APPLE CHIP TIDBIT: I was never a math or science guy in school...

But "THE ROCKS" of Sydney tell a story that has more to do with vice then geology!

Dear Reader(Myself),
This past Thursday, I had the distinct pleasure of being able  to travel two hours south of Newcastle on the New South Wales "Country-Link" commuter rail service in order to visit the state capital(and one of the true gems of the Pacific Rim), Sydney. This is where the story of  modern Australia starts. As I may have mentioned in a previous post, Captain Arthur Phillip, who oversaw the first European(read: British) settlement of Australia, set up camp at Port Jackson(the formal name given to what most people call Sydney Harbor) in January of 1788, in the what is now known as the Circular Quay area of Sydney, in the shadow of where the Sydney harbor bridge crosses the water seperating the city center from suburban north Sydney. The very first neighborhood of what would become the city of Sydney was quickly erected and in  short  order would become a crime and disease ridden slum filled with brothels, taverns, boarding houses and trenchant poverty. It was the embodiment of  all of the social ills that manifested themselves in the British policy of "transportation" or simply the shipping  of criminals to serve their sentences far away from the motherland's shores(in the case of Australia, to what might as well have been the end of the earth) and out of sight and mind. The area's buildings were constructed largely with the use of local sandstone and the new locals started referring to the collection of sandstone structures as "the Rocks", and the name stuck. As I mentioned earlier, the natural sciences and math never were the subjects in school that truly animated me. However, the study of the human past does, and I found it to be rather neat to be amongst the sandstone rocks that would eventually spawn with it a major center of commerse and would thus establish  the  foundation of what would become the Commonwealth of Australia. You will have to forgive me as I poured an overflowing handful of chips into your hands. The chips that fell on the floor and that are still plenty good to eat will  boost your immunity to all sorts of illness. Sometimes, my pedantic ways gets the best of me. But  in the end, they are good for you!
Take Care!

APPLE CHIP TIDBIT: If only I had been born 192 years and 363 days earlier and was a british convict...

Then I could have been a member of the First Fleet!  The First Fleet was the group of eleven British Naval supply ships which set sail from England in May of 1787 and arrived at Port Jackson in present day Sydney harbour on January 26th, 1788. The flotilla, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, was sent to establish a colony on land claimed for Great Britain on the east coast of the Australian continent by Captain James Cook eighteen year earlier. Cook called this land, New South Wales. The First Fleet consisted of almost eight hundred convicts and more then six hundred members of the British military sent to establish the claimed lands' territorial integrity. Although numerous European explorers had set foot on the Australian continent prior to the late 18th century(Potuguese and Dutch), none had taken the time to establish an actualy community on the island(of course, the indigeneous peoples, known here in Australia as "first peoples", had been living here for almost 50,000 years prior to European settlement). This day is known as "Australia Day". I was born on January, 24th 1981. If I had been born 192 years and 363 days earlier in Britain and had been convicted of a crime, I could have been one of the first of His Majesty's subjects establishing the United Kingdom's largest(physically) colony! Crisp crunching sounds can be simulated by the reader at this point.

APPLE CHIP TIDBIT: How empty is Australia?

Yestereday, while sitting shivering on our very uneven couch on a chilly winter morning here in the southern hemisphere, I was reading a few pages of Bill Bryson's rather witty and clever travel book about Australia, " In a Sunburned Country" and was drawn to a statistic I found rather shocking.  In Australia the average population density is 6 people per square mile! In a country the size of the United States! In the U.S there are over one hundred people per square mile on average. However, Bryson mentions that 6 is skewed wildly due to the fact that over 85 percent of the populations lives in metropolitan areas along the Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts. The reality is that in most of Australia, the density of the population is less than one person per square mile. Taste that salty yet fortified apple chip goodness!

A New Brand of Information Tidbit: THE DRIED APPLE CHIP!!!

