my conference prep
making new business cards
red ink on fingers

...me 'earties.

So, it's been a year. Tomorrow marks one year to the day since I first walked into my new job down here and the first day we moved into this unit (yeah, that really did happen on the same day). That makes it a year and a couple of days since we arrived in Sydney, but I don't think it really counts until you're out of the hotel ;)

A year ago finding our way a few suburbs across Sydney was a major operation, with much flipping of Refidex pages and cursing of Sydney's signage (which both sucks and blows). A simple run from the hotel to Leichardt for italian took ages and stressed us out completely, since we didn't know the way to anything.

Last night, by coincidence, we got takeaway from the same place; and it was a quick and easy drive. Funny the little things which tell you that you're kind of getting used to a new city ;)

So anyway, it's been a year. I still think Sydney is nuts, an extremely elaborate practical joke, but the place has grown on me. I regularly notice the wonderful buildings and gorgeous weather, instead of just noticing the grime.

Next week, it's Web Directions South. Instead of being a seriously displaced newbie, this time around I'm a vaguely settled local. Probably won't make much difference after a few beers ;)

What have I learned so far? Well, being away is great until someone at home is in trouble and you can't do a fucking thing to help. Then it bites. It's awesome when friends come to visit. It's great to push your comfort zone. It's fun to find new haunts, new places and events.

I haven't enjoyed every day, in fact I've often been miserable and have wished on many occasions that we'd never had the stupid idea. But I don't regret the decision. Moving was the right thing for us to do.

That probably says it all really.

Labels: year in review

Three changes meme (what three changes would you make if you ruled the world):

1. Three day weekends. Think about it - when you have a long weekend, you get everything done in four days anyway. Three days would let you relax properly.
2. Politicians must use public health services, public transport and send their kids to public schools. Let's see if they still think the service quality is good enough after that!
3. Wealth cap - once you've personally made a billion, you have to split the rest of the profit equally amongst all the employees. You won't miss it, but it'll sure make a difference to them.

So what would you change?

Labels: meme

Somewhere on a back road between Rydal and the Jenolan caves.

Note the trees... it was windy as hell (funny that) and utterly freezing.

The scale of them is really quite odd, since the proportions make them seem small. But when you get up close, they're really big.

Labels: photo

Sydney geek types might be interested in a little gathering we're planning for next Friday: geeks on the grass. Basically it's a non-boozy friday lunch option, outside in Hyde Park.

Geeks? Outside? Yeah, I know, it's a crazy idea ;)

This started off as a way to play around with the My Maps feature on Google Maps, then grew to a point where visitors to Sydney found it kind of useful. It shows places to eat, drink, get coffee and (for the weary traveller) corner stores that stay open late.

For the uninitiated: note that I am not a Sydney native and no doubt there are several million other places you could go. This map is just places we've found in the past year and liked enough to consider going back.

[Edit 2012.03.04: ok so now it's more like 5.5 years... :)]

[Edit 2014.02.28: see also Si's list Sydney for coffee-loving design nerds.]

For what it's worth:

(View full screen)

Labels: coffee

• I Think You're Fat | Esquire: [A] movement called Radical Honesty ... was founded by a sixty-six-year-old Virginia-based psychotherapist named Brad Blanton. He says everybody would be happier if we just stopped lying. Tell the truth, all the time.
• English Russia - The Matrix Goggles. Actually not really Matrix goggles, rather they're ASCII goggles. They can translate what you see into ASCII art, on the fly.
• EcoGeek: Bahrain World Trade Centre Getting Its Turbines - claims to be the first skyscraper with integrated wind turbines. I can only assume they get wind from the same direction most of the time for this to work.
• IT Crowd Season 2, Episode 3: Great anti-piracy PSA sendup - Boing Boing
• YouTube - Skyscraper Construction - Shinjuku Skyscrapers Time-lapse. Interesting vid, totally weird soundtrack.
• odbol productions: drumpants. Pants with a bunch of peizo pickups in them. Although in the vid it sounds like they have some lag (or the drummer does) it's a very cool idea. Maybe not quite as cool as the juggling drummer who put pickups on his hands and arms; but still a lot of potential!
• Notepad toaster burns handwritten messages into bread - Boing Boing. This would be such an awesome gimmick for a coffee shop - a daily message, cool design, even the details of the order could be toasted into the bread!

Yep, the blog has a new look. It's been quite a while with the old blue and white design. Before that was the 'pimpazz orange and grey'. This time around it's grey, with grey, with offsets of grey, black and white. In other news, I've no idea why some people accuse me of being a minimalist.

Anyway, hope you like it.

Note: not tested in Mac browsers yet. Plus there are a few things which will need to be refined, but weren't bad enough to hold off the new look.

The design does change a little between browsers - I am following a Dao of Web Design ;)

The Three Sisters, Katoomba. Seen from Echo Point Lookout.

Labels: photo