tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39080192011-07-14T17:41:32.049-07:00GoenrounsenJoel Bailey
Wellington, NZJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comBlogger1121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1160581705540519132006-10-11T08:41:00.000-07:002006-10-11T08:48:25.550-07:00Shocker. Two posts in two years. Whatever happened to goenrounsen? Well... I just got busy. Life took all my stolen moments and stuffed them in a big bag called work. And in fact, now more than ever. Goddamned hectic it is. Setting up a business is quite some piece of work. You think it's going to be about your area of specialism - but actually that's just a third of it. The other third of your Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1131488152849198712005-11-08T14:02:00.000-08:002005-11-08T14:20:55.216-08:00Larry David's character in Curb Your Enthusiasm http://www.hbo.com/larrydavid/ is what I'd have turned into if I stayed in LA. Muttering, cack-handed, never quite fitting in. I always found it quite entertaining - the whole Los Angeles scene is pretty ridiculous from the outside - but being on the outside is also not so good. You end up feeling like a bit of a twat. Then it all gets closer to Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1114170180524455962005-04-22T04:43:00.000-07:002005-04-22T04:45:59.160-07:00tum te tum. Working from home today. Taking the chance to escape the manic office and get some of the duller plod plod work done. But when working from home one must be disciplined. Radio, TV, food, internet - all are there for the taking - and all must be kept at bay, even though the day job work is as exciting as scraping three day porridge from the oven top.Something gives me the fear more Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1099107758449573032004-10-29T20:42:00.000-07:002004-10-29T20:42:38.450-07:00wackYeah. That Question Time was wack. i just turned thatshit in. Bouffant infested soundbite politicians whocouldn't string a sentence together and instead justturned every question to their one and only hard-wiredanswer, which was either that Bush is a real greatkickass guy or that Kerry is also a real great kickassguy, but he's also real balanced even though he justa'loves goin'a'geece shootin'. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1098829135305825342004-10-26T15:06:00.000-07:002004-10-26T15:18:55.306-07:00I like small bon mots like this - cos like... that's how it is. Stairs are like that. Confounding.
I also just enjoyed watching this very much.
And listening to this is grand.
And whilst having access to this is rapidly revitalising my blogging...
and getting a new job is smashing...
this remains the prevailing thought for the day.
Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1095155216209107762004-09-14T02:46:00.000-07:002004-09-14T02:46:56.210-07:00 Bike shops are populated by such dweebs. I visited one last night on my way home - it should remain unnamed as I try and avoid naming names on this site - but it deserves to be named - Action Bikes in Victoria. Anyway - I duck in at 5pm to find out about disc brakes. "What can you tell me about disc brakes" I asks. "Well, they're round and silver looking." Was the first response. Now I should Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1092341438562119322004-08-12T13:02:00.000-07:002004-08-12T13:10:38.563-07:00So much has happened of late - even more than the odd Saab advert. My last sustained dose of blogging was in NZ - with smatterings here and there en route home. But now it's kicking off. Tomorrow we move into our new home, a cute little house down in Sydenham. Now I had no idea about Sydenham until about six months ago. But it was cheap and had potential - so it was definitely on the map. Well - Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1092235240799770212004-08-11T07:40:00.000-07:002004-08-12T13:12:22.670-07:00I find some adverts really weird. Like the other day I saw that ad for Saabs, where the guy is with all his mates in some fresh pad in some generic latin city, watching the football. Cool breezes glance off of light curtains and over the backs of bean-bag strewn nubile lovelies. Anyway - it's half time or something, a lull in the game, and our man has an idea. A bright and exciting idea, promptedJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1086806510800953622004-06-09T11:40:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:41:50.800-07:00Just spent 15 minutes getting rid of the 'this email has been virus scanned' tag on the bottom of every email posting. I love the fact that I can post to the blog by email, but not so happy about the nasty arial font, para tags and virus footnote.