Dear Reader(read: probably myself):

When I was much younger, my parents on occasion would  pack my lunch before I went to school. My lunch pack would typically consist of four items: A sandwich, a bag of fruit, a drink and then some variety of  chip or cheese doodle. I rememberthat one of those types of chips/doodles were apple chips. Apple chips were baige,thin and crisp dried out slices of granny and fuji apples which were a touch salty and a bit sweet at the same time. I remember them  being quite good. They were in that gray area between health and junk food. They did not have too many calories and did not significantly add to ones waist line, however if one were looking for food that would  not exacerbate hypertension, this would not be it. However they were fortified with artificially enriched vitamins which gave them redeeming value. They were quick snacks that you could convince yourself were heallthy and you would be mostly right! Except that things that are truly good for you shouldn't taste quite as salty. Thus I introduce to you dear reader(TRUMPETS SOUNDING...DRUMS ROLLING...HERE IT IS.....): THE APPLE CHIP TIDBIT!!!!!

    My APPLE CHIP TIDBIT series is perfectly suited for Australia: Small to Medium sized facts that are interesting yet do not require heavy reading or research on my part. Tidbits that are educational yet have a little of that seductive "pop salt" on them to make them easily digestable! I figure that the rhetorical big bag of apple chips that is Australia will be constantly tilting into the rhetorical open hands that are my silly and dream filled head. Hopefully I can share with  you, dear reader, a few of these chips that Australia has handed to me. I will label such tidbits accordingly!
Cheers Mates!
Dave

Lake MInnetonka: One Hundred and Twenty Five Miles of Coast Line

Granny Smith's have an outter skin that are a light to moderate shade of green. I think of  valley's in New Zealand, verdant and lush, sporouting abundant life from the earth when seeing this apple. The water's of Lake Minnetonka, in Hennepin(mostly) County, Minnesota do not neccesarily reflect this type of green when sun's uv rays shine upon them, yet they reflect a shade of green that is fierce in its darkness. This past Wednesday, I had the distinct pleasure of touring the lake with out friends Lindsay and Jeff and Lindsay's super nice and kind parents, Bob and Linda. I found the amoeba like shape of the lake, full of tiny channels to be quite intriguing and unlike other lakes that I had personally been on. I found out an interesting fact about Lake Minnetonka which is situated in (mostly) Hennepin County, Minnesota. I know this might not sound particularly spectacular but I think of Minnetonka as a medium sized suburban lake that has a few towns lakefront's with maybe ten miles of shore line. How many does it have, you may ask?!! Answer: over 125 miles!!!? I could not believe this at first but upon some reflection, I can see it. There are so many inlets, coves and channels, that when adding it all together, I could see it getting close to that total. 125 miles of water that could have the color of a granny smith if some young shenanigan pulling devil had the temerity to spray paint a granny smith dark green!  Alright Mr 305..young chico...dale dale till next time

The Orchard of Life!

Hi there. Visiting my sister-in-law Jess's and her husband Val's house! I learned something very interesting today! You may not be able to eat an apple a day. But if you look closely the orchard of life gives you some equally good nutrition. Jess and Val and their kids have a PUGGLE! I have never heard of this type of dog but evidently they are becoming popular amongst dog lovers/owners.  They are a mix of a Beagle and a Pug.  Very cute, a bit rambunctious but very cute for sure! But that is what life's orchard has given me today: A Puggle a very nice gift! Thank you Orchard of Life!!!! And Jess, Val, Emma and Raef
Cheers!
Dave

Lady Randolph Churchill

Mother of The Right Honorable Winston Churchill was born and raised in.....BROOKLYN, NEW YORK? Yes, it is true! This Apple Jack of a fact may surprise some! Winston Churchill's mother, Jeannette Jerome was born in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York about one city block from where I used to live with my dad! Crazy huh? She met Winston's father in Paris, Sir Randolph Churchill in Parus later on in life! She was born on Amity street! Pretty nuts huh?