An Aussie Askew

Tweet!

2009-01-23T16:06:00.003-05:00

I should have added this "update" months ago: If you have any vague interest in seeing what I am up to, then I can (barely) 'reward' your persistence by recommending you catch me on Twitter. Short form is the only form I can find the time for, especially with the convenience of Tweetie on the iPhone! Are you doing the same? Then tweet me and let me know!

Cannonball Run

2007-10-19T09:24:00.001-04:00

This Wired article on the real life crusade of one man to make his own Cannonball Run (drive NY to LA in under 32 hours, and avoid "smokey"!) is a great read!

Colin: I hope that last great road is a dirt one.

2007-10-05T13:13:00.001-04:00

I was saddened to hear that World Rally Driving Legend Colin McRae had died, with his young son and friends in a helicopter crash last month. Kind of like Steve Irwin's death, it seems incongruous to lead such a 'dangerous' life, and then to pass in such a fashion. I have a soft spot for Colin, ever since Colin Mcrae Rally on the Playstation. Loved that game, found it a little less "tiring" and

I Will Pay Money For This

2007-10-01T16:32:00.001-04:00

I haven't paid full price for a CD in years, choosing to cherry pick songs from friends or online stores. Mainly, I have a large enough library to keep me busy most of the time, and find the RIAA's lobbying, incessant scare mongering and desire to charge me money even when I hum a tune abhorrent. But, as a devout Radiohead lover, I will pay very close to full price for their upcoming album In

Darth Vader Blues

2007-09-28T14:19:00.001-04:00

Big Daddy Darth fires up the mouth organ...

Swinging for the Rebels...

2007-09-19T21:14:00.001-04:00

Most obvious game announcement ever. Didn't we all hypothesize this the day we saw the Wii controller?

Trust No One (Online)

2007-09-13T15:55:00.001-04:00

Make sure you read to the end of this story that is destined to be the next Lifetime Channel movie (which means it must have a two part name like "Betrayal Of Lust: The Anne Summer Story").It starts just like any other internet-predator tell all, but gets a lot better (or worse, depending on your stance) as it goes on.

Brilliant Bloxorz

2007-09-12T18:48:00.001-04:00

Just when you thought that the whole "block" style puzzle game had been done to death, you get this quality piece of gaming: Bloxorz It actually takes a couple of levels before you start to see the strategy involved, asthe first few are so dead easy. It's kind of like parallel (reverse) parking a tractor trailer. Concept is simple, but getting the parts into the right position right before the

You Wouldn't Send The Hat to The Greiving Widow...

2007-09-09T20:52:00.001-04:00

Why be smart, when you can be good looking?

2007-08-28T12:31:00.001-04:00

Been away a while, crazy busy at work, and just enjoying the summer a little bit more. So, to kick-start the blog again, here's a priceless gem that I couldn't resist. Sure, it's been overblown in the media, sure she just panicked (instead of thinking?), sure she's young, but let's be clear: none of that makes it any less hilarious.

My Office Never Looked That Good!

2007-07-06T19:41:00.001-04:00

If you ever doubted that the old Granby Street Decipher building was a pretty cool piece of architecture (for an office), check out the video hosted on this page for a tour of how it looks now as it begins it's new life as a chill-lounge-bar-restuarant called "Sevens", due to open tomorrow (yep, 7/7/07). At a quick count, I think I inhabited 11 different offices/spaces in that building (and

Can You Feel It? That little quiver in the belly of your childhood memories...?

2007-06-23T19:10:00.001-04:00

This photo from IndianaJones.com had a greater impact on me than all the early spy/casting reports that Indy 4 has generated so far. There's just something about that rumpled man in the brown fedora. Gotta say, he looks better than I expected after 18 years... I hope it's good-movie karma making him feel young again and not Photoshop.

Microsoft has some BSG fans?

2007-06-22T09:25:00.001-04:00

Apparently snapped from a Microsoft ad...

How to Prank a Sex Phone Worker

2007-06-14T00:10:00.001-04:00

This setup is quite clever. Two Aussie DJ's each ring a sex phone worker, and tell them that they are going to pass them off to their nervous girlfriend. They then connect the two sex-a-phonists and wait to see how long it takes them to work it out. It's audio only. Skip to the 1 minute mark to avoid the setup description... Phone Sex Operator Prank Call - Watch more free videos

UK Day 1: London

2007-06-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

A month ago we took a whirlwind 6 day trip around the UK, catching up with friends, and enjoying a few sites together. Here's the highlights in photo form, hover for the pithy comments in tooltip form, or go here for the photostream.

A glimpse at a Death Star Engineer's InBox...

2007-06-08T20:30:00.001-04:00

Back again, and will move to putting up some photos from my trip to the UK real soon. But in the meantime, this is a very nicely done variation on those discussions you and your Star Wars crazy mates used to have all the time.. Speaking of which, is anyone (besides you M'kae, don't think I didn't notice your name splashed in the credits...) planning on picking up a few packs of the Wizkids SW

A Trophy Weekend, Again!

2007-05-06T13:40:00.001-04:00

Sunday afternoon put me in the very unfamiliar position of having to barrack (not 'root'!) for Arsenal. If Chelsea came away from this match with anything other than full points, my beloved Red Devils would be crowned champions of England. I got home from my own game to see "The Arse" 1-nil up and Chelsea reduced to 10 men. But Chelsea's resolve was impressive and they came on strong in the

And suddenly it was Spring (however briefly)

2007-05-05T17:11:00.001-04:00

The first few days of May were warm and hazy here, with the flora and the fauna going appropriately crazy. It didn't really last, with a cold change sweeping in mid week and threatening to dampen this weekend.But the buds wouldn't be denied, so here's a few shots from our first spring with a garden! This is the first bud from the rose bush that was here when we arrived, shot taken on Monday.

Store Wars

2007-05-03T12:42:00.001-04:00

Have you learnt The Way of the Farm? "Search your peelings Cuke..."

Glorious Gillie

2007-04-29T15:01:00.000-04:00

One of the greatest attacking displays of a batsman in a final led the Aussies to their third World Cup victory in a row yesterday. Vice-captain Adam Gilchrist was in a monstrous mood, and flayed the Sri Lankan attack for 149 off 104 balls, leading the Aussies to a big total in a rain reduced match. Sri Lanka never laid down, but chasing 382 off 38 overs means they could not take the foot off

The Post You Knew Was Coming...

2007-04-27T17:50:00.000-04:00

I have been very good, and you know it. I didn't even scrape the surface of my blog with Australia's recent 5-0 whitewash of the English in the Ashes Series, which was bloody generous after covering their first Ashes defeat in the last 24 years ad- nauseum in 2005. Even more generous is how I have spared you all the details of the Cricket World Cup over the past 8 weeks in the Carribean,

Man Begone!

2007-04-12T01:34:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick touch up I did a number of months ago for a colleague of GW, who had "parted ways" with her ex. You'll have to excuse the rather flat change of brightness and the sloppy hair work. Like I said, it was quick (for me: retouching amateur, which means ages). Mouse over image for the before version. I have to say, I felt kind of guilty when I did it, removing this poor bloke from

Subtlety

2007-04-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

I think my one copy of Digital Photo Pro is trying to tell me something. I didn't renew.

There Can Be Only One... Hollywood Brat

2007-03-30T00:19:00.001-04:00

The old Robot Chicken can be a pretty patchy at times, but when they get it right, it's spot on. (how do they make all those doll-face likenesses so accurate?) technorati tags:Adultswim, Lohan, HighlanderBlogged with Flock

Watching this game makes me feel like a...

2007-03-29T15:13:00.001-04:00

With only an image snippet showing scores from this week's International Soccer Friendlies, can you tell which stadium was paid for with sponsor dollars?technorati tags:humor, soccerBlogged with Flock

Loved it. Hated it.

2007-03-26T23:54:00.001-04:00

Things I loved, things I hated this past week. Loved Australia's rousing victory against current World #1 South Africa in the final game of the Cricket World Cup group stage. Puts us into the Super 8 stage in top position. Might they really three-peat? Hate that most of the press in the US has been over the sad murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer after their dismal exit form the tournament.

Using Mosquitos to Kill Malaria

2007-03-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

One my first read, this article seems like a great idea for a major world disease problem, but the more I think about it, the more it freaks me out. It has B-Grade Mutant Mosquito Movie written all over it...

