• Meeting at the Pavilion

    Caught up with some other photographers at the Pavillion in West End on Sunday


  • Declaration of Innocence Before the Gods of the Tribunal

    I went to the Egyption exhibition at the Queensland Museum this week and this took my fancy.

    Hail Far-strider who came forth from Heliopolis, I have done no falsehood.

    Hail Fire-embracer who came forth from Kheraha, I have not robbed.

    Hail Nosey who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not been rapacious.

    Hail Swallower of shades who came forth from the cavern, I have not stolen.

    Hail Dangerous One who came forth from Rosetjau, I have not killed men.

    Hail Double Lion who came forth from the sky, I have not destroyed food-supplies.

    Hail Fiery Eyes who came forth from Letopolis, I have done no crookedness.

    Hail Flame which came forth backwards, I have not stolen the god’s offerings.

    Hail Bone-breaker who came forth from Heracleopolis, I have not told lies.

    Hail Green of Flame who came forth from Memphis, I have no taken food.

    Hail You of the cavern who came forth from the West, I have not been sullen.

    Hail White of teeth who came forth from the Faiyum, I have not transgressed.

    Hail Blood-eater who came forth from the shambles, I have not killed a sacred bull.

    Hail Eater of entrails who came forth from the House of Thirty, I have not committed perjury.

    Hail Lord of Truth who came forth from Maaty, I have not stolen bread.

    Hail Wanderer who came forth from Bubastis, I have not eavesdropped.

    Hail Pale One who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not babbled.

    Hail Doubly evil who came forth from Andjet, I have not disputed except concerning my own property.

    Hail Wememty-snake who came forth from the place of execution, I have not fornicated with a child.

    Hail You who see whom you bring who came forth from the House of Min, I have not misbehaved.

    Hail You who are over the Old One who came forth from Imau, I have not made terror.

    Hail Demolisher who came forth from Xois, I have not transgressed.

    Hail Disturber who came forth from Weryt, I have not been hot-tempered.

    Hail Youth who came forth from the Heliopolitan nome, I have not been deaf to words of truth.

    Hail Foreteller who came forth from Wenes, I have not made disturbance.

    Hail You of the altar who came forth from the secret place, I have not hoodwinked.

    Hail You whose face is behind him who came forth from the Cavern of Wrong, I have neither misconducted myself nor copulated with a boy.

    Hail Hot-foot who came forth from the dusk, I have not been neglectful.

    Hail You of the darkness who came forth from the darkness, I have not been quarrelsome.

    Hail Bringer of your offering who came forth from Sais, I have not been unduly active.

    Hail Owner of faces who came forth from Nedjefet, I have not been impatient.

    Hail Accuser who came forth from Wetjenet, I have not transgressed my nature, I have not washed out the picture of a god.

    Hail Owner of horns who came forth from Asyut, I have not been voluble in speech.

    Hail Nefertum who came forth from Memphis, I have done no wrong, I have seen no evil.

    Hail Tempsep who came forth from Busiris, I have not made conjuration against the king.

    Hail You who acted according to your will, who came forth from Tjebu, I have not waded in water.

    Hail Water-smiter who came forth from the Abyss, I have not been loud-voiced.

    Hail Prosperer of the common folk who came forth from your house, I have not reviled mankind.

    Hail Bestower of good who came forth from the Harpoon nome, I have not been puffed up..

    Hail Bestower of powers who came forth from the City, I have not made distinctions for myself.

    Hail Serpent with raised head, who came forth from the cavern, I am not wealthy except with my own property.

    Hail Carrier-off of His Portion who came forth from the Silent Land, I have not blasphemed God in my city.

  • ten days of rice

    There are ten days of rice in my bag
    And, by the hearth, a bundle of firewood.
    Who prattles of illusion or nirvana?
    – Ryokan (1757-1831)

  • Morning at the Farmers markets

    Spent yesterday morning with the Brisbane Flickr group at the Farmers Markets at the Powerhouse in New Farm.


  • Deep Space Nine – Season 7

    DEEP SPACE NINE
    Season 7:October 3, 1998 – May 31, 1999

    151. Images in the Sand
    Three months after a possessed Gul Dukat killed Jadzia Dax and sealed the wormhole, life on Deep Space Nine has changed. Kira, the acting commander, is upset when Admiral Ross informs her that the Romulans will set up a station office, while Sisko has retreated to Earth to contemplate a way of contacting the Bajoran Prophets
    the aliens who reside within the wormhole. When the vision of a woman’s face, buried in the sand, appears to Sisko, he sketches her, and Jake recognizes her from one of his grandfather’s photos.

