::It begins today:: I leave in exactly 8 hours for the airport. And from there begins the Great Australian Adventure. Wish me luck.

::09/07/2006::12:15pm::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::Warmth & TGAA (Part 2):: If ever anyone asks me how I intend to deal with the Melbourne cold (being the rather weak equatorial tempered person I am), I'm going to tell them that my friends keep me warm. Apparently, warm clothing is de rigeur birthday loot this year. And I cannot thank them enough. And as Part 2 of The Great Australian Adventure, the packing continues: Three more days and counting.

::05/07/2006::11:46pm::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::Another July turns:: As the sparklers fade from the skyline and the tired people retire to their beds in America, I sit at my computer and remind myself that I'm 24 today as the clock ticks past July 4th and into July 5th. Happy birthday me. I've already been celebrated, but this year, I resolve to be happy. Whatever it takes.

::05/07/2006::1:48am::non sequiturs (1):: _______________________________________________________

::Superman Returns:: I sometimes think the best part about going overseas is that I get to meet up with all my favourite people before I leave. I'm the guy in between the handsome chappie and the lovely lady. P.S. Superman Returns was awesome.

::04/07/2006::4:18am::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::The Great Australian Adventure - Part 1:: Packing began today:

::02/07/2006::8:00pm::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::Celebrated:: I woke up this morning thinking it would be a normal Saturday. Lunch at home. A little work done on the computer. A little catching up with a few necessaries. Maybe a quiet dinner with a few good friends to catch up and while away the hours till my departure on the 9th to Melbourne. But the phone rang. And I picked it up. My pet sister had come back from Singapore to spend the Saturday with me. As much of it as she could. I was shocked. And surprised. And pleased. And thus, making hasty plans, we drove with two other close friends to one of the largest shopping malls ostensibly to shop and but I felt that it was really to spend some time with each other before my departure. It made me happy. Then evening arrived. And another friend, my ex-boss turned big brother, called to remind me of our dinner plans. And so I said goodbye to her and left to meet up with him. ... and apparently 20 more or so friends from my work and elsewhere to celebrate my upcoming birthday and as a big send off to Melbourne. I choked back the tears. I was touched to the core. Everyone I loved from the old place was there - and acted oblivious to my shellshock. Most hugged me and smiled and shook my hand and grinned and just looked amused. I choked back more tears. Everything quickly went downhill from there. Every event after that seemed designed to try and make me cry. Every hug, every handshake for people who arrived late. The close friend brought her children with her. Two adorable tykes who'd steal your heart without blinking. And did. The other friend who cut his vacation a day short and flew back in from East Malaysia to be there. The chef in the group who baked me a cake I'd tasted only once before but had truly instantly loved. And her, who came even though it was late and she was tired and she had her boyfriend waiting for her. These people and many more, all equally important to me, all equally there, all intent on making me cry with everything they did. I spent the evening misty eyed and a mess of feelings. Photos were taken and well wishes were said. Presents were given and the appreciation truly felt. There was good food, good friends and good laughter. And I have never felt more celebrated in my life. Thank you. I can never thank you enough.

::02/07/2006::4:55am::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::No words:: No words can explain what I feel for my new baby. Ahh... perfection.

::29/06/2006::3:26am::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::One gmail to rule them all (In 10 easy steps):: Being a big fan of the diggnation podcast, I was curious to find out what Kevin Rose meant when he was showing Alex that you could link up several gmail accounts into one central one-ring-to-rule-them-all account that receives everything (I think the technical term is a 'catchall' account - but technicalities are so boring). I was curious how it was done. So after a bit of poking around (I had been meaning to register another account for work purposes), I stumbled upon this method, which is simple enough - and which I'm assuming is the same method that Kevin was using. And yes, I briefly googled it - but didn't see anything on the first google, so I gave up. And besides, what's the fun in just following a tutorial? So the objective here was simply to get one gmail account as the main recipient (to save on logging in and out of multiple accounts) and to be able to sort through all that mail without easily without straining any important limbs. How do we do that? Easy. By the end of this, you should be able to: a) Receive mail from multiple gmail accounts in one central gmail account. b) View all the mail from each account separately. and most importantly, c) Reply from your central gmail account while still reusing the gmail address the original mail was sent to. Let's begin! Step 1: Register your gmail accounts. For the purposes of this tutorial we will assume that they are gmail1@gmail.com and gmail2@gmail.com, with gmail1 being the main catchall account. Step 2: Log into gmail1@gmail.com and create two labels (Settings > Labels), gmail1 and gmail2. The purpose of this is sorting. With these labels in place, we can then use gmail's filters to sort between the emails from the separate accounts. Step 3: In the same gmail account, after creating the labels, now go to Filters (Settings > Filters). Create a new Filter with the parameters "To: gmail1@gmail.com" and click Next Step. On the next page, tick Apply Label and select gmail1 from the Choose Label list. Now click Create Filter and we're done with Step 3. Step 4: Repeat Step 3, however, this time, the parameters are "To: gmail2@gmail.com" and under Apply Label, choose gmail2 from the Choose Label list. Create the filter and congratulations, all incoming mail will now be tagged accordingly when they come in! Step 5: Here comes the interesting part. Still in gmail1@gmail.com, go to Settings > Accounts. Under Accounts select Add another email address. Fill in the name and the name of the other email address (in this case gmail2@gmail.com) and select Next Step. Now it will ask you to send verification. Send it. You may now log out of gmail1@gmail.com. Step 6: Log into gmail2@gmail.com. Only two things to do here; verify the email from gmail1@gmail.com and forward all your mail to that account. Proceed to Step 7. Step 7: Forwarding. To do this, simply go to Settings > Forwarding and POP and under Forwarding set it to forward to gmail1@gmail.com. You may set the other option to whichever setting you wish. Step 8: In the inbox of gmail2@gmail.com hunt down that verification email from the main account and verify! You may now spoof this email address from your main account (gmail1@gmail.com). You may now log out of gmail2@gmail.com. Step 9: Log into gmail1@gmail.com Step 10: Finally, go into Settings > Accounts and set When I receive a message sent to one of my addresses: to Reply from the same address the message was sent to. Congratulations. You have now inextricably linked your two gmail accounts together. When reading email, simply sort by using the labels that were created and if you want to reply, simply hit reply without worrying which email address the recipient is receiving. Enjoy! Mandatory Disclaimer: The author makes no warranties of any kind regarding the documents and information on this website and assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented. So there.

::27/06/2006::3:41am::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________

::John Denver...:: ... said it best. Leaving on a Jetplane by John Denver All my bags are packed I'm ready to go I'm standin' here outside your door I hate to wake you up to say goodbye But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn The taxi's waitin' he's blowin' his horn Already I'm so lonesome I could die So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you'll wait for me Hold me like you'll never let me go Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go There's so many times I've let you down So many times I've played around I tell you now, they don't mean a thing Every place I go, I'll think of you Every song I sing, I'll sing for you When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you'll wait for me Hold me like you'll never let me go Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go Now the time has come to leave you One more time let me kiss you Close your eyes I'll be on my way Dream about the days to come When I won't have to leave alone About the times, I won't have to say So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you'll wait for me Hold me like you'll never let me go Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go My visa was just approved today. The countdown begins. I fly for Australia on the 9th of July.

::26/06/2006::6:47pm::non sequiturs (0):: _______________________________________________________