These mats are the sort of thing you talk about and never get. Well, not me!!

I needed to find somewhere to put my pretzel-shaped body while doing my yoga moves.

I had limited space and very small budget - the average mat seemed to retail for about $30-80!! It seemed a little out of my range. All those super-slick Yoga and Pilates specialty stores seemed to mark them up just a little too much.

Then I stumbled on a blue one almost identical to the one in the picture. It was at a daggy hardware store at a ratty shopping complex in deepest darkest Rowville (shudder!).

The price tag read $4.

I was aghast. And delighted.

I thought "Wow! This is great. I can buy this here and pretend I got it from a snazzy Yoga store and no-one will ever know....er"

Like it matters.

Anyone thinking of buying one, try the rubber stores and the hardware stores first.

Happy Shopping!!

Technorati Tags: yoga+mat yoga pilates

I like to support original artists - this particular item is on Ebay at the moment. Click here to check it out.

If you want to check out the artist's homepage click here
It's called "Painting Everyday" - the artist Nathan Bond is based in Brooklyn, New York.

I like the artist's style of painting and the way he focuses on a single object as the subject. Also I love the use of colour- very bold.

My favourite one is "Manzanilla Olive" - for some reason I am obsessed with olives!!

I think it's great these paintings are getting sold - a blog + ebay can be a good gallery and shopfront! Hopefully more artists will become better known via the internet as well as
through the traditional channels.

Technorati Tags: art original+art artwork Nathan Bond ebay

It's funny how Playstation keeps bringing out "New and Improved" versions of this game.

I first discovered this game waaaaaaaay back in my early Ebay bidding days. In fact, it was the second thing I ever bought.

I got PS2's Tiger Woods 2003 for around $15 - a bargain.



The game has incredible playability - the action is easy to get used to and the analog shock controllers add excitement to the whole experience.

The graphics are pretty amazing - the game really draws you in - thunder in the background, rain falling, birds hooting or strange sounds in the distance make it an all-encompassing experience.

The game can be played for years if you ask me - I'm still not sick of it, and I wasn't even much of a golf fan when I started!!

The commentary is hilarious - David Feherty and Bill Macatee have a riotous banter which often had me giggling out loud.

Eg. "This putt is like hot snot out of a chrome nostril..."

It's sometimes hard not to laugh while taking a shot.

The music is great as well - Silverchair(Australian! Thank you), Ra (I had never heard of this band before but they are pretty good) and other heavier rock acts.

Some people have complained about playing a conservative game with a rock soundtrack but I think why not?

Tiger Woods 2004 has added various rap stuff and quite frankly it's nowhere near as good.

The courses in 2003 are beautiful too: Pebble Beach, Black Rock Cove, Spyglass Hill, The Highlands and don't forget the Royal and Ancient St Andrews - to name a few.


The Predator (complete with elephant noises and running waterfalls)



Black Rock Cove


The characters are just that - characters! Many have a legend behind them.

Hamish "Mulligan" McGregor - named due to his incessant cheating.


Or Domenic "The Don" Donatello - named because he makes his opponents "disappear"

You get the idea.

It's a game for those with a sense of humour.

Tiger Woods 2004 is all flash and dazzle and the graphics are supposed to be better but they actually come across as lame. The soundtrack is infuriating and the commentary is flat. Even the characters seem to have less personality.

The new additions for 2004 include "Game Face" - a feature where you can fashion your own likeness on to the screen and play as "yourself"

Seriously. This is creepy. It's very unnerving to see a quasi "You" on the screen. Kind of Voodoo-ish. Don't go there.

Tiger Woods 2003 is the best version of this classic game. The other versions are just the same game with extra fluff around the edges.

technorati tags: Tiger Woods, PS2, Playstation, Playstation 2, video games, ps2 game, ea sports,playstation games