Click these links to read the Herald Sun articles about the big bus/truck accident that happened yesterday:
Two Critically Hurt in Bus, Truck Crash
Bus Crash Victims Off Critical List
This happened about three hours before I was due in for work, and apparently traffic was backed up so bad people had to take detours around the accident site for several hours. My co-worker was one of them.
Two people on the bus were critically injured, including one passenger who was sitting up the front and received most of the impact. The rest of the passengers included young parents and children, and many received significant injuries. However, there were no fatalities.
Very scary stuff.
I drive along that section of road whenever I'm heading out that way, and I can understand how it happened. There's a bit of a hill before the place the semi-trailer pulled out, and you can't always see what's coming until you're over the crest. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for the bus to stop in time.
They're recently changed the speed limit in that area because it was a bit of a traffic black spot. I wonder if they will do anything else now?
EDIT:
Since I wrote this, there have been another THREE significant road accidents in the area! What is going on around here? The SES has had one heck of a busy fortnight, I can tell you!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
In Absentia
Yar, you probably noticed I was gone a while.
Or, maybe you didn't. Is anyone even reading these posts?
I usually use the Internet in the evening or late at night, but I seldom go online if I know I have to work the next day. It's way too tempting otherwise... I often end up staying on all night if I am not careful... uh, what's that light creeping from behind the curtains, by the way?
And... things have been slightly more busy at work than previous weeks.
We are spread thinly at work again this week... sigh... so I must make sure not to screw up and oversleep or anything, so it may be a little while before I post anything significant.
(Have I yet?)
Not only will I have to juggle two different sites this weekend, I also get to miss out on yet another family gathering. Woo hoo.
In other news, I've added links for PostSecret and the official Alanis Morissete site. Haven't seen her new disc yet, but I only just bought her Under Rug Swept album this month, so I've gotta catch up!
I am also trying to get Uru: Ages Beyond Myst to work properly on this computer... but I think the videocard is incompatible for some reason. It used to work fine, but the computer has been re-formatted since I was last playing on it, so... who knows what's going on?
I have been organising things to send to my friends OS and interstate... slowly. The hard part will be sending confectionery items to the US, since the FDA still insists I fill out a pile of digital paperwork for every. single. item. I send there, as if I was going to poison chocolate bars and cookies! I mean, really.
I haven't been doing much creative stuff lately. I have to catch up with my mural friends at some stage, because we still have a little bit left to do (and it's really only a little bit, honest)... so next time you visit, I may have new photos!
No progress on my games, at least, nothing significant. Gotta pick up the slack.
...Gimme some time...
...Stay tuned...
Or, maybe you didn't. Is anyone even reading these posts?
I usually use the Internet in the evening or late at night, but I seldom go online if I know I have to work the next day. It's way too tempting otherwise... I often end up staying on all night if I am not careful... uh, what's that light creeping from behind the curtains, by the way?
And... things have been slightly more busy at work than previous weeks.
We are spread thinly at work again this week... sigh... so I must make sure not to screw up and oversleep or anything, so it may be a little while before I post anything significant.
(Have I yet?)
Not only will I have to juggle two different sites this weekend, I also get to miss out on yet another family gathering. Woo hoo.
In other news, I've added links for PostSecret and the official Alanis Morissete site. Haven't seen her new disc yet, but I only just bought her Under Rug Swept album this month, so I've gotta catch up!
I am also trying to get Uru: Ages Beyond Myst to work properly on this computer... but I think the videocard is incompatible for some reason. It used to work fine, but the computer has been re-formatted since I was last playing on it, so... who knows what's going on?
I have been organising things to send to my friends OS and interstate... slowly. The hard part will be sending confectionery items to the US, since the FDA still insists I fill out a pile of digital paperwork for every. single. item. I send there, as if I was going to poison chocolate bars and cookies! I mean, really.
I haven't been doing much creative stuff lately. I have to catch up with my mural friends at some stage, because we still have a little bit left to do (and it's really only a little bit, honest)... so next time you visit, I may have new photos!
