The Sunday Roast

My Pleasure To Introduce The Oxford Scholar

This week's interview is with Brian,
who writes the blog Brian In Oxford.

1. The first of the standard weekly questions: Why do you blog?

It seems like a good idea to put ideas "on paper", without submitting a manuscript to a publisher who's got no idea who I am. Plus, it's amusing to stir reactions on utterly random topics from people.

2. What's the story behind your blog name?

Name and location, sir.

3. What is the best thing about being a blogger?

The interesting comments you can get from people you never heard of, who might chime in on a particular story.

4. What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

Make sure you don't skip number five. I can't stress this enough.

6. Thanks for pointing out so humorously that I accidentally left out question #5. I'll take your advice and never do it again! But here is question # 6 .... What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

Probably the first one I ever read ..... it was a guy whose contract with ESPN had run out, so he ported his daily format to blogland. It made blogging seem like something anyone can do.

7. What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

Probably the details of my hyperglycemic episode last summer. I try to steer away from sounding too much like this is just an online diary. This *is* writing for at least some sort of audience .... so if it's going to be personal, it should at least be somewhat informative or amusing.

Today's Sunday Roast with Brian is the twelfth in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Perfect Place To Crash

That’s A Real Arresting Performance

Michigan police officers say a man dressed as a woman repeatedly crashed his car into a suburban Detroit lingerie store that refused to hire him. The 27-year-old was arrested outside the Intimate Ideas store, wearing "facial makeup, lipstick, blue Capri pants, red flip-flops, a flowery blouse and a matching flowery women's bra."

FOOTNOTE: 'Drag' racer.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

I got a call from Tina Turner
She wants to be my private dancer
But I put it on the back burner
And bought a Mitsubishi Lancer

Notions Thirteen

Hang On, Where Are Clooney, Pitt And Damon?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I've really enjoyed this week's theme for Photo Hunt and I thought "13" was a great choice of a semi-abstract subject. If you look carefully at the top picture and if you remember your Roman numerals, you'll see that it is a really lucky depiction of the theme.

I reckon I'm a fairly observant sort of bloke, but I've walked and driven past this sight several times in the past year - five times a week, on average. I had my son in the car with me and we were talking about the need to find a really unusual shot for the theme, rather than a straightforward photograph of the figure 13.

That's exactly the point when my jaw dropped open and I said to him "Have a look at that - there's the shot I need to take." And he just burst out laughing, because it was perfect for what I wanted.

So, have you managed to figure out what this image shows? Let me explain. It's a wooden bench and the back support, instead of comprising several parallel slats, has an unusual arrangement. There are a couple of perpendicular slats, then one in the shape of an X, then several more perpendicular slats and another X.

Having identified what I wanted to shoot, I then had to face up to the logistics of taking the shot. The bench is on a verandah which gets the sun for about twelve hours a day, so of course the harsh Australian sun has taken its toll and the paint or varnish on the wood has faded completely to the colour of mountain ash.

Immediately behind the bench is a window and of course there are curtains as well - several factors that complicated the equation to take an effective shot. But here it is, just as I saw the figure XIII, with no tricks and no enhancement. And now for the rest of my photographs ....

This (above) is a big Beaurepairs tyre shop on Kingsway, in south Melbourne. The early afternoon light was very strong and I had to make sure I didn't get any reflection, while giving you an idea of the traffic flying past as well.

This was a nearby traffic signal fault alert, with a sign providing the telephone number to call if the lights are not working properly.

The credit for this shot (above) goes entirely to my son. He saw a gardening franchisee at work and told me that the man had the phone number for the franchise emblazoned on his back. So of course, I rocked up and asked the bloke's permission.

I tld him what I wanted to do and he looked genuinely surprised. "The phone number's on my back?" When I assured him that i was indeed on his back, he grinned and told me to go ahead.

"Do you want me to turn around and face the light?" he asked.

No, mate, I said, that's not my style. I photograph people and objects exactly where they are. However, it's interesting to note the detail of the fabric and how clear it is, even in fading light.

This was a photo of the gardening franchisee's truck, and I've framed the shot carefully to get in just the first two digits of the number to call if your garden is getting out of control.

