Frank Arrigo: Geek

My Tweets De Jour #27

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:16:04 GMT

08:32 got my coffee before next 3 hour meeting starts #

08:51 @lokeuei - waves #

09:18 Donnerstag ? #

09:56 www.tweetscan.com is really sweet! thx @ryanstewart #

10:02 @timheuer - it's the track feature but via email. #

10:05 brrr - temp is still in the 30s. (and not the shorts wearing 30s) #

10:17 Searched Tweet Scan for: chumby tinyurl.com/yvwmvw #

10:21 ohh - i really love the tweetscan search addin : tinyurl.com/2468qn #

10:22 Searched Tweet Scan for: frankarr tinyurl.com/2ddlv5 #

10:55 @a7an - ohh, visualizations in witty would ROCK #

11:40 massive meeting nearing an end #

16:16 rolling from meetings to meetings. havent had lunch yet :( #

19:22 home at last and feeding rooted #

19:22 kids want to see xmas lights in the neighborhood #

19:23 kids want to see xmas lights in the neighborhood #

19:50 getting xmas music to add to my collection #

19:52 getting xmas music to add to my collection #

20:48 finally setting up my new Shadow #

22:13 loving the shadow #

22:58 @GrumpyWookie - Shadow == sexy new smartphone www.t-mobileshadow.com/ #

23:15 @kipkniskern - it is the official phone of fun #

23:15 @GrumpyWookie - my kids in the queue ahead of you #

23:16 @NickHodge - pretty tragic, i agree #

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My Tweets De Jour #26

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:19:19 GMT

08:24 talking #

08:35 dropped of moira's xc90 #

09:27 quick trip on barrier's shuttle back to MS #

09:46 Reading Silverlight 1.1 is now Silverlight 2.0 : www.urlfix.com/u/8584 #

11:42 New Giant Microbes : tinyurl.com/2xmbob #

13:25 had to find building 112 - it was hiding #

14:10 one hour into three hour meeting #

15:02 starting to snooze. someone needs to poke the speaker #

15:08 @mspecht - now you're talking. donuts. yum #

15:25 mind drifting to donuts..... #

15:57 going to get some donuts - ciao #

16:37 picked up donuts and moira's car #

18:29 brrrrr - feeling the cold #

19:22 Webkinz is "crack for kids" - www.tinyurl.com/2mcfsb #

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My Tweets De Jour #25

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:10:29 GMT

07:42 revising hand signals before my driving test #

08:53 passed driving test' #

09:33 i'm a licensed driver in washington #

11:38 celebrating 100 days in my job. i think i will get some pizza #

15:23 encoding silverlight videos #

16:30 @Jagath - hard to compare as i am not in australia. i <3 my TyTNII #

16:30 encoding done. looks spiffy #

16:32 checking shipping status of KIndle on Amazon - says its coming soon #

16:42 off to get stuff at safeway : bread, muffins, elbow macaroni and mineral water #

16:43 the last twitter is my shopping list reminder reminder #

19:02 taking the night off to watch tv. #

23:02 brian is nick's half-brother. yup, we saw it coming too #

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My Tweets De Jour #24

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:47:52 GMT

07:49 brrrrrr. clear cold morning. no snow outside #

08:08 @kerner : ive had a chumby for a month now. been a really good experience. #

09:27 finally sat the written test for my drivers licence. tomorrow it's the driving test #

09:47 @brucery - LOL. i got 2 answers wrong in the witten test, so i am happy. tomorrow will be the rest test! #

10:24 expenses done! #

12:56 grilled chicken caeser salad for lunch - it's kinda healthy #

16:55 optimus prime is in the house #

17:13 playing with latest gadget - USB Leather Hand Strap. tinyurl.com/ysjnka #

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My Tweets De Jour #23

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:28:49 GMT

08:07 Back to work after Thanksgiving weekend break. #

08:34 brrr - it's a chilly one this morning. #

09:19 @davidlem - turkey was yummy. #

11:51 getting ready for another conference call. still feeling the chill #

12:41 conference call ended early. lunch time!!! #

13:24 happy days. dixie's BBQ ifor lunch. 'the man' warmed me up #

16:20 meetings, meetings, meetings - ive been in lots of meetings today #

17:20 @mcscary & @OffBeatMammal - feels like Melbourne to me #

17:23 heading home for heroes. 2 more episodes to go #

22:14 avoiding sending out Heroes spoilers. finale next week. Hiro and Peter cross paths. #

22:16 snow on the mountains. kids getting excited. #

22:32 watching news about i-90 being closed. snow makes driving slippery #

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My Tweets De Jour #22

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:40:41 GMT

10:58 staying away from email and Blogs. 4 days of rest #

13:43 stopping at Burgermaster #

16:24 shimmying to Hairspray on dvd #

19:08 created a channel of just clock and weather for my chumby, he's going to sit next to me in my boudoir #

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Attack of the Movies

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:38:20 GMT

Thanksgiving.

A time of spending time with family, giving thanks, eating and going to see the blockbusters at the movies.

