Sop and Mo

Blog has moved

2011-01-21T14:48:00.002+13:00

Ooooh. New website. And blog.

Much happiness.

Check out www.capturethat.com.au

Muriwai Beach, New Zealand

2010-04-16T10:59:00.002+12:00

An experiment in self-portraiture

2010-04-13T22:03:00.000+12:00

Long time no see...

2010-04-10T21:40:00.005+12:00

Too often I avoid posting things on here for fear of... many things. But, enough of that. Swallow the fear, get over the challenges. Time to get my butt into gear and start posting photos again!

Still Alive

2010-01-06T15:27:00.003+13:00

It's true. I'm still alive. However, I have managed to get well and truly out of practice when it comes to blogging. Perhaps it should be my goal to start blogging again in 2010. My biggest concern is people ripping off my photos and claiming them as their own. There's zero copyright control on the Internet so it's nigh impossible to police... Any readers left who might have thoughts?

Windy Wellington

2009-06-03T18:14:00.002+12:00

A few weeks back we took a trip down to Wellington for the weekend. It's well known for being one of the windiest cities on Earth and it certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. We now understand why women don't bother doing their hair before going out and why all men have short cuts.

What we liked most about Wellington was how much it reminded us of Melbourne (albeit on a much, much smaller scale). It had streets full of art and sculpture, boutique shops, atmospheric cafes and bohemian book stores. Some streets felt like we were back home walking through Brunswick.

While we love Auckland I reckon we would move to Wellington in a flash if the opportunity arose.

Autumn in Auckland

2009-05-14T19:33:00.002+12:00

It's winter now, actually, and boy does it feel like it.

Going tribal

2009-05-05T21:27:00.001+12:00

The first two shots were taken at Cooks Beach... a tiny seaside town on the Coromandel Peninsula. The sun was getting low to the horizon and Kristy was drawing patterns in the sand with a stick that was as tall as her. I asked her to jump like she was in a Toyota commercial and got a series of her silhouetted by the sun. These two are my favourites.

The third shot was taken from a look-out in the Waitakere Ranges to the west of Auckland. I love this shot because of the way the light casts such strong contrast on Kristy's face. And I love the way the pattern on her top stands out strongly.

Also, I've managed to change the design of the blog to something a little more to my suiting. It's not fantastic but but it's a big improvement. The frustrating thing is the way the photos aren't displaying bigger... but seeing as it's late I'll figure that out another day.

The real Auckland weather

2009-05-02T12:43:00.002+12:00

What a miserable day in Auckland! It rained all night, rained all morning and looks as though it's going to rain all afternoon. And it's ridiculously cold today. Well, by my standards it's ridiculously cold. It's about 11 degrees. This is our first taste of the stereotypical New Zealand weather. Since we arrived in Auckland three months ago we've had fine weather most of the time - temperatures in the low to mid 20s. That doesn't sound very warm but when you factor in Auckland's humidity (which is very similar to Sydney's) that makes for a fairly reasonable day. So a night and day of non-stop rain and temperatures that make you put two t-shirts on has come as a bit of a surprise. Not that we should have been surprised - this is New Zealand after all. It's not known for it's blazing temperatures.

I was really hoping to get out and about with my camera this weekend but if the weather keeps going like this then I doubt that's going to happen. I might just have to content myself with going to see Wolverine instead.

I don't know how many people read this blog (if any at all) but if anyone has any skill with designing new Blogger themes then please let me know. I want to be able to display bigger photos and this small column is restricting that. To be honest I've thought about setting up a separate "photo a day" type blog over at Wordpress.com but so far I haven't been able to think of a good name for it. Perhaps I'll keep tossing idea around for a while.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to keep warm by making a cup of tea and watching the first season of Stargate SG-1 that I've borrowed from the library. ( borrow all my DVDs from the library now. I can't bring myself to get a VideoEZY membership.... I miss APPLEBOX too much and would feel like a lousy betrayer if I did.)

Not what I'm used to... but some flower photos

2009-04-25T23:43:00.002+12:00

I bought a new 70-300 IS lens last weekend. I haven't had a real opportunity to take it out yet but I did have a play at snapping some macro shots of flowers.

Exploring Auckland City

2009-04-04T22:51:00.005+13:00

I like looking poking around the parts of the city that you don't see in tourist brochures. Today I took a stroll around those "out of sight, out of mind" streets and loved every minute of it.

