I have a date...

...with some V8's.

We booked our tickets over the weekend, for the inaugural Townsville 400 V8 Supercars race next year. The track looks interesting, and should give reasonable lap times (I don't like the short tracks with super low lap times, like Symmons Plains in Tasmania, where the average race lap is 55 seconds). You can see the design map here: Reid Park Designs Released. We're in the grandstands just at the end of the main straight, opposite the pits. We ended up going for the 3 day grandstand pass, and will make an extra-long weekend out of it. We may yet spring for a paddock pass to go and check out the pits - they'll no doubt be available on the day though, so we can pick them up later.

Accommodation in Townsville is already very scarce, but we're able to camp in Jess' cousin's back yard, so that solves that problem. Jess and Sally are coming down on the Sunday - they have single day general admission passes, which unfortunately means they can't get up into the grandstands. But we'll no doubt work out a roster system so everyone gets the good seats for some of the day.

Should be fun!

More info : V8 Supercars - Townsville 2009

New Toys

So I finally gave into temptation this morning, and picked up a Nintendo DS.

I've been tossing up whether I should get one for a while now, since I think it will be absolutely perfect for the long plane flights on our holiday next year. But I finally couldn't wait any longer, so we went hunting at the local shopping centre. BigW didn't have any of the limited edition red/black ones any more, and didn't think they were getting any more. Same story at Target. Dick Smith didn't have any at all. My last hope was Electronic Boutique, and whaddayaknow - luck!

The console came in a bundle deal with one of the NintenDogs games for free (the bundle was actually $2 cheaper than the bare console - what's that tell you about not even being able to give NintenDogs away?), and we picked up Lego Batman as well.



It's a completely ridiculous game, but it's just so much fun. I've only played about 30 minutes of it yet, and have just completed the first mission, but it's a real blast. I played 5 minutes of Lego Indiana Jones about 6 months' ago on a friend's Wii (that just sounds so wrong), and it was cracking fun, so I'm happy to see that this is just as good.

I'm going to be scouring the Pre-Owned bins at the shops between now and when we leave, as I'd like to pick up a copy of New Super Mario Bros (basically the good old original SMB, made specifically for the DS) and either MarioKart or Diddy Kong Racing. The games are pretty cheap, especially if you can buy them pre-owned or older releases, and there's a fair variety of types available.

While I was taking pictures, I thought I'd shoot one of my new work phone (next to the old one)


As well as our new video camera (in it's docking station)





Sorry for the lack of quality, but it was very late when I was taking these, and bed was calling. I'm still struggling with the FullHD settings on the camcorder - I'm not sure if there's a problem with the footage or if my computer is just too slow to be able to render and display it properly, but I hope I can figure it out soon.

Green Island Ho!

What better way to spend a Friday than relaxing on a tropical island paradise?

Last Friday, Rossco came up to Cairns. Rossco's our account exec at the place we purchase all our IT equipment from for work. We've been dealing with him basically exclusively ever since I started with the firm. Not only is he a great account exec who understands our business and our particular needs, he's also a bloody top bloke, and a good mate to boot.

He has a couple of clients who are based in Cairns, so he managed to wangle a trip up as a sales/networking expense, and decided that we should all head out to Green Island for the day. So, along with a bunch of engineers from another place in town, we jumped on the Sea Cat and headed out around 10:30am. The day was already quite hot, but we had all come prepared with sunscreen and water. The rum on the boat didn't hurt, either, and helped to pass the time on the 30 min trip.



Never one to shirk his duty, Rossco was even working on the way out there! Eeither that, or he was having a play with one of the engineer's brand new Blackberry phones - depends on whether his boss is reading this or not!)





As you can see, we had picture-perfect weather for the day, and the ocean was as flat as a board. Once we arrived, the first order of business was to adjourn to the pool, and stake out a nice shady spot. We managed to beat the crowd there, and secured the prime spot for ourselves.



The only problem was the parade of middle aged Japanese tourists past our spot. It seems the new hot fashion for middle-aged, balding and slight fat Japanese men is the skimpiest Speedo's that money can buy. It's an interesting look, and the girls that were with our group were not really that impressed!

Lunch followed the pool, where we were joined by some of the native wildlife:


After a couple of bottles of very nice white wine, it was surprisingly time to head back, as the last ferry cat leaves at 4pm. So we made our way back to the pier, managing to snap a couple of parting shots on our way.







