The global blogging phenomenon suggests that we should uncover, discover and welcome different worlds to our own. This is a great way of finding out new things about people and places you never knew existed. What makes us unique? How do we see the world? What makes us who we are?

To kick this off, this site will be hosting:

A Gonzo World Carnival !

This is your chance to "Share Your World". Your country...your home...your state...your unique world and how you define it.

The Carnival will be published on the 19th.

Submissions close on the 16th so please get your posts in early!


The Ground Rules:

* Submit one post, past or present that fits the theme of "Share Your World" ...your home, your town, your state, your country etc. One entry per blog. The topic is quite broad in terms of options. As long as the post relates to your world.

* Only English language posts will be accepted

* Send your submissions to violetfrog7@yahoo.com.au

* Each post must include:
-Your name as you want it to appear in the post
-The title of your blog
-Your blog URL
-The Name of the Post
-The URL of the post

Entry deadline 11:59pm on March 16th, 2007.

Show your Gonzo Love by putting up a A Gonzo World Carnival! banner on your site.


Spread the word and get your posts in!!...

Special thanks to Fear & Loathing - The Gonzo Papers and For Your Success.

Technorati Tags:
blog+carnival, gonzo+world+carnival, call+for+posts

I had lunch at Le Grande Tofu yesterday. Had a brilliant vegie noodle soup with shiitake mushrooms the size of saucers floating around in it. And I always try and get a new kind of drink instead of just getting Coke or Pepsi...argh! Now I've done it! (turns around to see S.W.O.T. team kicking down the door)...

So I decided to get this little beauty: "Kickapoo Joy Juice"




















I have a number of questions for the makers of this very tasty drink (it tastes a bit like Mountain Dew)

1. What is a Kickapoo? Does it mean what I think it means?

2. Why is it called "Joy Juice?" (Actually, no. I don't want to know.)

3. What is that picture supposed to represent? I think it's supposed to be two characters (a kangaroo? A dude with a tomahawk? What is that?) flying around the world / galaxy trying to balance on a cauldron that is on fire or boiling. WTF? Somebody enlighten me here.

It is a great drink, and I really enjoyed it. I had to keep the can because it made me giggle. I'd love to know the answer to these questions.

Technorati Tags:
kickapoo+joy+juice

Windows XP. Everyone was excited when it came out but there are a couple of things that are perplexing. When you run a few computers on a network and you run Windows XP on all these machines, the sharing and permissions folders get confused and suddenly one or more of the computers decides that you don't own your own computer so you can't access your own files. Or anyone else's files for that matter. This has happened not once, not twice, but over 30 times, possibly more - I think I've lost count.

These are my fixes to get it to work again:

Sharing & Security Checklist:

* Share this folder / file
* Permissions - Everyone - Full control (3 ticks)

* Security Tab
* Advanced
* Owner Tab
* Change owner - Administrator
* Change owner (Insert your owner's name here eg. JSmith)
* Tick "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" both times
* OK

* Back to Security
* If no names are shown, add "Administrator"
* Apply
* All other users should appear again (if they had disappeared, which they often do!)
* Make sure administrator, users etc. have full permission

* Permissions
* Tick "Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here"
* Tick "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects"
* Apply (may take a minute)

Pray


However, I have done this series in the checklist and the permissions have a mind of their own. They can revert back overnight when you are not looking. We got our computer guy in to fix it and he did exactly the steps I followed above. I know because I watched him the whole time. And wouldn't you know, the permissions reverted back (or should I say REGRESSED) as soon as he left the building. Windows 98 made a lot more sense when it came to networking. Perhaps in the long run, Windows XP will show itself to be a Windows 97. Hopefully there will be some updates / fixes soon.

Technorati Tags: Windows XP, sharing, permissions, security

Free Windows Registry Scan

Ahhh. What a way to start the morning. This brilliant AC/DC T-Shirt arrived in the post this morning. It was gift wrapped very nicely and even came with a free gift - a black rubber bracelet! It felt like it was my birthday and I was turning 15! Here it is in all it's glory:



*Sigh* Original vintage AC/DC top, Bon Scott lineup, circa Highway to Hell.

I managed to bag it for $6.99 - it was delivered in 2 days. What more can I ask for? Well, lots of things. That car from Supernatural for a start. And 2 tickets to Seattle. And a Google Page Rank of 5. But I digress. I remember being in Olympia, Washington at a school dance and AC/DC came on the loudspeaker, sending everyone crazy. I stood up on a table and declared that AC/DC are Australian. I was yelled down, nobody was prepared to believe me. Yep, that's right. In Olympia, these people thought that Nirvana may have been Australian, and AC/DC were American. Oy Veh.

Why then, has AC/DC lane been recently opened in the heart of Melbourne CBD? And why does it say in Wikipedia that the band was formed in Sydney in 1973? It is widely known that members of the band spent time living in Prahran, VIC. And where did people think AC/DC were in the "Long Way to The Top" video? Swanston Street, San Francisco? I don't know. Sometimes I just don't know.

Okay, Bon Scott was born in Scotland, and Angus & Malcolm Young were also born in Scotland, but they all emigrated to Australia. And Phil Rudd and Mark Evans were born in Melbourne, Australia. So there. I'm tired now from my rant. I'm going to get a coffee.

Technorati Tags:
AC/DC, T-Shirt, Australia, Rock

Okay, I know I've done a lot of rants lately but here's another one. I have been enjoying my time reacquainting myself with Ebay, but this particular thing sticks in my craw. (What the hell is a craw anyway?)

I hate it when you buy something from an Ebay seller and they have the logo that says "Bank Deposit Express", then when you have bought something from this person, and can't get out of it (because that would be a backsliding scumbag thing to do!)...

