Fully Sic

Car - Tick
Central Locking - Not Ticked
Insane Stereo - Not Ticked

A major downside of the new vehicle is that it still has a factory stereo and no central locking fitted, boooooooo. It has the potential to be a powerhouse of music so why not capitalise. It has moulded speaker mounts in all doors and last night I took to them with a Phillips head to find out what I'm dealing with.

I'd turned up the stereo and it was dismal so I thought the easiest way to upgrade would be to see what speakers are installed and get better ones the same size so they would slot in and with the existing wires already running back to the deck it should be a piece of cake.

Took the 2 door skins off the passenger side and to my complete amazement, there are no speakers at all! 2 things immediately sprang to mind, 1. That's Bad, and 2. Where the hell is the sound coming from? After a bizillion more screws and the loss of a fair amount of hair I discovered the answer. There are 2 x 4 inch speakers mounted inside the dash below the air vents - no WONDER it sounded like a rusted ole battery powered AM radio!

Final result? The installation of the gear now requires me to drill holes for the speaker and central locking wires to run from the car to the doors. Therefore it quickly changed from a DIY jobby to a drive the car to a professional and have it all done properly jobby!

Got a few decent quotes today and a few indecent ones but I've settled on buying the gear online and taking it all to the shop for a professional fitting. Its all been ordered so by the weekend I should have remote central locking and a thumping ride which I'm very excited about.

Stay tuned.....literally

Melbourne Mania

We're back and we all survived........just.

For the first time I can honestly say that everything on a trip went exactly as planned. Flights were fine with only minor delays, our hotel was nice and close to everything, we easily got to all the football games and the weekend was more or less hitchless.

The hotel was opposite Flinders Station meaning we could walk to all 4 games and there were a number of pubs n food nearby to keep us going. We knew the location would be fine but What we were all pleasantly surprised at was how good the rooms actually were. Easily ticked all the boxes and threw in some luxuries too! We arrived at 12.30 and were allowed to check in, called reception on Sunday morning and locked in a late check-out, no problems sir! Full mini-bar, 20+ TV stations, ipod dock clock radio (hehe), IGA Liquor next door - what else can you need?

We went to the 4 games as planned including the double header which we were a little nervous about. We had plenty of time to walk back to the hotel, get some 'food' and hop on a tram across town and make the 2nd game. Game was average but there are plenty of stories to tell from it! DEB!!!!! They're doing it again!!!

We made sure Crown Casino is still there a couple of times but I think there is definitely something wrong with their roulette tables. Lets just say if you bet the opposite to me all night, you would have been a very happy camper.

Taxi ride to the airport was as bad as you can get. Wont go into too many details but if you miss the motorway off ramp that doesn't mean you can stop in your lane, reverse back, do a 3 point turn, drive directly into oncoming traffic (a semi-trailer in this case), attempt to turn into the off ramp (which of course doesn't allow for people driving the wrong way) only to miss-judge it, drive up the kerb, into the bushes and cause a scooter rider to almost T-Bone the car. OK maybe i will go into some details! Now just another reminiscent story to be told over a pint.

Big shout out to the boys - terrific trip guys, thanks, had a bloody brilliant time!

Flight got us back into Perth at 11:30pm and for some reason I got bugger all sleep. No plans for tonight cos I've gotta catch up before I fall down!

Soundtrack Of The Day: Anything but a lullaby!

Triton Titan

Unbelievably I remembered to take a picture of the new wheels in-between me getting home and darkness falling (10 mins!). As you can see it has wheels and doors and as it arrived on our lawn, you can assume it has an engine too.

It DESPERATELY needs some stereo attention as the original radio/cassette just will not do. I've only been driving it for around 90 mins and I just cant go on - horrible horrible stereo. Tomorrow night is late night shopping here (yes Simon we only get 1 day a week, yes its straight from the 1960s, yes we all know its bollocks :P) so I might head out and see whats on offer. Clearly it will have to have an AUX input so I can play beats from the iPhone but apart from that I'm not too picky really. Might be able to jag a deck, amp and speaker pack and install it myself to save some dosh. As its a dual cab there is very little room for a sub but we'll see how it goes.

