Recycled suit for sale

It's 26 years old but there may still be a bidder or two for this suit - worn by Christopher Reeve in Superman III - was this the one where he flew very fast the wrong way around the world to turn back time and bring Lois Lane back to life after she has been suffocated with dirt when her car fell into a very large and recently opened hole in the road and was subsequently buried - the car that is, with Lois in it? The suit - blue and red and yellow - complete with red cape and a big S on the chest - is being auctioned in Australia later this month and could fetch over $15,000. Unlike the fictional version, chances are this one is not indestructable and doesn't help the wearer to fly - although, come to think of it, the flying powers were Superman's, not the suit's.

Stolen property

I know what it's like to go to get your car and it's not where you parked it - but I can't imagine how the guy in Greece felt when he arrived at his holiday home 25km east of Athens and the house and everything in it was gone. Robbers had apparently lifted the pre-fabricated house off its foundations and made off with it.

Curious

The future of newspapers (not having a good trot lately - even Warren Buffett has said he wouldn't invest in one) is in your hands - so says the ad in today's The Daily Telegraph. All I need is a webcam and a copy of The Sunday Telegraph on May 17 - and of course to remember to do that - and I too can get to see a new dimension to newspapers. Mind you we did see one yesterday with the launch of Amazon's new, larger approx 10" screen Kindle aka electronic reading device which is supposed to make on-the-device newspaper reading easier.

First and last

Ratings are an amazing thing. I tuned in to the first outing of new show "Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation" on Tuesday night - one of 1.64 million around Australia to do so - making it the most watched show of the evening and a "hit". However that will be the only time I watch it because I didn't enjoy it. I can't help wonder how many other viewers were driven by curiousity and whether a show needs to sustain good numbers over a few outings to be granted "hit" status? Ah well, I wish them well with it. Who knows, I might give it a try later in the season to see if they've been able to bed down and grow into the format.

Phone tricks

What will they think of next? Need something else on your mobile phone to keep you amused? How about - and they advertise this really is "For entertainment purposes only" - finding out how long you are going to live. Simply SMS your name, year of birth and ... oops can't remember the other thing ... to the number provided and they'll send back your Date of Death. Not sure how much it costs - but if by some strange chance of fate it was true, would you do it?

Bus stuff

With more buses from the Sydney CBD becoming pre-pay only, it makes sense that there would be one ticket with stored value - and the onboatd dipper just deducts the value of your fare rather than you having to know how many sections you are travelling - can the newsagent/ticket agent advise that or do you need to ring the Bus info line - when you purchase your ticket somewhere before getting in the bus or do you just be done with it and buy a multi-ride ticket for each of the common section lengths?

Ear ear

So news this morning suggests that Van Gogh may not have chopped off his own ear afterall. (It isn't April 1st is it?) New evidence suggests that the injury may have been inflicted by fellow artist Paul Gaugin in a feud over a prostitute. Apparently Van Gogg never spoke of what happened (to his ear) and it was Gaugin who told police that the artist has sliced off his own ear. Credit for these findings go to some German historians who have been studying the "evidence" for 10 years. I wonder what they'll do next?

Customer Service

Kudos to the 3 person at Marrickville Metro who took time out this morning - even though he was the only one in the store after his staff called in sick - to help resolve the issue with my mobile broadband. All's working well at the moment - so I'll stay any plans to move networks for the moment.

Bet each way

I suppose, when you think about it, people who chose to maintain a variable interest rate for their home mortgage rather than moving to a fixed rate, and vice versa, are gambling on the Reserve's Bank decisions regarding interest rates. Of course, it if you wanted to, you could actually having a "real" bet on it. A news item in The Daily Telegraph recently told of a "VIP client" from Sydney's west who has bet $45,000 with Centrebet on interest rates remaining the same after the Reserve Bank's May meeting.

Positive spin

I was at odds to understand two separate news items this morning - both about housing prices - and seemingly saying totally different things. One (the ABC) said Australian house prices had fallen by almost 4 per cent during the year to the end of March - the other (The Daily Telegraph) that they had risen, in Sydney at least, by 2.4 per cent to the end of March - except they were counting only the first three months of the year, rather than the full preceeding 12 months. It's good to see some optimism out there in the press.

What am I

What Am I? More a question than a name really, but some think it fitting for one of only two* hermaphrodite horses racing in the world today. According to The Daily Telegraph, "you could be forgiven for having a wager each way" when What Am I makes a showing at the Ballarat trots this evening.
* The other is Arizona Helen, in Canada.

