Text will be terse today, as I am swamped by work in the computer room. Everybody needs everything right now.  It’s not something that system administrators are not used to. It does get a little irritating when you’re also trying to roll out an entire new network at the same time.

Enough complaining. Let’s have some fish.

This cute little critter with the improbable beard is, of course, a Goatfish – what else would you call it? Specifically, it’s a Manybarred Goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus):

The whiskery things are used to find food. It digs around in the sand for a meal. As you watch, you can see the whiskers flying around like mad. It’s speculated that they are extremely sensitive to the electrical fields around living things. Spooky, eh? I wonder if weapons researchers are checking into this.

This little one has the delightful name of the Pink Anemonefish . How harmless does that sound? If you’re on more formal terms it’s (Amphiprion akallopisos):

Everybody knows that this is a Moray Eel (Gymnothorax javanicus).  What you may not  know is the it is the wrong colour.  This is another reason that I’m always whining about the use of flash for underwater photography. The eel looks nothing like this with the naked eye in natural light: Compare it with these images taken with available light here, here, here and here. This shot was too deep for available light. I had no choice but to use flash.

Steven Goodheart sent several very nice nature shots, but I could not get any but this one to load properly. It’s worth a solo appearance. It is, as Californians will recognise, a Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis):

This is a particularly nice shot for identification and I like it because the composition is also very clean.

And now, because I never tire of seeing myself on the silver screen, I’ll show you this shot of me at Blueblood with our missing friend Heidi Majano:

As is usual with most keen photographers, we hardly ever get an image of ourselves that we really like. This one tickles me. Put “heidi” in the search box in the sidebar to see some of her great images.

I could teach Photoshop all day. Of anything that I’ve ever done with a computer, Photoshop provides me the most satisfaction with the least effort.

Our friend Heidi Majano has keen eyes for an image. When she asked if I’d teach her how to refine her photographs with Photoshop, I jumped at the chance. She has proven to be a quick study. Once she is shown how to do something, she seldom needs that skill refreshed. She’s able to understand the whole process of image refinement rather than trying to remember each keystroke or slide control. I find that people who take time to learn some theory instead of concentrating on the details learn to produce images that please them much quicker.

I’d like to show you a few of the images that Heidi has found interesting and that we used as training tools. She shot this one in El Salvador in the village of Suchitoto. Heidi shows a natural talent for composition, something which many people struggle with:

Here again, showing her excellent eye for composition is The Garlic Beauty,  aloso shot in El Salvador:

The photo above is a good example of that indefinable quality that practically nobody can explain, but most people recognise instantly as a great image.

This image of women sorting green beans in India is also a stunner:

Here is Heidi and her son, Keyen, in El Salvador on his fifth birthday:

Keyen loves to dress up and let his mommy take his photograph. It’s a skill shared by all children:

Heidi calls the shot above The Dual Hero.

Sadly, Heidi will be leaving PNG in a week. She has made many friends while here and everyone is going to miss her. The time that I have spent with her helping her to learn to develop her natural talent through the use of Photoshop has been a great pleasure.

Any other Madang Photoshop students out there?  The lessons are free.

I feel that I am in danger of becoming a hermit.

Latino Night at CWA is the second major Madang party that I’ve missed in a row. The first was because the tickets were sold out. I missed Latino Night because I was “too tired” – translation: Too embarrassed to admit that I am hopeless at any sort of Latin dancing.

Fortunately for the patient reader, I have this fine report from our budding journalist, Lorraine Collins along with a nice kiddie photo and a couple of others featuring some very fine legs.

This from Lorraine Collins:

Hola! CWA hosted a Latino night for all its Amigos and Amigas. Based on previous successful, fun-filled CWA events, the tickets actually sold out days before the function (quite a rare event in Madang). A flotilla of volunteers slaved away cooking and decorating for the fiesta to make it as bueno a noche as possible. Guests received an uplifting Caipirinha upon arrival; a not-too-shabby cocktail of white rum, brown sugar, and freshly squeezed limes over crushed ice. It was yumliscious and full of Vitamin C, therefore making it an exceedingly healthy drink.

The evening’s entertainment started off with a posse of brave little children doing a dance from Bolivia. The miniature stars were Grace McCarthy, Lottie Beschel, Lilani Mackie, Chloe Senn, Alice, and Mathieu Senn as the token boy. They performed perfectly a beautifully choreographed dance involving scarves. I reckon they will be looking for an agent soon.

Food was then served, most of it being a vegetarian’s delight; Spanish Rice, Vegetarian enchiladas, Vegetable Salad, Mexican Vegetable Stew and Beef Enchiladas for those who needed some carne. For those who had some space left, pudding was Spanish cake with rum-soaked raisins.

Next up were Heidi Majano and Pascal Michon (our naughty little Frenchman in Paradise) demonstrating a very sexy and fast moving Salsa. Man, were they impressive! They shimmied and salsa’d, twirled and strutted and shook their bootie to a fine tune. The audience was very impressed (especially yours truly) and I think Salsa classes should definitely be something in the future. Good exercise plus “sex” that you can perform in public.

That stunning performance was followed by “The Saucy Salsa Sisters” strutting their stuff to a slinky little number from Cuba. We should probably have been introduced as the “Sauced Salsa Sisters” as co-ordination was lacking slightly, but we tried to cover it with excessive bum wiggling and boob shaking. That usually works.

From then on, it was a free for all, with all the Madang Señoras ‘y cabaleros Salsa-ing the night away, learning new moves from Heidi, our resident Latino from El Salvador, and gaining confidence with every red wine.

It was a magnifico noche with all the ingredients for a great night; healthy cocktails, sumptuous food, great dancers, sexy music, and lots of booze. The night would not have been possible without all the volunteers that made the food (Heidi, Lorraine Collins, Eunice Messersmith), decorated (Heidi), danced (Heidi, Lorraine, Cessa Beschel, Fabiana Ponting), and most-importantly, filled the eskis with booze and ice (Trevor Hattersley). The CWA staff and Committee Members that helped in all the preparations were also an integral part of the night’s success. And, of course, Heidi herself, who taught all the big and little girls their moves and hopefully a large part of the Madang Community too! Who said CWA is boring? It’s “The Place To Be” – fun-filled events with all the profits going to worthwhile, Feel Good Charities.

Well . . . I feel as if I had been there.

Here are the kiddies doing the scarf dance:

Gotta admit that Mathieu is a brave lad.

And here are the ladies getting it on over a Frangipani strewn dance floor. Hey, we’ve got it all in Madang:

And one more leggy shot just for fun:

Please don’t ask me why Lorraine is balancing a clock on her fingertips. I wasn’t there and she didn’t report it. It must be a Latino thing.

Adios amigos.