Another Trip.

Another day another trip, this month has been good for them.
And as the oold saying goes, "Make hay while the sun shines." because we all know that these trip will soon dry up. (Though I hope not.) The view from Minlaton mobile phone site. Nice. You can see where the farmers are cropping. They mainly are barley or peas. The peas are not the eating kind but some sort of legume, nitrogen fixating plants, ie good for the soil when not leaving a field fallow. (Crop rotation policy)
I know some of this from the cocky we talked to about the job we will be doing out there, but also from geography classes in school. Hey, that means I was paying attention. Wow learn some thing new every day.
A cast of hundreds watching me take photos. Not a great shot. But the sun ment I could not see through the view finder. So I took a guess. They are sheep, if you can't tell. Funny animals, very heard orientated.
And this is the photo they watched me take. This was a good looking valley. The picture does it no justice.
Ah salt bush (I think)
Mmmm.... Barley, pretty with the Flinders Rangers in the back ground. (Very southern end of the rangers)
And this is one of the site we visited on the day. Not mutch to look at thought, even if about 50gig of data goes through here every second.

Bellybutton Blackhole

I just ate a donut (or 3)
Iced with sprinkles. Yummy.
Now I was, and still am, wearing a woolie top and a singlet.

So how did a sprinkle end up in my bellybutton?

The gravitational pull is strong in this one.
Oh, and to gross you all out, yes I did eat it.

Payday Friday and a Sunday Movie

Well Payday Fridays are a good thing for me. Time to fed the CD junkie inside me.

1: "Welcome To Jamrock" by Damian "Jr Gong" Marley
2: "New Forms" by Roni Size and Reprazent
3: "Ruckus" by Galactic
4: "Freedom" by Jurassic 5
5: "We Are Night Sky" by Deadboy and the Elephantmen

I have already listened to "Welcome To Jamrock" "Ruckus" and most of "New Forms" and am very pleased. "Jamrock" was the greatest surprise, it is not just reggae music, but it has rock, pop and some dance vibes all though it too.
Another $100 sunk into my little craving. But $100 well spent.

And I missed out on most of CSI Sunday as well, but this time it was under my own conditions.

I went to see a movie, "Snakes On A Plane".

I didn't think they put movies on like that at cinemas any more. You know the ones, the ones where you know the story from the title of the movie, and the plot is so far fetched that it is ludicrus. Well this had it all. The filght attendant who was on her last filght, the rapper, the married couple, the randy couple, the annoying dog. Any and all polt constructs were there.
I pissed myself laughing though.
Those friggin snakes were so funny. How can you not laugh at the absurdity of it. Way cool. I havent laughed that hard in ages.
Oh and I think I might break one of my own rules and watch a Will Farrel movie. Taladega Nights looks ok, and the line of "Controll your heart rate." and the reply of "I can't controll my heart rate, there's a cougar on my chest." had my sides hurting. (I think I was the only one who laughed at this)

Any way, to bed now. Oh and my cat has become even more cute (dam him) by now snuggling up to me as I'm sleeping. I wake up most mornings to his face and purring. Pity he does snore a bit though, might have to get him one of those strips to open up his nostrils.

Another Day, Another Country Trip

This time the trip was to Clare for more transmission for mobile phone towers.


Do you know how hard it is to get photos near a phone tower with no wires or a tower in the shot. It is fairly difficult.
So many vines. The whole Clare Valley is covered in them.
Great rocks with lichen, I like lichen.
Rocks and sky. My favourite subjects.
Mmmmm..... canola.


Bee Happy (Ho, ho, he, he, so funny)

Sunday Snoozy Sunday

Sunday was good.

Gym in the morning, running to and from (well ambling due to my gym parners lack of lungs, He must only have one or something.)
So the pecs and bicepts were burning. Home for lunch and then up to Nairne for band practise.
Practice went well, and I finally found my range on nearly all the songs and am even singing them with out the lyrics glued to my hand too, so i'm a happy camper there.

Home at 6pm, was dinner over by 6:30pm.

Might just close my eyes.
Wake up for CSI sunday (8:30pm), shouldn't snooze that long.

Eyes close.

Eyes open.

What is this muck on TV now.
What time is it any way.

1:30am
Oh.

Think I will go to bed now.

Bloody nap monster got me a good one.
Missed CSI sunday too.
Not good.
Hopefully will catch NCIS tonight (I think it is anyway) can't go a week with out seeing some bad guys brought to justice.

D,E Artists Album

The album is Deep Purple's "Deepest Purple, The Very Best Of Deep Purple"

Old school metal, when guitar wank was king.

Review: "Dig Your Own Hole" by The Chemical Brothers

OK so it is longer than a week.
No real excused, but here it is.

