No Work Update Below….

….as there is no significant change, so its just going to be a recap on non-work related stuff that ive been up to. The weather has been fantastic here over the past week, despite the fact that its the end of September, in northern hemisphere terms. Its been almost consistently 23/24 degrees, each day with the sun going down about 5.30, so it IS in fact close to UK sunrise/sunset times. But Ive been making the most of it, going along to St Kilda pier most afternoons, taking my book with me then having a cake and a cuppa at the cafe at its end. On Thursday, we even saw one of the often mentioned/never seen St Kilda penguins, that nest in the breakwater. I always thought that there were penguins there ONCE, but with the influx of tourists, they’d gone elsewhere. However, we’ve seen them now with our own eyes - it was great!

For the second day on the run, we’ve gone for a bit of a drive in my new car, roof down, soaking up the sun. Today we took a drive down to Sandringham, and had a quick look about. Its a very affluent area, with lots of posh cars and big houses and a huge, deserted beach. I have no idea why folks chose not to spend time here, as it was lovely - you couldnt hear anything other than the waves lapping against the shore. Ive added a few photos to my Photoshop Express page, which Ive put a permanent link to on the right……here——->

In other news (videogame haters, skip the next couple of paragraphs) Ive had a rethink on Mass Effect and got right stuck into it, with overall positive results, but with a small number of reservations. First the good points. The story line and character development is top notch, with me actually getting attached to certain members of my squad, having my favourites to accompany me on missions, based on nothing more than if I liked them or not as people! It sounds messed up but Bioware really did a great job of making these people actually seem real, with coherent individual agendas, without going down the cliched videogame route of hideously over-egged stereotypes. the games environment too deserves a mention, with it actually feeling like you were engaging in a large space opera spanning multiple systems, with each story mission having a distinct feel to it. However, there are down points, specifically to do with the environments too. The side quests arent too hot, with most of them being identikit versions of the last, the only difference being this ones on a snow planet, this ones on a desert planet, etc…. Right down to the space ships and buildings, all of them are the same, with just different crates inside. This really ruins the brilliant job that Bioware did with the rest of the games universe, as it takes you out of the realms of fantasy and the shoddy game design pokes through and ruins the illusion. The other area that Mass Effect isnt too good at is with the purchase/managing of weapons and items. I dont think I bought one single thing in the whole game, rendering the entire money system useless. You get far more powerful stuff by searching through enemy lockers and crates, but this has its own negative consequence. Your inventory can only hold 150 items, which include all your weapons, your armour, grenades and biotic amp, each of which have up to 3 upgrades on each item, making managing what you have a lengthy procedure. None of which is helped by there being no “convert all” button, and when you DO select an item from the list to get rid of, it resets the list and puts you back at the top. It really does sound like Im picking flies, but when you have to do as much inventory juggling as you do in ME, then it really does start to annoy. Other larger scale niggles include the games length. Im on the last mission now, and it didnt take me long to get there. I now this game is the first of a trilogy, but thats no excuse to shorten it deliberately. Compared to Oblivion, both in terms of game size and amount hours invested, ME is minuscule. It also sometimes feels like it holds your hand too much, telling you exactly where to go, what to do and what your next step is. A more open ended approach may have been better. However, thats not to say I didnt enjoy, I did. Im on the last mission now, as well as mopping up a few side quests and its been hugely enjoyable. The story really does hook you, especially me being a sci-fi nerd, and having just recently finished a great book (more later) I found I just couldnt put the controller down. I had to see what happened next. So far, the game gets a solid 8/10.

In other game type news, Im going to have a bit of a clear out. Out goes Assassins Creed (ace game but Ive done everything I wanted to do with it), Sega Tennis (again, god game, but multiplayer is borked and single player gets ridiculously difficult on the last “bonus stage”, and Frontlines (crap singleplayer, but brilliant multiplayer, ruined by lack of support and not many folks playing - plus Battlefield and Quake Wars are nearly out, both being similar and being part of already established franchises). In comes Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 (got it cheap off Ebay) and GTA 4, which Im really looking forward to now. The more I read about it, the more impressed I am with it. Opinions to come on Tuesday.

Enough with the games, and onto books, which is pretty rare for me! I finished Iain M Banks new book, Matter recently (thanks to my St Kilda pier adventures!) and I was impressed with it. The last book I read of his was Inversions, which was too dull for my liking, and I missed The Algebraist, which seemed good, but not much to do with the Culture universe of its predecessors. However, Matter is right back into the Culture setting, but through clever use of technology, intertwines the fantastic futuristic setting, with a more medieval story line, which I initially was sceptical of, but the more I read it, the less of an issue it became, and eventually, both storylines meet and continue as one. Its typical Banks, with sprawling galaxies, battles, many distinct and interesting characters and all with his trademark attention to detail and descriptive nature. My only complaints are the books loss of purpose in its middle section, with it getting bogged down in the journeys of both sets of protagonists, and its abrupt ending, right when its hit its stride. On the strength of this, I started up Mass Effect (above) which isnt to dissimilar to Banks writing, and Ive got a Peter Hamilton book to get into now. This is a 1000 pager though, AND part of a trilogy so no reports anytime soon of how THIS book is!

Well, Im sorry for the long post, but I didnt think it woudl go on for this long. Future plans include going to an out of town shopping centre tomorrow, and then for a few drinks with a work colleauge. Oh, and probably nothing else too strenuous as Crooks coming down with a cold. Better not give it to me! Anyway, Im going to end this now before it gets any longer.

The Mega-post!!!

Right - if you get bored easily, dont bother with this post. Ive got 2 days of catching up to do so its going to be a long slog until the end of the post. Firstly, the boring stuff. Work has been good, with it getting a little busier every day so I hope it doesnt reach melting point soon. Either way, at the moment, Im actually enjoying going to work. The weather is fantastic here at the moment too, with it being 28 degrees today and its due to peak tomorrow at 32 degrees. Mad when you think it is now the equivalent of being September in the northern hemisphere. I dont ever remember it being 32 in September in the UK. 

