Digital Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

The answer to the question "Is the pen mightier than the sword?" is a resounding yes if you take a look at this - www.simpromobile.co.uk

Flexicar - Car Share now in Manly

Flexicar is a great concept where instead of owning a car, you car share.

By becoming a member, you get access to a fleet of cars around Sydney and Melbourne. They are primarily in the inner city suburbs and Sydney's inner west - but now - they are also in Manly.

It is a pretty simple process, you become a member, pay a plan amount, get a smart card then book online and drive away!

After you book online, simply walk up to your booked car, swipe your smart card across the windscreen and the doors unlock and off you go.

The cars are mostly smart cars - so they are pretty cute - and easy to park.

Rates are extremely affordable - starting from only $12 per hour!

So if you live in Manly, and you are looking for a car or access to a second car - check out Flexicar.

Dragon Boat Festival Races - Sydney

This weekend my mum was in town as part of the dragon boat festival races in Darling Harbour.

The festival is part of the Chinese New Year Festival and is a high light of the Australian Dragon Boat Racing series.

Mum's team is the Port Macquarie Flamin Dames - they are a masters (over 40) women's sports team. She got into by support the Dragons Abreast racing club which is for breast cancer survivors.

Mum's Team Powering In To The Finish

It was a fun day out enjoying the beauty of Sydney's Darling Harbour and the sunshine! These kids even enjoyed the sight of a huge jellyfish floating under the boardwalk:

The Future of Advertising

Is this the future of advertising?

Li Xin, a Chinese Kungfu practicer, shows the back of his head for advertising in Nanjing, East China‘s Jiangsu Province. The four red Chinese characters say "Advertisement, For Rent. "

Maybe I can sell some skin on the back of my old bald noggin!! Any Bidders?

Birds Eye View of Manly

Here is a great view of the important parts of Manly from Google Earth.

Click Image to Enlarge.

Circled is our house, you can also see the swimming enclosure on the harbour side (where we do a lot of swimming), you can see manly wharf and even Manly surf beach.

Everything you need in few hundred meters walk!

Australia Day 2007

Happy Australia Day!

Today is Australia Day, and Ying and I decided to spend the day in the city doing the Australia day usuals.

We caught the ferry at 10.15am and headed into town. The ticket queue for Manly ferry was very busy and we almost missed getting on it, the gates literally came down on our heels. Tourist Tip: On public holidays and weekends - get to the ferry early to get your tickets!!

We walked up Macquarie Street and enjoyed looking at the old cars as part of the annual NRMA Motorfest. The thing that worried me was that I saw a Ford Cortina there, just the same as one that I used to own - how can that be vintage - am I getting old?
We then went and sat in the edge of the botanical gardens on our picnic blanket and enjoyed the fresh air and the people going past. Whilst there I put an Australian flag tattoo on Ying's arm:


I had a tattoo put on my neck by Ying - but the goose put it on upside down:
After removing that one and applying a new tattoo, we had a wander around the botanical gardens then headed into Hyde Park where all the action is. For the first time Triple J were broadcasting the hottest 100 as part of the official Australi Day celebration. They had a big screen set up and the DJs doing a live broadcast.

We had some lunch there in Hyde Park - yummy Turkish Gozleme - sat in the shade under one of the beautiful Moreton Bay Fig trees.

After lunch we took a look around the old mint which is now home to the Historic Houses Trust. It is a beuatiful old building and they have done an extrodinary job with the rennovation and integration of the old and new - its really beautiful.

We then headed down to the Rocks and watched some live music, including a really cool human beat box dude. We then went down and sat on the grass by the harbour and watched the boats moving on the choppy harbour. After a few hours in the sun we wandered back through the Rocks and started to watch a street performer. She turned out to be a contorsionist!

After standing watching for a couple of minutes, I got dragged up to help her! She was going to squeeze into a 16" perspex box. I had to hold it securely so it didn't tip over as she got in. Believe it or not she bent herself into some bizarre ways and squeezed in - very impressive.

After that we hoped on the ferry and came back home.

Another fun Australia Day!