Category Archives: Work travel

How my journey to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ended | Three out of six flights cancelled | American Airlines | Qantas

So how did the saga end? To summarise very quickly I’ve traveled to Atlanta for a meeting at the CDC. I’ve had three of six flights cancelled. On Friday afternoon USCDT after I published my last post outlining the most significant cancellation I went to my room and noticed a voice mail had been left for me. The message said that Qantas was sending a bus at 5 pm and I should be in the lobby by then. I’d been in the lobby all day lol

I grabbed my stuff and went back to the lobby and set up my devices again, you know MacBook, iPad and iPhone plus my BlackBerry. At about 1630 CDT a Qantas agent arrived and started marking off peoples’ names. The bus arrived at 1700 CDT, we got on board and then drove to the airport. We all nearly died when the driver had to slam on the brakes because the person in front had stopped so he could enter another lane. There was a heap of road to merge but this driver stopped and wanted to enter immediately. Our bus driver let him know what he thought. The bus horn blasted for at least a minute and some more after we passed him.

On getting to the airport some passengers assumed they could use yesterday’s boarding pass and go straight to security. I assume they don’t travel much. The rest of us found the Qantas check-in counters and queued. The queues were huge because there was the regular QF8 plus our special flight, viz., QF7008. There were five economy lines, one premium economy line and one business class line. Well that’s the official story. The signage made it look like two business class lines. When one line kept getting preference tempers frayed and some passengers started remonstrating with the Qantas agent who, poor fellow, was just trying to do his job. It’s sad how some people get really nasty with people who have no real control.

Anger was demonstrated again from some passengers who were told last night they would have an opportunity to upgrade from economy to business class at the check-in counters. The staff at the check-in counters had enough on their plate and there were no upgrade seats available anyway.

I felt sorry for one bloke who didn’t seem to know what to do. He had entered the line correctly but he looked impatient so he tried to go to another area of the terminal I assume he was an American Airlines code share passenger and tried to check-in there. When I saw him next he was the last person in the longest line looking quite disturbed.

The security area was the next challenge with a couple of the lines closed which meant long queues. I wonder about some people who assume they can just push into lines because they don’t like waiting. It’s a good thing human beings are largely kind hearted. I expect the presence of TSA officers also keeps people calm knowing they can be carted away if they create a disturbance.

Once through security I made my way to the lounge which was already filling up. I parked myself in the business centre and set up my devices and kept myself busy.

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Dallas Fort Worth International terminal check-in zone

I liked this. It was high up on a very tall wall. It was so bright it kept me awake.

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Dinner

When I got into the lounge they had just put out Bain-marie with hot food in them. This plate had turkey chilli and beef sausages on it with chips (crisps). The beef sausages were quite tasty, a mild spice but not too spicy.

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Tea time

After a couple of hours it was tea time. Dead Duck Dilbert needed a soothing cup of Earl Grey “black and hot” just the way Captain Picard likes it.

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Concorde

On the way out of the Qantas club I noticed an old British Airways model Concorde and thought it would be a good photograph with 3D.

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I left the Qantas club a few minutes before the designated boarding time of 2115 CDT. As I arrived at gate D11 there were already lots of passengers assembled. They were obviously keen to get on board. After a few minutes I noticed from the aerobridge Qantas crew were emerging. They were the crew from our aborted flight from the night before. They were headed to another gate. A few passengers tried to engage them in conversation but they wouldn’t stop. They weren’t rude, they just didn’t look like they wanted to speak. Minutes later an announcement was made that passengers for flight QF7008 needed to head to gate D14. As we approached the gate we noticed our crew from the night before. Shortly after another announcement was made that passengers for tonight’s QF8 would need to proceed to gate D11. We all started wondering what was going on. Then another announcement, passengers for flight QF7008 were told our flight would be delayed. we weren’t told for how long. In the end we waited over an hour. We heard snippets from the crew about our bags being moved from one aircraft to this one mating with the D14 aerobridge. We also heard the aircraft we were originally assigned to had no food on board. An earlier announcement had flight QF8 being delayed so that QF7008 could get away on time. There were not enough staff to handle two identical flights simultaneously. When we boarded flight QF7008 well over an hour late, we sat on board for another 30 minutes further delaying our departure. We were told it was because cargo was being transferred from QF8 to QF7008. I assume because it was already a day late. As time passed the Captain made a surprise comment that the loading shouldn’t take anything more than 10 minutes assuming the ground staff weren’t lying again. It took longer. This reminded me of a great e-mail I received from a fellow blogger Barb the Salmon Fishing Queen | Click here for the story of Kulula airlines.

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Interestingly the crew had kept our dinner and breakfast requests from the night before. I had chosen the rib fillet and potatoes au gratin. I was asked if I wanted to change my mind. I said yes, I’d go with the chicken schnitty given last night when I chose steak we didn’t fly. In an attempt to be optimistic I even changed into pyjamas and folded up my day clothes.

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QF7008 Dinner

Green salad and schnitty sandwich with coleslaw.

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QF7008 Dessert

Creme brûlée

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QF7008 Breakfast

Muesli with a plate of bacon and eggs and some mushrooms (not in shot)

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The flight was good albeit a little bumpy. The head winds weren’t a problem and the total flight was a little under 16 hours. We didn’t need to stop in Noumea or Auckland. I managed to get about six hours of sleep and did some work while on board. On landing my passage through passport control and customs was uneventful. There was a DAFF Biosecurity labrador and handler in the baggage claim hall. The labrador was so cute. He came and sniffed at me and my bags. Australian passport control is so easy now in an age of electronic passports. I proceeded with no difficulty. I was optimistic my bag would come through, it was one of the last on the conveyor belt. I was just happy it was there. I managed to check it in for my last leg and took the bus from the international terminal to the domestic terminal.

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Brisbane Qantas Club

It was good to be home in Australia in my home town as I waited for my flight to Canberra

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3D in the Qantas Club Brisbane

3D wanted some yoghurt

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QF953 Lunch

With the time difference between Brisbane and Canberra this is lunch.

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The last flight was uneventful. Quick and easy. I caught a cab and unlike previous airport cab journeys the driver was competent and knew exactly where to take me. He didn’t even smell bad.

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Green food

After getting home and showering and starting some clothes washing I went grocery shopping. I’m craving home cooking.

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Dinner with Bron

Pork with green vegetables. It was so good to have a home cooked meal and vegetables.

