My Occasion

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ARCHIVE 8

16th January 2002 to 31st March 2004

The World Economy's health is predicated on the assumption, that the Chinese Economy will continue to grow. This, in turn, is dependent on the Chinese State remaining stable.

However, China suffers increasing stresses: [1] The mass of impoverished workers & farmers, as against the small rich minority with increasingly obscene levels of wealth; [2] The Middle Class Intelligensia, who crave freedom of thought. [3] The oppressed ethnic minorities, especially in the west, who suffer under the rascist rule of the current regime.

One or more of these stresses will cause crumbling of state power, in the not to distant future. A lie can only be lived for so long.

Playing on CD, is the "Pianoforte Concertos" of Johann Christian Bach. Delightful! That he strongly influenced Mozart is clear.

Yesterday's Local Government elections brought one most expected result. Clover Moore is now Lord Mayor of Sydney, as well as the MLA for Bligh, in the New South Wales parliament.

Sydney & South Sydney Councils were forcibly amalgamted. A very unpopular move by the Labor State Government. So naturally Labor was severely punished.

Clover Moore was a certainty, once she had nominated. Although an Independent, she fits well in to a long Labor tradition of Inner Eastern MLAs, stretching back to Eddie Ward and before. They are known by their abrasive brashness on one hand, and their dedicated work for their constituents, on the other.

Glad to hear that NASA has finally caught up to me on the matter of waves, in a once existing Martian sea. Please refer to my Occasional Thought of 26th January, 2004.

Wolfgang Razorbeak, the James Dean of the Budgie world, had his beak trimmed today. It is necessary, as his upper beak grows inside his lower beak, not outside as it should. If it was not trimmed, three or four times a year, he would eventually be unable to eat.

As I have moved residence, the trip to Cremorne Veterinary Hospital, now involves a bus trip, then a ferry, & another bus to get there. And of course, the reverse on return. Wolfgang was a little edgy on the bus, but he seemed to enjoy the ferry. The beak trim itself, he took as a great grievance. He made this vocally very clear.

The final lunch-hour Concert at the Conservatorium, as this is only possible for me during my holidays. As usual, the performances excelled. The stage management was unusually sporadic, however, with confusion over the exact venue, and some long pauses between performances.

Petersham is not the most spectacular nor energetic of Sydney's suburbs. But this inner western locality has three points of prominence, at least in my eyes.

[1] It has an unusual soil type, in a quite small area, centred on its Railway Station.

[2] This soil type has the sole natural occurrence of a very rare Grevillea species. It only survives at all, as the Railways has a goods yard here, in which some land is left uncleared.

[3] The Petersham Liquor Mart, where one can purchase European wines and spirits, not otherwise easily obtainable. Today I bought some very pleasant tasting, albeit potent Makedonian Wine - T'ga Za Jug.

Today I made the lunchtime concert at the Conservatorium of Music. It was the "Keyboard Unit" which means mostly Piano, and in the case of this Concert, all Piano.

Completing five correspondence chess games should be some sanction for satisfaction. But three of the moves were immediately clear. The other two, took but a trice longer. Some time was taken, albeit, in considering the possibilities of what may happen next, in the realm of the possibly unexpected!

Australian Chamber Orchestra - Sydney Opera House.
Their Artistic Director, Richard Tognetti, conducted.

Another rush! This time from the Greshem Street bus terminus to the Concert Hall. During the first half of Brahms & Beethoven, my blood sugar increasingly declined, and I was threatening to fall asleep. I caught myself falling, momentarily, several times. With each of these, near instantly, I brought myself quite vertical with a snap. The music? I heard it clearly & attentively, at all the times while this was happening. The interval saw me consume a considerable amount of the sugared items! So, for the second half, I was much the more alert in my faculties beyond my hearing, which was unimpaired throughout. It was J.S. Bach, plus George Lentz' new work.

Such a concert leaves me with relaxed satisfaction, with evenness of my mind. I only wish that it extends its application, to let me extend my application to other matters.

Australia is an islamist terror target.
New Zealand is not an islamist terror target.

Late by a minute, for the start of the final year students' concert, at the Conservatorium of Music. There were only two students & it lasted but twelve minutes. Yet the quality was quite unaffected.

Disempowering to the nth degree, is one's immobilisation, on a bus, in stalled traffic. It was the would be turning traffic, unable to turn into Market Street, which caused the traffic lights to move, through green & amber & red, to green again, whilst we moved not!

