tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39881862012-02-02T07:17:36.631-08:00Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.comBlogger9871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-88048571022414168172012-01-09T02:08:00.001-08:002012-01-09T02:22:54.054-08:00

The problem with having an ongoing blog is that when you haven't posted in a while, it means you have a lot to post about, which makes putting it off that much easier. So to heck with it. If there's some big things I didn't post about -- like, say, a trip to Europe -- I'm just going to forget about them and move on. I will at least mention that the book I contributed a chapter to -- Mindhacker:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-17238680400245507692011-09-01T18:26:00.001-07:002011-09-01T18:26:33.929-07:00

I was lying in my lounge chair.  Marjorie came and laid on top of me.  And so Hamish decided he had to be on top.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-78817255631941946892011-08-29T19:15:00.000-07:002011-09-01T19:16:54.088-07:00

Okay, cobwebs are forming here. Let's dust things off a bit. Even if no one even reads this anymore, it's still been an invaluable resource to refer back to over the years, so I really need to get back on it. We took a trip to Europe, which was great, but I'll get back to that eventually. As for now, the big news is a new pup in our life! His name is Hamish, and we got him via Pet Rescue,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-80517661220241130972011-05-02T04:31:00.001-07:002011-05-02T04:31:14.947-07:00

The other horrible thing I had to do on Friday was to dig the hole in the backyard. My hands got fully blistered from the shovel, but I didn't care, and it was cathartic in the end. On Saturday the vet was scheduled to come by at 2pm I think, but in the morning Laika seemed a tiny bit brighter so we decided to take her to another of her favorite parks, Edinburgh Gardens. She had a last jump at

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-64245232066208981732011-03-21T03:23:00.001-07:002011-03-21T03:23:56.906-07:00

(For obvious reasons, this has taken a long time to write. It's not a pleasant thing to relive, and so I've decided to just post what I've written so far and finish the rest later.) Right. Well. Most of you will have heard the news about our beloved fur-child Laika. Sorry that it took me so long to write about it but I really just couldn't. We learned she had cancer (of the worst sort) back

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-37250287672110463112011-01-15T02:38:00.001-08:002011-01-15T02:38:57.277-08:00

I had been pondering a subscription to ancestry.com to search out my relatives. They play a ton of commercials for them here (as I hear they do in the States) and it started to wear me down. I was just... suspicious of them, because they give you two weeks, and then it's so many dollars a month -- but they don't tell you that they charge you for a whole year when the two weeks is up unless you

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-38580218924062013162010-12-30T15:19:00.001-08:002010-12-30T15:19:18.654-08:00

A few more tidbits have trickled in from my mother, which seem to confirm that the ship's manifest actually lists my great-grandparents. She says that they came over twice, and that only one of their children was born in Poland. She said this before even noticing the "Were you ever in the United States before" column in the manifest, which shows them in the US from 1899 to 1905 (which were ages

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-67925154917627456572010-12-29T03:10:00.000-08:002010-12-29T03:10:05.871-08:00

More on the family tree. Years ago my Uncle Bill tracked down the genealogy of my father's side of the family, all the way back to the 1600s, and found that most of my ancestors there come from Krov, Germany. He flew out one year, then many times after that, and I ended up going out for a wonderful family reunion as a result. Lately I had been considering tracking down my mother's side. I did

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-84284022766703617272010-12-27T18:21:00.001-08:002010-12-27T18:21:53.435-08:00

My cousin has been posting old family pictures of my ancestors (on my dad's side at least) to the share genealogy website where I keep my family tree. Some of the shots I don't think I've seen before. Here are my dad's parents. His mother lived until I was in my twenties, but his dad died when I was only six. I remember visiting him in the hospital. Frances Rose Schnitzius (Szymanski)

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-64067702431331893722010-12-25T04:15:00.001-08:002010-12-25T04:15:45.470-08:00

Woke up, exchanged presents, walked the dog. Marjorie started a pork roast with homemade mac-and-cheese. Per Christmas tradition, we exercised, to assuage a little of the guilt of gorging ourselves the rest of the day. Made a pitcher of blue curacao margaritas and had the pork roast, which was really, unbelievably good. I put together Marjorie's Christmas present - a turntable that's capable

