Pages

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Europe..I know I've been missing out..

In the course of my 41 years of survival, I have travelled extensively through Australia, Asia, the U.S, & the South Pacific, but I have managed to elude Europe.

Why?

This was due to numerous credible reasons, and the same amount of flaky excuses.

My family on my Fathers' side are Welsh and English.
My family on my Mothers' side are Japanese and Maltese.

This is quite a unique blend, and you would think that having 75% family descendant from Europe, I would have had at least an interest in where it all began.

I've been thinking about it for some time now, and I feel the need to go.

I don't feel cheated that I haven't been sooner, but I wish I had.

I'm off to Fiji in a week for my vacation, but I think the next one or the one after that, should have some European flavour...

Monday 26 March 2012

Norfolk Island goes Bust!!!

The inhabitants of this incestrous little island are happy to accept assistance from the Australian Government, but dont want to be part of the Australian Tax System...


http://bit.ly/GOdanF

'People are land rich and cash poor ... freight costs are astronomical.' Colleen McCullough

Friday 23 March 2012

Sydney's Inhabitants and their Perception of each other

To the uninitiated and/or to someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in Sydney, it has segregated enclaves like most other Industrial cities around the world.
Where you live is determined by many things, where you grew up, where you went to school, socioeconomic status, your job, etc etc
Here is a comical view on how we perceive our Sydney neighbours...

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Thursday - Interview day

Well Thursday is just around the corner & I'm back on the interview roundabout again.
I cant believe how quickly the last 13 months has gone in my current contract.

As stated in an earlier post, my contract was not renewed for cost cutting measures.

Today, I have sat down & prepared myself for Thursday's interview by researching the company, highlighting the important facts (Products, Services, Annual Revenue, Net Profit etc etc) and wrote my list of interview questions out.

I'm quite nervous about this role over others I have been put forward for, because its the one I really do want.

I can only give it my best shot

Stay tuned...

Friday 16 March 2012

Australian Swimmers & "comebacks"

I have come to the conclusion that if you want to become an Elite Australian Swimmer, you need make a plan to retire and then make a comeback.

It appears that its part of the genetic makeup of Australian swimmers.

Geoff Huegill, Michael Klim, Ian Thorpe, Giaan Rooney & most recently, Libby Trickett have all followed this philosophy..

I like to call it the the "John Farnham Principle - JFP"

Here how it works:

1. Announce to the world you are retiring
2. Sponsors, TV staions, Radio stations, Retailers, Mobile Phone suppliers, & Car Dealerships will be keen to get on the wagon to promote you, & get the extra mileage from the retirement decision.
3. Accept all the extra funds and thank the wider community for the support over the years
4. Take the compulsory 12 month break
5. Announce to the world you are making a comeback
6. Step 2 reoccurs but replace "Retirement" with "Comeback"
7. Step 3 occurs again

John Farnham set the precedent in 2002 when he "retired". He has since made a comeback every year....



Thursday 15 March 2012

MTB Riding this Saturday

This Saturday I am going Mountain Bike Riding with my brother for the first serious time in many many years.

Heading up to Loftus Oval, park the car & ride the 25km loop. 

 
Although I feel physically fit through my running and my weights, the riding is a very different exertion, both mentally and physically.
I am really keen to get out there and do it and to get some form.
I want to perform well, not lag too far behind G, and be in a position to ride well in my first race in years, come July.



My ride.....








Wednesday 14 March 2012

Franks Red Hot Sauce

I purchased some Franks Red Hot Sauce yesterday.
This is an imported "hot sauce" from the U.S

I believe it should be called "Franks Very Delicious but Extremely Mild Sauce".
I dont know what was so hot about it.
How old was Frank when he made this sauce???



Tuesday 13 March 2012

Facebook - Now becoming annoying

I am slowly getting to the point where I am losing severe interest in Facebook.
If its not the copious amounts of advertising crap, or asking me to play stupid games like Farmville, Cafe World etc, the posts that people put on there are useless and or pointless.

