RUN FOX RUN

Get Up! : Internet Censorship

2009-09-23T15:30:00.005+08:00

GetUp! It's decision time on internet censorship! This Friday our petition will feature in a massive newspaper ad. How many signatures will it have on it, that's up to you - add your name today to maximise the impact before the Government makes a decision!

It's decision time for the Government on internet censorship - with results from their flawed live trial due any day now. Now is the time to make it clear how deeply unpopular this scheme is.

You could be one of over 100,000 Australians to sign one of the largest petitions in our history. If that's not enough to make decision makers sit up and take notice, we're displaying our petition in a massive ad in The Australian this Friday. How many signatures will be on it? That's up to you.

Can you take a moment to tell your friends to add their name to yours today to maximise its impact? Simply forward the email below or click this link for more options:

www.getup.org.au/campaign/AddTheirNameToYours

We have to act fast - with serious question marks hanging over the integrity of the trials, the Government has indicated it will make an announcement before the end of this month.

The Government is admitting it has no criteria to determine if the trials of the scheme are a success, and refusing to disclose details of how they're being conducted. This leaves the door open to impose a scheme experts say simply won't work and will do little to prevent prohibited content.*

Few petitions in Australian history have ever hit the 100,000 signature mark. Your friends' signatures may push this one into the record books. Every new signature before Friday will make the total displayed in The Australian even larger - and it's a brave government willing to ignore such an outcry.

Minister Stephen Conroy : a case of amnesia
Minister Conroy : Promoting a civil and confident society online

Time for some more Doublespeak, that will cost us AU $44 million.

District 9 ...

2009-08-18T13:04:00.004+08:00

Its been a while since a movie has left me reeling abit, and im happy to say, District 9 succeeded. Working on many levels, it just left me kinda spinning at the end. sure its by no means perfect, its not a hollywood machine churned out to be the next Transformers, but what it does, it does well, and for once, we see an "alien" saga, turned on its head, where we are the ones to be feared.

If you've been living under a rock lately, or rural Victoria for that matter :) go and check the trailer for District 9 and do a little backstory prior to seeing the film, which i highly recommend you do. Set in modern day Johannesburg (one of the most unlikely settings in the movie world) the story is based around an alien civilization that has arrived to earth as refugees, in one single gigantic spacecraft. however we soon find the beings inside are not god like entities, or crazy killing machines like the xenomorphes, instead they are bipedal creatures with the same humanistic qualities as present day man. essentially, the ship contains average intelligent alien creatures, fleeing home, and arriving to be quarantined and persecuted by a fearful and racist human race, eager to steal weaponry and technology, at the expense of life itself.

Shot in a "realistic motion camera / documentary style" (help me out here Trev), it immediately feels real. its not glossy or clean. theres no typical hollywood flare. instead, you have this immense feeling that this is actually occurring in present day, and its believable. making this world even more credible is the CGI animated aliens and their interactions with the real world on screen. WETA (a New Zealand film and animation studio) has done an amazing job again.

Without giving too much away, the movie revolves around the struggle of these refugee aliens, interacting with a human populace, and the conflicts that ensue. its by no means perfect, and i think a let down is the characterizations of the white Afrikaners running the MNU (fictional UN equivalent). i couldnt help but laugh for most of the first 15mins, as the stereotypical South African was wheeled out play the jester. it kinda deflates the seriousness of the movies introduction. never the less huge applause goes to Peter Jackson (producer and presenter) and Director Neill Blomkamp on setting this movie in a believable surrounding, and not being forced to move to a huge spacecraft over a US city to draw ticketsales.

The backbone of the story is a commentary on human nature at best, the human condition at its most primal. the fear of anything different from ourselves needs to be controlled, enslaved or marginalized, the lust and greed for power and technology to further war, and the primal nature to destroy anything that gets in our way, a basic bloodlust to kill.

So instead of persecuting our own individual races, we've now switched to the alien "Prawns". like i said, its a movie with many levels, leaving you with the sense that at our human core, we are all screwed. we are so primal in our efforts to destroy, do we really have a chance at long lasting survival? you kinda get the picture, if a more advanced civilization is actually buzzing its UFO's in and out of earths atmosphere, why in hell would they want to shake our hands and welcome us to the universe ?

TRAILER:
INTERVIEW: 'District 9' Director Neill Blomkamp

Comic Con Wrapup ....

2009-07-27T18:15:00.006+08:00

So another year goes by and so does the 40th San Diego Comic Con. the four day long convention of epic proportion, where everything in pop culture entertainment is showcased to an audience in excess of 130,000 people and growing.

The Con started out as a mere Comic showcase with artists and publishers, but has now evolved into presenting everything from Hollywood blockbuster films, videogames, comics, artwork, sculpture, toys, merchandise and everything in between. blurring the lines to a huge degree.

Cheers to Trevor and Abby for all the local updates, as they managed to trek out there again this year round. it was great to follow their updates on the ground, remembering the efforts people have to go to, to actually see and do just about anything at the Con. we're talking 4am wakeups to be at the convention for 5am lineups to events that open at 9 / 10 and 11am. crazy stuff, but its kinda pain for pleasure, as you know, its all going to be worth it for that next 48hrs or 12 months. this was the case for me back in 08 when we got to see the extended first shots of Watchmen and Terminator. that set up so much anticipation for the theatrical releases back home. I missed being there this year so much, and im making plans for a return. if the money trees bloom alright this season. Trev, book me a spot!

