Photo a Day Challenge - Day 26 Colour

Today is Australia Day, and is celebrated by all, generally with a BBQ. Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788 . There is also the Australian Day Awards, where extraordinary people are rewarded for what they have done, both to the community and to Australia as a whole.

It is also a day of throwing a 'snag' on the barbie, or lamb! Lately, Sam Kekovich releases a new video!

BUT, there is also another side to 'Australia Day', and that is to the indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to which I would like to pay my respect to, both past and present.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Flags

So, its been a colourful day, both Sam's video and the colours of the flags above. I hope you have had a great Australia Day!

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 25 Daily Routine

Well, apart from the wake-up at 5.30 every morning, shower, breakfast (usually a coffee) I start the drive to work... I head towards the city along the M4, and at its end, I come to the intersection of Concord Rd...

Daily Routine Concord Rd

Then, after driving through Five Dock where some very good family friends use to live, I go along Canada Bay on Wattle St, which by way of coincidence, is also underneath YSSY 16 approach! It is nice, sitting in traffic, along the bay with often runners doing their thing as well.. There is even the odd knack at times, but sharks have been known to be in the area!

Daily Routine Wattle Rd

I eventually make it to a parking spot near my office, which although my office is in a very nice heritage building, there are also some newer/modern ('80's) buildings as well!

And finally, working out my organisations CO2 emissions is one of the projects I am doing. It is now very 'automated' in that when I get data, it goes into the various files (tabs) I have, and the formula works it all out from there... Soon though, we will have a lot easier capture of the data as we are installing meters and sub-meters on our infrastructure, and I can look and run reports from the desktop, thus a truly automated system... YAY!!

Daily Routine CO2 Emissions Tables

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 24 Guilty Pleasure

What is my guilty pleasure, well there are many, but of late (and I hope its not just a 'limited edition' but I simply love Cadbury's Cherry Ripe® (Dark Cherry)!

Now, I was never a fan of the original Cherry Ripe, but the Dark Cherry one is simply to yummy!!!

Guilty Pleasure

Cherry Ripe® Dark Cherry Introducing new Cherry Ripe® Dark Cherry - A delicious new chocolate bar with Dark Cherries and Coconut all dipped in Old Gold® Rich Dark Chocolate.

Available in 52g and 80g, Cherry Ripe® Dark Cherry delivers a rich new taste specifically formulated for adult indulgence.

Hoo roo for now...

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photo a Day Challenge - Day 23 Something Old

Ok, this is going to be a little series of photos, but it all is something old, just a story about its renewal!!

You see, we have an old house. It was built in 1927. We purchased it though in 2005, and quickly removed the Liquidamber out the front. They are on Council's list of 'undesirable' trees!

Front Tree

Here in the second shot, you will see how the Frangipani has grown, the brickwork has been repointed AND tuck pointed (L would love it...). It is a similar angle to the shot above, although sans Liquidamber!

Garage Bay Window

And this last shot, taken on Saturday when I pulled out ALL stops to get gardens done to go out on Sunday. Lawns mowed looks good, right??

Something Old

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 22 Your Shoes

The other day, I went out shopping for a couple of new tee's... I went to Kmart and Target, but by the end of the 'quick trip', I came out with 2 x pairs of jeans; 2 x tee shirts and a new pair of shoes!!

Your shoes

Not bad for a quick shopping trip hey!

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Happy Birthday to the other 'B' as well, as I went to his party and had a great time. It was a small interment party, but it was fun all the same...

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 21 Reflection

OK, I will be straight up, I cheated (badly) on this one! I had no time today to set-up a shot I had thought of doing, so, I've had to resort to cheating using a fancy little iPhone app called "Water Photo". Its simple to use in that you can either take a photo OR use a photo, and it will make it look like the subject is beside a water... Its pretty impressive, no?

Reflective Lyre

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In other news, tonight I celebrated the other B's b'day in 'The Shed'! It was a great night, catching up with some of his old school friends whom I've not seen in a while. Happy Birthday B!!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 20 Someone you Love

Just because you're not here anymore, doesn't mean I love you any less...

