tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159594532024-03-18T20:38:41.858+11:00This isn't SydneySpike's walkies blog with swearing & picturesSpikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.comBlogger601125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-31852509607379115022010-09-22T15:37:00.004+10:002010-09-22T15:48:15.472+10:00Sick Note #244Jesus H. Christ.<br /><br />Bloody got sick again. Another bloody round of the bloody flu. No fair.<br /><br />Been laying on the sofa for days with a rug over me, a jar of Vicks to sniff and 4 seasons of Supernatural to keep me company.<br /><br />The good news is, no-one's started world war 3 (unless I slept through that news bulletin) and I seem to be on the mend at last.<br /><br />Got some pictures somewhere to blog but my enfeebled brain can't find them. Next week.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-35972565461892337402010-09-11T12:00:00.002+10:002010-09-11T12:15:15.102+10:00FuckwitteryMuslims are welcome on this site. Koran-burning fuckwits are not. Burning holy books, whoever they belong to, is not on.<br /><br />Just wanna make that perfectly clear. Whatever this Koran-burner does, no matter what the reaction in the Muslim world, that welcome still stands.<br /><br />I am not a fan of behaviour designed to provoke another war, more dead soldiers in the current war, more dead civilians in war-zones, religious riots or unpleasantness or whatever in Sydney's streets or any streets anywhere on the planet.<br /><br />We are all the same. Outbreaks of fuckwittery, whatever their motivation, all over the globe and through all periods of history, are proof of that.<br /><br />Our differences are pretty minor and are there to be enjoyed. If you really need to make other people miserable to "improve" your life, it's time to bite the bullet and look at why your life is so shit.<br /><br />This yes-no-yes-no Koran-burning fuckwit needs to be arrested and assessed by a psychiatrist. If he's got to make a fuss to enjoy himself, why can't he just join an amateur theatre like normal people?Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-27978675435268318132010-09-08T17:02:00.004+10:002010-09-08T18:15:32.784+10:00Fucking flu(Live from the sofa)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4969889355/" title="Sorrento House Empire Bay by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4969889355_cc20030051.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Sorrento House Empire Bay" /></a><br /><br />Jesus H. Christ.<br /><br />No sooner had I left off writhing about in pain and an unseemly fashion than I was struck down by the Dreaded Lurgy. A proper Lurgy not the ManLurgy! Thought I'd escaped the lurgy this winter then some swine sneezed at me in the pub.<br /><br />Several packets of antibiotics later and I'm out of bed again, my face has stopped throbbing and I'm no longer fondly contemplating an early death.<br /><br />The photo above is not my sofa. It's Sorrento House at Empire Bay, remodelled and complete. Thank yer, Craig.<br /><br />Got a stack of photos on the other computer of it in the building process, with its cladding off and its chimney stack showing. The other computer seems very far away. You'll have to hold yer breath.<br /><br /><br /><b>Christchurch</b><br /><br />Apart from mass attacks of gastro and nippy nights camped on their front lawns and stuff, the Kiwis of Christchurch got off pretty lightly compared to that Haiti quake which was apparently the same size. But they did have a nasty big after-shock. And I was gonna say something else about their quake but my brain has conked out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/devastatingly-vicious-aftershock-rocks-christchurch-20100908-1504l.html">"Devastatingly vicious" aftershock rocks Christchurch</a> (SMH, includes video links)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/christchurch-earthquake/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=1502981">NZ Herald: Quake articles, photos & links</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/3368885g-shaking.html">Shaking Maps</a> (NZ's quake watch site)<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Canterbury_earthquake">The quake on Wiki</a> (includes NZ's quake history)<br /><br />NZ is roughly the size of Japan or the UK (Britain) including all of Ireland or California plus half of Oregon. Its entire population is about 4,400,000 (Sydney's population is 4,500,000). Christchurch is NZ's seond largest city and has about 380,000 people.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NZL_orthographic_NaturalEarth.svg">Where the hell is New Zealand anyways?</a> (mappage)<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Satellite_image_of_New_Zealand_in_December_2002.jpg">NZ from space</a> (pretty)<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Zealand_towns_and_cities_copy.jpg">Major towns & cities of NZ</a> (Christchurch marked)<br /><br /><br /><b>Vic floods</b><br /><br />Some of those poor bastards who copped it in the Black Saturday bushfires are now under flood. Fucking hell.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/new-threat-after-floods--disease-20100907-14zm0.html">New threat after floods: disease</a> (includes video)<br /><br /><br /><b>Bloody Blogger</b><br /><br />The no-click weirdness continues on posts. It seems to lick in after a day or two so either be very quick making comments or make them on older posts like <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/12/filthy-dirty-filking.html">this one</a>. I get a comments alert thingo.<br /><br /><br />Okay, that's it from me for now. My head is throbbing again and I'm desperate for my dinner.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-15082862461029649362010-08-17T11:51:00.003+10:002010-08-17T12:09:39.787+10:00Still bloody crook(Sick note #244)<br /><br /><b>Boring shit</b><br /><br />Still bloody crook. Laying in a sunny window resting after all that writhing in pain last week. This being crook shit is fucking boring.<br /><br /><br /><b>Weird shit</b><br /><br />Everything works when I log in but when I just go to the front page of my blog I can't click on any of the links, not even the comments link. Never happens visiting anyone else's blog. Very weird. Far too weird to figure out right now.<br /><br /><br /><b>Fun with links</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bogancentral.com/mediawiki-1.15.1/index.php?title=Main_Page">Boganpedia</a> (<a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/b.html" title="Ducktionary">What bogans are</a>)<br /><br /><a href="http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Australian-English_Dictionary">Uncyclopedia</a> "WARNING! This article is designed to offend.<br />If you are not offended by it, please edit it so that you will be in the future."Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-58712433723985818312010-08-08T15:56:00.003+10:002010-08-08T16:16:15.177+10:00Sick Note #243Argh!<br /><br />Lovely winter's day in Woy Woy. Sun's been out all day. Could be outside running round enjoying myself. Instead, I've been groaning in bed clutching the guts since yesterday. My stupid poo tubes are having another hissy fit. I am not amused.<br /><br /><br /><b>Gone</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2660681530/" title="Twin houses Parks Bay by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2660681530_d068215159.jpg" width="500" height="331" alt="Twin houses Parks Bay" /></a><br /><br />The wee house on the right is gone now. Couple of weeks back I think but I kept forgetting. Pity. Twin houses are fun. But Lefty's still there.<br /><br /><strike>They</strike> It is at Parks Bay, just across the water (and the railway tracks) from Woy Woy. Head out from Woy Woy going along Brisbane Water Drive towards Gosford. As soon as you get through the lights and past the pub, take a squiz to yer left and you'll see it as soon as you get to the railway bridge. Which is always sooner than you think it will be.<br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br />Winter floraland and the Bluetongue footy fixtures in this month's <a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au">ferry newsletter</a>.<br /><br />Ta, Michael, for the heads up about the comments thingo disappearing from the last post. All my sidebar stuff is down the bottom of the page too. Fuck knows what that's about. I think that happened once before then came good. Anyways, I'm way too tired to work it out today. Comments are still working on <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2010/07/tribute-to-vaughn-bode.html">this post</a>.<br /><br />I'm going back to bed with a hot-water bottle and the remote.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-2625022700651659782010-08-01T12:50:00.003+10:002010-08-01T14:20:11.910+10:00Winter in the Paperbark Forest(Random walkies in Woy Woy)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439775/" title="Paperbark forest July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4847439775_f46a56fa6d_b.jpg" width="444" height="610" alt="Paperbark forest July 2010" /></a><br /><br />(The camera battery carked it, hence the low res mobile phone snaps.)<br /><br />The Paperbark Forest is a wee sliver of bushland sandwiched between a suburban street and the golf course. It's official name is the Everglades Lagoon Wetland. I've been there before. It's one of my favourite bits of Woy Woy.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439755/" title="Everglades Wetland Woy Woy NSW Australia July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4847439755_151e8e7453.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Everglades Wetland Woy Woy NSW Australia July 2010" /></a><br /><br />Wandered up to the forest mid-morning during the week.<br /><br />There's been a decent bit of rain in the last week or so and the wetland's lagoons are fairly full. The ground is covered in leaf litter right to the water's edge and you can't tell where the mud starts and ends. Put a foot wrong and you'll end up on your arse. You gotta tread slowly from stick to fallen stick.<br /><br />Had a bit of a wander about then picked a firm bit of ground to stand on, in a tiny clearing back from the water. Just stood there and looked and soaked up the leafy quiet of the place.<br /><br />Small patches of light outlining the shadows on the ground of the big trunks, there was the plucking almost-cluck of a tree bird at the very edge of the lagoon, the high almost-honk reply from a dozen trees away. Over and over. They should just get together already and do brunch.<br /><br />Mmm ... brunch ... Dug quietly in my pocket for a bar of chocolate, leant on a spider-free trunk and ate and listened.<br /><br />The wetland backs onto the golf course and there was the faint sound of a golfball being sworn at. Eventually, the bloke managed to hit it and went off after it and the golf course disappeared from the aural landscape.<br /><br />A chocolate brown butterfly with white-edged wings flittered about nearby and starlings or something twittered in the trees like twinks at cafe.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847753685/" title="Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii) by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4151/4847753685_d73584695b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Eastern Barred Bandicoot (Perameles gunnii)" /></a><br /><br />After I'd been still for a while, there was a faint rustling in the bracken under a cluster of trees. Some sort of wee beastie perhaps. Up near the edge of the forest, where it's sandy, there were a dozen small holes dug by small paws. Don't think lizards really hang out in wetlands that much. Could be wrong though. But there's definitely bandicoots on the peninsula and I know they like it sandy.<br /><br />The breeze picked up again and two tall paperbarks moaned as they rubbed together as slow as Sunday sex. Above that was the soft silvery sound of the breeze shivering through the tops of the trees.<br /><br />A whole stand of tall straight paperbarks had all grown leaning slightly in one direction. The longer I stared at them, I more felt like I was standing crooked. Started to get vertigo and had to look away.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439765/" title="Native violet Everglades Wetland Woy Woy July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4847439765_799f4a51d5_b.jpg" width="674" height="459" alt="Native violet Everglades Wetland Woy Woy July 2010" /></a><br /><br />In the drier ground, back from the lagoons, native violets spread out in wide patches. Just a few flowers so far, in the sunny spots, more at the edges of the forest where there was more light.<br /><br />Long pale branches radiate out across the ground from the trees they've fallen off. Their shapes are flowing and take your eye across the wee clearings to where there's a lone baby cabbage tree palm or gun tree sapling.<br /><br />A lone kooka gave that faint drumming ound in its throat they do before they laugh. Stood there patiently but it was only warming-up not actually laughing. It sounded like a teenager and I've heard them do that a lot. Maybe they can't laugh until they're adults.