T-Shirt

2007-03-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

2007-03-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

Deep down, we all know it. Stats are usually very carefully organized to present something in a positive light for some interested party. They are usually as unbiased as your local politician. That doesn't mean they lie, but it may mean they corral data to "help provoke" a certain outcome. But rarely have I seen "market share" so carefully dissected as this article. Not only does it reveal

I Can't Shake Him! (then turn up the volume)

2007-03-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

As Engadget pointed out, these TIE Advanced-shaped Speakers should be the perfect fit for your $2500 R2D2 projector.

Kisses

2007-03-08T00:03:00.000-05:00

A B&W treatment I tried a little while ago, based on a photo a colleague of the GW took. I like the high contrast look to the hair, but not sure I like the grey tones in the skin. Should I have gone for more of a high-key (bleached white) skin? Any thoughts?

Bunny Time

2007-03-07T23:45:00.000-05:00

Needing content for the multitude of 24-hour psudeo-news channels and their plethora of pundit programs, we have already seen the "what does a rabbit and eggs have to do with easter" debates start, three weeks before Easter. Indeed, you know the issue is squarely in the months collective zeitgeist when Colbert starts his "War On Easter" segments. Personally, I like comedian Jim Gaffigans take

Hardware Come, Hardware Go

2007-03-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

My 38th birthday last month proved to be full hits. My little drinking night was a hit, my already wedding-night damaged Canon Digital camera took it's final hit, dropped to the tile floor in Havanas, cracking the LCD. One of our guests took a nastier hit on his way home, tripping over the under-construction sidewalk and landing on his mouth (shudder!), and my wife was a huge hit for buying me a

Prepare for a news shit storm!

2007-03-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

Finally, some cutting edge sarcasm from America's Finest News Source will be available with moving pictures. Will anyone care when, let's face it, they do a great job already without the imagery? I listen to their audio podcast here and there, it's a 1 minute Onion news article read in an earnest newscaster style voice, and it fills an occasional iPod space during my drive home, but the

More Good Bad Guys

2007-02-28T23:15:00.001-05:00

Picking up on Cheddar Man's great post about great movie villains, here's my own list where I resolved not to repeat any that he included. Don't get me wrong I loved his list, especially #1, but what fun would repeats be? 5. Big Chris and Little Chris in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Something about the dynamic of the traditional tough man (Vinnie Jones moving from soccer thuggery to real

Why repair when you can litigate?

2007-02-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

It seems to be pretty commonly accepted right now that RFID chips (small chips using radio waves to identify themselves to a supposedly nearby scanner) are hopelessly insecure and easily duplicated. This technology may be in a few things you own, such as some smart credit cards, student ID cards, and now all new passports in the US, UK and other countries. It has been demonstrated before that a

Putting HD in Perspective

2007-02-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

I went through the process last year of starting the hunt for a HD television. My RCA tube was showing blacks as blue, and muddy brown-reds in the bottom right corner. I had 42" to spare in my TV cabinet, so I had a yen for some LCD-love. As is my way, I was soon mired in analysis paralysis mousing through hundreds of reviews, consumer ratings, obscure HD blogs and Costco price-compare tools. To

Of Battlestars & Bonus Scenes

2007-02-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

As the comment from Marauder a few weeks ago correctly surmised, Battlestar has settled into some "filler" episodes between mid-season and end of season finales, but their writing is still very strong, and they aren't afraid to push the characters around so we can find out a little more about them. I love that they never overplay the emotion in this show, but it is still there. Adama's

Finding your inner morning person

2007-02-13T11:19:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I am not one of those "morning people", who by definition are either high-energy frustratingly "peppy" people, or parents. Indeed, I am fortunate enough to be able to sleep just about anywhere, it's the waking that hurts me. So here's a few possible alarm clock options (unverified as real or vapourware) that may break the inertia my phone-based morning alarm usually

BSG in two text messages

2007-02-02T14:56:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, my Gorgeous Wife was en route to Orlando and missed the new Battlestar Galactica episode "Taking a break from all your worries". She caught it in replay on the hotel PPV system on Monday, and a sent me a couple of text messages during the episode that summarized probably what we were all feeling.. 19:07pm: "Ohhh my god... it is Baltar!!!"19:09pm: "Nevermind." The intertube debate

You've Been Mooninite-d

2007-02-01T16:24:00.000-05:00

Photograph by Todd Vanderlin." Irresponsible guerilla marketing in a post-911 world, or gross overreaction by the city that brought you the Boston Dig? You tell me. But the humourous t-shirt design that encapsulates the whole Aqua Teen Hunger Force affair is pure brilliance: "ATHF is the bomb."

