The Great Outdoors in North Sydney

All this time I've been working in North Sydney, I always go out for a short walk after lunch. Lots of things to see/visit around the area. Just beside the office is the Greenwood Plaza with its shops, foodcourt and restaurants. Within Greenwood Plaza are some small patches of grass where people can sit and soak up some sunshine. Across the street is the Northpoint Plaza. If you head down Blues Point Road and turn right at Union Street, you end up at the Graythwaite Victorian estate. Back at Blues Point Road, if you turn left at Lavender Street, you'll pass by Watt Park and Clark Park. Further down Blues Point Road, make a left at King George Street, follow the narrow footpath, and you'll end up at Lavender Bay. Magnificent view of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Luna Park. If you follow the shoreline, I think you can go all the way to Luna Park. If you follow Blues Point Road to the end, you'll reach Blues Point Reserve for an even better view of the Bridge and the Opera House.

I've only started to explore the north side of North Sydney this week. There's the myriad of shops and restaurants along Miller Street. There's the Mary MacKillop Chapel on Mount Street and the museum beside it. Best find so far is the Stanton Library further down Miller Street, just after the North Sydney Council Chambers. Three levels of books and magazines and a HUGE collection of classical CDs. Membership is free, and you can borrow up to 30 items at any one time for three weeks. Lunch breaks were never this fun!

Top Gear - Revved Up

I don't know why, but the guys in the office absolutely love Top Gear. The weekly show at SBS on Saturday nights is apparently not enough for them, so they go scouring for Top Gear videos on YouTube, and send each other the links. I watch Top Gear myself, though I can't see what's the fuss about. I like sleek and fast cars; the show's challenges are original (though sometimes childish); the hosts have genuine chemistry and sometimes funny; but that's about it. If you don't want to sit through whole seasons of Top Gear just for the good bits, then get this DVD.

Top Gear - Revved Up is a collection of the best and most requested segments of Top Gear's seasons 3, 4, and 5. We start off with Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond duking it out on the beach of Pendine Sands with a Porsche, a Jaguar and the new BMW 6 series. If they didn't use doubles while sliding and drifting their cars on the wet sand, then I must say they're quite good. In DB9 vs. Train, the guys race each other to reach Monte Carlo - James and Richard commuting and eventually riding the 200mph TGV, while Jeremy drives an Aston Martin DB9. Guess who won? How about a Mitsubishi Evo racing against a bobsled with no brakes down the mountains? Or an Apache helicopter trying to get a missile lock on a sub-1 ton 200hp Lotus Exige?

In one of their stunts, Jemery tried his hardest to destroy a Toyota Hilux to no avail. The pickup was driven down a flight of stairs, bashed around industrial Bristol, left to drown in the sea, blown up on top of a tower block, bashed with a wrecking ball, and torched. Despite all this, the Hilux lives to drive another day. In another challenge, the guys were give 1,500 pounds each to buy a Porsche, which they have to drive to Brighton in one piece. Then they were told to sell the Porsches again and see how much they can make. Funniest segment? Hammond starts a people carrier race series, featuring two Renault Espaces, a Toyota Previa, a Toyota Spacecruiser, a Mitsubishi Space Wagon, and a Nissan Serena in the inaugural race. After much bumping and crashing among the champion drivers, the Espaces win the race with a 1-2 finish.

Wasps Begone!

Today, I had get rid of a wasp nest. It really made me feel bad having to do it. I first noticed the presence of the nest a few weeks ago. I saw a couple of wasps circling our front gate, and true enough, there's a small wasp nest right outside my bedroom window. With the intent of removing it, I would look at the nest once in a while, but there's usually one or two wasps holding fort.

It's sunny weather again today, and the wasps are back circling our front lawn. Sensing an opportunity, I sneaked into the front lawn with a pole and a plastic bag. Like I said, I felt bad (and nervous) doing this bad deed. I can imagine the wasps coming back at night after a day's hard work to find their home gone. (Too bad they didn't get home insurance.) Then again, it's them or us. I say a little a prayer and gave the nest a good smack. Turns out there was another wasp inside the nest. Lucky for me, it simply flew away instead of attacking the invader.

