Life is hard

Dog has found the meaning of life and making the most of it.

At Lavandula lavender farm outside Daylesford last Sunday.

True to the core principle

Well it seems that subconciously I have adhered to the one and only principle of this blog "Now and Again"...

I will also, for the benefit and interest of friends and contacts in this country and around the world, attempt to summarise the past 2 years of my life so that we can (once again) start fresh. In a world fragmented by as well as replicated across Twitter, Facebook, email, blogs (MySpace is dead clearly) and other e-ways of spending infinite amounts of time trying to trace and reconcile, I am hedging my bets on blogs and FaceBook as the two surviving "my life on display" media.

So... the synopsis:

The second half of 2007 saw us preparing for the April 2008 wedding and trying to keep cool... Funny how a second wedding works in your head and how you want to go about it 'second time round'. In my case it was about somethng low key and yet memorable, different to the previous for many reasons and, importantly, enabling our kids to be part of it.

We were blessed with good luck in our preparations and the day itself went without a glitch - perfect weather, exemplary behaviour by all kids, and all our guests present and happy. Our memories of the day here

Later in 2008 I packed my two girls into a hired campervan and took a five day trip to Merimbula (just across the border into New South Wales) and just relaxed and enjoyed the weather and our company. A few shots here.

Somehow I gave myself two juicy hernias and had to get them fixed, so two bulletproof meshes and a few titanium staples later I got my lower regions reinforced (sorry folks, no pictures).

I am still working at nab (National Australia Bank) as an Architect and feel like a career change. Any suggestions?

All along that time, I rediscovered my passion for cycling too. Here in Melbourne cycling is the big thing now - the green and healthy alternative to driving and public transport. I am mainly riding recreationally, with the kids (when all electronics devices have been taken away) and to/from work weather permitting - a good 18 Kms each way.

A certain cycling event, and my 30 days of prep towards it, is likely to be the subject of the few next blog posts. I will be taking part in this year's Great Victorian Bike Ride, this year taking place along the spectacular Great Ocean Road.

So watch this space... It could be fun and interesting...

Good Morning Luna!

The need:
For months I have been ogling a couple of Alarm Clock Speakers for the iPod. Unfortunately, Australia is months behind the US and the UK when it comes to gadgets hitting the market. Some never do. But the iPod market has really penetrated Australia and things are looking good.

My criteria were:

• small (must fit on the bedside cabinet)
• cool looks (sleek, modern, sexy!)
  
• capable for iPod 5G and iPod nano (nano on its way)
  
• alarm (who likes waking up to ghastly buzzer sounds...)
  
• snooze and sleep functions (especially snooze...)
  
• gradual wake up and sleep (nobody wants to be blasted at 6:00am)
  

The opportunity:
The end of financial year sale in Australia can be very stressful time. The only two department stores (Myer, David Jones) and a couple of the big chain retailers (Harvey Norman, Retravision) can offer some very good deals on electronics, clothes, whitegoods, furniture etc. Note the order of bargains in the previous sentence!... A female would have said "clothes, furniture, clothes and whitegoods" :)

So I went looking. I was stressed (didn't have approval) but I wanted an alarm clock with bells and whistles...

My shortlist was short: iHome iH5 and XtremeMac Luna. Our Singapore trip in January was disappointing when it came to gadgets: nothing excited me enough and there was really not enough choice. Back then I was after the Logitech AudioStation but that one got eliminated for a. its price and b. its large-ish dimensions for a bedside cabinet. The iHome unit is very good - we got to listen to it at the Singapore Airport duty free shop - and it retails for a good A$100 less than the Luna.

The action:
But a couple of months ago I listened to the Luna in a Mac store and it really impressed me. So that was the "chosen one"!

There are many reviews of the Luna on the Internet but I will promote the one by iLounge with a score of A-. It is accurate, sensible, honest and with no wanky terminology. The iLounge guys did actually review it twice, after XtremeMac fixed a couple of glitches via fixes to the firmware. This, by the way, has to be said for all iLounge reviews in general. And when it comes to iPod gear, I think iLounge is by far the most accurate and reliable source.