So if you haven't caught the buzz yet, alot of stuff was announced and premiered. catch all the action over at IGN or G4. they seem to have the Con wrapped up pretty great with video and articles. quick standouts have to be the huge buzz around Avatar, the new movie from James Cameron (you remember the guy that made such small films as Titanic, Terminator 2, Aliens) Avatar has supposedly been in development for 15 years, filming for 4. its highly secretive and up until the Con, no one had seen anything of it, bar 3 or 4 still shots of characters (including the Aussie Sam Worthington). well 25 mins of it was shown to the 6000 strong Hall H crowd and by all accounts it was fantastic. its not only shot in 3D but is said to revolutionize the industry with use of CG and live action in ways we havent yet seen.

Next up was my second favorite film announcement in Tron Legacy. back in the day (1982) Tron was made for an audience that didnt even exist yet. way before its time, way before the term CG was even thought about, TRON was at the forefront of films developing computer graphic visual interrogations, when things like photoshop, maya, cinema 4d and wacom tablets didnt even exist. the general premise was filming a story inside a computer world, a digital data mirror of the real world identities (sound familiar to the Matrix circa 1999?) now in 2010, we go back to this world, and finally do it justice. Jeff Bridges returns, and if you havent seen the trailer teaser yet ...... go now! light cycles never looked so good.

Again this is being developed as an IMAX 3D film, which seems to be the latest bandwagon for film releases over the last 3 years. from all the talk, it clearly seems that the film industry is trying to evolve beyond what a movie goer can get at home via a BD player and large screen HDTV. but will it work? will it make the movie experience more jawdropping? or will it crush these new films in a failed techno bubble. we can only wait. but things are clear, the movies you know .... aint stayin that way for long.

Other points to note:
I find it extremely strange that so many people at this Con go ape crazy over other "stars" and entertainment idols, when really, what makes them any better than your average Joe. I mean, getting some hollywood airhead to sign a card for you.? what the hell is that about. its a freakin scribble on paper. i just don't get that envy thing, sure give up the respect to the talent that creates those great films, stories, artworks, but theres a line many cross to overvalue these actors, models, tv hosts. the most ironic thing is, for all the power these celebrities have, they're absolutely shit scared of walking out into that adoring fan crowd. do you ever see them on the show floor? ever see them walking into a crowd? absolutely not. watching a few blog posts from the G4 hosts, its clear theres a fine line between being there for the fans, and then truely being scared to interact with them.

Also : Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings director, District 9) has dropped alot of weight, looking healthier but the hair is still fading away, and he refuses to acknowledge it. funny stuff. check the worlds worst frontal comb-over. Peter, we love ya mate, just get back to Weta and start on Evangeleon live action already!

Ok time to predict for next year. I think Batman 3 will feature. how heavily? we cant know for sure. but i think its time, and i think the studios will want to milk that cash cow sooner than later, with all the Marvel films coming out. will we see another terminator? another 300? Green Lantern im thinking, something new from Jackson and Weta. PS3 slim? add your 2cents.

Hate To Say We Told You So ...

2009-05-15T14:05:00.009+08:00

Swine flu may be a lab error: Aussie researcher:
The World Health Organisation is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error.

Adrian Gibbs, 75, who collaborated on research that led to the development of Roche's Tamiflu drug, said in an interview that he intends to publish a report suggesting the new strain may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines. Gibbs said he came to his conclusion as part of an effort to trace the virus's origins by analysing its genetic blueprint.

''The sooner we get to grips with where it's come from, the safer things might become,'' Gibbs said by phone from Canberra. ''It could be a mistake'' that occurred at a vaccine production facility or the virus could have jumped from a pig to another mammal or a bird before reaching humans, he said.

Gibbs and two colleagues analysed the publicly available sequences of hundreds of amino acids coded by each of the flu virus's eight genes. He said he aims to submit his three-page paper today for publication in a medical journal.

This very concept was brought to light in a recent Coast To Coast AM episode (April 27th 2009) > Appearing in the latter half of the show, Alex Jones and Stephen Quayle both agreed the new swine virus was not natural. It's a "genetically altered bioweapon," possibly being "beta-tested in the field".... Start thinking outside the square.

SMH.COM.AU
BLOOMBERG NEWS
THE MEDICAL NEWS
C2C APRIL 27th 2009

Something A Little Less Serious ...

2009-05-11T19:52:00.007+08:00

Do yourself a favour. Stop what your doing. Go here now and enjoy.
Discussions begin next week. Thats all for now :) Ha! that reminds me, ive got an Autobot Tshirt somewhere, guess ive gotta wait for the move before i can unpack it with the rest of my forgotten stuff. Anyways, can't wait for this to come to the silver screen, i was so not into the first movie, being M.Bay and all, yadda yadda, this one though ..... makes me wanna buy the first on Bluray :)

Official Trailer : Transformers 2

IGN Breakdown

Your Internet Is About To Be Filtered, By Your Government, Educate Yourself...

2009-03-27T18:27:00.005+09:00

"We've never seen anything like the avalanche Stephen Conroy has generated."

This is how Tony Jones opened last night's episode of Q&A on ABC TV. Thousands of GetUp members sent in their questions about internet censorship to be answered by Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy. The ensuing debate is still making waves in the media.

Last night's Q&A show was Senator Conroy's first major media appearance to discuss the Government's misguided internet censorship plans. But it raised more questions than it answered.

