Useless Snippets from My Corner of the Universe

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

2009-10-04T22:47:00.005+11:00

When we were on our honeymoon, we went to up to Kuranda for a day, traveling up on the Kuranda Sky Rail, and back on the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

We decided that Kuranda itself was just chasing foreign tourist dollars, so went to watch the river go by until the Railway took us back to Cairns.

Grabbed this photograph of Michelle sitting on a small dock...

A New Blog

2009-09-05T23:34:00.001+10:00

After quite a few years of occasional blogging here, I’m going to to move the blog to my “other” internet persona…

this blog will be moving to http://unrealshots.blogspot.com

for those of you who read my ramblings, can you please update your feed readers…

I promise to try and blog more often… :)

A New Home...

2009-08-22T17:04:00.001+10:00

Michelle and I bought a house today - currently our settlement date is slated for October 22nd...

We were initially going to buy a "renovators delight", but every house we REALLY liked was already renovated, so we felt that this was a sign...

The advertising campaign photos don't do the house justice!

Social Networking

2009-02-24T16:32:00.005+11:00

New Photography Blog

2009-01-06T14:38:00.001+11:00

With the New Year upon us, I've decided to start a new blog, dedicated to my passion for photography.

check it out, over at http://unrealshots.blogspot.com, which I'll move to www.unrealshots.com soon.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Farewell to an IT Icon

2008-11-06T10:25:00.004+11:00

After 18 years, Microsoft has finally stopped supporting Windows 3.x ... Oh the days of running an ISP and supporting Windows 3.x... Windows 9x was such a change in mind set, as were Windows NT, Windows 2000 and XP, and here we are now with Vista... Incredible, the change in user experience in the past 20 years...

I've used every version of Windows from 1.0, which was a runtime version that came with the first versions of Excel and Word, and most recently, I've had a play with a preview release of Windows 7, and I'm still mostly impressed with what Microsoft deliver in the end user experience in their OS.

Ski Buller

2008-08-18T13:12:00.007+10:00

We Headed up to Mt Buller for the day yesterday - we had initially decided to go on Saturday, but the forcase was crappy, so we put it off for a day. Just as well, as it was a beautiful day, with better visibility that I've ever experienced at Buller in the past.

I managed to ski every single run on the mountain, while Michelle had a boarding lesson, and watched the Olympics in the bar.

Managed to get a very nice view back towards Stirling in the late afternoon...

Da Dum Da Da....

2008-08-01T10:19:00.002+10:00

I asked Michelle to marry me last night... And the answer was a resounding "YES" Happy Days... :-)

Played with one, Want one

2008-06-25T16:06:00.002+10:00

Need I say anymore?

I Incited a Road Riot, and am ALMOST ASHAMED to be a Cyclist

2008-06-03T12:48:00.008+10:00

Riding home last night, and one of the more considerate motorists on the roads of Melbourne decided to stop right in front of me, half way up a hill, in a No-Standing zone, blocking a Bicycle Lane...

See where the problem is starting?

I had to throw out the anchors, given I was doing about 30 km/h up the hill, had a quick peek over my right shoulder - yep - all clear, and went around the offending vehicle, asking if he'd care to stop somewhere other than a bike lane next time (or words to that effect)...

Driving behind me, by this stage, was a middle aged gent and his wife, in their gold Nissan Pathfinder, complete with the King Charles Spaniel in the back seat. Clearly showing his appreciation for the Road Rules for Cyclists set out for Cyclists by Vic Roads, old mate, then proceeded to follow me up to the red light I was now stopped at, next to a tram, and yell his head off about f'ing cyclists, and how we have no right on the road. My response? "I wasn't talking about you, I was having a go at the guy parked across the bicycle lane"... End of story, or so I think...

Not so, thinks the guy on the bike NEXT to me at the lights, who had no involvement thus far, who then proceeds to rant and rave, using the F-bomb, the C-bomb, abusing the driver of the Nissan (clearly my fellow cyclist has had a bad day - hell, he TOLD the motorist this, and wants an avenue to vent).

The light goes green, the tram moves off, I tell the antagonist to settle down - he's got the wrong end of the stick, and head off up the hill.

Get to the top of the hill, and old mate has been held up by the other guy on his bike, who has ridden up the middle of the lane, blocking the Nissan in beside the tram. So, we get to the next red light, and the guy who's had a bad day now resorts to physically attacking the Nissan, who's driver has now decided that he's not as brave as he initially thought... At this stage, old mate winds his own window up, and I yell at him through his other window that I'm sorry for this other guys attitude, and that if he had not automatically assumed I was inferring he was in the wrong, he'd now NOT have 2 fist sized dents in his bonnet, a shaken wife, and an over excited Spaniel.

To the motorist, not that I have any reason to suspect you read my blog (does anyone? Please let me know if you do!!!), I apologise for my fellow cyclist - please don't make the next one in front of you a target. And to the other cyclist - stay the hell out of it next time - you've just made EVERY cyclist on the road a potential target for the guy in the Nissan next time HE is having a bad day...

Which Superhero are you?

2008-06-01T23:17:00.003+10:00

Based on an experience from this morning at the Melbourne Airport, I'm clearly the Invisible Man - although not a Marvel super hero, H.G. Wells may be near enough!

It's about time you move on people, and accept accept that everything happens for a reason. Had that decision not been made, at least two people would be leading miserable lives...

Get over yourselves - you have a collective age of over 150 years - start acting them...

Useful Canon Software info!

2008-04-07T15:32:00.005+10:00

If you're like me, and you like to only install certain aspects of software that come with hardware, in this instance, the Canon software that ships with most of their cameras, this may come in handy.

I have a Canon PowerShot S1IS, and one of the features I use often, is the PhotoStitch function, which allows me to take several images, then "stitch" them together using the very good software that Canon ship with the camera. The gotcha that I've found, is that Canon like you to install all their shipped software, which means you then need to remove the bits you don't want...

The following aids you in only installing what you want, using the "Upgrade" packages available from www.canon.com.au ... It's also useful if you "lose" your Canon CDs

Hope this is of use to more people than just me!

Visit your local Canon website, and download the software "Upgrade" you require.
Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) - I take no responsibility for your ability to use the Registry Editor btw
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software
If it does not exist, create a new key called Canon
Create one of the following keys, dependent on which software you are "Upgrading"
Zoom Browser: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\ZoomBrowser Ex
Digital Photo Professional: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\DPP
EOS Capture: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\EOS Capture
EOS File Viewer: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\EOSViewerUtility
PhotoStitch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Canon\PhotoStitch
Install the "Upgrade" and you're away!

New Aussie Flag

2007-12-03T11:40:00.000+11:00

Reports that the Australian Prime Minster elect Kevin Rudd has taken the suggestion of the Factions and Unions to change the Australian Flag to the new ALP emblem.

Sunday night saw a hastily appointed meeting of the ALP power brokers to change their emblem from the 6 stars to a condom.

The reason for the new emblem was explained in a media statement said it reflected more accurately the parties and their members political stance.

A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you are actually being well and truly f*cked.

Google Maps Mobile

2007-11-29T17:42:00.000+11:00

This looks like a very interesting Google Maps offering; quoted from http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html

Take the power of Google Maps with you on your mobile phone.
New! Google Maps with My Location (beta)

Real-time traffic — See where the congestion is, and estimate delays in over 30 major US metropolitan areas.

Detailed directions — Whether you plan to walk or drive, your route is displayed on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions.

Integrated search results — Local business locations and contact information appear all in one place, integrated on your map.

Easily movable maps — Interactive maps let you zoom in or out, and move in all directions so you can orient yourself visually.

Satellite imagery — Get a bird's eye view of your desired location. (It's like you're there, we swear.)

What's been keeping me from blogging?

2007-10-28T22:33:00.000+11:00

Water Ski Racing, is what!

I've gotten involved with a Ski Race Australia registered Water Ski Racking Team, through my mate Kev...

My role in the equation is to drive the support vehicle, and provide maintenance support if and when required.

I'm also taking extensive numbers of digital photographs, on which I'm hoping to be able to gain some financial return...

Here's a photo of the team race boat...

Birthday Wishes...

2007-10-27T22:28:00.000+10:00

Happy Birthday MME...

Updates...

2007-09-10T22:14:00.000+10:00

Been a while since I've had a chance to sit down and post up some updates on my life...

I finally took delivery of my ute, sometime back in July - man, what a blast this thing is to drive... 6 liters of manually shifted V8 goodness, wrapped up in a nice silver package...

After an artistic session on the camera, I came up with this photo, which doesn't show off the silver, but is totally un-photoshopped!

Aside from the new wheels, I've started in a new role, with a new client - in a process management role, which is a little more hands off than what I'm used to, which is taking some getting used to.

Couple of weeks ago, my mate Kev and I both signed with a water ski racing team, with who we will be competing in the 2007/8 Super Series, which is a set of ski races on various rivers in NSW and Victoria. Kev is going to be the observer for the boat, INXS, whilst I will be pit crew, driving the team bus, and towing the trailer to enable the team to race multiple classes in the same race series. The boat is capable of doing 93 mph on the water (well, this is the fastest we've had her clocked on GPS), with two skiers on 100 foot ropes. The ski racing fraternity are great fun people to be around, which is an immense bonus!