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-9766824211593455942010-12-10T04:25:00.001-08:002010-12-10T04:25:38.339-08:00

Found some pictures on a real estate site of the house where I grew up (ages 0-10) in Cherry Hill NJ. Very evocative! Front view - my bedroom I shared with Kevin on the upper right.  There used to be those super tall bushes in front of our window that I used to plan to jump out to and slide down in case of fire (fire was my big fear as a child).  Otherwise it all looks pretty much the same!

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-50400550725196717092010-11-03T04:53:00.001-07:002010-11-03T04:53:24.631-07:00

Here are four Australians that are amazing, in my opinion. Chris Lilley - Creator of Summer Heights High (which was picked up in the States by HBO) and several other Australian series. Amazingly creative in his writing, but on top of that I think he is maybe the best actor I've ever seen. He completely inhabits his roles like no one else I know, so much so that he can even play a schoolgirl

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-52958330864898292182010-10-31T01:16:00.001-07:002010-10-31T01:18:43.263-07:00

Today's wildlife rescue. Got trapped in our house but just hopped on my finger when I tried to rescue him and didn't want to let go.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-25678169639079300622010-10-03T06:59:00.001-07:002010-10-03T06:59:36.310-07:00

So, yeah. We went ballooning for Marjorie's birthday, and it was amazing. Spent almost exactly an hour in the air, taking off from Fisherman's bend and flying over our old neighborhood. Totally peaceful in the air and not scary at all, despite ranging from maybe twice the height of the skyscrapers in the CBD (which we skirted just South of) down to almost street level. We practically landed on

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-78243643380316324102010-10-03T06:31:00.001-07:002010-10-03T06:31:12.291-07:00

A tragedy that occurred in our neighborhood 23 years ago. We walk Laika through this same area several times a week.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-72594529633617787592010-09-06T02:45:00.001-07:002010-09-07T01:36:10.400-07:00

The view from my desk in our new office: Looming up above is the highest office building in the Southern Hemisphere, the Rialto Towers, which used to have an observation deck (that Marjorie and I went to on our first visit to Melbourne) which is now apparently a restaurant.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-23303656849472236432010-09-03T06:47:00.001-07:002010-09-03T06:47:38.881-07:00

The startup Mark is working for finally has an office:Quite grateful to be back working in the CBD - I wasn't too keen on working from home. Here's my desk:I love that the windows actually open; that's rare in an office building. There's a little balcony out there too but you have to go out the window to get to it.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-76750285970137040312010-09-03T06:43:00.001-07:002010-09-03T06:43:27.168-07:00

After nearly eight years without, we finally have a car!2010 Subaru RX hatchback. We're looking forward to the change in lifestyle.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-69929893020920552362010-09-03T06:41:00.001-07:002010-09-03T06:41:16.338-07:00

After our last soccer match of the season, I went with a couple of teammates to watch Melbourne's new soccer team, the Heart, play against Perth Glory in Melbourne's new dedicated soccer stadium:Small crowd but it was good fun and the stadium is fabbo. Bummer was that Former English Premier Leaguer Robbie Fowler scored a penalty kick equalizer for Perth in extra time, and the match finished 2-2.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-47235279850102967402010-08-28T06:05:00.001-07:002010-08-28T06:05:28.817-07:00

So last week we went by the Subaru dealership and ended up putting some money down on a car that they had in stock at a different location, on the condition we could still reject it after it arrived and we had a test drive. We had the test drive today, and everything was great, except that when we went to switch drivers, we smelled something burning. So we checked the oil, and it had way too

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-625406577138301052010-08-26T06:20:00.001-07:002010-08-26T06:20:26.979-07:00

Had this soup at an Indonesian restaurant:Any guess on the mystery vegetable? It was about as appetizing as it looked, and the flavor stayed with me all afternoon.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-88680070625383896972010-08-26T06:17:00.001-07:002010-08-26T06:17:40.160-07:00

