Ian Halstead イアン・ハルステッド
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ianhalst.bsky.social
Ian Halstead イアン・ハルステッド
@ianhalst.bsky.social
840 followers 530 following 2.8K posts
Retired graphic artist and web designer. History, music – bass guitarist – silversmithing, book gorger with a pile of as yet unread books taller than I am.
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ianhalst.bsky.social
Ian Halstead イアン・ハルステッド @ianhalst.bsky.social · 18d
November Australian Road Trip images. All near Armidale in the New England National Park. Point Lookout and nearby viewpoints looking over part of the Gondwana Rainforest areas.
Looking east from a high vantage point, several successive forested ridge lines disappear into the horizon, each taking on a hue which is bluer than the preceding ridge. This is subtropical rainforest. Branches from nearby trees are in the foreground, with no visible floor, as the nearest ridge line moves from centre image to the left. A large notice board at the viewing point, naming the peaks which are visible on the ridge lines. The headline and a caption read “Gondwana Rainforests of Australia Point Lookout, New England National Park Experience ancient earth This broad valley has been millions of years in the making. Rain and water gushing into the gullies and tributaries of the Bellinger River have gradually eaten away the once-dominant Ebor Volcano. Landslips and countless cascading streams continue to gnaw ceaselessly into the Great Eastern Escarpment. Our host for the stay in Armidale, Gillian’s brother looking out from another vantage point over the forest. Well signposted and constructed, the viewing points and platforms allow a safe way to enjoy the superb views. A solidly built wooden deck is surrounded by sturdy barriers and railings, low enough to be unobtrusive but high enough to provide safety. A Eucalyptus tree appears from the left, with branches over the decking. A view down one of the valleys between forested ridges. The forested valley recedes left to right, almost disappearing into a blue haze near the horizon.
ianhalst.bsky.social
That sounds about right.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU7L...
Terror in America.
YouTube video by Jonathan Pie
www.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:38 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Still on the road from Narrabri to Urunga – images from the November Australian Road Trip around New South Wales. Bellingen and the coastal town of Sawtell.
A refreshment stop off at Bellingen, a thriving town on the Bellinger River. A verandahed building is on the opposite side of the main road through Bellingen, and features light blue ornate ironwork railings. A two storey commercial store built in 1900. The original store was signed as ‘Hammond and Wheatley the commercial emporium’ The endless looking beach at Sawtell. There is very little gradient to the water’s edge, and the landslide is fringed with dunes covered in low foliage and trees. The beach is almost deserted. A rock formation protrudes into the sea at the South Sawtell Headland. Several small islands and rock protrusions are located off the headland.
January 26, 2026 at 10:35 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
This is possibly the most cogent piece of political thinking I’ve seen in a long time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTQ...
Neoliberalism is dying: Mark Carney’s Davos speech confirmed it
YouTube video by Richard J Murphy
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 12:52 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
On the way to Urunga – continuing posting images of the November Australian Road Trip in New South Wales. The Dorrigo National Park.
‎⁨Dorrigo National Park⁩, ⁨Dorrigo Mountain⁩. A view across a valley with sub-tropical rainforest as far as the eye can see. An overcast cloud layer obscures the mountaintop on the opposite side of the valley. A view looking directly upwards into the tree canopy. The trees are tall and slender with restricted canopy diameters compared with other species. A heavily buttressed trunk supporting a tall tree, surrounded by low bushes and ground foliage. The twisted form of a creeper vine partially lying on the tarmac visitor path laid through the forest. The vine is around 200 mm in diameter at its widest.
January 25, 2026 at 6:24 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
1/2 Most members of the Trump administration are using their office and making public policy as a means of working through their deep personal issues. They are broken people. Deeply insecure, aware they are in positions that are way beyond their competence and are dangerously overcompensating...
January 25, 2026 at 5:16 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
I’m not interested in the black and white of situations. I want to see the complexity, get down in the weeds, into the grey zones where definite answers are given a myriad of colours by 'it depends’. If I don’t understand that complexity, I’ll accept a simplification if it gives a decent overview.
January 23, 2026 at 3:42 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Another batch of images from the November Australian Road Trip. In and around Armidale, NSW.
Outside the New England Regional Art Museum – well worth a visit – stands a bronze horse, by Artist Tim Storrier, and titled ‘The Artist’s Mount’. The horse is laden with baggage and bedding suitable for an artist to work on the trail. The view across Beardy Street, with a paved area, a tree and parked cars in the foreground, and across the street, two storey verandah style buildings in typical Australian fashion, with ornate railings and cross-supports. The interior of Hanna’s Arcade on Beardy Street. A long patterned tile floor extends from the entrance inwards. The tiles are terracotta coloured, orange, buff, red and brown, with blue and white tiles interspersed among the rows of the other tiles. The arcade is flanked by large windows set in substantial wooden frames. A second floor firms a gallery with a pitched glass roof. Back in rainforest country – sub tropical rainforest near Dorrigo Mountain at Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, on the way from Armidale to Urunga, on the coast.
