Inside my hands these petals browned

2 10 2008

So the other day, after seeing the surprisingly excellent WALL·E with Clare, she and I went for yum cha at a Chinese restaurant neither of us had been to before.  She assured me that yum cha was a selection of small dishes, and the internet seems to agree.
Nobody, it seems, told this place, who presented us with an epic amount of food. Food for seven.
It was frightening.
We dealt with a lot of it, and left with the rest in containers.  All is well.

Today, I noticed a discolouration in the sky.  It seemed rather less blue, and rather more a dull lavender than usual, through the clouds.  I consulted Nick who lives a considerable distance to my West Sou’ West, and Kieran who lives a very similar distance directly to my south (oh my, looking at this map, I see we’re equilateral – I don’t think I’m ready for this kind of geometry in my life), and they both agree.
Meanwhile, a friend who is in Melbourne doesn’t.  The light at the time was still white and pure, perhaps a little more yellow…

Cordell says (12:40 PM):

    You should be able to see the sky through a large gap in the clouds

Kieran says (12:40 PM):

    What, why?

Cordell says (12:40 PM):

    Can you do that?
    I could swear it’s the wrong colour

Kieran says (12:41 PM):

    I get blinded, the sun is in this gap
    It looked somewhat grey though

Cordell says (12:41 PM):

    HA HA, YOU GOT SUN-ROLLED

Buses in this state are ridiculous.  It took me two and a half hours to get home this evening (three minutes more, to be exact).  153 minutes to travel 16.4km.  To be fair, most of that time was spent waiting.  In real terms, that’s 142 pages of Captain Hornblower’s exciting escapades in South America since yesterday.  And my perception of time is more skewed at a bus stop than anywhere else, and it has been proven to be very good at other times.  I have in the past taken up the habit of walking eleven stops along the line instead of waiting.

Also, Indian cyclists.  Stay out of the bus lane, if you’re reading this.

Will motorists ever stop treating bike lanes like parking lots if they think cyclists don’t themselves respect traffic segregation? I don’t think it will make a difference, motorists aren’t at all observant.

Oh yeah, way to alienate.





Don’t let yourself destroy yourself

13 08 2008

At 5:30 this evening, the sunlight was a curious amber.  The clouds were a peach colour, yet the sky behind them was a rich blue.  At the fluffier edges, it blurred into purple, and the stubby yet brightly coloured rainbows in the east.  Slightly surreal, with colours normally associated with HDRI photos.

The overall effect was a mormon propaganda piece. Why the mormons? Well, I notice that their website is quite attractive.

It didn’t rain today.

I went for a walk after dark last night, with no phone or wallet.  Mainly because it was completely spontaneous.  I went through two parks, up a road even bendier than the one I recently discovered (they’d be the same if they were properly lined up), and discovered where my bus turns around.

It’s always muddy in the long thin park with olive trees.

I’ve recently gotten into a pile of new music, and approve of the vastly improved automatic recommendation system on last.fm.

Wow, this was a short one.





But when your heart skips a beat it’s ruthless and aimless

3 08 2008

Shocking news: I found a curvy road! (Why yes, I do live in Adelaide, why do you ask?)
I’m serious about this, it was designed with neither a ruler nor a compass.  It’s almost as if it were not planned at all, merely a tarmacked track that was once … organic.  It both undulates and twists, it has massive trees in unusual places, and two-storey houses built into the slope.  It is strangely incongruous with the grid that goes in all directions, as far as buildings go.

I love it here, but I’d hate it if it were in SimCity.  I will have an uninterrupted grid pattern!  My current city is perfect, and it even makes frequent use of those trains with which my Sims have some strange infatuation.  SimCity 3000 Unlimited’s Asian building set really makes my city much more impressive, too.  This means things are taller and shinier, which is what really matters.  SimCity 4, on the other hand, will not let control freaks (the only people playing this series) place their own side-roads.  You have to be tricky with the zoning to fool the computer into putting things where you want them.  Also, it is too complicated.  This is why I cannot be bothered finding out who I am lending my copy to, and then reclaiming it.

My bicycle has had a full servicing from a friend of mine who has an intimate knowledge of bicycles bordering on the concerning.  I hope I will remember how to do everything.  He assures me that stores would charge about $60 for that, and I assured him that the Mi Goreng he got in return was worth that. =)
Aligned brakes and an oiled drive chain mean that my bicycle is now like a ninja – silent.  But less deadly, as the brakes are no longer fail.  “Fail” is an adjective, if you missed that.  It does of course make that quiet clicky noise (not unlike power lines on a humid day) when I’m not pedalling.
I have neglected it for years, but there is no damage, apart from inconsequential corrosion from riding on the beach.  It’s still a good bike, except for the shock absorbers, which will not accept the ring thingies.  This could mean any number of things, but do not fret.  Explanations are a courtesy that you must earn, but you can be assured that this one is not important.

I have new boots, in which I can wriggle my toes.  This is a plus.  I like being able to do that.
There is nothing like new footwear to remind you that your feet are different sizes. Any sneakers which I’ve worn for years have been trained (like bonsai) to fit perfectly.  Also, ankle support.

It is very easy to think (or be distracted) while looking at a waterfall, so I spent about 45 minutes sitting in that park, watching the water.
Also, ducks are cute.

I think that is all.  No, I don’t need to use segues.

A mystery object, large and perplexing! I’m not sure what this is.  It could be a cog – and the only things large enough to take that would be the epic-scaled mining mechs and hydroelectric dams.
On the other hand, it could be a pier for a bridge. A segment of a pier, that is.  And by pier, I mean massive column rather than jetty.

If you know what it is, or have a source, do share it.

Edit: Mystery solved! It’s the Large Hadron Collider, which will destroy everything~
Thanks to the commenter identifying as ‘This’.