The Senator set off alarm bells when he disclosed that a "technical error" had resulted in PG-rated material being blacklisted, and that the proposed internet filter would miss crucial peer-to-peer content. It's time the Government is held to account for it's misguided internet filter.

Take a moment and educate yourself about the current trial of internet censorship taking place in Australia, soon to be implemented and expanded from April onwards. If your stance on the matter, like mine, is that this poses a massive threat to our rights of free speech and self regulation and education, then do something about it. Become informed, educate others and make a stand. Take a moment to view the Q and A episode below on the ABC website. follow the news and articles mentioned, and start to make your voice heard. Waiting for this to simply "go away" will leave Australia in the dark ages, destroy our internet infrastructure, and force the very topics we are legitimately concerned about to seep into a black market underground.

FULL EPISODE Q and A

SMH : iiNet PULLS OUT OF CENSORSHIP TRIALS

SMH : LEAKED AUSTRALIAN BLACKLIST

SMH : iiNet ISP IN COURT FOR AIDING PIRACY

GET UP!

ZEROPAID.COM

infrequent? yes. dead, never!

2009-03-16T19:29:00.003+09:00

After all the devastation that was the last month of Australian Bushfires, particularly round Melbourne and its outer regional zones, i often came back to the thought, we feel so deeply, but does giving away $100 into a charity fund actually help? both ways i mean. does it lead you to be less depressed at whats gone on, and more importantly, after giving away that money, will you remember that feeling of goodwill long after the action? or will it just jog your memory when you claim it back on tax?

I then came across this great piece of art, a limited run of screenprinted posters that are on sale to raise awareness and funds for the bushfire appeals. what a great idea. i mean, take one look at that and tell me you don't feel something, anything. what an ace print, and something you can look back at and go, "Yeh i bought that for a reason".

Full Story
Tyler Stout and Postersandtoys.com have decided to help out by releasing a new version of “Welcome Home”, Stout’s classic art print from 2005. This version features an all-new color scheme which includes four glow in the dark inks. It’s a 16″x 24″screenprint, the price will be $50. Half of all profits will be donated directly to the Australian Red Cross’ Brushfire Appeal Fund. These will be released on Monday, March 16th at 12pm CST, and will be available for 48 hours, ending Wednesday, March 18th at 12pm CST

Pay TV ...

2009-02-18T07:55:00.006+09:00

FULL STORY :

"The enigmatic Lost returned to US screens almost two weeks ago, yet in Australia the Seven Network is still spruiking it as "returning in February". So much for last season's efforts to screen each episode of Lost in Australia within a few days of it airing in the US.

Fast-tracking was clearly an attempt to win back viewers who illegally download DVD-quality episodes of Lost from the internet each week. Ironically, many of these people were probably driven to piracy after they missed an episode of their favourite show because the networks constantly screw around with their schedules.

The apparent failure of fast-tracking would support my theory that people don't download shows like Lost because they want to see it before it screens in Australia, they download them because they're sick of the contempt the networks show for their viewers."

Well said, but still too late. once you've had a taste of freedom, you don't give it up easily. it's much more enjoyable to watch your favourite shows, without advertising, whenever you want, at your leisure to suit your lifestyle. then again, Conroys coming to change all that aint he.

Casi Allí ...

2009-02-18T07:47:00.003+09:00

And to think i actually tried to stand on this, to check "if the leg was ok". 12 months to go and it will be out. think i'd rather have the metal out than risk cancerous tissue build up when im 40.

Save the Net Nationwide .... CLEAN FEED

2008-12-09T20:00:00.005+09:00

As Australia has already begun the testing phase of its new plan to have ISPs filter the Internet of "inappropriate content" and "offensive and illegal material," it's now being reported that the Labor government "blacklist" has already been compiled and will begin with some 1300 sites, moving towards 10,000 and beyond.

"The pilot will specifically test filtering against the ACMA blacklist of prohibited content, which is child pornography, as well as filtering of other unwanted content," Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy.

"While the ACMA blacklist is currently around 1300 URLs, the pilot will test against this list - as well as filtering for a range of URLs to around 10,000 - so that the impacts on network performance of a larger blacklist can be examined."

Many are rightly upset with the plan because not only is the plan mandatory, but it also means that a govt bureaucrat will be the one determining what sites are included. It's his decision and his alone that determines what is "unwanted content."

"Conroy said the list would contain illegal and unwanted content but we still have to see what would end up on that list," said Electronic Frontiers Australia board member Colin Jacobs. "Under the current mandate that includes adult material, which would mean most material that could be rated R and, in some circumstances, material rated MA15+."

The plan would try to turn the Internet into a G-rated version that really doesn't make anybody safer in the end. It's also entirely ineffective because it will never be able to sanitize the Internet of "unwanted" or "inappropriate content." Surely we are all able to close a screen or avoid a website if we are offended by certain content. I do it with comercial TV, and Junk Mail.

It's even dumber for Senator Conroy to think the plan is even possible, especially with a recent trial of the web-filtering technology showing that it slowed down Internet access by as much as 87% it doesn't bode well for Australian Internet users. And to think we were all falling for that pre election ramble of "Upgrading Australia's internet services to world standards and elevated broadband speeds."

Moreover, allowing the govt to begin censoring the Internet is a draconian effort to impose the morality of Senator Conroy and the suits like him, on an entire country. How did we suddenly go from being the free and fun loving country, to being a policed state, worse than mainland China, where Big Brother gets to decide what we must deem safe and informative reality..... this will not be tolerated. I hope each and everyone of you shaking your head right now, throwing your hands up in the air, actually cares enough to do something, anything, about this. don't wait for your rights to be long gone. think of how this is all going. Inform yourself and your fellow users, take time to voice your opinions in the various ways which show, we are here, we are the majority, and this is not acceptable.

