Million Mark Reached

For those following the Danger Mice Folding @ Home progress:
I was reliably informed by email (thanks Pete) that we have surpassed the Million Points milestone.
This is a fantastic achievement and a worthy contribution to the research being performed by Vijay Pande and the team at Stanford University through the Folding @ Home distributed computing program.



The Danger Mice Team welcome any friends and family to join our folding team.

Counting down again

...doing my bit to spread the Linux word (again)

edit:- I downloaded it using the Transmission BitTorrent which worked a charm ... it's now sitting there seeding other downloads.... guess thats one way to help distribute ubuntu!

ceceel

GO EELS

Gotta love the mid season turnaround in performance from my beloved rugby league football team the Parramatta Eels.
Like most other Eels fans, I was shaking my head in the first half of the season at their lack lustre performance and had accepted their then seemingly obvious route to being the wooden spooners of the comp.
But then, the side snapped into consciousness and pulled out seven straight wins to land them at eighth slot on the ladder and into the finals series...the mere fact they pulled off such a huge turnaround to get to the finals had restored my faith (and I was happy with that alone!) but they have now blasted their way into the Grand Final. What an Effort!

GO EELS ! !

Here are my "Eels Supporter"transportation shots.......

Blue and Gold of course!

...love the Plates!
('47 was their first year in the comp)

cecil

The NT has come to us!

Woke up this morning to an eerie glow!

This first pic was taken by Jimmy D through the front door early this morning around 7:30am.
The other photos were taken about 8:45 this morning.....

Apparently it is dust being blown in on the westerly winds from the Northern Territory. Well that saves us a trip to the Red Centre now doesn't it? as it's now covering everything on the East Coast.

Drove the 'Potholes' to school to save their lungs; when I washed the windscreen before take off it created a mud flow!..... hmmm the car wash down the road is going to make a bundle after this blows over!

Contra?

Is it wrong to wash your blood pressure medication down with a cup of coffee?

Arrrrrr !

Arrrrr, ye scurvy blaggards ! don't be forgettin' Talk Like a Pirate Day this September 19th !

under the ton

Just an update for those following my weight loss (probably just me, myself and i. lol)

On Friday morning, officially (on Tony's scales) I weighed in under 100kg . . . . 99kg on the nose! (hey..no smelly man jokes!!!) note: I started at 123kg.
Girth-wise I am now 101cm (down from 122cm).

Getting back down under 100kg was the initial goal. . . . The last few kgs have been tough, which means I'm going to have to be much stricter with myself over the next couple of months if I want to get down below 95. I think I'll have to set myself an award for getting to 90kg which is ultimately where I would like to be. I'm thinking along the lines of a pair of genuine Levi 501'$ which I really like, (fashion victim?) and which I've been way too big for for some time as nobody locally (that I've found) stocks them above a size 38"(97cm) (Don't they think us 'fat bastards' will buy them?)

Guess I'll be living on shakes for a while yet.....

Cecil

P.S. I signed up for Tony's Healthy Rewards Competition which has been a bit of an incentive to lose a bit each week. Who knows, I could end up winning a car! (yeah right!)

Claude-Aspen

Just an update on the new cat.
His name as given by the Holiday Park he came from was "Aspen" after the company that owns the park (Aspen Parks)..... Nice enough I suppose, but we wanted to give him a more appropriate cats name. So as I always wanted to give the name Claude (clawed) to a cat we settled on that. (Also considered Patrick, as in 'Pat the cat').
Now because he was (sort of) used to the name Aspen we decided to give him the official title of Claude-Aspen, which sounds a bit wanky but it kind of suits him as he is a Russian Blue and he looks a bit regal.
There is also an added slant on the name, as we can call him Claude van Damn Cat! when he plays up!.....(after b grade 'actor' Jean Claude van Damme)

cecil

We're Back! (+1)

Got home last night from an absolutely fantastic holiday up in the Whitsundays! and the news is we are expecting a new addition to the Pitts family......

well not brand new... you see, we have adopted a cat from the caravan park we stayed at! A lovely looking, rather overfed, grey cat that was destined for the pound. The park policy is strictly NO PETS and the stray had been hanging around for a month or so and they could not locate an owner. Miss Elle merely asked the staff the cats name, when she was told that it was destined for destruction as no-one had claimed it and the company boss was visiting the park in 2 weeks and it had to be gone by then!
We discussed the situation and decided to offer to adopt the cat on the proviso it was not microchipped/linked to an owner. We took the cat to a Vet at Cannonvale (near Airlie Beach) to see if had a microchip (which it didn't) and then had to purchase a cage suitable for the air flight....Several (read LOTS!) phone calls later Miss Elle had organised a ticket on Virgin to Brisbane where a company named "Dog Tainers" collected it and looked after it overnight before putting it on a Virgin flight to Newcastle today. Hopefully by this evening we will have it home!.....

The End

Finished TAFE yesterday......YAY!!!!

I might see my results next week or the week after.......


cecil

Genetically Engineered Food

I'm not a big fan of Genetically modified food...I really don't see why it's necessary. Some companies are developing foods that are resistant to stronger more dangerous pesticides...seems like that's the total opposite of organic foods which are better for human consumption.(albeit more expensive! there again you can't beat home grown.)

Anyway if you share a concern for the development /sale of GM/GE food you can sign a petition to have all GM food labeled as such....
cheers
Cecil

A Trivial Pursuit?