Symonds St Cemetery, Auckland

2009-03-30T21:11:00.006+13:00

The cemetery at the top of Symonds St in Auckland must be one of the most unloved, untended cemeteries I've ever been too. Probably because the graves are way too old for there to be any living relatives to look after them. It's a shame really because this graveyard has stones that are over a 100 years old (that's old for a nation that's not yet 200 itself). It also has the grave of Captain Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand. Its packed full of history. The cemetery is full of character and spooky atmosphere and the gravestones make for some really interesting shots. Unfortunately it's not the safest place to hang around so I only stayed a short time and snapped a few shots. Hopefully they give a sense of the eerie atmosphere in this cemetery.

Auckland "Round the Bay 09"

2009-03-17T20:58:00.003+13:00

On Sunday Kristy and I took part in the annual Auckland Round the Bay fun run. We didn't run, instead preferring to walk the 8.4km course. It started in central Auckland and went around a few bays before finishing in a suburb called St Heliers. The weather was perfect so plenty of people turned up for the run. More than 70,000 people in fact. Apparently its one of the largest fun runs in the world. The money raised from registrations goes to a bunch of charities although the website doesn't make it easy to find out which charities those are.

Anyway, we had a great time casually strolling along. Afterward we met Kristy's brother for lunch and a round of mini golf.

Here's a couple of pics from the day. (Some have zero artistic / photographic merit but they show the crowd).

Photos from Dunedin

2009-03-03T20:50:00.006+13:00

Travel, work, Kristy, God.

2009-02-24T23:23:00.004+13:00

I'm sitting in a hotel in Dunedin, a small "city" a little more than halfway down the south island of New Zealand. Its 11:45pm and I'm missing Kristy so much that I can't sleep. It reminds me of a time when I was younger when Dad told me he always felt physically ill when he was away from Mum. At the time I was perhaps sixteen years old and didn't understand how you could possibly feel physically ill just by being away from someone. Now, eight years later and two months out from my 2nd wedding anniversary, Dad's statement rings true for me.

I'm down here working at the Otago University Orientation Week. My employer has a stand at the university promoting its brand, products and services to students. It's exactly the kind of work I love doing; it's energetic, engaging and creative. Last week I was in Christchurch doing the same thing for the University of Canterbury Orientation Week. Mixing and interacting with uni students is always great fun and the brand I represent lends itself to this very easily. Students know the brand, identify with its image (and want to be part of that image) and they get very excited when you show them what the products can do. I certainly enjoy what I do.

But being away from your wife is tough. Very tough. Much tougher than I anticipated.

Although I have always been a largely independent person, being away from Kristy last week and again this week has made me realise just how reliant on her I really am. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. I'll be back in Auckland on Friday night but Friday night feels like it might as well be next year sometime.

So, seeking comfort, reassurance and companionship, I dug around in the hotel room and eventually found a Bible, buried beneath a mountain of flyers in the bottom drawer of a TV cabinet. I have never been more grateful for the Gideons than I am tonight. I opened the Bible and on the inside cover was printed a small index for topics. These are the three verses I was directed to under the topic of "Comfort in time of loneliness":

Fear not, for i am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 41:10

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
- Hebrew 13:5

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the day sof my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
- Psalm 23

All words I needed to hear tonight. And the sense of comfort, companionship and love that washed over me is hard to describe. But I know now that I'll fall to sleep soon, thanking God for the many blessings in my life - the most special of which is Kristy.

A weekend away

2009-02-11T22:07:00.006+13:00

Kristy and I have discovered that New Zealanders have a lover affair with public holidays. Since arriving in Auckland on January 19 we've had two public holidays! January 26th was Auckland Anniversary Day, and February 6th was Waitangi Day.

Last weekend was our first with a car so we took the opportunity to get out of the city and explore the countryside. We headed for the Coromandel Peninsula. So far it's perhaps our favourite place on the north island. We stayed in Coromandel on Friday night (I was eaten alive by bed bugs... lucky for Kristy we had single beds at that particular hostel so she didn't get attacked.) We packed up early on Friday morning and headed to Whitianga (pronouned "Fit-ee-ung-ah"). This is THE best place so far. Its a small seaside town with incredibly warm water, a great beach and this amazing little "resort" in the middle of town called The Lost Springs. Some guy 20 years ago found natural hot springs and spent the next two decades sculpting a mini resort. Waiters, cocktails, creme brulee and massages all part of the package! And it only cost us $45 each for the day. BRILLIANT. Check it out at www.thelostspring.co.nz.

