Getting a "hit"

New research from the University of Chicago suggests the area of the brain associated with rewards "lights up" when bullies see someone inflicting pain - they get a "hit" from the hit. The same response is not recorded in people wihout aggressive tendencies. The report I read in The Daily Telegraph did not list the participant demographics so it is difficult to know whether the results can be generalized to the population as a whole. But, according to Psychologist Dr Helen McGrath from the National Centre Against Bullying, if the study proved a link between "reward" and pain this showed bullying was a learned behaviour - and the Government should continue to fund early intervention. Tthere are apparently programs that start with four-year olds out there - which is just plain scary on so many levels.

Career opportunity

I'll have to hunt down the actual article but one of the items in the "what's news" quiz in one of the local Sydney papers was; How much will Wyong Councl pay for information leading to conviction of a graffiti vandal? A: $10,000. Not quite sure what they would need but it seems that a person with a camera and time on their hands in the right location might be able to tap into a new income stream here. The question though is: what is graffiti - and when Is graffiti not graffii but art, social expression or free speech? Hmmm. Seems there could be some questioning of societal norms here but possibly lots of people might agree that those people with paint cans who simply repeat/practice their tags in public spaces may not actually be making valid comment/contribution unless it's a visual metaphor for an ongoing search for identity. (Wyong is a little ways away; I wonder if the local council offers a similar bounty.)

Old fashioned fun

Gizmoso reported last week on one of the latest entries in the [US] National Toy Hall of Fame - the stick. Other entrants this time included the Baby Doll and the skateboard. They join existing classics including Mr Potato Head, Crayola Crayons ... and the cardboard box (inducted 2005). The stick was chosen because it has been a staple of imaginative play for a long time - what did you use your stick for ... horse, gun, broom, balance pole ...? - and because everyone - man and beast and Mr Garrett from South Park - plays with one.

(Not so) Merry Xmas

The Grinch is alive and well - both here and overseas. The Croatian Prime Minister has, according to BBC Online, banned State-run firms from having Christmas parties and giving presents due to the credit crunch. Closer to home, The Daily Telegraph reports thieves have stolen $15,000 worth of Xmas decorations from the yard of a house on Queensland's Gold Coast. The decorations formed part of the Turner family's entry in the Gold Coast City Council Christmas Light Up competition which they won last year. The family spends $50,000 and three months annually working on their display - with proceeds donated to the Gold Coast Hospital. Be on the lookout for two larger-than-life fiberglass Santas, a sleigh and nine reindeer.

Cyber-self

Amy Taylor and David Pollard are divorcing three years after they met, fell in love and married - all on the Internet. As well as their cyber-wedding on Second Life (a computer generated world where your cyberself aka avatar can interact with other avatars) the couple also had a real world registry office wedding. But their life has taken an unexpected turn - unexpected for everyone but them I suspect. Amy found out that David was cheating on her - having sex with a Second Life prostitute. Even though Amy hired a cyber PI to look into the matter, and despite her hurt, she and David, still insisting he had done no wrong, patched it up and all seemed well until she soon after discovered he had allowed his avatar to become intimately involved with another, female, avatar in Second Life. When confronted David confessed he had been talking with the player for a couple of weeks and that their marriage (that is David and Amy's) was over. The next day she went to a real world solicitor to file for divorce.
On reading this tale I found myself wondering about people living their "other" life in Second Life. Where do they find the time? What do they do there? And how do they decide on their avatars - and whether they are going to resemble their real life identity at all: case in point - David and Amy's avatars bore very little resemblance to them in real life. But maybe that's the point in a youth and beauty conscious world ... chances are that if you're unemployed, middle-aged, bald and not in peak physical condition, and you get a choice, that's not the image you're going to choose to project to a pretend world.

One, two, three ...

I was listening to Dr Karl Kruszelnicki's radio program the other day and mention was made of the number of hairs on a human head - 100,000. (I have to keep telling myself that Homer Simpson's three hairs don't count because he isn't real.). The question I have is how do they know what the average number of hairs is - did someone actually count them ... strand by strand, or make an estimation based on weight of a sample and coverage area. And if you wanted to question their figure how would you go it? Does the total vary between races? Genders? Ages? Depending on your diet? Oh wait - that would be to do with texture of your hair rather than how much hair you have - as in "eating your crusts will make your hair go curly" - and if they're wrong about that, could they not be wrong about the number if individual strands as well?

What's in a name

Mlckey Mouse officially turns 80 next week - but would he have enjoyed such success and longevity had Walt Disney named him "Mortimer" instead? We'll never know of course but somehow Mortimer Mouse isn't quite as catchy - and certainly doesn't scan well with the Mickey Mouse Club opening song. And to think that the world may never have had Mickey. According to today's The Daily Telegraph, Disney chose Mickey after he lost his biggest star - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - in a trademark dispute. Disney had considered a horse, dog, cat, frog and cow before deciding on Mortimer Mouse - but Disney changed the character's name after his wife told him she "disliked" it. Happy birthday M. Mouse!

Special delivery mail man

German police are today searching for a prisoner who escaped by mailing himself out in a 120cm by 150cm carton. Described as "tall and broad-shouldered" the convicted drug dealer had been working with other inmates on stationery and when their shift ended he climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of the prison by express courier. Shortly after the truck left the prison, he escaped by cutting a large hole in the tarpaulin of the lorry and jumping off. According to the BBC report I read, the driver, on noticing the tarp flapping in the wind investigated and alerted prison officials. The prison Warden, not surprisingly, said the incident showed that security needed to be beefed up urgently.

By the book

Doing some reading on the internet about "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" I discovered an interesting feature at an online bookstore (not Amazon but it also does have this feature although you have to be logged into their site to use it). At the Harper Collins site you can browse inside a book - i.e. you can "search" and even read some sections of the (available) book/s online - which means the book could be available electronically - for those of us who prefer to carry our books on a "device" rather than in paper form. While I am more of a device person myself I was forced to read an actual book recently and it seems that this format does have an advantage of sorts - it let's other people know you are reading rather than playing games or social networking. I've also commented on this blog previously that it could be good advertising for the author if there was some way to "show" what you were reading on a device - similar to the bookmark you can printout from one of the Edgar Sawtelle sites I visited yesterday. Hmmmm - I can see it now - tiny little dustjackets for your electronic handheld reading device - mine currently being my iPod Touch. Which reminds me - Apple here in Australia have recently started advertising the Touch on free-to-air TV as being "fun" and showing a whole slew of games - this fits in well with recent overseas news that Apple is going to push the Touch as a gaming device - although its use as a reading device should not be undervalued.

Dead Unlucky

A Brazilian woman on her way to her husband's funeral was killed when the hearse in which they were travelling was involved in a traffic accident. The coffin hurled forward and hit her in the back. Her son and the driver suffered only minor injuries.

Word play

Words are wonderful. Take "pauper" fo example - which tells you what it means: poor (pau) per(son). Porpoise doesn't work the same way though - meaning neither bad posture nor unfortunate kitty.

Unarmed bandit

From today's The Daily Telegraph - but undoubtedly this story will be all over the "odd" news today:
Munich: Baffled police are hunting a handy thief who managed to steal a 60cm TV from a shop in broad daylight - despite having no arms. The limber bandit had two accomplices clamp the television set to his body before they strolled out of the shop in Munich, Germany. Staff had no clue until they noticed a TV was missing from its stand, then saw the heist on CCTV recordings. A police spokesman said: "It's hard to believe the sight of an armless man walking with a TV clamped to his body did not get anyone's attention."

Shiny guy

Reading about the Star Wars exhibit starting at Sydney's PowerHouse Museum this December, I remembered an article I thought I'd clipped in the last couple of days which referred to things noticed by children. Try as I might I am unable to locate it but the general gist was: in Star Wars the shiny guy worries a lot.

