The Smirkonian Sightseer

Depth of Field

The Lion City from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Sex sells

Hot on the trail of all the 50 Shades hype, I can't help but think the Afterglow campaign is relying on the premise that sex sells.

Tourism Tasmania is conducting a special two-month tactical advertising campaign to encourage Australians to visit Tasmania during spring. The campaign will also create further consideration for travel to Tasmania over the following summer and autumn period. 

Oh, the places you'll go...

Based on Dr. Seuss's final book before his death, this is a story about life's ups and downs, told by the people of Burning Man.

One bike vs. San Fransisco

It's like Parkour only on a bike.

Swimming Koala

Although it is not unknown for the marsupials to take to water, experts believe the animal might have felt trapped on a tidal bank in Tallebudgera Creek and decided the canoe was its best way to escape. (via towleroad)

When in Rome...

Aussie Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham and his ukulele take Rome by Segway

Tweetsheet Tuesday

So here are a few Tweets that have grabbed my attention today.

I know what I'm watching tonight...

Billy Connolly + British Columbia - what's not to like? Tonight 7.30pm on 72: last ep of his Journey to the Edge of the World series.

— BeCuriousinBC (@AussiesLoveBC) August 27, 2012

I've been looking for a solution to synchronise Lightroom catalogues on my MacBook Air and iMac. This comes close but not quite...

Synchronize your Lightroom catalog with the cloud using Mosaic View: j.mp/MWfAZg

— PetaPixel (@petapixel) August 27, 2012

This is a beautiful waterfall shot...

Norway by Apo Japo bit.ly/Tkrydk on 500px.com

— 500px: Choice (@500px_choice) August 27, 2012

… and this stunner of the Milky Way pouring into a waterfall. Well thought out composition.

Milky Way + Waterfall: ow.ly/dfiKm

— Amazing Photography (@AmazingPics) August 27, 2012

Although I'm not the conference type, I hear the best part is the free buffet...

When I go to a conference at the @westinbayshore tmblr.co/Zt2_5vSFyuWy

— Definitely Raining (@VancouverWTF) August 27, 2012

British match racing sailor, Ian Williams started following me on Twitter today. No chance of reciprocating as I'm following the Kiwi FMJ team. (Yes I know I should be backing the Aussie teams.)

Just moved into the Badrutt's Palace hotel ready for St Moritz Match Race. Pretty nice view from the balcony! twitter.com/Williams_Racin…

— Ian Williams (@Williams_Racing) August 27, 2012

Last I checked, bids were at $7,000 for the tin lid...

If a Cylon + Boba Fett had a baby...ebay.com/itm/Reimagined…#eBay

— Video Game Museum (@vgmuseum) August 26, 2012

Tassie pro cyclist Wes Sulzberger retweeted this unfortunate gem...

Doh! Not the way to win a race... youtube.com/watch?v=PGBQ4G… via @cycle_nation

— dan craven (@DanFromNam) August 27, 2012

Last year I stayed up all night to watch this event via internet streaming. It's one way to use up my monthly 30G quota, but worth it. Santorini is a natural environment for Parkour.

Early promo for this one. It's gonna be huge! :D instagr.am/p/O1fZ_BDUPj/

— Airborn Academy™ (@AirbornAcademy) August 27, 2012

 

And the tributes continue...

Throw-away photographs shot during Neil Armstrong's visit to the moon: j.mp/SKwHxN

— PetaPixel (@petapixel) August 27, 2012

 

RT @in_focus: Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012 - a farewell to a true pioneer in 38 photos - theatln.tc/NRQZWJ

— Amazing Photography (@AmazingPics) August 27, 2012

Rearguard Falls pano

A three image panorama of Rearguard Falls in British Columbia, Canada.

Rearguard Falls is one of two waterfalls on the Fraser River, situated near the BC/Alberta provincial border.

Acquisition: Nikon D5000
Panorama: Calico
Processing: Lightroom 4 

Pushed the processing to give it a slight faux hdr/tonemapped look.

There's a larger view on my Flickr page.

Here's the before image... 

Lions Gate

Lions Gate Bridge at Prospect Point (Stanley Park). The bridge spans Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver.

Taken on an evening harbour cruise just after sunset.

Nikon AW100
Lightroom 4

Processed jpeg file from AW100 . The faux HDR look created by ramping up the Clarity slider in Lightroom's Develop module.

Prince Rupert

Early morning departure from Prince Rupert aboard BC Ferries Northern Expedition. (June 4 2012)

Nikon D500
Lightroom 4

The image has been cropped (not pano)

click image to see larger size

Little Red Caboose

Canadian Pacific Railway caboose at Last Spike, Craigellachie, B.C.

Processing:
Nikon AW100
Lightroom 4

Red isolation fx done with Lightroom. The Nikon AW100 could have achieved a similar result in camera.

[click photo for larger version]

Canada Day

Today is Canada Day, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to look back on the three week tour of Western Canada I just taken. As I'm the world's worst writer, what better way to reminisce than with pictures.

The journey started in Sydney, Australia. The Air Canada flight took about 13.5 hours.

Inflight photo taken with an iPad. Sunset somewhere over the Pacific Ocean.

The Vancouver Lookout is the recommended first stop for everyone's visit to this vibrant city. It's a great way to learn the layout and orientation of Vancouver.

The 360 degree views from the lookout are spectacular. You can see the downtown area, the harbour, the mountains, Stanley Park and the urban sprawl of Greater Vancouver.

 

Walking the Stanley Park seawall - I do it everytime I'm in town.

My first time on Grouse Mountain

The view from the Eye Of The Wind, a viewing platform attached to a wind turbine.

This trip was also a first time visit to Capilano Canyon.

Bow Falls flowing through Banff, Alberta.

A still frozen Lake Louise from inside the chateau.

Bluejay. 

On the Athabasca Glacier.

The Ksan Village at Hazelton.

Cruising the Inside Passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy with BC Ferries.

Afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel.

Back in Vancouver, inside the Marine Building.

The Nine OClock Gun firing.

An encounter with a racoon in Stanley Park

Sunset on English Bay.

Goodnight Vancouver...

Happy Canada Day.

Second last day

Today I walked across town got to see the foyer (or Lobby as they say here) of the Marine Building in Vancouver. The structure has impressive art deco architecture both inside and out.

The lower exterior is currently shrouded in scaffolding but I captured a good shot of the revolving entry doors.

Inside, the lobby has decorative brass elevator doors, depictions of sea flora and fauna and transport of the era. The floor has depictions of zodiac signs and a there's a stained glass window at one end.

The Marine Building has been used on several occasions for film and tv shows like Smallville and Fantastic Four.

I also had a second wonder around the Canada Place and neighbouring Convention Centre for a few extra photos.

2010 Winter Olympic cauldron

Pixelated whale sculpture

Canada Place cruise ship terminal sails reflected in windows of the Vancouver Convention Centre

Panorama of Coal Harbour

Tomorrow is our last day in Vancouver, we fly home late in the evening.

Lazy Sunday Vancouver

We it seems my travel companions are not that well. I'm the only one still hopping about wanting to see and do everything.

So today I trotted off on my own and ventured across False Creek on the Aquabus (a tiny water taxi) and walked to Vanier Park where the Planetarium is located. I pay a visit to the H.R.Macmillan Space Centre every time I come to Vancouver, and just because my friends weren't up to it, I still wanted to cross it off my "things to see" list. 