Then on Sunday we slowly cruised back home to Auckland. Despite the bed bugs it was a great way to spend the long weekend. We'll definitely be going back there.

Anyhow, here are some photos from the weekend... in no particular order.

This is really hard to do with a DSLR but we managed!

A view from the peninsula.

A cute kid in Whitianga.

An old fishing boat. Or at least it looks old when I do this cool thing in Lightroom.

Kristy on the beach at Whitianga.

Kristy. Portrait style.

Another beach.

Kristy's sandals. Because they look cool with this backdrop.

The water was actually colder than it looks... It was warm on the other side of the peninsula though.

I've got a whole series of these photos. This is my favourite.

A random beach we stopped at.... a storm was brewing so we didn't stay long. Neither did the storm.

Our new second hand car! Freedom!

Kristy!

We're getting a car!

2009-01-31T22:27:00.009+13:00

Kristy and spent a full day test driving, sitting in, looking at and ignoring cars. In the end we found ourselves a neat little Subaru Impreza Stationwagon. Its 10 years old but has done very few km's and is in great nick. We'll be picking it up late this coming week. We're very excited to have a car again. (But I'm still in love with my Mazda6... I miss that car).

Anyway, in other news.... here are so photos of miscellaneous things in Auckland.

The evening view from our 15th floor apartment in the city.

Eight inches of glass between me a 61 story fall from the top of Sky Tower.

Kristy!

Some sailors down on the wharves.

Kristy!

The first week in Auckland

2009-01-27T12:17:00.002+13:00

I'm sitting in an internet cafe and don't have access to my photos right now so you'll have to put up with words instead. And not many of them... I only have a few minutes left.

Let me first say this about Auckland - its not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. In fact, its really quite nice. It's very clean, it feels reasonably safe, its got some very beautiful scenery and everything is cheap to buy. The weather hasn't been too bad either. The climate definitely reminds me of Sydney - it's more humid than we were expecting. The temperature has been in the mid 20s (the highest was 26 yesterday) but it feels like a 30 day in Melbourne.

Kristy and I stayed in a Quest serviced apartment for the first few nights while we were hunting for somewhere to live. Thankfully, we found a nice little apartment in city. Its fully furnished and is on the 15th (top floor) of the apartment complex. Its pretty small but has two bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the city scape. Its just a wee bit bigger than some of the other apartments we looked at (its amazing what a couple of extra feet of space will do to a place). Have a look at 430 Queen St on google maps and you'll see where we are.

When we weren't looking for somewhere to live we filled in our time sightseeing around the CBD and finding the local supermarkets (can you believe there are only 2 supermarkets in the whole of Auckland!!) That pretty much brings us up to now. Kristy started work today, I start tomorrow. Wish us all the best.

Oh, and in terms of size, Auckland is smaller than Melbourne but bigger than Geelong.... hope that helps put the picture in your mind.

Hopefully we'll have the net connected at home in the next 2 weeks so I'll be able to post photos etc.

Why Apple is cooler than Microsoft

2009-01-09T14:02:00.004+13:00

This has to be Microsoft's worst marketing effort yet.

Watch the video below. Its a promotion for their new "Songsmith" software that will be part of the new "Windows 7"..... which is basically Vista with a new name.

Poor acting. Poor lyrics. Lame music.

Microsoft, please fire your marketing team. I'm ashamed to say I work in the marketing industry when I see that kind drivel being published.

Lamest. Effort. Ever.

Exploring Landscape Photography

2009-01-05T20:40:00.003+13:00

I've had my DSLR camera for three months now and the Christmas / New Year break was the first time I've been able to take it away and focus on getting a few landscape shots. Actually, to say that I was focusing on getting landscape shots is completely false. The family and I just happened to take a few walks along the coast.

Anyhow, here are a few shots of the Victorian coastline. Hardly prize winning, but nonetheless my favourites so far.

Puffing Billy Christmas Photos Part 2

2008-12-24T17:06:00.000+13:00

Puffing Billy Christmas Photos Part 1

2008-12-24T17:03:00.002+13:00

A much needed update

2008-12-23T17:00:00.001+13:00

Ok, its been 21 days since my last post so I better give you an update on where things are at.

