Nath's assorted ramblings

Channel 9, a bunch of hypocrits!

2006-12-03T18:56:00.000+11:00

First, sorry for the posting delay. Fee has been spamming me so I'll try and start posting again. Hopefuly some of them will even be interesting! This first one however, is another gripe...

Channel 9 were seriously lobbying to keep lots of sport of free-to-air tv. Sounds quite good. Keeps it accesible. The trouble though is quite simple. They have ONE channel (until we drag our sorry behinds out of the dark ages and use the ability of digital TV to deliver multiple screening over the one channel like in the UK it will remain that way). One channel. And ratings and advertising dollars to worry about (this is understandable given it's what keeps them going, but...)

This afternoon, when the cricket hadn't finished, they pulled the plug to go the news. This is a history-shaping test series, one which they fought to keep, and then they won't show it when it's exciting because of other programs. It lacks commitment to the rhetoric they spout about getting every sport under the sun protected so we can all see it. When what they really mean is get every spot under the sun on the list, so they can show whatever bits suit them, when it suits them, simply to make more revenue...

There are two simple solutions to this:

1. Given more and more people are getting digital set top boxes (and they are cheap now - under $100) have a 'press red now' option to keep watching direct telecast of the sport while the news begins on time. The same could be used for Australian Idol and all those other live shows they let run over. Then people actually get choice. And while it will cost a little, it's a lot cheaper than Foxtel.

2. The government should enforce the shows the free channels nomintate to be shown in their entireity, or lose them to Foxtel. Less people can view it, but at least it means if the free-to-air channels pick it up we can have confidence that they will show it!

It's a crazy system where the moment a channel nominates a sporting event they can do things like half hour highlight packages, or not even show it at all, and yet because they picked it up it can't be shown by Foxtel.

First shot for free-to-air tv is one thing, but first shot that also blocks others without the channel having any real intention of showing things properly is just another form of monopoly, only this one is hidden under a banner of 'fair use' to supposedly protect those who can't affod pay TV, but instead is abused simply to maximise profit, and minimise opportunities of other stations to broadcast.

The technology available to us gives us choice, but the major corporations in this country are not interested in leveraging these technologies until they have no choice. It's unbelievable. There are MANY ways we are kept in a technological back-water in this country, and the issue is about corporate control, not necessarily cost. Just like my last post talks about (interesting that since then the Telstra MD has come out and said that Australian broadband is essentially a disgrace...).

Stand up Australia - demand more from those corporations that are more than happy to take your money. Make them realise that we want innovation and a better return on our investments.

In March next year, there will be government reforms on this issue. You can help decide HOW those reforms go. Go to www.fairgosport.com to find out how, read about the issue, and contact your local MP.

Telstra sucks!

2006-10-30T12:56:00.000+11:00

I want to add my voice to the growing chorus of Australians who realise that the big giant Telco in the Sky (Telstra) really does suck, have really been the cause of Australia's useless position in the world telecommunication market place and are extraordinarily guilty of putting NOTHING in front of their own profit and monopoly for too long. And it is all of us that pay the price of that selfishness.

Let me give you my example. I have an ADSL account with a service provider (not Telstra - they are simply a rip-off - and that is easy to prove). Of course, while I am not with them, I still need to use my normal phone copper wiring sent to my home which was done by Telstra. I want ADSL 2+. I want faster internet, pure and simple. Most of the western world has great access to fast internet (this is not a hollow claim, do some research online). We don't.

I rang an ISP who offers ADSL 2+ in my area. The guy on the phone did some checking of my phone number against the Telstra database. That database said that it is unlikely that I can get ADSL 2+. The reason is simple - ADSL 2+ degrades over distance of cable. I'm borderline. I could take the gamble, but it costs money to switch ISP, and the likelihood is once the tests are completed they find I can still only have ADSL 1.

Of course, Telstra won't DO the tests until the switch is made... so it's a gamble I'm not going to take.

So, what's the problem. What's my alternative? Simple. There is no alternative that makes any sense cost-wise. And the future? Still nothing. Why? Because I was told by an ex-Telstra employee that they laid rubbish cable right into the 90's, knowing full well they should be laying data quality cable, but weren't. This is second hand info, so I cannot confirm it, but it certainly lines up with what I can see in my situation.

So I'm stuck. While in Korea I could have easy access to super fast internet at a cheap rate, I'm not. I'm in Australia. Where we have had a monopoly telco provider run by the government until recently that is so backwards in technological terms that getting out of that ditch of short-sightedness may literally take decades!

Couple that with the fact that all their services are over priced compared to the competition and the 'value add' they provide is worthless in most cases, and the situation stinks.

I can tell you one thing. I won't be buying Telstra shares. Not ever. I can't support a company that short sighted that is that disinterested in innovation and helping take forward this country of ours into the technological age.

It's a similar situation to Channel 9 suing ICE TV rather than supporting and embracing new technologies. Short sighted slow moving behemoths that hold all the money and like to throw around legal threats instead of supporting emerging technologies that could secure their business TRULY frustrate me - and they should frustrate you too! Why? Because it effects us all in the long run. Instead of being in the forefront, they lag behind because they don't see what is coming, then they use their position to stifle competition and threaten legal action at every turn because they have the funds to do so. It stinks! It really stinks! Vote with your feet people. Stay away from companies that are more interested in monopoly and law suits than innovation and advancement.

Thanks Telstra. Your disinterest in the country that supports your business, and your lack of care for us is inspiring! Inspiring us to stay away from your company in droves. Here's to hoping more and more people stay away until the big blind juggernaut finally catches on!

End of rant.

Speaking of racial profiling...

2006-10-27T08:34:00.000+10:00

Check this article in The Age today by author Peter Roebuck. Talking about a paranoid world and racial profiling! Talking about no opportunity for someone to be judged on their own merit!

Read it HERE.

Racial profiling...

2006-10-20T13:54:00.000+10:00

I'm posting this without much thought. This may prove dangerous. I may add to it. I may delete it. Who knows...

I'm in a course all week learning about more computer stuff. At times I have to wait for things to happen so I did some surfing and was reading about a bloke in the NFL who was recently shot by an off-duty police officer, and is not doing too well at them moment (might be the three bullets they dug out of him).

Anyway, the claim from the police is the bloke was driving erraticaly, and to cut a long story short he was then followed, and in an exchange that followed was shot. The claim on the other side of the fence is he was targeted because he was black and had a great car - in other words, he could be a drug dealer or something bad at that's the only reason he was followed in the first place. In short, racial profiling. I make no comment on who I support in that specific story - I have no idea what went down and they accounts are so opposed it would be stupid to pick a side.

Now, I'm white, I'm 32, I live in Australia. I'm about the least likely to be racially profiled of just about any group. Therefore, I'm not sure I've ever really experienced it. Yet I want to say something on it anyway.

I HATE racial profiling.

It's everything a Christian should avoid. It cares nothing for who an individual is, and cares everything for a pre-conceived judgement. When I was in New York, Sharon and I dropped in to a factory outlet store near ground zero, where they had VERY expensive items at slightly less expensive prices. You know, $2,000 leather jackets for $1,700. That kind of thing. On the way out a white woman walked past the security guards with a store bag. They looked straight at her, looked at her bag and just let her through. Right behind her was a black 30-something guy. He also had the same bag. You can guess what happened to him. He's black. How could he afford a $2,000 jacket? That type of crap. I was appalled. It made me so angry (and believe me, the guy in question wasn't too happy either...)

So, you may be reading this, may even be getting a little frustrated yourself. Let me leave you with this question. Ever been on a train/bus/tram and a muslim man and woman in full muslim dress got on? Did you get uncomfortable? Even just for a moment? (I am ashamed to say I've caught myself doing that - but it taught me alot)

I hope you get what I'm getting at here. It's easy to be appalled by things like that story I gave about the black guy in New York (at least, I HOPE it is). But often we aren't immune to the prejudices that are relevant to issues in our own society - it gets into us through everything... Propaganda and prejudices are very easy to use to alter peoples' perceptions if we aren't careful. And at it's worst, there are a number of horrible examples in history about what that can lead nations to. Food for thought isn't it?

I guess that's what being "in the world but not of it" is all about.

This NEEDS to be banned!

2006-10-17T21:59:00.000+10:00

I need to start this post with a comment. I'm not perfect. I'm not the world's greatest singer. And our job shouldn't be to judge others...

But...

I also think this. If you vigorously pursue a career in the public eye, in show business, if you bring out singles and albums, if you try to sell a product, then I think you need to prove you are WORTH buying.

We all know about maufactured pop bands. We all hear about how in post-production the engineers work their wizardry and make things sound better than they were. I figured there would be the odd note that was a little out, they'd fix the pitch, and voila!

I didn't think they could do this though... And I didn't think someone THIS bad should be allowed to sell a record at all. Really. Even if they do have really big...

Anyway, you HAVE to listen to these two mp3's. The first is the 'fixed' version - it's just two short extracts I made to give you an idea what a sound engineer can REALLY do. The second is the original recording. It's basically the complete song because you just HAVE to listen all the way through. PLEASE listen right to the end. (Original versions I got were via YouTube - this is just an mp3 recording - go to YouTube and watch it if you like - it's got video too!!!)

One thing it shows is Peter Andre is actually not that bad live. But his wife, Jordan... Well, I won't spoil it, just listen...

Fixed

Original

Bronze... like a primary school medal...

2006-10-10T16:26:00.000+10:00

I got given a framed recognition award at work today. It's called the Bronze Recognition Award, and it says it's in recognition of the fact that I led a project team on a project that brought in over $750K in revenue.

It's kinda nice I guess. We all like recognition. But it also reminded me of those little medals and certificates and thing you got in primary school for swimming in a race. I used to swim in races... If you could call them swimming. It's more like floating and trying to propel myself forwards. Now, before you get the kind of mental image of a beached whale that I reckon you already have let me say a few things. One, I'm talking about primary school, and two, I wasn't overweight back then. That didn't happen until I was about 23 or so. It wasn't a weight thing - I just didn't go forward too well. I could float for hours, and was great in the surf, but put me in a pool and I swam like crazy... and got nowhere. Kinda like Eric the Eel at the olympics... Never could work that one out...

Anyway, I digress... The point of the story is this - I still used to get a piece of paper saying well done. I just can't work out if this thing I got at work is like that or not. I don't want this to sound ungrateful, it really IS nice that the work was noticed and appreciated... I just kind of half expect it to say

This award is presented to NATHAN YOUNG in recognition of trying hard to move forward in the pool and coming second last in the 25m Freestyle.

(It's true. I never came last. There was always at least one kid who couldn't reach the other side and nearly drowned in the process. He made me look good. Thanks kid... If you are still alive and haven't drowned yet...)

Looking back at this post I have no idea why I wrote it now, or what I was on about, but it's better than the crap I've been serving up lately (sorry about that - serious lack of focus!!!)

AKER AKER AKER!!!

2006-10-09T12:19:00.000+10:00

It's done. It's official already! Aker is a Doggie! AND we didn't have to give up Sam Power for him, which I'm pleased about. Aker is a champion, he'll fit in well at the Dogs, ad I think a change in scenery will do him well. Let's hope it does him as well as it did Barry Hall...

PS. Sorry about my photo editing... It was a quick job OK???

Getting better

2006-10-09T12:18:00.000+10:00

Richard 'Hampster' Hammond is recovering well. See my post below for the accident details, but this is great news. To a true legend we all say get well soon! And hope to see you back on Top Gear in the future!

