Posts from 2011
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Australia’s total land value to GDP
via thedepression.org.au Rather scary graph showing how overvalued Australian property is.
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VADER, COME ON, MAN. IT’S 1999. GOTH IS SO PLAYED OUT....
VADER, COME ON, MAN. IT’S 1999. GOTH IS SO PLAYED OUT. IT’S ALL ABOUT RAVES NOW. YOU WANT TO GO TO A CLUB AND LISTEN TO HORRIBLE GLOOMY DANCE MUSIC, WHICH IS AN OXYMORON BY THE WAY, THEN STAND AROUND…
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Ruby Rumble: photos
Ruby Rumble was born at 15:14 yesterday on 2nd November 2011. At arrival she weighed 2625g and was 45cm long. She arrived all in a rush in the end, popping out so fast the midwife had to quite literal…
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The lie at the heart of the gambling "debate"
via smh.com.au Cathy Wilcox hits the nail on the head. Any societal good that clubs bring by spending some of the money they make from problem gambling is more than outweighed by the societal damage o…
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The joke that writes itself
Marrickville, where the coppers are the best in the business... (via FionaKatsauskas)
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All set for the new addition
Time for a bit of an update I suppose. Our second child, a girl, is officially due towards the end of Nov ember. Holly's been in and out of hospital the last few weeks with high blood pressure, much l…
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Shakshuka
I first ate shakshuka the morning after an outdoor rave near Sydney, cooked by a bunch of Israeli psy-trance types. It was the perfect refuel after a night dancing under the stars. Tomato, onion, egg…
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Classy one Liquorland
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Tea party protest signs, translated
http://fuckyeahdementia.com/post/11183343829/tea-party
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Playground
Playing at Victoria Park.
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Mandatory existing commitment technology
via kudelka.com.au Harsh but reasonable
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Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ as a children’s book
via howtobearetronaut.com Awesome! From illustrator Andrew Kolb Download SpaceOddity_AndrewKolb.pdf.
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Sunset
Sunset from Melbourne to Sydney flight. Looking forward to being home after a quick day trip to Melb.
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Bang the garbage
Louis teaches our garbage bin a lesson, then cackles at his own actions a few minutes later. [video width="500" height="282" mp4="https://media.contractorpermie.com/blog/764015/Louis_Bang_the_Garbage.…
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The pig is on
[video width="500" height="300" mp4="https://media.contractorpermie.com/blog/764053/VIDEO0051.mp4"][/video] Download VIDEO0051.3gp Xmas in July's main attraction is enspittened and cooking. Yum!
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What would Jesus Text?
via passiveaggressivenotes.com
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Busy day
Busy day yesterday. Swimming, haircuts, lunch at Emma and Stu's, and finally watching a Newtown Jets match so Louis could have some time outdoors during a break in the weather. Nice, but exhausting. […
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Damn You Auto Correct!
via damnyouautocorrect.com Kinda pleased I don't have an iPhone from some of these. Tears rolling down cheeks funny.
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Getting older isn't all bad
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Return of Zombie Jesus
via forums.explosm.net
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Some upcoming gigs in Sydney
Some really interesting gigs coming up in Sydney. Who's in? Russian Circles Russian Circles are kind of The Necks with metal instrumentation. Cinematic metal? I think they're fucking awesome. Playing…
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“Toto’s ‘Africa’” by Ernest Hemingway.
“Hurry, boy. It’s waiting there for you,” the old man had said. via mcsweeneys.net
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The Official Organ of the NSW Liberal Party
Business leaders demand say in running Sydney Businesses are fed up... Lord Mayor Clover Moore / Pic: Ella Pellegrini. Source: The Daily Telegraph via dailytelegraph.com.au Limited News abandons all p…
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Swedish Village People? 1970s Svenska Dansband
via howtobearetronaut.com
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Top Hottest 100 Australian albums of all time
Just put my votes into Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian albums of all time. I just hope Farnsey and Barnesy don't make the top 10! Here's my top 10, not in any order: INXS - Kick Itch-E & Scratch-E -…
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Very soothing, for mother and baby
Mrs Winslow’s Soothing Syrup (above) contained 65 mg of morphine per fluid ounce. via howtobearetronaut.com I'm sure it worked a treat! Less sure about Asthma Cigarettes.