Home alone tonight. Had a kebab. Just enjoying the fact that I'm not looking at houses tonight. Quite fancy the cinema, but as is the way with these Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1085402540106284902004-05-24T05:42:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:39:55.250-07:00I saw Spotless Mind last night. It's an excellent film and I'm surprised by the mixed reviews it got. Although I didn't really like Being John Malkovitch, I'm beginning to recognise the Kaufman genius. This is a very abstract story - and the pitch must have been quite something - but the film weaves it into a very persuasive and finally feelgood whole. I was completely won over by both Jim CarreyJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1084958851587420682004-05-19T02:27:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:39:19.293-07:00Damn. I look out the window and it's like living in a desert. A 747 just streaked across a cobalt sky with not a trace of cloud. Wasn't there a 70s detective series set in Sacramento? Some guy solving back-water crimes whilst wearing a neckscarf? Well I look out the window and it looks like that - save perhaps the glaringly white 70s office blocks that I don't doubt still make-up downtown, Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1084532508712248152004-05-14T04:01:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:38:34.293-07:00One other thing... I have discovered a clear winner of any Website of the Year Award, should I ever think of having such a thing. An aladdin's cave of information relating to food and drink in the UK, including recipes, events and news. Fantastic... and all run by a one-man band. Deserves a knighthood for services to the realm. http://thefoody.com/Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1084531547995545112004-05-14T03:45:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:36:14.276-07:00Joys of spring today. Sunny, warm day. Could have just kept on cycling all day. Great to be back on the bike. It's a 20 minute run into work and although some days it's a bit of a mindless slog, on others it can be really lovely. The common on a sunny day is a far better place than on a grey day, especially on the cycle home when there's all sorts of stuff going on. And maybe it's that drivers Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1084199935147753592004-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:002004-06-09T11:34:55.530-07:00I read some horrific stuff about bagged salad a few weeks back in the Observer, reaffirming my suspicion that there's barely a single good thing left to say about modern food production. Bagged salad it turns out is the equivalent of Mechanically Recovered Meat. Not only do you get only a few scant leaves, but each one has been doused in chlorine and other preservation goodies to ensure that it Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1084005655261864362004-05-08T01:40:00.000-07:002004-05-08T01:45:01.983-07:00 So as I was saying... that place in Thailand was real nice. A sort of earthly paradise, but then again, not. Why? Well because now I'm sitting in grey London, back at work and, if you ask me, paradise is not something for a trifle, fleeting thing - paradise for me is something that you get for good. So this place wasn't paradise, cos we had to leave, but looking back it was damned close to Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1078720291590585462004-03-07T20:31:00.000-08:002004-03-07T20:33:44.966-08:00I think we've found something close to paradise. This resort - Sri Lanta - on the island of Koh Lanta in Thailand.. it's very nice. It's peacefull and very stylised. Lots of raised boardwalks covered with thatched roofs, and yoga platforms suspended above ponds brimming with coi carp - that sort of thing. It all serves as a great venue to do nothing Although Vicky has taken advantage of the dailyJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1076916832806705702004-02-15T23:33:00.000-08:002004-02-15T23:35:45.420-08:00I am knee deep in MP3 player reviews. I'm currently carting around a minidisc player and a CD/MP3 player and all associated discs, all jingle-jangling around in my bag. This is not optimum travel stuff of the new millenium. So I've decided to buy an MP3 player that I can use with my laptop. Question is... which one? I reckon anything offering less that 1GB of storage is pointless. Similarly, Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1076553102893982502004-02-11T18:31:00.000-08:002004-02-11T18:33:31.140-08:00Damn. Apparently we will be unable to visit poultry farms in Thailand. That is the extent of the Foreign Office warnings for Thailand. Avoid poultry farms. There is more risk of us catching Dengue Fever really. Our plan is to confine ourselves to our beach front cottage and the 50 square yardsof sand and surf in front of it. Such sacrifices.
Still in Sydney. Went to the Opera House last night toJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1076365214360589042004-02-09T14:20:00.000-08:002004-02-09T14:22:00.546-08:00We've been in Australia three days now. It's noticeably different from NZ - more people obviously, and many more tourists (but proper package holiday tourists, and less backpackers - Sydney is the definite holiday destination that Wellington is now). Sydney was a real breath of fresh air though - vibrant, beautiful and exciting. We had a day of shopping just because what was on offer was 100 Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1075938567893498442004-02-04T15:49:00.000-08:002004-02-04T15:51:08.873-08:00Good news. Our electricty provider called yesterday to admit they are useless nob-ends and tell us they now OWE US $160... this was a nice surprise considering they were demanding $1900. I had to argue that a one bedroom flat would have to have an adjoining aluminium smelter to reach those heights of fuel burning. Moral: I will always check my bills, I will always check my bills, I will always Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1075534066291427502004-01-30T23:27:00.000-08:002004-01-30T23:29:22.733-08:00I am sitting here atop a huge wadge of cash. We just sold the car to some dude called Mohamed for a sweet $3,250 and they paid in $20 notes. Quite tidy really. So now we have no keys - no house keys, no car keys... back where we started with six days to go in NZ. So lots of mixed emotions. Sad to be leaving but also looking forward to new things. There's an increasingly likely possibility that Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-107466617335203052004-01-20T22:22:00.000-08:002004-01-20T22:24:19.936-08:00Hey there. Been a long time since I last posted in early Jan. Since then we have covered more thousands of miles around NZ. Hooked up with Damian and Anna and their little one, Jago. Made for a lovely trip around Northland - lots of digging holes on beaches, dancing to Elvis an generally layering on lashings of sun screen. But they left yesterday and took most of the sun with them. We're now in Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1073025874567531882004-01-01T22:44:00.000-08:002004-01-01T22:45:42.153-08:002004 comes around the corner with a jolt. Especially as it's mid summer here and not at all like any New Year I've experienced before - i.e. not grey, not wet, and distinctly unmiserable. Christmas day was great - easy day lolling in the sun, grazing on an endless run of surf and turf delights - lobster, ham, antipasta, wild boar salami, salads, breads, cake. It was an excellent spread followed Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1072164586276461922003-12-22T23:29:00.000-08:002003-12-22T23:30:44.060-08:00Blimey - my past three posts have all been about films. This makes me look like a sad twat with skin the colour of off milk when I am in fact tanned and outward bound in every respect. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1072164313046213732003-12-22T23:25:00.000-08:002003-12-22T23:26:10.903-08:00Last night we saw the third and final Lord of the Rings – Return of the King. It’s a stand alone excellent film, but I’m really glad I saw it in New Zealand, where the whole production has reached the status of legend. It’s worth getting some perspective. New Zealand is a country of four million people, but larger than the British Isles. So maybe the population of Bristol spread out over both Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1071633268501946682003-12-16T19:54:00.000-08:002003-12-16T19:57:19.216-08:00Couple of cool things.
