Container City

Yesterday we went to 'Container City' the new and emerging heart of wounded Christchurch. Visited the Apple Store, Johnson's the Grocer and Scorpio Books - all buzzing with lunchtime activity. It's so good to see the Central City begin to show signs of life again. Who knew that containers could look so good?

 More pictures at: https://picasaweb.google.com/102496606900301125582/ContainerCity#

Glentui Bush

Took a walk in Glentui Bush on Monday with the intention of refining my processes for High Dynamic Range photography in general and panoramic HDR in particular. This was the second trip as I totally messed up the process on Sunday and came back with only half decent material. The second time was much better and the process seems pretty solid now (if a little time consuming).

This shot is the compilation of a 3 frame x 6 exposure sequence (18 images) taken at ISO 100, f8 and speeds between 1/500 and 1/15 second. Each exposure sequence was combined in Photomatix Pro and the three images stitched in AutopanoPro. Further processing was done in Photoshop using Topaz filters.

More pictures from this outing can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/102496606900301125582/SpringGlentuiBush

The wonder that is us.

"From conception to birth" - a 'must watch' TED video for every mum and dad or mum and dad to be. Beautifully presented ...

Come to sunny Oxford (NZ) ...

... where the justice is slow and lingering. Rumour has it he was put here several years ago by the good citizens of Oxford, who hadn't the heart to run him out of town.

For those law-breakers of an outdoor disposition, the stocks are just outside the jail. Welcome to Oxford :-)

Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity | Video on TED.com

After a long day assembling furniture, this TED video brought a smile to my face. "IMPROV Everywhere" do odd things to make people laugh - sounds like a worthy occupation to me.

Don't play on the tracks!

I wasn't; I was walking along the maintenance walkway at the side of the track. Halfway to the centre of the bridge and back again. I had just stepped off the walkway when the freight train came along allowing me to get this picture:

The scary thing was how much of the walkway the freight train took up - I had thought I would be safe against the hand rail but, no way. Another photographic near miss :-(

A Bridge too far ...

The suspension bridge that crosses the Eyre River at Wolff's Road is a majestic though dilapidated structure with its ends buried deep in bush. Built in 1945 to carry foot traffic, it's span is about 80m give or take a bit. One can be excused for wondering why it was built; the river floods on only a few days a year and there are other crossings readily available by car. But, in 1945 the alternative crossings were either Oxford or Mandeville and, as The Press observed, the flooded river "kept children from school, farmers from stock, cream from porridge, and urgent supplies from the farms." Today, only the foolhardy would attempt to cross the broken structure, but it seems a shame if its only destiny is to become rotted wood and rusted steel.

Economic inequality; it hurts

In this powerful talk, Richard Wilkinson argues that a society that supports economic inequality is a sick society. Whether you agree with them or not, Richard puts a statistical finger on what 'Occupy Wall Street' (and its clones) are all about. Well worth a watch.

Not so much a game

It's black on blue - again.
Some think it's just a game
while others that it's life or death.
There will be casualties.

It's black on blue - again.
The money's on the black or
in the boxes, anyway.
It's all about the money.

It's black on blue - again.
We look on, helpless or turn
away, unable to bear the sight.
Tell me when its over.

Its black on blue - again.
A stadium of four million
watching as the black runs out.
"Go the blacks" they shout.

Its black on blue again.
Two sides in a well matched game
Played on the Astrolabe fouled reef.
Blue, may you beat the black.

The first 50 microseconds

What is beauty? Another fascinating TED talk: