The ever-deepening money-pit that is my car has struck again. This time, it was rear brake pads. The guy at the service place said they needed to be replaced pronto, before the next service. I happen to think that working brakes are an extremely useful thing to have on a car, so I felt I ... [More]
During the week I discovered why my bank account seemed so low in December, when my credit card bill arrived. Because I paid last month’s credit card bill twice. Ah, the dangers of Internet banking. Apparently I paid it in mid-December, but failed to write down (as I usually do) the payment details on the ... [More]
Outside it got up to 40.2Ă°C today – for you in the undeveloped world, that’s 104.4Ă°F. But I was inside, working in an air-conditioned building. And I actually got cold. That’s just silly!
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Seat
The newspaper guy normally tries to conceal the newspaper in the driveway shrubbery somewhat, so people can’t easily see it and steal it. It only happens occasionally, but it’s annoying when it does. Well this morning it was so well concealed in the shrubbery (hey, I get to use the word "shrubbery" twice – it ... [More]
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Where did the year go?
To me, the year has rushed by. Probably because I’ve been so busy for most of it. There’s no shortage of work, and during the rest of the time I’ve been juggling all the other aspects of my life – kids, girlfriend, friends, parents, voluntary work, and trying to keep my home from falling into ... [More]
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Bulletproof
After enduring many months of my spare computer playing up regularly – crashing, losing time, losing its CMOS settings – I finally decided to take a look under the hood yesterday. And found an obsolete video capture card in there, one I haven’t used in years. I don’t think I even have any drivers for ... [More]
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Christmas shopping
The telemarketers and their predictive dialler seem to have given up on me. Wimps! Maybe it’s an early Christmas present. Speaking of Christmas presents, I can proudly proclaim to have completed all my Christmas shopping. It was a Sunday afternoon trip into the city that did it. Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t too painful.
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Stalked by telemarketers!
A predictive dialler is stalking me. It’s been ringing for a couple of weeks now. If the phone rings and the caller ID says "Private Number" and there’s silence on the other end, then hold music, I just hang up. Honestly, what a nerve – them ringing you up to put you on hold until ... [More]
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Office with a view
On Friday at work we all shuffled up to our new offices, on the slightly dizzying 28th floor. The view is fabulous, of course. Anything would be fabulous after working on the 2nd floor, where the view consists of a wall on another building. No, from the 28th, you can see the other office towers ... [More]
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This man is about to die
On Saturday I met a man who was about to die. Well, a political death, that is. Here, for posterity, is a transcript of my hard-hitting in-depth dialogue with Liberal opposition leader Robert Doyle, merely hours beforehe spectacularly lost the election. I think you’ll find this free and frank exchange of views somewhat revealing, both ... [More]
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In the office
2:25pm. I am not having a good day in the office. My code is not working. Without getting into too much detail, various COM objects are conspiring against me. Now I’ve rebooted my PC and, courtesy of the evil hand of fate and the corporate standard setup of Windows, my personal settings have vanished, taking ... [More]
Last year I bought the DVD ofStar Wars: Phantom Menace. It was okay… good special effects and stuff. But the acting and the plot left something to be desired. When I bought it, I got a limited edition "slip case" – an extra bit of cardboard that wraps around it. Apparently only 10 zillion of ... [More]