Diamond "trading"

This isn't something I have to worry about, but word is that some diamonds being sold in Sydney are not the "real deal". Who knew that diamonds could be tampered with to enhance their colour and clarity, or to have fractures filled? And that doing so could actually decrease their worth? One gem, said to be worth about $50,000 was actually revalued at about $1,000 (but The Daily Telegraph* report was unclear as to whether the higher figure would have been for the gem before treatment or if it had been what it purported** to be.)
* I really do need to read a bit more widely, and I do, overseas press as well, but sometimes you can only find some stories in The Daily Telegraph.
** And let that be a reminder to me about how difficult it is to find a word in the dictionary if you don't know how to spell it. Even the excellent WordBook for iPhone, actually iPod Touch, by TranCreative had a hard time helping me out on this one.

On the nose

Found in Melbourne CBD: Numerous evidence bags containing white powder and a plastic spoon.
Lost in Melbourne CBD: Credibility of one Sydney marketing company who reportedly planted 300 of the evidence bags around the city to promote the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Comicide. At least two of the "authentic" looking bags were handed in to police - although it's unsure if those handing them in had read the instructions on the label which would have landed them free tickets to the gig.
No mention was made of the fate of the other bags; what the white powder was, and whether it would harm anyone ingesting it (thinking, perhaps, it was something else).

Contracting service

It's not often that my dissatisfaction with a service coincides almost exactly with the expiration of a contract for that service. Yes "3", this is about you - and that the internet service I've been receiving on my phone seems to have "dried up" - all of a sudden places where I had coverage before have now become "Roaming", with either a loss of service or, so it seems, a service will be available but at an additional charge per Megabyte. Not happy. Research into other providers about to start happening - and yes, I'll pop in to one of your retail outlets for a chat as well. (I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with a rumoured merger with Vodafone.)

Safety first

You know when safety has been inculcated in you when you are early into the parking lot, there are heaps of available spaces, and your first thought is driving into a space you can drive, not be forced to reverse, out of - rather than parking undercover because it looks like rain.

Changing the formula

It doesn't seem like 24 years ago - but it is - that Coca-Cola replaced its traditional secret receipt with "New Coke" - which fell flat and had the company revert to the original recipe after sales declined. To paraphrase another logo ... when you're on a good thing (business-wise) ... stick to it.

Hold the phone

When is a phone not a phone ... in terms of driving and "talking" on the mobile phone. Each year in Australia, more than 40,000 people are fined for talking on their mobile phone while driving. But what constitutes "talking" - is it having your mobile phone in your hand, in a stationery vehicle, while you transfer it to the handsfree set-up? Or is it using the organiser features of the phone while stationery? Does there have to be talking involved? And why are there only 40,000 people a year pulled up for this - on any day in the Sydney CBD I can clock up to 10 in 10 minutes - anyone doing the math can work out there should be heaps more because the message about not using your mobile while driving certainly hasn't gotten across to lots of folk. (Revenue each year from mobile phone-related fines - $9 million - and rising?)
But maybe using a mobile phone while driving is safer than what a Norwegian man and his girlfriend were doing - as well as 133km an hour in a 100km zone on Easter Sunday. The report I read said the man faces a "heavy fine and driving ban" after police caught him "having sex" while driving. No further details were provided.

Reviews

When you're planning to go to a movie - do you read the reviews before you go? And if you do, do you want to know the whole plot or just how many stars, the reviewer gave it, plus their general comments? I've been more than a little disappointed a few times because I've tried not to read/watch/listen to anything about an upcoming film - except perhaps the trailer - but even that can be misleading, or contain too much information (eg The Reader - "the secret" wasn't that hard to work out). I know other people just want to "know" - and I wonder if the desire to know what it's about before you settle into a darkened theatre (because surely it's a different experience and expectation if you've shelled out to see a film on the big screen) depends on whether you arte a child "of the screen" or "of the book". It seems that sometimes this is the big divide between folk - not necessarily which "generation" they belong to. And speaking of "generations", according to the TV ads we're currently being bombarded with, a new quiz show is about to hit our screens - pitting the generations - X, Y and Baby Boomers - against each other. This is slightly more appealing than a new reality show I've heard about - a direct result of the economic downturn perhaps - where workers at a company decides which of them should be "let go".

Angel over Marrickville

On Anzac Eve, the statue atop the First World War Memorial at Marrickville Town Hall has been removed for a long-awaited restoration. Pictures of the removal are here.

Fighting the Club

News yesterday emerged of a fight club - involving very young (4 years old?) boys. Footage showed two boys punching it out, using boxing gloves but without protective headgear. One boy is obviously outclassed and goes down, when hit, at least twice. In the background, at least one male voice encourages the other boy to keep hitting him. When the boy does the sensible thing, and runs away, he is brought back to continue the "fight" so the other boy can "finish him ... finish him". (Has violent behavior become more prevalent since mobile phones became capable of capturing/sending video footage - and since YouTube grew in popularity?) Investigations by the police and child welfare agencies are underway. I'm still deciding whether to watch a current affairs program this evening to see the person who thinks the fight club is a "good" idea.