I've take the kids to see a bunch of movies over the last few days

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it

My Tweets De Jour #21

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 01:28:32 GMT

10:52 making plans to go see Beowulf in Digital 3D #

18:16 revisiting DOCTOR WHO series 3 on DVD #

19:40 vegging out watching dvds #

21:46 enjoying a ninja warrior marathon #

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My Tweets De Jour #20

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:03:35 GMT

13:23 taking my little ones to see Enchanted. still feeling thankful #

18:50 in a tryptophan coma #

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My Tweets De Jour #19

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:37:58 GMT

07:12 omg - it's below zero! #

07:13 into the office early to coordinate a call with all my peeps #

07:36 kindle ordered - i couldnt resist #

07:48 wow - just spotted myself on twitterposter.com/ #

09:39 eating a muffin - yum yum #

09:44 @jowyang - i bought one. #

11:05 brrr - it's still chilly and the sun is out #

13:54 finding out about Masaru Emoto and his Miraculous Messages from Water - tinyurl.com/8zrcj #

14:14 Status: 500 Internal Server Error Content-Type: text/html 500 Internal Server Error #

17:12 ZOMG - Hanna Montana was on Oprah. I hope Moira recorded it for me, umm i mean for Emma #

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My Tweets De Jour #18

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:33:33 GMT

09:06 wandering the silent corridorss of blg 18 #

10:35 getting frustrated #

11:44 preparing a presentation #

15:36 making some quick phone calls #

15:47 trying to conquer my inbox #

15:48 @chass - my pleasure. thank you @jorke #

16:31 @GrumpyWookie - you dont want to know what book we're talking about #

19:49 getting things done at home. #

20:38 finally putting my feet up. #

20:38 dr house on soon #

22:29 secretly eating kettle corn. dont tell moira #

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My Tweets De Jour #17

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:43:10 GMT

07:40 driving rigo to school. i hope i dont get lost #

11:33 jumping onto a conf call #

11:54 thinking about lunch. i could go a shepherd's pie right about now #

12:06 thinking if i shld get a kindle #

12:12 @andrewbarnett - it looks like a computer from the 70s #

12:45 brrr - it's chilly today #

12:59 @artywah - thx for the offer, but im happy here. i will turn up the heat and put on a beanie #

13:12 if i could get The SMH or The Age onto a Kindle, how cool would that be #

15:42 Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - that's a mouthful #

18:14 getting dinner for the kids - moira is feeling sick and tired #

18:15 @andrewtobin - stop being so rational and logical. #

19:29 pizza for kids. check. cleanup check. time for CHUCK and then HEROES #

22:08 HEROES - OMG. im going to watch it again now. #

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My Tweets De Jour #15

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:49:41 GMT

08:51 going for pancakes #

09:40 greenhorn, tenderfoot, Cheechako - which am i? #

09:45 waiting for my pancakes. where are they? #

10:03 overheard at pancake place - 'i would love to get my hands on a chumby'. #

10:13 moira informs me i have to move more stuff today. wtf #

11:21 strangly enough, i find myself inside a bank on a saturday #

20:06 finally watched SiCKO #

22:36 checking out the new Chirp screensaver #

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My Tweets De Jour #14

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:47:56 GMT

07:31 7am confcall. eating breakfast while listening #

08:24 enjoying the cold wet grey miserable day. reminds me of melbourne in july #

09:09 in a mtg with a cast of 1000s #

09:28 pivoting #

09:41 pivoting frameworks with batons - BINGO! #

13:32 doing some interviews for an internal video #

14:02 waiting to meet up with Buzz #

15:11 had a coffee with the one and only buzz bruggerman. i feel a better person because of it #

16:42 @cameronreilly - a true national treasure. we're going to have a great time #

16:44 thinking that chumby Izzle kizzle, fo' schizzle #

17:21 wow-it got dark quickly #

20:19 Lookingt at Twittle, a Simple Twitter Client for Windows Mobile. www.jonk.org/twittle/ #

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I <3 CHUMBY

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:35:56 GMT

I have a Chumby

I call it LittleFrankie

My Tweets De Jour #13

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:26:53 GMT

08:13 2nd conf call of the day and it's only 8am #

08:16 just noticed little frankle is only showing the time. my chumby lost connection #

10:04 i am such a dummy. i spilt coffee on myself and guess what? it was HOT #

10:26 twittering borked on direct messages. or is it me? #

11:48 im going to yumcha, or as they call it here - dimsum. ftw! #

11:58 @chass jeem. come down #

12:03 @chass im at jeem. come down #

13:27 stuck in #

15:02 @chass - nintendogs, animal crossing #

17:25 imagining @davidlem in an optimus prime outfit #

17:43 busy day. lots of visitors from the "old country" #

18:10 busy day - seen lots of folks from the "old country" #

18:13 twitter seems better now, but missing some features #

19:47 chumby is connecting again. good to see Little Frankie hard at work #

19:48 Join the campaign to make @davidlem dress as Optimus Prime! blogs.msdn.com/davidlem/ #