...and you click on the "Bank Deposit Express" logo and it proudly displays:

"BANK OF ABU DHABI" or some similarly obscure bank. I mean, what the hell is wrong with the Commonwealth, ANZ or National Australia Bank? Why does it have to be "CHICKEN FEEDERS CREDIT UNION" or "WEST AUSTRALIAN DRAGONSLAYERS CONFERENCE MEMBERS BANK"

...so then you spend ages trying to look up branches of these bizarre banks and find out that the closest one will take you a 2 hour drive to get there. What is the point I ask you?

So. Unfortunately you can't tell which bank the seller belongs to until after the purchase, I will definitely remember the sellers who bank with the "CANBERRA STILT WALKERS BANK" and similar crimes against humanity for next time.

Technorati Tags:
banks, ebay, rant

After battling the demons from the Ebay Jinx, peace is now restored to my part of the globe. For some background info see The Dreaded Ebay Jinx, The Ebay Jinx Continues and Die Demon Die!!! The Ebay Jinx Will be Laid to Rest!!!

I grabbed a serious bargain on Ebay - this excellent striped off-the-shoulder top for 0.99c














That's right! 0.99c!
The postage ($3.00) actually cost more than the top itself, which is quite exciting. And it arrived quickly too!


I am beginning to update my wardrobe from the ground up.

This top arrived today. It was a pretty good start:


















I ended up paying $4.35 plus $5.00 postage. I bought a top similar to this about a year ago for $16 so I have saved $6.65 (the neighbour of the beast!!) Ha ha!

No seriously, the Ebay Jinx is no more. Vanquished. Squished. Exorcised. Buggered off. Finally.

I don't expect to see any more supernatural activity on Ebay.

Speaking of which, it might be appropriate to finish with a moment from Sam & Dean Winchester from "Supernatural":

Dean: "Let me know if you see any dead people Haley Joel."
Sam:"Dude enough."
Dean:"Sam who you think is hotter psychic? Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt or you?
Dean:"I've got a question for you. You've seen a lot of movies, yeah?
Kat: "I guess so."
Dean:"Do me a favor. Next time you see one, pay attention. When someone says a place is haunted don't go in."

P.S. Back to shopping: I want this car.









It will be mine.

Or at least something very much like it.

I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to use left-hand drive Chevys in Australia.


Image courtesy of Wikipedia - don't sue me!

Technorati Tags:
shopping, ebay, clothing, bargain, verdict, success, Supernatural, Sam, Dean, Winchester

*Sigh* All that computer stuff has really dragged me down when I should be enjoying the upcoming weekend. So, I'm going to find some things that will cheer me up.

1. The Peccary















This is the cutest creature known to man, the Peccary. It is native to South America. It eats grass, roots and cacti. It cannot be domesticated. It generally ignores humans. I am feeling better already.

2. It is a sunny day, blue sky etc.
Yeah. That sort of helped.

3. I am going to the park tonight. With my mp3 player. To walk off this stress using loud music and hand weights.
Yep. It's doing the trick!

4. A nice cold beer.
I know I know. I'm having one of those low calorie ones like "Pure Blonde". Even though it tastes like camel's urine at least it won't interfere with my efforts to burn calories.

5. It is possible I shall be having home made (yay!) mexican chilli beans tonight.
I'm so excited I could do a Beavis Cornholio impersonation. I could, but I'm not going to. I'll let him do it.

Speaking of cheering myself up...I found this description (courtesy of Wikipedia.org) on Beavis aka Cornholio. I love how he is taken so seriously...categories, sub-categories, behaviour etc. This text comes courtesy of Wikipedia, link shown below:

..."Cornholio emerges whenever Beavis consumes large quantities of sugar and/or caffeine or other stimulants and enters a hyperactive phase, with symptoms including convulsing, nonsensical jabbering and gazing cross-eyed at his fist. The final transformation is usually triggered by mention of vaguely Hispanic-sounding words: he pulls his shirt over his head (producing a makeshift hood covering his hair) and begins marching around randomly, his hands at either sides of his face with palms forward, making loud proclamations in a quasi-Spanish accent.

Cornholio apparently hails from Latin America (once stating that he is from Nicaragua), claiming his home to be Lake Titicaca (the word already providing amusement to Beavis), which is actually in South America. He states his mission in life is to find "TP" (toilet paper) for his "bunghole" (anus), as his "people" are "without bungholes". This apparent contradiction is typical of the nonsense he frequently spouts: at other times he claims he himself is a bunghole, he has no bunghole, he is a gringo (which is actually true, as he has blonde hair), or calls upon "the Almighty Bunghole" (either himself or his god). He has also expressed an interest in oleo, presumably because it rhymes with his name; he combines it with "bunghole" to create his most famous cry, "bungholeo-o-o-o-o!"...

"The Great Cornholio." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 Mar 2007, 20:01 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2 Mar 2007.

And with that, I'm off. I need TP for my bunghole. Have a good weekend!

Technorati Tags:
peccary, beavis, cornholio, bunghole, TP, beer

You may remember my post on Couriers Please No Thank You!!!
Well, here's some background information. I received a computer last year from EYO Technologies in Sydney. It arrived broken. Busted. Kaput.
So I sent it back, expecting a new one, since I had paid for a new computer.

Nope!!

I got back a "repaired" version of the beat-up thing I received in the first place.
I tried for months to get the sound card to work (it was after all, a computer bought for the purpose of recording music) to no avail.
I finally sent it back after realising I could never get the sound card to work. It wasn't a software problem and just because I couldn't get it to work it didn't mean I was a failure as a computer nerd!! I am only starting to recover now.
When I received it back again this week, the sound card "sort of" worked intermittently. But now the DVD drive had disappeared off the "My Computer" icon and the DVD would not open. Neither would the CD drive, which had never worked and now I find out, was supposed to work as well.

Wow.

