Brad's World

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-25T23:31:00.000+10:00

At last! Christmas time is here and I thought I'd wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a great day no matter where you are, whether you're just starting Christmas Day, or Christmas Night like we Aussies are!

I've had a great Christmas Day with my family, watching a Harry Potter movie and The Santa Clause movies - one of my favourite Christmas movies!

Stay tuned! Sorry I haven't posted my Elton concert review yet (which was great, by the way), but I will hopefully get it posted this week before the New Year!

I hope all the kids have been spoilt by Santa this year, getting what they've wanted! May everyone find peace and happiness on this glorious day!

Cool Stuff From CoffeeCup Software!

2011-12-25T16:29:00.000+10:00

Hey, CoffeeCup is giving away cool stuff for the holidays. Get your free gift here:: You could find a Macbook Air, Kindle Fire, digital camera, or other goodies in your stocking this holiday season.

The Freedom To Take Your Files And Software Anywhere!

2011-10-21T23:13:00.000+10:00

The PortableApps Menu with Categories on my USB thumb drive.

Click image for a larger view.

Okay, so you're visiting friends and discussing computer programs but they don't have the programs you use on their computers...a real bummer! Here's the solution....PortableApps.com Suite and Platform created by John T. Haller at PortableApps.com! I've been using it ever since version 1.0 and it just keeps getting better!

It allows you to take your favourite computer software, whether it is web browser, email program, office suite, games, etc, wherever you go without having to install it on any computers! You just install the PortableApps.com Suite onto your portable device (it can be anything; USB stick, flash drive, external hard drive, even iPods) and it is quick and easy to set up! It seems to be a lot more popular than SanDisk's U3 or Ceedo! You have heaps of great software to choose from in the PortableApps.com Directory, which is always growing and being updated.

Got a problem? Check out the forums and see if there's anything that'll answer your question, or start a topic yourself. There are plenty of people in the PortableApps.com community willing to help!

The Portable App Directory on my USB thumb drive.

Also known as the App Store. Click image for larger view.

What I love about the PortableApps.com Suite and Platform, apart from its ease of use, is the fact that it is 100% Free and Open Source software! It gets a 5 out of 5 star rating from me. If you're new to my blog, you may like to read this post regarding the many different kinds of software available and it explains why I'm so big into Free and Open Source software! The PortableApps.com Directory was 100% at one point but, over the last year or so, they've started expanding into Freeware and Shareware and will eventually add commercial (payment required) software. However, while PortableApps will always support Open Source software, they're just expanding their collection to gain more interest which is understandable!

I recommend you check out the PortableApps.com website and check out the wealth of information they offer. If you're confused by what a portable app actually is....read What Is A Portable App? At the moment, there are 2 versions of the PortableApps.com Suite; version 1.6.1, which is great and has been out for a while now, also known as the stable release. However, the best version to get is the "Next" Pre-Release 4, which is jam-packed full of great features such as portable fonts, automatic updates, theme/colour chooser, sort by categories (like the Directory), the app store which has the option to show only Open Source software....this was my preference.

Even though "Next" Pre-Release 4 it is still a test release, it is recommended by the PortableApps.com team. It's the version I currently use and I love it!

Thank you John Haller and the team at PortableApps.com for making such a great way for people to carry their apps with them! Your work is very much appreciated!

The Portable Apps I use on my USB thumb drive.

Including Firefox and Sudoku Portable. Click image for a larger view.

John Farnham - The Acoustic Chapel Sessions Review

2011-10-12T23:16:00.000+10:00

CD cover of The Acoustic Chapel Sessions
Courtesy of JB Hi-Fi

Yes! I bought it on Friday and have been listening to it repeatedly ever since! The CD is by Australian artist, John Farnham, and I've loved his music ever since 1996 (the year after I discovered Elton John's music), and each successive album is just as good as the last. The new CD is called "The Acoustic Chapel Sessions" and it is great! This CD features 11 great hits from John's music career from 1984 to 1996, and is redone with acoustic, not electric, instruments! This CD has been released in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of "Whispering Jack", John's comeback album of 1986.

I was worried that the acoustic songs would not be up to par but I was wrong. John Farnham and his great band really did pull it off! Not only that, the CD was released as a combo CD/DVD set with the DVD featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with John and the band, along with 8 video recordings of songs on the CD! Great stuff!

The first highlight off the CD for me is "Pressure Down", which I think is even better than the original version! "Playing To Win", which John originally recorded with Little River Band in 1984, sounds strange without its synth and electric guitar sound but it really does sound great as an acoustic song too! I also love "Two Strong Hearts"...the backing vocals go so well with John's voice! The acoustic version of "A Simple Life" also sounds terrific! "Hearts On Fire" was my least favourite song on the CD but then it grew on me the more I listened to it. "You're The Voice" was also great but I do feel the original version had more power!

Over all, I think the CD/DVD set is fantastic and well worth buying. It gets a 5 out of 5 star rating from me. For anyone who wants to know more about this great Aussie singer, I've included some links to sites I'd recommend! Back in his heyday, John Farnham decided against going to the US to seek his fame and fortune and opted to stay in Australia and tour here instead. That said, he has had Number One hits and Top 10 hits in other countries. When I listen to John Farnham sing, it makes me proud to be Australian! His great sense of humour gives his fans many, many laughs during concerts and he is so well loved by us all!

If you've never heard of John Farnham and you have iTunes, I'd recommend you check him out. If you don't have iTunes, try checking out the John Farnham links in the sidebar! Hopefully, next time he tours I just might get the chance to see my 2nd favourite singer LIVE in concert!

Steve Jobs - May Your Legacy Live On

2011-10-08T15:02:00.000+10:00

Steve Jobs holding a model of the video playing iPod.

Picture courtesy of Lusakatimes.com.

I felt so sad to hear the news that Steve Jobs had died on October 5th. It's hard to believe we've now lost one of the greatest minds in the Technology industry. If it wasn't for Steve Jobs, a lot of things that are easy to use today may have ended up more complex, or not have existed at all.

Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple Inc, the company behind many well-known products such as the Macintosh (Mac), the iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and most recently the iPad! I, for one, love my iPod Classic and use it daily! I don't really know much about Steve Jobs, apart from what I've mentioned above, but I've read on the Internet that he invented a lot of things and pretty much gets looked on today as the modern day Thomas Edison....a great honour!

Fans of Apple may be concerned about the future of the company, but only time will tell. A lot of people looked on Steve Jobs as a genius, and from what I've read, he certainly was.

Steve, you will be sorely missed, not only by your family, but also by those who knew you as a friend or business partner, and the many fans you have accumulated over the years. You changed the world with what you did and the world is a better place for it.

May your legacy live on through Apple and may Apple keep doing great things even though you're no longer here.

RIP, Steve.

I HAVE WON...

2011-10-02T23:46:00.036+10:00

...TWO FRONT ROW tickets to go and see my favourite singer, Elton John, live in concert on November 30th!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

Elton John introduces 2Cellos and snippet of "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"

I won the tickets on my favourite radio station, Classic Hits 4KQ, during May in a competition titled "Eltonology"! I entered my name and details on their website to enter. The whole competition ran for a week, and on the Friday, the winner would win 2 front row tickets to the concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and the other 4 days would be the standard tickets!

I actually thought I'd have to wait until the Friday morning to win, but as it turned out, the station called me up on the Thursday morning. It was all pre-recorded for Friday morning, so you wouldn't believe how surprised I was when I got the call and was asked a question regarding Elton's music. The question - "On Elton's Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy album.....WHO is the Brown Dirt Cowboy?" I answered without hesitation - "Bernie Taupin!"

As of now, it will be nine weeks until the big night! It was decided that my brother Reece, who went with me to see Elton solo in 2007, will come with me again on November 30! Reece did say after the last concert that he would like to see Elton with the band, so he's getting the chance! I'm still deciding what CD cover to take to hopefully get Elton to sign, maybe my spare copy of "The Captain And The Kid".

2Cellos playing "Smooth Criminal".

This time around, I think Elton will have extra backing vocalists, and from what I've read, Elton had asked two cello players from Croatia, also known as 2Cellos, to join him, not just for his Australian tour, but for other concerts as well! They won't only be the support acts but perform with the band as well! If you want to know who 2Cellos are, I recommend you watch the video from YouTube of 2Cellos doing their rendition of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" above! That is, apparently, how Elton found out about them!

I'm hoping to be notified by 4KQ very soon to let me know my free tickets are there and ready for collection.

Sorry I've been so lax with posts on my blog this year. I'm hoping to post more regularly from now on.

Have a great weekend!

Elton John single review

2011-03-04T23:59:00.001+10:00

CD cover of the single

Picture courtesy of Eltonography: The Illustrated Elton John Discography

A few weeks ago, my brother Beau went out for the day and came home with a CD for me which he'd spotted in a secondhand shop. Thanks, Beau! It was the single of Elton John's "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" and this single was released without "Candle In The Wind 1997" as one of the tracks. "Candle In The Wind 1997" had been released prior which was due to the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales. I feel they coupled "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" and "Candle In The Wind 1997" on a single together hoping it would give "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" some attention. I guess after all the sadness of Princess Diana's death had died down, it was time to re-release "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" as a single in its own right and I now have it!

My new-to-me CD (released in Australia) has 4 songs:

Something About The Way You Look Tonight (Single Edit)
I Know Why I'm In Love
No Valentines
Something About The Way You Look Tonight (Album Version)

I've always loved "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" when I heard it on the radio for the first time. Radio stations always play the shorter version of the song for obvious reasons of time restrictions, but if I was a radio station, I'd say ditch the time restraints and play the full version, but then again, that is my own feelings!

I've never heard "I Know Why I'm In Love" until I got this single and I really like it! One thing I've always loved about Elton when he released singles is you always got those rare treats that aren't on the album and, when you don't get a studio recorded song not on the album, you get a song or two (or even more) recorded live at a recent concert. You rarely find an Elton John single that contains a remix of the song, which is what I like! I'm not a fan of remixes of songs.

I like the fact that "No Valentines" is on the CD as I don't think it was available in Australia until this single came out. It's a great song and I liked it the moment I heard it on "Love Songs". "No Valentines" doesn't appear on the UK/World version of "Love Songs" because that version of the CD was already released, therefore "No Valentines" and "You Can Make History (Young Again)" don't appear on it, even though they are on the US version. Unless Australians have this single, they'll have to order the US version of "Love Songs".

Over all, the "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" single is very good! I'd never tire the songs on it as I never get sick of listening to Elton, simple as that! This single was released 14 years ago but, regardless, the CD is still in excellent condition despite the card sleeve showing some signs of wear. I love it all the same. Usually I'm very picky about getting second hand things but, when it comes to singles, CDs, records and cassettes, and you can't get them anymore, so they're definitely worth holding on to!

Have you found some great secondhand CDs of late?

The Beginning Of A New Year!

2011-02-11T17:35:00.002+10:00

First of all, I just wanted to wish everyone who comes to this blog a Happy New Year...I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted!! The New Year did not started well for Australia due to floods and North Queensland being hit by the biggest cyclone in Australian history, Cyclone Yasi. I won't go into details here but Mum has some details on what happened on her blog, along with links to other informative sites about the floods and cyclone.

Secondly, I want to announce that my sister Michelle gave birth to a beautiful baby girl called Mikayla Rose in December 2010. You can read all about her and see pictures on Michelle's blog and also on Mum's blog! That makes me an Uncle to Mikayla and, while I know I'm already an Uncle, Mikayla will be the first niece I'll have a lot more involvement with! I'm so happy! Michelle came over to visit on Monday and I didn't want to stop admiring Mikayla. She is so beautiful! It's going to be weird but feel great at the same time, hearing little Mikayla say "Uncle Bradley" or "Uncle Brad" when she starts talking! Below is a picture of me holding Mikayla 2 days after birth! I love her so much!

Me holding Mikayla 2 days after birth!