A book I'm reading now - called Cryptonomicon - by Neal Stephenson - picked it up at random in a local bookshop. It is very good, although I am only 1/3rd of the way through it. But it is good to have a quality book to hand when wasting hot sunny days.
I also went to the flicks this afternoon and saw Cypher - a dope film - in the sc-fi thrill genre. It's a Canadian flickJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1070943684212819422003-12-08T20:21:00.000-08:002003-12-08T20:35:43.496-08:00Went to see Love Actually on Sunday night and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. I've seen many many rom coms and the quality varies as much as any genre. Although not perfect, I particularly liked this one for a number of reasons. Firstly, it went all out for the Rom Com dollar - not content with tugging on the heart strings, it played a total Tug of War. With about seven interweaving plot Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1070698642415510092003-12-06T00:17:00.000-08:002003-12-06T00:46:51.686-08:00Ben Byer sent me this weblink and is justified in believing it to be mighty fine. The website is very good. Until tonight I didn't know that light could echo, or that the brightest ever recorded supernova occured in 1006 or that astronomy websites could lead you to Rudyard Kipling.
Other good news - I finished work yesterday. "He smiled one smile that ran all round his face two times."Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1070437891892893502003-12-02T23:51:00.000-08:002003-12-02T23:52:10.436-08:00So it was the Lord of the Rings premiere on Monday and it kicked off big time in Wellington. All the stars turned out for a parade and the sun came out in force. Would like to show a load of photos of Liv Tyler etc etc but had to wokr an 11 hour day so missed most of it. Vicky too... Damned shame. But still a great atmosphere around the city. Certainly the biggest event for years.
Anyway - onlyJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1069916719485402062003-11-26T23:05:00.000-08:002003-11-26T23:09:03.686-08:00 Wellington has gone Lord of the Rings crazy. The third and final film premiers at the local cinema in four days time and the whole town is going a bit loopy for it. They've spent a small fortune on doing up the cinema, they're running a competition in the local shops for Middle Earth window displays, they've redone the roads, put up new signs, they're throwing a ticker tape parade on Monday for Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1069407825723304332003-11-21T01:43:00.000-08:002003-11-21T01:44:11.733-08:00Quote of the day: "People don't want war... but can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger." Hermann Goring, 1946 Nuremberg.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1069317431475872182003-11-20T00:37:00.000-08:002003-11-20T01:29:09.030-08:00 Some new photos for you here... a trip we made to Toast Martinborough - 18 vineyards, 14 hours and no legs left by the end. Other news: I have been taking great pleasure from this cd. It's a dub cover of the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. I never really got into Pink Floyd - but I recognise all the songs and reckon that the dub style brings something better to it. It's very good - helps Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1068792341497361142003-11-13T22:45:00.000-08:002003-11-13T23:19:17.686-08:00 Hey - check out the new specs! The old ones were ancient and looking pretty grizzly. These are swanky, new and oh so modern. They look like something Norman Foster would build next to the River Thames. New specs for summer!
So… Burger King. It’s pretty cheap. Like most fast food outlets. Plakky, forgetful and commonplace. Well. Not in New Zealand. In this far away land Burger King is the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1068106644298984202003-11-06T00:17:00.000-08:002003-11-06T00:17:22.546-08:00Had a spot of bad news the other night - my grandmother passed away. Thankfully it was peaceful, in her sleep. Reports have it that she really perked up the day before - was heard to be singing to herself and was spotted eating cake and drinking tea. Maybe she knew it was coming and filled her last day with nice things. I'd like to think so.
