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January 23rd, 2009
11:42 pm
Has anybody yet invented wrists straps for guitar picks? Same idea as leg straps for surfboards, but more musical. I've never yet actually broken a guitar pick, but they tend to escape so I have to keep buying more.
In other news, come see my directorial debut on the Genesian stage, Noises Off. It has a two storey revolving set, wonderfully talented actors, and is heart stoppingly funny.
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January 2nd, 2008
02:11 am
Seems to be already time to get rid of the Rudd consortium.
My response to senator.conroy@aph.gov.au (Also sent a copy to Kevin - bit disappointed actually, John used to send back an automated email saying you'd been added to his mailing list, Kev just says he got your email).
Dear Senator Conroy,
I am deeply concerned at your recent proposals regarding Internet
filtering.
Ignoring the issues of censorship, your proposal will not achieve what
you say it will.
This sort of filtering simply does not work.
For example:
http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/australian_teenager_cracks_84million_internet_porn_filter_in_30_minutes.php
Similarly, it will take very little time for anybody who wants to to
subvert the system you propose.
You have stated "Labor makes no apologies to those who argue that any
regulation of the internet is like going down the Chinese road". I'm not
going to argue that point, however are you aware that even the draconian
Chinese system doesn't really filter the Internet very successfully?
Chinese citizens are well able to use proxies, anonymous remailers and
the like to gain full access to the Internet. How do you expect to
succeed in filtering the Internet when even the Chinese government using
techniques you seek to distance yourself from fails?
Please be aware that whatever filtering system you put in place will be
circumvented - it's inherent in the design of the Internet, it's
designed to route around blockages.
What you propose is simple not technically feasible, and anybody telling
you that it is is mistaken. You will spend a lot of money on a solution
that does not work.
If your goal is to protect children from Internet pornography, then the
simple reality is that you need to educate parents: For starters, don't
let your children have an Internet connected computer in their bedroom -
stick it in the living room where they know people will be walking past
and will see what they're looking at. Most importantly, talk to your
children about these issues.
Sincerely,
Tom Massey
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December 24th, 2007
01:24 am
Pop quiz. Who springs in to your mind first as a 'moral monster of the 20th Century'?
Please read this . Note that Mr Pell neglects to include Mr Hitler in his list of 'moral monsters of the 20th Century'. I suspect this is because it's very easy to dig up a lot of documented info that Hitler identified himself as a Catholic.
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November 29th, 2007
12:55 am
I have recently started to use my several years old gmail account frequently as it makes it easy to do email on my mobile phone. Just noticed I have 100 gmail invites available. I expect that some are very valuable, I probably have a few 2004 vintage invites. Would anybody like one?
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September 1st, 2007
July 17th, 2007
06:01 pm
New Harry Potter arrived at work today, work being a library supply company for those who don't know. Tremendous excitement. The security measures are stronger than last time I think. Books must be left in boxes sealed with red embargo tape in a locked room without any windows. Don't remember windows being a problem with the last book.
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April 8th, 2007
12:40 am
20 years of Rage this weekend.
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March 13th, 2007
February 18th, 2007
11:02 pm
Come see The Tempest. I am playing Caliban. There will be a revolving shipwreck, strobe lights, and 537 smoke machines. (Comments on website design also welcome - just done a redesign, still working on it).
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February 10th, 2007
01:55 am
The planet doesn't need anybody to save it. It's a big hunk of rock, Big hunks of rock can look after themselves. Oh, you were talking about the apes.
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February 4th, 2007
01:25 am
What is it in me that insists on pulling out a guitar and blasting 'Sweet Jane' at the people in the alley down below sitting around playing horrible dance music and not dancing?