I will always think of this album fondly even if the sounds can seem dated some times.
"Block Rockin' Beats" launched the Chemicals and it blew my mind.
I love a base line, and the Chemicals introduced it to me in a way that I had not heard before, pounding beats, streight into your chest.
I love it.

But if you can't handle big beats, and I mean big, and whaling sirens, and boy do they whale, then don't come near this album, it will hurt your ears.

From the classic "Block Rockin' Beats" that opens the album, all the way to "Setting Sun" the album is like one big mix, and Noal Gallager's (from Oasis fame) vocals on "Setting Sun" soar through the wonders of a synth guitar with the sirens going crazy, it is a great track.

Even through the stranger tracks on the album, through "Lost In The K-Hole" and "Where Do I begin" (it will always remind me of the movie "Vanilla Sky" staring every ones favourite scientologist) to the epic trumpet blaring of "The Private Psychdelic Reel"
I simple Love this album.
It totally put me in a place that allowed me to think of music as a whole and not to discard anything with out hearing it first, and to Tom and Ed I am forever grateful for that.

I had one of the best nights of my life dancing to these grooves.

Big Day Out in the Boiler Room on a 40degC day at 10pm. The Chemicals start to play.
Me and one of my friends had gotten into the room but only about 15m, 30m or so from the stage next to the indoor sound tower.
It was enough.
I put my backpack down and waited for them to start. I didn't even see them, or if I did I can't remember it.

The sirens just started.
Then the beats.

I put my head down and danced. I lost track of time as I explored that space in your head that is full of both nothing and everything.
The beats, the sirens, the people, the heat.
It all added up to the perfect Chemical experiance. Who needs drugs when you can float on pure energy and emotion.
I try but it was indescribable.
I got rid of my inhabitions on a dance floor (which still have not come back to this day). Not that I'm good, just nonplussed by what others think.

After an eternity of about an hour and a half to two hours, the set ended as it had begun.
With a siren calling us all back to our bodies so that we could return to our lives.

Wow.
No really, Wow.

I heard a rumor later that it had gotten to about 60degC or so on the stage and that Tom and Ed had to be taken to the hospital for a drip after the concert. Tough cookies these techno boys.

For the above reasons and so many more a fantastic album.
One of the greats of all time.

9/10

Friday Lunch Gets Hot!

Ah Friday, and a pay day to boot.
So it is eating out time.

To the pub batman.

Not a bad pub either, I have been there before. Good prices, you can tell by the number of pensioners that frequent it.
Chicken Schnitzel for me, with gravy of course.
Salad bar looks good, so I have a crack at it. Nice potato salad, and colslaw.
Roast vegies too, why not.

Here is where the fun begins.
The "Sneeze Protectors" are set up so grandma and pops can easily access the food. Me at 6 foot with my numpty hands and fingers have trouble navigating under the guard.
Still I persevere and manage to procure some cheesed colieflower, brocolie, and roast potato with out incident.

So on to the roast pumpkin. Set at the back it is a very tricky course to get to it. The plastic tongs seem to be hot enough to melt in my hands.
That piece looks nice, I just have to move my hand this way to get at it so I can lift it.

Wow, my hand can move quick, oh yeah, a heat lamp will do that to you.

Manage to get another piece of pumpkin, but I paid a heavy price for my orange gold. I now have a 3/4 inch welt on the back of my hand. Punishment for my attenpt at pumkin entrapment.

I think it will leave a scar for a very long time. I will have to make up a good story about it though, imagine telling people about burning your hand trying to pick up pumpkin.
Maybe something about rope burn, all sorts of possibilites there.

Anyway, the schnitzel was a de-boned chicken made flat, like all good schnitzls in pubs, bigger than the place it came on. Drowned in gravy, with 3 or 4 chips caught in the flood stuck under the meat. At $12.50 and new scar for chicks to dig, I think I did pretty well out of lunch.

PS Orange meal from previous post was very nice. Mmmmm... Tasty.

Dinner Time

For a friend of mine in America I will now describe a very Orange meal I have just cooked.

Roughly chop 1 spanish onion.
Roughly chop half a green capsicum.
Place in warm oil with 2 tea spoons of crushed garlic and 2 tea spoons of chopped ginger.
Fry till onion is "clear".
Add one quater of a butter nut pumpkin (finely but corsly chopped)
Add one carrot (finely but corsly chopped)
Stir in and fry for a while. (technical term for how ever long it takes you to add the next ingredient).
Take one chicken breast and turn into chicken mince. I did it on a whim by smashing it with the flat of my chefs knife and then running the blade through it a gazillion times.
Then see the tomatos on the window sill and add two of them for good measure. (chopped corsly)
Add chicken mince and fry for a while. (see above for ccorract timing)
Add two heaped desert spoons on "Patak's" Rogan Josh Curry paste and two jam glasses of water. (I mention brand only because i'm sure every brand is different.)
Stir in well and lit simmer till most of the liquid has evaporated off or until too hungery to wait, which ever is shorter.
Turn on to bowl (boal) and eat.

