Jen - up early

I was going to go in to work early anyway today, but I got woken up half an hour before my alarm clock this morning... by the rain! Not just the sound of the rain against the window, but by drops of rain actually falling upon my face. The window is about a 1m away from my side of the bed, and was open about 10cm. Obviously more than enough. Heh.

EC - Madness

So it's past midnight and Kim's playing Guitar, Drums and Microphone simultaneously on Guitar Hero.

YL - new Star Trek movie

No surprise but I did love it in all it's bright shininess. =)

Ben - thing

Coming to Uni this morning, I saw an ad.

"Be careful putting your lipstick on," it said. "We don't want to have to put it on for you. Drive carefully." The ad was for a funeral parlor.

As if the poor taste wasn't enough, the ad was on the inside of a bus, where it doesn't even make any sense.

Jen - Long day

Spent 10 hours at work yesterday... 11 including travelling time. Blargh.

Actually, it was quite fun. There was a scheduled power outage. No-one allowed in the building. No computers. No printers. No network. No pressure! I spent the time weeding a network cabinet, stopping regularly for cups of tea and the occasional game of Zuma (we had one computer hooked up to the generator). I wish all work days were like that.

Came home completely exhausted, of course. Poor Dan had all three kids all day... and then I was pretty much asleep by 10pm. On a Saturday night! How times have changed!

David - The Definition of Irony

One of the fascinating things about having lived in America for the last 3 years is the radical shift from "there is always more stuff" to "oh crap, the environment". When I first moved here the car ads were all "look at my big manly manly car that gets .5 miles to the gallon", now the ads are all "look at my big manly car that gets 1.5 miles to the gallon because of magic ingredient X". Its an improvement, but not much. The key point of course being that, as usual, its all about the show and not the actual, you know, doing.

So there I am, coming off a flight from San Francisco and I land at JFK. I am walking through the endless miles of corridors and I come across what can only be called the Exxon Mobil Edifice of Irony. Its an entire section of the airport devoted to pointing out how wonderful and new energy Exxon Mobil is, how every day they are saving Americans all this energy and therefore the environment... as if that wasn't irony enough, how did they choose to impart this message? Recycled paper banners? Eco friendly water paints? Oh no, they used 40 plasma screens playing the same graphic presentation over and over again. 40 X 72 inch plasma screens all pointing out the Exxon Mobil is dedicated to conserving energy...

The less said about the current American Power = Clean Coal ads the better...

YL - definitely skiing

With the cold snap, I'm reminded of snow in the crisp almost-winter air.

I'm definitely going skiing this year. Anyone want to come along? =)

Ben - Feelin' good

Okay - It's an hour and a half before the deadline of an assignment. Weeks of work. 40% of overall mark. Suddenly, I can't access files on the network drive, and so I can't get to my
work.

So naturally, I go and complain to the helpdesk person. No joy.

"God damned university computer helpdesk monkeys!" I muttered. "Why are they never any help?

"Wait a second! I'm a useless damned helpdesk monkey! I can do it myself!"

So I fixed it, and now it's printed out and ready to hand in. Also, I helped a couple of other people with the same problem.

So, returning to the post title, I'm feelin' good.

Anna : Don't Stoppard ...

Went to see "Travesties" at the Sydney Theatre Company and enjoyed it thoroughly. Dada-ism meets the Importance of Being Earnest with a dose of commie-rhetoric for good measure.

Best line of the play? Lenin talking of the 1905 and 1917 Russian revolutions :

"To lose one revolution my be regarded as a misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness"

Jen - It begins...

Dan and I were cleaning off the whiteboard a bit tonight whilst the littlies played around our legs.

Suddenly, Elora holds something up to me and says "What is it, Mama?"
I look down and she's holding up a plastic card. Dan's corporate card, no less.
"What?" exclaims Dan. "How did she get that?"

She'd managed to reach into the leg pocket of Dan's cargo pants and sneakily grab it out of his wallet all without him noticing.

It begins. The daughter raiding her father's wallet. We just didn't expect it quite so soon!

Jen - Cubing it up

Lawrence Leung has a lot to answer for. I spent all of last night and this morning figuring out how to do the Rubik's Cube. With help from the internet of course. And I still haven't broken the ten minute mark. Grr.

Jaime - Sick

Being sick sucks, cure please.

