Balmoral

Sunday afternoon we visited Balmoral, a nice beach not far from Manly, but less crowded.
And what else could we do but have a nice brunch at the Bathers Pavilion Cafe, look out over the beach and Sydney Harbour and enjoy the views.

The Christmas Meat Raffle

Thanks to the Christmas meat raffle at our local RSL on Friday and Sunday our fridge is full again. We won half a ham (4Kg) on Friday and on Sunday an esky full of cooked prawns; a tray of lamb 12 pces and if that wasn't enough we also won a breakfast tray with eggs, sausages, meatballs and bacon. Not bad.

Kylie Night (for the girls) Lawn Bowling (for the boys)

Caroline and the girls went to see Kylie Minogue in concert at the Acer Arena on Sunday, leaving us the boys to fend for ourselves. We (the boys) set out to have a great time.

We could have just gone to the pub and had an enjoyable evening, but instead we went to play Barefoot Lawn Bowls at the Paddington Bowling Club. As we weren't going to play for money the idea soon came to play for a tattoo. The loser will have a LOSER tattoo. I hope they were joking. I lost!!!!
After playing lawn bowls for 2 hrs we had to nourish our inside which took us on a mini pub crawl around the less touristy pubs in the Rocks ending up at a Korean restaurant at World Square.
Here we met the girls after their concert and they dragged us home. I think they had a good time?!

Bush attacked by a shoe!

You can say what you like about Bush, but he's got good reflexes.

Chinese Tow Truck gets Towed

A Chevrolet Captiva owner is angry that her SUV is going to be towed so she gets into her car, starts the engine, and begins driving off...while pulling the tow truck with her.

Vampire Moths

Bloodsucking moths have been found in Siberia—evidence of evolution at work, scientists say.

The Heavens Smiled down on us

Last night the heavens smiled down on us.

Across Australia, Venus and Jupiter were in formation with the moon to appear as a smiley face in the night sky.The unusual astronomical event was close enough to see with the naked eye from about 9pm. Venus and Jupiter have appeared near each other in the evening sky for the past week but last night was the best time to see the smiley face.

Sting: Songs from the Labyrinth

Last night we went to the only show Sting is giving in the Opera House.
Sting took the stage with a lute instead of his usual bass guitar for an evening of music by Elizabethan composer John Dowland and joined by lutenist Edin Karamazov.
It was a different type of music then we were used to, needless to say it was amazing to hear in the Concert Hall. Sting also performed some of his older songs, Message in a Bottle, Fields of Gold playing them on his lute.

Sting and Edin rehearsing for the St. Luke's concert

Before the start of the show we were informed that only the night before Jørn Utzon passed away. This was the first evening show performed after, but Jørn Utzon's legacy, the Sydney Opera House, will live on. Over 7 and a half million people a year will still enjoy this iconic building that has put Sydney on the map.

How to drink coffee in Space

Engineers have sent men to the moon over 30 years ago and only just now engineered how to drink coffee from a cup. I thought life was all about priorities?
And with Deep Space Internet a success,
(NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet, using software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 20 million miles from Earth.)
,we can now only wait for the first Starbucks on the Moon, Mars and.....

Transformers

Transformers, ...robots in disguise.

With Secret Santas drawn at work today, I hope mine sees this.

Edmonton - Alberta Meteor (Canada)

Onlookers across the province of Alberta, Canada watched in awe , describing a kaleidoscope of colours as the meteor fell to earth last Thursday the 20th of November

This spectacular and dramatic event was captured on video camera by a local patrol car in the area. As the vehicle drives slowly through a built-up area, the meteor is clearly visible as a bright light appearing in the sky as it makes its lightning descent.

Monet and the Impressionists

The Art Gallery of NSW

The Monet and the Impressionists exhibition is in town all the way from Boston, USA until the 26th of January '09. And because the weather forecast wasn't that great last Saturday we paid it a visit at the Art Gallery of NSW. And while we were there we thought we might as well look at what else was on offer.

(l)Claude Monet (with beard) (r) Bridge over a Pond with Water Lillies.