Spotted this balloon hovering up the street:Wow, that's really close, I thought. Then I looked up over our house and saw this:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-42764890577246301642010-08-26T05:50:00.001-07:002010-08-26T05:50:51.672-07:00

We recently got some scary news about a family member, which I won't go into details on, but which today we were overjoyed to learn is not as bad as it could have been. It's an enormous relief. Enough said. Running almost simultaneously to that drama we have been dealing with a tumor on our dog Laika. She got it removed two weeks ago but all the signs were bad. Last week we learned she had a

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-7123612790311712032010-07-31T20:19:00.001-07:002010-07-31T20:22:48.902-07:00

We caught a talk given by Stephen Fry yesterday, which was fantastic. Just him on stage with a microphone for two hours and ten minutes. He was lured to Melbourne by a grassroots campaign, and the show we saw was a second one that was added after the first sold out (in a pretty big venue). Here's the article from the local paper about it, which is a little overly-fawning (but then so am I).

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-68898371500144611482010-07-23T20:35:00.001-07:002010-07-23T20:35:33.177-07:00

I made these! Using actual lard. They rocked.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-54100984409884570272010-07-23T20:29:00.001-07:002010-07-23T20:29:52.599-07:00

The more I have to blog about, the less inclined I am to do it. So you know this long hiatus means that a lot has been going on. I'm still going to be brief about it. After Montreal we went down the Florida to see my side of the family plus Marjorie's sister's gang, including a fun day at Blizzard Beach, and the USA's awesome win over Algeria in the World Cup. Then to Atlanta to see

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-67348215072016384512010-06-15T14:23:00.001-07:002010-06-15T14:23:47.910-07:00

We are in Montreal now, and enjoying it muchly. We're hoping to have a refresher on our high school French as much as possible on our visit, and it's certainly a good place for that. I wasn't sure exactly how French it would be, but it certainly seems to dominate. What makes it a great learning opportunity is that just about everything that's written comes in both French and English versions,

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-22187194473379247792010-06-05T03:43:00.001-07:002010-06-05T03:43:22.324-07:00

Marjorie and a plate of pickles at Izakaya Den:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-5296528299836822382010-06-05T03:41:00.000-07:002010-06-05T03:42:02.531-07:00

I love this!Rental bikes hit Melbourne.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-61188837384086174002010-05-31T03:39:00.000-07:002010-05-31T03:41:46.844-07:00

Laika at the vet, for an ear infection:Not her favorite place, of course, but she copes okay. I think it's the liver treats they give her.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-9121777729341417482010-05-27T22:19:00.001-07:002010-05-27T22:19:34.869-07:00

Spotted from the train station in the early morn:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-84935677828062263652010-05-16T01:16:00.001-07:002010-05-16T01:16:58.059-07:00

City view while biking along Capital City trail to Brunswick:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-40683445592057366132010-05-16T01:10:00.000-07:002010-05-16T01:15:36.556-07:00

FA Cup night with my soccer club:The object of the game in the middle shot is to kick the ball (on the right) into the trash can (on the left). A dollar a shot, for fundraising, with a chance to win a bottle of whiskey.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-38906558228348920842010-05-16T01:08:00.002-07:002010-05-16T01:10:05.913-07:00

In the middle of a twenty minute session on the stairmaster at the local gym:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-3899518439595624092010-05-16T01:08:00.001-07:002010-05-16T01:08:24.391-07:00

Sunrise on my street:Nice enough, but if I never see a sunrise again it'll be too soon. The price of working for a startup.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-70003344551387007692010-05-16T01:06:00.001-07:002010-05-16T01:06:36.191-07:00

Lunch along the river in Warrandyte, while we're working out of the boss's house:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-34855370849495477252010-05-16T01:02:00.001-07:002010-05-16T01:02:33.253-07:00

At the Hoodoo Gurus show at the HiFi:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-935847054181609742010-05-07T04:05:00.000-07:002010-05-07T04:23:23.366-07:00