Right, now thats out of the way I can write about other things that we’ve been doing/mulling over. Yesterday, we went into Prahran to have a look about and just to get a change of scenery from Melbourne, and really enjoyed it. Popped into a great antique/vintage shop and saw many millions of dollars of stuff that we wanted, and things that bought a tear to the eye, as fond childhood memories came flooding back. They had a pristine, mint condition boxed Starbird, in all its sound-effect and lightshow glory. You remember that Andy? Even had the little detachable ships on each wing - awesome! On our way around, I picked up some HD leads for my Wii and 360, as well as Super Mario Galaxy, but more on that later. We managed to abstain from blowing  a small fortune in the Playboy shop, as Becca found some great looking baby-doll style heeled slippers, and I saw a great looking suit. Both far too expensive though. Settled for tapas on our way home from the restaurant just up the road, which was damn nice. I usually measure the quality of a tapas joint by the tastyness of its patatas bravas, and this place didnt disappoint - an 8/10! 

Before we visited “Pu-ran” yesterday, we decided to go and have a look at an inspection, pre-auction on a property thats next door to us, and in our price range. Thought it would be good to experience just what we’ll have to go through in a few months time.  This is the property (dont forget to click the links Mom!) we went to see, which looks huge on the photos, but seemed smaller in real life but the view was more spectacular in the flesh. We had a look at the penthouse suite in the same building as it was avaiable for rent (but quite pricey) and it was lovely. Built in robes, an even better view, big bedrooms and a nice bathroom. Trying to make an appointment to see another unit tomorrow too, just to have a “stickybeak”! Good to have a nose and see what we should be expecting even if we arent in the market right now. I went back to that place up for sale this morning to sit in on the actual auction. It was a pretty slow affair and seemed like trying to get blood from a stone for the auctioneer, as nobody really wanted to pay a lot. The opening bid was for the asking price of $510k, and it finally crept for $530k, which isnt too bad for a property with that view. We’ve spent a lot of today mulling over our options, trying to predict market conditions, should be rent for a year, how much is it going to cost us to get furniture, beds, appliances etc….. and we havent really got anywhere. Renting and buying right now, have so many pluses and minuses for and against each option, and as such its like hitting your head against a wall. In the end, we decided the best thing for us to do was…..wait. We’re in this place until July, we need exchange rates to improve, we need interest rates to drop and more properties to appear on the market. We can continue to monitor whats going on without making a rash decision that will end up costing us in the long run. The property market here, and the economy, cant carry on at the levels they are right now, so its got to slow down, or burst pretty soon. We just have to wait until then and jump in!

Right, onto games. Despite it being a bumper period for games in general, with a crapload of A+++ games being released, and another quality period around the corner, Ive been getting slightly sick of it all. Bored of killing people in Assassins Creed. Killing more folks in Halo 3. Killing more folks in COD4. Killing more folks in Mass Effect. Killing more folks in Tomb Raider Anniversary. I know theyre all very different games, but I cant help feeling theyre all quite generic when considered as a whole. All are very realistic, all are very tense games and all are fiercly competitive. I feel like Ive been playing them because theyre there, rather than playing them for enjoyment, or escape. Its been fun for a while, but that fun has turned into monotony, and Ive not looked forward to switching my 360 on for a week or so.  So that has ended now and after reading countless rave reviews I bought Super Mario Galaxy, and the found the reviews were not wong. Its bloody fantastic! Really does get back to the roots of what makes a good game. Its not realistic, its not gritty, its not got lifelike textures and environments. In its place is escapism, fun, colourful, no-stress adorable gaming at its best. Even the way Mario runs put a smile on my face! If youre sick of the whole generic real-world, shoot/stab-em-up style of gaming that infests every weeks release schedule, I urge you to try this. Its bloody amazing! As a result of this I intend to change my whole perspective on buying games. Ever since 360 was released, I tended to buy a game I was fairly interested in on its release day, rather than if I actually WANTED to buy it. For instance, in the coming weeks theres Army of Two, Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 and a couple of others that I acant remember which were orignally must buy games for me. On reflection, “post Mario”, I really cant be arsed with any of them. Theyre just more of the same generic gubbins I mentioned before, so I’ll be leaving them well alone. Hopefully, I’ll be able to hunt out some original, fun games to get on with instead. 

Ive also realised that I am far more into driving games than I thought. Forza 2,  PGR 4 and DIRT have all really got “my motor running” (pun intended) and I just want more of them, especially with the steering wheel setup. As a result of this, I may be about to commit a terrible, terrible sin. Well, at least in the eyes of UK Resistance (and possibly my Brother). Playstation 3. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Force Feedback Wheel. Three items which have me considering a purchase of Sony’s George Foreman grill. I knew I would end up getting one at some point, for God of War 3, maybe Singstar for Becca, and Little Big Planet also looks pretty special. However, I dont realy want to get one before the control pad has rumble reinstated so I wont be buying one immediately. I dare say I’ll be even  more keen to buy one in a few days as I intend to visit the Melbourne Motorshow on Tuesday evening, which is joint sponsored by GT5, and has demo units galore inside. If it actually plays half as good as the videos Im seeing, it will be very hard to try and persuade me not to buy one! 

And on the subject of buying things, my mind is thrown into even more confusion by news of this game. Battlefield Heroes. While it may just seem like a WW2 Team Fortress ripoff, it looks superb. I can tell you I played Battlefield 1942 more than any other videogame before it, or since, so the prospect of a highly styled, great looking, FREE update of it sounds ace. Only problem is, its PC only. No Mac, no 360. If I buy a MacBook Air, it wont be powerful enough to run it. A MacBook Pro will easily powerful enough, but I aesthetically, it looks like a crock of shit, and has the ugliest keyboard Ive seen in a long time. I know aesthetics arent everything, but they are if youre me and use your laptop every day of the year.  However, there are distant rumours of the next MacBook Pro update in June, which will hopefully make it look prettier too. If this happens, Im quids in, but if they dont, I dont know where I stand. I guess, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it I suppose, but up until then, its yet another waiting game. 

