Four things I learned this week

1. Although listening to radio comedy programmes from the UK on one's MP3 player can make cardio sessions at the gym go much faster, you do get funny looks from other gym people if you're sweating away on the cross-trainer and giggling to yourself.


2. facebook is awesome and the most random mix of people can be found on it.


3. Phil Pullman is a brilliant writer.


4. While it may be good for weight loss, less carbs does equal more hunger.

I helped edumacate me some peeps

Yup, at work today I helped deliver some training to the newbies today. I won't go into details about the application in questions, cause really it would mean very little to most of you (except the ones that work at IP Australia), but I can say that it was a bunch of fun. Did I say fun? I meant kinda scary to begin with and then not too bad once we got into the flow of things.

I think it was useful for the noobs too, although they're at the stage of training where they've got information overload so I'm not entirely sure. The problem with giving info on a new system is that (assuming it's a well-designed system) actually saying the words seems to be redundancy itself, but when the people actually do it there's often little blobs of confusion with the order of how you go about things. But, overall, I'd like to think that we helped. : )

Grandpa's 90th

Just spent a couple of days down at Sussex Inlet helping Grandpa Taff celebrate his... all those that read the subject header join in... 90th birthday.

And how did my Grandpa celebrate his 90th? What did he do on the day? Well, he kicked off with 9 holes of golf, followed by cake (from his mates at the golf course) and champagne (brought to him by Mum and Dad). Then we hit the RSL for a light lunch, followed by an afternoon of indolence and then back to the RSL for an extra special dinner. How extra special? Only extra special in that the Chinese restaurant at the RSL doesn't actually open on a Tuesday, but because they all think Grandpa's tops (cause he kinda is), they opened up for him special.

So Mum, Dad, Cal and I finally met some of his mates from Stuart's coaches, including Rhonda, the lady who keeps giving him PJs and undies for Christmas (who came with her husband...???). We also met a few of his other mates from down the coast and saw that he's a pretty popular young man, really. Stuart's coaches run a travelling club that Grandpa is part of and so far they've taken him to Norfolk Island and the Gold Coast and Alice Springs and all over the place.

The old guy also made out like a bandit, with Mum and Dad giving him a fantastic die cast model of a Catalina Flying Boat (with markings from the same squadron he flew with in the war), one of his Stuart's mates gave him an awesome picture of himself and he got a book and a groovy glass and wood petrol pump for decanting whiskey into. And it's a good thing too, cause his haul of alcohol running to:

• 3 Bottles of Johnny Walker Red Label


• 2 Bottles of Glen Fiddich 12 Year Old single malt Scotch


• 2 Bottles of Drambuie (a whiskey liquer for those that don't know)


• and, from Cal and I, an extra special bottle of 18 year old Macallan single malt Scotch

Anyone'd think his mates (and family) reckon he's a piss-pot. : )

The day was great, and went almost without a hitch (one or two needless stress-outs don't count) and the trip overall was also great. Who doesn't like flexing of two days to duck down to the coast and have some fun with the fam?

Carmen is spazzing out...

Cause I only gave Harry Potter VII four out of five.

She hit me too. With a closed hand too. My gum is bleeding... : )

Someone contact the authorties...

Harry Potter VII or "Those whacky hallows"

Yes, I am a sheep. I've gotten quite interested in the antics of that whiny Potter boy and I really enjoyed this one.

It's not a perfect novel, but it is smoothly delivered. The death count is perhaps a little bit higher than we might have first thought (or hoped?), but the action sequences (of which there are quite a few) are very slick and I cannae wait for them to be on the big screen.

I did have my usual six or seven chapters worth of wanting to smack Harry upside the head 'cause, really, he is a whiny little bitch. But, if you think about it, he's a 17 year old whose folks were murdered by a powerful dark wizard who tries to kill him on a regular basis (about once a year, really), so maybe it's understandable that he's a bit whiny.

I still wanna smack him, though.

There are a couple of sequences that are very much in the "tell", not "show" category, but overall I really enjoyed it. And that's about all I can say without spoiling it. : )

Four smashed up horcruxes out of five.

Jeez I'm lazy

Only one post after a "blowing off the dust"-type apology and I abandoned you all again.

So what have I been doing?

Well, bugger all in a heaps and heaps but not much of it of particular interest to the likes of you lot.

The planning for the wedding continues apace, with rings, a celebrant and shortly my kilt all sorted. I've decided that I'm going to get a kilt made locally. It's more 'spensive (quite a bit more, actually) than getting it overseas, but the guy's only a 1/2 hout drive away, as opposed to on the other side of the world, so the extra expense I think pays for itself in convenience and negating potential, last-minute stresses (one hopes?).

I've still got a car to finalise, and I'm looking at a Mark II Jag cause it's awesome. And after that, I think all's we gotta do is make up some invites, finalise a menu and actually get out there on the day (which shouldn't be too hard).

The trade marks continue to be examined, and I've even found time to put together and run a trivia night for the Social Club (of which I am Vice-President). And that'll be it for now... stay tuned for a couple of seconds and I'll flick ye a review or two.