The Planetarium building is quite impressive. Basically round with an odd shaped roof. The internal layout of the planetarium theatre is the best I've seen. The shows go about 40 minutes. The 3pm show I saw, Harold's Solar System, was designed for kids aged 5+ complete with talking planetary projector. Absurd. It's not the best production I've seen there.

On my way back to the apartment I went looking for the old rail roundhouse in Yaletown, which has been restored with shops and restaurants. There's a train turntable in the centre of the  roundhouse structure.

In the evening to took off again on my own to photograph the Inukshuk on the shore of English Bay.

Next on the buck list was the 9 o'clock gun on the Stanley Park Seawall. On the way I met a racoon.

The 9 O'clock Gun is a long standing tradition in Vancouver. The 2100 gun was originally fired to warn fishermen of the close of fishing. Today it's fully automatic and scares the crap out of unwary tourists walking by.

That's about it for today. Not sure what's happening tomorrow.

Joyriding on the Skytrain

The day started out cool and cloudy but slowly progressed to a fine sunny day. Tony and I decided to go joy-riding on the Skytrain. From Yaletown-Roundhouse we bought a Day Pass and caught the train into Waterfront station, changed to the Millennium Line and rode out to Metrotown, the largest shopping mall in the province. 

After an hour or so and only one purchase (i'm a bit tight at spending hard earned cash) we continued on the Skytrain, choosing to take the loop around New Westminster and Burnaby back to downtown.

Spent some more cash downtown and then we decided to see another movie. This time we saw The Avengers.

Not much else to report today.

Sunset on Davie

Here's tonights sunset from my hotel room window at The Landis.

Sunset on Davie Street, Vancouver at 9.50pm this evening.

Caught on Camera

Two nights ago, our sunset dinner cruise was caught on the KitKam, a webcam situated near Vancouver's Burrard St Bridge looking over the Kitslano and English Bay area.

We're onboard the paddle-boat Constitution, seen here lower centre of the image approaching the Burrard St bridge at 7.55pm.

On the KitKam again at 8.30pm after a cruise around False Creek.

Here a photo I took onboard at the same time (8.31pm). The flag of British Columbia flying on the bow.

The Constitution docked at Coal Harbour marina.

Taking it easy in Vancouver

After two weeks of solid touring, early starts & Dutch gibberish, today we took it easy. 

We had our final breakfast with the tour group and checked out of the hotel, deciding to put our luggage in the lockup until this afternoon (we couldn't check in with Landis Suites until 3pm).

Our plan was to walk to the Aquarium in Stanley Park. However, we only got half way there when it started raining (it was also quite cool today). Spent 25 minutes sheltering in an apartment block carport waiting for the rain to ease. By then Tony and Margaret had made a decision to head back to the West End (the area of Vancouver where the overnight hotel was). 

Over a Starbucks coffee, we decided to go back to the hotel early and do our transfer (by taxi) to the Landis. Luckily, by the time we arrived at 1140am, the suite was ready and we were able to go straight to the room.

Late in the afternoon the skies had cleared. We walked over to the Cineplex near Chinatown and watched the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". I was told some weeks ago it was crap, but I quite enjoyed it.

That was about it for today. I don't even have any outstanding photos to post.

On Tour - Back to Vancouver

The bus left Victoria on Vancouver Island at 8.30am. The tour bus drove us by Mile 0, the point the Trans Canada Highway starts, and through the ritzy suburb of Oak Bay.

The Butchart Gardens was our only stop today. Unfortunately it was raining, so the gardens were not seen at their best.

Then to the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. The BC Ferries ride took about 1 hour and 35 mins to cross to Tsawwassen on the mainland. Had lunch on the ferry.

From there the bus drove us to downtown Vancouver, arriving at our hotel around 4pm. The Coastal Plaza Hotel and Suites is the same hotel I stayed at in 1986, back then known as Denman Place Inn.

Tonight we had a sunset dinner cruise around the harbour, which brings the guided tour to an end.

We now have a few extra days in Vancouver to recover from the stresses of touring.

 This is the view from our hotel room for tonight. Just gorgeous! 

On Tour - free day in Victoria, BC

The hectic pace of daily touring is starting to slow down now. Today, as we had not chosen any tour options like whale watching or seaplane flights, we had the day to ourselves. 

Walked to Thunderbird Park next to the Museum of British Columbia to view the impressive collection of totem poles.

Next we visited Miniature World. On paper it doesn't seem that interesting, but surprisingly it has turned out to be a highlight of our trip. Known as The Greatest Little Show on Earth, this intriguing world of smallness has exquisit detailed model displays of Battle of Caen (WWII), the Canadian Railway, various folk and fairy tales, dolls houses, circus and castles. We spent over an hour here.

We did a spot of shopping to fill in the time to our 12.15 appointment at the Empress Hotel, this included a visit to the Rogers Chocolates store. I've been buying their chocolates thru mail order and online for over 20 years. This store is the original shop where the founder lived upstairs and made chocolates during the night and sold them in the shop by day. Rogers Chocolate stores are now all over British Columbia.

Afternoon Tea (sometimes mistakenly referred to as High Tea) at the Empress Hotel is quite the piss-elegance experience when it comes to sipping a cuppa.

It started with a small serve of strawberries and cream, followed by a glass of champaign (Sumac Ridge Steller's Jay Brut) and I chose the Empress Blend tea from an impressive selection of high-brow teas. Next came the three-tiered platter of goodies. The idea is to eat with the bottom plate of sandwiches, pinwheels and croissants working upwards to the scones, jam and cream and finishing with the pastries and cakes on the top tier.

 

Well after six cups of tea, I definitely felt like pissing elegance.

What could possibly top this off? … Hmmm, how about doing a load of laundry to bring things back to earth.

Later we went souvenir hunting.

Tomorrow we go to Butchart Gardens then board the ferry to back to Vancouver.

 

On Tour - Victoria via the Inside Passage

An early departure yesterday at 6am had us onboard BC Ferries Northern Expedition heading south through one of the beautiful waterways on earth.

The Inside passage is 272 nautical miles through mostly calm sheltered waters. The ship has a capacity for 600 people but there are less than 100 on this voyage. We decided to treat ourselves to Lounge reserved seating for $29.50 each. This area has wonderful picture windows at the front of the vessel. There were only a few others who did this, taking up the front row, the remainder of the lounge was empty. They also has cabins onboard but we thought this a bit excessive price wise.

We occasionally spotted wildlife such as bald eagles and whales. Passing disused canneries, scenic lighthouses, coastal villages and communities including Bella Bella.

Departing Prince Rupert

A section of calm water on The Inside Passage

Waterfall on The Inside Passage

Very small coastal community

Sunset nearing Vancouver Island

We arrived at Port Hardy around 10.30pm

 

This morning we were on the road at 8am bound for the capital on British Columbia, Victoria. We travel the length of Vancouver Island, a distances of just over 500km.

A few short stops along the way, but the main feature was the mural town of Chermainus. The small town boasts a remarkable collection of murals depicting the area's history and cultural life. 

We arrived in Victoria about 5.30pm. We are here for two days, tomorrow being a free day to do as we please. We've booked ourselves into the ritzy Empress Hotel for 'high-tea', we might have to dress up a bit.

On Tour - Prince Rupert

Today we left Smithers around 8am bound for Prince Rupert on the west coast of British Columbia.

The road we take basically follows the Skeena River valley all the way. Our first stop was a small ravine not far from Smithers.

