SO this is my 100th post in this blog, its taken over 4 years to reach this point, which really gives me an average of one post every two weeks. Quite little really, but everytime I start to get motivated about doing this again, something gets in the way and then I stop. Now, since I dont have a topic to really write about right now, I thought I would just do a recap of life over the last 4 years.
So I finished High School, generally alright marks, but no-where near what I could really do, procrastination really got in the way with that one. (still does with many things, but who's complaining?). Then I moved to Slovakia for my Youth Year of Service with a great School in Slovakia. After this year, where I learnt a lot about myself and fell in love with a country and its people, I returned to Australia to take a job in Brisbane as a Apprentice Draftsman. Well, that didn't fulfil me like I thought it would, so after a few months I returned to my "hometown" and I use that term lightly after living in so many different places growing up. There I worked for a few months as a service station attendant as I saved the money to return to the place I truely desired to be. Finally, In June I boarded a plane back to Slovakia, where I took up a Assistant teacher post, after a year this became a full teaching role, which quickly became a Head Teacher role. It was a time of development in my life that I would never give up or change at all. The amount of things I learnt, from the people around me and myself have shaped me in ways I never thought possible. Yet, still the fondest memory is the amount I was taught by my Grade 1 students as I was teaching them. It is amazing how a six year old can look straight into you, and know exactly what is going on, what you are thinking and how you feel, even if they dont know it yet.
Finally I managed to secure the role of Librarian, a job I had desired for some time and knew I would do well at. Doing well at it I was, (like yoda there) I even had some custom T-shirts designed and printed by an expert shirt maker for the occasion. At this job I was excelling, but I was slowly becoming ready for something more, a new challenge and new goals.
Through circumstances this change would come upon me perhaps sooner than I was truely ready for, but come upon me it did. December 2010 saw me returning to Australia, without much of a real direction in my mind except that I wanted to end up in the journalism sector. So after a few months, where I really moped around, missing the country that I was actually becoming ready to move on from.
To try and get where I wanted I established my own photography business, focusing on motorsport photography. Into it I poured a lot of energy and effort, travelling to events all around NSW to sell my wares and myself. Eventually landing the role of race reporter with Group N, who I have reported for ever since, getting published in their magazine after each race. At the same time as this I got myself a job as a Barista in a busy coffee shop just down the street from my house.
After four months working at the coffee shop, dealing with 4:30am starts and twelve hour days, I decided to throw in the towel. It wasn't making me better and I knew I needed something more.
Enrolling in University in June it was time for me to get myself back to studying, but to help support myself I still needed to find a part time job. Somehow through constant applications I got called for an interview at a magazine, and the best part was that it was automotive. In a stroke of luck, or a confirmation that the road I had finally decided on was the right one, I managed to land the job. That brings me to the present where I have enjoyed the past two and a half weeks working as a feature writer for street fords, xtreme fords and custom utes magazines. There is much to learn, but I am sure that it will be a path that will take me where I want to go. Even if I have already had to sacrifice some things that I wanted to do in the coming months.
Of course by shortening into this form I have taken out many of the interesting stories and greatest points in life for the past few years. But every one of these words brings a different specific memory back for me, memories I will never lose. It is my story so far, and I am happy with it.
The Stats:
Cars Owned: Opel Calibra (what an ill fated adventure that still continues), Opel Omega (the most well equipped, comfortable, executive vehicle I have ever owned) 1974 Mini Van (still in the build)
Houses lived: Devin, Brisbane, Kandos, Devin, Sydney
Countries lived in: Slovakia, Australia
Jobs: Volunteer, Apprentice Draftsman, Petrol Station Attendant, Assistant Teacher, Head Teacher, Librarian, Barista, Photographer, Feature writer.
There it is, I wonder what the next 4 years will bring...
It will be a great adventure, if it is half as successful as these years, its going to be one hell of a ride.
This is a blog about adventures and good times. Its aim is to inspire, generate laughter and show that the world we live in is an amazingly beautiful and fun place to be.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Highway Robbery.
So today I went for a trip. Yep, thats right. On the one day I could sleep in this week, I was woken up at 6:30am, to get into the car and drive to Newcaslte to meet the Mini run. Well, being late meant we couldnt meet them at Newcastle at the planned 8am.. SO Instead, we decided to drive across Sydney to buy some mini parts I needed and then drive on to Wisemans Ferry to meet the Mini drivers.
Driving down the highway we then had to go through toll gates. Well, if you know Australian roads, we don't really have toll gates anymore, its mainly e-tags (electronic payment system linked to a bankcard and mounted in the car) to be able to pay for use of the roads. Of course, in most cases they still have one booth in operation. But it got me to thinking, only a few years ago about 20 people would have been employed to man these booths. But now, with only 1 payment booth left for each way, there is only one lone person in these.. It must be a lonely existance to be a toll collector these days. Especially as no-one really drives through the toll gates anymore.
