John la Salle, of the Atlas of Living Australia, provocateur on recent literature at #BHLDay

@AnneLise33 from @BioDivLibrary Africa the African node at #BHLDay at the Melbourne Museum

Abel Packer from @BioDivLibrary Brazil/SciELO at #bhlday in Melbourne

@JiriFrank of @Biodivlibrary Europe at #BHLDay at Melbourne Museum

Fenghong Liu of #BHLib China speaking at #BHLDay at Melbourne Museum

@ElyWallis speaking on #BHLib Australia at #BHLDay at Melbourne Museum

BHL Day at Melbourne Museum #bhlib #museunvictoria

Tim Hart and Ely Wallis welcome global @BioDivLibrary to Melbourne

Money, tickets, passports ... check check and check

Heading off for some BHL meetings, heading West, to go East ...

At the Gate: 10 Airports from IAD to IAD

Here are my ten gates and ten flights from IAD to VIE to LHR to SIN to MEL to CBR to MEL to SYD to SFO to IAD

IAD to VIE
Austrian Air 94
Boeing 767-300



VIE to LHR
Austrian Air 455
Boeing 737-400



LHR to SIN
Qantas 10
Airbus 388


SIN to MEL
Qantas 10
Airbus 388


MEL to CBR
Qantas 814
Boeing 737-400


CBR to MEL
Qantas 785
Boeing 737-400


MEL to SYD
United 840
Boeing 747-400


SYD to SFO
United 870
Boeing 747-400



SFO to IAD
United 873
Boeing 757-200


and back to IAD

Phil Anthony and the Glusters

IMG_1535
Originally uploaded by chrisfreeland2002

Not sure if it sounds more like a Glam band or a Doo-Wop group ... in this picture see only Jim Croft, neither Phil nor Anthony!

IAD to IAD: 26,603 miles

14 days, 4 hours, 18 minutes

UA 873: SFO to IAD

Last leg of the around the world trip!

United 840: MEL to SYD

Heading East

QF 795: CBR to MEL

2010-06-05-IMG_8113
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

An early morning flight (6:40 am); B-737-400 again; no sky bridge, so we did the tarmac strolll

QF 814: MEL to CBR

2010-06-03-IMG_7962
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Flight from Melbourne to Canberra, B-737-400

Ah ... now it's all clear ... 42

2010-06-06-IMG_8357
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

My room at the end of the Nunnery Guest House hall ... so long, and thanks for all the 'Roo!

285 meters (935 feet) above Melbourne

2010-06-05-IMG_8180
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Here's a view of Melbourne from the Eureka Tower Skydeck 88; the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere with an observation deck in an actual building that isn't a tower or some sort and ... well, believe it or not, there are all kinds of ways of measuring tall things and controversies over how it's done. In any case it was, without a doubt, the highest place I've ever been in the Southern Hemisphere!

I got there just before the rain clouds rolled in and created a whiteout around most of the viewing area. I skipped "The Edge" (a glass box hanging out over the side of the building), having done that at the Sears Tower (now called Willis Tower)

Huntsman spider (Delena cancerides)

2010-06-03-IMG_8001
Originally uploaded by martin_kalfatovic

Shortly after the American group from BHL-US arrived in Canberra for the BHL-Au meeting, the group all noticed that we had an eight legged visitor from the world of Biodiversity at the meeting. The 5-6 inch Huntsman hung around on the curtains for the rest of the meeting. Waving legs at appropriate times duing the meeting, I think that we have full buy-in for the Global BHL from the arachnids at least.

(Gate crasher at BHL-Au meeting: Delena cancerides. Learn more about the Hunstman spider in the EOL: www.eol.org/pages/1207262?image_id=3236892).

Two days in Canberra

In Melbourne, it was hard to find people to say good things about Canberra. When asked what was something interesting to do on a Friday night, the usual answer was "Leave". Another compliment was that the "There's plenty of open space between the monuments".

Well, to be honest, it wasn't a very walkable city, we did have to drive most places, but there were a couple of nice restaurants.

My own take was that Canberra was probably much like Washington, DC was 150 years ago, but maybe without the mosquitoes (just big spiders!)