Green Xmas – The End

Most of the photo worthy bits are done.  On xmas day, we had ham.  It was extra nice to have a quiet day since everyone had a little more sun the day before than we’d realized.

Saturday was our planned trip to the Blue Mountains.  The forecast called for possible rain, but we planned on a drive so we didn’t think it would matter.  It started out fine – I slept most of the ride there.  As we got to the edge of the mountains we saw the real problem… or rather didn’t.  What was light rain back at the house was fairly thick fog up in the mountains.  We hoped we’d at least be able to see the Three Sisters but when we got to the observation point there wasn’t much to see.  We had a trip through the gift shop anyway and managed to pick up a few souvenirs.

Sunday was mostly shopping to get gifts (and TimTams) for folks back in Wisconsin.  On the third trip back to the mall, I picked up a new power supply for my computer that fixed the problem with not being able to turn my computer back on. 

Monday, we sent our guests back home.  We loved having them, and I’m pretty sure they had a good time too.

Green Xmas - Day 8 & 9

Playing catch-up – Dec 23 & 24.

The 23rd was easy – after wandering around Taronga for hours we took the day off.  We had originally thought John and his father might be able to do a fishing tour on the ocean, but that fell through so we fired up the bbq and played cards.

Since the 24th was Xmas eve, we wanted to avoid places that might be closed for the holiday or too crowded with last minute preparations.  We’ve talked about checking out Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens.  (you might recall me seeing the one in Hobart).  Most of the gardens and surrounding parks are open every day of the year and are free to the public (certain exhibits and special events may not be).

We were very lucky in regards to the weather.  It was mostly sunny but not hot enough to be unpleasant.  We printed out a couple maps at home to get the general layout and figure out where we needed to go to pick up the no-charge wheelchair.  Both John (the pusher) and Linda (the passenger) thought the chair was better than the one we had at Taronga.  While we waited for the chair to be brought up from one of the ranger stations, we browsed the gift shop.  As you can imagine, many of the items were overpriced if a person was simply looking to buy that type of item (sun hats for $30, I think it was about the same for an umbrella).  However there were many things that I hadn’t seen in other places (like seeds for certain native plants) and the proceeds go to maintain the free garden so it’s easy to think of it as a “donation”.

A big hit almost as soon as we entered the garden were the bats!  While the species is generally vulnerable in Australia, they really like the RBG, so much that they’ve caused enough damage to trees to make the garden look for non-lethal ways to encourage smaller numbers in that particular area.

We walked around for hours – until the battery was dead in one of my cameras and the memory was full in the other.  It would definitely be worth another trip.  It would be nice to go at different times of the year – there is always something in bloom.  I might also want to go back and caption the photos with the name of the plant and location (from the standpoint of wanting to learn more).

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While the garden was free, the parking was not (it was the first time I had to use a credit card with a parking meter).  Next time I go back I’ll take the train.

The other thing on the agenda was a dip in the ocean.  Linda’s father had gone swimming on Christmas Eve in the Pacific during the war and she wanted to do the same.  I’ll skip posting any photos of the family at the beach. ;)

Kissing Cousins

Hmm.. now that’s a different perspective.  I’m reminded once again of the person from the 700 Club who explained the reasoning behind making homosexuality such a great “sin”.  According to her, they see “god” as the sexual union of male and female, so things like incest and rape aren’t all that bad as long as they involve a penis and a vagina.  Certainly, if one wants to argue that marriage is for making babies (but only in the physically direct and unassisted manner), marriage between such genetically related people should be discouraged (but then these aren’t people that put any weight in science anyway).

Green Xmas – Day 7

One week down. (22 Dec 2009)

Taronga Zoo is amazing.  We’ve been several times.  Anyone coming to Sydney with the slightest interest in animals should fit it in.  It can easily take all day so allow plenty of time.  We got there around 11 am, and they were almost out of parking in their brand new parking ramp.  There are a few live shows (seal and bird) that you might want to see, so plan accordingly.  If you want to see one of the seal shows, get there 1/2 hour early.

