Well, another year rolls on past… In the immortal words of our fearless Leader, Kevin Rudd, “We all age every day…” . Today is my 37th Birthday. Thanks to those that called, wrote, those who bought cake for arvo tea and to all who wished me well through various media.

I share this birthday with such luminaries as Larry King, Ted Turner, Calvin Klein, Allison Janney, Meg Ryan, Jodie Foster, Jason Scott Lee and the McCaughey septuplets.

Other events on this day include

The Number 37 seems to have a lot of connotations, more than I ever new.. I knew it was a prime number and all that but check these out (thanks to Wikipedia)…

In mathematics

• It is a prime number, the fifth lucky prime, the first irregular prime, the third unique prime and the third cuban prime of the form

• It is a factor of all 3-digit base 10 repdigits, such as 111. 37 is the smallest prime that is not also a supersingular prime. It is a centered hexagonal number and a star number.
• 37 and 38 are the first pair of consecutive positive integers not divisible by any of their digits.
• Every positive integer is the sum of at most 37 fifth powers (see Waring's problem).
• 37 appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by the terms 16, 21, and 28 (it is the sum of the first two of these).
• Since the greatest prime factor of 37² + 1 = 1370 is 137, which is obviously more than 37 twice, 37 is a Størmer number.

In science

• The atomic number of rubidium.
• The normal human body temperature in degrees Celsius.

Astronomy

• Messier object M37, a magnitude 6.0 open cluster in the constellation Auriga
• The New General Catalogue object NGC 37, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Phoenix
• The Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on -1794 June 25 and ended on -496 August 12. The duration of Saros series 37 was 1298.1 years, and it contained 73 solar eclipses.
• The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on -1492 April 3 and ended on -194 May 22. The duration of Saros series 37 was 1298.1 years, and it contained 73 lunar eclipses.
• The number of as-of-yet unidentified radio signals that have been received from outer space

In other fields

Thirty-seven is:

• The number of plays Shakespeare is thought to have written (counting Henry IV as three parts).^[1]
• The number Shaun Alexander used from college until the Seahawks (MVP for 2005)
• The number of the French department Indre-et-Loire
• The number of slots in European Roulette (numbered 0 through 36, the 00 is not used in European roulette as it is in American roulette)
• I-37 is the designation for a US interstate highway in Texas, running from San Antonio to Corpus Christi
• Municipal Okrug 37, a municipal okrug of Krasnoselsky District of Saint Petersburg, Russia
• +37 was the international dialing code of the German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany). Today the +37 prefix is shared by Lithuania (+370), Latvia (+371), Estonia (+372), Moldavia (+373), Armenia (+374), Belarus (+375), Andorra (+376), Monaco (+377), San Marino (+378) and Vatican City (+379).
• The number of men Veronica had been revealed to have performed fellatio on in the film Clerks, and a number which has turned up in Kevin Smith's other films as a result of this fact
• The number 37 has largely been made famous by James Jordan in the movie, Cada La Cuente
• The number that Martin Škrtel (born December 15, 1984 in Handlová, Slovakia), Slovak international football defender who plays for English Premier League club Liverpool FC wears on his shirt
• A television channel reserved for radioastronomy in the United States
• The 37th president of the United States was Richard Nixon
• The protagonist in the book This Number Speaks (Publish America 2008) by Jason Patrick Doherty, is named Thirty-Seven
• In the mock rock biopic, This is Spinal Tap, the band has had 37 drummers
• The counting in the song "Aquarius" by Boards Of Canada, in all it's different versions, always ends on 37
• Paul Newman's inmate number in the egg eating scene of Cool Hand Luke