Beethoven's "Triple Concerto" was the concert in 2002, with the same Orchestra at the same venue, which I missed, since it was sold out. I sat outside the Concert Hall, listening through the speakers, broadcasting from the Hall. Today I was inside, in a good seat. And it was the same three soloists in Beethoven's Concert for Piano Trio: Susie Park [violin]; Li-Wei [cello]; Andrea Lam [piano]. Very much I enjoyed this performance. And this, despite a sadly noisy audience. One must expect such with a 6.30pm start.

The pianist, Andrea Lam, I had heard playing Rachmaninov's "Piano Concerto" in 2001, with this same Orchestra, but under the baton of Edo de Waart.

Then followed Lim's "Street of Crocodiles", which I grew to admire as I began to understand it. As an antidote to modern music, next was Ravel's "Pavane For A Dead Princess", which is 19th century schmalz to the utmost, but had at least brevity as its virtue. Without a break, we entered Ravel's "Bolero". This work is often clichéd to ridicule. But hearing the full composition, performed by an Orchestra which is "fantastico" [to quote their conductor!] reveals this work's true vigour & artistry.

How depressing! Much of this day was spent trying to keep my blood sugar from surging too high. Yet I did, after yet another ticket purchase at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra office, cross the road, and ascend a slight hill, to the Australian Museum. The special event was the Wildlife Photography Exhibition - Animals & Plants. Even despite my unwellness, I did enjoy.

Then I took the opportunity to borrow, from the Chatswood Municipal Library, two books of Old Testament Apocrypha, and one on Wisdom Texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

And later I bought, at a discount place, an Eloquence CD for five dollars, which contains Schubert songs - "Winterreise". I like it, even though others obviously do not. Hence the discounting.

This CD I bought last night, at the concert. Early this afternoon, I played it for the first. Lacey played Recorders, naturally. Høxbro played Tabor, Tabor Pipes, Irish Bones & Antique Wrist Bells. The music is mediaeval, from manuscripts in the British Museum. Mostly these are anonymous, sometimes arranged by Høxbro; albeit the last two tracks are compositions by Hildegard Van Bingen. It calmed me muchly. But the effect of the Budgies astonished me. Never have they been so quiet!

In the end, it was good to rest my weary limbs, while the delightful tones of Genevieve Lacey's baroque recorder wended with the those of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

Regarding Rossini: I confess to some considerable ignorance here, as I had thought that he was Romantic, but he is actually Classical, and a contemporary of Beethoven & Schubert. Also, he is not the lightweight I imagined: with a first class orchestra, one can see the strength of his compostion.

But most of all: I learnt how a plain woman like Daniela Barcellona, can, through sheer power, especially of her voice, but also of her acting & personality, convince an audience that she is the beautiful heroine that the lyrics insist.

Earlier in the day, at 1.10pm, I was at the final year students' concert, at the Conservatorium of Music. It actually extended to 34 minutes. Cello, Voice, Double Bass. Most appreciated!

Hemishere Switching! I have known about it for about two years, after hearing of it on ABC Radio National's "Science Show". But tonight it was on ABC TV's "Catalyst". So perhaps it will now receive the recognition it so truly deserves.

A long mid-morning walk, to get my unexpectedly high blood pressure down, was enlightened by a diversion into Saint Mark's Church at Darling Point. The yellow stars on the blue ceiling, above the altar, were very charming. And Saint Mark's has bell ringers.

One week plus has passed in my holiday. Passed too quickly! So I shall spurn a quick ordering of my new home, instead to concentrate on breaking routines! For this is the only way to extend time; particle accelerators and such aside.

Only just in time: Schubert Society's first concert of the year, at Saint Peter's Church in North Sydney. The works, for Piano [Ben Martin] & Cello [Hartmut Lindemann], were very relaxing. There were two èncores, which is probably a record for Australia. The church building is of convict hewn arkose-sandstone.

Indeed I did make it to the Conservatorium of Music at 1.10pm, for the final year students: piano; voice; piano. This was enjoyable.

At 8pm, I also made it to the Sydney Opera House, for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with Gelmetti conducting Liszt & Brahms. Michele Campanella played piano for Liszt's 2nd Piano Concerto & the Dance Of Death. No piano work by Liszt is easy to play, and yet it is not enough merely to hit the right keys with the correct timing. Campanella played with the assurance of touch which these works demand. The second half of the concert was Brahms 2nd Symphony; and this I enjoyed, although I do not buy Brahms on CD.

