Logo

Other / 06.12.2022

Years ago, a unit owner, long dead, planted three trees, two next to the road out front and one next to the retaining wall in the backyard. They all flourished, growing to an impressive size. The two in the front are a buckinghamia, whose flowers have a fragrant aroma, and a golden rain tree which sheds its leaves and flowers on the cars parked beneath it. The tree in the backyard has for years dropped its seed pods and squishy, tubular white flowers onto the lid of the inground tank and the washing on the clothes hoist which is fixed to the lid, not to mention the bird poo which also soils the washing. The material falls for several months of the year. But the biggest nuisance are the roots which have moved part of the base of the retaining wall and grown between one of the protective buttresses we installed, and the wall. Nearly as bad is the fact that the tree casts a shadow over the clothes hoist, when the sun is at its highest. I wonder what the late owner was thinking, when he planted the tree. I have always been outvoted on removing it, but… Read Complete Text

Logo

Other / 20.11.2022

I attended the launch of Julie Lake’s book on Hilda Geissmann who was born in Brisbane in 1890 but lived most of her life on the mountain. She married a Curtis. The Geissmanns and Curtises were two of the mountain’s most prominent pioneering families. In her twenties and thirties, she closely observed and photographed the mountain’s flora and fauna with considerable artistry and in so doing became a social pioneer in a predominantly man’s world. The launch was well-attended. Julie was the star and the afternoon tea was a close second. I bought three signed copies of the book. Am greatly looking forward to reading it.

Logo

Other / 05.04.2022

Today, I had the last sentence of the PRESERVATION paragraph on the home page removed. It read: The Image Library is in the collection of the Queensland Museum.

On January 7, I uploaded a post about updating my Image Library for the Queensland Museum and expressed disquiet because the Digital Asset Management System Administrator, Donna Miller, was unaware of my donation when we spoke on January 6. On January 31 I was told by email, that since the donation was made, the Museum had adopted a more rigorous and time-consuming system for adding images to its digital collection and the resources to process my images in a timely fashion did not exist. Moreover, the curation policy requires that the Museum image portals hold the most appropriate, unique and quality images for either staff, public or researchers. This information and the sense that Donna was unfamiliar with the library’s content only intensified my disquiet. I was nonetheless permitted to re-edit my photos from 2014 to 2018 as per the March 11 post.

On March 29, Donna sent me an email rejecting the donation. In yesterday’s reply, I told her that I could not help feeling that she was… Read Complete Text

Logo

Other / 11.03.2022

This afternoon, I sent a USB with the re-edit of my photos taken between 2014 and 2018, plus the related data documents, to Donna Miller, who is in charge of Queensland Museum Images. As I told her, it was necessary but enlivening and fruitful work. The re-edit completes the up-date of my Image Library for the Museum.

The USB also contains 24 video clips shot in 2014, 2015 and 2016. I was surprised to find four night photos dating from January 2018. The camera is used for point and shoot at close range work, which is usually difficult in rainforest, especially at night, in the restricted illumination of the spotlight’s beam. Several entries in the original data documents were listed as unidentified. I was able to update the information for some of them from my website and have received partial or complete attributions from experts whom I contacted, for others. Some subjects simply could not be identified, of which a number may be undescribed species.

The files are date-listed until April 6, 2016. After that they are listed numerically. In order to only list the correct image number, I was be-devilled by Microsoft Word’s automated set-up and… Read Complete Text

Logo

Other / 10.03.2022

Jesse Jarnow listened to the recording of my recollections of the Bickershaw Festival, for which I produced a firework display, and some other reminiscences, which Steve sent him and was very pleased with it. Jesse mentioned that attendees who were interviewed were pretty blown away by the fireworks, which is nice to hear fifty years later.

Logo

Other / 15.02.2022

This evening, Steve and I recorded my comments for the Grateful Dead podcast at one of Bond University’s sound studios. It seems to have gone well.

Logo

Other / 13.02.2022

On my walk this morning, a severe gust of wind sucked my cap aloft from my head and took it completely from view. This has never happened to me before. Always, until today, the cap has landed on the ground nearby and rolled along until I could retrieve it. To add insult to injury, I had to curtail my walk because the sun was shining on my bald pate.

Logo

Other / 31.01.2022

I received an email from the Queensland Museum Images Administrator letting me know that the USB arrived last week and that she could open the image files and data documents.

Logo

Other / 27.01.2022

Jesse Jarnow agreed with my request to record my reminiscences of the Bickershaw Festival, rather than an interview. I have just emailed Steve, asking him to set up the recording.

Logo

Other / 21.01.2022

I have just sent the USB containing the updated Image Library, to the Queensland Museum by registered post. In addition to the 246 video frames, there are an edited 1,007 photos covering the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, plus the data documents listing subject matter, species identification and location. When I checked the files on the USB, I discovered that all the photos were listed, so I had to convert them to large icons.