Welcome to LivingRoom! Pull up a bean bag, grab a coffee and chat with us for a while about Emerging Church, Blogging, Faith and other General Silliness from South of the Equator.
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Those in Melbourne might be interested in coming along to the launch of a new website here in Australia called Megachurch Watch.
It's on at 6pm on Monday 21 May (next week).
I'll be one of a number of speakers during the evening - details are at Megachurch Website Launch.
John Campea has released the trailer for his upcoming documentary - The Prince Of Peace - The God Of War.
It looks like it'll be a pretty interesting piece and one that I think could cause a stir in some circles.
If you're into the World Cup and want to find a couple of blogs that will be following the latest World Cup News and Results during June when the World Cup is being held in Germany you might be interested in a couple of blogs that b5media have produced at:
Soccerati - World Cup News and Results
The Footie - World Cup Football News and Results
I've just seen one of the more bizarre blogging tools out there - Xianz is it's name and it's promoting itself as 'MySpace for Christians'.
It's an invitation only social networking and blogging tool which at a first glance seems to me like a site with a real 'holy huddle' kind of mentality.
While I do see the importance of spaces for Christians to gather and interact with each other I do worry when such places become exclusive and loose their fuzziness.
Forgive me if I'm wrong - but I tend to remember someone saying something like 'Go into all the World....' rather than 'run away from it'.
Rather than dragging Christians out of places like MySpace (I'm not a massive fan myself - although I did start a page a couple of weeks ago) I wonder what would happen if we all decided to become actively involved in the community there.
The last thing most Christians that I know need is another place to go and hang out with Christians. Instead I think we need to step outside of our comfort zones and actually learn to speak the language of and engage with the world that we're called to 'go' to.
Maybe I'm just not getting it (perhaps partly because a lot of their areas seem to be 'members only' area) but it doesn't really work for me (quite literally as looking at one of the pages on it just crashed my browser).
found via TallSkinnyKiwi
Many of you will know that I've joined with three other bloggers to start a blog network in the past few months by the name of b5media. In partnership with quite a few other bloggers we've launched over 50 blogs already on a wide range of topics. The latest one to launch is one I'm very excited about. It's called A Dozen Steps and is a blog about 12 step recovery programs written by Anne Wayman.
This is the type of blog topic that I'd like to see added in numbers to b5 - a blog that has the potential to bring life to those strugging with the issues that it faces. If you know anyone that you think might benefit from Anne's wisdom and encouragement feel free to pass the URL along to them.
Lucas from my four walls is having a 24 hour blogathon to raise money for the Heifer Project. Stop by and lend him some support and make a donation if you can. Having done two blogathons I know how much it means to have a little support so show Lucas some love! :-)
Update: Thursday 21 July: There are reports coming through that there has been further explosions and/or suspicious packages found at 3 underground stations and on one bus - eerily similar to what happened two weeks ago. Reports are appearing online in some of the following places:
- London Subways Evacuated
- Tube Explosion Reported
- Tube Cleared After Minor Blasts
- Incident on London Bus
Reports are coming out that detonators have gone off of at least 3 bombs but the bombs themselves that they were attached to apparently did not explode.
Original Post from 7 July: Watching the news here in Melbourne at the moment where they've gone live to London to cover the London Underground and Bus Explosions.
We have family who use some of those tube stations so are of course interested in what's going on there.
I'm quite amazed by the explosion of bloggers covering the story.
Technorati's biggest searched for term is London with plenty of other similar terms. Looks like people are turning to the internet for news (update - technorati now seems to be down - perhaps as a result of the increased searches?).
Hoping and praying it isn't as bad as some of the 'experts' who are commentating on the explosion are saying it could be.
Update - this post was getting quite long and unruly so I've edited it into two sections - firstly News Articles on the London Explosions and secondly Blogs following the story. I also will update our family news as it comes to hand bellow.
The Age (subscription required) has a report is up. They write:
'A number of people were killed in a series of explosions on London's transport system at rush hour on Thursday morning, causing chaos in the British capital, police and transport officials said.Several blasts hit the underground network and police said there had been at least three explosions on buses in the city.
A source at the Metronet consortium that runs part of the capital's underground network said "there were three explosions and there have been some fatalities".
Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the blasts had caused "terrible injuries".
The causes of the incidents, a day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics and as leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations met in Scotland, were unknown but police said many of the city's underground stations were affected.'
India's NewIndPress wrties:
'A series of explosions rocked London's transport system at rush hour on Thursday morning, causing numerous casualties and leaving millions of passengers in shock, police said.The causes of the incidents -- which occurred one day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics and as leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations met in Scotland -- were unknown but police said many of the city's underground stations were affected.
"It is too early to state what has happened," a London police spokesman said. "I cannot comment on reports of bombs, but we have had multi-reports of explosions around London."
People were seen streaming out of one underground station covered with blood and soot. Passengers were evacuated from stations across the capital, many in shock and with their clothes ripped to shreds, witnesses said.'
BBC reports:
'Large numbers of casualties have been reported after at least six explosions on the Underground network and a double-decker bus in London. Scotland Yard confirmed one of several reports of explosions on buses in the city - in Tavistock Place - but said the cause was not yet known.UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said several explosions in central London had caused "terrible injuries".
All Tube services and bus services in central London have been suspended.'
CNN is reporting soldiers on the streets and six casualties (unconfirmed).
- BBC have a series of Eyewitness Reports. Here's one:
'"All the lights went out and the train came to an immediate halt.There was smoke everywhere and everyone was coughing and choking, but remained calm. We couldn't open the doors."
She was in a carriage next to one where an explosion happened.
She said the adjacent carriage was "black on the inside". She saw people who appeared to have their clothes blown off, and bodies lying inside the carriage. '
- CNN has a timeline of the events of the London Explosion.
- Sky News reports 90 injured and 2 casualties.
Tony Blair is speaking now and confirms that this is reasonably clear to be terrorist attacks. He will be leaving the G8 meeting in the next few hours to go to London for a report before returning to G8 afterwards. G8 will continue in his absence.
He vows to defeat terrorism - a barbaric act.
He said it's reasonably clear that this is tied to the opening of G8.
- News on the financial markets response to the London explosions can be found at Markets plummet after London blasts .
- Sky News is reporting 90 injured and 2 fatalities. They also report a massive rescue operation at Kings Cross Station.
- Speculation is already beginning about who is behind this terrorist attack - with Reuters reporting it fits the Al-Qaeda pattern.
- pictures of the aftermath of the explosions are pouring into Yahoo News.
- The International Olympic Committee are getting the word out that they don't believe the London Bomb Explosions have nothing to do with London winning the Olympics yesterday. Source. Instead most experts are tying it to the G8 meeting starting today.
- BBC is offering live video coverage of the situation in London.
- Forbes reports that the House of Commons has been suspended until later in the day.
- a European al-Quaida group has claimed responsability for the London bombing according to NY News Day. They write:
A group calling itself "Secret Organization -- al-Qaida in Europe" has posted a claim of responsibility for the series of blasts in London, a German magazine reported Thursday.Der Spiegel magazine reported that the group posted its message on a Web site popular with Islamic militants, which it did not name. It said the group claimed the explosions were in retaliation for Britain's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- French Govt raises terror alert
- London Hospitals Put on Major Incident Alert after Multiple Blasts-
- 12 dead, scores injured in London blasts (subscription needed)
- European Central Bank holds rates
- Four London Blasts Kill 40, Injure 300
- London mayor: This was mass murder
- London blasts throw G8 summit into crisis
- Interpol offers team to help London
- - The Sun has many reports on the explosions and the reactions from around the UK and the world.
- Putin condemns terror attacks in London
- Blogs Respond to London Blasts
Tony Blair has made (read this time) a second statement in an hour or so - standing in front of the G8 leaders. He says the attack is an attack on all nations.
- stories coming through from Ambulance sources now about the death toll:
23 dead at Kings Cross
9 dead at Edgware
7 dead at Aldgate
2 Dead at Russel Square
Over 1000 injured
- Information on London's tubes, buses, trams and river services.
- Another picture of the evacuation of the tube.
- At least 45 die in London Blasts
- London financial centre rattled but trades on
- Yahoo News has set up a dedicated page to follow this story
- News Now has a similar page.
- Follow the story on Googe News here
- MSN's London Bombing Results
- Queen Elizabethe 'Deeply Shocked'
- Bush offers U.S. condolences to London
- World leaders pledge united front
- Pope Benedict deplores London attacks
- European Markets Dive on London Blasts
- London's congestion charge has been suspended to allow people to travel by cars. Also some public transport will be free when it reopens (and from main line stations) to allow people to clear the city.
- Thames Link Continuing to Run Services
- Washington Raises Terror Threat To Orange For Rail Systems
- UN Security Council to condemn attacks
Update - We just got word that our family are safe. V's parents were going to catch a bus into the affected area this morning but for some reason her sister said they shouldn't.
V's brother in law was a work close to one of the explosions and had his windows rattled. Close but safe thank goodness.
- Brother in law just emailed this through:
' I was sitting at desk, talking to work mate on phone (landline – gsm nw congested by this time) (he was two trains behind one that exploded) and on the other phone to my boss who was saying he was ok, but miles away… when BOOM…. It felt weird… I put the phones down..went outside – everything seemed so quiet…then there were sirens…loads of them from multiple directions… and then helicopters… Crazy crazy times my friend.
london, explosion, london tube, london tube explosion, london explosion
If you're easily addicted to simple online games you shouldn't go to Guess-the-Google - a game where you're given a series of 20 pictures from Google's images and have to guess what keyword triggered them.
My highest score was 279 - no where near the highest recorded one.
Got to love these survey/meme things...
Cultural Creative | 94% | ||
Postmodernist | 63% | ||
Existentialist | 50% | ||
Fundamentalist | 44% | ||
Romanticist | 44% | ||
Idealist | 38% | ||
Modernist | 13% | ||
Materialist | 13% |
Just a reminder to Melbourne readers that Thursday night is Postcards from the Corporate World. Hope you can make it along.
