brad rowden dot com

A new 30 day challenge.

2009-11-10T00:49:00.003+10:00

A few of you – my good friends – may remember a couple of years ago I tried going totally vegetarian for a period of 30 days to see how it impacted my health, and the end result was that I now eat far less meat and mainly eat grains, fish, fruit and vegetables, with meat used as a garnish more than a main. (I should mention that I still enjoy the occasional large steak – who can blame me?)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/missbeckles/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Health research of late has been interesting. Evidence is mounting that grains and dairy are hard for our body to digest, causing all sorts of insulin and inflammatory responses that I personally consider undesirable.

The big agriculture and dairy companies would not want you to believe this for obvious reasons – they want their money, and who can blame them – and therefore we see all of the “We’re meant to drink milk” style advertisements on TV – paid for by the agriculture and dairy companies themselves.

Who do you believe?

That’s hard to answer, and I believe there is only one way I will know for sure.

For the next 30 days, I am going to go wheat/grain free, and log down how I am feeling. More tired? Less tired? Will my fitness improve or decline? These are the questions I want to be able to answer for myself, and even better, would like to answer with accuracy for my friends when they consider me for their health and nutrition advice.

If the next 30 days goes to plan, then I also plan to ditch dairy as well as the grain for the 30 days after that – but that’s a whole other blog post for a whole other day.

There is another issue that goes hand in hand with good health, and that is good sleep. And taking into consideration that it is almost one o’clock in the morning, I think it is time to hit the sack.

I’ll see you guys in the morning – but trusty oatmeal, I won’t be seeing you for a while.

- Brad

Optus Wireless Broadband - Update

2008-05-31T17:19:00.002+10:00

Well the Optus Wireless Broadband is still performing well. Today I gave Bronwyn the laptop to use while we drove around town. She surfed eBay and some other high bandwidth flash based websites and the performance was fantastic. Bronwyn likened it to surfing the same websites on her home connection (currently 512kbps). Not bad for being on the move. I wouldn't be surprised if the connection was faster than that, but it usually takes nerds to pick those sorts of things up.

Out for now,

-Brad

Cairns postponed, Hinchinbrook Island is GO.

2008-05-31T12:35:00.003+10:00

Oh what a stupid thing for me to do.

Booked in for some time now has been a hiking trip on Hinchinbrook Island. The time has come so fast for this trip that I still thought it was some way off in the future, and therefore I proceeded to book a non-refundable room in Cairns for the same weekend!

I called the hotel and they allowed me to move my reservation one week forward. They made a point though that I would not be able to change my mind again, and that there would be no refunds. Fair enough - but you don't need to sound so bitchy about it!

Anyway, next weekend it seems as though I will be on Hinchinbrook Island hiking with a backpack, tent, sleeping roll and all of those wonderful fun adventurous sort of things. I'll get my cameras charged up too. I've never been to Hinchinbrook before, and I am going with a bunch of people who have made the trip many times so I am sure it's going to be a learning experience!

I'll update the blog with more information on Monday. We're having a small group meeting to finalise details so I will know more then.

Out for now,

-Brad

Oh my lord it's Monday morning and I'm not in bed.

2008-05-26T01:25:00.002+10:00

Oh crap look at the time. I need to be up in not-so-long to start the routine of the work week once again (I know, I know, myself and billions of other people across the globe).

I really had an enjoyable weekend. Dad is heading to Ingham for a week so invited us around to his house for a chat and some coffee / hot chocolate before he leaves. You know me though, anything that involves coffee or hot chocolate is an instant hit in my books. Of course, the company was great too so lots of positives all around. Also, earlier in the day I picked up Chris and Briggsy from the ferry terminal. They had spent the weekend on Magnetic Island for the yearly full moon party. We went and had coffee and kebabs on the strand. Fantastic. A beautiful clear sunny day, blue water out on the ocean, fantastic temperature. Who could really ask for more?

This is out for now. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy Monday, and it's also workout day. It's going to be painful due to this lack of sleep, so I'd better stay jazzed up on coffee throughout the day. If anyone is in the area, feel free to being me a double-shot latte. Thanks. :P

-Brad

Optus Wireless Broadband active in Townsville

2008-05-25T17:27:00.004+10:00

So I picked up a new gadget for myself today. The Optus Wireless Broadband USB modem + access plan. I won't go into pricing details here as I don't see the need of it. I'll just say that there are some very competitive deals going at the moment and I have a plan that suits me beautifully. Also, the gentleman who served me at Network Communications / Optus Reseller Store in Castletown was fantastic, and really knew his stuff. A lot of the time when I go to a phone store, I end up telling the salespeople more about the product than they know, and basically sell the item to myself whilst giving them some free education on something they should have endeavoured to find out about themselves.

Anyway, the speeds in the Hermit Park and Mt Louisa are fantastic, and I'm excited to test the service in other areas when I get the chance. As a nerd that likes coffee and computers, but also fresh air and cool mornings, I am slightly excited at the chance of taking it down to the strand early in the morning next weekend, grabbing a coffee and catching up on webcomics in the fresh air. Nerdy or what?!?! :)

Ahh, these weekends go way too quickly. This one still has a few hours left in it and I am already thinking ahead to the next one.

Out for now,

-Brad

This is a test with new comments system.

2008-05-23T16:07:00.002+10:00

This is a test with new comments system.

Delicious Breakfast

2008-05-21T07:35:00.003+10:00

I wanted to just Twitter about this, but Twitter is up and down like a yo-yo at the moment making it hard to do so.

I just wanted to mention that warm breakfast is awesome on this cold cold morning.

Oats, slivered almonds, yoghurt, banana and berries on top. OMG it is awesome. And I am eating it. And you're not... Scott.

:P

-Brad

I am a blogger...

2008-05-20T07:50:00.002+10:00

I blog out!

I got a mention in the Townsville Road Runners newsletter! :)

2007-11-04T22:38:00.001+10:00

Hello crew!

I probably would have mentioned this earlier had I actually created some content for this ol' front page. None the less, I thought I would post it up now while it is fresh in my memory.

On the Great Whitsunday Run, Dad and I had stopped to help a dude who was injured on the side of the track. It was nice to see a small write up in the Townsville Road Runners newsletter about it!

"One such tale is of a runner who shall
remain nameless but who suffered such debilitating cramps in both legs and hands, along with cramps and pins and needles in his arms and face, that at the halfway point he was unable to stand let alone run.

One of our TRR’s, Sonia Chalk, who came upon him on the ground, raced off as fast as her own ill body would allow to summon help from the SES volunteers at the next aid station. Meanwhile TRR [Townsville Road Runners] Widge Rowden and his son Brad stopped and tried to straighten out the runner’s limbs as best they could. After successfully getting the runner to his feet and leaving him in the hands of the SES volunteers they continued on their merry way enjoying the flora and fauna (as you can choose to do on a 28km hill run)."

