Hello again, I was lucky enough to have some time on my last night in New Zealand to record this my friends youtube channel.
Enjoy. Soundcloud link is here
I am now in Turkey. International cat hunting commences.
In an effort to curb superfluous spending I invested in a 3D printer late last year. I think this is called spaving(spending to save money).I have wanted a 3D printer for a while and have waited for the costs to come down and things to become easier. Following are some prints I have done. All of these models are found on makerlabs, the social network for Bambulabs printers. The prints below are with the P1S combo.
If you need help finding any of the models or have a general question leave a comment and I will assist.
This evening Silvi and I went on an excursion to the Sharm al Sheik Museum. Located at the top of the red sea Sharm is a very tourist focussed region of Egypt. I was last here in 2012 and had a very unpleasant time being pillaged by sequential sales and marketing teams. Sharm has grown, a lot more hotels have sprung out of the sand. Cheap LED lighting gives the place a very Vegas aura. The profusion of mostly Russian speaking tourists, means if you are not dressed like an English tourist (badly) you might be mistaken for Russian. With all this rushing past as our taxi driver flouted many rules, it was nice to be on a caper. I wanted to find the source, the pre ancient history of cats, and our fascination with them.
After two security check points we were inside the mostly tourist empty, very modern Museum. It is divided into parts. The largest devoted to the classic Egyptian history that everybody knows something about.
I was lucky enough to record this walking video of the Museum with my steady cam and straight away found the Cat Mummies and this nice plaque. Sadly I left my phone onboard but Silvi as always takes the best photos. Some of my less than good photos are supplementing them.
With the primary objective complete it was time to learn about the ancient way of life and how animals were sacrosanct. It was a remarkably peaceful civilisation. Animals were all revered and given god like properties. Women and Men were equals. I think later religions got it wrong.
Following are a selection of photos from the Museum. You can see the evolution in stone work, wood, metals, integrating colours and what museum would be complete without a tomb.
Descending into the tomb we found these incredibly well preserved sarcophagus and others.
An additional section was devoted to Greek, Roman, Bedouin, and French colonisers. No offence to these cultures but it felt like it was right to be pushed off to one side. With our current civilisation lurching towards catastrophe on multiple fronts. I wonder what will be around in a few thousand years. I might need to take up stone work so these lines are somewhere.
I think we still have a couple of days here in Egypt. I might need to find a camel.
Hope you have all had a wonderful break. I am currently in an increasingly odd place but we are thankfully departing soon. I recorded a mix last night for New Years Eve on board, please have a listen here.
2024 was a year full of love and highlights for me. The next year has a few unknowns but they shall be overcome with good grace and candour.
Resolutions, well I wonder how many people remember the resolutions they made a year a go? I have quite a simple one. I am going to tame all of my subscriptions and renewals which are a little out of control. As each payment gets charged, often with nebulous names I will attack them and save some money.
When I resurface I expect there will be Cats.
One more thing. I moved from twitter to blusky. Please add me here.
Hello dear readers. It has been an unseasonably busy time. I have been at the Monaco Yacht Show. The last time I was here I was a lowly deckhand. Life was simpler.
The reasons for attending are much the same: trying to attract an interested buyer. We arrived on the Monday before the show and secured a berth inside, which was a welcome luxury. Silvi and I took a vague walk up the nearest hill, enjoying the sights and taking pictures. While I find most of Monaco to be a boring eyesore, the older parts still hold a certain attraction.
The backside of the Palace.
Some old church
SilviVision™
The array of yachts was certainly something. Back in the day, yachts over 100m were a rarity and there were several at the show.
One of my well named colleagues Daniel from Sweden took these great photos of the yachts at night.
We had a busy few days of visits from various dignitaries and strangely garbed broker types.
On the Wednesday night I was lucky enough to leave Monaco and attend a private villa party. The views were sumptuous and I was surrounded by my kind of people. Electricians and AVIT specialists. The company hosting started as a Husband and Wife team who were all about making and keeping relationships. It was inspirational stuff and I will do my best to include them in future projects. For all of the technology and shiny things. Yachting remains a hospitality industry and it is the people that you remember as it should be.
Villa view
The boat show presented some technical challenges for me. For example, it would be odd for us to have over 40 televisions running simultaneously or to have the cinema playing with the deck sliding doors open. These challenges were addressed, which kept things interesting. That said, I didn’t feel entirely comfortable attending the show until the very last day—Saturday.
After modifying my show pass, it was time to take a look around.
The last two are my favourites. Drive fast; no gas.
I did have an official reason for leaving the vessel. I needed to purchase an iPad. I managed to walk 7.5 kilometers on my sojourn.
You can still find parts of French culture in the relative slums of Monaco.
I had a delightful exchange queuing at FNAC. I let a little old French lady in front of me. She was so happy for this small heroic action. I carefully said Noveau Zealande as to not confuse me for a brit and she let me pat her toy dog in her handbag. The dog really was a handbag accessory.
The only distressing part of my trip was encountering this in front of the Casino.
This is why locals hate insta Tourism. I felt ashamed. Note to self. If I see this sort of behaviour in the future I shall stroll through the photographers shot, slowly and as annoyingly as possible.
I got to see a few more interesting things.
The show is now over. We had a night at anchor last night and this morning I was lucky enough to see this beauty.
MY Tatoosh. One from my heyday and she still looks pretty cool :-).
With single digit days left on this contract. I am looking forward to a side quest in Malta before attending the finals of the America’s cup in Barcelona. More boats…..
In the Bay of Kotor lies the ancient city of Kotor, which is incredibly old and rich in history. The Venetians contributed much of its unique architecture, which persists today. Daily cruise ship visits give the city a very different vibe compared to Tivat.
Silvi and I spent our Sunday morning in search of the true essence of Kotor: its cats.
In a recurring theme, the Cats of Kotor were what we wanted to see. Much like Istanbul, cats are prominent here. Unlike Istanbul, we did not see a single dog.
Slipstreaming behind a tour group, we scaled the wall, and, ever so slowly, cats became increasingly apparent.
Cat in the grass.
Cats on a bench.
A palm reading cat
It was in this area that we overheard a very American tourist loudly proclaiming her feline allergies. She may now be deceased.
There was also a unique recycling vending machine that dispensed cat food. We also indulged in some cat-themed souvenir shopping. On a serious note, it was nice to see handcrafted goods made with love.
A smart woolen cat
The real cat in this photo did scratch me through my trousers. Cheeky or affectionate. Take your pick.
I am going to need a bigger fridge
You would think that after admiring so many cats, we would have been content to clamber up a hill or explore one of the many historic buildings. However, there was one last INCREDIBLE CATACLYSMIC event.
The world-famous Cat Museum of Kotor, a seasonal venue, has transformed Kotor into a powerhouse of all things cat-related since its inception. We entered with open minds, not knowing what to expect. Inside the museum, you are immersed in an incredible array of cat-themed art, with different sections telling their own stories.
Below are some of my less-than-professional photos.
Here are a selection of Silvi’s wonderful photos. Please follow her professional space on instagram. It is quite amazing that she took so many photos because all I could hear for the time we were in the museum was her belly laughing.
After more guffawing we carefully selected three choice prints to take away, that are currently homeless cats. Where they end up is up for debate, but they surely are conversational items.
Retreating from Kotor through the southern wall, we spied a final boss cat.
Just purr-fect. Peak culture attained in Verona. Peak Cat attained in Kotor. The Year of the Dragon still has some suprises in store.
I was recalled to work a few days early. Explaining this to my Son did not go well. My rotation partner had an unfortunate accident. Thankfully he is American and I could deflect the blame at America. Members of the USA basketball team, I apologise for the nerf bullets that were shot at our TV. Collateral damage.
Currently I am in Greece. When work eases, normal programming will resume.
In the meantime this internet beauty has crossed my eyes.
Stick reviews on instagram. I know I have found mighty sticks in my life time. Being able to review them is a great idea.
I look forward to sharing a stick review.
It turns out oral surgery is not the best base for blogging. Plenty of blood and tears but the sweat escapes me. I have been enjoying peaceful time in my temporary super accomodation. I did make a couple of supplementary excursions that were not treatment related. The abundance of time distorting commercial enterprises with attached hotels reminds me a bit of Ibiza.
There is a lot going on in Bangkok. It is funny, after so many years of traipsing around the globe I do not find it that overwhelming now. I have even found the winter weather more desirable to what we were experiencing in Italy. People are not really taking photos of random commercial artifices, that did not stop me.
This really caught my eye.
Then you get in a car and see the other more real enterprises.
It is going to be a bit of an adjustment being back in New Zealand but I think I will manage. It will be nice to get into a home routine again. I have plenty of ideas to fashion into content. More jaunts to consider. If the TGDT has taught me anything it is nice to have a real person to share experiences with.