Since July last year, I'd been having a lot of computer problems, where my computer would either restart on me without warning, show a Blue Screen of Death (what we Windows users call the dreaded blue screen error message that renders your computer useless until a restart is done), even a complete computer freeze, sometimes with nothing showing on the screen. Mum and I kept trying to solve the problem, but to no avail. We also noticed that my computer seemed to be getting very hot after being on for a while. My computer was a Windows XP desktop (not a tower case) PC, probably built between 2002 - 2004, and given to me second hand by a friend of the family who also gave Mum the exact same type of computer. We were given them around 2007 - 2008 and have had a lot of use out of them upgrading the RAM once to help them run faster.

The funny thing is that while my computer was playing up for a while, Mum had absolutely no problems with her computer at all until, one day out of the blue, it went out with a bang while she was using it. Luckily Mum was able to get a brand new HP Pavillion computer with Windows 7 that very same day. It took Mum a little while to get used to but she seems to love it now. A week and a half later, I went to turn my computer on at the wall, heard a bang, and then realised my computer had finally given up too. Thankfully, I was able to get a new computer as well, exactly like Mum's new one so, she and I have twin computers again. The only difference is that Mum's one came with a 20 inch wide screen LED LCD screen as part of a bundle deal from Harvey Norman, our local computer store. I only needed to buy the PC tower as I was able to use Mum's SONY 19 inch LCD (not wide-screen) from her blown computer.

So far, I'm loving my new Windows 7 PC and, thankfully, all my data was on my external hard drive so I didn't lose anything when my computer died! I know I've said in a past post that I'd be getting a new computer and putting some form of GNU/Linux on it after what I've read about Microsoft and the bad things they've been doing (look for the Windows 7 Sins banner in my sidebar and click it to go to the website to see what I mean) however, given the circumstances, my plans changed for now. The only way I'd feel safe enough putting Ubuntu (my choice of GNU/Linux operating system) on my new computer without voiding the warranty is by installing VirtualBox and running Ubuntu as a Virtual Machine, which I did in Windows XP for a short time. The only way I'd feel safe enough putting Ubuntu fully on the computer is by waiting for the warranty to end. I eventually plan to buy a custom built computer and I'll definitely be putting Ubuntu on that alongside whatever version of Windows is out at the time. With Ubuntu being released every 6 months, who knows what it'll be like when that happens which is why I'll continue to buy both the monthly Linux Magazine and quarterly Ubuntu User (both published by Linux New Media AG). I totally recommend these magazines to people wanting to know more about Ubuntu and Linux in general.

I'm really sorry about the wait between my last post and this one (nearly a year) but I can assure you I'm back with plans to post more regularly so watch this space for new posts. There will be CD reviews, games reviews and whatever else I'm into at the time! So stay tuned.....

MY LATEST DISCOVERY

2010-03-01T17:55:00.003+10:00

Allison’s 6th album released in 2008 – picture courtesy of AllisonCrowe.com.

You may all be wondering what the widget at the top of this screen under my blog heading is. Sometime in January, I was looking through the Jamendo website to see what it was all about and, while browsing the site, I came across a page by a Canadian singer called Allison Crowe! I’d never heard of Allison Crowe before and I was curious as to the type of music she does so I previewed some of her songs on Jamendo.

When I heard her sing, I liked her music instantly to the point where I wanted to get her music! Thanks to Jamendo being a free service, I was able to download some of Allison’s albums! On Jamendo, I noticed that some of the album covers have the word Originals on them. I was wondering what that meant until I went onto Allison Crowe's official website. On Allison’s website, I noticed that the albums had a few more songs (in the case of the double live album Live At Wood Hall, a lot more songs). I found out that the reason it was like this is because on Jamendo, you’re only meant to upload music that has a free license such as Creative Commons and some of the songs on Allison’s CDs are cover versions of songs by well-known people (such as Leonard Cohen, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Counting Crows just to name a few) and those songs are under non-free licenses like ASCAP or BMI, which means that they can’t be freely shared, copied, remixed, etc., by other people or free services like Jamendo.

All of Allison’s original songs that she wrote are all under a Creative Commons license and that’s why they’re available as free downloads through Jamendo, which I think is great! You too can go to Allison Crowe’s official website, click on an album cover, scroll down until you find the track list, click on a song title and scroll down to the bottom of the page that comes up. If it says “All rights reserved” beside a copyright symbol, that means that it isn’t a Creative Commons licensed song, but if it says “Some rights reserved” beside 3 symbols, that means that it is a Creative Commons licensed song. If you click on those symbols or “Some rights reserved””, it’ll take you to a page that defines what the license covers and what you’re allowed to do with the songs. I like the Creative Commons way of doing things, it’s just a pity none of the big named singers/groups will transfer their music to Creative Commons instead of the other companies.

Allison’s 5th album released in 2006 – picture courtesy of AllisonCrowe.com.

Anyway, enough talk about licenses, now on to the real reason I wanted to write this post!

I thought that rather than doing a review on one of Allison’s albums (I don’t have any of them yet anyway, but I hope to get them sometime, I’m just going by some of Allison’s original songs on Jamendo), I’d review Allison’s music in general! Allison has such a great, strong voice and she uses it well! My favourite songs by Allison Crowe have to be “There Is” (that song makes me think of Joni Mitchell in a way), “Whether I’m Wrong”, “Sea Of A Million Faces” and “Secrets (That Aren’t My Own)”. I also like Allison’s versions of the traditional Christmas songs “Silent Night”, “O Holy Night”, “The First Noel” and the a cappella version of “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”, which are available on Allison’s seasonal album “Tidings”! The song “How Long” is also a great song from the album “Secrets”! I also love the song “Effortless”, which is on Allison’s “This Little Bird” album, which is a great mixture of lyrics, voice and music! I could go on about other great songs I’ve heard as there are too many that I like!

The music of Allison Crowe can not really be placed into a single music genre as she covers a vast range like Rock, Pop, some Jazz and blues, soul and other types of genres, which is a pretty good diversity! Because I like a vast majority of musical genres, I get drawn to singers like Allison! Allison also plays piano for her songs which I think is great to hear as the piano is my favourite musical instrument. I soak in as much of the piano playing as I can when I listen to singers who play piano like Elton John, Billy Joel and now, Allison. I do wish I could play piano like they can! Allison is a pretty good guitar player also and that is proof on songs like “Northern Lights”, “Hold Back”, “Wedding Song”(these 3 are from Allison’s “Little Light” album), “Now”, “Silence” and other great songs! Allison also has an EP out called “Lisa’s Song + 6 Songs”, which is actually her debut album released in 2003, I like the title song “Lisa’s Song” and “Midnight”!

Allison’s 4th album released in 2005 – picture courtesy of AllisonCrowe.com.

The name of Allison’s next album will be called “Spiral” and includes the song, “Going Home Tonight”. There is a preview for this song on Jamendo. "Going Home Tonight" starts off with nice piano playing from Allison and, while she is singing, you hear strings added nicely to the piano. Allison’s voice and the lyrics to the song are lovely to hear! I feel the piano, strings, Allison’s voice and everything else on the track all blend in perfectly! I honestly can’t wait for “Spiral” to come out and to hear “Going Home Tonight” among the other album tracks, which I’m sure will be just as good! If I had to rate “Going Home Tonight” out of 5 stars, I’d give it 5 stars!

As Allison Crowe is an independent artist with her own record company called Rubenesque Records, she is slowly becoming known around the world! I'm hoping that a lot more Australians discover Allison's music because then, she may one day tour Australia. I'm sure her concerts would be a real treat to see! At this current time, from what I understand, the only place Australians can buy Allison’s albums is through Fishpond, a New Zealand based online store but, if you want, you can go straight to Allison’s website and check out the Shop link where you will be given options on how to buy the CDs and/or a poster! I don’t know the availability of Allison’s album in Europe, but I’m sure the rest of the world can probably order Allison’s albums through Amazon!

I totally recommend Allison Crowe’s music to anyone. If you don’t know who Allison Crowe is, I strongly recommend you use the widget at the top of this blog (click on an album cover in the widget if you want to see that album track-by-track) and use it as a preview. You can listen to the whole songs too. If I have to rate Allison’s music (well, what I’ve heard so far anyway) over all, I give it 5 stars and I'm looking forward to buying some of her CDs.

Allison’s 4th album released in 2004 – picture courtesy of AllisonCrowe.com.

UPDATE: I just thought I'd also mention that the News page on Allison Crowe's official website says Allison's next album "Spiral" was completed on February 14, it also states that the CD will be released on March 17, 2010! I'm sure many people who are Allison Crowe fans will be eagerly awaiting its release!

Why are European Elton John fans so lucky?

2010-01-19T08:29:00.001+10:00

Picture courtesy of Concert Live. Click image to go to their web site.

Not only did they have Elton John tour there for some of the 2009 year (that includes Red Piano concerts, normal band concerts and concerts where he is solo with percussionist Ray Cooper), but they also got to take the concert home with them on CD straight after the concert thanks to Concert Live! I was just browsing through their Elton John lists (3 of them; The Red Piano, Elton John With His Band and Elton John featuring Ray Cooper lists) and counted 23 CDs in total!

The great thing about these CDs from Concert Live is that you get them pretty much instantly after the concert is finished! They are 3 disc sets; Elton John and His Band is 2 CDs containing the full concert (whatever one you choose) and a DVD containing photos of the performance and back stage images, whereas, the Elton John Featuring Ray Cooper and The Red Piano CDs are full 3 CD sets (CD3 with the Elton John Featuring Ray Cooper ones contain encores and I think The Red Piano Disc 3 is a continuation of the concert along with the encores); the first 2 discs you can get straight from the concert, but you get an “Encore” disc with 2 songs that can be downloaded, but only if you have a code that you get from the concert (well, the ones with Ray Cooper anyway, not too sure about The Red Piano). However, when you order the CDs over the Internet through Concert Live themselves rather than getting the discs straight after the concert, the 3rd disc is included, meaning you don’t need to download it.

Picture courtesy of Concert Live. Click image to go to their web site.

I really hope that when Elton comes to Australia again, he’ll have something like this at his Australian concerts. If not by Concert Live, hopefully a similar Australian company! If I wanted to, I could order these CDs through Concert Live myself as from what I’ve read on forums, you could be living anywhere in the world and buy them.....but I think it would be more fun if I got to experience the concert too. I applaud Concert Live for doing this for Elton fans, especially for those who want to get the CDs straight after the concerts! It is pretty cool! When you go to the Concert Live website, you’ll find all 3 Elton CDs on their Home page; the Ray Cooper and Red Piano CDs are under New In and Elton John With His Band is under Recent Recordings! The cool thing is at the moment, Concert Live is offering 3 CDs for £35 (AUD$63.35), which is a great deal! If you’re an Elton fan like I am, or you want to hear what an Elton concert sounds like with no edits and cuts, just head over to the Concert Live website! You’ll even find other singers and groups as well!

Picture courtesy of Concert Live. Click image to go to their web site.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

2010-01-04T00:48:00.001+10:00

Hi everyone! Welcome to 2010! A new year and a new decade has begun! This year, I plan to do a lot more blog posts and I hope you’ll enjoy what I’m going to come up with! I hope you all have a prosperous and Happy New Year! May 2010 be a great year for everyone!

Smallville Excitement!

2009-07-21T22:49:00.001+10:00

This picture is courtesy of Wikipedia. Click image to get more Smallville information

In May, I bought the complete seasons 1 thru to 6 of Smallville! I’m pretty excited about buying them! If it wasn’t for the Superman comics, we wouldn’t have great TV shows like Smallville, Superman movies, or the Lois & Clark TV series. I love the song they use during the opening credits for the series: Save Me by Remy Zero!

Smallville started in 2001 but, when I started watching it, I had already missed some episodes. I was hooked! I never missed a week of Smallville, but one day, I noticed that Network Ten (or Channel 10) stopped showing Smallville all together. I think it was during the 6th season they stopped. I wasn’t happy at all as I really enjoyed watching it.

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au.

Then some time in 2008, I heard that Ten HD was showing Smallville, but the terrible thing about that was that we didn’t have a digital TV at the time so I still missed out on more episodes of it. Now, Ten HD aren't even showing it. Last week, I read on the Smallville Australia site that one of the possible reasons they’ve stopped showing Smallville is because many Australians were obviously downloading full episodes before they can be put on air in Australia. I guess people wouldn't have to do that if the episodes were shown at the same time as they are viewed in the States. It seems a shame to see such a great TV series like Smallville go off air because ratings come down due to people downloading the episodes instead.

