3 Sleeps

So as you all know I'm going to Canada.

There is a rumor going around that it is going to get to -27 deg C That's a Minus sign people!


So I'm Staying Here



We are doing this for a day



This is where i'm skiing



Ahh look at that snow



And we are going Snow Shoeing apparently

Bring It On

GOOD Luck Matty!

Vista Heralds Bold New Era in Solitaire, Minesweeper

REDMOND, WASHINGTON- With the launch of their newest solitaire engine, Vista, Microsoft hopes to bring the art of single player card games to a whole new level. Gone is the flat green background, replaced by a seductive green-to-dark-green gradient. The "play" and "quit" buttons are pleasantly shiny like beads of glass, softly inviting you to click them. Even the diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs all have a sexy updated look. After poking around Vista for a few hours, it's difficult to imagine stacking sequential cards of alternating suits with anything less.

Even harder to believe is the steady stream of bad reviews for Vista. After five years of waiting, it would be understandable if some members of the press felt that Vista should represent a bigger jump from its predecessor than it does. For instance, they point to Microsoft's original promise that all versions of Vista would feature a common 64-bit architecture- but that makes no sense at all since the game only has 52 cards. It seems fairly clear that anyone talking trash about Vista just hasn't played it.

from www.ridiculopathy.com

Futsal update

As usual when Monday night roles round the butterflies start flapping and the bladder start filling...yes that's right...off to FUTSAL!!!!

This week we played the Futsal Kings, and (yes) got beaten. After last weeks fabulous effort we were quietly anticipating another good score, there we weren't disappointed, we went down 8-2, we were pretty happy since our goal this season is to not lose by more than 10 each game (hopefully giving us a much more presentable goal difference at the end of the comp!)

I was ecstatic as I kicked our first goooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!

Stix brought our next goal to fruition later in the second half.

There were moments where we looked cohesive and professional, and moments where we looked like 5 years olds all following the ball and moments of sheer brilliance (I refer to my goal...just kidding)

Onwards and upwards I say! we can win this season, we have the makings of a very decent team....training on Sunday? 5.30pm? anyone?

LWE we love you

The Australia Day long weekend was a blissfully sunny, relaxing, easy weekend and we kept it almost entirely wedding-work free!

We had some house guests show up on Thursday before we got home who were a little demanding but lots of fun. There was Yoko with her endless energy and curiosity,

and Prudence, with her limited energy and curiosity.

We had work to do on Friday so Matt got stuck into the arts and craft early, channeling his primary school side.

With such amazing weather, it was a pleasure to lie around in St Leonards park with our message for the world,

until it wasn't such a pleasure.

After over an hour and a half of waiting for the damn plane we decided to call it quits and leave our sign to fend for itself. (We'll have to wait and see how it survived.) Afterall, we had dinner to cook for some very important people.

Saturday was a day of bludging, entertaining the house guests and eating leftovers.

We were treated to dinner at the ever wonderful Uchi Lounge by the departing Miss Peta on Saturday night, before cheesecake at Micky's on Oxford St and another glorious sleep in Sunday morning.

Sunday arvo saw me in a beer garden catching up with Mreen, Anna Jean, Bronwyn S and Lady, dodging the sun with my new burnt back. Matt did a bit of moving some things into his soon-to-be new home Sunday night before we settled in with another episode of 'So you think you can dance' and luckily, Mary was her usual caustic self and Travis & Heidi didn't get voted off.

What more could you ask for on a LWE?

R.I.P. Freddo's Dad

The man who thought of chocolate frogs croaked last Wednesday.

Australia Day Dad Jokes....

An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to Orlando, thinking that he would start by working his way across the USA from South to North.

On his first day he was inside a church taking photographs when he noticed golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that read "$10,000 per call". The American, being intrigued, asked priest who was strolling by what the telephone was used for.
The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 you could talk to God. The American thanked the priest and went along his way.
Next stop was in Atlanta. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in Orlando and he asked a nearby nun what its purpose was.She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10,000 he could talk to God. O.K., thank you," said the American. He then travelled to Indianapolis, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. In every church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "$10,000 per call" sign under it.

The American, upon leaving Vermont decided to travel to AUSTRALIA to see if Australians had the same phone. He arrived in Australia, and again, in the first church he entered, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the sign under it read "40 cents per call." The American was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.
Father, I've travelled all over America and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in the US the price was $10,000 per call. Why is it so cheap here?"

The priest smiled and answered, "You're in Australia now, mate - it's a local call".

Weird Friday - a day early

In the spirit of 'the end of the week' - I bring you this...
Utter weirdness


Enjoy.

The SRF truly Rocks!

Monday night was the first night of the new Futsal season for the Mighty SRF.

We turned up fresh and raring to go...the opposition was the team who won the whole comp last year...in the past they have whipped us 15-1 the first time we played them and it only got worse from there.

Monday night was VERY different....

...sure they beat us, but the final score was only 3-1!!!!! The team went wild..the crowd roared! a slow chant began...srf...SRF...SRF
and our talented goal scorer?
the one and only G'Nick!