2 days until departure and I still haven't even looked at what to do in Melbourne. Don't really want to shop or go to the markets so that just leaves walking around in circles and looking up for entertainment.

Help me!

Google Question Of The Day: What is a Shweeb?
Soundtrack Of The Day: Dierks Bentley - Long Trip Alone

Ultra AFL Man-Fest

This Friday we are heading to the land of raging hipsters adorned with the latest in all the fashion worlds wonderfulness and not giving a flying duck about it. Surrounded my suit jackets, converse shoes that have never seen a skateboard, watches the price of hospital wings and complete twats as far as the eye can see - yes, we're off to Melbourne!

Why? Well this year we're all turning three - oh and we thought it would be appropriate to celebrate such a milestone with a man-trip to the home of AFL. The attendees are are my co-blogger, myself and another couple of lumberjacks that we've known since school who are worthy of our email lists and mobile phonebooks!

We leave Perth at 6.10am, arrive around 11 and busy ourselves until our AFL binge begins at 6.30:

Friday Night - Blues V Pies @ The G
Saturday Arvo - Cats V Hawks @ The G
Saturday Night - Saints V Dogs @ The Dome
Sunday Arvo - Tigers V Bombers @ The G

In between those we need to squeeze in some other activities and possibly some sleep. The Sunday game is optional depending on if we are totally rooted/drunk/unconscious or just over footy by then!

I've been trying to find out what there actually is to do in Melbourne but it's proving quite hard. Crown Casino is one obvious one but Google comes up with rubbish and there don't seem to be any bands on so I'll put it to you guys..... What else is there to do there?

Bye Cream Pies
.

Triton's Getting A Clean

As with every used car you buy, you tend to learn more about it on the drive home after paying than on the test drive itself. There are a couple of things that I knew about that will be checked out in the coming week by at least one qualified mechanic but I find it interesting what you DONT notice beforehand.

Like that slight knocking sound coming from the front wheels when you turn a corner, the fact that the stereo doesn't light up with the headlights and that ringing sound coming from the phone when the bank realise how much we spent!

Torrential rain and wild wind gusts (quoted from the news!) caused a slight change to my sleep pattern last night, I think I managed around 3 hours which is super duper. Couldn't seem to get the thought out of my head that the tap on the roof was a tile about to fly to the neighbours and flood the house. We have 3 large (2mx3m) windows on the windy side of our house and when your watching them flex back and forth its a little unsettling. Also had the new car parked under a tree! eeep

The lack of sleep meant I stayed in bed for as long as possible and didn't get time to take a picture of it this morning - doh. Will try and get one later on for tomorrows post. As I'm writing this I can hear the rain smashing into the roof of the office........ glad its still 2 hours till lunch!


Soundtrack Of The Day: Britney Spears - Circus

Why Does 4x4 Mean Car & 4x2 Mean Wood?

So all went well with the vehicle yesterday and the deposit went down on it. Its a dual cab 4x4 and much to Kylie's disgust, its another bloody dark green car!

Long Desc: Mitsubishi Triton, 1998, 3.0L V6, MK, GLX, Double Cab, Fibreglass Canopy, Bottle Green, 103000kms, petrol + LPG, FSH, 2 Owners, $9500.
Short Desc: 1998 Double Cab Triton MK GLX V6, $9500.
Shorter Desc: Green Car

Pictures to follow as we are collecting it tonight, still only slightly excited which is weird cos getting new stuff is freakin' awesome! Must have something to do with the practical and responsible nature of this particular vehicle. Stupid pointless cars and unrealistic projects are definitely more exciting! hehe.

Need to find some hills to drive over now. Might take a few deviations on the way home to 'test' out the 4'be features just in case of ummmmmm, ah i dunno - I need to drive over shit! As we are now a 4 car family, somethings gotta give. Anyone want to buy a multi-coloured Mazda? Today only....$2000 or trade for boat!

