Monday; Design and curiosities;

Adorable Pig USB hub and USB drives,

 designed by weplaygod.

Thursday; solidarity;

"It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners." -  Albert Camus

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." -  Albert Einstein

We are forbidden to say this

Gaza is a Concentration Camp

By Arthur Silber

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33077.htm

When Everything You Know Is Not True

Must Watch - Video

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32739.htm

Wednesday;Thinkers;

"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable..."  - H.L. Mencken

Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English.

"I'll tell you what they don't want-they don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interest."  -The late George Carlin who called a spade a spade.

George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, actor and writer/author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums. 

Born: May 12, 1937, Manhattan  Died: June 22, 2008,

In memoriam;

Tuesday; advice;

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

Advice to my darling grandsons; now 19 and 23;


Links   Poetic Takeaway's; a trivial world of words;

http://titania-threemonkeys.blogspot.com.au/

http://titania-lavenderandvanilla.blogspot.com.au/

http://t-picturesque.blogspot.com.au/

Monday; after the rain;

Yesterday

a drenched world, 

laden under  rain punctured clouds;

 Today

Shimmering intensity of light

 in crystal drops;

©Photo/text Ts

Links

T-Picturesque

Poetic Takeaway's; book of hours;

Lavender and vanilla

Sepia Saturday 152;

Libraries;

Books my children used to read  in English and German;

My granddaughter reading, using the ipad.

Micah uses braille to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

In earlier times blind children did not have the chance to read.

http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=1987

Now, please go and visit 

Sepia Saturday 152

Thursday; this morning;

Sunrise;  

©Photo/Ts  15/11/2012  4.45 AM

Links

T-Picturesque

Poetic Takeaway's

Lavender and Vanilla;

Wednesday; solar eclipse;

Tourist towns in far north Queensland are witnessing a total solar eclipse, the first in Australia for a decade.

It is the first full solar eclipse to occur in Australia since the same eerie darkness fell on Ceduna in South Australia ten years ago.

It takes the moon about an hour to pass from first contact, when it begins to cross the sun's path, to totality, when the sun is completely obscured.

During those few minutes of totality, it will seem like a moonlit night.

 A black hole in the sky will be seen, with a pearly white filamentary corona around it for several degrees.'

Up to 60,000 people are re expected to visit Cairns for the eclipse, while a further 15,000 are set to pack Port Douglas.


The next total  solar eclipse in Australia will be seen in Sydney in 2028.

Courtesy    Australian News Channel Pty Ltd 

Tuesday; DIY;

What about a chair made from an old suitcase?

From old bathtub to sofa; with a  few more cushions; not bad!

Contemporary sideboard from milk crates;  ideas...ideas...

Recycled; computer desk from wooden cable spools;

I think it looks much better and more individual than furniture from KMart! 

What do you think?

Monday; puddles;

It rained, 70 mm;  the sun is shining, today I am out there getting my hands dirty.

Bromeliad's little lakes, perfect for tiny frogs.

©Photo/text Ts;  12/11/2012  7.31AM

...enjoy a nice day.... 

Sunday; a must watch;

She is alive....

Content credit: The principal source for the footage was Yann Arthus-Bertrand's incredible film "Home". The music was by Armand Amar. Thank you too Greenpeace and Timescapes

Sepia Saturday 151; Early Telecommunication;

Brisbane magneto telephone exchange  1910

The world’s first phone call;

On 10 March 1876, Bell successfully transmitted the first words ever uttered on a telephone. He said, ‘Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.’ Bell’s assistant, Thomas A Watson, was at the lower end of the wire, in the basement. He dropped the receiver and rushed up the three flights of stairs to inform Bell of the good news: ‘I can hear you! I can hear the words!’

The telephone arrives in Australia

Australian inventors were keen to experiment with Bell’s new device.

One of the country’s most versatile innovators was Henry Sutton (1856–1912) of Ballarat, Victoria. By late 1877 Sutton had developed numerous telephonic devices, and 16 of his models were later patented overseas. His work was acknowledged by Alexander Bell during his visit to Australia in 1910.