Last night, the fish tank also got a bit of an update, with some new fish, and a heap of new plants. I think it looks pretty good at the moment - very much like a big watery garden :-)

The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy - this coming weekend for example - going snow skiing at Mt Buller on Thursday - to take advantage of probably the last week of spring skiing, going out to dinner Friday night, going race testing at Echuca Saturday morning, returning to Melbourne Saturday afternoon, and having the ute at the V8 Supercars Sandown 500 to take part in the parade lap - one of the benefits of having an aussie built car - being able to make it look pretty, and go on international TV... :-) After all that lot, I reckon I will be going back to work on Monday for a rest!!!

Uncyclopedia

2007-08-24T12:25:00.000+10:00

Taking the Wikipedia concept, and putting even more comedic, disturbing, and purely random content on the Internet... :-)

Uncyclopedia

for example, want to know HowTo Install Linux On A Dead Badger?

perhaps you're interested in Chuck Norris?

Then there are the sister projects:

Uncyclopedia's sista projects

Uncyclopedia is hosted by the Uncyclomedia Foundation, a non-profitable organization that also hosts a range of other
projects.

UnNews The news source on crack	Uncyclopedia The content-free encyclopedia	Undictionary The ick!tionary of all things best left unsaid
UnTunes Where noisy things can live and prosper	Wilde Project Uncyclopedia's founder tells all	UnMeta How Uncyclopedia doesn't work
UnBooks Content-free books	Unquotable Useless misquotes galore	Uncycloversity If it makes sense, we don't want it

How do you get a research gig like this?

2007-08-08T16:18:00.000+10:00

Potato Chip Flavoring Boosts Longevity Of Concrete

Summarized from : http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/iecred/2007/46/i16/html/ie070527l.html

The ingredient that helps give “salt & vinegar” potato chips that tangy snap is the key to a new waterproof coating for protecting concrete from water damage, scheduled for the current (August 1) issue of ACS’ Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, a bi-weekly journal. Awni Al-Otoom and colleagues in Jordan point out that concrete’s unique properties have made it the world’s most widely used structural material. Concrete, however, is so porous that water soaks in, corroding steel reinforcing bars and meshes that strengthen concrete roads and buildings and causing cracks as water expands and contracts during freeze-thaw cycles. Sealants are commercially available, but they have serious shortcomings, the study notes. In the new report, researchers describe the use of sodium acetate as an inexpensive and environmentally friendly concrete sealant. One of sodium acetate’s many uses is in flavored potato chips. In laboratory studies using freshly made concrete, the researchers showed that sodium acetate seeps into pores in concrete and then hardens and crystallizes upon exposure to water. The resultant swelling blocks entry of additional moisture, they said. Under dry conditions, the crystals shrink back to their original size and allow moisture to evaporate. The net result is “a significant reduction in water permeability,” that “can be expected to increase the service life of the concrete,” the report said.

A Thunder for Thunder

2007-06-15T22:40:00.000+10:00

For those who've known me for more than 13 years - I know one of you who reads this has, would know that in the good old days of the Internet, when I ran an ISP, I called myself Thunder...

Well, in the search for a new chariot, I finally decided on a Holden VZ SS Thunder Ute, which, even though being a V8 is so much better value than the SVZ I was looking at earlier.

After an early e-mail to SmartSalary, who are now managing our salary packaging, they located me a Silver Ute, and I dashed down to Elsternwick in my lunch break to drive one, to make sure it was what I wanted, and secured the order!

I should take delivery in a week or so, and she'll look something a lot like this:

Lunch in Paynesville

2007-05-29T18:19:00.000+10:00

Headed down to Paynesville on the Gippsland Lakes for a quick lunch of fish and chips today. I hadn't been down there for a couple of years, when I was down there for a long weekend with Michelle and Bevan, who are now in Geraldton.

The wind would have blown a dog off a chain, but the day was beautiful nevertheless...

This cormorant looked for all the world like a penguin from a distance, so I had to take a closer photo of him...

And he STILL looks like a penguin on a post! :-)

Finally, a car decision

2007-05-29T10:34:00.000+10:00

Never thought it would happen, but looks like I'm going to get myself a Holden!

Holden have just released a limited edition V6 ute, with upgraded brakes, leather trim and alloy wheels, calling it the SVZ

Currently waiting on a lease quote to come through, and should be putting a deposit down this weekend :-)

Thinking I will look around and pick myself up a small 4WD as well at some point in time, something like a Toyota Landcruiser Bundera, or a Daihatsu Feroza... Something I can take out in the bush and have a bit of fun in, that isn't worth a lot, but will get me around and about...

Some Images from Bruthen

2007-05-28T19:01:00.000+10:00

Drove across the Great Alpine Road today, from Wangaratta to Bairnsdale. The weather on the way up to Mount Hotham was so bad, that I had about 5 meters visibility. I was dying to get out of the car, and take a photo of one of those orange snow poles, with the sign on the top saying "Keep to the Right of Poles", as it was kind of ironic you couldn't see them! Plus, it was too damn cold to get out of the car! Hoping from the fact that I got snowed on at Mount Hotham, we will have a better ski season that last year!

Once past Mount Hotham (I stopped to ask if there was any black ice on the road towards Bairnsdale), the weather cleared up rapidly, and I was soon at the other end of the Alpine Road, having had lots of fun on the winding road between Omeo and Bruthen - must come back in a car that doesn't have 300 kg of computer gear in the back sometime!

Saw a few old relics worthy of snapping photos of on the way down into Bairnsdale

Poor, old Chimney - having a lay down

Old Bruthen Rail Bridge - Must come back and ride the rail trail one of these days

Short, Succinct, and to the point...

New Life

2007-05-26T12:29:00.000+10:00

Awesome news from long time friends Andrew and Lisa this morning...

Congratulations guys :-)

Photo Borrowed from Andrew Lighten

Abandoned

2007-05-24T15:56:00.000+10:00

The remnants of an old galvanized bucket, in the bed of the Murray River at Thompson's Beach near Cobram..

Amazing what you spy when you're in a conference call... :-)

Hell of a meeting room!

2007-05-24T15:52:00.000+10:00

Had to dial into a couple of meetings this morning. Given I'm currently on the road, doing some work for Vic Roads, I was in Cobram, so figured Thompson's Beach on the bank of the Murray River was as good a spot as any to be while I took the calls...

What a meeting room!

Interesting Architecture

2007-05-14T22:31:00.000+10:00

This is one of the aspects of the new Customs House at Docklands in Melbourne... Pretty radical architecture :-)

4 Years On

2007-04-30T21:02:00.000+10:00

Four years ago, Peter "Possum" Bourne died in a non-Rally related car accident. The Rally World hasn't been the same since....

All video clips are well worth the watch...

RIP Possum

Some People Will Scam ANYONE!!!

2007-04-27T21:37:00.000+10:00

Here's an article from The Age today, which tickled my fancy...

It reminds me of going to the Melbourne 4WD and Camping Show last year with my sister and her husband, and while looking at the animals in the Petting Zoo, hearing a woman ask of the guy with the animals: "What sort of dog is this" and the guy answering "It's a Pig"

Japanese Fleeced in Poodle Scam

Sheep or poodle?
Photo: Erin Jonasson

Thousands of Japanese have been swindled in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles.

Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

Then hundreds of other women got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.

One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.

Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.

"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles,'' Japanese police said.

"Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way.

"The sheep are believed to have been imported from overseas - Britain, Australia.''

Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.

Source: AAP

Update on Cars

2007-04-11T22:18:00.000+10:00

After going through the process of deciding the Liberty GT Spec B was the car for me, I duly had the lease company put together some pricing on a 4 year package, based on the 45,000 km I drive each year, and looks like I can't stretch the finances that far...

What a bummer, as it's a really nice car....

Currently, my thought process, is to wait until Subaru release the new Forester XT, and if it looks the goods, I'll order one of those as I know I can afford one! If they look a bit ho-hum, I'll order the current shape, and it'll still be all good :-)

Map My Name

2007-04-11T22:07:00.000+10:00

Found some information on www.mapmyname.com a while back, and the site is now in Beta...

It's a kinda cool idea, although I'm not sure where it's really going to go... The aim, is to determine how many people use the Internet, but not sure how well it will take off...

Worthy of a look though... Seems I'm the first Aussie to put myself on the map, as it were...

It's using Google Maps, with another API over the top of it...

Looks very Google - although I don't know that it would fit into any one portfolio... Perhaps in the social networking world? Who knows!

P.S. First Australian to register :-)

Cool deviantART

2007-04-10T23:00:00.000+10:00

Just been looking for a new wallpaper, and came across this guys work... awesome digital art!

http://stickersticker.deviantart.com/gallery/

Automotive Dilemnas...

2007-03-22T23:11:00.000+11:00

Quite a bit of water under the blog since the last time I shared anything here about cars...

I've gone from researching the hell out of a Hilux, to a Prado (still turbo diesel), and recently, after pricing all the extra goodies I want on a Prado, to take me where I would (in my dreams) want to go, and back again - the cost of leasing such a beast was going to stretch me a little more than was desired... A bit of a pity, but I did a bit of soul searching, and asked "will I actually USE this vehicle for the purpose I'm going to modify it", and the answer came back as "maybe"...