    152. Shadows and Symbols
    Sisko meets Ezri, the new host of the Dax symbiont, before departing Earth for the planet Tyree with his father, Joseph, and son Jake. Ezri wished to accompany them on their search for Bajor’s mythical Orb of the Emissary, which Sisko has been led to believe exists. Back at the station, Kira prepares a blockade to stop the Romulans, who have placed weapons on a Bajoran moon. On a Klingon ship, Worf, O’Brien, Bashir, and Quark embark on a mission of their own: to destroy a Dominion shipyard, thus securing a place for the spirit of Worf’s dead wife Jadzia in the sacred Klingon afterlife of Sto-vo-kor.

    153. Afterimage
    In addition to coping with the memories of her “past lives,” Ezri Dax must deal with the range of reactions her presence generates. Kira awkwardly tries to make conversation; Sisko is happy to have his old friend back; Quark flirts with her; and Worf, pained by the memory of his dead wife Jadzia, which Ezri’s presence provokes, makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her. Elsewhere, Garak inexplicably collapses and is rushed to Bashir’s care.

    154. Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite
    Vulcan Captain Solok brings his starship to Deep Space Nine for repairs made necessary from combat skirmishes. Convinced his all-Vulcan crew is the finest in the fleet, he challenges former classmate and longtime rival Sisko to a baseball game on the Holosuite. With only two weeks to whip his team into shape, Sisko vows he’s going to beat Solok – even though Jake is the only other person residing on the station who has ever played baseball.

    155. Chrysalis
    A group of genetically enhanced humans, once under Bashir’s care, escape from their medical facility home in the hopes that the doctor
    who himself was genetically engineered as a child
    can cure their friend Sarina. Her enhancements left her in a catatonic state, and Bashir attempts an untried procedure on her brain that initially appears to have no effect. However, a few days later, Sarina speaks for the first time.

    156. Treachery, Faith, and the Great River
    Odo is lured to a secret meeting site, where he finds himself face to face with Weyoun, the Vorta leader of the enemy Dominion. Weyoun announces that he’s decided to defect and, in exchange for asylum, he promises to provide valuable information that could help the Federation win the war. After the two board Odo’s Runabout, the ship is hailed by the Cardassians. Odo is shocked when the monitor displays Weyoun standing beside Damar.

    157. Once More Into The Breach
    To Worf’s surprise, he is paid a visit by Kor, an aging Klingon war hero. Kor admits that his ambition has earned him countless enemies, and that consequently he has been unable to secure the command of a ship. Worf promises to find him a miltary command, and approaches General Martok with the request–which is angrily refused. Martok explains that years earlier Kor had denied Martok officer status because he was descended from a common house. Undaunted, Worf appoints Kor as a third officer on the Ch’Tang, Martok’s flagship, where he is treated with awe by the crew–much to Martok’s chagrin.

    158. The Siege of AR-588
    While making a supply run to the front lines, on the barren planet AR-558, Sisko encounters Starfleet troops that have been decimated during their five-month occupation of the largest Dominion communications array in the sector. If they can figure out how it works, Starfleet will be able to tap into Dominion transmissions. In addition to daily skirmishes with the enemy, the shell-shcoked forces are constantly threatened by “Houdinis”
    anti-personnel mines that “hide” in subspace, then explode without warning. Determined to help commanding officer Nadia Larkin and her troops, Sisko stuns his crew by announcing that they’re staying at the site indefinitely.

    159. Covenant
    Vedek Fala, a Bajoran monk and Kira’s former teacher, pays her an unexpected visit. He gives Kira a crystal which transports her to Empok Nor, where, to her horror, she is met by her old enemy Dukat–a Cardassian who oversaw the occupation of Bajor. He is now the leader of a Bajoran religious faction which worships the Pah-wraiths–the corporeal enemies of Bajor’s prophets. Dukat want Kira to join his followers on the abandoned Cardassian space station.

    160. It’s Only a Paper Moon
    After losing his leg in battle, a somber Nog returns to the space station to recuperate. The crew try their best to cheer him up, but the young ensign is struggling, both emotionally and physically, to cope with his disability, even though his new biosynthetic leg works perfectly. After pushing away those who try the most diligently to help, Nog decides to take his medical leave in the Holosuite world of 1962 Las Vegas lounge singer Vic Fontaine.

    161. The Prodigal Daughter
    Sisko is furious when he learns O’Brien has vanished while on a secret trip to New Sydney, where he was searching for the widow of a criminal named Bilby, whom he befriended while undercover. Because Ezri’s family owns a mining operation in the system, Sisko asks her to help find O’Brien. Ezri returns home, where she’s reunited with her domineering mother, Yanas Tigan – a shrewd business woman – and her brothers Norvo and Janel, who work for the business.