SOURCE
jared@zeropaid.com

Inform, Empower, Make A Difference
NO CLEAN FEED
STOP THE CLEAN FEED
BLOG NCF
EFA
CONTACT THE MINISTER
CONTACT YOUR ISP

Hit the streets on Saturday 13th December in nationwide protests against this internet censorship. National protests are being planned to increase awareness of the filtering plan and let the politicians know what we think of it.

Perth Protest:
Date: Saturday 13th of December
Location: Stirling Gardens
Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

This Weeks Dose Of BS !

2008-11-27T19:07:00.008+09:00

In all the instances of complete bull$%@t! coming from the mass media these days, this article just takes the cake. if this aint 50s corporate propaganda, forcing us to watch out for the boogie men and act like good girls and boys, then i dont know what is..... SMH News Story :

"Cinema 'Cops' Deploy Night Vision Devices"

In response to an increase in pirated movie recordings coming out of Australia, the copyright police are patrolling cinemas with night vision devices - and it's not just commercial pirates they're after. Movie studios are providing the scopes to cinema ushers across the country and "training them in how to spot people illegally taping films using camcorders and even mobile phones.

After Village Roadshow successfully implemented the technology to prevent pirated copies of The Dark Knight making their way on to the internet, 20th Century Fox has adopted it for Baz Luhrmann's "Australia", which opens today.

* ok firstly, "increase in pirated movie recordings coming out of Australia" ? last time i checked we are near last on the world scale for actually having movies appear in cinemas on debut world wide, this too goes for DVD releases. hence .... everyone knows that if you want to see a flick, you download the version that came out in the states 3 weeks ago and has been on the web way before any 12 year old gets a chance to whip out his mobile in an ozzie cinema.

Neil Gane, director of operations at the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), said the night vision scopes would be deployed at the majority of the 304 Australian cinemas. He said the film industry had become concerned over the past few months as "a number of big name movies that were the first to appear on the internet have been forensically matched to cinemas in Australia".

He would not name the movies, citing ongoing investigations, but said that, for a number of years, movie studios had been adding "unique forensic markers" to film prints distributed to theatres.

* wait a second .. "forensically matched to cinemas in Australia" ? your not seriously falling for this one are ya? wake up and smell the coffee already. this is pure and utter crap, dreamt up by organisations who are government funded, and would rather spend billions in protecting the latest release of "Australia" by spilling a scare tatic news story in the Herald.

come on, we all know where to get our new release movies. it aint from Australia, and it surely aint from a kid saving it on his 3 mega pixel phone cam. the sad thing is, most of the time the TS releases of "cinema films" from overseas appearing on the net are actually recorded in the projection booths by employees on debut night. what i would like to know is who creates organisations like the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), and how do they keep people employed?

* slowly going the way of the stars and stripes. watch out for those CCTV cams, you might be caught over thinking your reality, and thats gotta be a crime.

What a crock of "scare tactics 101" how about they fund Cinema seat repairs instead of this trash. Digital downloads just keep eating away at their greedy pockets, and yet they still fail to grasp the concept. embrace the internet and deliver us digital movies at a reasonable cost, when i want, and with no DRM restrictions. i'll pay for whats worth my dollar, minus the 12 year olds throwing popcorn.

It Starts With One ...

2008-11-16T18:32:00.003+09:00

I started hearing about the "missing feet" incidents on the western BC, Canadian shores around the start of this year. not paying too much attention. we travelled through Vancouver earlier this year and id have to say all went well. the place felt safe. now i wonder, was it such a smart thing for me to have been walking alone through Stanely park for 3 hours? the mind boggles, as the seventh severed human foot has now been discovered around the Canadian coast. the mystery deepens.

THE CANADIAN PRESS : RICHMOND, B.C.— A couple walking their dogs along the banks of British Columbia’s Fraser River made what appears to be the latest in a series of gruesome discoveries of a running shoe with a severed foot inside. It’s the seventh such find inside a shoe along the West Coast from Georgia Strait to the northwestern tip of Washington State since August 2007.

RCMP Const. Annie Linteau confirmed Wednesday that remains were inside a left-foot New Balance runner spotted the previous day, but said it would be some time before the B.C. Coroner’s office could confirm if the remains are human.

Ken Johnson and his wife spotted the shoe while walking their dogs Tuesday along the Fraser River in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. Police have determined that two of the seven feet - one found Feb. 8 on Valdez Island and the other found June 16 off Richmond - are a match. DNA testing linked one foot to a depressed man who disappeared in 2007 but the other remains have not been identified.

ok ok, the comic strip is in there for pure laughs. ... kinda reminds me of a mix of an X-Files + Fargo + Northern Exposure episode.... gone wrong

THE STAR .COM

War Is Over, If You Want It ....

2008-11-16T18:25:00.003+09:00

A group of pranksters handed out more than 1.2 million fake New York Times newspapers mainly in New York City and Los Angeles on Wednesday with a front page story declaring "Iraq War Ends". The elaborate 14-page edition, dated July 4, 2009, is said to be the work of a group called the Yes Men, whose previous hoaxes include masquerading as World Trade Organisation officials announcing they were disbanding the body.

"It is fake and we are looking into it," said New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis.

