Old Photographs

To look back and find old photographs can be quite memorable especially if you scan them into the computer and use various techniques to restore them ( or even improve them) to their former glory. My wife and I will be 25 years married this year and I dug out the old wedding photographs ( I think the last time we looked at them was 24 years ago) and had a go at revitalising them. The view is from Cranbrook School in Sydney.

Jupiter and its Moons

As of the 3rd July 2008, Jupiter is really visible in the Southern Hemisphere in the East. I was lucky enough to bid for three telescopes on e bay and having been outbid on two was quite concerned when the next day I had won all three! Well to be honest here, one is probably as good as three!

I had observed the Galilean moons of Jupiter before but not all at once. The telescope picks them up with no trouble though not as large as the image of Io above. The larger image is of course Jupiter and they are not to scale. If you are interested, try this site.

http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/jupiter_moons.html

On the 6th July, ( 2008) the Moon, Saturn and Mars should be observed very close together in the Western sky ( Southern Hemisphere). I am sure it is the same for the Northern Hemisphere. Let me know.

Perth

Perth, Western Australia is quite a place to live in. Above is a view of the city from one of the suburbs. From the other side of this situation is a view of the Indian Ocean.....hence the name of the suburb .... "Double View". The climate here is really good for sport. There are numerous golf clubs in the area and most of them can be played on for a modest price. I find it difficult to go on holiday as you can have a really fantastic holiday at home!!!

Webmaster

It is really good to be creative and please (most) people at the same time. I am the webmaster for a tennis club which gives me a little scope for creativity and lets me have a bit of fun as well. http://www.northbeachtennisclub.com.au/
Having played sport ( rugby, basketball and soccer) for most of my life, I have had to take up tennis in recent years. Like golf, it can be a little frustrating but at least in doubles you DO have a partner to blame if things go wrong!

Anzac Day

ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the ANZAC’s (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’) landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey on 25 April, 1915. ANZAC Day is commemorated here in Australia by a solemn ceremony that remembers the contribution and sacrifice of soldiers who fought in the trenches at Gallipoli during W W 1. It also shows gratitude for all men and women who have played a part in all wars.

Today the 25th April is Anzac Day and I thought I would share the following thoughts from an unknown author:

"Lest we Forget" is why we gather each Anzac Day to remember, and to keep ON remembering - not dolefully, but thoughtfully; not morbidly, but gratefully; not with grief, but with inspiration - so that the very meaning of what Anzac stands for can create a better sense of comradeship, of decency and tolerance, each of us to the other. So, don't be afraid to live in a way that is good; don't be shy of being kind; don't be afraid of doing an honest duty; don't be embarrassed about being sincere - for these are the attributes we remember most of the men they called Anzacs. Lest we forget (25th April 2008).

My favourite item of news this year was an interview with a Young Turk who was also taking part in the ceremony.

The photograph above is the Memeorial service at dawn in Canberra.

The link below provides some useful material on the subject.

http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.htm

Modern gadgets

I wrote a bit about this before but I was thinking today how lucky many of us are to be born just after the war as far as trying new things are concerned. When I was 10 years old, I was carrying water from the local village ( about half a km ) to our home. Strangely enough we DID have a television but no fridge, no washing machine of any sort and no gadgets that I can think of.
Last night, I recorded a Beatles Medley on my Casio Keyboard using all kinds of functions. THen I transfered this track on to a recording studio and added a few more tracks including a vocal track. I then played this sound track and recorded it onto the computer. At this stage I changed the wav format to mp3 and finally duplicated the file on to a small ipod. I will take this ipod to a gig tomorrow and (hopefully) sing the main part to this backing.
If this means little to you, well I am just trying to show how many gadgets are involved in this minor project.

St. Patrick's Day

Well if you are not sure St. Patrick's Day is on the 17th March. It fell on a Monday this year and apparently some Aussies celebrated it on the previous Friday so as not to interfere with Holy Week. I am fairly certain that if you were born in Ireland, you celebrated it on the 17th March. This year I took a bit of a chance and played at three different venues. I was so worried about such a long day that I packed the night before and set off for the first gig 20 minutes early only to find on my arrival that I had forgotten my amplifer. It was at an old people's home and many of them are impatient. Well I did return only 15 minutes late. The second gig went well and the third went like a dream ...... after I dramatically changed my programand on discovering that not ONE person in the audience was Irish! See Photographs. I did not even sing the St. Patrick's Day song I composed for the occasion. I got to play all eight instruments and then had a quiet Guinness or two. Slainte!