Sunday, October 30, 2011

Errors and Error Messages

Any programmer worth their salt is aware that an error message should be informative and not confusing to the user who is going to experience it. And everyone who uses the Interwebs knows that error messages aren't all that informative on occasion. I've come across a few of late so thought that I'd share them.


A gigantic error occurred - you don't say?! Isn't that informative?


That message wasn't composed very well in terms of HTML being translated into text.


Just a little bit too exacting with the market depth methinks.


When does an object refernce not refer to an object? Didn't help me get the game score in an AFL match earlier this season.


Generic_tf - WTF?

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 3

Shower and brekkie followed by a train into the city which took only seven minutes. Walked a couple of blocks to catch a no. 96 tram to the Melbourne Museum for the Tutankhamun exhibition. The very informative Egypt 3D movie ran for 25 minutes. We spent almost two hours inside the exhibition which had many wonders of the ancient Egyptian world on display. We're talking 3,300 years old here. Especially impressive was the sarcophagus of Tjuya, aunt of Tutankhamun. Spent about 15 minutes in the souvenir shop deciding on what to buy. Tutankhamun And The Golden Age Of The Pharoahs was great.

Melbourne seems to be the smokers' capital of the world. The air is difficult to breathe in sometimes.

Back to the city for lunch at McDonalds with an Irish/Chinese family from the Gold Coast. Don't know if I'm missing something, or if McDonalds is, but I didn't see a toilet seat on the toilet.

Change in plans as my friend, Din, will not be getting back from his trip until late so won't be able to meet us for tea. No probs. Caught the no. 96 down to Luna Park in St Kilda. Free entry but unlimited rides were $33.95 for kids and $43.95 for adults. Individual rides priced at $9.50. Pity I didn't find out about the 10% discount for showing your Met ticket beforehand. Went to put our bags in a locker but they were all being utilised.

First ride - Ghost Train. Wait was for 45 minutes. Absolutely crap ride. And they didn't even set up the camera properly to take your photo at the "scary" moment. Metropolis roller coaster was OK, Enterprise really good, Scenic Railway roller coaster (with 25 minutes wait) was very bumpy (99 years old!) but quite good, Coney Drop OK and the Spider was quite good. The Boy went on Pharoah's Curse and really enjoyed it. I knew that my lunch would have some trouble keeping down so I gave it a miss. G-Force ride was OK. I let him do lots of rides, including Twin Dragons, by himself as my stomach isn't as good as his. We spent five and a half hours there and it was well worth it. Caramel popcorn was delicious. Luna Park closed at 8pm so we headed down Acland Street for tea.

Found La Roche Cafe - all smoking seats outside were taken and there was, thankfully, a table for two available inside. Had a lamb pizza and calamari. Very reasonably priced, for those items on Monday, and a very enjoyable meal. Considering the number of people there and the conversations it was surprising that you were able to talk and be heard. Caught a no. 79 tram back to the hotel which was only 20 minutes away.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album - Photos 50-64.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

G'day Your Majesty

HRH Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh were in town today for the Great Aussie BBQ before nicking back off to Old Blighty. I managed to catch a bus into the city, seeing as many of the streets were closed off for the royal motorcade and CHOGM, and just managed to cross the road before it was closed off to pedestrian traffic. Pity I was on the side of the ride where Prince Philip was as I'd come to see the Queen. Still ended up only a few metres away and got a half decent photo.

After the motorcade had passed I went onto Langley Park and took part in the charity BBQ with a couple of snaggers on bread and a soft drink. Couldn't get close enough to the Esplanade where the royal party was on stage prior to a walk amongst the people so ended up watching proceedings on a large screen. Reports are that there were over 100,000 people in attendance.

Got another look as they went past on the way out to the airport. Just read another report that they took off at 1:01pm. Not bad considering that they left the Esplanade at 11:55am. Not like many Qantas passengers who won't be going anywhere seeing as the airline has been grounded by management.



Whilst I didn't get to say "G'day" it was a bit of a thrill to see her. Did I mention that I am a republican? One who believes in maintaining membership of the Commonwealth though. Still, currently she is the Head of State so deserves a little respect.

Queen Elizabeth II's Visit to Perth Photo Album

Friday, October 28, 2011

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 2

Subdued start to the morning. Discovered that instead of putting my watch forward for daylights savings I had advanced my alarm. Went down for breakfast, which we didn't have much time for, consisting of cereals, fruit, tea/coffee and toast. Grabbed an all day Met ticket for $3.20. Great value on a Sunday in Melbourne for public transport.

First stop was the Shrine of Remembrance. This is a building that truly commemorates the sacrifice of soldiers from Victoria. A total of 4000 medals were on display - one for every hundred that served and six that fell. We took part in a short service at the Unmarked Grave with the Ray of Light. Had a look around from the balcony. The crypt holds a special statue saluting father and son.

Victoria Barracks, across the road from the Shrine of Remembrance, looks beautiful. Tram to Flinders Street Station. Some Korean tourists were having their photo taken so I asked the photographer, in Korean, if he wanted a photo. He was surprised and said that he was a guide. Took another tram past the Fitzroy Gardens to go to the MCG.

