Looking out through the still devastated forest.

Camping at Wood's Reserve last weekend. I'm relaxing after setting up the tent.

freecyclecanberra

A recent Canberra Times newspaper article suggested that Canberrans spend on average more than $1400 per year on goods they don't use. So what are they doing with all of this accumulated stuff (and of course, the old things they are replacing)? Perhaps some of the things are being given away on websites like: Yahoo! Groups : freecyclecanberra.

This yahoo group includes things like:

• fridges
• strollers
• a 1982 Holden car that has been 'decorated' inside and out
• computer bits

What a great idea. I guess if I ever have something I can't sell I know where to offer it. There is a global site called freecycle.org for those in other spots.

How To Stop Yipping Your Chipping (pga tour guide to golf)

In recent golf games my chipping has been terrible. Today I'm going to try and correct this a bit using the tips provided by
pga tour guide to golf.

My main problem seems to be 'topping' the chip and sending the ball flying across the green. As a result I tend to try to hit the ball very gently, which if I do manage to connect with it properly means that the ball doesn't go anywhere near the hole. My main corrections will be:

• Putting the ball back in my stance. Usually I position it closer to the front foot
• Relaxing my grip
• Trying to swing down on the ball
• Maintaining shot tempo

Let's hope it pays off.

Google 20% Time

Most software developers have heard about the Google practice which encourages working for 1 day per week on a personal project that could have some benefit to the company. Joe Beda is someone that works at Google and has a few comments about why it works for them:
Joe Beda's EightyPercent.net (Google 20% Time)

ROB-1 Overview - Use your phone to control a motion cam - Bright LED headlights for night vision - Mobile phone - Sony Ericsson

Wow, this is a tiny robot video camera which is controllable via Bluetooth. I can't immediately think of too many good uses for a thing like this aside from spying on people, but it sure does look cool.

Take a look at:
ROB-1 Overview - Use your phone to control a motion cam - Bright LED headlights for night vision - Mobile phone - Sony Ericsson

Soccer

Mikee and I after winning the ACT Indoor Soccer Premier League title!

George on the famous par 3 third hole, hitting across the cliff.

George on the first tee at Narooma!

One of the royal minders keeps an eye on the crowd. The earpiece, dark glasses and suit are all part of the uniform.

Princess Mary Donaldson (an Aussie) and Prince Frederik of Denmark visit University House at The ANU

Our first BBQ in Bruce, complete with splatter-saving cardboard! Thanks go to the parents for the nice engagement present.

Google Watch

Everyone popular has enemies and while Google has managed to avoid making too many courtesy of its 'Don't Be Evil' motto, there are still a few disbelievers out there. With links like:

• Creepy Gmail
• Drug Problem
• Is Google God?
• Privacy at Google
• Google is dying

Google Watch sure makes you think a bit. As they say on the site:

"It's not that we believe Google is evil. What we believe is that Google, Inc. is at a fork in the road, and they have some big decisions to make. This Google Watch site is trying to articulate and publicize the situation at Google, and encourage more scrutiny of their operations. By doing this, we hope to play a small part in maintaining the web as an information tool that is more useful for the masses, than it is for the elites."

Georgie and I think about how to cut the Engagement Cake while Mikee offers some advice.

OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta

The long-awaited Open Office 2.0 update is now in public beta form:
download: OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta Downloads

The biggest noticeable change is the new user interface, which does look much better than earlier Open Office interfaces. There are a whole host of other changes summarised at
Tectonic.

The Wedding: The Date

We've booked Federal Golf Club for the 10th of Dec!

IT Manager's Journal | The 15 most annoying IT-speak clichés, buzzwords ever used

IT Manager's Journal | The 15 most annoying IT-speak clichés, buzzwords ever used

The day after the engagement party, opening presents!