No progress on my games, at least, nothing significant. Gotta pick up the slack.
...Gimme some time...
...Stay tuned...
Monday, July 7, 2008
Where'd It GO?!?
AARGH!!!
I just had a white-tail spider crawling on my arm!!!
...It's gone now, I flicked it off my arm and it crawled under my CD rack, obviously not game to try and take me on. Sorry, if I'd been quicker I would have taken a Dinkycam at it, but it wasn't very big anyway.
I don't think it had time to bite me, but if it did, I'm not worried - their bites aren't really as dangerous as people believe. Yes, I know, I've heard all that stuff about "white tail spider bites making your skin rot away"... but guess what? All that hysteria originally came from a doctor making a guess about possible causes of bite-like symptoms... it was either the White tail or the Wolf Spider.
If you're not an Australian resident, you probably don't know what a "White Tail" is. They're a common species of ground-dwelling spider in the southern parts of Australia. They grow up to about 1 inch long (legspan), they like to live in leaf litter and tanbark (and also piles of clothing!), and they are more ugly than they are dangerous. Really.
I mean, a lot of people don't like spiders in general, for sure, but the prejudice folks have against these critters is really quite extraordinary. People have made the claim that they're so toxic based on nothing more than hearsay and speculation, mostly because they've gone to a doctor with a running sore, to be told, "Oh, it's probably just a white-tail spider bite". (Well, it's easier than just saying, "Um, I have no idea what that is... er, would you like a jellybean?")
Click here to view the Wikipedia article about the White Tail Spider, as well as look at an icky picture of one. Don't panic, they're nowhere near as bad as those horrible gigantic man-eating spiders in Iraq you've probably heard a LOT about... (oh, and by the way, folks...)
I just had a white-tail spider crawling on my arm!!!
...It's gone now, I flicked it off my arm and it crawled under my CD rack, obviously not game to try and take me on. Sorry, if I'd been quicker I would have taken a Dinkycam at it, but it wasn't very big anyway.
I don't think it had time to bite me, but if it did, I'm not worried - their bites aren't really as dangerous as people believe. Yes, I know, I've heard all that stuff about "white tail spider bites making your skin rot away"... but guess what? All that hysteria originally came from a doctor making a guess about possible causes of bite-like symptoms... it was either the White tail or the Wolf Spider.
If you're not an Australian resident, you probably don't know what a "White Tail" is. They're a common species of ground-dwelling spider in the southern parts of Australia. They grow up to about 1 inch long (legspan), they like to live in leaf litter and tanbark (and also piles of clothing!), and they are more ugly than they are dangerous. Really.
I mean, a lot of people don't like spiders in general, for sure, but the prejudice folks have against these critters is really quite extraordinary. People have made the claim that they're so toxic based on nothing more than hearsay and speculation, mostly because they've gone to a doctor with a running sore, to be told, "Oh, it's probably just a white-tail spider bite". (Well, it's easier than just saying, "Um, I have no idea what that is... er, would you like a jellybean?")
Click here to view the Wikipedia article about the White Tail Spider, as well as look at an icky picture of one. Don't panic, they're nowhere near as bad as those horrible gigantic man-eating spiders in Iraq you've probably heard a LOT about... (oh, and by the way, folks...)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Games (not mine)
And now, a couple of game links!
Back in the early 90s, the most sophisticated games console that we had at home was our trusty "educational" device, the Commodore 64. I spent many lost hours playing heaps of games on that old thing, time I ought to have spent on looking after my future, developing a career, getting a social life, and so on, but... oh well.
Now, even though I still have the old C64 (and assume that it still works even though it's been sitting in storage for the better part of a decade), I haven't played any of those games in ages. Mostly because the whole procedure of dragging all the bits out, finding somewhere to set them up, plugging them in, loading up the games, etc. etc. just seemed too much trouble.
I was at the Retrospec website the other day, and realised that not only one but two of my all time favourite C64 games have been remade by dedicated programmers - and what's more, both of them were totally free!
