Is now archived. Not sure why I didn't just bury it. I suppose that was the point.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Autumn 2007
Autumn
March 10, 2007
Farther along we'll know all about it
Farther along we'll understand why
Latest important news: D'arth Remar NE Druid dinged 57, just 180k exp before hitting the outland. WTF? Yeah, sad but true - am a certified WoW addict. But I can take it or leave it, it's not that critical that I play for a minimum of four hours every day - three hours is Ok at a push. Will attempt to not mention it again, or not very often.
Farther along we'll know all about it
Farther along we'll understand why
Latest important news: D'arth Remar NE Druid dinged 57, just 180k exp before hitting the outland. WTF? Yeah, sad but true - am a certified WoW addict. But I can take it or leave it, it's not that critical that I play for a minimum of four hours every day - three hours is Ok at a push. Will attempt to not mention it again, or not very often.
C/2006 P1 (McNaught) did not pass by without notice. It was heralded widely late last year but none of the predictions did it just justice. In the breaks between clouds over successive nights I just gazed transfixed until it sank behind the trees. There won't be too many of those in our lifetime.
Fresh Fumes
March 16, 2007
Am not sure if it qualifies as an irony but the decision by MotoGP to reduce engine capacity from 1000 to 800cc for the premier class has not had the desired saftey effect. The bikes are revving higher, generating the same power, are significantly harder to ride, hold a higher corner speed due to less weight, and most tellingly are no slower - close to 350kmph. A whole bunch of guys got spat off. The 07 model Ducati found the top step of the podium underneath Casey Stoner in an awesome display of horsepower that was worth 150m down the main stright at Qatar. Rossi was the only one capable of staying close on his Fiat sponsered Yamaha. Interesting to note that an aussie won both the last 1000cc MotoGP (Troy Bayliss) and the first 800cc GP - here's hoping Vermeulen can get up on the steps this year. BTW, the new Ilmor team has come and gone due to lack of a sponser.
Am not sure if it qualifies as an irony but the decision by MotoGP to reduce engine capacity from 1000 to 800cc for the premier class has not had the desired saftey effect. The bikes are revving higher, generating the same power, are significantly harder to ride, hold a higher corner speed due to less weight, and most tellingly are no slower - close to 350kmph. A whole bunch of guys got spat off. The 07 model Ducati found the top step of the podium underneath Casey Stoner in an awesome display of horsepower that was worth 150m down the main stright at Qatar. Rossi was the only one capable of staying close on his Fiat sponsered Yamaha. Interesting to note that an aussie won both the last 1000cc MotoGP (Troy Bayliss) and the first 800cc GP - here's hoping Vermeulen can get up on the steps this year. BTW, the new Ilmor team has come and gone due to lack of a sponser.
Surplanted
March 17, 2007
Ahhh, to XBox or not to Xbox 360. That was not the question. A pre-xmas power spike took out PC #3 of 5, motherboard, power supply and videocard, so the only solution was to build a cheap cheerful P4 3.8 with 1Gb ram and 512Mb VC - popped a 19"LCD on it, and there goes the xbox360 budget. NSW radiographers only earn a pittance. The other, perhaps more embarrasing reason for not 360ing is WoW. Who's got time for anything else? I reckon I've bought the kids (and myself) about one PC game a month on average for the last decade. The last five months? - we only go into EB Games to see what the latest WoW accessories are... I think we just forgot. BTW - just dinged 60. Lachy dinged 53 and Taffy 46.
Ahhh, to XBox or not to Xbox 360. That was not the question. A pre-xmas power spike took out PC #3 of 5, motherboard, power supply and videocard, so the only solution was to build a cheap cheerful P4 3.8 with 1Gb ram and 512Mb VC - popped a 19"LCD on it, and there goes the xbox360 budget. NSW radiographers only earn a pittance. The other, perhaps more embarrasing reason for not 360ing is WoW. Who's got time for anything else? I reckon I've bought the kids (and myself) about one PC game a month on average for the last decade. The last five months? - we only go into EB Games to see what the latest WoW accessories are... I think we just forgot. BTW - just dinged 60. Lachy dinged 53 and Taffy 46.
Mastering Feck
March 20, 2007
Messy GP that. Number 6 - I too was disappointed by and for Mr Button. My greatest hope (not likely) is for Alonso to be beaten by Hamilton, and I usually have nothing against the spanish. I like olives. So - Jeremy can get the BBC2 admin hopping when he wants to - that was quick. I was chatting to some of the young guys at work today about PS3 - it's horrifying how much they can cost when you spec them up. I'm definitely staying in PC land for awhile yet.
Messy GP that. Number 6 - I too was disappointed by and for Mr Button. My greatest hope (not likely) is for Alonso to be beaten by Hamilton, and I usually have nothing against the spanish. I like olives. So - Jeremy can get the BBC2 admin hopping when he wants to - that was quick. I was chatting to some of the young guys at work today about PS3 - it's horrifying how much they can cost when you spec them up. I'm definitely staying in PC land for awhile yet.
National Bollocks Day
March 22, 2007
Got a good look at Saturn last night through my pathetic scope. It's pretending to be part of Leo - turning the big lion into some sort of naval war cup. The more I stargaze in light-polluted suburbia, the more I want to move onto a farm. Fat chance. My view of saturn was not like this.
Got a good look at Saturn last night through my pathetic scope. It's pretending to be part of Leo - turning the big lion into some sort of naval war cup. The more I stargaze in light-polluted suburbia, the more I want to move onto a farm. Fat chance. My view of saturn was not like this.
Future Gazing
March 23, 2007
The lovely John has taken my on-call weekend - yahoodillydoodilly - that leaves me free to play W... damn. It gives me the chance to spend my weekend doing two assignments - ya hoo. Am doing a radiography masters rather than an U/S one because I intend to get the hell out of that field by the new year. It's more interesting than plain radiography but I'm sick of living with shoulder and neck pain. After a week of 16 to 18 per day (hospital standard, not ambulant private practice standard) I can't even pick up one of my four year olds. So, rather than continuing to be shafted by an administration that doesn't give a toss, I won't be reregistering with ASAR in the new year.