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I wish they’d figure out a way to either smudge proof glass or to encourage parents to keep their kids from smudging, licking, and/or snotting on the glass.  (I’m thinking some form of painful electric current).  Taronga offers push wheelchairs but it’s a large and somewhat hilly area and the chair had to be back by 4:00.  We skipped most of the Australian animals since we’d been to Wildlife World and Symbio already.  I think it’s kind of fun that while they have exhibits for native animals like the kookaburra or bearded dragon, you’re likely to see them just hanging out naturally in some of the other exhibits.  

Green Xmas – Day 6

Monday morning and back to seeing the sights.  We planned to see the dolphins down in Jervis bay.  We left early so we could take the Grand Pacific Drive down the coast and see more of the ocean. 

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The scenic route runs through some national parks and along the coastline between Sydney and Wollongong.  There are lots of places to pull over and enjoy the views.

Once we arrived in Jervis Bay, we had enough time to have a nice lunch before boarding the ship.  I have to say I was a little disappointed with the amount of time we had to see the dolphins.  I didn’t try to tape all that much of the show, preferring to enjoy it firsthand and tape when convenient.  The cruise around the bay was nice even when we weren’t looking for dolphins.

Green Xmas – Day 5

Sunday was another day of kicking back.  We hung out at the house all day.  After dinner we played cards.  We call the game Grandma’s Game, but I don’t know where it comes from or if it’s commonly known as something else.  It’s played with two full deck, with Jokers.  Each player is dealt 13 cards.  The next card is dealt up, but if it’s a wild card (2 or Joker) it’s put back in the deck.  At the beginning of each player’s turn, they can take the top card off the discard pile or take a fresh card.  Each turn ends when the player discards one card.  Each round, each player has to get a certain combination of cards in order to lay any cards down.  The rounds:

• 2 sets of 3
• 2 runs of 3
• set of 3, run of 3
• 3 sets of 3
• set of 3, run of 5
• 2 sets of 4
• set of 3, run of 6
• 2 runs of 4
• run of 7
• 2 sets of 5
• run of 9

Once you’ve laid down your combo, you can add cards to other players sets and runs (x of a kinds, straights of the same suit) but keep the physical card in your pile.  When a player is able to lay down all cards, including the discard, the round ends.  Any player that was not able to lay down their combo must try the same combo again next round.  The cards are scored and any cards left in the hand must be subtracted from the cards laid in the player’s pile.

• Joker – 50 points
• Ace, twos – 20 points
• K, Q, J, 10 – 10 points
• 3 thru 9 – 5 points

Other rules – wild cards cannot exceed the number of other cards in sets or runs.  In runs, 2 wild cards can’t be used next to each other.  You can lay down cards not only to extend others sets or runs, but also in place of any wild cards they’ve used ( if they’ve laid 4, 5, x, 7 – you could lay down the six).  The first player to run thru all combos and have the highest score wins.

A Green Xmas Vacation – Day 3 & 4

Next to the Sydney Aquarium is Wildlife World.  It’s different from Symbio or Taronga Zoo by having more of the smaller animals.  They have kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas but they also have lots of spiders, snakes, and butterflies.  It may not be for everyone, but it’s interesting and different. 

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The pictures of the nocturnal animals turned out better than I expected. (I had pretty low expectations).  The butterfly exhibit provided a fun challenge to get good photos of small moving objects.

The same outfit does the aquarium, wildlife and the Sydney Tower.  We were going to see the tower as well, but it was a rainy day and as we looked up at the tower, we could see the clouds floating around it.  If we go, we’d like to do it on a day that is clearer and would offer a nicer view of the city.

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For something a little closer to the ground, nearby, and something that would leave us closer to the train station – we decided to try the monorail.  Personally, I thought it was a little boring, crowded and overpriced – but I might have had a different experience on a day when the windows weren’t covered with rain.

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The good news is that when we got off the monorail it had stopped raining and we were right next to Hyde Park (another place on our list).  Hyde has several sections with various flower beds, fountains and memorials.  It’s a nice place to walk, eat your lunch, play chess…  The last time we were there was earlier in spring, so we got to see how the park looked at a different time of year.

Saturday was a quiet day.  We had some friends over for some food off the grill.  After the amount of walking we’d done on the previous 3 days, it was good to relax. 

