A Novel Million Blog
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Heliphonts
But until that happens, I'm getting into the whole idea of my blog. It's a nice thing to document, and I'm sure I'll find it interesting to look back on in the future. Today I found out that a proposal for a review article on probiotics in bivalve aquaculture has been accepted for a peer reviewed scientific journal. So that's pretty good in an otherwise bleak mentality that I have at the moment. Here's a few poems I wrote the other day:
¶ 6:54 PM 0 comments
One of these days this thing is going to take off....hopefully. The people that have seen the site are definitely interested in seeing how it pans out (based on a high ratio of people adding me to their favourites), but still a lack of actual crowd participation, and I still need to get out there into new areas of the public.
But until that happens, I'm getting into the whole idea of my blog. It's a nice thing to document, and I'm sure I'll find it interesting to look back on in the future. Today I found out that a proposal for a review article on probiotics in bivalve aquaculture has been accepted for a peer reviewed scientific journal. So that's pretty good in an otherwise bleak mentality that I have at the moment. Here's a few poems I wrote the other day:
KITCHEN
Bechemal over broccoli
Enchiladas with salsa
Taking trust away
Raffled emotions like turkey
Anything you say means shit
Yesterday lasagne
Every day bitter
Dirty BBQs forever
MISERY
Amorphous nymphs negotiate ill-fated kaos altogether.
Yet order unravels
Because intricate teachings considered heliphonts,
Heliphonts outside wisdom
Constructions of unreasonable living dreams.
Yonder, outer, upturned
Dreams opposed
Telescopic hybrids, incestuous sibs,
Tumbling octagon
Melody ending
Slow leaking umbrellas torment.
¶ 6:54 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Slow loading under tones
Oh, I also remembered the other day that I actually have had a jam before. A couple actually, but nothing really serious. I'm a bit of a closet guitar player; I like what I play but don't really know how to jam with others (yet!). When I was in Melbourne the other day, I pulled out my little book of songs I've written . I was pretty surprised at how many I have written (and also what I've written- they go back 10 years ago). It's awesome to look at. They are generally bleak songs, or songs about broken hearts. I've just added a few new ones to it which is great (the last were dated 1998, so you can tell it's taken a back seat).
Oh yeah, for the record, I quickly lost $30 at the casino the other night. It took 2 hands of blackjack and about 20 seconds, so I decided I wasn't going to make loads there and called it quits after that.
My all nighter the other night went OK, but I didn't pull off the 40 hours straight thing. I made it through the night but fell asleep on the floor of my office at 9am and decided to have an hours sleep. After that, I decided my bacteria were not so important, and I headed home to have a sleep from 11am to 1pm. I did return for a meeting though, but missed my jam session- it's been postponed until next week. ¶ 9:19 PM 0 comments
Buon giorno come stai, today my van ran out of petrol and I had to hitch back to work to get some petrol and a return vehicle scenario happening. This sort of thing is a bit of a regular occurrence for me. The last time, I was heading for a surf and it stopped on a dirt road about 40 minutes walk (with surfboard and wettie) from the break. That was a bit of a "stuck in the middle of nowhere and in a hurry" situation. Lucky for me another surfer (a guy from work actually) was driving past and picked me up. I seem to be one of those people that always drives on the "red light"; an expression I heard a few months back. This is basically because of two reasons: 1) petrol is really expensive so I always just feel like putting a little bit in, and 2) my car's petrol dial doesn't work, so it always shows a red light and empty regardless of how much petrol is in the tank.
Oh, I also remembered the other day that I actually have had a jam before. A couple actually, but nothing really serious. I'm a bit of a closet guitar player; I like what I play but don't really know how to jam with others (yet!). When I was in Melbourne the other day, I pulled out my little book of songs I've written . I was pretty surprised at how many I have written (and also what I've written- they go back 10 years ago). It's awesome to look at. They are generally bleak songs, or songs about broken hearts. I've just added a few new ones to it which is great (the last were dated 1998, so you can tell it's taken a back seat).
Oh yeah, for the record, I quickly lost $30 at the casino the other night. It took 2 hands of blackjack and about 20 seconds, so I decided I wasn't going to make loads there and called it quits after that.