Monty Python's You Tube Channel

Monty Python:
"For 3 years you YouTubers have been ripping us off, taking tens of thousands of our videos and putting them on YouTube. Now the tables are turned. It's time for us to take matters into our own hands.

We know who you are, we know where you live and we could come after you in ways too horrible to tell............
But being the extraordinarily nice chaps we are, we've figured a better way to get our own back: We've launched our own Monty Python channel on YouTube."

Willard Wigan micro Sculptor

Willard Wigan, a genius who creates detailed micro-sculptures that fit on the head of a pin or inside the eye of a needle.

Domino Day 2008

Highlights of Domino Day 2008 in the Netherlands where they set a new world record in falling dominoes. 4,345,027 in total apparently. More information here.

At Home with John Cleese

John Cleese shows us around his house.

The Matrix Runs on Windows

Take the red pill. Get the blue screen.

The Black Hole

A sleep-deprived office worker accidentally discovers a black hole - and then greed gets the better of him...

The Huntsman in the Bedroom

It is great living in Australia and you don't always have to leave the comfort of your own home to see its wildlife. Saturday we had a lovely beetle crawling around the living room floor.

I think it might have been a Christmas Beetle, not sure.

Sunday, upon hanging up my bathrobe on the back of the master bedroom door, I spotted a Huntsman sitting between the doorframe and the wall. Absolutely no idea how long it had been there. Judging by the size of it quite some time...

Huntsman Spider

And upon releasing the Huntsman in the garden Caroline spotted a nice little skink basking on the patio.

Common Garden Skink

No Room For Gerold

After ten long years in the flat, Gerold the crocodile is being thrown out. Is there a conspiracy against him?

Big Head Small Body

The Show Must Go On

This DJ carries on his broadcast even though fire is breaking out all around him, relying on his colleagues to put out the flames.

Sculpture by the Sea 2008

How big is a T-Rex' brain?

Every year we look forward to Sculpture by the Sea. It's nice to be out and about and walk from Bondi to Tamarama enjoying the views and some nice pieces of art. Unfortunately it was really busy when we went last Sunday. The weather didn't help much either it was in the low 30s. To sum it all up, if you like to see nice sculptures and beautiful scenery, why wouldn't you want to go and see it?

Seriously Bad Drivers

Figure skating

Gopher Broke

Will he ever find food?
Created by Blur Studio.

Cairns

Last week we went up North to Cairns for yet another nice week away. On Saturday we flew the 3 hrs it takes from Sydney to Cairns. When we got there our pre-booked rental car was ready and waiting for us (we received a free upgrade). And we took it up the scenic coastal drive of the Captain Cook Highway all the way up to Crocodylus Village situated in the Daintree Rainforest.

A lookout along the Captain Cook Hwy

Along the way we took our time and stopped at places of interest. We stopped for lunch in Port Douglas. And drove on to Mossman Gorge. A crystal clear river just outside Mossman. Here we spotted our first Boyd's Forest Dragon.

Mossman Gorge, Boyd's Forest Dragon

From Mossman Gorge we drove on to the Daintree River where we had to cross the Daintree River Ferry. Once you have crossed the ferry you know you have truly arrived in the Rainforest. It is as much symbolic as a feeling you get when driving off the ferry into the forest. We arrived just in time for the nightwalk 20.00 - 23.00 that we had booked at Crocodylus Village. At the nightwalk it was just another couple, us and our guide 'Possum'. Very knowledgable about all the rainforest plants and creatures we encountered on our trip. A land snail the size of your fist, white kneed crickets the size of a mouse, amethystine python, stick insects, Huntsman spiders, tree frogs, Cape York melomys and a pademelon.

