Score one for Yahoo! Answers

This time Yahoo! truly deserves the exclamation in their name. I, like many others, have been known to source music from commercials (particularly back in say, 2002). This was by far the easiest search I've performed to find a song from a commercial.

Typing "citroen commercial music" (followed by "citroen commercial music ice skating" to distinguish it from the original dancing robot commercial featuring another wicked track, Les Rythmes Digitales - Jacques Your Body) and I had my Yahoo! answer at number 1 on the results list. The source is quoted, the person who asked the question verifies it was a 5-star answer and I was off to LimeWire to get The Egg - Walking Away (Tocadisco Remix)!

Some other electro-riffic tracks (old as they may be) I'm spinning frequently at the moment:
Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
Royksopp - What Else Is There
M.A.N.D.Y - Body Language
Linus Loves - Stand Back
Room 5 feat Oliver Cheatham - Make Luv
Datarock's Datarock Datarock CD

iPod wars: Brad vs Pat

I've been challenged to a modern form of jousting over the Internet based on one's music collections - iPod wars. I'm not expecting to wipe the floor with my music one bit as I keep a lot of stuff I'll probably never get around to. This little game might just uncover the gold in every competitors' collection, particularly mine!

Just a refresher on the rules courtesy of this match's instigator, Brad: you put your iPod/iRiver on random and list the first 10 tracks. We then compare tracks against each other and find out who wins. You are allowed one skip also.

So here's my musical gauntlet to throw down:
Peabody - The Weight Just Right (5/10)
The Vines - Rainfall (8/10)
The Hives - Theme from... (6/10)
Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales Of San Francisco (9/10)
Spiderbait - Chest Hair (6/10)
The Panics - My Best Mistake (7/10)
The Hives - A Get Together To Tear It Apart (8/10)
Khonnor - An Ape Is Loose (Skipped)
Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum (9/10)
Travis - Side (9/10)
The Reindeer Section - Cartwheels (7/10)
Total: 74/100

A bit repetitive, but pretty decent. If you please, Brad?

Bassic Validation

I cracked out the bass for the first time in a while on Tuesday and it turned out to be a terrific idea! I was just playing along to some songs off my laptop through my bitchin stereo and was amazed that I picked up the basslines pretty well without the need for tabs. (Mind you, I had to give up on Red Hot Chili Peppers' Hump de Bump, I've really gotta learn the wicked little bassy bits on the bridge.) Even finding the basic chords is enough to join in with the real music, and it's wicked fun!

More than anything, it was good to know that I'm still improving. The same thing happened when I played Burnout 3 and FA Premier League Manager 2002 this year too - I found out I was much better at them than when I was a teenager. Some of it is due to more determination at the harder parts, but I can approach things a bit smarter, a bit more calculated than when I was in high school as well.

It's just a real great thing to get out of bed in the morning and know you haven't reached your full potential yet. It drives me sometimes. I know that in my football managing game experience that when a player doesn't seem to improve much more that it might be time for them to move on, so it's a fact that's really important to me. I was so supercharged that I had to write this blog to capture it!

Pat's mini setlist
Keane - Is It Any Wonder?
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
The Strokes - Juicebox
Youth Group - Catching And Killing
Eskimo Joe - New York
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Hump de Bump
Muse - Starlight

This name change was brought to you by the new Accord

First the Mighty Ducks change their name to the Anaheim Ducks, now the stadium gets a name swap. In this age of the blander named stadiums, arenas and "centers", I liked their old stadium's name of "Arrowhead Pond". While the Ducks organisation might refer to the new name as the Honda Center, I'll "keep it real" by calling it the "Honda Ponda". Props to Josh.

It's still got nothin' over the Nashville Predators' home though: the Gaylord Entertainment Center.

How soon until there's a Maxi Tampon Stadium, as foreseen in the masterpiece that is Baseketball?

Back To School

Uni time is approaching fast. In fact, I'll be there next week with a big Monday start. Now's the first time I've seriously thought about changing my subjects, because finally we've been given a chance to pick virtually any subject from any portfolio out there.