Oh no take ii

2006-09-21T11:16:00.000+10:00

Breakings news is that Richard Hammond is critically injured trying to break the land speed record while filming for Top Gear. (If you have no idea what that show is you are missing out on one of THE most entertaining shows on TV. It might be about cars, but to give you an idea just how entertaining it is, Sharon LOVES it... and so do most other girls that watch it. It's that good) You may also know him as the Brainiac presenter.

Here's to hoping the 'Hampster' as he is affectionately known pulls through this ok.

Oh, and my feet are ok...

oh no!

2006-09-19T22:13:00.000+10:00

In the UK I used to run a bit, especially towards the end of my time there. Once, not long before leaving while we were living with the Thomas family I ran further than usual. A fair bit further. That afternoon my feet started to hurt. The next day I woke up and the outside edge of both my feet were black - top and bottom. And walking literally felt like I was stepping on needles. It was so bad I really didnt walk for nearly a week and they actualy were bruised for a whole month!!!

Tonight I went for a run in the rain and the darkness (the best time to run)... Longer than I have been going by a fair margin... I forgot the feet thing... I got out of the bath just now and my right foot is killing me...

Uh oh...

Beer ads are always the best!

2006-09-17T23:00:00.000+10:00

Lots of companies spend a lot of money on ads. So why are beer ads always the best?

Another classic, this one a flashdance rip-off can be viewed here.

Great job Big Ben!

2006-09-08T10:56:00.000+10:00

This will be reported elsewhere in the Aussie media I'm sure, but just wanted to give props to Ben Graham for making it as one of the NY Jets co-captains for this years American NFL season. This is nothing short of extraordinary! Why? Here's the reasons:

He is only in his second season in the sport
He was the oldest rookie in NFL history (age 31)
It was voted for by the players, not appointed by the coach or match committee
He is possibly the first Aussie to captain an American pro sport team (unconfirmed)
He is most probably the first player in modern professional sport to captain teams in two different sports and is surely the first to have done so on two continents (again, unconfirmed, but quite likely).

This is such an outstanding achievement for a bloke who took a big risk. Good luck with it big fella!

That HAS to be fun!

2006-09-06T08:07:00.000+10:00

If you haven't read Brad's latest post yet, go read it here. That HAS to be one of the best ideas I've ever heard of!

Turns out I like trees...

2006-09-05T15:32:00.000+10:00

So, Sharon and I were talking yesterday, and it turns out owning a home has turned us into people that like trees... I can't explain it much really. It's not that I didn't like nature before - I loved it actually. But I never really noticed Spring in action before... All of a sudden I notice trees that are budding with new Spring growth. I notice flowers and things like I haven't before. I appreciate trees in a way I never did before.

I could always stand on a mountain and marvel at Gods' awesome handiwork, but this is different. Now I can just look at a tree and I get it. I can marvel at the work of the Almighty and pretty damn funky God just by watching a tree in my yard that was last week totally bare all of a sudden spring to life with green everywhere. It knows just when to do it.

I can't see how there couldn't be 'intelligent design' when I see this. My sight is different now. Seriously.

How odd do I feel right now...

*mumbles something about turning into a tree-hugging hippy*

Farewell, mate!

2006-09-04T14:47:00.000+10:00

About 2 hours ago Steve Irwin was killed filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef. Early reports indicate he was stung by a stingray.

Farewell mate. A larger-than-life, over-the-top, fight for all he believes in type of guy that all Australia should be truly proud of for the amount he has achieved for wildlife education and conservation not only in this country but internationally.

You'll be sorely missed by us all.

World Champions

2006-09-02T22:21:00.000+10:00

Here's a thought...

Now that the U.S. basketball team have once again managed to not make it to the Gold Medal game at a major world championship, let alone win the gold medal, would it be too much to hope that they stop calling their club team that wins the NBA title World Champions finally?

Yeh... it'd be too much to ask. Nothing like blind arrogance...

Oh, and I was once told that the World Series in baseball is called that because of some paper or something called The World that was a sponsor or some similar story, so it was literally the 'World' Series. So in baseball I was going to forgive them... Then I started to read up on it, and I think that information was wrong. It seems the history of baseball in the U.S. is just as misguided. And the U.S. last won the actual world championship in baseball in 1974...

I know it seems like I'm yank bashing. I only write this blog because I'm watching the basketball worlds on TV as I write this. And besides, if you make big claims you need to back them up, or you leave yourself open. And I know, I know - one is a country event, the other is a club event. But still, the term World when you don't play other nations' teams is still crazy. The AFL premiers would have a better claim to World Champions as they really WOULDN'T be beaten in that sport, but it just would seem wrong...

What's so bad about 'National Champions'???

Meet Davo!

2006-08-29T15:22:00.000+10:00

Ahhh... it's good to be back!

I know - I've been gone a long time. Maybe even it'll be a while until you check to see if I've posted seeing as I've been away so long... I understand. Sorry about that. I was finishing off working with the last client I had, then I had two weeks off including going to Adelaide, then I was in Sydney on a conference for a week. But enough of me. I DO have a purpose today.

You see, I figured I would blog about something specific.

Brad had Pierre, then he bought Sebastien. He even spelt it like a French tosser - accent, e instead of a *sigh*... (Sorry Brad, but it's true!)

So, it's time for the world to meet Davo (for you non-Aussies out there, pronounce it Dave-oh). Now, the car in the picture is a repoduction of Davo, but Davo is identical. Think of them as identical twins if you will. It's just that I don't pick up Davo probably until Monday next week... Stupid paperwork...

It's time we supported Australian engineering and put something back into the local economy. Yep, no French pretentiousness here, just pure Aussie grunt.

Nice to have you home, Davo - you and your 18" rims. Maybe we should take a spin one day and see if little Seb can keep up...

*mumbles* little French poodle *mumbles*

Quick 2 minutes to check this out.

2006-07-20T14:27:00.000+10:00

Check this out

It'll make you laugh or cry... the dumbest internet business ideas that actually worked. It's good because it shows you anyone can make a million dollars - it's bad because it wasn't you who thought of those goggles for dogs...

Sad, yet strangely funny...

2006-07-14T13:53:00.000+10:00

In The Age today - what are the chances???:

"A police dog left in a truck with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.

Mary Stone, 41, of Utah in the United States, was expected to remain in hospital with a fractured pelvis and tailbone until at least tomorrow, said her husband, Paul.

The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck's engine was on, so Ranger could have air conditioning."

Latte and 3 sugars man...

2006-07-11T15:21:00.000+10:00

Well, I hadn't seen him out in the street since I last posted on him in my blog entry 'What good a cup of coffee???'

And then yesterday, needing a walk to clear my head, I started wandering down Collins St and it started to rain. Picking up the pace to get back to the office, there he was - squatting in the same spot as last time. Only this time he was barely out of the rain. Remembering he liked a latte with three sugars, I went over to the cafe and bought him one. When I went up to him and gave it to him, he was just the happiest bloke on the earth for that moment.

Whether it was that I remembered what he liked, or simply that I was there, it worked. It helped. It was the right thing.

Anyway, his name is Leslie. He stays with the Salvos when he can afford it (they are cheap, but he still is expected to pay something) so comes out and begs when he needs more money to stay in-doors. He's a good bloke. I gave him some cash - I hope he got back inside - it was darn cold last night.

Kinda puts things in perspective doesn't it... And he seemed pretty darn normal. I wonder what his story is...

Miss World and charity

2006-07-06T14:35:00.000+10:00

OK. So get this. Apparently Australia's contestant for the Miss World beauty pageant got the nod without competing! Shock horror! Turns out that the finals in Poland were brought forward, and there was 'no time' to arrange the state competitions without potentially handicapping the girl as she wouldn't be prepared enough. So they gave the job to Australia's runner up from last year.

One of the other potential contestants was quoted in The Age as saying this:

"I am disappointed they cancelled it. It is unfair. I was starting to organise fund-raising for World Vision. I had picked my charity. It is not exactly her fault but she didn't have any competition for this year and there may have been a better person to do the job."

I have one thing to say. Dear Miss disappointed, I hope that this great charity work you started to get organised you will continue with even though you aren't in the competition this year. Why? Well, it struck me as kind of stupid. It reads like she is saying it's not fair because she put in some hard work to do things for a charity, and now there is no point going through with it - as though the only reason to do it is because she might be Australia's contestant. Makes a mockery of it really...

*sigh*

Or am I being too harsh? Is charity from someone who has an alterior motive better than no charity? Take the whole gambling thing. The Salvation Army won't knowingly accept money from TAB and the like because of how the money is gained.

Interested on random thoughts from anybody reading this...

They did it...

2006-07-05T09:36:00.000+10:00

The Azzurri did it. They are through to the World Cup final. Not sure whether to be happy about that (because at least we lost to a finalist) or to be even more annoyed (because I believe we would have done as well against the Ukraine as they did, and therefore would have at least gone through to the last 4 ourselves...).

Well, good luck to them anyway. They did deserve this win - they played better. But MAN do they leave it late. Two goals in the 119th and 120th minutes! I'd be happy with either France or Portugal getting through to play them so we shall see what happens after tonight!

The money thing...

2006-07-04T08:38:00.000+10:00

Was reading a blog on The Age website this morning. It was reporting on some new research done by some very prominent academics, including a Nobel Laureate on whether there was any correlation between more money and happiness.

I almost can't believe people bother with these studies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the researchers. It's very valuable research. The trouble is that nobody takes any notice. We eat up the latest fad without regard for the realities of life...

Yep, the research found what we all know already. Money really doesn't make people happier. The correlation between more money and greater hapiness was extremely marginal, and often meant people sacrificed more of their day commuting, and less time socialising (trading a great thing for happiness with a terrible thing).

The point the article, and the researchers themselves were making was, have we got it all wrong? Is our focus on money a waste of effort. I don't get it. We all know this already. What worries me is that the focus on more money, more things, more status will not change if we all believe everything we read, everything we watch on tv, read all the trashy magazines so we can find out more about the stars and try and live like they do, or even just covet what they have.

That's the challenge. It's not about selling all we have perhaps, but it IS about trying not to always say to ourselves I need the latest in everything (something I am working on, but sometimes fail at still...)

Here's a challenge for you. Don't get a new mobile phone until you have a real reason (either it doesn't work, or the plan is too expensive). Don't just get one because you want a new one. Sounds simple? I'm not so sure...

No I

2006-07-02T21:40:00.000+10:00

Made t out alve on saturday! Ended up dong about 11 hours, whch was a lot better than last weekend. Spent today just recoverng though as have both a long week ths week and am workng all weekend comng up.

Left the letter out was complanng about n my last post on prncple. Mght make ths post hard to read - sorry about that. Just felt needed to make a stand...

Gven have a thng aganst that letter thought 'd gve an old and stupd joke.

What do you call a deer wth no eyes?
No eye-deer!

Hate that letter rght now!

The letter 'I'

2006-07-01T09:49:00.000+10:00

Well, it starts again. Saturday morning, take II.

Here's to hoping this one is more successful than last weekend! It's 9:30am, I've been in for about 2 hours. It's too early to tell if we are in trouble yet, so cross all of your fingers and toes for me!!!!!

Update 1:

3:oopm. Things are moving. Had a number of scares, but things are definitely moving forward.

