tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-112782472024-03-19T21:16:58.382+11:00A Man and his RantOnline verbal-diarrhea, delivered fresh!Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.comBlogger229125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-69100828870508213212017-10-05T01:12:00.000+11:002017-10-05T01:25:24.749+11:00Rants with GunsTonight, my son and I finished an 8 month journey to become licenced pistol shooters. We are now legally able to acquire and possess handguns. Well, I am. He's still a minor, so no possessing for him directly. Following a 2 day instruction course, we had to complete a minimum of 6 shoots where we were scrutinised on our safe handling technique with both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. The responsibility of holding a pistol was drummed into us every time, with range safety officers assessing and critiquing every aspect of what we were doing. For the next 6 months, I'm legally allowed to acquire a maximum of 2 handguns - either an air pistol and a centrefire or rimfire; or 2 of either centrefire or rimfire; but <i>not one of each</i>. My club has to indicate I need them for the events I participate in before I'm allowed to acquire them. Both for the next 6 months, and beyond, the maximum calibre I can purchase is 0.357 Magnum (I believe - it has to be under 0.38 anyway without a high calibre permit); and I'm not allowed to use a holster or a suppressor without additional licensing. I can use a pistol I acquire to shoot targets at the range, and that's all. No other purpose is permitted, and I am only to transport the pistol directly between it's approved storage location in a prescribed safe; and the pistol club. If I stop at the shops and someone steals my car with the pistol in it I can say goodbye to my license.<br />
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Why do I need to buy one to shoot at the range? In a rather annoying twist, despite the fact my club has pistols I can hire, that is presently useless to me as the law prohibits me from buying ammunition unless I can show registration papers for a pistol that takes that particular ammunition. I would not at this point have purchased my own gun instead opting to use club pistols, except that it is legally difficult to participate without owning one of your own. Seems a bit counterintuitive really.<br />
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So why am I writing this? Because I wanted to contrast my ability to acquire guns with the news story yesterday of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. A man armed with a high powered, automatic assault rifle sat on a rooftop and shot the crap out of a crowd of people, killing 59 and wounding many more. In Nevada, the military grade rifles he purchased are legal to buy off the shelf, with no background checks, licensing or mandatory education required. Fully automatic rifles are illegal to sell, however after-market modifications to make semi-autos into full autos are considered to be legal. So while you can't buy an automatic off the shelf, it's legal to possess one in Nevada at least. Unlike many of the cases we see in the US, this guy was legally entitled to possess the guns he had, so the "laws won't stop illegal guns" argument doesn't apply here. More people died in that shooting than were killed by guns in Australia (excluding suicides) in the entirety of 2016, or in 2017 to date.<br />
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Australia's laws are restrictive, and awkward and in many cases poorly thought out. A probationary licence holder can't own both a centrefire and a rimfire pistol, because this one guy went on a shooting spree at his uni with that exact combination: probationary licence, one centrefire pistol, one rimfire pistol. He killed 2 people, and injured 5 more. However, had he had two centrefire pistols with him which are typically higher calibre, the damage may have been more severe. Those injuries could possibly have been deaths, or at the very least more significant. But as a result of this event, we now have a rather odd law - one that prohibits a situation that in the hands of a crazy person is arguably less dangerous than a situation it allows.<br />
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On the other hand, the US's laws allowing a laissez faire approach to military-style weapons are resulting in frequent mass shootings in a peace-time, Westernised democracy. Sure, I can point to countries with higher rates of gun crime, but none that any sane person would want to consider the benchmark for a reasonable rate of gun crime. They're countries with known corrupt governments, rampant gang activity, military control, or significant drug trade. "The US: Fewer gun-related deaths than Columbia" doesn't exactly instil confidence.<br />
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What am I yammering on about? I'm just thinking about sensible gun control. Australia needs to re-examine it's gun laws and consult with people who are experts in the subject matter about whether they're sensible laws. If allowing someone like me to purchase ammunition at the shooting range means I don't need to own my own pistol in a safe at my home in order to shoot for sport; and the goal is reduced gun ownership; maybe that law might need a rethink? Does prohibiting probationary licence holders from acquiring both a rimfire and centrefire actually achieve anything? Or, more likely, was it just a political maneuver to be seen to be "doing something" in the wake of a tragic event? Can we make legitimate gun use less onerous while still maintaining our exceptional low gun crime rates?<br />
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For the US, I know that gun ownership is at the core of what they understand freedom to be. I disagree with that perspective, but it's a reality. That being said, I'm "free" to own and drive a car, but there's regulation around how that plays out. My car has to fit within guidelines. I need to be licenced, and my vehicle registered. In order to gain my licence, I have to demonstrate competence and understanding of the responsibility involved with operating a motor vehicle. And if I want to drive a larger, more complicated vehicle then there's further licensing and compliance associated with that. My freedoms aren't being significantly impinged upon by all of this - the freedom of others to live without fear of an incompetent me in an out of control truck running them down is simply being protected. Sure, that will still happen from time to time regardless, as will shootings. The "there will still be illegal guns" argument is true, but it's just not the whole story. Regulating gun ownership reduces gun-related deaths. If you can screen out people with known, significant mental illness through licensing and background checks; limit access to guns whose only purpose is to kill lots of people very quickly (an XM15 is not a good choice for any other purpose I'm aware of); and comprehensively educate new gun owners on safe handling; surely - <i>surely</i> - that would have to have a positive impact on rates of shooting deaths.<br />
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What do you think? Am I missing something important? Do you have a view on gun control and want to tell me how wrong I am? Go for it in the comments.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-21145627912587076112017-10-04T10:45:00.001+11:002017-10-08T14:38:26.311+11:00Ellipsis<p dir="ltr">Last time I posted publicly on this blog was May 3, 2012. Five years later, things are much different, and that's certainly a good thing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I got re-married. My wife was married previously also, and similarly had her spouse decide self-interest was their highest priority. As a result, there's a fantastic mutual understanding that I wouldn't have found in someone who hadn't been through that kind of awful experience. It obviously does bring it's own set of challenges also, but you know... swings and roundabouts.</p>
<p dir="ltr">My wife and I have had 3 children, 2 of whom are daughters, bringing our total kid population to 5. We're done now. Kids are awesome, but they can cause spontaneous loss of sanity. We walk that line daily.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There's been a number of diagnoses amongst my children, particularly my second youngest who has autism and is completely non-verbal at almost 3. That's been a steep learning curve.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We moved into a smaller house to save money towards our goal of living on acreage. Then we had 2 children in close proximity, and now it's too small. So we're going to move again soon.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I've spent more time on my drumming, with some limited improvement. I made a YouTube channel to publish some drum covers, but they're few and fairly crap. Check it out though: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/justinplaysdrums">www.youtube.com/justinplaysdrums</a></p>
<p dir="ltr">I took up pistol shooting with my eldest, which has been an eye-opening journey.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I put on too much weight. Then lost a little. Then put on too much more. Working on incorporating more exercise into my routine, but it's hard with the little ones.</p>
<p dir="ltr">My view of the world has changed a lot too. I think I got old. I'm pretty cynical about what happens outside of my immediate bubble. There's a lot of hate for my particular worldview in the media and in political circles. I don't align with any major political party view. I just get frustrated, mostly.</p>
<p dir="ltr">During the time I was on my own, I developed a real love for live music - mainly the big, loud and full of energy variety. I've seen Paramore 4 or 5 times (including meeting them pre the Farro brothers leaving), Jimmy Eat World twice, Anberlin twice before they split, Yellowcard before they split, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Coldplay, and The Temper Trap. Possibly a couple of others I've forgotten (Edit: Twenty One Pilots! Knew I'd forget someone...). It's hard at the moment with really small children to get to shows, but I plan to continue to do this as often as I can.</p>
