My UFO Sighting

September 8th, 2022

Earlier this year when I was in Australia, I saw a UFO. Or perhaps three UFO’s. I didn’t write about it then because I had forgotten, so it’s time to remedy that.

It was late May or early June. I was walking along the Newcastle Harbour foreshore toward Nobby’s. It was bright and sunny, and there were lots of people walking and cycling. I was taking some photos of the ferry, so I was approaching the dock from the west. All of a sudden, three silver objects noiselessly flew quickly over me.

Here are my impressions:

  • They were moving fairly quickly in a roughly eastern direction out to sea, and there was no noise at all.
  • They were silver or at the least light gray or white. They seemed reflective, and while they seemed elongated it was difficult to determine their exact shape.
  • They seemed to twist and turn around their individual axes, and the trio of objects seemed to rotate together or at least turn in formation.
  • The more I watched them the more I wasn’t sure I was looking at multiple objects or one (possibly connected by parts I could not see).
  • I couldn’t determine their height. I couldn’t tell if they were small and closer to the ground or large and higher up.

The above photo shows their path as best I recall. I watched them for maybe 30 seconds, and even tried to take some photos (in which they weren’t visible). Due to the bright sun and the reflective nature of the objects they became difficult to see as they moved away from me, and I lost site of them probably around the time they left the harbour.

I wasn’t the only one who saw them, since I observed two men ahead of me pointing towards them and watching as well.

At the time, I had no idea what I was watching. In my mind I assumed they were simply something that I could not identify, but not for one instant did I consider they were something no-one could identify. For me therefore, they were literally UFOs, but I never considered that they were UFOs for everyone. I was certainly intrigued by them, and wished I had taken some video, but to be honest they left my mind quickly. I didn’t even write about them on a postcard, which seems unusual.

Before writing this post I did a bit of research, and confirmed that there was no scheduled fighter jet activity from Williamstown on or about Newcastle in late May or early June. Even though nothing about the objects suggested ‘jets’ to me, I wanted to consider the most obvious explanation. Thinking about the objects now, my guess would be drones, although I’m not aware of drones that can fly so fast and with such range, and as I said I couldn’t estimate the size when I saw them. I suppose other exotic explanations may exist: I did see a gyrocopter flying over Newcastle baths only a few days prior!

I was reminded of this incident after speaking with a colleague about UFOs. I was struck by the fact that this had happened to me, and I definitely saw physical things (or a thing) that I could not – and still can’t – identify flying over a major city, and it didn’t seem like a big deal and was forgotten by the end of the day. This gives me a new perspective on UFO sightings: how often do others see curious objects in the sky, wonder for a minute or so and then just go on with their lives?

To the Novocastrians reading: have you ever seen anything like this? If so, what was it?

Ten Things We Saw At The Fair

August 30th, 2022

Once again we went to the Dutchess County Fair, about 90 minutes from where we live. It was the last day of the fair, very busy and very hot! Here’s some of what we saw…

The fair means farm animals, and after a few Covid-affected years they were back in full force. These pigs were very cute since when mum rolled over to stop feeding several began wrestling with each other which was very funny!

Fairs also mean produce contests, and this was perhaps the most striking display. Since we went on the last day this year much of the produce had spoiled, and it was amusing seeing first place ribbons attached to rotten veggies!

This is the most unusual stuffed toy you could win at the carnival games. It’s Bob Ross! It was fairly big (maybe 1 m tall) and as you can see has his trademark palette in his left hand. Would children really want this?

It’s the General Lee, automobile ‘star’ of The Dukes of Hazard tv show. While the show itself was light-hearted and family friendly, this car is now controversial due to the confederate flag (a hate symbol) on the roof. In fact it’s against NY state law to display this flag on fairgrounds, and yet there it was.

This first-prize-winning art is pretty good for a 25-year old wouldn’t you say? I actually had a wealth of… interesting art I could have displayed here, but the age on this one was impossible to ignore πŸ™‚

The rides were good as usual, but there wasn’t anything particularly new to see. The paint on this ‘Diesel Punk’ funhouse was spectacular though. Is that Tank Girl in the lower right? What about the other two; what are the origins of those characters?

Here I am enjoying a calm moment with a polar bear.

And here’s a handsome chicken. Look at his blue cheek! There were a great many birds to be seen, including exotic show pigeons. We also saw baby cows, rabbits, sheep, goats, llamas, guinea pigs, camels, snakes and turtles πŸ™‚

In the landscaping contest was this entry done by a fountain company. They had converted a rusted old truck into a fountain and water was gushing out of the engine and cab. It was extremely well done, with all the pipes and tubes cleverly hidden. I bet they’ll get a lot of business as a result!

Here’s Kristin enjoying a slice of pickle pizza! She said it was strange at first, but got better the more she ate and afterwards she said she liked it so much she may try making one herself. As usual there was a vast amount of typical ‘fair food’ on offer (I had a hot dog, roasted corn and a donut) and it was difficult to choose.

As usual we had fun, even if the heat became oppressive. It’s great fairs are back to normal again: maybe next year we’ll go to an even bigger one!

New Car!