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Changing jobs
I'm leaving Telstra Media this Friday for an exciting new job. I'm going to be Head of Data at Datalicious, a company doing cool stuff at the intersection of web analytics, big data and marketing. I'm…
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Dear car sites: we're not all rev heads
Holly and I are discussing getting a bigger car. With another kid on the way, two child seats in the back of a Yaris is going to be very crowded. I need the seat all the way back to drive, and a car s…
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The Cure
An amazing gig in an amazing venue. The Cure playing their first three albums at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Brilliant. Over three hours of brilliance. After missing out on tickets when they…
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Red wellies!
Splashing around in the rain tonight in his bright red wellies.
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Withnail & O
via youtube.com Genius
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Google, you're starting to give me the shits
I've been a fan of the Google keiretsu for a long time. Adwords is a brilliant piece of technology, and a brilliant piece of business: it works so well because everyone wins. More recently, they've st…
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Apple's brilliant piece of price discrimination segmentation
I was reading this article from the Grauniad thinking the usual. Whiny Apple fanboi whinges about his beloved screwing him like a pooch. So far so ordinary. (The flippant 9 year old daughter buying he…
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Shall we swap Fergies?
This dream is what the Pilgrims sought when they landed on Plymouth Rock, why Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, and why the pioneers colonised the lawless West (don't quote me on any of that – our pub…
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Meat overdose @ Momofuku Ssam Bar Title
via eatshowandtell.com Ever since reading about David Chang and his restaurants, I've been keen to visit. The cookbook is excellent, if a little daunting. Here's some vicarious food porn.
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ALP finally ready to turn the guns on News Limited?
Mike Quigley is no more responsible for the corruption at Alcatel than John Hartigan was for the corruption at the Melbourne Storm. via abc.net.au A tip in Crikey pointed out this quote from AM this m…
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Should I run Cat 6?
Wow, three times in the last few days I've been asked by people whether it's a good idea to run Cat 6 ethernet in their homes. The answer is, emphatically, yes! Us lucky people in Australia are going…
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Linux, implemented in JavaScript
JavaScript is just a buggy toy language right? Wrong! (Though having the same operator for addition and concatenation is still idiotic.) It's amazing how far JavaScript, and particularly the implement…
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Pork with apple and cider gravy
Last night we had Matt & Maz around for dinner, a lovely roasted piece of pork shoulder from Urban Food Market, served with roast potatoes, onions and turnips. For a sauce to accompany the pork I'd st…
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Ultrasound
As promised, here's the ultrasound of baby #2. As of last Friday the baby was about six centimetres long. More pics on my Smugmug.
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If fonts were dogs
via fuckyeahdementia.com
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Reading Crikey on the Kindle @hmoffatt
A commenter, Hamish Moffatt, on my post about my first impressions with the Kindle has asked if I've solved the reading Crikey problem. The problem is how to read the daily Crikey newsletter on the Ki…
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We're having another baby!
I'm very pleased to announce that Holly is about 12 weeks pregnant and we're due to have another baby in late November. Everything's going well so far and I'll have some ultrasounds to post shortly. W…
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Existential Star Wars
via howtobearetronaut.com Star Wars makes a whole lot more sense this way...
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Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exce…
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Web analytics blog name change
Wow, that idea for a name of a web analytics blog was truly awful. Agonising analytics. What was I thinking? So now I have a much better name, which better reflects what it's all about. Here's the blu…
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MONA
Hobart is lucky to have the amazing Museum of Old and New Art. The collection is incredible and the building spectacular. Well worth a visit! [video width="500" height="300" mp4="https://media.contrac…
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Easter eggs!
First Easter egg. Yummy!
