<$BlogRSDURL$>
Tram Town
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
 
Category: Space TFF
As 2nd. Best, he tries harder.

 
Category: News
WikiNews. All the news that's fit to, errr, umm, edit! (I guess)

 
Category: Dunedin
I'm currently in bloody cold NZ, within an hours drive to the 45th. parallel apparently (at least according to my cabbie). Here's where I'm off to on Friday and I'll be off to New Zealand's Only Castle for dinner sometime this week.

 
Category: Hell
Tim Blair pointed me at some journal entries of an unhealthy young girl. It is an unpleasant must-read!

Monday, November 29, 2004
 
Category: Science
Apart from containing the odd typo ("Only 10 kilograms of helium are available on earth" should be "helium 3"), this article about a pie-in-the-sky source of energy is strong support for the notion that there are way too many scientists in the world.
In summary, a "scientist" thinks he should be funded to develop a reactor which uses a fuel which is not available in useful amounts unless we develop substantial space technology for processing 100's of millions of tons of moon rock. He claims the people who are refusing to fund him are lacking vision. I think they are lacking credulity.

 
Category: Robbery
This direct quote from a piece of junk-email that I got this morning:
Who can resist a 24kt. white gold Rolex watch surrounded in stainless steal?
Interesting spelling mistake, huh?

Sunday, November 28, 2004
 
Category: Rather
I discovered ratherbiased.com today. It chronicles Dan Rather's time as a journalist and news presenter on the CBS network in the US. This particular interview with Bill Clinton is an example of how he treats Democrats. Just a little sample...
RATHER: Mr. President, if we could be one one-hundredth as great as you and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been together in the White House, we'd take it right now and walk away winners.
As you know, Mr. President, I pride myself on trying to ask the tough questions. So I'm not going to apologize in advance for this question, but I do want to put you on tough question alert.
CLINTON: Go ahead, I'm bleeding already. Go ahead. [Laughter]
RATHER: You've been through 2 hours of questioning this morning with two of the most insightful questioners on television, Harry Smith and Paula Zahn. Connie came at you there with a substantive question. So here's my question: When you're able to take a deep breath, when you're able to watch television, besides news and sports, what do you like to watch? What do you watch on television?
Boots and all, Dan! I think it was only fair to put him on tough question alert.

Saturday, November 27, 2004
 
Category: Yahoo
Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. I didn't know (until Paddy told me this arvo) that it is an acronym. Best news from this history is that the original Yahoo machines were named after sumo wrestlers: Akebono and Konishiki.

 
Category: Hair Trigger
13th root in 12secs best ever.

 
Category: eBay
Search Google for Airbus A380 and what do you get as an advertisement in the top right corner?
Airbus A380 For Sale
Low Priced Airbus A380
Huge Selection! (aff)
ebay.com.au
And BTW, Tullamarine North/South's about to be widened to accomodate the A380.

 
Category: Impossible
It looks like someone actually bought the di-hydrogen monoxide story.

 
Category: Baby
Warning! Click through to schoolboy humour.

Friday, November 26, 2004
 
Category: PC Mods
She's a mod, she's a mod, she's a mod Yeh, yeh, yeh.

 
Category: Politics
I read this article about Justice Kirby being
prepared to rein in the Howard Government's enhanced mandate
with disbelief. The man's a disgrace.

Thursday, November 25, 2004
 
Category: What?
The Daily Telegraph reports this story of a 20 year old crashing a car at 200kmh in a 50kmh zone.
Shortly after, he died instantly along with passengers Carl Homer, 33, and Mr Homer's 15-year-old, seven-month pregnant girlfriend Natasha Schyf, when they crashed into a power pole at speeds estimated at up to 200km/h.
As Tim Blair points out, the story within the story appears to be the really shocking bit. The two passengers were a 33 year old man and his 7 months pregnant 15 year old girlfriend. Her parents approved of him!
"Carl and Natasha were perfect for each other, inseparable. He was a lovely guy, everything for my daughter, and we were all looking forward to the baby," Mr Schyf said.
Read the story and weep!

 
Category: Warming
The church science of Global Warming™ climatology is a broad one that even accepts big insurance dudes as spokesmen.
And as global warming continued, natural disasters in Australia would become more frequent, [Insurance Australia Group chief executive] Mr [Michael] Hawker said.
For instance, cyclones would move further south, eventually reaching the densely populated Gold Coast.
"It could have a significant impact on the assessability of that area," he warned. Ultimately, global warming would not only affect insurers, but also consumers, Mr Hawker said. "This is a significant issue for insurers and at the end of the day, all of us should be worried about it, because we all pay premiums." [Here endeth the lesson!]
The summary for today's lesson is that something that we know very little about is an excuse to raise premiums.

