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I've thrown some cash towards a domain name and hosting and I've shifted over to using Wordpress.You can follow my adventures, musings and random notes at the new Dnosauria.net.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2009/05/moving-on-up.html
Schneier points out that at least the UAE's filter has an appeals process.~~~All of the recent discussions on the Clean Feed have got me thinking that there could be a spin-off from Godwin's Law relating to censorship discussions from:"As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."to:"As a discussion on internet filtering grows longer, the probability of an insinuation that a anti-censorship contributor is pro child pornography approaches one"
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-nocleanfeed-notes.html
Haven't seen that many movies lately, I've been watching documentaries instead. These are the ones you should try see.NightI want this film as my screensaver. Loved the Australian cityscapes and the anonymising silhouettes. I want this soundtrack in my collection.Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 PartsI love insights into how creative people do their thing.Young @ HeartIf you don't smile after seeing this film, you're a walking corpse.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/11/trio-of-docos.html
Kid Confucius hit Transit Bar again on December 6th. Be there in your best jumpin' kicks.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/11/prodigal-kid-returns-to-transit.html
[Dropped this as a comment to my previous post, but thought it worthy of its own in retrospect]An update from Mark Newton, featuring the 8 key problems with the Clean Feed proposal:1. No problem to solve, 2. no public demand to solve it, 3. Government's proposed solutions won't work, 4. even if they worked they're unreliable, 5. even if they were reliable they're too expensive, 6. even if they were affordable they'll be implemented by the same of scope-creeping bureaucrats who decided Mr. Haneef was a terrorist, 7. even if they could be implemented perfectly the blacklist would leak, and 8. when a perfect blacklist leaks it'll enable child exploitation all over the planet, with the direct assistance of the Commonwealth of Australia and Senator Stephen Conroy.Lots of ifs there that the gov need to sort out.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/11/eight-problems-with-australian-clean.html
During the election campaign a bunch of aussie blogs sported a message to Kev:Well, on the question of internet filtering (as Kev would say), they're fucking it up. They need to man-up and admit they're wrong.The clean feed proposal won't stop the bad people and will inconvenience the good people. It's like putting half a dozen deadlocks on your doors and then leaving a ground floor window open. It's a really bad />The fact that you're reading this means you're a bright, forward-thinking net user, so no doubt you'll already have come across stories about the government's clean feed proposal. Allow me to note down a quick synopsis:March 06- Kim Beazley promises clean feedJune 07- ACMA kicks off filter test process as directed by then minister Helen CoonanDecember 07- Newly-elected ALP government announces cleanfeed to go aheadEarly 08- Closed environment tests conducted in TasmaniaJune 08- ACMA report releasedJuly 08- Conroy welcomes test reportSeptember 08- Mark Newton posts that the only opt-out option seems to be switching from blacklist 1 to blacklist 2 ie no opt-out optionEarly October 08- Bloggers pick up the nugget and run with it. MSM catches up two weeks later.Late October 08- Creative responses abound- The Great Firewall of Australia becomes the subject of discussion in the dying days of The Media Report on RN. Conroy talks intent, Mark Pesce talks practicalities.- Mark Pesce's Clean Feeds piece on ABC's Unleashed observes Twitter as awareness-raiding/organising medium, comments credit blogs (namely SomebodyThinkOfTheChildren.com) and Facebook groups (No Clean Feed has 2805 members, No Australian Internet Censorship has 10103 members and People Against Mandatory Internet Filters in Australia has 771 members as at 02 Nov 08) as well as a cause page.02 Nov 08- Tech Wired Australia proposes "Stop It, Don't Block It" as counter-campaign slogan, register the domain after podcast recording.There's a much more comprehensive timeline on the OCAU wiki.On The Media Report, Conroy pulled out something akin to a party-line Nuremburg defense:"This is a long-standing election commitment. We made this commitment back when Kim Beazley was leader of the Labor Party, so just to give you an indication, this is a long-standing position we've been advocating."This is disingenuous on several fronts: Firstly Mr Conroy, you dumped Beazley, so you don't owe him anything as far as implementing his proposals goes. Secondly, when Big Kim announced the plan, he didn't say anything about it being mandatory for all. He said[ISP] "will be required to offer a filtered "clean feed" internet service"not that it would be forced upon us and he also said there'd be an opt-out option. Choice was still on the table. Thirdly, just because Coonan directed ACMA to test and report, it doesn't mean you have to implement. You're the Minister remember? Beazley and Coonan might have laid the tracks, but you're in control of the train now and you can still stop it (and all of the parasitic special interest groups) before it derails.Or has it already? Excuse me while I jot down some incompletely formed scenarios (feel free to tear them apart, propose alternatives in comments):Worst Case:Proposal implemented as it