One to get your teeth into

This item just in from Local6.com - and there's a picture!:

A fish caught in Lubbock, Texas, with teeth that look like they belong to a human has baffled wildlife officials in the area, according to a report. Fisherman Scott Curry reeled in the 20-pound fish on Buffalo Springs Lake and immediately noticed the catch had human-like teeth. A game warden photographed the fish and is attempting to identify it. General Manager of Buffalo Springs Lake Greg Thornton told KLBK13-TV in Texas that he has never seen anything like the fish in the 36 years he has lived near the lake. A search for what the fish may be suggested that it may be a pacu, which is found in South America. Curry said he believes he saw another similar fish while on the lake. A Texas television station reported that lake officials will give $100 to anyone catching a similar fish.

Chipping away

The makers of Mister Bee potato chips in West Virginia thought they were doing the right thing when they moved to a low-fat recipe for its product - but the move was not welcomed by its customer base. Sales dropped 6 per cent and the company has received (and keeps receiving) numerous phone calls from angry customers. The new recipe, using cottonseed oil which is free of what was called "artery-clogging trans fat" in the item I read, produced a noticeable, and not pleasant, taste difference. Experimentation with other oils has not helped - and the company is going to revert to its original recipe - once stocks of the newer product are depleted (which could be a while!). Of course, the company's efforts should be applauded - sales only dropped 6% after all - so not everyone was of the opinion: "if we wanted healthy, we wouldn't be eating chips!".

Great gift idea

For the person who has everything, why not get them something to avoid those fees imposed by video (rental) stores - a DVD Rewinder. It sells for $US16.49 on dvdrewinder.com. And if that's not enough, you can also buy DVD Rewinder T-Shirts - and it's no extra to download the DVD Rewinder sound. Now, obviously this seems to be like a put-on, but Colin (leader of the Innovation and Change training course I attended today) assured us it was a very real - and very successful - product!

Driven to crime

Some service stations in Sydney are employing security guards to prevent petrol theft. The problem has been steadily increasing with the cost of fuel - and last week it was reported that at least 30 people a day are failing to pay before driving away from the pump. And now that petrol is so expensive ($1.40 a litre or thereabouts) - the cost can add up. Surely there could be a pay at the pump system where the user had to insert their card (pre-paid or credit) to start the petrol flow? (You read it here first! ... or maybe not. Thanks Lizzie.)

What's in a name?

What do the UK and Australia currently have in common? Both are looking to introduce identity cards. The UK says the cards are needed to tackle terror and illegal immigration. Australia's smartcard aka access card is designed to prevent Medicare and social security fraud. My mistake, it's not proposed that the proposed national smartcard system become a national identity card. That's just the fear of some Australians. The $1 billion access card will be rolled out in 2008, replacing 17 existing health and welfare cards. The Howard Government says the card is not compulsory, but after 2010 people without it will not be able to receive government hospital treatment, Centrelink benefits or claim for Medicare.

The run down

Bad enough that a woman was hospitalized after being run over by a dog driving a pick-up truck, but it's unthinkable that it was actually a police dog behind the wheel. Ranger, a German Shepherd, had been left alone in the vehicle with the engine running so he would have air conditioning. As far as can be figured out, Ranger hit the shift on the steering column, causing the truck to roll forward hitting first Mrs Stone, and then a vehicle. The report from Utah, on Yahoo News, did not say whether Ranger would be charged.

In the attic

In scenes reminiscent of actress Pia Zadora's portrayal of Anne Frank where the cry went up "she's in the attic" when the Germans came knocking, a Kentucky man has been found hiding in his own attic after having disappeared 6 weeks ago. Is that too long, a sentence? As chance would have it, this appears to be what Christopher Benham was trying to avoid ... a sentence. Charges have been pending since before his disappearance: theft, terrorist threatening and assault. Benham's vehicle was found May 31 in a rural area of Adair County, Kentucky. Evidence suggested he was missing under suspicious circumstances, police said in a statement. But the only foul play was theirs ... Christopher and his wife Janie were found living in their attic - and were only found after a tip-off.

Vale Kane

l get a regular monthly email reminding me to go to the Antipodean Science Fiction site and get the latest flash fiction stories. This month's is just out and as I was reading them this afternoon I came across one which was very sad. Kane de Boe's story Red was published but his biography wasn't

Unfortunately, Kane de Boe did not get the chance to submit a bio for AntipodeanSF. His partner Tracie, wrote to me after "Red" was accepted for publication:

"I am sad to inform you that Kane de Boe was murdered on 31/05/2006 by his ex-wife’s father <http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,19332868-952,00.html>. Kane was a good man who loved his children dearly. He leaves behind 7 children: Troy 16yrs, Cameron 10yrs, Kalen 9yrs, Michael 6yrs, Fynnegan 2yrs, and the youngest born 3 days after his death is Isabella."

Vale Kane...

Got me bushed

I found this photograph on the photogallery of a US news site today, and couldn't help wondering if these soldiers are trained/instructed to "shoot to kill". It would be incredibly fear-producing to look up and see that you were the target. Especially if they went "rogue".

Meet K-Rex

Fangeroos and demon ducks. Apparently these are creatures from Australia's "lost period" in history. Archaeologists working in Queensland have unearthed three deposits of fossilized remains which include the aforementioned fangeroos (aka killer kangaroos) which were similar to today's kangeroos except they didn't look anything like them, were flesh-eating and they galloped. I'm not sure how they distinguish them from the marsupial lions, tree-climbing crocodiles and "demon ducks of doom". (Today isn't April 1 is it?) Of course, the description of the fangeroo in the ninemsn.com item I read sounded suspiciously like something else: "They were also far more muscly than the kangaroos we know, with sharp sabre-like incisors and powerful forelimbs to help rip and tear their prey." (OMG - Kangaroo ... T-Rex - the similarity is amazing. Why have we never seen this before!!!) Professor Mike Archer, Dean of Science at UNSW and leader of the expedition, hopes the discoveries will shed light on what happened in Australia up to and beyond 24 million years ago. And it's a good thing we weren't around then - how would anyone have coped with the "demon duck" - three metres tall, with a giant beak and a body mass of 400kg.

Judge and be judge(d)

US Congressman William Jefferson's lawyers are not surprised with the ruling of whether a raid on the Congressman's office in May was legal or not. First clue: the judge that gave the ruling was the same one who signed the warrant which authorized the search! In giving his "legal" ruling, Chief US District Judge Thomas Hogan reiterated that members of Congress are not above the law. The was nothing in the reports about possible conflicts of interests by judges. Not suprisingly, Jefferson's lawyers are planning to appeal the ruling - and to request a stay on examination of the material seized by the FBI as part of a bribery investigation against Jefferson (who denies wrongdoing).

