I'm watching the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy with my boys. I really love the Babel Fish. I then thought about the book I just finished and I'm sure that Michael Crichton must be a Douglas Adams fan!

The Babel Fish is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy not from its carrier, but from those around it. It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. It then excretes into the mind of its carrier a telepathic matrix formed by combining the conscious thought frequencies with nerve signals picked up from the speech centres of the brain which has supplied them. The practical upshot of all this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any form of language. The speech patterns you actually hear decode the brainwave matrix which has been fed into your mind by your Babel fish.

The Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.

4:09:21 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • Random • TV

Krispy Kreme is turning on the Hot Light in Liverpool!  They are opening the second factory store in Australia at sunrise on Tuesday, 2nd December, at the Liverpool Megacenta, 2-20 Orange Grove Road (Cumberland Highway), Liverpool NSW.

Come and join in the store opening celebrations and be one of the first in line to receive a limited edition Liverpool Opening T-shirt. The opening day celebrations will include an appearance from the Western Sydney Razorbacks and their cheerleaders and performances by local community groups.

When the store open in Penrith, we embarked on a 60KM round trip to buy 2 dozen delights. I'm sure we will repeat the journey to Liverpool.

[listening to: Hernando's Hideaway - Billy May ]
10:55:55 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I've been reading Timeline by Michael Crichton.  It's a fantastic read.

The teaser goes like this:

In an Arizona desert a man wanders in a daze, speaking words that make no sense. Within twenty-four hours he is dead, his body swiftly cremated by his only known associates. Halfway around the world archaeologists make a shocking discovery at a medieval site. Suddenly they are swept off to the headquarters of a secretive multinational corporation that has developed an astounding technology. Now this group is about to get a chance not to study the past but to enter it. And with history opened to the present, the dead awakened to the living, these men and women will soon find themselves fighting for their very survival--six hundred years ago. . .

THE movie opens February 2004 in Australia. The official site has some good info. The trailer looks pretty good too. I can't wait for the movie.

[listening to: You're Not the Boss of Me Now - They Might Be Giants ]
11:01:53 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests • Random

Wow - look what appeared in my INBOX today!  -- UK LOTTO

Should I Apply???

[listening to: Nu Flow - Big Brovaz ]
1:15:44 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

"BlogPulse mines for bursty phrases and person names instead of for the most popular ones. The most popular phrases and names change very slowly over time. The burstiest phrases and names are those whose frequency of occurrence has increased significantly over the past two weeks, often dramatically."

COOL!

[listening to: Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes ]
10:38:52 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests • Random

I turned the TV on this morning and saw a segment on the "Today Show".  They ran a segment originally produced by CBS about the Star Wars Kid:

A kid alone with a video camera waving a golfball retriever, like a Jedi warrior. A private moment of clumsy 10th grade innocence until four classmates put the tape on the Internet.

Today, as CBS News Correspondent Bob McNamara reports, this 15-year-old small town Canadian is known to tens of millions planet-wide as the "Star Wars Kid."  [more]

[listening to: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley ]
10:17:46 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • My Friends • My Hobbies • My Interests • My Organization • My Profession • Random • TV

I've been going through my inbox and I have noticed that there isn't as much noise as normal.

I was wondering why - and then it dawned on me -- Thanksgiving

We need some dancing turkeys to celebrate!

[listening to: Holiday - Madonna ]
10:05:22 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Organization • Random

Australia is killing its koalas, scientists warn government (AFP). AFP - Australia is killing off its koalas at the rate of 20,000 a year through land-clearing, more than 400 scientists warned in an appeal to its political leaders. [Yahoo! News - Reader Ratings]

That is a lot of Koalas

[listening to: Polka Power! - Weird Al Yankovic ]
8:21:29 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

Too Funny - I read this on the weekend

A Silicon Valley computer programmer has been arrested for threatening to torture and kill employees of the company he blames for bombarding his computer with web advertisements promising to enlarge his penis.

[listening to: I Will Talk and Hollywood Will Listen - Robbie Williams ]
9:12:17 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I'm on the Gold Coast, attending the Australia & New Zealand Partner Conference.

I'm quite proud of the fact I caught the train in Brisbane to get to the event, here at Royal Pines,

Departure Times		Arrival Times	Total Travel Time	Fare Information (Click for Details)	Trip Information (Click for Details)	Trip Name
Central (Platform1) at 11:56am		Nerang (Station) at 1:03pm	1 hr 07 min			UG24

I can't remember the last time I caught a train!