To cut a long story short (because I'm at work) this is where things are at:

The Car

I sold my beloved car and shed a tear or two when it was driven away.

And I thought only dogs suffered from separation anxiety.

The House

Our house is going up for rent sometime today or tomorrow. Apparently the agent has a tenant lined up already.

The Packing

Uh...... next.

The Animals

Unfortunately, we've decided not to take them with us to New Zealand. This is simply because of the cost... its roughly $1000k per animal... So, Yoda is going to stay with Kristy's parents and Harry is going to stay with my parents. If we knew for sure that we were staying for more than two years then we would take them no questions asked. But, at the moment, we don't want to spend $2000 sending them over the water only to have to spend the money again in two years time.

Christmas

Kristy and I met up with my side of the family for a day at Puffing Billy. I got some great photos and will post them in the next few days. Tomorrow we're heading away for Christmas with Kristy's Kiwi family.

Anyway, that's a basic update on where things are at.

On another topic, this blog seems to be morphing into more of a photography blog... I like that. So I'm going to run with it.

Fun with black and white

2008-12-02T23:44:00.004+13:00

I've been playing with Adobe Lightroom. I don't really understand it yet, nor do I have heaps of time to learn it. But its fun, and I've got the basic idea.

Its a BIG transition from iPhoto though!!

Anyway, here are some nice shots of my niece, Millie.

My first ever sunset shots.

2008-11-08T12:53:00.002+13:00

They'd marry if they could.

2008-11-08T12:27:00.006+13:00

Meet Harry and Peach.

Well, in these shots, meet Peach more than Harry.

Harry is the extra fluffy, slightly tubby Cavoodle. Peach is the younger, skinnier Spoodle.

Kristy and I spent last weekend away with our good friends T&G. Naturally, the dogs came with us (I think we experience more separation anxiety than the dogs do). Peach is T&G's baby, Harry is ours.

Peach loved the garden. Especially my mother-in-law's geraniums.

Peach is faster and more nimble than Harry. I put it down to her having less flubber to heft around.

Harry wins the ball.

Then loses it. Peach claims Victory.

Harry wins back the ball. Then eats it. Typical.

Wilsons Promontory

2008-10-18T13:43:00.005+13:00

Last weekend Kristy and I visited my parents down in Gippsland. Together the four of us went to Wilsons Prom.

Here are a few of my favourite snaps from the day.

History

2008-10-15T23:23:00.004+13:00

I used to be a gym junkie.

I built myself up to a good weight and had some good muscle and tone. Then I got sick, lost weight and have never bothered trying to put the weight back on.

But, now, I'm really, really tired of being skinny and little.

I want to put the weight back on.

Food is chore for me. Always has been, always will be.

I don't want to develop the same obsession with the gym (I don't have the time these days anyway).

But I am going to eat and work out anyway and put on the weight I lost three years.

Some photos!

2008-09-29T20:25:00.005+13:00

Lisa has very kindly given me permission to post some photos of her daughter Jemima.

Jemima was very happy to play supermodel for the afternoon and I got some great shots of her. My favourite is the shot where she is leaning in to the camera and poking her tongue out.

Soooo many photos I wish I could post. But I won't. Or maybe I will... in dribs and drabs to make you keep coming back.

Grand Final Day BBQ

2008-09-29T18:44:00.002+13:00

To give the appearance of interest in the footy grand final Kristy and I went to Lou's place for a BBQ lunch she had organised. It was a fun afternoon with great food and good company. And, for all my lack of interest in football, I actually enjoyed watching some of the game.

When I wasn't watching the game (which was most of the time) I was taking photos of people at the BBQ. In a 4 hour period I took over 240 photos. Unfortunately only 30-40 of those are any good... and perhaps only 10 of those worth any further mention.

Some of the particularly good photos were of children at the BBQ. There is an innocence, a joy and enthusiasm in kids that makes them fantastic photographic subjects.

However, for the sake of privacy of the people in the photos I'm not going to post them without their permission.

All in all though, I was quite surprised by the quality of some shots. Having a good camera helps immensely but I'm sure with more practice I'll be able to get good shots more often.

Photos

2008-09-16T22:55:00.004+12:00

I was hoping to get home quickly from work tonight so I could get some more photos in good light. As usually happens, life didn't work out that way. I did go for a walk but the light was fading very quickly.

I wanted to upload this photo. It's very similar to the street photo in my last post (they were taken at the same time) but I like this one better. The framing in this shot is much more composed. I particularly like the tree in the left foreground. It's so big and foreboding the way it reaches out over the road like that. And this feeling is echoed by the other trees along the street. In this shot there is more of a feeling of being in a tunnel. I like that. It's a creepier, darker shot with more emotion and intensity.

This is a tree I found along the river. You wouldn't know it's alive by looking at it but I had to take the photo for two reasons. 1) It was beautifully silhouetted in the dusk light; 2) it looks alive, like it has fingers reaching out to grab you as you walk by. I like this shot because even though there is no sign of life in the tree the photo has a strong sense of movement. Your eye is immediately captured by the contrast of the solid dark trunk with the bright light behind it and then they are drawn out of the centre and along the branches. Each little branch and twig feels like it could start moving at any moment despite you knowing that its a frozen frame.

Yes, I like black and white.

There's something scary about black and white photos. Particularly so when they don't feature people. Perhaps its because they feel like they are full of dark emotion, a hidden malevolent energy. Perhaps its because it feels gothic.

Perhaps its because nothing in the world is as clear cut as black and white. There are many shades of gray in between.

New Toy = Post With Photos

2008-09-15T22:59:00.003+12:00

I've been saving up for quite some time now to get a digital SLR camera. Well, on the weekend I finally made my purchase. I did some thorough research and that, combined with my budget, led me to choose the Canon EOS 1000D. It's a superb camera. I love it. It will take me a year to learn all the functions and a lifetime to master them but hey, its all fun.

Here are a few sample shots for you.

A flower in the front garden. I like the contrast of the peach colouring with the green leaves in the background.

Some flowers down by the river. The composition is what drew me to this shot - I like the way your eye is drawn to the purple flower in the foreground and then lifted up to the trees behind it.

Just because Yoda is cute and takes a good photo.

Kristy and Harry, looking good in the park. I like black and white shots and this looked far better than the colour version.

I couldn't resist taking this shot in black and white. There's a creepy, haunted feel to the street and the monotone colours really bring that out. It highlights the bleakness of winter evenings. This is my favourite out of these five shots.

Some of my favourite YouTube videos

2008-09-12T23:32:00.002+12:00

Cadbury Gorilla

Chop Suey Kid

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Amazing Drummer Boy (Par rum pa pum pum)

More gardening

2008-09-07T13:56:00.003+12:00

I got up this morning feeling all inspired after yesterday's effort in the front yard. So I headed back to Bunnings and bought some more woodchips (a more natural colour this time). Kristy gave me a hand clearing away all the weeds, branches from the tree next door, dead leaves etc and generally just tidying up the courtyard.

Overall we didn't do much besides get rid of the above junk but its amazing how good a yard can look when you do that. And when you invest in three bags of woodchips ($24 well spent).

Before.

Kristy

Done.

One of the garden beds.

Another garden bed. This photo shows my favourite part of the garden - the little "Faith" plaque. It's so nice to step into the yard and see this little reminder of our faith - something that is so important in our lives. (You wouldn't believe it.... but we actually found the plaque in a small craft shop in a town called Mogo, NSW.... the shop was full of Bhuddist and Islamic stuff and we found this under a pile of golden Bhuddas tucked away in a corner!!)

Green Thumbs

2008-09-06T19:54:00.003+12:00

After two years in our house I decided today that it was time to do what I've wanted to do since the day we bought the house - put an edging around the front garden. So I trundled off to Bunnings, bought some pavers and woodchips and set to it.

I don't have access to photos of what the garden looked like before today, but here are some "in progress" shots and the final result. Tomorrow I want to buy a couple of small plants and another bag of woodchips and I'll be happy at last!

Update on the car

2008-09-04T20:42:00.002+12:00

I'm a little late posting this but the car is fine. Mostly.

Apparently its not a mechanical problem. It's something to do with the tyres. Something about one of them having developed some kind of issue. They can't tell which tyre without spending a day or two testing each tyre with control wheels which would take ages. The long and short is - when they put four different wheels on the car, the sound doesn't happen. When they put my wheels back on, it happens.

