My first duty:

Well, as you may or may not know, I am an official Australian citizen. As such, I am required by law to vote in all elections (my state and federal). Or else I get fined. Yay for me. I am actually happy, in a way, about this. I deplore politics as an inherently flawed system, with many flaws found in party politics in particular. This is mainly due to the petty bickering that goes on between parties, and the feeling (and reality) that politicians try to further their own carrier as opposed to genuinely trying to improve the well being of their populace. I know what you may be thinking... If the politicians don't help their areas, then they will be forced out.. But I don't believe that this is actually the reality, or that the reality is significantly more complex...

A politician only really needs to be perceived to be trying to helping his constituents. The system IS party politics; you agree with the party you're in by default. You need money to run for office. Money comes from donations, which, if enough money is "donated" helps to ensure that the group that donated the cash's interested are protected by their preferred member of parliament... Enough about that though.... I am writing for a different reason.

Ya I know, all that crap above for nothing! You'll learn to live with, and ignore it. Trust me. Ask Bec.

Ummm.... Oh ya, the voting ballots. INSANE!!!! I measured one of them, and I am not joking, if you hold one end of it to the floor, the other end will reach my hip bone, and for its width, it goes from my finger tips to my elbow (roughly). How's that for big. And the name of some of the party's that were running, "the Shooter's Party", "The Outdoor Recreation Party" (weren't they some club in University populated by long haired granola eaters?), and a scary one called "Australians Against Immigration". You can guess from their name their standpoint on certain issues, kind of against multiculturalism if you get my drift. I obviously did not vote for them though, as I immigrated to this great country of Australia, so to you "Australians Against Immigration":

I fart in your general direction! Your mother was hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

(if you don't know the source of that quote, click on it and you'll find yourself confronted with something of utmost humor and comedic genius)

Anyway though... I thought I would try to post a picture of the biggest ballot paper (there were two, but the second one was tiny, about the size of a small pamphlet that the Mormons would give you as an introduction thing). But the only picture I could find was one from 1999 (I think), but you get the size issue correctly out of it.

Crazy Australian politics.

Shameless... I know (Office 2007 review)

Well, to my loyal readership, which seems to have dropped considerably as of late.

(In tune:) Where oh where have the bloggers gone, oh where oh where could they be? I wish they would come back and write!!! hint hint ... mom, and the list at right!So, what I am about to do is a kind of shameless plug, for Microsoft no less, particularly Office 2007. The reason I am doing this is two-fold, mainly because it may not be as shameless as you are thinking. .. While I was trialing the beta version (pre-release) which was given out free mid-last year, I actually blogged about it (here), and said that I liked it and that I may consider buying it when it came out. Well, it came out, and was a bit expensive. at over $200 bucks for the student version.

The second reason that I am going to plug it, is because for students at Universities in Australia, you could buy the most expensive version of Office 2007 for $75. I couldn't resist this purchase partially on the ground that the retail cost is $679 US for this package!!! Yup, $679!!!! Or $989.00 Australian! I paid $75, Australian dollars. I did this because while trialing the program, I really liked the ribbon menu system at the top. When I was using Excel (2007) to sort, filter and do a few other things, I learned how to do it easily on the 2007 trial, after which I went and looked for it Excel 2000 and learned how to do it there too, but the buttons were buried in sub-menus etc. I uninstalled the beta because I found that the error bars on graphs would not work correctly. Since I am a hard-core scientist, I need correct error bars. So I sent in a complaint to Microsoft, and in the released version, they work fine.

In all honesty, I do like Office 2007. I can publish to PDF, save files to be compatible with earlier Office versions, and to me at least, the ribbon bit with organized functions etc is intuitive. I was previously using Office 2000, tried later versions, but didn't like them for one reason or another. I think Office 2003 was a tragedy. Does it make me that much of a geek to be able to honestly believe that a program could be a tragedy? Don't answer that! Office 2000 was gold for me. A price of anything over $100 would not have been able to entice me to upgrade from Office 2000. But by offering Office 2007 Ultimate (with all the bells and whistles attached) at 75 bucks, I could not resist.

This is a smart move by microsoft as it stops pirating, and strengthens Microsoft's monopoly on Office suites. But the problem is, is that I think they deserve this monopoly. They make a good Office suite. It's simple to use, does what I want it to do, and doesn't crash. What more do you need or want? Even in an article that appears anti-Microsofy, Office 2007 is called "slick". You can read the article here. It does take some getting used to, but worth it.

For your info, Office Ultimate comes with these programs:
Access, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. That's 9 programs. Several of which I may never use, but I will likely at least learn what they can do. I do like the idea behind OneNote and Groove though. OneNote is kind of a digital post-it note book where you can write little notes to yourself, jot down ideas etc and keep them in some kind of order. I will be using this alot as I frequently have ideas for experiments to do in the future and it'll be nice to not loose my scraps of paper anymore. Groove, because it keeps documents updated on several different computers... so during collaborations with other departments, when person "x" modifies it on their computer, it will get modified on my computer so that I am not stuck trying to figure out which draft I am looking at. Believe me, this is a major pain in the ass. The only problem at the moment, is that my supervisor (or Boss) uses a Mac and 1: I don't know if Groove works on a Mac, 2: He doesn't have this program, amd 3: He modifies both paper copies AND digital copies to the point where he gets lost himself and I am left trying to deal with it... But the idea behind Groove should work well for people with even rudimentary organizational skills!

I also thought that I would drop in some pictures of the ribbon menu bar, just if you're interested. The first one is of Excel 2007, and the one below it is of Word 2007. See, they look different than earlier versions of Office. And I like them. (note: click on them to enlarge them further)



Final thoughts on it: Well, I probably wouldn't rush out and buy it immediately, but I would rush out and at least trial it immediately (as I did last year). At least then you can see what it offers you and if you think it's worth upgrading. For me though, I liked it and thought it worthwhile.

Remember though, this post is not a total sell out, because in one of the opening paragraphs, I said that I would probably try to get it when it came out, and I friggen reported on the beta version. It should have been expected that I would post on the final version. So there, take that.

Anyway though, enjoy your weekend.

This post is brought to you by: Too Much Free Time This Afternoon.

A day of Note

Well, for my long time readers and others who might be reading this... Last year, I seemed to have spent a fair amount of time bitching and complaining about writing my thesis. It was to the point that I even stopped blogging because I hated sitting at my computer.

That time is over now.

I am ready to submit. Why has it taken so long one might ask. And I would answer that it's a PhD thesis. They always take long. Also, my supervisor told me to write a paper in late October which took up some time, then the editing process took time. Then when I handed my supervisor the final draft in January, I was informed that he wouldn't be able to read it until late Feb, after all the grants were submitted. That's a fair enough answer since without the grants, he has no department... But now, it is printed, and bound. All three copies, one for each reviewer, one in the US, and two here in 'Oz (Melbourne actually). I was thinking that I should buy myself a game for the Wii.... It is afterall one of the biggest endeavors (academically and professionally) that I am likely ever to complete. And it's ready to submit.

So off I go to the post-graduate girl person to give it to her.... And in a few months, I will likely have to make a few little (fingers crossed) revisions, and then I am Dr. Amon.

How cool is that.

The difference between good and evil

Just a question, does it make me a bad person if I went to see Rocky Balboa on the weekend, and enjoyed myself while doing so?

The more I think about the movie, the more I liked it, and the more I want to go out and watch Rocky 1 again, and maybe 2, 3, and 4, I never saw 5, but maybe give that a go too...

Me and my brother-in-law, Harry (from Cyprus because I think you all want to know), went out to see it on Saturday while we left the ladies to watch the kids for the afternoon. That was great! Thanks Bec and Amanda. We'll have to do that again sometime soon!! As anyone who's maybe seen any of the movies before, this one doesn't fall short. Sure, there are moments of utter cheese and the like, but it was a true Rocky movie. There was one bit that disapointed me about the movie, and I don't know if I should share it with you because it might, no, it would kind of spoil the ending. OK... let's just say that the movie does not end as all the other Rocky movie did.... It was a happy ending, but just a different happy. I think that if you go to watch this movie with an open mind, ready to sit down and be entertained, you'll like the movie. It's not a best picture of the year, but it worked for me. Which may not say much! But, I'd watch it again when it comes out on video.

And isn't that what the movie business is all about, repeat viewing?

I thought that I would post this last picture to show that Sly is still cut! The guy's getting up there, and he still looks like this! OK, so the Australian customs dept would say that it is due to illegal (in 'Oz) steroid use, but he is still cut and pulled off, successfully, another Rocky movie.

Good on ya Sly, you've got a friend, and fan, in me!

Fasting

Well, today is the 6th day of the Baha'i Fast. There is a total of 19 days. Day 6 is today. No food/water between sunrise (6:40am ish) and sunset (7:25pm ish). I am now over my caffeine addiction, but don't worry, as soon as the Fast is over, I guarantee that I will be addicted again by the end of the first week I am allowed to have food in the presence of the sun. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't have a perma-headache all day. Pretty happy about that, and I still don't have one now. I try to make my coffee addiction a genuine medical condition, ie coffee as a substitute for panadol (the Australian equivalent of something like double extra strength, muscle bound tylenol). There's a reason you don't get Panadol in Canada, or at least you didn't when I was there.

So now that the headaches are gone, the Fast has become a whole lot easier on me!! Honestly though, so far, this has been the hardest Fast I've ever had to do. Don't really know why though. It's supposed to be a time of spiritual growth where you think about why you are fasting etc... and the whole the body is a temple for the soul not the ruler of it and I'm sure you've all heard that before... even if the actual ramifications of that haven't been thoroughly thought out before. It's a lot easier to fast than it is to diet though. Some people in my office, well one in particular hasn't quite fully understood that so she'll hide her food from me when she's eating because she thinks I'll steal it, no, I'm joking, she just thinks that it's mean for her to eat around me when I can't join in! She's a lovely woman though, and brings a smile to my. So Vera, love ya dearly! Although she never reads this... I bitch about work too much sometime to actually let the people at work know this exists!!! Gotta protect the job that I don't seem to be getting paid for doing.

It all comes down to motivation. Dieting, or watching you diet... actively, not just watching the chocolate cake disapearing from the plate in front of you, but chosing health vs other, is not easy. But fasting for religious purposes. That's a whole different story. You are not eating because God asked it of you. And if you are religious, than you believe that that carries more weight than you ever possibly could. So you do. But not unquestioningly. You should always question things. We were given logic and freethinking as a blessing so as not to be fooled by "false prophets" etc and to learn about and understand who and what we are, our environment etc.... and I drone on and on and on and on and on and on and on.... when will he shut up.... why does he do this all the time? but why can't I seem to stop reading, something about it just lures me into this stupor where I can't seem to turn away from his gibbering gibberish about things that I already know... but then he's family, and I'll support him because that what family does now what is he rambling on about again... It's like how the other day I was given a book by a guy at the train station for a small donation of 70 cents (all I had on me). I read the book and learned that I had just had my first experience with a cult. The Jesus Christians. I read the novel, called Survivors, because I was curious about what it said and I'll write more about that later and devote a whole post on it so that you can chose not to read it because it looks like you're falling asleep.

bye.

Touching base

Well, fortunately for everyone out there, I don't really have anything to say today. I just thought that I would drop a line to my loyal fan base and let them know that I am still here.

Hi.

Been pretty busy lately, lecturing on Egyptian mythology etc. Trying to get a project up and running with 2 separate collaborators who are busy doing there own thing, and I require them to train me in some new tricks. Not a fun job. Sounds good on paper. In practice, it's not.

Getting paid: Since starting in January, after being offered employment here in late Sept, I am still not hired properly, and this means that EVERY BLOODY Thursday but one, I have spent the day trying to find out why I haven't been paid. Today is no different. Except that I cant' even get in touch with the people I need to because they are moving to a new building today!! The curses going through my head are making me dizzy. Let me tell you... No, I better not.

So ya, I've better ones. Better days, weeks, months now...

What good can I tell you.. Like they do on TV news, where they always tell you that thousands have perished in a freak and particularly gruesome boating accident in which oddly enough, ONLY mothers and children perished (ie the bad news) before ending the story with an up-beat cheerful tone, happily saying that on the upside, there are now a lot more eligible bachelors for all those single ladies looking for Mr. Right! Or that a kitten that was trapped in a tree was inadvertently rescued by the boat accident once the boat finally came to a halt in the middle of the park just far enough away so that the cat could jump over to it and then on to the safety of its owner who was anxiously praying to God to save her poor cat from being stuck in a tree....

My good news..... oh ya, we bought a Nintendo Wii!!! Yay for me! Me and Bec are not addicts, but we do play it together, tennis, etc. But now that we have enough controlers (the Nunchuck bit took forever to come in), I think tonight we will play boxing. The only legal was to beat up you wife!!! Or, to beat up your husband.... Only time will tell which way this battle of the titans will end.

Anyway, I should go and continue being bored today. I kind of refuse to work today because I am .... upset ... that I am still having to fight accounts for every penny I end up giving to the bank, phone company, electricity company, water people, gas station attendant, grocery store, chinese mafia, train station guy who gives me my ticket, and city council, not to mention all the others who make me poor.

Thanks. Thanks alot.

Keep smiling though....

Egypt and Australia

Well, this weekend me and family drove up to Canberra (capital of Australia). We went there because I wanted to see the Egyptian antiquities on display at the National Gallery, on loan from the Louvre.

Being from the Louvre, it is needless to say that is was pretty impressive.

Probably one of my highlights was this sarcophagus they had from a woman. It was made out of stone, and the inscriptions were immaculate. Writing all over the very top (outside), the sides, on the bottom, and even inside of it. THere were inscriptions invoking the various gods etc and they were drawn to perfection. I tried for some time to get a good pic from Google of one at least similar, but I came up empty on that front. We weren't allowed to use cameras so I couldn't take any pics either... Sorry. There was at least one that was similar to the one above, made of wook and painted beautifully. They were also quite impressive...

This one I thought was pretty impressive, it is from the Book Of The Dead, which many scrolls were on display. This, as I was eavesdropping on someone who apparently knew what he was talking about, is a picture of a "guy" who had died (the man in the middle, facing right, next to the scales). His heart is being weighed on the balance, and if it is "pure" it will of exactly the same weight as the "thing" on the other side, which represents ... goodness I guess. I was eaves dropping, come on give me a break and I was carrying Alex, who was bored by this point.

Annnnyyywaay... If his heart was pure, then he goes to heaven and lives out his days, while dead, in happiness. If his heart does not balance equally, then the god doing the weighing there lets the dog-like-actually-multi-animal-parted-thingamabob devour him. So the guy ends up dead ... again... but sent to a hellish place where he becomes surrounded by hordes of swine and foul, and there are no 40 vestigial virgins but instead 40 morbidly obese, hungry men and the god of the underworld instills fear into his very being by first marinating him in a rather tasty honey-soy sauce before dressing him in succulent pork chops, bacon, Krispy Kreme donuts, and Big Macs. Unfortunately, it doesn't end there for him though. As you can see from the picture, he's a rather skinny man, likely able to run faster than the 40 morbidly obese, hungry men who will be chasing him to eat him, the tears of fear he sheds are no longer the tears of mortal men, for he is dead and in hell, so they are in stead Kool Aid. Cherry flavour. But a little too diluted in flavour. This is probably the most (well 2nd most) evil part of ancient Egyptian mythology. Normally, a skinny man can run faster than these obese men. And this holds true in hell. BUT, the hungry obese men DRINK the flowing tears of fear from the man, and they get both energy from the high sugar content, so they can run for longer, and after time, faster, but also they get angry because of the diluted cherry flavour.

Eventually, they catch the man, thus ending the chasing phase of hell. The pursuit takes years and years, and years, but through constant running and drinking diluted Kool aid, thus fueling their anger even more, but quenching their need for drink, the obese men become not so obese. The man cries more, producing more Kool Aid, and creating more anger in his pursuants.

And here's where it becomes really bad for the guy. In ancient Egypt, they didn't know that being morbidly obese was bad, so the recently obese men want to become obese again. And when they catch the man, the tears are no longer diluted Kool Aid, but the tears become gravy. The recently obese men then go into a feeding frenzy and eat from the man, all at the same time, his constantly replenishing supply of now gravy covered pork chops, bacon, Big Macs and Donuts.

This feasting stage, as with the chasing stage, lasts several years. Until the recently obese men are no longer recently obese, but presently obese men. This is a transition phase of Egyptian hell, as the man (who died) realizes that he can finally escape the grasps of the presently obese men.

Once successful, he runs. Thus beginning the chasing phase of hell again. This cycle continues for an eternity...cycling between the chasing and feasting stages.....

I was eaves dropping on the guy, and I 'm pretty sure that's what he said.

ummmm..

I just can't think of a title....

So I know that you are all wondering what I have been doing with my bad self. All right, I'm not really but, how about, my lame self... Not as nice a ring, but probably more true!! Well, I have been riding the trains around Sydney alot. I am now working at two different locations, one at Westmead Hospital where I did my PhD, and the rest of the time at the Garven Institute for Medical Research. The main difference between the two is that the Garven is private, whereas Westmead Hospital is public. Just click on each respective link to see which one looks better!! The Garven is beautiful on the inside, very well maintained, great coffee machines, and a nice feeling to it, whereas Westmead Hospital is a politcal entity unto itself. I should probably watch what I say, so... it is a good place to work as it is really big with a lot of expertise (sp?) but the papers and forms and blah blah blah, but the CEOs etc are here to promote health care, which is a fair call, it being a hospital, but they put alot of undue stress on research where we have to constantly fight for our lab space for fear of it being taken over by general office space...

A sad tale of woe this is... A sad tale indeed....

But the project is pretty good though, and it is probably the only remaining reason why I am still in Australia. I will be testing a new treatment (cure?) for diabetes. Can't go into detail as I don't want any of you buggers to steal the idea and publish it before me, but it the idea makes sense and may just work. At least in preliminary stages which is all I (reasonably) hope to accomplish this year, as I have to get the whole project up and running from scratch. In short, I am learning a lot of new tricks this year to take with me wherever I go next year.


Anyway though, I just thought that I would check in, say hey, and show a pic of where I am working part of the time. Just so you can be envious of me, if I wanted to walk a little way (45 min or so), I can get to the Sydney Opera House... How cool is that! I still think that it is such a beautiful building that pictures do not do justice to.

Well, I should run now.

Happy Birthday again

Ya, I know, another birthday post! But this is not my birthday. I just thought that I would wish my brother Chris a happy birthday. So Happy Birthday Chris!!! With a smile on my face in the good ol' older brother kind-of-way (ie lovingly): When I see you in my next life, I'm going to kick your a$$, just like when we were little! Ahh the memories.... You left too soon, have missed alot and are missed are even more. But I will always smile at your memory... Remember the apple fight with Jason and Jeremy out in Gavelton.... Got ya good that time! I probably never told you how much I enjoyed playing baseball with you in little-league, when our coaches wanted me to become a pitcher, but I sucked, and then we found out that were surprisingly good at it! I enjoyed being the catcher most when you were pitching...

Also remember that time you called me when I was in Victoria, BC? That was a really good phone call. Surprised the hell out of me, but it was a nice call... Thanks.

Look, I'm not going to drag this on... But happy birthday. You would have been 29 today instead of the immortal you are now. Chris was born 1 year and 3 days after me, so close that at least for me, my entire childhood life was intimately linked with him, just not my adult life. Thus the need for the aforementioned kick in the a$$. Also, I really would have liked for you to have met Rebecca, Alex, and Madison. But I guess that meeting will have to wait.

Geez, I'm ... blanking. Too much and too little to say. Guess that's part of why I can't seem to sign your guest book despite numerous failed attempts eh?

Happy Birthday Chris.
(Feb 2, 1978 - much too soon)

Happy birthday to me.....

Well, as many of you already know, I turned 30 on the 30th! How did I celebrate you might ask... Basically with alot of tears. No... If I had nothing to show for my life, I might be a bit upset, but I have a beautiful wife whom I love, 2 beautiful children, our own house over our head, and I am a hair's breath away from being a Dr. So what do I have to be sad about! Exactly my friends... exactly....

So, on the weekend, me and Becs went out for a lovely sea food dinner. There was heaps! Lobter mornay (not as good as Atlantic lobster, but I wouldn't be spitting it out), oysters, and an array of others. The end result though, completely full of sea food!!!

Ahhh, the oft misunderstood pleasures of glutony. So, that was the weekend, on my actual birthday, because it was too bloody hot here, we didn't cook supper but went out to a restaurant here in Campbelltown (bogun central of Sydney) and enjoyed a nice meal of Atlantic salmon (ya, still carrying over the seafood craze!) Rebecca had a steak which I must say tasted infinitely better than my meal... Ah well... The picture above is of the cake that Bec and Alex made for me earlier that day. It's a carot and banana cake (of note, banana's are no longer $11 / kg as new crops have grown lowering the price considerably, allowing those just above the poverty line to eat banana's again!!! YAY!!!)

A good cake it was, with the big "30" lit up in front of me and my kids. It was nice. Madison now smiles at me, and Alex can be such a good kid. Not on that night though. wouldn't listen to a word we said. But he was great while we were blowing out the candles.

This is a pic of my beloved SG. It has been sitting in its case since December 23 under my bed waiting for my birthday so I could open it and give it some lovin'. If only I was better at guitar!!! It feels great though. Plays beautifully. And most importantly, makes me smile.

About the "mistake" post of a little while ago... no details will be given, I wish I had only eaten something bad... But it is mostly work related..... No more will I dwell as I don't want to rant about work anymore.... at least to my devoted audience who don't want to hear me bitch and complain!!!!

Well, I should get to bed, it's 1 am, I have to leave the house by 6:45am to get to work by around 9am very close to King's Cross in Sydney... Google it, and you may find out the ... colourful aspects of that area... like the famed injection room, or the fact that about every 4th shop is NOT an "Adult" oriented shop, but a cigarette shop or a McDonalds! Caught me off guard when I noticed it myself!!!

Anyway, good night my friends, and wish me luck on my Animal ethics etc course / test that I will be taking tomorrow morning!

Cheerio!

Australian Open Final!

Well, it's the last day of the Australian Open tennis... The only tournament (tennis) that I actually watch. It's been a great tournament, and I have had the great pleasure of watching several great matches....including several of F. Gonzalez (sp?) and one with Roger Federer. Both are on fire and destroying everyone in their way. I was originaly going for Marat Safin because he's enjoyable to watch, and he beat Federer in the Oz Open 2 years ago, but Safin was beaten by Andy Roddick, whom I switched allegiances to following that match, but the Roddick was uttelry and completely destroyed by Federer. I also got to watch Serena Williams beat the world No 1 Maria Sharapova like "she stole somethin'." So it looks like this William's sister has returned as a threat. She was unstoppable. Not a great game to watch though, as I like when it's a bit closer though, and I don't really follow women's tennis much.. Sorry ladies.

But tonight might be a good match. Federer (shown above) is generally boring to watch as he's so perfect in almost every shot he makes, shows little emotion while playing
... Gonzalez (shown below) is playing exceptionally well this tournament and making some amazing shots. So hopefully, he won't get lost in awe at playing Federer and put up a decent challenge. I would like to see Federer sweat a little and maybe lose at least a set.

My prediction is, I guess, Federer in 4. I'm not really going for either of them, as it would be nice for Federer to further his name in the record books as having won the most blah blah blahs consecutively, but it would be nice to see an up-and-commer beat him at such a crucial match as a final to a Grand Slam tournament.... I really just want to watch a good game.
How boring am I !!

A mistake

Ever wonder if you just made a mistake... At least it's only one year. One year my friend... One year. I think it'll help to have a well-defined end point here. One year. The God's have aligned several things up to make me think that I am right. The one time I ignored my stomach. For the many of you that don't know, I trust my stomach implicitly in all matters of everything. If it feels right with a decision, I take that road. It has been right 5 out 5 times with respect to babies being born in the family. And on many other occurances too numerous to mention. But this one decision, I ignored it for some reason. I think logic and my tummy disagreed, and I followed logic....

Damn hindsight.

Damn it to the depths of the abyss.

From now on, listen to stomach. How can something that tells me to eat be wrong? Exactly....

One more year...

one (is the loneliest number...)

1.

He's a very, very lucky man

I just thought that I would mention this as it's bloody amazing!! This 41 yo old guy from southern NSW (Australia) got bitten by a shark, head first. He was diving about 30ft below the surface, and then it went dark and then he felt himself being shaken. That's about when he realized he was being eaten by a shark. This is where it gets impressive... The shark had his head, one arm, and part of his chest area in its mouth, leaving one arm "free", with which, he poked the shark in the eye! It then spat him out, and he lived with only a broken nose, and some pretty bad cuts!

Apparently his thought as he was going to the surface was that he hoped his face wasn't too disfigured to scare his son who was at the surface.

Champion.

I don't drink, but I reckon if I ever saw him in a bar or something, I'd buy him a drink.

Songs written by me

I will update this page whenever I have another song to post... There is also a link on the side bar to this page. But I will put a note in my "daily" bloggings when there is another song added here. I just thought that it might make it easier for me (and you) to find these if there placed together....

A brief intro to these songs though... They are all written by me, unless otherwise noted. I play each instrument you hear, do the backing vocals etc. I record under the name "Karass" and my "future" recording company will be called A.W.E. records.

This page pretty much has Baha'i songs on it. Or at least Baha'i influenced songs. The first two are kind of obviously so, and "A Song For April" is more me dealing with death through a Baha'i perspective.

Anyway though, I hope you don't mind them...

O God My God

This is simply a prayer put to music that I wrote a while ago now. Enjoy..



Desire

This song is kind of self explanatory upon listening to it...





A Song for April

This song has a bit more personal meaning... I thought that I might post some lyrics for this bit, see below the song...




A Song for April
Karass

Verse 1
I watch the nights come in, my way to see your eyes.
You left us here but I will not take the blame anymore. Anymore.

I remember how we were, how we were when we were young.
We laughed, we fought, we cried together. But not this time. Not this time.

Chorus
I washed my hands from all this guilt I'll take what's good and I'll hold it close.
Consequences can kill but I will not, ask what if anymore. Anymore.

Verse 2
It makes no sense but who am I? To question the wisdom that must lie inside.
I sit alone and I cry. I cried for you, I cried for you, I cried myself till I couldn't cry anymore. Anymore.

Chorus

Outro
I will not forget. The finer points of you. The subtle points of view. Despite the life that took you down, the other is the one that's lifted high.

I still hold you close to me, the memory of you and me till the day I said goodbye. goodbye…

How's this for fun?

Holy, I just stumbled onto this link, and MAN!!! It looks bloody fun / scary.... Bungie jumping... kind of, but horizontally!

Click here for a good laugh.

Reason #2

Well, it's been a little while since I posted something of this nature (date-wise, not post number wise!), so I thought that I would post a little bit on probably one of the biggest reasons why I am a Báhá'í: Progressive Revelation. (Previous post on "Why I'm a Baha'i" : agreement between science and religion and this one).

This is actually a large topic, probably controversial in many orthodox faiths, but to me it seems so obviously correct. My disclaimer though is that these are my interpretations of the Baha'i perspective on this topic. While they are probably shared with someone else, no one else should be cursed or otherwise for this post. It's mine, and I take full responsibility. Blah blah blah (pause) blahblah blah blah, as Charlie Brown's teacher would have said.

Anyway though…. I guess to set the stage let's think about school. No even better, I'll start with my 4 year old son, Alex. He is and has been learning to count and recognize numbers for a little while now. The reasons for this are obvious, but to spell them out, so he can function in society, do math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and taxes of course. But there is no way that Alex will learn any of this unless he first learns about numbers.

Once he learns about numbers in general, he can then advance himself and learn addition and
subtraction… Then he can progressively advance into multiplication and division, and then progress further and learn about algebra, calculus, fractals, etc… You get the idea.

You learn "a" to get to "b."

(above: simple addition; below; insane fractal math)

So, in religious contexts, I will use the example of Abraham. (This

will be simplistic as I don't want to get bogged down in semantics) Abraham is credited with the birth of monotheism (belief in one God). This is evidenced in Genesis (Old Testament) and also (from memory, I should have referenced this, if you want it, ask and I will work to produce) the teachings of Christ who heaped praise upon Abraham and also in Islamic teachings. So, before Abraham, you have belief in many "Gods," after Abraham, one God. This has been the foundation to all subsequent Abrahamic religions, from Jewish, Christianity, Islam, and Báhá'í. Each subsequent religion has this as its central theme which was required to be layed down and understood prior to other the acceptance of other spiritual teachings.

While there are other examples I'm not going to go in detail over them… If you are Christian, I'm sure you recognize some on your own in your reading of the Old and New Testament, and if you're Islam, I'm sure you're well versed on how Islam has been built up from the teachings of Abraham by Mohammad.

Anyway though, I believe that God acts in a similar manner that the education system works (simplistically put). God starts by teaching us about "a" and then when we're ready teaches us about "b." How would it have been taken if Abraham taught that men and women were equal? This is a relatively new concept in terms of religious enlightenment that has only really taken off over the last few years. We weren't ready for this, and couldn't handle it at the time of Abraham. So what I'm slowly getting at is that God has sent us prophets (or Manifestations) at various time points throughout mankind's spiritual growth, and will continue to do so, with each successive Manifestation both confirming the previous prophet, and building upon Their predecessor's teachings.

I stated earlier that this topic is a bit controversial...and this comes in because as a requisite for progressive revelation, is that God has sent, and will continue to send Manifestations to mankind to build upon the teachings of the previous Prophet. Controversial bit: Each Manifestation has told of Their return, or the coming of Another. The Hebrews awaited Moses, the Jews are waiting, Christians are waiting, Islam is waiting, and Báhá'í's are waiting. The definition of what they are waiting for though is the subject of controversy. I am only really familiar with Christian prophesy, so I will have to rely on that though. Sorry. Christians are awaiting "Judgement Day" when Christ will come out of the clouds and judge all mankind. So some Christians are awaiting this as a literal occurance. Some have read in the Bible that He "will come like a thief in the night," and have taken the "clouds" eg above to be more figurative in nature, possibly when the path to God has become "clouded." And Islam refers to Mohammad as the "Seal of the Prophets" to mean that He was the last Prophet of God, when it might mean something entirely different… like maybe He was the last Prophet to be sent to a specific people, and the following Manifestation will be sent all the people of the world. Anyway though. This is where the controversy arises. Christians believe that Christ is the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament whereas the Jewish people are still awaiting His arrival. And Christians are awaiting the return of Jesus, and Islam is awaiting the arrival of the Qa'im whereas I believe the Voice of Jesus (ie God) has already returned in the voice of Baha'u'llah, and the Qa'im has also appeared in Baha'u'llah, as they both are awaiting the arrival of the next Godly Manifestation and are looking for various signs; signs which are open to various interpretations. The Words of God have innumerable meanings, and it's entirely possible that currently accepted literal meanings may actually require non-literal interpretations, possibly of a spiritual nature.

As a Báhá'í, it's obvious that I believe that Baha'u'llah is the Manifestation and has brought forth the Word of God for this time in mankind's development. And I openly challenge anyone employing logic, openness to alternate possibilities, while avoiding superstition, tradition, and hear-say, to prove this wrong. (Investigate with a clear slate).

As an interesting side note, as Báhá'ís, we are told that there will not be another Manifestation appear for 1000 years, and even with this seemingly clear time point, the next Manifestation will be persecuted very heavily, just as all previous Abrahamic Manifestations have been….

I should probably finish this now… But I hope you've enjoyed the read.

a few little things I like

I just thought that I would post a few spots on the net that make me laugh, or kill boredom....

This one is called PUKI. It's a Java game that you play on the net, and you kill little cuddly aliens that have taken over your ship. Simple controls, simple premise, good ol' fashioned alien killin'. What more could you want?

This one is called A4 Paper cut. It's a site showing a heap of different things this guy has done with paper. While utterly impressive, it does make you wonder if this guy simply has too much time on his hands... How do you find out you love to do this? Too bored in class one day, hmmm I think I'll make a bird in a cage out of paper. The works are really impressive though...

Another thing I like, is the "Stumble upon" toolbar. I use Firefox as my webrowser and it lets you add heaps of extra features and toolbars etc (extensions)... One of them is the stumble upon toolbar. A minute or less set up time and your ready to go... Jut hit the button and it will take you to a random web-site (criteria is selected by you during the VERY brief set-up process).
If you're not using it, I'm sorry for you.

Let's not forget the Parasite Pals Super Fun Site! Thanks to this site, Alex (4 y/o son) always washes his hands for fear of getting worms because of this video!!! It works, it's funny and I laugh!

This one's also brought a smile to my face. the "How to speak Hip Buddha"...

Well, since I'm at work, I'll only post one more link... It's an Intellivison site where you can get ald Intellivision games like Astrosmash!!! I loved that game when I was a kid..... Ah the memories...

Well I shoud run as I have real non-student work to do!

Bye bye

It's been a while...

Ya, it's been a while but I'm sure I'll be forgiven, or forgotten.... I'm sure that it's one of the two... Just not sure which one!!!

I hope that you all had a nice and relaxing Christmas.... Mine was nice... The birth of a healthy baby is always a nice addition, especially when she was planned!!! Alex (4yr old son) loves Christmas... He was a bit of a Santa stalker and whenever we went to the shops, he always wanted to see each one that was there.... There are usually a few per shopping centre (mall), one for the main mall, and then maybe another one hiding in the larger department stores.... He also loved the Christmas lights and wanted to go out for hours and hours looking for them....

As gifts, Alex was blessed with a fairly large electric race track... One that Santa didn't really consider where it would actually go once the living room was deemed unsuitable for its home.... He got some other things as well, and I think that Bec has posted some of the pics a little while ago... I don't have them on my laptop yet, but I may post them yet....

A little while ago, me and Bec learned that we had to teach ALex a little about tact.... and that it's not really a great thing to advertise the fact that you have ..... gas..... He has a stinky behind. That much must be said up front for any of the rest to be of use... So.. we realize we have a problem when I'm walking with Alex and then out of the blue he says... "Smell that!" At first, we didn't know what he was talking about, but then we soon found out.... So we had to teach him that that was rude... and stinky.

So than on the way home from visiting Rebecca's parents down the coast last week, I was driving, and we've been having far too much car trouble lately, to the point where we weren't sure the car woudl make the 3.5 hr trip, something really stinky hit my nose and I thought the car was dying... So I voiced my disgust for the smell, and then Alex started laughing!!!! So, I guess it wasn't the car. Thanks Alex. Well, I guess we'll have to work a little harder on him.... We're really still trying to get the "Don't yell out that you've "fluffed" in public" thing down first.... and then work go from there....

ANyway, I start work on Monday, real work... no more of this student crap, and I will also try to start posting more regularly... I think that was more to myself than to anyone else....

Cheerio.

Problems in Egypt

This will definitely be the last post prior to Christmas. Mainly because I am appalled at the Egyptian government's decision to not allow Baha'is to possess the required citizen ID cards simply because they are Baha'is. They have to say that they are either Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. A few court cases have ensured this at this point. Baha'is are not even allowed to have a space on the card labelled "Other".

This is a very significant matter of concern as every Egyptian is required by law to have one of these ID cards, and the ID card must be correct in all aspects, so by this simple definition, a Baha'i must not be able to an Egyptian citizen...

Meaning, "Without such documentation, they cannot register births or receive essential government services such as health and education. Additionally, they cannot apply for jobs, buy property, open bank accounts, or register their children in school."

this means Baha'is have no access to health care, education

One blogs report on this issue is here.

Another news article states that, "The court's decision upholds government policy that denies Baha'is the right to receive identification cards, birth certificates, education and even medical care, unless they lie about their religious beliefs".

This article appears to be well researched as they seem to understand the conflict between Islam and Baha'i, "The main conflict between Muslims and Bahais is in the idea that Mohammed is not the final prophet of god, which has led to Muslims distrusting Bahais." Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah is the manifestation of God for this age, but He will not be the last as God would never leave his children without guidance.

And one final news article which I must disclaim before as it states that the Baha'i Faith is an "offshoot" of Islam, which is incorrect. The Baha'i Faith is an offshoot of Islam in the same way that Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism. All four of the religions are complete and not offshoots, nor sects, nor 'isms.

If you have questions or anything, please do not hesitate to ask, or please click on this link. to learn what the Baha'i Faith is if you don't know anything, or you would like to know more.

Anyway, I thought that I would let people know that despite living in a so-called civilized age, ignorance and fear still drives policy.

One last post (maybe) before Christmas

Hello there everyone,

I thought that I might try to do one last post before Christmas falls upon us! I'd like to do another one, but can't be too sure on that as there's only a few days until.

Formalities: Baby, Bec and Alex are all doing well, Madison vomits more than I like, and I have gotten peed and pooed on more than I would like.... Much more than I would like. One night, I had to change all of my clothes (except undies, but including socks) because a fountain of poo rained on me. Bec laughed her eye off, I joined in as well because it was pretty funny... Late at night, changing a diaper, and then getting rained on.... Alex is being a bit naughty, but he'll get better...

Anyway though, this is another song that I wrote a while ago... The subject matter will become apparent upon listening to it, so I'm not really going to go into detail about it. Alright, you twisted my arm.... I wrote it shortly after my brother Christopher Ryan Amon died due to drug related issues which the whole family knew about. This foreknowledge leads invariably to guilt, like what could I have done, why didn't I do this or that, why didn't I..... the list goes on. Although I was (and am) in Australia, and he was in Canada, I still had guilt... Guilt knows no borders. The song is obviously from my perspective, being his older brother by 1 year and a few days, so we grew up together, and fought like cats and dogs, but we were still brothers and loved eachother as such. The song is a release from guilt, and comes from a Baha'i perspective of life and death (untimely).

It's a simple song, simple chords, no real hidden meanings as I'm not that clever to work in things like that, and I wouldn't really bother.

And as much as I hate to add disclaimers to things like this... This is still a work in progress. I plan on adding drums and some lead guitar work, with a drum track being the hardest part for me, mainly because I'm not a drummer so I rely on my drum machine which I have to program correctly... It takes me a little while to get that down though.... I actually played this song with another guitarist and my younger brother Phil a few years ago, and it sounded heaps better with drums (thanks Phil).... And once I get my SG for my b-day, I'll use her to do the lead guitar work... It'll be subtle though because again, I'm not that good. A word of warning before you listen though, I haven't tested the song out much, so you may have to adjust your eq's if you can.... Hopefully it'll sound good though...

Ok, I'll stop minimizing my efforts... I think you'll find that this is probably the best song you'll ever hear in your entire life. The arrangement is nothing short of a work of art, and I am already up for a Grammy despite it being a work in progress..

I lie, obviously.

I must run now, but I hope you like it.


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!