The big decision is: do I take a subject that'll be somewhat worthwhile (or at least roughly related to my course) or do I take one of the easier or funner subjects available that should give me plenty of free time to concentrate on the big year long Software Engineering project I've gotta finish?

It's my last year, so I think I can explain having a BS subject if anyone sees it on my results or resumé. My only other chance was at the end of first year when I picked German, but now I'm looking for something that I don't even have to turn up to if possible. That kind of easy. Basically, a first year sort of subject without the attendance policies or mini-tests in the tutorial classes. Unsurprisingly, I am awaiting the release of the Art/Creative Media timetables.

It might even come down to picking the subject that fits around my core workload (i.e. Mondays) to minimise travel time and free up some days so that I can work those days.

The cleanest of sheets

It's about soccer. You knew that, right? On Thursday, my old indoor soccer team, the Usual Suspects, were in action. The superstar goalkeeper Dean has already covered the game, but I thought I'd add the photo I took.

I tried to capture the scoreboard and it's 8-0 triumph in our favour, but instead I mainly got Brodie finishing off a pirouette.

So long, Juancho

Juan Pablo Montoya is leaving McLaren and Formula One for - of all things - NASCAR. I was initially shocked about the move from open wheelers to tin-top stock cars, but it's starting to make more sense. NASCAR's all about aggression, as is Montoya (who was once nicknamed Nutsack as a tribute to his ... courage). He's raced in North America before and amazingly, NASCAR is by far the most popular motorsport series in the USA. They like their motorsport like their action movies - crashes, explosions and some flashes of boob from the grid girls. Sounds good, but that's what movies are for, right?

Already it seems the McLaren fans I've spoken to already have a sense of "well he wasn't much good in the McLaren anyway, he was always moaning about how the car didn't suit him". Looking at it in hindsight, it was a gamble to hire a dashing, outspoken personality in the very vanilla, politically correct, "one race at a time" McLaren team. A gamble that has backfired quite terribly. When I think about all of Juancho's greatest moments - passing Schuey in Brazil 2001 and USA 2001, seven poles in 2002 - were at Williams, not McLaren.

Regardless of how he's underperformed, I'm still surprised that Montoya would leave if Kimi is going to Ferrari next year (which the majority of press are claiming will happen). World champion Fernando Alonso will head the team, which is awesome, but who will partner him? Pedro de la Rosa's having a shot at it by completing the rest of the season at McLaren, but I'd expect they'd try to headhunt a bigger name - a Mark Webber or a Jenson Button. Budding F3000 Brit Lewis Hamilton is also expected to get involved with McLaren next year, but probably with a couple of tests in the summer more than anything. Ironically, a workmate and I think old McLaren stalwart David Coulthard would be the best fit if he wasn't so ... old.

Almost everyone can agree that Montoya brought a real flavour to F1 by at least bucking the trends. When all others are keeping their cards close to their chest, he was never afraid to tell it like it is - often with expletives and all. When he arrives in the States, I imagine he'd summarise his time in F1 just as typically. "You know, it was preetty sheet."

NotMySpace

I wrote this rant earlier this week, but I didn't like it enough to post it. Now it seems MySpace is infuriating many others too, I'll throw it out there.

I've gotta say I don't like MySpace. I thought everyone on the Internet was over the concept of logging in their details, listing their likes and dislikes and appealing to strangers to talk to them. I don't like having to join friends lists - it's simply not conversation. Must you classify yourself as an approved friend of mine to have a conversation with me in person? Of course not. I politely move away from strangers trying to talk to me on the Internet the same way I do with strangers trying to talk to me in real life.

I know for some people, they love to wear everything that they are well and truly on their sleeve. They have x amount of friends or are ranked xth at something. You can list everything about yourself so anyone can smalltalk with you quickly...but then where's the mystery? Where's the development of character? Sometimes I wish the world was more subtle about these things.

Once again, it's all about image and not enough about substance. People are ranked on face value alone in a matter of seconds. You are not always just your picture, your listed attributes, your rank or your standing in little online communities...well I hope I'm not.

