I read today that Arrested Development will *finally* make it to television here in Australia.

I got series 1 of Arrested Development on DVD while I was off work, and have seen all the episodes. Do yourself a favour and watch this program. It is the best program you will have seen all year!!

Channel 7 will be showing it on Tuesdays at 10.35pm, which is an insult to this program. This is just typical of this network - they did the same thing to [scrubs] and Will & Grace. And let's not mention how they killed Tony Squires' career. I hate this network as much as I hate Channel 9, who destroyed Six Feet Under & The West Wing just to name a few. Thank goodness for DVD!

I'm glad I got that off my chest.

[listening to: Oye Negra - Terry Snyder ]
8:21:53 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • TV

Phew, I haven't checked my Orkut stats for ages. Looks like I last reviewed it in September.

My little Orkut network continues to grow

I am now connected to 2,701,481 people through 92 friends, with 15 fans.

Hmm, my connections & fans grew, but I seem to have lost a few friends.

I am *still* waiting for the next Orkut newsletter.

[listening to: Dancing Queen - Kylie Minogue ]
10:24:39 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Friends • Random

I've started using Flickr. My photos are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankarr/ and you can see all my tags at http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankarr/tags/

But the coolest feature is the blog badge

[listening to: They Can't Take That Away from Me - Robbie Williams ]
10:20:23 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests

There's been a rush of DVD purchasing, what with my birthday last week, and such. We picked up the following to add to the collection:

• Spiderman 2 (which we saw earlier this year)
• Elf (which we saw last year)
• I, Robot (which we saw earlier this year, too)
• Seinfeld Series 1,2 & 3

Now, I need to get Antony to update the DVD collection.

[listening to: The Fonz - Smash Mouth ]
9:22:02 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • TV

I saw a note today about a music service called audioscrobbler.

You register on the site and download a plugin for your media player. The plugin uploads the music you are listening to and over time builds recommendations for other music, connects you to people who share similar music tastes, etc.  It is really really cool

You can see my profile online.

[listening to: Why Do All Girls Think They're Fat? - Reel Big Fish ]
10:48:46 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests • Random

Australian Idol fans, whatever you do, don't go to http://caseydonovan.com

[from SMH]

Meanwhile, newspaper advertisements congratulating Donovan today mistakenly directed fans to a gay porn website.

The half-page ads, placed by Telstra's internet arm BigPond in newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne, direct readers to caseydonovan.com.

But anyone calling up the website is confronted by a full frontal nude picture of an American porn star who shares the same name.

The Idol winner has a personal website under construction at http://www.caseydonovan.com.au and a website set up by fans at http://www.caseydonovan.org.

[listening to: Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin ]
7:47:33 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random • TV

10:25:37 PM    comment []  trackback []     • Random

Hey, I just used one of the new tools from Radio Userland 8.1 - here's my Weblog Neighborhood.

8:34:52 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

8:22:32 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random • TV

This is really funny. I got an email from thinkgeek today and their special promo is the USB Snowman!

A snowman that won't melt!

He may lack the corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal, but he easily compensates by having a USB connection and 4 color LEDs. This jolly little fellow complete with hat and scarf will definitely add some winter joy to your desk. And since he's made from clear plastic and not compacted snow, there is no need to worry about melted snow dripping down into your power supply and wreaking major havoc. Works with PC, Mac or any USB standard USB connection. Just plug into any USB port and enjoy. Thumpety thump, thump...

A great desktop addition, sure to put you in a happy mood:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/707b/

[listening to: Jingle Bell Rock - Wayne Newton ]
2:52:24 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I'm going to continue the tradition I started last year, when I gave everyone in the team a USB Xmas Tree.

I bought it from an online retailer who is based in Sydney. I did a quick search and they were the lowest priced, so that appealed to me.

I would really like more comparison shopper type of services - there are some for books, cds and dvds  - but i guess until there is a simple way of getting price information, rather than screen-scraping, it isnt going to happen too soon.

Anyways, I get my little fellow next week and I will surprise all the team, unless of course if they have read my blog!!