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439771/" title="Paperbark bark July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4847439771_fc2e84ccc9_b.jpg" width="443" height="790" alt="Paperbark bark July 2010" /></a><br /><br />In the spreading trunk of a big old tree, some kids had built a platform for a cubby-house. In the raft of branches laid overhead there were some sheets of newspaper and more sheets all around the tree like they’d been blown out or rained out. Guys, your cubby is in the middle a bloody <i>paperbark</i> forest. You sure there’s nothing better to make the roof out of?*<br /><br />There was a cabbage tree palm every hundred yards or so. Along the edge of the forest, where it borders the lane, there was a thin line of casuarina trees and a gum every now and then. Other than that, the paperbark forest is all paperbarks.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2341848929/" title="Paperbark Forest Kerrawah Blvd Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2277/2341848929_0e18132679_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Paperbark Forest Kerrawah Blvd Woy Woy" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439755/" title="Everglades Wetland Woy Woy NSW Australia July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4847439755_151e8e7453_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Everglades Wetland Woy Woy NSW Australia July 2010" /></a><br /><br /><b>Summer on the left, winter on the right</b><br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/search/label/Paperbark%20Forest">Paperbark Forest in summer</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4847439773/">Bonus photo</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperbark#Traditional_Aboriginal_uses">Traditional Aboriginal uses of paperbark</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Stuff</b><br /><br />My favourite shop name on the peninsula? Acropolis Yeeros Chinese Takeaway. Menu includes, kebabs (kabobs to Americans), rainbow steak, chow mein and steak sangers.<br /><br /><a href="http://walkingfortbragg.com/2010/05/grandpa-bought-speedo.html">Illustrated Ducktionary addition, courtesy of Ron in Fort Bragg</a><br /><br /><br /><b>World wide walkies</b><br /><br /><a href="http://wanderingaroundkansas.blogspot.com/">Fabulous wilderness photos from Kansas</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br />Some fresh this week, some a wee bit late.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wordpress.com/tag/woy-woy/">Woy Woy at Wordpress</a><br /><br /><a href="http://centralcoast-rockterrigal.blogspot.com/2010/07/kayaking-pelican-island-woy-woy-18-june.html">Fabulous fish and crab photos from a kayaker</a><br /><br /><a href="http://woywoynet.blogspot.com/2010/05/google-models-feedback.html">Comment from old Woy Woy cinema worker on Stevo's model of same</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/pl_woy-woy-hieroplyphs.html">Last chance to see, includes GPS & directions to the Woy Woy hieroglyphs</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/music/the-acdc-concert-that-never-was/story-e6frexl9-1225876681674">ACDC concert that never was</a><br /><br /><a href="http://express-advocate-wyong.whereilive.com.au/news/story/family-s-final-farewell-to-lost-son/">A year to the day</a> (Roy Sainty finally found and buried, my sympathies to his family and best wishes to all those still missing a child)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22564949@N05/4630016719/">Slightly eerie dusk photo of the beach</a><br /><br /><a href="http://centralcoastramblings.blogspot.com/">Fabulous photos from Empire Bay</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/widemus/4702801251/in/pool-woywoytowyoming</a>Fabulous night photo of Woy Woy ferry wharf</a><br /><br />Speaking of fabulous, it's a fabulously sunny day again. I'm off outside.<br /><br /><br />* Non-Australians, paperbark bark makes fabulous roofing for cubby-houses.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-80879546886389683422010-07-24T13:24:00.002+10:002010-07-24T13:35:15.952+10:00Tribute to Vaughn Bode(Random Woy Woy walkies)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822155013/" title="Cheech Wizard Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4822155013_efd3f05dcb_b.jpg" width="664" height="1024" alt="Cheech Wizard Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />This is Cheech Wizard. He was the best-known charater of Vaughn Bode. He's on a Bode tribute wall in a lane off Alma Avenue in Woy Woy.<br /><br />(Locals, Alma Ave is the wee street of small factories and stuff off Trafalgar Ave next to the fire station at the shops.)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822702168/" title="Tribute to Vaughn Bode Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4822702168_2d382cb134.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="Tribute to Vaughn Bode Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />Bode was an American artist who did underground comics, graphic design and graffiti. He died in 1975 at 33. His most well-known character was Cheech Wizard.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822063405/" title="Red wizard guy & pissed-off green creature graffitti Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4822063405_a58cf79acf.jpg" width="500" height="442" alt="Red wizard guy & pissed-off green creature graffitti Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />Part of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822038613/">Tribute to Vaughn Bode</a> wall.<br /><br />The green creature on the left might be Razzberry, the offsider of Cheech Wizard.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822038613/" title="Tribute wall Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4822038613_8ef2fe4b35.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Graffitti wall Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />Left end of the mural. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822038623/in/set-72157594543418042/">Rest of the mural</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822063395/" title="Pensive guy Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4822063395_6accf557b8.jpg" width="500" height="399" alt="Pensive guy Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4822702152/" title="Robot guy Alma Avenue Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4822702152_7babfd67d8.jpg" width="380" height="500" alt="Robot guy Alma Avenue Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />My favourite.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/tags/tributetovaughnbode/">Bonus photos</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/72157594543418042/">Other murals & (good) graffitti around Woy Woy</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.markbode.com/site/vaughnbodetwo.html">Gallery at Bode's homepage</a> (on his son's site)<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaughn_Bod%C3%A9">Bode on Wiki</a><br /><br /><a href="http://drawn.ca/2005/09/08/vaugn-bode/">Cheech Wizard & Razzberry</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.markbode.com/site/graffiti.html">Other tributes to Bode</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Local Linkage</b><br /><br />The local ferries crowd has their new newsletter out with the footy ferry and timetables and stuff. <a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au/">Go here</a>.<br /><br />Nice bit of info about <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/10/rileys-island.html">Rileys Island</a> from a bloke whose family was one of its many owners. Ta, mate. (Scroll down to Duncan's comment.)<br /><br /><br />Righto, that's yer lot for the week. My ride is here.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-32318528306127881652010-07-17T14:02:00.002+10:002010-07-17T14:29:42.739+10:00Winter weather watch(Random winter walkies)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4800358601/" title="Winter sun on the water at Blackwall Point July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4800358601_e22ab54207.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Winter sun on the water at Blackwall Point July 2010" /></a><br /><br />Last week in Woy Woy. <br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/search/label/Saratoga">Saratoga</a> from Blackwall Point. Go down Blackwall Road from the railway station. When you get to the mountain, go left and left again at the carpark sign.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4800358615/" title="Winter at Ettalong Beach July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4800358615_3b579baa9b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Winter at Ettalong Beach July 2010" /></a><br /><br />This week in Woy Woy.<br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/12/palm-beach-again.html">Barrenjoey Head and Lion Island</a> from Ettalong Beach. Get the ferry from <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/12/palm-beach-again.html">Palm Beach</a> or go down Blackwall Road from the station then Memorial Avenue, straight ahead through the first roundabout, left at the second one (into Bourke Road) and park when you get to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2330698574/in/set-72157603908026337/">The Excresence</a>.<br /><br /><br />I'd better piss off quick. Off to a nice sunny barbie. Will have a <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/s.html" title="Ducktionary">sausage sanger</a> for yer.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-21638623358355640972010-07-04T15:04:00.004+10:002010-07-04T15:41:54.249+10:00The wattles are coming(Random walkies in Woy Woy) <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4758808729/" title="Golden Wattle 1st of July 2010 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4758808729_217807bcd7.jpg" width="500" height="367" alt="Golden Wattle 1st of July 2010" /></a><br /><br />It's clouding over, blast it. It was a sunny winter's morning here in Woy Woy. Froze my bloody nuts off yesterday with the icy wind, and that was only a short scuttle from car to home. Bloody lovely sun though. All warm and toasty.<br /><br />The golden wattles are starting to bloom. Not sure which wattle this one is. It blooms first round here anyways. The local wattles, <i>A. prominens</i> AKA <a href="http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10022" title="Click photos for bigger">Gosford Wattle</a> and <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/08/ettalong-beach.html">Coastal Wattle</a> AKA <i>Acacia longifolia or A. sophorae</i> come in a month or two. <a href="http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/aust.emblem.html#Acacia%20pycnantha" title="Photos & factoids"><i>Acacia pycnantha</i></a> is the national wattle, the one on our $5 note and <a href="http://www.anbg.gov.au/stamps/stamp.356.jpg">the old 2 shilling stamp</a> and <a href="http://www.anbg.gov.au/stamps/stamp.1144.jpg">the 41 cent stamp in 1990</a> and under the roo and the emu on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Australia">coat of arms</a> thingo.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/72157606623067073/">Wattle-gasm at my Flickr</a><br /><br /><br />I've been spending my mornings in a sunny window, covered from head to toe in beanies and rugs and uggs. July's the coldest month in <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/s.html">Strayla</a>.<br /><br /><br /><b>10 questions</b> <br /><br />A bit of entertainment from <a href="http://inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com/2010/06/10.html">Device dear</a><br /><br /><br />1. What's your earliest memory?<br /><br />Not getting to wear a fairy skirt at kindy. It would've looked fabulous with the cowboy hat.<br /><br />2. What was the last thing you ate?<br /><br />Breakfast. Boring I know.<br /><br />3. Would you support a comeback by Steps?<br /><br />Yes. No. I'll get back to you on that.<br /><br />4. What is your dream car?<br /><br />MGB<br /><br />5. How tall are you?<br /><br />5 foot 10.<br /><br />6. Margaret Thatcher vs Queen Elizabeth II: Who would win and why/how?<br /><br />The queen because no-one's fiercer and the corgis are pretty feral.<br /><br />7. Mama Cass died choking on a sandwich. What sandwich filling would you happily choke on?<br /><br /><a href="http://a2j2.wordpress.com/" title="Fan site fun">Jared</a> <a href="http://www.jaredpadaleckisass.com/index.html" title="Electronic spankage">Padalecki</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4759049063/" title="Jared by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4759049063_e8c37c17f3_o.jpg" width="305" height="370" alt="Jared" /></a><br />(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/a2j2/sets/72157603699443758/">Sasquatch & Jenny-bean</a><br /><br />8. Has a pick-up line ever worked for you? If so, what was it? If not, what was the worst reaction?<br /><br />Never used one. *slinks away*<br /><br />9. You find yourself inexplicably cloned, barely wearing something sexy, and gagging for it. You would, wouldn't you?! Just out of curiosity, or maybe for some other reason?<br /><br />Would definitely do it. Purely in the interests of science of course.<br /><br />10. How did you find this blog? Go on, indulge me!<br /><br />You made some terribly witty comment over at <a href="http://glitterforbrains.blogspot.com/">Glitter for Brains</a> and I clicked you.