 
Category: Transport
I went to that exhibition I spoke of yesterday. The only bad thing I can say is that there wasn't enough of it. I will be keeping an eye out for exhibitions at the PROV.

 
Category: Bizarre
From the Sunday Mail (Qld):
Six-year-old accused of harassment
By Darrell Giles
November 21, 2004
THE Queensland Government has ordered an investigation into why a six-year-old boy was suspended from school after being accused of sexual harassment.
...

 
Category: Audio
I'm not sure that I've come across Audacity before, but I may have just forgotten. Might be worth a look.

 
Category: Rubbish
The best place to touch someone is on the elbow, because it is outside their personal space and usually prompts a positive response. Rubbish! My elbow, in fact both of them, are very much part of my personal space!

 
Category: Advertising
Darth Vader must be short of a bob.

 
Category: Transport
Some interesting statistics from the Hun:
Up to 40 Victorians take their lives in front of trains each year.
A rail union chief said the 670 drivers on the suburban network would average two suicide deaths each during their careers.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004
 
Category: Art
I went to have a bit of a perv at the Munch at the [increasingly poorly named] NGVI. Overwhelmingly unremarkable is the best I can say. There was The Scream (four of them to be exact) and that is about it. When I say four, that is how many he did originally, we only got one, a 12" x 8" [sorry, from the website, 35.5 x 24.5 cm which is more like 14" x 10", my mistake] litho with hand colouring. I know from hand colouring, I have two children. Your boy Munch wasn't much chop at the caper in my opinion. I'm glad I'm not really scratching for dough because I would have very much resented springing for the $15 entry if I was (even now I'm thinking "half a slab for that rubbish, hmmm...").
Go here instead and get The Scream that you know (and love?).
I don't know much about art, I don't know much about Munch, pass the peanuts.
Oh, BTW, the guy at the hatcheck shared my opinions and he didn't even have to pay to get in.
Watch out for falling glass!

 
Category: Transport
The Public Records Office of Victoria has a really interesting looking exhibition running at the moment:
'Transported Back' : The Public Transport Corporation Photographic Collection
Transported Back is an exhibition showcasing images selected from a small part of the photographic archives of the State of Victoria. Thousands of images provide a record of more than a century of Victorian life.
I learnt about it from an advertisement on my tram ticket this morning. Always read the tails-side of you tram ticket, that's my advice.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004
 
Category: Nigeria Paris
Steve Edwards has received an interesting email from someone known as Suha.

 
Category: Technology
Nice site concerning old computers. Looks fascinating.

Monday, November 22, 2004
 
Category: Weird
It was 41 years ago today, JFK taught the band to..., oh, don't worry about it. Add another thing to the things that I don't understand (tm).

 
Category: Meeja
Blogless Bondy points out an amusing take on the FoxNews phenomenon. I might disagree in some senses but I like the cartoon nonetheless.

Sunday, November 21, 2004
 
Category: Recently Dead Pollies
Politics aside, (and even I am no fan of the Dems), Vale Janine Haines.

 
Category: Technical Support
Gen X? Gen Y? Nah, they're Gen Tech-Support . (I'd like to say "we" but we're too bloody old!) Happy Thanksgiving FWIW.

 
Category: iPod
Oh, look! Another competitor! (Except it does a whole mess of stuff that Apple's product doesn't, and it does some other stuff, and it doesn't look like it does the iPod stuff quite as well, but) This will certainly be the downfall of Apple!

 
Category: Space TFF
Elevator! Going Up!

Saturday, November 20, 2004
 
Category: Hobbies
Starting when he was an undergrad, Tim Koeth built a 12 inch cyclotron . Go Tim!

 
Category: Reading
I've been quite enjoying reading the Scary Duck blog (subtitled: Not Scary, Not a Duck). I was directed at it for this particular entry about building balsa wood RC gliders - a funny story even if it is a bit vulgar.

 
Category: Space TFF
Like a Virgin! Who Ripley?

