Blog
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How to get your stuff repaired when the retailer and manufacturer don't wanna: take 'em to court
A few weeks ago I was roasting some pumpkin for a delicious soup and towards the end of the cooking time the fan on the oven started into overdrive, making a lot of noise then it started beeping and p…
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Companies: why are you like this?
25 years ago a bunch of Internet people cracked the shits with the inhuman, one-way corporate speak employed by the companies they interacted with, consulted to and advised. Those rants became The Clu…
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sleepmakeswaves and Elephant Gym
Last Saturday night I went to see sleepmakeswaves at the Manning Bar in Sydney Uni with a couple of mates. I have many fond memories of this gig: the epic Freaky Loops gigs, Terrence McKenna and lunch…
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White Bay Power Station: 700 Feel + Ryan Fennis & Voidhood
I've been entering the ballots for Phoenix Central Park 's music programmes for a while now and never managed to get tickets. It's a tiny venue and the gigs are free, but often artists you've never he…
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Floodlights: Oz Rock revival?
As a kid of the late 70s, Oz Rock was my childhood soundtrack. In the mainstream in the 1980s it was bogan classics: Cold Chisel, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, Dragon, The Radiators, Australian Crawl, Barn…
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Battlesnake: metal madness!
Last Saturday night I went with my mate Michael to see Battlesnake. This band have been on my radar to watch with their over-the-top stage theatrics and right-on hard rock. Think Saxon by way of Spina…
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Brekky Boy
My favourite music venue gains it's favour because it's so close. I can be at the Factory Theatre in about 5 minutes. Back when they only had terrible beer we used to duck home in between bands for a…
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Golden Plains 2024
Holly and I have been going to this incredible festival as often as possible since 2018. It's like no other festival: amazing people and vibe, single stage with a really diverse lineup of bands and so…
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Minami Deutsch at Marrickville Bowlo
I was willing to go see this band just because of the description: Japanese Krautrock. It's like the punchline to a joke at Pitchfork Media's expense. But they were good. Really good. Tight, clever an…
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Apple Vision Pro demo
I'm currently in Austin, Texas for MeasureCamp so when I read you could book demos (via The Sizzle, of course) I waited until it was 7 days out and booked it in. Easily done on the Apple site, though…
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Russian Circles
Last night's gig was Russian Circles, a "post-metal" band from the US. I've followed them since the 2000s. It was a stinking hot night: 28° and something like 90% humidity, so of course I rode my bike…
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Updating ContractOrPermie.com
I've been a contractor rather than permanent employee for a good chunk of my working life. I started working in the mid-1990s when the business world had been clearly demonstrating that they had no lo…
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Egoism at the Marrickville Bowlo
Rounding out 2023 we saw Egoism on the 22nd December. The gig was a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Community Care so there were a few bands. Sound seemed a bit iffy on the night though one of the supp…
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Pizza Death at The Burdekin
Quite the change of pace from Kristen Hersh the night before: three death metal bands over three hours. Pizza Death have a solid gimmick, fun banter and silly songs. Supports Head In A Jar and Carnal…
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Kristen Hersh at The Vanguard
Last Friday night we got to see Kristen Hersh of Throwing Muses perform her solo work at The Vanguard in Newtown. I haven't been to this venue since the 1990s when it was "Top Gun". Hersh was incredib…
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Cook tech: Eat Your Books
I love to cook and so I have a lot of cookbooks. This brings about a problem. Much as I love leafing through cookbooks, sometimes you need to work out what to cook more quickly. And I'm often trying t…
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GoGo Penguin at City Recital Hall
Last night I finally got to see GoGo Penguin, a band from Manchester I've been following for 10 years. I've been hanging out to see them live the whole time. I love their music. I dragged along my mat…
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Los Bitchos + These New South Whales
Last week Sydney hosted the first edition of South by Southwest located outside of Austin. Sounds like it was somewhat successful but I think it takes a while for people to understand what it was. I'v…
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Bushfire excitement
Last week we planned to travel down to our friends' property on the Far South Coast of NSW. It's a beautiful spot right on the coast with two beaches on the property and not far from the little town I…
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Take advantage of free solar power with Home Assistant
It's that time of year when it warms up here in Sydney and I start tinkering with my home automation to make life easier and cheaper. Background Our house is very well insulated: the old 1920s part of…