Of course, it's not like we stopped to help the guy just to get a mention in any publications, but it was really nice to see this in the newsletter. :)

The full version can be found here, and the section I am talking about is on page 3.

-Brad

Change of domain registrar.

2007-11-04T15:17:00.000+10:00

I transferred the domains to a new, cheaper registrar today. This might cause some downtime over the next couple of days. If the forums or any of the other services stop working, you'll know why. :)

-Brad

I'm not dead!

2007-10-27T10:49:00.001+10:00

Oh hay guys. Just wanted to put a little note up here to say that I am not dead, just busy busy busy. I am working on a couple of blog posts that should be published within the next couple of days.

See you all soon!

-Brad

Airlie Beach, Day Two of Two. Run the Great Whitsunday walk.

2007-09-26T13:47:00.001+10:00

I am writing and publishing this a few days after the run as I have just not had the spare time to get it done.

We started the day hungry, of course, so we found a little coffee shop for a couple of slices of raisin toast with jams, and cappuccinos. This proved to be enough carbohydrate to get us to the finish without bloating us up and weighing us down too much).

The run was not a complete success for me personally, but was not a failure by any means.

Somewhere around just after the halfway point a pain started to flare up behind my left knee (odd considering it is usually my right knee that plays up). I kept running on it, being very careful not to land on it too awkwardly on the rough terrain. It was no use however, and the knee continued to get worse until I could no longer run on it, and was forced to walk as fast as I could to the finish line. With this in mind, I still did not come last. We'd even stopped for twenty minutes to help out a guy that had cramped up so badly he could not move. Next year will be better.

The scenery was amazing. You would have to do this run a few times just to take everything in I think. In some areas it becomes hard to take in the beauty because you are constantly watching your feet to make sure you don't get tripped up on a vine or rocks. I have posted a collection on Flickr so that you can all see what I mean.

Click to go to the Flickr Collection

I thought about the injury. It's not like I had hit a rock or twisted something at any particular point that caused the damage, so the only thing left is that I simply put the knee under too much pressure without enough training. No matter, next year will be better! :)

Overall, the whole weekend was a lot of fun. I will be going back next year if the event is held again, and my knee will NOT be playing up next time. I'll keep on training hard!

Out for now,

-Brad

Airlie Beach, Day One of Two.

2007-09-22T20:46:00.001+10:00

We left Townsville just after 8am today, headed towards destination Airlie Beach for the Mackay Road Runners event, "Run the Great Whitsunday Walk" (as mentioned in previous blog posts). One of Dad's running friends - Geoff - was our driver, so the cruise here in a nice big Nissan Patrol Diesel was great! It was also nice to get away without having to be the driver for once.

We stopped in Ayr only very briefly for a toilet break - in the fully automated toilet. The idea of this toilet is cool, but when the soap, water and hand drier were all broken with no manual override... Well, it sort of makes you feel a little bit dirty!

We stopped in Bowen on top of a hill that has a nice cafe on top of it. The view from the Cafe was 360 degree, we could see all around Bowen. It was very pretty. The coffee was not terrible, and Dad and Orlanda had made some wonderful sandwiches for lunch. Homemade bread, avocado, red peppers. Can't go wrong with that mix!

From here, it was not far to Airlie. We got in a couple of hours before we had to register for the race, so we spent a bit of time driving around the area, and walking through the city. We also stopped at a food joint called "Wisdom Health Lab" who dealt mostly with healthy meals and snacks (although there were a few items in the place to cater for the less health conscious folk out there). I ended up having a vegetarian wrap with added jalapeno for some extra kick. It was quite tasty, and probably a little better price wise than Townsville pricing.

After all of this, it was time to check in for tomorrow's run. This is only my second running event as part of a running group, but it was much more simple than the Copperlode Dam event in Cairns. Checking in here was as simple as saying "I'm here!". At this point, the organisers handed over a canvas bag with your runner number on it, containing your race singlet with names of all of the registered runners on it, a couple of other trinkets, race number for front of singlet, a bottle of water and a bottle of Powerade. I would not normally drink Powerade, but I am pretty sure it is going to be necessary somewhere over the course of 28Km.

So, we had picked up all of our gear and checked in. We headed back to Club Croc where I jumped online via my mobile to say hi to a couple of people, and to write this post. Plenty of photos have been taken and I will post them up on the blog soon.

I'm not sure why but I was totally smashed after the day so far. It could be something to do with only getting about 5 hours sleep (although that isn't exactly uncommon for me!). I crashed out for a few hours with the excited holiday world still buzzing around me. This was a somewhat relaxing experience, drifting off with the sound of stress free fun having people all around (as opposed to normal city hustle).

We ended up having dinner at the Club Croc restaurant. I'm not too sure what to say about this place. Overall experience was probably a 3 out of 10 to be honest. The place was clean, but the chairs were not comfortable, the table was wobbly, and the staff had no intention of even trying to modify orders to be more suitable for the patrons. We tried asking a couple of requests to the food, and were met with the standard pre-composed response every time.

"As I said before sir, only what is on the menu."
Yes, I would like 'item x', just without the 'item y'.
"Only what is on the menu sir."

You gotta be fucking kidding. This food was not exactly cheap, you would think that they could make a little effort to accommodate well paying guests.

I ordered a Vegetarian Enchilada. It was well sized and tasted good (although $18.00 was still probably too much for it). Dad and Geoff ordered vegetarian pizza, and this is where it gets a bit sad. Ultra thin base (like mountain bread), a smear of tomato paste, a single layer of sliced tomatoes placed on the top of the pizza, and maybe a little cheese. This "pizza" was sixteen fucking dollars. If you spend $16.00 at La Porchetta, you would probably get pizza to last for the next few dinners. Unfortunately, the Bruschetta we had as an entree resembled a pizza more than the pizza did. Overall food rating, 2/10. The enchilada was pretty good, but seeing what they did with the pizza left everyone at the table pretty annoyed and unimpressed. If you want to stay at Club Croc, I would suggest finding dinner somewhere else.

Hopefully I will be able to report back better news about breakfast.

Well everyone, it's time for me to settle down into relaxation mode. Tomorrow is the big 28Km run, and I need to be up at 5.30!

Out for now,

-Brad

Embrace your broken snack food machine - it's doing more for you than ever before!

2007-09-20T09:17:00.001+10:00

Walking into work this morning, I overhear some of the staff in a group complaining about the snack machine being broken, how it has been out of order for an extended period of time, and how unacceptable the whole scenario is.