From thirty-seven.org

• There are 37 holes in the mouthpiece of a telephone. (Note).
• There are 37 bars in the digits of a digital watch. (Note).
• All American Express card numbers begin with 37. (Pictures below.)
• In a "3-4-5" right triangle, the small angle is approximately 37 degrees. (Note).
• There were 37 extramarital affairs on "Dallas" during the 1980s.
• There are 37 miracles in the Bible. (Note).
• In the Bible, Psalm 37 is one of the few that are acrostic. (Note).
• The smallest number such that there is no consonant/vowel pattern matching exactly that many OSPD words is 37. (Note).
• A classic "psychic prediction" trick has an answer of 37. (Note).
• There are 37 pages in the rulebook for "The Great Dalmuti".
• Exp(Pi*Sqrt(37)) is very close to an integer. (Note).
• There are 37 dramatic situations in the Screenwriters' FAQ. (Note).
• "Les Miserables" has a cast of 37. (Note).
• There's a list of 37 politically correct ways to say someone is stupid. (Note).
• There are 37 ways to make $5 using denominations of 5.00, 1.00, 0.50, and 0.25. (Note).
• A collection of Beethoven's complete symphonies would have 37 tracks. (Note).
• Elaine slept with Jerry 37 times. (Note).
• A world-record meatloaf contained 37 pounds of spices. (Note).
• If a bunch of people toss their hats into the air and randomly retrieve them, the probability that no one will end up with their own hat is about 37%. (Note).
• The 37th Greek word in Strong's dictionary is "hagiazo", which is translated as "hallow", "be holy" or "sanctify". (Note).
• There are 37 different ways to throw 26 with 1 or 2 scoring darts. (Note).
• There are 37 points in a "perfect" bridge hand. (Note).
• By 1995 personal computers were in 37 percent of American households. (Note).
• 37 is the first irregular prime number. (Note).
• Dilbert is 37% like Scott Adams. (Note).
• 37% of Americans claim to know how to use all the features on their VCR. (Note).
• 37% of all car owners don't know how to use portable cup holders. (Note).
• The 37th Amendment guarantees that you can post whatever the hell you want to the net. (Note).
• Only 37% of adults believe today's children will grow up to make the world a better place. (Note).
• In 1994, 37 percent of the milk sold was whole. (Note).
• 37% of pregnancies resulting from in vitro fertilization are multiple. (Note).
• A whole bunch of "American Averages" involve 37.
• Tyrannosaurus rex has 37 vertebrae in its tail. (Note).
• 37% of men fantasize about their coworkers. (Note).
• If a fertile man and woman have sex every day for a month, there is a 37% chance of pregnancy. (Note).
• It takes 37 minutes to earn enough money to buy a Big Mac. (Note).
• Applicants for jobs in law enforcement with the U.S. Treasury Department must be under 37 years old. (Note).
• There are 37 U.S. Federal Reserve Banks. (Note).
• The French version of the Roulette wheel has 37 numbers.
• SPAM was invented in 1937.

So on Sunday, we all piled into the car and drove on down to New Farm to the Schnauzer Picnic. We had been looking forward to this for a while. I had even remembered to Calendar it so it was synchronised to my HTC TyTN II so it would remind me…

We got there and there was already a large crowd gathered and a lot of dogs milling about. For a meeting of a single breed, I didn’t see a single dog that looked alike. The cut and colour variation between them distinguished them all. The Standard Schnauzers stood out (obviously) from the Miniature ones. There were Black ones, Grey ones, Black and Silver, Salt and Pepper, Shaved, Trimmed, Hairy dogs everywhere. Of course, being Schnauzers, there wasn’t a lot of barking or anything like that… just a lot of trotting about and sniffing bottoms…

We managed to catch up with two others that had purchased dogs from Jasper’s litter. As you can see from the picture, Jasper is the odd one out… Any similarity that his brother and sister had was gone by the end of the day as Matilda had had her hair trimmed. All in all, we had a great time. It was wonderful to talk to the other owners, especially those of the older dogs so we could get some idea of what to come. There were a number of grey dogs that used to be very black when they were pups so you never know, Jasper could change quite a bit yet…

The next one will be at The Spit down on the Gold Coast. Apparently, the sight of this many dogs running around on the leash-free area at the beach is really something to behold…

As for anyone considering getting a dog, I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. Jasper has been absoultely fantastic as a dog. His toilet training, obedience training, discipline has been exemplary and great for any one considering a dog.

I have added some more photos of Jasper with his new haircut. I have also been messing around with putting in a pretty slideshow for his pics so here are the pics so far, from picking him up through to now..

EDIT: Need to find a tool to use Popfly code in Live Writer… this doesn’t seem to be working correctly.

Since Colleen has had her School reunion, It always had been in the back of my mind to keep an eye out for mine. Well, Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, we had a reunion last weekend. It has been 20 years since we all graduated from School in Year 12. yes, 20 years… We all caught up at a restaurant in Alexandra headland, a nice mid-point on the coast and extra good as it is only a a couple of blocks away from my Brothers place so he could do babysitting of Emily and jasper.

it all started off a bit difficult as i hadn’t seen anyone since I had left and I was hardly the most popular guy in school, quite the opposite in fact. Anyone, a few beers kicked in and with some Dutch Courage under my belt, things started to go a bit smoothly. It was great to see how people were doing and what they were up to. After talking to a bunch of people, i started to see a bit of a pattern in a number of areas.

