Great cover art. Obviously a very cool record.
Droughts and flooded drains
The park at the end of our street flooded today. While taking the kids to have a look, they were attracted to the snails that were making the most of the rain.
They liked the snails so much I joked to my partner that it was as if they'd never seen them before. She pointed out that they hadn't seen many snails, through drought and where we've been living.
The kids brought home snails and gave them names and thought they were pets.
Two tweets on the internet
These blue birds remind me of the Twitter logo, so the crocodile reminded me of the internet. Two tweets and you can be eaten.
A plague comes to town
This photo is from my last locust plague, it was 2008. I was surprised when they first hatched because you could see a group of them hopping across the ground but not really identify what it was. Like the dirt was shifting in places.
This year's locusts started arriving in Leeton on the weekend. I was walking to the collect my newspapers when a bird dived on one near me.
Locust numbers have been increasing but nothing like the photograph below from BoingBoing.net
Join the dots
I'm wondering if my kids would recognise this as a telephone.
I suppose it still looks like one from an old movie.
Basin Plan graphic design
There doesn't seem to be a credit for the design of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's first volume of the Basin Plan but I believe the graphic designer has done a remarkable job because the proposed Plan will tear stripes off regional communities. Just like what's shown on the cover.
Another curious review
Another fine fuck-up in Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum section. Cee Lo's expression in the photo seems apt.
This was the last wordless album review I saw.
Under the boardwalk's spell
Had a walk around the National Botanic Gardens today. I've spent a lot of time there over the years, my mum loves it and my partner does too.
If you plan to take kids there, it's important to pack spare clothes. Last time we went my three-year old fell into a stream, today my toddler had barely left the car park when he tumbled into a pond.
One addition I noticed today was a bunch of water monitors, who posed for many photos.
Anyway, one of the things I was musing on while strolling through the rainforest on a raised platform is the appeal of boardwalks. I wondered if part of their appeal is the way they let you walk on water.
120 Days of Simon
Simon Gärdenfors is a Swedish cartoonist/rapper who undertakes to spend four months couch-surfing and document the result. It took maybe an hour to read and I really enjoyed 120 Days of Simon.
The graphic novel format suits the Kevin Smith-esque narrative. Gärdenfors' gonzo reporting is totally understated by the Astro Boy-style visuals though, it ain't for kids.
The prolific Biffles
One of the bird hides at Fivebough Swamp has had a visit from Biffles, who is nothing but prolific in signing his name. Aside from these tags, there were a couple of black swans courting there today.
Car harp
During a weekend remembering my love of aeolian harps I was reminded of this awesome work by Lily Gottlieb-Mchale. Her website says the strings are miked and the sound is transmitted through the car radio.
First to 25,000 views
Would you believe that while I was in Cootamundra last weekend my video of an aeolian harp starting up clocked over 25,000 views? That's a personal milestone.
My most popular photograph
Apparently this is the most popular photograph on my blogs.
I guess that around one thousand people have seen it.
It was part of my 2007 exhibition First Three Songs No Flash.
Influenza
This week I've been suffering a remarkable strain of influenza.
Normally I wouldn't blog about sickness but the series of symptoms has been something else. Since I've seen people post about pills they've taken or meals they've eaten, I thought I should share this experience.
Previously my family had been sick with this 'flu and I'd been surprised at the varying complaints. There were temperatures ranging from cold shivers to hot sweats, headaches but also sore legs. Sure enough, I found myself unable to sleep because of pain in my thighs early on in the week.
I've been gobbling painkillers at close to the maximum dosages all week and staying in bed. Although, the latter hasn't been difficult because the fatigue is such that I can't stay upright for more than a few hours.
There's also been a head cold and a nagging cough, which weren't too bad at first but now a vice-like headache means they trigger a fairly intense pain throughout my skull.
I'm looking forward to it being over but it's been a helluva ride.
Normally I wouldn't blog about sickness but the series of symptoms has been something else. Since I've seen people post about pills they've taken or meals they've eaten, I thought I should share this experience.
Previously my family had been sick with this 'flu and I'd been surprised at the varying complaints. There were temperatures ranging from cold shivers to hot sweats, headaches but also sore legs. Sure enough, I found myself unable to sleep because of pain in my thighs early on in the week.
I've been gobbling painkillers at close to the maximum dosages all week and staying in bed. Although, the latter hasn't been difficult because the fatigue is such that I can't stay upright for more than a few hours.
There's also been a head cold and a nagging cough, which weren't too bad at first but now a vice-like headache means they trigger a fairly intense pain throughout my skull.
I'm looking forward to it being over but it's been a helluva ride.
Wireless broadband is a joke
Despite being the fastest growing internet access technology according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), I reckon mobile wireless broadband is a joke.
You can see here the meagre three kilobytes per second my service was providing this morning for around four hours. I don't think it's fair to call anything less than 100kb/sec broadband, a figure I've only seen my service with Vodafone achieve at odd hours in the early morning.
I'd try Telstra but they're too expensive.
Sharkboy
Occy seems to be getting a second set of teeth popping up behind his baby teeth.
I imagine this could be his mutant superpower, shark-like rows of teeth. He'll be known in the X-Men for his dazzling and potentially deadly smile.
And the hours spent in the bathroom each night brushing and flossing.
Flooded Murrumbidgee
Locals tell me it's been 20 years since the Murrumbidgee River last flooded like this.
In this pic you can see the boat ramp at Ski Beach and some of the road leading to it are underwater.
Get plastered with Barry
Sadly I missed the local builder with 'Get hammered with Harry' to go with these.
Kimchi recipe
Kimchi is a Korean food and probably my favourite pickle. Here's the recipe I use.
- Cut up a cabbage (wombok is best but regular will do)
- Add a couple of tablespoons of salt and seal in a container and put in the fridge.
- After a day or so, drain the cabbage. I usually loosen the lid, turn it upside down and let it drain while sitting on the edge of the kitchen sink for 10 minutes.
- Add 125ml rice wine vinegar, 125ml soy sauce, couple of teaspoons of chilli powder, couple of teaspoons of cayenne pepper, couple of cloves of grated garlic, a few centimetres of grated ginger knob, few tablespoons of sugar. Adjust the ratio of everything but the liquids to suit your preference or spice tolerance.
- Reseal the container and put it in the fridge. It'll keep for four weeks but is ready to start eating within an hour or two.
- Add cut up shallots when serving it up and you can drizzle a bit of sesame oil on too or sesame seeds. I often add the shallots to the kimchi in the container after a day or two when the cabbage has shrunk after absorbing the liquid.
The process leaves you with about half the cabbage you started with, after it's lost water and broken down in the brine.
Red capsicum is the best thing to have with it. Kimchi is great stir fried with vegies and noodles or rice or you can add it to salad leaves. It's great with fried food like fish, bacon or calamari rings -- the vinegar cuts through the grease and it's good for digestion.
Here's my kimchi salad with capsicum, grated ham, mixed leaves and sesame oil.
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