A statement sent from a website set up for the fake edition, www.nytimes-se.com, said creating the newspaper took six months and that it was printed at six different presses and then given to thousands of volunteers to distribute.

"We've got to make sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do," Bertha Suttner, identified as one of the newspaper's writers, said in the statement. "After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start imagining heaven."

One side of me cries saying, yeh stick it to em, make em think.... the other side of me wonders, is this the best we can friggin do nowdays? what attention does this really get. then again, i guess we're all too comatose to even care.

SMH

Been A While ...

2008-11-16T17:58:00.003+09:00

Been a while i know. truth is it both feels like a year has passed, and then only 36 hours in the same breath. time is just bending. truth is i really havent felt like posting much here because, there hasnt been much change for me, yet everything else is moving. i still hear that sound, every now and then.

Taking each day one rise at a time. somedays i think im just going to solve it all, somedays i know its all spun round already. somedays the leg feels like it was better than the last. somedays i wonder if it will ever be right. if i will ever be able to fix it. then i remember where i was 4 weeks ago. 8 weeks ago.

For now my only concern is walking. full stop. ive worried about other things for too long. i just dont have the energy or patience anymore, right now. i need to get back to where i was, before i can move, and right now that seems reasonable. to those that stop by here still, thanks, you know who you are, and you know your the ones that matter. im trying to push more these days so come back, there will be more news. moving house. new jobs, old jobs, new travel adventures. maybe's

glad the summers here.

Alaskan Glaciers Grow For First Time In 250 Years ...

2008-10-18T18:03:00.003+08:00

Plans to implement a worldwide carbon tax in the name of saving the planet from global warming have taken another blow after it was revealed that Alaskan glaciers have grown for the first time in 250 years after an abnormally cool summer.

Evidence that the planet is tip-toeing towards the onset of a new mini ice age continues to present itself following unprecedented ice storms in Kenya as well as Sydney experiencing its coldest August for 60 years.

The cold snap arrives on the back of the Sun reaching a milestone not observed in nearly 100 years - the entire month of August passed without a single sunspot being noted. ... Are you confused yet? Full story below. A quick thanks to family and friends over the last couple of weeks for their help whilst my leg continues to heal. Cya again soon Miguel. Told ya i was good for my promise.

INFOWARS

Its The End Of The World As We Know It ... And I Feel Fine

2008-09-08T19:56:00.007+08:00

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of Switzerland and France, is nearly set to begin its first particle beam tests. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is preparing for its first small tests in early August, leading to a planned full-track test in September - and the first planned particle collisions before the end of the year. The final step before starting is the chilling of the entire collider to -271.25 C (-456.25 F). Here is a collection of photographs from CERN, showing various stages of completion of the LHC and several of its larger experiments (some over seven stories tall), over the past several years.

Im surprised Miguel has been so quiet round here, and didn't want to pitch in his 2 cents for this one :) in fact, no one even picked up on the REM song reference. come on people, what more important things are happening than tuning in here ... ahh I kid, I kid.

Updated September 15, 2008 - It was last week on Wednesday, September 10, 2008, near Geneva, Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) fired only a single beam of protons around the 17-mile-long underground circular tunnel - not two beams of protons hitting head-to-head near the speed of light.

Two reasons: First, LHC wanted to test hardware and magnets first. Second, shortly after the firing, computer hackers broke into the computers connected to the Compact Muon Solenoid Detector (CMSD) and left this message: “We're pulling your pants down because we don't want to see you running around naked looking to hide yourselves when the panic comes.”

Physicist Joseph Lykken heads the CMSD science team and told me today that the hackers themselves closed the “hacked doorway” through which they entered. Further, none of the computers controlling the actual LHC proton beam collisions have any connections to the outside world for precisely the reason to prevent hackers from interfering with such a powerful laboratory as the LHC.

EARTHFILES.COM
BOSTON.COM
CERN HOMEPAGE

they must have blown they're budget on the LHC, they couldnt even give this poor worker a proper desk and an LCD screen. Come on fella's! :)

9/11: The Third Tower ...

2008-09-08T17:26:00.004+08:00

Miguel put me onto this a few days ago, and im just throwing it out here quickly as a reminder for all and myself. obviously lately ive had a few things on my brain, but a current affairs still grip me to the core and issues surrounding 911, this new generation of false terrorism, global elites and the nitty gritty behind the headlines are what we need to be waking up to.

Think and read, investigate and make your own conclusions. this latest doco may be late on the horizon here for us Aussies who don't download alot, but the questions should be timeless, until we know the truth. check it out.

ABC 1 TV
Seven years on, the destruction of New York's Twin Towers, played and replayed thousands of times over, is seared into collective memory.

A third skyscraper also fell that day. Unlike the Twin Towers, the 47-storey building known as Tower Seven was not hit by a fuel-laden plane, yet it collapsed neatly in 6.5 seconds.

The official explanation is that it was destroyed by fire. But in the seven years it has taken to present the final investigation report, suspicion has filled the information vacuum. Tower Seven has fed an industry of conspiracy theories that grew up around 9/11. Claims are pressed – by a phenomenally popular movie on the Internet and by supposedly credible "experts" – that someone in or close to the US Government brought the building down by controlled demolition.

How, among the many questions they ask, could Tower Seven be the first and only steel-framed skyscraper in the world to collapse due to fire? Why did the New York fire department not fight the fires? Why did it fall so symmetrically at freefall speed? Why did TV stations report that Tower Seven had collapsed before it had done so, when it was still clearly visibly behind reporters?

