LOLing: Seinfeld in Oz

That's Oz the brutal and compelling prison tv series, not the mystical fantasy land (or Australia - which probably sits somewhere in between)

Browsing: Photos from a camera attached to a cat

Mr Lee CatCam is an interesting website if you've ever wondered what cats get up to when they're out.

J Perthold found a way to attach a lightweight digital camera to his cat's collar which is set to take a picture at set intervals. When the cat comes home, you simply take off the camera and check out it's adventures.



There's a bunch of information up there about how to make your own camera if you so choose as well as photos from 5 of Mr Lee's journeys.

Here's a small sample. (Click pic for larger version)

Uploading: Pix from the Red Centre

It's taken a little longer to put these up online than I expected - given that I took the trip #cough# 3 years ago #cough# - but they worked out pretty well so here you go.

These are all from waterholes and other natural features (including the mighty Uluru) in the general vicinity of Alice Springs (give or take a few hundred kilometres)

Click on the images for the larger versions or if you want to see (and download) the super big versions, go to Flickr and click on "All Sizes"

Eating: Coffee and Hazelnut chocolate

While I'm trying to be good of late and eat well and exercise and whatnot in the process of getting into shape (round is a shape, isn't it?), on occasion it's hard to resist the allure of new and funky products with their new and funky packaging when you wonder around the shops between work and Neighbours.



This chocolate from the good folks at Farm by Nature: Cocoa Farm is one of those things. I'm not sure what the no-added-sugar thing means in the context of chocolate (according the nutrition panel, it's 8.2% sugar) but it tastes fine and is certainly sweet enough.

This is the first time I think I've come across coffee flavoured chocolate though, which surprises me now that I think about it but it's great.

There's not a whole lot to be said about it in general - it's chocolate really and it's yummy.

Rating: 80%

Updating: Day 53 of the 6 week No Shampoo Challenge

For those who came in late, I haven't washed my hair since the 8th of June, 53 days ago. This isn't because I can't afford shampoo or have been locked up in government detention (though I couldn't legally tell you if I had), it's not because I don't wash or am lazy or have embraced a crusty lifestyle.

It's because I read that shampoo wages a minor battle with the natural oils in your hair every time you wash it - shampoo strips away the oils and then your head tries to restore balance by over producing oil to compensate. This makes your hair feel greasy so you wash your hair with shampoo and the cycle perpetuates.

If however you can go 6 weeks without using shampoo, the theory is that the natural oils in your hair finds balance and as long as you vigourously rinse your hair regularly, it will be healthier, shinier, fuller and even sweeter smelling.

I've now passed the 6 weeks mark - well actually I passed the 7 week mark on Friday and I'm happy to say that my hair is feeling pretty good. In the video it looks a little average I think - I haven't worked out how to style it yet but I'm told (by my hairdresser who thought it was looking very healthy) that the resurgent natural oils act as a kind of product now so theoretically I should be able to make it look any way I choose.

Overall it feels light, looks full and shiny and even apparently smells pretty good (according to the PC at least). I don't think it's 100% yet though as parts still seem a little dry (though maybe I just have naturally dry hair or the winter weather makes it dry) so we'll see what the coming weeks bring.

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Spoilers)

Well I didn't rush in and gobble down the whole thing as soon as I bought it - as many did - but I decided instead to re-read Harry Potter 6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) first to put it all into context.

This required a certain amount of faith that I'd be able to avoid the spoilers that would inevitably come up as more and more people made their way to the end and found out who would live and who would die. (something I wasn't able to do with the last episode of The Sopranos)

I think it helped to do this - I probably could have muddled (muggled?) my way through and all would have made sense but reading 6 & 7 back to back also helped to immerse me in that world for a little while longer.

Overall I was pretty happy with the final book - there was a fair bit of loose end tying to get through after 6 preceding books (not everything was neatly tidied up but JK Rowling did a nice job all in all) and this meant that there were an awful lot of flashbacks and trips to the pensieve. It got to the point where Rowling seemed to be straining her brain - "Ok, I've done the tell-all bio, the dream sequence, the friendly chat, umm, what else can I use to explain this part now?"

This is by far the darkest book of the series and the deaths of established characters keep coming, particularly at the end in the great final battle.

Parts I liked: (Select text to read) Harry's triumph, Dumbledore's back story, the happy ending epilogue (though from what I've read online, there are many who hated this part), the snippets of non-main-trio naughtiness at Hogwarts during Harry/Ron/Hermoine's absence, the final battle, the raids on the Ministry and Gringotts, the general darkness of the wizarding world falling under the Death Eaters' control, the opening escape from the Dursleys' and Harry's sacrifice.

Parts I was a bit meh about:(Select text to read) Snape's motivation being Harry's mum (laid on a bit thick), Kreacher's change of attitude, long middle patches where the trio had no idea what they were doing and were regularly nudged on by lucky clues and help, humanising the Malfoys (still thinking about this - it seems mainly that because they were a bit crap at being evil, even though they wanted to, they are ok), the lack of quidditch and the plot holes. (How did Neville end up with the sword of Griffindor?)

All in all a satisfying conclusion - 80%

Playing: Music for a Monday

9 To 5 Dolly Parton 3:00 The Very Best Of
Superfish Los Capitanes 2:14 No Butts!
Ever Fallen In Love Nouvelle Vague 3:19 Bande À Part
Trash New York Dolls 3:07 Mojo: I Love NY Punk
Chinito Chinito Ry Cooder 4:52 Chavez Ravine
Phantom Land EZ3kiel 4:53 BARB4RY
Weeds The Negotiators 3:59 Apples and Oranges
Flame Trees Sarah Blasko 5:21 Standing On The Outside (The Songs Of Cold Chisel)
Finger Print (Ra Ra) Randall Blair And The Wedded Bliss 5:09 Tattoos And Taillights
Friday night The Darkness 2:55 Permission to land
1025 Sixteen Sisters The Kleptones 2:50 24 Hours (Disc 1)
Come To This The Sleepy Jackson 3:28 Lovers
Going Going Gone Richard Hell & The Voidoids 2:31 Mojo: I Love NY Punk
One Six One Bit By Bats 2:37 Go, Go, Go!
She Was Venezuela Bit By Bats 3:27 Go, Go, Go!
Myth Takes (Acouth Take) !!! 2:14 Myth Takes (Bonus Disc)
What If Lucinda Williams 5:41 West
Carey Joni Mitchell 3:02 Hits
The Ghost That Feeds (Ray Parker Jr. vs NIN) Ray Parker Jr. vs Nine Inch Nails 3:20 mashed up by nathanchase.com
Ramblin' Man Hank Williams 3:04 CD 3, MGM studio sessions 10-01-1950 to 01-06-1951
Idea of Fun The Stooges 3:17 The Weirdness
Icky Thump White Stripes 4:17 Icky Thump
The Only Way Gotye 4:49 Like Drawing Blood