Further along the road we arrived at the indian village of Hazelton. At the Ksan Indian museum we enjoyed several audio presentations inside a few native huts. Two of these had a small fire smouldering inside and quite smokey, but it all added to the cultural atmosphere. I was very impressed with the display of their heritage and lifestyle. Unfortunately they didn't allow photography inside the huts that had authentic masks and ceremonial robes on exhibit.

We continued on the Prince Rupert with several other rest stops, arriving around 5pm. 

Tomorrow is a 5am wakeup call and we spend 15 hours on the ferry to Port Hardy, getting to our hotel around midnight.

So, here's hoping for some connectivity while we're on the boat, otherwise the next report will be filed from Victoria on Vancouver Island.

 

On Tour - Smithers

We left Prince George around 8am this morning travelling further west through lust farmland and beautiful countryside.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the Fort St James HIstoric Park, and old fur trappers trading post run by the Hudson Bay Company in 1821 and traded until 1952.

Our lunch stop was in the town of Vanderhoof, said to be the geographical centre of British Columbia.

Later we had rest stops at Burns Lake and Houston. At Houston, Tony, Margaret and I snuck  off to a tea gallery that had over 70 varities of tea to choose from and enjoyed high tea, northern B.C. style.

Arrived in Smithers just after 5pm. Smithers was a founded in 1913 as the regional headquarters of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and named after the railway's chairman of the board of directors, Sir Alfred Smithers. (ok I stole the from Wikipedia, I not that smart!)

Tomorrow we travel to Prince Rupert and the day after that, we board a ferry that will take us down the B.C. coast along the Inside Passage.

On Tour - Prince George

Today we left Jasper for Prince George.

We're now on day 7 of the Rocky Roundup. Our option of a boat cruise to Spirit Island on Maligne Lake was cancelled because the lake is still frozen. The tour bus took us to several locations around Jasper including Pyramid Island, Maligne Canyon and Jasper Park Lodge (where I stayed in 86).

Heading east on the Yellowhead Highway we had a lunch stop near Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Rockies. In the afternoon we had a photo stop at Rearguard Falls, arriving in Prince George around 5pm.

Here are a few shots from today...

Maligne Canyon

Maligne Canyon

Mount Robson

Waterfall near Mount Robson

Native flowers

Rearguard Falls

A Bluejay

On Tour - Jasper

Today we headed north to Japser, with a replacement tour guide for the reminder of the journey.

There were several photo stops to look at view points and occasionally the coach would stop by the road side for us to view wildlife, such as black bears and mountain goats.

One of the features for today was the Athabasca Glacier on the Icefields Parkway. I was all rugged up ready to freeze my … off, but it didn't seem that cold. So it looks like I wasted some money buying fleece gloves. At the glacier we boarded special snow buses that take us out onto the ice. The guides here are very informative and cheerful.

Next stop was the Athabasca Waterfall. A lovely spot with several viewpoints to see the glacial waters rush down a small ravine.

Then it was onto today's tour option; a raft ride down the Athabasca River. Tour rafting guide was Mike Gere, who was funny and told us everything we wanted to know about the region. I finally managed to get my Nikon AW100 wet (it's waterproof, or so the manual says).

Afterwards we were picked up by our tour bus and taken to the motel.

Tomorrow we leave the mountains behind and head west back to the coast with our next stop Prince George.

Here are a few of todays photos...

 

Panorama of the Columbia Icefield. The Athabasca Glacier is on the right.

The three of us on the Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Waterfall

Video still capture of the raft ride on the Athabasca River

 

Still on tour in Banff

Just about every second person working in Banff is an Aussie. They are everywhere.

Another day touring around the town of Banff in the Rockies. This morning we had a bus tour starting with a drive by of Banff Springs Hotel, which I stayed at 26 years ago. Managed to pick out the corner room window that I stayed in.

A photo stop at Bow Falls was very picturesque. Typical postcard stuff. Another stop across the river for a frontal view of the Banff Springs Hotel then to the Hoodoos. They are natural spires of limestone shaped by wind and water. Our guide told of an Indian legend, but I can't find anything online about it to back it up. She talks a lot of dutch twiddle.

Next was Johnson Canyon which has some waterfalls, one accessed by a short tunnel to view the falls and get drenched with spray.

The bus then took us to Lake Louise (originally scheduled for tomorrow) where Tony, Margaret and I had lunch in the piss-elegant restaurant at the Chateau Lake Louise with the huge picture windows. All others on our tour only went to the cheap cafe. We ate some awesome food and enjoyed the view. We had a few minutes left to take a few pictures of the still partly frozen lake before we had to be back at the bus.

This afternoon we did our tour options for Banff. Tony chose a half hour helicopter flight around the Banff area. His pictures are fantastic… he also shot some video on his iPad3.

Margaret and I did the gondola ride up Sulphur Mountain. Wide sweeping views of the valleys and mountains surrounding the area.

Tomorrow we go north to Jasper with a white water rafting ride and the Athabasca Glacier on the intinerary.

Here's a few shots from today...

Bow Falls

Banff Springs Hotel

Bow Valley with the Hoodoos in the foreground

The Hoodoos

Johnson Canyon

Picture window at Chateau Lake Louise

Ice on Lake Louise

Sulphur Mountain

View of Banff from Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

On Tour - Vernon

Today we left a rainy Vancouver and headed east to Vernon (half way to the Rockies). The early departure had us on the road at 8.15am and travelled through Greater Vancouver and onto the Trans Canada Highway. Our first stop was the small town of Hope where we grabbed some refreshment and continued on climbing into the mountains. Lunch stop was a Merritt. It looked a bit like cowboy country.

After lunch the bus took us to Kelowna for a brief stop then onto a lookout just outside Vernon for a photo opportunity before checking us into our hotel in Vernon.

Today was mostly a transit day, on our way to the Rockies. Nodding off on the bus was something easily accomplished.

There wasn't much in the way of good photos today, but tomorrow's locations promise something better, however the weather forecast is for rain.

Park land in Kelowna

Panorama from a lookout near Vernon

Vancouver - On Tour

Talk about double dutch. Today we joined our "Rockie Roundup" tour with a bus load of dutch and a few people from the UK. Most of the guides commentary was dutch because she kept forgetting to translate into english and usually ended up repeating what she just said again in dutch. 

As I said, we have two weeks of this.

Today was a highlights tour around Vancouver starting with the Stanley Park Totem Poles, Capilano Suspension Bridge and Granville Island where we stopped for lunch. There are two Israeli's on the bus, who don't speak english or dutch and botched the instructions to be back at the bus by a certain time. Hence, we left without them. Shalom!

We finished of the bus tour of the city with a drive through Yaletown, Chinatown and Gastown.

Tomorrow we leave early for rural British Columbia and head east to Vernon, BC.

Here's a batch of pictures from today...

Stanley Park Totem Poles

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Capilano River

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Panorama or Suspension Bridge and Cliff Walk suspended walkway

Cliff Walk

Lions Gate Bridge traffic

Vancouver - Moving Day

Today we moved out of room 623 at The Landis and taxied our way over to the Empire Landmark. We stay here as part of a tour for the next two nights.

Not that much to report today. We did some washing at a coin laundromat nearby and Tony bought a data sim for our connectivity for the remainder of the trip. 

The free wifi we had at the Landis would download SX News (we watch this each morning - breakfast television!) and it took about 25mins to come in. The data card bought today downloads it in about 60 seconds.

Late this arvo we had a wonder around the redeveloped Coal Harbour area of Vancouver.

Tomorrow we're taken on an orientation tour of the city. The guide and most of the other guests are Dutch so we are expecting a lot of goglygoop in the translations for the next two weeks.