stands. Special interest groups (Fielding, Xenophon) get their 'legal-but-immoral' content banned. Speed drops, people flock to TOR, P2P nets and VPNs to get to the content they want. No political fallout for Rudd or Conroy.Best of the worst cases:Proposal implemented as it stands. ALP sticks to filtering content based on existing crimes legislation only, tells special interest groups to go jump. Speed drops, people still flock to alternative means and circumvent filters. Rudd & Conroy lose tech sector support/votes.Best case for Kevin:Rudd sees that the filter stands in the way of a decent national broadband strategy. Announces that he has considered the kevidence of blocked tubes, speed drops, ease of circumvention etc and announces another study/review. This gets the comparisons with Iran and China off the front pages and gives everyone a chance to provide submissions (yay, more kevidence). Not so good for Conroy, being slapped down by the PM. Actually, maybe not so good for Rudd either, what with him exercising Howard-like control of cabinet.Best case for Conroy:Having trouble with this one; maybe it's all too far gone for Conroy to have any redemption at all. If he keeps going, he joins a club already populated by Harradine, Ruddock, Vanstone and Howard. If he backs down he risks being seen as hating Laura Norder.Best case for everybody:The whole is nixed. Rudd wakes up after another night at Scores, decides parenting should be left to parents. Reallocates filter funds to education, health. Sets up skunkworks to design wowser filters.We shouldn't, nay mustn't, just hope for the best and prepare for the worst. You have to let your elected representatives know what you think of this proposal before it's implemented. No Clean Feed has several options for action, but I would recommend letters. Real printed letters, signed and sent in real envelopes with real stamps. Postcards run a close second. They're real, tangible. E-mails and online petitions might get the same content across, but there's something about a real tangible letter/postcard that I think gets the message across better, especially on issues of importance. One person I know has written to Conroy, the communications shadow minister (Nick Minchin) and his members (federal and territory) and I plan to match him. If you're not confident writing a letter, there are plenty of templates around: 1, 2, 3, 4.If you've gotten through all that, and you've printed, signed & sent your letters, you deserve a video:
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/11/flirting-with-absurdity.html
Hmm, I think there's maybe a handful of names I recognise and maybe one or two songs, but I'm not the target demo for this particular incarnation of Singstar, given the closest I've ever come to spending money on country music was buying Two Men With The Blues. Along with the dashed expectation of missing Dixie Chicks, all I'm thinking right now is "isn't Come On Over a pop track?"Alan Jackson - "Chattahoochee"Kellie Pickler - "Red High Heels"Alan Jackson - "Good Time"Kenny Chesney - "Big Star"Big & Rich - "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"Lady Antebellum - "Love Don't Live Here"Blake Shelton - "Home"Martina McBride - "A Broken Wing"Brad Paisley - "Online"Montgomery Gentry - "My Town"Brooks & Dunn - "Boot Scootin' Boogie"Montgomery Gentry - "What Do Ya Think About That?"Brooks & Dunn w/ Reba McEntire - "If You See Him/If You See Her"Rascall Flats - "Bless the Broken Road"Bucky Covington - "It's Good To Be Us"Sara Evans - "Born to Fly"Faith Hill - "Red Umbrella"Taylor Swift - "Our Song"Gretchen Wilson - "Red Neck Woman"Terri Clark - "Girls Lie Too"Jewel - "Stronger Woman"Trace Adkins - "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk"Johnny Cash - "A Boy Named Sue"Trace Adkins - "You're Gonna Miss This"Johnny Cash - "I Walk the Line"Willie Nelson - "Pancho and Lefty"Josh Turner - "Another Try"Jessica Simpson - "Come on Over"Keith Urban - "Days Go By"Miranda Lambert - "Kerosene"
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/10/singstar-country-what-not-one-dixie.html
"Manners are of more importance than laws. .. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation like that of the air we breathe in." - Edmund BurkeOne of the things I find interesting about jumping into social networks and services when they're relatively new is watching the social norms develop. Even with terms of service and complaint mechanisms, it's largely the users who determine what's OK and what's not using the only currency this environment has: attention. Watched, the user has a voice, can propagate, but ignored they're speaking to an empty room, memes wither and die. But is ignoring someone enough? I've been reading a bunch of pieces on Twitter etiquette recently, but none have discussed calling out bad behaviour online, so consider this piece an attempt to start that discussion. Some background first. I've been using Twitter (in plain English) since BarCamp Canberra in April. I'd heard about it before then, but I didn't really have a use for it until then. Turned out it did a bunch of stuff: it was the inaudible PA for the day, broadcasting schedule updates, as well as a back-channel (1,2,3) for attendees to meet & greet and discuss what was going on. Interactivity FTW.There's good stuff happening, so I've hung around. I've microblogged/liveblogged, kept in touch with folk in the Canberra IA community, solved technical problems and participated in a 'net broadcast (narrowcast?) project. With hashtags, Twitter is good at adding an interactive dimension to live events, particularly broadcast, from relatively small scale to large scale. It's a bit