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| Big moth |
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| That's how big he was |
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| Front view |
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| Side view |
Monday, November 01, 2010
Big Moth
I spotted a large moth on my walk to the bus stop this morning. Must be a storm moth although the storm that we had the other day was hardly noteworthy. Perhaps the weather conditions brought about this little fella. He's quite a specimen, don't you think? Would have made quite a meal for a bird. I left him alone.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Don't Mess With The Man With The Shoulder Of Steel
Something unusual happened yesterday. I discovered that I had a shoulder of steel. It all started so innocently in Subiaco with the fruit and veg shopping. There was sufficient time after the shopping to go to the post office before my appointment with the chiropractor. Only 30 minutes so I had no time to dilly dally as the post office was some distance away. As I approached the Rokeby Road and Roberts Road intersection the little man turned green to cross. Knowing that I would have to wait at least two minutes, which I could ill-afford, I started running to get to the intersection. It was shortly after I emerged from behind a coffee shop building that I noticed a cyclist bearing down on me at perhaps 40 km/h. He was pretty mobile. I didn't have time to dodge him and he smacked right into my left shoulder. I did have an image of getting hit by the wheel or having a clash of heads, which wouldn't have done me any good as he was wearing a helmet, the split second before impact so there was a little bit of concern for my welfare.
Well, I must be built like Iron Man, we watched Iron Man 2 last night, coz I took the cyclist out completely with a hip and shoulder. Ok, he only ran into my shoulder. He went sprawling and lay on the ground for a while. I managed to stay upright the whole time. I asked him if he was alright as he lay there and if he needed a hand up. His response was that he was a bit winded but ok and he admitted to going a bit fast fast but that I had been running also. I didn't bother to mention that he wasn't riding in the bike lane which would have given me more time to pull up and avoid the collision. I didn't need to as I was in one piece and I'd just taken him out although his momentum was much greater than mine. Shoulder of Steel. Don't mess with it. We hugged and had a laugh about it as no one was seriously hurt. It was an awkward minute or so waiting for the little green man to reappear whilst he put his bike back together.
When I got home and started relaying the information about my big collision my missus thought that I'd crashed her car so she started to get very upset. No sense of humour my wife. Told my takewondo instructor that my balance must be getting better as I'd managed to stay upright. That was about 15 minutes before I fell flat on my arse in front of the class whilst trying to do a spinning kick. Not half as funny as the comment from one of the students who yelled out, "Yo!" instead of "Yes, sir!" when it was time to collect his card from the instructor who subsequently gave him 40 pushups.
Went shopping later and it was interesting to see the people get out of my way as I wandered about. Perhaps they've heard about the new Mr Invincible and his Shoulder of Steel.
Well, I must be built like Iron Man, we watched Iron Man 2 last night, coz I took the cyclist out completely with a hip and shoulder. Ok, he only ran into my shoulder. He went sprawling and lay on the ground for a while. I managed to stay upright the whole time. I asked him if he was alright as he lay there and if he needed a hand up. His response was that he was a bit winded but ok and he admitted to going a bit fast fast but that I had been running also. I didn't bother to mention that he wasn't riding in the bike lane which would have given me more time to pull up and avoid the collision. I didn't need to as I was in one piece and I'd just taken him out although his momentum was much greater than mine. Shoulder of Steel. Don't mess with it. We hugged and had a laugh about it as no one was seriously hurt. It was an awkward minute or so waiting for the little green man to reappear whilst he put his bike back together.
When I got home and started relaying the information about my big collision my missus thought that I'd crashed her car so she started to get very upset. No sense of humour my wife. Told my takewondo instructor that my balance must be getting better as I'd managed to stay upright. That was about 15 minutes before I fell flat on my arse in front of the class whilst trying to do a spinning kick. Not half as funny as the comment from one of the students who yelled out, "Yo!" instead of "Yes, sir!" when it was time to collect his card from the instructor who subsequently gave him 40 pushups.
Went shopping later and it was interesting to see the people get out of my way as I wandered about. Perhaps they've heard about the new Mr Invincible and his Shoulder of Steel.
Just Remember People....
I'm thinking of starting to show some wit online with the start of a new series which I shall call "Just Remember People..." I update my status on Facebook with some one liner that intends to bring a smile to your face. Well, I'll be trying to anyway. Not everything will be mine but hopefully you get a laugh out of it anyway. Here's what you may have missed during the last week.
Just remember people - multiple personality disorder sufferers are people, two, you know.
Just remember people - If at first you don't succeed then parachuting is probably not the right sport for you.
Just remember people - Pi is not equal to 4, as enacted in Bill No. 246 from the 1897 General Assembly of Indiana, but much closer to 3.141592653589793238462643383279502.....
Just remember people - Ghandi was a super calloused fragile mystic plagued with halitosis.
Just remember people - niwa niwa niwa niwa tori ga iru.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Boy Had A Piano Exam
Big day on Wednesday. The Boy had his first piano exam and it was held at the University of Western Australia in a majestic old building. I went to work early as I had to pick him up just before lunch and after dropping him off back at school it wasn't worth heading back to work for an hour and a half only so I had the rest of the day off. I normally leave early for his taekwondo competition training that day.