This shot, of a taxi driving away from the Langham Hotel (formerly the Sheraton) in Melbourne is another one I planned to take as soon as I knew what the theme was. You see, "13CABS" is the phone number of the cab company. I could have photographed several stationery taxis at the cab rank, but it's far more fun to shoot a moving object.

And this final shot is a publicity poster for the musical "Guys And Dolls". Can you spot the 13? If you can, I'd suggest it's because you have a can-do attitude. Or maybe, in the light of this shot, that should be a can-can-do attitude.

Look Sharp

Let’s Spend The Knife Together

A Russian electrician slept off a night's drinking with a long knife stuck in his back and didn't notice until his wife spotted it in the kitchen the next day. He was rushed to hospital in the northern city of Vologda, but the 15-centimetre (six-inch) knife had not damaged any vital organs. His wife saw the handle of the knife sticking out as her husband bent down to get some breakfast from the fridge.

FOOTNOTE: Shoulder blade.

Post Of The Day

Today’s winner is Sandi McBride with How To Reassure The Practically Immortal They Are Not Dead. The other contenders were Jamie Dawn with Redneck Life; Uncle Joe with Miracle In My Backyard; Sybil Law with Uranus (Hahahaha); Max-e with Flying Into The Sunset; Derfwad Manor with Bossy Bossy Bossy; Snooty Primadonna with I’d Like To Kick The Crap Out Of Cancer; Jo Beaufoix with Ladybird, ladybird; The Pea Green Boat with Who Will You Be?; Epijunky with Letter To My Daughter; Ramblings Around Texas with Blue Sky (It’s Too Cold To Swim) and Quiet Paths with Sky Watcher. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Friday night he fixed the carburettor
(The thing he calls ``the carbie’’)
On Saturday he felt much better
And rode the winner in the Derby

Fright Attendant

Here's The Lowdown - You're Too Low Down

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Okay, gentle readers, you can breathe easy. This is not a real plane crash. It's simply an example of good old Outback gallows humour. This mock "accident" is a well-known sight at the Ettamogah Pub, on the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne.


Ground control to Major Tom - you're grounded. Literally and metaphorically, that is. Looks like this plane needs a nose job. Hmmmm, let's take a closer look ....


He must have been coming in on a wing and a prayer - and obviously neither the wing nor the prayer was strong enough.


Here's what the scene in the control tower looks like. The sign down the bottom that is partially obscured by the foliage says: "Air safety is our concern - Crash somewhere else."

And if you're wondering about "Coolanhotta Air Control", it's a play on the Australian habit of running words into each other, so "Coolanhotta" is actually "cool and hotter". It's also a pun on the name of the Gold Coast airport, which is called Coolangatta.

Mate, if ya have to crash, there's no better place in the entire Outback to crash than next to a pub.

For other participants in Dot’s concept, go to Sky Watch Friday.

Buzz Word

The Last Thing We Want Is A Sting Operation

A Greenville County woman is working with a beekeeper to rid her home of 60,000 bees living in the walls of her house for a month. She is allergic to bees and has been sleeping with anti-allergy medication near her bed to give herself an emergency shot if stung. The beekeeper said it will take a few weeks to remove the bees, which he hopes to move to his home, where he keeps around three million of the insects in 50 hives.

FOOTNOTE: Thanks, honey.

Post Of The Day

Today’s winner is Irish Eyes with Fox’s Tale. The other contenders were Cowgirl with Of Ghost Towns and Old Gold; Sandy Kessler with Flowing Water Is My Teacher; Stacey with My Dearest Friend Is Gone; Singleton with Just Give Me Peace, She Said; Mushy with Hunting With Marion; Lin with Cowboy Bar And Grill; Moments From Suburbia with Do You Ever Talk To Worms? and Mrs Nesbitt with M Is For Muzzle. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.You can nominate a post too.

Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

I ain’t no good at poker
I ain’t no good at bridge
I’m just a hungry joker

So take me to your fridge

M Is For Marriage

Sole Mates

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Remember the song "Get me to the church on time" from My Fair Lady? There's this childhood friend of mine, whom I'm still very close to. He's late for everything. Yep, I mean everything. But we were determined that if there was one thing he'd be on time for, it would be his own wedding.

If I cloak this yarn in the necessary anonymity, I'm sure he'll have a restrospective chuckle as well.

