O' Richmond, Where 'art Thou

With one foul swoop my hopes, dreams and ambitions of winning this years footy tipping comp were dashed!

Last night, opening game of the AFL season, Carlton v Richmond, 85000+ people in attendance (which is the largest crowd ever for these teams playing each other) and what happens? Richmond doesn't turn up! Sure there were players on-field wearing the yellow and black however it was confusing who they were playing for as most of the time they kicked the ball to Carlton, who then dropped it through the Britney's.

I thought with all the hype and media cods-whallup surrounding them, they'd last longer than 10 mins out there. It begs the question "Are Richmond actually any good or was it all phooey?". I sincerely hope it was an off night but with Geelong next week and the Doggies the week after, they're gunna need more than a pep talk to get the moral back up.

I did watch the whole game and did see Cuz go down like a Brazilian footballer which was a real shame. He took a few VERY interesting knocks off the ball, one in particular by Fev which was totally disgraceful and was worthy of a report in my view. Still, I hope he is back in action sooner rather than later, lord knows they need him to keep the team alive.

Advertising on Police Cars

one of the things that divides opinions is advertising, and its never simply black or white. We need advertising so that we know what is out there in the big wide world. Of course there is the overkill side by where giant billboards rule the sides of road, TV ads are louder then shows and every square inch of space on anything has been covered in someones product

Advertising can be clever and interesting, even bordering on being artistic. I actually commend those advertisers who come up with innovative and interesting work that gains attention thru subtlety. Take this advert as an example Nokia Adit has nothing to do with phones but its a good ad.

As a small business owner i need to advertise to compete, however i always question how much is too much? (of course how much is not enough and just a waste of money). The rule of thumb that i have heard is that a potential client needs to see an ad 4 times before they become interested. Unfortunately from my perspective if someone put something in my face 4 times over a short period of time i'd be more inclined to not go with it.

About 2 weeks ago i was watching some late nite TV show and this ad came on for some karate/kung fu place in the same suburb i work in (essentially a competitor for me on some level). Nothing overly exciting about the ad but for the fact that they are doing it and i am not. Unfortunately for this business the ad came on every single ad break so by the end of the show i was watching i just wanted to karate chop the crap out of the advert.

So the question i ponder is, what is good advertising and what isn't...you out there are the target audience what floats your boat?

PS. Watch "the Gruen transfer" on ABC1 when u have the chance

Periodic Table of Game Controllers

OK lets get back on track with all things Squid and geek the crap out of this blog.

During my daily surf this morning (yes the Internet kind not the cool kind) I saw this new periodic table. It plucked my nerd strings so I thought I'd share it with y'all.

Basically its a table from left to right of button mappings on all game consoles ever released and the bottom area is reserved for portable devices. Brought back a few old memories and a few reminders of what buttons were a small *cough*LARGE*cough* part of my childhood *cough*ADULTHOOD*cough*.

Trying to master finishing moves in Killer Instinct on SNES after 3am and far too many sherbet sticks. Let me try and remember... Left Down Right X Y A A Y X Right Down Left yeah that would have sorted you out! Very sore thumbs and a partial skin separation issue meant it was shelved for a few weeks which probably meant we went back to playing Mario Kart!

Click here for a version you can actually read......

Circle The Wagons

My little stint on the wagon was very short lived, only 8 days in-fact, so after 4 days of beers and one disgraceful evening Ive decided to get back on for a little while. Both for my sanity and overall well-being!

Saw a health AD on TV last night that was about a bloke who didn't think his slight weight gain was a big issue, 5 years later he had gained a little more, then a little more etc etc etc until 'all of the sudden' lugging all that weight around for years meant he couldn't do basic stuff like chase his little brat of a daughter for slapping her brother upside the head, OK that last bit was made up!

While it was a bit OTT, the point was to deal with the little problem while its little. I'm not saying a 30 sec clippitt was a huge turning point or some sort of Blues Brothers related phenomenon "Can you seeee the light!!!, YES YES I CAN SEE THE LIIIIIGHT" (damn that's a good movie) it was just one of those times of clarity when you think, hey that's me!

Went to the beach on the weekend after what felt like years and I really don't know why I don't go all the time - I love it! I just think that instead of putting the feet up, they should be on their way somewhere or better yet, be achieving something.....unless of course there's something good on TV. : P

So it will be my first dry St Pats since 1997 and I'm not fussed in the slightest. I'm going to restructure every job Ive started and left alone, including the Moke! Should have her back on the road this evening so looking forward to that, perfectly timed with the weather as it has decided to rain today!

Peace out Cowfolk

Music Video of the Week

Lakai - Fully Flared Intro

But Why?

