January 2009 Archives

A picture is worth one thousand words but with this one, I think no words are needed. My friend Mickey sent this to me and it sums up just how freakin' hot it is:

This is like 5 days with temperatures over 105º F / 40º C. Tomorrow is supposed to be 99º F / 37 º C. It's sad when I'm looking forward for "cooler temperatures" tomorrow.

It's another hot day in Melbourne. The temperature right now... at 7 am is 88º F. That's about 31º C. I had considered bring the dog for a walk this morning and I guess I really should. But the heat is incredible. Yesterday I went to the store down the road and being outside for about 3 minutes was too much. The temperature reached about 110º F (43º C).

You might be thinking, "Hey, Ben, you're from Texas. You should be used to that kind of temperature by now." No. For some reason, it feels hotter here and where I'm from, the temperature rarely goes over 100º F (38º C). And I also have a pool or two to go to in the USA. Here, I have to actually pull my sweaty body out the door and almost melt in a car that feels like an oven and go somewhere to do that. I have about 11 things I need to do today but I don't think I'll get around to doing it. I was going to drop some papers off at the immigration office but I might just mail it instead.

Today promises to be just as hot as yesterday. And tomorrow is going to be as hot as it is today. So it's safe to say that this week really sucks. Not something I wanted to come back to. Oh and today it's supposed to be windy today. You know, all the grass here is pretty much dead, brown or yellow. I probably peed more this morning than it's rained in the past few months here. I think we'll hear of some really bad fires in the next few days. If not, I'd be very surprised.

For you ladies and gentlemen who are experiencing this... heat (or will be), I'll tell you a few ways you can cool yourself down:

• Slow way down. If you can skip doing things like mowing the lawn (not that there's much grass to cut here), don't do it. Reschedule it or if you can, do it really early in the morning to piss off your neighbors. I used to do mine at around 6 pm or very early in the morning. (Of course, where I lived in Texas you could do those kinds of things and no one cared. You'd probably see Jim Bob driving his tractor down the road anyway.)
• Dress yourself appropriately. Lightweight and light-colored clothing is best. Why? Because it reflects heat and sunlight which helps your body maintain a decent, normal temperature.
• Drink plenty of fluids. No alcohol though. Your body will love you if you keep filling it up with water on a very hot day... and do it even if you aren't thirsty. When your body is telling you it's thirsty, you have waited too long. Of course, a person with a heart, kidney or liver disease, on a fluid restrictive diet or those having issues retaining fluid should consult their doctor before increasing fluid consumption.
• Spend more time indoors, in the air conditioning. If you don't have an A/C, then maybe it's worth a trip to the grocery store to just chill out with a smoothie or something. I know there are places here without an A/C... and I feel so sorry for them.
• Don't get too much sun. Sunburn isn't your friend. And neither is skin cancer. Sunburn makes it harder for your body to release heat which means you're in danger of heat stroke.

And of course, if you're reading this now and it's winter for you, I hate you.

Wow, I'm finally back. And I usually have such negative comments about the flight back and immigration. And I got here, walked out the airport and was gasping for breath! Here is what I get to look forward to for the next several days:

Of course that's in Fahrenheit and I know some of my readers aren't into that kind of thing, so here is Celsius:

This is not what I wanted to come back to. You have to remember that for several years (about 25 of them), I was used to it being cold at this time of the year and yes folks, this seriously bums me out. I refuse to walk outside today. Why? Because I don't have to. Thank god I'm still jet lagged.

My partner's mother is here (and she doesn't know about our relationship) and she's been super nice to me. Sure, there are some communication problems between us, but still she's an awesome cook. By watching her and interacting with her, I can see a lot of her in my partner. You know, except she cleans up after herself when she cooks. I tried to wash dishes for her but I swear she told me: "Men don't wash." Then I started thinking how awesome it would be to have a wife! (Okay, that's not right of me.) Anyway, two days down and about 10 more days to go before Gilbert gets back. I'll be excited to see him and will be even more excited when I'm going to pinch his butt while she's not looking. :)

OK that's all I have. I'm sweltering in this heat... and I swear I wish it would snow pronto!

Oh yes, and if you're curious where the weather graphics came from, it's a part of "Mac OS X Version 10.5.4 Leopard" (Apple). So yes, it's part of my operating system. :) Also, be looking for some health-related podcasting soon. If I can remember.

So yeah, last weblog entry before I put myself in a flying piece of metal for almost one full day. So I thought I'd say something while I can. I'll find a way to connect to the internet. I always do. Especially at the 4 hour stopovers I have. And why does it seem everybody wants to be all chatty when I write things here. I haven't been able to understand that. I have to wake up in about 6-8 hours to finish packing. So this is going to be very, very short. I'm going to miss my parents a lot. Sometimes I wish I could say "fuck it" and just stay put. But I'm going to work hard to do the things I need to do when I get back. :) Or at least try to.

That's all I need to say for now. I'm gonna be mega busy in the morning. Not looking forward to it at all.

Take care of yourselves!

I feel kind of bad that I didn't really record any podcast episodes with real substance. This one isn't any different. It's kind of a retrospect of my stay here and stuff like that, a reflection on my relationships with people here and in Australia and such. I hope it doesn't bore you.

• Ending my 2 month vacation this weekend, heading back to Australia
• Coming to terms with my relationship and myself, tons of uncertainty
• My going-away party
• Bloodied and dry nose

• Relationship talk and begging for attention
• Complaints about my work ethics
• Someone didn't get MLK Day off...
• Where are all the trees and tree poisoning

• Busy week
• What awaits me when I return? A nightmare
• Planning for losing weight, gaining strength and feeling better
• Last podcast in the USA (for now)
• So many people to do... yeeeeah
• Read the weblog, okay? Don't make me freakin' beg. New website up.
• Other Podcasting Buddies: I haven't forgotten about you

This is 25 min 40 sec and about 11.8 MB. Please visit my journal for the latest news.

Comment with a question or two! Download it here or listen below.

Subscribe here.

You'd think that I wouldn't be that tired after waking up around noon today but it's almost 6:30 pm here and I am about to fall asleep. So I thought I'd type something here to amuse myself and you too. But what kind of amusement is available? Hmmm, that's still beyond me. Anyway, I'm tired.

I started recording idioPod 55 a few minutes after I woke up today and continued recording while I was driving to my sister's house. I figured that I would make this one a little longer than the others because I've kind of screwed you guys who wanted to listen to more of me over the holidays. I think I've only done a few of them while I've been here. But I told you in #50 that I wouldn't get past 53 for 2008. In 2009, I'm getting a very late start and have targeted to do about 20-25 of them. IdioPod 55 was supposed to be about my lifestyle changes but so far it's not. I'm going to try to do that tomorrow.

4 more days. That's really all I have left. I have a lot to do. And I'm so tired. I haven't heard from anybody in a long time and in fact, my last comment was on 23 December. Almost one full month of no comments! Wow. Of course, I haven't made an effort to read what other people are saying so yeah. I'm going to be downloading the newest podcasts from Nick and Mark in the next few days to amuse myself on the 25 hour trip I'll be taking. Ewww...

Look tomorrow for iP 55. :) And I'm planning to sleep very soon though it's not even 7 yet. I'll be updating my weblog later this week. And oh yes have you looked at the new site and webcam yet? (I am updating it regularly.)

Hi everybody! I hope you're doing peachy. And if you're not, I hope it's at least some kind of fruit. I am taking an early night because I didn't sleep very much last night. I won't need the Benadryl tonight. I'm sure of it. I have a week left to be in the USA and it's been a bit boring at times and somewhat uneventful. I could have used my time a little better but that's OK. I've discovered a few things though:

1. The food here is deadly. Way too much grease and too much fat. So much I've gained about 10 pounds (about 5 kg). Eating here is a lot harder than I thought. So now I have to lose weight when I get back to Australia.
2. Australia has made an impact on me. Apparently, I have grown used to Asian food that doesn't have a bag of sugar in every serving. I don't like the teaspoons here. I don't like buffets anymore. Instant coffee is my friend.
3. Two month vacations suck. I get really bored, lose a lot of money and it turns me into a serial masturbator. Again. Why ,because sex is overrated. I have so much time to myself I don't know how to use my time wisely. I have no excuses to do new podcasts, but I just... don't.
4. The same old crap comes on TV over and over again. It's like 6 hours of Family Guy every night. I think I've seen every episode of that. And Futurama. Jerry Springer STILL has a talk show. Wow.
5. Changes are happening everywhere, whether I like it or not. Grandparents and parents are getting older. My nephew is too smart for his own good. My other nephew is insane but in a funny way. They miss me and will I ever prioritize my life the way I really should? I don't know. Oh and I need to put myself on a diet. :)

I have more in my head. But I am hoping I can get it out in idioPod 55 tomorrow morning. Who knows.

