Slow Demise

Blogging V2.0

2009-05-05T10:12:00.003+10:00

Much thought has transpired over the last week and I have decided to once again embrace the blogosphere for a while. No real explanation for my extended absence, just a lot of work to get done on the PhD. The house has been completed for a while now, so given that, I will pretty much be blogging about the slow demise of myself, as I try to write this PhD, as well as the demise of the world in general...

Time will only tell how long this lasts, I will however, endeavor to use this as an outlet for all frustrations... Consider that your warning!

Entertainment?

2008-02-01T11:48:00.000+10:00

It appears as though some crave entertainment, which may indicate just how sad and depressing there lives have become. To yearn for such entertainment from a blog, in fact demand it, leaves one concerned for their general well being. Perhaps someone may end up being like Britney Spears, who may I add has proven over the last few days to be more entertaining than ever before...

In response to "you know who's" query, by far the most irrelevant, insubstantial comment ever posted, No...

As per request for entertainment... The street is boring, nothing to report, the house is stalled, although I probably should upload some more pictures... so in the mean time have a look at a Bugatti Veyron race a Eurofighter over a mile... with suprising results...

Long Time...

2007-12-18T18:51:00.000+10:00

No Post...

Bit of an embargo has been placed on my posts by certain people, but rest assurred I shall be back in the New Year, if not before... I am relatively certain that very very few people visit this site anymore, if there are, any suggestions on the direction it should take?

The renovation is almost over, landscaping taking place, dog fenced in...

So that won't work anymore, I could write about PhD or teaching shenanigans, such as the student who opted to give me a bottle of "Chivas" this year...

Let me know, I guess if there are no suggestions, I'll just ramble on...

Tis the Season so here's a video!

Update Non-Existant

2007-10-27T14:46:00.000+10:00

For some reason the location of my camera cable escapes me and I am unable to download anything from it...

As soon as I can, I will...

2007 Election

2007-10-15T06:07:00.000+10:00

Hey look at that, I didn't update... Now there's a shocker!

Just a quick note, 2007 election comments are being made on the Misguided Trio blog...

If you are interested at all check out here...

Update

2007-10-13T17:19:00.000+10:00

All technical issues should now be resolved. Meaning I should finally be able to place a post on this thing... I've been trying... Let's hope something happens with this one, and I will be able to post a proper update tomorrow...

Day 269

2007-08-23T07:29:00.000+10:00

As the incredibly unoriginal title of this post suggests, today is the 269th day of the 'Slow Demise' which may seem odd being that it's been well over a year since the whole thing started. For the record, I only included the days that someone bothered to show up and do some work.

Unless you've been completely ignorant of things on the Gold Coast lately (and I can't blame you for that) you would be aware of the tumultuous weather we have had over the last few days. Not surprisingly the house was hit pretty hard, apparently when you pull up a driveway, and then it rains before you manage to replace it... things don't go to well...

Had a visit from the legal division to the City Council the other day... Apparently someone in the street made a formal complaint about a tree being illegally cut down. I was informed of my rights not to implicate myself or others, which was pretty funny anyway. Slightly concerned they were referring to one of the trees we had removed the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand on end, until he asked me about a tree next door...

The conversation went on, and the remarkably candid officer from the Council informed me of the Council's dislike for many members of the street, he also informed me of the fines payable to council for illegal tree removal, $120,000 for an individual and $750,000 for a company... Seems a little extreme for a tree...

So I went to do some investigating of my own, I hadn't seen a fallen tree for a while, sure plenty of branches, there were 80km/h winds after all. I looked closer at one of the branches and realised it was a tree, that had fallen over, no cut what-so-ever! The MWACS need some cause really really quickly...

In MWAC news, one of the most annoying of them all, "The Virus" has left the street! She has sold the house and moved away, not before her dead beat sons had a 21st Birthday Party (once the house was already sold mind you). It is reasonable to suggest that many of the guests at said party may have been responsible for knocking down the above pictured branch with there vehicle whilst trying to leave... Anyway, Virus' parting comments clearly explain her attitude "I don't like progress" or something like that. Her presence on the street will not be missed by me, or others...

That's about it at this point in time, the other side of the house is now ready for paint, so that is exciting, I will try to post pictures this afternoon with what it looks like... Oh and if you are wondering, no the rain tanks weren't connected so we didn't benefit from any of the aforementioned rain...

Day 250

2007-07-28T20:03:00.000+10:00

Given the numerical value of the day, it seemed only right that something go wrong... again... It appears as though I left the other side of the house at just the right time... Courtesy of a few termites... Well the pictures speak for themselves really....

Whilst the above damage was caused by termites, the picture below was the demise of an 18-19 year old bathroom, by humans...

No word on how much of a delay this new found problem may bring about, so I'm just going to drink another beer and watch Brisbane damage Collingwood some more...

Day 248

2007-07-25T18:09:00.001+10:00

Not really that much to say, other than colds aren't as enjoyable as they used to be... Enjoy the photo's...
Starting off with the upstairs Kitchenette/Bar no. 4
The view from the lake, note the size of the water tanks to the left...
Upstairs master suite
Kitchen...

Pool shot...
Back to the kitchen because Blogger wants it so...

Shower heads... there's two, because that's the new water saving techniques advised by the City Council, "Shower with a Friend"
The old dwelling, oh the memories, the guests, the food, the rat...

And making the first appearance on Slow Demise, the owners and Family at the first official breakfast of the Regime Fortress (name likely to change...)
What a feast!
Rumour has it that there is a high liklihood of a one month completion date, so given the standard formula, in 6 months time the demise may finally be complete and the living allowed to begin...

A commercial

2007-07-23T17:48:00.000+10:00

Before I post photos from the weekends shenanigans...

Day 228

2007-07-05T07:23:00.000+10:00

And the shock sets in, two posts in the same week, has to be a record of late, however, due to popular demand I am putting a significant effort in attempting more regular updates...

So let's see, what has been noteworthy in the last few days...

Oh another neighbor decided to stop by and distract the brickies from completing my fortress, apparently she was upset and disturbed that we don't want to see her or anyone else anymore... Which I always thought was relatively obvious... I mean let's face it, all they seem to do is concentrate on this particular house, the MWAC'S need to find another cause, this one is shutting up shop... as soon as the gate goes on...

To illustrate the fortress element some photo's of the front of house...

A little more of the new sports bar/old lounge room

For those of you wondering just how I managed to sprain my ankle on a missing step, well you try and navigate this one in the middle of the night!!!

That's all for now, more photo's when something else happens I guess...

Day 224

2007-07-01T16:55:00.001+10:00

Well look at that, at long last I am finally posting an update... Who would have thought that I would still be her e 224 Days later, still here on the same side of the house, typing away on a new computer though, so that is kind of cool... A few things have happened since we last spoke, my injury tally has gone up considerably, not only managing to fall through a glass window which necessitated a quick trip to the hospital and a stitch, but I also managed to sprain my ankle last week after the builders removed a step and thought it would be fun no to tell me about it!

Injury counts aside...

The new fence was hit by graffiti artists who thought it would be fun to paint this on the wall...

Then a disgruntled neighbor who is attempting to sell her house because she is unable to handle trees coming down, decided that the artwork may actually devalue her house... Which is ironic because I am reasonably certain that she may have had a role in the artwork... Regardless she decided to add to the graffiti by well it's hard to put into words, so here's another photo...
So as you can tell, the sanity factor of the street has failed to improve over the last forty odd days...

Other happening include a considerable amount of work on the house, including plastering which makes the whole house look very nice, walls are fun... Future plasters take note, ensure that there are no random animals in the roof before you cover it back up...

Allow me to set the scene, it's just past midnight, I have just gotten home from the pub, feed the animals, well 2 of the 3 anyway, I could here the other cat, I just couldn't find it... Until I realised they had plastered the roof, and then... the cat... inside the roof... Two hours latter I finally managed to free the feline through the roof, not before I woke dad up mind you... I like to share the pain....

Many more stories to tell, but I think I should let it take place over a period of time... I promise to update more regularly as the demise begins its final stage... at least I hope it's almost in its final stages... time will only tell!

And of course, plenty of photos for you all...

Right...

2007-05-29T18:25:00.000+10:00

So I'm not going to talk about the house this post...

Lot's of mud and talk...

That's about it really...

I don't know why I enjoy this clip... Oh yes I do... I guess it's time to find out if you feel the same!

5 Weeks to go?

2007-05-15T09:04:00.000+10:00

Apparently...

I'll post some photo's this afternoon and we can start betting as to whether or not it's going to happen!

Day 181

2007-05-02T17:01:00.000+10:00

Well I'm back!!!!

