my goldfish is sick.
a couple of weeks ago I found him stuck in a rock and got him out.
now he's got black spots on his back and gulps helplessly at his food.
he's going to die. I could try all the ph things mentioned on this goldfish health site, but it's Sunday night, nothing is open, and I'm sure by the time I get home from work tomorrow, he'll be floating. I have already planned his funeral; he will be sent to the lake across the road to rejoin the environment.
Friday, November 29, 2002
the good news: WE HAVE A PHONE LINE!!!
the bad: we're on the Net at a whole 28.8
stingingly fast
but it's better than nothing, and now with most of our stuff in cupboards and what isn't put away at least hidden in the spare room, we feel like we have lives again. I hadn't realised how tense the moving was making me. I thought I liked being in different places, and I did on one level, but on another there was always an awareness of it not being for long, of setting things up temporarily. here, we have until we're ready to go back to our house. and it feels nice. mr B is getting many random walks and seems happy enough.
about to catch a train to the city to see a frivolous movie. have acquired my first Tindersticks album and am totally overwhelmed by how damn good it is. happy me.
the bad: we're on the Net at a whole 28.8
but it's better than nothing, and now with most of our stuff in cupboards and what isn't put away at least hidden in the spare room, we feel like we have lives again. I hadn't realised how tense the moving was making me. I thought I liked being in different places, and I did on one level, but on another there was always an awareness of it not being for long, of setting things up temporarily. here, we have until we're ready to go back to our house. and it feels nice. mr B is getting many random walks and seems happy enough.
about to catch a train to the city to see a frivolous movie. have acquired my first Tindersticks album and am totally overwhelmed by how damn good it is. happy me.
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
see how lack of a home net connection affects my life? how little I've been posting?
not about to start now. things to do. then I have to go home to my Web-less but dog-blessed home.
with luck, the phone man won't come until I get home in the morning. we've discovered that the only phone socket is connected to a cable that is cut off. it could be a painful process.
not about to start now. things to do. then I have to go home to my Web-less but dog-blessed home.
with luck, the phone man won't come until I get home in the morning. we've discovered that the only phone socket is connected to a cable that is cut off. it could be a painful process.
Monday, November 25, 2002
segway. segway. segway.
me.
I suppose an AU$ 10,000 Christmas present is a bit much to expect? will it help if I cry?
SEGWAY!! ME WANT!!!
me.
I suppose an AU$ 10,000 Christmas present is a bit much to expect? will it help if I cry?
SEGWAY!! ME WANT!!!
oooh looook. you can hire a lifesaver.
I have such a naughty mind...
and I wish I was at Cottesloe Beach. I bet they have lifesavers there.
I have such a naughty mind...
and I wish I was at Cottesloe Beach. I bet they have lifesavers there.
if I was a sociologist, I think this would be a good thesis topic: why women dress for other women.
we do, you know, except maybe on hot dates and boy-hunting expeditions.
men don't really notice whether what you're wearing is fashionable or a brand name or whatever. but women do. and in the end, it's the other women we dress for.
why is this? is it a status thing? a kind of "I'm top female here?" the sisterhood isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know.
or is it a bonding thing; we all dress the same and share a clothing code = we are part of the same tribe?
or a vestigal grooming behaviour.
this blogger says it's because we're basically bitches.
and this open-to-steal term paper quotes someone called Fuglesang who says it's about groupness: "The women who attend the wedding celebration “dress for each other” to obtain approval from other women but they also dress “for themselves” to express their individuality"
but it doesn't explain why that's how we get approval. oh well, I don't have four years to write a thesis on that. surprised it hasn't been done in more detail, at least not online.
we do, you know, except maybe on hot dates and boy-hunting expeditions.
men don't really notice whether what you're wearing is fashionable or a brand name or whatever. but women do. and in the end, it's the other women we dress for.
why is this? is it a status thing? a kind of "I'm top female here?" the sisterhood isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know.
or is it a bonding thing; we all dress the same and share a clothing code = we are part of the same tribe?
or a vestigal grooming behaviour.
this blogger says it's because we're basically bitches.
and this open-to-steal term paper quotes someone called Fuglesang who says it's about groupness: "The women who attend the wedding celebration “dress for each other” to obtain approval from other women but they also dress “for themselves” to express their individuality"
but it doesn't explain why that's how we get approval. oh well, I don't have four years to write a thesis on that. surprised it hasn't been done in more detail, at least not online.
well, we've moved.
into a flat with no phone line.