And this got me thinking, everything has a domino effect. So that must mean that there has also been a decline in Highway Robbers. Yep, sadly long gone are the days of stickups on the highway. There is no way it could return a profit now, driving up to the booth and screaming "this is a stickup, give me all the cash" and having the operator reply, "Ive been here all day and made $4".
It doesnt even make the drive worth it. How are you even supposed to pay fuel? let alone get the gun..
I guess the only logical option means that they would choose bank robberies, which only lead to gaol. BUT at least the old booth operators could then get jobs as Prison Guards, and all would be re-united again.
Anyway, after driving through the e-tag lane, and paying the toll via card. The road was narrowed from 3 lanes to 1. This caused massive congestion and lasted about 3km. Driving at 20, along in one big line. Of course the other two lanes were behind cones so they could not be driven in.. Of course, no workers were in these lanes. No, No, that would make WAY too much sense. Instead, sitting right at the end of the closed area was a truck with a flashing arrow to show we needed to move over (2km after we had) and a big crush zone behind, just in case you drove into the back of it. YES, 3km of premium paid road, was closed, for a truck that had its own flashing lights and a crumble zone! I feel like money should be repayed! it surely is no longer a premium road if you have to pay for sitting in traffic..
Needless to say, this is the end of the highway. Both of the Highway man, the operators, and users.
It needs to be sorted out.
Driving down the highway we then had to go through toll gates. Well, if you know Australian roads, we don't really have toll gates anymore, its mainly e-tags (electronic payment system linked to a bankcard and mounted in the car) to be able to pay for use of the roads. Of course, in most cases they still have one booth in operation. But it got me to thinking, only a few years ago about 20 people would have been employed to man these booths. But now, with only 1 payment booth left for each way, there is only one lone person in these.. It must be a lonely existance to be a toll collector these days. Especially as no-one really drives through the toll gates anymore.
And this got me thinking, everything has a domino effect. So that must mean that there has also been a decline in Highway Robbers. Yep, sadly long gone are the days of stickups on the highway. There is no way it could return a profit now, driving up to the booth and screaming "this is a stickup, give me all the cash" and having the operator reply, "Ive been here all day and made $4".
It doesnt even make the drive worth it. How are you even supposed to pay fuel? let alone get the gun..
I guess the only logical option means that they would choose bank robberies, which only lead to gaol. BUT at least the old booth operators could then get jobs as Prison Guards, and all would be re-united again.
Anyway, after driving through the e-tag lane, and paying the toll via card. The road was narrowed from 3 lanes to 1. This caused massive congestion and lasted about 3km. Driving at 20, along in one big line. Of course the other two lanes were behind cones so they could not be driven in.. Of course, no workers were in these lanes. No, No, that would make WAY too much sense. Instead, sitting right at the end of the closed area was a truck with a flashing arrow to show we needed to move over (2km after we had) and a big crush zone behind, just in case you drove into the back of it. YES, 3km of premium paid road, was closed, for a truck that had its own flashing lights and a crumble zone! I feel like money should be repayed! it surely is no longer a premium road if you have to pay for sitting in traffic..
Needless to say, this is the end of the highway. Both of the Highway man, the operators, and users.
It needs to be sorted out.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Friday August 19th
Well, first week is over at the magazine and I must say it has ended reasonably well. I have already learnt a bit about writing car articles, and found that my first articles will probably hit the stands in November. By which time I should be up to about 25 articles written so it will be interesting then.
The best part of the job is it working on the computer all day, isnt as bad as it seems. With researching time, and this includes looking at youtube or facebook, one can stay quite amused throughout the day. So there is always something to "research" in order to get inspiration for the stories.
This week In one of my articles I compared a car to its advertising campaign from 1962. Trim, Taught, Terrific being the catch cry.
See the ad here: http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/movie_popup/ford_falcon_xl.htm
yep, I applied a majority of the words used in the ad to the custom rebuild street car. I think it has made an interesting story, and once it hits the shelves I will put it on here.
Also today while researching I found that Mr Ken Block, has created a new Gymkhana video, and this one is an epic. Again it is filmed beautifully and with a sense of humour at the end.
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btViXvIDsi0&feature
Well tomorrow it is off to Newcastle in the morning to join the beginning of the days Mini drive from there, through Wisemans Ferry (where a car ferry takes vehicles across the river) and finally on to Kandos to use the burnout track. Not for the Mini's to use in burnouts, but for the Kandos Street Machine club cars to put on a display. So that will be slightly interesting as always..