I was fed up with waiting for telstra, so I embarked upon my own little adventure to fix up the internet, now since i've been gone, not much else has happened, rumor has it that Mac's and Blogger don't bode well with photo uploads, but we'll see...

In the meantime, the Builders have been absent this week, apparently they have run out of things to do, the tilers have to tile, the painters have to paint... and I don't know who they are so I can't comment on them...

Anyway... Photos...

(Sorry for the delay in posting, I just found out that you need Firefox for Mac to be able to post pics... on the upside, I will be updating more often)

You can try and guess what these are pictures of...

Video Time

2007-04-18T14:39:00.000+10:00

I have no internet at home, so no pictures, but this is a great video...

Day 149...

2007-03-19T18:34:00.000+10:00

It looks as though Telstra may just let me finally post something up here...

I realise it has been a while, and that there may be a few of you out there who have grown disheartened and no longer stop by for visit, that's ok, people are busy now-a-days, realising that Kevin Rudd has a better than average chance at being the next Australian Prime-Minister is a hard ordeal, for some of you, others, not so much...

Regardless, on this day, bar one from the 150th day of this nonsense, I have decided to do two things, firstly, is mention that the little sister has decided she believes in evolution and has opted to join the world of blogging, or at least the "it" within her has...

Check it out here... (Don't click on it until you are done here...)

Secondly is post some photos, and mention the Misguided Trio Blog here, which is probably receiving more posts than this one lately, (courtesy of Telstra)...

Over the next few days I will post the St Patrick's Day tale for 2007, 12 hours of Guinness, Friends and the occasional spanking...

In the meantime, and with no further adieu I give you Day 149 of the increasingly painful slow demise...

Telstra is the greasted internet provider in the world!

2007-03-15T09:55:00.000+10:00

Please enjoy my sarcasm...

As I am in my second week of questionable Internet connectivity, I yet once again am left to blog from my office, I do this for a very important reason...

In between making students cry, and writing about rats in the middle ages, I sometimes manage to get back home, much like last night...

MG recently asked for an update on the tree situation, whilst the tales of the crying apologetic neighbour will eventually make an appearance on slow demise, I believe this photo I took on my phone (Telstra can get something right) will suffice for now....

Victory is mine...

Day 134...

2007-03-02T06:54:00.000+10:00

Well it's the day after quite possibly the biggest storm I have ever heard come by this joint. It hit at about 0200...

That aside, as promised yesterday I finally have my bandwidth back, so I can post some photos...

On a quick note, it appears as though they have been working overtime to get the house ready for the plasterer's to place in, um... the plaster (Giprock)...

How can I be so sure...

Well the hidden toilet cisterns were kind of a give-a-way, so I am predicting that we won't be seeing a frame for much longer...

This weekend I'll try and get some photo's up of the 24 hour stint in Sydney...

Well

2007-03-01T09:52:00.000+10:00

With it being the first day of the month I now have my bandwidth back so i can start posting pictures again, which I will... This afternoon...

In the meantime enjoy this incredibly well done clip of Bush Vs Blair, who is the weakest link...

Note:- I don't necessarily agree with the outcome...

Day 125

2007-02-21T07:30:00.000+10:00

So judging by the last few phone calls a few of you are getting annoyed at the lack of updates, there is a reason for this. Mainly that there are no photos to take, well I could and I have, but it doesn't look like anything much has happened...

What has happened is that a whole lot of plumbing and wiring, the renderer's are back this morning so there is likely to be some photos this afternoon.

The Dr drafted a response to the MWAC's the other day, which they should receive sometime this morning, which has the potential to make some sort of news this evening, I'll keep you posted...

Day 120

2007-02-13T22:49:00.000+10:00

So i think I have lost count on the days... I can't remember whether I was meant to count weekends or not... I was meant to take photos yesterday, but the battery died in the camera, today, however, I was successful...

Oh and a new front door as well... Hopefully in the right spot...

For those of you...

2007-02-12T11:06:00.000+10:00

Wondering what it is we PhD students get up to all day in an office... Well we watch videos like this and spit our coffee all over our research....

I KNEW IT!!!

2007-02-09T10:13:00.000+10:00

This is why i don't like to feed them!

Day 117

2007-02-08T17:13:00.000+10:00

Well, I do have to admit that I feel pretty awful about my failure to update this website in 16 days. I left Uni early to try and get some photos in, and as I uploaded the camera I realised that there was 57, which were mainly photos of the house and my night of, well, let's just say my night over the weekend...

At this exact point in the process a whole lot of wiring is going on, however, in realisation that you haven't seen photos of the roof, the walls, and pretty much anything else that has happened in 16 days, I guess I should just become silent and post some pictures....

More photos tomorrow, I promise... Maybe even a video as that may be a whole lot easier than trying to find a picture that's different...

Apology

2007-02-01T07:05:00.000+10:00

Sorry, things have been pretty hectic lately, I promise to get back on board soon, by way of apology I made a video of the house at the moment...

Enjoy...

Oh and Mum and Dad, made a few changes...

Hope that's ok...

Day 101

2007-01-23T19:41:00.000+10:00

I'm a little shocked that I failed to post yesterday...

Day 100 could have been fun... I took photos and had every intention of posting Day 100, I just lost motivation late last night...

I have already posted a couple of other things so I won't dribble on...

Lot's of things happening though...

Such as...

A Roof...

Some bricks...
Some wood... Granted part of the roof, but I thought it looks somewhat cool...

Oh and the view of the above, from the below...
I'm relatively busy over the next few days, so I can't guarantee a post, although Australia Day will be a holiday, so there may be time for it then...

Response to Comment...

2007-01-23T19:24:00.000+10:00

I recently took note of the following comment left by Charles HRH , which can be found here. Whilst I have no idea who Charles HRH is, unless the poster meant HRH Charles, I can appreciate the question...

What has happened with the trees? (It's OK Chucky I fixed up your spelling error)

Awfully long story on the trees, and I'm not a fan of "Stump" speeches... (wow I'm hilarious) the trees still stand... In all their pathetically dangerous glory...

Truth be told, that's about all I can say on the matter, the council turned up the other the other day, which I originally posted about here, one of the MWAC's (Mothers Without a Cause) phoned the Dr about the whole thing, she obviously learnt how to cultivate her linguistic ability since talking to me...

Essentially, when they topple I shall post...

However, I couldn't help but notice that no one complained about Gus's systematic removal of Fauna...

That tree may have been home to thousands of native... things...

On a side note, one couldn't help but notice that a few trees impeding the view of Gus have all of a sudden died... I'll take some photo's tomorrow morning.. Just because I can't be bothered reading another treaty....

Important Notice!

2007-01-23T19:08:00.000+10:00

It is well known that my diplomacy training can only take me so far... Mess with me often enough and eventually I will bite back, that is not a threat, it's a promise...

Every person who has read this blog should be fully aware of the points of contention I have had with "Gus"...

Alas my threshold was reached, so I did what any man or woman who couldn't handle it any longer would do...

I destroyed the house...

Whilst I thought this originally to be a good idea, my desire for the complete removal of any infrastructure that had been tainted by her presence, backfired with the arrival of the world's largest jackhammer....

A closer view?
So hopefully we have learnt a lesson! If not...

Meh! What do I care, I have an iPod...

Time to laugh!

2007-01-20T19:38:00.001+10:00

Day 94

2007-01-16T09:09:00.000+10:00

A whole lot of noise eventuated this morning, and I couldn't really work out what it was... Then I looked up and noticed that they had started putting up some of the main roof trusses...

Day 93

2007-01-15T19:14:00.000+10:00

For the record I was prepared to post on Saturday, which technically would have been day 93, however, all the brick layers did, or should I say assistant bricklayers did was make a lot of noise, and that's about it... So unless you really wanted to see a void bigger than the Grand Canyon I wasn't going to post any photos...

Therefore today shall be officially known as Day 93, or Ninety-Three if you have an aversion to numerals....

Today was fascinating, to start of with, I had to tell the Brickies not to do their job, which was relatively intimidating, but they understood why, bigger windows are much easier to bring into play when a brick wall isn't holding them in place... Then I received the call from the Dr. to say to go ahead with it, as it would be to much work and to expensive otherwise...

I trekked out towards the elevated brickies who said after being informed...

What the @#$K, it's not #&*ki*^ rocket science, if you want a bigger f!$^*&g window then they'll do it, it can't be done later...

The Dr said the kitchen design failed to allow for such an extravagance, according to the architect, to this the builders response (somewhat paraphrased)...

Stupid kitchens, no-one ever had issues with a BBQ in my day...

Needless to say that was fun... I then retired to the library to read up about SARS in Toronto... Truly fascinating stuff, if you really want to know about it, leave a comment... Upon returning to the house I managed to be acquired by two GCCC representatives, I just wanted to eat but they needed to speak to the son... I don't know why... Had a fantastic conversation using every bit of diplomatic skill I have acquired over the last few years... It may have worked... more later...

