And on the subject of Danish

Are there any other foods where there names are adjectives used to describe a country. Yes, I know that it's really "danish pastry" but people just ask for a "danish". Are there others?

Bounce Room

I listen to 2WS on the bus to work and they've just been talking about a recent innovation at a care facility for senior citizens in Holland (or was it Denmark ... because there was a whole conversation about Danes, Copenhagen and Dykes - so I'm not really sure). Anyway, forget about the tabletennis room - there's now the Bounce Room - where couple can go for some privacy and a double bed. Seems residents at the facility don't have their own room and no-where to go if they want to spend some quiet one-on-one time with that someone special. You have to make a booking for the Bounce Room - and apparently it's okay to bring in outside sex workers.
I wonder if the notion will catch on.

What price punctuality?

The public rail network in Sydney has earned a lot of criticism over the last years with trains not showing up, or chronically late. They have fiddled with the timetables, tried to recruit new drivers, and heavens knows what else to fix it.
Plagued with a similar problem in Tokyo, their rail network had instigated a system for "talking" to drivers who ran late - even a second late.
The driver of the train which crashed into the side of an apartment building in Japan earlier this week had previously been cautioned for running late. On the day of the accident, he had overshot a station platform by some metres, backed back to the platform, and then proceeded on his way, seemingly at speed, reportedly to make up for the lost time.
They are still investigating the cause of the accident, but if the driver was speeding, it would not have helped in the chain of circumstances which resulted in the accident.
Did those who lost their life because of the crash pay the ultimate price for the punctuality of a rail network?

Not such a good idea with the flag!

What would you do if your neighbours starting flying a Nazi flag? Darren McKay, of Mannering Park NSW bought the flag at local markets for the bargain price of $10 - and was unaware that people might take offence at the flag because he had not learned about Adolf Hitler in school history lessons. Well, it's not a bad excuse, but I'm not sure that it's actually true. Wasn't one of the Royal princes in trouble recently for wearing a Hitler Youth uniform to a fancy dress party. Yes, that only made front page news and was pretty high up in the line-up for the nightly news - but Mr McKay may have been busy that day. And have these people never seen a WWII movie?
If it's true and he didn't know about the Nazis, the whole affair is more worrying. Those who forget (or don't know about the past) are doomed to repeat it. (Note to the Daily Telegraph: it appears your photo had the back side of the flag on display - the hooks were going the wrong way.)
And, as suggested by my mate Deb, is there any signficance to this happening so close to Anzac Day?

Life or Death?

Did Schapelle Corby smuggle 4.5kg of drugs into Indonesia? We may never know - although since they do weigh all luggage at airports - you would think there would be a way of checking that - or if she was captured on camera at all with her bags, surely the extra weight (if there) would have affected how she handled the bags. But I'm sure they thought of that already.
And what of Schapelle and the punishment that stretches before her if found guilty. Which would you rather - life imprisonment in an Indonesian prison - or death by firing squad (not a particularly fast death!)

Positioning for the Papacy

I wish I had the time to do some serious research into how outspoken cardinals had been in the closing months of Pope John Paul II's life. These thoughts come following my previously-mentioned hope that Cardinal Pell (from Australia) would not secure the top job - and this was based on his outspokenness about various issues. Of course, I disagreed with his views on just about everything - and he has been outspoken about a lot of things. It then occurred that maybe he had been outspoken because it would ensure he was noticed - not just by standard folk like you and I - but by his fellow Cardinals (and they are all fellows) who would be the ones attending the Conclave and casting their votes (in whatever form that might have taken). Not outside the bounds of possibility - it's behaviour encouraged of politicians and others running for (public) office. But, as the world now knows (which is a generalisation but will suffice) the new Pope Benedict XVI was previously Germany's Joseph Ratzinger. (Is it only the Pope aka Pontiff who is allowed to pontificate?)

Waiting ... waiting

I am trying to download a sizeable file (nearly 350MB) over the internet - and at times like this, I wonder how fast broadband actually is. I have not yet decided on a broadband provider - although I keep thinking about it, and am to the point of budgetting for it. I just don't know how much to budget. Do I want to have broadband at home only, or do I want it when I am out and about - so I can blog and check email on the road (so to speak)? The level of access required, the amount of traffic and whether you want to be "mobile" or "portable" all directly impact on the price of the plans available.
The file continues to come in - up to 3% done so far - and I do wonder if just typing here is going to slow down the process - and certainly when I post this to the blog, it is going to have some impact.
I am due at work at 8.30am but at this rate (and it's now 7.55am) it's going to take another 3.5 hours for the download to finish. I would put the exact figure - but as I watch it, the number goes up, the number goes down. Maybe watching the indicator bar slows it too.
4%. (Maybe I can work from here today - McDonalds, George Street, Sydney.) Oh no, I've just had a horrible thought - what if my prepaid access to the network expires before the file downloads? Aarrgh.
(OK at 8.15am with only 10% loaded I called it quits. I'm off to find out more about broadband!!!!)

Safety Moment

Yesterday at our staff meeting I volunteered to do the next "Safety Moment". Our company is very safety-focused and each meeting starts with one. But it's not my first safety moment. I did one last year - on the Dangers of Halloween. This time, I'm going to do something on urban legends. I'm sure there has to be a safety moment in there somewhere. And if there isn't, it's a good reason (not that I really need one) to visit the Snopes site. As well as urban legends/myths, it also has what I guess you can call "urban photos" - ones you've probably received by email along the way and weren't sure if they were as real as the accompanying text suggested. Visit today. It's good fun. And you might just learn how to avoid a scam!
Oh - and the photos come with warnings if they are of a graphic or disturbing nature. So, are you more inclined to look a photo labelled "graphic" or "disturbing"? I think I am. (I wonder where my book of forensic medicine is. I haven't seen it since the move.)

Email addresses

What happens to your hotmail and yahoo account if you don't use it. How long does it remain intact before it's just wiped. And what about if you die, does someone/anyone/maybe your estate, have the right to access your account? And how many times does it take for you to get the name of your choice when you first open a hotmail account. I know I didn't - but at least, the letter and number combination I ended up hadn't been taken at the other free email providers either - so I've got the same one at yahoo, hotmail, gmail and optusnet. (And no, 6 email accounts is not excessive.)

Department S

I just happened to be in KMart yesterday, looking for a phone double adapter and a modem cable, when I chanced upon their DVD sale. I managed to get "Harvie Krumpet", "SuperSize Me", and "Being John Malkovich" for under $10 each. But I'm hoping the real bargain will be something called "Department S" - a cult tv series of the late 1960's by the same people who gave us "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" - I used to love that show!
Department S came in a 7-DVD boxed set and I read on the internet this morning that this was every episode ever made. On the cover, it bills it as the precursor to shows such as "X-Files" and Jonathan Creek". Is it any wonder that I decided to part with my $30 on the off-chance that it was decent. If nothing else, being nearly 40 years old, there's a good chance there's going to be some "new" ideas in there. I've started watching the first episode "Six Days" - in which a commercial airliner goes missing for (oddly enough) 6 days and the crew/passengers have no knowledge/recollection of their disappearance. I had the oddest sensation while watching it though - in one scene I could have sworn I was watching the "Thunderbirds" but they'd been transformed into real, and admittedly less jerky, people. And there's nothing like '60's fashions - really!
If nothing else, this is a great reminder of how far we've come with technology in our everyday lives.

Conclave Question

The Papal Conclave starts today. I had read in "Angels and Demons" (Dan Brown) that the process involved the cardinals voting, and then the votes would be burned - some with black-smoke chemical if the vote had not elected the next Pope, or with a white-smoke chemical for a successful ballot. This seemed reasonable enough. But then I got to thinking - spurred on by an article in one of the Sunday newspapers which stated that part of the ritual was each Cardinal had to swear that they would never reveal the goings-on of the Conclave. If one assumes this rule has been in place since the process was first used - how does anyone know what happens? For all anyone knows the process could be quite different - like Cardinal whizzing competitions. When I mentioned this to Sooz she asked if I'd heard about the Nun who goes to the Bishop after she's found two boys holding a competition to see who could whizz the highest up a wall. "And what did you do" asked the Bishop. "I hit the roof" said the Nun. "Good for you" he replied.

Fire training

Today I went on fire-fighting training with work (but that's not me in the pic). I am a stair warden on our floor, so the training may come in handy one day - but hopefully I'll never have to use it - at work or at home!
So what did I take away from the training?
* Fire extinguishers are heavier than they look.
* Modern extinguishers don't need to be turned upside down (and if you have an older one that does - sell it on eBay and still make a profit after you've bought the replacement!)
* Two acronyms you should know for fire/extinguishers = R.A.C.E. (something, ALERT, COMPARTMENTALISE, EXTINGUISH - and the "something" will come back to me - or according to an acronym site I found on the web RESCUE, ACTIVATE alarm, CONFINE the fire, EVACUATE/EXTINGUISH) and P.A.S.S. (PULL the pin and test, AIM at the base of the fire, SQUEEZE the trigger, and SWEEP from side to side)
* If you're calling Triple 0 in an emergency situation - remember to dial 0000 if you need to dial 0 for an outside line, and 112 if you're dialling from a mobile phone. Also - give your full location details including floor, street, suburb, state and postcode (just in case your call is routed to a call centre in India)!
* Fire blankets should be used only once - and then made unusable (cut a large X through it) so the person who removes it from your rubbish can't re-use it, have it fail, and then come after you for damages (because you could be civilly liable!).
* The most effective fire-fighting agents appear to be the most harmful to the environment.
* And, of course, I had practical training with a fire blanket, extinguishers and a fire hose.
The other take-away was that it's a good thing to have your wiring at home checked!