Since then I've found myself mulling over the past Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1067938528945842182003-11-04T01:35:00.000-08:002003-11-04T01:35:27.200-08:00Hello... In the words of Rakim... It's been a long time... I have been a busy bod. last week I did a course - every evening from 7pm until as late as 11pm - and then the full weekend, 9 to 5. But it was excellent and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. Breathing techniques and some basic philosophy - thankfully much closer to humanism than religion - and headed up by this guru from India. Brought Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1065509195937606682003-10-06T23:46:00.000-07:002003-10-06T23:50:52.413-07:00 Ahhhh. The joy of the sickie. I was feeling a little worn out yesterday - not sure if it was a result of any pending virus (there is a lot of it about) or whether I was just plain miffed with it all, having not had much of a holiday recently. Either way I was definitely playing under par and not enjoying things. So what better way than a completely confident and guilt-free sickie or two. To be Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1065433778468537252003-10-06T02:49:00.000-07:002003-10-06T13:33:52.463-07:00Ola. Feeling a little homesick the other day I did some digging about in the history files. Specifically I was prompted by a story somewhere about the the new Bull Ring - or 'bullring' as they have so cunningly modernised it. bullring is the gleaming white hope of midlands shoppers - a massive complex of concrete (approximately 90,000 metres³ of the stuff), shops (140 over 1.2m sq ft), a couple Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1064566314956761582003-09-26T01:51:00.000-07:002003-09-26T02:35:20.863-07:00Blimey. It has been a long week. I am dog tired. There isnb't much reason to be tired - a couple of nights out here and there and a reasonable workload, but enough to just put an edge on things. So tonight we're staying in. It's 8.45pm and I reckon there's probably only 25minutes left of today...
Went to see Tosca last night at the St James's Theatre in Wellington. Really excellent show - great Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1064112531675912742003-09-20T19:48:00.000-07:002003-09-20T19:48:51.306-07:00It's wonderful to have the interrnet at home. As I wait for Vicky to come back from the gym and have lunch, I can squeeze in some extra surfing! Found some excellent things too. Firstly Misleader.org - an effort to provide context and thus memory to our increasilngly amnesiac lives. And also The Detroit Project - which forges a nice little cul de sac between the Gulf War and SUVs... bring it on!Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1064043927935269542003-09-20T00:45:00.000-07:002003-09-20T00:48:51.750-07:00So... after years of procrastinating about buying one... and a number of hand-me-down clunky old computers... we've finally bought a laptop! And within three days we have it online with nothing less than unlimited internet access from home! This is a first for me. Seems ridiculous considering I have worked on websites for the past 4 years! I'd always had free and easy access to the internet at Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1062891049776466262003-09-06T16:30:00.000-07:002003-09-06T16:30:49.750-07:00Ola! It has been some time since my last posting. I'm still at the bank, which means I can't get online much to do any writing - quite frustrating really. But all is not lost - we have finally decided to make the leap and buy a laptop! Hopefully the nice people at Dell will be pretty speedy and have it sent super pronto - so this time next week we'll be all online and ready to go.
Not much in Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1061539567125559662003-08-22T01:06:00.000-07:002003-08-22T01:06:07.140-07:00I've got a new job at a bank as a Business Analyst - which basically means speaking to people about things they're doing and creating nice documents for them cos they a) don't have time, b) can't write nice documents. It's pretty good work - subject matter is not very engaging, but it'll do.
So what else is new... I'm just going to lay some things down. Some things that have been circulating my Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1060842929296059662003-08-13T23:35:00.000-07:002003-08-13T23:43:18.830-07:00I thought Terminator III was a good looking film - the big crane & fire truck chase was particularly cool, but I did end up a little annoyed by the movie's content. (N.B. if you haven't seen it yet, then I should warn that this will spoiler everything!) Let me try to explain.
I take issue with the way the film went from being a standard action pic a la TI and TII to this grand messianic judgmentJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1060665285695361192003-08-11T22:14:00.000-07:002003-08-11T22:14:45.723-07:00We had a fantastic time on Kapiti Island, checking out the strange birds that live there – free from voracious, killer rats and possums – cos the Department of Conservation has kindly destroyed all trace of these non-indigenous critters over the last few years. Strange things have happened to the bird populations. Not all the reintroduced species have made it. When you remove predators, certain Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1060319460076624402003-08-07T22:11:00.000-07:002003-08-07T22:11:00.113-07:00And the week ends with celebrations and enthusiasm for weekend dossing. It's been one of those weeks - lots of things to be considered and appraised and decided upon etc etc etc. But now that's all done, with things emerging from out of the fast spin cycle fully intact and ready for wear - happy in my work, happy girlfriend, happy to be here. My next big decision... what beer to drink and what Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1060213832526991022003-08-06T16:50:00.000-07:002003-08-06T19:08:34.640-07:00Well the good news is I have a new job. Well – not exactly a new job – I’m with the same company, but I’m full-time i.e. no longer a contractor who comes in each day and does nothing. The funny thing is, now that I’m being paid full-time, all of a sudden I have lots to do. This is a good development but is proving a little scary. I’m about to be thrust into all sorts of strange and bewildering Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1059709066286594372003-07-31T20:37:00.000-07:002003-07-31T20:39:10.976-07:00The other day I read about the new President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has risen from poverty to be recently elected. The journalist reviewing a speech he made in London recently registered a real sense of optimism in the long-range ideas Lula was presenting and his freedom from the short-termist preoccupation most politicians have with re-election. The journalist recognised it Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1059688423413099052003-07-31T14:53:00.000-07:002003-07-31T14:53:43.253-07:00I was drunk last night when I thought of this. So it may no longer be a good idea. We'll see.