It is not his music I hate, but Brahms himself!
Depressing qualities in his character
come clearly through in his composition.

Actually, "made it" means "arrived only just in time". Being so close to venues now, has sadly made me overly optimistic has to the time it takes me to travel to a concert.

The most pleasant incident for me today, was a brief excursion to the Conservatorium of Music, which is most attractively set as an enclave in that greenscape, where the Botanic Gardens meet the Government House Gardens. But the flora was not the main reason for my pleasure. Rather, I obtained the Conservatorium's concert programme . The Friday lunchtime performances, by the final year students, have their 2004 debut tomorrow. In my holidays, last year, they gave me a small sweet joy. I shall be there for the first of the new season!

Opportunity Rover. So those white layered rocks have high levels of salt. Well, that concludes it. There are not of volcanic origin; and not wind blown deposits; they must have been water laid. Salt is like that. If you do not agree, feel free to check the Geology texts.

The different coloured inclusions in this small rock outcrop must then be a secondary effect, long after deposition. Most likely this is something to do with groundwater.

Oh! By the way, I still stand by first suggestion that, whatever the composition of the rock, they are a wave cut platform. A small platform, with little waves; albeit essentially the same as are seen up and down the coast of New South Wales.

Chess. This Gnat is drinking once more. I have adopted an old approach to the the white side of the Queen's Gambit, which was popular in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Rubenstein & Capablanca essayed it often. It is [1] d2-d4 d7-d5 [2] Ng1-f3. this is rather than the usual second move of c2-c4. It avoids the sharp & complex lines of the Albin Counter Gambit, [2] c2-c4 e7-35, which I badly miscarried with white against Malcolm Stephens, in the 2003 Candidates. I will aim for, with white, as absolute a solidity as possible.

With black, I will attempt to gain positions which are well structured and flexible, as a slight disavantage is what you expect with the dark pieces. So I meet [1] e2-e4 with c7-c6, the Caro-Kann Defence. Famously, Botvinnik took this up when he was "too old" to play the French Defence, [2] ... e7-e6. And I am meeting [1] d2-d4 with the King's Indian Defence, which is an old favourite of mine.

I had been asleep, dropped through a somnambulance, both sudden and unexpected. Then I had to go Neutral Bay, and on return I was not much more awake. At 5.00pm, shortly after leaving Kings Cross Railway Station, I found myself browsing round and round "Warped Records", at the corner of Bayswater Road and Kennett Street. This was odd, as they have a bent towards musical styles which irritate me, such as Hip-Hop. Still, I continued looking briefly at things I would not buy. Finally I went to leave, when this thought popped into my head: "Do they have Flying Teapot?" I returned to the small general section; and the letter "G". Much to my surprise, there was: Gong - "Flying Teapot". It had been discounted to $9.95, from $24.95. I bought it, of course.

Was this "secret knowledge" of the Gong CD, an example of ESP? Well, I am hardly psychic enough to know.

It is three in the morning. As I listen to English Football commentary on ABC NewsRadio, I work my way through housework & computer updates & chess analysis & even perhaps, moving furniture to more friendly positions!

6.18pm - In Disembarkation Park in Point Piper, I saw a rather ragged looking Willy Wagtail, which had killed a Dragonfly. No mean meal for this little bird. It was hard at work, belting the dead insect against the concrete kerb, to break it in to pieces small enough to eat.

Eleven and a half hours sleep! I was gaining back that slumber, which I have forgone. However, I was left rather exhausted for much of the day, rather than fresh.

But I did manage to actually sit down for breakfast at Cafè Hernandez, to have a coffee and a friand. With this I read, from my copy of Saki's short stories, the forward by Graham Greene [which is my favourite piece by Greene] and that masterpiece of Saki's black wit: "Sredni Vashtar".

Then as I lay down, uninspired, after arriving home, I read Saki's "The She-Wolf" - one of his mischievious Clovis tales.

Mid morning. - I walked up New south Head Road to Edgecliffe for the first time, since moving to Rushcutters Bay. On the way I saw, "Flags With Flair". They used to have a shop in Cremorne Junction, where I bought my Eureka Flag.

Early afternoon. - While I often witnessed furniture abandoned in Rangers Road in Neutral Bay, I was quite unprepared for what I saw abandoned in Elizabeth Bay today - a Piano. An Upright, it is true, and not a Grand.