addictive. (I'm going to have to ignore the Amazing Race messages though; can't have spoilers)It's not all happy happy joy joy though. As with any social space, people disagree. I've seen spirited but respectful, concise debates (points would have to be concise with only 140 characters per message), and while I've not seen them, I'm sure there've been petty, snarky arguments too. Only a handful of posts I've seen have really disappointed me; one included a photo taken by the poster in a client's house and posted, ostensibly without permission, while another was a quixotic statement of indifference about an event a bunch of people were commenting on. The first was creepy; I'd be pretty angry if a tech support/tradie/whoever that I was paying for goods/services came into my place and started snapping away and putting the pictures online. The second was just a bit obnoxious, a personality quirk not entirely unexpected, in retrospect, amongst all of the extroverts revealing the minutiae of their lives online.I can't control what others do, I can only control how I react to what they do, so what did I do when I came across these two examples? With the first I tried subtlety; I asked what the client thought about having their stuff photographed and shared, and when I didn't like the answer, I un-followed. I let the other go like water under the bridge, but their reputation took a small hit with me. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing" - not Edmund BurkeShould I have done something else, something more? Should I have put an objection on the record before un-following? I've seen plenty of "Why should I follow you in return?" hand-shaking posts, but I've not come across any "I don't think that's cool, so I'm going to stop following you" posts. They're either happening in private direct messages, or not happening. I guess breaking up connections online is easy when you don't have to explain, but I can't help but think that the world might progressively become a little bit better if we each took the time to politely explain why we're un-following. If only a few have an introspective pause and stop being a dick online, then we're all better off.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/10/calling-out-bad-behaviour-on-twitter-or.html
Forget Singstar Hottest Hits. I've had some more time to consider the track list and it's still underwhleming. Not so for Singstar Amped. Spotted when I went to pick up Star Wars: The Force Unleashed last night, Amped has some tracks that'll really test your lung capacity & ability to hold a note: 1. 4 Non Blondes - What's Up2. Blink 182 - I Miss You3. Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear The Reaer4. Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me5. Choirboys - Run To Paradise6. David Bowie - Changes7. Divynls - Boys In Town8. Faith No More - Evidence9. Faker - This Heart Attack10. Fallout Boy - This Ain't A Scene.. It's An Arms Race11. Free - All Right Now12. Grinspoon - Chemical Heart13. Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child14. Judas Priest - Breaking The Law15. Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Comin'16. Kasabian - Lsf17. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get18. Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noise19. Regurgitator - Black Bugs20. Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love21. Silverchair - The Greatest View22. Skunk Anansie - Weak As I Am23. Soul Asylum - Runaway Train24. Spiderbait - Blackbetty25. The Cure - Primary26. The Saints - I'm Stranded27. The Subways - Rock & Roll Queen28. Tonic - If You Could Only See29. T-rex - 20Th Century Boy30. Warrant - Cherry PieFun times.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/singstar-amped.html
It's been a while, but a new Singstar hit the streets today. Can't say much for the track list though, I don't know most of 'em:ANNIE - I KNOW YOU'RE GIRLSFRIEND HATES ME AVRIL LAVIGNE - WHEN YOU'RE GONE CALVIN HARRIS - ACCEPTABLE IN THE 80S COLBIE CAILLAT - BUBBLY DELTA GOODREM - YOU WILL ONLY BREAK MY HEART FALL OUT BOY - THNKS FR TH MMRS FERGIE - CLUMSY FINGER ELEVEN - PARALYZER GABRIELLA CILMI - SWEET ABOUT ME LILY ALLEN- LDN MAROON 5 - MAKES ME WONDER MIKA - GRACE KELLY MIKA - LOVE TODAY MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - TEENAGERS NELLY FURTADO - ALL GOOD THINGS ONE NIGHT ONLY - JUST FOR TONIGHT ONEREPUBLIC - STOP AND STARE OPERATOR PLEASE - JUST A SONG ABOUT PINGPONG POWDERFINGER - LOST AND RUNNING RICKI LEE - CAN'T SING A DIFFERENT SONG SAM SPARRO - BLACK AND GOLD SEAN KINGSTON - BEAUTIFUL GIRLS SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM - PICTURES SNOW PATROL - CHASING CARS THE FRAY - HOW O SAVE A LIFE THE POTBELLEEZ - DON'T HOLD BACK THE TING TINGS - GREAT DJ THE TING TINGS - THAT'S NOT MY NAME VANESSA AMOROSIS - PERFECT WILL.I.AM - I GOT IT FROM MY MAMA
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/singstar-hottest-hits.html
It's the launch of the Canberra Musicians Club and it's fun. Get here.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/come-to-albert-hall.html