So guess what? I'm sending it back again. I do not hold out much hope as EYO insist on sending things with Star Track Express with NO "This End Up" or "Fragile" stickers. Nothing. And they wonder why it arrived to me in a mess. Twice. Now that they want to fix it and send it back. That's great but I'm starting to lose hope at this point. The DVD drive doesn't work because I was told "somebody forgot to connect the power cable"?!?!?!? And the explanation for the sound card not working was that they forgot to disable the onboard sound card when they put in the Audigy 4 I ordered. I have offered to give EYO Technologies a roll of fragile tape so they can put it on my computer when sending it back. If they remember...

I ask you. Does this happen to anyone else? Am I alone here?

All I ask is that people send happy thoughts for the computer to arrive back to me fixed and in one piece. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes for this one.

Technorati Tags:
EYO technologies, computer, star track express, fragile, this end up

Some people mentioned that they enjoyed the drawings on my blog so I thought I'd gather up my best efforts and compile them in one place. So, without further ado, here they are:

My Favourite MP3 Player (Caveman Pic)
Nightmare on Web Street (HTML Nerd Nightmare)
Maseur Sandals - Aaahhhhhh!!! (Stressed Before & After)
Jamie Oliver is a Genius? (Dumb Chef)
How to Cut Your Washing Up Time In Half (Stressed Dishwasher)
Hairy Adventures (Half Shaven Look)
Don't Drink and HTML (HIC!)

Hope you enjoy them. Feel free to comment!

Technorati Tags:
drawings, compilation, list, pencil, pen, artwork

Kelly has been kind enough to host $$$ The Bestest Blog Finance Carnival $$$ on her blog "A Girl Worth Saving".

I have my own entry in the Carnival "FOAD: Don't Buy Britney's Hair on Ebay" in which I rant about financial injustices in the world, amongst other things. I am thoroughly enjoying all the posts in the blog carnival - make sure you check it out....

Technorati Tags:
blog carnival, finance, bestest blog, a girl worth saving,

You may remember my post "AVIS Messes With Family Catch-Up". This was a ranting piece (most of my posts are rants - I can't help it) on the difficulties I encountered while trying to book a few days car rental. It is really not that difficult for most people. I know this to be true because people give me strange looks when I explain the ridiculous situations I have been faced with. I shall prevail. I know this because I watched Rocky about 10 times.
Okay, so if you have the background on the AVIS story, I vowed never to use them again even though they had given me pretty good service in the past. So I decide to try their competitors, Budget Rent-A-Car. Yippee! I thought. This will be easy. I went to Budget's website and that's where the fun started. Is it just me? Or does the website not work in either Internet Explorer, Firefox OR Opera? I mean, they are the main ones, aren't they? It doesn't say in fine print at the bottom "this site will only work with Obscura Minimus v2.7"....or does it?
I wouldn't know because I can't get in to the fricken' website!!! I'm still on the first page, pulling my hair out and saying:
WHY-WON'T-YOU-JUST-GET-THE-FRICKEN'-RATES-ALREADY!!!!!

But no. Sadly it will not yield to my dulcet tones. I have to try other methods. So I did. Somehow I guessed the URL of the contact page and managed to slip in the back way. Then I wrote a detailed comment pointing out the fact that their website does not work. At all. On the three main internet browsers. (Unless you have Safari, yes I know but I can't afford a Mac at this time so jolly well done for those who have one...)
So, I submit my comment. No response for days. So I write an email detailing the same points and send it. No response again. Is it still there? Did Budget close down when I wasn't looking? I suppose at this stage you are saying "listen Nerd Girl, just get off the dang computer and use the phone...you know, the little white thing with the handle and the twirly cord..."
Yes, I know. But...you can't get the internet specials unless you use the internet. If you call them you don't get $5 off per day or whatever the deal is supposed to be. Again, I wouldn't know.....because THEY WON'T LET ME IN!!!

I will call them, however. This can't go on forever. Perhaps there is some funny setting that I haven't tweaked on my internet browser. It keeps on telling me JAVASCRIPT (Void). I am pretty sure this means one of two things. Either I am a luddite or their website has got mistakes in it.

I'm not going to call them yet because I'm still grumpy. If I call when I'm grumpy, I'm likely to get a brick-wall officious *^%#@^*%&*&#^I'm not going to call them yet because I'm still grumpy. If I call when I'm grumpy, I'm likely to get a brick-wall officious *^%#@^*%&*&#^$&*#$ person on the other end of the phone. I think that's how the universe works. If you put out anger you get a%$%#@^holes in return. The laws of the universe should take into account that sometimes when you are in a hurry to book a holiday you are likely to be stressed and people should just jolly well be nice to you anyway because you are under a lot of pressure.
amp;*#$ person on the other end of the phone. I think that's how the universe works. If you put out anger you get a%$%#@^holes in return. The laws of the universe should take into account that sometimes when you are in a hurry to book a holiday you are likely to be stressed and people should just jolly well be nice to you anyway because you are under a lot of pressure.

Technorati Tags:
Car Rental, Budget, Rent A Car, Holidays

Perhaps you missed out on a Valentine's day card this year. Or perhaps you're just looking for lurrrve.

Free Online Dating is a truly 100% free dating site. This means you don't need to give over your credit card details. The features are the same as you would get from a paid dating site, with the added bonus of no cost to you! Creating a profile includes describing yourself, filling out your interests and specifying your geographical region (U.S. & Canada). You can also include all the information you wish to include about yourself, add a photo, which obviously enhances your chances of meeting someone, and you are ready to go. Spread the love!

The Zlist was started at Viral Garden. It is a simple way to get links from other bloggers and also improve technorati ratings.

What do you have to do to join? Just copy the links below to a new post, making sure you add to the list the last site you got the Zlist from (that would be me!! SAVESAVESAVE). Then sit back and relax as people copy the list from your blog and pass it on. And on. And on. And on....