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My Tweets De Jour #12

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:32:05 GMT

07:06 It's now 3 months that I have been in the US of A #

07:06 brrrr - it's a cold one this morning #

07:19 heading downtown - to the corner of Third and Cherry #

08:45 made it safe downtown #

10:49 craving coffee #

13:56 chowder for lunch #

15:44 Gone bowing #

16:48 feeling sore. i fell over while bowling and now i have bumps and bruises #

18:17 looking for sympathy - i really hurt myself when i fell #

18:27 @cameronreilly - yup i will see buzz on friday #

19:00 watching ninja warrior 19 #

19:01 @nickbeau - i have wii bowled and it rocks #

19:49 looking forward to Beowulf movie #

20:20 wondering if i have restless leg disease ? #

20:31 @cblake - or could it be we're becoming old #

20:32 thinking i shld go to bed #

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My Tweets De Jour #11

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:10:04 GMT

07:18 woohoo - we didnt loose power overnight and no trees crashed into our house #

08:39 upgrading zune #

09:07 @cameronreilly - haha haha haha haha haha haha you crack me up #

09:20 @bkealey - as a matter of fact Y! have an office in Bellevue #

13:36 rolling from meeting to meeting #

17:02 gone to pick up #1 son #

19:26 feeling weary #

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My Tweets De Jour #10

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:02:00 GMT

07:08 @chlong - yes i am. see you soon. i hope you packed your winter woolies #

07:36 Google Acquiring Sprint? preposterous! tinyurl.com/ynucwn #

10:02 starting on the pile of work ahead of me #

10:53 meandering to a meeting #

13:23 had lunch with @gwillis and @jorke - we met the man #

15:25 learnt a new term "Reductio ad absurdum" tinyurl.com/cxod6 now looking for a chance to use it #

15:27 @seanodmvp - depends on who is doing the viewing #

15:33 @chass - where r u? sydney?? #

17:02 wind gusts over 100mph? crazy weather #

17:23 registering myself on the National Do Not Call Registry : www.donotcall.gov/ #

18:14 taking the little munchkins to get some new webkinzs. there;s one for you too @ozziesterling. #

18:53 getting ready for Heroes #

22:09 oh yes - heroes rocked. and only 3 episodes left. wtf? wga! #

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My Tweets De Jour #9

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:56:34 GMT

11:31 moving furniture from the kids room to the garage (where the boxes were yesterday) #

12:00 enough with the moving! taking the kids to see Fred Claus #

14:46 @mspecht - snap! i had the same #

15:05 Oo-ee, oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing-bang #

15:11 @wickedboy @trib - im excited about upcoming alvin & the chipmunks movie #

16:45 add faketonygreig #

16:56 wow - it got dark quickly #

18:06 excited - i have some freddo frogs coming from downunder for me and the kids #

18:42 sitting down with the kids to watch The Wizard of Oz #

19:24 Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh my! #

20:12 there is no such thing as an iPoddy #

20:47 watching Curb Your Enthusiasm #

21:21 lois kills stewie? #

21:29 @wickedboy - stewie rocks. just ask @davidlem #

21:43 simulation over. #

22:23 beware the windy winds #

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My Tweets De Jour #8

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:50:41 GMT

08:47 Going to get some Saturday morning bagels #

11:39 Going to burien to visit the Australian Pie Co #

12:03 mmm lamingtons, meat pies and sausage rolls #

14:36 moving 67 boxes from one side of the garage to the other #

17:49 surf's up #

18:33 trying to decide between Ninja Warrior on G4TV or a DVD #

22:07 seeing 300 on DVD #

22:26 eating Kettle corn #

23:03 amused by the stories on king5 news #

23:10 warning that girl scout cashews may contain metals #

23:28 SNL or sleep? #

My Tweets De Jour #7

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 21:14:08 GMT

08:22 getting ready for a series of meetings #

08:38 Movin' to the country, Gonna eat me a lot of peaches #

10:19 talkiing to my wife who is waiting for a guy #

13:01 @Duncanma - Millions of peaches, peaches for me, Millions of peaches, peaches for free #

13:01 @chass - dont forget to visit me #

13:03 @davewiner - welcome to the chumby club. #

13:04 PUSA live at Pyramid in Seattle : tinyurl.com/26z4wr #

15:52 on hold to xbox support - sounds like they are in eastern europe #

16:02 gob-smaked by xbox support people - they cant send me an email #

16:56 playing 'Apples to Apples' with the kidlets #

18:24 finally got our new tvs installed #

18:31 the kids was to watch Transformers #

18:32 oh yeah, need to take out the trash #

18:44 zomg - found a windows mobile app to get cricket updates ci.plusmo.com #

19:35 watching Transformers on NEW home theater #

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My Tweets De Jour #6

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:40:13 GMT

07:53 waiting for a guy #

09:31 *STILL* waiting for a guy #

11:01 juggling priorities #

11:10 rejigging Little Frankie. 99 widgets so far #

15:06 coffee with dugie #

15:10 listening to a dude pitching his wares #

15:19 <yawn> - where did thisdude get his koolaid? #

19:58 sitting down to watch some telly #

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My Tweets De Jour #5

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:25:53 GMT

07:36 watching moira make waffles #

07:47 mmmm wafflicious #

08:46 wondering when it will rain again #

09:23 preparing for nxt mtg #

10:08 10am mtg statts at 10 minutes late - a new record #

10:26 mind wandering to lunch #

10:50 @chass - moira made waffles today. mmmmm waffles #

11:33 talking about dipstick measurement and making dipsticks more relevant <lol> #