If MySpace thinks they're enabling people to maintain healthy relationships by ensuring they're all on each other's friends lists, they're wrong. If anything, the inconvenience of signing up and maintaining these lists results in severe testing of my patience. How fortunate it is that I like my friends, so I'm willing enough to do it.

Fantasy Team of the World Cup

Well, here's my rather patriotic team of the World Cup. I just really enjoy watching Australia's No. 4, the man Guus calls "Timmy Cahill". Plus I couldn't bring myself to pick Fabio Grosso, despite his excellent play towards the end. I did pick Cristiano Ronaldo though, so I do have the mandatory whiny, cheaty player in my squad. Sorry Dean, but he was Portugal's spark.

Admittedly, my memory of the group matches isn't so good, but I wanted to include players from teams that didn't make the semis. Unlike FIFA.

The manager of the team was the hardest of all! Naturally I wanted to give it to Guus, but I didn't agree with his starting lineups so much. I thought "Phil" Scolari of Portugal was astute, but was fixated on playing without strikers. (He would have been perfect for the England job in that respect!) Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) and Marco Van Basten (Netherlands) were active and prominent, but couldn't quite live up to fans' expectations. To use a cliché, the best managers win the tight matches and Italy certainly won those, so Lippi gets the nod from yours truly.

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) (gk)
Philippe Lahm (Germany)
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
John Terry (England) (c)
Lucas Neill (Australia)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Zinedine Zidane (France)
Tim Cahill (Australia)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Hernan Crespo (Argentina)

Jens Lehmann (Germany) (gk)
Rafael Marquez (Mexico)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Thierry Henry (France)

Manager: Marcelo Lippi (Italy)

The Fine Balance

Sometimes it's a good thing in sport for the best team or player not to win. It's refreshing to see a change at the top and keep the match as a contest and not a procession. We love classic encounters of flowing play and free attacking, not a one-sided farce.

Conversely, sometimes the better team has to win in order to do justice to the sport that they're playing. Sometimes fairytales have to come to an end. Sometimes shitty teams that depend on luck or penalties deserve to be shot down as early as possible. Sometimes we need to examine the fact that very few people should be cheering for a country that's on the other side of the world and kicked our country out of the competition (and cheaply at that). We should be vengeful, not joyous.

Let's invade Italy and teach them how to play football. Because they're shit and they don't deserve to win the World Cup. There, I said it.

Don't get too excited, they're just pictures

I haven't mastered the art of laughing and keeping the camera steady just yet.

Briony (drunkenly) discusses the finer points of something that Crag doesn't seem to care about.

Tastes like chicken, I hear.

Our finest mathemagicians try and nut out a probability-based question. Meaning that we all left it to Dean.

Brad from work is still protesting that penalty that kicked out the Socceroos with this sign.

You know you're too into hockey when...

...someone asks you if you've heard the news about Korea (referring to their missile testing) and you thought that meant Paul Kariya had been traded.

The Office Email

The joke email phenomenon is not one that can be fully understood until you gain employment in an office. Traditionally, workplaces are a mix of people from different educational backgrounds and cultural backgrounds alike. Combine over a half dozen people with their own email friends and you've got yourself a forward friendly network!

When you're all working in a close environment and you start laughing, everyone heads over to your desk to see what's going on. Soon your aisle all has a copy, then the next aisle and everyone's friends in between. This was the one that's got big time laughs today.

In fact, today the emails were flying in from all directions. I've gotta say it's pretty cool that more of us are getting into office jobs. I spent far too much time today reading and forwarding them!

I conclude that this is how people stayed entertained at work before blogs were around: people using their Excel or Office skills (that they probably learned on the job) to create entertainment for thousands. K? K.

Opening Up

Sounds like I was in quite a mood when I wrote this at 2am...screw it, I'll post it anyway.

I was just thinking last night that this has been one of the happiest weeks for me that I can remember this year. It's strange too, when you consider some of the people around me who seem a bit down or worried at times. Hopefully that means I'm some kind of optimist or Dalai Lama, rather than some sinister asshole who subconciously takes enjoyment out of others' suffering. I'd describe the feeling as being like a king. Having a wallet full of freshly withdrawn money does have that effect on me!