A Green Xmas Vacation – Day 2

Today we decided to go downtown to Darling Harbour and the Sydney Aquarium.  Darling Harbour is home to some of the most famous Sydney sites.  There is the Sydney Harbour Bridge – where people in relatively good physical condition can walk over the top of it to see some stunning views of Sydney (we didn’t  do this).  The Sydney Opera House is nearby.  The harbour is also home to several points of interest like the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife Museum, Australian National Maritime Museum, to name a few.

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We started by taking a Sydney Ferry from the Quay Ferry terminal to the aquarium.  While it was hot, it offered some nice views of the harbour and the breeze on the water was nice.

We spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the aquarium. 

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It’s a really beautiful place and unfortunately, it isn’t that easy to get photos that do it justice with a standard digital camera.  If you travel to Sydney, this should really be on your ‘must-see’ list.  There are 2 large tanks that you walk through in glass tubes so you can watch the fish swim around you.  There is also an exhibit with some of the inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef.  (My camera didn’t do a very good job of picking up the bright colours in the lower light – but they were brilliant).

Tomorrow we plan to go back to the harbour to see the Wildlife Museum.  John and I went 3 years ago, but it’s grown since then so we hope to see lots of new stuff.  The weather won’t be as warm as it was today, but there’s a good chance of rain, so indoors would be good.

A Green Xmas Vacation – Day 1

Yes, John’s parents have arrived in Australia and John and I both have off work to show them some bits of New South Wales (mostly Sydney area). 

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We picked them up this morning at the airport and, after a quick pit stop at the house to change clothes and drop off luggage, went to Symbio.  It’s not a huge zoo but you get to be closer to the animals than many big zoos.  Linda wants to try kangaroo meat while she’s here so John made sure she got to hand-feed and pet one that had a baby roo sticking out her pouch. 

I love having digital cameras – you can take hundreds of pictures and not worry so much about the bad and blurry.  Still, it’s a good thing we had two, because I can’t seem to take a decent picture of a lorikeet.  There are 150 some photos from Symbio.  I’ve tried to name the photos by the name of the animal in the photo, but I haven’t gone through and captioned them.

After the zoo we went to the mall for a late lunch and some shopping – then an early bedtime. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be nasty hot.  Forty degrees (that’s Celsius) and the “feels like” is supposed to break 50 (that’s 123 F).  We’ll need to find something to do in a climate controlled area.  Plus, after warning our guests about the harsh Australian sun, and picking up a new bottle of sun screen – I’m the one that managed to get a little too much sun.  Hopefully my mom’s genes will step up and I’ll just be a nice tan tomorrow.

I love corgis

Sunday Blasphemy – referral

“Now don't get me wrong.  I have plenty of Christian friends.“

Click the link – this is up there with the Heterosexual Agenda.  Have a laugh.

Sunday Blasphemy - Genitals

"I just can't keep it to myself" you know, replace "jesus" with "my genitals", and that's a crime. and that's how we feel about it. religion should be like your genitals. it's fine to enjoy them, it's fine to be proud of them, just keep them to yourself unless invited to share.

 

Enjoy the link to Atheist Revolution.

Still looking for xmas gifts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd1hqcbEuMM

Uganda be killing me

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Uganda seems to be backing off the call for widespread life imprisonment or execution for all gays in the country (and those they can extradite back to Uganda).  There seems to be some shifting within the unofficial US Govt. cult “The Family” on how publicly they want to be associated (at least within the US) with “kill the gays” law.  Even beyond the sickening goal of the legislation, I’m disturbed with the way American imperialism seems to have moved outside the control of the people’s government, yet is still strongly steered by powerful people within the government. (not surprised, but disturbed).

CALMNESS IN OUR LIVES

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Oprah show, you too can find inner peace.

Dr. Oz proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.'

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Tequila, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.

Pass this on if you know anyone you think might be in need of inner peace

Countering Hate

I really don't see how these people think they're doing their god a favor. Miss color-blind, fashion victim may be of the opinion that her invisible sky friend is negatively preoccupied with same-gender love - and people, like herself, are free to spend their whole day thinking about hot man (or woman) sex - but I'm pretty sure if her god were real, he'd rather she do something that actually improved the human condition. Too bad Christ doesn't set her free from her gay-sex obsession.

Xmas Gift Idea

Tarzan Fail
by failblog

Perfect for that young man just entering puberty that might need help learning the private mysteries of manhood.