The conclusion:
Price-wise the Luna was a bargain as I bought it for A$195 with an extra 3-year warranty. But it's the unit's quality that sets it apart: the design is sleek, the controls are simple yet functional and very intuitive (you don't really need a a manual, the quick reference template placed on top of the unit summarizes the function of the four control buttons/dials). Sound-wise, the speakers deliver a really warm, rich sound. It looks like a lot of work has been put into the design and construction of the speaker drivers, as the Luna is capable of delivering varying types of music with no distortion.

So if you are in the market for such a unit, I really do recommend the Luna.

Under the Surface...

That's it. Today's "major announcement" does it for me. Microsoft Surface my ass.

Quoted as a new generation of computing products that will "break down traditional barriers between people and technology", Microsoft has effectively borrowed an amazingly intuitive action behind Apple's iPhone user interface and ir trying to flog it as theirs.

Looking at the Surface website, sure you can "shop and play at the lobby", but that's just software Bill! The idea was first shown on a device much smaller than a PC. A device to soon be carried by millions of people around the world. Not a full blown PC with a fancy screen in the lobby of an expensive hotel.

Which brings me to this significant statement: I am truly over Windows PCs.

Over the past few months I have had it up to my eybrows with stupid little glitches on my home and my work laptops:

• My home laptop will 'almost' shut down - apart from the fact that it takes a good 4 minutes to do whatever it needs to do before it powers off - to the extent that I get up in the morning and it still sitting there thinking how to turn off... What a baby! How much supervision does it need?


• My work laptop used to auto detect whether it needs a Windows domain to log in to or not. Now, when I'm at home, I need to power it up and log in to Windows before I connect it to my home netwrork (or just the router).

I hate things that cannot be explained, which is why I had enough of Windows. Note: I love computers and what can be achieved with them. I had enough of the clumsy, resource-heavy, non-intuitive operating system called Windows. I will never try Vista, just because it looks cooler than XP. I will not fall for gimmicks any more.

My home computing needs have come a long way compared to 10 years ago. I was a sucker for development tools (programming) and PC games. Now, the needs revolve around digital imaging, storage, internet access and music. A Mac has been able to do all that for years. It's been perfected. The Mac UI concepts have always been industry leaders. The new Intel-based technology base has brought the prices down and took performance to new heights

So the decision has been made and the time has come... Well, almost. An upcoming wedding is a priority. Can't argue with that really!...

I will leave you with a very funny animation clip I came across on BestOfYouTube.com - just watch out for the iHouse!...

Ivar the Great!

Today i had the great pleasure of listening to Ivar Jacobson, one of the most influential characters in the world of Software Engineering. He is the author of many books, some of which I have read and some which I still refer to.

In 1967, when I was one year old (!), Ivar proposed the concept of 'software components' for developing telephony switches for Ericsson... Over the years he has been refining and promoting component-based software development as well as methodologies around desing, construction and testing as well as the promotion and and refinement of some of the main methodologies out there, eg RUP.

My current employer brought him in to give us a 'teaser' kind of talk on his latest brain child, the Essential Unified Process. The concept is great and, really, very common sense - which is why he conceived it and so many of us missed it!... Here's 8 fundamental practice elements. Take the ones you think are relevant or even appealing to you and decide to what extent you wish to use them. As you get better or depending on the size or nature of your next piece of work, adopt some more of those 8 practices.

It is not as heavy and regimented as the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and not as scary as eXtreme Programming, although it does have elements of Agile and XP and Scrum in it. Architecture and Project Management are still there but not as heavy and useless as they often are.

The best thing though was his style and delivery. He's a very down to earth guy, no rocket scientist (although a lot more intelligent than most of us!) and he's very interactive. He apologised for the structure of today's session as there was not much chance for Q&A, which is his preferred style. He is dead pan, funny and challenging at the same time. He has that Scandinavian coolness and slight sarcasm in his delivery. Overall he's very engaging and fun to listen to.

If you have the chance to attend one of his speeches, don't miss it!

Evil vs. Evil

Last night the TV channel ABC kicked-off the two-part Richard Dawkins documentary on how religious faith leading to fanaticism is catching up (and possibly overtaking) science and its rational, fact-based truth.

