Rohan August 20th, 2008
I’ve noticed on a few online forums I frequent, a high level of discussion about “sports that should be in the Olympic Games” but are currently not. Not surprising really, considering that the 2008 Olympics are currently in full swing in Beijing, China.
Of course there are the usual suspects getting a regular mention: golf, rugby, bowling (tenpin &/or lawn), surfing, croquet, ballroom dancing, plus a myriad of other “recognised” sports.
I, however, believe there is one activity, were it to be introduced into an upcoming Olympics, that my kids would do very (very) well at.
It’s very simple, only two rules:
- Whatever you touch, you must move.
- Nothing can be moved back to a former position.
They have, after all, already been in training for years and given the state that they leave their bedrooms, the bathroom, the family room, the kitchen, the dining room and the backyard on a daily basis, I would expect they would come in at very short odds to pick up a medal, perhaps even gold.
Great, more things for them to play with and then leave lying around…
Rohan July 19th, 2008
I had a shower today. In my ensuite.
So what’s so special about that, you say? Well, it just so happens to be 2 years, 2 months and 4 days since the last one!
What started out all that time ago as a small leak in the grouting between the tiles within the shower recess, soon became a full scale demolition and renovation:
- complete retiling from floor to ceiling (including a row of feature tiles);
- plaster replaced with villa board;
- new cornices and a repaint of the ceiling;
- silicone squirted in anything larger than what an ant would fit through;
- new towel rails and toilet roll holder; and, finally
- a new shower screen fitted late yesterday afternoon.
And because we chose to do everything ourselves, things sort of, well, just meandered along for a little longer than they probably should have… but we are happy with the result, and not having to traipse to the other end of the house for a shower in the main bathroom is a joy to behold.
Special thanks must go to John and Peter, for their assistance and skills along the way.
Rohan November 14th, 2007
Hmm, it wouldn’t happen to nearly be Christmas time would it? Something tells me the 28 separate advertising items in my letterbox this morning means that it’s not far away…
Rohan October 15th, 2007
15th October, 2007 marks the first ever Blog Action Day, which encourages bloggers the world over to unite for a common cause by posting a blog entry about a common theme. The inaugural theme for Blog Action Day is the environment.
And whilst I don’t particularly go out of my way to care for the environment - I’m not a greenie - there are certainly a number of small things I do (and I encourage others to do) that I hope makes a difference. Things like:
- I recycle the paper I print on (excluding invoices or client-sensitive information of course) by using the reverse side of the paper as notepaper;
- I turn off my PC’s monitor &/or CPU when not being used for an extended period of time;
- I send and receive virtual faxes, rather than paper ones;
- I send as much correspondence as I can via email, rather than through the postal service;
- I have energy efficient lighting in my office.
I think I’ll also look at another bin in the office, to separate the recyclable rubbish (which is most of the stuff that ends up in the office bin) from the normal waste.
I guess it’s a start.
Rohan September 2nd, 2007
It’s been a good day, with pressies from my girls (book, CD, cap, keyring, citronella candles and cards), brunch with the extended family and a visit to see mum in the afternoon.
I guess the best gift of all, especially for my dad, is that mum’s recovery continues to progress well after her recent open-heart surgery.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there - hope it’s been as good for you as it has for me.
Rohan August 15th, 2007
In my most recent post, I mentioned my relief at discovering that what I feared was the complete disintegration of the inside half of a tooth was nothing more severe than a bad chip, which was duly filled to a nice smooth finish.
Well, less than a week later, the relief is gone and the fear has returned. Not because of the work done last week, which remains solid, but because now a large chunk of the outside of the same tooth has chipped away. And from my view on this side of the mirror, it’s not a pretty sight.
I guess I should be grateful that there’s no pain or discomfort (so far), just a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that the tooth will probably need to come out after all. C’est la vie.
Rohan August 9th, 2007
Well, it was off to the dentist for me today. Some weeks ago, I managed to ‘destroy’ a tooth while munching on a biscuit, and despite having suffered no pain or discomfort (other than a rough feeling where the shape of the tooth has changed) I thought I should have it seen to.
