The Partial Marshall's Web Site
Privately finances, builds & launches a spaceship, able to carry three people to 100 kilometers (62.5 miles)
Returns safely to Earth
Repeats the launch with the same ship within 2 weeks"
Here are the most recent changes to the site:
14th of January 2008: The Planet has spun around Sol for yet another year. Poetic, maybe, but nothing to do with the latest news about the Web Site: After much searching, judgement and hacking, themarshalls.tv has finally had a face lift. As always, if you don't like it, let us know. For those who like the old design, follow this link. 20th of November 2007: Yet another recipe has been added to the links page. The latest recipe is for Pasta Sauce. The topical link on the front page is now Stromlo Forest Park. The cross country circuit has been officially opened and both the running and mountain biking elements of the park are complete. 5th of November 2007: Today's new links relate to Nerd News. A person has built his own computer, based on garden variety TTL ICs. (Translated as: Transistor to Transistor Logic Integrated Circuits.) Very cool, if you are a Nerd who appreciates what has been created and how it has been done. The home made PC runs a tiny version of Linux called Minix Links for both the home brew computer and Minix have been put on the Linux Links page. 29th of October 2007: Apparently there was another 24hr MTB race in Canberra on the weekend. Just joking, the Majura race was freakin' huge, but yours truly did not ride or participate.(sadly) Reports were that the event was lots of arse-pounding fun, if arse-pounding is your cup of tea. Anyhow, while looking for event photos, we stumbled across Bike Radar and duly added it to the links page. 26th of October 2007: Another recipe has been posted on these pages. The new recipe is for Pavlova. 17th of October 2007: The 2007 24hr bike race is "done and dusted". The results are up. The sportograf people have an initial release of "best of" photos of the event on their website. 12th of October 2007: The Flaccid Roosters Team can be found, using Google Earth, here. Otherwise, the co-ordinates are: 35°19'5.87"S 149° 1'11.84"E (These work in Google Maps) Drop in and say hello. 10th of October 2007: Took out the Dictionary.com bizzo on this page, because it breaks antique browsers. (IE4 & 5) 8th of October 2007: Errrr... Nothing is news if it does not relate to this weekend's 24 hour MTB Race. 5 more big sleeps. Trying to impress that there will be a spectacle on Mount Stromlo on Saturday and Sunday is lost on most people, especially if they haven't seen how Kowen Forest was transformed in October of the past 4 years. Come to Mt Stromlo at any time over the 24 hour period. (from Saturday morning to midday on Sunday. Don't bother coming on Sunday afternoon, though, because it will be all over.) Bring your camera, bring the kids and enjoy the sports carnival atmosphere with thousands of people. Or provide some nonsense excuse and sit at home and miss it all... By the way, when the time comes, a link to the Google Earth position of our campsite will be added here on Friday night, so you can find us and say hello to "The Flaccid Roosters" Pairs Team. 1st of October 2007: Given the 2007 Scott is less than 2 weeks away, I have added some more MTB riding tips to add to those collected for last years race. Check out the details under the "The Marshalls" heading on the links page. 14th of September 2007: The soccer photos have been taken off the site. If you still want a copy, send us an email. 9th of September 2007: As promised, the Weston Creek Under 18 Division 3 photos have been posted on the web site. Were here. 3rd of September 2007: A new running link has been added to the Running & Fitness section of the Links page. 30th of August 2007: Repaired the link for Gibson Research on the Linux Links page. This link assists one to test the vulnerability of their firewall. This is especially important for the 90% of people out there who run Windows at home. All Windows machines connected to the internet are susceptible to attack. 28th of August 2007: Tonight there will be a full lunar eclipse. Sadly for those in the Africa and Europe and parts of Western Asia, you will miss out. The place to be is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as the Date Line appears to run right through the centre of the best bits. For all of the scientific details, check out the NASA Lunar Eclipse web page. The August 28th, 2007 lunar eclipse link features on the front page of our web site. 24th of August 2007: The risotto recipe has been posted to the Recipe portion of the Links page. 18th of August 2007: Linux is so much about the user community and the contribution of individuals. To that end, today's link inclusion is user groups, and the start of a list of indigenous and global Linux user groups. 12th of August 2007: We are not environmentalists. Actually, we have a theory about neo-anarchical tree huggers and weak governments whose confluence sees destruction affecting ordinary folk's lives, like those Canberrans who have had their lives turned upside down by the 2003 Bushfires. Having said that, we can see the effects of introduced flora and fauna and can act to inform others on what to do about these invaders. Specifically, the nefarious habits of the Indian Myna bird. The links that have been added to the links page, under the new "The Environment" heading list some Myna bird pages, with a view to trapping and "euthanasing" the little blighters. 10th of August 2007: What is the future for the motor car? Is the way forward the model built by the South Americans with ethanol? Or is it what NASA is doing with a fleet of BMW 7 Series cars, running them on the same liquid hydrogen as used in the Space Shuttle?. Overcoming hurdles, like storing the hydrogen at minus 253 degrees Celsius, they have been able to run a hybrid petrol/liquid hydrogen set up successfully. See the finer details here. Otherwise, the rest of us can check out how mere mortals can make hydrogen fuel to power our converted cars in the Motoring section of the links page. Also slotted in some more Consumer Advocacy links. 3rd of August 2007: We are always trying to add stuff to the web site to enhance it's value to the regular or serendipitous visitor, albeit incrementally. Tonight's addition is another "Linux For Newbies" site. 31st of July 2007: Tonight is all about consumer protection and preventing people being ripped off. Based on a recent experience in Melbourne city when the female passenger of a cab arrived at the destination with a $20 note to pay for a $12 fare. The taxi driver says that he does not have $8 in change. The passenger offers to pay $10 for the fare if the driver has a $10 note. The driver says that he has no change. The negotiations continue until the driver threatens to take the passenger to the police for attempting to evade the fare. The passenger hands over the $20 and gets out of the taxi without getting any change. What do you do? In response, a new section called "Consumer Advocacy" has been added to the Links page. Another developing list of links. Also tried to tidy up the last entry's grammar. 15th of July 2007: Tonight's entry is a brain game that attempts to do what the SETI people use to analyse radio signals from outer space, except this site uses people's brain power. (Instead of spare computer CPU cycles) Follow the Galaxy Zoo link, on the links page, to help identify and catalog some images of galaxies and sundry celestial objects. Fabulously Irresistible Nerd Fun. 30th of June 2007: One or two more new links for the end of FY06-07. The first makes the most of the upcoming release of the next Harry Potter movie, Order of the Phoenix and (of course) the last Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows. The link for Muggle Net has been added. Lots of Harry Potter information and links, including discussion on the possible end of the series of books and the plight of Harry versus Voldemort. Also put in the link for RPM Find on the Linux Links page. Handy for those of us who run a variation of the Red Hat distro. 12th of June 2007: Today's addition to the Links page is probably a celebration of excess. What do you do when your standard mouse mat is just a little too ordinary? You buy a Mouse Rug! (Or someone buys you one for your birthday. Thanks, Trish.) The Mouse Rug is the Bees Knees of mouse mats. If you think the designs look cool on their web site, the "mousing surfaces" are just sumptuous when you use a Mouse Rug. Also fixed the Scott 24 Hour link on the Links page. The entries have been submitted and the countdown has started for this year's race: 122 days, 13 hours and 35 minutes to go! 26th of May 2007: The link to the Official AFL web site was buggered. It's all good now, but. Do you guys know the email address if something is stuffed on our web site? By the way, the powers that be have finally posted the information for this year's 2007 24 Hour MTB Race. Exciting, in that this year's race sees the event return to Mount Stromlo for the first time since the 2003 Bushfires. Go to the Bicycle Links on the Links page for all of the details. Note that entries open on the 1st of June! Very, very popular, too, if you intend on registering. 