David Gardiner - Television

Little Lunch

2015-07-28T20:40:00.000+09:30

Just been watching a few episodes of this new TV series Little Lunch with the kids.

Hilarious! Can’t stop giggling 😀

I did need to explain to the youngest that “little lunch” is another name for what they call “recess” (the mid-morning break my kids have at school).

Australian viewers can watch all the episodes on ABC iView.

What a funny old fellow..

2009-04-21T08:45:00.001+09:30

Ok, I thought the GFC was pretty bad, but this really indicates how tough things have got.

I really hope that’s not a “goodbye” wave :-(

Happy Birthday

2009-04-20T19:57:00.001+09:30

Saturday was my birthday, and amongst other things I got these nice presents..

This is the re-mastered Blu-Ray edition of the 1995 BBC Production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I admit I am a bit of an Austen fan, and whilst Mr Darcy diving into the pond doesn’t seem to have the same effect on me as it does on many of the women I know, this is probably my favourite film adaptation. The icing on the cake is of course that Elizabeth’s nice Uncle and Aunty are Mr & Mrs Gardiner – Yay!

Pinocchio – 70th Anniversary Edition. This film has special memories for me, and particularly so on my birthday. For growing up as a child, one of the highlights of my birthday party would be my Poppa showing his collection of short films on his Super-8 movie projector. In the era before video/DVD players, this was a real novelty. One of my favourite films was a short extract from Pinocchio - the bit where Pinocchio and Geppetto cause Monstro the whale to sneeze by lighting their fishing boat on fire (they were inside the whale at the time).

I ended up watching the whole movie in the afternoon, but the kids found it a bit scary in places. I’m not certain, but I think that may be the first time I’ve seen the entire movie.

Finally, just the thing for completing any evening’s movie watching – a packet of Iced Vo-Vos. The iced biscuit of champions!

All the best, Brenton and Hayley!

2008-08-08T08:14:00.001+09:30

If you happen to watch the Channel 9 News on a weeknight in Adelaide, then you’re probably familiar with their weatherman, Brenton Ragless. You might also recognise his dulcet tones from one of his radio and TV advertising voiceovers, CFS spokesperson, radio presenter on LIFE-FM, or maybe even the funny guy on the PA at the Blackwood Christmas Pageant.

I’ve known Brenton over the years through cake decorating (no, not us - our Mums) and Church circles, and now that he’s a big time TV personality, it’s quite nice for my kids to say “Daddy, isn’t that the man you know?”. I’m not famous, but at least I know someone who is :-)

Well the great news is Brenton and his fiance Hayley are getting married tomorrow, and I thought it would be nice to publicly wish them well.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able make it to the ceremony, but I hope everything goes well (even if the weather looks like it might be a little inclement – you’d think Brenton would be able to fix that!)

Ready, Steady, Code

2008-05-05T16:34:00.001+09:30

Once or twice while I was on leave recently, I happened to have the TV on during the daytime. One of the programs that was on was Ready, Steady, Cook (originally a BBC show apparently).

The basic format of the show is as follows:

In the first half, two chefs (each with a regular assistant) create a meal from some random ingredients that they haven't seen before.
The audience then votes on the completed dishes.
The second half sees both chefs then suggest a meal from another lot of ingredients, but this time the audience votes on which idea they like the best. Then both chefs work together to make that meal.

So what I was thinking was whether you could adapt this format to a user group setting?

Have two teams (ideally with two data projectors so the audience can see what they're doing), and give each of them 3-4 random technologies and they have to come up with an application that uses all of them in a fixed time period.

At the conclusion the audience can vote on which they think is the best.

You might need a little more time, and the audience could get involved shouting out suggestions if they get stuck.

Australian Citizenship

2007-10-02T14:39:00.001+09:30

Is it me, or does the guy in this Advertisement for the new Australian Citizenship Test look a bit like Michael Kleef?

Pebkac

2006-12-05T09:43:00.001+10:30

I saw this word Pebkac mentioned by one of the Mozilla developers. I think I've seen that happen a few times.

Reminds me of The IT Crowd, which even Jane found funny (and she doesn't often share the same sense of humour). Fan site with desktop wallpaper and screensaver downloads too.