I joined Adam for a flight from Bankstown via Patonga, Palm Beach, Manly, CBD and back again in a Cessna 182. Brought back the wish to get my own licence…

Shot using the 5D in RAW, some work done.

I sometimes get asked what I miss about being away from Switzerland. While some would think I’d miss chocolate, cheese, the mountains or public transport… nothing matters as much as my family.

23.5.2009 / Niesen, Switzerland

Sydney’s sky turned red this morning as overnight storms carried masses of dust from inland towards the coast. Waking at six in the morning, I found myself running out the apartment to take a couple of snapshots of the atmosphere. Apparently, even the Bureau of Meteorology does not know when the dust will settle. More pictures after the jump.

23.9.2009 / Rozelle, NSW

Iron Cove bridge is rendered in a reddish haze, similar to fog – except it’s red. Dogs seemed a bit shaken by this experience as well – they seemed quieter, and stayed close to their owners.

Taking the petrol station’s fluorescent light as a reference, one can just imagine how eerie the mood was. Morning traffic was apparently disrupted, although it seemed to flow well on Victoria Rd.

(All images shot in RAW on the 5D, with white balance manually set to 4700K, minor post-processing to bring up dark areas)

Who said the record labels are winning – by introducing a more flexible pricing structure on their request, iTunes music store sometimes shows different prices for the same song. It is worth noting that a songs’ price depends on the album which they were released on. The example from the Australian iTunes store above shows two prices for the same song – they’re both iTunes ‘Plus’ format meaning there’s no difference in the license, yet there is a higher cost of 50cts if you select the wrong one for purchase… be careful!

To me, this proofs how complicating matters can often lead to unpredictable results. Keep it simple, …!

Two paragliders discuss the weather situation on the balcony of the recently renovated Berghaus Niesen Kulm, which offers overnight stays at the top of the 2362m Niesen – also referred to as the “Pyramid of Switzerland”.

23.5.2009 / Niesen

John in action at the King Pin Bowling Center in Darling Harbour. The birthday bash was fun and exhilarating.

30.1.2009 / Sydney

A thunderstorm brews above Sydney as the sunset in the west  is reflected in the glass panels of our balcony. Unfortunately, the storms did not bring the expected relief in temperature.

21.1.2009 / Rozelle, NSW

Morning clouds over Rozelle. View from our balcony.

16.1.2009 / Rozelle, NSW

Having a Glass of red vino, our friend Toni and Chris enjoy a chat.

20.10.2008 / Rozelle, NSW

Speaking at a retirement village marketing conference last month, I’ve decided not to hold a prepared monologue, but instead asked the audience to volunteer their website for analysis. Two websites were discussed for relevance, content, professionalism and then search engine optimisation.

My take on SEO is to ensure that a website can be understood and evaluated for its relevance by search engines. Focus points are the title tag, content hierarchy and text content. In order to be able to quickly communicate what the insides of a website look like, I’ve created a simple web-based application which strips out the relevant SEO information. The application requires little knowledge, however, the results may require some explanation.

The podcast for my presentation can be found on the Dealers’ Group website.