After that I have to do some work on my own mini. Should be interesting. Hope I can get it done soon.
Until Next time.
The best part of the job is it working on the computer all day, isnt as bad as it seems. With researching time, and this includes looking at youtube or facebook, one can stay quite amused throughout the day. So there is always something to "research" in order to get inspiration for the stories.
This week In one of my articles I compared a car to its advertising campaign from 1962. Trim, Taught, Terrific being the catch cry.
See the ad here: http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/movie_popup/ford_falcon_xl.htm
yep, I applied a majority of the words used in the ad to the custom rebuild street car. I think it has made an interesting story, and once it hits the shelves I will put it on here.
Also today while researching I found that Mr Ken Block, has created a new Gymkhana video, and this one is an epic. Again it is filmed beautifully and with a sense of humour at the end.
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btViXvIDsi0&feature
Well tomorrow it is off to Newcastle in the morning to join the beginning of the days Mini drive from there, through Wisemans Ferry (where a car ferry takes vehicles across the river) and finally on to Kandos to use the burnout track. Not for the Mini's to use in burnouts, but for the Kandos Street Machine club cars to put on a display. So that will be slightly interesting as always..
After that I have to do some work on my own mini. Should be interesting. Hope I can get it done soon.
Until Next time.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
New Job - New Beginning
As many of you know, I started a new job earlier this week. For the forseable future I will be working as a staff writer with Street Fords, Extreme Fords, Custom Utes and Brute Utes magazine. So I will get to write about about many different cars throughout my time there. My writing tasks will be to complete one article per car per day, with each article consisting of between 1000 and 1500 words. Combined with this I also have to come up with the title and pictures used in the story. SO it is a fairly detailed job, but one that I am enjoying so far each day.
I am excited that over time I am going to learn some great lessons and all the details of how to write different styles of story and create great articles..
At the moment my biggest problem is the commute to and from work each day. Over just 4 days I have reached the conclusion that most people on the roads in the morning are boneheads. Yesterday, for example, While driving home along King Georges road, a truck entered from the left. It then tried to cut across 3 lanes of traffic to get to the outside lane. Mind you, it wasn't just an ordinary lane cut, it was during PEAK HOUR! Well, he nearly took the front of my car off, and not content with this, he nearly drove into the side of the car next to me. It was just sheer stupidity! And this just isnt a localised incident. It happens all the time.
This morning I merged onto the highway behind a camry, suddenly he was on the brakes. SO I pulled out and drove past him, to find he had 100 METRES! of room in front of him!! 100 METRES!!! Like what the?? seriously??
I am beginning to seriously believe these drivers should be shot, their licences taken and confined to public transport. Preferably trains, so no-one has to see them..
While I am on the topic of annoying car things, Take a look at the destruction Kayne (Im told pronounced Kan yay not Kane, who knew?) West and and Jay-Z, where for their new music video they took an $850,000 maybach and proceed to destroy it. WHO THE HELL GAVE THEM THE BUDGET TO DO THIS?? what a complete and utter waste.
Wanna be impressive? take $850,000, go to africa or somewhere and use it to proactively increase the quality of peoples lives! film that and turn it into a music video sure, THAT would be impressive!
check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEKWtgJQAU&feature=player
Anyway until tomorrow.
Enjoy life.
I am excited that over time I am going to learn some great lessons and all the details of how to write different styles of story and create great articles..
At the moment my biggest problem is the commute to and from work each day. Over just 4 days I have reached the conclusion that most people on the roads in the morning are boneheads. Yesterday, for example, While driving home along King Georges road, a truck entered from the left. It then tried to cut across 3 lanes of traffic to get to the outside lane. Mind you, it wasn't just an ordinary lane cut, it was during PEAK HOUR! Well, he nearly took the front of my car off, and not content with this, he nearly drove into the side of the car next to me. It was just sheer stupidity! And this just isnt a localised incident. It happens all the time.
This morning I merged onto the highway behind a camry, suddenly he was on the brakes. SO I pulled out and drove past him, to find he had 100 METRES! of room in front of him!! 100 METRES!!! Like what the?? seriously??
I am beginning to seriously believe these drivers should be shot, their licences taken and confined to public transport. Preferably trains, so no-one has to see them..
While I am on the topic of annoying car things, Take a look at the destruction Kayne (Im told pronounced Kan yay not Kane, who knew?) West and and Jay-Z, where for their new music video they took an $850,000 maybach and proceed to destroy it. WHO THE HELL GAVE THEM THE BUDGET TO DO THIS?? what a complete and utter waste.