Where endeth the Castle?

According to the online news Quiz for the UK's Guardian newspaper, it will soon become illegal for people to litter their backyards. I didn't see the original article on this, so I don't know how they're intending to enforce/police the ban but it does make me wonder where the rules and regulations will end. How long will it be before the rule moves inside and houses themselves have to be kept clean, tidy and uncluttered? Unfortunately, it would still be too late for the Collyer brothers.

Fake Rolexes

So, just how good is a Rolex watch?
Sydney's Daily Telegraph today tells of (not so successful businessman) Karl Suleman's purchase of two supposed-Rolex watches that weren't. "Encrusted with diamonds to the point of absurdity ... unfortunately, only the internal mechanisms are the genuine article."
Suleman, who shelled out $50,000 for the watches, appears to have been conned and the price paid "was not commensurate with their value". But there could be a plan to recoup at least part of the loss. Paul Weston, liquidator of the Suleman companies, advises "It is anticipated that the watches will be dismantled and the Rolex mechanisms sold separately." So, really, how good are these watches that it would be worthwhile to do this?

What price fandom?

The actor who played Mr Chekov in the original series of Star Trek will be in Sydney later this month for a fan convention. I am a Star Trek fan, although more inclined to "The Next Generation", and I have sometimes toyed with the idea of attending a convention - like a real Trekkie. I'm not sure I want to spend $100 for the experience though - so I'll go to their site to have a look and see if I can convince myself!

Skive

Verb
(contact) remove the surface of; "skive leather"

I recently found the Skive website which carries short fiction stories from contributors. I don't know where the name comes from or what it has to do with the definition but it's always fun to look up words! And to read a story or two. Such was my excitement at finding contemporary short stories on the web that I forget to wonder "who are the contributors". I'm confident, well at least hopeful, that there will be some talent on the site and was pleased to see that you can search stories by author if you're after more of someone's offerings.
As well as the current month's offering, the site also archives previous stories back to late 2003. Oh, and submissions are accepted - you can find their guidelines on the site.
(And thanks Lizzie for reminding me that I do things/find sites that I can post here!)

Poor imitations

One of my favourite television programs when I was growing up was "The Addams Family". They were quirky and fun, yet remarkably conservative in their own way. So it was with some disappointment that I noticed an ad on television the other night for, I think, some kind of cleaning product. The talent were Addams family look-a-likes. Uncle Fester wasn't bad - but the others weren't even close. But the props ... and how they were representing them made my skin crawl - such was the blatant misrepresentation of my lovely Addams'. Hopefully not everyone had the same reaction to the ad - it's hard to get people to buy something if they can't remember what it is. (Okay, so I saw the ad again and it's for a paper towel.)

Back to reality

How many times can you repeat the episodes of a reality television or lifestyle program? We almost watched Burkes BackYard the other day - until we realised it wasn't a recent repeat. I suppose that's one thing about drama - you can keep repeating it years afterwards - but this may not work so well when your special celebrity gardener hasn't been in the public eye for a very long time.

T5

What I do like and don't like about my new palmOne Tungsten T5.
Y - It has a painted logo. The Palm decal fell off the T3 and I've had it held on with sticky tape for months.
N - It no longer has the universal connector so my spare cradle, cable and keyboard aren't compatible.
Y - There was a free offer of a wireless keyboard when I purchased the T5.
Y & N - No slider so big/extended screen all the time BUT not all pre-loaded applications take advantage of the added screen real estate.
Y - Excellent screen resolution.
N - Some programs "glitch' with the T5 eg interfere with the global find function (one of the coolest things about Palm).
Y - New drive mode to allow T5 to function like a spare drive via USB on any computer (not just yours with the Palm software loaded).
Y - The calculator - which used to be ultra-basic but has now come of age! Many functions and modes - more investigation (and some instruction) required.
N - It takes so long to do a soft reset - and it needs resetting a LOT it seems.
N - Instead of the reset hole being big enough for a stylus tip, it's gone back to pin-size - so each time you need to force a reset, you have to undo the reset pin tool from the end of the stylus - and put it back again when you're done.
N - the power button on the T5 is where the retractable stylus was on the T3 so I keep turning the T5 off. Very annoying!
N - It is sooooo slow sometimes! The palmOne Knowledge base puts this down to some ''third party applications" but I don't buy it!
Y - The media functionality which has the conversion protocol built into the Palm desktop. However, it won't convert all file types. More investigation needed.
Y & N - The onboard memory but its use is not intuitive. It allows you the option of opening items from the Files area but none of them ever does - even simple Docs files - the resulting message is invariably "no application knows how to open this".
Y - that the cover that came in the box hinges from the side, not the top.
N - no LED - so you can't see if it's charging without turning it on and checking the battery status for the lightning smbol.
Y - the sync/charging cable/s. Out of the box you get a cable for syncing, and the power cable plugs into that. (No lights anywhere on either of these to tell if the unit is charging.) The good news is that you can also plug the power cable direct into the T5. This is a bit more flexible that previous iterations - where you needed the cradle to be able to charge the unit.
And that's all I can think of for the moment. If I were giving it a rating of 1-10, it would be about a 6.5 or 7 - only because it seems to have lots of buggy things about it - and some form features that haven't been thought through - or tested by hands who are used to using their Palms many times a day, and as a natural extension of themselves.
I'm not yet missing the other features that were dropped from the T5 - flashing LED alarm (although I do miss the LED itself), vibrating alarm, and voice recorder. I do miss the universal connector though.

Simple Tests

Email is a wonderful thing - a tool for use for good, or for evil. And it can sometimes bring little quizzies - like this one - amuse and bemuse.

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
2) Which country makes Panama hats?
3) From which animal do we get catgut?
4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?
6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
7) What was King George VI's first name?
8) What color is a purple finch?
9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?

I'd like to say I managed a score of 10 on this one, but no such luck. How do you reckon you went - because here are the answers:
1) 116 years
2) Ecuador
3) Sheep and Horses
4) November
5) Squirrel fur
6) Dogs
7) Albert
8) Crimson
9) New Zealand
10) Orange.

Simple Pageantry

The Pope's funeral was held yesterday, and images were televised around the world. On the front page of today's Sydney's Daily Telegraph is one of the images. Gathered around the Pope's simple wooden coffin was row after row of Catholic Church leaders - all ornately-dressed in flowing red and white cassocks (and not a younger person or woman in sight). This was one of the paradoxes of the occasion - the humility and the pageantry; the solemnity and the rock-concert feel; and the saying goodbye to a Man of God, and a Man of the People.

Ear we go

Browsing the shelves in the chemist this morning, I chanced upon EARcandles. I was sufficiently interested/curious to pick up a brochure for "ORIGINAL HOPI EARcandles" - aka "Thermotherapy for the Head and Ears from BIOSUN". From the picture on the front of the brochure it looks like you put one end of the EARcandle in the ear, and light the other end. Admittedly, the picture, while clear, does not clearly show a flame, but as it has a wick - and they use the word "thermotherapy", that's what I'm going with. According to the brochure, EARcandles may be beneficial for the temporary relief of a whole range of problems - sinus, glue ears, headaches, tinnitus, sore throats and allergies. While contraindications have not been encountered, they strictly advise "not the use the EARcandles in the case of perforated ear drum, acute ear infections and allergic reactions to constituent elements". Hmmm. The EARcandle seems to work in two ways - slight underpressure inside the EARcandle (did I mention it is a hollow nine-inch tube) and a vibration of the rising air column through the natural movement of the flame which gentle massage the ear drum.
Of course, there are always questions. The EARcandles are sold in packs of 2. The brochure includes the words "we strongly encourage you to try a pair". The aforementioned picture on the front of the brochure shows a child lying on its side, with the candle stuck in the ear (that isn't pointing down). Obviously you can only have one EARcandle in at a time - so how can you "try a pair". And would you be game to try one?

Li(f)e Support

Maria Korp lies in a coma in hospital, on life support, following a brutal attack where she was strangled and left in a car boot for 5 days. Her husband and his lover are accused of her attempted murder. Mr Korp has now advised, via his lawyer, that he will fight to keep his wife alive - even though she is in a vegetative state and if life support were withdrawn, she would die within a couple of weeks. Mr Korp is currently appealing for bail - and one of the seemingly compelling reasons why it should be granted is that the main evidence seems to be his co-accused saying he was in on it. Supposedly, he told "the other woman" that it was the only way they could be together.
So - if Mr Korp fights to keep his wife alive via life-support, and she doesn't die - could he ever be charged with murder. Is this a loop hole? How big a penalty does "murder" carry, compared with "attempted murder"? Is it worth his while - especially if he is innocent as he claims he is? And how long after life-threating injuries sustained can you count them as "murder"?

