tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56092082012-01-16T15:14:46.176+09:00I (used to) live in Japan. It's really Japanese. I'm not very Japanese at all really. Actually, completely not Japanese, not even slightly. It (was) great living (t)here though.Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.comBlogger1921100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-83190774367281409112012-01-10T10:47:00.000+09:002012-01-16T15:14:46.194+09:00

Firstly, happy 2012! Seems it’s been some time since I’ve posted anything here, but looking back it’s as though this has turned into a diet/exercise blog… Guess it just reflects whatever I’m into at the time, and right now I’m keen on getting healthy; I’m getting closer to 40 years old, and have realised that each day is probably the healthiest I’ll ever be from now on, so I’m working to make the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-34922460373028518292011-08-29T16:18:00.004+09:002011-08-29T16:44:20.555+09:00

Should someone ask what I use to stay healthy, that would be my answer - kettle bells & beans. I've been doing the "slow carb" thing for over 6 months now, and it's going really well. Cut processed carbohydrates, sugars, and oils out of my diet, and I'm feeling great. I don't do a full-on "cheat day" as such, but rather I just relax my standards a bit on weekends. For example, I might eat "

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-60374977183820266972011-06-02T09:42:00.002+09:002011-06-02T10:01:07.671+09:00

Keeping my digital life organized with a wiki works so much better for me than hierarchical storage systems, rigid todo lists, or flat plain-text buckets. My search for the ultimate digital lifestyle tool has taken me through so many different apps and systems, but with Trunk Notes I finally feel like I’ve almost achieved digital nirvana.A long journeyI guess it all started when I read David

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-7308366560092436702011-05-05T10:51:00.009+09:002011-05-05T11:21:16.541+09:00

Today marks the 100th day since I abandoned processed carbohydrates & sugars and replaced them with whole foods like beans, legumes, meat, and vegetables. I lost 5Kg, gained a significant amount of muscle, and have never felt better.These may not be the most pleasant pictures to look at, but I'm posting them here more for my benefit really, just for posterity:BeforeFirst, the before photos:This

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-70213604970796236532011-05-03T13:00:00.002+09:002011-05-03T14:52:39.405+09:00

Recently, I read an interview between Tim Ferriss and Daymond John about how he built up his multi-million dollar business, and from there I found myself watching and keenly studying the TV series Shark Tank. In Shark Tank, successful business people, including Daymond John, form a panel of investors. People come on the show to pitch to the sharks in the hope that they'll invest in their

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-419805528210948762011-04-11T12:49:00.002+09:002011-04-11T13:44:50.847+09:00

Last xmas we spent a month overseas mostly holidaying and over indulging in delicious food and copious amounts of alcohol. When we returned in January, I had put on 5Kg, and so decided to get a copy Tim Ferris' latest book, The 4-Hour Body and give it a try.Before doing anything else, watch the brilliant video trailer!My goal was to replace the 5Kg of excess flab with muscle, a body "

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-40260252807262723252011-02-28T10:06:00.004+09:002011-02-28T10:30:49.191+09:00

One of my first jobs was as an electronics technician where I would build, and test, professional audio visual equipment. My work bench was covered with an impressive array of tools and gadgetry, one of the most impressive being the trusty oscilloscope. To the uninitiated, it appears to be a complicated display with a vast array of control dials and buttons, and it's certainly one of the more

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-87520040484223051242010-10-25T21:01:00.002+09:002010-10-25T21:38:48.186+09:00

...or maybe I'm just doing it wrong.Recently read The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, and loved it. I just wish I'd read it years ago when I had the opportunity to put it into practice before things got out of hand with the busyness and the tiredness and the being grumpy and depressed and not knowing why. I learnt a new word: "procrasterbating". Living in your email and reading industry articles

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-45401573069206353782010-06-21T12:02:00.003+09:002010-06-21T12:17:34.299+09:00

There are some who look at the world and see amazing beauty in nature, and to them it's something they want to preserve and cherish, something precious they want future generations to be able to enjoy.Then there are some who may actually share a similar appreciation of the world around them, but dissimilarly feel compelled by it to stake out their claim to part of it, whatever the cost.The prior

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-77719569809063647762010-03-18T09:08:00.003+09:002010-03-18T09:21:43.638+09:00

Air menitik - Water Drop by emrankImagine we are drifting through space in a massive ark. It has a limited, finite water & air supply, and organic systems that recycle and cleanse the water & air as it's used. It can support life, but not indefinitely of course.Our attitude towards how we use water & air would be completely different. We wouldn't pollute the air with carbon dioxide, or dump

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-20748321155571269642009-09-15T09:10:00.004+09:002009-09-15T09:19:43.776+09:00

Wassup blog!So I'm walking home the other day on beautiful sunny afternoon, when I spot an abandoned computer monitor on the side of the road. It's becoming an increasingly common sight these days, especially the old eye-destroying CRT monitors, but especially so in this particular street. Seems someone is always dumping stuff there.I had almost walked past when I noticed a message pinned to the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-15912348190120963402009-08-14T08:51:00.004+09:002009-08-14T09:02:45.349+09:00

We had a tragedy in the family yesterday - Tyler's pet goldfish died. It was his first pet, given to him for his 7th birthday not even a year ago. He was heartbroken, really upset about it, just cried & cried for hours the poor guy. It was really painful for us to see him so upset too.So in memory of Sharkbait, Tyler drew this picture:I asked him what the "POP" with a person in the "O" is. He

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-18181676150069904522009-07-24T09:10:00.002+09:002009-07-24T09:17:31.535+09:00

Cactus close-up, by r-z "Hey Dad, what's that green plant with the spikes?""A Venus fly trap?""No, the other one""... you mean a cactus?""Yeah, your face is like a cactus!"Apparently I have prickly whiskers, just like a cactus ☺

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-44824279692164204702009-07-20T12:27:00.003+09:002009-07-20T12:49:55.741+09:00

Thank you so much to the gentlemen working at the Maccentric service center in Chatswood!This morning started out as though it was going to be "one of those" Mondays. A blackout over the weekend had taken out my beautiful 23" Cinema Display after having just received a notice from the power company that the rates were going up by more than 10%! Talk about adding insult to injury, but fortunately

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-67430292725247648422009-07-06T09:36:00.002+09:002009-07-06T09:50:47.416+09:00

Hello blog, it's been a while! How's things? I've been busy over on Twitter: http://twitter.com/beet Austin Mini Planet by Hi I'm Santi Just wanted to quickly recall a conversation I had with my son the other day:We were walking home from school on a grey, rainy day when he asked me where planets come from. Whenever he asks anything which is even vaguely philosophical I always avoid

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-48358778190952179922009-04-22T12:17:00.003+09:002009-04-22T12:39:16.722+09:00

An update to the ongoing saga with the gardens in our rented town house:I've previously mentioned our real estate agent sending us a confrontational email about being in "breach of contract" because the gardens were not up to spec. Well recently we received a much more civil email asking us to attend to some creeper vines taking over the front garden. We've just renewed our lease for another 12

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-69268597107886100362009-04-08T08:11:00.003+09:002009-04-08T08:24:08.459+09:00

In his relentless pursuit of Australian internet censorship, Senator Stephen Conroy has proposed that the federal government let him build his own fourty three billion dollar broadband network, undoubtably with filtering built in. Our 3 main ISPs, Telstra, Optus, and IInet have refused to participate, so he thinks he'll just roll out his own... the man is clearly insane.Listen Conroy: we don't

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-65833215570309732192009-03-25T18:55:00.003+09:002009-03-25T19:03:55.552+09:00

GetUp! are taking questions to be posted to Steven Conroy when he appears on ABC1 for a Q&A session about his proposed Australian internet filter at http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=580.The form only appears to allow you submit one question though, so here's a few more that I'd like to hear his answers for:"Please explain how the internet filter is more effective at addressing

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-29146261749850421652009-03-10T08:44:00.004+09:002009-03-10T08:59:55.095+09:00

Please, Cultured Code, maybe it's just me but I'm having major issues with Things Mac/Touch:Syncing between Mac/iPhone is sloooow.... Once it's finished sending data, Things Mac saturates the CPU for at least a minute while "Processing"...Moving items is also slow. Just dragging a single item out of the inbox into an area invokes the spinning beach ball of death for several seconds.Seems to

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-66406124116511622052009-03-02T20:53:00.000+09:002009-03-02T20:54:21.620+09:00

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-27154647558305831332009-03-01T20:28:00.004+09:002009-03-01T20:52:53.470+09:00

From http://www.smh.com.auSenator Nick Xenophon's stocks just went up in my book:Xenophon said instead of implementing a blanket mandatory censorship regime the Government should instead put the money towards educating parents on how to supervise their kids online and tackling "pedophiles through cracking open those peer-to-peer groups"So glad to know that I'm not alone in opposing the internet

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-17433950327086539802009-02-24T14:56:00.002+09:002009-02-24T15:08:24.829+09:00

An article on Earth2tec titled Does the U.S. Need a Federal Reserve for Energy? reports that John Hofmeister, founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy proposed exactly that at an energy symposium. (wtf is a symposium?)As though the damage the federal reserve banking is putting us all through right now isn't enough, now they want to control our energy the same way as well? No thank you...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-35470673353196606752009-02-20T09:05:00.002+09:002009-02-20T09:09:13.186+09:00

We're nearly there, the GetUp petition against the draconian internet filter has nearly reached it's target 100,000 names! Please show your support for an unfiltered internet by adding your name too:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-72857282521143525502009-02-05T21:37:00.005+09:002009-02-10T10:30:50.548+09:00

Update: removed titles and commentary from bible quotes, added a tag cloudFlying Spagettie Monster by Travis MorganAt the last Newtown Festival the Sydney Atheists had a small booth inviting you to hit a gong if you don't believe in gods. My Japanese wife just told me that for her it was like saying "hit the gong if you think the sky is blue".Japan is certainly a much more secular society than

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-58192647071891269272009-02-03T15:40:00.003+09:002009-02-03T15:57:40.366+09:00