Seeing as we as a race are getting ever-more focused and specialised in what we do, at least in the West anyway, by and large people are coming to be defined by what they do, rather than who they are. It's the standard opening gambit of any conversation with a new person - "what do you do?". ImmediatelyJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1059623514161448122003-07-30T20:51:00.000-07:002003-07-30T20:56:16.333-07:00Today I seem to have lost it. Four times during lunch I experienced those stupid moments when someone is walking towards you and you both go left, then you both go right and then left and then you apologise to one another whilst still trying to get past. Four times! I don't think I should be allowed to return to London - I would be murdered by enraged pedestrians! My mind is not entirely with me Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1059516861902493802003-07-29T15:14:00.000-07:002003-07-29T16:50:43.506-07:00I am reading a crazy book right now – Only Forward – I really don’t want to tell you anything about it. Only that I picked it up thinking it would be regular science fiction and now I have no idea what it is – kind of Alice in Wonderland meets Bladerunner. Well worth checking out and discovering for yourself. Spielberg has already taken an option on it, although having seen A.I. that may not be aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1059041475834366492003-07-24T03:11:00.000-07:002003-07-24T03:11:15.876-07:00Well Joel got told off at work because he single-handedly trebled the office bandwidth. I didn't even twig. The Office Manager sent round an email saying that usage had trebled and that it was getting very expensive. Someone actually had to come tell me. Not really told off - just asked to cut back - everyone found it quite amusing. So this posting comes from Cybernomad - your friendly Courtney Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058928051252391212003-07-22T19:40:00.000-07:002003-07-22T19:48:55.763-07:00Scary! Somehow my CV is number two on Google! Not for long though - gonna sort that out. Not sure I want that sort of attention.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058913716127571112003-07-22T15:41:00.000-07:002003-07-22T17:12:04.100-07:00 Went to see Winged Migration last night at the NZ International Film Festival (NZ seems to have an endless run on film festivals) and it was excellent. Nearly wordless except for some classic frenchman telling us about how "ze brrds fly vrry far" over a Jean Michel Jarre inspired soundtrack. But such earnest frenchness was an apt side-order to what was a cinematographic triumph. 450 crew membersJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058843404528592702003-07-21T20:10:00.000-07:002003-07-21T20:19:32.970-07:00I just read my last post and it sounded really sanctimonious coming from someone who has spent a good few years of his own waffling all sorts of business spiel around the place. Does it make it any better when you recognise how ludicrous it is? Do people who work on Slough Trading Estate laugh at The Office one evening and next day participate fully and unquestionably in a pointless team buildingJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058825097949273492003-07-21T15:04:00.000-07:002003-07-21T15:50:34.710-07:00A funny thing just happened. I was sitting with someone running through this project management method template we're compiling. We were trying to present the timeline in a visual metaphor - like a Gantt chart - and needed a secondary motif to present 'behind the scenes' activities. Without thinking I called it a 'ghost task'. The other guy clearly loved this! He has been banging on about 'ghost Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058746453857016642003-07-20T17:14:00.000-07:002003-07-20T21:07:53.936-07:00 We saw Standing in the Shadows of Motown yesterday. It's a good film. Does a good job of revealing the hidden talent behind the Motown sound that strung together the late 50s and 60s. The film tells the story of The Funk Brothers, a backing group who (and this is the killer statistic) have more hits to their name than the Beatles, Beach Boys and Elvis put together. But they never received the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058407489257201242003-07-16T19:04:00.000-07:002003-07-16T19:09:08.603-07:00Damn. I was all geared up today. All tooled up for a big interview. But they've gone and postponed it. Have to wait a little bit longer in this job, which I'm not sure I can do. Patience is not my forte and my brain is addled.