Here's a couple of pictures taken this afternoon around Coal Harbour and Canada Place….

 

This is really grouse...

Today we bought a day pass on the public transport system. This allowed us to take the SkyTrain to Waterfront Station and catch the SeaBus across Burrard Inlet to Lonesdale Quay on the North shore. From here we got on a bus to take us up to Grouse Mountain.

View of Downtown Vancouver and the Canada Place Cruiseship Terminal seen from the Seabus to North Vancouver

The Skyride to Grouse Mountain

We purchased the 'Ultimate Experience' tickets so that we could see as much as we could (with a pensioner in tow!). We saw the two grizzly bears, Grinder and Coola at the wildlife refuge. We just happen to be passing when the ranger talk started.

Grizzly bears Grinder and Coola

Then onto The Peak Chairlift taking us to the apex of the mountain, 4,100 feet above sea level. From there it was a short walk to The Eye Of The Wind. This is a massive wind turbine the has a 360 degree glass observation pod. The turbine powers the mountain. Stunning views all round.

The chairlift to the summit

Eye Of The Wind turbine

Inside the Eye Of The Wind observation pod

Back down on the chairlift we had some lunch, checked out a souvenir shop and watched a short film in The Theatre In The Sky about the two grizzly bears in the nearby habitat.

Riding the chairlift back down

After this I got to try something I'd been looking forward to - Beaver Tails. This is a Canadian franchise that has a unique line of fried pastries called Beavertails and they are topped with various dessert choices. I tried the cinnamon and apple. So yummy! I'll get the chance to try another when I get to Banff.

BeaverTails stand on Grouse Mountain

Caught the Birds In Motion show before heading back to Vancouver.

Eagle in flight at the Birds In Motion show

This has been such a great day. The weather was clear, cool and sunny. A perfect day out to view such stunningly beautiful scenery.

Tomorrow we have to change hotels as we join the guided two week tour.

Walking The Seawall

The rain cleared today and we were able to get some nice pictures of Stanley Park. Spent the best park of the day here stopping at various features along the seawall surrounding the park.

We had lunch at the Prospect Point restaurant. There's also a great lookout here that has sweeping views of North Vancouver and English Bay.

The seawall is about 9km but we chose to leave the last 4km until another day and when we'll see some of the park interior including the Aquarium.

Tomorrow should be sunny and we plan to go to Grouse Mountain.

Here are some pictures from today's Stanley Park Seawall walk...

Panorama of English Bay looking south

Seawall walk at Third Beach

Siwash Rock

Lions Gate Bridge

Panorama of West Vancouver on the North Shore.

Royal Vancouver Yacht Club at Coal Harbour

Vancouver Ying and Yang

Not the best of weather today. Still cloudy with some rain patches. 

Our first stop today was to get a quick photo of the Vancouver Public Library. Really needed a wide angle lens for this but I only had the little Nikon AW100 with me. I wanted to get a photo of this building because of the striking roman colloseum style architecture.

Next we ventured into Chinatown to visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden. All the materials to build this impressive garden were imported from China. The guide was very informative and we finished off with a serving of jasmine tea.

With and Ying and Yang in-check we headed further into Chinatown and sought out some freshly made steamed buns for lunch.

Next stop Science World at False Creek. This is one of the few remaining buildings from the World Expo I attended in 1986. This geodesic dome houses science exhibits for kids as well as travelling exhibitions and an Omnimax theatre.

We watched the feature Omnimax film Rocky Mountain Express, about the building of the Canadian Transcontinental railway. Some truly breathtaking scenes...

Also at Science World was the DaVinci Exhibition that had displays of Leonardo da Vinci's life work as an inventor and painter.

Later we walked along False Creek to Granville Island.

Unfortunately by the time we reached Granville Island my camera battery was flat, so that was the end of todays pictures.

From here we crossed False Creek on a tiny water taxi and walked back to the suite. 

This evening we ate Indonesian at The Banana Leaf. All very yummy.

If the weather improves tomorrow, we plan to walk the seawall around Stanley Park.

Vancouver day one

Still battling jet-lag, this afternoon we walked to Vancouver Lookout. This starts with an exhilarating ride up in a glass elevator. 

The first time I visited in 1988, I remember I was so blown away by watching the city unfold before my eyes. This time I capture it on video (I'll post videos when I get home in about three weeks time).

The views of the harbour and mountains are spectacular, even on a cloudy day (see photos below). The city view however, is slightly less of a specticale because of the modern high-rises that now dwarf the Lookout and block the view over Stanley Park and English Bay.

The other attraction we ventured to was nearby Gastown with the famous old steam clock that whistles a tune every 15 minutes.

It started to rain after this, and still with the affects of a long-haul flight haunting us, we decided to go back to the apartment, several blocks away on the other side of the downtown area.

This evening we picked from a large selection of restaurants on Davie Street to eat at. We chose a North American cultural favourite, "Dennys". They served a fantastic slow-cooked pot roast and I enjoyed a locally brewed clear cider. All very nice.

The forecast for tomorrow is much the same as today, and we're not likely to go too far from the downtown area.

Here's some photos from this afternoon's walkabout...

Law Courts on Hornsby Street

Views from Vancouver Lookout

Gastown and Steam Clock

Vancouver Art Gallery and Robson Square

 

 

Vancouver - the arrival

We jumped on board Air Canada AC34 from Sydney going direct to Vancouver. It was a 13 and a half hour flight. 

Not much to report about the flight. I captured this amazing sunset on Tony's iPad taken above the clouds somewhere over the Pacific.

We arrived in Vancouver at 7.15am this morning - 3 hours before our departure time. That means I can scrub all memory of the flight and start the day over.

Caught the Skytrain into downtown Vancouver - although cheaper than a taxi, we had to endure the rush hour commuters on the same train.

We're all a bit jet lagged but I'm fairing the best. As I type this, both Tony and his Mum are in the land of nod, and it's only midday.

Sydney

Had a few hours to spend in Sydney before our flight to Vancouver tomorrow.

We took the opportunity to visit our good friend Graeme. I noticed that Graeme's Parkinsons Disease had advanced since last seeing him some years ago and now has a killer hand shake. ;-) He lives at McMahons Point in a small apartment with a spectacular view.

 
Twilight and sunset panorama from McMahons Point in Sydney.

Graeme served up arvo tea. I enjoyed the large chocolate cream filled eclair I nicknamed Buddy Franklin!

They say the enjoyment is in the journey, not the destination.  Seeing that tomorrow's flight is 15 hours long, I'd have to disagree this once.

 

The journey begins...

Today I begin my journey to one of the most livable cities in the world - Vancouver.

 

 

The plan is the post regular reports of my travels through Western Canada over the next three weeks. This all depends on the availability of Wi-Fi in the areas I'll be visiting. If that doesn't work out, I'll post a lengthy retrospective when I return.

 

I'm travelling with my long time friend, Tony and his Mum, Margaret.

 

Today we start the journey in Launceston and fly to Sydney. On Tuesday morning, we fly direct to Vancouver and spend about five or six days there. We then join a bus tour which loops through the British Columbia interior and up into the Rockies, arcing across to Prince Rupert back on the west coast. It's then a full day ferry ride to Vancouver Island and back to Vancouver for an extended stay before returning  to Australia.

 

I'm really excited to be travelling again.  So as they say, watch this space...

Launceston Gorge photos

Last week I enjoyed a pleasant morning walk through Launceston's Cataract Gorge. It's close to where I live and I often visit when I'm at a loose end. I always enjoy the serenity and the many working trails offer a variety of routes to take.

On this day, I started at the Duck Reach carpark and trekked along the gorge to the First Basin, stopping briefly for a refuel of coffee then climbed the path less trodden by tourists to the Eagle Eyrie Lookout. This is the highest viewpoint in the reserve. There were other trails to take on my return, but I chose to double-back the same way I came.

Below are a selection of photos from the walk, along with the GPS tracker route recorded by the Nikon AW100. The other map has been generated by Adobe's Lightroom 4 map module showing the locations of where all the photos were taken (including the discard ones not shown here).

 

    

 

On the Duck Reach trail.

 

The suspension bridge at Duck Reach

 

A section of gorge near Duck Reach.

 

Taken near the suspension bridge near the first basin. In this shot I particularly liked the way the green foliage offsets agains the dark rocks. I wasn't evident in the original photo until I'd applied a set of enhancements in Lightroom.

 

 This is near the start of the climb to Eagle Eyrie.

 

About halfway up to Eagle Eyrie lookout, the track starts to become a little rugged. This was actually taken on my return descent, hence the viewpoint towards the First Basin seen in the upper left.

 

The view from Eagle Eyrie isn't that great from a photographic perspective. There are too may trees blocking the view. This shot taken from a lower lookout on the same track shows water flowing through the last section of gorge before connecting to the Tamar River in Launceston.

 

 A glimpse of Launceston from the lower lookout on the Eagle Eyrie trail.

 

Suspension Bridge at First Basin.

 

I normally take panoramas by taking a series of three or four photos (depending on the view) and stitching them together in Photoshop. The Nikon AW100 has the ability to take panorama photos and process them in the camera. This is a rather wide 180 degree view, one of two preset settings on the camera.

For more information on the Cataract Gorge in Launceston, Tasmania…  please visit the official site here.

Nikon AW100 camera info here

Adobe Lightroom 4 details here

 

Dare to dream...

In the turmoil of the Greek economy, here's one island community that seeks a positive change for its locals... and you can help.

Aegean Designs ~ our story...

Help us make a difference…

There are few places in the world that conjure more dreams and mind-travel than Santorini. Of all the Greek islands (and there are hundreds of stunning islands in ), Santorini, more than any other, captures the imagination and spirit of people in so many unexplained ways. It is a mythical, mystical and spiritual place… that has mesmerised people for thousands of years.

Santorini is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations and arguably the most visited of all the Greek islands. People recognise the iconic... seemingly sugar-coated white houses perched high on the rugged cliff face, the blue church domes, and of course... the caldera. The ancient volcanic explosion has created arguably one of the most sublime visual landscapes on planet earth... one which captivates and intrigues. It is a sight that is romantic, spiritually uplifting and humbling all at the same time. More than a million visitors every year, including many thousands of beautiful young couples that come to get married, visit the island to bathe in the incrdible light and sheer beauty of what many still believe to be the site of lost Atlantis. For many…. it is a life changing experience.

Dare to dream

Our story started here more than 25 years ago... when our first summer visit resulted in a magnificent obsession.... to one day live and work on this island. A dream which is shared by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other people around the world. After twenty years of mostly annual visits and dreaming, we finally  packed our bags and moved to the picturesque permanently around five years ago. A huge life change... but an incredible adventure which continues to this day.

The motivation from the very start was contained in the phrase “find your passion…make it happen”. In my case… the passion was to establish a studio where I could create art that was inspired by the incredible beauty of the island. To use local materials (made in ) and create memories & gifts that people could take back for themselves and their loved ones. To produce art and craft that would be appreciated the world over. To establish a small cottage industry that can employ locals and provide an avenue for people that have traditional skills (sewing, basket-weaving, wood carving) but can not find employment on an island dominated by the hospitality industry. Most of these traditional skills are slowly but surely being lost…. and nobody seems to care enough to do anything about it.

It’s a daring dream…. but there is not much point in having “small dreams”… is there?

 

Aegean Designs

The studio was started in a tiny traditional (tholos = dome) house in the tiny . Everything inside and out was made by us (fittings, displays) using mostly driftwood we collected after heavy storms from the back beaches of Oia. It is NOT a typical island store, or souvenir shop. It is a small, quaint art studio that is open to the public…. offering them “original” works of art, produced on the premises. In an age where almost everything has a “made in china” sticker on the bottom… our pieces proudly say “handmade in Santorini”. Our sign outside reads quite simply:

“memories & gifts…

should NOT be mass produced”

This simple philosophy stems from the first point we wrote down when we were drafting the studio’s purpose, it's reason for being… it read something like this:
“What is the point… of coming to a Greek island, only to leave with souvenirs made in China/India/Bulgaria (substitute with any country utilising cheap labour) ? “

People have responded with such enthusiasm it is quite overwhelming. The demand for our unique lines of hand-painted textiles far outstrips the supply I am able to produce on my own. Regardless of the global economic downturn, Santorini is one of the few destinations that still attracts very large numbers of visitors… and they have become much more discerning. They want authentic, locally produced art & craft and they appreciate seeing art being created in front of them. The support has been fantastic, but has also resulted in a degree of frustration. The studio has created a much needed opportunity for the island… but the current economic climate has severely limited our options in trying to do anything about it.

The situation

Put in simple terms, on an island that is almost completely focused on hospitality, there are very few employment opportunities outside the hotel industry and it’s suppliers. To make things worse the “tourist” shops on the island seem to have adopted a “buy cheap-sell cheap” approach, which has almost completely destroyed any local industry that remained. Traditional skills that have been an important part of the fabric of local communities have all but disappeared. Young people are leaving the island in droves in search of employment opportunities and locals with skills such as seamstresses, weavers, woodcarvers and stonemasons can not find employment anywhere. It is a tragic scenario that threatens the local way of life and is the cause of very considerable stress to local communities. There is a prevailing feeling of helplessness for many locals… as if the whole situation is out of their hands and there is nothing they can do about it. Politicians are typically 'aware' but remain distant from what is considered an issue too difficult to solve. Banks... make it virtually impossible for anyone to create anything new.

 

Our aim:  "Make a difference"

As Aegean Designs becomes better known there are many opportunities being generated. We are now being presented with opportunities to sell to a variety of places on other islands, mainland Greece and internationally. It is wonderful position to be in......one which we believe we can leverage to make a real difference on Santorini.

Clearly, in order expand, our options are to either mass produce our designs in or , which is against everything we stand for, or we invest in training and the employment of people within our own community. It’s really a no-brainer !

We want to employ local people and create a small facility that produces quality collections of hand printed fabrics, linens, silks and apparel. Beautiful, hand made home-ware and hand crafted gifts for visitors...all made here on Santorini. It is about training local people, using local products...sourced from Greek suppliers, as eco-friendly as we can find,...and creating a brand that can represent the island locally as well as internationally. It is about utilising local skills and setting an example for other local art and craft producers. It is about encouraging international artists to visit and participate in creating art inspired by this magical island. It is about trying to make a real difference... even if it starts in a small way!

Hence the campaign here on Indiegogo….

The plan…

Our plan is to lease a small warehouse, away from the tourist areas, where we can put together a design studio and a small production facility. This will enable us to employ local people for printing, cutting and sawing fabric, as well as CAD design. It’s a small start but it can grow and employ more local talent, which would have a significant impact on the local community. We already have retailers and distributors from the and keen to represent us in their cities and countries. This can grow significantly as we increase production and establish a better international representation network, as well as vastly improve our online sales capability.

