Google has just released a special Santa Tracker for Google Earth this year! On previous years, Google has had a Santa tracker which let you watch Santa make deliveries all over the Earth using Google Earth on Christmas Eve. This year, they have started a bit earlier with a game to find a toy for each of the 12 days before Christmas. Not only that, but the new version uses 3D models created with SketchUp of Santa's North Pole home, his sleigh, and the toys you find are in 3D as well.
Google Earth Blog: Santa's Toy Hunt and Santa Tracker in Google Earth
Well, its the Blogs Birthday and she's 3 today!
I guess this last year has been pretty interesting ;-)
11 months ago I met the love of my life... Mimi. She is the *best* person in the whole world so basically anyone who isnt me is very unlucky indeed. Mim is the *best# thing that has ever happened to me (well, ok, maybe the birth of Felix wins). This year Mim and I have done so many things that I would fill up my whole blogspace just listing them. I love the fact that we have so many similar interests, but on the other hand we are different in many ways too... but our differences are compatible! I guess I have to thank Rob "always the bridesmaid" Saliba for introducing us. Cheers mate.
Mim makes me feel very special and I only hope I make her feel just as good.
...Anyway, Im being really soppy... Ill go now before it gets any worse...
Happy Birthday Blog. :)
Here is the view from my window at work. Pretty hazy ant hot. It got up to 40 degrees yesterday.
No Joke, this managed to bypass the yahoo spam filter...
We've sorted through the good, the bad and the even worse to find you the best place for purchasing make a water pipe online.
You are more than welcome to spend your valuable time in this research or alternatively you can rely on the fact that we have done it for you and click the links on the left side of this page.
Yeah, some of those water pipe site are BAAAAD! - ROFL...delete.
Mim has now seen some pictures of me before the beard... and she agrees with you all that I should remove it! :( I start the new job tomorrow so I figured now is the best time to see whats under there and how it has aged.
I am *freaking out* about the new job because they are all hip and funky and smart.I figured I could buy my way into hip and funky... so a new pair of Timberlands and an iPod Nano later and I am as fresh as... ;-).
That just leaves the smart bit. Damn. Wish me luck. pant. pant. hyperventalate. pant. =8-0
Peter Brock 'killed in crash' - National - smh.com.au: "Peter Brock 'killed in crash'"
A python sits on a road after swallowing a pregnant ewe in the village of Kampung Jabor, about 200 km (124 miles) east of Kuala Lumpur, on September 5, 2006. The six-metre reptile weighing 90 kg (198.5 lbs) was too laden to move, making it easy for firemen to capture it, said a local daily newspaper. Picture taken September 5, 2006. 
:: Welcome to Cantor Gaming ::
Well ive officially been offered the job now so its all done and dusted! I am now offically an evil internet gaming tycoon.
There are soooo many cool things about this job:
NO SUITS!
I am paid in US dollars
I am employed by some crazy umbrella company in Nevada
In the interview it was mentioned: "Oh by the way, we have a Nevada Gaming License so you may at some stage be under investigation by the US govenrment and be required to give evidence in a US court. OhhhhhKaaaaay.
Our software and hardware will actually be used in Casinos in Las Vegas!
Its on level 50 of the MLC centre.
The people are young and seem keen and friendly.
Did I mention NO SUITS!!!!!
:)
Here is a brief on what our product does... btw the wireless triangulation location based stuff rocks.
"The handheld devices would allow patrons to play computer casino games in areas approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The devices would automatically shut off if taken outside those approved areas. The way the system is envisioned to work is that a patron would obtain a mobile gaming device on the casino premises, possibly at the casino cage, after showing proper identification and depositing money on account. The patron would be able to play casino games on the device, only in approved areas such as the swimming pool or convention gathering places. Security features would prevent minors from playing the devices. When a patron completed play, the device would be returned and the patron would receive the balance from the account."
Man. Seek. Whats up with that!? I havent written a resume since before I had the internet so I opted for the least amount of effort and did a standard "Seek" resume... I applied for 3 jobs and in no less than 20 minutes after pressing "apply" I had two phone calls and one interview! Fingers crossed. BTW: If anyone calls you regarding my employment, just remember to say: Yes, Chris "knows" what he is doing... (you can even do the "" finger thing if you want) :)
I thought I would break this story to the blogging community first... I dont have a job lined up so if anyone has anything, let me know! :)
August 24, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
Dear Colleague:
After 11 years 6 months with ISI/Sentor, it is with much emotion that I must inform you of my desire to resign from my position of Senior Application Developer effective 30/09/2006.
