Categories
music TV

Obscure songs: JC001: Never Again

20 odd years ago, when I was into music videos (and television in general), I used to regularly record (yes, on VHS) a few hours of Rage on a Friday and/or Saturday night, and watch it the next day. I’d categorise each song as a 1, 2 or 3. 1s I would copy onto another  ... [More]

Categories
music Retrospectives

My retro iPod

I just realised my iPod is nearly nine years old. That’s an age in the world of computers and electronics… does that make it a retro item? It’s a third-generation iPod, back from before they had silly features like apps, movie playback, and colour screens… And yes, it’s still going strong, though admittedly most of  ... [More]

Categories
Culture News and events

My late father’s account of the newspaper story in 1964 that led to a suicide

In looking through my late father’s papers, I found the following, which he wrote about an incident on Rupert Murdoch’s Sydney Daily Mirror in the mid-1960s. I found it fascinating in light of the News Of The World controversy that was uncovered during 2011, though of course one should not jump to conclusions about the  ... [More]

Categories
TV

Not live, from studio 13 at Gordon Street

A little while ago I bought myself the Collected Shaun Micallef — a box set of numerous shows of his, including The Micallef P(r)ogram(me). The kids and I have been watching our way through it. I remembered that I had gone to a recording of the show, but had no idea which episode it was.  ... [More]

Categories
Doctor Who News and events

Meteor & asteroid on the news – it’s like Doctor Who when they have the fake news bulletins

Over the past 24 hours, seeing the stories of the asteroid close-call and the meteor falling in Russia, it’s been a bit like those scenes in Doctor Who where they have a news bulletin about the latest alien invasion.

Categories
Clothes Retrospectives

No old school tie for me – how about old school cuff links instead?

I’m not a great cuff link wearer, but recently I inadvertently bought a shirt that needs them, and I couldn’t find any at home. I noticed the school Old Boys association sells them, so (I guess to mark 25 years since I did VCE — gulp) I bought some. I don’t mind these… they aren’t  ... [More]

Categories
Net

Bye bye home phone, hello VOIP

I finally got around to replacing my home fixed line phone with VOIP. I took the easy route of sticking with my ISP, Netspace/iiNet. Previously each month I’d been paying $59.95 for ADSL2+ broadband, plus for the home phone $22.95 rental, plus $6 for caller ID, plus $2.93 for an unlisted number. Local calls were  ... [More]

Categories
Culture transport

How to find the transport mural at Southern Cross Station

Before you go looking for it, be sure to read the updates at the bottom. The gigantic transport mural was perhaps one of the best features of the old Spencer Street station. By Harold Freedman, it depicts the first century of Victoria’s transport — from 1835 to 1935. It was commissioned by the state government  ... [More]

Categories
Culture

A little experiment in visual art

When I visit the data centre for work, I get my photo taken for a visitor pass. It’s often on a Friday — casual clothes day. The camera (and/or the printer) is black & white, low-resolution, and slightly awkwardly placed. For some reason, the visitor passes have been accumulating in my desk drawer. Here are  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism TV

Is Big W deliberately trying to discourage people buying TVs from them?

Spotted in Big W: Spotted in JB Hifi: The key difference seems to be that the JB Hifi people know how to set up their TVs. The Big W people don’t know, or don’t care, that on almost all of the TVs they have on display, the colour is completely distorted. If you can’t see  ... [More]

Categories
Culture Melbourne

It must be Christmas time

In the city tonight…

Categories
dreams music Net

Quick random thoughts

The Herald Sun paywall launched in March, and offered free 2-month passes. Any word on what’s happened now those have run out? Strange dream: Woke up with the most enormous sideburns. Struggled to get them removed before having to go to work. Another dream: Was invited to a very elaborate dinner party at Alan Kohler’s  ... [More]