2009 - Cities and Towns

Here's the list of cities and towns I've stayed in during the past year.


Sydney, Australia*

Melbourne, Australia*

Canberra, Australia*

San Francisco, CA, USA*

Stateline, NV, USA

Evergreen Lodge, CA, USA

Santa Barbara, CA, USA

San Simeon, CA, USA

Monterey, CA, USA

San Jose, CA, USA

London, England*

Fort William, Scotland

Portnalong, Scotland

Worthy Farm, Pilton, England (Glastonbury Festival)

Alkham, England

Brighton, England

Southwold, England (Latitude Festival)

Barcelona, Spain

Birmingham, England

Wasserburg am Inn, Germany

Zagreb, Croatia

Smoljanac, Croatia

Supetar, Croatia

Trogir, Croatia

Edinburgh, Scotland

Oxford, England

Alfriston, England

Graz, Austria*



* Multiple entries, non-consecutive days.

Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie's first mainstream movie, set in London's seedy heyday. Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law are brilliantly cast. Heaps of fun, amazing sets, and in true Guy Ritchie style, awesomely shot fight scenes.

8 / 10.

Stephen Fry in America

I've been reading king of twitter Stephen Fry's travelogue, Stephen Fry in America, during my brief holiday moments over the past couple of months. The ever eccentric Mr Fry rushes through every state in the USA in a London Black Cab, for the most part avoiding the big cities, and taking in unique local experiences along the way - visiting Morgan Freeman's blues club in Mississippi, ice fishing in Minnesota, and an interview with the madam at a legalised brothel in Nevada, to name just a few. An enjoyable read, conveniently broken down into bite-sized (state-by-state) chunks. Definitely inspiration for more American travel for yours truly in the coming years.

Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park, London

Winter Wonderland - 01
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Soaking up the northern hemisphere Christmas experience - Ice skating in Hyde Park, German Christmas Markets, Glühwein with bonus rum shots, and crazy fun fair entertainments.

Dim Sum at Lotus Floating Chinese Restaurant, Inner Millwall Dock, London

Dinner at The Kiwi Kitchen, Fulham, London

Breakfast "Double" at Aiola City, Graz, Austria

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success is a thoroughly enjoyable read. It is rare that I read a book from cover to cover in less than a week, but in this case I was totally engrossed, putting off any of my other reading in order to finish it. In a nutshell, through ten different stories, Malcolm presents a theory that extreme examples of success are almost always the results of both hard work and sheer luck at being in the right place at the right time.

Well worth the read. 9/10.

Hiking the South Downs Way

South Downs Way - 54
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Over the weekend, I hiked a 38km segment of the South Downs Way, one of the classic UK National Trails.

Day 1: train from London Victoria to Lewes Station; walk from Lewes to Alfriston across farming fields, through cute little country towns, and a grueling 10km segment across the top of the downs, 20km walking in total

Overnight in a hostel on the outskirts of Alfriston, amusing full of 18 and 19 year olds on a University of Brighton freshman orientation group hug weekend of some form

Day 2: walk through more farming fields, Westdean Forest, then along the gorgeous rolling chalk cliffs from Cuckmere Haven, Birling Gap (pictured), Beachy Head, and into the coastal town of Eastbourne for dinner, before train/bus/train back to London, 18km walking in total

The Invention of Lying

Amusing, but forgettable, movie set in a rather drab alternative reality where there is no concept of lying. Great cameo by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Ricky Gervais' motion picture directing debut.

7/10

The Consumerization of Corporate IT

Great article on The Consumerization of Corporate IT on strategy+business. The world of Enterprise and Solution Architecture is changing as we speak.

"The only way that organizations can get out of this vicious circle — of more bespoke IT driving higher costs with little productivity return and employees driving the technology agenda under the radar of IT departments — is to forge a completely new way of looking at how technology is delivered within organizations. Such a change would mean elevating the chief information officer to the role of company technology strategist and leveraging the innovation, pace, and scale of the consumer market. Many blueprints for turning flaccid IT departments into models of efficiency have been created — and then shelved. They failed primarily because they were driven from the top with little consideration for the preferences of employees using the machines. Consumerization of technology offers another chance to finally wrestle down a problem that began, it could be said, decades ago in a Silicon Valley garage."