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Dessert

Chocolate ganache tart made with port and berries and cream

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So I’m home. My washing is nearly complete. I’ll iron my clean shirts tomorrow night and I’ll be back at work in the morning. It was a great meeting in Atlanta and an adventure in terms of travel. Out of six flights, three were cancelled. The major disruption was the DFW to BNE flight which had to be cancelled and rescheduled >24 hours after the original flight time. I missed Bron. It was good to see her tonight and have a home cooked meal at her place

Until next time…good night

Qantas and Virgin claim on-time lead (bigpondnews.com)
iPads for Qantas In-flight Entertainment (ubergizmo.com)
Qantas cancels Adelaide-Singapore flights (abc.net.au)
Dreamliner cash lifts Qantas profits (bbc.co.uk)
American Airlines adds Android in the sky (reviews.cnet.com)
Qantas expands in-flight iPad program for passengers (tuaw.com)
I never want to fly again. I mean it this time. (whichwaynow101.wordpress.com)
Qantas expands in-flight iPad program for passengers (applios.wordpress.com)
Kangaroo Route Turns Chinese With Flights to Guangzhou – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)

My stay in Atlanta | #safetyb4schedule | My extended stay in Dallas | My love affair with the Reuben Sandwich

26 Replies

CDC entrance 1600 Clifton Road with Dead Duck Dilbert (3D)

There’s not much around the CDC campus. There are some newly built shops with restaurants but really nothing in terms of stuff to buy if you’re visiting and want to share gifts with friends. There’s also not much to see or do after hours unless you’re willing to catch a cab into town. Given I write a daily report of my meeting participation at the end of each work day (even if I go to dinner) that wasn’t an option. So Dead Duck Dilbert will basically only be seeing CDC and the hotel

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A close up of 3D

Okay, not really a close up

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I’d like to note that in the last twelve months I’ve been fortunate to fulfil two dreams I never in my wildest dreams thought possible. It’s a result of having a great job and very good bosses who drive the work with vision and insight. As a clinical microbiologist, and as someone who built my own microbiology laboratory in my parent’s rumpus room when I was at high school, there are two outstanding institutions in the USA for anyone with an interest in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases and public health. Last year I was able to visit both the old and the newly constructed site of the US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases. Words cannot describe the awesomeness of that visit. The second iconic place for me is CDC. With a few years under belt now as a health emergency manager I also got to see the CDC nerve centre, their Emergency Operations Center (EOC). I’m a happy boy.

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The front sign of the Emory Conference Center Hotel

This is a really good hotel. There is free wifi throughout the complex (although it’s a little patchy in the main restaurant making Instagram posting of breakfast a little tedious) and the staff are really really friendly. It may just be Dallas and Atlanta but when I’ve visited other US cities like Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago I have to fake an American accent to be understood. The people of Albuquerque (previous visit in 2009), Dallas and Atlanta seem to understand my Australian accent (strine). The bathroom in my hotel room was great. The water heated up in the shower quickly and I don’t know what it was but the tap water was some of the best tap water I’ve ever tasted. I’d bottle it and drink it every day if I could. The hotel was set in lovely grounds well away from the main road so it was quiet. The bed was also very comfortable.

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It’s still daylight in the early evening in Atlanta.

3D on the perimeter fence of CDC with laboratory smoke stacks in the background

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3D and Bermuda Ginger beer at The General Muir

In previous posts I’ve extolled the virtues of my favourite ginger beer, viz., Bundaberg Ginger beer. It’s partly because it tastes the best IMO and also because Bundaberg is such a special place for my family. I always try to support Bundaberg, it’s sugar cane and anything else to do with the town. This Bermudan ginger beer was good. Not quite as good a flavour as Bundy ginger beer though.

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My Reuben sandwich

So The General Muir is a deli style cafe/restaurant at Emory Point in Atlanta. I saw on the menu it had a Reuben sandwich. I’ve watched many American television food programs on television discuss the Reuben. I’ve heard on television situation comedies the Reuben being described. I had to try one (or possibly two). They have an Instagram account and a Facebook page plus a twitter account

An IG friend told me it is more Russian than American. I’ll take his word for it. All I know it’s one damn fine sarny.

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Reuben goodness

This was amazing. I loved it. I wanted more. Dare I use the awful term mouthgasm??? It really was like an explosion of joy and happiness and ecstasy in my mouth as I chewed tongued and masticated my way through this delightful sandwich.

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The weather is like Canberra at the moment yet I’m in the Northern hemisphere

Yes, with all the eating I did try to exercise. I wasn’t that successful. I only got out twice.

I went on this walk on Tuesday afternoon. There were some nice hills. http://runkeeper.com/user/garydlum/activity/158711927

I went out again early Wednesday morning because you know, I’m a member of #teaminsomnia http://runkeeper.com/user/garydlum/activity/158868445

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I walked past The General Muir to take a picture

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3D and the Emory Conference Center Hotel sign early in the morning.

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Grits. My experience of buttery goodness.

Okay so this is the first time I have tried grits. I know it’s ground corn and I know it’s a staple of the south. The taste was good. It was like butter. It was very gritty though and I don’t think I’d have it every morning. I know I prefer rolled oats.

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My waffle

To remove the grittiness from my mouth I also got a waffle with bacon, pork sausage, berries, nuts and maple syrup. I LOVE North American breakfasts.

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Grits versus a waffle

I asked twitter http://twitter.com/garydlum and instagram for opinions. The waffle won

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Lunch time Reuben

We had our Wednesday meeting at another CDC site and we got a takeaway deli order. I tried another Reuben. This was about an order of magnitude difference between this and The General Muir Reuben. I did not like this version of the sandwich.

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CDC EOC

On Wednesday afternoon we visited the CDC EOC. Happy time ×10

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On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a no host (meaning we pay for ourselves, this is important for most national government departments, it’s important not to be seen or perceived to be seen to inappropriately act by providing a free dinner or lunch). We went to the Bonefish Grill at Emory Point.

Entrée at the Bonefish Grill

The lighting was really poor. This actually looks better when I rotate the image 180°. Atlantic sea scallops wrapped in bacon (Oh I love American bacon) with a mango salsa. It looks good even though the scallops were overcooked and rubbery. The mango salsa was delightful.

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Main dish

Sirloin steak, Maryland crab cake and potatoes au gratin. I was up to my third scallop on my entrée when my main meal came out. I had to quickly rearrange my plates and finish my entrée quickly so my steak and crab cake didn’t get cold. I asked for the steak to be rare. It was medium with a hint of pink. I would never send a meal back because I’ve heard too many stories of upset chefs doing things to food that’s been sent back.

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I decided against dessert and pondered the meal (compilation)

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Thursday breakfast

I thought about a stack of pancakes but I don’t think I could have done it. I elected for a spinach, mushroom, tomato and cheese omelet with bacon, sausage, walnuts, berries and some maple syrup.

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We had a no host lunch at La Tagliatella on Clifton Road opposite CDC

This is a Roast duck and black truffle risotto. I couldn’t identify any duck. The black bits are the truffle. It was very salty.

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At the Atlanta Admirals Club after my flight to DFW was cancelled. Now on AA843.

Yep another flight cancelled. That’s two for two for American Airlines. http://www.aa.com

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My meal on AA843. I was craving greens after nearly 48 hours. I ate the salad and left the chicken.

The chicken breast looked and felt really rubbery. I tried to cut it but the knife wouldn’t make a mark.

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The cheesecake on AA843 was no where near as nice as Bron’s

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Sitting in the Qantas Club at DFW with 3D drinking ginger ale. Yes I like ginger. I also know that one of my favourite blogging friends Judy from http://petit4chocolatier.wordpress.com/ also likes it.

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And a shout out to Hilah from @hilahcooking She’s one of the coolest Texans I know. I bought this book so I know more about Texas.

If you like blogs and food videos on YouTube please visit her site at http://hilahcooking.com/ I only discovered a little while ago that she spent three months in Melbourne and knows about Aussie love for chicken schnitty.

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This is the calm scene at Gate D14 at DFW at 2100 CDT on Thursday night.

Little did we know what was to come

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I was sitting in seat 1B and I sat there for close to five hours while we taxied out and in and out and in and out and in again.