I have learnt a valuable lesson. If someone provides you with 1000's of lines of computer code (literally) and the leave the letter 'i' out of those millions of characters worth of information. If that letter 'i' is left out in the wrong spot, it will make EVERYTHING fail... And fail BADLY...

Who'd have thought that the letter 'i' could be such a destructive letter! I'm thinking of banning the letter I in my next blog post just to make a protest against such cruelty!

We are proud of you boys!

2006-06-27T09:24:00.000+10:00

We are all proud of you boys! You took on the world and your heart, passion, and tenacity won us all over, and no small part of the world as well. People had no choice but to sit up and take notice of you and for that we applaud you.

Lets get a few things straight.

1. It probably wasn't a penalty.

2. Italy were very hard done by the ref with that send-off.

Therefore, in the scheme of things, we had a better deal than they did. Sure the penalty did us in, but we played for 40 minutes with them down to 10 men and couldn't penetrate - we had our chances, and we were beaten by a team that, while they had looked really quite ordinary and lucky in getting 7 points from the group stage matches, were a different team entirely in this match. The Azzuri were desperate in defence, and the wall they put up was near on impenetrable. And with only 10 men, they somehow summoned the energy to survive, and in the end, were rewarded for their bravery with a win.

They deserved it. On the strength of that one match, they deserved it.

But on the strength of the tournament, the Socceroos did - and for that as much as anything I'm broken-hearted!

Here's to Australia's football future. Here's to our entrance into the Asian zone, and the quality of matches that should do nothing but improve our squad. But don't think we will always make the finals. In the Asian zone we don't have a free pass to the World Cup. What we do get, however, is a large number of matches over which to qualify, to ensure our fate, rather than a sudden death double-leg tie against a team from the other side of the world.

Australia's footballing future will never be the same - but that doesn't mean it will come easy. It's just that we now have it in our own hands. We can ask for no more than that...

The epilogue...

2006-06-26T13:43:00.000+10:00

OK.

I got out.

It's working again.

But only, back to where it was before we began the pilot. The pilot itself was a failure.

I got home at 4am... It worked out to be 20 hours work without a break or any real food.

It's now Monday morning, I'm back in the office (users are OK thank goodness...) and I'm fuzzy in the head - a lot like jetlag really...

And if you are reading this blog and are confused as to what I'm talking about, read the previous one and it will all make sense!!!

The upshot is now I'm up for TWO more weekends work instead of just one... And there's no guarantee that they'll be better than the last one. Oh well - that's the IT project life!!!

Hopefully my next blog will NOT be work related...

In fact, I'm tipping that, given the game tonight, the next blog may well be sporting related... though whether it's joy or sorrow I really have no idea. The 'beautiful game' as it is often called is funny like that...

Not good...

2006-06-24T20:35:00.000+10:00

Because i'm tired, frustrated and generally annoyed i'm putting this post in my blog as a release.

It's 8:30 pm Saturday evening. I've been sitting here at work (where I am now - and yes, I DID say 8:30 PM on SATURDAY...)

I've been here since 7:30 am without a break.

I'm putting in a major project.

Things have gone horribly wrong.

I currently have a phone stuck pressed between my head and my shoulder while I type this, on hold to a support group for a third party in the U.S.

Not my ideal way to spend Saturday night (or Saturday day, or anything else for that matter...)

The whole network is basically down.

It's needs to be NOT down.

Very badly it needs to be NOT down.

Monday morning when people come back to work, it most DEFINITELY needs to be NOT down.

I also amd desperately in need of sleep, food and a general holiday.

The next 12 hours or so could get VERY interesting.

This is the bit of I.T. I DON'T like.

And for those of you who know me, and may think I make good money, try dealing with this and you may ask yourself if it's all worth it... I sure sometimes do... This is NOT a good situation to be in.

Well, luckily I don't actually panic, unlike a few people I work with, so as far as it goes I'm still relatively clear-headed.

And this helped get it off my chest too!

Still on hold, but this blog has gone on long enough. I'm out.

Here's to hoping I get to see my wife and get some sleep soon...

UPDATE:

It's 10:54 pm. Been on the phone now for 2 1/2 hours to the U.S.

Worried about falling asleep. We've tried a lot of thing with this guy. They aren't working. In fact, there is no guarantee things cna be put back exactly as they were even given we full and complete backups. Go figure. Who'd ever think complete full backups wouldn't save you if all else fails?!?!?!?!

I've been here 15 1/2 hours now. No break. No meals. 1 can of coke, 2 coffees, 1 bag of chips and a donut all day.

This could be a very bad weekend in my life. In fact, I'm half-way through and it already qualifies.

Signing off again for now. Depending on how things go I may update again just to keep myself sane, and awake...

Update 2:

11:55 PM...

Still here... Have no idea if we are any closer to a solution or not...

Update 3:

Now things get interesting. I call the managers, let them know how things are, and ask if we can get one of the other engineers in so I can send Rob home (who's been here since 7:30, like me).

They say yes. Only thing is, the other bloke who can help us while we are working with the U.S. lives in Geelong.

So we ring. He says yep. But... He's chugged back 3 beers. His ok to think, but driving is not the right thing to do. So as I type this, I'm waiting on whether or not I can get approval for a taxi to the city from Geelong so I can get him in and send Rob home.

Fingers crossed!

Of course, if he comes in, I stay, if he doesn't I go home as I can't stay here on my own for OH&S reasons.

It's now 17 1/2 hours straight! Damn my job is interesting some times!!! (NOT in a good way, in case you didn't get the tone of that last sentence).

OK. Signing out again. Let's see if I get another update on here before I go home! Yay me! I'm getting delirious! I know I will look back on this post and cringe!!!

Update 4:

Re-read this blog. Sorry about the spelling and grammatical errors. I'm tired...

It's now 1:42 AM. David is in a taxi on his way from Geelong, Rob and I have been on the phone to the U.S. since 8PM (LOVE to see that phone bill!!!)... Rob is going home once David gets here. David and I WILL finish getting things working.

We will because we have to. 1500 users at the client I work for can't be not able to work on Monday.

OK. Back to work. Just had a Snickers to give me some energy. That makes it a coke, a donut, a pack of chips, 2 coffees and a snickers since 6:30 AM yesterday... Looking at that is REALLY not good.

Update 5:

Hopefully we are nearing getting this fixed. Things seem somewhat better. David is in. Rob hasn't gone yet. Vision getting rather blurry...

GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-23T08:09:00.000+10:00

Yes Baby! Yes Yes Yes!!!

We are through to the business end now! Yes!!!

From here on it's just a bonus. We play Italy. We shall see. They are classy, but they are also the biggest bunch of drama queens of ANY team in the world. So as often is the case in the international game, it may sadly come down to the style of reff'ing (by the way, while I do think the ref in this match missed a couple of blatant penalties, and gave a bloke 3 yellow cards, he still did a pretty darn good job).

Why does it matter about the ref? Simple. Ours and Italy's games are very different. We play quite a physical brand of football, like Croatia, or England.

The Italians are super skillful, but they REALLY see the game as non-contact, and will do anything to ensure the ref knows when they are touched. Call it play-acting, cheating, or just doing the ref's job for him. However you look at it though, the styles are very different. And it's the style the ref refs to that will perhaps ultimately determine the outcome. Now, that's a little sad of course, there are 22 guys on the pitch trying to win the game, they are the ones that count. But it can happen. That's part of the game.

But this one thing I will say. Even if the ref's style means we lose, PLEASE don't actually blame him. It's his interpretation. It doesn't mean we were robbed.

Here's to hoping it's a great, entertaining spectacle, and here's to seeing the Socceroos in the final 8!!!!

GO AUSSIE!

What good a cup of coffee???

2006-06-20T21:27:00.000+10:00

Had a strange experience today. At least, it was for me. I walked past a homeless bloke in the city, he was squatting down on the pavement, and looked pretty cold (not surprising given it was about 6 degrees outside!!!). I thought, 'he'll mumble something about wanting some money, and I probably should do something about it'. Then as I walked past, he mumbled something, which was too soft to hear. I walked on by without looking, as though I didn't notice he was addressing me.

I got about another 20 metres or so and then stopped. My first thought was, I could give him money, but he'll just go and buy alcohol or something. Then I thought, maybe he just is cold and could do with a coffee. Surely not. He'll want money for booze. My thoughts actually embarrassed me, but I share them here to get it off my chest.

Anyway, I went back and sat down next to him on the ground for a minute, spoke about the weather and how cold it was, and then asked if he'd like a coffee or something. His eyes lit up and this great big smile split across his face.

'Latte with 3 sugars if that's ok please'.

Funny, never thought a homeless bloke would want a latte...

Anyway, I walked off to get his coffee, and after a couple of minutes I came back. He saw me carrying them, hopped up, almost broke into a run to get it and had the most incredibly grateful look on his face I have just about EVER seen.

It was evident that by treating him like a real person, and by spending a whole $2.40 on a coffee I had made his whole day.

Then as I walked off 2 things happened. First, it occurred to me just how damn good I have it. Simple as that.

The second thing was a little more sobering and unnerving. What good was my coffee to him? It actually upset me. I mean, it made his day, but it didn't help his situation. I sit here writing this on my laptop in my warm house, and he is probably in an alley, freezing - barely surviving.

I may have noticed him, acknowledged him as a person, but I sure didn't do him much good... I'm still pretty darn confused about it - it wasn't what I expected to feel like.

What do you think? Do you think my coffee really served a purpose for him?

Here's something you don't see every day...

2006-06-14T08:12:00.000+10:00

Sheer grit!!!

2006-06-13T21:32:00.000+10:00

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes!!!!

What a start for the boyz! 3-1 against a team that is ranked over 20 places higher in the world ranking, a team that ran out of puff in the heat, and were too willing to just defend a 1-0 advantage!

Cahill, you are a true champion, and Aloisi, you have done so much for us it's just incredible!

I did learn something interesting though... I was reminded of how when people are passionate about something, and it goes wrong (in this case, Japanese fans) we sometimes view things in what could only be described as an 'odd' light.

Comments on a Japanese forum for football included comments such as Australia were playing rugby and the tackling was disgraceful (to me the Japanese just simply didn't know HOW to tackle, and threw themselves down like soft little marshmellows - I saw less diving in week 2 of the Aquatics at the olympic games...), through to an odd comment that said Japan played much better than the Australians and were really unlucky. I'm not sure which game THAT fan was watching, but the vast majority of both posession and chances came to the Aussies, so that seems like a strange one.

Still, I know how upset I get when I'm passionately watching a sport and we lose so I'll just take the win! As for the Schwarzer decision (or lack thereof) who cares. We won. 3-1 is a great score. Occasionally, you get a bad call, it happens. We still won. If we didn't go down 1-0 we may never have got those goals at the end.

GO BOYS! Get a draw against Brazil (easier said than done, I know) and we will be really close to qualifying for the second round. Now that would be something! Either way, the whole country is bloody proud of you! You've already gone where no other Aussie team has gone before you - a win in the world cup tournament! Never say die! That attitude will get us a long way.

Writers' block...

2006-06-12T18:33:00.000+10:00

Sorry. I know I haven't updated much lately, which I concede may make me lose my audience... I've been really busy at work, and when not at work I've been suffering a form of bloggers' writers' block if there is such a thing.

Nothing profound has been going on in my head, and nothing exciting has been happening in my life. I painted a room in our house yesterday and today, and I'm trying to work out whether or not we can afford an Audi A4 for our car, but apart from that it's really all.

