This week I've been suffering a remarkable strain of influenza.

Normally I wouldn't blog about sickness but the series of symptoms has been something else. Since I've seen people post about pills they've taken or meals they've eaten, I thought I should share this experience.

Previously my family had been sick with this 'flu and I'd been surprised at the varying complaints. There were temperatures ranging from cold shivers to hot sweats, headaches but also sore legs. Sure enough, I found myself unable to sleep because of pain in my thighs early on in the week.

I've been gobbling painkillers at close to the maximum dosages all week and staying in bed. Although, the latter hasn't been difficult because the fatigue is such that I can't stay upright for more than a few hours.

There's also been a head cold and a nagging cough, which weren't too bad at first but now a vice-like headache means they trigger a fairly intense pain throughout my skull.

I'm looking forward to it being over but it's been a helluva ride.

Wireless broadband is a joke

Despite being the fastest growing internet access technology according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), I reckon mobile wireless broadband is a joke.

You can see here the meagre three kilobytes per second my service was providing this morning for around four hours. I don't think it's fair to call anything less than 100kb/sec broadband, a figure I've only seen my service with Vodafone achieve at odd hours in the early morning.

I'd try Telstra but they're too expensive.


Occy seems to be getting a second set of teeth popping up behind his baby teeth.

I imagine this could be his mutant superpower, shark-like rows of teeth. He'll be known in the X-Men for his dazzling and potentially deadly smile.

And the hours spent in the bathroom each night brushing and flossing.

Flooded Murrumbidgee

Locals tell me it's been 20 years since the Murrumbidgee River last flooded like this.

In this pic you can see the boat ramp at Ski Beach and some of the road leading to it are underwater.

Always do your best friend

Get plastered with Barry

Sadly I missed the local builder with 'Get hammered with Harry' to go with these.

Music makes life fun


I like what they've done here. I've been thinking of remixing Metropolis.

Fly and maggot

Kimchi recipe

Kimchi is a Korean food and probably my favourite pickle. Here's the recipe I use.

  1. Cut up a cabbage (wombok is best but regular will do)
  2. Add a couple of tablespoons of salt and seal in a container and put in the fridge.
  3. After a day or so, drain the cabbage. I usually loosen the lid, turn it upside down and let it drain while sitting on the edge of the kitchen sink for 10 minutes.
  4. Add 125ml rice wine vinegar, 125ml soy sauce, couple of teaspoons of chilli powder, couple of teaspoons of cayenne pepper, couple of cloves of grated garlic, a few centimetres of grated ginger knob, few tablespoons of sugar. Adjust the ratio of everything but the liquids to suit your preference or spice tolerance.
  5. Reseal the container and put it in the fridge. It'll keep for four weeks but is ready to start eating within an hour or two.
  6. Add cut up shallots when serving it up and you can drizzle a bit of sesame oil on too or sesame seeds. I often add the shallots to the kimchi in the container after a day or two when the cabbage has shrunk after absorbing the liquid.
    The process leaves you with about half the cabbage you started with, after it's lost water and broken down in the brine.

Red capsicum is the best thing to have with it. Kimchi is great stir fried with vegies and noodles or rice or you can add it to salad leaves. It's great with fried food like fish, bacon or calamari rings -- the vinegar cuts through the grease and it's good for digestion.

Here's my kimchi salad with capsicum, grated ham, mixed leaves and sesame oil.

Sock sentimentality





