Stuff I am thinking about

Optimal settings for Handbrake

2011-09-17T14:12:00.002+10:00

Can't ride!

2011-08-29T13:26:00.001+10:00

Not allowed to play

2011-08-17T20:32:00.001+10:00

Not allowed to play, a photo by tardis3 on Flickr.

Ultimate Dog Tease

2011-05-07T13:24:00.000+10:00

European Commission announcement

2011-04-13T17:23:00.000+10:00

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter .

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where! more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as

replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

The Goa'uld - here is Las Vegas!

2010-12-19T11:50:00.001+11:00

egypt in Las Vegas
Originally uploaded by tardis3

pedestrian crossing sign

2010-12-14T09:04:00.002+11:00

pedestrian crossing sign
Originally uploaded by tardis3

This pedestrian crossing system is being rolled out across the US and Canada. I haven't seen them in Australia - yet

Empire State building

2010-12-14T08:45:00.001+11:00

Empire State building
Originally uploaded by tardis3

I went to the 102nd floor - views are simply awesome

backyard in Montreal - it is snowing!

2010-12-13T04:19:00.001+11:00

backyard in Montreal - it is snowing!
Originally uploaded by tardis3

the beach

2010-12-09T10:24:00.001+11:00

IMG_0010
Originally uploaded by tardis3

In New York - Lido beach. It was 0 degrees so I didn't stay too long!

The Basic Guide To Troubleshooting Windows Problems

2010-09-03T20:53:00.001+10:00

While watching some episodes of Get Smart

2010-02-05T19:11:00.001+11:00

The red convertible driven by Don Adams in the opening credits for the first two seasons is a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger Mark I, which came standard with a Ford 260 V8 engine. The car was used in several episodes throughout the first four seasons, though sometimes substituted by a very similar-looking Sunbeam Alpine with Tiger badging. A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia was used in the opening credits for the third and fourth seasons but never used in any episode. For the fifth season, the show featured a 1969 Opel GT used in the opening credits as well as the episodes for that season. Only used in the pilot episode was an early-'60s Ferrari 250 GT cabriolet.

Christmas lights

2009-12-07T20:08:00.000+11:00

Playing Simon Says

2009-11-08T10:41:00.000+11:00

Top Apps That Boost Your Media Centre

2009-11-02T11:02:00.001+11:00

Top Apps That Boost Your Media Centre with thanks to www. lifehacker.com.au

Streaming video, digital DVD backups, DVR recording—it’s all possible from your TV-connected media centre, and you don’t need a system administrator to pull it off. These apps make filling and controlling your media centre PC even easier.

Photo by William Hook.

Give your tunes the covers they deserve

Your favourite band, assuming it’s not Motörhead, probably spend a good bit of time thinking about their album art. Pay credit to their creative indulgences, and give your media centre something to show when their tracks are playing, by embedding album art in your MP3 collection. I ran through the best sources and tools for Windows, Mac and Linux systems in a 2008 album art guide. Whatever tool you use, having album art consistent across your library might feel a bit obsessive, and it is—but there’s a certain reassuring payoff when your TV displays the same art as your iPod.

Remove ads automatically from recorded TV

Some commercials are worth their short time commitment, but sometimes you just want to watch exactly 24 minutes of condensed television. Windows Media centre plug-in Lifextender does the job inside your hooked-up PC, while DVRMSToolbox runs through Media-Center-recorded files independently, and can then export them to more generally usable formats than Windows’ somewhat locked-down system. (Original posts: Lifextender, DVRMSToolbox)

Boost Boxee with repositories and feeds

Boxee is basically the XBMC media centre app with a different look and a more social flair. It also supports a lot of independent content creators and independent developers, whether through the official App Box, through adding repositories of new apps, or through stand-alone RSS feeds.

Rename files for easier detection

Media player apps try their best to figure out exactly what TV shows and movies you’ve got loaded into storage, but they often have a hard time keeping up with the naming schemes used by a variety of applications and fallible humans. Grab an app like MediaRenamer (for movies and television) or TVrename (for shows alone) and whip your files into a shape that XBMC, Boxee, Windows, Plex, or any other media centre can easily figure out. For a quick read on what media centre apps like to see—XBMC in particular—read Jason’s guide halfway through his XMBC add-on guide.

Rip DVDs the easy way

Rather than find out halfway through the final disc of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles that your disc is scratched beyond repair, you could rip the suspect DVD to a digital file and play it from there, with just a minor skip. Adam’s built a tool called DVD Rip to make it a dead-simple process in Windows, but it’s fairly easy to pull off with HandBrake or VLC Media Player on Windows, Mac or Linux systems.

Media centre remotes for your phone (or iPod touch)

Sure, you could go the easy route and buy an infrared-based, media-center-friendly physical remote for your TV-attached setup, but if you’d like a bit more functionality—and, more importantly, actual typing input—there’s probably a free or cheap remote for your Wi-Fi powered phone or iPod. Gmote turns an Android phone into a multi-system remote, assuming you don’t mind a quick software installation. iPod/iPhone owners have their pick of many XBMC-compatible remotes in the App Store, the free Boxee remote, and MediaMote (iTunes direct link) ably handles your Windows Media centre remote.

Make your router more media-friendly

Your standard off-the-shelf router treats all net traffic the same, can’t tell you exactly how much you’ve downloaded this month, and is fairly difficult to turn into anything other than an agent of your modem. Install DD-WRT or Tomato on your little antenna box, however, and it can be a wireless bridge for your entertainment center (Installation guide: Tomato)

Convert and transfer tracks to your portable player

The best media centres can play just about any video or audio format out there, but even the coolest phones and media devices have a fairly limited format range, and only so much space. Among the five best media converters we rounded up, Super and Format Factory can match most devices and file types, while MediaCoder and HandBrake get the job done on any platform. Need help getting the file onto your phone or device? The doubleTwist media manager is the easiest drag & drop solution we’ve seen.

New supermarket

2009-10-31T22:44:00.000+11:00

A new supermarket opened here in Estevan. It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.

When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and you experience the scent of fresh mown hay.

In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal grilled steaks with onions.

When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.

The bread department features the tantalizing smell of fresh baked bread & cookies.

I don't buy toilet paper there anymore.