I left the house to hit the pub with my supervising professor to the sight of concrete being poured... into retaining walls... which makes me wonder just what it is they are going to retain...

Photo time... (which, unless you start leaving comments, I will be convinced that it is all that you want to see...)

Kitchen Windows... To Small??? Yes... Functional??? I doubt it... Unchangeable??? You bet...

Pre-Pour
Post-Pour...

Not much else happened construction wise, well not much else worth publishing anyway... Although a point of contention was raised in regards to the size of another window on the first floor...

Therefore, I bring you the new poll...

Should this window be made larger? (Personally I feel it should be a door with a small balcony so that someone can enjoy some martini's whilst watching the sun demise for the day!)

Let me know... Until tomorrow... Peace Beatnik's...

Day 90

2007-01-12T08:52:00.000+10:00

So it has occurred to me that since Blogger updated their template thing that the dates have been out of whack... I'll do my best to rectify the situation...

The brick layers have been going non-stop, well that's not entirely true they stopped twice during the day, and after the second stoppage they decided to go home... The garage is completed, and the Balcony on the first floor is too...

But the photos speak for themselves...

Oh and on a side note, I am sure that you have all heard about David Beckhams $320 million move to Los Angeles... But it's OK he is not doing it for the money, he's doing it for the football... whatever that means... I mentioned this because in his world wide press conference he mentioned that he was ecstatic and the opportunity to become a part of "The Galaxy"... Which was hilarious... but then again, my sense of humour may be slightly over developed at this stage in the morning, and before anyone comments, Yes I am fully aware that he has signed with the LA Galaxy...

The brick layers on en route to return Saturday morning, which means staying off the sauce one more time, so we'll speak to you again Saturday night, because I have no social life what so ever...

Day 88

2007-01-11T08:37:00.000+10:00

Sorry for the delayed post... Nothing to write just photos...

Tree Update

2007-01-09T08:31:00.000+10:00

I have been informed by the powers that be, that the tree removal process is being reconsidered. It appears that once a tree is declared dangerous by the GCCC, unlike dogs, the tree has a right of appeal and may be undeemed (I am relatively certain that undeemed in not a real word, but use it often enough and it will be)dangerous... Time will only tell, however, in the mean time I am building up a nice collection of fallen tree branches which I intend to use to block the driveways of certain neighbours....

In other street news...
Victory is Mine!!! Couldn't help but notice the removals trucks outside of Gus's house during the week... Mainly because they blocked of the street to revers them in... It didn't help, they still hit Gus's fence and almost ripped the gate off... Removalist's being removalist's just made sure that the pillar looked perfectly balanced back on top...

Return to Demise

2007-01-07T13:01:00.000+10:00

Not that I ever really left, it's just that I felt the need to take a break from posting...

Besides that, nothing has really been happening here anyway...

A brickie thought Saturday was Monday and gave me an early wake up call, severely disturbing the road to a quick hangover recovery. Fortunately no one else showed...

For those of you not on the Gold Coast, today is a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Tonight is my first Orientation Drink up down at the University, should be exciting, Tony owes me a few favours so hopefully it's not an expensive night. So why post this news today? Well I wanted to mention that as I am still safe and secure, I am holding a thank you BBQ for my British protections squad, so we can commiserate loosing the Ashes together...

The Stage is Set....

So if you find yourself bored this fine Sunday afternoon, stop on by. You still need a passport and a hard hat to get on the property, but at least you won't get shot. I think the DPKO (Department of Peace Keeping Operations) is letting their hair down tonight, well what little hair they have left...

Now I am fully aware that I promised a year in review, and I haven't, maybe I will, maybe I won't, it depends on how busy I find myself over the next week...

What I will say about 2006, well, it was a heck of a year... The good times outnumbered the bad and I can't really complain about that...

To appease my little sister...

I won't take credit for the photo, I believe it was Mel who took it, Lisa I know you read this site, so you can comment and credit it to the real person... No more complaining about me posting Tim and Gayle's picture, and not yours...

At Lisa and Simon's wedding I made a lot hype about taking my 1800th photo with that camera... I won't post that picture, because I really don't like photo's that include myself (sorry Laura)... Oddly enough since that day over 200 pictures have been taken, so I went through the archives and was shocked to discover what the 2000th photo was... For those of you who don't recognise the somewhat infamous picture, look here.

Well that does it for now, I have to go and appease my peacekeepers....

I will start posting more regularly now that the reconstruction is about start up again. In the meantime folks, I truly hope that you all had a magnificent holiday period, and may your 2007 be all that you hope and desire!

Dilemma Resolution.... Maybe?

2006-12-27T17:14:00.000+10:00

So after much thought and consideration of the tempting suggestions, and after having a chat with a good friend of mine at lunch time today... I decided to resolve the "Gus" issue...

As it is Christmas, and Santa did treat me quite well this year, I opted to return the wine to Gus, untouched... Now I wish I didn't...

As I approached the door with the first carton of wine I was wondering what would transpire... Feeling a little good spirited I rang the doorbell... Of course "The Gus" as opposed to the little Gus's or Mr Gus, answered the door...

Me: Hi Mrs Gus, I just stumbled across this whilst cleaning
Gus: There is supposed to be more than that
Me: Oh there is, there's another two case, one this size, and one larger, I just found them whilst cleaning up just then and thought I would rush them over to you.
Gus: Well... Thank you...
Me: That's OK, My Pleasure, I'll just race back and grab the others...

I went back into the house, by the time I was back on the driveway with the other two cases Mr Gus and one of the little Gus's was already there....

Mr Gus: What on earth are they doing here?
Me: I have no idea, I just found them and thought that you may want them...
Mr Gus: How long have they been here?
Me: I'm not sure...
Mr Gus: Is there a date?
Me: Oh Maybe, I'm not sure
Mr Gus: well here, we'll take them for you
Me: Oh thanks
Mr Gus: No thank you
Me: You folks have the happiest of New Years!
Mr Gus: OK, thanks...

I was under the impression by Mr Gus, and Little Gus that they were awfully surprised that I wasn't Satan...

Anyway, to the fans of the wine story, I hope I didn't disappoint you with my acts of kindness... well not that kind... Mr Gus did trespass, violating a number of safety warnings... He may need a warning himself...

Or not...

Rally Update

2006-12-27T10:54:00.000+10:00

My sources have informed me that there was only six (6) people present at this mornings rally, and he failed to see a council representative, therefore I am unable to announce any decision that may or may not have been made this morning...

I am now going back to bed!

Peace!

Holidays are Fun...

2006-12-26T19:38:00.000+10:00

A rally may be more fun!

I just got back home about an hour ago and stumbled across this "destructive" poster pinned and nailed into the two trees that the City Council wishes to remove.

In response, well not really a response, but a comment...

First of all, if you are going to try and hold a rally against the destruction of trees, print on recycled paper, or at least don't laminate the paper so that it can be recycled at a later date.

Secondly, it may seem somewhat "duplicitous" or better yet "stupid" to advertise such a protest by NAILING THE SIGN TO THE TREE... Tree are living things, last time I hammered a nail into a living thing I was almost arrested for Grievous Bodily Harm... Next time, tape it to the tree... Oh and why I am at it... The only way you can guarantee that all native trees have been destroyed on this property is by trespassing, it may be worthwhile not implicating yourself in a crime before your next rally... oh and last time I checked removed trees, aren't necessarily destroyed!

Thirdly, Please, PLEASE use Microsoft Word, it comes with a spell and grammar check, so proving your stupidity isn't as easy as spelling opposed and environment apposed and invironment, it certainly doesn't glorify your IQ.

Fourthly, people don't walk through the environment (sorry I mean invironment) of the front yard, they certainly don't walk through the invironment of the trees, last time I checked they were solid.

You mention the unique habitat these trees provide for various species of birds, (the feathered kind). Yet fail to mention that five years ago you were requesting $500 to hire a Falcon for a month so the birds would leave.

These neighbours fail to accommodate for the liability posed by these trees, the branches falling from these great heights measure close to 4 inches in diameter, when one of these branches falls upon a child and slices it in half killing the child instantly, will they rally around the tree then?

I enjoy the environment, I like trees, in fact I have organised a number of National Tree Day events I have the shirts to prove it! None of these neighbours have attended, probably because they weren't invited, much like I wasn't to tomorrows rally. I also like allowing little children to walk down this street without fear of being struck down by a random branch, or swooped upon by an over-zealous falcon!