Posted using ShareThis

Royal Mail national strike looms for Christmas

[The Times] "Royal Mail was on last night reported to have lost a £25 million contract with Amazon, its second largest customer, as a national strike looms over the crucial Christmas period."

I've been experiencing mail delays of around 1 - 2 weeks over the past month. The unions have been putting a stranglehold on the company, with workers repeatedly going to strike all over the UK, and now Royal Mail is starting to lose some of its big commercial contracts. Sort it out, get over it, you should all consider yourselves lucky to have a job in this tough economic environment.

Glastonbury Festival 2010 sells out in less than a day

The Glastonbury Festival turns 40 next year, and the line-up is predicted to be absolutely awesome. Tickets went on sale at 9:00am on Sunday and were sold out before the end of the day.

Anthony & Lisa: many thanks for booking my ticket while I was on the phone back to Australia.

Watching the World Series of Poker Europe

The high-stakes poker world is centered on London at the moment, with most of the top name players in town for some big buy-in multi-day tournaments. I've been down to the Casino at the Empire Leicester Square a few times this week to watch the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event, a £10000 buy-in no-limit holdem tournament with a star-studded field of 334 players.

The Casino at the Empire normally has a small poker room of half a dozen tables in a side room to the main casino, hosting £1/£2 cash games and £25 crapshoot afternoon tourneys, but for two weeks in Sept/Oct the entire casino is transformed into a high-stakes tourney poker venue, complete with ESPN TV crews and media a plenty.

Main Event tournaments are structured to allow the skill factor to really shine through. Deep stacks (30,000 starting chips). Long levels (90 minutes) with small increments in blinds. Determined players can play small pot poker and gradually chip up over the five days without having to take big gambles for their entire stack.

I went along for a few hours on Day 1b, Day 4, and to see the final four play down to a winner on Day 5. On the days where I wasn't able to get to Leicester Square I followed the progress of the tournament on the live blog at pokernews.com and by checking the regularly updated twitter posts of some of the big name players like 2007 WSOPE winner Annette Obrestad, Kid Poker Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Joe Sebok, and Brandon Cantu.

Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan busted early on Day 1. They both have a habit of taking gambles early in tournaments in an attempt to build up a big stack or bust and return to the nose-bleed cash games online. Daniel Negreanu and Annette Obrestad played solid small-pot poker on the TV feature table, building up their stacks to 82450 and 51950 respectively by the end of the day.

On Day 2 and 3, internet MTT sensation Yevgeniy Timoshenko and PLO tournament star Jason Mercier built up massive stacks playing super aggressive poker. Yevgeniy Timoshenko had won over $1.5 million in the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event barely a week ago, and $2.1 million in the $25000 WPT Championship Event in April. Amazing results for a 21 year old!

Day 3 concluded with the burst of the money bubble, the honour going to 2007 runner-up John Tabatabai holding pocket Aces against Peter Goulds pocket sevens. All-in before the flop. Seven on the flop. Ouch!

36 players came back on Day 4 to play down to the final nine, amongst them California long-time pro Men Nguyen, CardPlayer magazine owner Barry Shulman, November Niners James Akenhead and Antoine Saout, Daniel Negreanu, UK poker identities Dave 'DevilFish' Ulliott and Ram Vaswani, online $2000/$4000 limit holdem phenom Matt Hawrilenko, Jason Mercier, Yevgeniy Timoshenko, and the legendary Doyle Brunson.

Nursing a short stack overnight, DevilFish was out in the first few minutes of the day. Yevgeniy Timoshenko floundered on a very very aggressive table (I saw one player re-raise all-in with Q6cc on a rag board only to get called by trip threes). Jason Mercier continued to build a massive massive stack. Daniel Negreanu slowly but surely chipped up, boosted at one point when he got Men Nguyen to commit all his chips with two pair against Daniel's trips. Doyle busted in 17th place. Eric Liu was the final table bubble boy. Just after midnight, the final nine had been decided. Twelve hour rest and they would be back at noon to play it out for the title.