My first favourite was the surreal shoot-em-up, Wizball. This is a truly unique gaming experience. You play as a Wizard manipulating a bouncing ball, and you have to shoot enemies to collect green pearls, allowing you to upgrade and gain new abilities. You also have to use your pet cat(!) to collect coloured droplets scattered through each level - once you've mixed up the correct colours, you get to go to a bonus game, and the colour is painted into the landscape you just left!
Okay, so it sounds like something someone would have made up while under the influence. It probably is. But it is a fantastic game, once you get past the difficult controls in the beginning, and once you get the hang of it you will be better for the experience. It also has a great 2 Player Co-op feature that lets two people work together to try and figure out what the hell this game is about.
It's a very slick package (both original and remake), and I highly recommend it.
Click here to read the Wikipedia article about the original game.
Click here to check out and download the Retrospec remake.
The other game that held my mind at the time was the isometric puzzle game Head Over Heels.
The game revolves around two dog-like animals, each named Head and Heels, and each with his own abilities. The aim was to try and reunite the two characters by navigating them through an enormous pseudo-3D maze. Once the two were in the same room, they could both link together and become a single playable character, with both their abilities combined.
But there were a lot of surreal touches to this game as well, with things like a donut-shooting weapon, platforms made of puppy dogs that could disappear, miniature Daleks, Prince Charles effigies, gorillas, elephants, and stuffed toy bunnies as collectable power ups! In amongst all of that was some story about five crowns that had to be rescued, which the authors admitted was a plotline added at the last minute. :)
I wasn't the first in our family to try this game. I remember clearly my younger sister's first attempt to play the game - it resulted in her bashing her hands against the living room floor, tears flowing, and eventually, being sent to her room...
You could say puzzle games aren't really her thing. ;D Meanwhile, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and managed to get all the way through with all five crowns, thank you, so if you need any advice, drop me a line!
Click here to read the Wikipedia article about the original game.
Click here to check out and download the Retrospec remake.
If you're at all interested in vintage video games, check out the Retrospec website for more remade games that have been created purely as a labour of love... ie. they're all free, free, no-payee no-cashee. They have heaps more games than the two I've mentioned, so have a look and see what else tickles that part of your memory locked up with bad 80s fashion and the Reagan era. Go on, off you go!
Back in the early 90s, the most sophisticated games console that we had at home was our trusty "educational" device, the Commodore 64. I spent many lost hours playing heaps of games on that old thing, time I ought to have spent on looking after my future, developing a career, getting a social life, and so on, but... oh well.
Now, even though I still have the old C64 (and assume that it still works even though it's been sitting in storage for the better part of a decade), I haven't played any of those games in ages. Mostly because the whole procedure of dragging all the bits out, finding somewhere to set them up, plugging them in, loading up the games, etc. etc. just seemed too much trouble.
I was at the Retrospec website the other day, and realised that not only one but two of my all time favourite C64 games have been remade by dedicated programmers - and what's more, both of them were totally free!
My first favourite was the surreal shoot-em-up, Wizball. This is a truly unique gaming experience. You play as a Wizard manipulating a bouncing ball, and you have to shoot enemies to collect green pearls, allowing you to upgrade and gain new abilities. You also have to use your pet cat(!) to collect coloured droplets scattered through each level - once you've mixed up the correct colours, you get to go to a bonus game, and the colour is painted into the landscape you just left!
Okay, so it sounds like something someone would have made up while under the influence. It probably is. But it is a fantastic game, once you get past the difficult controls in the beginning, and once you get the hang of it you will be better for the experience. It also has a great 2 Player Co-op feature that lets two people work together to try and figure out what the hell this game is about.
It's a very slick package (both original and remake), and I highly recommend it.
Click here to read the Wikipedia article about the original game.
Click here to check out and download the Retrospec remake.
The other game that held my mind at the time was the isometric puzzle game Head Over Heels.
The game revolves around two dog-like animals, each named Head and Heels, and each with his own abilities. The aim was to try and reunite the two characters by navigating them through an enormous pseudo-3D maze. Once the two were in the same room, they could both link together and become a single playable character, with both their abilities combined.
