happy birthday mobile phones

Up until 40 years ago, people were doomed to use fixed line phones to communicate.

How dull must it have been to have to wait until you saw someone, or until you were in reach of a "landline" phone before you could share the details of your lunch? And, imagine this, you couldn't send them an image of your lunch or a funny sign you had seen because, not only were phones stationary, but they also didn't have cameras!!

Then 40 years ago this month, a researcher from Motorola made the first "mobile phone" call from a street corner in New York. The heavy, ugly monstrosity used by the Motorola employee would be unrecognisable using today's definition of mobility, but it sure does mark the start of something big.

It wasn't until the 80's that i can remember seeing mobile phones in the wild. These were monsters too, mostly battery, with huge LCD or LED number screens. As batteries became smaller and processing power per square centimetre began increasing at an exponential rate, mobile phones became practical and affordable.

The intersection

l saw a woman get hit by a car on an intersection hear my house last week. A car ran a red light and the woman was thrown from her bike. She was hurt, but survived. I approach this intersection with extreme caution now, and I certainly never cross against the lights, especially when I have my infant son with me.

Earlier this week I saw a man on a bike with a child in a seat on the back cross against a red light at the same intersection, and in the same 5 minutes a woman on a bike tried to cross when an ambulance was speeding through the intersection with lights and sirens blaring. The ambulance driver had to brake to avoid her and use the horn to get her to move.

l just don't know what is wrong with people.

dogs in fenced off kid's playgrounds

I wrote a letter to my local council about people who exercise their dogs in fenced off, dog free, children's playgrounds.

Good morning.

The Smith Reserve is between my house and my son's daycare centre, so we often stop to play in the fenced off playground. Unfortunately, despite the "No Dogs" signs, more than half of the times we want to stop to play, there is someone with at least one dog off it's lead inside the fenced off play area.

Kids put their hands in their mouths and near their faces all of the time, and they pick up everything.

Kids who crawl might as well be licking the soles of shoes when they put their hands in their mouths, so I am concerned, not just about what I can see on the ground, but what has been on the ground.

the age of the Myki is upon us

I was on a tram this morning when a team of nervous looking ticket inspectors boarded, handheld scanners at the ready. The age of Myki has begun.

Whilst the technology used in the Myki system is clearly cutting edge (as it should be for the cost of $1.5 billion), it reminds me of the 80s and early 90s, when I relied heavily on public transport. Back then, if you didn't plan ahead for your trip you could find yourself inadvertantly travelling without a ticket, or missing the train or tram whilst trying to buy a ticket.

why does new years eve have to be so messy?

I'll admit that when I was younger, it seemed hard to have fun without alcohol. That's not going to change just because i grew out of it.

Kids will be kids and drinking to excess is a bogan rite of passage, whether the bogan is a hipster, a hippy or whatever other clothing style they have adopted.

I just wish people would clean up after themselves.

I'd rather stick a fish hook down the end of my penis than watch reality tv

I'd rather stick a fish hook down the end of my penis than watch reality tv. Unfortunately, this means that I often find myself re-watching old tv shows instead of anything that is on when i feel like watching.

Tv is such a boundless media that it is often disappointing to see just how especially dull the non-ratings season is going to be, especially after a dull ratings season. Sure, I should be at the park, visiting relatives, playing with my son and talking to my special lady friend, but sometimes all I want is some intelligent entertainment to distract me.

Why I no longer use an iPhone or iPad

As far back as I  can remember I have always craved the latest technological gadgets. Meccano sets gave way to lego, then came the walkman, cd player, and the personal computer.

l currently have too much tech in my house. 

Now that the sub genre or categories of personal media player, computer and phone are converging, I'm an avid tablet user. I've owned lots of tablets from a Chinese 7" Android tablet made by ZTE, the first Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first Motorola Xoom, the (excellent) Galaxy Tab 7.7, the Galaxy Note 10.1, the first iPad and the second iPad.   I recently took stock of why I wanted or needed this "stuff". Its a fact that only a small number of the phones and tablets in the world are used for anything work related.

Until a month ago my daily kit consisted of an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2 3G.

Goodbye 2012

As Christmas draws closer this year I haven't had the time to reflect that I am used to. 

Work is not winding down, so we're working through the festive season. Hopefully I'll be able to take some time in February. 

It's been another big year. In 2011 my mum died, we fell pregnant, I was made redundant and we were evicted. 

This year started with the birth at our son Jacques and the dramatic collapse of the company I went to work for after my redundancy. I was then unemployed for a couple of months as a contact I signed kept getting delayed. After a shaky start, work has been plentiful and lucrative since then. 

We were hoping for a year without death, but unfortunately my maternal grandmother finally succumbed to illness and age. Having outlived three of her children I think she'd seen enough anyway. We all miss her.

My main disappointment as to year ends is that my extended family of cousins uncles and aunties no longer have anyone binding them together and the family has drifted further apart. 

2013 is shaping up as the year for creating new traditions to make things fun for my son.