American Idol this year is hotting up after a great competition last year when Fantasia Barrino became the American Idol Winner in front after 65 million Americans cast their votes.
This year the American Idol Results will make the winner either 21 year old Carrie Underwood from Checotah (OK) or 29 year old Bo Bice from Helena (AL).
The competition to be the American Idol Winner is hot - with internet polls at American Idol Blog neck and neck. At the time of publishing this Bo Bice was just edging out Carrie Underwood - but really the American Idol Crown is anyone's!
Update - The Winner of American Idol this year is Carrie Underwood.
Last to leave American Idol this year was 20 year old Vonzell Solomon from Fort Myers.
'A postal letter carrier, Solomon endeared herself to fans with her emotional openness. Always an underdog, she had tried out once before for "Idol" but was rejected. This time, she made it all the way to the top three, which is sure to yield her a recording contract.- Source"My 'American Idol' journey has been crazy - a lot of emotions balled up into one. But it's been all worth it," Solomon said in a video montage played after host Ryan Seacrest announced that she had received the fewest votes.'
Darren has just added lyrics of - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - by U2 over at his Alternative Hymnal.
Update - for some reason that page has been taken down - you can get the lyrics at U2 Discography - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in the mean time.
Related Links:
- review of U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
- How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb Lyrics
- U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb Information
- U2's 'Bomb' lacks firepower - Review
Track Listing
1. Vertigo
2. Miracle Drug
3. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
4. Love and Peace or Else
5. City of Blinding Lights
6. All Because of You
7. A Man and A Woman
8. Crumbs From Your Table
9. One Step Closer
10. Original of the Species
11. Yahweh
This is a very useful link - it actually calculates 'Murphy's Law' for you! Very cool.
'Mathematicians have now come up with a rule for predicting the law of “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". They say the formula allows people to calculate the chances of Murphy's law (or Sod's law as it is also know) - and to even try and beat the bad luck.
Previous studies have found the law is not a myth, but this is the first time a formula has been calculated.'
Read more at Murphy's Law Formula - Easy to Use Calculator
An article in today's the Age caught my attention today. The headline is Net profits: Your don't have to be a dotcom heavyweight to make money on the web.
Its a good article that scratches the surface of what is becoming more and more common for people wanting to make a few dollars on the side. I did a bit of an anecdotal survey a few months back on some of the top, middle and lower bloggers on the blog ecosystem and found that in all categories a significant number of bloggers have some form of income stream (or at least are attempting to have one) on their site - whether that be Ads, Affiliates, Tip Jars or directly selling products.
Of course some say that this is destroying blogging - and there are some examples of some who are selling their souls to make a few dollars - but I suspect it will become more and more common in the future. One of the things I'm toying with as an idea is to form some sort of a co-operative/network of bloggers who want to do some more commercial blogging. One of the hardest things about making a blog a viable source of income is that it can take a lot of time to build your domain's page ranking. To make it worth your time you need to be able to attract significant numbers of readers to your site and that means a high ranking of Google. This is hard to do alone but I suspect if we worked together - sharing a domain and know how it would be a lot easier.
Anyway - just thinking it all through at the moment and would be interested from hearing from anyone who was interested in the experiment.
Back to the article I quoted above - here is a taster:
'Fancy a work-from-home lifestyle or just a little spare cash on the side? The days of the dotcom bonanza are over, but dreams of making money from the internet live on.
Online riches may be just an illusion used to trap the unwary - an inventive array of get-rich-quick schemes, including the infamous Nigerian money scam, will quickly see the gullible fleeced - but for those willing to dabble in less lucrative, albeit legal, ventures, there are modest gains to be made.
Some people sign up for webpage ads, fill out surveys and join online marketing programs. Others turn their trash into treasure on eBay and put PayPal on their websites, hoping for tips and donations.'
Read more at Net profits
As someone whose been interrupted while preaching my fair share of times - I think this is a great idea!
'Four churches in Mexico have resorted to illegally jamming cellphone signals using devices smuggled in from Israel to stop parishoners’ phones from ringing during services.'
Read More at Mexican churches using cellphone jammers
Friends and I have often joked about pitching a reality tv show to network producers that would be based around churches. We figure in most churches there are enough dramas and scandals to fill in 60 minutes of television every month. Of course we weren't serious - these are the sorts of ideas that come out when group of guys with too much time on their hands get together.
It seems that there must be a similar group of guys are because someone has come up with the idea of Priest Idol.
'Channel 4 will screen a new series which aims to boost a congregation in a parish with poor church attendance.
With the working title Priest Idol, the show will give a vicar 12 months to boost the church's turnout.
Backed by advisors, the vicar will be able to spend an undisclosed sum of money on anything he or she thinks will appeal to parishioners.
Being filmed in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, the three-part series is due to be broadcast at the end of 2005.'
Get all the latest news on a variety of topics at Breaking News Blog.
The Melbourne Cup 2004 results are:
1. Makybe Diva
2. Vinnie Roe
3. Zazzman
4. Elvstroem
5. Hugs Dancer
6. Distinction
7. Mamool
8. Catchmeifyoucan
9. Razkalla
10. Strasbourg
11. On A Jeune
12. Media Puzzle
13. Grey Song
14. Roman Arch
15. Upsetthym
16. Another Warrior
17. Winning Belle
18. Lashed
19. Mummify
20. Don Raphael
21. Pacific Dancer
22. Hard To Get
23. Delzao
24. She's Archie.
The Melbourne Cup is being run at 3.10pm on Tuesday 2nd November in 2004. It's the 'race that stops the nation'. What will the results of the 2004 Melbourne Cup be?
Following is a list of Melbourne Cup information, articles, tips and llinks to help you prepare for your Melbourne cup day.
- Melbourne Cup - Official Site - 'The Melbourne Cup, it is the race that defines Australian horse racing, it's the race that stops a nation, people from all around Australia stop for the spring carnival. They engage in betting on the Australia spring carnival and it is also a huge part in the Australian racing history. Held at the Flemington race track in Melbourne and organised by the VRC the Melbourne Cup is definately a horse racing bookies dream.'
- Field for Melbourne Cup - all the horses listed with odds. Barrier draw will be added as it comes to hand.
- Melbourne Cup Jockeys - A list of the 2004 Melbourne Cup Jockeys - with their previous records.
- The Age - Horse Racing Page - with all the latest Melbourne Cup news, information on horses, jockeys, lead up races, tips etc.
- Culture and Recreation - Melbourne Cup - Australian Government page descibing the event.
- Melbourne Cup Blog - a blog with the latest Melbourne Cup news, tips, articles and gossip.
- About.com - Melbourne cup - the Countdown begins.
- Ozeform - Melbourne Cup. 'The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous horse race, and is truly the "race, which stops a nation".
All over Australia, millions of people tune in to watch or listen to the famous race - even proceedings in Parliament cease so that Members can hear it.
In Melbourne it is the reason for a Public Holiday and is considered the biggest tourist attraction in its home state of Victoria.
In many ways the Melbourne Cup is an anachronism - being a handicap and run over the unfashionable distance of 3200m - when in other countries the feature events are more likely to be run at weight-for-age and over 2000m to 2400m....'
- Racenet - Melbourne Cup - Melbourne Cup Stats including past winners, jockeys, horses, colors, barriers etc.
I'd like to wish Google a happy 6th Birthday. I love Google - it is rare that a company has such a massive impact so quickly. It is hard to imagine a world without Google (well it is for me) - they have really achieved do much in their 6 years - I find it difficult to believe that they've come so far so quickly.
When they first started I remembered thinking that their search engine was pretty cool - but I had no idea how it (and their other services) would change the way I use the internet - and ultimately earn an income.
So the question remains - what does one buy an international successful business that seems to have everything for their birthday?
ooh...the new iMac! purrrrr.....me want one...
Now might be the appropriate time to kick off a 'buy Darren a new toy fund'....
click to enlarge picture
"A RUSSIAN computer security expert has predicted that a large chunk of the Internet will be shut down by terrorists tomorrow.
Aleksandr Gostev from Kaspersky Labs was speaking at a conference hosted by Russian Information Agency Novosti. The cyber terrorists main targets will be the US and Western Europe, he said.
Gostev said that the information on the attack could be found on "specialist web sites" although at the time of going to press the INQ couldn’t find them."
Read more at Internet meltdown predicted for tomorrow and Russian Computer Expert Predicts Internet Terrorist Attack.
Update - congratulations to 16 year old Casey Donovan who has just been declared the Australian Idol for 2004. For all the latest Australian idol results, winners, news, information and a live commentary of the final show - check out Australian Idol Blog. For other Breaking News on other topics check out Digital Photography Blog, Camera Phone Zone and Printer Blog.
The top 12 contesting for the title of Australian Idol in 2004 are:
- Anthony Callea
- Chanel Cole
- Courtney Murphy
- Hayley Jensen
- Amali Ward
- Angeline Narayan
- Casey Donovan
- Daniel Belle
- Daniel O'Conner
- Emelia Rusciano
- Marty Worrall
- Ricki-Lee Coulter
What will the Australian Idol Results be? I'd tip Courtney, Casey, Anthony or Hayley as possible winners.
Who will this year's National Rugby League Grand Final winner be in 2004?
Those in contention to be winners this year are the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Bulldogs, North Queensland Cowboys, Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers and St George Illawarra Dragons. Who will hold up the cup as the winners on Grand Final Day. Following are some NRL resources to keep us all busy busy until the National Rugby League Grand Final Winner is announced.
- National Rugby League Official Page - Contains all the latest National Rugby League news, results, winners and losers.
- National Rugby League - National Rugby League news from Australia but also league news and results from around the world.
- Rugby Heaven - Sydney Morning Herald's Rugby coverage.
- Fox Sport National Rugby League - Fox Sports National Rugby League coverage with the latest news, results, winners, opinion pieces etc.
- National Rugby League Stats - all the latest statistics from the NRL competition.
- Dan's National Rugby League page - teams, results, ladder, winners and news from the National Rugby League.
'PREMIERSHIP winger Matt Geyer says Melbourne Storm is far better prepared for this year's NRL finals and expects to prove it against the Broncos in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Storm, the surprise improver last year, finished the regular season fifth. But, after beating Canberra in the qualifying final, it made a hasty exit in week two, losing 30-0 to the Bulldogs at Aussie Stadium.
While Melbourne has finished this season a place below last year, Geyer is confident his team can mount a much stronger campaign.
"Last year a lot of guys got their first taste of finals," Geyer said yesterday. "And no matter how much you want to say they are just like other games, the truth is that they're not. Until you have played in a final you don't know what the pressure and the intensity is like."' Read more at Storm ready for finals
Who will 2004's NRL Premiership winner be?
Those in contention to be premiers/winners this year are the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Bulldogs, North Queensland Cowboys, Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers and St George Illawarra Dragons. Who will hold up the cup as the winners on Grand Final Day. Following are some NRL resources to keep us all busy busy until the NRL Grand Final Winner is announced.
- NRL Official Page - Contains all the latest NRL premiership news, results, winners and losers.
- National Rugby League - NRL news from Australia but also league news and results from around the world.
- Rugby Heaven - Sydney Morning Herald's Rugby coverage.
- Fox Sport NRL - Fox Sports NRL coverage with the latest news, results, winners, opinion pieces etc.
- NRL Stats - all the latest statistics from the NRL competition.
- Dan's NRL page - teams, results, ladder, winners and news from the NRL.
'PREMIERSHIP winger Matt Geyer says Melbourne Storm is far better prepared for this year's NRL finals and expects to prove it against the Broncos in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Storm, the surprise improver last year, finished the regular season fifth. But, after beating Canberra in the qualifying final, it made a hasty exit in week two, losing 30-0 to the Bulldogs at Aussie Stadium.
While Melbourne has finished this season a place below last year, Geyer is confident his team can mount a much stronger campaign.
"Last year a lot of guys got their first taste of finals," Geyer said yesterday. "And no matter how much you want to say they are just like other games, the truth is that they're not. Until you have played in a final you don't know what the pressure and the intensity is like."' Read more at Storm ready for finals
Who will this year's NRL Grand Final winner be in 2004?
Those in contention to be winners this year are the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, Bulldogs, North Queensland Cowboys, Sydney Roosters, Canberra Raiders, Penrith Panthers and St George Illawarra Dragons. Who will hold up the cup as the winners on Grand Final Day. Following are some NRL resources to keep us all busy busy until the NRL Grand Final Winner is announced.
- NRL Official Page - Contains all the latest NRL news, results, winners and losers.
- National Rugby League - NRL news from Australia but also league news and results from around the world.
- Rugby Heaven - Sydney Morning Herald's Rugby coverage.
- Fox Sport NRL - Fox Sports NRL coverage with the latest news, results, winners, opinion pieces etc.
- NRL Stats - all the latest statistics from the NRL competition.
- Dan's NRL page - teams, results, ladder, winners and news from the NRL.
'PREMIERSHIP winger Matt Geyer says Melbourne Storm is far better prepared for this year's NRL finals and expects to prove it against the Broncos in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Storm, the surprise improver last year, finished the regular season fifth. But, after beating Canberra in the qualifying final, it made a hasty exit in week two, losing 30-0 to the Bulldogs at Aussie Stadium.
While Melbourne has finished this season a place below last year, Geyer is confident his team can mount a much stronger campaign.
"Last year a lot of guys got their first taste of finals," Geyer said yesterday. "And no matter how much you want to say they are just like other games, the truth is that they're not. Until you have played in a final you don't know what the pressure and the intensity is like."' Read more at Storm ready for finals
Well it is only 7 days to go until the Olympics in Athens. This might explain my lack of posting the last week or so. You see as many of you know some of us are running an Olympics Blog and the past few weeks we've been working really hard on getting as many pages of content up as possible - we've added 1100 blog posts on a variety of news topics and at least another 1000 pages of content with medal tables, event previews etc.
Thanks heaps to those who have linked up to the site and those who have added the Free Medal Table to their blog's sidebar.
Thanks also to those who have joined in on the group blogging fun - contributers now include Ande, Ian, , Rachel, Regan and Steve. I think we make a pretty good team although would love to add a few more! We're yet to find any bloggers from Africa or Asia to join us (let me know if you want to jump in). We've also had some great one off contributions to the site like this comprehensive Athens Olympic Swimming Medal Predictions post by a guy who emailed me out of the blue today.
Its a bit of a scary process - the traffic is building as you'd expect but what it will be like in a week's time is anyone's guess. We've ended up pretty highly ranked on Google for terms like Athens Olympics, Olympics Medal Table and heaps of other terms - the worry is that our server won't stand up under the pressure.
Anyway - just thought I'd keep those interested up to date and explain why I might be blogging at odd hours over the next week or so here on this blog (if at all).
Update - Congratulations to Port Adelaide for beating Brisbane in the AFL Grand final. Port Power beat the Lions 17.11 (113) to 10.13 (73).
Who will win the AFL Grand Final in 2004? Will Brisbane be winners for the forth year running or will Port Adelaide overcome their 'chokers' reputation and take it out. Essendon, Geelong, Sydney and St Kilda all will want a go at the title of AFL Premiers also so it should be a fascinating finals series culminating in the Grand Final on 25 September.
