No more squeaks thanks to "Special K".

The first day of daylight-saving time was toasted this evening at the Moncrieff residence at a top barbecue with fireworks - hosted by Ash (happy birthday), Rina (nice salad), Jenny (great homebrew) and Louie (hot barbecue).
Money Shot 101's biggest fan ought to mark today in their diary Ash Kearton's birthday.

Thursday Ritual at O'Neil's, Dickson

Celebrity spotters were treated last night as "Ash" Kearton (lead guitarist from the popular indie/rock band Money Shot 101) was spotted wetting his whistle at the busy O'Neil's Hotel in Dickson.
His party, including Jenny H, Louie M and this author unwound for a few hours but declined to make an appearance in Civic due largely to impending academic concerns. A late start for Jenny H indicated that a last-minute backflip had taken place. 

Thesis time...

Man, I wish that I was diving at the coast rather than writing up!
There's not long to go though, and I will be down at the coast - maybe diving at Bushranger's Bay, as shown in the photo here from last month. 

A time to laugh, a time to weep.

So - the lawn's mowed, washing up is done, my clothes are clean, the bed's made, vacuuming is also done. There's so many other things to do when there's a thesis to write... like shave off your beard, or update your blog!
I also considered that the clean-shaven look would pay off when I present my new passport.

East India Pale Ale (7% alc. v/v)

My beautiful assistant Jennifer provided ample support while we bottled our thirteenth brew. This week we have produced an East India Pale Ale (7% alc. v/v). Extra hopping was provided by using dried hops. Twenty-seven bottles of beer (21.6 L) of beer were bottled and are now stored away. It is considered that a minimum of two weeks should pass before sampling is begun. As supply has started to keep just ahead of demand, this may occur. However, I dare not say that this happy state of affairs will last long past the due date for chemistry theses.
Thankyou again Jen for being such a vivacious assistant!

The Plate Shot

This photo is actually from a few months ago and was taken at the house-warming of a few good friends of mine that live in Moncrieff Street in Dickson. I happen to actually detest this photo, but due to popular demand I have posted it on the site. Ash "Ash" Kearton, a minor (keep an eye on him) celebrity and skilled guitarist from the punk/rock band Money Shot 101 happens to be a major proponent of the absurd "plate shot". So Ash - this post is dedicated to you!
It was pleasing to see how much you enjoyed watching your name-sake in action last night. At the house previously and thoroughly warmed, we watched the cult classic, Army of Darkness starring Bruce Campbell as Ash. I anticipate that a photograph taken at O'Neill's hotel in Dickson (on our Thursday pilgrimage) of you, Ash Kearton, in a ripped blue shirt, with a strap-on shotgun holster, and brandishing a chainsaw on one arm will easily put my "plate shot" in the shade.

RACI Chemistry Ball '05

RACI Chemistry Ball '05 was held at the Ainslie Football Club. A gallery of about 100 photographs from the night have been published online.

Tonight the ANU Uni Bar played host to "Money Shot 101" as part of the Caught in the Act line-up. Ash and Dobs (left and right, respectively) are the front-men of the band.

The Australian Government Should Not Send Money to Indonesia

It has been reported in the ABC media today that the Australian government shall provide one million dollars to the people of Bali, following the bombing attacks on Saturday.

Foreign aid is not a legitimate role for government. All of the money that the Australian Government has is collected from taxation - it is the hard earned product of the lives of Australian citizens that has been forcibly extracted from them. The only moral roles for government is the protection of its citizens from force and fraud from outside, and from within, its boundaries. Beyond the infrastructure that must exist to fulfill these duties, governments are immorally violating the liberty of their citizens.

Hence, the confiscation of wealth from Australian citizens (taxation) and its redistribution to blighted peoples (foreign aid) is immoral. Bureaucrats may feel a warm glow as they redistribute the wealth that you have produced with your life and your effort, but they have produced nothing and "generosity" costs them not a cent.

Consider Ayn Rand's quote: " What is the basic, the essential, the crucial principle that differentiates freedom from slavery? It is the principle of voluntary action versus physical coercion or compulsion."

So, give as much as you like - voluntarily - but let's keep the government out of our pockets when it comes to being "compassionate". Have you ever noticed how generous people are when someone else is footing the bill?

The boys are just about ready for the 'Pac..

Phantasy and Rimsy300

Dunc with flower in his hair is warming up!

Crazy Kevsta, Pinko's okay and Glynn approves.

Green Sea Lion with hair out, and Pinko.

Weir, D., Pinko, The Kevsta

Mobile phones...

Why mobile phones are bad and the solution to them:

Written letters are so much nicer to look back on (and receive) than SMS messages.

So much money is wasted just ringing someone who is coming to meet you when you know that they will be there soon anyway.

People are losing the ability to plan things properly. Once upon a time, when someone said, "let's meet up there and then," they actually remembered to and were on time.

Bosses no longer hire or promote people because they are reliable and good leaders. Why not just hire some stupid lump, hand him a mobile phone, and just check on him every two hours?

Some mobile phone owners don't live in the present - they are checking for SMS's and looking for somewhere else to go, and someone else to talk to even if they're at the most awesome party ever. Watch - they just can't appreciate their immediate surroundings any more.

Phones interrupt a lot of important things. Someone's just opening up and trying to tell you something dear or important to them but you just received an SMS. You're boinking and having the time of your life - hang on, I've got a call!

Who wants expensive plastic to lug around so that you become a target for theives and muggers? Heaps of people, I guess. Not to mention that phones are delicate pieces of equipment and need replacing after hard knocks!

Mobile phones allow you to call the person you want to speak to - and your world shrinks because you don't meet their family or housemates like you ordinarily would be calling the landline phone. It's not hard to say hello to a friend of a friend sometimes - maybe you will get to like them...

These are some of the reasons why I'm not keen on mobile phones. I was urged to buy one back in 2000 for my job as a remedial builder in Sydney. A couple of years later, I took the ultimate step and sacrificed my phone in the name of decency and to escape back to the present. A high speed collision with a tree worded well for my Nokia 3210, but a short flight into a creek also worked quite well for my friend's phone after we had chatted about them for a while. He said later that it was one of the most liberating things that he had ever done!

So anyway - phones suck - toss them and start living. It'll hurt at first, but in the long run you'll appreciate it. And use the money that you save to do fun things that make good memories too, like:

Learn to dance
SCUBA diving
Parachuting
Learn French
Dress better
Join a gym
Buy a cool bike
Get flowers for girls/boys
Drive to the mountians

Weir, D. Returns

It was a late one last night as we toasted the return of one Mr. Dave Weir from his round-the-world trip. The Goshen fire department would like their lucky jacket back. Kermy was in "high" spirits as usual!