The cabin lighting gives the bulkhead a pink hue. That’s my breakfast card. It never got used

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Shortly after boarding all the passengers and with the doors closed we taxied out and then spent an awfully long time on the tarmac. The Captain made an announcement saying there was a problem with the engine deicing system. They needed to get the engineers to look at it. We’d taxi back to the aerobridge but not dock. We’d stay in our seats while the engineers ran a range of diagnostic tests and hopefully fix the problem. After more time the Captain said the problem had been resolved and we taxied out. The regulations state that we needed to watch and listen to the in-flight safety brief again. The flight attendants were very good about it. Out on the tarmac we sat again, we assumed the crew were running through checks. After another lengthy period, the Captain announced an associated problem had emerged and we’d be going back to the terminal but not docking. He said if he let one passenger off he’d have to make us all get off and then go through security again. He then explained the engineers would try to bypass the deicing circuits and I couldn’t quite hear the rationale but no one seemed concerned. We taxied back out and again sat on the tarmac for what seemed like more than 30 minutes. By now it as around Friday 0300 CDT. The Captain came on the public address system and apologised that the system was still indicating a problem. They had run out of crew time and would need to park the aircraft in a hanger and have the system examined thoroughly. After the second trip out onto the tarmac we’d been told that because of tight crew times instead of landing in Brisbane we would land in Auckland and another crew would take us to Brisbane. By that stage I knew I would have missed my connection from Brisbane to Canberra. I had a date with Bron and basically I knew that wasn’t going to happen The Captain made a final point that with Qantas it’s all about safety before schedule hence the twitter hash tag I started #safetyb4schedule

As we docked with the aerobridge we got off and were assigned local hotels. I scored the Marriott DFW. It was about 0415 CDT when I got into my room. I called Bron, had a shower and fell asleep not knowing what was going to happen. At about 0820 CDT I woke with a panic. I walked to the door and noticed a page of paper. Without my glasses I thought it said catch the shuttle at 0950 CDT. I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face and woke myself up. I reread the letter and it said be ready for the shuttle @5pm. I couldn’t go back to sleep despite feeling tired.

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So what to do. I went to the reception desk and asked if there’s anything to do locally and they said it’s an industrial area and I’d need to catch a cab into Dallas to do anything. I’m sorry if I sound like a tight arse but I’m not going to waste money on long cab rides to walk around when I’m dog tired. I knew I could do some work and I was told there was free wifi in the hotel lobby. [This is where I am now]. We’d be given two meals and we could use our rooms.

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I can’t remember when we were given this block of chocolate. All I know is we weren’t provided with any toiletries or anything like a T-shirt to sleep in. When I’ve been on cancelled flights with Qantas before they’ve arranged this. At the hotel they gave us a toothbrush and toothpaste. I couldn’t access my checked-in bag for toiletries and fresh clothes (not that I had any) because they remained on the aircraft.

The chocolate was okay. I can’t remember eating it I’m so tired.

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So I went to the hotel restaurant for brunch (it was about 1030 CDT by the time I woke up enough to do anything.

There were all sorts of things on the menu. The first thing I saw was the Eggs Benedict. My server who could see how tired I was gave me a jug of coffee and said the Eggs Benedict are good. I asked if they served them with s soft runny yolk and he said yes. What I didn’t realise was it would come with a giant potato cake. [For friends from Victoria this is what I call a potato cake. What you call a potato cake is a potato scallop (Queenslander)]. The eggs were cooked nicely although the yolk was very very pale. I assume it wasn’t free range and not fresh. It tasted good though.

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Making a wish

I don’t know what the whole 11:11 is about but I see it enough times on Instagram to know that some people make a which when it’s 11:11 I wished for my same seat tonight and a safe journey.

Yes I have a lot of camera apps. Do I use all of them? No. I really like ProCamera.

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Free wifi in the hotel lobby

I took up the offer of free wifi in the lobby and here I am doing some work and blogging and reading blogs and trying not to think of my tiredness headache.

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Hotel in situ starbucks

I really don’t want to offend my North American friends. You need to visit Australia and try our coffee in a good coffee shop. Ask for a long black or a flat white or a latte or even a cappuccino. I’m pretty sure you’ll notice the difference.

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I’ll finish the journey blog in the next couple of days. I’m really hoping our flight leaves tonight. The plan is that QF7008 (the new designation for our flight) will depart at about 2200 CDT and I’ll get a new flight from Brisbane to Canberra on Sunday. I’ll get into Canberra just before lunch. In time to buy groceries and do lots of washing. Hopefully dinner with Bron and then hopefully sleep before work on Monday. Fingers crossed

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The General Muir http://www.thegeneralmuir.com/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/EYkCP

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Marriott DFW http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dfwap-dallas-fort-worth-airport-marriott/

Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/zQQkI

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Classic Reuben (werd.com)
Vegetarian Reuben Sandwich Recipe (busyvegetarianmom.com)
Breakfast Reuben Sandwich (closetcooking.com)

I find myself in Atlanta via Dallas

17 Replies

I’m travelling for work at the moment. I’m attending a meeting at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. I flew with Qantas from Canberra to Sydney (QF704) and then onto Dallas (QF7).

The morning of my departure started well. Bron offered to drive me to the airport. It was remarkable seeing some people at the airport I never expected to meet there.

I hadn’t had breakfast so I had a yoghurt and coffee.

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Bron gave me some popping candy truffles she’d made on Sunday. They were delicious.

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I flew from CBR to SYD on QF704 and had a snack.

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Normally when I fly to North America I fly with United Airlines because they offer the best fare of the day. For this flight Qantas offered the best fare. This meant I could enter their international lounge at the Sydney International airport.

You may have noticed a rubber duck in some of the images. He is Dead Duck Dilbert (aka 3D) and he’s like a travel gnome. My work mate and instagram buddy @kecozanat suggested we have a branch travel mascot. 3D won the gig.

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In the Qantas lounge you can get a nice lunch. I chose a crumbed fish burger and chips. The burger was pretty much like a McDonalds fillet of fish only with tastier mayonnaise and better fish. The chips were good but not Urban Espresso Bean Cafe good.

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Flight QF7 was pretty uneventful. It was bumpy throughout the flight but not scary bumpy.

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I ate well.

A lovely yellowfin tuna and Moroccan eggplant as an entrée followed by a main course of crumbed pork, fennel jam, potato gratin and roasted carrots. The pork had great flavour and was tender although a little dry (not to be expected when flying).

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and some cheese

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Breakfast

I enjoyed some muesli and a savoury breakfast waffle

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Getting into Dallas Fort Worth airport (DFW) was pretty hassle-free. I did wait for my bag for some time. I think it was the last one off the conveyor belt. I caught the light rail from the international arrival terminal to the C concourse and found the American Airlines Admirals club to have a quick soft drink (diet coke).

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I was booked onto AA1884.

That’s it out on the tarmac having it’s front door looked at.

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In the end, a new aeroplane was sourced.

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We waited for a while. I notice in the US the cockpit door is often open on the ground.

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There was bad weather in Atlanta brewing so the Captain announced a ground stop. We waited on the tarmac for over two hours. The rules say you can’t be on the tarmac for longer than three hours so American Airlines cancelled the flight. I was worried I’d have to spend the night in Dallas (secretly wanting to so I could explore) and make my way to Atlanta the next day. In the end I found a seat on AA2222.

We don’t have SkyMall in Australia. I love flicking through this catalogue.

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On arriving in Atlanta at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) I wondered if my bag made it from AA1884 to AA2222.

