Minutes away...

From doing a little talk at the University here.... I am convincing young engineering students that they have done the right thing by choosing engineering by telling them about my exciting career......
.
.
.
I might need to leave out some bits..
Wish me luck.

Its a NEW CAR!!!!!

Well, maybe not....

Because I am spending too much time in China at the moment, having my leased car is no longer an option....

So I am moving out of my auto-everything, insanely comfortable, quite fast car into.....

this.....

It will have its 20th birthday next year.....
To think that when I first moved to the US I was complaining about driving a mini-van!

One thing I discovered as I drove it back home from Maryborough (about 400kms)... modern cars make it soooo much easier to drive long distances... the week before I did the same drive in Ruth's car without stopping.  Arrived perfectly comfortable...
On driving back my new steed, I stopped three times, and enjoyed every stop.  Not having airconditioning, comfortable seats, cruise control... all those little things I have taken for granted for quite a few years!

Still justifying....

Last night I worked my way through all the digitial entries... today I took a vacation day to get some things done including the judging of all the actual prints....  Well over 100 shots in all.

Presenting "my findings" tonight... hoping I get out alive!

He who Justifies...

I am sitting here tonight judging photos.... not that I really think I am truly qualified to do so - apart from the fact that my "spirit name" is "he who justifies".....

The set subject is ABSTRACT! How on earth are you meant to judge abstract photos???

day after valentines day....

Happy Late Valentines Day....
this is the following morning outside a florist in Zhuozhou..

Hope the people who actually received flowers lasted longer....

travel....

Sometimes.... sometimes, when I travel, it feels a little like this.....

arty area....

a wide angled me at an one of the art galleries I visited in Beijing
on Sunday.....
ain't i all kultured n stuff?

There were ceramic pots in this installation, stakcked one on the
other up to about 2 stories high.... lots of other things around, some
that felt very Chinese.. some that would be at home in a modern art
gallery anywhere in the world....

don't it just...

I would not have thought so.
Still it is on the window.
Large as life,
You cannot argue with it.
Everything here seems to be embodied with meaning
The coffee, a hotel stay, a towel
I wonder if it sounds as corny to the locals?
Nonetheless....
Who would have thought a coffee could do so much.....
The door says so - so who am I to argue?

sculptor

This guy really was goshdarn good!

not quite so heavenly.

I was walking around...
Might have been a tiny bit chilly....
You would not have thought it was cold enough that people were coming
up and grabbing my arms to check I was warm... and then giving me a
thumbs up symbol.... bit uncomfotable really.... despite popular
opinion I am very picky about the people I want touching me!!!


Camera Geek:
Camera is sitting on my camera bag (that is the "tripod" I have with me all the time), using a little (just bought at the markets 1 hour before this) $4 IR remote control.  The on camera flash is up and is on slow sync just to give a little flash at me (if your camera can do this it is INCREDIBLY useful....{slow sync or rear curtain just mean that it take the picture the way that it would if there was no flash... but then it will throw a bit of flash in either at the beginning or end of the shot [really good for giving a bit of extra light on people's faces when you are outdoors]})

Temple of Heaven

Looking very Heavenly indeed....

Starbucks... the place to...

> Go when you need a sleep....
> Or when you and your puppy need a bit of exercise....
> 2 different days..2 different cities. first in Changsha, second in Beijing...

Fireworks in Milou

Ok... so the town I will be living in...
This is a picture of the fireworks for a festival  (fireworks go up here for celebrations like births, weddings, brushing your teeth, or getting a cab with seat belts in the back seat)...

The fireworks were set off by random people everywhere.

This lot was a box that was just set in the biggest intersection in the town and a match was thrown in..

a bit of work to do.....

so this is a picture of the site I will be working on.....
trust me when I say that the outside of the buildings is indicative of
how much still needs to be done inside as well...
yeah...
this is going to be fun...
i am going to keep telling myself that....

Fish at the airport

these guys look nearly as bored as I do right now!