Then I started considering "what do I REALLY want in a car"? and to be honest, I don't bloody know! I want something reasonably efficient, something that performs well, that I can rely on, and doesn't cost a sheep station to lease.

Now, I've been very happy with the Forester XT, but despite this, probably wouldn't get another just yet. Given my involvement in the Impreza WRX Club, I'm thinking of staying with the Subaru brand, but definitely not getting a WRX, as they can't tow anything as heavy as the boat. That pretty well brings me back to an Outback or a Liberty.

A good mate, Les, has the Liberty GT Spec B, which, with my recent pay rise, on a 5 year lease would actually leave me with about $300 more in the bank a month than leasing my current Forester... With a pretty reasonable fuel economy of around 10.9 litres per 100 km (ADR sticker) it's a good contender, as is the Outback 2.5i Premium, with a 9.5 litres per 100 km, but the consideration is really the return when towing the boat, and general driveability.

I'm leaning towards spending a little more, and getting the Liberty, but it really depends how the Outback drives, and could I live without the turbo, having had a turbo charged car for 3 years now.

A Long Time Between Drinks - errr Blogs

2007-03-20T21:27:00.000+11:00

Long time between blogs!

Just sitting at the kitchen table, watching the fish swimming around the fish tank, and realized I've been ultimately slack in keeping any updates feeding into my part of the world... Given no-one's given me any grief about it, I figure it shows how many people actually READ the crap I type!!!

Let's see if I can sum up the past 3 months quickly.

December, just before Christmas - started seeing someone.

January

worked through the Christmas break, finalising the design for the Vic Roads Dealer Online System remediation project that has been all encompassing for the past few months...
Implemented the remediated Driver Online System for Vic Roads

February

Started back onto the Vic Roads Driver Licensing System remediation design...
Researched and planned a 4WD trip to Cape York
Did something I vowed never to do - got my Jetski endorsement for my boat drivers license.
Spent 10 days on a Luxury on the Murray Houseboat, on the Murray River, starting with the Southern 80 ski race, and finishing with the Echuca Moama Wine and Jazz Festival.
Discovered, that even though I'm 15 years older and 15 kg heavier than the last time I tried, I CAN still ski on a slalom water ski!
Also discovered that if you start drinking beer at 7.30 am on a 44 degree day, you can drink 30 cans and still not be pissed by 2.30 the following morning!
Made some great new friends, who live in the Echuca area!!
Spent a weekend in the Victorian High Country with my sister and brother-in-law, and some great friends I have met through www.offroadsubarus.com
Became single again

March

Went on a Sun Microsystems training course - three days of training to get a free t-shirt!! (although their hardware is VERY cool)
More time with my new mates in Echuca
Lots more time working on the last of 4 Vic Roads projects.

New Synchro's for the Foz

2006-11-01T22:07:00.000+11:00

Over the past couple of weeks, the Forester has been crunching into 4th gear above 90 km/h, and I've been trying to get to STi at Subaru Ducklands for about 3,000 km...

The car had it's 100,000 km service about a month ago, and 4,500 km have passed, with me thinking the Subaru has a 100,000 km / 3 year warranty, however the warranty is actually 3 years, Unlimited km!!!

One of the mechanics came for a quick spin with me, and agreed that yes, 4th gear synchro has in fact had it, and 3rd and 5th are a bit iffy...

It's booked in for the end of the month, to have all the synchro's replaced...

Next lot of work to be done, is front brake pads, which are nearly shot, and machining of the rear rotors, which are warped, due to being a non-ventilated rotor...

4WD and Camping Show

2006-10-28T21:05:00.000+10:00

Just back from a day on my feet, wandering around Jeff's Shed at the 4wd and Camping Show...

Started off meeting Wayne and Fiona around 10.15 or so, and hitting the Nissan and Toyota stand first up... I reckon that the current Navara is rubbish in comparison to their new Hilux, which has pretty well confirmed I'm making the right decision when the Forester is up for replacement.

We split up a few times, when I got waylaid talking to various vendors about bits and pieces I am considering as possibilities, or definite "must have's" for my Hilux when I get it next April...

From talking to vendors, my Hilux build-up will look something like this!

Toyota Hilux Dual Cab Turbo Diesel D4D - in Sterling Silver
ARB Sahara Bar - colorcoded
ARB side steps - colorcoded
ARB rear step and towbar or the Kaymar equivalent- colorcoded
ARB canopy or hard tonneau - the jury is currently out as to which - also colorcoded
Tub liner - don't care which brand - probably from ARB
Warn Industries 9500 lb winch with plasma winch rope
Koni Suspension Upgrade - the other option is Bilstein, but their vendor rep wasn't very friendly

That's the base vehicle, how for the extra bits!!!

Autron Cruise Control
Autron Battery Management System
Couplertec 4WD Electronic Rust Proofing System
Counteract Paint Sealant - DIY
Counteract Fabric Protection - also DIY
Car Kit - to suit whichever phone I end up with next year
4WD Interiors Roof Console or Department of the Interior make a nice roof console also

And I'm sure there will be a few more goodies when the time comes...

A long time between entries

2006-10-24T23:11:00.000+10:00

Wow, what a couple of months...

A week after the world lost Steve Irwin, Peter Brock died on a bad corner, during the Targa West Rally. Bathurst was, naturally a tribute to Peter Brock, with Team 888 winning the inagural Peter Brock trophy, with Craig Lowndes at the wheel...

On the personal front, I'm once again single, which was a bad thing at the time, but the right thing to do for the long term. It's not that I don't care, or have strong feelings, I realised I that we were both heading in disparate directions, with different goals to achieve in life...

On the work front, it's full steam ahead on the project I'm working on for Vic Roads, with some crazy, crazy hours being worked to make us look like shining knights, rather than rusty relics...

In the coming months, I'll be hitting the road, to visit every Vic Roads branch in Victoria, replacing the server that provides the platform for the licensing and registration system. That'll be fun, and heaps of time to see various parts of the state, and generally meet lots of new people...

I'll be endeavouring to be a little more attentive to getting some more regular updates happening, just in case anyone actually reads this blog!

Cheerio for now... :-)

RIP Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T22:28:00.000+10:00

Born 22 February 1962, Essendon, Melbourne. Died 4 September 2006, Batt Reef, Queensland.

Like most people in Australia, I'm in a bit of shock about the death of Steve Irwin today whilst filming a documentary on Stingrays on Batt Reef, near the Low Isles group off Port Douglas.

Although most Aussies would say they have, at times been a little embarassed to be associated with Steve Irwin (through nationality), I don't, however, believe anyone could deny he did increase awareness of Australia's native animals through his Animal Planet program, and did wonders for Quarantine awareness, with his series of ads run on the TV

Details are pretty sketchy, and as per most media hype fairly judgemental, however it seems that Steve was diving, and doing filming of a stingray, and may have startled or cornered it, and was unfortunately spiked in the heart by the barb of the stingray.

Experts are saying, and I sincerely hope, that Steve Irwin's death was instantaneous.

Irwin was probably best known for his cry of "Oh, Crikey!", and for being "The Crocodile Hunter"...

Steve Irwin ran the Australia Zoo, which was started by his parents, who retired and passed the business to him in 1991. He began filming "The Crocodile Hunter" series in 1992. He married his wife Terri, a Vetinary Technician from Oregon,in June 1992, who became his manager, and between the two of them, they developed a business, thought to be worth $16 million per year.

Their first child, Bindi Sue was born in 1998, and their second, Bob (Robert) Clarence was born in 2003.

At a personal level, I had hoped to one day meet Steve Irwin, as we have an old family friend, who works at Australia Zoo, as their elephant handler. The elephants used to be circus elephants, and were relocated to the Zoo some years ago. My plans had been to visit the Australia Zoo in 2007, on my way to Cape York, which is currently in the planning phase ...

My condolences to Terri Irwin, and the kids, Bob and Lyn Irwin, and all the staff at Australia Zoo

"I spend my life with animals and nature not just because its what I enjoy (even though I do!), I do it because I believe in conservation, protection, and educating others about it's importance."
- Steve Irwin (1962 - 2006)

Steve Irwin, Australia will miss you

Windows Vista RC1

2006-09-03T22:30:00.000+10:00

Hi Folks,

Have been looking for a new mobile for quite some time now, and I think Blaugh have summed it up perfectly!!!

Anyways, it's been a while since I've had time to blog anything... A fair bit has happened though... Mum has had neuro surgery to insert some carbon-fibre disks in her neck - all good! Fiona and Wayne are back from Japan - all good!

Even today, I'm not so sure that I have anything worthy of blogging, however I've installed Vista RC1 on a spare laptop, that I was given...

Thus far, on a P4 2.0 GHz processor, with 512 MB of RAM, I've managed to bluescreen it once (trying to install Firefox), but all else aside, it seems pretty stable ... little slow, but that's to be expected, as there will be heaps of bugcheck code in the OS...

I haven't been able to convince eTrust to install on it, so at this stage, I have no antivirus control - I'm hoping that the free edition of AVG will install on it...