Fencing

It's not often that I find myself agreeing with the Daily Telegraph columnist Piers Akerman but I found I was this morning. He wrote about Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's announcement that his Government would lead an international push to end capital punishment globally. The timing is interesting - coming only hours after the men convicted for their part in the 2002 Bali Bombing (in which nearly 90 Australians were killed) were executed by firing squad. Piers Akerman wrote: "the timing of this mission reeks of gutlessness, hypocrisy and political opportunism". While I would not have put it quite that strongly, I had wondered about the timing - especially as, understandably perhaps from a political standpoint, the Rudd Government did not seem to be campaigning against the death penalty for the Bali Bombers. This is not the forum for a debate on capital punishment but it does seem that it is a very personal issue which everyone needs to take some time to think about and reach their own conclusions rather than simply following the party line of the Government of the day.

Gun Number

Watching a television commercial for the Australian military the other day, I was surprised to see that there was no mention of the "enemy". In it, a young man talked of his role as a "gun number" where he and the others in his team could have their artillery gun in place and ready to fire within a couple of minutes. Sounded easy ... although they themselves were not under fire at the time - and there was no suggestion that those recruited via the ad (for that was its purpose) would have to perform in combat conditions - yes, yes, you'd think people would work it out but it just seems this isn't (whole) truth in advertising.

Google time

Ever since we went into early daylight saving time last month, I have been unsure of the time. I used to be able to confirm the exact time by ringing a number which gave the time -The Talking Clock - but I've decided there has to be another way - like the Internet. There was a site called timeanddate.com which gave time zones from around the world - but there's an easier way. It's Google. Just do a search on "time" and it will show your local time zone - not quite sure how it knows where you are though, probably it has something to do with your IP address or some such detail. It would be interesting to see if it worked when you are accessing the net through a corporate server to see if it could still correctly identify your time zone. (Orr - hi there - if you're still reading, this might be one for you.)

Weddings

One in three weddings end in divorce - so what makes the difference in the other two-thirds? And does it mean that the rest of marriages end with the death of one (or both) spouses? And what of de facto relationships -what is the "success" rate? Is there any credible research in this field - especially as the rate of marriage generally is supposed to be decreasing?

A lot of lolly

Today's The Daily Telegraph tells of the 50th anniversary of the Chupa Chup - which, although not the first lolly on a stick, has probably become the most recognisable - aided by its appearance in Telly Savalas' mouth when he played the famous Chupa-Chup-sucking detective, Kojak*, way back in 1975. (Hands up anyone else who feels old realising they watched the initial series run over 30 years ago!) What I hadn't known about Chupa Chups was that it was Salvador Dali, in 1969, who was commissioned to design the wrapper for the Chupa Chup, or that they were the first lollipops in space, sent to the Mir space station, when requested in 1995 To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this lolly-pop, Chupa Chups Lane will open in Oxford Street Market, Bondi Junction (NSW) today until 17 November. It will feature art works, light boxes and installations. There was no word in the report whether Chupa Chups will be on sale in situ or available gratis.
*The producers of Kojak had apparently come under fire because of the hero's smoking habits; they had him quit smoking and suck lollipops instead.

Fire works

Come Christmas each year, I like to tie some tinsel to the car's aerial so I can find it in crowded car parks. But if you're not the tinsel kind, Gizmodo reports that there is an alternative. What could be a better way to find your vehicle than having a holographic fireworks display "go off" over it - the Fireworks Locator System? Of course, this will probably work better while you're the only one in your neighbourhood with one - otherwise it could be a multi-pyrotechnics display because, and you know it's true, if some folk had one of these they'd be setting it off all the time regardless of the distraction it might prove to passing pedestrians and drivers - which is exactly why I'll be sticking with tinsel.

Naming rites

Obama may have been named the US President Elect this week but it doesn't stop there. Word from the BBC is that babies throughout Kenya (birthplace of Obama's father) are now being named Obama in his honour. .

On time

A recent report on the BBC News online tells that the Vatican is reintroducing "clocking in" for its employees to improve time-keeping and efficiency. This brings to mind the old Curia story: when asked how many people worked on the Vatican, Pope John XXIII replied "about half".

Just the shot

Arriving at my local coffee shop this morning, I couldn't help but notice various signs declaring "Sam's Gone Mad" - and listing 3 specials. When I asked Sam about it, and whether it was because business was not booming he said it was for a number of reasons - but primarily to lift people's spirits. "Usually, this time of year, there's a buzz [in the lead-up to Christmas] but people's morale is down." He's also planning to introduce random spot specials eg $1 coffee. The Post Cafe is in Marrickville Rd, Marrickville, and was well worth a visit even before Sam went mad! But isn't it fantastic to see such a positive grassroots response to changing conditions!

Man on (a) high

In Adelaide yesterday, circus performer Roy Maloy took 11 tries to do what others would consider to be either the stuff of dreams - or nightmares - when he walked 5 steps on 17-metre stilts. Yes ... that was 17 metres - or 57 feet - making them higher than a four-storey building. His previous successful attempt was on 5m stilts. He will have to wait to see if this attempt secures him a world record but remains fairly grounded and down to earth in terms of his achievement - today's The Daily Telegraph reports Mr Maloy as saying: "I was more convinced that I was going to die than at any other point in my life, so I'm really thrilled." Over on the ABC site, they report Maloy was assisted in the death-defying record attempt by the city's fire brigade: "As we were up there, I was holding on to two guys and I turned to one of them and said, 'You know that you are all that's separating me from life and death right now', and he said, 'Look I don't need that pressure'."
I haven't yet been able to find a photo but am hoping footage of the feat will pop up on YouTube sometime soon. In the interim, YouTube does have Roy's video diary of preparations for the record attempt and only by watching that did I truly appreciate the heights this man had reached!

Sculpture 08

Sculpture by the Sea 2008 finished today and we were lucky enough to get there on Friday. Pics are posted at 101-Journeys (and there's a link there to a slideshow of the images).

Halloween treats

Some people will do anything to get something for nothing - so here's your chance if you're that way inclined. Krispy Kreme here in Australia is offering a free SPECIAL HALLOWEEN doughnut to people fronting their stores in Halloween costume on Friday (31/10). Just because we're not in the US doesn't mean we can't celebrate this particular festivity with our American friends. Trick or treat anyone?

Driving me crazy

I noticed this while we were driving north (and south) on holidays recently, and I had completely forgotten about it until I read this letter in the paper today:

[What irks me] People who drive 10km/h below the limit on a single-lane road but when it turns into two lanes they speed up to 10km/h over the limit, meaning you overtake them doing 130km/h just in time for the police to book you. Steve, Coffs Harbour. hottopic; The Daily Telegraph.

I don't know why it is ... but it certainly does happen - except we don't speed to overtake them. As long as it's not raining, I set the cruise control for the speed limit and will Lars (the car) to "take them". Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

Lack of clarity

A report in today's The Daily Telegraph tells of a car accident in Victoria where, with a learner driver at the wheel, a two-door vehicle hit a pole but none of the eight people in the vehicle were killed. Rescue workers at the scene branded the act of cramming that many people into the vehicle "sheer stupidity", but the Victorian Police Commissioner is reported as saying "the six men and two women were not breaking the law as long as all the seat belts were being used". It may be that the laws differ between Australian States, but I thought that here in NSW each person in the vehicle had to be wear a seatbelt - therefore only as many people can be in the vehicle as there are operating seatbelts - as opposed to it's okay for some people in the vehicle not to be wearing seatbelts as long as all the available seatbelts are being used by someone. Having been involved in a couple of vehicle accidents (thankfully none serious), my preference is definitely for seatbelts - and certainly having anyone unrestrained in a vehicle in a crash becomes a hazard to everyone else, never mind what damage they might do to themselves. I have just finished reading "Rant" by Chuck Palahniuk and one of the key characters is in a vehicle accident with her mother and father. She is lying on the seat at the back at the time, not wearing a seatbelt, and it is her body, as it is thrown forward to hit her parents, that causes the injuries that lead to their deaths.