This hit my work email box this week as a joke, but there's a lesson in there: pre-populated fields are good...Dear Mr. Minister,I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.How is it that K-Mart has my address and telephone number, and knows that I bought a Television Set and Golf Clubs from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date. For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand?My birth date you have in my Medicare information, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 40 years. It is on my driver's licence, on the last eight passports I've ever had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms that I've filled out every 5 years since 1966.Also...would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Audrey, my Father's name is Jack, and I'd be absolutely f?????g astounded if that ever changed between now and when I drop dead!!!...SHIT!I apologize, Mr. Minister. But I'm really pissed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough of all this bullshit! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my f?????g address!!What the hell is going on with your mob? Have you got a gang of mindless Neanderthal arseholes workin' there!And another thing..... look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I can't even grow a beard for God's sakes. I just want to go to New Zealand and see my friends and relativesAnd would someone please tell me, why would you give a shit whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a sheep or a horse, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city, and get another f?????g copy of my birth certificate, and to part with another $80 for the privilege of accessing MY OWN INFORMATION! Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot, to assist in the issuance of a new passport on the same day?? Nooooo....... that'd be too f?????g easy and makes far too much sense. You would much prefer to have us running all over the place like chickens with our f?????g heads cut off, and then having to find some high society wanker to confirm that it's really me in the goddamn photo!You know the photo....the one where we're not allowed to smile?! ......you f?????g morons Signed - An Irate Australian Citizen.P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture, and getting someone in high-society to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since before 1850! In 1856, one of my forefathers took up arms with Peter Lalor. (You do remember the Eureka Stockade!!)I have also served in both the CMF and regular Army something over 30 years (I went to Vietnam in 1967), and still have high security clearances.I'm also a personal friend of the president of the RSL.... and Lt General Peter Cosgrove sends me a Christmas card each year.However, your rules require that I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am;You know...... someone like my doctor; WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN F?????G PAKISTAN!!!........a country where they either assassinate or hang their ex-Prime Ministers, and are suspended from the Commonwealth for not having the 'right sort of government.' You are all F?????g />I'm done with this country it's easier to get into, than it is to get out of!I'm staying home as my relatives and friends don't have any trouble to get here to see me.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/lessons-for-forms-designers.html
If you love first-person shooters and you haven't tried Combat Arms yet, what are you waiting for?
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/free-frag-fest.html
Ah, the joy serendipitous discovery...
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/melbourne-graffiti-history-at-gasworks.html
It's not often that a film can be so subtle and understated and yet be so moving. See it.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/visitor.html
Canberra Musicians Club launch next weekend. Get amongst it.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/09/12-hours-of-local-tunes.html
.flickr-photo { }.flickr-frame { float: left; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Stand-up comedy at the old Manuka Starbucks, originally uploaded by deanlk. On again tonight if you missed it last night. Top turnout.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/08/stand-up-comedy-at-old-manuka-starbucks.html
I thought he'd peaked with his second set of tram work, but then his floor routine...GYMNASTIQUE PEKIN 2008 (REMI GAILLARD)Uploaded by nqtv[Thanks Cam]
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/08/live-olympics.html
Lauren put on a captivating show at Pecha Kucha Canberra #4 tonight. Amongst the machine gun fire of poorly prepared "this is a picture of" and "here's some guy I met when I was travelling" presentations, Lauren's slides had everyone in the room transfixed, silent save for the occasional whispered gasp and "Oh cool".
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/08/looking-for-quiet-in-rush.html
After hitting the Fyshwick markets today and being denied a Vietnamese iced coffee I decided to do something asian tonight. Basic chicken stir-fry:Chicken strips 500g Prawns 150g precooked & peeledCapsicums - 3 (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow) - slicedOnions - 2 - slicedCarrot - slicedSugar peasBaby cornCorianderTeriyaki sauceUdon noodlesMarinade chicken and prawns in teriyaki sauce for about a half hour. Preheat wok and cook chicken and prawns. Throw in the baby corn, carrot and sugar peas. Pluck the leaves off the coriander and chop the stems. Throw the onions, capsicum and coriander stems into the wok.Put the noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water to prep for a minute. Separate, drain and throw the noodles into the wok. Stir through for a minute or two. Serve into bowls and garnish with coriander leaves.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/08/too-hungry-to-wait.html
Finished Sam De Brito's The Lost Boys late last night. Good, easy read, but dark, bleak with a few laughs. Black comedy or just a reminder of high school? Not sure. What's next? Do I try and rip through the free copy of Boned I got with my Crikey renewal or do I try and find Kate Atkinson's Case Histories for book club?