Whoa looks like we need to break the post drought on here. Who would have thought doubling the authors would halve the uploads! Always have to keep you guys on your toes I suppose.

In the latest episode of Why Japan, Why..Gizmodo have release this picture of a giant wo-man/child stretching over the train line....ignoring the fact that its a giant girl in what looks like a normal Nippon suburb...why does the train have to seem like its coming from her crotch?

Is this some famous girl? Has Manga taken over in Japan so much that they think this is what people actually look like now?

After a quick Google it has been web-proven (which is my term for 'some guy said in a forum') that this is in the province of Akihabara Japan and is actually fake. Ive seen and made a number of fake pictures in my time and Ive gotta say, if that's fake its bloody good!

Might have been faster to just make the statue for real!

NA NA na na NA NA na na NA NA na na....Batman

Imagine your disappointment after years or planning that high-street bank heist or 711 snatch and grab, only to find out that they've got CCTV installed. What if you feel like being a criminal but all that Heroine you've squirted into your inner elbow over the years has made you look and feel like a Mr Burns impersonator?

Don't despair..........fool the cameras, the checkout attendant, your friends and even yourself with the full face Batman Hoodie.

Ok, I've had a look at how this thing works and as we have all been to school, i think we all know what would happen if you wore this amongst other people. Yep you got it - Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip and your blind, haha

Slow news day today everyone. Mowed the lawn last night so its looking da bomb, buying more inner workings for the Moke tomorrow for a weekend blitz on the suspension and front wheel bearings, going shopping for the wedding rings (suggestions of where to go welcome!), might go to the beach, having a general quiet/beerless one this weekend I think.....yes I'm still dry......5 days and counting.

Have a good one all!

Stole the following idea off iSimon but you cant stop me using it!

Soundtrack Of The Day - Linkin Park, Meteora (a personal favourite)
"I cant separate.....myself from what Ive done - Giving up a part of me.....Ive let myself become you."

Fancy some good Aural?

Music is a big pursuit in my life, more so then most, i once had an argument with a guy whether music could or could not be classified as an interest. He said that everyone like music so therefore its a given and you can't claim it as an interest. I argued the opposite saying that i spend time discovering new music and playing guitar and (trying to) creating new songs.

Anyway i digress from my actual point

There is this great program / website called Pandora (www.pandora.com) where you punch in an artist that you like and it plays "similar" artists. Starting out with the obvious links then gradually expanding to looser connections, you get to expand your musical horizons. With the ability to skip or <3 the tracks the system starts to shape the upcoming tracks to really match your preferences. Unfortunately due to USA typical legislative society they put the brakes on this project for anyone outside the motherland.

Whilst this all went down, another site in existence called Last.Fm (www.last.fm) went about the same deal (not as well in my opinion) and attempted to corner the market. Its a bit more Myspazzy, everyone gets a log in name and then a page which includes their most listened to tracks etc and you can msg friends etc etc. As a bonus to this is an associated download which will track all your media player movements too, so if you whack on a cd it records that you have listened to the songs, further contributing to your "preferences".

So almost daily i work with WMP going in the background, when i remember to enable Last.fm it records all my playlists. So if i am ever away from my computer with all my fave tracks all i have to do is log on anywhere in the world and play station "Solat" (my username) and i get all my fave artists lining up for me! This has gotten so crazy that now i can punch myself as an artist (even tho my own songs only sit on my computer) and it associates all the artists i like as similar artists to me because I listen to myself along with them (since they are music files on my computer and get played when i just have my music folder playing on random).

So if you were ever looking for more music, or want to check out whats stuff is on my hardrive, head to last.fm and have a play around

Show us your TIPS

Nedlands Tennis Club

AFL Footy tipping 2009

Do you have the knowledge?
Have you studied the stats??
Or are you just the best guesserer???

This is tipping with a difference….the challenge? Pick all the winners before the first bounce of the season, no worries about forgetting your tips one week! The competition is open to anyone; club members, family and friends (even foes), the more the merrier!

Tip with your head, tip with your heart or flip a coin - Its up to you! Entry form must be returned by

MONDAY MARCH 23rd

Cross out the “losing team”of each match (any left blank will not be scored, any drawn matches will be deemed a “win”)

COST OF ENTRY is $25
PRIZES are as follows : 1st place - $150
2nd place - $100
3rd place - $75
PLUS a weekly prize of $25 for picking 8/8 which jackpots if not selected
BONUS: the last placed tipster at the end of the season wins the remaining jackpot amount (might be $0 or up to $550 depending on when the last perfect round was tipped)

Results will be posted weekly on http://www.nedlandstennis.com/
email me for an entry form : nedlands@tennisexcellence.com.au

Moke + Piano Hinge = Pickup Truck

Ive always got my eye on carsales.com.au for the latest bargain and for obvious reasons a common search is for available Mini Mokes.

