I was put in a slightly bad mood this morning when the following chain of events occurred at work.

• I was interrupted from my work by a call from a project supervisor who wasn’t in the office today. The remote developers tried to run my code last night on a test system and it didn’t work could I look at my code. I advised that I had tested my code beforehand and it worked. Test it anyway.
• I had no idea where the test system was. I had to phone someone and got a network address. Ok.
• I couldn’t connect to the test system from my machine. I had to phone someone and found out that it didn’t use the ‘normal’ connection method, I had to use something different. The something different meant I couldn’t use my normal connection tool. I had to use something else (that I hated and didn’t know how to use). Ok.
• I got on the test machine. But none of my editing tools worked. I had to speak with someone and was told the tools were not installed on that machine. I had to use some other software that I’d never used before. Ok.
• I tested my program and it didn’t work. The reason? The person who had setup the system hadn’t installed the correct supporting files. Nothing to do with my code. My code was good.

Thats enough rambling for today. Stupid people.

Oh and we got a reprieve from running out of supplies. The CEO sent one of the programmers shopping so we won’t run out of tea (or sticky tape) any time soon.

A month ago one of the employees at work left the company. This person, among many other things, kept the supply of tea/coffee essentials fully stocked. Times are starting to get grim. There would only be a handful of teabags left. The brown sugar is gone and only white sugar remains. I estimate we’ll be lucky if that lasts until the end of the week.

And if you need stationery… forget about it. We ran out of sticky tape last week. Now everything gets paper clipped or stapled.

We’ve heard a rumour that someone, thousands of kilometres away in another department, is responsible for these items. But no ones told us who this is.

Caught the train into the city for the day yesterday. It was an overcast and windy day so not the nicest of days. I was on the lookout for a new camera bag so stopped at a few shops to examine their wares. While walking down one street we happened to look up and saw a horse and rider (statue) on the top of a building. Very strange….


Walked to the Rocks and had lunch in one of the pubs. Food was nice but drinks were horribly overpriced. Then walked over to Circular Quay and to the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). Its a good thing it was free because otherwise it would have been a complete waste of time. The ‘art’ wasn’t at all to my liking the building seemed to be extremely disorganised and very little ‘art’ on display. There were more staff wandering around doing nothing then actual pieces of ‘art’.

Then it was a walk back to Chinatown, along the way stopping to admire some of the older buildings and churches. Then it was an express-ish train ride back home. It was a long day of walking but it was a nice day.

When I went shopping this week I couldn’t find any home brand garlic bread. And when I went again the next day still no garlic bread. Then I noticed a sign on the shelf saying that all the garlic bread between certain dates had been recalled, but didn’t say why. I read in the news today that the bread had been recalled because it turns blue when heated in the oven. Seriously. They don’t know why but suspect that its due to a certain type of garlic that they used. They don’t believe its toxic but are recalling it just to be safe. As it turns out I have a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer (I should have checked!). I wonder if it will turn blue when I cook it.

Another train post today. I was running a little late this morning so did the speed walk to the station. Made it there with three minutes to spare. The train before mine pulled away and then a minute later my train arrived. I hoped on board and waited for it to leave. An announcement over the speakers advised that they had mechanical problems and so would be a few minutes late. Then a few minutes later they announced the train was really broken and we all had to get off. When everyone was off they drove the train away (I thought it was broke!) and the next one arrived a few minutes later. And despite all that drama I arrived at work only about 10 minutes later than I usually do. As far as transport issues go thats more than acceptable.

There was a bomb on my train this morning. Well it could have been a bomb. It could also have been someones gym bag with smelly socks in it. Either way; lethal!

The train pulled up at a station and two rail police came on and a lady passenger directed them to a big gym bag that must have been left on the train. They thanked her and then bolted off with the bag. I’m not sure if they were running because its procedure. Get the possible exploding device away from the public or if they were just running late for something. If it was the former I wonder what they do once they run away with it. Do they throw it in the garden and tell people to stand back? I’m curious to know what the procedure is. And I wonder if that person will get their gym socks back.