The show is not a televised version of the book The God Delusion (although references to delusional people and factions are often made). Rather, Dawkins travels America and Israel to uncover some extreme and disturbing cases.

In America, the country who has clearly been blessed by God (and it still does, at the end of every major Presidential speech or Hollywood movie - can't see the difference really, both cost lots of money to produce, some make you laugh and some you regret you wasted time for), some 'Pastor' hosts rock concert-like gatherings to brainwash people on the Bible and concepts oh hope, peace and love. The recipients of such valuable training will live to become influential people for their country, all the way to the top, and then send armies to destroy evil on the other side of the world. Amazing stuff...

In Israel, Dawkins visited the temple where Jesus was crucified. The tour guide showed him the hole in the ground where the holy cross was put in, to what Dawkins said "You don't really believe that, do you?” to which the guide responded "But of course, this is what we've been told for generations". Who cares about evidence? Anyone can make anything up.
Dawkins also interviewed some fanatic who left his West Bank fanatic friends and hopped on the other side - now a very outspoken Muslim fundamentalist. Other than having a go at Dawkins for being an atheist, this person's main beef was about women and how Western civilisation is unable to dress their women properly and get them to behave (read: covered from top to bottom, unable to socialise, work or live a normal life). Taking sexism to new heights.

Power-hungry people on both sides. And it's clearly getting worse.

NASA is still performing deep-space exploration. I don't have a problem with scientific advancements mainly because it helps us understand facts about ourselves - but when it comes to looking for life forms, this planet has some priorities to work out before we seek friends (or seek to destroy more evil) elsewhere. America has to sort out its own backyard first before stepping into hyperspace.

If all these different groups of people can't live with each other on one planet, what are our chances of getting on with some totally 'alien' species?

It's quite ironic. Religions promote love, peace and morals and yet they are the root cause of wars and hatred. And where scientists could be taking each other out on an ongoing "I'm right, you're wrong" campaign, we have worldwide collaborations against AIDS and cancer and (not enough) global warming AND we know more and more about how we got here.

Venting off on a wet day

Thank heavens for some decent, much needed rain overnight and this morning!

It does not bother me a bit that my journey to work involves walking under an umbrella, foggy windows on the train, wet shoes or having to duck down to protect myself about careless umbrella holders on the sidewalk. It's a bit like Sunday drivers really - they don't get to practice much during the week so on the weekend they're all over the road in their ignorant little ways.

As I arrived at my building, I was greeted by the friendly proprietor of the ground-floor coffee shop, who (over the course of the past 18 months) has made it very obvious that she is very proud of her Greek origins. She has also made a very correct observation that I am not that 'Greek'. Sure I have the looks and lived there for the first 19 years of my life and my accent has certain remnants and I do talk with my hands (to a certain extent) - but I have chosen not to live in Greece or marrry a Greek lady or observe most cultural and all religious traditions.

The said person did not know that I absolutely loved living in England. So when she asked me sarcastically how I like the gray sky and all that rain, I replied "Yes, it reminds me of London". To which her lips trembled and she commented that she should have expected that and that I chose to come to the right place weather-wise (Melbourne) to live.

I couldn't be bothered to engage in an environmental crisis conversation around the fact that it no longer rains properly in Melbourne and that Londoners get sunburned in springtime (well, English people get sunburned just by thinking about the sun), so I walked away saying that, really, I would love to live in Tasmania.

Hate is a strong word, so I really dislike smalltalk...

Real Jaws

If you read my previous post The Dive!.., you should know how excited I was about diving with the sharks at the Melbourne Aquarium! But just a few minutes ago I came across this article from a self-confessed non-adrenaline junkie who did dive with a Great White. Just follow the link...

A great example of overcoming personal fears and hesitations, and a great sense of thrill and adventure.

Thing is , I now really want to do it!!!

The dive!...

The guy with the blue glove is ME!

I am back and LET ME TELL YOU, this was a day to remember!

As they say in Australia, I am totally stoked! Yeah baby, high five and all the good things!

