Info on the ship from: Ata Bilgili.
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Me trying on my lifejacket aboard the M/S Azerbaydzhan. We travelled back from Melbourne to Sydney on this ship in Febuary 1992 and had a wonderful time. My son Julian loves to take embarassing photos of me such as this one on Ilford XP2, flash exposed at around EI 80 (80 ASA) using a Praktica MTL 3 or MTL 5B. For more pictures of me click here. Info on the ship from: Ata Bilgili. |
As you can see my favourite colour is YELLOW!
I was born and grew up in Pennant Hills and went to school at the local primary school, Opportunity Class at Eastwood and Hornsby Girls High.
I used to work for CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, in the National Standards Laboratory, now called the Measurement Standards Sector. NSL was located in the "CSIR" building on the University of Sydney campus. I worked in the Metrology division where we used to test measuring equipment for industry. One of the things we tested were surveyer's staffs, the huge extendable rulers which they use with dumpy levels. The lengths were tested over random intervals. To do this we used SILLIAC, Australia's first practical computer, located along the street in the Physics building. Using one of the teleprinters (aka TELEX machines, Teletypes) located in this builing, we typed the parameters of the numbers we needed - how many sets, whether for metric or imperial, the starting point, length and intervals onto paper tape. (This is a strip of paper 1/2inch or 12mm wide with holes punched in it in Baudot code (CCITT Alphabet 2), a five bit code. It is called punch tape or "ticker tape", due to the sound made as it was punched and read.) We then rolled it up and dropped it in the IN tray. Later we picked up another paper tape with the results on it which we printed on one of the teleprinters. You can read about SILLIAC on the Basser Computing Laboratory's History of the Department page (a ".su.oz.au" address) and CSIRO's Early Computer Research in Australia page. Adolf Basser also contributed significantly to the Sir Moses Montifoire Homes in Hunters Hill.
Metrology: science of weights and measures.
Meteorology: study of motion and phenomena of the atmosphere, weather forcasting.
I mainly use my computer for wordprocessing using Star Office, (used to use WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS) and playing Windows™ Minesweeper and FreeCell. It's was a 486DX25 which was pretty cool when I bought it. With Julian's help it has had a few upgrades, including a new motherboard and an AMD chip.
Julian wants me to study electronics and radio theory and regulations to get my Novice Limited Amateur radio callsign. I read some notes occasionally, but it is a very slow process at the moment. A while ago I built a two channel (stereo) valve pre-amplifier from an Oatley Electronics kit, also published in Electronics Australia.
I have a licence to drive an 8 tonne (GVM) truck, or a bus seating up to 30 people! (This was obtained by repeated upgrading during licence system restructures, not by testing...)
I also knit and sew. I bake some of my own bread and cakes, but not as many as when there were four kids at home.
I play the piano and organ/keyboard, mainly hymns.
I am addicted to crosswords and other word puzzles. Julian says that I would probably have a "Full Call" Amateur licence by now if had I dedicated that time to study!
My favourite page is Jerusalem Report. If you register (free) you can read many more articles.
These are my parents, Mabel (nee Cheshire) and Augustine Lindsay O'Keefe, taken at my wedding in December 1964. My mother used to work for Monte Luke, a famous Sydney photographer where she learnt to hand colour photographs, such as this one.
My father was from descended Patrick and Mary (nee Brennan) Roche of Yass, New South Wales, who settled there from County Kilkenny, Ireland in 1855.
These are my mother's parents, Esther (nee Tibby) and Edgar Cheshire. The photo was taken in late 1940s, during a holiday in Cronulla, on the promenade.
Back Row: Karl, Daralyn, Julian.
Front Row: Randi, Jeremy, Trude.
It's Christmas morning, so everyone is at home, and tidily dressed, Julian sets up his big 120 camera and hot photo lights, everyone is convinced to pose on the lounge, takes one or two shots, adjusts settings, or people move around, etc. Julian starts the auto-timer again, runs back into shot and suddenly there is an almighty roar from the lower regions of another standing male family member, and everyone cracks up, except the person trying to keep a straight face - stop laughing - B&W 120 film is expensive, and with 6 by 6 cm negs there is only 12 shots on a roll. All the other photo's were pretty dull - boring expreessions or fake smiles...
Julian now works as a Library Technician , after previously working in electronics. Randi works in a clerical position at the Tax Office. Jeremy is an electrician.
I go to Christian City Church at Oxford Falls.
My late husband, Karsten (Karl), wrote a short book, "Jacob's Trouble plus the Churches Trouble", which has recently been published by Minerva Press in London. Read about it on his book page.
Read "Midnight in Lofoten", some prose I wrote while in Norway.
One of my favourite CDs is Michael Crawford's On Eagle's Wings. Songs on it are: Spirit Of The Living God, Panis Angelicus, Amazing Grace, On Eagle's Wings, Joseph's Lullaby, I'll Walk With God, Not Too Far From Here, Eternal Love, The Holy City, Ave Maria, Now The Day Is Over.
You can buy it at Amazon. Click here to go to listen to samples and/or buy it.
I have been reading a number of Charlotte Bingham books lately.
Email me at 
(non-click-able to prevent spam).
If you emailed the old ARRL address in the past year or so, please mail to this one.
Hand written by Julian Sortland, © February 2005.
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