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Volunteer Information Letter

If you had previously reistered your interest in volunteering for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, then today you will have received this invitation to apply. Applications will be taken on-line from 9am Monday 31st January 2005.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for contacting us and expressing your interest in volunteering at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

As you would be aware, the Volunteer Program will offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for up to 15,000 people to play their part in helping to make the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games the most exciting event of its kind ever held in Victoria.

I would like to advise you that from 9.00 am, Monday 31 January 2005, you will be able to apply to become a Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games volunteer.

The first step towards becoming a Games Volunteer is to complete the official Volunteer Application Form. The quickest and most convenient way to complete the form is to do so online via the Volunteer page on our website, www.melbourne2006.com.au. Answers to common questions, and further information about what is involved in becoming a Games Volunteer can also be found at this web address.

If you do not have access to the internet at home, we recommend you use internet facilities available at your local library, internet café or through friends or family. And we would be only too happy to send a hard copy application form out to you.

Due to high interest in volunteering for the Games, the application process is unlikely to be open for an extended period of time. We therefore recommend that you apply early to avoid missing out.

Thank you once again for the enthusiasm that you have displayed. We look forward to receiving your volunteer application shortly.

Kind regards
Stephen FitzGerald
Program Manager – Volunteers

Volunteer Program
Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation
World Trade Centre
Concourse Level
Siddeley Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
Website: www.melbourne2006.com.au

Tivo's box of tricks coming soon

It is a revolutionary device. Conventional TV watching and recording has many compromises - TiVo smashes almost all of them.

Bring it on.

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Big net attack tipped in next 10 years

Whilst I think this theory is entirely plausible, I think that the fact that people are talking about it now is a positive move to prevention. Yes there will be some privacy sacrifices in the years to come to protect us from such attacks. How much do you want to pay ? Comments welcome.

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Google hiring sparks browser war speculation

Web search company Google has hired the lead engineer of the Firefox web browser, fueling speculation that Google will create its own browser to take on Microsoft's dominant Internet Explorer.

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Google TV

GOOGLE is using its popular internet search technology to find information and images broadcast on television, continuing a recent effort to extend its reach beyond the web.

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Australia Day 2005

20050126 007
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

Large crowds gathered around the centre of Sydney today, and along the harbour foreshores to celebrate Australia Day.

Dad and I volunteered in one of the information booths. It was a busy day with many requests for information. Still enjoyable but we were glad to get home.

Flickr Beauty Treatments

Flickr's famous massages are frequent, especially considering the product is in beta.

Whilst the frequent outages are annoying, to me they're perfectly understandable and a sign of Flickr's success. I'd much rather be subscribing (as a Pro user) to a product which is growing in popularity (and suffering growing pains) than a product which is suffering a slow death through lack of use.

I guess the only thing on my wish list is that they share via FlickrMail, a list of the functions they are definately putting in Version 1.0. It's impossible to keep track of what's in or out via the FlickrIdeas forum.

Well done team, the Flickrati thank you.

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The absurdity of technology infastructure in Australia

After making the 1 billion kilometre journey from Titan to Australia's Parkes radio telescope in only an hour, data from the Huygens probe hitches a four-hour early morning ride to Sydney via two taxis and a charter flight.

Talk about absurd ! The lack of high speed connections to and from national scientific facilities in Australia is a national disgrace. Forget about wiring the cities for godsake ... wire the whole country. We'll get left behind otherwise.

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Inside iPod (and Next-Gen Rumors)

Theres a lot of rumours floating around the iPod at the moment. Everything from what sort of case it will have to what capacity and wether or not it will be 80GB.

One things for sure the iPod is here to stay, but I'm still leaning toward Creative's Zen line and other players.

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Nikon D2X

nikon_d2xout
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

Nikon has finally announced pricing and availability for their new D2X digital SLR camera: the 12.4 megapixel monster will hit the streets February 25th for a suggested street price of $5k US.

I suspect that this camera, although targeted at the professionals, may enjoy a price drop (Nikon may dispute the word enjoy) which will make it more affordable for the pro-sumer market.

I can't wait for that day.

Bloggies Site Lives

Gizmodo, the source for a lot of content here on Konnecke.com, has been nominated for Best Computers or Technology weblog at this years Bloggies. The Bloggies award online excellence in weblogging and are announced in March.

On Sunday, January 23, the finalists were announced and voting is open to choose the winners.

Voting will close at 10:00 PM EST* on Sunday, January 31. The winners will be posted sometime between Sunday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 15. (*US Eastern Time)


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Konnecke.com enjoys exponential growth

20050124_visitors_mtd
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

Konnecke.com - the technology news and observational weblog sweeping the planet - has enjoyed exponential growth in the past month by tripling visitor numbers.