OK, some of you will put in in perspective: Melbourne Aquarium is not quite the Barrier Reef or the Maldives but for a first timer it's the thrill of lifetime. I soooo recommend it if you have not dived before.

But I am biased here. I love the water, I really like sharks and admire them even more, so I was really curious to get up close (but not too personal...). But it's not just the fish, it's the whole experience.

As I mentioned last week, the day started with one hour of theory which also did cover what could go wrong - not with the fish, but with the divers. That covered, we were off to a local pool (Wesley College) for our practice dive. We were helped into our vests and air tanks, then we learned some basic stuff: get water off your mouth when underwater and with the regulator on; get the water off your mask while underwater; hand signals; vertical dive to 4 metres.

After a lunch break, we met at the Aquarium at 3pm, had a briefing and got split into 3 groups of 4 or 5 people. My group had one instructor, 2 certified divers, a certified diver who did a refresher course and a first timer (me!). We watched the first group go round the tank, we waved at them, had a few laughs and then it was our turn!

As we took off on the surface to the drop point, a two meter long shark swam a meter undrneath us. The instructor led me to the bottom first at around 4.8 metres, then the others. We were resting on our knees and keeping still so that we did not scare the fish with too many movements. In a few seconds the normal traffic was restored (all fish going around the huge fishbowl) and we had all the inhabitants swimming past us! Tuna and whiting (ok, who cares) were in abundance, but as the stingrays start closing in, that's when you go 'yeah baby!' inside and give everyone a big nod and an OK signal :) The rays are cute as: you can touch them and it's like they're ticklish. They give a little flap to acknowledge the gesture... I had the really big one swimming only 40 or so centimetres above me and I watched its gills open and close. Great stuff...

The sharks are majestic but (my initial thought - just wait!...) uninterested. However they do swim just past you. As one fellow diver and I were heading towards the ledge before the 7 metre drop, a 2.5 metre or so shark swam past us to our right, very casually.

The 7 metre drop is located at one end of the tank, in front of a big glass window with a theatre-style spectators area on the other side. One by one, we were eased down the deeper area by our instructor. Unfortunately, due to a really bad head cold, my ears were a bit on the sensitive side so half a meter off the bottom I had to stop and really try to neutralise the pressure. It did not work so I sulked back to the ledge at a comfortable 4.8 metres.

But this was when the best part of the dive happened: A perky little shark spotted us from the surface and slowly but steadily started swimming towards us. Totally stoked! I took my time to watch his unique swim style and his not so pretty mouth. Then, half a meter away from my mask, he swam past me and off. To me, this was a totally unforgettable experience.

This was really the and of the dive - all 30 minutes of it and worth every cent - according to me, anyway!

So, a big thank you to my instructors Mick and Andrew from Dive HQ in East Prahranfor their excellent and fun coaching.

And again, a big Love You! to my Lesley for an unforgettable present!

May 13th - Happy Shark Day!

My Christmast present was a real surprise. Lesley latched on a few passing comments along the lines of "I haven't dived for yonks" or "I totally admire sharks" or "I'd love to do this!" and totally stunned me. Lesley has this amazing quality of remembering what we discuss even in the space of a few seconds and, when I least expect it, she just goes for it.

Two years ago she really stunned me with a hot air baloon flight over the Yarra Valley - one of the best experiences of my life, which we enjoyed together. This time it was kind of the same surprise but I'll be living the experience alone. Lesley will be on the other side of the glass - the dry side...

In 2 days time I'll be diving in the big round tank with a dozen or so sharks, stingrays, oodles of tuna fish and the odd turtle. Am i excited? Hell yes!!! It is going to be a full day as I am a novice diver and the morning will be spent going over some theory and a few practice dives at a nearby pool. A more comprehensive description of the day can be seen at: http://www.divingheadquarters.com.au/sharkdives.php/4

So watch this space some time next week!...

Am I missing the Link?

I have been eagerly watching the development of the EastLink project. No, I am not a car-spotter looking for new vantage positions but it will (or should) cut down travel time for me for things such as picking up and dropping my kids off as well as coming back from work (getting to work by car will always be a nighmare even if it does not compare with the M25 in London). It will also make it easier and quicker for us to get to the beach.

