After a very busy weekend we have finally fully packed up and moved out. The shippers came today and carefully packed and boxed the items we're shipping, taking them away to await the next shared container bound for Brisbane. We officially hand over the keys to our house on Thursday. We're staying … read more

We've booked our Hotel for L.A. We're going to be staying in the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel which is right in the heart of Hollywood - with the Walk of Fame, Mann's Chinese Theatre, and other attractions literally on our doorstep. Our itinerary isn't fully decided yet but at the moment we're … read more

Happy birthday to my Mum who is 50 today! We're all off out for a Chinese tonight to celebrate (or commiserate?). She doesn't know yet but I've bought her a Virgin Balloon Flight with my Dad which I hope she'll love. read more

Here's an example of the kind of battle I have on a daily basis trying to get people into a security mindset: Me to Relationship Manager (RM): Can you please ask the client to complete the attached Business Impact Analysis (BIA) template so we can understand how valuable their data is in order to … read more

I nearly had heart failure watching the penalty shoot-out to see Liverpool reach the Champions League Final. I'm now going to have to find somewhere to watch the match in Brisbane at 05:30 in the morning! I know that theoretically things could still go wrong with the house completion but we took a … read more

In what could be a landmark case, next week, a young barrister will take on Natwest over his £2000 unlawful bank charges. What's different about this case if the fact that Natwest have already offered him a full refund, but he is arguing that as well as the refund, he is due a claim for damages … read more

We've had confirmation today that we will exchange contracts on the 3rd May with a completion date of the 10th May. And I'll be finishing work on the 11th May. So much to do, so much to do! Don't panic, don't panic! read more

It's set to be an interesting fortnight in UK politics. Will Labour get the kicking everyone expects in the local elections next Thursday? Will the Conservatives manage to get the magical 40% share of the vote - the target which analysts believe would be needed by the tories at the next General … read more

I've just discovered Finetune. It struck me today that while I've now got quite a large collection of music on my iPod, covering lots of different musical genres, I'd say 90% of the music is what you'd call commercial from well known artists past and present. I'm often reading reviews of great music … read more

Why didn't I think of that? Website DoMyStuff lets you outsource your tedious tasks to people in your area who bid on your to do's. So for instance, you could offer out payment for someone to clean your car, do some painting, gardening, etc and the person who bids the lowest amount gets the job. … read more

Originally uploaded by darylhai. I took this picture on the way to my hotel after work today. It was pissing it down while I was dragging my case behind me through puddles after a very long hard day at the office. It was good to see nonetheless. Just as I was thinking how good it was to see that … read more

It's starting to hit home that we're leaving now after a busy weekend inventorying, packing, and selling. We're not actually shipping that much to Oz in terms of furniture, but our personal items alone equate to half a shipment crate (roughly £1500). For a while now, I've been using www.listal.com … read more

I made the mistake of leaving it late to book my hotel for this week, with the result that I have ended up having to take a smoking room. As a non-smoker with a very sensitive nose, this week has not been a pleasant experience to say the least. The room is clean, but there doesn't seem to be any way … read more

Banking and Oil companies lead the way in this year's top 2000 company list from Forbes read more

We've just started to put a number of items up for sale on ebay - items which we either don't want to ship to Oz or which it wouldn't be economically viable to ship to Oz, like our dining room table. It breaks my heart to let the dining room table and matching lamp table go for such a low starting … read more

We went over to a friend's house in sunny Barnsley yesterday for a BBQ. It was a glorious afternoon sitting out in their ridiculously large garden drinking wine until the sun went down. It's amazing to think that this time last year there was frost on the ground! What a happier place this country is … read more

For those few of you who haven't seen this yet.. [youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFqQOlYE4EE&w=425&h=350]) read more

And another thing.. Is there any need for Manchester Cathedral to have a full hour of bell ringing practice every Wednesday night - it's so bloody loud. It's not as if they play a tune, it's the same constant repeat of what seems like random monotones. It's enough to drive a man crazy. God damn … read more

I've just given up trying to watch the Liverpool v PSV Eindhoven match online via skysports.com using my T-Mobile 3G data card. When I tried the demo earlier to see if my connection speeds would cope it seemed ok, but when I've tried to watch the live match it just keeps stuttering - I reckon I've … read more

I've just watched the news conference given by the returned sailors and I'm riled to say the least. Not from what the sailors said but from the reaction of some idiots on forums and some newspaper columnists in the papers today. I think people have been watching too many Hollywood war movies. I'd … read more