<p dir="ltr">That's it for now. Consider yourself caught up. 😀</p>
Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-87306524311787503912012-05-03T09:44:00.001+10:002012-05-03T09:44:26.457+10:00One tiny step in the shoes of Martin LutherQuestioning something that people have believed like, forever, can be hard. However, sometimes a man can feel so strongly about the sanctity of truth that he has no option but to do so. While ever this is merely a theoretical exercise, people seem happy to accept and ignore the fact you believe something that might be different to them, or to the church you attend. When you act on the basis of that belief, suddenly the world goes crazy. You actually <em>believe</em> what you said you believe? Crazy talk!<br />
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I know a story of a man who did that. On a scale that I find it hard to comprehend. In a time when there was one spiritual Christian authority in the Roman Catholic church who held not only the belief that they were the only authority on truth, but had linguistically locked up the only means by which you might be able to test that, he stood up and said "Your doctrine on salvation is wrong", challenging the authority of the papal structure of the time. I don't know how modern-day Catholics feel about Martin Luther and the Reformation, but it seems to me it would be a fairly big deal even today. Even if they acknowledged corruption in the church at the time, they'd have to think that on at least some level Martin Luther had it wrong, I would think. I could be wrong. But for me as a member of a church that formed from the linage of the Protestant movement, what he did directly relates to the way I live out my faith today. Truth, it would seem, is a big deal.<br />
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It seems almost blasphemous to compare my trivial matter to this. I believe something my church does not. In the context of my church as an institution, it's a ripple in a pond. If they tomorrow were to accept what I thought, it would not destroy the underpinnings of Baptist..ism. If they don't agree (right or wrong), it doesn't mean they're walking in some great fallacy that will cause millions to miss something vital to salvation. But for me, I see it as true which makes it a big deal to me. And my church are not happy for me to believe that, at least if I'm actually going to <em>believe</em> it. I cannot lead people in any capacity if I'm going to lead them while holding this belief. For my church, that's not an acceptable situation, and I can appreciate that. At the same time, I'm being ostracised for thinking for myself. So far, I have had my loyalty, honour, commitment, and motives questioned. I expect more. <br />
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<strong>BUT </strong>(and it's a bold, capitalised one), I'm not so proud as to believe I couldn't be wrong. I could be. It has happened before, and this is why I haven't explained the what and why of all of this. To do so publicly and then find out I was wrong would be devastating for me, as it may mean other people would start to think the same because of me. <br />
<br />
What I did want to say was this:<br />
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I'm genuinely seeking truth from the Bible about what God actually says to His people. This morning, I sat and prayed for divine leading, and then read Matthew 1 through 3. Tomorrow I'll do the same and start at Matthew 4 and read from there. When I get to the end of Revelation, I'm going to go back to Genesis and read from there. This to me seems the best way to approach this. I'm asking God to show me. Asking that if I've got it wrong, He will point me at what is right. Surely, <em>surely</em> where you're asking questions about something you've been <u>taught</u>, to go back to simply the word of God is the best, if not only way to find what is actually <u>true</u><em>.</em><u> </u>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-52422460454639972762012-01-30T00:07:00.000+11:002012-01-30T00:18:06.948+11:00A Collection of MiniPosts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I have some medium-size things to say, and I wanted to put them in a post all together. I've gone back and read posts from my blog in the past in the same way one might look at photos from years gone by. It can be revealing, or cathartic, or surprising, or a number of other fancy words. Basically, it's why I'm putting these thoughts together.<br />
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<strong>Someone Is Wrong On The Internet!</strong><br />
I've just spent my evening writing to someone I don't know to try and convince them of something they didn't ask to be convinced about, because it's something that is important to me. Not a religious argument, btw. Just something that reflects a little on me, so I wanted to advocate on behalf of those like me. Cryptic enough? ;) Anyway... I wonder sometimes why I care so much about what random strangers think of me.<br />
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<strong>Internet Dating Is Unfun</strong><br />
I'm paying far too much money to make new "friends", where the inverted commas define a class of person with whom I've had a couple of coffees and conversations, whom I've parted on good terms with, but who doesn't really want to pursue things any further. It's nice that it's friendly, but it's gut-wrenchingly soul-destroying that I am clearly predisposed toward being in the "friend zone". It's like my teenage years all over again, without anywhere near the degree of opportunity. Maybe I need a wingman...<br />
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<strong>Fat People Are Less Likely To Get Married (statistical fact)</strong><br />
Reference: <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199309303291406">http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199309303291406</a><br />
I'd heard this before, but had to find the reference. I think there are other studies that find the same conclusions.<br />
So this one is hard to come to grips with, but I've thought about it lots and it does make sense. Yes, to express it in cliché: true beauty comes from within. But when you first meet someone, that person in your mind consists of perhaps 90% how they look, and maybe 10% the conversation you've had with them. Over time, as you get to know the person more, the character attributes they possess, their interests, etc., make up more of the picture, and so someone who is physically unattractive can still be found quite attractive by a member of the opposite gender based on who they are as a whole. But if you are dating outside of your normal social circle, it's not uncommon to decide after a date or two whether or not you want to continue seeing someone. And really, how you feel about that person is based fairly heavily on their appearance. This all sounds quite shallow (and let's face it - it is), but being on the statistical downside of this particular factoid, I can see that there's not going to be any changing it. And I can see that I'm doing it as much as anyone else. It's just how it is, but interesting to consider how we behave in this context.<br />
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<strong>Unrecovery</strong><br />
I made the following statement to my psychologist (<em>gasp! yes, I see a psychologist occasionally</em>):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"From my observation, a person in my situation who doesn't find their way into a new relationship doesn't recover."</blockquote>
She asked me a few questions about this: What situation? Any relationship? Define "recover"? When I'd answered, she rephrased the statement slightly to pinpoint what I was talking about. Something like:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"From my observation, a person who has lost a satisfying long-term committed relationship against their desire, who does not find another committed, long-term relationship, does not return to the level of emotional satisfaction they had prior to the loss." (my rather haphazard paraphrase - I don't remember the exact words now)</blockquote>
After saying this, she sat there and thought for a minute, and then said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'd agree with that."</blockquote>
This both makes perfect sense, and also flies in the face of a lot of the well-meaning advice I've got along the way. Specifically, the advice that I need to "be happy on my own" in order to be emotionally healthy enough to not be on my own. Quite obviously when you're in a long term relationship, you clear other stuff out of the way to make room for it. You compromise. Sacrifice. Change plans, and make plans. When it's removed, you're not the same person you were prior, and can't just go back to being fine on your own. Ever. You have two choices: make do, or fill the gap. People make do a lot. They throw things into the gap that hide its size for a little bit. Maybe. But ultimately, there's something not right whether they'll admit it or not, and everyone else can see it.<br />
I find often I feel bad for wanting to get married again as more than just a casual aside. I actually really want to, and am keen to persue it as a goal. But it's almost like it's socially unacceptable to be that guy or girl. The word "desperate" comes to mind. I'm not desperate. Just tired of tripping over the gap all the time.<br />
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<strong>Internet Dating Is Unfun, Part 2</strong><br />
Clearly, eHarmony has decided that I'm an outdoorsy kind of person, and that I should only meet other outdoorsy people.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...<br />
<br />
...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">forever alone</td></tr>
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<strong>Sleep, or lack thereof</strong></div>
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I'm finding it hard to get to bed at a decent hour. This can be traced to the following:</div>