Expecting the worst, I was fully prepared to farewell my first permanent tooth (other than the four wisdom teeth that I had taken out some years ago) via the dentist’s pliers.
I respect dentists and the job they do, but for one reason or another (the dozen or so fillings I had as a kid most probably has a lot to do with it) dentistry and I don’t seem to get along. So I was pleasantly relieved to hear that my current dental woes were nothing more severe than a chipped tooth, which, after a quick jab in the mouth with some anaesthetic, 15 minutes or so of prodding and drilling and $90 from the hip pocket, enabled me to walk out a free man.
Well, until next month when I have to go back and have the cavity filled that the dentist found on the other side of my mouth…
Rohan July 16th, 2007
I’ve been enjoying SBS’s coverage of the Tour de France for the last few evenings – so much so that the telly is often still on well after 1am (well after bed time for this little black duck).
But to be honest, I have no idea why I am so compelled to watch, night after night, right to the end of each day’s riding. After all, I’m not normally a cycling fan at all. I don’t ride. I don’t know too much about the sport and its many nuances. I certainly don’t know many of the riders. I haven’t even owned my own bike since I got my driver’s licence 20 years ago!
So I got to thinking, just what is it that makes Le Tour such an interesting event…
- The skill and daring of the riders?
- Their physical and mental strength and endurance?
- Could it be the spectacular, but inevitable, crashes that occur from time to time? (As much as you don’t want to see anyone getting injured, it does make for interesting viewing.)
- Perhaps it’s the commentary team’s seemingly boundless knowledge of the race, the riders and the surroundings?
- The picture postcard scenery at every turn?
I’ve a feeling it’s a combination of all these things, which, when packaged into a single all-encompassing spectacle, presents viewers with a thoroughly engrossing and intriguing experience.
Highly recommended.
Rohan July 13th, 2007
While the majority of Seaspray proper was spared the disaster of the recent Gippsland floods, it seems not all was well in the sleepy little town, with much of the sand dunes along this stretch of the Ninety Mile Beach washed and blown away by a mixture of king tides and gale force easterly winds.
The major victim was the Seaspray Surf Life Saving Club, which sits atop the sand dunes overlooking the beach. The images below were taken last week and they clearly show the large volume of sand that has been eroded. Such is the threat of the building now collapsing that on Tuesday Bracksy took a detour from his inspection of flood damaged areas of Gippsland to visit Seaspray and announce a $700,000 pledge to assist with relocation of the building – not such a hard decision considering that relocation is already in the pipeworks.
Rohan June 6th, 2007
It’s been a distressing 48 hours in our household… more distressing than when Matilda smacked her head on the pavers in the courtyard after falling down the step; more distressing than when Sarah developed an allergic reaction to penicillin after we took her to the hospital; more distressing than when The Glass House got the flick from the ABC…
We lost the TV remote control!
Talk about turning the house upside down trying to find the thing; in cupboards, under couches, in bedrooms, in the fridge, dishwasher and microwave, in the bathroom. We even contemplated checking the rubbish bin (desperate times…). And so, here we were, 7 years into the 21 century AD (the Third millennium, no less!), and we are reduced to actually having to get off the couch and walk up to the TV and press the little buttons on the front to change channel and adjust the volume. Outrageous!
Where did we end up finding the remote? Under one of the couch cushions… yes, I did mention the we checked the couches, a number of times in fact, but for some reason the pesky little remote stayed hidden for a full two days. And was there one particular person to blame for the loss? Well, the jury’s out on that one. The girls are off the hook because they were in the bath when it went missing. Emma and I both agree that she was the last to actually use the remote, but (and this is purely circumstantial OK?) the remote was found under the cushion where I was sitting immediately after the remote went missing. I have no recollection of picking up the remote control after Emma had used it to turn on Mythbusters. Could be a case for the team at CSI:Melbourne.
So, all this begs the question: what tactics do you employ when you’ve lost something near and dear?