Australia trip
So I returned back from the Lost Continent about two and a half weeks ago, and only took a couple of days to get over my jet lag (unlike my gf who kept waking up at 4am for a week). A most excellent place to visit, thoroughly recommended to any jaded people who like a nice bit of scenery, friendly inhabitants, entertainingly unusual wildlife and nice beer.

My gf helpfully kept a little diary of where we'd been, and I've been going through, turning it into a trip report so that I don't forget the details. Hopefully I will finish this soon, turn it into a major epic complete with photos, and post it here to universal acclaim, in a similar way to the famous Iceland Diaries, albeit with more sex. If I find the time...

Freeview goodness
So, I bought the Topfield TF5800 which is a rather nice little PVR, with two Freeview receivers, 160Gb hard drive space and the ability to hook it up via USB to a PC. This allows you to download recorded TV from the box, in case there's anything you want to preserve, and to upload programs which affect how the system behaves (eg. different electronic program guides, a nice list of your timed recordings, skipping through advert breaks and so forth).

Having not had one of these beasties before I am pretty impressed, although I keep forgetting to make proper use of it; for example, pausing live TV just doesn't occur to me at the moment. I've got a set of searches running for key words (eg. "Simpsons") - whenever this crops up in the EPG the cunning software that I'm running sets up a timer for me to record it, which should mean it works even when they change the scheduling. The gf likes to use the radio, which helpfully tells you which track you're playing. Not amazing stuff but quite neatly done and astonishingly useful when you're used to analogue.

Book review
About halfway through Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, which (given the fact that it contains no alternative histories, spaceships, high-end physics or unusual aliens) isn't my usual reading material, but I can honestly say that it's excellent: funny, moving, realistic characters and a very precise detailing of common tragedies that are no less tragic because they're more frequent. Obviously now that I've said that, the ending will suck, but I'll let you know.

Film review
Went to see Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit on Saturday. I'd love to be controversial and claim it was rubbish, but in truth I thought it was really good fun. Highlights include the rabbits floating around in the BV6000, and the excellent moment where some spare change is required for the plane.

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