December 01, 2002

December 02, 2002

In a Sunburned Country

I'm currently reading 'In a Sunburned Country' by Bill Bryson, in which he tells of his travels in Australia. I've got it as an ebook on my Palm and I've been reading it on and off for the last 18 months or so, because first of all I'm a slow reader, and secondly it's such a good book that it would be a waste to read it quickly. So, instead I like to drag it out. By the time I finally get to the end of it, I'll have forgotten what happened at the beginning, and that way I can start all over again. He makes Australia sound so good that for the first time that I can remember I want to go there. In fact, it even sounds likeable. Here's an excerpt in which he describes how Australians are so fond of talking about their near-death experiences with animals.

They spend half of any conversation insisting that the country's dangers are vastly overrated and that there's nothing to worry about, and the other half telling you how six months ago their Uncle Bob was driving to Mudgee when a tiger snake slid out from under the dashboard and bit him on the groin, but that it's okay now because he's off the life support machine and they've discovered he can communicate with eye blinks.

Posted by bron at 11:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 03, 2002

Moving Servers

bronek.org may be down at some point over the next few days as I'm moving it to new servers with more capacity and features.

In the meantime I've set up a chat client that I'm testing on the site. It allows open conversations with everyone connected and the ability to send private messages to any user. Type something on it or email me to arrange a chat sometime (requires flash).

Short FAQ below

Q.So why did I put a chat client into the site when anyone can download ICQ or Yahoo?
A. For when using other computers that don't have chat software installed
For computers behind firewalls that block a lot of chat clients
For multi-user chat or with people who don't have a chat client installed

Q. No window popping up when you click on 'chat'?
A. Are pop-ups or java disabled on your browser? Try this link instead:
chat client

Q. Chat client not running?
A. Do you have Flash installed?

Any feedback on these issues or others would be appreciated.

Posted by bron at 11:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 04, 2002

Mail and Lights

play_pong.gif
As my mail server is being moved at the moment, any email sent to me may not arrive. I'll post here once it's active again, hopefully in a day or so.

I've been looking at these cool displays of interactive computer controlled lighting that were installed in tower blocks in Berlin and Paris recently for art festivals. Dialling in to them with a mobile phone lets you take control of the display or play Tetris or Pong, using the building as a huge screen. [quicktime video 3.2Mb]

Talking about tall buildings, this article raises some interesting questions regarding September 11, and references this BBC report that the US was already planning an invasion, as well as this story about the need for an oil pipeline across Afghanistan.

Posted by bron at 06:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 05, 2002

New Home

Looks like my email is back up and running, and bronek.org is in it's new home.

Posted by bron at 08:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 06, 2002

Bunny Girls

I've really no idea what it was all about but I passed this bunch of Tuborg bunny girls in Copenhagen today on my way to the station... and missed my train home. They were all jumping up and down wearing very little in the freezing cold next to a couple of Tuborg limousines. I guess they were probably all pissed. Here's a Tuborg advert called 'Can Roulette' from Danish television.

Posted by bron at 11:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 09, 2002

Page Moved

This page has now moved to

http://www.bronek.org/blogs/weblog/

Please update your bookmarks.

Posted by bron at 11:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack