No dishes for you
While I've been staying at the uni I've just been washing my dishes at the end of the day - its a waste of water washing them after breakfast and then again after dinner, and we have been in a drought for the last ten years or so. Yesterday afternoon when I arrived back at the unit I was pleasantly surprised to find that I would not have to wash my breakfast dishes that night, as the cleaner had thrown them into the garbage.

'There ought to be limits to freedom...'
- George W. Bush, Texas State House, Austin, May 21 1999

Cookies for Freedom

'Detainees dig to freedom'

'Elephant escapes after dropping log on electric fence'

Freedom fries

'Freedom from Nauru electronic sit-in'

'Iraq's press carried away by freedom'

'Chinese war on terror hits religious freedom in Tibet'

'Rock icons sell "freedom"'

Since Saturday I've been staying at the university, which is kind of interesting since I'm not really supposed to be there. Last night two people in 'my' unit asked me if I'm an international student, which is kind of funny since I've never left Australia.

Monday was Australia Day, and Janelle's 21st. Janelle's now back from Baghdad via Sydney, so a few of us went to the Lake, ate cake and watched the fireworks. Except John. He was more interested in the photos he was taking of them.
Menawhile, 300 teenagers got drunk. Fights. Arrests. Concern from community. Television news coverage.

Summer school started yesterday. Today it is continuing.

Bad news: The univeristy has banned MSN Messenger, and you can't sign on. But I know there are ways of getting around that...
Also, the university's Internet bill last year was apparently $500 000 because of filesharing, so there's a limit on Internet surfage.

Blogger Idol Top 5: Week 1

1. Codswallop and Flapdoodle - ''Looking Back..."
2. Lypton Village - "The '80s"
3. Where the Hell Was I - "The '80s"
4. Jellybelly - "Top Five Lies of the '80s (as Told to Me)"
5. Just a Girl in the World - "Political News Highlights from the 1980's"

Want to get towed?
Tonight (Wednesday) Wob got pulled over by the Fun Stoppers because of his neons. They asked him if he wanted to get towed. He said he'd rather not. They said if they saw him with them on again he'd get a $165 fine and have to walk home.

I got an Honorable Mention in LJ's Blogger Idol Top 5. Apparently I had the Glo Worm going for me, but Dino Riders was my downfall... Thanks LJ!

The Golden Age
The '80s are considered by many to have been the Golden Age of my generation. However, I was only born in 1984, so I only experienced five years and 360 days of Eightiesdom, and can't say I was paying a lot of attention. Here's some of what I remember:

Care Bears
I remember watching this on TV once when we visited friends from church. And I think I had a Care Bears colouring book.
In 2001 one of my friends imported a copy of Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation.
It turns out that recently whoever owns Care Bears is trying to resurrect the franchise.

Glo Worms
I had one of the little, plastic ones that glowed for a while after you held it up to a light. Because there weren't any lights in the house that I could reach, I used to throw mine at the light repetedly, so that it would build up enough glow. I seem to remember taking it to school one day and one of the other kids chucking it on the roof.

Transformers
I wasn't allowed to watch Tranformers, because it was to violent. But I was allowed to have a Transformers colouring book. Everyone knows you can't catch violence from colouring books.

Dino Riders
I became obssessed with dinosaurs after Dad took me to the museum to see the dinosaur fossils. But I wasn't allowed to watch Dino Riders either. And I didn't have any of the toys. But I did have a colouring book. With stickers.

Today - well Saturday - my great-grandmother turned 103. They were having a cake for her at the nursing home. I wanted to go and see her - I haven't seen her since she turned 99, but Mum didn't want me to go because then her family would ask why she wasn't there. She doesn't see the point in going to see Ma-ma because she's barely conscious and doesn't recognise anyone anymore.

Melbourne ska-core band Sounds Like Chicken are certainly going places - despite being stuffed around at Youth Alive. This year they'll be supporting Reel Big Fish, with Area 7 also tagging along for the whinge.

Spud-powered computer
A man in Kaiserslautern, Germany, complained to a store where he'd bought a computer, that it had been full of potatoes instead of computer parts. They replaced the computer. Later he returned the second computer, saying he didn't need one anymore, and asked for a refund. This computer was also full of potatoes. Police are investigating for fraud...

Wealth TV
The US will soon have a whole TV station focusing on the rich and how they ended up that way.

Here be tram
This afternoon I went into the city to get some zines (homemade magazines) from Sticky, a zine shop in Campbell Arcade.
Afterwards I caught the tram to South Melbourne Beach. Took off my shoes and walked through the water to St Kilda.
Got on the tram back to the city, and saw a car crash into it, right beneath my window. Driver wasn't looking and tried to go into the lane the tram was already in. She lost her front bumper bar. Lucky trams are tough.

