tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37943956728419645112024-03-13T10:35:12.068+11:00Exciting Things From The FieldImportant news and events that could well change your life. plus a hefty dose of comedy and sarcasm.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-47209625235470331432016-06-01T22:36:00.003+10:002016-06-01T22:51:29.392+10:00My war with Uncharted4...<div style="text-align: justify;">
Seeing as I have no job right now and not much hope of finding one in the immediate future I have been hitting up the PS4 to pass the time. I bought my PS4 over a year ago when I lived in Norseman WA. I took a day and drove down to Esperance on the southern WA coast and dropped a bundle of cash for this next gen console. It would mean that on my days off from working at the gold mine in Norseman I would at least have **something** to do other than sleeping and watching regional TV.</div>
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Now I decided on the PS4 over the XBone due to one fact: The PlayStation has the Uncharted franchise. The XBone does not. To get an idea of why this matters watch this...</div>
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and maybe this too...</div>
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So when it was announced that the PS4 would be getting "Uncharted 4" and XBone wouldn't (not that it ever would have) the choice was clear. So a month ago in May 2016 Uncharted4 was released to the world to much acclaim and HooHaaah. I wrestled with the idea of not getting it because (a) I am unemployed and have no income and (b) I am unemployed and have no income. Then I decided that the whole reason I got the PS4 was for this game and so I was going to get it, and screw the expense.</div>
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I went down to my local shopping centre on release day and picked it up from EBgames (price matched to Kmart, because you have to be insane to pay EB prices). I got home and excitedly whipped the disk into the PS4 .. It started loading and informed me that it needed a patch. "Ok", I thought, "cool, not unusual in this day and age". Games regularly come out and have issues that are patched out. This was a 5GB patch though on the first day of release...WOW. To put that in perspective the whole game weighs in at 50GB ... So 10% of it was needing repairs on day 1.</div>
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Now it takes my awesome "Australian Capital City" internet about 5hrs to download 5GB so I left it downloading and went and had a nap, went for a drive, drank a coffee, made dinner, ate dinner ... and went to bed because the day was over.</div>
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In the morning I was all ready to go play my newly patched and updated Uncharted4. This is where shit got cray-cray. I started the game, it loaded to the main menu. I pressed the X button, chose my difficulty, picked a...<br />
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...oh...OK. That had happened maybe once before in the 15 months I'd had the PS4.</div>
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I started the game again. Loaded to the main menu, I pressed the X button, chose my difficulty, picked a save slot. The screen went black and a "loading..." screen appeared counting up to 100%. After it reached 100% a quote appeared on the screen.... </div>
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"<i>I am a Man of Fortune, and I must seek my Fortune.</i>"<br />
— Henry Avery, 1694 </div>
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Then,<br />
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and every time since then..</div>
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That quote is the only thing I have seen in this game so far. It simply does not work at all on my PS4.<br />
I have about 10 other games and every one of them works without exception. Uncharted 4 just doesn't. I went on-line to the developers website and looked in the support forum. This is not a glitch, there where **HUNDREDS** of people with the same problem.<br />
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<a href="http://feedback.naughtydog.com/forums/363840-uncharted-4/suggestions/13801572-game-crashing-repeatedly-with-error-ce-34878-0" rel="nofollow">The dreaded PS4 Error 34878-0 thread..</a><br />
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What the actual fuck??? How did this get released with such a massive problem in it??? I used the interwebs and searched....and searched....and searched for a solution. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>There isn't one</b></span>. Not from Sony. Not from Naughty Dog (The developer). Sure there are thousands of people with no problems happily playing the game and commenting on how amazing it is (BASTARDS!!) but there are also hundreds of people who've essentially got a very expensive coaster. So I dug deeper, and while I didn't find a cure (because there isn't one) I did maybe find a cause ....</div>
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Here's what I wrote on the support forum at the Naughty Dog website. I will preface this by saying that this is just a hypothesis. It might be wrong, but it has some evidence that supports it. If it is somewhere in the vicinity of the truth then Sony need to have their heads examined because what they are doing to the PS4 is madness.</div>
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My post:</div>
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">After spending a large amount of time researching this error the cause
seems to be related to the differences in the consoles hardware. There
have already been 2 revisions of the PS4 since the CUH-10XXA model
launched in 2013. The first revision is the CUH-11XXA and these are
manufactured between mid 2014 and June 2015. After June 2015 the second
revision occurred producing the CUH-12XX model. This model has had its
memory reworked from 16x512MB RAM chips down to 8x1GB RAM chips. There
is also significant changes to the PS4 motherboard (see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/nR4XOC" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://goo.gl/nR4XOC</a> )
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">So now what we see is that there are 3 PS4 models out in the wild
and 2 of them have serious issues with this game. The purpose of
consoles was to simplify the process for programmers to produce games
for a KNOWN and UNCHANGING platform. Sony have seen fit to change the
internals of the PS4 and this is the result. Programmers are programming
to work on the PS4 CUH-12XX model at unfortunately it seems that this
does not guarantee compatibility with the older CUH-10XXA and CUH-11XXA
models. My console is a CUH-11XXA and I have not been able to play 1 sec
of Uncharted4 so far, It crashes every time in the prologue (or
earlier).
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">I went back through the comments in this thread and the overwhelming
majority of people who have the game crashing constantly have a
CUH-10XXA or CUH-11XXA model PS4. I couldn't find one person with
CUH-12XX console that can't start the game at all.
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">This puts Naughty Dog in a very unfortunate position. The majority
of us here in this thread are screaming blue murder at them for
releasing a game that doesn’t work. It *does* work if you have the
latest console version but their code for Uncharted4 must have some
serious issues when run on the older model PS4s. This could mean that
significant amounts of the game code have to be rewritten for
compatibility with older hardware which is going to be a MONUMENTAL task
for them and is not going to be a quick fix.
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">If Uncharted4 is just not compatible with the older consoles and it
seems this is the case, and If you have a CUH-11XXA PS4 that is still in
warranty, Sony have been exchanging them for the newer model. You may
get lucky if you contact Sony and explain the situation to them.
Everyone else with a launch model CUH-10XXA or the CUH-11XXA are out of
warranty and It looks like the only fix we are going to see for those of
us with this constant ERROR CE-34878-0 is to buy a newer console made
after June 2015.
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<span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">Unless of course Naughty Dog can fix the issue with a patch. Given
the scale and frequency of the crashes I don’t think that is likely :( </span><br />
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I await the resolution of this problem. In the meantime I have been playing Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls. THAT GAME IS THE SHIT!!! :D<br />
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<br />Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-79613119400030470922016-05-09T00:18:00.001+10:002016-05-09T00:18:36.806+10:00.....after a short break.Hey WOW. I had a blog all those moons ago and it's still here??<br />
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I thought about starting another one mainly to just vent about stuff that shits me because that's basically all anyone wants to read here anyway.<br />
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Looking back at the last entry it was the start of 2010 and I was not having a very good time. Thanks the stars that all changed. Oh, wait. It hasn't. It's now May 2016 and the preceding 6 years have been a mixture of shit, sacrifice, more shit and constant living in a trough of disappointment. In 2010 I actually did get a job. I took it because I had been unemployed for 9 months and needed *something* <b>ANYTHING </b>to have some money coming in. It was a major step backwards career wise after all the good stuff I had done in Melbourne but desperation requires sacrifice. I took a 53% pay cut from my previous job and worked at this job for 3 years until they unceremoniously dumped me. That really hurt, the people who hired me just wouldn't let me progress out of the basement position I was given when I started and I think my constant asking to do something more suitable to my skills eventually got on their nerves. I then spent 18 months unemployed again. Just let that sink in. 18 months with no income.<br />
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It was now June 2014 and I was financially ruined and was mere days off losing the house that I bought in 2010. Through friends, I was offered a laboring position at a gold mine out in the middle of the desert in WA. I had to take it, I had no choice. I did this job for 3 months before I was asked to go and run an analytical lab at a different gold mine in a different part of the middle of nowhere, which I accepted. The deal I was offered turned out to be complete bullshit and lies. A trait I found to be typical of the mining industry. The workers are exploited constantly by the management in order to make the most money they can for the owners. They will promise you the Earth and deliver nothing. I really didn't mind the job though. It was not particularly challenging but the people I worked with in the Lab were awesome and will remain lifelong friends due simply to all the crap we had to survive through together. I worked at this job for 15 months. It made me somewhat rich again but at the expense of every other aspect of my life. In short I didn't have any personal life. None. I was stuck at this mine for months on end and got to come home about 4 times over that 15 month period. SO after a series of management mishaps and just plain bad management the mine ran out of money and promptly closed. 95% of the people working there lost their jobs with virtually no notice. I found out on one of my days off, a Friday, and I was packed and GONE by Sunday. That was November 20th 2015.<br />
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I have now been unemployed again for another 6 months. I have found that I am now approaching being totally "unemployable". I am not suitable or over qualified for every job I apply for and in the preceding 6 months I have again not had a single positive outcome from any application I have made for a job. This is the norm. This is what being highly skilled and/or educated means in this day and age when you lose your job. It is extremely difficult to get another one and I wouldn't wish this on anyone. It seems though that I have to constantly face this prospect of ridiculously long unemployment and financial hardship. It's just what my life has turned into.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-63597168043903934212010-01-02T20:35:00.003+11:002010-01-02T20:37:49.079+11:002010Let's just hope this year is a *LOT* better than 2009. Actually, let's not hope...as it couldn't possibly be any worse.<br /><br />I got through the Christmas and new year events with a minimum of fuss. I haven't really been able to enjoy much of December but Christmas day was great with all the family there.<br /><br />Onwards we go into this new year though.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-2590621369402001822009-12-15T14:55:00.006+11:002009-12-15T23:55:50.830+11:00Been a very long time..Well it's a long time between drinks ... and sadly everything has taken a turn for the worst over the last few months. After my move back to Adelaide the job market here has pretty much dried up and I have found myself now unemployed for 6 months straight . The most frustrating thing is that this unfortunate event looks to continue into the first few months of next year too.<br /><br />I've thought long and hard about alternatives to finding another chemistry related job and with all things considered I know it just isn't possible at the moment due to circumstances as they stand. Should I go back to uni and study something else? Theoretically I could, the main barrier to that is that to do this I have to forgo any type of life supporting income for the next 3 years. I just don't have the savings to do that now and would put myself under incredible financial (and therefore emotional) strain. So I am going to have to wait out this unemployment rut and hopefully emerge better for it next year. I am currently seeking any type of "part time" or such employment at anywhere I can find. My age, experience and qualifications are proving to be a major hindrance however. After 14 job interviews I keep hearing the same thing over and over "Why did you even apply for this job ?? you're WAY too qualified in Chemistry to be doing this". No one is even willing to take a chance on someone who is obviously desperate to do *anything* so as to be employed. Very Frustrating.<br /><br />The other sad occurrence is the loss of Rachel as my friend. If you've been following this blog over the time i've been writing it you would know I am very fond of Rachel. Over the last 2 years I had rediscovered the friendship from 17 years ago that we had in high school and we went on to become really good "adult" friends as well. She is/was my best friend for the last few years. Unfortunately, after all the good times and fun we've had together it's gotten to the point where I just couldn't pretend I was happy with what our "relationship" had become. I am currently hopelessly in love with Rachel and unfortunately for me those feelings aren't able to be reciprocated. I am absolutely gutted that my own stupidity has left me with no option but to walk away from the most amazing person I have ever met.<br /><br />I am currently trying to deal with a bevy of mixed emotions. Sadness, heartbreak, relief and regret are all doing the rounds in my head. The hardest part is always the endless "mulling over" of the details after the fact. The one thing I have learnt however through my adult life is that it's better to "Know why" than to "Assume why" things happen. So thankfully I asked Rachel for her reasons why she doesn't see our relationship ever being more than "Friends" and to her credit she told me. It was really an interesting experience to actually see the other persons side of the story but at the same time devastating to know her reasons. I won't go into details here though, suffice to say that even when you think you know someone very well you can always be surprised. I was most surprised not by the "content" of her reasons but how 2 people can see the same thing totally differently or attribute a deep "cause and effect" analysis to problems whose causes are plain as day.<br /><br />So now I am trying to cope with life "After Rachel" and I won't lie and say i'm making headway and feeling better. I'm not. I miss her like i'd miss an arm or leg. The biggest shock to me has been just how integrated she'd become into my daily routine (some might say this was entirely the problem) and how hard it is to fill those activities with *Anything* else now. I'm constantly battling the feeling that I have made a horrible, horrible mistake by excluding her from my life, when for so long my life was immeasurably more enjoyable and "full" due solely to her being in it. I'm clinging to the hope that one day, maybe months from now, maybe years from now, we will be able to be friends again. It's just not possible at the moment while I love her the way I do.<br />Still, I am impressed with my own resolve in that I had the strength to walk away from something that was slowly (but surely) making me miserable. It was harder than losing my Father to cancer, because with death the person is gone and you have no chance to ever have them in your life ever again. That kind of ending I can deal with. Rachel is not dead, she's not going to die any time soon, she's alive and well and living her life and i'm not lucky enough to be involved anymore. THAT type of ending is far worse and much harder to accept.<br /><br />So Rachel if you're reading this all I want to say is "Thank You", you made my life a joy (most of the time) and I will miss you and your wonderful kids terribly.