I had a rough idea where it was. Had to head some three to four kilometres along from the main UWA campus along Princess Street. Kept driving for ages, so it seemed, and thought that I'd better pull over to check the map (don't have GPS). Pulled into a campus that was signposted as UWA so thought that that was a good start. Couldn't park in any of the parking bays nearby as they were for permit holders so kept driving until I came across the student parking area. After getting out of the car I found out that we were only 25 metres away from the entrance to the examination building. Lucky, eh?
He was as nervous as hell. It probably didn't help that his teacher mentioned how she remembered her exams and it didn't appear to be a happy memory when I collected him from school. Not only did he have to play three pieces in front of an examiner that he'd never met but he was quizzed on musical terms such as ritardando, decrescendo, etc with the real worry being the need to sing some notes to accompany what the examiner played. There were two other kids his age that were just before him as well so he's at the same level and I guess that that made him feel a bit better. He wasn't allowed to take any notes that would aid his playing, except for fingering, and so I had to rub some six pages clean - tiring work.
I think that he did alright. Couple of mistakes but nothing disasterous. Not sure when we'll receive the results though. Well done Boy.
I had a rough idea where it was. Had to head some three to four kilometres along from the main UWA campus along Princess Street. Kept driving for ages, so it seemed, and thought that I'd better pull over to check the map (don't have GPS). Pulled into a campus that was signposted as UWA so thought that that was a good start. Couldn't park in any of the parking bays nearby as they were for permit holders so kept driving until I came across the student parking area. After getting out of the car I found out that we were only 25 metres away from the entrance to the examination building. Lucky, eh?
He was as nervous as hell. It probably didn't help that his teacher mentioned how she remembered her exams and it didn't appear to be a happy memory when I collected him from school. Not only did he have to play three pieces in front of an examiner that he'd never met but he was quizzed on musical terms such as ritardando, decrescendo, etc with the real worry being the need to sing some notes to accompany what the examiner played. There were two other kids his age that were just before him as well so he's at the same level and I guess that that made him feel a bit better. He wasn't allowed to take any notes that would aid his playing, except for fingering, and so I had to rub some six pages clean - tiring work.
I think that he did alright. Couple of mistakes but nothing disasterous. Not sure when we'll receive the results though. Well done Boy.
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| Happy Boy after the piano exam |
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| Majestic building at UWA's Claremont campus |
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| Commemorative shields |
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| Confucius Institue just down the hallway |
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| Aforementioned hallway |
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| Honour board |
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| Lovely stairway |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Redefining Pathetic
I don't think too much of the regional TV news in Australia but prefer watching Channel 7 if the ABC or SBS are unavailable. Channel 10 is quite watchable but I refuse to watch theChannel 9 news even though they have the same stories as Channel 7.
Two nights ago I was most annoyed with the weather girl, Natalia Cooper, with her report from a drought-ravaged area of the state. Not so much the story was the issue but this weather girl made a heartfelt plea for rain in the area which appeared to be stage-managed. Ok, she doesn't have a science communications degree covered climate change, environmental subjects, geography and a bit of meteorology like her rival on Channel 9, Angela Tsun, but she does have a journalism degree. The fact of the matter is that weather is a science, not an exact science (I'm waiting for some teenager or American to comment "exact same science"), and this passionate display was quite pathetic. All she needed to do was report that rain was greatly needed. Pleading for it is not the way to go and unproffessional journalism. And this was after telling us that they need the rain next year so what's it got to with this year then? Not a very well managed weather report from a very dry area of Western Australia.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh but the regional TV stations try to introduce too much heartfelt sympathy and I'm not buying it.
Two nights ago I was most annoyed with the weather girl, Natalia Cooper, with her report from a drought-ravaged area of the state. Not so much the story was the issue but this weather girl made a heartfelt plea for rain in the area which appeared to be stage-managed. Ok, she doesn't have a science communications degree covered climate change, environmental subjects, geography and a bit of meteorology like her rival on Channel 9, Angela Tsun, but she does have a journalism degree. The fact of the matter is that weather is a science, not an exact science (I'm waiting for some teenager or American to comment "exact same science"), and this passionate display was quite pathetic. All she needed to do was report that rain was greatly needed. Pleading for it is not the way to go and unproffessional journalism. And this was after telling us that they need the rain next year so what's it got to with this year then? Not a very well managed weather report from a very dry area of Western Australia.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh but the regional TV stations try to introduce too much heartfelt sympathy and I'm not buying it.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Idiot Driver Gave Me A Bump Today
I hate people that don't stop at stop signs. How hard is it? Do they not understand English or can they not read or is that they just don't have the right driving skills?
I went to visit a sick friend today. Had a good chat, did a bit of shopping for him and ran an errand as well. Haven't seen him for ages and it was good to catch up. I was in a bit of a hurry to leave afterwards as The Boy and I were heading to taekwondo training but I obviously wasn't in the same hurry that the idiot behind me apparently was.