This also marks the official start of 'Dawson's Fishing Adventures', eat ya heart out rex - "yibbida yibbida, he's too old folks".

Cya Egg Beaters

Soundtrack Of The Day: Cat Empire

Tyre Kicking

Recently I've/we've been shopping for a new set of wheels and as with everything I research, I'm jumping from car to car like Kermit on amphetamines. We started out looking for a high driving position 4x4 that was just out of new car warranty and therefore being given away for a bargain. The idea being that it could be Kylie's daily driver, accommodate possible rugrats and have the option of heading up the beach fishing.

After ACTUALLY going fishing the other day I realised that it would be really awesome if the fishing car was also a bucket of crap! What I mean is, if it was nice, I'd care too much. Less cash = less care = more fun offroad. To be able to chuck the gear in the back and not worry would be great. This was about the same time that I looked back over the cars I've owned and the cheaper the car, the more I liked it. I can never seem to drown the little man in my head that constantly reminds me that I shouldn't get it dirty/shouldn't race that other mini/shouldn't/shouldn't/shouldn't/blah blah boring.

After redirecting my search, it seems its very hard to distinguish between a heap of junk that works and a heap of junk that's gunna leave me stranded on a beach somewhere. Breaking down for me is a risk I can't afford as my knowledge of engines could be written on the back of a postage stamp with a crayon! More assurance means more cash so I admitted defeat and upped the bar a little.

Without going into more detail, I've had a tentative offer accepted on 1 such vehicle and I'm waiting to see it one more time before shelling out the hard earned. I'm sure it will be fine so I'm almost allowed to get excited now at the prospect of an all round fishing adventurer!

Sunday is the day so hopefully on Monday I'll be thousands of dollars poorer and bearing a smile ear to ear!

Watch this space for news and I hope you have a great weekend skaters.

Soundtrack Of The Day: Creed - My Own Prison (on the iPhone - oooo yeah!)

iPhone App Frenzy

What the hell did I post about before bloody iPhones!

Since my phone humble return, I haven't had an incident at all which is great. Not going to touch wood either - live life on the edge I always say. I've setup the wireless to link when I'm at home and downloaded a few apps to fill in my day. Here they are with a score outa 10 and quick review:

Lightsaber - 8 - For what it is, its good. Compared to something useful, its rubbish :P
Shazam - 9 - Load the app and put it next to a speaker playing a song. It will record and display the title and artist. Would have been 10/10 but i sang a song into it and it didn't return anything :(
iGlowStick - 1 - There's a reason its free
eBay - 10 - Great to keep track of auctions on the go. Also a good way to waste more money, top marks.
DrinkTracker - 8 - My only paid app. On first use, you create a profile with your age, height, weight etc. You then start a 'session' where you add drinks your having now or in the past to roughly calculate your BAC. You can choose a drink from the template or create a drink if it isn't listed. If your BAC hits the limit the display goes orange and it gives you a countdown until your back under again. Very simple but impressive actually. The only improvement would be multiple people sessions so it records the running BAC for a few of you.
Assassin's - 7 so far, haven't really dug into it yet.
Paper Toss - 9 - Simple, free fun. Chuck paper in an office bin based on the wind speed of a fan that's setup nearby. Highly addictive! My top scores - Easy 45, Medium 8, Hard 6. Bring it own!
Fast&Furious Lite - 6 - Graphics are great, gameplay is great. It only has 1 track as its a teaser to get you to buy the real game but fun all the same.
WildWest - 7 - Pinball table, entertaining for a while but it gets dull......just like the real thing!
Footy - 9 - This is an AFL Football tracker. It shows scores from past rounds, game times for upcoming rounds, channels and times of when they will be shown on TV. It got the current ladder aswell so its all you need down the pub!
Domain - 7 - Domain is a house finding app in partnership with Domain.com.au. A little tricky to use on the small screen but its up for the job. Have done a few searches and its quite good, shows everything relatively clearly so its the most you could expect.