JCM's blog & updates
the 15,000-dollar mission
DoshDosh
612 to apocalypse
JCM´s RPG art
Connected Internet
Blog-Op
Can I Make Big Money Online
Blogtrepreneur
Flee the Cube
Blogging to Fame
Million Dollar Experiment heads Down Under
Kumiko's Cash Quest
Calico Monkey
Internet Bazaar
JCM´s blog
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Two Hat Marketing
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly

Technorati Tags:
Z-list, Viral Garden, Technorati, Rating

I have been messing with my template again. It's making me cross-eyed. I think I have to compulsively change my blog template for some reason, the way some people always have to change the colour of their hair. Now I have migrated to the new Blogger (not BETA anymore), I have found it's even harder to get blog templates. I have found some good sites for new Blogger templates but I think there are already too many of those "red lipped woman" blogs floating around and I don't want to just be another identical one. Anyway, the woman looks like she is dribbling. Am I the only person who has noticed this? If I could only be bothered designing my own blog templates...it's a thought...
Actually, writing this has made my mind up. I will just use this template and mess with it when I feel like it. I suppose it's better to have a design that is unique - even if some other blogs make you go "Wow! How the $%&$ did they do that?"

And even though I have lost a whopping 9 "Battle of the Blogs Challenges" and won exactly zero, I am starting to wonder about whether anyone reads the posts when they vote or whether my blog just sucks! I mean, do people go "I don't like the colour scheme" and vote for the other one? Or do they go "Oooo nice pictures" and forget to read the words? Or am I a bitter and twisted person damaged beyond repair by consecutive defeats? Only time will tell. Incidentally, I have just thrown down the gauntlet again (albeit foolishly) on the Battle of the Blogs on Blog Explosion.

This is not a desperate plea for you to vote for me, by the way.
YES IT IS! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD VOTE FOR ME AND NOT THE OTHER PERSON. ESPECIALLY THAT GUY WHO TAKES PHOTOS OF NEW YORK! HE DOESN'T NEED THE VOTES! HE'S RANKED #1! I'M RANKED #3442! THROW ME A FRICKEN' BONE HERE!!! I'M DYING!!!
*pant* *pant*
Case dismissed.
*THUMP*

Technorati Tags:
blog template, new blogger, blog explosion, battle

The following is a Pay Per Post advertisement....
I love widgets. Ever since I first tried out a weather widget I have been going widget mad. Before I went widget mad I didn't even know what a widget was. Heck, a year ago I didn't even know what a blog was!!! (strange but true) But I digress.
Box.net Widget is a flash player that you can use to stream files. You choose which files to upload from your hard drive (up to 1GB) - these can include podcasts, photographs, videos, whatever you like. I tried it out myself and it's pretty easy to use - took me all of 2 seconds to figure it out!

I saw a girl wearing the best T-shirt today...It will be mine....












Oh yeah! The Empire Strikes Back. I'd probably rather have a "Star Wars - A New Hope" T-shirt because otherwise people might think I'm evil.

Speaking of evil empires...now I'm going all Empire Strikes Back mad on Ebay.













Stormtrooper Figurine. I had heaps of these. Don't know what happened to them. I know that I lost one or two on a beach in Santa Monica when Mum took me and my brother on holiday. It was probably my fault because I was playing at burying them in the sand and pretending the beach was the ice planet Hoth. I had the supreme confidence that I would remember where I buried them but it turned out that all of the beach looked the same and Han Solo in antarctic gear and Luke Skywalker with his lightsaber were gone forever.









Comics. What more need I say? Brilliant. Oh, dang, I said something.













I love these 'books of the movie' type things. At the moment there aren't enough of these around. Maybe they will make a comeback. When the "Return of the Jedi" books and tape sets came out, I listened to them so many times I can recite the bulk of the entire movie. Oh my God. I just wrote that down. I am such a geek. I might as well accept that and be comfortable with it.

(say the first line while holding your nose)
DEATH STAR CONTROLLER: "The security deflector shield will be deactivated when we have confirmation of your code transmission. Stand by... You are clear to proceed."

SHUTTLE CAPTAIN: "We're starting our approach."

OFFICER: "Inform the commander that Lord Vader's shuttle has arrived"

OPERATOR: "Yes sir"

MOFF JERJERROD: "Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure, we are honoured by your presence..."

VADER: "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander, I'm here to put you back on schedule..."

That's it. I'm getting a trenchcoat and growing a beard. Hang on, I'm not a guy. Um....
20GB hard drive? 1GB ram? Maybe I'm already on my way to using my powers. I must.... complete.... my training......

Technorati Tags:
star wars, empire strikes back, t-shirt, comics, collectables

Re: People bidding over $1 million dollars for Britney Spears hair on Ebay

Okay. I've had it. I don't know if this is FOAD Monday, Tuesday or whatever. For me, today is FOAD day. So there.

Please, fellow humans, do not be a sheep and follow the megalomaniacal (is that a word?) media in their bloodthirsty and vulturous (I think I made up another word - being angry does that to a person!) quest for sensationalism out of complete triviality.

If aliens came to our planet and found out that various members of humanity had decided to spend $1M upwards (yes, that's right, 1 million dollars or more) on a pile of human hair, they would decide we are either insane, very simple or that humans in general possessed the same intellectual and spiritual capacity of pond scum and single-celled amoeba.

It's HAIR. I don't care whose hair it is. It's HAIR. You know? The stuff that gets clogged in the drain when you are having a shower. The stuff you clean off your hairbrush. The bits you sweep off the floor and vaccum off the carpet.

Ooo but it's Britney's Spears' hair! Britney! Britney! Britney! WGAF (hey wow, I think I made up a new nerdism. Try and work it out...)