Re-makes

What has happened to all the writers out there? Are people not having original thoughts any more? And if they are, why aren't the studios buying them? Why are there so many re-makes of movies at the cinemas, and so many reality programs on television. Where are the bright new ideas? They don't even have to bright, just new. Yes, we all know there is nothing new in show business, but there must be two thoughts people can string together in a way they haven't been strung together before! Yes, I know, I could start. (Watch this space.)

Papal Salary

It occurred to me today, while reading about the Pope's Will, that as Head of the Catholic Church, the Pope was probably drawing a reasonable salary. This was the first time I had thought about a Person of God being paid - although I know I knew this happened. I know that it isn't really more than a stipend in some instances, but it did get me wondering how much the Pope was worth a year.
The other thought I've had since the Pope went to meet his Maker, was that with the Conclave, and the Papal position up for grabs, I think it would be very disappointing if the Australian Cardinal George Pell were to get the No. 1 job. Not that it's for me to judge, but some of the things this man has said over the years have been divisive and not very holy.

Court Notes

I chanced upon some notes I made a couple of years ago when I sat in a court hearing for a few days. It was the first hearing I had been to (if you don't count the time I was called as a witness in a trial about crosswords - but that's another story). As a would-be (or should that be "aspiring") writer, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I was in "observer" mode and in the three days that I went there - I made numerous notes about what I saw and what was said. Some of it is recorded conversation - the others just snippets/observations. For example: there is only one letter difference between "mother" and "smother"; and isn't it odd that "lung" and "tongue" are spelt differently.
Kathleen Folbigg is Currently in prison, serving a 40-year sentence for the murder and/or manslaughter of her four children. During the trial, lots of evidence was heard - but the jury didn't hear about Kathleen's own childhood (her father murdered her mother in front of her when Kathleen was under 2 years of age). They also didn't hear from Kathleen, who chose not to give evidence on her behalf. A question could be if the diary excerpts that were presented as part of the evidence against her were an accurate representation of her "voice".

Body memory

It is amazing how we learn to do things - and how part of that learning is related to physical memory. I am using a new keyboard with my Palm this morning, and even though it is still a "full size" keyboard, it is has a slightly different layout from the last, as the space bar is in two parts. I usually use the bit that now sits between those two parts, so I find I am trying to relearn this - so I don't have to go back and put in spaces all the time (because that could be a bit annoying in the long term!).
That's a bit funny. I was playing with the different keys to see what would happen and I turned the screen orientation around - and was amazed that the infrared signal would still work, given the machine was now not pointing that way - of course, I was wrong. The machine hasn't moved, it's the screen orientation that has changed (but it did take a few goes to work that out!)

Mystery solved?

I think my curiosity about the Calvin Klein shop front- and ''why chickens?'' - has been answered. I think they are not really chickens but roosters - as in Year of the Rooster!

A Question of Alcohol

How long does it take for the effects of alcohol to be felt - in terms of diminished brain functioning capacity. Also, how long does it take for the effects to disappear as the blood alcohol level dissipates. Craig Knowles, a NSW Government Minister, was charged with drink driving the other night. In Sydney's The Daily Telegraph this morning it gives a run-down of "The minister's night out" - including that at 11.55pm he recorded an initial concentration of 0.085. The next reading, at 12.24am is 0.06 (at which point he is arrested). At 1.26am he is down to 0.051, and then at 1.39am "He blows 0.044 and is allowed to drive home." Why were the additional readings done post-charge? So he would know when he was again under the lcgal limit and safe for him to drive again? What a difference those last13 minutes makes!!

A good belt(ing)

Police utility belts seem to be causing some concern for local NSW officers. The gear they carry on their belts - 11 items weighing around 6kg - seems to be causing injury to some officers. A survey by the NSW Police Association found about 800 officers complained of aches and pains caused by the belt. All the items on the belt are essential so the focus is on changing the belt so it is more user-friendly. Might it become a harness?
The cause of the problem? It appear to be the coincidence of the abolition of the height requirement for people joining the service and an increase of the number of items the constabulary are required to carry (on their belts).
There are some who think I carry a lot in and from my bumbag. I am pleased to report that mine weighs only 1.4kg so I have a long way to go before I catch up!

Easter Traditions

"Traditional Choc Cross Buns" - read the sign outside the bakery this morning. Since when have chocolate cross buns been traditional Easter fare? I must have missed something along the line because I didn't even realise there were chocolate (hot) cross buns until Sunday. Who knew that the fruit hot cross buns I innocently purchased at the Wamberal bakery were also laced with chocolate. Not really a good look in the toaster.

Not ... Lost

How many people are downloading the Lost program from the internet even as I write this? An item in this week's televison Guide in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests that it is "lots" . Okay, I admit I have been the recipient of two episodes. Both of which were downloaded for me by a friend as I had missed them - and it's important not to miss any of "Lost" because it is becoming more interesting with each episode.

On a roll?

On the way to breakfast this morning I passed the Bank where a security company was delivering a trolley-load of coins. The trolley was a shiny red two-wheel job with two great big inflated rubber tyres (did you know the Amish refuse to use inflated rubber tyres because they were invented for use by the military). The trolley looked wonderful parked on the footpath as the two Chubb officers lifted the rolls of coin from the trolley to the chairs that were propping the bank doors open at the top of the double step. Hmm. Maybe it's time they considered bringing a ramp along for jobs where they're not on the flat. Okay, if you were going to make off with enough of the rolls to make a difference in your life (besides being caught and convicted of robbery) you'd need your own truck - but it just didn't look that professional. If I'm ever in a position where I need to hire someone to transport money - it may not be them!

Social comment

I don't often get a laugh from the Here's Luck column in Sydney's Daily Telegraph but all that changed today with an entry in their Six-Pack (a list of possibilities re various topical happenings). Today's was about Australian cricketer Shane Warne who has made headlines several times in the past for texting inappropriate comments to women. He has been in the news lately for doing it again. The Here's Luck comment which gave me a good chuckle was included in "Six messages retrieved from Shane Warne's mobile": Is this lifeline? If so, my nm is Shane & I'm a txt addict.

Art and life?

The Pope has not been well. He has made some appearances by video over the Easter period but he hasn't been conducting services - including the Stations of the Cross. According to a church-going friend, one of the higher figures in the clergy here in Australia has suggested that the Pope is dying. The Pope certainly has had a trial of it in recent years, especially as the Parkinsons Disease has taken a stronger grip on him.
The Dan Brown book I am reading is set around a Papal conclave - where the cardinals set out to elect a new Pope after the previous one dies in his sleep from a stroke. Hopefully this won't be as prophetic as the book I started reading just after Boxing Day - Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" which featured a tsunami (although, admittedly, the one in the book was man-made and not the result of an earthquake off the coast of Indonesian).

Daylight Savings

lt's that time of year again - when we gain an hour as we put our clocks back and bid adieu to daylight savings for another year. It's just after 7.30pm and it seems like it should really be bedtime - but I have to stay awake for hours yet! Which presents a wonderful opportunity to be doing "stuff" - including blogging!
The big question is whether I did manage to save any daylight this year. Unfortunately no. But I did learn something about daylight savings. It was apparently introduced during the War years in a European country - a way of increasing war-time production without increasing costs - with daylight savings the factories could work an hour longer into the evening without having to turn lights on. Who would have thought that daylight savings would be based on a practicality? Of course, the odd practicality of daylight savings is that our cats can't tell time and there was a little insistent furry paw waking me up at 4am (yesterday's 5am and their usual feeding time).

The camera never lies

Isn’t it amazing that even though they say the camera never lies, that’s wrong. When the actor who played Elaine in “Seinfeld” was pregnant, she never appeared so on camera. They always photographed her sitting down, or from the waist up, or from an angle which wouldn’t show that she was pregnant. I’m watching a program at the moment where an actor is obviously pregnant (some months and definitely bulging) but has made the decision not to tell anyone, and in every shot she is wearing a duffel coat. No-one seems to notice that she is pregnant – not even her partner of many years (from whom she has recently become estranged). Ah … television.

Easter Break

The Australian television networks have apparently decided that the Easter Break should be 3 weeks long this year. They have taken most of the new run programs off for the duration of the real Easter as well as school holidays. Thank goodness that I have enough tapes of programs not yet viewed to see me over the hiatus. Plus some offshore television that has made its way to my computer (thanks TK!). Of course, there’s always books as well. I’m reading one of Dan Brown’s prequels to “The Da Vinci Code” at the moment – and it occurs to me that it could be formulaic. I say that because 100 pages in it feels fairly familiar. Professor expert on little-known religious cult is called in to help with symbols found at murder scene; murdered man has daughter; off they go to save the world. But I’m forging forward with it – to see if Professor Langdon and friend can save the world from the Illumanati and the anti-matter!

Chickens?

Calvin Klein's QVB (George Street, Sydney) shopfront window features 3 manniquins. One is headless. The other 2 have chicken heads - complete with red combs. I do not know why.