The latest one by someone was: "Name withheld is waiting for a train". The comedy of this is that 3 people "Liked" this....C'mon people get it together. Life can't be that boring and we really dont care whether you're waiting for a train....Seriously...

Sunday 11 March 2012

Cronulla - Revisiting after years

Yesterday, I drove down to Cronulla to revisit and to walk the Esplanade after many years.
My earliest memory of Cronulla is my Grandmother living over Gunnamatta Bay.
On weekends my brothers and I would go over, ride our skateboards along the beachfront, hang out with other kids from the area, and surf at North Cronulla or Elouera. 

As a 20 something year old I moved into Cronulla with a friend. We partied & got up to mischief, as you do at that age. They were the best times and I remember them fondly. I moved out after a while, met a girl, moved in together in another suburb, and we got on with life.

Yesterdays stroll down the Esplanade, looking in the shops, checking out the cafes, and people watching the hundreds of fit bronzed guys and gals who have made this bohemian surfside community their home, made me very envious. The suburb has exploded in a good way.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to complain about in my current situation. I have a great house in a great area surrounded by great people.
Unfortunately its not Cronulla, and the Cronulla Property Boat has now sailed from my view..





 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronulla,_New_South_Wales



Thursday 8 March 2012

Choice - iPad, Xoom or something else??

ZTSYCUKY8PTN

Being converted from a PC to a MAC evolved over a number of years.

The catalyst for the switch was when it was taking forever to boot up, close down & having to pay another Annual Norton Antivirus subscription.
I have never looked back.
My Macbook is awesome.
The only downside to it, is that its bigger & heavier than a tablet, & sometimes it is far more convenient to do "non work related functions" such as surfing the net, listening to some music & watching a movie with something lighter and transportable.

Enter the tablet debate.

With the release of the New iPad today, I got to thinking, if I was to purchase a tablet, would it be an iPad, Motorola Xoom, or something else?

I love the ease of a Mac, its interface, its seamless integration with my iPod, & it just works, but I dont like the iPhone. I sold mine to a friend & went Android. Still with Androis OS today & will probably continue down that path.

I love the ease of Android system on my phone, its integration with my Gmail, supporting Open Source collaboration, and the ease of which personalisation & highly customisable functions are obtained.

So, I have narrowed it down to a couple to select from:

1. iPad (new one unveiled today 08/03/2012)
2. iPad 2 (has now been price discounted)
3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
4. Motorola Xoom

The pros and cons are now being played out: Connectivity, Number of Applications available, Price, Weight, Customisable, Processor Speed, Battery Life, Best Experience watching a Movie, Best Experience Listening to Music, & transporting to and from work in my satchel (weight, width, size).


Time to read some reviews & check them out in the stores...

Stay tuned...

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Richard Mercer Show...Too Funny...

I was sitting in the garage putting some items on eBay listening to the radio. It was tuned to 106.5 FM. At this time of night its Richard Mercer "Love Song Dedications' which always makes me chuckle.
I don't know how he keeps a straight face when he's listening to Joe Public call in dedicating Michael Bolton & Delta Goodrem songs to their loved ones. Its certainly cringe worthy.
For the uninitiated, Richard Mercers voice would be best described as an Anglo version of Barry White...
Then I thought, surely he has solid following on Facebook, so I checked it out:


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Richard-Mercer-The-Love-God/40254415139

Some of the comments posted by some young blokes...too funny...


Friday 2 March 2012

Waterproof Mobile Phones - A Japanese must have!

Why do Japanese women prefer to use their mobile phones in the shower??? I'm confused?

http://bit.ly/AxJJVi




Thursday 1 March 2012

Article on ITWIRE - GMAIL & their snooping

http://bit.ly/wH5Hgy

Interesting article about GMAIL and whether there is concern around privacy, snooping, and "customer experience"