Paul-Hayes

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Sunday, 25 January 2009

恭喜發財

Posted on 05:19 by Unknown
Another new year party! Sydney is going all-out for its Chinese New Year celebrations this year. The festival, which started on Friday, goes for another three weeks, so it overlaps with the Sydney Festival, still in full swing, by a week. Much to be seen and eaten and explored, in that case.Oh – it's Australia Day today, as well, so for me it means there are going to squadrons of warplanes
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Posted in culture, food, language | No comments

Saturday, 24 January 2009

Too darn hot

Posted on 01:10 by Unknown
It hit 40.1°C today. That's 104°F. Too much summer all at once for my liking. Then the southerly came through at 6 and the temperature dropped 10 degrees in an hour. Ahhhh.
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Thursday, 22 January 2009

Picking on Oscar

Posted on 05:55 by Unknown
The Oscar nominations were just announced.Yeah, all right. I'll go there. These aren't necessarily my personal favourites, but they're my favourites to win.My picks are, appropriately, in gold.Best Picture: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire."Actor: Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad
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Posted in ephemera | No comments

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Because balloon animals need love, too

Posted on 11:00 by Unknown





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Posted in media | No comments

Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Thank you for playing. Now get out.

Posted on 11:35 by Unknown
A moment to lift the heart. Bye-bye!Update: Maureen Dowd's op-ed piece in today's New York Times, 'Exit the Boy-King', is excellent.
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Posted in history | No comments

Sunday, 18 January 2009

Black in name only

Posted on 15:32 by Unknown
It turns out that black box flight recorders aren't black.This is the flight recorder from the US Airways plane that landed on the river in New York. While it's somewhat blackened around the edges, it's not black. Being bright orange makes it easier to find.In related news, as I was saying in this post, it's not legitimate news unless there's an Aussie onboard. And so, on the front page of the
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Posted in technology | No comments

The angry man

Posted on 06:19 by Unknown
My local supermarket is open until midnight. At about 11, two guys start to close down the deli section. It’s obviously a big job: they have to put away all that neatly folded ham, coleslaw, fish fillets and mystery meat.I like to shop late when the place is pretty much empty. I shop fast and don't need obstacles like people hunting though the 50 different mouthwashes to get in my way. It’s just
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Posted in culture, food, language | No comments

Saturday, 17 January 2009

Now arriving at MC Escher Airport

Posted on 21:33 by Unknown
There something strange going on in this picture on CNN . . .
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Monday, 12 January 2009

Goodbye to all that

Posted on 12:41 by Unknown





The "Dick Cheney Lie Count" from last night's Letterman.In related news, I got a press release today from the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee – I have no idea why I'm on this list – saying that in the final week of Bushdom, Cheney will push Israel into a multi-front offensive with Lebanon and Syria that will give him the excuse to start a war with Iran that Obama will be forced to
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Posted in history, language, law, media, terror | No comments

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

There's cutting edge and there's just getting it wrong

Posted on 12:00 by Unknown
I'm not an apostrophe Nazi unless it's work-related. I recognise that English is complicated and that punctuation can be tricky, so I'm fairly forgiving – by which I mean I wince but I get over it – when I see things like "CD's" as the plural of "CD". However, this job ad caught my eye. They really need to fill this position.


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Posted in language | No comments

Monday, 5 January 2009

Barbie's resume

Posted on 12:10 by Unknown
Barbie turns 50 years old this year and, like many mature-age workers, she has quite an impressive resume. Here's a random sampling of her work experience.DefenceAir Force Fighter PilotUnited States Army officerUnited States Navy officerEducationArt TeacherSign Language TeacherSpanish Language TeacherStudent TeacherEntertainmentAmerican Idol contestantBallerinaCircus StarMovie ProducerMovie
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Posted in history | No comments

Back to work: Ouch!

Posted on 03:02 by Unknown
I went back to work today after two glorious weeks off, and it wasn't pretty.I got in to the office very early only to discover a weird smell – something had gone off but we couldn't locate it. The computer network was acting up, I couldn't remember half my log-ins, and it took all my concentration to bang out a handful of stories. To make matters worse, it was a particularly beautiful day: sunny
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Friday, 2 January 2009

Did they change our meds or is this place really crawling with clowns?

Posted on 12:00 by Unknown






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Posted in terror | No comments

Thursday, 1 January 2009

A matter of inches: just how tall are our modern stars?

Posted on 12:00 by Unknown
At 5’4” (162.5cm), here’s a group of statistically average height women: Drew Barrymore, Catherine Deneuve, Queen Elizabeth, Madonna, Britney Spears and Elizabeth Taylor.

At 5’9” (175cm), here’s a group of statistically average height men: Antonio Banderas, Albert Einstein, James Dean, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Jack Nicholson.

Tom Cruise is regularly characterised as being “short”,
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Posted in ephemera | No comments

A flying start

Posted on 00:55 by Unknown
At 11pm last night, Mike and I were having a quiet-ish margarita at the Bayswater Brasserie. By 11.30, with Amy and Janie, we were in a little boat leaving Double Bay wharf. We boarded the MV Flying Fish, moored in the middle of the harbour, and 10 minutes later the New Year’s Eve fireworks started, and this was our view. Awesome!
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  • ▼  2009 (30)
    • ►  June (1)
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    • ►  March (2)
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    • ▼  January (15)
      • 恭喜發財
      • Too darn hot
      • Picking on Oscar
      • Because balloon animals need love, too
      • Thank you for playing. Now get out.
      • Black in name only
      • The angry man
      • Now arriving at MC Escher Airport
      • Goodbye to all that
      • There's cutting edge and there's just getting it w...
      • Barbie's resume
      • Back to work: Ouch!
      • Did they change our meds or is this place really c...
      • A matter of inches: just how tall are our modern s...
      • A flying start
  • ►  2008 (122)
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