Some would say that partaking in on line surveys is somewhat of a trivial pursuit. But today, participation with one of my "regular" online survey companies has paid off!
I am participating in a continued survey with regard to board games, the idea being is you play board games with your family over a four week period and answer the survey questions. One of the perks is that you get to choose a game which is then sent to you gratis!
Our game turned up today! - "Trivial Pursuit Family Edition, which has kids cards and adult cards.
... Looks like the perfect weather to stay in and play at the moment as well!

cecil

doing things backwards?

I've come to the conclusion that I'm possibly losing weight at the wrong time of the year. Most people would probably try to lose weight to look good in the summer time...but here "down under" I started my weight loss program at the end of Summer heading into Autumn. We're just experiencing our first coldish weather for the year and I'm starting to wonder if a reduction in "insulation" going into winter is a good thing. I mean bears eat heaps, fatten themselves up and sleep through winter don't they? (not that we have bears here in Oz). In the northern hemisphere they "fatten up" things for Christmas Dinner in their winter. But here am I trying to shed the fat and the cold season is approaching. Shouldn't complain, being a coastal dweller it really does not get that cold here as technically we are in a "Sub Tropical" climate. The up side is we are taking a holiday in the winter up to the warmer latitudes, the Whitsundays region on the Great Barrier Reef...with any luck it might even be warm enough up there to go snorkeling etc....so a few inches off the waistline won't hurt! (Like most middle aged males I am under the delusion that I'm only a few push-ups away from being ripped like Mr Universe...LOL)

....reminds me, must go for a walk today

cecil

treadmill power generation

Just did five k's on the treadmill as it's a bit damp outside today for my daily walk and was thinking...why don't we reverse the technology of the treadmill.....instead of it using power to move the belt for us to walk on why can't we use our legs to push the treadmill belt and generate power to put back into "the grid"!...same thing could work for exercise bikes! I might be a bit more inclined to jump on and sweat out a few k's if it meant I was cutting a few bucks off the power bill.......and get the kids into it....the "potholes" jump over each other here to get a go on the treadmill! "Sure Jimmy, you can watch Cartoon Network..but you provide the power for the TV!"

If the government is giving rebates for us all to install solar panels on our roofs and pump our excess juice back into "the grid" then surely they can cough up a few for us to buy power generating exercise gear...and it would help tackle the obesity epidemic / take some load off our health system....the benefits are enormous!.

And a Gym owner would become a small power plant owner!...not only would he save on his power bill.... he gets to charge his clients for the privilege of saving him money....cool! You could even target the "Green Set"..."Exercise at our Gym and save your life AND the planet!"

... I can feel a business venture coming on

cecil

Bits

Had a blackout last night....ah Energy Australia strikes again!..
......anyway , this morning I had to re-boot the ADSL modem and noted the highest sync speed since changing to ADSL2 ...4918Kbps. Our "distance" from the exchange here when calculated by our downstream attenuation of 51db vs 13.81 db loss per km of copper wire is about 3.7 km's. I suspect I could achieve higher speeds using HSPA mobile technology!!!.
.......roll on the new "high speed" internet infrastructure Mr Rudd!!!! (Though from what I've read our new High Speed is outdated before we even get it.....typical!)

new ubuntu release

The New Release for the Linux Operating System distribution Ubuntu is on the way:



the beta test version is available now.....

cecil

Shake it off!!!

I've been a long time critic of the diet shake industry, but have succumbed to requests from the Princess Bride to join her in a quest to reduce our waistlines, and as have such embarked on a diet shake frenzy!
Now I have to admit...something had to be done...I had blown out to an all time high score of 123 kilos...(I was 115 the month before Christmas...what happened?). A simple walk to the school with the potholes and back had me completely puffed!
I've been "shaking" for a month now and have lost just over 10 "killergrams"...the walk to school and back is a breeze now by comparison and feel I need to extend my walks so I'll start coming home the long way next week.
I don't expect the rate of loss to continue, the next ten are going to be harder to lose I'm sure!
And d'you know what I crave the most?....Vegemite!!!! ...Struth it's hard making breakfast or lunches for the boyz and smelling the 'ol yeast extract!!.....I don't miss all the bread, pasta, rice and spuds etc. at all, and have a renewed love affair with salads and vegies...(I'm still not a big fruit eater).
....Keep on shakin'

Dangerous Rodents!

The Pitts folding@home team has been relaunched by team founder Kiso under the new name Danger Mice. A new website is being constructed by Kiso and Miss Magoo with links to contributing team members pages. New members Keplerspeed and Emu legs are a welcome boost to the team numbers. Currently team Danger Mice have achieved over 158,000 points / 700+ workunits.

...Keep on Folding!

overcommitments

Ah.... football season has hit with the force of a Mack truck this year! 2 of the potholes are playing, with one of them also junior reffing we are in for a big year of football. And trial games...don't get me started!
We have just come home from "Rocketman's" first trial he has another this coming weekend as well as reffing the new SSF (Small Side Football) trial games that "Herbie" is playing in. (also this weekend). Between now and then we have training on two different nights, and the other commitments like Tennis for the "D-Man" , Art class for "Rocketman" and "Herbies" swimming.
Barely time to scratch oneself......

which way is the wind blowing?

....taken from todays Hunter area forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology website.

Forecast for Thursday
Isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Local early fog patches. Light to moderate west to northwest winds tending southeast to northeast.

...that reads... west to northwest winds tending southeast to northeast......

so it's:

a) covering all bases
b) we have absolutely no idea...but there will be wind
c) all directions at once
d) all of the above