblivious to anything else besides my two feet, I didn't even notice that the music stopped and the entire cast had left us alone on stage. Hah!! They think they are sooooo funny - the audience laughed. Afterwards, we did a little hand raise and bow thing.... and returned to our seats. That was too bad, because I was just warming up! I highly recommend the musical. They follow the movie quite closely, and the singing and dancing were high energy and wonderful. Go. (Oh, the other 15 minutes of fame was dancing with the cast of Hair - in Boston no less - it was banned at first.)
I will stop now or you'll never read our blog again. Since our hiatus, I have all kinds of things to tell you. Ah. Later.
Hugs, Judi
Photo: A baby lorikeet and his (her?) parents are regular visitors to our balcony lately. Besides making the most obnoxious noise while begging nonstop for food from birdie mom and dad and me.... baby gets so excited he jumps onto my arm to get the yummy grape I veritably have (yes, a bribe).
But getting back to FALL. At our house, it is Fall all year round. During winter, leaves fall. Spring and Summer?... more leaves and bark. That's right. The gum trees shed their bark each year and grow it anew - sounds like a dermatologist's fantasy (or nightmare depending upon your perspective). Then in the Fall/Autumn... yes, more leaves... and so on. Now I'm not big on raking (and don't even ask Tim), but here in Thornleigh Bush Country, I MUST rake. If you don't keep up with the tree shed here you could A) Be in serious trouble during a bushfire, and B) Get covered and never seen again.
Now let's talk about "walks." Since I came from the US, I call a traipse around on a mountain or by a river, a "hike." If you come from England or Australia, however, those same activities are considered a "walk." To me, a walk is the two blocks to the local convenience store. For example, "Hey honey, I'm going out for a walk. Can I get you anything?" That's a walk. So when Tim invites me to go on a "walk," I think, "How pleasant... a little stroll." WRONG. A "walk" here, particularly a "bushwalk," could take several hours and take you through five towns and two shires before you even get close to your home base. Catch me once.
Tim wants me to talk about our recent musical experience - Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It was outrageous and excellent and incredible. I bought front row seat tickets since Tim and I often like that "close range" approach to viewing. The seats happen to be at the end of the front row - which was fine - great seats. I have had two "15 minutes of fame" in my life. I know, you're only entitled one. Actually, neither added up to 15 minutes, so it's ok. During the song, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, the cast came down and dragged certain people up on stage to dance - notice that "drag" is the operative word here (and I don't mean as in "drag queen.") So, with the help of Tim's firm shove, I found myself on stage in front of a gazillion people (at least!) learning how to do some line dancing thing that I never could learn - even after living in cowboy land USA for the last 35 years. After the little line dancing number, the cast had us all hold hands and dance around in a big circle - wow, that was fun! Since I was oblivious to anything else besides my two feet, I didn't even notice that the music stopped and the entire cast had left us alone on stage. Hah!! They think they are sooooo funny - the audience laughed. Afterwards, we did a little hand raise and bow thing.... and returned to our seats. That was too bad, because I was just warming up! I highly recommend the musical. They follow the movie quite closely, and the singing and dancing were high energy and wonderful. Go. (Oh, the other 15 minutes of fame was dancing with the cast of Hair - in Boston no less - it was banned at first.)
I will stop now or you'll never read our blog again. Since our hiatus, I have all kinds of things to tell you. Ah. Later.
Hugs, Judi
Photo: A baby lorikeet and his (her?) parents are regular visitors to our balcony lately. Besides making the most obnoxious noise while begging nonstop for food from birdie mom and dad and me.... baby gets so excited he jumps onto my arm to get the yummy grape I veritably have (yes, a bribe).
Thursday, January 11, 2007
We're back
We're back..... Don't worry, despite the picture, I haven't gone Shining crazy.
It's time to write again. I hope someone is still reading.
What's new?
- We're applying for permanent residency. Yes, we like it here enough to want to stay longer, maybe much longer.
- Judi has lots and lots of new friends from the dog park and other places - so many that she had a birthday party when I was out of town.
- My job is still fun and challenging, even though I've traveled about 10,000km for every month that I've been here. I'm staying at home for a while now. In fact, I have no plane tickets in hand which is quite rare for me. In the last six months, I've been to Paris, Tucson, the Netherlands, Western Australia, and South Africa (I think I'm missing something....)
- I saw Gavin and Zoe in Tucson a few months ago. They're both fine - Zoe is working (temporarily) in Socorro at Socorro Mental Health providing life coaching for young adults, and Gavin is finishing his degree at UT, Dallas. We went to Nogales together and ate good Mexican food. We also spent a great evening with Judi's friend Vicki. I really liked being in the Southwest again. In fact, the first thing I ate was fish taco from a local taco stand. On returning to Sydney, I brought a bag full of can of green chile so we can have burritos and quesadillas again.