Life imitating …

In Taree, NSW, last Monday, as we sat having breakfast on a small balcony overlooking a park and then the river, I noticed a young man pushing his way - and his bicycle - through the shrubbery towards us. S was deep in newspaper so I pointed it out to her: "Look, there's a man in the bushes." Quick as a flash, the man said "Russell" (or Rustle) - and then proceeded to secure his bike to the balcony support. "That's not your real name" I said. "No" he smiled, and went on his way.

Space smells

According to a recent report, Space (as in Outer) smells like fried steak, hot metal and welding a motorbike. But how do they know - since chances are no astronaut is likely to whip off their helmet on a space walk and take a great big whiff? No non-human noseometer either probably. No - just the good ol' fashioned sniff test of the spacesuit once astronauts are back on board. I suppose it could be enough to make you scream - although would anyone hear you - if you were a vegetarian. But has the smell of space changed over the years as more stuff gets s(c)ent up there, and if there is no oxygen and/or wind do smells, once generated, stay in the same "spot" in geo-synchronous orbit with Earth? And were they male or female astronauts reporting the smell of space - and could gender affect the olfactory result? And will mere (as in not-cashed-up) mortals ever know? I ask because word from the latest space joyrider (? Charles Simonyi) is that people with the big bucks and the passion will still pay to go to space - whatever the price. If so - no doubt they will be able to smell for themselves!

Experimental findings

If you’re over 39 – and of the male persuasion - you might want to stop reading this now because what follows may be unsettling: new research from the University of California suggests that “at age 39 our brain reaches its peak speed, and it’s all downhill after that”. As reported on SlashDot: "The loss of a fatty skin that coats the nerve cells, called neurons, during middle age causes the slowdown, experts say. The coating acts as insulation, similar to the plastic covering on an electrical cable, and allows for fast bursts of signals around the body and brain. When the sheath deteriorates, signals passing along the neurons in the brain slow down. This means reaction times in the body are slower too." ‘The full findings are detailed in the online version of the journal Neurobiology of Aging – including the framework of the experiment: Scientists asked 72 men, ranging in age from 23 to 80, to tap their index fingers as fast as they could for 10 seconds. The researchers also did brain scans to measure in each subject the amount of myelin (the aforementioned fatty sheath). Both the tapping speed and the amount of myelin was found to decline "with an accelerating trajectory" after age 39. So this raises a few questions: Excluding morse operators, is there a section of the community that is more practiced in “tapping” eg perhaps because of work with calculators, texting, computers or computer gaming? Is there a similar difference in age performance in females - and why were females not included in the experiment? Is there a difference between males and females in “brain speed” … and development? Is there a cultural difference – or perhaps a cultural bias (as with IQ tests)? Is 72 really a large enough sample with which to aver that “brain speed declines at 39”? Study leader George Bartzokis, professor of psychiatry at UCLA, called the results "pretty striking" and said: "That may well be why, besides achy joints and arthritis, even the fittest athletes retire and all older people move slower than they did when they were younger." Others (including moi) might say: more work needed.

Kindle up some interest

I tell you, this is music to my ears ... the news that Oprah (as in Winfrey) has announced her latest "new favorite thing "is the Amazon Kindle - wich is an ebook reader (as well as having some other features). So why am I excited even though I'm not going to take advantage of the code which would give me a $US50 discount on the device (although perhaps I should be given today's deep dive of the Australian dollar)? It's a small matter of content. If Oprah's endorsement of the Kindle works as well as her BookClub endorsements - and it seems that there is a perfect companionship here - there will be a burgeoning market for electronic books - and if there's a market there's also the very real possibility that more books will find their way into digital as well as conventional print - and then the rest of us who are already reading our Kindles, iPod Touches, Palms and Pocket PCs will have an even greater choice of material. Yes, yes, I know it's too much to ask to have a price drop on digital works as well - but you can't blame me for dreaming (and doing the happy dance)!

Library news

It's been a while since I went to the Library - at least 4 years because when we moved here I meant to join the Library but never did get around to it - but I was forced there earlier this month when a book M recommended could not be purchased in eBook format. And it sounded just quirky enough that I did want to read it (Men who stare at goats by Jon Ronson), so after an online check to confirm the local book repository had it, I fronted there the next day to join and take out said tome. My, how borrowing a book has changed over the years. It's now all done electronically - scan your membership card and then (s)wipe your item (book, CD or DVD) over the reader mat - then a piece of paper prints out with the name of the item/s and the due date. If the due date rolls around and you want to extend, you can do that online without having to visit the library. And you can have 30 items out at a time! But the innovation doesn't stop there. Used to be back in the olden days, all manner of non-Library rubbish including syringes and other nasties, would find their way into return chutes. Now, the chutes are locked - and you gain access by scanning the barcode on your library card or the item - which is a much safer option. Yes, it's good at the local Library and with this penchant for innovation, I'm hopeful they have an eBook program somewhere on their horizon!

Fire wall or stone walling

I'm not sure how much of what is on the internet is true ... but I read a piece recently which would be very disturbing if it were true. I came across it on the Gizmodo site, which referred to an item on the Boing Boing site, which suggested the Australian Government is putting a web censorship program in place which is designed to restrict teenagers access to p0rn sites but could have wider ramifications. The system is an "opt-out"one - so everyone's usage will automatically be censored. According to the Boing Boing item, if you do opt out, you will be placed on an alternative blacklist which instead of blocking "content innappropriate for children", will block any material deemed to be illegal. But what is illegal content - and who decides? Would it be social, cultural. other eg euthanasia, drugs or political dissent? The interesting part of this is that I picked the story up off an off-shore site but haven't seen anything about it in the local (Australian) press. Might be time to do some digging and, as the Boing Boing item suggested, have a word with the local MP to voice some opposition against this. (And to think we had believed we were free of Big Brother - when the news was released earlier this year that the series was not planned to return to Australian shores. Seems the other Big Brother could be infinitely worse.)

Gadget guy

The writers at Gizmodo are often very tongue-in-cheek - sometimes more so than others. In a recent story they told about a young man, Scott Boe, who broke into a house to charge his cell/mobile phone suggesting a "serious dependency" on gadgets. Of course, it could be that Mr Boe was just breaking into the house - as might have been evidenced by the backpack pokice found at the scene with him which included several knives, a large pry tool and other suspicious devices. Gizmodo suggested the excuse that may have been offered by Mr Boe ... "that stuff isn't mine" might have been as lame an excuse as the urgent need for charging his phone. (Hmmm, I wonder how many people - besides me - actually carry their phone charger with them? Yes, yes, I know ... "serious dependency".)

Water into wine

We've all heard stories about water being turned into wine - those with a Christian upbringing anyway - but it recently happened (again?) in Italy where wine gushed through taps into homes during a grape festival. Alas, it wasn't a miracle, but a plumbing error. An integral part of the Marino's wine festival is where sparkling white wine flows from the fountains from the main square. This year, a technical error meant the wine was directed not to the fountain but to domestic plumbing - and in the couple of minutes before the error was discovered and rectified, where there was water was now ... wine. According to the BBC report I read, the grape festival, Sagra dell'Uva, is one of the oldest in Italy, and commemorates the return of Admiral Marcantonio Colonna to his home in Marino after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571. The town sent more than 250 sailors to the battle. The sagra is celebrated on the first Sunday of October to give thanks for their safe return. No doubt the local householders who received the unexpected wine, together with a bar on the town square, gave thanks as well.

There's no snow ...

I remember hearing that Eskimos have 32 different words for snow. You can go to this BBC News report for more on those words but here are a couple to help pique your curiosity, as the BBC said:'Kannevvluk' is no problem but avoid 'mingqutnguaq'.

Calibration or something more sinister?