It was French Night at the French cafe near Marjorie's work, so we went down and practiced our horrendous French with the waiters and enjoyed the beautiful boeuf borgonaise. And the entertainment was nice too:Loves me some accordion.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-42489110062766427712010-05-02T16:28:00.001-07:002010-05-02T16:28:57.629-07:00

Galahs take over a puddle, spotted just after my soccer match:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-65409641890534587132010-04-26T00:13:00.001-07:002010-04-26T00:13:51.084-07:00

A better rainbow, over our backyard yesterday:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-90725193175052234002010-04-26T00:11:00.001-07:002010-04-26T00:11:33.459-07:00

Went to buy a new barbie today and came home with a new fire pit as well:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-32428925786957577682010-04-22T06:55:00.001-07:002010-04-22T06:55:41.297-07:00

Australia coins come in different denominations than American coins - 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents, plus 1 and 2 dollars. What's weird is that they don't really seem to have names for them, like in America. No penny, nickel, dime, quarter... or anything like that. You don't really even ever hear "five cent piece", "ten cent piece", etc. that much. They just don't seem to require names, and are

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-2504851033357789642010-04-20T02:35:00.001-07:002010-04-20T02:35:55.759-07:00

The new menu from our (very) local pub, who just changed owners:Kind of disappointing, as they seem to have have gone the chichi route - we'd much rather have had standard, reasonably priced pub grub.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-44761491723277493382010-04-19T04:57:00.001-07:002010-04-19T04:57:18.776-07:00

I figured I'd give you a break from lousy iPhone photos and fill you in on my job situation. As I mentioned, I had a month off from work after being laid off by Microsoft, which was fantastic. As my boss was planning a new company, doing the same thing, with most of the same people, there was no real stress. The new company has started now, but without an office. We had a meeting or two at

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-29827471595206380032010-04-19T00:46:00.001-07:002010-04-19T00:47:48.351-07:00

Rainbow lorikeets, plus rainbow! Okay, the rainbow's really really faint, but it's there...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-68892256708279082382010-04-15T20:47:00.001-07:002010-04-15T20:47:23.339-07:00

Construction going on literally right around the corner from me:Sweet! The condition of the grass looks so good it almost makes me want to weep.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-53821364329294454142010-04-11T06:03:00.000-07:002010-04-11T06:06:43.669-07:00

Rainbow over George St which the garage in back of our house opens onto:There's lots of these sorts of streets in Melbourne, that are pretty much all garage doors.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-71071070915767594252010-04-10T00:34:00.001-07:002010-05-19T04:04:08.808-07:00

Ever see that photo of the Microsoft team way back when they were a startup?  Here's ours, taken yesterday in my boss's living room (while he's off traveling the world): I suspect we'll be bigger.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-20446363828917549352010-04-04T23:17:00.001-07:002010-04-04T23:17:36.155-07:00

Marjorie and friend.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-36436097418854255362010-04-04T21:35:00.001-07:002010-04-04T21:35:15.328-07:00

Lovely day lying back looking at the sky, listening to music the backyard:This weather we know won't last long...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-30913856294179108322010-04-03T23:02:00.001-07:002010-04-03T23:02:57.492-07:00

Bopped down to our old neighborhood today to take Laika to the beach:And to have lunch at our old regular restaurant, Dundas and Fausett:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-31067791151588984342010-03-22T19:34:00.001-07:002010-03-22T19:34:17.369-07:00

The Pixies last night at Festival Hall:What's with all these people liking MY band?

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-46529591417906849932010-03-21T16:35:00.001-07:002010-03-21T16:35:23.805-07:00

Marjorie and friend Fleur at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-30178538232810258902010-03-21T06:13:00.001-07:002010-03-21T06:17:49.781-07:00

Twelve red-rumped parrots spotted near our house: And a tawny frogmouth, silhouetted against the streetlight (about the only way to take a night shot with the iPhone camera):

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-80837642644264047322010-03-16T23:27:00.000-07:002010-03-16T23:27:48.396-07:00