Google labs just released a mobile optimised task manager. They wanted something to compete with some of the key features of paper-based tasks management:simpleofflineportablefastThe mobile version of Tasks is all of those, except the offline bit of course, but it's intended to be used on mobile devices with internet connections. Seems to load up quickly and be very fast to use.I'm already using

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-20865722283598100262009-01-19T09:53:00.004+09:002009-01-19T10:10:53.667+09:00

Behold, I present to you The Ultimate Bloke's Wardrobe:Washed clothes are folded and separated into pilesPiles of folded clothes are dropped into the top of the appropriate chuteAs clean clothes are needed, they are pulled from the dispensing slot at the bottom of the chuteIn the rare case that a combination of shirt + pants + socks + undies cannot be worn, simply drop the offending item(s) back

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-59548559853992451502008-12-19T11:18:00.003+09:002008-12-19T11:24:21.642+09:00

Shutyamow by Quagdy"Honestly this game is the raddest. u hav got to b stupid not to buy it. I hav a stupid friend who won't buy it even though it's only a few bucks. Did u hear that chris? YOU TIGHTWAD haha qwaqwaqwa"Spotted in the App Store on the Dropship page. Cracks me up for some reason.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-69991323487656686522008-12-09T07:33:00.002+09:002008-12-09T08:01:42.664+09:00

From How To Guarantee That Your Software Will Suck"If there is one thing that developers do not do well it is multi-task. Multi-tasking is for operating systems. Sure, we can multi-task, but I promise you that our productivity will be destroyed by it. Developers are most of all problems solvers. Problem solving is an extremely time consuming task that requires focus and concentration.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-62842934749711787372008-12-08T11:59:00.002+09:002008-12-08T12:17:36.337+09:00

Original article, more hereSo the UK turns on their transparent internet filter designed to protect kiddies from child pornography, and already there have been 2 immediate effects: Because the filter redirects all users through a proxy, their IP address is the same, which means social websites like Wikipedia can't distinguish between legitimate users and those who maliciously vandalise their

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-75498809965480657002008-12-04T12:08:00.002+09:002008-12-04T12:22:31.389+09:00

I just contributed to GetUp! to buy some ad impressions for their save the net campaign. Please use their widget below to sign the petition to keep Australia's internet un-censored. Why I'm against censorship and for net neutrality:Firstly, it does nothing to address the real issues it claims to protect us from. The internet doesn't drive people to act badly, it's just a source of information.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-29742223786043379742008-11-18T21:52:00.002+09:002008-11-18T22:01:31.665+09:00

Got an action alert from the Blue King Brown news letter about plans to introduce nuclear power to Australia, the largest island continent on earth comprised largely of sun-drenched desert and completely surrounded by ocean, both limitless sources of renewable energy.Worth while plans take time to implement and are expensive, but the benefits are enjoyed by our children and all generations to

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-73150454714342565322008-11-15T20:30:00.003+09:002008-11-15T20:41:35.359+09:00

Caved in to peer pressure today and bought a copy of World of Warcraft. I had actually played the streaming trial and quite enjoyed it, but really just don't have time for gaming. It was naive to think I could just buy the full game and start playing...Here I am now in the middle of the 5th successive patch the game has downloaded, weighing in at a massive 2.6GB!!!Notice the message about being

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-31065484465494763612008-11-03T12:55:00.002+09:002008-11-03T13:01:32.138+09:00

I've been really enjoying Blue King Brown recently. The music is great, and they're utilising social media well.I guess I must have subscribed to their newsletter at some point, but over the weekend they sent out a link to download their latest single Moment of Truth from iTunes for free. It's a great track, and I liked it so much I bought their full album Stand Up while I was there.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-18266984133663418792008-10-15T18:35:00.003+09:002008-10-15T18:56:27.198+09:00

I love the perspective of the world that kids have through their eyes, so simple and pure. Here's a conversation I had with my son this morning on the way to school:me: "Don't break that!"Tyler: "Why not?"me: "Um, well it's polystyrene"Tyler: "But, why not?"me: "Because it will break into little pieces and they don't bio-degrade, um, they never go away"Tyler: "Yeah, but why not?"me: "It's bad for

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-53111021880764077372008-10-01T21:48:00.003+09:002008-10-01T22:06:38.163+09:00

A few weeks back I started a podcast with a good mate of mine Sean Schertell who I met in Japan and have been a web development co-conspirator with since.It's called Web Developers Anonymous and can be found at http://wdashow.com. We mainly ramble on about web dev related stuff, and we recently added "Crotchety Sean's Rambling Rant" where Sean vents some politically charged thoughts that have

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-6456096590490111682008-09-30T08:35:00.002+09:002008-09-30T08:42:59.565+09:00

From Yahoo Finance:Businesses are great investments while houses are poor ones, so I'd rather rent the latter and own the former.I just knew it! I've previously made the case for renting vs. buying in favour of using a high-interest CMT earning 6% or more compounded quarterly as a wealth generation vehicle. The writer points out that houses provide zero real returns after inflation, while stocks

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-54216047607199582592008-09-28T23:39:00.000+09:002008-09-28T23:40:08.262+09:00