Googlism (props to Bushra)
This site is supposed to tell you what Google thinks (Google thinks?) of anything, anyone, anywhere.
I typed in 'Christop', and most of what it said about me maid not much sense. (Could there be a message in that?)
So next I typed in 'Ballarat'. Here are some of the highlights:

ballarat is an important
ballarat is the perfect host
ballarat is an important regional centre of 90
ballarat is located 106km
ballarat is one of australia's most romantic and historic towns and is rich with magnificent buildings
ballarat is an attractive
ballarat is located in the city of ballarat
ballarat is one of australia's newest and most progressive universities
ballarat is a regional institution with five campuses within the central highlands and wimmera regions
ballarat is one of australia’s largest inland cities with a population of 83
ballarat is one of australia’s largest inland cities with a population of 90
ballarat is located 3
ballarat is the largest complex to be built at this time
ballarat is the gateway to much of the best victoria has to offer
ballarat is open for business
ballarat is such a magical city
ballarat is a changing place
ballarat is well placed to take advantage of the excitement and benefits of city living as well as being able
ballarat is launched
ballarat is not only one of australia's foremost regional universities
ballarat is approximately aud$14
ballarat is also the 'must live in' city
ballarat is a goldmine for those seeking new tastes in wining and dining
ballarat is on two sites
ballarat is now the eyes and ears of the abc in the city
ballarat is a step closer to hitting the airwaves with the purchase of prime property in the centre of that city announcing the purchase of 5 dawson street
ballarat is victoria's second largest regional market
ballarat is a charming city steeped in the history of the gold rush days
ballarat issues the it challenge 3/12/2002 c
ballarat is the perfectlocation
ballarat is a lively meeting place offering visitors the chance to be part of a
ballarat is an ancient evil that haunts daryl’s long lost family and seeks the pleasure of watching daryl kill himself
ballarat is mr john mclean whose official title is chief executive officer
ballarat is second only to melbourne on the list of australia’s greatest cities
ballarat is a fundraising organisation that brings the community together to identify and address funding needs in the local community
ballarat is our path to excellence
ballarat is one of six victorian rural centres that will be monitored for the air pollutant pm10
ballarat is so cold
ballarat is also a festival haven
ballarat is clunes which was where the first gold was discovered
ballarat is located on picturesque lake wendouree and operates from the ballarat yacht club
ballarat is famous for its four distinct and delightful seasons
ballarat is the perfectlocation for your weekend away
ballarat is a good town with a few good places to go like the pictures with 6 picture theatres and a gold class one there is also intensity next to where you
ballarat is australia's only regional multi
ballarat is victoria’s largest island city
ballarat is synonymous with this exciting event held in the historic surrounds of aquinas campus
ballarat is a modern 224 bed private facility
ballarat is at mt helen on the outskirts of ballarat

Here is a copy of the design draft I did for Trav's sparrows t-shirt last week, during mission.

The Big Five Personality Test

Extroverted	||||||||||||||	56%
Introverted	||||||||||||	44%
Friendly	||||||||||||	44%
Aggressive	||||||||||||||	56%
Orderly	||||||||||||	50%
Disorderly	||||||||||||	50%
Relaxed	||||||||||	40%
Emotional	||||||||||||||	60%
Openminded	||||||||||||||||||	72%
Closeminded	||||||	28%

Take Free Big 5 Personality Test

Blogger Idol
Darren Rowse is running an event called Blogger Idol, in an attempt to unearth some fresh, new blogging talent. Participants will have to blog on a particular topic every week. If you're interested in being a participant, e-mail Darren.
Darren is also doing Blogathon - 24 hours of blogging - next Wednesday to raise money for pedicab (they're like rickshaws or jinrikshas, apparently) for a families in Manilla.

I'm back from mission now, and I'd say it was the best out of the three I've been on so far, though next summer's will be better, as will the following summer's. I'll put some kind of report up in the next couple of days.

1. The bigger the hat, the smaller the farm.

2. The shorter the nickname, the more they like you.

3. Whether it's the opening of Parliament, or the launch of a new art gallery , there is no Australian event that cannot be improved by a sausage sizzle.

4. If the guy next to you is swearing like a wharfie he's probably a media billionaire. Or on the other hand, he may be a wharfie.

5. There is no food that cannot be improved by the application of tomato sauce.

6. On the beach, all Australians hide their keys and wallets by placing them inside their sandshoes. No thief has ever worked this out.