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/07/other-peoples-lives.html
A few weeks ago I picked up a bunch of Bill Bailey and Dylan Moran stand-up DVDs from JB. I've only gotten around to them in the last few days, but they've been worth the wait. Dylan Moran's stuff makes me want to become a daytime pub guy and write down the random thoughts and then get paid to say them.From Bill Bailey's Part Troll:From Dylan Moran's Monster:And from Dylan Moran's Like, Totally:
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/07/two-guys-from-bookstore.html
With colleagues dropping left and right to dreaded winter bugs, long days and eating badly on the run, yesterday I decided I needed some good food to see me through to the Sydney trip next week. In true bachelor cooking both of these dishes are easy prep and easy cooking.24 Hour CasseroleI used:500g diced beef6 small potatoes2 celery sticks1 large carrot1 small punnet of button mushrooms (about 250g I'd say)2 cloves of garlic2 small onions250g / handful green beans2 litres (8 cups) vegetable stock1 cup (ish) cleanskin pinot noir1 sprig of rosemary1 slow cookerPreparation:Slice potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, garlic & onions.Chunk celery, beans.Cooking:Pour vege stock and whatever red wine you haven't managed to finish off into the slow cooker. Put everything else into the slow cooker.Turn slow cooker on to Low.Wait.I let mine bubble away for 24 hours, but it's probably ready to go in 12. When I came home tonight there was still some liquid, but most had been soaked up by the vegies and meat and the flavour was so intense. It was awesome. I guess you could serve with rice or similar, but I just had a bowl of it by itself, and then another half bowl. More imaginative serving suggestions welcomed.Smokey SoupI used:2 cans Big Red tomato soup.Milk1 200g pack Latina ricotta & spinach filled agnolotti (any non-meat-filled pasta would do) 100g prosciuttoChopped basil and parsleyPreparation:Boil water for pastaChop herbsSlice prosciutto into stripsOpen cans with ring-pullTurn on stove topCooking:Cook the pasta in one saucepan while heating the tomato soup in another. I whisked milk into the soup instead of the suggested half-milk, half-water combo. Stir the prosciutto and chopped basil and parsley into the tomato soup.When the pasta is done, ladel the pieces into the soup.Turn the heat down and just keep stirring the soup for another 5 minutes or so to let the flavour of the prosciutto soak through everything.Serve into bowls with a crusty bread roll on the side. I topped my bowl with shaved parmesan cheese.Today the soup had an extra-smokey flavour from the prosciutto and was a great to have for lunch while watching the cold rain drizzle down outside.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/07/ready-steady-wait.html
"Professional looking camera". Idiots. Old news, still stupid.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/06/qld-rail-winning-war-on-photography.html
:-)Having been an early target, this news is particularly sweet.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/06/and-evil-queen-was-vanquished.html
Looking for info (articles, case studies, etc) on big organisations that have ditched faxes for fax servers or better tech. Any tips or pointers on good sources?I've put the call out on Twitter, Facebook & now Blogger, with Ask Metafilter to follow later. Which conversation will come up with the goods? Place your bets.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/social-networking-challenge.html
OK, what I want...Nintendo launched the WiiWare service a few days ago. While the Wii Shop channel on the Wii has let people download console games from old Nintendo, Sega and NeoGeo consoles (Sonic, Street Fighter, Ghouls & Ghosts, etc), WiiWare offers new games. No retail boxes here, WiiWare is like Steam in that you pay, download and play. Which got me thinking...Here's what I want next: port some really cool PC games over to the Wii. Start with Portal and Audiosurf. Someone please make this happen. Cheers.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-wii-want.html
I was just about to ask about the Facebook updates, but now I don't need to ask who the Divas are:Sally's first NYT story.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/was-just-about-to-ask.html
I knew before I started climbing the stairs that something was wrong; there was a strange smell in the air I couldn't quite place...About an hour ago I found one of my neighbours slumped in her doorway, covered in sick and she can't get up. A burst of coughing and heaving told me she was still breathing, but I was really concerned about the cold. She was wearing a coat, but was barefoot and as I didn't have a tauntaun to slice open to keep her warm, I went and got a blanket to put over her while figuring out what to do next.She'd emptied her purse out all over the place and the only speech-like sounds I could get out of her were "no keys". Tried to call her housemate from her phone, no credit. Call from my phone, get connected but too much noise & get hung up on. Call again from home phone, no joy.Get bucket and jug of water. When she pushes herself up to take a sip, I spot blood. I can see a scrape on her knee, but she can't tell me whether or not she's injured anywhere else and collapses heaving again. I call 000.Tense 10 minute wait. Keep checking that she's breathing.Ambo arrives, does quick assessment, starts to clean her up. Finally get through to her housemate, she's on her way.When housemate arrives with keys and opens the door, Ambo helps her to the bathroom and then gets some more medical history info out of the housemate. He leaves after telling housemate to get her cleaned up a bit more and getting her into bed and making sure she's on her side. I help housemate collect her stuff that's strewn across the landing, wait around a bit to make sure they're both ok .A paraletic girl locked out on a cold night isn't exactly ER stuff, but not knowing what else to do besides checking breathing, getting a blanket and not moving her when I suspected injuries was scary. I'm going to sign up to a first aid course this week.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/sleep-in-age-of-hypothermia.html
Loving these seven-minute summaries. Are there any others out there?