The lovely John has taken my on-call weekend - yahoodillydoodilly - that leaves me free to play W... damn. It gives me the chance to spend my weekend doing two assignments - ya hoo. Am doing a radiography masters rather than an U/S one because I intend to get the hell out of that field by the new year. It's more interesting than plain radiography but I'm sick of living with shoulder and neck pain. After a week of 16 to 18 per day (hospital standard, not ambulant private practice standard) I can't even pick up one of my four year olds. So, rather than continuing to be shafted by an administration that doesn't give a toss, I won't be reregistering with ASAR in the new year.
Tonight's Crater
March 24, 2007
Boy, do I have an exciting evening lined up. First I'm gonna find all the antaomy, physiology, pathology, orthopaedics, and radiography textbooks scattered amongst the 19 large bookcases that fill this house. Then, with utter joy I'm gonna describe, critique, analyse and sketch overlay a couple of enthralling radiographical cases. After about ten minutes of that I'm going out to lie on the trampoline and look for Messier objects between Gemini and Capricorn with binoculars, then see if I can coax any image at all of Saturn from the 4mm eyepiece on the horrid 4" newtonian with pathetic mount. Then I'll come back inside, do another ten minutes on the assignment, and then go to bed early whilst trying not to think of the kids playing WoW to all hours without me. I think I'll write a poem instead.
Boy, do I have an exciting evening lined up. First I'm gonna find all the antaomy, physiology, pathology, orthopaedics, and radiography textbooks scattered amongst the 19 large bookcases that fill this house. Then, with utter joy I'm gonna describe, critique, analyse and sketch overlay a couple of enthralling radiographical cases. After about ten minutes of that I'm going out to lie on the trampoline and look for Messier objects between Gemini and Capricorn with binoculars, then see if I can coax any image at all of Saturn from the 4mm eyepiece on the horrid 4" newtonian with pathetic mount. Then I'll come back inside, do another ten minutes on the assignment, and then go to bed early whilst trying not to think of the kids playing WoW to all hours without me. I think I'll write a poem instead.
The Prodigal Preacher
March 30, 2007
Refusing a king is treason: Solomon was the son of a rapist and a voyeuristic mother ablutioning on a daylight rooftop. He was a man of excess: excessive wine, wealth, wisdom and women. So in the end he determined all to be foolishness, all vanity. He wrote a couple of books about it and we believe him because he was excessive? I looked for happiness in wine and after fifteen jugs a day for a year I wasn't happy. I looked for happiness in diverse women and found that a thousand under the roof was not happiness. I had more cattle, more gold, more chariots and more wisdom than any king before me but I had not happiness. The man wasn't altogether rational, and we must learn from his mistakes. After a lifetime of wise debauchery I will be welcomed unconditionally home to the family ranch to feast on the fatted calf slaughtered by my pious but grumpy older brother. All is vanity.
Refusing a king is treason: Solomon was the son of a rapist and a voyeuristic mother ablutioning on a daylight rooftop. He was a man of excess: excessive wine, wealth, wisdom and women. So in the end he determined all to be foolishness, all vanity. He wrote a couple of books about it and we believe him because he was excessive? I looked for happiness in wine and after fifteen jugs a day for a year I wasn't happy. I looked for happiness in diverse women and found that a thousand under the roof was not happiness. I had more cattle, more gold, more chariots and more wisdom than any king before me but I had not happiness. The man wasn't altogether rational, and we must learn from his mistakes. After a lifetime of wise debauchery I will be welcomed unconditionally home to the family ranch to feast on the fatted calf slaughtered by my pious but grumpy older brother. All is vanity.
Dishy
April 3, 2007
Jennie picked up a copy of The Dish, a flick about the Parkes radio telescope's role in data reception from the Apollo 11 mission. Extra cool. What they did with a roomfull of mainframes half the processing power of a Casio fx100 was amazing. The movie catches the feel of country astro boys put under the nasa spotlight stitched together with a bunch of original audio/video. Very clever and a much better movie than I expected. Sometimes you just have to take a risk.
Jennie picked up a copy of The Dish, a flick about the Parkes radio telescope's role in data reception from the Apollo 11 mission. Extra cool. What they did with a roomfull of mainframes half the processing power of a Casio fx100 was amazing. The movie catches the feel of country astro boys put under the nasa spotlight stitched together with a bunch of original audio/video. Very clever and a much better movie than I expected. Sometimes you just have to take a risk.
Fifteen Thousand Three Hundred Forty One
April 6, 2007
Re: an argument I had with my boss as to the timing of the pagan chocolate bunny feast. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the day of the ecclesiastical vernal equinox, i.e. March 21. Ecclesiastical, in this context, means unexact, or taken from an archaic chart determined by examining the entrials of a passing but otherwise uninvolved goat. So in other words: the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox. Easter has not fallen on it's earliest posible date of March 22 since 1818 and won't do so again until 2285. 1818 is also famous for being the last year in which a planet/planet occulation occurred, that of Venus and Jupiter. 2285 is famous for being the postcode of my first flat in Newcastle.
Re: an argument I had with my boss as to the timing of the pagan chocolate bunny feast. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the day of the ecclesiastical vernal equinox, i.e. March 21. Ecclesiastical, in this context, means unexact, or taken from an archaic chart determined by examining the entrials of a passing but otherwise uninvolved goat. So in other words: the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox. Easter has not fallen on it's earliest posible date of March 22 since 1818 and won't do so again until 2285. 1818 is also famous for being the last year in which a planet/planet occulation occurred, that of Venus and Jupiter. 2285 is famous for being the postcode of my first flat in Newcastle.
Pig Gas
April 10, 2007
A weekend without LPG to fire up one's stove is like... well, like last weekend really. Ten people in the house makes for fairly busy cooking/mealtimes, so when a well meaning guest cleans the stovetop and bumps the primary gasburner to full-on without noticing, then everyone vacates the house for a few hours whilst I caught up on the night before's sleep... I nearly slept forever - but at least the house didn't blow up. Anyway, it was enough to empty the bottle which ought to be replaced tomorrow. Too many clouds over the weekend, not enough stars. Just a smattering of callbacks to work, so can't complain about that.