The days are getting longer. Well, they are probably still 24 hours long. But there is definitely more time with the sun shining. And its increasing by about 2 minutes each day. Thats impressive. Not that long ago I was walking home in the dark. Not its still light on the walk to the train station. Still not light enough by the time I get home to really do anything outside, but it won’t be much longer.

I’ve been rather slack on the blog updates recently. I shall endeavor to write more.

Finally saw the new Batman movie yesterday. If I didn’t go soon it would probably stop showing at the cinema. As it was I was kinda dragged along anyway. Not that I didn’t want to see it, I just wanted to be in exactly the right mood. Yeah its long. Close to three hours when you add cinemas previews and such. There are two main things I wasn’t going to like about this movie. Firstly its a ‘new’ storyline and doesn’t stick to the original Batman story. And secondly, I hates knives. They freak me out. So a new Batman movie thats a different story with a main character who runs around killing people with knives isn’t going to be my first pick of movies. But it was a good movie. A damn good movie (I closed my eyes in some scenes). I’m glad I got to see it on the big screen.

Today I decided to go for a drive. Had no idea where. Decided to drive north. And hopefully stop before Newcastle. Which we did. We drove as far north as Woy Woy. Its a little coastal town with lots of waterfront houses and boats. As you’d expect in small coastal town. I was small and little but this place had multiple McDonalds and several shopping centres so it was hardly tiny little. Spike Milligan lived in Woy Woy for a while so there must be plenty of things to laugh about there. As we were driving around we came across this building.

We weren’t sure what it was. Its metal and futuristic design actually looked a bit like a prison. But it was a church. The St John the Baptist Catholic Church to be exact. I wonder if they go through a metal detector on Sunday mornings.

McDonalds have a new deal going where you get a glass which each Big Mac meal purchased. The glass isn’t anything special. Embossed with the Coke symbol and a small Olympic symbol as well. Last weekend I decided I’d get one. Then I decided I’d collect a few of them as a set. Except I couldn’t bring myself to eat McDonalds again in the same weekend. Well this weekend I did. A Big Mac yesterday and another today. Two glasses added to the collection. And I think I’m paying a price for these ‘free’ glasses. Feeling very poorly from this horrible food. I think pasta and salads during the week to build my strength back up.

I went into town to the Entertainment Centre and saw the comedian Chris Rock last night. I wasn’t sure what he’d be like but I felt like taking a chance for a laugh. The warm up comedian was very funny. I just wish I could remember his name. Chris was a bit crude, but thats his style and was expected. Plenty of laughs were had. And the show went for about 2 hours, with no break. I thought that was really good.

I read in the news today that actor/comedian Bernie Mac died on the weekend. Thats a shame. He was a funny guy.

Not that long ago I commented about how airlines might start charging passengers based on their weight. I see a news story posted on news.com.au today that at least one airline is considering that.

This morning we decided to have brunch at the Rocks so we caught a train into the City and then walked to the Rocks area. After moving tables in a cafe due to random (or was it) bird droppings falling on our table we enjoyed a very nice cooked breakfast. We then strolled up and down the Rocks markets looking at the items on sale. We went for a little walk through the surrounding streets and then walked to the Botanic Gardens.

Linda resting in the Botanic Gardens

Brian throwing Linda over the seawall

The weather was lovely. Time was running out so we caught the train back home again. We all got ready and then headed out again for the evenings entertainment, Dralion, a Cirque du Soleil show. We drove to the Entertainment Quarter without getting lost (pick Randwick, not Bondi turn off!) with plenty of time to spare. The show was in a big tent they had setup in the showgrounds. The seating was actually quite close to the stage no matter where you sat so we had a good view from our seats. The show was good and I’m glad I went. A bit too much ‘clown’ interaction with the audience for my liking though. Now I can say I’ve been to a Cirque du Soleil show.