[listening to: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - The Black Crowes ]
5:56:27 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

"England have beaten Australia 20-17 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup final before a capacity crowd at Sydney's Telstra Stadium tonight" [more]

[listening to: Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes ]
10:59:27 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • Random

England wins in last minute of extra time. Final Scores -- England 20 to Australia 17

[listening to: We Are The Champions - Queen ]
10:27:20 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • Random

I'm testing a macro to add category links to each post - read about it here

[listening to: Right Here, Right Now - Fat Boy Slim ]
9:53:05 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests • Random

One of my team members sent me a link to this site the other day.

It's called 419 Eater and it's about one man's attempt to stop the spammers.

it's pretty funny

[listening to: Ita - Cold Chisel ]
6:11:15 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

This is a really sad situation.

From 11th in 1998, Australia has fallen to 19th in the 2002 Index which was released by the ITU..

The only upside is that New Zealand fell further, which dropped nine places, from 12th in 1998 to 21st in 2002.

Australia -- what are you doing?

[listening to: Diamond Dogs - Beck ]
7:54:41 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I really like the word spy.

Today's word is a beauty

warm-chair attrition

(warm-chair uh.TRISH.un) n. The loss of workplace productivity due to employees who dislike their jobs and are just waiting for the right time to quit and move on to something better.

[listening to: That's Amore - Dean Martin ]
8:54:44 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Organization • Random

And the winner is - you guessed it, the polls predicted it - Guy Sebastian. The quietly spoken, Malaysian-born church singer from Adelaide, whose afro hairstyle has become almost a trademark, has beaten Shannon Noll, the clean-cut farmer from Condobolin in western NSW.

Sebastian was named the first Australian Idol tonight in front of a live audience of 2000 within the Opera House, at least 3000 more on the forecourt, and up to 4 million television viewers across Australia!.....

Another thing I'm glad to see the end of -- Australian Idol, Goodbye!

[listening to: Too Shy - Kajagoogoo ]
10:25:17 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random • TV

This is sad - "The Fat" was one of the better shows on the telly.

My fear is that Channel 7 tries to clone "The Fat" and creates "The Chat Room" all over again.

[listening to: Add It Up - Violent Femmes ]
10:02:10 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Interests • Random • TV

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

From: "MMWSMS Management" <mgmt@makemoneywithsms.com>

To: Frank Arrigo

Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 6:00 AM

Subject: Happy Birthday from MMWSMS

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++ Happy Birthday From Make Money With SMS ++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Frank.

Just a short note to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy
birthday.

40 is a great age! Don't let anyone tell you differently :-)


Did you know?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You were born on a Monday


Who shares your birthday?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.infoplease.com/cgi-bin/birthday?month=Nov&day=18
http://www.born-today.com/Today/11-18.htm
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/Nov.html#18


This day in history
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.infoplease.com/cgi-bin/dayinhistory?month=Nov&day=18
http://www.dailyalmanacs.com/almanac2/november/1118.html
http://www.historychannel.com/cgi-bin/today_relocate.cgi?month=11&day=18
http://encarta.msn.com/features/onThisDay.asp?inputDate=11/18/1963


What happened in 1963
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.infoplease.com/year/1963.html


On this day - Movie & TV News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://us.imdb.com/OnThisDay?day=18&month=November


I hope you enjoyed these birthday wishes.


Warmest regards,

Mark Read
Make Money With SMS Management Team
http://www.makemoneywithsms.com

-------------------------------------------
This email was sent to Member 9702
-------------------------------------------

DOB: Monday, 18 November, 1963

[listening to: Hot hot hot - Bambaloo ]
6:56:07 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

The birthday wishes keep on turning up in my inbox:

Dear Frank It's your birthday and the team at wishlist.com.au would like to wish you all the best for the coming year. Happy Birthday!

[listening to: Music - Madonna ]
6:52:47 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

It's my birthday today. I turn 40.

My first birthday email

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

From: "ClubNova" <nova969fm@listenerclub.com>

To: "Frank Arrigo"

Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 12:00 AM

Subject: Hap hap happy Birthday!

Hap Hap Happy Birthday, Frank!

You thought you could keep it quiet, didn't you!!  We hope you have a really nice day....and thanks for listening!

[listening to: ABBA - Thank You For The Music ]
12:30:07 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • Random

I've been pokling around the SSW site and found all the rules.

