A true audial and visual feast...

Last night I was lucky enough to catch Daft Punk live. These guys really know sound and they also know some pretty damn amazingly talented visual technicians. I've never seen L.E.D. lights used to such precise syncronicity and beauty. L.E.D. rocks!

This Sydney show was to be their last show to feature the amazing pyramid. To say that I was blown away is a little bit of an understatement. I walked away from the concert wishing I could go and see the whole thing again. The super large hi-def screens on either side of the stage, featuring one each of the two androids, were of the highest quality I have ever seen. Technically brilliant and visually stunning.

To top it all off, the two members of Daft Punk were looking damn sexy... well, as sexy as androids, who are "Human After All", can look. This strange attraction to these two characters I have made this a VERY compelling experience. But then again, let's face it, I've always had a thing for robots, helmets and leather suits.

Melb to Sydney in 4.5 hours...

Melbourne was great last night. It was warm. I managed to catch up with a mate from Melbourne in my hotel bar for a few beers when he suggested we go for a walk. Melb is a good place for that.

As we headed off a few drops of rain sprinkled down. By the time we had gone halfway around the block it had become a shower. It was great. We both weren't in any hurry and we both were enjoying wandering around chatting in this very warm summer rain.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Today the flight home was a little delayed. Melbourne airport had closed earlier in the day due to storms. Judo and I managed to change to a different flight so our delay was going to me minimised.... That was until Qantas realised that after we all had boarded the flight they had "forgot" to load the baggage. So, we all sat patiently on the plane while they rounded up the baggage and loaded it into the cargo hold. Finally, we're ready to push back... Well, that was until a bird flew into the cockpit and then the pilot couldn't find where it flew to. Apparently this bird had decided that hiding behind the instrument panel out of reach was a good place. So, while the flight deck was dismantled, we all sat in the plane and waited patiently. 2 hours later the bird was off the plane and we were ready to take off. This was my longest time on a plane that didn't involve an international destination.

Today...

My new favorite...

toy is the Wii. This little box with its welcoming futuristic blue lit slot is providing me with the most fun I've had at home in my lounge room for a very long time.

Yesterday afternoon Dave and I grabbed a controller and nunchuck each and challenged each other to a few Wii Sports games. If you've got one of these you'll know how cool and how much fun these games are. I'm crap at tennis, just as I am in real life, but faired much better with golf and bowling. I've never worked up a sweat playing with a game system ever, but this little baby had us sweating and panting after a few rounds of boxing. This is serious fun.

Big Brother '08

10 Things meme

1. When you were born, how much did you weigh?
No idea. I need to call Mum... brb.
Ok, 7.6lb. That's about 3.44kg for the metrically minded.

2. What's you're sugar poison?
Recently I've discovered a cake shop in Kirribilli that is as traditional as they come. I've been stopping in on my way home from work to get a Neenish Tart. These have been a fave since I was a young lad. MMMmmm, the choc and vanilla iced variety. But, I've been really enjoying the strawberry and vanilla ones lately. Holy crap I love these tarts. Mum used to make these and had her own varieties. She'd even make a delicious lemony passion fruit version.

3. If you had to choose between meat and cheese for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Then be specific.
Well, considering I've lived without meat in my life for longer than it's been in my life I'll have to go with cheese. I really love all sorts of cheese so it's hard to choose. For practicalities sake I'll go the humble Coon slice. It's versatile and good on a pizza, pasta, nachos or even just in a sandwich.

4. What, in your opinion, is the worst song ever?
Hmmmmm... So many to choose from. But I'll settle on Wham - "I'm your Man". Does this song suck or what?!. It was a close tie with Denis Leary "I'm an Asshole". Now that song really does annoy me. No, maybe it's just Denis Leary. Hold on, I have a late contender: Madonna "Beautiful Stranger".

5. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
Annie Mulkerin. She was a teacher who I respected and she taught me through most of my high school years. Will always have fond memories of her because she was able to be more than a teacher and she had such a good sense of humor.

6. What personal activity, when performed in public, bothers you the most?
People picking at their toe jam then smelling it. I mean c'mon, what's with that?!

7. Ok, there's a $50 bill lying on the ground. You pick it up. Dumbfounded by your incredible luck, what do you selfishly purchase?
It'd have to be a Thai take-away dinner and a 6 pack of beer. I'm a simple lad with simple pleasures.

8. Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.
Yeah. I often dream of falling onto a large upward pointing shard of glass. It's most often from a smashed fishtank. It slices right through my guts and I always feel it grinding against my spinal chord, and as I try to pull it out it slices through my fingers. It's a dream that really creeps me out and I've been having it since I was a child.
Oh, that and turning up to work each day is a bit of a recurring nightmare these days.

9. Name one place on Earth you've never been, but vow to visit at least once.
Japan. I'm in love with its artistic culture.

10. You notice that question #9 wasn't really a question. You feel smart for catching such a small detail. What else can you do really well that reminds you how smart you are?
They didn't call me "Mr Pixel Perfect" at work for nothing. I'm very good with attention to detail and alignment in digital creative.

Street art...

Recently my interest in street art has been aroused once again. I've been very impressed with the scene and what's going on overseas with lowbrow art on the streets. It's becoming more diverse in the materials that are being used and some of the concepts are very clever. I often think about the time when I was out and about on the streets. The super fond memories I have of this time period and the creative people who I shared this time with will always be very close to my heart. Street art, to me, is fantastic and bold. I often wish I had captured more of this time on video or with photographs.

The image above is one of mine in Melbourne. I've put a couple of pics on Flickr, but I couldn't find any better ones. Jelly fish below. :)


Youtube

WTF?

This is the chocolate I got today out of my advent calendar.

The race is on...

and I have to admit, I'm disappointed. The Amazing Race is back on Aussie TV. However, I'm not disappointed because it was a crap episode, I'm disappointed because I saw this series last year. Damn it. The Amazing Race is probably my all time favorite TV show. So much so that I bloody well downloaded this series last year and have seen it before.

The Amazing Race annoys me incredibly, but it also, surprisingly, inspires me. It often makes me laugh and it always makes me wonder how I would do on this race. When Judo and I traveled together earlier this year we would joke about us doing this show together. Considering we argued "a little" on our trip, and maybe even refused to talk to each other a few nights, I think we probably would make interesting TV. (Actually, Judo, that last night in Paris would have made VERY interesting TV. Private joke... sorry!)But, Judo always inspired me and I was always blown away by his knowledge and experience.

I caught the end of The Amazing Race tonight and thought about it. Could we really do this? Yeah, we could easy. But, I then seriously began to think about who I'd really love to do an Amazing Race with. I just can't go past my Dad. I would LOVE to race around the globe with this very special man. Love you Dad. You mean the world to me. Heaps.

When all else fails, blog about the weather...

I'm a bit of a weather fan. This morning I woke to the sound of heavy rain. It was a great way to start the day. By the time I'd showered, ironed a shirt and had an OJ the rain had stopped and it was time to leave. I looked out my window to the west and although there were some dark clouds out there they looked far enough away for me to risk the walk to work.

Sydney is experiencing some rather unstable weather patterns at the moment. This means humidity and thunderstorms. 10 minutes into my walk and the sky became dramatically darker to the right (west) side of the bridge. As I stepped onto the bridge a clap of thunder warned me to pick up the pace. The only thing that kept running through my mind was that I'm now walking on the city's biggest chunk of metal. A huge lightening rod. Kind of made for an exciting walk. I wondered if I would feel something when the bridge was struck. Despite this fascination I decided that I'd prefer not to be soaking wet when I arrived at work so I didn't linger. It was a rather spectacular morning light show though.

Not bad for a monday.

Today was one of those days that had the potential to be really bad, but actually turned out to be quite good.

Work was good. I had a nice lunch with Judo and bought a needle so I can finally pump up my very flat basketball. Created a new header for this blog quickly, but really like the results. I really liked the movie The Iron Giant so this is my Giant inspired header.

After work I met up with a mate from London who had just flown in to Sydney today for work. Good effort on his behalf for staying awake during the conversations over a couple of beers. I know how hard it is sometimes to partake in conversations when you're very jet lagged.

Then on my walk home I passed under the bridge and stopped and looked at the community notice board. There was an ad for the local Rollerblade group and for a dude who gives tuition in blading for new comers. This reminded me that I had a pair of blades at home that have really never been used other than around an underground carpark many years ago. So I thought "why not?!" I dumped my stuff at home, quickly got changed into some dags, grabbed the blades and wandered down to the foreshore of the Harbour. The foreshore of the harbour has a nice boardwalk and path around it that also crosses the bridge to the city side.

Here's a couple of tips and words of advice from this skilled Rollerblader:

• Don't ever overestimate your own skill!
• Starting on a downhill section is not the best place to start if you haven't used rolerblades for many many years.
  
• Applying the brake is a skill that should be mastered before going downhill.
• Light posts make excellent crash barriers.
• Light posts are not flexible or soft.
• Make sure no one saw you get very close and personal to said light post.
• Do this late at night when it's reasonably quiet.
• Rollerblade wheels and wooden boardwalks don't mix right after rain.
  
• Just when you think you can pull off that big 360 turn in style, you won't.
• When you fall, again, try to do it in a less conspicuous place not like into the fence of a well lit fun park such as Luna Park.
• Finish up with a few bruises and a big smile on your face for getting out there and giving it a go and making a goose of yourself by having some fun.

Weekends come and go...

and this weekend I bought a palm tree for my lounge. I've been wanting one for a little while now because I happen to like plants in my living environment. Now that I have it home and in my lounge, it's a little bigger than it looked in the lot of thousands of others in "Palm World" where I bought it, but I really love it. For me, it makes my living area feel a just that little bit more comfortable.

So anyway, there it is. The highlight of my weekend. Why? Because I got to spend time driving around with my mate Judo on a very wet Saturday looking for it. Because I feel like I have something "alive" and not something digital in my life. Because it added something new to my tiny little apartment. Because my mate Dave could see that this was actually exciting for me.

So, who'd like an update on the fish eggs? Well....
They are all gone. No survivors. All eaten. I think Mum and Dad Angel Fish were a little too weirded out by the new strange additions in their home, so they ate them. But, the good news is that I'm sure they are not lesbian fish. Not that that's wrong. It just means that I actually have a male and female because there were some fertile eggs on the leaf before they were served up for dinner. So, this time around, I saved my self a little time and effort on preparing for the new family members. But, according to my Angel Fish research, they should be back "at it" in a few weeks time. I'm not a grandfather yet. :)

Does this make me the Grandfather?

Nah, probably just a guardian. Well, not sure what was in the fish food this morning, but when I returned home from work there were a number of new additions to my fish tank that weren't there when I left. These new additions are in the form of tiny angel fish eggs.

They have been laid on the top of a leaf, smack bang in the middle of the tank. Now, in my small tank, that's probably not the best spot for them. You can tell that these are first time parents. The eggs are rather exposed and the other fish in the tank are not altogether very discerning eaters. In three days time there will be some very tiny tiny angel fish embryos wriggling around and entrapped within these tiny egg shells. Rather tasty morsels for the other fish. Hell, I'd be surprised if Mum and Dad don't even get temped to have a taste. But tonight, the proud parents are tending to the new clutch of eggs like adoring caretakers.

Actually, to be honest, I don't even know if I have a male and female fish here. If I don't have a pair then I'll know within 24 hours. If I have a male and female, then I should see some clear eggs with something like mini tadpoles inside attached to a big yoke. But if I have two females then the eggs won't be fertile and I'll have nothing but cheap caviar on the leaf.

Ahhh well, such is life in the small eco world of the fish tank. The survival rate is not very promising. But, from what I know, if they all get eaten, there is a good chance the parents will breed again within 3 weeks... assuming they are not lesbians.

Have you played it?

This was recommended to me months and months ago, by a guy I work with, so I went out and bought it. It's been sitting on my shelf unopened all that time until tonight. You see, I'm not a gamer. Sitting in front of the Playstation is not usually my idea of fun... But that changed tonight.

"Rayman : Raving Rabbits" has been a total stress relief tonight and I'm just hooked. I don't like most Playstation games because they require a huge amount of skill/co-ordination/patience to press R1 while pressing L2 and using the left toggle to move right while pressing the triangle to change weapons then quickly pressing X 15 times to fire blindly all while you plan your move to just run around and mame and kill. Sure that's fun for some (My mum for example, who just LOVED "Doom" when it first came out), but for me I like games that are a little more fun. These seem few and far between unless you have a "retro" collection of 80's Namco type games... Well, this game is the most fun I've had at home alone with something I control in my hands for a very long time. Seriously. Trying to co-ordinate my button pressing to shine disco lights on mad dancing bunnies as they twirled their way towards the front of the dance floor in time with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" just won me over. I tells ya, "I'm hooked."

I guess the next stage for me in this gaming revelation is to play a multi-player game... Dave, I'm looking at you!

Congratulations

to Natalie. Australian Idol 07 and I think a good choice.

Here's a picture from the firworks as the two finalists entered the Opera House. Was an impresive firworks display.

Off and racing...

The racing highlight of the year for me came around and was run yesterday. I look forward to this race so much I was all grins and goose bumps before the race even started. It's the Maximum Adventure Urban Max. The task: Teams of 2 have to solve cryptic clues to find a number of checkpoints around the city and surrounding suburbs. A number of these checkpoints have challenges that have to be performed to be eligible to claim it as completed. Places on this race are limited and this year there were 350 teams taking part. It was a cool damp day, but I had no idea how wet I was going to get when the start signal was given.

We plotted our route and were off to our first choice. Half way there we realised that checkpoint didn't open until 10:30am so we changed our route and went to our next closest checkpoint. It was located at a swimming pool near Central Station and it was our first challenge. In the pool were a hundred yellow ducks. We had to find the one duck with "72" written under it. Hmmmm, hadn't planned for a swim so what else could I do but strip down to the jocks and dive right in. *Note to self: Underwear does not stay where it should when you dive into a pool. So after a quick save of my shame I was madly looking for the little yellow duck. That found we were wet and off and really into this race.

Some highlights:
Looking for a John Howard look alike at Taylor Square.
A great view of the city from Mrs Macquaries Chair.
A visit to the Art Gallery.
It started raining about now...
A visit to the State Library.
Finding the oldest public toilet in Sydney.
Mapping the planets and their correct orbits at the Observatory.
Correctly setting up a camp site in the middle of a city park.
Visiting numerous exhibits in the Aus. Maritime Museum trying to find the answers to 10 quiz questions.

But the biggest highlight:
3rd!

Yep, 3rd place in the male category! I knocked almost 3 hours off the time it took to do this last year and got a place. Finally I did really well at a race. It's amazing what a bit of training has done for me in 12 months. We were at the finish so fast that we had time to go home, shower and return to the prize ceremony to accept our prize all clean and relaxed. I think the course was also a lot easier this year so that helped complete the race in a good time. Below is the route we chose.

20 Questions...

who do you think you are ?
I always think about this... and who other people think I am.
what turns you on?
Someone who mentally excites me.
what is your favorite word?
"Yes"
what sound or noise do you love?
Friends laughing
have you driven anyone insane?
probably
what should everyone shut up about?
Birkenstocks
what advice should you have taken, but did not?
"You should be a chef"
what do you fear most?
singing
how would you like to die?
adventurously
what is your earliest memory?
I don't know.
do you collect anything?
dust
what is your worst addiction?
worst... ummmm, probably the internet
who would you have liked to be?
Some Roman stud.
what did your last text message say that you received?
It was a pxt msg.
what was your proudest moment ?
So far, was being exhibited overseas.
what was your last lie ?
"Ummmm, I lost it"
what is your biggest challenge ?
That will be next year.
who's underrated / overrated ?
underrated: Sian Evans (Lead singer of Kosheen)
overrated: Merrick and Rosso
what is your most treasured possession ?
My motorbike
what do your parent think of what you are doing ?
They are proud of me.

Podcast...

Ok. A couple of words about this...
The file is about 20Mb because I didn't want to lower the quality of the tunes too much.
My selection of music is not going to be to everyone's taste. But that's music for you...
If you really want to listen to some really good music, and the link below won't load for you, you may have to cut and paste it into iTunes.
My microphone is a bit tinny and crappy.
I don't talk much, I play music.
Please let me know if you never want me to do this again.

And finally, yes, I really am buying a parrot.

Here it is
http://member.letsgo.com.au/muzbot/podcast110701.m4a

Remember the Bad Dog party...

Well, I got hold of a photo... My costume really showed off my, ummmm, legs. :)

Movember

I just love Movember. I've previously taken part in this event, but this year I have given it a miss. It's so popular too this year.

I'm love love loving the amount of lads around at the moment with dodgy fuzz beneath their noses. I was sitting at the pub on the weekend and it was so entertaining to watch the parade of porn star lad wannabes. It's such a good look... and always brings a smile to my face at the number of lads raising money. It's just getting harder to sponsor everyone who I'd like to.

What was going to be...

just didn't happen. I had planned to try something a little different with this post. I was going to produce a podcast. Yes, that's right, a podcast. But you know what? I just don't have a radio voice. I had a few tunes lined up... some old, some new and believe it or not, some blue. I put the tracks down, recorded my intro to each tune as it started. It included why I liked the tune, and then after I had it all down, I played it back....

*notes to self:

• Stop saying "at the moment".
• Don't say "God I just love this tune, it's my favourite" before every song.
• Cut selection of songs back a little.
• Not every song "rocks!"
• and most importantly DON'T sing along with mic turned on.

So, the question I pose to myself today is, should I shelve the idea or persist and just polish up my mic technique a little more. I guess I'd like to try it again. I like the idea of doing a podcast, so I guess I'll give it a go again soon. Plus I have designed a very cool logo for my podcast as pictured above and I'd hate it to go to waste...

But not this weekend, Mum and Dad are visiting.

What's up?

When lorikeets visit me, they always visit me in pairs. Tonight there was only one. The bird looked like a male. And, he didn't visit me in the same way. He popped into my other window and sat there... not making a sound. Unusual for these birds. They are usually very chatty. He jumped onto my desk, walked under my monitor and just looked at me. Something wasn't right.

While I tapped away on my keyboard he came closer and rubbed his beak against my keyboard too. He fluffed his feathers and, to me, he looked sad. Seriously, I could tell something wasn't right.

I went and grabbed him some food. Maybe he was ill? Maybe he was drunk? Been eating too many fermented spring berries? Who knows?! But one thing I do know, he wanted company... He wasn't hungry. He came closer and nibbled at my forearm. My heart was breaking. This is a wild bird, but to me, this was a troubled soul. I know, I'm a big softy.

After he ignored the food, I went and just got a dish of water. I moved it to my other window and I just sat there with him until the sun went down. After a while, when it was so close to setting, he then flew away.

24 hours in hell...

The frustration was starting to show. I rolled over and removed the sock from in front of the alarm clock. 2:15am. The blood red of the numbers on the clock just seemed to compliment my mood. My migraine had reached a point where death actually seemed like a good option. I rolled back the other way and put my feet on the floor and sat up thinking about what to do. The short walk to the bathroom seemed like it was a trip across the Nullabore. I turn on the cold tap and splash handfuls of cold water on my face. I bent down and even tried to fit my whole head under the tap. I have two more headache pills... I feel ill.

Back in bed. 3:10am. I just want out. The pain throbbing in my head is enough to make me throw up. Back to the bathroom and I'm sitting on the floor with my head resting close to the toilet bowl. I'm also in front of the bathroom sink cabinet. I know there's stronger pills in here somewhere. But, I know turning on the light will make my head explode. Hmmmmm... head exploding actually seems like it might be the way to end this. As I flick the switch I feel like the world around me let out a deadly blood curdling shrill. Vampires around the world would have heard it and understood. I can imagine them all pausing for a second knowing that one of theirs brothers had fallen.

Codeine. It's horrible stuff. It gives me the shits then knocks me out. Two pills should do it. And it did.

This morning the headache remains. I don't often get these killer migraines, but when I do they hit me hard. Sometimes I've had one side of my body go numb from the face down to my fingertips and occasionally I've been unable to think and have not even recognised my own name, address or people in photos. I've even blacked-out from the pain. They are not pleasant and right now the shadow of pain left there in my head this morning is going to keep me on edge and rather short tempered today.

Is it sad that...

the contents of my refrigerator consists of a tomato and a jar of salsa? And let me tell you, despite the tomato looking nice and red ripe, it's been there for a while. I would have chucked it out before the photo, but I didn't want my fridge to look pathetic now did I.

Yes folks. That's it. Oh, hang on, apart from a couple of bottles of water in the door. What can you tell from this?

Oh my god oh my god oh my god...

On my walk to work today I saw young Australian Idol contender Jane Fonda... oops, Matt Corby this morning and you know what?.. His hair really is pretty.

And so, I wanted to create a bit of a toe tapper...

I've had this stupid song in my head for a few days now. It's actually one of those songs that a lot of people bag out. But I have always liked it.

So anyway, as I said, I have had it banging around my head for a few days and tonight I sat down and played with it. It's not a finished mix and it's a bit rough, but this is what I came up with...

Sorry, you'll have to download it.

Ok, I now have two new fave photos:

My buddy Dave sitting in the shade of the lifeguard's tower:
And one that Dave took of me in the same location:

Sculptures by the sea...

This is the first time I've been persuaded to head to Bondi to see this event. Dave and I headed out early to beat the crowds.

It was an interesting event and I enjoyed the beautiful day. If you get a chance to do the walk between Bondi and Tamarama in the next few weeks, pick a nice sunny weekday and just go and enjoy a day by the seaside looking at some very creative works of art.

I took a few photos and have uploaded them to Flickr.

'07 Season is over.

So that's it for the year. The final race in the '07 MotoGP was held and Danny Pedrosa was the first across the line in this race. Casey Stoner got off to a rocketing start but was hunted down by the hometown hero Pedrosa early in the race.

So, what are my highlights from this season? Well, really I enjoyed the whole season.

Casy Stoner winning the World Championship.
The good decision by Kawasaki to move forward and change their bike colours to a metalic green.
The poor decision of Kawasaki to change them back to the tradional green.
The goospimples I felt with the sound of the bike's engines rev.
The thrill of being there in the stands. - That is something from this season I'll never forget.

The search for a good steakhouse continues...

and last night my search took me west. Way out west into the heart of suburbia. Chili's Texas Grill. Now, if it wasn't for the sweet eye candy at this establishment I think I'd be very disappointed. There was a line up to get in, the bar service was less than prompt and the screaming kids added something to the night that made me think, "Thank god I live in the city". Oh, but did I mention the eye candy?

I opted for surf 'n turf. It's my usual "first time" dish at a steakhouse. This gives them all a level playing field right from my first visit. Two prawns and two rings of calamari on top of a very grisly medium rare steak didn't cut it in my book. AND the steak didn't even seem to be marinated in a "special" marinade like most other steakhouses do. Ummm, but did I mention that I appreciated the eye candy sitting nearby?

I still rate Hooters my top steakhouse here in Sydney. Although, the steakhouse I went to in Bologna in Italy is still my fave experience. Would I go back? Only if my arm was really twisted and I was reminded of the restaurants perv value.

Photo meme

The idea is that these pictures must be reasonably current.

1. Share the worst photo of yourself you have.

Yeah, I really don't like this pic. There were so many to choose from.

2. Share a current photo of yourself when you've just woken up. Walk into the bathroom and just take it, under the harsh bathroom lights.

Awwww... Even first thing in the morning I look like I'm ready to take on the world... But first I'd put on some clothes.

3. Share the nicest photo of yourself that you have.

Not sure what it is about this pic, but it's probably one of my faves out of the most recent pics.

4. Share a photo of you at work.

Ok, this one could also be a contender for the "worst photo" too. Look at that ridge there on top of my head. It's caused by my motorcycle helmet.

5. Share a photo of you laughing.

Ok, I'm not laughing, but I don't have any photos of me laughing. However, this picture is me at one of my happiest moments EVER.

6. Take and share a photo of you where ever you are as close to 9pm tonight/last night.

Playing pinball... It's my usual Thursday night thing, and yes, it too is a crap photo.

November

Well, hello November.
What more can I say really?

(I know this is a real lame post, but I'm working on a meme which I hope to publish soon)

The Far North

Well, I'm back in Sydney after a few days lazing about on the tropical coast of Queensland. There is so much that I love about this part of the world, but there is also an equal amount that puts me off.

The water up there is so beautiful, the temperature is nothing less than great all year 'round and the sea life is diverse and plentiful. But it's also deadly. With the northerly onshore wind blowing in I didn't dare go in the water for fear of box jellies, as this is the season for them. What else could I do but find a nice shady grove of palms to rest in and watch the fishermen and dogs play on the soft sand. It's a hard life.

My family converged on this location for a weekend get-together. Spending time with my three sisters was just great. The champagne and beer were flowing and the food was copious. I don't know what is is about the tropics, but everything tasted so much fresher and richer. It was a weekend full of laughter and love.

I even tried out a few new looks, Islander Muzbot and Greatful Dead Muzbot:

I just love...

walking in the rain. Yesterday, after what can only be described as a shit day at work, I left the office behind and stepped out into the grey evening. As I went for my umbrella, I stopped myself and thought "I really don't care."

My pace home was casual. As the drizzle accumulated on my skin, turning it from dry to wet, my whole spirit relaxed. Each little trickle that ran down from my brow across my cheek and into my beard seemed to be treating me to some sort of natural zing that my counterparts missed out on as they dashed past me under the shelter of their umbrellas. For half an hour it seemed as though I had no care in the world... I arrived home wet but happily refreshed.

It's raining again today.

Now that's a nice podium finish.

Stoner first, again, then followed up by Melandri and Pedrosa. It's been a bit of an up and down season for Melandri this year so it was good to see him up on the podium once again. Next year he leaves the Honda team and joins his fellow podium mate Stoner in the Ducatti team. I'm thinking we may see these two riders a lot more together like this next season. But sadly, there was no Yamaha on the podium this race. :(

"Looking from a window above...

it's like a story of love
Can you hear me..."

I was kind of house-bound this weekend. You see, I have a cough that is just not going away. It's the most annoying thing. So, to combat this I've tried some cough medicine. Now, I tried to find the most potent medicine I could find. One that would totally knock me around and suppress this damn dry cough. One that comes with a big warning about operating machinery. You know the sort.

The damn stuff hasn't done a f#$kin' thing. Apart from keeping me from going on a decent ride on my bike this weekend. Sure I've tempted fate and been on a short ride, but it just kills me to know my mates have been out riding and I've been too doped-up to go with them. I'm sitting here in my tower, overlooking Nth Sydney, and every bike that rides up the street just makes my heart ache for the feeling of raw power between my legs. The power that I can control. I hear a bike coming up the street and I play a game with myself by trying to guess what bike engine it is just by its sound. Oh boy I'm good at it. But when it's a sports bike, it doesn't help. I want to be out there with that rider. No... I want to BE that rider. I don't want to be home.

I know this is no secret, but I love bikes and, the people who ride them. I know that bikes are my passion. Do you have a passion? What turns your head? Is there a sound you hear that flicks a switch inside you to "on"? Is there something that you see and you feel something deep inside stir?

Paperclips

Wow. Did you know that it requires 57 paperclips linked together to reach my height. So here's a picture of them.

iTunes meme:

You may not know many of these, but this about my music habits....

Sort by song title:
First: Aaangry Megaphone Man by The Dissociatives
Last: 1999 by Prince

Sort by time:
Shortest: Coffee sound effect from Futurama, clocking in at less than 0:01
Longest: Essential Mix 2004-03-07 - Sander Kleinenberg & Pete Tong - goes for 02:03:50

Sort by artist:
First: Dancing (Jj Flores & Steve Smooth Remix) by Aaron Smith Feat. Luvli
(it's a bit clubby, it's a little annoying, it's in my library)
Last: Pardon My freedom by !!!

Sort by album:
First: Album: Abductions And Reconstructions. Song: Hooverphonic / This Strange Effect by Thievery Corporation ( - a very wonderful sounding tune.)
Last: Album: 3121. Song: Satisfied by Prince

Top 5 most played songs:
(This may surprise you - heck it surprises me, who'd of thought my taste was so obscure?)
1. Stopwatch Hearts by Delerium & Emily Haines
2. Pull Up (A Cappella) by Mr. Vegas
3. Single Again by The Fiery Furnaces
4. Clouds Instead Of Heads (Original Mix) by Kompis
5. Pain In My Brain by Ladyvipb

First song that plays on shuffle:
Promenade Sentimentale (Sentimental Walk) by Vladimir Cosma
(As Molly would say, "Do yourself a favor" and have a listen to this piece of piano music and lose yourself in melancholy)

Type the following into the search and how many titles come back?
Sex: 38
Love: 403
Death: 4
Fart: 1 (! yes, I have a "fart" in one title in my library)

The festival of the motorbike...

concluded here in Oz yesterday with Casey Stoner taking out the Australian Championship of the MotoGP at Philip Island.

My weekend started early Friday when I took the day off from work and jumped on my bike and headed south down the freeway. I had no plans to stop anywhere in particular but the aim was to make it to Canberra and stay there for a couple of nights.

It was one of the most enjoyable weekends I've had in ages. Judo rode down late Friday night/early am Sat and arrived at the hotel freezing. It was mighty cold that night. Saturday was spent looking at a couple of the local bike shops in the morning then in the arvo we went for a ride to Cotter, Mt Stromlo, Gibraltar falls and Corin. The roads down that way are great for riding. There are long sweeping bends, lots of places to get up a bit of speed and a few tight S's.

We rode back to Sydney on Sunday and swapped bikes for 2/3 of the way home. It was interesting riding Judo's bike on the open road and was great to feel the differences in the two bikes. I may be biased, but my bike is a much more enjoyable bike to ride. It suits my build and it fits beautifully between my legs. However, Judo's bike's power is bit smoother than mine. It was a good weekend to be away and share some quality time with my bike and my mates.

Love at first sight...

What a great night I had last night. Dinner with Judo. We went to our fave haunt, Hooters. Monday night at Hooters is "Military Night", where if you are an armed forces person and you wear your uniform you get cheap eats. So I had high hopes for some extra eye candy. Alas, I guess men and women in uniform have more class than me and I didn’t see any pressed pleats. But, Hooters is currently running an Ultimate Chicken Wing Challenge. The task: to eat as many of their tasty wings in a set period of time. The winner goes into the final playoff to win flights to a Hooters restaurant in another state + dinner for himself and 5 of his mates. Best of all, entry is free. Could this be just the BEST competition ever?!

On the way home we stopped off to look at the new Ducati 1098. OMG. The moment I laid eyes on this beast I fell in love. Finally Ducati have a sports bike that is as sexy as it is powerful. We must have looked like two kids outside a toy store window looking in with lust in our eyes. There is so much to love about this bike. It even has built-in data technology to allow you to download your ride stats for analysis. It’s "Nike+iTunes" for bikes! Swoon and drool. Seriously, I haven't felt this sort of desire since I first laid eyes on my own current bike. I'm going to be extremely jealous if Judo rides out of the showroom on one of these. But, then there's a waiting list for these bikes, so I have a few months to deal with that. :)

So after that encounter, I decided to nude up, throw on the full leathers and go and have some serious quality time with my own bike. What a great night for a late night ride through the dark urban Sydney streets, to ride right through the guts of Sydney Olympic Park with no-one around to hinder my swerving and swaying across the paving. A beautiful night, with just the hint of rain and thunder in the distance, to ride the bright sparkling city streets as people emerged from cinemas and bars. I had fun. And so, here’s another glimpse at my new lust object, it looks so sleek in it's black and red frame configuration:

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Cluster :: organise
2. Announcement :: Testing, testing 1, 2, 3.
3. Respect :: Aretha
4. Incident :: 6pm news
5. Accordion :: Web 2.0 (I know, it's obscure)
6. Drunk :: again
7. If :: a picture paints 1000 words
8. Dexter :: Perfect Match
9. Wedding :: Cake
10. Gambling :: with ones own decisions

You can play too.

What happened to the serif font?

I've just watched a commercial break on TV and every ad was dominated by a sans-serif font. Ok, ok, so my new header contains a sans font, but since this blog's conception, my content has been published in a distinct serif font.

The impact of the sans font is being eroded away and it's becoming the easy safe font for marketing. The font tide will turn. Designers moved on from the "techno" and "grunge" fonts of the 80's and early 90's and it became cool to have clean lines for corporate identity. After the greed boom of the 80's and the crash that followed in the early 90's people wanted stability, honesty and no shonky hidden dealings. Merge the brand and the sans font. Its clean lines and bold character strengths signified to the punter that it displayed a brand with integrity. Helvetica is the main culprit.

Don't get me wrong here, I like Helvetica. It has the classiest set of derivatives and sub sets of any font. But, it's spoilt by it's dirtier cousin - Arial. It's the Microsoft font designed in 1982 that every Powerpoint in the business world displays with some sort of banal superiority. So where is the class? Sans fonts no longer have the same message to the consumer. We fill our lives with make-over shows, lifestyle shows and talent quests who's message is that if we want to succeed we need to "pull something extra out of the hat". Not only do we need to be good at what we do, we have to appear good...

The serif font. It sells a message that is not only readable, it looks classy. It is classical. Its beauty, strength and desirability lie in its origins. It will stand the test of time... now isn't that what you want from a product?

The Rise of The Silver Surfer...

This long weekend started off rather suckfully with me heading into work on both Saturday and Sunday as I tried to meet a looming deadline. Not a good way to start a long weekend, but when I left work on Sunday I had a party to look forward to. A party unlike others in Sydney. Bad Dog.

This party was space and alien themed. As you can see from the picture to the left my costume for this party was a full silver suit. A very shiny silver suit. I was very nervous and unsure about wearing something like this. But in a personal test of courage and self belief I actually became very excited at the thought of doing something so out of character, yet so very much something I knew deep down, if I just gave it a go, I would love doing.

I was most comfortable and Dave and I REALLY stood out. It was a great night. There were a few comments from my friends that really gave me a laugh... "Hey Muz, you leave nothing to the imagination there!" and "Well, at least I know what religion you are now." I'm sorry I don't have any pictures from the night, I forgot to take my camera with me, but with any luck I'll be able to track down a picture that some random girl took.

Slowly I'll challenge my fears and one by one I'll attempt to conquer them and move forward with a little more confidence than I had previously.

October - Bring it on.

Hurry up already… I’m really looking forward to the month ahead. Now, I know there is a whole weekend in between now and then but why can’t I get just a little tiny bit excited?!

For me, the month will start with another “costume” party and end with a weekend away in the Whitsundays. The sweet gooey centre time in the middle will be filled with laughs and lots of getting out and having fun – the weather is going to be fantastic here in Sydney. I’ve even folded up my jumpers and sweatshirts and put them away in the cupboard. Bye-bye winter, I had a great time with you, but really, we both want different things and it’s time for me to get over you and enjoy my blossoming relationship with spring.

BlogFriday: "Start"

Going out with a bang...

and I'm really looking forward to putting up the new header for the month of October. So much so that I'm very tempted to do it tonight, but I will wait until tomorrow so it's not so early. I'm very happy with the result and the colour palette is really working for me.

But what a month September has turned out to be. An enormous amount of work has helped the month fly by so fast that I really feel like I've missed a lot of it. Where did it go? Personal inroads have been made and realisations have awakened some lost emotions within me. I've invited readers into my lounge, I've was inked, I bared more than just my sole, I professionally sold a photo and re-discovered my love for drinking copious litres of beer with someone who I feel like I can be open with in person.

I even shared some of this here in this very public domain that is blogging.

An update...

The Bridge Run:

9,844 runners in this event.

I am sooooooo average:
Overall I placed 4,212th.
Let me just state that again, Four Thousand two hundred and twelfth!
*sigh* I so wish I was "good" at something, not just average.

I was the 2,394th male to cross the line.
And, finished 860th in the male 30-39 category.

Oh boy, have I got some work to do. . .

Dave, I'm so sorry, but it's not all about "just participating"... I would love/have a strong desire to be better than average.

- - - - -

Ok, I just did some further analysis of the results and based on my time I came 3,699th. So, out of close to 10,000 runners, I can be satisified with that result.

Aussie World Champion...

Three big cheers for the 21yo Casey Stoner. What a skilled rider this lad is. He scored the crown of MotoGP World Champion in yesterdays race on the Motegi circuit in Japan.

Oh, and another big cheer to Monty for txting through that result before I had had a chance to sit back with a few beers and a mate to watch what was going to be one of the best races of the season. Boy, was I happy to get that txt... NOT! Grrrrrr. Monty, you will be severely reprimanded on Tuesday night!

After I had a moment to calm down and my blood stopped boiling from THAT txt I happened to see that Stoner hadn't actually won the race so I managed to gain some composure and ended up watching one of the most exciting races of the season. It had everything that all the other races lacked thus far. We had jumped starts and penalties, we had a wet track, we had riders coming off, we had pit stops for bike changes... Bike changes! It was an awesome race.

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

And to other race news...

I managed to do a personal best time in Sydney's Bridge Run. I completed the race with no problems and managed to run the entire distance without walking. I'm bloody happy with myself.

Below is the graph of my progress. I started this journey on 1/08/07 and my average pace was 8'33"/km and I could only run/walk 3.55km in half an hour. Yesterday I did close to 10km at an average pace of 5'15"/km in 51min49sec. Twice during yesterday's run my pace dropped below the 5 minute mark. Those sub 5min times were recorded at the 3km mark and right at the end when my happy hormones kicked in. I'm pleased at my progress and even more pleased to be able to say that I've competed in and completed a race. I'm now confident that I can give this season's adventure races a good go.

I'm loving this right now...

Grand National - "By The Time I Get Home There Won't Be..."
It's on super high rotation in my head right now.

I'm not sure I'm happy with this...

Face recognition online... Who do you look like?

Get a photo of yourself to upload and try here.