Day of Aussie

2007-01-26T01:06:00.000-05:00

I had this postcard in my office at Company D for years, a useful education tool for inquisitive Yanks. It was actually sent to me by a SWCCG Tournament Coordinator in Perth who wanted to help our then Marketing Co-ordinator to understand that Melbourne and Perth weren't so close. This after the employee had mailed Perth prize support to a Melbourne TD and then asked if he could deliver it.

Great Courthouse Quote

2007-01-25T18:22:00.000-05:00

A Sydney TV comedian was charged with "offensive behaviour" recently for filming a skit outside a Rugby League match where he offered the assembling supporters the chance to buy "official team merchandise" such as (fake) knuckledusters, (rubber) knives, balaclavas, (imitation) flares and Rohypnol. He was taking a comedic shot at my childhood team, the Sydney Bulldogs, whose players and

Spoiler Hilarity

2007-01-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

When posting The Prestige article earlier this week, I consciously went back through the text and changed the bold headings as I thought the original headings were too revelatory, i.e. even if you caught the spoiler warning, you may still glance over the bold heading and feel I spoiled something. I wondered if this was considerate or overkill? Especially considering it was a movie that has been

Horrific F1 Accident

2007-01-23T13:39:00.000-05:00

The reason, apparently, was "Excessive downforce during a shunt lead to damage of key suspension resulting in going off, leaving horrific wreck." The unfortunate side-effect of the damage meant that getting help was no longer possible. For those not upset by such things, here's the image.

Abracadabra

2007-01-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

With my bloggin' hiatus of late last year, I left a few "movie threads" open, and indeed have a couple films I dearly loved that I want to discuss here. First up is The Prestige. Schocho highly recommended it against my previous inquiry on the subject, so needing no more proof than the raving attestations of the C-Man, the Gorgeous Wife and I took a quick walk to the local to check it out. Holy

Brilliant!

2007-01-18T21:53:00.000-05:00

Even in the abbreviated version of the abridged variety of the game (Twenty20 matches take about 3-4 hours to play), cricket fans still have plenty of time to act like larrikins!

The Darker Side of Spiders

2007-01-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

I like spiders. A pretty natural side-effect for a non-female growing up in Australia on 300ft of land that ran down into a bush gully. We got a lot of them, and there were a few that could kill you, so it was better to know some well than fear them all. Even so, this short instructional video reveals a side of spiders I was unaware of, and frankly, their substance abuse scares me.

One sixth of 24 is...

2007-01-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't seen 24 since I watched the first season in a bum-numbing DVD weekend back when everyone was into it. Enjoyed it, but not enough to keep up with it on commercial TV every week. Was actually a little surprised to see that the show was still running (yep, ain't as up to date as I should probably be), as the terrorist plot devices they use seemed limited to 3 or 4 seasons (nuclear weapon

Did I Miss Out or Not?

2007-01-08T15:39:00.000-05:00

Last week, I contemplated picking up a handful of Apple shares, as primarily it pretty much the only company I actually pay attention to almost daily, and with MacWorld Expo kicking-off today the expectation is higher than normal for something special during the traditional Jobs keynote. Rumours have ranged from an Apple phone partnered with Cingular, to a pocket-PC Apple, to Jobs stepping down

Flashy Orbit

2006-11-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

Continuing my one-post tradition of bringing you probably not-new yet remarkably fun Flash games, I present for your consideration ORBIT. It's a very simple exercise in the attractive laws of planetary bodies, and suits my definition of great Flash games– quick to learn, fast to play, and very 'control' un-intensive (i.e. not lots of key mashing etc). I leave a window open in the background, and

You Shall Not Pass

2006-11-02T12:40:00.000-05:00

Wired contributing writer, Bruce Schneier wrote a great overview about the recent melee over the PhD student who put up a website that allowed you to generate a fake boarding pass, exposing the security issue you have probably pondered once or twice ever since you started printing your passes online. This is another classic heavy-handed authority knee-jerk reaction: leap on the symptom, ignore

Celebrate Xmas with Great Sci-Fi!

