This blog post will be about why I don’t update regularly.

Time: It takes me a long time to write something for here(doesn’t show does it?). Once I lay it down, spell check it, re-write it, spell check it, delete it and then start again. It takes a long time. Not that I have a real shortage of time that is.

Return: There isn’t much return for that time. One could say the same about playing video games or watching TV but those activities require little effort and don’t feel like a chore. There is of course the whole building skill points in writing, but really; I write well enough and although I could write gooder; I don’t really see a valuable return.

I guess to really keep a blog you have to get enjoyment out of writing. I don’t.

So why have a blog at all? Originally I wanted to keep a journal of my overseas trip but since returning I haven’t really had the motivation to put anything here.

I started a habit when I was writing everyday during my trip. It’s still with me for some reason. That’s thinking about it. I often phrase blogs in my head and consider writing them.

So why don’t I? Because it’s hard to transition thoughts in coherent topics. I’m sure it would become easier with practice but to what end? So what if I write all those great in my head posts out, take the time to spell check and edit them. Take the time to add links and mess about with formatting. What could I really achieve? Blogger Personality? Google Ads revenue? Scorn from mindless internet fools? Massive amounts of comment Spam? All are possible but none of them really give me money or a even a sense of satisfaction. Maybe if I had some kind of lofty Internet Personality goal I could go at it and churn out post after post that no one would read until one day Boing Boing picked it up and made me a star for a day. Then what? It’s just not me, I just don’t care enough.

The other option, I suppose, is that people actually care about what I’m up to. I doubt these people actually exist and for whatever reason don’t have me in some form of social networking medium. Not that the social network medium really highlights what I’m up to but it does better then this blog. So if you want to know what I’m up to, don’t have the book of Faces, I don’t know, call me or email me or something. Tell me how inspirational my writing is and how it really has value to you.

On our previous trip to NZ we spent a couple of days here are voted it most likely to be a return destination should we make it back. With LCA being in NZ this year it seemed fitting we spend some time here.

Having a whole week as opposed to just a couple of days we could plan some things in advance and fit in a few of the activities we would of liked to do last time and to also redo some of the highlights from the last trip.

Queesntown for those who are unfamiliar is the tourist capital of thrill seeking tourist activities. Although the natives long abandoned it, Queenstown lives on as /the/ place in NZ to jump off of shit. Of course it’s not just limited to jumping. You can also do almost anything you can think of that involves high speed, high adrenaline and just plain being high. Of course it’s not just adventure seeking, there are some quieter things that people can do that are still fun and a little out there.

We also made the trip up to Fox Glacier, some 5 hours north of Queenstown to have a walk on the ice. We also got an old Twin Screw Steamer over the huge lake to go horse riding, went down hill mountain biking in the remote Skippers Canyon and managed to consume some of New Zealand’s finest cheese and wine.

Overall it’s been a great week and to be honest I think I could come back to Queenstown over and over again and never run out of things to do. Some of the more interesting things involve Helicopters. It seems that once you get to a certain point with an activity you just have add a Helicopter to make it even more extreme. One such activity we came across was hunting. You can go hunting here for both deer and pig. Although I’m not such a fan of shooting things for fun the idea of getting in a Helicopter, flying sideways at high speed while trying to take down a buck with a high powered hunting rifle appeals to me. How could it not?

Another thing I might like to do would be Heli-biking. Essentially you strap a down hill mountain bike to a helicopter and get a flight some 2000m up a mountain and proceed to ride down. Nothing says awesome like a 1800M 4 hour decent over some of the best terrain New Zealand has to offer. And you don’t even have to ride up first. Not that you could have course because these down hill bikes are certainly not designed for pedaling. In fact, on the flat they feel massively awkward and cumbersome. As soon as you get them point downwards though the geometry all starts to make sense. The massive suspension travel, the huge fat tyres the heavy square frame, the way the saddle is nowhere near your but and the way the cranks act more like a platform for standing on than for rotation. I think in essence these bikes remind me more of the motocross bikes of my youth than todays road going bicycles. Like the sloping front forks and riding position that forces your weight over the rear wheel. One thing that I have to say is that this sport requires complete faith in your bike. That faith is just deserved as well as they will generally roll over pretty much any and everything. The bike takes care of everything, just point it where you want to go and hold on. Rocks, creeks, rutts and cliffs it just doesn’t matter. The bike just pwns. In fact I think I might be in danger of leaving the lyrca clad, “drink this poweraide and ride for 7 hours up a hill” endurance cycling side and moving the much more awesome, tattoo clad, “You’re not a real man until you’ve broke your collarbone” downhill crew.