Eastlink will be a tollway and in theory I don't have a problem with that. On paper, the prices look reasonable compared to CityLink (where you pay for even thinking about travelling on it); or the tolls in Sydney, where not only you pay through the roof for even the smallest distance AND getting lost in the process but the infrastructure is technologically challenged (4 or 5 out of 6 lanes are pay stations accepting cash and no e-tag).

EastLink has (in theory) a structure with some reasoning behind it: you pay more for popular junctions/exists and less for the quieter ones. But it's the following fact that caused this post.

In a recent publication for the "East Link Open Day" last week (an oxymoron because it's not open yet...), the toll pricess per exit are displayed in a nice picture of a map. At one end of the picture there is a note: Prices for the year 2007 to 2008.

Now, let's think about this for a minute... The freeway is still under construction! Doh!... It is scheduled to open 'late 2008'. What are the chances of a. the project finishing on time and b. the prices not going up in 2008?...

Am I chronologically and financially challenged or are they?

By the time the freeway opens late 2008, the advertised toll prices will be around 10 months out of date. Then, we will probably cop another increase for the year 2009.

To add to the insult, the online toll calculator says: "Amount in 1 July 2006 dollars" - as if most of us would have assumed Yen, Pesos or Britidh Pounds. And what about July 2006???

So really we have no idea what the prices would be like. Love it.

Up for air

I have successfully demonstrated that blogging is not one of my achievements (this doesn't mean that I don't like it), as my previous post is dated September 2006.

If I was to flick the time-wheel back to that point and flick it back to today's date very quickly, this is what it may sound like:

November 2006: I turned 40. Big deal? Not from a factual point of view but from a personal satisfaction perspective, it's been the kind of event that makes me feel very warm and fuzzy; I found myself at a great point in my life, feeling no particular pressures. I've gone through some crappy stuff without too much damage. I have 2 great kids (who may change this warmth and fuzziness once they hit teenagehood). I have a great, caring and loving friend and partner to see me through the rest of my life. I don't feel the need to have a bike, fast car, mistress or any other mid-life crisis excuse. I have a job. I got a specially inscribed iPod for my 40th (hopefully the subject of more blogs to come)

January 2007: Escaped to Singapore (hopefully another subject of more blogs to come) for just over a week and had a ball. This was meant to be a Fiji holiday which got rescheduled due to an attempted coup. While we were there, I took a few plunges: the hotel's pool was just lovely. The main plunge though did involve some water; there was (amongst other things) a bathtub full of rose petals and orchids and some tears from Lesley's eyes, when I proposed to her. The outcome was very desirable! She said 'yes' and we are to be wed in April 2008. Blogs subject galore!...

May 2007: Another realisation that life is moving too fast. Started looking at secondary schools. My older daughter has got one more year at Primary and then our lives and related pressures will be turned up a few notches... Watch this space! Although I have been observing and sometimes participating in life in this particular lane through Lesley and her teenage daughter, it can't be the same once my own kids flick that magic switch.

So you haven't missed much, really... With regards to the "I have a job" comment, I've reached the point where I need to move on to the next role - be it within my current employer or a new one. Compared to the 'low' that the market was at when I joined this place in 2003, a recent browse of Seek is showing some exciting opportunities to be sought!...

The world is still the same too. Getting warmer and drier by the week. Over the part few months we 've been pushing the kids and ourselves to be more concious, responsible and therefore efficient. My favourite shout these days is "Lights!". Hopefully I'll share some tips and seek some advice via more blogs soon.

"Your so wrong"

The book I'm currently reading, a novel titled "The Expected One", is about Mary Magdalene and the story / gospel she wrote about the life of Jesus . I am not a religious person. Not at all. But I chose the book for the same reasons as for the Da Vinci Code: controversial, a beautiful story, a blend of legacy, history and the modern world.