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My Playstation and Mass Effect 2</div>
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Sites that deliver a random funny image every time you click a button</div>
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General lack of motivation</div>
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Writing blog posts</div>
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The problem is, tomorrow I will regret it. Again. Just like last time.</div>
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Also, I generated a meme:</div>
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<img alt="Anxiety Cat - Drink 9 coffees Insomnia clearly caused by cancer" class="border radius10px instance_large_img" height="50%" src="http://b.static.memegenerator.net/cache/instances/500x/13/13453/13776188.jpg" width="50%" /></div>
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That is all.</div>
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</div>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-20361661901481179762012-01-01T02:08:00.001+11:002012-01-01T02:09:15.540+11:00ResolutionsThis evening I sat with two of my friends and celebrated the coming of a new year. Two of us have spent this year dealing with varying moments of the process of concluding our marriages, and came as single parent families with children in tow. The other was missing their spouse due to work commitments that would occupy them until 3am on New Year's Day. All of us came as sole representatives of our names.<br />
<br />
We drank cider, and tried to control the rabble of children that outnumbered parents 3-to-1. We stumbled over how to fill time until the midnight fireworks, by which time one gaggle of children had already left, and the remainder were beginning to fall into unconsciousness on the living room floor. As soon as the fireworks ended, I helped my eldest find a collection of cards he'd brought, lost, but absolutely had to have for tomorrow, and then gathered my youngest sleeping in my arms and herded them both into the car.<br />
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I heralded the new year with friends, but this year it felt like we were soldiers looking back on a long battle behind us. A year's fight is done, but so much has been lost along the way, and the road ahead doesn't lead us back to a comfortable home and a ticker tape parade. We sit in the quiet trenches and look at each other wondering where to from here. Around us lies the fallen remains of friendships that have been lost. Ideals destroyed. Visions shattered. For some of us, we bear the wounds of betrayal - from friends we trusted, colleagues, spouses. Some of us are fed up from watching those we once admired as people of substance crumble and fall around us. All of us have pondered escape, and the sweet aroma of a new beginning in another locale I am sure will see at least one of us absent in years to come.<br />
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But as for today; today we are the stalwarts. We are the remaining steadfast few amongst the many of our cohort who said words and made commitments that now are lost; caught in the merciless crossfire of a narcissistic culture. Those who still stand, who still fight, for values they professed when such profession was easy. We are far from perfect, and God knows we are judged for it, but I for one will not fall to the shots of those who have deserted and take aim to appease their guilt. We stand guard over a way of life I believe in, and for the sake of my children I cannot in good conscience avoid the line of fire. I will not back down. I will not surrender. I will not take my life for granted.<br />
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Friendship requires trust. Marriage requires faithfulness. Love requires commitment. I will no longer tolerate friends I cannot trust. I will stand against those who are unfaithful to their marriages. And I will commit to love my children, my friends, and my God with all that I am. For me, there is no other way to live - these things I believe in, and I would be less of a man if I were to step away from them.<br />
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This is not the direction I intended to go with this post, but it's where I've ended up and I'm content with what I've written. If I can accomplish nothing else this year, I will stand. And if that's not a New Year's Resolution, I don't know what is.<br />
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Happy New Year, everyone.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-14568044860582492512011-12-18T22:00:00.000+11:002011-12-19T20:23:36.433+11:00Dear SantaDear Santa,<br />
<br />
OK, let's start by getting the elephant in the room dealt with: you're not real. Look, sorry to say it, but you know it's true. You might rightfully then ask why I'm writing you a letter. That's a fair cop, and one I'm willing to answer - I guess the fact that I know that Dad (that being the heavenly one) knows my thoughts as I write them, and that I can put a part of myself down in writing in this way is kind of appealing. So yeah, OK - I'm kind of using you. But you're not real, so I say we're even.<br />
<br />
That being said, can I tell you something? It's been hard this year when people have asked me what I want for Christmas. I mean sure, I could put some games or DVDs on a list, but the reason I haven't is that none of it really shines for me. Honestly, there's just something much deeper missing and I've been thinking about it a little. Just every day for close to the past two years, I'd say. And so here's my Christmas list, Saint Nick - you ready for this?<br />
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<em>Someone to love, who will love me in return.</em><br />
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That's it. That's all I want. I mean, I probably should be a tiny bit more specific - we're talking love of the variety that is "until death do us part" here, which means toward someone of the opposite gender, and that is deep and romantic in nature. I'd hate to give you room to be cheap on this one, Santy. Because we all know you can be cheap when you want to. I mean seriously - what good is a remote controlled car with no batteries? Yes, I do remember.<br />
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Look, I was never made to be alone. Dad knows this better than anyone, and so I'm not sure why he's let things unfold this way, but here I am. It's just been such a long time since I've looked in someone's eyes and seen that subtle softening that comes from owning a special place in the heart of the person to whom those eyes belong. I desperately long to see that again. My heart holds an empty room; furnished with hopes and dreams that began years ago; waiting for someone for whom that place is home. It's been lived in before and wasn't treated very well, but I've spent a lot of time cleaning it up; repainting the walls and scrubbing the floors. Dad even helped me fix up some of the bits that were a problem before it was trashed. When I look at it now, it seems... ready. It's a home for someone. They just aren't there yet.<br />
<br />
So big guy, I'm doing my bit. I'm meeting, and coffeeing and generally doing things no 32 year old man with two kids should have to worry about. I'm preening and cleaning and trying to change the things about myself I look at and think could be better. But I can't make this one happen on my own. So I guess what I'm doing is being the kid writing a letter to Santa, hoping that his Dad might read it. That maybe, just maybe, it won't be as hard... or as long... or as complicated as I think it has to be. That the story of my life will give inspiration to those who tread a similarly painful path, rather than serve as example of how lonely things can end up when relationships go tragically wrong.<br />
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Well, that's about it Santa. I'll leave the rest in your white-gloved hands. Oh - and I'll leave out some beer and chocolate on Christmas Eve, but if you haven't taken them by midnight I say they're fair game.<br />
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Merry Christmas,<br />
JustinJustin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-36670554448645669562011-12-07T10:50:00.001+11:002011-12-07T13:43:55.515+11:00Well, that didn't go so well.OK, so I've been trying harder to eat right, and losing small amounts of weight. I'm thinking through what I can do about Japan, and making plans for when I can go, and that's all awesome. And I've been getting up at 6:30am... but...<br />
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As it turns out, this last change has changed the status quo of my household. My two wonderful children, who I used to have to wrestle from their beds post-7am in order to get them ready on time now wake before my alarm goes off at 6:30am, and demand breakfast amongst other things (one wanted chocolate recently for some reason), and generally ensure that I'm not spending that time peacefully contemplating passages of Scripture and in reflective prayer, as was the origial intention. So not really sure what to do about that one, but it certainly makes it hard for me to justify continuing this new tradition. That being said, I am generally more organised thanks to the getting up early and stuffs, so I guess in that way it's good.<br />
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I know I could do this stuff at the end of my day, but usually by the time I get my kids into bed my brain is already mush and I just want to soak it in sitcom, or live vicariously as a ninja through my Playstation controller. Both activities requiring as little or as much thought as I feel up to at the time. Mornings have always been my strong thought times. Post-coffee, of course, but that's just a given. So what do I do? :-s Does anyone else have some words of sage-like wisdom that might help? Maybe I should eat more sage. Or thyme. Need more of both of those.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-4874145218212982272011-11-26T10:18:00.001+11:002011-11-26T10:37:14.077+11:00Murphy's Law Strikes Back!<strong>I find it hilarious</strong> how as soon as you make a decision about doing something, suddenly things go dreadfully wrong in terms of making it happen. This week I was going to get more exercise. I was thinking I'd get out with the boys on their bikes, and try and do a lot more active outdoorsy stuff. And then in poured rain all week.<br />
