First test of Bibble Pro 5

First test of Bibble Pro 5, originally uploaded by indigoid.

DPReview announced yesterday that Bibble Pro 5 had finally been released. It was promised quite some time ago, and just as I was starting to wonder if it was ever going to be released at all, they announced the beta. It didn't support my Canon Powershot G10, so I didn't bother with it. Happily, the release version of Bibble Pro 5 does support the G10.

It is quite different to Bibble Pro 4, but I'm quickly becoming accustomed to it. The ability to automate (and customise!) things like importing and exporting craps all over iPhoto, which I'd been using as an interim solution until Bibble supported the G10. I'm sure I'll like it even more on the gorgeous 24" screen of Anna's iMac.

Sydney Harbour Bridge crossing

Sydney Harbour Bridge crossing
Originally uploaded by indigoid

I'd wanted a video of crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge by motorcycle for some time now. I recorded this one, but the camera was mounted with RAM hardware on the handlebars and so was subject to a lot of shock from the bumpy surface of the Bradfield Highway that crosses the bridge. I think the only way to smooth out the video might be to use a helmet-mounted camera instead and rely on the cushioned seat and human body to absorb the vibration and shocks.

Tabasco + vodka = interesting

Add vodka, originally uploaded by indigoid.

Years ago I was persuaded to try a drink composed of vodka and Tabasco sauce in equal quantities. It is quite an experience. Tonight I made one each for Anna and I, as she'd never tried it before. She didn't react very well to drinking it. We both like things with reasonable quantities of chilli in them, but for some reason she can't handle Tabasco sauce very well. She had the small glass, too.

Oh well, at least one of us enjoyed it :-(

business idea

Recently I was locked out of the apartment I share with a friend. While I waited for said friend to arrive with keys it occurred to me that there might be a kernel of a business idea there. Would people pay a small fee to have someone store a copy of their keys and deliver them in person whenever required, incurring a per-incident fee? Billing should be automatic and require a credit card. After all, it is possible that in such a situation the key-owner may not have any form of payment capability with them. In my case I was stuck outside with just shorts, t-shirt and one of my mobile phones -- not even a shoe! To identify the rightful owner of the keys one might use fingerprints, a photo and perhaps some kind of password. The key delivery service should never know the address associated with the keys, to protect against rogue employees. Perhaps encourage customers to use a PO Box. Comments?

Sleeping

Sleeping, originally uploaded by indigoid.

The only light in the room was from an Ikea DUDERÖ lamp with two 8W mini-CFLs in it. This pic would probably have come up OK in colour print as well. Far better than I'd expected from the camera.

Those DUDERÖ lamps are fabulous, by the way. They are particularly good for the bedroom as they seem to start out quite dim when first turned on, then get brighter. Cheap, too.

Boring photo info: Canon 20D, 28-135IS, 3200 ISO, probably around f/4.0. No flash.

Tactile

Tactile, originally uploaded by indigoid.

Thinking about a magic mouse. Comments?

Back to our scheduled programming

Cats - 12, originally uploaded by indigoid.

Anna returned from the UK and picked up the cats from Curtin Cat Care. It's fantastic to have them all back home. We went on our longest-yet two-up ride last weekend, out to Yass and then Boorowa, and back home again via mostly the same route. Good fun.

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The Big Pig had its 30000km service yesterday. Total cost $558. Apparently it is a fairly labour-intensive thing to work on. The tyres (Michelin Pilot Road2) and front brake pads are nearing their end-of-life but will hopefully last another few thousand km if I treat them gently. The dealer indicated that the brake pad wear indicator wiring had broken (causing the warning light to be on all the time) and that it would be replaced when the pads are replaced. I expect the replacement pads + tyres to cost around $1000. Not feeling excited about that. :-( To be fair, though, the tyres have lasted about 20000km, if not longer. Pretty good for motorbike tyres.

C25K Day #1

A friend recently owned up to having started on the Couch-to-5K running program, commonly known as C25K. He was a fair few weeks ahead of me in the program and seemed pretty positive about it. This got me thinking, and today I finally stopped procrastinating and started the program myself. I purchased one of the myriad C25K applications for my iPod Touch, put the Bluetooth headphones[1] on and jumped on the treadmill.

It wasn't as challenging as I expected, but it wasn't exactly easy either, and I'm sure it'll get much harder as the weeks go by. I guess the other cardio work I've done most weeks (bike, elliptical and rower) in the gym at work helped prepare me a bit. Felt pretty good afterwards. Main lesson learned was to double-knot shoelaces. At about the 20-minute mark one shoe untied itself, spoiling my rhythm.

[1] Formerly Jaycar part AR-1857. They don't seem to stock them anymore. Pity :-( as they are quite good for the price --- about $50 if I remember correctly

Lovely rain

2009/10/25, originally uploaded by indigoid.

There was rain forecast for late Friday and yesterday. but it didn't seem to happen. Certainly is raining now, though.

Unfortunately it seems that you can't permalink to a BOM radar image at a specific date/time. Oh well :-( It certainly did look impressive.

A different lifestyle

2009/10/24, originally uploaded by indigoid.

Adapting to working in (most of the time) Sydney has been interesting. One of the first changes was that our Matraville facility has its own gym, locker room and shower facilities. Being able to grab my kit and go straight up to the gym after work is great. I tend to be up there every working day now, whereas when in Canberra I often struggle to find the motivation to make the separate trip.

The other nice thing is the great little eateries everywhere you go. Yum-Yum Thai in Maroubra is one of my favourites. Cheap but great food. I quite like the Pad Prik Sod (beef), and their spring rolls are among the best I've ever had, anywhere.

Midland BT2

Midland BT2, originally uploaded by indigoid.

I ordered a pair of Midland BT2 Bluetooth helmet headsets from a USA-based eBay reseller. Total cost $418, shipped. A headset was easy enough to fit to my Shoei XR1000 helmet. I was concerned that there might not be enough room around the ears, but it seems OK so far. I have successfully paired it with an iPod Touch for music but haven't been able to get it to pair with my Garmin Zumo 550 GPS. Will keep trying.

Having music in the helmet is wonderful. Being able to listen to the encapsulating sounds of Dark Side of the Moog while wafting down the highway sounds like fun... As long as it doesn't negatively affect concentration / alertness.

Last Day Of Mo

Last Day Of Mo, originally uploaded by indigoid.

It is gone.

I miss it. Movember isn't far away, thankfully. I never quite achieved the Merv Hughes look that I was aiming for, but I did try, and on one lunchtime occasion as I walked out of the tradesman-dominated Matraville Hotel with some colleagues, I heard several calls of MERV! MERV! Quite satisfying.

Big thanks to Anna for taking the photo for me, and wheedling/cajoling to get an interesting facial expression.

Now to choose another style for Movember 2009...

25000km of luxury touring

The odometer on my K1200GT ticked over to 25000km a couple of days ago. I took delivery of it on February 13th, 2009 and since then I've covered about 817km a week on it. It's been fun, and the bike is astonishingly capable as a tourer. I've even grown accustomed to using it as a commuter in busy Sydney.

It does, however, lack something intangible. I'm not sure what it is exactly but whenever I hear a BMW boxer engine I think of my R1200R (RIP!), and when I had a G650GS service loaner recently I was really reminded of how much fun the thumpers are. My own F650GS has sat neglected for far too long. Am thinking hard about selling the big pig and just using the thumper again. With no fairing it'll certainly be more comfortable in the warmer weather.

eco containers

Port Botany - 20, originally uploaded by indigoid.

In my semi-regular ride past the Port Botany container yards today I noticed this "eco container bamboo flooring" emblem on a CMA CGM container. First Google result is this, an article on a site named Treehugger. I had no idea that the intermodal containers even used wooden flooring. Fascinating!

I just hope this doesn't result in people clearing perfectly good forests to plant lots of bamboo...

A new blog home

Port Botany - 10, originally uploaded by indigoid.

I'd been wondering about relocating to Blogger for a while, was getting sick of updating Wordpress. Today when I went to moderate a blog comment, Firefox told me that my site was Badware. Rather than attempt to clean it up and risk missing something, I decided to take the plunge and move to Blogger.