But it's not the book I wish to discuss... In it I came across one of the 'everyday' English Language crimes: people's inability to use punctuation properly for showing that letters are missing or for ownership, as demonstrated by the heading of this blog (intentionally of course!). In the book I came across this gem: "You're work isn't exactly his thing". I was really stunned, because I cannot conceive how it made it through to production (well, mass production to be precise). Yes, I know that MS Word and the like cannot pick this as a grammatical error when Spell-Checking; but what the hell??? The author herself, the reviewers, the publishers, the pre-productions people, ANYONE!... How can you print a book with errors like this one? It's not just wrong, it is simply unacceptable.

I started to learn English at high-school at the age of 12. I don't consider myself to be an genius or an A-student, but I never found this punctuation issue to be a problem. Yet I see people who are born into the English Language making this mistake every day; at work, in publications and even at schools. I just don't understand how kids are being taught these simple things. My own 10-year-old really impresses me when working out some maths problems pretty quickly, but she sometimes struggles with "Its" and "It's". I just don't understand why so many people get it wrong...

Maybe I care too much. But even if I ignore it, it does not go away. AAARGH!...

To publish or not to publish

An interesting article appeared in today's Green Guide and, more interestingly, the picture of The Falling Man (no, not G Dubuya...) made the almost full-page front cover. He is of course the man who AP photographer Richard Drew captured free-falling on September 11, 2001.

The article didn't talk about that picture alone, but spoke more of the fact that newsrooms around the world often have to consider the moral side of publishing such pictures; they normally don't want to out a victim's family through more pain and sorrow.

I am against this: humans display this unusual characteristic of ignoring and dismissing worrysome facts such as violence, horror and terrorism if they don't experience it first-hand. Yes, we can sympathise and donate money to buy blankets and food for tsunami-striken or AIDS-infested communities around the world. But are we moved? Mainstream Australian news programmes tend to focus on internal affairs and often glance over world news (with the exception of SBS). In my travels around Europe I was fascinated by the fact that a. world news are half of the bulletin and not just closing shots and b. events were described very vividly, backed with video or photographic evedence.

It is only then, when you confront people with the plain and obvious truth that an impact is likely to be made: The piles of hair and bones from the massacre Jewish people, rather than pictures of the empty furnaces. Families lying dead in gutters in Sarajevo, that stills pictures of bombed villages.

The same applies to our environment crisis. As I continue to explore Al Gore's book "An Inconvenient Truth", I can't help thinking: we all heard about the floods in Europe last summer and got to see the helicopter views for 30 seconds of water gushing around. We see graphs of bad things increasing and good things reducing - but so what? 35,000 people died in Europe and I doubt that this side of the world actually comprehends what that means (except for the ones who lost loved ones).

I think it's time that our media begins to vividly show us the real news and not just the narrative. So that we don't conveniently overlook the truth...

A Gory Truth

It arrived yesterday, after almost three weeks and after having tracked (on and off, systems permitting) the shipment of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" from the US to Australia through Amazon. By the way, Dymocks in Australia might start selling the book Mid-September this year but I just could not wait and it worked out a few dollars cheaper.

Well, I've only gone through the first 62 pages on the train this morning and let me tell you - this book must be taken seriously. It is not your ordinary 300-page book full of scientific jargon with graphs, quotes and summarisations of studies. It is "How to Stop Screwing our Environment" for Dummies - that is, for everyone.
The book builds up page after page; it states the problem by presenting the facts (the melting glaciers, the rising temperatures, the CO2 rising levels ) in both pictorial and scientific formats. Some of the photos are truly disturbing: as a kid, I remember this huge old volcano covered in ice all-year round; today, it is mathematically proven that Kilimanjaro will be snow-less in the next 2 decades or so. The same goes for glaciers in the European Alps.

The book's format truly surprised me: it is full of pictures. As you read the introduction, you understand why. Over the years, Gore developed and has kept on enhancing a presentation about climate issues, global warming and its danger. The book is effectively that presentation coupled with more context and narrative. It works very well because I found myself sucked in and almost missed my station (which is not really a problem in Melbourne...).

The format and layout of the book is also cleverly aimed at young people, with clever fold-out pages and very plain English.