Cassini Spacecraft is finally approaching Saturn, after all these years of silent travel through the void. It is expected to be in Saturn's ambit, as July 2004 begins. However, it is only in October 2004, that it will orbit Titan and drop that probe to the surface. Titan may well have liquid methane lakes on a water ice surface, under a methane sky. Beneath the ice there is likely to be a water ocean. It is frustrating to be wait so long to learn what is there; to see the photos; to read the analyses.

At ~8.00pm, I found myself at the corner of Oxford Street & South Dowling Street, in that area where Darlinghurst melds to Paddington. It was a dank twilight, under close set pearl grey clouds, traversing the sky with relentless sodden intent. As I looked northwards, dozens of Fruit Bats winged their jagged flight across the high roof of the Catholic Church. It was a strange mystical ambience.

Whenever "news" of the Iranian election comes on the radio or television, I switch off. The result was grossly rigged by those murderous bearded agents of Darkness. Thus the election is meaningless.

Yet, if the reformers were not so gutless, the end result would have been most different. They are poorly lead.

As for the ironically named "spiritual leader" of Iran, with his praising the result! Well, how far can hypocracy go?

Finally I have the stereo set up, and at last I can hear the wonderful recording of the Pinchgut Opera's performance of Purcell's "The Fairy Queen". This is a single CD with four works, which was recorded live last year. Whether or not it was recorded at the performance which I attended, is not known to me. The CD was gifted to me in January this year, by the said Pinchgut Opera.

Prior to this achievement of electrical connection, the Budgies and myself were well entertained by the radio: 2MBS-FM and ABC Classic FM.

I made it to the New South Wales Art Gallery at 1pm. It was the last day of the "Caravaggio And His Times" exhibition. Carvaggio's still life of fruit was much to my liking, as he painted every flaw, as well as virtue. His painting of John The Baptist differed from those of the other artists, as Caravaggio has John with a downcast frown, raher than an aetherial gaxe at the heavens.

Some of the other artists were good, but some a bit ordinary. And one, Artemesia Gentileschi is exceptional. Her "Judith Slaying Holofernes" awestruck me with its power. Artemesia teaches one how to slay a demon, for she has painted herself as Judith. For me, it is easily the best picture in the exhibition. Her "Cleopatra" is also outstanding. She shows extraordinary courage in painting herself, no classical beauty, as Cleopatra. She is someone I would love to have known.

At 2pm, I had to rapidly make my way, down through the Botanic Gardens to the Sydney Opera House. The Australian Chamber Orchestra [ACO] played its last Sydney performance of it first programme for the year. It centred around Mozart, without actually having any music by Mozart! The first half was Haydn & C.P.E. Bach, both of whom influenced Mozart; while the second half was Tchaikovsky & Schubert, in works in which they were strongly influenced by Mozart. This was all an intense pleasure for me in my front row subscriber's seat, which I have for each & every concert this year. And there was an éncore: the 2nd movement of Vivaldi's Autumn Concerto, of the famous Four Seasons.

This morning at 10am, the missing tooth filling was replaced. Then, at home, I was so exhausted I had to lie down for nearly two hours. Yet, after this, there was some progress on the "ordering the disaster" on the home front. Some, but I would have hoped for more!

I had the inspection on my former residence today. I feel a sense of relief. However, disordered as this move has been, it is still an improvement on my previous move.

Strange how all this chaos with the Sydney rail system, resulted from the Transport Minister's desperate attempts to blame the driver for the Waterfall derailment. Instead, it was the deadman's brake not working. The Minister should do the decent thing and resign.

Those Microbes in Martian Meteorites: I was convinced they were so, all the time, as the organic origin was always more credible than the inorganic origin. We should have the guts to be truly Scientists and apply Ockham's Razor!

But now, in the March 2004 edition of Australasian Science [Volume 25; Number 2], research by Dr Tony Taylor [ANSTO*] and Professor John Barry [University of Queensland] have found the same kinds of Microbes, in the Martian Meteorite ALH 84001. Using new techniques involving Ultraviolet Light,they have been able to resolve the Microbes in much greater detail, which puts the issue utterly beyond doubt. Oddly, most in the world seem unaware of this.

Off work again. But I feel better than yesterday, albeit still not that well. The Antibiotics do seem to be working.

Late last night, I noticed that the left side of my face had swollen up to double that of the right. Abscess, of either a tooth root or sinus.