Key services playing a role in this enormous increase include, Technorati, Blogrolling, and BlogExplosion.

Kiwi technology puts 3D images into Acrobat files

Hundreds of millions of people around the world will soon be using Kiwi technology to add an extra dimension to documents on their computers.

This gives an immediate impression that the Scansoft family of document manipulation software will need to keep up with this development and release newer versions of thier very popular software.

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Blogging pioneers unite in online journal boom

Blogs - shorthand for Web logs - have evolved from self-absorbed diaries into influential information hubs that have circumvented traditional communications channels to deliver news and political messages that are resonating with an ever-widening audience.

Now big business (Disney, Nokia and even the US Census Bureau) are publishing online using blogs. It's a definate "heads up" for Australian businesses trying to navigate the treacherous world of spam and e-mail bourne viruses.

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Thunderstorms' second sweep

A powerful electrical storm lashed Sydney and central western NSW yesterday, setting a house on fire and leaving about 35,000 households without power.
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Reading again

The long break from work that I'm having at the moment has allowed me to rediscover reading. At the moment I'm reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown the author of the Da Vinci Code. It's an excellent book full of twists and turns.

Australian Youth Olympic Festival Day 6

Today was markedly different. Was it the "curse of the book" - a book which I decided to take should it be quiet again, or is it just the way it was mean't to be.

After yesterdays slow day, a lot changed tday. First there was a wedding in the chapel of St Josephs, next a fire alarm and full evac from A Block. Next another fire alarm at about 12:45. This time from D Block.

I was there for the second alarm. We went through the blocks and made sure everyone was out. There was a smell of smoke (tobacco) from a room on level two, however the cause of the alarm is officially undetermined.

This afternoon we made sure the remainder of athletes got to thier busses on time, that information as it changed was put up on the noticeboards and placed in the team mailboxes.

Before I knew it ... it was late afternoon and time to go home as it got quiet again.

I'm still enjoying the experience and I've been working with a great team of people.

Ready to jump at the chance to compete in Beijing

Synchronised trampolining may be twice as hard as the individual event but synchro stars Kristy Jenkins and Louise Stack say it's also double the fun.

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Youth Olympics one day, Beijing the next

When over 500 Australian athletes attended the opening ceremony of the 2005 Youth Olympic Festival, most of them had a trip to Beijing on their mind.

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Minox MobiDV

One of thse would be nice ...everything is converging.

The Minox MobiDV is a convergence device with 4.0 megapixel digital camera, fixed focal length lens (230°), rotating lensMP3 player, video camcorder and dictation recording.

Minox MobiDV

Australian Youth Olympic Festival Day 5

Today was quiet, which is okay because that means things are running smoothly and the focus is now on competition.

The most noteworthy thing today was when a team was due to depart for thier competition venue, they suddenly discovered they were missing thier boxed lunches. Thankfully an alternative was found just in time and we farewelled them wishing them "good luck".

Finished up about an hour early tonight, there really wasn't much left to do.

Australian Youth Olympic Festival Day 4

Just one last arrival today. Some members of the China Gymnastics team arrived in the early afternoon. Meat and salad for lunch today.

Things have quietened down considerably. Some of the dorms are decorated in team colours and nicknames, some have flags hanging out of windows, still others just have signs set up advising who's sleeping where.

I have met some very nice people from the teams. Particularly Edmund? Redpath from South African Judo who always stops by to say hello and has a quick chat. The Oceania Judo team manager Patrick is also a good bloke.

Despite the language barrier the Japanese, Chinese, and those from Chinese Taipei always have a smile and are quick to use their English (what little they have) usually limited to "hello" and "thank you". They are nice people too as are the athletes.

I'm feeling quite "Olympic" today.

Australian Youth Olympic Opening Ceremony

20050119 082
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

The 2005 Australian Youth Olympic festival opened tonight with an excellent opening ceremony in the Sydney Superdome. Students from NSW Schools took part in the two hour opening, which welcomed 1400 athletes from more than 25 countries to Australia. Competition continues over the next four days.

Australian Youth Olympic Festival - Day 2

Back at the village again today. Arrived at 11:50am.

The day started off slowly and got progressively busier. First off I had to inform a coach driver that his run to one of the venues was no longer required. Fortunately he took the news well and we chatted for a bit about what jobs he was doing.

Then we put up the remainder of the signage in the accomodation blocks A-E. That took us about an hour to complete all of the buildings and levels. St Josephs is a very big place.

We stopped for lunch about 13:00 (ham, chicken, mixed green and pasta salads).

