Absolutely nothing.
I’m on Twitter. twitter.com/jasemurphy. Why?
Because I bought the hype.
Continue reading Twitter! Huh! What is it good for?
Author: thomasthethinkengine
Thomas the Think Engine is the blog of a trained economist. It comes to you from Melbourne Australia.
How about this weather, eh!
Talking about the weather never grows old. In fact, like a fine wine, it improves with age. You never see a pair of five-year-old kids standing by the monkey bars going:
‘Maaate, how about this rain?’
bikesnobnyc
I’ve just discovered this blog. http://www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com
It’s been running for a couple of years and I’ve delved deep into the archives.
It is so well written it makes me want to:
a) read more!
b) cry
c) try harder.
read it today.
Inglourious Basterds – A Review
Inglourious Basterds hinges on ‘good and evil’, and blithely depicts evil actions as good. Oh, btw, I may ruin this movie for you. Sorry. ;)
Accents eh, bro?
Why are some accents funny?
The Australians find the Irish accent hilarious. Half of Ireland holds down steady jobs doing comedy here. But I bet the Scots don’t laugh at them. I’m told the Americans cack themselves at the Canadians. ‘Aboot aboot!’ Similarly, I fear the amusement is not mutual.
I just spent a couple of weeks spinning comedy gold out of the most minor differences in pronunciation, in New Zealand.
Costco – A review
Bringing big- box retailing to Melbourne’s thriving Docklands precinct is the Costco Wholesale Corporation, the largest membership warehouse club chain in the world, based on sales volume!
Imagine If Kmart, Bunnings, and the Melbourne Cricket Club had a baby. Continue reading Costco – A review
America’s guns
300 million free citizens can’t be wrong. Right? Continue reading America’s guns
Travel Disasters – the rat.
In 2007, I was working for the Australian Government. In May I got sent to Nauru to carry papers and fill a chair at an important meeting.
Travel disasters
“Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”.
Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
So it is with travel.
All lovely trips feature delectable meals, beautiful sunsets, friendly guides and surprisingly well-appointed accommodation.
Trips people like to hear about might feature explosive diarrhea, incarceration by border guards, hungry bed bugs, bus drivers on mezcal, stolen luggage, muggings at syringe point, water landings, leaky canoes, brutal casino security guards, giant squid attacks, or some variation on this endlessly adaptable theme.
Mt Hotham – a book review
I ordered my copy of Mt Hotham on the internet. Prime book-reading season was in full-swing, and I eagerly anticipated the time when I was finally able to open the cover. I had read a short-story version many years ago, and I knew this work was likely to be a pre-eminent example of its genre.
Hello, Aliens!
I heard the people from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on the radio this morning. It’s not a German techno outfit. It’s a real American scientific research centre looking for intelligent life in the universe. It’s exciting. I can’t imagine the hoo-hah if they found something. It might even push Masterchef below the fold.
There could be life in the universe, for sure. But they’re dreaming if they think it will communicate with us. A few reasons: Continue reading Hello, Aliens!
Verbing weirds language.
Pick someone who rates their grammar skills, and try saying this: “Your rampant pedantry is impacting me negatively.”
Watch: First their faces grow red. They sputter. Flecks of spit gather like soap scum in the corner of their mouths. Hands shake and reach for their receding hairlines. They suppress the urge to correct. But not for long. “IMPACT is a noun! You can’t ‘impact’ something! It’s WRONG! WRONG!!!”
Then try saying this “Um, chillax dude. Grammar? Like, whatevs.” Boom. Splatter. You have just made a human being explode.
Fancy food
Wanna see how fancy your Dominos pizza can look?
Check out this bizarre food reconstruction website! http://www.fancyfastfood.com
Something-something and over it
I was passing my lunchtime in a bookshop near my former office when I found a book with the following title: ‘30-Something and Over It’.
I’m not 30-something, but this book was speaking to me. (Maybe it’s because I have been reading at or above my age-level since that remedial class.) I took the book down and began. From page one I felt recognition.
I stood there, a non-fiction display shielding me from the bookstore staff’s cold stares, and read about the author’s battle with demotivation. She told the story of climbing the corporate ladder until one day she woke up with no desire to reach for the next rung. She lacked the desire to even cling to her rung. She lacked the desire to get out of bed. Continue reading Something-something and over it
Regrets, I’ve had a few
You know that feeling where you’re angry at yourself? I had that today. About a 10-minute period where I was the worst, dumbest guy I could think of.
Continue reading Regrets, I’ve had a few
Coffee Safari
Like many Melburnians, I secretly consider myself a coffee connoisseur. I’ve drunk a lot of strong flat whites in a lot of different places. I last had instant in 94. I like to go to cafes that will have excellent coffee.
And so, I have spent considerable time immersed in the wisdom of the internet. My distillation of the zillions of on-line debates, references and reviews says that Melbourne’s most-highly regarded coffees are at: Baba Budan and Cafenatics in the city; and St Ali in South Melbourne.
I wanted to try my hand at reviewing the best of the best, so I rang my friend Bill. He imposed one condition on our mission and we met at the GPO. Armed with paper, pencil and a willingness to consume more caffeine than is healthy, we set off. Continue reading Coffee Safari
Lost in Translation
I watched a DVD yesterday. Lost in Translation. I’ve seen it a few times before, and I think it is one of my favourite few films ever.
I was surprised by what I had misremembered about the movie. Continue reading Lost in Translation
More Micronations!
On Tuesday I wrote about sea-steading – establishing new countries on man-made islands. Turns out this isn’t the only way of setting up your own nation. Independence has also been proclaimed for:
The Kingdom of Lovely: A flat in London belonging to Danny Wallace.
Kingdom of Lovely Coat of Arms and its Latin motto, which translates as
‘Have a nice day’.
Continue reading More Micronations!
Futurology
In my last job we worked with a futurologist. She was scatter-brained and Canadian and it was easy to make fun of her field. Boy, we got laughs with our Marty McFly / Doc Brown jokes. Hoverboards anybody?!
But, it’s confession time. I am continually reminding myself of her principles when I see someone talk about what is definitely going to happen.
Continue reading Futurology
Don’t like the law? Leave.
There are people who don’t like the laws of the US. They come from Silicon Valley and they are into sea-steading. It’s like Sim-State or Wiki-Jurisdiction. But for real. They plan to make their own countries.
Continue reading Don’t like the law? Leave.
Thomas the Think Engine 