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I know this picture really doesn't need any caption... It just makes me giggle looking at both their expressions. However, go for it and give it some words. :)

Party time...

I've been invited to my first costume party in a very long time this weekend, so here's a sneak peak at...
Brokeback Muzbot?

I'm one of those rare people that loves a good costume party.

My picture of last nights lunar eclipse...

Taken from the top of the hill on Sydney Park.

Awwww...

Well, enough whining about the weekend...

Truth be told, despite the case of gastro, I did have a top weekend. I got to meet some new people and spent some quality time with my mate Minkered.

I'm still at home in bed today after visiting the doctor this morning just to have a checkup. I'm not a fan of doctor's surgeries. I often think I'll come out sicker than I went in because of all the other sick people sitting around the waiting rooms. I can't wash and shower quick enough after visiting one of these places (Am I a bit O.C.?). But today's wait for the doctor was exciting. A very beautiful looking lady was standing at the reception desk when suddenly she collapsed onto the floor. My case of the "shits" seemed kind of trivial compared to passing out in the waiting room. The staff were all very professional and dealt with this situation very calmly. I wonder how often this sort of thing happens? Most times I've been to the doctor there's never any excitement like this, just a few sad and sorry looking faces usually. Maybe being a doctor in a practice is not as boring as I thought it would be.

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The Matterhorn... a haiku

Again face to face
Sitting on your chocolate box
Forever in mind

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Here are some interesting facts:

• Feared by early mountaineers it wasn't first climbed until 1865


• Borders Switzerland and Italy


• By modern standards the climb is still rated AD (assez difficile, fairly difficult)


• The individual pieces of Toblerone form it's likeness


• Homer Simpson has climbed its Springfield cousin the "Murderhorn"


• The "Hornli route" is the most popular route to the summit


• An ascent will take 3 days on average


• Each year several climbers lose their life climbing this mountain


• It is still my dream to climb along the summit ridge of this beautiful mountain

And so, training for my assault on this trophy mountain continues. Slowly my fitness is improving. I'm measuring two runs a week. You can see in the graph below there is a gradual increase in distance I'm achieving each run. Don't laugh too hard at these small distances and Ok, I'm not running a marathon, but for someone who couldn't/wouldn't even run a lap of the school oval I'm happy with my progress. Will I be experienced and confident to attempt this next year? At this stage, no. But, it's there - as my dream, my goal and my desire.

I'm loving this right now...

I have no idea why, I just do...
M.I.A. - Jimmy

This always amazes me...

The angle the rider's were achieving in last night's MotoGP was incredible. There was a point during practices where a couple of the riders even got their elbow down onto the track. Very impressive! The Brno track is perfect for this sort of riding.

It's been 3 weeks since the last race and watching this race on my new large format TV really added new enjoyment to the race for me. I was sitting on my lounge and really felt like I was swinging into the curves with the riders as they lent into the bends. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole race.

Stoner had pole position and never gave it up. He continues to prove to the world what a fantastic rider he really is. He leads the champonship by two whole races. Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie!

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Shattered illusions...

Have you ever hit send on an email or a txt and then suddenly got the feeling that you've sent it to the wrong person? It’s often not too bad because you can just follow up with an email saying "Sorry, I sent that to the wrong person, please delete it." But it’s those times when the content is about (or relates to) the person you’ve accidentally sent it when the fear of consequence sets in.

It’s an easy mistake when you have a few different people with the same first name in your address book. It’s an easy mistake when you’re in a hurry. It’s an easy mistake if you’ve had a few drinks and you’ve got clumsy fingers. But this mistake can be very revealing. Once it is read there can be no turning back. I have had this happen to me once before. I have sent a txt to the wrong person. Luckily what I had said was truthful. However, it was just not an appropriate time to say it. Then, on the weekend, I had that same fear creep into my mind after sending off an email and not receiving a response. Once again, my fear was unfounded when I re-checked my sent items, but it’s one of life’s hazards in this immediate information age. Isn’t it?

A Sydney stunner...

Sydney once again showed me why I love her this weekend. The weather was fantastic, and the ocean looked like a beautiful opal. I met up with my mate "Minkered" (Minkered adj: drunk, "I got so minkered on the weekend") on Saturday and we wandered the eastern beaches and coastline. This return trip was about 19km and took us the best part of 6 hours to complete, including time to stop at the pub for a beer and lunch in Maroubra. It was a great day and great company. We both decided that we could have walked to the South Pole we were having such a good time.

Sunday I caught up with my three favorite men. Judo, Kookyknut and Minkered. We sat around in my lounge drinking Coopers, listening to tunes and watching iTunes visualizer in high definition wide screen glory. It was great to catch up with Kookyknut, we both agreed we've been slack and had missed each other heaps.