12:53 reviewing session list for upcoming TR event #

13:02 looked out the window and i can see rain - w00t. #

14:08 Talking Blue monster #

17:55 @Kodo - it hadnt rained for 2 weeks #

18:43 chumby upgrading itself. downloading new bits #

19:43 chumby *STILL* updating itself #

20:54 @TDavid. Update *still* going. it's been 2 hours so far. I went for the two tone latte version. #

21:57 finally got around to watching "Kitchen Nightmares" and it's hilarious : tinyurl.com/297dqx #

22:21 chumby **STILL** updating. Its been over 4 hours now and it's at 40% - what's going on?? #

23:41 @cait - are you suggesting a chumby black market? #

23:42 chumby update completed successfully. i can breath a sign of relief now #

23:44 going to bed a happy man #

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My Tweets De Jour #4

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:46:34 GMT

07:42 Another foggy morning #

07:52 Nutjobs on every corner with election day placards #

09:56 calling fry's about a problem #

10:14 beware the Shanti virus #

11:12 catching a shuttle to another building #

12:29 talking about embedded. i had to mention chumby #

12:31 @paullyoung - what a small world. 3 cheers for john #

12:32 catching another shuffle #

12:34 and getting a shuttle too #

12:47 @leslienassar - good question. i would say NO #

13:16 mmm pizza #

14:35 I deal in Metric, so should you! -- tinyurl.com/2xcm5g #

15:24 catching up on calls #

19:42 decompressing finally #

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My Tweets De Jour #3

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:01:01 GMT

08:16 dodging traffic #

08:19 foggy old morning #

09:28 rushing to a meeting off campus #

11:39 Sitting and listening. adding some comments now and then #

11:59 mmm lunch is here. #

13:51 hooked on fresca #

14:28 so sick of dealing with feet and inches. Dear USA, please deal with metric measurements like the rest of the world #

15:10 @leslienassar - you are such a killjoy #

15:10 @CathyE - maybe we need a facebook group to start a movement? #

15:11 @rbuike - we can only dream #

15:23 thinking about the melbourne cup and flemington in spring #

15:46 @joshglid - you sound surprised #

18:06 w00t - I came 3rd in the go-cart challenge #

18:07 gone go-carting at k1 speed #

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Frankarr's Tweets De Jour

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:35:15 GMT

08:22 checking all the clocks are up to date following the end of daylight savings #

09:16 playing with wikkistix - www.wikkistix.com #

09:24 breakfast at oriel cafe #

11:23 buying lego #

13:55 catching up with last nights SNL - Brian Williams was pretty funny #

16:49 doing dirty jobs #

17:18 we're getting some general tso's chicken #

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Recent Tweets

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:05:53 GMT

09:55 moving boxes -- when will this madness ever end??? #

11:02 sipping starbucks #

11:18 collecting the mail from local postoffice #

11:56 buying rugs from the crazy rug warehouse guy #

13:42 now im moving furniture. im so over it #

14:47 grabbing a cup of tea before the next load of boxes #

16:28 @leslienassar - my stuff arrived last week and we moved into our place. the madness never ends #

16:28 @OffBeatMammal - that future awaits #

17:19 lifting loading moving sorting #

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Eurovision 2007

Mon, 14 May 2007 04:00:56 GMT

Tonight's the night. Wondeful kitschy entertainment

Lots of spoilers here

Blogging takes a back seat to twitter

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 04:16:19 GMT

Since I started using Twitter, I have really slowed down on my blogging,

I find twitter so much simpler to use - i can do it from my phone, from any browser, from a bunch of windows apps, even from a sidebar gadget. It's just so easy.

And it's instant gratification, in just 140 characters.

Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/frankarr

Stats (as of April 1 2007):

187 Friends
89 Followers
1,005 Updates

SMH: TV program delays 'turning viewers into pirates'

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:43:36 GMT

The SMH ran a story yesterday - TV program delays 'turning viewers into pirates', with a followup 'blog' Are you a TV show pirate?

The reader comments are pure gold.

"Are you a TV show pirate?"

Yes, yes I am.

Posted by: Hurley at February 21, 2007 3:45 PM

tv is dead. long live tv.

once you download you don't go back. i never watch australian tv.

i watch what i want, when i want on what i want.

I'd be happy to download from the networks as long as they guarantee simultaneous worldwide release. They could even include 5 minutes of ads (base their advertising revenue on the number of downloads for particular programs) as long as they guarantee high def content.

Until then i'm afraid i'm gonna have to be a pirate mate....

Posted by: Dude at February 21, 2007 4:33 PM

Could someone please point me to the exact point of law and valid precedents that show downloading episodes of television that have screened somewhere, but that may or may not ever be screened on free-to-air tv in my house, is in fact 'illegal'?

'Downloading' itself is NOT illegal behaviour.

Why, Asher, are you stereotyping all of the many, many people who downloads tv shows as 'lawbreakers'?

This 'illegality' is yet to be demonstrated, and personally I cannot believe that ordinary Australians agree that it could EVER BE illegal behaviour to do so.

