Categories
Friends and loved ones

The rellies

Just before Christmas I got to meet some of my relatives for the first time in quite a while. My aunt(-in-law) Gem and my cousin Justin were in town for a few days. Hadn’t seen Justin in almost 20 years… both of us were much younger than at present, and while I barely remember it  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne

Aquarium

Christmas was the usual combination of family, presents, and too much food. After a day or two of recovery, we headed off for the Melbourne Aquarium yesterday. So did half the city, apparently. It was crowded — perhaps too crowded to be really enjoyable, in fact. But it was spectacular, particularly the “Fish Bowl” and  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Friends and loved ones

Christmas stressants

OK, I admit it, I’m getting a little stressed about Christmas. After a good start, the shopping has all fallen in a heap over the last few weeks. I’ve still got numerous things to buy, both known and unknown. The way it’s looking, this Christmas it won’t quite be gift vouchers at twenty paces, but  ... [More]

Categories
News and events

Merry Christmas!

To the readers of my blog, a Merry Christmas to you all! (Moved off the front page so people don’t get the singing when they don’t want it!)

Categories
News and events

Christmas came early

On Monday… Deposited my tax return, which was twice as much as I expected. Work gave me a big basket of Christmas goodies. (Nice change from the Gold Class cinema tickets I never get around to using until the last month before expiry). A new food court is opening in my building. They came through  ... [More]

Categories
Friends and loved ones Geek

The unexpected connection

In Christmassy terms, I had a very successful couple of days — on Friday I managed to get my Christmas cards (and annual letter) to UK relatives into the mail. I’ve gradually reduced the number of cards I send every year as more people get email. I’ll do some kind of email card in the  ... [More]

Categories
driving

I just drove a Prius

As you may have spotted, I’m not much of a fan of cars. Oh sure, modern western society relies on them, but far too much. But even in my version of suburban utopia, they’d be there by neccessity for some people and some trips. So given they’ll always be around, it makes sense for them  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Food'n'drink

Read these

Two great blog posts I’ve read recently: If you’ve ever worked in a service industry, and been on the receiving end of someone’s arseholedness, have a read of this — Nice consumer takes-on Nasty. I don’t recall ever encountering people of the moronic calibre when I was working in a shop. Either I was lucky,  ... [More]

Categories
Net

RIP Sarcasmo

Star “Sarcasmo” Foster has passed away, aged 33. (via Ren) I have to admit I didn’t regularly read her blog, but it’s always sad to hear a peer (of sorts; however distant) is no more, especially at such a young age. PS. Andy’s pulled together a list of posts on this sad event. Tue 31  ... [More]

Categories
Clothes

Don’t do it

I’m not going to name names, but it seems this needs spelling out. Ladies, DO NOT pull a gentleman’s tie. It’s not funny. It’s just annoying. A tie is a highly-tuned precision garment. Sometimes it’s a great deal of effort to get it looking just right. Sometimes it’s even a great deal of effort to  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

My suburb is not a den of thieves after all

It’s bin night. Someone finally noticed “their” recycle bin didn’t have their street number on it, and have returned it to my driveway. It’s got some of their recycling in it, but otherwise it’s pristine. And thus my inaction (I didn’t get around to ringing the council yet to replace my stolen bin) is rewarded.

Categories
Melbourne

Beat the heat

Yesterday it got to 42.1°C (that’s 108°F for those of you in the countries still using that retro measurement), before a refreshing cool change virtually halved the temperature. I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was inside, given my house is weatherboard and has no airconditioning. At its hottest, the thermostat reported 30°C, and  ... [More]