So, yesterday on a whim I went down to Melbourne's awesome new skating facility for an intro to ice hockey. A little late in the game to be starting a physical sport like this, but I enjoy skating and used to REALLY enjoy playing intramural floor hockey in college. It was a lot of fun. From pictures on the web site I expected to be given just a helmet and a stick, but they ended up giving me

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-54383672786785993372010-03-13T04:26:00.000-08:002010-03-13T04:27:00.693-08:00

In the botanical gardens, waiting while the Moonlight Cinema screen (in the background) is inflated:Saw "Bright Sun", which was pretty good.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-12492103220496123152010-03-10T02:33:00.001-08:002010-03-10T02:35:03.834-08:00

Calexico, who we caught at the Thornberry Theatre last night: Really good show. As their name suggests, their music is a mishmash of American and Mexican influences. Venue was interesting, kind of a banquet hall, with assigned seats at big round tables:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-13264973721516311902010-03-07T03:46:00.000-08:002010-03-07T03:48:32.753-08:00

Had lunch today at Court Jester, a very interesting hidden-away Polish food restaurant: Food was... not bad, but we won't be in a hurry to go back.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-45523760332907626872010-03-05T20:54:00.001-08:002010-03-05T20:54:35.705-08:00

Marjorie, yesterday at Icehouse: I'm a stinker.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-49808742115436384742010-03-05T20:51:00.001-08:002010-03-05T20:51:22.688-08:00

Hard to capture, but this is my favorite room in the state library. I gasped the first time I stumbled into it.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-40278066891756559792010-03-05T20:48:00.001-08:002010-03-05T20:48:46.976-08:00

The Internet filter protest in front of the state library:Smaller crowd than I was hoping for. As you can see, several different political parties were represented...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-76051281773152263932010-03-02T19:44:00.001-08:002010-03-02T19:44:05.218-08:00

So - we all knew this was coming, but yesterday our Melbourne FAST office was officially let go by Microsoft. They had decided to discontinue our product, a year and a half after acquiring us, since it wasn't really in line with their corporate vision. A lot of that was due to the fact that we are developing in Java on Linux and Mac machines, instead of using Microsoft products. No one in the

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-20731957671022970832010-03-02T19:29:00.001-08:002010-03-02T19:29:21.014-08:00

One of my bruises from our company paintball outing last Friday:It's turned a particularly lovely yellow over the past day. Tons of fun though - boss supplied us with unlimited ammo on the company expense account, so the air was dense with paintballs. I came home with 17 different welts!

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-518387756845121332010-02-17T23:17:00.001-08:002010-02-17T23:17:31.667-08:00

Our friend Trisha's 40th birthday party at the Royal Botanical Gardens. I don't know why I didn't take any shots with the beautiful plants in the background.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-75020107446061905892010-02-12T19:38:00.001-08:002010-02-12T19:38:33.708-08:00

Ron Mueck exhibition at the NGV:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-82884596698806183692010-02-12T17:00:00.001-08:002010-02-12T17:00:26.939-08:00

Laika always looks sad in the morning when we go off to work:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-35049703041417226532010-02-08T02:00:00.000-08:002010-02-08T02:00:10.641-08:00

Haloscan, the provider I was using for comments for years is going away. So, I've been forced to switch to the comment system that comes built in with Blogger. I have all the old comments saved, but unfortunately there's no way to import them to the new system yet. I have all verification turned off on the new comments, which of course means it'll fill up with spam shortly. I'll have to do

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-8629503375660008832010-02-07T16:24:00.001-08:002010-02-07T16:24:42.613-08:00

How I'm watching the Super Bowl this year:Typical. Geaux Saints!

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-50694679644560331392010-02-05T21:16:00.001-08:002010-02-05T21:20:35.661-08:00

More crazy backyard finds. Found this lizard skin while doing yardwork today: I have big feet too, to give you some sense of scale. Since it's just the skin, we're thinking the guy who shed it may still be around. Our best guess is that it's one of these.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-64822176546403154952010-01-30T00:24:00.001-08:002010-01-30T00:26:03.294-08:00

After car shopping we went to City Hatters, which has thousands of hats but EXACTLY ONE THAT FITS MY GINORMOUS MELON:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-89810325758407637712010-01-30T00:17:00.000-08:002010-01-30T00:21:40.544-08:00

We came home empty-handed from car shopping today, but figured out a lot about what we're looking for. Here's Miss Marjorie test driving a Mini Cooper:(which we decided is pretty sweet, but generally too small.)