Mazda says the car is perfectly safe to drive in. I believe them. I don't know how safe passengers will be on the day I get so fed up with the noise that I turn into The Hulk and start smashing things.

How do I fix it? Well, because they can't pin it down to one tyre without doing hours of tests (which would cost me bucketloads in labour charges) they said I could buy four new tyres. Uh-huh. I spent a grand on new tyres for it 18 months ago I'm not doing it now. Will it lose resale value when I sell it at the end of the year? Yep, about a grands worth.

So, I could spend a grand to save a grand.

No point.

Sucks, but I still love my Mazda6. And that will never change.

Where are we from? Part 1

2008-08-26T23:39:00.003+12:00

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist, nor do I have a deep understanding of the evolutionary process. The following thoughts are just that: thoughts. These ideas and ponderings are purely just random thoughts prompted by my reading of a particular book. I am not looking for a debate on the how the world began and life came to exist. At least, I'm not up for such a debate yet. Perhaps when I have a better grasp of the topic then I will duke it out.

I'm reading Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and I must say I am finding it incredibly interesting and yet horribly frustrating at the same time. Being as scientific as he can without alienating the wider non-scientific community, and leaving out as much philosophical and religious debate as possible, Bryson tackles the age old question of how we came to be in existence. He follows - and supports - the theories of universal creation via a Big Bang and Darwin's evolution theory. I find both of these topics deeply fascinating. Having been raised in a Christian family and still having a strong and active Christian faith, it has been drilled into me since a young age that God created the Earth and all that is on it in seven days. To a certain extent I believe this, but to some degree I don't. However, that's a topic for another day. This post is, as pointed out in the above disclaimer, merely a collection of thoughts prompted by Bryson's book.

Here is an extract from page 34 of A Short History of Nearly Everything in which Bryson points out just how amazing it is that in a such a random, uncontrolled process like the Big Bang the Earth could be created in such a precise manner as to allow life.

"What is extraordinary from our point of view is how well it turned out for us. If the universe had formed just a tiny bit differently - if gravity were fractionally stronger or weaker, if the expansion had proceeded just a little more slowly or swiftly - there might never have been stable elements to make you and me and the ground we stand on. Had gravity been a trifle stronger, the universe itself might have collapsed like a badly erected tent without precisely the right values to give it the necessary dimensions and density and component parts. Had it been weaker, however, nothing would have coalesced. The universe would have remained forever a dull, scattered void."

What I find so amazing about the above passage - and indeed much of the book as far as I have read (about eight chapters so far) - is that, despite the author's best intention, it almost seems to argue for the Intelligent Design theory. (The Intelligent Design theory, for those not familiar, is the belief that a greater being created the universe; ie God). A short time later Bryson paraphrases another author, Martin Rees, in the hope that the arguments presented will show just how amazing the universe is and the precise degree to which everything had to develop in order to allow for life.

"Rees maintains that six numbers in particular govern our universe, and that if any of these values were changed even very slightly things could be as they are. For example, for the universe to exist as it does requires that hydrogen be converted to helium in a precise but comparatively stately manner - specifically, in a way that converts seven one thousandths of its mass to energy. Lower that value very slightly - from 0.07 percent to 0.06 percent, say - and no transformation could take place: the universe would consist of hydrogen and nothing else. Raise the value very slightly - to 0.08 percent - and bonding would be so wildly prolific that the hydrogen would long since have been exhausted. In either case, with the slightest tweaking of the numbers the universe as we know and need it would not be here."

That seems to me a pretty good argument that something, or rather someone, was controlling the process. To suggest that such necessary precision happened without some kind of controlling force just seems, to me, to be ludicrous (non-Christians would, of course, argue that the existence of an all-powerful, omnipresent being you cannot see, touch, hear or smell is equally ludicrous but that's not what I'm trying to prove / disprove here).

Now lets look at the time frame in which this supposedly happened. Big Bang theorists believe the universe itself was created in 10-30 seconds, or one million million million million millionths of a second. If the creation of the universe - particles, protons and so forth - could be done in the finest fraction of a second then why would this process of creation suddenly hit the brakes and start creating things on the reverse end of the time scale? Why then do we hear that the Earth and life upon it is billions of years old? Why couldn't the perfect creatures have been created in an equally short time?

Bryson says science argues there was not enough heat to form the neccessary chemicals needed to create earth. There needed to be a supanova. Apparently one happened but after that it took a further 4.7 billion years for the earth to form a solid state. Sometime after that, apparently, is when life started.