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br />Flemings, one of those little old local supermarkets, is no more. Woolies have built a large flash two-storey job on the other side of the road, hedging in the library, and Flemings is empty.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/4716810788/">Michael's photo of Flemings-as-was</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Straylya-wide linkage</b><br /><br />Orphans and other former inhabitants of children's homes, the <a href="http://nma.gov.au/blogs/inside/">Forgotten Australia</a> site is collecting "personal histories of those who were placed in children’s homes – a voice for those who were inside and a chance for others to understand." It's a National Museum of Australian thingo. Some bloody disturbing but very powerful material on that site.<br /><br /><br /><b>Web-wide linkage</b><br /><br />Lee over at <a href="http://glitterforbrains.blogspot.com/2010/06/millennium.html">Glitter for Brains</a> got to 1,000 posts last month. That's staying power.<br /><br />Buggered if I know how many I've done. Got 598 posts on the counter for This isn't Sydney (this one) and maybe a couple of hundred at <a href="http://woywoywalkies.blogspot.com/">Woy Woy Walkies</a><br /><br /><br /><b>The Doctor</b><br /><br />Add your vote to the eternal question: <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2010/06/in-with-cool-kids.html" title="Scroll to comments">Tennant or Baker?</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_who#The_Doctor">The Doctors Who</a><br /><br /><br /><b>P.S.</b><br /><br />Ta <a href="http://woywoynet.blogspot.com/">Stevo</a> for the heads up with the dashboard thingy for widening. Fiddled with it for a bit but the bastard only widened one bit. Will give it a kick up the khyber another time.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-76676702967441320132010-06-24T17:55:00.005+10:002010-06-24T19:32:37.372+10:00In with the cool kidsStraylya is now officially one of the cool kids. We now have a <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/11/venice-road.html" title="Scroll down a bit">girl Prime Minister</a>.<br /><br />Went to bed last night with K-Rudd stating rather tensely that he was PM and PM he was bloody well going to stay, and woke up to the sound of Our Julia being declared winner of the overnight power struggle.<br /><br />Um, okay. Yeah. Righto. Sorry to see you go, Kev. Ta very much for the <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/02/sorry.html">Sorry</a> and getting us out of the GFC recession so quick. Better luck next time. Hello Julia.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/gillard-takes-up-pm-role-in-parliament-20100624-z1zy.html?autostart=1">Gillard takes up PM role in Parliament</a> (video)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/gillard--becomes-australias-first-female-prime-minister-as-tearful-rudd-stands-aside-20100624-yzvw.html">Gillard becomes Australia's first female prime minister as tearful Rudd stands aside</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/rudd-proud-of-achievements-but-not-of-blubbing-20100624-z0tv.html">Rudders...not proud of blubbing</a> (poor love, more video)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/how-world-reports-gillards-ascension-20100624-z2ns.html">How world reports Gillard's ascension</a><br /><br /><br /><b>Poo Tubes re-visited</b><br /><br />As <a href="http://woywoynet.blogspot.com/">Stevo</a> pointed out, I forgot to mention <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2006/02/whatsit-street.html">the dunny cart man</a> when I blogged the <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2010/05/poo-tubes.html">Poo Tubes</a>.<br /><br />Read all about him: <br /><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/talkingheads/txt/s1475936.htm">Talking Heads</a><br /><a href="http://craftygirlwithruffle.typepad.com/crafty_girl_with_ruffle/2008/06/where-i-live-be.html">Dunny cart lanes</a><br /><a href="http://www.migrants.com.au/migrants-articles/2009/1/17/love-thy-neighbours/">Pommy Town</a><br /><a href="http://www.peninsulanews.asn.au/2010/0111/default.aspx?item=Ettalong">Ettalong - vastly different in the 40s and 50s</a><br /><br />(By the way, Stevo, the new blog format is looking good.)<br /><br /><br /><b>Great Woy Woy Tea Cosy Showcase</b><br /><br />No photos sorry, Erica. But a couple of mates send this report: popped round from pub, had a scone with jam and cream (yum), looked at the tea cosies (very nice and, um, warm), enjoyed the winter sun, returned to pub.<br /><br /><br /><b>Where the bloody hell am I?</b><br /><br />Still crook. Absolutely buggered. Utterly lacking in motivation to do more than totter round the block a few times and collapse back on the sofa.<br /><br />Seeing a lot more of the telly than I usually do. Very much enjoying <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc2/201005/programs/ZX0727A018D2010-05-24T183000.htm">Dirty Jobs</a>, Breaking the Magician's Code and that one with Stephen Fry where he stands on a sandbar at the beginning. And Good News Week and Dr Who of course. Long time Dr Who addict. And when the fuck are they gonna put Supernatural back on? I need my Padalecki and Ackles fix.<br /><br />Anyways, I'll be back when I'm back. I'll pop round my blogroll before then but. Takes less energy.<br /><br />Ta very much for all the nice get well comments.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-75173398736704303752010-05-30T14:30:00.004+10:002010-05-30T14:53:19.970+10:00Poo tubes(<a href="#wtf">Where the fuck have I been all this time?</a>)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4651168067/" title="Infrastructure of the peninsula by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4651168067_fc5069739f_b.jpg" width="719" height="1024" alt="Infrastructure of the peninsula" /></a><br /><br />See that red circle at the left edge of map? Just along that road a bit are the sewerage farm and the tip (garbage dumping place). I woulda put them into the map exactly where they were but it was either do a new map with an extra bit down that side then have a nice long lay down or post this map and actually fucking update the blog already.<br /><br /><br />The yellow bits are the main road, the grey bits are the shops, the row of black dots is the railway line, the other dotty bits are the main beaches and the green bits are parks and reserves and wetlands. And the blue lines are creeks. Unless they're really straight in which case they're drains that used to be creeks.<br /><br /><br />Round the streets of Woy Woy and all the other places I walk, I see council workers fixing roads, electricity company workers getting branches off powerlines after the wind, Telstra workers putting in new phone lines and fiddling about down holes with PMG covers, the garbos in their truck picking up the bins, and stuff like that.<br /><br />All stuff that makes a town tick. It happens all around us every day and we hardly notice it.<br /><br />But we'd be stuffed without it. Civilisation is supposed to be 2 hot meals from breakdown. I reckon it's more like a week with the sewerage backed up. Gazundas and latrines just wouldn't cut it in urban society. We'd be rioting in the streets.<br /><br />Anyways. This post was inspired by something I overheard on the train from a bloke who laid sewerage pipes for a living. He was talking specifically about Woy Woy and other local towns. This is the gist of what he said:<br /><br />Where you've got yer older suburbs and towns, like Woy Woy, you've got an older sewerage system.<br /><br />Under a given road there's a sewerage line and into it empties the sewerage lines from each house.<br /><br />All well and good.<br /><br />But then you get one of these places where some developer knocks down an old house. The old house had one sewerage line servicing one or two loos (toilets), a couple of adults, 2.4 kids and the Christmas influx of aunts and uncles and cousins. Up they all get in the morning, flush the loo and off to work and school.<br /><br />Now that house is knocked down and half a dozen units are slapped up in its place. Half a dozen units each with one or two adults and maybe the 2.4 kids and the Christmas influx of aunts and uncles and cousins. That's 6 to 12 adults, 2.4 to 14.4 kids and 6 Christmas influxes of aunts and uncles and cousins.<br /><br />And up they all get in the morning, flush the loo and off to work and school. Except the main sewerage line under the street, the one that carries it all away, hasn't usually been upgraded to carry the extra load.<br /><br /><br />So, in conclusion, old streets have narrow poo tubes. And there's other stuff like water pipes bringing clean water in that can be pretty old and need flushing out and replacing etc. We had that recently in Woy Woy. I escaped the worst but <a href="http://woywoynet.blogspot.com/2008/12/its-baaaaaack.html">Stevo copped it</a>.<br /><br />The point of this post is just to say <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/t.html" title="Ducktionary">ta</a> to all the blokes (and chicks) who fix the poo tubes and so on.<br /><br /><br /><b>Collection of Lost Things</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/141613212/" title="St John the Baptist building by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/141613212_b513b8ae66.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="St John the Baptist building" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/tags/stjohnthebaptist/">All my old St. John's photos</a><br /><br />I've been collected again. Over at a fun <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/" title="It's Your ABC">Aunty</a> project called <a href="http://www.pool.org.au/image/spikebot/st_john_the_baptist_building_blackwall_road_woy_woy">Lost Places</a>.<br /><br />It's essentially my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/72157594247721483/" titel="My photos on Flickr">Gone</a> set of photos writ large and with the whole country doing it. <a href="http://www.pool.org.au/content/lost_places">Pop over for a gander</a>.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br />Craig wants to hear from locals about <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/03/sorrento-road.html">Empire House at Empire Bay</a>.<br /><br />Fabulous and fabulously named collection of Woy Woyan and Gosford area memorabilia and photos at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gostalgia/">Gostalgia</a>. Ta very kindly for the linkage, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/">Michael</a>. Hope to fuck I got your link right this time.<br /><br /><br /><a name="wtf"></a><b>Where the fuck have I been for the last 2 months?</b><br /><br />Crook. Sick. Buggered. Stuffed. Bit of trouble with my own poo tubes. Gross symptoms. Let's not go there.<br /><br />Spent most of it sleeping it off then, for the last couple of weeks, dozing on the sofa with the remote. Saw that thing where that guy died wheelie-bin surfing down Kingsview Drive/Lone Pine Avenue (the high steep bit is Kingsview, the long straight bit is Lone Pine) and watched 16-year-old Jessica Whatsit sail in through the heads after a lone trip round the world in a pink boat.<br /><br />Still crook but managed a shuffle round the block every day this week so things are looking up again.<br /><br />Okay. That's zonked me out for the day. Off back to the sofa with a blanket and a nice big cuppa tea. See you again soon-ish.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-48606915101196169472010-03-23T08:26:00.000+11:002010-03-23T10:08:04.930+11:00Hairy maps of Tassie<b>Rambling</b><br /><br />This is actually a sick note but I thought I'd enliven it with a title from a visitor to the <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/">Ducktionary</a>. When you get a stats thingy on yer blog, you can go in and have a gander at how people got to you and what search terms the random visitors used. Like "hairy <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/m.html">map of Tassie</a>".<br /><br />Ducktionary's visitors' favourites:<br /><br /><a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/t.html">tracky daks</a><br /><a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/g.html">guest of her majesty</a><br /><a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/s.html">sausage sanger</a><br /><br /><br />And, in a short-lived burst of energy, I added <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Illustrated%20Ducktionary">The Illustrated Ducktionary</a>. From little things slightly bigger things grow, to misquote <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kev_Carmody">Kev Carmody</a>.<br /><br /><br /><b>Great Manly Debate Part 2</b><br /><br />Michael popped up to the look-out at Gerrin Point for us. Well, slogged really. There's outdoor stairs and crap and we've been having a parting shot from summer over the last week or so. Hot sunny days. Thank yer kindly, Michael, for services to Coasties.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/4446957308/">Michael's Gerrin Point photos</a><br /><br /><br /><b>To get to my point</b><br /><br />So anyways, this sick note. I am buggered. Too much pain lately on top of too much family-related angst. Have been up this morning since fucking 4 A-fucking-M. Again.<br /><br />It's now fucking 10AM and I've been slaughtering typos and deleting circular sentences and random irrelevancies in this post for about 3 hours. Might be time to give up and lay on the sofa for a week with a stack of DVDs. Call it two weeks, just to be on the safe side. Which is ... the start of April. Might be back before that but don't put money on it.<br /><br /><br /><b>P.S.</b><br /><br />I am not nearly dead, ta for asking. I get emails from lurkers every now and then asking if I've got something fatal. Much appreciated emails BTW but don't worry about me popping off.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-18558845047882910392010-03-16T12:27:00.004+11:002010-03-16T15:04:44.396+11:00Bullimah Beach & the Great Manly Debate(Bouddi/Killcare walkies #6? 7? Technically it's #2 of the Killcare walkies but Hardys Bay and Killcare look like one small suburb when yer walking them and they're both on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2201261228/" title="The Bouddi Peninsula">the Bouddi</a> so let's go ahead and call it Bouddi/Killcare #6 or 7.)<br /><br />Lovely day today for walkies and photos and I'm stuck inside with an aching gut and a pile of work I'm ignoring. Been off sick for days.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131219/" title="Bullimah Beach Killcare Heights/Bouddi Peninsula by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2719/4436131219_e52efff7f6.jpg" width="500" height="344" alt="Bullimah Beach Killcare Heights/Bouddi Peninsula" /></a><br /><br />Bulimah Beach. Tiny wee beach, as you can see, tucked in between Putty Beach and Gerrin Point on the Bouddi peninsula. Or the Bouddi, as she is known locally. That's bood-eye not bood-ee and bood rhymes with hood not food.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131209/" title="Beach Drive & Grandview Cresent Killcare/Putty Beach by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4436131209_fe18807be1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Beach Drive & Grandview Cresent Killcare/Putty Beach" /></a><br /><br />Where the top photo's taken from. Beach Drive (lower) and Grandview Crescent Putty Beach/Killcare. Technically, the suburb is Killcare but who wants to live at a suburb name when they can live at a beach name?<br /><br />Had a trot round the streets of Putty Beach/Killcare. This is every-street walkies I'm doing after all. Like anywhere with views, there's plenty of big pricey houses looming along the view streets but, like everywhere around Woy Woy/Brisbane Water, there's plenty of the nice quiet old places left.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131249/" title="Rocky hill-top from Grandview Crescent Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4436131249_9ed5e5ebb5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Rocky hill-top from Grandview Crescent Killcare" /></a><br /><br />Just for pretty. Hill-top above Grandview Crescent Killcare/Putty Beach.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131243/" title="Putty Beach Drive Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4436131243_0942e3ff68.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Putty Beach Drive Killcare" /></a><br /><br />This nice quiet old place looks to me to be the perfect place to walk home from the beach to.<br /><br />After a nice long day messing about at the beach, you'd plod along the road in yer <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/t.html">thongs</a>, lairy beach towel over yer shoulder, head down and a fine crust of salt still drying on yer skin. Along the road with the banksia trees all along one side, up a bit of a hill, through a lane, round a corner and there's home ahead of you. Cool shady veranda with its scatter of old dogs and deck chairs. There's icy cold lemonade in the old Kelvinator and and there'll be chops and mashed potatoes and peas for dinner to finish off a splendiferous summer's day.<br /><br />Heaven.<br /><br />Bonus photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131233/">On the beach</a> (sand, surf, peeps, dogs, `nother view of Bullimah Beach)<br /><br /><br /><b>Is it is or is it ain't?</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4437060262/" title="Manly/North Head & Careel Headland on Sydney's Northern Beaches by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4437060262_1b141b616b_o.jpg" width="775" height="540" alt="Manly/North Head & Careel Headland on Sydney's Northern Beaches" /></a><br /><br />This is a close-up of the view photo from the <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2010/03/putty-beach.html">Putty Beach post</a>. Much more detail at this size. I got a new camera but it's only a PLC (pissy little camera) with 10MP res so this much detail means the thing is pretty close.<br /><br />Hmm. Look at that wee faint headland to the left of the big clear one. Didn't notice that bit before.<br /><br />So, is this big cliffy bit Manly/North Head or the Careel Headland or Long Reef? <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2010/03/putty-beach.html" title="Scroll to comments">Opinions vary</a>.<br /><br />Okay, opening up the map of Sydney. Getting out ruler to check out this "Manly is only 30 kays" (18.64 miles) business... Hmm.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4436131253/" title="View from Putty Beach Killcare to North Head Sydney by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4051/4436131253_951e05de12.jpg" width="342" height="500" alt="View from Putty Beach Killcare to North Head Sydney" /></a><br /><br />Bangelly Head (Careel Headland Res) is tall enough to be the close one. Long Reef is long but would not be visible from the Putty Beach angle. Manly is tall enough and cliffy enough and sticks out far enough but has gotta be the wee faint headland furtherest away.<br /><br />Looks like it's Careel <i>and</i> Manly. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/">Michael</a> and <a href="http://www.woywoynet.blogspot.com/">Steveo</a> win this debate and the admiration of their peers.<br /><br />`Course when Michael goes up there to see what it says at Gerrin Point look-out, it might be a whole `nother debate.<br /><br /><br /><b>Manly stuff</b><br /><br />While we're on the Manly/North Head subject, we may as well have a gander at some links and a factoid.<br /><br />In WWII there were fortifications up there. North Battery on North Head had two 9.2 inch Mk X guns, the Shelley Battery (Shelly Head, Manly) had one QF 12 pounder gun and, across the other side of the mouth of the Harbour, the Signal Battery on South Head had two 6 inch Mk XI guns.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_ferry_services,_Sydney">Manly Ferry photo, factoids & video</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophiecunningham/sets/72157594479987762/">North Head Quarantine Station</a> (outsides & insides of buildings)<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Head_Quarantine_Station">Quarantine Station factoids</a><br /><a href="http://www.manlyquarantine.com/Historical%20photos.htm">Old photos of the Quarantine Station</a> (And old rock carvings made by the quarantined)<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly,_New_South_Wales">Manly (harbour side) factoids & photos </a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_Beach,_New_South_Wales">Manly Beach (north side) photos & factoids</a><br /><br />Enjoy. I'm off to lay with my feet in the sun and an icy cold lemonade in my hand.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-90684980702293302922010-03-08T15:12:00.002+11:002010-03-08T15:35:00.917+11:00Putty BeachBack again. How was yer February? Hot (Straylyans)? Snowy (Mericans)? Hello, Melbourne, that big hail all melted now?<br /><br />New computer's <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/b.html">buggerising around</a>, by the way, so this won't be a very talky post.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4414646849/" title="Path to Putty Beach Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4414646849_489b274075.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Path to Putty Beach Killcare" /></a><br /><br />Through the banksias and pigface to the sand.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4414646841/" title="Pottering along on Putty Beach Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4414646841_d5531abd6a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Pottering along on Putty Beach Killcare" /></a><br /><br />Putty Beach is an ocean beach. That's the Tasman Sea right there.<br /><br />Ettalong Beach is an estuary beach but Putty Beach is on yer actual coast proper, on the edge of the Tasman. Which is between us and Kiwiland (New Zealand) and at the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean. (Mappage at end of post.)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4415245068/" title="Barrenjoey Head from Putty Beach Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4415245068_569dd541bd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Barrenjoey Head from Putty Beach Killcare" /></a><br /><br />Anyways, it's a beach. From it you can see Barrenjoey Head, where the lighthouse is. Squint a bit and you can see it in this photo. White job with a bit of red.<br /><br />You can drive to Putty Beach from Ettalong, over The Rip Bridge, along Empire Bay Road, right into Wards Hill Road, right into The Scenic Drive, round two hairpin bends, left into Beach Drive and down to the carpark at the end. You can a bus there from Woy Woy station. In the Christmas holidays, you can get a ferry there, the old Cockatoo ferry.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4414556849/" title="Sydney from Putty Beach Killcare by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2754/4414556849_947044310f.jpg" width="500" height="327" alt="Sydney from Putty Beach Killcare" /></a><br /><br />A few people told me that big cliffy bit there on the left is Manly/North Head but it looks way too close to me. On the other hand, I got no idea what it is so maybe they're right.<br /><br />North Head is one side of the mouth of Sydney Harbour. The Manly ferry (the biggest of the Sydney ferries) goes across to the inside part of North Head, the Manly part. It goes fairly close to the mouth of the harbour and when the sea is really big the Manly ferry gets cancelled. (Mappage at end of post.)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4414783407/" title="Putty Beach map by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4414783407_6764e54b6f.jpg" width="500" height="391" alt="Putty Beach map" /></a><br /><br />Putty Beach, <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2008/10/hardys-bay.html">Hardys Bay</a>, Barrenjoey Head, which way to Sydney.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4414937851/" title="Sydney Harbour map by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4414937851_a1216f4f1f_o.jpg" width="471" height="301" alt="Sydney Harbour map" /></a><br /><br />Manly, North Head, Sydney Harbour and which way to Woy Woy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/382460/">More maps</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4415086286/" title="Thong by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2741/4415086286_aaf50fe02c.jpg" width="356" height="500" alt="Thong" /></a><br /><br />American readers note that this is a thong. Now you can see why we giggle when you talk about wearing thongs on yer bums (butts).<br /><br /><br /><b>Random linkage</b><br /><br />Links I've been meaning to link to for yonks. Don't even remember what half of them are. Consider them a lucky dip.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ferriesofsydney.com/">Ferries of Sydney</a> (ferries, obvs)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.australianplants.org/plant.htm">APSCCG</a> (native plants photos & factoids)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/travel/the-sport-of-atozedding-20081127-6j54.html">The sport of A-to-Zedding</a> (some to do with maps?)<br /><br /><a href="http://walkingprescott.blogspot.com/2007/09/dead-things-1-cactus-bones.html">Cactus Bones</a> (pretty pictures)<br /><br /><br />Bloody sidebar is still in semi-exile at the bottom of the site. Fucked if I can find the code for how to get the bastard back where it was.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-55517663380851388132010-02-13T13:50:00.002+11:002010-02-13T14:07:46.983+11:00Grab BagQuick snippet. Normally I don't blog in Feb. It's my annual blogging holiday.<br /><br /><br /><b>Winter wonderland</b><br /><br />From the safe distance of an Australian summer, this snowstorm business in <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/p.html">Pommyland</a> and Europe and America looks rather fun. I loved the story of the train passengers stuck in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel">the Chunnel</a> for 18 hours with nothing to eat but packet sandwiches and fruit loops. And the thing where Washingtown has been shut down by massive piles of snow is quite entrancing for this snow-virgin sweltering away in Woy Woy. `Course the Washingtonians and Chunnel users might see it slightly differently.<br /><br />Must pop over very soon to my fellow bloggers and see how they're enjoying it.