kjp

So a guy at work pointed out this tops website: Cooking For Engineers. Great!

Lots of pictures! The time / ingredient diagrams at the bottom of the recipes are tops.

So can you sing high?

This guy can! Wow.

So, in all my trips back and forward to Canberra, I've always wondered how to get into one of the front (ie: first 10 rows or so) seats of the planes. In the self check in thingies, when I've picked my seat, I've only ever had the middle and back thirds of the plane available...

But, on my latest flight back here (when I booked with my velocity number), when I asked the chick for a seat 'as forward as possible', I got 1D. First row. So that may be the secret?

then sleep on it. Interesting.

this was a lyric from somewhere?

Anyhow, that's the major issue at the moment. Go back to Brisbane first thing tomorrow morning?, or stay for a while in Canberra. If I stay, how long will it be?? - after the funeral?

I can be of help down here, but everyone else can cope without me. It's just that we don't know how long J will be around for. hmmm. And for that matter, do I want to be around when J dies? I haven't figured this one out yet.

So I visited Melbourne this evening. Just for the heck of it.

nar.

My flight from Brisbane to Canberra was due to arrive in Canberra at 9.20 pm or so. However, there were some big storms in the region (and at the airport), so we flew around in circles for a bit (apparently, I was asleep at the time). But the lights at Canberra got knocked out, so we went to Melbourne to get some more fuel, and kill some time while they fixed the lights. We got in at about 11.40 pm or so.

I didn't really think much of Melbourne, although I probably should add that I didn't leave the plane (wasn't allowed), and my view was limited to a refuelng truck and a guy in a hi-vis vest. Woop-di-doo.

And so I'm back in Canberra for at least until Tuesday morning (taken Thursday and Friday off, Monday is an RDO). We'll see what happens.

So I went orienteering for the first time in ages this morning. Hot, humid, damp. It had been raining last night, and drizzling a bit through it. Ground was very wet (I'm not as confident as I should running on wet ground / bush - did not have gaiters on). And lots of spiders out in the forest parts, with associated webs to run into. Nice.

So there's a couple of points to be made:
* my physical endurance in running is non existant. I haven't done any significant > 30 min continuous excercise in ages (gym, swimming in ocean don't count).
* slow and steady may not win the race, but does make for curious watching of others that leave a control at the same time as you, run off in the bush, and who arrive at the next control at the same time as you from a really bizzare direction that could only be got at from a very long way around... (this occured for two controls in a row when I just walked in a roughly straight line to them).
* on a later control (after the hare mentioned above had skirted away), my compass, much like it should, tended to point in the direction of magnetic north. Heading east when you're supposed to be going south on clear "yellow" open ground is just silly. It's especially silly when the logic used to justify going that way is "yeah, my compass is probably wrong. I'll just head this way anyhow/". Top job. Great to add a few minutes to my time.

Ohh, by the way, it's 10:55 pm now, and I've still got 3 emails to send tonight, and dishes to do. Kind of silly posting the same top notch quality postings that you've come to expect from me to my blog :). In other news I played pretty poorly at band (not QWAB, my 'old' band from last year) tonight. My sight reading has never been wonderful, but it was more that I was just distracted....

If you know what's going on in Canberra with my family, then you should read this update.

There's an article Paradigm Lost that is all about the changing relationship (political, military, economic) between China and USA. Interesting stuff.

So, I've finally decided: I'm moving.

I've been living in this place in McDowall for about 1 and a 1/2 years (moving in in late August 04 - right after the unpleasantness down south started). I've enjoyed it - cool housemates; but felt isolated and the sameness of it all (it's time for a change).

I've been undecided for a while (I was considering it on my Christmas / new years trip to Canberra, and then was fairly sure on the last one this past weekend). But now that I've told (as of a few mins ago) my housemates (or rather, the main one), I feel good. So it's almost certainly the right choice.

That's one of my more annoying features - I don't like making the wrong decisions, so I'm undecided for a while. It is a pretty good place - it's just not the best place for me. I think that if I was still living here at the end of this year, then I wouldn't be happy with myself. So, I should move this year; and if I'm going to move, it might as well be at the start of the year. Ie: now.

Who knows what the future holds?

So a fortnight back, I did my tax return for 2004/05. I'd been putting it off for a while because I knew I had to pay a fair bit (and I was going to get an agent to do it), and then China got in the way of everything, and then all of a sudden it was 2006.

Anyhow, I thought that if you're doing your tax by yourself, you've got until October or November or something to do it; and if you get an agent to do it, you've got 5 years or so. Apparently I was wrong: the tax agent told me (along with a stern but nice letter from the Deputy Commissioner) that I risked $110 per month for submitting a late return. Ouch.

Apparently you have to nominate a tax agent before the deadline for the tax return, otherwise you risk the fine...

Anyhow, I've learnt my lesson: do your tax returns.

I went into the city earlier this evening to get jabbed in the arm (a booster shot for Hepatitis A) that should last me 20 years, apparently. I parked in my secret spot (that's pretty convenient, free, and is usually empty at 7pm, no, not telling) - but I was shocked when I saw a brand new (not yet in operation) parking meter beside it. Nooooo...

Useless trivia.

The other week I got and email (followed by a letter a few days later), that my ISP - TPG was no longer offering my plan ($50 / month, 1.5 Mbps download, 256kbps upload, shaped at 20GByte). Instead, the equivalent (ie: same) plan was now $70 / month. Booo.

Since it's very rare that I actually use the speed 1.5Mbps = 187 kbytes / s (the max sped I ever got was around 160 kbits / s), I've gone to the slower plan - 512kbps down, 128 kbps up for the same price as my old plan. I had a brief look around at other ISPs, but this seemed to be a pretty good deal still.

Anyhow.

Slow.

This weekend (ie: Friday night to first thing Tuesday morning) I’m in Canberra catching up with everyone. Well, those of my family who are in Australia at the moment. Of course, I’ve been to the hospital �" yesterday �" but it wasn’t emergency or a ward �" went to the pharmacy to pickup some drugs (that need more than a prescription, apparently). And will go there tomorrow for an appointment. Sigh.

Anyhow, it’s really great to go for morning walks / jogs with S around the pinnacle; followed by backtrack walk with C and the little ones (four legged kind). And talk to J.

On another note. Har har har (pun unintended). One cool thing (of many) about QWAB is the layout �" that has the clarinets (in particular the 3rds) are in front of the horn section �" so we get the goodness of their most fantastic of sounds. Yum.