I’ll spare my audience from the nerdly technical details of the talks at the conference but suffice to say that it’s extensively geeky and in all manners all kinds of awesome.

The average day looks something like this:

Get up, note the large amount of beer consumed the night prior.
Seek coffee and acquire a muffin for later decimation.
Attend the Keynote(9AM) before attending Morning Tea which generally consists of sugary treats and conversation about all things geeky but consisting mostly of what should be attended in the next talk block. After the morning talk block of two talks it’s time for Lunch with both new and old friends and is once again spent discussing all things Linux, Free and Tech. From here two more talks are attended before an Afternoon Tea which is reminiscent of Morning Tea before attending the last talks of the day. From here there is either Dinner and Drinks with friends recently acquired like minded individuals or attending one of the organised events. Both official and unofficial events occur and it’s rare not to have a choice of events. Sometimes it’s as simple as playing Risk in the Pub or as technical as wielding a soldering iron and constructing Arduino based hardware in the common area. Suffice to say there is always something to do, someone to talk to, beer to drink and things to be discussed. Everyone is friendly and sociable. It’s strange because Geeks are generally considered anti-social and hard to approach. I guess Geeks rarely have problems with other Geeks.

What I did notice, however is that LCA2010 was more a reminder that I need to continue learning things. My normal day to day life removes me from being exposed to technologies that exists outside my work life. If you only ever work with the LAMP stack then you never really get exposed to much else, unless you make the effort. I think it’s important to renew that vow of being interested in technology, in general. Not just what you have to work with. This year, this is what LCA was to me. The renewal of my vow to continued and everlasting learning of cool stuff.

The other great thing I noticed about LCA was that it’s a reminder that there is actually a strong real life community surrounding Linux. There are actually other people out there that are idealistic, motivated and dedicated to Free Open Source Software. Even some more so than myself. It’s a nice reminder because at times I get the feeling I’m the only one that cares about more than the selfish aspect of what products, technologies or softwares can do for me and me alone. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that there are other people out there that care about more then just how things affect them on a individual level.

With my zealot like position reinforced, I leave with a swag of new like minded friends. I leave refreshed in that I’m not alone and that I need to continue to learn and be interested in New, Free and Open things. And that it is important and we can make a difference by choice. Choose Free. Choose Open. Choose it because it’s better, better for everyone.

Updates:

So i finished up my short term gig at VICnet the week before last and started a new role at BEToptions. They are a software development company that make back-end wagering software for Internet betting. I’ve been there a whole week now. So far I’m not so sure what to make of it. It’s a bit of a return to my roots as it’s a small company and I’m expected to be a bit of a Jack of All Trades in that I deal with everything from clients infrastructure to internal infrastructure(or lack thereof) to fixing peoples Outlook.

I guess it’s all layers of support wrapped up in one position. I am the Systems Administrator(bow before me…etc). As most of my roles in recent years have been more of a Linux Specialist it’s a bit of a change. How good it is yet to be decided but so far I like to potential of controlling everything. I’m entrusted(and get the opportunity to) set things up correctly(my way) and really /own/ it. That’s nice, much like the attraction I have towards Civilization.

Their office is located in Fitzroy which is a bit of pain to get to by Public Transport as I have to train into the city then tram back out. What is nice however, is that i can ride my bike there with minimal risk of death. This is still only a theory and far from practice.

I’ve started riding my bike more and more lately. I guess it’s a nice fall back for physical exercise. It’s easy enough that it doesn’t take much of a toll but it still fulfills the exercise requirement. I’m enjoying it. That said, I’m doing “Around the Bay” next month. Well half of it anyway. Which is essentially a 100km bike journey from Sorrento to Melbourne. I’m doing it with Girlfriend and some other friends so it should fun(if not completely physically devastating).