That kind of Sunday. Hungarians are probably topping themselves én masse, in the alleyways of Old Buda.

The Queensland election came in as expected, with the Beattie Labor Government winning comfortably. But the the size of the victory was a surprise, with the majority only marginally down on the previous election. The amusing thing was listening to the National Party identities saying what a good result it was for them - which sounded quite infinitely hollow.

The Budgies are back in to the Sitting Room, but closer to the French Louvres. They can see out a little, and are grateful for this.

[I moved the Budgies to the Kitchen on Monday 9th February, to allow
possessions to be moved into the flat more easily - 28th February 2004.]

I have developed a new extreme sport: watering the plants. But I do it in the dark, using a glass water jug, and frequenting trails which make a jungle path, in comparsion, seem a simple traverse.

NASA has a press release, in today's Sydney Morning Herald, saying that the layers in that White Martian Rock [which is under the electronic gaze of Opportunity Rover] are too thin to be Lava. Lava? I knew that already.

The White Martian Rock with the fine layers is a Volcanic Tuff, which is created from Volcanic Ash settling on the ground after an eruption. The small inclusions, of an entirely different rock type, within this white rock are Volcanic Bombs. These are small lumps of Lava which are thrown into the air by the eruption and land amongst the Ash. A rock outcrop of this type can be seen on Mount Stuart, near Townsville in North Queensland.

Yesterday the key twisted and broke in the storeroom. This is an absolute first occurence for me. So everything has had to go into the unit. Movement is very difficult. The Budgies were relocated to the kitchen benches before everything came inside.

It is 1.13am. Progress is slow. Yet I refuse to panic, as panic achieves nothing but self-distress. Instead, I work to a point, and when the point comes, all will be packed for the removalists. Which includes this PC on which I write, and this will be interesting, as it objects to being switched off, which will be a neccessity, naturally.

I am planning to spend the night awake, making by smallish degrees for my move tomorrow morning, post dawn.

On ABC [Australia] News Radio, "Star Stuff". There was talk of Olympus Mons and its origin. I would have thought the answer is obvious. Olympus Mons is Mars' Hawaii. It sits over a hot spot, but as Mars has no plate tectonics, and the weathering & erosion is much milder than on Earth, Olympus Mons has had the oppotunity to grow much larger than Hawaii.

Strange that moving certain small birds should be such an involved process. In a perfect world, I would give them directions and they would just fly.

Anyway, they got to their new home by taxi, and I am sure the younger generation will not readily forgive me!

That India has so far, seemingly escaped the so called "Bird Flu Virus" is interesting. It is certainly a clue as to the nature of the virus' spread. Perhaps there are wild geese or duck migrations which spread the disease, but do not venture this direction. Or maybe, despite WHO's dismissal of the idea, other animals are also involved. Pigs would explain why China, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan have the flu, but India does not. However, the problem here is that the flu is in Sumatra & Java, which are not much known for their dosmetic pig populations; albeit there are many species of wild pigs in their ever diminshing forests.

Be that as it may, the close keeping of poultry next to human homes is a common factor in all the infected countries. Perhaps this husbandry practice is not the case on the Indian sub-continent.

Tuesday's Democratic Primaries, which results came through yesterday afternoon in Australia, were very predictable. Senator Kerry's momentum should continue to continue, with the exceptions of local favoured son results, as in South Carolina and Oklahoma. The support for Kerry shows how much Democrats want George Bush Junior defeated in November. The rest of the Democratic nomination process is mere anti-climax, barring a most unlikely catastrophic stumble by Kerry.

The logic of running an austere peace-loving Vietnam veteran, against a profligate warmongering person, who careful avoided active combat in Vietnam, has a certain unmistakable logic.

A less than perfect day. Firstly, on my way to deliver, the train from Saint Leonards to North Sydney stopped at Waverton for eleven minutes, rather than the expected one minute. Then, on my return from delivery, the train at Waverton did not turn up at the expected two minutes, taking instead eighteen minutes. Then, when I finally got home, the pain in my legs gradually developed into painful cramps.

I have seen film of that part of the Haj near Mecca, where the latest mass trampling of Muslim pilgrims took place. It was not the time of the actual deaths, but it was still a chaotic scene, with thousands of people excitably hurling stones in their zeal, which were going every which way, rather than in the supposed direction!

It looked indeed, like the proverbial disaster waiting to happen! If the pilgrims had sat down & considered soberly the possibilities beforehand, I am sure they would have done this quite differently. The world needs far more sober reflection.

