Category: Miscellaneous

“Operation ABC”

December 29, 2017

As often happens on these trips, I went to bed early last night then woke this morning around 2 am. Good thing they were showing Star Trek episodes on TV at that time because I didn’t head out for a walk until sunup a few hours later.

I walked to ‘the docklands’ via the main train station. It was quite early and the streets were empty but it was a good walk. A few hours later, after B woke, we headed out to be tourists…

The first place we visited was ACMI, a museum/gallery dedicated to the ‘moving image’, which means film, TV and video games. This was on a tip from AW and his description – “a treasure trove” – sums the place up well. It’s a fountain of nostalgia for those of us that grew up in front of Oz TV and the video came additions only sweetened the appeal.

But best of all was a display of ‘trick’ cinema techniques which included a dark smoky room with a projected laser tunnel. It was in there I got the lovely silhouette of Bernard shown above.

The ‘B’ in ABC was for Botanical Gardens. It was (only) ok but far more impressive were the views from the 88th floor of a nearby building called Eureka.

And right next door was an art gallery which we also stopped in to and were quite wowed by a few exhibits.

The ‘C’ of course was for casino, where we met PB and where Bernard won cash money and where I also managed to again win the ball-drop ticket jackpot from a redemption machine.

I’m insanely tired right now; absolutely struggling to stay awake. It’s been a long and active day (~32k steps) but it’s only 6 pm. For some reason the jetlag seems worse this year….

I Made It

December 28, 2017

This was the longest trip I’ve ever done. Four flights and over 35 hours in total it’s not something I’m keen on ever repeating! But I made it safe and sound and am now in Melbourne.

First impressions are that it’s much like Sydney only even more multicultural? But to be honest yesterday (it’s 3 am) was a fugue due to jet lag and loss of sleep, so it could be anyway outside this hotel room.

I met this character. You’ll see more of him in the days ahead….

The Stamp Collector (Final Part)

December 23, 2017

This series turned out longer and more work than anticipated but as we all know, all good things must come to an end.

The largest portion of my stamp ‘collection’ is still affixed to the hundreds of postcards I have stored together in a box. From all over the world and spanning over twenty years, these contain a fascinating selection of stamps and cancellations.

The New Zealand stamps on the postcards sent by Bernard were quite special and varied, but I also like the mini airmail stamp attached to the Swiss stamp and the (very unique!) Death Valley cancellation.

There’s those Star Wars stamps attached to a postcard I sent from Hawaii a decade ago. There’s the only postcard I ever received from Italy (and boring at that) followed by an example of my creative stamping from England.

Those were both from Oz last year, and you may have seen these on your cards? Australia seems to have doubled down on large and lavish animal stamps these past years, and I always seek them out to include them on postcards.

In fact I’ve got no problem whatsoever eating up large portions of the back of a postcard with lovely stamps…. like this:

Which is another specimen I sent KLS last year. I’ve done the above several times over the years, but this one may be my masterpiece!

One thing I’ve learned doing research for this series is that while collectors prefer stamps to be as pristine as possible, there are certain stamps that are more collectible if they had been used for postage. This is why I particularly like the ones attached to my postcards, since they were used to mail stuff to me!

In a few days I’m off to Australia again. This time, when you get your postcards, spare a moment to appreciate the stamps. It’s likely I put as much thought into them as I did the card itself or even what I wrote on it.

I hope you found this series interesting. I ended up much farther down the rabbit hole than I ever expected, and at times even I couldn’t see light, but I’m glad I’m out now and can move on with the usual topics 🙂

Robot Claw