Dan - Longweekendtastic!

After the Easter long weekend I was a bit worn out, and decided to have another one. Starting today. Admittedly, it's also because of the horrors of school holidays this year (there's no vacation care for preschoolers, but also no spaces in childcare, so we have nowhere to send Superguy Dragon, which means Jen and I have to do a lot of staying at home, and grandmothers and Aunties are being conscripted en masse to look after him). Should be a bit easier next year, when he can go to vacation care, but I'm expecting to burn through a lot of leave this year.

It was an interesting work week, though, fitting a week's work into two days.

Ben - Computer go boom.

My computer broke down the other day, taking half an assignment with it. Fortunately, it was an easy assignment. Unfortunately, my computer is broken. I've been trying to play Age of Empires with plastic counters, but it's just not the same.

Dan - birthday shenanigans

We skipped Dante's birthday party this year (due to the One Birthday Party per annum rule), so I decided to take him to the movies with a friend or two. Which somehow turned into 4 friends and a bonus sibling. So I took six boys for lunch and to see Monsters vs. Aliens today, which was a lot of fun. The boys were good fun, and no trouble. Then we went up to see Jo and Vee at their get-together at the Coopers arms. All in all, a long and exciting day. Came home to a worn-out looking Jen, Atty, and Elora. Not sure what they got up to while we were out, but they were a lot more tired than us. I'm still looking for the keg and other evidence of the party they had while we were out.

Also, saw a 4WD drive into a wall this morning for no good reason. Have to call the police tomorrow as a witness.

YL - I'm not irredeemable!

Heh that's what one advanced registar said to me after the 1st week at the new job. Lol. I think it's improving Wk 2 and hopefully by the end I'll be sufficiently more competent. I did good on Thur. Real good.

It's so nice to have a 3 day weekend. =) My weekends are usually 1 day! Looking forward to seeing people tomorrow at drinks.

Anna : Website, website, website ...

Phew, new Arts Faculty website up and running ... I never have to look at it again now right?

Jaime - Flutter

Blggng.flttr.sck.n.ndrwr.

Ben - No longer disembenched!

I've been working on my studies, much of (but by no means all) the live long day. But I've also found the time to make myself a workbench. Which is a damned difficult thing to make, when you don't have access to a workbench. Kind of a Catch 22, I guess.

David - Surrendering to Technology

Given that it looks like I am going to be in New York for another 2 - 3 years (long, pointless, slightly psychotic story) I caved and bought an Amazon Kindle 2. For those of you who don't know what it is, its an 'electronic ink eReader'. Imagine a palm pilot twice the size with a grayscale display to read text. I have to admit, its pretty darn nifty. It has a wireless Amazon connection so I can buy 'eBooks' directly from the device itself and they download in 30 seconds.

A cool thing is that they have a bunch back catalogues for $1 - $3. So, I have been downloading a bunch of 1960's Arthur C. Clarke, 60-70's Harlan Ellison, late 1800's Jules Verne and PG Wodehouse!

And the better thing is that I now have 50 books on a device the size of a small diary, which will make the hours I spend in airport waiting lounges that much more bearable.

falsedan - G20 tomorrow

If I don't post something vapid about hippies in 12 hours, avenge my death.

YL - P plates

I am officially a fully qualified doctor. *happy dance*

Dan - Packing Fu

Spent yesterday doing a massive cleanup of the garage/shed in order to make space for more furniture from the family (Tim & Janet are renovating). The sheer awesome power of my packing-fu surprises even me - I cleaned out about 8 square metres in a previously "full" garage.

Now I ache.

YL - omg

Somehow between the madness of being sucked into work and being lured into the goal of "building a career" ... I actually forgot about this blog. Physically forgot. Amazing. Lol. I only just remembered.

Gads what is happening to my brain. It's been like 3 months since Guy & Joe's birthday thing. Damn!

So in 2 weeks I will be a fully licensed doctor.One of my Emergency department bosses was trying to recruit me for the specialty last month. Life is full of work and boxes. Oh the boxes! It hurts. I've donated and chucked a lot of stuff though. Up shot, the new sofa is really comfortable and my place is starting to look like I live here from time to time. Grandma turned 80 & had a great party. I kind of miss home. Oh and as Kim knows, my Fall Out Boy madness was fully released and momentarily exorcised. I went to my first rock concert/s!