I could not find a single part of myself that felt sorry for them. Essentially, they are saving money and not loading up their bodies with unnecessary shit that they don't need. Hell, if this machine stayed broken for another couple of weeks you could guarantee that people around here would start noticing a difference in how they feel (for the better of course), providing they are not making up for their sugar dependencies when work is over.

Honestly, economy and society is really getting under my skin recently. People have become so dependant on stuff that they do not need, and are happy to blow money on it regularly.

Take for instance the people not just in my workplace, but worldwide, that are hitting up these vending machines for their lunches to get them through the day. I have watched many people's habits and routines when it comes to the vending machines, and it is not uncommon for any one individual to buy two cans of Coke, a bag of chips and a chocolate bar each and every work day. I work this out to be approx $8.00 daily. That is almost $250.00 every month, or a little less than $3000.00 per year. Holy shit!

Ok, so it's a given that we need to eat, and many people cannot find the time at home to prepare food before work (probably the cheapest and best way to eat at work, but that is another blog post for another day). I believe that if a person is going to spend their $8.00 per day on food, the food might as well be wholesome nutritious food. For $8.00 you can get all sorts of wonderful things. Subway foot long rolls, or a couple of Subway Wraps if you are carb conscious. $8.00 worth of sushi. These items are going to make you feel more full than a damn chocolate bar, it's not going to be wasteful empty carbohydrate, and you're not going to get the sugar crash that the coke and chocolate is setting you up for.

I am guilty of most of the things I have written about in this post. A few years ago I was hitting the snacky foods hard while I was working at a servo. Being surrounded by meat pies, sausage rolls, hero rolls and slush puppie machines, combined with lack of knowledge and information on the lack of nourishment all of these provide, I was unhealthy and wasting money. During my year of doing night shift I probably spent MORE than the $8.00 per night on crap food that I did not need. I do not even want to do the math on it, it would be too depressing looking at how much money I put towards making me fat and unhealthy.

Guys, girls, embrace your broken vending machine. In its broken state, it is doing more for you and your body than it ever has before.

-Brad

(p.s. My calculations on daily spending on food at work did not take into account weekends, holidays and rostered days off. I am however not going to change this, as I am pretty willing to bet that most people will be eating about the same amount of crap - if not more - on their off time.)

Run the Great Whitsunday Walk - 5 days to go!

2007-09-17T23:03:00.001+10:00

Scary! The 28km run from the Brandy Creek carpark to Airlie Beach is coming up for me and 102 others on Sunday. Not only have I not run 28km before (close, but not quite), I am told that the course will be quite hilly and somewhat rugged. This should prove to be an interesting adventure. I am also feeling somewhat out of shape at the moment, ever since moving house a few weeks ago. Due to the hectic schedule of moving, I sort of fell out of the loop with my running, and whilst I have gone for a few one hour long runs and some shorter 30 - 35 minute runs over the past couple of weeks, I know that I am not performing as well as I was prior to moving house. I also know that I cannot rectify this issue within the five days I have before the race, so that is making me a little nervous.

(click for enlarged version)

As far as finishing the race goes, it really should not be a problem to make the finish line. There is a six hour cut off, and the event organisers reckon that you can make it over the whole course if you at least have a fast-paced walk happening over the entire course. I think my goal time will be somewhere in the vicinity of four hours.

I have purchased a new ruggedised case for my compact digital camera for the run, so I will try and get some photos on the course if I find anything interesting and can bring myself to break my stride during mid-run.

On the topic of finding time for training, I really think I need to get my ass into gear and start getting up an hour earlier in the morning. The main problem I am facing is fitting in my training after work. Under my old system, I would eat out a lot during the week, giving me time to go for a run after work, not having to worry about cooking food when I got home. I have recently changed a few things in my own life, a few of which affect my fitness and training plan. For one, I am trying to be more frugal in all areas, so eating out frequently is no longer an option. This brings me to another change, which is the food preparation at home. Not only am I putting together meals after work, but I am trying to make them inexpensive meals that pack a whole lot of healthy nutrients at the same time. The change of diet so far is making me feel really good, but it all takes extra time to plan, and cook. Fitting running into this schedule has become difficult to say the least. If I could just get up an hour earlier, I would be able to get the run in, and not have it impose on my life after work.

All in all, if I place terribly at the Whitsunday run, then I will just have to reflect on the experience and use it as fuel to train harder for the event in 2008. I am going to go into the event with an open mind and do my best to make myself proud.

I will keep you all informed.

-Brad

Why must a morning start like this?

2007-09-17T09:07:00.001+10:00

It's been somewhat of a doozy of a day so far, and it is only 8.35am.

Since purchasing a mountain bike, I have started to ride it to work ever more frequently, to the point where it now feels as though it is an important part of my daily exercise/mental health regime. There is something relaxing about riding the bike and exerting energy, kick starting the metabolism and getting the mind in check in the morning through the power of exercise. I did try a brief stint of running in the morning before work, but could not get myself up out of bed and feeling awake enough, so riding to work was an excellent replacement for this. There is also a small feeling of satisfaction knowing that I am not burning 100 kilometres worth of petrol on the way to work per week, instead choosing to burn around 400 kilocalories of my own fuel. Better for the environment, better for me, better for my wallet.

So I readied myself this morning for the ride to work, with my change of clothes, packed lunch and laptop hanging off of my back, only to find that I had picked up a nice flat tyre over the weekend. Bugger, I was really looking forward to the ride this morning, and I had a breakfast that was bug enough to compensate for the ride as well as tide me over until 11am. I'm going to feel bloaty now!

I got to work to find that there was a guy outside bailing up the sales staff who were standing around having their morning cigarette(s). Not that I advocate smoking in any way whatsoever, but these guys are just as welcome to a relaxing moment or two before the busy day gets underway as anybody else is. If they choose cancer as their relaxation method, so be it. It probably hit me more since I had only just read this article last night over at Lifehack.org. It was this part that instantly came to mind:

When you arrive [at work], have a simple ritual to ease you gently into the work environment. Get a cup of tea or coffee. Greet some friends. Organize your desk. Nothing stressful--just some simple activities to switch your mind easily back into work-day mode.

I thought to myself that this is good advice, and that I would actively start doing this as of today. Ok, so I am off to a bad start.

Ok, well I had better cut this short, because the dude who was harassing the salespeople outside is now at my counter harassing my offsider technician. I better go make sure it's all ok.

Have a good day everyone.

-Brad

p.s. How do you start your day? Do you have any routines that make things start out in a more positive light? Feel free to leave your responses in the comments.

Turning vegetarian (for one month).

2007-09-02T19:01:00.000+10:00

As mentioned in previous blog entries, I am a pretty easygoing person who enjoys simple things. One of the things that makes its way into my daily agenda is catching up on several blogs dedicated to health, fitness and personal development in general.

