Recently in My Life as a Blog Category

I am nesting. Isnt that bizarre? Isnt that whole nesting thing hormonal? I dont have those hormones going around in my body. Why am I nesting? I am on a major clean up. I want to throw everything out - its incredible. Infact in the last few days I have completely overhauled my socks and undies. Yep! I knew you wanted to know about that. But rest assured - that whoever you may be - next time you see me; you will know that I have new socks and undies on and those some dodgy pair that I purchased in 1991!

The trifle has been made, the chicken & pork has been cooked, the ham is sliced, I've made my list and checked it twice. I'm ready.

I'm currently grooving out to Ms Kelly Rowland's "Work". Yeah I know it's not completely new but it still is a great tune and makes me wanna jive.

We are just the monkeys that fell out of the tree trying to fly.

I have rebuilt shallow.end. So it looks a little bit different - thats kinda obvious - and there will probably be small updates overtime (as I only generally have free time in small bursts).

But the main reason for this post is to say that I have re-enabled the commenting system. I had disabled it due to a heap of spam. But I have also installed some Spam filtering so that should hopefully fix that up. You should also be able to use your accounts from OpenID or Blogger or Wordpress etc to comment.

So it appears that I share my birthday with the mouse. Yep that humble pointing device attached to your PC. We both turned 40 on Wednesday.

It doesn't matter how many times I look in my bag for an umberella - I know I'm about to get wet

So we have finally gone on a proper family holiday - it's the first one since Romilly was born - that's almost two years ago! So its been a long time coming. Its been planned to coincide with my cousin Matt and Karen's wedding. So we are headed up north to Byron Bay and then the Gold Coast and Tweed.

Day one, was a quick four hours drive from Sydney to Port Macquarie, helped along the way by a Navman courtesy of Annabelle's grandfather. We spent the night in "Port" before continuing the drive up to Byron Bay the following day.

In Byron Bay we are staying in a five star resort called the Byron at Byron which is extremely nice! Whilst the room we are staying in is a little on the small side, it has all of the mod cons and the actual resort is very nice.

So what are the highlights (and lowlights) so far.. we have been a little bit disappointed with Byron Bay itself, give me Port Douglas any time. And in terms of the beach we actually prefer Lennox Head. Whilst at Lennox Head Romilly loved spending time on the beach - running in and out of the water and chasing one unfortunate seagull on the beach. Infact I haven't seen Romilly run so much and have so much fun ever! She loved every minute of it. I can see the time on the beach is going to be a regular thing for us and Romilly - I don't know what she loves more the beach or the park!

We also have a spa bath in our room and on the first night I thought I would relax in it for half an hour or so.. Romilly quite likes her baths so she was intrigued that I was in this huge deep bath. Anyway, I turned the spa on with Romilly looking on, but I hadn't put enough water in the bath and a jet of water from one of the spas squirted up and got poor Romilly in the face - much to her distress but our enjoyment of course. Yes I know we are awful evil parents.

Romilly has also managed to not only count to ten all by herself on this trip but she has also been able to recite half of the alphabet (A to J). Not to mention all of the new words which she seems to come out with daily - including calling her mum "sweetie" and "Annabelle".

Yesterday I had my first ever encounter with a day spa - yes its all very metro-sexual I know isn't it. So I had a remedial massage (full body except for the bits which you wouldn't expect to be massaged by a professional, well not this type of professional anyway). And I have to tell you it was good.. I always thought that that sort of thing was just a waste of money, and which I do think it is a lot of money, heck we are on holiday and it was worth every cent.

Today we went for a drive to Nimbin. Wow. Within 5 minutes of being there I was offered drugs and within 15 minutes of that I was offered drugs again. And I guess that that sums Nimbin up. Its very alternative. And I have to tell you I really liked the village and the vibe. I have never come across such a happy and friendly place before. Everyone is so friendly.. but I guess if you spend most of your time on weed then you probably would walk around being happy. Eitherway, its only a small spot on the map but well worth a visit is you ask me.

Ok I admit it. Im a sucker for hype - but I really want an iPhone. To be honest Im not that fussed on the 3G flavor - as I don't really care too much for the web browsing and 3G content of it. If anything I could do any web browsing via using the phone connected to a wifi - and it scares me the amount of data usage that these beasts would suck up! The problem is that Apple never released the original 2G iPhone in Australia. Sure I could get one on Ebay which is jailbroken but I dont know if I like that idea.

