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.

On the road

In Dubbo tonight and planning to go to the Western Plains Zoo tomorrow. We will then make our way to Coonabarabran, following the Virtual Solar System Drive. We found Pluto today - on a billboard outside the Dubbo Tourist Information Centre. They seem not to have taken to heart that Pluto was stripped of it's Planet status some time ago. Even so I was stunned at how small the scale-model of Pluto was (pic to follow when normal nternet service is resumed ... Tell me again why I didn't get an iPhone with Optus or Telstra?) It was overcast tonight so we put off a planned visit to the observatory but as we came out from dinner we noticed that part of the sky had cleared and the Southern Cross hung large in the sky. It was a bit bright to be able to see it clearly - certainly not the clear skies and clarity from Ben and Meredith's vineyard outside of Orange - for the first time I saw the milk of the Milky Way and it truly was an experience to leave one feeling insignificant and in awe of the Universe.
Update: Added pic of Pluto - the small bump mid-way down the billboard and aboiut a qyarter way in from the left.

Coffee on the go

Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone? How about an In-Car Microwave Oven that can be powered via the cigarette lighter socket. We won’t have time to order one before tomorrow's road trip - but if you want to, their site is here - and it's on sale for only £79.97 until 2 September (plus freight from the UK). It will help if you're off on a slow trip - if you want to heat a cup of coffee in the in-car microwave oven, it will take about 6 minutes. Or, if you want a hot cup of coffee on the road - maybe you should just call by the supermarket and pick up some Perketts. It's a range of coffees, packed in "a revolutionary self-heating container for anytime, anywhere indulgence". Mmmm … Perketts (now if only I could find it.)

More on cameras

For those living in earthquake-prone locales, there's good news with the invention of the Active Scope Camera. It was conceived by researchers at Japan's Tohoku University and even though it looks a bit like a camera, it's a fiber-optic camera wrapped in a layer of tiny cilia bristles. It's 8 metres long and can move through rubble and very tiny spaces in search of trapped folk. The more people who know about it the better according to Gizmodo - especially if you ever find yourself trapped in the dark, in a small space … and feel something starting to crawl up your leg …

Cameras away

Tech site Gizmodo recently reported on statistics from a UK insurance group on how customers break their cameras:

• 16% said it was their children or dogs
• 3% ran over their camera with a car
• 75% dropped their cameras onto a "hard surface", into water, or by falling onto it and using it to cushion their fall.

While this doesn't add up to 100% - have you ever noticed how surveys often don't - I can believe that dropping was the most common cause of camera death - because that was what happened to 7 The Ricoh - who I dropped to the slate floor in a bungalow in South Africa. Of course, I wasn't one of of those that "fell over" when taking shots, "often into water."

Back to basics

A report in the British Medical Journal suggests that people who suffer from chronic back pain can find relief through the Alexander technique which encourages the user to adopt good (better?) posture. The study, which followed over 400 back pain sufferers over a year, reported the following "treatments" and pain/days per month (pdm): GP care - including regular consultations, pain killer and exercise regimes - 21 pdm; massages - 14 pdm; Alexander (6 lessons)- 11 pdm; Alexander (24 lessons) 3 pdm. As reported by the BBC: Lead researcher Professor Debbie Sharp said using the Alexander technique should provide help to most people with back pain. She added: "Lessons in the Alexander technique offer an individualised approach to develop skills that help people recognise, understand, and avoid poor habits affecting postural tone and neuromuscular coordination. It can potentially reduce back pain by limiting muscle spasm, strengthening postural muscles, improving coordination and flexibility, and decompressing the spine."

It may not be as successful for everyone of course. Or you may wish to resort to technology (don't say you didn't know that was coming!) to alleviate bad postural back pain. The iPosture - a wearable intelligent nano-sensor - is a 1-inch; (2.54cm) button which the makers suggest you can wear as a pendant, stuck to you, or attached to your clothes. It automatically senses when the body slouches and starts vibrating to alert you to correct your posture. The iPosture's site suggests the following reasons why we should all invest in it when it comes on the market (soon) - for $US99.95:

• Women with improved posture become more attractive.
• Men with good posture are seen as more successful.
• Waist size is reduced an average of 2 inches in women who improve their posture
• People with good posture are more productive.

Surprisingly, you have to dig a little deeper into their site for the suggested health benefits:

• People with good posture are generally happier and more confident
• Women with good posture are less prone to osteoporosis fractures
• Men with good posture are twice as likely to keep their balance and function as they age
• Posture correction and exercises can be more effective than other medical modalities for the prevention and treatment of back pain .