Many of these blogs over the past few months have been discussing the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I love meat. Sunday is my main meat day, eating somewhere around a kilo of the stuff for a lunchtime feast.

Recently however, I have started cooking many more meals at home. I could even rephrase that so it is more accurate. Recently I have started cooking in general. I have never really tried my hands at stuff in the kitchen before. The thing is, Mum is a vegetarian and when I cook up meals I like for everyone to be able to give the food a try, so I have been doing quite a lot of vegetarian dishes. The interesting thing about this is that I have found a correlation between what the bloggers have been writing and the way that I feel in general after having much less meat in my diet.

Because of this noticeable difference in how I feel, I have decided to give vegetarianism a go. Bronwyn is joining me in this little adventure. We started the trial one week ago, with the barbeque last Sunday being the last meat feast we would have for 1 month. The verdict after a week? Well, not a lot has changed in physical strength, output and speed. However, during the day I have been feeling more alert, and have noticed that I do not seem to get that mid-afternoon drowsiness. Also, my metabolism has been going crazy, food is being digested well and I am not feeling bloated for long periods after eating. This is making my running in the afternoons much more enjoyable as I am not feeling weighed down constantly by whatever is left in my stomach. When eating meats, it did not matter what portion size I would go for, it was always the same feeling afterwards.

I did have some concerns about lack of protein and iron in my diet, but after reading over some well known health related sites, it would seem that you really do not need meats to get enough of these essential items. You just need to eat smart (something I would like to say I do well!). :)

Basically the only difficulty of the diet is eating out with friends. So many restaurants offer only one or two non-meat dishes. Some of these dishes are small and leave you wanting so much more. Some of them are also pretty bland and boring I find, however that might just be because I have just started cooking at home around the same time as starting this vegetarian trial. I am fast becoming a big fan of home-prepared foods.

That is all for now, I will update again soon (I know, I know, I always say that I will update soon - seriously I am trying!)

Out for now,

-Brad

Moving house: Almost complete!

2007-09-02T18:54:00.000+10:00

It has been busy couple of weeks, trying to manage work and moving house at the same time.

I'm glad to report that the task is almost complete. In about 30 minutes Mum and I will head back to the old place to get the fish, and then we are done! (The fish appear to be fine, they are just all alone for most of the day but we drive over and feed them every day!).

I probably should have taken more photos of the process but .. Well I have no excuses. I have not taken many photos at all over the past two weeks - weird for me as I normally have Flickr up to date with new pics all the time!

Anyway, hopefully after tonight I will be able to have more time to get back to doing the simple things that I enjoy in life.

Also, another new post coming shortly.

Out for now,

-Brad

Moving house, Day two.

2007-08-21T12:16:00.000+10:00

Yar! It's midday and I need another damn cup of tea!

We got access to the place at 8am today. We quickly raced over to grab the keys from the property manager and have another quick inspection to make sure that everything was looking good. I am happy to report that everything does indeed look great with the place.

We headed back home to have some breakfast and a cup of tea, had some words with Daniel (Chemical Spill) online and then it was time to get cracking. We loaded my Falcon up to the brim with boxes and bags full of gear. It was a lot of stuff, the back end of the car was sitting so low it looked like it had been lowered with sports suspension and springs! :)

We took all of the stuff over there, unloaded it into the main living room, closed the place up and went to get some shopping. It all seems to be taking much longer than you would think, but at least it feels relaxed and is not too perplexing.

Right, I am starving. Time to inspect the kitchen and the recent shopping to see what delicious treats I can get myself in to. :)

Oh yeah, as a side note. When Daniel was talking to me this morning, he filled me in on a new game pack that is available via Steam (the program required to play many of Sierra's online games such as Half Life 2). Apparently they have teamed up with Id Software to bring you the Id Super Pack. This pack includes many of the old favourites such as Wolfenstien 3D, Doom, Quake, Hexen and Commander Keen. The price is USD$69.95 which works out to be around AUD$90.00. I will be buying this pack as soon as I get paid!

Moving house, reflections on Day One.

2007-08-20T22:00:00.000+10:00

We have packed up so much gear! Unfortunately, the tenant in the house prior to us moving in was supposed to of had her stuff out by today, and was also suposed to get the keys to the place back to the property manager and she did not end up doing this. So, Mum and I sit here with boxes and bags of things ready to be taken to the new place, and have no access to the front door to do it.

Other than that, there's not really much to say about it. Mum is a little blue about the scenario, only because we have been in this place so long. She says she will miss the garden the most.

I on the other hand am still excited about getting things over to the new place and setting things up. The only thing that does not excite me is the thought of calling Telstra, Ergon, Internode and all of the other service providers to change addresses and get services transfered. At least some of that can be done via the internet.

That is all I have for now. Photos of the move so far are scattered throughout my Flickr, and I will add them to sets for easier navigation soon.

Out for now,

-Brad

Moving house after 22 years!

2007-08-20T11:16:00.000+10:00

Wow!

After living in this lovely little house in Railway Estate for all of my life, we are now in the process of packing up the things we actually want to keep (which for me is not much more than a few computers, desks and gadgets) in preparation to move it all over to a new little unit in Hermit Park. It's a weird feeling, but this house needs some serious work and it is slowly becoming less pleasurable to be a part of it.

The computers, gadgets & tech toys!

Recently I began cooking my own meals (late start, I know) and I'll tell you what, cooking in a kitchen that slants at an odd angle is not fun. Also, the kitchen was poorly designed in the first place and while it is quite large, there is not a lot of functionality or surfaces to prepare foods.

The idea of being in a nice brick place with straight, clean surfaces is exciting to me! Also, fan forced oven for the win!

I am just taking one or two moments to write this and have a cup of tea, which has been well earned. :P

I had best get back to it.

Iori's Travel Updates.

2007-08-07T00:43:00.000+10:00

Heads up,

Iori is keeping a blog regarding his travels and adventures in China. He's only made limited posts thus far, and already it resembles much more of a blog than this little hovel of mine! It will probably only get better too.

Links to Iori's adventures as follows:

Iori's Blog: http://adxiori.blogspot.com
Iori's Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adxiori

Out for now,

-Brad (dopefish)

I AM TEH LIKEY BOYS!

2007-07-31T23:58:00.000+10:00

Just so that everyone knows, I have a man-crush on Scott.
Apparently people have been theorising about this behind my back, so I just thought I would pop on here and confirm it in the open.

edited post, remove angsty sounding bit.

Running back to fitness!

2007-05-23T13:45:00.000+10:00

So Dad is living back in Townsville after being in Fiji for 4 years. For those that don't know, Dad is a runner and has been since an early age.