Customer Service

2009-10-25T18:17:00.000+11:00

Austar & Foxtel plans 28 new channels

2009-09-20T08:59:00.001+10:00

On September 29 Foxtel will be revealing its next plans for new channels and technology to media, but they may have had their thunder stolen somewhat by Austar which has told some subscribers about the 28 new channels the regional platform will be offering.

Under the banner of “the biggest thing to happen to TV in years”, its magazine reveals that amongst the 15 standard definition channels there will be four new movie channels, four new sports channels, three more news and documentary channels, a murder mystery channel, two ad-free, educational kids channels and a new lifestyle channel.

There will be 13 HD channels offerings will be four sport channels, six movie channels and three channels devoted to drama, comedy and classics.

Austar is also heavily promoting its new MyStar HD box, which can record up to 90 hours of SD programming or 30 hours of HD programming.

There will also be improvements to the red button interactive application, with eight more timeshift channels being added to the mix. Austar also indicated “more news next month”.

Found at http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/09/austar-plans-28-new-channels.html

The Cow Turns Green

2009-08-30T09:27:00.001+10:00

Found at http://www.newsweek.com/id/214110

Few creatures would seem as beneficent as the cow. Properly grazed and groomed, it gives us burgers and brie, boot leather and fertilizer. Lately, however, radical green groups and celebrity vegans like Paul McCartney have made cows out to be weapons of mass destruction: not only has their meat caused an epidemic of hypertension and heart disease, but they also trample rainforests, trash the soil, and foul the air with greenhouse gases. Scientists say that every year the average Holstein produces up to 180 kilos of methane, which traps 25 times more heat than does carbon dioxide. All told, bringing meat from the pasture to the griddle produces 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the United Nations. Last year, Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, called upon everyone to give up eating meat at least one day a week, giving birth to the global meatless Monday. "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat," McCartney famously said.

Perhaps. But since 1960, worldwide production of meat has quadrupled to more than 280 million tons a year. Even if everyone in the rich nations swore off meat today, consumption would continue to soar, driven by the protein-hungry rising middle classes of China, Brazil, and other developing nations. For this reason, serious environmental planners have recently focused not on eliminating the meat industry but on turning it green.

It's a tall order. Making beef, pork, or chicken can be an environmentally devastating process, from felling forests for pastures to the fossil fuel required to produce fertilizer for feed crops. Compared with tofu production, meat-making gobbles up 17 times as much land, 26 times as much water, 20 times the fossil fuels, and 6 times as many chemicals, according to Plenty magazine. And among animal proteins, beef is the real hog; producing a kilo of beef takes up seven times more farmland than it does to produce a kilo of chicken and 15 times the area needed for a kilo of pork. Yet scientists, herders, and green groups are convinced they can curb the damage by making adjustments all along the supply chain, changing the way we farm and feed livestock and building a cleaner cow through modern genetics. Suddenly, the search for what food activist and author Michael Pollan calls "green meat" has become a worldwide effort.

The effort starts with the beast itself. When a cow eats, its stomach produces methane as a byproduct. Cows are pretty efficient at eating grass, but the soybeans and corn that most industrial livestock farms feed them make the bovine stomach rumble with excess gas. To fight this, some farms in Vermont and France have begun to roll back the clock. The owners of the Stonyfield Farm in Vermont found they could improve health and boost milk production in the herds, and reduce methane emissions, by eliminating the soybean- and corn-based feed that became popular during the bumper harvests of the Green Revolution. Instead, they give their cows old-fashioned flax and alfalfa, which are packed with nutrients and benign fatty acids. This tactic, widely used in France, is now being replicated elsewhere in the U.S. In Canada, where cattle grazing accounts for 72 percent of total greenhouse-gas emissions, scientists are tinkering with the chemistry of feed—adjusting the balance of key nutrients such as cellulose, ash, fat, sugar, and starch—as another way of lowering the cow's carbon footprint.

The more ambitious projects involve tinkering with the cow's genetic code. Researchers at the University of Alberta are examining the DNA in cows' four stomachs to identify the genes responsible for making them burp and regulating how much gas they produce. In time, they hope to be able to breed cleaner cows, which could reduce emissions from cows by 25 percent, says Stephen Moore, professor of beef-cattle genomics at Alberta. Researchers at Colorado State University have identified DNA markers that they believe will help them selectively breed animals to digest their food more efficiently and so produce less methane.

Cutting down forests to make room for livestock farms is another big reason meat is environmentally unsound. Brazil has in recent years risen as an agricultural power-house, but it now ranks as the fourth—biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, thanks mainly to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Though the pace of felling has dropped, 12,900 square kilometers of rainforest (an area larger than Jamaica) were destroyed last year, releasing 160 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. As national leaders prepare to make a new pact in Copenhagen for curbing climate change this December, international green groups have criticized Brasília for its plans to build roads through the Amazon and for bowing to the farm lobby, which has expanded its frontier to the lip of the rainforest.

Many leaders in business and government are embracing the green agenda. Brazilian meatpackers like Marfrig, food sellers like Wal-Mart, footwear companies such as Timberland, and thousands of ranchers have signed on to a moratorium on using beef from recently deforested areas. "For years, the way to produce cattle was to chop down the forest to plant pastures," says Ocimar Vilela, head of environmental sustainability at Marfrig. "Now customers are demanding we change, and these demands are here to stay."

Still, the livestock industry has a long way to go. Many of the reforms are just getting started and are only being tried at a few farms, and many advances are still in the testing phase. No matter how green the business gets, meat will still weigh heavily on the planet. But going green seems to be the only realistic path. Even if everyone in the rich nations swore off meat today, consumption would continue to soar, thanks to the burgeoning middle classes of China, Brazil, and other nations. Brazilians today eat 89 kilos of red meat and poultry a year, nearly triple the per capita consumption of 15 years ago, while the average Chinese citizen consumes close to two and a half times more meat than he did in 1990. Even India is getting a taste for red meat—its beef consumption jumped 36 percent in the past decade. Overall meat consumption in poorer countries is growing by more than 5 percent a year, twice the world rate, making meat the most coveted agricultural commodity in recent history. The global recession has surely slowed the trend, but appetites once whetted are hard to blunt. Although meat is a health problem in the West, to many poor nations it's a boon. "Even small additional amounts of meat and milk can provide the same level of nutrients, protein, and calories to the poor that a large and diverse amount of vegetables and cereals could provide," concludes a study by the International Food Policy Research Center in Washington. "Who is going to tell the developing world's new consumers, 'Sorry, you can't eat beef'?" says Paulo Adário, an expert in the livestock industry at Greenpeace. Of course, with green beef, you might not have to.