Posted by: bob at February 21, 2007 3:35 PM

On This Day : Jan 17

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 05:35:46 GMT

January 17:

1893 - The Citizens' Committee of Public Safety led by Lorrin A. Thurston overthrew the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani (pictured) of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1929 - Popeye the Sailor, a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, first appeared in newspaper comic strips.
1946 - The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting at Church House in London.
1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a four-year moratorium on the death penalty in the United States.
1995 - The Great Hanshin Earthquake struck near Kobe, Japan, killing over 6,000 people and causing over ten trillion yen in damage.

Weird Al is coming downunder

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 06:25:23 GMT

Weird Al is touring

Date:	Location:	Venue:

Mar 10	Auckland, New Zealand	St. James Theatre
Mar 12	Sydney, Australia	Enmore Theatre
Mar 14	Wollongong, Australia	Win Entertainment Centre
Mar 16	Adelaide, Australia	Thebarton Theatre
Mar 17	Perth, Australia	Burswood Theatre
Mar 19	Hobart, Australia	Wrest Point Entertainment Centre
Mar 21	Gold Coast, Australia	Twin Towns Services Club
Mar 22	Newcastle, Australia	Civic Theatre
Mar 23	Melbourne, Australia	Hamer Hall
Mar 24	Canberra, Australia	Canberra Theatre

OpenX : Handy Dandy Little Gizmo

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 07:10:16 GMT

I ordered a really handy little gizmo online recently and it arrived today

OpenX^® is a new hand held tool specifically designed to safely and easily open plastic packages.

More info at the OpenX Home Page

On This Day : Jan 3

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 05:50:44 GMT

January 3:

1521 - Pope Leo X (pictured) excommunicated Martin Luther from the Roman Catholic Church after Luther refused to retract 41 of his 95 theses.
1749 - Benning Wentworth began to issue the New Hampshire Grants on land which was also claimed by New York, and is now Vermont.
1958 - Ten former British colonies in the Caribbean joined to form a new self-governing West Indies Federation.
1973 - George Steinbrenner and a group of investors bought the New York Yankees for US$8.7 million.
1990 - United States invasion of Panama: General Manuel Noriega, the deposed "strongman of Panama", surrendered.

Nintendo Nails It

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:33:50 GMT

Santa brought the kids a Wii this past Christmas.

It just rocks.

The last time I saw all 4 of them playing together was when they all got a Nintendo DS

On This Day : Jan 1

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 23:12:18 GMT

January 1: New Year's Day.

1801 - The Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag.
1818 - Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, a novel by Mary Shelley (pictured), was first published in London.
1901 - The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of Australia.
1959 - Cuban Revolution: President Fulgencio Batista of Cuba fled to the Dominican Republic as forces under Fidel Castro took control of Havana.
1995 - The World Trade Organization was created to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

On This Day : Dec 31

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 05:19:15 GMT

December 31: New Year's Eve, Eid ul-Adha in Islam (2006), Hogmanay in Scotland.

406 - The Vandals, Alans and Suebians crossed the Rhine River to begin an invasion of Gaul.
1600 - The British East India Company was founded by a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.
1963 - The Central African Federation officially collapsed, eventually to become Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
1972 - American baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
1999 - Boris Yeltsin (pictured), the first democratically elected President of Russia, resigned and named Vladimir Putin as Acting President.

On This Day : Dec 14

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:50:27 GMT

December 14:

1896 - Glasgow Subway, the third oldest metro system in the world, began operations in Glasgow, Scotland.
1911 - Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen (pictured) and his team became the first people to reach the South Pole.
1918 - King Frederick Charles of Finland renounced the throne after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.
1962 - Mariner 2 became the world's first spacecraft to successfully fly by Venus.
1995 - The Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris, France to end the Yugoslav wars.

Sydney's Shame

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 07:58:32 GMT

Just not good enough Sydney !

What a way to welcome visitors to the city!

Technorati tags: Busted Dunny, Sydney

On This Day : Dec 9

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 07:33:29 GMT

December 9: Independence Day in Tanzania (1961)

1897 - Stage actress, journalist and leading suffragette Marguerite Durand founded the feminist newspaper La Fronde.
1905 - Legislation on the separation of church and state in France was adopted, triggering civil disobedience by French Catholics.
1946 - The Doctors' Trial, the trial for crimes committed in Nazi human experimentation during World War II, began in Nuremberg, Germany.
1958 - The John Birch Society was founded to fight the perceived threat of communism in the United States.
1961 - Tanganyika (flag pictured) gained independence from Britain (Tanganyika would become part of Tanzania three years later).

On This Day : Dec 3

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 03:13:20 GMT

December 3:

1854 - Miners at Eureka Stockade clashed violently with the police and the military in Ballarat, Victoria in Australia.
1904 - The Jovian moon Himalia was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at Lick Observatory in San Jose, California.
1937 - Issue 1 of The Dandy, the world's longest running comic, went on sale.
1967 - A team led by Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky.
1999 - The Mars Polar Lander (pictured) reached Mars and disappeared.

Really Old Photo

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 06:07:53 GMT

I was scanning the photos on my laptop, using Windows Photo Gallery, and I found this horror for December 1996.

Who can it possibly be??????

