So Esther and I headed off to Melbourne for the Saint Jerome's Laneway festival over the weekend. We were there, ostensibly, to run the ticketing for the event for Moshtix, but we also took Friday. Monday and Tuesday as holiday time. The festival itself went pretty well, with only one bit of trouble we noticed (someone ejected, it has to be said, quite forcefully for a rematively minor transgression). The rest of the time, well. Melbourne has a lot of bars. Friday saw a return visit to the Sherlock Holmes pub on Collins St with Trent, Tim, Rohan and Belinda, Saturday night...

... for I am CTHULHU! Continuing on the squid meme, this is from today's Herald. ScienceBlogs of course had this a while ago.

How's yours? found via the ever-fascinating Pharyngula Additional: I want one of these: My Little Cthulhu.

So we went to Lindfield again. After a bit of a warm-up and an abortive crack at Blank Wall, we had a bit more of a go on the V5 pocket problem left of the Layback Flake (Corals Area). And yes, both myself and Viv have badly tweaked tendons on it. In particular, my left arm now feels like I've got rusty, frayed brake cables running from my ring finger right up to the muscle attachment. There's a very bad pain point right in the palm area, and I'm Nurofen®'d up to the gills right now trying to go about my normal day. This problem is out to get...

Quick note, last night I didn't intend to boulder due to sore fingers, but ended up cranking out Problem #9 at the Corals Area, Lindfield. This is my first V5 since 1998, and not bad value. It's safe, with a low, tough crux, and has a V6 variant for next time I'm there. Oh yeah! Viv and I also cranked a little variant on Small Blank Wall which was probably V4+ and more rewarding than the usual sequence, and got some shots for topo guides. Since I'm now custodian of the Lindfield Bouldering Guide on the ACA site, I figure I should do...

So this weekend's climbing was different, yet productive. Saturday saw my sore fingertips heading out to Earlwood for a  short flying visit with Viv. we both had to be back before sunset, so after limping in on bare feet due to forgotten shoes, we slapped up a toprope on 'C', a 24-graded steep slab which we've played with once before. This time, we were quite a bit stronger, and it took about three attempts to work out quite a neat sequence straight up the middle, and it was time to move on to the 'one push clean toprope'. This duly accomplished,...

I've been cycling to work a bit lately, and the slower pace makes you notice the surroundings a bit more. I also go through a popular jogging area (The Iron Cove Bridge), and let me tell you something; Sydney has a BOBFOC problem. For those of you unfamilar, BOBFOC is an acronym which stands for Body Off Baywatch, Face Off Crimewatch. Side note: for those who don't know, Crimewatch is a TV programme in the UK during which timid viewers are terrified by reconstructions of unsolved crimes, usually with stereotypical villains and vulnerable, plain women out walking alone. You know what Baywatch is, though....

After work yesterday I cycled over to a fairly busy Lindfield Rocks to hook up with Viv for one of our now-traditional mid-week bouldering sessions. Though initially I wasn't feeling overly strong (having cycled to work and then from there up the big-ass hill to Lindy), I managed to crack a new-tick V4 on Orange Face (steep wall near Corals), after warming up properly, that is. Memo to self: warming up on V4s not good idea. Warm up on V2s or lower! After a few little problems in that area (Small Blank Wall, stuff around the Corals area), we headed for Walkdown Wall and...

Are you aware of 'Dr' Gillian McKeith?

My girlfriend and all her mates are twisted sickos. They just sent me the first Anna Nicole Smith email I've seen so far.

I note with interest that Sea Shepherd have found and engaged the Japanese whaling fleet in the southern ocean and are actively harrying the ships. Which kinda got me thinking. It's not really like me to side with the zealots, but in this one, I think I'm on their side. Let me expand upon this. Up until recently I'd seen Sea Shepherd as almost the naval wing of PETA, who are themselves a sort of nutty animal rights cult with some serious issues. Sea Shepherd are operating outside legal means and are subject to penalties including being treated as pirates. Yes, Pirates,...

Yes, last night a bunch of us trekked down to the Sydney Entertainment Centre to see Little Britain Live, and while the TV series is probably entering its 'hackneyed' phase, due in part to the number of people obsessively quoting catchphrases, the live show was refreshingly hilarious. Not jaw-achingly crying-in-your-seat-trying-not-to-piss-yourself funny as Billy Connolly was this time last year, but definitely up there with the better comedy shows I've seen. I was intrigued before the show as to how the costume changes would be handled (answer: clever scheduling between Matt and David, and a rear-projection for cutscenes with the recorded voice...

... and creepy. I've been following the saga from afar for the last week or two. It started when PM's kid submitted a school essay highlighting her atheist viewpoint and questioning her teacher's christian one. It's escalated now to the point where a local christian minister/pastor* has tracked down the PM's identity, and has gone as far as to stalk her child to the school bus-stop, and now that local xtian nutter is subject to an order of protection, aka a Stay-The-Fuck-Away-From-The-Kid injunction. Creepy. Scary. Two words that sum up religious zealots for me. Will be keeping an eye on this as more details...

Bishop Boniface Adoyo opines: "I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it. These sorts of silly views are killing our faith." I respond "Good." Really, I can't think of a better fate for your silly little faith than for it to die at the hands of a 1.6 million year old child. Grow up and stop believing the fairy tale that god created the earth 12000 years ago. It's plainly not true. found via StrangerFruit

In today's so-off-the-wall-it's-funny news, Ted Haggard, disgraced jesus-nut pastor of New Life Church in Colorado springs, who you'll remember was caught out fucking a male prostitute on methamphetamine, has returned to the public eye claiming he's now completely closeted straight. This just really goes to show that religio-nuts are just crazy. They're mentally ill and need help from reputable, rational sources, not some unnamed jesus-freak brainwashing centre in Arizona. OK, that's enough sympathy for the maniacs. Ted, just give up. Admit that the whole jesus thing is bollocks and move to godless San Francisco, where you'll get all the succulent man-meat you ever...

No, I'm not talking about Morris Iemma's water plan, it's just that it's been a while since my last blog entry, so I figured I'd drop in a quick update on what's been going on. I've got back to climbing full-bore after an ankle injury and a separate tendon injury gained in December, with a trip to The Balkans (specifically The Frontline) this weekend heralding a return to V4+ bouldering territory, knocking off MIssile Silo, soft V4 (again) and Snakebite, V4 along with a whole swathe of V3s and V2s and a good crank on Berlin Blockade V5, which was too hot and greasy by...