General News – The Zedman

Nuclear War Survival Skills (PDF)

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 James Robinson

Nuclear War Survival Skills is a guide to getting through the inevitable forthcoming nuclear devastation of America and the radioactive immolation of the last and greatest of human dreams. Written in 1986 by Cresson Kearny, it’ll take you through everything from gathering food to the proper ventilation of backyard bunkers. This updated and expanded edition of Nuclear War Survival Skills... Read More

Sci-Fi Sundays: The Original Science Fiction Stories, March 1957

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 James Robinson

This is such a wonderful cover. The look on the lady’s face, the ridiculous zero-G fighting, and the bullets in the ray-gun are all fantastic. As I was looking over all the details on this cover though, I began to see a different story. Look at their clothing. The style is about what you’d expect from 50’s science fiction, with tight boots... Read More

How Adam West played a prank using his local phone book

June 11, 2017June 12, 2017 James Robinson

A few years back, I was in Sun Valley, Idaho for a conference. I learned Adam West lived in the area and I wondered if he was listed in the local phone book. So, I pulled it out of the nightstand in my hotel room and checked. Flipping to the the “W” page, I spotted his name. His listing prompted, “See Wayne... Read More

Adam West, 1928-2017

June 11, 2017June 12, 2017 James Robinson

Adam West, famed as Batman and latterly for his work in animation, is dead at 88. “Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight, and aspired to make a positive impact on his fans’ lives. He was and always will be our hero,” his family said in a statement. With its “Wham! Pow!” onscreen exclamations, flamboyant villains and cheeky... Read More

Meet Nikon’s new trio of wide-angle lenses

May 31, 2017June 10, 2017 James Robinson

While we wait to get our hands on the D7500, Nikon has announced three new wide-angle lenses. First up is the AF-P DX 10-20mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, which is designed for DX-format (APS-C) DSLRs like the D3300 or D5600 and sits alongside the ageing AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-5.6G ED and AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4 IF-ED in the Nikon range. This compact... Read More

The decay of Catalina Park

May 10, 2017May 20, 2017 James Robinson

We took the girls down to Catalina Park yesterday so they could ride their scooters on the old race track. Catalina Park is the old disused motor racing track at Katoomba. Yes, a race track at Katoomba. Who knew. For those that don’t…. The 2.1 km race circuit opened in the early 1960s and remained in use until the 1990s.... Read More

Overnight storm damage

May 5, 2017May 20, 2017 James Robinson

It’s been seriously windy in the upper mountains overnight – reaching in excess of 105km/h. Very very gusty. So I fully intended to wake up and find much twigs and branches everywhere – and I did. But I didn’t expect to find a very large tree branch had been ripped off and thrown across our fence. We’re lucky it got... Read More

That damn dragon

February 10, 2013May 20, 2017 James Robinson

So last night the Year of the Dragon wanted its last laugh at us. It wasn’t happy with trashing the engine in my car last week. Nor did it think smashing our internet connection at home over the past 3 weeks was enough fun – 16Mb down to 1Mb and dropouts every minute (damn annoying trying the play MOHW multiplayer).... Read More

Australia Day at Katoomba Airfield

January 26, 2013May 20, 2017 James Robinson

As usual, we attended the annual Australia Day BBQ at Katoomba Airfield. It was quite warm and sunny, so much fun was had by everyone. We didn’t play our traditional game of cricket today, although we brought the kit, but ended up playing bocce for hours. Dave, Leo, and Rod were kind enough to resurrect the old swing-set for the... Read More

Downfall of the SMH. How a once quality newspaper has lost its way.

July 12, 2012May 20, 2017 James Robinson

Editorial and quality control standards at the Sydney Morning Herald have dropped dramatically, and it’s really annoying me. Do you remember about two months ago the big brouhaha of how Fairfax were going outsource all subediting work for its flagship Sydney and Melbourne newspapers, losing 82 jobs in the process. And then about a month ago Greg Hywood, CEO and... Read More