- We're into bush walking at the moment, well me more than Judi. There are excellent trails all around where we live on which you can walk for hours without seeing a house.
- Make Judi tell you about seeing the musical of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."
- Book recommendation: "Dirt Music" by Tim Winton, Movie recommendation: "Look Both Ways".
- I deny watching any cricket at all. I am totally unware of any recent international games between Australia and England.
- We're planning a road trip up into northern New South Wales and maybe southern Queensland. I can't wait. Here's one place we might visit.
Tim
PS This is really me looking happy and lighthearted.
PPS Here's the short version of the Shining.
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Did You Think I Forgot You???
Tim and I have been lazy about blogging lately. It’s probably due to several reasons, none of which I’ll go into here. We have gotten out recently – left the house – explored – etc. Urvashi (Tim’s student) is here from Socorro (originally India), so we had a good excuse to take the ferry to Watson’s Bay (south of Sydney). Here is a photo that I took from South Point at Watson’s Bay.
As you probably know, Sydney is a photogenic city.
Last week Tim and I made it to the Manly Wine and Food Festival. Saturday was miserable, but we decided to go on Sunday because the weather held up. We did not find the food booths until after we had eaten at one of the beachside restaurants – costing us considerably more than a nice gourmet cheese plate from a booth. We tried a couple of short glasses of wine from two booths, and with our money, we received a wine glass (actually glass), and cute little wine glass hangers that you put around your neck. These leave your hands free to stuff yourself with a dessert plate (for example) that had eight sample portions of different types of pastries – hmmmmm. Tim and I split one plate, which was more than plenty.
Several posts ago, I mentioned Aussie words that have “i.e.” added to them (e.g., sunglasses are sunnies). I cannot remember which ones I mentioned before, but, but here are a couple more:
Your mailbox is called a “Postie”.
Presents are called “Pressies”.
Breakfast is called “Brekkie”.
A Mosquito is called a “Mozzie”.
Parents are called “Oldies”.
Your car registration is called a “Rego” (not “i.e.”, but still….)
A relative is called a “Rellie”.
Surfers are called… what else? “Surfees.”
I could go on, but you get the point, right? I get the feeling that Aussie slang was developed by three year olds (no offense meant!)
On the other hand, some terms and phrases are endearing. I love the Aussie way of say “no problem” or “it’s ok.” They say “No worries!” I smiled when I left the butcher the other day (I’m a “veggie” – the bones were for our dogs!). After handing him my money, he said, “Good on ya’, G’day!” Ya gotta love’em!
Cheers! Judi
As you probably know, Sydney is a photogenic city.
Last week Tim and I made it to the Manly Wine and Food Festival. Saturday was miserable, but we decided to go on Sunday because the weather held up. We did not find the food booths until after we had eaten at one of the beachside restaurants – costing us considerably more than a nice gourmet cheese plate from a booth. We tried a couple of short glasses of wine from two booths, and with our money, we received a wine glass (actually glass), and cute little wine glass hangers that you put around your neck. These leave your hands free to stuff yourself with a dessert plate (for example) that had eight sample portions of different types of pastries – hmmmmm. Tim and I split one plate, which was more than plenty.
Several posts ago, I mentioned Aussie words that have “i.e.” added to them (e.g., sunglasses are sunnies). I cannot remember which ones I mentioned before, but, but here are a couple more:
Your mailbox is called a “Postie”.
Presents are called “Pressies”.
Breakfast is called “Brekkie”.
A Mosquito is called a “Mozzie”.
Parents are called “Oldies”.
Your car registration is called a “Rego” (not “i.e.”, but still….)
A relative is called a “Rellie”.
Surfers are called… what else? “Surfees.”
I could go on, but you get the point, right? I get the feeling that Aussie slang was developed by three year olds (no offense meant!)
On the other hand, some terms and phrases are endearing. I love the Aussie way of say “no problem” or “it’s ok.” They say “No worries!” I smiled when I left the butcher the other day (I’m a “veggie” – the bones were for our dogs!). After handing him my money, he said, “Good on ya’, G’day!” Ya gotta love’em!
Cheers! Judi
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
THE ART GALLERY OF NSW
Tim and I had a great time yesterday. We finally (yes, finally) got off our butts and out of the house in order to do "something." The something was a trip into Sydney to visit the Art Gallery of NSW, and specifically the Archibald Exhibit.