Anyone with a touchscreen device - and there are more of us all the time - know that they are not infallible and that sometimes where you touch the screen isn't always properly recorded by the device. So, it may not be the world's smartest idea to have touchscreen voting machines in situ for the US election - especially as, according to a report in Gizmodo, early voters in West Virginia have complained that when they have tried to vote for Barack Obama, the touchscreen voting machine has recorded their vote as one for John McCain. Hopefully, this is no more sinister than a case of bad calibration - easily fixed if you know how - because we would expect only fair play from the nation which goes out of its way to protect the idea and ideals of democracy. Still, if any of our US friends do find themselvces on a touchscreen voting device, it's probably best to check how your vote was recorded before you leave the booth. (Will we Australians, in our lifetime, be able to vote electronically - either at a defined voting station or over the web - or, perhaps, if not electronically, by using pens - rather than pencils - on our ballot papers?)

TXT your love

You can get many services via mobile/cell phone these days - even relationship help. I recently saw an TV ad for a service where you can assess how strong your relationship is and whether you and your partner should stay together by sending a TXT. I can't recall whether you needed to provide any personal details to help the service "decide". I guess if you were in a relationship with someone who wanted to check how the relationship was progressing by doing this, if they came back with a "break up" it could be doing you a GR8 big favour.

Horror story

Four years ago and just after midnight - Maureen Wyer was harassed by undertaker Adam Lee as he followed her through two suburbs - in his hearse. He was sounding his horn, "ranting and raving", driving into her path, forcing her on to the median strip and banging on her car door. She was fearful for her life and he only stopped when she flagged down two police officers. Now, that time frame again - four years ago ... December 2004. In court yesterday, Mr Lee was placed on an 18-month good behavior bond and ordered to seek treatment for the depression which allegedly contributed to the incident, as, supposedly did alcohol. The woman was unknown to the man - which was partly accountable for the light sentence according to a TV news reports I saw. Understandably she wants to put the episode behind her - and now, four years later, and with justice "done", she may be able to do so. But why does it take four years for a case like this to make the courts, and how much more severe would the sentence have been if he was doing it to a known person rather than just some random person. And is it possible that the court-ordered treatment for his condition could have benefited him, and the community, way back when the harassment happened? Hmmm.
Update: Ms Wyer has branded the sentence "an insult" according to today's The Daily Telegraph. It also added that the incident had left her so traumatised she had been unable to drive for six weeks.

Flight risk

A report on SlashDot tells of a US TSA employee who has been discovered selling goods worth approximately US$200K on the internet. For those who haven't travelled by air in the US, the TSA is part of Homeland Security, and is responsible for doing security checks on goods/luggage travelling by plane. The options when securing your luggage for air travel there are to: not lock your bags; lock your bags with a TSA-approved lock which TSA personnel can open; or lock your bags with a non-TSA-approved lock which the TSA will bust to check your luggage. That's the official checks anyway - which it appears were not how the TSA employee ended up with the goods found when his home was searched, which included: 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, 20 cell phones, 17 sets of electronic games, 13 pieces of jewelry, 12 GPS devices, 11 MP3 players, eight camera lenses, six video cameras and two DVD players.
The report did not mention the total value of goods purloined by the employee nor what the most amazing piece of stolen luggage was, nor how long the scam had been going on, nor what safeguards would be put in place to prevent a recurrence.

The stuff of dreams

A recent study out of Scotland's Dundee University looks at whether the way we dream - in colour or in black and white - is affected by the television we watched in our younger years. Unfortunately the study only used a small sample size, so this may need to be re-visited but it seems that people (now over 55s) born before television, dream in colour; those who were children (now under 55s) when black and white television was most common, dream in black and white; and children (now under 25s) born when colour televisions were commonplace, dream in colour. What an interesting concept - especially if there is an st/age where children are more malleable than others: eg is there a golden teaching period?
And on the subject of dreams, the BBC reports on a study from the University of the West of England which suggests that women are 'more prone to nightmares'. The 170 subjects in the study recorded their dreams - and 19% of men and 30% of women reported a. nightmare. There was reportedly no difference in the number of dreams recorded by members of each sex - although there was some evidence that women had more "emotional" dreams.

Whale watch

The whales continue to make their way along the coast and when we're in the unit, we keep an eye out - way out. The two whales shown here - one fin, one part of indeterminate origin - are captured with a 12x optical zoom - so they are a long way away. It is still a huge thrill to see the splash and then watch for them to surface again. So why do whales breach? Is it courtship behaviour, play activity or barnacle removal? Experts seem divided on the reasons, but it's good that whales do breach otherwise it would be nigh impossible to spot them.

Off-hand

How do we remember things? And how is it possible that 30-something years later, key shorthand (Pitman) strokes are still "in there" - and able to pulled out enough to be able to take down shorthand at slow talking speed. We were commenting on this as it was happening - and S commented that this - writing shorthand - was another skill I could include on my resume - "but" I protested "I can't read it back" - "doesn't matter" she replied "you're only saying you can write it". Hmmm.

T

At Burleigh Heads Beach on the Gold Coast, at Monday mornings at 8:30am, the Council provides free Tai Chi lessons. The only thing better would be if they then provided Chai Tea.

The times they are a-changing

... apologies to Bob Dylan. After being immortalised in an episode of "The Simpsons" the legendary letter-returning skills of former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr are coming to an end. Although it took many many years for Marge Simpson to receive a reply from Ringo , current-day (real) fans may never receive one following the release of an online message from Mr Starr saying he is too busy to sign or read fan mail. Would be interesting to know if fan mail has increased or decreased with the general uptake of the internet.

Sydney Ferris

Whisper on the street is that a temporary Ferris wheel may soon be erected near Sydney's Circular Quay. If the proposal gets the go-ahead from the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, the wheel could be (a)round from later this year to January next year. The (generic) Ferris wheel is named after American engineer George Washington Gale Ferris who "designed such a wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893." The SlovoEd dictionary for Palm goes on to say that a Ferris wheel is "an amusement device consisting of a large power-driven wheel made in two parallel sections having seats suspended between the sections; the seats maintaining a horizontal position while the wheel rotates in a vertical plane".
The Sydney version is planned to be 45 metres tall, and have 36 six-seat air-conditioned gondolas.

Placement

Checking the news online this morning, I clicked on one of the ten most popular stories links at smh.com.au and saw a story about Coke and the Australian Dental Association's concern about a full page ad the (among other things) drink company is using. The advertisement on the same "page" as the story was for Colgate (see screen grab); it will be interesting to see if the same juxtaposition happens in the hard-copy newspaper.

Whale of a time

I have spent some time this afternoon (after a post-lunch siesta) looking far out to sea looking for some sign of whales as they migrate north to their breeding grounds. Container ships ... check. Helicopters ... check. Small planes ... check. White caps aka white horses ... check. Whales ... nada. Until about 4pm when I noticed a largish splash a distance out. Then nothing. Half an hour later - another one. But by the time the binoculars were out and focused on roughly the right patch of ocean, no sign. S jokingly accused me of perpetrating some odd form of torture, as I called her each time to witness the whales. And then, there it was - two splashes at the same time that we both saw. I was lucky enough to see whales and fins ... And found myself wishing for stronger binoculars, better eyes, and perhaps an industrial-strength telescope - or even a boat. The whales were incredibly difficult to track across the ocean but from time to time I'd see the splash again - or a large puff of spray from a blowhole. Heaven. (At this point I will mention that the actual whale sighting came AFTER I had employed a trick from "Finding Nemo", one I had tried often but unsuccessfully as I sat on my balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Cape Town last November. It is, of course, "speaking in whale". Thanks Dory. It works.)

Getting a grip

Why is an octopus called an octopus if it has ten-tacles? Yes, now I know that it has to do with "tentacles" - as derived from the Latin tentaculum which means to feel/probe. But what is the difference between a tentacle and an arm ... especially if octopuses, squid and cuttlefish all have 8 - but cuttlefish and squid have 2 extra but different "tentacles". According to Dr James Wood: tentacles are longer then arms and they usually only have suckers at their tips.