This places us at position number 4 on the score board! a most enviable place to be sure....

Let's keep up the momentum and play our little socks off like we did this week...who knows where this could lead?

Farewell my favorite fascist

Yesterday I was greeted by the shocking news that Johnny had dumped Mandy

Amanda I would like to thank you for the following

My higher HECS debt
Letting everyone know we actually had a Customs and Justice minister
Locking up children in indefinite detention
Deporting Australians to foreign countries
Showing women every where that all it takes to look good is a floral print shirt and a string of pearls

Despite the pain and suffering you have wielded since 1996 I'm going to miss you and your dogged determination

Don't forget us Amanda when you are serving you last days for this country as Ambassador to the Cayman Islands

And a project for Friday

Google Maps

In a Noble cause

Now you may or may not be aware that Mr Ross Noble is playing the Enmore Theatre in March. I will be purchasing tickets tomorrow (as seats seem to be selling fast and we should get on with it) so if you're interested then let me know at my usual email address. He's playing from the 14th to the 24th and I'm thinking of booking for either the 23rd or 24th (Friday or Saturday night) - do you have any strong preference for other nights then speak up very quickly please. Tix are $40

Lucky lucky lucky

Housing affordability in Australia is among the worst in the world, a further sign that many state and local government polices are inappropriate, the Residential Development Council said.
It said today's release of the Annual Demographia survey rated every Australian city as "seriously" or "severely" unaffordable in a global study of 159 cities, with Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Hobart among the worst 25 cities.
The Residential Development Council, the residential policy arm of the Property Council of Australia, said Australia's poor result was proof that the current policy mix was a toxic cocktail for housing affordability.
"We have four of our cities in the worst 25 when it comes to affordability - surely the message must get through?" said RDC Executive Director Ross Elliott.
The Demographia Survey, released by the US-based Wendell Cox Consultancy, attributes restrictive land release policies and excessive regulatory and zoning controls, combined with high housing taxes, for the Australian problem.
The Demographia survey rates housing "unaffordable" when the median house price passes three times median household incomes.
Housing is "seriously unaffordable" when it passes four times median household incomes and "severely unaffordable" when it passes five times median household incomes.
The least affordable Australian city is Sydney - where median prices are 8.5 times median incomes - even worse than London at 8.3 times incomes and New York at 7.2 times incomes.
"We have maintained that there are three things largely responsible for the worsening housing affordability in this country. Inappropriate land release policies, excessive housing taxes and unfair infrastructure charges, and dysfunctional systems of development assessment," Mr Elliott said in a statement.
"This report now confirms the magnitude of the problem in this country - where with abundant land, there is no excuse for our housing crisis other than bad public policy."

I'm SO excited

22 Months of Hillary - Bring It on!

Ohhh Kira, your my hero.

Just had to share.... among other dark revaluations to come out on Saturday night, it turns out Marg's had a crush on Kira from The Dark Crystal. He's so dreamy.

Too Easy

If you've got some grocery shopping to do, save it till tomorrow and go the extra distance to a Woolworths. I think the chain stinks but they have pledged to donate all of tomorrow's profits to drought relief and the families who have lost everything. Good to see them making a positive gesture towards those they screw over in other ways. Interesting that they seem to be reserving the big publicity until AFTER the designated day.

Tomorrow, if you need to buy a diet coke or a Who magazine or some such thing, take a stroll to the nearest Woolworths for it if you can.

Look what Jackie is up to!

As many of you know, Jackie and her new Hubby Ben are traipsing around SE Asia on their honeymoon, and have been doing so for the last 2 months. This is a photo of her most recent escapade....How Cool!!

Irregular Friday arvo joke post

Last time I went on holiday, I flew with BA.
It was terrible... He kept on shouting...
"You crazy fool, I ain't getting on no plane!"

Prince William moves to St Leonards.

Prince William is what my new car has been christened by Lady....He's a lovely shiny silver little VW Polo Club (hence the royal association)

Me in my VERY FIRST CAR!!! Sure I've driven others and even "owned" them in a "this-is-a-company-car-you-can-keep-till-we-piss-you-off-enough-
and-you-leave-at-which-point-we-will-take-it-back-and-you-can-fend-
for-yourself" type way. Now I actually OWN one!!! I am very excited and VERY PROUD!

He is just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful!

Nikki arrives in HK

Nik and Trent have arrived in HK and set up a blog for all those who are interested...

http://honkersholiday.blogspot.com/

Stairs Hurah!

As we glued down the last two steps last night I thought I better share my the pics from Christmas holiday with everyone. Shari and I took the stair case down and rebuilt it....

Here's the scary original, for those that haven't seen it....
first came the demolition stage.....The Carpet got taken off the stairs so we could se what we were working with.... Don't get me started on the state of the stairs.

