Blog
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GetUp buys ad space on the AFL Grand Final
Australia has four popular "football" codes, most of which involve more hand than feet, but the most popular nationally is Aussie Rules. It's a very strange game for anyone who hasn't seen it before,…
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Raise the bar
NSW has retarded liquor licensing laws. You can drink all day and all night in venues that don't serve food, but you can't order a glass of wine to drink with your meal in most restaurants. Contrast w…
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Lunch at the Googleplex
/> Ben invited me over to have lunch with him at the Google Sydney offices today. Nice place to work it would seem: stunning water views, make-your-own pizzas, free food and drink, a day a week to wor…
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Need cheesy, upbeat techno
I've started going to the gym to get me fit enough for this bike race I'm doing in a few weeks. My music is all a bit cerebral. I used to listen almost exclusively to techno, but these days I only rea…
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Anonymous policing
Surprise surprise, coppers taking their identification badges off during the APEC summit won't be punished. Supposedly they'll have velcro name tags in future. I'll believe that when I see it! The sam…
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What's with the RAR compression on torrents?
Why is it that some torrents of video files come as mutiple RAR archives? I just don't get why they force us through the extra step. For example, I just got the latest episode of The IT Crowd (the sec…
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Puy Lentils
I've been hunting for decent lentils since returning to Australia. In London I used to buy the lovely Puy Lentils (lentilles vertes du Puy) which are amazing green lentils. The key is that, unlike oth…
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How not to respond to negative claims online
Some obscure accounting software company called 2Clix is suing Whirlpool for comments made in its forums. I suspect their problem is that a search for 2Clix gets lots of threads Statement of Claim, I'…
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How not to respond to negative claims online
Some obscure accounting software company called 2Clix is suing Whirlpool for comments made in its forums. I suspect their problem is that a search for 2Clix gets lots of threads Statement of Claim, I'…
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Ad blocking is a moral issue now?
There's recently been a bit of talk about Firefox and Adblock Plus, with wild claims about it being immoral to block ads. For those of you who haven't worked it out, the web doesn't have to be a place…
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Opel contract a sign of impending election writs?
Senator Coonan spent the weekend signing contracts with the Opel consortium for rural broadband. This despite pending legal action, and no real need for hurry. Could the haste be a sign there's an ele…
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Cops removing badges
News that cops removed their name tags at the APEC protests should come as no surprise. This tactic has been around since the Vietnam War protests, allowing the coppers to get away with beating hell o…
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Because I said so
Lawyer for the police says "a full-scale riot was probable because in a crowd a mob mentality easily takes over." I couldn't agree more, and considering there will be more coppers than protesters, we…
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Birmo: Sydney is an insufferable ho
Has the time come to bitchslap this vacuous, self obssessed ditz of a city and say, "Grow up, princess. It's not all about you." Birmo hits the mark, as usual.
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1-bit browsing
Hunting through Google Analytics, one of the stats reported is screen colours. It seems there's been a number of hits using 1-bit browsers. That must be a pretty poor experience. The two hits with a 5…
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So that's what all the noise was
So all that noise last night wasn't a trial run of the motorcades for next week's visit by monkey man. This would've been just up the road, and we had the windows open last night, so that would explai…
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Prices for bespoke products
Holly and I were talking about various things we'd like to buy for our new house and the usual grumbles about Australian web sites came up. Searching for things like fitted wardrobes or kitchens bring…
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Rip off Australian booksellers
What planet do these people live on with book prices in this country? Why certainly I'll buy William Gibson's new book from Angus & Robertson for $44.95 + postage when it's available from the US from…
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Black Sheep
We just got back from seeing this great film. In the great Kiwi splatter tradition that brought us Derek (Dereks don't run), it's a zombie flick. With sheep. There's even a lawnmower homage. And Weta…
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Lunar eclipse
Holly and I went up to Sydney Park to watch the total lunar eclipse. Pretty amazing sight, even in the middle of a very light polluted city! Loads more photos.