19th of May 2007: Today's effort is merely tinkering with the content. An online spell checker has been run against pages, like this one, and spelling mistakes have been corrected. Don't be afraid to email us and let us know if there are any glaring mistakes on these pages: We are not that proud. 5th of May 2007: Prices for petrol fluctuate lots. That is a given, due to the changes in the value of the Australian Dollar, the market prices for oil across different markets, the political changes within countries and regions, etc, etc, etc. However, if the price of fuel when you front up to the local petrol station's bowser does not appear to make sense, despite the influences cited above, then visit the FUELtrac to get some ideas about the decisions of the Australian oil companies. When the price at the pump increases by 8 cents a litre over night, then this site my be able to be able to provide answers why. Note that some of these answers FUELtrac provide are not free. 18th of April 2007: Concern has been raised about the currency of some of the links on the site. To address these concerns, dead links on the Linux Links page are being vigorously culled. Watch for more important developments as they arise. 17th of April 2007: One sagacious person once said: "You get what you pay for." When the reference item is given to you gratis then does "caveat emptor" apply? While one mulls over that conundrum, peer over to the left side of this page for today's addition: It is a Dictionary.com word of the day Flash widget. It may look a bit sucky, but it is "free". Marvel at the serendipity that has today's WOTD as "efficacious". How's the serendipity? 15th of April 2007: Nerd Alert! Nerd Alert! Today's addition to the Links page is sad if you think "Trekkies" as poor creatures without lives, whose existence is all about Star Trek and it's derivatives. Otherwise, the rest of us can enjoy the Star Trek Wiki, called "Memory Alpha". According to Wikipedia, Memory Alpha is: "an encyclopedic reference for topics related to the Star Trek fictional universe." Enjoy. 2nd of April 2007: The Big Story of today was the under sea earthquake and subsequent tsunami, west of the Solomon Islands. Remarkable that many Australians and their elected representatives sought refuge on higher ground, away from the seas and oceans. Natural disasters are odd things, insofar as what they do to otherwise rational people. Enough said there, sayeth "The Partial Marshalls". Given today's tumult, the link for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has been added to the links page. If you want less hyperbole and more facts (if the time is available) check out their site for the details of the tsunami potential on your Pacific beach. Also, the Oracle "Thinkquest" web site has been slotted in to the Education section of the Links page. Be ware: you have less than two weeks to get your entry in. Some trepidation in adding such a link to what could be viewed as just another filthy rich computer company's attempt at philanthropy. Jaundiced and very negative, but you must question their motives. The site may be pulled if it does not display any merit, given it's name. 30th of March 2007: Given the preponderance of American "English" dictionaries on the web, we have put a couple more of the anglicised versions in the References section of the Links page. The proper test of any English language dictionary is to discover it's version of the word "cheque". 22nd of March 2007: We have adjusted the Freecell link to it's new location. (.net instead of .com) 7th of March 2007: There are always new things happening in the world and as it is reflected on the Internet. Don't expect any of that crap to make it onto this site in a hurry, but. That said, however, two links have been added tonight: One astronomical and one running-related. Per Wikipedia (where else?), the Arecibo Observatory is "the largest single-aperture telescope ...ever to be constructed." Check out the details of the construction and the (very big) images of the site. (The standard warning about having dial-up applies...) Also added was the link to the "Creekipedia", given the Weston Creek Half Marathon is being run (or walked, for some) this weekend. Fond memories of walking the last few k's of last year and being asked by more than one, fitter and considerably older folk, if I was all right and if I wanted a lift back to the finish. How embarrassment! The probability of a recurrence, given the current fitness level, is high... Look for a fat, wheezing 40-something person this Sunday morning on the Western Canberra Bike Paths. 30th of January 2007: Minor tinkering, nothing spectacular... 15th of January 2007: Topical is the current visitor to the inner Solar System, Comet McNaught. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere (sucks to be us) that missed dinner to watch zip at sunset tonight, the consolation prize is dozens of photos from the folks in the other half of the World. In honour of the Comet's sojourn, the SpaceWeather link has been slotted into the Marshalls topical link possie on the front page. Otherwise, there are a few other scattered links added to the sight, all of which you will need to find for yourself. 7th of January 2007: Today's addition is a link to the emerging space tourism industry whereby ordinary people can fly into space. (To infinity and beyond.) Only if these people have squillions of dollars. 29th of December 2006: Today's addition is another entry in the Toys element of the Links page. 25th of December 2006: Today's entry is much like the last: I feel the need to apologise for not updating the pages in ages. Stiff. Get stuffed. No apologies today. Today's additions relate to buying PC hardware online in Australia. Not only is there a short list of online PC shops, but also a bunch of sites that compare prices between the PC hardware purveyors. Note that some of these site also sell other gear, not just PC H/W. 7th of December 2006: Wait for it... here is the gap:That is the HTML humour to cover for the fact that we have been slack. There has been a sizable gap between the last entry and today's. Nevertheless, today's entry is an attempt to start to list those *nix O/S producers that sell their product, as opposed to those who give it away for "free". The list is unashamedly put on the Linux Links page. (More Geek humour) 11th of November 2006: One of the oddest site names and purposes has been added to the site. A little like the Cat Poo Coffee site, it was hard to categorise. Perhaps the list of subject headings is a little restricted. Nevertheless, the link for the The Cloud Appreciation Society has been added to the site and the link slotted under the Science links. Also note that this one is a tricky one to type into the URL box in your browser, without stuffing it up. Much like many of the links, it is much easier to browse the Links lists and click on a name than try to remember long web addresses. Tonight's additions also include some HTML References that are borne out of frustration of creating web pages that don't render properly. They include both a color (sic) chart and a list of all of the characters you may want to use in your web design. (Like the degree symbol.)(°) Now all I need to find is the way render the letter "c" so it can be used for all of those Scottish names. 7th of November 2006: Due to the popularity of the Caramel Tarts on the weekend, the new Tart recipe has been posted with the other recipe. 6th of November 2006: As warned yesterday, more Linux & Unix related links will continue to be added to the Linux Links Page. Another general Unix link has been slotted in today. A bit of a warning on the Australian Colloquialisms: Some of the words, phrases and meanings are a bit blue. When I say "blue", I don't mean Rugby footballers and their pugilistic tendencies. I also don't mean a specific wavelength, either. I mean risqué or rude. You have been warned. 5th of November 2006: Some people regard education as a gift: Whenever you get educated, you must treasure it and make the most of it. However, if you combine this notion with the adage that "You get what you pay for", then there is a conundrum when one is offered free education. Otherwise, when it is forced on you, then how do you regard education? Puzzling... Notwithstanding all of this nonsense, I am starting to list ICT educational freebies, especially where it regards "*NIX" online training resources. Check out the links on the Linux links page. 4th of November 2006: I have started to add Australian Slang references to the Reference section of the Links page. Watch the selection grow as I add more. 31st of October 2006: For those who are a bit vague on the details of our infamous Cane Toad, I have put in a link to the Cane Toad movie web site. Herein, you will find another huge video file to download which details the life and times of the beast. Look for the link under "Humour". (For the blondes: Humour is listed between "Sport" and "Personal Pages" on the Links page.) As always, I have no sympathy if you can not afford broadband. (Unless you are a poor university student, making your way in a big city, a long way from your place of birth with scant funds from work and your miserable parents.) The Cane Toad movie (What happened to Baz?) is both funny and factual. Enjoy. To add some balance, the link to the ANU's online edition of the Australian Dictionary of Biography has been put in the Reference section of the Links page. Something for all kids of all ages to use as a resource for school projects. 16th of October 2006: Today's additions to the Links page are unashamedly to do with toys for boys. The Scott 24 organisers enlisted someone to make a movie about this year's Race. The result includes some very cool shots of a rider (who is presumably part of the Race) taking videos from a helmet mounted camera. Again, if you don't have broadband, it sucks to be you, because the file is 30 MB. The site for the West Australian company that sells the cameras has been added. The second link is the source of the movie: Farkin.net. Farkin is an Australian MTB site, which has (inexplicably) escaped being slotted into the Links page, all this time. 14th of October 2006: With the big dry that we are experiencing at the moment, the topical link on the front page of the web site has been changed to point at the Bureau of Meteorology web site. Statistically, the ACT (and the region) is supposed to be having it's wettest time of the year, this month. 13th of October 2006: The Scont results have been amended and they now reflect the 200km that Vaughn and Bryn rode last weekend. There is an account of the race from the Solo Rider's division winner (James Williamson) on the Scott 24 Hour web site that makes good reading. Much like a marathon in slow motion, it gives some insight into what goes through riders' minds during the race. Especially relevant are the effects of fatigue and lack of energy on a MTB rider in this sort of event. One of the reasons Vaughn deliberately chose to ride as dawn was breaking on the Sunday was for the pure psychological boost one gets at that time, as described by James Williamson. It is heartening to have the sun come up and warm the body and soul while you are pedalling around a mountain pine forest by yourself. (with 3000 other riders) The marathon parallels are appropriate when questions bounce around the Old Brain Box. Questions such as: WTF am I doing here? Who's [expletive] idea was this? Am I [expletive] there yet? The mental discipline is to clear these doubts and to deal with the task ahead. (If it works...) 9th of October 2006: Another CORC 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race has come and gone. Fabulous if you were there, sucks if you didn't make it and say hello. Thanks to all those who made the effort to come to the mountain, and check out the race, over the weekend. The race itself was hot and dusty. Not unusual to have a dusty race (as in 2003), but odd to be hot. A marked change to the sleet of 2005. I am guessing that there will be lots of MTBers coughing up Kowen dust for some weeks. The dust was an issue for everyone, not just the riders: There were still clouds of it around the camp site and on the course, much like a pea soup fog. Bandanas, surgical masks and hankies over mouths and noses was the go for those riders able to protect themselves. Note that there is a discrepancy (We apparently got "jipped") with the official version of events and what we actually rode, over the weekend. The Nigel and Austin Show rode 10 laps, and not 9. Regardless, The Team came 28th out of 31 of those that completed the Race for the "Marathon Pairs Male" class. Thanks again to the Team Helpers, Jan & Gryff, for their efforts over the weekend, especially when having to deal with tired, dirty and grumpy Team riders. According to the Team Timekeepers, the splits look like this:
| Lap Number | Rider | Time Out | Time In | Lap Time |
| 1 | Vaughn | 12:10:00 | 01:46:00 | 01:36:00 |
| 2 | Bryn | 01:48:00 | 03:21:00 | 01:33:00 |
| 3 | Vaughn | 03:25:00 | 05:07:00 | 01:42:00 |
| 4 | Bryn | 05:10:00 | 06:50:00 | 01:40:00 |
| 5 | Vaughn | 08:35:00 | 10:20:00 | 01:45:00 |
| 6 | Vaughn | 03:45:00 | 05:55:00 | 02:10:00 |
| 7 | Bryn | 05:55:00 | 07:55:00 | 02:00:00 |
| 8 | Vaughn | 08:25:00 | 10:05:00 | 01:40:00 |
| 9 | Bryn | 10:05:00 | 11:40:00 | 01:35:00 |
| 10 | Vaughn | 11:42:00 | 01:50:00 | 02:08:00 |
24th of June 2006: I am trying to include links, on the Links page,that reflect what Pay TV channels we regularly watch. Slotted in a few tonight.
21st of June 2006: Happy Solstice to you, where ever you are on the Globe. Depending on where that is, the sun will be in the sky for the shortest or longest time of the day. For us, here in the Antipodes, the sun will be very low in the northern sky and we will have the shortest day time for the year.
To celebrate the Solstice (sort of) I have put the "You Tube" site on the Links page under the Media/Entertainment heading. If you have broadband, you can spend lots of time here checking out the short videos people all over the world have posted. (Sucks if you don't have broadband)
12th of June 2006: It has been a couple of prodigious couple of days: God bless Her Majesty.
Another link has been added in the Reference section of the Links page: The Wikipedia, an online "free encyclopedia" has been slotted in.
11th of June 2006: I am not sure if this is proto-science or semi-science or pseudo-science, but the links to the MythBusters TV show and the Solar Death Ray have been added to the Science links.
Per the disclaimers on the Idiot Box: "kids, don't try this at home..."
9th of June 2006: What have been the excuses in the past for long periods without updating this site? Lots. [See below for the list of tripe] .
However, seeing the Soccer/Football World Cup is upon us, there is lots to remark, especially in a sporting sense.
Note also, there is less than a week until registration opens for the 2006 Mont. To prognosticate, I reckon it will be Huge this year. Longer course and more riders.
The commitment is for Father and Son to ride as a pair this year.
Check out the site for tips for XC cyclists of all abilities. Goodness knows, we will need them...
9th of May 2006: Subtle, and yet, wholesale changes made to the look of the page.
Like many web designers, we try to cater for all web browsers, not just the popular ones.
25th of April 2006: Nothing has been happening since the lead up to the Marathon.
For what it is worth, I can say I actually participated in a Marathon. I can't claim to have run the whole way, but. It was funny/pathetic turning up at the finish line, 5 hours and 36 minutes after the start, while everything is being packed up and many people had since left.
There is a lot to be said for running the race in a shorter time: Simply put, you are not out there for so long. This may be axiomatic for some, but the winners were back in Barton well before 10AM.
Thanks go out to my two training partners, Andy and Jan. Without their help and assistance, this posting would not be here.
More tidying up done tonight. Dead links culled, etc.
20th of March 2006: Lots of tidying up. Started with the Astronomical links. The dead links have been culled for this section. Much more to do.
I have also added a link to the official Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games web site.
13th of March 2006: Slotted in another Wikipedia entry. This one is for the mathematical nerds out there and is all about the maths of Fibonacci.
2nd of March 2006: Belatedly started adding links (well, just 1 link) tot he Renewable Energy section of the links page.
9th of February 2006: Slotted in the link for Phantom Cycles online bike shop site.
8th of February 2006: Topically, I have added running related links to the web site. With the Canberra Marathon only two months away (tomorrow) training is happening apace. (sorry)
It's a test of how long and how far one can run in one stretch. At the current 7 minute pace, the maths looks like this:
7 minutes per Km multiplied by 42.195Km equals 295.365 minutes
295.365 minutes divided by 60 equals 4.92275 hours [or 4:55]
This means running for about five hours.
6th of February 2006: Apparently we are two and a half years behind the times: What was NASDA, and other Japanese Space organisations, has now been reformed as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in 2003. This new group is also known as "JAXA". The Japanese language version is here. This has been rectified in the Space related links on the links page.
Also, continuing on with last night's addition of the CYC weather station link, Joe has pointed me to yet another weather site link. This site is a list of links, drawing on all of the DIY weather stations across the country. Credit goes to the effort these people have put into to get the real time data on the web.
Additionally, I have added the link for the Weston Creek Soccer Club, under the Sports links.
5th of February 2006: A local web site that has been brought to my attention, with thanks to Joe, is the Canberra Yacht Club weather station. In the words of Darrell Kerrigan, it has gone straight to the pool room, with the wrapper still on. Check it out in the Weather Watch element of the links page.
10th of January 2006: First hacks and slashes for 2006. A variety of additions.
30th of December 2005: Zip. Nothing. Zen zen desu.
A belated Happy Solstice for the 21st.
26th of November 2005: Did I mention that the Grog sites were cool? Much money is spent on the alcoholic beverage Internet sites. Check out the latest links. Just be aware that some of these sites require your country of origin and your birth date before you proceed.
15th of November 2005: Yet another Space link added. You can see the night sky live! This assumes that there is a night sky and the local light scatter, cloudy skies and full moons do not block the view. Apologies for the pessimism... (Star gazing, anyone?)
14th of November 2005: With deference to John and his Home Brew endeavours, I have started a new section on the Links page to these types of activities. I suspect it's content will grow as more information and links come.{BTW: It wasn't hard. The grog related sites are much like the car sites. There is much money spent on HTML.}
Nota Bene: On the 11th of this month (Rememberence Day, 2005. Which is not marked by any official recognition in some Government schools in the A.C.T...) the web site recorded it's 6 000th hit, in a two year time span. Remarkable.
12th of November 2005: Delicious nerd irony tonight: Google hosts a Microsoft search engine. This has been duly slotted into the NT Links section.
Note that, despite the shrink wrapped boxes saying "Windows 2000" or "Windows 2003", the core of the O/S is still NT. All you need to do is type in "ver" in a command prompt window...
8th of November 2005: For those struggling with maths at school, I have started to add mathematics links to the Education elements of the Links page.
For the Seppos: There is no word "mathematic", in The Language, ergo, the contraction is "maths". (But who goes to the doctor to perform a test, as if they were back in school again?)
7th of November 2005: Yet another Weather link added. Once you register with the Weatherzone site, there is lots of weather related information available. They also provide "weather buttons" for web pages. I stuck theirs in the Links page.
6th of November 2005: For the first time in a while, a dead link has been fixed: The Southern Sky Watch link has been re-discovered. Also lifted a link from the same web site which is awesome: Strictly for Nerds Eyes Only. Check out the latest NASA link on the Links page in the Space section.
3rd of November 2005: More bicycle links added this evening.
17th of October 2005: Adding and hacking today. Additions made to the Linux Resources links. Also, I will keep adding to the 2005 Mont Story. So much to tell.
Feasts and famine: The web site is like the strikingly unusual verdant country side, at the moment.
16th of October 2005: One of the tenets of this web site is to link to oft visited web sites. Ergo, the latest addition is somewhere that is visited every day. Look in the Miscellaneous section.
13th of October 2005: The ACTEWAGL webcam has been off the air. For some time it has been: "...offline due to maintenance."
To remedy this, another local webcam has been posted under the Weather Watch links. This web cam is on top of Mount Stromlo, looking South, towards Narrabundah Hill and Duffy. It is tracking the rebuilding of the ANU Astrophysics facilities, destroyed by the 2003 firestorm. Check out the fate of their previous web cam.
Again, I am looking after those poor saps who work with computers linked to the Internet but can not see what is happening in the outside world, due to the absence of windows.
Sadly, for the first time, I have found a web site worthy of posting on to the Links Page that does not have the Title HTML element inserted. This means I am unable to give it a proper title. Look for it under the latest cycling links.
12th of October 2005: With so much happening in the recent past and the 5 laps completed as a solo rider in The Mont, there is so much to tell. Instead of the pre-ride lead up, as posted in 2003, the plan is to reverse it and tell the story, after it happened. Notwithstanding the level of preparation that went into this year's Race, and, perhaps, the reason for these pages being neglected, there will be more time to tell all.
To that end, the cycling links will now grow to accommodate more that is new and relevant to bicycles. Check out the new entries.
30th of September 2005: Again, these pages have been neglected. Also, I lied. I have not updated these pages with the training gems. This will be fixed, but probably too late for most, given there is only seven days until the start of The Race.
23rd of September 2005: After an inordinate period of neglect, these pages are set to get used again. With the 2005 Mont pending, I am keen to post elements of the training research and related tips that have been gleaned from the Internet, on the web site. Important stuff like mixing jogging and riding to increase fitness: Whereby one activity complements the other and promotes overall well-being, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
The poignant thing about the last reference is that Yul Brenner died a horribly painful death from cigarette-induced lung cancer. Not an advertisement for health & happiness...
21st of July 2005: Something that NASA and othe space agencies have been doing for a while is building autonomous (or strictly, semi-autonomous) vehicles, for space exploration. The Defense (sic) Advanced Research Projects Agency has a competition to award $2 million to the person or people who manage to have their autonomous vehicle navigate a desert course within a specified time. The semi-finals for the competition are coming up at the end of September (does not conflict with the Footy Grand Final), with the Challenge final in early October.(Same weekend as the Mont)
By the way, (and on the subject of NASA...) for those of you around at the time, on this day in 1969, you may remember the Apollo 11 landing. Note that this happened on the 20th, for the Seppos. Note, also, that the official time of the landing was "...8.17pm GMT 20 July, 1969...". In God's Own, that makes it about a quarter past six in the morning: On the 21st. The first EVA and Commander Armstrong's first footfall on the Moon was at "...2.56am GMT 21 July, 1969..." or just before one o'clock in the afternoon of the 21st, Canberra/Orroral Valley/Honeysuckle Creek/Tidbinbilla time.
Love trivia.
26th of June 2005: Listed as the "leading source for online space news...", Spaceflight.com has been added to the links page.
23rd of June 2005: More of the Children's art work has been posted.
18th of June 2005: Added another fitness related link.
17th of June 2005: Given people (in general) do not think critically about information delivered to them by the various media faucets, I have included some links to critical thinking. Naturally, these have been slotted under the Science links.
14th of June 2005: Tinkered. Fixed formatting on links page.
11th of June 2005: Well, it's that time of the year again: The 2005 Mont is approaching. Having missed out last year, and, yet again, this year, some genius has decided to go Solo. One could not bear to miss out again, so they entered as a Solo entry. What has possessed one's mind? The theory is that, with lots of training, a new bike and lots of red cordial, one will be able to perform reasonably, given one is Asthmatic Old Fart.
An old boss once mused that he was willing to "...live forever, or die in the attempt." On that basis, and with more than a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock, one has decided that running hard and riding harder is the training strategy for 2005. Look for a fat old bastard, once again wheezing his way around the 19 kilometre track that is the Mont 24 race at Kowen. I will need the encouragement.
The link for the Canberra Off Road Cyclists club (A.K.A: CORC) has been added to the links page. All of the information relevant to this year's Mont is contained within these pages.
Also, the links for the Canberra Bushfires page and the 2003 Mont have been moved to the links page, due to a lack of currency.
23rd of May 2005: Added a link to the National Botanic Gardens after our daughter experienced excitement and adventure with her camera at this venue.
7th of May 2005: Yet again, more tinkering. Added two new news services and a link to Melbourne Uni.
12th of April 2005: Tinkered. Added a link for Trish's web site. Also slotted in some more Linux links.
28th of March 2005: Still work to be done on the Linux Links page. Slotted in a new section for online Linux magazines. Always more to be added. Always more to be done. Period.
26th of March 2005: Tardy additions to the web site. So much time has passed since the last entry. Tidying up the dead and dormant links should be an on-going task of any Web administrator. Negligent, in this case.
Goodness, it is almost the second quarter of the year.
Have also started a list of Linux-related sites that relate to computer forensics as part of the Linux Links page.
7th of October 2004: Added the last of the Mont Diatribe. Given the 2004 race is almost upon us, I will close the page and leave it how it currently is.
5th of October 2004: The kid's Soccer presentation day photos have been removed from the web. Send us an email if you missed out and wanted a copy.
By the way, watch out! This year's Mont is nearly upon us. More than 2000 mountain bikers will be massing in Kowen Forest this weekend. Awesome!
19th of September 2004: Added the photos from the kid's Soccer presentation day.
14th of September 2004: What's new? Ennui. Apathy.
To use the vernacular: Bugger all.
However, that said, I have added another Earth Sciences link. If only for their work with Linux clusters, I have added the link for the ANU's Research School of Earth Sciences. Something to feast upon for those interested in stuff beyond plain "rocks".
5th of July 2004: Nothing has been added to this site for some time. Again, neglect has seen these pages stagnate. However, as a "teaser", and to co-incide with the upcoming 18 month "anniversary" of the 2003 Canberra Bushfires, we may start to tell the Marshall Family story of the events of that time. Watch the space marked "The Bushfires Page".
10th of May 2004: Added the link for Hardware Central and slotted it in the NT Links Page for want of somewhere better to put it.
6th of May 2004: Slotted in the link for the X Prize web site. Per the their site:
"The X PRIZE is a $10,000,000 prize to jumpstart the space tourism industry through competition between the most talented entrepreneurs and rocket experts in the world. The $10 Million cash prize will be awarded to the first team that:
Very cool. Not news, as the competition has been running for a few years, but things are ramping up, given the deadline of the 1st of January 2005 is only seven months away...
5th of May 2004: Eerie is the silence of a BLOG that has nothing to add...
Yes we had an eclipse and a meteor shower last night (Canberra Time), and yet, there is nothing to add as new.
Spooky, eh? The wrong end of the year for Halloween, if you believe in that crap.
Just wanted to add an entry because nothing has happened for a couple of weeks.
19th of April 2004: Today's addition to the web site is devoted to those dolts who think they are something fantastic, as seen on the little screen. Being a mix between the Andy Warhol quote about "15 minutes of fame" and the Emperor and his new clothes: They have no idea who is laughing at them while they prance about in front of the TV cameras. Check out this year's "Fugly Awards".
16th of April 2004: If you are keen to part with your money for the sake of spectacular photos of the surface of the moon, a link has been added for you to do so. Check out the Moon Panoramas web site. Most of the images are large-ish JPEGs and look fabulous as desktop background. (However "desktop background" translates, depending on the O/S you are driving or using.) If you live in Wally World and you are using a dodgy 56K dial up, maybe you should try something blander.
3rd of April 2004: The Linux Links page slowly evolves. Today, the Linux Printing (.org) site was added. Lots of information there for those who want to print from Linux. Note also, pages on the site, like the Mont Diatribe, have a life of their own, and will grow without any entries added here. This means you will have to "pop in" to see whether things have changed since last the page was opened.
28th of March 2004: Fixed some of the Science links on the Links page. Most notably, pointed the Volcano World link to the correct place. The Design philosophy element that describes our thoughts on the titles associated with web sites has been tested. The entry for the Australian Severe Weather site now appears to have the longest entry of any in the entire list.
21st of March 2004: Added something that comes from the "bleeding obvious" URL category: What would you, ordinarily, find on a site that was called "Space.com"?
Also something of note in today's news is the story from Canada about pigs. For those of you who have read the Thomas Harris trilogy, you will recognise the theme in the Vancouver Serial Killer piece. If you eat meat, specifically pork or bacon, try not to gag when you read this gem. Don't feel hog-tied to the one version of events as the story is all over the online news services:
Click2Houston.com - News - Canada Probes Meat From Murder Suspect's Pig Farm
CNN.com - Meat from accused killer's farm may have contained human remains - Mar 10, 2004
MSNBC - Canada eyes grisly twist in serial killer case
Also added link to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's news site: We are always after a one-eyed view of the news of the world in English.
4th of March 2004: Based on current reports, I have added the link for "The Smoking Gun" web site. Filed there are the monies demanded by Diane Richie of her husband Lionel for her upkeep, post their marriage "break up". Included in the list is "$1000 on laser hair removal". The dollar figures on TSG site all relate the monthly up keep of Ms Richie. (and their two children.) With thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald web site, some people have no idea when they have it so good....
1st of March 2004: Tidied up the very important ACTEW web cam link in the Weather Watch section of the Links page. Again, consider those poor blighters whose day is spent inside an air-conditioned office environment with artifical lighting and no windows. (Possibly with locks on the doors, too.)(On the inside...) This is their internet portal to what is happening outside. Not everyone is a greenkeeper at a golf course. The comments made on the 16th of January last year still apply.
16th of February 2004: Been tooling around with an HTML weather thingy. With the "Weather Sticker", you are given your system's time and the current temperature in Canberra City.
16th of February 2004: With thanks to the BBC News web site (Check out the story. ) I have added a link for the Lahore Basant Kite Festival. Some of us like to live dangerously by flying kites made out of metal or with metal "strings".
By the way, if you don't know where Lahore is and have be told that Paris is in France (Paris, France), Sydney is in Australia (Sydney, Australia) and Nairobi is in Kenya (Nairobi, Kenya) then I invite you to follow this link. I also refer you to the entry for the 17th of May last year, if it applies.
Also tidied up some of the formatting for some site elements.
5th of February 2004: Added a link borrowed from Slashdot, slotted into the Media/Entertainment section of the Links page. This web page is maintained by a LOTR "purist" who has concerns about "changes Jackson and Boyens made to the tale". For those who have read the tome, enjoy blow-by-blow analysis of the differences between the Tolkien novel and the Jackson movies.
18th of January 2004: Once again, these pages have been neglected.
Given it is the Eighteenth of January, a new link has been added to the Bushfires page.
The official ceremony marking the passing of one year since the horror of last year's bushfires was moving and clinical. A stage-managed production saw people wheeled on and wheeled off the stage to tell their stories: Within the three to five minute block of time allotted. It would have been politically incorrect to have people dribble on about the incompetence of the government agencies that have wrought this destruction on hundreds of Canberra families. While we should celebrate the fact that the community has scored a victory in the adversity, there is little said about the festering fly-blown wounds which have yet to be attended to and dressed.
Was the destruction "stoppable" or "unstoppable"?
Should there be people in public office who should be held accountable?
Or should those responsible be coddled and promoted in the finest of traditions?
One year on, the scenery of Western and Southern Weston Creek has not changed that much.
30th of December 2003: Added some topical links to the links page. One for the Beagle 2 web site, otherwise known as the European Space Agency's Mars lander which is currently MIA. Also added a couple of earthquake related links, given the absolute devastation that has killed tens of thousands of people in southern Iran.
12th of December 2003: Added the link for phatooine.net. If you want to know what happens in Star Wars Episode III, check out the spoilers. If not, check out this link.
2nd of December 2003: Perhaps a celebration of the recent rains, perhaps the wistful hopes of Bushfire victims, the link for the radar images from The Bureau has been changed from the static 128 kilometre view to that of the four-screen shot "Loop" page. For those who are keen and want to check out what is "incoming" (who doesn't love the Gary Burghoff character in M*A*S*H?) for the A.C.T, look at these links, too:
24th of November 2003: For the first time on this page, I have a joke for our visitors (especially those mystified people at the Christmas Party):
A woman wanted to get the inside of her house painted. She called a contractor in to help her. As they went around the house, she specified the colour for each room. She said, "Now in the living room, I'd like to have a neutral beige, very soft and warm."
The contractor nodded, pulled out his note pad, and wrote on it. Then he went to the window, leaned out, and yelled, "Green side up!" The woman found this strange, but didn't say anything.
Next, they went into the dining room. She said, "In the dining room, I'd like a light white, not stark, but very bright and airy." The contractor nodded, pulled out his pad, and wrote on it. Then he went to the window, leaned out, and yelled, "Green side up!" The woman was perplexed, but still she said nothing.
In the bedroom she said, "In here, I'd like blue. Restful, peaceful, cool blue." The contractor nodded, wrote on his pad, and once more yelled out the window, "Green side up!"
This was too much for the woman, so she asked, "Every time I tell you a colour, you write it down, but then you yell out the window 'Green Side Up.' What on earth does that mean?"
The contractor shook his head and replied, "I have four blondes laying turf across the street."
Also added a new section to the Links page called "Broadband". Herein I hope to put many links relevant to the Australian Broadband experience. Also fixed some minor HTML errors on this page.
4th of November 2003: Tinkered with the counter and tidied up this page.
3rd of November 2003: Notwithstanding errant Operating Systems, some minor changes have been made to enhance the site. Inclusions include adding a functional counter. This will enable us to monitor the amount of use the site gets.
23rd of October 2003:
At long last we are able to hack the web site!!!
So exciting!!!
No thanks to the pillocks who denied us access to Our Web Site. How hard is it to maintain an ISP?
Anyway, so much has happened since the last entry. This includes:
1. A fabulous time had (in a masochistic sense) at this year's Mont. If you are into punishing tracks, hills, dust, cold and mud then the Mont is for you. Nearly seventeen kilometres of bush and forested track in one of the last of Canberra's pine forests. To strip away the fat, it beats liposuction.
2. The Gods have been benevolent and provident in finalising the Bush Fire insurance claim. It was only eight or nine months for the Insurance Company to fulfil their contractual obligations and pay us out. Given we have been tardily short-changed, there are few options to rebuild or extend. We will have to endure further with the cramped accommodation, post the 18th of January, 2003. Sadly, selling the children to science in a Monty Python-esque way may be one way to ease the acute shortage of space in the Marshall abode. On the other hand, there is ample space for tents and caravans in the backyard...
For both News Items, we will post more information, given there is so much to tell. Both deserve mini BLOGs, so all can share in the experiences of the pain in our pleasure or our pleasure in our pain, depending on how you view the Universe. (Is your glass of Intergalactic Gargle Blaster half full or half empty???)
3. Insomnia: The price of freedom and vigilance has seen a sleepless night for many Canberrans while we hosted our foreign guests. Pity those black-eyed souls who had Hornets buzzing in their slumber last night.
16th of September 2003: Further to the entry for the 26th of August (and that of the 7th of May 2003) I have changed the heading for "Transport" on the links page to "Bicycle Links". Given what I am about to undertake, as part of the 24 Bike Race, I have added various links that refer to DIY light systems for bikes. Notwithstanding the current dearth of bike lights in the ACT bike shops, if one baulks at paying $150 to $300 for a light system, then there are alternatives. It is analogous to GPL software versus proprietary software: If you are prepared to put in the effort, then there there is a cheaper way. However, the standard caveat applies: It is not for everyone.
14th of September 2003: Added the link for the Pay TV web site "The Weather Channel". For those with Foxtel or Austar, if all else on The Box is crap or not your cup of tea, then you can always default to The Weather Channel for entertainment.
26th of August 2003: Last night's update was severely truncated by an ill behaved, useless operating system which begins with "W" and ends with "S". Who thought that you could have so little memory left to use that editing text documents throws up a ridiculous error chastising you because you have run out of memory. We all should rush out and buy ourselves second (or third) hard drives to accomodate for the swap space used by the operating system. Watch out if the amount of hard drive space available to you falls below the magic limit, under which everything begins to fail, due to lack of resources.
Anyway, Yours Truly has volunteered to ride in a bicycle race. Within a team of six, we have to tackle a 16.5 kilometre track over 24 hours. The course is a mix of the standard A.C.T. forest trails and single tracks. The terrain can best be described as "undulating". Think of those riders in the Tour De France climbing those huge mountains. We get it easy, by comparison.
26th of August 2003: After a long, long hiatus, we are back hacking the web site. The Ancients were right! Slaughtering feckless animals must helped, given we finally got a result from the insurance company. Pity those poor people who used to use the forests for their Full Moon rituals.
16th of June 2003: Per www.dictionary.com:
penance
\Pen"ance\,
n. [OF. penance, peneance, L. paenitentia repentance. See
Penitence.]
1. Repentance. [Obs.] --Wyclif (Luke xv. 7).
2. Pain;
sorrow; suffering. [Obs.] ``Joy or penance he feeleth none.''
--Chaucer.
3. (Eccl.) A means of repairing a sin
committed, and obtaining pardon for it, consisting partly in the
performance of expiatory rites, partly in voluntary submission to
a punishment corresponding to the transgression. Penance is the
fourth of seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church.
--Schaff-Herzog Encyc.
And bitter penance, with an iron
whip. --Spenser.
Quoth he, ``The man hath penance done,
And penance more will do.'' --Coleridge.
We are now known as the "Partial Marshalls". Since we have offended the Gods, we have suffered as a result of the January Bushfires, and continue to suffer for some affront. That is why we are stuck in the limbo between those who are:
A. Classed as "Total Losses" and have two cheques from their Insurance Companies, and;
B. Those in Western Weston Creek (and elsewhere in the A.C.T.) who have everything intact.
We are looking through the Trading Post and the Canberra Times Classifieds for goats to sacrifice and slaughter...
15th of June 2003: Slotted in some soccer (a.k.a. "Football" in some countries...) links into the Sport section of the Links page.
13th of June 2003: Added a link to SourceForge. The web site claims to be "...the world's largest Open Source software development website..."
21st of May 2003: Have continued to add to the Bushfires page. This page will continue to grow as more sites become apparent. If you are severely jaundiced about the whole thing and are disgusted with those who are still feeding on the misery of hundreds of Canberrans, take heart with gems from those newly listed links, such as this quote from the A.C.T. ESB:
"Tips to help you if threatened by a bushfire
.....5. What to do when the fire arrives
...............Remember, a house is safer than a car, a car is safer than being out in the open."
21st of May 2003: I have made a start on a Bushfire page. Therein I hope to offer a range of links that relate to the Bushfire threat: Whether you have lived it (like the Marshalls) or endure it throughout the warmer Australian months. {Cliché Warning:} Watch this space.
17th of May 2003: A moment of silence for our "Seppo" friends. Mr. Webster did not have all the answers in his truncated version of Our Language: The latest publicised (or should that be "publicized"?) NASA adventure to "Boldly Go..." has been added to the Space section of the links page. The proposed venture is called "Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey". Now, in the UK and Australia, this acronym spells "ARSES". Poor bastards. I had heard reports that most of the population of the UK pissed themselves laughing when the movie "Free Willy" was released in 1993. The words "penis" and "killer whale" are so easily interchangable in The Language. I hope the mission can overcome it's poor lack of judgement with the choice of name and succeed in it's venture.