I started getting up half an hour earlier each day. This was hard thanks to not going to bed early enough, so I tried to make myself go to bed earlier. Then my son got sick, and was up and down all night. I slept through my alarm and woke up 20 minutes after I normally leave. I've <em>never</em> done that before.<br />
I've been invited out for food a lot, which has not been good for the whole weight loss shindig. I mean, I wouldn't quite put this in the Murphy's Law category - I could have not gone, but it certainly has been a challenge. I've managed to gain a little weight, although CalorieKing tells me that could be because I've been eating a lot of salty foods. Which I did yesterday. So we'll write it off as that, and I'll keep trying to eat healthier.<br />
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All this aside though, making these goals has been a good step. I'm serious about them, and they're in my head, and as a result it's given me some direction and that feels good. Short term, I've got something to achieve. My trip to Japan looks like it might become a bit of a family thing, as my parents think about travelling to China and Korea towards the end of the year. Nothing certain yet, but I think that would make a big difference to the challenges of taking my boys on planes and that kind of thing.<br />
The couple of mornings I managed to get up early this week, I also managed to read my Bible just for quarter of an hour and spend some time with God. It was good. And I'm keen to do it some more.<br />
And I've had an offer of guidance from someone who has some experience with personal training and exercise and that kind of thing, which is a massive blessing. Hopefully that will be really useful in finding ways to exercise that don't seem like a chore.<br />
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Anyway - the journey continues! I'll keep updating this as I progress.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-52836388344562371772011-11-20T21:39:00.001+11:002011-11-26T10:33:21.339+11:00New Beginnings, New Blog Postings<strong>So,</strong> it's official. For those of you who may have missed previous goings on, as of 11/11/11 I'm officially <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2010/12/explanation.html">divorced</a>. And as the lead up and lead down to this event has unfolded, I've had to consider a lot - had to face a lot of hard truths. Life isn't fair, and never will be. The justice I want to see in my situation may not unfold in the way I'd like, or indeed at all. God is a God of love, but we should not mistake "love" for the wishywashy "do anything to make you smile" type thing we see on TV, nor should we be so narcissistic to assume that God loving us means his plans revolve around us. They don't. No no really - they don't. God has a big picture plan in Ultra Full High Definition(TM) and you are a pixel. Or possibly one colour element of one pixel. You're vital to the picture, but the picture is not about you. Or more to the point, it's not about me.<br />
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OK - so moving on from this, I've decided I need to make some goals for myself. And unless I tell people, I probably won't stick to them. So I'm telling you, Internets. And more than that (MO4R!?!?!?) I'm going to regularly update this blog with how they're going. So here's what I've got so far:<br />
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In 2012, assuming world doesn't end when Planet Nibiru hits us, I plan to:<br />
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- get my weight under 100kgs<br />
- take my boys on a holiday to Japan<br />
- get up half an hour earlier each morning<br />
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Now, for some important information about these. First, the weight one. I've been trying to lose weight for a long time. In the midst of my great sadness in 2010, I got down to 100kgs and then proceeded to put all the weight I had lost back on and more, up to the point where recently I was 117kgs. I'm now just under 115 and am on my way down. Very... very... slowly. It's funny how quickly you put weight on and how slowly you lose it. I'm going to make use of a website called CalorieKing to help track my progress, and you can look up how I'm doing here: <a href="http://www.calorieking.com.au/public/?member=juzzie79">http://www.calorieking.com.au/public/?member=juzzie79</a><br />
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The trip to Japan has been a goal of mine for ages. Just before my eldest son was born, my ex-wife and I were planning to move over there for a year and teach English just for the experience. Things changed, and as a result we didn't go. I've never been outside of Australia, so for me the experience of travelling overseas is going to be a very big deal. I'd like to expose my boys to a different culture early on while they are still young and able to adjust quickly. I don't know why, I just think it would be good for them to learn that not everyone lives the same way we do. I'm wanting to do some things like staying in traditional ryokan (ryoukan?) accommodation and going to hot springs baths and other cultural particulars so that they can get a real sense of the country's culture. At least, that's the intent. We'll see how it pans out. Anyway, finance is always an issue so trying to actually accumulate some savings is going to be the hardest part of this. I have a few plans about how to get some additional funds, but we'll see how we go...<br />
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As for getting up half an hour earlier, there's two main drivers for this. One is that I'm always running short on time in the mornings. Just being up and awake even 10 minutes earlier I think will make a significant difference. But the primary driver is that at this point I'm basically spending no time with God in my day. I pray before bed each night, but it is hardly devotional. It's a bit ritualistic to be honest, but at least it motivates some conversation and some nights that can be very valuable. A lot of the time though, it's half a practiced prayer as I slip into unconsciousness. Hardly a quality offering. So I'm going to try getting up half an hour earlier and reading my Bible, and even if it's only 10 minutes, at least it's something. A start.<br />
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Well, that's it. I'm starting on these as of tomorrow - I'm going to set my alarm half an hour earlier. I've been working on trying to improve my diet, and I'll need to get on the exercise treadlymill or something to get a bit of exercise into me. The Japan one is a little more long term, but I'll keep on working on getting funds together and how I might make all things work together to bring about great success. Ganbatte!<br />
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Watch this space for additional updates, hopefully regularly. :)Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-40286792711934241442011-06-21T13:15:00.002+10:002011-06-21T13:19:14.011+10:00InterpretationThis should have been a tweet, but was too long to fit so I've turned it into a blog post. Basically, several people I follow on twitter have retweeted the following this morning (this is the original tweet):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MjDlJ6KS26SMFqfK-a-Bf3pH4Wji0FNhRWKjmbPdPZrvNgDCG4a67SeVlRwofxeejZD4Rg2eLTz7biY89xDNtyyUAg8c3sD-tKwPdLbZnHoD6AW5G1XX1D72SkM_FHcAd6IC/s1600/GoogTweet.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MjDlJ6KS26SMFqfK-a-Bf3pH4Wji0FNhRWKjmbPdPZrvNgDCG4a67SeVlRwofxeejZD4Rg2eLTz7biY89xDNtyyUAg8c3sD-tKwPdLbZnHoD6AW5G1XX1D72SkM_FHcAd6IC/s400/GoogTweet.PNG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Now, the statement in essence is <strong>true</strong>. Google are discontinuing support for Internet Explorer 7. However, this is because they've enacted a policy of only supporting the two latest releases of <strong>any</strong> supported browser other than Chrome - which is basically IE, Firefox and Safari. The linked article explicitly explains this, and notes that at the same time as they discontinue support for IE7, they're discontinuing support for Safari 3, and Firefox 3.5.<br />
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Why is this so irritating to me? Because the people who wrote the original tweet make it sound like Google are singling out IE7. Which they aren't. So it's not truthful. And I'm big on truthiness.<br />
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Blog post done. Go about your day.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com052 Taylor Rd, Cranebrook NSW 2749, Australia-33.6873219 150.71483369999999-33.687323400000004 150.71482419999998 -33.6873204 150.7148432tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-32746620817569597022011-03-12T23:44:00.000+11:002011-03-12T23:44:34.416+11:00An Irregularly Shaped PegSo I said I'd write more, and so far I've done nothing. I think I need to start though, as there's so much going on in my head all the time that getting it down "on paper" might help sort some of it out, and sharing it with others has previously been very cathartic for me.<br />
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One thing that's been on my mind lately is how common my current circumstances are statistically, and yet how difficult it seems to be to now fit in with a group of people who previously I had no trouble fitting in with. It started to become apparent a few weeks back at church. I walked around looking for people to strike up conversations with, and tried striking up a few, but ultimately wound up going home as I couldn't really engage with anyone. No big deal - that happens sometimes. But then it happened the next week. And the next. And I started to wonder why, and that's when I started thinking about irregularly shaped pegs.<br />