My all nighter the other night went OK, but I didn't pull off the 40 hours straight thing. I made it through the night but fell asleep on the floor of my office at 9am and decided to have an hours sleep. After that, I decided my bacteria were not so important, and I headed home to have a sleep from 11am to 1pm. I did return for a meeting though, but missed my jam session- it's been postponed until next week. ¶ 9:19 PM 0 comments
Monday, November 20, 2006
Back into it
Melbourne was fun. I got to see some friends and get a bit of moral support, as well as just relax in my home town. It also started a bit of a sequence in sleep deprivation; I slept for 1 night out of 3 in Melbourne, and now I've got tonight all organised. I arrived at 7pm on Wednesday and was straight into a dark room for the final assessment of my mate's course in "sound interpretation in space" at RMIT. There were about 30 speakers arranged around the room pumping warped, processed versions of everyday sounds. Pretty surreal. I was straight in there off the plane, beer in hand, backpack and all. From there we had a couple of beers and headed back to my mates place where I cooked dinner at 2:30am while he tried to get his final portfolio together. That saw us up all night just hanging out, and I then went and pledged allegiance to the Queen at 9am pretty dreary-eyed. I thought I was then going to vege at home, but 5 minutes before I stepped onto the train, I decide to hang out with my mate and his 5 year old boy for the day. Very pleased I did; he's a little legend. So I hadn't really stopped or even been home until the 2nd night when I got to relax and sleep! But the last night was also an all nighter for my mates 30th, after which I jumped back on the plane at 9am. Somehow in a pretty altered state, we found ourselves wandering through the bright lights of the casino at 6am- it was a fittingly surreal way to depart Melbourne. There really is nothing quite like a good rail network- you appreciate it after not having one for a while. And returning to the scene of the crime, my childhood home where I was moulded, is always great. Melbourne is such a great place. Well, I might be out of blog commission for a while, wish me luck! ¶ 6:26 PM 0 comments
No rest for the wicked. I returned from Melbourne on Saturday night. I was straight back in to work for 5 hours on Sunday, and I'm getting set for an all nighter tonight. I've got to construct growth curves for 2 bacterial isolates I have, which will see me assessing things every 30 minutes for hopefully no more than 24hours. I've done this a few times before, and it's really not very enjoyable. But in my current state of mind I think there should be some solace in working my ass off in a state of delirium. It's now 6:30pm and time zero will begin at 11pm- that should see me through to 11pm tomorrow night, but Im actually hoping to finish at 9pm to start my rock-and-roll career. Yeah, I've decided to become a rock-and-roll outlaw and will try to have my first ever (in my whole life) jam with someone. So at the end of it, I'm looking at about 40hours straight- no biggie! I had been thinking I would try to get some sleep before beginning tonight, but with only 4 1/2 hours left, I'm now thinking I'll just stick it out and maybe watch the Godfather on video.
Melbourne was fun. I got to see some friends and get a bit of moral support, as well as just relax in my home town. It also started a bit of a sequence in sleep deprivation; I slept for 1 night out of 3 in Melbourne, and now I've got tonight all organised. I arrived at 7pm on Wednesday and was straight into a dark room for the final assessment of my mate's course in "sound interpretation in space" at RMIT. There were about 30 speakers arranged around the room pumping warped, processed versions of everyday sounds. Pretty surreal. I was straight in there off the plane, beer in hand, backpack and all. From there we had a couple of beers and headed back to my mates place where I cooked dinner at 2:30am while he tried to get his final portfolio together. That saw us up all night just hanging out, and I then went and pledged allegiance to the Queen at 9am pretty dreary-eyed. I thought I was then going to vege at home, but 5 minutes before I stepped onto the train, I decide to hang out with my mate and his 5 year old boy for the day. Very pleased I did; he's a little legend. So I hadn't really stopped or even been home until the 2nd night when I got to relax and sleep! But the last night was also an all nighter for my mates 30th, after which I jumped back on the plane at 9am. Somehow in a pretty altered state, we found ourselves wandering through the bright lights of the casino at 6am- it was a fittingly surreal way to depart Melbourne. There really is nothing quite like a good rail network- you appreciate it after not having one for a while. And returning to the scene of the crime, my childhood home where I was moulded, is always great. Melbourne is such a great place. Well, I might be out of blog commission for a while, wish me luck! ¶ 6:26 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Hit the break key, hit the break key
Anyway, thank God for the delete button. I really didn't like looking at my last entry so have deleted most of it. For those of you who didn't get to read it, it was a little reactionary entry that I had over a pretty big hiccup in my life.
