I finally succumbed to temptation and got my hair cut. After many upon many months of growth, there certainly was a lot that could be taken off. The barber did a great job with layering and I think my hair looks fine. In the end, it was just getting a little too unmanageable as it curled incessantly towards the bottom. The good news is that with my new shorter hair (not much shorter, mind you) I can let it grow for another couple of months.
After a few days in the repair shop, I finally got my bicycle back. The final cost was $140.00, which was more than I had hoped, but it was still far cheaper than buying a new bicycle. Furthermore this is still a very good bicycle --- light and fast; I think it is worth the expense. As well, I can now be certain that I shouldn't need repairs on it, barring the unforeseen, for quite some time.
While watching the first game of the rugby NSW v Queensland State of Origin series, I happened to find the last episode of Lost and I must say I'm rather confused. While I think I've more or less understood what's happened, I've missed virtually the entire series so I feel a bit lost myself. From what I understand, Lost developed into a sort of stream of consciousness series as the writers had no clear plan at the beginning and sort of made things up as they went along. Maybe that was part of its charm? All I can say is that I wasn't a big fan of the ending. And by the way, Queensland won.
I'm also very happy because I received a High Distinction on a presentation I gave to my intellectual property seminar. The presentation consisted of my comments on two cases involving the famous author J. K. Rowling, the cases being Murray v Express News and Murray v Big Pictures. Essentially it involved photos taken of Rowling and her family while they were shopping in Edinburgh and the subsequent publishing of those photos in a newspaper. The Court of Appeal eventually found that the privacy of Rowling's toddler son had been violated and made rulings to the effect that what is public or private will depend on the circumstances; this is in keeping with most privacy rulings around the world. I states that I felt that the Court of Appeal had incorrectly decided the matter while finding their statements of law to be acceptable. I then went on to add a few more of my own thoughts. Anyway, the professor thought it was a very well-done presentation and has awarded me with the highest mark possible. Just to gloat a little more, I will now quote what he wrote:
"This presentation on the dispute over the Rowling Privacy cases was all class. The speaker not only demonstrated a good understanding of the facts of the matter; and the complications of the appeal; but also displayed a fine understanding of comparative law; and a deeper philosophical insight into the underlying thematic tensions underlying the case. Excellent. A high distinction."
I should further point out that this topic was kind of cheating for me as my postgraduate course this semester was "Freedom of Information and Privacy" and touched on these cases. In my defence, though, I did disclose that at the beginning of the presentation.
In the last 2 days, Canberra has received somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3.5cm of rain. I was scheduled to officiate a game at Manuka Oval, Canberra's premier aussie rules ground, and I had to wake up at 08:00 to get on my bike at 08:30 to be their at 09:00 for a 09:30 start. As I rode into the driving rain my shoes, socks and feet became more and more wet. At one point, I ran into a fallen branch and temporarily lost control of my bicycle leaving my with a small cut. I made it to Manuka only to be told a short while later that the game was cancelled due to weather. After waiting around for a bit, I rode back home to dry off.
Later that day, Fenner Hall was playing in the interhall rugby final against arch-rivals John's College. For most of the game Fenner led 6-0 until John's scored a try midway through the 2nd half making it 6-4 after they failed to convert. Then, following a string of bad calls and non-calls on the part of a questionable referee, John's scored a second try late in the game and converted to make it 10-6, which ended up being the final score. This loss stung because Fenner really were the better team on the field and were just a bit unlucky. We'll see how we go next year and I may even decide to join in.
As well, I rediscovered one of the great TV series of all time --- The X-Files. I've taken to watching episodes as a reward for work done and I'm already up to season 9, the final season. I had forgotten how well David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson worked together on the screen; they really were one of TV's greatest partnerships. I remember watching it with my dad whenever we could and we tried as best we could to follow the storyline although when in turned from paranormal things into a love story we kind of tuned out. I'm now realizing and understanding the whole story, which is another thing you get from watching several episodes at once. When it's a weekly series you ten to forget things over time but now that I can watch them whenever I want, I finally see the patterns and the overall picture.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I hear the adventures of Mulder and Scully calling.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Greatest Invention
If I asked you what the greatest invention of all time was, many of you would answer the wheel. Personally, I think the printing press takes the cake but there's no doubting the importance of the wheel. But if you think about it, it wasn't the wheel that was the greatest invention but the second wheel.