A weekend without LPG to fire up one's stove is like... well, like last weekend really. Ten people in the house makes for fairly busy cooking/mealtimes, so when a well meaning guest cleans the stovetop and bumps the primary gasburner to full-on without noticing, then everyone vacates the house for a few hours whilst I caught up on the night before's sleep... I nearly slept forever - but at least the house didn't blow up. Anyway, it was enough to empty the bottle which ought to be replaced tomorrow. Too many clouds over the weekend, not enough stars. Just a smattering of callbacks to work, so can't complain about that.
Bacon. Apparently alot of time and effort has been put into determining the optimal construction of a dead pig sandwich.
BRITISH scientists say they have found the formula for a perfect bacon butty, after 1000 hours and 700 variations of the beloved sandwich.
The experts from Leeds University's Department of Food Science say the secret is in the crispiness of the bacon rashers, the BBC online reported.
Four researchers tried different types and cuts of bacon, cooking techniques, types of oil and a range of cooking times at different temperatures.
A shortlist was then tested with computers to measure the texture of the butties and 50 volunteers also judged each sarnie.
The scientists found that two or three back bacon rashers should be cooked under a preheated oven grill for seven minutes at about 240C.
The bacon should then be placed between two slices of farmhouse bread, 1cm to 2cm thick.
"We often think it's the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive but our research proves that texture and the crunching sound is just as, if not more, important, said lead researcher Graham Clayton.
The formula is: N = C + (fb (cm) . fb (tc))+ fb (Ts) + fc . ta, where N=force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon, fb=function of the bacon type, fc=function of the condiment/filling effect, Ts=serving temperature, tc=cooking time, ta=time or duration of application of condiment/filling, cm=cooking method, C=Newtons required to break uncooked bacon.
Fumes again
April 16, 2007
Well done Mr Hamilton. Three races, three podiums in a row, cool and fruity. F1 is all about nearly passing, pointless rule changes (e.g. must use different types of rubber during race, wtf is that for?), and slick pitwork. Somehow it still makes great viewing but I can't figure out why. Nine finger Troy got an SBK podium in the first at Valencia on a rather tricky wet/dry weekend with James egodude Toseland slipping a little too far into the championship lead.
Look for the consistancy, race 1 - race 2:
Toseland: 5th - 1st
Biagi: 8th - 2nd
Haga: 2nd - 3rd
Corser: 4th - 9th
Bayliss: 3rd - 6th
Lanzi: 6th - 5th
Xaus: 1st - 4th
Go Nori-chan and Rueben. Sort of.
Well done Mr Hamilton. Three races, three podiums in a row, cool and fruity. F1 is all about nearly passing, pointless rule changes (e.g. must use different types of rubber during race, wtf is that for?), and slick pitwork. Somehow it still makes great viewing but I can't figure out why. Nine finger Troy got an SBK podium in the first at Valencia on a rather tricky wet/dry weekend with James egodude Toseland slipping a little too far into the championship lead.
Look for the consistancy, race 1 - race 2:
Toseland: 5th - 1st
Biagi: 8th - 2nd
Haga: 2nd - 3rd
Corser: 4th - 9th
Bayliss: 3rd - 6th
Lanzi: 6th - 5th
Xaus: 1st - 4th
Go Nori-chan and Rueben. Sort of.
Bye
July 3, 2007
Sometime in the last couple of months it occured to me that WoW was getting boring. I hit 70 back there somewhere with Nic-1 NE bal druid, and along with the outland politics and flightform buzz etc, thought it would stay interesting. It hasn't. Life with Blizzard has become fairly beige: am currently exploring the Turbine world of LOTRO - that having more potential than CCPs EVE Online. I could always give real life a go (shiver shiver) - no, silly idea. T&L have not hit the same brick wall of Azeroth blandness after questing and grinding for nine months, neither have Iri or Byron whom have been at it at least a year longer. I am the odd one out in terms of battle grounds, raids and instances generally: maybe flying solo amongst 8kk+ dueling dudes is just a bit sad. But as the song says:
I ain't gonna study war no more...
Sometime in the last couple of months it occured to me that WoW was getting boring. I hit 70 back there somewhere with Nic-1 NE bal druid, and along with the outland politics and flightform buzz etc, thought it would stay interesting. It hasn't. Life with Blizzard has become fairly beige: am currently exploring the Turbine world of LOTRO - that having more potential than CCPs EVE Online. I could always give real life a go (shiver shiver) - no, silly idea. T&L have not hit the same brick wall of Azeroth blandness after questing and grinding for nine months, neither have Iri or Byron whom have been at it at least a year longer. I am the odd one out in terms of battle grounds, raids and instances generally: maybe flying solo amongst 8kk+ dueling dudes is just a bit sad. But as the song says:
I ain't gonna study war no more...
October 2006
Spring
October 1, 2006
Schumacher is on a major roll, but can he win in China? If this much passion in a German is anything to go by, he can win anything... SBK at Imola, prediction: Ducati Troy over Toseland with Suzuki Troy on the podium. Am halfway through a four day weekend and it feels very civilised - had a great time with David and Sue and Cassie and Alex who went home this morning - will have to return the visit to give back the two cardigans left behind... At the time of departure the twins did a mysterious personality swap and Genna bolted down the stairs, hugged Bravus and all the girls and bid them farewell by name. Bella had disappeared - very strange.
Schumacher is on a major roll, but can he win in China? If this much passion in a German is anything to go by, he can win anything... SBK at Imola, prediction: Ducati Troy over Toseland with Suzuki Troy on the podium. Am halfway through a four day weekend and it feels very civilised - had a great time with David and Sue and Cassie and Alex who went home this morning - will have to return the visit to give back the two cardigans left behind... At the time of departure the twins did a mysterious personality swap and Genna bolted down the stairs, hugged Bravus and all the girls and bid them farewell by name. Bella had disappeared - very strange.