We were going to take the train into the city, but opted to drive - I'm not sure why - it's faster I guess. We parked at the Sydney Opera House parking facility and walked up through the Opera House. We chose to eat outside along the water's edge - and yes, it was a splurge for lunch. We opted for a vegetarian platter for two. This turned out to be a great choice - tasty, unusual, and just enough food. It was Mediterranean food -- eggplant, filo pastries, flat bread, capers(?), and so on... finger food. It's hard to beat a glass of Chardonnay, good food and a fantastic view of Sydney Harbour - in good weather. After a satisfying lunch, we strolled along the water and the Botanical Gardens, cutting through the Gardens to get to the Gallery.
The Art Gallery of NSW is a beautiful museum. It's a nice size in that it's not intimidating or overwhelming. Since it was Mother's Day and Sunday afternoon, the place was packed with people. The crowds made it difficult to read the information that accompanied each piece of art. I found myself darting in front of people to read this information which was not exactly formatted for those of us with older "sight-challenged" vision. The Archibald Prize exhibit is comprised of portraits that artists have done of either themselves or of an "interesting" other person. Be sure to check out the winner of the Archibald. 
It took the artist a year to complete and he was close to burnout near the end. You'll be able to see why! The original is extraordinary, and unfortunately you can't see by this image the detail and charm that the work possesses. We visited both the painting and photographic exhibits (The Photographic Portrait Prize), and it's amazing to see the various techniques that are used in the portraits. The posted information explains how each artist chose their subject, why they chose the technique used to portray that subject, and any other tidbit about the project. If you check out the web site, you can see examples of the exhibits.
Tim and I love to go to museums, but we both reach our respective saturation points within an hour or two.
I recently became interested in the art of Brett Whiteley. The Gallery only has a couple of his works, so I'm planning a trip to the "Brett Whiteley Studio" which is located in a nearby suburb. 
I'll let you know how that goes....
This piece is: BRETT WHITELEY SCREEN AS THE BATHROOM WINDOW 1976
Cheers, Judi
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Cape Town
I just came back from a week long trip to Cape Town to work with the computing group of the Karoo Array Telescope. I had a very good time working and also enjoyed some side trips. One was a day of winetasting in the wine regions around Cape Town. They have some really excellent wine. I also spent an evening driving around, ending up at Camps Bay:
This looks a lot like the Sandias in Albuquerque in the evening - the same watermelon coloured mountains which is what Sandia means. Turning around though, we see the sea:
Cape Town is a lot like Sydney - a truly spectacular physical setting with lots of beautiful green suburbs. The long recovery from apartheid still continues though and the poverty is everywhere (unlike Sydney). However, South Africa has a good rate of economic growth and a reasonable government (apart from AIDS). They certainly are friendly to radio astronomy as reflected in the resources that they are putting into their bid to get the Square Kilometre Array in South Africa. The government sees this as a way to bolster high tech in the country. It's interesting that many of the people associated with the project were formerly defense contractors - now that's a fine change to encourage.
I expect to be going back fairly often and I'm looking forward to it!
Tim
This looks a lot like the Sandias in Albuquerque in the evening - the same watermelon coloured mountains which is what Sandia means. Turning around though, we see the sea:
Cape Town is a lot like Sydney - a truly spectacular physical setting with lots of beautiful green suburbs. The long recovery from apartheid still continues though and the poverty is everywhere (unlike Sydney). However, South Africa has a good rate of economic growth and a reasonable government (apart from AIDS). They certainly are friendly to radio astronomy as reflected in the resources that they are putting into their bid to get the Square Kilometre Array in South Africa. The government sees this as a way to bolster high tech in the country. It's interesting that many of the people associated with the project were formerly defense contractors - now that's a fine change to encourage.
I expect to be going back fairly often and I'm looking forward to it!
Tim
Thursday, April 20, 2006
FIRST YEAR RESULTS, Part 1a
Just a quick one...
Language: It took me awhile to understand Australian. I'm still learning to speak it. Some examples of the dialect:
Lounge Room = Living Room
Benchtop = Countertop
Timber = Wood
Mate = What guys call each other
Almost any word can be made "Australian" by adding "ie" to the end of it.
For example: Brekkie = Breakfast, Pressie = Present, and get this one! Truckie (the big, burly semi-driver "truckie"?)= Trucker, and Barby = BBQ
Cheers, Judi
Language: It took me awhile to understand Australian. I'm still learning to speak it. Some examples of the dialect:
Lounge Room = Living Room
Benchtop = Countertop
Timber = Wood
Mate = What guys call each other
Almost any word can be made "Australian" by adding "ie" to the end of it.