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It didn’t. I went to baggage claims and was told it was on AA1602 and if I wanted to wait it would arrive later in the evening (close to midnight). I waited. If you are a regular reader you’ll know I have a long history of bag problems on aeroplanes, especially flights to and from North America.

YouTube upload http://youtu.be/6WzJzRoJx40

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So around midnight I checked into the Emory Conference Center Hotel. It’s nice. Best of all free high speed wifi throughout the hotel.

I woke up and needed coffee

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Then breakfast

Tomorrow I’ll try grits. This morning I had a cheese, mushroom and tomato omelette with bacon and a spicy pork sausage plus a breakfast biscuit and gravy and breakfast potatoes. Sorry to my US friends, I’m not a fan of the breakfast biscuit. This was quite soggy and the gravy I think will sit in my stomach for days.

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This is what the morning looked like at about 0800 EDT.

The local birds are singing and chirping. It’s quite lovely.

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That’s it for now. I’ll update soon. I hope you have a lovely day or night whenever you’re reading this.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/i1kwl

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Emory Conference Center Hotel http://www.emoryconferencecenter.com/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/1M5tL

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport http://www.atlanta-airport.com/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/oI1FK

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Dallas Fort Worth International Airport http://www.dfwairport.com/contact/index.php
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/kNB1X

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Go first class or go home!!! – Atlanta, GA (travelpod.com)
American Airlines adds Android in the sky (reviews.cnet.com)
Qantas and Virgin claim on-time lead (bigpondnews.com)

Week 50 2012 Culture Fragment

16 Replies

Over the last couple of posts I’ve mentioned some public art being erected near where I work. I’ve posted updates to instagram and many instagram friends have pondered the nature of the art. The hashtag #publicart and #igerscanberra will help with any search. There were many who felt it may be a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Most of my work friends speculated widely.

I happened to see a crowd of people from my office window on Friday and given it was lunch time wandered out to see what the commotion was. On Friday ArtsACT director David Whitney officially launched a large work in copper, Culture Fragment, by Murrumbateman artist David Jensz, among the office blocks of the Woden town centre. Jensz, latest piece in Woden is a comment on the social fabric and connectedness of communities.

You can read the story from The Canberra Times.

So this is how it finally looks

Tuesday 11 December 2012

My head cold from flying back from the US was worsening. It was playing havoc with my CPAP so much so that I felt groggy all day. I expected at the time this week would just be one of those bad weeks. I wasn’t far off.

I felt okay enough on Tuesday night to use a mango for dinner. Tropical fruits always make me feel better.

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Wednesday 12 December 2012

The base of the Culture Fragment (no name yet) was taking shape.

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I missed a meeting with my bosses and some of my work mates made them feel better with this.

Regular readers will know the story of vanilla slice and my love of a good vanilla slice. Search link for vanilla slice.

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Dinner had lots of feta and avocado along with the chicken thigh.

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Thursday 13 December 2012

At lunch time we had a work lunch for Christmas. We went to Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant in Pearce. It was a good meal.

Papadum

Spinach patties

Vegetable samosa

Rice

Lamb Rogan Josh

Chicken Korma

Beef Madras

After lunch we opened our Secret Santa gifts. This is what I got.

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After dinner I didn’t feel hungry so I had a chicken thigh (or two) and some potato gems (tater tots).

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Friday 14 December 2012

This week my work friend who recently got married returned from her honeymoon (Thailand) so we had Friday Fries in my new office.

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On Friday evening we had a work function with a few friends and a work mate’s place.

Beautiful view. We have a standing joke in the branch that the North side of Canberra where I live is Mordor, while I contend it is the South side. As a joke I established Mordor as a place on the South side in Foursquare.

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Would you believe that I forgot to capture images of food? we had dips and pâté and breads and crackers and cheese and an amazing chilli jam.

I did however, remember long enough to capture images of sweets, viz., salted caramel macarons and chocolate sticks. The maker of the macarons was Nat from kecozaphotography.

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Saturday 15 December 2012

I got up early because I have a party to attend tonight. I had to get some bread rolls and dips.

Got a coffee too.

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I was also replacing my refrigerator today.

The old unit had been making loud gurgling noises for more than a year and for the last few weeks it had been leaking water. Harvey Norman had a sale on Thursday so I got a new smaller unit which included delivery and removal of the old refrigerator. The old one was pretty big and really for a family. Given I’m solo I really only need a small unit and this will consume far less electricity.

———-

While waiting for my new refrigerator to arrive, I had a couple of macarons that I got as a gift last night.

———-

The new refrigerator.

———-

Places mentioned in this post

Rama’s

http://www.ramas.com.au/

Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/ctPKf

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Culture Fragment
Good maps http://goo.gl/maps/KrZLB

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The Instagram URL Game (buzzfeed.com)
Wanton Wonton Wonderfulness (garydavidlum.com)
Instagram And Twitter: Relationship Turned Competitors Analyzed by IM (prweb.com)
Instagram, Twitter and the Great Social Media Battle of 2012 (hispanicbusiness.com)
Facebook Finally Admits That Instagram Will Soon Be Full Of Ads (appadvice.com)

On the way home | Travelling continued

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The other night on twitter I came across this link. I thought it was hilarious. Given I’m “guilty” of many of the examples used in the parody I could see a lot of myself in it, especially the food images. I expect if I owned a cat or a dog I’d post a picture of them every day too.

Click here for the Instagram parody

On Wednesday I went to dinner with my colleagues to the Lightfoot Restaurant in Leesburg. It is a renovated bank and the men’s room has the vault door as a feature wall opposite the urinals and stalls.

Google map http://goo.gl/maps/Dymtk

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Lightfoot Dinner menu | Lightfoot Dessert menu
The restaurant has won awards and is regarded by locals as a pretty fancy place to eat.

For an entrée (or starter for my American friends) I asked for “The Plank”. This is a dish served on a plank of wood. It contains a small cube of salmon, a seared scallop and a couple of pieces of chorizo on a skewer. These lovely meats are served alongside a plentiful amount of bacon. As far as entrées goes, it was good but too much.

Sorry it was a room with very poor lighting. My iPhone 4 doesn’t capture images well in low light.

For my main dish I was excited that gumbo was a special. I’ve never had gumbo and I’ve always wanted to try it. This one was extra special because it contained hush puppies, fried oysters, prawns and a fillet of catfish. A few months ago I watched a video from Hilah about hush puppies and I thought then I’d like to try it. I’m also sure I’ve seen Hilah cook catfish too. The gumbo was good. It was heavier than I thought it would be but then I did eat a very large entrée.

Remarkably I did not ask for a dessert. I’ve been eating enough dessert on aeroplanes and at the National Conference Center.

The bank vault as seen in the men’s rest room.

———-

The meeting I have been participating in has gone well and on Thursday afternoon as soon as we broke up I began the journey home.

To recap though, on Wednesday for breakfast I asked the egg cooking lady for a cheese and mushroom omelet. I also asked for some bacon pieces but she didn’t understand what I was saying. I said bacon three times but to no avail. I then put on what I thought was an American accent and she understood me. This is not the first time, quite often flight attendants don’t have a clue what I’m saying.

———-

I discovered on Wednesday that the NCC also does hamburgers for lunch. I found some beetroot from the salad bar and shared with my colleagues from the US, Canada and the UK that a hamburger should have beetroot. It would have been improved with a pineapple ring and a fried egg but they weren’t available.

