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Really Big!

February 23, 2011

The Queen Mary 2 and her sister ship the Queen Elizabeth are in town again. I took Trini to check them out last night since you only get to see them once in a blue moon and they’re definitely worth checking out. It also gave me the excuse to grab a chilli dog from Harry’s Cafe de Wheels near where the ship is docked . ;-)

I was trying to think of the right title for this post to express the size of the ship but couldn’t, so here are the synonyms for gigantic, you pick one: Herculean, Moby, blimp, brobdingnagian, colossal, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, gargantuan, giant, gross, huge, immense, jumbo, mammoth, massive, monster, monstrous, prodigious, stupendous, super-colossal, titan, tremendous, vast, and whopping.

If you were wondering about some of the ship’s statistics:

Length: 1,132 feet
Beam: 135 feet
Beam at Bridge Wings: 147.5 feet
Draft: 32 feet 10 inches
Height (Keel to Funnel): 236.2 feet
Gross Tonnage: Approximately 150,000 gross tons
Passengers: 2,620
Crew: 1,253
Top Speed: Approximately 30 knots (34.5 mph)
Power: 157,000 horsepower, environmentally friendly, gas turbine/diesel electric plant
Propulsion: Four pods of 21.5 MW each; 2 fixed and 2 azimuthing
Strength: Extra thick steel hull for strength and stability for Atlantic crossings
Stabilizers: Two sets
Cost: Estimated $800 million dollars

Since it is often difficult to picture the size of such a large vessel, here are some comparisons:

QM2 is five times longer than Cunard’s first ship, Britannia (230 ft.)
QM2 is 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary
QM2 is more than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall (550 ft.)
QM2 is 147 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 ft.)
QM2 is more than 3 ½ times as long as Westminster Tower (Big Ben) is high (310 ft.)
QM2 is only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building is tall (1248 ft.)
QM2 is more than three times as long as St. Paul’s Cathedral is tall (366 ft.)
QM2 is as long as 41 double-decker London buses (31 ½ ft. each)
QM2?s whistle is audible for 10 miles

Information sourced from Cunard’s Web site.

Photo from iPhone post-processed through a bunch of different apps.

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Posted in: Life and Stuff, Photo, Random

Life’s Good!

February 21, 2011

As we sat down to have dinner on the balcony last night, this was the view we were treated to. The show lasted for around half an hour and it was just amazing!

We had the most amazing day and night yesterday. One of those relaxing days where you get a bunch of stuff done as well, an afternoon at the beach, a beautiful dinner on the balcony with this view to top it all off. Life’s good (touch wood). Funny how things just fall into place sometimes.

Here’s to an amazing year that has been and to the many that are ahead of us. Looking forward to every single one!

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Posted in: Family & Friends, Life and Stuff, Photo

Hunting, Fishing, and Photography

September 16, 2010

It’s time for another road trip. This time we’re heading South to a private property in the Kosciuszko National Park for a bit of hunting, fishing, and definitely some photography. I have a few ideas I’m itching to try.


View Larger Map

We got lucky to be offered a four bedroom house by a friend on a property with horses, a river with Brown Trout, and some game for a bit of hunting as well. The property is actually located in Victoria near the border and based on past history there might be some snow as well! It’s been so long I haven’t seen snow.

It’s probably going to be a 3-4 night stay so already planning the food and gear list to make sure we have everything we need. I think we’ll be taking more stuff than we would on an overseas trip.

There’s going to be about 6 of us going, so looking forward to a good time in the country/mountains surrounded by good friends. Also looking forward to teaching Trini to shoot for the first time, that’s going to be interesting. Stay tuned for updates and photos.

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Posted in: Family & Friends, Life and Stuff, News & Updates

Out of Sight but Still Kicking

September 13, 2010

Unfortunately it’s another one of those “it’s been a while I haven’t posted just wanted to let you know I’m still alive” posts.

Due to unforeseen life stuff, you know what I’m talking about, those curve balls life throws at you when you least expect it, I didn’t really have the time nor the inclination to post here for the past few weeks.

Fortunately, things are slowly returning to their normal state. I have however been working on things during this little hiatus, so keep an eye out for some news and new work as well.

It’s funny how everything has a balance. When things are going too smooth in life there’s always something unexpected that creeps up to bring some balance to it all. Conversely, when things aren’t going so well, with some patience and perseverance, something good will come along to balance that out as well.

One thing I’ve learned is that patience and not worrying about or thinking about things you have no control over might suck and be the hardest things to to do, but they really are your only choices sometimes.

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Posted in: Life and Stuff, News & Updates, Wit and Wisdom

Then There Was Less

July 30, 2010

It’s amazing the amount of stuff we amass over the years under the guise of one day it might be useful, or keep it just in case, you never know when you might use it again, it’s got memories attached to it, you might want to show your kids one day, blah blah blah…

For the past week and a bit I’ve been going through every nook and cranny in the house and every piece of stuff I own and getting rid of everything I haven’t used in a while, have never used, see no use in, forgot why I kept, or forgot what the memory was that was attached to it. Let me tell you, it’s a monumental task when you haven’t done it since God knows when, if ever! The two crappy iPhone photos show just half of the stuff!

Few of the things I’ve realised in the process:

  • It’s hard to start so start with something small like the bathroom cabinet.
  • It gets easier and you get more brutal with the culling process as you go along.
  • There is great satisfaction after each stage or cabinet when you see only stuff that you use, empty floor and shelf space you never had before, and the absence of clutter.
  • It gives you more freedom.
  • It feels like a new start of sorts.
  • Do it often, and do it ruthlessly. The less useless stuff you have the more freedom you have to do new things.
  • It’s therapeutic.
  • Don’t throw away any photos during the cleanup process. Put them aside and go through them little by little at a later time with a more clear and relaxed mind.

Here’s to less useless stuff, a clearer mind and more freedom. What are you waiting for, go start on that bathroom cabinet!

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Posted in: Life and Stuff