7. Industrial design knows of no article more useful than the plastic milk crate.

8. All our best heroes are losers.

9. The alpha male in any group is he who takes the barbecue tongs from the hands of the host and blithely begins turning the snags.

10. It's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to hold.

11. A thong is not a piece of scanty swimwear, as in America, but a fine example of Australian footwear. A group of sheilas wearing black rubber thongs may not be as exciting as you had hoped.

12. It is proper to refer to your best friend as "a total bastard". By contrast, your worst enemy is "a bit of a bastard".

13. Historians believe the widespread use of the word "mate" can be traced to the harsh conditions on the Australian frontier in the 1890s, and the development of a code of mutual aid, or "mateship". Alternatively, Australians may just be really hopeless with names.

14. The wise man chooses a partner who is attractive not only to himself, but to the mosquitoes.

15. If it can't be fixed with pantyhose and fencing wire, it's not worth fixing.

16. The most popular and widely praised family in any street is the one that has the swimming pool.

17. It's considered better to be down on your luck than up yourself.

18. The phrase "we've got a great lifestyle" means everyone in the family drinks too much.

19. If invited to a party, you should take cheap red wine and then spend all night drinking the host's beer. (Don't worry, he'll have catered for it).

20. If there's any sort of free event or party within a hundred kilometres, you'd be a mug not to go.

21. The phrase "a simple picnic" is not known. You should take everything you own. If you don't need to make three trips back to the car, you're not trying.

22. Unless ethnic or a Pom, you are not permitted to sit down in your front yard, or on your front porch. Pottering about, gardening or leaning on the fence is acceptable. Just don't sit. That's what backyards are for.

23. The tarred road always ends just after the house of the local mayor.

24. On picnics, the Esky is always too small, creating a food versus grog battle that can only ever be solved by leaving the food behind.

(he he) ozjokes.com

Hey guys,
I guess I'll post a link here to my bands new website... just a little shameless promotion ;) It doesn't have music on it... (or much else) but that's coming soon! Check it out though, I think it's looking pretty cool, but I'm also open to suggestions! :) Oh, and our bands name is "asunder" hence the cracking "a" logo on the site...

http://www.geocities.com/crushed_asunder

Tim

Here's message I got via the "grape vine"

A message from Christop (from Bonnie's blog addressed to me... so I'll paste it here for you guys):

He's doing volunteer stuff like Coby at a Beach Missiony thingo near his place. The first night, the youth chucked rocks at them, but the night he messaged me, they'd all come round for the sports night and then the following night (which was saturday night) they were having a cafe thingo. He told me to tell you so that you could pray I think!


Tim

There is not much about the hamster
To stimulate the epigramster.
The essence of his simple story,
He populates the laboratory.
Then leaves his offspring in the lurch,
Martyrs to medical research.
Were he as bright as people am,
New York would be New Hamsterdam.

-Ogden Nash

Not much going on in my life, I brought in the new year playing Battlefield 1942 untill 11:50 new years eve, then went and watched the ball drop in new york :) I'm such a nerd ;) Hmmm... what to post, I have church tomorrow... Then we have a funeral to go to that was a friend of my parents and brother and sister (I'm too young to really know the guy, he went to a church I went to when we were young). I have band practice on monday again... which I missed last week, and they actually jammed too- WITHOUT ME!

Anyways, that's about it :)

Tim

(Blog mob, ATTAAAAAAACK!)

Wow, I can't believe Christoph let me in here, oh, uh..is this thing on? Hello! Right, seeing as how I've got mush on the brain, have a joke. (www.funnycleanjokes.com)

Computers Down

Two priests died at the same time and met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, "I'd like to get you guys in now, but our computer's down. You'll have to go back to Earth for about a week, but you can't go back as priests. What'll it be?"

The first priest says, "I've always wanted to be an eagle, soaring above the Rocky Mountains."

"So be it," says St. Peter, and off flies the first priest.

The second priest mulls this over for a moment and asks, "Will any of this week 'count', St. Peter?"

"No, I told you the computer's down. There's no way we can keep track of what you're doing."

"In that case," says the second priest, "I've always wanted to be a stud."

"So be it" says St. Peter, and the second priest disappears.

A week goes by, the computer is fixed, and the Lord tells St. Peter to recall the two priests. "Will you have any trouble locating them?" He asks.

"The first one should be easy," says St. Peter. "He's somewhere over the Rockies, flying with the eagles. But the second one could prove to be more difficult."

"Why?" asketh the Lord.

"He's on a snow tire, somewhere in North Dakota."