The NCC also has soft serve ice cream with various flavoured sauces and cherries and nuts.

———-

For Thursday morning, I seriously contemplated an egg white omelet however, I discovered the waffle maker How could I pass up a waffle with some bacon and sausage plus some sugared strawberries, cream and this thing called breakfast syrup.

———

Thursday lunch had to be another hamburger plus some flank steak and scallops.

———-

When the meeting finished on Thursday afternoon I caught the shuttle to Dulles (IAD) as soon as I could. I didn’t want to miss my flight UA647 to San Francisco (SFO).

———-

The dinner on UA647 was a choice between chicken and pasta. Given my experience on flight UA525 from SFO to IAD I chose pasta. It was okay. I wouldn’t want it again. The passenger next to me had the chicken. It was a plain looking piece of breast. It looked dry. My neighbour didn’t finish it. Enough said.

The flight from IAD to SFO took six hours. When we landed in SFO I had enough time to access wifi in the United Club to send through the meeting report I wrote on the flight UA647. I also had a biscuit.

———-

I boarded UA863 and soon after takeoff we had dinner.

———-

I was again facing backwards.

This is the menu choice. I asked for the short rib of beef and if that wasn’t available the salmon and crab.

Fortunately the short rib of beef was available and it was one of the nicest airline meals I’ve enjoyed. Almost on a par with the Red wine braised beef with soft polenta roasted shallots and salsa verde I enjoyed when I travelled on Virgin Australia to Mexico in 2011. http://garydavidlum.com/2011/11/20/lax-to-syd-dinner-on-vaustralia/

For en entrée we were served a salad and a salmon wrapped prawn.

The main had the short rib of beef with mash, beans and baby carrots.

This was followed with the ubiquitous ice cream sundae with walnuts, caramel sauce, cream and cherries.

———-

While asleep I had this nightmare that the aeroplane lost power and we plummeted to our deaths. I woke up with a start as well as a sore throat. I think I’m developing a head cold.

Breakfast was an omelet

———-

It was a relief to get into Sydney and prepare for the last flight of the day.

On the flight between Sydney and Canberra, Qantas mishandled my bag so it didn’t arrive with me. The good thing was I ended up sitting next to a friend who used to work in the department. She’s just returned from a work trip to Samoa.

My bag arrived in the afternoon. It gave me enough time to buy some groceries.

———-

I’ve been watching series 2 of The Walking Dead this afternoon.

For dinner I made a salad from leaves, red onion, celery and some Australian feta along with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I also cooked a piece of salmon and a piece of bread.

Dulles Airport IAD

Google map http://goo.gl/maps/rAKYp

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San Francisco International Airport SFO
Google map http://goo.gl/maps/GzJKY

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It’s Summer time and the season for tropical fruit. Here’s a YouTube video from Hilah giving advice on how to cut a pineapple.

Hilah cutting a pineapple
It’s Summer so what better time to experience some tropical fruit.

Hilah making hush puppies

Hilah making fried catfish

A week of travelling (garydavidlum.com)
Another week in Instagram and schoolies week (garydavidlum.com)
This Nickelback Parody Video Destroys Instagram With Absolute Perfection [Video] (cultofmac.com)
Look at This Instagram, A Parody of Photograph by Nickelback (laughingsquid.com)

A week of travelling

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This week I’m attending a meeting in Leesburg, VA. I’m writing this post as I go, if I was in the mood I’d add a timestamp with each entry but given the different time zones I’m going to be in that is a little too anal retentive even for me and my obsessive compulsive personality.

Since my last post I’ve been spending time going over my meeting briefing notes and watching DVDs. I picked up the first series of The Walking Dead and I’m hooked.

—–

A local Gourmet Deli Belconnen does good coffee

This deli is full of good stuff from an amazing range of chocolate to other sweets to large containers of beans and cheeses and cold meats. There are all sorts of oils and spreads and spices to choose from. The staff are pretty friendly and always happy to assist.

The shop is opposite Coles so if your heading to Westfield Shoppingtown in Belconnen for your grocery shopping, the Gourmet Deli Belconnen is a good place to relax and have a coffee.

—–

After some early morning shopping I made myself some scrambled eggs for breakfast. I like to make thick and rich scrambled eggs. I usually use a couple of free range eggs that I’ve warmed up to room temperature plus an almost equal volume of pouring cream. I whisk vigorously (now using my Magic Bullet®) along with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. I melt real butter in a small heavy fry pan until the butter foams and starts to brown, then I add the egg and cream mixture. I wait a minute before touching the mixture. I slowly pull away from one side the mixture and watch the liquid replace the solid fluffy curds. I repeat this slowly until most of the mixture has has formed soft shiny curds. I removed the pan from the heat and scoop the scrambled eggs onto freshly toasted bread. If you like you can garnish with parsley and if it feels right a little freshly grated cheese (Mersey Valley or Coon) can be added.

—–

Avocado and tomato on toasted light rye sourdough bread

Avocados have been expensive lately. It’s been a while but I wanted some so I bought a Hass avocado for $2. This makes a great lunch.

—–

Fruit and the Magic Bullet®

I have been enjoying the warm days and there’s nothing more refreshing than crushing some ice with mint, adding a little fruit and some cordial. These are the fruits I used today.

—–

Mango coleslaw with a little salmon and a crushed ice minted lemon lime and bitters

This is the last coleslaw I make for a week. I think all my Instagram followers are happy not to see any more red cabbage spam

—–

The start of my journey in the Qantas Business Lounge at CBR

Even though I made myself a caramel coffee banana smoothie for breakfast, it’s hard to pass up some yoghurt while in the lounge along with a nicely made flat white.

—–

The snack served on QF704

This biscuit was a little too sweet. I should have chosen water instead of juice. Too much sugar at the start of a long day.

—–

An awful cup of coffee at The Terrace near the check-in aisles at SYD (T1)

This was disgusting. Too milky and the coffee wasn’t strong enough. It was also tepid rather than the right temperature for frothing milk.

—–

After checking in I made it to the code share lounge for United Airlines, viz., the Koruclub which belongs to Air New Zealand

The Koruclub is well appointed and always has fresh supplies. It’s not in the same class as the Qantas lounges, but with the best fare of the day policy, I cannot complain. I am grateful that I get to travel for work and work with international colleagues.

They also have a hot dog stand.

This is a chilli dog with onions and cheese. I really should stop this senseless eating.

—–

So the flight to San Francisco was delayed by about an hour which in my mind at the time made my connection with Dulles just that little more tight than what it already was.

This is the view from my seat. I was facing backwards.

It’s nice to see the engines intact

—–

This is the menu for the main meal. The question was steak or salmon. Given the amount of salmon I’ve eaten lately I chose steak.

—–

To start we always get some nuts, usually almonds and peanuts that have been warmed up. That’s always a nice touch. The entrée was a nice salad plus some smoked salmon so I wasn’t missing out on salmon altogether.

—–

The fillet mignon was okay. The flavour was pleasant but the meat had been cooked too long for my liking and it was a little dry. The mashed potato was okay with it plus the little fried onions as part of the gravy.

—–

What I like about United Airlines is the dessert is always a sundae of some sort. For some reason the flight from Sydney didn’t have much choice. There was either strawberry or chocolate sauce. I chose strawberry.