Thankfully, the episodes of various TV shows are now being put onto DVD so at least I have been able to catch up.

Smallville has finished showing it’s 8th season in the US, so I’m sure we’ll see that season’s DVD set come out between August and October, but unfortunately, Australia may not get it until sometime next year. Another great piece of news is that I’ve read on the Kryptonsite website is that Tom Welling and other Smallville cast have signed up to do a 9th Season of Smallville! I’m so excited about that, I’m already looking forward to it being released on DVD because it obviously won’t be shown on TV here unless something good happens! From what I’ve also read on the Kryptonsite website, Tom Welling signed up for a Season 10! I really do hope they do Season 10! I’m not going to get my hopes too high at the moment, because you never know if they’re going to do it or not as it all depends on the ratings for Season 9! Everyone keep your fingers crossed that the series will reach Season 10!

May You Rest In Peace, Michael

2009-06-27T00:04:00.001+10:00

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au.

Mum woke me up on Friday morning with the very sad news that singer Michael Jackson died of a heart attack. I could not believe what I was hearing.

I still feel shocked with the sad, sad news and yet part of me doesn’t want to believe he is actually dead. Michael Jackson has been one of my favourite singers for many years, it is just a shame he had do die so young and just days before his final concerts in London as well. Michael Jackson will be missed by many people the world over. I feel sorry for Michael’s family, especially even more for his 3 kids; Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II, just imagine how devastated they would be to know their dad will never be there for them again.

I remember when I was much younger, my brothers and my sister watched a video of Michael Jackson’s Bucharest concert back in 1992 and I remember Michelle, Beau and Reece would learn Michael’s dance routines while watching that concert! Aaahhhh, the good ol’ days! My first ever Michael Jackson CD was his single “You Are Not Alone”, but my first ever full CD of songs was his HIStory double CD set. Since then I started getting some more CDs of him, but I’ve still got more to get (the CD pictured above, Visionary: The Video Singles is just one of them)! Right now while I’m writing this, I’ve got my iPod Classic 80GB shuffling through Michael’s albums and compilations I have put on it. I don't have one favourite song.....instead I have many and all his hits are among them. Michael’s video clips are all pretty good too, especially the Thriller one. Michael didn’t like to call them video clips, he called them films.

I've watching the news reports and tributes for most of the day. It is still very hard to believe, especially when Michael had a lot more years ahead of him. Michael was and always be a great legend! From what I read earlier on in the year, Michael Jackson was working on an album, but time will tell if that album was completed or not, because if it was completed, we can expect it to be released, otherwise if it isn’t, Invincible will be Michael’s final studio album. I really enjoyed Michael’s dancing, especially in concert (even though I’ve only seen him on TV). Michael’s music will forever be an inspiration and he had a great talent that no one can beat.

MICHAEL, WE WILL MISS YOU GREATLY, BUT YOUR MUSIC WILL LIVE ON FOREVER!

Digital Radio Excitement!

2009-06-08T22:17:00.001+10:00

First of all, I just want to express my excitement about Australia becoming the latest country to get Digital Radio! I’m not talking about the DAB format that other countries are using, which uses the MPEG2 audio codec, nor the format the US is using (I can’t think offhand what that one is), but we are using the DAB+ format, which uses the AAC+ audio codec, similar to the one used in iTunes! I am hoping to get my very first digital radio sometime either this week or next week! I’m really looking forward to it, mainly because I’m sick and tired of having AM stations go all distorted on me when I’m trying to listen to a good song on my clock radio.

Right now while I’m writing this, I’m listening to my favourite AM radio station called 4KQ and they’re playing Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged version of Layla! I love that version of Layla better than the rockier version, but I can’t enjoy it at the moment because of the distortion, and the only place I can sit my old clock radio is under my bed for the best sound, and even that isn’t good enough.

For me, Digital Radio has come at a great time! I’m looking forward to enjoying tuning by station name instead of frequency and being able to find out the name of a song I like instead of having to ring a number or SMS a word to a number I can’t even access, not to mention the crystal clear sound compared to analogue radio distortion! For anyone who wants to know more about digital radio and the technology it is using, just go to the Digital Radio Plus website. That website even has a list of digital radios to check out! Brisbane got Digital Radio switched on Monday, May 25 while Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide got it a week or two before!

Sydney was supposed to have Digital Radio on May 30th, but thanks to the weather situation, will now be delayed until June 10th, unless there are further delays again. Once Sydney has Digital Radio switched on, then all the major capital cities of Australia will have it. From what I’ve read on the Digital Radio Plus website, they could be getting rural parts of Australia to go digital as well! The good thing is no one is being forced to hurry up and get a digital radio yet as normal analogue AM and FM will still be around for some years yet! That is a good thing because as Digital Radio is still new in Australia, the cheapest radio you can get is at least $130 in Australian Dollars, which in a way is annoying, but then considering the technology going into them, I kind of think it is worth it!

Stay tuned for a review of my Digital Radio experience some time in the coming weeks!

Elton John Deluxe Editions Reviews

2009-05-06T14:08:00.001+10:00

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au. Click image to purchase at Fishpond.

Today I have a review of 2 Elton John albums which must be on their 4th re-release now! The first one is the self-titled Elton John Deluxe Edition, followed by Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition! The reason I say that this must be their 4th re-release is because they were originally released in 1970 on LP records, then when CDs first came out in the 80s, they were re-released then onto CD, but with nothing special about them and (from what I’ve read) very poor quality, but then in 1995, they got re-released with 10 other Elton albums under the series name of Elton John - The Classic Years! This time they weren't the same as the original CDs of the 80s, they were digitally re-mastered and re-packaged with bonus tracks and sleeve notes done by John Tobler. After 13 years, in 2008, the Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection albums were re-released yet again, but this time as Deluxe Editions and it is this reissue of those two albums that I am reviewing here!

I think the CDs were released here in Australia back in June or July 2008 and I think earlier in 2008 for other countries. Anyway, I got the Deluxe Editions of the Elton John and Tumbleweed Connection albums on the week of my birthday in August 2008! Being a huge Elton fan, I could not wait to get them home to listen to! I'm going to start with the Elton John Deluxe Edition CD!

The Elton John Deluxe Edition is a double CD packed with many great treats to listen to! First, Disc One contains the entire track listing for the original album the way it was in 1970 without extra tracks. My favourite songs from Disc One would have to be Your Song, I Need You To Turn To, Take Me To The Pilot (even though no one knows the meaning of it), Border Song, The Greatest Discovery and No Shoe Strings On Louise! The first CD of the set contains the following songs:

Your Song
I Need You To Turn To
Take Me To The Pilot
No Shoe Strings On Louise
First Episode At Hienton
Sixty Years On
Border Song
The Greatest Discovery
The Cage
The King Must Die

CD Two, the Bonus Disc of the set is the most exciting thing about the Deluxe Edition of the Elton John album! Leading off Disc Two is the Demo Version of Your Song! I have to admit when I bought Elton's To Be Continued... 4 CD box set off e-Bay a few years ago, I never thought they'd bring the Demo of Your Song out any other way. That is where this great CD set proved me wrong! I think the Your Song demo on this set is so much better quality than the one on the above mentioned box set! In fact, Your Song isn't the only demo on the Deluxe Edition, there is a demo version of every song off the original album except First Episode At Hienton and Border Song, which makes me wonder if those two songs don't have demo versions or whether they're holding them off for another future release of the Elton John album. All the demos of album songs appear in the order they do on the first CD of the set, which is the way the original album was! I have to say that I like pretty much all the demos made of the album songs although The Greatest Discovery has a bit of a glitch in it where at one part of the song, the tape must have gone a bit wobbly, but then that was the only part and it only lasted for less than a second! I like how Elton even sings the part that the strings section of an orchestra is supposed to do!

The Piano Demo of Rock And Roll Madonna is, IMO, better than the finished version! Next is 3 rare and unheard of demos of great songs called Thank You Mama, All The Way Down To El Paso and I'm Going Home! I think All The Way Down To El Paso and I'm Going Home could have been great album songs had they've been finished with the band, but I like them the way they appear on the set as just demos! Anyway, what if they did try to finish the songs and the band kind of spoiled the songs? They wouldn’t be as good then! Next is the Piano Demo of Grey Seal, which, to be honest, I do like better than the eventually finished 1970 version of the song! After the Grey Seal Piano Demo is yet another version of Rock And Roll Madonna, but this time it is the Incomplete Band Demo, which I also like better than the version that was eventually put out on a single B-side! There is someone laughing at the end of the band demo of the song, which I'm sure could have been Elton, but I really don't know!

Next comes the 3 songs that were added as bonus tracks on The Classic Years version of the CD! Bad Side Of The Moon, Grey Seal and Rock And Roll Madonna (the finished version) got moved onto the 2nd disc of the set! I love Bad Side Of The Moon, but as I've said above, the Demo versions of Rock And Roll Madonna and Grey Seal are so much better than the finished versions! The last 3 songs on the bonus CD are from BBC sessions, well, two of them are, but one of them, Your Song, is just the studio version with the orchestra taken out, listen closely and you’ll still hear some orchestra instruments playing. The other two songs from the BBC sessions are Border Song and Take Me To The Pilot! Border Song's BBC session version features a group called Hookfoot, who helped Elton out at the time! Now that I'm finished giving you the rundown on what I think of all the songs on the Elton John Deluxe Edition CD, I thought I'd put the track listing for that CD as well, so here we go, the track listing for CD Two!

Your Song - Demo Version
I Need You To Turn To – Piano Demo
Take Me To The Pilot - Piano Demo
No Shoe Strings On Louise - Piano Demo
Sixty Years On - Piano Demo
The Greatest Discovery - Piano Demo
The Cage - Demo
The King Must Die - Piano Demo
Rock And Roll Madonna - Piano Demo
Thank You Mama - Piano Demo
All The Way Down To El Paso - Piano Demo
I'm Going Home - Piano Demo
Grey Seal - Piano Demo
Rock And Roll Madonna - Incomplete Band Demo
Bad Side Of The Moon
Grey Seal
Rock And Roll Madonna
Border Song - BBC Session (with Hookfoot)
Your Song - BBC Session
Take Me To The Pilot - BBC Session

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au. Click image to purchase at Fishpond

The next album I'm reviewing, as you see from the image above, is Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition! Another great re-release packed with many great treasures! Like the Elton John Deluxe Edition, the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is a double CD set and, like the Elton John Deluxe Edition, this one has the full, original album on Disc One with no added bonus tracks like The Classic Years version does, this one is just the full album and the songs that were bonus tracks on The Classic Years re-master have been moved onto Disc Two along with other great songs!

Now, I love the fact of being able to play the original album on Disc One, but I also feel a bit sad in a way because from what I've read in the Hercules International Elton John Fan Club forums, people were disappointed that there are some songs missing off the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition Bonus CD, and even a review for the CD at amazon.com was disappointed with the CD as well. Apparently there are supposed to be really good demo versions of Bern Down The Mission, Amoreena and Where To Now St. Peter and a demo song that isn't on there called Rolling Western Union, which is rather sad, but lets get to the good things about it!

My favourite songs from the Tumbleweed Connection original album (Disc One on the Deluxe Edition) are Come Down In Time, Country Comfort, Son OF Your Father, My Father's Gun, Love Song, Amoreena and Burn Down The Mission. All the other songs on the album are great too, but these are my absolute favourites! I love the way Bernie Taupin can get images into your head when you listen to the words of the songs. The song I like the least is Talking Old Soldiers. Here is the track listing for CD One of Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition;

Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun
Come Down In Time
Country Comfort
Son Of Your Father
My Father’s Gun
Where To Now St. Peter?
Love Song
Amoreena
Talking Old Soldiers
Burn Down The Mission

The Bonus CD of Tumbleweed Connection’s Deluxe Edition is pretty good and, like the album above, all the treasures are on the bonus CD! The first 5 songs on Disc Two (the bonus disc) are demo versions of some of the album songs! One song that has had a name change when the album was released is Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun, which has a piano demo on Disc Two, but under the name of There Goes A Well Known Gun! I like There Goes A Well Known Gun better than the album version as it has more of a Country-Rock feeling to it! Come Down In Time is a piano demo of the same track on Disc One and the same can be said about Country Comfort, Son OF Your Father and Talking Old Soldiers. I love the demo versions of just as much as the original album versions except Talking Old Soldiers, which I prefer the demo for some reason. Next in line after the piano demo version of Talking Old Soldiers is the piano demo version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes! That song wasn’t included on the original album, but I think it was the B-side of the Your Song single in 1970 or 1971 and the finished track was included on the 1992 double Rare Masters CD of rare Elton songs, then again in 1995 on The Classic Years re-master of Tumbleweed Connection as a bonus track!