The last three nights I have slept on the sitting room floor, in preference to my bed. There is just a sheet under me, nothing other me [it is mid-summer here], but I do allow for the luxury of a pillow.

Why? Partly it is to help my back and neck, which are stress affected, and floor seems to help this better than the bed. Partly it is to be close to the Budgies - well, They are My Family in a very real way, and one needs One's Family when under stress. But mostly, I have no idea why this I am doing.

One should claim one's vegetables form the soil, when about to move. Last week it was the garlic; today the potatoes. The latter, especially, were much more successful than I had imagined. They were large enough to be of normal size!

Less understandable was why I felt the need to burn dead vegetal matter on the soil, within a large plastic plant pot. I suppose it was, in essence, to get rid of it and turn it to use as fertiliser. There is a small mental trick involved: to keep the fire large enough to burn the twigs, yet small enough not to melt the pot.

But this is mere distraction from the slow painful process of turning my chaos to enough order, so my move occurs with minimum angst.

Exhaustion! The mental stress, relating to my forthcoming home relocation, has finally caught up with me. Over the last seventeen or so hours, I have done little else but lie down. Sometimes awake, and sometimes asleep.

At 9.50pm last night, when I should have been asleep I was instead looking at Mars, through the eyes of Opportunity Rover. Those rocks again, now in colour: whitish rocks surrounded by dark red soil. The NASA caption says these rocks are either volcanic ash, or water deposits or wind deposits. Given these three options, I would say that volcanic ash is easily the most likely. They do have that appearance.

Late last night, I was again at the Opportunity Rover site [at JPL Planetary Photogallery], albeit briefly. There is a new photograph of the Rock Outcrop - PIA05158. This show a panorama of the outcrop, and its origin as a ancient shoreline is clearer still.

NASA's concern seems to be with the composition of the rocks, which, unlike geomorphology, does not normally resolve by direct observation. However, here is a hint for them. In PIA05149 there appears to be a basaltic dyke. The composition of which basalt, I leave to them.

After Senator Kerry's convincing win in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary, following his convincing win in the Iowa Democratic Caucuses, that Party's Presidential Nomination is decided. It will be followed by months of anti-climax.

It is indeed true, that well over 90% of the Convention delegates are still to be voted for. However, the strong conviction of so many Democrats is that they want as their Candidate: the person most likely to beat George Bush Junior. They are unlikely to rock the boat now.

It has disappeared from the news for some years now. But, as far as I am aware, Armenia still occupies around a third of Azerbaijan's territory.

I have a problem with an Opportunity Rover photograph [JPL Planetary Photogallery - PIA05149]. It looks southwest to an interesting rock outcrop. But the photograph seems a little distorted. So I reduced it to 80% of the original size.

With the new reduced size, I immediately recognised something which I have walked over many times: a wavecut platform. The water worn grooves in the flat rocks are very characterstic. Any experienced walker on rocky coasts will recognise this wavecut platform.

Here I will confess that I am a qualified Geologist, albeit not working in the industry. It is indeed risky to diagnose rocks from such a distance, from a single photograph. But then everyone is in the same boat [I simply cannot resist the water metaphor!] One clear teaching, which I remember well from my undergraduate studies: "Never be afraid to give an opinion. If you are wrong, you will learn from it; while if you are right, then you have already learnt."

However, I need no qualification in this case, as it is so cut and dried! Photograph PIA05149 shows a wavecut platform.

Today, for the first time this year, I saw Easter Eggs in my local supermarket! Worse still, Hot Cross Buns appeared in the same store over a week ago!

Curious I find it, after more than a decade of insulin injections, that a dramatic fall in blood sugar due, to an imbalance of insulin & blood glucose, can still catch me by surprise. Circa1pm today, I was thus reduced to eating lots of "energy food" very quickly, then lying down for half an hour!

Tonight I saw my first Wagnerian Opera: "The Flying Dutchman" This was at the Sydney Opera House, by Opera Australia. Somewhat to my surprise I really enjoyed it. I was especially impressed by the Lisa Gasteen as Senta, and Daniel Sumegi as Daland. But I cannot see myself playing Wagnerian Opera recordings at home. If there is an operatic composer that anti-opera types hate above all, it is Wagner, and I prefer to keep on the good side of neighbours, walls or no walls.