Making-up is hard to do

"I think it's stupid. When people come to school in the morning they're going to look really scary." This is one student's reaction to the banning of make-up at her school in Devon, UK. The ban, affected about 400 young teens (11-13), and follows their forays into cosmetics which resulted in some of them being taunted with cries of "Oompa Loompa" from older students. An Oompa Loompa more correctly refers to the small orange characters in Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate factory, rather than young girls who have applied too much foundation that looks like fake tan. The principal has ruled that 4-18 year olds may wear makeup if it is "correctly applied".

Of course, people's colouring has caused concern for some for a while - why it was such a relief when, earlier this year, Crayola launched a new line of washable multicultural skin-coloured markers. "From a pink-toned beige for the palest of skin tones to mahogany, tawny and terra-cotta for every shade in between, Crayola promises kids’ drawings will be much more realistic" reported the Calgary Sun. Ten-year-old elementary school student Julia Moseley appreciates the new colours. “I think that they would be helpful,” the fifth grader says, “instead of doing the same old colour and making someone look like an orange Oompa Loompa.” Let's hope she's kept some of the pumpkin-coloured crayons, just in case she finds herself in Devon!

Live in Chinese World

Are you one of the more than 30 million people learning Chinese as a foreign language? At more than 2,500 universities in 100 countries? No? But still interested in learning Chinese? A new web site offering free Chinese lessons and teaching aids has been launched. I had a quick look at the Linese site and was disappointed to see that the Home Page wasn't working, but clicking on the navigation on the left-hand side of the page did yield results. I'll have to sign up to learn more about Yu Lan, The Olympics, Idioms and Pinyin. (And if you're already fluent in Chinese, scroll down the page for the the Mandarin links!)

Flag Fall

And more on safety hazards and Italian flags - or possibily excitement that comes from having your team in the final! A 77-year-old Italian man fell off a ladder and died as he tried to put up a flag on his property near Viterbo before Sunday's World Cup Final. "Rodolfo Profili … apparently lost his balance and fell eight metres into a precipice" ANSA (Italian news agency) reported. Local police say he died instantly, still clutching the flag.

Recognition Skills

Today marks the start of Channel Nine's new show "Torvill & Dean's Dancing On Ice": Ten celebrities paired with the world's best professional skaters. Well, I don't know whether it's me or where they pulled the celebrities from but I don't recognise one of them! "Celebrities slated to perform in the show include Lara Bingle, Michael Slater, Giaan Rooney and Jules Lund." Hmmm ... Celebrities.

Friendly competition

I love a good headline: Coke Zeros, now on ice
The story (thanks to the LA Times):

An administrative assistant at Coca-Cola Co. and two accomplices smuggle out a secret formula — not the secret formula, but close — and try to sell it to PepsiCo Inc. Pepsi rats them out to Coke. Coke rats them out to the feds. The FBI launches a six-week sting operation.
Coke might be the real thing, but the conspirators turn out to be anything but. According to federal prosecutors, security cameras recorded the administrative assistant stuffing files and a mysterious container of liquid, later identified as a product sample, into her handbag. One accomplice used his home address to open a bank account to receive Pepsi payoffs. Another, posing as a high-level Coke employee named "Dirk," accepted $30,000 in $50 and $100 bills, stuffed in a yellow Girl Scout cookie box, from an undercover agent.

Confused

I have signed up for "Gullible Info" on my Google personalised home page - and I keep falling for it.

• Microwaves run most efficiently when they are warmed up. Running a microwave empty for three seconds before heating food will reduce overall wattage and cooking time by up to 43 percent.
• 1.83 percent of Germans can "recall" seeing a unicorn in a zoo at some point in their life.
• There's a one in nine chance that a bike stolen in Los Angeles has been stolen at least once before.

You can also have info emailed to you, or visit their website.

Flag this

Italy has won the FIFA World Cup 2006 - but is it really worth having an accident over? Looking out the bus window this morning, there were two very large flags - one held out of the sunroof of a car, the other affixed to the back of a motorbike. They were travelling in tandem. And it looked quite impressive while they were moving - less so when the car stopped at traffic lights and the flag which had been flying above the car fell forward and dropped over the windscreen! Two pairs of hands came out the sunroom and worked feverishly to gather the cloth and put it on the roof behind them, so it would once again stream behind the car as it took off. Well, it's one way to spend a morning - but you've got to think there has to be a safer way to celebrate!

Question

The man at the table next to me at the cafe this morning ordered "Turkish Raisin (toast) and English Breakfast (tea)." Does this qualify as a continental breakfast?

Agog at Google

I've been marvelling at the recent gaggle of Google gadgets - and realise now that not everyone is as happy with Google's goings-ons.

The innovation:

Google recently unveiled its much anticipated online payment processing system designed to offer shoppers with a Google account a quick way to pay for things.

eBay Statement 1:

November 3, 2003: Google's not a threat. Meg Whitman, chief executive of the online auctioneer, downplays speculation that the popular search engine is poised to become its biggest rival.

eBay Statement 2:

July 7, 2006: eBay bans Google Checkout. Online auction site eBay has banned its buyers and sellers from using Google's recently launched online payments service, Google Checkout, in a move that seems designed to protect its own PayPal operation.

Nope, no threat at all.

Hold the phone!

Russell and Danielle Crowe have had another son - Tennyson. Congratulations to them! But also congratulations to the Vietnamese man who, 19 years and some ribbing later, has finally agreed to change his son's name from Mai Phat Sau Nghin Ruoi (Fined Six Thousand and Five Hundred - the penalty he had to pay for ignoring that country's two-child policy) to Mai Hoang Long (Golden Dragon).

Flamin' Dell

"We have captured the notebook and have begun investigating the event," a spokesman from Dell is reported as saying following a laptop manufactured by the company exploding and catching on fire at a conference in Osaka, Japan. It's not really something I've ever thought about when I use my (non-Dell) laptop. I'm not sure how well I'd cope if it burst into flames while I was using it. The report of the event doesn't mention if anyone was using the computer at the time. There were no reports of injuries.
(Thanks for the lead Feather-Starfish.)

Do you know ... ?

What do Muhammad Ali, Tom Cruise and Patty and Mildred Hill have in common? And who were Patty and Mildred Hill? They are all from the same town. Louisville (pronounced Lou-ah-vul or Lou-ee-ville but never with the "s" - because if you include the "s", the locals will know you're from out of town) Kentucky. And who are the Hills? Sisters, andkKindergarten teachers, who also happened to co-write the tune to the song Good Morning to All - which is probably more recognisable as Happy Birthday.

