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Sydney Vist: From Pelicans to Lions
May. 28th, 2021 11:40 amI'm at Sydney airport about to return home (aka Plague City, Melbourne, etc), with a few hours to spare which provides an opportunity to pen a few notes of the brief, yet full trip. I checked in at the Great Southern Hotel in Haymarket which, apparently, was a bit of a dive once-upon-a-time, but now makes good use of its various deco features, although it retains some of its less charming history in the front public bar. The Hotel is well-positioned, literally a two-minute walk to Central Station, where I stopped for a brief coffee at the truly beautiful Eternity Café before boarding to Woy Woy. Eternity Café is named after a graffito tag that spanned 25 years from an illiterate soldier, petty criminal and alcoholic who found religious salvation. At Woy Woy, I was given a tour of the locale and surrounds (Umina Beach, Ettalong) by the delightful Belinda F., who described the connection between the town and Spike Milligan. It was the first time I had been to the Hawkesbury River coastal region, and I must mention how much I was taken by the natural beauty, from the deep greenery on the numerous hills, the various waterways, and beaches.
The following day I walked from the city to Marrickville to visit Conan F., at the Exiles Gaming Club and their impressive clubrooms, and engaged in a wide-ranging conversation including mutual activities and cooperation with the RPG Review Cooperative. It's good to have such interstate co-operation. Making my way back to the Hotel I made my way through Newtown, and passed the remains of Gould's old bookshop, the remains which have now shifted. I am pleased to have known Bob Gould in his time, and we got along quite well as mavericks and supporting critics of both revolutionary and reformist socialists (which included ourselves). Appropriately that evening was dinner and drinks with a small gathering including John August of Pirate Party fame; lawyer, academic, and minister, Rev. Dr. Ian Ellis-Jones, the big-hearted and insightful Adam B., logistician and artist Keith N., and a little later by aged-care worker Kate B, whom a shared interest in Bret Easton Ellis could not help but charm.
Thursday day and evening of the Inaugural John Lions Distinguished Lectures. Spending a lot the day in the company of one John Wulff, I believe I have made a new friendship. I have a great deal to say about that conference and announcements, which I will publish in a couple of days, but without putting too fine a point on it, it was quite brilliant. This is to be expected, of course. We are discussing a conference in honour of a professor who provided one of the most remarkable educational tools in living memory and managed to inadvertently produce the most illegally copied book in computing history. It is not surprising that presenters to the conference included absolute Titans of past decades, including Ken Thompson, Brian Kernighan, Rob Pike, Andrew Tridgell, Andy Tanenbaum, and more! Afterward, at a re-dedication of the John Lions Memorial Garden, I spent some time chatting with his daughters whom I got the sense were still a little perplexed by it all. I pointed out that often in the scientific and engineering conferences (unlike rock concerts or political rallies) that it is the smaller events that are the most important because the subject matter is the pointy end of the endeavour. I think they gained some insight on why this was a little slice of history.
The following day I walked from the city to Marrickville to visit Conan F., at the Exiles Gaming Club and their impressive clubrooms, and engaged in a wide-ranging conversation including mutual activities and cooperation with the RPG Review Cooperative. It's good to have such interstate co-operation. Making my way back to the Hotel I made my way through Newtown, and passed the remains of Gould's old bookshop, the remains which have now shifted. I am pleased to have known Bob Gould in his time, and we got along quite well as mavericks and supporting critics of both revolutionary and reformist socialists (which included ourselves). Appropriately that evening was dinner and drinks with a small gathering including John August of Pirate Party fame; lawyer, academic, and minister, Rev. Dr. Ian Ellis-Jones, the big-hearted and insightful Adam B., logistician and artist Keith N., and a little later by aged-care worker Kate B, whom a shared interest in Bret Easton Ellis could not help but charm.
Thursday day and evening of the Inaugural John Lions Distinguished Lectures. Spending a lot the day in the company of one John Wulff, I believe I have made a new friendship. I have a great deal to say about that conference and announcements, which I will publish in a couple of days, but without putting too fine a point on it, it was quite brilliant. This is to be expected, of course. We are discussing a conference in honour of a professor who provided one of the most remarkable educational tools in living memory and managed to inadvertently produce the most illegally copied book in computing history. It is not surprising that presenters to the conference included absolute Titans of past decades, including Ken Thompson, Brian Kernighan, Rob Pike, Andrew Tridgell, Andy Tanenbaum, and more! Afterward, at a re-dedication of the John Lions Memorial Garden, I spent some time chatting with his daughters whom I got the sense were still a little perplexed by it all. I pointed out that often in the scientific and engineering conferences (unlike rock concerts or political rallies) that it is the smaller events that are the most important because the subject matter is the pointy end of the endeavour. I think they gained some insight on why this was a little slice of history.