    162. The Emperor’s New Cloak
    Grand Negus Zek, the ruler of the Ferengi empire and paramour to Quark and Rom’s mother, disappears while on a business trip to the Alternate Universe. Ezri’s counterpart from the universe delivers word that Zek is a prisoner of the evil Alliance and will be killed unless Quark can secure a cloaking device, which renders a ship invisible. Quark and Rom steal one from a Klingon vessel, then accompany Ezri back to the Alternate Universe to retrieve Zek.

    163. Field of Fire
    A young lieutenant named Ilario is found dead in his quarters. An investigation reveals he was shot by a TR-116 rifle, a weapon developed but never mass-produced by Starfleet. Meanwhile, Ezri confronts one of Dax’s previous incarnations in a dream: Joran, a self-professed murderer, urges Ezri to channel his disturbing memories and enable him to assist her in apprehending Ilario’s killer. When Ezri awakens, she learns that a second murder has occurred.

    164. Chimera
    Odo returns from a conference with an unexpected guest: a Changeling who tracked and boarded his Runabout. Odo recognizes him as one of “the hundred” shapeshifters who were, like himself, sent out as infants into the galaxy to learn about other species. Back at the station, Sisko warily releases the visitor to Odo’s custody. The Changeling, known as Laas, queries Odo about their unique species – with which Laas has made no contact since his infancy – and “the Link,” a Changeling ritual that allows shapeshifters to meld with one another and thereby form a single, sentient collective entity.

    165. Badda-bing, Badda-bang
    While relaxing in Vic Fontaine’s Las Vegas holosuite lounge, O’Brien and Bashir are surprised by the arrival of mobster Frankie Eyes, who announces that he has bought Vic’s hotel. After he fires Vic, the crew learns that Frankie was created by Vic’s designer. Upset by Frankie’s behaviour, and by the knowledge that the lounge’s atmosphere will now change, the crew desides it must rid him from the program. But he must be eliminated in a way what is period-specific to Fontaine’s era: 1962. The task takes on greater urgency when Vic is beaten up.

    166. Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges
    On the eve of Dr. Bashir’s departure for a conference on the Romulan homeworld, he’s visited by Sloan, the director of Section Thirty-one, a secret and unsanctioned extremist entity within Starfleet Intelligence. Sloan asks a reluctant Bashir to gather information on the Romulan leadership. Bashir reports the request to Sisko, who worries that although Starfleet Command has officially condemned Section Thirty-one, someone in its membership may actually be protecting the group. After consulting with Admiral Ross, Sisko advises Bashir to play along with SLoan in order to determine Sloan’s motivations.

    167. Penumbra
    As Sisko revels in the purchase of Bajoran land, where he hopes to finally build his dream house, word reaches the station that Worf is missing in action after a fierce battle with the Dominion. Due to strategic concerns, Sisko calls off the search party before Worf can be found. Overcome by memories of Jadzia’s life with Worf, Ezri steals a runabout and goes in search of Worf herself.

    168. ‘Til Death Do Us Part
    Kai Winn arrives at the station to “assist” Sisko with his wedding, and he admits the Prophets warned he would face a great trial in his future. Later, Winn has a long-awaited vision from the Prophets, who reveal that a “Guide” will soon visit her; the Prophets hope that, together, the two will lead Bajor’s Restoration. Shortly before Sisko tells Kasidy that they must call off their wedding, Dukat, surgically altered to look like a Bajoran, appears of the Promenade.

    169. Strange Bedfellows
    Worf and Ezri are beamed aboard a Jem’Hadar ship, where the Female Shapeshifter and Thot Gor, the respective leaders of the new Dominion-Breen alliance, prepare to sign a treaty designed to destroy the Federation and end the war. However, Damar objects to signing it because of concessions, made to Thot Gor, which could harm Cardassia. Meanwhile, Kai Winn and Dukat seal their bond by pledging to restore Bajor – even if the Emissary stands in their way.

    170. The Changing Face of Evil
    The crew’s relief at Worf and Ezri’s safe return is tempered by reports that the Breen have attacked Starfleet Headquarters on Earth. While Dominion and Breen commanders exult in their sneak attack, their supposed ally – Cardassian leader Damar – secretly plots to free his homeland from Dominion occupation. Meanwhile, on Bajor, Dukat tells Kai Winn she must release the Pah-wraiths – the corporeal enemies of her people’s gods – from the planet’s fire caves by reading the ancient forbidden text of the Kosst Amojan.

    171. When It Rains
    Eager to aid Damar’s rebel movement on his homeworld against the Dominion, Sisko orders Kira to put her antipathy for the Cardassian aside and train his staff in resistance tactics. Bashir asks Odo to assist in his medical project by donating the Changeling-equivalent of a skin sample. On Bajor, Kai Winn studies the forbidden text of the Kosst Amojan to learn how to release the evil Pah-wraiths. Hoping to ease Cardassian sentiment against the Bajoran Kira, Sisko gives her a Starfleet commission and uniform.

    172. Tacking Into The Wind
    While Kira reviews tactical plans with the Cardassian Resistance leaders, Odo returns from a mission, weakened by the disease that’s ravaging his race. At the station, Bashir works through the night, trying to find a cure for Odo, while Sisko reproves Chancellor Gowron for reckless attacks which left General Martok injured. Back at the revel headquarters, Kira, eager to discover why the Federation’s Klingon ships aren’t damaged by Breen-Dominion technology, proposes stealing the enemy’s weaponry so that the Federation can engineer a countermeasure.

    173. Extreme Measures
    Bashir and O’Brien capture an agent from Section 31 and probe his mind in a search for the cure to Odo’s disease.

    174. The Dogs of War
    With the Cardassian resistance movement crushed, Kira, Damar, and Garak find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. Meanwhile, Grand Nagus Zek announces his retirement and plans to name Quark his successor.

    175. What You Leave Behind
    As the war careens toward a final showdown on Cardassia, Sisko’s definitive action as the Emissary draws near.

  • The great path

    The great path is clearly before your eyes,
    But the ignorant who are deluded
    And confused cannot recognize it.
    It is in one thought of the mind.
    So why search for it elsewhere?

    – Pao-chih

  • Apple and Walnut Muffins

    Ingredients:

    2 apples, peeled (I prefer Granny Smiths)
    1 cup caster sugar
    1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
    1 teaspoon allspice
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1 egg
    125g. canola spread (soft)
    1 tablespoon olive oil

    Recipe

    1. Pre-heat oven to 180deg.C. Put muffin cases in a 12 cup muffin tin

    2. Dice apples into small pieces (cut around the core) and mix in a bowl with the caster sugar. Let the bowl sit, covered, for about 30 minutes.

    3. Mix flour and spices into a large bowl and add the walnuts. Add canola spread, egg and apples and mix together.

    4. Spoon into muffin cases.

    5. Place pan in oven and bake for about 15 minutes for the large muffins, less time for the smaller size.

    6. Test with a skewer then turn onto a wire rack to cool.

  • Coconut kisses


    DSC03461 – coconut kisses
    Originally uploaded by RaeA.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cups of dessicated coconut
    • 200ml sweetened condensed milk
    • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
    • 1/2 teaspoon almond essence

    Method:

    1. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
    2. pre- heat oven to 160°C
    3. place aluminium foil over a flat baking tray and grease lightly
    4. Place teaspoons of the mixture on the foil teasing the tops into a peak (the kiss)

    5. place the tray in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until they start to turn a golden colour
    6. remove tray and allow the kisses to firm up by cooling on the tray for half an hour.

    Keeping quality:
    The kisses keep very well particularly in a sealed container, however don’t expect them to last 🙂

  • Corinne Maier’s manifesto

    No. 1
    You are a modern day slave. There is no scope for personal fulfilment. You work for your pay-check at the end of the month, full stop.

    No. 2
    It’s pointless to try to change the system. Opposing it simply makes it stronger.

    No. 3
    What you do is pointless. You can be replaced from one day to the next by any cretin sitting next to you. So work as little as possible and spend time (not too much, if you can help it) cultivating your personal network so that you’re untouchable when the next restructuring comes around.

    No. 4
    You’re not judged on merit, but on whether you look and sound the part. Speak lots of leaden jargon: people will suspect you have an inside track

    No. 5
    Never accept a position of responsibility for any reason. You’ll only have to work harder for what amounts to peanuts.

    No. 6
    Make a beeline for the most useless positions, (research, strategy and business development), where it is impossible to assess your ‘contribution to the wealth of the firm’. Avoid ‘on the ground’ operational roles like the plague.

    No. 7
    Once you’ve found one of these plum jobs, never move. It is only the most exposed who get fired.

    No. 8
    Learn to identify kindred spirits who, like you, believe the system is absurd through discreet signs (quirks in clothing, peculiar jokes, warm smiles).

    No. 9
    Be nice to people on short-term contracts. They are the only people who do any real work.

    No. 10
    Tell yourself that the absurd ideology underpinning this corporate bullshit cannot last for ever. It will go the same way as the dialectical materialism of the communist system. The problem is knowing when …

  • History of “The Backyard”

    History of the Backyard

    Poster from launch of Backyard in 1999
    The Backyard story is one of people, place and communication.

    It began in the mid to late 90s when Local Radio staff started dabbling with emerging technology. At that time it was a cottage industry and most of the dabblers learnt web production in their own time and in their own way.
    (more…)