Blue Mountains escape

/ Robert / 9 Comments

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We have just returned from a perfect weekend in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. We stayed in Mount Victoria, about 20 kilometres west of Katoomba. The local pub, the Imperial Hotel is a reminder of a bygone era of elegance, motoring holidays and steam trains.

We enjoyed a delicious 7 course degustation lunch on Saturday with matching local wines at Nineteen23, Wentworth Falls. The pictures on this page are views from the terrace.

A chilly 17oC this morning was rectified by a friendly and efficient brunch on the way home at Wattle cafe, Blackheath.

Thank you, Trip Advisor for the good tips!

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The drive home was surprisingly smooth taking around 1 hour and 40 minutes, we were welcomed back to Sydney by a blue sky and an autumn temperature of 25oC.

Do You Know Where You’re Going To?

/ Robert / 7 Comments

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Anyone remember the theme song from the film Mahogany, written by Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin, 1975, performed by Diana Ross?
(Chorus)
Do You Know
Where you’re going to?
Do you like the things?
That life is showing you
Where are you going to?
Do you know?

Do you get?
What you’re hoping for?
When you look behind you
There’s no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?

Once we were standing still, in time
Chasing the fantasies and feeling all nice
You knew how I loved you, but my-spirit was free
Laughing at the questions
That you once asked of me

(Chorus)
(Musical Bridge)
Now looking back at all we’ve had
We let so many dreams just slip through our hands
Why must we wait so long, before we see?
How sad the answers to those questions can be

(Chorus)
Do you get?
What you’re hoping for
When you look behind you
There’s no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?

Drink lemon juice it’s amazing

/ Robert / 2 Comments

The health benefits of lemon

bulldog's avatarThe Photographic Journey of bulldog.

Lemons have so many different good qualities.. that their often sour or bitter taste, can be ignored because of their beneficial qualities.

Linda, my wife, has suffered from three different cancers (Colon, Breast and Ovarian) and because of this and the terror of having chemo and radiation therapy, we are always on the look out for alternate healthier ways of combatting a return. Lately we have been told of a good drink that assists in so many ailments.. LEMONS…

The suggestion was to grate a whole lemon, I mean whole, skin, pith and all the rest. Placing the resultant mulch in a bowl and adding a cup of warm/hot water, not boiling. Allow this to cool and add another cup of warm/hot water and again allowing to cool. continue with this till a quantity of approx. one and a half litres is reached.

When cool, place the liquid and pulp…

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Fantasy marble?

/ Robert / 3 Comments

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At first glance this amazing image conjured up a fantasy teal blue marble with sparse golden streaks. It is in fact the Crab Nebula.

Don’t let it’s cool blue colour fool you, the filaments in this behemoth of a nebula are estimated to be between a scorching 11,000 and 18,000 K (19,341 – 31,941 deg Fahrenheit). The image was created using 2 narrow band filters (F502N – blue, F673 – Red, added together to make a computer generated green layer) and 1 medium band filter (F547M – Cyan) obtained from the Hubble ESO/ST-ECF Archive. All data was processed using the Fits Liberator’s Linear stretch function.

Credit: Danny LaCrue & the ESA/ESO/NASA Photoshop FITS Liberator.

Balance

/ Robert / 11 Comments

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For no apparent reason other than I was trying to work out how to weigh up the different aspects of my existence, I realised that achieving balance is essential for peace of mind.

In everyday life we are told that we should:
– Enjoy all things in moderation
– Get sufficient sleep and exercise
– Have a balanced diet
– Achieve a healthy work, life balance

Librans are often described as being the balanced sign of the zodiac. I can happily report the complete opposite is true. As the scale pans of life seesaw up and down I have found that awareness of the present moment is the only way to deal with the seemingly constant momentum.

I am naturally drawn to the elements of air, earth and water, as a large proportion of my existence is spent in grounded thought and feeling. Thankfully, fire seems to pop in when I need a boost of energy, passion and perseverance.

As with most things in my life this post is evolving into something I did not foresee when I started writing.

In the physical world reality is limited to this moment. The wonderful thing about life is that this moment is as vast at the Universe itself and everything is connected by this moment.

I experience a feeling of ecstasy at the moment when on a swing, the seat is at its highest, just before it begins its descent. I am reminded of this feeling in dreams while soaring above the ground. In waking moments I experience it when I have helped someone else, enjoyed a moment of connection with another or experienced something wondrous. To me this is the moment of balance. Is this the point of balance between the physical and the spiritual worlds?

References:
http://webelieveinlight.org/2013/03/07/just-keep-swimming-swimming-swimming/
http://elfkat.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/e-is-for-what-is-your-elemental-affinity/

Police brutality in the land of the free

/ Robert / 12 Comments

The first verse of the Australian national anthem at times does not reflect the state of being:

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
“Advance Australia fair!”

A recent spate of violent incidents at the Sydney Mardi Gras has highlighted the use of excessive force by police.

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Sydney teen in Mardi Gras ‘brutality’ video speaks out

In recent months, we’ve seen numerous cases of New South Wales (NSW) police misusing violent force, stifling investigation, and colluding to cover up their actions.

Here’s a sampling of recent events:

“NSW coroner calls police thuggish over Taser death”

“Lawyer slams police who tasered 14yo boy”

“Closing Ranks” An episode of 4 Corners: “The story of Adam Salter raises many questions, including the issue of how lethal force is used by police. But perhaps the most profound question it raises is: can the police be trusted to investigate themselves?”

NSW coroner calls police thuggish over Taser death NSW Coroner compared the police who tasered a Brazilian student 14 times to the schoolboy savages in Lord of the Flies but found no grounds for action against them.

The Invisible War

/ Robert / Leave a comment

We live in a civilised society?

Kozo Hattori's avatareveryday gurus

A war is raging in every country on earth. The battles of this war spill out into our churches, our schools, and our homes. This war has been going on since the beginning of history as we know it. Although I was born onto the winning side and have enjoyed the spoils of this war, I have seen too much atrocity and injustice to sit idly on the sidelines. I can’t bear to watch my foes suffer death, defeat, mutilation, abuse, and injustice any longer. Like Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, and Luke Skywalker, I am ready to fight for the losing side to bring peace to our Universe–yet even these examples are tainted with the history written by the victors.

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