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-19219728525673101492009-08-19T23:45:00.006+10:002009-08-20T09:00:36.180+10:00Quick catch up...<div style="text-align: justify;">Well, here we are nearly at the end of August. I'm about to move from Melbourne back to Adelaide. I've lived in Melbourne for the last 5 years and well...lets just say i'm glad to be going. I've had some good times in Melbourne and enjoyed myself on and off. However, ever since 2004 when I moved over here I sort of had the feeling it was a mistake but sadly at that point work dictated where I had to go and the only jobs I could accept were here. I've headed back to Adelaide pretty much every chance I got over the last 5 years as all my family and most of my long term friends are there. I'll miss all the friends I made in Melbourne for sure...but I know i'll be a lot happier in Adelaide.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the last month I haven't really done a lot except conserve money and ride my bikes and look for a new job in Adelaide. The one exciting highlight of the last month was when I had Rachel and all 4 of her kids stay with me for a week and we *DID* Melbourne. Too much stuff to report on but we packed quite a bit into that week. We went all over Melbourne central, went to the Melbourne Meuseum, Southbank, St. Kilda, Olinda (for Pancakes), Sassafrass (and <span style="font-weight: bold;">WORLDS BEST</span> puppet store!!!) and to top it off we also went to Mt. Baw Baw and THE SNOW!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sov98K_u9VI/AAAAAAAAA1I/qMHQIGssbTI/s1600-h/Rach+%2B+Kids+Melbourne+Visit+017.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 149px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sov98K_u9VI/AAAAAAAAA1I/qMHQIGssbTI/s320/Rach+%2B+Kids+Melbourne+Visit+017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371666190755099986" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sov-Q1elzYI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/VClF0nSsPaA/s1600-h/Rach+%2B+Kids+Melbourne+Visit+019.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 149px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sov-Q1elzYI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/VClF0nSsPaA/s320/Rach+%2B+Kids+Melbourne+Visit+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371666545756196226" border="0" /></a></div><br /></div>This was the funniest thing ever too, Sophie F. and the snowball of superlative proportions.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Click picture to play </span><br /><embed src="http://users.on.net/%7Emichael.field/softs/SNC00077.jpg" controller="false" href="http://users.on.net/%7Emichael.field/softs/SNC00077.mp4" target="myself" autoplay="false" type="video/mp4" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download" height="256" width="320"></embed></div><br /><br /></div>LOL :)<br /><br />Let's just say that the whole week was brilliant, I really had a great time myself and I reckon (hope) Rachel and the kids did too.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Tonight I just played my last game of basketball for the team I've been playing with for the last 2 years. We won (some would say "of course" here :P) 28-16 and thus finish the season in 1st place. The guys are all a bit disappointed that I now won't play in the finals due to the move. We'll see how it goes...there may be a hasty return to Melbourne in a few weeks to play in the Grand Final..we'll cross that bridge when we get to it though.<br /></div><br />Lot of bridges in view at the moment.<br /><br />Right now I am in the middle of packing up my house up for the move this weekend and onto lifes next chapter.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-59680760462819912712009-07-21T11:51:00.012+10:002009-07-21T13:22:12.710+10:00Mega-super-action-packed weekend.<div style="text-align: justify;">So i'm currently into week..um...4 (???) of my "holidays". Not that you can call them holidays, it's more of a "period where I am not doing anything or going anywhere". Sure, I've been in this position numerous times before but these types of "work hiatus" differ due to the fact that on holidays you return to working at some point and get more money coming in.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said that I just had a great weekend jetting around the country, out-dinners, exploring, decadent spending and general caution to the wind throwingness :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday I flew to Adelaide again and packed quite a bit into the 2 days that I was there. I'm not going to mention the flight over....let's just say "It was with Tiger" and you can fill in the blanks. That airline quite simply is disgraceful. I stayed with my brother Craig on Friday night and experienced the wonder of his girlfriends spastic new puppy. Ritalin for dogs in order here...seriously. If you could somehow hook that dog up to a battery and store the energy output it generates .... energy crisis over. We snacked on Indian food for dinner. Awesome. It did however remind me that the Indian place I go to here in Melbourne is quite possibly the BEST Indian in Australia though, I will miss it when i move back to Adelaide. Was good to see my brother again after quite a few months, he seems to be going well with his new career (self employed) and I still find it weird that my "baby brother" is such a grown up :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On Saturday I met up with my friend Ben (of Ben and Leah's Wedding fame) and we zoomed around Adelaide chatting about "Stuff" and trying to book an audience with my sister. Vicky is moving to Darwin soon and I thought it would be prudent to visit her before she goes as otherwise I probably won't see her again for months. We went to her house (soon to be "My" house :) ) but she wasn't home so a quick call and a plan was devised. Ben and I went out to Glenelg and had lunch (mmmm Glenelg pizza) and met up with my sister at the pub where her going away party was being held. While waiting for her Ben and I watched this group of people who were taking it in turns to stand in front of a camera and talk about "something". there must have been 50 people doing this. It turned out that it was a "Self-help" group that was for helping people with speech disorders (i.e. impediments, stutters, tourettes etc) and allowing them to face the fear of speaking in public to an audience. The most striking thing about this group is that you would not have known that fact just by watching them and listening to them. The coup de grace was the last guy who went before the camera and extolled the virtues of the group and was so glad he had joined and done the hard yards as he said "I otherwise wouldn't have been able to do this..". He then turned to his girlfriend and dropped to a knee, pulled out a ring and asked her to marry him. She was gob-smacked. There must have been 2 or 3 hundred people in the square watching him and the place just erupted into cheers and applause. I think she said "yes" so turned out to be a good day for that guy.<br /><br />After that my sister arrived and we had a beer and chatted for about an hour before I had to go. Ben dropped me at the train station in Adelaide and I caught the train out to Gawler to go see Rachel and her kids. Much fun was had bike riding upon my arrival and then we decided upon "out dinner" as no-one could be bothered cooking after our collective days. Mine of rushing here and there and Rachels of picking a bazillion olives (+ one cabbage ... apparently). The out dinner routine usually consists of listing off every food possibility and gauging the success of the idea by the amount of scorn and derision thrown at it. The idea with the least scorn and minimal derision which is agreeable to at least 50% of children present is usually the winner. This was not the case on this day. Every child wanted something different from "somewhere" different. We settled on "The Kingsford Hotel" as the mere mention of anywhere else brought howls of disappointment and crying from the youngest child. We ordered a vast selection of food and everyone seemed to be happy. I had a steak (which I rarely have because of the monstrous prices at most restaurants) but it was quite cheap and was very tasty.<br /><br />Sunday was spent being nerdy :) Working out the exact volumes of oils and height clearances for home projects that Rach had in the works. We even used a tape measure. One highlight was when wondering how to measure without a tape measure I jokingly offered to use my phone "I have a program that does it with lasers" I said. For a split second.... Rachel believed it. Then sanity prevailed :)<br /><br />Out-lunch again on Sunday and then it was time to trek to the Airport for my fight home. This was sadly marred by a massive expletive laden temper tantrum by a child that will remain anonymous. Arrived at the airport and said goodbye to all and went to board the plane. Weekend in Adelaide over far too quickly again sadly.<br /><br />Monday saw me driving into Melbourne central to meet up with my Mum who had come over on a tour to see the crows play. We met up at the casino where, surprise, surprise, mum was neck deep in pokies. Winning of course. We went and had lunch at a food court on southbank after "trying" to get served at P.J. Obriens pub....they seemed totally dis-interested in the only 2 customers in the whole place. So we left.<br /><br />After lunch we decided to go to Greco, home of "Worlds biggest cake Fridge" for a piece of cake and a coffee. However that plan got side tracked when we strayed within visual range of the pokies again. Mum was drawn to them like a moth to flame. She played for nearly 2 hours and won about $25. This was after losing $40, then winning $20, then losing $10, then wining $60, then losing $50, then wining $70 etc etc. I personally don't see the attraction of gambling..<br /><br />We ended up at Greco's and ordered from the disappointingly small array of cakes on display. I went with the ever popular Mars bar Cheesecake and mum had the Banana Cream Cake.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUx7b56dNI/AAAAAAAAA0w/8AN_zaD5URs/s1600-h/SNC00085.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 146px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUx7b56dNI/AAAAAAAAA0w/8AN_zaD5URs/s320/SNC00085.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360745828627150034" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUx7FJMX6I/AAAAAAAAA0o/TEXKWNDwjV0/s1600-h/SNC00084.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 144px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUx7FJMX6I/AAAAAAAAA0o/TEXKWNDwjV0/s320/SNC00084.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360745822517223330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We then decided that seeing as the day was quite sunny and mildly warm that we would go down to St. Kilda to see the foreshore. So we went and got my car and headed down there. I was expecting the foreshore to be sunny but very windy and we weren't disappointed. There wasn't many people about (except the perennial St. Kilda drug culturalists.) so we sat out of the wind and just watched the waves and chatted some more.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUzEZJxSFI/AAAAAAAAA1A/-vdPFkO3WrI/s1600-h/SNC00088.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 148px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUzEZJxSFI/AAAAAAAAA1A/-vdPFkO3WrI/s320/SNC00088.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360747082018801746" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUzD4G_buI/AAAAAAAAA04/yX_YU4GmoiY/s1600-h/SNC00087.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 147px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SmUzD4G_buI/AAAAAAAAA04/yX_YU4GmoiY/s320/SNC00087.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360747073148776162" border="0" /></a></div><br />It was already 4pm by this stage and I had to drive home. I dropped mum back at the Casino and headed back out to Ringwood in the peak-hour traffic. Fun.<br /><br />Overall, a very full 3 days over the weekend and I am again a bit sad that it's over. However, fun is on the horizon...stay tuned.<br /></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-76904184294168083192009-06-20T15:29:00.003+10:002009-06-20T15:43:36.412+10:00Global Financial Crisis......sucker punches me.<div style="text-align: justify;">So on Thursday this week I was made "Redundant" from where I work. Hooray. I'm actually happy about it. I no longer have to do my "job" that I had there which is fine with me. I also managed to stay employed in the one place for 2 years which is now my personal best. The problem with being single, no kids and no mortgage is that it's very easy to discard you when companies need to save a few dollars. I think all I have to say about the matter is that I can't really believe that my skill set couldn't be put to use ANYWHERE else in the company and that the only course of action was to get rid of me entirely. Great work upper management. I'll wait the few weeks until one of my friends there tells me the *real* reason.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As always when you leave somewhere you've worked for a long time you inevitably miss the people you became friends with the most. This is the case here too. I'll miss everyone that I got to know really well over the past 2 years. I will not however miss my job. I think I can safely now say that I have never disliked a job as much as I disliked what i've been "forced" to do in order to stay employed these past 18 months. I had no interest in what I was doing for a long time and especially when any input I gave on my project or work was dissmissed anyway.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So, now I have a 2 month break from working life planned and then i'm moving back to ADELAIDE!! I'm so happy about this and while it is throwing myself to the mercy of the universe some what, I've done it before and come up trumps. I'm the eternal optimist after all.<br /></div><br />The most important thing in life for me is to be happy and I am simply not here in Melbourne. So much of my life and the future that I want revolves around Adelaide and it continually seems ludicrous to not be there. So now i have the opportunity to go back and i'm grabbing it with both hands.<br /><br />So for the next 2 months it's all about enjoying myself and hang the consequences.<br /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-7071852292361315072009-06-14T17:41:00.018+10:002009-06-14T18:45:38.390+10:00The inaugural "Nina Is Sick...but still able to bark out orders!" bike ride 2009.<div style="text-align: justify;">So this morning I get up and sit at my PC to check the events of the day. When <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" >BAM</span>. Not 2 seconds after opening facebook my friend Nina is talking with me on FB chat. She wanted to know exactly <span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY</span> I wasn't out riding my bike?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I told her I had just got up and was probably going to go later in the day, after chores and grocery shopping. She was having none of that. Apparently she is bed ridden this weekend with "Swine Flu" or some other even more deadly influenza that is doing the rounds at work (oh..we work together...did I mention that?). Anyway, as I am from South Australia and therefor possess a super-immune system, I rarely even get affected by (or notice) the trivial viruses that Melbourne encounters and which consistently lay the locals out for days. I was instructed that since Nina had been unable to go out on saturday night that she therefor had a "Energy Surplus". I would have to go out and ride the "excess" energy she had not used dancing the night away in order to stop the world exploding or dividing by zero ....or something....I wasn't quite sure why....<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">But...as if you ever need an excuse to ride a bike, I fortuitously also had some new biking duds which I had to try out too. I needed some "longies" (full length Lycra pants) for riding my bike in winter because it's SO FREAKISHLY COLD IN MELBOURNE. I bought some online during the week and got them yesterday.<br /></div><br />So here we go stats for the Inaugural "Nina Is Sick...but still able to bark out orders!" bike ride 2009.<br /><br />I decided to take my Scotty bike today and "Go Left" when greeted with the first major directional decision which headed up towards the Dandenong hills east of Melbourne. The plan was to beat my time and distance from the last time I went along this trail (on the Stumpy).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjS4lpGot-I/AAAAAAAAAyY/CuCfiB-CImA/s1600-h/SNC00061.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjS4lpGot-I/AAAAAAAAAyY/CuCfiB-CImA/s320/SNC00061.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347101614423980002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">The weapon.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjStxEirFyI/AAAAAAAAAxo/VSm0jW-GiOU/s1600-h/half-way.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 453px; height: 169px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjStxEirFyI/AAAAAAAAAxo/VSm0jW-GiOU/s320/half-way.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347089716139988770" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, pretty impressive biking when I reached the halfway, turn around point I had done a respectable 13.44Km with an average speed of 22.1Km/h.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I decided to stop here...<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSu0voAThI/AAAAAAAAAxw/qG0IQpwRdRY/s1600-h/SNC00056.