Humour of the day
Mac Eye for the Windows Guy. Link suggested between Mac users and homosexuality?

Word Association Game
Okay, so you've been waiting for an update with some original thought. But, alas, lately I've no inner dialogue with a clarity or meaning worthy of expression. So what you get is a meme. A meme is where you answer a template of questions from some other blog/site.

say ... and you think ... ? from LunaNina

Concert:: hall
Sydney:: swans
Shower:: dirty
Patterns:: tartan
Market:: agoraphobia
Chair:: wood
London:: queen
Reception:: desk
Republican:: bush
Cough:: medicine

Thursday night highlights reel
Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera out this week, so I'll have use old-fashioned words to describe the memorable events of the evening, presented in rough chronological order:

- Being heckled while rushing through the tunnel at Moonee Valley, in order to get there in time to place a bet on the first

- Studying the form long and hard in order to come up with a unlosable quaddie. The final product cost us a mere $72 for a 50 cent unit

- Damo yelling out "Go Johnny" and attracting the attention of everyone on course during the Race 3 victory presentation. What he didn't realise is that the J in J. Benbow actually stands for Jason...

- Blowing some dough at Canterbury in the proud tradition of not being able to wait 30 minutes between races

- Zinger bringing home the bacon (and cheese) yet again

- Sky Channel's momentous fuck-up in not airing Race 7 at Albion Park

- The four of us providing the crowd's largest cheers at the finish of Races 3, 4, 5 and 6...

- Highlight of the night: Getting the QUADDIE! We prayed to the God of Racing, and on this one rare occasion He granted our wishes. Special thanks also go out to Ocean Bridge, Medieval Legend, Beach Box and Lynx

- Damo waiting in nervous anticipation for the magic words "NOW PAYING" to flash up on the monitors after Race 6

- Some stranger asking for his share as we divvied up our Quaddie winnings

- Fozzie being ejected from the grandstand for consuming (smuggled in) cider from a glass bottle

- The conspicious absence of Fozzie's lover boy

- The inaugural awarding of the Ranga Cup (Yes, we know it's a shameless rip-off of the Chris Hussey Cup, but whatchagonnado?)

Bizarre product of the day
Just what we've been waiting for: finally a Turkey & Gravy flavoured soft drink is on the market, just in time for Thanksgiving.

The company that produces this, Jones Soda, actually does produce some appetising-sounding flavours including Black Cherry, Fufu Berry, MF Grape, Strawberry Lime and Crushed Melon.

Friday Wednesday Five
These are normally inane, but I particularly like this week's one...

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
congested

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
non-existent, hypothetical

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.
idle, addictive, consuming

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
lethargic, indolent, paranoid, unsatisfied

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
englightened, sophisticated, eloquent, stimulating, full

Fact: Michelle Ang rocks
Evidence: 52 times the number of searches for Michelle Ang nude pics than for Paris Hilton sex video.

Enough with the damn photos already...
This time our venue is Friday night at the "all new" Ricochet. These should have been blogged last night, but, meh, I was too tired. Here goes:

Ranga, seemingly about to skewer Damo with a pool cue.


Tony enjoys a brewski. The all new Rico now have beer *on tap*!


People trying to escape being photographed.


Ranga chokes on a vital shot, then blames the photographer.


Me summing up my options.


Okay, boys, let's take a break.


This nice purple lounge is where all the talent congregates.


Don't think the fat guy in the background was too happy to be in our shot.


As you can see here.


Time for some scrabble action at the Pancake.


Game one. Damo made a huge comeback to win in the last round.


Game two. I rightfully whipped Tony's arse.

Flash animation of the week
What is the The Meatrix?

Paris Hilton sex video
Okay, so predictably, after mentioning the Paris Hilton sex video in a recent post, I've had a barrage of search engine referals from people looking for the Paris Hilton sex video. So I'm giving the people exactly what they want: the Paris Hilton sex video.

Go here to find the Paris Hilton sex video.

Subtle, aren't I? Now let's try and break that hits record!

Just a quiet Thursday night at Pugg's...


Settling in with a few pints before the action starts...


Yeah, and fuck you too, buddy.


What's so funny, Jesse?


Brother and sister in the red zone.


Sorority sisters?


View from the booth.


Tony with his official Rugby World Cup 2003 party hat.


The band fires up... "It Was The Summer of '69."


Two more join the party.


Everyone shakin' it on the dancefloor.


Drinks break!


The boys get in to the Cowboys... and I don't mean North Queensland.


Then back to the dancefloor...


Foz, Lyndal and Luke share a quiet moment.


Justin meets two big guys. The one on the right is apparently a member of the Ukranian rugby team.


I help introduce Lyndal to the world of overage drinking.


I introduce Lyndal and Kate to Ukranian rugby guy.


C'mon, give him a little kiss for the shot!


Ah, what a night it's been... time for some of us to head off.