My time with ISI/Sentor has been filled with moments that I will remember forever. I have learnt many skills and have worked in many different organizations with fantastic people through ISI/Sentor.
I wish ISI/Sentor well in all its endeavors and I hope to continue friendships with those that have grown through our business acquaintances.
All the best…
Sincerely,
Chris Schulz
Senior Application Developer
After spanking her ass last week at Wise-O's, the new steed decided to show me who is boss at the Burgh on Sunday. My new-found confidence meant that I approached things at much higher speeds... so when things went wrong... well... see the picture... ouch!
... but I love her! :).
BTW, the decals glow in the dark... how cool is that! :) :)
Did the Paddy Pallin Rogaine last weekend. Teamed up with Margaret, Rowan and Simon and had an excellent day. Did not expect to come in where we did. We were surprised to come 12th in the mixed and 25th over all!
Team Acuity (and some ring-ins) did some night training up in the mountains on the weekend. We walked the Mt Solitary loop from the Golden Stairs. We started on Friday night at 9pm and finished Saturday morning at 8am. An epic adventure indeed. I was very happy with the teams effort and my own fitness is good. I only flat-spotted once at about 5am but some sugar and sunrise fixed that. Less than two weeks to go! :)
Piglets compete in swimming after being thrown into the water during the Pig Olympics in Moscow April 15, 2006. Four-legged athletes from seven countries compete on Saturday and Sunday in disciplines such as running, swimming and svineball - a ball game played with the snout. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
"Astonishing Tales of the Sea":
AROC Championships 2006 Race Report - Team Skink (138)
"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli" - George Kastanza
The funny thing about this race report is that the bulk of the adventure concluded before we reached the first TA!
After the battle for a good position at the start (which we lost), we headed out confidently albeit slowly toward CP1. We bagged CP1 reasonably well although surfing the waves was a little challenging.
We headed off to TA1 and we figured that we should attack the breakers head on. We didnt have any trouble over the waves (even the massive ones) but we simply could not turn that damn boat around! We even resorted to using the paddles on the right hand side only... it just would not turn! The decision was made to head out past the break, paddle north toward the TA then surf back in and duck around to the TA. We all know about a good plan though, dont we! I think we did remarkably well to get over the waves we did. I think we were right in the thick of it but we managed to get out the back and we made some progress to the TA. After that I dont know what happened... its all a blur but we turned in far too early (or something). We started surfing in and I think we caught one wave successfully. Somehow we eneded up sideways and a wave nailed us... game over. Chaos...
My first thought as I broke the surface and gasped for air was "where is everyone?". Once I saw that everyone was ok, I saw that the boat wasnt too far away. My memory is quite sketchy here. We somehow all got back to the boat and managed to gather all the paddles. We were being pounded by wave after wave. I felt completely powerless in the water; everything is so much harder, its hard to hear each other, hard to move with the pack, pfd and clothes let alone the massive sea battering you. I watched most of my food float away, as well as my glasses. Thats when I saw my team mate Lynn shaking. She was quite distressed, she grabbed on to my pfd and I assured her we would be ok. I just didnt know what to do I was pretty scared myself but I didnt want to let on. I have very little paddling experience and Im not fond of big surf either. I gave the paddles to her and Melissa and myself tried to right the boat. After a reasonable struggle we righted her but she was still facing sideways. Melissa ended up on the wrong side of the boat and she copped a wholopping in the head. Lynn attempted to get in but she was just too drained and fell back in the surf. Thats when I saw that melissa was in serious trouble. Her helmet had been ripped off her head by the surf and the strap was twisted and strangling her. She literally was gasping for air. I made my way to her end of the boat but it was incredibly difficult to remove the helmet with my waterlogged gloves still on. I managed to undo the buckle but I had to apply more pressure to her throat in order to do so and Im not sure who was panicing more. I cant really remember what happened after this... all I remember is that I had hold of the back of the boat and it was facing into shore. A big wave hit me and I lost my grip... the boat was gone... surfing on a wave into shore. A jet boater was buzzing around and I sent him over to where my team mates were to give them a hand. Apparently he asked them if they were ok... Lynn replied "No" and he just left! I think he may have gone to get the dingy but it didnt make us feel all that confident. A few tense minutes and one jet boat ride later, we were in the dingy and heading back for the start... We all exclained in unicen: "Hang on!!! We dont want to quit!!!". We convinced our saviours the we were OK to continue and we got a nice (but rough) lift to TA1. We staggered up the shore like we had just been in a shipwreck. I explained to the marshal that if we recieved a penalty for the boat ride that I was going to kill someone. I think she got the picture. :)
... aaaand breathe...