Ben - Quis custidied quod qu - whatever

Saw the Watchmen today. Mixed feelings. I think they did the best they could with the central plot, and some of the the performances were wonderful. The action scenes were too slick and choreographed, the costumes didn't have that DIY look that they do in the book and - faithful though it was - the main plot really loses a lot from the absence of the subplots.

Anyway, upshot was I went to the movies and don't now feel ripped off. This is at least a minor triumph.

Jaime - Permanent Resident of Canada

On Thursday I finally became a permanent resident of Canada and in 2 more years can become a Citizen.

Dan: Stranglers

Saw the Stranglers at the UNSW Roundhouse last night. Very exciting - they gave an excellent performance.

They were down two of their original lineup - the singer/lead guitar was replaced in 2001 (ish), and Jet Black, their drummer, was having a rest (he's 70-something years old); but the rest of them gave an awesome performance.

And I was on the edge of the mosh pit, which had a median age of about 40 :)

Kit is excited!

She just found some tickets available in "the gods" to see Dylan Moran.

Shoshe - Harvest!

Over the weekend I thinned out the indoor lettuce crop, and we had miniature salads. The remaining lettuces have grown impressively over the past few days.

And my GI doctor has me eating plastic (literally).

Kit has given in

Despite trying to prove a point, and manage a contract without a work mobile phone, I have just given in and put in an application.

Ben - TKB

My camera stopped working again, and I finally decided to buy a new one. Then I reasoned that, since I was buying a new camera anyway, there was no reason not to try to make it work by hitting it against the table.

My camera is now working again. Here's a picture of my new ride (as per Dan's request), and also a set of shelves that I built (that nobody asked to see). I think my next project should be a proper workbench, the little portable thing I have is too lightly built and also too low for someone of my height.

Dan - house not destroyed

Went to inspect our house in Darlington. We were happy to find that the large quote for repairs and cleaning wasn't because it had been deliberately trashed, just rather enthusiastically lived in.

Anna : Dolphins!

Summer is slipping away down here in the southern hemisphere so beach time is seeming more precious. But the water has reached a wonderful swimming temperature and this morning we saw a pod of four or five dolphins swimming about 30 metres off shore.

Magical.

Shannon - Holly's first milestone!

Today her little umbilical stump fell off! Its amazing how exciting being a parent is :)

David - Fate is a Capricious Thing...

So, I found out today that LIU would like me to hang around New York for another 3 years. We are now starting negotiations as to what terms and conditions I require in order to spend another 3 years in the insanity that is the US of A.

At the same time I found out that Mutant Chronicles, the movie, (go to Apple.com to see the trailer) comes out on my birthday. 24 April. Sure it is cheesy, but how can I not go and see it? Its the first role playing game that I ever bought... for those who know the place, I picked it up after high school one day in that weird little Tin Soldier store in Liverpool. I think I then ran a really, really crappy game for Guy, Horns, Crans and Ferris one afternoon. Or as I like to think of it, the game that convinced me I am better of being a less imaginative wargamer!

Jen - excited!

Word just came in that Shan's off to hospital to be induced. I am bouncing with excitement and will eagerly await the news all day. Fingers crossed for an easy birth!

Guy - For Ben (who we assume is dead).

Kit remembers to hand stuff in

The pesky assignment, which was due in November (08), has *finally* been handed in.

Becstarr : A super-productive Caturday!

Joel's gone sailing for the weekend and left to my own devices in the house, I have surprised myself by having a super-productive start to the weekend!

I have not only but also: swept and mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors; done three loads of washing including a backpack, sports shoes and the shower curtain; used the final rinse grey-water from each wash on the lawn; sourced and fitted water aerators to the kitchen & bathroom taps; cleared several GB of space on J's laptop; met Karinne for a catch-up date over chocolate and churros in Glebe; and done a massive fruit & veg shops at the wonderful Harris Farm.

Woo!

Ben - Full throttle!

Guess who just got a sweet new motor scooter?

If you guessed 17th century science fiction pioneer Margret Cavendish, you were dead wrong. It was me!

Dan - school's back

It's the end of our first full week back at school - Dante and Atty were at school all week. We're all exhausted and cranky, and we'll be resting hard this weekend. Hopefully we'll be able to recover despite the cruel and unusual heat the BOM has planned for us.

falsedan - I am a victim of the global credit crisis

My bank won't give me a credit card unless I show them the last few months of bank statements. :(

Shoshe - Sprouted!

