The Truth is Out There

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.