Monthly Archives: June 2006

I am…

…a lover of attention.
…a clown (see above).
…all about correct spelling and punctuation.
…the husband of but one wife.
…missing her.
…affectionate.
…a dad.
…a super-cool dad,
…who dresses like a pirate from time to time.
…sporting a beard,
…sporting a super-cool beard.
…warm and cuddly.
…less than 100Kgs (yay!)!
…at work,
…externali(z/s)ing strings.
…waiting for the sunshine.
…a winner.
…a child of the one true God.
…a bassist,
…a super-cool bassist.
…the only person I know who has a seat-belt for his guitar strap.
…unusually tired.
…afraid.
…a friend.
…a fiend.
…lonely.
…really good at Cities and Knights of Catan.
…a programmer.
…a liar.
…a cheat.
…forgiven.
…an artiste.
…wanting to go outside and play.
…looking at a photo of my family.
…missing my mum.
…running out of things to add.
…doing this because Craig asked me to.
…in Sydney.
…nearly finished.
…the only developer in right now.
…not going to answer the work phone.
…done.

…RodeoClown: I am indeed.

Learning to Read

Got an excited phone call this morning whilst walking to work. Jen was ringing to announce that Mat had learned a whole bunch more letters in his alphabet book. Whilst sleeping.

Last night we went through the book and he could only identify a handful of letters (s, o, m, q, d), and this morning he showed Jen a whole big bunch more. Hooray!

RodeoClown: thinks reading is for cool kids.

Mobile Phone Scam

Everyone has probably heard about the latest mobile phone scam going ’round. DC Marketing ring your mobile and then hang up before you answer, leaving a phone number for you to call back and then charging you exorbitant rates to listen to their phone spam.

It’s legit – I got hit with it (and hung up within about 10 seconds when I heard it was spam). My boss just got called about 10 minutes ago.

These guys are jerks, although they are technically not doing anything illegal because you have to call them back, which you can choose not to do.

Attention DC Marketing: anything you market I will not buy. Ever.

Why do advertisers feel the need to trick people into listening to their ads? If you have to trick me into hearing it, I don’t want it, and I won’t buy it. Gah!

List of phone numbers used here: 4 Wise Monkeys » DC Phone Scam

RodeoClown: hates DC Marketing.

Update: If you get hit by this – or rung by these people, report it here.

Del.icio.us Links

Why the Debate About ‘Stem Cell Research’?
Why do we even have a debate? Logical reasoning from a scientific layperson.

McDonald’s Interactive Division: The Most Serious Game
Full text of a speech given by the director of McDonald’s Interactive announcing that they were leaving because their parent company is killing the planet. Most impressive. And… a hoax.

Paper Sculpture
These are fantastic origami pieces.

Unanswered Bible questions and the need to know
The bible has all we need to know, but not everything we want to know.

Del.icio.us links brought to you today by the letter E and the number 8.

Attention: Ladies!

The following things are not attractive:

0. Smoking – Don’t. Just. Don’t. It’s disgusting, and makes you look and smell like a walking ashtray.
1. Swearing – When a man swears it is uncouth and rude. When a woman swears it is uncouth, rude and extremely ugly.
2. Spitting – See number 1.
3. Giant Sunglasses – They do not look good on you. They make you look like a fly, or a late 19th century pilot. These only look good on small children, as seen below.

Giant Glasses

RodeoClown: helping the ladies look good.
Updated: How could I forget smoking. Ugh!

On the Origin of RodeoClown

My online handle varied when I was in highschool between Godboy, Fedaykin and a couple of others that I can’t remember. Right around when we were finishing up school for good, a bunch of people got everyone to sign their shirts. For no good reason I drew a picture of a rodeo clown on Lenny’s shirt.

A little while later I thought that rodeo clown sounded cool and reflected my personality, so I started using it.

I’ve had several people message me on IM thinking I was an actual rodeo clown. For those who are unsure, I’m not.

The correct way of writing the name is RodeoClown, capitalised and with no space. I’ll forgive you if you don’t get it quite right :)

I have this name on a lot of the larger sites around the net – when it was already taken (*grr*Flickr*grr*) I generally went for RodeoClown II. That’s never taken.

Not an amazing tale, but now everyone can know the origin of my name.

RodeoClown: not an actual rodeo clown.

Hotel Rwanda

If you haven’t seen this movie, I suggest you stop reading, go and hire it, come back, watch it, then continue reading.

Seen it yet?

Didn’t think so. Go watch it. I really mean it.

Paul Rusesabagina was the hotel manager of the Hotel Mille Colline in Rwanda. In 1994, the Hutu majority began the systematic torture and murder of around a million Tutsis. The Mille Colline became a safe haven for over a thousand refugees whilst thousands upon thousands of ‘cockroaches’ were brutally murdered  and raped with machetes whilst the UN stood by watching. This movie is about Paul and his family.

It is not a nice movie, but it is a great movie.

There is no gore shown, just blood (and not much of that). The director didn’t want to give anyone an excuse not to watch it for it’s violence.

I learnt the following after watching this movie:

  1. Don Cheadle is an exceptional actor.

  2. The UN seriously screwed up. Useless in resolving conflicts. Keeping the peace by allowing the silence of the grave is not keeping the peace. The UN needs to radically rethink it’s goals and methods. Letting a million people be slaughtered while standing by and watching does not constitute leadership (or anything other than complicity).
  3. Africa is seriously screwed up. Genocide seems to be an African tradition. It happened in Rwanda. It’s happening now in the Congo and the Sudan.
  4. People are seriously screwed up. Anyone who says the heart of man is ultimately good is wrong. That normal people can treat others like animals to be killed, merely because they have a slightly narrower nose, is evidence of this. That good people can stand by and let it happen is proof.

RodeoClown: wept.

Writing Boldly

After a discussion with Craig, I’ve decided to write with more of my own opinion and less qualifications. From now on, you can assume that everything I say is covered by BOCTAOE. What I say is (most likely) what I think. Either that or I’m thinking through an idea out loud.

Enjoy.

RodeoClown: damn straight!

Real Men Wear Beards

Today Mat and I were playing with playdough and he made a cave.
To go into the cave I created a dough facimile of Big Col (my dad). He was missing something though, so we stuck a beard on him. Dad’s beard is one of his defining features – I wouldn’t recognize him without it. Mum probably wouldn’t either – he’s had it since before I was born (or thereabouts).

Then we made a Dough-Matty. Mat was insistent that he was missing something. So he stuck a beard on his little homunculus.

Then we made teddy (who went on an adventure with Mat and Big Col at Jenolan Caves). Mat was adamant that he needed facial hair as well, so on it went.

At prayer time tonight, we asked Mat what he wanted to thank God for. His usual answers – CallumLisaLaura (one word), and lounges and beards.

So we prayed that he would grow up into a big, good, strong man. And that he would have a beard.

He’s gone to sleep happy.

RodeoClown: loves his beard.