Parting ways

Friday was my last day with the company I've been with for the last 4.5 years and I have moved in to my MOJO* stage as I try to work out what it is I want to do next - and where.
But for just for a moment I wanted to reflect on my farewell. I have never been one for being in the limelight (long story which we won't go into here) so I was tempted to decline the offer of a farewell function but relented because I did want to celebrate my time with the company. It was agreed we could be a small gathering so that's how eight of us (5 employees, 3 partners) came to be in a very nice restaurant overlooking Sydney Harbour on Thursday evening. The food and atmosphere were superb. But the highlight of the evening was definitely the effort Darien (my immediate supervisor) and American colleagues had put in to the event. Darien had emailed overseas colleagues with whom I've worked asking if they wanted to share any farewell messages at the dinner. They did - and it was truly heartwarming to be so fondly thought of by the people with whom I've worked. It was also pleasing to my partner to understand that these people had seen and appreciated the qualities that she sees in me including my attention to detail, inquisitiveness, enthusiasm and sense of humour. They had also been kind enough to present her with a basket of flowers in acknowledgement of the impact my travelling and out-of-hours work had had on her. Very nice and much appreciated. And then it was time for the surprise - the global team leads for the project I've been working on for the last 18 months had organised framing of some group pics from our team meetings and to have the team sign them. The package arrived from the US in time for my farewell.
As I said in an email to colleagues on Friday, I have learnt a lot about business, people and life during my time with the company and will cherish those memories and learnings - and this is the bit I didn't add - that I will miss working with them. It has been, quite simply, a wonderful ride with a great bunch of folk.
*Mit Out Job Okay - but not without things to do! (This is a reference to the old days of film where they would say MOS when they were filming "with out sound" - or "mit out sound" as non-English film folk would say)

Pic of the bunch

We visited Taronga Zoo yesterday, and I've posted a "few" of the photos on the travel pics site.



I took some of the pics with my new Panasonic DMC-TZ15 (purchased on Friday) which features 9.1 Megapixels, 3-inch screen, 10 x Optical zoom, and wide-angle lens. It also has something called "Quick Menu" which allows you to navigate (computer menu style) through a range of options including white balance, image size and others, based on which mode the camera is in. The only thing it doesn't have is a viewfinder - but this isn't an issue. Even in bright sunlight yesterday, I could still see the screen thanks to the various settings (one is even automatic) for adjusting the on-screen contrast. It also has a setting which allows you to see the image when you're holding the camera at arm's length in the air! Did I also mention that it's small enough to fit in your pocket and that it does HD video recording (although I haven't tried that yet - and a quick look at some review sites suggests the sound could be better - but hey, this is pictures)! I am going to have lots of fun playing with this over the coming months - especially since we have Western Plains Zoo in our sights in coming weeks.

Elvis lives

Just in time for this Saturday's anniversary of Elvis' death, diehard fans and collectors can now vie for Elvis and Priscilla - the wedding dolls. Asking price for the dolls, part of Mattel's Barbie range, according to The Daily Telegraph, is $75. The couple are wearing facsimile's of their 1967 wedding gear, and look quite like themselves.

Time and money

It's funny how you think of things sometimes after the opportunity to put them into practice has passed. I dropped the car over to the mechanic this morning and took a taxi home since it's too far to walk and there's no direct bus route. What I hadn't considered is that there are two bus routes that almost meet that I could have used instead - but they would have taken at least half an hour longer - connections permitting. Which led to the time and money equation - although this is just one way of looking at it. If you have more time to get from A to B, then you can do it more cheaply than if you need to B in a hurry.

Homily

"Everybody needs to steal something from someone they love" said one of the characters on Dead Like Me, an interesting series I stumbled upon a week ago. It tells the story of a young girl who is killed by a toilet seat falling from space and finds herself in an "undead" condition, She has all her memories but none of her looks - in that she doesn't look like she did while she waa alive - so she will not be recognized by people who knew her. Her new role in life - and she appears to have no choice in this - is as a Grim Reaper but not THE Gtim Reaper. She and others like her release people's souls as their physical bodies meet their demise, The program is full of quirk as the Reapers themselves deal with being undead and with the greater questions of death and life. Even though I'm only the pilot and 5 episodes in, I'm glad I picked up the second series on DVD too.
But back to the quote with which I started this post: it seemed to be suggesting that we should all have something with which to remember people by - especially those we care about. The "stealing" reference I'm not quite so sure about. It makes the idea seem just that little bit creepy (but maybe that's just me).

At risk

According to research presented at the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago, becoming single in midlife through death or divorce dramatically increases risk for dementia in older years. As reported in The New York Times*: ... "people who were living with a spouse or a partner in midlife ran a 50 percent lower risk of developing dementia during their older years than people living alone ... Living alone for your entire adult life doubled risk, but those who had been married and then divorced and remained single in midlife showed three times the risk. Those at greatest risk of developing dementia were people who had lost their partner before middle age and then continued to live as a widow or widower. The study showed that these individuals had a six times greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s than those who were married."
This may mean that the old saying may need to be modified; you know the one: 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

* Well worth a look for the readers' comments. (I wonder if this says something about the NYT readership?)

Making a difference

As I stood in line to order my coffee today (alas not at Starbucks which has closed or announced the closure of most of its Australian stores this week) a young woman came in to the cafe carrying a large box. She introduced herself as she opened the box to the baristas. In it were chocolate-covered strawberries which she and other friends were selling to raise money to help their 37-year old friend, a single mother with two small children, who had been diagnosed with cancer. The baristas bought some and I gave a donation - and marvelled at the depth of people's caring and their capacity for putting that caring into action. And I found myself wondering about taking up some volunteer work so I, too, could "give something back'".