Warning, fake email

Lately I have been busy which is why I have not updated too much. I have just moved into a new house and that is slowly coming to look like a home now. This is in a nice place outside of the CBD yet it is still inner city in feel yet also has the appeal of being in the suburbs. Transport to the city is quite limiting which is a pain.

I am not sure if other people have received an increase in the number of emails trying to get you to give your bank details, yet i seem to average about 2-3 per month. I like the ones from banks which I have never had accounts with. The most recent one I received was from the ATO (Australian tax office). They went to such convincing efforts that I nearly bought it, yet something about the message gave it away that it was fake.

In case the you cant read the text I have copied it here:

You have get a Tax Refund on your Visa or MasterCard.
Complete the formular, and get your Tax Refund.

(Your Refund Amount Is 250.50 AUD)

Complete Formular

C.R.E.A.M

Cash Rules Everything Around Me

Every now and then by luck alone I find that I will stumble on to something that hits on many levels. Today I was searching for Tang (the orange drink) to see if I could get it in Australia. Well, on the google results I saw an entry for Wu Tang Finance. Well lately, I have to say that CREAM has a lot more meaning.

In the news everyday there is something about how the economy is going down, way down and we are all destined to lose our jobs and our way of life. Ok, so the news is not that bad and the reality is much better than what is written in the newspapers, despite how the NGOs are trying to outdo each other with a more growth pessimistic forecast.

Who else saw this justice?

Well, I thought I might check out the Wu Tang Finance to see what it was and it drew right into the memory of the first time I heard the song CREAM. Throughout the Wu Tang Finance there were references to other songs which just seemed to send deeper into that memory. If the songs and term CREAM really means nothing to you, I am not sure how funny you will find this video, yet I am sure there are somethings you would laugh at. If you do know about the Wu then I am sure you will crack up like I did.

Enjoy

Chappelle's Show
Wu-Tang Financial
comedycentral.com
Charlie Murphy Videos Buy Chappelle's Show DVDs Black Comedy

Well duh!

I can not believe that this made the news.

Absent-minded drivers to

blame for crashes

More revelations can be found here.

Cartoons Part 2

I was introduced to the rut today. I was quite amused by the cartoons I read there (more are available with content not suited for here). Here are some of the more tame cartoons. The topics I chose to share are varied from pirate fashion, Pacman, James Bond, and Star Trek to reflect different themes discussed in the blog.

Pirate fashion

Video Games



James Bond

Star Trek

Climate Change Science

New climate change research from Argentina.

Global warming: the real cause

Well having study some literature on this topic I have now discovered the real reason for global warming and it was so obvious that it is hard to see.

Quoted from the enlightening site:

You may be interested to know that global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s. For your interest, I have included a graph of the approximate number of pirates versus the average global temperature over the last 200 years. As you can see, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between pirates and global temperature.

For more enlightened results please see this journal- JIR (careful it is scientific).

Energy and food

There seems to be a lot about the relationship between energy and food being talked about in certain parts of the world. I wish I could get invited to sit around and do nothing for a few days in Rome, since this is the topic I am pursuing for my PhD. I didn’t mean nothing as I would be posing to act like I am doing something*.

Well since I wasn’t invited to that party, I decided to make my own. To ensure that I have food security, well bread security, I got myself a breadmaker. Just a few blocks from my house there is a factory shop for Breville electronics and a range of discount clothes outlets. Searching for the NIKE shop I found the electronics shop and wandered inside. I saw that the breadmakers were quite cheap compared to those at full retail price and impulse grabbed me as I remembered how good fresh bread tastes.

The new toy

That night I cranked it up and all went well. The first loaf I baked I put too much water, however that did not affect the taste. I think I will start to put on a tonne of weight over the coming months as I enjoy the fresh bread.

The first loaf

On the lighter side, my friend showed me this clip today which seems to cement the relationship between food and energy and solve the issue of high oil prices.

The new bread machine does have a jam/jelly setting so I am set to become the (John D) Rockefeller of the 21^st century.

* note my cynicism of such things arises on meeting a few experts from these types of organisations whom really are just interested in self promotion and travel, using the excuse of trying to help people without a specific cultural/ social understanding of the situation.

Annoying red devil

Another example of having too much time to find things on you tube that I found funny on tv.

Men are from Mars, etc.

Oh behave!

I think Austin Powers is a great movie series. I have to admit I was not so enthused about watching them originally yet after seeing the spy who shagged me I was captivated. In Goldmember some of you might remember the scene of the Japanese twins. Well that scene came flashing back to my mind recently as my friend introduced me to the best noodles in the world.

And a close up of the name. Pronounce however you wish.

And the classic memory from Goldmember that came to mind after looking at the noodle package.

Life in Pictures - Degraves Lane

I usually go to get a coffee in the afternoon at a place called the quarter. It is located in a place called Degraves which is just off Flinders St and Flinders Lane opposite the best know icon in Melbourne - Flinders St Station. This place has great coffee/ chocolate and the staff are really friendly which makes it a nice highlight for the day. This poster amused me on the way one day, as I recall some late night discussions in the ER.

Road to nowhere

I had always thought that after graduating from my undergrad that engineering probably wasn't really that hard although I know that I would not have done as well as I did in business, I would have just gotten the degree. If I had passed and got to work on projects, and based on my lego experiences I would have built roads like these below.