Lights in the sky

From our 16th floor holiday unit on the Gold Coast, we are able to watch the planes swing around to line up to land at the Coolangatta airport. Last night, as I lay in bed, watching yet another set of lights in the starry night, I realised that this one didn't seem to be moving. Sure enough, over the course of the next (more than) twenty minutes, it continued to "hover" there. I tried to have a look through binoculars but the best I could make out was three lights - red, green and white. I couldn't tell how far away, or what, it was but it may be that I will check the local paper to see if there were any reports of UFOs in the night sky. If not, then I'm going with that it was a helicopter - although I had heard that most helicopter pilots would avoid prolonged hovering because it is dangerous.

A question of ethics ...

or courting sympathy? Is it appropriate for children to be allowed in court? Reports of a NSW rugby player's appearance in court yesterday to try to regain access to the girlfriend he allegedly injured in a domestic violence incidence, was accompanied by a picture of the man (mid-20s) holding his (much) younger brother's hand. At first I thought it might have been a bid to show what a "good guy" he is, but reading of another source's reports that he was supported in court "by his mother, sister, uncle and two little brothers" suggests otherwise. But, and here is the question of ethics - or is it morals - is it appropriate to have young children in court? Would it be different if it were a violent crime or, say, possession of drugs? And, have there been any studies done on whether an accused supported by family including children, fares better in the justice system than those without (lawyers notwithstanding)?

On the street where you live ...

Teacher Julie McIlroy and electrician Allan Donnelly are planning to wed after they met on an internet dating site. Nothing too strange about that for the couple, who have both been based in the same street in Cardiff, Wales, for the last 17 years but had never met. Is this a case of them previously looking for love in all the wrong places? Or, when Julie began emailing Allan after seeing his photo on the net, did she do so because he seemed "familiar"? It is heartening though - to know that they do not have the "geographically-difficult" dimension that sometimes precludes internet daters from meeting although, as has been often showed, where there's a will, there's a way.

Get the message

Australian television station Channel 10 has been found guilty of using subliminal advertising during last year's ARIA awards. Despite the station's denials, the Australian Communications and Media Authority found that logos for KFC, Chuppa Chps, Bigpond and others were flashed on screen while the nominees for the awards were read out. Most people who "saw" the flashes would not have consciously registered or realised what they were seeing - such is the shortness of the "flash". So, is this a common practice amongst television stations here and abroad? Possibly not ... especially as the ad breaks just seem to be getting longer and filled with more ads. But it does make you wonder about the products that would be best advertising (or not) via subliminal advertising. Is it just the ARIA demographic or do major ticket items eg cars, international travel not translate effectively to subliminal advertising? Or did some companies, if indeed they were offered the opportunity, not agree to have their products so advertised? And what other uses could sublimal messaging serve? Wikipedia's entry on subliminal messages includes: In 1978, Wichita, Kansas TV station KAKE-TV received special permission from the police to place a subliminal message in a report on the BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill) in an effort to get him to turn himself in. The subliminal message included the text "Now call the chief," as well as a pair of glasses. The glasses were thought to be of significance to the killer because when BTK murdered Nancy Fox, there was a pair of glasses lying upside down on her dresser. So, police felt that the glasses would stir up some remorse emotion and included them in the subliminal message. The attempt was unsuccessful, and police reported no increased volume of calls afterward.

Safety feature

As if the possibility of making a (possibly) life-changing phone call while under the influence of alcohol wasn't bad enough, with the increasing availability of email on people's phones, there's now the chance that a more enduring and no less embarrassing message may be released into the wild. But fear not, Google is on top of it. It's just released a new setting for its Gmail accounts (yes, they probably need to be set before drinking commences) where the user will need to correctly answer some simple mathematics questions before they can send email. Sounds reasonable. Now if only there was something like that for mobile phones!

Similarities

What do the Vatican and the US Army have in common? Both are making efforts to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels. Wired reports that the Army is planning to build what could be the world's most powerful solar power plant. Elsewhere, Gizmodo reports that the Vatican has just installed the first panels of its intended 2,400-strong solar panel roof project. If all goes to plan, this could see the Vatican as the first carbon-neutral body in the world - and striking a very real blow against what they have called "the sin" of poilution.

Right place

Luck, or was it fate, was on the side of a 6-year-old boy found drowning in a pool at a resort in northern NSW. Alerted by screams from his mother, other guests at the resort rushed to help including a paediatrician, an intensive care paramedic, a doctor and a paediatric nurse. The boy was being treated in hospital last night for water in his lungs.

Counting on this

On this day ... In 1571 "A Turkish fleet is destroyed by Christina forces commanded by Don John of Austria at the Battle of Lepanto. About 30,000 men die." So how long have people been counting for - and why did they start? According to Wikipedia, there is "archeological evidence suggesting that humans have been counting for at least 50,000 years ... and that it was used primarily to track economic data such as debts and capital". So, then, why did different types of counting groupings come about, take as an example Metric (10's) and Imperial (12's) - could this have been due to regional differences or the physical means used to track the counting of numbers eg fingers vs ... something else. And at what point were "bigger" numbers needed eg millions, billions, trillions ... and is there any time correlation between this and the need to break time into ever smaller increments - ie once upon a ... time, the smallest time measurement might have been a day - because there was no reliable way of measuring anythi ng smaller. Was there an economic imperative with the creation of time measurement as well - eg people needed to know how long a labour period was and how to measure it efectively? Strange then, too, that the traditional gift for long service with a company was (and still may be) a gold watch.

Experience the difference

When is a movie not a movie? When you're charged $3 extra for the ticket because it's "an experience" - or that's what I was told on Sunday afternoon when buying a ticket for "Journey To The Centre of The Earth 3D". I suspect the additonal $3 was to cover the extra costs associated with the 3D glasses. I've just checked an ad to see if the higher price was included - and it is covered thus: * SPECIAL EVENT CONDITIONS APPLY; and, in another ad: NO DISCOUNT TICKETS. 3D PRICES ONLY. That will teach me to check session times electronically rather than in the press - and to be ready for anything at the cinema. Especially the middle-aged gentlemen who lost his mobile phone and in an effort to find it, I rang his number so we could hear it ring - or at least light up if he had put it on silent. It worked ... and off he went muttering that his mother would have had "his g*ts for garters" if he'd lost it. Hmm - this could explain why, as we were leaving the complex, my phone rang and, as I was driving, S answered it. The person on the other end wanted to know why I had rung them. D'Oh.

Crocodile fears

Following the disappearance of a man beside a crocodile-infested river in Far North Queensland last week, local authorities have been trapping crocodiles in the area and will be testing them to check for human remains. So far three have been captured. At first I was concerned that the crocodiles were going to be killed so the tests could be conducted, but no, apparently they are to be x-rayed. The first crocodile to be tested has returned a negative result but will not be returned to the stretch of the river from which he was taken; instead, word is that Charlie will be put out to stud (at a crocodile farm). It is unclear what will happen if one of the crocs returns a positive result. Or how authorities will manage the co-existence of humans and crocodiles in the area in the future.

Birthplace oif an idea?

I have included a screenshot here of what I fancifully believe could have been the birthplace of the Palm PDA. It's from the final episode of Series 3 of The X Files dating back to 1995. Wouldn't it be amazing if this had been Jeff Hawkins's inspiration for a palm-sized personal computing device? There had long been non-electronic versions of palm-sized writing pads/cardholders available - especially the leather versions through quality stationers. But, to my mind anyway, the Palm was a huge leap forward. (It does make me wonder how ideas are born - and whether life us better for people who are more observant - or who have two right hands.)