Wanna be impressive? take $850,000, go to africa or somewhere and use it to proactively increase the quality of peoples lives! film that and turn it into a music video sure, THAT would be impressive!
check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEKWtgJQAU&feature=player
Anyway until tomorrow.
Enjoy life.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Dream Shower
Yesterday while walking in Bunnings I saw some amazing shower heads. Of which I have enclosed a picture below, they were massive and I was thinking how good it would be to stand under them for a shower.
As I was doing my shower dance like a lunatic in the aisle, A thought suddenly dawned across my mind. Imagine if you replaced all the tiles in your shower walls and ceiling with these shower heads! It would make the most amazing, warm, cleansing shower I could imagine. I know I would never want to get out, and would probably risk drowning or flooding the house with it if I didn't make the whole floor as a massive drain. As well as this I admit it would be probably quite wasteful of water, BUT if you made the drain feed into a cleaning tank to reuse the water, then perhaps you could save yourself! :)...
Imagine it, wouldn't a shower like that be amazing?
Admit it, you're jealous I had this idea first...
Now if only I could turn it into a reality.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
New Airline
After watching the news today, all about how airlines now cannot fly to NZ or Melbourne due to an Ash cloud from Chile, I decided it would be a good idea to make up a new airline. See some airlines are incredibly dangerous yet they still get to fly, and use a slogan to make it seem they are not so bad. I want to see how many people would fly with an airline that has a true to life name.
Therefore My airline:
To be honest I think the airline will Take-off.. ha ha ha...
Therefore My airline:
DGB Air: Hitting the ground running.
To be honest I think the airline will Take-off.. ha ha ha...
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Few Recent Events
Ok so I have been a bit lazy on writing on the blog here at the moment. Mainly due to the fact that is the past few weeks I have had a life change and am now focusing completely on the business of DGB Photography. It means a lot of running around chasing jobs and publishing opportunities, but if you don't chase them you don't get them so I am not complaining.
Over the last few weeks I have been to the Formula X-treme, CAMS Supersprint, MX5 club, PCRA and ARDC State Championship events. So I have seen a variety of cars and bikes out on the tracks at Eastern Creek and Wakefield Park, giving their all for race wins or competitive lap times. Mixed in with all this I have been writing articles and submitting photos to various publications and it looks like some of those will be coming out in the next few weeks. So lets keep fingers crossed.
Below are a selection of a shot from each event I have covered recently. Just to give an idea of what I have been up to.
Over the last few weeks I have been to the Formula X-treme, CAMS Supersprint, MX5 club, PCRA and ARDC State Championship events. So I have seen a variety of cars and bikes out on the tracks at Eastern Creek and Wakefield Park, giving their all for race wins or competitive lap times. Mixed in with all this I have been writing articles and submitting photos to various publications and it looks like some of those will be coming out in the next few weeks. So lets keep fingers crossed.
Below are a selection of a shot from each event I have covered recently. Just to give an idea of what I have been up to.
Formula X-treme (May 1st)
CAMS Supersprint (May 8th)
MX5 Club Day (May 9th)
PCRA (May 14th)
ARDC State Championships (May 15th)
So those shots give an idea.
At all of these events there are some really interesting cars and bikes on display. Especially the car you see in the last shot. Its A Nissan Skyline, 2L engine running a turbocharger that knocks it up to 500Bhp. Now you could hear this thing screaming its head off all the way around the eastern creek track. Then when it came into view it would flame out on deceleration as you see in this shot. That flame is not the easiest to get a shot off, all day trying and that is about the best I could get.
This weekend off to the CAMS Supersprint at Eastern Creek on sunday, where I will post a detailed report of the day on here after completion. However, after that I have no events to get to for a few weeks, so I going to have to start chasing some. Anyone have any ideas/invites?? :)
Friday, May 6, 2011
So you like your GT40?
Over the Easter long weekend I travelled to Eastern Creek for the FoSC event there. While shooting as many photos I could take a particular car caught my eye, the one you see below.
For a few hours we speculated whether this car was actually a original Ford GT40, because if it was then it was great to see one out on track, considering the value and appeal that these cars have. Even today after so many years they are a beautiful piece of machinery.
Later when we were walking through the pits we noticed it parked in one of the garages and decided to walk over and have a closer look at the vehicle. Its engine cover was up, giving us a great look at the Ford motor contained below. Standing in the pit admiring this vehicle and the way it was still being used for what it was originally made to do, crush the opposition on the racetracks of the world. The stone chips had affected the paint, marks around the guards from where they rubbed on each other or other cars, all added to the appeal of this piece of working history.