Check back though - the block can't last forever :P

Guy Goma - a dead-set legend!!!

2006-05-31T12:51:00.000+10:00

Heard about this one yet? It seems the BBC made a boo boo! Yep, it turns out Guy Goma, a Congo native who is a London cabbie, was at the BBC to go to a job interview in their IT support department.

The trouble was, someone mistook him for Guy Kewney, an IT journalist who the BBC was expecting as a guest expert on their news show... Yep, you can guess what happened next. They get this poor bloke on NATIONAL TV to discuss the legal battle between the Apple computer company and the Apple recording company owned by the Beetles.

It's funny. It's damn funny! I feel sorry for the bloke though, he missed out on the job. In fact I don't even know if he got a replacement interview... Anyway, here's the website... Check it out. http://www.guygoma.com/

The dumbing-down of our society...

2006-05-31T09:04:00.000+10:00

*sigh* Big Brother... the Big BB... I simply won't watch it. I even give Sharon crap when she does (which, in her defence is pretty rare). I know, I know. We hear it in the news all the time. The moral decay of society... Blah blah...

I'm not worried about their morals though. Forget that. That's their choice, not mine. It's the sheer (lack of) quality of the actual program that gets me. We all know the whole thing is massively manipulated by the fact that we see only what the producers want us to see. We all know that they have the power to paint the housemates in almost any light they see fit. (Yes yes, I know they can only show stuff that happens, but you can easily show parts of a conversation and make it look like something entirely different. Cut out the end, miss the start etc etc).

So I was in the kitchen the other night and between add breaks on a BBC cooking show on Foxtel Sharon was watching the BB nomination night.

There was Gretel Killeen, interviewing the dude who was evicted the night before. (No idea of his name). He said the one thing we ALL know already, that they edit the footage and can portray a scene in any light they choose, and that he felt at least a little hard done by in one such episode.

Well, Gretel went sick. Yep, that is the only way to describe her childish out burst. She belonged in a kindergarten, not on a prime time high rating TV show. 'How dare you say we edit the show!' 'I've been doing this for 6 years and we don't edit' Blah blah blah. Crap crap crap.

The very fact that they have maybe 10? cameras filming 24 hours a day, and yet they show one hour shows from 240 hours footage means you edit Gretel. There IS no alternative. And by editing you have complete power to portray things in any light you wish. We all know this already. How dumb do you think we are? How could you possibly claim you don't???

So, to come on national television and claim that BB never edits footage is one of the most ludicrous and crazy statements I've heard. You embarassed yourself on national television and did yourself no favours at all.

Between that and the 'you are not being clear' every five seconds from BB when they were being about as clear as a clear piece of glass just made me want to throw my crumpet (which was what I was making at the time in the kitchen) at the tv... Glad I didn't though, the crumpet was a lot more satisfying than the show was...

Right. I feel SOOO much better now. That we really annoying me. Getting it off my chest was very cathartic!

Today's funny informational facts...

2006-05-24T12:39:00.000+10:00

OK, a couple of odd things for the day...

Checked my web site stats today just out of curiosity. I know you can go to blog sites on blogspot and they can give you a random blog to go to next. At least, I ASSUME that's why someone got to my blog from this one... http://eroticwrestling.blogspot.com/

Yep, someone got to my blog from a link at the eroticwrestling blog. Now, I have NOT clicked this link (I'm at work, so doing so could well get me fired given the title...) and I do not necessarily endorse what they do either, but hey, it's a wide and varied world we live in! :) My blog sure would be a let down for that poor person given the likely content in the previous blog they visited. I guess they COULD have a link to my site, but I highly doubt that... If anyone is game enough to check feel free to let me know in the comments section...

Second funny fact:

According to Google Trends - in 2006 more people searched the word "sheep" into Google from New Zealand OR the UK than put "Jessica Alba"AND "Eva Longoria" combined!!! (Number 1 and 2 in a recent FHM top 100 sexiest women poll). Australia had their priorities more in order.

The 'Beast'

2006-05-23T08:55:00.000+10:00

Well, we have a new blogger in our midst! That's right, the inimitable Beth! Find her blog here. It's called The Beastwood, which is frankly pretty clever, and is also a fair estimation, as she's a bit of a party animal... Just check out the photo of her moves. I do believe from memory that photo was taken during the song Golddigger... You should have seen her when the line "Get down girl go'head get down" was belting out!!!! Talkin' 'bout drop it like it's hot!

We look forward to hearing more from Betho! I've attached a permanent link to go with the other famous bloggers I know!

Sport as far as the eye can see!

2006-05-16T08:38:00.000+10:00

Ah Sport... gotta love it don't ya?

Last weekend was a sportravanganza... or something like that anyway.

Friday night kicked off with Dean, Steve and myself watching the (woeful, it must be said) St Kilda - Geelong game.

Got up Saturday morning, watched the Miami - NJ NBA game. Missed the afternoon footy game due to rehearsal. In the evening, it was chillin' in Steve's spa with him and Dusty, watching both the West Coast - Magpies, and the Hawthorn - Brisbane game (shame about that Bruce for Brown trade Freindy! That cost you a bundle!!!)

Got home at midnight, just in time to watch the FA Cup final live, which went into extra time, and then a penalty shootout. It was an incredible game, with Gerard kicking one of the most outstanding goals I've ever seen at the end to level the score.

Then it was up on Sunday morning for the Spurs - Dallas NBA game. This was followed instantly by the Port - Bulldogs game (GO Dogs!) and the day ended with the 8:30 replay of Bombers - Carlton before a well earned rest...

It was decadent. It was OTT. It was just damn wonderful!!!

And no, don't think 'poor Sharon, she is the neglected wife' - she was away for the weekend.

See, I had my excuse!

Nath's assorted ramblings

2006-05-09T10:54:00.000+10:00

Sorry folks, I know it's been WAY too long between drinks... No excuses. I was in Sydney last week, and very busy, but I had the week before that so no good excuses anyway!

I'm reading an interesting book at the moment called the Cross and the Crescent by Phil Parshall. Phil is a missionary in Muslim countries and this book is an interesting examination of the Muslim faith by a Christian how understands their faith, their culture, their questions doubts and belief, just as much some of us understand Christianity.

It's a fascinating read. It's not easy - he's a scholar, so the book is a little on the essay-ish side. I like that, but the style isn't going to be the easiest to read. I can however recommend the book. With all that is going on in the world - the polarisation of religious thinking and marginalisation of Muslims by the western world, this book is in my mind really important.

Lately I've been thinking I just don't really know anything much about the Muslim faith. Ignorance is not a good thing, so I set out to find out more. I wanted to do it though by getting information from a Christian source, but one that LIVES in Muslim communities, one that really does understand what they face, and what they believe.

This book is just that. It looks at the message of Islam, the Quran, the Hadith and the message of Christianity and the Bible in comparison.

I might put down some thoughts on this book over the coming weeks. We shall see. One thing is for sure - I can't read more than a few pages without having my mind go into overdrive. Phil sure makes me THINK. And that's a good thing!

Do yourself a favour, go an buy this book - I challenge you to enlarge your understanding of what others believe, in the hope that if ever required, we may better relate to them, and thereby perhaps be sensitive to them. As well, this book is primarily an evangelism tool to Muslims. This may help equip you for a conversation you never even thought you would have!

Blah

2006-04-11T23:32:00.000+10:00

Blah... It's been a week. Sorry about that. I've been a bit sick.

Thanks to Miriam and the team for doing Sunday night for me. Sorry for dumping you in it at the last moment Miriam! heard you did a good job so thanks!

On a better note, I got Foxtel Digital installed, with IQ. Damn IQ is good! It's really pretty cool. Wasn't sure it'd be that big a deal really, but it's quite useful. Oh, and Matt and Steve, you guys were right. Sports Center rocks.

So Brad's got an interesting post going on if you are a Salvo over at his blog. He's dug up one of those never-ending issues again that is debated within the Salvos. Always fun to see who says what, see the sparks and the passion fly. It's good. Nice to see people think things are worth discussing. Nice to see some life in these issues as to me it proves the movement is alive and well. Questions are good. They make us think. Agreeing with things blindly is not Christianity, it's cult worship. And being part of any Christian movement, again in my opinion, should encourage members to soul-search. To question. To challenge things. This isn't about being a rebel or a traitor. It's about understanding what is truly important to a movement, and what isn't.

The Salvos is a young movement. Things will change. I know there are some marked differences, but in nearly 1500 years or however old it is, the catholic church has altered it's doctrines many times. Now, I know some of those changes were not made on spiritual grounds at all, and I'm not suggesting we follow suit, but I'd be surprised if all of our doctrines remain ENTIRELY as is now if we are still around in a few hundred more years... What matters to me is that we are still true to what God has called us to be.

A lot of William and Catherine Booths decisions were made because of the situation they found themselves in at the time. We need to remember that. The sacraments were a hot topic then and William wanted to be different to prove a point. This was warranted. But it does cause some interesting discussion now - over 100 years on. Why? Because it's a society based decision, not really biblical (I'm not saying it's ANTI-biblical, or contradictory in any way) just that it's not necessarily as easy to support as a position. It seemed more of a political/social decision. So to me it stands to reason that things like this, drinking, baptism and other things will be continually brought up, questioned, challenged, and in some instances changed. Indeed, the sacraments are widely practiced in Salvo churches now, so it's a case in point. That decisions I don't believe has in any way harmed the movement at all.

I once read a draft of an interview with a very prominent Salvationist. The draft was for a Salvation Army publication. At one point this person said that they thought that not drinking should be pushed as a very positive life choice, particularly because our body was God's temple, but that it shouldn't be a requirement for membership anymore. That it wasn't necessarily relevant any more to a great many Salvationists. Needless to say, the senior leaders got hold of the draft of the interview, did NOT approve it and that section was replaced with other parts of the interview that were less controversial and towed the party line better. It was interesting censorship.

I don't know if they were afraid of what this person said, or that it might look like they supported that view themselves by publishing it, or whether they just didn't want to deal with the potential backlash.

The bottom line to me is this. Don't be offended when people question the movement - when they question the choices of the movement. It DOESN'T make us rebels. It doesn't mean we don't care deeply about it. People on the outside question it. Maybe we need to question it ourselves to really work out what our own position is so we can have REAL answers... God gave us brains and sometimes we exercise them. Frankly, I'm glad Brad has exercised his. All I can say is don't shut your brain down just because a question challenges what you've always thought on an issue. You might find the question actually helps you get STRONGER on your position. Just ensure you seek God out in it and trust him to guide you through.

Jesus questioned God when he didn't like something (think garden of Gethsemene - he wanted to get God to find another way). But in questioning the decision, it actually solidified to Jesus why he had to do it. It made him stronger, not weaker.

About 6 months ago I asked a friend of mine who is also a very prominent Salvo from overseas whether they ever just questioned whether God may just not exist. Whether maybe we'd die and find we had it wrong all along... I was worried I was the only one, and that maybe it somehow meant I had no faith. He said of course he questions it. He, like I, believe it's a pretty natural process. He's one of the most amazing Chritians I've ever met. It's comforting to know he doesn't switch his brain off at the door, but rather thinks through what he believes.