7th of May 2003: Created a new section in the links page for Transportation. Slotted in the link for the Bicycles Network Australia. Lots of information about bikes. In Oz. Must produce more links that relate to Transportation that don't relate to the Government or Motoring companies. Also slotted something into the "Bleeding Obvious" category. (Like www.coke.com and www ibm.com and www microsoft.com and www.whitehouse.com) Added the link to the SAMBA Web site. Another site visited often.
30th of April 2003: Added a site that we hit regularly: The Internet Movie Database. Also slipped in the link for the fan club for the former Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who the site report as being "currently on administrative leave". The local "ACT Internal Omnibus Network" (Who remembers the acronym?) link has been added to the Government section of the Links pages, too.
29th of April 2003: Tidying up the Linux Links page and adding new stuff. Exploring using a Linux box as a router.
17th of April 2003: We're back!!!! (A great kids movie, by the way). After three months in the electronic wilderness sans ADSL, we have finally moved back into Our House and are now able to hack the Marshall Family web site. Despite losing a building and a heap of our possessions, we still have Our House. Thanks to all of those people who have voiced their concern and have helped us over the last three months. It's great to be back. Note, also, that we ackowledge that this site is sadly neglected, and the "job's on" to get it back up to scratch and relevant.
16th of January 2003: First entry for 2003 is for the poor bastards who work without windows and have no idea what the weather is like outside, and have access to the web. The site has a series of web cams that take pictures of the Canberra and the ACT. (Courtesy of ACTEWAGL.)
30th of December 2002: Discovered another link for Urban Legends. This link has duly been posted under the Miscellaneous section of the Links page. The reference is to the "Dropped Wallet" myth, also know as the "Short-Changed Middle Eastern Person" urban legend. Try a search based on the words "Harrods" or "Birmingham".
28th of December 2002: Another link for the nerds: Inserted the link for the details of the evolution/chronology/history of "Tux" the Linux penguin. Belated thanks to Scott, and his input for all things Linux. Makes a good read. Check it out on the Linux Links page. (Where else?)
24th of December 2002: Included a second B.O.M. link in the Weather Watch portion of the links page: The new radar site for the ACT region, monitoring precipitation. (Not the sort of thing normally done on this site. One link to a site normally suffices.) The radar images are good to watch when rain is sorely needed. Good fun watching the looped radar images, too. (Perhaps for the nerds.)
3rd of December 2002: Added some links to the Links page. Odd place to find links, hey?
2nd of November 2002: Added some links to the Science & Technology element of the Links page.
17th October 2002: Added the link for MetaCrawler into the Search Engines element of the Links page.
7th October 2002: Fixed all of the Weather Watch links on the Links page. They should all work now. Note that the ABC weather page covers the forecasts for Goulburn and Cooma, too.
16th September 2002: Very minor alterations today: Fixed the Volcano World link in the Science & Technology section of the links page.
15th September 2002: Added the link for the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to the Government section of the Links page. Tardily. Watching the AFL Grand Final on the big screen is so cool.
14th September 2002: Slotted in the US Footy web site into the Sports section of the Links page. Apparently the Seppos have taken up Aussie Rules with a gusto. The numbers playing Footy in the States are supposedly huge.
7th September 2002: Added the New York Times to the online news section of the Links page, given what happened almost a year ago.
26th August 2002: Added the Herald Sun to the online news section of the Links page.
19th August 2002: Some house cleaning today: Two instances of the Sea Launch reduced to one. Did you like the last entry? Who said computers and IT is boring?
8th August 2002: Added a couple more Linux distros to the Linux Links page. Keep an eye out for the new "Microsoft Linux", due for release in "November 2002". (Also happening soon is the "Microsoft Monkey Colony on Mars".)
3rd August 2002: Many changes made to the Linux Links page. Included Certification and Distro Links.
16th July 2002: Made some alterations to the comments about BOM on this page.(can't spell for shit) We also added "Fresh Meat" to the Linux Links page.
7th June 2002: Lots of changes this morning. Far too many to list. Principal change: The email address on the Contact Us page has changed to the funky "themarshalls" address.
5th June 2002: Added a new section to the links page called Travel. I suspect that this section will grow.
2nd July 2002: Added several links, including:
The Masters Australian Football - ACT site
Lana and Kenny Thorley's personal web site
Chris and Madelaine's wedding photographs.
4th June 2002: Made minor changes to the meta tags on the page. Some were old and irrelevant.
25th May 2002: Tiny addtion today (strictly tonight when it's 10PM) with modifications to the Vaughn page. Toying with Javascript.
15th May 2002: After another long hiatus, we are back hacking the web site again. After having our website trashed by our ISP and data from the Dark Ages (> 6 months old), we are working on resurrecting the site. All the edits in the period need to be reapplied as we (foolishly) neglected to backup our work. Started with an easy one: The BOM site for the forecast for the A.C.T. Whoever pens the forecasts appears to love their work & words. There is a lilt in the delivery which appears to paint the Science of the Weather into something more than a monotone delivery.
24th March 2002: For those who need to know about the Easter Softball Challenge in Dandenong, I have set up a link for the site on our Links page. The schedules can be found on Dandenong Softball's home page. Follow the links on the left hand side of the page to the "Resource Library".
1st March 2002: Changed the link on the Links page relating to the Bureau of Meteorology so it takes you to the right place within the BOM site. We also fixed a few dead links, including Xena, South Park and others. Note that Intellicast, a weather forcasting web page on our Links page, has it's details in both fahrenheit (°F) and celsius (°C).
12th of January 2002: Eons ago, I was emailled a link to a Linux chemistry site called Linux4Chemistry. The author says the site is " to provide with the most up-to-date links to the chemical software running on linux." It appears to be a mix of freeware, shareware and commercial software links for Linux that relates to Chemistry. With apologies to the author and the site, one of the main reasons I have posted it is the novelty value. Sorry.
6th of January 2002: Started to tidy up the Linux Links page. Added a list of the most popular Linux distibutions and a link to the Australian Samba page, too.
Forgot to make note of the passing of the Summer Solstice in December! Remiss. Happy Solstice for the 21st, anyway.
12th of December 2001: Added the "Fox News" web site to the Online News Services portion of the links page. For those of you with "Pay TV" as we call it Australia (aka "Cable"), you may recognise the name.
10th of December 2001: Have been very, very slack of late. Notwithstanding flying half way across the world recently, this site is seriously neglected. However, today I added the new email address on the "Contact us" page. Note that since InterACT went "belly up", the old email address does not work.
10th of August 2001: Added a link on the NT Links page for Tom's Hardware Guide.
24th of July 2001: Check out the new Space link on the Links page! Mars has kicked up a planet wide dust storm and the TES people at the Arizona State University Planetary Exploration Laboratory are tracking it.
23rd of July 2001: Check out the new link to the Darwin Awards on the Links page. Some poor sods never quite get it right.
22nd of July 2001: Added Eric Raymond's web site to the Linux Links page. He is the author of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar"
With her new knowledge, Claire is continually updating her page. Changes there will not be reflected on the tracking on this page or on the Home page.
3rd of July 2001: Placed the RAAF Telstechs Association link under "Miscellaneous" on the "Links" page. Something from a dark and distant past.
24th of June 2001: Added The National Museum of Australia's web site to the "front page". (note the little "f" and little "p".)