The first telephone service in Australia is believed to have run on 2 January 1878. It operated between hardware supplier McLean Bros & Rigg in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, and their Spencer Street Depot, over a kilometer away.

Link  http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/bell-telegraph-and-telephone/

Wahroonga telephone exchange 1939

As of 1861 there were 110 telegraph stations across the eastern colonies.

By 1867 there were 1,676 miles of line within Victoria, handling 122,138 messages (compared to around 7.92 million in the US and 5.78 million in the UK that year).

Reuters, in competition with local news agencies, operated in Australia from 1860 onwards. 

The cost per word for a message from London was at that time equivalent to the average weekly wage.

A link between Adelaide and Perth was established in 1875, with the 2,900 kilometer Adelaide to Port Darwin link (the Overland Telegraph Line or OTL) in 1872 costing £300,000. 

Link  http://www.caslon.com.au/austelecomsprofile1.htm#colonial

First telephone service launched, connecting Melbourne and South Melbourne offices of Robinson Brothers;

1880 First telephone exchange opened in Melbourne, shortly before the hanging of Ned Kelly

1882 First public telephone exchange based in Sydney, making telephone use and ownership available to the public in NSW - barely six years after Alexander Graham Bell patented his telephone

1884 Around 7,757 telephone calls handled through the year

1901 The Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia established the Postmaster-General's department to look after all communication networks in the nation

1935 Australia ranked seventh in the world for percentage of telephones. 

Sepia Saturday 151;

Now you can instantly communicate with Sepia Saturday and it won't cost you your weekly wage.

Friday; food glorious food;

Fresh strawberries from Lilli;s garden;

Sometimes on a Saturday or Sunday we cook together lunch or dinner.

Last Saturday we cooked dinner from this book...

We cooked the Barley Risotto...it was absolutely delicious;

For 4  serves; We used;  200 g pearl barley, 30 g unsalted butter; 90 ml olive oil, 1 small onion; 2 big garlic cloves;  a few thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf; 1/4 teasp. chilly flakes, 400 g tin tomatoes organic if possible;  3 tablespoons  tomato paste, organic as well; 700 ml water, half a tblespoon caraway seeds slightly roasted.

Feta, we used around 150g , a bit less than in the recipe,  broken into pieces; some oregano leaves.

chilly flakes are home made, bay leaf and oregano grow in the herb garden. The barley risotto is cooked like a risotto but it does not need as much attention and it takes longer. Ours took a bit more then 3/4 of an hour, 

cooked in a tagine with lid on,  regulo 3 on a Miele cooktop. Served with Oregano leaves and feta on top. 

This is actually a vegetarian dish, we used less feta as we served it with a small leg of lamb.

For dessert; Strawberries fruit salad served with a little natural yogurt and and a little whipped cream; delicious and decadent!

We all enjoyed this escapade to Jerusalem;

Biblical times Crocodile; sweet!

Photos and adapted recipe courtesy from Cookbook Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi;
©Photo/text Ts

Links

Poetic Takeaways;

T-Picturesque

Lavender and Vanilla;

Thursday; must haves?

Keyboard Coffee Cups by Shanghai designer E Square, inspired by the Apple computer keyboard. 

Umbrella

Glows with fiber optic light dots covering the canopy

Three modes: off, blinking lights, solid lights

Light in handle illuminates the ground in front of you

Wednesday; Jacaranda time;

Jacaranda tree flowering in my garden;

One of the glories of spring,  Tall trees topped with purple blue trusses of bells. The spend flowers will spread a purple carpet on lawns, roads and pathways. Followed by light ferny foliage, a most beautiful tree.

©Photo/Text Ts

Jacaranda blossoms, Grafton NSW  Photo Daily Examiner;

Monday; Bookshelf;

Memories; 

...finished reading  "the RUINS  of  LACE" by Iris Anthony. A mesmerizing story, explores the intricate tangle of fleeting beauty, mad obsession and always hope.

From a note to the reader;  ...there were those who made lace and those who wore it. Some paid  with gold for it and some made it under the most cruel and miserable circumstances.