Anyway, my wife is telling me to turn the computer off and get some sleep. I will post more shortly.

Finally, some photos from New Zealand

2008-08-23T22:39:00.005+12:00

Considering we've been back a month now, these have been far too long coming. So, here for your viewing pleasure, are five photos.

Snowed in at Hanmer Springs.

Somewhere on Franz Joseph glacier.

At the top of the gondola run in Queenstown.

Bluff, southern-most point of New Zealand. This is the obligatory shot under the Bluff signpost.

Kate, Kristy (both standing) and Molly and myself (sitting) after a day skiing on Mt Hutt.

It was bound to happen.

2008-08-22T11:03:00.002+12:00

I was expecting something to go wrong before we leave. It's part of the travel process. If something didn't go wrong then you haven't really had the full experience have you?

So tomorrow morning I'm taking my car to the Mazda service department to find out why it has developed a scary, rhythmic knocking noise somewhere in either the engine or the front wheels. I'm expecting some kind of report back that there's broken belts, loose wheels, bent axles or some such horror. "Hi Chris. Not good news for your car. Looks like you're going to have to spend big $$$ to drive it out of the service department."

I was planning to sell the car at the end of the year anyway but I wasn't expecting the need to spend money on it before selling. The car is less than 5 years old... It shouldn't be having mechanical issues.

Of course I could find out tomorrow that there's simply a stick stuck under the car and that's causing the rattle.

Here's hoping.

Getting rid of our stuff

2008-08-09T15:46:00.002+12:00

Each weekend Kristy and I attempt to clean and sort out some of our belongings. We want to giveaway, sell and throw out as much as possible before we head to New Zealand. The less we have means the less we need to put into storage. What I've noticed though, is that we're not so much getting rid of stuff as doing a better job of hiding and organising it. One of our spare bedrooms is a perfect example. We've cleaned it out three times now. At the end of each cleaning session we look at the room and comment on how tidy it looks. A few moments later we inevitably realise that while the room looks nice and inviting we haven't actually achieved our objective - all we have managed to do is put all the junk back into the cupboards in a much more organised manner.

So I'm wondering how we get rid of our stuff? Is it a matter of going through the house room by room writing down what furniture we have then deciding whether we'll keep it or not? Do we make a pile of hard rubbish? Do we box stuff up and send it to the folks?

We've got a whole houseful of stuff that we can't take with us!

And the winner is....

2008-08-03T13:02:00.003+12:00

New Zealand.

I think we had both made up our minds weeks ago but we wanted to sit on it and really think it through. Basically, it boils down to this:

* Three hours is a lot closer to home than twenty-four.
* We will have the support of Kristy's Kiwi family.
* People are more likely to visit us when flights cost $200 as opposed to $2500.
* It's just a scenic as Ireland.
* The work package I've been offered is just too good to pass up.
* If we move to New Zealand now, with the package that's on offer we'll be in a better financial position to take a long trip through Europe later.
* I'll still end up with some kind of demented, half Aussie / half Kiwi accent, which is just as good as a demented, half Aussie / half Irish accent.

Back to reality? Sort of.

2008-07-27T16:46:00.003+12:00

This is a little late, but we're back from New Zealand. We landed last week and jumped head first back into the world of real people: work. We're swimming along happily enough but it's just hard work landing back in your country and then going straight back to work the next day.

So, now what? Ireland?

Well, yes. And no.

At this stage we're still intending to go to Ireland. However, it may not be for the length of time we had hoped for. While we were in New Zealand I was offered a job there. Its a great job too. An extremely attractive salary, a company car, relocation expenses covered etc etc. While we were traveling both Kristy and I had been discussing how nice it would be to live in New Zealand. Kristy would be close to her family (she's a kiwi), it isn't overly busy (it has the population of Melbourne spread out over an entire country), it's extremely scenic with the opportunity for lots of walks, hikes etc.

We haven't made up our minds yet but its certainly looking more and more attractive the more we think about it.

Dunedin, New Zealand

2008-07-17T19:26:00.003+12:00

Just another quick, short and somewhat annoyingly detail-lacking post.