(to be read in the future)ha ha ha... fuck you

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-53845003741679118522008-09-28T14:16:00.003+09:002008-09-28T14:46:36.276+09:00

Watched the excellent YouTube series on money as debt again this morning. Was thinking about the proposal towards the end to replace the fractional reserve banking system with permanent currency based on value and harnessing renewable energy.I think it's a great idea, and it got me to thinking about thin film solar. I'm very hopeful and optimistic for our future with the emergence of such energy

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-40034309959164315962008-09-22T14:55:00.004+09:002008-09-22T15:25:01.300+09:00

A day in the life of a rent paying tennant in Sydney, Australia:Just got a letter in the mail that has completely ruined my day:I have received a call from the Stata Manager of the complex and they have advised that they are concerned that the gardens are not being maintained to the appropriate standards. This is a breech of your tenancy agreement.33. KEEP PREMISES CLEANThe tennant will during

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-73443027224414510052008-09-16T20:22:00.003+09:002008-09-16T21:41:49.865+09:00

Was talking about the futility of empire building today and making the case for entropy working against it. The gist of it being that the natural order of things is usually to achieve a balance or equilibrium.My point was that modern fascist dictatorships historically have only succeeded in being relatively short lived, not because they are inherently evil as such, but because attempting to

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-62187478065413991642008-08-28T08:15:00.003+09:002008-08-28T08:28:45.913+09:00

Jimmy is eight years old and goes to school. Every day he goes to school with his frying pan and his fishing rod.His job at school is to catch fish. When it's time for morning tea and lunch, Jimmy gets out his fishing rod and catches a fish to eat. Then he cooks the fish in his frying pan.That's the story Tyler told me this morning on his way to school as he trundled along next to me on his

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-81156958581303102062008-08-01T09:04:00.003+09:002008-08-01T09:13:42.211+09:00

I had clicked through to Amazon to buy a book that cost about $13, ended up adding another similarly priced book, and was on the final checkout page with left mouse finger tentatively hovering over the buy button when I noticed this huge call-out at the top of the page:Really? Then why isn't it! Seriously, the final checkout page is the worst place to be reminding customers that their cost could

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-86247091601531112852008-08-01T08:52:00.003+09:002008-08-01T09:01:43.476+09:00

Pleas excuse the profane title, it's the string that an entity identified itself with that hit up out server a few hundred times over a period of several seconds during the night. A little googling reveals it to be a PHP vulnerability exploit scanner.I thought it was funny that they'd be so blatent, but also because our site is a Ruby on Rails application and as such is invulnerable to PHP

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-47872350026836722712008-07-31T10:20:00.001+09:002008-07-31T10:21:49.812+09:00

To the 130 or so individuals who showed an interest in Easy Eikaiwa by taking the time to open an account I'd like to say thank you.We've been back in Australia for nearly two years now and have moved on to other things, but Easy Eikaiwa is still ticking along, signing up the occasional free account every now and then. If anyone is actually using it I'd love to hear from you! Otherwise as we're

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-25372599096805705622008-07-29T21:13:00.002+09:002008-07-29T21:21:05.024+09:00

Was just taking the A List Apart 2008 survey when I came up to a question asking how long you've had a personal blog for. Turns out 5 days ago was the 5th anniversary of this very blog! What are the chances of that?I'd never have known otherwise. Looking back, it seems I've made just shy of 150 posts over the last 5 years, averaging at something like 1 post every couple of weeks. I know there are

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-91159094745464386752008-07-17T12:08:00.004+09:002008-07-17T12:16:26.401+09:00

Normally I quite like the Ebay layout, it's clean and intuitive, and their algorithms for recommending content and keeping recently viewed items in view are very good. Then I got a reply to a question I had asked a seller...Try and spot the reply amongst the interface background noise:After several painful seconds scanning around the page aimlessly I finally focussed in and found it:Absolutely

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-82507151704512570162008-07-16T09:03:00.004+09:002008-07-16T09:20:21.019+09:00

This whole iPhone thing has been very depressing, with Australian telcos basically trying to rape consumers up the ass for exorbitant data fees. Telstras plans being the worst offender of all, averaging at $1/MB.It got me to thinking, forward-looking telcos like the unfortunately named 3 Mobile have come to terms with the fact that their role in the new communications landscape will essentially

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-77198132425587526882008-07-10T15:49:00.003+09:002008-07-10T16:05:41.301+09:00

Well done Vodafone and Optus on publishing your iPhone pricing plans. (Vodafone prices, Optus prices). Telstra: what are you hiding? Seriously, it can't be much worse.For a poultry 1GB/month of 3G data, they both want about $AU170. A month. Every month. For several years. That's only the best part of four thousand dollars, just for the data! For fuck's sake!!!Should someone maybe tell them that

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-59301024200797551772008-06-16T20:56:00.002+09:002008-06-16T21:05:48.449+09:00

Came across a free PDF for The Word of Mouth Manual Volume II via Guy Kawasaki's interview with the author, and it's just brilliant."the recommendation of a friend, family member, acquaintance—or even a stranger—is a primary driver of most purchase decisions"As I read that I remembered going into the beer fridge of a bottle shop on the weekend to pick up a case of James Squire amber ale. I'd