• The strongest connections were made in Primary School. Most people remembered me from Primary rather than High School
• Not many people were doing what they thought they were gonna do in school
• Hardly anyone is doing what they did straight out of school or what they studied in Uni initially.
• Nearly everyone wishes they’d been taught more social skills and been better prepared for the real world
• the pressure to achieve good marks and go to Uni was given waaay too much importance and focus.

It is amazing that after all that time, so many people agreed on so many areas. I had such a fantastic time and I was glad that I was able to catch up with some old friends and re-acquaint myself with other students. I was suprised at how many people did remembered me and the things that I was remembered for… it was a great evening

We decided to make the most of a fine day and went down to New Farm Park Playground so Em could climb trees and have lots of fun. She climbed up into the first level OK but needed some assistance to get to the higher branches. Then she had a go at the new rope towers that they have in place.

We had a great time mucking about and having fun in the great Brisbane weather... The place looks green again and was most enjoyable getting my bare feet out on some smooth blue couch grass again. One day i shall have that on my lawn, oh yes, some day....

So i haven't posted in a while.. I had a nice weekend away celebrating my Wife's birthday.

We went up to Mum & Dad's on Friday night so we could go to the Yandina Markets  in the morning... Yandina Markets are just fantastic. they are what the Eumundi markets used to be before they went all commercial. there are stacks of fruit stalls, Plant stalls and heaps of second-hand and new Tools. As Colleen says, you boys go and check out your rusty tools... we ended up with a bag full of 20 mandarins for $5  and a bag of 10 Navel Oranges for another $5

After lunch, I then took Colleen to her surprise destination, Novotel Twin Waters. We checked in the King-Sized room with Spa. The surprises didn't stop there though, as i had booked a Couples Massage room followed by a Spa with a plate of Strawberries and Marshmallows and accompanying Chocolate Fondue at the Lagoon Day Spa this was my first experience at a massage and "Helga" my German masseuse certainly got worked out all the kinks.

After such a relaxing afternoon, Dinner was soon on the cards. a few pre-dinner beers were ordered and we strolled over to Lily's on the lagoon, a Restaurant that is built out over the lagoon (surprisingly enough..). We feasted on fresh seafood and quaffed a wonderful bottle of wine, a Watershed Sauvignon Blanc Semillon from Margaret River. We had oysters, prawns, Barramundi and a whole Salt & Pepper Battered fish followed by some sumptuous desserts. We retired to the bar for a post-dinner cocktail and had a good laugh with the bar staff.

Our walk home around the lagoon was a little more unsteady and took some time longer.. We did have a good long look at the sun lounges and did think of stopping for a little bit of a rest on the way back but decided to push on through. On our return, i did slip in watching a bit of Footy while the spa filled for a nice soak (we did have all three Fox Sports Channels after all) but considering that i left the Golf Clubs at home in a resort with a Championship Course, I think I did well.

The next morning dawned and fortunately the rain mostly held off, not that we minded seeing as we have not had much rain for a long time. As Breakfast was part of the room, we set out to make it worthwhile. We both were completely irresponsible and completely stuffed ourselves at the buffet. in fact, we made many trips back. A brekky where you don't cook or clean up any of it is to be savoured. We had also scored a table overlooking the pool and onto the lagoon as well so we took our time. the only thing missing were the papers... Alas, it was time to check out and return back to Mum & dad's to pick up Emily than on to my brother Bruce's place to catch up with them... of course, we got chatting and ended up in the slow crawl that is the Sunday arvo Bruce Highway run from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane - 2 hours to do a 45 minute trip. Nothing could bring us down though... Happy Birthday Colleen.

For as long as I can remember, every weekday morning, I have been doing a "Magic Trick" with Emily to put toothpaste on her toothbrush for her to brush her teeth.

"Abra-cadabra alakazam

Put toothpaste on Emily's toothbrush

psscccht..."

Well, now she has finally worked it out and begged to tell me how it was done.. Seeing that she is near on 8 and a half, it was time.  Of course now that she knows, the magic is gone and alas we can do it no more...