January 22, 2026 at 9:18 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Photo from my Student Union card, 1977.
Wireframe glasses, a moustache curled down at the ends, a centre parting with hair covering the ears and almost reaching the shoulders, plus a face still with a glimmer of optimism.
January 18, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Ian Halstead イアン・ハルステッド
bylinepodcast.bsky.social
"My year of living dangerously in Trump's America..."

Frightening account by former UK diplomat @alexhh.bsky.social on becoming a US citizen in these dizzying times.

@goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/6W0E...
A Year of Living Dangerously in Trump's America
open.spotify.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:27 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
That November Australian road trip is back again… more images. Wollomombi Falls. We met a French couple who were using a drone to film the waterfall as it plunged over the edge. The drone followed the water down for 300m before it was recalled.
A wide angle view of the very steep sided valley plunging down from the flat table-land on either side. The cliff-like valley sides meet at the far side, sealing off the valley. On the left side, a waterfall exits the cliff face forming a pool at the valley bottom. A close-up of the waterfall exiting a hanging valley, with water cascading down the steep side. A pool is formed on the valley floor. A closer shot shows more detail of the waterfall, the resultant pool and the rock formations forming the valley sides. The rock varies in colour from rusty tones to a dark green-grey. The pool is a dark olive drab colour. A second smaller waterfall is on the right hand side of the valley and higher up than the main one.
January 17, 2026 at 6:06 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Long Thread
1/10 An experience of Chat GPT with a practical problem.
Let’s define the problem. I live in a house with ground floor underfloor heating – wet and not electrical. The system dates from 2009 and consists of 3 heating zones.
January 14, 2026 at 3:37 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
It continues… the November Australian Road Trip.
The Upper Ebor Falls. Wider than the Lower Ebor Falls, several rivulets cascade over the well defined and near vertical basalt rock formation edge into the valley below. The far side of the valley continues the rock formations, with the near side being a steep grassy slope with a few bushes and trees. A Kookaburra perched on a sign near the car park for the Upper Ebor Falls. The camera is viewing from the bird’s 4 O’clock position and is on a turquoise board forming part of the rear of a sign. The bird has brown, white and light buff plumage with a smattering of ultramarine on its wings. A close-up of the upper falls showing how the river dplits into several streams between angular blocks of rock. Dislodged block boulders form a pile on a broad ledge. The forested far valley side shows protruding, weathered columnar basalt ledges tiered one above another.
January 13, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by Ian Halstead イアン・ハルステッド
davidho.bsky.social
Potentially good kākāpō news
Berry nice to meet you: bumper fruit crop could lead to huge mating season for NZ’s endangered kākāpō
After a four-year wait, the abundant fruiting of the rimu tree could inspire the world’s heaviest parrots to boost their population
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 5:04 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
November Australian Road Trip images, continued. Temperate rainforest near Wright’s Lookout Walking Track, west of Armidale and south of Ebor.
Ferns predominate on the forest floor, with many tall Myrtle Beech trees (I think) between the ferns. A rotting tree stump, rusty brown in colour is a little right of centre. A Silver Fern, standing around 3 metres high, on the leaf strewn verge of a forest path. A second fern can be seen to the right. The fern consists of a brown textured trunk of uniform diameter, with a splay of fern leaves at the top. A very tall and moss carrying tree with an almost straight trunk and with all the branches towards the top. The bark is made up of greys and light browns where moss is absent. Lower Ebor falls on the Guy Fawkes river. The lower falls are narrower than the upper ones, with a drop of roughly 100 metres into a forested gorge.
January 12, 2026 at 12:50 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
November Australian Road Trip images. All near Armidale in the New England National Park. Point Lookout and nearby viewpoints looking over part of the Gondwana Rainforest areas.
Looking east from a high vantage point, several successive forested ridge lines disappear into the horizon, each taking on a hue which is bluer than the preceding ridge. This is subtropical rainforest. Branches from nearby trees are in the foreground, with no visible floor, as the nearest ridge line moves from centre image to the left. A large notice board at the viewing point, naming the peaks which are visible on the ridge lines. The headline and a caption read “Gondwana Rainforests of Australia Point Lookout, New England National Park Experience ancient earth This broad valley has been millions of years in the making. Rain and water gushing into the gullies and tributaries of the Bellinger River have gradually eaten away the once-dominant Ebor Volcano. Landslips and countless cascading streams continue to gnaw ceaselessly into the Great Eastern Escarpment. Our host for the stay in Armidale, Gillian’s brother looking out from another vantage point over the forest. Well signposted and constructed, the viewing points and platforms allow a safe way to enjoy the superb views. A solidly built wooden deck is surrounded by sturdy barriers and railings, low enough to be unobtrusive but high enough to provide safety. A Eucalyptus tree appears from the left, with branches over the decking. A view down one of the valleys between forested ridges. The forested valley recedes left to right, almost disappearing into a blue haze near the horizon.