... 5 minutes later ...

Well, AVG is installed, and up and running with very little issue... Even managed an automatic update - who says free software isn't a good thing!!! :-)

Now, onto other matters...

The Melbourne Storm, last night, took out the NRL minor premiership, which was already pre-determined 3 weeks back, when they were 4 games out... I feel kinda bad about the season gone, as I didn't manage to get to a game, despite best intentions, and going to every home game for 2 years, starting 3 years back, as well as going to a few games last year...

All things being well, I will go to the first round final next week, which is going to be a home game in Melbourne, played at Olympic Park

Will this be the Microsoft of the Future?

2006-07-19T15:57:00.000+10:00

Found this today on Blaugh.com....

Poor Service = No Patronage

2006-07-06T21:12:00.000+10:00

It must have been one of those days today... Firstly, I tried upgrading my laptop to the latest beta of Office 2007, given the upgrade on my desktop at work had gone so well...

BIG mistake - 4 1/2 hours later, I had a functional copy of Outlook 2003 back on the laptop (with a Send button), to be greeted with a wonderful e-mail from our Corporate Cards, advising I was late on my Amex bill...

Bit of a story behind that... Last month, my statement advised I owed Amex for a years worth of "Membership Rewards" program, despite having asked them last year to cease the membership... Fair enough, people don't do their jobs properly, or computers screw up, and it costs us money. I can handle that, so I logged into my Amex Online Services portal, to find that yep, no reversed charge. Whilst on the phone to the Corporate Services lady, who this time DID reverse the charge out, I decided to check out my personal card.

Interesting - my personal cards last 5 numbers apppear to have changed, so I ask the lady if she can take a quick look. She's only in corporate cards, but can transfer me to the personal cards area - fair enough, so she puts me through to a service desk somewhere in Asia.

After taking 5 minutes to work out that I am me, the conversation transpires:

Me: I'd like to inquire about the card ending in 21006 that appears in my online services portal - My card ends in 11006

Her: Oh, we issued you a new card, as you hadn't used yours for over 3 months.

Me: Actually, you issued me a new card in March, and I used it in April.

Her: Oh, well, you must have filled out a marketing offer, so we sent you a new card.

Me: No, I don't fill those out, as I only use my Amex for online purchasing.

Her: I don't understand. Please hold sir.

Me (thinking): got a winner here

Her (after 5 minutes): Yes sir, it appears that you requested a replacement card.

Me: No, the only card I ever had replaced was when my wallet was stolen in 1993.

Her: Oh, well... Can I place you on hold again...

Me: Why not?

Her (10 minutes later): Thank you for waiting, it seems that you requested a new card.

Me: Can I speak with your supervisor please?

Her: Can I help you with something else?

Me (thinking again - someone who understands the English language would be good): No thanks, just someone in a more senior position, to whom I can voice my displeasure.

So, after re-iterating my story again, and being placed on hold for at least another 20 minutes, I was still being advised that I had asked for a new card, filled in a marketing offer, or that the marketing people had sent me a new card, due to my not using mine in (now) 6 months! After the supervisor finally working out that she didn't know how to answer my question, she told me she'd look into it further, and call me back...

10 minutes later, I get a phone call from Dad... Amex had called for me at their house, despite having confirmed my mobile number 3 times... So I call back Amex, and she's gone home, my card is still on hold - although the operator I'm talking to now can activate the card I have in my wallet - how, I don't know, seeing as I've been told earlier that it was cancelled, and that all the senior staff are in a meeting, but someone will call me back (I'm still waiting 4 hours later)

Where to go from here?

Well, the way I see it - I get my personal Amex re-associated with their Membership Rewards program, I transfer all the points away from Amex, to the Qantas Frequent Flyer Program, and cancel my personal card, and give my corporate card back.

And if ANYONE from Amex does ever decide to call me back, which I doubt will happen, I'll no doubt have to go through the entire process all over again.

To me, offshoring ANY kind of helpdesk to a service center where English is NOT the first language is a huge risk to a business.

The first person I spoke to was in Sydney, and spoke the same English I do, and understood my requirements 100%, and fixed my problem.

The following 3 people I spoke with are no doubt located in Singapore or Malaysia, and were struggling to understand what I was saying, let alone what I wanted.

The end result? American Express lose my custom, and I pass on the word as to how bad their customer service is.

Very disappointing, and I'd really like someone to yell at who has a sufficient grasp of the English language to understand my problem!

Krispy Kreme Opens in Melbourne

2006-06-22T23:51:00.000+10:00

That's right folks, the doughnut that everyone used to go to Sydney for is finally available in Melbourne, just a short 15 minute drive from where I live...

For a chain that first opened its doors in New Orleans in 1937, they have taken Australia by storm, and I am quite surprised that Melbourne is only just getting it's first store now, after opening it's first Australian store in Penrith (West of Sydney) in 2003.

They are pretty good doughnuts, and I'm looking forward to getting my free "birthday dozen" from last year, which I got a coupon in the mail for, just for being a "Friend of Krispy Kreme"

I can't believe the hype around it though. Reports on the news tonight indicated that there was a traffic queue of over 1 km, with people waiting to buy their doughnuts, and I even read yesterday, that you could camp out over night, waiting for the store to open this morning, as the company was putting on entertainment, and providing bean bags, and the like for people to make themselves comfortable for the long haul...

Jen and I'll most likely mosy over on the weekend, or at least before the 30th of June, to pick up my free dozen... I had planned to organise a mini-cruise for the WRX Club for this weekend, to go and buy some, and see them being made, but figured it's best to do it in a few months when the hype has died down a bit...

Then again, when I look at these pictures, I'm tempted to go for a quick drive, just to see how long the queue REALLY is!!!

Boong Hunter

2006-05-18T14:06:00.000+10:00

As politically incorrect as this site sounds, it has the potential to be an incredibly useful resource!

What it is, is a search engine, that appears to pull it's data from Telstra, whereby you can search by Surname, Street, Suburb, Postcode, etc, and it returns a listing of phone numbers matching your search criteria!

Boong Hunter

A Camping We Will Go

2006-04-02T22:06:00.000+10:00

What a weekend!!

Jen and I started off with a bit of a lie in on Saturday... Well, Jen lay in, and I knocked together a batch of Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, which went down an absolute treat...

Once we both readied ourselves to actually do something outside, we head across to Grangers Camping World in Nunawading, with the purpose of buying a 5-man Caribee Challenge 6, which, despite the name, is a 5-man tent. The guy we saw at Grangers in Dandenong 2 weeks ago was at Nunawading (turns out he is the boss), and suggested we look at the Aussie 6, which is a geodesic design, rather than a 2-pole configured sleeping area, with a larger vestibule, and continuous floor. Once we looked at that, we decided the sleeping area was a bit small for a queen sized air matress, so settled on the Aussie 8!!! So far as I can tell, they are made under license by DMH. The closest I can find on their website is the Murray 6. I'll post some pics of our baby up once we try putting it up!

Last purchase at Grangers was an Oztrail Easy Table 4, which will fit in the vestibule of the tent, very nicely, with an armchair on each side, on those warm, mosquito friendly nights!

Lastly, at Grangers, we bought a stove top grille, which is non-stick, and will sit nicely on the cartridge stove. Quite a few of the www.offroadsubarus.com guys have bought them, and they work a treat, much better than a frypan.

Next, we were off to Anaconda, for a sausage in bread, and a wander, and to pick up a few more items!

Anaconda, for the uninitiated, is a lot like REI in the US, but a little smaller.

At Anaconda, we bought a Coleman Quilted Air QuickBed, which will take "Princess Camping" to a whole new level. We also picked up a 240 volt air pump, also by Coleman, which will run off the Waeco inverter, I picked up on eBay a couple of months ago.

Last, but not least, we bought a Coleman retro-styled rechargeable lantern, which will charge from the car, as well as mains. Very funky, and no gas, or mantles to burn or anything...

We're going to give everything a trial run, down at the farm over Easter...

Stay tuned for updates, and photos!

Fabulous Morning Clouds

2006-02-06T14:18:00.000+11:00

As I left home this morning, I happened to look out to the South, and the colours in the sky, with the clouds were fantastic... Oh, and the colours have NOT been manipulated!!!

Instructables: step-by-step collaboration

2006-02-06T10:40:00.000+11:00

Instructables: step-by-step collaboration

This is quite a cool website I just found while searching for something else...

It's a bit of a shame they don't categorise the contributions, but I guess that will come later...

Well worth the look, if nothing other, than to look, shake your head, and ask WHY???

So Many Desires, So Few Funds

2006-02-02T22:18:00.000+11:00

Doing a bit of eBay browsing the other day, and came across an Ultrafuge Dagger Kayak, which is very similar to the Perception Craft Mirage that I used to paddle when I was at school...

Got me to thinking about how much I do miss my kayaking... Here in Langwarrin, I'd have good access to the surf down the back of the Mornington Peninsula, as well as the Patterson Lakes complex for a bit of upper body work... Maybe it will sell for a reasonable price, and I'll snipe it at the end, but I suspect it will go for a bit more than I can justify right now...

Yet another item to add to the wishlist... :-)

In the meantime, it looks like I will just have to keep running the usual track (work to the Shrine of Remembrance, round the Tan, and back) at lunchtime, to keep the recovery rate down...