A couple of interestings today. Apparently masturbation staves off prostate cancer - this is big news for half the global population. Masturbation has always been either Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058325103754856972003-07-15T20:11:00.000-07:002003-07-15T20:35:21.050-07:00Have uploaded some more photos - from our recent trip to Martinborough. Also - bored with your job? Try working at McDonalds for the day with the McJob Simulator.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058309027198967032003-07-15T15:43:00.000-07:002003-07-15T16:38:51.590-07:00Had an email from my university thesis tutor. She's currently tarting up my paper, readying it for possible publication. It's quite exciting really - I'd like all those hours of blood, sweat and research to come to something better than the average mark it was awarded! I still have gripes about the whole thing. The normal process for dissertation papers involves first and second markings before aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058233065803714092003-07-14T18:37:00.000-07:002003-07-14T21:27:04.983-07:00Algin - a gelatinous substance produced by brown algae. Chrondus Chrispus - a dried marine algae. These are two of the chief ingredients in a freebie pack of Wrigley's Eclipse Flash Fresh Breath Strips I was just handed during my lunchbreak. I thought it was funny that, millions of years after making it out of the swamp, we start eating from it again! Another ingredient is "Acid Yellow 23 Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1058139814859512382003-07-13T16:43:00.000-07:002003-07-15T15:16:08.420-07:00Well. This weekend was a big weekend for sure. I asked Vicky to marry me on Saturday and she said yes. I suggested 'a walk' on Makara Beach, near Wellington. A simple Saturday stroll to get some paua shells and fresh air. We'd been before, so I knew exactly which was the right spot - as you walk left from the car park you follow the path up the right side of the headland. There's this small Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057889996753775282003-07-10T19:19:00.000-07:002003-07-10T20:54:33.123-07:00 When the railroad was first introduced to North America I bet there was all sorts of big talk about how riding horses was just so slow and smelly and downright unexciting especially as there was now this big metallic, rushing, direct and easy method of getting about, so as to avoid the many boring miles of eye-stretching wilderness! But I also bet that a number of stetson wearing cowboys were Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057882172107685742003-07-10T17:09:00.000-07:002003-07-10T17:11:48.166-07:00"The Straw Man Plan"
This is a favourite of Middle Managers and Project Managers everywhere. If ever anyone turns up to a meeting and utters the words here is a Straw Man Plan that I have created, you need to start worrying a bit because it is a sure sign that they:
a) have not spoken to anyone
b) have not been listening
c) don't know what the hell is going on
Either way, the Straw Man PlanJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057812161822306472003-07-09T21:42:00.000-07:002003-07-09T21:43:24.093-07:00There is this actor. He is in almost every film ever made. Over the past week I swear he has been in at least three films we've watched. He pops up all over the place. Quite an impressive achievement.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057788241044202802003-07-09T15:04:00.000-07:002003-07-09T18:06:34.096-07:00How good are US Postal? They currently hold the top eight spots in the overall Tour standings after an excellent team time trial. Although roughly at evens with ONCE at the midpoint they pulled away in the second half to put 30 seconds between their finishing time and second place! They maintained an average speed of 33mph for one hour and eighteen minutes. That is a lot of hard cycling.
So I Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057725347317726532003-07-08T21:35:00.000-07:002003-07-08T21:35:47.293-07:00Iwantoneiwantoneiwantone...!Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057701038348200702003-07-08T14:50:00.000-07:002003-07-08T14:50:38.216-07:00A wierd cobination of coincidences. I was reminded of a film called the Cube last night. I'd been reading a John Ralston Saul book which takes a critical look at our dangerous tendency to blame things on mythological captialist consipracies - currently exemplified by 'The Military Industrial Complex'. This is no doubt an attractive idea and gets everyone up in arms pointing at a masterminded planJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057637802412600442003-07-07T21:16:00.000-07:002003-07-07T21:31:49.316-07:00This was the article that prompted my drunken outburst on Saturday night. Future reference: only attempt when sober.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057538045717245972003-07-06T17:34:00.000-07:002003-07-06T21:04:52.630-07:00 Hangovers are certainly getting worse. In fact the whole drinking experience seems to be getting more complicated as I get older - maybe its lack of practice or something.
Saturday night we went to a friend's house armed with a bottle of gin. Someone else turned up with a bottle of tequila. No one owned up to the melon liquor, but it somehow made its way down everyone's necks. By the end of Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057289683340576492003-07-03T20:34:00.000-07:002003-07-03T20:47:18.440-07:00I have spent most of today tarting up my CV. Actually - scratch that - I have completely redone my CV and it has taken me 6 gruelling hours! I looked at it the other day and realised it was turning into a jumble of mish-mashed bits and bobs that proved little more than my ability to fit large amounts of information onto pieces of A4 paper. If I was interviewing people and recieved it on my desk, Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057197132382689882003-07-02T18:52:00.000-07:002003-07-02T18:59:58.346-07:00I now have a photolog! Currently I've only managed to get some of our earlier photos loaded up, but tomorrow I'll add some more recent ones. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057112066000097502003-07-01T19:14:00.000-07:002003-07-01T19:31:45.470-07:00Just had a nice spot of lunch with an old friend from back in the dot.com boom days. He's just moved back from London to live in Auckland, and was passing through Wellington. It's great to see a familar face after so long away. Makes me realise how much I miss people. We reminisced about the easy days when we worked together on a money-burning dot.com website, with fancy offices in Piccadilly andJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1057030405966433872003-06-30T20:33:00.000-07:002003-06-30T20:56:44.900-07:00I have just had to write a letter to the Academy of Motion Pictures in defence of its award to Michael Moore's film Bowling for Columbine. There is a website that is demanding the Oscar be revoked, not because it is an 'un-american' film (or at least, that's not the overt reason), but because of claims that the documentary infinges the Academy's rules. Basically they challenge that the film Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056949064066805422003-06-29T21:57:00.000-07:002003-06-29T21:57:43.933-07:00One of Lance Armstrong's pals has created a full travel itinerary for anyone lucky enough to get to France for the Tour. Makes me green.