And there are others - rating their own entry in Wikipedia.

Customer Dis-Service

I try to be a regular visitor to and customer of the OfficeWorks chain - and was planning to visit our local store at Camperdown today to buy an office-type chair (part of Sooz's birthday present) but when we drove into the carpark we found that they've introduced paid parking. No matter how much I write that, I can't get it to sound nearly indignant enough … PAID PARKING! They expect you to pay to park at their store to buy stuff from them! Needless to say, we kept driving straight through the parking lot and out the other end. Hmmmph. [note to self - write and tell them why they missed out on the sale!]

Scaring myself

Following a blog a while ago about cremations now being legally allowed in Greece, Sooz told me that because of the acute shortage of burial space, bodies are un-interred a year after burial in a ritual ceremony which includes cleaning the bones - and is part of the grieving process. That's about as much as I know. Except that when looking on the net for more information, I chanced across Vrykolakas - one of several non-human beings which inhabit the lives of Greek peasants and Â? bring them fear! I can identify with that. I was sufficiently interested to copy a couple of articles from the net to read them later - and I started to, but I absolutely scared myself and decided it would be best not to. (I had enough experiences of lying awake at night unable to sleep because I kept seeing vampire faces when I made the mistake of watching Buffy, The Vampire Slayer too close to bedtime ie not in daylight hours.) What I was interested in finding out was whether the Vrykolakas were similar to vampires, and whether there were a majority of cultures which believe in the undead (in whatever form they might be). [Stopping now.]

Fear Campaign

Is it true that you can scare people into "healthy" behavior? There are two ads doing the rounds at the moment which try to Scare people into either not smoking or not using their mobile phone while driving. The anti-smoking ad shows a man's gangrening leg about to be removed - and has now turned up on buses as well as on television. I am now making it my mission to talk with individual smokers to complain - if they all gave up, then I wouldn't have to be assailed by the image of a cigarette that morphs into aforementioned gangrening leg. The mobile phone one has a woman driver reaching over to the back seat to get a ringing mobile phone and when it appears in frame it is a gun that she goes to point at her temple. The ad has the super "Dead Ringer". It would be interesting to see the numbers on how well the ads had worked, and how would you collect short-term and long-term metrics for this?

Casting votes

After looking at the poll on ninemsn.com the other day, I was intrigued about other polls held on site. Today's question was: Do you feel safe from a terrorist attack? I would have liked to have voted, but I couldn't decide. YES, I don't think a terrorist attack is likely in Sydney - but you never NO. I suppose a very different picture of the world has been painted by Governments post-9/11 - and because there are attacks that do happen, on too often a basis, it would be foolish to think anywhere is absolutely safe from terrorist attack. (I know that with a trip to the US coming up in the next few weeks, I have thought very hard about being on US-owned planes over US air space.)

The BBC News reports that one in three people in the UK regularly suffers paranoid or suspicious fears, clinical psychologists have found. Other findings:

* Over 40% of people regularly worry that negative comments are being made about them

* 27% think that people deliberately try to irritate them

* 20% worry about being observed or followed

* 10% think that someone has it in for them

* 5% worry that there is a conspiracy to harm them

But help is at hand: A new website - paranoidthoughts.com - is being launched to provide information on paranoid thoughts, advice on seeking help, and opportunities for people to share their experiences.

Conspiracy theory

There are some who believe that Kenneth L. Lay's death is way too convenient. Lay, 64, a former Enron executive, was found guilty in May (along with Jeffrey K. Skilling) of fraud and conspiracy. Both were on bail pending sentencing.

When I heard, I thought, well, that's not all that surprising. There might actually be some people who would prefer to be dead rather than spending a possible 46 years in prison. (There was afterall the story earlier this week of the 30-year-old Italian man who escaped from house arrest and begged police to put him in jail because he couldn't bear living with his grandfather.) Of course, the other possibility is that his death was staged - and the whole thing is a conspiracy to save him from incarceration. The other reason could be that with his "death" would void the guilty verdict, and spare his survivors financial ruin. Such was the belief in this conspiracy theory by one of the people interviewed (still suffering post-Enron's collapse) that she said she would need to see his body before she believed it.

Goebbels Trivia

When we played a game of trivia the other week, one of the answer to one of the questions (Who was the Nazi Propaganda Minister) was "Goebbels". Within a couple of days, I saw the name again, in an article talking about the carpark that had been built over the site of the bunker in which Hitler had killed himself. The article, on a Herr Misch, one of Hitler's aides, also mentioned that the Goebbels children had been prepared for their death in the bunker. Misch had faced "fierce criticism in calling for a plaque to commemorate the children - Helga, Hilde, Helmut, Hedda, Holde and Heide"*. It's a tragic story, of an advancing army and nowhere left to run, and parents wanting to save a family from … it's not clear what else they feared, but it was enough for the children (once Poster children for the Third Reich) to be poisoned, allegedly by their parents, to avoid capture.
* A Wikipedia article on the Goebbels children records their names as: Helga, Hildegard, Helmut, Hedwig, Holdine and Heidrun. Their mother also had another son from a previous marriage, Harald.

Topsy Turvy

I listen to Radio Station Triple J's (how do you write that? JJJ?) podcast with Dr Karl which answers various science-type questions. An item a couple of weeks ago (before Dr K went off to, I think it was, Norway, to get married) was on why Australia is portrayed as "down under". Which turns out to be because the people who set out in ships to discover other parts of the world got to draw the maps and they put themselves up the top. So think for a moment of the trouble that goes into making sure that we all see the world "the right way up". All those images we see in space have the Earth with the northern hemisphere at the north, but in space there is no up (which is why it's just as well that in space, no-one can hear you scream, because it would be fairly disturbing!). Heh heh - just looking for a photo of the world to turn upside down to put in here and have had to google Earth. And then I had the thought - but if there is no "up" in space - what if the middle/equator were the top. Aaaarrrghh. [head explodes] But I did find this cool site, Earth from Space, which lets you zoom in on your little place on earth, as well as search for geographic features. [makes note to investigate further]

Media monitoring

A piece in the Stay in Touch column in today's Sydney Morning Herald tells of the $5 million spent annually in NSW on media monitoring for the government. I remember media monitoring in the good old days when the service would go through all the press/radio/etc for mentions of a person or a product, and then send copies of the clippings through. That probably still happens - but it's gone a bit high tech - it seems the politicians rating mentions are now sent an SMS - which apparently can be fairly annoying for those who are hanging around with the "media-popular". And possibly a little disheartening for those who aren't - which is why it was so nice of SIT to conclude the piece with:

And a big hello to Local Government Minister Kerry Hickey and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos - only fair that lesser-know frontbenchers get some SMS action from Media Monitors.