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxdog23/4278070227/">Trawler at Woy Woy</a> (nice arty snap of Woy Woy Channel)<br /><br />Pop across to <a href="http://www.woywoynet.blogspot.com/">Stevo's</a> for some excellent local WWII snaps and info. Love that old landing barge at Brooklyn, ta mate. Also, that <a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2576819450064923513oHOtJG">Woy Woy Theatre</a> graphic you did is the one that was where Woolies is now right? Looks great.<br /><br />Michael puts his new camera going through its paces at the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/tags/rumbalara/">Rumbalara Res look-out</a>. My favourite is the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24921502@N07/4264862487/in/photostream/">misty one of Lion Island</a>.<br /><br />The Biker Bunnies are hard at it again on the <a href="http://bikerbunnies.blogspot.com/2010/01/1st-bunny-ride-for-2010.html">Gossie to Woy Woy on the cycle path</a> with some nice scenery snaps.<br /><br />Bivoir always gives good photo. Check out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bivoir/4255622833/">Umina Beach in HDR</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://caitlynnicholas.blogspot.com/2009/12/dinner-disaster.html">Caitlyn and the knocking shopper</a>: the tale of a lonely brain cell.<br /><br />Photo of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrip/4317388825/">Ett jett</a>, the Ettalong jetty on Ferry Road, the wharf from which you catch the ferry across to Palm Beach. The fact that the ferry wharf road is called Ferry Road leads to confusion amonst non-locals trying to get back before the last ferry goes.<br /><br /> Non-local: "Excuse me, where's the ferry road?"<br /> Local: *points* "Go along there a bit."<br /> Non-local: "What's it called?"<br /> Local: "Ferry Road."<br /> Non-local: "Yes, thanks, but what's it called?"<br /> Local: "Ferry Road."<br /> Non-local: *cries*<br /><br />Add in an accent and/or a tenuous grasp on English and you end up escorting the poor dears down far enough to point at the sign.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-4986883552956048792010-02-09T13:30:00.007+11:002010-02-09T16:28:09.197+11:00Snakes and snoozingBack at last. There was computer issues and some other offline crapulence which was really boring so we won't go into it. How was yer Chrissy?<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4342682692/" title="Snake skin (Diamond python) by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4342682692_0996bc9631.jpg" width="500" height="385" alt="Snake skin (Diamond python)" /></a><br /><br />Discarded snake skin. Found it under the holiday house. Apparently it’s a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_python">diamond python</a>’s skin.<br /><br />It’s very cool. Got no idea how to turn it inside out though, without ripping the bastard to shreds.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4342751840/" title="Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4342751840_e5a99d6831_o.jpg" width="800" height="533" alt="Red-bellied Black Snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus" /></a><br /><br />Saw a live snake too. One like this (Wiki photo). Red-bellied black snake, <i>Pseudechis porphyriacus</i>. Very sexy. Not a snake to go feral and bite the cautious admirer but very sexy.<br /><br /><br />The rest of my holidays was more snoozing than bushwalking. The weather was all over the shop, pissing down one day, back to normal stinking hot summer the next. I vegged out on the veranda and watched the brush turkeys and their chicks.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_bellied_black_snake">Photos & factoids</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4342682698/" title="Brush turkey chick by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4342682698_37b56d4de4.jpg" width="458" height="500" alt="Brush turkey chick" /></a><br /><br />This poor little bugger died not long after this shot. Thought he was going to make it for a while there but no. He kept nearly getting to his feet then collapsing again.<br /><br />He’s a baby brush turkey and he was mauled by a cat or something. Cats are <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/n.html">not native to Australia</a> so most of the native animals have no defences against them.<br /><br />Buried him under the house and put a rock on top of him so he wouldn’t get dug up again and scattered about the place.<br /><br />There was a brush turkey’s incubation mound further down the hill so maybe there was another chick that made it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2787731307/in/set-681432/">Roosting in trees</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2259699322/in/set-681432/">Immortalised on local bus-stop</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/2259699320/in/set-681432/">Single Brush Turkey Seeks Same</a><br /><br /><br />Since I got back, the weather has been shit for walkies. Up around 34 (95-96F) one day, dark as night and stormy the next.<br /><br /><br /><b>Haiti</b><br /><br />Poor bastards. Bloody poor country, as corrupt as fuck, war, 3 hurricanes in the last 4 years (about that) and now the place is totalled by a massive earthquake.<br /><br />So it's a bit off when those christian types were refusing aid to some people on the grounds they were of the voodoo religion.<br /><br />The throw-away lines on the news about Haiti being the “home of the zombie” weren't terribly helpful either. Might be a bit smarter to point out that yer actual proper Voodoo/Hoodoo/Voudon/etc. zombie has fuck-all to do with the movie zombies.<br /><br />Real zombies are people willingly taking part in a religious ceremony. They are spirit-ridden. They invite a good spirit into their body for a little while for religious purposes.<br /><br />They aren’t green and oozing and they ain’t interested in eating your brain.<br /><br />And while we’re on the subject, the voodoo dolls are bullshit too. They sell them for the tourists in New Orleans (and fuck knows they could use the tourist dollars, poor bastards) but they’re a Hollywood thing too, <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/w.html">whitefella</a> misinterpretation and invention. Sticking pins in dolls was something done in Europe many moons ago.<br /><br />I loved <Shaun of the Dead> and that <i>Big Brother</i>/zombie apocalypse <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/p.html">piss-take</a> on <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/">SBS</a> but I do not enjoy my ABC making the sort of random statements I expect to find on bloody channel 9 or 7.<br /><br />Now where’s my blood pressure meds?<br /><br /><br /><b>Zombie linkage</b><br /><br /> <i>Proper zombies</i><br /><br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou#Myths_and_misconceptions">Haitian Voudon at Wiki</a><br /> <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122770590&ps=cprs">Voodoo Brings Solaced to Grieving Haitians</a><br /> <a href="http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/vodou/">Living Vodou</a> (podcast)<br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Voodoo#Commercialization">Louisiana Voodoo</a><br /> <a href="http://www.luckymojo.com/">Lucky Mojo</a> (Hoodoo, similar to Vodou & Voodoo)<br /><br /> <i>Movie zombies</i><br /><br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_of_the_dead">Shaun of the Dead</a> (rom zom com par excellence)<br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Zombie_%28film%29">White Zombie</a><br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_and_Let_Die_%28novel%29">Bloody Ian Fleming</a><br /> <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/deadset/about/page/i/1/h/About/">Dead Set</a> (Big Brother vs the zombie apocalypse, on SBS)<br /><br /><br />Right. I'm off to set up base camp on the lower slopes of Mount Inbox.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-85584243495944131752009-12-12T08:47:00.007+11:002009-12-12T10:11:43.687+11:00Filthy dirty filking(Random hung-over, Christmas-party fueled <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/w.html" title="Ducktionary">whingeing</a> & filking<a href="#note">*</a>)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4177632000/" title="Christmas Bush AKA Ceratopetalum apetalum, Ettalong NSW December 2009 by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4177632000_f00127b23d.jpg" width="376" height="500" alt="Christmas Bush AKA Ceratopetalum apetalum, Ettalong NSW December 2009" /></a><br /><br />O Christmas bush <br />O Christmas bush<br />O Cerapetalum apetalum<br /><br />In New South Wales at Christmas time<br />You come out in December heat<br /><br />O Christmas bush <br />O Christmas bush<br />O Cerapetalum apetalum<br /><br />With petals red and orange too<br />Only after pollination<br /><br />O Christmas bush <br />O Christmas bush<br />O Cerapetalum apetalum<br /><br /><br />There's also <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3086660314/">Cerapetalum gummiferum</a> which is the same until you get up close and see the leaves are arranged differently. And the <i>gummiferum</i> is pretty tall and "during World War II it provided the butts for all rifles made in Australia". Huh.<br /><br /><br />Off to my fourth Christmas party this week this <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/blog-post.html" title="Ducktionary">arvo</a>. May not survive. Normally I avoid office parties like the fucking plague but I called in a lot of favours this year and the payback is showing up as stand-in date. The next person to offer me a mince pie is dead.<br /><br /><br /><i>Local linkage</i><br /><br /><a href="http://bikerbunnies.blogspot.com/2009/12/cruise-to-umina.html">Bike bunnies do Umina</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest_releases?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjkwNjIuaHRtbCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D">Dickhead factor rockets during school holidays</a><br /><br /><br /><i>Woy Woy as was</i><br /><br />Love the photos and stories of old Woy Woy in the <a href="http://www.openwindows.com/News/">local rag</a>. <a href="http://www.woywoynet.blogspot.com/">Woy Woy Steve</a> is back writing them again and <a href="http://www.openwindows.com/News/09/0119/LandmLtr.asp#heading">Fred Landman</a> and Keith Whitfield are regulars and I've got one from June 2009 by Bruce Richards.<br /><br />Sometimes the old buildings they talk about, old cinemas and milk bars and so forth, are gone now and sometimes they're just re-invented but I can usually see where they were or their remnants are. Adds a whole new depth to my walkies to have personal histories tied to the streets and buildings of my town.<br /><br />Keep writing, guys.<br /><br /><br /><i>Christmas story re-visited</i><br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/12/palm-beach.html">How the angel got on top of the tree</a> (click 'n' scroll)<br /><br /><br /><i>Want my thingy in yer whatsit?</i><br /><br />I'm off for Xmas. Off away from the madding crowd to a place where the bush turkeys roam free.<br /><br />I'll be back ab-o-u-t ... Let's call it mid January. The 16th. Yeah.<br /><br />Pick one or two of the thingies below for RSS or inbox pings or whatever.<br /><br /><form Method="POST" action="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect"><br />Enter your Email<br><input name="EMAIL" maxlength="255" type="text" size="30" value=""><br><br /><input name="FEEDID" type="hidden" value="58066"><br /><input type="submit" value="Subscribe me!"><br /><br>Powered by <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a></form><br /> <li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThisIsntSydney" title="Subscribe to my feed, This isn't Sydney" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/xml_button.gif" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/atom.xml">Atom</a><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.technorati.com/embed/bxmyayru5s.js"></script><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Spikebot"><br /><img src="http://www.bloglines.com/images/sub_modern11.gif" border="0" alt="Subscribe with Bloglines" /></a><br /><br /><br />Have yerselves a merry little Xmas.<br /><br /><br /><a name="note"></a>* Filking ain't really dirty. I mentioned it to a Dear Old Thing one day and she reacted like it was a very naughty swear-word and now when I say it I get a naughty little thrill. It's that thing where you replace some or all of the words of an existing tune with your own words, like I did with Oh Christmas Tree. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filk">Go filk yerself (with links)</a>.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-23600062197526514302009-12-06T16:52:00.002+11:002009-12-06T17:23:59.710+11:00Up and down(Random Woy Woy walkies)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4161527709/" title="View from Timbertop Drive Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4161527709_dc4950515d.jpg" width="500" height="358" alt="View from Timbertop Drive Woy Woy" /></a> <br /><br />Here we're looking north-east or east-north-east across <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2005/12/photo-from-bays-1-brisbane-water-walk.html" title="Photos from 2005">The Bays</a> (Correa Bay, Horsfield Bay, Phegans Bay & Woy Woy Bay) to Brisbane Water proper and the low part of Saratoga/Davistown and beyond that to Kincumba Mountain. Though it was Killcare/the Bouddi but the map says no.