I don't care if it's the Czar, the Queen, Britney Spears or hair from someone's dog. It's hair and a can of Red Bull you can get for $2.40 from a vending machine.

People who have $1 million dollars to spend and want to spend it on such trivial rubbish should be tied up with string and made to donate the money to Oxfam or something.

In fact, dammit, if you are one of these incredibly stupid, incredibly rich people with a penchant for sweepings from the floor of a hair salon (and by the way, how do people this stupid get this rich? Clearly wealth is not a measure of intellectual capacity) then why don't you do the following:

1. Go to local hair salon, ask very nicely for sweepings off floor (I'm sure they will oblige!!)
2. Go to a vending machine, buy a Red Bull for $2.40, put on some lipstick, take a few sips and make a clear lipstick mark on the can.
3. Donate $1M to Oxfam or the Red Cross.
4. Put stupid hairy stuff and Red Bull in a cabinet. Okay it didn't belong to Britney Spears, but are you beginning to see how ridiculous this is?
5. Stop watching sillly entertainment shows promoting insignificant garbage.

You will feel better knowing that an entire village can build a well, build a school, get vaccinated against disease and grow crops.

Or you can say, "stuff the rest of the world, I want my hair and Red Bull from Britney"

The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

Technorati Tags:
britney spears, hair, ebay, $1m, Red Bull

I'm not sure if it's my phone - if it's everyone else's phone, if it's Optus or if it's Nokia 2600s in general. I've checked with other people using Optus and they don't
seem to have the same problem so it is probably a problem with the phone itself.

This strange phenomenon seems to happen every time I make an important call...

I call, get talking, then there is a drop out around the most important words in the conversation.
The words you can't hear when talking on the Nokia 2600 are shown in red.
...A completely fictional example:

Person A: What time is this dinner party?
Person B: It's at six-thirty
Person A: Ok, what do I need to bring?
Person B: Bring cheese, wine, nothing with wheat in it because Jenny is allergic...and dessert
Person A: What do I need to wear? Is it still fancy dress?
Person B: No Jenny and Mark decided against fancy dress - that's the latest.
Person A: And that speech I had made up. What did you think? Should I speak about the war?
Person B: It might be a sensitive subject to have you speak about the war.
Person A: Ok, I'll see you at six-thirty then.

You can see just from this brief example the endless possibilities for misunderstandings, mixups, and in this case, flat-out disaster!

The problem seems to get even worse if you put the phone on loudspeaker - it cuts out both what you are saying and what the other person is saying. And if you both say a word at the same time, you can't hear anything.

I'm either going to get a new phone or I'm going to go back to basics.



Verdict - What good is a phone if you can't use it to communicate? I ask you!!

Tech Tags: drawings nokia 2600 verdict crap

I love postcards. I have a small collection on my fridge - the more colourful, the better.
I particularly like the old / antique / vintage postcards that can be found by scouring the internet on sites such as Ebay, Amazon and the like. These cards can be tourist cards, art deco cards (my personal favourites!), military and propaganda, and various other subjects.

I read up on how to care for antique postcards, as little is known on this topic in the general population. According to Vintage Postcards it is easy to damage a postcard by keeping it in an album sleeve that is identical in size to the postcard itself. Inserting and removing the card from such an album can in itself damage the card. The album sleeve / holder should be larger than the postcard itself. Some storage holders can also contain damaging chemicals that break down and form acidic oil which damages the cards. The albums / holders that are free from these compounds are triacetate, polyethylene, polyester or Mylar, polypropylene or uPVC (unplasticized polyvinylchloride). For more information, visit Vintage Postcards - they have the care instructions covered.

I love postcards of landmarks - especially of my town, Melbourne.













It has been a long time since Flinders Street Station looked like this. For one, it didn't have that monstrosity Federation Square clashing styles hideously on the opposite corner. Don't get me started...grrrrrrrrrrr. Okay, I'm fine now.




















I especially liked this one of Benny Leonard, lightweight champion of the world (1920s). It reminds me of the picture of Rocky Marciano (who of course was the world heavyweight champion 1952-1956) in the movie Rocky I.

My favourite cards would have to be the Art Deco postcards.













There is something about this style that makes everything seem kind of magical. And it always makes me want to travel. Especially on planes and trains. Not so easy to travel on ships these days, unless you want to be caught with a bunch of B&S Ball weirdos who are into wife-swapping!

Damn. I brought the tone down again. Where was I? Ah, yes, the magical, wonderful world of antique postcards. *sigh*.

Happy Valentine's Day to all (for the 14th)!! I submitted my Great Expectations post for the Valentine's Day blog carnival. For some reason it hasn't made it into the carnival, but obviously you can read it here. I am not one to hold a grudge (*sniff* *sniff*) so here it is - the Bestest Blog Valentine's Day Carnival hosted by Cathy:



I really enjoy Blog Carnivals. In this Valentine's Day Carnival There are a lot of funny and touching stories - I don't know about anyone else but I can spend all day reading these posts. So, spread love to the world and read all about luuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrvvvvvvvvvvvvvve.

xxoxoxoxo

This relates back to my earlier post "Gadget Gift Ideas!" After careful deliberation, weighing
up all the options and going to numerous online and real stores, I decided on....(drumroll):





Isn't it cute? The Creative MuVo TX FM 1GB Mp3 Player. (RRP$128.00)

The thing I like best about it is this - you don't have to possess a degree in advanced
electronics to use it. In fact, I pretty much worked it out in 2 minutes flat!!
All you have to remember is press the wheelie thing IN to select something, and
FLICK the wheelie thing to the right or left to scroll through stuff.
Transferring songs and podcasts to the player is easier than I thought it would be.
On your computer, make a couple of folders, (name them "Nirvana" or "The Clash" etc.
- and don't pirate the songs!! Buy the CD.) then put the songs in the folder and you are
ready for the MP3 Player.