Wise Words

2006-02-02T10:09:00.000+11:00

To my line of thinking, this would have to be quote of the day:

Whose cruel idea was it for the word “lisp” to have an “s” in it?

People.... Find something BETTER to do with your lives...

2006-01-31T12:56:00.000+11:00

Who has the time to search Google Earth for obscure items such as this???

Perth's 'hovering car'

I've transposed the article, so it wont totally expire!

Eagle eyed users of the satellite imaging service Google Earth have spotted what appears to be a car hovering above the ground in a suburban Perth car park.

The photo is of a car park just off Honour Avenue at Point Walter in the affluent south western suburb of Bicton. The spot is a popular picnic location on the banks of the Swan River.

A number of cars are shown in parking bays and the vehicle in question appears to hovering above the ground nearby, its shadow clearly visible beneath.

Google Earth images are mostly taken by satellites - and sometimes by aircraft - within the past three years and there are no "live" images on the site.

The intriguing image was reported last week by the British IT news website, The Register.

One the the website's readers subsequently visited the very spot and sent in photos showing that there were no unusual structures there that could explain the phenomenon.
Other sceptical readers wrote in insisting the image was an optical illusion and was either a bus shelter, a pergola, a hole in the ground. One said it was obviously "Harry Potter and his friends on vacation".

Google Earth, launched last year, allows users to zoom across the planet and drill down to a height of about 300 metres. The program also has "tilt" function to give a side or angled view of an area or object.

Cars and boats are clearly visible at this level and in some areas, where even higher definition images are available, people can be seen.

The Google service has spawned a group of devoted followers who scour the satellite images for strange sightings. Users in the past have spotted a Stealth bomber parked on a runway in California, commercial planes in mid-flight and an image of what appears to be a ship on its side in a river estuary in Scotland.
The service has been critcised for giving terrorists a bird's eye view of sensitive areas, such as the Lucas Heights reactor in Sydney and Parliament House in Canberra.

It has also given stickybeaks an opportunity to peer into neighbourhood backyards and the home of the rich and famous.

(The hovering car can also been seen in this image on the Google Local service. People who have downloaded the free Google Earth software can see the car image here.)

Happy Australia Day

2006-01-26T11:08:00.000+11:00

And today, we have received further recognition from Google of life outside the USA.

Happy Australia Day everyone! :-)

Now I'm Ready for an iPod

2006-01-12T13:03:00.000+11:00

Apple have finally succumbed, and released a radio module for the iPod Nano, and iPod with Video...

iPod Radio Remote

About time, is all I can say, although it doesn't appear to be available from the Apple Australia store yet.

Now all I need is to be able to find a 4GB iPod Nano for the right price, although on further thought, I think an iPod Video 60GB is a better investment!!!

They were a bit cheaper in Japan, than here in Australia, but not worth the hassle if a warranty claim was required.

Tiny Power Supplies!

2006-01-12T11:35:00.000+11:00

This would have to be without a doubt, the smallest PC power supply I've ever seen... A bit underdone for power, at 120 watts, but for a media centre PC, this would be grear!

picoPSU-120 12V DC-DC ATX power supply

Google Pack

2006-01-10T13:30:00.000+11:00

Google have outdone themselves this time!!! Google Pack has been released, which allows users to download the following:

Google Earth - if you haven't used this yet, just get it!!
Picasa - Google's Photo Organiser
Google Pack Screensaver - havent played with this yet, but it uses your own photos for your screensaver
Google Desktop - personally, I don't like these indexing programs, but it's not bad... needs MSN history search ability though
Google Toolbar for IE - I reckon this is the pic of search toolbars

They've also bundled in non-Google apps, including:

Firefox - I use this in preference to IE
Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition - includes a 6-month update subscription
Ad-Aware SE Personal - another very handy app!
Adobe Reader 7 - I use the writer as a reader, but if you don't need to create PDF's, you do need to be able to read them!

Google Shares

2006-01-06T13:33:00.000+11:00

GOOG: Historical Prices for GOOGLE - Yahoo! Finance

I remember, way back when Google floated on the US Stock Market, thinking "I really should buy some of those"...

They floated at $100 USD per share, and have risen steadily since, and at last trading, closed at $451.24 per share!

US Analysts have tipped that Google stocks will hit $600 USD, and become the most successful dot.com share ever!

Happy Year Year!!!

2006-01-01T04:46:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, and all the very best for 2006.

New Years Eve was spent with Alex and Clarissa, watching the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, from the beginning to the end.

We started around 2pm, which was really a bit too late, as we finished at 4.10am...

Tatts had a $32 million Superdraw last night, which we spent a bit of time planning our spending from...

For me?

An Aston Martin DB9 or DB9 Volante, for a weekend cruising / wedding hire car
Pay off the mortgage
Modify the Forester
Pay out Mum and Dad's mortgages
Go on a long holiday!

who says it never pays to dream... Will scan the ticket tomorrow at some stage...

More Firefox Extensions

2005-12-29T14:05:00.000+11:00

Due to it being a very slow work day, I've been on the hunt for some new Firefox extensions, and have found these two, which are pretty cool...

IETab - which opens an Internet Explorer window from within Firefox - very cool!
IEView - not so cool, but allows opening of a link in Firefox, using the Internet Explorer API...

Who writes these things???

2005-12-28T15:06:00.000+11:00

Just sitting down at work, to run through an online training module, and the first screen mandates the following:

Navigating through DWiT requires the following skills:

The ability to use a web link
The ability to close a browser window
The ability to use the Back and Forward buttons on a web browser.

What sort of genius writes these training materials, and given it is online, web based training, how the hell did I manage to get to this particular screen if I don't have the above abilities?

Stupid Hackers...

2005-12-28T12:42:00.000+11:00

Got the following in an email from one of the guys at work. It's a really good example of how stupid some of the script kiddies who call themselves "Hackers" truly are...

######checker (~java@euirc-a97f9137.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)
* ######checker (~java@euirc-61a2169c.dip.t-dialin.net) has joined #stopHipHop
<######checker> why do you kick me
<######checker> can't you discus normally
<######checker> answer!
we didn't kick you
you had a ping timeout: * ######checker (~java@euirc-a97f9137.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)
<######checker> what ping man
<######checker> the timing of my pc is right
<######checker> i even have dst
<######checker> you banned me
<######checker> amit it you son of a ######
LOL
s**t you're stupid, DST^^
<######checker> shut your mouth WE HAVE DST!
<######checker> for two weaks already
<######checker> when you start your pc there is a message from windows that DST is applied.
You're a real computer expert
<######checker> shut up i hack you
ok, i'm quiet, hope you don't show us how good a hacker you are ^^
<######checker> tell me your network number man then you're dead
Eh, it's 129.0.0.1
or maybe 127.0.0.1
yes exactly that's it: 127.0.0.1 I'm waiting for you great attack
<######checker> in five minutes your hard drive is deleted
Now I'm frightened
<######checker> shut up you'll be gone
<######checker> i have a program where i enter your ip and you're dead
<######checker> say goodbye
to whom?
<######checker> to you man
<######checker> buy buy
I'm shivering thinking about such great Hack0rs like you
* ######checker (~java@euirc-61a2169c.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)

What happened is clear: That guy entered his own IP-Adress in his almighty Hack-Tool and crashed his own PC. thus the attack on my PC was a total failure. I was already starting to think that I did not have to worry, but a good hacker never calls it a day. Two minutes later he returned.

QUOTE
* ######checker (~java@euirc-b5cd558e.dip.t-dialin.net) has joined #stopHipHop
<######checker> dude be happy my pc crashed otherwise you'd be gone
lol
######checker: Then try hacking me again... I still have the same IP: 127.0.0.1
<######checker> you're so stupid man
<######checker> say buy buy
ah, p**s off
<######checker> buy buy anarchist
* ######checker (~java@euirc-b5cd558e.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)

There was a tension in the room... Would he manage, after these two failures, to crash my PC? I waited. Nothing happened. I felt relieve... Six minutes passed by until he prepared the next wave of attack. Being a Hacker, who usually cracks whole data centers, he knew what his problem was now.

QUOTE
· ######checker (~java@euirc-9ff3c180.dip.t-dialin.net) has joined #stopHipHop
<######checker> anarchsit you son of a ######
######checker how old are you?
What's up ######checker?
<######checker> you have a frie wal
<######checker> fire wall
maybe, i don't know
<######checker> i'm 26
such behaviour at 26?
how did you find out that I have a firewall?
tststs this is not very nice missy
<######checker> because your gay fire wall directed my turn off signal back to me
<######checker> be a man turn that s**t off
cool, didn't know this was possible.
<######checker> thn my virus destroys your pc man
are you hacking yourselves?
yes ######checker is trying to hack me
he ######checker if you're a hacker you have to get around a firewall even i can do that
<######checker> yes man i hack the anarch but the sucker has a fire wall the
what firewall do you have?
<######checker> like a girl
firewall is normal a normal hacker has to be able to get past it...you girl^^
###### give yourself a jackson and chill you're letting them provoce you and give those little girls new material all the time
<######checker> turn the firewall off then i send you a virus
Noo
he ######checker why turn it off, you should turn it off
<######checker> you're afraid
<######checker> i don't wanna hack like this if he hides like a girl behind a fire wall
<######checker> anathsti turn off your ###### wall!
i wanted to say something about this, do you know the definition of hacking??? if he turns of the firewall that's an invitation and that has nothing to do with hacking
<######checker> shut up
lol
<######checker> my grandma surfs with fire wall
<######checker> and you suckers think you're cool and don't dare going into the internet without a fire wall

He calls me girly and says only his grandma would use a firewall. I know that elder people are much more intelligent then younger, but I couldn't let that rest. To see whether he really is a good hacker I waited to see what happens next.

