Candles, I’m Sick of Candles

Skevos realises that living under candlelight is not romantic – it’s primitive.

It’s been over twenty-four hours since the power in our place dropped from 240volts to what seems like twelve. The novelty of being without useful power is well and truly over. They say that any society is just three meals away from revolution, well this internet junky has gone two nights without web or email and if things don’t improve soon I’m going to revolt.

Calling the power company is futile, all we get is a recording, “We know there is a problem in your area. Restoration time is unknown. This message will be updated at 8:30”. Each time we call them the list of affected suburbs gets a little shorter and the next update a little later, but no change here since yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately today I told my students to email me if they had any questions or suggestions for day two of the course – but without power I can’t check emails. Bugger.

Brown Outs, Talk Back, and The BBC

Thanks to an extended brownout, Skevos has too much time to think.

I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s nearly four in the morning and ever since we got home (about seven hours ago) the house has been in one long brown out. Obviously I’ve seen brown outs before, they’re a fact of life in Brisbane and they’re part of the reason I bought a UPS unit to protect my PC data, but until tonight they’ve always been momentary events.
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Underworld

Surprisingly good horror-action film from a first-time director. 8.5 out of 10

Title: Underworld
Where: Balmoral Cinemas, Screen 7, Queensland, Australia
When: 26 January 2004 – 9:20pm

I went into this film with very low expectations. The seen-too-often trailers for Underworld, with their Matrix-style slow-motion acrobatic gun battles and cast members strutting around wearing black clothing of various tightness and glossiness, made the film seem so preposterously pompous and self-consciously cool that I was sure it was going to be a silly, silly film and a drag to watch.
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