As we admired the owner walked in and started to fill her with fuel for the upcoming race. By no stretch of the imagination was he a person who thought he was better than anyone else, as he happily talked to us about the car. It was just his manner of answering our questions that made the encounter all that more interesting. When asked if it was an original GT40, the answer was an affirmative. Well, original in the sense that parts had been replaced over time and some guards changed, but it was still the original chassis. To which we responded that these cars are pretty rare arn't they, it must be pretty nice to have one still on the track. As calmly as you like we were told 'oh not really too rare, they made a couple of hundred', mmm yeah and we own a Holden Rodeo they made more of them didn't they. Still it must be worth a bit, we pressed on with the conversation. "Nah not really" he replied "I was over in the UK a few years back, and they were pushing to get half a million for them". Ohh thats though we thought, I mean if we sold our Rodeo then we would be pushing to get a grand. "You also have to be prepared for the fuel, I only get 1.5km per litre". Yeah, it must be really tough to own one of the greatest sports cars ever made, to know you are only going to get a lot of money for selling it and also know that you have the money to be able to afford the insane price of fuel to distance driving.
Did I mention he had it road registered and drove it to and from the racetrack? yeah pretty tough. It was just great how this conversation all took place without him giving off a sense of aloofness or anything. What a great conversation.
So if you feel the same way, unlike me you must be in the market to buy this:
Yep, thats right, A 1965 Ford GT40 works prototype roadster goes under the hammer in the UK later this month.
This particular one was one of twelve pre-production vehicles that were raced in one of the greatest of motor sport events, The 1965 Targa Florio. Unfortunately it ran on only 7 of its 8 cylinders in the race, where it eventually crashed into a wall after losing a front wheel. Not a great maiden race by any stretch of the imagination. When put into production the roadster idea was scrapped and so none were ever made.
Would you like to own this piece of motoring history? The heart and soul of a car that destroy Enzo Ferrari the biggest Le Mans trashing of his life?
Well you can, and all you need is a cool 2.6 million pound. Of course thats only auction estimate, so you might need a tad more.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter Traditions, don't transfer!
So I had a pretty good easter, as most of you would see I spent most of it out at a racetrack in Sydney photographing and writing stories about some racing that was happening there. While that was a great part of the weekend a not so great part was the way that other easter traditions that work in places dont work here.
For Example in Slovakia the tradition is to beat girls with a sort of stick, to show your affection, then you get a ribbon tied to it to show that she is happy with what happened, but if I did that here I would probably get an assault charge. In the same way that throwing a water over a girl wouldn't work like it does in Slovakia, I wouldn't get a painted egg. Perhaps a painted face, black and blue with bruising..
It makes me sad to think that in some ways we have lost these, fun? traditions in western society. Instead it is about buying your easter weekend..
For example a great ad I heard easter monday on the radio. At a food store in Sydney if you bought $20 of easter eggs, you would get a docket to allow you to get 10c a litre off your next fuel price. Now how much fuel would you need to buy to make that worthwhile?? well to save $20 you just spent on eggs you would have to buy 200L of fuel, at once... So really only truck drivers would find that deal worthwhile, and unfortunately if I am honest I think some of them really should be persuaded against taking it..
So what do we do with these easter bunnies we didn't sell?
re-wrap them as santa and wait for the end of the year!! cause thats what we did with christmas chocolate anyway :D (Video Below)
For Example in Slovakia the tradition is to beat girls with a sort of stick, to show your affection, then you get a ribbon tied to it to show that she is happy with what happened, but if I did that here I would probably get an assault charge. In the same way that throwing a water over a girl wouldn't work like it does in Slovakia, I wouldn't get a painted egg. Perhaps a painted face, black and blue with bruising..
It makes me sad to think that in some ways we have lost these, fun? traditions in western society. Instead it is about buying your easter weekend..
For example a great ad I heard easter monday on the radio. At a food store in Sydney if you bought $20 of easter eggs, you would get a docket to allow you to get 10c a litre off your next fuel price. Now how much fuel would you need to buy to make that worthwhile?? well to save $20 you just spent on eggs you would have to buy 200L of fuel, at once... So really only truck drivers would find that deal worthwhile, and unfortunately if I am honest I think some of them really should be persuaded against taking it..
So what do we do with these easter bunnies we didn't sell?
re-wrap them as santa and wait for the end of the year!! cause thats what we did with christmas chocolate anyway :D (Video Below)
Monday, April 25, 2011
Come in Spinner!
Luckiest getaway of the weekend yesterday at Eastern Creek, watch as Peter Simmons spins his EH holden through the field at turn one. How he didn't get hit by anyone is amazing.
Sometimes luck is just with you. Even when it seems it has left the building....
