A Little of This, A Little of That.

G'day mates! How are ya? Has this winter (or summer) been treating you nicely? Lemme know, eh?

I'm hoping that everyone is now happy again now that I'm posting regularly again --fingers, toes, eyes, legs, ankle, arms all crossed in the hope that I can keep it up!

Don't expect any rhyme nor reason from my posts, one day you may see me running around an alien spaceship, the next you may see an embarrassed koala! Why the flighty-ness? It's not that I don't have a short attention span, it's just that I get ummmmm, side-tracked (yeah, that's it!) more often than knot and then a few days go by as I try to finish up (start!) a post that was a great idea at the time and befour I know it; a month has gone by-BYE!

Well (and that's a deep subject), NO MORE! I'll post whatever darned thing comes to my mind and type whatever darned stuff spews itself through my fingertips, onto my keyboard, onto your screen, into your eyeballs, then the spewed stuff finally comes to rest in some back-corner, unused area of your memory.

I hope you don't mind.

And no, I had absolutely NO IDEA I was going to type what I have typed thus far, I just let the fingers spew forth whatever they phelt like spewing forth.

*screeeeeeeeech* Insert sound of brakes

Changing gears now.

Many of you may or may not be aware that I'm going to have to travel to the US for a coupla weeks near the end of May. The reason is quite obvious as it involves Arlington National Cemetary. I will unfortunately NOT be able to work in a visit to Alaska (seriously grumbling about that), in fact it'll be an East Coast only trip with the exception of an airport or two.

I do not plan on cutting my hair (still no gray and approaching 50!!!!). Haven't cut it since late 1998 so why ruin a good thing, eh? I am not planning on shaving my long goatee (ok, it has a couple of gray strands) which is rapidly becoming a cross betwixt a long Van Dyke type and a short Manchu type. I also have long sideburns.

And to make sure that I'm fairly noticable, I will be bringing and wearing my tie-dye shirt collection!

Ain't they purdy?



Oh, and I'll be wearing one of several pairs of crocs routinely and wearing a black, roo-skin, acubra-style Aussie hat.

And a camera around my neck at pretty much all times. Yes, I'll be the weird tourist from Oz! Anybody gotta problem wit dat?

I have been continuing to play with and learn Vue 10. Great program! Loves it, I does! Check this out mates:


Here it is much more bigger sized:


Pretty good eh? All from scratch from Yours Truly! Vue also renders much faster than Bryce, this only took 6 hours to renders and talk about realistic plants!

Next up, dave makes a lame joke.

I am about to make a joke that may be a major embarrassment to me. So much so that I may go hide my head in shame rather like this:


The joke is a visual one. It's from one of my own pictures too!

You know how some people (not naming names mind you) tend to see phallic symbols everywhere? Yes, it's true some people do, not sure why.

Well, thinking along that "type" of line... What does this next picture remind you of?


I know, I'm a bad, evil, vile person and you don't need to tell me where I'm going cus I already know the way.

Ok, joke's over.

Those of you who know me in real life know that I have a knack for resting. And sleeping. Stay tuned for next time as I tell you ALL about my embarrassing history of sleeping and resting in what *some* people might think are inappropriate places!

Something Seems Odd...

... about this picture.

Can you find the oddity and also the meaning of it?






And there is a perfectly logical explanation for the oddity too, also.

Australian Flora and Fauna Pictures

Plus a few other pictures. Why? Why not! It's my blog and I can put any pictures of anything on it. So there.

Firstly, how's abouts some closeup pics of roses? Everyone loves roses, right? These were taken right after a rain shower and I tells ya that you just gotta click on them to embiggen. It. Will. Be. Worth. It.

Download, use as wallpaper, tell your friends, no worries. Full size they are 1600 by 1200.

Firstly is a peach colored rose with dew drops.





Seriously, Puh-Leeze click to make it bigger. Pretty please?

Here's a red rose with dew drops. You can magickly make it a full size of 1600 by 1200 picksuls too! Feel free to purr-loin this photo too, no worries.