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056942388888394662003-06-29T20:06:00.000-07:002003-06-29T20:06:28.910-07:00I've spent the morning looking into online photo storage, as we've got two CDs full of travel snaps and want to share them with friends and family. Blimey - there are so many companies offering some sort of photo storage service! They fall roughly into two categories: 1) Online photo albums (a la Yahoo, MSN, Sony Imagestation etc) and 2) Photologs (a la fotolog, Movable Type etc). I signed up to Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056924771261578922003-06-29T15:12:00.000-07:002003-06-29T18:37:40.123-07:00 As part of Vicky's 'catch up' of 80s films she missed, we watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off on Saturday. It remains one of the finest films of all time. All the jokes still work and the 'Twist and Shout' street festival scene was as good as ever. The DVD also has a great Director's Commentary option - where John Hughes talks you through the film. Lots of good little tit bits e.g. The Bueller Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056672346170537062003-06-26T17:05:00.000-07:002003-06-26T21:35:21.093-07:00On a related point - I have been reading some anti-France weblogs. It's amazing the polarity of views that exist in the world. It scares me. At first I thought that weblogs would provide open access to transparent and unbiased information sources - but I was nieve. There is as much disinformation, bias and distortion in the blogsphere as between the covers of your average Daily Mail. In fact moreJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056666840739787852003-06-26T15:34:00.000-07:002003-06-26T21:33:28.716-07:00 Today's subject is France, for a number of reasons. Firstly because it is warm there now, makes damn fine cheese and is generally a nice place to hang out (regardless of what many Americans say (probably most have never been)).
Secondly, today the EU announced ‘sweeping’ changes to farm subsidy policies. This has been a long time coming, and like the fisheries, farming has long languished in aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056495238257085452003-06-24T15:53:00.000-07:002003-06-24T21:15:00.493-07:00Today I have so little work to do that I am trying to contain my melting brain from dribbling visibly out of my ears. I am filling my ample time by journeying extensivley across the dubya dubya dubya... I sat and took refreshment at the following outposts.
Eating camels
Strange Japanese Slogans
Maryland Road Photos
Molecules with Silly Names (like Cummingtonite!)
The Craziest Thought Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056491861965470532003-06-24T14:57:00.000-07:002003-06-24T15:02:02.120-07:00Just seen this new Honda advert they've spent oodles of money on. It looks really good - great to see a 'different' type of car commercial that doesn't depend on macho playstation fantasies. As an aside - I was also told the other evening about how all the advert production companies know exactly which weekend in Fall (or Autumn, depending on your preference) New England looks the most leafy and Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056416051700610312003-06-23T17:54:00.000-07:002003-06-23T21:33:25.440-07:00Discussions over Sunday dinner turned to ‘independent wealth’ and how it could be readily achieved. Apparently people had already given this subject some thought and calculated that at least GBP3M was needed if you were to live the life of a millionaire without eroding your capital base. Based on a generous 4% interest, three million would earn you GBP125,000 in interest eacha year – enough for aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1056073751449990832003-06-19T18:49:00.000-07:002003-06-19T18:49:11.376-07:00It's coming...! 5th July...Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055976079390429652003-06-18T15:41:00.000-07:002003-06-24T19:53:40.400-07:00Who/what are neo-conservatives? And what has Leo Strauss got to do with it? All bad stuff... And another good, if extreme, viewpoint.
In general - it seems clear that the American faith in manifest destiny has not waned one bit in 180 years.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055912204138662912003-06-17T21:56:00.000-07:002003-06-17T22:03:30.640-07:00A london company has developed a software tool to analyse pedestrian activity and help design better urban spaces. Here is their study of Trafalgar Square for Norman Foster. London pedestrians are in blue, tourists in red! Very revealing. Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055903521297918552003-06-17T19:32:00.000-07:002003-06-17T21:56:12.380-07:00Vicky is bored. These are to make her smile and stop her falling asleep...
Gay Robots
Doggles
Hungry Spiders
London Tube Petition
Free your books!
That Solpadeine website
Retire to the countryside
The Chair!Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055902953653803802003-06-17T19:22:00.000-07:002003-06-17T19:24:09.683-07:00Just had a Brian Eno moment. Near to my office is a wooden bridge, carved with heavy wooden sleepers, and decorated with maori art. The bridge crosses a bay road, and from it one can look directly out across the water. As it was sunny, I went down to the bridge with my lunch and sat on one of the sleepers. After a while I just closed my eyes and listened. The helicopter took off, seagulls Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055887148236653352003-06-17T14:59:00.000-07:002003-06-17T15:06:35.083-07:00Last night we went along to a Wellington Tramping Society Meeting. Not really for the tramping, of which Vicky and I share a great fear, but for the skiing. The Tararua Tramping Society has a mountain lodge (think more 'hut' than 'alpine lodge') which you can stay at for very reasonable rates. The evening was most amusing though. Lots of bearded people got up and gave slide shows. Lots of photos Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055802176101605632003-06-16T15:22:00.000-07:002003-06-26T21:31:02.570-07:00
Hanging out with the rich and famous. Reveling in an English victory over the Kiwis. Quaffing cocktails. Going to the ballet. Yes – on the surface of things our lives of late are a social extravaganza. Let me try and recant to you the events of this weekend. It was fun.
