The original Matrix
How’s this for a sci-fi idea: a computer controlling a virtual reality world.
People hook up to the computer and enter that world.
But it seems real. In fact it’s so real you can get hurt or even killed in there.
And it’s called “The Matrix.”
What a concept. Not bad for 1976.
Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin airs on the ABC next week, starting on Monday. Worth catching if you want to see the original form of these ideas.
Did you watch Doctor Who through the 70s and 80s and you think you’ve seen it? Maybe not — if I recall correctly, this was a story the ABC thought too strong for dinner-time viewing at the time, and so it never aired in the 6pm/6:30pm timeslot.
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Foaming at the mouth
So far, I have pretty much kept my new year’s resolution to floss my teeth every single day. I think I might have missed one, which for someone who formerly flossed about once a month (and twice a week just before seeing the dentist) isn’t too bad.
Have also extended tooth brushing times. I recall when growing up that the theory was you should brush at least twice a day, for five minutes. Does anybody really, actually, genuinely brush for five minutes? Somehow I doubt it. It may not be much time if you’re listening to the radio, but it’s a helluva long time when you’re brushing your teeth.
Since the microwave is located in the kitchen very close to the bedroom door, with the kids I’ve started setting the timer for two minutes when we brush. Frankly even two minutes is a long time to be brushing, but we’re getting used to it. We were probably brushing for all of thirty seconds before, so this is a big improvement, and hopefully Mr Dentist will be delighted the next time we darken his door.
What’s funny is the amount of toothpaste foam I seem to generate. I don’t know if the toothpaste I have is particularly sudsy or what, but during those two minutes, I find myself having to spit out excess foam, to prevent it dribbling down my chin. Maybe I need to alter my brushing technique, use less toothpaste, or look for a low suds variety.
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A-Z of links
Saw this elsewhere, a while back… call me slow, but here’s my version. The A-Z of web sites in my browser history (also dubbed “Your personality summarised in 26 links.”)
You can figure out your own by typing each letter in the address bar, and copying whatever it comes up with first. You can also, of course, cheat and choose something else that pops up that seems more interesting. In some cases it’s been a while since I actually looked at these sites, and I don’t recall why I did!
(I’ve shortened them a bit by chopping out the http://www etc where possible.)
anthonymalloy.com — my mate Tony’s blog.
bandaiddilemma.net — Brilliant idea. The new BandAid charity single is a worthy cause, but awful music. So these guys suggest buying it, then destroying it and documenting it for their site.
cafepress.com/cp/customize — I must have been mucking around with my tiny range of not very good Cafepress t-shirts.
dev.null.org — Andrew Bulhak’s blog, which I occasionally read.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azores — Ah, Wikipedia, is there any finer invention? Don’t recall why I was looking up the Azores.
fridaysixpm.com — My friend Beth’s blog.
gallifreyone.com — All the Doctor Who news that’s fit to print.
h50025.www5.hp.com/hpcom/au_en/10_25_102.html — I might be in the market for a colour laser printer.
i18nguy.com/markup/metatags.html — Musta been looking up some geeky HTML stuff.
jazzyhands.blogspot.com — Kathryn’s blog.
kekoc.com/wp/archives/2005/01/04/2005-australian-blog-awards-vote/ — Australian blog awards… time to vote, y’all. In fact, time to vote FOR THIS BLOG!!! (It’s nominated in the Best Australian personal blog category). Or vote for something else if you like. That’s democracy.
labs.google.com — they have some pretty cool stuff, those Google Labs dudes. That Google Suggest thing is mucho groovy.
missmarita.com — my lovely girlfriend’s blog.
naylorscanberra.blogspot.com — Doug’s novel in progress which looks interesting. I really should read it… maybe after I finish Cryptonomicon?
oceancolourscene.com — Brit rock band. I occasionally look to see if there might be any hope of them touring here. Nup. Why do their web people insist on doing the whole thing in Flash?!
photos.vicsig.net/temp/taxi.jpg — Rather spectacular pic taken by someone last week, of the big taxi hijack hoo-ha in Collins Street.
qantas.com.au/info/about/company/index — I must have been looking up something about Qantas. Don’t remember what.
radio.streamx.com.au/radio/3aw/index.cfm — occasionally I listen-in to strange radio stations to hear what they have on the news.
safer-networking.org/en — Fighting Spyware since 1485.
theage.com.au — I get the paper edition on the front lawn every morning, then feel compelled to get my money’s worth by checking for updates all day.
urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dink&r=f — I was looking up “DINK” to see if UrbanDictionary had the definition.
vline.com.au/timetables — was probably looking up times for last week’s jaunt to Warragul.
web.archive.org — ah, the web archive, full of old web pages.
xiaojlei.com/useful/Media/streamboxvcrsuite.zip — rather ingenious software for recording video/music streams, should you feel so inclined. No idea why it’s on that site.
yafla.com/papers/articles.htm — some geeky site about how the world would be a better place if unnecessary stuff was chopped out of JPEG files to make them smaller.
zucchinibikini.blogspot.com — Kathy’s blog.
