Walking, Chinese Food and Italian Beer

While walking Hermione sunday night we decided to get Chinese Take Away for dinner. This is one out our locals.

When we got it home Andrea came out of the basement with some cold Peroni's but Hermione didn't want hers, just a drink of water was fine, so I drank hers.

Mmm steamed dim Sims and beer.

Spiced honey chicken, dry fried pork and fried rice and beer.

Beer - Peroni Beer

Gladiola, Lily or something else?

While taking Hermione for a walk and a small diversion to get half a dozen Peroni's we came across this flower (see below). I think its a Galdiola or a lily. Gladiolas are also commonly called Sword Lily, grow quite tall and are easy to grow and like to be in full sun and in well drained soil. Is this one?

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/250 sec

Christmas Lights

Out looking for this years Christmas lights to photograph I grabbed this shot of an almost full moon over a bay near my house.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 800, f2.5, 1/13 sec (Hand Held)

The lights are a little slow coming out this year or I'm a bit early. Anyway here is an abstract view of some Chrissy lights near home.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 800, f2.0, 1/200 sec

Lifestreaming and your Federated Identity

Lifestreaming is a term that was coined by Eric Freeman and David Gelernter at Yale University in the mid-1990s to describe "...a time ordered stream of documents that functions as a diary of your electronic life, every document you create and every document other people send you is stored in your lifestream." The oldest posts or the tail of your stream contains documents from the past and more recent documents are toward the present. These are atifacts such as electronic mail, pictures, movies, voice mail, reminders, calendar items, to do lists etc. Today most of us have information scattered all around the internet, or now known by its metaphor as 'the cloud'.

How do you manage your identity and logins to all these resources? You have many more than you may think. Your bank, insurers, travel company, the government, online stores etc and thats not to mention life streaming services like:

Bebo - Delicious - Digg - Diigo - Facbook - Flickr - LinkedIn - Orkut - Twitter - Tumblr - Blogger - fblike - Google - Yahoo - FriendFeed - Youtube - Last.fm - Plazes

What we all have now is a federated identity or the virtual reunion, or assembled identity and this information is stored across multiple distinct identity management systems. Sometimes these are linked together by a common token, usually a user name if you use a common one for multiple systems or services. You are authenticated across multiple systems or even organisations. Your identity is distributed and accessible.

Not everyone has a constant flow of their recorded information posted both online and offline and its a mistake to think about this by limiting the concept your digital life as only a sum of the feeds you publish. Flickr and Youtube are ways of displaying your life in the offline world that may be there forever.

Sunrise, Old Timbers and Dog Fights

Sunrise from Clarkes Point Sydney Harbour today

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 13mm, 5 images various shutter speeds and exposure values compiled to a HDR by Photomatix Pro
A standard single exposure of the sun silhouetting the city and the harbour bridge.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 13mm, 1/5000 sec

Old timbers are part of the remains of ship repair workshops and a dry dock that were established here at Clarkes Point in 1884 by removing 20,000 tons of sandstone. When it opened it was the largest in Australia. The peak periods of activity were in the two World Wars, when up to 1,500 workers were employed here. It closed in 1959 and Clarkes Point became a public reserve in 1963.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 11mm, 5 images various shutter speeds and exposure values compiled to a HDR by Photomatix Pro
Then it was off to a park in Five Dock as Hermione is s little nervous around water and prefers land based sports. Like palm tree chewing.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/1000 sec

If you take her stuff she just might attack too, as she is shown doing below.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/800 sec

After she was satisfied she had won it was time for a well deserved rest in the shade.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/1000 sec

Christmas At the Sydney QVB

The Queen Victoria Building at 455 George Street, Sydney known as 'the QVB' was designed by George McRae and completed in 1898 on the old Sydney markets site.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/25 sec

This year they have a Swarovski Christmas tree adorned with thousands of Swarovksi crystals and over 60,000 lights reaches from its base on the ground level to level 3 and the dome.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 400, f2.8, 14mm, 1/50 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/60 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/60 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 14mm, 1/25 sec
Looking down on the central staircase in the Eastern side / Middle of the QVB.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/20 sec
Looking through the Romanesque arches East on level 2

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/40 sec

Even the guide dog tin was a stunning wood carving antique!

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/40 sec

The Romanesque architecture was achieved by stonemasons, plasterers, and stained window artists and was originally used as a concert hall then city library and office spaces. This expand to boutique coffee shops, offices, showrooms, tailors, cloth traders, hairdressers and florists.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/40 sec
A feature experience on level 5 aside from the many coffee shops, like above is the palatial Tea Room (follow link)

Stairs and antique lift well looking down.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/20 sec
Looking up those same stairs.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/10 sec
Some of the plaster moulding that adorns the arches.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/15 sec

The dominant feature is the centre dome, consisting of an inner glass dome and an exterior copper sheathed dome. Stained glass windows and the Romanesque architecture is dominant throughout the building with the original 19th century staircase alongside the dome as well as arches, pillars, balustrades and the intricate tiled floors.

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/50 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/20 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 16mm, 1/25 sec
The Country Road store.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/160 sec
Looking down at the main entrance from level 3

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 14mm, 1/60 sec

Nikon D300, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 @ ISO 400, f2.8, 14mm, 1/50 sec
Besides the intricate stained glass work on the main facade, like this central panel, there is stained glass panels above each shop. Each level has its own distinct design that is the same all across that level for every shop.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/160 sec
This is the level 3 design

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/320 sec

This is the level 2 design

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/250 sec

This is the lower Ground design

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.0, 1/200 sec

Outside the QVB, on Town Hall Place, facing The Town Hall are the Royal Wishing Well and Queen Victoria's statue. Source