So it would seem - the 3G version is the only real option. The other problem is that is doesnt appear to be being released to Three (as in the carrier). Which is the carrier that I am currently with. It would mean that I would have to break my existing contract and to go someone else like Optus, Vodaphone or Telstra. This isnt such a big deal though as it wont cost me too much to break my current contract.

The other option is that I dont get an iPhone and I simply get an iPod Touch - which pretty much does the same as the iPhone (particularly now with an updated firmware) except it doesnt have the phone capabilities. Although part of the attraction is that the iPhone means you dont need a iPod anymore as they are intergrated.

I guess I will sit it out for a few months and see how things pan out, will Three get the iPhone, will the data plans come down in price, with the price of the iPhone and the Touch settle. Who knows. Or as some would say - who cares :)

Its good to see that the good old Swiss Army Knife is coming of age. Recently releasing their USB Memory Stick edition. Thats right - take your standard Swiss Army Knife with all of the tools that you would expect to find, but also include a USB Memory Stick - sounds pretty obvious to me.

Now if only that can that that Swiss Army Tank right!

My wife - Annabelle - always the fashion conscious - recommends the following site:

Threadless

Its an independant T Shirt Design site. Its simple, design your own T Shirt - throw it on the website and appeal to the masses of the world wide web. Its quite good.. infact its the sort of website that you could go crazy and spend a heap of money on. Nice!

Apart from it being 1.38am - what better tine to blog right? Why is it that when one human yawns then everyone else wants to yawn also? We know why this occurs when one vomits - there is a logical reason for that - in pre-historic times if some one vomited then it made you vomit also because it was likely that you had just eaten the same Rex steak and if you saw some one heaving it back up then your body said it should do the same thing, Its logical.

But why the yawning? Whats that all about.. Belle and I cant think of any logical reason why one persons yawn makes everyone else yawn also. Maybe its just the human condition.

I am really getting to the new Dandy Warhol's album "Welcome to the Monkey Business".. it is a piece of art. The fact that Nick Rhodes produced and played on it has nothing to do with it - seriously. Its a brilliant album and captures pure pop the way it should be presented in the year 2003.

The good news is that the Dandies are playing here in Sydney at the Metro this very month! Woo hoo! The bad news is that they are only playing one show and its sold out. Thats a shame.. because I would have gone to see them - from all reports they put on a good show.. over 2 hours long..

I dont normally drink one bottle of wine in one sitting.. but I can tell you thats its *enough*

Today I had to fly down to Canberra for a meeting for work. Oh what an interesting day.

Apart from the fact that I had to get up 2 hours earlier to get to the airport in time for my flight - I thought was this going to be a normal day.

Tip #252 - dont wear shoes with buckles on them when you have to fly. Walking through the security metal detector, I set it off and made it all light up like christmas tree. 'Please take all of the items out of pocket and walk through again sir'. BEEP BEEP BEEP.. WHOOT WHOOT! ok. 'Please take your watch off sir and walk through again'.. DWEEP DWEEP HOOT HOOT!. 'Hmm.. Sir can you take your belt off please, and try again'. BEEP WHOOT DWEEP HOOT!

I can see the security dude look down at my shoes, Sir, its probably those buckles on your shoes. Arhh.. ok. I think to myself.. solved. I can continue on my way now.. 'Sir. Can you remove your shoes and put them through the X-Ray machine please'. What?! Why?! No! You might discover that I have a nuclear warhead in the toe of my right shoe..

And so they X-rayed my shoe.

Flying down, I was on a small time airplane.. nothing worthy to note except that these suckers really move around alot.. Im not a nervous flyer.. I figured I was getting more value for my money.. I get to travel to work and get the thrill of an amusment ride which I would normally be too scared to go on. :)

I get to Canberra.. and arrive at my meeting. Are you ready for this..

At the meeting there is this guy who looks exactly like George Costanza from Seinfield. Im like.. oh my gosh.. he is the spitting image.. althoughout the meeting I was waiting for him to do the 'T-Bone' routine.

But thats not all.. the guy sitting next to George baby, looks exactly like Bill Murray. Im thinking to myself.. what the heck is going on here. But wait.. as silly as it seems, the guy next to him looks just like Steve Martin! I kid you not.. these guys didnt just look a bit like them, they could have been their stand in's in the movies.