So there ends the largest post Ive made yet. Its taken me over 45 minutes to type, and is currently at 1493 words. Jesus! I wrote University essays shorter than this! Dont fret though, normal service shall resume tomorrow.  Now, its time for Match of the Day, and a beer…….

Alarm Clock from Hell!

So I managed to wake up 30 minutes before my 5:30am alarm this morning. Great you might think, he’s getting used to early starts. Wrong! While I am getting used to early starts, I have no plans on getting used sitting bolt upright at 5am with searing cramps all down my calf. God damn it hurt. Ive had cramps before but this was shocking. Its stayed with me pretty much all day, threatening another attack when I sit still for too long, and I can still feel it now. 

Anyway, its been a pretty routine day. Work was good, and Im already starting to get a bit of responsibility within the area, which after weeks of training is brilliant. For those still interested in the sausages of australia, we tried organic lamb, rosemary and mint today, which while tasting fairly nice, had a horrid consistency. I cant really describe it, as it just felt, kind of mushy. Proper nasty! 

In other news, a sentence or 2 for my Mom. Im sorry Mom, but you wont be getting a Mothers Day card next week. Not because Ive forgot, not because of the postal system, and not because I couldnt be bothered. The upshot of it is that, its not Mothers Day in Australia next week. For whatever reason, it is the same day as America’s Mothers Day which falls in the middle of May, so even though I wanted to send you a card, there arent any in the shops. Sorry! 

I see Apple updated their MacBooks Pro’s this morning, and I was hopeful of a CPU update, multi-touch trackpad a case redesign and the alteration of that god awful keyboard. Unfortunately, I find myself disappointed to find theyve only done the CPU and trackpad. So while its an extremely powerful and versatile notebook, it still looks like it belongs in the mid 90’s. In my opinion anyway. Oh well, MacBook Air, here I come! 

Oh, and before I forget, Becca has started a blog! Im not sure how often she intends to update it, but check it out every now and then. I dont think she’s going to do it everyday, but keep an eye open and pester her to post more often.  Anyway, here’s the link, and I’ll put a permalink in my favourite sits on the right.  

You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat……

Well, what a FANTASTIC day its been. I feel so content and all warm inside! Firstly, the temperature has been perfect today - sunny, and a cool 29ºC all day. Secondly, work has been great. Just the right amount of stuff to do, learnt a lot of new stuff, had some good chats with the other engineers, and got thanked by our boss for doing a good job - its just fantastic! Thirdly we did what we always thought we would be doing here on a work day. Having a tough/tiring day at work, coming home, putting your shorts on then going for a stroll along the beach. Only for us, we went with a mission…..to go to the end of St Kilda Pier to get a photo of the Queen Victoria liner, thats in Port Melbourne for a day, then is shooting off in….. oooooooo…. 10 minutes or so. In fact, I’ll stop typing for a bit now as its leaving under a hail of fireworks, so I’ll be back soon (but due to the miracle of blog posting, as if by magic, no time will have passed for you……oooooo….spooky!). 

 Ok, just back from outside (where its still quite warm), and while the ship did leave half an hour late, the fireworks show was pretty good. The first time Ive seen a firework go of in a shape (of a heart) and I havent a clue how they did it - mighty impressive. Anyway, back to my good day. Rewinding about 4 hours, we’d just finished  our walk along the beach, so decided to get a bite to eat at a near stove-baked pizzeria, and boy, was it a good pizza! Becca had marinara, and I had proscutto, mushroom and anchovy, which may sound odd but it was one of the best pizzas Ive had ever, and was a good size - just enough to fill you up and not leave you yearning for more. All that and fireworks too - a regular thursday has never been so good! Ive took pictures but my camera is on charge now so I’ll host them tomorrow. 

I dont really know what else to say - Im just really content, and smiley. And to round the day off, Ive just noticed they’ve announced Gears of War 2 for November release this year. Im going to go now before I jinx the remaining few hours…..  

Beach Huts…..but not like this…

Been a good day today. 28 degrees, and a nice breeze coming in so we went down to Brighton for a mooch around. Its a really nice place, with cafe’s and little shops and restaurants everywhere, although annoyingly, most were shut, or had half day opening - crazy! Anyway, we walked down to the beach and had a stroll up the coast. The whole beach was covered with British style beach huts (piccies on my webspace/facebook) and were painted all crazy - looked great when actually viewed in sunshine, as opposed to the overwhelming greyness of UK huts. Went for a paddle in the sea and was stunned at how warm it was. YES, warm….not ice cold - it was lovely. Like having your feet in a bowl of warm water - lovely! Lots of starfish, snails and fish swimming in the shallows (no jellyfsh or stinging poison fish, or sharks…you hear, Gathermole!). Was a great day, but after last weeks sun-fest we were both EXTREMELY careful about putting on suncreen - no messing about this week! However, I could do with a nap now as the pair of us are still tired - bloody idiots next door are building an extension and seem to love working on it at 8am, hammer and saw for an hour or so, then leave it. Swines!

No real plans for tomorrow other than a driving lesson early on. Maybe go down to the and just take it easy. Could do with a day of nothingness to be honest. I miss being able to take it easy! 

Red Hot (Litterally)

Im going to keep it short for this post, as Im tired and Im going to have to get an early night cos of work tomorrow. Anyway, its been a good day, but very hot. Strolled on down to the festival at about 1pm, and it was quite sedate. You know, enough people about but nothing like what the news had estimated. Saw a band (Expatriate - ok indie guitar band on a stage by the sea - lovely), had an ice cream, had a wonder about, saw some crazy somersaulting bike guys, watched some  jive/showgirl dancing group and got very hot. After a while in the blazing sun, we went inside the Pallais theatre to have a nose, and have a drink. Was really nice in there - still got all of the old 20’s features. Capacity wise too, its the biggest theatre in Australia - even bigger than Sydney Opera House, or so the guy told us. After that, it was back outside to catch another band (Operator Please - ok, but a bit like the Australian Gossip), then back home as the amount of folks there had exploded to about a million times more than there was a couple of hours earlier. Took 10 minutes to get from one place to another, that usually takes us about 40 seconds to do the same distance. That coupled with a bit of heat stroke made us run for home and lick our wounds, and god damn are we both red! I have red hands, ankles and neck, and Becca has a bright red chest - so now we both look like stereotypical Brits abroad - marvellous! 