The only other things I can think of that has changed recently is my new phone, plus it seems I'm opening up and chatting heavily with a lot of different people. It actually feels good talking about some of the things I'm passionate about, whereas normally I tailor my conversation suited to the participants and the environment, often just keeping my good and bad news to myself. We've got some really cool guys at work, with such a great wealth of experience and unique views on the crazy world we live in. Really genuine people are fantastic and in turn, I should be (and pretty much am) as genuine and honest to them in return.

I'd like to be a prophetic sort of guy too, providing guidance and experience to people I talk to and to feel right at home about it all. I would also like to help spread a good vibe around while I've got a good one going. I know a fair few people out there who feed off other people's positive energy to help manifest some of their own. Not sure whether positive moods can be communicated through a blog or not - I might find out if a discussion topic sways that way. After all, there's so much chat about blogs amongst my friends at the moment. It seems everyone's getting on board the blog train. It's so "in" that one of the girls on Neighbours apparently has one too.

A wise Lamb was recounting some more of his brilliance earlier this week. In particular, he pointed out the main problem with young people these days: that everyone's too concerned with maintaining an image rather than just getting out there and having a good time. I couldn't agree more. I don't know if that means I should let myself go a bit more or if everyone else should be the ones to embrace this ideal.

I had a crazy idea last night - admittedly when I was drunk - that maybe I should try out this love thing that everyone seems to be into. I've never really felt like I needed it, and I still don't, but so many people seem to get satisfaction out of that level of companionship that I'm curious. For a moment I thought it'd be nice to go up to Panorama Drive and view the city lights with a lady friend, then just sit together in the Patmobile's backseat holding each other with Lior's This Old Love playing softly in the background. That's the Hollywood image anyway. In reality, that sort of mush might induce vomiting, so apologies to anyone experiencing that after reading it!

Here's a random thought

I wonder if any pregnant Scientologists are inducing labour today. That way, like Scientologist "pin-up boy" Tom Cruise, they too can be born on the fourth of July.

Recent gigs and recent pics

Hey y'all! I've heard a request to talk a bit less about sport, so I'll go to my other staple topics: me and my musical activities. I've had a pretty good weekend - my internal batteries feel quite charged, even sitting here at work. There was a bit of soccer, both playing and watching, some ice hockey (including a shootout and a kid with a huge mullet) and I kicked off a big month (and a bit) of gigs for me. Six concerts in six different venues that started with Kisschasy at the Corner on Saturday and Coldplay at Rod Laver Arena last night.

Admittedly, I did miss most of Trial Kennedy. Again. It was just like the Maroondah Festival (as both bands played there too - and I missed all of Trial Kennedy bar the awesome Damage on Parade). I thought they'd play second, not first, so we didn't even listen to the band I'd never heard of. We checked out the Corner's renovations and joked about instead. Kisschasy were good without being spectacular, playing their entire album and chatting friendly with their hometown crowd. Maybe I was just too far back.

Coldplay turned out to be brilliant after a slow start, when the crowd seemed a little reluctant to get into it. Considering the long wait between sets, I can't believe there weren't any chants of "Coldplay! Coldplay!" The quieter moments of The Scientist and the closer Fix You were highlights, along with White Shadows. Youth Group were a worthy support act, as seen in my photos. I didn't take stage pics of the main acts, simply because I hate people that are always holding their phones up during a concert. No more gigs until Gyroscope on Friday the 21st, but it was exciting getting back into watching a few gigs after I'd sort of had a break from them.

Here's some pictures for the curious - no promises on quality of images or quality of photography. I've zipped them so they're easier to select the ones you want, to save to your hard drive easier and so I don't have to thumbnail everything.
Soccer: after the 3-a-side game at Norwood (2 pictures, 470 KB)
Hockey: Melbourne Ice vs Sydney Bears, featuring Mullet Kid (6 pictures, 3313 KB)
Coldplay and Youth Group (6 pictures, 2964 KB)