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To generalise, I think there's two main peg shapes in church circles: those who are married, possibly with children (let's call them square pegs), and those who are single (who we'll call round pegs). The round pegs might have a knock or two out of the side of them from previous hurts or difficulties, but from my observation none of the round pegs have ever been square pegs. They're round pegs, and their friends are round pegs, and that's the sum total of their peg experience to date.<br />
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So what happens when someone was a round peg, became a square peg, and then had their corners ripped off leaving them, well, irregularly shaped? Sort of a round peg, but not really. Sort of a square peg, but not really. When we're looking at pegs in round or square holes, which in this analogy is the ability to slot into a particular social group, an irregularly shaped peg is going to struggle.<br />
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When trying to fit into a round hole, it becomes immediately apparent that the remains of corners are getting in the way. Whether those remains are age, commitments, children, or just the emotional results of dealing with relationship disaster it's fairly obvious that an irregularly shaped peg is not round, and while trying to ignore the remains of corners might be an appealing way of dealing with being older and suddenly single again, the sad reality is that you can't go back. You're not a round peg, and you never will be again.<br />
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Trying to fit into a square hole presents it's own set of problems. Truly square pegs are very much a known quantity, and represent something the irregularly shaped peg is not - a couple. The irregularly shaped peg leaves the square hole inadequately filled, and the absence is noticed by others in the peer group - particularly those of the opposite gender. Spending time as a single man with married couples, the thing I notice is that the wife of the hosting couple seems to miss the presence of another woman to balance the conversation. This makes sense, as while it would be completely appropriate for me to spend extended time 1-on-1 with another man having in depth conversations and forming a rewarding friendship, if I was to do that with a married woman it would be cause for significant concern. There's always going to be a limit to the depth a friendship can form under these circumstances, and so ultimately the irregularly shaped peg is not offering as much to the square peg couple as another square peg couple would. <br />
[Remember I'm discussing within church circles here - I'm unsure of how things would play out if many of the limitations we apply to ourselves in church circles to avoid falling into sin were not a concern. Obviously people would fall into sin significantly more often, but perhaps in some instances both parties in a couple could form a Platonic relationship with a single party that had significant depth to it. I just don't know. I've never been confident of the reality of Platonic relationships between members of the opposite sex, and recent experience makes me question it even more.]<br />
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So what is an irregularly shaped peg to do? Well, I suppose find other irregularly shaped pegs. The problem in my small sample set is that the tiny set of people I know to be irregularly shaped pegs seem to have already disappeared from view. I don't know their reasons, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they just didn't feel like they fitted in. Maybe they went somewhere where round peggers didn't know they used to be square, and try to keep the remains of their corners out of view. Maybe they decided to keep to themselves, and not try and find a place where they would fit - which for a peg, is a very unfulfilled place to be. Pegs were made for holes.<br />
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To throw the metaphor aside at this point, the question ultimately is where do I fit? And when you follow that through to some depth you come to a fundamental question we all seem to come to at some point: why am I here? Perhaps not "here" as in alive on the earth, but why have the sum of my choices and experience led me to this point, at this place, at this time? Is there any purpose? Given what I understand of the nature of time, I can't believe that anything is just random chance, but perhaps the path that brought me here didn't do so for a purpose - it just had to go somewhere, and here was as good as anywhere else. I know we tend to quote Jeremiah 23:11 in these circumstances, but what I see there was spoken to a very specific group of people in a specific circumstance. Not to everyone for all time. We won't all prosper. Some of us will experience harm. We can all have a hope and a future, but not necessarily here and now.<br />
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So where does that leave me? Well, at some point I'd like to think I'll remarry. But before that can happen, I have to be redefined both internally and externally as being a single man again. The internal bit is a process that I can see progressing, and that is well on the way. The external process however seems to be the hard one. It's what has inspired this whole pegs metaphor. In a group of people who have always known me as being married, can I redefine myself and be accepted into a group of peers? Or are the edges of the peg holes so rigid that someone carrying the scars of being left by an unfaithful partner will never really fit in? I suppose time will tell.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-33648096820738880502011-02-21T13:50:00.002+11:002011-02-21T13:50:46.536+11:00Audience StatsToday, I've had 17 page views from France. I just thought that was worth sharing.<br />
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Welcome, French visitor(s). I hope you've enjoyed your stay. :)Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-7839444205091527072010-12-23T10:06:00.001+11:002010-12-23T14:55:55.152+11:00An ExplanationI've considered carefully publishing this post. I want to tell people the truth, as I've always been honest and open, but at the same time I don't want to create bitterness or angst. There's been enough of that already, and I'm ready to move forward now. Part of that for me however, is sharing this story with all of you.<br /><br />For those who don't know already, Rachel and I are no longer together. What follows is an explanation of why:<br /><br />We've had some fairly big problems in our marriage. We've struggled with them for a long time, and they took their toll on both of us. We'd seen several marriage counsellors over a number of years, and still we struggled. That being said, my attitude was always that we'd keep at it until we sorted it through - that you work things out, no matter what. Rachel however found that she was unable to do that.<br /><br />In late 2009, Rachel got involved with another man.<strong> </strong>The relationship continued, and despite numerous moments where she decided she should do the right thing and break it off, she was unable to bring herself to give it up. I tried very hard to win her affections back, and was as gracious and understanding as I could be through the whole thing. She has said she's sorry things unfolded the way they did, but ultimately she chose not to give up the relationship she formed with this man. Obviously, this wasn't a circumstance under which our marriage could continue.<br /><br />As you might imagine, the past 12 or so months as this situation has unfolded have been incredibly difficult for me. But I have had to accept that what is, is; regardless of how I feel about it. As a result, Rachel and I have done the absolute best we can in maintaining amicability for the sake of the boys. We both love them immensely and want the best for them, and we're doing everything we can to soften the impact this situation will inevitably have on them.<br /><br />A lot of water has gone under the bridge now and we're both in very different places. I'm taking the New Year as an opportunity to start over - to look at what it means to be a part-time carer / full-time dad, and to be suddenly single again at age 31. The boys now see quite a bit of Rachel's new partner, and I'm coming to terms with that... slowly. They are adjusting as well as children possibly could given their situation, and discussions about them with Rachel are amicable and functional, as the one common ground I know we still share is wanting the best for them even if we disagree on what that looks like from time to time. I'm trying hard to follow the path I believe God is leading me on, and I hope that He'll make it a bit clearer as time goes on. I still wrestle with why he's allowed this to happen, but I suppose ultimately I may just have to let it go.<br /><br /><br /><br />If you're reading this, you're probably a friend or family member, and even if you aren't: Merry Christmas, and all the best for the New Year. Enjoy your family, your friends, and the time you have to share with them. Remember that eternity is the long bit, and that Jesus is the reason we can look forward to that. {/sappy bit}<br /><br /><br /><br />These goings-on are the reason nothing has appeared on this blog in a long time. With this post out of the way, I'm hoping to post a bit more regularly. Also, I'm thinking of starting a new blog about my journey working out this new life I've got, in the hope that it might help others who find themselves in this place. I'll put details here if/when I do so you can read it if you want.<br /><br /><br /><br />God bless,<br /><br />JustinJustin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-71951117002682960602009-02-17T09:03:00.002+11:002009-02-17T09:10:26.620+11:00Welcome Back, Torrential Rain!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7wN8hLnlBFJ1snxhfzNpeIkAMdOfKxx8-Vb16wMX4b5l1nxTzkxgAE9fd9rDzQRYBUoS-ocuchC_G3_UcjnwvSYPiQqi2DLCkqsLp33E3bwP4GYzdPVcZxvltsDp3Mzja_Dr/s1600-h/image-upload-114-724170.