Anyway, I will love you and leave you to check out the photos on Facebook/webspace as I need to go and watch Match of the Day and TV Burp. Have fun, and put sunscreen on EVERY 2 HOURS!!! Doh!  

Parasol Star (sorry - another obscure game reference)

Well, its been a tiring but fantastic day. Started off going over to the St Kilda farmers market which was full of tasty looking fresh produce, but we stupidly shopped the other day so have no room for any of it. Doh - better planning needed next time. However we picked up some fresh samphire, and are gonna cook it for tea afterwards with some barrimundi fillets - yum! 

Oh well, on to the good stuff. Caught a tram into Melbourne, which was lovely and cool, and extremely welcome as its been roasting today. First port of call was Flinders St to see if we could see anything of them filming “The Pacific”, and it turned out we could see quite a bit. The street was dressed with old wartime posters and banners, with lots of period cars and vehicles about. No actors on the set at that stage so took a few snaps (all of which are on Facebook or my webspace) and then did a bit of shopping. Becca picked herself up a parasol to keep her cool (also in the photos) and we went to see if we could find a bar we’d read about in guide books, called “The Rooftop Bar”. Found the building and made our way up to the 6th floor (the clues in the bars name!) and found it to be a great little place. All open air, 6 stories up, with grass on the floor (fake but looked and felt great) and sat ourselves down on old UK style wooden deck chairs. Ordered a blood orange juice for Becca and got myself a pint of Erdinger in a great looking glass. Then sat down, caught some rays, put on plenty of free suntan lotion from the bar and just appreciated the atmos, the weather, and the beer - awesome! After beer and sun, we did a bit more shopping, then walked on down to the film set again to see if anything had changed, and it had. They’d got some old period trams in, more dressing of the station itself, and the actors were on set being filmed. All very exciting, but nowt I can do will explain just how excited I was at the time. Kid in a toyshop!

Got back to St Kilda and found that all the festivities for next weeks St Kilda festival had already started, albeit on a small scale. A few hippyish stalls around Luna Park, some theatrical performance going on and a falconry thing, which was great. The size of this eagles claws were huge - a good 2 inches long. He was bloody huge too - would have those noisy cockatoos from breakfast. Also looking forward to this - a big open air cinema, near the gym on the seafront. Im particularly looking forward to seeing Jaws, outside, on the beach! Proper scary! 

Not quite sure of our plans for tomorrow yet. We want to go back into town to go to the market (if its on), go to a few more beer gardens/rooftop bars and generally lap up my last day of proper freedom! Going to have to investigate how to get into town to as there is  Gay Pride march going down Fitzroy St, closing off all the tram routes from St Kilda beach.  Anyway, Im off now to watch Mythbusters and have a beer. Gotta rest up for more booze and sun tomorrow! Ciao for now!

Band of Brothers 2…..kinda

Nothing really spectacular happened today. It rained all morning, so it made driving a little more interesting than usual. 1st time pootling about in the rain, and it went ok. More of the same….just wetter! Didnt go to the gym afterwards though as the 1st visit is starting to take its toll. My stomach and arms are aching like a swine, so Ive put a repeat visit off until tomorrow morning, when I intend to go, no matter what! Played some more games, well…I say “some”, I actually just mean Forza 2 with my steering wheel again. Starting to remember why I played it so much. Its just so damn satisfying to buy a slow-ass car, upgrade it, tweak all its settings (and not in a chavvy install underlights, “phat” exhaust and a body kit kind of way) then prove it out on the track. Won some really tight races today and had plenty of smashes. Its ultimately more rewarding than Gotham Racing 4 as you can see the fruits of your labour pay off, you dont feel the desperate need to pass on the first lap, or bounce off the other cars. Just bought the extra track packs and more cars so I’ll give them a spin later.

In the papers today was news that Flinders St rail station, and the adjoining areas will be closed from tomorrow night until Sunday morning, to allow Spielberg/Hanks et al to film some material for his forthcoming WW2 miniseries “The Pacific”. By all accounts, its sounds like “Band of Brothers in the Pacific”, which should be prett-aaaaaay, prett-aaaaaaaay good as I loved  Band of Brothers. Might pop into Melbourne on Saturday to see if I can see anything going on. Exciting!

Plans for tomorrow include the aforementioned gym, then I think we’re going up to Boeing to have a mooch around the area, and see how long a walk it is to the nearest tram stop.  That is, if the rain holds off, which it should according to the forecast. Oh, and a bit more Forza 2. Might tackle some of the 1 hour long endurance races.

Wheels, Cheese and Chairs

Today, again has seemed quite busy without actually being busy at all. Started off with the delivery of some of our stuff from the UK. Some of which we wanted and picked correctly, some of which we didnt want, and some of which we wanted and unfortunately picked the wrong box. For instance, I wanted the rest of my 360 games, and instead got PS2 games, which isnt really surprising seeing as the boxes contents were listed as “Games”. All of the box descriptions were a bit vague, hence apart from the boxes like “Drum Kit”, or “Sewing Machine”, its a bit of a lucky dip. Anyway, we ended up with my comfy office chair, some DVD’s (but not all of them), PS2 games, PS2 guitars for Guitar Hero (which we didnt want), Sambe De Amigo for Dreamcast (again, which we didnt want), Becca’s sewing machine, some of our kitchenware, Beccas pic-er-nic basket and my Xbox 360 racing wheel, which annoyingly didnt have the wheel clamp in the same box. However, it sits on the desk ok and doesnt wiggle around too much when using it. Had to pop to the hardware shop (which I enjoyed tremendously - seeing what new stuff/hardware Australia has to offer!) to get some allen keys, cap heads and some washers to assemble my chair, which is all done now and a damn sight more comfortable than the hard wooden kitchen chair I was using to play games.