—–

I spent most of the flight reading for this meeting but I did watch one movie, viz., The Expendables 2. A great action flick with the classic modern day action actors.

—–

For breakfast rather than the poached eggs I went for the deli plate. The plate consisted of ham, cheese and some smoked salmon. The passenger next to me chose the eggs and the yolks looked like yellow squash balls. I’ve had poached eggs on many airlines and it’s uncommon for them to serve the yolk soft let alone runny.

—–

Scenes coming into San Francisco.

—–

On getting into San Francisco International Airport (SFO), I had a mad dash to get my connection, UA525 to Washington DC Dulles (IAD). The lines at Customs and Border Protection were really long, fortunately as a government employee I carry an Official Passport and along with a Visa and the correct forms I don’t need to spend time with finger prints and photographs. The usual questions are usually asking about the meeting I’m attending and that’s it. I picked up my checked-in bag and moved quickly to the domestic terminal area to drop off my bag and dash to the departure gates. About half the time I travel to North America the airline or connecting airport (usually LAX) doesn’t get my bag on my flight so I have to wait another day for it. That means I attend a meeting in crushed clothes I’ve carried as carry-on luggage.

—–

On UA525 to Dulles we had a choice of cannelloni or chicken caciatori. I chose the chicken because I didn’t want the pasta and the cheese. I should have had the pasta and cheese. It looked very appetising while the chicken didn’t and it tasted blergh. It was a breast and it was dry.

—–

That said United Airlines made up for the main course failure with a nice ice cream sundae. I had vanilla bean ice cream with caramel sauce, nuts, glacé cherries and whipped cream.

—–

I got to Dulles at about 2200 and waited for the shuttle to the National Conference Center in Leesburg. The bus arrived and started to back up and despite the bus behind it honking its horn and flashing its headlights the bus driver didn’t stop and connected with the bus behind causing some minor damage. This little bingle caused a 45 minute delay so I didn’t check into the National Conference Center until after 2300.

It didn’t take long to get to sleep. I ended up sleeping 5 hours without my CPAP machine which is pretty good. I still felt a little tired.

—–

The Center has a good dining room. I had eggs prepared by an egg chef. I like fried eggs sunny side up.

The Center is pretty cool. The closest thing we have in Australia is the Australian Emergency Management Institute (AEMI). The NCC used to be owned by Xerox. It has accommodation for nearly 1000 guests and 250 meeting rooms. The better thing about the rooms compared to AEMI is that the en suite is private and not shared. The rooms are very small but there is enough room for a double bed and television. There is no refrigerator in the room but there is a drip filter coffee maker. The best thing is free high speed broadband in each room and free high speed wifi across the entire site.

—–

The same dining room is used for lunch. I had snapper, beef and pumpkin.

—–

The snack machine options were mostly these very sweet granola bars.

—–

For dinner we went to the Black Olive Sports Bar. We ordered a few pizzas. I tried pepperoni and a super deeper deluxe.

—–

Okay that’s enough for this post. I’ll continue blogging about my travels in another post when I get back to Australia. Catch you later.
Gaz

Websites of things mentioned in this post.

The Walking Dead
http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_%28TV_series%29
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520211/

Air New Zealand
http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/
Koru
http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/koru
United Airlines
https://www.united.com (USA)
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/default.aspx?root=1&SID=2BB5002C1C4E4FD4B38535B0CDDFBB85 (AUS)
Qantas
www.qantas.com.au

Mersey Valley cheese
http://www.merseyvalley.com.au/home/
Mersey Valley Classic is a cheese with great character and complexity. Rich, full and flavoursome, it is a truly classy addition to a cheese platter for lovers of that great Vintage taste.
http://www.merseyvalley.com.au/Assets/Images/57640eb1-ce87-41f6-b608-cb3260cd8003.jpg

Coon cheese
http://www.coon.com.au/
http://www.coon.com.au/products.html

How to make a coon toastie
http://www.coon.com.au/toastie/toastabag.html

Toast bags
http://www.toastabagsaustralia.com/

The Expendables 2
http://www.theexpendables2film.com/index.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764651/

The National Conference Center
http://www.conferencecenter.com/

Security flaw in Instagram could let someone steal your account (forums.pinstack.com)
How Hackers Could Steal Your Instagram Account (cultofmac.com)
Instagram on the Web (iphonelife.com)

CPAP update and my week in Instagram

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Thanks to everyone who made contact about last week’s CPAP post asking for updates as I go. Well this week was much the same as the first week. Interrupted nights and a feeling of being more tired than normal. It made the days at work long and tedious. The abrasion lesion on my occiput is healing in that I think a callous is forming.

On Tuesday night I flew to Brisbane for a Wednesday meeting. I thought about taking the machine but in the end didn’t. I was just too busy and the extra weight in a bag wasn’t something I needed to focus on with so much on my mind.

I thought for this post I’d tell a story by Instagram (Check out my profile at http://instagram.com/garydlum). I know they’re mostly food images but then what else would you expect.

If you click on the images you’ll also be able to see the Instagram comments.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Monday at lunch I had a quiche. It was a ham, cheese and shallot quiche. I like quiche and no matter what anyone says, men do eat quiche. The quiches I buy for lunch come from the Urban Bean Espresso Bar in Scarborough House and the cost $4.90 each. I enjoyed my quiche with a mug of Canadian ice wine tea.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Monday evening I had some left over beef mince with the seed mustard and XXXX Gold beer. I wrote about this last week at http://garydavidlum.com/2012/11/11/cpap-shogun-japanese-restaurant-a-burger-with-a-difference/
I was feeling pretty tired and lazy. I just made an open sandwich and used the yoghurt and Worcestershire sauce to add a little flavour to the gravy.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Tuesday I was packed for a night away and wanted something light. I chose a sausage roll and a Cascade Lemon, lime and bitters. The sausage roll costs $4.50 from the Urban Bean Espresso Bar.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Tuesday evening after a full on day at work I drove to the Canberra Airport and relaxed a little in the Qantas Business Lounge.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On the flight I enjoyed a salad of ocean trout on an Asian coleslaw.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

The meal also came with a chocolate and caramel brownie. Some Instagram friends unkindly likened it to a log of faeces.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Tuesday evening I checked into the Oaks Aurora Tower. It’s a residential apartment block which also has some hotel style apartment rooms that the Oaks group uses. This was my second stay. My first stay was earlier in the year for a work meeting. I found the room then a little grimy and things like the remote controls were sticky. It was cheap for the taxpayer so I thought I’d try again. This time I had a different room. The carpet felt dirty and the kitchen area was a little grimy. The remote controls were also sticky. I don’t think I’ll stay there again. At $130 a night it is a cheap hotel when compared to other places in the city, especially for an apartment style room with a kitchen. On Wednesday morning I woke up to this view of Brisbane.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

The meeting went well. It was a full day and I spoke for a good part of the meeting. My flight back to Canberra departed at about 1900 AEST and wouldn’t land until 2200 AEDT. For dinner on the flight I had a pork chop and vegetables.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

The Wednesday marked the 40th birthday for a work mate. We have a great culture in the branch with many of my work mates being terrific cooks. They often bring in cakes, macarons, biscuits and other sweet treats. To celebrate another work mate made a baked raspberry cheesecake. The best thing about my work mates is they remember me and kept me a slice. Of course they also had cream