In 2008 John Juanda won the title in an epic final table that ran for 22 hours. 2009's final table table was looking to match that with no player busting for the first five hours. The difference between 9th place prize money and 1st place prize money was £735,000, so the play was initially very cautious. Then in Level 27 as three short stacks were approaching ten to fifteen big blinds, the all-ins started to get called, and five players were knocked out in quick succession, four of them at the hands of Daniel Negreanu.

I arrived at the Casino at the Empire at about 9:00pm on Day Five, just after the dinner break. The remaining players Daniel Negreanu, Jason Mercier, Praz Bansi, and Barry Shulman were all deep stacked, with Praz Bansi holding a very slight chip lead over Daniel Negreanu.

Jason Mercier made a big re-raise pre-flop and Daniel called for more than 50% of his stack with 99. Jason's 77 didn't hold up, and we were down to three.

Daniel and Praz were chipping away at Barry Shulman, and he eventually pushed with JT on the button for about 14 big blinds, only to get called by Daniel Negreanu with AQ. Ten on the flop. Ten on the turn. Jack on the river. Jeez.

Praz Bansi then made a big re-raise on a Kigh high flop with K8. Barry Shulman called with KJ, which held up, leaving Bansi crippled. He was knocked by Daniel a few hands later when he pushed with Q2 and was called by AQ which held up.

12:30am and we're down to heads up with Daniel Negreanu hold a 60/40 chip lead against Barry Shulman. Negreanu's guaranteed second place put him on the top of the all-time poker tournament earnings list, a position that while well earned, is very likely to be superseded by Phil Ivey next month at the final table of the WSOP Main Event.

An hour and a half into heads up play, Negreanu raised on the button, Shulman called. On a King high flop with two hearts, Shulman bet out, and Negreanu announced All-in. Shulman called instantly with an Ace high flush draw. Negreanu had pocket Aces and was a 65% favourite to win the tournament. Alas a heart came on the turn and Barry took a commanding chip lead.

Daniel clawed back over a couple of hours, re-raising all-in numerous times, forcing Barry to fold, and eventually regaining the chip lead.

Then, 17 hours into the final table, on a flop of 58J with two diamonds, Shulman bet out, Daniel raised, the Barry announced all-in. Daniel was amused and chatted with the rail, trying to figure out whether to call. He eventually called with QJ suspecting Barry might be on a flush draw again. Alas, Barry had pocket Aces this time. Daniel had five outs, plus a back-door flush draw. Turn .... Jack!! The crowd roared. Daniel was now 95% to take down the tournament. River .... Ace!! Wow! Barry spikes a two-outer and takes a monster chip lead.

A few hands later, all the money goes in pre-flop. Daniel's pocket Fours is no much for Barry's pocket Tens. Barry Shulman wins the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, and a dejected Daniel Negreanu almost cries during the post tournament interview.

It's 5:30am, and time to go home.

Blogging and Tweeting

Without trying too hard, 2009 has just become my biggest blogging year since the peak of my MBA-themed blog of 2002.

Oh, and by the way, I've recently given in and joined the world of Twitter. You can find me at twitter.com/adrianhind

Arsenal v Wigan @ Emirates Stadium

Arsenal v Wigan - 06
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Jason took to me see Arsenal v Wigan at Emirates Stadium in North London, hoping to turn me into an Arsenal supporter "before you start supporting Chelsea or Fulham". Amazing stadium. 59000 Arsenal supporters and about 200 Wigan supporters.

Arsenal smashed Wigan 4-0. Great day!

Full set of photos up on Flickr

Dinner at Brasserie Blanc, Oxford

Visit to Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace - 19
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Day out at Blenheim Palace with Margaret, Ian & Kath.

