Sunday, January 30, 2011

Passwords

I recently downloaded an App for my iPad called "Secret Diary" - a place where I could keep all my most secret thoughts under (virtual) lock and key - which is fine in theory but it seems that when I used it the first time - and it's anybody's guess which of my innermost thoughts were recorded there - I set a password which I now cannot remember. Not quite sure how I'm going to reset the password so I can use the App - but at least it was free :)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

In a manner of speaking

Well full points to Dragon dictation software. After some months of waiting for it to arrive in Australia on the iPhone and iPad it is here and it works very very well. It has very good voice recognition and the user interface is simple and intuitive. It is certainly a pleasure to be able to dictate something and have it come out as a sensible sentence rather than as gobbledygook. It does take some time to get used to talking into the iPhone and using it as a dictation device but it is something I'm going to learn to love. (Of course this piece has been written entirely using Dragon and hasn't it done well?)

Calls are flooding in

There's something about being part of a global economy ... It means you can also get conned from overseas. Apparently international scammers have started targeting victims of the recent Australian floods - phoning them and offering fast-tracking of applications for flood relief for a $200 fee. No such fast-tracking exists. Police have warned that as well as losing their money, victims were also losing their bank and credit card details. Who else has long since stopped wondering how low people can go?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hindsight

The news today is that Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have just become parents again - using a gestation carrier - was that the term they used for their surrogate "mother". The baby, named Faith Margaret, was born late last year. It was pointed out on one of the television bulletins this evening that there may have been a clue to the new addition to the Urban Kidman family because on the sleeve of Keith's latest album is the comment, after he talks about their family, is "All we need is Faith."

A smashing tale

I have just finished watching a series on the ABC called "Collision". It was recommended by a friend a couple of weeks ago. She had seen it a couple of nights before but it turned out that it was available on iView - which is where you can view programs that have been broadcast over the internet. They are usually available for about two weeks after their initial showing. So, this is how I watched "Collision" - and if you're going to, you'd best hurry because the first episode disappears in two days. Hopefully it will be available on DVD at some point because it's worth a second look!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Just thinking

It would be a poor convenience store indeed which didn't sell toilet paper.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The kindness of strangers

We managed to find ourselves on the wrong side of a flooded creek over the weekend and when we waded across, leaving the car on the other side so we could check on the animals (two dogs, two horses) we were surprised when one of the women at the water's edge offered us a lift back to the house - which was 2 kilometres up the hill. We gratefully accepted - given that it's not easy walking in sodden clothes and shoes - and with one of party having a bung knee. Once back, we had a shower/change of clothes and then settled in to drive down in our car (which had spent overnight, when we were stranded in Nambour, at home) to check the creek level. Once it had fallen enough, we did drive through and over - letting our friends be reunited with their vehicle, while we hotfooted it out of there for home. The other act of kindness to mention is the motel where we stayed - the Red Bridge Inn - where we had originally been quoted $165 a room (we needed two) and then $125 - and then a double room (separate bedrooms) for $140 for the four of us.

Snippets

There are some times you just want to stop and listen rather than walking on by. This was the case as I passed the lunchroom today and heard someone telling someone, obviously a reported conversation, I thought, of a husband and wife: I don't care - you've got your mistress and I need to talk to her.

Friday, January 07, 2011

I wonder ...

what is the big news about to come out of Apple Headquarters? Rumour has it that staff have been told not to take holidays in the three weeks from the end of January - and holiday staff have apparently been retained. Hmmm ... IPad 2, a new iPhone? We'll just have to wait and see.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Not the news

There are just some things that shouldn't make it to the news. I was listening today to a podcast about suicide and I learned that the media stopped reporting on the number of suicides by the general public some time ago. There are, at least, two schools of thought about this - that if you publicise the method of the suicide you can fuel people's ability to commit suicide; but that if you talk about why people commit suicide and what help could have been available you may be helping people who are themselves contemplating suicide. This explains in part the policy of publicising helping organisations when there is a television program about suicide or depression. More of concern was the news today that the father and step-mother of a murdered girl may have participated in an online game involving murder around the time of her disappearance. No-one needs to know this or the details of the game.