Best case scenario

The origin of words and sayings can be interesting and thought-provoking. Take, as an example, "best case scenario". Did this have a meaning before the advent of "Deal or No Deal", the television program where a contestant has to choose a single case from many - each of which contains a $ amount from 50 cents to $200,000 (Australian version). They then have to open the other cases - and depending on which amounts are revealed, they are made an offer for their case. As an offer is made they have two options - "deal" or "no deal". The object of the game is to end up with a sizeable amount of money - either by making it to the end with your case being the one to contain big dollars, or to make the "deal" along the way - to sell your case, with whatever it has, for the offer. It was in yesterday's program that the presenter, outlining the possible options to the contestant with $2,000, $5,000 and $50,000 still in play, used the phrase "the best case scenario". So where does "best case scenario" come from? Did it ever refer to physical cases (aka ports, bags, suitcases) or does it relate to case as in "proceeding in a court of law" or "a problem requiring investigation" ... or something else entirely? According to the SlovoEd (Palm version) dictionary it's: being, relating to, or based on a projection of future events that assumes only the best possible circumstances [a best-case scenario]. Somewhat surprising, in a quick search on Google for "best case scenario" three of the first 10 results show (in bold print) "worst-case scenario".

How to lose an hour ...

... before Daylight Savings starts. It began with the observation that "Encyclopaedia" was the answer to one of the clues in today's Quick Crossword in The Sydney Morning Herald. I had remembered the "a" in the middle because of "The Mickey Mouse Club". S advised me that I was remembering it incorrectly - and we both sang our versions of the Jiminy Cricket song to compare them. Both scanned - so we decided to settle it over the internet. Out came the iPod Touch for a quick search for Jiminy Cricket on YouTube (hmmm - it was actually easier to spell "encyclopaedia" than "Jiminy" but that's another story). Well, of course S was right - even though I still insist that the version we saw in Toowoomba Qld DID have the "a" - and from there, after a couple of replays of the song, I went in search of my 1967 favourite "Adventure Island" (opening and closing sequences) .. which then led to "Gilligan's Island" because I thought the Island theme songs had similar feels ... and then onto another favourite yesteryear program "The Littlest Hobo" ... by this time S was begging me to leave so more reading of Einstein's biography could take place ... and a quick search on Einstein found some footage of the great man himself and ... Einstein the Parrot, who was very, very good and, as S said, made it "all worth it". Then, to round it off, I looked for footage of the Kangaroo that used to signal the overnight close of transmission for Channel 7 Sydney (I saw the last time the temporary close happened) in the days when stations did not broadcast 24 hours a day. As well as the Kangaroo, there was, and I had forgotten this, the song "My City of Sydney". Ahhh, those were the days ... and that's how to lose (at least) an hour on a Thursday evening. But it truly is amazing what is available on YouTube - and how easy it is to look it up if you're using a portable wireless device which turns on rather than "boots up".

On Writing

I am in the middle of reading Stephen King's* "On Writing" - a "how to" manual which is proving to be quite different from what I had expected. (Take writing advice from Stephen King? You bet. You'd be doing well to be half as successful as he, and if your penchant is to write "literature" rather than "popular fiction" the same tools/rules apply.) Key learning thus far: if you are writing about the possessive, always use an 's even if the word ends in an s. Oh, and his other advice: if you want to be a writer, you have to also be a reader. I would also posit that you would do well to have a good editor. Also, if you want to be a writer: write ... regularly each day .. set yourself a limit and just do it.
Which reminds me - it's going to be November in a minute - and time again for NaNoWriMo otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Some 100,000 people took part in the event last year where you simply undertake to write something each day in November - and have a 50,000 word novel completed at the end of the month. The NaNoWriMo.org site is currently having difficulties but you can check there in a few days to find out the details, or get more of a flavour for the "event" from the NaNoWriMo entry in Wikipedia (sorry, remote posting this means I can't insert a URL link).

Positioning statement

Way back when – not sure of the exact date, I commented on this blog about the way newspapers report on who you are. In today’s paper there is a reference to a woman being a “redundant marketing consultant”. This will be helpful in the period between now and when I start in my next position – until then, if asked, I am a redundant business analyst. Although, come to think about it, that could be just a little confusing – but possibly helpful - in these difficult economic times.

Target audience

Australian broadcaster ABC launched the local version of the car show Top Gear earlier this week. According to The Daily Telegraph “More than 1.3 million people tuned into the debut episode ...” This is the second time I’ve heard that kind of number mentioned in the last day. I can’t remember the exact number cited the other time, except that it was over a million: i.e. the number of users signed up to use the on-line dating service that was advertised on television just after midnight last night. Now, I’m not sure what the exact population of Australia is (quick Google search suggests over 20 million in 2006) but that does seem like an awful lot of people to be looking for love on-line. I wonder if there have been any statistics produced about success rates? Or, and this is probably recent viewing of an “X Files episode where the suspect was using on-line dating sites to target women so he could feast on their lipids rather than their lips” talking, has anyone produced reliable statistics about why it may not be such a good idea to use the internet for initiating on-line relationships – or a “how to” guide so people can do so safely? (Yes, I know ... time to turn off the television.) Is this something that could be included in the next Census – or the subject of someone’s doctoral thesis – although collecting data might be tough because of the sheer size of the population (random sampling might help) and because if someone had had a not-so-wonderful experience with on-line dating, they may not want to talk about it. Lots of food for thought there ... including whether there is a specific personality profile that would prefer on-line dating, and whether modern lifestyles means there is a preference for on-line dating over other ways of meeting people. (This ramble is probably another reason to turn off the television – especially when midnight rolls around. Seems to be a different target market in the wee smalls of the morning.)

On this day

A lot happened on this day in history here are but a few of them: ether was used as an anesthetic for the first time (1846); Truman Capote was born (1924); James Dean was killed in a car crash (1955); Australian radio series Blue Hills ended after 33 years on air (1976); author Patrick White died (1990) and (in 1999) BHP's Newcastle steelworks ceased operations after 84 years. Wonder what today will bring?

Flight experience

I knew there was a flight simulator in Sydney for pilot training, but until I read about it in this morning's The Daily Telegraph, I had no idea there was a commercial-grade (modelled on the) 737 simulator available for use by the public. It's situated at Flight Experience at Darling Harbour and prices range from $175 for 30 minutes (take off and land) to $275 for an hour (city to city). No experience is required, but bookings may be (1800 737 800).

Work choices

Reading through the classified ads, specifically the Positions Vacant, in today’s paper, I chanced upon one for a DOG GROOMER. Essential requirements are: “Must be hard working and reliable”. Now, at this point, the “not-being-afraid-of-dogs” thing seemed like it could have been a reasonable inclusion - as would some "experience". But maybe that will be covered when you ring up to apply. The good news is that it's a fairly short day 8:30am - 4.30pm Tuesday - Saturday. Remuneration levels were not included.

Land line

If you're working or living on higher floors, you may want to interest the owners of your building in the Alongo "Happy Landing Zipline". The product is a combination of three parts - the Cable Machine that is anchored on the roof of the building, the Safety Belt, worn by the person fleeing the building, and a Slide Hook - which regulates the person's speed as they slide down the cable (which stretches between the Cable Machine on the roof and an anchor point on the ground). There's a video of the system in use here; or images on the Gizmodo site.

Old vs New

Where would the world be without the English Channel? Over the last few days there have been two aviation attempts to cross the Channel - one successful, the other, not. One attempt, flying from France to England, involved jet-powered wings and Yves Rossy. a commercial airline pilot by training, who, after a 13-minute flight, landed safely near Dover. Not faring so well was Stephane Rousson, amateur pilot, who took off from England in his pedal-propelled airship and didn't make it to the French coast - calling off the attempt four hours into the flight, and three quarters of the way there, following an unfavourable change in weather conditions.

Drive time

Engadget carried an article today on "gizmos to scar your USB port for life". The article contained links to a number of USB devices - at least one of which will never be coming into this house ... the thumb drive.

Xmas present

Is there a special someone in your life who is mad keen on StarWars that you haven't yet thought of the "perfect" Christmas present for. Well, from the States comes word of the Artoo-themed digital watch complete with mini detachable infra-red remote control R2D2. You can find the full details - and a photo - here.