Minesweeper - The Movie

2009-08-22T19:30:00.001+10:00

me as a penguin - drawn by my daughter

2009-08-16T22:07:00.001+10:00

They walk among us

2009-08-12T19:19:00.000+10:00

'Millionaire' Contestant Makes Worst Use Of Lifelines Ever

NEW YORK - Idaho resident Kathy Evans brought humiliation to her friends and family Tuesday when she set a new standard for stupidity with her appearance on the popular TV show, 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.'

It seems that Evans, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two, got stuck on the first question, and proceeded to make what fans of the show are dubbing 'the absolute worst use of lifelines ever.' After being introduced to the show's host Meredith Vieira, Evans assured her that she was ready to play, whereupon she was posed with an extremely easy $100 question. The question was: 'Which of the following is the largest?'

A) A Peanut B) An Elephant C) The Moon D) Hey, who you calling large?

Immediately Mrs. Evans was struck with an all consuming panic as she realized that this was a question to which she did not readily know the answer. 'Hmm, oh boy, that's a toughie,' said Evans, as Vieira did her level best to hide her disbelief and disgust. 'I mean, I'm sure I've heard of some of these things before, but I have no idea how large they would be.' Evans made the decision to use the first of her three lifelines, the 50/50. Answers A and D were removed, leaving her to decide which was bigger, an elephant or the moon. However, faced with an incredibly easy question, Evans still remained unsure. 'Oh! It removed the two I was leaning towards!' exclaimed Evans. 'Darn. I think I better phone a friend.' Us ing the second of her two lifelines on the first question, Mrs. Evans asked to be connected with her friend Betsy, who is an office assistant. 'Hi Betsy! How are you? This is Kathy! I'm on TV!' said Evans, wasting the first seven seconds of her call. 'Ok, I got an important question. Which of the following is the largest? B, an elephant, or C, the moon. 15 seconds hun.' Betsy quickly replied that the answer was C, the moon. Evans proceeded to argue with her friend for the remaining ten seconds. 'Come on Betsy, are you sure?' said Evans. 'How sure are you? Duh, that can't be it.' To everyone's astonishment, the moronic Evans declined to take her friend's advice and pick 'The Moon.' 'I just don't know if I can trust Betsy. She's not all that bright. So I think I'd like to ask the audience,' said Evans. Asked to vote on the correct answer, the audience returned 98% in favor of answer C, 'The Moon.' Having used up all her lifelines, Evans then made the dumbest choice of her life. 'Wow, seems like everybody is against what I'm thinking,' said the too-stupid-to-live Evans. 'But you know, sometimes you just got to go with your gut. So, let's see. For which is larger, an elephant or the moon, I'm going to have to go with B, an elephant. Final answer.' Evans sat before the dumbfounded audience, the only one waiting with bated breath, and was told that she was wrong, and that the answer was in fact, C, 'The Moon.'

Caution...they walk among us! ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caution... They Walk Among Us!

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: 'Free to good home. You want it, you take it.' For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too un-trusting of this deal. It looked too good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: 'Fridge for sale $50.'

The next day someone stole it!

***They walk amongst us!***

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

*One day I was walking down the beach with some friends when someone shouted....'Look at that dead bird!' Someone looked up at the sky and said...'where?'

***They walk among us!!***

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

While looking at a house, my brother asked the estate agent which direction was north because, he explained, he didn't want the sun waking him up every morning. She asked, 'Does the sun rise in the north?' When my brother explained that the sun rises in the east, and has for sometime, she shook her head and said, 'Oh, I don't keep up with that stuff'

***They Walk Among Us!!***

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

My colleague and I were eating our lunch in our cafeteria, when we overheard one of the administrative assistants talking about the sunburn she got on her weekend drive to the beach. She drove down in a convertible, but 'didn't think she'd get sunburned because the car was moving'.

***They Walk Among Us!!!!***

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

My sister has a lifesaving tool in her car it's designed to cut through a seat belt if she gets trapped She keeps it in the trunk.

***They Walk Among Us!!!!!*** ------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was hanging out with a friend when we saw a woman with a nose ring attached to an earring by a chain. My friend said, 'Wouldn't the chain rip out every time she turned her head?' I had to explain that a person's nose and ear remain the same distance apart no matter which way the head is turned...

***They Walk Among Us!!!!!!! ***

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't find my luggage at the airport baggage area. So I went to the lost luggage office and told the woman there that my bags never showed up. She smiled and told me not to worry because she was a trained professional and I was in good hands. 'Now,' she asked me, 'Has your plane arrived yet?'... (I work with professionals like this.)

***They Walk Among Us!!!!!!!!***

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

While working at a pizza parlour I observed a man ordering a small pizza to go. He appeared to be alone and the cook asked him if he would like it cut into 4 pieces or 6. He thought about it for some time before responding. 'Just cut it into 4 pieces; I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat 6 pieces.

***Yep, They Walk Among Us, too.!!!!!!!!

can you see any seeds?

2009-08-04T22:10:00.002+10:00

hey!

2009-08-01T09:33:00.003+10:00

Reserve Bank charges

2009-07-07T23:17:00.002+10:00

Reserve Bank charges
Originally uploaded by tardis3

Thank you Reserve Bank - always looking out for the consumer

Mr Bean's Wedding

2009-06-21T11:53:00.000+10:00

The Internet as foreshadowed in 1969

2009-06-21T00:28:00.001+10:00

The Internet as imagined in 1969 (3.5 Mb)

Wise words

2009-06-10T19:59:00.000+10:00

What FlyBuys And Everyday Rewards Get You These Days

2009-06-04T22:11:00.002+10:00

What FlyBuys And Everyday Rewards Get You These Days

Trip to Rome

2009-05-30T21:26:00.002+10:00

A woman was at her hair dresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband. She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded: Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?
We're taking Continental, was the reply. We got a great rate! Continental? exclaimed the hairdresser. 'That's a terrible airline.
Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?
We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome 's Tiber River called Teste.'
Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it's gonna be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump, the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly, and they're overpriced. So, whatcha doing when you get there? We're going to go to see the Vatican and we hope to see the Pope.
That's rich, laughed the hairdresser. You, and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it.'