21nd of June 2001: After a very, very long hiatus, we are finally back hacking the HTML on our new web site.
The old site will stay stagnant and eventually perish, stuck in a time warp of November 2000.
Changed the Soccer Canberra link because it has changed place and form.
Happy solstice for tomorrow!
2nd of November 2000: Removed the Telstra Tower dead link from the front page. Apparently, Telstra Tower is no longer considered to be a "Great Tower". Put the Whereis site in the Reference part of the Links page.
31st of October 2000: Included the online Freecell site in the Media/Entertainment section of the links page. To quote the site:
"Welcome to Freecell.com. Draining workplace productivity since 1996."
Also noteworthy (and tardy): Logging changes to the site have been happening for a year.
30th of October 2000: Added a certification portal to the NT Links page.
29th of October 2000: Tidied up both the "Links" and the "NT Links" pages.
28th of October 2000: Put "The Register" into the list of Linux Links.
24th of October 2000: Added the Macquarie Dictionary web site to the "Reference" portion of the Links page.
23rd of October 2000: Fixed the Dilbert link on the Links page.
23rd of October 2000: Added yet more links on the Links page.
9th of October 2000: Added some more links on the Links page.
17th of September 2000: If you are "Dinky Di" then you have to be excited about the Olympics, Hyperbole, or not. Chants of "Thorpey" in the pool or the crowds cheering on Aussie triatheletes are rousing. Refer to the "Sport" section of the links page and the ever expanding links, therein.
10th of September 2000: I don't know whether it qualifies as "Sport", or whether another heading on the links page for "Hyperbole" needs to be added, but the Australian Olympics web site was added.
9th of September 2000: Added more Media links. Also included the link for the Los Angeles Times web site. The story about the "Narco Submarine" is a cack. We have also had 4000 hits in 2 years, too!
5th of September 2000: The long dormant pages have been changed to add more NT and Linux links. More to come.
28th of June 2000: Poor Australia Post. Who thought up their domain name? To alleviate the pain of deciding whether to type "austpost.gov.au" or "auspost.com.au" the URL has been added to the Government sub heading on the Links pages. And I hope the last entry made sense, as I seem to have made the same tactical error as I did on the 16th of December last year.
18th of June 2000: Created a new listing for the links page called "Motoring". Given the time and effort put into producing these pages I have listed them, both local operations and the overseas parent companies of the most popular makes. This does not mean we are interested in or condone the waste of fossil fuels, but a celebration of the commercial web sites which are exciting to visit, strictly in an HTML sense.
16th of June 2000: Added yet more Linux links to the Linux Links page.
10th of June 2000: Trawled the web for linux links. Many more added to the Linux Links page.
7th of June 2000: Added a new sub-heading to the Links page called Humour. Added a link to it and a couple of others elsewhere: One weather link, which is very good, and an NT link called "32bit.com". A warning for the humour link: Put newspaper under your chair when you go there, just in case you wet yourself laughing.
27th of April 2000: A handful of changes:
(i) (Subtly)Changed the "News Services" portion of the Links page to "Online News Services", and added the The Age's web site.
(ii) Removed the Y2K links from the Links page, as they seem dated and irrelevant, given we are well past January and February 2000.
(iii) Added some more Linux links on the Linux Links page.
(iv) More D&M HTML bits added to the Design (philosophy) page.
22nd of April 2000: Started a new section on the links page called Government. The first entry is for the Australian Commonwealth Government Entry Point: An important portal for all things Government within Australia and other valuable information. Also added the local government web site for the "Borough" of the ACT.
Another addition was the link for the upcoming total lunar eclipse in July. This astronomical event is remarkable in that:
1. The best viewing will be from Australia;
2. The eclipse will last for a long time, and;
3. It is the last eclipse for this millenium. (Yes I know, "I'm going to party like it's 2000" does not have the same ring.)
20th of April 2000: More backups needed from the archives. As described the other day, backups are vital and invaluable.
18th of April 2000: Found both Linus Torvalds' web page and found the sound file linked below, all thanks to the University of Helsinki Department of Computer Science. (See the entry for yesterday.)
18th of April 2000: Unintentional test of the web site backup system. Proved it's worth. Tip 955 for web site maintenance: Always backup your work, you will eventually need the saved data.
17th of April 2000: Wholesale changes made with the addition of the (embyonic) "Linux Links" page. (Pronounciation of the name for those interested is "linucks": Just ask Linus Torvalds.)
7th of April 2000: Added new links to the NTLinks page. Updated the International Space Station URL. Fixed up typo on What's New page.
2nd of April 2000: Fixed the little April Fools joke. Fixed some of the Links page links.
1st of April 2000: Is this an April Fools joke?
This morning I have had some F-U-N fun, given the day of the year it is.
Whole of site alterations. Some other tinkering. Ran some (new) ideas up the flagpole. Salutations across the board. (Maybe I might mangle my metaphors.)
29th of March 2000: Added some more links. Changed the font type on the "NT Links" page. (looks so much better.) Thought Slashdot was so important it is listed in both the "Links" and the "NT Links" pages. It is a very different site, especially if you are a nerd.
26th of March 2000: More work done on the "NT Links" page.
24th of March 2000: Added a short listing of internet search engines. Added some other surprises, too. (!)
16th of March 2000: Wholesale changes to & tidying up the "NT Links" page. Contrary to criticism, I am not a f%$^wit, but merely populating the headings, pending something more meaningful being inserted into the appropriate spots.
19th of January 2000: Changed Jan's page so it was like Vaughn's page, plus other subtle changes. Also added a URL with information about the lunar eclipse happening this month on the "Links" page.
16th of January 2000: The first changes for the new year(!) Hacks made to Vaughn's page. Spot the difference. Developing ideas for the new pages, due soon.
16th of December 1999: All those warnings about driving cars and operating machinery when you are tired and/or drunk apply to writing HTML. Tonight's effort was to fix up the foul-ups from last night. (HTML tip 326: Use Navigator to fault find your HTML. View/Page Source or CTRL-U works well.) Also, added "The Times" URL to the links page.
15th of December 1999: Added the Southern Sky Watch URL. Did you see the Geminids in the night sky over the last few nights? They may have already peaked.
6th of December 1999: Started adding NT links to the NT Links page. The first entries are for NT security related URLs.
5th of December 1999: Are you nervous? Are you nonchalant? Not sure what all the fuss and money is all about? Today's headline is the belated addition of some Y2K links. Also added was the Federal Government "Entry Point". A very useful URL at which to look for anything related to the Government's web presences.
2nd of December 1999: The chronology of this page was reversed. Now the most recent changes are the headlines.
(Very early)21st of November 1999: Forgot to annotate the Home Page with the date of the latest update. I suppose that makes today the latest update date, then. (wakarimasu ka?)
(Very early)19th of November 1999: Realigned the new headings in the NT Links page.
18th of November 1999: Changes made to site template. Now each page should open to the full width of the browser window, regardless of the size of your monitor and the screen resolution you have set. (South Park quote: "You know, I think I learnt something today...")
17th of November 1999: Started to build the NT Links page. Link categories added. (More to come.)
16th of November 1999: Some alterations made surreptitiously. See if you can find them. (!)
8th of November 1999: Made this page look tidier. (!)
7th of November 1999: Added the "1999 Transit of Mercury" link to the links page.
24th of October 1999: Added this page plus the "NT Links" page. The purpose of this page is to track the changes to the site as it evolves. The NT Links page is to gather a list of NT-related URLs for reference.