Goodnight you all.

Hello, Idiologic!

Time to say hello to the new idiologic.

Definitely not my best work and of course, as usual, it's not even done yet.

ALSO today marks the one year anniversary of my podcast comeback!

And if the theme is hard on your eyes, it changes daily (according to the time in Australia).

Sometimes I decide that it would be a good idea for me to bring my computer and microphone to my best friend's house to record a podcast. And most of the time, I realize that it's not such a good idea. But I had a lot of fun just talking about the most random junk. This podcast features the new couple, Brandi and Adam. There are a LOT of filthy words in this one. So many I had to bold that and even underline it.

The sound is a bit weird on me... not sure what happened. The scratching noise you keep hearing is me scratching everywhere with a back scratcher. Mostly the top of my head. Nothing naughty.

We chat about married life for like 10 seconds then talk about:

• No "real" topics... again, Animal Crossing
• Brandi's birthday, burping and research about semen
• Change of party plans, remembering the last going away "party" we had
• He-Man and Many Faces (from when I was a kid... here's the link to the video)
• Saturday morning cartoons suck now and I don't expect my listeners to listen to a 40 minute podcast anymore
• They're always trying to get me to stay in Texas ;)
• Adam's idea to scare people playing Animal Crossing - genius!
• Adam really loves his Freedom of Speech... I mean really
• The abrupt ending courtesy of Alex, one of the voices from the Mac OS X

This podcast is 18 min and 40 seconds long at 8.4 MB. :) Comment with a question or two! Download it here or listen below.

Subscribe here.

Alright I thought it's about time for a little update on what's going on around here. I wanted to let you know that, yes, idioPod 54 is still hot on the burners but it has to cool and be packaged. Meaning that I'm still working on it. Brandi, Adam and I were recording it last night when Brandi discovered the joys of Wii Speak. So trying to do a podcast over Wii Speak on Animal Crossing isn't an easy or enjoyable thing to do. Too much noise. By the time she finished, I just wasn't in the mood to continue. So we'll finish it either today, tonight or tomorrow. I am hoping to get it out by this week. I know that my podcast updates have been hit-and-miss at best.

With that being said I said I would have the next version of Idiologic.com posted for you on the 14th of January. Why is the 14th so important? It marks my one full year return to podcasting after a 9 month break. And even better... it marks two years of idioPod! So let's celebrate by a facelift!

Also my dates/times of my weblog entries are more or less messed up. I don't really post these things at 3 or 4 am. :)

That's it. For now.

I'm getting a bit spotty with updating my weblog lately. But that's alright. I guess. You guys and girls knew I would be preoccupied while I was here, didn't you? So here is the weekend again and originally I was supposed to leave next weekend. Yeah, if you didn't know, and I'm sure I wrote this somewhere... probably on Twitter that I'm delaying my trip by two weeks so I'll be back in Australia by the end of January. I'm going to have another going away party too and I'm hoping people will show up this time.

I also got a donation for my hosting bill, so thank you lots for that.

And also, I wanted to say Happy Anniversary to Mark in Canada for his one year of podcasting. His podcast is called "Musings of a Tech Writer" and it's quite an accomplishment to be doing the podcasting thing for one full year. A lot of the podcasts don't last past their 10th episode, so congratulations!

Now thinking about it, I am at number 53 and it's taken me almost two years! (You know, counting the break I took from May 2007 until January 2008. So great job with your persistence and dedication, Mark.

I also wanted you all to know that I renewed my domains at idiologic and idiopod for another year. Having said that, I will probably phase out idiopod.com in the next 6 months. What I mean by this is that I will give up on the domain name and store the files at idiologic.com. No immediate plans on quitting yet.

Also, if you're fully interested, you should check out the next version of idiologic. And when you do, you should email me if you find typos and things that don't work! But remember it's not finished yet. :) I'm working on it a little each day to get it done by my 1 year being back podcasting anniversary!

With that being said, I'm outta here. Going back and reading some of my weblog entries has been very interesting indeed!

This New Year's Eve, I spent at Brandi's house and we ate some finger foods, drank margaritas and wine, and watched a marathon of South Park. I was so tired today and tonight so a few minutes after midnight, I headed home and that's where I am now!

So...

Happy New Year

...and I hope that 2009 is an awesome year for you.

Hopefully this year will bring on some good changes to my social life. With that being said, I'm off to sleep.