Check out the full set of photos on Flickr

Inglourious Basterds

8.5 / 10

3 days in Edinburgh

Edinburgh - 01
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

For my final adventure of the European summer, Margaret and I went to Edinburgh for three days to take in some of the Fringe Festival atmosphere.

We went to twelve shows in three days, including a couple of shows in other festivals:

• Lola: The Life of Lola Montez
• Robin Ince versus the Moral Majority
• Steven K Amos - The Feelgood Factor
• Scottish Ensemble / Tenebrae
• The Oxford Imps
• Kataklo Athletic Dance Theatre's Love Machines
• Adam Hills - Inflatable
• Minority Report w/ Ava Vidal
• Words of Honour: The Mafia Exposed
• Charley Boorman (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
• Axis of Awesome - Infinity Rock Explosion
• Blues Brothers - Live!
  

[smh] 'Putpockets' to secretly slip cash into bags and pockets

Ok, this is a bit weird. But I wouldn't say no to an extra 'fiver'.

SMH blows the whistle on 30 years of inaction on Sydney public transport planning

9 Days in Croatia

Drvenik Veli - 01
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

3 days in Zagreb

1 day at Plitvice Lakes National Park

2 days in Supetar (Brac Island)

3 days in Trogir

Day trip to the island of Drvenik Veli


Full set of photos up on Flickr.

Australian sharemarket up 34.9% since March

[the australian] The S&P/ASX200 "has now risen for five consecutive months and has soared 34.9 per cent since closing at five-and-a-half-year low of 3145.5 on March 6, a date that now appears to mark the bottom of the bruising global bear market."

Tour of Lord's - The Home of Cricket

Tour of Lord's
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

As a follow up to our day at the Ashes at Lord's, Andrew and I went on the MCC Tour of Lord's today, an opportunity to see inside the Long Room, the Players' Dressing Rooms, and to visit the Investec Media Centre.

Full set of photos in the Tour of Lord's set on Flickr.

Lunch at wahaca, Covent Garden, London, UK

Late Night Dinner at Les Quinze Nits, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona: Les Quinze Nits
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Ashes at Lord's

Ashes at Lord's
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

I was fortunate enough to get tickets to the first day of the second Ashes test at Lord's.

England won the toss and elected to bat, getting off to a good start with a fantastic opening partnership between Strauss and Cook. Australia fought back after lunch, with England ending the day at 6 for 364.

England went on to win the test, their first against Australia at Lord's since 1934.

Full set of photos in the Ashes at Lord's set on Flickr.

Phil Ivey in the November Nine

Phil Ivey is in amazing form.

After winning two bracelets already at the 2009 WSOP, he is now a member of the November Nine, having survived a field of 6494 to make the final table of the $10,000 entry fee 2009 WSOP Main Event.

The tournament resumes on November 7th. The ESPN coverage should be awesome.

Dinner at The Marquis at Alkham, UK

ENO's Madam Butterfly at the London Coliseum

Drinks and dinner at The Cut Bar, London, UK

Late night dinner at The Wolseley, London, UK

Gin and tonic, at the bar



Deep fried Whitebait with tartare sauce

Medium rare Rib Eye Steak Frites

Gem heart salad

Minted peas



and a glass of The Wolseley Médoc 2004 Château Loudenne

Glastonbury 2009 - Recovery Day

Glastonbury Highlights - 14
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Sunday was very much recovery day at Glastonbury. Lots of exhausted festival go-ers sprawled out on the few remaining patches of grass. The smell from the toilets, the trash, and all the people who had gone five days without a shower, permeated throughout the campsite.

We slept in, then packed up our campsite in preparation for a middle of the night departure to avoid the massive queues on the Monday.

We finished the festival with an inspired performance by Nick Cave and Bad Seeds on the Pyramid stage, then raved to The Prodigy for a short, but incredibly energetic performance on the Other Stage, before making our way back to London.

I arrived home at 5:55am on Monday morning, had a long shower, and then pretty much slept for the entire day.

Full set of photos are in the Glastonbury 2009 set on Flickr.

