tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43130895642677464582011-08-22T05:35:22.091-07:00Devouring the internet, one byte at a time.Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-7956889907889240452009-08-10T14:22:00.000-07:002010-05-03T22:25:20.688-07:00

"There's a new day dawning as a cold rain falls And now's the time to walk alone." ~~ "Man in the rain", Mike Oldfield My gym instructor has a saying: "Winners never quit, Quitters never win." I think he got it off one of those motivational posters. I saw a de-motivational one with the same saying and the subtitle "But those who never win and still never quit are idiots" Generally, society

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-29615789027621828582009-06-09T02:57:00.000-07:002009-06-09T03:45:13.189-07:00

I love old maps. You just can't compare them to a Melways, or British Ordinance Survey... or a GPS for that matter.The maps of old were works of art - detailed, colourful and full of skilled penmanship. And, to a great extent, wrong. And that's a big part of why I love them.It says a lot about humanity that we can be so rock-hard certain about the way the world is, that we not only draw it in

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-84351080885553193542009-05-25T15:18:00.001-07:002009-05-25T15:50:03.983-07:00

Good ol' Senator Fielding is at is again, fighting the good fight to protect the morals of our country.His latest idea is that Federal Police should have the power to raid milk bars and newsagents in the search for pornagraphic material. Interesting concept, but I would have thought that the A.F.P. have more important things to do, like hunting down the terrorists that threaten our safety by

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-13480018836947522832009-05-16T05:48:00.000-07:002009-05-16T09:53:51.256-07:00

It seems you can't look at a single Aussie news or blog site these days without the Matthew Johns / "Clare" topic being mentioned. No doubt, it's a flash-in-the-pan thing, until another topic comes up to absorb the nation's interest and distract them from the more serious issues that they strenuously avoid thinking about.I will admit to finding a morbid interest in watching not only the topic

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-31288856413484682602009-01-26T07:38:00.000-08:002009-01-26T08:05:18.313-08:00

EPCOT, at the Disney Parks in Florida, is quite an interesting place. One of the most interesting things is that it was never intended to be a theme park.The name EPCOT derives from the acronym Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and it was intended to be a planned, utopian city complete with residences, transport system, schools and recreation facilities. It was to be a testbed for new

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-64988705086158514912009-01-09T08:19:00.000-08:002009-01-09T09:09:51.041-08:00

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, are of the opinion that you shouldn't eat fish. Well, any sort of meat, really, but let's stick with the fish for the moment.They've also noticed that people, in general, don't eat kittens. With me so far?So, they've decided that henceforth fish should be called "sea kittens". The logic being that if people identify fish with cute furry

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-55905950639750476982009-01-08T01:27:00.000-08:002009-01-08T02:37:22.982-08:00

In the future, we are told, computers will become artificially intelligent. They will be capable of the speedy correlation of facts from various sources, and be able to make a reasonable ad-hoc judgement based in them, without the need for human involvement or oversight.Perhaps, even, they will be able to experience emotions, much like Marvin (from Hitchiker's Guide) or (Data from Star Trek)

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-78872180470302164972008-11-16T09:55:00.000-08:002008-11-16T11:13:15.303-08:00

Firstly, in the interests of managing your expectations, no - there is no free laptop.After all, why would there be? Laptop computers are expensive, valuable things. I'm hardly going to give you one just for reading a few paragraphs of text, am I? If you stop and think about it for a moment, it just doesn't make sense.Which is why I was surprised to receive an e-mail earlier this week claiming

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-5912556686556942342008-11-06T03:26:00.000-08:002008-11-10T15:50:57.150-08:00

Author's note: The story below is entirely fictitious, and may contain material or concepts of an adult nature. It is a tale of activities between two consenting adults, in the privacy of their own home. If you are likely to be offended by such, then don't read it. You have been warned.----------------------------------She sat on the couch, awaiting his arrival, little know what awaited her that

