Whirlpool is Australia’s largest technology forum and each day thousands of people contribute to discussions on the site, ranging from not only technology issues but also covering a wide range of topics. I am one of them and yesterday night noticed the Whirlpool was down. Usually when Whirlpool goes down a maintenance message comes up [...]

It’s no secret that I’m not a parent. Partially because the one person I’ve met who I eventually thought could handle the crazy of little Oz’s vanished on me, but also because I don’t think I’m ready. If I was to become a father in the near future though I’d like to think I’d exhibit [...]

Once upon a time I loved Cadbury chocolate. Despite being treated like roadkill by Cadbury over the last 12 months I still fondly remember buying my first chocolate block. I’d saved up roughly two weeks of pocket money and trundled into my local IGA supermarket. I knew I was paying slightly more for my chocolate [...]

When I decided to take my Surly Long Haul Trucker with me to Taiwan (yes, yes I know Taiwan is the bicycle manufacturing capital of the world but I really like my bike), I was presented with the logistics of how to pack the bicycle for transportation via airplane. I’d already decided that I was [...]

Foreword: There are three main train networks in Taiwan, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), the High Speed Rail (HSR) and the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRT). This article focuses on the TRA, which is the cheaper option for travelling between cities and towns in Taiwan compared to the HSR. Back in Australia I never really [...]

Nearly two weeks ago I asked Being in Taiwan I can only go off the media reports I see, what’s the general feeling over there? Are things for Rudd (and by proxy Conroy) really that bad? Although I didn’t get any replies it seems describing the political situation as ‘that bad‘ in Australia was a [...]

A few years back I remember reading crazy stories about women being touched up on trains in Japan. I can’t remember exactly where I read the stories (probably the mainstream news) but it didn’t surprise me at the time. When you combine massive crowds and small spaces you’re undoubtedly going to get opportunists feeling up [...]

My first taste of a Krispy Kreme donut was on a sponsored promotional run for a local car club. So luring was the promise of Krispy Kreme donuts (this was before a store had opened) that two of my housemates had come along seeing as the promotion promised us a box for each person that [...]

I’ve had a ridiculously busy week this week and it’s catchup time on the weekend so just a quick post today. I was hauling across Taiwan on a random day trip the other month when I whizzed past a bunch of road signs. Not entirely sure where I was, I backed up and had a [...]

When I first arrived in Taiwan one of my priorities was finding a daily Milo supplement. Despite eventually settling on readily available chocolate tea, I went for about a week experimenting with Ovaltine. In Taiwan Ovaltine comes in two varieties. Tiny little 200ml or so cartons and 375ml cans. A far cry from 1L of [...]