¶ 10:05 PM 0 comments
Ah, flashbacks to year 8 computer classes where we used some antiquated machines and tried to draw triangles in green outline on a black screen. We used to have an Asian teacher, Mr. Ong, who had the classic line "hit the break key" in an Asian voice. I can't remember what he meant by it.
Anyway, thank God for the delete button. I really didn't like looking at my last entry so have deleted most of it. For those of you who didn't get to read it, it was a little reactionary entry that I had over a pretty big hiccup in my life.
¶ 10:05 PM 0 comments
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Late notice
Looks like I'll be talking on this show in about 10-15 minutes in Brisbane. Maybe some of you can log on.
http://www.hot91.com.au/ ¶ 8:27 PM 0 comments
http://www.hot91.com.au/ ¶ 8:27 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
2nd Brisbane radio interview
Oh yeah, and that pasta dish I made the other night...we'll I cooked it and was all set to eat at around 10:30pm (I was pretty hungry). It was a large amount, which was set to provide left-overs for the next day. I put the bowl on a table in the carpeted living room. Only, in my tiredness, I hadn't actually put it on the table and the whole thing deposited on the carpet where it combined with the hairs of my female flatmate! If there is one thing I really hate about eating, it is getting hair with it. So I wasn't too happy. I think I looked at it for about 5 seconds just thinking "Fuck!" before I actually did anything. Then it was a bit of a recovery mission with only the top layer making it through the screening process- anything close to the carpet was dumped.
And then there's my work. Basically my life at the moment is just getting my work done, coming home late, making dinner and eating really late, before checking the computer for a bit. It's kind of one of those degenerative routines where everyday you feel a little worse, and vow to finish a little earlier to catch up a bit, but this doesn't actually happen, and you end up feeling even worse the next day etc. etc. Well, tomorrow I vow to finish a little earlier! In all practicality I sincerely think this is highly unlikely- tomorrow is a mega day, and there's also the possibility that some waves might be heading our way (I haven't had a surf in months). ¶ 11:36 PM 0 comments
Following on from the mention in the press recently, I might be on a radio show in Brisbane, Australia (the second radio station in Brisbane to talk with me!). I'll let you know more details as they come to hand, but I received an interview request via email yesterday. This station is based on the Sunshine Coast. I've also had email contact about a possible story in a New Zealand magazine....I'll also let you know more as it happens.
Oh yeah, and that pasta dish I made the other night...we'll I cooked it and was all set to eat at around 10:30pm (I was pretty hungry). It was a large amount, which was set to provide left-overs for the next day. I put the bowl on a table in the carpeted living room. Only, in my tiredness, I hadn't actually put it on the table and the whole thing deposited on the carpet where it combined with the hairs of my female flatmate! If there is one thing I really hate about eating, it is getting hair with it. So I wasn't too happy. I think I looked at it for about 5 seconds just thinking "Fuck!" before I actually did anything. Then it was a bit of a recovery mission with only the top layer making it through the screening process- anything close to the carpet was dumped.
And then there's my work. Basically my life at the moment is just getting my work done, coming home late, making dinner and eating really late, before checking the computer for a bit. It's kind of one of those degenerative routines where everyday you feel a little worse, and vow to finish a little earlier to catch up a bit, but this doesn't actually happen, and you end up feeling even worse the next day etc. etc. Well, tomorrow I vow to finish a little earlier! In all practicality I sincerely think this is highly unlikely- tomorrow is a mega day, and there's also the possibility that some waves might be heading our way (I haven't had a surf in months). ¶ 11:36 PM 0 comments
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Another public spurt
So anyway, today I have also worked 10 hours already without eating.....that's one of my things, I tend not to find time to sit down and eat until dinner. It's now 8:30pm and I have to head back into work at 9pm, and also 11:30 pm. I expect I'll eat my dinner in between that. Tonight's menu is a simple but delicious dish of pasta with seasoned fresh tomato, lots of fresh parsley, garlic and parmesan infused with extra virgin olive oil. Mmmm, you can probably imagine that because I don't eat lunch I really look forward to my dinner! I also like to cook and eat nice food.