We've spent a couple of nights in Invercargil with some of Kristy's relatives. It was a lovely couple of days. Today we headed up the east-coast and have arrived in Dunedin. This is perhaps the first Kiwi city that has reminded me of Melbourne. It has a strong cafe culture. In fact there's a public square (actually, its an octogon) that has nothing but bars, cafes and resturants (and one tattoo artist). The cafes remind me of Lygon St while the bars are very Brunswick St.

Anyhow, we're stopping here overnight before slipping up to Christchurch tomorrow. We'll stay there until Monday afternoon. By 9pm Monday we'll be back in Melbourne. A shame really. I'm enjoying New Zealand. I'd live here.

Wanaka, New Zealand

2008-07-10T11:46:00.003+12:00

Ok, first:
I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Wanaka, ripping my hair out in enourmous chunks and dragging my fingernails down my face. Why? Because I'm forced to use a PC to write this post and the thing is a piece of CRAP! Urgh. How can 85% of the world use this shoddy excuse for an operating system? In the 15 minutes I've been here its already crashed once and Internet Explorer keeps changing windows on me. Gah.

So here the Gospel of Chris:
Convert to Mac.

I will keep preaching this gospel even though I don't work for Apple now (yes, I finished with Apple 2 weeks ago. Weird feeling after more than 3 years with them.)

Now, on to other stuff.
We're in Wanaka, a lazy ski town just north of Queenstown. It's so cold here my breath is freezing in the air and dropping to the ground as a solid lump of ice. You should see what happens when you try to pee. Think sphagetti. Frozen.

Our plans have changed a little. I guess this is the nature of travel. In short (because I don't have my notes with me):

* Landed in Christchurch on Thursday night (3rd July) and stayed with family till Sunday morning.
* Went to Hanmer Springs and stayed the night.
* Got snowed in at Hanmer Springs and couldn't travel on to Greymouth (West Coast) as we had hoped. Lewis and Arthers passes both closed. Had to go back to Christchurch.
* Stayed Monday night at Christchurch with the family.
* Traveled Tuesday morning across Arthers Pass and travelled the West Coast to Franz Joseph Glacier.
* Climbed the glacier on Wednesday then travelled to Wanaka.

That brings us to now.

In an hour or so we're catching up with Kristy's cousin Brad, his wife Pip (who I haven't met yet) and their 1-year-old son Sam.

Really loving New Zealand. I think I've been infected with this travel bug Kristy keeps talking about.

When we get home in a week or so I'll use my notes to write proper entries about our travels.

But, right now, I'm going to hit post because I'm a little afraid this computer is going to crap out again.

Its snowing in Christchurch

2008-07-05T13:37:00.002+12:00

Just quickly, because we're about to go out, it's snowing in Christchurch. It doesn't often snow this low down but there you go. According to my 13-year-old cousin-in-law Molly, this is only the second time she has seen it snow at her house.

Pretty exciting.

I'll post something more later this afternoon but better go rug up.
This is so cool. Loving it.

New Zealand tomorrow

2008-07-02T13:00:00.004+12:00

Tomorrow marks the beginning of our three week jaunt in New Zealand. It has been a long time coming and believe me, Kristy and I are both chomping at the bit to get on that aeroplane. The last time we had a holiday was back in January this year. It may not sound like it was that long ago but the two of us are certainly feeling the effects of six months of solid work with no break. Kristy has been putting in many extra hours while doing her Masters degree; I've been stressed off my nut in a workplace I have hated for 12 months (why, oh why, didn't I get out earlier???)

Unless you got here by magic, you will notice that I have moved the blog from mac.com to blogger. As much as I love Apple and the software it makes, iWeb was bugging the heck out of me. It's a great concept and makes blogging a cinch (read about it here), but once the initial novelty wears off there's really no reason to use it. Perhaps the most annoying thing about it is the inability to remotely post entries on your blog. So for Kristy and I wanting to (eventually) get this up as a regular travel diary (yes, I said eventually) then the ability to remotely post is a must.

So what are our plans for 3 weeks in New Zealand? Well, I'm looking forward to either jumping out of an aeroplane or hurling myself off a bridge. Should be fun. We'll also do the usual touristy stuff: Shotover Jet, park walks, coffee in small cafe's etc while hanging out with Kristy's family.

All in all, I'm pumped about this trip. It's only the second time I've been out of Australia. The first was on a missions trip to the Philippines just over 8 years ago. That wasn't what you would typically call a 'relaxing' time so this will be a nice time away.