More quirky news

I don't know why I love quirky news so, but I do. I haven't had a chance to catch up with the Ananova site much recently but I did yesterday - and there were some great stories: boy has plant growing in his nose, Russian fishermen catch hippos, and tennis balls cure snoring. That sounds more like a selection from a publication whose items appear to be made up - B52 Bomber Found on Moon, Dead Alien Found Clutching Half-Eaten Cheese Burger, B52 Bomber Disappears From Moon!!! These are actual headlines from one of those publication from a few years back - I can't remember its name but I think it had 'News' and 'World' in its name.

Guarded security

A Sydney security guard last week allegedly shot dead a robber who had reportedly knuckledusted her to the ground and grabbed a bag containing a hotel’s taking. The guard, Karen Brown, has now been charged with murder. The dead man, Bill Aquilina, had apparently dropped the bag (so was not going to get away with the money) and was sitting in his vehicle when he was shot at point blank range through a closed window. Of course, this has raised the question in the media … did he deserve to die? I’m wondering if the people who say “yes” are those who believe in capital punishment.
There are many rumours and stories doing the rounds about the episode. Karen Brown had done an interview with a current affairs show for which she was reportedly paid $100,000 but now that she has been charged with murder, that money will be confiscated (I’m not sure if that is the right word) if it is paid to her.

Chuppa chup?

While watching the comedy "Absolutely Fabulous" on television last night, we heard one of the characters, who had recently acquired a new boyfriend, talking about doing the "rumpy pumpy"? I know I have led a fairly sheltered life but even I was able to work out that it meant "intimate relations", "making love", "a bit of the old punch in the pants". As we talked about it on the way to the bus stop this morning, my partner said she knew someone who called it something similar, and that this person's mother called it the "chuppa chuppa" - and that chuppa chup was actually a play on that. Not sure if that's actually so, but it's an interesting thought.

Whale of a time ...

... or possibily not. A killer whale attacked a trainer in an incident overseas today. The errant behaviour was blamed on “raging hormones”. The televised images were quite spectacular – so much so that there appear to have been no details to go with the story – aside from the aforementioned “hormones”. I bet the only thing they can be thankful for is that the whale was restricted to the tank. There were no reports on how the trainer fared after the attack.

Online dictionaries

I was IMing with a colleague in South Africa this afternoon and when he greeted me with “g’day”, I responded with “goie more” (ghoo … ia … more … rra). Some conversations later, getting ready to sign off for the day, he bid me “tot siens” together with the Afrikaans for “miss”. I went online to see if I could quickly find the Afrikaans for “mister” and even though I did find a site, I couldn’t find an English-Afrikaans translation for “mister” or “Mr” or “sir”. I was obviously asking the wrong question; the wrong terminology – but that raised the question, if you don’t know the language, how can you find out “stuff”.

eBook popularity

The number of eBooks sold in the first quarter of 2003 increased from 228,400 to 421,955. This was an increase of 46 per cent according to a palmOne item I read. I didn’t think at the time to question this – especially as the increase seems much more than 46% - it’s almost double. Wonder who’s putting together their statistics.

Too long

It’s been too long between blogs – I have been missing writing here – although I have been doing other writing so it’s not all bad.
But there have been reasons. My sister and co. did visit and we had a wonderful time with them. We did some family things (visiting my brother and his family) and some tourist things, and lots of chatting and just catching up. What happened to the olden times when people would live and die in the same village. Did that make for a better relationship between people? And do all the modern communication methods we have make up for the distance in any real way? Life just seems to get faster, and more busy. Ah, if only I could SMS faster!
After a few days with our brother on the Central Coast, Wendy and co. head back to Toowoomba today. I hope they’ve had a great holiday – they’ve certainly done lots! And I’ve got some pics of what they did here in Sydney, which I’m working on posting to my photo site.

Slow web

On the web at 5.20am today and I was amazed at how slow it was. I couldn’t even connect to my email account, and my home page “could not be found”. I tried to disconnect and reconnect, but no change to the speed. Then, just after 5.45am, the system “freed up” and I had some web speed back. I checked to see if there was anything running in the background (eg virus program) but nothing. All very odd – and the second time this has happened over the last fortnight. I might do some research and see what is causing it – although last time it seemed to coincide with a new virus outbreak.

Family time

My sister, her children and the new man in her life arrive this evening for the weekend. They are from Queensland and want to play tourist here in Sydney - including a visit to ChinaTown for Yum Cha, Paddy's Markets and some museums. It will be fun and a good chance to catch up.

The Eastern Waterfall Guide - Waterfall Hikes and Photography

The Eastern Waterfall Guide - Waterfall Hikes and Photography Wow - will technological wonders never end. I have just loaded the new Google Toolbar onto the computer and one of the options is "Blogger" - so when you are visiting a page, hit the button, and it will post the details in a blog session. Of course, you have to have a blog with Blogger, or be prepared to open one. (This is not the reason I had downloaded the toolbar - it's to stop pop-up ads as I surf!)

Beam me up

The character who plays Scotty, the engineer on the StarShip Enterprise (Star Trek TV series, original, 1966-69), was in the news recently because he is reportedly in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and has other health issues.  But he is still managing to get to Conventions.  I was quite surprised to read in the same article that Mr Doohan, now in his 80’s, has a four-year old daughter and two older sons via his current wife (of 12 years?), and four children from a previous marriage.  I never thought of Scotty as the marrying kind!

To market … to market

Saturday morning bright and early, 6.15am to be precise, we left home to go for an adventure to the local produce markets – Flemington Markets.  This is the big markets – forklifts everywhere, people buying boxes and boxes of apples and tomatoes and pumpkins, and not to be confused with the local growers market which is held just up the road.
Flemington was fantastic – so much to look at, so many smells, and so many people buying their cabbages and fish and nuts and … you name it, it was there.

Hot to trot

The Olympics are just a month away now and preparations are hotting up.  But not so much as for one Olympic equestrian’s horse.  Ulla Salzgeber, ranked world No. 1, has booked a month of sessions at a solarium to help Rusty prepare for the Athens heat.  She reportedly said “Just like any person he has to get used to the expected high temperatures.  I want to make sure he doesn’t get a sunburn.”
Surprisingly, Ulla is only two steps removed from me.  A friend had her photograph taken with Ulla at an equestrian event in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) last year – or perhaps the year before.
Go Rusty! Go Ulla! 

Burning love

How far would you go to impress the love of your life?  A story in Ananova today tells of a German man who burned down his house after the candles he had lit in a romantic message to his girlfriend sparked a fire.  The 18-year-old, who was not named in the report, had laid out hundreds of candles in the shape of a heart and with the words “You set my heart on fire”.  Close.  Perhaps it should have been “hearth” … and home.  The damage bill will be in the vicinity of £33,000.  And what did the girlfriend think of the gesture?  Apparently she didn’t get to see it.  All he had was a photograph, and when she found out what had happened, she wasn’t that interested in looking at it.

Get the message?

Most of us peck at the keys of our mobile phones to do SMSs, and probably wish we could do it just a little faster.  I’m not sure I’d want to do it as fast as Kimberly Yeo, 23, from Singapore, who managed to produce a 160-character message in 43.24 seconds.  This was more than 20 seconds faster than the previous best – and the Guinness Book of Records is waiting to verify the new record. All contestants in the competition, run by the telephone company Sing-Tel, had to type the same message:  “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world.  In reality they seldom attack a human.”  (It took me longer than 43.24 seconds to type it let alone get my fingers around it out on a mobile!)  Ms Yeo, quite deservedly, won over £8,000 in cash and other prizes for her effort.