The piano demo of Into The Old Man’s Shoes is followed by a great song called Sisters Of The Cross, a song that must have been recorded during the album sessions, but never finished, therefore we’re treated to the piano demo of the song on Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition, but it hasn’t been officially released, just on bootleg CDs! I think it is a pretty good song! That is followed by the original version of Madman Across The Water which is the title track to the follow-up studio album (this excludes a live album and a soundtrack to a movie) after Tumbleweed Connection. The version of the song on the Madman Across The Water album was done with guitarist Chris Spedding and Davey Johnstone, but this original version was done with Mick Ronson and I think the reason it was included on the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition and The Classic Years re-master of that album is probably because it must have been recorded during the sessions of Tumbleweed Connection instead of the Madman Across The Water sessions. Even though I do like both of the versions, I prefer the final version on the Madman Across The Water album better than this version as, IMO, it sounds so much nicer ! Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that this original version of Madman Across The Water was also included on the double CD set called Rare Masters!

The original version of Madman Across The Water is followed on the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition by the final, finished version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes! I like both the final and demo versions of Into The Old Man’s Shoes, it is a pretty good song! In fact, the final version of Into The Old Man’s Shoes and the original version of Madman Across The Water were on The Classic Years re-master of Tumbleweed Connection in 1995 as bonus tracks on the single CD! I was amazed that they weren’t on the first disc of the set like they are on the 1995 release, but they obviously must have liked the idea of putting no tracks after the original album, which is understandable, but then they probably would have been able to add 2 or 3 more songs on (depending on how short they are), but I still like the way it is now!

Into The Old Man’s Shoes is followed up nicely by 4 songs from the BBC Sessions and they are My Father’s Gun (a pretty good version of the song), Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun (similar to the album version, but not entirely the same, but good! I think I like this version better), Burn Down The Mission (well, it’s a great song anyway, I like this one and the studio version on the album) and Amoreena (still a great song)! All four songs from the BBC session are pretty good! All in all, the bonus disc of the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is definitely worth the listen! Here is the track listing for Disc Two of Tumbleweed Connection’s Deluxe Edition:

There Goes A Well Known Gun – Previously Unreleased
Come Down In Time – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
Country Comfort – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
Son Of Your Father – Previously Unreleased
Talking Old Soldiers – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
Into The Old Man’s Shoes – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
Sisters Of The Cross – Piano Demo, Previously Unreleased
Madman Across The Water - Original Version
Into The Old Man’s Shoes
My Father’s Gun – BBC Session
Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased
Burn Down The Mission – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased
Amoreena – BBC Session, Previously Unreleased

Overall, I think the Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition is a fantastic CD re-release of the great album, even better than the 1995 version included in The Classic Years series. Even the notes in the booklet have a few extra paragraphs and sentences added in here and there, though they are pretty much the exact same notes that are included in The Classic Years re-master and I think even the notes in the CDs of The Classic Years are copied from John Tobler’s Elton book called 25 Years In The Charts. Likewise, the Elton John Deluxe Edition's booklet is pretty much the same as The Classic Years version's booklet except with a few sentences and paragraphs added here and there, I'm talking about the notes, not the booklet as a whole, at least the booklets of both editions have different layouts and pictures than the original 1995 re-masters!

The Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Editions doesn’t have a normal ordinary CD jewel case, it is in a cardboard case, pretty much designed similar to the old vinyl version with gatefold sleeves (well, I’ve never actually seen the original LP or its case, so I don’t really know what it is like), but it has plastic CD trays for both discs and the booklet slides into a slot at one side of the opened out case. The Deluxe Edition of the Elton John album is exactly the same CD case layout, some people call them digipacks for some reason, but that doesn’t matter, I don’t care about that! Both Deluxe Editions look so good! I just hope they both don’t go the same way my Elton John Greatest Hits 1970 – 2002 3CD set went with its cardboard case (I think it has something to do with air bubbles or something between the CD trays and the cardboard), but I’m keeping them in their Deluxe Edition labelled plastic, which is tight, so hopefully it’ll stop that from happening, and also the fact that I’ve got them on my computer to listen to means I don’t have to keep taking the CDs out of the cases and eventually wrecking them!

If you are new to Elton’s music and you’re deciding between the Deluxe Editions of these two great albums or the re-masters in The Classic Years, I strongly recommend you buy the Deluxe Editions (although The Classic Years ones are just as good, just not as much bonus tracks), but if you’re an all-time Elton fan and have already got the ones from The Classic Years, it is up to you; the Deluxe Editions definitely have more to offer, but if you’re wanting me to tell you the difference between quality of sound of the Deluxe Editions and The Classic Years versions, I’m afraid I can not help you there. As I’ve said before, I’m hearing impaired, so I may not be as good at picking up differences in sound quality. I may be able to notice the difference between the sound of the original CD versions of these albums compared to The Classic Years versions, but that’s because they were both made differently and Gus Dudgeon fixed the problems that existed on the original 1980s releases of the albums for the ones included in The Classic Years re-masters, but that is all. I give both of these Deluxe Editions 5 stars out of 5 because they are both really, really good to listen to!

I’ve still got a few more Deluxe Edition Elton John CDs to buy, not to mention I’ve still got some of The Classic Years (the 1998 series, just 3 more to get) and Digitally Re-mastered (the 2003 series, only 2 more to go) CD series to finish buying! From what I’ve read on the Internet, we can expect a Madman Across The Water Deluxe Edition this year too, as well as a box set with duets and other songs and also the other big news for this year is Elton John may bring another album out at the end of this year! Yikes!! All these CDs I have to buy is amazing! One day I will have them all in my collection!

Do We Really Need To Buy Our Software?

2009-03-03T10:50:00.000+10:00

I don't know if many people know this, but there is actually more than 3 types of software to choose from so it is your choice. We all know about commercial software, or retail software as it is more commonly known, the type that you buy over the counter at a store or via an online Internet store. The next one is Shareware, which is a little different because it allows you to trial the software before you buy. While I like the idea of being able to trial the software rather than having to buy the program, take it home, and then realise it isn't for you, the down side is that many programs (software) limit you to certain features. You may find some features are disabled and, sometimes, a message will appear when you click on a feature telling you to buy the program if you want to access that particular feature. Another reason I don't like Shareware is that many (not all) have adware and/or spyware built into them that connects to a server and brings up ads whenever you open the program or it sends details about your computing habits that allow ads to be sent to you. It's great when you can trial a program before buying it, but when you see there are ads in the program, that's when it is best to avoid using that type of software.

The next type of software is Freeware software. Freeware is great in that it is free, or free, but also with certain features disabled. In this case, usually software companies have bigger and better versions of the program available. Take, for example, NoteTab Light, which is a Freeware program. NoteTab Pro and NoteTab Std are the two bigger brothers of NoteTab Light because you get more features when you use them, those features are only available in NoteTab Light for a month only, but you get the option to have them or not. The worst thing about Freeware is that, like Shareware, you're subjecting yourself and your computer to adware and spyware, except some Freeware software is so full of adware and spyware, it's not good to use them at all. Freeware software is also more vulnerable for viruses as well. Unfortunately, no software you get, whether commercial, shareware or Freeware is safe from viruses. If you buy a computer magazine from your local store or newsagent, or a book from the book shop and that mag or book comes with a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. You'd think there would be no viruses on a CD or DVD of software that you bought with a book or magazine, unfortunately that is not the case at all. The Australian PC User magazine which comes with a DVD-ROM states that even though they've tested the DVD for viruses and it comes up clear, you never know if it's going to be the same on all computers using different anti-virus software. That's why they advise people to scan the DVD through their own Anti-Virus software before using it. Whether you plan to use commercial, shareware, or freeware software, or even the software I mention below, you can never be 100% safe from viruses because your Anti-Virus software may miss a threat that another Anti-Virus program will find and vise versa.

The next two types of software you can get are my favourite type and I much prefer them to the ones mentioned above. The first one is Open Source software. The benefit of Open Source software is that you can use the software, modify it and even improve the software to make it better. You can even redistribute existing software whether you've modified it or not. The benefit of Open Source over the above mentioned software types is that Open Source allows you to view the source code of the program and you can literally do what ever you want with it as long as it follows the Open Source Definition! Some people might think Open Source means free software, but even though it is pretty much free, it doesn't give you as much freedom as the next type of software I'm about to mention. In my view, Free Software is an even better in a way than Open Source. Do not get Free software confused with Freeware because they are both very different types of software. Free software allows you, as long as you have the source code, to modify the software to the way you want it too. You can even improve it, and redistribute the software, just so long as you give the other people who want the software the source code as well either, via the software, or linked to a web site. Free Software is supported by the Free Software Foundation and is true free software compared to any of the above mentioned types. Open Source, according to the Free Software Foundation on the GNU website in this article, was actually part of the Free Software movement but because people didn't agree with the goals of Free Software, they broke away and formed Open Source. This explains why Free Software and Open Source software are so similar but with some differences.

So......why should we pay for our software when there are free or Open Source alternatives available? Instead of forking out money for every new version of Windows, why not get a computer that has a version of GNU/Linux on it? Ubuntu is a great Open Source GNU/Linux Operating System and gNewSense is a great "free" GNU/Linux Operating System. Or rather than buying a computer with a GNU/Linux Operating System on, why not download image files from the Internet and burn them onto blank CD-R/RW or DVD-R/RW discs and create "Live CD" versions of the GNU/Linux OS (Operating System)? At least that way you can try it before installing it! How about ditching the expensive Adobe PhotoShop CS software and start using The GIMP instead and rather than paying heaps of money for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, WordPerfect or the Lotus programs, why not use OpenOffice.org instead? How about using Firefox for your web browsing, or Thunderbird for your email, or if you want to go the totally free way, browse the Internet using Epiphany and check your email using Evolution? IMO, they're better alternatives! I've said to Mum several times that if it wasn't for the software we use in Windows (especially since I've paid for one of the programs), I'd switch over to Ubuntu Linux tomorrow and ditch Windows all together. Even better, I'd switch to gNewSense instead as, unlike Ubuntu which is Open Source, gNewSense is a pure free operating system of GNU/Linux!

Another thing that makes me want to get rid of Windows is the fact that I can no longer trust what is being installed onto my computer by Microsoft, I don't like the fact that Microsoft and other companies are trying to control our computers. Do you think you can trust your computer to obey you instead of Microsoft or other commercial companies? If you want to know why I'm so against what Microsoft and other companies are up to, I strongly recommend you read an article by Richard Stallman called Can You Trust Your Computer? I would if I used GNU/Linux! In that article, Stallman gives software made by Microsoft and other commercial companies the name of "Proprietary" software. I tell you one thing, The GIMP may not be as easy to use as PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro, but the more people who help make The GIMP a better program, the more like PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro it will become. That goes for any Free or Open Source alternatives to retail/commercial software. If you think the Free or Open Source alternative isn't good enough, why not make suggestions to the creators yourself, or even better, become one of the developers and make the software better and more user friendly!

By the way, if you feel like I do after reading that article by Richard Stallman, then I strongly recommend you go to GNU's website and watch the video by Stephen Fry about Free Software and GNU's birthday (that is, if your favourite media player can open .ogg files). You will find the link under the Freedom Fry heading on their home page. He'll explain it much better than I ever will and I also encourage you to read some or all the documents listed in the GNU website's Philosophy section as, then you'll see my point. You can also go to the GNU site to get more information on what Free Software is! The site is well worth the read IMO!

If I had to choose between Open Source and Free Software (not to be confused with Freeware), I'd choose the latter. In fact, if you want to see what Free Software is available, go to the Free Software Directory and browse their range! When I get my new computer, I'm going to have a dual boot system with Windows on one hard drive and Ubuntu and gNewSense on the 2nd one and I'm looking forward to trying them without running them on the LiveCDs I have of them! When I do get my computer, watch this space for full reviews on 2 GNU/Linux operating systems called Ubuntu and gNewSense! I'm looking forward to comparing them!

So, which would you choose, commercial/retail (buy over the counter), Shareware (try before you buy though some programs have ads and limited access), Freeware (free but with limitations and/or adware or spyware), Open Source or Free Software? I know what I would choose!

Reach Out (I'll Be There) - Music of the Four Tops

2009-01-31T22:35:00.001+10:00

This picture of The Four Tops courtesy of wikipedia.org

As I write this blog post, I'm listening to songs by the group that this post is all about, The Four Tops. I know that I'm three months late in saying it, but I was very shocked one weekend when I heard that Levi Stubbs, founder and lead vocalist of The Four Tops died in his sleep on October 17, 2008. I'm sure all fans of The Four Tops were shocked and sad when they heard the news. The Four Tops, with Levi Stubbs as lead vocalist, had many great hits for Motown back in the 60's, which include the hits "Bernadette", "Standing In The Shadows Of Love", "Ask The Lonely" and so on.

My favourite songs by The Four Tops have to be "Baby I Need Your Loving", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)", "It's The Same Old Song" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", but they have so many other great songs. I've yet to own a Greatest Hits or Best Of compilation, but I will get there eventually. I've got some of their songs scattered over different CDs, some Motown CDs and some Classic Hits Radio CDs made here in Australia. For years I have wondered who sang "Baby I Need Your Loving" because for as long as I can remember, I've been listening to a radio station here in Brisbane called 4KQ (I mentioned them in my last post about Elton John), then I eventually found out it was The Four Tops. I eventually found out they done a lot of other songs I really like (see my list of favourite songs)!

I was surprised when I read on a Wikipedia page that Levi Stubbs actually had a baritone voice and that Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown's songwriting team, wrote The Four Tops' songs so that Levi had to sing in a tenor voice instead of baritone because they wanted him to sound like there is a sense of urgency in the songs. I thought that was a pretty good idea because that's how we've come to know so many great songs by this great group, and the sad thing is that there is apparently only one surviving member left from the original Four Tops lineup, but I forgot what his name is. Another great song I really like is the Four Tops and the Supremes duet of "River Deep Mountain High", it is so much different to Ike & Tina Turner's and Celine Dion's versions!

In my opinion, The Four Tops' songs are emotionally driven with great music and melodies, fantastic lyrics and amazing vocals and harmonies. In fact, one of Australia's famous groups, Human Nature, has made 3 albums full of Motown classics, including some of The Four Tops' great music and I do feel they do these songs justice, they are just as good as the originals! Actually, I've actually been to a Human Nature concert where they have done the whole concert of Motown songs (well...actually, Human Nature did sing some of their own songs, but only acoustically and short versions), which was fantastic, they even got the audience to participate as well, which I thought was great! I've actually got plans to buy Human Nature's box set containing their 3 Motown covers album and a live concert DVD of the Motown songs in concert! The box set is called The Motor City Collection! All I can say here is well done to Human Nature for doing such a great job at covering all those fantastic Motown artists and their songs!

It's a shame that many of the members of the Four Tops are no longer with us, but as long as we keep introducing their music to younger generations to come, I don't think their music will ever be forgotten! Hopefully the music of the 60's, 70's and 80's will be remembered for many years and decades to come, from generation to generation, it's a nice thought to think of!

Blurry Web Font Problem in Internet Explorer 7

2008-12-19T22:25:00.001+10:00

This afternoon, I helped Mum out with a problem she was having in Internet Explorer 7. While Mum was checking over her latest blog post, she noticed all the apostrophes in her posts were looking like they were coloured blue. I had installed Internet Explorer 7 on Mum's computer on yesterday and she really liked it, but she told me that, apart from the apostrophes being a blue colour, she has also noticed the font on most sites appeared blurry. Having a visual impairment, I had never noticed it and, being that I'm mainly a Mozilla Firefox user and rarely go into IE 7 apart from when I need to, it's never been a problem for me.

After comparing the differences on both of our computers using IE7 (they looked the same, but when you zoom anywhere above 100%, the apostrophes looked like normal black, but when we put it back to 100%, it looked blue. I figured it was the blurry font Mum was on about, so I did a Google search on "Blurry text in Internet Explorer 7" and it showed me a link to a Microsoft Support page explaining what to do. I followed the instructions on my own computer and Mum's computer and when I restarted IE 7, Mum didn't have the blue apostrophes any more and web fonts were no longer blurry. A huge thanks to Google for making it sooooo easy to solve problems!!!!

Anyway, in case you're interested, I've noted the fix below. Apparently, it's all because of ClearType technology. I don't exactly know what it is, but all I know is that it makes text on LCD screens look much more smoother with no jagged edges (well, it's supposed to do that).

In Internet Explorer 7, click on the Tools menu (if the menu bar is hidden, there should be a Tools option with an arrow beside it under the Search box)

Click on Internet Options,
Click on the Advanced tab,
Under Multimedia (in the section that allows you to check/uncheck options), uncheck the option marked Always Use ClearType for HTML,
Click OK, that won't change anything yet,
Close and restart Internet Explorer 7. You should notice a BIG difference!

I do hope you find this information handy, it really helped me and Mum out! Don't you just hate it when you come across an annoying problem with computers? I'm sure most people do.

Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

2008-12-12T11:37:00.002+10:00

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au

Well everyone, last month, I have managed to finish reading a book that my sister, Michelle, and her boyfriend, Alex, got me for my birthday in August! The book is called Inkheart and written by Cornelia Funke and, I can tell you now, I'm as big a fan of it as I am of The Chronicles Of Narnia and Harry Potter! In case many of you have never read the book before, I won't spoil it for you because, lets face it, we all hate it when someone tells us the story in the books before we read it......it's a spoiler for me because it takes away the excitement of not knowing.

Even though I can't tell you about what the book contains, I'll just tell you enough to get you interested if you have never heard of it. The story is about a girl named Meggie and her father called Mo. Both Meggie and Mo love reading books, but Mo has never read aloud to Meggie since her mother disappeared years ago in a mysterious way. One night, a stranger shows up at their house and gives Mo a warning, which gives Mo no choice but to reveal a secret to Meggie, and it is that secret that will change their lives forever! Something happens when Mo reads aloud, see if you can guess what it is before Mo tells Meggie, that is, if you do read the story!

Inkheart is the first book in the Inkheart Trilogy and I have to say I really enjoyed every bit of the book. I enjoyed it so much, I rate it 5 stars on a scale from 1 to 5! The thing I love about my copy of Inkheart is that at the end of the main story, it contains two sneak preview chapters from the next book in the series, which is Inkspell and I can tell you now, after reading those two chapters, I want to get Inkspell very badly, I can't wait to read it! The third book in the Trilogy, Inkdeath, got released on Monday, October 6!

Hey, I almost forgot to mention that Inkheart has been made into a movie! How great is that? I can't wait to see it, I reckon it's going to be pretty good, but I don't think it'll be as good as the book. I think it's being released in January 2009 in the US, but I don't know about the UK or Australian release, I hope it'll be around the same time as the US release. If you'd like to see the trailer for the movie, head over to the Inkheart movie site and you'll find it there! You'll find other Inkheart related sites in my links bar at the side! I strongly recommend Inkheart and you can watch this space for my reviews of Inkspell and Inkdeath, the two remaining books in the series, which I just recently purchased!

What Musical Instrument Are You?

2008-10-13T09:53:00.001+10:00

What Musical Instrument Are You?

Tuba

Tuba? Hmm... one thing to say is that you're probably a big person. You can be very dreary and may like to bring people down to your level. People have heard of you, but you're not what they would consider "hot stuff." Still, you provide a nice balance to other instruments like the saxophone. Don't get too disheartened.

Music Quizzes

The Chronicles of Narnia: Books, Movies and Audiobooks

2008-10-10T16:40:00.000+10:00

This picture is courtesy of Fishpond.com.au

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to watch the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe when my younger brothers, Reece and Aaron, hired it out from the video shop. My sister and two brothers used to watch The Chronicles Of Narnia TV series back in the early 90's but I never did because I thought I wouldn't like it. After watching the later movie, I am now as hooked on The Chronicles Of Narnia series as I am with the Harry Potter series! My youngest brother, Aaron, is nine years old and he also watched the movie for the very first time.

After watching the movie, I instantly went onto the website of the local library to see if I could hire out some of the Narnia books by C. S. Lewis and I was able to get hold of two or three of the Narnia books. While browsing the the library web site, I also saw some Narnia audiobooks! Beside the ones I saw, it said "Performed by a full cast", which made me think it was the people who played in the movie doing the audiobooks as well, so I also requested some of those audiobooks! Being legally blind, I sometimes find it easier to listen to stories rather than reading them! I started reading The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, then listened to the audiobook of The Magician's Nephew! I was surprised to hear that it wasn't a normal audiobook with one or more people reading parts of the book, it was a dramatisation of the book with sound effects and music, which I think is much better than a normal audiobook! I looked at the box containing the CDs for The Magician's Nephew audiobook and I saw the name Radio Theatre at the top of the front of it, which made me very interested! I fully enjoyed listening to the dramatised audiobooks and also The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe book!

Thanks to my wonderful Mum, I was able to buy my own copies at great prices, when she found a book site online called Fishpond which offered some great deals. Fishpond doesn't just have books for sale, they have music and movies as well, which I was also very happy about, but books are the main area where all the great deals are! I managed to find the Radio Theatre audiobooks that I borrowed from the library, but even better, they had the complete Chronicles Of Narnia series box set from Radio Theatre! I kept searching through those eight or nine 'search result' pages until I came across a box set containing all of The Chronicles Of Narnia books! Even though there were heaps of box sets of all the Narnia books, they were all pretty expensive. I then came across The Chronicles Of Narnia book set that has a box tie-in for Prince Caspian, the latest, newest Narnia movie now out by Disney and Walden Media! Mum ordered the Radio Theatre CD set and that Narnia book box set for me, which I paid for (both sets were originally over $100 (in Australian dollars), but I got them quite cheap, which is pretty good!

I impatiently waited for my order as I was going on holiday for a week and was hoping they would come before I left. My prayers were answered when one set arrived the day before I was to leave and the other set arrived only a few hours before I left for my holiday. Needless to say, I was stoked to be able to take the Narnia books with me. If I had a working CD Walkman, I probably would have taken the CDs as well, but that wasn't possible. I read book one of the Narnia series, The Magician's Nephew, while I was on the holiday and finished the book when I got back home. I'm now up to book two, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Even though I read the version I got from the library, I'm happy to read it again and I can't wait to read the rest of the books! I was able to listen to the Radio Theatre Narnia CDs as soon as I got back from holiday and I really enjoyed listening to them! I eventually noticed writing at the top of the Radio Theatre name. Being legally blind, I didn't notice the words Focus on The Family until a few weeks ago, so I think it is actually Focus on The Family Radio Theatre. One thing I noticed about the CD dramatisations of The Chronicles Of Narnia compared to the ones I got from the library is that Douglas Gresham hosts them and talks about the stories and his memories at the beginning of each story, which is what I enjoy about them. It's nice to hear a bit of history before the stories start, such as their original names, etc!

I also noticed another version of The Chronicles Of Narnia on Fishpond, which I will eventually buy. It is just another dramatised version, except that the BBC are behind the making of these ones, not Focus on The Family Radio Theatre. I recently borrowed a few of the BBC dramatised CDs out of the library recently as well and they're done quite differently to the above mentioned ones. It is hard for me to explain about it, but I do plan to buy the BBC dramatised versions, which is also in a complete box set! The BBC were actually the ones who made The Chronicles Of Narnia TV series that my brothers and my sister used to watch when we were kids.