2006-11-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Going with the movie and sci-fi theme the blog has been resurgent on lately, this movie Children Of Men has received great buzz from my mates in Australia (one of whom is appropriately known as 'Buzz'), where it has already released. The US release is xmas day, but we may see a smaller release than the normal H-wood 'blockbuster', so keep your eyes peeled. The plotline is enticing... one

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T17:59:00.000-05:00

Image credit to Makezine.com, with many more at their site here.

How Time Flies

2006-10-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Been a madhouse at my end, having picked up a new position at the company trying to get two new departments up and running, as well as moving apartment back in September to a condo out of Norfolk, just haven't been a bundle of energy after work lately. But ManU leading the EPL table and their Champions League group have kept me sane, and some quality TV and movies lately now have forced me out

Quote

2006-10-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

Credit for CNET.com for capturing this one from a hearing on diminishing media ownership diversity and its negative impact on creativity: "Homogenization is good for milk, but it's bad for ideas." Quippy quotes like that may explain why the speaker, one Patric Verrone, is president of Writers Guild of America, West.

Blast Em with Red!

2006-10-04T09:14:00.000-04:00

Been post-less for a while now, lacking inspiration and free time. But rather than go into all that rot, lets kick it back into gear with Red, one of the most fun flash games I have ever come across. Think Missile Command meets Asteroids meets mass x velocity. Give it more than a passing run through, because it gets better as you go, including extra's like auto-turrets. You can love on it here

Perspective

2006-09-14T13:21:00.000-04:00

It's easy to lose perspective on religious tolerance when you have spiritual "leaders" issuing decrees to their supporters to go kill in the name of religion. And it's not limited to those of a Muslim faith, Pat Robertson is guilty of that one. But this plea for sanity from an American Muslim is spot-on. Let's not forget this perspective exists as we build our own resentments.

Flowed into iTunes

2006-09-13T12:13:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the kids who designed the application Coverflow (which I covered previously here) for designing something so elegant, Apple bought it. It is now in the vastly improved iTunes 7. Besides gapless playback and multiple libraries, the best part my late night testing showed is that they maintained CoverFlows method of storing album covers as seperate files once per album, rather than

Sad

2006-09-11T10:33:00.000-04:00

What a shitty day September 11th is. Miserable day for thousands directly affected by the events of 2001, and pretty much the reason (justified or not) that so many local people have to experience heartache as their loved ones in the service spend months a time in the Middle-East. I was here in 2001, and it was stranegly surreal, especially as I had been on the top of the tower only a few years

Angelic Blue

2006-09-08T16:08:00.000-04:00

Year round jet-noise at my place of work, which is about 2 miles from Oceana AirBase, finally paid off today, with the Blue Angels rehearsing/performing in 3,4 and 6-plane squads for the Oceana AirShow whic is celebrating the Angels 60th. Our front car-park provides a pretty unobstructed view of this flat locale, and watching the Angels cruise upwards and fall back to earth, and then pass

Standby.... Standby....

2006-09-08T11:45:00.000-04:00

The [sarcasm] delightful Dell [/sarcasm] brick I use at work has a number of quirky Windows-isms I have not managed to get used to, due to me being a known Mac-o-phant. For example, the completely random amount of time it takes to wake from sleep/hibernate, including the 1 in 5 times it decides not to wake at all. Sleepy those Dells. Last night, while trying to flee the office, I was forced to

Like 1998 All Over Again

2006-09-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems like my patriotic duty to get this post out there: Steve Irwin, rest in peace mate. When I was backpacking North America in 1998, it seems like every second person who determined my place of birth asked me about Steve Irwin. Truth be told, I had no idea who he was. I had to watch Animal Planet in motel rooms to work out what people were talking about. Well, upon his untimely

Beelzebub writes Copy (for Hollywood of course)

2006-08-31T23:07:00.000-04:00

The Cox TV Guide tonight served up the following one-line description for the film The Devils Advocate. "An attorney goes to work at a law firm run by Satan." Well, there goes that plot twist.