White kneed cricket, Cape York Melomy
Amethystine python, Huntsman

Crocodylus Village is quite different from other places we have spent the night in -the way that their electricity is produced by a generator that is turned off between 12.00 - 06.00. The next morning we had to get up at 04.45 to catch the 06.00 ferry. And because it is pitch black in the rainforest at night they lent us a lantern so we had some light to get dressed by and to find our way from our hut through the rainforest to the reception area and the carpark. The rainforest is a wonderful place but if you are looking for a nice quiet night you are mistaken. If you sleep in a hut where a bit of canvas shields you from the outside world take note that the rainforest is full of sound at night and not at all the peaceful retreat you might expect it to be. There were numerous times we were awoken by the sound of crickets, frogs, birds, flying foxes. Needless to say we made it to the ferry just before 6AM and we saw hundreds of
flying foxes fly over. We had to catch the 6AM ferry in order to make our next tour. Daintree at dawn with Chris Dahlberg.

Welcome Swallow on the Daintree Ferry, Papuan Frogmouth

He has a list of all the birds we had seen or heard that morning 19/10/08 on his website. After that we went back to the Daintree rainforest and up to Cape Tribulation stopping at several boardwalk rainforest walks before we arrived at our next stop for the following 2 nights Cape Tribulation Resort & Spa where we stayed in their Rainforest Retreat cabins. Again insect mesh does not block out all the noises you hear at night. From here we did many more nice walks throughout the day.

On Monday it was time to go back to Cairns again. We had taken the coastal road up so we planned on driving back to Cairns via Atherton and the Hinterland and take the inland route. The landscape is remarkably different once you have crossed the Great Dividing Range. It's arid and there were heaps of huge termite mounds about. Midway we came across a sign with Mareeba Wetlands where we decided to drop in. It is quite amazing to see this little oasis. Because it was getting very warm again and we were time constrained we chose to do a bird watching cruise in one of the lagoons. Before we did the cruise the guide was kind enough to point out to me another amethystine python that was resting under the roof of the outhouse building. Again we had seen some beautiful birds among them an osprey and Jesus Birds.

Mareeba Wetlands, Jacana/Jesus Bird

?????, 3 cormerants

From here we drove on to Atherton and we followed the scenic drive along Lake Tinaroo. Which went from a nice bitumen road to a 28Km unsealed road our RAV4 would be jealous of. Sadly we had a standard 4-door rental car and progress was slow. When we finally reached bitumen again we stopped at the Cathedral Fig Tree. A huge strangler fig.

Unfortunately the photos don't do justice to its size

Than we had to rush on to Cairns as the City office of Europcar closes at 17.00. We made it in the nick of time, but it meant we didn't have time to check into the hotel first and now had to get a taxi for our suitcases. It was nice to sleep in a 'quiet' environment again. =) Although in the end I do think I still prefer the 'jungle'. The following morning we had again an early rise. (Whoever said a holiday was supposed to be relaxing?). At around 08.00 we were picked up for our 2 days of snorkelling and stay aboard the Ocean Quest (more catered for divers) on the outer reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. It was great we snorkelled 3 times at various places on the first day. And we finally saw Nemo. Of all the places where we had snorkelled on the reef before we have never seen him. Not sure why. And also for the first time we'd seen sharks, White Tip Reef Sharks. We each saw 3 of them and 2 we saw together.
In the evening there was some entertainment in the form of a movie and some of the staff members played some music on the coffee deck. When we went outside we turned our heads away from the ship's lights and the music and let our eyes adjust to the darkness. A night sky full of stars unfolded. Truly an amazing sight and we were the only ones seeing it and taking notice. On top of the boat it was even more amazing with Cairns being 65Km to the east there was no light pollution and you had an even more amazing 360 degree view of the Southern night skies.
The second day we had our first snorkel at around 06.00. Again an early morning but well worth it. Maybe because of where we were but it seemed we saw loads more fish. We also saw Green Sea Turtles one of them even chose to spend some time with us before swimming off again. In those 2 days we spent a total of 6 hours of good snorkelling. On the way back to Cairns the sea was a bit rough and so were some of the other passengers were worse for wear. Not us, fortunately. It was nice to be on dry land again.

Wildlife from Cairns' Esplanade:
Spoonbill, Pelicans, Fiddler Crabs and our favourite a huge Mudskipper

The next day we took it easy and walked around Cairns and visited the Cairns Wildlife Dome above the Cairns casino. A wonderful place to visit if you feel you haven't seen or are not able to see some of the wildlife the area has to offer. Because the tickets are valid for 5 days we decided to visit it again the next day in the time we had left in Cairns before we had to fly back again.