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Another giant leap for mankind
Today after a long day I decided that what I really wanted to do for dinner was anything other than cook. On my way home I thought I would just pop into McDonald's and get a burger, when I arrived I saw KFC and thought that instead I would get some chicken as I had really had a few burgers lately.
Inside I remembered a new choice on the KFC menu and it struck me how health conscious Australian's have become, we don't like the fat in many things we eat now, demanding that fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC give us "healthy choices". Well this was a new one for the books, its a Burger with two chicken breast fillets, some cheese, Bacon and BBQ sauce, that's it. Yep, no bread. I mean we all know that bread is the worst part of the burger anyway, full of sugar and yeast and its where all the fat gets absorbed into like a sponge. So really, I think what KFC has done is brilliant, removing the worst part of the burger and replacing it with a healthy alternative, deep fried chicken. Without the bread to absorb the chicken fat, you are not eating that fat cause its instead drizzling down the baking paper and onto your hands. Excellent.
Of course with this sort of new development in the eating habits of humans I had to try it for myself and at $7 a pop it isn't the cheapest burger on the menu (but you always pay a bit extra for healthy choices right?). From the first look I was pleased with my choice, take a look at the pic below and tell me you couldn't find this appetising.
As you can see it's called the double as part of MANTIME! yes yes. Well needless to say this "burger" reminded me exactly why we moved out of the caves and into a civilised world, so we didn't have to eat crap like this. The lack of anything nutritional here isn't exactly appealing as that is what you expect when you go to fast food resturants, but really. Ordering this and then eating it I feel I should have just walked into the place and had this conversation:
Me: "Hi I'd like a vat of oil to go thanks"
Server: "Ok sir, that will be $7.50"
Me: "Thankyou"
Server: "Here is the vat of oil and if you just exit through the doors to your left, the Hearse is waiting outside to take you to your allocated resting site, have a nice day".
Me: "oh its not an ambulance?"
Server: *laughs* "Oh no sir, what would be the point of that? it would only increase the price of the burger."
Yes, this is not the way to live forever, and I can't actually see how it could make you enjoy not living forever either.. Strange times we live in.
Having said all this the ad for it is HILARIOUS. check it out...
Inside I remembered a new choice on the KFC menu and it struck me how health conscious Australian's have become, we don't like the fat in many things we eat now, demanding that fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC give us "healthy choices". Well this was a new one for the books, its a Burger with two chicken breast fillets, some cheese, Bacon and BBQ sauce, that's it. Yep, no bread. I mean we all know that bread is the worst part of the burger anyway, full of sugar and yeast and its where all the fat gets absorbed into like a sponge. So really, I think what KFC has done is brilliant, removing the worst part of the burger and replacing it with a healthy alternative, deep fried chicken. Without the bread to absorb the chicken fat, you are not eating that fat cause its instead drizzling down the baking paper and onto your hands. Excellent.
Of course with this sort of new development in the eating habits of humans I had to try it for myself and at $7 a pop it isn't the cheapest burger on the menu (but you always pay a bit extra for healthy choices right?). From the first look I was pleased with my choice, take a look at the pic below and tell me you couldn't find this appetising.
As you can see it's called the double as part of MANTIME! yes yes. Well needless to say this "burger" reminded me exactly why we moved out of the caves and into a civilised world, so we didn't have to eat crap like this. The lack of anything nutritional here isn't exactly appealing as that is what you expect when you go to fast food resturants, but really. Ordering this and then eating it I feel I should have just walked into the place and had this conversation:
Me: "Hi I'd like a vat of oil to go thanks"
Server: "Ok sir, that will be $7.50"
Me: "Thankyou"
Server: "Here is the vat of oil and if you just exit through the doors to your left, the Hearse is waiting outside to take you to your allocated resting site, have a nice day".
Me: "oh its not an ambulance?"
Server: *laughs* "Oh no sir, what would be the point of that? it would only increase the price of the burger."
Yes, this is not the way to live forever, and I can't actually see how it could make you enjoy not living forever either.. Strange times we live in.
Having said all this the ad for it is HILARIOUS. check it out...
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
So today was good friday, lucky me I got to spend my day in the most interesting and fun of ways. As many would know I have started my own photography business here in Australia with a view to building it and getting some work as a writer for publications. This weekend has been one of those opportunities, I am working with a small magazine called Appendix J magazine, it is a small club level magazine for people who race in a certain division of car racing in New South Wales. So this weekend I am writing race reports on the events these cars have throughout the weekend, while being there I also get to see all the other divisions as well, take photos and try and sell some.