Glad to be off DSL throttling - am planning a quiet downloading month, famous last words. Lovely and warm in the sun with a cool breeze - ahhh spring.
Lazy
October 2, 2006
For some of us. Stayed up to 0200 due to Ten's 10hr delay of the China F1. Filled in the time before hand by watching DucTroy win the WSBK championship at Imola with a fifth in the first, then with the pressure off - a win in the second. Barros destroyed them in the first and got a second in the second - all the more incredible given two very poor starts and being on a 2005 spec Honda. He's got a factory Honda ride alongside Toseland for 07 and won't be a (with 21yrs GP exp!) rookie, so the Ducs better watch out. Schumacher utilsed some chinese good luck, awesome driving, brilliant pit strategy, and poor Renault strategy to win over Alonso from 6th to equalise the championship with two remaining... Not as good as Hungary but cool. Button picked up three places on the last lap to finish 4th, and Webber got a point. I like F1 in the rain - there's passing.
For some of us. Stayed up to 0200 due to Ten's 10hr delay of the China F1. Filled in the time before hand by watching DucTroy win the WSBK championship at Imola with a fifth in the first, then with the pressure off - a win in the second. Barros destroyed them in the first and got a second in the second - all the more incredible given two very poor starts and being on a 2005 spec Honda. He's got a factory Honda ride alongside Toseland for 07 and won't be a (with 21yrs GP exp!) rookie, so the Ducs better watch out. Schumacher utilsed some chinese good luck, awesome driving, brilliant pit strategy, and poor Renault strategy to win over Alonso from 6th to equalise the championship with two remaining... Not as good as Hungary but cool. Button picked up three places on the last lap to finish 4th, and Webber got a point. I like F1 in the rain - there's passing.
With This Heart
October 3, 2006
Found a torrent file labelled 1500 best hits of the 80's but just couldn't bring myself start the d/l. And it wasn't because of the six included Duran^2 songs either - I just have no desire to travel that road again. Found two 200WRMS 12 inch speakers under the stairwell along with a stack of dense inch partical board, some wiring and a low pass filter. A visit from a friend with many decades experience in the audio electronic industry and I now have the bass refex plans drawn to make the subwoofer from hell. Will be finished by mid next week and in the meantime will try and source an amp from ebay. If I get it airtight then I may reach 5% efficiency - woohoo!
Found a torrent file labelled 1500 best hits of the 80's but just couldn't bring myself start the d/l. And it wasn't because of the six included Duran^2 songs either - I just have no desire to travel that road again. Found two 200WRMS 12 inch speakers under the stairwell along with a stack of dense inch partical board, some wiring and a low pass filter. A visit from a friend with many decades experience in the audio electronic industry and I now have the bass refex plans drawn to make the subwoofer from hell. Will be finished by mid next week and in the meantime will try and source an amp from ebay. If I get it airtight then I may reach 5% efficiency - woohoo!
Signs
October 5, 2006
The twins are now nine. Well, four a half each - but it was a good excuse for a white choc mudcake. Caught Iridium 55 at mag 0 the other night and unless I forget to look, 31 will reflect sunlight at mag -7 tonight. If I do forget then I will never hear the sound of one hand clapping. And yes, I did see that Simpson's episode. Astronomy is taking it's usual summer grip on me - I recognise the signs.
The twins are now nine. Well, four a half each - but it was a good excuse for a white choc mudcake. Caught Iridium 55 at mag 0 the other night and unless I forget to look, 31 will reflect sunlight at mag -7 tonight. If I do forget then I will never hear the sound of one hand clapping. And yes, I did see that Simpson's episode. Astronomy is taking it's usual summer grip on me - I recognise the signs.
Wonders
October 6, 2006
Thanks No.6 - Top Gear is indeed resuming filming, albeit only the bits that don't require Richard. At least this brings the broadcast date closer. In other news: Colin McRae will make a world rally comeback in Turkey as replacement for injured champion Sebastien Loeb who fell off a pushbike. We've got Suzuka F1 this weekend as well as Bathurst. The F1 will be delayed half a day as per usual but will be exciting (rain, hail, or shine) and I'm hoping not to sleep through more than half the Mt Panorama race. Now that the trophy is named after Mr Brock I would hope that a Ford should win that race for the first since fire was discovered by burning Jack McBurn, winner of last years lets have a burning competition.
Thanks No.6 - Top Gear is indeed resuming filming, albeit only the bits that don't require Richard. At least this brings the broadcast date closer. In other news: Colin McRae will make a world rally comeback in Turkey as replacement for injured champion Sebastien Loeb who fell off a pushbike. We've got Suzuka F1 this weekend as well as Bathurst. The F1 will be delayed half a day as per usual but will be exciting (rain, hail, or shine) and I'm hoping not to sleep through more than half the Mt Panorama race. Now that the trophy is named after Mr Brock I would hope that a Ford should win that race for the first since fire was discovered by burning Jack McBurn, winner of last years lets have a burning competition.
MAL content 150
October 7, 2006
Music, Arts, and Literature. It's all individual preference and all that, but there is just so much utter bollocks out there. Jackson Pollock and his Blue Poles - still the most viewed piece of whatsaname in the National Gallery, and the most often heard comment: They payed HOW much for that? I used to think Robert Heinlein was fascist and empty and the worst of the big'ns but on sheer sales of manure Robert Jordan would take the cake. Never has the second half of a series been so obviously written by a hairdresser obsessed by long hot baths. Music? If it's not Epic (according to these rules sent by Bravus) then it's just not worth listening to.
Music, Arts, and Literature. It's all individual preference and all that, but there is just so much utter bollocks out there. Jackson Pollock and his Blue Poles - still the most viewed piece of whatsaname in the National Gallery, and the most often heard comment: They payed HOW much for that? I used to think Robert Heinlein was fascist and empty and the worst of the big'ns but on sheer sales of manure Robert Jordan would take the cake. Never has the second half of a series been so obviously written by a hairdresser obsessed by long hot baths. Music? If it's not Epic (according to these rules sent by Bravus) then it's just not worth listening to.