Telstra have deemed that an Internet application is not really an application, and reckon they have 7 days to connect me. it's not happening until Friday, and then only if I can get back home from my dr's appointment/prior commitments in time to meet the technician.
the law says they have five days. Friday will be six. I am SO claiming the $12 a day rebate for the extra day.
it's a total joke that if you apply over the Net it actually takes longer. luckily I have a job that allows me to write about this in the newspaper. I had a particularly smarmy complaints officer who didn't have time to talk to me. it would have course have been an abuse of my position to put his last name in the article; he's only a poor sap answering complaints from grumpy customers, after all. and I hope he stays that way for a very, very long time.
so I have no home Internet, and it's driving me crazy. it's like moving back to the dark ages.
Bilbo the fluff king, otoh, cares nought for electronic media. he's quite enjoying flat life, I think. he does have to spend 10 hours a day inside alone (with a glass door from which he can look out on the world), but as compensation he's averaging three-four decent walks a day and is getting to meet lots of dogs in the park over the road.
he seems to have got into the swing of it really quickly. he's always running to the cupboard where his lead lives, asking for "more, please!"
now all we have to do is keep that walk rate up and he'll be a happy fluffball. which is Good for Football.
into a flat with no phone line.
Telstra have deemed that an Internet application is not really an application, and reckon they have 7 days to connect me. it's not happening until Friday, and then only if I can get back home from my dr's appointment/prior commitments in time to meet the technician.
the law says they have five days. Friday will be six. I am SO claiming the $12 a day rebate for the extra day.
it's a total joke that if you apply over the Net it actually takes longer. luckily I have a job that allows me to write about this in the newspaper. I had a particularly smarmy complaints officer who didn't have time to talk to me. it would have course have been an abuse of my position to put his last name in the article; he's only a poor sap answering complaints from grumpy customers, after all. and I hope he stays that way for a very, very long time.
so I have no home Internet, and it's driving me crazy. it's like moving back to the dark ages.
Bilbo the fluff king, otoh, cares nought for electronic media. he's quite enjoying flat life, I think. he does have to spend 10 hours a day inside alone (with a glass door from which he can look out on the world), but as compensation he's averaging three-four decent walks a day and is getting to meet lots of dogs in the park over the road.
he seems to have got into the swing of it really quickly. he's always running to the cupboard where his lead lives, asking for "more, please!"
now all we have to do is keep that walk rate up and he'll be a happy fluffball. which is Good for Football.
Saturday, November 23, 2002
what, you expect me to just STOP in the middle of moving house (into a place that has no phone yet) and blog for your entertainment about the boxes, the rain (when we're in the middle of a drought), how the dog's finding the flat, the joy of actual wardrobes and a suburb where there are people on the street who are not in cars?
give me a break. why would I do that? I'm busy, dammit.
give me a break. why would I do that? I'm busy, dammit.
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
blogon
(Canadian blogs)
3x5
Few words but lots of lovely images on this blog, subtitled, "Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame".
This particular world now consists of close-ups of amazing plants and animals at the Museum of Ottowa, friends' birthday parties and the obligatory sunset.
Our photographer is a fan of the halo shot - look for the circles in clock faces, bursts of fireworks and the framing of a curved fairground ride.
AsciiRock
Navigating AsciiRock is strangely like playing Pacman or perhaps Pong; the graphics are stripped down and funny little blocks of text and black background pop up as you move the cursor around.
This is an old-style Weblog, mostly pointing to interesting things on other sites. The links are pithy, intriguing and sometimes cruel; "jackass site", "thoughts on the Hitler moustache" and "another article about pizza¤".
Surf around enough and you'll find several references to artists and the whereabouts of a mysterious "Charles" - these are probably connected to a music publishing business listed under "info", but the blog seems to be the main reason to visit.