This BBC documentary explores some of these questions. In doing so it demonstrates how, when good information is scarce, or late, many people will believe the worst. 9/11: The Third Tower" – on Four Corners 8.30 pm Monday 8 September and 11.35 pm Tuesday 9 September (also 8am Tuesday on ABC2). Think for yourself.

Roll On Roll On ...

2008-09-08T16:46:00.004+08:00

Leg feels quite good, considering ive got a 50cm steel pin through it haha. today was probably the first time i could actually move round without a great deal of pain, or need for painkillers. so all in all i think a speedy recovery is on the cards towards October. and we all know what happens in October :)

I'm off again, this time to Melbourne for a day and then onwards to spend a week with family up in Bairnsdale, round the Eastern Gipsland, Lakes Entrance area. this little venture was promised and organised way before anything, even the world trip, so here i am saying "It's still on"! I'm heading over to visit my uncle and aunty (Mike and Gayle) who are fantastic people, owning and running their own bed and breakfast and local bookstore in the community. i share a great respect and friendship with my uncle who tends to think outside the square, and arrives at many subjects and conclusions i find most interesting. more than a relative, a good friend and confidant who has always been but a phone call away to support me and lend words of wisdom and comedic relief. we don't get over to see you as often as we all should Miguel, but if i can be the spark, the others will follow im sure.

So prepare yourself down there in Victoria, im coming back, and this time im bringing enough stories to keep the cows awake for many an hour. i can't say how much ive been looking forward to this for well over 18 months, and now seems the right time more than ever. for some period there, it was all i had left to look forward to, a goal to reach. and aint no bloody broken leg gonna stop me getting on a plane, i can assure you of that. hopefully i can walk by then, if not, you will just have to keep feeding me, and suppling the Corona :)

Thanks to all who helped organise this, and for the open welcome of staying there for a visit. i intend to pay this good will forward as soon as i can. take care all. ive included some shots of Melbourne and Bairnsdale town for the oversees viewers. adios.

So, What Exactly Did Happen ?

2008-09-04T12:24:00.002+08:00

So not only did i decide to move out, lose two of the closest friends i have, be in debt and financially strangled more than i was pre holiday, i just went and got myself hit by a car and wound up with a broken leg (femur thigh bone), shattered Mac laptop and damages to my car. what a great spiral this appears to be.

What happened exactly? well for the details read onwards, its a story i don't enjoy telling too much and one i seem to relive too often in my head. so it all began on Monday arvo, a week ago. i get back from visiting my accountant for a TAX return and im pleased that i wound up with a return of some cash, seeing as im now looking to save as much as i can for a major move into a house and paying off my car. i step outa the car, parked at my parents place, get to the front door and turn instinctively to see in slow motion, my car rolling down the verge into the house. the next moments are hard to type up. milliseconds passed, time did not slow down for me. my left brain simply said, this needs to be stopped, you can't afford damages to your car and expense. i motioned in front of the car and made one of the biggest mistakes of my life, one that could have left me with no leg(s), paralysis, or even death. i wish two of the closest friends i have could realise how serious this could have been and how big a mental "hit" this has had on me.

In theory i guess i made one of those rushed moves, i may have left my handbreak off, and most likely, the car simply sank into the lawn post parking, and began momentum to roll down the small inclination. now here's one of the many "lucky" bits of this story, as the car rolled towards the house and me, it was aligned to an outside brick pilar, near the front door, and not the front windows. hitting this pillar allowed for almost no damages to the house and also allowed me to injure only one leg.

Less than a second passes, i turn towards the car, and with the sound of the loudest crunching plastic ive ever heard, the car smashes me into the brick pillar, pinning my lower knee and upper thigh, bouncing backwards for a second allowing me to move out. shocked and paniced my first thought is, "Ok how bad is this, did this just break my leg? or was it just a thunder punch and now my leg is bruised" I instantly put the leg down and try and walk. ummm yeh bad idea. the leg collapsed and felt instantly like jelly, obviously with no thigh bone for support. thank goodness the bones didnt break the skin and visually the damage was less horrific. from here it was a matter of collapsing and bracing the leg whilst staying calm and talking my parents through what had happened and what i needed.

I cant quite explain it, but from here onwards i really felt like i was having a 3rd person experience, knowing this was all happening, feeling it all, but really not believing this was me involved, this surely couldnt be me stuck in here? the next few days were spent in hospital whilst i had surgery to implant a steel rod through the femur bone, joining it together once again and pinning it internally to the existing bones via screws. (see xrays attached) this went fantastically well and i only have 3 small cuts from the ordeal. however my knee is still extremly swollen and i feel could be damaged internally. i guess it wont ever be the same, i just hope it can be walkable again to a standard that allows me to travel and enjoy life. its times like this that make me so thankful that ive done so much traveling already. ive climed a few mountains, but i need to do so much more.

Lastly i would like to thank my parents first off for all they have, and continue to do for me. without them i really dont know where i would be or what state i would be in. thankyou. you mean more to me than anything else, and i need you to know your help, advice and love are welcomed more than ever. to my family, thanks to all for their get well wishes and concerns and your extra efforts in assisting my parents. to friends of the family and workmates, cheers to you too, you cant imagine what a spirit lifter those simple 2 second email or sms messages do. to my two closest amigos, i wish you could have been there more as i needed you, but your paths are moving, i know. but things can only be put aside for so long, people move on and cant always take the one side.

So im now out of hospital, feeling better, moving and boxing my life up for the next six months while i heal, walk again, save some cash and get a place to stay. the journey continues. ....

Not The Best Of Returns ....

2008-09-04T11:45:00.003+08:00

Alot of you have been wondering where things have gotten to, how im doing and whats been happening of late. truth is, things have been rather dark and gloomy for the most part. a series of bad luck incidents and twists have really left me in a situation that at the start of the year, i tried so desperatly to avoid. planning it seems has kinda gone out the window.

Upon arrival back from the holiday Mark wasnt doing so well, and has exited stage left to pursue other things, personal time, space and considerations on his own. traveling with one of my best friends round the world, twice, has been a magical time for me over the last few years, but this last trip was a muted one where things became rather one sided from my perspective. i usually don't voice these things, but after the 2 months ive just had, i kinda need to let people know whats going on and set the records straighter. Mark is taking time out on his own for reasons he doesnt wish to communicate at the moment. i hold no animosity, only a feeling of hurt that comes with losing a friend ive known for over 10 years. things can always be fixed, but for now im moving on with what i have to do.

So i've moved out from the Swan Valley, still planning to stay in Perth for a while as i now find my own feet again. the hardest thing about this scenario is that its come as another weight on parents shoulders which i feel extremly appologetic for. they have, and continue to support me in everyway and in anything i choose to do, and to have to reach out to them again is hard, and i can only thank them here, and in person, over and over again. it never goes un-noticed or un-appreciated. i hope someday i can repay this, or pay it forward.

Ive grabbed a few shots to wak on the blog of Perth, for the folks we met travelling in the states recently. thanks for all the emails guys, we must catch up again one day :)
Flickr Pics

Full Circle ...

2008-08-06T12:03:00.004+08:00

Well where has the time gone eh, in some respects it all went too fast, in others it slowed to a snails pace, all in all it was great. i really can't believe another world trip is over and ive been away for only 5 weeks, it kinda feels longer, maybe because of the lag in flying all the way back round the globe to Perth.

To those that we met along the way, thank you for your friendships and good times, please stay in touch and our door is open anytime you decide to venture down under to this big brown land of Australia and come explore. no matter if your heading west or east, we can help you out. opposite to that, when we trek out again, if we are stopping through your home towns, be sure to have a cold beverage on hand. last but not least, thank you to our employers, and families who allowed us the opportunities to do this, without them all we would not be here. we are both so appreciative just to have great jobs to come back to.

I really can't explain what a fantastic journey it all was, and standouts for me would have to be Mexico and San Diego. those times will stay with me for a long time, and im so glad i got to venture into those jungles whilst i still can, and not at the age of 64. really thinking about getting back in 2012, Dec 21st, maybe see the new year in there ... maybe a new something. Canada was also great, however due to bad luck, bad weather and bad timing things weren't explored as much as possible. would love to go back, but bigger and new locations call first. California id have to say im kinda done with, America in general i guess, for a while ... however i have a strong urge to hop back for an east coast trip and or another Comic Con. but from an outside perspective, the US is heading into really god awful times, and i dont want to be involved in that.

Where next? well no concrete plans, i need to hit Melbourne preferably this year, but the bank is saying no lol, other than that, SE Asia, China, North Africa, the Moon. really looking forward to just getting back into the swing of things and re-appreciating the life we have in Perth. we live in an amazing place, you all just dont have any idea how lucky you have it. from owning homes, clean and healthy foods, safe medical centers, stable jobs, raising families in safe surrounds, still having strong and open connections with our heritage pasts .... being able to walk to the beach, the park, an open space, to breath clean air, to not have to worry about natural disasters taking away everything in a rumble or a swirl. take a moment and just be thankful. see you all on the other side.

Vancouver : Last Goodbye

2008-08-04T10:04:00.002+08:00

Whistler : I Want Snow ...

2008-08-04T02:35:00.009+08:00

This famous resort ski region is just 45 mins away via air from downtown Vancouver. its the site of the majority of the 2010 winter olympics and is bound to expand in size and world scope in the next few years... but is it ready?

After a story of setbacks to try and actually get up there, on the morning of our delayed flight, both Mark and I said to each other, should we just call it quits and forget trying to get around the closed rail line (Sea to Sky high way closed due to landslide) well this question would reappear numerous times and generally i guess we just should of stayed in Vancouver. after a delayed flight due to weather, we were only flown half way to Whistler and had to spend another hour on a bus ride up the mountains to get in (which we were not informed of until landing) so basically our first day in the place was gone, we arrived tired, hungry, angry and too late for alot of things, not to mention a hotel where we couldnt even check in till 4PM! oh did i mention the weather was pouring with rain and freezing outside. hello summer ......

Skip to day two, after hearing the phrase "This weather is extremely unusual for this time of year" over and over we were both ready to just hit the valley air and walk a trail for 3/4 of a day. we took a path into the surrounding base of Whistler and Blackcomb, round the village and golf course's, round Lost Lake, onto Green Lake and round again. boy was that a slog. harder too was trying to judge the weather. its still chilly up there (ice / hard pack snow is still on all the mountain peaks) and packing jumpers became tiresome half way through the walk.