Repeating Myself Myself

2006-08-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

Language patterns are a funny thing, the way we fall into habits with certain catch-phrases is something that helps us embrace our particular slice of immediate culture, but also becomes a converstional standby, pulled out to smooth over the stutters that may normally be an "ummmm...", or (god forbid)—silence. I find myself in certain moods where I try to listen to "what I say" rather than just

Computing Days of Yore

2006-08-28T15:36:00.000-04:00

Remember your first computer? I don't know about you, but it was a wonderous time for me. All endless possibilities and surprises, rather than the take-it-for-granted machines of today where we battle the internet, web-marketers, the hardware, the OS and half the applications as much we profit from having them (assuming you are a Windows user of course :) I skipped the Commodore Vic-20 in my

Sayonara Pluto

2006-08-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

It's offical. Pluto is now an ex-planet. Well more correctly a "dwarf planet", but clearly a second-class citizen in our solar system's celestial body rankings. At 2,274km in diameter, Pluto is smaller than seven of our solar system's moons, but now that we finally have a definition of "planet", it fails the test because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's. And thus earth's scientists

Someone Old, Someone New

2006-08-23T16:56:00.000-04:00

United's campaign is off to a good start, with our biggest win in 40 years for the opening match of the season at Old Trafford on Sunday (untelevised, crap) followed by a convincing 3-0 win today against Charlton, even without Rooney. Eight goals in two games = goodness! I even really like the black and white away strip, although the home strip, standard red with the new sponsor logo irks me

A Surpise for Both of Them

2006-08-23T12:41:00.000-04:00

This short video of a Halloween prank contains a scarecrow surprise. Ouch!

Movies You've Never Seen (and likely never will) Pt.2

2006-08-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

Naked Weapon (Chiklo Dakgung) — 2003 ¤½ stars — half for the cinematographer, half for the opening scene, and half for the girls involved, more out of sympathy than anything. Even for a Hong Kong action flick, it's not a title that would normally drag you in, but the opening scene certainly did when it popped up on digital cable recently. The delectable Marit Thoresen vamps it up in the

GenCon in 3 Photos

2006-08-18T02:24:00.000-04:00

On the way to the Con. At the Con. After the Con!

O my gentil rederes...

2006-08-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

Ever wanted to read the ramblings (and computer game reviews) of Geoffrey Chaucer? Apparently, he is (quite surprisingly) now a member of the online community, allowing you to wade through his Middel Englysshe ramblings here, with a glossary even. Look especially for the posts: "Ich pwne noobs!" and "[internet] abbreviaciouns" I couldnt see his profile, but assume he works in Canterbury.

I'll Buy That for a Dollar

2006-08-16T17:39:00.000-04:00

This is for Tom, thanks for the reminder! I call it victory by inebriated lack of planning! I credit it to Evan for his remembrance of the $10 rule.

The Double Edged Sword of Gamers

2006-08-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

A little snippet for those familiar with the old company. At GenCon, I had a mission to buy some WARS TCG. This was one of the final card games produced by The Company, and was a redesign of the revolutionary Star Wars CCG mechanics, which is pretty much the sole reason I am here in the US (thus I can indirectly quote SWCCG as the reason I am married). Anyhow, when me old mate Holty came over

Blacklight Tatts

2006-08-15T09:57:00.000-04:00

Now here's the way to get a tattoo. Can't be seen at work, and on the flip side you can't just show it to anyone, but when you do get under a blacklight, the effect is impressive. Follow the link to the complete Wired article to see a comparison of how the scarring heals nothing to see under normal lighting after 10 months. Mind you, I am assuming this stuff is not radioactive to any great

Just When I Thought I Was Out...