Big win and bye bye

2006-04-04T08:47:00.000+10:00

Well, it was a great weekend. Started it off on the right note with a THUMPING 115 point drubbing of the Tigers. Ahhh the sweetness of it all. And while I'm happy that he's back, it was great to see Nathan Brown under perform and Terry Wallace say it was his worst defeat as a coach... As a true doggies supporter, I'm not exactly excited when those two perform well. Ah bitterness in sport, it's a great thing isn't it? :P

Speaking of bitterness in sport. What's with Jana and Tamsyn? Just when we all thought it was over and they'd learnt to shut their mouths and get on with the business of racing we get this again. Girls girls girls! Shut it! We don't care. You are taking up valuable news space.

Brad's left home (bye Brad). So now Huey, Duey and Annie are living in Blackburn. It's a nice place, so if you haven't been there yet go and invite yourself around - everyone else does! :P

On the weekend we had out self-denial Sunday. I hope we reach the $75,000 target. It's ambitious, but it's so important to help all the work the Salvation Army is doing around the world. If you haven't given yet and are linked to the Salvos please do so - money is such an integral part of development work. There is never enough to go around.

Short and sweet today. Much work I have to do. The anger, grows within you it does... Sorry - damn I love Yoda. Speaking of Star Wars, whilst I'm no diehard fan, I stumbled across a brilliant PC Wallpaper site for Star Wars. This stuff is great, and there is lots of it! Find it here http://simonz.co.hu/wallp_eng.html

The Forum - go post NOW!

2006-03-30T08:42:00.000+11:00

I've been toying with the idea of starting a forum for over 12 months now. Now, I don't need to. Lukey has one! It's a great idea, and he has some good areas to post.

The thing is, a forum works REALLY well if lots of people use it, and they post regularly. Of course, if they don't, it will die a quick and painful death. I'm a seasoned forum user and I know how interesting a GOOD forum can be. But the ONLY thing that makes a forum good is because it is active.

So I'm putting my weight behind The Forum by posting about it here.

I ask you to seriously consider doing 3 things:

1. Register for the forum. It's free, there is NO email spam ever, and it gives you a profile to use.
2. Post on it.
3. Post on it some more.

The link you need...

http://www.aokforums.com/luke/luke.html

Get cracking! It is good only if we all use it damnit!

Aussie Rules in full swing!

2006-03-30T08:21:00.000+11:00

Yeh baby! The season begins again! No more pre-season crap. No more off-season trade talk and garbage! Now we get to see them PLAY! Now we get to actually scream and cheer and lose Friday nights, Saturday all day and Sunday afternoon and hear our wives tell us off for ignoring them all weekend. (That's not all good, but hey, it's footy, right?)

Lets go DOGGIES! Not sure how my boys will do this year - losing 3 guys over 6ft 5in for the whole season is not a good sign, but hey we'll see how we go anyway. As a proud member of the Western Bulldogs footy club I shall be there cheering them on regardless.

Oh yeh, and I have Foxtel coming on Tuesday, so this year I won't miss ANY games I want to see! Ahh the joy! The excitement!

On another note, Brad moves out on Saturday. Bye Brad. He was a good boarder. He has a messy room, but hey, if you close the door nobody notices! It was fun Brad, for what we saw of each other. I'm helping him and Millsy and Annie move on Saturday because I am a nice guy (NOT because I want to ensure he really does leave, contrary to popular opinion!!!)

So it's back to 'Naked Tuesdays' again for me... I mean... Ummm... You didn't read that ok?

Games are over and some are staying... or trying to anyway.

2006-03-28T17:19:00.000+11:00

Well, sad as it is the games are behind us. It was a fantastic time to be in Melbourne. I know, I know, it was only the Commonwealth Games, not the Olympics or anything.

And yet, it was amazing! Melbourne embraced this spectacle and we all got into party mode. Athletes poured everything they had into competing for their countries, and all around we were treated to this incredible... well, this incredible 'thing'. I can't do it any better than that. I have no other words. But it was stunning. Sitting at the G when Kerryn ran in to take first place in the marathon and being amongst the most almighty roar was simply staggering. It brought a tear to my eye - just being taken away by the whole emotion of the moment as all 85,000 of us willed her to the finish line.

There were many other moments, but that one will remain with me - it was inspiring and moving.

Anyone keeping up with the news will be aware of all the athletes that are currently missing since the games - a whole host from Sierra Leone (75% of the team - after 70% went missing at Manchester... as Matty Parker put it 'at least they are improving'). Also, one athlete from each of Tanzania and Bangladesh are gone, and now 9 from Cameroon.

Here are the 6 from Sierra Leone who were found in Sydney yesterday.

It's a fascinating topic - I certainly have read and spoken to a lot of people who are really annoyed that these athletes would do that. I don't share that view - I really don't.

You and I will NEVER (hopefully) understand ANY of what it is like to live in a country ravaged by war, conflict and poverty. It's easy to say things like 'there are lots of people in those situations who are seeking refuge here, why should these people jump the queue'. I'll tell you why, and no, it's not about the fact they are athletes and therefore could bolster our 'stocks'. It's called compassion. They are here, and are pleading for help. That's why.

One thing about Jesus was he never took his eye off the individual simply because of the 'greater good'. He healed a man who was a leper because he was in need, not necessarily because he was the 'most' deserving, or the one who had been affected the longest. The man was present, so Jesus showed compassion - that was enough. The simple question I ask is 'can you blame them for staying?' Of course not. Keep in mind all the things we will never understand about a land of war and strife, and can you blame them for attempting to stay here once they make it over here?

Is there a risk of 'opening up the floodgates'? Of course there is. But if we start saying we would rather keep them out, and leave them to those situations rather than have this place overrun and our quality of life drop then we are truly nationalistic, but also lacking any human compassion. And for me, as a Christian, compassion MUST come before nationalism and national pride, even with this country I hold so dear. Compassion for humans is a duty. Personally, if they are found to be at risk and truly in danger then they should be allowed to stay, regardless of if someone still over in the other country may be 'more deserving' (however you actualy can define that). They are here, they need help, that should be enough.

Happy birthday

2006-03-25T09:45:00.000+11:00

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday dear me,
Happy birthday to me!

Awesome!

2006-03-22T10:52:00.000+11:00

Well, it's been an awesome few days. Saw cycling heats on Saturday, then went to the G on Sunday and saw, amongst other things and awesome gold medal for Australia in the womens marathon. You should have heard the 80,000 people errupt when Kerryn hit the stadium. It was phenomonal! Fee rang me and I knew it was because she would be watching outside. Couldn't hear her, but yelled down the phone that she was going to win - it was still touch and go with the Kenyan, so Fee wasn't sure from outside.

The best thing was in the 100m for visually impaired. They are allowed a guide if they want, who is meant to run along side them to help them know where they are, when to stop etc. One poor bloke had a guide that was SO slow, the athlete had crossed the finish line and his guide was ONLY HALFWAY DOWN THE TRACK! The sad, but also awesome thing was, because of this, the poor guy kept running! He ended up doing a full 400m before the officials stopped him. What was great though was not his misfortune, but the AWESOME cheering and clapping he was getting from the crowd. People realised what had happened, and felt perhaps a little embarassed, but also recognised the awesome achievement of an athlete like this guy. It was touching. It was moving. Now he just needs a better guide...

Then Monday night it was dinner with Fee and Darren (Darren was meant to join us afterwards as well at the G, but he scammed a coaches pass to the swimming!!!! pool-side with the athletes! to see Leisel smash her world record). Anyway, off the G again, this time to see Asafa romp in the 100m, and Craig Mottram, and Brooke Krueger-Billett who won the hammer throw.

GO JAMAICA!

Just had to put that in - they won both the men's and women's 100m, and now have 4 golds! My adopt-a-team is thumping Brad's. Not that I'm gloating or anything... Not at all...

Sweaty velodrome and Ricardo!

2006-03-18T19:25:00.000+11:00

Sharon and I made it to our first Commonwealth Games event today. It was cycling heats at the velodrome. Great venue, but to keep temperature optimal for the athletes, there is a sign saying that the place is kept at 25 degrees. Now, that is pretty warm anyway, but when your seats are in the back row (in other words, near the roof) i think it was closer to 55! So it was a sweaty, slightly smelly experience. But great fun cheering on our Aussie boys and girls, and also Ricardo Lynch from Jamaica (Sharon and I were pretty much on our own with cheering for Ricardo).

Good on him though - he ended up getting 5th in the Mens Sprints, so awesome effort, and close to the first medal for a Jamaican these games.

On the Aussie note, seeing the Meares girls in action was awesome, as was watching Ryan Bayley (who as I write this just got through to the semis).

Go Aussie, Go Jamaica. Aussies you rock! Jamaica, you are frankly the coolest of all Commonwealth nations.

Tomorrow we go to the 'G' to see the heats of the 100m and the marathon finishes, followed by the 'G' again on Monday night to see the 100m finals (go Asafa). Finally, next Saturday we are back at the 'G' - it's a sell out so will be awesome - to watch the relays and Mottram. Gonna be a HUGE week! :)

The ref!

2006-03-17T09:05:00.000+11:00

I know, I know. By posting this I can be accused of sour grapes and all that... But geez! Did anyone see the English jumper that rugby 7's ref had on under his top? Seriously. We aren't meant to win games against better opposition like England (in the 7's that's sad but true) but to lose to a continual stream of dubious decisions and send offs was a bit hard to stomach. Dean and I were out for a few at Balsamic, watching the game, and it was a bit of a bummer.

Still, as always is the case we had our chances and they were dropped. Oh well. We still made the next round so all is not lost!

Please forgive me if most of my posts are of a sporting nature over the next week or so. I'm such a sucker for sport, and with the first test on (good one Clarkey!), the games, and the footy season about to start I'm a little inundated with things to watch. I'm on the lookout for odd little stories on the games though, so if I see something cool I'll post it.

And don't foget - GO JAMAICA!!!

And Jimmy Cliff did a free concert last night at the Myer Music Bowl. How cool is that? (I may well be showing my age with that last comment...)

The duck and the fish

2006-03-16T10:04:00.000+11:00

The Duck

For those of you who watched the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and were thinking 'what the hell was that duck thing all about' well, now is your chance to get an explanation (sort of, anyway).

http://www.theage.com.au/news/commonwealth-games/a-little-duck/2006/03/15/1142098537586.html

That link is a link to an article by the author of the poem himself, Michael Leunig, where he (kind of) explains the duck metaphor.

If you can't be bothered reading it here is a quick run down. A Russian dude ran in Melbourne at the '56 Olympics and won the 10,000m. He represented the duck given the cold war was on and he was in enemy territory.

There you have it... go figure!

The Fish

And finally, those fish on the Yarra are apparently looking for a home. The proposed idea by Johnny So is to give one to different municipalities, and keep one on the Yarra near the aquarium. Not a bad idea Johnny! But I also think I deserve one in my back yard.... or we could put one in Steve's pool!

Yeah maan!

2006-03-16T07:51:00.000+11:00

Brad and I have decided to adopt a country for this Commonwealth Games. It's not about Australia - we love Australia. It's just we already know we are going to win the medal tally (whether you count properly - gold medals first, or whether you cheat like the Americans and change the way you count when the Aussies beat you at the world swimming championships...).

So, we are adopting countries that certainly have a shot at a medal or two (don't want total disappointment!) but aren't seen as a big threat. Go the under-dog!

I'm going with Jamaica. Brad went with Cameroon (boo!!!) . Lets see who comes through with the goods... I'm quietly confident, but am a true under-dog. Apart from Asafa Brad's boys and girls look stronger, and I do mean stronger - they should get medals in weightlifting...