QUOTE
######checker, a friend showed me how to turn the firewall off. Now you can try again
######hacker can't hack
> nice play on words ^^
<######checker> wort man
######checker: I'm still waiting for your attack!
how many times again he is no hacker
<######checker> man do you want a virus
<######checker> tell me your ip and it deletes your hard drive
lol ne give it up i'm a hacker myself and i know how hackers behave and i can tell you 100.00% you're no hacker..^^
127.0.0.1
it's easy
<######checker> lolololol you so stupid man you'll be gone
<######checker> and are the first files being deleted
moment….
i'll take a look

Just to check I started up Firefox Had I underestimated him? No…

QUOTE
<######checker> don't need to rescue you can't son of a ######
that's bad
<######checker> anarchist you idiout your hard drive g: is deleted
yes, there's nothing i can do about it
<######checker> and in 20 seconds f: is gone

Yes, true, G: and F: were gone. Did I ever have them? No… but how did this remtard come to such a conclusion?, I did not have time to think, I was scared. ######checker was advising me on my music choices..completely random….

QUOTE
<######checker> tupac rules
<######checker> anarchist you son of a ###### your f: is gone and e: too

Drive E:? Oh my god... All the games are there! And all my work, I instantly take a look. Everything still there. But the mastermind hacker said it was deleted....

QUOTE
<######checker> and d: is at 45% you idiot lolololol
why doesn't meta say anything
he's probably rolling on the floor laughing
> ^^
<######checker> your d: is gone
go on ######

The guy is good: My CD-drive is supposedly deleted! ######checker turned my CD-ROM into a burner! But how did he do this? I'll have to ask him. Some encourage him. He himself is giving advice how to avoid the disaster on my hard drives.

QUOTE
<######checker> anarchist man you're so stupid never give your ip on the internet
<######checker> i'm already at c: 30 percent

Should I tell him he's not attacking my computer? Should I burst his bubble of psychotic delusion?

QUOTE
* ######checker (~java@euirc-9ff3c180.dip.t-dialin.net) Quit (Ping timeout#)

Too late... It's 20:22 when we get the last message of our hacker with the AKA "######checker". We see that he has a "Ping timeout". We haven't seen him since then...
He also threatened me with his amazing language talents

QUOTE
<######checker> shut up man i have advanced german

BookmarksHome

2005-12-28T10:57:00.000+11:00

Just sifting through Mozdev, and came across BookmarksHome, a plugin for Firefox...

Makes your bookmarks browseable, and has RSS support as well... NICE!

Geek Stuff

2005-12-26T01:07:00.001+11:00

The blog will now automatically resize to the browser size...

I was getting sick of having to scroll side to side if the entry was larger than the browser...

We're now working on percentages of available browser space...

Programmer or Serial Killer?

2005-12-25T17:29:00.000+11:00

Killer Quiz

Cool Programming....

2005-12-25T16:19:00.000+11:00

These are very clever bits of programming.... Wish I had the ability to code like this....

Depth of Field Generator #1

Depth of Field Generator #2

Tower of Bears

Rexmas...

2005-12-11T19:31:00.000+11:00

Today was the WRX Club Christmas (Rexmas) party.

The gorilla suit came in handy again, for marshalling traffic at the Knox City Shopping Centre at the meeting point.

Once again, there were some mixed reactions from kids, as well as the adults.

A few reckoned it was gold, the others again, declared me an idiot! :-)

The cruise for the event ended up at Red Hill, at the oval, where Santa (Alex) arrived in a Mustang, accompanied by a gorilla, and an elf (Carlee)

Again, a great day had by all. The gorilla won the raffle prize of a hamper of Black Magic car cleaning products... Gotta be loving that! :-)

Zoo Christmas Party

2005-12-10T17:21:00.000+11:00

Work threw the Christmas Part at the Werribee Zoo this year. There was a fancy dress competition, so Rob and I decided to hire a couple of suits to get right into the spirit!

The reaction was kind of mixed... Most folks called us idiots, which is partly correct, given the heat... Some of the kids loved it, others hated it...

We went on the bus safari, where the gorillas had a chance to relax a bit, and take in the animals in the park.

The animals the bus occupants saw included Hippos, Bison, Giraffes and Rhinos.

Which Potter are You??

2005-11-29T19:22:00.000+11:00

Given the new Harry Potter is starting this Thursday, this is quite an appropriate page to take a squiz at!

I turned out to be Harry :-)

Which HP Kid Are You?

Thanks to Laura for having this on her Blog

MP3 Players...

2005-11-14T23:38:00.000+11:00

I've been looking into MP3 players of late. The trip to Japan sparked my interest in getting one for myself, and given I'm walking, cycling or running every day now, an MP3 player would definitely be an improvement over the walkman...

When I was in Japan, I looked at the 4GB Apple iPod Nano, which was about $320 AUD, with the exchange rate at the time. The thing that held me back on the Nano, was the lack of radio.

Since I've been back, I've done a little web research, into flash based MP3 players, and thus far, I've discovered the Viodio 512 MB unit, that is available from Strathfield Car Radio, for about $230 (on sale for the opening of the Fountain Gate store), and the I-Bead 400, which seems a bit more universal as it plays multiple formats, including MP3, WMA,
ASF, and OGG... WMA may be handy, as the output quality seems pretty reasonable for a file quite a bit smaller than an equivalent MP3. The I-Bead I've not been able to find in a Bricks and Mortar store, but www.mp4store.com.au have it for $309, as well as the I-Bead 170, which I think is the poorer cousin of the two...

All 3 have a Lithium polymer battery, so it's dilemna time!!! Do I need 1 GB, or is 512 enough?

Nana

2005-10-05T17:40:00.000+10:00

Today, my Nana passed away at 12.30

The funeral will be on Wednesday, 12th, in Carnegie.

More details to follow.

Imminent Travel

2005-09-14T23:37:00.000+10:00

It's all a bit hush-hush at the moment, but I booked some flights today, to go overseas at the end of October for three weeks, to an overseas destination...

Big thanks to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, and to work, for flying me all over the world in 2001... I didn't have to pay a cent for the flights :-)

iPod Nano...

2005-09-11T13:33:00.000+10:00

Apple released the new iPod Nano this week, which is a solid state, 2GB or 4GB unit, thinner than the iPod Shuffle, and about twice as wide...

Just doing a bit of surfing, and found this article, where a Japanese guy has already pulled one to bits, and photographed the process... The article is translated by Google

Awfully expensive way of exploring a device's contents if you ask me... Then again, someone was bound to do it!

Big Thanks... To Great Friends

2005-09-10T23:44:00.000+10:00

Given what's transpired in the past week, and given you guys may read this blog...

Big Thanks to...

Clarissa,
Alex,
Les,
Rob,
David,
Natalie,
Caz & Trent,
Ben

and of course, my folks.

You guys are all great, and mean the world to me...

Thanks Heaps!

Flip Flop

2005-09-09T01:00:00.000+10:00

Fair bit of water under the bridge since last Saturday...

Monday afternoon, I went to the funeral for Shirley Hilditch (Scott's Mum), which was a very nice service, and good to catch up with Scott and Gina, Trent and Caz, and others I've not had a chance to see for a while now...

After heading back to work, and finishing the day, I went off to a market research session, to do some advertisement assessment for a new range of advertisements which Bunnings are thinking of running.

After heading back to Mum and Dad's to dinner, I sort of fell in a big heap.

Tuesday, was the day from hell... I woke up around 8.30 or so, to go to work, but couldn't get out of bed. All my system wanted to do was sleep, sleep, and sleep some more...

Wednesday wasn't much better.

Thursday, I went to see a GP, trained in Big Blue, "The National Depression Initiative".

Friday morning, three people from the CAT Team at the Alfred Hospital came to see me, and one of the doctors declared me depressed. I've since been prescribed some anti-depressants, to buoy me up during the day, and valium, to help me sleep...

It's incredible how many people you talk to have been on these medications... I guess I'll give them a go, to see how things unfold...

Friday night, was Clarissa's Birthday dinner, which I had promised I would go to. I had a really good time, at Shine Cafe, out in Glen Waverley, although the service was appalling from all but one staff member.

Right now, I'm sitting on the bed in my old bedroom at Mum and Dad's, with the blind up, watching an awesome electrical storm go by, and fighting a half a valium, which was supposed to be a good idea, to help me sleep... Damn the interesting night life!!

Two Puddy Tats...