The trek to CP2 was fine but after leaving we had to make a pitstop on a conveniently dumped car to change a contact lense that had come away. The race proceeded rather smoothly for us from here and it seemed rather peaceful running along in the bush, compared to flailing in the wild sea.
The highlight (among many) for me was the coasteering to and from CP14. I actually had to stop at the rock with the foot holes in it and shout loudly, as the waves were crashing just a few meters from us: "How f-ing awesome is this!". CP14 was located in a cave in the cliff and it was quite surreal. Word travels fast in AR, we mentioned to one marshal (CP18 i think) that we had a shocking time in the boat. He replied that it could be worse: "Apparently there was this team that had to be rescued!".
All was well again until CP19. Our nav was fantastic and we managed to pass many teams, especially on the tricky CP17. This is where I must make a confession... I assume there wont be a protest at the level we finished at. We nav'ed into CP19 reasonably well and when I found the control I shouted to Melissa to get Lynn, jump on the bikes and start while I punched. I had been much faster on the bike so I had a quick wizz and ran out to the bike. I rode quite fast for a few minutes and there was no sign of them! Did they think that I meant to go back to the road? Crap. I rode all the way back to the road, swore loudly and then high-tailed it back again. They had simply ridden much faster than me and I quickly hid my anger and put my tail between my legs. Never lose sight of your team mates. They probably should make that a rule! ;-)
The last few legs were OK although the coasteering was frustratingly slow. The kayak seemed to go pretty straight so we blame the first boat entirely for all our dramas. We crossed the line at about 16:30 to that all familliar polite clap. This was an awesome race! I remember commenting in the first leg, as we hit the first few big waves: "So... they call this ADVENTURE racing do they?!". What an adventure it was. This race was superbly planned. It was "just right". I was challenged right up to and just beyond my limits. At times I felt scared but we had great support from the volunteer and rescue personell. The scenery was awesome and I think this was the most beautiful AR I have ever done. Thankyou Tom, Alina and everyone involved with this event. How long is it till the next one? :-)
...and no, im not pleased to see you! :)
Kids with guns - Google Video
Team Goanna competed in the 2006 Polaris in the Delegate region on the weekend. Day one was eventful indeed, we started out very well but ended up geographically challenged after 4 controls. We broke many of the core orienteering rules but had justification for our decisions at the time! A series of disasters including me losing front brakes and Graeme breaking a deralliuer hanger saw us placed well down the field after day 1.
Camp was nice but we didnt partake in any festivities... Our shanty town was excellent and lasted the whole night without a problem. I slept on my map so when I woke up in the morning I thought I was skydiving! ;-) Our neighbours werent so lucky, a possum decided to do number ones on their tent! The poor old possum must have peed himself again as he had about 20 headlamps aimed up the tree trying to find him!
Day 2 rocked. Perfect navigation and fast riding saw us make up about 30 places. I did crack on the second ascent of Mt Delegate... so much so that at one stage I was soo dizzy that I nearly rode off the edge. I must have looked shabby because one team took photos of my "grimmace" as I passed them.
Monday was spent watching daytime TV flat out on the floor. Next up for Team Goanna is the urban 24 hour in Canberra. Cant wait!
Some idiots recreated the simpsons intro in real life.
Far too much time on their hands!
YouTube - Live action Simpsons
Saw the boy on the weekend and we celebrated his 3rd Birthday! He really loved the "Bob" cake my friends made him and we had great fun in the backyard looking for ants, lizards, butterfies and spider webs.
On sunday we went up to the park, climbed up the big tower, rode bikes and played on the swings.
He loves the 3 little pigs (no, not my borthers, the real ones!). He likes to contribute to the story and he yells out "BLEW THE HOUSE DOWN!" at the appropriate time. He can count to 10 but he starts at 2... he always had one-up on us! Twas a great weekend. :)
Went up the Blue Mountains for some MTBO on the weekend. Ended up taking Al and Nick as well as Al's car broke down "vorsprung deutch tech-shite". Pretty good weekend, I went crap in the races but we all had fun and I took Nick and Al on a "spooky night ride". Much fun was had around the fire and the flick-saw was finally used in anger! :) Much damage to bikes and bodies was encountered but I managed to avoid both. Now Im looking forward to a weekend of death on the polaris with Graeme...