Management
1. Rules to Successful Projects * Popular *
2. Rules to Managing Software Consultants
3. Rules to Better Teams

Code & Application Design
4. Rules to Better Code
5. Rules to Better Access Databases
6. Rules to Better SQL Server Databases
7. SQL Server Design Standards
8. Rules to Better .NET Projects
9. The Best Third Party Tools

User Interface
10. Rules to Better Websites
11. Rules to Better Interfaces

Naming Conventions
12. SQL Server Object Naming Conventions
13. SQL Server Index Naming Conventions
14. SQL Server Relationship Naming Conventions
15. SQL Server Stored Procedure Naming Conventions
16. .NET Object Naming Conventions
17. Stored Procedure Formatting Standards

Communication
18. Rules to Better Email * Popular *
19. Rules to Better Instant Messenger

Marketing
20. Rules to Better Google Rankings * Popular *
21. Rules to Better Outbound Calls
22. Rules to Better Inbound Calls
23. Rules to Better Marketing
24. Rules to Better Branding

Networking
25. Rules to Better Windows 2003
26. Rules to Better ISA Server

Where are the other rules - like Rules to Better Marriage, Rules to Using Water Wisely, or Rules for Better Eating

Good one Adam!

[listening to: Voodoo Dreams/Voodoo - Les Baxter ]
12:22:31 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Friends • Random

I'm happy to go on record and say that I am NOT a fan of rugby. This whole Rugby World Cup event has been pretty painful. The good news is that it is almost over. Thank goodness!

Oh, and apparently the Wallabies have beaten the All-Blacks - 22 to 10.

I just cant wait for this to be over and we can get right into the upcoming cricket season!

[listening to: Asereje - Sunshine Full Vocal Spanglish - Las Ketchup ]
10:34:06 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

Yesterday we set upon the mission on Helping Tyson get to #1.  

Well today there was movement as our man Tyson jumped ahead of the porn site and is sitting at #6 on google.

I do believe our cunning plan is working!

[listening to: Love Island - Fatboy Slim ]
11:20:46 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Friends • Random

There is a cool site that lets you design yourself in lego.

I've come up with 2 versions of me. Both have some common elements - coffee, gadget, long hair, glasses, geek trousers.

Which one is a better fit?

[listening to: I Love Rocky Road - Weird Al Yankovic ]
10:29:58 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

I did a bit of xmas shopping for my team and bought them all something I'm sure they will love.

I particularily like the description:

Don't be a scrooge, get into the spirit of things this Christmas with this great desk sized Christmas tree!
On a sturdy rubber base this USB powered Christmas tree will flash through a rainbow of colours(6 of them) and encourage festive spirits all day long.

It will make a great Christmas gift or decoration, get yours today!

I got mine from a local online store, but a google search shows lots of places selling these.

[listening to: Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo - Billy May ]
8:52:46 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

Paris Hilton Seeks to Halt Sex Video (AP). AP - Paris Hilton is steaming mad over a steamy sex video that may soon go public, her spokeswoman said. [Yahoo! News - Most Viewed]

This story is really funny. And thanks to google - even you can find some screen-caps!

[listening to: Don't Call Me Baby - Madison Avenue ]
9:28:26 PM    comment []  trackback []     • Random

I was chatting with Tyson Dowd yesterday and he tells me that his ranking on google is rising!

He is just behind a porn site, some commercial sites, a country singer and of course that boxer dude.

So, as a service to my buddy to help him achieve his goal of #1 rank on google - I bring you:

[listening to: who let the dogs out - The Baha Men ]
12:38:43 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Friends • Random

 Too Funny.

You too can add to the message on the local church sign.

Thx to Jim for the original link, who also scored a mention on the Human Aggregator's site

[listening to: Wild Boys - Duran Duran ]
5:17:39 PM    comment []  trackback []     • My Interests • Random

Jack Harvey, John Culvenor, Warren Payne, Steve Cowley, Michael Lawrance, David Stuart, and Robyn Williams of Australia won the 2003 IGNOBLE prize for PHYSICS, for their irresistible report "An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces."

[PUBLISHED IN: Applied Ergonomics, vol. 33, no. 6, November 2002, pp. 523-31. A copy can be downloaded from http://www.culvenor.com/

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

4:31:12 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

this funny bit of flash is doing the rounds

3:19:07 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Random

We were doing some house cleaning on the weekend - mainly throwing out stuff we hadnt unpacked from our last 3 moves.

One thing we found was a Square 1 Puzzle. It's a variation on Rubik's Cube, but with a twist. The Square 1 is essentially two layers ("top layer" and "bottom layer") of small (60° or 30°) pieces separated by a middle layer of 2 large pieces. Allowable 'moves' on the puzzle are rotation of the top/bottom layer and flipping the middle layer, which switches some pieces between the top and bottom layers.

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