But there were a lot of surreal touches to this game as well, with things like a donut-shooting weapon, platforms made of puppy dogs that could disappear, miniature Daleks, Prince Charles effigies, gorillas, elephants, and stuffed toy bunnies as collectable power ups! In amongst all of that was some story about five crowns that had to be rescued, which the authors admitted was a plotline added at the last minute. :)
I wasn't the first in our family to try this game. I remember clearly my younger sister's first attempt to play the game - it resulted in her bashing her hands against the living room floor, tears flowing, and eventually, being sent to her room...
You could say puzzle games aren't really her thing. ;D Meanwhile, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and managed to get all the way through with all five crowns, thank you, so if you need any advice, drop me a line!
Click here to read the Wikipedia article about the original game.
Click here to check out and download the Retrospec remake.
If you're at all interested in vintage video games, check out the Retrospec website for more remade games that have been created purely as a labour of love... ie. they're all free, free, no-payee no-cashee. They have heaps more games than the two I've mentioned, so have a look and see what else tickles that part of your memory locked up with bad 80s fashion and the Reagan era. Go on, off you go!
Is there no end to this?
And because I'm either vain, or a masochist...
MORE PIX OF MEEEE!!!
This first picture was from when we were painting last, and Andrew had brought a ViewMaster with him (for some unknown reason, he's a law unto himself sometimes). We all had a go looking through the lenses at the pretty 3D images, and Andrew decided to take some photos of us in the act:
Needless to say, I won't be doing that again any time soon.
These two were taken with Dinkycam. The first was an attempt at a self-portrait, the second was taken by Trish and turned out much better.
You wouldn't have guessed that I was feeling poorly in those two images - those were taken on Sick Thursday (ie. the one I've been griping about in the last two posts).
MORE PIX OF MEEEE!!!
This first picture was from when we were painting last, and Andrew had brought a ViewMaster with him (for some unknown reason, he's a law unto himself sometimes). We all had a go looking through the lenses at the pretty 3D images, and Andrew decided to take some photos of us in the act:
Needless to say, I won't be doing that again any time soon.
These two were taken with Dinkycam. The first was an attempt at a self-portrait, the second was taken by Trish and turned out much better.
You wouldn't have guessed that I was feeling poorly in those two images - those were taken on Sick Thursday (ie. the one I've been griping about in the last two posts).
Presenting Dinkycam!
Just when you thought these photos couldn't get any worse...
A couple of years ago, my older sister bought me a digital camera for Christmas.
"Lucky you!" you might well say, but...
Let's just say, um, that the camera doesn't quite do what it promises.
For a start, it's very small.
It's dimensions are 6cm wide, 4cm tall, and 1½cm thick.
It has a keyring loop on it. As in, keep it on a loop with your keys...?
It runs on a single AAA alkaline battery. If the battery runs flat, or if it falls out, all the pictures are deleted.
It has no flash. If the image you are trying to take is too dark, it won't take it.
It has no preview screen, just a little window that slides up from the top to give you an (approximate) view through the lens.
It does, however, come with a CD-Rom with all the stuff you need to get it to work, and it does come with a USB cable.
EDIT: Here's a nice decent visible picture of it, if that description didn't do it for you:
So far, I have had it for about two years, and I have never been able to get it to work.
Until this week.
I took it along with me to the fateful non-working working bee at the art studio last Thursday, and took some photos of the murals (in case I didn't get any from Andrew, but it turned out that I did after all).
Because the camera is only a budget model (ha!) I had no way of knowing how the photos would turn out until I got it home and uploaded them. When I did, this is what popped out:
Thrilling, huh?
But wait, there's more! I decided to take some photos of our new refrigerator and compared it with our our old one. Have a look!
I was a tad disappointed with the camera at first, especially since this is supposed to be the HIGH RESOLUTION setting. And no, I haven't reduced the size of the pictures in order to upload them - that's what it spits out. 352 x 288 pixels to be precise.
Okay, so it's not the best camera. But then I realised, "Hey! So what? You can still recognise what the subjects are, um, almost..." And besides, it's not as if I have a better digital camera lying around the house!
