My Favourite Photos of the Week

Taken by me for your enjoyment


Sunrise over Apollo Bay - after a King Tide - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100919)
This photo has not been cropped


Brisbane Ranges in Victoria - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100829)
This photo has not been cropped

 

Old Shed - Taken with a Nikon (20100829)
This photo has NOT been cropped

Old Shed - Taken with a Nikon (20100829)
This photo has NOT been cropped

 

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!

Flying Fezzes, ……………… I’ve fried my HD

I’ve always been a supporter of back-ups, I’ve always been a supporter of duplicate data, I've always been a supporter of back-up of a back-up. Hell anything to keep data and data integrity.

November 27th 2009, I finally moved away from CD’s for storage of my precious photos, so not only did I have a copy on my HD, I also used to have a copy on CD. November saw me take a step up in to world, with an external HD, which was meant to store my photos, my back-ups for my PC. All the stuff I didn’t want to lose.

I’d also merged all the data and then copied this and sent the data off site for safe-keeping.

I’m patting myself on the back as we speak. My external HD failed last night and it isn’t even 12 months old. It’s gone, won’t register on my PC, The PC says it’s disabled the hardware, because it’s faulty. That’s all very bad news.

Thankfully I had the copies, My heart didn’t even reach my mouth, simply because I know I was prepared and that saved me the heart-ache of racing to find a computer technician who could save this data for me.

I followed my own advice for once (come on, admit it, you don’t always!)

I’ve previously posted about the backing up data, about having this data stored off-site, about making sure you don’t lose those precious family photos. I;m so glad I followed my own advice, this once!

Here are some prior posts about what you should do:-
Duplicated Files
Back Up, Did I say Back-Up?
How safe is the data in your safe?

So get off your butt and do it now, no heart-ache, no worries, be completely at ease.

If this seems like too much trouble, there are online back-up services available also, that require little effort on your behalf – so that is something else to consider.

Here is one that comes recommended by friends - Carbonite AU

So choose your poison and do it NOW – don’t delay – don’t think tomorrow, tomorrow maybe the day your computer decides to shit itself!

$10 Meals for UNDER $10 – It CAN be done

I was just reading this article - The Age - Shonkys, the award that no company wants where it says that Coles have falsely advertised meals for under $10 for a family (I assume 4 people)

I look at the ads and see fancy food, I see Curtis Stone (who from a publics’ point of view is the people’s chef) I see food that does take some time and effort to cook, purchase the ingredients, and would be JUST on the border of costing $10 to purchase even IF you had ingredients handy.

So, you can’t just walk into the supermarket with $10, pick up one of the cards and walk out with a meal ready to serve 4 for $10 because of the condiments (which add the flavor). Here is a list of ingredients (and costs) notice the ** Coles, Feed your Family - Chicken and Madras with Steamed Basmati Rice

So you have all of this in the cupboard, including coconut milk and 8 fresh curry leaves? I’d doubt it and that is where and why people get so upset.

Yet there are meals out there that can feed a family of 4 or even 6 for under $10, with basic ingredients, with taste, flavor, texture and it’s food that the kids will eat, without any fancy preparation, AND BONUS it’s healthy!

It’s not unrealistic to expect a meal for under to feed a family of 4. I do it constantly, sometimes has meat and sometimes doesn’t. I do predominantly buy all my meat on special, so even if I didn’t need it that week I’d still buy it and either cook with it and freeze the dish OR freeze the raw product for later use.

I’m all in support of Coles, even if Choice, the consumers watchdog aren’t. The biggest problem with the $10meal promotion is that Coles expect you have coconut milk and fresh curry leaves in the cupboard, the general public is not a supermarket and often working parents don’t have the time to go to the supermarket every day, especially with it taking 5 minutes to choose the ingredients and the 15min to get through the registers.

Hint:- Don’t forget also, freeze it once, raw, freeze it once cooked. Never reheat the whole dish unless you plan on eating on the whole dish, as once it’s been cooked and then re-heated to eat once, it’s not advisable to re-heat again.

Here are some recipes that are under $10 per meal
Perfect Fettuccine
Butternut Pumpkin Soup
Pasta with Bacon

There are many more recipes like this in the Marysville Cookbook - why not have a look Marysville Cookbook Don't forget that if you do decide to buy (not compulsory) that $10 from each sale goes back to Marysville, the township devastated by the Victorian Bushfires in February 2009

My favourite Photos of the week

Taken by me for your enjoyment
Almond Blossom - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100827)
This photo has NOT been cropped

Almond Blossom - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100827)
This photo has been NOT cropped

Afternoon Sun on Poles - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100818)
This photo has been NOT cropped

Afternoon Sun on Poles - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100818)
This photo has been NOT cropped

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!