Science. It's rare that a piece of original research science literature captures the ideals of peer education, upholds ethical standards, and breaks new ground with such clarity and power as this piece. We all had a good chuckle. Such a sterling example of regulation and control: it's no wonder NSW has such poor equipment and pay conditions. The only advantages any southerners could be said to have is their proximity to the thinned ozone of Antarctica.
Cool and Uncool
October 10, 2006
I do believe that Ford is back. Nuf said. I also believe that Schumacher will retire in 2nd . I next believe that my eight year old 17inch Samsung CRT is dying - finally. I also believe that everyone should believe something. I believe I'll have another piece of banana cake. The countdown is on for the beginning of the new Top Gear series: we just don't know which number to count down from. Ahhhhh - this squirling CRT picture is going to make me vomit... huueeyyyy.
I do believe that Ford is back. Nuf said. I also believe that Schumacher will retire in 2nd . I next believe that my eight year old 17inch Samsung CRT is dying - finally. I also believe that everyone should believe something. I believe I'll have another piece of banana cake. The countdown is on for the beginning of the new Top Gear series: we just don't know which number to count down from. Ahhhhh - this squirling CRT picture is going to make me vomit... huueeyyyy.
Blob
October 15, 2006
Happy birthday Phoogs. What is it about motorsport? Schumi gets his championship chances trashed with a blown engine, and Nicky Hayden gets taken out by his Honda team mate Pedrosa handing the MotoGP crown to Rossi (again). It's not the marmite on the chin either: Alonso's got it and he's in, and Hayden's got the same blob and he's out. Tony Elias won the Estoril race - Lachy remembered him as the dude that won the 250 race at Le Mans in '03 when we were there. It was also cool to see Gary McCoy back in the saddle.
Happy birthday Phoogs. What is it about motorsport? Schumi gets his championship chances trashed with a blown engine, and Nicky Hayden gets taken out by his Honda team mate Pedrosa handing the MotoGP crown to Rossi (again). It's not the marmite on the chin either: Alonso's got it and he's in, and Hayden's got the same blob and he's out. Tony Elias won the Estoril race - Lachy remembered him as the dude that won the 250 race at Le Mans in '03 when we were there. It was also cool to see Gary McCoy back in the saddle.
Red eTape
October 16, 2006
Was looking into a freeware firewall replacement for Zonealarm (now that it doesn't support Win98 anymore) and looked at, amongst others, Outpost by Agnitum who required an email address to gain the download link. Besides being a rubbish product, this automatically subscibed me to various newsletters which I had absolutely no interest in whatsoever. In order to unsubscribe I had first to confirm my subscription and then request an unsubscription. I was sent an email to confirm that I was unsubscribing with a link to the unsubscribe page whereupon I was able to reconfirm that I wanted to unsubscribe. I was then sent another email to notify me that I had confirmed my unsubscription and that I was to follow another link to confirm that I had reconfirmed the fact that I wasn't even remotely bloody interested in anything that they ever had to say in any newsletter at any stage. Agnitum may therefore be translated from (presumably) the Latin to mean: Exterminate, exterminate...
Was looking into a freeware firewall replacement for Zonealarm (now that it doesn't support Win98 anymore) and looked at, amongst others, Outpost by Agnitum who required an email address to gain the download link. Besides being a rubbish product, this automatically subscibed me to various newsletters which I had absolutely no interest in whatsoever. In order to unsubscribe I had first to confirm my subscription and then request an unsubscription. I was sent an email to confirm that I was unsubscribing with a link to the unsubscribe page whereupon I was able to reconfirm that I wanted to unsubscribe. I was then sent another email to notify me that I had confirmed my unsubscription and that I was to follow another link to confirm that I had reconfirmed the fact that I wasn't even remotely bloody interested in anything that they ever had to say in any newsletter at any stage. Agnitum may therefore be translated from (presumably) the Latin to mean: Exterminate, exterminate...
Bad News. The Group. The Self-titled Album. Ummm, it's like, well, it's hard to describe how good, or how bad, or... OK so it is a little like This Is Spinal Tap but without going right up to 11/10. How's it rate? Musically: 2/10 (you have to have some talent to sound that bad), Entertainment: 8/10 - really funny, will definitely get the videos. The Londonist liked them, but were less kind to The Darkness.
Other Gear
October 20, 2006
He might be a Fifth Gear presenter, but I've decided I like Tiff Needell. He had a good racing career albeit not quite making it to F1 level (qualified once, dnf) but otherwise could definitely drive a racecar. AND, it turns out that he is the voice from TOCA and TOCA2... What do you think you're doing? You're going the wrong way! A bit of argybargy going on there... OK, so he annoyed the hell out of us for years there but he has written the most sensible article about the Hampster to date. I might torrent a couple more of the latest Fifth Gear series - I just won't tell Number 6 that I've done so. BTW sniffpetrol is cool.
He might be a Fifth Gear presenter, but I've decided I like Tiff Needell. He had a good racing career albeit not quite making it to F1 level (qualified once, dnf) but otherwise could definitely drive a racecar. AND, it turns out that he is the voice from TOCA and TOCA2... What do you think you're doing? You're going the wrong way! A bit of argybargy going on there... OK, so he annoyed the hell out of us for years there but he has written the most sensible article about the Hampster to date. I might torrent a couple more of the latest Fifth Gear series - I just won't tell Number 6 that I've done so. BTW sniffpetrol is cool.
Wee Georgina is approaching the China-Doll photo phase that little girls get to somewhere in the first year. Her double cousins are looking forward to seeing her in a month's time. Five of us at work are planning on graduate studies next year: nothing to do with award incentives, just the love of learning. Two and a half years to a masters, what an over qualified bunch of button pushers we'll be.
