Who's birthday? My birthday

Hi again,

I'm officially 30 years old. I still feel like I'm 18. Which is fantastic! And I couldn't be happier with what I have surrounded myself with. Great mates.

I had organised my birthday party to be held at a German restaurant on Saturday night. Unfortunately much drinking wasn't had, like the invite said. I had to drive there thanks to being totally unable to catch a taxi. Not to worry. I got there eventually. I just had to remember to drink less than I should have.

Scholastic History - A brief glimps into my horendous past

How did I come to this?

Like most people will say, "I never fit in at school". Why do a lot of people say this? Is it because they're weird? Is it because they are stupid? Is it because their teachers were just normal people that stood at the class and told you to turn to page 219 of your maths book and do questions 1 to 39?

No, it's because most teachers have been conditioned to follow a set of rules, a set of guidelines that basically put all students into one basket.

Renault Megane

Had a busy day today. I went and saw a client, met up with some old workmates for lunch at Una's in Ultimo. Then on the way home... which I love because it means invoice time, which means pay day! I stopped over at the Renault dealer on Gardner's Rd in Alexandria.

First off, I just wanted to say that I liked the dealer. I wasn't pressured into anything, but was asked nicely of my intentions and future plans.

The Peugeot 307 and a couple of Hyundai's

With all the fuss about Hyundai getting into gear and making some good cars now, the wife and I popped into the dealer today for a look. I think the Santa Fe looks the best out of all the SUV's out there. At least the new model does. The old one looked like it was already in an accident.

So I had a look at the Santa Fe and the Tucson as I need something I can cart my music gear in as well as my mountain bike(s).

Having that need, my car choice is limited. I need a wagon style body. The hatch backs I have been looking at for the last 6 months are just not adequate for my lifestyle and my needs.

Busy? I don't have time for that

A relatively quiet weekend, one would call it.

What did you get up to this weekend pips? Well.... Not a lot really. I was going to try and cut my lawn/jungle. But it was just too hot. And since my yard is the size of Botswana, I need to just pay someone else to do it for me. Work is so busy that I don't have time to do it myself.

But, ah... I'm here, writing this blog entry. So, how is it I don't have time to do my house work. Well. I cleaned the inside of the house. But that's easy in comparison to mowing my lawns. I know it's an excuse, but you try cutting my grass. It'll take all weekend. I guarantee it.

The OLPC project

Most people have now heard of the One Laptop Per Child project that has been around for a number of years. And I agree with most people, that is it a brilliant device to bring our world, particularly our 3rd world up to speed with what is happening around the rest of the place.

Great!

Well, no actually. As much as this project excites me, it also brings up a bunch of questions I can't help but ask myself. There are some issues I feel I should express as I think this whole idea of providing technology we take for granted to people who don't know what a calculator is might be uneccessary.

Mazda 6 & 2, and a disappointing X-Trail

I got to finally test drive the Mazda 6, and while I was there the 2. Here's what I thought of the now outdated model.

The 6 is great. Fit and finish is the best I've found out of all the cars I've test driven over the last 4 months. Handling is great. I drove the Turbo Diesel wagon.

I would say this is borderline, the perfect car (for me). The only gripe I have is that the diesel engine noise does intrude into the cabin a fair bit more then expected. At idle, you can barely hear any "clatter" at all. While driving, it didn't sound so refined, although it went really well. 360Nm! Loved the pulling power.