ARKive

I was motivated to put something up when I received news that this photo was now 'live' on ARKive. Not a very good photo, and they do not link to the original photos, so that one might actually be able to view them better... However, the site had some good links and information. I found exploring the links to the so-called Dinosaur Ant most enjoyable. To go to ARKive click on the ARKive thumbnail. To go to the original photos on Flickr, click on the photos.

I was also curious about all their links and sharing options, so I posted it to Facebook and Twitter. Though for the life of me, I cannot see the pleasure or the point of Twitter.

Grevillea subtiliflora (A WA species, photographed at Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Brisbane, QLD)

Cassia javanica

The tree.


Flowering branches.


Detail: Flowers and leaves.

The usual story: Collected on camera, id'd on the internet, thanks to Flickr. The leaves, trunk and habit are not unlike a Jacaranda, but I'd been puzzling over some seedpods on the Women's College drive: a long cylindrical pod, with two seams running the length of it, splitting open to show a set of seeds each within a disc of width about 3-4 mm of material, the length of the pod being up to 40 cm or more. Puzzle no longer. They belong to this tree: Cassia javanica.

Borrowing the beauty of others' photographs

1. wiggy1, 2. Bad Langensalza- rosa 'Little Artist' 2008-07, 3. Autumn leaves 2008-10, 4. Pahoehoe*, 5. 181_0672 Crabapple Malus Rosaceae, 6. Punk ball, 7. IMG_2243_h, 8. Cistus psilosepalus v. hirsuitus, 9. I am Outta Here, 10. Pink Woolly Feather Flower-7133, 11. Scarlet Honey Myrtle-7230, 12. Brassica rapa, 13. Punica granatum, 14. Wallum Boronia-7816, 15. Tolumnia Durras "No.1", 16. reedmace at Askham Bog, York

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

This mechanism allows me to go back and enjoy some of the photos I have tagged as favourites.

Pleasures of flickr

One of Barbara J.H.'s photographs
Aerial view of a pineapple farm, and a lovely piece of abstract geometry.



This time I started to put in links to some of my favourite photos, but then I just used fdsflickrtoys to create a mosaic. If you go to the mosaic (by clicking on the image above) and click on the number representing the image you will arrive at the original image and image-maker's photostream. (Or more simply, you could click on the links below.)

1. Wow, 2. Deep Blue Ohio Evening, 3. Balloon flight-2975, 4. feldrain mit platterbse 2008-06, 5. Pink Sunshine, 6. Slow motion firework, 7. scattered shadows, 8. Fishing in the middle of the river Nemunas, in Kaunas, 9. 木綿の花, 10. Lichens and Airplant, 11. Milton Park Lodge - Bowral, 12. Can you find your bike?, 13. Schiehallion, 14. Caminhos, 15. black cheeseberry, 16. Ancient bushcraft (II)

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Morning walk collection

Early morning at the college. Adult corella feeding fledgling in a bottlebrush tree


Poinsiana, Delonix regia.

I noticed a wonderful blog on art (making this find, as always, via flickr. Under a wonderful photo I found:

"At the Object in Transition panel at the Getty Center in L.A.: Paul McCarthy (far left) discusses the sheep plug that hangs over his head like a dagger. “The dark stuff is hair,” he said. We hope he means wool.

"A who’s who of contemporary art conservation (yawn) gathered at the Getty Center last night to hear Rachel Harrison, Doris Salcedo, Paul McCarthy, curator Elizabeth Sussman (of Gordon Matta-Clark, You Are the Measure fame) and conservator Christian Scheidemann talk about conservation and contemporary art. Harrison discussed the problem of removing cobwebs from chicken beaks and replacing cans of exploded grape soda. McCarthy pondered the aging of ketchup.... More...

The fonts went sadly awry

I have spent all morning fiddling with this blog: firstly, trying to get threed's photos up in a manner acceptable to me, then, trying to fix the fonts which went sadly awry as a consequence of my post, and lastly, trying to put in links properly. (When one writes a message in Flickr involving a link, the necessary HTML is generated for you. On this site, one has to bumble around for oneself, but as you can see, my links now a) exist, and b) form part of a coherent sentence.)

I thought I had largely ceased to covet things. Not so. I have a new wireless mouse to prove otherwise. It came with false advertising: no battery from Singapore as stated. I bunged in a battery. It works. But has no switch to turn it off. I have rung the retailer and told them that they need to improve their game. They offered to take it back, but I suspect I am too lazy to do more than alert them that they are breaking the law, selling these items minus battery. (It is clearly the fault of the company doing the packaging: there was no tampering.) So for anyone wishing to acquire a wireless mouse, perhaps you should check that a) all advertised parts are present and b) there is a switch to turn the damned thing off.

Some favourite photos

This morning when I went for my swim, I had thought that I might post (with permission) some of my favourite photos from Threed.

