Archive for May, 2006

Date: May 31st, 2006
Cate: Cycling
3 msgs

On the design of bridges

I ride a road bike. I love my road bike because the lack of jumping up gutters is easily compensated for by the extra speed. However last night I wished that I was on a mountain bike.

I was riding along the Yarra to get to the Como in South Yarra with a couple of friends. One of them went to go down a ramp but stopped and asked me if I could go down it because it was a wooden ramp. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be able to?” I asked. “Your tires are too thin” he replied. Nonsense I though, are you challenging my masculinity?

So we’re going down the ramp and I note “which fucken genius designed this bridge, you’d think they would have put the wooden slats perpendicular rather than straight up and down the way they are.” Just then I feel my back wheel slip a bit but we’re getting towards the bottom of the ramp and we’re moving at a reasonable pace. “Oh shit, better be careful,” I think to myself.

Just then I look down and see my front wheel drop down between two planks. My bike stops dead. I don’t.

My whole body hurts.

Date: May 30th, 2006
Cate: Me, Travel
4 msgs

Moving home, moving on

Well the clock continues to tick and I get closer and closer to leaving the country.

I moved back to my parents place last night. Was greeted with “great to see you’re here, now we have to go and move all your brother’s shit out of his old house”. My beloved brother will rue the day!

We had to do this as he is currently living in Perth. He announced last week that he’s not coming back to Melbourne (from Perth) for a few more months, instead of coming back next week, so I will have to go from March to late October without seeing him. I’ve never really gone more than a few weeks without seeing him so that is a little upsetting. But like he says, when I do finally meet up with him it will be one hell of a good time.

It’s funny this going away for just shy of 5 months business. Seem to care a lot more about things that I ordinarily wouldn’t give a shit about and care a lot less about things I should. Is this the sort of thing you shouldn’t write on your very public blog?

I’m also quite disoriented without my computer. This is made much worse by the fact that I have to now compete with my mother for the use of the computer and she is quite addicted to Spider Solitaire. It’s really quite scary. Last night I got off the computer to help her with something and she jumped on the computer quickly before I could get back on.

The other thing that is scary is my sister first thing in the morning. I plan on being outside the house before she gets up from now on. Save everyone the pain. She’s also known to check in on this blog from time to time so I should also mention that I love her dearly and am very proud of her. But I challenge anyone to take her on first thing in the morning.

Date: May 26th, 2006
Cate: Comedy
30 msgs

Cyanide and Happiness

I’ve been looking for these comics for some time and I’ve finally found them at Explosm.net

So below are a couple of my favorites for your viewing pleasure:

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Cyanide and Happiness, a daily webcomic
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Yep – that’ll do for now.

Date: May 22nd, 2006
Cate: Cycling

Cyclist rights

Via Spinopsys I’ve come across Wheels of Justice and am suitably impressed with their site and their reason for being:

Positive changes for cyclists starts at the grass roots, with you, your family, your workplace, your local cycling club, your local Bicycle User Group, a community program, media influence, pro-active involvement in riding events and driving school education programmes on share the road behaviour, to name just a few potential ways to keep the Wheels of Justice rolling for all road users.

Date: May 16th, 2006
Cate: Misc

Rick Farley

I had the good fortune to hear Rick Farley speak last year and therefore share Pavlov’s Cat’s sentiments.

Date: May 16th, 2006
Cate: ICT
6 msgs

IAUDIO = Awesome

My loyal readers may remember a post ago when I was tossing up between the iRiver and the iPod.

I decided against the iPod for various reasons and triumphantly marched down to JB Hi Fi to demand my 40 gig iRiver duty free. Only to be met with the news that the iRiver I wanted hadn’t been released in Australia for a year (despite it still being up on their Australian web site!). So I left to check out a few other shops, all with the meager 20 gig as the best they could offer me (I have a LOT of music).

It was at this point that I became aware of the 30 Gig IAUDIO. I went back, did a little research (thank you internet) and returned a few hours later to purchase one. I’d post a photo of it but I don’t have a camera since mine was stolen and I’m waiting until I get to Singapore to go shopping for one with adlib in a month’s time.

Anyway, it was a little pricy but I love it. It requires no proprietary software what so ever (awesome for the more geek side of me). It also plays OGG and comes with some great software which (while not needed to put music on the IAUDIO) does a fine job of converting all my music to this wonderful open source file type.

So I probably shouldn’t have spent as much as I did, but it’s duty free and makes me happy.

Date: May 12th, 2006
Cate: Travel
4 msgs

Little help

So duty free shopping starts on Monday (which means only 30 days until I leave the country – so long suckers!)

And naturally I’ll be needing a portable music device. I’m happy to spend around $500 on it (duty free of course) so it seems to be a question of the iRiver H340 Vs a 60 Gig iPod.

I’ve been asking around and it seems like the iPod wins with regards to interface but the iRiver wins everywhere else (except storage capacity and I will need a considerable amount of storage, that is for sure)

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Date: May 10th, 2006
Cate: Travel

World Social Forum 2006

What would do if you read this:

A fourth event scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand appears to have been cancelled.

Interesting, we’ll wait and see but I might be home a little earlier than expected.

Update: hmmm, and now I’ve found this one:

Meeting defines new polycentric forum in Thailand

The polycentric WSF 2006 will have another event. It will occur in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 21st and 22nd, 2006. The decision was made during an Asian Council meeting, which took place in Hong Kong on December 16th, 2005

Many organizations from various countries were at the meeting, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Palestine, United States, Germany, Holland and Belgium.

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Date: May 8th, 2006
Cate: Sport

Dawson

I thought I’d take a brief moment out of my day to make this small comment on my beloved Hawks.

Zac Dawson should not be playing full back. I understand and sympathise with Clarkson’s position that he needs a few tough lessons – clearly he does. I even buy the long term view stuff. The Hawks won’t win the flag this year but they might in the next few years.

However my concern is that he will be broken as a footballer and his career destroyed through a lack of confidence. He’s is not a great footballer and has this drilled into him by the media every time he plays on a half decent full forward. So now, not only is he young and lacking the necessary baulk, but he fucks it up every time he gets the ball because he is so terrified of making a mistake and so aware that everyone is watching him and collectively groaning every time he goes near the ball.

In time he may be a good footballer but now is not that time so lets not break him yet.

Date: May 8th, 2006
Cate: Comedy

Dance, Monkeys, Dance

I enjoyed this and I hope you will too.

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