And just how about this bloke?

G'day mates! Didja know I gots bi-knock-you-lar vision?



Now, at this point I do feel the need to add a slight editorial comment/advice for me blog blokes and blokettes way up north. In Alaska, of course.

Didja all know that very soon you will be looking at this and feeling the minus 60 degree Fartenheight temperatures that inspired this photo?


Please click to make it slightly larger. And it's another freebie from Yours Truly --don't swoon ladies, I'm human!

It was made in Bryce with 6 different terrains. The terrains were all made in Terragen Basic and exported as 8-bit .sgi pngs, imported and played with in Bryce to make the mountains. Lots of atmospheric effects too. I'm pleased. It looks DAMNED COLD!

See, she agrees with me.

Don't even THINK of moving me to that climate!



I shall now go take a nap as that seems to be one of the myriad things I'm good at. Plus I like taking naps... Hello little nap, where shall I take you?




Perhaps I'll take one over here instead.




Nope, changed me mind. This is the bestest nap-taking spot!

G'day Everyone!

G'day from Oz!

To YOU! Yes, YOU! No, not that other you, butt YOU!




And, of course, let's not forget YOU!




Did y'all notice the poll over to the left of your screen --your left, not the screen's left?

There's a poll, there's a poll. There's a poll on the sidebar!

Go ahead and start thinking about that silly song... There's a hole, there's a hole. There's a hole in the bottom of the sea!

So do any of you have that tune in your head now? Do you think it'll still be there when you try to sleep tonight? Yes, you are welcome.

Back to the poll. I now have had double-digit return visitors for over 30 days straight. And that includes the time when I don't post for a few days too. Gosh, you all must really love me *sniff*! So go have a squizz at the poll and tell me what sort of direction you'd like the blog to go.

There is, of course, no guarantee that I won't laugh at the poll results and do whatever the heck I want to anyways. Jus' sayin'. But hey, it's worth a go, eh?

Do any of you want to know just what the ole Gov of South Aus used to read? Of course you do! How would I know? Lemme tell you.

WP and I were up at the old historic Old Government House in Belair National Park the other day and sauntered through it. The restoration folks have done a great job with it, btw. This was the summer residence of the Gov of South Aus back in the late 1800's. In the main living room there was an antique bookcase with lots of very old books in/on it.

See?




I had a quick squizz at some of the titles. I did a double-take when I got to this one particular book. And then another double-take!

One thing you folks in the US need to remember is that Australia wasn't settled by prudes. And South Oz wasn't settled by convicts* either! Here is a picture of the book in question:




Something tells me that this guy knows all about that book...




Anyways, go have a looksie at the poll and if you feel the need to contribute your little bit of feedback to Yours Truly (don't swoon ladies, I'm human!) then GO FOR IT!



*When the Poms where shipping convicts to The Antipodes it was more to get rid of the poor and destitute so the prisons weren't overcrowded and neither were the slums. For example, the penalty for stealing a loaf of bread was to be shipped to Oz and when your multi-year sentence (for stealing a loaf of bread to feed your kids) was up you were then free to go. No, you didn't get a boat ride back to the heart of the Empire. Weren't the Poms nice back then?

Nesting Rainbow Lorikeets

Wifey-Poo and I were hiding in the woods yesterday. Yes, I know, I still need to explain where the saying of "gone to hide in woods" comes from regarding WP and YT. But knot today.

Did you know that rainbow lorikeets (and pretty much all other parrots down here) nest in the hollows of various gum trees? Now you know! You're welcome.

Here's what a typical lorikeet lair can look like:


You see those clawmarks around the knothole? Perhaps you are thinking those are made by the parrots... You'd be wrong! Those are, of course, the claw marks of baby bunyips from when they were raiding the nest! It's true, I swear!

And for those of you perverts who think the knothole and it's surrounds look like something you'd see on THOSE sites. I have one word for you: PERVERT! And, uh, so like, when you gonna visit?