RADIO & Vista

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 07:03:27 GMT

I've upgraded all my machines to Vista RTM.

Radio Userland is working happily under Vista

Cool!

Tim Burton's Vincent

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:02:28 GMT

Very Cool - Tim Burton's 1st Stop Motion Movie, Vincent

Technorati tags: Tim Burton, Vincent

Vegemite Banned

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 19:55:36 GMT

Unbelievable - THE US has banned Vegemite!!!!!

There's no accounting for taste

October 21, 2006 12:00am

THE US has banned Vegemite, even to the point of searching Australians for jars of the spread when they enter the country.

The bizarre crackdown was prompted because Vegemite has been deemed illegal under US food laws.

The great Aussie icon - faithfully carried around the world by travellers from downunder - contains folate, which under a technicality, America allows to be added only to breads and cereals.

Australian expatriates in the US said enforcement of the ban had been gradually stepped up and was now ruining lifelong traditions of Vegemite on toast for breakfast.

Kraft spokeswoman Joanna Scott said: "The (US) Food and Drug Administration doesn't allow the import of Vegemite simply because the recipe does have the addition of folic acid.''

The US was "a minor market'' for Vegemite, she said.

Orkut Stats Update : October 2006

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 04:13:19 GMT

I got a few Orkut related emails the past few days. I last checked my stats back in May

The invite only requirement has gone which may mean more people are using it.

I am now connected to 30,388,834 people through 109 friends with 16 fans and 35 scraps.

No new friends, but over 12,000,000 additional connections since I last checked.

My profile views: Since Feb '06: 188, Last week: 4, Yesterday: 2

Loituma Girl : The Spinning Leek Meme

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 20:28:08 GMT

Grab your leek and give it a spin

Or if you prefer live action

On This Day : Oct 16

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 04:31:34 GMT

October 16: World Food Day

456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeated Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and became master of the Western Roman Empire.
1813 - The Sixth Coalition attacked Napoleon and the First French Empire in the Battle of Leipzig, the largest conflict in the Napoleonic Wars.
1843 - William Rowan Hamilton first wrote down the fundamental formula for quaternions on Broom Bridge in Dublin, Ireland.
1940 - World War II: Hans Frank established the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest Jewish ghetto in occupied Poland.
1978 - Karol Józef Wojty³a, a cardinal from Kraków, Poland, became Pope John Paul II (pictured), the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century and the first ever from a Slavic country.

Barnyard : Boy Cows with Udders?

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 03:11:03 GMT

I took the little ones to see Barnyard this weekend - I am a sucker for talking animal movies.

What amused me was seeing the male 'cows' with udders.

Now, when I went to school, cows were female cattle, and Bulls or Steers were male - but this movie takes us into a relm of an alternate reality where cows can be male and female and the males have udders too. (which, since the animals talk it must be an alternate reality, so I guess boy cows can have udders)

Despite that, the movie was amusing and some of the music was terrific, especially the track Wild and Free by a Swedish band called Rednex

See and hear the song on YouTube

The Saga of My Passport

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 01:07:29 GMT

I went for my Passport interview at the post office last week.

Turns out I used the wrong color ink on the form (I used BLUE), so she didnt accept it.

Plus, I needed a full birth certificate.

Back home.

I jump online at the Victorian Birth Deaths & Marriages site, thinking it should be easy.

Wrong!

I need to send original documents for the proof of identity via mail or photos copies signed by police. too hard, and I dont have time.

So, what do I do? I fly down to Melbourne and go visit the Birth Deaths and Marriages office in Collins St.

I was in the queue for an hour, but now I have a full birth certificate.

Back to the Passport site, find my application, print it out againa and this time I complete it in BLACK.

So, today I rock up to the post office for my second interview.

Still no joy. The lady wont accept it.

Back home, make the changes. off to another post office which doesnt need bookings, but I need to turn up at a certain time

I get there at 11:25am, which was 5 minutes too late. I need to come back at 2:30pm

I return at 2:30pm, feeling confident.

The lady behind the counter isn't happy. Apparently the name on the back of the photo needs to match the name on my birth certificate.

Now, my parents registered me as Francesco Daniele Arrigo. However all the things I have for my identify (driving license, medicare card) has me as Frank Arrigo.

I need to get another photo signed in BLACK with my full name.

Arrrrrhhhhhh

4th time a charm??

Will I ever get my passport sorted?

On This Day : Oct 5

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 04:13:22 GMT

October 5: Republic Day in Portugal (1910)

1877 - After battling U.S. armed forces for more than three months, retreating over 1,000 miles across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and enduring a five-day siege, Chief Joseph (pictured) and his Nez Percé band finally surrendered.
1908 - Prince Ferdinand became the first Tsar of Bulgaria since the Ottoman invasion in the 14th century.
1930 - The British airship R101 crashed in France en route to India on its maiden voyage, killing 48 passengers and crew.
1969 - The first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus was broadcast on BBC1.
1970 - Members of the Front de Libération du Québec kidnapped a British diplomat, sparking the October Crisis in Montréal, Canada.

Thinkgeek Purchases : Meh

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 01:14:19 GMT

I got my latest batch of tshirts from thinkgeek,


meh	ROFLcopter	binary joke :)

Some are for me and some are for Rigo. Can you guess who gets what?