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/seven-minute-summaries.html
Visited the month-old Parlour Wine Room twice over the weekend, came away disappointed both times. How can Parlour disappoint? Let us count the ways...Friday night - checking it out for a post-work drink. First impression = passes abound. This is going to be the Old Parliament House for winter. Similar demo attracted and isolation from anything else you might want to do. Wonder if it'll make it through the cool-new-thing phase and stay in business. Eventually find a seat outside, stay for one bottled beer (most of the tap beers are out of stock) and then head off for dinner in Kingston (that's a whole other story).Saturday night - just seen Iron Man in Dendy Premium and followed up with more drinks at Gus'. Get to Parlour and it's packed inside. What's with this design? Does it intentionally have too few seats to force people to mingle? Did they think that mixing the entry way with the bar queue was a good />Head outside for seating. Only a couple of the gas heaters working. Wait for table service.Wait some more.And some more.Grr - ok, line up at the bar. Wait more. More than 5, just less than 10. Get to bar and watch one bar dude throw away two drinks and mutter that his head's not on tonight while disaffected man wipes down the coffee machine and puts a few glasses in the dishwasher halfheartedly. Looks up, sees people six deep at bar & sighs. He can't take tapas orders at the bar, apologises for the wait and promises to send someone right out. Most of the tap beers are still out of stock.Dude working the floor v busy collecting plates looks very stressed, ignores us. Maybe someone didn't come in tonight. When we flag him down we get something I don't know the name of, something between a tisk, gasp & exasperated sigh (the sound generally followed with "...well I never"). He takes food & drink orders but can't make heat happen; they're out of gas (out of gas in Canberra in May = FAIL). Turns out Mr Tongue Clucker is the manager. No explanation for what's gone wrong or apologies re delays.Later, tapas arrives and is nice. Drinks do not & must be chased. Scout party finds room on a leather couch inside and we stay for another half hour or so before deciding it's not worth spending any more money there.Parlour looks nice, but it is vacuous; pretty without the substance. Staff weren't bringing their A game. I'll give it another chance, but not for a while, 'til everything's bedded down a bit more.PostscriptDisappointed to find reviews that read as if they've just rehashed the press release without having visited. "Water views" sure, that slice between the wall and the trees, if you're like 7' tall.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/05/parlour-wine-bar-disappoints.html
At trivia tonight. The result of trying to text "Next nomination..."without looking.Previously.Spooky.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/04/next-oohma.html
'Twas a chilly Saturday in April when the tech enthusiasts and advocates of the capital region gathered for the first local BarCamp Canberra this past weekend. Part conference, part hangout, BarCamps are a low-key way for all flavous of geeks to get together and talk about things they're working on, challenges, get some experience in presenting to live audiences and generally network with working-level peers. Strictly speaking, there shouldn't be any passive attendees at a Barcamp; everyone's meant to pitch in somehow but not being a developer, savvy web/UI/UX designer, or photographer with a massive lens, I didn't really know what I could contribute so I just got into the discussions. I threw in a few comments during Nathanael's FreeCanberraWireless / Meraki presentation on my experience thus far and protecting yourself from legal liability using the site blocking function of Open DNS, and during the Firefox Extensions You Can't Live Without, but most other sessions were too technical for me. I suppose I could have recorded everything to minidisc and edited it down to podcast, but they had that covered. There were some really interesting presentations:Nathanael Boehm on the Meraki units and a bit about the FreeCanberraWireless project. Good discussion;Ruth Ellison on Ruth's Design Nightmares – all the funnier for featuring Gordon Ramsey but Ruth being unable to curse;Gavin Jackson on some very useful Firefox extensions – great session for attendee participation;Janine Cahill on augmented reality games – location-aware devices are going to bring forth a bunch of cool new games we'll be able to play just walking down the street;Simon Pascal Klein on de-sucking the web through typography – Hmm, is it possible that there are too many fonts? (Great presentation Pascal, even though you looked pretty nervous starting out, you hit your stride);Darren Menachemson on design and getting away from self-imposed design restrictions;Stephen Collins on social tools in corporate places– awesome tipi house picture;Stephen Dann on teaching tech to non-tech students;How free content can help humanity; and A last minute presentation on open source GIS projects – going to keep a close eye on this stuff because MapInfo products and datasets are really bloody expensive.The presentations by the two Stephens offered a refreshing dose of perspective. I think a lot of tech presentations talk too much to the converted; Stephen Collins said it explicitly and Stephen Dann had the stats showing the lag between early adopters (I'd say most attendees) and mass uptake (non tech students). I have to say I found Stephen Dann's presentation on the non-tech students a bit surprising, not for the students lack of web use but for the audience reaction, their