So I've decided to keep on using it, and to take pictures of things I otherwise wouldn't be able to.
I have christened it... Dinkycam.
Keep your eyes open for more photos, folks!
and NB. I will NOT be uploading pornographic images of myself.
A couple of years ago, my older sister bought me a digital camera for Christmas.
"Lucky you!" you might well say, but...
Let's just say, um, that the camera doesn't quite do what it promises.
For a start, it's very small.
It's dimensions are 6cm wide, 4cm tall, and 1½cm thick.
It has a keyring loop on it. As in, keep it on a loop with your keys...?
It runs on a single AAA alkaline battery. If the battery runs flat, or if it falls out, all the pictures are deleted.
It has no flash. If the image you are trying to take is too dark, it won't take it.
It has no preview screen, just a little window that slides up from the top to give you an (approximate) view through the lens.
It does, however, come with a CD-Rom with all the stuff you need to get it to work, and it does come with a USB cable.
EDIT: Here's a nice decent visible picture of it, if that description didn't do it for you:
So far, I have had it for about two years, and I have never been able to get it to work.
Until this week.
I took it along with me to the fateful non-working working bee at the art studio last Thursday, and took some photos of the murals (in case I didn't get any from Andrew, but it turned out that I did after all).
Because the camera is only a budget model (ha!) I had no way of knowing how the photos would turn out until I got it home and uploaded them. When I did, this is what popped out:
Thrilling, huh?
But wait, there's more! I decided to take some photos of our new refrigerator and compared it with our our old one. Have a look!
I was a tad disappointed with the camera at first, especially since this is supposed to be the HIGH RESOLUTION setting. And no, I haven't reduced the size of the pictures in order to upload them - that's what it spits out. 352 x 288 pixels to be precise.
Okay, so it's not the best camera. But then I realised, "Hey! So what? You can still recognise what the subjects are, um, almost..." And besides, it's not as if I have a better digital camera lying around the house!
So I've decided to keep on using it, and to take pictures of things I otherwise wouldn't be able to.
I have christened it... Dinkycam.
Keep your eyes open for more photos, folks!
and NB. I will NOT be uploading pornographic images of myself.
Yet More Mural Photos
Okay, so I didn't get a chance to actually paint anything last Thursday (that's what I would have done if I hadn't fallen ill), but I did manage to get more photos of the murals!
Once again, all images are courtesy of Andrew. I managed to get copies of the images directly from his PC, because attaching them to emails would have taken him about half an hour (even on broadband). I'd forgotten to bring a USB Flash drive for this purpose, but luckily my MP3 player also doubled as a data storage device! Ain't technology wonderful?
This first image shows how far we got with the History train mural the last time we were there. Trish had moved the panels to the downstairs gallery so we could work upright, and reach all the areas of the artwork.
(That's Trish standing in front of the mural in the second picture.)
We only did a little bit of work that time, but I managed to get all the nameplates on the carriages done (the little bronze-ish rectangles above each of the doors). Each plate lists one of the wars that Australians fought in, ranging from the Boer to the Gulf Wars.
There are other changes than that, though - among them, you'll find that Mr Big Blue Coat Guy has changed again, this time he's green and he has legs now:
Also, I managed to get a photo of the three new panels of the Lions mural.
I've painted about four sections on this new part, but the rest was painted by the WFTD participants and, of course, the people I'm currently painting with.
I've taken more, but you'll have to see those under "Dinkycam"...
Once again, all images are courtesy of Andrew. I managed to get copies of the images directly from his PC, because attaching them to emails would have taken him about half an hour (even on broadband). I'd forgotten to bring a USB Flash drive for this purpose, but luckily my MP3 player also doubled as a data storage device! Ain't technology wonderful?
This first image shows how far we got with the History train mural the last time we were there. Trish had moved the panels to the downstairs gallery so we could work upright, and reach all the areas of the artwork.
(That's Trish standing in front of the mural in the second picture.)