It’s not a hugely ambitious plan… some long work benches for hand-painting fabric, some basic equipment for silk screen printing, fabric cutting tools and a couple of professional (second hand) sewing machines, a computer and some CAD software. The space will be big enough to accommodate 4-6 staff to begin with, as well allow for painting classes during summer (something that has already proven popular with island visitors at our existing studio). With the help of some local staff, including a couple of young creative people, we can take this small design studio to a national and international level… setting an example for the island in the process. The demand is already there, but the current economic climate does not assist us in regards to financial support from local banks. Our planned online efforts will greatly increase our international profile and we have also been working on establishing partnerships with some of the largest cruise ship companies in the world.

How you can help…

Our aim is to raise $38,000…. which will cover everything we need for the leasing and renovation of the warehouse (we will do most if not all the work ourselves), purchase the equipment we need, set up our new online store and buy the supplies we will need to start production. This will also cover the costs of hiring, training & administration of the new staff.

You can help us in many different ways and every way will be greatly appreciated. We need your financial support sure… but we also want you to become part of our global outreach community. If you wish to… we would love to have you as an ambassador for Aegean Designs, as well as our beautiful island. It is your choice to decide your level of involvement and participation. Through our project blog we will ask you for your opinion, your advice, your selection and your thoughts & comments along every step of the way. You will also qualify for the various perks based on your contribution, as well as other prizes and giveaways. We want to give you an opportunity to participate as much or as little as you would like. From helping us paint the warehouse, to setting up the equipment, to being a volunteer at the studio during art classes, to being a distributor in your city or country. We want you to become part of the global Aegean Designs family and help our little studio provide employment and inspiration to the people of Santorini, as well as other creative people around the world… who are daring to dream.

thank you for taking the time to read & for your willingness to help !

Aegean Designs

Santorini

London Eye ride

Here's a sequence of photos I'd taken in London , June 2010. Taken with a Nikon D5000 and processed with Lightroom 4 beta. There are 30 images, so this may take a while to load.

 

I guess the real appreciation of the processing would be seeing the originals as most of these images had been discarded, now given a second life with Lightroom 4 beta.

 

Vancouver... it's you!

Looking forward to my Vancouver vacation later this year. Here's the latest tourism campaign for this amazingly vibrant city.

The song is performed by Watasun, a Vancouver-based duo whose music fuses urban beats with traditional folk sounds. One-time buskers on Vancouver's Granville Street, singer/songwriter Adam Bailie and percussionist Reid Hendry now record, produce and sell their own albums, taking inspiration from the city's diversity, vibrancy and unity.

Throughout the three-minute video, the duo perform their catchy tune while making appearances in, near or atop of iconic Vancouver attractions, including the Vancouver Convention Centre roof, an Aquabus ferry and snow-covered Grouse Mountain.

Talk like a Canuck

@VanLookout
Vancouver Lookout
LIVE THE LANGUAGE fb.me/XbSnIcdH

This is a great little vdo. I'm learning to talk like a Canuck in preparation for my Vancouver adventure later this year.

EF - Live The Language - Vancouver from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

The video is part of a series commissioned for EF International Language Centres. The first few shots reminded me of these photos I took of Vancouver in 1986...

 

 

Wednesday Tweetsheet

@Wes_Sulzberger
Wesley Sulzberger
Thanks Tassie for great summer, time to get back to Europe. First leg of the journey now the small flight Tassie - Melb.
Good luck Wes, fly that flag for GreenEDGE and Tassie.

@parabola

Cameron Gray

Fungi Discovered In The Amazon Will Eat Your Plastic - bit.ly/xEgmWL

 

@rshyr

Rolex Sydney Hobart

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2011 - Spirit of Yachting to air on Sat 25 Feb at 12.30AEST on the Seven Network. Check local guides

Love watching Spirit of Yachting, particularly the European races. Unfortunately I get no advanced notice of when they are televised.

 

@RobFairs

Rob Fairs

Good luck to Kalem Richardson in tomorrow's Country Club Tasmania/Statewide Independent Wholesalers IGA Supoermarkets Pro-am, go low bud

Gee, talk about plugging the sponsors.

 

@drkanab

Dustin Kukuk

Scouting rooftops in downtown Perth this morning with @mindrelic propic.com/f23kC

Wow. Josh Owens in Australia. One of my favourite photogs.

This shot would look great at night on a long exposure.

 

@miketomalaris

Michael Tomalaris

If you're in Sydney. Your chance to meet @UCI_cycling world championships silver medallist @mattgoss1986 at @velosophybikes. Sunday 12 noon.

 

@swegen31

Alex Johnston

"@rihanna: FUCK U SATAN!!! Fuck right off!!!!!" The pop star's dyslexia lets Santa off the hook again.

 

@DiscoverTas

Discover Tasmania

“MT Water skiers break world record in #Tasmania Australia: youtu.be/wpG2Jg_YTw0 via @youtube - where else but #Tassie”

The video for the record breaking 145 waterskiers at Strahan last weekend has gone worldwide. This one posted by the Telegraph in the UK.

 

@joeyldotcom

Joey L.

Check out this baddass helicopter / aerial camera reel from @snaprollmedia vimeo.com/35160025

 

@VanLookout

Vancouver Lookout

We have had some really amazing reviews on TripAdvisor in the past couple of weeks! Check them out for yourself... fb.me/1jEQxnqD0

I'm researching a few places in Vancouver for my trip in late May.  The one most memorable moment from they Canada trip in '88 was the glass elevator ride up the harbour tower. The experience blow me away.

 

@QantasMedia

Qantas Airways

World first inflight WiFi pilot on domestic B767 with 200+ hours of entertainment streamed to iPads supplied inflight http://t.co/2SpFL1c7

Now handing out iPads because flights are so boring these days.

 

@SmirksTas

Andrew Shepherd

The TWIT Network Mothership Table flic.kr/p/bmargc

From the HDR artistry of Trey Ratcliff, this is where Leo Laporte makes the legendary This Week In Tech podcast.

 

@GoPro_News

GoPro®

Want to #paddle with GoPro in Tasmania? bit.ly/xaXTvC

Nice day out on the upper Derwent River.

 

@Eamon_Sullivan

Eamon Sullivan

Silly t-Rex haha instagr.am/p/mp4GQ/

 

 

@Sim_sat_cyclist

Paivi sims

Soccer hooligans! pic.twitter.com/Vslwdz2X

1-1 score - action packed then.

 

The Offering

One of the smaller statues at the Big Buddha, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

Saturday TweetSheet

The daily hightlight snap from my twitter feed. Got slightly carried way today folks. Sorry 'bout that.

@Eamon_Sullivan

Eamon Sullivan

I'm sorry, I just can't watch the woman's tennis final. They sound like a pigeon being punched to death

 

@lehmo23

lehmo

@Gawndy I'm watching lesbian porn. The neighbours think I'm watching the tennis

@PaulSmithDesign

Paul Smith

Which team does @markcavendish ride for? To enter e-mail your answer to competitions@paulsmith.co.uk

Oh … probably not mine.

 

@TVSpyNews

TVSpy

Charter bus collides with WCPO news van during live press conference: mbist.ro/wfhvIP (VIDEO)

This wouldn't happen here. Would it?

 

@TVTechnology

TV Technology

McAdams On: News Puppetry ow.ly/8IV2L

That happens here (but we don't use puppets!)

 

@SafeCyclingOz

S.C.A.

The new SCA Shane Warne Jersey is available now. Simply because he's an idiot fb.me/Z4rHPSCP

Quote Warnie at checkout.