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 172px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSu0voAThI/AAAAAAAAAxw/qG0IQpwRdRY/s320/SNC00056.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347090878756310546" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSvHoHbnEI/AAAAAAAAAx4/2Ui-P4ktUcs/s1600-h/SNC00057.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 172px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSvHoHbnEI/AAAAAAAAAx4/2Ui-P4ktUcs/s320/SNC00057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347091203158154306" border="0" /><br /></a></div></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">... as any further was heading into mountainous terrain and I had a bike with no shockers. That and my butt already hurt ;)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The new pants were fantastic too. It was only about 12ºC but not windy and not looking like it was going to rain but they kept my legs really warm. These Jaggad Longies are meant for riding in cold weather and have some "special stuff" inside them to act like a wet-suit and keep your legs awesomely warm. They work. 2 thumbs up. Here's a pic (right click --> save as, if you must ladies.....I know I look HOT in these duds. You're only human after all).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSwcVIhy6I/AAAAAAAAAyA/47a1EfYRhTc/s1600-h/SNC00058.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSwcVIhy6I/AAAAAAAAAyA/47a1EfYRhTc/s320/SNC00058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347092658351360930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Phwoaaaar. Cyclist legs are so raunchy!!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">So, after this I hopped back on my Scott weapon and headed back towards home. I was hoping to at least match the time I did getting to the half way point because the majority of the out-bound direction was slightly uphill. Going back was going to allow me to get some ridiculous speeds up on the bike. This was of course assuming there was not an abundence of Sunday walkers, other riders, dogs, cats, monkeys etc blocking the path at regular intervals.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I managed to get some rather impressive 40+km/h speeds up at certain places but these were cruelly "averaged" down by the inevitable appearance of all the stuff I assumed wouldn't hamper me above in the previous paragraph. Assuming is always dangerous....ask anyone...they'll confirm.<br /></div><br />So here's the final stats:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSyCJhr_2I/AAAAAAAAAyI/bVvTqBd2-m8/s1600-h/end.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 81px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSyCJhr_2I/AAAAAAAAAyI/bVvTqBd2-m8/s320/end.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347094407582318434" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see. Stamina and consistency are my trademarks :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The total ride distance of 26.9 Km (let's just call it 27!) with an average speed again of 22.3 Km/h and a total riding time of 1h:12m:11secs.<br /></div><br />Not bad :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, have I mentioned previously how much this Scott bike ROCKS!!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As a special treat for the ladies, here's another leg shot. Mmmmmm calf muscles ....<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSzKzsVRMI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/G6-gC2AvhOg/s1600-h/SNC00064.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SjSzKzsVRMI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/G6-gC2AvhOg/s320/SNC00064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347095655851836610" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hope I helped Nina and you feel better soon .<br /></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-59845911397648355452009-06-07T15:34:00.007+10:002009-06-07T18:24:01.146+10:00deforestation and stuff...My life is so exciting. Really...in Melbourne it's all the go, there is always an abundance of stuff to see or do. That is why today I am going to show you how I mowed my lawn.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So I haven't mowed my lawn since...I don't even know. It has got to be 4 or 5 months easily. I am actually praising it calling it "lawn" because it's really only about 10% grass. The rest is weeds. BIG WEEDS. I thought the whole thing may die over summer due to the water restrictions and hot weather but sadly it didn't...and now in winter it is rivaling the amazon for lush vegetation.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitWwXJPAhI/AAAAAAAAAxA/SFI7HC28e_s/s1600-h/SNC00043.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 179px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitWwXJPAhI/AAAAAAAAAxA/SFI7HC28e_s/s320/SNC00043.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344460771651682834" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">How ridiculous is that?? Once again I had to remove the wild animals from my lawn before attempting to mow it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitZx-nbTKI/AAAAAAAAAxI/e-3yZ5tzsuA/s1600-h/SNC00044.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 180px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitZx-nbTKI/AAAAAAAAAxI/e-3yZ5tzsuA/s320/SNC00044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344464097962052770" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>After the animals have been shooo'd away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitaY1LmbJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/hfNrqrCB_AA/s1600-h/SNC00045.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 179px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitaY1LmbJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/hfNrqrCB_AA/s320/SNC00045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344464765444320402" border="0" /></a><br />dwarfed by the forest. The trusty mower.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So the actual "mowing" took about 5 mins. Since it was weeds it just got destroyed by the spinning mower blades of death. A quick follow up wih the whipper snipper and it looks almost like ..... well ....almost like someone gives 2/5ths of a crap about how it looks.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitbTvjrCcI/AAAAAAAAAxg/Q20y5_XSKGk/s1600-h/SNC00049.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 182px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitbTvjrCcI/AAAAAAAAAxg/Q20y5_XSKGk/s320/SNC00049.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344465777546955202" border="0" /></a><br />mmmm freshly shaven...um...lawn.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitbTas3AUI/AAAAAAAAAxY/BF92WSfKHRM/s1600-h/SNC00046.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 181px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SitbTas3AUI/AAAAAAAAAxY/BF92WSfKHRM/s320/SNC00046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344465771948343618" border="0" /></a><br />woot.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The best part (??) about this is seeing how many "Mower Ripple Effect" points you can get. The "RME" as it will now be known is how many people within earshot of your place ALSO mow their lawns AFTER you start your mower. You know how it happens....some poor guy manages to convince his wife/partner/boyfriend that he can't possibly mow the lawn today because the weather is so shitty. Wife/partner/Boyfriend lets it slide because it IS a fairly shitty day. Then they both hear it....<span style="font-weight: bold;">SOMEONE IS MOWING THEIR LAWN</span>!!! This causes everyone within range who had put off mowing to actually HAVE to then mow their lawns also because they are getting the evil eye from their respective others.<br />Today I scored <span style="font-size:180%;">3</span> points. Woot!!<br /><br /></div></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-24697760958403055782009-06-02T08:30:00.000+10:002009-06-02T18:18:56.163+10:00...and the world was poorer for it.8 years ago today the world lost a great man, a wonderful father and a guiding light.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I still find it hard to believe that it's been that long since my Dad died. They say that only the good die young and that's what happened in this case. Taken from us far too soon so that he never got to see his children fully mature or get married or meet his fabulous grand kids. While he experienced so much with us while we had him here with us he misses out on some of the best stuff. I still think about him every day and even after 8 years still miss him just as much.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">R.I.P Dad.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SiTcQqZIboI/AAAAAAAAAw4/iaass9Vm-vw/s1600-h/SNC00041.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SiTcQqZIboI/AAAAAAAAAw4/iaass9Vm-vw/s320/SNC00041.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342637236783967874" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-45120175385388623882009-05-27T13:05:00.028+10:002009-05-27T21:11:48.894+10:00Best Weekend Ever.I know I say that a lot....but it really was possibly the best one yet.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">To begin with it was 4 days long. Secondly I spent all 4 days in Radelaide and thirdly it incorporated the wedding of 2 of my best friends. Throw in some Rachel, some 5 Star hotel, pancakes, waffles, and crazy dancing and you see what I mean.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The wedding was pretty good as far as weddings go. I was actually Ben's "Best Man" which was quite the honor :) It was my first ever gig as a best man and while some of the "Pre Wedding" task I had to do were a tad difficult to accomplish from Melbourne I think I did a pretty good job and in the end the wedding was better for it ;)<br /><br />The ceremony was on the Saturday and the weather held off just long enough for the 3pm service to enjoy some glorious sun. The bride and groom both appeared at the church on time and that's always a good start.<br /><br />The highlight of course was the wedding reception and this was held at Ayres House in the city. The atmosphere there really was one of celebration. The food was excellent also with a choice of 2 dishes for both entrée and main course. Between us, Rachel and I got to taste the whole menu and every meal was very tasty.<br /><br />I gave my "Best Man" speech after dinner and it went over very well. A lot of laughs were had during the speech and I lost count of how many people came up to me afterwards to say that they thought my speech was brilliant. I don't know...in written form it was 7 pages long and when I got up to actually give it I got horribly lost in the events chain and missed some stuff out or read it out of order. No one seemed to care though :)<br /><br />After dinner the "socialising" started along with the drinking. I had booked a hotel in the city to stay the night in so Rachel and I took full advantage of the wine, beer, champagne on offer. Consequently we both had a great time I reckon. Thanks must be given to the perenial "party catalyst" Ben Lewis who manages to just take every event he's at and turn it up to 11. He's just so much fun and I think his antics help everyone around him relax and enjoy themselves too. It really was nice to see Rachel being "Rachel" and just having fun and not worrying about anythng like she usually has to. She was an active participant in all the "Crazy Dancing" that took place (as was I...I even did the "Time Warp" and knew the words??!!??!!!) and seeing her having such a blast made me more inclined to do the same. Though special mention must go to Ben Lewis again for inventing the dance move of the century...THE PASSION GRAB!!<br /><br />Awesomest.Move.Ever<br /><br />After the reception wound down we went for a quick visit to the Botanic Pub and got in one (or was it two) last drinks before fatigue was setting in (it was 1 am by this point). So Rachel and I headed off to the Rendezvous Allegra Hotel which was a 5 star place in the heart of Adelaide's CBD. I must say..for the price it was very luxurious. When we arrived we were greeted by the malfunctioning lift from hell (I'm sure the thing just didn't like us!) it just would not allow us to go to our floor. You had to stick in your electronic key then press your floor number. We did this several hundred times..for me it wouldn't even leave the lobby and for Rachel it would leave the lobby but only take us to the Penthouse floor and then wouldn't open the door once there??? When we went and told the concierge (<-- I spelt that right FIRST TIME!!! woo woo) he was obviously beginning to think we were incompetent fools as it was the 3rd time we'd been back with electro-key trouble. We got in the "other" lift and the key worked 1st time...BAH! <br /><br />Once we got to the room it was quite late and while I started taking off the suit I had been wearing all day (no easy feat as it was drenched in sweat from all the dancing) Rachel decided to get in a pre-sleep sleep :) she laid fully clothed on the HUGE bed (Do beds come in a size bigger than "king"?) and nodded off almost instantly. I went and had a shower and when I came back she was already asleep. Poor dear :) <br /><br />The morning was SURREAL. I woke at about 7am and in my semi-awake state noticed that Rachel wasn't in the bed...I thought nothing of it and went back to sleep. Upon re-waking at 8:30am I noticed that she STILL wasn't in the bed? I woke with a start and cautiously looked around the still darkish room. I checked the bathroom "area" (as it was almost as big as the rest of the suite) ..nope not there either. Then I noticed her bag was gone (it was a medium carry bag type thing) ... ??I went back over to the bed and saw that her clothes were still on the floor next to the bed ?? I honestly thought she'd been abducted in the night and sold in to white slavery!!! A bit concerned, I rang her mobile hoping to GOD that it didn't ring inside the room itself... it didn't. I was greeted by a cheerful "Good Morning :)" and informed that she couldn't sleep at about 6am so she got up and went for a walk around the city for a few hours........ I relaxed, but man was I thinking the worst for a while there :) <br /><br />We then thought we'd have some Yum Cha for breakfast....but contrary to both our memories of Gouger St. We couldn't find a Yum Cha restaurant that was open. (This was met with howls of laughter back here in Melbourne when I told this to my work mates....the widely held belief here is that "Adelaide is closed on Sunday"). We there for had to settle for Pancakes :) Win. Win. We then went back to Gawler and embarked on the second once in a lifetime event (after the wedding) for the weekend. The formatting and re-installation of Rachel's computer. HOORAY! There were some slight technical hiccups but in the end we got everything working (with a bit of help from the ever dependable Raff). The speed increase was astounding but her computer is getting on in the years, so much so that some (yes, PLURAL) of her children are younger than it. Biggest disappointment (for certain children at least) is that the PC is so old that the new "Sims 3" game actually won't work and gives the error "Upgrade your PC!!" ... hehehe. <br /><br />Finished off the weekend with an out-dinner of Indian :) and then on Monday morning went and saw where Sofie (Rachel's youngest) goes to kindy now. I helped her make a wig out of wool and cardboard. She let me try it on and it was good to have long flowing curly hair again after 20 years :P. Had a fantastic time once again in Radelaide.<br /><br />In other Melbourne based news, yesterday the builders FINALLY came to fix the mould damage in my house. Not bad. Quite speedy service seeing it only happened in AUGUST 2008!!!!^ They didn't even finish after 5 hours either :/ and have to come back next week. Also, after 10 years..the Basketball team I play in here finally got NEW uniforms. I'll put a pic up later as they are totally swish and awesome looking. If our amazing skills on the court don't blind the other teams our funky, dripping with court cred new threads certainly will. <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sh0Qq5U4nGI/AAAAAAAAAwo/VWpgkSRWSHo/s1600-h/DSC01983.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 163px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sh0Qq5U4nGI/AAAAAAAAAwo/VWpgkSRWSHo/s320/DSC01983.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340443062260243554" border="0" /></a><br /> Old New<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sh0QrFclXcI/AAAAAAAAAww/a3wxs7gjI5s/s1600-h/DSC01984.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 227px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Sh0QrFclXcI/AAAAAAAAAww/a3wxs7gjI5s/s320/DSC01984.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340443065513762242" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /></div></div><br />Still waiting to hear from SA Water too. Surgery also pending :) </div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-28218835013215480282009-04-19T15:39:00.048+10:002009-04-19T19:01:29.315+10:00Rounding them up....<div style="text-align: justify;">Last week went so quick..which was great as I almost didn't notice I was at work :) Thursday however was just brilliant. I had the most fun I think I have ever had while at any of my thousands of jobs ever. I was laughing pretty much constantly all day thanks to my (seemingly) weekly email tsunami with Rachel. We must have sent about 15 massive emails each. So much fun. You so ROCK Rach :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I spent the previous weekend (Easter) doing the family and friends things again (Hooray) so spent 4 ish days in Radelaide. Thanks to Rachel and Ben for the free accommodation once more on this visit. The weekend as always went far too quickly but I managed to do so many things that I had a great time once again and i managed to spread myself equally over Angaston, Gawler and Adelaide city.