CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-18 08:33:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

"Sometimes what we know gets in the way of what could be."

This is a really inspirational +TED talk about how what we think we know about everyday objects gets in the way of using them in new ways.

Making music with plants and people. Running electrical currents through pizza. Take 13 minutes to watch this and be inspired.

2013-05-18 00:25:45 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Climate Denial is Dead

The most comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed climate research to date shows that 97% of a total 11,944 papers on climate change agree that humans are causing global warming.

My hope is that people will take this knowledge and stop trying to justify untruthful coverage of climate change in the name of 'balance'.

#climatechange  

2013-05-17 09:41:44 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Twilight Tower

This shot of Central clock tower this afternoon seemed like a good excuse to check the new Google+ layout.

2013-05-16 07:56:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

A brilliant reversal of gender stereotypes from a wicked smart and talented team. Well done. 

2013-05-16 06:31:35 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

The Invisible Man

Liu Bolin is an artist living in Beijing who draws attention to social and political issues by painting himself into the background.

Before starting any project Liu Bolin asks himself: "What will making myself invisible here cause people to think?"

For example the first photo below is taken when the use of harmful phosphors in Chinese instant noodles were linked to causing cancer. The photograph is both a statement and a question - have the manufacturers lost sight of the people?

Most scenes take Liu Bolin and his team about three or four hours to paint. There is no Photoshop involved. 

2013-05-13 01:09:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

epic!!
+Chris Hadfield 

A revised version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.

2013-05-12 07:54:54 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

To my dearest mother,

You’ve always loved me for who I am
When others insult me you don’t give a damn
Your strength and kindness taught me much
My hand was swayed by your caring touch
You taught me all I know and more
You gave to me what I adore
You’re a pillar of strength and a fountain of love
You’ll forever be with me, both here and above
When I’m in trouble you’ll always come
And I just want to say, “I love you mum”

#mothersday

2013-05-11 10:35:45 (0 comments, 12 reshares, 15 +1s)

A beautiful day on the #Sydney  harbour.

#panorama   #panoramaphotography  

2013-05-09 05:58:44 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Sandwich attack

"You in effect saved the Prime Minister from not one, but two sandwiches yesterday."

I love a good bizarre interview and this one mentions the word 'sandwich' enough times to fit the description.

For those wanting more detail, the so called 'sandwich attack' occurred yesterday when the Prime Minister visited Marsden High in Queensland. Student Kyle Thomson was suspended but protests he was trying to save the Prime Minister from further... err.. sandwiching.

#sandwich   #auspol  

2013-05-07 13:33:11 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

How Fast Is the NBN?

This brilliant website gives you a series of simulations showing the comparative speeds of Labor's and the Coalitions NBN plans.

#NBN   #fraudband  

2013-05-06 10:41:55 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Australia really is the lucky country

As this news story testifies. I have yet to find a claim that it's untrue.

Australian comes back from the dead to win lottery -- twice

MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN) -- Australian truck driver Bill Morgan's extraordinary string of luck began, strangely enough, when he was crushed in a truck accident and suffered a fatal heart attack.

Clinically dead for more than 14 minutes, Morgan was revived. After 12 days in a coma -- during which time his family was advised to unplug life support -- he awoke with all of his facilities intact.

A year after his heart stopped, he proposed to his girlfriend, Lisa Wells. She said yes.

And then two weeks ago, he bought a scratch-off lottery ticket and won a car worth $17,000. A Melbourne TV station was so impressed with his run of luck, it decided to do a... more »

2013-05-01 10:46:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

The Sunset Cranes

A gorgeous light came over the Sydney as I was finishing this afternoon's tennis.

So gorgeous it blew out the lens on my smartphone, but the overexposure adds a certain dramatic element to the shot.

2013-04-29 01:11:50 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

How important is a budget surplus?

We had an interesting debate on the show this Saturday about the upcoming Federal Budget. Is getting the budget into surplus worth drastic measures, such as cutting costs and raising taxes?

Richard Denniss from the Australian Institute thinks a deficit is not necessarily a bad thing.

“Never forget that a surplus means the government is collecting more tax than it’s spending on services.”

#sun7   #budget   #auspol  

2013-04-26 05:48:04 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

This is the REAL wheel. A gorgeous day on the Sydney Harbour.

#sydney   #sydneyphotography   #sydneyoperahouse   #sydneyharbourbridge  

2013-04-26 05:57:25 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

#Sydney through the wheel.

EDIT: A perfect example of why I'm switching from Vodafone next month.

2013-04-25 02:54:50 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Well getting to work was fun this morning. Was accompanied by a marching band.

#anzacday

2013-04-18 05:05:32 (15 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Port of Texas City on April 16, 1947 and West, Texas on April 17, 2013

The similarity between these two disasters is scary. The Texas City Disaster is regarded as the deadliest industrial accident in the history of the United States. 2,300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were being unloaded from a ship when a fire ignited the content, exploding and killing at least 581 people.

Sixty-six years and one day later, the Waco catastrophe is still unfolding. Latest reports put the deaths at up to 70, with reports expected to rise. The explosion was again caused by a fire, this time at an industrial plant.

Ammonium nitrate is commonly used as a fertiliser for putting nitrogen back into the soil. The chemical industry in the US has been allowed to self-regulate since George W. Bush. In the wake of these tragedies however, it may be worth investigating other options.more »

2013-04-16 10:23:47 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

The Three Sisters
I have been sitting on this shot for a while but now with #LR5b  realised I have been playing around. As a LR3 user I will have to upgrade.

2013-04-15 06:00:45 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Hiding in the jungle.

2013-04-13 12:28:18 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Ever wondered what happens when you run 80,000 volts through a bunch of flowers?

Californian photographer Robert Bulteman goes through a pain-staking process to assemble the flowers just right, then shocks them to leave behind the ephemeral images you see below. He follows it up by hand painting.

http://www.demilked.com/electrified-flowers-shocked-with-80000-volts/

2013-04-12 11:15:57 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Don't Use Your Phone Whilst Driving

This is the sad, but timely reminder, of why you shouldn't use your mobile phone whilst driving.

The parents of Alexander Heit released the attached image to tell the story of how their son sadly lost his life trying to complete the above message whilst driving. Alexander drifted into oncoming traffic, tried to swerve and then went off the road, rolling his car.

He died shortly after the accident, on April 3, in the United States.

In consultation with the local police, the man's mother Sharon decided to share the image with the following statement:

"In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you."

As someone who was recently pulled over and charged with using my phone whilst driving, I feel like I need... more »

2013-04-11 05:30:46 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Hey crew. I'm riding 100km on Saturday, to raise money for refugees. The money goes to various charities doing aid work, funding education, doing ministry to refugees and so on.
If you wanted to support them by sponsoring the ride, that would be sick! 
Click the link if you're keen. Any bit of dollar is useful. Thanks!

https://rideforrefugees.com.au/myride/2437/#.UWY3mJNmiSp

2013-04-11 05:09:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Hyde Park fountain in the sun.

2013-04-09 09:52:36 (21 comments, 3 reshares, 17 +1s)

"25Mbps is more than enough" - Tony Abbott, 2013

As soon as I heard that quote, another one popped into my mind.

"Nobody will ever need more than 640K RAM" - Bill Gates, 1981

(NB. It is actually doubtful that Bill Gates ever said this, but the quote is attributed to him and the meaning remains the same)

The Coalition's proposed National Broadband Network uses a Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN) technology as opposed to Labor's Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH). Think of FTTN as a series of miniature 'routers' several kilometres apart, where you siphon your internet from. FTTH is what it sounds like, direct fibre to your home.

Here's an easy comparison chart to see the difference this would make:

Coalition NBN
Completed: 2016 (three years)
Cost: $20.4 billion ($17 billion cheaper)... more »

2013-04-08 13:49:29 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Predicting the next viral video

This reminds me of that word associations game you only play at 2am when you're waiting for public transport to get home from a party. 

2013-04-04 00:39:29 (34 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Climate Change is Here... and Tony Abbott will do nothing about it

"Only strong preventive action now and in the coming years can stabilise the climate and halt the trend of increasing extreme weather." - Australian Climate Commission 2013

I don't normally engage in rants but this is worth saying.

Despite a 2013 poll showing 91% of people felt protecting the Great Barrier Reef was one of the most important challenges for this year, Tony Abbott has vowed to abolish the Climate Commission AND repeal the carbon tax.

That might be alright if Abbott had a different environmental solution, but he doesn't. This man would happily see our environment destroyed. 

I refuse to think Australians do not care about the environment. Come the Federal Election in five months I want this to be the issue that makes or breaks theg... more »

2013-03-30 16:44:33 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

Happy #Easter everyone.

Well technically it's not Easter in the Southern Hemisphere for another six months, what with Easter being a celebration of Spring and new life (hence the rabbits and eggs).

However, we in the south will not be downhearted if we must eat chocolate twice a year.

2013-03-26 09:20:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Stephan Bollinger and 3 others were tagged in Damon Meredith's album.

2013-03-24 04:01:59 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Here's my piece on ISS Commander +Chris Hadfield that ran on +Weekend Sunrise today.

I tried to get Chris himself on the show but that will have to wait for another time.

Great work up there buddy!

2013-03-23 09:08:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

The Dread Pirate Ship Rock along the #bondi2013 photo walk. #seeaustralia

2013-03-23 09:18:08 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Somebody stole the Windows XP background!

#bondi2013 #seeaustralia

2013-03-23 05:07:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Flowers and beach on #bondi2013 #seeaustralia

2013-04-29 01:06:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

On the left the stairs at the west end of the beach. On the right, the east end.

We took the east end.

#bondi2013 #seeaustralia

2013-03-23 09:14:43 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

The #bondi2013 #seeaustralia walk has begun.

This is the bit where nobody wins any of the raffle.

2013-03-23 09:11:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Added photos to Sydney Photo Walk sponsored by Samsung and Google Australia with over $8000 in giveaway prizes. Hosted by Colby Brown and Michael Sutton.

2013-03-20 10:52:02 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

An Internet Minute

Great graphic by +Intel showing what happens in a minute on the Internet.

2013-03-17 05:50:07 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

This video is hilarious.

The bird is a Kakapo, of which there is believed to be only 126 living individuals. Maybe it's because of their choice of mates.

2013-03-13 00:06:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Did You Know

Between its discovery and its declassification as a planet, #Pluto did not even complete one revolution around the sun.

--

A few facts:
 - Pluto is smaller than the moon.
 - Its average orbit from the sun is 5,913,520,000 km
 - 'Planet X' was predicted since 1846 due to an anomaly in Uranus' orbit
 - An astronomer called Percival Lowell searched for the predicted Planet X from 1905 to his death in 1916
 - Several years after his death the Lowell Observatory hired the young Clyde Tombaugh to continue the search
 - Clyde spent 10 months studying images containing several thousand stars to see if one moved like a planet
 - He finally discovered Pluto in 1930
 - Ironically Pluto was actually too small to make any difference on the orbit of Uranus. The entire prediction had been invented by amathematical s... more »

2013-03-12 00:08:38 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Tonight's Finale: When I look at thunderstorms from above, I see faces. What do you see in the clouds?

2013-03-11 21:49:09 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

#onthisday #literature #douglasadams #douglasadamsbirthday  

"The world is a thing of utter inordinate complexity and richness and strangeness that is absolutely awesome. I mean the idea that such complexity can arise not only out of such simplicity, but probably absolutely out of nothing, is the most fabulous extraordinary idea. And once you get some kind of inkling of how that might have happened, it's just wonderful. And … the opportunity to spend 70 or 80 years of your life in such a universe is time well spent as far as I am concerned." (Douglas Adams)

…unfortunately he didn’t. Live 70 or 80 years, but he spent the 49 years he had at his disposal rather well. Born on this day, 61 years ago in Cambridge, Douglas Adams is one of the uncrowned kings of intelligent humour, ranging from totally absurd to simply hilarious and very perceptive. And besides“the H... more »

2013-03-11 21:37:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Coogee Life Savers Club
It is always easier to wake up earlier when you are going to be meeting some one. Here it was a dawn shoot and coffee with +Steve Reddock.

2013-02-24 00:05:09 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Andrew O'Keefe's full interview with Geert Wilders on Weekend Sunrise. #sun7  

2013-02-22 23:56:09 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Tomorrow - Andrew O'Keefe interviews Geert Wilders

You don't want to miss this. At 9:05am tomorrow Andrew O'Keefe interviews controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders on #sun7.

2013-02-07 23:13:41 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Are we still a racist society?

Or are things like this simply unavoidable.

#racism   #australia   #rosaparks  

2013-02-06 23:21:58 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

Wow - what a photographer.

Fahmi Bhs calls himself an 'amateur photographer'. By all accounts he lives in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Here is his 500px account: http://500px.com/FahmiBhs

And here are some photos from his album Artistic insect macro photography.

Be amazed.

  #insectphotography   #insectphotos  

2013-02-03 06:57:19 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

One of my favourite Superbowl ads ;)

Got milk?

#gotmilk   #superbowl   #superbowl2013  

2013-01-26 06:34:52 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)

Happy Australia Day!

SOOC apart from some slight levels adjustment, contrast/saturation tweaking, colour balancing, dodging, burning, photo blending, HDR processing, cloning, liquifying and resizing. (That's a joke BTW)

Sorry it's not anatomically correct. Tasmania was added so I don't upset my friends from Australia's top 6th most beautiful state.

#australia  +Australia  #australiaday   #australiaday2013   #photoshop   #landscape   #landscapephotography   #photomanipulation   #coast   #coastal   #seascape   #seeaustralia   #cliff   #cave   #headland   #map   #aussie   #tasmania  

2013-01-25 00:25:09 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

What motivates you to go to work?

2013-01-24 05:27:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Does creative commons cover print media? +Trey Ratcliff

2013-01-24 04:00:23 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Australia Day
Would you want to change the date of Australia Day?

January 26 marks the arrival of the First Fleet into Sydney Cove in 1788. However many Aboriginal people feel this date marks a day of invasion and colonialism. Some have therefore suggested changing the date to a day of significance for all Australians.

Some of the proposed days are:

- July 9 when Queen Victoria approved the Constitution of Australia

- September 1 known as Wattle Day after the blooming of Australia’s national floral emblem

- December 3 when the Eureka Stockade took place and led to significant democratic reforms

What do you think?

#sun7   #australiaday   #australiaday2013   #australia