 Just got back from doing a “big” shop and saw some superb cheese, that we promptly bought. No, its not “coon cheese“, its ………

 

 

Strong and Bitey!!! Sounds like the description of a police dog, not a cheese! Things here have such great names (and No Andy we have yet to find anything called a chuzwazza!) Bought all the ingredients to make my lovely chili to so Im looking forward to having that before I go to work. Was kind of strange having to do a shop for work stuff too, although for the short term, Im going to check out the works canteen and see what it has to offer. Fingers crossed its as good/bad as the legendary Denso curry, or the badboy breakfast!

No real plans for tomorrow. Got another driving lesson at 11.15, after which I’ll probably book my test. Gave Vic Roads a quick ring today and the tests are currently being booked in the region of March 17th, so a good 6 weeks lead time. So really the sooner I book a test the better. Anyway, after the lesson I’ll probably go for my 2nd punishment at the gym. Im not aching at all today, which is quite scary, although I seem to remember, the 2nd and 3rd days post gym were the worst after my last hiatus from working out. Making the most of these lazy days anyway, as Ive only got 2 more non-working weekdays left! Cant complain really though, as 2 remaining days form over a year off work aint bad at all!

Managing to catch up some decent downloaded TV too. Ramsays Nightmares USA (what did we do pre-bit torrent?) is both fantastic and vile. Some of the states of the kitchens are unbelievable. Cockroaches and bugs living in the seals of fridge doors, green mouldy burgers,  layers of fat on the walls - its shocking. Also loving Monkey Dust too. Ivan Dobsky is a brilliant creation as well as the divorced dad. Shame it didnt get past 3 series though.

Oh and I almost forgot…..Scrub Turkey Update! The program was great. It was basically about these wild turkeys, which are on the endangered list, and only seem to live in a small populated region of Queensland. Seems nice. However, the turkeys are incredibly inquisitive and destructive, ripping up flowers, ruining crops, getting in folks houses through open windows and literally trashing the place like a burglar had given it a going over.  But because the turkeys are rare, youre not allowed to do anything to them. Even throwing stuff at them could get you in trouble. However, it didnt seem to stop folks. This old lady hated them, and spent nearly all her day on turkey patrol, setting up ghetto blasters connected to sensors to scare the bejesus out of them, throwing kitchen implements at them, and best of all, putting up signs around her veggie patch that simply said “Piss Off, Turkey!”. One guy finally cracked though and after one got in his house and broke and load of plates, ripped up all his sheet music and shit everywhere, he went out, found the nearest turkey, threw an avocado stone as hard as he could at it, which killed it and then honey roasted the bugger! Justice, Aussie style! Well worth a watch!

Bowl-a-rama!

Yes, thats what we got up to yesterday! Lawn Bowls. And before Im lambasted for being an old sod, let me just tell you this - I would say 90% of the folks there were aged 28 - 35. And when you think about it, its a damn fine way to spend a day. Met up with our mates at about 2.30, got a round in then went out for an intro to lawn bowls. Was really busy, with more folks turning up as the minutes went by. And as the beers flowed, the more interesting it got. It turned out to be a great afternoon, as it kinda felt like playing pool, or darts but outside in the sun. Its the kind of thing that is a side to beer and banter, not the primary focus, and Im sure if the UK had the weather for it, it would be just as popular. Seems most areas here have a lawn bowling club all, with a lot of young’uns there. Definitely like to do it again. Was a great day, rounded off with mexican food and huge margaritas. Hence the lack of update yesterday!

Anywho, today was quiet. Stayed in, only venturing out for a walk along the beach and a trip to the paper shop.  Played a ton of games on my 360, but it felt strangely unsatisfying. Maybe Im actually beginning to tire of gaming, and yearn for this job? Stranger things have happened. 

Tomorrow is driving lesson first off, waiting for the relocaition people to call to arrange a part delivery of our stuff, then maybe go to the gym for my 1 weeks free trial. Im looking forward to getting fit again, but Im equally dreading the first visit. Just the mild bending and rolling of bowls yesterday has got us both holding our legs every time we stand up - damn they ache! Right Im off to watch a download of the Man Utd/Spurs match now, so dont ruin it for me! Oh, and more pics (of bowling) added to my webspace/Facebook page. 

Maybe Tomorrow…

Just a quick one to let you know there will be no in-depth post today. I’ll make one tomorrow on account of having a few too many sherberts today and not really feeling like typing and editing at the moment. Sooooooo…..give it a few hours and I’ll type up a proper description of what we got up to today. Needless to say it was fun and involved beer and friends and food. 

Another Dull, Grey, Rainy Day in St Kilda…..YEAH RIGHT!!!

Jesus its been hot today! Its only (ONLY!) been 35 degrees today but the wind has been warm too, like a hair dryer in your face. Heat, like its been today, just saps your energy, and as such we didnt leave the house until after 1 in the afternoon. Went around Fitzroy St for “breakfast” (which was damn tasty!) then got on a tram to Northcote, which took us via some really nice suburbs, with pretty old houses. Got to Northcote at about 3 and on the face of it, Northcote looked crap. Like if you put Kings Heath in Australia. However, we quickly found the big sports shop we went there for, and not only bagged a load of shirts and shorts, but also picked up some cheap trainers for the pair of us. And I mean CHEAP! So now weve got ne excuse for not going to the gym!

After that, we continued down the somewhat uninspiring High St, but found some great little antique/vintage shops. I got a nice vintage shirt, and Becca got some old glasses and a featherey hat. So from what looked like a rubbish visit to a rubbish town, turned out to be quite prosperous. 

Anyway, since coming back, Becca’s made a really nice tuna nicoise salad from Nigellas new book, which while not quite as tasty as the one I had in Myers a few weeks ago (well…it DID have quail eggs!), I definitely wouldnt have been upset if Id have had to pay money for it at a restaurant. Still got some left for tomorrow too.