Farewell Montego

We spent the weekend on Queensland’s Gold Coast saying farewell to Montego Motel which has been in a friend’s family for the last 23 years. We’ve spent some wonderful times there, including the Summer the first year our friend was managing the property for her parents. It was a grand four weeks where Mejrem and I shared the office duties, and Sooz helped out with the breakfasts, washing up and rooms. I will remember it as one of the times when I have done my fastest thinking – when a regular (whose name I could not remember at the time – and whose name I won’t mention now because I wish to protect his privacy) telephoned to see if there was a vacancy for his daytime tryst. I was torn between giving him the room or waiting for a better booking. It then occurred to me that I had to ask if he was the regular and in a moment of inspiration I thought to ask if he wanted “the short booking” – he did.
We spent a lot of time at the beach that Summer as I recall. And it was, quite simply, a wonderful way to spend a month. Fare thee well Montego, and all those who were part of her!

Latest international news

You never know what you're going to find when you're out and about. I was browsing a stationery store yesterday and moving through to their book division when I noticed what looked like an ATM. A closer look showed it was anything but. For a mere $US6.95 I could print out a copy of the latest newspapers from around the world - alright my credit card payment of $US6.95 would only get me one - but let's not get bogged down in semantics. What an amazing invention. Print on demand international newspapers. There was a good choice of publications - together with information on when the latest issue had arrived. Your copy, on A3 pages, would print out in under 2 minutes. The sizes of the publications varied, one was 44 pages, one 28, and on screen it looked like the copies would be readable. While it's not something I'd want to do everyday, I can see the attraction of printing out The New York Times (which I already read via the net) to take it with me to the local coffee shop one day. Nothing like mixing your media!

Thumbsuck at a train wreck

Isn't business talk great? I'm taking liberties by joining two very different ideas but it does illustrate the point a little. A thumbsuck (as far as I can figure) is a detailed guess, complete with rationale and costings for something completely unknown but which someone higher up the corporate foodchain wants. A train wreck is a complete disaster. I don't think there's any causal relationship between the two - although if there was a big enough thumbsuck on a big enough project, there is every chance that there could be a train wreck as a result.

Why is it so?

... used to be the catchphrase of a Professor (Julius Sumner Miller - apologies for any misspelling) who was on a TV program which looked at how things work - and there were some cool physics experiments like how to put an egg in a milk bottle (made of glass - not the plastic you get these days) without breaking it - the egg or the bottle! Mind you, the egg was hardboiled and shelled, but it was still great to see. I really enjoyed learning 'stuff' so I was delighted to recently stumble across a website dedicated to how stuff works. That is the name of the site and it delivers - it even has a search facility. I'm going back there to play over the next few days.

Fee for all

Have you ever noticed that there's only one letter difference between "fee" and "free"? I'm sure there are similar examples throughout the English language. It makes me wonder about the origin of words and how they came to be - and how amazing it is we can communicate at all. But this may be changing. There was a report yesterday of remarks by Bill Cosby, the comedian, that the upcoming generation of African-Americans was in trouble because it did not have values or education to carry it through. The responses included an attack/observation that as Mr Cosby, an African American himself, had made his living as a minstrel, he might not be the best qualified to comment. Mr Cosby's comments followed reported increases among young people for violence against women and school drop-out rates.

Zing, Zing, Zing

At work last week we had a demonstration of a computer-based brainstorming tool. Zing was developed by John Findlay, an Australian. It was described to us as being
65% psychology and 35% software. It was created to help teachers bring out creativity in children - and it certainly brought out some creativity in us. But you'd expect that from a knowledge creation tool. It's based on each participant being at the same location and having a computer link into the Zing system. The session is led by a certified facilitator who has questions they put to the group. The make-up of the questions is the most important aspect of the process … more important than the software. As each question is put to the group, participants discuss them before entering their individual answers through the console. The responses are then displayed, anonymously, on a screen – and are discussed, looking for common themes etc. It makes it a level playing field as no-one knows who made which response, and the most vociferous person doesn’t get to control the conversation.

World first

Finally they've worked out what to do with evictees from the Big Brother house - put them back in! In a world first, following a voting miscount, the Australian version of Big Brother tonight put the most recent evictee, Bree, back into the house. The person who should have been evicted (not yet known) will be ejected from the house on Thursday night. I can't help thinking they keep milking this show for all it's worth. At the moment, even without special eviction shows, it's on for hours a week - half an hour each weeknight, Monday nomination night, Wednesday Uncut, Sunday eviction, and then 2 hours Up Late each weekday night. Oh the reality!

Spocky!

A young man in China is having plastic surgery so he can have ears like an alien's. Even though doctors tried to dissuade him, the man is so unhappy with the shape of his own ears that he wants pointy ears like a creature from another planet. My only question is how does he know what alien's ears look like? Has he seen them - or is he making his choice on the basis of an artist's impression. Is it X marks the Spock (a Star Trek character)?

Readers Digest

I just love Readers Digest on so many levels. I love the humour ... but most of all, I love the inserts that come with the publication each month. This month it was a catalogue for Bright Life Australia. There were some great buys. Classic Retro Style Typewriter - because there's nothing more satisfying than the click, click, click of a typewriter; the Thigh Pillow because sleeping with a pillow between your legs may help to maintain spinal alignment; the perfect for outdoor & indoor 5 in 1 TV-Radio-Torch-Lantern-Siren; the Wrap-Around Quilt which also doubles as a bed throw; the Un Bra silicone bra with self-adhesive system; and the best idea I have seen in a while - the Big Letter Keyboard which makes typing a joy and not a chore. If you wanted to have a look at these and other products offered in their catalogue, you can visit their site.

A new era

Today marks Day 3 of the new era – a laptop has come to live with us. I have coveted a laptop for some time, and finally, on the weekend, I found myself standing in front of display of various machines, all tied to the counter, trying to decide what features I most wanted in a laptop. Did I want more memory, a huge screen, the ability to take it with me, wireless access … I found myself wishing I had done lots more research. Over the past couple of months I’ve been saving and reading articles on how to choose a laptop – so I had a general idea of the features I wanted, but it’s amazing how much and how little variation there is in computers when it’s all said and done. I ended up with a Sony Vaio which is a nice, smallish little machine that is sold on its “mobile” feature – which is not to say that it doubles as a phone, but that it is easy to take anywhere.

Greater Union Bondi Junction

A new cinema complex is opening in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs this week. One of its features is a Gold Class Cinema – like having your own cinema at home – where you can relax in reclining seats (more like lounges) and have someone wait on you, bring you something to eat and drink while you watch the movie – well, maybe it’s not quite like home! The ad I just saw for the cinema was also touting new movie food – including donuts and hot chips. What will they think of next?

Talk about unlucky ...

Ananova carried a story today that an actress, Leslie Ash, says she is making a steady recover after being struck down by the MRSA superbug. Acccording to the news service, she contracted the bug, which could leave her paralysed and unable to walk, while she was being treated at a London hospital for injuries she picked up during conjugals with her husband. Leslie has denied doctors said she will never walk again because nerves in her spine had been damaged.
But Leslie is a survivor - although there were no details in the article I saw, there was reference to two other stories: Actress speaks of 'trout pout' ordeal; and Leslie Ash crushed by her own car. Good luck Leslie.

Training daze

Fresh on the heels of last week's first aid training, I'm now doing a course on supervising staff. It's actually quite different to the content I'd expected - although it shouldn't be. We're looking at teamwork and leadership - and what combinations deliver the best results. It is great to be in a learning environment again - especially so soon after last week. I think my learning pathways haven't had a chance yet to slide back into hibernation.

Truth stranger than fiction

We all have horror stories about bus drivers who don't actually
realise that there are there to transport the public, but yesterday
morning the actions of one bus driver in Rozelle helped dispel some of
the bad publicity. We were running a little early as we approached
one of the stops, and two women had seen the bus and were running to
catch it. But instead of sailing past them, the driver pulled up the
bus 50m before the stop to let them on. Talk about service and
putting the public back into public transport!