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Bye bye Bunnings
The theory is that the Melbourne CBD is booming. Retail activity is through the roof, not just on weekdays but also evenings and weekends. Certainly from my point of view as a CBD worker-bee and occasional weekend visitor, it seems like much of the CBD is bustling for most of the time, no doubt helped by developments at Melbourne Central (yah boo hiss), QV, Fed Square and elsewhere.
It’s not necessarily the big stores pulling in the people, but an explosion in the number of small, specialist shops, as well as restaurants and bars that help keep the masses around after dark.
But it’s not all success stories. The Bunnings in Bourke Street is closing down. Now, I’m sure hardware isn’t a huge business in the CBD, it’s probably mostly a weekend thing. But damn it’s handy to have somewhere like this close to work. Maybe some people don’t think of it, but I’ve certainly wandered in there at lunchtime to get a key cut, or pick some other semi-obscure hardware thing — last time it was fluorescent tubes. Mind you I got the wrong type the first time I tried.
My spies tell me they’re being kicked out and are looking for another city site, so hopefully they find something soon. Otherwise, where else will I be able to go to buy the wrong stuff at lunchtime?
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Here is my post box
Here we go, celebrating the mundane yet again… here is my local post box, a couple of streets away.
And you get a stop sign and a fire hydrant thrown in for no extra cost — how good is that?!
Feel free to post a picture of your local post box… Link in the Trackbacks or comments.
- No popups this time
- Past photos in this series
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The holiday ends here
It’s the last day of my holidays, though perhaps fittingly, I’ve been bombarded with support calls today. Oh the curse of the mobile phone and remote network connection.
Some questions that might be resolved by Monday. Or maybe not:
I bought some clothes yesterday. Can I actually pull off 3/4 length pants, or will they look ridiculous on me?
I also bought a kitchen chair from Ikea yesterday. Got it home to discover it wasn’t quite the exact match of the old ones that I thought. Will notice and laugh?
Are today’s work issues caused by a bug in one of Microsoft’s libraries?
Will I be able to shout about that, so as not to make too much noise about the other bug I found today, in my own code? (Oh so THAT’s why it takes ages to run, and spits out the wrong figures.)
One day will the remote network connection be less flakey? Or is it just my machine’s setup?
Once all the work stuff is over, will I find the time to have a shower, tidy up the house, have some lunch, do some shopping, iron some shirts for work next week, then get all my stuff together for going away for the weekend? (Don’t get too excited. It’s only Seymour. With a bit of luck I’ll prepare a Here Is My photo today, to appear on Sunday.)
Will the paint specks on my arms and legs from helping paint Josh and Cathy’s house last night eventually come off?
Is there time for another cup of tea?
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Thursday thoughts
I just did a load of washing, including a doona cover. Every single other item ended up inside the doona cover. How is this possible?
Number of people observed at the mobile blood bank last week who were reading The Da Vinci Code: 2.
It’s hot again today. Trying to take cover, keep the house cool. I’m not impressed with the evaporative cooler I bought last summer. It does blow out cold air, but doesn’t seem to make a huge difference. Either the concept is flawed, the hot is just too hot, or the particular one I bought (a cheapie, admittedly) just isn’t that crash-hot.
The Gollum sold for $15.50 (plus postage, but it’s to a local, so I expect to drop it in personally.)
Music has come a long way in the last 25 years, but it’s quite possible that Come Together is still the coolest opening song on any album.
Thursday used to be my favourite day in year 12, circa 1988. It was the day of the Green Guide. It was the day of double period of Computer Science after lunch. It was the day The Bill (favourite programme at the time, well before it soaped up) aired. Only one of these is still the same.
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Water
Got my water bill the other day, and along with it was a little card about average water usage. I can’t be bothered re-keying it, so I’ll scan. This is the average number of litres per day, used by households of different sizes (people) and with/without gardens.
Me? I’m sitting on 347 litres per day, with of course a big garden and 1-3 people in the house, depending on the day of the week. Do I really need to work out an average? Oh okay. Umm. Let’s see. Add them up. Carry the two. Okay. Average house occupancy over a week is 1.9.
That makes me above the figure for 2 people with no garden, but well below the figure for 2 people with a garden. I don’t actually water my garden very much (hasn’t needed it recently, and when it does I use recycled bath water).
My washing machine probably gets more of a workout than the typical DINK household. My toilet isn’t dual flush (another thing I’d fix if I owned the place). Could cut down on my shower time, too.
So room for improvement.
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