Yesternoon, on Sydney's Lower North Shore, it was unpleasantly hot and still. There was all but no breeze. Then, in the early afternoon, clouds arose in the south-east. By late afternoon, it was raining. All was peaceful & pleasant, even with the odd bolt of lightning.

Today, the same was promised. The midday with its unbreezed, blistering heat was there once more, with an equal vengeance. However, at 5.42pm, the promised rain is still awaited in these North Shore Ridges.

Finally, not long after 7.30pm, it began to rain. But unless one was actually in it, the relief from the high humidity was strictly limited.

In North Queensland, in one of the less settled areas, I was once persuaded to dance nude in the rain. This we did, as rain was not a common phenomonen in those parts. Nor were next door neighbours, inquisitive or otherwise. I remember it being a pleasant & innocent activity. - However, I gave no thought to repeating this exercise in the streets of Cremorne.

On the way home, from Rushcutters Bay, I detoured to Redeye, for the first time this year, to see if the promised German CD of the obscure Australian rock group "Bakery", had finally turned up. Lieder nicht!

But on a whim, I checked under "P" and discovered a double CD, digital enhanced in Australia, of the first 2 albums of the equally obscure Australian rock group, "Pirana". This I bought at $34.95. It now plays and I consider it good value.

"Bakery" came from Perth, and had some fame for their Rock Masses, in Perth Anglican Cathedral. "Pirana" were of an east coast origin.

The nature of his charisma is unusual. It is not of the normal kind. Rather it is the "gloomy charisma", so characteristic of Abraham Lincoln. Nothing wrong with being tall & angular.

Today I made some 3D glasses. I took these old sunglasses, removed the "lenses", sticky taped up the broken frame, and then covered the left eye with red cellophane and the right eye with blue cellophane, with all this carefully taped in place. This is the ordinary cellophane, not the metallic cellophane.

With 80% of the 3D images I have downloaded, these glasses worked perfectly well. In some cases, the depth is quite stunning!

The only computer games which hold my attention are board games - chess; go; draughts; chinese checkers, and so on. No doubt, this is due to my desire to stay within a set of simple fixed rules.

The Shower Cubicle Times! - the second waterproof undercoat was applied. As promised, it was yellow and smelt unpleasantly.

Depression seems to be of no evolutionary advantage.
After all, what use is a state of mind, in which
one cares not if the sabre-tooth tiger eats one?
So it is to be wondered, that this emotion exists at all.

The Shower Cubicle Bulletin! - the second waterproof undercoat was not applied. There were three wet blobs on the floor of the shower cubicle. So, it will be applied tomorrow, when the blobs are dry.

Doctor Who - "The Return" - the third episode of "The Ark" - The Doctor cured the plague, left with Steven & Dodo in the TARDIS, and then landed mysteriously in the same place, but as it turns out, some 700 years later. The Monoids have taken control, to prove the truth of that ancient saying - "Never a better slave, nor a worse master".

Doctor Who - "The Plague" - the second episode of "The Ark" - not to be confused with the Tom Baker Era [i.e. the Fourth Doctor] story "The Ark In Space". I like "The Ark". There are some interesting ideas here.

Today the shower cubicle was cement rendered. This involved filling in the holes, which were created as the tiles were removed. - I am taking photographs of all this.

Doctor Who continued with "The Steel Sky", the first episode of "The Ark". There is a big gap from yesterday, with some twenty-five episodes bypassed, as the stories were either incomplete, or entirely missing.

Vicki is gone. She left during "The Myth Makers", which is, alas, completely missing from the archives. However, some images remain inside my mind, lingering from my childhood.

Dodo is the recent recruit to the "girl companion role", which was common in the Hartnell Era, but disappeared even before his regeneration.

Today's episode, "The Steel Sky", was very popular with certain small parrots, due to the frequent bird noises in the first ten minutes.

Today, the tiles were removed from my shower cubicle, with the help of a small jackhammer. It was less noisy than I had feared.

Doctor Who returned today, with the long awaited final episode of "The Time Meddler", which is called "Checkmate". Right near the end, the Doctor removed the Dimension Control from the Meddling Monk's TARDIS, which altered the inside, so it was too small for the Monk to enter! This particular scene I remember well from my childhood.

Today I downloaded a colour photograph of the Martian landscape from the Rover named "Spirit". Also, I gathered an infa-red photograph, plus some 3D images. I intend, when I find the time & motivation, to create from inexpensive materials, my own 3D glasses.