2005-09-03T21:07:00.000+10:00

I went out to visit Ingrid, who runs Ingrid's Haven on Thursday night after work, to meet Pretty Jessica and Fluff, both of who were a little shy and people wary for my liking.

Ingrid currently has 91 cats, waiting to be given new homes, and I met two other cats, Una (pronounced ohhnah) and Stumpy (pure black cat with a stumpy tail), both of whom were very friendly!

After a coffee, and a chat, I head home, to come back on Saturday, when both cats have been given a new home...

Stumpy is learning her new name of Lizzy, and Una is let to be renamed, althoguh I'm thinking Luna is a good name for her...

Two to choose from...

2005-08-19T22:46:00.000+10:00

Following on from my entry from yesterday, about getting myself a furry friend, or two, I made some phone calls...

Penelope, found a new home 2 weeks ago, and moved from Mount Eliza, to Ballarat... :-(

On the up side, I am going to try to meet Fluffy and Jessica on Sunday... Hopefully they are the nice cats that the lady running hostel they are living in says they are... :-)

Furry Friends....

2005-08-17T22:41:00.000+10:00

I've decided that for a bit of company, a cat or two could be a good option... I've been doing some web searching, and found three really nice looking female cats, that are looking for new homes...

Two are through a non-profit cats hostel, where the other is a pet of a local family who are moving to the UK...

This is Fluffy, who is cute as cute, and is a negative image of Charlotte, who died over a year ago...

This is Jessica, who is also a very nice looking cat...

This is Penelope, who's owners are moving overseas...

And this is Charlotte, who died on May 4th, 2004

Bloody Petrol Prices...

2005-08-03T23:06:00.000+10:00

Having just been on the road for a week or so, I've been pretty horrified at the price of petrol.

On a trip from Melbourne to Canberra, then on to the snow fields of New South Wales, and back to Melbourne, via Canberra, I have seen petrol prices vary from 116.5 c/litre, in Melbourne, to as high as 132.9 c/litre, in Jindabyne.

According to one of the guys who work the money markets for the Commonwealth Bank, the Australian petrol pricing is dictated by OPEC countries, due to most of Australia's diesel fuel being refined in Singapore, from crude oil sourced from the Middle East.

It still doesn't make sense to me that the locally refined fuels are impacted... Just one of the little frustrations in life I guess...

How Cool is this???

2005-07-24T11:15:00.000+10:00

I finally got off my ass, and downloaded a copy of Skype, one of the VOIP applications that are starting to pop up on the Internet.

For the pricely sum of 10 euro, (roughly $16 Aussie Dollars according to the currency converter at xe.com), I can place a call to any landline in the world, at an extremely reasonable rate...

To call a landline in the US, costs about $0.03 Aussie per minute, which per my calculations works out to 1.8 cents an hour...

I've called a couple of friends, as well as Mum and Dad, to see what the quality is like, and it's extremely good...

Given that Wayne and Fiona left for Japan for a year last night, this should save us a bucket of money on international calls!

Skype to Skype calls are excellent value, as they are free!!!

50,000 km ...

2005-07-22T22:15:00.000+10:00

My White Subaru Forester XT had it's 50,000 km service today... I decided to lash out a bit (well, decided that my lease would lash out a bit), and get the service done by STi Melbourne, rather than at the dealer the car was purchased from.

The theory being that STi will do a bit better job on a car with a turbo charger, than a regular service centre, as they also look after the Subaru Rally Team cars, and are specialists with the performance Subarus.

Given this was the first "big service" I decided to get the car Dyno Tuned as well, to see how much power it has, and also to ensure there are no problems under power, as exhaust modifications such as I have, have been known to cause problems with pinging, and the like.

As I'm a Victorian WRX Club member, everything attracted a 10% loyalty discount, and there was a bit of pinging, which has been tuned out, whilst the car was on the dyno.

Here is the printout from the dyno... A little disappointed about the power output, but given I am running on 95 RON fuel, and no modifications worth mentioning, it's not too bad....

The black line is the before tune, the red line is after tune...

Google Moon ?

2005-07-20T23:20:00.000+10:00

Google Labs have created Google Moon to commemorate the landing of man on the moon...

They say that it uses the Google Earth interface to show the landing sites of Apollo's 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Not as exciting as Google Earth, or as different as Google Gulp, but pretty cool all the same...

An Office Gem....

2005-07-13T23:15:00.000+10:00

Having had two days out of the office, one of the office comedians must have visited my desk.

When I left the office on Friday night, the mandarin was sitting next to the glass. As you can see, this morning, it had been encouraged into the glass... :-)

It's a much better feeling now ...

2005-07-12T19:00:00.000+10:00

Today, all the locks in the house were changed, due to an uninvited visitor last week.

The locksmith, who Mum and Dad used at their rental place got lost on the way, but when he got here, did a really good job...

The passage sets on the front, back, laundry and garage doors were all knackered, and couldn't be re-keyed to the same key, so they were all replaced with new dead locking models, which actually close nicely, and every lock in the house is on the same key now!

It's Just Another Day... Really It Is!

2005-07-08T23:05:00.000+10:00

32 today... Big bloody deal...

It's not a good feeling

2005-07-06T23:56:00.000+10:00

Rather unpleasant experience today, arriving home, to find the blue flashing light for the alarm flashing away outside the bedroom window.

Instant sinking feeling, in the pit of the stomach, as I wheeled into the driveway, and opened the garage door...

The door between the garage and the house was open, and the sinking feeling in my stomach increases...

After a walk down the street, to have a chat to Arthur, it seems that the alarm went off between 11am and 4pm. I've also checked the windows, and had a chat to the Frankston Police. They sent a car around, and we couldn't find any sign of forced entry, and they managed to get a partial print from the back garage door, but given nothing has been taken, they will not progress their investigation. Their comment was that for there to be no sign of forced entry, it would have been with a key...

Rather an unsettling feeling. Looks like the locks will be changed very soon...

Google Earth

2005-07-06T18:11:00.000+10:00

Discovered that Google have finally made Google Earth available for easy downloads.

It uses Landsat, Earthsat, and aerial photographs to put together overhead images all over the world.

Currently the Australian coverage map looks like this:

Unfortunately my house, is just out of the currently photographed area :-(

Triton Upgrades

2005-07-02T16:45:00.000+10:00

I spent a good couple of hours, fitting my GMC router to the Triton Router table, I purchased through eBay, back in May, to find that it crapped itself on the first pass on the redgum I am making some bedside tables out of.

Enter Mr Two Year Warranty, and Bunnings Gift Cards. I packed the router back into it's nice wooden case, and headed down to Bunnings at Frankston, and explained my predicament, with fingers crossed that without a receipt, the warranty would be honoured. It was, and after handing over my Gift Cards, I now have the Triton 1/2" Precision Router, which fits the table without heaps of stuffing around, and routed the redgum beautifully.

Shorter Shifts....

2005-06-10T20:15:00.000+10:00

Was talking to Alex the other night, about short shifter replacement levers for the WRX and the Forester XT, and thought that one could be a good birthday present for him, and a "just for the hell of it" purchase for me...

I did some research on the GTRydaz forums, and after talking to one of the guys, decided to purchase a needle bearing short shifter, from a lady called Elaine, who sells on yep, you guessed it, eBay.

I managed to win two levers, for the grand sum of $49.95 each (starting price), and $11 later for shipping, and a phone call from reception at work, I had them in my hot little hands.

Here is a comparison photo between the WRX and the replacement shifter.

The actual throw is shortened by the length between the pivot and the ball at the end of the shifter.

The shortened throw on the Foz is awesome, much more accurate for the shift.

More Triton Gear

2005-05-27T22:03:00.000+10:00

Since buying the Triton Router table on eBay, I figured having something to cut timber with would also be helpful, so again, I headed back to eBay, to check out what was available in the Triton Workcentre 2000 department.

I've been watching the auctions for Triton gear for quite some time, and knowing what you can buy stuff for at retail pricing, from places like Bunnings and Mitre 10 sell this gear for helps immensely. I guess if you had to make one rule for buying anything on eBay it would be to research what you are buying before you start bidding!!!

So, that rule being made, I knew that a Workcentre 2000, from Bunnings is worth around $450, and the Triton 235mm Circular Saw is in the vicinity of $350...

As luck would have it, there was a guy in Melbourne, with a Workcentre 2000 AND a Triton 235mm Circular Saw, with a starting price of $400, with a huge benefit of him being located in Melbourne, and the gear being brand new, still in the boxes...

I sent him a couple of messages about the gear, and then spoke to him. Turns out, he had some cash come his way, and went out to buy the Triton gear, the same day his wife bought him the same gear... Apparently she lost the receipts, and he already had his lot assembled when she gave it to him. Enter eBay :-)

He only had the Workcentre 2000 advertised, and when I spoke to him, mentioned he had the saw as well, so we agreed upon a price for both, and I agreed to bid the auction until I won it...

Needless to say, I won the auction, and for $740 I became the proud owner of the Workcentre 2000 and the 235mm Circular Saw, with local pickup... When I rocked up, I only had $730 on me, so he said that was cool... All round good deal for me... :-)

To make it even better, Mum had made me an IOU for my birthday last year, for exactly this gear.