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I've been feeling a little down...

so, to cheer myself up, I went shopping today and I bought:

Flashback...

I had just seen a Sesame Street flashback thanks to Kookyknut, and had to go and find one of my fave's from when I was a young lad. When I saw this a few moments ago I think I experienced one of my earliest memories. You see, I barely remember anything from before high school. This brought back something that I thought I had lost forever.

Ugly bagels and 30 things...

1. Were you named after anyone? Not that I know of... I was nearly named Levi after someone on my mum's side.
2. When did you last cry? Last night... but they were just tiny tears, not a full-on cry.
3. Do you like your handwriting? Who handwrites these days?
4.What is your favorite lunchmeat? Ham or turkey
5. If you were another person would you be friends with you? Oh god yes, and imagine all the trouble we'd get into!
6. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.
7. Would you bungee jump? What, more than once, no.
8. What is your favorite cereal? I don't know what it's called, but it's vanilla and apple flavored and it's crunchy
9. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Yes.
10. Do you think you are strong? Only when I don't shower regularly.
11. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? French Vanilla
12. Shoe size? 44
13. Red or pink? Pink grapefruit and red orange.
14. Who do you miss the most? Plane Spotter
15. What color pants, shirt and shoes are you wearing? Olive shorts and blue footy jersey and bare feet.
16. Last thing you ate? An ugly bagel
17. What are you listening to right now? The sound of the traffic below my window.
18. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Black
19. Favorite smell? Rain
20. The first thing you notice about people you are attracted to? Their eyes.
21. Favorite drink? Vanilla milkshake
22. Favorite food? Deep fried chicken
23. Scary movies or happy endings? Neither
24. Summer or winter? Can't decide. Both have an appeal for me.
25. Favorite dessert? Profiter rolls with chocolate sauce and ice cream.
26. What's on your mouse pad? My mouse
27. What did you watch last night on TV? Futurama and Idol.
28. Favorite sounds? Thunder
29. The furthest you've been from home? Edinburgh
30. Where were you born? Ipswich General.

I decided that spending $5 a day on a bagel was not worth it, so I attempted to make my own today...

I think they're ok and one of them actually looks like a bagel!

From here to here to here...

Not having a climbing partner is actually a bit of a pain... But I'm not going to let that stop me, so this morning I gave indoor bouldering a go. And let me tell you, it's f*#kin' hard work. I could only manage a few holds before I was down on the mats, looking up at where I was and thinking to myself, "Thank God there are no other climbers here laughing at me!" But, after giving it a go, I now have a better idea of what I need to work on to improve.

Somebody's kidnapped Muzbot...

and this strange being that gets out of bed at 6am on Saturday mornings to go to the gym has replaced him....

And then followed that up with a trip to the Macro Wholefoods Cafe in Crows Nest for a 5 grain porridge! It's a bit over-priced, but the flavors were actually pretty good. Where's the bacon and grilled cheese omelette loving lad disappeared to? But, I have to admit, I really loved the porridge this morning... apart from the cherries. Vile fruit that they are. And had the BEST juice ever. It was grapefruit, apple, pineapple and double ginger. Yumbo!

I then went into work to catch up on a few things and sort through my emails that I ignored yesterday. And then I decided to get myself some climbing/bouldering shoes. Check 'em out...

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Phew...

I know I just had my yearly bitch about work and how busy things were, but this evening I had the launch date of one of my projects pushed back by a month. So I had no guilty feelings going to the movies tonight to see The Simpsons. I even took the chance to sit on the Simpson's lounge next to Homer. He's BIG, and not as cuddly as I always imagined he'd be.

Now I may have missed something in the movie, but what happened to Spider Pig? He just disappeared.

Is it August already...

I guess so.

Did anyone see the sunrise over Sydney this morning? It was just spectacular. In fact, it was a beautiful morning all round. The temperature was not cold. The ferry fleet were arriving for the morning peek hour. The empty trains rattled across the bridge. The endless procession of utes and vans motored past. The colours in the sky turned from dark blue to fluorescent crimson to gold. And the no longer full moon looked mighty lonely up there in the sky with no company from the stars, just empty space all around it.

I've hit that busy patch of year at work again. Some of you may recall that this time last year I experienced that weird altered sleep deprived state after days of no sleep. I'm managing it a little better this year by working a lot at home in the evenings. The days are still long, but am loving these early morning starts. So, I haven't really had a great deal of time to work on a header for this month's blog. I knocked this one out a little too quickly yesterday. I'll aim a bit higher next month.

Hello August.