A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo.
The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome. It was wonderful,' explained the woman, 'not only were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes, but it was overbooked, and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot. And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!
'Well,' muttered the hairdresser, that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope. Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican , a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me.'
Oh, really! What'd he say?

He said: Where'd you get the shitty Hairdo?

Joel Fuhrman MD: Curing with the vegan diet

2009-05-27T23:02:00.000+10:00

The Black Hole

2009-05-24T19:44:00.000+10:00

Dr. Fuhrman on Studio 10 with Holley Sinn & Jerome Ritchey

2009-05-24T10:40:00.001+10:00

Eat For Health - Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

2009-05-23T13:18:00.001+10:00

In this video Dr. Fuhrman describes how you can Eat For Health and showcases some amazing real life stories of real people who restored their quality of life and obtained optimal health.

Featuring Becca who lost over 300 lbs, Paul who fully reversed a 100% blockage in one of his major coronary arteries, Jodi who put into remission her severe psoriasis, and Marty and Betty who have just started and lost a combined total of over 70 pounds in only 30 days!

Carolyn Scott and 'Rookie'

2009-05-23T00:39:00.000+10:00

RIP Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell

2009-05-15T17:14:00.000+10:00

Geek promotion

2009-05-12T08:27:00.001+10:00

Printfriendly

2009-05-10T22:16:00.001+10:00

a notebook with a difference

2009-05-05T21:53:00.001+10:00

Noteboek from Evelien Lohbeck on Vimeo.

Hollie Steel - Britains Got Talent 2009 - Audition

2009-04-29T22:25:00.001+10:00

Antwerp (Belgium) Central Railway Station

2009-04-13T18:30:00.002+10:00

Blueberries Reverse Certain Aging Characteristics

2009-03-31T23:16:00.002+11:00

Forget Viagra. Forget red wine. Anyone seeking to really feel young again should try blueberries, research on rats suggests. Old rats fed the equivalent of a cup of blueberries a day not only were more coordinated, but were smarter than other old rats. Researchers are now working to find out just what it is in blueberries that repairs the damage ageing does to the brain. In the meantime, they are eating blueberries themselves.

Researchers found that rats fed spinach and strawberries learned better than rats on a standard diet. Then they threw a blueberry extract into the diet. The rats who got the supplement not only learned faster than other rats, but their motor skills improved.

There were a lot of changes in neuronal communication ? the ability of one neuron to communicate with one another, but what struck the researchers was the ability to change motor behavior. There is virtually nothing out there that can change motor behavior in ageing. But the blueberries did.

The rats were 19 months old, they are the equivalent of 60 to 65 years of age and the researchers feed them for two months so they're up to 70-75. The blueberry fed rats did better on standard rat tests, like making them swim in a water maze, or find an underwater platform in murky water. But they also did better on tests involving a spinning rod or an inclined rod ? good tests of coordination.

Young rats six months old could stay on a rod an average of 14 seconds. Old rats fell off after six seconds, but the blueberry-supplemented old rats could stay on for 10. The blueberries did not make the rats young again, but did improve their skills considerably. When the rats' brains were examined, the brain cells of the rats that got the blueberries communicated better.

The researchers are doing tests to see what compounds in the blueberries are responsible for the effects. Other scientists have found that the components that give fruits and vegetables their color ? such as the lycopene that makes tomatoes red ? are associated with health-giving effects. One of things they might be doing is to protect against oxidative stress. Oxidation occurs all the time in the body and is cell damage created by charged particles known as free radicals. They also may reduce inflammation.

Fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, which range from the resveratrol found in red wine, the anthocyanins that make strawberries red and blueberries blue, and the vitamins A, C and E. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The rats ate supplements made from blueberry juice, but the researchers think the whole fruit may confer even more benefits. You can't overdose on blueberries.

Journal of Neuroscience September 1999

21 accents

2009-03-29T10:39:00.001+11:00

a compilation of close calls

2009-03-22T19:35:00.002+11:00

St Patricks Day joke

2009-03-20T07:11:00.001+11:00

Six retired Irishmen were playing poker in O'Leary's apartment when
Paddy Murphy loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest, and
drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen brother, the other five continue playing standing
up.

Michael O'Conner looks around and asks, "Oh, me boys, someone's got to tell
Paddy's wife. Who will it be?"

They draw straws. Paul Gallagher picks the short one. They tell him to be
discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse.

"Discreet??? I'm the most discreet Irishmen you'll ever meet. Discretion is
me middle name. Leave it to me."
Gallagher goes over to Murphy's house and knocks on the door. Mrs.
Murphy answers, and asks what he wants.

Gallagher declares, "Your husband just lost $500, and is afraid to come
home."

"Tell him to drop dead!", says Murphy's wife.

"I'll go tell him." says Gallagher.

Labor Government plans to filter the Internet

2009-01-27T18:56:00.002+11:00

Marysvale Station

2008-11-28T13:28:00.001+11:00

Marysvale Station
Originally uploaded by tardis3

Note the bullet hole in the middle of the sign

Preview of Lost season 5

2008-10-26T08:01:00.002+11:00

Oceanic Six members are on the warpath!

Deal or no Deal

2008-10-25T13:43:00.001+11:00

Free Online Games

Rainbow Valley

2008-07-24T17:02:00.002+10:00

97 kms from Alice Springs - what a lovely place to visit. I went there last weekend - just so picturesque.

Some information about it from the NT Government website ...

"The main features of the Rainbow Valley area are the scenic sandstone bluffs and cliffs. These free standing cliffs form part of the James Range, and are particularly attractive in the early morning and late afternoon when the rainbow-like rock bands are highlighted.

The coloured rock bands in the sandstone cliffs were caused by water. In earlier wetter times, the red iron of the sandstone layers was dissolved and drawn to the surface during the Dry Season. The red minerals formed a dark iron surface layer with the leached white layers below.