There were some comments from Instagram followers asking how I’m not huge. Truth is I try not to eat too much. I try to exercise every day and when I feel myself thickening, I pull back on the intake. Over the last week or so I’ve dropped a couple of kilograms through reduced intake, stress and poor sleep.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Thursday evening I was exhausted. I wanted something simple and tasty to eat. I was craving something salty. I had some chicken thighs with skin on them and needed to cook them over a few nights. I floured the thigh with plain flour, mustard, spike and curry powder. I served them with potato gems (I think in the US you call them Tater Tots.
The chicken looked like it was fried, it was oven cooked.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

For some years Canberra taxpayers have been investing in public art. I like public art and I reckon every city should have some nice art works for everyone to enjoy. Every morning at 0730 I take a walk from my office to get my personal mail from the post office. It looks like there will be a new installation soon. It’s a pity the surrounding buildings aren’t looking too flash at the moment.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On Fridays some work mates in the branch enjoy chips from the Urban Bean Espresso Bar. A small container costs $4.00. They are pretty good chips (or for my north American friends, fries). I ate Friday lunch with a friend who is about to get married. She’s been watching her diet to ensure she can fit into her dress. This week however, she decided to get in her words “sucky in” pants which sound like elasticised support underwear. She felt at liberty to eat chips which I thought was cool.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

Friday night came and I wasn’t hungry. I just had no appetite. It wasn’t really the chips, I was just exhausted and mentally wasted. I cooked a chicken thigh alone and ate that.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

I decided yesterday I would clean out my home office of two year’s worth of papers that I’d been meaning to get to and file. It took a good part of the whole day to go through it all.
My lunch was a nice piece of multigrain Vienna loaf that I toasted and topped with tinned red salmon and a vine tomato.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

Last night I made some coleslaw and had a chicken thigh.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

On the subject of Canberra public art, this morning on my work I captured the image of my favourite piece, viz., the Owl Statue. From the front it’s clearly an owl, from behind however, many Canberra residents have likened the phallic shape as a piece of Canberra’s pubic art.

On my walk this morning I also came across this piece of graffiti which I can relate to.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

After my walk I felt like eating some eggs and drinking a strong cup of coffee.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

I spent a few hours at work this morning and again didn’t feel that hungry. Lunch was pretty boring. The rest of the tinned red salmon on toast.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

This evening I had a piece of Atlantic salmon (from Tasmania) along with some more fresh coleslaw. I cooked the salmon by placing in a fry pan and adding a lid. I cooked it on a moderately high heat for five minutes. The skin was crisp and the flesh was perfectly cooked. The coleslaw was fresh and tangy and nothing beats adding a bit of Kensington Pride mango. This was a nice cooked dinner with a tropical touch. I also added chilli flakes and a little Tabasco Sauce to the salmon to add some bite.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

This week Miss11 and Miss15 are in Geelong for the National Club Championships. Miss15 has a bad ankle and will only be doing uneven bars and beam.

_ooo000OOO000ooo_

Urban Bean Espresso Bar http://www.beanhunter.com/cafes/review/Urban-Bean-Espresso-Bar
Foursquare https://foursquare.com/v/urban-bean-espresso-bar/4da224be7aee5481e133d0fe

Scarborough House https://foursquare.com/v/scarborough-house/4bbea14182a2ef3b45c12bd2
Google Map http://goo.gl/maps/qGN6Q

View Larger Map

Canberra Airport https://foursquare.com/v/canberra-airport-cbr/4b1896c3f964a52068d423e3
Google Map http://goo.gl/maps/MqQ4t

View Larger Map

Qantas Business Lounge https://foursquare.com/v/qantas-business-lounge/4b889f09f964a520fd0432e3

Aurora Tower https://foursquare.com/v/aurora-tower/4b1ba1fdf964a52054fc23e3
Google Map http://goo.gl/maps/9ydtD

View Larger Map

Oaks Hotels and Resorts http://www.oakshotelsresorts.com/

Tater Tots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tater_Tots

Woden Wind Tunnel https://foursquare.com/v/woden-wind-tunnel/4de2bb3ac65b7a3e21223baa

Owl Statue https://foursquare.com/v/owl-statue/4dd44c5352b18e28aa120356

Wanton Wonton Wonderfulness (garydavidlum.com)
Instagram on the Web (iphonelife.com)
Instagram Now Available for Android [NEWS] (epicagear.com)
What you could do with your Instagram pix.. (j0annesim.wordpress.com)

A weekend in Darwin

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A weekend in Darwin

I travelled to Darwin on Wednesday for meetings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday afternoon when I arrived I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s (ABC) Mick Coggan on my memories from ten years ago and what has happened in my career since then. This Friday, 12 October, we will remember the people killed and the people injured after terrorists detonated bombs in Bali. I hope on Friday I will blog about my memories from 10 years ago.

The interview was aired on television and radio over the Thursday and Friday morning. I also did a live radio interview with Pete Davies from Darwin Mix 104.9 radio station.

I’ve not seen nor listened to any of the recordings. I’ve been told by work mates, my parents and friends on Twitter that I came across okay.

On the Thursday I co-chaired a national governments meeting which went well. It was held at the Royal Darwin Hospital. My old hospital from 1996 to 2007. Whenever I visit the RDH I soak in the atmosphere and the changes. I love that hospital.

I was also in Darwin for the War and Disaster 2012 conference. The meeting consisted of a dinner on Thursday night, a clinical teaching symposium on Friday and a clinical conference on Saturday. On the Saturday afternoon a public forum had also been planned. I attended all the functions.

On the Wednesday evening however, I took my work colleagues to the Hanuman restaurant in Mitchell Street. This is a famous restaurant in Darwin known for its fusion of Thai, Indian and Chinese cuisines. Its signature dish is the Hanuman oysters. I suggested we enjoy the oysters, Pandang chicken, red curry duck, a whole fish and some Chinese pork belly. My colleagues and I really enjoyed the meal. The lighting in the restaurant is not conducive to photography with an iPhone so I have not posted any high quality images here (just a poor image of the oysters and the fish). The oysters are always good. They are done in a multi-welled terracotta dish with little terracotta lids over each well. The oysters are steamed in lime, lemon grass and coriander. If you ever venture to Darwin and dine at the Hanuman I will always recommend the Hanuman oysters.

Hanuman oysters

This was the fish after we had finished. Yes I ate the eyes. I did it discretely to not upset my work mates.

The Thursday dinner was held in the Darwin Convention Centre (if you use iOS6 Apple maps will send you to the wrong place) in the Darwin Waterfront Precinct. We enjoyed speeches by the new Chief Minister, Mr Terry Mills and former Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, OM AC. We were entertained by Kamahl. My friend Robyn Cahill also sang. Previously at a RDH review Robyn coaxed me and some other senior clinicians onto a stage to do YMCA. Unfortunately photographs recently surfaced. I will not be posting them here. If you’re curious I was the Native American.

The dinner itself was very good. We enjoyed a mixed cold entrée of salmon, chicken and beef. For a main meal I was fortunate enough to enjoy an incredibly well cooked rib eye fillet steak. Dessert was a mix of small and light pastries which were delightful. By the end I was hanging out for a cup of tea.

On Friday the clinical symposium was held at the RDH in the auditorium. I hadn’t been in there for years. I had forgotten the place had virtually no 3G signal. I was without communication with the office which wasn’t good. The symposium itself was excellent. I learnt so much. It was good to be immersed in a clinical milieu. I felt at home not only because I was in Darwin at RDH but because I was sitting amongst clinicians. I understood what was being put up on the screen. I didn’t doubt myself and have to question myself like I do when seated in policy presentations or budget discussions. Having just spent five years in my current job it was remarkable how comfortable and happy I felt being surrounded by clinical discussion and thinking.

At lunch time I did something I haven’t done for more than five years. In 2003 I weighed about 100 kilograms. I was very heavy for my height. I decided I needed to lose weight rapidly so I could begin exercising again. I chose a high protein and low carbohydrate way of life. My lunches often consisted of meat, just meat alone. On Friday I lined up at the hospital canteen and asked for a small serving of pork belly. I used to do that every day. I’m the sort of person who enjoys repeating old habits. I like nostalgia. This made me happy.

A small serving of pork belly to relive old memories when I lost a lot of weight.

That evening after a very stimulating day I attended a reception at the NT’s Parliament House for the opening of a small photographic art exhibition to remember the ten years since the Bali bombings. As far as formal receptions go it was pretty good. The nice thing about Darwin is the recognition that the usual formalities can be modified. The appropriate attire for such an event in the presence of the NT Minister for Health is Territory Rig. That is long trousers, a long sleeve shirt and a neck tie. Very simple. Unfortunately the Governor of Bali could not be present. The exhibition was opened by Hon. David Tollner and Dr Wayan Sutarga the President Director of Sanglah Hospital. Dr Sutarga is a real character. He was in charge of the hospital for the first and second Bali bombings. He has done an enormous amount of work for the hospital and has worked with Australians like Dr Len Notaras, AM and Colin McDonald, QC to cement a strong bond between Darwin and Bali.

After the reception I had a hankering for some fish and chips. I wanted Barramundi.

Barra and chips

The Saturday clinical conference was held at the Darwin Conference Centre, it was a long day. We registered at 0745 ACST and didn’t finish until after 1800 ACST. It was a very good day. Many of my friends presented. Some relived the events of ten years ago and others looked at changes in their specialty areas. Given I had moved from the NT government to the Australian Government I presented the changes that had occurred in the Department of Health and Ageing and how we have evolved into a better prepared area for health protection matters.

I got in early and captured this image before all the seats filled up.

The afternoon’s public forum was inspiring. Julian Burton, OAM spoke about his experiences as a victim of the Bali bombings. Sally Sara, AM spoke about being an ABC journalist in war zones and gave her perspective on the importance of telling stories so that Australia as a nation can know what is happening in places where reporting is not encouraged and journalists are often in danger by the kinetic forces of war.

On Saturday night I was invited to dinner by Len Notaras to Char Restaurant at Admiralty House on the corner of Knuckey Street and The Esplanade. I’d eaten here once before for a work related lunch. The venue is delightful. The food is sublime. The lighting was good but the group I was with didn’t really allow for me to whip out my iPhone and capture food images. I admit, I haven’t really come out to this group of friends that I am an amateur food blogger.

At present I’m in Adelaide waiting for a flight to Canberra. I love visiting Darwin and catching up with friends. I love Darwin. If you’ve never been there you should visit and stay for a while.

A park in the waterfront precinct just before arriving at the convention centre.

Conference lunch

My lunch on the flight flying from Darwin to Adelaide.

Australian hospitals ‘too busy’ to cope with disasters (abc.net.au)
Bali bombings strengthened Indonesian ties: Howard (abc.net.au)
Governor Pastika cancels Darwin trip due to health concerns (balidaytour.wordpress.com)
Bali bombing pain stll lingers (radionz.co.nz)
US marines preparing to leave Darwin (bigpondnews.com)
Qantas makes emergency landing in Darwin (bigpondnews.com)
Aust close to Jakarta after Bali Howard (bigpondnews.com)

Brisbane high rise and food glorious food

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The last few days have been fairly busy and on Thursday and Friday I had to be in Brisbane for an important meeting.

On Wednesday I forgot my lunch and after a frantic morning I was in a café and spied a Chiko roll. I haven’t had one in years. My maternal grandfather‘s brother told me many times when I was young that our family had somehow been involved in the invention of the Chiko roll. At the time they owned a Chinese café at a truck stop in Rocklea in Brisbane. They used to sell these super large spring rolls mostly composed of cabbage and chicken. They sold them as chicken rolls. Mum and her brother have confirmed this story for me. They claim someone got the idea for the Chiko roll from my grandparents chiekn rolls at the Golden Pagoda in Rocklea. The Golden Pagoda was destroyed in the great flood of 1974 and the loss destroyed my grandparents and immediate family. They never really recovered.

Later that afternoon a work mate said she was going out to get some chocolate and I asked her get me some. I love my work mates. They know me. Look at what came back

Check out the size of the block.

That night I didn’t feel that hungry but had some chicken thigh meat thawing (and no I didn’t eat all that chocolate in one sitting).

The chicken burgers were tasty, you can see I used an English muffin for one and a hamburger roll for the other.

The next morning I woke up early for a 0620 AEST flight from Canberra to Brisbane. I like that the Qantas Club has breakfast.

On board the flight I had another breakfast.

I spent Thursday night in my hotel room working. The view of the Brisbane River from the twenty-fifth floor was pretty good.

I went and bought a couple of hot pies and an apple crumble to get me through the night.

In the morning the view was better. I left Brisbane in 1995 to live in Darwin until coming to Canberra in 2007. Brisbane city has certainly grown.

Look at the huge tree. they are amazing. I love them.

I indulged in a Starbucks breakfast of toast and a caramel mocha with cream.

So on the way back to Canberra I spent time chatting with a work mate and eating.

The pork buns here were crap. They are from the Sydney Qantas club and rubbish. You want to see a nice barbecue pork bun go to the Dumpling Inn. Check out the image here.

The soup was a spicy Mexican lentil dish.

On Saturday we went to Costco to buy some food. I hadn’t had lunch. I tried a Costco hot dog. It wasn’t that good.

For afternoon tea we went to Ricardo’s Cafe at Jamison and had a caramel praline mousse.

Last night Bron and I cooked dinner together. I cooked a steak with an onion dijon sauce and Bron cooked the cauliflower blue cheese gratin. The gratin was amazing. I ate two. I wanted more.

Bron cooked a caramel chocolate tart and a lemon tart for dessert. They were out of this world. Bron is amazing.

Caramel chocolate tart

Lemon tart

This morning we went light and had a poached egg before our big lunch.

Five years living in Canberra (garydavidlum.com)
Brisbane (garydavidlum.com)
Brilliant Buffet at the Hilton (durbandiva.wordpress.com)

Toronto to Los Angeles to Sydney to Canberra (YYZ to LAX to SYD to CBR)

Yummy Lummy

Gary's rants and raves about food (and a little about life)

Category Archives: Work travel

How my journey to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ended | Three out of six flights cancelled | American Airlines | Qantas

My stay in Atlanta | #safetyb4schedule | My extended stay in Dallas | My love affair with the Reuben Sandwich

I find myself in Atlanta via Dallas

Week 50 2012 Culture Fragment

On the way home | Travelling continued

A week of travelling

CPAP update and my week in Instagram

A weekend in Darwin

Brisbane high rise and food glorious food

Toronto to Los Angeles to Sydney to Canberra (YYZ to LAX to SYD to CBR)

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