[listening to: Frosty the Snowman - Spice Girls ]
1:42:58 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Friends • My Organization

Wow

Halo 2 has smashed retail sales records in its first week selling over an estimated 104,000 units* since going on sale around Australia on November 9.

According to figures supplied by the official industry analysts, GfK Marketing Services, week one sales for Halo 2 have out performed the previous week one sales record by approximately 38,000 units.

Halo 2 led Australian consumer spending in the entertainment category, generating a staggering 9 million dollars, which far exceeded any blockbuster movie launched in the same week.

According to Steve Wilson, managing director EB Games, “Sales of Halo 2 have truly taken our breath away. Since opening over a hundred of our stores at 12.01 am on November 9, sales of Halo 2 have far exceeded our expectations.  We anticipated it to be the biggest launch in video games history and it certainly has proven to be a huge success for us.”

According to David McLean, regional director Microsoft Home and Entertainment Division Australia and New Zealand, “we never cease to be astounded by the demand and excitement Halo 2 generates. In the first week alone roughly one in five Xbox™ owners rushed out to buy this game – so you can imagine our expectation for Christmas.”

“The enormity of the Halo 2 launch is not just good news for Xbox, but is a milestone for the entire games industry in demonstrating how mainstream video gaming is,” said McLean.

In addition, Halo 2 is creating a surge in online game play, by offering gamers yet another compelling reason to subscribe to the Xbox online gaming service Xbox Live™. Sales for Xbox Live increased a whopping ten-fold during the week commencing 8 November, based on Live sales for the week prior.

Expanding on everything that made the first Halo such a monumental success, Halo 2 is like a 20 hour action feature film where you play the lead character. Developed exclusively for Xbox by Bungie Studios, part of Microsoft Game Studios, Halo 2 is expected to exceed sales of the original Halo, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide and spawned a legion of powerful devotees spanning all walks of life.

[listening to: Who Wants to Live Forever - Queen ]
11:42:48 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Organization • Random

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

[listening to: Silent Night - The Temptations ]
9:57:07 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

Wow - my inbox is overflowing with birthday wishes from friends, colleagues and random people who barely know me for my special day

I like this one from Wishlist

----- Original Message -----

From: wishlist

To:Frank Arrigo

Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:29 AM

Subject: Happy Birthday!

			Dear Frank, Happy Birthday! The team at wishlist.com.au hopes you have a fabulous day and wishes you all the best for the coming year.

[listening to: Radio Radio - Elvis Costello ]
10:00:28 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I had a flat tyre yesterday. the first one with my Audi. I was driving along Epping Rd when suddenly I smelt something horrible, it was like burning rubber. The car was handling weirdly as well. It was impossible to stop on Epping Rd, so I drove another kilometre back to the office.

Once I got back to office, I called Audi Assist and a within 30 minutes a wonderful fellow came along and helped me get back on the road.

The car still smells of burning rubber and I now need to get me wheels aligned. Oh Joy

[listening to: Alision - Elvis Costello ]
9:50:59 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

No Need to Click Here - I'm just claiming my feed at Feedster

1:57:19 PM    comment []  trackback []     • Random

Peter

Try the quiz yourself

1:33:06 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

So, my holiday away was interupted.  I wasn't feeling too good. I ended up seeing my local doctor who had a feel around and sent me to hospital, where I waiting in the Emergency waiting room for a long long time.

It turns out that I had another case of diverticulitis - yes, I had this earlier in the year and my doctor had told me to do something about it, but I hadn't. Now, I ended up in hospital with an IV drip in my arm and NIL BY MOUTH, on the eve of the Federal Election!

While I am in hospital, folks find out that I am not well and they used a service on the hospital's website to send email to patients. Funny thing about this is that they print the message and deliver them to your room. I got literally 100's of messages. To everyone who sent me a message - thank you!

So, I respond well to the antibiotics and soon I am allowed to eat solids. Things progress and I am allowed to leave the hospital and rest - no email, no internet, no blogging - just rest.

What is a geek to do??  Geoff Appleby had some suggestions!!!

I have been at home for 4 weeks and have had a great break - I read many books, seen many movies, bought lots of stuff. All these things deserve their own posts!

3:29:20 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family