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7wN8hLnlBFJ1snxhfzNpeIkAMdOfKxx8-Vb16wMX4b5l1nxTzkxgAE9fd9rDzQRYBUoS-ocuchC_G3_UcjnwvSYPiQqi2DLCkqsLp33E3bwP4GYzdPVcZxvltsDp3Mzja_Dr/s320/image-upload-114-724170.jpg"/></a><br /><span/><br /></div><br /><p>The photo above is taken out our apartment window this morning. As you can see, the clearer weather we enjoyed yesterday was short lived. What does one do in Port Macquarie in pouring rain? I guess we'll let you all know once we figure it out...</p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-48260256399455248232009-02-16T13:50:00.001+11:002009-02-16T13:50:34.892+11:00Answered Prayer<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N8uirf19N2BLXc31n4KqlUv_TQ-XQAy1n3fCAB6D6TjIvCZo0-ydzxqdFXP3p0fpJec3OGFWJqyNTeK4jJo2e0LV7fwRTjTCGLEtriDCERxvlrwuCqeLlO17FPXe0DqhFoL3/s1600-h/image-upload-94-733460.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N8uirf19N2BLXc31n4KqlUv_TQ-XQAy1n3fCAB6D6TjIvCZo0-ydzxqdFXP3p0fpJec3OGFWJqyNTeK4jJo2e0LV7fwRTjTCGLEtriDCERxvlrwuCqeLlO17FPXe0DqhFoL3/s320/image-upload-94-733460.jpg"/></a><br /><span>I'm not sure how well this photo shows it, but the rain has gone. It's still fairly cool, so swimming is not high on our agenda, but the weather is perfect for walking along the breakwater, or enjoying a coffee by the shore. So yeah, thanks to God for the answered prayer!</span><br /></div>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-66192800451286853612009-02-15T08:09:00.006+11:002009-02-15T08:54:02.030+11:00Holidays in sunny Port Macquarie<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">So it's been a long time since I've posted anything, and I fully intend to post something more deserving of being the first post in ages,but I just needed to share this.</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">My wife and I have been planning a get-away for ages. We booked a holiday in Port <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Macquarie</span> over 6 months ago, and had my leave booked in and everything. As the time to leave drew close, things started to conspire against us. Projects that should have been well and truly completed at work were delayed massively. My <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">offsider</span> who was going to be holding down the fort at work got called up for jury duty. Some issues arose at home that made going away less appealing. But with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">unnecessarily</span> high stress we departed, and arrived at Port <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Macquarie</span> with the intention of trying to forget the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">stressors</span> at home and spending a week relaxing on the beach.</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This is a photo taken from the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">balcony</span> of our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">apartment</span>:</div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"></div><p align="center" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRM3jflyE2rP_bGtW77sQ60CONkCQDuM6H1arIONrfmC9A_s2p2QGO1UevXxxDOjQ-uflosf9gFbo736F5tKF36ceyLf-fWzbqBh7E2L-bVjejsoINf2_mQQz0ixBSS5-aogOT/s1600-h/image-upload-23-774670.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRM3jflyE2rP_bGtW77sQ60CONkCQDuM6H1arIONrfmC9A_s2p2QGO1UevXxxDOjQ-uflosf9gFbo736F5tKF36ceyLf-fWzbqBh7E2L-bVjejsoINf2_mQQz0ixBSS5-aogOT/s320/image-upload-23-774670.jpg" /></a></p><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><br /><span>This has been the scene for the last 36 hours, and there's no sign of it letting up. We're so bored that my wife is now picking fights with me, and the boys are going completely stir crazy. We're trying to find things to do that are wet weather friendly, but my wife was so set on spending a week at the beach that she'd rather sit and be miserable then do things that we might well be able to do at home like take the boys to a play centre, or go bowling. Luckily, today we're spending time with some extended family but if this doesn't improve, being on holidays might turn out to be an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">incredibly</span> hard week's work.<br /></div><br /></span>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-46691827102712419532008-06-06T20:42:00.005+10:002008-06-07T09:52:50.984+10:00Linux on the Dektop, and Open OfficeSo two things happened today that related to linux and open source software, so I thought I should blog about this, seeing its got me thinking. Please note, that I'm wasting time I could spend gaming to write this (kids in bed, wife at a party) so please feel incredibly privileged.<br /><br /><strong>Part 1: Desktop Linux</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />So the first thing that happened is a few days back I decided to hunt out a linux distro, and setup a virtual machine. I thought it was about time I got some good solid linux experience, and with all these proponents of desktop linux constantly making noise on various interweb forums, I thought it was time I gave it a good solid try. So I did a search for some distros that might offer me the kind of facility I was looking for - that is, a good desktop environment. A couple of Google searches brought up <a href="http://www.xandros.com/">Xandros linux</a>, and <a href="http://www.freespire.org/">Freespire linux </a>- both which seeed to have the kind of features I might be looking for. I was aware of a few distos (<a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu</a>, <a href="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</a>, <a href="http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/">Yellow Dog</a>) but wanted to look at something that really was aimed at being a desktop for the <a href="http://www.uglypeople.com/uploaded/7589/funnyface2.jpg">average joe</a>.<br /><br />First thing I discovered is that contrary to popular belief, linux is not all <a href="http://www.freebeer.org/blog/">free, as in beer</a>. At least, some linux distributions are, and others aren't. I knew that you had to pay for Red Hat on disc, but I thought that was more about it being on a disc then actually needing to pay for the software. It seems funny that software that has basically been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsource">crowdsourced </a>over many years can then be profited on simply by throwing in some value add (eg: Freespire includes codecs for common proprietary media formats)<br /><em>(Edit: I've since been shown that Freespire is in fact one of the free distrobutions - I just was looking in the wrong place.)</em><br /><br />Not wanting to pay for the above-mentioned distros, I went back to what I knew: Ubuntu. I've heard several people talk about Ubuntu in a favorable light, and I'm not exactly a novice, so I'm sure I can work it out. So Ubuntu it was. I set about to downloading it, which finished late in the afternoon. I decide to leave it overnight, which then brings us to today.<br /><br />So I set myself up a virtual machine with a reasonable amount of RAM, and capture the downloaded Ubuntu ISO file to boot the machine. I'm greeted with a menu offering me several options, one of which is "Install Ubuntu". Sounds great. I hit enter on that one. After half a second of thinking, the VM reports a processor error. Ah - OK, probably a graphics issue with the VM. I remember from a previous attempt with <a href="http://www.mandriva.com/">Mandrake</a> years ago that sometimes video drivers are tricky. So I hit F4 and select safe video. Same result.<br /><br />Because this will be very long if I type it all out, basically after literally hours of searching and trying different things, here's what I had to do to get it to boot:<br /><br /><ul><li>On the CD boot screen, hit F4 and choose safe video. Then hit F6 and edit the boot commands. Add "noreplace-paravirt forcevesa vga=791" to the boot options. Then choose to Try Ubuntu from the CD.</li><li>Once it booted into the GUI, choose the Install icon.</li><li>When the install finished, restart and quickly press ESC as grub was starting</li><li>Select the default installation item, and press 'e' for edit. Select the kernal options and press 'e' again. Add "noreplace-paravirt forcevesa vga=791" and then press ESC, and then 'b' to boot.</li><li>Once loaded, open a command prompt and type "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst". Enter password. Add above mentioned command again at the appropriate location. Save this file.</li><li>Open terminal, backup xorg.conf (sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.BAK) and then make some substantial edits to get the resolution to function at 1024x768 at 16bpp. This, btw, still isn't working.</li><li>Still in terminal, sudo gedit... a file I now forget, to add an initialisation string to get the sound to work.</li></ul><p>Is anyone else seeing why linux is SOOOOOOOO not up to desktop OS standard for average Joe user??? I'm using a VM that presents the guest OS with really basic standard hardware, and the amount of difficulty it has just dealing with it is colossal. I'm still playing around trying to get it to function as I'm typing this. I've now given up on it ever displaying a reasonable resolution and am just trying to get it to start in 800x600 which seems to be its default. And at the moment, it STILL WON'T DO IT. As soon as I log in, my desktop goes all badness.</p><p><strong>Part 2: The parent</strong></p><p>So today, I get a call from a parent of some students at the school. He says he has two questions for me, and the first is quickly resolved to be that the reason his email to a teacher is bouncing is because he's missing a character from the email address. Awesome, sorted. What's the second issue?</p><p>The second issue comes about like this: His child had been given an assessment task at school to create a <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/powerpoint/default.aspx">PowerPoint</a> presentation. Now, at home this guy tells me he avoids Microsoft products like the plague - so they have a <a href="http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/SocialNewsWatch/AppleFounderSteveJobs.jpg">Mac</a>, and a couple of machines running Linux, and they use <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">OpenOffice</a>. They may have had a copy of Microsoft Office, I'm not sure, because he did seem to mention it a bit - however, for whatever reason, his child had done their presentation in Impress - the OO.org equivalent of PowerPoint.