Quite a few cars still parked at the MCG. We came to visit the National Sports Museum and were informed that it wasn't available as it was the open arena day. Oh well, we'd come this far. The open arena day, held once a year after the grand final, meant that you were allowed onto the MCG for a kick. What a bonus. The Boy took part in a handball competition for a chocolate prize after scoring a bullseye with his third attempt. We visited the MCG Superstore half an hour later to buy a football and hunted high and low for an Essendon one. Must have been the last in existence. Kicked the footy for about 40 minutes before grabbing two 4 'n 20 pies for lunch. Well, you can't go to the footy without eating a pie, can you? Just managed to grab an MCG tour with MCC member Barrie Johns. What an amazing stadium and so full of history. Ninety three steps to the top of one of the stands - nosebleed section obviously. Tour took an hour is I'd highly recommend it.

Next stopwas the National Sports Museum, which was open, for a look see. No cameras allowed, which was probably a good thing, and we kept our visit down to about an hour and a quarter. Olympic Games memorabilia, AFL Hall of Fame and Legends of the Game, James Hird and Shane Warne holograms, Melbourne Cup, Cricket, etc all wonderfully displayed.

Had another kick on the 'G until 4:30pm. Walked along the Yarra River back to the city and grabbed some tea. Caught a tram to head to the Polly Woodside Maritime Museum (closed) before walking back to the Eureka Skydeck 88 Building. Good view but too many reflections from the windows. Not until you step out onto the balcony, which was absolutely freezing, do you get a great view. Glad we didn't pay money for the Edge Experience as you couldn't even use a camera inside it. Personally, the Rialto Building provides a better view.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Shrine of Remembrance which looks fantastic at night (9pm by this stage). Had to wait quarter of an hour for the next tram but it was OK. Bed at 11pm. Wonderful day at the 'G.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album - Photos 9-49.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

A Case Of "Pimp My Ride" Gone Wrong?

There's a TV show by the name of "Pimp My Ride" whereby they get an old clanger and do it up. I'm just wondering if one of the neighbours tried this and failed.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Day 1

Holidays are finally here. Last night, when walking the dog with the missus, I made the discovery that her flight was on Sunday and not Monday as she had thought (she was heading off to Korea). Lucky, as she was making shopping plans, dog grooming plans and cleaning plans accordingly. Had to throw those plans out of the window.

Up early to do a final check of emails as I'll be disconnected from the virtual world for the next two weeks. Popped over to see the neighbours to ask if they could collect my mail while I was away. Had a nine o'clock appointment with the dentist - boy, do I know how to enjoy my holidays. Rang the boarding kennel to book Hunter in two days early.

Miky wanted to buy some gifts for friends in Korea and seeing as we still had some time, even though the appointment at the dentist following mine had come early and made my appointment late by half an hour, I drove her into the city. We were also able to buy Subway for lunch.

All the way out to the airport Miky kept asking how to drive home. Easy, stay left leaving the airport, turn left and then turn left on to Tonkin Highway, etc. Got dropped off, said our goodbyes and proceeded to check in our luggage.

In the waiting lounge we ate our lunch and then plonked ourselves in front of the TV to watch the first quarter of the AFL Grand Final between Collingwood and Geelong. Saw Stan Lazaridis in the departure lounge. Quarter time coincided with our boarding call. I rang Miky to find out if she had arrived home OK only to find out that she had become lost twice after heading right on Tonkin Highway instead of following the straightforward instructions. She'd only just arrived which probably left only enough time to wash the dog, have a walk with him and then drop him off at the boarding kennel.

No problem boarding our Jetstar flight. No screens to watch the footy though. And no live ABC radio to listen to the match either. One of the cabin crew was Korean so he was quite shocked when I asked for water in Korean. So shocked that he asked me if I was Korean. Gee, must have really caught him off guard. Bottle of water set me back $3.50. Score update - Pies 71, Cats 73.

Screaming babies - seem to be a staple component of Jetstar services. People should realise that the headrest of the seat in front of you doesn't constitute a handle to pull your fat arse out of your own seat. But, with a Collingwood-supporting husband, what else could I expect?

Geelong 119 - Collingwood 81. Yahoo! I'd picked the Cats by 14 points. Bit of a cheer on board the plane. Grizzling from behind me. Heh heh.

The baby behind us screamed for all of the descent and carried on after we landed. Ears must have been sore. Or she was a Collingwood supporter.

Waiting for the baggage took almost as long as the flight. Well, not quite. Quite cold in Melbourne. Wet too but not raining. Grabbed a Skybus to the city which arrived just as I bought the tickets. Quick ride to the city. It was 7:30pm by this stage and not much info on hand at Southern Cross Station. The VLine (train) info lady gave me some info but I couldn't find the tram info that she spoke about. We left the station and The Boy found a map on a street pillar. It pointed out a free tram, the Circle Tram, which would take us to the No. 8 tram that we required. Got off the tram one stop too early. Walked with baggage to the Flinders Street Station and waited. So many happy Cats supporters and many fewer sad, despondent Magpies supporters. Drunk and cheerful Cats supporters everywhere. Caught the No. 8 but got off about three stops too early. Finally found the hotel. Checked in. Room was spartan.

Went out to find something to eat on Chappell Street. One woman yelled out, "Go Bombers" and clapped as I walked past with my Essendon jacket. Back to Falafel House across the road from the hotel. Lovely chicken souvlaki and lamb kebab. Ate in the shop. Pakistanis, I think. Back to the hotel for a shower and watched Die Hard.

One thing that can be said about the ladies in Melbourne who are hitting the town for a good time - the more attractive they are the less clothing they wear. Even in the cold weather. It was supposedly 9C when we landed.

Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album - Photos 1-8