Back to the lorikeets. Here's one of them poking it's head out. I couldn't tell whether it was a bloke or a sheila from this distance.









Sooooooo cute!

In fact, I thought it was so cute that I went looking in some other tree cracks (shut up!) to see what kind of critters were in some of the larger cracks. It was all well and good until I stuck my head in one that had a juvenile bunyip in it! It grabbed my beard and tried to pull me in!



Fortunately my good friend Tom Bombadil was nearby and rescued me from the critters vile clutches!



Really! It's true! Would I lie to you? Well, only if I was paid what some former gov of Alaska who aborted her term partway through was paid... Like $12,000,000 in 8 short months! In that case I'd be more than happy to lie to you!

The Birds and The Bees

Whoopsie, there I go with a typo in the post title again. Damn, I just hate it when I do that. It should have been the birds and the BEERS.

Big difference. Just a huuuuuuge, monsterous difference! It was also a huuuuuge, monsterous pickle...

Ahem

Actually, I guess it should have been the birds and the BEEAH since Aussies have a hard time pronounckeeatin' an "r" at the end of a word, and sometimes in the middle of it too.

So that "bugger" comes out as "bugga". "Beer" becomes "beeah". "Shane Warne" becomes "Shane Waaahnie", or sometimes pronounced as "Greatest Spinnah of all time no matta what that little chuckah from Sri Lanka says".

Well, at least that's how the Aussies pronounce his name. I'm sure the Sri Lankans pronounce Shane Warne's name slightly differently. Just slightly, mind you.

Of course, ever' region has it's own peculiah way to speak woids, no matta what thuh spellin' 'r da 'fishial anglish wordin'.

Take, for instance, say... hmmmmmm... Alaska!

Let's say you have an old, crappy, rusted-out, piece-of shit, truck that barely runs. Someone from Anchorage would probably pronounce that as "old, crappy, rusted-out, piece-of shit, truck that barely runs". HOWEVER, a person from Ester (just outside of Fairbanks) might pronounce it as "the family limousine". And someone from Kodiak would probably call it "The Kokon Mobile".

The same thing goes for the lower 48.

Take the fraze "10,000 square foot mansion". Depending on where you are stateside, you'd pronounce the frase differently upon spotting the structure. Someone from Beverly Hills would pronounce it as "tacky and small"; whereas on the east coast of Outside, let's say... hmmmmmmm... Martha's Vineyard, they'd pronounce the words "10,000 square foot mansion" as "servant's quarters".

Anyways, I'm sure that explains the typo in the title of this blog post. It should read "The buhds and The Beeahs", NOT "The Birds and The Bees.

There. I feel better now, do you?

Since I've made you read through all the above crap, let me show you some bird pics --since just perhaps that might have something to do with the post.

This first one illustrates quite nicely just how leaned over the bird feeder is. Please note the bench in the lower left to give you some idea of a level horizon.





Pahdon me, suh. But would you happen to have any Grey Poupon?

Bugga off, mate!





Are you two up for a threesome?



Next topic: BEEAH!

I've started homebrewing recently. In fact, the fisrt batch of lager is half gone after one week. But don't worry, the ale will be ready in a couple of days and the "Mexican Cerveza" should be ready to be bottled in a couple of days. Ummmm, cerveza is hispanic for beeah, BTW.

I'm using a Cooper's Brew Kit. They make it soooooo darned easy and cheap! Very simple as long as you take the time to sterilise everything between batches and you keep the temperature at the proper level for the brew you are making.

Cooper's Brewery is Australia's largest producers of malt extract. And they are just around the corner from us. Cool. And they have lot's and lot's of different malts ready for you to make some darned good beer!

Here's how to make it yourself. Oh, keep in mind I've already cleaned out and disinfected all the parts of the primary fermenter before starting this.