However, none of her photos are able to be downloaded, so I am posting links to them.

NY 2007
cootie infestation
Cathedral ceiling, Parma, Italy

I came across her photos when looking for images of Kuringai Chase: I found a picture of Grevillea buxifolia and started to explore her photo stream, which ranges from the wonderfully mundane to the marvellous. There is an enormous sense of fun, of a desire to play and explore, which has utterly reconciled me to the notion of arty-farty. I can't do it: too self-censoring and critical. But I like looking at her photos.

Disheartenment & Casuarina cones

Casuarina cones

Forest Oak (Allocasuarina torulosa)
plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&am...

At the moment, I am feeling quite dispirited with my project of photographing and identifying plants that I see.

When I look at the thread for identified plants in the What plant is that? group, it seems my requests and IDs outweigh by far those of any other person, despite my having discovered Flickr only in September.

My incapacity to look, my failure to capture the critical details of the plant, and my continued ignorance of botanical nomenclature, together with the fear of attempting to key a plant out from the very beginning as one must on PlantNet(without being able to come in at it halfway through as one can to some extent using a text book) currently overwhelm me.

Anyway, should anyone be interested in making an attempt to differentiate casuarinas, to calibrate the measure of my despair and to witness the various interactions of the Flickr plant community, double click on the image of the casuarina cones.

Night view on Christmas Eve

Night view to the central coast

Stormy nights, moonlit nights. Such a cliche. But I have a friend who likes to take such photos. Hence, I too, now keep trying.

This image looked ok when replayed on the camera. But was basically black when replayed on my computer. However, the camera comes complete with editing software. To recapture what I saw, this image was edited using brightness/colour adjustments, the most important of which was the 'Tone curve adjustment' but I also added a fraction more brightness and adjusted the levels (whatever that may be!)

(To see any image in its original size, double click on the image. This takes you to the image in larger format and to its original on Flickr. )

Crabs & Flickr

Red-fingered Marsh Crab (Sesarma erythrodactyla)


Adult male semaphore crab (Heloecius cordiformis)


Juvenile semaphore crabs (Heloecius cordiformis)

After years of using the Internet and thinking it was well and truly over-hyped, I have finally discovered its wonders.

I wander out with my camera and see things which I had never before bothered to notice. I post their photos to Flickr and always there is someone there who has the generosity, kindness and knowledge to identify the pretty things I have brought home.

So here are three pictures, collected on my visit to Patonga Creek, identified by a lady living in the US who is nuts and knowledgeable about crabs. Identified within just a few hours.

And the story is the same for my botanical specimens: no sooner do I post an unidentified plant, than answers are supplied, by an army of generous and knowledgeable people. And I wonder about their demographic. Are they, like me, superannuated baby-boomers, enjoying the community provided by this amazing web?

Flickr

Petrophile linearis (Kensington bushland, suburban Perth, October)

I have discovered the joys of the internet with Flickr. In particular, all the myriad ways one finds photos one likes. The finding of people whose responses and photos you like...

When someone finds and comments on a photo of mine, I probably look at the profile first and then the photos. However, this morning I found a photo and wanted to comment and then decided to pull my head in. Too political. In checking out whether I did want to comment I explored Awcmon's photos, and found this, which I thought was worth noting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/awcmon/1537021723/in/set-72157600656315664/
(I can't send you easily to the image, but from the text below, you can see that it's the picture of a marine.)

I AM A LEAN, MEAN, GREEN, AMPHIBIOUS MONSTER MADE OF BLOOD AND GUTS WHO AROSE FROM THE FIERY DEPTHS OF HELL, WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO PERPETUATE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION UPON THE FESTERING OF ANTI-AMERICANS THROUGHOUT THE GLOBE, WHENEVER, WHEREVER IT MAY ARISE. AND, WHEN MY TIME COMES I'LL DIE A GLORIOUS DEATH ON THE BATTLEFIELD, GIVING MY LIFE FOR MOM, APPLE PIE AND THE AMERICAN FLAG. WE STOLE THE EAGLE FROM THE AIR FORCE, THE ANCHOR FROM THE NAVY AND THE ROPE FROM THE ARMY. AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY WHILE GOD RESTED, WE OVERRAN HIS PERIMETER, STOLE THE GLOBE AND WE'VE BEEN RUNNING THE WHOLE SHOW EVER SINCE. WE LIVE LIKE SOLDIERS, TALK LIKE SAILORS, AND SLAP THE HELL OUT OF BOTH OF THEM. WARRIORS BY DAY, LOVERS BY NIGHT, PROFESSIONALS BY CHOICE, AND MARINES BY THE GRACE OF GOD

And this is the one which sent me on a search through his photos, to see if I wanted to comment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awcmon/2068454686/
I was startled by the (necessarily) huge size of the military hospital and wanted to post a comment on America’s policy of waging war on any country she decides to take a stick to.