But for some, the partying continues. Fozzie is threatened by Ukranian rugby guy.


Four guys and a girl in a pizza place.


Jesse, all alone, waiting for his pizza to cook.


Chin up, mate.


Back to Pugg's to wait for a taxi/socalise with the congregation out front.


Tony, I think she's taken...


Me: Hey, if you wanna see these photos, they'll be on gnf.blogspot.com tomorrow!
Stranger: What?


These two could almost be brothers...


The Pugg's gang.


Meeting new friends.


Now everyone just wants their photo taken, this is getting ridiculous...


Something was rather amusing about this shot... but I can't remember what.


Hang on, what did you say your name was?


Hands off, Jesse...


Am I passing out? Not likely, just getting in the shot.


We gotta go, might see you here next week.


Oh Mighty Storm... We hail thee!


Walking to Crown after being refused entry to The Depot. At this point, the camera's battery died on me so unfortunately I missed some great shots of the city skyline and the Yarra. But I think my bandwidth has taken enough of a hammering for one night...

Tunes: What I've been listening to lately...

AURORA - SLEEPING SATELLITE
I've been listening to this so much, the chorus vocals are imprinted into my brain. Also listening to the slow, original version from 1993 by Tasmyn somebody.

KYLIE MINOGUE - SLOW
Nice chilled hypnotic loops, smooth Kylie vocals. And nice outfit in the clip.

4 STRINGS - TAKE ME AWAY

GROOVE COVERAGE - POISON (Extended Mix)

ULTRABEAT - Pretty Green Eyes
Sounds familiar, but, cool trancey song for the summer.

AYUMI HAMASAKI - Hanabi

Oh, and some opportunistic DJ just *has* to mix a dance track with samples from the Paris Hilton sex video. Maybe I'll do it...

Taxi!
I just typed "http://nswtab.edu.au/" into my browser with no results. Okay, so the NSW TAB isn't officially an educational institution, but it damn well should be. So there.

Wednesday night souva run: a visual recollection
Once upon a time, three guys got the midnight munchies and decided to embark upon a magical journey.



Matty gets his wheels.


Rob calls shotgun.


Back seat passenger.


I'll tell you what I think of 1 hour parking...


The bright lights of Heidelberg.


Now approaching Lambs. Your midnight hunger will soon be eliminated.


The Godfather works his magic over the spit.


Souva time, boys. Cheers!


Next stop: Strike on Chapel for some bowling action.


Cool bowling shoes.


Ball: I go with the number 10 for a light shot, number 12 for a normal shot, and 14 for extra heavy.


Me fucking up on the first frame.


Matty doing not much better.


The embarassingly poor final scoreboard.


Funky coloured toilet hall.


Matty makes one last stop before home to pick up some "groceries".

The challenge is on
What better way is there to spend those long hot summer nights than playing Midnight Scrabble at The Pancake Parlour!!?

Taking full advantage of the board games on offer at Doncaster's 24-hour pancake restaurant, we hope to start a league, playing every week on Tuesday or Wednesday night at around midnight. Interested parties, please apply through the appropriate channels.

By the way, the results from last night's epic contest can be seen here.

Blind Melon - No Rain
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
and speak my point of view
But it's not sane, It's not sane

I just want someone to say to me
I'll always be there when you wake
Ya know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape
escape...escape...escape...
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
ya don't like my point of view
ya think I'm insane
It's not sane...it's not sane.

R.I.P. Shogun Lodge
Farewell big fella. I'll be backing you at that big racecourse in the sky.

Just another Thursday at Pugg's
Last night was spent at good old Pugg's: the usual $4 pints, "Jessie's Girl" and "Summer of '69" were there, along with a lot of glam partygoers from Oaks Day. Here's a few select moments from our evening:



The gang chillin' in our booth.



Damo and Fozzie get down on the dancefloor. Note the formguide clenched firmly in Foz's hand.



Foz, myself, Lisa, Damo and Tony...



Do I look drunk? No, that's not my pint of beer. It's the guy taking the photo's.



[This photograph has been removed

at the request of Damo,

because in his opinion

it lowered his reputation.]

Damo takes a break to reflect on the night's events, while Foz gets into one last traveller.



From left: Damo, Superguide, Foz, Tony.



A sacred parchment belonging to Chris Folwell



The boys with our idol Frank, outside the "Holy Land" - the only place to finish a night out.

Cup Day Tipping Results
Apologies for my slackness. Here's the totals:

Kris Brown 17 points (2 wins, 7 places)
Peter Kaias 17 (2 wins, 7 places)
"The Girls" 16 (2 wins, 6 places)
Adam Woolcock 15 (2 wins, 5 places)
Damien Browne 8 (8 places)
Chris Folwell 7 (7 places)
Tony Moore 4 (4 places)

Pretty unimpressive tipping all round, nobody got any bonus points. But it is the hardest tipping meeting of the year, so I guess it wasn't too bad an effort. If anyone disputes the results/wants a recount, take it up in comments...

