Photo Hunt; Pink

This is one of the strange Australian blooms.

A Callistemon. Commonly called a Bottlebrush.

This one is a dark pink but they range from white, yellow and green through to orange, pink and red.

Grandma’s Life #1

I have always been interested in the decades before my birth. The innate historian in me is hooked on old newspapers and magazines and the way of life they show.

How my grandmother and mother (you may need to add a “Great” or two young reader) had such devoted interest in how they looked, cooked and cleaned.

In 1949, it was Iclema Foundation Cream and Powder.

Saturday Suzi

Simon and Garfunkel in Concert

Last night Buff and I went to see two old friends. In an indoor stadium which has hosted basketball matches and is the home of the annual Hopman Cup tennis tournament.

Friends we never met in person but whose words and music inspired us during our formative years.

Friends who took us on a journey to Scarborough Fair across a Bridge Over Troubled Waters ending up in my bedroom with Cecelia. The world’s greatest song-writer and his friend from the sixth grade may be old, more wrinkled and have voices which are no longer at their best but they are true showmen and still know how to hold an audience.

Along the way we reminisced about Bright Eyes and the Boxer and so many other memories proving that we are all Still Crazy After all These Years. One of the things which amazed me was the number of young people who were not only in the audience but who were up and dancing and cheering. People who were the children of the original fans.

This was their last concert on their Australian tour and the first time they had ever been to Perth. The audience demanded, and got, three encores. Two and a half hours of continuous concert with no respite for an adoring crowd.

Having been about ten rows back for the show, as the second encore began, Buff took off in her wheelchair and headed for the side of the stage, along with a crowd of others, all dancing and applauding.

As they took their last bows, Paul Simon had tears running down his face. So did a large percentage of the audience.

Including Buff, whose head is in the foreground of this last image.

This was the first time I used my phone camera and I obviously still have a lot to learn.

Sincere thanks to the Bullfrog who made the night possible and gave us our birthday and Christmas presents for the next three years in one single memorable night.

BBC Quiz of the Week

Last night was the Simon and Garfunkel concert.

More about that in a later post.

I thought I had kept up with most of the news this week but I found I only got 1/7 and that one was a guess.

So I’m in line to take the hat from sandy and newcomer Karen who scored two each last week.

No Crowns for a few weeks although the wizzardly Cybe and the linguistically confused Herr G eaGle both went close with a 6/7

So how will you go in this week’s BBC News Quiz of the Week.

Good luck

Previous Dunces.

26th Jun, 2/7, Karen, sandy,
19th Jun, 1/7, azahar
12th Jun, 2/7, sandy, azahar
5th Jun, 0/7, Daddy Papersurfer
29th May, 1/7, nursemyra
22nd May, 0/7, healingmagichands
15th May, 2/7, nursemyra
8th May, 1/7, Rob, sledpress,
1st May, 2/7,Daddy Papersurfer, sandy
24th Apr, 2/7, Rob,Daddy Papersurfer, azahar , silverstar98121
17th Apr, 2/7, sandy, Rob
10th Apr, 2/7, sandy, Daddy Papersurfer, anniegirl1138, Archie
3rd Apr, 2/7, sandy, Puddock, azahar
27th Mar, 2/7, silverstar98121, healingmagichands
20th Mar, 1/7, Daddy Papersurfer, gitwizard

Crown Winners (7/7)

29th Aug Buff
5th Sept Buff
12th Sept Daddy P
17th Octember Buff
26th Octember, healing magic hands
5th Dec. Buff
9th Jan 2009, azahar
6th Feb 2009, archie
20th Feb 2009, healing magic hands
27th Feb, 2009, Buff
20th Mar, 2009, healing magic hands
3rd Apr, 2009, sledpress
17th Apr, 2009, anniegirl1138, Buff, Archie
15th May, Buff
5th June, Buff

Three of Diamonds

Learn The Word!

Why do people use words they do not understand?

alfresco;

1. adverb; out-of-doors; in the open air: to dine alfresco.

2. adjective; outdoor: an alfresco café.

Origin:
1745–55; It: in the cool, in a cool place. See fresco

And the mind goes off on a tangent suffering from a modicom of vowel shift thinking that from all reports that Frisco is rather cool place – - -

Sky Watch Friday

The past week has been horrendous in Perth.

Gales, rain squalls and icy winds.

Of course this is the week I came to Perth for the Simon and Garfunkel concert.

Wednesday morning there was a reward for living through the nasty weather.

Global Time Widget

Some time ago I found I was always looking up time zones and trying to work out what the time was where my email correspondents lived.

For a while I found quite a good solution to my problem with a circular gizmo which Reader’s Digest gave away free as a Promo.

Then I found an on board solution. The Iridium Time Converter. It worked well on a Win 98 platform.
I think Iridium then went out of business and the program almost disappeared. Each time I changed computers I googled for it and found it on a few websites run by Ham Operators. The program appeared to be fixed and never changing. An orphan with no long term hope of survival. But it still worked, even in Win XP.

Then I thought I would see if it was still available after having had my current copy for around six years.

I found a newer version! One which shows day and night in moving bands. It has Samoa added into its list of cities. It is basically blue rather than yellow and black.

The file is only available in two places that I could find so I have made its survival a little safer and uploaded it to a file storage site so it is available to anyone who wants it. It is a zip file and when opened lurks down on your task bar until you need it. (That has all changed!)

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

There have been changes since this post was made.

Now James McPharlane has reclaimed his program and is integrating it with Google Earth and making all sorts of improvements. It is so much better than it was.

Now (2nd July 2009) The New Iridium Global Time Zone File is here.

I wonder if it will work in Vista, on a Mac or in Linux Distros.

(I have updated the posting date as well which may make it a little more accessible.)

Australian Tea

There was a man in England who was considered by all to be the world’s foremost authority on tea. One day he was chatting with a friend of his who had just returned from a trip to Australia. This friend told him that he had heard of a tea brewed in a small town in the Outback named Mercy. The connoisseur scoffed at him, stating that no tea came out of the Outback, because there was no way to grow it.

“Oh, it doesn’t come from leaves,” remarked his friend, “they brew it from Koala fur.”

This so intrigued the expert that he booked a flight to Australia the next day. After his arrival, he hired a guide to take him deep into the Outback to the town of Mercy. Once in town, he found the only pub, and ordered a cup of the mysterious beverage.

The cup was placed before him. He spent many moments noting the color, the aroma, and the viscosity. He took a small sip. It was good! He then followed with a big mouthful, and was suddenly gagging and spitting, clutching at his mouth.

“What is this?” he exclaimed, holding up a handful of what appeared to be short, coarse threads.

“Oh, that’s Koala fur,” replied the bartender.

“You mean to tell me that you don’t strain out the fur?” asked the expert, incredulous.

“Of course not,” replied the bartender, “The Koala tea of Mercy is never strained!”

Vicks Vapourub

Click on the image to biggify – it assists in readability.

The Shape Test

I should have chosen the square – - –

You Are Skilled

You are balanced and competent. You value harmony. Other people see you as outgoing, hyper, and even a bit overwhelming. Your ideal romantic relationship is peaceful, romantic, and private. You do best in tasks that require you to be logical, hard-working, and courageous.

The Shape Test

TED; Diane Benscoter, “How Cults Rewire The Brain

It is worth remembering that “Once a Cult, always a Cult.”

Persistence and popularity does not stop a cult from being a cult.

Thought for the Day

When I was five years old, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life.

When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I wrote down “happy”.

They told me I didn’t understand the assignment.

I told them they didn’t understand life.

Burgled from Phil

That Was The Financial Year That Was