Greenswitch
Canada has some great geography - mountains, pristine snowfields, lakes and rivers.
All the more reason for a Canadian to run this environmental blog, monitoring developments in areas such as sustainable fuels, young people's environmental awareness and international reports on how petrol is at the crux of Iraq's alleged weapons program.
It jumps around a little, linking to satirical articles on the effects of the Kyoto Protocol, and pointing out how the country's national anthem is really all about trees and clean water (O Canada!/Where pines and maples grow). The standard Canadian chip-on-the-shoulder concerns its giant neighbour, the US of A, and this shows in a list of research on the main page, explaining how that nation uses more than its share of fuel, while exporting cigarettes to Third World countries.
Wickens.ca
Toronto's a lovely city. A friendly place, gay even.
Wickens.ca is the perspective of a gay programmer, runner and cat lover named Mark Wickens as he goes about his life in the lakeside city.
He's been blogging for more than a year, and has developed a style that mixes respectful links on Remembrance Day (also November 11 in Canada) with arch advice to pretty-boy singer Justin Timberlake on how to respond more articulately to his large gay following ("Maybe singing it would help, Justin.")
That chip on the shoulder appears again but more moderately as Wickens muses on why Canada hates the US but is still willing to depend on it for defence and health-care assistance.
And he's not averse to posting the odd fun link. This is a blog with a depth that calls for regular visits.
(Canadian blogs)
3x5
Few words but lots of lovely images on this blog, subtitled, "Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame".
This particular world now consists of close-ups of amazing plants and animals at the Museum of Ottowa, friends' birthday parties and the obligatory sunset.
Our photographer is a fan of the halo shot - look for the circles in clock faces, bursts of fireworks and the framing of a curved fairground ride.
AsciiRock
Navigating AsciiRock is strangely like playing Pacman or perhaps Pong; the graphics are stripped down and funny little blocks of text and black background pop up as you move the cursor around.
This is an old-style Weblog, mostly pointing to interesting things on other sites. The links are pithy, intriguing and sometimes cruel; "jackass site", "thoughts on the Hitler moustache" and "another article about pizza¤".
Surf around enough and you'll find several references to artists and the whereabouts of a mysterious "Charles" - these are probably connected to a music publishing business listed under "info", but the blog seems to be the main reason to visit.
Greenswitch
Canada has some great geography - mountains, pristine snowfields, lakes and rivers.
All the more reason for a Canadian to run this environmental blog, monitoring developments in areas such as sustainable fuels, young people's environmental awareness and international reports on how petrol is at the crux of Iraq's alleged weapons program.
It jumps around a little, linking to satirical articles on the effects of the Kyoto Protocol, and pointing out how the country's national anthem is really all about trees and clean water (O Canada!/Where pines and maples grow). The standard Canadian chip-on-the-shoulder concerns its giant neighbour, the US of A, and this shows in a list of research on the main page, explaining how that nation uses more than its share of fuel, while exporting cigarettes to Third World countries.
Wickens.ca
Toronto's a lovely city. A friendly place, gay even.
Wickens.ca is the perspective of a gay programmer, runner and cat lover named Mark Wickens as he goes about his life in the lakeside city.
He's been blogging for more than a year, and has developed a style that mixes respectful links on Remembrance Day (also November 11 in Canada) with arch advice to pretty-boy singer Justin Timberlake on how to respond more articulately to his large gay following ("Maybe singing it would help, Justin.")
That chip on the shoulder appears again but more moderately as Wickens muses on why Canada hates the US but is still willing to depend on it for defence and health-care assistance.
And he's not averse to posting the odd fun link. This is a blog with a depth that calls for regular visits.
sometimes I wish I worked in some anonymous office, not one where my fellow employees are semi-public and media-savvy enough to read this. for indeed, weird things go on sometimes, and I hear conversations of such surreallity that I'm dying to reproduce them.
the latest involved an earnest discussion on the correct length of shorts, while various other huddles formed around the office urgenlty whispering about God knows what. it was like a wave of pointlessness had swept in through the double glass doors and washed over us all.
and it would be way funnier if I could describe the people involved. but I can't. may not.
the latest involved an earnest discussion on the correct length of shorts, while various other huddles formed around the office urgenlty whispering about God knows what. it was like a wave of pointlessness had swept in through the double glass doors and washed over us all.
and it would be way funnier if I could describe the people involved. but I can't. may not.
blogmeet was good.
only 8 people had rsvp'd but there were 20 crowded around the front table at Troika when I got there.