Two of the smartest people I know have strongly urged me to not be around tomorrow morning, two others, who wish they were as smart as the other two, (you know you do), have said the same thing. So I will not be around tomorrow morning, the boxing day sales have started and I want a new PlayStation game!

Rumour has it that the spelling and grammar Nazi has run away with the signs so ashamed that something so poorly could be reproduced... I had nothing to do with it... Hopefully a spy will supply some photos of tomorrow...

I need some sleep... Take Care Folks... oh and Plant a tree!!!

Fortress Markdom!?

2006-12-24T14:45:00.000+10:00

(This post was intended for Saturday, I was unable to load photos until today)
Well it has been quite an eventful 24 hours, I receive news that I have been awarded a scholarship for a PhD, and 12 hours later I get called an a$$hole... The fun never stops eh?

This got me thinking, my neighbour's are essentially the most annoying people on the planet, more annoying than Andy Dick, Ian Thorpe and Jessica Rowe all put together. If my neighbour's collectively represent the Australian population, one has to wonder why I should continue to be a part of said nation.

Needless to say, I have spoken to some relatively powerful friends, and have arranged for this house to secede from the Commonwealth of Australia (sorry mum and dad) and become a UN Protectorate. Unless a better name is suggested, this UN protectorate will now be called 'Markdom', not very creative I know, but I am sober, and it has been a long day, let me know your suggestions.

I am in the process of drafting my constitution, and finding customs agents willing to enforce my borders. At the moment, I am protected by British Peacekeepers (well not really), so I should be safe, if not, I have Brinkley to take them all out...

For those of you who don't know me, this isn't really a joke, we just had the flag raising ceremony thirty minutes ago, with a small crowd gathered to cheer on the birth of a nation... Oh the crowd refused to be photographed...

I don't know how long my little protectorship will last, but it is sure to be viable for at least the rest of the silly season. In the meantime folks, have a very happy Christmas and New Year, if you are Jewish, happy Hanukkah, for the Atheists, enjoy the Holiday, and for the rest of you... Well see you next year...

Oh and whilst this sounds like the last post for the year, it really isn't, next week, by popular demand, will be a year in review, including a number of confrontations never published and a quest to find a date for New Years Eve so I can keep last years resolution!

Window in the Skies...

2006-12-24T14:25:00.000+10:00

Before you start leaving comments, realise that I am fully aware that I have already posted a video for Window in the Skies (new U2 song)...

But, in honour of Bono's knighthood... And my seriously depressing fascination with punctuation in subtitles...

I give you the Live versions of Windows, from Japan... For a laugh read the subtitles, kind of like bad karaoke, until you realise the over emphasis on punctuation...

And Dad, before you comment, I do realise that the subtitled punctuation is better than my own, and I am ashamed of that, but then again...

Live from the House

2006-12-22T09:34:00.000+10:00

Well the front of the house... I have TREE HUGGERS!!!!

Oh and apparently I am an A$$hole... The Gold Coast City Council has turned up to remove some trees on their property, they just happen to be in my front yard... Well the neighbours are all upset and are standing there hugging trees.... I am going to get some photos soon, I believe the police have been called...

The fun never stops here at slow demise... More later

Update: So they won the fight, but didn't win the war, check back soon for an important announcement! After about an hour, apparently some council worker turned up and told the tree removalist's that the tax payer isn't paying them to sit around whilst these people harass perfectly innocent trees that never asked to be hugged, which in most cases may be considered assault (thanks anon. commenter). So the trucks pulled out, no word on when they shall return, although midnight could be fun!

As for photo's well... I don't trust hippies, so I took one through the door... it didn't really turn out, but you get the idea... I took another one when I was in the garage with my phone... and I got booed...
Blogger only wants me to post one picture at the moment, I'll try more tomorrow!

Dilemma Central

2006-12-19T09:25:00.000+10:00

After much thought and very little decision making I have decided to ask for the advice of you, my avid readers for some advice...

By now you should all be quite aware of the trouble that "Gus" has caused me and the construction team over the past few weeks. Whilst I am usually an easy going guy, I do hold grudges, and quite frankly I think I deserve to take some revenge upon Gus, I just hadn't known what to do...

Until now...

Someone needs to tell Gus that you should be kind to your neighbours... Because if your not, when the courier that is delivering your 3 cases of wine from Barossa Valley screws up and delivers them to your neighbour, and not you...

You may never see that wine again!!!

That's right folks, some courier screwed up and I am now in possession of Gus's Christmas supply of Vino!

So the question is, what does one do? The ethical side of things would be to deliver them to her, but she doesn't want any of us on her property... Do we give the wine to charity? Call the courier company and explain their error? Or just drink it myself?...

Let me know my friends, because revenge is sweet, but getting drunk on someone else's dime, may even be sweeter!

New U2 Video

2006-12-18T12:19:00.000+10:00

Just as I was doing my daily You Tube watch I stumbled across the new U2 vid for Windows in the Sky. Parts of it were filmed in Melbourne whilst I was down there not so long ago, having been made aware of this the actual video freaked me out!

Tonne of noise being made around the house today, which means there should be something worth photographing later this afternoon...

TIME. Magazine Person of the Year

2006-12-18T08:40:00.000+10:00

Apparently... It's...

ME!

The annual honor for 2006 went to each and every one of us, as Time cited the shift from institutions to individuals - citizens of the new digital democracy, as the magazine put it. The winners this year were anyone using or creating content on the World Wide Web.

Normally I'd go into a long winded speech thanking everyone who has helped me out of the years, and the obligatory thanks to God... But really... I can't be bothered...

Day 84

2006-12-15T08:26:00.000+10:00

Very exciting day today... A crane stopped by to put the roof trusses on the... um... roof...

We also had a visit from the termite kid, who essentially taught me all about termites, something I have to admit I have never really aspired to know anyway. Just in case you were wondering, termites eat wood, houses are made from wood, therefore termites eat house... Luckily we have a whole lot of house so they haven't been overly successful in their quest to feast...

I managed to take one picture of the upstairs part of the house before the battery in my camera decided it didn't want to co-operate anymore...

In other news, I went and saw the new James Bond film the other day Casino Royale it was great to see a decent action film that gave you the impression that someone was actually doing the stunts, instead of some actor hanging from cables in front of a green screen. It was typical Bond and most enjoyable....

I don't believe I just reviewed a movie...

Day 83

2006-12-13T18:17:00.000+10:00

As previously alluded to, or maybe it wasn't... Last night I ventured out with mum and dad to help celebrate their wedding anniversary. We hit the top of Q1, I have to admit that I was somewhat impressed.

The view was great, the food at Absynthe was most excellent, and the company was just as riveting!

The house is coming along at a speed that I didn't think was possible. Apparently if you pay your bills on time, people work harder for you... I didn't know this, although I usually pay my phone bill on time, and Telstra still sucks, so maybe it doesn't quite work that way...

Expecting a crane in the front yard tomorrow to deliver some scaffold so they can get the roof on by the end of next week, just before Christmas...

The framing for upstairs is complete, except for the balcony. I am trying to convince Dad to install a Missile Defense Shield as well, just in case North Korea decides to target my bathroom...

So... Um... Yeah... Photo time it is then...

In 12 days time it's Christmas, I have only bought a few presents so far and need ideas, so if you have one, an idea that is, let me know, it doesn't need to be person specific, just a different gift idea...

I'll post some pics of the crane action tomorrow!

Day 80

2006-12-11T17:09:00.000+10:00

For the record, I am not intentionally posting every five days, infact I was under the impression that I'd already posted a number of posts since the last one... but alas... it wasn't true...

Maybe I just dreamt that I did... which is even scarier...

So much to write, so little time...

Richard and Cath made a surprise visit this weekend, that was intriguing, I'd say more, but I don't think that I will.

Simon and Bernadette just dropped in for a visit this afternoon, Bernadette has about three and a half months left until Simon's' spawn starts taking on the universe... scary thought I know...

Going to dinner tomorrow night for Mum and Dads 37th wedding anniversary, I don't know why I was invited, but I was taught to never turn down a free meal... Unless they intend to make me pay for it, in which case maybe I shouldn't go?

Well this dribble has gone on long enough, you only come here to either read about cranky neighbours or look at photos, and seeing that the neighbours have taken their weekly Xanax already, I guess photos will just have to do...

Day 75...

2006-12-06T22:48:00.000+10:00

Interesting days these are... Decided to take some aerial photos, something I haven't done since the first week... I'm beginning to think that Gus has recruited a cheer squad, no hard evidence yet, but just a heads up...

Enjoy...

Some more photos coming up this weekend... Only a few more days until Christmas....

Day 70...

2006-12-01T10:28:00.000+10:00

It's World AIDS Day today...

In other news...

The yellow jackets were back this morning, I wasn't to sure who they were until I received a letter in the post from the Gold Coast City Council...

It seems "Gus" has issues and has ' alleged a complaint concerning dust nuisance' in case you were wondering Councils Health, Regulatory and Lifeguard Service Branch has received a complaint about an issue allegedly occurring at your premises. The complaint was in relation to a dust nuisance due to building works.

Blah Blah Blah...

Whilst Council is reluctant to single out residents, if the alleged complaint is proven to be a breach of the law, you may be subject to further action by Council, including notices or penalties...

The note came with a tip sheet on Air Pollution, in particular a section on Dirt and Dust from Construction one of its many recommendations is...

Water
Spraying water onto topsoil can be very effective in reducing dust. It is important that enough water is used to keep the topsoil layer damp and that spraying is completed before strong breezes develop.

Last time I read the paper I was told that we were experiencing the worst drought in 100 years. Current water restrictions would make it illegal for me to follow the Councils advice, unless I used buckets... Come on folks, you've seen the photos... It ain't happening!!!

The Council visited, donning the yellow vests to appease Satan, they found nothing wrong... But something tells me this story won't end just yet...

I just can't wait until Gus starts her construction... She's creating enough enemies at Council and Workplace Health and Safety, the bribes she is going to have to pay just to get approval will most likely outweigh the cost of the renovation...

Anyway, enough about the Anti-Christ... Photo time!!!

Day 68

2006-11-29T21:38:00.000+10:00

Nothing to really write about, just wanted to post some pictures...

That being said... I will say that this Friday (December 1) is World AIDS Day (which has the somewhat unfortunate acronym of WAD, but whatever...) Australia is about one year behind in their campaigns. This year the Australian AIDS trust is utilising the highly successful, "Let's Talk About It" slogan, the rest of the world is concentrating on making the governments of the world keep the promise they made and "Stop AIDS".

The promise was to eliminate AIDS by 2015. I usually reserve posts like this one for the Misguided Trio site, but figured it's important enough for you all to know. Apparently they are selling red ribbons and bracelets, somewhere... I haven't found them anywhere...

Enough for now I guess... Photos...

That is all the photos that Blogger will let me post at the moment, so more tomorrow... which is the day before World AIDS Day...

In case you'd forgotten...

I spy with my little eye...

2006-11-28T11:33:00.000+10:00

Somebody wearing a bright yellow vest...

Had another visitor this morning, no it wasn't another rat... Workplace Health and Safety opted to send someone around to the house, stopping work for all of 45 seconds. I have no doubt this is a result of Gus having words, or making her yearly contribution to the Mayor's re-election campaign...

Construction barely stopped, I haven't been told of the ramifications of the visit... I don't really care oddly enough...

Photo's this afternoon or tomorrow...

Day 65

2006-11-26T16:21:00.000+10:00

As previously promised, I have finally gotten around to posting some photos of the house... so here you go...

Let's have a look out the front first...

New Garage

A closer view of the new garage

Retaining wall footings...

To the back of the house...

The last photo clearly shows just how much water we had not so long ago, the waterline was reached essentially in a 24 hour period...

An abundance of bricks and wood was delivered on Friday afternoon, I assume that something will happen with this over the next few days, so it is all very exciting!

I'm off to see Borat, so until tomorrow...

Yes Virginia... Satan does exist...

2006-11-25T08:52:00.000+10:00

And she lives next door… (to me)

After some serious conversations with my crack legal squad it has been determined that I cannot publish the name of my neighbour. However, I can say that she doesn’t live that FAR from me, and for the sake of easy reading we shall call her GUS.

So why is GUS Satan you ask?

Let us start with my successful return to the Gold Coast, elated with my re-emergence a few mates decided to come over, watch some Entourage and drink some Long Island Ice Teas. We were onto our second round when a small voice (Satan has a small voice in his human form) said hello. I went to the front door to see GUS standing there, it took her all of 45 seconds before her true form presented itself and she begun a twenty minute tirade, insulting me, my builder, my sisters wedding and my parents. Some of the more memorable quotes…

“You have been duplicitous and outrageous towards me and should be ashamed of your actions.”

“I don’t care about any weddings it is irrelevant your parents have no excuse for not being here.”

“I gave you no permission what-so-ever for your trucks and bob cats to go through my backyard and ruin my pool”

(And 1 minute later)

“I gave you permission for one delivery ONLY”

“Your builder is offensive and shady and cannot be trusted.”

“Your parents are irresponsible”

To be honest it is hard to remember exactly what was said, the basic version of the story is that, whilst my parents where in Scotland attending my cousins wedding, the building started. The builders were confronted with the problem of getting into the backyard, whilst it would be easier to go through GUS’S backyard this wasn’t going to happen until we obtained permission.

GUS was in Canada at the time and a number of phone calls later we were able to obtain said permission… Except according to GUS, she has never lived in Canada, and only gave us permission whilst she was in Canada for one (1) delivery… I agree, I have no idea what she is talking about either.

GUS has since sent a two page fax to the Doctor, I am yet to read said fax, which is probably good because I'd just publish it... I am trying to work out why my neighbours actually believe I have any say in what goes on at this house. Sure I convinced mum and dad to put a door in where there was a window, but that's all I got!

I didn’t know what duplicitous meant, so I asked my lawyer friends, it means that I was two-faced, which I found ironic, because both times that GUS has seen my face, I have tolerated her screaming at me. The first time I was apparently playing music so loudly her daughter couldn’t train in the pool… which was weird because the pool ain’t that big… Anyway my point is, she hasn’t seen my other face yet, so how does she know it exists? Only Satan would know that.

Whilst it may be somewhat difficult to give the Satan tag to GUS for this one episode, her true colours only came through about thirty minutes ago when she was crossing the pedestrian crossing, she just glared at me, and didn’t so much as walk as she glided across the crossing, and rotated her head backwards to glare at the other car on the other side of the road!

Either way, I am off to church to pray for Satan’s demise!

I’ll post some photos this afternoon… A fare bit happens over ten days!

Important Notice

2006-11-22T22:20:00.000+10:00

Given a rather abusive confrontation with a neighbour, I am executing my own right to demise the slow demise website (hopefully for merely 12 hours) whilst I investigate what I can and can not publish on the site...

Therefore... Previouse posts, will not be deleted yet, however, Photo's shall be held off, and hopefully all will be well once I receive said legal advice and I can publish an account of the confrontation as well as the numerous tails that are on standby...

For those not in direct contact with me... No fear, all is well, just [comment deleted by legal]

Until next time...

M

2326 on a Tuesday

2006-11-21T23:34:00.000+10:00

So I just got back, and instead of responding to the 122 unread emails I thought I'd quickly post a video I just found of the U2 in Melbourne experience, that I was fortunate to spend with the brilliant Laura...

The First Time, was played... For the first time in Australia EVER!!!

Enjoy...

I'll update the house posts and the entire trip, including me ticking off the Ambassador from Bangladesh, in the coming days...

Until then...

Peace Beatniks!

Random Post from the Airport

2006-11-15T13:27:00.000+10:00

As the title alludes to, I am currently at Sydney Airport awaiting the arrival of Nicole's family and my parents. The flight from Canberra to Sydney via Melbourne, was by far the scariest I have ever experienced. Coming into to Sydney we were everything but level with the horizon. Kudos to the Virgin Blue pilot who allowwed this story to be told...

Haven't got to much time left on this thing, essentially thanks to the high winds, Sydney is down to one (1) runway, so averaging an hour delay on every flight in and out of the place...

The reason for this random post from the airport is two fold, firstly, I am bored and don't want to pay another $7 for a beer, although a bottle of wine may be on the agenda just for old times sake... Secondly I had one hell of a visitor to the house on my last night there...

It was the size of a small cat with four legs and a heck of long tail! My first ever encounter with a rat... So the dog was actually barking at the rat, not trying to get out... Hopefully we have gotten rid of the rat by the time I get back...

Well that's it for me live from Gate 31 at Sydney Airport, hope all is well with everyone, if I see you on Saturday I'll talk to you then... if not... oh well...

Day 50

2006-11-11T15:10:00.000+10:00

How appropriate, it is Day 50 since the de-construction began, and it is also the day I abandon my post for the next 10 days. Within those days I'll be picking fights with diplomats and politicians in Canberra, attending my younger sisters wedding in Sydney, and then, because I am fortunate enough to have such great friends, seeing U2 again in Melbourne...

I never realised that I would be seeing both the first and the last U2 concerts in Australia, and I won't complain about it either!

So with this being the last post for a while, I thought I would give thanks...

Thanks to the Dog, without your barking at 2300 to get out of the house, and then 0130 to get back in, I wouldn't have known that I had 2 missed calls from Hutch whilst he was at the Pearl Jam gig...