All in all a lovely day on the island. Certainly the rum on the boat helped pass the time on the trip back, just as it had on the way out. The party kicked on into the night with drinks at Ba8, a ritzy cocktail bar right at the Marina, and Rossco, Jess and I ended up at a Steak & Grill joint for dinner. The ribs were divine, and I've promised myself that I'll have to go back and have them again, when I'm in a slightly better state to appreciate them!

I hadn't been to Green Island for probably 4 years, and it was great to be able to go back. The only problem now is that Jess wants me to take her! Thankfully locals get a discount on the ferry tickets, and everything else is quite reasonably priced (especially for a captive audience on the island), so we might pop over in a month's time. You can stay overnight on the island at a resort, but it's very expensive, so we'll probably just go for the day trip.

I certainly enjoyed the day, and I hope Rossco-san had a good time as well. Was great to meet the others on the trip, and the evening activities were most enjoyable. Certainly beat being at work!

So it's been a month...

... since my last post! Doesn't time fly. Haven't been up to much, but at the same time, we've been flat out! No photos, unfortunately, due to lack of coordination. There might be some on the camera that I've not had a chance to get off yet, so watch this space. Just some of the things we've been doing:

* Mum and Dad came to visit for 2 weeks. It was a last minute holiday, with Mum only booking the flights a week and a half before they arrived. Was great to have them up again, and I think they really enjoyed their stay.

* While Dad was here:
* He fixed my good drill which I thought I'd wrecked when installing the new door. Turns out there was a dodgy connector right inside the drill, which had overheated and burnt out. 5cm of new wire, and it's as good as gold again!
* Fixed our main bedroom air conditioner, which stopped working 6 months ago. I'd had a friend of a friend look at it, but he was on his way home, took one glance and said we'd be better off just replacing the whole lot with a brand new one, gas plumbing lines and all. Thankfully Dad was able to replace the busted contactor, and now it works a treat again!
* Almost finished hanging the new door. We cut/drilled the hole for the deadlock - I just need to mount the strike plate. Because the walls are besser blocks, and the door jambs are steel, drill bits get chewed out very quickly. So we ended up using my Dremel grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut the steel jamb, and then a masonry bit in the drill to eat out enough of a hole.
* Replaced the exhaust fan in the bathroom with one that's not quite so fally-outty any more. Because the original hole was so big (which was why the existing unit was falling out), I've had to No More Gaps up the holes, and paint the patches. I put the first coat on last night, but I think the paint had gone off, so might need to invest in a new 1L tin of ceiling white that's actually, you know, white...
* Installed an exhaust fan in the toilet. It started out as a combined fan/light unit, but an installation discrepancy saw us using the template for the bathroom fan, which was massively larger than the hole the combo unit needed. So after 3 emergency trips back to Bunnings, we now have a separate light and a fan the same as the bathroom.
* Installed dimmer switches on the lights in the living room
* Fixed the toilet, so now it doesn't run constantly, and it flushes normally again.
* And there was something else, but I can't remember what it was! I doubt they'll ever come back again though, not if he thinks he'll spend all his time working again!

* We did a couple of day trips with Mum & Dad, with one Saturday heading up the Gillies to the Yungaburra markets, then onto the Chocolate and Cheese factory for morning tea. From there we headed to a military museum outside Atherton, then up to the Skybury coffee plantation for lunch. We put the 4WD to good use and called in at Davies Creek on the way home to check out the waterfall (with Mum managing to fall on a gravel path), then back home past Kuranda and down the range. I've decided that I want one of the Studebaker 6WD trucks that they had at the museum (Click here to see what I'm talking about!), as it was just plain cool. In a cruel twist of fate, Dad tells me that Uncle Stewart happens to have one that he needs to offload. I'm very tempted, but for the fact that it's 2000kms south, and I don't have anywhere to keep it.

UPDATE - Photos of the museum can be found here!!!
Life in FNQ - Matto & Jess: Mareeba War Museum


* Jess and I have both been crook, but have recovered now. Jess had a cold that ended up as a throat infection. It took her 2 weeks to get over it, at which point she gave it to me, and I ended up on antibiotics for 2 weeks. I then gave it back, and she ended up with fully-blown Tonsillitis. Not fun! The Dr sorted it all out though, and she's been fine again for the last few weeks now, so all's well again.