 
Category: Thieves
Don't go building airports in bad neighbourhoods:

 
Category: Humour
This points at one of those lists of supposedly "Actual Analogies and Metaphors Found in High School Essays". I'm sure that the vast majority of these things are made up but they still make me laugh. e.g.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
30. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.
Also from the same site another apparently true story...
Police in Wisconsin are investigating the shooting deaths of David Bucher and Roberta Stone, calling the crime a possible murder-suicide. Kenosha Sheriff's Sgt. John Schwarz said, "They had an on-again, off-again relationship..." I guess it's off again...

Friday, November 19, 2004
 
Category: Intellectualism
Now, Semi keeps saying he's not an intellectual so he probably has no need of this. "Intended for those who prefer to get hits using scholarly references and journals - refine away the dross and vanity pages". Me? I think I'd miss the dross and vanity way too much, that's the fun part!

 
Category: Anthropology
Yes, anthropology! The Culture Cult. Not being an intellectual, I was not familiar with Roger Sandall's name. I think I have actually read some of his writings in Quadrant. I am definitely going to buy the book of the website for reading on the six door green limo. The entire website is (I'm beginning to sound repetitive here) well worth a read.
Should American Indians and New Zealand Maoris and Australian Aborigines be urged to preserve their traditional cultures at all cost? Should they be told that assimilation is wrong? And is it wise to leave them entirely to their own devices?
The Australian example suggests that the answers are no, no, and no. The best chance of a good life for Indigenes is the same as for you and me—full fluency and literacy in English, as much math as we can handle, and a job. In the year 2000 artificially preserved Aborigines are doomed.

 
Category: Politics
Slatts reckons Kerry Nettle is a despicable cretin. I couldn't agree more.

Thursday, November 18, 2004
 
Category: Pixar
I just found Luxo :: A blog dedicated to Pixar Animation Studios. Well worth a regular look. Me, I'm looking forward to the TramTown opening date of The Incredibles: 26 December.

 
Category: Yartz
The Substation in Newport is being converted into a community arts centre. It's well worth a wander around the website.

 
Category: Blogging
A useful resource that has been around for about four months: The Blogtionary.
DB might be particularly interested in the defintion offered for the Borlg.

 
Category: Dunnies
Jump in a plane and head for the Toilet Conference in Beijing! This is organised by the World Toilet Organisation.
Thanks to Jon Faine for alerting me to this important event.

 
Category: Gaming
From WinInfo:
Microsoft Uses Halo 2 to Catch Xbox Pirates
With Halo 2 racking up record sales and eager fans rushing to Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service to compete with other gamers from around the world, it should be an exciting time for Xbox enthusiasts. However, for the thousands of Xbox users who have chosen to modify, or "mod," their Xboxes with hardware devices that bypass the machine's copy-protection features and let them pirate games, Halo 2 has another surprise in store: Those users are being summarily kicked off Xbox Live without any warning. The timing couldn't have been better from Microsoft's perspective. The company knew that it had a hit on its hands with Halo 2, and because it can use the Xbox Live service to detect the presence of mod chips, Microsoft figured it would use the unprecedented surge of customers to the service as a chance to weed out unsuspecting evil-doers. Cameron Ferroni, general manager of the Xbox software platform, told the Associated Press (AP) that the software giant isn't interested in users of modded Xboxes, but it does reserve the right to banish such people from its online service. For legitimate users of Xbox Live--and Microsoft counts more than 1 million of them--the removal of modded Xboxes means that there will be less chance of cheating because users of modded Xboxes can use those chips to provide unfair advantages, such as making their onscreen characters invulnerable or in possession of all the in-game power-ups.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004
 
Category: Fillums
Looks like Walt's gonna go it alone for Toy Story 3.

 
Category: Encyclopaedias
This article on Tech Central Station gives the Wikipedia a right slagging. I have always doubted the ability of a Wiki to converge on the truth but I still feel quite comfortable using the Wikipedia as one of my main resources. I guess even the Britannica has behaved like a Wiki over the years, it has a little more time for fact checking but it still only asymptotes on the truth.
Interestingly, the Wikipedia article that Robert McHenry crticises most strongly already has information included in response to the TCS story. There have been nearly fifty edits since McHenry's criticism.
What's more, if I was looking up Alexander Hamilton, his birthdate, 1755 or 1757, would be low on my list of "must knows". I guess we should strive for accuracy anyway.
BTW, sorry for the verbisation of asymptote.
BTW, sorry for the verbisation of verb.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004
 
Category: Recently Dead Celebrities
Unfortunately, last Sat'day, John Balance (//info/john balance/) (stupid url's.com) lost it. RIP.

 
Category: Ads
It sure looks like Citroen is trying to do a Honda.

 
Category: TRAMTOWN
There seems to be another one out there. It's somewhere in Europe, I think.

Monday, November 15, 2004
 
Category: Music
This article about that Egyptian Arab who died the other day is a great read. I found it on Note-It Posts, possible the best name for a blog in all blogdom.

 
Category: Data
I had to buy one of these (2740928 FWIW) on Sat'day for our pending production (matinee seats still available). I got it from Tandy where I hadn't been for years. Remember the old days whenever you bought anything there they wouldn't let you leave the shop until they got your address, phone number and Mothers' maiden name etcetera? They don't do that these days. Whatd'ya reckon they did with the data? (Possible free sub required)

Sunday, November 14, 2004
 
Category: OS's
Interesting (to me at least) summary on the evolution of OSX.

Saturday, November 13, 2004
 
Category: Cullinary Arts
Be sure to cook your chops adequately. Failure to do so may lead to stabbing.
stab

Friday, November 12, 2004
 
Category: WebWierd
Semi and I have met quite a few women behind bars but they were never like this (or at least, not that we were aware of). ( You used to send me flowers...)

 
Category: Conspiracy
Arafat and AIDS?
... the CIA has known this about Arafat for quite awhile and that as a result the US has encouraged Sharon not to take Arafat out because the US has known Arafat was about done. It was deemed better to have Arafat discredited as a homosexual.
Any Every crazy notion gets a run on the internet.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004
 
Category: Ejacashun
Slatts nails a bunch of all-too-obvious facts about literacy. There are a lot of approaches to this, but I reckon the vast majority of people who slag off the phonetic system of learning to read learnt to read by that very method. It must achieve something (even if only the ability to read those academic papers that prove how awful it is)!

 
Category: SWF
This is not too unfunny, but it seriously reminds me of this. Go Figure! (Interestingly enough, Randy Newman did the music for Toy Story et al).

 
Category: Library Software
I've been pretty happy using DVDpedia to catalogue my DVD's but, and I've only just had a quick look, this appears to leave it for dead. Coolest thing is that it uses my iSight camera as a bar-code scanner!

 
Category: Instruments
Hey, Johnny Lo Piccolo would've loved one of these. (Just out of curiousity, whatd'ya reckon Roland is thinking here?)

Monday, November 08, 2004
 
Category: Birthdays
Happy Birthday to Semi (for yesterday) but also to Countdown. 30 today! (thanks Lynne)

 
Category: Politics
The Currency Lad pointed out this article from the Aus where Sir David Smith suggests Gough should say sorry. Smith? Don't we know someone with the same last name as him, DB?

Sunday, November 07, 2004
 
Category: Politics
Is it OK to gloat a little?
Thanks Tim Blair.
UPDATE It appears to have gone away because of bandwidth problems. Summary: the Bee Gees singing about going back to Massachusetts over a slide show of images of John Kerry doing stupid things. I laughed out loud. YMMV.

Saturday, November 06, 2004
 
Category: Ep III
The new teaser trailer has been posted here (10.6 Mb download warning).

Friday, November 05, 2004
 
Category:
Krystyna Pollard from NewsCorp tells us "Naked jet man 'had condition'". Make sense of that article and you can leave this place, Grasshopper.

Thursday, November 04, 2004
 
Category: Politics
James Taranto from Best of the Web offers up a Bye-ku:
Served in Vietnam:
A grateful nation thanks him
And says, "That's enough"

 
Category: Politics
Why the long face, John?
Failure

Wednesday, November 03, 2004
 
Category: Halloween
(Bit late here, sorry) Bloody nice Halloween costume this bloke had, a mostly functional iPod Costume.

 
Category: Politics
Hmm, gauntlet's been thrown down I guess. Given the number of first time voters and early turnout and how that normally favours the Dems, I'll go Kerry. But it'll likely be close (er der!)

 
Category: Politics
It's Wednesday morning here insunny Melbourne but the polls are still open on the first Tuesday in November Up Stairs in the Attic. One of the most accurate polls (11 out of 12 correct since 1956) calls it for Bush. I'm inclined to agree even if I do suspect a survivor bias.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004
 
Category: ???
Merchandising? Crap?? Cult???
Happy Birthday HK! However, Semi and I don't understand you one bit!

 
Category: Election
First Tuesday in November and Jim Treacher has ten reasons why he is not voting for Bush.


Powered by Blogger