Visited (the Belconnen branch of) Revolution CD at lunchtime today, to kill time and assure myself I'm not becoming a workaholic. Little did I know that as soon as I plonked my handful of selected CDs on the counter, the fire alarm would go off and I'd have to wait out the front of the store for 10 minutes while waiting for the fire department to give the all clear. Anyway, despite the delay I was very happy with my purchases.
However, in the process of listening to my new CDs I discovered that, instead of White Zombie's "Astro-Creep 2000" I've been given the soundtrack to "Eddie". Pretty funny, I guess, but I'm going to draw the line at listening to what is no doubt described as "Music from, and inspired by, the hit comedy Eddie". When it's headlined by a Coolio track (without so much as the word "gangsta" in the title) you know it's a worry.
I think the main thing preventing me from spending more time browsing the Web for interesting content was I had to dial-up and be sensitive to the phone needs of housemates before. Now, with ADSL, I can surf whenever I want. Which raises the issue that there's so much out there to look at, and not nearly enough time to see it all. I'm sure I'll come up with some strategies for getting the most value out of a reasonable amount of computer time, but I'm not there yet.
While I struggle to keep on top of everything I want to investigate, here're a few of the places I've been recently:
Plus stuff which may be the next generation of what I take for granted at work, thanks to the collaborative environment of Lotus products (and related to my blurb above about info overload) http://www.research.ibm.com/SocialComputing/AR.htm I actually feel quite cut off from the world when on my home PC, as at work we have pervasive Instant Messaging and presence awareness. I only miss it when it's gone. Might have to play with some other IM tools to reconnect.
I might almost be able to mistake all the "news" above as a life, but I'm far too cynical for that. Next time, I'll hopefully have something to say about the new Hellboy I bought from K on Monday (haven't even started it yet, though).
Update (2/10): I would've lost Liv's comment when reshaping this post, so here 'tis: "Wikipedia is very cool. You might be interested in this dicussion, which I got to from Brianstorms." Thanks Liv, I was interested!
My new TV is as cool as it should be for the kind of money I paid, so I'm happy, even after only sleeping 3 hours (too much excitement? Now I remember why I don't get excited about anything).
All I need now is for the Opals to beat Brazil tonight, to finalise top spot in their pool, and this great weather, hanging with mates, buying cool new toys weekend will be ... well... pretty damn good!
Wow! Lots of stuff has happened today. Other than it being awesome weather, allowing us to soak up some sun as we played basketball and wish we were already in Moruya, I've finally got my broadband connection, meaning I have zero excuses not to update this blog frequently and often (I'm aware that's a double positive...).
Add to that the fact that tomorrow I will be the proud owner of a 132cm DLP rear projection TV, and I'm as excited as I've been in weeks/months.
Now that I think about it, I better do some of the work I brought home tonight, before I get absorbed in watching everything possible on my new TV...
Sunday, July 18, 2004
I had a "letter" all prepared to send off to the Canberra Times, but it seems pretty lame when compared to the usual content of refugees, war, etc. which are the legacy of the current government. So I didn't send it off, but here it is anyway:
End of an Era Impact Records, a Canberra institution for almost 30 years, will soon close its doors, muscled out of existence by JB Hi-Fi in aggressive search of the almighty dollar.
Impact was the only shop I've ever enjoyed. Browsing for hours, no pressure salesmanship, varied background music and relaxed staff.
I've had enough of the homogenising of our retail market, and will be voting with my wallet. I know Impact won't be resurrected by the gesture, but JB won't get a cent from me.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
This'll probably be very disjointed, as I wrote it around midnight last night, when I was pretty tired from b/ball but still unable to sleep.
I've spent a large part of the last, Liberals in government, decade bitching about how bad the Liberals are, how I've disagreed with every "policy" they've proposed or implemented since their first (the gun buy back scheme). I hate their dollars before people approach, the fact that they clearly enjoy the power trip and show no inclination to listen to anything their constituents, e.g. me, might have to say.
But, on the flip side, have I done a single thing to improve things? donations to "Learning For Life" have salved my very uneasy conscience somewhat. However, I haven't spoken up against the many injustices which have been foisted upon the less fortunate. Partly I feel helpless, resigned to the wait for another election, praying Labor might do better. Partly, I feel too ignorant, having avoided the news almost obsessively because of how utterly depressing it is.
I don't have any good excuse, though, for not doing something. I'd like to contribute, to help, to improve things and restore Australia to the place I've spent my life being proud of, confident nowhere could be a more awesome place to live.
How will I do this? Try to stir up my brain first, fanned by the flames of possibly the only thing I've been passionate about for years, and that is the anger I've felt at the injustices of our current "leadership". It's so rare for me to have strong feelings about anything any more that I think it's been wasteful of me not to harness it long before now.