Next took the back off the stairs and found a) no Floor???? b) An old hot water heater disconnected and dumped there.
Just when we were about finished bitching how past owners had just dumped rubbish everywhere... we found a second disconnected hot water heater dumped underneath the house..
Then came the rest of the demolition, made pretty easy by the fact the stairs were on their last legs. We did find some interesting stuff.... Some old bits and bobs, 1 dead rat (recent) and 2 dead mice. I don't know how they got in the house. It's not like there are large holes underneath the stairs...

Old stuff out of the way... in came the new. First job, a huge, fuck off, large post cemented to the floor and bolted to both floors.


In case your wondering what we did without the staircase in the meantime, this was out method of getting between floors for about a week. As I get older I like heights less and less :(Once the center post was in we put down new floors.... And filled all the gaps, so no more mice, rats or cockroaches.
Shari did a bit of cleaning up the old walls while I started the stringers (the main beams for the stairs in blue).
The bottom corner.... pretty fiddly but a lot of fun.

The bottom stringers completed and the top ones being attached. These were easier but holding the up while they were being bolted etc was a bit of nightmare.
Stringers all done, starting the risers (the back of each step) and steps. These were a pain, getting all the right angles and edges all meeting up nicely...
Shari enjoying the fact that we could walk (or balance rather) up rather than use the ladder.

And the stairs new stairs done... Well except for sanding, paint, skirting boards, banisters etc. It wouldn't be me if I actually finished a job off.
And the top half all done-ish.
And just in case you were worried about my work killing someone (Matt), the beams underneath.

Sacha Baron Cohen

The return of FUTSAL!

So most of you know by now that Futsal is back on next Monday night!! WOOHOO!!!

we can all say goodbye to our Christmas bellies and hello to regular exercise again!

Just in case you haven't yet checked out the draw for the 22nd, we are playing ANY LUCK...yes that's right, the team that won the mixed comp last season.....sorry.

So with this sobering thought in mind...how about we all get out to Wentworth park again this Sunday afternoon (21st Jan) to kick a ball around and get a little prepared for our first game back in a while?

How about we say 5.30pm...seeing as it is FINALLY getting a bit hotter, and we practice kicking that damn ball into the net (or net substitute!)

Are we in? Who has the balls, markers etc, do we need to buy more from the kitty?

x 2!

I have not seen The Queen yet but I think Helen Mirren is worthy of any acting accolade. Usually the British chooks without youth, plastic surgery or fascinating personal lives get over looked by Hollywood but not this time! Helen the magnificent just got 2 golden globes in one night! Hurrah for Helen!

HOC Comet Fest '07

Well the HOC went searching for the Comet last night.

We firstly tried the Back Yard. Bron even climbed onto the fence. We all used Noodle Bi-Nocs till we decided that we needs to climb a hill. We all piled into Bron's Car (which needs to visit the Man - the scrapping sound of the exhaust on the ground is not good) and headed to St Leonards - Still no Comet.

Wollstonecraft - was Noodles Call

One wrong turn on the Highway 2 wrong turns around the train station we where at Noodles Picnic spot - still no Comet.

Back Up the hill - people looking west we stopped - chatted still no Comet

At this point the HOC gave up drove away singing "I will survive" with gusto

We then stopped off at the Flitcrofts to view there domestic bliss - Flit watching Tele, Margie doing the dishes, had a glass of water and returned there Mattress.

What a fun Night of Comet searching - Even if Bron still failed to see her first Comet (deprived child no Hayley's for her)

Wollombi : at long last!

What a way to finish the holidays! 3 1/2 relaxing days spent driving around wine country tasting the wonders of the valley and 3 nights kicking about in the middle of nowhere with great friends, good wine, a most delicious cheese platter and some late night card games!
Day one (well day -1 for most of you, Flit and I got up there early) was spent drinking wonderful wines at some of our old favourites as well as hunting down some new tasty beverages in previously unknown haunts. We had a divine lunch out on the balcony at Bimbadgen estate....
...got a little burnt driving around with the top down, and a little wobbly from all the wine! The day ended perfectly with everyone arriving and a visit from our mate Stormin' Norman...





With a valley stretching out as far as the eye could see, of course it was the perfect place to fire off some potatoes...

...unfortunatley no one counted on how much power it took to charge the damn thing for one shot, and Mattes' car couldn't handle the strain.....luckily he got it running again for our wine tasting trip into the hunter the next day.

our nights were spent up at John's parent's holiday house/cabin, at least by nightfall it was lovely and peaceful. We all wanted to say "ahh the serenity" on many different occasions, but it was a little difficult to sound convincing when everyone was being deafened by the constant eardrum-piercing buzz of the cicadas during the daylight hours (I think maybe the noise drove this one a little mad)

Anyway, apart from the scary (but do-able) dirt track that leads to the property it really is an idyllic spot. Surrounded by nothing but trees (and the occasional axe-murderer) oh and a wandering G'Nick (who turned up after midnight (???) then slept outside when he couldn't get the screen door open....it was a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the fading of the Christmas holidays. Thanks Parentals of John (and of course J&S for organising it all)