This is the bit I am up to now.
It is waiting on the counter for me to attack it with a splade (not a spork you heathens)
Have to wait for it to cool now.
Looks nice though.
A very dark orange.

More Job Perks

Today was a good day at work.

Had to drive down south to get a transmission link up and going. (We had a problem with it so that just means I have to go back another day).
So first stop was McClaren Vale. The sun was out and it was a perfect winters day. Top notch. The above shot is just next to our mobile phone tower (as are most of the shots)
Sour sops and grape vines. Classic wine country look.

Willunga had a friendly goat in a pen. A scratch under the chin and he was my friend for life. He tried to cone with me as I left but the barbed wire and chain stopped him. He was well looked after but seemed to really like the scratch.

Well what is to say except "No Bull?" This guy was making some of the weirdest sounds I have heard out of any bovine.

The day got a bit overcast but you can still see the great view of Goolwa from the road to one of our sites near Victor Harbour.

And lastly Victor Harbour.

I never understand how people feel the need to go overseas to see the beauty in the world.

Just pay attention around you.

C Artists Album

One of my favourite that I haven't listend to in a while.
Hurray for this process.

The Chemical Brothers second album "Dig Your Own Hole".

Review: "I Feel Good" by James Brown

How can you not give major points to an album that starts with:
"Yyyyyyeeeeeoooooowwwwww..........SEX MACHINE!!!!"

Probably the best start to an album you can get. Well it is close, and way cool.

This seems to be a "Best Of" album without a lot of the "Best Of". Maybe a "Pretty Good Of".

It does have "Sex Machine" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" on it, but the latter is not the version most would recognise, it is a funked out version that is similar to "Sex Machine". Both are good though, and the banter between James and the band on "Sex Machine" is great. Hearing them talk about what sort of woman they like, "Do like barey legs, or do you like hairy legs?". Very funny.

From there it goes more slow. Prehaps it was a best of the rest sort of album. The tracks are good, there is no doubting that, but most of them seen to be either covers or sort of second versions of songs not normally heard. I could be wrong here, but that is how it feels.

The covers are great. "Fever" with the perfect change of a line to "My eyes light up when you call James Brown" is perfect for James to sing. "That's Life" has a charming lament to it.
Personally I think the album peaks with "The Popcorn", an instramental that, if it is not Maceo Parker on the sax then it is some other phenominal sax player, has the groove and the one that James is famous for creating all over it. . Brilliant. Great grooving song.
"Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" parts 1 and 2 are both good, "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" and "Summertime" (a duet with Martha High) also provide highlights.

However overall not the base pumping, soul grinding, horn poping funked out trip that you expect when you hear the name James Brown. Not his fault mind you, the tracks are all excellent, just not the funk you expect. I guess Startrax couldn't afford all the good stuff.

Certanly not bad, but not fantastic at the same time.

6/10

If Work Was Always Like This.

Well, what a day at work.

We had a guy leaving work today, we knew about it 4 weeks ago but today was his last day. Both of my bosses were out of the state, and during the meeting yesterday, as one of my colluges said "If the cats are away, then the mice will play."

So, woke up at 6:30 left the house at 7:40, and still arrived 1/2 an hour early (I thought there would be traffic) at where???

The golf course.

Ok, so I play golf every 5 years or so. But hey it is still fun, and it is not work and I am being paid for it, so who cares.

In 2 hours we played 9 holes. I won (or lost depending on how you look at things) I had 75 strokes through the 9 holes. For all you non sporting types the par, or average, number of strokes you should have to make for the entire 18 hole course is 72. Ok so this is a number pro's have trouble getting sometimes but it is the target. I had more strokes in 9 holes. As another of my collegues said "You got your moneys worth didn't you"
You bet your arse I did.
Did some gardening and digging as well. Well it was more like cutting clumps of turf with a 9 iron. I did at one point say that I needed a shovel and an axe in my golf bag.

So we got into the office at 11:00. Lunch was set for 12:30, so we started to walk to lunch at 12:10. $5 for all you can fit on a plate at Chinatown. Good value. And I can stack a plate like a master. Forget the rice (unless you like it) and go for the soft stuff first, then the stackable after that. and stack till you reach a spring roll and sweet and sour pork pinnicle. A pyramid of goodness. The perfect food pyramid.
Well maybe not, but it was dam fine for $5.

Then back to the office to do some work for about 2 hours. They go home to be at the pub for 4:00.

What a day of work. I think if all my working days were like this,

1: I would be much better at golf.
2: I would be much fatter for the chinese food.
3: I would get no work done.
4: I would be a drunk for being at the pub every night.

Some of the above I could handle, others not so. But the day was good, and my mood is fine.

James Brown review soon.