17 inches of rubbery goodness... :-)

2005-05-26T19:45:00.000+10:00

Before:

And After:

Not sure about the wheel alignment at the moment, as the car feels like it is floating a bit, but I suspect that is due to the alignment being accurate, rather than how it was out of factory...

All the noise of the Geo 900's is totally gone, and the cost was significantly less for the Toyo Transpath MP3....

Fitting was done by Beaurepaires Franksston, who did a very careful, and clean job... Need to work out how the alignment should be though... I suspect there is not enough negative camber, or the car is just a lot more responsive due to the reduced tyre profile....

FeedMap

2005-05-26T00:28:00.000+10:00

This is a very cool little website... FeedMap tries to map out other registered bloggers in your vicinity...

I found it to be quite scary how accurate it is... I put in the street name, suburb, and the maps nearly has the street itself in it!!!

It gives you some code to add to the side bar of your blog, which is over to the left... Pretty cool really... At this time, there are 50 registered bloggers in the area, which seems to have about a 50 km radius...

Let The Routing Begin

2005-05-19T20:30:00.000+10:00

Last year, I got given a GMC 1250 Router for my birthday,

and although I've used it a couple of times, I've been a little hesitant about using it as a plunge router... Somehow it seems a little bit cumbersome (or is it that I'm un-coordinated) ? So, I resorted to Ebay to try and find a resonably priced Triton Router table, and Router Stand...

After patiently watching and waiting for a couple of months, I have finally found a Melbourne seller, selling the Triton RTA300, and RSA300 Router Table and Stand...

I picked it up from Rod, the seller, who, like most people I've bought from on Ebay seemed like a very nice bloke...

Now all I need is the WorkCentre 2000 and a saw, and I'm in business... :-)

Words from the Road

2005-02-24T01:03:00.000+11:00

Had a good run up to the Gold Coast on Thursday and Friday. The past few days have pretty well been like this...

Katy's Schedule for Thursday 17th February
6:43 Leave Ferntree Gully
7:05 Leave Heathmont
7:13 Stop at Kilsyth 7-11
7:20 "On the Road Again..."
Later that day Arrive Gilgandra

Our first day on the road begain around 6.00 for Katy, and 6.15 for me, in Ferntree Gully. After heading across to Heathmont to pick up Emma, we were off on our way to our first destination, of Gilgandra, with a quick stop in Nagambie, and about a 45 minute stop in Numurkah to visit Caz and Trent, who none of us had seen for a little while...

We got to Gilgandra a little late (around 8pm or so), as our day on the road (like the following 3) took us longer than expected. Thursday took us longer than expected, due to our first ordered lunch at Finley pub first being served uncooked (nothing worse than uncooked Chicken Kiev or Schnitzel).

As we drove through Jerilderie, we drove through clouds and clouds of locusts. Quite a bit of fun, watching them go SPLAT on the windscreen as we drove through them.

We had dinner at one of the truck stops at Gilgandra, and the steak sandwich I had was fantastic!

Katy's Schedule for Friday 18th February
Morning: Leave Gilgandra
Later that day Arrive Surfers Paradise

A pretty uneventful day on the road on Friday, a lot of mileage (we decided between us that there is no such term as kilometerage). We (well, me) were up lateish on Friday, I was woken as the 7.15 am train went through the town. We got some brekky at the milk bar and bakery in town, and then hit the road. We stopped for lunch in Goondiwindi, where we couldn't work out why the sports club was so quiet until about 2.30, when there was a huge influx of people wanting meals... About an hour down the road, we realised that we had changed timezones, and our "late pub lunch" of 1.30, was actually an early one of 12.30!

Not a lot happened between Goondiwindi and the Gold Coast, and the road is pretty unspectacular, aside from driving across through the hills through Warwick, and across the past Mount Tamborine. It's an excellent driving road through the mountains, and the Forester handled it very well!

Soon to be On The Road Again...

2005-02-15T09:57:00.000+11:00

Thursday morning, and Katy, Emma and I will be off on another of Katy, Emma and Drew's Excellent Adventures, following the Melbourne Storm , this time to the Gold Coast, for their second trial game for the season. The boys are playing against the Brisbane Broncos, at Carrara, which is also known as the Gold Coast Stadium, where I saw my first ever game of League that was explained to me (by Katy)!!

The Offroadsubarus.com Marketing Campaign

2005-01-30T20:20:00.000+11:00

Finally got around to putting one of the site stickers on the back of the car...

looks pretty good I think....

Diamonds are Forever

2005-01-28T20:30:00.000+11:00

Met with Margaret Hocking's Nephew, David O'Brien, of http://www.augold.com.au today, to view the diamonds he had got in for me to look at for Katy's engagement ring.

The total point count for the ring will be a little higher than the one that we saw in the shop that Katy likes, but the stones themselves are the same size.

Amazing how "who you know" comes into play when making a purchase like this. The ring will have better diamonds than the one we saw in the shop, and cost considerably less.

It's being made in white gold, and should be ready in time for us to go to the Gold Coast with Emma.

I'm sure Katy will love it!

Bunyip State Park

2005-01-22T23:10:00.000+11:00

Spent the day in the Bunyip State Park with the guys from http://www.offroadsubarus.com. Once again, the car performed admirably, chickened out on a couple of runs, as I wasn't sure the XT would be up to it.

This pic was taken on a slope the car would not go up any futher, lots of wheel spin... very deceptive how steep a hill can be, yet looks relatively flat...

Couldn't believe the dust that was coming out of the ventilation system as I head out of the forest, hot footing it back to Katy's for dinner. Hate to think what the air filter looks like, based on the crap coming through the ventilation...

Fiona and Wayne's Big Day

2005-01-09T22:45:00.000+11:00

Today was Fiona and Wayne's Wedding. They were married at Red Hill Estate, in a relatively small reception, of only 50 or so people...

Katy and I took between us several hundred photo's, both before, as Fiona was getting ready

During the wedding,

Behind which the guests had a magnificent view of the Vineyards,

We also took a lot of photo's in the same context the professional Wayne and Fiona had hired was taking. Hopefully the photo's he was taking are better than ours, as we reckon our photo's are awfully good!!

Even the Vineyard ducks got in on the act during the photos

The meal at Max's Restaurant was superb, and most people had a bit of a dance before the night was over.

2005-01-01T21:06:00.000+11:00

Ok, so I asked the big question, and the big answer was Yes!!!!

Midnight came and went, with Katy on the phone, for a support call. Lots of fireworks going on around us, out in the back garden at Ferntree Gully.

Given that last year, I thought we should buy a house, I suggested that this year we could get married, and she said yes!!!!

Robin and Heid gave their blessing at about 1am when they got home, so it's all good...

Mum and Dad are stoked also...

Did the rounds of Nana and Grandma, Nana was wrapt, and Grandma cried, so I think that was a good sign...

It's Ours, See? SOLD!!!

2004-12-17T01:30:00.000+11:00

Trent and I went for a fish yesterday, and head down to Langwarrin after work, to meet Katy (and Cameron from Network 1) to put the SOLD sticker on the house.

After the application of the SOLD sticker, we met the current owners, Dave and Glenda, who seem pretty nice, had a drink, and then head back to the Gully to have dinner with Trently.

The fishing was pretty good also, once I remembered my drivers license and wallet that is. We got most of the way to the Cranbourne - Frankston Road, and then had to turn back to Malvern to get it.

We launched at Black Rock instead of Frankston, and spent a couple of very enjoyable hours chasing a school of salmon off Rickett's Point...

We Have A Home!!!

2004-11-25T22:05:00.000+11:00

After a jabber discussion yesterday, we decided that we would in fact put in an offer on the house. After several comings and goings on the phone, I finally had the vendor accept an offer of $1000 less than the property had been offered on previously.

It was a little more than we wanted to pay, however it is a house that we both fell in love with, and a couple of thousand dollars isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things over the rest of our lives.

As of today, pending financial and Archicentre inspection approval, we will be in 90 days, the proud owners of Number 30, Cotoneaster Way, Langwarrin, 3910, Victoria, Australia

We Found A Home!!!

2004-11-23T12:35:00.000+11:00

After a few weekends of suburb driving, we've found a house that we both walked into, and thought "This is Home!"

On the weekend, we had a look at a hell of a lot of houses in Langwarrin, which is the suburb we both feel very comfortable about the prospect of living there.

We went to another house on the weekend, that we both really liked, and after driving past about another 30 houses on Sunday, we drove past this house on the way out of the neighbourhood. Katy SMS'd the agent to get some details, which she received yesterday during the day.

I rang Buxton's, who are selling the house we liked around the corner from this house, to try and get to look through it tonight, however the agent was not available.

I rang Cameron, from Network 1 and arranged for us to take a look through the house tonight at 6.00 pm. We got from 484 to the house, which is at 30 Cotoneaster Way, Langwarrin, in 55 minutes, which is how long it can take sometimes from 484 to Bretonneux Square!!!

Anyway, we had quite a look through the house, and both pretty well fell in love with it.

We had dinner at Patterson lakes, where we talked about putting in an offer on the house. We drove back to the house, to see what the street is like at night, and it seems pretty quiet.

When we got back home, we sat in the car, and after we talked about it for a bit, we decided that we would make an offer...