ANZAC Day Book Group

I've extended The Book Group DVD twice already. Finally found the time to watch it. Today's ANZAC Day, so no work.

The British TV comedy/drama series centers on Clair Pettengill and members of her book group. Clare is a writer from Cincinnati, Ohio who moved to Glasgow. In an attempt to make new friends, she starts a book group. The group consists of three European footballers wives (Fist, Janice, and Dirka) , a druggie post-grad student (Barney), a homosexual football fan (Rab), and a nice guy in a wheelchair (Kenny). Throughout the episodes, the book group had gone through Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist (a.k.a. The Man Who Could Turn Base Metals into Gold), The Little Engine that Could, and Martin Logan's Dark Alley.

By the end of the six-part series, Kenny became personal trainer to Dirka and Fist, and had them lusting after him. Janice had an affair with thriller writer Martin Logan. Her husband Jackie doesn't really mind because he's busy giving all his attention to Rab, who became his personal assistant (not secretary). Claire made a pass at Barney right after the first book group meeting, but he didn't bite. Seven months and six episodes later, she got lucky. Barney passed away due to drug overdose and his struggling artist-brother Lachlan came over to sort out his stuff. First time Clair met him, she snagged him and made him her boyfriend.

Nice concept, funny one-liners from Kenny, a little eye candy from the footballers' wives, need more content and maybe a few new faces to keep the book group fresh.

Hello, Hotmail!

Well, how about that? I log in to my Hotmail account today to find a welcome note. It congratulates me, and says that an email account has been reserved for me, and I need to activate it. I click on the Activate button, and was presented with a squeaky clean mailbox. Apparently, I didn't log in to Hotmail the past 30 days, so Hotmail did some housecleaning for me - deleting more than 10 years worth of emails (and spam). Good job, Hotmail! I'll see you again in a few months.

Cockroaches Are Electrically Conductive

Even when I was in Manila, my sisters have been telling me that our Panasonic microwave oven (with inverter technology) is on the blink. The past one, two years that we've had the microwave oven, we don't even use it for cooking, merely to reheat leftovers. Hard to believe it's junk now. Anyway, they tell me that every time they use it, there's a fizzing sound. They see a few sparks, the oven gives off some bad smell, and trips the circuit breakers. Thinking it's probably some moisture trapped in the enclosure, I gave it a good cleaning, and it worked perfectly.....for a few weeks. Today, the symptoms came back, and we definitely have a problem.

With nothing to lose, I took the whole thing apart. Every thing looks all right with no burnt component in sight. Zeroing in on the source of the bad smell, I took a closer look at the transformer coils. I see one very thin copper wire sticking out, so I thought, oh this must the one giving the shorts. It looks too thin to be a wire, so I looked deeper. Guess what? Deep within the transformer enclosure is a burnt cockroach. Obviously dead, its body is nevertheless still conductive which shorts the coils every time the oven is activated. Now I know how Grace Murray Hopper felt when she found the bug in ENIAC. After disposing of the cockroach remains by shaking it out, the microwave is back in tiptop condition.

3-Month Report in 2 Days

The impossible things one is capable of doing when one has to do it. I would never have thought that I can produce a set of quarterly reports within two days, given that all of the required statistics and measurements are still "out there" uncollected. Story is, I was filling in for this girl who's going on a maternity leave. For two afternoons, she was telling me where to pull numbers for all the platforms that she's maintaining, and how to generate the proper charts for the different parameters we're tracking. She was putting too much focus on this particular task, I had to ask her how often does she generate these reports. Quarterly, she said. Considering it's now April, I figure still I have three months to go, so no worries. Two days ago, I got an email from her manager inquiring as to how the reports are coming up because she wants them by tomorrow. A quick email to my "mentor" confirmed that no, she hasn't been collecting the stats all these months, and yes, that's now my problem. Right. Made worse by the fact that some of the data were missing from the systems. I can hear her shrug over the phone, "Yeah, I've reported that problem already." Well, thanks for nothing.

