Quiz

Where were we? That is my late partner and myself when travelling. It isn't particularly easy, and I think my score would be 7/10. Answers in a comment about 24 hours later.

1. You may not know the location but I would hope you would know which country has such decorated carvings. What country, who traditionally carves them and what are they called. A bonus point if you can tell me where they are. I can't think of anyone who will know that.

2. As you travel Europe, one does get a little a little over churched. ABC, Another Bloody Church. The bejesus was bombed out of this city during the second big 20th century disagreement, where this church is located. I think the church was restored, and there are some Roman ruins in the city on display under glass. What city might this be? Two photos.

3. Still in Europe, this building across a mighty river with some bullet holes in the outside walls. What city?

4. Mist swirled as we looked down on a wonderful city in a country where the Indian Ocean meets the Pacific Atlantic Ocean. What's the city called and where are we standing?

5. An interesting sculpture in front of a building named by a despicable in his own name. What city and what building?

6. Having a wealthy Asian friend gets you into places, such as an iconic bar within one of these towers near the very top. What iconic building is this and what city is it in?

7. A mountain with snow but it wasn't cold. The mountain and the country please?

8. City and country please, in a country not too far from Australia. 

9. Meanwhile back in Europe, what city?

10. Catching a train somewhere. The station name and city please.

Feathered Friday

Oh, a football field invasion, without noting 100 goals kicked by a player in his career.

Warbling magpies are so delightful to wake to, as you can hear in this clip by Kye Hammo. 

 

The tech and more

Technology can certainly be exasperating. 

I've just received an email from the online travel company Expedia, with holiday promotional specials in celebration of Labor Day. Labor Day in Victoria was in March. I suppose I shouldn't care, as a special is a special to take advantage of. But I do care that the system is not correctly set up to know when Labor Day is in Victoria. 

Everytime I look at a a product online, Google bombards me with advertising, hence the Expedia email. I spent quite some time looking at lounge suits online, and it took well over a month for the advertising to stop. Next was air conditioning, as I am thinking of replacing my quite old unit. The ads for that didn't last too long. Of late though, I've had the worst bombardment of travel emails. The thing is, all these emails keep arriving long after you've bought a product. 

I found a setting in Google to turn off personalised advertising, and I wonder if, having switched it off, I will stop receiving emails. It's a moot point because this week I installed the browser Duckduckgo. My searches there won't be picked up by the behemoth that is Google. 

I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the tv story, but AI is now being used in schools to assist students. One student was using AI to write computer code to create an online competitive game to clear plastic and other pollution from our seas. Another was using AI for guidance to write an essay about the play Othello. I put Shakespeare up there with my horror of algebra and trigonometry.

I do love what technology can do for us, and I embrace it when I want to.

It is four days after the second anniversary of my mother's death, on this Thursday the 14th. Yesterday was Ray's closest sister's birthday, and today is one year since Phyllis moved into the then chaotic home, post repainting and recarpeting. I wrote his initials on the calendar for today, and he asked about what was on that day. I don't think he remembers the date he moved in. I might buy him a single rose. It was hard to work out the date he moved in, but I then remembered the weekend after he moved in I went away for two nights, remembering that some of you didn't think it was a good idea to leave him here on his own, with friends visiting, just after he moved in. I had judged his character correctly in two or three days. 

I was away for two days, and I had a record of that, on my great niece's birthday, just after I had a melanoma removed from my scalp, still with the bandage on my head covered by my cap.

Today is shopping day but I buy little normal fresh food now.  Phyllis looks after most of that. I will replenish the wine cellar, buy a pepper steak pie for myself to bring home, have coffee from my newest cafe in South Melbourne (naturally the barista is hot) and if Phyllis is at work and Kosov is home, I'll buy Kosov a pie too.

I need a photo. Phyllis and Kosov are both reading this book series as they travel on public transport to and from work. I've no idea what Wings of Fire is about, and I am not interested, but if you know, feel free to say so.

NYC

A post inspired by Travel Penguin.

It's interesting. I don't know what I expected of New York City. Maybe it was the terribly hot and humid weather that put me off.

There some things I really liked but there was swindle that happened to us when catching a subway, although we didn't lose money, I think that being I guess the train operator. 

The cloying service where we ate with half a dozen checks to see if we were happy with the food, and almost exposed tits under our noses by a waitress. 

One man with a vacant seat next to him on the subway to Brooklyn has some serious manspreading happening. I sat, he did not move his legs, I gently pushed back and made my space. 

Some very poor subway platform directions, and then the kindness of strangers kicked in.

Our two attempts to see Central Park were thwarted by the heat and humidity. We saw a little. 

We did enjoy The Highline, seeing Matilda on Broadway, The Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, MOMA, and also a smaller museum (NYC Museum?), the train museum in Brooklyn, the cruise on the Hudson River, passing by the now tearful Statue of Liberty, and travelling along the shores of New Jersey. Also the friendly barman at Port Authority who gave us shot glasses as souvenirs.

Our apartment accommodation was adequate but far from flash, and three storeys up. We were fitter after we left NYC after climbing up and down three sets of steep stairs. The price was cheap and we did stay near the corner of West 40th and 8th Avenue. 

The Hop On, Hop Off bus was not bad, although I remember a live commentary error. We visited all NYC boroughs. We visited the gay area in Greenwich Village and walked along Christopher Street. 

We observed and learnt how to leave a $1 tip for each serve on the bar at a gay bar.  

