What does a wombat eat? And other questions pertinent to the survival of mankind

TV blog loopback

whatdoesawombateat — Fri, 27 May 2011 22:43:00 +0000

Blogging is a form of expression that I’m not all that comfortable with. Every time I come back to whatdoesawombateat, I am struck by the urge to revise previous blogs. This strikes me as wrong. The blog is a log and logs shouldn’t be changed.

Another problem is that blogs are incomplete. I tried to blog about buying DVDs instead of watching programmes in real-time on TV, and ended up with a semi-permanent record of a fragment of a notion that tempts me to expand every time I see it.

Which leads me to the next point. Blogs are often trivial. I don’t know why I feel the urge to expand on my decision to buy DVDs. In fact, since I got TiVo, I don’t really buy all that many “TV on DVD” sets anyway and the last one I bought hasn’t been watched yet…the latest Season-Pass-ed Sons Of Anarchy sitting on the Now Playing List always wins.

So I’ll let sleeping blogs lie…

Polymathness

whatdoesawombateat — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:22:56 +0000

Just added a link to Robert Twigger’s blog: roberttwigger.com after being alerted to said site by the esteemed author himself.

Time tick tick ticking

whatdoesawombateat — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:51:30 +0000

It’s two years since I left England and writing this made me realise that there are not many posts on this blog since I posted my ‘one year’ message. Oops. Must try harder. And really should try to iron another shirt…

Bringing it all together

whatdoesawombateat — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:12:56 +0000

Hoping this blog post will make it to Facebook and Windows Live in one smooth post…

(i.e. This is a Test)

Where did it all go wrong?

whatdoesawombateat — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:06:54 +0000

Just watched the 1965 movie, The Ipcress File and was confounded by the opening scene (set in London) where Michael Caine boils a kettle, grinds some coffee beans and makes coffee in a cafetiere…

This was 44 years ago, and yet when I was growing up all I remember is instant coffee and then later the cafetiere being a new-fangled invention that first appeared in cafes and later came into the home. Coffee beans in England were not something you saw, but you could get pre-ground beans for special occasions.

When I arrived in New Zealand I was instantly struck by how good the coffee is. It seems everywhere you look there is an Italian-made espresso machine. As a result of being surrounded by the real stuff, every weekend morning I boil the kettle, grind some coffee beans and make coffee in a cafetiere.

I was just wondering at what point in time people in England abandoned making proper coffee, threw away the grinders and cafetieres and embraced the instant ‘wonder’ of a spoonful of granules. They equipment did exist, Michael Caine had it!

They say history repeats. I’m just glad to have gone full circle and arrived back in 1965.

As a postscript, the aforementioned Mr. Caine, admirable as his coffee making routine was, did make one huge error…he plunged straight away, where he should have stirred, left to stand for 4 minutes, stirred again and then plunged. However, he still get top marks for effort.

Two things I’ve discovered recently that are really good…

whatdoesawombateat — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:07:15 +0000

1. Windows Live Writer (for updating blogs)

2. Clive Cussler (for the sheer joy of adventure)

…2 wins by a nose, but 1 is still pretty good.

One year in New Zealand

whatdoesawombateat — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:04:12 +0000

I’m celebrating one year since I emigrated to New Zealand. That’s the longest I’ve ever been anywhere except England, where I was born. Feels pretty good. I even ironed a shirt this morning with no adverse effects. May even do it again next year.

If you like travel and adventure writing…

whatdoesawombateat — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:00:53 +0000

…go and read everything written by Robert Twigger immediately…

…I am.

Does anyone watch tv on tv anymore?

whatdoesawombateat — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:54:26 +0000

The last time I watched 24 on regular TV they broke the weekly routine for the Olympics (or something like that) at episode 22/24! I waited patiently for two weeks to see the next episode and then discovered that they had decided to pick up again at episode 20/24 – in case I had forgotten what was going on. By the time the season resumed I’d waited a month to find out the resolution to the latest ‘cliff-hanger’.

I’ve recently decided that there is no point puttings myself through the stress of watching the few television programmes that I enjoy, as they are broadcast. There are several reasons for this:

- Life is too busy/unpredictable to be tied to watching the latest episode at the same time, same place every week. Or at least remembering to record it.

- ‘Cliff-hanger’ based shows (such as 24 and The Shield) are just too stressful – waiting a week is just too much in this fast moving world.

- There are too many adverts all in the wrong places (i.e. exactly when you don’t want to stop watching). Yes, I know there are options to remove them, but that still involves watching in delayed real-time or recording.

So the solution is DVD. You can watch as much as you want in each sitting and the cost is easily negated by the lack of stress and increased enjoyment.

What does a wombat eat? And other questions pertinent to the survival of mankind…

whatdoesawombateat — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:04:10 +0000

Wombat

I’ve started this blog in honour of the most frequently hit entry on my travelblog site, which has been running for 5 years. The intention is to post thoughts and comments outside of the scope of travel.