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Disappointing experience with retrofit soft closers
I was quite excited when I found this inexpensive approach to creating soft close drawers and cupboard doors. They're a pretty simple concept: a little damper piston that you stick wherever possible t…
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Chicken dance with Grandma and DadDad
My parents are travelling around the country in their caravan so I got them set up with wireless broadband (Telstra, since then it'll actually work, even outside the cities) so they can stay in touch…
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Jesus at my shoulder
via fuckyeahdementia.com Only a deity would have the patience... Though there'd always be the temptation to smite her.
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Web analytics blog
I decided to create a separate blog specifically dealing with web analytics. I often come up with cool little hacks, or interesting approaches, during the course of my work and they're likely to be of…
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Mirragong wagyu meatup
Sensational 7 course degustation at Cotton Duck in Surry Hills. I'm stuffed. Time for bed.
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Recent reading: gambling politics, nose to tail, non-rail public transport and the Chernobyl death toll
I've been using Instapaper to push longer articles to my Kindle for later reading. The tool isn't without some significant limitations but it works well enough for me. It's great to no longer skip rea…
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On quacks and bogus "food intolerance" tests
Our doctor's surgery has been good to us, with a thorough GP who seems competent. I'd always been wary of the practice owner though, as she prescribes so-called Traditional Chinese Medicine (which is…
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Taronga Zoo
We took Louis to the zoo for his first visit on the weekend with his grandparents and cousin Abigail. We all had a fantastic time, and Louis now has a few more animals he can recognise and whose noise…
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The slow descent into madness of an SEO copywriter
You know what this office needs? A pit of eternal despair. Yeah. Every time someone microwaves something with garlic in it, they should be seized and thrown into a black abyss of pain and darkness and…
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Inconceivable!
via fuckyeahdementia.com
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Disturbing...
via fuckyeahdementia.com Really quite disturbing...
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Blot unveils the new "I'm not racist, but..."
I am very uneasy about laws limiting free speech. via blogs.news.com.au This is the man fighting a court battle about free speech, aiming to protect his right to vilify Aboriginal people who aren't Ab…
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Fishing, Jinja Safari and Cloud Control gig
Last night Holly and I had a grandmother looking after Louis and tickets to a gig. Date night! Lots of fun was had. First, dinner at Arisun, the latest stop on our quest for the best Korean Fried Chic…
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What does the Marrickville Council boycott of Israel resolution actually say?
I've been having a bit of a twitter debate with my mate Josh about Marrickville Council's Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolution, when I realised I hadn't read the actual text of th…
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Dear "Web Producers"
If you're going to call yourself a "web producer", surely you could take the time to learn a little about the field in which you work? I would expect a "TV producer" to know the difference between 16:…
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Round and round
Louis has discovered spinning. [video width="500" height="300" mp4="https://media.contractorpermie.com/blog/764245/VIDEO0014.mp4"][/video] Download VIDEO0014.3gp [video width="500" height="300" mp4="h…
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Japan is incredibly well-equipped for disaster
For your reference, as approximately the lowest person on the org chart for Ogaki City (it’s in Gifu, which is fairly close to Nagoya, which is 200 miles from Tokyo, which is 200 miles from Miyagi, wh…
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Google's jobs page looks terrible in Chrome
Hilarious.
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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's deep-fried delights recipes
Forget the health police for once and tuck into Hugh's yummy churros. Hot chocolate essential... Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian via guardian.co.uk Phwoar! Hugh looks at the joys of deep f…
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Busy weekend
We had a very busy weekend. Saturday Linn, Sean, Cam and I put up plasterboard in the shoffice (shed/office). Lots of hard graft all day and much much appreciation for my helpers who slogged long and…
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Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
via fuckyeahdementia.com Well it made me laugh anyway...
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Just reporting the news at The Australian
Follow up question (from The Australian journalist): "So you'd like people to pay more for petrol and diesel, Senator?" Christine: "My view is it would be fantastic to have really good public transpor…
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Nice day at the water park
We spent today catching up with Julie and Finn who are in town from San Fran, along with Rachel, Matt, Maz and Jameson. Loads of fun.