Bring it on Jamaica! Win some gold for you biggest supporter in the whole world... or not... but a solid supporter for the purposes of these games none the less!

For your listening pleasure, the National Anthem of Jamaica.

cynic-o-meter goes into high gear

2006-03-14T14:40:00.000+11:00

Read this post at The Age website today http://www.theage.com.au/news/athletics/pittman-pulls-out-of-baton-relay/2006/03/14/1142098445129.html.

Turns out Jana Pitman decided not to be a part of the Queen's Baton relay this afternoon in the city for the Commonwealth Games which starts tomorrow night. Reason cited was the persistent hamstring injury. Oh yeh, I forgot that, and I quote 'She'll be 100 per cent when she steps out on the track in the competition [next week]'.

Do you know what would be really refreshing for once? Honesty. Why can't her manager just say 'We know Jana is having issues with both the public and the press, partly unfairly but mainly due to the fact she is a whinger and has just recently said she doesn't want to run for our country anymore. As a result we feel she may not receive a warm and friendly welcome from the public (who can blame them really) and also feel her safety may even be at risk. To avoid the possible embarrassment she has decided to stay home.'

What would it hurt to be honest? NOBODY is really going to believe after everything that has gone on in the last week that she really has a hammy issue. Usually when it smells like poo, it's because it IS poo...

Amazing potatoes and SERIOUSLY nasty burgers...

2006-03-14T14:21:00.000+11:00

Well, I'm officially exhausted. I used to get tired going to youth camps, due to lots of things to do, lots of socialising and then staying up way too late... Now, having just completed cooking for nearly 60 people on one of those camps I realise just how easy I always had it! Being on camp is a piece of cake compared to cooking for one. (mind you, bed times of 1:30am, 2am, and 3am didn't help my cause any...)

However, I still had an awesome time. And thanks to all those who helped Sharon, Frij and myself during the weekend - we simply couldn't have done it without you all!

I learnt a lot and frankly if I ever have the opportunity/privilege/fortune/misfortune/any other word to describe it to do another camp I can see exactly where things need to be done better... Not sure it's something I want to put into practice, but at least I know!

Special mention to our roast potatoes on Sunday night. They were pretty much the best potatoes I've ever had, which was a big win given they were served up at a camp, when almost ANYTHING tastes good. (Almost... see below for exceptions).

Special mention to the burgers on Monday afternoon as the WORST thing we dished up - it's embarrassing to even call them 'burgers'. That name conjures up far better things than that food could EVER be! For those who were there and are interested, I asked Annie and Kate to go get cheap crappy ones, in the interest of cost savings. Sometimes homebrand stuff is ok, so we thought why not? Well, Annie and Kate came through with the goods! That would be commendable except for the fact that by coming through, they actually managed to take the term 'cheap and crappy' to a WHOLE new level. Seriously. If you weren't there, count yourself VERY lucky. To start with, the packet says 65% beef. Now, the obvious question is 'what is the other 35%'? but a BETTER question would be 'If it really WAS 65% wouldn't it a) Look red and not white like chicken, and b) taste like something other than some nasty deep fried stale bread'? So, I think the question should be 'why did the printers miss out the dot when printing 6.5% beef'? That is just false advertising!

Oh yeh, the one neat thing about these 'burgers' was that they had a really cool ability... Turns out they were self-oiling. That's right. No oil needed on THIS grill... no sir! But why does the oil look like mountain dew??? And how can such a small pattie hold that much of it?

Frij and I decided that at roughly 10 cents per burger we must have been paying for the oil, and the 'meat' was free (all 6.5% of it...)

So once again I apologise profusely to all those on camp who ate one and happen to be reading this. Kate and I made a pact that we would never again buy them for any reason, ever. I suggest you all follow that advice. If it's a white homebrand burger pack with blue writing (can't remember which homebrand - someone fill me in if you know) then do NOT buy them. Don't be cheap. Spend money and buy burgers that contain meat!

The Scoreboard

2006-03-09T13:29:00.000+11:00

OK. It's here. The best thing ever!

Look to the left. Just below the picture of me with my head stuck in a very large fake-clay pot from K-Mart...

It's 'The Scoreboard'.

What exactly is The Scoreboard you ask?

Glad you did!

It records the number of wins between myself and Brad when playing driving games on Xbox... And just so it's really clear, I'm the first number, not the second one...

'Nuff said!

Culinary Genius!

2006-03-07T22:17:00.000+11:00

OK. Tobie Puttock. Sounds like it could almost be a cross between a serious illness in the rear end region crossed with a dog...

No, not really. But it's late and the name does have a certain ring to it. Of course, that makes remembering it easier, so that's no bad thing when you are a chef.

Why you ask. Why mention this man? Well, I was given an interesting Christmas present from Sharon last year. A certificate to attend a class on making pasta by chef Tobie Puttock. Starting to make sense now? Good.

Let me tell you, this was absolutely sensational! It was a lot of fun. And Toby really knows italian food. Good credentials working in Italy etc. (I know, I know, a last name like Guccione or something might sound more credible, but hey...). Anyway, I'm inspired again to try my hand at home made pasta. Any takers?

Chatted to him after the class. Great bloke. I like people who have great experiences, know who is worth knowing, and yet still just act like real, normal people. Much respect! For those of you who know about the Jamie Oliver restaurant Fifteen, if you read up a few articles you won't see Tobie's name far away from Jamie's. Tobie was the executive chef at Fifteen in London, and is now heading up the Fifteen here in Melbourne, in the Windsor Hotel basement.

He also appears on the Aussie version of Ready Steady Cook. (Thanks for that piece of info Freindy - he's the one with the fuzzy/curly hair).

Google Tobie Puttock for more info. I'm a convert. The man is a sensation! and sometime soon-ish he has a book coming out. Stick it on your Christmas list to buy me somebody please!

OK. Enough shameless promoting of other people. I'm off to bed. Gotta get my sleep before cooking for 60 people on camp this weekend... (and no, I will not be testing out my new inspiration for pasta on 60 kids who wouldn't appreciate it anyway!!!)

Freindy the angry little man...

2006-03-02T11:37:00.000+11:00

As most of you know Brad Freind is staying with us while Annie, Millsy and he look for a new place to live. They had a false start the other day (bummer guys!) but the resulting post in his blog is damn funny.

He's an angry little man right now!

Check the link to his blog in the the link section on the left hand side for the low-down. Really. Do it. It's funny!

Oh yeh, and I wiped his backside 6 wins to none on xbox Rallisport Challenge 2 the other night... Just thought I'd throw that in. I believe I said something like "you've got some time before you go out, how about I kick your ass at a game of something". The reply went along the lines of "Ummmm... I'll play, but I'm not so sure you'll kick my ass".

Poor Brad, he was serious too. He really thought he'd win :)

Bring it on Freindy. Any time.

Da Boyz!

2006-03-02T11:19:00.000+11:00

I have told some of you about my mate in the UK who had triplets. (well, his mrs did, but you know what i mean).

The boys have some Nigerian blood in them, so they are the cutest things in the whole world! So, i thought i'd post a recent picture of them so you can all see! they are now about 15 months old.

(Click the picture for a better size)

Of wobbly legged friends and practical jokesters

2006-02-26T21:51:00.000+11:00

Dusty,

If you read this, hope all the tests and things go ok. Passing out so that you don't have to finish your gig on Sunday night was a bit drastic in my opinion... i mean, we weren't playing THAT bad were we???

So anyway, sitting at home this evening Sharon and I are watching CSI when I see someone through the blind and hear running down our decking. Naturally I go outside to check it out, and what do I see. We'll, firstly I see things plastered to the outside of my car. They read

Name: Nath & Sharon
Crime: Asking too many questions...
Sentence: A lifetime supply of pranking!

So anyway, I then look up to see someone (and yes, I DO know which one of you it was although I assume you were both there...) running away down the driveway into the distance. Not-so-mystery-girl, you would have been better staying put - I wouldn't have gone that far... But taking off down the driveway wasn't exactly composed under pressure. :)

So, I'm wondering what to do, what to do. I mean, I simply asked the obvious question as to whether or not they lipsticked Brad's car, which it seemed pretty likely they did. Next thing I know they mess with someone in a whole different LEAGUE!

We're watching girls... and of course we know who you are, so if the metaphorical gauntlet has been slapped across the face then so be it. Just wondering whether exposure on my Blog will help with the publicity...

Hmmm... nah. Not yet anyway...

What do you want... pretty busy here!

2006-02-22T13:56:00.000+11:00

Sorry, the title is a quote from an old game I used to play in the UK that we would joke about at work... Won't be funny to anyone else... *sigh*

Just a quick note for anybody still checking my blog to say I know it's been a week (again). I'm getting there. Work is swamping me and from a mental engery perspective, so any time I have left I just kind of flake out at the moment. I'll work on the posting - promise!

"Hello, Kettle? Pot here. You're black!"

2006-02-14T14:29:00.000+11:00

Here's the problem... There is now a media competition running by an Islamic newspaper inviting submissions of cartoons with the subject of the holocaust. Apparently it is to test the tolerance of freedom of speech in Western media. I'm sure it's not the same people at all that are insiting riots, but what strikes me is that you kind of lose your right to protest against something if you then decide to do it yourself. It just simply takes all of the sting out of your arguments.

It's one thing to stand up for your beliefs. Another entirely when you stand up for your beliefs, but then go and do the same thing in return... The protests become irrelevant and disempowered. Those moderates who may have been sympathetic become enitrely less so when you retaliate in kind. I can certainly understand how this could be the response of some to what was a deeply offensive incident to their beliefs. It's just that it's difficult once you start doing the same thing in return.

The little elves...

2006-02-09T16:25:00.000+11:00

Once there were four little elves. Two of them couldn't stop licking their lips because of all the chocolate they just ate, one was VERY upset because she didn't get any, and the fourth one... well, "d'uh, what chocolate?" is the kind of the HE most often says...

OK. No, I don't have a really good reason for posting this picture... Sorry about that. You see, when Sharon and I lived in the UK we took a trip to Venice, and down one of the very back alley ways, was a stunning little costume shop, filled with amazing hand crafted masks and things. In the front window were these four dolls. They were so amazing that I wanted an excuse to post them here... I couldn't think of an excuse, so i just went ahead and posted them anyway. If you can think of a story for them then please post a comment - I'm dying here!

Oh yeh. To REALLY see how good they look, click the picture for a larger version!

Other blogs

2006-02-09T16:01:00.000+11:00

Finally got around to adding a couple of links to friends blogs today. Fee is a prolific and consistent blogger, so always something new. Brad has a hidden talent for entertaining stories, and Darren, well Darren had what many would see as an unusal life, so whenever he actually gets around to blogging it's usually pretty fascinating...

If you are reading my blog and want a link to yours on my site, place the reference in the comment section. If I like it I'll make a link. (And in return put a link to mine in yours - you know you want to!)

Free speech and your beliefs

2006-02-08T09:02:00.000+11:00

All of these 'goings on' at the moment surrounding the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad have so many sides, issues and points of view that debate could seemingly rage for a long time.

How do you weigh up freedom of speech and expression against the rights of others not to feel offended, disenfranchised and mocked? How do you understand each other when you view the world so fundamentally differently?

As a committed Christian, I know my job is to love others and stand up for my beliefs, but I get frustrated when I hear people with no religious convictions complain about religion and politics not mixing. The very nature of who I am cannot suddenly split into two seperate things. Every way I view the world is THROUGH my beliefs, as is every other person on this planet.