Speaking of which, Im not sure what we’re up to. Might be off out with friends for beers and bbq, but not sure yet. Theyve forecast rain, but they forecast rain today and we had nothing so who knows.  I just hope its not as hot as today. Might pop down to the beach in a bit (its still over 30 degrees out at 8.36pm!) to see if there are any bbq’s going on, or if we can see the Australia Day fireworks from the city centre. Oh and there are a few more photo’s on my webspace for the Facebook-less people out there!

Xbox Live-tastic!

Not really done much today as I fancied a rest. Not going to be able to do it much in 10 days or so, therefore I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. Lovely day today, although it got quite humid towards the end of the day. No rain as forecast though. Had a walk down the beach, along the pier, back up Acland st then back home. Ate some tasty sandwiches, drank some tasty beer and played some tasty games. Found a decent bunch of chaps online to play Gotham Racing against. Not rank whores, or always picking the fastest cars - far from it. Its just an anything goes kind of atmosphere with folks picking cars and bikes from all classes - really enjoyable as nobody cares if they win or loose - its the taking part that counts (man!). Starting to get back into Mass Effect too as the whole “ye olde fantasty adventure” style of Assassins Creed and Conan are starting to make me yearn for more Sci-fi. Taking me a while to get back into it though, as its pretty in depth and Ive forgotten all the controls!

Plan for tomorrow involves going to a place called Northcote and having a mooch around there. Saw an advert in the paper today for cheap trainers and running gear so gonna go check it out. Northcote sounds pretty nice too. Little shops, boutiques, and cafes, and despite being the other side of Melbourne, its just 1 tram, direct from St Kilda. Good job, as I dont fancy fighting the Australia Day masses in the city centre. Wouldnt mind rocking up on the beach a bit later on in the day for bbq and fireworks though. Ive just got to hope theyre cooking pork sausages and not those disgusting beef monstrosities!

Watch Monkey Dust Now!

I dunno if anybody has heard of it (or maybe you have and I had my head in a paper bag for years), but ABC in Australia, have just started showing episodes of it here. Monkey Dust is an animated comedy show, that can be quite subversive, and focuses on the darker sides of British culture. Its fupping great though! It was superb, sitting here in St Kilda, thousands of miles away from the Black Country, watching this on TV (NSFW, contains “language” and is very funny!)

 

 

I hope you like it. It kind of reminds me of an animated version of Viz. It has reoccurring characters (with Omar, Shafiq and Abdul being my favourites, along with Roy of the Roasters) and well worth a look. If it aint on TV, Im sure you know about Bit Torrent….

 So today was pretty busy. Started off with a driving lesson, which went well, again. More highway driving, low speed manouvres and general practice. What is good is that theres no such test as reversing around a corner. The instructor thought I was a mental for suggesting such a thing “Why would anyone reverse around a corner, its dangerous”?! I cant argue with that, only breathe a sigh of relief that its not tested. I was rubbish at it back when I had lessons in the UK.

After driving we caught the bus over to Chadstone, with the hope of buying all our gym equipment and trainers. Cutting a long story short, I came away with only 1 top, as it was litterally the only sports item in my size in any of the sales. Everything else was top dollar, including all the trainers. I dont know what we are going to do. There doesnt appear to be anywhere that sells cheapy trainers, I cant wait until we recieve all our belongings in a few months time and Im not buying trainers online as I want to try them on beforehand. Will have to see if there are any out of town sports centres, if not top dollar it (begrudgingly) is. However, I did manage to get some cheap sale Diesel trainers for everyday wear. Nice and lightweight, which is exactly what I was after. All the trainers I have with me here now are fine, and look great with jeans, but they look like boats on the end of my legs when I have shorts on. So these Diesel ones are perfect.  $220 reduced to $140 - bargain.

Another highlight of today was watching 2 guys in a lolly/rock shop make a bunch of special order “wedding” rock. You can order yours and someone else’s name in rock for special occasions! How great is that! I found it fascinating watching them mix, cut and roll it, and the consistency of “rock” when its being made is amazing - its like a huge viscous glassy blob - has to be seen to be believed. This had the knock on effect of making Becca buy a bag of rock and me buying a massive 1KG bag of offcuts from when they make it.  Yum yum. 

Whilst being at Chadstone, I decided to go and see Aliens vs Predator 2, as it was on its last day at the cinema. And….its….exactly the same as the last film really, adding only a small amount to the Aliens/Predator lore. Im sure to the impartial, its a terrible, predictable monster movie but seeing as its me, and I tend to love most things Aliens or Predator, its an OK film. Nothing really spectacular, no great acting performances (REALLY!?!?), special effects are run of the mill and nothing really to recommend about it. And for once, why cant the Aliens attack in the sunlight. Honestley, watching one black monster fight another black monster…..at night….in the rain is nigh on impossible, more-so with the camera cutting to different angles every 2 seconds.  I also found it shocking that its only a 15 certificate here. I mean, you get to see skinned people, Aliens bursting out of children and arms falling off due to acid exposure. How is this possible?!? However, if you like Aliens or Predator, Id say go see it, if not Id give it a wide berth. If youre a fan of the previous movies, Id give it a 7, if not, Id give it a 4. 

Phew - I didnt think this would be such a big update as it doesnt “feel” like we’ve done much today, so sorry if Ive wasted too much of your day.  So in summary…..watch Monkey Dust, eat rock and look at how its made, watch/avoid AvP 2 and er……take care of yourselves…..and each other!

1 More Week of Being Dole Scum!

Got the official letter from Boeing today, offering me the position, but Im not going to mention anything specific as there is quite a detailed privacy section on the offer. Needless to say, its well paid, I can wear whatever (to an extent) and I start on February the 4th, as they want me to start on a full week, not like next week. So I get a week more of normal driving lessons and doing stuff before its nose to the grind stone time. Best make the most of it!