The first day today was great, making contacts, seeing racing, taking notes and writing up the story at the end. It was all a new experience and one I enjoyed thoroughly. As with every day you learn some new things or make some mistakes that you need to learn from, like today I forgot my hat and suncream, so I am a little burnt. With two days racing to go this is not a good place to be in, I also forgot my advertising material, so I couldn't give them out to people who I started talking to during the day.
BUT, after a few hours out in the sun, watching some excellent racing, I have a couple of SD cards full of photos and enough notes to begin writing my article for the magazine. Fingers crossed that I do this well, cause this could lead to something..
Below are some of my favourite photos of the Group N guys racing today at Eastern Creek:
The first day today was great, making contacts, seeing racing, taking notes and writing up the story at the end. It was all a new experience and one I enjoyed thoroughly. As with every day you learn some new things or make some mistakes that you need to learn from, like today I forgot my hat and suncream, so I am a little burnt. With two days racing to go this is not a good place to be in, I also forgot my advertising material, so I couldn't give them out to people who I started talking to during the day.
BUT, after a few hours out in the sun, watching some excellent racing, I have a couple of SD cards full of photos and enough notes to begin writing my article for the magazine. Fingers crossed that I do this well, cause this could lead to something..
Below are some of my favourite photos of the Group N guys racing today at Eastern Creek:
1972 LJ Torana
1964 Ford Mustang
Tomorrow will be a new day, I hope action packed. Because then it gives me even more to work with.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sometimes the Chocolate just dont cut it..
After a long day at work, it was finally time to go home. But not before a meeting about the new sandwich making procedure for work. Yep, we sat in a room, ate some sandwiches and talked about how to make the new sandwiches. Pretty difficult stuff actually, the process is quite hard to master.
For Example:
Step 1: Take two slices of bread out from the loaf and place on chopping board.
Step 2: Place fillings onto one slice of the bread, piling fillings on top of each other. Eg Lamb, gherkins, cheese, rocket. (if you put the rocket on first you're screwed)
Step 3: Place the slice of bread without any fillings on, on top of the fillings to create the outside of the sandwich. (if you put the slice under all this you are screwed).
Step 4: wrap sandwich with plastic wrap and tape down ends. (if you tape sandwich and throw out plastic wrap, you are screwed)
Yeah its pretty difficult stuff.
End result should look like this:
For Example:
Step 1: Take two slices of bread out from the loaf and place on chopping board.
Step 2: Place fillings onto one slice of the bread, piling fillings on top of each other. Eg Lamb, gherkins, cheese, rocket. (if you put the rocket on first you're screwed)
Step 3: Place the slice of bread without any fillings on, on top of the fillings to create the outside of the sandwich. (if you put the slice under all this you are screwed).
Step 4: wrap sandwich with plastic wrap and tape down ends. (if you tape sandwich and throw out plastic wrap, you are screwed)
Yeah its pretty difficult stuff.
End result should look like this:
If you get this you have gone overboard:
If you end up looking like this from making sandwiches then please leave the kitchen and seek medical help:
Anyway, that wasn't meant to be the major part of my story. After making some sandwiches and not looking like the guy above I left and went home. Like any normal person would have wanted to do an hour earlier before getting a crash sandwich course.
Mum came around and we decided to go out for dinner. At first I couldn't make my mind up what I wanted to eat, you know those nights? when nothing seems quite what you want, so you just circle around for hours without getting anything. Well tonight was shaping up to be one of those nights. Finally mum decided we should go to Bondi, so off we went, down to the beach for the evening. After a while we found ourselves at a place called Moo Burgers. (can you guess what they made their burgers out of?) These vastly expensive burgers were nice to eat but probably not really worth the money. The thing that would make me go back is the restaurant was really nicely set out, had good music playing and a great vibe inside. The chips were also crunchy which is a great thing to find in a place, especially when like me you want crunchy chips.
After dinner we wandered down the street to a chocolate shop, where mum had been told she could finally get a european style, thick hot chocolate. Needless to say she was quite excited when the man behind the counter told her that yes, the chocolate was very thick, thicker than anywhere else. So mum ordered an happily went outside to the table to wait. About five minutes later when the hot chocolate arrived you can imagine her disappointment when it turned out to be quite a runny, watery hot chocolate.
You know when you give a child a wrong present at christmas and they complain loudly so everyone can hear how disappointed they are in the present and you? well that was mother when she took her first sips of the drink. Sentences like "what a waste of money" and "I don't think i'll even bother drinking all of this" were uttered. Sentences that one does not expect a mother to say. She really was quite cranky, like a bee who has come back to his nest only to find all the honey gone, she was ready to sting anyone who came near. Cranky Cranky lady she was. So quietly I tried to lead her back to the car. That worked about as well as when you set off loud music in a perfectly quiet house at 1am, everyone notices no matter how wildly you grab at the volume control.. I'm pretty sure everyone noticed our leaving. I don't think we will be invited back, but then again we were not invited there in the first place..