So, I read an article yesterday pointing out a couple of things. Firstly, it stated the reason that images of Muhammad are not allowed is to avoid a situation of idolatry. As a Christian, I can understand this concern. The author then argues that therefore, these cartoons should not be an issue - they are hardly going to lead a Muslim into idolatry. Fair point - sort of. He also then stated that there are Islamic bookstores that have violent literature promoting hatred and violence towards both Jews and Christians, and that this is far worse than the cartoons, and smacks of grave hypocracy.

Now, on the surface at least, the argument seems reasonable. However, the reality of religion is not always one of seeing things the same way for all. Perhaps it should, and certainly that is a reason many don't like religions of any kind. But when you fight for your beliefs you don't always see things as others would - your concern is your beliefs. You may fight for a cartoon, but still have literature condemning others. Right or wrong, that is often the case, and THAT seems to be the problem here - that is not something that can be changed by sound reasoning and logical arguments.

I'm sure not all Muslims feel burning down embassies and killing people is a reasonable response to the act of someone who according to their beliefs is doomed anyway, but it is evident that some do. It is happening even as I write this in response to those cartoons.

Publishing those cartoons is a strong statement that people won't be bowed to others' censorship. And since the original publication (over 4 months ago, so why the flare up now??) it has been published by roughly 20 other publications in other countries as a show of support. But, if anyone thinks that will somehow 'prove' the point then I fear they have it all wrong. It is just as likely to widen the gap between Islam and the West and just as likely to push moderate Muslims to more extreme views.

The only question remains is this: Is that reason enough to censor freedom of speech? I have my own answer, but it's my own... What's yours?

That's better!

2006-01-31T15:18:00.000+11:00

It's cooler here now. This is good. I'm sick of the really hot weather. Maybe if i was on the beach it'd be fine, but going to work everyday just isn't. So this is much more my pace!

Mum turned 60 yesterday. Happy birthday mum! Makes me feel old. I mean, I remember when 60 seemed so old, but mum isn't old like that at all! And if that's the case, it means that she doesn't seem that old because I'm getting older myself... sobering thought that...

Had Jay, Jode and Eman and S-pack around for dinner on Saturday night. What a great family! Seth decided to face plant our kitchen tiles. No lasting damage, but a nice little bruise. The thing is, as sad for him as it was it just looks so funny when a beautiful little baby who is just sitting there suddenly loses balance and topples over. Legs go up, limbs everywhere, with no control at all...

I'm hungry and it's nearly time to finish work for the day so that's it... Not really very exciting huh? Still, I posted, and that's at least something.

sore and hot

2006-01-27T13:18:00.000+11:00

This post isn't really a complaining post, just thought i'd put down some things from the last few days... It's been hot again. Yesterday was Australia Day (wohooh!) and a public holiday for us, but it was 40 degrees again here in Melbourne. This HAS to be one of the hottest Januarys ever. I did some good blokey stuff like go to the hardware store and buy things to stick into walls to put other things on... very manly huh?

The trouble is I can barely move. I started a new gym program on Wednesday that the fitness instructor Troy made for me... It hurt... a LOT... I figure once I'm used to it it'll be fantastic, but until then I'm just sore. My thighs are just two big bruises.

That's it for now. Hopefully more to follow...

unplugged...

2006-01-23T09:28:00.000+11:00

So, last night was basically church unplugged. It was a great night. Different. It was hot. For those not living in Melbourne you probably won't know, but it was 44 degrees. After 43 the day before. Given that and the fact other church things were on at Waverley, we weren't really expecting many people.

So it was quite a pleasant surprise to see the 50 or so we did have. It was in the youth hall, as we are still carpeting. But that worked really well. Stevie made his long awaited debut on the acoustic guitar, and was ably accompanied by Brad and Dusty. I sang a few songs and we had great fun. A great relaxed vibe.

The good bit though, was Frij. The big Cpt. Robertson. He gave a fantastic message on participation in the church. He reminded us about the fact that we all get given spiritual gifts as Christians and that we need to use them in our local church to help our community. He shared his experiences planting a new church in Noble Park, and it is great to here a man with so much faith and a great sense of reliance on God. It was truly inspiring. Thanks Frij. You're a top bloke, and you have a great message.

Adelaide and a christmas cat...

2006-01-17T08:46:00.000+11:00

OK. No posts as I've been in Adelaide for dad's 60th. Great fun, seeing the family, having too much to eat, people dropping in constantly for 4 days. All good!

Came home and our cat has again decided it must be christmas, and was kind enough to leave us a present on the carpet in our room... We had Brad and Aaron staying around, and they looked after him just fine, so no idea what the deal was. He just likes leaving us christmas presents about once per week. AND he never has the decency to leave them on the kitchen tiles. OH NOOOOO. He needs to leave them on the carpet - every time! Maybe the tiles are too cold for his bottom...

*sigh* I just wish he wasn't such a legend of a cat - otherwise I think we would have made him into dim sims by now...

New Age better than 'religion' and war

2006-01-09T20:48:00.000+11:00

I was sitting in church on Sunday night, and Dave was talking about destiny. At one point he held up a Womans Day magazine, and on the front cover was a little overlay thingy (that's the technical industry term you know!) which was about finding your purpose and destiny. It was very much a New Age type advertisement for courses etc.

What I started thinking about though was why is it that this type of thing is readily accepted by a lot of people in this day and age yet something like Christianity turns them off so much? I know it's not a new question, but it's one I haven't pondered for a long time.

The things I guess I came up with as likely were these:

- a lot of New Age teaching very much allows you to do basically whatever you want, while just keeping sure you don't hurt others too much in the process.
- I don't see any wars being fought at a country level over New Age teaching, which is a lot more inclusive than most organised religions such as Christianity and Islam.

So how do we compete with this? And I do mean compete. See, I may be as sure as anything that what I believe is real, but until someone else can see that for themselves what I believe is just another organised religion, and one that by it's very nature requires at least a few changes. And even if those changes are helped by God, it's a tough 'sell'.

But then again, that's what the Spirit is for. That's the bit that does beyond our strength and into the realm of the supernatural...

Food for thought anyway.

2006-01-06T09:55:00.000+11:00

Had a few drinks with Dean last night at Eastland at the Balsamic Lounge. Spent I guess 2 hours just sitting and chatting about some rather interesting topics. I realised that I just dont' get out as much and do things like that anymore. I guess it's something to do with being old and married, but I miss it. I'm a reasonably social animal and with everyone having kids and getting married it's interesting just how much things have changed. One thing that did occur to me was it doesn't have to actually be like that, but maybe I just need to make a bit more effort nowadays. That I think I can handle.

Maybe I should add it to my New Years resolutions...

I may have eaten a bug...

2006-01-05T14:06:00.000+11:00

True. I may have...

I had lunch at wagamama noodle bar (the yummiest noodle bar in the world - just ask Bubz and Z!) Unfortunately, at the end I was eating the salad and down the bottom as I was finishing was a rather large winged insect struggling in the (yummy) dressing and sauce from the rice dish.

Now, normally I'm not phased by this kind of thing, but this was the END of my meal, so no opportunity to check the rest of the food. It occurred to me if there was one, there may have been another, or a couple of others, or...

Turns out that they only use organic salad ingredients (a good thing - both for me and the insect). Therefore, sometimes things just don't die like good chemicals would kill them. Instead, they get eaten.

Still, I didn't pay for the meal so all around it wasn't too bad.

Now, having said all of this, I would still heartily recommend them. I have eaten there (well, at the ones in London anyway) MANY times and always loved it. They still get my vote.

Happy New Year from the Mansion

2006-01-03T09:24:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year all!

Spent New Years Eve with friends at 'The Mansion'. Ate great BBQ and swam all night (what did you expect - it was 42 degrees even at 7pm!!!!) Those of us who stuck around to see the new year in jumped in the pool to celebrate the event, then went and did it again a few minutes later just for good measure. I also have a new nickname. That's right. It turns out we are using the model name of our sunglasses as nicknames, so from now on I'm Fury. Aaron is Razor, Luke is Rage, and we decided that Brad is Beige (Rage sunglasses from Bali, so an unfortunate joining of the two makes him Beige...). Sounds like we are all super heroes! Except for Brad... he just sounds like a girl.

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm back at work, so life is back to normal now. Hopefully my mind will kick back into gear and I'll be a little more profound and thoughtful here again.

I have a number of New Years resolutions that I will share here. That should help keep me accountable.

1. To keep blogging. At least 4 times a week unless I REALLY don't have anything to say...

2. So, I currently weigh in at around Gold FM. This needs to change. Not healthy. Therefore I need to get to a different radio station weight... SBS FM would be nice, or Light FM would be better still (quite an appropriate name too!) So it's exercise at least 4 times a week with a healthier diet as well. *** I know, I know, it's a cliche and everyone does it at the new year just to slip 2 weeks later. That's why I'm sticking it in my Blog to help make it a little more public. And by using FM radio stations at least it's a little different and novel for a day or two!!!***

3. Get 1 or 2 new I.T. certifications. (In my job, it always pays to get one more). Going for CISSP first, and then maybe CNA or ITIL Foundations.

4. Spend more time doing fun things with my lovely beautiful wife!

There. That will do for now. Let's see how the years pans out!

God bless all.

Christmas, decking, gardening and the like...

2005-12-29T21:39:00.000+11:00

Well, it's been a pretty good Christmas so far. Went to Bairnsdale to spend Christmas with the inlaws on their farm. Great time up there. Saw my Uncle and Auntie in Lakes Entrance while we were up there, and my cousin who has spent the last 15 years in Geneva and Bangkok working for the UNHCR.

Then back to Melbourne in our legendary brown car (yep, it made the trip just fine thanks everyone!) Mum and Dad came over from Adelaide and we spent a whole day cleaning the deck with a high-pressure hose and gardening. (I know, I know, not exactly fun. But I own a home now, so it's a necessary evil).

Today I went to day 4 of the Boxing Day cricket test against South Africa at the newly finished MCG - back up over the 100,000 capacity, it is truly an amazing stadium. Treated myself in the 33 degree heat to a Mattie Hayden century, and quick fire 72 from Symonds which included 6 sixes (an MCG record) and then South Africa lost 6 wickets in the final session. Couldn't have been better if I'd written the script!

Nothing profound or interesting to write at this point. I think I switched my brain off this week, so don't expect much before next week of any note!

God bless you all.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-23T09:29:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas all, and have a great holiday period. I'm off for a few days, although I'll post again soon. The first few weeks f this have been a lot of fun, so thanks for reading.

God bless,
Nath.

oh Darcy!

2005-12-22T12:19:00.000+11:00

Well, Luke Darcy has gone and ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in training... So this year he won't even make it as far as round six... Sad sad day for all good Western Bulldogs supporters. Without him on the forward line and sharing the ruck it could be a bad sign.

A goat and a shoe.

2005-12-20T08:01:00.000+11:00

I'm having one of those mornings. You know the ones where you think about just how good you have it really, and how very unbalanced the world really is? Sharon and I sponsor a child from Uganda through Compassion Australia (check them out at www.compassion.com.au - you can sponsor a child right off the page. Oh, and if you do, leave a comment so I know you did!). Compassion does all their sponsorship by partnering with local churches in the community. I think their method is excellent, so I love to support them.