Visualisation

Some schools of thought believe you can gain positive results if you
visualise the activity and the expected outcome. Does it work with
dreaming? The last two nights I have dreamt I have stood up too and
told off someone I would like to tell off in real life. I can't
remember what I said - it was different in both instances - but it had
the desired effect. Now if only I could translate that to the real
world ... although will the dream domain negate having to do that?

Two down ...

Last year I made a list of the things that I wanted to do. There
were: (a) attend a trial, (b) see a crane being put up, and (c) do a
first aid course. Well, following the course yesterday and today, I
now have my Senior First Aid Certificate ... yah!!! Three cheers for
me! So, since I did the trial last year, there's only one to go - now
where am I going to find me a crane?

Art imitating life

There's a new drama series on television here - Threat Matrix. It is based around the premise that each morning the President of the United States is presented with a list of threats to the country - this is the Threat Matrix. A specialised team, comprised of skilled operatives from various government security agencies, then responds to those threats. Last night, they were in the Middle East; the threat - nerve gas. So what agendas is this serving? That no-one is safe; that to keep people safe it's okay to pry into people's lives and personal records; that there are no unknown threats; that the government will protect you ... and probably about a dozen others!

Shades of Big Brother

At his eviction from the Australian Big Brother house on Sunday night, Merlin Luck staged a silent protest, holding a sign "Free The Refugees" (or it would have said that had the "e" in "the" not fallen off). The studio audience booed and hissed - and now a site has been published which lets you put your own message on Merlin's sign. I'm not sure this is a good thing. I know it represents freedom of speech (and the burgeoning of the creative spirit) but it seems to allow mocking and derision of a valid message - regardless of Senator Amanda Van Stone's assurance that "there are no refugees in detention". Again - what's in a name? There are still men, women and children being held behind bars when there is surely a more humane method of tracking/holding available (if really required).

What's in a name?

According to the most recent issue of Slatterys Internet Watch (June 14, 2004) there are now more than 63 million Internet domain names registered. Statistics released last week by Verisign, the operator of the global .com and .net registries, indicate this is a greater number than existed during the height of the Internet bubble (read "dotcom era") - but now, unlike then, the domain names actually resolve (ie go somewhere) rather than just being registered. The 63 million works out at about one domain name for every 100 people living in the world today. Wonder what that stat look like if you exclude all the countries/people who don't have access to computers or the internet?

Time flies faster

Where has the year gone? It's almost the middle of June, almost the middle of 2003, oops 2004. Time does seem to speed up as I get older. I think it's a function of how many regular activities we do - it's amazing how quickly Wednesday comes around each week when it's Choir night. Might be something to do with familiarity - like how a long car trip seems shorter if you know the landmarks.

Fundamentally speaking

We seem to be moving towards a rebirth of the '50s here in Australia and elsewhere in the World (read USA). This would not necessarily be alarming except that it is accompanied by a move towards 50's morals - and last thing I knew, we'd moved on a bit since then. I suspect that some fundamentalists would not agree that this was truly 'progress' what with women having easy access to abortions and women wanting to have babies with each other, and wanting to marry each other. And boys too ... wanting to marry each other that is. So, rather than accepting this diversity and that some folks can be different yet not hurt anyone, there is a move by Church and State to rectify the situation ... by turning the clock back 50 years.
And no wonder the Church and State seem so aligned in this. According to a report by John L. Allen Jr in the National Catholic Reporter (Vol 3 No. 42), during his recent trip to Rome President Bush asked a top Vatican official to push American bishops to speak out more about political issues, including same-sex marriage.
The article also notes “Bush supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and has urged Congress to take swift action. Since polls show that in several battleground states in the fall election a majority of voters is opposed to gay marriage, some Bush analysts think an aggressive push on the issue will help the president’s prospects.”
Is it possible that there is a political motivation (or several) here?

See what I mean?

An Arm and A Leg?

The price of petrol has been on the rise this morning, I knew that - but I was stunned to see it was $1.07+ per litre at the bowser this morning. Fairly expensive - and I'm not the only person who thinks so (I'll post a pic tomorrow.)
Of course, I wasn't at all impressed when within 15 minutes we had spotted petrol for $0.97+ per litre. D'oh. And this wasn't even at a discount chain. No wonder there had been no cars (and only a bicycle using the air pump) at the service station we'd gone to. Looks like I'll have to change stations - we've always gone to the same one because it's had a consistently lower price than others in town. Not any more. Maybe it's under new management.

Lend a hand ... of paws ...

Had some time to go net surfing this morning and chanced upon this.

Drive Thru?

Some could say the driver of the vehicle that crashed into the Allambie Heights (NSW) KFC restaurant yesterday morning doesn't understand the concept of "drive thru". He told bystanders that the accident occurred becasue he had blacked out. He was unhurt in the incident, although his car, three gardens and the front of the fast food outlet did not fare as well. While identified only as "the driver" in the newspaper item, his photograph (Caption: the uninjured driver) might ruin his chances of remaining anonymous. (Does this mean his goose is cooked?)

Just the shot

Professional surfer Jai Abberton is on trial in Sydney for allegedly
shooting a standover man. The dead man is pictured in the Daily
Telegraph article, with the caption 'Murdered ... Anthony Hines in
prison in 1994'. Mr Hines is shown in a 3/4 shot, from the knees up,
wearing nought but a pair of togs, some wrist adornment (bracelet?),
and perhaps some oil on his 'six-pack'. Why this photo? Is this the
only one they could find? The only one on file? Or do they check with
loved ones 'which photo would he have wanted us to use?' 'Oh, he
always liked this one ...'

Wines - they are achanging

.. well, packaging anyway. First they started to do away with corks in favour of screw tops. Now they're going to sell a range of wines in aluminium cans. And we only have to wait until September for Baroke to have them on shelves in NSW. The 250ml cans will sell for $3.99 each according to today's Daily Telegraph. The RDTWs (ready to drink wines) have been a hit overseas apparently, especially in Japan where they can be found in over 1000 convenience stores. Here, you'll have the choice of four carefully blended wines including a carbonated Cabernet Shiraz. Mmm. Oh, and it appears they'll have quite a high alcohol content - the pic in the article shows a can with a 13%ALC/VOL.

Rats!

The new Harry Potter movie hits cinema screens in Australia tomorrow.
One of the characters is Scabbers, Ron's rat. Scabbers was played by 2
rats, both of which were adopted at film end by the actor playing Ron.
Perhaps not so fortunate are the mice which may be the reason for
the RSPCA threatening to take a Queensland hotel to court. The hotel
ran a competition involving eating two live mice. Although it seems
two men took part, hoping to win a Gold Coast trip, it is not known if
they ate the mice, or thought them nice.

Drats!
On the way home this evening, I noticed some commotion (okay, it was
one camera flash) and crowd outside a theatre in town. If I hadn't
been running a bit late, I would have investigated - and had a photo
of something big and green and Shrek-like to post here. The ogre, and
glitterati, were out for the Australian launch of the sequel. Oh well
... perhaps next time. Sigh. I wonder if Princess Fiona was in
attendance.

Brother ...
This week's mystery guest on Channel 10's Big Brother is Maria. Recent
regular 10 viewers may recognise her as Miriam - the not quite as
"she" as is made out in 'There's Something About Miriam' where men
compete for her affection, unaware they are being had. So 'had' did
they feel when they discovered Miriam is a 'HE' that they sued for
damages and, if I recall correctly, were awarded nearly $2million.
The house mates won't know Maria/Miriam's 'secret' ('Something About
....' started after they went into the house.)
When asked about the ethics of Maria/Miriam's placement, someone from
10 said: we've had no complaints. I was horrified. I had been so
sucked in by the manipulative nature of the exercise that I hadn't
thought to speak out against it. And who would have thought that any
one would be waiting for input. You can learn something every day ...
like the most recent evictee is comfortable 'wearing naked'.