Left work on Friday with the Beast highly active in my upper right neck (dammit!). This was not a way to start the weekend. SoJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-1055743386588304412003-06-15T23:03:00.000-07:002003-06-15T23:03:06.613-07:00Blogger's been down for most of the day - that is the Kiwi day - so has only just gone back up. Have much to tell about my weekend shenanigans... but off home now. Vicky is picking me up!!Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-956174072003-06-12T21:43:00.000-07:002003-06-12T21:46:31.000-07:00So my metabolism continues to run riot. I had a meeting the other day and, shock horror, it ran on until 12.30 which meant I missed my 'window'. I wasn't particularly hungry or anything - just found myself losing interest in what people were saying... slowly beginning to agree to things I'd previously been sternly against, that sort of thing. So I closed the meeting up very politely and made my Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-956057752003-06-12T14:43:00.000-07:002003-06-12T14:43:17.800-07:00Read this quote from Harrison Ford this morning on Yahoo News - "I was not surprised that I was able to fall in love, and I wasn't surprised that I did. But I'm very grateful." What does that mean? What the hell is he talking about? I fear that this man is making another Indiana Jones film.Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-955647082003-06-11T14:23:00.000-07:002003-06-11T14:27:34.000-07:00At a low ebb today. And the last two days. Maybe because it's winter in NZ, when my body is expecting summer. Or it could be my somewhat dull and lifeless job. Je ne sais pas. It will pass though. Gonna buy a video. Vicky has never seen 80% of the all time classic films! I'm talking The Breakfast Club, Wierd Science, Bachelor Party... so much to see...!
A friend is making things happen on the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-955356762003-06-10T21:29:00.000-07:002003-06-10T21:32:08.000-07:00Saved from the jaws of death, bruised and barely recognisable, but otherwise in good shape... Dogmail returns!Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-954406952003-06-08T16:34:00.000-07:002003-06-08T16:38:50.000-07:00Had a rude awakening this morning. Got in at about 9.15 and discovered a 10am meeting had surrepticiously been set up! So found myself trying to comprehend the intricacies of accounts processes prior to waking up... hmmmm - nice. Could be a busy week.
Had a nice weekend though. Met a hobbit! Which is not something you can say every day. Helps brighten up that obligatory Monday "What did you do Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-953471712003-06-05T16:23:00.000-07:002003-06-05T16:23:35.640-07:00Wellington is going through the car wash today. First it pelted rain down at us - the sort of stair rod rain that strips the paint off buildings. Then it provided a nice misty sort of fog-rain that gently got into the nooks and crannies and eke'd out the li'l bits of dirt still brave enough to hang on. Now it is in 'blow dry' mode, with 50 knot winds bashing around the building. So we will have aJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-953452092003-06-05T15:11:00.000-07:002003-06-05T15:21:34.000-07:00Slept like a dog last night. Like a dog. Not sure why. I started reading a very interesting book yesterday evening - Information Ecologies - which I guess is part of the reason I was up half the night. It was bad enough that I couldn't sleep, but that was made worst by having ample stuff to mull over in my tick-tick-ticking brain! So I ended up in a bit of a vicious circle. Took BBC World, which Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-953125402003-06-04T20:03:00.000-07:002003-06-04T20:03:04.530-07:00Check out my new shoes! Gonna make me run faster... my adidas.jpgJoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-952671822003-06-03T20:29:00.000-07:002003-06-03T21:42:50.000-07:00Whilst loitering on the web today I found a bunch of NZ Webcams - the ones covering Wellington can be found at the bottom. Also... I catch my bus back home from work directly underneath this camera! And you can also take a walking tour of our pretty little town. If you look at photo number nine, straight ahead, under the arch, is my murky-green coloured office building! Photo 20 is almost the Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-952661672003-06-03T20:02:00.000-07:002003-06-03T20:19:14.000-07:00Vicky has made an excellent discovery. We were growing concerned that, being on the other side of the world, we'd have to suffer a winter without the Christmas or New Year oases. Well we're in luck. Apparently it's not uncommon for locals, particularly ex-pat locals, to use the winter solstice (22nd June) as an excuse to drink lots, pull crackers and escape the gloom. Here is a compelling photo Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908019.post-952140802003-06-02T17:38:00.000-07:002003-06-02T17:38:45.643-07:00I ask you? What is it with interviews these days? They seem to get more complicated - not in terms of testing my technical capacity to do a job, but more in a self-reflexive "is this what you really want" kind of way. I went in there thinking - "hmmm, nice, this gig will carry me right through!" and came out thinking "should I be committing to this?" The interviewer said he wished he'd had Joelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08876052714750422522noreply@blogger.com