We got a letter from our child last week, and she was just so greatful that we support her. She now has a goat and a shoe (we assume she means shoes - if not then we need to up our sponsorship money...) It sort of hurts. I mean, we don't even MISS the money we send. I honestly don't even notice it. Not one little bit. Yet she now has a goat and (some) shoes.

A while back, Darren Hailes posted a message on his blog (darrenhailes.blogspot.com) about being privileged. He even has a link up on the left hand side where you can put in your salary and it tells you roughly where you rank in the world rich list. Let's just say it's a little sobering.

The thing is, it actually makes me want to make more money. I guess I figure if I make it, rather than someone else, then more people may get a goat and a shoe. I think it's about time we got another sponsor child... And then maybe another...

Converted

2005-12-19T14:36:00.000+11:00

I think I'm officially a Firefox convert now.

If you don't know what Firefox is, it's a web browser. I do a LOT of web browsing. Both in my job and at home, and frankly, it's now a sensational program. I used to find it buggy and unstable, but that's all changed with all the changes. And all the incredible extensions make it SOOOO much better than IE for browsing the web.

If you haven't yet, go download it and give it a try - and check out the extensions section at https://addons.mozilla.org/ as well.

You can even get an extension called ietab that lets you open links in IE, but still within a tab in Firefox. Now, you will either find that really cool and useful (some sites only work with IE), or you will be thinking 'huh'? I guess it's a matter of perspective...

More Carols, no mozzies!

2005-12-18T00:43:00.000+11:00

Well, it's nearly 1 am, and I'm back from doing my second carols in gig in two nights in at Federation Square in the city. No mozzies like at the Box Hill gig last weekend! It was another great night, with I think close to 2000 there tonight. Good turnout and great fun. It seems at Christmas time there just isn't enough saxophonists to go around, so I end up playing more in about 3 weeks than I do for the rest of the year!

Had a bit of bloggers block the last few days - possibly because I've been so busy. So nothing profound to say tonight (of course, it could simply be that making updates to my Blog at 1 in the morning is not conducive to great moments of eloquent intellectualism!)... Come to think of it, not sure I ever really have them anyway... Night night!

A new look

2005-12-16T10:50:00.000+11:00

I've gone green with the blog. Just doing some experimenting. Decided to try my hand at glassy looking graphics and made a new banner as well. Thought it came out alright considering my complete novice status as a graphic designer.

That's all for now, just a short entry. If anybody reading this has any thoughts on the new look please feel free to leave a comment...

It's no different

2005-12-14T08:53:00.000+11:00

Had our final rehersal for this weekend's three carols gigs in at Federation Square in the city. Had a great chat afterwards with some of the muso's from Richmond AOG. Afterwards, Dave and I talked with a couple of them about experiences in the church - things like what's really important, burnout and working too hard, but always doing stuff that's IN the church, and other things like that. JR mentioned that he was a little surprised that our experiences were basically exactly the same as theirs and that they figured it was kind of an AOG thing.

Well, it's not. Same stuff. Same challenges. Same issues. At the end of the day it's easy for us to get too busy, do too much. And interestingly enough most of it doesn't really reach out to communities that we actually need to help.

It may be a lesson we are learning at the Box Hill Salvos already, but it's worth mentioning anyway. If too much of what we do is inward, it isn't that much different from a self-serving social club for members. Funny, I don't recall Jesus doing much of that...

Copyright - apparently we are all criminals...

2005-12-13T12:03:00.000+11:00

OK. I'm a bit of a tech junkie, and as an IT consultant by trade I get to feed it a bit. So on a techie kind of note I wanted to throw this out there. There is heaps of media attention surrounding copy protection of music and games. And the recent debacle with the Sony Rootkit (http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/14/sony_anticustomer_te.html for details) is a classic case of this kind of thing.

When video recorders came out the industry made a big issue, as they had with tape recorders. All about how it was the end of the entertainment industry because nobody would ever do the right thing and buy product anymore. And yet, the industry boomed. Now they say the same thing about CD's and DVD's.

In a nutshell, CD's actually have a much shorter shelflife than people thought 25 years ago when they first came out. They scratch, they are susceptible to heat and other environmental factors etc. It is more than reasonable that a normal person may want to make a legitimate backup of stuff they already own. Will people do the wrong thing? Sure. They always have. But, stuff like the rootkit actually only stop those who are your average mum and dad type. These are not the ones causing the damage. Those who ARE a threat aren't stopped by such measures, as they aren't impossible to circumvent if you know enough.

So - the only people it impacts are those normal people out there who in general are doing the right thing most of the time. These are not the people that are causing issues. They are not the people selling countless 1000's of counterfeit CD's. Yet they are the ones who are expected to fork out another $30 if their CD scratches just because they aren't allowed to copy their original. Or maybe $500 for a piece of software with something like SafeDisc installed on it... The average person gets treated like the criminal, while those who profit outrageously from counterfeit goods just program a way around the problem and keep selling their products.

Below is a link to a great talk by an expert on the subject. It's a transcript of a speech given to some Microsoft employees who work on the Digital Rights Management (DRM) project. (DRM is a form of copy protection). If you have a spare 10 minutes and are interested in this topic have a read.

http://www.dashes.com/anil/stuff/doctorow-drm-ms.html

Ugly Australia

2005-12-13T09:09:00.000+11:00

I'm not going to write a lot about this, I'm just too angry about it all. But I will say this - the problems in Sydney have upset me deeply. Hearing and reading the comments that amount to nothing more than deep seeded racism on both sides just distresses me. It's an ugly Australia.

There are lots of valid views about all of this, but one thing I know for sure - belting someone just because they look vaguely like someone else and may come from the same place is just idiotic. There is never a justification for that - by either side.

Carols and mozzies

2005-12-12T09:14:00.000+11:00

Last night we had the inaugural Christmas Carols by the Lake in Box Hill Park. It was an incredible event. 100's of locals turned out, and the production team did an absolutely incredible job with it all. Tahnks particularly to Robbie, who was up until about 4am each of the last 3 days preparing for this event. That man is a machine, and very few people know just how much he does around the place!

Our two headliners were Gary Pinto (one of Australias premier vocalists, without a doubt) and Anne Robertson - recently of Australian Idol fame. I had the privilege of providing backing vocals for Anne, and it was a awesome fun! Man does she have an incredible voice!

Backstage I spent a fair bit of time talking to her and her older brother Irvin. They are working hard at seeing where this new fame takes them all and the ministry God has for them. Anne has a great opportunity as a role model for young Australian girls (you should have seen the crowds flock for her autograph!!!) and used it to explain how God has been such an integral part of her journey.

Oh yeh, we also had camels, a donkey, and Santa came on a real firetruck with sirens and everything!!!

We had mosquitos too, but they weren't quite so much fun.

My prayer for Anne is that as her career grows she can keep it real like Gary has done so successfully. That man is an amazing example of someone in the music industry that has kept hold of their faith and what they know to be true.

Peace and prosperity to both of you guys, and thanks to everyone involved in this huge night!

Brass bands... who needs 'em?

2005-12-09T15:12:00.000+11:00

Went out with some of the Box Hill Salvation Army Brass Band last night, walking around the suburban streets of Box Hill knocking on doors, wishing people a merry christmas, handing out lollies for the kids etc while the band played carols.

It's the most fun I've had in ages. I got to chat to quite a lot of wonderful people and just generally had a great time.

It made me think though... I don't believe anything really other than a brass band would have had the effect on bringing out the people from the neighbourhood. A choir wouldn't have been loud enough, and a modern group not only would have required electricity, but just wouldn't have been the same.

I always enjoyed playing in the brass band as a little kid, but I have had a lot of reason to question the relevance in today's society over the last 10 years or so. Some of that I still hold to, but I DID get reminded of something last night - those blokes who sacrifice their time and energy both for rehersals and performances, and who come out to do this deserve our thanks. Me knocking on peoples doors without the band would just have been useless. Thanks band. You guys are great!

Innovate. Or stagnate.

2005-12-09T07:29:00.000+11:00

The other morning I dragged myself out of bed to be at Pancake Parlour at 6:30 for a meeting my friend Dave had set up. It involved a number of people from within the Salvation Army, including a successful business man from Sydney, and an amazing bloke I've had the privilege to know now for about 8 years from the UK - Phil Wall. Dave set up the meeting to talk through an idea he has about a network of innovation for the Salvation Army.

This could be one of those things that one day will be seen as a catalyst, or a turning point for change within the movement. Why? Because it has the potential to celebrate, foster and encourage innovation within the Salvation Army, to help find new ways to meet peoples needs and to support those on the cutting edge.

Is this the first sort of 'innovative' thing the Army is doing? Of course not. People all over the world are birthing God-given ideas into incredible success stories. But this may be the first opportunity to attempt to bring these people together - to give them forums to discuss and meet and chew over issues together. The website (which doesn't exist yet, but will) could be a great forum for these things that will shape the future of the movement.

Why is this all so important? Well, one person at the meeting gave us some interesting figures they have of Salvation Army life in the Southern Territory... Over 20% attendance down, over 25% soldiership down, and over 50% junior soldiership down... Now, this may be because some Salvo churches are just using some different programs... but I doubt it. In isolated cases that will be true - but the reality is the movement IS dying. Certainly, there is a groundswell around the world of people who care, who are making things happen. Things like 61:4 http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/order614/ (here is an example - there are other 61:4's around the world), the War College http://www.thewarcollege.com/academics.html, the Roots movement http://www.rootsonline.org/ and others are all great examples. But these are still just a small part in the overall size of the Salvation Army worldwide. And worldwide, the story is possibly not so exciting, as those figures may suggest.

We have a choice - we have an obligation. Now as much as ever before there is need for the Salvation Army. But there is a need for relevance to our community context, and that comes with a free flow of new ideas. Not from the top - from the grass roots. Doing the same thing over and over again is a recipe for disaster...

You innovate or you stagnate. And if you stagnate, you die.

The beginning...

2005-12-06T14:13:00.000+11:00

OK. So, I'm a bit slow on the uptake... Having a blog is now almost a little 'last year'. But, I figured I'd give it a shot and see if I actually could show any kind of consistency in posting to it.

Time will tell...

I envisage, like so many bloggers out there, that the ramblings posted here will be of little use to anyone but myself - I have no dillusions of granduer. And I don't even have a theme I'm going to follow. Just me and my 2 cents worth on the back alley ways of the information superhighway.

So, what do I have to say for this opening blog? Not that much really. It's gearing up to Christmas, and things are getting busy. Got rehersals 3 nights this week for carol services I'm playing sax and singing at with the Salvation Army and one in at Federation Square with Richmond AOG. Our first rehersal was last night, and 4 of us stayed back to work on some vocal stuff... 11:30pm I left. MAN did the alarm hurt this morning!

Still, Christmas is a great time for me - unlike so many others.

I sat at a MacDonalds for lunch today (no, I didn't get the healthy option, and yes, I DO feel guilty) read the paper and saw a big article including comments from the Salvos on homeless kids in Australia. The current estimate is over 500,000 children in Australia still below the poverty line.

That blew me away. There are only 20 million of us in this country, so kids can't take up more than maybe 2-3 million or so, depending on your definition of a child... so 500,000 is a bit staggering really.

Want to help out? Give to the Salvo Christmas appeal here https://www.salvationarmy.com.au/partners/donate.asp?oneoff=yes

That's all for now. Let's see if I actually post more than once... And lets see if anyone actually READS it too!

God bless,
Nath.