The lettuce that I planted on Sunday sprouted today (Wednesday)!

Tancred - It's rather cold this morning

It’s cold today. According to the web it’s -6° and feels like -9°. Last winter the server room AC froze and tore it’s self apart (no one remembered to put antifreeze in the chillier).

This morning our AC stopped working. It’s now 41° in the server room. IT sits outside the server room doors which are open, and all our windows are open trying to make a draft to help get cold air in there. Damm it’s cold. I’m indoors and I can see my breath. I think we should all just get to go home.

Shoshe - Groundhog Day

Sadly, Groundhog Day doesn't mean as much when you know that there will be (way) more than 6 weeks of winter, and that spring is most certainly not right around the corner.

Shoshe - Go my brain!

I got brilliant insight into 2 of the questions on my Celestial Mechanics homework last night at about 2:30am, after finishing a teen vamp novel. I even figured out some stuff that the super-maths officemates didn't get! Clearly I should be doing more...light reading.

Over the weekend we set up the winter greenhouse. I re-potted the aloe and planted six little pots of lettuce, and we brought the bay tree, rosemary, and orchid home from uni. They're all in a bookcase sort of thing with growlights and mylar. The greenhouse is bright!

Tancred - Blizzard

It's not just snowing - It's a blizzard :)

Jaime - rubbing bellies for the win

Last night I won a poker tournament thanks to "Pixel" kicking at the right moments to tell me that it was the hand to play, baby is indeed getting a new pair of shoes.

Guy - First week done...

While I'm woefully unprepared, as always, I'm happy to be back.

The midgets are great and I like what I'm teaching.

In Studies of Religion we were defining religion and one student was very eager to explain to everyone the difference between a ghost and a spirit.

"A ghost is where it's a figment of your imagination and a spirit is real."

Something in my face gave away that I didn't agree with her, and so she asked if that was right.

I said that traditionally speaking a ghost was the spirit of someone who had died, while spirits were a much broader category, including spirits of trees and animals and the Holy Ghost and whatnot.

However, what I was thinking was; Of course it's made up! It's all made up! Everything in this course is a figment of people's imaginations. Ghosts, spirits, miracles, God.

I didn't say it because I probably shouldn't alienate any of the students at this early stage of the course...

David - Boy Howdy Is It Cold

So, I was in Chicago a week or so ago. The temperature was -21 Fahrenheit, -31 if you factored in the wind chill.

To put it in practical terms, the half frozen river was releasing steam because it was warmer than the air. I walked the 6 blocks to my hotel with a jumper, jacket, overcoat, scarf, gloves, beanie, boots and at least 3 hits of whisky. I couldn't feel my legs by the time I got to the hotel. I had to go to the bar for another 3 emergency shots of whisky to stave off hypothermia. How the hell Grizzly Adams managed to survive I will never know...

Kit is tempted...

The second coffee truck man told me today that he can do iced coffee (rather, he offered it to me). Real coffee shot, vanilla icecream, choice of flavoured syrup, whipped cream, chocolate on top.

My one (of many) weakness!!

Dan: Dante's adventures in MMOGs

Dante has discovered his first MMO game - Moshi Monsters. It's a silly thing where you create you monster, and it wanders around this little world, and you feed it and get it stuff, and meet up and chat with your friends' monsters. All pretty simple, and entirely within the browser. But he's so keen that he has decided to spend his pocket money on a 1-month membership. God help us when he discovers WOW.

I don't think that word means what you think it means

Becstarr : Emerging from a kid hurricane to an empty nest

Just got back from visiting a full house of kids (5, 7, 9) and 6 adults up the Central Coast to an eerily quiet house. That's right: Matt and Zoe have flown the coop over the weekend, and Joel and I are empty-nesters! For the first time in my life I am savouring owning every shelf in the fridge (and pantry, and bathroom) and so on. Come to think of it, that's not quiet true as I was in that studio in Camden St for a while. OK, forget that particular rhetorical flourish, but it's still Very Exciting!

Ben - a productive use of my time

I was watching TV, and I saw an ad for Valkyrie.

So I made this picture.

I love the holidays.

Dan - back at work

After 4 delightful weeks of holiday, I'm back at work this week, and very tired. Looking forward to the long weekend.