<br /><br />One blue-sky day in the last week synched with a day I was well enough to take the camera out. Got a mate to drive me up to a street with views, tottered out of the car, took a couple of snaps, back home again.<br /><br />Spent most of the week writhing round on the sofa in another bloody bout of bloody gut pain. No end of fucking fun. The rest of the week it was lovely and cool but way too cloudy for camera outings.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4161527705/" title="Bark fallen from pink gum by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/4161527705_71b1d12c90.jpg" width="366" height="500" alt="Bark fallen from pink gum" /></a><br /><br />The bark falls off some of the gum trees at this time of year. You can see some of the bark in the cleft of this tree. The spots and dots and dimples of colour and texture where the bark has fallen away are normal.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/c.html" title="Ducktionary">Chrissy</a> is nearly upon us. There is a frenzy of shopping and barbeque-ing and getting off yer face on the weekends and the rest of it. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br /><i>Bloggers</i><br /><br />We've lost another blogger. Ian at <a href="http://grumpyoldjourno.blogspot.com/">Grumpy Old Journo</a>. A local. He blogged from 2005, 4 years, same as me. He will be missed.<br /><br />But gained a <a href="http://ourpieceofit.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/an-update-on-moving-from-the-city-to-a-small-coastal-town/">blogger at Copa</a> (Copacabana, a local beach).<br /><br /><br /><i>Others</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=share&gid=101373942567&_fb_noscript=1">Bensvillians unite at facebook</a>. And yes, that thumbnail is one of my photos.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.simonhampel.com/west-head-kuringai-chase-national-park/comment-page-1/#comment-52228">Photos</a> of Woy Woy and Lion Island from the Kur-ring-gai National Park.<br /><br />Pop over to <a href="http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~bryannp/parrott/index.html">Bryan's family history page</a> for a great old photo. Bryan is locally connected through Picketts and Humpries at <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2006/06/holy-cross-church.html">Holy Cross Church/St. Joseph's in Kincumber</a>.<br /><br />Other family historians with local connections are welcome to email me their website address for local linkage.<br /><br /><br /><i>The ferry news</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101531375/" title="The Cockatoo ferry AKA Codock II by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/4101531375_06110134cd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Cockatoo ferry AKA Codock II" /></a><br /><br />Cockatoo ferry AKA <i>Codock II</i> AKA the lovely old one is running again. <a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au">Timetables</a>Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-81206490318345439812009-11-29T19:05:00.001+11:002009-11-29T19:16:55.839+11:00Drive-by<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/374976461/" title="Dingy at Wagstaffe Wharf Mulhall Street Wagstaffe by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/374976461_e4f3cb2e9a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Dingy at Wagstaffe Wharf Mulhall Street Wagstaffe" /></a><br /><br />Wagstaffe Wharf Mulhall Street Wagstaffe<br /><br />This is a drive-by posting. Been out all day and about to go out again. I am a wee bit drunk.<br /><br />Anyways, there was another bloody dust-storm today. My throat's as dry as a dead dingo's donger and that's after all the beer and some hideous cask wine. Will have a furry tongue in the morning.<br /><br />And I am fucking hating this evil early summer crap.<br /><br />That is all.<br /><br />And the photo is there because everyone likes it.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local lickage</b><br /><br /><a href="http://express-advocate-gosford.whereilive.com.au/news/story/coast-not-perfect-but-we-love-it-pulse-survey-finds/">Coast not perfect but we love it, Pulse survey finds</a>Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-12744772182917299712009-11-21T12:00:00.004+11:002009-11-21T12:46:15.970+11:00Green Point 1839(Green Point walkies #5)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4120996998/" title="Pt Fred & West Gosford from Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4120996998_76e37c0132.jpg" width="500" height="323" alt="Pt Fred & West Gosford from Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Always charge yer bloody camera before going walkies. I bloody well forgot and the bastard died on me one photo in. Nothing worked. No amount resting it, no amount of swearing at and threatening to gouge out its USB port with a rusty knife, nothing worked.<br /><br />But the sky is blue and the water is a very nice shade. It was a warm day. Spring has not sprung this year and we've gone straight from a mild winter into a red hot summer.<br /><br />This was taken from a nameless laneway off Avoca Drive between Merindah Avenue and Edgewater Avenue, on the water side of Avoca Drive.<br /><br /><br /><b>About Green Point</b><br /><br />From the history obelisk thingo (<a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/10/green-point-1789.html">Green Point 1789</a>) we know when Green Point was settled by whitefellas and the name of the first one:<br /><br />"This spot is on the original grant of<br />640 acres of Crown land<br />Promised to John H. Edwards<br />By Sir Ralph Darling in 1829<br />And granted on 30.9.1839<br />To Major Henry Smyth who called it<br />GREEN POINT" <br /><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/population/">local history whatsit</a> at the library has some stats:<br /><br />"<a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/miscellaneous.html" title="Ducktionary">1788</a> - The true extent of the Aboriginal population in the Brisbane Water District is unknown, however it is estimated that several hundred people lived in the area before white settlement.<br /><br />1823 - James Webb, the first white settler of Brisbane Water, takes up land at The Rip.<br /><br />1828 - The Census of 1828 records approximately 100 persons in the Brisbane Water Police District, which included Lake Macquarie, Brisbane Water and Lower Portland Head. This figure did not record the number of aboriginal persons, however a census of aboriginals in Brisbane Water taken in the same year records 65 persons between the Hawkesbury River and Wyong. This figure is increasingly believed to underestimate severely the native population, which may have numbered several hundred.<br /><br />1836 - 621 persons<br />...<br />1901 - 7,186 (Census)<br />...<br />1947 - 18,700<br />...<br />2001 - 161,204 - (Preliminary estimate)"<br /><br />So 3 years before the major got his land, there was 621 whitefellas and perhaps the same amount of <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/b.html" title="Ducktionary">blackfellas</a> living round the whole of Brisbane Water. Not what you'd call a crowd.<br /><br />On the "1843 Brisbane Water list of Electors" a "Smyth, Henry (Major)" is listed as having "Freehold" on a property at "Broadwater".<br /><br />Bear in mind that "Broadwater" is not <i>The</i> Broadwater, up between Fagans Bay and Point Frederick on yer 2009 map of Brisbane Water, or even <i>Kincumber</i> Broadwater. It's a vague and confusing term that was applied to pretty much everywhere on Brisbane Water at some point in the past.<br /><br />In <a href="http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/population/greville-s-official-post-office-directory-n-s-w-1872.htm">Greville's Official Post Office Directory NSW - 1872</a> there's no-one listed as living at Green Point but some of the names on the list of locations don't exist anymore (the names not the locations) and some are extremely vague.<br /><br />In 1882, waterfront land and big fat blocks were being sold at Green Point as "Suitable for Country Residences, Villa Sites and Farms".<br /><br />In 1911, another land sale has a map of Green Point showing 2 existing waterfront cottages, Green Point Wharf, Green Point Post Office, three un-named streets and Avoca Drive down as "Kincumber Road". Looks like the 1882 land auction made bugger-all impact.<br /><br />The un-named road leading to the wharf looks like the current Orana Street, just near the Bayside Drive lights.<br /><br />Have yerself a gander at the <a href="http://www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/subdivision/greenpoint.html">Sub-division maps</a> for Green Point and Kincumber, which borders on Green Point in the north.<br /><br /><br />Nowadays Green Point is a thriving suburb-slash-village of the Greater Gosford/ the Gosford City Council area/ Brisbane Water district. Bustling Downtown Green Point is a supermarket, a bottle-shop (liquor store), a <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/10/green-point-1789.html">local history marker</a> and a <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/11/along-water.html">nice park</a>, a <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/11/we-tease-to-please.html">teasing hair-dresser</a>, a couple of estate agents and another shop I can't remember for the life of me.<br /><br /><br /><b>Code Red</b><br /><br />Most of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/16186536/in/set-382460/" title="Mappage">New South Wales</a> was on a <a href="http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_more_info_latest.cfm?CON_ID=8781">total fire ban</a> during the week, due to the drought and the wind and stuff.<br /><br />Then the storms came on Friday and there were fires started here and there by lightning strikes. Nothing here, thank fuck, but summer ain't over yet. Hasn't even officially started.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_more_info_latest.cfm?CON_ID=8300">Are you prepared to survive?</a> - checklists & stuff at the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/85919372/">RFS</a> site<br /><br />I've got me go bag sorted, like they said after <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2009/02/victorian-bushfires-memorial-service.html">Black Saturday</a>. Photos, insurance policy, data back-up, towel, clean underpants. Grab and go.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><br /><a href="http://mytrektonepal.blogspot.com/">My trek to Nepal</a> - local bushwalker training for trekking<br /><br /><a href="http://centralcoast-rockterrigal.blogspot.com/2009/11/kayak-ettalong-to-iron-ladder-beach.html">Kayaking Ettalong to Iron Ladder Beach</a> - good photos, Iron Ladder is just near Box Head and the Palm Beach ferry goes quite near it.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-17453514280292103792009-11-14T13:59:00.000+11:002009-11-14T15:59:44.353+11:00We tease to please(Green Point walkies #4)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101457839/" title="Asca Drive Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2547/4101457839_529a346884.jpg" width="500" height="315" alt="Asca Drive Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Nice old weatherboard house on Asca Drive. Looks about 1900 to 1920s. But don't quote me on that. Can't find the book to check.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101457843/" title="Stone piles Asca Drive Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/4101457843_b00687b834.jpg" width="500" height="324" alt="Stone piles Asca Drive Green Point" /></a><br /><br />It had both brick piers (stumps) and stone ones but the stone ones are not original. They're too wide for their sheets of tin (to stop the white-ants). Original stone stumps are as narrow as these brick ones. Sometimes all the old stone piers on an old house get replaced, sometimes just some of them.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101504941/" title="Road works on Avoca Drive Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4101504941_7cd0b1be2c.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Road works on Avoca Drive Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Green Point traffic is on a go-slow for a bit while they rip up bits of Avoca Drive (the main road) around Bayside Drive. Not sure what they're doing on this side but on the other side it looked like they were widening it.<br /><br />Avoca Drive is one of the main roads of the Lower Central Coast/ Greater Gosford/ Brisbane Water area. If you're in Woy Woy and you want to go to Bloody Erina (Erina Fair, one of them big shopping centres) you go over <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/28323457/" title="View from it">The Rip Bridge</a> to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/43860848/">Daleys Point</a>, along Empire Bay Drive past <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/1163610/">St. Huberts Island</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/304722633/">Empire</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3642736322/">Bay</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/sets/72157621814023988/">Bensville</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/161451371/in/set-1581064/">Kincumber South</a>, left onto Avoca Drive and through <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/74535498/in/set-1581064/">Kinumber</a>, past <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3865365639/">Yattalunga</a>, round and up through Green Point and right into <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/221735151/">The Entrance Road</a>, past <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/221735148/">the barracks</a> then right at Fountain Plaza and up Karalta Road and there you are at Bloody Erina.