* Last week, we found ourselves in Brisbane again. I went down on Tuesday (Melbourne cup day - didn't win a cent), and stayed with Jamie while working a couple of days in our Bris office. Was good to catch up with the Bris team, and I always enjoy my time working there again. Got the chance to catch up with Scotty (dinner at Jamie's Tuesday night), Paul (dinner and drinks in O'Malleys in the city Wednesday night), Scotty (dropped into Casa Del Anderson on our way back from the coast on Sunday) and Stevie & Ros & Erin (crashed at their place on our way to the airport to come home on Sunday).

We both had the Friday (the 7th) off work. We picked up our hire car from the airport when Jess flew in, and were pleased to score a free upgrade to a Nissan Tiida, which, as it turns out, is a beautiful car to drive. The sore point was being stung $12 for not having the fuel tank full on return, despite it being 1/4 of a tank down when we picked it up. All that's on top of the extra insurance, but hey - I guess that's how they make their money.

We spent the day up at Grant and Sam's place, playing with Jesse & Lilly & Fraser. We scored the title of coolest uncle & aunty, and most annoying brother and sister-in-law, with presents of water pistols. We finished off the day with a BBQ on the back lawn up at Mum and Dad's place, where we stayed the night. We tried out the new video camera, and have a bunch of footage of the kids, however I'm having trouble playing it back on the computer, unfortunately. I don't know if it's the computer trying to play it, or the camera having trouble capturing it. Either way, I need to work it out before we take it O/S, so we can ensure we get good footage over there. I suspect that the FullHD video is just too much for my poor old PC to handle, but having just sunk $$$s into more RAM and a 1Tb HDD for the video editing, I'm reluctant to pour too much more into it. We'll see.

UPDATE - Photos of the kids can be found here!!!
Life in FNQ - Matto & Jess: Toowoomba Visit


We had a wedding on the weekend down on the Gold Coast, hence the reason for the trip, and we stayed down the coast on Saturday night (the 8th). The place has really grown on me, and now I'm annoyed that we didn't spend more time down there when we lived there. The wedding itself was great, and the reception was lovely. Waking up in Surfer's Paradise with a 16th floor ocean-view is really something else.

UPDATE - Photos of Maureen's Wedding and Southport can be found here!!!
Life in FNQ - Matto & Jess: Scott & Maureen's Wedding - Southport



Um, what other news?

Haven't done anything further on our holiday yet - will need to meet with our agent to see how everything's coming along from her side of the fence. We also need to book our NY accommodation ASAP, as we elected to take care of that ourselves and save some money. I'm trying to talk Jess into a Nintendo DS to occupy us during the long flights.

I finally talked work into stumping up for a new phone and laptop, since they were both about 4.5-5yrs old. Despite both being in basically perfect condition, the phone's battery would only last about an hour off the charger, and the laptop was taking around 20 mins to boot up and log on of a morning. So I now have a lovely new HTC Touch Diamond phone that uses the high-speed Telstra NextG internet to sync my work email/calendar/contacts, and a spankin' HP Elitebook 6930p laptop.

The phone is wonderful, although the full touch-screen interface takes some getting used to. It's not without it's faults, but for me I think it's pretty much the perfect device. I'm looking forward to trying out the GPS-enabled Google Maps when we're overseas! The laptop's brand new, having only arrived on my desk this Monday. So far, I'm absolutely loving the extra power, and the Vista/Office 2007 combo really does work well, despite an initially steep learning curve. The downside is that the laptop itself feels like it's carved from a solid block of aluminium - I wouldn't be surprised if it's twice as heavy as my old 12" Dell D410 machine. That said, the HP is a 14" widescreen, and has an internal DVD writer (external on the D410), as well as fancy features like a built in webcam, and so on. So it's not entirely unreasonable for it to be heavier.

And that brings us up to today, basically!

We've got nothing planned for the next while, which is a lovely feeling. We'll be having Christmas in Cairns this year, so unless anything pops up between now and then, we probably won't be back South again before we head overseas. So now the emphasis just goes back to trying to talk everyone into coming up for holidays and to visit!

I'm trying to get back to riding the Sprint more often (took it to work today), but my neck, back and head are not quite co-operating. Despite talking about it for the last 6 months, I want to start making time to play some more golf, and might even invest in a couple of lessons to re-cover the basics and make sure I'm not learning any bad habits. It's probably been over 12 months since I was at the driving range, and over 6 months since I was out on the grass, so I'm itching to have another round, or at least go and belt a bucket of balls.

On top of all that, I've been hunting around for a cheap way to set up a bit of a home gym, as I'd like to start doing some light weights training. Nothing fancy, just an inclining bench, and a barbell/dumbells set. That will let me get started with the basics at least. Unfortunately, like everything, the cheap stuff isn't good, and the good stuff isn't cheap. Being in Cairns doesn't really help - eBay is next to useless here, and all the pawn shops have prices basically line-ball with new gear. I've got my eye on the following:
Celcius Standard Weight Bench
Rebel Sport 50kg Weight Set

Anyway, that's about it from me - hope everyone's well - catch you all later!

Scott & Maureen's Wedding - Southport

As already alluded to in previous posts, we were once again down in SEQ at the start of Nov. The main reason was so we could attend Scott and Maureen's wedding on the Gold Coast. Jess used to work with Maureen in Bris, and she was really looking forward to catching up with her, as well as some other old workmates.

It was a beautiful day, with the bad weather holding off throughout the ceremony, and only starting to rain once everyone was ensconced inside the reception. The ceremony was held at the chapel at The Southport School, a very exclusive private school, with the reception being hosted at L'esprit, a beautiful restaurant/function centre right on the inlet at Southport, looking back over towards Surfer's.

Aplogoies, of course, for the terrible photos. One of these days we'll get around to buying a camera that actually works. We want one before we go OS, so hopefully I won't have to wait too long!

We stayed the night at Mantra Legends, which is right in the heart of Surfer's Paradise, only a couple of streets down from the Cavil Ave mall. As all good hotels should, this one had a Bullet parked in it's lobby. What's a Bullet? Well, it's one of these:



Bullet cars are based on the Gold Coast. They take a Mazda MX5, and cut it off at the firewall. An entirely new front subframe holds, in this car's case, a blown 350 chev v8, complete with all the goodies like coil-over suspension and the obvious front-tilting bonnet. The rest of the car is left reasonably alone, apart from some custom leather interior bits, new badges and a new VIN plate (as the car is now considered as being manufactured by Bullet cars, and not simply a modified MX5).

We were lucky enough to score an ocean-view room on the 16th floor. Despite some problems with the check-in staff, we ended up getting access to the room early enough to get ready for the wedding. These are the views that greeted us.











All in all, a very enjoyable weekend was had by all. The wedding and reception were lovely, and we had a good time all weekend. Unfortunately after waking up Sunday morning and wandering down to the beach for breakfast, the time had come to pack the car and head back towards bris, and our waiting plane back home.

On the way back we dropped into Scotty's place (after a slight detour after Matt got thoroughly confused after taking the wrong exit from the M1), and went from there to see Stevie and Ros briefly before we had to drop the car back. Jamie came out to the airport to see us off, which was much appreciated, especially when our flight was delayed and we had to sit around for another hour.

And so ends another trip to Bris - most likely it will be our last one for the year. The next time we get on a plane will be to head towards Japan and the the 'States!

Thanks to everyone that we dropped in on at late notice - it was great to be able to catch up with everyone again!

Toowoomba Visit

The first week of November found Jess and I back in Bris. One of Jess' friends from her old firm was getting married on the coast on the Saturday, so I headed down earlier in the week to work out of our Bris office for a few days before meeting up with Jess at the Bris airport on Friday morning. We picked up a hire car (and a free upgrade to a Nissan Tiida!!) and headed up to Toowoomba for the day to spend some time with the kids.

I think they were happy to see us...

We came bearing gifts, since it was Lilly's birthday earlier in the week, and Jesse's later in the month. Water pistols all round!






Little Fraser has grown so much since we last saw him! Of course, the last time we saw him he was approx 4 hours old, so that's to be expected! He's a lovely little boy, and didn't make a fuss at all, despite being picked up and handed around by two complete strangers. He looks so much like Jesse did when he was that age that it's not funny.





The day ended with a BBQ dinner up at Mum & Dad's place in Toowoomba. Was a perfect end to a lovely day.


All the photos can be found here:

2008-11-07, Toowoomba - Grant & Sam & kids