This weekend I got a mention on a news story in NZ (on the internet, but possibly also in print somewhere http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3850585a4560,00.html). It's nice to get a bit of publicity without even trying. In fact it felt pretty weird to be reading a story on the internet and then come across them talking about me! It has seen my visitors return to the levels they were before the last month (where I have been terribly busy with my research). I guess it's that wave/7-year property cycle thing again- the website will go quiet for a while, and then get in the public circle once again.
Anyway, it's nice to see it happening and I have had a few complimentary letters from people. Re. the PR stuff, well it's still on the cards. I need to look into it more and that means I need to find the right time to do it. The last people I spoke with are involved with pretty big companies and they gave me a few suggestions about more appropriate organizations. I have a few names, but I just need to find the time to contact them. Oh yeah, I finally got my van legal again. It's a big relief to know that for the next 6 months I can drive past police cars and not feel guilty.
¶ 8:36 PM 0 comments
I've been working like a maniac this weekend. I had to do a weekend shift at our hatchery facility and also get myself prepared for a large experiment which I am starting tomorrow. I worked an 11 hour straight day yesterday and got home at 8pm last night. I then stayed up until 3am to watch an auction on an international auction site. I have a little bit of a skateboard collection and am always looking for worthy new additions (oh.... so if anyone has any old Vision Lee Ralph or Santa Cruz Gregor Rankin skateboards they would like to get rid of, please let me know!). They are a few amongst many that I would like to get hold of.
So anyway, today I have also worked 10 hours already without eating.....that's one of my things, I tend not to find time to sit down and eat until dinner. It's now 8:30pm and I have to head back into work at 9pm, and also 11:30 pm. I expect I'll eat my dinner in between that. Tonight's menu is a simple but delicious dish of pasta with seasoned fresh tomato, lots of fresh parsley, garlic and parmesan infused with extra virgin olive oil. Mmmm, you can probably imagine that because I don't eat lunch I really look forward to my dinner! I also like to cook and eat nice food.
This weekend I got a mention on a news story in NZ (on the internet, but possibly also in print somewhere http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3850585a4560,00.html). It's nice to get a bit of publicity without even trying. In fact it felt pretty weird to be reading a story on the internet and then come across them talking about me! It has seen my visitors return to the levels they were before the last month (where I have been terribly busy with my research). I guess it's that wave/7-year property cycle thing again- the website will go quiet for a while, and then get in the public circle once again.
Anyway, it's nice to see it happening and I have had a few complimentary letters from people. Re. the PR stuff, well it's still on the cards. I need to look into it more and that means I need to find the right time to do it. The last people I spoke with are involved with pretty big companies and they gave me a few suggestions about more appropriate organizations. I have a few names, but I just need to find the time to contact them. Oh yeah, I finally got my van legal again. It's a big relief to know that for the next 6 months I can drive past police cars and not feel guilty.
¶ 8:36 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Orange
The website is still meandering at the moment. To tell the truth, my PhD has been consuming my life recently so I haven't had much time left for promoting the site... oh the nice dream of word-of-mouth taking care of that for me! Well, hopefully the PR people will get back to me soon and I might have someone else to give me a hand.
And I'm off to Melbourne in a few weeks to pledge allegiance to the Queen! I'm only there for a few days, but I'll definitely take the chance to stick some promo stuff around a couple of places. That's all for this brief update. Hopefully one of these days, the stories will get a little move along. ¶ 11:43 PM 0 comments
Sticking with the topic of royalty. The Prince of Orange (Netherlands) and his wife Princess Maxima flew into work in helicopters today. This was at our aquaculture research facility. It's generally a pretty quiet place with about 10 people working there. However, today there were police roaming, press (even Dutch press!), and of course royalty. It was a little bit of excitement.
The website is still meandering at the moment. To tell the truth, my PhD has been consuming my life recently so I haven't had much time left for promoting the site... oh the nice dream of word-of-mouth taking care of that for me! Well, hopefully the PR people will get back to me soon and I might have someone else to give me a hand.
And I'm off to Melbourne in a few weeks to pledge allegiance to the Queen! I'm only there for a few days, but I'll definitely take the chance to stick some promo stuff around a couple of places. That's all for this brief update. Hopefully one of these days, the stories will get a little move along. ¶ 11:43 PM 0 comments