He's a very - how shall I put this - meticulous dresser. You know the sort of bloke I mean? Goes in for a shower and comes out about 45 minutes later. Never in a hurry to do anything. Pretty easy-paced and relaxed about life.

So on the day of his wedding, I thought I'd have a bit of fun. Yep, I have to confess, I've always been a bit of a prankster and if you'd like to catch up on what happened to one of my workmates, you'll need to read Name, Prank And Serial Number.

The wedding day dawned (time for a cliche) bright and clear. His tuxedo was freshly pressed. His bow tie was immaculate. The whole outfit waited on the external door of a cupboard. Only the finest threads for this bloke. The label on the tux said Hugo Boss.

He's that sort of guy. Get the picture?

But precisely because he's that sort of guy, I had a great plan ready.

I was going to paint the word "HELP'' on the sole of his left shoe and the word "ME'' on the sole of his right shoe. So that when he knelt down at the altar, the entire congregation would see the fluoro message ``HELP ME''.


Yes, I know all about the sanctity of marriage and the overwhelming need to be respectful in church. But the opportunity was just too good to miss.

When he went in for his shower, I knew I had time on my side. The way I figured it, a bloke who had taken 45 minutes all his life just to get ready for school, was odds-on to take 90 minutes on his wedding day.

Follow my logic?

So as soon as he went in for his shower, I commandeered his shoes. His aunt, a delightful woman, was horrified. She asked if I was going to hide his shoes.

Nope, I chuckled, worse than that.

What could be worse than hiding his shoes, she asked, intrigued.

Er, painting then, I fessed up.

At this point I thought she was going to swoon gracefully before calling bravely for the smelling salts.


I had the paintbrushes handy, I had the paint handy. At this point I thought it would be pertinent to mention that her two eldest sons, both gifted artists as well as ordained Catholic priests, were my fellow conspirators. They had done a contra deal with me and supplied me with the paint and the brushes. And they were laughing in the background, because a) they shared any perceived guilt in the project and b) they knew exactly what I was doing.

I picked up the left shoe and in my neatest, boldest script, I painted HELP on the sole in large, condensed script. I chose the colours carefully. Because the soles of his shoes were dark brown leather, I chose red and yellow paint. As in red and yellow fluoro paint. The way I figured it - taking into consideration my extensive experience in newspaper and magazine design - red and yellow would be highly visible.

I was as proud of my handiwork as Michelangelo would have been of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

By this time, my buddy's aunt was fanning herself to ward off the impending panic attack. "That's not going to dry before he gets dressed," she pointed out.

I pointed out that her nephew would not emerge for at least another half-hour. And then I slipped in the remark that I was about to put on the oven and put the shoes in for five minutes, just to make sure the paint was well and truly dry.

I was kidding, but she clasped the piano, the better to break her fall.

When the colour drained from her face, I promised her I was exaggerating. The paint was almost dry. I wouldn't have to put his clod-hoppers in the oven.

Yeah, right, she was thinking. She'd known me long enough to recognise the fact that it was just the sort of thing I would do for the sake of a prank. So she hovered around. Just in case I reached for the oven door.


Like a burglar hiding the evidence, I placed the shoes back in precisely the same spot from where I had "liberated" them. Sure enough, he put them on and laced them up without a shred of suspicion. Everything was going to plan.

We drove to the appointed address to take some family photographs before the wedding. Then things started to fall apart. Because we were very close to the church, it was decided that we would simply walk across.

This was an unexpected spoke in the wheel. I'm a great advocate of walking and other healthy pastimes. But, for cryin' out loud, not when a guy's got paint on his shoes. I was running out of options. What could I do? Ring Dial-A-Palanquin, perhaps? Phone Dial-A-Phaeton? Whistle up a retinue of palace guards to transport him, like some ancient potentate, to the church door?

So we walked. A couple of hundred metres, that was all. I gritted my teeth all the way. Each step that he took drove a knife into my soul, the soul of an inveterate prankster. By the time he knelt at the altar, you had to look really closely to see the words "HELP ME!"

Now I know how Rembrandt must have felt (posthumously, of course) when his masterpiece "The Night Watch" was slashed to ribbons.

I felt like I needed a quadruple art bypass.


For the home of ABC Wednesday, go to Mrs Nesbitt's Place.