Its been a fantastic weekend spent with Linda and we’ve been graced with wonderful weather (thanks Sydney). Tomorrow we get up early so Linda can catch the 4.30am train home (to the airport). Good lord I hate those early mornings.

This morning was the mystery adventure. I’d told Jo and Linda we were going to do something but didn’t tell them what it was. The big mystery? We were going to go on a Segway tour at Olympic Park. The Segway came out in 2001 in USA and was announced as new mode of personal transport. Its basically two wheels and a handle bar. The device moves forward and backwards simply by the user leaning and changing their weight.

We drove out the Olympic Park and found the Information Centre where out tour started. We had a two hour tour booked. The guide started by showing us how to turn the units on and how to get on them and the basics of riding. Then we were off! Riding around the park. We started slow but as time went on and we got more confident the Segway settings were changed to allow us to go faster. It was an absolutely fantasic tour. Lots of fun. There was a pretty big convention occuring at Olympic Park so there were lots of people around, which all took notice of this group of people riding around on strange contraptions. I highly recommend it if you went to try something a little different. They do have a shorter one hour trip but I don’t think thats long enough.

This evening we drove into the city and went to the bar at the top of the Casino on the 17th floor to admire the view and enjoy a beverage. The view is good, the drinks good, and try the pork and beef starter dish, its delicious! When we’d finished our beverages we walked to Darling Harbour and enjoyed a nice dinner at one of the waterfront restaurants.

Linda and I caught the train into town and got off at Circular Quay.

We walked around the Opera House area for a while and then caught a ferry to Darling Harbour. It was blowing a gale but other than being windy the ride was fairly smooth. The ferries must be built for some pretty rough weather. You get a different view of the Opera House and especially the Harbour Bridge from the ferry. We got off at Darling Harbour and walked to the Harbourside Shopping Centre for some lunch in the eatery. When we had recharged we walked to Paddys Markets near China Town. Alas no super special items were purchased. We then caught a taxi back up George Street to the Rocks area and did the walk up to the top of one of the Pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Its a nice walk and inside they Pylon they have lots of interesting facts on the history of the bridge. I’d told Linda that we had to walk up 3,000 steps to get to the top. I’m not sure how many we had to walk up, but it was probably closer to 300.

Feeling a bit tired we caught the train back home and started preparing dinner. We voted to not go out for the evening as we were all tired, and wanting to be fresh for the mystery adventure the next morning.

Linda has come down for a visit, yay! She was flying on on Thursday afternoon on a Jetstar flight. Linda had given me the flight details so I thought I’d check to make sure the flight was online before driving to the airport. Entered the departure town, arrival town and flight number on the Jetstar website. No such flight. Hmmmmm. Left the departure town blank and searched again. No such flight. Only put in the arrival town and searched. No such flight. Put in the flight number only, and the flight came up. Jetstar, your website sucks.

I drove to the airport and met Linda. Quickly drove back home and gave her keys to the place before heading back to work for a few more hours before I could finish for the day. In the evening we went to the local Blue Gum hotel for dinner.

While I was getting my haircut today I wondered why we don’t hear about more people being attacked, or killed, by angry hairdressers. I mean you hear about people getting assaulted by staff in other jobs from time to time. I figure every now and then someones got to complain/abuse one too many times the wrong hairdresser and then *bang* its a pair of scissors to the jugular. Think about that next time you get a haircut. And say something nice to your hairdresser.

The media is reporting on how the NSW government is going to be the strictest anti-smoking government in the world with new laws being proposed.

From the media they are reporting on two new changes:
Shops will no longer be able to display cigarettes for sale, they must be stored ‘out of sight’. I really doubt whether this actually makes any difference. And Queensland has had this law for ages, catch up NSW.