Glastonbury 2009 - Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen - 02
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was the headline act on the Saturday night, performing a two and a half hour set, including a six song encore.

So much energy, barely a rest between songs, and lots of involvement with the crowd.

It was great to see Steven van Zandt (a.k.a. Silvio Dante from The Sopranos) back in his original role lead guitar role for the E Street Band.

Glastonbury 2009 - Kasabian

Kasabian
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

To be honest, I didn't know much about Kasabian prior to going to Glastonbury. From what I understand, they're much bigger in the UK than they are in Australia.

Their set on the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday evening was awesome. Great live sound, and a very involved and passionate crowd. Definitely worth seeing again.

Glastonbury 2009 - Spinal Tap perform "Stonehenge"

Spinal Tap - 03
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Spinal Tap reformed for their 25th anniversary, complete with new drummer, for a set on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday afternoon.

The highlight was undoubtedly Stonehenge.

Glastonbury 2009 - Lady GaGa

Lady GaGa
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Lady GaGa put on a fantastic performance on the Other Stage on the Friday night, including an acoustic version of Poker Face. In her 75 minute set, she did three outfit changes, including a Madonna-esque boob flamethrower!

Glastonbury 2009 - Muddy Friday

Muddy Festival Site on Friday
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

On the Thursday night we had a downpour. As the rain cleared on the Friday morning, the masses descended onto the festival site, creating a sea of mud. Good thing we brought along our Wellington boots.

Glastonbury 2009 - Setting up Camp

Setting up Camp - 03
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

177,500 festival go-ers, 10000+ staff, 14000 toilets, 5 days of camping and music.

This is the calm before the storm. The grass is green. The tent site is clean, and I'm still feeling fresh.

Five days in the Scottish Highlands

Urquhart Castle
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

To kick off my time in the UK, I went up to the Scottish Highlands for a few days of hiking and sightseeing.

The Man in Seat Sixty-One had given me the tip-off on the Caledonian Sleeper, a very comfortable overnight train from London's Euston station to Fort William, complete with single sleeper cabins, and a classy lounge carriage with a good range of whiskies on the menu.

I did the hosteling thing again, for the first time in about nine years; lamented the fact that it rained pretty heavily almost non-stop for the first three days, preventing my attempt at the summit of Ben Nevis; hired a dodgy rental car and drove to the Isle of Skye; visited the Talisker distillery (yum!); did some hiking in the Cuillins; and saw Urquhart Castle (pictured) and Loch Ness.

Full set of photos in the Scottish Highlands 2009 set on Flickr.

Phil Ivey wins seventh WSOP Bracelet

Phil Ivey has won another bracelet, his second of the 2009 WSOP, in Event 25 - $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8-or-better, besting a field of 376 with a final table that included Chad Brown, Blair Rodman, Dutch Boyd, Jon (PearlJammer) Turner and Carlos Mortensen. First place prize money was $220,538 (plus, no doubt, a few more million in bracelet bets).

There are some particular pros that are really shining in this year's WSOP. Phil Ivey has won two bracelets. Brock Parker (a.k.a. t_soprano online) has won two bracelets, including a thrilling heads up victory against Daniel Negreanu in Event 14 - $2,500 Six-handed Limit Hold'em. Ville Wahlbeck, winner of the much coveted Event 12 - $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event (HORSE + Deuce to Seven Triple Draw + PLO + NLHE) also finished in the money in the first four $10,000 World Championship events 2nd place in the No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw and 3rd place in Seven Card Stud.

In the UK, selected final tables are being broadcast live on PKR.com

Lunch at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond, UK

Lunch at Petersham Nurseries
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Prosciutto with Smashed Peas & Mint on Bruschetta

Beef Skirt with Camone tomatoes, Chard & Anchovy Butter

Raspberry Sorbet

All in a gorgeous garden nursery setting.

Happy Birthday Kate!

Dinner and beers at The Boaters Inn, Kingston Upon Thames, UK

Dinner at Espetus Churrascaria, San Francisco

(Unlimited) "meat cooked on skewers over an open fire, and brought straight to the table where it is carved directly onto your plate." Oh, and there's also a salad bar. Brilliant!

Monterey Bay Aquarium, California

Monterey Bay Aquarium - Kelp Forest
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

While I'm not exactly a marine biology aficionado, I must say that the Monterey Bay Aquarium is by far the best aquarium that I've ever been to. Sea otters, seahorses, jelly fish, and some brilliant rocky shore and kelp forest exhibits.

Follow the photo link for selected highlights on Flickr.

9 / 10.

Driving Big Sur

Big Sur
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

The drive along Big Sur from San Simeon to Monterey is absolutely fantastic. Absolutely incredible coastline. Very little development. And a thoroughly enjoyable winding road to drive along.

Phil Ivey wins sixth Bracelet ... and millions of dollars in side bets

Now here's a poker game one doesn't get to play very often: No-Limit Deuce to Seven Single Draw ... "considered by many to be the most skillful game of the various poker disciplines."

In Event 8 of the 2009 WSOP Phil Ivey bested a field of 147 to win a mere $96,361 in prize money, plus several million dollars in Bracelet bets. The heads up match lasted about three and a half hours, with the lead going back and forth several times. Phil Ivey would consistently chip away at his opponent John Monnette, making well-timed raises and some very very good marginal calls. As the blinds increased, there were some big swings towards the end. John Monnette doubled up, then doubled up again to take the chip. Phil Ivey quickly doubled up to regain the chip lead. Then all the money went into the pot in a raise, re-raise, all-in pre-draw hand. "Ivey had 7-6-4-2, while Monnette held 9-7-5-2. John Monnette showed his card first, revealing another seven, meaning that he was drawing dead. Phil Ivey turned over the five for the winning hand and his sixth WSOP gold bracelet, his first since 2005."

I was fortunate enough to watch some of the heads up match live on bluffmagazine.com. Deuce to Seven is one of the few poker games that makes sense when you watch it live (i.e. without hole card cameras) as there is no flop, and you can focus on the players, their betting patterns, and their tells, without having to worry too much about their hole cards.

Update (07 June): Some great photos of the final table are up on PokerRoad.

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

Hearst Castle - Neptune Pool
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Of course, a road trip up the California Central Coast is not complete without a visit to Hearst Castle.

Follow the photo link for selected highlights on Flickr.

Australia avoids recession

[the australian] "Australia has avoided a recession after a surprise burst in the nation's trade surplus saved the economy from negative growth... the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed today that the economy for the March quarter grew by 0.4 per cent."

Update: ... and the S&P/ASX 200 closed above 4000 for the first time in 7 months.

Yosemite National Park, California

Half Dome
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Three days in Yosemite National Park. Awesome.

Full set of photos here.

Bodie State Historic Park, California

Bodie State Historic Park
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

On the drive from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite National Park, I took a side trip to Bodie State Historic Park. Bodie is "a genuine California gold mining ghost town" that thrived in the late 1800s, declined in the early 1900s, was eventually abandoned, and was designated a state historic park in 1962.

Full set of photos here.

Hiking to Eagle Lake and beyond

Hiking to Eagle Lake and beyond
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

This morning I went hiking to the fantastic Eagle Lake (seen here) just off Lake Tahoe in California, and then attempted to get up to Velma Lake and Dicks Lake, but was beaten by nature as the trail was covered in snow beyond 7600 feet.

Farewell Dinner at Bathers' Pavilion, Balmoral Beach

Quail for entree, Barramundi for main, Strawberry and Rhuburb for dessert, all washed down with a 10yr old Pepper Tree Grand Reserve Cab Sav. Nice!

James Gardner writes a letter to the Architects

"Dear Architect,

...we don't think we should have to pay for a "business process management" platform or implement "service orientation" so that future propositions that might come along have lower costs. If you want to build out "cool" architecture, you must find your own way to fund the bits and pieces that you need, rather than loading us up with costs."

The full letter can be found on James' blog.