Meredith was easily identifiable by her red T-shirt. she already had a drink, so I thought I could avoid my obligation to buy her one. but that smart creature had another! young gels these days, I don't know...
it was a hoot. she told us all about her menagerie; pigeons, spiders, ants; I suggested she build a birdbox for the pigeon and perfectly straight-faced she said "we've got one. there's a possum in it."
also in attendance in my corner was Kylie , Marcus, who is a big fat liar (well, I didn't see any Coke), and Paul, whose last name and therefore URL I've forgotten, but who had very strong opinions on the usefulness of journalists.
also discussed were crocodiles, sugar highs, the politics of linking, and why people move away from blogger but never TO it.
did not get to speak to Natalie, who had snaffled someone's camera and has posted some cool pix, only some of which look like ads for Cascade, and Jen, but there's always a next time.
only 8 people had rsvp'd but there were 20 crowded around the front table at Troika when I got there.
Meredith was easily identifiable by her red T-shirt. she already had a drink, so I thought I could avoid my obligation to buy her one. but that smart creature had another! young gels these days, I don't know...
it was a hoot. she told us all about her menagerie; pigeons, spiders, ants; I suggested she build a birdbox for the pigeon and perfectly straight-faced she said "we've got one. there's a possum in it."
also in attendance in my corner was Kylie , Marcus, who is a big fat liar (well, I didn't see any Coke), and Paul, whose last name and therefore URL I've forgotten, but who had very strong opinions on the usefulness of journalists.
also discussed were crocodiles, sugar highs, the politics of linking, and why people move away from blogger but never TO it.
did not get to speak to Natalie, who had snaffled someone's camera and has posted some cool pix, only some of which look like ads for Cascade, and Jen, but there's always a next time.
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
heh-heh.
while researching a small piece for an education yarn, I thought I'd see how long it would take to get from puritanical keep-the-Web-nice site NetAlert to something containing, say, the word c*nt - like Lady Chatterly's Lover.
five clicks. Yes!
"He dropped the shirt and stood still looking towards her. The sun
through the low window sent in a beam that lit up his thighs and slim
belly and the erect phallos rising darkish and hot-looking from the
little cloud of vivid gold-red hair. She was startled and afraid."
while researching a small piece for an education yarn, I thought I'd see how long it would take to get from puritanical keep-the-Web-nice site NetAlert to something containing, say, the word c*nt - like Lady Chatterly's Lover.
five clicks. Yes!
"He dropped the shirt and stood still looking towards her. The sun
through the low window sent in a beam that lit up his thighs and slim
belly and the erect phallos rising darkish and hot-looking from the
little cloud of vivid gold-red hair. She was startled and afraid."
meredith has sent me a cute gif of her T-shirt so I can find her. and Pixel Kitty has guilted me into actually rsvp'ing. blogmeet tonight.
"The Japanese-built tanker - which appears not to have been inspected since 1999..."
WHAT!?! the bloody thing is carrying enough oil to coat the entire friggin' Spanish coast, and it hasn't been CHECKED in THREE YEARS!!
my God, what a stupid, stupid world we live in. who the hell is in charge? not me, that's for sure. someone should find out who let this happen - all 300 of them, if it's just general inaction - and pile up dead, oil-soaked birds and fish on the their doorstep. no, tie 'em to their necks like albatrosses. they probably are albatrosses. I could just weep.
WHAT!?! the bloody thing is carrying enough oil to coat the entire friggin' Spanish coast, and it hasn't been CHECKED in THREE YEARS!!
my God, what a stupid, stupid world we live in. who the hell is in charge? not me, that's for sure. someone should find out who let this happen - all 300 of them, if it's just general inaction - and pile up dead, oil-soaked birds and fish on the their doorstep. no, tie 'em to their necks like albatrosses. they probably are albatrosses. I could just weep.
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