Cancer, ADSL/ASX, Solstice, Wakerlies, KMFDM, Branch Stackers!

[tcpip]

A distressful event of the week. A old friend of mine has disclosed that she has breast cancer. It has caused me a great deal of sadness, not the least being because she is quite young (<25). Her spirits seem quite positive, so there's been either some positive diagnostics as I think it may be or she is being more courageous than is necessary.

Thanks to the generosity of my new-found employer this post is coming via ADSL. Speaking of which, guess who had to go into the data center of the Australian Stock Exchange this week? Wow, that place is secure. I've also be learning about an amazing little product called Nagios. It makes the life of a sysadmin very happy indeed.

As part of tradition, the summer solstice provides the opportunity to compose and reflect on the events in my life from the past year. 2004: A Year in Review. May I just take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been reading this journal and for all your kind comments.

Here's some good news! Carmela Baronowka won a Wakerly Award for her documentary, Taliban Country!... and some more good news, my old Perth-friend Brian Choo has recently had his amazing art published by Allen and Unwin in
The Big Picture Book.

Another interesting event of the week was meeting KMFDM and excessivepurple in real life. I was a bit of a fan of theirs about ten years ago and was pretty happy to see they were still going strong. Picked up their Sturm und Drung DVD and got the band to sign it like a real fan-boy.

Once upon a time, I worked, quite briefly for a certain member of the Victorian Parliament. He proved utterly impossible to work with for a whole variety of reasons and so I resigned and moved on to more sensible position. Some seem to think that he's up to some branch stacking. Some even suggest he's done it before with monies from dubious sources.

Comments

[greg.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the whole broadband thing and just a quick heads up, it would appear that I will be in Melbourne from the 3rd to the 10th with a potentiality of staying. Will keep you abreast.

And of course, all the best to your friend.

[aurickandrien.livejournal.com]

Brian actually joined in the AD&D 2nd Ed campaign that I'm in at the Gamer's Guild. He rolled up his character on Saturday, though I didn't know who he actually was at the time. On Sunday we both went over to a friends place and watched the extended version of Return of the King and an episode of Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

Nice to know that some of the old Marsians are still around. Love his pic of the T-Rex chowing on the "I come in peace alien" in Phantas '93.

Hey, we may have met in a past life

[mrsbrown.livejournal.com]

My dad has been involved in the ALP in that area, and has similar issues with that parliamentarian. He was electorate secretary for the St Albans parliamentarian, before he moved to represent Mill Park.

I _have_ handed out how to votes for the baddy, in my deep and distant past, when I was 16

[beagl.livejournal.com]

The Labour Party and the media do a good job of conspiring to portray the party as being an interesting combination of corrupt and inept.

[amphigori.livejournal.com]

Happy solstice and reflecting to you too. May your 2005 be filled with more adventures and more journal comments ;)

I'm sorry to hear about your friend's news. Best of luck to her. She's lucky to have a good friend in you. That will be so valuable to her as she fights her cancer.

[viscera.livejournal.com]

Don't tell me I sold you the DVD at the signing?

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

I should mention that I charge $16 for kind comments.

Merry Christmas :)

[bingo-mcdingo.livejournal.com]

Small(ish) claim to fame, but I was at school with, best mates with, and in a band with Andy Selway, the drummer with KMFDM. I've still got a demo tape that we made when we were about 12 - I'm waiting for them to really make it huge before I sell it for a massive profit.

Also, he lost his virginity in my bed, (though not to me), because I was kind enough to lend it to him. The bastard.

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

You didn't tell me you met KMFDM! In fact you we're hanging shit on them just last week!

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

It's Walkley Award - remember, we went to the photographic part of it last year! ;P

[absinthangel.livejournal.com]

G'day! Rolled my way to your LJ from pinque, found your posts really interesting and hoped you wont mind my adding you to my F-list. Can comiserate with your friend's cancer, had to have a lumpectomy myself about 10yrs ago. I enjoy your writing style btw!