We only did a little bit of work that time, but I managed to get all the nameplates on the carriages done (the little bronze-ish rectangles above each of the doors). Each plate lists one of the wars that Australians fought in, ranging from the Boer to the Gulf Wars.
There are other changes than that, though - among them, you'll find that Mr Big Blue Coat Guy has changed again, this time he's green and he has legs now:
Also, I managed to get a photo of the three new panels of the Lions mural.
I've painted about four sections on this new part, but the rest was painted by the WFTD participants and, of course, the people I'm currently painting with.
I've taken more, but you'll have to see those under "Dinkycam"...
i hATE bEING sICK...
Yep, I've succumbed to yet another cold/flu/upper respiratory tract infection... this would be the second for 2008.
I started feeling a bit funny on Thursday. It was weird, one moment I was fine, and then suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped - I felt a strange heavy feeling just under my lungs, and I felt an odd dizzy sensation in my head. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and I thought, "That was odd."
I went to visit friends later on that day, but I felt really tired as the afternoon went on. I lost my appetite, and only ate about two-thirds of my meal, and I fell asleep on their couch a couple of times. (Sorry, I accidentally drooled on your cushion too. I sleep with my mouth open for some reason.)
When I got home, I tried to get to sleep, but I couldn't get warm; I was shivering so much I sat right next to the heating duct in the living room until I got too hot, but when I moved away I started shivering again...
It didn't help that I'd been out in the rain earlier. The weather's been pretty patchy of late, with alternate rain/fine days. Trust me to get caught in the middle of the wet!
So, I spent most of yesterday in bed. With a fever of 38.1C...
Thank goodness for paracetamol.
I've had to call in sick for work today, even though I feel capable of getting up and about. I've learned from past experience that I have to be extremely careful about getting back into a normal pattern after getting sick. In fact, there have been times I've gone to work while I've been sick, but none of those times have been as bad as yesterday!
So, instead, I am milling around the house... getting bored... and wishing I could actually get out and DO something. Heck, I'd go to WORK if I could, but then I'd probably just cough all over the place and make everyone else ill, and then who knows what would happen?
It's just that sitting around the house, wasting time, is really frustrating.
Anyway, since I can't go out, it gives me the chance to update my blog... and even though I haven't been well, I have a LOT to put up!
So, check it out!
EDIT: Seems I had enough material for FIVE posts this time around! Guess I ought to fall sick more often!
...
On the other hand... guess not.
I started feeling a bit funny on Thursday. It was weird, one moment I was fine, and then suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped - I felt a strange heavy feeling just under my lungs, and I felt an odd dizzy sensation in my head. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and I thought, "That was odd."
I went to visit friends later on that day, but I felt really tired as the afternoon went on. I lost my appetite, and only ate about two-thirds of my meal, and I fell asleep on their couch a couple of times. (Sorry, I accidentally drooled on your cushion too. I sleep with my mouth open for some reason.)
When I got home, I tried to get to sleep, but I couldn't get warm; I was shivering so much I sat right next to the heating duct in the living room until I got too hot, but when I moved away I started shivering again...
It didn't help that I'd been out in the rain earlier. The weather's been pretty patchy of late, with alternate rain/fine days. Trust me to get caught in the middle of the wet!
So, I spent most of yesterday in bed. With a fever of 38.1C...
Thank goodness for paracetamol.
I've had to call in sick for work today, even though I feel capable of getting up and about. I've learned from past experience that I have to be extremely careful about getting back into a normal pattern after getting sick. In fact, there have been times I've gone to work while I've been sick, but none of those times have been as bad as yesterday!
So, instead, I am milling around the house... getting bored... and wishing I could actually get out and DO something. Heck, I'd go to WORK if I could, but then I'd probably just cough all over the place and make everyone else ill, and then who knows what would happen?
It's just that sitting around the house, wasting time, is really frustrating.
Anyway, since I can't go out, it gives me the chance to update my blog... and even though I haven't been well, I have a LOT to put up!
So, check it out!
EDIT: Seems I had enough material for FIVE posts this time around! Guess I ought to fall sick more often!
...
On the other hand... guess not.
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