Hilton sisters update
More scandal on one of the two blondes the Aussie media is going ga ga about.

From The Sun: HEIRESS Paris Hilton, 22, is battling to stop a video of her having sex being shown on the internet.
The hotelier family beauty made the home movie three years ago with ex-boyfriend Rick Solomon — who later wed actress Shannen Doherty.

He denies being behind the tape’s release.

Well after spending the day scouring my favourite peer-to-peer networks (in the interests of journalistic research, naturally) I can report that it seems the video is not yet available on the Internet. We can only wait and hope.

Flash animation of the day
The End of the World. Thanks to Emma for the link.

Melbourne Central station stupidity
People who get off the train at Melbourne Central station and on the Swanston Street tram outside on their regular travels will be annoyed to find out the crowd is now forced to travel 2-3 times the distance:

Crikey.com.au - Lend Lease, greed and Melbourne 2030: "Plans only very recently unveiled by Lend Lease after a shameful process of trying (probably with the duplicity of the Victorian government) to hide the plans from public transport users, show that on November 5, the popular Swanston Street entrance to Melbourne Central Train Station would be permanently closed. In its place, the entrance to the train station will be relocated directly in the middle of the new Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. Commuters wishing to change to or from trams in Swanston Street will be forced to walk through a maze of shops and malls, including one bottleneck just 1.8 metres wide, in order to continue their journey. The whole design completely ignores the convenience and interests of the thousands of people using the train station each day and is simply driven by greed and the desire to push as many people through the shopping centre as possible. The good people at Lend Lease have even managed a way to make wheelchair and disabled access more difficult."

Well, the change has happened. Yesterday they had people handing out fliers informing commuters how to navigate the maze of shops and escalators to get to Swanston Street. You have to go everywhere but up and down the shot tower. And it used to be so simple. I asked one of the drones why they made it so difficult and his reply has "Now you can look at the shops". Well none of those retailers, when they eventually open, will be getting any of my business...

GNf Cup Day Tipping Panel

More Cup Tips...
KRIS BROWN
Race 1: Strigent, Wit And Wisdom, Portland Coup.
Race 2: Zazzman, Bondy, The Mighty Lions.
Race 3: Go Ziggy, Bella Vichy, Homecoming Queen.
Race 4: Edgeton, Covet Thee, Toast Of The Coast.
Race 5: Merhoob, Inspection, Clearout.
Race 6: Lady Diva, Mutate, Regrowth.
Race 7: Mamool, Pentastic, Holy Orders.
Race 8: Storm Attack, Mooball, Kablammo.
Race 9: Applicant, Rinehart, Karamazou.
Race 10: Bird Dancer, Rooftop Grosve, Tarcoola Midnight.
Sorry I couldn't fit you in the grid, but I'll include you in the totals,

and Scratchings!...
Race 1 2 - Coraticum
Race 2 17 - Divine Glory
Race 4 19 - Brief Stay
Race 7 3 - Mummify
Race 9 7 - Empire, 8 - Fatoon

Get the latest results and info on Channel 7 or the TAB.

Melbourne Cup Fever
So, the promised tipping grid is up and running, if anyone else wants their expert tips up on this blog for the world to see, send 'em to me before 5pm today and I can add you.

To make things interesting, Damo suggested I devise a scoring system that awards points for certain achievements. There'll be no money involved as it is just for fun, but for each "winner" you tip, you will receive the following points:

WIN (the horse you nominated as 1st winning) - 5 points
PLACE (any of your three picks coming 2nd or 3rd) - 1 point

plus, the following bonuses:

TRIFECTA (your three picks finishing top three in order) - 20 points
BOX TRIFECTA (your three picks finishing top three in the wrong order) - 10 points

DAILY DOUBLE (your 1st pick in Races 7 and 9 winning) - 10 points
MULTIPLE DAILY DOUBLE (any of your three picks in Races 7 and 9 winning) - 5 points

QUADDIE (your 1st pick in Races 6, 7, 8 and 9 winning) - 40 points
MULTIPLE QUADDIE (any of your three picks in those races winning) - 20 points

No Quinellas, Exactas or Running Doubles as that would have made things a little too complicated...

Note that if you get the Win on a horse, you don't also get the Place, if you get a Trifecta, you don't also get the Box Trifecta, and so on.

Now if I was really good with Dynamic HTML I would make this scoring system update automatically as each race was run, but I'm not so you'll have to either do it manually or wait until the end of the day for me to add them.

Good luck!

Calling all gamblers
I'll be posting a tips grid for Tuesday's Flemington meeting here, so send me your 1st, 2nd and 3rd selections for all 10 races to get in on the action. Study your form now and get your tips in by 5pm Monday.