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-82435877841453293672008-11-01T02:27:00.000-07:002008-11-01T02:49:37.458-07:00

Zen Buddhists have a saying: "You do not have to understand the moment, to be in the moment."Understanding the moment, and having a moment of perfect and total understanding, is a rare and beautiful thing. Some call it an epiphany, some call it divine grace, some call it nirvana. Whatever your name for it, having a perfect moment of self-awareness is something we should all strive for and

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-62137446359273188002008-10-26T17:21:00.001-07:002008-10-26T18:34:57.064-07:00

Take a look at the scene above. This is a photograph I took today. Picturesque, wouldn't you say? The windmill, the barn, the field. A lovely view of the countryside, isn't it?Now look a little closer. Above the windmill, just over the trees you can see the roof of a house.Yes, the windmill, the livestock - all of it is a model (at the Brekonscot Model Village)Without the view of the house, your

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-35767585188767233562008-10-19T04:33:00.000-07:002008-10-19T05:43:47.742-07:00

My fellow Bloggerator recently wrote about a spate of child abductions in NSW and, amongst other things, said that:With no official statement from police and left with many differing news reports of these events, we have to assume that releasing any official statements would lead to a greater fear in the communityFear is a basic, primal emotion - and it serves an important purpose. Fear is what

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-41144906992125718992008-10-13T09:43:00.000-07:002008-10-13T10:19:32.821-07:00

I've always had an affinity for bears. And, in recent years, it's beginning to show. Furry, round belly, growl a lot, tendency to hibernate when it gets cold, etc. In a past life, I used to be a bear.And, when it comes to bears, one of the stand-outs would have to be Paddington Bear, who turns 50 years old today.I remember when I was younger, I had a blue duffel coat just like his. It never

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-67555243655997733532008-10-13T07:48:00.000-07:002008-10-13T07:50:53.968-07:00

... but "Ask Bossy" is in the running for a "Blogger's Choice" award.Voting ends in 3 days, so please get yourself over to http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/20718 (you'll need to register) and vote for her!

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-77335498355101186622008-10-12T14:34:00.000-07:002008-10-13T02:15:55.927-07:00

It's rare for me to have a haircut. Even rarer for me to cut several of 'em! :-)It's not that I dislike hair dressers. Except for the most recent one I went to: her, I actively dislike and will never set foot in that salon again. But I digress. Generally, haircuts and hair styling is something I just can't be bothered with. I'll get around to it at some point. I generally have a haircut every 3-

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-10417397569779941332008-10-11T12:04:00.000-07:002008-10-11T12:18:31.503-07:00

I got some herring fillets cheap at the market today. I've never had herring before, so not sure really what to do with it.In the end, I made a crust of cracked pepper, garlic, mixed dried herbs and some chopped basil from my herb garden (well, herb pot plant) and pan-fried it, with a side salad done with a dressing of olive oil, white wine vinegar and natural yoghurt.Was rather tasty, but I

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-38619215180102820472008-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:002008-10-12T08:19:09.868-07:00

Green capsicum...I just love it. It is, I think, the one vegetable I could just eat and eat and never get sick of it. Raw, roasted, char-grilled. In a salad, on a pizza, in long strips with dip. Cut in half and piled with cous-cous. The options are limitless.I've strayed to yellow capsicum once or twice - meh, I could take it or leave it. It's nice, but just looks underripe to me.I've had the red

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4313089564267746458.post-17787922692286569292008-10-08T10:39:00.000-07:002008-10-08T14:42:32.640-07:00

A friend of mine, Kate, runs an advice blog - she receives letters from the the public and publishes them along with advice. We all know that lots of things go on behind closed doors - so it's not surprising that some of the letters concern behaviour which many people might find unusual.Quite frequently, someone on the blog says that the letters aren't real. Occasionally, someone will outright

Aussie Locusthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12335490915332913787noreply@blogger.com1