Twin Flip

Sydney's annual Royal Easter Show starts today and will run for the next 10 days. We're planning to go with Sooz's Mum on Easter Monday. This is one of the days they will have the Grand Parade with the animals. There are 12,000 of them at the Show this year and sometimes it seems like they only have the naughtiest in the Parade. It's fun to watch the bulls having their fringes coiffed for showing too.

Unfortunately George the sheep, 21, and billed as the oldest in Australia and who is celebrating his birthday today at Warren NSW, isn't going to the show!
But the show's about more than animals. There's arts, crafts, the agricultural exhibits, fresh produce, the Tiny Teddy mobile biscuit oven, and commercial exhibitors. And sideshow alley and the rides. There are four new ones this year including the Twin Flip, which is supposed to be the scariest! What amazing jobs they must be - to think up rides, design and test-drive them.

And let's not forget the other exciting show feature ... showbags.
I'm not sure what showbags we'll be aiming for this year but I'm fairly confident that they won't include the fake buttocks with G-string. I don't know how I could ever have thought that showbags were not value for money!
The big question about showbags this time: Are there any good liquorice ones?" And hopefully there will be - because it's a long time between shows!

"Old Ducks" - Indeed?!!?

'These old ducks are gardeners' said the radio commentator as they discussed the television show 'Rosemary and Thyme'. What's this about 'old duck'? Felicity Kendall is not and could never be 'an old duck'. Granted, a few years have passed since she was that adorable young woman on "The Good Life", but not that many!

Time Flies

Here’s my new watch - from the Museum of Modern Art. What a beauty!
Reading clockwise, the hieroglyphs on this watch translate to "Time Flies."
And some more info: The Egyptians used the hieroglyphic script for nearly 3500 years, from about 3100 b.c. until the end of the third century a.d. Some hieroglyphs were simplified images or pictures, called ideograms, which were symbols for the objects they looked like. For example, a wavy line meant "water." The Egyptians also used hieroglyphs phonetically, stringing together the sound of the symbols without their original meaning. An equivalent in English would be to spell "belief" with pictures of a bee and a leaf. It is possible to construct riddles using hieroglyphs in this manner. Because English and ancient Egyptian are not from the same language family, some sounds used by the Egyptians do not exist in our alphabet, and some of our sounds do not exist in Egyptian.
The watch is stainless steel with a copper dial, and is water resistant to 100 feet (30m).

A new demographic

Today is a milestone birthday for me - one which leaves me distressed and disturbed - a bit like my 30th. You know the ones - the ones you can't just let slip by. You don't actually dread them but you do give them more thought than most.
And the reason for this? It's pretty simple. It's because I've gone up to the next demographic. You know. In surveys, when they ask your age - and there's a number of ranges to select from - like 36-44. Well, I'm now in the next one. I cannot pretend that the years are not creeping past - or that there is still so much that I want to do.
But if I hadn't had a birthday - then I wouldn't have been surprised by Sooz's gift. It was so amazing. I hadn't told her that my previous watch had died the day before my birthday - yet here was my birthday present - a really cool watch that is quirky yet functional - just as soon as I can tell what time it is when the big hand is on the face and the little hand is on the legs (he he).
The other thing I love about birthdays is how hard it is to write today's date. So used to writing our birth-date are we, that it's hard to write 15/3/2005 rather than 15/3/XXXX - where XXXX stands for the actual year of birth.
Oh - and another l liked about this birthday - Krispy Kreme's Doughnuts birthday voucher. Thanks KKD.

Words apart

What's the difference between jealousy and possessiveness? Sooz and I were discussing this the other day and, still unsure, I have consulted the dictionary on my Palm (PDA) - SlovoEd 4.14, content by Princeton University. Sure enough, it has definitions for both.

possessive
Adj
1) (all) desirous of owning
2) (all) having or showing a desire to control or dominate
3) (pert) (grammar) serving to express or indicate possession
Synonyms: genitive

jealous
Adj
1) (all) showing extreme cupidity
Synonyms: covetous; envious; green
2) (all) suspicious or unduly suspicious or fearful of being displaced by a rival
Synonyms: green-eyed; overjealous

Cupidity - what's that? Something to do with the little fellow with the diapers and archery equipment? Apparently nothing quite as romantic ... not that some people would see jealousy as being the slightest bit romantic either.

cupidity
Noun
(attribute) extreme greed for material wealth
Synonyms: avarice; avariciousness; covetousness

So - jealous or possessive? Neither is a good look.
And the difference between jealousy and envy? Sooz reckons that in jealousy you preserve the good of your 'loved one' (making the other party the 'baddie'); with envy you want to destroy what the other person has.
Neither is a good but crimes of passion inspired by jealousy seem to be less reviled than a cold premeditated envy-driven homicide!

Off-line

Toni (my Sony Vaio computer) is unwell and has gone to the Service Centre for fixing. Maybe they can get him to power on.
I am missing it and have had to change my morning schedule to exclude email checking and news downloading (there has never been time to surf!). On the bright side, the time I save by not being on the computer is well spent on the exercise bike.

Customer Service

People are always quick to criticise public transport. Only this week there was a story in the Sydney media about the Rail spending $1 million plus on taxi fares for their staff - for a variety of reasons including, supposedly, that public transport was too unreliable.
We've had our own experience with public transport this week. Get ready to hear a guernsey! Boarding the bus on the way home on Monday, Sooz put her new-that-day weekly ticket into the ticket reader on the bus. The reader ate it - and despite the driver's best efforts, it wouldn't give it up. He took Sooz's name and address and said he'd be in touch. Fine, we thought, that's the last we've seen of that.
And it was, until a couple of hours later when a gentleman arrived at the flat with Suzanne's ticket. "Just show it to the driver" he cautioned "if you put it back in a reader, it'll just get stuck again" and with that he was off into the night.
Thanks City Buses. You rock.

Blogging by email

How many ways can I add to thee? Let me count the ways ...
This may be a slightly dramatic way of checking if I am still able to post to this blog via email! I know it will send okay - but will it be received well? Will there be unexpected (and ungainly) line breaks - and is there a way to avoid them? More research may be needed!

More on Palm V

... and Claudine if you're still tuned in - thanks for the stylus! That's what we're using with the V. Cheers.

Want one of these?

Looking for a bit of consumer excitement on the internet? Take a visit to www.woot.com and see what they're offering today - because they won't have it tomorrow. One product per day and each for one day only (unless it's offered again at a later date - but there's no guarantee of that) - that's their business. And remember - their day is American (not sure which time zone) so don't get caught out. So what do they carry - electronics/gadgets mostly - a drill today, a coffee-thermosy set yesterday. And what does WOOT stand for? I couldn't see an explanation of the acronym during my quick visit to the site but I have an idea. Want one of these?

Palm V

How amazing it is to take a step backwards with technology. I am writing this (or trying to - I am out of practice with this particular form of grafitti input!) on a Palm V which is a couple of OS versions ago. I want to see how well this unit works and if it's worth passing on - even though it has only 2MB of memory! 2MB - wow, that was all the memory my first Palm had - and it quickly became apparent that more (much more!) was needed! My launcher (like a desktop) alone is over 1MB these days. But this still works and if you were just after tracking diary, tasks and contacts, and having some reference material and a couple of simple games on hand, this would do nicely!

A clear message

The Daily Telegraph today carries the story of Newcastle-based Albert Cutter - a GP locum - who has had "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" tattooed across his chest. The 80-year-old's story has generated a lot of comment on the US-based internet site for emergency service workers, www.emsvillage.com.
But what happens should a medical emergency which required resuscitation happened in a non-English speaking country? How clearly would the tattoo express his wishes?
The story also mentioned another person who has had the tattoo - except in Frances Pollack's case, hers was set around a heart with a line through it.

Happy Anniversary

It's our anniversary today (March 7) - 15 years. Some times it seems like we've been together forever (I can't imagine not being with Sooz) and at others it's like no time at all. Thanks Sooz ... and here's to the next 15 - for a start!

Catch up posts

I have been blogging - just not posting ... so here are some I prepared earlier.

1/3/05
Blue Star Children. This is the topic of interest at the moment. The Blue Stars are apparently well-known but a quick internet search did not prove fruitful - until Sooz suggested I try Blue Star Energy instead. That worked and I've downloaded some information to read.
So why are the Blue Stars of interest? (I thought it was ''children", but I was wrong.) We were talking with a friend in Queensland the other day and he mentioned them. It struck a chord - I was sure I'd read about blue something or others - the product of aliens many years ago - not sure if they had left thelr predecessors on earth, or mated with humans to start the Blue Stars. Were the aliens from a Blue Star? What are the identifying features of Blue Stars? More to follow.

1/3/05
How many people out there freely volunteer their time and energy to help out others? And what motivates them to do it? We have a friend who is a "Justice of the Peace" and is currently personing a booth at a major shopping centre for two hours a week. People can come and get her to witness them signing legal and other documents. It's a great service - I know in Sydney you can never find a JP when you need one - and they can be quite useful. (And no, I don't understand exactly what the role of the JP is in our modern society - I'll have to ask.)


