Anthony Malloy

Even though Rae got in first, here’s my afternoon/evening in a nutshell.

1) The clock on the silo said 11 degrees.
2) My new PC was ready a day early
3) I get to do a site for hockey club.

How much happier could I be?

Today I was presented with the official 2003 MIS department diary. A large day to a page hard bound glossy black affair.

All very impressive but a complete waste. I use Outlook for my diary and synch that to my Palm, which I carry everywhere. So until this black monolith starts humming and sending any nearby wild apes crazy it shall sit behind my printer, gathering dust.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a web designer, a glorious career that I have stumbled into quite by accident. One of the essential tools for a web designer is a computer – more particulary a computer that works. My PC has all but given up the ghost after two and a half years of my pushing it to the limit so I have to dig deep and go get a new one.

Landmark Computers has come to the rescue. My new system (with an update to 512MB of RAM) will be ready Wednesday night – two sleeps to go! I love getting a new PC – and this one will be particularly sweet. Its clock speed is almost 400% faster than my current PC, it will have 400% more RAM and 200% more hard drive space.

Best of all because I am a business I’m leasing the thing over a few years. It’s a tax deduction and I can update it in two years time. New PC, more power and less money to Mr Costello! Win, win, win.

CNN.com reports this is ranked as the world’s funniest joke. Don’t know about that but it’s got me chuckling, although maybe that says more about me than the joke.

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services.

He gasps: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: “OK, now what?”

Face it- Melbourne’s perfect or so says EIU. I find it funny that my other favourite town, Vancouver, comes in a very close second.

Just goes to show what wondeful taste I have.

Today I am back at work, but yesterday, oh yesterday was beautiful.

It started off in Nagambie and then we headed for the high country – Victoria’s beautiful alpine region (think The Man From Snowy River). We went mustard shopping, cheese shopping and even a little wine tasting (and purchasing). We’ve decided it’s worth a mustard run every six months – one autumn, one spring.

For some pictures see the picture page.

Well, the zoo went well. I have learnt that six year olds have an unhealthy fascination with monkey poo – every stop on the monkey boardwalk involved some new question about its origins, their abilities and methods of disposal. This was only topped when we were viewing a tiger pacing centimetres away on the other side of a glass wall. My little girl pipes up “Dad, it looks like a real tiger”. I was so proud of the surrounding crowd – not one person laughed.

Wish me luck, today is my first full school holiday with Phee – and I’m all alone. Rae has run off to work so it’s me and Phee vs the demons of six year old boredom. I’m diving in at the deep end too – we’re off to the zoo. Then, if she’s not exhausted after kangaroo watching we might tackle the observation deck at the Rialto