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-86067364505826512782008-06-14T18:34:00.002+09:002008-06-14T19:02:32.173+09:00

From http://www.rayfowler.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/map_world_religions.gif19.8% - Muslims17.4% - Roman Catholics15.5% - Other Christians, Protestants, Orthodox Christians14.9% - Agnostics, Atheists13.3% - Hindus13.0% - Other...5.9% - Buddhists0.2% - JewsSix years ago, nearly one third of the world's population weren't sure, believed something else, or believed in the non-existance of any

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-85510237347169863482008-06-13T13:29:00.004+09:002008-06-13T13:41:33.082+09:00

Here I am listening to Groove Salad when a song comes on, Universal Traveller, that I remember wanting to add to my playlist. Legally. No, seriously.So I hit up the iTunes store, find the album, and click buy. Reset my password (again), and verify PayPal as my payment method. Go back to iTunes, hit the buy button again, and am rewarded with this:It says:"This recipient requires that you have a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-64984577240555309952008-06-10T20:19:00.003+09:002008-06-10T20:38:09.345+09:00

Just saw an article about Spanish hauliers on fuel strike where it says:"The Spanish government says it is preparing a package of measures to assist the transport sector.These measures include emergency loans, more flexible contracts and cash payments to older lorry drivers who are willing to retire."The fractional reserve banking system just found more fuel for the fire:In short, there are two

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-64845834449399954662008-06-05T22:15:00.003+09:002008-06-05T22:27:54.642+09:00

Some quotes I found interesting from a recent Triple J TV interview with some local taxi drivers:"The worst passengers are people affected by alcohol. Like this clown here getting out of a cab in the middle of the road. I mean, he wouldn't do that nine to five. I'd much rather carry a junkie. People on drugs don't want any trouble. They just want to sit down, shut up, and get where they're going.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-6972837341670681072008-05-30T21:00:00.002+09:002008-05-30T21:45:10.777+09:00

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNAThe main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of informationSome random (semi)inebriated thoughts on the flow of information and the futility of continued attempts to profit from it: Information subverts control Information subverts hierarchy There seems to be a relation between the increase in entropy and information - the less able our universe

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-74645592088297408732008-05-28T20:32:00.005+09:002008-05-28T20:41:01.926+09:00

...but always go home with his better looking mate.This photo of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac,reminded me of this billboard poster:(sorry about the crappy photo, my camera phone sucks)My sense of humour is often remarked upon. Admit it, which guy are you?

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-30771134285738293792008-05-16T08:33:00.002+09:002008-05-16T08:48:11.151+09:00

This in from Ethan Schoonover of The Omni Group:Just wanted to note that we've built OmniFocus sync so that you can use either an existing .Mac membership or a generic WebDAV server (often much cheaper than a full .Mac membership). We've also added the ability to sync via a disk so you could also use a USB thumb drive, for example.Yay! Now that's what I'm talking about.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-45752368982793911432008-05-15T11:07:00.003+09:002008-12-22T07:18:38.563+09:00

Testicles are proof! From http://www.nyu.edu/classes/neimark/evolution.html...in any encounter in animals where advertisement is important--and that's very, very often--an advertisement is only believed if it's validated by being costly. Translated into English, what the male is saying is, `Look how powerful a male I am, because I can afford to wear my balls outside my body, in the most

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-48587465431214282162008-05-13T09:59:00.004+09:002008-05-13T10:02:07.401+09:00

Over 1MB/sec, with zero load on the software vendor's servers.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-8426536493031414082008-05-13T08:58:00.002+09:002008-05-13T09:25:56.021+09:00

Was just thinking about how much I love cloud computing, and how some people are still opposed to the idea.The advantages as I see it are not having to store countless GB of data on your own computer, and being able to access your data anywhere. Not to mention leveraging the huge computing grids it's hosted on to perform CPU intensive operations like searching your data.The disadvantages I think

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-41974167574023859442008-05-11T23:05:00.002+09:002008-05-11T23:08:06.653+09:00

From http://blog.omnigroup.com/2008/05/09/omnifocus-sync-its-alive/Sounds like sync is already in the internal test versions of OmniFocus. I had tried messing around with Automator scripts and rsync to no avail. The first out of Omnifocus and Things to get full synchronization will be the one I'll start using again at work. It will most likely depend on .Mac membership which I'm disinclined to

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-973889561693669132008-05-08T08:26:00.004+09:002008-05-08T08:44:32.711+09:00

I had recently switched from OmniFocus to Things for a trial comparison of the 2 main GTD apps for Mac. I have a purchased copy of OmniFocus, but was finding it a little frustrating trying to track multiple home & work related projects, and using it as a system you can trust to store ideas and someday/maybe tasks using only a single context to identify each task.After using Things for a few weeks

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-47703124478491324862008-04-29T00:41:00.003+09:002008-04-29T01:19:11.181+09:00