August 28th, 2022

We bought a new car. We’d wanted one for a while, but the ongoing pandemic production/shipping situation made us wait. Happily though, the wait ended yesterday and this is now ours:

It’s a 2022 Forester Wilderness. It’s our fourth Forester and fifth Subaru and it’s the fanciest we’ve owned so far with lots of extras. Some of the notable features the car has that are new to us is a powered rear gate, independent driver/passenger air conditioning and the ability to share your phone screen to the cars (large) touchscreen. The Wilderness designation means it’s got some off-roading abilities as well, that we’ll never use!

We traded in our third Forester, which was going on thirteen years old and a bit long in the tooth now:

For the last several months every time I drove this guy I was a little nervous since the engine always sounded like it was about to die. I’m sure they’ll fix him up and he’ll have a good few years left for a new owner πŸ™‚

We seem to buy a new car every six to seven years, and I hope the next one is at least a partial electric vehicle. Come back in 2029 and find out!

Cock-of-the-rock

August 19th, 2022

I’m in the city that never sleeps, which seems an appropriate moniker right now since it’s already tomorrow and I’m still awake. It’s been a long day πŸ™‚

I came down for an end-of-summer trip, and to visit two observation lookouts. Let’s compare them.

The first was One Vanderbilt, which is the big silver skyscraper you can see in the middle (towering over the library in Bryant Park). The observation levels are the 91st through 93rd floors, and the experience is accompanied by an art installation that begins the moment the lift doors open and you notice the mirrored floors.

This gives a startling impression of walking on air while inside the building, and momentarily draws your attention away from the striking views just outside the windows.

It’s very high (1300 feet) and the views are in every direction. As you can see it was lovely today (a bit hot actually) and I could see forever from up there! Can you see the Empire State Building in the above photo?

As you move through the various levels of the observatory there are other art installations, like the ‘bubble room’ and a room with a giant video screen showing creepy living clouds. But I was mostly taken by the views, which were fantastic.

That’s Bryant Park, with my hotel the black one on the left side. I’m in there right now typing this entry!

There were loads of people and I had to be a sneaky little rat to get clean photos. But I was amused by the abundance of girls posing for their Instagram snaps or making TikTok videos. I suppose that’s what you do these days?

Overall, it was a wonderful lookout and is highly recommended.

Later in the day – after dinner – I visited Top Of The Rock at Rockefeller Center. This is a more famous and popular lookout than the previous, and consequently had many more people. That said I didn’t have significant waits at either site, possibly because I bought tickets in advance.

No art installation here, just views. It was past sunset when I went up, and the city lights were already on. You get access to the three highest levels, each of which have outdoor sections, and one of which is mostly open (not even glass shields). At 800 feet it’s not as tall as Vanderbilt, but being outside gives it a different sort of thrill.

A word on the elevators for each of these towers: they were super fast and super smooth. Vanderbilt had a crazy light show which simulated movement since the lift was so smooth you could barely feel the acceleration, and Rockefeller had a glass ceiling and a lit lift shaft so you could appreciate how fast the lift whizzed up!

I stayed on top until it got darker, but there were just so many people it wasn’t easy to relax and I was deeply exhausted after my long day. So I bade goodbye to the lovely views, but not before imaging living at these heights (or even higher, like the apartment buildings visible in the photo two above)!

That photo shows both (Vanderbilt on the left) viewed from the other. I’ve circled the observation levels. If you’re only visiting one, I’d suggest Vanderbilt (since it’s higher and has the funky mirrored floors), but if you like lookouts then both are absolutely worth the visit. I enjoyed them both so much I may have to one day visit the other two I haven’t yet gone to here in NYC!

As I’ve said it was a busy day with lots of other stuff I could write about but I’m almost asleep so I’ll leave it here. Happy end-of-summer πŸ™‚

Ramen 19: Stop In The Name Of Ramen

August 16th, 2022

No soup this time, but a few more ramen-adjacent items I’ve acquired on my travels.

I bought the above in Australia. It was one of those things that come ‘free’ with a Japanese magazine, and is a Cup Noodle ‘purse’ (based on the photo of the girl using it as a purse). Naturally it’s an insane item to use as a purse, so I’m displaying it here as a ‘ramen carrier’. It’s a nifty thing, with nice printing in and out and a cute fork-shaped zipper pull. Of course I have no actual use for it πŸ™‚

Here’s another ‘noodle stopper’, displayed in the intended position. This is now my second such figurine, and was a prize from a (type of) UFO machine in Sydney. Sue watched bemusedly as I loaded $1 coins into the machine at a good clip, and I’m sure she shared my joy when it only cost me $52 to ‘win’ it. Naturally I’ll never use it to steep noodles, and it will live happily on my shelf forever.

This last item was a surprise! I’d never seen a noodle stopper for sale here, so when I saw this double pack at Kino in NYC a couple of months ago I had to have it. Here’s a closer look at the contents:

A cute pair of noodle stoppers, and it even comes with a fake ‘cup noodle’ for them to sit on! These are of course sisters Ram and Rem from the anime Re:Zero (which I’ve never watched) and are amongst the most licensed characters in animation these days. The pair cost me less than the previous figure. So I have four noodle stoppers now, who sit on the edges of shelves. I think this is enough πŸ™‚

Next installment some more chicken noodles. Stay tuned…