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sunday night was definitely the highlight. Rach and I went out for dinner at "<a href="http://www.lhretreat.com/Tonic.htm">Tonic</a>" at Lyndoch in the Barossa. Tonic is a new restaurant that has recently won just about every award in the hospitality sphere. The food was VERY spectacular sounding and when we got the menu on arrival it was clear that this place was the ducks nuts for food. I ordered a Beef and black olive pie with some sort of mashed potato which was infused with liquid awesome and then coated with a cheesy sundried tomato sauce. Rach had Weiss noodle bolognaise which had rabbit and pork and other equally impressive stuff in it. No photo's of the actual meals sorry. Rachel also kept up her stats for choosing "Wine that Michael doesn't think tastes like dishwater" (For the uninitiated...I usually think ALL wine tastes like dishwater). She chose a 2008 Burge Family Wine Makers Shiraz Rose.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Seq-cTqctiI/AAAAAAAAAuY/Y7l5fJgZUiI/s1600-h/Burge+Rose.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 89px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/Seq-cTqctiI/AAAAAAAAAuY/Y7l5fJgZUiI/s320/Burge+Rose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326278902842963490" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Again, I liked it!!! After the fantastic pick in January of Bethany 2002 Vintage Shiraz Cabernet this one was also quite tasty. Well done Rachel once again...2 for 2.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While we were eating, chatting and drinking some desserts were brought out for some other patrons and caught Ms. Rachels eye. Apparently...we <span style="font-weight: bold;">WERE </span>having dessert now :) Fine by me.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rachel ordered the Lemon Posset with Vanilla Paschmak & Almond Sugar Shortbreads. Even now after reading that again...I don't really know what it was. I think it was a lemon cheesecakey type thing with fairy floss on top (see Below). The verdict..well was there ever any doubt that the two thumbs would appear?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerAiBtZf-I/AAAAAAAAAug/o4BHnt7lqYc/s1600-h/SNC00074.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerAiBtZf-I/AAAAAAAAAug/o4BHnt7lqYc/s320/SNC00074.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326281200125968354" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerA53TLJJI/AAAAAAAAAuo/y0X4Km98heo/s1600-h/SNC00071.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerA53TLJJI/AAAAAAAAAuo/y0X4Km98heo/s320/SNC00071.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326281609648481426" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I went for the Sticky Date, Bread and Butter Pudding with Toffee Sauce & Cream. Equally awesome.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerBqNZ-vXI/AAAAAAAAAuw/LWaJEpbv5n0/s1600-h/SNC00073.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerBqNZ-vXI/AAAAAAAAAuw/LWaJEpbv5n0/s320/SNC00073.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326282440216329586" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>It was mighty fine :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This weekend, in contrast, I have had a quiet time at home watching TV and relaxing on saturday. OH!! I also watched "somebody else" clean my whole garden for me. That was so difficult to watch and not actively participate in as I <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">LOVE</span> Gardening^. Check out my front yard now:<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerEZU3hq0I/AAAAAAAAAvA/35Sacf31Mzg/s1600-h/SNC00079.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 203px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerEZU3hq0I/AAAAAAAAAvA/35Sacf31Mzg/s320/SNC00079.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326285448696408898" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerEZBZygBI/AAAAAAAAAu4/5_IxlYJGeQk/s1600-h/SNC00078.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 203px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SerEZBZygBI/AAAAAAAAAu4/5_IxlYJGeQk/s320/SNC00078.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326285443471409170" border="0" /> </a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Today I went for a ride in the morning. It was hard to deciede which bike to take ... the new flat-bar roadie (see last blog entry) or the dual suspension mountain bike. Both are soooo cool that I assume that what I had to do was a kin to trying to pick your favorite child (assuming you have more than 1 of course). I went with the road bike as I hadn't really given it a good ride yet despite having it 2 whole weeks. It's only done the "work run" which doesn't really count as it's only 2.8km. So I took it today for a 40km jaunt along the now familiar Eastlink bike track. All I can say is WOW. Roadbikes can be gotten up to INSANELY fast speeds if your legs are used to normally pushing around a mountain bike. I had no trouble getting this bike up to 50km/h on the flats and even faster down hills. The only bad point is thhat my butt has obviously been pampered with my mountain bikes dual suspension which swallows any bump in the track or road that you might roll over so you don't even notice them. Not so on the road bike. You feel <span style="font-weight: bold;">EVERYTHING</span> you roll over. Sticks, undulations, pot holes, gutters and each sensation is delivered with maximum force to the base of your coccyx!! I really feel like i've spent a weekend in an all male prison now. I also made a vid when I stopped at the half way point with a review of said bikes performance...enjoy.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Click picture to play (18MB and you'll need Quicktime)</span><br /><embed src="http://users.on.net/%7Emichael.field/softs/SNC00076.jpg" controller="false" href="http://users.on.net/%7Emichael.field/softs/SNC00076.mov" target="myself" autoplay="false" type="video/mp4" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download" width="320" height="256"></embed><br /><br /></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-34725390295418980662009-04-04T12:54:00.003+11:002009-04-04T13:09:24.374+11:00tripping and falling....Many of my close friends have been having accidents this week where they are just going about their daily task and unfortunate accident befell them...<br /><br />Rachel told me how she was just sorting Easter eggs and a whole white chocolate rabbit accidentally fell in her mouth and she had to eat it to stop it from choking her. Nasty stuff indeed.<br /><br />This prompted another friend Michael to comment about how he was innocently looking for a healthy lettuce snack in his fridge when some beer that was also in the fridge tipped over and several of them poured directly into his mouth before he could get out of the way. He could have drowned !! Terrifying stuff.<br /><br />Today, I had a similar experience.... I was calmly walking down High St. in Prahan , Melbourne. When I tripped and fell into <a href="http://www.bikes.com.au/">The Melbourne Bicycle Center</a>, when I got home I realised that I had got something wedged in my shoe... A Scott Sub 20 bike.... since it was too late to take it back I guess i'll just have to keep it and remember to be more careful in future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SdbAkMygHXI/AAAAAAAAAt4/tFfHQRWJjxA/s1600-h/DSC01980.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SdbAkMygHXI/AAAAAAAAAt4/tFfHQRWJjxA/s320/DSC01980.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320651737925688690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So be careful everyone ... I'd hate for something as unfortunate to happen to any of you.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">P.S. :)</span>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-70226086345741069262009-03-25T08:38:00.016+11:002009-03-25T21:04:03.800+11:00All aboard......the CRAZY TRAIN.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">That's what it's been like for the last 3 weeks. Absolutely crazy in all aspects. There has been ups, downs, lefts, rights more ups, more downs and it really can shake your faith in people and companies. Thankfully i've got a great network of friends and family that were paramount in helping me deal with the mountains of unbelievable crap that I found myself traversing. I think as of today the worst is over for a while...at least....I hope.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're sick and tired of me whining about Melbourne...maybe skip down the page until you see the picture of a puppy.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As usual the thing that has taken up most of my "thinking time" is my seemingly perpetual struggle with finding my personal happiness. The last 3 weeks have firmly cemented in my mind that Melbourne is not the place for me as a place to spend and "live" my life (big surprise huh?). After living here for the last 5 years it's now completely and undeniably obvious to me (and most probably to anyone close to me) that I constantly feel I am in the wrong place. I feel even more alienated and detached from my own life with each passing week and a few friends have commented on my complete change of character before and after trips to Adelaide. It's true though, I *love* going Adelaide for many reasons and I *hate* having to come back here after every single jaunt. I'm trying my hardest, all the time to rectify this problem.<br /></div><br />It seems like such an easy fix as the "fun" ratio of Adelaide:Melbourne is skewed WAY in favour of Adelaide.. I should just pack-up my stuff and go "home" ... However FEAR is always the mind killer. I have a job here that supplies me with money and while i've certainly done it before..throwing caution to the wind and quitting my job and going back to Adelaide to uncertain career prospects is probably foolish in the current economic climate. It's WHOLLY appealing on many other levels however but at the moment the most prudent course of action seems to be to find another job first before moving. The ultimate question is "how much is your happiness worth?"<br /><br />I also had some of my longest serving friends visit Melbourne for their work these past 2 weeks and I made the effort to go catch them while they were here. I've know these guys (Matt and Ben) since..well forever it seems like. It was great to catch up with them (even though I saw them only a few weeks ago in Adelaide). We had a good night out on the town. Ben was also back here again this week for work again so on Sunday we went out again for dinner. This time to Brunswick St. and the "Little Creatures Ale House" which I didn't even know existed there. The food was pretty good and the beer was also ok too. Thanks to the Federal Government for both ;)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/ScljpiVg1qI/AAAAAAAAAtY/PejOkyRedFg/s1600-h/puppy3.jpeg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 186px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/ScljpiVg1qI/AAAAAAAAAtY/PejOkyRedFg/s200/puppy3.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316890400330405538" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />On my last trip to Adelaide you may recall I had some mobile phone problems, well 2 weeks ago they came to a head when my phone wouldn't connect to the phone network at all. So I had to go get another phone. I did my research and went with the <a href="http://omnia.samsungmobile.com/">Samsung Omnia </a>(on a plan) because it was way cheaper. This phone is <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">amazing</span></span>, it is astounding what this thing can do. I have yet to find a task that I would "need" on a phone (or indeed a full computer) that this thing can't do. Let me illustrate:<br /><br />(a) Makes calls (voice AND video) - <span style="font-family:webdings;"></span> "check"<br />(b) SMS and MMS - "check"<br />(c) Mobile intarwebs - "check"<br />(d) Plays MP3's - "check"<br />(e) Plays XviD movies - "check"<br />(f) GPS navigation - "check"<br />(g) Full MS Office suite - "Check"<br />(h) Games - "check"<br />(i) Ridiculously large mega-pixel camera/video - "check"<br />(j) Massive amount of storage space (16GB) - "check"<br /><br />get the idea?<br /><br />I know the term "Awesome" gets thrown around a lot these days and many say that this has devalued it as a superlative. But if there was a word which embodied all the traits of "awesome" and then took it 2 notches higher, that word* would be used -<span style="font-weight: bold;">here </span>- to describe this phone. Very happy with my purchase :)<br /><br />On the work front, well....what can I say without being too negative. Not a lot :)<br />I *think* the project I have been working on is nearly finished, at least, we can see the end of it now...the problem is that we still don't know if the ending will be good or bad. Which I find utterly ludicrous at such a late stage. I also must say that [client] are the biggest bunch of illogical [expletive]'s that I have ever had the misfortune of working with. For that reason alone I can't wait to be off this project and hopefully rid of them.<br /><br />I've been biking a fair bit lately (surprise surprise) when the weather allows it and have rapidly come to the conclusion that the Stumpjumper I bought late last year is quite possibly the best bike in the universe. It is so good that my other bike is now constantly looked on with derision and scorn. Undeserved of course because it's an excellent bike in it's own right ... it's just the Stumpy is like the biking equivalent of multi-orgasmic sex...and who doesn't like that??? The Avanti is sort of like that drunken shag on a park bench at 3am . You remember it fondly and it serves it's purpose .... but you see the Stumpy whenever you look at the Avanti and go for the guaranteed multi-orgasm nearly every time. It doesn't help the Avanti's cause that in comparison to the stumpy it is the slightly overweight girl that looked beautiful after 15 beers and a bottle of whiskey. Where as the Stumpy looks like <a href="http://thebosh.com/upload/2007/10/05/Heather%20Graham%20Shape.jpg">Heather Graham </a>when you're sober.<br /><br />Just for the record..I thought that analogy was awesome :)<br /><br />So the Avanti may soon be "surplus to requirements" and be looking for a new home. Like always if you would like it..let me know..any reasonable offer considered. Size XL frame by the way (which is BIG) suitable only for anyone 6'2" or over. Then I might have to see about getting a road bike (mmmm Avanti Blade 5).<br /><br />Now I'm just hanging out for Easter and some time off away from Melbourne. The next 2 months are shaping up to be ok and I have some other plans in the works that I hope to be able to bring to fruition during that time too (think "decadent trips to exotic locations") so that is also a bit exciting.<br /><br />Also, may I just say "logitech battery low warning pop-ups every 2 mins are ANNOYING!!" in the 2 tiered hope that some one, somewhere, some day googles that phrase and finds my blog and is exposed to the awesomeness of it. And also because that statement is true!! My keyboard here at work is wireless and has a little LCD screen built into the top that shows a picture of a battery when the batteries are low. I know from this that the batteries are low...I don't need a pop-up every 2 mins also saying "Your Batteries in your keyboard are low!!" especially when the keyboard still functions normally. I'll change the damn batteries when the keyboards ability to send it's data stops working. My experience with this "change the battery alert" is that it is a kin to the petrol warning light coming on when you still have 1/4 tank of petrol and can still drive for 250km.<br /><br />In closing i'd also like to share something I heard on the weekend that really helped me with my problems (as I see them). The source is unimportant but the message is clear and insightful and may help you as it helped me.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">"Everyone needs a goal, a prize, a desire to work towards in life. What that goal is only you can truly know but when you discover what it is there will be no doubt in your mind that it is right . Once you know what your goal is any effort you exert towards achieving it can only take you closer to it. Without that goal, no matter how insignificant it may seem to others, you are motionless in an infinite universe of possibilities. That is the epitome of unhappiness"<br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*some might say that that word does exist already and was in fact the word "Rachel" .... but I have far too much integrity to stoop to such predictability and cheap browny point scoring.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/michaelf/Desktop/puppy3.jpeg" alt="" /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-71493601782556218822009-03-02T15:33:00.018+11:002009-03-04T16:58:27.222+11:00Whirlwind Birthday Visit.<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;">Well here I am now entering my 37th year of being on Earth. Scary stuff indeed, nearly 40 and not a hell of a lot to show for it :P<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I flew back to Adelaide to spend my Birthday with friends and family on Friday and came back on Sunday. It was really good (as always) to go back there and see all the familiar faces again. Though 1.5 days is really far too short and i'm already back in Melbourne wondering if it actually happened? I'm already looking forward to being back there at Easter.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My trip was actually pretty hectic and it all hinged on Tiger airways being "on time" on Friday night. As you may know from previous blogs of mine they (Tiger) have a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >REALLY </span><span style="font-family:arial;">hard time achieving this. This time however I was absolutely flabbergasted by their "on timedness". I got to the Airport at 6:15pm and then waited in the carpark for the shuttle bus for 20mins!!! Panicking a bit as I got into the terminal for Tiger at 6:45pm I rushed a peak at the departure board ..."No Delays"...WHAT THE?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So I join the end of the really long queue and think "No way am I going to get checked in in time!". Just then the Tiger Airways chick asks "Anyone else for the Adelaide flight?", I raise my hand and she says "Come down to the front here please" .. WHAT THE x2!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So I get processed get my boarding pass and head for the metal detector entrances to the departure lounge. I had a 5 min wait in line while the huge volume of people filtered through the 1 gate they had operating. When I was nearly at the metal detector my plane started boarding so that when I eventually got through the gate I was ushered straight onto the plane and within minutes we were in the air and away to Radelaide.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My brother picked me up from the airport and graciously drove me out to Rachels place. I walked in to the final prep for her big wedding-catering-job-a-polooza where she and her parents were deciding on the merits of champagne and pineapple sorbet mixed together. It tasted weird .. not weird weird, but funky weird. I couldn't stop drinking it though for some reason even though I was contorting my face with each sip...see..weird :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Went to sleep and prepared for the imminent "woken up by excited children" event that happens each time I am there. This time I was actually asleep though and not faking it like usual ;), I subconsciously detected the presence of 2 small, blond children in close proximity and wearily opened my eyes. That's all the excuse they needed and with a flurry of nighties, hair and blankets I was being flanked on each side by a small child both giggling and laughing hysterically as they joined me in the bed. I then had to listen to the "News of the world 5 y.o. edition" followed quickly by "News of the world: 3 y.o. edition". Awesome :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I had been pre-warned that the kids wanted to take me to "Out breakfast" at the local pancake place in Gawler and I was instructed by Rach to act surprised and pretend that I had no idea where we were going. I accomplished that mission and Hannah was quite impressed that she got me to the Java Hut (the cafe in question) without me having any clue as to what she had planned. Adults 1 children 1...every one was a winner :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After breakfast the day was pretty much a whirlwind of activity at Rachels house as she finished preparing for her massive wedding catering job that night and Ryan (her eldest) and I battled with the Wii to try and bend it to our will .... we were unsuccessful after about 3 hours of trying. We shall be victorious in the end though MARK MY WORDS Wii!!! I then had to abruptly leave as time had really got away from me and I was due at the venue of my birthday party in just 1.5hrs and that included a 1hr train trip. I quickly said goodbyes, much to the horror of Rach's children, and dashed for the train.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One disconcerting aspect of my visit to Gawler was that my mobile phone could not get any reception while there. Seems it was a problem with the phone as my sim card worked fine in Rachels phone and got a full signal. While riding on the train to Adelaide I still could not get a signal at all and in frustration smacked the crap out of my phone and shook it like an electrified shaking machine. It suddenly got perfect reception and I quickly called my sister in law to arrange a pick up from the Adelaide train station. Serendipitously, they were actually in Elizabeth at the time and my train was just about to pull into Elizabeth...so I hoped off and met with them and enjoyed a car ride to the city and a delightful chat with my 3y.o. niece Charlotte. It's really amazing to witness the passing of time in children, I remember when Charlotte was born and now she's 3 and talking about everything and every thing. She's quite clever and has a huge vocabulary and is such a sweet little girl. She provided the biggest laugh of the weekend when we were at dinner and I introduced her to one of my friends (Cash) who is a BIG guy easily 6ft tall and probably close to 200Kg. Upon being introduced Charlotte looked at him and with the sweetest little smile said "My my, you certainly are fat!". Of course it wasn't meant in malice and i'm pretty sure Cash would have been the biggest person she'd ever seen. But there certainly isn't any truth like that "out of the mouths of babes". Cash could see the funny side of it...and w<span style="font-family:arial;">e both had a pretty big laugh about it.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Kids are pretty cool :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, Dinner was at the "Tap In" pub in Kent Town and I was really pleased by the amount of my friends and family that made the effort to attend. Many travelling quite some distance to get there and thus making the evening very enjoyable. I had the beef schnitzel with pepper sauce and it was divine almost (I said almost) as good as those served at the Earl of Leicester. Many laughs were had throughout the evening, many conversations had and many drinks consumed. I'm not exactly sure when it all ended but it was late and I was extremely drunk. So it was a two thumbs up event from me :) Cheers to Ben and Leah too who let me stay at their house for the evening. That bed was sooooOoooOo comfy :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sunday was my actual birthday and in all honesty when I woke up I had actually forgotten that it was. Leah greeted me in the morning with a big happy birthday hug and only then did I remember that it actually WAS my birthday. Pretty soon the SMS's and phone calls started wishing me the same. Due to me not really having too much time with Rachel at her place I asked her to meet me for lunch on Sunday if she had time. Thankfully she did and we met and went to lunch at the Exciter for some tasty eats. Had a good chat with her for an hour or so before she had to leave to go pick up her kids. I really appreciate you finding the time for me though Rach, you still Rock the hardest out of everyone I know :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After lunch Ben, Leah and I went looking for some new headphones for me as I usually listen to my iPod when travelling. I pretty much only use my iPod in Melbourne when riding my bike and use a non-standard pair of headphones that I bought. This trip however I had only the original white headphones that came with the iPod when I bought it and which I had never used. When I tried them on the flight over the left one didn't even work .... gg Apple!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So we went looking and as we passed Target at the end of Rundle street I suggested we tried looking in there. Leah was adamant that Target didn't have headphones and it would be a waste of time and when it </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >WAS</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> proved to be a waste of time then *I* would owe her a Wendy's thickshake. Fine, I agreed, and thankfully Target </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >DID </span><span style="font-family:arial;">have headphones ... much to Leah's disgust :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After getting some awesome sony earphones we went and got my victory thickshake and then headed back to the car. Once mobile we embarked on what can only be described as "Leah's fruitless search for a luxury ocean liner that didn't exist" to fill in the last hour that we had before I had to be at the airport. We drove all the way out to outer harbour only to find it empty of all things shippy. Not a good day for Leah ;)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So we went back to Ben and Leah's place, collected my stuff and headed to the airport. I was pretty tired by this time and was hoping the flight would be as prompt and efficient as Fridays. True to form though Tiger wasn't on time and I had 2 hrs of "extra" time in the airport waiting for them to get their shit together (Is that even possible??). I went and got a coffee and took advantage of the free intarwebs and the all powerful iPod to update my Facebook profile about how much I really didn't want to go back to Melbourne....again :). Finally boarded the plane 2.5hrs after it was scheduled and headed back to Melbourne. I slept pretty much the whole way.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I got home with no drama's. Car was still in the car park which is always good and the drive home was pleasant. Got to my house at about 8:30pm and felt the familiar THUD of another awesome SA visit "officially" being over again. I unpacked and spent the next 2 hours discussing the problems of the world with Rachel via the internet. I actually enjoyed that quite a bit. Then it was time for bed and getting ready for another action packed excitement fest at work*</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >*may not accurately describe my job.</span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >**This year I also almost made it through the whole day without thinking of the girl that unceremoniously broke my heart on my birthday in 2003 and had consequently tarnished and degraded every birthday since. It's actually rather pleasing to realise that time does actually heal most wounds and undo many wrongs. So thanks go out to everyone who made me enjoy myself so much this birthday that those memories got close to zero brain time this year. Much appreciated.</span><br /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-36514582995553662492009-02-14T22:40:00.008+11:002009-02-14T23:18:28.795+11:00Hooray For Second Hand.<div style="text-align: justify;">On Friday I did a friend of mine a big favor by buying some stuff he needed to get rid of due to moving into a new house. What I got was an absolute bargain and I can't really believe Chapper (the friend) let me fleece him so badly on such awesome stuff. So here is a little test for all you people out there who are awesome enough to read my blog :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Can you spot the differences in these 2 photos?<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZavDYvkpOI/AAAAAAAAAr4/OZGUTvb0QAs/s1600-h/DSC01942.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZavDYvkpOI/AAAAAAAAAr4/OZGUTvb0QAs/s200/DSC01942.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302618083991790818" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZavDXq2A0I/AAAAAAAAAsA/aoRVB50MPng/s1600-h/DSC01944.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZavDXq2A0I/AAAAAAAAAsA/aoRVB50MPng/s200/DSC01944.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302618083703522114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Pretty sweet huh? So yeah, I bought Chappers old home theater amp and speakers for a price that would make most people question Chappers sanity or at the very least make the same people wonder exactly how many hours a day Chapper spends in the vicinity of the backs of trucks. The system as a whole is quite amazing and the sound quality is just brilliant. Chapper and I played both the Terminator 2 (DTS) and Lord of the Rings (DTS-EX) DVD's on it to test it out and it was..well...It was exactly like a movie cinema in fact.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The A/V Receiver amp is an Onkyo and is a few years old now so not "current" technology but it still pumps out the sound and can make the windows rattle.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZaxQlNSmJI/AAAAAAAAAsI/JOALKvDLihA/s1600-h/DSC01945.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZaxQlNSmJI/AAAAAAAAAsI/JOALKvDLihA/s200/DSC01945.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302620509699217554" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The speakers are absolutely brilliant too and I really can't believe I got them so damn cheap either. Wharfedale Diamond 8 speakers and subwoofer. There's 2 big floor standing front speakers, a big front center, 2 rear bookshelf speakers and a HUGE floor subwoofer.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVtru-OI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/AS2yOgYLsIk/s1600-h/DSC01952.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 101px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVtru-OI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/AS2yOgYLsIk/s200/DSC01952.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302621697385363682" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVgF1nrI/AAAAAAAAAsY/b_lvOv5kmd4/s1600-h/DSC01950.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 101px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVgF1nrI/AAAAAAAAAsY/b_lvOv5kmd4/s200/DSC01950.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302621693736754866" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVtZ-a9I/AAAAAAAAAsg/BjIeb4GCguE/s1600-h/DSC01951.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 136px; height: 101px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZayVtZ-a9I/AAAAAAAAAsg/BjIeb4GCguE/s200/DSC01951.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302621697310878674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Consequently I now have a "spare" mini home theater system (DVD player/Amp, 5 speakers and subwoofer) which is superfluous to requirements...if anyone want's it, give me a yell.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It was also Valentines day today throughout the world. Not that you'd have noticed here in Michael town. I spent the day doing housework, spraying weeds (which somehow grew back through where I nuked them last time?? Round-Up, Shmound-Up!!), hanging washing out and contemplating mowing the lawn...that's right...contemplating..I didn't actually get to that...simply because it looks so awful and weed infested..plus I have to somehow get the pride of lions, 3 rhinoceroses and wilder beasts off it before I can mow it. Maybe it'll get lucky tomorrow. Tomorrow I shall get up and go for a bike jaunt I reckon before MORE domestic duties will fill my day again. Grocery shopping and vacuuming and THEN washing the floors!! Hopefully I will be able to contain myself while having all that awesome fun :(<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I need another holiday already.<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-62036044774277989742009-02-11T22:38:00.005+11:002009-02-11T23:01:12.215+11:00MY FACE!!! My beautiful FACE!!!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tonight I had basketball again and we returned to our winning ways :) The team as a whole were fantastic and awesome and brilliant (I was actually all three...again). We were so good that the other team got a bit pissed off and forgot that Basketball is a non-contact sport. At one point I got the ball and turned to shoot and....<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:450;">BAM!!</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">..one of the other teams players full-on pounded me in the face. I threw the ball away and put my hand up to my eye because he had really got me good. I pulled my hand down to do that "Check for blood ..." thing that you instinctively do...AND THERE WAS BLOOD!!! The guy had opened up a gash just under my eye and up across the bridge of my nose.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I had to go off the court for some stupid reason...blood rule or something. Here's a photo of me and my injury.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZK8t69v1HI/AAAAAAAAArw/Gzgl4PGEL5A/s1600-h/Men_Brad_Pitt_.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SZK8t69v1HI/AAAAAAAAArw/Gzgl4PGEL5A/s200/Men_Brad_Pitt_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301507208476873842" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, the moral of the story is WE F@&KING WON !!!! Suck on that other team!!</div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-20181031610855318342009-02-10T19:22:00.006+11:002009-02-10T20:37:51.602+11:00Everythings burning.<div style="text-align: justify;">What an interesting time in Victoria. The hottest daytime temperature ever recorded in a capital city (47.6ºC on saturday) coupled with the most intense and destructive fires ever seen in the history of Australia. Every TV Channel and Every Radio station is pretty much constantly bombarding the airwaves with news on this horrible event. So far 173 people are confirmed dead and they are expecting to find well over 200 bodies in total once they get back into the worst affected areas. I know it sounds horrible when I say this, but I am getting a bit sick of hearing about this on TV. Before you jump down my throat let me qualify that statement. The news and current affairs coverage here in Melbourne is just so <span style="font-weight: bold;">contrived</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">forced </span>that you wish they'd just shut up. The worst offenders are Sevens "Sunrise" who are set up in the CFA "Staging Area" in Whittlesea VIC and constantly cross back and forward to each of their presenters who profess they are "Shocked" and "Distraught" and feeling for the victims. Whenever they can they drop in that they are working with "Pastors and Priests to help the distressed survivors". BAH, I can't really get across in words how much I want to punch them in the face. It is so obvious that they are there for ratings and their contrived compassion and "support" is offensive.