 

@petapixel

PetaPixel

A beautiful time-lapse of star gazers under the Milky Way: bitly.com/xTS5Zi

Babak Tafreshi of The World at Night created this beautiful time-lapse video of star gazers looking into the heavens while the stars sweep across the night sky.

 

↵ Use original player

 

 

@nytimestv

NYTimes TV

'Big Bang Theory' Is Now Bigger Than 'American Idol' nyti.ms/yjbUUE

Did a fat lady sing or something?

 

@Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom

#POLL: Have you downloaded the Lightroom 4 Beta yet? #Lr4

Yes and love it. Adapting my workflow to the new Develop module layout.

 

@slanginc

Julian Alexander

New (old) movie posters: atimetoget.com/2012/01/anothe…

 

@AmazingPics

Amazing Photography

Stunning Long Exposure: New Zealand Church at Night: ow.ly/8BFxG

Stunning indeed. 6400ISO, 30 sec exposure @ ƒ2.0 on a Nikon D700. Unfortunately Nikon announced this week that it's discontinuing the D700 model, believed to be a popular choice with landscape photographers.

 

@halfadams

Patrick J. Adams

Circle of life... RT @Chris_Gorham: "Daddy, there's a new game for the iPod, it's called 'Tetris'!" lol

Ah, my old favourite. Getting popular again.

 

@Quantel

Quantel

Interesting article here on the 'Future of Television'? tech.lifegoesstrong.com/article/what-f… #TV #3D #SmartTV #OLED #HD #4K

As long as it still has a picture, I don't care.

 

@nadasurf

matthew caws

yes! can i join in? psyched! "@TheSoftPack We are playing with @NadaSurf this Saturday in San Diego! Maybe we'll play Brightside together?"

 

@nadasurf

matthew caws

The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (CD/LP) and new T-shirt designs are available at our merch store: bit.ly/vNMnMn

I've been listening to Nada Surf's new album all week. Love every track. For me, that's rare. With most CD's these days I'd only like a few tracks. That's the beauty of online individual track purchases (iTunes, etc)

 

@NelsonAspen

Nelson Aspen

Ferris Bueller returns for the Super Bowl. deadline.com/2012/01/ferris…

YAY!!! He's d'man. Look's like there's something in the works here. Nice little teaser. FBDO was my favourite movie in 1988 (yeah, I'm old).

 

↵ Use original player

 

 

Another source tells me this will be a Superbowl Ad for Honda CRV. Interesting to note, there's currently a stock shortage of the CRV line due to the Japanese tsunami last year.

 

@Lotus_F1Team

Lotus F1 Team

In case you missed it, here's the link to the teaser trailer for our 2012 car - the E20! youtu.be/5LG3f2VYCWc #F1

 

↵ Use original player

 

Dan, thanks for posting this one!

 

@SmirksTas

Andrew Shepherd

This what happens when airlines allow pets as carry-ons bit.ly/zkzjsK I hope Air Canada don't allow this on long haul.

[update] Well, apparently they do…

 

↵ Use original player

 

 

 

@BicyclingMag

Bicycling Magazine

Need a laugh? 10 responses when someone yells at you from a car ow.ly/8GvWZ

Twitbits Monday ~ i'm ranting again

The daily snap of highlights from my twitter feed…

 

@ETittensor

Elliott Tittensor

#Shameless series 9 starts tomorrow. It's been a while, a fix is well over due! Plus it's my last few eps :) big love @QasAkhtar #C-Squad x

I'm currently watching series 8, conveniently downloaded because the knobs who picked up the show in Australia for 2012 have delayed telecast. Give it back to SBS!

 

@DanMacPherson

Daniel MacPherson

Thunderstorm in Sydney. Captured on my phone.... pic.twitter.com/fyHtPC0A

 

@seansmith_au

Sean Smith

a shark has been sighted at a sydney beach, moments after federal opposition leader tony abbott got out of the water.. opportunity lost :-(

 

@WallabyWay

Vincent Rommelaere

My last video for Tourism Australia lnkd.in/f7sQxd

Love the cute but brief shots of theTassie Devils in this.

 

@Wes_Sulzberger

Wesley Sulzberger

NOTICE to friends and followers. Off to Flinders Island Tasmania until friday. I won't have any mobile or internet coverage #EnjoyingsomeR&R

Nice place to unwind and recoup. Bring on TDU.

 

@badger83

bernard sulzberger

All the best tomorrow for the TT @richie_porte @clarkeywilbur come on tassie boys...

Absolutely! (I'm told that word is being over used - too bad vocabulary cops) I'm no expert, but based on his outstanding time at TDF TT, I'm favouring Richie to take the title.

 

@simongerrans

Simon Gerrans

Winners are grinners! What an honour to be crowned Aussie Champ for 2012. Big thanks to all @_GreenEDGE_ crew for fantastic support!

Absolutely! … oh I'm said that already

 

@badger83

bernard sulzberger

Thanks to all for the support and kinds comments. #TdUcantwait

Well done Bernie. Now off to the TDU with UniSA.

 

@miketomalaris

Michael Tomalaris

For those continuously asking, Channel 9 did not buy TV rights for #tdu. They were offered to rival network by SA Events.

So what's the go here… are they crossing to the TDU inbetween overs at the cricket? It'll be interesting to see what develops here.

 

@miketomalaris

Michael Tomalaris

SBS will have a strong presence at #tdu with extensive coverage on @CyclingCentral and @SBSNews. Two dedicated camera crews on location.

 

@Sim_sat_cyclist

Paivi sims

The conversation in studio control, @SmirksTas, paivi are you on twitter?! @Sim_sat_cyclist yes, no, maybe puts phone down. Y or n? Ok yes.

 

@HurricanesBBL

Hobart Hurricanes

The official #purplearmy is 13,713 tonight in at #hurricanehouse. Super effort! Amazing atmosphere out there tonight!

Unfortunately it wasn't to be a winning night for the Hurricanes, losing to Melbourne Stars coming up 19 runs short.

Map Of Tasmania

OMG, they don't play this song on the radio...

Tourism Tasmania's next advertising campaign?

Friday twit list

The daily snap of highlights from my twitter feed…

@AusAntarctic

Antarctic Division

The Aurora Australis heads off to Casey today, departing as part of the Mawson Commemorative Flotilla: dld.bz/a37Ad

 

@MattMansfield87

Matt Mansfield

The Today Show's weather presenter dressed in a pink gorilla suit outside a real gorilla enclosure, arcing up the animals. Really? Really??

 

@joeyldotcom

Joey L.

Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response so far on #LJVSJL I've put a "one-liner" contest up on my blog: joeyl.com/2011/12/now-av…

- Cool cover art, exceptional content, expensive discs.

- He's also running a one-liner contest based on the following artwork…

@JesseRosten

Jesse Rosten

You're so dumb, you thought using a UV filter for protection was to prevent Lensbabies. #LJVSJL

~

@focalmatter

mike ricca

Your girlfriend tells me your camera isn't the only thing that goes off in 1/8000th of a second. #LJVSJL larajadevsjoeyl.com

~

@joeyldotcom

Joey L.

Bah, too many good ones... just look under #LJVSJL hashtag for more

 

@NelsonAspen

Nelson Aspen

Cuteness of the day: Kittens love (m)Ice skating! youtube.com/watch?feature=…!

 

@petapixel

PetaPixel

Rainbow photographed in candle smoke: bit.ly/uekPGj

 

@LTittensor

Luke Tittensor

The system doesn't work. Time for change. A resource based economy. thevenusproject.com

- Radical futurist Jacque Fresco's alternative vision - I'm reserving my opinion.