19/2/05
"If it's a giant whale, or a pirate ship, or a giant school of dolphins - okay - but if it's just rocks ..." so said Sooz as I implored her yet again (!) to look out the plane window at the passing scenery. We were lucky enough to be flying on a clear day, with good visibility and some stunning Australian coastline below us. But it was just a bit of a stretch with the aircraft we had to allow Sooz to easily take a look - but it's okay - because I took a heap of photos!

10/2/05
Has a frozen chicken landed on your house? If so, let Sydney's Daily Telegraph know. They are following the story of 2 frozen chickens that have landed on roofs of houses in the same Newcastle neighbourhood over the last couple of weeks. Latest theory (aka supposition) is that it may be someone with a gigantic rubber band/slingshot firing them skyward to see how high they will go. I'm interested to know how you would calculate the height.

Home from the holidays ...

... or we soon will be. At another airport - Coolangatta this time - and the night is gathering outside as we wait for our aircraft to arrive to take us back to our lives in Sydney. It has been a grand holiday - much learned, and much to think about. And here's a little taste to whet your appetite ... stingrays at SeaWorld's Shark Bay and some views.

On holidays ...

(Written 20 February ... finally posted 5 March)
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here only a little over 24 hours. We are at apartments on the Gold Coast, on the 16th (next to top) floor – and I am typing this as I look over the shadows lengthening on the beach below us, as the sun sets over the Hinterland behind us. The surf is pounding the beach and there are people, lots of people, walking, wading, swimming, fishing, paddling their way along the kilometres of sand stretching north and south.

We walked part of the beach ourselves this morning. Just after 5 – just after we’d watched the sun rise from the ocean and start the new day. Of course, we weren’t the only ones out – there were lots of people enjoying the best this strip of coastline has to offer. And at least one of the businesses knows this is holiday territory and that there will be early risers – so at 6, when we reached the “shops” there was at least one coffee shop open and already serving.

I can remember the first time I came to the Gold Coast. I was only young – and asked the question about the Gold that was used on the beaches here. I’m not sure if I asked if you could take it home or not. I do remember that we arrived in the middle of the night – and for the first time I heard the roar of the surf. I had no idea where it was – and I’m sure I thought it was just across the road. Of course, when morning came, even though my aunt and uncle lived on The Esplanade, the surf wasn’t just “right across the road” as I’d imagined. But it wasn’t far away. (That house was sold, torn down and the site became a motel many years ago now.)

... and that was it. I had expected to write much during my holidays but this was not to be.

The Wonders of Wireless

I am writing this blog in a cafe at Sydney's Domestic Airport - waiting to board the plane that will take us for our two week holiday to Queensland's Gold Coast. I will also post this blog from the airport - as I am connected to the internet via a Telstra wireless "hotspot". I cannot get over the marvels of the technologies that make this possible! How amazing to sit here, a coffee (and Krispy Kreme Doughnut) by my side - finally catching up on some blogging on my laptop - knowing it will not sit on the Palm for a week while I get around to posting.
We have the digital camera with us and am hoping to get some piccies to post along the way. It's all good.

Vale Bev

I haven’t had enough experience with death and grief. I suppose nothing can prepare you for it, or for people’s reactions. Especially as we live in a society where the emphasis is very much on life and living and death is not usually a topic for polite conversation. I’m not sure it is as “taboo” as in previous years though.
Bev, one of my aunts died on Saturday evening. (real name Beverley but we all called her Bev – and I think she had a nickname her siblings used to call her when she was a kid, but I can’t remember what it was ). Bev is the first of the aunts on Dad’s side to go. (I’m not sure about the ones on Mum’s side because we aren’t really in touch with that side of the family – a long story.) Bev was one of 8 kids – Les, Bev, John (Dad), Ellen, Margaret, Evon, Robert (Teddy) and Judy. I can’t imagine how the others are feeling today. They are a close family – and over the years they have coped with the sudden death of their father through heart attack, and an extended hospitalization of their mother (Nana) with dementia, watching her waste away until she finally went to her maker. Nana was the glue, the heart of that family, and with her gone, the family gatherings move to Bev’s. We went to Christmas at her place a couple of years ago. It was a familiar scene. A table groaning with food, people outside playing cricket, blokes out the back with a few beers, and women having another cuppa (tea). And talking. And laughing. The family knows how to laugh, and to have a good time. I once told my partner that I thought they knew the secret of life – it was about working to live. It was about being part of this family that was there when you needed it, where if anyone saw a toddler needing changing, or to have their face wiped, several sets of arms would be reaching out to do it. Didn’t matter whose it was – because in a way, if you belonged to any of them – first, second or third generation, you were communal, one of the clan. It didn’t matter if they hadn’t seen you for weeks or months or years. You were family and because of that there was always, and would always be, common ground. And the same went for your partner.
Which is why it is so sad to know that one of the building blocks in the family won’t be there when next we visit.
I’m not sure the brothers and sisters healed after Nana’s death. I’m not sure how they will heal following Bev’s death. It’s probably too soon to even think about that or how the ache when they remember Bev may get a little less as time goes on.
Bev had not had a good trot healthwise. She’d had heart problems and diabetes and, by all accounts, wasn’t a good patient. Some years ago she had been scheduled to have a quadruple (?) bypass, but the doctors decided there was not enough healthy tissue to make it feasible. She did have a valve or something implanted though, and she’d talk about how it kept her awake some nights because it was so noisy - especially on quiet Toowoomba nights (and they all are!). I was just thinking about her lying there in the darkness, listening, in her big green house, and remembered that she may have not always been lucky in love, but she had the luck to win a share of $100,000 enough years ago that that was a decent amount of money, and certainly a fair-sized whack on a mortgage.
My elder brother phoned last night to see if I'd heard the news and to say that he'd 'shared a drink' with Bev during the afternoon. And he'd remembered/realised what a caring, fun person she was.
I've been remembering her too - the stories of the skeleton and kittens, the UFOs, the marmalade cat, Lorna Doone (the book), cracker nights, long sessions around the kitchen table with pot after pot of tea, Christmasitis, and visits in hospital (''I can't give up salt - it doesn't taste the same".)
Bev's funeral is on Thursday afternoon. I've heard that 6 white doves will be released as part of the ceremony - one for each of her six children (two deceased). Although people say that parents should not outlive their children - I wonder if a reunion in the next realm (if such a thing exists) eases the pain of the loss at all?

Nemo

My niece and nephew gave us a goldfish for Christmas. We had thought about calling him Nemo (even though he wasn’t a clown fish), then decided on a combination of their and their parents’ names (first two initials) WaKiJaMa (as in Whacky Jama). But then, we started calling him Nemo anyway, so that stuck.
Nemo came complete with weed, water, food and an acrylic bowl which could be fixed to the wall, thus keeping him out of the way of our two cats – unless they found a way to phwup phwup phwup (with suction cups on their paws) their way up the wall.
On the one and a half hour drive back to Sydney from my brother’s place, we determined that we wouldn’t get attached to Nemo. But that wasn’t possible. Especially when he swam over and looked up at you at feeding time.
So we took our new drill out and drilled him to the wall – well, his bowl. (Note to self: start with the smaller drill bits next time!)
Life went on. We incorporated Nemo’s schedule into our own, feeding him in the afternoon, cleaning out his bowl regularly, saying hello as we walked past. It should have been a good life for him – and maybe it was – but it was short. Too short. We found him floating upside down in his bowl earlier this week. Not quite sure what happened except that he had seemed perfectly well the night before at feeding time. He had eaten, as always, with much gusto. And there hadn’t been a peep out of him during the night.
So, even though, as the Encyclopedia Encarta advises that Gold Fish can live to be 40 years old, after only a month, Nemo is no more.

Countdown

We are on the countdown to holidays. And now it's only three weeks until we board our flight to Queensland's Gold Coast for two weeks at apartments at Burleigh Heads. We are taking the opportunity to catch up with friends and family by having people to stay with us at the apartment. We booked a 2 bedroom apartment for this reason. My Mum and Dad will come down from Toowoomba for Week One. My sister and her family will also come down for a few days - staying in a unit they have booked in the same complex. It's possible that an aunt and her husband my also be joining us.
Week Two we'll be joined by friends who live on the Gold Coast but who have a bevy of animals which require tending. They can pop out to their property to do that while still enjoying a beach holiday.

Seasons Greetings!

Happy holidays to all for the Festive Season 2004. Be well and be safe. My New Year's Resolution is to do more blogging - and let's face it, that isn't going to be hard given my track record over the last couple of months.

Phew ...