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November 20th, 2006
02:31 am
Given that people buy expensive T-Shirts essentially because of the cool logo/designer/aardvark involved (cheap T-Shirts being bought more on colour, durability):
I'm quite good at coming up with thoughts for T-Shirts, just not on carrying them out. Maybe I should sell people conceptually cool T-Shirts. This would be a plain white cotton T-Shirt packaged with a piece of paper explaining "Wouldn't it be cool if this was a Secret Valley T-Shirt that has added coolness because nobody except an Australian growing up in the 1980's will understand?", "Wouldn't it be cool if this T-Shirt had a funny slogan on it?", "Wouldn't it be cool if this T-Shirt was really made of giant pancakes?", "Wouldn't it be cool if I was the sort of person who actually printed such pieces of paper to be packaged with such T-Shirts instead of blogging about them?" etc.
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November 18th, 2006
01:54 am
A dragon that must be printed out and stuck together and then will move its head to follow you around the room a la Mona Lisa but more so. Wonderful. Looking at the shape, tempted to make a moving head version of K9.
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August 26th, 2006
10:21 pm
Does anybody else ever get the feeling that, in general, people are really quite wonderful, in spite of?
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August 16th, 2006
02:10 am
How long until breast implants are forbidden on planes? All these crack downs on carrying liquids on to planes are surely a bit pointless when you can have somebody stitch a bag of goo inside you, to be mixed with another bag of goo from somebody else in flight (or from yourself, for that matter - chemical A in one breast, Chemical B in the other, squeeze together). Bit of stabbing to release it is unlikely to deter somebody who wants to blow the plane up.
Will the chaps in charge ever realise that the problem is not that people are able to blow up planes, but rather that some people feel that blowing up planes is the only way they can get their point across? Probably not, but I will keep writing letters to Mr Howard. Vaguely encouraged that he's now given up writing back. I think there will always be ways of blowing up planes, thing is to stop making people want to blow up planes, and that is far more difficult than adding fairly useless security checks.
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July 25th, 2006
11:18 pm
Playing with POD publishing. Read the PDF if you like, don't buy it. (Doesn't give me any money if you do - it's set to only pay printing costs to LULU). It's just interesting that I can go from a text document to a printed book you can purchase over the net in about 10 mins now.
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April 24th, 2006
02:01 am
ANZAC Day. I don't think many people really 'get' it anymore, what is it about? For what it's worth, I was in the Australian Army Cadet Corps for a number of years. I've yelled out commands at a few ANZAC Day parades, commanded a catafalgue party - do drill with rifles properly, it's ballet. After which I've got drunk with the poor bastards in country NSW who got shot at with little recognition.
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April 22nd, 2006
02:10 am
How many chord progressions are there that make good songs? And why don't people notice? C G Am F does 'No Women No Cry', 'Tears in Heaven', 'Let it Be', (probably others), and Missy Higgins 'Scar' - 30/40 years of music. Heh. Does that 'Lion King' song 'Can you feel the love tonight'. Thing is, these are all good songs. They don't really sound much the same. Take those chords and you can write a great song, if you can work out how to make it sound fresh. Seems to be a combination of tempo, and altering the last chord subtly. Or playing them all as 7ths. Don't do that. Ah, what it is - Play C G Am F, then C G x y, where x and y are as random as possible, then repeat, but play y x instead.
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April 20th, 2006
01:29 am
What happens to people who are allergic to dogs when going through an airport etc with drug/bomb dogs? Is there some sort of special exemption? Can you run away from the dogs, waving a special license? Can you sue somebody if a dog sheds on your luggage and you come up in hives?
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January 22nd, 2006
12:36 am
I shall soon be moving into something quite close to the middle bit of Sydney. Signed the lease on a studio apartment in East Sydney today. This is the bit you get to if you stand in Hyde Park and walk towards the enormous Coke sign (for people who don't know the city, that Coke sign has been a famous landmark for decades and should probably be heritage listed). Unless you're standing in the London version of Hyde Park, in which case it might take a little longer. About 15 minutes walk to the QVB. About 20 minutes walk to the theatre I spend most of my time in. Bus to work from QVB. QVB == Queen Victoria Building, big old shopping mall thing. Hoorah!
Oh, all those I've promised a bed in Sydney should they choose to come here - offer stands, but bed may now mean bit of carpet. But - bit of carpet in the centre of the city!
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