I’m a perfectionist. Oh no!

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Ok it’s out there. One of my defects is about to be explored.

  • Coffee Baristas, do you ever find yourself tipping out half a litre of milk because it didn’t froth the way you expected?
  • Pizza makers, do you ever re-arrange the pepperonis or the olives on a pizza because they weren’t evenly distributed?
  • Office gentlemen, Do you ever knot a neck tie 2 or 3 times until you get the right length?

These are some of the things I often do when things don’t turn out the way I would like them to. I know it sounds excessive but I’m just fussy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I take great pleasure in seeing things come out great. There’s nothing like eating an almost perfect pizza, drinking great coffee and knowing your tie is precise on length. Stupid things like this make me happy on a daily basis. I don’t get upset when something comes out average but I pursue and immensely enjoy excellence. You have to be willing to pay for it most the time too.

My thoughts on Google Buzz

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I like the service for 3 reasons:

1) Easy access with little effort

2) Simple to learn and no frills design

3) Adequate compatibility for different publishing mediums (at least in my experience)

The fact that Buzz lives inside your gmail inbox is fantastic. After I’ve checked my emails, Buzz is just one click away. It’s just a matter of opening up the Buzz pane and you can quickly scroll over recent activity. A much simpler task than viewing your RSS reader. And just that one step more convenient than viewing your twitter account. Continue reading →

How private should your blog be?

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The longer you maintain a blog, the probability that you’re leaking out your private life increases. This is the case for personal blogs.

I’ve gotten to the stage where my posts have slowed down and I’ve less things to write about. The next hurdle will be whether I decide to open up completely and start blogging about my every day. There are certain things I’ve kept private about my online profile. This includes the schools I’ve attended, the places I have worked and personal contact information. Continue reading →

Espresso Coffee for Beginners

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A simple guide to using an electric manual espresso machine. The photo tutorial is divided into 2 parts: the espresso making stage; and the milk frothing stage.

Below, a list of the basic equipment needed.
1. An espresso Machine
2. A grinder
3. Milk Pitcher (jug)
4. Thermometer (for milk)
5. Cups
6. Portafilter
7. Coffee beans
8. Water (filtered water preferred)
9. Milk (full cream gets best resutls)

PART I

Here we prepare the espresso, which is the essence and base for any coffee drink whether it’s machiatto, cappucino, flat white or cafe latte. Continue reading →

Childhood dreams

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Picture from: http://www.nutrigrain.com.au/iron-man-series.aspx

While growing up, I changed my childhood dreams a fair bit.

Primary School Dreams

The earliest dream I can recall is wanting to be an iron man tri-athelete. I loved the beach and I was getting far with my swimming lessons at the time.

I then found a passion in books. It seemed logical that I would want to become a writer, like my favourite authors Roal Dahl and Paul Jennings. After being told that I wouldn’t make much money from being a writer, I soon lost enthusiasm for that dream.

It would be a few years before I would create another destiny for myself. I was in year 6, I was elected the school captain for my primary school. It was the year Pauline Hanson made headlines over her controversial views and statements. I had given a speech in class condemning her views and the racism she was promoting. I had finally decided that I wanted to be the prime minister of Australia. It was the same year that I discovered that John Christopher Watson – Australia’s and the world’s first Labour Prime Minister (1904) – was born in Valparaiso, Chile just like me. Continue reading →