Next off I started with allotment of teams as they arrived. My first team was Japan. The language barrier was difficult. I was trying to explain how to fill in the athlete agreement forms, and also where they needed to sign them. I also had to witness thier signatures.

After receiving accreditation (there was another one still to be printed and sealed) we started out walking to thier digs at Block A Level 4. I was thankful they were carrying thier bags because the building doesn't have any elevators and the strain was showing on thier faces by the time they reached the top. After a bit of bed shuflling and pointing, smiling, and joking, they finally settled and gave a reassuring smile and "o'kay". Job 1 completed.

Next was the Australian Mens Volleyball team. Were these guys big or what ! One is almost 7 feet tall. ! I was watching them eat lunch and thier appetites match thier height. One guy downed three large rolls filled to the max with chicken ham and salads. (oh well he's a growing boy - did'I say growing !). We walked down the street to thier building and after a bit of discovering on my part (I hadn't been into that building before) they settled in fairly quickly.

Still more arrivals. This one was a bit different. The Oceania region is represented by 10 smaller nations. The official for the Oceania Judo team (Patrick) was an Irish guy, originally from Ireland, who now lives in Brisbane but is the official for his composite team made up of athletes from New Caledonia (French speaking only), Fiji, and Samoa. They were also located in the same building as the Australians, so it was a walk back down the street again. (feeling much more confident in my direction now).

After returning to the Village Service Centre (VSC), and having a talk with our Duty Manager Aaron, I went off site on a reccy to see what were in the local shops, and at Top Ryde shopping centre. Team managers were interested in finding an Internet cafe (there are no facilities for this at St Josephs available to us) and also where they could do some photocopying / computer printouts. After about an hour I returned with the some details from the local copy shop.

The womens Judo team from Australia were in the VSC when I returned and we had a conversation about weight bands and training regimes. I had a story relayed to me about a girl in Athens 2004 (not Australian) who even had to shave her head just to make the weight for her division. Talk about sacrifice. They also eat different foods before weigh-in and different foods aagin after weigh-in all just to make the weight and to be as lean or an bulked up as they can be within thier divisions. It's a very tough sport in this respect alone, but then they have to think about the bouts and winning.

By now it was after 4pm and the day had slowed down considerably. The last hour was really spent standing-by waiting for another job. I didn't mind because I enjoyed the break and the chance to site down for a while having been on my feet for almost five hours.

More tomorrow .... the first day of competition and the Opening Ceremony.

Swimming World Championships Deadline Today

The deadline for Canada to show financial support for the FINA World Championships (Swimming) is today.

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Australian Youth Olympic Festival Day 1

Have just finished my first shift at the 2005 Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

Today we welcomed the first of athletes from the Oceania team which is made up of 10 nations from the south pacific region.

Most of the work we performed today was checking accomodation at the village. We checked everything from light globes, to bedding and general cleanliness, in preparation for the 400 athletes which will stay at St Jospeh's College in Hunters Hill. There are four other villages. After a great lunch we distributed programs and information leaflets to each bed.

In total there are 1400 athletes from 25 nations taking part from as far away as France, Germany and the USA.

The world class event is being held in Sydney at the olympic venues which became famous during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Athletes will continue to arrive tomorrow ahead of a glittering Opening Ceremony on Wednesday night. Competition runs on Wednesday 19th and continues through Sunday 23rd January.

More information can be found at www.olympics.com.au

Good news for Firefox users

After some long sessions trying to find a font rendering problem, I've decided to republish this blog in a new format. Firefox users should now be able to read the posts.

Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me to let me know there was a problem. I look forward to welcoming you back.

Peter.

Australian Swimming fears Montreal loss

Australian Swimming stands to loose hundreds of thousands of dollars if Montreal's bid to host the World Championships fails. Deposits on flights and accomodation will be lost if the bid fails.

Adding to the woes is the prospect that Australia looks unlikely to have enough time to setup and stage the event should Montreal fail. The event needs to be held July 17-31.

Although the timing is tight ... theres nothing like a challenge to get people moving and get things done ... who knows we may just get the event here in Sydney. (We've got plenty of trained volunteers) Heres hoping.

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Your fund-raising ideas

Again following on from my earlier story .... look at this ... not one mention of Aussies in need at home, but plenty of ideas for overseas.

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Sydney to get early sight of double-decker monster plane

Sydney will get an early look at the new Airbus A380 "double-decker jumbo jet". This plane is huge and I expect there'll be a lot of plane spotters salivating at the chance to see this one up close at Gate 20 - Sydney Airport. The runways and General Holmes Drive overbridge are getting updates as the giant jet is 30% heavier than a 747.