While we wait for the AFL Grand Final Results and Winners here are some online AFL resources to keep you occupied:
- Official Website for the AFL - the web home of the Australian Football League (AFL). The site has all the official AFL news, results, ladders, AFL merchandise etc.
- The Age - AFL Coverage - All the latest AFL news, Winners, Results, Opinion, Pictures and Information.
- Herald Sun - AFL Coverage - AFL News, Results, Winners, Opinion, Predictions, Tips and Info
- Gunners AFL 2004 - This AFL enthusiast has a page dedicated to his favorite AFL club - the Collingwood football club. It's a useful site - pity about the team he follows though.
- Sportsbet - AFL Grand final winners Odds page - all the odds of those teams still in the race to be winners of the AFL Grand Final.
- Centrebet - AFL Grand final winners Odd another page full of AFL Grand final news and odds.
- Australia Post - AFL 2004 Football Stamps - stamps to commemorate the 2004 AFL Season.
- Aussie Rules for Beginners
- The Rules of Aussie Rules
Grand final tickets cause headaches for distributors - 'New anti-scalping laws introduced by the Victorian Government have been blamed for problems associated with the distribution of AFL grand final tickets.
Ticketmaster spokesperson Maria O'Connor said the distributor could only sell grand final tickets to AFL members at 14 outlets across the state, because they were a different size to those sold in previous seasons. She said the new laws required Ticketmaster to print a no-scalping warning on the tickets.' Read More
Check out this amazing idea for a toilet accessory! It is called the Aquariass.
It is a real aquarium designed by Oliver Beckert. The tank doesn't share water with the toilet and there is no danger of flushing the fish.
Would be a weird feeling sitting on one of these - you'd definitely have the feeling you were being watched!
There are so many lines I could use with regards to this one but I think I'll just leave it at that.
Found via Engadget.
Someone gave it to me for a bit of a fun read a week or so back.
It is fun and I have read it and would recommend you get yourself a copy and do likewise. Its a true story about a guy (Danny Wallace) who probably had a little too much time on his hand one day and put an ad in a local paper that simple said 'JOIN ME' and invited people to do so by sending him a passport photo.
At the time he didn't really have much idea of what he was inviting people to 'join' but join people did. At first it was one but if you check out his Join Me Website you'll see that his 'joinees' number in their thousands.
In time Danny worked out he needed to have some sort of mission for people to participate in and so initially it became to 'make old men happy' which later was expanded into Random Acts of Kindness every Friday.
The book is wittily written but also indirectly (so far) says quite a bit about human nature - particularly about the desire people have for community, to make a difference and working together. I'm intrigued by the story and would recommend you check it out.
Update - Svetlana Kuznetsova has defeated Elena Dementieva (both from Russia) to win the US Open in straight sets 6-3 6-5.
Who will the winner of the Women's US Open Tennis tournament be? Last year the women's winner was Justin Hennin-Hardenne.
This year's US Open Women's favorites to win include Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo, Serena Williams, Anastasia Myskina and Lindsay Davenport just to name a few. Who do you think the US Open Women's Winner will be at the end of the tennis tournament?
Below are some helpful resources to use while we all wait for the Women's US Open Winners to be announced:
- US Open - Official US Open 2004 Site. Has latest scores, results and winners.
- US Open News - official US Open's News site with all the latest results, scores, descriptions of matches etc.
- United States Tennis Association - USTA site which has heaps of US Open tennis news, results, winners stories, scores etc.
- ESPN's US Open Coverage - An ESPN site dedicated to the US Open with results and winners updated as they happen.
- US Open Winners - a history of the US Open Winners list.
- US Open Information page - with information on the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open History - a page dedicated to telling the history of the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open Betting - Get all the latest US Open Odds.
Update - Roger Federer is the men's winner of the US Open - defeating Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-0, 7-6, 6-0.
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Who will the winner of the Men's US Open Tennis tournament be? Last year the men's winner was Andy Roddick.
This year's US Open favorites in the Men's competition include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Carlos Moya. Who do you think the Men's US Open Winners will be at the end of the tournament?
US Open Details
- The US Open Tennis Tournament is held at the USTA Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows in New York between Monday Aug 30 - Sunday Sept. 12.
- Qualifying Matches begin on Tuesday Aug. 24
- The Main Draw Matches begin on Monday Aug 30.
- Singles Winner Prize: $1,000,000 (USD)
Below are some helpful tennis resources to use while we all wait for the Men's US Open Winners to be announced:
- US Open - Official US Open 2004 Site. Has latest scores, results and winners.
- US Open News - official US Open's News site with all the latest scores, results, descriptions of matches etc.
- United States Tennis Association - USTA site which has heaps of US Open news, results, winners stories etc.
- ESPN's US Open Coverage - An ESPN site dedicated to the US Open with scores, results and winners updated as they happen.
- US Open Winners - a history of the US Open Winners list.
- US Open Information page - with information on the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open History - a page dedicated to telling the history of the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open Betting - Get all the latest US Open Odds.
