Saturday, August 29, 2009

Overview of the Smithsonian Libraries digitization process

Overview of the Smithsonian Libraries digitization process (May 2009).

The scanning equipment, the actualy page-turning...

The pages are turned mannually... what happens if you get your arm caught in the machine when the glass cover comes down?

I liked the imagery of linking back to the old printing press, how far we've come etc. But it would have been great to see how they digitally enhanced the images before release.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Prison Break Echidna!

Poor echidna at West Pennant Hills Koala Park, trying so desperately to be free...







Sydney for a week was a nice break... break that's all... 1 week not really enuff... no mood to go back to the daily grind after that...

Were shamelessly tourist... Sydney city sighseeing hop-on-hop-off double decker bus RAWKS!

Saw koalas, kangaroos, cassowaries, wombats, wallabies, cuckatoos, peacocks, penguins...

Did Blue Mountains... did Bondi and Manly...

Sorry to say, mountains are mountains and beaches are beaches...

Also anytime there's pollution in the air, you'll get blue mountains... mountains behind a blue haze... which means, pretty much almost anywhere these days?

The China mountains, Yan Dan Shang, were way much more spectacular... Come to think of it, NZ's own Cape Palliser, at the bottom of North Island, 4 hrs drive from Wellington, was more spectacular...

Forgive my ungrateful whinging. The food in Sydney RAWKED. More variety and bigger portions. Mum-and-pop pizzarias! Malaysian prawn noodles! Proper Belgian waffles!

Max Brenner chocolate bar!


IKEA in North Ryde!

Captain Cook's Sydney Harbour Cruise + seafood buffet was enjoyable. Could have done with more deep fried calamari though. And I think our WLG James Cook Hotel's lunchtime buffet is miles better.

Silly Vodafone Aus... couldn't get my SIM card activated until 3 days later...Apparently min $20 topup or sumting? Should have just roamed.

Threw up on the way back to NZ, after the airplane food... =(

Dec 19-21 2008 MPO plays LOTR symphony

I want to slash my wrists...

How AGGRAVATING!

Spent my whole life since 2004 waiting for LOTR symphony to play in KL or Spore... now they finally are and I'm not bloody there!

And absolutely nothing about it in NZ... dry LOTR desert since the LOTR exhibition in 2006...

By the way, those dates the MPO chose are about as perfect as can be. LOTR FOTR was released on 20 Dec 2001. LOTR TTT on 19 Dec 2002. LOTR ROTK on 18 Dec 2003.

http://www.malaysianphilharmonic.com/season0809.php

Leuven, Wellington's Belgian Beer Cafe




*GUSH*

This my third year in Wellington and I swear this is the FIRST time I've been impressed by the angmoh food here...

My team went out for dinner this evening to Leuvan on the corner of Featherston and Johnston streets, just a 10 minute jaunt from office.

We even had a glorious clear calm evening to stroll in; it wasn't even that cold.

LEUVAN, Wellington's Belgian Beer Cafe
http://www.leuven.co.nz/

Famous for their mussels, they serve Hoegarden on tap!!!

I had:
GROOTMOEDER'S VARKENSKOTELETJES/COTES DE PORC
Herb-crumbed pork cutlet served on stoemp with red cabbage compote and rhubarb relish $23.90

Stoemp is mashed potatoes.

The portions were generous. The first ang moh restaurant in my Wellington experience with decent sized portions.

Like I said in the 3 years I've been in Wellington, I have been SO unimpressed by the food here in terms of taste and portion size. Especially portion size. Trying to be so French and sophisticated and serving molecules of food on platters the size of manhole covers.

Recalling the pathetic drops and crumbs of food dished up at Hazel and St Johns, the two places I was dragged to for company Xmas lunches last year (and had to pay for self, mind you), I had gloomily resigned myself to another exorbitant midget meal.

Instead it was magnificent and bountiful. I am so impressed that I've come home to immediately start waxing lyrical about it on my blog.

LEUVAN'S MENU
http://www.leuven.co.nz/menu.htm

Next target:

SCHAPEPOOTJES/PATEƉD’AGNEAU
Beer braised lamb shank and seasonal root vegetable pie $21.90

Sounds unimaginative and stodgy but imagine this deep dish covered with a pie crust and baked golden brown, with the lamb shank sticking out jauntily and crowned with a sprig of rosemary.

Piping hot stew on a cold winter night.

Such a generous portion that the Scottish guy next to me couldn't finish.