I'll continue my reading tonight and come back with another mini-review and some interesting facts about the issue - in the meantime we should all start thinking again. It's not the kind of problem that will go away if ignored. It's the equivalent of cancer for the planet. By the time you realise, it's already late. And it takes years to find a solution and to monitor its effectiveness.

As Gore quotes Martin Luther King Jr, "We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today".

TGI Friday

A colleague of mine recently returned from a 5-week Contiki Tour of some European Countries. To my astonishment he spent 10 minutes telling us by the different varieties of MacDonalds burgers across the different countries. I found that quite funny as this particular topic would have been (very happily) well off my list of things to experience while overseas. Another colleague and I agreed that, when overseas, MacDonalds is a good toilet-stop because every restaurant has a W.C. and they tend to be quite clean merely because of the turnover of clients.

I found myself asking so many questions about London and the truth is I miss London terribly. It's the whole area from Hyde Park Corner to Russel Square, to Covent Garden, to Embankment and to St James Park. The smell of fires from the street performers at Covent Garden, of food in Chinatown, roast chestnuts at Leicester Square, ink from the Evening Standard...

I spoke about some of the popular food establishments (which he missed) like Perfect Pizza and TGI Friday. The latter of course stands for Thank God It's Friday (whatever God means to all the different ethnic origins in England!).

And because it's Friday, I have attached one of 5 pictures sent to me this morning by Moshe titled "Maths Genius". They made my day! It's one of the funniest things I 've received for a long time and I wish I get more like those.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!...

Census 2006 and the Interweb

This one is close to my heart, as my dear better half is spending quite a bit of time and leg power to distribute forms (and later collect them) for around 450 houses in our area (the fact that she's ultimately employed by John Howard I choose to ignore, for my own sanity's sake).

We received our forms two days ago and we had already agreed that we would submit our answers/data electronically at www.abs.gov.au/census. So late last night, while waiting for one of my very few current favourite TV programs to start on SBS, I logged in with the intention to complete it in less that 15 minutes.

Surprisingly, the experience was very satisfactory! The website is no-frills and definitely no-thrills, which is great for the purpose. Australia, as a population in general, is still a very web-illiterate nation so the last thing one wants to do is put them off completely by presenting them with government 'stuff' to do over a complex web tool.

Once logged in, you start by listing all persons in your house on August 8th 2006. Yes, we can fill the information ahead of time, as long as it is accurate AND true. Once that's done, the system creates one set of questions for each person registered. In the case of couples, some smarts exist to create a 'relationship' between non-married, divorced people (our case). Once the adults are done, it's a matter of churning through effectively identical questions for each child.

We completed the whole thing in under 15 minutes, which is considerably shorter, more accurate and less frustrating than filling in paper forms. But, like with everything else, we picked on a couple of things:

1. We are asked to supply Current Address, Address as of 12 Months Ago and Address as of 5 Years Ago. The first two, can be easily reused later in the questionnaire (eg. in the case of your spouse and children) by selecting a "Same As.." checkbox. However the third address (previous 5 years) has to be typed in by each person registered. We thought that was a bit dumb; there are 4 children in our house and they were all living together with the parents 5 years ago. I would have liked to see another "Same As person 1 or 2" checkbox to facilitate this.
2. One of the questions in the 'Dwelling' section is whether access to the Internet is available. Now, I can't work out how crucial this question is... The Census is normally about population and demographic statistics. I thought this was a very technology-oriented question, with very little point (other than perhaps helping the Bureau of Statistics predicting where to spend more money in the next 5 years). Where do you draw the line? Why not ask if we have Colour or Digital Television? How about mobile phones? Or motorbikes? I suspect that more useful data could be collected from an exercise of that magnitude, like work/lifestyle balance questions like "How many holidays a year does the family take?".

I would recommend that you fill in the questionnaire online. It's quick, a no-brainer and secure. Save yourselves time AND raise the bar for Australia's Internet future! Big Kev would be excited!...

A few funnies about Ageing

An email full of jokes about getting older came through yesterday during a power outage here at work. I thought I'd share some with you:

- Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And what do
you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked. She
simply replied, "No peer pressure."

- Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to
the very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?" "98," she
replied. "Two years older than me." "So you're 96," the undertaker
commented. She responded, "Hardly worth going home isn't it?

- Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

- I've still got it, but nobody wants to see it.

- Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get back up.

But this next one is my favourite - not because it's funny but because it is so true. For a period of time I did feel it in myself; I was too serious or I just did not have enough to laugh about. Our children make us laugh a lot (but less as they grow into teenagehood). And so does love and trust. When we're at ease with each other but also with ourselves, we find ourselves laughing so freely and easily - even back at ourselves!... Anyway, here it is:

Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old, You grow old
because you stop laughing.

Brrrrrrrr!....

Earlier today I walked from the "West End" of Collins Street to my (other) workplace. Normally a pleasant 7 minute walk, reflecting on the meeting ahead and distracted by the constant buzz of Docklands building-erecting activity, I got blown away by a freezing wind.

Then I walked on the TelstraDome-to-Southern Cross bridge (not because I wanted to, I just had to) and I was very tempted to walk sideways, because the same strong, freezing wind was blowing straight into my left earhole. Instead I moved my mobile phone from my right ear to my left one and settled with having the fingers of my left hand freezing instead.

Next time I decide to make all the effort to get down there for face-to-face telephone meetings (where two of us are in Melbourne and 4 more over in Sydney, I'll think again!...

But today it has been very cold, due to the windshield factor (an expression mainly used by British ex-pats or Australians of strong English heritage). I can't help but being jealous of some of my friends and colleagues who are soon to visit or are currently enjoying the summer in Europe...

In the meantime, Soldier On!...

Heat, glorious heat!

This one is about central heating. But it’s also about some facts which could help Moshe trying to unravel the mystery of his central heating fan!

Last year we spent a considerable amount of time renovating our upstairs area – our retreat, if you like – which is an extension to the house. When the house was extended by the previous owner, someone ran two central heating outlets off the main system; one in the bedroom and one in the landing/study area.

We found that those two outlets were actually affecting the efficiency of the system on the ground floor – not enough airflow. It was also pointless as there is only one thermostat in the house, downstairs. So the first floor was never heated properly anyway.

Then there is the dust factor: floor vents stay gaping open for a large part of the year; therefore fluff and dust tend to accumulate in them, which eventually get shot back in the room when the heating comes on.

Then there was the aesthetic factor: newly painted walls and skirts and a new carpet, why spoil it with holes in the floor?

But most of all was the noise… With the heating on, we used to hear an annoying continuous whistle as the air passed through the plastic grille. Not very pleasant at 6:00am.

We decided that we should opt for electric heating upstairs and, instantaneously, agreed for the Nobo brand. I knew of their excellent reputation and Lesley had them fitted in a previous house.

We bought one heater on Monday – rated at 2400W with a built-in timer. Very excited, we installed under our bedroom window last night after work. It took less than half an hour, most of which was spent on measuring and centering. Nobo have a smart and very reliable way of ensuring that the heater is correctly placed and at a specific distance above the floor.

Next was the power-up ceremony. Lesley was nervous about the window blind being close to the top of the heater. I was slightly concerned that our temporary extension cable is rated the same as the heater itself. I would have preferred a bit more tolerance.

These heaters are spectacular. Within half an hour, the room had turned from a pretty cold to very comfortable. The air was not dry, the heater was radiating a reassuring glow and you could feel the natural, gentle air circulation from the floor through the heater and upwards. I set the timer for the week and that was it.

Moshe’s problem came to mind as I started to fret about the next electricity bill, so I turned off the gas central heating, the dishwasher and a couple of other things and I headed for the electricity meter: One revolution in 3.5 seconds. The heater was running at its maximum 2400W.

It may sound a bit scary and potentially expensive. Over the next few days I’ll be watching a bit more closely, as the Nobo heaters are supposed to be consuming a lot less once the room has reached the desired temperature. If I was to think about a new central heating solution I’d probably choose between these heaters (because you can wire them to a control panel and create zones too) or a hydronic system.

But overall, we are happy with the choice. We slept really well and woke up to a warm room. It was just a little hard getting out of bed though!...