shock born from a startling lack of perspective that others might not be gadget and tech freaks and might just want appliances that work intuitively and support them doing what they want to do, whatever that is. I think if Stephen Dann approaches those marketing students by starting with what they know and exposing them to other web tech through that, the road might be a little easier for all involved. Start with Facebook and then show 'em Twitter for status updates, Blogger for notes, Flickr for photos, Blip.tv / Youtube and Miro for video. Anyway...I got serious gear-envy. There was a abundance of laptops (many Macs), quite a few big DSLRs, a wee video camera, some audio gear and at least one iPhone (I know I've preferred the Nokia N95 for a while now, but damn Apple and their slick designs – that iPhone is just drool-worthy). I also got blog shame (lets face it, this place really needs a cleanup or redesign or something).I walked away with one of the door prizes, a book on information management Keeping Found Things Found (sponsored by Maadmob), a twitter account and resolved to keep attending WSG and IA meetings.Over the conference dinner I had a good chat with Janine Cahill about her presentation on augmented reality games (it reminded me of the artist in William Gibson's Spook Country, which she hadn't read) and managed to make a couple of people emotional recounting how T-bone & Cheese used Facebook during her illness, how her last status message invited us to the hospice and how it became a platform for grieving with so many photo albums, status messages and profile pictures featuring her.I'm looking forward to the next BarCamp. I've got an for a FOSS system for community broadcasting, but that's in a very very embryonic pre-alpha stage but I wanted to document it before putting call for help / challenge to the BarCamp crowd; maybe the next one will be the place to get some feedback on the idea.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/04/barcamp-canberra-2008.html
The fourth & final season of Battlestar Galactica kicks-off topside on Friday. If you need a recap of the first three seasons, watch the 8 minute recap. If you're so totally into BSG that you don't need it, you'll appreciate this banner image [via] and you've got a week left to get your bets in on how much the last supper photo reveals.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/04/bsg-conclusion-cometh.html
Predator summarised with a hiphop beat:[via]
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/arnie-doesnt-miss-beat.html
After I expressed much chart-nerd delight at the Rick Astley breakdown, Annachop dropped these in my inbox today:* - I should note that Edward Tufte would never put his name to some of these; he hates pie charts.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/edward-tufte-does-pop.html
One week on from the funeral, I still get the urge to send her a message, a link to something I think she'd like, or burn a disc of new distractions. Then I remember that she is gone. It was a good seven years. In the urban family we choose, she was the big sister I never had; friend, teacher, tormentor, muse. She stood up for me, but could devastate with a line. Having survived an accident that put her in intensive care, she was always available with a dose of perspective in tough times. A black-belt cook, she trained me up from spice wuss to vindaloo victor, and in the end taught me about loss and chest-crushing grief. She laughed at my jokes.Her laugh was explosive and some of my favourite memories of times together are of making her laugh. I'm glad the last time I saw her I got what she could manage of a chuckle out of her. Bye Cheese. I'll never forget you.Addendum:A few months ago I found a book of Japanese death poems; haiku by monks, in some cases the very last thing they did before dying. I found a poem that I thought was apt; I left it in the pub during the wake:Ware shinabasakaya no kame noshita ni ikeyomoshi ya shizuku nomoriyasennanBury me when I diebeneath a wine barrelin a tavern.With luckthe cask will leak.Moriya Sen'an (d. 1838)
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/farewell-cheese.html
Every week at trivia there's the baffler question. A clue is given after each round, starting very general and becoming more specific. It's very rare that the baffler is guessed after the first clue, but I've done it. It must be even rarer that the answer pops into your head before the first clue is finished, but it happened to me last night. "I was born on ...(It was blonde bombshell Uma from The Producers that popped into my head)the 29th of April 1970."So I write "Uma Thurman" on the answer sheet and take it up. Could have knocked me over with a feather when she said I got it.Freaky.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/visions-of-uma.html
Due to other committments we're live to tape for tonight's Down in the Basement. Here's what you'll hear if you tune in tonight.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/down-in-basement-lab-10-mar-08.html
The Necks played The Street Theatre back in February and my DiB co-host and I went along (his take). Eric was also there and wrote an interesting review for the Canberra Jazz blog that I've just come across:"haunting, mesmeric, hypnotic""Ambient and minimal; hypnotic and attractive; mysterious and tonally deceptive; beautiful and even refreshing."I don't know that I'm with Eric on "refreshing" though, particularly regarding their first piece/set. I think I'm more with the guy who wanted to laugh in response to the sensory overload; at the time I think I described it as "the soundtrack from a nightmare" or somesuch, so if I had laughed it would have been more of a hyperventilated crazed cackle. I much preferred the second piece; it evoked a summer storm with rain on a tin roof for me. "Ambient is not something I’d choose every night, but The Necks were engrossing and satisfying and much recommended."Definitely engrossing, but I could only recommend The Necks to folk who're open to the unorthodox, or ambient soundscape performance veterans.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/necks-play-street-theatre.html
