I went out for a coffee to reset my head. It’s a grey and rainy winters day, kinda gives me European vibes. The plants are loving it, though I don’t know where to put them all yet.
Wet week in West End
Goodwill sunset
I bought the iPhone 12 Pro Max for it’s excellent camera array intending to elevate my vlogs, but within the 14 day cool down period I decided it wasn’t for me and returned it. I think I got suckered into the marketing hype.
Instead I decided to get a proper camera for myself, the Sony ZV1. It’s a point-and-shoot form factor designed specifically for video, based on the RX100 line. I wish I did this ages ago.
With a notional risk of community transmission I decided not to meet up with friends this weekend, opting instead for a call and some Animal Crossing. But I still wanted to do something with myself and get some exercise, so I decided to ride into the city and take some b-roll.
It was a fun ride, and I managed to use some of the new CityLink paths. They were not especially convenient coming from Roma Street but I appreciated them nonetheless.
I spent a little time in the city, but for the sunset I camped out on the Goodwill Bridge to watch the birds, ferries, and generally life go by. It was cold but nice.
There’s no shots from the camera because it’s really only for video. But I got a few good clips you might see in an upcoming vlog.
It wasn’t a spectacular sunset, but right toward the end as the daylight died it delivered the goods.
My phone did a decent job of capturing the magic.
West End Rainbow Footpath
I was taking a walk in West End after having breakfast with Tae when I discovered the old rainbow footpath in West End.
It’s worn down pretty badly. Reminds me of chalk drawings on the road after the rain. But it’s probably fair enough cos it was thrown together by volunteers and I guess they just used whatever paint they had.
I first stumbled on it when it was brand new back in 2017 with Joel, Tom and Shashi. This was just after I got back from Amsterdam for the first time, and I assume Shashi & Tom were visiting for xmas.
Not linking to the bad website, but here’s the description from the original Facebook message where Cr Sri got folks together to paint it:
This is partly a political statement, and partly just an excuse to bring a bit of colour to an old stretch of bitumen footpath at the corner of Besant St, O’Connell St and Vulture St.
If you have a bit of spare paint lying around that you can bring down to donate to the cause, post up in the comments with the colours and quantities, or just rock up on the day and lend a hand as you see fit.
It would be good to use paints that are designed for outdoor surfaces and will last a while. We’ll try to paint in segments, leaving one part of the footpath clear until the other painted areas have dried so as not to inconvenience any mobility-impaired pedestrians.
If anyone wants to bring down other things like baked goods or a bit of music to entertain the painters, that would be cool too.
Jonathan Sri, Councillor for The Gabba
It’s still visible four years later. But might need a fresh coat soon.
Blockies with Gav
I have just now finally got my shit together and am just about to leave the house.
First officeworks
Then maybe guzman? idk i need food
My Friend Gav
We had been loosely planning to catch up this weekend, so after some finagling we decided to meet at Office Works and have burritos in the park.
It wasn’t an especially beautiful day, but it was nice and cool to sit outside on the bleachers (what even is the Australian word for these?)
There was a women’s hockey game being played nearby which was strangely compelling. I don’t really care for sport, but I was drawn into the action on a couple of occasions. The number of times the sticks went flying reminded me of the SBS feature on concussions in women’s sport from a couple of nights ago.
All in all, a decent way to spend a few hours. Gav mentioned this area always feels like the gross old sporting area, as seen while walking along Enoggera Creek. But it’s quite lovely when you’re in it.
Flight
I was in the shower today and a low-flying plane flew past the window and startled me. Partly because I wasn’t expecting anything to be up there in that clear blue sky. But I also realised that my little escape from the continent has left me with an aversion to air travel.
Sure, airports always sucked but a trip in an aeroplane used to have this excitement of adventure about it, a chance to climb into the tube and escape from reality. But now all that conjures is masks, hazmat bags, the unforgivable malice of the person leaving their mask down over their nose. Being stranded in a foreign country as the world ends.
It was one of those little culture shocks to be back in Brisbane and see a plane flying overhead for the first time like everything’s fine. It was like a little omen, there to remind us of our hubris. They still startle me, and I didn’t know why. But perhaps now I do.
Between corona and the climate I would happily never step foot in a plane again. I don’t think that’s realistic. But it’s a feeling.
Lokal & Co
The little West End trendy Scandi brekky cafe. Tae and I hadn’t seen each other for some time and we decided to catch up.
It’s been a fairly miserable week weather-wise. Wet and dark. But that’s a welcome la niña change from the usual Brisbane dry, so we were both happy to head out and grab breakfast before work.
I had the chilli scrambled eggs, crispy coconut sambal, plum chutney, roti bread for $17.0. Tae had almost an entire pumpkin on sourdough. We both drank our volume in coffee and it was nice.
I’ve missed breakfast. The best I managed in Amsterdam was brunch at 11 am, which was fine but I remember it being a stressful affair. Working weird Dutch hours means I haven’t really had mornings since I’ve been back. But I’ve been working on that.
So I hope to do this more often.
Why is it called pound sterling?
I was curious why the pound sterling was called such.
Turns out it’s from Latin, lībra pondō (“a pound by weight”), as in a pound of silver. Has the same roots as the lira.
The “£” symbol is a blackletter “L” for “libra”, similar to the imperial weight “lb”. 🤯
Occasionally when I’m converting currencies I’ll “convert 100 lbs to aud” for a laugh. Google understands I mean “gbp” and that’s always amused me. Now it feels more connected.
I wasn’t sure if this is one of those things Europeans know that was never taught in Australia, but it does seem pretty esoteric. And Shawn hadn’t heard it before so maybe not.
Source: couple of fascinating articles:
It’s a bit warm.
After a cold snap in Brisbane, we’re back to our usual summer programming. It was only 34 today, but it’s still uncomfortable to be amongst so I’ve been trying to optimise my ventilation.
It has reached the point of the day where outside is cooler than inside so now I get to open up the house.
HOWEVER the little portable aircon I bought is still running in the office. Even though it can only ever bring it down about 3 degrees, it’s still much more comfortable than sweating into my seat. I’ve been trying not to use it too often, but a little climate control is invaluable while I’m working.
This is the strategy.
Brisbane CityLink
I remember the old days pelting down Elizabeth Street on my bike (and probably breaking the speed limit) so I could make it up the hill on the other side and keep up with traffic. The citylink separated bikeway is way better 🥰
Just a little thing about lockdown
It was a bit of a surprise to wake up this morning and find we’re heading into lockdown.
After developing a case of the sniffles and going for a test the night before, I’d preemptively cancelled all my weekend plans already. But it’s different when it’s official, you know?
I always joked that moving into a proper house with a yard was a reaction to living isolated in a shoe box in Amsterdam. That the next lockdown I would be stocked and ready. Turns out despite the physical preparation I still wasn’t there, mentally at least.
At work in between tickets I would check the ABC News live blog for updates. It’s a bad habit, of course there aren’t any, but in a time when we don’t know anything, even the smallest scrap of insight seemingly means something.
Part of me just wants to jump forward a couple of weeks when we know the outcome of the outbreak. Skip to the end of the book and read the last page. Do things turn out ok?
But I’m doing fine. It’s been raining, so I’m very cosy on the couch under the doona. I have a naan dough and some curry ready to go tomorrow and we’re making pizza for date night on Sunday. Everyone on Twitter is talking about the Star Trek finale, so maybe I’ll put that on now and tune out for a bit.