As a first step, I recommend anyone to have a look at the new "Not Happy, John!" link I've added, to see the beginnings of discussion which has raised hope in me where there was little before, that there are plenty of people who are concerned about the direction of our country, and are willing to do something about it. Join in!
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Grrrr... As someone who has never really been too choosy about what I eat, I'm now coming to terms with how food labelling legislation needs some serious work. After finally having my health back on track, starting my normal workload last week, I started getting sick again, without knowing why. After 2 days of steadily worsening stomach pain and nausea, I had another look at the box of cereal I'd started on a few days earlier. And was it clearly labelled with a giant "CONTAINS GLUTEN!!!" message? Obviously not. They'd settled for some small printing, away from the ingredients list, leading me to believe I was perfectly safe.
After hopping into my hazmat jumpsuit and disposing of the remaining cereal in a radiation-proof container, I am starting to feel better again. It supposedly takes 3 days for the effect of having gluten to wear off, and I'm 2 days into that, so confident tomorrow morning will see me fit(ish) and ready to go to work.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Wha' happen'd?
And, sooner than you can say "Swish! You're a swish! Swish!", I'm back!
My excuse for nil content the past week is that I was asleep... all week. Before that, I was lazy and malcontent. Or maybe just lazy, since malcontent is quite an effort.
Anyway, I'm back, I've managed a return to work (admittedly only 3 hours each of the last 2 days), and ready to contribute to my blog again. Especially since there are far too many comments saying how great Polarbear is... time for me to grab some attention back!
Songs I done heard "In the mood" by To My Surprise. A rocking little tune with the main line "I'm in the mood to ruin a melody, are you in the mood to ruin it along with me?". Funky animated video clip too.
Movies I done seen The Cooler (to be said in an Arnie voice)
Romcom for the 21st century. A simple love story interspersed with gratuitous nudity and violent Mob-style beatings. I give it 3 saggy butts.
Books I done read The Lord Of The Rings - Re-read the whole thing over the space of a fortnight (after first reading it 15 years ago), and thoroughly enjoyed it. Undoubtedly made easier going by being able to visualise most of it thanks to Peter Jackson. I admit I skipped some parts of the appendices, basically from the point where it started saying "...to this extent that Series I was generally applied to the dental or t-series (tincotema) and II to the labials...". I'm not quite masochistic enough to go through that again.
Kingdom Come - I'd forgotten just enough of the novelisation for this to be fairly fresh, and the art is awesome. Plus anything with Bat-Mite and Beppo the Super-Monkey is all right by me. I at least spotted Krypto with prompting, but most of the other in-jokes I needed pointed out to me.
Food report I had chicken sausages and salad for lunch, and will be partaking of beef and vegetable stir-fry for dinner. I admit I had tuna and rice for both lunch and dinner yesterday, but the important point is that I didn't have to.
Friday, April 16, 2004
While flicking stations during ad breaks in the Simpsons, I had the misfortune of catching 5 seconds of Popstars Live. Horrible! I hear you cry in sympathy. But it gets worse! Those 5 seconds contained a soul-destroying rendition of "7 Nation Army". Not to overstate things, but The White Stripes would be turning over in their graves...
On another note, I'm really glad Batto didn't catch the Win News teaser on the same night. The phrase "good news for parents of kids with ADHD" would have prompted hours of "The good news? It's that ADHD doesn't exist!!!" style ranting.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Holidays!
Well, almost 4 days into 5 weeks off work, and I've spent an awful lot of my time in front of the TV. Has it been worthwhile? Here're are my "accomplishments":
finished (re-)watching Buffy season 6, after 2.5 months ago starting right back at season 1, episode 1 (now I just have to wait 6 weeks for the final season to be released on DVD)
watched "Intolerable Cruelty" which was very entertaining, and continued the run of successful (in my eyes) George Clooney films (yeah, sure it's a Coen brothers movie, but would I have wanted to see it without George and Catherine Zeta Jones? The answer is no)
saw the final Matrix movie for the first time since being very disappointed when I caught it at the cinema. Much better on the small screen, surprisingly, and I actually enjoyed it this time around
spent a day or two playing "Chaos Bleeds" the new Buffy PS2 game, and found it was pitched at exactly the right level for my gaming ability, i.e. Gumby. Also played Simpsons Road Rage, and once again a game designed for me. I actually get rewarded for poor driving!
Finally, gave my eyes a rest and made a comeback to competition basketball, just in time to play the final game of the season. After expecting to finally retire from b/ball, I now have plenty of enthusiasm for a new season, since I missed the last 2 months.