This dark red capping is hard and weathers slowly, whereas the softer white sandstone below weathers quickly into loose sand."

Playstation v Nintendo Wii

2008-07-05T15:57:00.001+10:00

Embedded Video

Mr Bean Apple iPod Touch ad

2008-07-05T15:55:00.001+10:00

Iphone v iPod touch

2008-07-05T15:51:00.001+10:00

Embedded Video

Great news for St Kilda Saints supporters

2008-06-01T14:25:00.001+10:00

September 30, 2037. Demetriou Dome, New Delhi, India.

The Saints finally won that elusive second premiership with a hard fought and thrilling 2 point win over the West Sydney Mortgage Defaulters, in front of 250,000 fans at the Demetriou Dome (Named in honour of the greatest and most influential person ever involved with the AFL) in New Delhi. The Saints overcame tough opposition, a hostile crowd and oppressive temperatures to become the first club to win a premiership after finishing the home and away rounds in 24th position. The Saints cleverly exploited the "Mark Williams Finals System" to clinch a berth in the play-off after just 18 preceding finals. The 24 teams in the 48 team competition that missed the finals are considering a protest.

Star of the triumph and winner of the Demetriou Statue (Named in honour of the greatest and most influential person ever involved with the AFL. It replaced the Norm Smith Medal in 2010), awarded for best afield, was none other than ageless St.Kilda champion, 65 year old midfielder, Robert Harvey.

At his usual relentless running best, Harvey, in his 1035th game for the Saints, accumulated 35 possessions and capped his performance by scoring 3 Demetrious (Replaced the goal in 2010 and named in honour of the greatest and most influential person ever involved with the AFL) in the second half, including the winner, just seconds before the final siren.

Victorious St.Kilda coach, Connor Harvey, was full of praise for his father's efforts. Connor, himself a fine player, although retired since 2032, described the old man as, a marvel, role model and mentor of the highest order. He could work on his defensive accountability a bit more, and he could kick a few more goals, but at his age I have to cut him some slack. What the hell, we finally got the chocolates. No one deserves this more than dad. Now his CV is complete at last. Two Brownlows, 2 Demetriou Medals (Replaced the Brownlow Medal in 2010 as
the award for the Fairest and Best player in the AFL. It is named in honour of the greatest and most influential person ever involved with the AFL), 6 club best and fairest, the last two won in his fifties, AFL MVP, Legend, Hall of Fame member and AFL lifetime achievement Award, The Anderson, named after the patron saint of interstate clubs, Adrian Anderson.

The typically humble Harvey was full of praise for his team mates, refusing to accept individual accolades. "The best part of today, and we had a bit of luck with the new grandfather/grandson rule brought in this year, was that I got to play in a premiership with my two grandsons, Grant and Thomas. They were superb, weren't they?" enthused the champ. Devoted wife Danielle stood beside her man, beaming with pride. "I couldn't be more proud of him. He's been a bit of a handful at the Rod Butterss maximum security home for the aged this year, but it's all
turned out all right in the end. They just can't control him. They've tried rotating tags of nurses, but he just grinds them into the dirt. He can't be stopped. At least now he can retire, as he's been promising to do for the last 35 years!"

St.Kilda President, Michael Rix, was on hand to accept the long awaited premiership cup, but somehow failed to take full possession of it,eventually fumbling and dropping it on the floor. "Another touchless outing, I'm afraid, " lamented the President.

Vice President of Australia, Corey Worthington, standing in for the President of the Australian Republic, Deborah Mailman, was on hand to present the Demetriou Statue to the humble saints hero. Worthington then mumbled something about the premiership celebrations were on back at his place and that he'd text all his mates to bring their friends and grog.

Meanwhile, Harvey thanked his sponsors, R & X Clarke Prosthetics, for extending his career. The company was founded by former St.Kilda players, Raphael and Xavier Clarke, who based their research and product development on their own continually shattering bodies. They became the largest makers of prosthetic devices in the world, with Harvey the face of the company.

Harvey's original heart is on display at the National Museum, in the Australian Capital, Noosa, next to that of Phar Lap. His artificial heart, the RX 5000, has delivered reliable and consistent performance after a rocky start. "Couldn't have done it without the new technology,"admitted Harvey. "The big ones this year though, were the titanium hips and knees. They'll last another 20 seasons."

At this point, Danielle Harvey collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably. When she challenged the great man about his promise to retire if the Saints finally landed a flag, her husband shot back, "We've got to try for back-to back flags, don't we?

You just know these are going to hurt

2008-05-11T11:39:00.001+10:00

Anzac Day 2008

2008-04-27T11:06:00.002+10:00

Melbourne Comedy Festival - in Alice Springs

2008-04-27T10:54:00.006+10:00

I went to see the Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow - here in Alice Springs last week. First time I've been - amazing to see it here. The theatre was booked out. There were 5 stand up comedians - and as expected some were funny and some were not. There was quite a lot of profanity and adult content thoughout the show.

number 19 - Eddie Betts

2008-04-16T15:30:00.008+10:00

As part of the NAB challenge there was an AFL game here in Alice Springs between Carlton & West Coast Eagles. Carlton lost however there was a reasonable crowd of supporters for both teams. I met this kid who was really proud of indigenous players - Eddie Betts in particular. So he had his face painted in recognition.

traveling along the West MacDonnell Ranges

2008-04-06T13:02:00.003+10:00

I was lucky enough to go for a drive along the West McDonnell ranges yesterday and visit some more of the most picturesque places I've seen. Glen Helen is located 133 km west of Alice Springs at the end of the sealed section of road known as Namatjira Drive. The drive was anything but boring. Scenic mountains at every turn together with mountains on both sides of the road for most of the way - with so many different colours and shapes.

And then I arrived at the Glen Helen Gorge. The information area says that the rocky slopes around the gorge are home to a colony of black-footed rock wallabies which sometimes appear in the late afternoon and early evening but I didn't see any. But it was interesting to read that Glen Helen is one of only six permanent waterholes on the Finke River. Glen Helen is known to local Aborigines as Yapalpe and the Finke River is Larapinta which means 'serpent'. It was a favourite meeting place for the Aboriginal people from the West and Central MacDonnell Ranges.