Rocket bits
October 22, 2006
I brought home another 125kg of sand from Bunnings and managed to not wreck my back again. The suspension in the poor 12 year old mazda 121 didn't handle that well... a few times we were doing the 80's F1 thing with sparks flying as we bottomed out. It's needs new shocks, but at least the sandpit-boat is full speed ahead. Have just completed a quiet weekend of on call - was told this arvo about the quadruple fatal mva on the Byron / Ballina rd, two hospital nurses lost a teenager. Only the driver survived - that seems to happen alot. It's a load of guilt to live with.
I brought home another 125kg of sand from Bunnings and managed to not wreck my back again. The suspension in the poor 12 year old mazda 121 didn't handle that well... a few times we were doing the 80's F1 thing with sparks flying as we bottomed out. It's needs new shocks, but at least the sandpit-boat is full speed ahead. Have just completed a quiet weekend of on call - was told this arvo about the quadruple fatal mva on the Byron / Ballina rd, two hospital nurses lost a teenager. Only the driver survived - that seems to happen alot. It's a load of guilt to live with.
Mission
October 26, 2006
Lach and I were sitting in a bakery cafe at 0815 this morning whilst the XL-7 was having a 75kkm manicure and colonoscope, and we compiled a list of realistic but impossible things that wouldn't occur in Lismore that morning. These included:
1. It is going to snow
2. We will see a Bugatti Veyron drive by
3. The Space Shuttle will overshoot Edwards Airforce base and land on Keen St
4. World of Warcraft will install and run on Win98
5. Lach's GShock will arrive from the UK today
6. The boat-sandpit will get painted today
Lach and I were sitting in a bakery cafe at 0815 this morning whilst the XL-7 was having a 75kkm manicure and colonoscope, and we compiled a list of realistic but impossible things that wouldn't occur in Lismore that morning. These included:
1. It is going to snow
2. We will see a Bugatti Veyron drive by
3. The Space Shuttle will overshoot Edwards Airforce base and land on Keen St
4. World of Warcraft will install and run on Win98
5. Lach's GShock will arrive from the UK today
6. The boat-sandpit will get painted today
A Wee Bit
October 31, 2006
So there was a bike race in Spain on sunday. Mr Rossi was on pole and Mr (SBK champion) Bayliss had snuck into 2nd on the 'have a one-off MotoGP ride as a Ducati reward' seat of injured Gibernau's duck. The unlucky Hayden after being taken out by his team mate last week was back in the field, needing to beat Rossi by 13 points to get the title. So Rossi stuffed the start (unusually) and then low-sided on lap 5 (unusually), rejoining to finish in 13th. Mr Hayden got his title with a 3rd, and 10 seconds up the road 'one off Troy' conquered the real MotoGP boys with a win on a bike he had never ridden before... Bit of a win-win weekend that. Best MotoGP season (and SBK season) since the early nineties.
So there was a bike race in Spain on sunday. Mr Rossi was on pole and Mr (SBK champion) Bayliss had snuck into 2nd on the 'have a one-off MotoGP ride as a Ducati reward' seat of injured Gibernau's duck. The unlucky Hayden after being taken out by his team mate last week was back in the field, needing to beat Rossi by 13 points to get the title. So Rossi stuffed the start (unusually) and then low-sided on lap 5 (unusually), rejoining to finish in 13th. Mr Hayden got his title with a 3rd, and 10 seconds up the road 'one off Troy' conquered the real MotoGP boys with a win on a bike he had never ridden before... Bit of a win-win weekend that. Best MotoGP season (and SBK season) since the early nineties.
September 2006
LegsEleven
September 3, 2006LegsEleven has popped into the world. Just as well she's a girl, or the name wouldn't suit quite as well. Well done the pair of you. I guess Brenda did OK as well. Roo has now just enough time to buy the other half of the sword collection for the baby to play with. It shouldn't be long til we see some pictures of the new arrival - the swords that is. Oh, and maybe a baby pic also if there's any room left on the camera. It being father's day, I had already commented to my father that afternoon that Roo nearly qualified as a father, but not quite...
The bits you miss when you're in the labour ward. The Dutch SBK was a case of last bike standing in the pouring rain, and saw a kwaka win for the first time since Sugo 1999 - Chris Walker conquering Assen by taking a classic last to first victory. Race two dried off a bit and Bayliss cruised it in, after the other Troy took out Nori-chan before the first corner...
Georgina Victoria Hope
September 4, 2006C'était seulement une question de temps - un nom est choisi. Still, given that she is a native of NSW, the southern connotations of the name is a little disturbing. Actually, I think it's a lovely name! And it's happy, healthy and noisy. All the things we desire in a child. Roo's parents now have seven grandchildren, and Koh's have eight, but between the four of them they have only ten. It's a mystery, as Statovarius have often said.
Mind over Matter
September 5, 2006I d/led IM's new album A Matter of Life and Death last night even though I knew I was picking it up today from Sanity Music. So far I have heard the album once on the PC, once on the ipod, and the last time with the CD in the car. I will need to hear it a few times more before I decide where it rates amongst their other albums. The lyrics are definitely more about what we haven't learnt in the last century from war, rather than being based on books and films. Perhaps the boys are getting older and care more for the world they are leaving their children. Speaking of time passing: a sig from a metal forum said something like this - the music we listened to used to scare our parents, now it scares our kids...
Who?
September 6, 2006Was mellowing out with an ipod in a crowded lunchroom today at work, whereupon I was given the third degree about it's contents. I listed the twenty or so artists to a sea (say fifteen people, OK more a small lake, or maybe a puddle) of blank faces... except for Iron Maiden, no-one had heard of any of these groups/artists: Altaria, Angra, Apocalyptica, Atreyu, Avantasia, Dragonforce, Edenbridge, Evergrey, Freedom Call, Haggard, Hammerfall, Hawkwind, Kick Axe, Korpiklaani, Nightwish, Rammstein, Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Tesla, Trivium, and Within Temptation. When asked for the general genre it was easier to say - mostly folkmusic. Iron Maiden's new album, A Matter of Life and Death was released last week and has got to the following position on these album charts: UK -4, Ireland -5, France -5, Finland -1, Norway -2, Australia -12. There's more than one classical metal music fan out there.