All Distressed Up And Nowhere To Go

Er, This Isn’t The Way To The Church, Is It?

A southwest Ohio woman ended up in jail on her way to serving as a bridesmaid at her sister's wedding. A state trooper charged the 28-year-old with driving under the influence and instead of walking down the aisle with the rest of the wedding party, she arrived at jail in her yellow bridesmaid's dress. Authorities say she was driving with an invalid license – and drove into a tree.

FOOTNOTE: Tree little words.

Post Of The Day

Today’s winner is Poetic License with Taking No For An Answer. Among the other contenders were Colleen with The Closet; Ali Blah Blah with Best Of Both Worlds; Corey with The World In Which We Live; Jenn in Holland with Nothing But; Lime with Mothers Of The Year; Mother of this Lot with Prison Versus Motherhood; Big Apple Little Britainer with Sandwiches In Packages; Holly with Poor Poor Rich J. K. Rowling; Driving With The Brakes On with Back To Reality; Maggie May with Hair-Raising Styles; Joan with Dinner In The Clouds and The Mighty Sam’s Stay At Home Dad. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

In Shediac their claim to fame
Is producing mighty lobsters
The sheriff thought he’d change his name
When visited by mobsters

Guardian Angles

For Geometry, We'll Study These Two Triangles

Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun. December 2007

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Talking Turkey

Spokane Police Have Found Their True Calling

Police in Spokane have revealed their anonymous tip line has been receiving calls about anything but crime. Residents have called to ask which businesses are open on holidays, how long it takes to thaw a 12-pound turkey, what the boating regulations are and how long to wait after a death to read a will. The hot-line gets about a dozen calls a day, but it is not clear how many are actually crime-related.

FOOTNOTE: Ring-Tin-Tin.

Post Of The Day

Today’s winners are Hilary with Mockingbird and Nicole P with The Most Important Thing I Ever Lost. The other posts that made an impression were Camikaos with Haunted; Suldog with Some Fun For You; Momma with Take This - And Call Me In The Morning; Mama Geek with Counting The Hours; Josie with Silly Superstitions; Daddykaos with Cost Of Living Getting Out Of Control; Katney's Kaboodle with Odd Shots Monday; RuneE with Saturday Trove; Shrinky with Mute; and Jeff B with Cows And Characters. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

So here is your answer
On Lady Godiva
Great ballroom dancer
But not a good jiver

Pistil Whipped

Careful, Sheriff, This Evidence Is `Planted'

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I hadn’t heard of the Project Yellow theme until I saw a reference to it on Texican’s blog. Then I heard from Anna Carson, asking if I’d be interested in taking part. I had a look at her blog, liked what I saw and told her she could sign me up straight away.

This rose is the only Chicago Peace variety we have in our garden and I just wish I’d planted more. They’re huge, double-coloured, stunning blooms with a very long-lasting scent and even though we’re halfway through autumn, this bush is still in full bloom. This particular flower was in the last stage of withering on the stem when I photographed it.

I guess it just proves that if we care to look deep enough in all walks of life, it is truly possible to find beauty in decay.

For details, or to join the theme, go to Anna Carson.

Valentin's Day

General Consternation

The Russian army has launched a fitness regimen to help generals lose weight and squeeze into a new designer uniform by Valentin Yudashkin. A third of the army's elite officers are overweight and 25 per cent failed a fitness test. The army will now launch a fitness drive, building gyms, swimming pools and sports halls to get the officers back in shape.

FOOTNOTE: Fit happens.

Post Of The Day

Today's winner is Big Blue Barn West with My First Day. The other memorable posts were The Right Blue with First Dives On The Wreck Of The Zenobia; O'Ceallaigh's Felloffatruck Publications with Hippo Birdie Shoutout; Kimmy with Fart Facts; Quill Dancer with Sailing Sunny Seas; Veg Plotting with Hollywood Inaction; Lori with Youth's Technicolour; Jennifer Harvey with The Scent Of A Memory; Jo Beaufoix with Hair Today And Tomorrow And The Next Day; Barn Goddess with Confessions, Confessions; Blue with All Singing, All Dancing And All Entertaining; Sandi McBride with The Kitten In The Wellhouse; Meeyauw's White-Breasted Nuthatch and Pappy’s Balderdash with Paths. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

I used to play with aeroplanes

I used to play with trucks

Now I just "shoot" window panes

I'm in a state of flux

The Polar Espresso

Better Latte Than Never

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

We were at a fairground this weekend when I noticed the licence plate of this vehicle, whose owners were doing such a roaring trade that there was always a long queue of eager customers. Normal licence plates in Victoria, the state where I live, consist of three letters followed by three numerals. The registration is in blue, on a white background.