Right motivation?

It's strange how disparate pieces of information come together. The news of a former US soldier who is being charged with the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and her family was disturbing. Now add that to the fact that the alleged perpetrator had already been discharged from the army for behaviour issues. Then add to it that the charges have been laid because another soldier has come forward with evidence. Then add to that that this soldier has only come forward following the abduction and killing of two US soldiers in Iraq recently. His motive: reports suggest he was concerned that the deaths of the US soldiers were revenge killings. I'm not sure if he was part of the same unit, but it would certainly give you pause for thought. Especially as the liberating US (and other friendly nation) forces on the ground in Iraq are immune from prosecution under local law. This is currently being reviewed.

Up in alms

I read something in the paper the other day: Jesus saves, Moses invests, and Buddha pays dividends. Which may be just as well because it seems the World Cup is taking its toll. A Reuters report from Thailand suggest the Buddhist monks there are so tired from watching the games late into the night that they are sleeping in and not available for receiving early morning alms - "a mandatory religious ritual in the predominately Buddhist country". While watching the Cup has not been banned there, even though "inappropriate behaviour" has been reported at 7 temples, responsibility has been referred to the abbot of each temple to ensure the Cup does not interfere with the monks' religious activities. But at least they're not under threat of de-frocking if they get too excited over the soccer - as is the case in neighbouring Cambodia.

Scarce

It's bad enough that we have to contend with snails in the mailbox when it's raining but for a moment there it looked like we'd have to contend with spiders as well! Australia Post has just scrapped plans to introduce a red-back spider stamp because the image was too realistic, and there were fears it would scare people. The "Dangerous Australians" series, due out in October, features wildlife such as the great write Shark, eastern brown snake and saltwater crocodile - which won't pose as much as a possible mailbox hazard because they're not usually as small as a spider. There are other examples, of pictures being fairly realistic. Take the ad for pen/cil/s on the Sydney Morning Herald puzzle page. It shows a full-size pencil resting on the page between the Target and the crossword. Reports suggest more than one person has tried to pick it up.

Space …

I don't want to be labelled a cynic, but isn’t it a marvellous coincidence for NASA that the Shuttle Discovery managed to launch (safely) on the 4th of July? Originally scheduled for a 1 July liftoff, the Shuttle's departure was delayed by bad weather and safety concerns. No doubt, many will see the day as a fitting one for America's "return to space". Here's hoping the crack found in the Shuttle's insulating foam, but deemed safe, doesn't preclude a safe return for the crew.

And now for the chews …

One of the most persistent news items of the day is the story of now six-time winner of the annual Independence Day hot-dog-eating competition on Coney Island, US. Japan's Takeru Kobayashi managed to down 53 3/4 frankfurters in 12 minutes to take the title - nearly two more than second place getter, billed as the "new hope" before the event, Joey Chestnut. For more on the event, check out the Guardian Unlimited article, Horsemen of the oesophagus.

Big Brother watching

... or News from the Antipodes

In my reading of news around the world, there are not that many mentions of Australia. But we made it to the BBC News this week with the story:

Australian PM demands Brother axe

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard says Big Brother should be taken off air after allegations of sexual assault.

There has been much publicity about the incident, and I'm not going to go into it here, except to say that public opinion about whether or not the incident was sexual assault is divided. A report on ninemsn.com quotes Pru Goward, Australia's chief sexual discrimination officer, as saying:

"The community, I'm very impressed, has overwhelmingly responded in the right way which is 'we don't want it'."

Now it depends on whether you believe in internet poll results, but that doesn't seem to be what the results suggest. A poll on the same site: Do you think the Big Brother incident was sexual harassment? showed the following votes at just after 5am this morning: YES 49054; NO 67833. (Which suggests, if nothing else, that at least 110,000 votes have been cast. By whom, and how many times and why - are questions to which we may never know the answers. I'm not sure if anyone's running SMS or phone polling a la Big Brother evictions - and if they were, where would the resultant funds best be directed?)

More fruit

There's no such thing as a new idea, so it came as no surprise when a recent MSNBC.com podcast (The Body Odd) in an item about the Adam's Apple, mentioned that there had been some recent press about whether the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was actually an apple. The suggestions are that it might have been a pomegranate or a banana, and while I still have to run the search to see if these are mentioned by name in the Bible, I somehow think the more generic term "fruit" might still be the go.

More Dead Centre

And further to Dead Centre, I found out about Colma through a story in Yahoo News. A pet cemetery (resting place to over 1,000 animals) is being "emptied" to make way for human graves. The pets were buried on leased land at Pet's Rest, and the owner, a local real estate firm, now wants to reclaim some of the land for use with human clients. There was no indication in the report if they were planning to offer "relocation or cremation" to any of the other 12,000 animals buried on site.

Family matters

We were lucky enough to have Tyler to stay with us overnight a couple of weeks ago. Tyler, 12, is from Tasmania and was in town for the birth of new sister, Scarlett Ella. He is great fun - and very much into WarHammer (I'm not sure that's what it really is, but he hangs out at The WarHammer Shop when he's in town). WarHammer, as I understand it, is war games with miniature pieces - recreating battles from various fictional works. Not sure if recreations of real-life battles are de rigeur. Tyler was kind enough to line up his armies so I could take some photos - ironically taken in our miniature Zen Garden.

Lucky miss

I'm not sure where I read it, but I'm sure there was a piece last week on the work that was being done to make sure an asteroid, headed kind of in our direction, and due in about 23 years, would be diverted or blown up before it reached our neighbourhood. 23 years is a fair way away - and the asteroid must be a considerable distance from us at this point - so there's plenty of time to make a plan and carry it out. Hopefully the plan will not result in various parts of said asteroid falling down on Planet Earth because of the intervention. Would they shoot it from space; shoot it in space; land on it and plant explosives? Any number of movie scenanios come to mind.
Of course, if you wanted to be worried about asteroids falling on us, and were after a more immediate threat, there's always this coming week, when an asteroid is supposed to miss us by a mere 430,000 kilometres. 2004 XP14 (discovered in ... 2004) does not pose a threat - nor, it seems, do the other at least 113 asteroids and 20 comets discovered in a search to confirm that XP14 was not a threat. Phew!