Only a short drive from Glen Helen was Ormiston Gorge which consists of the spectacular Pound and the narrow gorge which is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful gorges in Central Australia. The subject of a number of paintings by Albert Namatjira the gorge rises to over 300 metres at points and is characterised by the beautiful river red gums and rock wallabies which are in the park. I went for a walk through the middle of the Gorge and after a while came face to face with a wallaby - just staring at me! A little further on a I saw a Goanna lazing in the sun. The walk was interesting as it was mostly large rocks that I had to climb around to get through the Gorge - so picturesque.

I thought it amazing that among the rocks and mountains that trees still grow!

From here I went to the Ochre Pits - a natural ochre quarry mined by Aboriginal peoples for painting and decoration.

Pictures taken at the right moment

2008-03-24T19:50:00.002+11:00

Greetings from Alice Springs

2008-03-24T19:14:00.003+11:00

It's been over a month since I arrived here so I thought I'd relay a few things. Of course it has been quite warm every day but surprisingly not as hot as I thought it would be. I have put myself on a health kick - determined to walk for at least 30 - 60 minutes every day. It gets dark here between 7pm and 7.30pm so that's the best time to go walking. I keep to the well lit parts of town to be safe - there are stories of not so safe parts of town so I'm careful about that.

Walking throughout town is interesting - there are some obvious differences between Alice Springs and home. Aboriginal people congregate together in groups in parks, benches or even just on the sidewalk - wherever they happen to be. Sometimes in the shade - sometimes not. They sit around ... as if meditating. In town they stand around the streets - in groups. Sometimes they are involved in conversations with each other and sometimes they raise their voices - quite loud. Sometime I can detect profanity - but mostly I hear the aboriginal language which sounds very foreign - like a loud mumble. I haven't had any occasions when I have been fearful - although there have been times when I've been stopped asking for a smoke or money.

The most visited landmark in Alice Springs, ANZAC Hill shows a panoramic view of the town and surrounding MacDonnell Ranges - which is quite spectacular.

I've been out and about a bit ...

After my first week here I went to Kings Canyon and Ayers Rock - Uluru. WOW. This was a most amazing experience. A few guys from work hired a mini bus and planned the trip - which in hindsight was a bit too adventurous. We left Alice Springs at 5.00am and returned at 3.00am the next morning! That's a lot of traveling. People think that Ayers Rock is just next to Alice Springs ... it's not - it's a long long drive away. The scenery all the way was quite amazing and impressive, certainly not what I expected to see in the desert. Mountains galore, green areas and heaps of wildlife.

Our first stop along the way was to Roadhouse called "Jims Place" where I saw and heard a singing dingo! Some information about it is here and you can even hear it here!

Kings Canyon was picturesque and well worth the visit - we stopped there for lunch and a walk. Some magnificent pictures are here - as told by Jim - from Jims place.

Uluru is one of those places where we've all seen photos and knew what to expect. I think what impressed me the most was, after driving all day, to get a first glimpse in the distance - then as the road turns getting closer and closer, realising that this rock is absolutely huge. And it's not just its size - there are parts of the rock that are signposted as sacred and no photos are allowed - and seeing the rock from these angles was unique. Getting up close and going for a walk along the base of the rock to see some drawings and caves was also worth the visit. I would have liked to walk all around the rock - around 9km however it was late in the day and we had to allow for our return journey. I saw a few plaques on part of the rock as a memorial for some who had died attempting to climb Uluru - The local Aṉangu do not climb Uluru because of its great spiritual significance. They request that visitors not climb the rock, partly due to the path crossing a sacred traditional Dreamtime track, and also due to a sense of responsibility for the safety of visitors to their land. The Aṉangu believe they have a spiritual connection to Uluru, and feel great sadness when a person dies or is injured whilst climbing.

The long journey back to Alice Springs was difficult. At night the wildlife come out and like to sit on or near the road (there are no fences) so missing them can be difficult - especially when you're driving at 140km or so. Northern Territory driving safety advises not to swerve to avoid animals, especially when driving at high speeds however with so many emotional people on the bus ... we found ourselves frequently slowing down and speeding up. We also designated a spotter in the front of the bus to get an early warning if animals were near. We didn't hit any animals.

We arrived at Erldunda at around 1.00am - out of petrol, only to find that they were closed! So we take out the mobile phone ... no signal! Look for doorbells or a contact ... nothing! We see a phone box ... out of order! Another phone box ... no phone directory! We rang directory assistance and got put through ... we can hear the phone ringing! and after 30 minutes of feeling stranded they opened up the petrol bowser for us - phew.

I've also been to a few other scenic places here - usually on the weekend.

The Alice Springs Desert Park presents and interprets the Australian desert environment and its inhabitants, and contributes to the conservation of Australia's desert flora and fauna. The Park site is of significant cultural importance to the local Arrernte people and includes parts of the Akngwelye Artnwere and Yeperenye Altyerre (Wild Dog and Caterpillar dreaming stories). Hence the Desert Park provides a sensitive and realistic insight into Aboriginal culture by display and interpretation of the traditional use of plants and animals and with regular liaison with local indigenous groups. This ongoing process has resulted in the Traditional Custodians of the Park site experiencing a strong sense of pride and ownership in the attraction. One of the attractions I saw there were feeding of birds (by the ranger) where I saw and different species of birds including eagles and owls - and then even saw a dingo.

I visited the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct which included the Araluen Arts Centre, incorporating the Albert Namatjira Gallery, Central Australian Aviation Museum and the Alice Springs Memorial Cemetery. Needless to say that the paintings by Albert were great - I guess I'm more of a fan of landscapes than dreamtime interpretations.

As part of my work I went for a trip to Yuendumu - a remote aboriginal town 293kms from Alice Springs. After driving for 2 hours, not seeing another car on the road, we came to a roadhouse called Tilmouth Well. There were no cars there, and I'm told it's always quiet, however I was amazed to see them ready to serve me when we arrived. I noted the price of unleaded petrol was $1.90 per litre.

Arriving at Yuendumu gives the impression of a small, run down town. Most houses were "kit home" style and looked poor. I don't mean any disrespect - but the town was dirty - and looked like a tip. In fact right inside the town was a fenced off area with rubbish strewn all over. There was also about 50 derelict and demolished cars next to it. In a huge contrast I found out that the town is powered by solar energy - one of 3 remote aboriginal towns to get these massive solar dishes installed - at a cost of $7,000,000. The project won a prestigious Engineering Excellence
award in 2005. I took some photos of the dishes after asking permission - the land where the solar dishes are located is sacred aboriginal land where women are not allowed - it's used for mens initiations. Such a contrast with a derelict town and cutting edge solar technology.

My Jaxtr

2008-02-03T12:38:00.001+11:00

Get jaxtr | Login

Eating meat and being healthy

2007-10-20T22:00:00.001+10:00

I'm confused

Growing up I always believed that the best diet consisted of meat and 3 veges. Sometimes we might have fish, sometimes chicken - but usually red meat.

Last year, after hearing the publicity surrounding the CSIRO Wellbeing Diet book, I thought this confirmed my belief that red meat was good for - the book recommends lean red meat four times per week, fish twice per week and chicken once per week. I've been following the CSIRO diet believing that, not only will I be able to manage my weight, but also be healthy which is of course my primary interest. The CSIRO was criticized for having too much red meat in the diet however stood by the book and red meat quota.

I was very surprised when I read an article/transcript on the ABC Health website at http://www.abc.net.au/health/healthyliving/stories/2007/10/02/1899699.htm

In particular when I read "Vegetarians are generally a healthy bunch. Compared to meat eaters, they have less heart disease and cancer, lower blood pressure and they're slimmer"

I found this amazing as it is contrary to everything I have heard - in fact I always thought that vegetarians were unhealthy - and needed to supplement their diet with meat substitutes to keep up with meat eaters. But this article not only says they are healthier that meat eaters but they have less disease and cancer!

Another quote from the article "What's more, red meat which includes pork but not chicken has been linked to a slightly higher risk of some cancers. And for processed meats like sausages along with bacon, ham and salami the cancer link is stronger ... What's not known is whether there's something in red meat that causes cancer or whether eating meat means there's less room in your diet for other foods that might help prevent cancer. It might be a bit of both."

This piqued my interest so further google searching found this article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4662934.stm which in part says "regular meat eaters are significantly more likely to develop bowel cancer", http://www.cancercouncil.com.au/editorial.asp?pageid=1861 says that "diets high in red meat are associated with a slight increase in risk of bowel cancer", http://www.goveg.com/cancer.asp says that "Vegetarians are about 40 percent less likely to get cancer than nonvegetarians, regardless of other risks such as smoking, body size, and socioeconomic status."

Even more worrying is this entry in Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_meat#Cancer

"Recent studies indicate that red meat could pose a notable increase in cancer risk. Some studies have linked consumption of large amounts of red meat with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lymphoma, bladder cancer and prostate cancer. Professor Sheila Bingham of the Dunn Human Nutrition Unit attributes this to the haemoglobin and myoglobin molecules which are found in red meat. She suggests these molecules, when ingested trigger a process called nitrosation in the gut which leads to the formation of carcinogens. Overall, the relative risk of developing a fatal cancer in non meat-eaters is 0.91 compared to people who eat red meat regularly.

Eating cooked red meat may increase the likelihood of cancer because carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines are created during the cooking process. Heterocyclic amines may not explain why red meat is more harmful than other meat, however, as these compounds are also found in poultry and fish, which have not been linked to an increased cancer risk."

What's also amazing is that many foundations are saying that as these theories are still just theories then restricting meat to smaller serves and no more than 3 - 4 serves per week is OK .... This sounds like spin doctoring to me - maybe catering to the meat industry?

I'm confused

Programs I use

2007-09-02T12:59:00.000+10:00

Wakoopa, recommended by Leo Laporte, is a small monitor of the programs I use. Looks pretty cool.

Fees to use a credit card

2007-08-12T11:21:00.000+10:00

I sent this email to the Reserve bank and to Asic - but I doubt I will get a satisfactory reply.

Subject: Consumer complaint

I think it is abhorrent that the Reserve Bank agreed in 2003 to allow companies to charge a fee for using a credit card.

The reserve bank has a responsibility (according to your website) to "promote the safety and efficiency of the payments system" however by allowing merchants to charge a fee for using a credit card you are in fact discouraging the use of a payments system. Credit card payments are such a convenience for many consumers - a payment system that the Reserve Bank approved to be introduced for all Australians in 1972.

Now you are catering to the merchants with no regard to the consumer. When you introduced this policy in 2003 the media spin you promoted was "There is no requirement for such a fee to be charged and it is expected that many merchants will not charge one." Now just a few years later more and more merchants are realising how easy it is to increase their profits by enforcing this fee onto consumers - which was always going to happen.

Sure consumers have a choice and can vote with their feet by not using a credit card. After 30 years of credit card use, without fees, now it's the consumers who have to change. Most consumers will realise that they don't really have a choice and must pay the credit card fee - in the same way that they are forced to pay bank fees. If you have used a credit card for several years it is a way of life that is difficult to change. There are loyalty reward schemes that are tied in with credit cards - years of credit card loyalty will be lost if you stop using the card.

Shame on you Reserve Bank - thanks a lot - obviously you don't have the consumer in mind.

a new PDA

2007-06-18T21:05:00.000+10:00

I had previously chosen the Palm brand as I thought that they were the standard.

So, a week ago my Palm Tungsten C died. I did a hard & soft reset, sync'd, recharged and pushed every button - it's dead. At one point there was a glimmer of hope when it displayed the Tungsten logo - but then it wouldn't move on from that - it's dead.

So following my law that when something breaks and you replace it - you buy something better than what you had - to take away the pain of the broken item. So, this train of thought led me to decide whether I would buy another Palm or something else. I thought about the Palm Treo 680 and Treo 750 however I have now realised that having a mini keyboard on a pda is not really important - it's better to have a larger screen. I thought about the Palm Tungsten TX - which looks really nice - but it's only a pda, and I think I should get an all in one device.

From the reviews and web sites I looked at I resolved that the O2 Atom is the way to go. There are some negatives but I figure most reviews were positive. I remember there was a guy from work who had an O2 when they first came out and he really liked it. I remember a mate telling me that there was a plethora of software available for the Windows Mobile system operating system so that shouldn't be a problem.