A Stretch
September 7, 2006Wee Genna is minus her stretchy leg for a few days. Without the plaster I didn't hear the clump bump clump as she wandered up the hall to snuggle with her mum in the hours before dawn. She'll need a week of baths and showers in two nights to set her up for the next week of tendon stretching serial casting. The chaos that is homelife is a sanity preserver after the headbutting roulette that is work.
Sword Pic
September 8, 2006Roo has sent through some pictures at last. Wee Georgina has now been digitally gazed upon by her double cousins... The camera must have malfunctioned because I'm sure there was a sword in there somewhere. According to wiki, The Fun Boy Three discovered Bananarama who have had like 18 albums since 1981 and last year had the #2 song in the US Dance charts. Awesome. The Darkness are way cool, but you have to be less than 18 months old to dance to them successfully because of the falsetto. Go Alistair!
Baby Pics
September 9, 2006Every nursery needs decorations, and Georgina is lucky to have a range of weapons from the Lord of the Rings saga adorning her walls. OK, so not all the swords are actually in the nursery but the thought is there. Being strickly acurate, none of them are, but they could be. In the interests of taste, no axes are in evidence, yet.
Easy As
September 10, 2006Hosing rain all day. Rocky creek dam is at about 95% and early spring is starting to feel like Auckland in winter. Have been undecided as to the flavour of gaming console to be found under the christmas tree this year. Nintendo, MS or Sony were the choices. No.6 is right - assuming Sony would deliver was just plain absurd. Is another motorsport day on TV - MotoGP during the arvo, SBK during the evening and F1 later tonight. Go Jenson.
Inside Job
September 13, 2006Rebuilt a Dell D4500 for a friend tonight. A work of art inside, even if the case is a little foolish to open. Dell has nearly all the drivers you need in one download spot, and the online help even for hardware options and add-ons is cool. No wonder they have done so well in the global OEM market. In the last several months I have had far more trouble with Toshiba and IBM PCs - once they reach 2-3 years old it gets difficult to source the bits you need. Am getting very close to ditching this AMD2200 Win98 box - even Zonealarm doesn't support 98 anymore. And I want to be able to Skype from my own machine... not just when I can crowbar one of the kids off their XP machines.
Bravery
September 14, 2006Nearly had the weekend off. Scored saturday on-call, don't mind really, happy to help Al out, he doesn't ask very often. There must be a recognised cycle of news reporting following the demise of a public face - from highest eulogy to character shredding. Happened with Peter Brock after a few days, only happed with Steve Irwin if you count Germain Greer, and happened with Michael Schumacher (who didn't exactly die, but still counts). It's a bit like giving a rude hand signal to a traffic policeman below the level of the car window. Drinking hospital coffee with three sugars doesn't count - that's still brave, just like listening to Duran^2. Having got heartily sick of my car CD player bouncing and skipping on this wonderful towns hi and bi ways - I now enmusique automotivilly by running my ipod through a FM transmitter and using the radio. Marvelous.
Hackers
September 15, 2006Wee Georgina is nearly half a moon old and therefore deserves a collage of sorts. She is very vocal, and sweeter than dark grade maple syrup and will be the cause of much bandwidth usage, probably for years to come. Just two months until we can come down and see her up close - skype is great, but not quite there. Speaking of sweet, whilst making pumice toffee tonight Taff and I were unable to determine the exact minute that the boiling mixture had reduced enough so as to reach 155degC, so it turned out more like lava. Must invest in a cooking thermometer.
Down to Earth
September 16, 2006Have to do something whilst twiddling your thumbs on-call. Discovered another interesting Finnish metal group, Turisas. Probably classifiable as Viking or Battle metal, at the doom end of the scale. A wee bit growly in places but very complete musically - maybe a little hard to take seriously. The drums are a little basic, i.e. not fast enough. A similar sound is found with Dark Moor, a Spanish power metal group who will try anything from Mozart and Valhalla to symphonic Roman legends, but at least they're SPEEDY. Can't say that Maiden's new album has grabbed me yet, maybe I won't buy the T-Shirt.
Comet Ham
September 17, 2006Excitement of the day: The newly discovered comet 2006 P1 McNaught will approach to within 0.17 AU of the Sun on Jan 11, 2007 and may be visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere during late January
Sad but true - many midnight binocular sessions lying on the trompoline coming up. Phillip Island MotoGP is on today, a track that's been good for Kawasaki's occasionally over the years. Nakano is 2nd on the grid - we'll see. Jen's at work today and tonight I start eleven straight. My sanity may not remain intact. Or as intact as it is at present. Or as I think it is. I may think that it's intact then, but I may not know. Maybe it's already unintact.
Said the somewhat loopy Adam Savage, I reject your reality and substitute my own. Any town who encourages marital perjury with the offer of a dead farmyard hoover is hardly a fit role model for the kitchen. There was once a time in the world's history when refrigeration wasn't. They used to rub strips of dead animal with salt and arsenic and hang them in the smoke of a sacrificed hickory tree to drive away evil spirits. The muscle, fat and skin thus desicated would last months, even years - resisting all but the hardiest maggots and most of the bacteria and fungi endemic to the storehouses. Even with the 20th century knowledge explosion it's still done to this day apparently. You then fry it up, presumably in first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, and inter it between two pieces of bread. And then, umm, - I'm not sure what you do with it next, but you'd have to be wearing gloves and probably a facemask. Oh yeah - then there's the issue of the smell... In conclusion I would have to say that bacon is still better than cucumber.
Back Again
September 19, 2006Care of a wet 25kg bag of sand yesterday, I have back trouble. The finalisation of the HMAS Not-As-Yet-Named-Sandpit will have to wait a few more days. Got called up to OT for a hip pinning last night and it took more than five minutes to put the theatre boots on. A few nsaids later and I'm hoping that I'll survive tonight til midnight. I'm back on US at 0830 and it's going to be more difficult doing that than xray. Maybe I'll just have a lie down in the sandpit... Have now got 24 episodes of Mythbusters and 8 of the Cadfael series, and am at 200% of my adsl d/l allowance. Going for a record here. The nsaids have left me with their normal effect of vague inspecific anxiety - a bit like this quad rider who's hamming it up.