 

@Ryan_Doyle

Ryan Doyle

Right direction youtube.com/watch?v=9-cYgf…

More future crystal balling…

 

@digitaltasmania

Digital Tasmania

@NBNcoLimited demo truck is in #Launceston today & Mon,Tue. Photos here on.fb.me/vY8xPb #NBN #Tasmania

 

@wired

Wired

Are you wearing pants? bit.ly/vyLDAG (@ilovecharts)

- Um yes… and this chart is telling me to take them off.

 

@Cyclingnewsfeed

Cyclingnews.com

News: Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals under review: Strongest field in many years set for this month's races bit.ly/rTJ6yK

- Seeking new ways to present the carnivals for a 'time-poor society'.

 

@DiscoverTas

Discover Tasmania

RT @merissaalyea: Out of all places, I find free wifi at a National Park in Tasmania.

- Yay Tassie! Which one???

 

@heninger

Wade Heninger

Photo sharing service 500px now offering free publishing plugin for Adobe Lightroom bit.ly/u7YgNp (via @pdnonline)

- And about time too. Got it. Tried it. Brilliant!

 

@KochiesBiz

Kochies Business

"Don't even think about borrowing in 2012" Big 4 banks tightening with global uncertainty. Kochie explains: bit.ly/thcBay

- Next year lookin' good for deposits! Hmm, suppose I could breed a few more cash cows.

 

@joeyldotcom

Joey L.

I love what @tylerginter just said to me on the phone."we only shoot 1 standard of quality, if we sacrifice our vision, everyone loses."

- Now there's a nice quote for my boss and his war on mediocracy!

 

@mynikonlife

My Nikon Life

'The #Nikon1 has reignited my passion for documenting everyday life through the lens.' - #Nikon Ambassador Mark Watson pic.twitter.com/zNmWPpe5

- Reignited my desire to buy an inconspicuous point-n-shoot.

 

@SmirksTas

Andrew Shepherd

[Photo] From the archives...Cardiff Castle bit.ly/supNPY

- One of my pics taken with one of those tiny throw-away cameras.

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle taken on a backpacking trip of Europe June 2000

Kodak Disposable Film Camera
Colour negative scan
Photomatix Tone Compressor
Lightroom

Twitbits Monday

 

The daily snap of highlights from my twitter feed….

 

 

@SmirksTas

Andrew Shepherd

Lego Star Wars Death Star II - anyone got a spare $950 amazon.com/dp/B000FTXNRI/…

- Saw Sheldon having a go at constructing this on Big Bang Theory. 3417 pieces take around 10 hours to put together and then it doesn't look complete - haha!

 

@BrianJacobSmith

Brian J. Smith

Ummm I thought the cockpit doors were supposed to be closed? And will the engines work in all this rain? #paranoidflyer

- Proving that actors who play crack space pilots are the worst flyers.

 

@kochie_online

david koch

Here's a naughty JOD 4 your Monday: How do you find a blind man in a nudist colony? It's not hard.

 

@NelsonAspen

Nelson Aspen

I find this photo a wee bit disturbing: Tori Spelling's baby dressed as a Thanksgiving turkey! usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms…

 

@wilw

Wil Wheaton

We Wheatons aren't exactly Christmas traditionalists... goo.gl/wGnNF

 

@miketomalaris

Michael Tomalaris

@tomke636 Had a great weekend in Launceston. #Lonnycrit The warm, friendly people of Tassie love cycling no matter the gruesome conditions.

~

@mattgoss1986

Matt Goss

On the way to Canberra for 2 weeks training camp! Looking forward to putting some good kilometers in the kegs.

~

@mattgoss1986

Matt Goss

Haha yes, legs! Not kegs....

- I was starting to wonder what kind of camp it was.

~

@Wes_Sulzberger

Wesley Sulzberger

In Canberra for the @_GreenEDGE_ camp. Impy arriving tomorrow, room to myself tonight so I should get all my snoring away early.

 

@NBNCoLimited

NBNCo Limited

To tie in with the launch of the #NBN Demo Truck we've launched a series of videos: bit.ly/rSYThO and bit.ly/vMAG4W

 

@Joshua_Freeman

Joshua Freeman™

That time I stood in for @realmikefox for Back to the Future poster art... pic.twitter.com/D7YJNTkB

 

@KylePollard

Kyle Pollard

You wanna stump an entire newsroom, ask a maths question.

 

@SmirksTas

Andrew Shepherd

Pic of the day: The view from Hong Kong's Victoria Peak at dusk flic.kr/p/6EDuob

Goodnight,

@SmirksTas

 

Twitbits Wednesday

@petapixel
PetaPixel
Must see - Amazing stop motion video made with a desk toy and Google Street View: bit.ly/sWfgEM

- First tweet of the day I saw was this link to an amazing and aspiring video. For me, it's planted the seed for another road trip somewhere.
- Put together by UK company The Theory. Here's what they say about themselve on their website …

We’re HDSLR specialists. We make stuff you want to watch. We do it well.

That's The Theory. Test it.

@wired

Wired

Ever wonder about the origins of Apple/Mac icons? Fascinating history by @stevesilberman bit.ly/tSpks2

- How computing went from typing command lines to clicking icons.

 

@wilw

Wil Wheaton

Whenever I see the word "flashlight," my brain changes it to "fleshlight". Then it changes it back while playing the P-Funk

- My brain changed to slosh when he mentioned Fleshlight.

 

@richardquest

Richard Quest

Anyone got a pair of @Qantas pyjamas which I can use on tonight Quest Means Business to cover the #Qantasluxury debacle?

- Managed to catch this segment on CNN today with Richard literally ragging out Qantas by waving their prized pj's about the set. Anyway, I thinks it's plain obvious that business, no matter how big or small,  will never have control over social media, yet they insist on trying, to the decrement of their company. In Qantas' case, they should write this off as a successful failure.

 

@worldmrt

WorldMatchRacingTour

Will Tiller, Full Metal Jacket Racing discusses plans to take down one of the main contenders at the #Monsoon Cup tinyurl.com/c8cpr39 #WMRT

- Like some guilty pleasure, I feel I should be apologising for supporting this Kiwi team.

~

@worldmrt

WorldMatchRacingTour

Decision has been made that all matches in flight 3 has been abandoned due to the appalling lack of wind. #WMRT #MonsoonCup

- Bugger!

 

@mattgoss1986

Matt Goss

Tasmanian training tip: don't ride in a long sleeve jersey and not put sunscreen on your hands.

- Caught red handed while out on day three of the Launceston Pro-Ex.

 

@AP

The Associated Press

Australian police probe former senator's allegations against News Corp. over vote: apne.ws/smkHPX

- New Aussie political scandal for Rupert's mob. Offering a senator a bribe or inducement to influence a vote is an offense punishable by up to six months in prison.

 

@msthespyreport

The Spy Report

TSR: Nine launches 2012 program lineup - bit.ly/tNTixt #nine2012

- I guess ex-miner Brant Webb didn't think the Nine exclusivity contract would eventually come to this.

~

@msthespyreport

The Spy Report

Full wrap of the ABC's 2012 program launch tomorrow in @msthespyreport. #ABCTV2012

 

 

Recapping on my rant from the other day...

Tonight I had to watched the last segment of Happy Endings via PLUS7. That's the 4th show this week that finished later than my DVR's extended recording.

 

 

@SmirksTas