Thanks to the Turtles, without your constant need to attack each other within the tank at 0200 every morning, I wouldn't realise that you still existed...

To the cats, well I'm not really thankful to the cats, they make noise, they attack each other... I guess they could be more human than I give them credit for...

To the builders... This better be worth the early mornings, but thanks for taking care of the kids whilst I am away...

So big deal, it's only ten days, I realise I am being a little dramatic, but... Whatever... It's my blog and until the FBI, ASIO and MI5 tell me to stop, I'm not going to...

Given there was only one true entry in the previous competition it was a hands-down win to Carla, the garden bed things that were at the front door no longer exist... A prize is on its way... As soon as I find the money for postage!

I think I have a new idea for a competition, I need to make a decision, next year should I aim to go to Cuba or Calgary for the Stampede? Let me know what you think, whilst you're thinking about what you are thinking about for my next year... Enjoy some photos (of the house this time... Not U2... More U2 post Melbourne)...

For those that enjoy facts and figures...

Before Tuesdays storm the pool was empty, I now put it at about three and half feet, so if you were to throw the dog in, her head wouldn't be above the water!

That's it for now folks! So in the words of genuine geniuses around the world...

Peace beatniks!

U2 Edition Part 2

2006-11-10T11:24:00.000+10:00

Still no photos yet... but eventually!!! I keep getting asked about the set list for the show, to the best of my memory, this is what I have manged to come up with! Leave a comment if I am wrong and make me right!

1. City Of Blinding Lights
2. Vertigo
3. Elevation / Streets Of Your Town (snippet)
4. Until The End Of The World
5. New Year's Day
6. Beautiful Day
7. Yahweh
8. Walk On
9. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
10. Love And Peace Or Else
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. Bullet The Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
15. Where The Streets Have No Name
16. One

Encore 1
17. Zoo Station
18. The Fly
19. With Or Without You / Streets Of Your Town (snippet)

Encore 2
20. The Saints Are Coming
21. Angel Of Harlem
22. Kite

Oh ok... Maybe One...

U2 edition

2006-11-08T14:00:00.000+10:00

This is the third time I have attempted to do this... so no preamble... just photos... and yes... I was that close!!!

This is about all that blogger is letting me post at the moment, I'll add more over the coming days, much thanks to Aashish and Lashes (aka Mickey Z), they are the ones responsible for these photos!

Day 45

2006-11-06T07:19:00.000+10:00

It's 0700 on the 45th day of this "experiment" I have the photos that I took yesterday put up, but just thought I'd mention that whilst PMJH is on the Today show talking it up with his buddy Karl, proclaiming what a great day it was for the people of Iraq, when their former leader Saddam has been sentenced to death, in what can only be described as a farce of a trial... Cement trucks are queuing up out the front... It's slab laying time!

Photo's pre-slab....

New Kitchen.... It's going to be HUGE

My new Power/Cable/Phone/Water

Front Door... Something is missing, tell me what and I'll send you a prize

More photos this afternoon, once the slab is down, and hopefully set before the dog walks over them!!!

The Week that Was....

2006-11-05T07:14:00.000+10:00

Ok so before any of you start complaining about the lack of updates... IT'S NOT MY FAULT! The builders cut through my cable/phone/electricity/water lines a record 4 times this week...

That being said, a lot of work was done on the house, obviously excavation out the front, and a whole lot of bricklaying out the back. Truck departures are up in the 70's and the main concrete slab and new garage should be built over the next week!

Photos (hopefully in somewhat of a chronological order...

Random Turkey in the Backyard...

Frontyard

Busted phone/electricity/cable

Frontyard....Again

Rear of house, before bricks...

Some Bricks....
Water Fixed... Cable Busted...Again...

The sun is finally shining on the Gold Coast, so I will head out and take some more photos today, mainly of the mudpit in the front yard, but I'm sure I can find something out the back to photograph as well...

U2 are on the Gold Coast at the moment, for those wondering, yes I did go to Versace, No they didn't turn up in the bar, and Yes the rumors are true, I was asked to leave, I won't tell you why, because my parents read this site...

I am going to the concert on Tuesday night, there are many people who aren't. It's all very exciting so enjoy this clip of U2's new song with Green Day 'The Saints are Coming'

Day 37

2006-10-27T18:29:00.000+10:00

Well I have to admit, the last week has been an emotional rollercoaster, which I don't think I can handle anymore...

Ok so that's not entirely true, but the lack of updates recently is not one that I have been able to control...

Lot's of work got done over the last 9 days, holes were dug... Lots of holes... And when someone digs holes they sometimes dig a little to deep, and a little to intensely. Sometimes when someone digs under an old decrepit fish pond they find the water mains, next to the Foxtel Cable, and sometimes when they are digging that hole, under that pond, next to the water mains and the Foxtel cable, they dig straight through the water mains and Foxtel cable, let's face it, it's easier then digging around it!!!

If you haven't clued on yet, the lack of updates is a direct result of me not having any cable, which provides not only my television but also my internet access, it is really depressing when you realise just how dependent on the internet you are to have a life...

On the upside no internet allowed me to experience the greater things in life, like going out to the pub, and crashing a private birthday party until 0300...

Of course let us not forget that a hangover is a perfectly natural response to such adventure...

Let us also not forget that builders like to build from 0700...

That brings us to today....

Being insanely hungover, and not in a pleasant state of being I was somewhat disgruntled when a builder stormed into the room, not realising I was there, to test the toilet... After some initial shock on his behalf he informed me that I now had no sewage... Exciting stuff...

So I now know that I won't have any sewage for 24 hours... Interesting times ahead...

I can't upload pictures at the moment so a quick run down for the avid readers of ones demise...

-Excavation took place in the front yard to make way for the new retaining wall and new garage... It's a really big hole and very much looking like the Simpson Desert...
-More excavation out the back, it appears as though the cheap a@# builder used a dodgey land fill, hence the voids around the pool, the downside is that for the new footing they had to dig about 5 foot down for the sake of engineering...
-Concrete was poured for the footing this afternoon... Slab is being layed first thing next week.
-Plumbers out tomorrow morning to re...um...plumb?

Some interesting facts...
-So far over 40 truckloads of fill and other bits of trash has been taken away, with about another 30 to go until the excavation part is complete...
- The cheap land fill that was used consisted of all sorts of tree cuttings, which shouldn't be used in a landfill, why you ask? Wood/trees decompose, creating voids...
-One tyre on a bobcat has been punctured...
-I really need to go to the bathroom...

Photos will be up ASAP, along with a tale of my adventures with Triple M and trying to score a ticket to U2 for my cousin...

Laugh out loud funny

2006-10-19T10:21:00.000+10:00

Mainly because I am doing my best not to do what I am meant to be doing....

It appears as though the recovering alcoholic, President Bush, is no longer recovering... or is he?

Day 28

2006-10-18T19:27:00.000+10:00

So I just finished quite the intense post which dealt with a number of comments posted by anonymous ones, pretty hilarious retorts might I add, but then the computer crashed, so now I either do it all again or just post pictures...

Pictures win... I'll respond to the anonymous banter tomorrow... But before the pics...

As mentioned before the deconstruction has been completed, and construction has officially begun. Frames are going up, more walls are coming down, and perhaps explaining my monster headache, stairs are being jack hammered away, and doors being created in concrete walls...

Right, so photo-time...

New Door?

That's a reasonably sized extension...

No more stairs there!

Day 21

2006-10-11T11:29:00.000+10:00

Granted it is only halfway through the day, but it looks as though the builders aren't going to turn up today... In the meantime, I am thinking about seeing Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth tomorrow, as long as I can get this writing done today... In the meantime enjoy this video, The Convenientist Truth...

Day 20...ish

2006-10-11T07:42:00.000+10:00

Well it's official...

"Deconstruction Complete"

Very exciting stuff, construction of the frames should start tomorrow! Enjoy the pics!

In other news, I opened the freezer the other day and discovered that something was rotten in the house of freezing... You'll have to take my word that no trick photography has been used in the following pic....

An icicle has formed that leads up from the ice tray, believe it or not this was the best photo I could get, if there are any explanations out there, leave a comment so I can get some sleep!!!

Take it easy folks....

Congratulations

2006-10-08T09:00:00.000+10:00

For those of you unaware, Tim and Gayle (or Gayle and Tim) got hitched within the last 12 hours in Scotland. I received this picture this morning, it's always fun being rudely awoken at 0610...

So quick note in case they ever read this, congratulations guys, wish I could have been there, but I don't have a job, so I couldn't afford the airfare!!!

Take it easy on the Scotch Whisky... or not...

Weekend Update

2006-10-08T08:43:00.000+10:00

Well after venting my frustration with my neighbours into a bottle of red all worked out quite well. Some major demolishing went down over the last few days...