The weather was nice today so we decided to go over to Yarraville and have a mooch about.  Top and bottom of it is, that its a nice place, with lots of old period buildings, and it has a lovely little art deco theatre, that looks like the old Electric cinema in Birmingham (but newer and bigger). Yarraville also had quite a few nice little shops which sold antiquey type things. Didnt really float my boat but Becca thought it was good. As it was a small place, we spent the rest of the day in town, looking for a Sports Soccer style discount sportswear place for us to buy our gym equipment (yes we already have some but its in 1 of many unmarked boxes in storage and we cant go and open each one until we find what we want). However, Im not sure if its the time of year, or the fact that sport in general is taken a lot more seriously here than in the UK but nowhere wants to sell you stuff proper cheap. Most of the full price stuff, is cheaper than in the UK, but its still full price. I only wanted to pay $100 for trainers, but the cheapest we could find any was $150. Sooooooo…..we’re off to Chadstone tomorrow to see if we can pick stuff up there. 

Games wise, Ive been playing some of the online games I never got a chance to when they were released (thanks to crappy internet). I must admit to liking Halo 3 a LOT more than I ever anticipated. Its just so damn addictive, and its real easy to mute annoying folks when they mouth off. Shame I only ever seem to get to play on the Guardian and Snowbound maps! I tried Team Fortress 2 and was horribly disappointed. I only managed 1 game as I couldnt find any others. Whether thats indicative of how many folks play it, or the timezone differences between here, Europe and America that were at fault, I dont know. However, I cant say I liked it when I did play it. Far too fast and unsatisfying for my liking. I also dont like the way you move. When playing Halo 3, or Call of Duty 4, theres a physical prescence of you in the gameworld. You feel the long drops, bumping into stuff and it seems tangible that youre running around a believable place. I didnt get that with TF2. It just left me cold and feeling isoilated from what was going on. Oh well, its one less game I have to put time into. Shame though. I also spent a fair amount of time playing Gotham Racing 4 online, which was a load of fun. I didnt make the mistake of playing a Ranked match (usually full of twats who all pick the right car and moan at you if they smash into you, or use you as a brake), so a social playlist it was. No rules, no car classes, just whatever you want and it made it hella fun. Beating Ferraris while being in a Delorean was a big thrill and having bikes whizz past while in my car was also good fun. Best mode was called Bulldog - basically its playing “Tag” with cars. When one of you is tagged, you join in the hunt to tag the remaining cars. Its tremendous fun when there are 5 of you all chasing the 1 remaining car, all frantically trying to catch him. 

Anyway, Ive waffled on for games far too much. On to tomorrow, which starts with an 8.30am driving lesson (I’ll still be asleep!) then we’ll probably nip over to Chadstone, as mentioned before. Fingers crossed we manage to pick up some stuff. 

Edit: Few new photos on my webspace 

I like driving shocker!

Its true - I dont know if its the new instructor, the roads here or the lack of gears but Im really enjoying my lessons. Low speed maneuvers today, which I was crap at in the UK, and after 1 lesson with this guy, Im already better than what I was. Still not great, but its an improvement. Next lesson is on Thursday at 8.30, so we’ll see how I cope with rush hour traffic!

Other than that, I ve not really done much today. Sorted out a new bank account, played a fair bit of Xbox (Halo 3 online is really addictive!)  and watched a load of British TV (TV Burp, Primeval, Gordon Ramsay, Grand Designs). I know you folks in the UK often complain that TV is crap and theres nothing on, but seriously…..try Australian TV! Its shocking! Becca had her hair cut (looks much better) and thats about it. Off to Yarravile tomorrow as the weather is back to its sunny norm. Might see if I can pick our gym stuff up too. 

780 days of joy, then this…

Oh dear! Yep - it finally struck me too. After having a fully working console from 9am on 2/12/2005, it finally gave up the ghost today. Its been a bit dodgy over the past few days, with games suddenly developing a strange yellow tinge when playing, which could only be remedied by powering off and on again. However, today, it appeared right from the turn on, so as normal I turned the thing off then on again, except nothing came on the TV. I could hear it booting up, but no video came on. Tried swapping TV’s, tried swapping cables, both with no luck. It was pointless trying to claim on the extended Microsoft 3 year warranty as it would have been for Microsoft UK, not Australia. So after a bit of research, several minutes of grumbling,  and a LOT of walking around Melbourne, I begrudgingly picked up another 360 (the Arcade version - seeing as I already had all the other bits from my busted 360). Just finished setting it all up and everything now works fine, as well as being a damn sight quieter than my original 360. After it was all done, I forgot to remove the Halo 3 disc from my old xbox, so powered it up to eject the disc and found I had the Red Ring of Death in all its full annoying glory. So now I have $400 less, but I have a working 360 again which is important because……

……I DEFINITELY have the Boeing job (so I need to get my gaming in this week! The agency called today to say that Boeing had offered me the position and would be sending me out the details, all ready to start next week on Tuesday (as Monday is a national holiday for Australia Day). This is good news as I’d been fretting that something would go wrong and the deal would turn sour, but now its all done and dusted!

I didnt manage to sort an update for yesterday as by the time Id remembered to make a post, it was late and 3 episodes of Peep Show were on TV so just had to let it go. We didnt do much anyway, as the weather didnt clear and it was drizzly all day. However to get us out of the house we had a wander around Albert Park (the town bit, not the actual park) which was small, but very nice. Lots of small bakeries and cafes with choice goods. We didnt do much today either until the 360 went tits up. Not sure what we’re up to tomorrow as I have a drivng lesson at 1pm so it kinda splits the day in half.  Either before next week, we want to go to Yarraville, have a wander over Prahran again to look at trainers and swimsuits for Becca, and get some gym gear from town. 

The “most stuff happened in least time ever” post!

First post of 2008 too. OK. I dont really know where to begin. New Year has come and gone, (with the dull tediousness that it always does) and we’ve flown half way around the planet again. Should be doing wonders for my airmiles. In one year we’ve gone to Vegas and back, out to Australia, back to England, and then back to Australia again. Great for airmiles, crap for bank balance! 