But the fun doesnt end there thrill seekers.. there is another guy who, if you closed your eyes sounded just like Grahame Richardson (the ex Labor Pollie here in Oz).. but the same guy looked just like one of the journo's out of the West Wing. And to top if all off, the guy who was sitting next to him had a name very similar to John Cleese. He didnt look like him though. But he did write in his notepad sideways. If you know what I mean.

How about that for an all star meeting?

So the meeting was quite interesting and I headed home. Got to the airport earlier then expected and was able to reschedule onto an earlier flight! Woo hoo!

Walking through the security check point in Canberra Airport I heard a WHOOP WHOOP! DWEEP!.. I stopped.. looked down.. my shoes.. yes I had to take them off again and have them x-rayed..

.. can cause you some distress.. I accidently deleted some of my code in my main template.. of course by the time I realised it was too late. so after much huffing and puffing, I have managed to restore things the way they should be. The panel on the right is a back up though.. I will find time to update it later in the week.

In other news - well its not news really.. but I caught up with some friends for dinner on Saturday night, it was good except I had to get up pretty early Sunday morning, so I couldnt make a big night of it. It was fun all the same. Good food, good friends, good entertainment and good conversation.

Infact I think the quote of the night was from my mate Jason "Rob you can share my prawns, but you cant share my girlfriends" - thats not in the spirit of a porn and prawn night is it :)

Had a quiet night at home last night, catching up with one of my oldest and best friends.. Mr Larry himself.. we have known each other for many many years.. and have been through quite a bit together.. good and bad.. whilst we dont seem to catch up with each other as much as we probably should - its reassuring to know that time hasnt really changed much between us.. we still laugh about the same things and have the same connection which started our friendship all those years ago.

Thanks Larry.. for being a good mate.. as I hope I am to you.
You are going to kill me for this but.. here is Larry and one of his other fans :)

Why is it that my computer performs all so well - right up until the time when it is the worst possible time for it to break down?

Its always the case isnt it? Murphey's Law I think they call it. Expect everything to go wrong at the worst possible moment. Grr!! Just at the time when I need to rely upon it.. my PC decides to chuck a 'mental'.

Its taken me the last 40 minutes to get it back to a state where it boots and it operates enough for me to do the basics, but try and do anything else and it sort of looks at me stupid and says 'what? you want to do that?!'.

I know alot about computers, so it doesnt bother me too much that I have to back everything up and reinstall this fine operating system and all of the associated 'essentials'. But not tonight.. I dont have time tonight.. I need it to work tonight.. sigh..

Heck.. its time I should upgrade it anyway..

Just a quick update.. last few days at work have been quite busy and I have actually achieved a quite alot.. presented quite a few deliverables which I have been eating away at for a while now, so it was good to actually move them and mark them off as 'finished'. Have also done alot of work to polish off a few more big ticket items in the next few weeks. Having said that July and August are going to be very very busy.

I have secured a ticket to see GoldFrapp, thanks to my mate Anthony. So that should be fun.. he also reports that Kraftwerk have a new CD slotted for release pretty soon.. could be interesting!

Reading: `Tard Blog (yeah, sure its not politically correct.. get over it)
Listening to: Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House
Watching: Big Brother (yeah well get over that too!) 'Go Reggie!'
Thinking: About Yesterday
Drinking: Brokenwood

omg, this has to be my current fav. site.. thanks to Kurt's blog at brokengod.net

It is funny.. but its not for the faint hearted or those who are easily offended. Rusty you will love it.. bookmark it :)

John Lennon said that life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. Thats so true.

Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday, and then other times it seems like it was centuries ago. Which ever way you look at it, time has a knack of slipping away and passing us by.

On Friday night I went out with a bunch of friends that I used to work with, we went to a French eatery - one which we had been to before that we really liked, so we decided to go back. Whilst there it dawned upon me it had been a year - almost to the day since we had been there last. And yet it seemed like just yesterday.

Catching up with my friends there it also dawned on me how distant I had grown to some of them and yet how close I had become to others. Something which time couldnt displace or touch. How different we had all become, yet at how similar we had remained.

Learning new things about people I thought I knew very well and which I could never have predicted. Hearing a story from a different perspective.. seeing another side of something.. having the light shine on it from a different angle, and then understanding another person's perspective.. and having that open or close a door..