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've helped out as best I could from metro Melbourne though, I've donated money and blood and really hope that the rest of Australia gets behind the charity drives and donate to the red cross (www.redcross.org.au) so that the money goes straight to the people who need it most. The destruction is almost biblical...whole towns destroyed, whole families killed or even worse partially killed, ashen black landscapes that wouldn't be out of place in a nuclear explosion ground zero site. Do all you can these people have lost everything except hope and we can all give them that.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Last week was quite eventful for me, I had an interview for a job back in Adelaide on Tuesday that was quite long and went fairly well. Now I have a nerve wracking 2 week wait to find out the result and i'm finding it hard to stay calm and not get too excited. The job would be very interesting and diverse and would solve so many personal problems that I have at the moment.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On Wednesday my basketball teams impressive 4 wins in a row streak came to an end with an embarrassing defeat. It was really frustrating because we didn't play bad at all. In fact we played very well it's just that we missed VERY easy shots (well, the other guys did...I didn't :P) and our opposition were just the luckiest lucksters in luck town. Our defense was so good they couldn't get near the basket to get 2 points so they just continually lobbed in 3 pointers and kept getting them IN!!!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's also 2 weeks (and a bit) until my Birthday and I am going back to Adelaide because it falls on a weekend this year again. I've organised a night out in a pretty nice pub and am going to see all my favorite friends and family over the weekend. It's going to be fantastic....but like always .. short. Hopefully it will be the last time I have to "plan" to visit Adelaide fr this year :)<br /></div><br />Fingers crossed. :)Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-242672106638653172009-02-02T21:11:00.006+11:002009-02-02T21:44:35.732+11:00Mould 'n' Mud? Really?<div style="text-align: justify;">Went for a quick ride on Sunday because it wasn't too hot in the morning and I felt like a real sloth after doing nothing on Saturday except watch TV...and wait...and watch TV...and wait. This was due to some guy saying he was going to come and repair some of my infamous "Mould Room". Needless to say, after arranging to come at 10am on Saturday morning...he didn't. He didn't come at 11am either. Or 12 or 1 or 2 or 3!! At 3:30pm he called me to say he was in Bendigo?? He said he'd be here in about 3 hrs...he wasn't. At 5:30pm he called again to say his truck had over heated and he'd not be coming at all now until Monday.....GRAND!<br /><br />So he arrived today and carefully cut up the carpet in the mold room...not all the carpet mind you...he cut up just the bits that had mold on them and said "The carpet insurance only covers what is damaged..you'll get new carpet where I've cut...but it may not be "exactly the same carpet.". I asked him if he was sure? and if he was serious? Because look at this:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLYGi1qHI/AAAAAAAAAqc/E2xJA0_qkxk/s1600-h/DSC01935.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLYGi1qHI/AAAAAAAAAqc/E2xJA0_qkxk/s200/DSC01935.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298145626582001778" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLYL7lK4I/AAAAAAAAAqU/ExnEeaxlVGc/s1600-h/DSC01934.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLYL7lK4I/AAAAAAAAAqU/ExnEeaxlVGc/s200/DSC01934.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298145628027956098" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLX7iUDsI/AAAAAAAAAqM/MK2ASCfWNt0/s1600-h/DSC01933.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbLX7iUDsI/AAAAAAAAAqM/MK2ASCfWNt0/s200/DSC01933.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298145623627009730" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Can you imagine that with a completely different carpet in the bit were now there is wood?? MADNESS. I've often said that "Insurance is for idiots!!" because ...honestly...who would agree to coverage (hehe get it? I'm so witty) that said "we replace only whats destroyed with 'maybe' the same carpet"??? I'm glad it's not my house :)<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, I digress, So while out riding on the dusty trail (as Melbourne had just had 3 days in a row over 40ºC...and YES, I know Adelaide had more, Adelaide always wins over Melbourne..it's a given.. so shush.) I came across something that I thought was initially a mirage...I mean it had to be... There was no way a huge puddle of water and mud would be out in plain sight on the trail with such harsh weather recently? Would there??<br /></div><br />Wrong.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I went screaming through a huge muddy quagmire and got completely covered in mud and water..AWESOME :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Check out this bike, admittedly the mud had dried when I got home, but does that look like it's been across a swamp or what? :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsZoCmVI/AAAAAAAAAqE/8KFC32R0WPo/s1600-h/DSC01932.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 121px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsZoCmVI/AAAAAAAAAqE/8KFC32R0WPo/s200/DSC01932.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298142676766595410" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Filthy<br /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsIqk9hI/AAAAAAAAAp8/nqNM9f-Fzc8/s1600-h/DSC01931.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 121px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsIqk9hI/AAAAAAAAAp8/nqNM9f-Fzc8/s200/DSC01931.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298142672213833234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">oooOOoOo Mud Spray!!</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsALdszI/AAAAAAAAAp0/WWQF-fNMY8A/s1600-h/DSC01930.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 121px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYbIsALdszI/AAAAAAAAAp0/WWQF-fNMY8A/s200/DSC01930.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298142669935850290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">White Wall Tyres Are So Retro :)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow also sees me standing at a very important crossroad of life. So much that I have wanted to change in my life is going to be a possibility should tomorrow go well. It's making me a bit panicky because I'm very nervous about the whole thing. If all goes to plan I will have some very good reasons to be happy. I can't really go into it on here as there are people who need not know about it. Yet. The select chosen few know what's going on and I trust they can keep it to themselves for a bit longer.<br /><br />See you on the other side :)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-44876617772220407682009-01-28T20:34:00.003+11:002009-01-28T20:39:39.355+11:00What's got 14 arms, 14 legs and 7 heads and is UNBEATABLE?The SGE Injectors Basketball team that's what!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >4 wins in a row</span> now and looking like not stopping. Again we beat a team above us in the ladder into submission. We rocked as a collective. I got a bit peeved at no fouls getting called against the people pushing, hitting and jumping into me every time I went for a shot! But hey, I got 14 points so suck it other team :P<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYAncX9LgYI/AAAAAAAAApQ/36PJZvnMOMg/s1600-h/PIC-0289.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SYAncX9LgYI/AAAAAAAAApQ/36PJZvnMOMg/s200/PIC-0289.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296276530208145794" border="0" /></a><br /></div>SGE <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >24 - 17</span> Lah-Who-Sa-Hers<br /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-26875395248172151542009-01-26T19:42:00.023+11:002009-01-26T22:53:26.125+11:00Australia Day 2009Hope everyone had a good Australia day today. Mine was eventful and ended up on an awesome high.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I started out the day by going to the "Community Breakfast" here in good old Ringwood. The "Breakfast" started at 11am due to the Maroondah Council not wanting their event to clash with the "Official Melbourne Australia Day Breakfast" that was in Federation square in the CBD ..... 40KM away. The Maroondah version was ok, not a lot of people but enough to make it worthwhile I think.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17BI9TgxI/AAAAAAAAAnw/rBeOSzZKKJk/s1600-h/DSC01921.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 75px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17BI9TgxI/AAAAAAAAAnw/rBeOSzZKKJk/s200/DSC01921.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295523996372271890" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17A1s84XI/AAAAAAAAAno/T7mykyAleTM/s1600-h/DSC01920.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 74px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17A1s84XI/AAAAAAAAAno/T7mykyAleTM/s200/DSC01920.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295523991203406194" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17AjikE_I/AAAAAAAAAng/UtR6XQdcr9U/s1600-h/DSC01919.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 75px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17AjikE_I/AAAAAAAAAng/UtR6XQdcr9U/s200/DSC01919.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295523986327999474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17AYGM6bI/AAAAAAAAAnY/kJuP7BzotvM/s1600-h/DSC01917.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 74px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17AYGM6bI/AAAAAAAAAnY/kJuP7BzotvM/s200/DSC01917.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295523983256250802" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There was a bush band playing for the whole 3 hrs and free cordial and sausages for everyone. The sausages where a bit hard to come by as the waiting line for service was a kin to what post-war east Germany was probably like. HUNDREDS of people in a line waiting for hours just to get something to eat. See.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX18I0F_PJI/AAAAAAAAAoA/3m-VP8K3awE/s1600-h/DSC01922.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX18I0F_PJI/AAAAAAAAAoA/3m-VP8K3awE/s200/DSC01922.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295525227722128530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Bush Band</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17hInTfSI/AAAAAAAAAn4/prIE6di8K1c/s1600-h/DSC01925.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX17hInTfSI/AAAAAAAAAn4/prIE6di8K1c/s200/DSC01925.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295524546035809570" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;"> Waiting in line for some breakfast</span> <br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The highlight of the event was, of course, the singing of the national anthem. Now I had been lucky enough to have Sophie Feuerherdt (3) sing me the whole National anthem last year and while that was extremely impressive, today they sang a verse I hadn't even heard before...I tried to get a video of it but I missed. I think all in all they sung 4 verses!!<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx2wqlh-LDCsE4emITcRShoeCY_rw4F0P0Vg32absPBHLInes1oB3L1Pvpp6pphljvRyGCMAwiubUh4Wb3lEQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After the event was over I walked back home and did house chores for a few hours because it was quite hot and I wanted it to cool down a bit before embarking on my other planned event for the day. That event was the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lysterfield Mountain Bike Trail</span>. Lysterfield is about a 1/2 hr drive south east of Ringwood near the start of the Dandenong ranges. Now I had heard from people at work that are pretty keen mountain bikers that Lysterfield was "good", "Ok", "Better Than Nothing" and various other non-exciting adjectives. Well let me preempt this blog entry and just say that these people are not correct.<span style="font-size:250;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lysterfield was the most AWESOME place I have ever ridden a bike!!!</span></span><br /><br />If people rate this as merely "OK", they obviously have ridden on some absolutely orgasmic trails somewhere else!<br /><br />Let me explain. This trail is a purpose built mountain bike course, it actually consists of several interconnecting trails, one of which was actually the Commonwealth games mountain biking track. The trails are HARDCORE. I wasn't expecting them to be as challenging as they were and it was obvious that there had been a LOT of thought put into the design of every trail. To be honest, the trails go up some pretty steep hills and you just don't notice because such attention has been paid to making the trails fast or at worst a steady easy/moderate climb. Here's a graphic to show you what the whole park looks like. If you go around the circumference of the park in that picture...that's pretty much what I rode.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2AbP1CLtI/AAAAAAAAAoI/tvXMkVGLcyE/s1600-h/lysterfield.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 131px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2AbP1CLtI/AAAAAAAAAoI/tvXMkVGLcyE/s200/lysterfield.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295529942451367634" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2Onul0B-I/AAAAAAAAApI/cagDoa1wyvk/s1600-h/lysterfield2.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 131px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2Onul0B-I/AAAAAAAAApI/cagDoa1wyvk/s200/lysterfield2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295545550030243810" border="0" /><br /></a></div><br />As visible there are 9 different "trails" but they all intersect and you can do one or all of them (provided you know WHERE you are....which I didn't...I had no idea where I was most of the time).<br /><br />The scenery was...well I am sure it was nice but I really didn't look at it much because I was concentrating on the trail. Partly because the trail had "obstacles" that were built into it and as this was the first time I had ridden this trail I didn't know where they were and thus how fast I could go. Mostly I was concentrating on the trail because some complete F*&$%wads had booby trapped some parts of the track. I really don't understand the logic behind this as some of the stuff they had done was really dangerous and could easily kill someone. They had placed big logs across the trail on berns and in places where it was almost impossible to see them and then stop in time. They had dug "pungee spikes" into the trail like what you would errect to stop charging cavalry. I had to clear 4 or 5 different "traps" on my travels. Idiots. Look at this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJok6mWI/AAAAAAAAAog/EAEPUi6ti70/s1600-h/26-01-09+017.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJok6mWI/AAAAAAAAAog/EAEPUi6ti70/s200/26-01-09+017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295532938391886178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Booby Trap:</span> Logs placed across the trail<br />by dickheads trying to kill someone.<br />These logs are directly after a very large jump<br />on a very steep downhill section.</span><br /></div><br />The trail had enough "planned" obstacles to kill your self on as it was, they really didn't need unplanned ones too :). Here are some of the "planned" obstacles I encountered, thankfully there was always a "wuss" option on most of these where you could simply go around it.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJprYnRI/AAAAAAAAAoY/ijb4ik9b7eU/s1600-h/26-01-09+013.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJprYnRI/AAAAAAAAAoY/ijb4ik9b7eU/s200/26-01-09+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295532938687454482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Big log jump 1</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJeGubjI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/cqX_3TpG0Cw/s1600-h/26-01-09+012.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2DJeGubjI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/cqX_3TpG0Cw/s200/26-01-09+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295532935580905010" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Big Log jump 2</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The trails were also well defined while you were riding them but also very tight and thankfully I only saw one rider heading down the same trail I was on in the opposite direction when i was stopped. Here's some trail pics.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2FDW-iXLI/AAAAAAAAAoo/NwI8Y-uq-Pc/s1600-h/26-01-09+008.