Choristers in waiting

Found this on my phone - I took it in the choir room the other week as we got ready for the concert. Don't we look dapper in academic gowns?

Turning over a new leaf?

I haven't read a book in a while. This is not to say that I haven't been reading - just that I've been doing it with electronic books (aka ebooks). I was thinking about this the other evening as I luxuriated in a steaming hot bath, perusing the latest edition of "The Readers Digest". As I leafed through the pages, being careful not to get them wet (my partner has only recently recovered the previous issue which had drowned and then plunged unceremoniously down the wall side of the bath - making it extremely difficult to recover! But I digress ...) I wondered if people feel more of a sense of completion when reading a paper book - knowing they are half way through, or closer to the end. You don't really get this with an ebook. Sure you can see from the scroll bar how far you've come, and how far there's still to go, but there is nothing as satisfying at the end as closing the back cover and putting it down. Done. Complete. Finished. With an ebook you might delete it, or save it onto a memory card for later reference, but you don't pop it onto the bookshelf as a book you've read. And they're certainly not easy to share around! But you can read them in the dark, and they're very light to pack!

Infestation

I don't know where it came from but I spent some time last week trying to get some insidious "thing" off my computer. I'm not sure what the right term is but everytime I used Internet Explorer, closing the active window would cause a pop-up message saying the program had closed, and did I want to send an error report. A couple of pop-ups kept happening - did I want to synchronise the clock on my computer, and did I want to optimize my computer. Close the window and bingo, the program closed and wanted to send an error report. I cleaned out cookies, I cleaned out files, I looked for new, unfamiliar programs. Zilch. But finally, I found them, 5 programs downloaded on the same day last week according to the details. Not quite sure how it happened - just knew that it was when I was using the computer - and finally decided it was when I was searching for a program - clicking links off to various sites, when the system was compromised. But I thought the firewall was suppo!
sed to stop that, and surely the virus program should have kicked in at some point? Obviously I need to understand this "stuff" better - so I have a new project for the coming month. And were there really 340 instances of these investations (as the Adware program suggested). I guess so, but at least they're all safely quantined now.

Last meal?

The Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend (5/6 June 2004) carried a picture article about "Last Meals", and the choices made by prisoners executed in America. What would you choose?

What's In A Name?

The Vatican's Internet site is powered by three host computers named
after angels -- Raphael, Michael and Gabriel. Raphael stores graphics
and navigation paths, Michael protects the site from hackers and
Gabriel interfaces between the other two computers and the outside
world.

Survival Rule of 3s

Humans can survive for: 3 minutes without air; 3 days without water; 3
weeks without food (but only just). Well, that's in real life. In
the disaster movies it's quite a different scenario. We saw "The Day
After Tomorrow" last night (were they really pumping freezing air into
the cinema?) and noted that the main characters (those who were still
alive at the end of the film!) had survived on candy bars and potato
chips. I guess that doesn't really count as being "without food" but
it certainly wouldn't have made their dentists happy! It's amazing how
people see different things in movies, isn't it? I noticed that while
the NY library characters were busy burning books to stay warm (that
isn't much of a spoiler!), there seemed to be a few chairs lying
around that could also have been used for fuel - unless of course the
wood was chemically treated and they might have been killed by the
release of toxic fumes. My partner noticed that at one stage a
policeman's vest had letters obscured and now read, simply, "ice".
Nice touch. Of course, "The Day After Tomorrow" IS a disaster movie
so doesn't count as "quality entertainment" but it's worth a look -
the special effects are amazing! - and it does carry a message, as
long as people choose to listen. Maybe some governments who have so
far resisted could warm to the idea of the Kyoto Accord?

Marriage Acts

There is a move within the Australian Government to change the
definition of marriage so it excludes all but men and women ie
same-sex marriages will not be an option. Overseas marriages of
same-sex couples will not be recognised here. But ... what of the
rest of the definition? Will they change that as well if and when it
suits the Government of the day? For example, under section 46 of the
Marriage Act, civil celebrants are required to explain the nature of
the relationship before solemnising a marriage with words to the
effect that marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of a
man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered
into for life. Hmmm. For life. Imagine if they enforced that!

Standard rate of commission?

Have you been a victim of the Russian mafia? This is a question
Sydney's "The Daily Telegraph" asked 1 June (pg 13) in a story about
Westpac customers who had been duped into visiting bogus internet
pages and revealing their account, security numbers and passwords.
According to the report, the bank is about to start reimbursing an
unknown number of its customers several million dollars. The scam was
apparently engineered by the Russian mafia. So why are the Russians
targetting Australia? Who are the "mules" - "individuals recruited
with offers of a 10 per cent cut" of the action - who withdrew the
money from the halfway accounts where the victims' funds had been
transferred and forwarded it to Russia. And have any been caught?
And if not, how could anyone know what their cut was? Or is 10% the
standard rate of commission?

PINs

As I carefully sheilded my PIN entry from prying eyes at the automatic teller machine this morning, my partner quietly leaned over and informed me that she already knew what it was! "I do this all the time, not just because you're here," I explained, before launching into a PIN safety talk.
And talking about PIN safety - did you hear about the inflatible boy who took a pin to his inflatible school, and his inflatible headmaster told him "you've not only let me down, you've let yourself down and you've let the whole school down!" (Boom boom - as Basil Brush - and nephew Patrick who told us this joke - would say.)

Look! Up in the sky ...

On the afternoon of Tuesday 8th June 2004, for the first time in over 120 years, Venus’s dark silhouette will pass across the face of the Sun in of astronomy’s rarest and most famous events: A Transit of Venus. For more info, click here.
Thanks to Lizzie for posting info on this on her blog.
If you're placed to see it - don't look directly at the sun! You'll do yourself a damage. And the transit has been responsible for enough:
The Transit Of 1769: James Cook - The most celebrated transit of Venus is that of June 1769, The voyage to observe the 1769 transit is especially significant to Australians for, after successfully completing the observations, Cook opened sealed orders from the Admiralty to search for the unknown southern continent. He did not find this mythical land, but did claim New Zealand and New South Wales for the British Crown.

Curious I am. Will there be SPAM?

Will GMail have effective spam filters? I ask that because I went in to have a look at my new GMail account this morning. Why would I do that when it's a new account and I haven't given the address to anyone yet? To see if it will go the way of my other accounts - spammed, spammed, spammed. Even the one account which I don't use on any newsgroups etc etc etc, is now being spammed - admittedly only once or twice a week - but it's still spam, and not at all welcome. As GMail places advertising based on message content, what will happen when the messages are for male member enhancement pills
procedures, or the other products that spam usually offers?
Oh ... If you're thinking about signing up for GMail if you get the chance - it seems you can only access your mail via their web page at the moment; you can't yet set up your email client to access it.

Mmmmm ...

Ready for another session of coffee making ... the cups are a gift (found at the Zoo) from my partner's brother Chris and wife Sandy.

The perfect cup of coffee

... has yet to emerge from the espresso machine I currently have on loan (thanks Sarah!). But I am trying. Some days it all seems like a bit of a production to make a cup of coffee - fill up the water reservoir of the machine, turn the power on to allow it to heat for 45 minutes before measuring out the coffee; then tamp it, insert the holder into its groove, turn to lock, put a cup under the spout to catch the coffee and then turn on the water - and then take cold milk from the fridge, put it in the frothing jug, put the jug under the steam arm, and then open the valve. And remember - steam is very hot and it will scald you if you break your concentration for a moment (like when you realise the coffee has filled the cup under the filter and is about to start overflowing!).
But the brew is getting better, especially as I am now using a new batch of coffee (Columbia - still full-flavoured, but mild) from the local coffee emporium, ground to the right consistency for the coffee machine. (And no, I was told, don't keep the coffee in the fridge - just an airtight container at room temperature will maintain it for a few weeks ... Oh, and 200gm is the smallest quantity you can buy at a time.)