I have been getting back into fitness training over the last couple of months, but now with Dad back around, I am finding myself being dragged into longer and faster runs (not too fast of course, endurance training really!).

Currently I am at a point where I can jog/run for about 10Km before I am feeling smashed, but this 10Km is a recent achievement and I hope to keep improving on that.

I have done much reading online in regards to motivating yourself to train harder, and many people who are making progress highly recommend blogging their training and accomplishments so far. The idea is that people (hopefully) reading the blog will be keen to see the bloggers progress, and hopefully serve the blogger an ass-kicking if he/she starts to slack off. I am keen to see how that goes!

There are a couple of races coming up that pose quite a challenge to a person at my current level: a 16Km run in Cairns and a 28Km run in Whitsunday’s are both only a few months from now. Both have considerable amounts of uphill terrain (as far as I can tell) and pose quite a challenge to someone at my current fitness level.

Will keep updating,

-Brad

Oh my god...

2007-04-11T01:00:00.001+10:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I think I am about to explode. If you don't hear from me again, I love youse alls.

Happy Birthday Chemical-Spill!

2007-02-26T00:06:00.000+10:00

Today is Chemical-Spill's Twenty-fourth birthday!

Head to the forums to send him your wishes!

Happy birthday man!

-Brad

Life's tough questions...

2007-01-05T13:31:00.001+10:00

There's some hard decisions we need to make in life. One such
decision... $2 tin of soup, or $8 worth of sushi rolls...

Happy New Year (2007) Accidental Discharge!

2007-01-01T10:10:00.000+10:00

Happy new year to all!

This will be Accidental Discharge's 3rd year together and I can only hope it will be as good as the last two.

I have made a couple of new years resolutions, one of which involves these forums - the members specifically.

I believe we need to hold more gatherings this year. Quite possibly a big BBQ with something for everyone and a great social atmosphere. I'll start a thread in the forums some time soon.

Take care everyone, and have a great 2007!

phpBB3 Bulletin Board

2006-12-28T02:05:00.000+10:00

It's almost here, the phpBB3 based Bulletin Board System has reached Beta4 stage and I have been playing around with it pretty heavily. Vash and a few others have joined me in playing with the previous BETA Test versions and we have found them to be quite excellent.

Currently we are experiencing about 10 spam bots joining the forums daily, getting around our spam prevention techniques. This is partially due to the forum software we use being out of date, and no longer being maintained for free.

phpBB3 is the answer. phpBB3 is an open-source forum system that is constantly being updated and upgraded. phpBB has been around for a long time, but previous versions did not offer the functionality we required. This new version does everything our current forum system does, and more.

I'd say we are about two months away from making the conversion to the new forum system. I am not sure as yet how we are going to handle the closure of our existing 2 year old forums, but I'll keep thinking about that over the next couple of months.

Out for now,

-dopefish

Blogger Updates

2006-12-28T01:52:00.000+10:00

Blogger have made some nice improvements to their content management, and I have converted the front page to the new system. The only downside to this is that the main page is now hosted by Blogger and not on Accidental Discharge. The only way I could get this to work was using a dodgy redirect page as the home page for www.accidental-discharge.com. Unless I can come up with a new solution, it will have to do the trick for now.

Thought I might just drop a little note in here to make you all aware of that, in case you are wondering what the white page is that pops up for half a second when accessing accidental discharge.

Thanks!

-dopefish

Wisdom Teeth Problems and Mail Server Reconfiguration.

2006-06-20T16:30:00.000+10:00

Oooh it's been a painful few days. I haven't eaten anything except sloppy oats and tinned pumpkin soup. Starting Saturday night, the old lower left wisdom tooth has been causing me to not be able to close my mouth, and due to this, I cannot chew.

Today was lots of fun though. Dentist performed a quick check and clean on my mouth - a process which she said would "feel slightly tender". I really wish she had just said "Brad, this is going to hurt like a motherfucker". I would have been more prepared for it then. No matter. After this it was off to Queensland X-Ray, a 2 hour wait for the x-ray to be processed, and then back to the dentist to drop it off. Apparently they will review it and call back. I wonder how much longer I can eat oats and pumpkin soup for.

So, while I have been mostly confined to my bedroom for the past few days, I thought I would spend sometime jigging around with the new mail server setup a little bit. Up until now, if you had an account hosted with us you could only receive mail on account@adxnet.org. I have reconfigured this so you can now use "account@accidental-discharge.com", "account@adxnet.org" OR "account@bradrowden.com" (although I will probably be the only one using the latter). :)

In addition to this, I can now manually add mail aliases to mail accounts. For instance, if your email address is "nickname@adxnet.org", you can also have "realname@adxnet.org", and mail sent to either address will end up in the one inbox. You don't need to check two accounts.

There are still a few Accidental Discharge email addresses left, so if you want to get your hands on one, just email admin@accidental-discharge.com and let me know.

Out for now.

-dopefish (brad)

Australians: Google Maps now display Australian street names.

2006-05-31T20:00:00.000+10:00

DIRECT LINK TO GOOGLE OFFICIAL BLOG.

To coincide with their new presence in Australia, Google have added Australian street names to the Google Maps service.

I tested this with Brisbane's high res maps and it works well, but Google have also included the street names for locations with low-res images (I tested my city - Townsville, Australia).

read more | digg story

ADX Mail Sign-in Fixed.

2006-05-21T21:00:00.000+10:00

If you have requested a shiny new adxnet.org email address from me, but you thought that the sign-in process wasn't working quite right, then you would be correct.

Due to a misinterpretation of the instructions (I didn't read them), the sign-in link was incorrect.

The next time you use the sign-in link on the right of the page, everything should function as expected.

-dopefish

ADXNET Mail Server Changed

2006-05-17T18:49:00.000+10:00

Google have been running a private beta test of their "Google Hosted" program for the past few months, and as soon as I heard about the service I put an application in on behalf of Accidental Discharge.

Google Hosted is a service that replaces the default mail server on a users domain. For instance, a few members of Accidental Discharge have "user@accidental-discharge.com" and "user@adxnet.org" email addresses, but the interface that is used to log in to the mail service can be a little bit slow, and not very user friendly.

It is my pleasure to announce that Accidental Discharge has been accepted for the private beta test of Google Hosted. This replaces Accidental Discharge's user interface with the interface of Google Mail (Gmail) instead. Anyone that has used the service knows what a fantastic interface it is, and they know of the 2 Gigabyte+ storage space made available to users. All of these benefits are passed onto Accidental Discharge members.

If you are interested in having your own "user@adxnet.org" email address with the reliability of Google backing it, please email me (brad.rowden@gmail.com). After I do a bit of initial testing with the service I will start enabling some accounts for anyone that is interested.

I will keep you up to date with any news as it comes.