10 minute quickie

Yup, you heard right – I’m going to write this post in 10 minutes starting NOW

There are some things in the world that piss me off – some of these things are:-
1. Wondering why you got a red light/Speeding ticket when you constantly speed
2. Being pulled over for drink driving and saying I only had 2-3-4 drinks, you
drink and drive? I think that is problem
3. People who can’t/won’t say thank-you for anything nice.
4. Men who think that women who work full-time, should still do all the
housework.
5. When the person serving you can’t be bothered giving you time of day
6. People who race on the roads and wonder why they have accidents.
7. Web pages that load video and voice content without asking
8. Web sites that demand your postcode, suburb BFORE allowing to even view the
site (they are a retail site)
9. Unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road
10. People complaining when something goes wrong that they could have protected
themselves (like insurance) and then complain it wasn’t their fault/problem


Some things that I like in the world
1. People who open up doors for you, or hold the door open
2. When the person serving you is nice and not grumpy
3. Nice sunny warm days
4. The unconditional love of a dog
5. The smell of new born babies
6. The smell of fresh-ground coffee
7. The smell and feel of wood fires
8. BBQ’s on a summers evening
9. Fishing and the calm associated with it
10. When things ‘go right’ be it a project or event


And time is up – can you add to this?

Opt out of Twitter

I’d been having a fairly rough time all round, both in the real world and Twitter. I realized that Twitter for me and possibly others was starting to lose its shine.

I realized that if people put a call-out into the Twitterverse, I’d RT and try and help. If people needed help to solve a problem, I’d help if I knew and if I didn’t I’d RT and hopefully someone else would know the answer.

On Wednesday I put a call out for help to source a product, quite localized, but a majority of ‘my’ followers are in my area, so it shouldn’t have been problem.

24 hours later not one person had RT’d that tweet.

Alright no big deal you say 1 tweet, not RT’d, who cares? Well I care, because I cared enough to help or try to help via RT and then not have that returned, not even a thank-you. Made me feel used.

I thought about it and Thursday at 2pm I decided enough is enough and didn’t RT anything for almost 24hours. Big deal you say.

Many people who follow me, are interested in the weather alerts I also put out, which I do nationally when I become aware. I became aware that a highway in the North East of the state had been closed due to flooding. I put that out there – 3 hours later NOT ONE RT.

Excuses, people are busy, people don’t care, doesn’t affect them – so why should they RT? For me I always thought of twitter as a world-wide neighbourhood. Where everyone could help everyone with little actual effort required (Yeah I know lazy)

I’ve now not participated in Twitter as I knew it for 24 hours and you know what? Not one person has asked if I’m okay, even when I put this tweet out “FYI - There are some great one liners around, & requests for info, but I'm on an RT black ban for the interim - reason disclosed previously” Didn’t get ONE response.

I did get THREE responses when I first had a sook, but after that people just didn’t seem to care. Yeah I know sooky-lah-lah, shut up, grow up. It’s about none of that – it’s about caring and I always thought that those I associated with on Twitter cared.

So I am not going to RT anything, although I did RT a dog! (but dogs don’t count, they are faithful and never talk back and love you unconditionally)

So I will revisit Twitter, I’ll still watch and maybe interact, maybe RT – but certainly not at previous levels.

How long can I resist the pull?

What are you thoughts and experiences?

My Favourite photos of the week

Taken by me for your enjoyment

Geelong foreshore - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100829)
This Photo has NOT been cropped

Male Kangaroo at night - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100830)
This photo has NOT been cropped


Male Kangaroo on the hop - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100822)
This photo has been cropped

Kangaroo on the hop - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100822)
This photo has been cropped

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!

Yes it happened to me at a Pacific Shopping Centre

Some time back, I had an accident, an accident that wasn’t my fault, an accident that humiliated me, an accident that that made me realize, shopping centre management really don’t care.

The event:-

I went shopping, shopping at a shopping centre that has P2 parking (disability parking) near the front door, a P2 sticker means that I can walk – just not brilliantly, I prefer this shopping centre, simply because of the parking. Means I don’t have to come out of the shopping centre and wonder how the hell am I going to get back to my car?

From memory I had to get something for my daughter and consequently she was with me, I wasn’t having a good day, which means that walking was not a pleasant experience, but sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do, which meant going shopping, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy excursion.

Now, those of you that require a walking aid, probably know that shopping centre floors are the worst to walk on for any length of time, you are forced to change your gait to stay upright because the floors are so slippery.

Now what gets me is that if you want a gopher or a wheelchair, you have to get into the shopping centre, but not just near a doorway – Centre Management Help Desks always seem to be placed in the middle of the shopping centre, great for shoppers, but not so good for those that aren’t too good on their feet. The last time I took a gopher out, I had to call centre management to come and get it because the bloody thing had run out of charge.

There were no gophers available for use, there were wheelchairs, but surely I’m not that crippled, well I like to think so – hell I can walk most days, sometimes with no stick, sometimes with a stick and rarely do I need to pull out the crutches. So I figure I can walk.

Shopping Centres are designed to make you walk from one end to the other and view all the garbage in between, the two shops we were interested in were at opposite ends of the shopping centre (of course) so a quicker way (and also better walking surface) is go out one door, and in through another, via the carpark, and you can cut a good 500m off the distance needing to be travelled.

So my daughter and I exit one door, walk maybe 20metres or so, and I go head over tit. Don’t look at me like that, there was a bloody trench, that had been back-filled with tar and had left a depression, no warnings, nothing and I’ve fallen over it.