What am I having for dinner tonight? Tuna and rice...
Thursday, March 04, 2004
OK, I was saving this up, but since some impatient reader is so ... well, impatient, here it is!
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH... Lame covers
Car makers are mostly to blame, but it seems to be a fad now, continuing on from the wonderful electronic "Summer of '69" which had everyone conveniently forgetting Bryan Adams' Robin Hood-related sins and praying for him to be released from collaboration purgatory (Mel C, anyone?).
Some of the greatest songs of our generation have been destroyed in recent months by tight-assed advertising execs who, instead of forking out for the rights to originals, have horrid, offensive remakes which, not content with sapping the joy out of memories of the real thing, go so far as to incite nausea and revulsion.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
ATOMIC MADMEN
The heavenly creature screeched banally at the voluminous crowds below. The voluminous crowds ignored her. She sulked.
Zxcvb (the child of atomic madmen), while heavenly, also had a sensitive temperament, and she was easily hurt by being ignored. She decided to explode. And did so. The crowds became less voluminous.
THE END
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Well, 2003 is just about over, and it was filled with far more highs and lows than I've been accustomed to in recent times, in my life filled with dizzying averages and soul-crushing mediums. Hopefully 2004 will bring more health, as well as action on at least some of the many things I'm always talking about planning to maybe consider putting a proposal for commenting on direction of preparing a committee to decide whether to do something.
While it's an admittedly arbitrary time to start fresh, I think the new year is as good an opportunity as any to expand on my increasingly positive outlook on life, and start thinking about what more adventurous things might be round the corner as my mortgage rapidly nears its end.
But before I become philosophical in this entry, here's a re-hash of an old SSS (thanks to Liv for allowing me reprint rights):
RAZZLE AND THEN SOME
Cleveland was cool this time of year. Well, cool in a stupefyingly, stultefyingly humid and intensely, inspirationally HOT kind of way. Which was why Horace had decided that this was the way it had to be. For all time.
THE END
I think my short sentences are definitely best. That's unfortunate considering my tendency towards verbosity (for no real reason, other than perhaps a lack of focus). Anyway, for all my loyal readers, have an excellent 2004!
Saturday, December 06, 2003
As if I didn't hate "current affairs" (aka Scaremongers are us) shows enough, now I find they've attacked the best place in the world to work. Here's why ACA (in particular) should be shunned by all thinking people:
OK, time to see if these comment things are so easy that even someone with an IT degree can get them to work. If you can't comment on this post, then it means I'm a dismal failure, and was right to move away from technical things, and concentrate on people.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
LIGHTNING AND THUNDER
Mellifluous profundity oozed from every lancet. Elder Frankenstein stated bluntly that no dialogue would be allowed.
"Oh, won't it now?!!!?" screeched a rebellious artichoke.
"No, it won't!" came the authoritative reply.
THE END
I had a better SSS in me at 3am when I couldn't sleep from the heat (as mild as it was, soooo not looking forward to proper summer), sadly lost in a day of drawing class diagrams and reading Unix registration system documentation. If I didn't love my job so much, that kind of thing could easily sap my will to live. Sadly for those who wish me ill (you know who you are Kam and Linda, and no I'm not putting you in my will yet...), my enormous passion and zest for living continues unabated. OK, not really, but I've been feeling pretty good this week, and making full use of my new basketball ring.
Friday, October 31, 2003
Since my demanding public is crying out for more SSS's, I thought I'd put one up which I wrote about 7 years ago, and I got the feeling it was wasted on someone who simply didn't get it. So here it is for more discerning readers:
MANGO THE PUMPKIN
“Oy! What do you think you’re doing?” screamed Juniper the strange-looking toadfish.
“Nothing much!” replied Angle Strongarm, the eminently plausible subatomic particle, obstinately.
“As it should be!” summarised Mango, who was a wonderfully attractive beige pumpkin.
THE END
Or maybe it's just not that good?!?
And, at the risk of overdoing it, here's another one, never seen by non-Bertie eyes:
PLAINLY SO
Wallowsworth the pencil-handler had drunk obscurely from the plinth of sublimation, and found herself rather pedantically free of bran. This was fairly typical in such cases, but it concerned Wallowsworth nonetheless.
Pickles wasn't quite so worried. He had never taken to the habit of perambulation, so the lack of such was a minor inconvenience at worst. This was his first mistake. His second was to get between the bran and Wallowsworth. Being snaffled by a pencil-handler is rarely pleasant.
THE END
Sunday, October 19, 2003
It's material like this that got me hooked on Shaun Micallef in the first place (along with the delightful spelling of his first name).
I can only dream of a day when my Surreal Short Stories contain this much nonsensicality.