Milk source

I was listening to a (Ricky Gervais?) podcast last week and it was talking about Room 102 - where you would put everything that you loathed. It would disappear from the planet. One of the items mentioned was people who make desserts from their breast milk and offered them to their friends, neighbours and acquaintances. Well, I'm not sure if this is a case of life imitating art, but there are apparently calls by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to have Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream made from the milk from nursing mothers - rather than milk from cows. Hmmmm. Of course, the idea may not be fresh. Storchen, a Swiss restaurant, earlier announced that it would be providing a menu with soups, stews and sauces based on human milk - thereby replacing 75% of its current daily dairy servings.
It is an intriguing idea - and one which raises lots of questions about collection, nutrition, quality control and sustainability.

Numbers up

Hmmm ... wouldn't have thought there would have been much competition for this - but a report on Yahoo this morning tells of a group of mathematicians at UCLA who have become eligible for a $100,000 prize by their discovery of a 13-million-digit prime number. Does make you wonder what other research is being undertaken in the quest for financial prizes - and who puts up the purses. Come to think of it, isn't there one being funded by Google - something to do with the moon?

Real world applications

Do experiments have an application in the real world? Take, for example, a recent study by Canadian researchers who claim people who experience social isolation are more likely to perceive that the air around them is cooler. This gives the "getting the cold shoulder treatment" (blame The Daily Telegraph for that) more credence - and leaves one wondering if this was the initiating spark for the study. And, the good news is that it doesn't have to be happening at that time - subjects in the study only had to recall an excluding experience to believe temperatures were cooler by 3C. So, next time you're feeling a little warm, and want to save the environment by not turning on that air conditioner - think about the last time you felt sad about not being "one of the gang". Of course, the other side of this is if you're in a situation when you do feel excluded, chances are you'll want something warm to eat or drink afterwards. I guess that would just about even out any energy saving in the first instance.

High price of globalisation

Contaminated milk products have caused illness, including death, to children in both China and Hong Kong. In the old days, prior to globalisation, that would be it - parents around the world could feel the pain of their Asian counterparts, but not fear the same threat to their own children. That's not the case today. At least one product here in Australia (White Rabbit Creamy Candies - usually found in Asian grocery stores) is being tested to see if they contain traces of the industrial chemical melamine.

Review review

Lurleen Lumpkin returns to Australian screens in next Tuesday's episode of The Simpsons. Lurleen, country and western singer, briefly managed by Homer, stars in this episode which, according to the p/review in The Daily Telegraph "When it screened in the US, this episode was one of the lowest-rating in the show's 20-year history, something that might be explained by the presence of the outspoken Dixie Chicks". Odd that - given that the episode originally aired in April 2008, well after the American public had fallen out of love with the Dixie Chicks over their supposed non-support of the US invasion of Iraq. Other possible reasons for the low ratings for the episode, according to Wikipedia, which states it was the third-lowest rating ever received by a The Simpsons showing, was Lurleen's "starring" role (in what is usually a very ensemble offering) and the dream sequence near the top of the show where Homer suffocates his father. Also, and I'll judge this for myself on Tuesday night, there was the suggestion that the episode just wasn't that funny!

Collectors

Some people are just collectors. A pal of ours talked about a recent visit to an old family friend who had collections of a range of things including toy cars. My Dad used to collect coins. In fact, if you think about it, you can probably name at least half a dozen people (is dozen an imperial measurement? And as a metric country should there be another measure we use that is based on decimals?) who collect something or other. My interest has been piqued by news of a skull found washed up on a Sydney beach last Friday. While there was some initial concern about the origin of the skull, and whether the owner had been the victim of foul play, Police are now suggesting that the circumstances which led to the skull being found are not suspicious. Several lines of inquiry are underway including that the skull has come from a museum, university or private collection. Yes, that was ... "private collection". There are apparently, according to The Daily Telegraph's report of a statement by Detective Inspector Dave Walton "known private collectors of skeletal remains" (and perhaps there are unknown ones as well, but we don't want to dwell on that). So, why would anyone collect, and keep, skeletal remains? Would the collection/s be of one person's remains or more? And where do the remains come from?
A quick internet search has provided no insight but even if it had - could it be believed? Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, is apparently calling for a new labelling system so people can tell "fact" from "fiction" on the net. Now, wouldn't that make an interesting job for someone?

Lost and found

Today's The Daily Telegraph carries a report of two men travelling in Central Western NSW who became bogged and used a mobile phone to call for help. They were in a State Forest - but proved quite easy to find - since they were able to provide their exact co-ordinates from the GPS unit they had with them. Seems that providing every vehicle/person with a GPS would solve two problems: firstly it could cut down on expensive search costs; and secondly it would mean we could leave ours in the car without fear of having it stolen! Of course, for the finding people thing to work as well as having them with the GPS, you could also track the GPS unit itself - so you could tell at a glance where anyone was. While this might sound very Big Brother-ish (that would be Big Brother of Orwell's "1984" rather than the television version where people are locked in a house and then voted out) it has very practical applications. Mobile phone satellite tracking is already popular in Australia where parents use it to track children, eg Telstra offers a "Where is Everyone" program. And there is a new service on the horizon which will allow you to create a virtual "electric fence" so you can track that special someone's movements. This could provide a very valuable community service as well - if you could, say, track the whereabouts of someone who was legally required to stay a certain distance from your premises. According to reports, under the system, to be provided in Australia by Affinity under the title "Go Track My People", if someone goes into a restricted area, or out of their "safe" area, with their mobile phone, it sends an alert to a third party. Of course, keeping the mobile phone on someone who knows they are being tracked by it might be difficult - oh wait, perhaps that's the answer ... You don't tell them. Hmmm, it will be interesting to see what privacy protections are available with the system.
That reminds me of a news report from a while ago - about a gentleman, confined to his premises and complete with "bracelet" to confirm his location - which duly announced his departure, but then provided no help in finding him. At the time, it did seem as though the system was based on trust rather than technology.

Stretch

I have downloaded a Crosswords* program by Stand Alone, Inc. on the iPod Touch and it's very nice to use - but I miss handwriting the answers in - so I'm still purchasing my copy of The Daily Telegraph so I can do the crosswords. Doing the "Two Speed" this morning, I was stumped by the clue "Stretched" (quick) or "Half distance finished up all stretched out" (cryptic). The only word that seemed to fit was "dispersed" but that seemed not quite right - as I found myself muttering as I finished filling it in "it seems like a bit of a stretch" (hmmm seemed funnier at the time). I'll have to check tomorrow to see what the answer is.
* You can download the day's puzzles - which are drawn from a number of sources including The Sydney Morning Herald - over WiFi. Puzzles are filled in via the virtual keyboard on the device and for those who are impatient (or stumped) you can check the correctness of individual letters or clues, or the entire puzzle while you are off-line.
Update: As it turns out, the answer was "distended" - which I hope I would have finally arrived at if only I had been better with my tenses/letters - having botched the across clue and working with an "s" instead of "d".

Working it

Leaving the newsagency with the papers yesterday, I overheard an interchange that went:
"Don't work too hard."
"That's an oxymoron."
"What?"
"Don't work too hard. You can only give what you have - so you can never work too hard."
Worked for him - and it makes sense too ... but those people who talk about giving 110% may wish to take issue with it.

Luck runs out

According to recent reports, scientists contend that dinosaurs were able to rule the earth (for a while anyway) because their biggest - as in main - rivals were wiped out by a major event, perhaps climate change, perhaps a meterorite strike. The competition was a group of reptiles called crurotarsans, like today's crocodiles but bigger and, supposedly, resembling dinosaurs. Scientiests suggest the crurotarsans fared better than earlier dinosaurs because the dinosaurs walked on two legs - and could have been warm-blooded. Hmmm. Seems that what we know about dinosaurs keeps changing. And even what they looked like might have been different to common belief: I read somewhere that a man and his son had put together the bones from a chicken carcass, using all the bones, and the resulting frame looked nothing like a chicken. So what guarantee is there that people reassembling dinosaurs bones get it right?

Kitchen whiz

As a regular reader of David Pogue's column (NY Times), it's always fun to see what he finds. Latest fun bit was this site - a cooking segment with a bit of a difference.