Handbag is broken, my newish pants have a hole in them, both my palms are skun, but you know the worst thing? I couldn’t bloody walk. I’d jarred the non-union facture in my leg. My daughter gets me back to the entrance and sits me down. Rushes off to the ‘help’ desk to get someone to help me/her.

Time passes, I don’t know how long, my daughter appears with a security guard, who’s pushing a wheel chair. I just wanted to get back to the car. I was in pain, I was embarrassed, I was upset. They took my details, or perhaps my daughter gave them, I don’t honestly recall.

2 days later I receive a phone call, the caller identified themselves and asks how I was I said okay, stiff and sore, I have to buy another handbag, I’ve ruined my pants.

I suppose I was still upset……. Anyway the thing that hurt the most besides the physical pain and the embarrassment, were the words that came next……. What do YOU want? (I still remember the words and the tone of the caller.) I realized then, they expected me to sue. Perhaps I should have, but I’m too nice, too busy whatever excuse you want to use. That’s me.

“What do YOU want?” It made me feel 2inches tall, it made me feel like I was trying to hold them to ransom, it made me feel dirty. They could have offered me something, but I should not have had to set my demands in front of them (not that I had any) I felt like they viewed me as bottom feeding scum. Sure I walk with a stick, sure I was in the carpark (that other people walked through) But ……… to make me feel like I was holding them to ransom? I felt so dirty.

My money is the same colour as everyone elses, and without me there would be no you.

Dalton Ghetti Miniature Pencil Art - WOW

I had to share this - the patience involved, the steady hand, the ability to spend hours sitting and carving a lead pencil - just WOW

I did a little research and found that the person doing these wonderful miniature sculptures is Daton Ghetti, a 49 yo carpenter. What's even more amazing is that he doesn't use any sort of magnification to acheive these results, even after 25 years.

Often these pieces can take years to complete, after all it is only a hobby.

You can see more of his work here Twisted Sifter

I'm in awe of the patience required and the steady hand, I would have neither.

Art when done well is beautiful and for the creator a work of art.

My Favourite photos of the week

Taken by me for your enjoyment


Grass with Dew - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100827)
This photo has NOT been cropped

Almond Blossom - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100827)
This photo has NOT been cropped


Almond Blossom - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100827)
This photo has NOT been cropped


State Forest - Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100808)
This photo has NOT been cropped

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!

My favourite photos of the week

Taken by me for your enjoyment

Beachport, SA - The stairs leading to Snapper Point, note the attachment to two lengths of nylon heavy duty tape? - They move with sand, wind and tide requirements. Innovative if you ask me and quite functional.
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100923)

Beachport, SA - Jetty
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100935)

Beachport, SA - Jetty Breakwater
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100925)

Beachport, SA - Jetty Breakwater
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100923)

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!

The Police, The Public and Law and Order

Another day, another death, another story about how the police got it all wrong.

The most recent event occurred in Sydney, resulting in the death of a aggressive individual.

Aggressive, in that he was attempting to break into a house, he was carrying two knives.

The incident in police speak was a ‘domestic dispute” the man then confronted the police officers, whilst carrying two knives.

The police tasered him in an effort to control him, they had their safety, the safety of the public and the safety of the residents to consider.

From the news reports I have read, he then lost consciousness and then his life.

This is the second death in 24 hours, concerning the police and aggressive members of the public in NSW.

If the police hadn’t acted in the manner they had, and the aggressor had left the scene, still carrying the knives or acting aggressively and the offenders subsequently harmed a member of the public. Imagine the outcry.

The police are incapable, the police are useless, the police need to get tough on people like this.

So when the police DO get tough on ‘people like this’ they are then accused of murder.

I’m sorry – but you can’t have it both ways.

The police are employed to protect the law abiding public, the police are employed to stop people assaulting, harassing, or killing other people and yet when they do stop the offenders and the event ends in the death of an offender, they are the worst in the world.

The police are doing the best they can, in a society that appears to have little respect for law and order.

The police don’t use guns now unless absolutely necessary (I agree) Tasers are the next best thing. They at least don’t leave a hole in the chest of the offender the size of a small car.

Next time you call the police in your time of need, don’t be surprised when they can’t come because they are short-staffed, the job of policeman in any state as a career must take beating every time the media reports another death and flogs the members in public for the role they played in that death.

The police do a fantastic job under very hard circumstances and all anyone seems to be able to do is tell them they aren’t doing their jobs.

In my eyes they do their job and more, and yet no-one takes the time to consider they are people too, with fears and family and they too deserve the right to live without being injured on the job.

My favourite photos of the week

Taken by me for your enjoyment
Looking West near Melbourne
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100904)

Looking West near Melbourne
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100904)

Looking East near Melbourne
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100909)

Silhouette of Kangaroo at Dusk
Taken with a Nikon D3000 (20100910)

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photoshopped on this blog, cropped yes, photoshopped NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Please visit Redbubble, perhaps there is something there you would like to purchase. Refer the photos below!