Robot Claw

Fort Scratchley

May 25th, 2024

I’ve been wanting to visit Fort Scratchley for many years since I’ve got fond memories of the place from my youth. Yesterday I went with Kirsten and Lance to see a temporary outdoor sculpture exhibit.

There were dozens (over a hundred?) pieces of art all around the fort, and there’s some sort of contest where viewers can vote on their favourites. Almost all of them are for sale as well, with the above piece only $69,000!

This was my favourite. I forget what it was called, but this delightful 1.5 meter creation depicting a knight on an emu is for me in honor of the Great Emu War of 1932, a very dark part of Australian History. Sadly it was not for sale, although I’m not sure I could have fit the 150 kg masterpiece in my suitcase.

The fort affords a wonderful view of Nobbys and the harbour, and while it looks a little gloomy in the photo the weather was nice. Alas the usual historical exhibits seem to have been put aside for the duration of the art installation, and I must come back another time to see the fort itself.

Happily one thing not temporarily closed was the daily firing of the 1 am time gun, and we had the best ‘seats’ in the house. It was dramatic and louder than expected: so much so I dropped my phone on a child and made them cry!

On the way out we saw this handsome crow eating his takeaway McDonald’s high on a light post. Alas he was a litterbug and tossed the packaging onto the ground. When next you see litter on the ground and reflect on the bestiality of the person you may presume had thrown it there, be mindful it may not have been a person after all!

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“Oh What A Lovely Day”

May 24th, 2024

Saw Furiosa with Sue yesterday, on the giant ‘Vmax’ screen at Kotara. The seats were comfortable but the cinema was cold; probably the coldest I’ve felt yet this trip! I smuggled in a Chokito and a Wolverine coke can, although I use the term lightly since no one was checking anything and I probably could have lugged in a haunch of roasted meat.

The film was wonderful, and makes me want to rewatch all five Mad Max films again in order. I fear this may be the last Mad Max film, which will be a shame since it does a lot of weird worldbuilding that I’d like to see more of. Let’s hope Wasteland – the rumoured sixth film based around Max himself – is made.

I want to see Furiosa again actually. Maybe I’ll soon get a chance…

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“McFeasting With The Heroes”

May 23rd, 2024

We returned to Newcastle yesterday (in a car driven by one of Chris Hemsworth’s private drivers!) and since it was an unremarkable day this is as good a time as any to provide an update on the Happy Meal situation down here.

Astonishingly, the current promotion is a collaboration between Yu-Gi-Oh and Hello Kitty. This is apparently a worldwide Happy Meal promotion although it has so far only launched in Australia and a couple of European countries.

I had no idea what I’d find inside and was surprised to see a boxed toy! I would later get a second meal so I’ve now received two of the toys:

They’re surprisingly well made little stuffed toys. There’s apparently ten in total but – and I’ve checked – no Gudetama. I like/hate them enough I’ll probably try to get more 🙂

Another Maccas visit gave me this strange box. It’s got a variety of Warners Brothers characters on it and refers to ‘multi versus’ event. You may also note that it is heavily perforated, and indeed the box itself is part of the toy:

It converts into an arena in which the characters on the box ‘fight’. Adam would love this since he’s such a big fan of ~~Wonder Woman~~ Bugs Bunny so perhaps I should have saved it for him? The toys for this promotion were little metal tins but apparently the Maccas had run out since that’s when I got my second Yu-Gi-Oh toy.

Stay tuned (perhaps) for a similar update on the Japanese Happy Meal situation in a couple of weeks or so…

Posted in Food, Trip | 1 Comment »

Willy Wonking

May 22nd, 2024

I can’t resist a good card-dropper, but I’ve played out the DC Comics and Star Wars versions and they’re dead to me. Yesterday my eye lingered on this Willy Wonka version:

With six play areas surely there would be one with a few cards ready to drop? A quick perusal found this was indeed the case. Behold this imminent avalanche:

Not one but two Wonka cards! “Surely it couldn’t be that difficult to win one?” I thought. Surely it couldn’t cost that much? I walked away, then back, then away again at which point the girl at the counter smiled at me and I was lost: I had to win that Wonka!

At this point the very logical question would be “Why?” Why would I want these cards? The simple answer is I don’t. The fun here is the winning, not the prize itself. The release of endorphins when the cards fall is addictive, but perhaps you have to play one of these machines yourself to understand. Thank god the vast majority of these machines are based on licenses I care less about else I’d be in trouble. I mean even a Willy Wonka machine coaxed some cash out of me today!

In the end it took me ‘only’ $20 to win the Wonka cards. And it was very close, with the final fall of three cards happening when I had only a few coins left to drop. I could go into some detail about the player-thwarting refinements in the basic engineering of the ramp or back wall but suffice to say I mastered it quickly (as I always have) and that $20 was less than I daresay it may have taken most.

In addition to the five cards (I got two Wonkas) my $20 had earned me 46 tickets, with potentially another 250 tickets from redeeming (turning in) the five cards. A quick look through the shop showed 46 tickets weren’t even enough for a single Chupa Chup and even with the potential additional 250 tickets the options were less than worthless.

The cashier girl smiled at me again and I walked away.

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Sydney Too

May 22nd, 2024

I awoke before dawn with a man’s hunger and at 5:30 am was in the 24-hour George street McDonald’s. The place was full of villains, wastrels and people that had clearly made bad decisions, myself included. A man washed the floor half-heartedly and I felt a twinge of guilt as my footsteps ruined his work. I ordered my breakfast and stood somewhere my back was protected. A particularly scurrilous rogue watched me intently while trying to appear as if he wasn’t. His gaze grew keener when I got my ‘food’, and I ate under a stare not dissimilar to this:

The bacon was thin and gamey, the egg almost tolerable and the cheese dry and cracking. Worst by far was the muffin, which I suspect had been used for some weeks to prop up a table leg. The hash brown tasted of regret and the watery Diet Coke was barely enough to wash the mess into my stomach. All this under the covetous glare of a starving reprobate, who wandered off after my last bite. I should have given him the food, which ultimately required two 6 am chomp bars to erase the taste. It was a miracle they weren’t themselves chased by an entire bag of cheese and onion chips.

Today was more shopping with mum in the morning (lots of books) before she met her friend for a cuppa and I took off by myself to whirlwind tour my usual spots.

I wandered down to Darling Harbour (which worsens and improves every year) through to Paddies where I saw the above astonishing set of action figures (Red Batman? Zorro? A luchidor?). Paddies is absolutely in decline, and I wonder how many more years it can survive.

After reuniting with mum and making sure she was safe and sound in the hotel I headed down to circular quay and on a whim hopped on a ferry for a brief jaunt back to Darling Harbour. As you can see the weather was wonderful and it was a lovely little cruise. I should ride on more boats!