Power Outage

While out to do some more time lapse experimenting (I admit it's really quite addictive), I found that my camera's battery seems well and truly to be quitting on me. The reassuring "fully charged" indicator turns out to be nothing more than an evil deception, as it quickly changes to "completely depleted", shutting down the camera after little more than 100 shots.

So, my Sydney Harbor vision turned out significantly shorter than planned; but for what it's worth, enjoy.



Pending the purchase of a new battery, and weather permitting, I intend to go back to Milsons Point and give it another go.

Still, all is not lost; while I was there, I did manage a decent shot of the Opera House in the warm light of the late afternoon sun.

Random question of the day

How come Magnum (1980), enjoying a high class sports car and having access to top of the range tech gizmos, always had to find a public phone, and was even forced to physically chase down the luxury car of his host to warn them of a bomb; while Charlie's Angels (1976) had cell phones even in rental cars?

Survival secured

Today, on two separate trips from my office to the main admin building (across the compound) and back, every single chick that crossed my path was up the duff.

It would seem that we're not on the road to extinction just yet.

Time lapse experiment

My first attempt at time lapse photography...




And another one...


I was hoping for a more interesting plot along the lines of "ferry arrives, people board vessel, ferry departs"; but no less than 3 consecutive ferries were, according to announcements, full and therefore wouldn't stop to pick up additional passengers. The funniest part was when some of the stranded would-be travelers started asking about a reinforcement vessel. Remember folks, this is Sydney Ferries you're dealing with, famous for stuffing things up and then leaving you on your own.

Market

Weekly market on Saturday morning in Parramatta

Can't have a market without an ice cream truck


And then, there's coffee

James Ruse Drive

James Ruse Drive, North Parramatta. Friday, just after 5 pm.

Party spoilt

That's right; we may have lost the first 2 games, and therefore the series; but with a comfortable 28:16 win, the Blues have avoided complete humiliation. The Maroons might be celebrating the series win, but the whitewash predicted by many did not happen.

Congrats NSW; and remember, State Of Origin 2010 (aka revenge) is less than a year away!

Tsunami

... is not only the right word to describe what the Blues are doing to Queensland in tonight's State Of Origin game, it's also what the Australian east coast is looking out for after an earthquake in Kiwiland.

On some days, it's good not to live in one of the posh seaside suburbs.

For the pride ...

... and honor! The series might be lost, but now that we're sufficiently far behind, nothing is going to stop the Blues from not just catching up, but obliterating them unbearably smug banana benders in what will be the most spectacular thrashing since ... well, since ever, really.

Ok, so the Maroons get to play at home, which might make things slightly difficult; but even so, they shall go down in history not for winning all three games in the first time for 14 years, but for losing to a massively underrated NSW side.

Let the battle begin!

Smokey and the Bandit

It was Saturday afternoon, the weather was about as crappy as it gets around here, and I don't really need an excuse to indulge in what must be one of the guiltiest of guilty pleasures.

Watching Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in what is essentially a 90 minutes car chase is still good fun; despite the fact (or perhaps because) there's no storyline of any significance, or any character development worth mentioning, interfering with the plot of one car chasing another from Texarkana, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia for the flimsiest of reasons.

Burt Reynolds never seems to hesitate to make fun of himself, as he's introduced in the opening scenes not as a heroic daredevil racing driver, but as a has-been who is being paid to hang out at the local truck race (the movie wastes no time establishing itself in the world of redneck hillbillies) so "people can look at the legend".

Country singer Jerry Reed, as Reynold's truck driving buddy, adds a few dry one-liners and also supplies the embarrassingly catchy theme song. And Sally Field, with her best roles clearly still to come, may easily be out-acted by Fred the Beagle, but she does bring, as Cledus mentions so subtly, "a nice ass" to the mix.

The movie certainly takes us back to simpler times, to times when seatbelts were for wussies, the good guys were allowed to smoke, GM was still making cool cars, and movie stunts were done for real, without the "help" of some sterile CGI effects.

While the cars are clearly the stars and the various chases, crashes and heart-stopping near-misses are the highlights of the film, Gleason's Sheriff Buuuuuuford T Justice clearly stands out among the actors' performances. Gleason brilliantly portrays this caricature of a Texan law enforcer, incorporating every cliché ever conceived about this particular breed of humans.

Truth in advertising?

You gotta love a good acronym in the morning ...

Concert

For this week's Friday night entertainment, we shall gather in the park

Kiwis getting your attention

On all your air trips, have you ever paid attention to the safety video? Well, if you're going to catch a domestic flight in NZ, it might just be worth glimpsing at the screen: