"Sydney fades away,
Beckoning us, "Come again."
Now, new ports await."
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| From 2023 03 20 Sydney |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken from our cruise ship as we departed Sydney, Australia. You see a lot of ports on a cruise, but our stays were always too short. They say take a cruise to sample what you'll want to come back to explore at more leisure.
After the jump, another view.
"Multicultural
Neighborhood invites delight.
Darlinghurst's essence."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 20 Sydney |
Today's photo-of-the-day was taken in Sydney, Australia. According to Google, "Inner-city Darlinghurst is a funky, high-energy area with cafes, sleek multicultural restaurants and intimate cocktail bars. Oxford Street, a centre of the city’s LGBT scene, has nightclubs that thump with music, plus stylishly restored pubs. Edgy shops on Crown Street sell records, offbeat fashion and vintage apparel. Art galleries, independent theatre companies and live music venues draw a young, chic crowd."
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At the January 8, 2023, Richardson City Council meeting, a property owner asked approval for a rezoning request (ZF 23-14) to convert an office building at 75 and Glenville into a five-story, multi-family apartment complex. On a slide titled "Items to Consider," City staff did everything they could to signal to the City Council that they could ignore the fact that apartments in that location are not consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan.
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"Sydney Harbor's plea,
Hydrant's call to save decree,
Water's future, key."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 20 Sydney |
This photo-of-the-day was taken in Sydney, Australia. Heed the hydrant: Save water. Save Earth.
"Great harbor's grand link,
Bridge climb etches memories,
Ants commune with heights."
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| From 2023 03 20 Sydney |
This photo-of-the-day was taken in Sydney, Australia. The Sydney Harbor Bridge is not only a striking landmark visible from all angles of one of the world's great harbors, it also makes for a great climb. This photo shows people (or ants) enjoying a bridge climb.
After the jump, a more distant perspective of the bridge.
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2023-12-03: Five schools have a strong argument. Only four can make the playoffs. I can't wait for the 12 team format that we should've had two decades ago.
"Melbourne left behind.
Waves carry echoes of time.
New beginnings bloom."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 17 Melbourne |
This photo-of-the-day was taken at sea as we sailed away from Melbourne, Australia, in March, 2023. Today, on this last day of 2023, this photo is also called on to say farewell to the year, full of good memories and sad. Here's hoping for a Happy New Year to one and all!
"Authentic allure,
Bustling spirit, markets soar,
Queen Vic, evermore."
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| From 2023 03 17 Melbourne |
This photo-of-the-day was taken in Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia. "Queen Victoria Market is an authentic, bustling, inner-city market that has been the heart and soul of Melbourne for 140 years. Home to over 600 small businesses, it is a great place to discover fresh and specialty produce, hand-made and unique products, great coffee and food, souvenirs and clothing." It was an old, established market when I first visited it in 1974. It's still going strong today.
Oh, I leave it up to you to discover what a Tiddly Oggie is. I'll just say Queen Vic has them for sale.
A bonus photo is after the jump.
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Many cities are facing the same problem: how to meet the demand for housing, both in absolute numbers and in affordability. Richardson is no exception. The solutions Richardson adopts, if any, will have to emerge from the "Envision Richardson" planning process now underway. But that's been quiet recently. Too quiet. When will the calm break? How fierce will be the storm?
"Modernist design,
Colorful stained glass panes line
Casablanca's shrine."
—h/t ChatGPT
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This photo-of-the-day is taken in the Church of Notre Dame of Lourdes in Casablanca, Morocco. It shows one detail of the windows by stained glass artist Gabriel Loire.
May your home be filled with love and laughter, the spirit of giving, and the magic of believing. Merry Christmas!
"Prominent alley,
Melbourne's visual delight,
Jam-packed graffiti."
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| From 2023 03 17 Melbourne |
This photo-of-the-day was taken in Hosier Lane in Melbourne, Australia. The laneway is a popular tourist destination because of its city-sponsored, graffiti-covered walls.
A bonus photo is after the jump.
"Unbefitting pose
In shadow of sacrifice.
War's memory lost."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 17 Melbourne |
This photo-of-the-day was taken at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, built to honor the sacrifice of men and women of the state of Victoria who served in World War I.
The man and woman in the photo are posing on the ceremonial pedestrian walkway in front of the Shrine. Why they are doing that, what significance it has, even what nationality they represent, are all mysteries to me. But they were photogenic, so I snapped a photo.
At the Dec.14 regular meeting, [Richardson ISD] trustees received operating budget recommendations from the Community Budget Steering Committee, which has been meeting for six months to arrive at measures the district can consider to address a significant operating shortfall in the 2024-25 budget.
Source: Richardson ISD.
First, let me compliment RISD for creating a Community Budget Steering Committee. Inclusion of the community is important for a problem like this. Keep it up. Keep spreading the word to make future community committees ever more inclusive.
"Retail Electricity Provider Procurement." That's the dry title of agenda item 7 in the December 11, 2023, Richardson City Council meeting. Richardson contracts with a retail electricity provider to purchase and pay for electricity used for all facilities, parks, pools, streetlights and traffic signals. The City spends $3 million annually on electricity, so we're talking significant sums.
Do you remember that old cereal commercial, the one where a rabbit kept being foiled in its attempt to get a kid's Trix cereal, and the announcer kept reminding him, "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids." Well, in this analogy, the rabbit is a pedestrian, roads are Trix, and the kids are cars. I know, it's kind of a stretch, but bear with me.
"Cruise trip rearranged,
Melbourne's skyline beckons us,
No complaints, just joy."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 17 Melbourne |
This photo-of-the-day was taken from our ship docked in Melbourne, Australia, my favorite city in the whole wide world. We were on a cruise, so we couldn't spend a few extra days here like we did the last time we were in Australia, but because of a mechanical problem with our ship, our itinerary was changed, giving us an extra night in Melbourne. There were no complaints from me.
"Ship leaves Dunedin,
Tasman Sea's horizon calls,
Rainbow's hopeful arch."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 13 Dunedin |
This photo-of-the-day is taken from our ship as we sailed out of the southern New Zealand port of Dunedin, headed for the Tasman Sea and Australia beyond. That lonely lighthouse was our last view of New Zealand. The rainbow ahead of us was a good omen.
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Jim Schutze, retired Dallas journalist, still shakes his fist at the sky in Facebook posts. Yesterday's rant caught my attention.
I ordered two twelve packs of Vernon's ginger ale from WalMart.They said they would send me Vernor's ginger ale. They sent me Canada Dry.
Canada Dry. For Vernor's ginger ale.
OMG. Is this how it is now? I think I'm about done here.
Source: Jim Schutze.
That triggered a long-ago memory.
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An agenda item for the December 11, 2023, Richardson City Council meeting caught my eye. The City is on the verge of using eminent domain to acquire parts of two properties on Main Street across from the Police Department. One property is the address of the Ice House. The other is the address of Spice of Richardson, an Indian restaurant.
"Brushed by Belgian hands,
Roa's mural enlivens
Dunedin's artful core."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 13 Dunedin |
This photo-of-the-day is from the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It shows a mural painted by Belgian street artist Roa.
"Portrait on house sings.
Dunedin's mural on show.
Queen Street's quiet song."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 13 Dunedin |
This photo-of-the-day is from Dunedin, New Zealand. It shows a mural painted on a house located on, appropriately, Queen Street.
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The visitors' section was full. There was an overflow crowd. For ninety minutes Monday night, speaker after speaker came to the podium and made heartfelt pleas for the Richardson City Council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and to take measures to address the rise of Islamophobia in America.
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Recently, the Richardson City Council got into what passes for a contentious exchange over the question of naming parks (or, at least, naming of bridges in parks). What it boils down to is that the lack of any policies in Richardson results in naming by whim — i.e., when someone on City Council gets a notion to name something after someone, and just mentions it at a Council meeting, and others on the Council agree it's a good idea, it happens. Just like that. I called it government by whim.
Our big neighbor to the south has a different practice.
"Pitch meets petal's fall,
Cricket match by garden's edge,
Nature's green applause."
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| From 2023 03 11 Wellington |
We were lucky to be in South Africa on October 28, 2023, the night that South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in a match played in Paris. All of South Africa tuned in and was elated with the victory. They had defeated New Zealand. I imagine spirits were crushed in New Zealand. I don't have any rugby photos to show from South Africa, or from New Zealand, for that matter. But New Zealand is not only good at rugby, they also are good at cricket. This photo-of-the-day was taken from New Zealand's Wellington Botanic Garden, looking next door to the cricket pitch, where a match was being played.
After the jump, a bonus photo from the Botanic Garden.
"Nature's artistry,
Wellington's garden reveals.
Ripples mesmerize."
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| From 2023 03 11 Wellington |
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| From 2023 03 11 Wellington |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington, New Zealand. Ripples on the water make for ever-changing, mesmerizing abstract art.
After the jump, a bonus photo revealing the artist at work.
2023-11-02: What's the over/under for how much Texas Rangers' ticket prices will jump next season?
2023-11-10: I just received an email from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson that begins, "Thank you for supporting the Republican Mayors Association (RMA), an organization I launched less than three weeks ago." The mayor of Dallas is officially a non-partisan office. Recently, Mayor Johnson announced he was switching political parties. Now he's turning the office partisan. I have no idea where he got the impression that I support the Republican Mayors Association. I definitely don't.
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"Botanic beauty,
Wellington's garden unfolds.
A stroll through joyous."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 11 Wellington |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington, New Zealand. I won't compare different cities' botanic gardens. I find them all joyous. Wellington's is no exception. It's a wonderful place for a romantic stroll.
"Funicular climbs,
Wellington's view unfolds wide,
Top of the city."
—h/t ChatGPT
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| From 2023 03 11 Wellington |
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the top of the funicular ride in downtown Wellington, New Zealand. Travel tip: buy a one way ticket. We paid for a round trip only to discover that a stroll through the botanic gardens at the top is all downhill, finishing back down in the central business district. Our funicular return tickets were never used. I know — first world problem.