Keeping that in mind, and all that the wheel allows us to do, I got in contact with someone to buy a new used bicycle. It's a little older but the price was right, $100, and that included a brand new bike lock and light. Already I've felt the difference as this bike is lighter and the wheels seem to flow more easily. Also, the breaks and the gear shift actually work, or should I say worked. The other day I was biking along and as I shifted down the jockey wheel (the little wheel at the back) got caught in the spokes, or so I guess, and the torque completely ripped the jockey wheel out of its position and bent the chain as well. Needless to say, this will require some repair but the parts aren't particularly expensive. It shouldn't be too hard to fix. I don't think there's any way to avoid this type of accident except caution.
There really isn't much else to write about.
Keeping that in mind, and all that the wheel allows us to do, I got in contact with someone to buy a new used bicycle. It's a little older but the price was right, $100, and that included a brand new bike lock and light. Already I've felt the difference as this bike is lighter and the wheels seem to flow more easily. Also, the breaks and the gear shift actually work, or should I say worked. The other day I was biking along and as I shifted down the jockey wheel (the little wheel at the back) got caught in the spokes, or so I guess, and the torque completely ripped the jockey wheel out of its position and bent the chain as well. Needless to say, this will require some repair but the parts aren't particularly expensive. It shouldn't be too hard to fix. I don't think there's any way to avoid this type of accident except caution.
There really isn't much else to write about.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lull
I've been enjoying the lull time between the end of assignments and the start of exams. They're about 3 weeks away and I plan to use the time to finish up my readings and study. As exams approach, I'm beginning to take stock of what I really know from my courses and I'll be reviewing everything in the near future. Luckily, I only have 3 exams this semester. With any luck, they'll finish and then I'll be able to relax for a bit before next semester.
There hasn't been much else apart from university other than the fact that I haven't bought a bicycle yet. I've rediscovered the joy of walking, something I hadn't really had to do for well over a year. With my bike now beyond repair, or more accurately, not worth the trouble to repair, I've been hunting for second-hand bikes. I have some promising leads but we'll have to see how things go. With any luck, by the end of the week I'll have a new set of wheels.
I umpired a double-header on Friday night at Kingston Oval, which is a little unusual for Canberra. As the Sydney Swans were playing the Western Bulldogs at Canberra's Manuka Oval the next day, the league decided that there would be a bye this weekend. However, two games were to be played on the Friday before and I was asked to umpire. Although the weather was fine, the temperature started dropping at a reasonable rate after the sun set, although the overcoats weren't needed until the last half of the last game. The games themselves were alright although they were both blowouts, Eastlake winning one and the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) winning the other. The atmosphere, though, was quite exhilarating in a way that doesn't happen during the day on a Saturday or Sunday. Because the games were during the evening and it wasn't a working day, many people showed up. They also brought beer with them and got into the games with a sort of vigour that's often lacking. As it was nightfall, the spectators could drink with a sense of propriety and I must say that it turned out alright. If it wasn't so clod and dark, I would recommend that the league consider more night games.
I realize I haven't written about my New Zealand adventures yet, though I do intend to. I'll see how this week turns out.
There hasn't been much else apart from university other than the fact that I haven't bought a bicycle yet. I've rediscovered the joy of walking, something I hadn't really had to do for well over a year. With my bike now beyond repair, or more accurately, not worth the trouble to repair, I've been hunting for second-hand bikes. I have some promising leads but we'll have to see how things go. With any luck, by the end of the week I'll have a new set of wheels.
I umpired a double-header on Friday night at Kingston Oval, which is a little unusual for Canberra. As the Sydney Swans were playing the Western Bulldogs at Canberra's Manuka Oval the next day, the league decided that there would be a bye this weekend. However, two games were to be played on the Friday before and I was asked to umpire. Although the weather was fine, the temperature started dropping at a reasonable rate after the sun set, although the overcoats weren't needed until the last half of the last game. The games themselves were alright although they were both blowouts, Eastlake winning one and the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) winning the other. The atmosphere, though, was quite exhilarating in a way that doesn't happen during the day on a Saturday or Sunday. Because the games were during the evening and it wasn't a working day, many people showed up. They also brought beer with them and got into the games with a sort of vigour that's often lacking. As it was nightfall, the spectators could drink with a sense of propriety and I must say that it turned out alright. If it wasn't so clod and dark, I would recommend that the league consider more night games.