2006-08-10T15:25:00.000-04:00

Somehow last night I got talked into joining an obseqiously long roadtrip today. Destination: GenCon. Gaming geek heaven, and place of few showers. This is the first time I have visited GenCon in a non-working capacity, and my first time doing GenCon in Indianapolis, so it will be a somewhat different perspective. The real reason is to catch up with some of the old colleagues from The Company,

A new sense of style

2006-08-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

Ta-dah! As you should have noticed, I have finally finished my Blogger template redesign, pretty much from scratch with help from some of the public templates. There's some items still to be finished, like the spacing of the profile section in the top left etc, and I am not sure I got the necessary Internet Explorer hacks in place (especially as I am primarily a Mac/Firefox guy), so let me know

Post-World Cup Slow Down

2006-07-24T11:36:00.000-04:00

All work, much play, no blogging lately. Ridiculous amounts of soccer games in the heat as both my supposedly spring and summer seasons wound down in the same fortnight. 6 games in 11 days... egads! My farmers tan is full strength now. So until I get to finish a blog redesign to remove the World Cup look and feel, I am indebted to providing this one for Brad so he can get excited about the start

Perspective

2006-07-11T18:20:00.000-04:00

I think this Sports Illustrated article is much closer to the point as to why some Americans can't get behind soccer, rather than the often trite excuse of "not enough scoring". He covers the Zidane incident with a refreshing perspective, and I can't say I disagree

Rights & Wrongs

2006-07-10T13:09:00.000-04:00

Well, my pre-final shots-in-the-dark pinged some actual events close to the bone, grazed a few, and completely missed the rest. Here's the hits, misses, and maybe's of my predictions. Italy won. France scored "first and early" France unlocked Italy's defense quite regularly, but still they kept out everything that wasn't a penalty. Italy's varied strikeforce looked threatening in the first

Finale

2006-07-09T00:40:00.000-04:00

With Portugal being put to the sword by Schweinsteiger, we now move on to the denouement. I am torn on this one. My bias is against Italy, for reasons detailed previously, and my romantic hope is for a grand send-off for Zidane, but at the same time, the French were champions not long ago, so perhaps it is Italy's time. But as far as predictions rather than partisanship goes, I really can't see

History Repeating

2006-07-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

Last weekend saw the World Cup quarter-finals leap into it's time machine, and take a fantastic journey. For the French, this was like drinking from the river of eternal youth, for the English, it was the ghost of World Cups past. The first game saw England once-again stumble in familiar fashion. A Manchester prodigy got red-carded, a shorthanded game brought some grit, but no chance at real

Lost...

2006-06-28T17:20:00.000-04:00

No games today... I feel so empty.So to keep you amused, I present this news snippet from World Cup Karma Headquarters (good riddance!), and a sexy supporter photo for The Brad.

It's a Simple Game

2006-06-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

Pass the ball, shoot, score. Argentina puts on the masterclass to show us how to score brilliant team goals, and brilliant individual goals (in extra time no less). Now that's the way to win a game. Maxi Rodriguez finishes off the battling Mexicans... The whole Argentinian side conducts a training clinic. Count the passes...

Gutted.

2006-06-26T13:36:00.000-04:00

A 93rd minute decider from a tragically soft penalty proves that it doesn't matter that you're one-man down as long as the man-in-black can make up your numbers. Once he got inside the box, Grosso was looking for somewhere to fall, and although Lucas Neil's shot blocking slide made no contact at all, Grosso made sure he then cut back to jump over his body, drag a foot, and go sprawling in

Test Of Blue

2006-06-26T00:17:00.000-04:00

It seems the Socceroos are the darling underdogs at the moment, getting a lot of credit for their attacking style and lots of love in the press for Guru Guus. Tonight they were chosen by 2 outta 3 Fox Soccer commentators for a win against Italy tomorrow (unfortunately, not the pragmatic Bobby McMahon), and more surprisingly, I saw them chosen by Adult Swim in one of their bumps tonight! Now,

HOO-BLOODY-RAY!

2006-06-23T00:17:00.000-04:00

What a bloody rollercoaster that was! Down one goal before I even got into my seat at the pub, and then glancing over to see Japan go into the lead against Brazil, I was already working on the nails pretty heavily. But that Socceroos seem to prefer being behind, and they pummeled the Croats for the rest of the half. The net was elusive though until the break we needed came as a handball. I had

Carn You Au(zz)ies!

2006-06-21T23:48:00.000-04:00

It all comes down to this:90 minutes2 teamsthe brink of historyGet there lads!And good luck to the Yanks also, facing their must win scenario.

A Break from the Soccer...