Saltwater Crocodile, Eastern Water Dragon,
Papuan Frogmouth, Eclectus Parrot

Funnily enough I said to Caroline how hard parrots can bite only the day before. And it was quite funny when we heard a shriek and saw an eclectus parrot that had landed on a man who promptly dropped his camera. After he left I wanted to have a closer look at this 'naughty parrot' that had now settled on some branches. An excellent photo opportunity and before I knew it the parrot was on my shoulder. It first tried to get my glasses so I quickly took those off and then it nibbled softly on my ear before digging its beak in my shirt piercing it 3 times and subsequently in my shoulder tearing the skin and also leaving a nice bruise. Of course the parrot was quite amused and did not want to leave anymore...... What a week it was.

Ark

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hours upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

William Shakespeare.

An unknown virus has destroyed almost the entire human population.
Oblivious to the true nature of the disease, the only remaining survivors escape to the sea.
In great ships, they set off in search off uninhabited land.
Ark composed and directed by Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki.

(the complete works of William Shakespeare online)

Fridge Magnet

Now that is what you call a fridge magnet!!!
Guiness

Wrong Side of the Bed

Normality takes a turn on his head when Mr Average suffers a very unlucky day when he gets up on the wrong side of the bed. Will he manage to get back on the right side of life or will he be doomed to suffer bad fortune for the rest of the day? This film was the winner of 2006 One Minute Wonder Competition.

Our Time Is Up

A therapist discovers he has six weeks to live and gets brutally honest. Oscar Nominated. Written and directed by Rob Pearlstein.

Beached Whale

A whale finds itself 'beached as ..., bro'.

Creepy Doll

Creepy Doll by Jonathan Coulton.
(Nightmare alert)

Finance World in Crisis

The Fridge Monster

Terror always lurks behind closed doors.

Yves Rossy Crosing the English Channel

''To infinity and beyond.....''

Buzz Lightyear

Yves Rossy has done it again, this time flying over the English Channel in his special jet powered wing.

Microcosmos Meets Radiohead

Footage from the 1996 French film Microcosmos accompanied by All I Need from Radiohead.

Ascension

When awkward train spotter Tim stumbles into the wrong flat during a power
outage, he interrupts a cult ceremony to summon an alien prophet who will
save His believers before earth is destroyed at midnight. Things go from bad
to worse...
Directed by: Stephen Irwin Produced by: Vickie Gest

Little Gordon: Kitchen Nightmares

Ever wondered what Gordon Ramsey would have been like as a little kid?
Just as horrible! lol

Golf

Friday I went golfing for the first time in my life (video: a spot had come free). We played 9 holes. It was hard in the beginning, but by the time we got by the 7th hole I got into the swing of things. Only lost 2 balls in a water feature and 2 tees. Not buying my own set of golf clubs yet, but not disgruntled about my lack of progress either yet.

Mythbusters - Fun with Gas

Adam Savage demonstrates how (and explains why) Helium (He) turns you into Donald Duck, and Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) into Satan.

Rock in a Hard Place

Rock in a Hard Place by Matthew Monson.

The Great Escape

GOOD: Business of Death

Throughout the developed world the business surrounding death has often been an uneasy topic of discussion. Originating in the mid-19th Century, the modern funeral has evolved into an economic and cultural monster, with a vast network of supporting industries and myriad options for your earthly remains.

In a nutshell: Who profits from your untimely misfortune? And the music isn't bad either.

Yet Another Birthday Present

As if Caroline hadn't spoiled me enough for my birthday, Saturday after we got up she decided that we should go somewhere........ It turned out we were going to the Australian Reptile Park on the warmest Spring day so far with the temperature hanging around the 27C.

At around 15.00 it started to get quiet and we had the whole park pretty much to ourselves. Because we were near the Entrance Caroline thought we might as well go there and have a look. What I did not know was when we got there that she had already booked us in a hotel for the night and she had secretly packed our bags that morning so we could drive around the area the following day and also see the Pelican Feeding.

I can't wait until my next birthday!!!