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Archive
Posts from 2004 to 2017. This was a personal blog during a fairly chaotic decade in independent publishing — some of it tech commentary, some of it Australia, some of it ephemera. It’s kept here in full for anyone who arrives via an old link.
Current writing lives at SiliconANGLE.
XXXIV
Hong Kong Best Food Box Hill: white people not welcome
The suburb we moved to just over a month ago borders Box Hill, the center of the Chinese community in Melbourne. Box Hill is our local shopping center, and its 3 minutes in the car. I love it: parts of it remind me of Hong Kong: a magically fascinating range of shops you don’t get […]
Internode speed test
The interwebs were connected last night (Wednesday) exactly two days after I finally managed to place an order with Internode to get it connected over a Telstra landline (no Naked ADSL for me 🙁 ). They said 5-10 days, so I’m doubly impressed, although it helps a lot that the connection is a Telstra resale […]
Winter wonderland
The hail was so persistent for so long it woke me up at about 4:30am. These pictures taken after first light at 7:30am so it had started to melt; at 5am though everything was covered in a thick blanket
Michael Hill Jewellers FTW
A big shout out to Michael Hill Jewellers. She who must be obeyed’s rather expensive 1ct diamond ring I gave to her for her 30th birthday (back when I could still afford to buy something like this) lost a diamond last week. They’re replacing the diamond under warranty, and were highly apologetic. It is insured, […]
Tasmania
Port Arthur: nice Tasmanian Devil Park: overpriced Salamanca Markets: crafty Getting caught in a snow storm on Mt Wellington: priceless, given Ive only seen snow twice before PS WordPress iPhone app isn’t half bad either. Pics to follow tomorrow, after Crowded House tonight
Melbourne Cup tips
My first year in Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup….and I’m not attending. Wife + son home, turns out schools and workplaces make the Melbourne Cup public holiday (yes, it’s a public holiday for a horse race here) into a 4 day long weekend. Maybe next year 🙂 Camberwell is quieter then Easter…and there’s less shops […]
The sky is falling….in Melbourne
No, not the dollar dropping to 60c, or the auction rate below 50%. No, red dust. Lots of it. The Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, least Camberwell, Canterbury and Hawthorn, have woken up to find everything covered in red dust. On my car is looks like rain…and it’s a little sticky as well Not sure if […]
Happiness is a Wagyu Steak
I finally got around to trying Wagyu steak, the famous Japanese corn fed, heavily marbled stake that commands premium prices compared to regular beef. Tender, sweet without being overboard, mouth watering, and not at all fatty, which considering how marbled the steak is was suprising. I can say without any question that the piece of […]
Old
Not as old, or in many ways sad as the jokes at the Tivoli, but I’m still looking a little old. She who must be obeyed however is aging like a fine wine. Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!
Do Not Use RSM Bird Cameron
A couple of years ago, when we (she who must be obeyed and I) decided that running a business through our personal taxes wasn’t a particularly effective way of dealing with tax and GST, we signed up with the local RSM Bird Cameron, or to be precise RSM Bird Cameron Bunbury (which is also the […]
GameOn, ACMI and Copyright Stupidity
We headed into town this morning to see the Australian Centre for the Moving Image’s GameOn Exhibition at Federation Square. The exhibition highlights the history of computer gaming, with displays from various eras and plenty of actual games to play. Figuring that given it’s nothing more than a big collection of arcade games I took […]
Bird Watch
We had a stunned bird on our doorstep this afternoon, I presume it had smacked the glass. Waving at it resulted in no response, so we figured it’s not in a good way. I think about it for a while, she who must be obeyed says to leave it there, and yet for some reason […]
City Living
Finally moved into the new house. Removalist came yesterday but it took me (and occasionally she who must be obeyed) a day and a half to unpack to living standards. There are still plenty of boxes and I haven’t set up my office yet. Desk is there, but there’s a stray bed (one that we […]
New Address + LPO’s are like Rabbits
PO Box 8164 Camberwell North, VIC 3124 With choice strangely comes scarcity. I started at the Camberwell West LPO because it’s easier to get a car park there (despite being further) but they had no boxes, so I ended up at Camberwell North which is within reasonable walking distance but being on Burke Road is […]
Moving Time
The removalist (BTW that’s a real word, at least in Australia, ppl have asked me about that before) dropped off the boxes today for my move to Melbourne. Instead of coming Thursday they’re now coming Wednesday, which gives me 4 days to pack, lodge my business and personal tax returns with the accountant (March deadline), […]
The Melbourne Rental Market is Insane
I’m currently in Melbourne looking for somewhere to live. We’d have hoped to buy but there’s been 2 people through the Australind abode since it was listed, the property market is rooted in WA at the moment. The plan is to keep the house on the market another month, and if it doesn’t sell we’ll […]
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like (A Traditional) Christmas
Last couple of years have been cold, this year looks like a Christmas of old For my American friends, who will be feeling the cold, some Fahrenheit cheer, I’ll be drinking some beer! Have a great christmas.
Moving
Big news, she who must be obeyed has accepted a job offer and we’ll be moving to Melbourne in the new year, roughly mid January. I moved to Western Australia in November 1998 after 2 years in Queensland (I’m originally from Sydney) so it was coming up on 10 years, and possibly time for a […]
Maybe Next Time
Just for the record I’ve decided not to run for the DLP at this election. I think when it comes down to it that I’ve enjoyed my time out of politics too much, and certainly becoming political again risks damaging the great relationships I’ve built up in the last 2 years, and @simone comes to […]