A free digest of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, especially for Kindle users is available from Amazon. The full print edition costs about $36 per year. Why not take advantage of some free content for your Kindle device, or Kindle on iPhone or Android.
OK, been playing with Google+ for a day or two. Once I get a critical mass of friends over there, I plan on dumping Facebook. Well, maybe not dumping it but I don’t really want to actively use it any more, like I’m over it.
If you’re new to Google+, I have a couple suggestions:
Oh, and add the Android App to your phone for that mobile experience.
So, come on over to the smart side with Google+. Look me up and add me to your circle of friends!
The table below represents all the fuel I’ve bought for my little car for almost the last 12 months:
I only use my car to drive between my home and the local train station, and occasionally I pick the kids up from sports after work. Other than four traffic lights and expected annual weather/temperature changes there isn’t a lot of variance in conditions. Sometimes I’ll get all four lights green, sometimes all four will be red. Of course stopping and starting light this effects mileage. I try to run my car to as close to empty as I dare and then fill it to the brim every time, although sometimes I break this pattern by necessity.
Given this data I want you to tell me if it’s cheaper for me to run my car on Regular Unleaded (highlighted in green) or Premium Unleaded (in yellow) which can be anywhere from 2c to 10c more per liter, or even if a solution exists.
I’m not interested in fuel use. I don’t care if I use more volume of one fuel than the other per kilometer. I want to use less dollars per kilometer.
I’ve discussed this with some workmates who have come up with various results, all of which are a bit wishy washy for my liking. For example, it was found that I seem to be buying my Premium Unleaded cheaper than the Regular, on average. I guess this is because I was buying more Premium before Christmas when it less expensive than Regular is now.
If you take simple averages, then it’s costing me 35c per 100km less when I run on Premium than when I run on Regular. But I don’t think it’s that simple, and I don’t quite know how to go about it.
Any mathematicians out there want to give me a hand with this? Never mind the whole “if you don’t run your car on the right fuel it harms your engine and costs longer in the long term” red herring. I just want to know which is the cheaper fuel per kilometer traveled.
It took all in my power, but I managed to stop Suzanne from being drawn to the Dumb Side. She’s had it in her mind to buy an iPhone for a few weeks, dropping hints that became less and less subtle as time wore gone on. I told her that if she can manage to fit it into our budget, then by all means she can get whatever phone she wants but please reconsider and choose Android. Hell, I’d even accept it if she went Windows Mobile, anything but Apple.
I mean if running multiple apps at the same time, configurable home screens, a better app market, more useful notifications, a choice of hardware, custom ROMs, and smoother social integration aren’t reason enough then you are a hopeless fanboi waste of oxygen.
So after a fair amount of reasoning, begging and pleading as well as some threats and intimidation I managed to convince Suzanne to settle on an HTC Incredible S, a far better and cheaper option than the Apple iPhone. I think she will enjoy it much more than the iPhone.
Yummy!
We’re all getting new computers at work. Finally, no more 386 with Windows NT! We’ve gone with 8GB laptops, with 256 GB SSDs and dual 1200 x 1920 displays running 64-bit Windows 7 Enterprise.
The only decision now is what to name it. For the last couple years I’ve gone with GAGARIN but I want something new and sexy. I was hoping to get everyone to stick to a theme like the Seven
We could go with
who where otherwise known as The Furies from Greek Mythology, but three isn’t really enough to go around. Seven or more would be ideal. I don’t want something obvious like the Seven Dwarfs
Or perhaps the Enterprise
I was thinking of the names of The Fellowship from The Lord of the Rings
Movies and mythology are fine, but how about something historical? Like the Mercury Astronauts
Seven Emperors?
In all probability we aren’t going to stick to a theme, so I’ll have to end up choosing something just for myself. I’m partial to Battlestar Galactica
Leave a comment, give me some suggestions.
The fallout of Borders bookstores falling into financial ruin in the States seems to be the downfall of a beloved bookstore from my childhood. Angus and Robertson were operating in Murray Street back before it became a pedestrian mall. In my early adventures travelling into the city to catch movies and explore, I’d more often than not end the day at Angus and Robertson flicking through reference books or the Sci-Fi section. I actually won a door prize for being the 100th person to pick up some particular book on display at the front of the store. Some guy with a microphone jumped out from behind a door and scared the shit out of me, yelling at me. I didn’t understand anything he said besides “The book is yours to keep!”. So I grabbed that book and ran as fast as I could out of there as if he was one of these “strangers” I’d been hearing so much about. After I ran a couple blocks I was able to process what he was saying. I’d won a book! It was called Danny Dunn and the Voice from Space
Well, I can’t say times have changed much since then. Through my teens and into adulthood I’d often find myself at Angus and Robertson flicking through reference books and Science Fiction novels. The only thing that changed was the location. Angus was now across the street from their original location next to Old Mr Mitchum and his Corner Shop into a new flash multilevel premises.
But a couple weeks ago I saw they’d shut their doors and a little bit of me died inside. Salt was rubbed into the wound upon seeing the notice hung in their door:
My new favourite mode of transportation is the Airbus A380. I got the last QANTAS Sydney to San Francisco direct flight when I left for the states a couple weeks ago, which left only LA to Sydney on the way back and happened to add 10 hours to my journey when you throw in having to wait around in terminals for connecting flights. The trip was made so much easier, though, by the fantastic A380.
I was a bit naughty and turned my GPS on when leaving LAX and found that between takeoff and reaching cruising altitude we have climbed at an average of about 45 degrees. I didn’t ever think that most commercial aircraft climbed that fast. The A380 has a higher cruising altitude than other aircraft such as Boeing 747s and this allows for a smoother ride with less turbulence. Also, this aircraft is surprisingly quiet. It was like traveling in a quiet car which made it easier to keep rested. Mercifully the seat next to me was empty so I was able to stretch a leg over. Let me tell you, and extra couple inches makes all the difference when you’re a 6 foot 4 dude on an aircraft.
I was able to catch some nice video of contrails forming off our wings.
Finally, really truly for real, Star Wars on Blu-Ray is available for preorder. Get in now at a discounted price. Between this and Lord of the Rings, I think it’s time to upgrade to Blu-Ray.
So Dad came up for the last couple weeks and has been helping me lay the floors. Well, in reality I’ve been helping him, but hey. Took a couple shots to share. It’s that click-clack snap together stuff which is fairly easy to lay but there’s some skill and finesse involved. First, you gotta scrape and clean the concrete then either apply an oil-based sealant or, as we did, roll on some plastic. On top of that goes a layer of squishy foam to give it a bit of bounce. Then go the floor tiles. I still have a few corners and stuff to go but I should knock them out by the weekend.