Turn the player OFF.

Pull the player apart (see diagram above) so you have a USB plug showing. Plug the
USB into your computer's USB port, if it's Windows XP, it will automatically install the
drivers - otherwise you can use the installer CD that comes with the player), then open
the player (it will show up as a removable disk).

Copy the folders + songs to the player.

In XP right click the "Safely remove hardware" button at the bottom right of your taskbar.
(see diagram below)


For those of you who know CSS, think people are stupid when they put a space instead of a slash
or a <>....

I apologise. These instructions must seem slightly cave-man-like. Uh.

(hehehe...I'm pretty happy with this one!!)

However, there are some of us (even some nerds!!) that find using some machines could be
so much easier if someone just spelled it out. I mean, think of the time it would save!!!
Yes, you can work stuff out, but if you can get the answers straight away it makes things
that much simpler. Well, that's what I think, anyway.

But I digress. The point is, I like taking this little player on my walks, I made a folder called
"Walking", filled it with a lot of up-tempo songs (so I won't slack off on the pace!!) and
I just choose "Shuffle folder" and I'm away.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Tech Tags: drawings gadgets creative MuVo MP3 plater 1gb instructions

Sometimes you can find bargains in the most unexpected of places. Determined to find a new pair of tracksuit pants
that didn't look excruciatingly daggy, I scoured Ebay for ages, searched Rebel Sport and all the usual suspects.

I wasn't having much luck unless I really wanted tracksuit pants similar
to the ones pictured:




Sexy, no?
Okay, tracky dacks are not the high point of fashion.
But I'm not wearing them for a fashion statement - I am wearing them to go running. If I start to go out on the town
wearing clothes like this, you have permission to shoot me!

But, back to my search. By chance, I happened to be in Mount Waverley walking towards the station
when something caught my eye. On a rack outside a small local shop I saw the holy grail of tracksuit pants:
(insert Hallelujah chorus here)



Slender lines, delicate piping, flared boot leg style. I grabbed the tag - it read "$10.00"

I didn't even try them on (they only had S, M and L and if you don't know where you fit in here then you need
some scales and a measuring tape!!). I paid the money and walked towards the station on a shopping Cloud 9.

It just goes to show that synchronicity can apply to shopping as well as other matters!!

I always find this a difficult one - what do you get your partner / love of your life / penguin
for Valentine's day?

It is a day of ridiculously high expectations fraught with danger and innuendo.

I mean for example, if you get the person a nice bunch of flowers, there are all these
bizarre rules.

Don't get them yellow roses because that means "I like you, but not in THAT way"

And forget pink camellias because that is deemed to mean "I am longing for a man"
and you don't want to appear desperate.

Striped carnations mean "rejection" and "sorry I can't be with you"
(where do you even get striped carnations anyway?)

Thankfully, red roses mean "I Love You"

But what happens when the roses start to wither? People get awfully superstitious
about such things and a nice gift can turn into a weird bouquet like those flowers
in "Supernatural" in the bit where the zombie is making the ground unholy.

There I go on the unholy ground rave again. I am trying to write about Valentine's Day.
That's what you get for being born a Scorpio.

So forget flowers. Then you have the gift section. Teddy bears. I don't know.
What does a grown woman / man do with a teddy bear? And if you get one every
year it turns into "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" and people get freaked out.
That was the problem with that play, the guy should never have bought her dolls
in the first place. Dolls are in Stephen King novels, in Chucky movies, but I'm steering
clear of them for Valentine's Day. Did I mention dolls really creep me out?

I can't imagine why.



No dolls.

Seriously.

Okay, what have we got left? Oh yeah, all those weird tacky presents like the
elephant underpants and shiny silk boxers with little hearts on them.
You know what?
You might want to give these a miss. They could backfire on you and make you look
like a weird pervert. I mean those edible undergarments are just hideous. If you want
your partner to think you are weird, cheap, pervy and tacky, then go right ahead.

Hmmm. I'm running out of options. There are those "Romantic Adventures for Two"
things on those corporate entertainment (isn't that an oxymoron?) websites. So if you
really wanted to, you could risk both your life and the life of your loved one in a tandem
jump coordinated by a man who takes far too many steroids. It's totally up to you.

So then there are the romantic getaways in Balinese-style huts that look incredible until
you realise you can't smoke in the huts OR on the grounds, you can't light tealight candles
or any other sort of candle so the atmosphere is severely lacking, you are surrounded by
other stressed-out couples trying desperately to relax while dealing with nicotine
withdrawal and rampant boredom. There are only so many times you can sigh and say
"isn't this nice" before you want to kill somebody.

So what can you do? Lock yourself away in a room with all the windows boarded up until
the daylight rises over February 15th? Perhaps. Or you could get a nice card, write a
message that actually means something, buy some choccies, get a nice bottle of wine and
go out to dinner.

xxxoxox

I don't know what it is. Perhaps the stars were out of alignment. Perhaps Mercury was in retrograde. Perhaps something was in the water.

The fact is, the Ebay Jinx has not been put to rest. See "The Dreaded Ebay Jinx!" post.

It makes me think of Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors where Amanda Krueger
(Sister Mary Helena) says:

"The unquiet spirit must be laid to rest. It is an abomination to God and to man."

I must defeat the Ebay demon before it is too late.

There is only one way to start.

I'll be going to Ebay now and you know what I'll be shopping for...

So as I venture off to parts unknown I will leave you with these words:

"You are about to attend a funeral...one that's long overdue"
(Nightmare on Elm St 3 - Dream Warriors.)
(Again.)

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

I found this quiz through Skeet's Stuff - I have also discovered after completing another one of these quizzes that I am 90% Average American. Being an Australian, I think that's quite an achievement!