January 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
A misty morning over Balfron, with a slight dusting of snow.
A view across to the Campsies from Balfron golf course. A combination of frost and the merest amount of snow covers the undulating ground nearest the camera, with the Campsie hills rising in the background and partially shrouded in low cloud
January 8, 2026 at 10:38 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
1/4 The US government sees Europe as a threat. Europe will call out (hopefully) actions which go against international law, will interfere with the hemispheric and dangerous delusions which Miller is promulgating and which will be generally awkward in non-compliance. Again, hopefully.
January 8, 2026 at 10:28 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
1/3 Anything short of coordinated action by law makers, law dispensers, and law enforcement – both civil and military – will be next to useless in stopping Trump rendering the mid-terms void or ‘massaged’ and the prospect of another full election involving the Democrats at all, likely.
January 7, 2026 at 9:31 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
More images from the November Australian Road trip. Wildlife on the property we stayed at, including an elusive Platypus, an Echidna and a Galah parrot.
The ripples on the water of this river, surround a Platypus, the back of which can just be seen. The river water course is known as Commissioners Waters, near Armidale. A Galah, or rose-breasted cockatoo perched on a branch of a Eucalytus tree, is facing the camera and looking with its head turned to its left. The bird is central in the image with tree trunks and branches forming the rest of this zoomed in image. An Echidna, near a path on the property we were staying at. The quills with cream coloured tips can be clearly seen. The Echidna is partially hidden by long grass. Gillian standing on a path mown through long grass which is left to grow in this 80 hectare property. Conservation and encouragement of wildlife is an aim of the owner, Gillian’s brother. A bank of trees is seen beyond the long grassed pasture, this being trees on the far bank of a river which forms part of the boundary.
January 7, 2026 at 9:04 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
More images from the November Australian Road Trip. This time in the Gara Gorge near Armidale.
The Gara River near the Threlfall Walking Track. A view down the river with granite boulders in front providing a slight choke point, narrowing to a few metres wide. Trees grow on the banks on either side. A clear blue sky is almost hidden by tree branches and foliage. A view from close to the Gara Gorge Lookout, looking south east. A relatively flat table landscape has been gouged by a deep forested valley, with rocky granite outcrops. Huge, weathered and smoothed granite boulders piled on top of each other in an outcrop in the Gara Gorge. A close up image of a formation of granite boulders. None were seen on this visit, but Rock Wallabies can sometimes be spotted.
January 5, 2026 at 8:50 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
1/5 Fear is a peculiar thing. I see billionaires full of it. Scared they might lose everything. Fear they might lose the power that wealth brings. No amount of wealth solves that. Underlying this is the fear they’ll disappear from the record. Forgotten. Unnoticed. Irrelevant. This is their motive.
January 4, 2026 at 11:00 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Only a couple of days into the new year and the Moon’s stuck in the trees again. 🙄
A pale yellow Moon, low on the horizon appears behind a dip in the trees again line with some branches in front. The effect is as if the Moon had become stuck in this position.
January 2, 2026 at 8:30 AM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Light and bathroom products interaction.
Sunlight striking semitransparent bottles of hand soap casts pools of light on the wall behind. Orange-red and rose colours light up the wall.
January 1, 2026 at 10:54 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Happy New Year to all. Let your soul dance to the tunes you want to play.
A black-headed Gull perched on one leg with the other raised high, on top of a flag pole finial.
December 31, 2025 at 7:02 PM
ianhalst.bsky.social
Images from the Australia road trip, continued. Continuing our progress to Armidale, we stopped at the Bulagaranda Aboriginal Area to view rock artwork, done in red ochre on granite rocks and depicting bird tracks, eggs, and a figure of either a human or lizard.
The left side of the main rock artwork, viewed from a specially constructed viewing platform at the end of a 1.5 km track. Painted under a slight overhang, circular motifs, bird footprints and other markings are visible. The right hand side of the rock artwork. The markings on this side are less distinct but bird footprints, more circular motifs perhaps representing eggs and other shapes are seen. Cliffs above the track leading to the rock artwork. The hillside is largely tree covered with exposed rock surfaces near the cliff top. The clear sky is an intense blue. Granite boulders litter the hillside next to the track, with trees growing between the large boulders.
December 30, 2025 at 8:56 AM