Louise Wedding Day

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 19 Sweet

Running a little behind, apologies.. But for the 'sweet' photo, I could have done lollies, cakes, desserts etc, but I also wanted to do something a little different. So I looked back into my photo collection for a specific flower thats in the garden, in fact, there's two specimens! The Brugmansia spp (Wiki link, so don't take it as gospel...)! My old Director at work, has recently re-wrote the app, and I think it is published now, I must ask him next time I see him!

Out the back, there is a single apricot coloured bush, that stands around 3m tall and equally round. When its out in bloom, it has the sweetest scent coming off it, wafting down into the rear living area and kitchen, whilst in the front yard, there is a double white one, which is equally as strong scented. the beauty of these though, is that they are at their strongest at night, which is good when in the spa you can smell it, and in bed at night, its wonderful!

Brugmansia

HOWEVER, it does also have a danger about it, as it is toxic...

All parts of Brugmansia are poisonous, with the seeds and leaves being especially dangerous. Brugmansia are rich in Scopolomine (hyoscine), hyoscyamine, and several other tropane alkaloids. Effects of ingestion can include paralysis of smooth muscles, confusion, tachycardia, dry mouth, diarrhea, migrane headaches, visual and auditory hallucinations, mydriasis, rapid onset cycloplegia, and death.

The hallucinogenic effects of Brugmansia were described in the journal Pathology as "terrifying rather than pleasurable".^[25] The author Christina Pratt, in An Encyclopedia of Shamanism say that "Brugmansia induces a powerful trance with violent and unpleasant effects, sickening afteraffects, and at times temporary insanity". These hallucinations are often characterized by complete loss of awareness that one is hallucinating, disconnection from reality, and amnesia of the episode; such as one example reported in Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience of a young man who amputated his own penis and tongue after drinking only 1 cup of Brugmansia tea. The Swiss naturalist and explorer, Johann von Tschudi, described the effects of Brugmansia ingestion on one individual in Peru:

Soon after drinking the Tonga, the man fell into a dull brooding, he stared vacantly at the ground, his mouth was closed firmly, almost convulsively and his nostrils were flared. Cold sweat covered his forehead. He was deathly pale. The jugular veins on his throat were swollen as large as a finger and he was wheezing as his chest rose and sank slowly. His arms hung down stiffly by his body. Then his eyes misted over and filled with huge tears and his lips twitched convulsively for a brief moment. His carotids were visibly beating, his respiration increased and his extremities twitched and shuddered of their own accord. This condition would have lasted about a quarter of an hour, then all these actions increased in intensity. His eyes were now dry but had become bright red and rolled about wildly in their sockets and all his facial muscles were horribly distorted. A thick white foam leaked out between his half open lips. The pulses on his forehead and throat were beating too fast to be counted. His breathing was short, extraordinarily fast and did not seem to lift the chest, which was visibly fibrillating. A mass of sticky sweat covered his whole body which continued to be shaken by the most dreadful convulsions. His limbs were hideously contorted. He alternated between murmuring quietly and incomprehensibly and uttering loud, heart-rending shrieks, howling dully and moaning and groaning.

Some municipalities prohibit the purchase, sale, or cultivation of Brugmansia plants.

In 1994, 112 teenagers were admitted to hospitals from ingesting Brugmansia in Florida alone. The concentration of alkaloids in all parts of the plant differ markedly. They even vary with the seasons and the level of hydration, so it is nearly impossible to determine a safe level of alkaloid exposure.

So there you have it, sweet!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 18 Something you Bought

I wanted to post something that I may have bought today... But I had no purchases today... I thought about what I had bought recently, fuel... Boring... I've posted the bike before, so didn't want to do that again... So I had a look through my flickr account for some inspiration. I also wanted to post something I had not posted before...

So here it is. I was in Madrid (2009), it was late evening and I was, you guessed it, hungry, so I had some dinner... And, when in Spain, what else could you order other than...

Madrid Paella

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 17 Water

February 2009, I had the opportunity to visit Doha Qatar for a job interview. At the time, L was back at home doing the injections for the last session of IVF... I normally gave her the injections, and she was having particular difficulty self-injecting!

One of the highlights of the visit, was a visit to the Villaggio Shopping Mall, which was next-door to where I would've been working! It is a typical shopping mall, right? NO! It had some very high-end stores, and it also had a Venetian style canal inside

Villaggio Shopping Centre Canal II

NOT to mention, an Ice Rink (frozen Water)

Villaggio Ice Rink

Hoo roo for now...

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