Update - Roger Federer is the men's winner of the US Open - defeating Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-0, 7-6, 6-0.
Update - Svetlana Kuznetsova has defeated Elena Dementieva (both from Russia) to win the US Open in straight sets 6-3 6-5.
Who will the winner of the US Open Tennis tournament be? Last year the men's winner was Andy Roddick and the female women's winner was Justin Hennin-Hardenne.
This year's US Open favorites in the Men's competition include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Carlos Moya. US Open Women's favorites to win include Justine Henin-Hardenne, Amelie Mauresmo, Serena Williams, Anastasia Myskina and Lindsay Davenport just to name a few. Who do you think the US Open Winners will be at the end of the tournament?
Below are some helpful resources to use while we all wait for the US Open Winners to be announced:
- US Open - Official US Open 2004 Site. Has latest scores, results and winners.
- US Open News - official US Open's News site with all the latest scores, results, descriptions of matches etc.
- United States Tennis Association - USTA site which has heaps of US Open news, results, winners stories and scores etc.
- ESPN's US Open Coverage - An ESPN site dedicated to the US Open with results and winners updated as they happen.
- US Open Winners - a history of the US Open Winners list.
- US Open Information page - with information on the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open History - a page dedicated to telling the history of the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open Betting - Get all the latest US Open Odds.
Update - Roger Federer is the men's winner of the US Open - defeating Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-0, 7-6, 6-0.
Update - Svetlana Kuznetsova has defeated Elena Dementieva (both from Russia) to win the US Open in straight sets 6-3 6-5.
US Open Details
- The US Open Tennis Tournament is held at the USTA Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows in New York between Monday Aug 30 - Sunday Sept. 12.
- Qualifying Matches begin on Tuesday Aug. 24
- The Main Draw Matches begin on Monday Aug 30.
- Singles Winner Prize: $1,000,000 (USD)
Who will the winner of the US Open Tennis tournament be? Last year the men's winner was Andy Roddick and the female women's winner was Justin Hennin-Hardenne.
Below are some helpful resources to use while we all wait for the US Open Winners to be announced:
- US Open - Official US Open 2004 Site. Has latest scores, results and winners.
- US Open News - official US Open's News site with all the latest results, descriptions of matches etc.
- United States Tennis Association - USTA site which has heaps of US Open news, scores results, winners stories etc.
- ESPN's US Open Coverage - An ESPN site dedicated to the US Open with results, scores and winners updated as they happen.
- US Open Winners - a history of the US Open Winners list.
- US Open Information page - with information on the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open History - a page dedicated to telling the history of the US Open Tennis Tournament.
- US Open Betting - Get all the latest US Open Odds.
Update - Congratulations to Port Adelaide for beating Brisbane in the AFL Grand final. Port Power beat the Lions 17.11 (113) to 10.13 (73).
Who will win the AFL Premiers in 2004? Will Brisbane be premiers for the forth year running or will Port Adelaide overcome their 'chokers' reputation and take it out. Essendon, Geelong, Sydney and St Kilda all will want a go at the title of AFL Premiers also so it should be a fascinating finals series culminating in the Grand Final on 25 September.
While we wait for the 2004 AFL Grand Final Premiers to be crowned here are some online AFL resources to keep you occupied:
- Official Website for the AFL - the web home of the Australian Football League (AFL). The site has all the 2004 official AFL news, results, ladders, AFL merchandise etc.
- The Age - AFL Coverage - All the latest AFL news, Winners, Results, Opinion, Pictures and Information.
- Herald Sun - AFL Coverage - AFL News, Results, Winners, Opinion, Predictions, Tips and Info
- Gunners AFL 2004 - This AFL enthusiast has a page dedicated to his favorite AFL club - the Collingwood football club. It's a useful site - pity about the team he follows though - they won't be premiers this year.
- Sportsbet - AFL Grand final winners Odds page - all the odds of those teams still in the race to be winners of the AFL Grand Final.
- Centrebet - AFL Grand final winners Odd another page full of AFL Grand final news and odds.
- Australia Post - AFL 2004 Football Stamps - stamps to commemorate the 2004 AFL Season.
- Aussie Rules for Beginners
- The Rules of Aussie Rules
Grand final tickets cause headaches for distributors - 'New anti-scalping laws introduced by the Victorian Government have been blamed for problems associated with the distribution of AFL grand final tickets.
Ticketmaster spokesperson Maria O'Connor said the distributor could only sell 2004 grand final tickets to AFL members at 14 outlets across the state, because they were a different size to those sold in previous seasons. She said the new laws required Ticketmaster to print a no-scalping warning on the tickets.' Read More
Congratulations to Port Adelaide for beating Brisbane in the AFL Grand final. Port Power beat the Lions 17.11 (113) to 10.13 (73).
Who will win the AFL Grand Final in 2004? Will Brisbane be winners for the forth year running or will Port Adelaide overcome their 'chokers' reputation and take it out. Essendon, Geelong, Sydney and St Kilda all will want a go at the title of AFL Premiers also so it should be a fascinating finals series culminating in the Grand Final on 25 September.