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-31548682322056344992010-01-28T04:48:00.001-08:002010-01-28T04:48:16.047-08:00

Preying mantis in our backyard. About an inch long:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-234091120217648972010-01-25T19:13:00.001-08:002010-01-25T19:13:47.914-08:00

Australia Day jets over our backyard:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-28409970767878614452010-01-24T16:29:00.001-08:002010-01-25T15:23:08.646-08:00

On the beach at Anglesea:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-55967551838410852042010-01-24T14:33:00.001-08:002010-01-24T14:33:28.582-08:00

Maybe I should have reapplied.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-22389945984248590372010-01-23T22:22:00.001-08:002010-01-23T22:22:10.308-08:00

This is my skimboard:It's ancient. Not sure the exact year, but I know I bought in 1983 at the very latest. Lots of good memories associated with it. I just had my second skimboard session in Australia here in Lorne which was very fun. From what I've seen I'm the best skimboarder in the country. :-)

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-74041696301646790442010-01-23T13:18:00.001-08:002010-01-23T13:18:23.454-08:00

On holiday in Lorne. The view from our hotel:Some visitors, with eyes on the cheese plate. (One of Marjorie's coworkers happened to be staying in the same hotel with a friend so we had them over.)

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-58013389889036465842010-01-17T05:37:00.001-08:002010-01-17T05:37:45.886-08:00

Marjorie, at our friend Fleur's birthday in the park:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-58156709521846715972010-01-15T01:25:00.001-08:002010-01-15T03:54:36.880-08:00

After five years we finally found proper spicy wing in Melbourne! The Gertrude Hotel on Gertrude Street does them up proper. We're more excited by this than you might expect!

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-37993652519270445062010-01-15T01:22:00.001-08:002010-01-15T01:22:08.793-08:00

Neko Case last night at the Hi-Fi Bar:She's super talented, and sounded great, but truth be told her songs leave me a little cold. Marjorie's the bigger fan. I haven't written her off or anything yet though...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-4054456945705237892010-01-08T21:42:00.000-08:002010-01-08T21:43:02.104-08:00

Escaping the heat inside our favorite movie theatre; here to see the Fantastic Mr Fox:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-81318126638646423442010-01-05T01:37:00.001-08:002010-01-05T01:42:01.785-08:00

My sister-in-law has been posting a lot of recipes on her blog, but they're all, you know, vegetarian, filled with twigs and acorns and such. Here's a decidedly non-vegetarian recipe for the best beans we ever ate, at the Democrats Abroad Christmas party last month. A bit labor intensive, but so good that I will have to actually try to make them some day: Bill’s Baked BeansStart with Slow

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-43966926884514025332009-12-31T20:07:00.001-08:002009-12-31T20:07:57.919-08:00

New Year's Eve party at our friends', Brendan and Kim:Much fun. Lots of cheek kisses at midnight, thanks in small part to a contingent of Italians (including a couple visiting from Italy who spoke no English).

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-57176893878674138602009-12-29T00:17:00.001-08:002009-12-29T00:17:28.169-08:00

In honor of our 2000th day in Australia (Marjorie figures these things out in Excel), burgers shaped like Australia:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-33501844781750643102009-12-27T23:11:00.001-08:002009-12-28T00:58:15.388-08:00

Since Boxing Day fell on a Saturday, we got a bonus Boxing Day today. After house cleaning we took a ride up the river, as far as this Russian Orthodox Church:Then, since we have a friend's car for the week, we took the dingo up to a fenced in area I discovered on an earlier bike trip, for a little rare off-leash time:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-46235126301494207472009-12-26T22:13:00.001-08:002009-12-26T22:13:51.099-08:00

Braved the Westfield Mall today:Meet the new mall. Same as the old mall.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-14829694424946819142009-12-26T15:57:00.001-08:002009-12-26T15:57:42.151-08:00

A great day for relaxing...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-13801462820279159862009-12-25T15:40:00.000-08:002009-12-25T15:41:00.522-08:00

Our Xmas day meal:Just for the two of us! Our fridge is as stuffed as we are right now. (I made the sweet potato soufflé.)