Time Out

It's not often that you score 1.5 hours of "free time", but that's what happened this morning when I arrived at the airport (unfashionably early as always) to find that my 6.30am flight to Brisbane had been cancelled. They were able to get me on the 8am flight - so I'm glad I was early (how do you get a plane load of people onto the next already booked plane?). But it gave me a chance to have some unstructured time with the laptop, my wireless connection, the daily newspaper, and some breakfast. Gotta love it.
But the other thing it gave me was the opportunity to see how some writers might have some ideas. I have long been a fan of Stephen King's work and as I looked out the window, watching the night turn to day, with the planes at the gates turning from dull to bright as the sun rose, it occured to me that this might have given Mr King part of the idea for the Langoliers - where people are inadvertently cast back to the past and somehow have to get back to now. The new day (and things from it) are bright and shiny with a "glow" to them; yesterday, by comparison, is a little stale.
I was thinking of the Langoliers only recently following a call for help in The Daily Telegraph. A gentleman couldn't remember the name of the movie (mini-series) and as soon as I read it all I could think was "The Langoliers are coming ... the Langoliers are coming". I think I am going to have to rewatch now to see who the Langoliers are - and why they are feared. The cameo appearance of Stephen King is an added bonus (is there any other kind?).

Dead centre

I know some people are dying to go to San Francisco, but did you know you won’t be welcome there if you’re dead? In 1902 the city’s Board of Supervisors outlawed burials in city limits – and demanded that the larger cemeteries in the city move their remains elsewhere. It took nearly 40 years, and many legal battles, before the last bodies were removed from the city – leaving only two cemeteries, neither of which accept new burials, in the city.
So, what to do with the dearly/newly departed? You move them out of town – in this case to the nearby city of Colma (population 1200 above ground, over a million below). From the 1950’s, according to The Cemetery Project site, Colma city officials restricted development in the city to cemeteries and its supporting industries (except for gambling, introduced in 1996).
According to the Colma town site, its 17 cemeteries comprise approximately three-quarters of the town’s land area. Dying is a thriving business, and apparently it doesn’t need to be morbid or macabre. Take a look at the Cypress Lawn site if you need proof!

Lost opportunity

You have to love life’s little ironies. Let’s remember back a little while when Michelle Leslie, model, was held in an overseas prison on drug charges. She started wearing Muslim garb (hijab?) because that was what you did when you converted to that religion. It was never explained why she had not chosen to take up the garb from the time of her conversion … but let’s not get too picky. However, within the last month I’ve read reports that suggested Michelle had in fact not converted, and that the garb was to “hide her face” from the media. (I suspect being on drug charges and having your face splashed over the media is not detrimental to a model’s career only if they are at a sufficiently high level on the modeling totem pole.) I’m not sure how Michelle’s modeling career is progressing, but it seems if was a convert, she would be perfect for the new range of swimwear and sports wear fashion designer Aheda Zanetti is about to launch on the world market. As reported in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph, Bankstown designer Ms Zanetti is to take her Ahiida range to the IslamExpo in the UK before taking her wares/wears to Dubai for meetings with potential buyers.

On the ball

Well done Reuters. They have just carried an article "Well, there's your problem right there".

More sex. That's what one expert says is needed to solve Japan's baby shortage.

That would have slightly more chance than the "counselling" (only) option suggested in that BBC report recently.

Safety tip

Had I not slowed down to look at a chicken in a ramshackle falling down barn (did The Kettles live near Richmond, Tasmania) ... we would have been in the same spot at the same time as a car coming the other way that had crossed to our side of the road, over double lines, while coming around a corner too quickly. Oversteering is one of the dangers of driving on an unfamiliar roads in an unfamiliar car - a common mistake, but possibily a lethal one for you and others. Take care on the roads (and not just while on holiday)!

The Apple Isle

We visited the Salamanca Markets in Hobart on Saturday and they were well worth a visit. The only downside, as one of the locals pointed out, was that you don't really get to see the historic aspect of the area with all the stalls there. (Certainly when we went past later in the day, after the stalls had been packed up and taken away, the area looked very different.) There was lots of fresh fruit and vegetables on offer and we bought a couple of apples - 20 cents each - and they were the tastiest, crunchiest, juiciest apples we've had in a long while. No wonder they call it the Apple Isle. And in the midst of this euphoria, we wondered what would have happened if Adam and Eve had never left the Garden of Eden. What would have happened if they hadn't partaken of "the apple". But it wasn't an apple I said. It's portrayed as an apple but that's probably because no-one remembers what the fruit of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17) looks like.

Early risers

I'm usually up at about 5 of a morning - but it's only when you travel (we were up at 3.30am for the trip home) that you realise how many people are routinely up and doing things at that time of day - hotel staff, travellers, air employees, taxi and bus drivers, traffic controllers, rubbish collectors, sea farers ... and all while most people are still snuggled up in their beds. The most amazing thing is that most people are fairly awake at this time - not falling asleep 10 times in a space of moments on the airport shuttle on the way to the airport. Of course, this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me because I usually manage to catch a few zzz's on every bus trip!

Locked filing cabinet

On returning from Hobart on Monday morning, I went straight to work. Of course, along the way I realised I had not packed my Dallas Button to be able to clear the security doors at work - not that big a drama - but then I realised the key to the filing cabinet was on the same lanyard, still languishing at home. It's only when you can't access something you use every day that you realise what's there: computer, smartbadge, coffee stirrers, hot chocolate, paper clips, scissors, business cards ... the list goes on. And every time I reached to open one of the drawers, I realised again that the cabinet was locked. D'oh. I'm going to work out a secure place to keep the key at work from now on.

Tasmanian weekend

We spent the weekend in Tasmania. What a wonderful State. We can't wait to get back there!

'Ear we go again

There’s nothing quite like the thrill and exhilaration of sliding down a slippery dip – although it has been a fair while since I partook of that particular pleasure. But it can, and does, carry a hidden danger for some children. Static electricity. For most of us, it may just make our hair stand on end. For kids with cochlear implants, it’s a fast slide into silence as the static can shut down (nontechnical term = fry) their cochlear implants in an instant – and cost up to $1,000 to have the device reprogrammed.
According to a Wired article, static electricity has been a problem for the implants since they first became available in the mid-1980s. "One of the first children to have an implant erased its memory by simply pulling a sweater over her head, and had to have the device replaced." (We assume the “its” in that sentence refers to the implant not the child.)
By hooking sensors to children as they slid down slides in St. Louis and Tucson, Arizona, researchers found that children easily built up 25,000 volts of electricity, the limit of the measuring devices. They equated it to "a pretty good lightning bolt." (The problem is with plastic slides not the metal variety – although the metal ones are not favoured as they can get very hot in Sumner I guess that could lead to a different type of “frying”.)
The solution? They’re looking at dynast types of coatings to dissipate the charge – but in the meantime, it’s the metal slide or no slide. Hmm. As if the kids didn’t have enough to contend with.

