The Blog - The Archive

   Just another day...

Police doing routine random breath testing in Adelaide's northern suburbs last night had an unusual traffic hazard to contend with.

A kangaroo hopped through the breath testing station on Main North Road at Salisbury, apparently hitting several cars as it bounced by.

Stunned police officers watched but did not give chase.

- ABC News

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Hmm, things are working again...

For the first time in a month, blogger has been allowed to update my blog. I guess I don't need to stress about fixing my site tonight after all (I'm only allowed a 5MB limit, which makes it difficult to host this blog and other stuff as well).

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Just talking about stuff...

Following up on last week's fall down a flight of stairs, my butt is a fantastic shade of purple still, although it is starting to look sickly-yellow. Ewww... And now that you've all discovered something about my bottom that you didn't want to know, we're going to move on to today's post:

There were five astronomy-themed PhD students at Macquarie University this year. Guess how many I've had more-than-five-minute conversations with? Guess how many thesis topics I can tell you about?
If you answered, 'One, and it's yourself', you'd be right.
I don't get it: I'm a personable person, I like talking about astronomy, but I also like talking about other things, I'm in an easily accessible office, and I'm always around. How come no one else can manage that?

I get that they're all mature-aged, which is a polite way of saying 'middle-aged', but still, I'm not a teeny-bopper myself.
I get that they're all male, but I'm not the most feminine of the species for all that I have long hair.
I even get that we're all busy, but there are scheduled morning teas once a week for research students.
So why is it that there's no one here for me to be talking to during the bludgiest week of the year?
Why is it that I had to look up the names of the other students online, as I only knew two of them?
Why don't I have a peer group?

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Well, I find it creepy...

I was very frightened by "The Grudge" (the "buffy, why aren't you fighting back?" version).
You know, curled up on my boyfriend's lap, burying my face in his shirt to get away from the bad movie...
Frightened.

And so it is that I find the idea of sending a curse (Ju-On english website), even via email, to be rather creepy.
Just a little.
Okay, a lot.
Okay, I'm going to bed now, and will hide under my covers until the ghost eats me.

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Things that make you shake your head and sigh, "puns"...

Saw a horribly bad collection of puns linked from slashdot today. I thought my boy might like it, and as he is the single reader of my blog, here is the link.

Are you tired of being without a cofactor? Do you find other numbers too complex? Are you looking for that perfect number to be an integral part of your life? Never fear! They don't have to be imaginary!

We here at Numeric Dating can help you find that special someone. We factor in all variables - even odd numbers can be happy!

Isn't it appalling?

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Ouch-time...

Monday, I fell down a flight of stairs while seeking out Tony's car in a carpark after rain. My back still hurts, and will for a while yet.

Yesterday, I left a book in the busstop that I couldn't afford to lose, so I went back to uni and couldn't find it anywhere, until I thought to look in my office. Got home two hours after I had originally intended.

I think I'll just camp in my office tonight. It sounds less heart-breaking.

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Happy Birthday Miranda...

I remember a long time ago when friendship went on and on and you never had any reason to doubt it. Even when things went wrong, best friends were there for you. They protected you from the Bad Things: from the bullies who hurt you; from the bad feelings that consumed you. You were safe if you had a best friend. You helped them with school work and they kept away the ones who hated those good at such things.

Then we all grew up and the rules changed. We drifted apart and the Bad Things won. But, you know what, despite all that, I believed in the friendship we had shared. I believed that in the end, nothing had changed. But everything had.

Now I'm in a similar place. All alone, with no best friend to protect me. Yet, most of the time, I wouldn't change the way things turned out. I'm pretty tough now; I learned to take care of myself, and I don't need anyone else to see me through (though having a boyfriend is pretty sweet).

So, where ever you are, what ever you are doing, I hope you're having a great party tonight, with your husband (also a James, hooray for good taste and irony), and maybe some chibis on the way (or here already even). Happy Birthday Miranda, my best friend, and thanks for teaching me how to be strong.

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Some words are worth more than others...

'Mother' is the most beautiful word in the English language, followed by 'passion', 'smile', 'love' and 'eternity', according to a worldwide survey.

It's not surprising that 'freedom' and 'liberty' are also on the list, given that they are some of the most commonly used words in the propaganda of certain countries.

But anyway, in good news I'm going to the APAC Summer School on Advanced Computation with a full scholarship. Those of you who know me realise that I'm not actually a terribly good programmer, and that I'm a big fan of FORTRAN. I'm certainly not of the level that would be suitable to programming on supercomputers and that I don't have the foggiest about such things as python and C. Or Canberra in summer, for that matter. Aiiieee!!!!

Still, it sounds like I'll have a lot to study this summer before the school.

Ooh, and I'm getting a laptop! More on that later, when I've made up my mind.

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