</p><p>Hey, I hear you say, but that's no problem - OpenOffice is 100% compatible with Microsoft Office document formats!</p><p>Fail.</p><p>You see, it appears Impress has at least one "improved" feature on PowerPoint, and that's the ability to record a narration that runs across the entire presentation, whereas PowerPoint wants you to do it slide-by-slide. Anyway, the point is that this child elected to do their project in a different product, and now, it doesn't work right when he brings it to school.</p><p>So what did the parent do? Gave the child a USB stick full of open source software to run on the school computers, so that they can present their project in something other then the proscribed software. Ah. OK then. Well, no harm done I guess. Not that I'm 100% comfortable with a parent undermining our best efforts to give their child a stable and consistent computing platform. We wouldn't want that whole "good management" and "consistency" thing getting in the way of the general anti-MS crusade. </p><p>However, the reason for his call wasn't just to tell me this. It was to make the argument that seeing as how Open Office is free and all, and doesn't require your stereotypical Windows install (registry entries, etc.), why don't we just provide it? He said "Couldn't you just put it on a server somewhere there?" Now, for me this was a little bit startling, and started a discussion between him and me that I found a bit disconcerting - primarily, because he wanted me to defend my viewpoint somewhat, and also seemed to be presenting information that I wasn't convinced was accurate. For example, apparently <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/Office2008/default.mspx">Office 2008 for Mac</a> doesn't offer compliance with Microsoft's own OOXML formats. However, we're using Office 2008 for Mac, and haven't had an issue. He was quite taken aback by this, and indicated that the forums he's read tell him otherwise. Regardless of this, I wasn't really sure why the expectation was that I needed to defend my decision not to provide and support application <a href="http://www.sleazeroxx.com/bands/xyz/debut.jpg">XYZ </a>to the entire network at a parent's request.</p><p>Now, I'm going to wrap this up, because its really long. But basically, I explained that if I was going to deploy something that I needed to be able to endorse its ability to integrate with our other systems, and also had to be able to support it. Neither of these I felt comfortable to do with Open Office, and seeing as we deploy MS Office for our office applications, I didn't really think there was a need. The parent said he understood, and generally we had a pleasant discussion where we presented our own viewpoints. But...</p><p>The thing I don't get is why people get like this. We provide some software. It's good software. It works well, and is commonly used by a massive chunk of all organizations worldwide. There's other good software, and if you like it, that's fine. But I personally tend to like some of Microsoft's products, and while I'm aware OpenOffice is a reasonable competitor, I still think Windows and Microsoft Office are far and away the best products for the desktop in their respective markets. Even if you disagree with that, I don't understand the attitude common amongst those who would know what <a href="http://www.slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a> is to shun and reject anything that has a Microsoft brand stamped on it.</p><p>Just in case you think I'm a diehard Windows fanatic who won't stomach anything else, I'm still persisting with Ubuntu, and shortly (hopefully) will have a couple of Macs in my office to begin work on setting up an appropriate network management strategy for deploying Macs/OSX in our predominantly Windows environment. I'd like our network to be platform agnostic, but I think the more realistic perspective for us is to have multiple interlinked systems for managing common platforms, and that's what I'm going to be working towards. Besides, its all going to be web services shortly anyway, isn't it?</p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-12832279339619574472008-05-12T11:47:00.005+10:002008-05-12T16:29:57.331+10:00New ConcernsFor me, this blog has for a very long time now been my source of outlet when life gets difficult or frustrating. I've talked about everything from <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/03/american-way.html">Americanism</a>, to <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/03/unhappy.html">job and life disappointments</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/06/life-and-death.html">family tragedy</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/08/lost-in-translation.html">anime translation</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/09/another-step-backwards.html">music copyright issues</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/11/hangups.html">ancient relationship hangups</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2005/11/true-evils-of-fitball-squat.html">responding to ancient relationship hangups</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2006/11/not-your-place.html">circumsicion</a>, <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2007/03/economics-of-abundance-is-not-moral.html">the state of copyright law</a>, and recently <a href="http://man-with-rant.blogspot.com/2007/11/papillary-carcenoma.html">cancer</a>.<br />One thing that has made this quite appealing has been the level to which I can be honest about how I feel. I've offended the occasional person in doing so, but for the most part I have written how I honestly feel, and no ill has come of displaying that level of honestly.<br />However, for the first time now, I'm starting to be careful what I say. You may have noticed the recent lack of content, and following slew of random photos, and this is all because I've started to feel uneasy about being honest in a forum that is so open. Actually, I've started feeling uncomfortable about being proactively honest in general. My "safe people" that I could confide in when I was feeling stressed and distressed have become fewer and further between, and so I think that's resulted in a bunch more just keeping things to myself. It's just easier that way. While there were always things that I wouldn't publish on my blog, the threshold has just dropped across the board, meaning that now the stuff that fueled my enraged blog posts of the past I don't really feel like I can share on here.<br />However, this isn't a close to this blog. More just an explanation of why there's less stuff on here of late, and perhaps more uninteresting or less meaningful posts. This may change - who knows? Just thought I'd fill you all in...Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-18984064815127131522008-05-09T15:42:00.003+10:002008-05-09T16:32:12.782+10:00Redefining "updates"So I'm working on a staff member's computer today, and they've got this older CD based program that requires Quicktime in order to use, but the version on the CD is too old to work with Vista. OK, no worries, we'll install the latest version and hopefully it'll fix it up. Which is what I do. I grab the Quicktime only installer (that is, the one that isn't bundled with iTunes) and install it. When it asks about Apple Updater, I think "yeah, that'd be useful" and so install it also. That way, he'll be kept up-to-date.<br />Later on, I'm working on the machine doing some other stuff, and up jumps Apple Update. It has 3 updates for me to install - an update for itself, and update for Quicktime, and... iTunes. As in, it has the iTunes+Quicktime installer listed, with a check in the checkbox ready for me to obediently click "Install".<br />Now, last time I checked "update" meant to take a piece of software <em>you've already chosen to install </em>and replace the required files to bring it into line with the latest version. Not to install a piece of software that I've purposefully avoided installing onto this person's laptop. Your average user probably wouldn't even check - they'd just install whatever Apple Update told them they needed. Can you imagine the kind of fall out Microsoft would get if they tried something like this? A pre-selected Windows update installs their prefered brand of picture viewer? They've already had to pull Media Player out of the EU version of Windows because apparently bundling a media player with your OS is anti-competitive.<br /><br />Anyway, gripe of the day. Enjoy.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-68103402946565539762008-05-09T09:49:00.001+10:002008-12-09T19:17:16.218+11:00zOMG! A black Mac Mini?!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlby0YBV2d-N5k0JoXOfOl70DTeBXWFLx0HIC8PfH_qeMAjfc5ZkFl7X8vzRZzWtmcq7VD5YKnTffUYV0BqiG-a5AqZxbNV7HB-cjko_gHW4Pjy0sBfqKZ0a7F-gKQ7drfNdnf/s1600-h/image-upload-2-759770.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlby0YBV2d-N5k0JoXOfOl70DTeBXWFLx0HIC8PfH_qeMAjfc5ZkFl7X8vzRZzWtmcq7VD5YKnTffUYV0BqiG-a5AqZxbNV7HB-cjko_gHW4Pjy0sBfqKZ0a7F-gKQ7drfNdnf/s320/image-upload-2-759770.jpg"/></a><br /><span>Seems some crafty Chinese PC company likes the Mac Mini form factor.</span><br /></div>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-77526457172440988542008-04-08T10:57:00.002+10:002008-12-09T19:17:16.297+11:00There's a helicopter on the oval!!<p align="center" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Y0ZU47yIw-hp7f_F8PhH-S6NKZCnYZtKNrz5QLox5nAU-VDzxONRElin7USLBH9vVq4Fm3Fd2PJ2Rf1u_rdyRZg0IzvUX3B01aViX-SLK4p42UjwGMoDifHUTA_4TGIjvnwN/s1600-h/image-upload-215-775385.