It may seem silly but just another sign that my girl is growing up and something else that is lost forever along the way..

well so much time has pased so little posting... What are all the things i would ( nay, should) have posted about in the last few months....

Easter Break

Both Colleen and I took the week off after Easter so i could spend the School Holidays with Em and Colleen. We were busy yet relaxed at the same time, it was overdue and definitley required

Dreamworld

We took Em to Dreamworld on Easter Monday care of two free Adult tickets.  We had a whale of a time. 

• Dodg'Em cars - Em was big and Brave and rode on a Dodgem car (bumper car for the seppoes) all by herself for the first time. previously she had been a driver with daddy being the passenger. Not this time and her cackles of delight echoed throughout the track. She loved it so much that this also became the designated last thing to do
• Rollercoaster - Em had her first ride on the Rollercoaster as well.. This was a little more scary and required a little more convincing. However, she stepped up when the time came like a brave soldier. She was a bit shaky when she got off but that soon translated into excitement as the adrenalin surged.
• Widlife area - they have added a great area with Forest, Desert, Reptile,Avairy and Nocturnal zones with all the animals. this was fantastic with being able to pet the Grey Kangaroos as they lounged around in the shade. We had our pic taken with Colleen holding a koala as well...

Australia Zoo

 We also visited Australia Zoon on the following  Friday so Em could see Bindi and the Crocmen

• Bindi and the Crocmen - She puts on a great performance. Seeing it in person reduces the concern of driving her too hard too early. Terri and Wes and all the Autralia Zoon family watch on with great pride
• The Croc Show - First they start of with the birds that are trained to fly around the crocoseum as aprt of the show and then they bring out the snakes and then the biggest reptile of all. it is amazing how they cannot be tamed yet by knowing their responses to certain situations, Terri and Wes are able to put on a great show. Nothing was funnier than seeing Wes let loose with a "S**t" before correcting himself to "Crikey". The Danger is always there
• Feeding - we fed the elephants first, that was amazing and then we went to the Kangaroo enclosure and fed the big Red kangaroos this time.. fantastic.
• The rest of the time we spent seeing all the other animals, the Wombats which were all moving about and waiting... yes waiting for their afternoon walk around the zoo.. usually you just see their ass where they have buried themselves under a log or into a burroe.

Relaxing

Spent the rest of the time up at Montville, relaxing at our Family house up there.. mmm so quiet, so high and sooooo relaxing... (and no water restrictions as we are on 2 massive water tanks...). There are no phones, no internet, i can relax off the grid (except for electricity and the TV - which we try to keep off as much as we can...)

I love that house and hope it stays in the family for generations... To think that people laughed when Dad paid some AUD$6000 for that block in the mid 70's.. hahahaha. it is only one of four houseblocks near the town that is on the eastern (coastal) side and is protected from the Westerly winds (where the storms and damaging winds generally come from).

It was sure tough to come back to work....

today is my wife, Colleen's birthday. The day hasn't gotten of to the most auspicious of starts but I am hoping to finish with a flourish. I don't know what I would do without her wit, her wise counsel and her companionship.  

Just knowing that she has my back in all that we do together not only makes me a better person but makes me want to be a better person.  I look forward to many more wonderful years together as we grow together and experience all the wonder and magic of this world together....

Happy Birthday, my love

Brett...

Oh no… time for the big Home office cleanout. We went to IKEA the other day ( oh I so can’t wait until it is in the new premises – but that’s a whole other story..) and I picked up a Computer disk that will be able to store the 3 Servers, Monitor, KVM and all the attendant cabling, Hubs, Wireless Router and Cable Modem. Not only that it was in the Bargain centre for around half-price because it was marked. It was nothing a Pencil eraser couldn’t remove.

So out come all the existing hodge-podge of desks and then it will be the shuffle and try and fit the jigsaw in. one day we’ll do it all properly and make the desks for the space. But until then it is whatever we can beg, borrow and buy cheaply. I counted the Hardware and it came to 11 PC’s and 4 Servers. It is somewhat over the top for the 3 of us but some of these have already been marked for sale/giveaway/removal. It’ll be culled back to more acceptable levels. I still have my old Pentium 90 that first introduced me to Voodoo 3D cards, Windows 95 and the Doom/Quake delights, forever hooking me on First-person shooters forever.

Anyway, must get the vacuum out and clean up the considerable dust that has piled up and continue before I lose momentum….