international nut of pastry - I think this lines mostly filler.

Anyone happen to remember the magpie that was hanging around the office at work? Well, I decided to try and feed him. Of course, I wasn't content with just throwing minced meat for him to collect, I had to see if he'd take the food from my hand - and he did.

I've yet to get a photo of him taking food from anyone's hand, but even without food he's starting to let me get awfully close before he walks off a bit.

I'll keep trying to get a photo or video of him taking the food, but in the mean time here's a video of the "warble" they make. Which on it's own is very cool.

Back in the 90s Chris Cornell fronted Sound Garden and a great sound was created. In the 00's he fronted Audioslave and, well... Their first album was a great sound. In 2007, Chris Cornell has gone solo... And is the open act for Linkin Park. How the mighty have fallen.

My choc-chip ice cream is lacking in choc-chips. I feel ripped off.

Recently I've considered getting a MacBook. While I'm not about to rush out and bust the shrink wrap off one, the idea has fluttered into my head on ore than a few occasions. I find this odd, since I really don't have a need for a laptop. I don't really go anywhere where I've needed a laptop and apart from the ability to geek-out when in someone's living room or be able to use the WIFI to access the Internet by the pool - I don't need one.

Yet, I still sometimes think of getting one. When the idea first came to mind I thought the best way to get one was to save money on a second hand one. The problem with this is that I don't trust ebay for large transactions.

In case you haven't noticed the last 3 photos I've put online and how close they are to the subject - Yesterday I picked up a new lens. The EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM.

Unfortunately it's been quite windy ever since I picked it up so I haven't really been able to use it as much as I had hoped. But it can't stay windy for ever, so expect a lot more macro photos in the future.

Now, Hayden Panettiere - the cheerleader in Heroes - not content with simply being in a hit show is now releasing generic bubblegum pop songs in an effort to expand her career. Someone, please... Make her stop.

Two new books today, both by Chuck Palahniuk.

Rant - Rant is told in the form of an oral biography. The main character, Buster Landru "Rant" Casey, is already deceased. Various people discuss their memories of Buster and the world he lived in, presenting stories that occasionally conflict. In the first sentence of the first interview, a character says he "didn't meet and talk to Rant Casey until after he was dead," setting the stage for the convolutions later in the story.

Lullaby - Lullaby is the story of Carl Streator, a newspaper reporter who has been assigned to write articles on a series of cases of sudden infant death syndrome, from which his own child had died. Streator discovers that his wife and child had died immediately after he read them a "culling song," or African chant, from a book entitled Poems and Rhymes Around the World. As Streator learns, the culling song has the power to kill anyone it is spoken to or even thought in the direction of. During his investigations into other SIDS cases for his article, he finds that a copy of the book was at the scene of each death. In every case, the book was open to a page that contained "culling song." Streator unintentionally memorizes the deadly poem and he semi-voluntarily becomes a serial killer (killing, for example, annoying radio hosts and people who elbow into an elevator when he is late for work). He then turns to Helen Hoover Boyle, a real estate agent who has also found the culling song in the same book and knows of its destructive power. While she is unable to help him stop using the culling song, she is willing to help him stop anyone else from being able to use it again. The two of them decide to go on a road trip across the country to find all remaining copies of the book and remove and destroy the page containing the song. They are joined by Helen's assistant, Mona Sabbat, and Mona's boyfriend, an eco-terrorist named Oyster. Streator now must not only deal with the dangers of the culling song, but with the risk of it falling into the hands of Oyster, who may want to use it for sinister purposes.

Still only half way through "Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How The Mac Was Made". Which is a series of stories by Andy Hertzfeld regarding the creation of the Macintosh computer. Some of the stories in the book come from this site.

Took me 24 years, but I can now say I've had a broken bone. Okay, not broken... Fractured. Same shit.

Last Saturday morning I rolled my ankle walking down some steps at home, tumbling to the ground in what I'm sure was a very amusing way. Thinking it was nothing seriously, I continued with the days activities - although in quiet a bit of pain. 9 Days later, and my foot slightly better but still in pain I went to get an xray...

Circled is the 5th metatarsal with a fracture in it. As it's not displaced there's no need for a cast. So here I am awaiting the day when someone will accidentally kick my foot where I'm sure something loud and censored will have to be said.

Nan was found yesterday morning in her shower/bathtub. Her head was resting on the edge of the bathtub, facing the wall. The shower had not even been turned on yet. She did not fall as there was no bruising or blood.

I was too young, dumb and ugly to remember when Pop passed awhile back in 1999. So I wasn't expecting to be hugging and shedding tears with relatives I had not seen in many years - then the next moment laughing over stories of and things Nan would be saying over the fuss we were making.

Walking through Nans house was... Strange. When I walked in the door I expected to see her in the kitchen making some sort of fuss over whatever she was cooking.

52%Mingle²

Last night, I was helping my mother purchase a new stereo. She didn't need much, simply dual cassette, a CD and record player. And it just so happened that Dick Smith (DSE) had one advertised in their catalogue for $229. So off we went to see how this new stereo measured up.

I've started running. No, not because someone is chasing me. I thought it would be a good way to kill time and (hopefully) weight. But that story is for another time..

Around 4:20 today, it was getting ominously dark. So dark, that I figured "hey, I better leave now and I'll beat the rain!" Yeah, stupid idea. I got about 100m away from the office and down the road when all-fucking-hell broke loose and I was out in this monsoonal rain unable to avoid getting soaked, even though I had an umbrella. But an umbrella does little good when the rain is changing direction as often as a whore changes lipstick.

Almost to the bus stop, and it's still pouring down like it's the end of the world. Storm drains aren't coping with the influx of water so there's huge puddles to step over to get to the footpaths. Now, this is when I actually looked around for a moment for shelter. But the industrial buildings all around me left no place to hide and with lightning crashing disturbingly close to me, I figured it best not to stay still. Sure, I wouldn't get struck by lightning but you still don't stand around soaking up water for no good reason. As I get closer to an intersection I realise two things. One; my socks are soaked and there's actually water in my boots (wtf?!) and two; the traffic lights at the intersection are out. Which explains why I "felt" the last lightning strike - because I was only a few dozen meters from it!

As I get to the bus shelter, I huddle in back corner where the rain wasn't coming and take stock of the damage. Pants, soaked. Shoes, carrying water. Torso is relatively dry, but my backpack if soaked through. I think it's time to invest in a water proof back for times like these.

Now, in less wet news... I've signed up to last.fm for shits and giggles. So now you can all invade my privacy and see just what music I listen to on a daily basis. I guess when I've used it for a few weeks, I'll put a up a permanent chart showing the top tracks or something. Yeah, maybe.