Back again. I am, this morning, multitasking. This means I am having the car handwashed at a facility that provides this wonderful service, and catching up with my blogging and some correspondence. Sooz is at home working on the packing. Oh, and I have to find a replacement light fitting for one that plunged to its death from the chandelier. And pick up some syringes. But that’s it.
Our settlement on the unit has been pushed back a little by the other side. So instead of moving in on the 26th of November, we now look like going on 4th December (the day after I am scheduled to arrive back from a business trip to Bangkok) – that’s if settlement proceeds as planned on 29th November. (Oh the dates …) Sooz has insisted that she’s not changing any dates again (long story!) now until the settlement is done and in the bag. There will still be time then to arrange for the change in phone and electricity and other utilities.
Still, the biggest challenge (Sooz may not agree with this after the dates stuff) is packing things and working out what to purge and what to keep. I have cornered the market on lidded 60L plastic storage bins and have been able to assign a place to most of my things. I am not sure others would appreciate the labeling system eg “Bits and Pieces”, “K Sort 1”, “Filing Dr. 1”. It is now too late to make a list of what’s gone in, but the plastic is transparent so there is hope yet.
We have the Council arriving at 7am on Tuesday to take away “stuff” that is not destined to make the trip with us. We’re not sure how much that is going to cost yet – they are coming to give a quote but they usually give the quote and take the stuff in the same visit – but there will be a fair amount of “stuff”.
But we are traveling well I think. And it really is a wonderful opportunity to get rid of some things that we’ve been storing for years. It’s also a good excuse to renew memories by sorting through all this stuff again. Sooz has suggested, and I think it’s a good idea, that we do this sort of exercise once a year in our new place. Just to keep the hoarders away from our home (and that would be me!).

On the move

Who would have thought entering the housing market would be so time consuming. I guess it's not just the buying (and doing the research into the steps and such) but getting ready to move. This falls into two parts - (1) getting ready to move out of the old place and (2) getting ready to move into the new place - as touched on briefly in my last entry.
It's not the packing I mind so much as the purging - going through things to see what we haven't used for ever, and are not likely to use, and certainly don't want to keep storing in case we do one day need a 7th extension lead. And, of course, it's not made easier knowing that the day after we throw something out, we're going to need it (hence the staging area - where we're not throwing things out straight away! It's messy, but it will work!)
Now that we've started packing boxes, we know the cats know that something is up. Both had started behaving a little differently. The boy cat is now clingy and has taken to sleeping on our bed; the girl cat has taken to spending most of the time under the house, and has started sitting on the washing machine. And we've probably started displaying abnormal behaviour as well!

More buying ..

The cooling off period has finished and we are now packing in earnest, and out buying furniture for our new abode. It's fun, but somewhat tiring - walking around store after store, and making decisions. I don't know how people who are building homes from scratch cope - because they also have decisions about the fittings, the tiles, the door knobs, the door handles, the windows, the colours ... at least most of that is taken care of when you're moving into an established building!

Counting down

Okay, I’ve finally managed to pull myself away from my day to day activities to jot a few words here. It’s not that we haven’t been busy because we have. At the moment we are on Day 3 of a five-day cooling off period for a 2-bedroom flat we are planning to buy in Marrickville. We exchanged last Wednesday and currently our lending institution is having a valuation prepared and our solicitor is organizing strata inspection, building report and pest inspection.
This is very exciting stuff and when the exchange happens in 6 weeks time (slightly less now), we will be home-owners for the first time. We spent the weekend looking at furniture and wondering how what we have and what we plan to get will fit into our new home. And thinking about what we currently have that won’t make the move with us and what the best thing to do with those pieces would be. We also have a considerable “cull” of clothes and other things in front of us. Sooz has already started and has filled a large bag with clothes to be donated to charity. I’ll start going through mine soon.
I have a feeling that the next 6 weeks or so is going to go by fairly quickly, probably too quickly.

No matter who wins … we lose

Sounds like a good line for advertising a science fiction/horror movie – but in this instance it’s about the Federal Election held on the weekend, which resulted in the return of the Liberal National Party coalition government. Some would say this is better than having Labor elected – and these could be the same people who believed the Liberal advertising about interest rates having risen under previous Labor governments and should that happen again, people with a $200,000 mortgage would need to find another $900 a month to cater for the increased rates. At no point did these ads suggest that interest rate rises are something over which governments have little, if any, control. Of course, it was surprising that Labor itself didn’t raise that point – or any other real arguments in relation to the economy of the country during the course of the campaign.

A breath of fresh air?

Mobile phones could soon be used as “bad breath barometers”. Siemens, the phone company, is working on microchip sensors, about 1mm in size, which will detect the faintest of foul odours. This has more than a social pleasantries practical application – the device will also be able to measure how much alcohol you’re had to drink, the level of oxygen in the air, and whether there is a gas leak or fire nearby. (This could have been useful to a colleague mentioned some time ago who was robbed as he slept in his hotel room after gas was pumped into the room.)

Puzzling

How does the mind work. Anagrams and such. How do we 'see' the solution? The Da Vinci Code has puzzles/cyphers/codes throughout and part of the joy of reading is to work them out. But how do we do it? What makes the brain look for patterns and solutions - and why is there such a sense of achievement when we do?
At work, each month I receive a copy of 'Innovation Matters' which includes a conundrum for readers to solve. Luckily the solution is given at the end of each issue because it would be irritating to have to wait a month to find out the answer - or worse, to be able to confirm you'd been right! They remind me of the lateral thinking puzzles that were doing the rounds a few (15 - 20?) years back. I enjoyed those too - much more than I enjoy philosophy posers. I'll see if I can dig up one to post here.

I'm back

Well, I'm kind of back, given that I am actually thinking about blogging again. So, watch this space. It won't be long now.

And the time is ...

The famous Doomsday Clock, the US Academy of Atomic Scientists’ symbol of nuclear danger during the Cold War, stands at seven minutes to midnight, closer than it has for two decades. Does this mean the war on terrorism isn’t going so well?

Males and females are different

Just in case there was any doubt about this, I have just read two stories about bathroom products – one about males, the other about females.
A company has invented a product for use in urinals. The device, powered by two AA batteries, rests in the urinal and has a proximity alert which triggers an advertising message. The report didn’t mention if there had been a target printed on the device, but it did address concerns about whether using the device could lead to electrical shock. “”At three volts? I don’t think so” said a representative.
And for the girls … a noise-making device for bathrooms for girls has also been invented in Japan – but this one is designed to drown out the embarrassing noises of nature among women. The Sound Princess sold over 500,000 last year. When triggered, by passing a hand over a sensor, it gives the sound of running water.
And there’s even a product which can now marry the two – so girls will be able to use the urinals to trigger advertising babble to drown out other toilet noises. It’s called the P-mate and it’s been around for about 4 years. I first saw it on a morning TV show and someone was saying it was good for female skiers. Basically, it’s a disposable paper funnel which enables women to urinate while standing up. The product is now available in Australia and New Zealand.

Erratum

Sorry - got it wrong. It's not so much the number '4' that some cultures have concerns with but the sound of the word for the number '4'.

It is “not good enough”

I haven’t really had a chance to examine the site yet, but one of the newsgroups I belong to (auspug.org) referred to the notgoodenough.com site. If you feel you’ve been “done” by a company, or that they haven’t been “good enough” or given “good enough” service, this site could be for you. When I visited last week I read about someone who had purchased a new Sony Vaio laptop and had asked the sales person what should be used to clean the screen. The reply was “Windex” - which the purchaser had duly used – and caused damage to his screen. When they contacted Sony, their reply was that this isn’t a warranty issue because Windex would never have been recommended. And this is about where notgoodenough.com site weighs in to approach Sony. I’m not sure exactly how this happens or how cases to follow-up are chosen – but in this instance it appears to have had a satisfactory resolution – the screen will be replaced under warranty. The site is worth a visit.

Finally … Palm

I think in the time I have been blogging here, I have not actually mentioned Palm (you’ll note reference to it in the description above). Well, finally the day has come – and it coincides with the release of a new incarnation of Palm called Tungsten 5. Rumours have been circulating over the last two weeks that the appearance of a new machine was imminent – and I received the news in my email box this morning. It’s been a year since the last machine was launched – and this one seems to offer only slightly different features – although some would think the first handheld to offer 256MB of flash memory (which doesn’t disappear if your battery goes flat as has previously happened) would get me a bit more excited. I’m going to a function tomorrow evening which will probably be the official launch of the T5 in Australia so it will be good to see if there are any other tricks they have built into it. Will I be upgrading from my current T3*? I don’t think so. I have a 256MB SD card with my current machine and that’s only half full – and while I know the memory structure is different, it’s not that big an issue at this point. I, of course, continue to reserve the right to change my mind once I see the T5.
* PalmOne have skipped v4 – as they did in previous ranges – something to do with some cultures being averse to the number “4”.

Real TV

And just when we thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse – a new program is about to hit our screens – “Border Security” …. Australia’s front line. It looks like another example of quality reality programming – and a lot more fear mongering. Who decides what rubbish will grace our screens – and at what point do they who decide realize what a disservice they are doing? And if I feel this strongly after just watching a promo for the show, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when I actually see it!

Who are the terrorists?

The television is inundated with 'be alert' ads, reminding each of us that if we are alert to what is happening around us we can help avert terrorist attacks. There are also full-page newspaper ads. There are probably also radio ads, but I haven't been listening to the radio.
What is more frightening - terrorism or the threat of terrorism - with the threat made by the government as it doesn't for a moment let us forget that the only thing standing between the general public and terrorism is it - specifically the current Liberal Federal Government. It's surprising that they haven't trotted out comments by the US President about how they would find it difficult to work with a Labor Government as part of the Liberal campaign for the forthcoming Federal election.