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2FDtXy3KI/AAAAAAAAAow/IsRXEKEXt8Y/s200/26-01-09+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295535035623070882" border="0" /> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2FDW-iXLI/AAAAAAAAAoo/NwI8Y-uq-Pc/s200/26-01-09+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295535029611551922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx22sIeMENyIKc1g2Zxt2BB5Ipyfulfe60i2_FLM_NUho3kIrwZN8fXZnIqWqqcUHWMtsjqMB5X6_vo5YXTBg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Warning:</span> may contain language not suitable for children :P<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After</span> reaching the top of "Worlds most ridiculously steep hill" I had a pit stop and needed to effect some field repairs (hahaha .. geddit?) on my bike. I couldn't change the front gears as the derailleur just wouldn't move, I hadn't noticed because I had just ridden up the hill in 1-1. I flipped the bike over to inspect the gearing, somehow a tiny pebble had lodged itself in between the spring and the derailleur guider. One in a million that the pebble was precisely the right size to fit there too...luckily I pried it out and was good to go. Also while I was repairing the bike some other riders arrived at the pit stop point to watch me being totally MacGuyver with just a twig and a splash of water. I could tell by the way they rode off quickly that they were well impressed.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As with all good rides there was a few dramas. I managed to crash not once but 1.5 times. The first 0.5 of a crash would have looked awesome had anyone seen it but alas no one was around. I managed to ride along pretty much only on my front wheel with the back wheel up at about an 80º angle for a few meters before somehow getting the back wheel back onto the ground. There was some minor non-erotic humping of a head-stock assembly during this event. I expect that to leave a mark. The second "Full one point zero" crash was a doozy. I saw the log coming up, I was all ready to bunny hop over it (yay for clipped pedals) and when I executed the "hop" the bike struck the log with the frame and stopped DEAD. I didn't. Thankfully my shoes de-clipped and I soared like a chicken in flight to land face first a few meters down the trail. Pics or it didn't happen you say?<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2IQoehVtI/AAAAAAAAApA/FeR3RIuR8LU/s1600-h/26-01-09+016.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2IQoehVtI/AAAAAAAAApA/FeR3RIuR8LU/s200/26-01-09+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295538556182288082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Glasses covered in dirt after my<br />unceremonious dismount at<br />speed followed by my 9/10 face plant.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2IQS8PCuI/AAAAAAAAAo4/2I9zYBfAevs/s1600-h/26-01-09+015.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SX2IQS8PCuI/AAAAAAAAAo4/2I9zYBfAevs/s200/26-01-09+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295538550401338082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Bike in a heap after crash. I hit that log at about 25km/h<br />and the bike just stopped dead. I kept going :)</span><br /><br /></div>Luckily there was no serious damage past a cut on my leg about 20cm long (cool..because chicks dig scars) and a slightly sore left wrist. Luckily I am right handed ;) ;).<br /><br />All in all the ride was simply <span style="font-weight: bold;">awesome</span>. I'll definitely be going back there more often and Rachel you <span style="font-weight: bold;">HAVE </span>to come back here so I can take you there for a ride I guarantee you will love it.<br /><br />After I finally got back to the car I was pretty exhausted but manage to give this post ordeal interview.<br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dye7Lr0m_-tD4pHxHrFW4Xq1MCy09LhByhlolU6VEDKcrBQDHziwgYzXKn2MwgF3GuLMAorGZp7aLeRTegjYw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Warning:</span> may contain worse language than the last video which is still not suitable for children :P</span></span><br /><br />Ride Stats:<br />Distance: 17.8km<br />Time: 2h 48m<br />Avg. Speed: 11 km/h<br />Top Speed: 44 km/h<br />Crashes: 1.5<br />Rating: *****<br /><br /></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-70099118038839226472009-01-25T17:09:00.019+11:002009-01-26T00:32:02.354+11:00Weekly Wrap.Well another week has gone by and that makes 2 for the year back in Melbourne and 2 back at work. So far the excitement is almost ... well ... it's almost...non-existent. I think I have made a terrible, terrible mistake over the Christmas and New Years break, that being having more fun than some (i.e. me) would say was 'Humanly Possible' during my holidays. Upon returning to my Melbourne reality the mundane nature of my existence here is thrown into sharp contrast. Oh well, all steps are being taken to change that so no use dwelling on it...again...i'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about it by now.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />This week I got my car serviced for the year. I do so little driving (relatively) during each year now that I barely make it to the scheduled "X0,000km" scheduled service in any 12 month period. This was the 70,000km service and after driving to Adelaide and back over Christmas plus a whole heap of driving while there I reached 68,000 km. That's a whopping 8,000km 's total for 2008. Anyway, I organised for a loan car while my car was getting serviced and I got a brand new 2009 model, Peugeot 308 Turbo. This car was awesome and I really might have to go and get one when I deciede to get rid of my current car (2003 Peugeot 307) in about 2010.<br />here's some pics:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwImzHBS1I/AAAAAAAAAlg/xDMRAKvRI5o/s1600-h/25-01-09+007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 139px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwImzHBS1I/AAAAAAAAAlg/xDMRAKvRI5o/s200/25-01-09+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295116724528565074" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwIm6GnOkI/AAAAAAAAAlY/5t_MLvuVRw8/s1600-h/25-01-09+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 187px; height: 140px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwIm6GnOkI/AAAAAAAAAlY/5t_MLvuVRw8/s200/25-01-09+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295116726405904962" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwImpBFMSI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/WrLMpyahd6o/s1600-h/25-01-09+005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 142px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwImpBFMSI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/WrLMpyahd6o/s200/25-01-09+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295116721819300130" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />On Wednesday I played basketball again (at the ungodly hour of 10:10pm) and for the third week in a row WE WON!! We played so well it was amazing, we looked like a completely different team to the one that played last year. We moved well, we passed well, we didn't make a lot of stupid errors and we managed to capitalise on the stupid errors the other team made. So at the end of the 50 mins we had a very respectable win of 39 - 30. I was awesome as always and got a swag of baskets. I also think I have managed to get my sore foot problem under control with a elastic pressure brace. Foot doesn't hurt much at all anymore, even after playing.<br /><br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/Todes%20Angst/Pictures/2009-01-25%2025-01-09/25-01-09%20011.jpg" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwKvFCTX7I/AAAAAAAAAlo/O_1bYu9UA0s/s1600-h/25-01-09+011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwKvFCTX7I/AAAAAAAAAlo/O_1bYu9UA0s/s200/25-01-09+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295119065802825650" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday, I took the initiative and went round to my friend Dave's place in an attempt to spice up my saturday with the company of someone else in a non-work environment. I see Dave everyday at work and we both spend a large amount of the week determining how we can inject some excitement into the "Ringwood Weekends". Dave also lives in Ringwood like me and most weeks comes up with these grand plans about "Going to look at things he might want to buy". This week (on Monday at least) Dave was contemplating "A road bike", on Tuesday he was contemplating "Getting a car", Wednesday had him mulling over "ADSL and a new PC"..etc etc. You see how the pattern goes? Dave however has one flaw, he doesn't like spending money...on anything...ever. When he dies, he'll be buried in a big pile of his money because he'll still have it all. Accordingly, none of his contemplatory purchases ever progress past the "thnking about it" stage. Therefor whenever *I* go out to purchase stuff I drag him along so as (1) to get him out of his hermit hut and into the general population and (2) to show him that buying things can be fun. I arrived at his house and knocked on the door...he wasn't home. Hahaha I just find that so funny ... Dave is ALWAYS home and the one time I deciede to go there on a whim he's gone out. Anyway, a quick phone call and I discovered he was only 200m away at the shopping center near his house. Adventuring in baby steps :)<br /><br />During the last few days at work there had been some full on discussions about biking and bikes in general due to about 100 different bike sale catalogs appearing in most peoples mailboxes. I got into a discussion with one of the bigger bikeheads at work about clip pedals on mountain bikes. Ever since my huge crash in Germany I have not been a fan of clipped pedals and shoes on mountain bikes because during my crash, my clips didn't release and consequently I got pulverised by the cocktail of steep hill, bike, speed and falling off. Ever since then I have been using standard BMX type pedals on my bikes because they are easier to save yourself from a nasty accident if you need to get your foot down. I've already had 1 near miss recently where the bike slipped on gravel during a turn and I was able to get my foot down to correct the skid and not crash. If that happened in clipped pedals I would have been nursing some new injuries because there was no way I could have unclipped my foot and got it down in time. Having said that, the BIG advantage of clipped pedals is that if you ever leave terra firma, say when you bunny hop a horse jump or launch yourself over a fallen tree etc you stay "Attached" to the bike (which is always a good thing when hurtling through the air) and can land safely on your wheels. Anyway, I was sort of convinced by the resident mountain bike expert at work (He "Races" most weekends on cliff faces) that clipped pedals are good and I should at least try them again. He suggested "Hybrid Pedals" which have a clip on one face of the pedal, and a normal face on the other side for when you want to ride in sneakers/runners etc.<br /><br />With this in mind Dave and I headed off to look at various bike stuff at various stores. I was now keen to get some hybrid pedals and as a consequence some cleated shoes with which to use with them. Also if not cost prohibitive, a Fox Flux helmet (turn out it WAS cost prohibitive). We went to a few stores to find nothing that interested us really (Except Dave is now "Contemplating" buying a Bianchi carbon road bike worth about $4000..hahaha). One thing that did strike me (well, Us) is that the 2009 Giant mountain bikes are uuUuUuugly!! I found some really nice looking pedals at one of the stores we visited and I bought them. This store also had some Fox clothing on sale too so I also managed to get 2 biking tops for less than the price of 1!! woot. The bike store lady also gave me $10 off the total cost too :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwV3O_jUQI/AAAAAAAAAmI/zpCkU7BpTqY/s1600-h/giro_ped-pda530.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 166px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwV3O_jUQI/AAAAAAAAAmI/zpCkU7BpTqY/s200/giro_ped-pda530.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295131300542501122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwV3IE3gZI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/-2ba5hWqZuQ/s1600-h/PD-A530_SHIMANO.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwV3IE3gZI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/-2ba5hWqZuQ/s200/PD-A530_SHIMANO.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295131298685747602" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwW-YgexhI/AAAAAAAAAmY/pQMpUh24z1o/s1600-h/n598223695_1991299_9553.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 137px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwW-YgexhI/AAAAAAAAAmY/pQMpUh24z1o/s200/n598223695_1991299_9553.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295132522867246610" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>After getting the pedals out of the way I also had to get shoes. Having been present at some one elses bike shoe purchase recently and seeing what was available from Specialized (who made my bike) they were on top of the list for me. Unfortunately only one store in the area sells Specialized bikes (and "stuff") so if they were too expensive there I wouldn't be getting them today and would get them off the internet later. We went to the Specialized store and loked at the prices they were OK, but I had seen them cheaper on the internet. At a previous store I had tried on about 20 different pairs of shoes and rapidly come to the conclusion that sizes across brands were not conforming to any known standard. a 45 in one brand was a 43 in another and a 47 in a third brand??? This would make buying shoes over the interwebs impossible because the "correct" size would be anyones guess and brand dependant. So I tried on the Specialized shoes and found the right size. The shoes were SoOoo pretty and felt so good on. It was very apparent, very quickly that my current addidas mountain bike shoes were the wrong size for my feet now (as they HURT to wear after about 30mins of riding). With this purchase TOTALLY justified I bought them... $150 for such awesome shoes really was a no-brainer.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwaYGnlXOI/AAAAAAAAAmo/Ku7CAi5K4YA/s1600-h/DSC01899.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 144px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwaYGnlXOI/AAAAAAAAAmo/Ku7CAi5K4YA/s200/DSC01899.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295136263276682466" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwaX73FotI/AAAAAAAAAmg/jl6-H54cdcQ/s1600-h/DSC01915.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 144px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwaX73FotI/AAAAAAAAAmg/jl6-H54cdcQ/s200/DSC01915.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295136260388922066" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwau5Uy8TI/AAAAAAAAAmw/W5fEAzF5q_c/s1600-h/DSC01904.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 144px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwau5Uy8TI/AAAAAAAAAmw/W5fEAzF5q_c/s200/DSC01904.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295136654845210930" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After dropping off Dave (who'd successfully held off and bought nothing...who'd have guessed?) I took all my loot home and proceeded to "modify" my bike to use the new pedals. A few frustrations ensued in trying to find "tools" (I knew I had some...somewhere...?) the deed was done and I eagerly awaited the morning to try the new stuff out.<br /><br />So this morning I got up and got "biked up" and headed out on the bike. I decided to stick to the boring, flat, paved eastlink path for a while to get used to clipping in, clipping out and general riding with my feet stuck to the pedals. The biggest hurdle was getting "clipped in" quickly. When stopping at lights and stuff you invariably have to clip-out and when you can go again you want to be clipped in as quickly as possible because you need to pedal in order to move (der!). It was hard to gauge where the cleat actually was on the bottom of the shoe but eventually I was getting it right pretty much straight away. I felt I had re-mastered the "clip out" ankle flick pretty much straight away and wanted to try some "off road" action :)<br /><br />I headed off eastlinks trail into the bushland and fire trails and tried my luck at getting some "air" between the ground and me on the bike on some of the parts of the trail that have jumps. All I can say is that clipped pedals now OFFICIALLY ROCK! I did some awesome jumps and landed them all perfect as my feet couldn't leave the pedals :)<br /><br />Here's some random "out riding" shots from today:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd5T0FFfI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/H4c-mpeF3Uo/s1600-h/25-01-09+017.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd5T0FFfI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/H4c-mpeF3Uo/s200/25-01-09+017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295140132289320434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4_WHdmI/AAAAAAAAAnI/xhmp9ncKKbg/s1600-h/25-01-09+016.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4_WHdmI/AAAAAAAAAnI/xhmp9ncKKbg/s200/25-01-09+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295140126794937954" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4-r4w6I/AAAAAAAAAnA/CoGscHdcpgY/s1600-h/25-01-09+015.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4-r4w6I/AAAAAAAAAnA/CoGscHdcpgY/s200/25-01-09+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295140126617813922" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4qiKCxI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Yn6TF0M8wSQ/s1600-h/25-01-09+014.