I have tried to learn to memory, the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which begins "When the lamp is shattered". But progress is slow and in but small stages. Enthusiasm is not something clear for me of late.

At 12.40pm, near 40 Crows Nest Road, I saw a Noisy Miner fly to a tree and perch. It was silent. But it opened its beak to pant, and held it wings out from its body, presumably as an additional cooling measure. I can confirm that it was indeed, uncomfortably hot and humid.

1.32pm. On the electricity wires across the road from 23 King Street, in Waverton, there were ten Leaden Flycatchers sitting silently. One suddenly flew off without my notice, and returned, again without my notice. I only knew, as the count was different, and my counting was most careful.

Then an eleventh Leaden Flycatcher flew in and roosted, but unlike the silent others, began happily chirupping. This was fairly quiet, although I heard it clearly, and the self-satisfaction of the singer was most unmistakable, in the emotional tone of the voice.

1.46pm. On the electricity wires, across the road from 23 King Street, in Waverton, there were nineteen Leaden Flycatchers sitting silently. Strange it is to see these energetic little birds, simply resting.

.
MARS !!
.

A difficult place to land! Especially since the "pilot" is on another planet, at no mean distance. The winds are so slight, they can move nothing more massive than a fine dust [which Australians call "bulldust"]. But the problem is the uneven topography, and a ground surface whose nature is not always certain. The visible face of Mars is fossilised from a more vigorous time: with a denser atmosphere of sand moving winds: with water streams and a shallow ocean; with massive volcanism; with perhaps some crustal movement; & perhaps catastrophic carbon dioxide explosions creating enormous rifts.

Some good news from Mars this afternoon [Australian time]. The NASA Rover, named "Spirit", has not only landed, but has replied!

Tonight: Opera Australia - Mozart's "The Magic Flute".
At the Opera Theatre, in the Sydney Opera House.

My pleasure, in anticipating my third Magic Flute, helped me to persevere through the start of a major home "spring cleaning". But there is sadness too: this is the first season post Simone Young.

I did enjoy. This is the same stage design & theatrical plan as their 2001 production, which I saw with Helen. In some ways it was better, in other ways inferior, to that production.

My old PC froze last night, as I tried to bring up the "Quarter Mile" Geological Map for Townsville, from the Australian Government Geological website. Froze it still was this morning, when I arose.

This PC is working now - I am using it - but it took a lot of patience; switching the PC off & on about ten times [with the cautious one minute wait, in between off & on]; until I finally achieved DOS!! Then a quick access to Scanreg; and the question from the very bowels of the machine, as to whether I wished to restore from a Backup. Being of sound mind, more or less, I did so wish. And did.

Very early today, there was a major explosion at the Moomba Gas Field, which is mostly in South Australia, but crosses under the border into Queensland. I believe that there were no injuries, albeit the commercial consequences are significant.

The mention of Moomba instantly brought one image into my conscious mind: a small glass vial of a very turgid black liquid, which was in the small museum at Mount Murchison Primary School. It was labelled "Oil from Moomba Oil & Gas Field".

There were fireworks to be seen, through the open door of my side balcony, across 9pm tonight. This is a Sydney conviction, that any problem, however large or small, can be solved by a fireworks display. Sure, it is rather pretty. But I have seen the like so often before. And I do wonder about the financial cost; and the heavy metal pollution, as such toxics source the bright, belligerent colours.

Television can never be, in any credible sense, "reality". It is always, by its own inevitable need, highly contrived. lt is likely to be most contrived, when it claims to be most real.

Tonight, at ten past ten, as I went to post two chess games, I chanced to see the partial Moon in covergence with Mars. Tonight's Mars, under the blinding influence of the smaller but nearer body, was more a fading yellow, than a vibrant, bold & ruddy hue.

That the mud-brick buildings of Bam [in Iran] should collapse in an earthquake, with massive casualties, is hardly a surprise. That many of those same buildings had lasted 2,000 years undamaged, is astonishing; given the geological instability of the area.

I went to Town at ~8.30am, not to buy CDs. But I bought four for $94.00, at HMV, Mid-City Centre: Emerson, Lake & Palmer [debut album]; Jethro Tull - "Songs From The Wood" & "Ministrel In The Gallery"; Yes - "Time And A Word". None of these CDs were actually on special, but I consider the price fair. All four are "digitally enhanced" - whatever that really means! - and all except the first mentioned have "bonus tracks".

Boxing Day seems OK
to me as a boundary.

My Occasional Thought

For The Day