Culinary curiosity

Fluffernutter sandwich - an irresistible combination of Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter, preferably on white bread with a glass of milk handy.
According to the Kansas City Star: Since its invention, legions of New England (US) kids have grown up on Fluffernutters. Parents have used the sandwich as a food of last result for finicky eaters, sometimes adding banana slices to complement the protein of the peanut butter.

Is this right?

This is a direct quote from an RSS feed of BBC stories:

Counselling 'restores fertility'
Counselling alone can help "perfectionist" women regain their fertility and become pregnant, research finds.

I am not an expert on these things, but I thought a little more than that was involved!

And 'ears the news

Two recent stories have revolved around ears. One is the use by students in the US of a ringtone which many adults cannot hear. This allows the students to use their cellphones during classtime, a practice not encouraged. Apparently as people age, their ears "harden" and they cannot hear as great a range of frequencies - so by designing a ringtone outside the normal "adult range", you get a ringtone perfect for teenagers. You can also devise a perfect sound repellent for teenagers that doesn't bother adults - which has apparently already been done ... a good way to stop unwanted youth hanging around outside your store - although playing Glenn Miller recordings might have a similar effect.
Another earily concerning story about students hails from Beijing. With fierce competition - 9.5 million candidates, 2.6 million university places available - some have turned to cheating, and being fairly hi-tech about it to beat the surveillance measures in place to prevent it. One lad used earphones so small they slipped further into his ear than intended and perforated his eardrum. Another had to be operated on to have his earphones removed "when an electronic device connected to headphones and strapped to a third student's body exploded, injuring his abdomen" (Daily Telegraph). I am not sure whether the ear phones were removed from the abdomen (ouch) or whether I am just not reading the sentence correctly.

Planning ahead

Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, has announced that he will be giving up the role to concentrate full-time on charitable works. The transition is expected to take 2 years.

Evacuation

This afternoon the alert tone for a possible evacuation sounded in our building, on our level. This is the first time it's happened without warning and it was a little anxiety producing - perhaps even a little more so for those of us who are fire wardens. It was a good exercise ... and a false alarm thank goodness. Luckily the office had had a trial evacuation only a couple of weeks ago so the procedure was fresh in everyone's mind (except for those of us who were on holiday at the time). I found I could remember the warden procedures but I would have felt a little more comfortable with my cheatsheet/checklist especially if I had updated it with the learnings from the last exercise. (There's a job for tomorrow!)

Weekend wonders

It looks as though Rusty is not only triplets ... but has now started rearing offspring (heh heh). We found this one at Nareen Gardens, a senior care facility on the Central Coast. I know that it's not exactly like Rusty ... but you have to take into account the genetic material the other parent brings to the mix!



We found this car parked in the Palmdale Crematorium grounds. I couldn't work out if was a "bet each way" or whether the two components would cancel each other out.





While we were on the Central Coast, we called in on my brother and his family. He was up to his hands in dishwasher trouble - the overfill valve had kicked in and wouldn't kick off. A search on the internet wasn't particularly useful, but one comment in a user forum suggested cleaning the overfill valve screen - which had my brother taking the front off the dishwasher to investigate further. That's when he found the water pooling in the metal tray under the machine. We had to leave before it was resolved - but he'd already taken over 2 litres of water from the tray by that point. If it had been me, I would have just called the service guy - but my bro' has never been afraid to have a go - so hopefully he's solved it and they don't have to wash the dishes by hand!

Feeling old

I have long been a fan of Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and was pleasantly surprised to see her in the ads for a new sitcom How I Met Your Mother ... or at least I thought it was her (I'm not really brilliant on face recognition), which is how I ended up on the IMDB site checking. It was her (she?) so I had a look at the page for HIMYM and that was when I started feeling old. Really old. Alyson's role as Lily in HIMYM is, as one person commented "her first adult role" and added that she was 31 (then, now 32). It could be that I've just started re-watching BTVS from the very beginning, filmed when Ms Hannigan was 21 or so, but she seems much younger.
I wonder how that is for people who have had careers in the visual media. Not like the rest of us who make do with home videos and happy snaps - they see themselves at an age, playing a different age, playing a different person. Wonder if it gets confusing for them.

New purchase

I bought a new mouse today - well I thought it was a mouse, and according to the label it's a mouse (Wireless Optical Mouse) - but Moses has different ideas. Moses says it's a USB human interface. Hmmmm. Oh, and speaking of Mice, I received a Powerpoint file via email the other day entitled "Best Positions in Bed" and, despite my reservations (and I still don't know why I did) I opened it. It was the most delightful series of photos of pets and children in various sleeping poses. "You were thinking of something else, huh?" as the last slide in the series asked.

Love that net

BBC News Mini-dinosaurs emerge from quarry

Scientists describe a new species of dwarf dinosaur that was unearthed in a quarry in northern Germany.
............................................................

I was a bit taken aback when I read this because it seemed they were talking in the present tense. And it reminded me of something I'd read somewhere ages ago about quarry workers - or were they digging a tunner for a railway - and when they cracked open a boulder there was a pterodactyl inside, and it took a breath, flapped its wings, took a step and fell over dead. I've never been able the reference again ... until tonight when I searched for it on the internet!! You just have to love the net. The Talk says:

Pterodactyls, extinct flying reptiles, supposedly existed around one hundred million years ago. According to an article in The Illustrated London News of February 9, 1856, page 166, workmen discovered a living pterodactyl. In the winter of 1856, they were working on a railway tunnel between St. Dizey and the Nancy lines, and they had broken and removed a boulder of Jurassic limestone, when the creature stumbled out of the tunnel toward them. It fluttered its wings, croaked, and collapsed dead at their feet. It had a wingspan of ten feet seven inches, four legs with talons for feet, legs joined by a membrane like a bat, a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and black, leathery, oily skin. An exact mold of the creature's body was found in the limestone from which the creature was released.

Source:

Baugh, Carl E. 1989. Panorama of Creation. Oklahoma City, OK: Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd., pp. 19-21.
Doolan, Robert. 1993. Are dinosaurs alive today? Where Jurassic Park went wrong! Creation 15(4) (Sept.): 12-15. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v15/i4/dinosaurs.asp

If you go to the Talk site, the suggestion that this actually happened will well and truly be debunked ... but it was good to finally find it again.

Shedding light on the soccer

It'?s World Cup time ... soccer, FIFA - something like that .. have been trying not to take too much notice but it's difficult when they're closing roads in a nearby suburb for matches when Australia's Socceroos are playing. But I have to say that I was totally surprised while watching the news of our 3-1 overnight win against Japan. Most of the soccer I've seen on television here is played under lights so it was a huge surprise to see the game being played during daylight hours. Who knew?