Everyone knows that it's not easy to completely clean up a house prior to beginning a renovation. And to prove that it's been a while since certain people (mum) cleaned out certain closets... This sewing pattern was found at the bottom of a newly demolished closet, I'm no fashion expert, but I'd say the style is probably circa 1968?

Classy!!! I still haven't uploaded the latest photos yet, but I shall this afternoon, a fare few more changes have occurred since these were taken... So I'll write more this afternoon!

Day 17 1000

2006-10-04T10:30:00.000+10:00

Just received another call...

DH thinks this is a deplorable act, she called the council and we don't have the approval to do this (to which the guys out the front strongly disagree). She accused my parents of running away from this controversy to England, after I informd her that they were attending my cousins wedding and there was no need to be like that, she said she could say whatever she wanted and that I was weak and wimpy, before she hung up on me...

Now I'm not the strongest bloke, and I wouldn't say I was a wimp, but surely the act of hanging up before one could reply to such an accusation should be considered weak and wimpy?

Then again I'm participating in a deplorable act!

Day 17 0906

2006-10-04T09:12:00.000+10:00

Well, it is time for a nice morning update. It appears as though the city council has approved the removal of a number of tall trees in the front yard, so the tree removalists have arrived this morning.

Not surprisingly I received a phone call from a neighbour across the road about 5 minutes ago...

PC: "It's [person calling] from across the road here, do you intend to remove all the trees"
Me: "Oh good morning, PC I'm good thanks for asking, to be honest I don't know what trees they are removing"
PC:" Well they are cutting down all the trees, is this really necessary, I mean what are your intentions"
Me: "I don't really know, I am just house sitting for mum and dad who are overseas at the moment"
PC: "Well have they thought about the need for the removal of these trees?"
Me: "I'm not sure, I mean, I'm sure they have, but they aren't here so I can't ask them, and I'm not one to speak on there behalf."
PC: "Well have YOU put any thought into the environmental impact and stress being placed on them in their removal?"
Me: "Um, not really, I'm not an environmental engineer, but I am sure that someone somewhere put some thought into it before approving it."
PC: " Well maybe you should become one before you do it again. Bye"
Me:"Ok, have a nice day..."

Interesting days ahead I'm sure, I've never really thought about becoming an environmental engineer/scientist, and if I did, I think it take a bit more time than it would take to cut down these trees.

I mean, I enjoy trees as much as the next person, when it boils down to it the neighbor's in this street didn't have to hose of bird guano every morning in the summer, they didn't need to concern themselves with the things falling into the house, or worse a pedestrian walking past the house. Yet they concern themselves with their removal, to the point of annoying me at 0900 in the morning with a nuisance phone call suggesting I alter my line of specialisation.

I'll post a photo later this afternoon...

Day 16

2006-10-03T17:22:00.000+10:00

So there may be a bit of a leap in the day count every-so-often, but only because I am incredibly lazy!

Big day today, had a bit of a session last night, the Amazing Race really took a lot out of me, I didn't realise that the builders would be turning up at 0700 so I'll need to behave a bit more I think.

So over the day I did a number of things, witnessed the draining of the pool, the removal of the roof, a collapse of a wall, and an emergency run to the post office to get a camera battery charger to Airlie Beach!

Photo time!

Hey look it's a cat!

Day 14

2006-09-27T16:58:00.000+10:00

Well I'm back, actually to be honest I never left... The builders did, but they're back to, nice and early to, I believe the walls came tumbling at about 0730 this morning...

They say that photo's speak 1000 words so consider this about 4,000 words (plus the 40 odd I just wrote)...

So blogger isn't allowing me to post pictures....Again... so a quick description (not 4,000 words I promise)...

My old bedroom has finally been extended to incorporate the one next door, which is nice, except there is no bathroom wall anymore, or windows for that matter, so I guess it's not that nice after all!

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can, keep checking back as I am beginning to think that the daily updates may be making a return!

Take it easy!

International Khaki Day

2006-09-07T14:44:00.000+10:00

To take place tomorrow! September 8th 2006

Holy Shoe!

2006-09-06T11:30:00.000+10:00

It goes without saying that a number of people have visited this house over the years. Parties were held essentially every time the Dr and Nurse headed off on a trip, and even more parties were held when they decided to move out. Hundreds of people have stayed here, even more have utilised the accoutrements of the house... often without staying here...

I know that I have been promising a "How to" video on the dismantling of a fireplace and believe it or not I was close to filming it this afternoon. Whilst checking out the roof I stumbled across a very disturbing image...

Yes... it's a shoe... This troubled me greatly but upon close inspection, whilst somewhat confused at first, I discovered the owner of this soulless shoe (pun intended)... it is this man...

Unfortunately Dean, I never found the other shoe, and couldn't quite be bothered rescuing this one...

So now as I look through the window and look at the wrecking crew digging up the yard I realise that it doesn't really phase me at all that I did nothing about your show, quite frankly you are old enough to take care of your own things and therefore should never of left it here in the first place...

I am however sorry for your loss, I realise that Tommy Hilfiger shoes can't be cheap... (I didn't even know that Hilfiger made shoes...)

So I'll shout you a beer next time you're in town.

(Oh and for the record, your brother and sister-in-law made me post this)

Hey Look at Me

2006-09-06T09:40:00.000+10:00

New template.... Hopefully it's a little less boring than the last one! Nothing much happening around here at the moment, a guy turned up yesterday and moved some dirt around. No seriously, all he did was move dirt, didn't take it away, or any of the concrete, I think he was just recreating his childhood days in the sandpit with a Tonka truck...

RIP - Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T23:36:00.000+10:00

The Crocodile Hunter - Steve Irwin, was killed today after being stung by a stingray. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer released the following...

"Steve was a good friend and a great Australian," Mr Downer said.
"Always the showman, Steve made a significant contribution to raising the profile of Australia internationally, particularly in the United States."
Mr Downer said Mr Irwin was generous with the help he gave to promoting Australia's interests overseas and was one of the stars of the government's Australia Week Festival in Los Angeles over the last two years.

I was speaking with my father this afternoon about Steve Irwin's death and we were both reminiscing about first watching his television show The Crocodile Hunter when I was 12 years old. One of my favorite episodes took place just after East Timor gained independence in 1999.

Steve and his Australia Zoo crew flew out to rescue a crocodile trapped in a sewer, without going into detail, they saved the croc, built him a new pen and were hailed as heroes throughout Dili.

He will be missed...

Weekend 2

2006-09-03T18:44:00.000+10:00

For those of you wondering some severe rain has pretty much halted any progress on the house. To the credit of the wrecking crew however, they did turn up on the first day of rain and managed to completely destroy the rest of the garden.

My housemates have abandoned me for the waters and sand of Fiji... So there I was all alone feeling lost... I thought I'd go for a walk around the house and stumbled across this in the backyard...

It appears as though Quinn Wattis felt the need to help the wreckers out and went about stirring up the mud...

Ok so that isn't a picture of mud but you had to admit that it is a pretty impressive pile of concrete! Now for some mud...

It occurs to me that Blogger wasn't allowing photo's of the front yard before so here is one...

Right so that is about it for today, to all the fathers our there I hope you had an enjoyable day celebrating... um... being... a... father. Kudos to Baz and Maz for a most excellent Fathers Day roast...

For those interested it is the Queensland election this week, I will be commenting on the election every evening of behalf of the Misguided Trio so check out Confessions of a Misguided Trio if you dare...

Oh and a big welcome back to the Dr and Nurse who managed to survive the Variety Club Bash, some 7000+ Km's from the Reef (the one with the Great Barrier) to the Races (the ones in Birdsville) in this slightly pimped out 2003 Toyota Landcruiser...

I added the flag for good measure...

Day 12/13

2006-08-25T20:14:00.000+10:00

Sorry for the belated update, I decided to whisk the houseguests up Mt Tambourine way and partake in a few tasting at a couple of the fine wineries up there. Thanks to Jay, who didn't answer his phone yet sill managed to acquire us accommodation up at O'Reillys at half the cost.

Anyway, the wineries were yet once again fantastic. Michael at the Mt Tambourine Distillery ensured that copious tasting's were had, and my credit card was maxed out. The Big Boo Award for the trip goes to Albert River Winery, who kept us waiting for a tasting for close to twenty minutes when there were only 2 other people present.

Arrive back at the house this afternoon at about 1400, just in time to watch Patrice get the boot from Rockstar: Supernova (well the replay of the booting). Needless to say, this is what I came back to...

So Blogger isn't allowing me to post pictures.... again... so you're just going to have to wait!