While we wait for the 2004 AFL Grand Final Results and Winners here are some online AFL resources to keep you occupied:
- Official Website for the AFL - the web home of the Australian Football League (AFL). The site has all the 2004 official AFL news, results, ladders, AFL merchandise etc.
- The Age - AFL Coverage - All the latest AFL news, Winners, Results, Opinion, Pictures and Information.
- Herald Sun - AFL Coverage - AFL News, Results, Winners, Opinion, Predictions, Tips and Info
- Gunners AFL 2004 - This AFL enthusiast has a page dedicated to his favorite AFL club - the Collingwood football club. It's a useful site - pity about the team he follows though.
- Sportsbet - AFL Grand final winners Odds page - all the odds of those teams still in the race to be winners of the AFL Grand Final.
- Centrebet - AFL Grand final winners Odd another page full of AFL Grand final news and odds.
- Australia Post - AFL 2004 Football Stamps - stamps to commemorate the 2004 AFL Season.
- Aussie Rules for Beginners
- The Rules of Aussie Rules
Grand final tickets cause headaches for distributors - 'New anti-scalping laws introduced by the Victorian Government have been blamed for problems associated with the distribution of AFL grand final tickets.
Ticketmaster spokesperson Maria O'Connor said the distributor could only sell 2004 grand final tickets to AFL members at 14 outlets across the state, because they were a different size to those sold in previous seasons. She said the new laws required Ticketmaster to print a no-scalping warning on the tickets.' Read More
I've often wanted one of these - now I just need to figure out a way to download it into my brain - or at least my PDA.
Australian National Public Toilet Map
'Locating public toilet facilities in Australian cities, towns, rural areas, and along major travel routes.'
gapingvoid writes -
"So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years:"
The 12 tips they give are really interesting and well worth the read. I love creativity. I often say that if someone would pay me to come up with ideas and to be creative that I'd be in my dream job.
Here are three of their tips that I like:
"4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
Nobody suddenly discovers anything. Things are made slowly and in pain.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
Nobody can tell you if what you're doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the more lonely it is.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, "I’d like my crayons back, please.""
Announcing Shortland Street - a site some of my NZ readers might be interested in.
I've just been looking around this great collection of photographs at Bilderberg. Of particular interest to me, and perhaps some of my readers are two series of images; those depicting Religion in Brasil and the Mazes series which has a number of Labyrinth like mazes.
'With Roman Catholic clergy in short supply in the United States, Indian priests are picking up some of their work, saying Mass for special intentions, in a sacred if unusual version of outsourcing.'
This is one of the more bizarre stories I've read in the last few days. Here in Australia many companies are outsourcing call centre and IT jobs to India, but I never thought the church would use the strategy.
'American, as well as Canadian and European churches, are sending Mass intentions, or requests for services like those to remember deceased relatives and thanksgiving prayers, to clergy in India....While most requests are made via mail or personally through traveling clergymen, a significant number arrive via e-mail, a sign that technology is expediting this practice.
In Kerala's churches, memorial and thanksgiving prayers conducted for local residents are said for a donation of 40 rupees (90 cents), whereas a prayer request from the United States typically comes with $5, the Indian priests say.
Bishop Sebastian Adayanthrath, the auxiliary bishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese in Cochin, a port town in Kerala, said his diocese received an average of 350 Mass intentions a month from overseas. Most were passed to needy priests.
In Kerala, where priests earn $45 a month, the money is a welcome supplement, Bishop Adayanthrath said.' Source- NY Times
Just got an email heads up from Dave the Rave that over in NZ there is a TV show called the Living Room.
'The Living Room Series II is a weekly 30-minute magazine style TV programme. It’s about artists, musicians, filmmakers and other inspirational characters that operate away from established art institutions, record companies and production houses. '
Myers Briggs Foundation - official page of the people who started it all.
Free Online Myers Briggs Personality Tests
update - we've just started a dedicated Athens Olympic Games Blog to track all the latest Olympic News.
Get the full Athens Olympics Medal Tally.
Also check out our 2004 Athens Olympic Games Information page.
Get the full Athens Olympics Medal Tally.
The 2004 Athens Olympic Games is approaching fast. Already the world is turning its attention toward Athens as athletes in hundreds of countries prepare. Controversy has already hit the games over whether venues will be ready in time and if they will be up to standard. As the Olympic Games get closer the range of sites dedicated to the Athens Games increase.
Following are some of the most useful sites on the web that will help both those attending the Olympics in Athens or those watching their country's Olympic team from home in the comfort of their own armchair. Feel free to add your own suggestions of Olympic links that you've found helpful below in comments.
update - we've just started a dedicated Athens Olympic Games Blog to track all the latest Olympic News.
Also check out our Athens Olympic Games News Site for services that offer the latest Olympic News from Athens.
2004 Athens Olympic Games Resources Olympic Games Resources (General)
- International Olympic Committee
- The Official Site of the Olympic Movement
- The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games
- The Olympic Games Timeline
- Centre for Olympic Studies
- World Olympians Associating
- Athens Olympics Blog
- Ancient Greek Olympics
Useful Athens Tourist/Travel Guides