Coming from Melbourne, I've often thought I would fit in quite well in a place like Seattle. I went there in 1992
(GRUNGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
and it reminded me of Melbourne. A lot.

Although I got asked the weirdest questions when I went to school in Olympia (pun intended, thank you Courtney Love!) I was on a kind of school exchange program where I found the knowledge of Australia was minimal, if not bizarre. It was no culture shock for me to go to Olympia, I went from a fairly large city (by Australian standards!) to a smaller town with lots of barns, churches and basketball games. I was met at the airport by my host family - the Dad was wearing a Driza Bone (circa "Man From Snowy River") and an Akubra (I'm pretty sure Paul Hogan wore one in Crocodile Dundee) I knew from this point on that things were going to be weird. I went to give a talk the school (argh!!) This is something I did not enjoy. I was more interested in listening to Nevermind on my walkman. I managed to sync up the chorus of "Something in the Way" to the taking off and landing of my plane journeys to great effect. Anyway, I was dragged unenthusiastically into this group. There was a Q&A session with me (feeling like a zoo exhibit) so everyone could find out more about where I was from. Here are the highlights for your enjoyment (and my horror)...

Question 1: Are your maps upside down?
Err........no. That would make us....INSANE!!!

Question 2: Do you have electricity?
Uh....here is a picture of my town - Melbourne, Australia to dispel these strange myths:



Question 3: Do you have kangaroos in your yard?
?!?!?!??!?!? See picture above.

Question 4: (this killed me!!)
What is your favourite band?

I answered "Nirvana" (I was of course in Olympia, then Seattle - a grunge pilgrimage, if you like...)



The Reply: Are they an Australian band?

Oh My God.

I feel weak.

I need to lie down.

I don't really know anyone who enjoys washing up. It's easy to enjoy having a pile
of clean dishes, but the actual task can drive people up the wall and around the bend.
And back again!



Imagine if you could cut your washing up time in half....

Here's the deal, you find every pot, utensil, piece of cutlery and miscellaneous items that are made of aluminium.

How do I identify these items? I hear you ask.

Well, it's easy. They are the ones that are very stained and seem to take a lifetime to scrub!

I have a ladle that takes about 10 minutes to scrub clean with the hardest scourer known to man (or woman!)

In fact, this ladle takes nearly as much time to clean as the rest of the dishes!!

Okay, now you have your aluminium items, gather them up and go shopping for replacements. Replace each aluminium item with an equivalent item made from stainless steel.

Then throw the aluminium gear in the bin.

I replaced an aluminium grater with a stainless steel equivalent - it now takes a quick once-over and it's clean!! (and it stays clean!)

Using stainless steel instead of aluminium uses less water, less detergent, you go through less scourers, and best of all, less elbow grease!!

Tech Tags: drawings save time washing up stainless steel detergent aluminium

For those of you searching for a used car, you can go to lemonfree.com: Cars For Sale.



The site has a large range of used cars and truck classified ads. You can search by year, make, model, country and state. Plus the advanced search includes a price range and a mileage range so you can get the best car for your needs. You can also create a free auto listing of your own, with space to upload 10 pictures of your vehicle. Personally, I am quite partial to the Volkswagen Golf - VW Golf
The search results include full colour photographs of the vehicles and detailed descriptions, including Vehicle Identification Numbers and Carfax (vehicle history) reports. These features make it easier for you to research the car before you buy.
Finally, the best thing about lemonfree.com is the fact that they don't charge any money to buy or sell a vehicle on the site!

For the first time in my life (or a long time!), I actually bought an accessory.
Yes, that's right. Me.
I fell in love with it at the Elsternwick Golf Course because it was so cute!!!

Wilson Staff Cap $14.95









...and because it was a hot day (35 degrees celsius)
...and in Australia we have UV levels and conditions similar to futuristic movies like Total Recall..















...and if you don't cover your head you get bright red even if you are olive skinned like me!!

I thought this cap was pretty appropriate because I was at a golf course, and the Wilson Staff label denotes my role as caddy. This is a role I am very proud of - I can click that golf stroke counter like nobody's business!!!

After 2 games of golf and 4 days of walking with hand weights, my head has not been 'touched by the sun'.

My arms, however are a different story.

I got one layer of tan from the first day of golf, right up to near my shoulder. I got the next
layer wearing 3/4 length sleeves...and the next layer with full length sleeves.

I call it my "Neapolitan tan".










Now for the verdict:.....

Success!!! Not only is the cap cute and a perfect colour, but it keeps the sun of my noggin' as well.

Does this ever happen to you? Bored, staring at the screen, can't face another spreadsheet? The remedy: time killer - proudly declaring to waste your time in a good way. The site has games such as Tic Tac Toe, 3D worm and blast billiards. Plus the obviously addictive (played 598 times so far) bubble pop game. Where you pop plastic protective bubble wrap until your brain explodes. Enjoy!

I treated myself to a new HydraGel Infrared Massager (RRP approx$40)


Between AVIS and shavers that don't work, I think I needed a little relaxation!! I picked the right time to try it out - I have been walking with hand weights for the last couple of weeks and my back is full of tension.

I tried it out on the first night without infrared - just the massager. After about 2 minutes I started to feel better. As I also discovered, it is better if someone holds the massager for you as you can turn into a pretzel trying to reach a certain spot on your back!!

Verdict - AHHHHHH!!

Note: Don't try to understand the terms "hydra gel" or "dampening system" - I was filled with ideas of gel, and damp massages...and that is a little off putting. The truth is, the whole thing is dry, and the weird spring-contraption in the neck of the massager is termed the "HydraGel Dampening System".

Sheesh!!! Biggest dumbest weasel words I have heard for a long time...

Mutter mutter mutter mutter......