And what were my colleagues over at Pyrmont doing at this time? They're on a harbour cruise. One of them even called me and asked me to look out the window if I can spot their sailboat under the Harbour Bridge near Luna Park. Great, guys.

First Impressions of Manila

Manila hasn't changed much since the day I left. Last night when I arrived, the airport terminal is exactly the same. The immigration queues are too long, but nobody is complaining. The people at the counters chat among themselves as they check your documents as if you don't exist. One improvement I've noticed is that there are no more lines at the customs area. I went straight through customs, and the lady at the checkout didn't even give me a sideways glance. Before, they would stop you and ask you to open your bags for inspection. Before they let you go, they'll hem and haw, and give you the nod-nod-wink-wink. If you still don't get it, then you're in trouble. There are fewer "standbys" at the arrival area. A few years ago, you'd have strangers come up to you offering to carry your bags or get you a taxi. I tell you, they're scary.

I flew in on a Sunday night, and even then traffic is heavy along Roxas Blvd. The front passengers have to put on seatbelts, but there is no such requirement for the backseat passengers. Remember to always lock your car doors because you wouldn't want to be robbed inside your car while caught in traffic. Most of the streets don't come with lane markings. There's a good reason for this. Take any two-lane street in Sydney, bring it to Manila, take away the lane markings, and it becomes a three-lane avenue. Once the traffic starts moving, people just switch from lane to lane, trying to get ahead, *without* using any turn signals. Everybody honk their horns every few minutes. No offense meant. How I used to do that I can only reminisce.

This morning we had breakfast at Jollibee at Holiday Plaza. (How appropriate.) For those who has never heard of Jollibee, it's McDonald's biggest competitor. Jollibee started out as a small operation in Cubao. Then it got smart. It copied everything on McDonald's menu and made them better, more suited to the local taste, meaning sweeter. Nowadays, you can come to Jollibee every day of the week, and still have something new on your plate: Yumburger, ChickenJoy, Champ, Jolly Spaghetti, The Champ, Jolly Hotdog, Palabok Fiesta, Burger Steak, Amazing Aloha, local dishes like tocino, longganisa, aroz caldo, beef tapa, corned beef, plus the staples like sundaes, fries, pies, pancakes, etc.

With every order of mango pie, you get a free copy of Philippine Star. Actually, order anything and you still get your daily paper. They're practically giving them away. Is this the reason why the Philippine Star seems to be doing better than the Philippine Daily Inquirer? That marketing gimmick seems to be working. That's the thing with most Filipinos - the herd mentality here is very strong. If everyone is reading the Phil. Star, it must be good. So given a choice, I'd also go for it. (Background info: PDI came to prominence during the decline of the Marcos era. With its slogan of "Balanced News Fearless Views", it dared to openly criticize the Marcos regime. During the EDSA revolution, it cast its lot with Aquino, won big time, and never looked back. As a result, it dethroned Manila Bulletin as the nation's leading newspaper.)

Spent most of the day visiting our old neighbors. The surrounding area has changed a bit, but our neighbors are exactly the same as I last saw them three years ago. It's uncanny.

Like before, people are very much obsessed with their mobile phones. Rich or poor, everyone has one. When you meet the friendly neighborhood thief, he doesn't inquire about your wallet anymore; he wants your phone. You may have only 20 pesos in your wallet, but at the very minimum, your mobile is worth thousands on the market. One columnist theorizes that even the poorest of the poor in Manila has a mobile phone because it gives them an identity. They might not have a house with a street address, but with a mobile (with SIM card), they get an MSISDN (mobile number) that they can call their own. And that gives them a (wireless) connection to their friends and the society at large. I see people fussing with their phones every chance they get - sending "texts" (as they are called here), reading messages, changing wallpapers, downloading ringtones (the meowing cat is most popular at the moment). And since phone-snatching is so rampant, the ladies do SMS inside their bags. (That's what backlights are for.) The guys put their phones in small pouches and stuff them in their pockets.

