4 cloth bags for $72 of groceries tonight. 1 Mars Lava bar included in the aforementioned shopping, after the subject of this new flavour seemed to continually creep into the conversation over the weekend. Yum. 6 correct in the footy tips for the weekend. 103.9 cents per litre for petrol. Damn, that should be a ... [More]
Suggestions
So I was looking in eBay at XBox games. Nothing that really grabbed me at a price that was enough below the retail to make it compelling. But at the bottom of the screen was one of those computerised guess things, where they have a wild stab in the dark about other items you might ... [More]
Thoughts on the next generation
When I was starting primary school in the mid-70s, the second world war had been over for about 30 years. It was still in people’s minds — they still talked about it, a whole episode of Fawlty Towers was based around the recent memory of it. By the time I was in high school with ... [More]
Hair care
A couple of years ago I was introduced to the range of Aveda (it’s German for wanky and expensive but environmentally friendly and rather nice and luxurious) hair care products. Well, one in particular: a leave-in conditioner thing which leaves my hair looking just slightly less daggy than it did before. I dab a little ... [More]
How I became a geek
Recently I’ve been reading some of Jeff “Yak” Minter’s nostalgic look back at how he got into writing computer games in the 1980s, and it’s got me thinking about those days, and how it’s shaped my life — or at least, my professional working life. It’s something I have written about briefly before, but I ... [More]
In the papers
Dear Sabrina Harman, you shouldn’t need the Geneva Convention to know what you participated in in that Iraqi prison was wrong. All you should have needed was a modicum of intelligence and humanity. Oh boy, are we all sick of hearing about Mary Donaldson yet? (Hmm, should the above have gone in the news section?) ... [More]
While some were at the footy on Friday night, Marita and I went to a truly excellent (new?) restaurant at Docklands — Renzo’s Bar. Utterly delicious food, and not expensive in the grand scheme of things — $61 for two, including an entree and some drinks, but no dessert or coffees because we were due ... [More]
It must be the month of May.
Winter is coming
Winter is coming. And I have conclusive proof. a) Last night I was freezing my arse off in the kitchen while on a phone call, and vowed to seek out a new battery for the cordless phone, so I can make calls from the comfort of my superheated livingroom. Or from my double-doona-covered bed. Either ... [More]
Aga and VCRs
Where did these bloody Aga stove things come from? I assume they’re a peculiarly British brand of wanky gourmet stove, because I’ve never seen or heard of them in Australia. Yet they’ve shown up in the last two novels I’ve read, plus had the piss taken out of them in Posh Nosh. I’m afraid I’m ... [More]
Cover, book, judging
On the tram back from lunch. In the corner seat was a bloke in a shirt and tie, carrying a folder. After a stop or two gazing out the window, he reached into his pocket and got out a 10x ticket and validated it, just as a gaggle of inspectors got on. (For out-of-towners, this ... [More]
Bloody, Movie, Buffy, Drivey, Greenie, Footy.