Da Vinci

I finished reading 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown last night. It was a good read for the modern person. It is television in words, with short chapters so you don't need to make a big time investment at each sitting to make progress. And it moves along at a fairly compelling pace with enough happening, enough mystery and enough unknowns to keep you interested. I'm looking forward to reading more of Mr Brown's work - also sitting on the best-seller list.

Broken Arrows

I know there was a movie of the same name about misappropriated nuclear weapons, but I had no idea that it may have been based on some fact. I just read about the search off the Georgia coast for a bomb lost there 46 years ago. This is 1 of 11 Broken Arrows - nuclear bombs lost during air or sea accidents, according to US military records. Certainly makes me feel safer (not).

A Shark's Tale

... no, not the new animated feature, although we are planning to see that.
A 4.5m female great white shark is currently the biggest fish in a small 'pond' in Massachussets. The shark moved in last week and shows no sign of wanting to leave. But scientists are fairly sure she will and have tagged her so they can gather information about her travels. The tag archives the data and will transmit it all at once when the tag pops off and floats to the surface in April 2005 - if all goes to plan. Failing that, if she's still swimming circles in the shallow water of the pool, they can scoop the tag out with a net!
So why is she there, and why isn't she leaving? It's a long shot, but could it be because it's the same general area in which the movie 'Jaws' was set?

What's in a name?

In this morning's Sydney The Daily Telegraph the Finance section (not something I usually read) tells of the appointment of the 'first female chairman' at the Adelaide Bank ... Dr Adele Lloyd. As the headline said - New bank chairman has name to match!

Another short story

There’s a sign on the gate ‘Carnivorous Plants for sale’ and I want to buy one but where’s the guy to give my money to. He was here a minute ago.

Electioneering

I know, I know, it’s been a while. I’m sure I have been doing stuff (like getting my tax paperwork ready – a perennial exercise) which has kept me away from these pages, but I am back.
Australia remains in the throes of a Federal election campaign and the more I see of the jockeying and posturing for position, the more I think that some people have no idea what “democracy” actually means. Or maybe it’s just me that thought that in a democracy, a group of people votes in the person in the area they want, who then, together with people voted in by other areas, s/elect the person to lead them. It doesn’t seem to work that way in a two-party preferred system. Before you even have the chance of running for one of the major political parties, you have to gain “pre-selection” for a particular seat. Too bad if you wanted to run and you are not the party favourite. But you can always run as an independent. And sometimes, independents do seem to hold the balance of power in Parliament. That being said, I admit that I really don’t understand the whole political jag (although a friend has patiently tried to explain it to me on a number of occasions).
I don’t know whether it’s a coincidence or not, timed to run in the lead-up to the election, or as a result of the recent bombing of an Australian Embassy overseas, but ads have just started up here telling people to be “alert” for suspicious things as they go about their everyday lives – is someone taking photographs of a landmark building, has a car been parked for too long outside a building, is there an unattended package left on a bus or at a transport station? Of course, at the same time, if not in the same ad break, there are also the ads for the Liberal Coalition reminding us of how John Howard (current Prime Minister) has done and will continue to do whatever it takes to make and keep Australia safe – including pre-emptive strikes on territory belonging to our Asian neighbours.

Snow business ..

We visited Orange the weekend before last, in Central NSW, to attend a friend’s 50th birthday party. We were lucky enough, as well as being part of the celebrations, to see snow, and more snow. Very exciting stuff for we city dwellers. We saw sleet about a month before (during our last Orange visit) but this just made our weekend!

Hutzpah ... or something

A report on page 9 of 'The Daily Telegraph' (Australia) (15/9/04) says visitors to prisoners in jail will be banned from going to the toilet - they can, but if they do the visit is over. It seems some visitors have been using toilet breaks to smuggle contraband into jail. Justice Minister John Hatzistergos said some visitors were known to smuggle drugs into jail by swallowing condoms filled with narcotics before excreting them in the toilets and then passing them on to visitors through kissing. I guess it's a whole different culture but seems you'd have to be pretty keen or desperate!

The Village

M. Night Shyamalan, creator of "The Sixth Sense", "Signs" and "Unbreakable" has another movie out ... "The Village". We saw it at the weekend even though we had also seen numerous tepid reviews. After being completely hoodwinked by his previous efforts, I wanted to walk out of the cinema this time knowing that I had worked out the twist ... before he revealed it. I also wanted a good scare in the process - but not so much that I wouldn't be able to get to sleep that night. Well, M. Night is a master of misdirection and surprise and he did deliver - but to what level depends on how high you set your expectations. One review said the biggest tragedy would be to pay to see this inapt and inept production. That was a bit harsh. S/he must have been wearing the bad colour at the time - the one that attacts those of whom "we do not speak" who live in the surrounding woods.
In an aside, apparently reviewers have to sign an agreement that they won't reveal the twists in "The Village". You'd think that would make for a fairly short review, especially if done in conjunction with that other adage "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all".
But make up your own mind. "The Village" is probably playing at a cinema near you.

Forensic Investigators

A new program started on one of our commercial television networks last week. I’ve only seen it the once so far, and I’m not sure I want to see it again. Not that it was that bad – although it did seem a little wooden in places. No, it’s more a philosophical concern I have … though some of that might be dispelled if I knew for sure whether the footage they show of interviews with the murderer were re-enactments (not billed as such) or actual footage. (In this morning’s paper there was an advertisement for Blue Heelers (police drama) and Forensic Investigators – and the heading “See him caught. Him him speak.” Even though it was ambiguous about which program it referred to, my money’s on Forensic Investigators – probably because the picture they used seemed to coincide with the face I saw in the FI previews. But are these people actors or are they real?
And there’s the question of how difficult it must it be for the families of the victims to see it all again. Hopefully the program will focus only on crimes which have been solved so bad memories are not trawled up for naught (except the hope for television ratings).
The first episode, about multiple murders in Frankston, Victoria, in the early 1990’s didn’t seem to give that much of a CSI-approach to forensic investigation. It seemed that the big breakthrough in the case was provided by two constables, who had been called to investigate a suspicious car that, as it turned out, was parked across the road from where a murder was committed. Had the car not been reported, and had the police not investigated, it is hard to know how long it would have taken for the taskforce to catch the killer.

Ready, SETI, gone

There was news last week that a radio signal had been received from space. The signal, around a minute long, was traced to a point between the Aries and Pisces constellations and apparently did not bear the signature of any know astronomical object. Pretty exciting news this in the New Scientist. Until later that day when a report in the BBC News had astronomers denying the ET signal which had apparently been detected through the SETI@home screensaver that uses computer downtime to analyse telescope data. Over the last 6 years when the program has been in operation, it has detected hundreds of thousands of signals, of which only 150 have survived the interference test, but none has ever been classed as a potential signal from ET – not even this one. As one of the astronomers quoted in the BBC article said – “it’s not new and it’s definitely not a signal”. (But would they tell us if it was? What kind of reaction would there be if people believed that contact had been made with extraterrestrials? Given the reaction we give people from other countries some times, it’s not looking good for our intergalactic neighbours!)

Naught to complain about

I read the Guardian Unlimited online and it has a great "News Quiz". One of the questions this week: What driving offence led to a woman appearing in court in Oslo. The correct answer: receiving a parking ticket while stuck in a traffic jam. And people complain that Australian police revenue raise!

Morning

Here's my recent writers' group homework, where we had to write about "Morning". I sent it off to the local paper but it wasn't used, so rather than let it go to waste, I'm sharing it here.

At primary school I wrote:
The time of day I like best … is just at dawn when I can rest …

At 44, I’ve lost my passion for mornings.

4.30am a paw caresses my cheek. Cat No. 1 cannot find crunchies in his bowl unless you show him. I stir them with a toe then crawl back into bed, not disturbing cat No. 2. I have become better at sleeping like a pretzel.

4.50am the newspaper crashes against the front wall of the house. Didn't hit a window. This time.

5.10am the alarm pips. It is set to lowest volume and not on 'Reveille' so as not to disturb my partner.

Stopping via the study to turn on the computer, I hurry to the kitchen to feed the cats and prepare No. 2’s insulin injection. Instead of buying a barbeque last Christmas, we had our cat diagnosed with diabetes.

Back to the computer and 30 minutes checking emails and downloading newspapers onto Palm.

On the treadmill for half an hour, 2km. I am careful about “hitting the wall”. Most elite athletes are happy to, but if I do it means I have crashed backwards off the machine.

Into the shower. Hopefully there's enough hot water. I have a shower routine. If I vary it, I end up doing most of me again. Sometimes I get interrupted and when I get out, I still have shampoo in my hair. Back I go.

What to wear? Albert Einstein had the right idea – was it Albert Einstein? He wore the same sets of clothes so he didn't waste time deciding. It’s easier to put black with black.

Breakfast. It’s hard not to have the same thing, or to find time to make microwave porridge. If my partner is having toast I want some too. (This is not without some concern, because we then need to make sure the toaster is off.)