I realize I haven't written about my New Zealand adventures yet, though I do intend to. I'll see how this week turns out.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Give a Little Bit
This has actually been a pretty rough week. The last of my assignments were due and I had a bit of bad luck. I've also had supervisor training at ACTTAB which took longer than I thought and didn't go all that well at first. I've also had some bad luck.
Positively, my assignments are all done although it was a lot of work to finish them. I had a 4 000 word essay about privacy due on Monday and a presentation about privacy in the context of intellectual property on Thursday. I think I did well on both of them. I also received a Distinction grade for my intellectual privacy essay, so I'm pretty happy about that. Now, it's clear sailing until exams.
On Tuesday, I biked through a rainstorm to get to umpire practice because I was told we had new uniforms. Essentially, the umpires had a new sponsor and we needed the uniforms with the new logo on it. Our coach had told us that it was imperative for us to get the new uniforms before the next round started and I didn't want to wait a week. I was very wet when I pulled in so you can imagine my surprise when the new uniforms were not what we expected. While the uniforms were new there was actually no new sponsor, so I could still use my old uniform. I stuck around for training but I wasn't very happy.
The next few days were devoted to supervisor training at the Garema Place branch of ACTTAB. The training involved me coming in early in the morning to help with the setup. It was implied that it would only take the morning but I ended up staying until the early evening. The next day was my turn to supervise under the watchful eye of the manager and it didn't go that well; I feel like I got nearly everything wrong and I was glad when that day was over. The next day was much the same, except a different manager and I managed to do much better. On the plus side, I do get paid for it. I'll also have to do a few night training shifts to learn how to close.
Now it seems that my bike has decided to have a meltdown. The pedals aren't moving and are loose. Add to that, neither the brakes nor the gears work well. I've got to see about getting it fixed. I'll see what I can do about turning this luck around in the coming weeks. I hope it changes by exam time.
Positively, my assignments are all done although it was a lot of work to finish them. I had a 4 000 word essay about privacy due on Monday and a presentation about privacy in the context of intellectual property on Thursday. I think I did well on both of them. I also received a Distinction grade for my intellectual privacy essay, so I'm pretty happy about that. Now, it's clear sailing until exams.
On Tuesday, I biked through a rainstorm to get to umpire practice because I was told we had new uniforms. Essentially, the umpires had a new sponsor and we needed the uniforms with the new logo on it. Our coach had told us that it was imperative for us to get the new uniforms before the next round started and I didn't want to wait a week. I was very wet when I pulled in so you can imagine my surprise when the new uniforms were not what we expected. While the uniforms were new there was actually no new sponsor, so I could still use my old uniform. I stuck around for training but I wasn't very happy.
The next few days were devoted to supervisor training at the Garema Place branch of ACTTAB. The training involved me coming in early in the morning to help with the setup. It was implied that it would only take the morning but I ended up staying until the early evening. The next day was my turn to supervise under the watchful eye of the manager and it didn't go that well; I feel like I got nearly everything wrong and I was glad when that day was over. The next day was much the same, except a different manager and I managed to do much better. On the plus side, I do get paid for it. I'll also have to do a few night training shifts to learn how to close.
Now it seems that my bike has decided to have a meltdown. The pedals aren't moving and are loose. Add to that, neither the brakes nor the gears work well. I've got to see about getting it fixed. I'll see what I can do about turning this luck around in the coming weeks. I hope it changes by exam time.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Through the Looking Glass
One of the first things you will have noticed is that I haven't posted anything with regards to my New Zealand trip. For that I must apologize. I have been knee-deep in an important assignment and I just haven't had the time to write the updates. However, after this week, I'll have finished all my assignments and I should be able to knuckle-down and write about my experiences. Otherwise, you should check my brother's blog.
I wish I could report on some interesting events but I've been so cooped up lately that I haven't really done anything. The trivia team I'm part of won first place last week; the first win since the round started in February. Apart from that, I can't think of anything although I'm sure I've missed something. Oh well, I guess it's just a short post this week.
I wish I could report on some interesting events but I've been so cooped up lately that I haven't really done anything. The trivia team I'm part of won first place last week; the first win since the round started in February. Apart from that, I can't think of anything although I'm sure I've missed something. Oh well, I guess it's just a short post this week.
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