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Serious barbecue
The Serious Eats Barbecue Style Guide Posted by James Boo, February 24, 2011 at 4:15 PM via seriouseats.com This slideshow of amazing barbecue is very inspiring. I'd love to do a road trip through the…
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Lovely beach afternoon
Afternoon catching up with Nick, Linda & Lucas near Coogee.
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How Netflix is Destroying Blockbuster
via slashfilm.com Then check out the jobs they're advertising. They have a whole "Data Science and Engineering" group. http://www.netflix.com/Jobs?id=7622
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Needs more wub wub wub
via toothpastefordinner.com
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Tips for running online training
I've been running weekly training sessions for a few months now. Our aim is to get people up to speed in the web analytics tool we use (Omniture SiteCatalyst) and enable our colleagues to find the dat…
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Strong superstitions remain
Christian missions and the government have tried to end the belief in sorcery, but strong superstitions remain. via smh.com.au Erm...
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Shed progress, and networking disaster
Insulation Over the weekend I started insulating the shed. It's tough work because every joist width on the shed is different, seemingly for no good reason. That means every batt has to be cut. I boug…
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Yay for babysitters 2
Two gigs in one week! At Opera House for Blonde Redhead. Support were ghastly. Enjoying the view before main act. To be honest, the gig was a bit disappointing. I shouldn't be too surprised given the…
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Yay for babysitters
We got to have an adult night out thanks to Grandma. Dinner at Spice Temple then Holy Fuck at Sydney Festival's Becks Festival Bar. Spice Temple was fantastic. The only baseball bat in the arsenal see…
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You wouldn't be politicizing the floods would you Tony?
As Julia Gillard warned tough budget choices lay ahead, the Opposition Leader said the $36 billion network was an “expensive luxury that Australia cannot afford”. “The one thing you don't do is re-do…
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Wanted: Tightly compressed, sunny music for my cycle commute
I love listening to music and I love cycling into work. Not having a death wish, I don't ride along with headphones, oblivious to my surroundings. So I've rigged up a set of stereo Bluetooth speakers…
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Dude: Legacy
via fuckyeahdementia.com A sequel I'd love to see!
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Rolling news is a scourge
Rolling news has always pissed me off. When nothing big is happening and you just want a summary of the day's stories, they're running some long-form programming that's not news. When something big is…
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Things Real People Don't Say About Advertising
via tpdsaa.tumblr.com Brilliant!
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Beauty in the noise
"When I pulled up that first chart, we saw 'the knife,' we said, that's certainly algorithmic and that is weird. We continued to refine our software, honing the algorithms we use to find this stuff,"…
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Not really an appropriate advert Google
Search for kids' TV programme Yo Gabba Gabba (apparently there's live shows at Westfield), I got this, somewhat inappropriate ad. Whoops. Now I'm willing to concede that Muno looks like a giant gnobbl…
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Anyone work for the ATO?
It'd be a real shame if details of Gerry Harvey and Harvey Norman's tax arrangements leaked out. Terrible really. Apparently it's unAustralian to shop online because you avoid paying tax and [cough] l…
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Adobe's Omniture license agreements getting ridiculous
Some time ago I was invited to Adobe Omniture's Client Advisory Board to have some input into the next iteration of the Adobe's Omniture products. They sent me through an agreement to sign before I co…
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Dear Australian Retailers
Your recent campaign to get GST levied on all Internet transactions has some rather major logical flaws. 1. Your prices are much more than 10% higher than overseas prices. It's interesting that Angus…
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Alexis Petridis' perfect New Year's Eve playlist
Chime Orbital Useful because a) it's great b) has vaguely Big Ben-ish bells on it, but also because playing it marks the inexorable passing of time: watch ex-ravers of a certain age "have it large" be…
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Peats Ridge Festival 2010
Holly and I took Louis to his first outdoor music festival, and his first time camping over New Year. Peats Ridge Festival is held to the North of Sydney in a valley near the Hawkesbury River and bill…