How are you going, I ask – which we both know means I am running late as I check wallet, glasses, Palm, pen, bus ticket, back pack ...

Ready to go but first I have to check everything is off, toaster, stove, walking machine, computer - and the alarm is on, and the door snicked and closed properly.

Can you hear me? Toaster’s off, stove’s off. I try to work out systems like only turn the light out when everything in that room has been checked, re-checked, checked again.

The pressure isn’t as great on Wednesday’s when our cleaner comes. We know she’ll turn off things. Her house burnt down a couple of years ago.

I don’t mind going back to check things – as long as there’s enough time. I am so unsure of myself some days … most days. I can do the reporting – this is off, that is off – but when I’m asked if the stove was off, I can't answer with any degree of certainty. Back I go.

It’s worse in winter because then there's the heater to worry about. It’s not on my mental checklist (ditto the fan in summer) and I can forget about it until I am about to set foot on the bus – and then I agonise all the way to the next stop about whether to get off the bus, go home and check.

Our reception windows at work look out over the inner west – so if there’s a fire I will have some advance warning. Yes, that pall of smoke rising near Parramatta Road is because I didn’t turn the kettle or something off properly this morning.

All of this I can bear … what makes it difficult is that my partner of 14 years has caught some of my neuroses. The only thing worse than questioning myself is having both of us doing it.

No, these days the time of day that I like best … is the weekend.

Leslie Ash update

Some time ago I blogged about UK “personality” Leslie Ash who had contracted a superbug after going to hospital in April. I’ve now seen a report of her enjoying her first night “out” albeit on crutches. This would seem to be a good result given earlier reports suggested doctors had told the 44-year-old she may never walk again. The superbug, a variant of the deadly MRSA bug is apparently not uncommon in the UK hospital system.

Making a spectacle of oneself?

Just what we’ve always wanted … A German company has invented glasses that come apart to double as chopsticks. Dubbed “sushi specs”, they have detachable arms that double as chopsticks – or, if you prefer, you can have forks attached as an alternative. The designer of the glasses, Ralph Anderl, came up with the idea when he realized people nowadays want to “eat on the run” and that meant they needed to have implements with them. The specs can be made into prescription glasses – or sunglasses for those who prefer al fresco dining! But you have to know what you’re eating – once you’re got the chopsticks (or forks – and do they give you two forks so you can dine with a friend?) detached, you can’t use the glasses as glasses again until they’re reattached. The $300 glasses are apparently “flying off the shelves”.

Have you done it yet?

There is a name for it, but I can’t remember it at the moment – looking yourself up online. A recent survey of American net users by MSN reports that people are more likely to look themselves up than they are to look up a member of their own family … except for people over 59 who are more likely to try to find out about their family and ancestors. While some people “Google” to find out about prospective dates, the survey suggests most people are more interested in finding out about themselves … and I admit it, I have done searches for my own name on Google – and there are lots of me out there!!

Understatement

“Authorities are puzzled in Chile after a number of motorists reported seeing strange creatures resembling dinosaur kangaroos.” UOL Noticias Populares says the two metres tall creatures have been spotted in a desert area north of Santiago. One witness, Hernan Cuevas, said “A weird animal looking like a dinosaur with two legs and huge thighs crossed the road in front of my car.” Police in the area say that while it isn’t strange for people to see things in the desert, it is odd that so many people have reported seeing the same thing at the same time. According to the report, the police are “intrigued”. As am I. What do a kangaroo and a dinosaur have in common – well, if you’re thinking about a T-Rex, they both have “ridiculously short arms” (thanks Rowan), and kangaroos and velociraptors are decent jumpers … but besides that … ??? I suppose it’s a good thing that given there are often reports of kangaroo herds roaming the main streets in Sydney, Australia, that they’re not the Chilean dinosaur kangaroo. (On another note, isn’t it good that people in Chile know what a kangaroo looks like!)

Sibling rivalry opportunity

If you have a moment, spare a thought for Vicky, daughter of Maryland (USA) couple Pat and Joe Posey. While she may have been content to be an only child, her parents had other ideas. Nineteen years ago they adopted Kevin, a 1ft Cabbage Patch doll, and have raised 'him' as their only son. Kevin is described as "easy-going, quiet and well-behaved" and goes everywhere with them. They talk to him - and he "replies" through Joe putting on his voice.
Kevin has his own 1,000 sq ft playroom, a red (doll-sized) Chevrolet Corvette car, a pet dog, a full wardrobe and a £2,000 savings fund for when he goes to college. He also has the love of his 'parents' who say they prefer him to their real child, Vicky, now an adult .
Pat said: "With every kid that you adopt, you promise to love them and be a good parent and take care of this child. And that's what we did with Kevin."
(You just have to love the Ananova news site!)

Gold medal quality

We haven't seen much of the Athens 2004 Olympics thus far, although I have enjoyed what I have seen. I have spent more time at the Athens site, which is excellent, well thought out, has great links, and is updated frequently with news and results. You can drill down within the site to get profiles on each of the athletes ... and the horses!

Rabbiting on

For someone with little or no visual memory, it surprises me that I can sometimes clearly see pictures in my mind's eye. Unfortunately this is usually late at night, when I'm overtired and more than ready to go to sleep - and would if I could just get the image of the ogre (not Shrek!), alien or vampire out of my brain. It's worse if I've been watching movies with scary monster content after dark but I'm usually good about not doing that. I have been known to sleep with the lights on, or to turn the lights on to run to the toilet - once I work up the courage to swing my feet out of the bed and on to the floor!
I am relieved to find out I am not the only adult I know that gets scared. But I am puzzled. Is it better or worse to be afraid of Frankenstein (well, actually Frankenstein's monster) ... or Frank? I have only recently found out about Frank - the horror rabbit - through a workmate. She admits needing the lights turned on, plus quickened pace, to stay well clear of the reportedly 6' of bad news bunny she became acquainted with through a review of Johnny Darko on The Movie Show. Of course, not all 6' rabbits are evil. Harvey, in the movie of the same name, starring James Stewart, was by all accounts, a reasonable rabbit. I think we should watch them both - during daylight hours, preferably first thing in the morning so there's plenty of time to forget the furry fiends before 'lights out'.
I don't know that I'll be nearly as brave with the new M. Night Shyamalan film, The Village. It looks pretty scary - and I've only seen a 15- or 30-second preview on television so far.

Learner Driver - congrats Mum!

I learned today that my mother has passed the test and has joined the ranks as a Learner Driver. Well done Mum! It's some years, no, make that decades, since Mum gained her licence at a small country police station - and almost as long since she stopped driving. I can vaguely remember being a pre-school age child with Mum behind the wheel - and that there was some fairly unsupportive criticism but I don't recall much more than that. Who did it, what was said, and whether it was in any way warranted will need some research. (Must ask my brothers if they've caught up on this news.)

Thinking ...

Thinking about philosophy. I was given a book of philosophy "problems" for my last birthday and still find myself thinking about them from time to time. I found some of the scenarios to be fairly common sensical; others were less so and seemed to offer little insight. Or perhaps I just don't understand the whole philosophy concept. So to the SlovoEd dictionary (Princeton University ed. for Palm) I go.
Philosophy:
1) (cognition) a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school. Synonyms: doctrine; school of thought; ism
2) (cognition) any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation
3) (cognition) the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics.
No. 3 comes closest ... questions about existence and knowledge and ethics. But surely these are dictated by the location, time and setting. Is the pursuit of philosophical thinking a modern Western construct or is it a universal consideration which has been with us for eons. Are there those who accept that ''this is the way things are" rather than ''why are things like this, and is this the way they should be"?

Autobiography

How many people would you speak to, and about what, when compiling/researching your autobiography? I had ever thought about it before, but I guess you might want to include other people's views in your autobiography. That could make it slightly more objective - depending on what you chose to include!

Truth Dawns

Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer extraordinnaire and four-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, has been in the news twice over the last couple of days. The first was about her not being invited to attend the Athens Olympics as part of the Australian Team. She claims the snub was because of her hard stance on drugs. The second was a small item in this morning's media about her finding out she killed her mother in a car accident 40 years ago - just before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games (at which Ms Fraser won "gold, gold, gold" for Australia).
Ms Fraser had apparently been told her mother suffered a heart attack before the accident. It was only a few years ago, while working on her autobiography, that she learned the truth of her mother's death.
How strong must her defences have been to not have learned/seen/remembered the truth for so long? I can remember when her autobiography was released but not that there was mention of the circumstances/secrecy surrounding her mother's death. So why has this made the news now?

First name basis

I don't know if it's the same with other reality shows, but it seems if you're in 'Big Brother', you might as well not have been given a surname. Who won BB4 in Australia - Trevor. What's his last name? What were the last names of the other BB4 housemates? Suspend the natural question 'Why? Do we care?' and think about the Australian Idol - Guy Sebastian, and runner-up Shannon Noll -- while the spelling, and the names themselves, may be inaccurate we do know their names. Mind you, though, I can't tell you who the third of the final three was. Perhaps Australian Idol just has a more effective publicity juggernaut - or that singers, besides Cher, usually have two names ... because there are so many of them?