But personalised plates - or vanity plates as they are sometimes called overseas - come in an interesting variety of colours. The limit of six alpha-numeric characters still applies, but in this case, an eight-letter word was cleverly condensed into six. Given the coffee reference, I have no grounds for complaint.

(The Odd Shots concept came from Katney. Say "G'day" to her.)

Explosive Revelation

Some Schemes Always Bomb Out

This isn’t a case of hoe, hoe, hoe. Romanian firefighters were shocked to learn a farmer was using an unexploded missile as an anvil. The 122mm calibre missile, discovered by the man in his garden in Puieni village, Giurgiu county, a few months ago, had been used for sharpening hoes and scythes. The missile was destroyed in a controlled explosion by an army bomb squad.

FOOTNOTE: Out of scythe, out of mind.

Ant Hathaway

Time To Adjust The Ant-tenna

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Misty Dawn just told me about her Camera Critters challenge, where you have to post a shot of an animal each Sunday. This shot immediately came to mind. During the week I started using the brilliant new macro lens, the SMC Pentax-DA 1:2.8mm Macro Limited - and this was among the first shots I took with it.

I was out in the garden when I decided to experiment with some rosebuds. This rose is called First Love and the buds and blooms are smaller than many of the other roses in the back yard - so I figured it would be ideal for the new lens. I was bending over one of the branches when I noticed something black, deep in the interior folds of one of the buds.

I moved the camera aside and took a closer look, only to realise that there were not one but two ants wriggling around. My initial impulse was to get rid of the ants, but then my photography instincts took over. I immediately started shooting, but have you ever thought about how quickly ants wriggle? They just never stay still, so there I was contorting myself at various angles, trying to keep at least one of them in focus.

Bear in mind these are low-resolution versions, so a significant amount of clarity and detail have been lost. However, in the original high-resolution version, you can actually see the dark sheen on the little ant's body. But because I only had a split second to react and take this shot, I made a mistake. This cropped version (below) of the same frame is how I should have composed the shot.

Check out the rules at Camera Critters or go to Misty Dawn.

Weekend Wandering

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.

The question is: Have you ever had a hairstyle that makes you cringe when you think about it now?

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

My old aunt loved eggplant
She used it in her cooking
‘Twas part of her religious chant
When my uncle wasn’t looking

The Sunday Roast

Lots Of Computing Power On This Imac

This week's interview is with imac,
who writes the blog Photos From The Mind's Eye.

The first of the standard weekly questions: Why do you blog?

G'day David. Ah - Which seat is mine, my friend, to your left or my right? As you can see, Ive dressed for this auspicious occasion. Oh, and please speak a little louder, as I'm a little deaf in this ear. Thank you.

What's that, ah, why do I blog? Well, as you may already know I've been a keen photographer for many a year now and in the last few years I have been making greeting cards with some of my photos to help pay for the expense. I guess it's because I really want to share my photos with people with the same passion as I have - to take photos.

What’s the story behind your blog name?

My blog name is imac. No, I don't use an iMac Computer, I have a PC. So imac - simple, really. 'Tis I - Mac. My surname is Mackinder = imac.

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Well, that's easy really, To show my photos to all the friends I've made while I've been blogging. I never really thought that I would meet so many friendly people here, to swap photos and comments - to tell stories sad, happy, funny ones ... To have a good laugh with everyone or to share a tear or two together.

To be inspired to improve my technique too. Oh, and to be a clown and to share my insanity moments when they attack me, haha.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

Phew - well, I'm really not technically minded, and easily forget things told to me, all I can say is to buy a camera that's suited to you and that feels right in your hand. To frame a picture with a tree, maybe don't have the focal point dead in the middle. I've had no lessons or been to any clubs. You will know when you have an eye for a photo too.

What is the most significant blog post you’ve ever read?