We went to the Olympic Park pool this afternoon - kids had lots of fun, but the lifeguards seemed to be in a bit of a mood.

Jaime - First Kendo class

Rocked!

Shoshe - Warm! (er). and then cold again

Yesterday it got all the way up to -4C! The hottest it got between Wednesday (when we got home) and the day before yesterday was -9C. Now it's -10.5C. The coldest it's been since we got home was -20C, which is even negative in Fahrenheit.

Today was the first day of the semester, and tomorrow is the first day I have class. I haven't felt as unenthusiastic about a semester starting for a long time, if ever.

Kit: internet curfew

I have decided to give myself an internet curfew on weeknights. Except that I've just broken it. Time to sign off!

Jaime - only a few more hours

Until I leave for Las Vegas. Go for the training, stay for continuous party.

Becstarr : Goggling (under the sea...)

Hot weather is beach weather and the Christmas presents of flippers (half-length training fins, thanks) and snorkel mask are calling to be put to good use. Clovelly yielded lots of hot and cold currents and a giant blue grouper. Manly's Shelly Beach had a giant seaweed forest and penty of stripey fish, but not the weedy sea dragons we were hoping for... yet!

falsedan - IT SNOWED IT'S SNOWING

IT'S SNOWING DID YOU SEE IT I SAW IT

Shannon - So I says to Jaime...

"Hey, let's go swimming". What the hell was I thinking?! Now I'm too exhausted to get off the couch to make dinner.

Becstarr : A new!

Something ineffable happened overnight with the changing of the years, and I now feel like I'm on holiday at last. The garden and the beach call, and I am heeding no others!

Dan - Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, folks! It's been ages since my last post, a lapse I humbly apologise for. Enjoying 4 weeks off work, seeing lots of friends and family. Spent the day putting together and painting chairs, and taking the munchkins off to see the fireworks (or, as Elora has been calling them, spiderworks).

Jen - Kaboom!

Happy New Year everyone! We took the kids to the 9pm fireworks - watched them from Glebe Island Bridge. They had a wonderful time. Can't wait until they're old enough to stay up for the midnight ones :)

Jaime - Living in a Snowglobe

We live in a snowglobe. Or at least the blizzard outside makes me think so.

Shannon - A Blizzard - For Real!

It's like one day Vancouver woke up and realised that its actually part of Canada. 20cm and another 10cm to come today! And its supposed to snow until Christmas :)

Youse are all awesome

I just wanted to say that this Hive One Sentence Journal has been a great success, thanks to all of you wonderful contributors and commenters. I am so grateful to have such a terrific bunch of friends - so supportive, caring, funny and geeky :)

Thanks, guys :)

Becstarr : Back in Black

Grinding through the last two days before closedown. Everyone is on edge and there have been a few blowups. Acca Dacca and Pump will get me through!

Jaime - C'mon

You're telling me seriously Falsedan doesn't write and draw xkcd?!

Anna : Old man 2008 is about done ...

Bring in young man 2009 I say!

Becstarr : A-carrolling

Went to the Epping Carols by Candlelight with the fam on Sunday night. We had a picnic. There were fireworks. We chatted rather than sang this year, but it felt quite unexpectedly fantastic. Despite the rush at work, I'm really enjoying this Christmas. :)

Shoshe - Snow with bad timing

My qualifying exam was supposed to be yesterday at midday, but it was delayed due to boot-deep snow (the top of the boot, not the bottom. The kind of snow that, for example, closes multiple airports and flight paths so half of your examination committee can't make it to town before your exam should have been halfway over). We postponed it till 3pm, and eventually until this morning. Saturday morning! It's an oral exam, where your committee members get to ask you whatever they want that might be remotely related to your research project or (very loosely defined) field of study. For 2 hours. Except that mine ended up taking 2 1/2 hours. It went okay though -- they weren't as mean as I expected.

In related news, one of the local coffee companies will give you a half-gallon of coffee in a nifty thermos/urn for $10 if you give them 24 hours notice, and apparently just trusts that you'll return the urn (they don't actually ask you to). Another local coffee company charges $24 for the same amount of coffee in a box, and a third charges $14 for a box of coffee, a variety of sweeteners, cups, and milk.