Can anyone else recommend any? I know there are iPhone users reading..........and NO I haven't installed have2P!

Soundtrack Of The Day: Cars - Greatest Hits

now taking bets

how long til Phil fucks his iPhone again..

who wants in?

I Have an iPhone

Enough Said

Some Men Are Coming To Your House

A Hex On You

Why Am I Suprised?

The guy who designed this rig is the only person that knows how pleased I am with the level of service I've received from an external vendor.

Apparently there was a 'fog' this morning which caused delays at the airport and therefore they didn't get a delivery at all today. Funny cos when I awoke at 6.45 it was crystal clear, must be my fault I spose..... somehow. He is now really sure that it will arrive tomorrow, unless a herd of wildebeests block Tonkin Hwy that is. I don't think I'll count my chickens just yet.

For all those that are thinking of switching to Optus, please please PLEASE be careful with your phones! Unless you want to get it back just in time for Christmas 2010.

DrinkTracker

With 1 day to go until I 'allegedly' receive a working iPhone from Optus I've been scouring the net again for free apps and stupid crap to fill it up with.

Apart from the usual suspects: Shazam, eBay, iLightsaber, Kevin Spacey :D and Spirit Level this one looks the goods. DrinkTracker is a basic app that calculates your approximate Blood Alcohol Content based on your drinks over a given session time.

Obviously its not 100% accurate either way all but if you think your on the driving fence and after plugging in all the details it says your WAY over, you might reconsider getting behind the wheel. Anything that kerbs the trend of drink driving is great in my view so I'm glad people are developing gizmo's in this field. Of course as with all apps, it will be mainly a novelty but at least this one has a vague usefulness!

I'll hopefully add a report on its performance tomorrow afternoon...............fingers crossed.

Any of you guys have suggestions for apps both useLESS and useFUL that I should install?

Soundtrack Of The Day: Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks

Balls n All

What a great Sunday of sport we had yesterday ; 12.30pm - 3.30pm; AFL : St. Kilda Vs Geelong

All the hype you could have over two undefeated teams in a record breaking season, with the late change of Geelong's goal sneak Stevie Johnson out, could the Cats kick a winning score against the leagues best defense? The answer? no, no they could not.

Saints bolted out the blocks to a 5 goal lead in the first quarter and Geelong didn't look like touching the ball. Over the next 3 quarters the Cats clawed their way back til the last 8 minutes where they got the scores back to level. 7 minutes of tired footy left the Saints throwing a bomb to the top of the goal square where unlikely hero Gardiner took a screaming pack mark and put it through to ice the game. Saints by 6 points, all heads held high, next match up will be the GF

9.30pm - the early hours of the morning; Wimbledon : Men's Singles Final
Federer Vs Roddick : HISTORY - 20 : 2 in favour of Federer, Federer 14 grand slams, Roddick 1.
Unexpected finalist Andy Roddick had blasted his way past previous winner Lleyton Hewitt and Britain's favourite son Andy Murray to make his way to the pinnacle of the sport. Only to meet his nemisis, could he change the tide?

The match ended up being a serve fest, with Federer hitting more aces then Roddick, but it was an epic. 5/7, 7/6, 7/6, 3/6, 16/14, with Federer breaking Roddick's serve for the first time in 37 of Roddick's service games to take the win and the new record of most grand slam titles by any male in the modern era, surpassing Pete Sampras.

Roddick blew a 6-2 lead in the 2nd set tie-break which would have basically won him the match, including a very makeable high backhand volley to clinch it. He sprayed it, Federer turned the screws and won 6 points in a row to take the set and the momentum.

I also got a 50" TV on Saturday so had the pleasure of watching these two events on it, great success!

Soundtrack Of The Day: No Secrets This Year - SilverSun Pickups : my song of the month

So Close Yet So Far

Today it's a double meaning heading to twist the grey matter.