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Nation mourns victims

Today the nation will mourn the victims of the Tsunami disaster. Meanwhile on the fire ravaged Eyre Peninsula, the mop up continues after the most devastating bushfire since Ash Wednesday in 1983. I can't help but wonder what the people affected in South Australia will think today when we mourn victims of an overseas disaster which has killed seventeen Australians when they face the grim task of also having to farewell nine of thier own friends and family.

I am not condemning the mark of respect we should show for our neighbours, but I do believe charity begins at home and I fear the victims of last weeks bushfire will be forgotten and thier memory overshadowed by the events in South Asia.

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Fire threatens 500,000 homes

Right now there are 500,000 homes under threat by bushfires across Australia.

Thats the latest report from Macquarie University.

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Hewitt wins 2005 Sydney International

hewitt
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

Record-setting Lleyton Hewitt rounded out his Australian Open preparations in familiar fashion today with another victory in the final of the Sydney International. (Photo : SMH)

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Hammer Time !

Hammer Time !
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

This storm front was rapidly approaching from the west this afternoon but now has lost it's punch. Currently it's moving in a NNE direction. Oh well theres always tomorrow.

Is Bit Torrent dead ?

After the recent shutdowns in the BitTorrent community, notably the popular site SuprNova.org, many were left wondering if BitTorrent was on its last legs.

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Storm Approach

20050114 003
Originally uploaded by Peter Konnecke.

A large thunderstorm developed in Sydney's far southwest this afternoon. The storm (seen here) is mainly to the south of the harbour.

New rural fire HQ sees the big picture

From somewhere in the NSW Rural Fire Service's impressive new State Operations Centre, a technician with the Geographical Information Systems Department is generating a map.

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Erection campaign's a flop

This is a story you just cant resist commenting on. It's not a laughing matter for the poor people who need this kind of help, but asking politicians to "donate". Um ... err ... did I read that right. This story is a cartoonists dream.

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Browser Issues

If you are reading this with FireFox then you're likely to be frustrated, am as I, with the apparent font colour issue. I have logged this problem with Blogger support, and have tried to fix it myself. For now, this site is best viewed with IE6.

Endless Summer

the Pool at Bondi Beach
Originally uploaded by meredisu.

What I love about this time of year is the sun the sea and the endless summer days. This picture just about sums it all up. (Note the Santa on the 3rd Floor balcony)

Airline Food

This is one of the most interesting applications of Flickr - the online photo sharing service. Airline food, you either like it, hate it or live with it when theres nothing else. This collection chronicles airline food at it's best and wurst :-)

FlickrBlog - Airline Food

Will separatists attack a state of kindness

I wanted to make comment on the recent reports from Indonesia about the possibility of aid workers coming under attack from rebel separatists. The story so far is - if the aid workers move outside the immediate area of Banda Aceh they will be subject to attack.

Now what I'm about to say is controversial and to some may seem cold hearted. If aid workers are in a country - any country at the request of the country's government then should it not be the responsibility of that government to protect the aid workers ? Logically yes. But I believe that the Indonesian government are loathe to stop these separatists in this region and at this time because they don't want international attention and they don't really care.

It's happened before. In East Timor back in 1999 the Indonesian Army failed to protect Australian troops on a humanitarian mission. Subsequently our forces came under fire. Sound familiar ?

Thats exactly what we're on now but this time we're un-armed at the request of the Indonesian government. Do you honestly think the Indonesian Army will go in and protect our people ? If they don't want international attention of the wrong kind (ie. bad press = no more money) then they certainly won't be using the army to take action and protect aid workers will they.

I am a supporter of the government of Prime Minister John Howard, but I think they got this aid package wrong. Australia sent military support to Indonesia on a humanitarian mission, one which should be armed to protect itself, however the Indonesian government insisted that they be un-armed. The Australian government decided to go ahead with the aid package anyway. I believe they should have said to Indonesia, no arms - no deal. It's a tough thing to say when so many people are suffering but the number one rule of a rescuer is don't become the victim yourself.

Australia is enjoying a new found feeling of compassion in a "State of Kindness" never seen before. I wonder how we will feel if Australian soldiers and aid workers start coming home in plywood boxes draped with the Australian flag. Even worse how will we feel in years to come when the aid we sent is used by the rebels to expand thier network and ultimately, possibly, then used to attack foreign interests and citizens. Lets not forget it's been just 4 months since the Australian Embassy was bombed in Jakarta.

Given the history of East Timor, our troops should be in there armed and ready to protect all Australians and assets should they be attacked.

Watchdog targets juice bars

The pumped-up music, young staff and promises to de-stress and detoxify your day are driving a $150 million juice bar revolution through shopping centres.

But the NSW Food Authority has found false advertising and illegal health claims, and substances in some popular juice blends that are not allowed under the Food Standards Code.


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