Needless to say, when it comes to think hot chocolate, Europe corrupts and spoils one. For Life!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Rainy Weekend
So on the weekend I went to Wakefield Park, just outside Goulburn NSW to Photograph the MRA round 2 race day that was taking place at the track. On Saturday I had finally managed to buy myself a new Pentax K5 and Sigma 50-500mm Lens, both things I have been wanting to get my hands on for a very long time. I couldn't wait to get to the track and take some new shots to get used to such a good camera I had found myself with.
The day dawned to a rainy Goulburn. In the town centre the day didn't seem to bad, light rain falling on the tin roof making a delicious peaceful noise that only made one want to snuggle up for the day. I pushed myself to get dressed and go off to the track. After failing once and falling asleep under a blanket in front of the TV I finally got out into the car, an hour later than my planned leaving time.
Driving the 15mins out to the race track made me feel more and more worried. It may sound stupid to say but when doing outdoor photography there is rain and then there is RAIN. Today it was RAIN, the driving, relentless downpour that even the gutters and drainage cannot keep up with. When I arrived the track and surrounds were beginning to resemble more a swimming pool than a racetrack. Due to this I seriously believed the event would be called off. I was mistaken.
After signing my release forms, (a compulsory document that needs to be signed to say that I wont sue if I get injured or killed while taking photos) I ventured out to the side of the track, trying to find a vantage point that I could use for the day. It was then I realised that I did not have an umbrella or cover for the camera. With my old camera I would not have worried about it getting wet, but this was a new deal, I had spent a lot of money on this equipment and I didn't want to risk damage to it the first day out of the box. So I searched the car for anything I could use to keep rain off. Eventually I found a way where I could use a shoe box lid, strapped to the lens hood with a bag strap to cover the lens itself and a Cat Empire sweater draped over the camera and lens to double cover everything.
Here is a Picture of the setup:
Standing in the driving rain I looked like the silliest photographer. (Probably more cause I was the only one who was standing out in the driving rain through all the races)
Three hours after arriving, with fingers numb from cold and a cough developing, I decided enough was enough, it was time to go home. So soaking wet and dreaming of hot coffee I packed my bags for the two hour drive home. Happy that I had achieved something and learnt some lessons which I can implement for the next event I will be photographing. The FOSC (Festival of Sports Cars) days at Eastern Creek this Easter long weekend. I really cant wait to get out to that track..
Lastly, I would like to add a series of photos, my favourite from the weekend. Its about a little mini who lost his way.
The day dawned to a rainy Goulburn. In the town centre the day didn't seem to bad, light rain falling on the tin roof making a delicious peaceful noise that only made one want to snuggle up for the day. I pushed myself to get dressed and go off to the track. After failing once and falling asleep under a blanket in front of the TV I finally got out into the car, an hour later than my planned leaving time.
Driving the 15mins out to the race track made me feel more and more worried. It may sound stupid to say but when doing outdoor photography there is rain and then there is RAIN. Today it was RAIN, the driving, relentless downpour that even the gutters and drainage cannot keep up with. When I arrived the track and surrounds were beginning to resemble more a swimming pool than a racetrack. Due to this I seriously believed the event would be called off. I was mistaken.
After signing my release forms, (a compulsory document that needs to be signed to say that I wont sue if I get injured or killed while taking photos) I ventured out to the side of the track, trying to find a vantage point that I could use for the day. It was then I realised that I did not have an umbrella or cover for the camera. With my old camera I would not have worried about it getting wet, but this was a new deal, I had spent a lot of money on this equipment and I didn't want to risk damage to it the first day out of the box. So I searched the car for anything I could use to keep rain off. Eventually I found a way where I could use a shoe box lid, strapped to the lens hood with a bag strap to cover the lens itself and a Cat Empire sweater draped over the camera and lens to double cover everything.
Here is a Picture of the setup:
Standing in the driving rain I looked like the silliest photographer. (Probably more cause I was the only one who was standing out in the driving rain through all the races)
Three hours after arriving, with fingers numb from cold and a cough developing, I decided enough was enough, it was time to go home. So soaking wet and dreaming of hot coffee I packed my bags for the two hour drive home. Happy that I had achieved something and learnt some lessons which I can implement for the next event I will be photographing. The FOSC (Festival of Sports Cars) days at Eastern Creek this Easter long weekend. I really cant wait to get out to that track..
Lastly, I would like to add a series of photos, my favourite from the weekend. Its about a little mini who lost his way.
In a Mini, no-one can hear you scream!
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