I can't remember how the conversation started. We were driving home from spending the day dressed as Ninjas, I think the place was called Iga-shi but I'm also equally suspicious of being completely wrong about that. At some point though, he asked "don't you believe in god?"Misaki and I exchanged glances. I employed an extreme amount of mental effort to carefully time and calculate my responses, a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-83852846933950429582008-04-23T09:28:00.002+09:002008-04-23T09:48:47.038+09:00

It's rare that I switch our large LCD TV over to the digital tuner and actually watch terrestrial broadcasts, as opposed to watching DVDs or browsing the web with our Wii, but a couple of weeks ago I did. On such rare occasions I'll gravitate straight to the ABC or SBS, emulating the way your eyes are drawn the the center, advertisement-free section of a web page to avoid the banner ads while it

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-16694465820125259532008-04-09T20:25:00.002+09:002008-04-09T20:28:18.481+09:00

My name is Mark. I'm Marjory's grandson from her son Barry. To her was I was always called 'Beet', and to me she was, and always will be "Nan".We Four grandsons, David, Matthew, Philip and I are no strangers to loss, even from a very early age, but that has made Nan's passing no easier to endure. Now we grieve a source of joy, humour, compassion, and understanding that we've depended on

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-50315628448198865682008-03-26T20:05:00.002+09:002008-03-26T20:07:42.532+09:00

From Demovibes Google Groups:Hello, this is the Demovibes newsletter !Demovibes 8 is now released, ready to be downloaded.Here's the tracklisting :01. Carlos & Norfair - Another kind of beauty02. Irvin - Gamma03. Gloom - D and B04. Little Bitchard - Schooled in the methods of murder05. Keito - Route 106606. Takomo - Projections07. NF - Yellow rose of Texas08. Amb - Emoparticle09. Dixan - 80's10.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-38983814620405877692008-03-06T08:08:00.002+09:002008-03-06T08:43:29.842+09:00

I was just reading on Fortune where Steve Jobs speaks out about all things Apple when I realised what it is that I love about Apple so much - we share the same values.Life is short, and too precious to expect anything less than beauty and perfection from how we invest ourselves in the things we do. That's not to say that as individuals we should expect to be perfect and never make mistakes, but

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-83020472354530967002008-03-04T17:45:00.002+09:002008-03-04T18:23:51.277+09:00

There was once a time when lawyers were despised as the scum of the earth for their deceitful, contemptuous ways. It seems they may have been dethroned from dubious position by an even greater evil - the real estate agent.Sydney city Australia is a beautiful city. Green and picturesque, with a booming cafe culture. It's also one of the most expensive parts of the known universe to own land in.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-22655010949388069302008-02-27T21:16:00.002+09:002008-02-27T21:24:20.409+09:00

That's right, they suck testicles, short curlies and all. Comcast, and their co-conspirators in their quest to capitalize from restricting internet access are a bunch of soulless mother fuckers. Why? The internet must be unrestricted to all. But comcast paid people to cheer at a net neutrality meeting.Fuck you Comcast, and your fellow would-be gatekeepers of information - AT&T, Verizon, and Time

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-48820308525024371792008-02-19T07:58:00.002+09:002008-02-19T08:02:40.829+09:00

"Did Apple hire some MBA from Gilette who thinks the real money is in power supplies, not computers? The next time Steve buys a pair of New Balances, I hope his old socks don't work with them."Into Thin Air: How I Spent $5,000 on Air and Made Fifty-Year Old Women Swoon, Guy Kawasaki

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-7931479658976416542008-01-03T18:14:00.000+09:002008-01-03T19:49:07.145+09:00

Fuck me, turns out our newly elected Labour government is taking cues from China's internet censorship, citing some bollocks about child pornography as reason to encroach on our freedom of speech.See article on TechCrunch

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-83956559436764192492007-10-13T22:06:00.000+09:002007-10-13T22:14:40.758+09:00

..based on no information or experience whatsoever, except that he slammed Zoho whilst talking bollocks in a Wired interview.He accuses them of having "no engineering merit", and simply re-implementing office apps online "with no added merit". The man is talking out of his ass. Zoho's web apps were kicking ass long before Google or Microsoft bought their way into the online office space.Zoho's

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-74045789418692369402007-10-10T21:14:00.000+09:002007-10-10T22:30:09.012+09:00

Ripples can still be felt from the sub-prime mortgage crash in the States, lest we forget. Interest rates got too high, repayments became impossible, foreclosures took over, and we're all still feeling the pain. I wonder what the rates were actually at, what the average house price was, and the average payments in relation to the average income?Here in Australia, interest rates are around 7-8%, "

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-16060799397945554622007-10-05T13:45:00.001+09:002007-10-05T13:55:28.568+09:00

Sorry, but I have to say, of the last couple of times I've needed a word processor for work and I've used NeoOffice, it has crashed and lost work every time. Consistently. I'd buy Pages if it weren't for the fact that every time I send a PDF to people they ask me for the original Word document...Bloody hell.A solution I've been able to come up with is to use the excellent Scrivener (review) to

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-37020961492907793182007-09-25T15:59:00.000+09:002007-09-25T16:39:23.531+09:00

Banks don't lend money, they create it from debit. As debit is potentially unlimited, so is the supply of money. The opposite is also true: no debit, no money.Just watched an interesting animation about the fractional reserve banking system, and how really money is debt.moneyasdebit.com | On YouTube (while it lasts)I'm well familiar with exponential curves, and this revelation terrifies me.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-35548619314343112542007-09-20T13:42:00.000+09:002007-10-05T13:01:52.081+09:00

First impressions: Holy Shit!!!My last stereo speakers were a pair of bar-fridge sized boxes made by Cerwin Vega with some cheap-ass replacement 12" drivers in them. Needless to say, my expectations were high, especially in the bass response department.The mx5021 are a 2.1 stereo system consisting of 2 x 20 watt sattelites, each with 2 x 3" midrange drivers and one tweeter. The subwoofer is a 6"

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-33536122385997973392007-09-18T12:48:00.000+09:002007-09-18T12:50:18.365+09:00

Holy fucking shit...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-28621612981851575502007-09-14T08:52:00.000+09:002007-09-14T08:54:35.483+09:00

Just had a small revelation:P2P file-sharing networks encourage social behaviour by the nature of download speeds being improved by larger numbers of people "seeding" after their downloads have completed rather than just getting what they want and then closing the transfer.The RIAA on the other hand dictates how, when, and where you will make your acquisition, and exactly how much you must pay.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-38653891327126567132007-09-12T08:16:00.001+09:002007-09-12T08:17:48.417+09:00

Computer Choppers do some awesome case mods!Can't wait to see the finished MacBook Pro:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-51436944400170107352007-09-11T08:54:00.001+09:002007-09-11T08:59:45.206+09:00

I just realised, in Japan where bandwidth is cheap and unlimited, the thought is never on your mind that you have to try to get your money's worth. You pay a reasonable, flat rate per month, and as such you don't feel compelled to try and squeeze every last MB out of your monthly plan.Here is Aus, where bandwidth is expensive, and limited, we employ bandwidth throttling in out bittorrent clients,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-31275725639969262192007-09-09T16:47:00.001+09:002007-09-09T16:47:24.132+09:00

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-52993632030436293602007-08-16T13:31:00.001+09:002007-08-16T13:34:57.738+09:00

Geek alert: I am 79% Jazz...I AM79%JAZZTake the Transformers QuizExplanation »

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-34390188331699334132007-06-26T09:11:00.000+09:002007-06-26T09:16:39.466+09:00

I just started a blog on mobile marketing at http://smallbuismobilemarketing.blogspot.com titled Mobile Marketing for Small Business. Someone else registered the mobilemarketing subdomain over the weekend...I'm not an authority on the subject, but it's something I've been watching closely and needed a public forum to discuss relavent news and share some loud thinking.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1386785065726894542007-06-16T15:07:00.001+09:002007-06-16T16:18:38.110+09:00

Today we had the privilege of seeing the Dalia Lama speak about compassion at The Domain in Sydney. There seemed to be even more people there than I'm used to seeing at a Homebake concert in the same venue, it was increadible, especially considering the poor weather.The key points I picked out of his talk were that everyone, no matter what race, religeon, or creeed, needs compassion in their

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-91641071682297143102007-06-16T13:50:00.001+09:002007-06-16T14:00:33.599+09:00

iPods to blame for total eclipse of the art, says Hockney"I think it's all about sound. People plug in their ears and don't look much...""You notice that on buses. People don't look out of the window; they are plugged in and listening to something."Maybe because the scenery outside the bus is dull and boring? Not much art to see in modern architecture, wheras our iPod's are loaded up with audio

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-78924274475650178462007-06-14T07:42:00.001+09:002007-06-14T07:54:08.214+09:00

$15 x 2 adults$13 x 1 child$43 for couple of hours in the cinema.They have this wonderful new thing here called designated seating. As we entered the cinema there was a large, angry woman stationed at the door who warned us in no unclear terms that we would be asked to leave if we even thought about sitting somewhere other than our designated seats. I was made to feel like a miscreant, and it

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-71214357397728295542007-06-08T15:14:00.001+09:002007-06-08T15:15:26.189+09:00

Kuding Tea is amazing, just tried some. Have to get some on the way home.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-29576928438648454742007-06-06T22:35:00.000+09:002007-06-06T23:02:41.194+09:00

kinda...Just saw an ad on TV for iinet where the bearded geek guy says that Japan has had high speed broad band since the nineties, but iinet are building out their broadband network in Austraiia so it's better unless you're thinking about moving to Japan... what a kick in the teeth!When I moved to Japan in 2001 we were paying the equivalent of about $AU30/month for *uncapped* bandwidth. I just

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-68150239412593255192007-05-25T18:28:00.000+09:002007-05-25T18:47:20.036+09:00

...and not in Japan anymore!Crazy. Lauched a language school scheduling service, wrote 3 handbooks about Linux, built a massive Rails site for a client, and then last November 2006, moved back down to Australia! Been back about 6 months but still can't believe it.So a lot has changed since my last post here.I finally worked out how to log back in here and discovered that Google has well and truly

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1128577732231839392005-10-06T14:36:00.000+09:002005-10-06T14:48:52.240+09:00