I would like to say that this is the return of my daily updates, but the internet is down at our apartment. We dont even have our original phone number anymore. Its very frustrating. the telecoms companies out here seem even worse than the UK. Well, I say ALL telecoms companies, but its really Telstra’s infrastructure and inept service engineers that seem to be mucking up. The guys at Netspace (my isp) have been really helpful, but is still not fixed as its down physical phone line connections, which are rented from Telstra or so Im told. The upshot if it is that Im checking all my emails, making posts and doing a bit of surfing each day either from my phone (expensive) or going to a net cafe and using my Mac there.  Cheap rates and its got air con.

 Ok, so I’ll draw a line under whats gone before and just start from today. Went for my aptitude test at Boeing (well, actually at an aptitude test company, but its for the Boeing job) and it went really well. Well, at least I think it did. It was a lot shorter, and easier than the behemoth I did for Toyota. Im just waiting to hear when the actual interview for the job will be now. It better be soon as I was told they wouldnt be interviewing after this week! 

Secondly, its bloody roasting hot here today. 42ºC! Its not unbearable, but I guess it would be if you were out in it all day. As it is, this net cafe is wonderfully air conditioned so its lovely. Probably off to get an ice cream or something after this, to cool down once we’re outside. Its a shock to the system after the -8ºC-ness of Birmingham over Christmas. Still…..its a nice shock!

Had some tasty tea last night - on passing the fishmongers/chippy we spied stuffed (with rice, prawns and chilli’s) squid so decided to by a couple. $10 each. Thats about £4 for the uninitiated - and god damn were they nice! The standard of food out here, and the quality is superb. Popped into the offy at the end of the street and asked if they had anything like Kronenbeg Blanc (I developed quite a taste for it over Xmas) but they didnt stock it. However, they put me onto a couple of imported Belgium white beers they do have in, and if they arent tastier than Blanc! Bloody lovely! And they go down a treat in this hot weather. 

On the games front, I came back from the UK with Assassins Creed, Conan, and Tomb Raider Anniversary (as well as some DS games I mentioned in previous posts), the last 2 of which I picked up in the sales. Ive only played Conan so far, and Im mightily impressed. Its basically, God of War on 360. Quick Time Events, mythical beasts, different weapon techniques and combos etc…. Its actually pretty impressive. For £20 that is. I dont think I would ever buy it full price but its well worth a punt at half price. Recommended! 

Had a look through the local rag here yesterday and found The Wombats and Maximo Park are out here in March. Cant wait - next time we go into town we’ll definitely be getting tickets. Speaking of which, it may be tomorrow. Dependent upon the weather really - I wasnt at all tempted today to go strolling through the city today, in this heat, and in a suit! the forecast is for this hot snap to run into tomorrow as-well so may give it a miss until it cools down. It will be a decidedly cold 24ºC on Saturday so might pop in then. 

Anyway, I’ll keep you all posted on whats happening here. It may not be everyday (until my net access is fixed) but it will be more often than its been. Can I just thank everyone at this stage, for your messages of sympathy and support. I dont know how I would have coped with the turbulent past few months if it werent for your kind words, helping me, and my family get through a terrible time. Thanks again. 

 And for those that arent aware, you can leave me a message for me at any time by clicking on the “Comments” icon at the bottom right of any post. You may be telling me Im gay for buying Conan, or that  I should shutup about it being so hot. Either way, Im not fussed - just comment!. And dont worry, its secure, spam protected and every one has to go through me before its displayed. So get commenting! 

Random Stuff

Put “random stuff” into Google Images and this photo popped up, which made me smile, so it stays.

Just a little bit of an update on things. Went into Brum today to pick up our flight tickets. Also booked our seats online too so all is well on that front. Got an email about the Boeing job too, booking me in for an aptitude test on the 10th of January. Another 90 minutes of fun and hilarity to look forward too….

Also got an email back from my GP saying that he’s sent the letter of referral to the cardiologist, so Im just waiting for him to book me in for an appointment, hopefully in the 1st week for January, as planned. Any later and Im screwed as I’ll be back in Melbourne.  

Hopefully, today will also be the last time I venture in consumer-world until after Christmas. Really didnt enjoy strolling around Brum today. However, Ive already seen a couple of things that I wouldnt mind picking up in the online sales (yes a few of them HAVE already started) so I cant totally switch off over the coming days. No matter. Sitting on the sofa checking out Amazon is a bit easier and less stressful than fighting the hordes in Birmingham.  

 After watching todays Jamie Oliver Christmas special thingy, Im now really keen to try goose. He made it look extremely tasty and the fat makes tasty roasties too!  

Im Melting! MEEEELLLTIIIIIING!

Jebus Christ, it was hot today! 37 degrees hot!!! By comparison, it doesnt quite look (thanks for the photo Andy!) that hot back in the West Midlands! I cant believe its snowing there already, its obscene! On the flipside, everyone is quite surprised just how hot it is here. The only downside is that the hot weather, and Southern winds have blown in a load of Flies from New South Wales. Its not so bad when you first go out, as the insect repellant shoo’s ‘em off, but that only lasts for 4 hours. Gets very annoying after that! However, 37 degrees with flies is preferable to snow and misery! Its meant to rain a little tomorrow and teh day after, but back up to 33 degrees by the weekend. 

Feeling better today too. Still fed up of not having a job, but just trying to be positive about it. Keep on looking, keep on waiting. Went into town today and braved the heat. Picked up a George Grill for cheap, and got a copy of Mass Effect for the 360, which I’ll be taking for a spin in a bit. Just let my tea go down. A VERY tasty tea I might add, of dim sum (which for whatever reason is called dim sim over here) but we got some separate gyoza (pork dumpling type things). Damn tasty, as I said. All washed down with an ice cold Magners! 

Not sure what are plans are for tomorrow, especially if its going to be wet. Our internet should, and I say SHOULD, be sorted tomorrow, so I will have chance to play online, and download the months worth of UK TV we’ve missed. But thats all assuming everything will be sorted, and based on my experience with telecoms companies here, I dont think it will be.