Cocaine
September 20, 2006A rainy Phillip Is MotoGP, unwatched by myself due to bad time management, appeared to be a bit of a dog's breakfast but at least Vermeulen hit the podium behind Melandri. The Sylvania 300 Nascar results had the good, the bad and the ugly: Jeff Gordon +5, Jimmie Johnson -7, and Tony Stewart -who-gives-a-toss. There is nobody undeserving left in the chase. Would love to see Little E get up. Speaking of getting up, my back definitely has me down - can't see getting back to work before friday - that'll impress Al!
Dragged the kids outside to catch the flash of Iridium 26 tonight - according to Heavens Above it was at -6 mag as we were 2km off the path - way cool, even Taff went WOW. Was visible for maybe 15 seconds moving across a few degrees of sky but the one second flash was intense.
A bunch of mellow Austrians named Edenbridge, in a song titled The Most Beautiful Place:
You are what I call Cockaign
And you take away all my pain
use the word Cockaign which we originally heard as the coca derived crystalline tropane alkaloid of Eric Clapton fame but have now been enlightened. This fictional place has had multitudinous literary appearances including within Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's novel Don Quixote de la Mancha where Sancho Panza (the name given to any manservant/squire accompanying any Don Quixote on any journey) recieves a fictional fief, la ínsula Barataria which is commonly translated as a form of Cockaign, where "...the houses were made of barley sugar and cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing... roasted pigs wander about with knives in their backs to make carving easy..." According to Wiki, "In the 1820s, the name Cockaigne came to be applied jocularly to London, as the land of Cockneys". London - utopian? You off yer Bacon?
Not Hampster!
September 21, 2006No! not the Hampster. What is it about the month of September? At this time Richard Hammond is in a serious but stable condition, with no word as to the nature of his injuries. A roll over at 280mph is a mechanism of injury compatable with any senario... Wiki had all the known details included into Richards bio within hours of the accident. Wiki seems to be a combination of encyclopaedia and newspaper - what I always imagined the internet should be. Attempting a land speed record in a 5000bhp 370mph capable rocket car is not the normal Top Gear content - makes you wonder. The latest reports seem to be playing down his injuries somewhat so here's hoping.
RE: Comet 2006 P1 McNaught, was about 16th Mag in early July, brightens to 14th by October and 8th by the new year, hopefully becoming a binocular object by late January. Chances are it will disintergrate before perihelion.
Speed
September 24, 2006According to Mythbusters episode 23, talking to your plants (either sweet talk or evil talk) makes them grow better than silence, and playing music gets a better response than just talking, and the most effective music was death metal. Works for me. I'm fatter now than I've ever been, maybe I need to get back onto a diet of baroque classical. The Hampster is out of danger and appears to have suffered no injury except significant brain damage: well that's all right then. The team are talking about the adjusted starting time for series 9, rather than IF the series will start this year as we had feared. Some political wally in Britain accused the BBC of wasting tax payers money with Hampster's rescue and chopper flight to hospital (costed at less than 400 pounds per trip and 3600 per day) - in response the Pistonheads autoclub have raised 130k+ pounds in Richard's name for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Charity. Eat Avgas wally.
Traffic
September 25, 2006One trusts that the noise radiating out from the politically correct UK press re: the closure or (at best) restructuring of Top Gear, is just that - noise. They wouldn't dare. On a positive front, Richard is apparently annoyed that the October 8 start for series 9 has been delayed. Means he's definitely feeling better. I have noticed that nobody has asked The Stig what he thinks of the whole to-do. Not that there would be any point to that.
Darkness
September 27, 2006Brave et al are visiting this weekend and I've prepared by stocking up on at least eight forms of caffeine. Will have to cook something very high cholesterol. A fairly rare occurance tonight: Iridiums 31 and 95 will flare within 2 deg of sky, within 20 sec and both about -5 mag. Two small problems though, I will be at work and we will almost certainly be under thick cloud cover... Apparently you don't need darkness to see them - they are sometimes visible during the day if you look in the right spot... The Hampster reportedly continues to improve, and the money raised to cover his emergency retrieval will now purchase another chopper - to be known as Hammies Helli. Last night at work was busy only because of the 3.5 hrs spent in OT splashing radiation into and around an obese femoral nail whose insertion could only be likened to a deep underground mine rescue.
A wild boy within morbidA random collection of lines from Darklyrics
attraction, talented but
flashy, brave but foolhardy,
arrogant preying on innocence,
whoredom brings disease and sorrow,
repeat offending drunken drug crazed
criminal, assaulter of sense, molester
and basher hateful symphony of pain,
the accident gave brain damage,
dribbling and mumbling then returning,
but self pity and depression,
then a neck-tie party,
the swinging bloated corpse,
dance on grave in witchtown,
headstone micturition fantasy
The sun shines again
from the Crooked Nose Book of Dhugal
Sprung
September 30, 2006
The last day of the first month of spring was very pleasant. Attended Alstonville church with the senior Geelans and congregated where junior Geelan Paul delivered a cool sermon on doctrinal elipses. Then decended en masse to a park called Bullwinkle to supp, and in turn be supped upon by small black blood sucking flying things that looked almost like mosquetti. Hardly any of us fell in the swollen river or perished from exposure in the search for a patch of sunlitten grass. Twas excellent. Dinner turned out to consist of twelve types of cheese, deep fried chips and hash browns. Only Sue's pineapple was fat free.
The last day of the first month of spring was very pleasant. Attended Alstonville church with the senior Geelans and congregated where junior Geelan Paul delivered a cool sermon on doctrinal elipses. Then decended en masse to a park called Bullwinkle to supp, and in turn be supped upon by small black blood sucking flying things that looked almost like mosquetti. Hardly any of us fell in the swollen river or perished from exposure in the search for a patch of sunlitten grass. Twas excellent. Dinner turned out to consist of twelve types of cheese, deep fried chips and hash browns. Only Sue's pineapple was fat free.
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