On This Day : Oct 1

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 05:26:30 GMT

October 1: Yom Kippur in Judaism (begins at sunset, 2006); National Day in the People's Republic of China (1949); Independence Day in Cyprus and Nigeria (both 1960), Tuvalu (1978) and Palau (1994).

331 BC - Alexander the Great of Macedon defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, and was subsequently crowned "King of Asia" in a ceremony in Arbela.
1936 - Francisco Franco was declared General¨ªsimo and head of state during the Spanish Civil War.
1958 - NASA began operations, replacing the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
1964 - T¨kaid¨ Shinkansen, the first Shinkansen line of high-speed railways in Japan, opened. (0 Series Shinkansen train pictured)
1977 - Brazilian football star Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pel¨¦, played his last professional football game.

On This Day : Sep 27

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 05:31:40 GMT

September 27: Meskel in Ethiopia and Eritrea; World Tourism Day.

1825 - Locomotion No. 1 (pictured) hauled the first train on opening day of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first railway to use steam locomotives and carry passengers.
1905 - Albert Einstein published the article "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", introducing the equation E=mc².
1940 - World War II: The Tripartite Pact was signed in Berlin by the major Axis Powers — Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan.
1988 - Led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy was founded in Burma (now known as Myanmar).
1983 - Richard Stallman announced the GNU project to develop a free Unix-like operating system.

On This Day : Sep 26

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 04:09:20 GMT

September 26: European Day of Languages

1580 - The Golden Hind sailed into Plymouth, England, as Francis Drake (pictured) completed his circumnavigation of the globe.
1687 - The Parthenon in Athens was partially destroyed during an armed conflict between Venetian and Ottoman forces.
1907 - Newfoundland and New Zealand became dominions within the British Empire.
1957 - West Side Story, a musical written by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and produced and directed by Jerome Robbins, made its debut on Broadway.
1983 - Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Union averted a worldwide nuclear war.

How I Became A Pirate:

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 04:53:27 GMT

I read this book to the kids tonight when I put them to bed

How I Became A Pirate:
by Melinda Long, David Shannon
# Harcourt Children's Books (2003)
ISBN: 0152018484

On This Day : Sep 19

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:13:13 GMT

It's not just Talk Like A Pirate Day

September 19: Independence Day in Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983), Armed Forces Day in Chile, International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

1356 - Hundred Years' War: Despite a shortage of arrows, English and Welsh forces led by Edward the Black Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers and captured King Jean II of France.
1692 - Giles Corey, who had refused to enter a plea, was pressed to his death during the Salem witch trials.
1893 - New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal suffrage, following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard.
1982 - ":-)" and ":-(" were first proposed by Scott Fahlman for use as emoticons .
1995 - The Manifesto of "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski (police sketch pictured) was published in The Washington Post and The New York Times, almost three months after it was submitted.

On This Day : Sep 11

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 21:57:36 GMT

September 11: New Year's Day in the Coptic and the Ethiopian calendars, National Day of Catalonia, Teacher's Day in parts of Latin America.

1297 - Scots under William Wallace defeated English troops in the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
1857 - Paiutes and Mormon militias killed about 120 California-bound pioneers in a wagon train in the Mountain Meadows massacre.
1922 - The British Mandate of Palestine began.
1973 - A military coup in Chile headed by Augusto Pinochet overthrew the government of President Salvador Allende.
2001 - September 11 Attacks: Three passenger airliners were hijacked to destroy the World Trade Center in New York City (pictured) and part of The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; a fourth aircraft crashed in Pennsylvania. In total, almost 3,000 people were killed.

On This Day : Sep 6

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:58:25 GMT

September 6: Independence Day in Swaziland (1968); Defence Day in Pakistan; Unification Day in Bulgaria.

394: The Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeated the pagan usurper Eugenius in the Battle of Frigidus.
1522: The Victoria returned to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, with Juan Sebastián Elcano and 17 survivors of Ferdinand Magellan's 265-man expedition, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe.
1941: The Holocaust: All Jews over the age of 6 were required to wear the Star of David (pictured) in areas controlled by Nazi Germany.
1955: Ethnic Greeks in Istanbul were attacked by an overwhelming Turkish mob during the Istanbul Pogrom.
1995: Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. played his 2131st consecutive major league baseball game, breaking the 56-year old record set by New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig. On

On This Day : Sep 4

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 05:07:38 GMT

September 4: Labor Day in the United States and Labour Day in Canada (2006)

476 - Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed.
1260 - Florence and Siena fought in the Battle of Montaperti, as part of the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines.
1886 - After years of fighting against the U.S. Army and the armed forces of Mexico, Geronimo (pictured) of the Chiricahua Apache surrendered in Arizona.
1956 - The IBM RAMAC 305, the first commercial computer that used magnetic disk storage, was introduced.
1972 - Mark Spitz won his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, becoming the first Olympian to win seven gold medals at the same Olympic games.

On This Day : Sep 3

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 03:29:00 GMT

September 3: Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand (2006); Independence Day in Qatar (1971); Armed Forces Day in Taiwan.

301 - San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Saint Marinus.
1260 - Mamluk forces defeated a Mongol army in Palestine in the Battle of Ain Jalut, marking the point of maximum westward expansion of the Mongol Empire.
1783 - The signing of the Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolutionary War.
1901 - The National Flag of Australia (pictured), a Blue Ensign defaced with the Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross, flew for the first time in Melbourne.
1976 - The Viking 2 spacecraft landed on Mars and took the first close-up, color photos of the planet's surface.

On This Day : Aug 30

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 04:24:25 GMT

August 30: St. Rose of Lima's Day in Peru; Victory Day in Turkey.

1800 - Gabriel Prosser attempted a slave rebellion in Virginia, United States.
1813 - Napoleonic Wars: French General Dominique Vandamme and thousands of his soldiers were captured in the Battle of Kulm by forces of the Sixth Coalition under Field Marshal Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (pictured).
1862 - American Civil War: James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson led their Confederate troops to a decisive victory in the Second Battle of Bull Run.
1992 - Michael Schumacher won his first Formula One race at the Belgian Grand Prix.
1999 - The people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a referendum.

Quiz: How Pure Are You?

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:25:19 GMT

You Are 44% Pure

You're usually the typical girl or guy next door...
But you also have a secret naughty side!

How Pure Are You?

On This Day : Aug 28

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:21:30 GMT

August 28:

475 - Flavius Orestes took control of Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, forcing Emperor Julius Nepos to flee.
1565 - Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (pictured) founded St. Augustine in Spanish Florida, the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the continental United States.
1845 - The first issue of Scientific American was published.
1850 - The romantic opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner was first performed in Weimar, Germany.
1963 - Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

On This Day : Aug 26

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 04:46:17 GMT

August 26:

1071 - Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV in the Battle of Manzikert.
1346 - Hundred Years' War: The military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights was established in the Battle of Crécy.
1789 - French Revolution: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was approved by the National Constituent Assembly at Versailles.
1839 - The slave-held Amistad landed off Long Island in the U.S. state of New York.
1883 - The volcanic eruption of Krakatoa (pictured) generated disastrous tsunamis, destroying many settlements on Java and Sumatra in Indonesia and killing 36,000 people.

flickr toy : cool!

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 22:23:34 GMT

Found a link to fd's FlickrToys

I like the profile widget

Been Busy.

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 21:58:29 GMT

The past week has been hectic and personal took a back seat to work, due to TechEd.

Normal programming returns now.

Brice continues to STAR!

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 05:41:58 GMT

Following the Merit Card, Brice came home with another award - The Star Student of the Week

As part of the award, he got to bring the class room mascot - Cuddles the Bear - home for the weekend

Cuddles went on a number of adventures. I wanted to start a Blog for Cuddles, but the family said "NO!"

On This Day : Aug 21

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 04:47:40 GMT

August 21: Independence Day in Latvia (1991), Ninoy Aquino Day in the Philippines.

1772 - A bloodless coup led by Gustav III was completed with the adoption of a new Instrument of Government.
1831 - Nat Turner led a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia.
1911 - Mona Lisa (pictured), an oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci, was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris.
1976 - Operation Paul Bunyan was carried out in response to the Axe Murder Incident in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, almost triggering a second Korean War.
1986 - A limnic eruption from Lake Nyos in Cameroon killed up to 1,800 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby villages.

Speed Test : How fast is your connection?

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 01:43:49 GMT

Do your own at http://www.speedtest.net/

How crappy is my uplink. I need to investigate that one

On This Day : Aug 20

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:54:14 GMT

August 20: St. Stephen's Day in Hungary.

636 - Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid took control of Syria and Palestine in the Battle of Yarmouk, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia.
917 - Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Anchialus.
1882 - The "1812 Overture", an orchestral work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (pictured), was first performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
1968 - At least 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invaded Czechoslovakia, abruptly ending a period of political liberalization known as "Prague Spring".
1991 - Estonia regained its independence in the Singing Revolution, breaking away from the Soviet Union.

Daleks Invade

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 20:39:03 GMT

On This Day : Aug 17

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:47:40 GMT

August 17: Independence Day in Indonesia (1945), Gabon (1960)

1807 - Robert Fulton started the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
1896 - Bridget Driscoll became the first person to be killed in a petrol-driven car accident.
1914 - World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François (pictured) led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia in the Battle of Stalluponen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front.
1962 - East German border guards shot and killed Peter Fechter as he attempted to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
1980 - A dingo took a baby
1988 - President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan was killed in a plane crash.

On This Day : Aug 15

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:50:08 GMT

August 15: Victory over Japan Day (1945); Independence Day in North Korea & South Korea (1945), India (1947), and Congo (1960); Flooding of the Nile in Egypt.

778 - A Frankish army led by Roland was defeated in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, a tale retold in the Old French epic poem The Song of Roland.
1534 - Ignatius of Loyola (pictured) and six others at Montmartre near Paris took the vows that led to the establishment of the Society of Jesus.
1914 - The Panama Canal opened to traffic, providing a short-cut from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
1945 - World War II: The Gyokuon-hôsô was broadcast in Japan, announcing the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military.
1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival in Bethel, New York began.