Jen - A very merry Hivemas

A very pleasant Hivemas was had by the Sydney contingent today at our place. A little quieter than usual due to Dante's absence (at a friend's pool party). Atti relished his chance to be "the rowdy one", Elora ate her weight in chips, baby John snoozed and suckled and was incredibly cute! Excess food, water pistol fights, chicken wings and trifle.

Thanks to Evil for cooking, Elle and Al for helping and Red Bec for her delicious pavlova and excellent salad making skills, and everyone else that helped out! And thanks to Joel and Jed for entertaining Atti so amusingly!

Tancred: Egg nog

Inspired by the Colbert christmas special I made egg nog last night. I used
cognac and spiced rum for the alcohol and it was so so tasty :)

Egg nog needs to be made more often in winter in Australia!

Kit says this is getting ridiculous

I know that everything gets super-busy in the lead-up to Christmas, but this is getting ridiculous. You end up putting in the extra hours, which would be fine if you are catching up, but it's not so fine when you're still falling behind. ARGH, paperwork!!

Becstarr : Smidgeon the pigeon

On Saturday I rescued a homing pigeon who had become demagnetised and was sitting on a roundabout ignoring the cars about to run him down. From his legbands it seems he was from WA (or SA according to Euge - it was an 08 number). Fed, watered and rested, he has since resumed his journey, but it was fun to have a pet for a few hours. I wonder if WIRES needs people in the middle of the city?

Guy : Need more backup plans

I really need specific "heat stroke" lessons for when the temperature in the room goes over 30.

Two lessons I thought would fly crashed dismally because of it.

EC - Jaime's the Cyclon!?!

Recently picked up the Battlestar Galactica boardgame and have trying to rustle up a crew of 6 and the time to give it a run.

Finally happened last night and after a bribe of myself providing dinner for all.

Game was fun though long (~4 hours), with a bit of the Werewolf-esque mechanic that runs in Shadows Over Camelot but can be more influential. Basically took until the final run to the end of the game for the Cylons to be revealed even though the humans were pretty much screwed from very early on in the game. Much finger pointing and recriminations had Anna reveal herself before firing off the final nuke that took out the humans.

I was fortunate to reveal myself as the 'dirty skin job' just in time to the mostly unsuspecting humans, laughing all the way to the resurrection ship.

Guy : Maybe they do learn...

I think I did okay explaining the Global Economic Crisis in ten minutes to a bunch of year 8s. I'm surprised.

Becstarr : Big out, big in

Went out dancing for Anna's birthday on Friday (yay IM) and spent most of the rest of the w/e sleeping it off at home and in the garden. Sleeping lots rather than pushing on appears to have made an incredible difference - who knew? I wish I'd discovered this years ago!

Anna : AHA!!!!

!!SPOILERS!!

So you know the end of King Kong right? This bit ...



... where he's standing on the top of the building. Well that building is the Empire State Building. BUT the top of it looks nothing like the Empire State Building ...



This has been annoying me for some time, enough to distract my attention from time to time but apparently not enough to take the time to find out what's going on. Then today I go to a Metafilter post about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and I see this ...



So what has happened is that in 1933 when they made "King Kong" the top of the Empire State Building did look like that, it was a mooring post for airships, and that the extra bit that obscures the art deco spire is a broadcast tower added in 1953.

!!/SPOILERS!!

It's like this tiny bit of my brain that was constantly worrying about this conundrum has been freed up for other things ... and for that I guess I should give thanks ;)

YL - You know it's Christmas ...

... when you go home to Singapore and find Orchard Road lit up with lights, buildings wrapped up in present-like paper and the sales OH the sales! *almost faints* I'm going to be eating bread and butter for weeks ... gah.

YL - working nights has messed up my sleep

Argh. While working 4 nights in ED was interesting ... 2 days later I am still screwed up from adjusting my clock. I think I am just going to have to bite the bullet and coffee myself through the day today.

Also my bindi from Anna's birthday party made me extra cute!

Evelyn - Aerial Assault Course: Conquered!

After seeing posters up at the gym, I was finally tempted to get myself organised enough to the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena for the Aerial Assault Course. Brilliant fun, and except for the bruises inherent in running into wooden logs, not particularly strenuous. No photos of me, but here is a bbc thing about it.

Becstarr : Applying for my own job (yay!)

