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October 31, 2004
Happy Halloween!
Stace invited me over to her flat for some pumpkin carving, and it was only then I found that I really can't sand the sight of pumpkin guts...
 
Kate looks on attentively, while Ross, sporting a true Scottish-Halloween-Drag-Scottish fusion spins a yarn.
Here is Dirty Martini and her gangsters...
 
Alessandro, a colourful Italian clown.
 
Posted by Simon at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2004
Infinte Loops

Halloween falls on this Sunday, so here is just a snapshot of the festivities today at Apple HQ in Cupertino. These would have to be the most original Halloween costumes of the year. That alone makes these cool guys Infinite Loops...

So with my midterms out of the way, I thought I'd go buy myself a new tech toy. I bought an airport express because I realised that it's the perfect wireless switch for software demos. While I was playing camera man Jsam caught this candid shot of me, don't tell me that I never make it in-front of the camera.

I wonder what this guy/gal does at Apple? iTunes Music Store anyone?

Posted by Simon at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2004
Have PowerBook... will travel.

I tried out the iTunes Music Store for the first time, bought the soundtrack to Garden State. I've been tantalised by the iTMS enough! Open memo to Apple execs: Aussies want iTMS too! As you can see, I'm just trying now to do my studies (and looking a tad puzzled), trying to get all this stuff in my head in time for assignments and exams. Mid-terms start week after next! At least I don't have to always sit at my desk. Groan.
Last night, the Hillel was pack to capacity for the "Israel Shabbat" apparently it was their best turn out to recent events. They brought down from San Francisco the consulate general who gave a spiel about the political situation in Israel. While everyone enjoyed traditional Israeli foods... I have turned over a new leaf this week trying to get to bed at least before midnight. The last fours weeks have been a wild ride, and I think it has finally caught up with me. Time to recuperate. Photo credit: Kate Davies
Posted by Simon at 08:22 AM | Comments (3)
October 09, 2004
Gone fishing...

What exactly I'm fishing for this morning I don't know, maybe I just like that entry title. I went for ride down to the wharf early this morning. I saw many out there fishing in the early Saturday morning. Why do I get up early on Saturday morning in a college town? For starters it's cooler in the morning and the mountain that the campus is on is no fun to surmount in the heat of the days here. There are also no cars or SUVs hooning down the mountain which gave me a chance to figure out the roads. I also needed a chance to erm... do some _study_ during the day! Hillel put on a really "hippi" Simchat Torah over the last two days... Some honest exercise was indeed in order to offset the last two days of festivities, shmoozing and religiously-sanctioned alcohol abuse! Here is a snap of the morning sun rising over the Pacific.

With scenery like this... why sleep in?

Fishmongers and quaint little tourist stores like this one line the wharf

Here are some nice pics that I somehow forgot to post... This is the boardwalk by night, it really feels like it is stuck in a 1920's time-warp.

Students casually having lunch with the stunning Monterey Bay as their backdrop

Posted by Simon at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2004
Home is where you hang your hat
Or rather, home is where you get high. It's official. Everything I suspected about UCSC and was too afraid to ask...

I can't find the article online, if you find it can you email me a URL?
Posted by Simon at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2004
Licensed to ride...
No sooner had I bought this bike, I got pulled over. That's right, I bought this bike last weekend, got it fixed up on Friday and took it for a real spin on Saturday. That's when the long-arm of the law caught up with me... I got pulled over by the cops... on my push-bike!

Why? I was riding the wrong direction down a one-way street. I was going walking pace down Pacific Avenue, the main street in downtown Santa Cruz. A similar street to Campbell Parade in Bondi. It's wide with hordes of people on the "sidewalk" and teeming with police, many more than any part of Sydney. So I got stopped and asked for my drivers' licence. After a brief pause the police woman, with a stern look on her face "I don't know what it's like in Australia, but in California you are a vehicle like any other"... At least I had my bike registered...

No fine or anything like that... but it would have been nice if somebody other than the police told me that.
Got asked this morning by the frosh, like so many previous mornings (over breakfast) if the toilets down-under flush the other way... So here it is for the record... "yes... yes, they do flush very differently". If for no other reason you visit Australia, be assured of this.
Posted by Simon at 08:53 AM | Comments (2)