Family – Page 27 – Robot Claw

The Wayback Machine

July 21, 2014

I was digging through an old box of stuff when I found a stash of photos. Hundreds actually, and since I had essentially forgotten they all existed, I’ve never scanned or blogged them before. It was a very weird selection, spanning years both before and after I left Australia. I assume some of them were sent to KLS by me years ago, but I’m not sure how others ended up in the box. Here’s a selection:

I’m almost positive Bernard took the above, at school, in 1988 (so I was 16). That’s SFX in the background and I’m in the school uniform. The photo was not professionally printed (it’s clearly cut from a sheet of photographic paper) so I’m guessing he took and developed it himself.

Taken in 1989 on my high-school end-of-year retreat in Bowral. Although it wasn’t my cigarette, I’ll admit to being the clown that gave it to Jesus and taking the photo. This photo was displayed in my room up until I left Australia…

This one is a real mystery. I don’t recognize the background, but I speculate it was taken (by SMC) in 1991 or 1992. I think I look pretty good in this shot!

KLS and myself during her stay in 1992. We’re all dressed up for a night out I reckon, possibly to see The Hanged Man. She’ll probably kill me for posting this shot 🙂

A late 1992 shot. This was part of a series of photos taken by SMC at Blackbutt, to send to KLS since she mentioned she had almost no photos of me. This wasn’t surprising, since my family didn’t own a camera!!!

Two shots taken at my going away party in 1992, which was held at SMCs house (and I particularly love her smile in the top shot). I’m sure some of you reading this may remember that night! The girl in the second shot (ER) was a good friend of mine in those days.

Taken on the steps of my house the day I left Australia. I had to remove these exact clothes when I was strip-searched by the LAPD at the airport upon arriving in the USA!

This one is a bit of a mystery. I have theories, but foremost is that it was taken in Buffalo (where KLS lived when I moved here) shortly after arriving. I was in America a few months before I cut off my long hair. It’s also possible Bernard took this. He may remember better than I 🙂

River Monsters

May 14, 2014

In a little under a month, KLS, Jim and myself will be crusing along the Erie canal in a rented houseboat!

The Erie canal is a man-made waterway that connects Buffalo in the extreme northwest of New York state, to New York City. It was opened almost 200 years ago and for a long while was the most important transportation thoroughfare in the state (and was instrumental in making NY the most powerful state in the country). Obviously roads, trains and air transport have mostly obsoleted the canal for commercial use, but it remains popular for recreational boaters.

Much like the British canalboats, people worked and lived on the canal in a particular type of narrow boat. Today a company near Rochester manufactures their own houseboats in the vintage style, and rents them out for 4 or 7 day cruises. I’ve known that such rentals exist for a long time, and this year finally decided it was time to try one for ourselves!

We’ll leave from very close to J&J’s house in Rochester, and cruise at a maximum speed of 6 miles a day. The rental company sent me a wonderful packet of information so we can plan the trip, and as of right now we’re probably going to head east on the canal through a more rural area, including a nature reserve. We’ll leisurely cruise for two days and then turn around and come back! The boats themselves are quite luxurious! We rented the largest they have (42 foot) that has two ‘state rooms’ (both with queen beds), a dining area, fully-equipped kitchen and a shower with hot water! The boats also include a grill for cooking on the deck, and some bicycles in case we want to moor up and explore. All we need to bring is some food and games 🙂

Here is a newspaper article about a canal cruise rental. Needless to say, you can expect to read all about our own adventures on this very blog 🙂

My Newer Glasses

April 9, 2014

I got new new glasses! Since I’m not very old, I returned the progressives in favor of single focus lenses. They are titanium, very light, not as expensive as the first pair and – best of all – don’t make me look homeless!

What do you think?