June 30, 2010 No comments

Internode

Best ISP in Australia? Most people who are into these things will have their own view, but for me it’s Internode.

Simply put, they do what they promise. They do it well, keep me updated of any issues, strive to provide good value for money (their Usenet is free!) and don’t cost crazy money. Over time they’ve managed to get a little more of my cash each quarter, but only because they’ve also delivered better value in return.

If you’re with one of the better known ISPs and havent’ heard of Internode, check ‘em out. They keep the Red Hill office online …
June 21, 2010 No comments

Books & ROI & Hollywood

Ever though about investing in the creative industries? Here are a few reasons you might give the book biz some thought:

Books are relatively inexpensive to produce, are similarly inexpensive to market (thanks Facebook, Twitter, et al), offer proportionally high per unit revenue, are easily exported, and most importantly are ‘adaptable’ content (i.e. they can be converted into scripts underpinning film, TV and theatre production).

Here’s another view from BNET: Random House: How to Make It in Hollywood Without Really Trying
June 8, 2010 No comments

Busy, busy, busy

I’d post something except I’m amazingly busy, which is fab! No idea how people who are actually doing stuff have time to blog. Anyhow, I’m sure there will be a quiet moment in the next week where the thoughts will come, and I’ll share then.
May 26, 2010 No comments

Mark Webber’s got the poise

Another Mark Webber post. Can’t help myself :-) The man has the ‘winners poise‘.

It’s been a couple of weeks now and of course those who follow Formula 1 know Mark won the Monaco Grand Prix! First Aussie since Sir Jack Brabham in, get this, 1959, to win at what many say is the most demanding circuit on the F1 calendar. First Aussie with back-to-back F1 wins since Alan Jones in 1980.

If you don’t get just how good this guy is, it ought to be apparent by now.

Anyhow, just as I wished Mark well for the Spanish Grand Prix, I wish him well at Turkey this weekend.

In many ways I think this weekend is the real test for Mark. There are now expectations … from others. I don’t know the guy and so I have no idea as to whether he’s the type of Aussie bloke who doesn’t particularly care what anyone else thinks, or whether he’s the kind who takes it on board.

And of course there will be those journalists Down Under who love to stick the boots in when an ex-pat Aussie does well abroad. I’ve a few choice words for them :-)

As a F1 and Mark Webber fan, all I’d like to see this weekend is Mark show the winners poise that got him over the line at to consecutive races. The balance. The equilibrium.

Makes me realise that if we don’t love what we do — and hopefully have fun doing it — we probably aren’t in the right place and need to move on.

My thoughts on ‘winners poise’.
May 26, 2010 1 Comment

The black dog

Wondering where I’ve been? The Black Dog took hold (again). But I’m back with a strangely renewed vigour. The well abused cliché, “what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger”, applies. A couple of new posts to follow.
May 24, 2010 No comments

MKR: Mediocre Kitchens Rule

As a foodie and avid cook (coulda, woulda, shoulda been a chef) when I dine out I want to achieve two simple things: the enjoyment that being in the company of others brings, and, a dining experience.

It really doesn’t matter where I’m eating, so long as ingredients are in season, well prepped and superbly cooked. What does matter though is whether the experience represents good value for money.

Locals won’t want to hear it, but most Brisbane eateries are way out of their league when it comes to front-of-house service standards and the quality of the food coming out of their kitchens.

While there are plenty of fantastic entry level establishments (that don’t have pretensions of being anything but) and a handful of excellent fine dining rooms, the ‘mid-tier’ is a complete and utter void.

In my experience Brisbane’s dining scene is littered with semi-pro restaurants charging over the odds for half decent food and lousy service. Until we as customers demand more from our eateries nothing will change!

So to the team at Tomatos in Rosalie, who served up bearded muscles in a way too salty broth this weekend, it’s not good enough. Ditto to the lads at Oyama who recently presented seriously uninspiring sashimi.

When I’m paying the kind of cash these restaurants and others like them are asking, restaurateurs need to step up to the plate before I’ll fall in love with their restaurant and pay a mid-week visit. And we all know it’s the mid-week customer that matters.
May 19, 2010 No comments

Mark Webber’s media fracas Down Under

Last week Mark Webber did the unimaginable and terminated a radio interview after being repeatedly questioned about his “nanny state” comments post the 2010 Australian Grand Prix.

Webber apparently told the journalist conducting the interview that he “wasn’t going there” and eventually terminated the call.

Respected journalist Gerard Whateley joined the fray last Friday in an article on the ABC website, Webber’s monumental fall from endearment.

Whateley writes:

How did Mark Webber lose the sporting electorate? At precisely the moment victory is finally within his grasp …

After extolling the virtues of his third career victory, Webber was asked to reconsider his “nanny state remarks” made after the impounding of Lewis Hamilton’s car under Victorian hoon laws.

Webber said he wasn’t going there. And held true to his word as he hung up under repeated questioning. He followed up with a text message to the program’s producer stating he would never again appear on the station.

It sparked immediate and overwhelming condemnation.

By the next morning a second sports radio station had joined the public stoning. Webber was told he was not only “precious” but had become “hard to like”.

Whateley went on to write that as an Aussie ex-pat Webber’s mistake was to criticise his former home and that in regards to the ‘hoon-gate’ affair, he “affronted decent citizens by backing an English playboy who treated the city like his personal playground. He backed the wrong horse.”

What I find remarkable (and more concerning) is that many journalists think they have a right to push an issue to the point where a/the subject says ‘enough is enough’ and to then feign indignation when the subject actually pushes back.

What Whateley seems to forget (or at least not mention) is that the interviewer’s behaviour was unacceptable. The bottom line is that the journalist had adopted a bullying stance.

This is not to say that there is not a place for repeated, hard questioning of interview subjects. But this is a non-story and a non-issue. And Whateley failed as a serious journalist to question the vailidity of a fellow member of the media’s behaviour.

And for what it’s worth, Australia is indeed becoming a nanny state.
May 19, 2010 1 Comment

Apple’s Mighty Mouse so un-green

Apple extols its green credentials and from what I understand they are well deserved. How then is it that the Cupertino company makes a wireless mouse that burns through batteries at such a rate that I’ve got a mounting pile in the corner? And how is it that Apple advises to not use rechargeable batteries?

It’s not just an engineering failure in my view, but also makes the Mighty Mouse an environmental basket case. Mea culpa for still using the thing.
May 14, 2010 No comments

Fare ye well, self-publishing

I have a pet peeve: ‘self-publishing’. There is no such thing as self-publishing. Does … not … exist! There is either hobbyist publishing (which doesn’t count as a business activity), publishing with a recognised house (big or small) or publishing independently (indie publishing).

What makes an indie publisher? For an individual it is realising that they are responsible for the production of their work in its entirety, from creating content, to engaging consultants, maintaining quality control, budgeting, negotiating supply chain deals, marketing, marketing, and yes, more marketing.

Indie publishers who happen to also be the author of their work are CEOs of their own publishing house, however small.

Authors who are not thinking like a CEO really need to start now. Get educated. Get networking. And you must read this on the cost of publishing your book.