Today someone has put this one up and its got my brain cogs turning. For those that don't know, my Moke was originally a ute similar to this but without the tipping functionality. I have a 1/2 roof like the picture and have always wanted to remake the ute piece but in a removable fashion....yes i want my cake and eat it too.

This is a great example of a Moke ute but my only concern is the tipping doesn't seem to be power assisted at all. Meaning that its easy to tip when empty but chuck a load in the back and your functionality has just gone down the proverbial gurgler.

My final thought - close but not close enough. If you want to see it from a few more angles click here. Otherwise keep your ear to the ground and your eye on the streets for ideas!

Got Beer?

"You've got a deal baby, no deer for a month."

With the uber-beer weekend behind us, including the absolute domination of Centurion and the completion of the 141 list, Kylie and I have decided that a self-intervention is required and some unwanted kilos need to be left in the ether before the wedding.
________________

Centurion
Beer of choice was Grolsh and at 5% it wasn't going to be a pushover. BBQ started at 8.30 and after a couple of warm up beers Centurion was underway at 9.26. The first 10 were actually quite refreshing and between shots everyone was busying themselves with questions of why they were involved? who would pee first? hasn't this song been on before? did you just mark off that shot? why are we using a pictionary timer? and the all important - will i make it to 100?

From 10 onward I can only speak for myself and my next memorable moment was at 30 as I started to feel a little too tipsy to consume the 70 more. Fortunately as the nature of the game suggests, while your sitting there pondering, another 3-4 shots go down and your attention is drawn away faster than a zap of the mozzie repeller.

At 50 the game is well and truly becoming interesting, conversations switched to far more pressing political issues and gas starts emanating from every orifice without warning. I can now confirm that when your trying to make a point about the current economic crisis, Obama or fuel prices - doing a 5 second burp mid sentence doesn't help get your point across............but it definitely makes it funnier!

50 onward is slightly blurred and looking back it could have been the fastest 50 minutes of my life. Several thousand comments about the speed of 1 minute with the result always being that 1 minute must always be 1 minute?!?! Without warning, Centurion took its first victim.........AND its second in very quick succession...........then there was 2. Luckily for us the decisions to stop were voluntary so we were able to continue without delay, foul stenches or the ongoing mental image of watching someone chuck!

90+ were quite fun - knowing that your going to make it means you can relax and enjoy it alot more. 100 hit and that was that - Done. A few photos and laughs later we decided to keep having shots on the minute until we finish the Grolsh carton. Following onto 105, 110, 115, 120.......124 and that was that. In my wisdom I thought we should crack another type of beer and have 1 more shot to get to 125 which was a good milestone, my body did NOT agree! Phil meet Garden, Garden this is Phil.

A few more drinks and a cartwheel competition later it was time for bed.
________________

141
As readers of the blog will be aware, Kylie and I have been doing the 141 Beer Challenge at the Paddo for the last 141 days and at yesterdays finale we were greeted with a fantastic turnout of friends and fam to catch up with and witness the event. To reach the target I had 6 to drink, Kylie had just 4 and after 3 hours we were there - no problems!

The little cards that they keep behind the bar with all the beers marked off were packed with ticks and crosses in every colour pen/marker you can imagine and it felt quite good to see it complete and get to the end, alive. In the next few months when they put another load of names up on the wall, ours will be there. We can only hope that we counted 141 days correctly! We will also each get a T-Shirt, VIP Card and little plaque for our achievement. Woot

Id just like to thank everyone that turned up on any PYF Wednesday to egg us on, have a meal, a beer and a chin-wag. Was great to see all of you and I hope that we keep catching up regularly for the latest update on your life!

________________

I think I've ranted on enough today so adios all. Stay tuned for the next idiotic thing I've signed up for.....just need to think of something!

P.S. Can anybody do a cartwheel leading with their non-preferred hand?

It's Poopy-Time!

No its not fake, I haven't gone mad (even though im working on a public holiday) this is tha-shizzle. If you're finding it hard to read the black text, let me enlighten you:

"Make bathroom time fun again with the original SafeGlide adapter and Poopy-Time shapes! What will your kids poop up?"

The only thing that comes to mind is 'I Don't Know........ What WILL my kids poop up?' I don't know about all of you but when there's a chocolate hostage coming out of a nearby kid, I can think of a few things id rather be doing with them than jamming a shaped funnel up their coit.

Dear oh dear, I'm just looking at the faces of the 2 kids in the picture......do you think they were hoping to be on a board game box cover or they've just had a ride on the poopy-time express? I doubt they were staring at a little red rocket, don't you.