The second is that if a driver is smoking with a child under 16 in the vehicle, its a $250 on the spot fine. I have a real problem with this. Firstly who is going to enforce this? I export the poor police will have the job of enforcing this revenue raiser. I wonder how the law is worded. The media is quoting ‘driver is smoking’. If thats the case, its ok for a passenger to smoke but not the driver? My biggest gripe with this is I believe its an invasion of privacy. Inside the car is your own private world. If you are doing a legal activity (smoking itself is still legal) then you shouldn’t be told by laws that you can’t do it. The next step is to stop people smoking in their own homes if children are about. You’ll have the anti-smoking police forcing their way into your house to drag the smokers away. Then its a small step to stopping people from doing other things in their own home. Alcohol is seen to be a problem. You can no longer drink in your own home. Obesity is a problem. You can no longer eat bad food in your own home.

And with this media reporting on the new anti-smoking changes there is no mention about stopping people from smoking in outdoor sections of restaurants (currently legal in NSW), one of my pet hates.

The time for a peoples revolt of the government is approaching! viva la peoples revolution!

There is plenty of wilderness near where I live. And a few bushwalking paths. Today decided to go for a bit of a look.
Went for a walk along a path called ‘Blue Gum Walk’ (I think). Some nice ferns at the beginning of the walk.

Then got to a section with some running water called the ‘fish ponds’. However swimming and fishing is not allowed ($3,300 fine!).

However after emerging from the bushland to suburbia I had no idea where I was. Luckily the GPS on my phone came to the rescue and showed me the way. Google maps is great. Except it doesn’t show you the topography of the land. So the last 500m of the walk, along a suburban road, was actually the worst. It was up a hill. A steep hill. Next time I’ll take another path. Actually there is another walk about 9km that ends at a train station so may talk that path and then catch the train back home.

Well I bought a new mobile. Settled on the HTC Touch Diamond. There is a guy in Sydney who is selling them so I contacted him this morning and arranged to meet him at his place (knock twice, say ‘the fish are fresh in Spain’, wink, he’ll say ‘only when cooked soon after being caught’ and then we exchange paper bags).

Put the target address in the GPS and drove to some southern suburb of Sydney. Took a while to get there but finally arrived and picked up the new phone. Afterwards decided to go to Bondi Beach and have some lunch. I haven’t been to Bondi since moving to Sydney and have wanted to go check it out. Its a nice beach, but it was cold.

Even so there were still plenty of people about. I expect the place is packed in summer. Lunch was a burger at a beachside place and then drove back home.

There have been many stories of late about airlines taking steps to insure their profits don’t diminish. This is proving more difficult with fuel prices on the rise, and fuel being one of their main expenses. I read one story about an airline, I think in Asia, reducing the weight of items on their planes. Less weight equals less fuel equals less cost. Lighter cutlery/plates, thinner inflight magazines, carrying less water on board. All things that were small by themselves but actually added up when they made thousands of flights. Airlines here already offer discounted flights if you don’t check in any luggage. Less weight.

I wonder which airline will be the first to price tickets based on ‘passenger weight’? I think it will be great. I’m not overweight, and I always travel with not much luggage. So why should I have to pay the same price for a ticket as someone who is overweight or takes a lot of luggage? Airlines use an average weight of 77kg per passenger (they do this now). So lets allow 23kg for luggage, making a total of 100kg. The airline has a standard ticket price of $x for 100kg. If you and your luggage combined weigh less than that, your ticket price is reduced as you are costing them less fuel. If you weigh more, your ticket price goes up.

This weeks photo assignment was ‘water’. And a damn hard assignment it was too. I don’t want to generalise but water, is boring. At least I thought so when trying to think of interesting photos ideas. There were two water fountains nearby that provided some inspiration. And I realised that the monthly Sydney Model Steam Train gathering was on this weekend so that provided some photos (steam is water!). But then I tried some different photos.

Filled up some balloons and tied them to my clothes dryer on the balcony, then stuck them with a needle. And hopefully caught the action on the camera. The first few balloons died in vain, as I wasn’t quick enough to capture the action. But then success!
I also had a bit of a play with food dye in some glasses. This weeks photos are on the picasa album.