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4102277976/" title="We tease to please, cnr Bayside Drive & Avoca Drive Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2662/4102277976_1886d6bfc0.jpg" width="500" height="303" alt="We tease to please, cnr Bayside Drive & Avoca Drive Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Stared at this sign for a good long while as I walked towards it. It looked like it belonged to the real estate agent and I wondered how the fuck teasing prospective home buyers was a good idea. Eventually I noticed the name if the hairdresser at the top of the sign. Jesus, I'm quick.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101482417/" title="Mangrove stump in the shallows, Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4101482417_19198b6ce1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Mangrove stump in the shallows, Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Just for pretty. Mangrove stump in the shallows.<br /><br /><br /><b>Bonus photo</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4101531375/" title="The Cockatoo ferry AKA Codock II by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/4101531375_06110134cd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="The Cockatoo ferry AKA Codock II" /></a><br /><br />The lovely old wooden ferry at her mooring in Cockle Channel not far from Central Wharf (where you get off for the Davo) at Davistown.<br /><br />She still does some runs over to Hardys and so forth. They changed the timetable again so I better get a new one. Haven't been on her for a bit. She's my favourite local ferry. Possibly my favourite ferry ever.<br /><br /><br /><b>Google-botted</b><br /><br />My stats are showing heaps of human and machine visits from Googlebot HQ. Must find out what that's about before I crash or something. Am I being checked out for some sort of fabulous feature thingy on the blogspot blog about blogspot blogs? The Inaugural Blogger Award for the Gratutious Use of the Word Fuck in a Walkies Context? Or maybe the googlebot just got the hiccups.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-91929369634509809842009-11-07T15:06:00.007+11:002009-11-07T16:22:19.492+11:00Along the water(Green Point walkies #3)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4082164438/" title="Memorial park at Orana Street Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/4082164438_0039914bc0.jpg" width="500" height="377" alt="Memorial park at Orana Street Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Starting point. Rocky Point in fact. Bottom of Orana Road.<br /><br />To get to this park, come down Avoca Drive from The Entrance Road and turn right into Bayside Drive at the lights or Orana Road just after them.<br /><br />If you're coming from Woy Woy, come up Maitland Bay Drive and over The Rip Bridge and up Empire Bay Drive to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/73606166/">wee stone church at the roundabout in Kincumber</a> and turn left into Avoca Drive and go straight through Kincumber then up the hill and round and left into Orana Road just before the lights.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309643/" title="Houses on Point Frederick from Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4081309643_d114d08fe5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Houses on Point Frederick from Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Wee old houses nestled between big flash houses on <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2006/06/longnose.html">Point Frederick</a>.<br /><br />This is pretty much the same as anywhere there's big pricey houses along the water round Woy Woy and Brisbane Water and up and down the Central Coast. There's still some wee old houses from before the seventies, before the war and before the first war when land was cheap and there was fuck-all houses around Brisbane Water anyways.<br /><br />It's like a miniature history of the Coast on one street. This particular street being <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2006/07/longnose-albany-street.html">Albany Street</a>, the street running from stem to stern of Point Frederick AKA Longnose. In the background yer looking at Rumbalara Reserve (hill in shadow) and what appears to be Waterview Park AKA Presidents Hill above <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/t.html" title="Ducktionary">the trots</a> in Gosford. Locals will know Presedents Hill as the hillside on which <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2006/10/castle.html">The Castle</a> sits.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081464327/" title="Green Point foreshore reserve by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2554/4081464327_50b5434f2d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Green Point foreshore reserve" /></a><br /><br />Bit of the park. It's a narrow strip of grassed land between the water and the houses with a private jetty and boat parked opposite nearly every house. Again, same all round Woy Woy and Brisbane Water.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309649/" title="Tall mangroves at Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2652/4081309649_b580f317fa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Tall mangroves at Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Some mangroves can get quite tall. These ones were about 15 metres (49.21 feet). Usually they're 2 to 6 metres (6.56 to 19.69 feet).<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309639/" title="Tinny at Ironbark Point (near Green Pt) by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2727/4081309639_f3414e37db.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Tinny at Ironbark Point (near Green Pt)" /></a><br /><br />The inevitable tinny.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309669/" title="Wee muddy creek at Ironbark Point (near Green Pt) by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2509/4081309669_5735e7dffb.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Wee muddy creek at Ironbark Point (near Green Pt)" /></a><br /><br />A wee muddy creek at Ironbark Point, about halfway up the park. Could be a storm drain all full after the bit of rain we had in October but it looked more creeky with the trees round it.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309659/" title="Scribbly gum bark Kenmare Road Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/4081309659_228ffc96d7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Scribbly gum bark Kenmare Road Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Scribbly gum bark found in the wee bit of bush beside Kenmare Road. Scribbly gums are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribbly_gum"><i>Eucalyptus haemastoma</i></a>. The link has a good photo of the tree.<br /><br />The scribbles are made by a wee tiny beastie, the larvae of the Scribbly Gum Moth (<i>Ogmograptis scribula</i>).<br /><br /><br /><b>Bonus photo</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4081309679/" title="Woy Woy/Koolewong footbridge from Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/4081309679_629470f485.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Woy Woy/Koolewong footbridge from Green Point" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/01/footbridge.html">Woy Woy to Koolewong footbridge</a> as seen from Green Point.<br /><br />Much clearer view of the footbridge. Couldn't find the bastard last week.<br /><br /><br /><b>New new timetable</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au/">Local ferries timetable</a>. Yep, same ferry as takes the Dear Old Things to <a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au/lunch_davistown.html">the Davo</a>.<br /><br />I don't get paid for the local ferry adverts, by the way. I just love ferries.Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-47571527972103033112009-10-31T12:04:00.005+11:002009-10-31T13:58:00.469+11:00Green Point 1789(Green Point walkies #2)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109119/" title="Governor Phillip marker Orana Road Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3481/4059109119_2142426201.jpg" width="500" height="338" alt="Governor Phillip marker Orana Road Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Marking a landing point of the exploration by Governor Arthur Phillip of the Port Jackson (now Sydney) colony.<br /><br />Through the gap in the trees there you can see the footbridge and railway bridge from Woy Woy to Koolewong.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109083/" title="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4059109083_3bda3b85a3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point" /></a><br /><br />There was a metal plate on each side of the obelisk.<br /><br />"The obelisk marks the place where<br />[On] the 9th of June 1789<br />They landed while Captain John Hunter,<br />Later to become second Governor of the colony,<br />Took the latitude at noon that day<br />That he computed to be<br />33 [degrees] 26' 30" South"<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109109/" title="Gov. Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/4059109109_fea6a2d108.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Gov. Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point" /></a><br /><br />"This is the Northernmost area reached<br />By a party led by<br />Governor Captain Arthur Phillip R.N.<br />In an expedition of exploration & discovery<br />In search of suitable farm land<br />Governor Phillip was accompanied by<br />Captains Hunter, Collins & Johnston with<br />Surgeon White."<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109103/" title="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/4059109103_1294b1dddc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point" /></a><br /><br />"This area, referred by Captain Phillip as<br />North West Branch of Broken Bay<br />Was later named Brisbane Water.<br />[White] Settlement did not begin until 1823.<br />34 years after its discovery"<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109089/" title="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/4059109089_e5a66c14dd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Governor Phillip marker Orana Street Green Point" /></a><br /><br />"This spot is on the original grant of <br />640 acres of Crown land<br />Promised to John H. Edwards<br />By Sir Ralph Darling in 1829<br />And granted on 30.9.1839<br />To Major Henry Smyth who called it<br />GREEN POINT"<br /><br />The plate at the bottom was the usual one saying the obelisk was bunged up in 1988 for the 200 year anniversary of the white settlement of Port Jackson (Sydney).<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4059109129/" title="Point Frederick from Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4059109129_725f048539.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Point Frederick from Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Point Frederick (Longnose) from Rocky Point at Green Point. Green Point is the suburb. Rocky Point and Ironbark Point are points within Green Point. Make sense?<br /><br />Anyways, I am quite chuffed about getting this photo. Longnose is very hard to capture. It usually just fades into the background of the shore behind it. This time it was outlined clearly against the its background. Bloody lucky capture. Especially considering I've been trying for it since bloody 2005.<br /><br />Its background this time is Point Clare and West Gosford.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038698000/">Green Point mappage</a><br /><br />Gov. Phillip thingies from the March 1788 visit at <a href="http://woywoywalkies.blogspot.com/2006/01/walk-33-governor-phillip.html">The Rip Bridge</a>, <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2005/10/pearl-beach-photos-ii.html">Pearl Beach</a> & <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2005/10/st-huberts-island-photos.html">St. Huberts Island</a>.<br /><br /><br /><b>Local linkage</b><br /><i>Ferry news</i><br /><a href="http://www.centralcoastferries.com.au">Updated ferries timetable, includes putt putt day runs & footy ferry</a><br /><br /><i>Beach photo</i><br />Some of them anti-climate change peeps <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/350org/4039273050/">made a 350 on Umina Beach</a> a couple of weekends back. Not entirely what it was for but apparently they don't like global warming. Fair enough.<br /><br />The photo was taken from Mt Ettalong Road looking down on the eastern end (caravan park end) of Umina Beach.<br /><br /><i>Old photos</i><br />Golden Oldies want to see your old photos and memorabilia. November 11th at the Ettalong bowls.<br /><br /> "This is an informal day and encompasses local schools, factories and telephone exchanges pre-1960s ... With the passing of time our numbers are thinning and perhaps the pre-1970s would like to join us".