http://oz.ankubis.com Thoughts about everything and nothing Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:18:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Spring seems to be a bit later this year; we haven't had any real warm days yet (temperature hovers around 20 degrees), and we have had some decent rain lately. As a result, the whole garden seems to flower: there are around 30 flowers on the Strelitzia The iris I planted ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=192 I have just changed the look of the site. This involved a minor update of both the blog software and the theme. I also made a slight change to the weather - now displays the current conditions and forecast for tomorrow. The next few days will be spent ironing out the ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=191 Everybody who knows me will know as well that I am not a good gardener - unfortunately... However, about 8 weeks ago, Daniel and I bought some plants during sale, followed the instructions of the staff in the nursery while planting, and now after 2 months everything seems to thrive. Encouraged by ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=189 I am taking time off this week. Next week I will start on a new project, and this was the ideal week to have a break. Yesterday I went to the Zoo; in all the time we have been living here, I have never before been to the zoo. The ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=181 Winter is the time of the year that all the plants and flowers seem to die, the days are somber and the nights are long, and everything seems to stop... Right? Wrong!!!! These are the misconceptions of Europe. We have a rose tree in our garden with hundreds of roses on ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=171 You have all heard of Australian Rules Football, right? No? OMG read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules. I am now converted to this as a spectator sport partially because in Victoria, there isn't a great deal of alternative action, but mainly as it makes soccer look like street theatre. The players are real ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=170 Well, it's been a long time since the last update, but with the house and stuff, we've been busy. The first renovation is nearly complete. We replaced half the windows in the house with some windows that actually block main road noise and provide a modicum of insulation. This took a long ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=169 Last weekend we moved to our new house. Friday was Australia day and therefore a public holiday. Two packers from the removal company came in and packed all our belongings on Friday, they loaded a truck on Saturday morning and unloaded everything in the afternoon in the new house. We tried ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=168 To anyone that follows this rather forlorn and not-too-frequently-updated blog. Anyway, lots of news about moving and stuff, but more on that later. http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=167 I have holidays for the moment: it was part of my contract that I would take 2 weeks of holidays in September. The weather is beautiful: after a week of rain, we now have plenty of sunshine and temperatures up to 21 degrees. I walked to the pengiun colony in St ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=165 We went to Williamstown this morning, because I had to pick up my new custom made dive suit in a dive shop. The suit fits perfect (there is a first for everything), and I am really looking forward to try it out! We had a few days with lots of showers (good ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=157 All the newspapers are talking about this - and all my colleagues stopped working for a moment to read the news on The Age website. If you want to read about this, go to http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/steve-irwin-killed-by-stingray/2006/09/04/1157222051512.html  http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/shock-at-crocodile-hunters-death/2006/09/04/1157222057526.html Even John Howard (our prime minister)declared on the television how shocked the nation was by the death of ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=148 Last week was beautiful weather: it was the last week of the winter, but temperatures rose up to 23 degrees, and all pubs and restaurants had tables outside (terrasjesweer). The past winter was extremely dry, and on the news they are declaring that this was the dryest winter in 114 years. ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=147 Daniel and I went to our first live game of Australian football yesterday, and we had a great time! For the Belgians: an Australian football game is played in four quarters of each 20 minutes. The pitch is an oval, and a lot bigger than a traditional football field. At the ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=146 Today is a beautiful day. This morning it was rather cold but sunny, and later on the cold dissappeared completely. We had 18 degrees around 4 pm and a beautiful blue sky. I notioced that the pear trees have blossoms, and the other trees in our garden show little buts ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=145 When you are renting a house, the landlord (or the agency) has the right to come and inspect the house every 3 months to check whether you damaged the property. We had our first inspection last Friday (we are already 7 months in the house - so we can't complain) ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=144 I had my first two week at work, and I like it! I was a bit worried that the attitude might be completely different from what I am used to, but it all turned out ok. Every morning I have my little 'sea walk' to the tram stop. The cockatoos ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=143 Today, I am enjoying my last free day! I will start working as a consultant tomorrow, and my initial contract will run till mid November. I am really exited about it: it is another step in our integration here. At this moment the stock take sales are on in Melbourne, so ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=141 The other day we were driving to Coles - as one does - and noticed someone with a fog light on. Now, this is quite unusual to see, and so it caught my attention. I then started to wonder where our fog-light switch was. We looked all over the dashboard - ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=140 Every Sunday, there is an Art and Craft market organised near the beach front in St Kilda. Around 200 stalls show art and craft objects made by the stall holders. While Daniel plays football on Sunday morning, I walk to St Kilda and visit the market. (up and down it ... http://oz.ankubis.com/?p=139