There's a new coin in circulation. The P2 coin is out and the P10 coin is in. Given that the basic jeepney ride now costs P7, your stack of coins won't last long. Man, I can still remember when you can ride a jeepney for only 75 cents. We also have a new P200 bill, positioned nicely between P100 and P500.

Not one to waste time, I got down to business and visited my dentist in the afternoon. An hour and two tooth fillings later, I was short of P2000. That's peanuts in Sydney, but here in Manila, it's big money.

Badminton is still going on strong among the populace. It started to pick up when I left, and now it looks like everyone's into it. Just outside our place is a warehouse, now converted into a 6-court badminton place called Toss and Play. With no cable TV, no free-to-air reception, no Internet access, and no WiFi, I spent the night watching people play. I knew I should've bought my badminton racquet instead of the tennis one.

KrisWorld Movie Marathon

The best way to pass time on a plane is still to watch lots and lots of movies. Just watch three movies straight, or intersperse them with a few CDs in between, and you'll get to your destination by the time you're done. You don't even have to make small talk with your seatmate. Who knows, you might be sitting next to Tyler Durden.

First movie I watched is Daniel Craig's first outing as Agent 007 in Casino Royale. I must say I liked this one. Not because I think Daniel Craig is the most wonderful British actor there is. Or maybe I'm just bored with the dashing Pierce Brosnan already. did is so ruthless. It's just not right to take advantage of a man when he's at his most vulnerable. I mean, 007 just got his license to kill, yet he's willing to leave everything on the table, and start a new life with Ms. Mr. Craig brings a breath of fresh air and drive to the role. The opening scene is not as extravagant and techie as the earlier ones, but wow, you should see the action. Just like Jackie Chan when he was just starting in the business. I'm not going to bore you with all the plot details, as I'm sure everyone has seen the movie already. I just want to say that what Ms. LyndLynd. Yet she betrayed him. In usual Bond fashion, 007 was able to catch the bad guy. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to save the damsel in distress. He became a colder man that day Ms. Lynd drowned in the depths of Venice.

Best bit of conversation in the movie:
Ms. Lynd: You know, James. I just want you to know that if all that was left of you was your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than anyone I've ever met.
Mr. Bond: That's because you know what I can do with my little finger.
Ms. Lynd: You're not going to let me in there, are you? You've got your amor back on. That's that.
Mr. Bond: I have no armor left. You've stripped it from me. Whatever is left of me, whatever is left of me, whatever I am, I'm yours.

To help clear the somber mood, I watched a comedy from Stephen Chow next. The movie is called Love on Delivery and also stars the luscious Christy Chung and his long-time sidekick Ng Man Tat. Stephen Chow also directs. Having watched Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, I'm deeply disappointed with this one. The movie feels like it's shot over a weekend, and Stephen Chow is probably having a hangover when he directed. The jokes are tired and banal and the plot virtually non-existent. Delivery boy Chow meets pretty student Chung. (She's even prettier with less clothes on.) After being humiliated by Chung's judo-teacher suitor, Chow gets some kung-fu lessons from an dodge convenience store owner, and get duped out of his savings in the process. Incredibly, Chow actually learned something and managed to defeat the judo teacher AND his teacher's nemesis in a tournament.

As I didn't get my comedy fix, I chose a Japanese movie next. Japanese are usually over-the-top and unpredictable, and that makes funny. Movie is called Kintaro, the White-Collar Worker (Sarariiman Kintarô). I'm sure the title sounds better in Nihongo. Anyway, movie started out all right. Story is about a young idealistic employee working in the construction business. Unfortunately, public works is a dirty business, full of insider dealing and rigged biddings. He didn't like the look of things, so he decided to fight the system. The whole company backed his cause in an effort to remain afloat. Things went downhill from there. His boss got bombed, his family got hurt, and he got mad. Mad enough to call on his former biker friends and start a gang war. Faced with a police barricade, he tried to go it alone and was jailed for 6 months. (What?! Not life?) Anyway, the day he came out of prison, there's a big crowd to welcome him and what he represents. Cheesy, I know, but you have to remember this is based on a cartoon series. As he walked to his waiting wife and son, the crowd parted like the Red Sea. The end.

What have I done to deserve movies like these? I switched to audio mode and listened to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (by Tafelmusik and Jeanne Lamon). Now, you can't go wrong with that!

Mr. Iron Chef Final (1995) - The Continuation

There's a very good reason why last week's Iron Chef episode was cut short without any notice with 15 minutes to go. My first thought was that maybe they ran out of time, or maybe Rockwiz was running longer than usual, or maybe a technical glitch. Had SBS made any sort of announcement, then people might start thinking. Hmm, maybe the Iron Chef final ran longer than usual...a tie maybe...

Yup, apparently, that's what happened. I didn't get to see the continuation, and my sister, who was at home, wasn't interested in the outcome. As far as I can pick up from the forums, there was a tie. That means Chen Kenichi and Michiba have to cook for an extra half hour. Michiba is definitely not pleased. Not sure why - maybe it's because he has already written out the intended menu in beautiful calligraphy, as is his custom, and he doesn't like editing it. The forums didn't say, but my guess is that Michiba won in the final battle. Makes for a nice birthday/retirement present, don't you think?

I Remember Tiffany

We had an awesome lightning storm last night (more than 60 strikes per minute), and the rains continued till this morning. The AM stations ran out of news to report, so I switched to my favourite classical station. The crawling morning traffic, the pitter-patter of rain on the car roof and windshield, classical music on the radio; suddenly I'm transported back to Manila. I'm driving along Ayala Avenue. It's the morning rush hour, and traffic is bumper-to-bumper. I'm listening to 98.7 dzFE FM - The Master's Touch, and any moment now, Tiffany will be on with her soothing voice and perfect diction, dispensing nuggets of knowledge and trivia about the pieces she's about to play.

Ah, those were the days. I've since lost touch with the guys at dzFE, and last I heard, they're not doing too well. Since they're a non-profit station, funds are hard to come by and they had to cut down drastically on broadcast hours to reduce operating expenses. Their lease is almost up, so the office and the transmitter atop a building in Makati have to move very soon. I'm not even sure if they're currently in operation or not.

Mr. Iron Chef Final (1995)

Surprising that a geek who does minimal cooking enjoys watching Iron Chef every Saturday night on SBS. Then again, Iron Chef is not just cooking. The reality-TV ambiance, the over-the-top host, the hilarious commentators - Allez cuisine!

Tonight episode is quite special. It's the 1995 Mr. Iron Chef Final between Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburo Michiba and Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi. The event is made all the more special because it's Michiba's birthday AND it's the last time he's competing in the Kitchen Stadium. At 65, he reckons it's time to retire. On a side note, Chen Kenichi's also celebrating his 40th birthday a few days later.

For today's battle, Chairman of the Gourmet Academy Takeshi Kaga picked beef to be the secret ingredient. A small smile plays on Michiba's lips as beef is one of his more familiar ingredient. Chen Kenichi would probably prefer pork, but I'm sure he'll manage. Both chefs are gunning for four dishes each. The preparation and cooking are fast and furious. At 15 minutes to go, the end credits started rolling. What's going on?! No explanation, no nothing. Just like that. Hmm, will just have to wait for next week's fix.

My Kind of Rat, Flushed Away

I have watched quite a number of animated films, and I have to say Aardman's creations are one of the best out there, in terms of plot. Wallace & Grommit, Chicken Run, and now Flushed Away - I love them all.

The movie tells the story of this uptown rat by the name of Roddy (Hugh Jackman) who was flushed down the toilet by no-good sewer rat Sid. In rat town down the sewers, he meets red-head Rita (Kate Winslet) and convinces her to bring him up top to Kensington. For her troubles, he'll give her a real ruby (from his master's jewelry box) to replace the one he broke. While on their way on the Jammy Dodger, they were chased by The Toad's (Ian McKellen) rat henchmen Whitey (Bill Nighy) and Spike (Andy Serkis), assisted by Le Frog (Jean Reno) and his French ninja frogs. Rita and Roddy eventually reaches his Kensington home. As agreed, he gave her a ruby, plus an emerald for a Jammy Dodger II.

Back at the sewer, The Toad and Le Frog finally captures Rita and retrieves the master cable of the floodgate control system, which Rita has been using as her belt. While watching the World Cup finals with Sid (England vs. Germany), Roddy realizes The Toad's diabolical plan - to open the floodgates at half-time when everyone is using the loo and flush away all the rats in the sewers, then repopulate the underground city with his tadpoles he's keeping in the ref.

Naturally, our intrepid and dashing Roddy goes down the toilet again, reunites with Rita, foils The Toad's plan, and saves the day (and the rats). The slugs were so happy they were singing praises. As for Sid, he decides to stay up top permanently. Last scene shows the owners coming back from vacation, and Roddy's owner Tabitha brought along a new pet - a cat.

For some weird reason, I find Rita strangely attractive. (Is it the low-slung jeans?) She has the face of a rat, but what a personality! Decisive, aggressive, sensitive, vulnerable, smart - she's my kind of rat. Ginger in Chicken Run isn't too bad, either.

Not Happy, Swatch!

My Swatch Jelly isn't even a year old, yet it's plastic strap fastener broke already. I've just about had enough of Swatch and its flimsy plastic parts! First Swatch I bought, it had to be returned to the store three times for replacement because the plastic tabs holding the battery case kept breaking off each time. Next Swatch I bought is an Irony, so that is still holding up well. The next Autoquarz Labirinto is fully-encased in plastic, so there's nothing to break. Now, this Jelly is one thick chuck of a watch. Who would've thought that it's the plastic clasp that will give way?!

I hope the local Swatch shop will fix it, or else I'll be forced to fly to the Duty-Free shop in Changi Airport.

Borat in Moonlight Cinema

Had my first taste of Moonlight Cinema, although given a choice, I still would've preferred Movies in the Overflow. For one, the Overflow has bigger space to accommodate more people. It also has less trees obstructing your view. Transport-wise, I would say Olympic Park is still more accessible.

Tonight's film is Borat a.k.a. Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Borat Sagdiyev, a native of Kazakhstan, who's travelling across USA to document the American way of life. Halfway through the documentary, he discovers Baywatch, and goes off in search of C.J. Abandoned by his producer, he travels alone to California to marry his love, the virgin Pamela Anderson. (Yeah, right.)

The plot is not that important here because the whole anti-Jew movie is just a string of hilarious outrageous skits in the tradition of Jackass. It's like these scriptwriters sat down, contributed one segment each, and another guy strung them all up, and so Borat the movie is born. The skits?

• Borat gets a lesson in American humour a.k.a. How to make "Not!" jokes - Not!
• Borat meets with the feminists a.k.a. Why feminists are always in a foul mood
• Borat learns how to drive a.k.a. Women should be allowed to drive, too
• Borat buys a car from a dealership a.k.a. Gypsy-killing Hummers don't come with pu$$y magnets
• Borat joins a gay pride parade a.k.a. A guy with a rubber fist dildo is most probably a homosexual
• Borat goes on news TV a.k.a. Don't mess with the weatherman
• Borat performs at a rodeo show a.k.a. Kazakhstan is no. 1 exporter of potassium
• Borat mingles with the boyz in da hood a.k.a. What's up wit it, nigg@?
• Borat takes refuge in a Jewish B&B a.k.a. Sleeping with the enemy
• Borat visits a gun store a.k.a. Protection against the J3ws
• Borat gets a lesson in dinner etiquette a.k.a. Don't show family pictures when teenage son is nude
• Borat enjoys Southern dinner a.k.a. How to use the toilet properly
• Borat hires a prostitute a.k.a. Alabamans don't like African-American prostitutes
• Borat goes shopping in antique store a.k.a. Pubic hair is not legal tender in America
• Borat hitches ride with frat boys a.k.a. Tommy Lee was here
• Borat attends a Pentecostal prayer meeting a.k.a. Jesus loves all, amen!
• Borat proposes to Pamela a.k.a. Pamela doesn't like being kept in the dark...in a sack

To its credit though, Borat made me laugh out loud, which you probably couldn't do in a proper cinema. There's way too many funny quotes to list here, and even then I'm not gonna list them as most of them are not appropriate for kids' ears.

Almost Six Months Delayed

My blog, that is. What's the point of keeping a blog if you can't keep it updated? Normal days are ok, but when I come back from an overseas trip, it takes me months before I can put in a week's worth of travel blog entries. It gets worse if I do frequent travelling. I just don't know how the other bloggers do it. They must be employing ghost writers or something. Updating a blog is easy, but making it interesting and relevant and full of nice pictures is not.

Anyway, my second-to-the-last entry is still stuck at my US vacation last September 2006, and since then I've been to Jakarta, read a few books and watched tens of movies. So today, I've decided to start fresh. To h3ll with continuity. It's not like hundreds of people will flame me for the time warp. Heck, not even all my sibling read my blog. I'll just have to work my way backwards until the gap is filled (whenever that might be).

Top Gear and Left Bank 2

Through the years, Monday nights have always been SBS nights for me. Gone are Pizza, Mythbusters, John Safran, etc., but in their stead we have Top Gear, South Park, and Drawn Together.

Talking about Top Gear, today's Supercars episode has the Bugatti Veyron with a mated dual v8 engine (making it a W16 engine), 4 turbochargers, 10 radiators and 1000 brake horsepower competing with a Cessna 182 to deliver truffles from Italy to London. Guess who won. Anyway, one of the background music played during the segment is a melodic, chirpy, happy tune, which struck me as immediately familiar, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I heard that music. Closed captioning tells me that the title is Left Bank 2. My brain is associating it with a movie I've seen, and since it gave me a happy positive feeling, I'm sure it's a good movie. Twenty-four hours later I'm still racking my brains for a clue. Then it hit me - it was the introductory music played by the theater at the Art Gallery of NSW. At the start of every film screening, that music would come on, and the screen would show messages like, "Please turn off mobile phones and pagers", "Please do not ruffle your belongings", "Please do not talk during performances", etc. Ah, another one of life's little mysteries solved.

Chorizo Recipe

A few weeks ago, jolly ol' Jamie Oliver was on TV cooking up some lovely chorizo dish. I watched him, and I go, "I can do that." Easier said than done for a guy whose kitchen repertoire consists of fried eggs and mashed potatoes, maybe some French fries. How hard can it be? A quick check with Google, and this is the (modified) recipe I came up with:

• one big potato, boiled, peeled, and cut into chunks
• half an onion, cut into strips
• green bell pepper, cut into strips
• one stick of chorizo, cut into thick slices

Heat olive oil in skillet over high heat. Saute potato chunks with salt. Fry until browned on all sides. Transfer potatoes to a bowl.

Put pepper, onion, and chorizo into skillet and cook until vegetables have softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little white wine. (I can't find any open bottle of white wine, so I put in some Chinese rice wine. Hey, wine's wine, right?) Add vegetable/chorizo mixture to potatoes, and toss well.

Beautiful!

Lunchtime Fishing at Gordon's Bay

Right about lunchtime, a colleague who's crazy about fishing wanted to check out this new fishing spot he discovered during the weekend, and if we wanted to come along. Sure thing, man. Any excuse to get out of the office. Gordon's Bay is in the Randwick area, which is not too far, so it shouldn't take us long. He was saying that he was there snorkelling last Sunday, and he saw this Japanese catch four black fish in under 15 minutes. Considering he's been getting only one or two after hours of fishing, he reckons today is our lucky day.

Fifteen minutes to get there, 15 minutes to prepare his gear, 15 minutes of fishing, 15 minutes back to the office. One hour of lunch break should be enough. Yeah, right. After an hour, he's only managed to catch one black fish. Lots of bites (and getting wet), but no fish. My other colleague was unwilling to leave unless he catches his own fish. By 3pm, we all gave up and went back to the office. By 5pm, we were playing table tennis. Ah, that's the life!