Worked for most of the weekend addressing the selection criteria for my own job* and updating my CV (thanks G&A once again - I found your suggestions on Google Docs). Now my eyes are looking far beyond the screen and I feel blurred around the edges... but for the first time ever, I have everything ready almost a day early!

* to move from contract to continuing!

falsedan - before my time

New plan: get up at 6am so I can do all my idiot internetting before work. My immune system has other ideas…

Anna : Blarg is the order of the day ...

Need a holiday ... that is all.

Dan - Single Parent for a weekend

Jen and Elora were away in the Torres Strait for a long weekend, leaving just me and the boys. Had a good weekend, apart from the endless fighting between the lads. Jen's out again tonight, at her sewing class, so I've got three cranky monsters tonight, but I got them to bed nice and early (they're still grumbling half an hour later, though...).

Fortunately, I haven't been attacked by moths.

Jaime - Mothes are jerks

I went to pay for groceries this evening and a moth flew out of my wallet. What the hell moth?! I got paid the other day and my bank account says its fine!

Ben - All done

In the last couple of weeks I finished all my work and did my one and only exam.

On a more interesting level, I built a set of shelves. This took a long time. I finally admitted to myself that power tools are less useful than they are fun, and bought a chisel. This made things go a lot faster.


I've also been teaching in a three day video production course for primary students. The Uni paired up primary education students with film students, and it went pretty well, overall. I've seen my group's film, I get to see them all on Friday.

For now, I'm going home to a plate of spaghetti, three longnecks of Resches and Dr. Who and the Silurians. I think I've earned it.

David - Home for the Holidays

The inevitable has happened - I am gradually turning American. I don't say Christmas anymore - instead it is the holidays. I am driving up to the Adirondacks to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends. And I have been seriously considering buying a baseball cap. Surely it is only a matter of time before I start believing that social welfare people is a pinko commie plot to steal my hard earned money...

Oh and in other news, I am coming back to Australia for Christmas and New Years... nothing like a 22 hour flight to kick start the holiday season.

Kit has Not healthy eating

I am eating Cheetos cheese and bacon balls out of a bowl with a spoon.

Another foot

For those of you keeping score overseas, we've had another foot wash up on shore.

Eugene - Even on Easy, Tool is hard

So Nick just got the band pack for Guitar Hero World Tour and he's solidly going at the drums since setting it up this evening.

I gave it a go but, alas, was not the natural I'd assumed I be.

Anyway, played a 90's medley of Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr and... someone else, first before entering the cheat to unlock all the songs. Played another set including a Tool song and just could not handle it even on Easy. Obviously all that punching of things has reduced my finger dexterity.

C'est la vie.

YL - Fall Out Boy!

Yay! Kim & I are going to Fall Out Boy on Feb 21 08. Woot! My first live rock concert! We are standing (ok dancing/singing/screaming/jumping). I am too excited for words! Here is Thanks for the Memories which some may remember from karaoke.

Becstarr : The sesame fields of Redfern

Last week I found a jar of poppy seeds and a packet of black sesame seeds (for sushi) that had been taken over by moths. I decided to give them a chance at life and rather than compost them, I scattered the lot along the backyard path - currently just dirt and stepping stones. Yesterday morning I went out and found a forest of enthusiastic green shoots arising!

I am having wild dreams of wading through a field of flowers on the way out to get the washing.... go little seeds go!

David - Yay Obama

So... Euphoria is the order of the day. Frankly I am going to thank the deity of my choice that there is a faint sliver of a hope that someone has been elected to the Presidency of the United States that stands a chance of looking at things from a new angle. Something this country really needs.

This does of course mean I am off to the temple to sacrifice a bull to the great god Augustus... these things do of course have to be done in style!

Tancred - Indecision 2008, don't fuck this up America!

Well today is the day, Indecision 2008. For us in the UK it will probably be decided about 04:00GMT so we get to wake up tomorrow and see the damage :(

Other issues to watch include proposition 8 in California, prop 2 in Florida and prop 102 in Arizona. (all about marriage discrimination and teh gays *sigh*). Arkansas has a proposition to allow only heterosexual married couples adopting or being foster parents.

In California Prop 5 calls for rehab and not prison for non-violent drug offenders. Prop 5 also wants on the spot fines and not arrest for small amounts of cannabis.

I found Ballotpedia rather interesting/disturbing to see just how many things Americans will be voting on.