Outside of my friend's apartment block his street joins an arterial road which is controlled by a stop sign. That didn't bother the three cars in front of me who all turned left without stopping. I was slightly concerned that the guy behind me might think that I would do the same thing. Well, I didn't. I stopped. That's what you are supposed to do at a stop sign. The road is busy, the corner is slightly blind, so there's good reason for having a stop sign in existence. The guy behind me did stop but only after he had rammed me up the arse.
I got out of my car and yelled at him that there was a "f*%$ing stop sign" there whilst pointing at it. No word from the idiot driver. His girlfriend just yelled out to ask if there was any damage. Yes, some paint from my bumper and a bit of paint on my exhaust pipe. He had a reasonable dent in his front bumper. It would be a little nasty of me to publish his seven character alphanumeric plate so I'll just say that it started with "1BMH" and ended with "954". I hope like hell that there is no damage to the exhaust that will rear its ugly head in time to come and isn't apparent now.
Man, did I want to punch this guy. No remorse at all. What's wrong with saying sorry? I've got a good mind to call the police and dob him in for failure to stop for which I understand the penalty is three (3) demerit points and three (3) penalty units for a fine. Gee I was wild but quickly realised that the accident wasn't serious and there was no point in getting into a fight. No-one was injured and the apparent damage was less than $1,000. I even had enough sense to see that it was pointless to kick his car in anger as that would just give him good reason to ram my car again or something.
Need I reiterate - I hate idiot drivers.
I went to visit a sick friend today. Had a good chat, did a bit of shopping for him and ran an errand as well. Haven't seen him for ages and it was good to catch up. I was in a bit of a hurry to leave afterwards as The Boy and I were heading to taekwondo training but I obviously wasn't in the same hurry that the idiot behind me apparently was.
Outside of my friend's apartment block his street joins an arterial road which is controlled by a stop sign. That didn't bother the three cars in front of me who all turned left without stopping. I was slightly concerned that the guy behind me might think that I would do the same thing. Well, I didn't. I stopped. That's what you are supposed to do at a stop sign. The road is busy, the corner is slightly blind, so there's good reason for having a stop sign in existence. The guy behind me did stop but only after he had rammed me up the arse.
I got out of my car and yelled at him that there was a "f*%$ing stop sign" there whilst pointing at it. No word from the idiot driver. His girlfriend just yelled out to ask if there was any damage. Yes, some paint from my bumper and a bit of paint on my exhaust pipe. He had a reasonable dent in his front bumper. It would be a little nasty of me to publish his seven character alphanumeric plate so I'll just say that it started with "1BMH" and ended with "954". I hope like hell that there is no damage to the exhaust that will rear its ugly head in time to come and isn't apparent now.
Man, did I want to punch this guy. No remorse at all. What's wrong with saying sorry? I've got a good mind to call the police and dob him in for failure to stop for which I understand the penalty is three (3) demerit points and three (3) penalty units for a fine. Gee I was wild but quickly realised that the accident wasn't serious and there was no point in getting into a fight. No-one was injured and the apparent damage was less than $1,000. I even had enough sense to see that it was pointless to kick his car in anger as that would just give him good reason to ram my car again or something.
Need I reiterate - I hate idiot drivers.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Joe Hockey Sporty?
Who, in their right mind, would call Joe Hockey sporty? He's a rather obese character and currently the Liberal Party's shadow treasurer.
It was funny to listen to Don Randall today, a Liberal backbencher, go on about "This is just another one of their, as I said lunatic fringe type ideas. But that's the problem that the Gillard Government's got now, they've got a Green coalition which is dragging them to the left of Australian politics with all these crazy ideas." when he heard about the idea of banks being regulated in the interest rates they can charge especially when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) changes rates. The idea was that banks be punished, in legislation, if they move their rates up more than what the RBA does. Turns out that this was Joe Hockey's idea. Dumb.
Joe Hockey is considered sport?
What really amused me is that the Google News aggregator thought that this story belonged in both the business and sports sections.
Now he's likely to be a political football. At least for a while. And you don't think that the Labor Party or the Greens will let that go through to the keeper, do you?
If opening your mouth to change feet is considered a sport then I believe Joe Hockey does belong in the sports section.
It was funny to listen to Don Randall today, a Liberal backbencher, go on about "This is just another one of their, as I said lunatic fringe type ideas. But that's the problem that the Gillard Government's got now, they've got a Green coalition which is dragging them to the left of Australian politics with all these crazy ideas." when he heard about the idea of banks being regulated in the interest rates they can charge especially when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) changes rates. The idea was that banks be punished, in legislation, if they move their rates up more than what the RBA does. Turns out that this was Joe Hockey's idea. Dumb.
What really amused me is that the Google News aggregator thought that this story belonged in both the business and sports sections.
Now he's likely to be a political football. At least for a while. And you don't think that the Labor Party or the Greens will let that go through to the keeper, do you?
If opening your mouth to change feet is considered a sport then I believe Joe Hockey does belong in the sports section.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
What do You Use USB 2.0 Poets For?
Just looking at the specs on an ASUS laptop. Interesting that it comes with three USB 2.0 poets. I wonder what USB poets are good for? Now that USB 3.0 is available perhaps they'll be joining the USB 2.0 dead poets society.
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| USB Poets? |
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