In training for ATB I’ve been doing some non cycling training(running mostly) at the gym across the road from where i live. I think it would be better to do actual cycling as training but it’s hard to find the time to go for 4-5 hour bike rides. 40 minutes of running does about the same in terms of cardio exercise and I think being an Athlete(used loosely) first and a Cyclist second is probably a better approach to overall fitness. In fact i think if it wasn’t for the crazy 45 kph winds we’ve been having I would probably ride more.

Next week I’m going to attempt to ride to work 3 days out of 5. We’ll see how that goes.

An early morning start saw the day in with bacon and eggs for brekkie with Sandra’s old school friend from Casterton who now lives in Koonoomoo, on the border of NSW and VIC.

A beautiful part of the world and we saw some of it via 4WD along the banks of the Murray River in the morning.

The river is looking very sad although our hosts assure me that the summer is much better than the winter here for the Murray so with this bit of local info, it is reassuring to know that it will look better at some stage in the future. Although I remember many years ago as a younger set, that when visiting the mighty Murray anytime during the year was a great site. Bit like the mighty Glenelg River – once was and hopefully will be again one day – we can only live in hope.

With the sightseeing out of the way we headed for Ballarat to visit Sandra’s daughter and then headed for home arriving Monday night.

This has been one of the best trips I have had in a very long time and with a great travelling companion and some wonderful places to see in Oz, the next trip is already being planned for next year.

Looks like “The Ghan” might be a possibility?

We made our way down to Griffith with a stop at Forbes for morning tea and where we did some retail therapy and had some not so healthy food from the bakery.

A stop in West Wyalong for lunch and we made our way to Griffith.

One of the main reasons for coming to Griffith was to view the hermit caves where an Italian born man who had been jilted by his girlfriend lived for over 20 years.

We had a look this afternoon and climbed down the side of the cliffs and like mountain goats we made our way to the cave. Pity that many others had been there before us and decided to vandalize this very special place. But we can read all about this man and see pictures of what it used to look like via a book which we purchased today. Of note I was told that the gentleman who wrote the book only died yesterday – knowing that everyone reading this blog would want to know that vital piece of trivia!

Following the trip to the caves, on the way back to the cabin we decided to have a look and see what was on at the pictures. Deciding that we might like to see a film about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution.

Thinking it was a movie but only to find out that it was a documentary and really didn’t tell us anything more that we already knew about him. Very disappointing – cant remember the name of the movie even – that’s how good it was. Score 1 out of 5 – don’t bother to go.

Heading for Koonoomoo – ( try googling this and see where it is!!) tomorrow after doing the markets here in Griffith tomorrow morning.

We saw some wonderful animals in great habitats with over one and a half thousand animals on display in the zoo and you get to drive around in your car.

Arriving at 9am we left sometime after 2pm. Most of the habitats were open range and could be viewed without looking thru enclosures. Using moats or electric wire to keep them in, it was a real treat to see them roaming.

We had a chance to do some shopping this arvo with the shops just 100mts away and we managed to pick up some bargains!

Leaving tomorrow and heading to Griffith looking at Forbes, West Wyalong and any other town that we think is worth looking at.

Stopping at Cobram on Sunday night then heading for home on Monday.

Following a hearty breakfast we did a tour of Lightning Ridge with our guide being considered a “local” having been at the Ridge since the 70’s.

Lots of stories about millions of dollars having been dug out of the opal fields, and also lots of those that didn’t or haven’t according to the “locals”.

We did the 3 hour tour which only cost around $25.00 and was most enjoyable.

Supposedly it is believed that most people who live in Lightning Ridge don’t “want to be known or found” with over 54 different nationalities living here according to the tour guide “they all live in basic harmony because they have to”.

It did seem fairly friendly and no real problems were seen on the streets by us.

Everything here is cash – no cards for the tour guide – and according to him, no one in Lightning Ridge gets the dole.

A quick bite to eat and then we did a tour of one the mines where a guy has done a heap of sandstone carvings on the walls. We had to walk down 80 steps into the mine to get to the first level where they were. To get back up, as we were the only two on the tour, we managed to talk the fella who opened up for us to take us back up to the surface via the lift ( one at a time) – saving us having to walk up 80 steps!