Gmail

Well, I have taken the plunge and started a Gmail account, the new
Google initiative, via an offer through Blogger. Gmail offers
1gigabyte of storage, which seems to be funded by targetted
advertising. It will be an interesting exercise - and at least I
didn't have to buy an account off eBay. I read last week that some
people in the original testing could invite a friend to join, and they
were selling the invitations. Enterprising solutions (all round).

The new Krispy Kreme Doughnut store in Sydney

... there have been queues so long that the colleagues who have ventured out for a doughnut have come back empty handed (d'oh). 

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Have you ever wondered why they're spelled "dough"nuts?
dough Noun
1) (food) a flour mixture stiff enough to knead or roll
2) (possession) informal terms for money
Synonyms: shekels; gelt; bread; dinero; lucre; loot; pelf; moolah; cabbage; kale. (SlovoEd 4.13 - dictionary for Palm)
Krispy Kreme (finally!) opened it's first store in the Central Business District in Sydney on Wednesday. The first customer was to receive a year's supply of doughnuts. As it was raining the night before the store's opened, chances are they were looking forward to a hot cup of coffee and a warm shower as well!)
My partner's boss dutifully joined the queue yesterday to buy a half dozen original glazed doughnuts - only to find they were selling for $1.90 each - or $11.40 for 6; he decided the 12 for $11 was a better deal.
What are the ethics of marketing, effectively, via bigger portions? There's a documentary just doing the rounds here ("Super Size Me") about a guy who, for a month, lived on McDonalds. I'm not sure whether this was before Maccas introduced their healthy menu items - or if he chose them if they were available - but the result is not something that's likely to have people eating there on a regular basis. It's also not likely to increase Maccas -or Krispy Kreme's -turnover unless they change their fare.
Krispy Kreme reported Tuesday that it lost $24.4 million in the first quarter, its first quarterly loss since going public in 2000.
Part of the loss was attributed to people deciding a more balanced lifestye (read: diet) is appropriate for them. Strategies to adopt to this changed and changing consumer environment include the company's doughnut shops selling a low-sugar doughnut, mini doughnuts and doughnut holes (!!!).
Scott Livengood, Chief Executive of the doughnut-maker said: "And we make our plans and do things in a, call it a worst case scenario. I think there is always a real possibility that people are going to decide a balanced lifestyle is appropriate for them ....
"But on the other hands we're not going to take anything for granted."

We're "Orff"

Our Carmina Burina concert is almost upon us. The last 13 or so weeks of practising 3 hours on a Wednesday evening have paid off and we are about ready. Dress rehearsal is Friday evening, and the concerts are Saturday (evening) and Sunday (afternoon).
I am sitting in rehearsal as I write this - a bit tricky as I try not to miss the next Soprano entry. It looks like we're doing a run through ofthe whole piece - which means I'll know what little (hopefully) sections need independent revision.
But it will be good fun. I've sung this piece before and it's a bit like meeting up with an old friend after a long absence.
If you're near the Great Hall, Sydney Uni when we're due to perform, feel free to come along (with money for your ticket) and support the choir. Otherwise, how will you be able to tell your friends about the amazing tenor cooking swan solo?

Gift Idea

Looking for a gift idea? For her father's 80th, Suzanne assembled a "this is your life ... so far" photo album. It looked at all the key points in his life - using the roles he's play - baby, brother, husband, father, grandfather, fisherman, sailor, veteran ... to name a few. It's a great way to capture a glimpse of times past and it was a way of showing Bill how much of an influence he's had on those around him.

"Fahrenheit 9/11"

The New York Times today carried a story about the distribution rights for "Fahrenheit 9/11". After winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival, the film has distribution in every major international territory except the United States.
For those who haven't yet caught up with a review of Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary movie, you can read about it here.

Hello world

This is to see if the world still exists on the day before "The Day After Tomorrow".

Happy 80th Bill!

What an achievement - to reach 80! And Bill has done it. We celebrated yesterday with the family - with Chris and his wife Sandy coming from Hong Kong; Michael and his wife, Chau, and children, Louise and Patrick, coming from Kyogle; and June - and of course, Suzanne and I.

It was Bill's 80th birthday yesterday - and here's the family.  

Back again

After some time away (it's been busy), I'm back.

Crew cut

What is the origin ofthe term? I did a quick net surf this morning in search of an answer. There was no definitive answer, but it was confirmed on some sights that anything is better than a mullet (cut) when it comes to grooming. The crew cut was made popular in post-World War II USA where returning serviceman decided to keep their low maintenance regulation service cuts except not quite as short. The term itself is attributed to rowers in the 1900s, as distinct from earlier rowers in earlier times (think Viking vessels). The rowers would cut their hair short so it would not intefere with their sport; it also distinguished them from footballers. Truly - this is what it said on the sites I found through a Google search on "origin term crew cut" and variations. I also found a site, attributed to a Coast Guard of some 30 years standing, which gave explanatioans for: cut and run; toe the line; and three sheets to the wind.

Sight

The world is an amazing place. And even more amazing when you realise that we see it all through our eyes (if we are sighted) - with pupils no larger than pinkie finger nails - and this is the basis on which we experience and assess the world. Yes, the other senses come into play but it's the eyes that have it.

Easter

Easter is almost upon us - just a few more days. This year my partner and I have decided to go to an Easter Service. But which one. What flavour? Not being regular church-goers, the decision is not easy. But we have learnt a little from the Midnight Mass experience at Christmas - wherever we end up, we won't be sitting in the front row! lt's very hard to follow along if you can't see what the rest of the congregation is doing.
What a difference a moment makes - we have a decision. We have decided to go to the local church where a friend worships. Co-incidentally this is the Christmas one. ... and the first place to accommodate the fledgling Leichhardt Espesso Chorus many years ago. (LEC's next gig seems to involve Randwick Race Course and the AJC. I have no more details but they do have a web site which may provide information.)

9/4/04
Listening to music this evening - Mahler's Second, the Resurrection Symphony. Fantastic piece for Easter. And as I listened I tried to remember it from when I had sung it with the Sydney University Musical Society (SUMS) many years ago. It was my first concert with SUMS. Meredith, who worked at the same office as I, was a SUMS member of long standing. Knowing I had just started singing in a choir, she asked if I would be interested in singing at the Opera House. I would only have to meet the rehearsal requirements - 8 in total. I was hooked.
And I've been a member of SUMS mostly since then. Under the musical direction of the wonderful, talented Ben McPherson AOM (now Meredith's hubby and father of their children, Harry and Anna).
Next concert - last weekend in May at the Great Hall, Sydney University - Carmina Burana, with the SBS Youth Orchestra providing the tamtam (aka gong ... not to be confused with a chocolate-coated biscuit).

Short thoughts

It's been a while between blogs but I'm not that concerned because there's plenty of other stuff to read on the web - unless you've reached the end of the internet in which case you've probably ingested enough digital data for a while.
I made an observation the other day. My partner notices things but I notice when things have changed. This could be because I'm lucky enough to be a Pisces or because I'm hyper-vigilant. But it's an interesting difference, especially as I've always wanted to be observant. (I'm not sure if noticing this difference means I am more observant because nothing has changed.)
How does international publishing work? Jeanette Winteson's "Lighthousekeeping" has been released in paperback in Australia but has not yet been released in England and won't be until May apparently. Who decides what books are released where? And when? And do the same decisions apply to ePublishing?