First, you take your 1.7 litre can of hopped, malt extract and soak in some hot water so it pours nicely:




You then go into your brewery. Here's the door to mine:




Open the can of hopped malt. BTW, can openers rarely get cleaned by most folk. This could be a huge source of bacteria which could make your beer go bung, so make sure you clean and disinfect the can opener too.




Pour the liquid into the fermenter. Notice I've put the valve in BEFORE pouring! Also you'll see a little slotted thingy on the inside of the spigot. That's so you don't get loads of sediment in your bottles.




Fill the empty can up with boiling water, and then swirl the water around to get all that malty goodness out of the can:




Be careful when pouring the water into the vat, cus that can will be HOT!




Add another half litre of boiling water to the fermenting vat:




But don't get the camera too close or you'll fog your lens.




Add 8 litres of room temp water to the vat. BTW, this is my "beer bucket". Only clean water has ever touched it's sides and it's disinfected before each batch.




Your fermenter should be about a third full now.




Now it's time to stir the heck out of it! It'll take a couple of minutes of stirring to get the malt completely dissolved:




Coming up next: adding the brewing sugar! And more water! And more stirring! And yeast!

A Public Service Announcement to All Alaskans

Yes, it's true. I'm feeling rather contrite right now as Alaska (and specifically the Interior) is going through one helluva cold snap. Hey, I feel for you, REALLY! Yes, I've had my eyelashes freeze together, my eyeballs steam, I know what it's like to drive on square tires, I've augered through 3 feet of ice on the Tanana with a hand auger, and I know the temperature at which diesel fuel gels so that your truck stalls.

Remember, I'm pullin' for you, we're all in this together! Courtesy of Red Green, of course.

I'm gonna try and send a lot of sun and warmth your way, we've got plenty to spare this time of year. Currently it's 93 F in the shade and 129 F in the sun. Aussie meteorologists report the shade temp, BTW.

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed and I hope you get the sun!

I'd like to give everyone up in the Interior a bit of advice. This would be my Public Service Announcement of which the subject of this post is...

Here's my advice:

Drum

R
O
L
L
.
.
.
p
l
e
a
s
e

m
a
e
s
t
r
o
.
.
.
.
.
.

My advice to you all up north during this cold snap follows.

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING ON THE CHENA LAKES IN JANUARY!!!











And don't DO IT TWICE!!!!!

Reflections

No guys, sorry. This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with the strip joint down on South Cushman Street in Squarebanks. You know, the one just past TESCO? On the right as you're heading to the four-wheeler playground past Van Horn and redneck hangout down by the Tanana with all the broken beer bottles? It's the one with the second story rooms around the back... With a walk-around balcony and stairs leading up to the private rooms from the back alleyway. It's real close to the army base right next to downtown... Ft Wainwright. Oh, c'mon! You know! It's got those cheesy limo's parked out front! It's nickname is Infections. You know, the one the Governor used to work at?

Well, at least that's what I heard.

And this post has nothing to do with that place.

Yesterday I had to clear some of the vines around the north side of the ole homestead. The vines pretty much grow over and through the brush fence and it looks pretty darned cool. However, it does make it kinda difficult to get to the power junction for the house.

So I went vine clearin' and also de-webbed that side of the house. While there, I noticed a moth. He (or she) was on the window frame right next to the glass. See, have a looksie:


Oops, maybe you can't see that too well. How's abouts we zoom in a bit:


Well, I thought it was worth a picture or twenty...

And now, some shots that just didn't turn out right and further reconfirms my utter lack of fauxtahgriffy (and spelling) skills:

Ummm, don't ask and I won't tell...


I really was trying to catch a bird in flight!


So close, yet so darned far away...


Damn! This'n coulda been sweet...



The little buggers then took pity on me and retreated to a tree and actually STAYED PUT for a bit:





And then I was saved by the Amazing Acrobatic Rainbow Brothers:







Oi, mate! 'Ave 'u been eatin' corn chips?





And the crowd goes wild! NOT!



And look, now they're auditioning for The Simpsons!

You know... The Itchy and Scratchy Show?