Girls were chosen and taken into convents at the age of six  to learn the making of lace. They worked long hours, no fire no light, as ashes and soot might have soiled the lace. Mostly those girls went blind before the age of thirty and were hunched from their work. When they could not work anymore because of blindness, and did not have a family to take them in, they were thrown outside of the convent where they were abused as prostitutes for a crust of bread.

 In 1636 King Louis XIII of France prohibited lace. Lace was smuggled through Europe for more than two centuries from Flanders to France....

Sepia Saturday 150; 1956 Olympic meeting;

I am somehow at a loss when it comes to team sports. Luckily one member of our family was  an enthusiastic race driver. 

Here are some of the events that took place.

Enjoy;  www.sepiasaturday.blogspot.com

Thursday; substitute;

LV Paper bag; that will have to do, if you can not afford the real McCoy!

Smile, a bag is a bag; enjoy your day.

©Photo, my garden, Ts

Wednesday; travel to...

Flying over the Flinders Ranges;

Places  in Australia with odd names; I leave you the pleasure of looking them up on the Australian map,
enjoy a nice trip. The names are pronounced in English!

 Oodnadatta,

Pepegoona,

Ararat
 Arkaroola

 Tantanoola

 Wipipee

Above the Flinders Ranges;

 Farina

 Ballarat

 Thackaringa

Taltabooka 

 Murrindindie;

Kalioota
 Winininnie

 Beltana
The Bight,

 Mallee's 

Flinders Ranges a fantastic landscape.

 Darling Downs,

 Yudnapinna,

 Tidnacoordininna,

 Mallacoota

 Baroota

 Yankalilla;

Wallaroo
Wirrawilla

Booboorowie 

Oodla
Wirra, 
Orroroo

Wycheproof
 Wollongong

 Never Never,

Sounding in each mountain rill,

Echoing from hill to hill…

In the lonely, silent places

Men lift up their glad, wet faces,

And their thanks ask no explaining -

It is raining - raining - raining!

Names of  towns used in CJ Den's famous poem  "And it's raining, raining, raining."

C J Dennis, Poet; Journalist, was born in Auburn, South Australia, on 7 September 1876,  he preferred to be known as Den.

©Photos Ts.

Links  T-Picturesque
Poetic Takeaway's;
Three Monkeys

Tuesday; Nature's wonders;

Honey Bee collecting nectar and pollen; My Garden;

Lavishly golden,

 liquid sunshine held in tiny, waxen  chambers. 

 The  fragrance of  flowers and harvest, warmed by sun, wind and rain,

 nectar collected diligently, 

transmuted into  the sweetest  of sweets,

 for sticky, little fingers to lick and savour,

  this wonderful alchemy of  nature. 

©Photo/Text Ts

Link 

http://www.honeybee.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60

Monday; Aahh...

Aahh… close your eyes and dream of an island in the sun;

 idly succumb  to a delightful dream;  a closed book in your lap,

 the soft tap

 of  a slow day rolling by. Aahh…

©Photo/Text Ts

Links

Poetic Takeaway's;

T-Picturesque;

Sepia Saturday 149;

Aptly described as ‘gifts from the earth’, thermal springs occur in many parts of New Zealand. Most are scattered throughout the Taupo Volcanic Zone in the central North Island, but some are in areas of extinct volcanic activity such as Northland, the Coromandel Peninsula and the Bay of Plenty. Others lie in non-volcanic areas, along faultlines, particularly in Westland and North Canterbury. They are formed when rainwater seeps down through rock towards the heat source deep beneath the surface and then rises again. The hot water dissolves minerals in the rock, and the mineral content as well as the temperature of hot springs varies according to locality.

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/thermal-pools-and-spas

 Mud is bubbling;

Water Steaming;

Hot sulfurous lake;

©Photos/ Ts Rotorua, New Zealand;

look for Sepia Saturday 

HERE

Thursday; Sunrise in the valley;

Morning sings in glowing pink;

Photo/Text Ts

Links

 Lavender and Vanilla;

Poetic Takeaway's; a trivial world of words;