Aagggghhh

History was made Wednesday night. Against most of the statistics, Chelsea beat Liverpool. I am disappointed about that yet I am happy about the fact that Liverpool has broken their recent goalless curse at Stamford Bridge. To get over the loss, I have some funny pics to keep my spirits up as I wait for next year's tournament. Or maybe even the Euro tournament.

English editors needed

Well, I have been busy lately which is why I haven't updated. Most of the busyness stems from having to organise my idea for my doctorate. This is seriously becoming a pain. It sucks up more time everyday and progress is so slow that I see snails pass me by. After the discussion last week, I have to go back to the drawing board, as the saying goes.

The other thing that I have noticed, coming out of my studies, is that of food prices. Now this also affects the An Giang fish industry and I compeletly omitted it in my final report.

Well, since studying is not going as good as hoped at the moment maybe I should just become an editor as I am sure that I can help some people out somewhere .

The worm

There once was a man who had decided that alcohol was evil, pure evil, and he wanted to make a point and tell the world. So he organised a meeting and invited all the townsfolk. In this big hall, the sounds of chairs grinding on the floor and low level chatter echoed throughout. The man cleared his throat and the noise faded and he began. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have come before you here today to tell you of a great evil that is killing our society”.

Everybody’s attention was hanging on the words that were filling the hall. He continued “Alcohol is a terrible evil, responsible for the degradation of society, and our moral values”. He produced in his left hand a glass full of clear liquid and placed it on the table for all to see. Then he produced another and placed it on the table next to the first glass.

Everybody was silent waiting to see what would happen when he started again. “To show you how evil alcohol is I have two glasses one filled with wholesome water and the other pure evil – 100% alcohol. He took a worm out of a box from his pocket and placed it in the first glass. The worm coughed and spluttered as it swam to the side of the glass then with all its effort it climbed out of the glass and rested on the table. The man, smiling with joy from the way this first part went, said “water is great”. He then picked up the worm and placed it in the second glass, and everybody watched as the worm melted in the alcohol.

Beaming with pride from how well the experiment went, the slowly looked up at the audience and said “As you saw the moral of the story is quite clear. Someone can you tell me what the moral of the story is” The audience broke into a little noise as they talked to the people around them about what they saw. Then a man in the middle of the hall stood up, and after the hall hushed the man on stage said “Kind sir, what is the moral of the story” in which the audience member replied “If you drink alcohol you never have to worry about worms”.

Its not what you think

Well at the end I just started to laugh as it is quite amusing, how wicked my thoughts are.

Addicted to Salsa

In an effort to keep from getting too round, I have taken up salsa dancing. I am pretty geared up with this as I have always wanted to be able to dance like a professional salsa dancer. At the club I go to, there are some really good dancers who just amaze with their spins and turns and their steps. Really ballroom professional looking. After practice on Sunday night I went and asked this girl for a dance, forgot to intro myself etc., and received a weird look with a quick yeah! why not. So after the class I was on a high and this just lifted me to the stratosphere. Getting out on the dance floor was shattering. She was a much much better dancer than me and my male ego took a battering. She is flying around like a ballerina and I am like an elephant on ice skates. I just remember really starting to look for the end of the song so that we could finish. It was like the spotlight was shining on me and I was doing a comedy routine. Luckily the song wasn't long to finish and I quickly found another class member to dance with and I was relieved that my male pride was restored.

To find some music to infuse myself with I have been going to Itunes podcast section and downloading some salsa podcasts. I was at the addicted to salsa website and found the following lists amusing in the forum sections.

TOP 10 REASONS TO DATE A DANCER

10. We know all the positions

9. We have perfect technique, good rhythm, and great hip rotation

8. We are used to having bruises on our knees

7. We are used to performing in minimal amounts of clothing

6. We are perfectionists: Well keep going until we hit it

5. We can shake it like no other!

4. After a quick intermission, were ready to go at it again

3. We dont mind getting hot and sweaty

2. We are not as delicate and fragile as we look

1. One word: FLEXIBILITY!!!

Some reasons NOT to date a dancer:

1. They insist on a hardwood floor.

2. Good rhythm, but do you really want to make love to the clave?

3. They pay professionals for private sessions.

4. They want to change partners every 5 minutes.

5. Always looking at themselves in the mirror.

6. Unexpectedly, they push you away to 'shine' solo.

7. Their feelings get hurt if you're not smiling all the time.

8. They post all their experiences in online forums.

9. The men expect the women to do exactly what they want, when they want.

10. The women expect the men to constantly come up with new moves.

Oh in other news, Liverpool is starting to hit some form (geez I hope I haven't cursed them now).

Kung fu and fashion

This is the reason why kung fu and fashion should not mix.

Radio Wisdom

I heard on the radio today a surefire way to lose weight.

When you drink coffee use low fat milk, and to give it taste add cream and chocolate.

Kenny

When one of the first lines in a movie is “Is there any Indonesian or curries being served?” and it is about corporate toilet blocks, it gets my attention. Recently I had the pleasure to watch such a movie, Kenny. I was amazed at how close this film got to being a documentary yet still maintaining the fictional story. I found that there were enough laughs and little chuckles to go throughout the whole movie. I have attached the trailer for your enjoyment and if you get the chance I would recommend that you watch it.