BecJacobs

I'm conflicted. I think True Blood may have jumped the shark. For me anyway.

There I said it. It's out there.

I have been denying it all season, hoping for the best. Maybe it's just me. I couldn't stand the wait between episodes last season so started on the books. I read pretty much all 9 (that were out at the time) in a few weeks. Maybe that was my mistake. But they were so damn good I couldn't stop.

I understand why they have had to deviate from the books so much. The books are Sookie's POV and they need to have stories that are about all the characters but I feel that they lost some of the essence of what I liked so much about the characters.

Maybe I'm just sore because they seemed to have skipped over the development of Sookie dumping Bill and hanging out with Eric like in the 4th book 'Dead to the World'. My favourite of the books. Sorry if you didn't want to get spoiled.

What don't I like about this season? Russel Edgington, the whole Talbot mush in an urn is a bit OTT, and that scene with male prostitute did not resonate with me at all. Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill - nothing I'm liking about him - and the Lorena back story was boring with a capital B. Illicit V selling, yawn.

What am I liking? I thought they'd keep Franklin Mott around a bit more, the terrorizing of Tara was boring but he had some of the best laugh out loud moments of the season. "Hey, Tara, see how fast I type "motherf**ker." Cool, right?". Lafeyette, anything with him really, he's great. I'm glad they kept him around (which they didn't in the books).

One more episode to go in Season 3 and the series has already been renewed for a Season 4. Ratings are better than ever pulling in 5.39 mil for the episode before last. Maybe I'm being too harsh but my expectations were/are so high. Season1 and 2 were amazing. Who knows, this last episode may pull it all together and blow me away. Bring it on!

I went out to a concert last night. In my usual fashion I missed the first song or two because I'd committed to a beer line. On going into the hall I only got so far in before I couldn't be bothered maneuvering amongst the people. As I stood there listening, I wondered if the sound was better than listening to the album on my car stereo. Hmmm... probably not. Is it the vibe that makes you go to these things? Maybe. I thought about how I should have got there early, got a spot right down the front before the support band started and had a primo spot for the band. I remembered a time recently when I did that. I lasted maybe two songs before the crush of the crowd got unbearable and I moved back to about where I was last night. I am now resigned to the back half of the venue as the place that is best for me.  

I consider this post almost a public service announcement. Have you been having issues with your Foxtel remote? Read on.

Since about November last year (2009) the remote for our Foxtel IQ2 box has been playing up. Only registering every 3rd press, buttons doing different actions from what they are meant to... that sort of thing. The first time I rang up, after changing the batteries repeatedly, I was told that I would need to pay $50 to replace the remote. I was convinced that it wasn't the actual remote as our Kids remote also had the same issue, so I declined on spending the money. A few months later, completely frustrated and after researching online that there was a KNOWN ISSUE with the Foxtel remote and the new energy saver bulbs, I called Foxtel only to be told that my remote was actually in warranty and they would send a replacement. I did try at this stage to say that it was not the remote to which the person on the phone didn't even slightly listen. My argument was that the Kids remote didn't work either. With that I was transferred to another rep in the 'accessories' department. Finally I got someone who listened, said we'd try the new remote which the previous rep had already ordered. But he put a note on the account to say that if I called someone would need to come out. Finally someone came out today and confirmed the issue with the energy saving bulbs and replaced the box. Surely this is known to Foxtel and they could have saved a customer, me, months of inconvenience by proactively communicating this issue and changing peoples boxes. Poor, poor customer experience.

So, if you have had this issue, call Foxtel (131 999) and insist they send someone out.    

I like this infographic. I wonder how often they update it...

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

I was just reading the lovely Rachel Hills' article about Facebook and friendship. It reminded me that I sometimes get annoyed with friends that aren't on Facebook, and even more annoyed with friends that aren't on email because it requires effort to keep in touch. I would say that in most cases that friendship has lapsed somewhat if I am unable to keep in touch online. I rationalise it by saying that if Facebook wasn't around then I would be in touch with even less people. Facebook has facilitated a level of contact with people that I otherwise wouldn't have made the effort with but that I enjoy hearing/seeing what they are up to. The casual contact with a larger group of people enriches my life. I often learn things about the world through posted links and status updates that I wouldn't normally. Typically it's in easily digestible pieces as well which suits my lifestyle perfectly.

Despite a few cash flow challenged months we have gone ahead and put a deposit on installing a new kitchen.

At the end of this month we have been living in our house for 2 years and discussed since day one all the things we want to do. Top of the list, and one of the most expensive, has been our kitchen. We have completed small things like bi-fold doors, shutters, painted a room and swapped out the built-in doors but nothing this big.

Originally we were thinking a big Grand Designs type reconfiguring of the back of the house but as the price escalated we got cold feet. A year later and with a firm budget in mind it seems a lot more 'doable'. With only a slight change in footprint and a clever storage solutions we feel like this will add value to the house and increase our enjoyment of the space.

Lately I have been wishfully thinking about buying a big house and indulging in a Grand Design of my own. A perfect contender that got my creative juices flowing was 'The Abbey' in Annandale. It sold in May 2009 for $4.86m. I wonder who bought it and what they are going to do with it. Sometime before that Lawson's held an auction of all the contents. We went to the auction and exploring the house was like wandering around a set from Harry Potter.

I have always been aware of The Abbey and knew someone when I was at high school that had grown up there, although the details escape me now. The Abbey is considered part of the 'Witches Houses' of Annandale. Shamefully, some of the 'Johnston St Group' of historical buildings have been demolished. A few have been restored. I wonder what they are like inside.

Palladio - the Renaissance architect. It got me thinking about how Ruby is going to be learning Italian at school and that we really should visit Italy at some stage to inspire her.

Viper PIts inspired by an episode of Man vs Wild set in Panama. Interesting fact:Viper pits were thought to hold a cache of lost pirate treasure. Shockingly I didn't find this out on Wikipedia. Wiki was a bit too literal.

Palau - Where is Palau and why would an archologist explore it looking for bizarre looking little people? Palau is a Pacific Island 800km east of the Philippines which has a well established matrilineal society.It's ancient connection to the Javanese lead archiologists here where they discovered the oldest known burial ceremony in Oceania. The discovery here is thought to be related to the controversial discovery of Flores in Indonesia.

The other day I came across a link on the ninemsn home page to an article in Mother and Baby called "In Praise of Lazy Parents". Funnily enough it struck a cord and I clicked on it. Great article, you can find the full article here. I then went on to take a look at the author. Her name is Brett Paesel, she's an actress who lives in LA, and she has 2 kids. She has written a book called "Mommies Who Drink: Sex, Drugs and Other Distant Memories of an Ordinary Mom". Sounds right up my alley. This interview with her is fantastic. I think I just might order it....

I don't know what it is about standing in a queue but I naturally start to get annoyed. What annoys me the most is when people leave too much room between them and the person in front. What's up with that? Keep it compact and tidy is my theory.

Different types of queues?

Coffee Queue, ATM queue, Movie Theatre Queue, Queue when you don't need to queue... What else?