I have recently finished reading a different book so, stay tuned, as I will be posting a book review on that one in a few days.

I'm a Mazda Miata!

2008-08-08T08:08:00.001+10:00

You like to soak up the sun, but your tastes are down to earth. Everyone thinks you're cute. Life is a winding road, and you like to take the curves in stride. Let other people compete in the rat race - you're just here to enjoy the ride.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

My Third Elton John Concert - Oh What A Night!!!

2008-08-07T12:42:00.006+10:00

I am so sorry that it has taken so long for me to do this blog post, I will try not to let that happen again. You remember in my last blog post back in November that I couldn't wait to see Elton John live in concert again at Elysian Fields, Canungra, now I can tell you that I've been, and what a night it was too! I think Elton was in a very good mood that night, he done mostly his greatest hits, but a fair amount of non-single songs were played as well! I am so happy I went, as I always say, to me, Elton John is the best singer in the world! I've even got some pictures, taken by Reece, of the concert!

Well, I guess I'd better start from the beginning! Reece (my brother) and I drove out to Elysian Fields, which is a winery plantation, we actually passed a few winery fields on the way to the concert! After a 30 minute drive, we get there in time to hear the support act playing. The support act was Eran James and I say "hear" because Reece and I were in the food queue for the entire time Eran James was on stage (from 6:00-6:55pm).

By the time Elton came on and started playing the piano (15 minutes earlier than expected), Reece and I were heading to our seats. When we got to our seats, Elton was just about to finish his first song of the night, which was Your Song! That song is always great no matter when Elton plays it, with band or without!! We were in our seats when Elton started Sixty Years On, another great song, like Your Song, from Elton's self-titled Elton John album in 1970! I loved hearing the piano during this song as it is nice to hear this song sometimes without the full orchestra.

Elton then talked about The Greatest Discovery, the next song in the set list, as being about Bernie Taupin's little brother and he played that song nicely as well, The Greatest Discovery, was also taken from the Elton John album! I was a little surprised when Elton followed The Greatest Discovery with I Need You To Turn To, also from the Elton John album. I have to admit, it is nice when Elton doesn't do a show with just hits, it shows us that he can still sing those songs that weren't singles just as good as the hits, especially the songs from his 70s albums.

After Elton would do a song or two, he'd get up and wave to the audience and get a drink, but when he'd come back to the piano, there would be bugs in the keys, so Elton had to stand up and get the bugs out of the keys. He only had to do this in the first half of the show, because, I guess, that as it got darker, all the annoying bugs couldn't hang around any more. Throughout the night, Elton performed many great songs which I have listed at the bottom of this post.

Rocket Man is always a treat for me, especially Sacrifice, and Philadelphia Freedom. I was surprise that Elton did Ticking as I don't think I've ever heard Elton do that live! I love the way he did Carla Etude and Tonight together, and the extended intro's to Philadelphia Freedom, Levon, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues and several other songs were so cool!

Later in the night when Elton was playing Bennie And The Jets, Reece went up to a security guard and asked why people were going up to the stage and asked if it was OK if we could both go up together! The guard obviously said yes because Reece then came back and said "Come with me, we're going up to the stage!" When we got up there, I went wild, being so close to my favourite singer was so cool! I wasn't near the piano, but I was close. I wasn't exactly right against the stage as there were people in front of me! Thanks to Reece, I think this concert is definitely going to be my most memorable!

We were up near the stage for the last 3 songs after Bennie And The Jets (from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road), which, in order, are Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (from the Caribou album), I'm Still Standing (from Too Low For Zero) and Circle Of Life (from The Lion King soundtrack). The last few songs were encores, but when Elton finished Circle Of Life, we all screamed for more, but that was it. It was definitely a concert to remember, especially when you're standing just a metre away from your hero! Reece enjoyed the concert too, but was a little disappointed, as was I, that Elton didn't do his favourite song, Someone Saved My Life Tonight. I was really hoping for Crocodile Rock too, but that didn't happen either. Oh well, there's always another time!

All in all, it was a fantastic concert! Hopefully next time Elton comes over, solo or with band, I'll be in the front row near the piano! I've actually heard that because Elton didn't do Perth or the Northern Territory when he did all the other Australian states in November/December 2007, he came back to Australia at the end of his Asian tour in May to perform in Darwin, Broome and Perth. I also heard that in 2009, Elton might be bringing his Red Piano show to Australia! Whether he tours Australia with the Red Piano, or just stays in Sydney or Melbourne (similar to what he does in Vegas), it all depends, but I hope he does the tour.

Here is the complete set list of Elton's concert at Elysian Fields, Canungra:

Your Song
Sixty Years On
The Greatest Discovery
I Need You To Turn To
Border Song
Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes
Daniel
Honky Cat
Rocket Man
Tiny Dancer
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Nikita
Philadelphia Freedom
Sacrifice
Ticking
Roy Rogers
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
Candle In The Wind
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Electricity
Carla/Etude
Tonight
Take Me To The Pilot
Blue Eyes
Levon
Bennie And The Jets
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
I'm Still Standing (encore)
Circle Of Life (encore)

A Night Under the Stars with Elton John

2007-11-24T23:42:00.000+10:00

Back in 2002, during Elton's Sydney concert, he said that he was coming back in 2003 to do a solo tour but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. Five years on, Elton is now coming DownUnder for a set of solo tour dates. This time, he is not performing at his usual concert venues but instead, will be doing the rounds of wineries and open air places in Australia. In Queensland, he will be performing in Townsville and the Elysian Fields at Canungra.

I never thought I'd see the day where Elton John, my favourite singer, would come back to Australia two years in a row! He came last year and I posted my experience here on my blog but now Elton is coming back again! This time he will be performing solo, without his band. The best news of all is that I'M GOING!!!! YES!!!

At the beginning of the month, radio station 4KQ announced they were giving away tickets to Elton's "A Knight Under The Stars" concert. I was so excited and tried, on and off, all day to phone through and hopefully be a lucky ticket winner but I definitely wasn't having much luck. It was late afternoon and I had practically given up hope when I heard the DJ make the final announcement of the day to call in for the concert tickets. Mum tried calling through on the home phone while I used my mobile. I LOVE AUTOMATIC SPEED-DIAL! On my third try, I was connected to the station and told that I'd won Silver tickets to see Elton John!!! I was in shock as I had felt all my chances had gone but I'm so thrilled to have been proven wrong.

I went into the station with Reece to pick up the tickets and we'll be heading to the concert this Sunday, 25 November at the Elysian Fields, Canungra!! Watch this space for a concert review and, hopefully, some pics. Thanks again to 4KQ for giving me tickets!

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Harry Potter Series Complete

2007-08-17T12:54:00.000+10:00

I've been really interested in the Harry Potter series since (I think) 2002 or 2003, when Mum bought the video version of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone for Aaron, my little brother, and now it has grown throughout the years since then. At that time, I thought that Harry Potter was just a kid's novel, but at least, I was half-right about that.

Since that first movie, I've been hooked onto the Harry Potter series! Mum did get the Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets DVD for Aaron, I watched it and liked it as well, then when Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban came out on DVD, I got it that Christmas from Mum! That was also a good one to watch! It was between the release of Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire at the cinemas that I actually started reading all the Harry Potter books, I ended up borrowing them from the local library, I couldn't put them down because I loved them so much!

When Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire came out at the
movies on December 1, 2005, I really wanted to go and see it, so Troy, my
cousin, took me with him to see it the week after the release date. We both enjoyed it so much that, in April, when it came out on DVD, I bought a copy. Also in 2005, I got my first Harry Potter book titled, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, which came out in July/August. I got it the day before my birthday. Unfortunately, I did a very bad thing and read the last few pages before starting the book which kinda spoiled the full excitement for me. I promised myself I would read the 7th Harry Potter book normally and not give in to the temptation of reading the ending first. I really enjoyed Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, it was a little scary at one point, but I got over it!

Well, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix was
released into Cinemas on Wednesday, July 11 2007 here in Australia and Troy (my cousin) was one of the people who got to see it on its release night! Little did I realise, until Mum told me on the Thursday that week that Troy was going to take me to see the new Harry Potter movie two days later. We got to the cinemas, got tickets, went and got our seats and Troy then went to get something for us to eat during the movie! Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix was great to watch. Troy said he enjoyed it more when he watched it with me, but both Troy and I thought there was something missing, but we didn't know what it was.

There were many parts that were in the book, but there were other parts done differently and some parts that weren't really in the book at all! There were some parts where the movie had very brief flashbacks of the past movies, but I won't tell you what parts in case you haven't seen the movie yet! I rate the movie 5 out of five! I have to say that if it wasn't for Troy taking me to see Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire in 2005 and Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix Saturday July 14, I may not have seen either of them at the cinema and that really made the Harry Potter experience so much better. I just want to say a BIG thank you to Troy!

And finally, the new and final Harry Potter book; Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is out! I went down to Big W in our local shopping centre with Troy and we picked up our pre-ordered copies of the new book. After we got the books, Troy dropped me home and then he went home. I started reading the book that day as soon as I got home. Even though I would have breaks for water and lunch and dinner, I had fun reading it and I got through a few chapters. I read it each night until 4 o'clock the next morning, by which time, I'd go to bed.

I finally finished reading it on Wednesday July 25th. Mum had just got up, and she was excited to see that I was nearly finished the book. I am so happy with the way the book ended. I am also happy at the way the book ended the entire Harry Potter series! I rate the new book 5 out of 5 because, like all previous Harry Potter books, I just could not put it down at all! J. K. Rowling has a way of keeping her readers captivated! Yes, I admit I'm sad that the series has to end now; I hate it when series end in odd numbers so I do wish she ended it in book 8 rather than 7. Another thing is that, yes, it does answer a lot of questions, but it also made you want to know some more. For example; what does Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny do as careers?

I just thought I'd mention here briefly that I've heard there are plans for a big Harry Potter world being built in the States where all Harry Potter fans can go and have a feel of what it would bee like inside Hogwarts and in the grounds! That is so exciting! I hear it is going to be a Harry Potter version of Disneyland. I think it may not be finished for a few years yet though.

Now, we wait for the 6th installment of the Harry Potter movie series; Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, which, from what I've heard, will be out in November 2008, and then the final movie (if they do it that is); Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. I can hardly wait for the final two movies to see how they interpret the books. In my opinion, they should keep everything the same as the final two books and not change any of it as they did in Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix. We will just have to wait and see what happens. Well, that is it on the Harry Potter scene until Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince comes out at the cinemas and this is my final Harry Potter post until then as well, unless I hear any news. For now, I've put some Harry Potter sites in my Link Bar for you to check out..........ENJOY!

Steve Irwin - The Crocodile Hunter

2007-07-11T13:27:00.000+10:00

Late last year, I think it was either October or November, I was having a really great day one week and later that day, when Mum came home from picking my brother, Aaron, up from school, I had found out some very sad news; Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter and owner of Australia Zoo was killed by a stingray while filming a documentary. Mum got home and said that she had heard from some other mums at the school that Steve had died. Later that day, I watched the news with Mum and my brothers and felt very shocked. I used to always watch his Crocodile Hunter series since I was a kid in the early 90s. After watching the news of Steve's death, I walked around feeling shocked all night.

Who ever thought that Steve Irwin would die in such a way? I certainly didn't think so. I can still remember certain episodes of The Crocodile Hunter series from when I was little. Unfortunately, I've noticed that the series I used to watch isn't on DVD yet, that really annoys me. A Crocodile Hunter box set for each series would be nice. The only ones that I've seen that have been put on DVD are the ones made from 2000 on. I remember the episode where Steve and Terri followed the dingo fence from one place to another, finding all different kinds of wild animals who either died on the fence or are around the fence. I can't remember the entire Crocodile Hunter series that we don't have on DVD, that is why it would be nice for the earlier series to be put on DVD; on single DVD or a box set.