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXwd4qiKCxI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Yn6TF0M8wSQ/s200/25-01-09+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295140121208294162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Ride Stats -<br />Length: 23km<br />Time: 2h 34m<br />Avg Speed: 15.3km/hr<br />Max Speed: 51km/hr (Big fire trail hill)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Tomorrow I will go and ride on another trail that was the Commonwealth games mountain bike course. It's a bit of a drive away...but apparently well worth the trip. Stay tuned for that report :)<br /></div></div></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-58735320082842149172009-01-18T20:09:00.011+11:002009-01-20T19:27:00.644+11:00Nature 101 + Random Stuff<div style="text-align: justify;">I went for a leisurely bike ride this morning because...well...I just wanted to ride my bike. So after waking up at about 8am and not being able to sleep anymore I decided to go get bike sweaty and headed off on the Stumpy for some Adrenalin action. There were quite a few other people riding (as usual) and a lot of walkers/joggers as well, which always makes for "fun" as the trails are not that wide. I heard about the "Off the normal route" trails from some of the bike-heads at work so decided to give some a try. It was good fun but <span style="font-weight: bold;">FAR </span>too many really steep climbs that seemed to lead to more steep climbs. The saving grace was that even though these climbs were an absolute bitch and I wished the bike actually had about 5 more granny gears, the reward for reaching the top is that on the way back it's all downhill blitzing, dodging wildlife and trying to get the speedo over 45km/h without swallowing a tree. Anyway I was out for about 3.5 hours and did the respectable distance of 52km, which consisted of a lot of little tracks in the bush and some paved eastlink connector trails.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0ttTgBEI/AAAAAAAAAjk/e_MZysusOC0/s1600-h/Jan2009+016.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0ttTgBEI/AAAAAAAAAjk/e_MZysusOC0/s200/Jan2009+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292561578206430274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Rest Spot on the way back. I'm being sun smart and standing in the shade.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tkcLAyI/AAAAAAAAAjc/1ncggta5ong/s1600-h/Jan2009+015.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tkcLAyI/AAAAAAAAAjc/1ncggta5ong/s200/Jan2009+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292561575826883362" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">End of the offroad downhill trail which connects to the Eastlink bike trail. I came down the gravely trail from above.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tMIqGlI/AAAAAAAAAjM/cMkV1W_WMPE/s1600-h/Jan2009+013.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tMIqGlI/AAAAAAAAAjM/cMkV1W_WMPE/s200/Jan2009+013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292561569302583890" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Pit Stop Serenity.</span><br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tY_f8KI/AAAAAAAAAjU/xO_2xjm0sCA/s1600-h/Jan2009+014.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0tY_f8KI/AAAAAAAAAjU/xO_2xjm0sCA/s200/Jan2009+014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292561572753830050" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Nature and high Tech bike weaponry.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0t4FTnAI/AAAAAAAAAjs/5ehIQmNf27Y/s1600-h/Jan2009+018.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL0t4FTnAI/AAAAAAAAAjs/5ehIQmNf27Y/s200/Jan2009+018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292561581099686914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Pics or it didn't happen :)<br />51.4Km which is 52Km in my book :P</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Some other snippets I found while uploading the biking pics reminded me of some events that transpired while on holidays. These were worthy of mentioning here because one is just amazing and the other is ...well...it involves food and Rachel so it must be pretty good by first principles.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first pic was this, on my last night in Adelaide over Christmas/new years before coming back to Melbourne I took Rachel out for dinner to say thanks for the accommodation/goodwill etc. We went to some Italian cafe/restaurant in Gawler who's name doesn't just escape me, but I think was completely wiped from my memory by this:<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL3fvuD41I/AAAAAAAAAj0/JPXTn2DEmNw/s1600-h/Jan2009+007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL3fvuD41I/AAAAAAAAAj0/JPXTn2DEmNw/s200/Jan2009+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292564636871418706" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Bethany 2002 Vintage Shiraz Cabernet</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, anyone that's ever talked to me about wine would know how little I know about the stuff and how I refer to all wine as 'tasting the same...like dish water....or tofu...or tofu cooked in dishwater". I grew up in the Barossa Valley and just didn't "get" what all the wine fuss is about. I never understood why people got so obsessed with this liquid when all the wines I had ever tasted reminded me of bathwater. Safe to say I was not a passenger on the wine train. However, as both of us knew little about the subtleties of wine appreciation we decided that "more expensive = better" so went with a $35 bottle and that was it. The amazing thing was that even though I was saying to myself internally "This is going to taste crap and you won't enjoy it and you'd better get a beer as well!" the wine actually tasted nice...like..<span style="font-weight: bold;">REAL </span>nice. I couldn't stop drinking it in fact ... and neither could Rachel. By the end of the meal I think we were both fairly well plastered. Both of us reckon that the waiter had spiked the bottle with vodka when we weren't watching because that one bottle nearly had us professing undying love for complete strangers and contemplating karaoke. This was a new first for me though as prior to this wine was my drink of choice usually only at weddings ....when all the other forms of alcohol had run out..... and was used exclusively as my "Ok, Mikey you've obviously had far too much to drink as you're now drinking WINE!!!! ... <span style="font-size:78%;">and chatting up the bridesmaids.</span>" drunkenness barometer.<br /><br />Well, because we ordered red wine at this dinner we ordered our food to compliment it in absolutely no way what so ever. We chose seafood ... to which our waiter scoffed as "apparently" red wine and seafood don't go together....Rachel and I are however prone to pushing ideals and boundaries into the "weird and unorthodox".<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL5XOlgj8I/AAAAAAAAAkY/Er3PRcFx3NE/s1600-h/Jan2009+009.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL5XOlgj8I/AAAAAAAAAkY/Er3PRcFx3NE/s200/Jan2009+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292566689561481154" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL5XcyNf_I/AAAAAAAAAkg/P-CGXlWDiuQ/s1600-h/Jan2009+008.jpg"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL5XcyNf_I/AAAAAAAAAkg/P-CGXlWDiuQ/s200/Jan2009+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292566693372854258" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(crappy pic quality due to my phone in very low light)</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our chosen meal was an </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Italian Seafood Platter and was, in a word, <span style="font-weight: bold;">AWESOME</span>. In several words..<span style="font-weight: bold;">It was the finest meal of seafood I think i've ever had</span>. It consisted of Prosciutto wrapped awesome Scallops, Garlic steamed awesome Mussels, Awesome Salmon fillets in Awesome sauce, Garlic Prawns with some crunchy awesome bread topping . Smoked salmon with some sort of drizzled awesome sauce on it. The meal got the "Thumbs up" from Rachel as well and as that is the only truly accurate "scale" I know of ,and trust, it was obviously a great choice for food.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another pic that was on my phone was this one:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL9SMLEY3I/AAAAAAAAAko/1e2mvjRlbc8/s1600-h/Jan2009+012.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL9SMLEY3I/AAAAAAAAAko/1e2mvjRlbc8/s200/Jan2009+012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292571001060877170" border="0" /></a><br />42 - 30<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">That's right...after my team finishing 2008 off with a win against the top team to go 2 - 9 for the current season. We came out all guns blazing in the first game for 2009 to <span style="font-weight: bold;">CRUSH </span>our opponents (the 2nd place team) 42-30. So now we are 3 -9. We rock. Hard to believe that we are on the bottom of the ladder?!?!?!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W6-6v0ytQSQ/SXL5XcyNf_I/AAAAAAAAAkg/P-CGXlWDiuQ/s1600-h/Jan2009+008.jpg"> </a></div></div></div></div></div></div>Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-62799465479615445912009-01-12T20:09:00.004+11:002009-01-18T20:08:16.239+11:00The Newest of Years.<div style="text-align: justify;">After not posting for a very long time I suppose I should write something about what I've been doing.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well I just finished a very tough 3 week holiday stretch over Christmas and New Years. It was basically the only time I had had off all year save for 3 days in September 2008. My "Terminally Single" lifestyle allows me to head back to South Australia to spend it all with my family and SA friends. I also really love Adelaide and SA in general and any excuse to go back there is a good one in my book.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I divided my time there completely unequally between family and Friends :) I really had an awesome, awesome time and when the 3 weeks were up I had done so many excellent things that I really thought I had been there for months and it felt great. I went mountain biking (on real mountains), to country markets, to country brothers houses, to the city, to about 500 different out-dinners, to Christmas parties and ate worlds best baked ham, to friends houses for dinners and catch ups, water slide extravaganza's, So much Wii I lost count, biking through the city, New years with Rachel and time with my Mum, Nana, brothers and sister and their respective other halves.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year started off so well with work but had seriously got tiring and unenjoyable by the end of the year. The ability to leave it all behind and not think about it for 21 days was very cathartic. This year has unfortunately started off the same way, with the fall out of last year still settling but there may be light at the end of the tunnel with some new directions being planned within the company that I would actually be interested in rather than what I currently work on which I really have no interest in. We'll see.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This year I made a few resolutions and generally, as a rule, I don't normally do that. I find that making goals is all well and dandy but you shouldn't need an "occasion" to try and better yourself and it should be a constant process. I live by the ethos that "I only get one chance at this life thing" and so my resolutions are pretty much all aimed at improving my enjoyment and experiences in life. I am financially well off and money has not been a problem since I got my current job and used last year to get completely out of debt. I payed off all my car loan (2 years early) and finally committed a vast amount of money ($8K) to getting rid of my HECS debt. So now I don't owe anybody anything. If only I could afford to buy a house on my single, full time employed wage as 25% of my wage every month is spent on rent. I'd love to change that, but the thought of putting roots down in Melbourne really doesn't appeal to me. I like the fact, and feel safe in knowing, that I can leave pretty much when ever I want should the opportunity arise.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So this year is all about "progression", onwards and upwards, a completely "me" year. I resolve to change some things in my life that I have put up-with for a very long time and decided it's time to change/fix them.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I have been blessed with very good health in my life and save for a few minor accidents and one incredibly large one have had a pretty good run. In the 5 years I have been in Melbourne now I have never had to visit a doctor. However, like most people I have certain aspects of my body that I am not happy about and this year I will endeavor to fix them all, regardless of cost because I am quite simply tired of being scared to do anything about it and having to explain to everyone I meet why I look the way I do.<br /></div><br /><span>So </span><span>here we go with the list:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Resolution 1.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Organize elective surgery to remove an "imperfection" I have been carrying for the last 20+ years. I think it's quite an ugly eyesore but as it doesn't effect my day to day living I just learnt to accept it but always play it down when people notice it and comment. Today I put this resolution into action. Doctors appointment tomorrow, referral to hospital to follow.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resolution 2.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Look into, and if not ridiculously expensive, get my teeth fixed. After another year of explaining to countless people why my teeth look like I have been on the receiving end of a kicking I have decided that I have had enough of seeing myself in photo's and realising that I don't ever smile and that when I do I look awful. I have to constantly explain to "everyone" I befriend or meet why my teeth are so bad and that I can't afford to fix them. I was crushed when years ago I waited on the public register to get them fixed because the price to do it was $36,000, only to be told that they wouldn't be fixed because I had gotten a Ph.D. scholarship 4 whole years later. It has been a burden i've carried for about 25 years now and I think that it has affected me in a way that is not good. I've never really felt handsome or even remotely "good looking" because of it and It has probably affected my self confidence and opinion of myself. This year something will be done about this.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resolution 3</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Get "Happy" again with my lifes position. This may sound like a daunting task to some and it actually does to me too. I have had only sporadic periods of time over the last 9 years where I have felt truly happy and content. I've had to learn to live much of my adult life alone and fend for myself with little help or encouragement or support. Of course I have had the support of my family whenever I've needed it and they are always only a phonecall away. I've spent much of my adult life wishing for things to happen and waiting for the day when they finally do, but never actually actively MADE them happen. This year marks my 5th year in Melbourne and that has got to change. When I am here I wish I was elsewhere, and when I am elsewhere I don't miss my life here at all. I am kept here by a job I don't particularly care about and nothing else. I mainly miss my family and my long term friends. Everything just feels wrong here and always has...I've tried to enjoy it and make the most of it and experience all it has to offer but I really find Melbourne experience lacking in every aspect. This year by December 2009 I *will* no longer be living in Melbourne and will be living and working in Adelaide and hang the consequences.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resolution 4.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Like many people I am "moderately" active. I would like to be more active but age is now beginning to show me that I am no longer a teenager and won't bounce back from injuries as quickly or at all as before. I will endeavor to ride to work when the weather and commitments allow it and not see riding to work as a "secondary" option. Walk more places when I want to go "window shopping" (eastland, knox etc) they're really not <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>far away.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resolution 5.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I also endeavor to eat a lot healthier food (this is already a work in progress). I have eaten "conveniently" for a long time but spending time with Rachel has shown me that I don't have to eat badly to eat tasty food. That girl can whip up some mighty fine food using very basic ingredients and I will continue to make an effort to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resolution 6.</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Again, due to the influence of Rach, i'll try and increase my "Green Rating". I'm nowhere near as green as she is but during the last year I have incorporated things into my everyday life to reduce my impact on the environment. I've stopped buying certain things and started buying others in order to accomplish this. I have also managed to go completely "bagless" again when shopping and refusing unnecessary bags when offered. This year i'll keep all these practices current and endeavor to adopt more.<br /></div><br />So there you have it, my forthcoming year in a nutshell. Fingers crossed that I can achieve it all.Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3794395672841964511.post-23717187627785433782008-12-03T17:56:00.001+11:002008-12-03T17:56:50.842+11:00I am still aliveJust in case you were wondering :)Michael Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13875189834704702580noreply@blogger.com0