Finally!First it was writing several books - Linux for Home Computing, and then issue 4 of the Australian Linux Journal - that pushed the release back from August to September.Then it was Ruby on Rails - the decision was made to abandon PHP as the backend architecture and switch to the Rails application framework - and so September was spent actually building a Rails application for a third party

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1120102943584554832005-06-30T12:29:00.000+09:002005-06-30T12:43:25.060+09:00

Easy-Online-Schedule.com launched!During the months of inactivity here I've been busily preparing my new website: Easy-Online-Schedule.com has been launched and is currently serving to promote the online scheduling and booking web application for schools that I've been developing here in Japan for the last year or so.Please drop in, take a tour of the system, and leave a comment on the discussion

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1110594867223433942005-03-12T11:05:00.000+09:002005-03-12T12:09:13.153+09:00

Sometime around the end of January we drove down to Suma to visit the aquarium with Tyler.Upon entering the aquarium, visitors are greated by a massive fish tank housing many large stingrays, sea-turtles and a multitude of fish in all shapes and sizes. It was difficult to get even a half-decent decent photo while observing their no-flash policy, but this ray drifted by the glass wall slowly

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1107186140537625012005-01-31T23:20:00.000+09:002005-02-01T00:42:20.536+09:00

On the last day of our christmas/new-year's holidays we decided to drive out to Nara to visit the giant statue of Budda. The temple grounds are considered to be a national treasure and would easily live up to anyone's expectations of "traditional" Japan. I've been out there quite a few times now, but the temple complex is huge and a day is not enough to explore everything so it warrants regular

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1106299598823475802005-01-21T17:48:00.000+09:002005-01-21T23:24:59.613+09:00

Finally, after about a month I've gotten around to preparing some pics from last year's mochi-tsuki - a day of making Japanese sticky rice the traditional way. It's one of Misaki's family traditions, and for me a great day outside pounding rice with huge wooden mallets, warming ourselves over fires and finally chilling with some beers. The is the base of the rice steamer boiling up some water.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1104895549495902882005-01-05T11:30:00.000+09:002005-01-05T12:25:49.496+09:00

Wow, what a huge holiday! Dave and family drove all the way down from Yokousuka to stay with us for a week or so and it was absolutely fantastic! I'm surprised my kidneys are still functioning after the week long drinking binge, but we all survived, and I have photos to prove it! (At about 630Kb worth of thumbnails I can see my 10Mb/day of free bandwidth being chewed up pretty quickly, so if that

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1103609282620495772004-12-21T14:46:00.000+09:002004-12-21T15:08:02.620+09:00

I was shocked to discover today that a well repsected and admired member of the music community, Dimebag Darrell, was killed recently during a performance with his band Damageplan. I met Dimebag at a music Expo in Darling Harbour, Syndey during my guitaring days and despite his intensity found him quite approachable. On the first day of the show he was promoting some guitars he had helped

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1103313606574063672004-12-18T04:13:00.000+09:002004-12-18T05:08:57.386+09:00

The largest christmas tree in Japan, at Universal Studios Japan I was recently asked by the Principle of Tyler's Pre-school to act as this year's Santa Claus, and of course I gladly volunteered. Arrangements were made for me to meet with him this morning after dropping Tyler off to discuss the day's schedule, and so after getting Tyler settled we got together and I discovered that he speaks

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1102320220375150212004-12-06T16:16:00.000+09:002004-12-06T17:05:53.606+09:00

A couple of weekends back we drove out into the mountainous countryside of Setsukyou for one last BBQ in the river valley near Nana and Ashton's place before winter comes into full effect and makes it unbearably cold. As it was, we were pushing the line a bit by daring to venture out so late in November and so we had the full run of the place to ourselves. The intrepid explorers arrange

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1101050911086494752004-11-21T23:51:00.000+09:002004-11-22T00:54:54.633+09:00

With Tyler's birthday approaching in a few weeks, we dressed up in our suits and visited a local temple to celebrate his hichigosan, the first of three significant ages - 3, 5, and 7. (Click on the images to enlarge them in another window) Here we are all suited-up ready to brave the terrors of spending the day in formal dress with a nearly three year-old larikan. Just before leaving

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1098928682146321332004-10-28T09:30:00.000+09:002004-10-28T10:58:02.146+09:00

Spam and eggs, spam bacon spam and beans, spam spam eggs spam sausages spam spam... SPAM is a problem which plagues the internet and is a constant source of daily frustration for many people. When we think of spam, we usually think of unsolicited email recieved by our email clients, which do have an increasing ability to filter it out of our inbox, but what would you do if you started recieving

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609208.post-1098239642430224652004-10-20T11:25:00.000+09:002004-10-20T11:34:02.470+09:00

There's another typhoon blowing in, and as I'm scheduled to train it into Osaka this evening I found myself searching for recent satellite images to see how close it is. Typhoons are usually preceded by several days of constant rain before the final assault of tumultuous winds begins, which is due anytime this afternoon. I need to know when it's going to hit because they actually stop the trains

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18266852639379923008noreply@blogger.com0