Daylight Savings

Could someone please just invent a time machine? No, not for jumping back and forwards through time - I have no interest in that - I just want something that will tell me what time it is. I know they've already invented clocks and watches - but they don't do me a jot of good come daylight savings.
I realise this isn't an issue for many people. They have no trouble with the concept of time. Not me. Ask my partner. She hates daylight savings more than I do. And it’s not just because I no longer know what time it is. I suffer lethagy akin to jetlag for the first two weeks and I get grouchy because my sleep patterns are thrown out. I resent the time spent changing the timer on the vcrs, televisions, 4 watches, microwave, stove clock, alarm clocks, camera, computer, PDA, the car, mobile phone etc - and knowing I'm going to have to change them all back again in a minute. I hate having to carry the newspaper with me from room to room to check the little picture of the clock showing which way the hands go.
And I hate that I don’t just "get it"? We go through the same thing every year. I cannot remember appliance to appliance which way time has moved, let alone from year to year. And it's been explained to me again and again, millions of times - and just when I think I have it, it’s gone. And I’m running out of people to ask. (You can only get someone to explain it to you so many times before they look at you oddly.)
And all for what? So we can go swimming after work? So it's still light when I try to go to sleep before 9pm? So I can spend the next month getting up in the dark? So I can send my partner mad by continually asking: if it's 7 o'clock here (when my mobile phone free time starts) what time is it in Queensland? And don’t even get me started on daylight savings in other countries and which goes which way. I’ve scheduled half a day on Monday to rework my time zone spreadsheet so I’ve got a fighting chance of not waking our South African colleagues at some more unthinkable hour!
It's not just daylight savings time that throws me. I never know whether a meeting is sooner or later if it's moved back or forward. Why can't people just say what they mean? It's earlier or it's later. Simple.
I know it's all a matter of interpretation. But that part of my brain is missing or just unable to deal with clocks with hands. I should have paid more attention to the rocket clock on Play School instead of worrying about what was through the window. If you wind back the hands of the clock, that makes it sooner. But if you put back a meeting, you're not doing that. Or are you?
And if I can’t get a time machine, I’ll settle for a digital revolution. Let’s do away with analog clocks. No more big hands and little hands. No more second hands. No more worrying about turning hands back or forwards on Sunday. Then maybe I could change over to daylight savings without being reminded, yet again, that I don’t “get” it and at this rate I never will. And it’s not as though people couldn’t still use their analogs. We’re nearly 40 years into decimal and people still talk inches and feet, pounds and ounces.
Or perhaps we could just abolish daylight savings. Flexitime anyone?

Bits and pieces (two weeks of ...)

A mystery punter made front page news (The Daily Telegraph 5/3/04) today by betting $1 million on a horse race. I can't imagine betting that much - I'm too cautious about losing my money - could just be that I don't have a spare million to use like that. I don't think I could even brrow that much but it would be fun telling the bank that you needed the loan to pony up for a race. As a friend of ours says "no bank will give you that" but she was referring to the return on investment if your horse comes in - which would definitely beat the approx 5% we're currently getting!
Update - Lonhro won. The punter, based in Hong Kong, collected $1,550,000 when the biggest bet on an Australian horse race in years paid off (The Daily Telegraph, 9/3/04, pg 1).

What's a billion
It appears that a billion is different, depending on which side of the Atlantic Ocean you are on. In the US it's a 1 followed by 9 zeros; in the UK it's a 1 followed by 12 zeros. I'm not sure what it is in Australia. And if I'm thinking of it in terms of my own assets, it's going to be a couple of millenia before I actually have to worry about it.

Star gazing
And Zedna has been discovered ... the coldest most distant body to have been found orbiting the Sun ... a planetoid because it's not big enough to be a planet. And who knew that Pluto is a "questionable planet" - based on its size. But it was still big enough to be in the way of the astronomical society being able to see Zedna.

Soylent Green
Dubbo is today suffering from a plague of locusts - similar to several other communities along the Australian East Coast (according to the news report I have just finished watching). It's been a while since we had a locust plague - although I remember that we've had plagues of mice, and also of bogong moths. But, as some people would say, at least you can eat bogong moths. They are something of a delicacy. I'm not sure that I could bring myself to eat one - for pleasure. If it was a matter of life and death - maybe ... probably. And what would you eat if it was a matter of life and death? Would you eat people? (Soylent Green is people.) Could you eat people? And how would you quell the demons within (assuming some ethical dilemmas might surface after the event - or perhaps that would just be me)?

Daze of confusion

I feel very happy for those people born on 29 February who got a "real" birthday again this year. We have two friends who finally turned 13 on Sunday - it's been a long time coming. But in rejoicing with them and on their behalf, I hadn't realised that the leap year would confusion.
We have a friend with a birthday on 3 March. I had done an SMS to send to her today but then, in a moment of self-doubt, I checked the calendar on Palm. The next mention of her birthday was 2005. Oh no! I had missed it! I checked the date on my watch - sure enough - it was the 4th of March. I checked the newspaper I had downloaded that morning (via the Avantgo website) ... it said 3rd March. But I was sure it was "new" news when I looked at it this morning. My partner, sitting on the bus next to me, assured me it was the 3rd. But how? Then it struck me ... leap year was not recognised by my digitial watch. When it should have moved to the 29th of February, it moved to 1 March. The only thing I can't work out now is why it took me four days to notice.

At the Hard Rock (oops, car wash) cafe

We have friends arriving from interstate today and I have decided to employ outside contractors to wash the car. I am sitting at Citiwash Hand Carwash waiting for my station wagon to have their SuperWash treatment. From the sign, it appears the only thing they don't do in the SuperWash is polish fingernails. And if I'd been here between 6am and 8am, they would have thrown in a free coffee and raisan toast (which, coincidentally, is exactly what I had for breakfast at my favourite cafe!).
The car wash is situated on a major arterial road and it is also under the flight path so there is loads to look at. There is also another Hand Car Wash over the road. It is billed as "Sydney's Best" but I don't know if that's their name or claim. In any case, they don't seem to be as busy as this establishment.
I wonder if I should have told them about the huge spider that slipped into the car last night as we waited at the McDonald's drive-thru. I would like to say that it wasn't me who screamed but, alas, it was. My partner thought something dreadful had happened. Of course, she hadn't seen the spider scurry within cms of my hand and go behind the dash. Each time I get into the car now I expect it to be sitting on the steering wheel, daring me to get in. Hopefully the car wash (they're doing inside too) will encourage it to move on. Probably my greatest fear is not that it will be on the steering well, but that it will remain somewhere warm and cosy in the interior of the car, and that "it" will be a she, and will lay and hatch thousands of offspring in REY the wondercar. Then all of them will be sitting on the steering wheel, and the driver's seat, and all the passenger seats ...

Reality shows ... unreal!

"The Resort" is on the television at the moment. Peter "needs to be liked". Bec is currently with Aaron. Aaron is a former AFL footballer. Prachi is a doctor turned ... something - I didn't read the super fast enough. Bec says she can be "too trusting". Usually you don't have to read so much on reality television - it's more about voyeurism - and wondering if anyone will ever actually use the paintbrushes they are holding. Too much talking …
There have only been two reality shows that I've allowed myself to get sucked in to. "Big Brother" was one; the other was "Survivor", as won by Richard, the man who seemed to be forever stripping. Richard has made another appearance in "Survivor AllStars" with the familiar blur over his "misters" (apologies Friends)
I'm not quite sure what "The Resort" is about but it's dollars to doughnuts there's a cash prize there somewhere.
Who comes up with the ideas for these shows? What sells a reality show? … and this is about 12 people locked in a house, and we film them 24 hours a day, and it's cheap/inexpensive programming. Can they call it reality television, though, given it doesn't bear much resemblence to real life? We know that the raw footage must be edited to within an inch of itself as the producers try to "tell a story" with only people's real faults, foibles, traits and talents … and twenty-four hours of footage a day to choose from.
And what of documentaries? Are they the original reality shows? And if they are, why can I watch hours of reality television - and go to sleep the second a documentary comes on?
More "The Resort": Erik chaperones promo girls (whatever that means). Amanda walks away from arguments. Another one "cries when working with idiots". Don't we all.
And this would be me walking toward the television to turn it off - or to at least to change the channel. I want to experience a different reality.
I want to think about being a super hero. There used to be an animated cartoon show - I think it was Milton the Monster - and Milton would dress up and be "Super Ghoul" (ain't he cool, looking nice and neat in his polka dot vest, his purple cape and his ballet shoes and his yellow SG on his chest .... ooh, ooh, ooh, Super Ghoul ... etc.) If you could be a super hero, who would you be? What special talents would you bring to the world? Would you use your powers for good - or for evil (knowing you would have to give up the super "hero" title if you went the latter route). I think I would be ... Reality Television Person (ta da). My mission would be to boldly go where no ... Prachi knows she's irritating and arrogant.