We had the best meal at an Irish themed pub. 

I can't say exactly why as I don't know, but NYC just did not feel right to me. It isn't a city I want to revisit, let alone live there. Friends were surprised at my opinion. 

Driving lesson #47

Phyllis drove Sunday before last, but he was unwell this weekend with perhaps a viral infection. He has recovered Monday. He has been masked when he leaves his room, which was rare. I've learnt girlie man sickness is even worse than man flu. 

Anyway, I gave him a driving lesson regardless, from the balcony. I took photos. Now sorry, but it will do my head in to try and explain this to those of you who drive on the wrong side of the road, but the pictures should help you understand. Just to note, while in England at least, you cannot overtake on a multilane road on the left. We can here, leading to more lane changing. England does it better. Are you allowed to do so in other countries? That would be can you overtake on the right on multilane roads?

This truck in the right hand lane of the two left turning lanes is a very long semi trailer.  

Here the truck approaches the corner. Fellow motorists are wisely giving it a wide berth, but they don't always. 

The cab is still in the same lane, but the trailer is going awry. 

The cab is still in the same lane, but the trailer is completely in the next lane. When a truck is labelled at its rear, 'Do not overtake turning vehicle', take that seriously.

In what I paste below, there is a single left turn lane and the truck mounted the footpath. A temporary solution was to mark footpaths to keep pedestrians back from the corner. Why penalise pedestrians and treat them as the problem on a footpath when the truck driver was clearly in the wrong? The problem is that there is only one left turn lane, and semi trailers simply can't turn without using a second lane. 

Victorian police have charged a man over a serious crash in Southbank that left five pedestrians injured.

Key points:

• A 64-year-old Wyndham Vale man has been arrested and is assisting police
• Detectives say the truck mounted a footpath and hit a traffic light while making a left turn
• Investigators are trying to determine if the driver was aware of the crash when he drove on without stopping

Police said the 64-year-old driver from Wyndham Vale was arrested after the incident on Thursday night. On Friday night he was "initially" charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury.

In a media statement, police said it was alleged that while turning left, the truck cut the intersection corner and mounted the footpath, knocking over a traffic light.

Five pedestrians — four men and a woman all aged in their 20s — were injured.

The driver has been remanded into custody and will face the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.

Earlier, investigators said the B-double tanker was turning left from City Road on to Power Street about 7:00pm on Thursday when it mounted the footpath. 

Monday Mural

Along with Sami and others, here is my mural effort this week. 

I don't know how the residents of these public housing units were rehoused but I hope they were locally and at a similar rental price. Most will pay a subsidised percentage of their government pension income. 

Afront of the three blocks were murals, and I've shown some before, dog and cats. I don't think I've shown these. They were simple and nice, and welcoming to the residents, and look pretty good to passers by.

The housing units have now all been demolished and the murals gone. 

Sunday Selections

Along with River and others, here is this week's Sunday Selections. We are really missing Elephant's Child.

Phyllis bought a bottle of wine. After it was consumed, he used the bottle for oil. He wanted another to match and replace the oil bottle with the spout, and I asked the chap I know in Dan's if they had it. They didn't. It turned out he bought it at a small supermarket, an IGA. He seems to have lost interest in getting another bottle, so I'm not going to bother. 

This is not a great photo of my favourite, and I think beautiful pen. It ran out of ink! I was in denial for a while, but finally I went to The Pen Place in town (Ray used to say using the word town for The City, sounded very common. I never did, but I could have said, not being able to pronounce the 'th' in fifth sounds common to me) It cost $10 for refill cartridge but I am happy, even though you can buy a packet of ten pens for $10, or less. 

A blast from the past. Volvos are now very slick cars and this old model never was, but it had the highest safety rating at the time. The owners of such weren't know to be speedy drivers, or very competent. A straw or canvas hat could often be seen on the rear window parcel shelf. 

A mellow autumn day a few months ago in Queen Street. 

Everything about Phyllis is bling. 

I've no idea what these things are, bought at the Reject Shop. After taking this photo, the full set is complete. The modem/router is not the best place for them as if I lift the intercom handset, the spiral cord knocks some off. One fell into the toaster on the lower bench. 

A dinosaur feeding.

Dinosaurs seem to be breeding, but not like their own kind.

I found this at the Reject Shop. It is a mitten and brilliant for cleaning my shower.

I've shown this hammer before. It was made by my late Uncle Mick, who was an employee of the State Electricity Commission. He received severe brain damage on his way home from work in a car accident, and the SEC looked after him well. As part of his rehabilitation, he made this hammer in the workplace machine shop. It was incredibly heavy, so he was advised to drill holes in the handle to make it lighter. I don't know how I ended up with it, but it is a nice memory of Uncle Mick. The hammer is still heavy, and great for breaking concrete or hammering a nail into a river redgum  post, but not so good for accurate carpentry nailing.

 

Phyllis bought this sweet syrup something. It does look pretty on the auto trolley.

How much nail polish does one boy need? 

I can't think of the correct term, but skateboarders do jumps on this purpose made block, that is they skate along the edge. It is clearly well used. Unfortunately they also try this on public and private property, which leads to damage, and aggravated local high rise residents to throw condoms full of piss at them from a height. It was a great deterrent, as I was told when I heard about what happened. 

The construction cranes look very pretty. They became confused one overcast morning as the skies lightened. The crane lights were almost strobing as they went off and on. Another crane rose today, as yet unlit.