Robot Alert

Spotted wandering around, zapping bugs with its laser, I took this with my iPhone and processed it in Camera+.

My Addiction

Candy Crush is a drug. This puzzle game is so cleverly designed that it's sucked me into its little lolly world, as I progress from level to level. My time for photography and reading books has evaporated as every waking moment is spent obsessing over this.

Although it's a free game for smartphones, when you run out of lives you need to wait for another, or else you buy another. But once you're addicted you can't wait that 15 minutes for the next life, and so  you put the clock on your phone forward by 15 minutes. I've done this again and again and now my phone thinks it's mid-July. My life is now completely messed up - birthday reminders pop up months early, and my phone tells me to put the bin out on the wrong day. If only I had the strength to uninstall the game...

Best Invention of the Decade...

...dishwashing brushes with built-in detergent dispenser.

These devices make cleaning the dishes such a joy. Instead of filling a sink with soapy water then cleaning everything in one go, you can clean as you go, one item at a time.

Windy Before Rain

Being an amateur meteorologist, I've noticed that when a calm day suddenly turns gusty, it can be a sign of approaching rain. It's natural to imagine that wind strength is fairly consistent over the space of 30 minutes or an hour, but when there are stormy systems in your neighbourhood, it can go from still to strong winds then rain then still again several times over.

So next time you feel that sudden strong wind, get under cover.

A Tedious Orange Sky

Seen on the way home from work today.

Black Cockatoo Vandal

It's such a pleasure when black cockatoos visit the garden for a snack. They sit at the top of the native trees and munch on the seeds and flowers, and create an awful mess.

More Boring Banksias

Banksia

Spider's Tummy

Another arachnid from King's Park.

Air Spider

Seen in mid-air above King's Park last weekend, an enormous spider waiting to drop into the hair of a passerby.

Set Sun

Death Stares?

Can death stares be converted into useful energy?

Being the recipient of a killer one (of the human variety) today, the intensity and longevity of it impressed me so much that I've been calculating whether the focused beam of energy generated by its creator could instead be used for the purposes of good. Surely there are peaceful purposes for this phenomenon. My high school physics  tells me that the answer is yes. Details to follow.

ps. don't get confused with Death Stars, which will be discussed in a future blog post.

The Other Side

Of the $1 note, from 1964. It's quite appropriately sitting on a modern retro couch.

$1 Dollar

An acquaintance found an old $1 note in a secondhand wallet from an op shop, and I was struck by the beautiful 1960s design and colours, featuring a youthful Queen.

Another (Featuring a Level Horizon)

You Need Another Sunset Photo

It's been several days already since the last one, so here you go. This evening over Floreat Beach. Yes that's right, the horizon is wonky. I apologise.

Changing of the Supermarket Seasons

As I've noted before, it's easy to tell the season by noting what's on offer from the supermarket. From November till year's end, there are Christmassy mince pies and plum puddings. After stocking up on $1 sale puddings, I finished my last one three weeks ago, just as we reached Easter. By then we were deep into the season of hot cross buns and chocolate eggs. And now that the egg supply has been decimated and only a few crumbs remain, it's the season of Anzac biscuits, succulently chewy and perfect for tea dipping. But now we reach the empty season. There's a clear gap between now and Christmas that's in need of filling with some seasonal fare. It's such a long wait for my next mince pie, I don't know if I can survive that long.

Speccy Sunset

Yesterday's sunset was spectacular, with high clouds lit from below. I took a couple of photos and can't decide which I prefer, so here are both of them from my iPhone. I also had my serious camera with me, but it takes ten times longer extracting photos from it since it has no wifi, and so its photos will appear later.

Green Tea

Not being a fan of green tea, I recommend this alternative from Japan:

Random Days

We chatted yesterday about the tedium of the weekly routine, the utter predictability of doing the grocery shopping every Saturday, eating a Violet Crumble every Monday, of playing four hours of tennis every Wednesday and so on.

One solution would be to randomise the order of days. Every seventh day, the next seven days will be revealed: Tuesday, Tuesday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday. If you hate the middle of the week, you're in luck: there's no Wednesday this time. Of course, repeated Mondays might depress some people, but fear not - the algorithm will make sure that by the end of the year, days are evenly distributed. So you may start off with a defecit of your favourite day, but that only means more of them later in the year.

It may be a disruptive plan, but I urge world governments to consider a trial for a year.

Scented Candles for Cats

Experiencing a triple-scented candle yesterday (imbued with the fragrances of lavender, persimmon and Mars Bar), I thought how enriched a cat would be if it could experience its own version. Given the superior feline sense of smell, they would surely go feral with excitement with smells such as these:

• Salmon
• Gorgonzola
• Mouse poo
• Catnip
• Tuna juice

Naturally, mentioning this idea has killed any potential profit for myself, but I want to publicise this for the benefit of the cats of the world.

Mini Astronaut

Spotted on a banana this evening, a tiny spaceman.

Junior Roo

I met this young fellow a few weeks ago. He was being cared for after losing his mum.

Reading A Book

Starting a new novel is always exciting. Yesterday I opened up The Sleeper Wakes by H.G.Wells and was keen to get into the story. On the first page was a blurb, which I ignored, not wanting to spoil the story. Then after a table of contents was a short twenty page biography of the author. Bursting with enthusiasm, I now found myself in the introduction. Then the author's note, and then the preface to the first edition. Then the preface to the second edition. Now, I'm 50 pages in and still there's no sign of a story.

Then I slept.

Oh well. I'll try again tonight.

Growing Psychic Powers

Do you have psychic powers? In recent weeks, I've noticed a growing strength of telekinesis in my hands. When my fingertips are hovering near my iPhone, poised to press something, the phone reacts to my thought without the need for me to move. I don't know if my hair is very frizzy and there's a large buildup of static electricity in my body, but whatever the explanation, I can operate the touchscreen of my phone from a distance. My plan is to harness and strengthen this power to eventually control my tv and close family members with the power of thought.