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Y0ZU47yIw-hp7f_F8PhH-S6NKZCnYZtKNrz5QLox5nAU-VDzxONRElin7USLBH9vVq4Fm3Fd2PJ2Rf1u_rdyRZg0IzvUX3B01aViX-SLK4p42UjwGMoDifHUTA_4TGIjvnwN/s320/image-upload-215-775385.jpe" /></a></p><br /><p>So I'm at work today, and the Principal's PA walks in to let us know there's this helicopter parked on the school's oval. Apparently, there's an author who was coming to speak to a yeargroup at the school, and rather then battle the traffic to get out here, he decided to just fly his chopper out and land it on the oval! It's nice for some, I guess. </p><p>I do intend to do a "proper" proper blog post soonish. There's rants to be had, I just don't seem to get the time these days. </p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-45053376937864730462008-03-30T21:10:00.003+11:002008-12-09T19:17:16.398+11:00Dinner with Joel and Lisa<p align="center" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK3WxqdZtGD8eGa1zD5xzgCl7Xi5nS0pvRyYNcAByv80oWw4OQbFX966n1fV1mtzs8ngkvNBlML8nbrfjaUG9h9HO1romtMiFw0FI1BiZ3sA8g1J-pK5RgnQfuHXf8AHA1d8a/s1600-h/image-upload-21-738754.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK3WxqdZtGD8eGa1zD5xzgCl7Xi5nS0pvRyYNcAByv80oWw4OQbFX966n1fV1mtzs8ngkvNBlML8nbrfjaUG9h9HO1romtMiFw0FI1BiZ3sA8g1J-pK5RgnQfuHXf8AHA1d8a/s320/image-upload-21-738754.jpe" /></a></p><p>In true random form, I thought I'd post this photo I took at dinner tonight. Happy faces all around.</p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-63150369499967481712008-03-29T23:03:00.004+11:002008-12-09T19:17:16.557+11:00Mobile blogging!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqC_ytm8obcZKvIxorvEvsCOglm3uVGql3hezHtPCxiLmEXrcc9lBDkWdKpljk3mO0kySB2FvAkGZ8NJMq6Ue6msLVNEi38iVftj0YOGazVrm3dP4p9BWtqmT9egVgnEM9m53/s1600-h/image-upload-9-796039.jpe"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqC_ytm8obcZKvIxorvEvsCOglm3uVGql3hezHtPCxiLmEXrcc9lBDkWdKpljk3mO0kySB2FvAkGZ8NJMq6Ue6msLVNEi38iVftj0YOGazVrm3dP4p9BWtqmT9egVgnEM9m53/s320/image-upload-9-796039.jpe" /></a><br /></div><p>I haven't blogged in ages, but I just got myself this brand new <a href="http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/mobilephones/overview/k850i?cc=au&lc=en">Sony Ericsson K850i</a> mobile phone, and it has a 5Mp camera in the back - AND it'll send photos directly to my blog! So here is the first. I was strapping my son into his baby seat in the car, and thought I'd take the opportunity to take a photo. So there it is for your viewing pleasure.</p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-6722794484508473512008-01-25T17:35:00.000+11:002008-01-25T15:36:28.044+11:00Royal North Shore - Rachel's Story<p>As some of you may know, a bit over a week ago now Rachel had surgery at Royal North Shore to treat suspected thyroid cancer. I'm not sure if I mentioned it on my blog, but because the pathology had so far been uncertain, they were going to do the operation in such a way that they could take half her thyroid, get it biopsied during the operation, and then if necissary take the rest out. They were also going to review her previous fine needle biopsy slides to see if they could get a more conclusive diagnosis.</p><p>On the day of the surgery (Wednesday last week), they advised us that they'd reviewed the pathology and it was almost certainly cancer, so as a result they were just going to take the whole thing out. It was supposed to be a fairly short operation - only a bit over an hour - but it ended up taking them three and a half. They were taking extra care around Rachel's vocal chord nerves, as they'd been told she sings, but the thyroid was apparently very close to those, and also was quite solid. The surgeon said normally you can cut it and it just kind of comes away, but with Rachel that wasn't the case.</p><p>I've found it interesting to try and find a way of describing the outcome of the surgery. Initially I was telling people that it was quite successful - the gland was out, and they believe that they got everything, eliminating the threat of cancer. However, the surgery was long and difficult, and they had to remove one of Rachel's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parathyroid">parathyroid glands</a>, which messed up her calcium levels for days. We actually wound up at the emergency department at Windsor Hospital on Friday night - the day Rachel was discharged from RNS - as her calcium levels dipped to the point where the muscles in her hands were starting to seize up. She had to stay in overnight. So in reality, the surgery went much worse then expected. However, the outcome of the surgery is that assuming the pathology confirms the surgeons belief that it was definately cancer, they believe they got it all and thus Rachel is now OK. It sounds like given the circumstances, the surgeons did an exceptional job, and I'm really pleased we elected to go to RNS to have this done, even though the 3 days Rachel was there was horendous for me (more about that later). Her voice appears unaffected, and her calcium levels are now starting to even out. There's still some smallish things to get sorted (calcium, thyroxin, RAI treatment) but they should hopefully be fairly straight-forward.</p><p>All in all, we're just thankful to God that we're on the other side of the surgery, and that it appears that although it was cancer, it has now been removed and will require only a fairly minor post-operative treatment to ensure it is completely gone.</p><p>Just thought I'd fill anyone in who might be looking here for updates.</p>Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11278247.post-40972345008070268192007-12-19T14:07:00.000+11:002008-12-09T19:17:16.713+11:00Massive update postHello readership who has waned into oblivion! This is the "I haven't blogged for so long that now I need to blog half a million things in a single post" post. So let's get to it.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Rachel's Thyroid Cancer</strong><br />Following my last post re: Rachel's thyroid cancer, we had an appointment with the thyroid surgery unit at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_North_Shore_Hospital">Royal North Shore Hospital</a>. While they didn't change anything about the diagnosis or treatment ("Surprise! It's not cancer, and you need no surgery!" would have been the best possible outcome) they did reassure us quite a bit about what needs to be done, and the potential risks both of the surgery and of the cancer. Turns out this cancer is pretty non-eventful, and in someone Rachel's age is pretty much 100% cure rate. That's like having... I don't know... tonsillitis. You have to have surgery to fix it, but really, it's nothing to worry about.<br /><br />Anyway - one of Rachel's biggest concerns was that her endocrinologist had indicated she'd need radioactive iodine treatment as soon as the surgery was done - or within a few weeks. Turns out he was being over reactive. The thyroid surgery people said she'd be fine to leave it as long as she needed - and that's exactly what she plans to do. The issue with this treatment was breastfeeding our 4-month old son, so she's going to finish feeding him to about a year old, and then have the treatment. Smiles and happiness all around.<br /><br /><br />Basically, this whole situation is more of an inconvenience then anything else now. Continuing prayer for complication-free surgery would be appreciated, because I think Rachel would really struggle if her voice got damaged.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark">The Magpie-Lark (aka Peewee)</a></strong><br />As I type this, I have a box on my desk covered in a towel. Inside, is a very small and very frightened Peewee. The stupid bugger fell out of his nest, and can't fly. So I rang WIRES, and they told me I should make him a make-shift nest, and put it in a tree. The plan is, his parents will come and look after him and all would be well. You know what the stupid bird did? Immediately took a nose dive out of the nest, hit the ground with a thud, and casually started wandering towards the road! Anyway, I tried another time and he gracefully did the same thing, so I've now given up and someone is on their way to fix him up with a feeding cage. In the meantime, enjoy the following portrait:<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145119282405092930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx6Yd0J5-eRMe3bNrPoVeiup4qaW2p-2zBgXOLSF7ec_6xwtzZS9r_cd7I9-TMdptZtToA368mrOaarOL26dzcJUcT0YxgCQVmktb3idlKd4rybPfz-7MGiW3puJDShQD2OrJh/s400/Magpie-Lark+005.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />Cute, isn't he? Yep - he's also a complete pain in the rear. Spent most of my morning trying to get him back to his parents at WIRES' direction, and all he was interested in doing was throwing himself in front of cars. Good times. He contributes "SKREEEEEETCH!!!" to the discussion.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Health, Weight loss and Well-being</strong><br />I'm pretty unmotivated to lose weight. I've lost some, but in general, getting the kilos off is a near impossible task. A couple of people have commented recently that I look like I've lost weight, but unfortunately the scales tell a different story. Then again, maybe that's good? Who knows.<br /><br /><br /><strong>I succumb to World of Warcraft</strong><br />If you're on the Dath'Remar realm, Katranda can be found wandering in Westfall at the moment. I held off on getting involved in this game for so long, and now thankfully its cheap enough that I can get a few months of play for fairly little outlay. I plan to make use of their 3 month play cards to play when I feel like it, and not when I don't. If I get half a dozen good PS3 games for Christmas, for example, I'll probably wait before cashing in the first of said cards. Priorities are important. ;)<br /><br /><br />Ok, that's it. I planned to put much more in here, but hey - when it came to it I was just unable to deliver masses of engaging content.<br />Merry Christmas everyone - I hope your stockings are full, and your stomachs also, but more then that I hope you remember why we celebrate Christmas at this time of year: because a bunch of pagans were having a feast, and we didn't want to miss out, so we put our own on at the same time!!! Lolz!!<br /><br />In all seriousness, its nice to have a day on the calendar each year that we remember Jesus' birth, and the wondrous gift that God gave us all those years ago. Sappy as it sounds, may God bless you all this Christmas. Peace, good will, and ponies for all.Justin Warnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14995847102962013980noreply@blogger.com0