2006-06-21T23:14:00.000-04:00

Last weekend in Norfolk, it seems summer was declared. technorati tags:Norfolk, Summer, Rooftop

An Actual Aussie Victory

2006-06-19T09:21:00.000-04:00

And since, as Roy and HG would say, "too much sport is barely enough", quick congrats too Geoff Ogilvy who managed stand tall while Mickelson crumbled in the face of a difficult Winged Foot in yesterdays finale to the US open.

A Worthy Display

2006-06-18T14:28:00.000-04:00

A gutsy and unintimidated Australia today had the look of a team that deserves to be in the second round, with just a lack of lethality in front of goal costing them chances that might have forced a deserved draw. They matched the Brazilians with team organization, and much like the USA the day before, outplayed them in terms of effort, but two second half chances (one through the legs of a

Captured For Posterity

2006-06-17T14:02:00.000-04:00

Here it is, captured in blog form, just in case. Who knows how long it may last? (most money says till about Sunday). World Cup 2006 » Group F Standings » Leaders Australia! Brazil in second place. O-la! And the USA gets a slightly-longer lifeline today after Ghana's impressive win over Croatia. Even more in the US's favour was that Ghana only put in two goals, when it could have been 5 if they

Even if Australia gets whipped on Sunday...

2006-06-16T17:52:00.000-04:00

I can still hope for crowd-shots...

ESPN/ABC Part 3: The Last Bitch

2006-06-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

I swear, last bitch on the telecast! I know I should be grateful, instead of looking the gift-horse in the mouth (and trying to punch his teeth out). What's with the freakin' pop-up graphics? I know ESPN/ABC aren't getting constant ad revenue due to the lack of "television called time-outs", but seriously! Here's the madness in summary One of the pop-up graphics takes up 1/4 of the bottom right

Addendum: You'll Never Sign Alone

2006-06-14T11:23:00.000-04:00

Seems I am not alone in my comments on the ABC/ESPN commentary below. Following to comments on this blog-site, I found that there is now a petition up to remove O'Brien (who is apparently a baseball commentator as I surmised, and a good one apparently) from the soccer commentary ranks of ABC. More generally, the petition just demands that the world biggest sporting event get some of the worlds

Pity Those Forced to Listen to Commentators

2006-06-14T10:56:00.000-04:00

While on the topic of World Cup commentators, the ABC/ESPN folks have a lot to answer for in their coverage. My first impulse to mute came during the ABC coverage of England v Paraguay. Unfortunately, I was at a Scottish mates recently-purchased pub, so muting wasn't an option, and throwing a bacon-sausage sandwich at the widescreen wasn't going to endear me to the crowd either. I think they

Pity The Commentator

2006-06-13T11:20:00.000-04:00

South Korea kicked off their World Cup Finals campaign today against the newboys of Toga. For the only time this World Cup boradcast, my sympathy is with the commentators. South Korea's squad includes 5 x Lee's, 8 x Kim's, and a couple each of Cho's and Park's (go Ji-Sung!). That's gonna be tough for the gits they have commentating for ABC/ESPN!

Super Subs!

2006-06-12T11:43:00.000-04:00

Tim Cahill and John Aloisi came off the bench to drag a tiring Australia back into their game against Japan, producing three goals in the final 10 minutes of the match to grab their first World Cup Finals win, 3-1! After a contraversial goal to Japan against the run of play (I put half the blame on Schwarzer, half on the ref), the Aussies started to run out of ideas on how to break down Japan's

Let The Games Begin!

2006-06-09T13:08:00.002-04:00

As you can tell by my enhanced sidebar at right, it's World Cup time baby! The biggest single sporting event on earth will dominate my (and most of the rest of the world's) next month as we see if the Aussie Socceroos can score their first World Cup Finals goal, if the USA can live up to it's inflated world ranking, if England can live up to the hype without Rooney, and if Brazil can live up to

X-Men 3: The Last Review

2006-06-01T12:55:00.000-04:00

In what must surely be last in the line of bloggin' mates who've reviewed X-Men: The Last Stand, I present my humble ramblings. Lets cut straight to it! Be warned——SPOILERS BELOW! The Good: There's a good body count of heroes, which you need in an ensemble cast piece or otherwise you risk being Star Trek. Didn't look nearly as bad as it could have after all the reported problems with