Six degrees of separation

Studies are done from time to time to ascertain how far removed we are from each other. In recent years, this has been done through email. But you don't need to wait to be included in a separation study. You can do one now. How many steps are you from the American President? The Australian Prime Minister? The Australian Opposition Leader? I can have a go at the last one (... Kate, Suzie, Vivian, Mark Latham) because I can do 4 degrees of separation - with the others I suspect it would be considerably more!

Kitchen cupboards

Claudine at work asked me today if I had done anything exciting over the weekend. For once I could say yes without any hesitation. After almost a year in the planning, I re-organised the kitchen cupboards. Don't scoff. This is a major achievement. And it's a good job. All the benchtops are clear and all the appliances are away but absolutely accessible. What can I say - it's a masterpiece ... bringing together much of the organisational knowledge I have gleaned over the years. I'd post pictures but I haven't finished the drying up after dinner.

Picture this ...

And just when you thought you had seen it all - here's Angle Grinder Man - who uses his power tool to un-wheel lock cars in the UK. Well, that's what he was doing last year - I've not seen any recent reports on him.
But the key thing about AGM is that I have worked out how to post pics on this site! (The blogger help page works!)

Common knowledge

Are there things that we assume everyone knows? Knowledge that all of us have picked up somewhere along the way. I have realised in the last little while that there are two pieces of this knowledge that had escaped me.
The first is about canaries. When discussing a colleague who had been gassed and robbed while staying at a hotel, the conversation turned to methods of gas detection. Specifically, we talked about canaries and how they had been taken down into mines. The miners knew dangerous gas was about when the canary fell off the perch. We all know that. But what I didn't know was that the canary died. It didn't regain consciousness. There was no happy flapping of wings; no jumping back up on the perch; no chance to save mankind again ... just miners looking for a replacement canary.
The second tidbit of universal knowledge to escape me was about whales. On The Simpsons last night, Grandpa Simpson drove his car into an aquarium and as the water escaped, it left a whale crumpled and gasping on the car bonnet. But why would the whale be gasping (forget for a moment that we're discussing an animated sit-com) ... because whales breathe air. So I mentioned this to a friend at lunch today and she gave me the "everyone knows that" look. And then when she realised I didn't (know), she gave me a short lesson in physics - out of the water, whales are unable to withstand the pressure, and gravity has its way. I guess that's the same as saying their weight crushes their chest (?) and they suffocate even though they have air to breathe. That's why there's such a rush to get them back into the water.
I'm hoping there are also known answers to some of my other questions:
• Why do Crime Scene Investigators do everything by torchlight?
• Why do sandwiches taste differently depending on how they are cut?
• Do you continue to tan after you're dead?

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

More television. Would it be harder to be a contestant or the significant other of a contestant waiting as they try to decide which of four sometimes equally plausible options is correct. And how nerve-wracking would it be trying to get the fastest finger question right and in the fastest time? Would you be overtaken by nerves? How sweaty would your palms be? And how disappointed would you be if you got it wrong? Or right? Do some people feel like bailing out when they are chosen? How difficult would it be to remember your own name under the glare of the lights and the focus of the cameras let alone trying to dredge up an obscure fact to answer the question.

Thoughts on Television

Some of the familiar television series will be finishing this year - Sex and the City; Friends; and probably some local Australian shows as well! Do Australian shows survive as long as off-shore imports? How many in recent history have lasted as many seasons as Survivor or Buffy or the aforementioned shows - leaving out current affairs or non-drama content. Gone are the halcyon days of Prisoner, although Neighbours and Home & Away are still gracing our small screens. But are daily soaps in the same league as weekly sit-coms or dramas? Will they continue on regardless, not dependent on a stable stable of characters. Are the writing and/or production values inferior?

Mondo Thingo

A new program started last night on the ABC (one of our free-to-air national broadcasters) - Mondo Thingo. It seems to be a grab-bag of various items of varying degrees of interest - for example nicotini (tobacco flavoured vodka) and a "cheat lesson" on everything you wanted to know about Sofia Coppola (Director of "Lost in Translation" - her second feature film).
One of the more intriguing reports was about doggie dancing aka freestyle canine obedience. Owners dance with their dogs (more line dancing than up close and personal cheek to cheek). If you're interested in trying it with your dog, be prepared to put in some time and effort. It apparently takes 42 days - which incidentally is about twice as long as it takes humans to learn new tricks! And just in case you think you can blame your canine colleague for not remembering the steps, as they said on the segment: the dog never does anything wrong - it's always you. Wonder if it would work as a form of exercise for Em, our diabetic cat. Mondo Thingo has a website.

Gas leak

A suspected gas leak in Sydney's underground rail network caused commuter chaos last week. The City Circle rail stations were closed early that afternoon as emergency services personnel sought to pinpoint the source of the leak.
The network was opened just after evening peak hour but the cause of the leak remains unknown.
I was impressed with the patience of the public and the professionalism of the public transport staff.

What's in a name?

I had a thought before, perhaps a good one, but I lost it. I find that fairly frustrating. Sometimes they come back, more often, they don't. I did remember this one though. It was about ordering a coffee and when they ask for your name - what name do you give? Do you say a name that you're fairly sure none of the other 17 people in the queue have? When asked today I wanted to say Nemo, or Elmo, or perhaps Fabio (okay so I recently saw "Finding Nemo").

And if you’ve ever been to Just Cuts and had to wait and come back 30 minutes after putting your name down and you know your name is still way down on the list … have you ever thought of claiming the next name they call? Yes, I’m Ivan or Christine or Jackie. Especially if you’re the only one there and it’s a shame to let Ivan or Christine or Jackie’s appointment go to waste.

Time flies

Funny how it takes next to no time to get very busy. And is it really a week since my last post here? Once upon a time I thought time seemed to be speeding up as I grew older. There is no "seems to'' about it. It's almost February already; in a blink of an eye, a whole month has all but disappeared! But that's because it has been busy.

Chinese New Year

We missed this year's festivities for Chinese New Year. We did seen a lion dance last weekend but that was from a distance and I don't think it really counted. It's the Year of the Monkey. I'm not sure of its significance in Chinese astrology but I'm hoping it means we're in for a bit more "fun" than in recent previous years.
We've been lucky enough to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong twice. Now there's a city which knows how to decorate! Skyscrapers and other buildings are literally festooned with neon for the New Year. It is a triumph in exterior illumination! A word of caution if you ever find yourself there for Chinese New Year. It is traditionally time for visiting and if you are venturing back into the territory through a Customs check point, take a couple of books to read because you'll have a long wait. It will be one of the longest, most patient and orderly queues you would ever have been in!

Dream times

I am having a recurring nightmare ... or it could just be a dream ... or it could be a message from my unconscious. It would be good if I could remember the details. There might be a clue there. All I know at the moment is there are two scenarios - each with the same dilemma. One is at work, the other is at home. At work it concerns a three-level clearance - or something like that. I have to "do" something but I can't remember what it is. At home, it is about the alarm and, again, I do not know what I am supposed to do. In both cases, my lack of action has an immediate ripple effect - and it is not good. The dream has worken me up 3 times now, each time I've had it - and I've been so confused by it that I have actually gotten out of bed to "check". The not-knowing what I'm supposedly checking is increasingly frustrating. I suppose I could just ask my unconscious (or is it sub-conscious, I always get them confused) to shed some light on the issues. Sounds like a good idea for the night after next - I'm still a bit tired for last night!