<br /><br /><a href="http://www.peninsulanews.info/2009/1019/default.aspx?item=Reunion">Contact details in local rag</a>Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-72764560735434568792009-10-24T11:16:00.002+11:002009-10-24T11:41:08.593+11:00Green Point(Green Point walkies #1)<br /><br />Back. Somewhat refreshed from my holiday but shit continues to go down in my offline life so not really all that thrilled to be home.<br /><br />Anyways. Green Point. Just before I went on holiday I started walking Green Point.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038698000/" title="Green Point & Woy Woy by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/4038698000_0192460b8e.jpg" width="355" height="500" alt="Green Point & Woy Woy" /></a><br /><br />It's on the eastern side of the estuary (Brisbane Water) just above <a href="" title="">Yattalunga</a>. It's a narrow strip of houses along Avoca Drive, squeezed in between the water and <a href="" title="Bushwalkies">Kincumba Mountain</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038579640/" title="Illawara Flame Tree by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2672/4038579640_20d1175e36.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Illawara Flame Tree" /></a><br /><br />There's not much flowering this year due to the bloody dry winter we had. This is an Illaware flame tree, a baby one leaning over an overgrown creek (Egan Gully [Creek]) in Beatties Road which is at the bottom of the hill, right next to the christian school, just as you head up Avoca Drive into Green Point proper. It's a quiet road with just a few houses and a couple of eldery golden retrievers that wander out of their front yards and gaze up at you lovingly.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038600154/" title="Stripy rock at Lexington Avenue Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/4038600154_c0907027f2.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Stripy rock at Lexington Avenue Green Point" /></a><br /><br />There's lots of places round Brisbane Water where there's flat rocks at the waterline. The park at the end of Lexington Parade and Merindah Avenue is one of those places. There's wee tiny rock pools and a scattering of broken shells and sea glass and, sometimes, stripy rocks where you can see how the sediment was laid down or whatever it was all those aeons ago. Cool.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038540004/" title="Footbridge & Koolewong from Elfin Hill Rd Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2543/4038540004_748772a7b9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Footbridge & Koolewong from Elfin Hill Rd Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Can you see it? Locals should be able to pick up the shape of it. It's the <a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/2007/01/footbridge.html">footbridge over at Woy Woy/Koolewong</a>, the one with all the wires. It's photos like this that remind me to get a new camera already. This one has reached its limits.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4037867497/" title="Tascott from Merindah Avenue Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2637/4037867497_e72e2db079.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Tascott from Merindah Avenue Green Point" /></a><br /><br />Just for pretty. Tascott and yacht. The other side of Brisbane Water always looks so far away in these photos I take across it. I swear it's not half that far.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4037805143/" title="Galahs in flight Lexington Avenue Green Point by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2792/4037805143_9f4b0eb18f.jpg" width="500" height="346" alt="Galahs in flight Lexington Avenue Green Point" /></a><br /><br />I walked fuck-all of Green Point on my first walk there. Just three tiny streets. They all had a park at the end and I slothed out on the grass for a while. It was a warm day. We skipped spring this year and went straight into summer. I laid there under a tree listening to the breeze making the casuarina trees whisper in their soft howl and watching a couple of pink and grey galahs fossick about for something to eat.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/4038590120/" title="Kayak season in Lintern Channel between Davistown & Rileys Island by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2801/4038590120_f7a52b5d87.jpg" width="500" height="286" alt="Kayak season in Lintern Channel between Davistown & Rileys Island" /></a><br /><br />It's kayak season. Some local crowd at Koolewong I think it is runs a kayak tours thingy where you go on a wee tour of the estuary in their kayaks. You see an occassional hardy kayaker out on the water in winter but it's summer that's the busy season and it's par for the course to see them bobbing in the wake of the ferry as it heads round to the stop for the Davo. (Get off at Central Ave, walk up Davistown Road and turn right at Murna Road.)<br /><br />Weird to put the first photo last I know but there you go.<br /><br /><br /><b>Holiday reading</b><br /><br />I bring you <a href="http://naotalba.livejournal.com/18472.html" title="Straight guys should probably not read this">leopard porn</a>, the bad!fic that broke Wincon 2007. Olden but golden. From the fandom that brought you <a href="http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/index.php?title=Crack#Yak_Fucking">yak!crack</a>.<br /><br />*hearts the internets even though it should probably take its meds more often*Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15959453.post-29319761820354706772009-10-03T11:12:00.004+10:002009-10-03T12:18:28.373+10:00My island homeGot a walk to blog this week but will leave it for when I come back (24th October) in favour of looking at why Australia had two wee tiny earth tremors while Sumatra is a crumbling ruin and half Samoa’s kids were washed away in a tidal wave.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3975189257/" title="Earthquake epicentres by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2505/3975189257_8c36109816.jpg" width="500" height="315" alt="Earthquake epicentres" /></a><br />(Maps from Wiki Creative Commons)<br /><br />Those big black lines are where there’s frequent and/or bad earthquakes. Australia's got a fair few dots but this map shows <i>all</i> quakes from 1963 to 1998 not just bad ones.<br /><br />You can't even see New Zealand and New Guinea and Japan. That's how many quakes they have.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3975189279/" title="World volcano map by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3431/3975189279_442a84909b_o.jpg" width="602" height="264" alt="World volcano map" /></a><br />(Actually a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Volcano_Map.png">volcano map</a> but clearer.)<br /><br />Notice how the quake lines go round Australia and don’t touch it. New Zealand is over there to the right of Australia and down a bit, right on the edge. That line on it is why it’s known as the Shaky Isles.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3975189271/" title="South-east Asia by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2508/3975189271_20078b071f_o.jpg" width="540" height="492" alt="South-east Asia" /></a><br /><br />There’s been some medium-sized earthquakes in South East Asia (the green bits) over the past couple of weeks.<br /><br />Then there was the 8 off Samoa on Wednesday and the tidal waves from it hit Western Samoa (2 left dots), American Samoa (single right dot) and Tonga.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3975189265/" title="Samoan earthquake epicentre by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/3975189265_d2bb2ded0a_o.jpg" width="423" height="473" alt="Samoan earthquake epicentre" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Samoa_earthquake">Video simulation of the tidal wave from the earthquake</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/?region=0" title="Official tsunami warnings">Panic button</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spikebot/3975189271/" title="South-east Asia by Spikebot, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2508/3975189271_20078b071f_o.jpg" width="540" height="492" alt="South-east Asia" /></a><br /><br />Then a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/hopes-fade-for-hundreds-lost-in-destroyed-city-20091002-ggjc.html">big quake hit Sumatra</a> and pretty much wrecked it. They’re still searching for survivors in the rubble there. Not so much in Samoa now. Only bodies are being found there now.<br /><br />There’s a bit of a Samoan and Tongan community in Australia. Some of our best rugby players are from Samoa and Tonga and both are small countries that just don't have the resources to provide the bright lights big city thing yer average young adult wants.<br /><br />New Zealand also has a bit of a Samoan and Tongan community and so the same scenes have been on the news there as well as here: weeping anxious stunned people flying home to bury their families. One <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/p.html" title="Ducktionary">poor bugger</a> showed a picture of her extended family. 21 of them were dead. That left 2 or 3 people in that photo alive.<br /><br />Tonga also got hit by tidal waves from the same earthquake. Less powerful waves but people were killed there too and there too the land was stripped and made barren by the sea salt dumped on it.<br /><br />Samoa lost a lot of kids. Surviving adults told of how the force of the water was so great it ripped their kids from their arms. Christ.<br /><br />Samoa and Tonga don’t have the numbers of emergency services personnel to cope with this sort of thing. We do. Australia has been sending <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/r.html" title="Ducktionary">RAAF</a> Hercules aircraft loaded with supplies, doctors and trained emergency workers. New Zealand has been doing the same.<br /><br />Samoa's population is about 250,000, Tonga's about 101,991, Sumatra has heaps of peeps but the political situation there affects the emergency services.<br /><br />Yesterday I overheard some <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/w.html" title"Ducktionary">wanker</a> complaining about our sending help to “all these pissy little places”. Like hello! One, we can afford to be nice, two, we need their rugby champions to help us beat New Zealand and, three, who else are our emergency services practice going to practice on?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/survivors-glad-to-be-home-but-say-keep-sending-aid-20091002-ggjg.html">Australian survivors...have urged people to continue sending aid</a> (videos & photos)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/environment/another-powerful-quake-hits-off-tonga-samoan-islands-usgs-20091002-gfom.html">Another powerful earthquake hits off Tonga, Samoan</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.redcross.org.au/ourservices_aroundtheworld_emergencyrelief_pacific-tsunami-samoa-tonga.htm">Red Cross for donations to Samoa & Tonga</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.redcross.org.au/ourservices_aroundtheworld_emergencyrelief_Indonesian-earthquake-2009.htm">Red Cross for donations to Sumatra</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.redcross.org.au/ourservices_aroundtheworld_emergencyrelief_typhoon-ketsana.htm">Red Cross for donations to the Philippines</a> (<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/philippines-under-state-of-calamity-20091002-gg44.html">copped fatal flooding & about to get hit by another cyclone/hurricane</a>)<br /><br /><br /><b>I shall return</b><br /><br />24th of October. I'm off for a badly needed holiday in which I intend to lay about in my underpants with my <a href="http://ducktionary.blogspot.com/2006/01/m.html" title"Ducktionary">mobile</a> and my brain both switched off and anyone who says the W word (work) will be stoned to death. If I can get up the energy.<br /><br />Put in yer email and you'll get a ping in yer inbox.<br /><br /><form Method="POST" action="http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?AddNewUserDirect"><br />Enter your Email<br><input name="EMAIL" maxlength="255" type="text" size="30" value=""><br><br /><input name="FEEDID" type="hidden" value="58066"><br /><input type="submit" value="Subscribe me!"><br /><br>Powered by <a href="http://www.feedblitz.com">FeedBlitz</a></form><br /><br /><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThisIsntSydney" title="Subscribe to my feed, This isn't Sydney" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/xml_button.gif" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><br /><br /><a href="http://thisisntsydney.blogspot.com/atom.xml">Atom</a><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://embed.technorati.com/embed/bxmyayru5s.js"></script><br /><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Spikebot"><br /><img src="http://www.bloglines.com/images/sub_modern11.gif" border="0" alt="Subscribe with Bloglines" /></a><br />(Got a favourite ping thing not on this list? Be a dear and chuck it in the comments.)Spikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04711311734492421302noreply@blogger.com0