Coppermine Photo Gallery is back

2006-05-14T14:12:00.000+10:00

The photo gallery is once again online. I will be putting more effort into it throughout the week, putting all the old categories back in place.

If you have any ideas for the galleries, feel free to leave comments on this post.

The Photo Gallery is gone...

2006-04-20T21:01:00.000+10:00

So, if you were to click on the Photo Gallery link right now, you'd probably notice that you get a page not found error, or maybe if you are lucky you would see the gallery but it would be empty...

Yup, I hit the wrong button, and I killed it. I feel a bit fucking stupid about that one.

My apologies to all that had photos there... :o(

10.34PM Update: The files/database that runs the galleries is being restored. Unfortunately, they are still going to be empty when it's back up and running.

StevePavlina.com - Personal Development for Smart People

2006-03-27T21:55:00.000+10:00

It isn't very often I get the urge to link out to someone's website, especially someone that I don't even know, but tonight I have that urge.

After being on a bit of a mission to find more time in my day for myself as well as for others, I came across Steve Pavlina's website. Steve has written a whole bunch of articles on the topic of self-improvment, and they are all of a very high quality.

I won't say too much more about the site here, except that he has a lot of wonderful therories to make many aspects of your life more stable/organised/better. And these theories make sense, and just might be the answers I was after.

If you feel like you could use some information of this type, please check out Steve's website at http://www.stevepavlina.com/index.htm

-dopefish

Tropical Cyclone Larry - Bunnings Townsville helps out with Disaster Relief

2006-03-22T22:44:00.000+10:00

As most of our forum / blog readers are probably well aware, there are a few reputable charities and organisations accepting donations for the people affected by Tropical Cyclone Larry.

Add another well known organisation to that list.

Almost every day, Bunnings Hardware Townsville have a sausage sizzle running for lunch. Pricing is really quite good. Today and tomorrow however, all money made from their sausage sizzle is being sent to the victims of TC Larry, instead of going to Bunnings' pockets! :o)

Tropical Ice will also be at the event tomorrow doing their part. I am not exactly sure of how big their involvement with things is, but they are definitely stepping up to help out.

SO! If you are in Garbutt tomorrow with some spare time or if you are on your lunch break, stop in at Bunnings Hardware and hit the sausage sizzle. I hit it today, and my stomach was totally satisfied, and it was good knowing my money was going to help out the people affected by TC Larry.

Out for now.

-dopefish

Tropical Cyclone Larry - Damage Reports

2006-03-20T12:39:00.000+10:00

Townsville's damage from what I can tell is minimal. In saying that, I have not been further than the balcony today, but people are casually wandering around the pub, which by the way is open for business.

Click Here for the forum thread with
on-location cyclone reports,
posted when possible.

Townsvillian's checking out the weir overflowing.

A solitary palm leaf blown away from it's home.

The weir overflowing. A rare occurance.

I have spoken to Iori in Cairns and he speaks of plenty of flattened trees and some serious damage to property, although nothing compared to what has been experienced in Innisfail. Iori's parents stayed in contact with him throughout the storm and have basically informed us that Innisfail city is not what it used to be. All of the "cyclone proof" buildings in the area had been designed to take on winds of up to 160Km/H or so, and they received almost double that figure. Hence, those houses are no more. We are still yet to have any sort of photos or imagery come through, but from what has been said, damage is huge. Will report more when it becomes available.

There are damage reports and stories from people in the affected areas in the forum thread. Click here to view the thread.

Out for now.

Tropical Cyclone Larry

2006-03-19T18:07:00.000+10:00

As I am sure you are all aware, there is a large, powerful cyclone off the coast of North Queensland (category 4 at time of writing).

Click Here for the forum thread with
on-location cyclone reports,
posted when possible.

UPDATE @ 7.41AM 2006/03/20
I have spoken to Iori via SMS. Iori is currently residing in Cairns. The power in Cairns has been unstable but now it is completley out. He has had a chance to make a coffee thismorning while watching all the trees bending like "a fucking Russian gymnast!". His words, not mine. :o)
Cairns is also apparently getting "pounded like a bitch in a porno". Again, not my words...

His parents in South Johnstone are reporting that they have had a beating too, and are currently in the eye of the cyclone at the time of this entry. Keeping fingers crossed that the main damage has been done and there is not too much more that will be destroyed.

There are more reports from locations up the coast in the relavant forum thread, found at the link on top of this page.

Out for now...

UPDATE @ 2.29AM 2006/03/20
For a slightly lighter read, threeseven has posted a modified version of our front page cyclone tips at http://www.threeseven.org. Check it out!

UPDATE @ 12.47AM 2006/03/20
BoM have issued a new Tropical Cyclone warning and it can be found here.

A quick reminder to all, please don't be complacent. Make sure you have done all of the important things.

Bring in loose items from around your yard.
Secure boats and trailers.
Fill up plenty of water bottles as water treatment plant can break down under these types of extremes, and if this is the case the town water can be shut off. You cannot have too much water.
Have tinned food on hand. The rule is, have something to eat, something to cook on, and something to eat with. Remember the can opener!
Have spare batteries and battery powered radio and torch.
Cell phones charged, keep charger handy all the time we have power.
Fuel up all vehicles and make sure all oil and water levels are ok.
Fill up gas bottles and make sure you have a good supply of matches.
Make sure you have a good pair of shoes handy in case you need to walk through cloudy/dirty water.
Make sure you have all prescription medicines with you if you decided to leave home.
Turn off gas and hot water heaters in the home.
Don't forget your toothbrush.
Get money out from an ATM. If comms links are cut, you may be without access to your accounts for several days (or more).

That is a very basic list of essentials. Just do whatever you need to do to be safe. If you think your house may not be safe for a big cyclone and your neighbour has a nice big brick house, don't be shy to ask your neighbour to sit out the storm in their house.

Following is a top priority cyclone advice from the BOM, issued at 4.51pm Sunday March 19, 2006.

(Please check the BOM website or listen to the radio for updated information as this may be out of date by the time you read it.)

IDQP0005
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

Media: For immediate broadcast. Transmitters in the area Cape Tribulation to
Mackay are requested to use the Standard Emergency Warning Signal.

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 11
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 4:51pm on Sunday the 19th of March 2006

A Tropical Cyclone WARNING is now current for coastal and island communities
from Cape Tribulation to Mackay, and extending to inland areas about Croydon, Greenvale and Charters Towers.

A Tropical Cyclone Watch extends inland to near the Normanton area.

At 4 pm AEST Sunday, Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry, category 4 with central
pressure 935 hectopascals, was centred in the Coral Sea near latitude 17.6 south
and longitude 149.7 east, about 390 km east of Innisfail. The cyclone is
expected to intensify further, and move in a general westerly direction at about
25 km/h over the next 24 hours. The centre of Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry is
likely to be near the Queensland coast early Monday morning.

Damaging winds with gusts to 120 km/h are expected to develop about the
Whitsunday Islands late this afternoon, and extend to the coast between Cape
Tribulation and Mackay tonight.

Very destructive winds may develop on the coast between Cairns and Bowen on
Monday morning, with maximum wind gusts reaching 280 km/h near the centre of the cyclone.

Coastal residents between Cairns and Townsville are specifically warned of the
dangerous storm tide as the cyclone crosses the coast. The sea is likely to
steadily rise up to a level which will be significantly above the normal tide,
with damaging waves, strong currents and flooding of low-lying areas extending
some way inland. People living in areas should be prepared to evacuate if
advised by authorities.

A preliminary flood warning has been issued for coastal rivers and streams
between Innisfail and Mackay.

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry, Category 4, for 4 pm AEST Sunday
Central Pressure : 935 Hectopascals
Location of Centre : within 20 kilometres of
latitude 17.6 degrees south
longitude 149.7 degrees east
about 390 kilometres east of Innisfail
Recent Movement : West at 25 kilometres per hour
Destructive winds : out to 120 kilometres from the centre
Maximum wind gusts : 240 kilometres per hour, intensifying

People between Cape Tribulation and Mackay and the adjacent inland should
complete preparations before nightfall, especially the protection of boats and other property.

People over inland areas around Normanton and Croydon should consider what
action they will need to take if the cyclone threat increases.

The next advice will be issued at 8 pm AEST Sunday.

This warning is also available through TV and Radio Broadcasts; the Bureau's
website at www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 212. The Bureau and the State
Emergency Service would appreciate this warning being broadcast regularly.

If anyone can think of anything important left off of the prep list, don't hesitate to leave suggestions in the comments.

2006/03/19 UPDATE: There is a thread on the forums related to TC Larry. Click Here for the thread.

Once again. Everyone do your bit, be alert, be safe, and I'll see everyone after the storm.

-dopefish

Server relocation.

2006-03-01T18:44:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone. A server relocation is about to occur for Accidental-Discharge and a few other sites hosted on the same server. Please see the email attached from the server administrators for more information. We may lose a couple of recent forum posts during the changeover, as described below.

If you have any more questions, leave a comment to this post. (It will not be affected as comments are on an external server.)

Hi,
Our tests on the new servers have gone well, and we're now ready to start moving accounts across. We'll be starting the process off late tonight (should only take a couple of hours for the actual accounts to be transferred across) and we'll then switch our dns records across once that's done. There should be minimal to no actual downtime of your website, however for database driven sites, you may lose a small amount of data during the period between the account being moved across to the new server, and when the new dns kicks in (probably around 12-1am for about 30 mins). If you run batch jobs etc late at night then we advise that you either run the batch early in the night (before 11pm), or in the morning to save any problems. The old servers will remain up for the rest of this month as well as having our remote backup server should anything go wrong, but it's always a good idea to get an up to date backup of any important files anyway. We've extended the maintenance window to tomorrow to ensure that any loose ends can be corrected however we expect there to be no problems.

Once all the accounts are across and everything is smooth sailing, we'll have another update with a couple of additional services (possibly an upgrade to 1000mbit connections :) ).

FYI, if you're account is on amun server (current IP 67.19.218.250) the new IP will be 66.228.120.162
If you're on isis server (current IP 67.19.219.2) the new IP will be 66.228.10.163
If you're on another server, we'll contact you individually with your new IP.

Regards,
Demon-Host Administration
www.demon-host.com

A busy weekend in Yungaburra.

2006-02-19T20:49:00.000+10:00

It was certainly no Fiji, but I did get a break away from the Townsville heat!

Bronwyn's parents hired a 1.5 tonne truck so we could head up north to the Tablelands to move a bunch of stuff from storage up there to bring it back to Bronwyn's new place in Townsville.

So with the 1.5 tonne Kia Tipper Truck and the Rav4 in close pursuit we made a slow climb up towards Yungaburra. The truck was in good condition, but it was a slow diesel...

Everything at first was really rushed. We had to pick up furniture from two places and get it all back to Townsville the next day, get the truck unloaded and get it back to the rental place before 4.45pm, so we didn't have time to relax for much of the day.

Night-time was great. I got to see the place that Bronwyn spent her high-school years in. A wonderful big wooden house. Wooden floors, doors, ceiling, walls... EVERYTHING was a beautiful natural wood. The place was awesome. Add to that the Indian take-away we had (and a pizza that I also ate on the way back from the take away), we were well fed and had an awesome night's rest.

Sunday, and we are busy packing a couple more items into the truck, and then it was time to head back to Townsville. Bronwyn and I flew back in the Rav4 instead of driving behind the slow truck. We had to get to South Johnstone so we could have a bite to eat at the Wangan Bakery!

.... And then Frosty Mango.

.... And then Rollingstone BP to pick up some lollies that we hadn't had since we were kids.

Oh my, I love sugar.

And then that is pretty much it! We got the truck unloaded and returned with 20 minutes to spare, and we had a meal at the Riverside Tavern - which sucked.

So all-in-all, a busy-but-good weekend.

-> The people at Meteor Car & Truck Rental in Townsville are very friendly, and I recommend their services.
-> The lady who runs the Wangan Bakery is VERY nice, and the quality of the food is just as excellent. Highly suggest anyone passing through South Johnstone area pass by the Wangan Bakery if they are feeling a little peckish.
-> The asshole that gave me the finger when he was supposed to give way to ME on Bowen Rd can go and fuck himself. Twice.

Out for now!

Scam site charges users to download Firefox

2006-02-12T14:03:00.000+10:00

A website is charging users to download Firefox, as well as other free software. When a user pays their USD$37.95 to FreeDownloadHQ, they get "unrestricted access" to all the free content on the site. It should be noted that when a user actually chooses a program to download, they are linked to cNet's Download.com to actually get the file (download.com has hosted free files for many years, and you do not need to pay anyone to get access to the files).

SiteAdvisor.com payed FreeDownloadHQ a lifetime subscription fee too see what the site really offered, and found that FreeDownloadHQ state that you are buying customer service, not the software.

Siteadvisor.com has an excellent blog post with more details on this scam, so please check out the link below to their article.

SiteAdvisor.com's Article | Digg.com's Article

A very big swear word in Yorkshire, UK

2006-02-11T07:41:00.000+10:00

I can only assume this has shown up due to Google recently updating their Google Earth map coverage of the United Kingdom. Whatever the reason, it is amusing all the same. The Digg Story can be found below, and there is a link to the story at The Register which can also be found below.
---
A great big "fuck" has been found on Google Maps in Yorkshire, UK. Really.. Apart from the register article, try searching for "Billingley" on Google Maps UK and have a look at the satellite image a little to the left of the town.