For example: Brekkie = Breakfast, Pressie = Present, and get this one! Truckie (the big, burly semi-driver "truckie"?)= Trucker, and Barby = BBQ
Cheers, Judi
Monday, April 17, 2006
FIRST YEAR RESULTS, Part I
I haven’t posted anything here for weeks. My creative urges have been focused elsewhere, i.e., painting the house, making wall hangings, doing a collage, etc. It has been one year now that Tim and I moved to Australia. ONE YEAR! I remember in November 2004, we made a chart to help us decide whether to move. We each ranked various items of consideration: Tim’s job, Socorro VS Sydney, dogs, finances, kids, housing, etc. I thought I might provide an update on how things have turned out to date and add a few items that we had not considered…
1. Tim’s job: He loves it. NRAO? What's that?
2. Socorro VS Sydney: Duhhhhhhh. Socorro doesn’t stand a chance.
3. Dogs: This turned out ok, although I still miss the big white dog I had to leave behind. I’m glad we went through the incredible expense and difficulty to bring Karma and Sammy, though. They have adjusted to Aussie living with no trouble at all.
4. Finances: Hmmmm. Well, it is more expensive to live here and we make less money… but we’re scraping by. ☺
5. Housing: Ouch. Houses are expensive here. We found a nice home in a nice area, but it took the sale of our two New Mexico houses to put down to buy this house.
6. Weather: OOOO la la, the weather is great here. Socorro isn’t bad, but Sydney has it beat.
7. Scenery: The water and beaches are beautiful here, but it is hard to beat the American Southwest for spectacular scenery.
8. Diversity: Sydney. It is truly a melting pot here. Our next-door neighbors are from Chile, the man across the street is from Singapore, our friends Jerry and Yvonne, down the street, are from India (he is half British), as well as the nice family across the street. In addition, one street over is a man from Iran. I have a Chinese friend at the dog park and have met several people from South Africa. I just met a woman down the street who is renting a home with her partner who is Indian. She is from Sri Lanka, and they both arrived from the US one year ago. Socorro has some diversity in that the demographics are made up of Anglo, Hispanic and American Indian, with some international additions that work at NMTech or NRAO. However, Sydney definitely wins in the diversity category.
9. A cool thing: In Australia, they have a system called BYO. As you are probably aware, this means “bring your own” bottle. BYO is an excellent levelling strategy for restaurants that can’t afford a liquor license. Even at the smallest pizza joint, you can enjoy a nice bottle of wine with your meal. Some licensed restaurants even offer BYO along with their own liquor menu. These restaurants charge a corkage fee per person, and this amount seems to depend on the “upscale-ness” of the venue. The corkage fee ranges from $1.00- $4.00 per person.
10. …TO BE CONTINUED…
Cheers! Judi
1. Tim’s job: He loves it. NRAO? What's that?
2. Socorro VS Sydney: Duhhhhhhh. Socorro doesn’t stand a chance.
3. Dogs: This turned out ok, although I still miss the big white dog I had to leave behind. I’m glad we went through the incredible expense and difficulty to bring Karma and Sammy, though. They have adjusted to Aussie living with no trouble at all.
4. Finances: Hmmmm. Well, it is more expensive to live here and we make less money… but we’re scraping by. ☺
5. Housing: Ouch. Houses are expensive here. We found a nice home in a nice area, but it took the sale of our two New Mexico houses to put down to buy this house.
6. Weather: OOOO la la, the weather is great here. Socorro isn’t bad, but Sydney has it beat.
7. Scenery: The water and beaches are beautiful here, but it is hard to beat the American Southwest for spectacular scenery.
8. Diversity: Sydney. It is truly a melting pot here. Our next-door neighbors are from Chile, the man across the street is from Singapore, our friends Jerry and Yvonne, down the street, are from India (he is half British), as well as the nice family across the street. In addition, one street over is a man from Iran. I have a Chinese friend at the dog park and have met several people from South Africa. I just met a woman down the street who is renting a home with her partner who is Indian. She is from Sri Lanka, and they both arrived from the US one year ago. Socorro has some diversity in that the demographics are made up of Anglo, Hispanic and American Indian, with some international additions that work at NMTech or NRAO. However, Sydney definitely wins in the diversity category.
9. A cool thing: In Australia, they have a system called BYO. As you are probably aware, this means “bring your own” bottle. BYO is an excellent levelling strategy for restaurants that can’t afford a liquor license. Even at the smallest pizza joint, you can enjoy a nice bottle of wine with your meal. Some licensed restaurants even offer BYO along with their own liquor menu. These restaurants charge a corkage fee per person, and this amount seems to depend on the “upscale-ness” of the venue. The corkage fee ranges from $1.00- $4.00 per person.
10. …TO BE CONTINUED…
Cheers! Judi
Sunday, April 2, 2006
Bush and Cheney: The Hippie Kings
As someone who was there (the sixties, I mean), I can affirm that this is good stuff -
Petty Larseny: Bush and Cheney: The Hippie Kings
Tim
Petty Larseny: Bush and Cheney: The Hippie Kings
Tim
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Fine article on the role of the USA in the world
What 5 years of Bush has done - The World's Dispensable Nation
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