Never the less the scenery is pristine and breathtaking. well cared for and maintained as are most things round here in general. trash, and the alike are all kept to a minimum, if nothing at all. i found it cool how they have special bins around here with kiddy safe lids to ..... keep the bears from opening them and also tipping them over. never did see a bear though, although Mark almost got his leg ripped off by a huge dog led by a jogger on the trail lol. so we got out finally and gave it our best shot, but as you can imagine after the hit and miss of the last few days we were just ready to ship out by days end. mentally more than anything else. if we were there for more days there is plenty we would like to have done. lastly gotta mention, if your into mountain biking, come here, this sport takes over from skiing in the summer and every man and his dog is an extreme biker. the trails offer the perfect adrenaline circuit.

Pack Stack and Repack : News

2008-08-04T02:35:00.008+08:00

Hey guys, currently just finishing things off on Whistler, heading back to Vancouver tomorrow for a day and then off the next day to Germany, next day to Singapore and then same day Home. its gonna be a rush but more so for Mark who is skipping out earlier than me, heading back with no stop overs, im flyin solo from Germany onwards.

Canada has been great to see, however alot of things were slowed down or canceled due to the turn of bad weather here along the way. particularly in Whistler where we barely even got here to begin with .... so i guess i should explain that one a bit further, the story begins a day earlier and i don't know if you guys would have heard about it back home.

So we've had this run of bad weather and alot of rain everyday since we have been here so far, and on Thursday we decided to actually tackle it head on and just do what we always do, stuff the weather and hit the sights. it was overcast but not raining on the morning so we booked ahead and went out on a sea harbour excursion, a two hour bay tour on a Zodiac holding 12 people. the tour takes us through Howe sound and the bay area, lying at the base of the mountains, it too was carved centuries earlier by the same glaciers that had an impact on Yosemite and the mountains of the west coast. booking the tour we were told that today was the only day we could do it as Sunday was fully booked due to a landslide over the Sea to Sky highway (the way to Whistler via Rail and Car). We panic .....

Leaving the tour for a moment we start to freak out as now we hit the net, no emails or notifications from the rail services or float planes we have booked, but seeing the news, over night there had been a rock landslide covering the highway and rail line preventing all transport up to and down from Whistler and the surrounding mountains. now we are in a situation where we are unlikely to even make it up there and we have no other hotel reservations for Vancouver ..... not good.

Long story short we phone the Rail company, "oh yeh the rail link is closed can we rebook you" "No you can't", we're still after a refund, but we then figure if we can phone quickly we can possibly get the Float Plane service up there as well as back to Vancouver, a few phone calls later and we are booked on a plane for the next morning .... oh but the fun had only just begun.

Skip back to the Howe Sound sea bay tour and it begins to rain as we step onto the boat. it doesn't stop for another 3 days. so we shuffled round the bay on this awesome speed boat, raining, overcast, cold and windy ... just the way we like it lol. but positives were it was cool just to be out there. Dad, it reminded me of the Albany bay fishing trips we took out there in the dingy, minus the huge swells. i felt like dropping in a line. as we circled the islands on the two hour tour we got to see many Bald Eagles, Seals, marine life and forests. do it if you ever get out here. but linking these two stories, on the boat ride back in we actually passed the Sea to Sky highway and were able to view the landslide from the ocean, and man what a mess it was, this was expected to clear in a weeks time.

Skip onwards to the next morning and we get out to the float plane expecting, well, expecting what we paid for, a full flight to Whistler uninterrupted. this was not to be the case, not only had the bad weather stuck round, it had now sealed off Whistler in a cloud and rain bank that prevented flying. we were left with a delayed flight, and only flew 20mins, half way there, up to Squamish, and then we were bussed up the mountains a further 40mins. the best bit, no one bothered to inform us of this segway, and there were no compensations, hence to say i will not fly and will not recommend Whistler Air to anyone. unfortunatly we leave with them tomorrow as well, hopefully this time round we get out full flight, and a safe journey. (update: flight out of Whistler was a full flight, but passengers who booked during the weekend, post landslide were made to pay 30% more in ticket fares .... DO NOT FLY UP HERE WITH Whistler Air)

So things have been hampered here in Canada a bit but its all coming to a gradual end, and to be honest, its about time, we are kinda knackered and ready to just end the living from a suitcase life. when we make it out again i think it will be for a shorter time frame, but the same amount of hijinks. glad to have you all following along and commenting when you can. its been a great way to keep in touch and i wouldnt do it any other way. as a good friend in San Diego said on departure, go back to work, save your money, plan, travel, rinse repeat .... seeyou all soon. updates as we hit the floor home.

CTV NEWS
BUS AVOIDS SLIDE

Vancouver Aquarium : Morning Tour

2008-08-04T02:33:00.003+08:00

The Aquarium is situated inside Stanley Park itself, accessible via walking or car. we got there round 10AM and really saw the crowds grow as the day went past lunch. its extremely popular and having the kids summer holidays on at the same time kinda fills the place up real quickly. smallish in size, but similar in theme and scope to Sydney's the Aquarium is basically 3 zones. outer pools and marine life, arctic mammals. inner frog and swamp zone. freshwater basin and rainforest leading to ocean climates.

I found it to be great, especially the regions featuring sections on the local marine environments from the local bays. each one fully populated by heaps of fish and marine life in each tank, beautifully designed and maintained giving a great glimpse into what we don't see from above. i kinda feel a strong connection to these sorts of things generally because of living on the coast all my life and enjoying fishing as a past time. you get to respect what many just pass over. its also nice to feel that, seeing the sharks and dolphins etc in the tanks, i can stick my hand up and say ... you know what, ive feed, caught, released and watch those out in the wild, the real world.