stephen-turner.net -- everything and then some

Final note for blogger version

2008-03-31T23:41:00.002+11:00

Just in case you even manage to read this somehow, this is the final note from Bogger.com for me. This blog can now be found, properly and for real, at stephen-turner.net in a brand-spanking new Wordpress set-up.

See you all there!

Please read the Underbelly feature there, if that helps :)

Why does Australia hate science fiction?

2008-03-30T23:09:00.002+11:00

It's a question I've pondered often. While watching a new episode of Torchwood tonight (you can guess where I got that because it doesn't air here anywhere), I thought of it again, as I have when watching any entertaining sci-fi or fantasy type stuff.

I mean, with the possible exception of movies (and then, never ever Australian movies), Australian's just aren't interested in sci-fi. Is it because we just don't like it? Are we boring? Unable to think about the future? Unable to see ourselves in the future? Just too literal?

Of course, I only mean "we" in a very collective sense, because there's of course tonnes of Australians who are big sci-fi fans, but it doesn't seem to translate into any mainstream appeal.

Especially Australian-made sci-fi, which is virtually non-existant. Part of that might be budget related, but there seems little market for it here. And especially in TV as well -- I can think of a couple of kid's dramas like Ocean Girl and Girl From Tomorrow that were sci-fi, but no adult sci-fi drama of any description occurs to me as ever having existed (I'd love to be proved wrong, please tell me if you can).

So what can be done about this? Budgets? Imagination? Proving there's an audience? Just forget it and move overseas and contribute to American and British SF TV? I mean, if Torchwood can make Cardiff exciting and sci-fi focused, then I think we can do it with Sydney or Melbourne.

Really, I have several decent sci-fi plot lines in me that would be Australian set, but if they go anywhere, I'd say it will be in books first, before it ever got near TV or movies. Partially logistics, partially likelihood of success.

It all comes back to the first statement -- it seems as if Australia just doesn't like sci-fi, or just not enough of the country anyway.

Holiday nearly over ... no ...

2008-03-29T23:54:00.002+11:00

Quiet enough day today, with that sinking feeling coming over me that the holiday is nearly over. I know it's not really that bad (especially with just a week left of the current job), but it can't help but feeling a bit blah anyway.

Backend-wise, the blog is becoming seriously annoying right now. I thought republishing Blogger on my new server would be easy, but it's a pain, at least in terms of the rss feed and archive. The whole old system is driving me nuts, but then again, Wordpress issues are driving me nuts as well ... specifically its inability to import from Blogger correctly, or at least from my Blogger correctly. There's a helpful import and everything, but it doesn't seem to work for me.

Oh well, unless I can get a break there, I might just switch to Wordpress and leave the old site as an archive. But I'll be posting a new version of that Underbelly feature (pictures and all!) if nothing else.

Otherwise, been playing with Will and Alex, messing with some MAME stuff on Ubuntu (finally got it working on the spare machine!) and thinking about my next couple of computer and/or woodworking projects ... for when I finally hae some more cash.

And there's those other mysterious possibilities of course ...

Back home ... checking the news

2008-03-28T00:10:00.002+11:00

Back home from the holiday, catching up on a multitude of news feeds ...

I see that Joss Whedon's new series "Dollhouse" is being cast already. Apart from Eliza Dushku, they've cast Tahmoh Penikett (Helo from Battlestar Galactica), Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj in roles. Only know Penikett, but Joss does well with unknowns. Dollhouse is definitely top of the list for new shows to watch later this year.

And the insane Chris Lilley could be the next Sasha Baron Cohen, with his series Summer Heights High getting the prime "cult TV Friday" slot on HBO in the US. It's late night, but it's the slot people talk about. So I wouldn't be surprised if his next show is something like Mr G goes to Broadway and moves to New York. Hey, it's worked for plenty of other comedians ...

Holidays end ... but just the beginning?

2008-03-27T23:45:00.002+11:00

Had to head back to Sydney today ... always sad to go, but there's a few more days of break left to relax, and there's a happy realisation that Nelson Bay isn't that far away anyway.

We're already aiming to coming back here late next month, with the appealing realisation that Anzac Day is on a Friday, making a helpful long weekend. And there's other thoughts to get up there again more often, not the least of which is making sure we have more money first ... want to get into that River's Store :)

And there's some other things that ... might be there ... would not want to say anything about it now, but I just want to look at it more. Certain realisations that things could change, very interestingly, and for the better.

Mostly unrelated to that, Will's been in such a giddy mood this week, starting off not eating anything, then after hanging out with his cousins, he's been eating a lot better. He's obsessed with his Pixar cupcakes (anything that encourages him to eat is good), and is eating a dozen biscuits a session sometimes ... while still not eating his proper meals much at all outside of breakfast. Not sure what to do, since the last thing we want to do is discourage his eating, but I guess we'll hae to work on the fine details.

But Will has been so funny and giddy while we were away -- demanding I make him "fly" (basically just lifting him oer the lounge, tumbling around, chasing me around the house, and also being very clingy, seeming to have just reached that age where's he's regularly concerned we're going to leave him behind, so he makes a big noise everytime one of us leaves the room. That ranges from "Daddy, are you up there!" when I leave the room and go upstairs, to screaming hysterically when one of us goes for a walk. I'm a bit worried what will happen when I go back to work ...

Anyway, it's all joyously normal stuff, and I look forward to more of nearly all of it :)

Photo stop without the photo ...

2008-03-26T22:43:00.000+11:00

More fun in the sun today, with the weather coming good in the morning again, so we headed to Dutchies again. It was basically empty, and while it's kind of constantly surprising even though we're here completely out of holiday time, it's still odd to see. After a while it became more clear why not even locals were out -- it was very hot, but also quite windy, and the water was quite cold. Still fun though -- I went for a walk down the sand and played with the kids on the beach again.

After another quiet afternoon (in which I finally watch "A Bugs Life" for the first time), I headed out for some exercise late in the afternoon. Walked to Shoal Bay on the walk/bike track, then wandered through the already closed for the day shops. Always gravitate towards the real estate windows now, but there's never much detail there. Permanent rentals do intrigue me though.

Walked back along Shoal Bay beach, and -- the highlight of the day. Half way up, I noticed no more than 10-15 metres offshore, a whole bunch of dolphins were frolicking together. At least half a dozen were there, maybe more, and they did everything you could imagine except jump in the air. They bounced around, swam closer to shore, bobbed up their fins and their heads. Generally put on a good show, even though only about five people saw them the whole time. Really wish I'd had an adequate camera, but my camera phone is crap and old and full up with images that I really can't get off there anyway. Time for an upgrade I think, for this and so many other reasons.

Of course, sights like this is just another reason why I love the whole Nelson Bay district.

Why I like holidays now ...

2008-03-25T23:07:00.001+11:00

This is why I like holidays now ... getting away from work, from commuting, from not being with the family. Truthfully, the reverse can be a little tiring of course, but being able to spend all your time with your kids and not actually having to worry about anything else just distills the good bits of being a Dad out and lets you enjoy them, without having to do much else.

Will's being such a chatty little guy now, which is so good to see. Eighteen months ago I was wondering when he'd start talking, now I can have real conversations with him. He's saying more and being more expressive every day. Of course, this has its downsides, because he's a real full-on toddler now, getting very whingey about little things often, and still very moody when it comes to eating.

It's not really completely voluntary, since he's had problems in this area since he was a baby, but it is an obvious choice as well, even though he can't really help it. But it can get frustrating as well, for him and for us. For a few days he didn't seem to want to eat anything, even his usual favourites, but after a couple of days with his cousins, he improved a little. It leaves us in a position where we're happy for him to eat everything, even stuff that is usually "bad" in large amounts. We can't have him eat nothing, so if he just eats biscuits, say, it's better than nothing.

Alex is a really funny kid, with the goofiest grin and an already evident sense of humour. He can be naughty, but it seems innocent, and he can be trying, but it all seems normal. And he's 90% completely walking now, which is just so funny and so wonderful to see. I love it when he knows how clever he is for his walking skills :)

But really, aside from a few things, they're such good kids, who play well together, are learning what they should, and can even be really helpful.

Fog, holidays and pondering the future

2008-03-24T22:55:00.001+11:00

What a day ... the strangest fog first thing in the morning. Tom and his family had to go home early, so everyone ended up at the crack of dawn after Millie got up at 5am! The fog was really heavy, and it didn't look like we'd do anything much, but by lunch time it had cleared really nicely, so we went to the beach in the afternoon this time.

Trying to write something as well, but not really getting that far. I have a new idea that I'm thinking about and putting down a few notes on, but it really needs some work. And I do worry about the committment level here, that I just jump from one project to the next, constantly planning a project until it doesn't seem tenable, then moving on to something else that does seem doable (and later changing my mind).

Same thing goes for business -- it's so abundantly clear to me now that your own business is the only real route to both serious success, as well as happiness and fulfillment. Sure, it's obviously risky (but less so if you start smart, with low capital and working on the side until it's succeeding), but it seems like the only really serious way to spend your time. Not working for someone else forever, but doing your own thing.

But what to do? I wonder sometimes if I'm focused enough there ... I suppose it's true to say that I don't even know the absolutely best way to decide what idea is best to pursue. And because the committment required here is even bigger than just writing something, it makes the decision even harder.

And there's the "get out of Sydney" aspect. We're really thinking about making a move out at some time ... maybe sooner, maybe later, but it's not hard to see it as the way to go. And spending a few days where we are now ... well, the Port Stephens area seems like a real possibility, but you have to work on a business that serves all areas, not just the area you're in.

If anyone I know reads this, of course I'm happy to be starting a new job in a couple of weeks, and it excites the hell out of me for all sorts of reasons, but it's hard to see it as a really long term thing (years and years ...) I'm talking about really long term stuff here, not just the next year or two.

Being a kid again

2008-03-23T23:37:00.002+11:00

An overcast day today, but with a house full of kids we went to the beach anyway. The little one, Dutchies -- a perfect kids beach really. And while the water was so-so, it was a great morning anyway.

Seeing the four of them, with a collective age of 10 (that's 4,3,2 and 1) probably did remind me of youthful holiday fun, except of course that all my cousins and brother are roughly my age so I don't remember playing with little kids except when I was a kid myself.

But it was all so much fun ... and really simple stuff. Building sandcastles and knocking them down and running in an out of the water and lots of yelling and laughter ... that's the good stuff.

They basically ran themselves ragged in the long run, then Will and Alex slept for half the afternoon, then did it all again for half the night. We all went out to dinner at Aussie Bobs, the big local fish and chip shop, for a real Aussie Easter dinner. I'm sure there was some holiday surcharge there because it cost way more than I thought it should, but it was good, and it was fun.

This is what most holidays will be like now, and it is good :)

Holidays and fan favourites

2008-03-22T23:45:00.000+11:00

Headed up to Nelson Bay early this afternoon, to spend nearly a week up at the family house. For the Easter weekend Sallie's brother Tom and his family will stay with us, which will be a good chance for Will and Alex to spend time with their cousins Millie and Emma -- something they don't do enough of because Tom lives up on the family farm. We got into town at about 4pm, while Tom and his family got in about a half hour later. By the end of today it was clear that just two days was enough -- Will and Millie were staying in the same room, and they were giggling and laughing so hard that it seemed as if they would never get to sleep!

Quiet night today, so I watched what was on TV -- quite a good choice. I checked out Galaxy Quest again, and most of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy after that. They both damn entertaining movies, and underrated gems in my opinion.

Galaxy Quest is both a send-up of sci-fi fan culture, and a loving ode to it at the same time. It's this perfect combination that makes it work, with people who love the fan culture getting into a great story about pretenders made good and fans saving the day, while at the same time people who think it's rubbish can still enjoy a story that's a clear send-up of the Star Trek fan world and a funny action comedy.

Great cast, starting with the obvious ones such as Tim Allen (easily his best role outside of maybe Toy Story), Sigourney Weaver (both sending up sci-fi babes and doing a counterpoint to her tough girl sci-fi Aliens role), and Alan Rickman (who must be sending up the classical Brit slumming it in US TV -- and sending up Patrick Stewart just a bit?) Since I saw it at the movies, what impresses me also is the cast I didn't really know at the time that I know now. Most familiar is Sam Rockwell, who plays the hapless one-episode extra turned hero that tags along on the trip, Enrico Colatino (Veronica Mars), as the sing-song voiced alien emissary, and most of all Tony Shalhoub (Monk) as the laconical cast member who ends up falling for an alien girl. These guys were virtual unknowns at the time, but they've all moved on to various degrees of major success since. Small after the fact touches like this are what make Galaxy Quest so good.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came on after Galaxy Quest, and while most probably rate it less highly than the earlier movie, I love it to bits. A movie over a decade in the making, and somewhat overshadowed by the death of creator Douglas Adams several years earlier, I still think it does well as a screen adventure, conveying the true spirit of the books while putting together a tight movie-orientated story that works well by itself.

The cast is great -- Martin Freeman was an obvious choice as Arthur Dent, Mos Def seemingly odd but really perfect as Ford Prefect, Sam Rockwell just the right kind of mental as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Zooey Deschanel (who I love already), all kinds of zany gorgeous as Trillian. Topped off with a great supporting cast (such as John Malkovich and Bill Nighy and cameos from original TV series actors like Simon Jones), and voice work from Stephen Fry as the voice of the book and Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin the android that is magnificent.

And it's just so ... joyous. The whole movie has a sense of celebration for the stories, and a sense of reverance for Douglas Adams (watch for the final image). Personal highlights include the magnificently verbatim use of exerpts from the book when the book speaks, and the way they fit so well into the movie.

Don't think it did terribly, but I guess it wasn't a "massive" movie either. Don't care really, I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to others. I think something like this, with a massive pre-existing fan base, was always going to have a mixed result with that audience, let alone the wider audience.

But that doesn't matter to me ... I know what I like when I see it :)

Amusements and weirdness

2008-03-21T23:45:00.003+11:00

Was reminded today in this article about one of my earliest exposures to computers as a kid. We had a BBC Micro when I was in about year 4 or 5 of primary schoold (1984-5). And the game I remember the most was Granny's Garden.

Which you can play online apparently now. It was an early adventure puzzle game, with a loose kind of Hansel and Gretel escaping from the witches plotline or something like that. But I just remember loving the puzzle solving in it, the achievement of the goals, and wanting to race the rest of the class to finish the game first. Which I did, I think.

And since it was Good Friday today, a quiet day at home, coupled with awful weather, much like most of Summer, but entirely unlike the last few weeks, which have been like Summer should have been. And I read about the traditional Good Friday weirdo fest in the Philippines. I mean, I try to be tolerant about religion, but I really can't see these people as anything other than nutters. I mean, this is how Jesus was punished and brutally murdered, do they really think it was such a good thing that it must be reenacted every year?

Well, there were similar parades in Sydney as well -- no being nailed to crosses of course, but otherwise a lot of similarities. Won't knock it, if nothing else it means a four day weekend.

Going away for a week tomorrow -- it's unclear whether Ill be able to blog or not. Maybe every couple of days at the local Net cafe. Nelson Bay has a few, hope it's sunny there :)

Moving this blog to Wordpress -- go there for the new stuff

2008-03-21T00:35:00.003+11:00

UPDATE: Clearly, while I'd like this to happen, it hasn't happened yet and I'm just plodding along with Blogger for now, but publishing properly to my own web space at http://www.stephen-turner.net/blog/
________________________________

I am somewhere in the process of moing this blog to Wordpress on its own server -- now properly and accurately at stephen-turner.net. But there seems to be no end of problems to the import/export process, to the point that I don't even know if it will happen properly.

So I suspect I might just start fresh at stephen-turner.net, and leave this here as an archive. There's enough links in the article to find your way there, so go for it!

And the good thing is, if I can ever figure out the import process, all past posts will be at my new locationm very soon anyway.

Easter Show day ...

2008-03-20T23:45:00.001+11:00

Took the family to the Royal Easter Show today. Hottest day in the whole Summer season most likely, and we all felt it by the end.

Mostly quite a fun day, but a little weird at times. I'm probably feeling a little too old for much of the attractions now, but the kids are probably still a little young.

Will was terrified by the animals for some reason we can't work out. It started with the chickens and birds we know he doesn't like, but it continued on with pigs, cows, goats and everything else they had. It all seemed to scare the bejezzus our of him for some reason. It didn't help that he hadn't eatern properly all day and was really hot, but that's how it went. Alex loved the animals though, and everything else we put in front of him.

Sometimes it's a great bit of family fun, but other things the show just seems like a cheap sell-fest. The art, craft and food pavilions were probably the most interesting things for me, especially the art and woodworking. When the kids got out of the stroller for a play that was fun too.

Thank bloody goodness we brought a lot of food and drink -- the prices were nuts. Showbags were ok price wise, but they hardly interest me now. One bag each for the kids, some chocolate and food ones for us, and that was it.

We decided that it was a fun day, but we're not likely to go again for a few years. Not sure if this is another phobia to add to the list for Will, but he has several relatives that would like to help him out of it :)

The Neverending sauce bottle

2008-03-19T21:42:00.002+11:00

Made a stir fry tonight, and it reminded me of something very odd. We have a large bottle of Chinese Sweet Soy Sauce ... that just won't ever finish.

This is the fourth house I've cooked with this sauce in, and it's lasted nearly five years now. We bought it from a small Chinese grocery in Canberra sometime in 2003, and it's lived with us there, at Newtown, then Westmead and now here in Wentworthville.

It's a thick sauce that probably only has a small amount used each time, but it still doesn't explain how it's lasted so long.

I figure it's probably an enchanted sauce, created by a mystical Chinese shaman and designed never to end. Or of course, it's just very thick and we've been careful with it.

Fortunately of course, it does taste good, and makes good stir frys. Which is I guess all that matters ...

Frustrated

2008-03-18T23:58:00.002+11:00

Frustrated because my blog isn't publishing but I won't stop writing on it anyway.

Frustrated because I really don't know why it isn't working.

Frustrated because I've setup a new site but I can't use it yet.

Frustrated because the import function in Wordpress scan't find my posts in Blogger.

Frustrated because that just slows everything down.

Frustrated by the seeming lack of time in every night.

Frustrated by CNET -- it should have been bettter but it isn't, and I'm still there.

Frustrated because I stil don't know where the money is coming from.

Frustrated by the huge delay when typing in Blogger!

Not frustrated by the last episode of Burn Notice tonight -- damn good. NCIS is back next week.

Not frustrated by my new job, but a litte frustrated by the fact I haven't started yet!

Not frustrated, because it is time for sleep ...

Joss Whedon's online comic book comedy musical!

2008-03-17T12:41:00.002+11:00

Now that was a mouthful! Word from various sources is that Joss Whedon has written and is currently filming a short online film -- an oddball comic book musical with some fairly well known actors and well known collaborators.

Found this at the Whedonesque blog, best if I just let Joss explain in his own words:

So.....

The bag is catless.

During the strike I started writing a musical intended as a limited internet series, 3 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. Writing with me was my brother Jed, his fiancee Maurissa, and my other brother Zack. To my shock and surprise, we finished it. To my greater shock and surprise, we managed (with the help of many people I'll be praising at length soon) to drag it into preproduction (yes, just as DOLLHOUSE was given a start date two months away and all my comics were due.) And today, after a grueling week of writing everything ever while trying to be a producer, I got to start shooting. A musical.

This much I will say: It's the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to. And I'm having the time of my life.

"DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG"

Neil Patrick Harris.....as Dr. Horrible
Nathan Fillion..........as Captain Hammer
Felicia Day.............as Penny

And a cast of Dozens!

Coming soon.

-j.

I already forsee this as the next mega Internet viral hit -- and it's one I actually want to watch this time :)

Run Tigers Run

2008-03-16T23:45:00.002+11:00

A double-header of entertainment today, with a trip to Moore Park to watch the Wests vs St George NRL game; the first round of the season. Went with Sallie and Wayne for that one, then just Sallie after for dinner and a movie -- the Simon Pegg comedy "Run Fatboy Run", which was pretty damn funny, with a lot of highlights with Pegg and costar Dylan Moran.

The football went mostly well, with Wests taking in a solid 24-16 win the start the season. Started badly, with Benji Marshall going down injured again in five minutes, but Wests ended up blowing out to a 24-4 lead anyway -- didn't really see that coming. Then naturally they had to almost blow it with St George back before losing 24-16. Ultimately, Wests were solid but not brilliant, with the usual guys like Hodgson (who's kicking goals well again) and Farah playing very well. Good start to the season, and better they get used to being without Marshall now I guess.

Run Fatboy Run is a damn funny movie, which is what we expected with Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran (both of whom Sallie probably likes way more than I do!) funny as always, and good performances from Thandie Newtown and Hank Azaria, along with various fun British comedy cameos. It evokes some of that Richard Curtis British comedy vibe, but is so much better than that stuff in so many ways. Example -- in Fatboy, the characters are not all white! It's a little thing, but it makes this far more real, with a greater setup of the humour as well. And the story was more believable as well, with some great funny beats, but a more realistic conclusion.

So Fatboy, tops, Tigers pretty good, good day overall. Quite expensive, so I'm glad the day was a gift from the parents for my birthday. Fun, fun, fun!

Review: Futurama -- the return of geek comedy gods

2008-03-15T23:45:00.002+11:00

My brother got me the new Futurama DVD movie for my birthday. He bought it Region 1 from the US, since it isn't due out in Australia for a few more weeks (I think he bought it before Christmas, but didn't get it delivered till January). I'm glad to have any kind of early mark though, because it is magnificent.

Sat down and watched it tonight, and damn it is funny. "Bender's Big Score" contains almost everything you could want from classic Futurama episodes, in a whole new story involving alien nudist scam artists, several time travel paradoxes, Bender stealing things from all of history, Fry still being in love with Leela, Leela falling in love with someone else, the Harlem Globetrotters being smarter than everyone, Santa (along with Kwanzaabot and friends) reaking havoc, several entertaining musical numbers, and a giant space battle against solid gold death stars.

In other words, everything you could possibly want from 90 minutes of animated entertainment.

I think one of the things I love the most about Futurama is its embrace of two completely different kinds of comedy -- they will go from high brow science jokes to low brow sight gags within the same scene. Matt Groening and his gang prove that animation can be all things to all people -- my three-year-old hasn't seen as much of Futurama as he has of The Simpsons, but he likes what he sees of Futurama already. Even if it will be years (more like decades) before he gets some of the jokes.

Early highlight: Planet Express has spent the last three years on cancellation because of the drones at the "Box Network". Drones that everyone hates so much they get turned into fish food. Yes, Matt and his crew are so loved they really can say what they like to the Fox people now.

So get out there and watch Futurama: Bender's Big Score. I mean, it goes without saying that you need to be a fan of what's come before to get into it, but even if you were only a casual fan, it's a great fun movie. And if you're a big fan -- you should already have it. And I'll be you're decoding the hidden messages and watching for all the hidden references as we speak.

Domains, servers and getting things right

2008-03-14T23:07:00.002+11:00

At the moment no one can really read this even, so it seems a bit dumb, but I do want to keep up the habit.

Either way, that shouldn't last for long, as tonight I've set up a new decent web space account, and am setting up Wordpress to go with it (where I can have also raw pages, FTP servers, databases, wikis, message boards -- in short, anything I feel like). No more Blogger for me I've decided, and I want to be able to transfer all the data from this to the new site, and really get this looking professional.

I mean, this new setup isn't even that hard or that expensive, but it will be seriously better quality -- just what I need.

And naturally, when the site is up and running, first job will be pics on the Underbelly story :)

In other news, the NRL started tonight, and I'm 0 for 2 in tipping already. And the Kings lost the last game of the finals as well.

That would seem to mark the end of Summer, not that you can tell from the sudden warm spell.

Happy birthday to me!

2008-03-13T23:44:00.003+11:00

Well, another birthday, another year ... a nice day to be sure, but I try not to think of too many other implications of course ...

Better than usual because I took a day off work today, then proceeded to go into my new job for four hours for some startup training. Knocked off there just before 1pm, did some various shopping and really long commuting to the point that I didn't get home until 4.30pm, but that was cool. It's my day, I got paid by 2.15pm and I could do as I pleased.

What I did do was buy a telescope from Aldi (of all places!) I'd written down a few wekes ago that I wanted to get a telescope at some point, as astronomy is something that's always had some interest for me. Then suddenly Aldi comes up saying they're selling some for $80, from my birthday and payday. Hard to refuse ...

After assembly and some outside practice, I've learned two things: it's nowhere as dark at home as I thought it was, and operating a telescope is harder than it looks. But it seems like a good unit -- bloody brilliant in fact for $80!

Nice enough dinner at the leagues club across the road -- it's amazing how well behaved Will and Alex are compared to most other kids :) Early start gave us an early finish and an actual dinner at the same time as the kids.

Life on Mars was brilliant tonight, probably the best ever. Should write about that more in the morning.

So, happy birthday to me :)

Toys for big kids ...

2008-03-12T18:11:00.002+11:00

While it's undoubtedly childish, it's also incredibly fun ... a guy in the US has started making custom weapons for Lego figures. Everything from world war 2 weapons to pulse rifles from Aliens and everything fictional and real in-between. Check out the pics at the Brickarms site or a Gizmodo interview with the creator.

It's funny really the new life that Lego has online ... adults who are either recapturing their childhood, or enjoying a new one with their kids are becoming Lego fans in a big way. And the Lego company has responded pretty well to this, providing custom brick sales and bulk sales of specialist pieces. And it's not even that childish of course -- adult creators are building complicated models and doing scientific designs, but most of all they're just having fun with it.

I can get behind that ... and while I haven't bought any new Lego yet, I would really like to. Both to get Will and Alex into it more, but also for my own fun :)

300 posts and other things that couldn't happen soon enough

2008-03-11T23:22:00.002+11:00

I noticed when I really got back into the blog at the start of this year that I was barely over 200 posts in the whole history of the blog. Now this is post 300, which is quite a pace -- and I like to think they're useful posts as well.

My personal highlight has been the Underbelly characters post, though I wish of course I'd een able to get the pics working on that one. And the minor post on the Google law suit with the real estate guys ended up being the most popular thing Ive done -- who knew that shonky real estate agents had so much Google juice!

As for everything else, now I wish that my current job would just end, and fortunately enough it will soon enough ... but I have to do as much as I can to keep in contact with people.

And the new job is a big challenge, one I start to get an idea of on Thursday with a half day's training (on my birthday -- the upside being the rest of the day off!)

Making and breaking

2008-03-10T23:30:00.003+11:00

Now that I'm letting myself think I can afford a few things, I am thinking about how to move the PC from the loungeroom (where it's mostly a media centre but terrible for the task) back to the office/sunroom where it can be used more usefully, especially by Sallie, who's sick of a nine year old laptop she uses for everything. And in its place, I'm looking at building a small, low power, media PCthat will be stripped down in features, quiet and easy to use, but do everything it needs to and be on the house network.

While working at home today, I spent some time researching all these mini-ITX motherboards and low voltage power supplies and other things for very cheap operation of a good media PC. This page is especially useful, just run by some college student in the US, but it really gave me tonnes of ideas. Even in the local lingo, I could do it for as little as $250, and I can see some wooden casemod plans in my future.

In other news, the blog still isn't fixed, but that will be in action by the end of the week ... ha ha ...

Nothing technical is working ... everything else is good

2008-03-09T23:28:00.002+11:00

Lunch at the parent's today, with Will positively gidy dwith joy at having the backyard to walk through, to sit by the barbecue fire with his Granddad, and run himself ragged up and down stairs to the sundeck. Alex just enjoyed the walking practice and the exploration. A fun afternoon.

But back here, this blog isn't really even working right now -- I suspect crap Optus web space is to blame -- so no one is even reading this! At the end of the week when I get paid, I am signing up for some real web space, converting all of this to Wordpress and diverting the domain for real. That will make it all legit, properly set-up and actually let me do things properly, like upload images. Then this site will really get the detail it deserves, and that will only cost about $50 a year!

And the media centre is mental, with the D drive crazy on that PC only. Something has got to change there ... depends on the layout and the money.

And for the first time in years, we might just have the money for that ...

I've got a new day job

2008-03-08T23:40:00.004+11:00

Yes, this came about pretty suddenly, even for me.

It's no real secret that I haven't been that happy with my current job. Great company, not so great position within it. All the fringe benefits in the world couldn't make up for a job that was restrictive, uninspiring, unexciting and woeful compared to everyone around me.

So I was looking around. Then in the space of less than a week, I applied for a job on Monday night, got a call on Tuesday, went to an interview on Wednesday morning, was offered the job Wednesday afternoon, accepted on Thursday afternoon and sent away the acceptance letter, then gave notice at my current job on Friday afternoon. Just like that.

And the new job ... well, very interesting. Its title is Web Producer, for a magazine, so I'll be in charge of the whole web presence and operation for the title. There's a hell of a good pay rise in it, which is always a good thing.

And it's for Australian Penthouse magazine. Yes, that's exactly what you think it is.

So while it's not all you know what all the time, there will be a lot of it :) But I'll also be establishing a men's lifestyle/entertainment web destination, something that should actually have a lot of variety. And a whole lot of other stuff as well ...

I case you are wondering, the wife doesn't mind at all -- she's most definitely amused, but also happy with the pay rise and the new responsibilities, and I'm trustworthy :)

Needless to say, I'm very impressed with the whole situation :)