Music to my ears

After reading of the death of David Foster Wallace, I went in search of an eVersion of his novel "Infinite Jest" - billed as his " best-known novel". I couldn't find it on my usual eBook supplier's website, so I tried Amazon instead. No-go - but I did find this there and it gladdened my heart ... Kindle is an eBook reader.

Privacy concerns

When Chrome, the new browser from Google, became available a short while ago, there was talk of a "privacy" feature. This would allow the user to do "secret" web surfing - say if someone was wanting to investigate a present they wanted to give to someone, or research a holiday for that special someone - and leave no trace of it on a communal computer. This "private browsing" mode is also known as "porn mode" because the browser erases all traces of the session - so it's as though the sites were never visited. I had thought this was a new feature but apparently it's been around in some browsers for a couple of years - and was pioneered by Apple, according to the report I read in Monkey_Bites. Privacy mode does have legitimate uses - say on public computers where you don't want your banking or email log-ins tracked. Hmmm, I wonder if the privacy mode also prevents key strokes from being logged - now that could be really useful.

Film delay

With the latest Harry Potter film delayed, you'd think Warner Bros would be happy that there was a replacement in the wings ... but, it seems not. There was some talk that "Twilight" would slip into the spot - but apparently there's a new contender: "Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Errors". The Bollywood film tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who moves to London and becomes involved in a plan to save the world. It is not related to the Harry Potter wizard movies, to which Warners Bros owns the rights - which could explain why Warners' filed a lawsuit against the makers of "Hari Puttar". According to the BBC item I read, the film's title was registered in 2005: Hari is a popular Indian name, and Puttar means 'son' in Hindi and Punjabi. "Hari Puttar's" release has been delayed, but at this stage it's unclear as to how long.

Flapjacks

The breakfast menu offered "Flapjacks" which in this instance meant "pancakes". But where did the word "flapjack" come from? And why is it different in various countries - in the UK, for example, a flapjack can be a cookie or a muesli bar; in the US, as it is here, it can be a large pancake. In other instances, a flapjack is a wrestling move or it can be used as a derogatory term for a person from an indistinguishable country of origin (or so Wikipedia says) - hopefully neither of which will turn up on the breakfast menu.

Election time

It's local Government election time here in NSW, and because we were going to be out of the area on vote day, we were able to cast an early vote. Reasons for being able to vote prior to the election included being a "silent elector" - who knew there was such a thing? This is where someone is not on the public electoral roll because it is deemed dangerous for their identity and address to be known. But, when they do vote, I bet they also have to vote in pencil - the only implement available in the voting booth. I always take a pen with me - and sometimes wonder if my vote is disallowed because it isn't in pencil. Will be interesting to see if we go to pen or electronic voting first.

Tool time

Some years ago, at a Christmas lunch, the trinket inside a BonBon was a toy spirit level. Not one to throw things away, I filed it away with the other keychains and was happy to dig it out tonight as I put some pics on the living room wall. I had already had three hooks in, but I needed to get in another column of three which were vaguely lined up with the others. Working with a ruler, pencil, spirit level and a great deal of luck, it doesn't appear to have turned out too badly. I am going to have to borrow a proper spirit level though, so I can make sure they really are straight!

DVD viewing

Watching a DVD tonight I was struck by how unfair it is ... here I am buying a series on DVD and I have to sit through the "downloading is a crime" anti-privacy ads; while people who illegally download the same series don't have to (watch the anti-piracy ads). Just doesn't seem right somehow. Yes, I know I could leave the room rather than actually watching them but ...

Sing-a-long

For those who aren't fond of Karaoke but still want to have a sing at parties, there's now SingStar - which works a little like Karaoke - words on a screen - but it's based on getting the tune and notes right as well. It's a Playstation 2 "game series" and the only thing that could be better is the Playstation 3 version, which apparently has microphones which are unwired and you can download any song you want from the internet for use with SingStar. That was the word at the Fancy Dress party we went to where the SingStar was a feature. Obviously we don't get out enough because it appears that this happens a lot at parties (ie group singing) these days. It's amazing isn't it, that we appear to have come full circle with entertainment ... instead of congregating around the piano for a sing-a-along now, people gather around the PlayStation? Idol may have something to do with this.

Going places

 Finally it's time to move to a GPS system.  I tried this one, but it didn't seem quite as effective as the next version, which sits on the dash of the car and tells me where to go!  It is truly amazing technology and, I admit, sometimes I just turn it on - not intending to drive anywhere - so I can see what satellites are within range ... and to switch between the English and Australian female voices (hmmmm - note to self ... check if there is a male voice ... can't seem to recall that there is one - which may not be surprising given that old saying about men not asking for directions - although that doesn't necessarily mean they don't know where to go.)

Driving Hazard #2

You never know what you are going to find when you're on a country road ... but we were pleasantly surprised to find this Emu and chicks.  You'll need to click on the image to view it at a larger size to be able to see that the chicks are striped!  We found them on the way back from the Sun (on our Virtual Solar System tour) aka Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran. The sign showing the T intersection, shows the turn-off to the Observatory (and Mars, Earth, Venus and Mercury). 

Driving hazard

If you're driving out on the open road and a pilot vehicle approaches from the other direction indicating there's an "Oversize" vehicle coming, it's best to think of your options - especially if a police car also approaches - driving on your side of the road. This happened to us on our way to Dubbo the other day - and luckily we had already pulled off the road when the police cars ahead of the OVERSIZE vehicles came through - three of them. We weren't sure what the vehicles were carrying - but it was BIG.
  

Do Not Call Register

After the fourth telemarketing call today, I found myself visiting the Australian Government's Do Not Call Register website.  As long as you meet certain conditions - being the account holder, having a valid email address if you're registering online, and using the number you're registering primarily for private or domestic purposes - you can register to have telemarketers not call you.  The site informs visitors that registration will not prevent all telemarketing calls, and it may take up to 30 days for telemarketers to stop calling after registration, and that if they don't stop calling (and not all will) you can complain.   In the interim, it's good to know that there's an industry standard which, among other things:

• regulates the hours in which telemarketers and researchers can call
• requires callers to give their contact information and divulge the reason for their call, and
• requires the caller to terminate the call when asked to do so.

Opportunity

Sitting in a coffee shop this morning, the woman at the table opposite commented on my phone/keyboard set-up. Turns out she is a journalist and mediator (she has worked with the UN but regrets having turned down a gig in the Congo) who is between jobs but has just finished a film script, is working on poetry - and doing a reading this evening - and lamenting that she did not act on a gut feeling that there was going to be a change in the NSW Government leadership and subsequently did not get in "on the ground floor". Mid-conversation she leapt up and went over to talk with someone who had just walked in - a staffer for one of the recently-promoted politicians. Opportunity strikes. (Fingers crossed.)

Cars for cash

An item in today's The Daily Telegraph reports the owners of the Mercedes in which Princess Diana (and others) was mortally injured wants to retrieve the vehicle from where its been held in a police compound in South London since July 2005, and sell the car at auction. Expected return from the sale: $2.2 million. It could raise a question of ownership though - depending on whether Paris-based company Etoile Limousines ever lodged a successful insurance claim for the vehicle. While laws may be different there - here, once a claim is paid, the insurance company owns the vehicle. Of course, it's possible that Dodi Fayed's father may intercede to prevent the vehicle from going to public auction (although that could make it seem a little like emotional blackmail - or maybe that's just me). It reminds me of another macabre vehicle story - where author Stephen King's reportedly purchased the van which ran him over, causing him severe, almost fatal injuries (which may have been the inspiration for the main character in "Duma Key"). He reportedly wanted to make sure the van didn't become a souvenir for fans via eBay.

"Romancing the Phone"

Not sure what this says about the demographic of those using their iPod Touch or iPhone as an electronic reading device but I received an offer from my eBook supplier for free eBooks in celebration of the release of the latest version of their software. The offer was for three Harlequin Romance titles. Hmmmm.