A few days later, Mum, my youngest brother Aaron, and I went to the local shopping center and got Steve's first ever movie (and obviously his one and only movie too), we brought it home and watched it. It was a very good movie, but to be honest, I like the Crocodile Hunter series the most as they are solely about Steve. When they had the Steve Irwin Memorial, it was broadcast live throughout Australia, even all the schools were watching as well. During the Memorial broadcast, Mum cried and I just felt all sad. It didn't really hit me that Steve Irwin had died until later that day. After watching several cut-down versions of the Memorial service (obviously, being live, the morning broadcast was the full version, nothing edited at all), it began to really sink into me. I just cried and cried and still couldn't believe that he had died.

Not long after that, we got all the episodes of The Crocodile Hunter from 2000 onwards, there are six in the set. I've been watching one DVD a night and you can really tell that Steve had pride in his job at Australia Zoo, but also as enthusiastic animal lover, reptiles or not. You see how he was emotionally upset by the fire on the way up to the Cape York Peninsula at the very top of Queensland (Australia's Wild Frontier) and the episode where Steve had a mother Orangutan bringing her baby down to Steve (Faces of The Jungle). I feel The Crocodile Hunter series are a fantastic way to educate kids and adults about reptiles and other animals, even though they don't go into as much detail about each animal as a book would. I so wish I could have gone to Australia Zoo before Steve died. My sister, Michelle, and her boyfriend went there a few months ago and they really enjoyed it, they did lots of things there that would have been great fun.

Computers, Software And Technology

2007-07-11T13:14:00.000+10:00

Australian PC User is such a great magazine! I get it every month and haven't been disappointed yet. Back in February, the magazine, PC User, supplied a video overview of Windows Vista. I watched the video and I was definitely hooked. All the new features and also some old ones that have been redone! When I looked through a later PC User issue, I read about all the computers that they have tested and then I found one for $1,499 with a pretty good rap. I am very excited about it! It is not a name-brand one like HP, Dell, IBM or anything like that, but I don't care. As long as it works and has everything I need, I'll be happy! I've been saving my money and, hopefully, I'll get it at the end of the year or early next year.

One thing I do realize about getting my new computer is that it may not come with programs I need like Microsoft Office or other programs, but I just have to say that I am a little disappointed in the latest Microsoft Office suite. They've taken out FrontPage, a program I used to use at school for a project. FrontPage was in Microsoft Office 2003, but taken out of Office 2007, therefore I am going to try and see if I can get Office 2003, otherwise, I'll buy Office 2007 and get FrontPage separately (I know I've already got a web site editor, but sometimes it is nice to use another one along side the one you're using). Apart from that disappointment, Office 2007 actually looks really good with its new ribbon bar (that is all I know about the new Office). If Microsoft Office is too expensive, I'll probably use a free, open-source program called OpenOffice.org, which actually sounds quite good, especially since it is free!

I also don't know if people are aware, but MP3 players come in different formats; Flash, Microdrive and Hard Drive. For those of you who don't know what the difference is (I learnt the hard way when I got my MP3 player, more on this later), I will tell you now. Flash MP3 players are the ones that are pretty small and can fit in your pocket without any weight at all, there are also no moving parts (such as a hard drive needle or disc) in Flash based MP3 players, so you can run around with them and do whatever you want with them. Microdrive based MP3 players are good, but from what I hear, these ones are not as successful as the Flash ones or the hard drive based ones. Microdrive MP3 players are bigger than Flash based ones, but are smaller than hard drive based MP3 players (like Ipods). Since there is a mini hard drive in the Microdrive players (this means that there are moving parts that need to access songs), which means that you cannot take it on a run or a jog or else you could cause the MP3 player to skip and the needle to go all over the place.

Around August-September last year, I decided to get an MP3 player because I was sick of having to change CDs while I am busy and I also found it frustrating, seeing as I love to dance to my music, a CD walkman won't help at all because the songs will skip all over the place (and sometimes I have to press STOP several times before it actually stops the CD). The MP3 player I got was a 5.0GB Creative MuVo² FM, which is fantastic, but still not enough space for me to put all my favourite CDs on it. The sound quality was also fantastic, even having a voice recorder and FM radio is fantastic (I just wish they would include AM radio frequency as that is all I listen to, AM stations). If anyone wants to get it, than I have a word of warning. I don't know if it is just the Creative MuVo² FM or other brands, or if it also happens on flash based ones, but I find, with the MuVo² FM, you have to be careful when you have the player plugged into the computer. I get frustrated because after I've finished transferring songs to my MP3 player and I do the usual thing to safely disconnect it via Windows from the USB port, an error comes up on the MP3 player screen saying that it wasn't disconnected properly. Windows XP said it disconnected safely but the MP3 player itself doesn't agree. It tells me I have to run ScanDisk/CheckDisk. You would think that would do the trick, right? Wrong! There have been times when I've had to re-connect to the computer and run CheckDisk at least fifteen times!!! I started to worry that I may lose songs due to this repetitive process or that the MP3 player may eventually stop working altogether. Well, it is still working BUT now the computer won't recognise it at all!! I'm not happy! My Mum has the exact same player as I do and, while she's had the occasional connection problems, the computer is still recognising her player just fine so, obviously, there is a problem with my player. I do intend to upgrade to a bigger and better player like an IPod or Microsoft's new player (Zune), but for now, I will have to stick with what I've got and be satisfied with the songs I have loaded on.

A BIT ABOUT WEB DESIGN

2007-05-05T14:23:00.000+10:00

In 2002, after graduating Senior at Cavendish Road State High School, I became very interested in website creation. I had visited many music and MIDI sites and wanted to create my own web site! My initial attempt was using Microsoft Publisher 98's web site tools but the site I created wasn't that good. Everything was out of place.

I bought a book called The Complete Idiot's Guide To Creating A Web Page Sixth Edition and started my second attempt. I tried out every single website program that came on the accompanying CD-Rom (which also had complete examples of all the exercises in the book and also some free stuff too) but only one program appealed to me... HotDog Professional 6.5.

After its trial period was over, I didn't know what to do, buy the program from Sausage Software or download another program to trial. I really loved using HotDog Pro (that is what I'll call it from now on for this post), especially its website management wizards and also a lot of other things such as an Accessibility checker that lets you know if you need to add accessibility options to different things. I even loved how you can collapse certain HTML code so you don't end up typing over it or doing something bad to something you want to keep safe. It even remembers to collapse the text when you reopen HotDog, even bookmarked text will also be remembered when you reopen HotDog as well, which is great! There are way too many things that I can tell you about HotDog Pro that I really love.

As I couldn't make up my mind on buying HotDog Pro, I went back to using Super NoteTab Light and Windows' Notepad (both are annoying as they don't color the code in HTML documents at all). Some months later, Mum told me that a friend of hers on the Internet told her that she was into web design like me and was using a program called CoffeeCup HTML Editor. Mum downloaded the latest version of CoffeeCup at that time (I think it was version 9.7) and I gave it a try until I was sure of what to do. I weighed up the pros and cons of both programs, especially their price and upgrade offers then, still unsure, I tried HotDog Pro 7.03 (the latest version of HotDog which, in some ways, is better then the one I was using). Even though I liked it a lot, I had come across this forum on the Internet that is called What Happened To Hot Dog?. After reading several of the posts on that forum, which is part of Tek-Tips (go to the Tek-Tips Home Page and do a search for What Happened To Hot Dog and it should come up), I felt very unsure about using and buying HotDog Pro and was starting to lean more towards CoffeeCup.

For years, I had been buying a magazine called Australian PC World (the Aussie version of the popular US computer mag) but when I later saw another computer magazine called Australian PC User (this one is totally Australian) featuring a free version of CoffeeCup HTML Editor 9.5 on their cover CD/DVD, I bought it and now buy PC User regularly. Mum installed the free version of CoffeeCup HTML Editor for me to use (from now on, it will just be called CoffeeCup on this blog post).

They had a trial version of CoffeeCup 2005, but I just wanted to use the free one for the time being until I decided what to do. After a while, I was fed up of using the free old version of CoffeeCup so I told Mum that I wanted to order the latest version so we went to the CoffeeCup site and ordered the HTML Editor which also offered upgrades for life!!! I would highly recommend this program as it has many features and is user-friendly.

Since I've been into web design, I've bought three more web design books to add to my collection. The reason I prefer to handle HTML coding is because you have a lot more control over it than you do with the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Internet browsers and you also know where to look for errors and fix them. Currently, I am in the middle of creating a web site to put on the Net so, one day when I get it up and running, I will post the link for it.

Well, I guess that is all I have to tell you at the moment. Bye for now ~

Music In The Family

2007-04-18T13:03:00.000+10:00

Welcome to another week and to another post made by myself. Nothing much has been happening in my life at all lately, but I am mainly here to tell you about music and that is what I am doing and this time, it is going to be unrelated to Elton John.

Since October last year, members of my family have been getting musical instruments. It all started that October when my sister, Michelle (who moved out of home in June 2006) rang Mum up and said that she got a guitar, so one day she came over and brought it over with her so Mum could tune it and get it right. Michelle, her boyfriend and my brothers all went to the coast that day while Mum and I were spending time with Grandma and Granddad, who had come over to spend the day with us. That afternoon, Reece (one of my brothers) was playing Michelle's guitar and he really liked it a great deal that he wished he had one! The next day, Reece went out to the local musical instrument store called The Music Spot with Mum and he came home with a new guitar as well. Mum said that she saw a guitar that she really loved and would love to get one day (Mum used to have her own guitar before we went to America and she really enjoyed playing it).

A few weeks later, I went into an electronics place called Tandy down at our local shopping centre, Grand Plaza, and brought a keyboard that I had my eye on for the last few years. Actually, Mum and I waited for the keyboard to be brought into the store from the storage room. The keyboard I looked at, the CASIO CTK-451, was very similar to my cousin Skye's one, except it wasn't MIDI compatible and had different songs, but the one they brought from the storage area looked a lot better and I got it for exactly the same price I was wanting the older model for, and I bought a keyboard stand separately, as that didn't come with the keyboard.

The newer one was is a CASIO CTK-481 and it was even better than the one I was looking at because it was a lighter color and it also is MIDI compatible, which is what I need as I am going to et into MIDI creation for when I get my web site up and running. Two days after getting the keyboard, I bought a book from the local bookstore called The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory Second Edition by Michael Miller. I found the book very easy and fun to follow and was impressed at how much I was learning through it. It contained an audio CD, which includes The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory Ear Training Course, which will help you know the difference in pitches and what are intervals, scales and much more, just follow along with the book and do the CD for the chapters that have the CD icon and you will be all set for that chapter. The worst thing is that I have only just started Chapter 4, the last chapter in Part 1, so I better get a move on with it. Even though I'm still on Chapter 4, I feel like I could really recommend this book for everyone who loves music. In my opinion, the book doesn't make music theory seem hard at all, just another fun lesson that you can do at your own pace!

Since I bought the keyboard, I wanted to get into learning some songs, so I eventually went to The Music Spot with Mum, the place Reece got his guitar and I was looking for a music book.
Mum helped me find a more modern E-Z Play Today book that includes keyboards as well, and it had a lot of my favourite songs, so I ended up buying it and an M-Audio MIDISPORT UNO MIDI-to-USB cable (a MIDI cable that had a USB cable at the other end for plugging into the computer to make MIDI music with the keyboard). The music book, E-Z Play Today - Adult Contemporary Songbook is quite good. The MIDI cable was expensive though, I nearly didn't buy it, but I couldn't resist it. If you want to know what MIDI is, I can't really tell you as it is a little bit complex, but you will find a link to the MIDI Manufacturer's Association website in my Links section.

Even more surprising was that Beau, my other brother, bought himself a keyboard as well. At the time, I thought it was good, but then I realized what a few of the fall backs were such as having a built-in sustain button instead of a sustain pedal, which would be a lot easier to work with if you're changing between notes than having to press the button. Beau also eventually went out and bought himself a keyboard stand. Skye, my cousin, had already got an electric guitar a while back, but she loved my Aunty Angela's acoustic guitar so much that she used to play it. Aunty Angela and Uncle Peter got Skye her own acoustic guitar for Christmas, including a guitar tuner and a device that shows you correct finger positions for certain chords, Skye was rapt about that.

