Weird Al @ Canberra Theatre

Jen and I caught Weird Al at the Canberra Theatre on Saturday night. Amish Paradise was performed, the fat suit was out, Nirvana was played... and the Segway even made an appearance!

What's missing?

Expermental brew 52:

1.7 kg of CSR Treacle (Molasses)
300 g of White Wings "Corn" Cornflour
1 x Morgans Hallertau Finishing Hops
10 mL of Licorice Extract


This experimental and tasty - yes, of course I tasted it - brew was made up to 12 L. Original gravity is 1.050 g/mL. Visible in the background is brew 51; that honey/wheat beer is complete and awaits bottling.

Welcome aboard, Rimsy, from Jenny and I - to the Circle of Canberra Homebrewers. You are on to brew 3 now? Ah, the memories..

St. Patrick's Day @ O'Neil's

St. Patrick's Day was hosted at St. O'Neil's in Dickson on Saturday afternoon. It is quite a difference to be there during the day, rather than late on a Thursday for our cheap drinks night. For a start, it's much brighter..


I embraced face-painting and look forward to joining the Blue Man group soon enough.


Trusting souls let me loose with the brush on them, too.


And then, there's the Irish Boonie gremlin I was so scared of in my child-hood.


Me lucky charms!


Scotty, you were made to be Irish!


Girls in green.


St. Pat's day was and always will be, of course, my little bro - Marky's - birthday. I know that you had a lot of your mates over to that little slice of paradise in Bathurst, so no doubt you had an awesome time. Best wishes from us here in Canberra! And Katie Starr, for Sunday, happy 25th too.

Quarter of a Ton

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys, that have already come in! I am, of course, 25 at 10:17am today.

Diving at Tathra

Tathra beach as viewed from near the wharf. We dived to the east of the wharf and were startled by a few massive rays that were patrolling.


The hardest part of diving is lugging the gear down to the water and back again. The actual diving is fun and easy!


On Sunday morning, we dived from the Killaleau bay and were greeted by even more massive rays!


Then we packed up and made our way back to Canberra.

Best Wishes, Coop and Dani

Best wishes for your marriage to Dani this month, Coop! (This photo was taken in early 2002 in Canberra.)

On the Road

I brought the GS500 back down to a canter travelling through Crookwell on the way to Bathurst last week because there were a lot of cattle out grazing on the long paddock.


This little blue-tongued lizard wasn't grazing, just sunning himself. I gave him a little encouragement to get off the road, but he didn't take it very well.

Peel Street Lads

Experimenting with domesticity, the lads make their weekly shopping trip and I have the pleasure of joining them as part of my visit early this week.


It was back to the comfortable new residence for a few brews and a barbie.


Aside from being introduced to the song "Toast", amongst other Bathurst fashions, I competed on Buck-hunt at the famouse Ox Hotel. Lee, for now, is the gun.


Marko runs a close second. I will put in some practice at Mooseheads on the Buck while I still can't get in to to work at my hail-damaged building and try to give the Bathurst lads more of a run for their money next time.


Marko and I took the GS500 for a run around Mount Panorama on Tuesday afternoon.


I may be just a tad over the posted speed limit of 60 kmph..?


In the past, I may not have given Bathurst the credit it deserves and would say now that Marko and Lee are living in a little slice of paradise over there. As such, I will be back again soon and will also be trying to improve my lap times at The Mountain. Marko poses below in front of the turn-off to the pits at the northern end of the track.


Spending a bit of time on the campus over Monday and Tuesday impressed upon me how beautiful the location is - with its rolling green ovals, and the people here are really friendly. Marko and Lee - you guys have made and awesome choice. Thanks again for the hospitality, cheers!

Hail at Pace

Jenny and I are home with a legitimate excuse today. Parts of Canberra were exposed to a thunderstorm last night that produced torrential rain and a volley of massive hailstones. The university campus is closed today while assessment and some repair of the damage, incurred yesterday evening, is undertaken. We prolonged the life of a couple of the hail stones cryogenically and they were photographed this morning. Notice the interesting ice crystal "shards" that project from the stone on the right?

Condomine Street is All Fired Up!

Rimsy, the lead guitarist in our band, hosted a very thorough warming of his house on Saturday afternoon and evening. There is a link to Rimsy's new blog on the right-hand side of this page, right now.


The kitchen was, as in all good house parties, became established as the epicentre of the excitement.

Rosé fans unite!

We rounded the evening off with a trip in to the Transit Bar. Or, if you've been in Canberra for a while, then it's the old Church Bar. Or, if you enjoy Canberra as much as I have and have been lapping it up since Coops was in the army, then it's the old Aree Bar.

Monc'd Again!

Ash is in to Arrested Development now and so should everyone! Welcome back, big boy.

The theme of the party was "on the offensive", but the hosts were their usual friendly selves. Of course, the tasty cake had to be censored... It was so rude that I ate it in a hurry to spare others the horror!

The Monc as it stands at February 2007. Thanks guys!

Congrat's, Dobs; you're always going off!

They have grown.

Chris, your chilli plants are fruiting now! I have made some awesome chilli from these guys.


A bit of water has sent the garden gang-busters. Puss was a little reluctant to pose for a second garden shot, but perhaps you can see the difference? The chilli and capsicum plants at the back are even taller. Do you recall the chilli varieties that you planted, Chris?

Cowra Entrepreneur in Strife

A young Cowra poker champion and entrepreneur has run in to a bit of strife.

OPC 2007

Jenny poses on this cart at Ouyen on our trip to Adelaide last week.

We stayed at the Ouyen Hotel, obviously devised in grander times.


We were advised that the Hay plains were flat and the roads were straight - and we cannot fault that advice!


Many of the posters presented at the Adelaide chemistry conference can be viewed at the RSC. I haven't posted any chemisty-related material. What I have here, instead, is a shot here of my friend from my research group wandering along Glenelg beach in Adelaide.


Getting gassed is, of course, a very important part of going to a conference!


Jenny and I camped under the stars, thus breaking in half our 1300km return journey from Adelaide.

Phil, Fox & The Fellowship

Welcome back the Australia, Phil. I know that you are already busy with your act in the Questacon Science Circus.


Post-O'Neil's tests of strength.


Fun-in-the-sun at the Dickson Pool.


More sedate fun-in-the-sun.


The Fellowship gathered at the Fox and revelled in the balmy evening.