Russell and Kurt werent at this dinner the other night. They are from a different circle of friends. But for the last few years - yes its been years - we have been planning to get together and catch up for drinks. It seems like only yesterday that we spoke about it, but it has been years. We now, the plans have finally been made. Next Friday we are scheduled for a drink. Will it be odd? How much will we have changed, will we still get along?

We have been planning this get together for years now.. yet it seems like only yesterday- how come it has taken do long.. . How did that happen? Life happened to us, thats what happened.. we were too busy making plans to notice.

I have previously wrote about the problem that 'choice' introduces in your life.. and yet again it strikes. I really do think we, or atleast I, would be better off if there was no choice :) Someone just sit me down and tell me how its got to be and I will do that.. I may not be as happy, in the long run (or would I?) but wouldnt life be easier..

.. if you never taste chocolate then you will never know that you really want it..

Take work for example, am I happy at work? Yes. Could I be happier, yes - but that doesnt mean I am not happy now. Did I leave my old job because I wasnt that happy there, yes. Have they just recently advertised some vacant positions back in my old job, yes. Am I considering applying for them. Yes. Would this mean I was back in my old job where I was not happy. Yes - maybe.. I dont know. This is the problem. Do we only remember the good things?

The grass cant always be greener can it?

People, please stop tempting me and I am sure I will be happy ok. Dont send me your advertising.. dont let my old boss ring me up and tell me I should be applying for X job because I am needed back there.. dont let me taste the new chocolate orange that is on the market.. dont tell me that I should be curious about the new Vanilla-choc-mint-ice-cold-coke-in-the-new-stream-lined-bottle.

I dont need it. I am happy as I am.. right?

My brother told me that he really liked the new Nick Cave CD. I said that I wasnt much of a fan and that I found his earlier stuff quite sad and depressing - thats coming from a Smiths fan.

He said that no his new CD isnt like that and that I should give it a go. So I got a copy of it and I figured I would give it a go. On the way home from work today I put it on the car Cd player. Track one, was ok, but a bit sad. Track two, and I sunk lower into my seat. Track 3 and I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. Track 4 and I hated my life and wondered why it was all worth it. Track 5 and I was just about to get out of my car and lay down in the middle of the road. I turned the damn thing off and put the radio on and listened to some upbeat pop for the rest of the drive home.

I told me brother he was an idiot and that that was one of the saddest and most depressing CDs I had ever heard and that I would probably need therapy for the rest of my life. My asked me what the title of the CD was and said, 'oh no, thats the one before his most recent one.. that ones really depressing.. dont listen to that!".

Tomorrow I will let you know what I think of the 'new' proper CD.

I was woken from my slumber last night at midnight - having just got to sleep - by the sound of BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...

Not knowing what the sound was, panicing that it may be the smoke detector warning me of a smouldering fire somewhere in the house, I jumped out of bed to find that it was my organiser advising me that it today (12.00.01 am) it was my mate Jason's birthday.

Yeah great.. thanks for that.. happy (yawn) birthday buddy..

Sometimes you just dont have anything to say. So why say it?

This one gets a mention because of the flash.. I think its cool.. wish I had designed it. Open it up full screen (or scroll down) or else you will miss the cool shadow effect.. well done..

Have just returned from seeing the Matrix - Reloaded. Of course, the problem is that we have choices.. if you have seen the movie when you will know what I am talking about..

..and as I have previously reported via this website.. (here) I agree that that is the problem. Remove all choices and life would be so much easier. Remember you read about it here first!

Overall, I liked the movie.. I had heard a few not so good reports about it.. but I though it was great.. I think the biggest problem people may have had with it was that it didnt effect them like the first one did.. the first movie was ground breaking.. it was the first time we had seen 'bullet time' - it was all new. This movie isnt ground breaking in that regard.. its more of the first one.. same same. Which to me is good.. great scenes, great concepts and it really makes you think.. well it did me anyway..

Infact.. I want to talk about the movie now.. whilst I dont think what Im about to say is going to give anything away as such.. if you havent seen it yet though, you may not want to read this next bit.. (continued)..

Remember this?

Annabelle and I have rediscovered some 1970's technology. Whilst I have taken to playing ROMs on the PC, Annabelle has ordered a 2nd hand one from Ebay.. who needs a PS2 anyway..

My niece, Erin, has taken to reading my blog and visiting my site. As a responsible unlce and god father.. I must now watch what I post :)

Accordingly, this site will now take on a "G" classification.. ermm ok.. then maybe a "PG" rating.

;

Shame I'm not in the US of A.