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-10981446048209564602009-12-24T13:49:00.001-08:002009-12-24T13:49:32.171-08:00

Our Xmas eve tradition: gorging ourselves on pierogies...Traditionally it's done at my grandmom's house, but obviously that's a lot farther these days than over the river and through the woods. Instead, Borscht, Vodka, and Tears has to suffice.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-14212178769019623362009-12-19T15:09:00.000-08:002009-12-19T15:12:30.242-08:00

Woke up this morning to my eye looking like this:How did people live before the Internet? Within seconds I was able to learn that it's harmless, often causeless, and will likely go away within ten days.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-89571252322343903712009-12-17T03:38:00.000-08:002009-12-17T03:42:24.443-08:00

Remember this idea I posted about, way back when, about a comment system that lets you post comments on any web page?I actually forgot I had that idea so long ago. It's been percolating around since then, and I still hadn't found any inherent flaws in it. Recently, I ran it by a couple of coworkers at lunch, and they both thought it was a good idea.So, finally, after two and a half years, I set

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-921459170749033352009-12-16T05:43:00.001-08:002009-12-16T05:44:23.509-08:00

When I was a kid, my mom and dad used to take us on long car trips every year, down to Florida. I think it was on one of these trips that my dad brought along cassettes of some old radio shows. I don't remember where he got them; maybe they were just rebroadcast some decades after the fact, and he taped them off the radio? At any rate, there were two in particular that I remember, quite

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-50825605641899937512009-12-13T03:42:00.001-08:002009-12-13T03:42:55.656-08:00

Xmas shopping in Bourke Street mall:The crowd on the left is queuing for the window display, which is as close to pageantry as Melbourne gets:A few cheesy animated displays. Don't mean to be a Scrooge, but it's more conveyor belts than the animatronics you'd expect in America.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-65863443138675478502009-12-11T20:03:00.001-08:002009-12-11T20:03:29.501-08:00

This is the art deco McDonald's in our neighborhood:I refused to eat at Mackers (as they call it here) for fifteen years prior to coming to Australia. Finally went back once while we were in a the middle of a hectic move, and one more time soon after that, but I decided it was gross and haven't been back since.Behind this Mackers, there's a brothel (no lie).

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-1178136450314524512009-12-11T15:54:00.001-08:002009-12-11T15:54:48.769-08:00

At the Microsoft Xmas party last night, at a somewhat over-the-top nightclub called Silk Road:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-71542973662623875622009-12-10T02:52:00.001-08:002009-12-10T02:52:17.303-08:00

Think we maybe should've thrown this out a while ago:

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-47566141927743968862009-12-04T04:37:00.001-08:002009-12-05T23:04:21.888-08:00

Marjorie at her office Xmas party, at Fitzroy Bowling Club:Obviously bowling has a different meaning here.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-4659233344337165152009-12-02T03:23:00.001-08:002009-12-02T03:23:21.727-08:00

Weather was perfect today as I waited for Marjorie and our friends Tamara and Simon to show for our night out at Japanese restaurant Yu'u.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-44731611109989128742009-11-28T22:24:00.001-08:002009-11-28T22:24:29.320-08:00

A few lousy shots from my office Xmas party, same place as the Thanksgiving do we went to last week, and the same lousy weather...

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3988186.post-64818900161918234052009-11-28T01:57:00.001-08:002009-11-28T01:58:58.645-08:00

We stopped by one of Melbourne's nuttier nightclubs, The Butterfly Club, for a tipple this evening:It's in an old hotel, and each room is decorated differently. The main attraction is that have actual cabaret, though we have yet to see it.

Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16165304577490923507noreply@blogger.com0