Different tune

Following concerns over the adult content of Australian Big Brother last year, you could understand the producers being more careful about what goes to air this year. But some caution has come from a different angle: the songs the housemates are singing. I think this comes from concerns that the songs are covered by commercial copyright. This is surmised from a comment made on the show (I think by Gretel Killeen, host extraordinaire) that Big Brother was being prevented from airing some conversations from the house because there was commercial music being sung in the background. And it seems that at least one house mate has now been penalised for singing in the house. Not getting any easier to be a producer (or housemate) is it?

A lesson for the learning

Remember Jessica Lynch? She's sure people do and that they recognize her - they just don't say so. And that's apparently how she prefers it. She wants to be just another student on campus. This is a far cry from the spotlight of publicity Jessica was thrown into following her rescue three years ago from Saddam Hospital. Nine days before Lynch's 507th Army Maintenance Company convoy was in Nasiriyah when it took a wrong turn and was attacked. Eleven American soldiers were killed and six were captured, including Lynch. Her dramatic nighttime rescue in the early days of the Iraq war made her an instant celebrity. She's now a student at the West Virginia University, where she's hopeful of being just another anonymous college student on a campus of thousands. She's studying Journalism (originally she'd planned to teach Kindergarten) but may end up in broadcasting: "I'd really like to start a kids TV program here in West Virginia. Something for kids who are in the hospital or have cancer."

Doomed

Titanic (the newer version) was on television the other evening and I sat through it again ... and thought about all those who perished - and those who didn't including Lillian Gertrud Asplund, the last American survivor of the sinking. Lillian died recently, aged 99. The Yahoo report I read didn't mention if there are other survivors alive in other countries. It did mention the other American survivors - who were both babies at the time and do not remember the events of that night in April 1912 when a variety of circumstances came together to sink the liner many believed to be "unsinkable". Lillian's mother, Selma Asplund said at the time the family went to the Titanic's upper deck after the ship struck the iceberg. "I could see the icebergs for a great distance around ... It was cold and the little ones were cuddling close to one another and trying to keep from under the feet of the many excited people ... My little girl, Lillie, accompanied me, and my husband said 'Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats.' He smiled as he said it." He and three of his children were among those to lose their lives that night. Selma Asplund died on the 52nd anniversary of the sinking in 1964.

Da Vinci Code

Despite (or in spite of) the “review” on the noticeboard of a church in Leichhardt (paraphrased: if you thought Church was long and boring … you haven’t seen The Da Vinci Code) we took ourselves off on the weekend to see the movie of Dan Brown’s (or was it?) book. We were pleasantly surprised. Even though the show was 2+ hours long, it didn’t drag. My only concern was that as I had read the book before seeing the film, I will never know if I would have worked out the location of the Chalice (and Blade) before Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. I think I also spotted a couple of continuity errors – one with views from the plane coming into England … and I can’t remember the other one. Minor irritants. Would I line up to see a film of the next one (Angels & Demons) – probably – I’d like to see how the helicopter sequence.

And on things relating to art and Da Vinci, I was reading somewhere the other day that the last time the Mona Lisa was moved – just a few meters - it cost 3.2 million British pounds. It would be interesting to see the itemized account for that!

Software

I spent part of Sunday doing a computer intervention. I went with Lizzie on Saturday when she bought an MP3 player at George'?s, York St, Sydney. I was a bit surprised when the phone rang? and it was Lizzie having trouble loading songs onto the new machine. But, alas, the phone intervention didn't work so I was booked for an actual intervention. And I have to admit the devil was in the detail - and I didn't like it. Why would you make your media player work hand-in-glove with Windows Media Player. Which is okay if you know about playlists and things, but not so great otherwise. Two-and-a-half hours later it was sorted - instructions written and tested. And music, photos and text installed on the MP3 player (which is a generic name of course). Phew.

Birthday Yum Cha

We usually go into ChinaTown for Yum Cha but that may not be the case after today. For Margaret’s birthday we went to a local Chinese restaurant (in Marrickville) for Yum Cha. We had tried to go a couple of Sundays ago but the queue was off-putting. But someone was on the ball for today and had made a booking. And just as well. It was busier today than the last time. With good reason. It was very good – okay not as slick as in ChinaTown but good value, quick service … and very hot tea. So we’ll go local next time.

Also part of the birthday celebrations was coffee (or tea or hot water) and a not exactly to the rules game of trivia. It was good fun - but a bit disappointing when the others decided they’d had enough! Why is it that people have different tolerance levels for games – especially trivia? I suppose that’s what makes life interesting!

Happy birthday Margaret!

Blogging made easy?

It's been a bit hard to blog over the last couple of days because the Blogger Site has been undergoing maintenance. I hadn't realized how much I've come to rely on the site just being there ... just waiting for our blog sessions. But when you think of all the people using the Blogger site, it's amazing the site is so reliable. Makes me wonder how many hack attacks the site attracts daily - and whether any are ever successful.

Degustation

Not really - but we could have. For Sooz's birthday we decided to go to dinner at Glass, Luke Mangan's establishment. (Who is Luke?) Situated in the recently refurbished Hilton Hotel in Sydney's CBD, Glass is fairly special - even more so by night. The lighting is subdued, the atmosphere relaxed, the service is plentiful and attentive and the food is excellent in quality and preparation. We were pleased to share the evening with M, one of Sooz's oldest friends (as in they've known each other for over 25 years), who is in town for the week. All in all a wonderful evening and a night to remember. M was staying at the nearby Swissotel and we called in there before dinner to freshen up and take in the view (we'll do happy hour and canapes another time) from the Executive Lounge on Level 24. And for anyone visiting Sydney, the Swissotel does offer some rooms with balconies - and the chance to escape into fresh air if you've a mind to.

Cash Backman

While we were on the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago, and Sooz was waiting to see the doctor at the Medical Centre for a lurgy she had contracted (possibily from spa water inhaled), I went for a walk in the local shopping precinct at Palm Beach.
First shop I came to ... Cash Converters. Second shop ... a pawn show (don't remember the name). Third shop ... a music store where I was attended to in my search for a clarinet or perhaps an harmonica by a Mr Cash Backman. Seemed that if the music store didn't pan out for him, he would be nominately perfect for either of the two previous shops!