Day 11

2006-08-22T13:17:00.000+10:00

Incredibly early wake up call this morning as the crew turned up to get rid of even more trees. One must admit that the current house guests weren't entirely impressed with the sound of a chainsaw outside the window at 0730, I would type an exact transcript, however due to prior dissatisfaction towards vulgar language I shall censor it....

Guest 1: Oh Mother@&*(%#$ you have to be f!#$ing kidding me.

That's about all I am willing to divulge at this point in time!

More photos of the demolished trees.... Notice that the rumours are true... Trees really do bleed...

Day 10

2006-08-21T16:14:00.000+10:00

So after 11 days of absolutely nothing happening, we finally had some movement! It's tree demolishing time so we can start appreciating the waterfront view we'd apparently had this whole time!

Still no word from the engineers so we don't know when the fun will really start, but keep checking back here and I am sure you will know as soon as I do. In the meantime more photo's, oh and I may finally get to that second fireplace tomorrow... Sorry for the delay in that one...

Day 8 and 9

2006-08-10T11:28:00.000+10:00

No real surprise that no one turned up yesterday. Today however I finally received word on why! It appears as though we are waiting for some soil sample results. Over the years, as most of you would be aware, this house has suffered a bit of slippage. Hopefully it has settled by this point and we can go ahead and build a monstrous monument. Until we know this however, it may be a little to risky to proceed.

Still haven't made my film 'How to dismantle a fireplace in 3 minutes' but I assure you it will be done soon!

Take it easy folks...

Day 7...

2006-08-09T07:05:00.000+10:00

So nothing really happened today... Again... I was going to take care of the second fireplace, but it was a little windy today, and the idea of impersonating the flying nun doesn't do much for me...

Got a little motivated this afternoon and potted some plants, they looked like they were close to death so call me the saviour of all that is green...

And yes mother, that is the edges old dog kennel...

Day 6

2006-08-07T21:44:00.000+10:00

Once again no one turned up today, although I did get to move a fireplace, which was much larger and heavier than I thought... My back is in extreme pain, better have a bottle of Chianti...

Oh and a quick lesson in chimny hole repair, or perhaps more aptly titled tearing the skin off your knuckles 101... (Note: This is mainly for the Dr's benefit, he doesn't think I can fix a hole to his satisfaction)

Oh and in case you are wondering if the water restrictions are taking its toll on the backyard, check out the neighbours...

So don't forget in Australia tomorrow night is census night, time to sit down and be counted... Coming soon in the next few days will be a quick lesson on chimney removal... Because I'm bored and Lashes loaned me his camera!

Weekend 1

2006-08-06T12:48:00.000+10:00

So obviously nothing really happens on the weekend so what better way to fill up blank space by inserting a clip from 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'. This clip is perhaps that hardest interview Jon has ever had to do...

I've always been a fan of the frog. That's about it for this weekend, Can't wait to see if someone turns up on Monday and does something...

Day 5

2006-08-04T17:14:00.000+10:00

Hey look at that... A bulldozer and a truck came to visit...

Ok so it's not a bulldozer but it's something big and yellow, Tonka truck central my friends!

Day 4... PM

2006-08-03T20:36:00.000+10:00

Got a few beers into me and decided to fix the dryer... For those that have thought the fire story was merely an attempt to get attention or another dryer...

Needless to say, cleaned it up and it now works fine! But I'm out of beer...

Day 4...

2006-08-03T16:55:00.000+10:00

Essentially Day 2 of nothing, someone came over and swept up, which is odd considering over the next 9 months the place will be demolished...

Anyway spent the day in Broadbeach, and being chastised for commenting on science (see here). Nothing new to report, oh I bought an ironing board, well that's not true, mum bought me an ironing board...

Enough from me, some photo's of the kids by popular demand...

Rodney and Alfred...

Backyard, note the white feline to the left, I believe it's looking for a new home, its owner has just acquired one... Ebony I think it's time to go...

Nice blue tarpaulin replacing the chimney from the loungeroom...

Brinkley was feeling left out, her owner has a new home as well, but very very sneakily purchased an apartment that won't allow oversized Labradors, so she gets to stay.

Front door... aka Cyrill's domain...

Last but not least, the front of the house, note how much better it looks without that green lattice work....

Anyway that's enough for today... Hopefully the construction team turns up and does something tomorrow, or I'll just go to the pub and post about that! (which reminds me Don's is being renovated from Friday to Thursday, should be interesting)

Day 3...

2006-08-02T18:17:00.000+10:00

Holy Crap, no one turned up, but things went bump in the night and a few pots have mysteriously been smashed. Perhaps some disgruntled humans, or the cats got into a fight and threw the dog off the roof...

Either way this place is getting weird!

Take it easy!

Update: It appears as though my use of certain language has offended others, Firstly I'd like to apologise to all dog lovers, I realise that by using language that would suggest cats could actually throw a dog off a roof was wrong and am fully aware that the dog would take the cats down with them.

Furthermore, it seems my use of the acronym for 'Can't Really Appreciate Photosynthesis' (CRAP) has been misunderstood. I was merely mentioning that you can never really appreciate the sacridity of Photosynthesis until you witness the removal of trees.

Day 2... PM

2006-08-02T18:05:00.000+10:00

Spent the afternoon successfully dismantling a fireplace, had a couple of pints at the bar then hit the parental units abode for some dinner.

Nothing to exciting really so I'll just throw some photo's up...

Lisa I can't believe your door has survived...

I still think the colour is sickening...

Bathrooms now completely trashed, but notice the item in the middle of the room...

A little closer?

It seems the dog shampoo I purchased not one day before barely survived the wrath of a laborer. For the record I rescued the bottle so don't fear the dog won't smell...

That's about it really, a bunch of trees are no longer where they used to be and all the lattice work and pergola in the backyard is GONE!

Until tomorrow!

Day 2 0900

2006-08-01T11:06:00.000+10:00

So in keeping with bad and sad things happening to me...

The dryer caught on fire this morning, took a little bit of effort to put out but I got there. Mum thought it was funny and chastised me for using a dryer when the sun was shining.

Trees are being removed this morning and they're finishing of my wall... in the meantime check out what was the kitchen...

And the Bathroom....

And finally the pile of crap I discovered last night...

Day 2... 0101

2006-08-01T01:01:00.000+10:00

For those wondering... I didn't wait for the battery to die...

Big Ladder + Phillips Head Screwdriver + Wire Snippers = Passionate, Peaceful, Sleep...

VICTORY!!!

Day 2... 0048

2006-08-01T00:48:00.000+10:00

Rudely awoken by a high pitched squeal... Walked around to discover that the internal siren for the alarm doesn't enjoy not having any battery power.

Problem...

The alarm panel hasn't enough power to run so I can't disarm the alarm... After 5 minutes of thinking I decided that it was Dad's fault for not disconnecting the alarm, so I did what any other disgruntled son would do... I called him on his mobile/cell phone.

Needless to say dad wasn't impressed with the call and was quite humored with both his and the alarm companies inability to do anything for stop this noise. It was recommended by both dad and the alarm company that I wait the battery out, it should eventually die out...

Day 1... PM

2006-07-31T20:07:00.000+10:00

Just got back from Lismore, very passionate, very peaceful...

Big pile of trash in the front yard...

The house is full of saw dust, and more dust...

Some weird chiming noise coming from the alarm system that the Dr. hasn't disconnected yet, something about a fax. Tonight I think I'll kick back watch the Contender and eat left over Indian food...

Received a call from Mick the demise expert. They have decided not to come in until 0900 tomorrow... More beer for me!

Day 1... am

2006-07-31T12:48:00.000+10:00

Somewhat aware of an early start I set my alarm for 0700, hoping to get a shower in before the team turned up to start demolishing. I was wrong, I managed to just get to the conditioning process when the doorbell rang. People who know me are most likely to be questioning my "conditioning" of my hair, let's just say that I want to keep the little amount of hair that I have, and if someone tells me conditioning will help that, than I'll be damned if I'm not going to condition!

As I was saying... The wrecking crew arrived and got started, cutting the power and water supply, and redirecting it so I have some sort of an ability to survive. Which brings us to an interesting point, Why have I chosen to live in a construction zone for the next 200 and something days?

I'd like to say that I'm doing it for the adventure, but the truth is I am an unemployed former student, with a financial deficit that rivals that of the US.

So the demolishing, spa bath, GONE... replaced with a washer and dryer...

Kitchen... GONE

Bathrooms... GONE

No need to really go into it, the pictures speak for themselves... (so I'll be sure to take some)

We are installing a temporary wall to try and keep the dust out of this side of the house, I don't know if it'll work but all we can do is try...

I'm off to Lismore for the "Passion for Peace" program, should be passionate and peaceful, at least I hope it's passionate and peaceful.