Take the spoon out of the sink before turning on the tap.

Tags: farmerism

Never swing a tool in anger. Especially if you are holding on to, or standing on, the object you are swinging at. Leather gloves or steel capped boots will not save you.

Tags: farmerism

Worth reading: Yes

Summary: Taken from the back of the book - History is full of secrets. Secrets that have remained hidden for thousands of years. And we have no idea what many of them are. We know they’re there, under the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, hidden away, just waiting for someone to unlock them.

Enter Jack Howard, one of the greatest archaeologists of his day, and his friends, all of whom have devoted their lives to this cause, often at great personal loss. Jack is a man who never stops believing, never gives up hope that out there might be the next big discovery. But when he and his best friend Costas are interrupted during a dive off the coast of Sicily that might possibly reveal the final journey of St Paul, Jack has no idea what lies in store...

Their journey takes them to one of the great lost libraries of antiquity, destroyed by the eruption of Pompeii, into the heart of ancient Rome and the holiest sites of Jerusalem. Their quest? So earth-shattering that there are men who would kill anyone and anything in their path to conceal this secret...the secret of the origins of Christianity itself, and of ... The Last Gospel.
---

Excellent read and thanks to Craig for loaning this one to me. It is easy to imagine the chapters from antiquity were as David has written them. The final lines of the final chapter particularly, would have shattering consequences for modern Christianity if they were true.

David Gibbons is also the author of ‘Atlantis’ another riveting book. He is a life-long underwater archeologist and you can find more information on his activities at his website.

Tags: David Gibbins

Thanks to Sadeq for this recipe.

The 5 minute chocolate mug cake (photo coming this weekend).

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of self-raising flour
4 tablespoons of sugure
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of oil
3 tablespoons of choc-chips (optional)
A few drops of vanilla essence
1 mug

Method:
Put all dry ingredients in the mug and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients and mix well, ensuring there is no dry mix in the corners of the base.
Place in microwave and nuke for 3 minutes (1000w).
Eat out of the mug while cake is still warm.

Options you can add:
A splash of rum into the mix.
A drizzle of hot fudge sauce after cooking.
A dollop of cream.

Fruit: The bigger it is, the less taste it has.

This entry replaces a more venomous one I wrote last night. My Givi E41 panniers have arrived and are now installed on the bike. This brings an end to a long saga of misinformation and lost orders.

Suzuki, unfortunately for me, offered these cases as a special free deal on a new bike purchase, just as I placed my order. Australia had run out of stock, so I had to wait 6 months for more to arrive in the country.

I chose these cases because of the size and ability to get into the case without the need for taking it off the bike. A key is used to lock the case to the bike and access to the top can be made through a combination locked compartment lid. These cases are 41L each and can store 2 full-face helmets in each one. I’m think this will be plenty of storage for my proposed tripping.

The lids are available in a number of different colours but I chose to go with the stock silver, and I’m glad I did. I think they look rather good on the bike.

Fitting was rather easy and took just over an hour. It would have been nice to have a pet octopus but I managed easily enough. I also took the chance while the top box was off, to do some modifying to it’s mounting plate. Something I should have done when I put the top box on.

The bike still looks good without the side boxes fitted. I’m thinking the mounting brackets will provide a little more protection should the bike hit the pavement (God forbid). I might also be able to use them as hitch points for other luggage.

I am now ready for my Longreach trip. I have put in my leave application and will be sorting accommodation in the next week or so. I can’t wait. Eight days of solitude.

Tags: motorcycles

Worth reading: Yes.

Summary: Five people have been targeted and gunned down. All were head shots and the weapon was a military sniper rifle. All clues point to an ex-military sniper by the name of James Barr. The evidence is perfect the result is a foregone conclusion. The DA is going for the death penalty. But James Barr isn’t talking. Not to anyone. Not the police. Not his sister. Not even his lawyer. He has said only one sentence... “Get Jack Reacher!”.

Jack Reacher is drifting, at the moment on the beach. He gets back to his hotel room, paid by the night and only one night at a time, and sees the news report. James Barr is the prime suspect in the slaughter of five people in Indiana. Jack Reacher leaves his hotel room, this time James Barr won’t get away with it.

Classic Jack Reacher!

Tags: Lee Child, jack reacher

Today GroupWise turns 20 years old. Gone is the gangly teen cause it’s all growed up.

So, ready Mr. Music?

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear GroupWise,
Happy Birthday to you.

Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!

You can find the WP Chronology here.
You can read Dean Lythgoe’s blog entry here.

Tags: Novell, groupwise

Finally success at last. Last night I managed to get a polar alignment. I found I had been looking in the right area of sky but the star formations I was expecting to see were larger than I was anticipating.

That is now sorted and I have completed a drift alignment that shows no significant drift within 5 mins. I have parked the scope so tomorrow night I’ll continue to work on the accuracy. I may even give some piggy-back photography a go just to see how it turns out.

The entire process took me 4 hours. I need to get this down to about 30 mins. Much more practise is required.

Tags: astronomy, astrophotography, telescope

This weekend I finally managed to get a couple of hours to spend with my telescope.
I tried out the polar alignment, in preparation for astro-imaging. This the first time I have tried the polar alignment method and it involves knowing your current latitude along with how and where to find the Southern Pole Star - Sigma Octanis.

Sigma Octanis is not viewable with the naked eye so binoculars are needed to find it. Once found, you centre the star in the veiwfinder of the telescope and with a couple of other things, you’ve aligned the scope to the south celestial pole.

Well, I didn’t find Sigma Octanis last night. Hopefully tonight will be the go.

The image shows me Meade LX200R 10” SCT telescope mounted on a wonderful Milburn wedge. The scope is currently pointing at where I believe (according to compass, and angle of lattitude) the SCP is.

I’m so glad this whole topic is interesting and a challenge for me, else I would have thrown in the towel a while ago.

Tags: astronomy, astrophotography, telescope