Well, that is it for me at the moment. The next time I do a post, I am going to talk about my interest in web design how I've come to know about it. It may not be totally to do with music, but at least it is music related as my web site will be totally about music and I will also tell you bits of the stuff that will be included.

My 2006 Elton John Concert

2007-04-04T21:34:00.002+10:00

This is a picture of Uncle Peter (left) and myself just before we left to go to the Elton John 2006 concert.

Hi everyone! As I promised, I've done another post for you to read! I said last time that this time I was going to tell you about my last Elton John concert that happened on November 26, 2006! The concert I went to back in 2002 that I told you about last fortnight was fun, but I didn't do a lot of cheering or singing along with songs like everyone else was in the Entertainment Centre, Mum encouraged me to sing along and just enjoy myself as I was a bit nervous! At the concert I went to last year of Elton's called The Captain And The Kid, I did a lot more cheering and clapping and singing and fully enjoyed myself!

When I found out that Elton was coming back to Australia for his Captain And The Kid tour, I was, like the first time, very excited! I told everyone in my family about it coming! I tried getting through on various radio station competitions, but had no luck, except my Granddad, who won Elton's new CD on 4BH. Little did I know, the week before the concert, I found out that Uncle Peter had bought tickets for he and I to go to the concert. That really made my day.

It is worth me mentioning here that since June, I've been watching Australian Idol and was (not voting until the end) hoping for one of the contestants, Damien Leith, to win each week, he made it to the Final 2 with another great singer in that competition Jessica Mauboy. I didn't realise that the Australian Idol Grand Finale would be on the exact night of the Elton concert.

Uncle Peter and I listened to Elton's new CD, The Captain And The Kid all the way to the concert and Uncle Peter thought it was quite a good CD! When we got to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, we got a park just near the building, therefore it would be easy to leave when the concert was over! When we got inside, we paid for the concert programme! The programme looked so good, especially with an interview with Elton and Bernie about the Captain And The Kid CD.

We went in just before 8:00pm to get our seats. Since the last concert, I was concerned if I had to go up or down steps, but we sat was an area where people with disabilities can sit. When we got in, I was shocked to see the view we had, it was fantastic! At the 2002 concert, me and Mum were on the ground floor, therefore you could always get some one's head in your way when you don't want to, but where we sat in 2006, you could see the stage and the big screen directly opposite us. It was such a good concert with Elton even doing 5 songs in a row from the new album!

Unfortunately, I found out later that Elton was sick that night when we saw him, he went off stage for a few minutes to be sick while Davey Johnstone played guitar until Elton came back and apologised for the sickness. I was actually surprised that there was no support act this time like the last time. Elton just performed straight for a few hours before finishing. It was a fantastic concert, even Uncle Peter enjoyed it! The lights were nice and bright and the sound was nice and loud! I do intend to go to another Elton concert in the future. I did hear that he might be slowing down after this year, but he will still be good. If he ever announces a final world tour, I hope to get right up front on that night and enjoy seeing him live close up.

Next time, I am going to talk about various music things that are unrelated to Elton, so watch this space for more posts vary soon!

My Very First Elton John Concert

2007-03-27T14:53:00.000+10:00

This is a picture of me holding the tour programme at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on the night of the concert.

Hi everyone! I know it has been over a week and a half since my last blog post, so I thought I'd do another one now. I Will start adding more to my blog a lot more regularly than what I am doing at the moment. Last time, I said that I will tell you about my first Elton John concert and how I was able to go to it, so here I go!

In 1998, I wanted to go to the Elton John and Billy Joel Face To Face concert at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane, but I didn't end up going. Then in 1999, when my family and I were in the US, in Wyoming, I heard that Elton was performing in Laramie, in memory of Matthew Shepherd (a gay man who was killed in Wyoming), I really wanted to go to that one even though I realise It was for a purpose. I never went to that one either, but this time it was because Laramie was right on the other side of Wyoming, near the northern part of the state.

It all started on Christmas Day in 2001, I think it was around October or November that year that I found out Elton was coming over to Australia for a tour, I really wanted to go and see Elton live. I have been telling my Grandparents and my Mum how much I would really would love to go and see him live, so on Christmas Day that year, my Grandparents came over to have Christmas Lunch and then that afternoon, we were talking and then my Granddad said to my sister, Michelle, that she should write in to Kim & Laurel at 4KQ (a radio station that my Grandparents used to listen to and I still listen to, Kim & Laurel were the breakfast show hosts) and tell them about my disabilities and how much I would love to go and see Elton live as I am a real big fan and ask them if they would be able to send tickets for me!

Well, I didn't think it would happen, but one day in 2002, when we were going to my Grandparents' house (I don't know if it was February or March) and we stopped at the mailbox for Michelle to post a letter. Then one day, I was listening to 4KQ and they were advertising that that weekend was to be Elton John weekend where you get a copy of Elton's album at the time, Songs From The West Coast and tickets to the concert.

About a month before the concert, 4KQ advertised that the first night of Elton's concert (the Wednesday, April 24) was sold out and they the concert people had decided to add a Tuesday night concert, I was so excited, I thought I'd get a chance to see one of the two nights. I started getting very desperate, still hoping. Then on Monday, April 22, 2002, I woke up, turned 4KQ on and still heard them giving away tickets to Elton's concerts, I then continued to get ready for school.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, I came back home in the taxi (there are a few schools in Brisbane that allowed students with disabilities to be able to get to and from school by taxi if they can't get picked up by their parents), I was surprised to see my Grandparents' car sitting in the driveway, I was wondering if they were just there to visit. I went in the house and said hello to everyone and put my school things in my room. After that, I came out and sat at the table with everyone else to have something to eat for afternoon tea. Before I started eating, Mum showed me an envelope. I tried to read the writing on it, it was a little hard, but I couldn't believe what I was reading, at first I thought it was a joke. Mum then told me to open it, I opened it and pulled out two yellow bits of paper and tried to read one of them.

When I was confused what the paper said, Mum asked me if I knew what it was and I said no, then Mum said "They're Elton John tickets!" My Granddad took a photo of my reaction straight away with his camera, I still smile every time I look at it! Mum told me she was out when she got the call from 4KQ saying that Kim & Laurel would be happy to send tickets for me to see Elton live! I ended up having that Wednesday off school because I was so excited and to celebrate with Mum by going out for lunch!

Me and Mum had dinner before we left and at six o'clock that night, my Grandparents came over as they were taking me and Mum to the concert! It was quite dark when we got to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Before we went in, I got some pictures taken and then we went and got a concert program and sat outside the door to the concert hall to wait, I flipped through the program and tried looking for a set list of all the songs Elton would sing, but couldn't find any ((I was a little disappointed, even the concert programme I got for the 2006 concert didn't have any). Before we went in, some of the ushers came and Mum told them about my vision problem and she went in with the usher to see how I'd be able to get down the steps. I found out that the steps were too narrow for me so the usher took me and Mum (my Grandparents stayed at the door) the long way to the ground floor where we'd be sitting.

As we were walking down to the ground floor, we went down in a lift and when we got to the bottom and walked a little way, the usher said that we were near the backstage area, he pointed to a sign that said Back Stage and to a door and said that was where Elton was, behind that door, but there was a security guard there to stop people going through! I was really excited walking through there! We eventually got to our seats, so we sat down and waited for the show to begin!

I wondered who the support act was going to be and was surprised at how good they were. The group was called Supergirlies, two girls who made up words to popular songs in a comedy way! They even suggested that Britney Spears' Baby One More Time and Oops! I Did It Again were done with the same music! That was a real laugh to listen to, but even though I enjoyed them, I really wanted Elton to come on! After the support act went off after a few encores, Elton got introduced to the stage! I was so excited, I wondered what song was going to be first! Then I heard the very beginning of Elton's song from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road called Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. Mum got me to look at the stage and I was a guy playing the keyboards in darkness! When Elton came on and started waving to the audience before sitting down at the piano to play Love Lies Bleeding, I couldn't help myself, I just couldn't believe my favourite singer was up there on stage, therefore I cried for a little bit while Elton was singing the song!

I was so glad that Mum was there with me so she comforted me while I cried, I stopped before the first song was finished and was excited to hear Elton go in to Bennie And The Jets! Elton then followed that with a song from his then new album Songs From The West Coast called The Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes, which was also done very well! I loved the entire concert, Elton did 4 other songs from that album, I Want Love, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore, Original Sin and The Wasteland! I nearly cried a little again during Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word because I was so happy! The lights were all bright and the sound was fantastic! I remember Elton doing I'm Still Standing and all the lights get turned right up and bright every time he sings "Yeah, yeah, yeah"! I also remember Elton coming stage 2 times for encores; the first time he came on for an encore, he did Pinball Wizard and then came back on again for Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and Your Song!

I do wish I could tell you everything about that concert, but I don't remember all the details of it like I did 10 months after it! Even Mum enjoyed herself at the concert as well!

Well, I guess that is it for now! Next time, I'm going to talk about my last Elton concert I went to! No, I didn't cry during that one, but I did do a lot of screaming!

2007-03-03T09:33:00.000+10:00

Hi, I'm really sorry that I haven't had any news on here since I started this blog, but this is my first one. There are lots I have to tell you about my most favourite interest of all - Music!

Well, where should I begin? I think I shall tell you about how I became a fan of who I think is one of the best singers in the world - Elton John! I became an Elton John fan back in 1995! It may be strange to think of, but I actually started my love of his music all because of one thing, an advertisement on TV for his Love Songs CD, which had just been released here in Australia! I listened to the bits of songs on the ad and I realised that I wanted the CD so badly! I got that CD that very Christmas and I was very happy!

It was very sad to hear that Princess Diana died in 1997, just two months after Gianni Versace, both were friends of Elton's. I think it was nice the way he did Candle In The Wind just for Diana, now called Candle In The Wind 1997. When they put the funeral on TV, I watched Elton as he sung the new words to Candle In The Wind, I also heard another sound going on along with the piano that sounded like strings, but wasn't, as you don't see any other instruments. I feel there must be something on the piano itself that Elton must use to make all those good accompanying sounds, Elton still does that in his solo performances today with the piano with different sounds.

I was very pleased to hear about the single being released of the song, but I didn't realise it was going to be put on the Something About The Way You Look Tonight single, which doesn't worry me as I love Elton's music anyway. I have to admit, even though I like the studio version with the string arrangement by George Martin, I do prefer the live funeral version, which when the single came out, I thought it would have the live version as well.

Being in Australia, we basically get Elton albums and singles that are exactly like the ones in the UK, even though we don't get some singles that the UK does, which really annoys me. When Peachtree Road got released, I read on the Elton fan club news section that the UK would get the single release of All That I'm Allowed while America got Answer In The Sky, Australia released no single from that album whatsoever. I had another disappointment when the single re-release of Are You Ready For Love came out. No music stores here could get it, and when I tried to order it from the UK, I found out it was deleted (no longer available).

All that proves to me that if you want to be a fan of Elton John; you are best living in either the USA or the UK. Another difference I've noted as well is the fact that in Australia and the UK, 12 of Elton's original albums made it into the remastered CD series called The Classic Years, Australia and the UK got the Classic Years CDs with light covers and a yellow strip down the side with The Classic Years in it. Rather than doing what we (Australia & UK) did, the US released all those albums with slightly darker covers and a nice gold strip down the side with The Classic Years in it. In some ways, I do prefer the US release of all those CDs, but I also like the UK & Australian release of those CDs, just not as much as the US ones. The Classic Years version of Rock Of The Westies was the only album that had different bonus tracks, Australia & the UK got one bonus track, the famous Don't Go Breaking My Heart, while the US got to rare bonus tracks, I don't know the name of them!

Well, I guess I'd better stop here, but I promise I will try and add more to my blog soon, rather than waiting a long time to do it. Next time, I will tell you about my very first Elton John concert I went to and how I got to go to it! Yes, it was exciting, but that will have to wait. Bye for now.

My Very First Post

2007-01-12T18:26:00.000+10:00

Hi! This is my very first post, I am so excited about it! I am really looking forward to sharing my thoughts and daily happenings with you. This will be all for now, I hope you have a happy and prosperous 2007.