This is the Q-Link pendant. (RRP$199)

What does it do? How does it work? I'm not going to bore you with the details that can be easily found on the Q-Link website.

I'll tell you what it does, though.... it stops you in your tracks when you are doing your 'nana. Or chucking a wobbly. Or throwing a tantrum, spitting the dummy. You get the idea.

For those of you scratching your head, go to Australian Slang for the translation.

I'll give you an example. The test subject has been wearing the pendant for a couple of months. The story begins at Elsternwick Golf Course - my partner was having a good round. A great round, in fact.

Around the 17th hole (also known as the 8th!) my partner stood at the tee, surveying the green. Three teenaged guys muddled about on the green, taking their time, goofing around, playing with the flag. I could sense my partner was getting annoyed.

Or maybe it was the stream of muttered expletives I kept hearing.

On top of this, another fellow from the hole behind us smacked the ball right onto our tee off point, narrowly missing my partner's head.

He was so caught up in getting annoyed at the three guys on the green that he missed this event. He did not however miss the guy from the hole behind us running up in front of him and striking the ball across his line of sight.

Tired of waiting for the 3 guys on the green, he teed off.

The ball did a majestically horrible boomerang to the right, ending up in the reeds.

Reeds that were in the water. A lost ball.

He got out another ball, teed off and to my amazement, perfectly replicated the one-in-a-million horrible shot. Another lost ball in the reeds.

The next new ball swooped to the right, and landed about 5 metres away, near the reeds. He said calmly "I'll take that one" and started off towards the ball.

He set up the shot and hit the ball. It swerved towards the water like a heat seeking missile, then incredibly hit a pile of rocks in the water, and bounced back to very near its original starting point.

I stared, open mouthed as I watched for what he would do next. After hooking the ball (or was it slicing? I don't know) the ball came to rest behind a very large bunch of reeds. You could barely see over them...

Faced with this situation, I know many people who would have broken a club, jumped in the water, climbed a tree or stormed off the golf course, vowing never to play this f$%@ing game again.

My partner, on the other hand suddenly stopped getting annoyed. He took a deep breath and hit a majestic towering shot OVER the reeds, UP the hill and landing to rest at the lip of the green.

One more chip and a close putt and the ball was in.

In this round, he broke 100 for the first time.

The Q-Link claims to shave at least 3 shots off your score.

Since wearing the Q-Link, my partner has dropped 9 shots. And counting.....

At the 19th hole (the pub) he told me the Q-Link definitely did something. It didn't stop him getting annoyed, but it did make him quickly recover to take control of the game again.

Note: In scoring the penalty shots, we used the Playstation 2 Tiger Woods scoring system.

AVIS. AVIS. AVIS.
*sigh!*

It began so simply. A catch up with Dad and my Grandma in Apollo Bay. My partner and I called up AVIS because in February last year we used them to drive out of Melbourne for the night. On that occasion the whole transaction was seamless. I booked on line, got a receipt number, I really couldn't fault them. They even offered an upgrade to a bigger car but I declined because I like to drive a manual!!

This time around, well I don't know what it was. Perhaps the computers were down, at least that's what they said. Perhaps someone on the switchboard was having a bad day.

It started well. We booked 4 days hire for a Hyundai Getz. They calculated the cost at about $159, which was fine. Hunky-dory. Tickety-Boo.

Hmmmm.

The fiasco began when we called back to change the date to the week before to sync up with my sister coming down that week. Simple, you would think - adding one extra day, and moving the booking back 1 week.

The woman on the switchboard told me it would cost an extra $190. An extra $190 for 1 day!!!!!!!! That's more than the 4 days put together!!

I pointed out the insanity of this proposition. It seemed to take a while to sink in. She couldn't understand what it was that I was objecting to. Then she got confused, told me the "computer was down" (it was more likely that she was down) and tried to get me off the phone.

With steam coming out of my ears, I called back, hoping to get a more helpful person. I explained the whole situation again and the lady said she couldn't do anything right now, could she call me back tomorrow?

I took great pleasure in cancelling the booking. The relief was wonderful. But it begged the question, where's the holiday? I still haven't caught up with my Grandma, I still feel bad for giving her the wrong filter replacements for her water purifier jug!!! I shall redeem myself today and send up the right ones!! Another January Christmas present. Oh well....

To be continued....





drawings family catch-up gathering apollo bay AVIS car rental booking

One would think that whiz-bang, new-fangled technology just works, right?

WRONG!!!

I was amazed at the results of trialling this shaver (not on myself, of course........I am a girl, and not a particularly hairy one at that)

Braun Smart Control (RRP$113)



From the advertising, they would have you believe the shaver increases muscle size, makes girls want to fawn all over you and it can even make you taller!!! You also get the impression that you will simply use the shaver and then TA DA! 30 seconds later you will look like this:


.....instead you wind up using the thing for about 20 minutes,
going over the same $#@&ck%#ing patch again and again....cursing and muttering...trying to work out how to coax those stubborn hairs into the weird foil thing..... but they seem somehow afraid.....

finally after what seems like a good half hours effort, you end up with this result:

It's the "half-shaven 3 day growth look", apparently it's very in vogue at the moment. Then you read the instructions for the 50th time and realise that not only are you half-hairy, you now have to clean the thing!!!

Step 1 - remove foil thing, turn coil thingys around.
Step 2 - use brush thing to get the hairs out (they are just as stubborn coming out as they were going in!)
Step 3 - run under water?
Step 4 - spray with ridiculously overpriced cleaning stuff ($15 per can!!!!)
Step 5 - dry, put back in package and sell on ebay!!

Here's to the most expensive paperweight I've ever bought (see Universal Remote Control post)

Tech Tags: drawings hairy shaver braun stubble 5 o'clock shadow paperweight ebay

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