I’ve been pondering Streaming Video On Demand (SVOD) services. The thinking goes like this: Let’s say I want to watch Breaking Bad. I’ve heard great things about it, and I love high-quality long-form drama that good television provides. Blu-ray is the best way to watch this type of drama, for the ultimate in (domestically-available) quality ... [More]
Category: Culture
TV, movies, music, that kind of thing
As I’ve noted in the past, I no longer wear ties to work, and have a range of different shirts. Apart from regularly stocking up with Van Heusen and Gloweave shirts when the sales are on, I’ve been trying out Charles Tyrwhitt shirts — you know, the online shirt company that at one stage seemed ... [More]
In my house, we’re re-watching The West Wing, after I bought the box set cheap last year as a present to myself. It’s just as brilliant as it ever was, and once again leaves you wishing that Barlet actually ran the White House… or if he wasn’t in the White House, then maybe in The ... [More]
Part two of my three part plan for weight loss… (Part 1 is diet via FebFast) I’ve never been one for organised sport, but I’ve had a few failed attempts at an exercise regime over the years. In the late 90s, I would regularly go for a short morning run, but I kind of fell ... [More]
The recent anti-motorway protests in Melbourne are nothing new. In fact the very same area was subject to protests in the 1970s, when it was proposed to link the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway by way of an aboveground link, by converting Alexandra Parade to a freeway, ploughing through neighbourhoods in Collingwood, Carlton and ... [More]
They say geek is the cool, right? Geek central in Melbourne must be the corner of Elizabeth and Little Collins Streets. Why? Because within a few metres are no less than three pop culture shops: Firstly, there’s the Doctor Who “popup” (eg temporary, until January) shop. Actually it has Sherlock merchandise too, which probably makes ... [More]
After buying the new livingroom hi-fi, my thinking was I want a device for the kitchen that does DAB+ for digital radio (eg music such as Double-J without relying on the vagaries of the internet connection) and can also do AirPlay (eg for music from iTunes on the Mac). Devices that do both DAB+ and ... [More]
It takes a special kind of cunning to first nobble the National Broadband Network, that if fully implemented might have been able to reliably deliver realtime high-definition video into homes… …and then cancel community television licences, and demand those stations go online instead. This seems like a bad idea in many ways, not the least ... [More]
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Aussie Sportball finals time!
You can tell it’s footy finals time — this rather impressive tribute of sugary drinks was at the Oakleigh South Safeway Woolies this week. Somehow I’ve won the tipping in Tony’s competition for the second year in a row. I think this might mean I get to present the perpetual trophy to myself. PS. The ... [More]
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The new toy
In Parks and Recreation they celebrate an annual Treat Yo’self day. Mine was last week. I took my birthday and the next day off work. After much pondering, I bought a new home theatre setup. I’d spent way too much time pondering what I was going to buy. For a while I considered buying into ... [More]
A shout-out to a good shop which doesn’t have a web site of its own: About once every decade I buy a belt. They last that long — I get them from a place in Elsternwick called Stockdale Stockade Leather (552 Glen Huntly Road), which I’m amazed is still in business because their stuff is ... [More]
One of my long-term objectives is to update my sound system. My current system is a mix of devices collected over many years. The horrible old brown Sanyo speakers I’ve had since I was a teenager, which originally came with a Sanyo DC J3K receiver and turntable (click through for some photos of what this ... [More]