So, my research revealed that the O2 Atom Xda pda looks nice. They are selling in Dick Smith Electronics for $1099. I started watching them in eBay finding that they were selling for around $430 - $500. I was lucky enough to get one today for $365.00 It doesn't have a stylus so I have bought one separately for $7.00

Can't wait for it to arrive - I'm expecting it will do everything the Palm does and more. Did I make the right choice? What software do you recommend? Have you heard of this brand/model? What are your thoughts?

redownloading from iTunes

2006-11-22T20:41:00.000+11:00

I found this on another web site - but have pasted it here as I know I will want to refer to it later.

For some unknown reason, I lost a few episodes of a podcast, so iTunes showed them with an exclamation mark and no obvious way to re-download them. Searching the web for a way to make iTunes to re-download them came up with lots of comments about having to unsubscribe and resubscribe. I didn't want to do that, because I still had a bunch of episodes that I wanted to keep, and I didn't want to have to download those again.

After playing with iTunes a bit, I found a pretty simple way to do it. First I clicked the triangle to expand the podcast series and then deleted the missing episodes (the ones with the exclmation) by selecting them and hitting the backspace key. After that, I collapsed the podcast series by clicking the triangle, and then expanded it again while holding the option key (I think it would be shift on Windows), causing iTunes to update the podcast and add back in the episodes I just deleted.

The re-added episodes had the 'Get' buttons again, allowing them to be re-downloaded.

Myth TV

2006-11-12T20:30:00.000+11:00

I'm thinking of building a PVR for my lounge. Some options are Mythtv and Windows Media Centre - however it seems they may both be limited by input hardware and program listings for Australia.

It's my next project.

I've done it

2006-09-20T09:28:00.000+10:00

I've done it! After months of searching and searching the internet I managed to sucessfully install OSX on a PC. It loads well and is easy to navigate.

Sadly there is no sound and the network connection wont work. But at leat I can have a play with it. At first glance it looks just like Windows - except for different icons and wording of programs.

I will continue to check it out.

Getting closer

2006-07-23T18:01:00.000+10:00

The experiment continues - I'm sure that it will be possible to install OSX somehow.

Reading through several discussion threads there have been quite a few successes proving that it can be done.

I was amazed at a video podcast called HAK.5 where they did it - in episode 2 (they're now up to episode 10). Sadly the tutorial was brief.

Another amazing resource is at http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page where they have heaps of installation guides.

Is it possible

2006-04-02T16:26:00.000+10:00

I s it possible to install OSX on a PC?

There seems to be some information on the NET with emulators that may work.

I have found

http://www.emulators.com/

http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/

http://www.softpear.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://basilisk.cebix.net/

but there may be more

I wish had someone who could help me try out these flavours of emulators

Playing with my Palm

2006-03-12T12:52:00.000+11:00

Some time ago a mate suggested that he wanted to buy a Palm PDA. I had never considered these devices before so I was most interested when he bought a Palm 505 and showed me what he could do with it. My first thoughts were that it was simply a glorified calender & address book - but then I learned there was much more to it. He listens to MP3's with it. He reads book on it. He reads the newspaper on it. He checks movie session times on it. He watches movies & TV shows on it. And it's fun to use!

So I took the plunge a year ago and bought a Palm Tungsten C.

I chose this one because my mate told me that Palm was the standard when it came to a PDA. They invented it and although there were many clones - you couldn't beat a Palm. He felt that the Palm operating system was easier to use and a more stable platform. Also, at the time, this was the only palm that had a keyboard built in and supported wi fi. As my home has wi fi I thought this better than the other models that only had bluetooth.

I really like the Palm I bought. I like the simplicity of the menu, read books and newspapers wherever I am, and am more organised than I ever was with the calender and address book. Reading books is fantastic! It doesn't matter where I am I can take the Palm out and read. Reading paper books relies on having enough light however the Palm is backlit so darker rooms are better.

A simple program that comes with the Palm is Notepad - where I can use the stylus to quickly and simply write whatever I want. So handy when I happen to be somewhere and I don't have a pen and paper nearby - and I just want to note something down.

Like many people I also have a mobile phone with a camera in it. Finding it cumbersome to carry both the phone and Palm everywhere I thought ... if only I could get a phone camera Palm all in one! At that time I saw that Palm were selling the Treo 600 and were about to update it to the Treo 650. Just what I need I thought.

Initial prices for the Treo 650 were $1200 so I waited until they reduced a bit - I eventually bought one from eBay for $665. So exciting. I powered up the Treo, synch'd it with Windows (and upgraded the software), inserted my sim card, took a couple of photos.

After using the treo for a couple of weeks I found:

on a daily basis the Treo would restart itself. At first I thought I had pushed the wrong button but it occurred too often for that. Checking the Palm Treo website revealed that this can occur when there are applications installed that are not fully compatible with the Palm Treo. Having installed all the applications I had on the Palm Tungsten C this told me that the Palm Treo was limited by compatibility issues - something I had assumed would not be the case as I was migrating from Palm to Palm.

I sold the Treo and have now resumed using the Tungsten C. The only sad thing being that the Palm sync software was changed for the Treo and now doesn't work properly with the Tungsten C.

Oh well - maybe it's time for another rebuild?

Playing with computer bits

2006-02-19T13:49:00.000+11:00

So

I thought I would get some of the PC parts in the garage together and see what works and what doesn't.

I have a test PC which I had previously built. AMD 1600+ on a gigabyte motherboard with 260mb SD RAM. I have tested the ram using memtest and found no errors.

So, I put it together with a spare 8 gig Seagate hard drive and a spare Liteon CDRW. BIOS recognizes all the parts so I start installing XP. At the file copying stage I get an error that it couldn't copy a file! I keep pressing enter but it will not go past this point. So ...

I replaced Liteon CDRW for a Sony CDR - same problem

I replaced the Sony CDR for a Ricoh CDRW - same problem

Replaced cable to CD - same problem

Tried different installation CD - same problem

Reset BIOS to default safe settings - same problem

Replaced Seagate hard drive with a Fujitsu 4.3 gig hard drive - same problem

How annoying is this?