Saints are back in the good books. Beat the Bulldogs by 50 points. One more home and away round and then it's finals time. Woohoo!

Not talking about the Saints this week. They were disgraceful last night.

Bought myself a new home theatre system the other day. DVD/video/CD/radio all in one little box with six surround sound speakers. It's only a $350 cheapie but it's more than good enough for the bedroom. (The stereo out in the lounge is kinda antiquated!)
When I set it up I then couldn't decide whether to watch a DVD or a video, or listen to a CD or the radio. I fell asleep instead!
Now I have to figure out how to hook up my old amp and turntable - then I can listen to all that old vinyl as well.
I'm quite pleased with my new toy.

The next project is to convert all that vinyl to CD. It's not so simple on the laptop - I need an usb audio adapter to plug the amp/turntable into the sound card or something. And, of course, I need hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of blank CDs. I'll get there one day.

The rrr radiothon is almost over. I have to say that this last week has been super-enjoyable listening. Highlights: Gary Young and co playing rockabilly blues live in the studio on the Chicken Mary show on Monday, presenter and guests singing along with the tracks on The Word on Tuesday, GWB's version of Imagine on On The Blower yesterday (hilarious!).
I just love the way the various contributors to various shows all come in to the studio and chat with the show's host, exhort listeners to subscribe, etc. It's been really energetic radio fuelled by people who really love what they're doing. You can't help but love it too. (Well, I can't at least)
It's the station's 30th birthday in November and I can't wait to hear what goes on then. 30 years for a public, community station is pretty good going I reckon.

Bizarre

Serb police open hire business

Serbs seeking a bit of extra protection or perhaps a helicopter for the weekend can now turn to the police, which from this month will be renting out its personnel, transport and even animals for private use.
According to a detailed price list published in the official gazette, the cost of hiring a policeman to guard money transports or sports events would be 300 dinars ($A5.80) an hour.
A police horse goes for 2,400 dinars a day, a trained dog for 1,800 dinars a day, and a helicopter for between 45,000 and 140,000 dinars per hour depending on the type.
The Government says the scheme is designed as "a chance for police to gain additional financial means and have their own income".
A statement published on the official government web site says both individuals and companies will be entitled to use those services.
The process will be under the strict control of the Interior Ministry to prevent abuses.

- Reuters

I phoned in my subscription to rrr yesterday. $110 (that's the 'passionate' rate) for the year. Normal subscription is $66 or $33 concession. It's not a lot really. These subscriptions make up over half of the station's yearly income so it's important to give them that support. If you haven't listened to rrr then you should. 102.7fm. The scope and variety, and the sheer independence, of the programming is just a joy. There's even a special prize for overseas subscribers (via web streaming) - an iPod I think. I heard, this morning, a couple of people in California subscribed. That's awesome.

Morgawr by Terry Brooks. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through. Lots more action in this one than in the previous two books. The main characters keep getting themselves in more and more difficult situations. I'm getting a bit tired of chapters ending with "everything went black." Rather lacking in imagination there, Mr Brooks!
Some of the main characters have died but those still in action keep making the most miraculous escapes. I find myself losing patience with this at times. I also find myself thinking that if they can do that now why didn't they do it earlier? I think it's a quite lazily written book. Shannara by numbers. Disappointing.

Free Range Radio

Triple R starts its annual subscribathon on Friday. Spend a few bucks and help keep this most excellent station alive.
rrr.org.au

what I'm reading

By Terry Brooks. I read the original Shannara series years ago and decided to read this later trilogy. Book 1 (The Ilse Witch) started off a bit slowly. At first I thought it was all a bit predictable but, once the action got under way, it surprised me. It's a traditional fantasy tale in that there's good versus evil, magic, etc. But the lines between good and evil are rather more blurred than usual. Book 2 (Antrax, which I'm reading now) has thrown up a few interesting twists to keep me interested. I'll be into Book 3 (Morgawr) soon and am keen to see how it all unfolds.

Not only did the Saints lose on Friday night but Matt Maguire broke his leg as well. That makes four or five key players out with long term injury. But, after winning the previous five games in a row, we're firmly in the top 8 and will play in the finals, barring total disaster!

I saw Dead Man's Chest recently. What a hoot! Not much plot, I must admit, but the set piece action scenes are really well done. Some scenes are just laugh out loud funny. The human kebab is hilarious.

www.wherestherum.com
(can't get the link thingy to work so it'll have to be this way.)