The first is about my ongoing saga with those snotrags that call themselves employees of Optus Networks Melbourne. Not only did they send my broken iPhone back instead of calling me and asking if I wanted to pay the full amount for a replacement, after approving the costs they have now sent it back AGAIN not fixed. The icing on the top is they make the Optus Store employee call me and tell me instead of taking the hit.

So firstly, they should have called me or the store to find out why they have the same phone back again if there was any confusion and secondly, check the account! R E P L A C E M E N T A P P R O V E D. And what do I get for my troubles? Squat diddely doodle. I asked if there was compensation as I have now been without a phone for 3 weeks and they said it would be 5 days - No Mr Dawson, bend over and take it up the tailpipe.

What they ARE able to is fast-track it and have it to me for Wednesday.....yes another 6 days. They will have to forgive me if they wanted any 'Thanks' cos as far as I'm concerned they might'as well have said they booked me in for a colonoscopy after a night at Brick Lane. Whoop-de-flippin-do

Second meaning is related to our car shopping adventures. On Saturday/Sunday we saw a few but one stood out in particular we both thought was ideal (or at least good enough to look into further). So we'd seen it, touched it, wanted it - how do we pay for it? We turned to BankWest for guidance and ended up with a pre-approval document that said "These people are awesome" to give to the seller.

So with my head held high, I swanned in last night with my little speech prepared. Strolled straight up to the car and thought...."Who painted it red, changed the wheels, doubled the price and put leather seats in it!" You guessed it - it was gone! Sold! Finished! Kaput! My piece of paper went from A4 gold to dunny roll in about 3 seconds and I slid outta there like a 17 year old who'd been stood up at the Prom.

So the car search continues and my Blackberry has delayed the bottom drawer for another week. On a brighter note, the weather looks to be on the mend so I might brave the cold and head out fishing on Sunday for a long awaited Zen revival. All welcome, same bat time and bat place......... bring your thermals cos its gunna be colder than a penguins proverbials out there.

Ciao Mad Cows

Soundtrack Of The Day: Anything Loud!

You Run Ells

Today my mind is definitely in the toilet. An odd topic I know but I wanted to see if male squidring.com readers (all 2 of you) feel my pain. What I'm talking about is the dreaded splashback!

I'm referring to the uncommon occurrence but constant threat of your body waste coming in contact with your body as a result of poor urinal design... or poor aim! I'm not talking about the metal urinals that go to the ground, they're all good, I mean the white ones that hang on the wall.

As a 29yo male I've used my fair share of urinals around the traps and one thing Ive noticed is that 90% of them have the ceramic part directly perpendicular to your peeing trajectory angle. They are even domed so that no matter where you try and aim its always, for want of a better expression, 'touch and go'. The only part that isn't aimed at you contains the drain so who knows what will happen if you aim for that!

Why is this so? When you head into the great outdoors and you can pii absolutely anywhere, where do you go? Behind a tree, on the ground, in a bush etc etc. Call me weird but I'm yet to walk up to a tree, stand 25cm away from it and open fire straight onto it! Where do people get these designs?

Yes, most urinals have their sweet spot... their quiet, no splashback zone but why is it so small? Surely in today's age we could manufacture a urinal that has a large part angled almost parallel to the P.P so that it can smoothly transition from the air to the drain. No chance of incident - Happy Days.

It needs to allow for men who are smaller and those who are bigger ....... cmon you know what I mean! I'm thinking some sort of non symmetrical 'r' shape when looking from the top. So on your left you have a flat wall that curves around and down to the drain. It give you a little more privacy, allows for different heights and can be cleaned normally with the flush squirter mounted in the top left corner next to your arm, shooting backwards. That's my idea... happy to hear yours if you have any cos there has to be a better way!

Hope I filled in a small chunk of your day and at the very least I'm sure I've given you something to think about when you're next in the gents.

Happy Emptying.

P.S. I defy anyone to read this a couple of times and not suddenly feel the urge to go to the lav! Waterfalls, babbling brooks, trickling rain, pee pee PEE