Beaconsfield Media

Listening to the ABC's Media Report from a couple of weeks ago - about the time of the rescue of the Beaconsfield Miners - gave some insight into how the hordes of journalists were managed on site. For example, SMS alerts were used to advise when press conferences would be held otherwise it would have been difficult to co-ordinate the media who were spread throughout the town including, it seems, "hiding in trees".
The program also raised the issue of Cheque Book journalism - and that who won the exclusive television rights to the Miners' story depended in part on the personalities the networks could front. Once David Koch (Channel 7 personality) had been invited into the back of an ambulance bearing one of the rescued miners, Channel 9 apparently realised it would need to send its biggest gun (Eddie McGuire, also known as Eddie Everywhere) to have any chance of securing the deal ... which they did - supposedly for $2.something million. Little wonder then that the Nine Network has recently announced that it will be shedding 100 jobs (aka people) from its news and current affairs division, mostly from its Sydney office.
Other interesting points made:
* The miners survived 5 days - then they had all the mod cons albeit in very cramped conditions (!! and without bathroom facilities)
* It was estimated that the deal broker for the Miners' story would have earned 20%-30% commission. (I suppose there's no way of telling if that is true or not.)

The Onion Radio News ...

... is a podcast I listen to regularly. While it has previously been quite quirky and funny, it seems to have become ... how to put it? ... in fairly poor taste. Today's was about a day wasted looking for a missing baby; a couple of days ago - a politician being questioned about a scandal deflects media attention by shooting the person standing next to him. Or perhaps it's just me and my perception of funny? How big a part does a person's disposition play in what they see as comedic?

Remake

Yet another two remakes have hit the big screen - "Poseidon" and "The Omen". Usually movies are released on a Thusday but in a marketing move, "The Omen" was released on Tuesday - 6.6.06 - which may have something to do with the supposed mark of the beast "666". That reminds me of a Gary Larson cartoon of a few years ago which had a "333" sign for the idiot son of "the Beast". Somehow it seemed funny at the time.
Not sure if I'll go see either of the movies - although "Poseidon" would probably have some decent special effects ... but will it have Maureen McGovern singing "Morning After"? And what was her song from "Towering Inferno"?

Stuff

In a conversation with our web developer Steph yesterday, the subject turned to "stuff". Really. And how you could substitute "stuff" for more technical terms and language and still know what you were talking about. And Steph reminded me of one of the features of Google - where you can enter "define:stuff" and it will return results. So we did it - and were stunned at how far-reaching "stuff" was/is - especially with the Wikipedia entry. It left us both scratching our heads!

Good design

I recently invested in some screen protectors for my tablet PC (aka Moses) but was a bit disappointed because they seemed to be very plasticy and very blue. I persevered for a couple of weeks and then decided l couldn't tolerate it any more and as soon as I returned home from holidays I was going to remove the protector on Moses and file the other 4 that came in the pack as "last resort". But as I was showing my Dad how blue the screen protector was, I flicked the corner, and in so doing, separated the screen protector and its protective covering - who would have thought a screen protector would have a screen protector. I take back everything I said about the screen protectors being badly designed _ but if you'd seen how marked (and blue) the screen protector was, you'd understand why. Of course, the thing that was really off-putting was that the stylus/pen just did not glide over the screen like it did before the screen protector ... but it's all better now! Fujitsu rules! OK.

Coffee tragic

I am the first to admit that the situation is becoming a bit silly. Bad enough that my coffee order is currently quite specific (large flat white weak and very hot) but it's about to get worse. After many attempts to get a "decent coffee" from the baristas other than Brendan at my local coffee shop, I was stunned to receive a less than good coffee from him. Hmmm. And then I realised that Brendan was not at his usual post on the machine. He was on the other side. Who would have thought that all those dud coffees could be related to the machine rather than the barista - although Brendan is still the best! So now to make sure that the best cup of coffee arrives all I have to ask for is a large flat white weak and very hot from the right side of the machine - or, if it's not Brendan: a large one shot flat etc etc. Coffee tragic. Definitely.

Placement

I read a report this morning about someone who had invented an alarm clock which won't turn off until you enter in a corresponding sequence of flashing lights (to ensure your pre-frontal cortex is as awake as the rest of you). Then I read the items immediately underneath it - Ads by Google. This interests me. Is it automated? Triggered by key words? Manually inserted? Who pays for them? How many do you get for your money? Do you only pay if people click the links? I'm off to find out more.

CPAP Specials, Service Australia's leading CPAP supplier Specials, Services, All in One www.sleepfitness.com

Sleep Disorder Centre Aus Sleep Lab provides diagnostic tests for sleep disorders (OSA, Snoring) www.airliquidehealthcare.com.au

Top Insomnia Treatments The Top Treatments For Insomnia. End Your Sleeping Problems Now! www.InsomniaTreatments.com

Thanks Ben

On Saturday night we went to Sydney University's Great Hall for the farewell performance of conductor Ben Macpherson OAM. Ben's had stewardship of the Sydney University Musical Society for the last 23 years and done a fantastic job. He will be missed. I hope his vineyard appreciates him as he hums his way through the rows. Thanks for all your efforts Ben. Muchly appreciated - as would be central heating in the Great Hall for winter concerts! Thank goodness someone had given us the heads-up so we were suitably rugged up - including beanies and gloves!

An apple a day

Isn't this a wonderful specimen of an apple? All the way from the Apple Belt in Queensland ... Stanthorpe to be precise. It's always nice to get presents - especially ones almost picked fresh - well, hand picked from the local markets at least. Thanks M.

Lurgy time

Not quite sure what's going around at the moment, but it's not good. Have just been down for a couple of days with a lurgy (which I may or may not have contracted from Sooz who had it last week, or my sister who had it the week before that). Also on the (more serious) health front, on Saturday my Dad was taken to the Emergency Department with "the highest blood sugar reading ever recorded at the hospital" which they think will result in him being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Also in hospital, sister-in-law Kim, who is still there following a bowel haemorrhage. She's doing better now and they believe she will be out on the weekend.

Unkind thoughts

Okay, I admit it, I felt dreadful for thinking it. The story that prompted it was in today's Daily Telegraph:

Two university students were found dead inside a large, deflated helium balloon after apparently pulling it down and crawling inside it, officials said. The deaths of Jason Ackerman and Sara Rydman, both 21, appeared accidental, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Major Bob Schrader said.

Of course, you have to wonder what they were thinking - and if it were me, it would have had something to do with plans to inhale the helium and speak in high squeaky voices. (Not that I would ever condone it!)

A quick Google search reveals that this might not have been too far off the mark. A CBS News Report states:

"It was more a fun thing they thought they were doing," said Linda Rydman, mother of Sara Rydman, adding that the two were apparently breathing helium from the balloon to make their voices go higher.

But the U.S. Compressed Gas Association warned that inhaling helium is dangerous because it can quickly lead to brain damage and death from lack of oxygen.

The county medical examiner said Sunday the official cause of death will not be released for six weeks, until toxicology results come back.