The Register's Story | Digg's Story

Server Downtime (again).

2006-02-05T15:37:00.000+10:00

You may have noticed some dramas with Accidental Discharge over the past 48 hours. The server's hosts decided to do a full operating system reload, and the site had to be restored from a backup made just before the reload occured.

Worst case scenario: A couple of posts people made in the forums may have disappeared. Everything should be running fine once again.

Lawaki, Beqa Island

2006-01-29T20:01:00.000+10:00

Okay, I have calmed down a little since the last time I posted. I spent the last couple of days at Lawaki on Beqa Island (Pronounced as Benga). It's about an hours drive to get the boat (from where we are staying), and then another hour on the boat.

It was very nice. There was only 3 staff working at the resort we stayed at, and 5 people in the bay we were on (INCLUDING ourselves). We pretty much had the run of the place. We didn't do too much. Sat around playing card games, snorkling and swimming. We also managed to get some nice photos of the area too (one of which I have included above - I will post more in the galleries when I get home to broadband internet!). We were also very well looked after when it came to food, with a mix of local and not-so-local delacacies to keep our tummies satisfied.

Out for now!

Server Downtime

2006-01-29T20:00:00.000+10:00

Over the last two or three days, there was some downtime on the shared server that Accidental Discharge is hosted on. It appears as though the server's security was compromised via an insecure script running on one of the websites that is hosted on the same server, and the server was brought down.

Everything has been patched up and is back to normal, and I am told that nobody's personal and private information was compromised.

Bula: Fijian for Hello!

2006-01-22T18:16:00.000+10:00

This shot had to be taken. Maccas with the Fijian word for hello on the entrance sign. :)

Arrived in Nadi, Fiji Islands

2006-01-21T21:55:00.000+10:00

Dad had made a bit of a journey across Fiji to pick us up from the Nadi International Airport, so heading home straight away was not part of our travel plan. We pulled up at a place about 20 minutes from the airport called Stoney Creek. Bronwyn and I stayed in the flashy room and Dad took up a dorm for the night. The room Bronwyn and I had was pretty nice. Balcony with a view, bathroom with a bit of hot water and an impressively sized bed.

Dinner was at an Indian restaurant called Marharjas (where I highly recommend the spring rolls). We had Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken as mains, washed down with Lemon Lime and Bitters, Indian style.

We moved up the road a little to a place called Pirahnas for desert. Baked Fruit and Ice Cream, Chocolate Mousse, Coffee.... ALL AWESOME. In fact, every coffee I have had in Fiji so far has been awesome. I think you need to leave Australia to experience a wonderful coffee. :)

That was pretty much the night. We were tired from traveling so we crashed sort of early.

Out for now, more updates soon!

Dramas on route to Fiji

2006-01-21T15:57:00.000+10:00

Bronwyn and I got up nice and early to catch our flight to Fiji, and thank god we did. A truck had overturned on the gateway bridge in Brisbane and had spilt 500 litres of diesel onto the roads. Only one lane was open and it was peak hour morning traffic. Bronwyn's aunt decided to drop us off at the train station in the city instead, where we could catch the AirTrain express to the airport. Funnily enough, just as we had finally made it through the city and we were near the train station, there was a radio report saying that the gateway bridge had opened up and traffic was moving normally once again! =)

After taking a few moments to work out the train system in Brisbane, we were on our way to the international airport. Again, the Hewlett Packard printer from the last post caused dramas, but we finally got everything to the check-in.

No dramas in customs, and a relatively painless flight to Fiji with minimal turbulance.

More updates to follow. =)

Arrived in Brisbane

2006-01-17T22:39:00.000+10:00

Hello all!

The trip to brisbane was quite uneventful, and when flying on a plane i can only say that this is a good thing! Bronwyn's grandparents were picking us up from the airport and it was not too much of a drama to find them in the carpark. The only reason we had any problems at all was the amount of luggage we had between two people. A suitcase each, as well as a backpack. So far so good. Now add a HUGE Hewlett-Packard multi-function printer/fax/scanner/copier to the mix and that is where the problems start. (Dad needed a new printer so we decided the cheapest option would be for me to grab it with my staff discount and haul it over to Fiji on the plane with my normal luggage). Finally managed to stuff all of our gear into Bronwyn's grandparents little Toyota Corolla and we were on our way to their place to stay the night.

Dinner was at a Cactus-Jacks style restaurant, but they had NOTHING on the cactus. The restaurant was called Bull-and-Cactus, and i would probably not eat there again. It wasn't horrible, but I am just terribly biased towards Cactus-Jacks, and these guys just didn't cut it. :)

After dinner was a chat with Bronwyn's family, and then sleep time. More updates to follow!

Fiji Holiday

2006-01-05T10:17:00.000+10:00

Yay! I am going on a holiday to Fiji soon, and I will be keeping a log of my travels in the forums. Below is a copy of my forum post to kick off my holiday thread, and a link you can follow to see the whole thread.

-------------------------------
http://forums.accidental-discharge.com/index.php?showtopic=1201
-------------------------------
Hello forum! I am taking a couple of weeks off work soon and I am heading over to Fiji to spend the time with my girlfriend Bronwyn, and will have my Dad providing accommodation and acting as my tour guide of the Fijian Islands!

I have set up this thread to post pictures and news from my travels. I believe the old man has wireless internet in Fiji, but I guess I can revert back to dial-up if necessary.

I will be departing from the Townsville airport at 4.25PM on the 17th of January, headed to Brisbane. I will stay there overnight and then leave from the Brisbane International Airport to Nadi, Fiji at 9.15AM, 18 January. Flight time is approx 3 hours. Dad will be picking up Bronwyn and I from the airport in Nadi and we will drive approx 5 hours from Nadi to Suva. I will be doing most of the driving but I will make stops along the way to take photos.

Anyway, I will leave the forums be for now. This thread will be full of action again in a couple of weeks from now!

Bye guys and girls!
-------------------------------

New Homepage

2006-01-02T03:47:00.000+10:00

So I finally decided to do something different with the homepage. Sure, I doubt it will get updated anymore than the last one, but at least it looks sexy!

Essentially, the new homepage is just a blogsite. The backend of this blog (publishing and settings) is all performed via Google's site, Blogger.com. However, Accidental-Discharge actually hosts the site and many of the files that go with it. The real benefit of doing things this way is that it is dead easy to maintain the blog using blogger.com's interface, however you see no advertisements and the web address continues to point at accidental-discharge, not blogger.com.

Links to the other parts of the site can now be found on the right hand side of the homepage.

Thanks!