More on ears and prints

Judge frees man convicted of murder by earprint. This is a story from Ananova (have to love this source of news - quirkie and otherwise!). A man convicted of murder, by his earprint, was freed by a judge after spending nearly seven years in jail for a crime he did not commit. In 1998, he was found guilty of smothering a woman. Evidence included that he had allegedly left a unique earprint as he listened at a window before breaking in. The retrial found him "not guilty".

A job well done

It is a while since I have felt this excited about work. It is Friday afternoon and I have just put the finishing touches on, and emailed, a quite complex document. It outlines the scope, and seeks to clarify particulars, of a web project I am assisting with. While I have worked on many projects, and written many documents, they have not come together like this before. I feel as if it's "a job well done"!

Finger prints

Finger printing. Who cleans up afterwards? A car turned up on the street outside our house at one point. I didn't take much notice of it; cars come and go. And there was nothing remarkable about it except it looked a little grubby. I was out in the front yard not long after and someone asked if it was mine, and did I want to sell it since it had been stolen. I puzzled over that for days. How did he know it had been stolen? I finally worked it out - the dark areas on the bonnet and above the doors were grubby because they hadn't been cleaned since the car was stolen, returned and dusted for prints. Why do they call it "dusting" for prints ... the stuff sticks like glue and doesn't dust off.
The whole concept of identifying people by their fingerprints is amazing. Did anyone laugh at the person who came up with the idea of taking impressions of people's fingers - because they were all unique. Did they know that eventually computer programs would be used to compare hundreds in the blink of an eye. The concept of a unique identifier was first applied to ears. These also leave a unique impression - quite apart from any other impression ears may otherwise make eg which sometimes cause people to be called "wingnut". They used to call ears "lugs", hence lugsholes, back in the 19th Century (which seems a very long time ago now).
But back to how difficult fingerprint powder residue is to remove. The supermarket doesn't sell a special product for this - although a commercial version could be available for those companies specialising in crime scene clean-up. That must be a gruesome undertaking.

Blogging

I read an article in the New York Times earlier this week on blogging. It referred to a site - www.livejournal.com - among others and I went along for a look. It was stunning. It allows you to see the site's most recent posts - an easy window into other people's lives, psyches and opinions - and there is no shortage of those. Some of the posts had photos/images and fickle person that I am, I considered changing my blog provider - just for a moment! I've yet to visit the other sites mentioned in the article. Perhaps on the weekend.

New Year's Resolutions (NYR)

What hope do most of us have in keeping our NYRs, especially if we do not appreciate that it takes 21 days (although some say it's six weeks) to make or break a habit.
Others suggest a more organised and systematic approach to NYR goal setting. Write it down; make it bite-sized; make it achievable; set a date; and put a rewards system in place.
A friend of mine wrote "Have you made any new years resolutions? I forgot to - oh well - I'll just try to live a good life instead of a significantly improved one!" Okay to that.

Hmmm. Christmas.

We had an interesting time this year - which I have relegated to yesterday already. On the upside, my partner and I were once again able to exchange "the Xmas letter". This is not the "boast-it note" which some families broadcast to all an sundry but rather a concrete memory of our year and our hopes, plans and aspirations for ourselves, each other and our partnership for the coming year. It is a tradition we've had in place for most of our almost 14 years together - and while other rituals have come and gone, we are pleased this one remains, and grows.

Peanuts

It is too long since I have partaken of Charles M Schulz's Peanuts gang. This afternoon there is sports, sports and more sports on most of the free-to-air television and channel surfing has brought me to Charlie Brown and the kite-eating tree. Moments before the tree gobbled up the kite, CB had managed to get his kite in the air, soaring magnificiently, and then it just went and exploded. As Lucy commented "that's the first time I've seen that happen". Peppermint Patty is now talking to that kid with the big nose that lives with CB - Snoopy. What a great group of characters and what a fantastic view of life.

Insulin Regime

The feline insulin era is now well and truly underway. Em is taking it fairly well, given that if she wanted to, she would be able to tear flesh from our limbs as we administered the shots. Mind you, she is less co-operative some days than others, but that's okay in the grand scheme of things.
We've also changed blood testing methods. We're now doing blood collection via ear pricks. We downloaded instructions from the internet - complete with pictures - and it is slowly getting easier ... on both of us. I don't think I have heard Em growl as much in the 11 years we've had her as in the last fortnight.
The other part of having a diabetic cat is how to explain to your other cat that you're not really ignoring them, and the attention the diabetic cat is getting is attention the other one really does not want.

Feline Diabetes

One of our cats was diagnosed with feline diabetes this week. Her treatment starts Monday - diet and insulin injections. Not unlike humans really. My partner and I have both been taught how to do the injections, and I have also learned how to take blood so I can do regular checks of her blood sugar levels. It was this or urine testing, both of which give accurate readings. Do animals feel pain the same way we do? And will the cat who will cheerfully pincher you with her claws (and then hiss a warning) when you accidentally brush against her in bed, take kindly to this latest invasion of her personal space and lifestyle. We shall see.

Parental Visit

When we visited the Gold Coast in August, my partner and I had discussed catching up with my parents who are based in Toowoomba. Time constraints (and lack of a car) meant the 2.5 hour drive to Toowoomba was not an option. Cheap airfares meant we could make a flying visit to them later in the year, and lateral thinking meant we could get them to visit us - and my NSW-based brothers and their families. That was last week. It was good to see them and spend time with them doing touristy things, in our beautiful Harbour city, and just hanging out.

Carolfest is a-coming

We spent Saturday and Sunday at rehearsals for Carolfest, a traditional program of carols and readings to celebrate Christmas. Performances are 8pm Saturday 6 December and 6pm Sunday 7 December. The venue is The Great Hall at The University of Sydney. Tickets are $15 concession or $20 adult. The program includes traditional pieces as well as not-so-well-known compositions from around the world. Bundurists will accompany the choir in the Ukranian Carol of the Bells. If you're in the area - come and sing along with the congregationals! It's a great way to start the Christmas season.

Royal Rumours

Rumours and speculation are rife about the English Royals, palace scandal and Charles' sexual preferences. Does it matter? Should his Mother ever relinquish the Throne, which seems unlikely in the short term, would Charles' regal service be different were he found to have fondled more than a footman's feet? Perhaps the question ought to be whether people's perception of his ability to do the top job would be different. What is the measure of a man? Who decides the imperial yardstick?

Longer evenings

Even though it takes a while to get used to the jetlag of daylight savings, it is wonderful to catch the bus home in daylight at the end of a long work day. It will still be light at the end of the 30-minute ride, and the 10-minute walk home. Getting home when you can still see the yard makes the work day seem much shorter, even though it's still as long, and perhaps even longer for those who use the windows method of time telling: it's getting dark, it must be time to leave.

And on the gate post, visible
where it may not have been an hour later a couple of weeks ago - the first cicada shell of Spring. (Global warming or the drought seems to have fooled said Cicada into a pre-Summer showing.)

Lingering dusks are perfect for long walks by the sea. An added bonus (until 16 Nov) would be the annual Sculpture by The Sea on the path from Bondi to Tamarama. I haven't been yet this year but I am eager to see this year's winning entry - No. 23. No. 23 is the title of the sculpture - I'm not sure if that is also it's catalogue/position in the exhibition number. It is a large carved stone brown paper package (tied up with string) - so lifelike in the photograph of it being craned into place that I actually thought it had been wrapped for transport - and an unveiling in situ.