Ah, now that's the time to be excused, is it? Time to take a break then ..... Ah, G'day again David, thanks for the pint too. Now this is really hard to answer. There's been so many great posts from everyone, all I will say is the moment that sticks in my mind is when I read a post from a person that has the same insane mind as I have. It clicked.

What is the most significant blog post you’ve every written?

This one is easy because it ain't been written yet. So keep looking at MY blog - or you might miss it. Ah, beep beep beep beep, I like Road Runner the best.

Cheers, folks, keep smiling and be happy. Oh and keep blogging too. Oh, I forgot, you all are welcome to come to my 60th birthday party in June. Thanks for being a great host, David, and for having a joker as your guest.

Today's Sunday Roast with imac is the eleventh in a weekly series of interviews with bloggers from around the world.

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

To taste the wines of heaven
You drive to Concongella
Just say "G’day" to Kevin
And take care of your patella

Just Twisted, Not Bitter

Where's Chubby Checker When You Need Him?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

TNChick had me racking my brain today, with the theme for this week's Photo Hunt being "Twisted". So in the absence of a Chubby Checker lookalike to photograph, it is my pleasure to give you this variety of takes on the subject. Each object was photographed exactly where it was. I donlt believe in moving things to shoot them in a better light or from a better angle - working around a problem is the true joy of photography.

Here's a challenge for all of you - see if you can guess what each object is.

No. 1. We'll start with an easy one. If you said pipe cleaners, you are correct.

No. 2. This was a curly one to shoot, because I was working in a very cramped space.


Figured it out? Yes, of course you have. It's the twisted wire from a hair straightener called a GHD - which I am reliably informed by certain members of the Authorblog mansion is an acronym for "Good Hair Day".

No 3. It's "knot" too hard to solve, is it? Time to put your thinking cap on.

Okay, it's the laces on a pair of Adidas trainers. I reckon it was either a very brave decision or a very foolhardy one to try and photograph a white object with no other colours in the frame. But that's the beauty of pushing the boundaries, isn't it?


No 4. Getting more challenging now? Any bright ideas? It's not the lord of the rings. That's for sure.


This was a pair of Osram MiniTwist energy-saver light globes. They were still in their thick plastic packaging, which made it a lot harder to photograph them while dealing with extraneous reflection.

No 5. This set of weather-beaten wires is an external set of Christmas lights, photographed on a hot Melbourne afternoon. The light colour of the bricks tended to wash out in the extremely bright light, so I composed the shot to include the dark, clear shadow as well.

No 6. Whaddya reckon? Any ideas? Maybe it's part of a spring collection.

This view of the same object will give you a better idea of what it is. Yep, it's a spring from a trampoline.

(The photographs accompanying this post were taken with a new macro lens, the SMC Pentax-DA 1:2.8mm Macro Limited. Note the clarity and the great depth of field - and watch this blog for more shots with this lens.)

Cleaning Up Crime

Turning Up The Heat On Theft

A dry-cleaner in Papua New Guinea has a unique way to get thieves to clean up their act - giving them a steam cleaning. A 20-year-old man in the northeast town of Lae suffered burns to his abdomen, chest and back after the shop owner turned a steam cleaner on him when he was caught stealing pants. Police seemed unconcerned about the punishment.

FOOTNOTE: Thieve Urkel?

Post Of The Day

Please put your hands together for today’s winner, Magazine Man with the post In Which We Meet In The Fog. Among the other posts that caught my eye were The Teach with Thursday Thirteen; Sandy Carlson with Accepting Charity; Ornery’s Wife with Plugged Drain and Other Rainy Day Maladies; Bubba’s Sis with Brain Fart; Kostas with Beautiful Afternoon; Momma with Not Everything In Life Is Exciting; TownBoy with Gator, Gator and LZ Blogger with Royal Botanic Gardens. Do pay them a visit and leave a comment if you have time.

You can nominate a post too. Just leave a comment here with the URL or link - and tell us the name of the blogger you are nominating. You can nominate more than one post. And yes, you can even nominate your own work. Righty-o, then, it's over to you ....

Verse And Worse

Random Wit, Errant Rhyme. Not A Literary Crime

Are you obsessed with folate?
Make sure you get your fibre
It ensures you never "go" late
So carry on up the Khyber