Having to get to Dubbo this evening we left Lightning Ridge with the view that we should have stayed another night so we could fossick for that illusive black opal of the Lightning Ridge opal fields. We will have to return to make our fortune another day!

With a couple of touristy things to do before we left Roma – the visit to Roma’s largest bottle tree and the need to send a post card, we motored down the bitumen going thru St George – where a lovely river flows thru with plenty of water I might add! Known as the Bollone River I think – we visited the Big Egg – where a greek man has a collection of emu eggs which are illuminated that he has carved for many years. Well worth the visit.

Travelling on we stopped for lunch at Durrambandi where the pub put on a great meal for around the $6.50 mark.

Just before crossing the border the town of Hebel greeted us and no doubt they feel the same as Merino and Casterton feel, right on the edge of the Bollone Shire with headquarters in St George miles from them and of course St George is green, lovely and has plenty of money allocated to it – you can see this by the way Hebel has nothing and St George has everything!. Poor Hebel – they have a pub and a general store – lots of mud and dirt, not much to do or see, no lovely parks or somewhere to sit and have a cuppa like at St George. Not much in common with St George at all. Sounds familiar??

We crossed the boarder and made our way to Lightning Ridge this afternoon. A quick visit to the Visitor Information Centre revealed a couple who I know from Hamilton – cant go anywhere really! A quick look at some opal shops, a visit to the supermarket, a look at where the artesian bore swimming is so we know where to go tonight after tea. And we have booked into an opal tour tomorrow from 9 to 12 and then we will take off to Dubbo where we have booked a cabin for 2 nights.

The artesian spa was just amazing – very hot 40 degrees, and just the best for warming them bones before heading off to bed. Good Night!

We had a great night, clear skies, lots of stars, it was just awesome.

The building ceilings and top half of their walls made you feel like being at the tennis centre – the ceiling parted to reveal the sky and the walls came tumbling down.

We looked thru 12 inch telescopes and saw Jupiter which was as big as the moon when you look thru a telescope.

We got some info on some stars, but have forgotten most of it. But it was a great night. Some key words were, light years, jewel box – referring to clusters of stars, stars which are really two together and look like one, colours of different stars – blues, reds, yellows etc, kaleidoscope.

A very worthwhile experience.

This morning the stars were gone and we left Charleville and headed to Roma.

Following a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to have a look at what they do, we travelled along the Mitchell Hwy ( only 27 road kills in 10kms here) we went thru Morven and stopped to look at the Kerosine tin hut and the miniature pioneer town display then on to Mitchell for a quick lunch at the park.

Drove thru Amby, Muckadilla and eventually to Roma.

Whilst in Roma we did like the Roma’s do – we visited the following

The BIG RIG – an overview of the oil and gas industry in the district

Fed the ducks and geese on the lake.

Visited the mini railway which is closed on Tuesdays as well as the Sound and Light Show at the BIG RIG which was closed for repairs.

Visited the 3 D mural at the Shire Office building, which the girl who works in the Shire didn’t even know where it was. Good to know that tourism is alive and kicking in Roma for the locals!!! Imagine walking past it every day and being only 20 feet from where you sit every day and you don’t even know what it is!

Perhaps it was her first day?

The mural is absolutely fantastic and something we should have in our region – especially around Casterton or Merino.

We drove past the railway yards where Sandra’s grandmother was born around 1890 and her Great Grandfather was a fettler on the railway line.

Couldn’t resist the Golden Arches and made our way there for tea – hadn’t seen A Big Mac for a while! Might even go for brekkie in the morning??

Back to the cabin and a bit of planning for the next leg of the journey Roma to either Hebel or Lightning Ridge,

Have booked a cabin in Dubbo for Thursday and Friday night – going to the zoo on Friday!

Just a quick catch up on things we forgot to tell you about:

Mike is aged 79 years and still mines with a pick and shovel!!

Petrol has been on average around $1.35 with ranges from $1.65 at Hungerford to $1.24 at Roma

We visited Stonehenge – planned to sign the visitors book in stone but couldn’t find it. The brochure is far more impressive than the town!

Bundy and Coke at the Toompine pub – measured out and poured into the Coke Can for drinking purposes – saves washing glasses!