VB goes symphonic. Don't forget to watch the making-of video.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/big-cold-beer.html
Things have been very quiet on the Singstar front, but today brings two lots of Singstar news. Singstar Summer Party (must be a topside thing) is due in April: * Adele - Chasing Pavements * Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own * Blondie - The Tide is High * Blur - Girls & Boys * Booty Luv - Shine * Chesney Hawkes - The One & Only * David Bowie - Let’s Dance * Diana Ross - I’m Coming Out * Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You’re Dead * Dodgy - Good Enough * Elton John - I’m Still Standing * Five Star - System Addict * Girls Aloud - Call The Shots * Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot * Klaxons - It’s Not Over Yet * KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See * Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…) * Madness - House of Fun * Mel & Kim - Respectable * Mika - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) * Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl * Plain White Ts - Hey There Delilah * Pulp - Disco 2000 * Razorlight - In The Morning * Rihanna - Umbrella * Sugababes - Red Dress * Texas - Summer Son * Toto - Hold The Line * Wham! - Club Tropicana * Yazz - The Only Way Is UpIf you have the PS3, a bunch of new songs have been released into the SingStore. Mostly old PS2 stuff from what I can tell: * Aha: The Sun Always Shines On TV * Alice Cooper: Poison * Big Brovaz: Nu-Flow * Bill Joel: Uptown Girl * Blu Cantrell: Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) * Blur: End of a Century * Britney Spears: Baby One More Time * Coldplay: Speed Of Sound * Crash Test Dummies: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm * David Bowie: Heroes * Dragon: April Sun In Cuba * Elvira Nickolaisen: Egypt Song * End Of Fashion: Oh Yeah * Fairground Attraction: Perfect * Feeder: Buck Rogers * Five: Keep On Movin' * Jamelia:Superstar * Jamelia: Stop * Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart * Lemar: It's Not That Easy * Lordi: Hard Rock Hallelujah * Maria Mena: My Lullaby * Maxïmo Park: Graffiti * Maxïmo Park: Going Missing * Natalie Imbruglia: Torn * opus X: loving you girl * Paddy Casey: Saints and Sinners * Paddy Casey: Whatever Gets You True * Reamonn: Supergirl * Roachford: Only To Be With You * Rooster: Come Get Some * Roxy Music: Love Is The Drug * Shannon Noll: What About Me * Spice Girls: Wannabe * Spice Girls: Who Do You Think You Are? * Steps: Deeper Shade of Blue * Stereophonics: Dakota * Stereophonics: The Bartender And The Thief * The Darkness: I Believe In A Thing Called Love * The Hoosiers: Goodbye Mr A * The Screaming Jets: Better * The Thrills: One Horse Town * The Thrills: Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) * The Undertones: Teenage Kicks * Trio Rio: New York, Rio, Tokyo * Whitney Houston: I Want To Dance With Somebody * Clueso: Kein Bock Zu Geh'n * Die Fantastischen Vier: Geboren * Laith Al-Deen: Leb Den Tag * Laith Al-Deen: Bilder von Dir * MIA.: Tanz Der Moleküle * Pur: Abenteuerland * Revolverheld: Ich werd' die Welt verändern * Revolverheld: Mit Dir Chilln * Alexia: Egoista * Alexia: Da Grande * Daniele Silvestri: Salirò * Fiorello: Viviere A Color * Litfiba: El Diablo * Loredana Berte: Il Mare D'Inverno * Luca Di Risio: Calma e sanguefreddo * Paola & Chiara: Blu * Jan Eggum: På'an igjen * Kaptein Sabeltann: Vi seiler vår egen sjø * Philip and Sandra: Sommerflørt * Gloria Estefan: Hoy * Pereza: Pienso En Aquella Tarde
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/singstar-down-but-not-out.html
via e-mail
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/rick-astley-would-never.html
That was the first thing that popped into my head upon hearing this morning's news. Maybe it's time to get off the net for a while.
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/time-to-log-off.html
New York Graffiti Field Identification Guide at Gridskipper
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/03/know-your-big-apple-tags.html
Spotted near Tilleys last Thursday
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/02/wall-demands-consideration.html
After a break of a few years - excuses about the weather & such - I went back to Tropfest tonight with a few of the Camels and had quite a good night. Next year I just have to remember to take less food and wear warmer gear.Faves in no particular order:Ascension - the elevator oneBlues for the Soul - the Tasmanian slide guitar oneMade in Australia - the Scottish oneScab - the Japanese gross-out oneSmitten - farmers wife one - best twist of the nightWhite Lines - the parking inspector as cop drama oneUncle Johnny - kid explains his family with repetitive use of the TSI number eight and my pick for winner... Marry Me - girl likes boy who likes bmxMy WTF pick of the night would have to be the ACT animated The Fault. WTF? Dishonourable WTF mentions go to the 104 and Win News MCs and the clown with control of the sound desk; too loud clown!I wonder how Tropfest is received in London & New York; a bunch of ex-pats or do the locals get into it too?
http://dno.blogspot.com/2008/02/tropfest-08.html
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