Such is the dilemma of the way computer systems are designed and built in the corporate environment. An effective architect in a corporate environment needs to be forward thinking, yet practical and aware of cost and time pressures that their "customer" faces.

In my experience, effective architecture involves laying out a roadmap for technology choices, integration platforms, services orientation, etc, etc, and then spending a significant amount of time lobbying business users, other IT stakeholders, project and program boards, and C-level management for endorsement of that architectural roadmap.

It's a game of two steps forward, one step backwards, two steps forward. Some business systems projects will still need to go tactical, but as long as they go tactical with the support and understanding of the architects, then plans can be put in place to bring those systems back onto the architectural roadmap when the funding and/or time allows.

Dinner at kelly's Bar and Grill, Bondi Junction

Bitter harvest for agri schemes

[the australian] "AUSTRALIA'S managed investment scheme industry was dealt a crushing blow yesterday with the collapse of the biggest agribusiness investment company, Great Southern.

...

"One of the big red flags for agricultural managed investment schemes was the amount of money they had to pay advisers in order to promote their products," Australian Shareholders Association chief executive Stuart Wilson said last night. "There has always been some concern about the tax breaks provided for investors in these schemes and it brought into question whether they were really sustainable over the long term ... and now that two substantial schemes of managers have gone under, it leads us to believe that those who were the pessimists may actually have been right."

My accountant kept trying to push this tax break scheme onto me for years, but I kept saying no and eventually switched to another accountant who actually focused on getting the tax return right rather than trying to cross-sell this high-commission / low-return investment product.

The ultimate 2009 UK music festival map

[TimesOnline] "From the big-name festivals like Glastonbury and Isle of Wight, to the more intimate affairs of Wychwood and The Green Man, right through to the summer's opera must-sees at Glyndebourne, we've researched more than 60 festivals and brought them together on one handy map."

Dawn at Coogee pools

Ross Jones Memorial Pool, Coogee
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Up at 4:45am today for some early morning photography at Coogee pools

Betting on the house

[smh] "Think house prices here are going to fall? Soon you'll be able to short-sell Sydney housing, by taking out a derivative contract based on indices compiled by Rismark/RPData and quoted daily on the sharemarket."

Now this is an interesting concept, a way to get some exposure to the property market (either on the long or the short side), without have to take on a massive mortgage.

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams reboots the Star Trek franchise. Impressive cinematography. Great new (young) cast playing the roles of Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov in a alternate Star Trek universe this is fun, well-conceived, and action paced.

9 / 10

Dinner at Scenic Hotel, Norton Summit (South Australia)

Dinner and drinks at Bodega Tapas Restaurant, Surry Hills

Dinner at Viva Goa, Pyrmont

"Summer" Holiday plans

After working almost non-stop since March 2008, I'm planning to take up to four months off from May to September this year, traveling around the USA, UK, and some parts of Europe.

It's a long enough holiday that I'm packing up and moving out of my Sydney apartment. I have a Tier 1 (General) visa that allows me to work in the UK for the next three years without an employer sponsor, so if I can line up some project or permanent work while I'm traveling, then I'll stay on. If I can't line anything up, or if I decide I don't want to work in the UK, then I'll return to Oz in time for the AFL Grand Final in September.

My final day at work in Sydney will be Friday May 22nd.

I fly out to San Francisco on Sunday May 24th, from where I'll be doing a road-trip around California and Nevada for a couple of weeks.

I then fly to London (arriving on Wednesday 10th June), which will be my base for the summer. Events that have been lined up for the first few weeks in the UK include walking in Scotland, Glastonbury Music Festival, and Latitude Festival in Suffolk.

Dinner at Alio, Surry Hills

Dinner at Cafe Bon Ton, Leura

Ruddnet is too good to be true

[The Australian] Malcolm Turnbull shares his opinion on the politics and economics of the National Broadband Network proposal.

Metro rail plan hits the buffer

[smh] Sydney's long-term public transport planning farce continues...

We're driving to disaster, rail guru warns

[smh] "The state's most respected transport bureaucrat has broken an eight-year silence to condemn the NSW Government's botched handling of Sydney's transport system"

Some interesting insight into the problems with the current Sydney public transport infrastructure that were predicted back in 2001. The need for a second train line under/over the harbour is something that I am now experiencing every day with the near crush loads on the North Shore line during peak hour.

Dinner at Spice I am, Darlinghurst

Bondi Junction blast: frustrated residents stuck in limbo

[smh] "More than 300 homeless residents of the Bondi Junction apartment block rocked by a gas explosion on Monday face weeks of further uncertainty about compensation and when they will be able to move back in.

Unit owners and tenants of Eastgate Towers on Spring Street were told at a meeting on Wednesday night it would take at least five weeks - and as long as eight months - before the building is fully repaired."

Bondi Junction blast residents homeless

[smh] "More than 200 residents left homeless after an explosion in a Bondi Junction apartment building do not know when they will be allowed back to live in their homes."

Bondi Junction gas explosion

All of this happened in an apartment block about 100 metres up the street from where I live:

[smh]"Two plumbers remain in hospital, one in a critical condition, after a gas explosion on the 29th floor of an apartment block in Sydney's eastern suburbs yesterday.

The men, aged 22 and 20, received serious facial and hand burns in the blast, which ripped apart walls on the 29th floor of the unit block on Spring Street, Bondi Junction, about 12.40pm.

It is believed the explosion was caused by a ruptured gas pipe in the eastern tower above Bondi Junction's Eastgate shopping complex.

Most of the 200 or so residents evacuated yesterday were allowed back into their units overnight.

But police warned the building would have little or no power, water or gas supply for at least the next three days."

Hawks vs Cats @ the MCG

Hawks vs Cats
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Went down to Melbourne to see the Hawks take on the Cats in the opening round Grand Final replay on Friday night. Hawthorn was missing a few key players, Geelong was getting the ball into the forward line more frequently, but kicking inaccurately. In the early fourth term, Hawthorn were 43 points behind, but fought back strongly with Franklin and Roughead kicking three goals each. In the end, Geelong finished 8 points ahead, but Hawthorn proved that their performance in last year's Grand Final was no fluke.

Go Hawks!! Here's to another big season in 2009.

Saturday Session at the Australian F1 Grand Prix

2009 F1 Grand Prix Saturday - 03
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Don and I went to the Saturday session of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.

The newly formed Brawn GP team of Button and Barichello finished 1st and 2nd in qualifying, and went on to take 1st and 2nd in the race on Sunday after Vettel and Kubica ran into each other just 3 laps from the end.

Full set of Flickr photos here.

Sound Relief at the SCG

Sound Relief: Coldplay ... and John Farnham
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

Coldplay, John Farnham, Wolfmother, Hoodoo Gurus, Architecture in Helsinki, Eskimo Joe, Taylor Swift, Jet, The Presets, and Icehouse! Fantastic line-up, and all for a great cause.

How to stuff up an economic stimulus plan

Dinner at glass brasserie and bar

Pac Brands exits Australian manufacturing

[smh]

As of Sept 2010, Bonds will no longer be Australian made.

Lake Eyre's waters bring dead centre to life

[the australian]

Lunch at AXIS, Canberra

AXIS menu
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

$42b Australian economic stimulus package approved

[smh] "About $12 billion in one-off cash bonuses to low and middle-income families and workers will be paid from mid-March while the states and Canberra can begin rolling out more than $28 billion worth of spending on school repairs and upgrades, building new homes and providing free ceiling insulation."

Spend my hard earned tax dollars wisely, my fellow Australians. Spend it on restaurants, local food, local beers; pay someone to do your ironing and your gardening. Whatever you do, don't you dare save it for a rainy day or make an extra payment on your mortgage.

The War of the Roses Part 2

[Sydney Theatre Company]

8 / 10

The War of the Roses Part 1

[Sydney Theatre Company]

Cate Blanchett is absolutely brilliant as Richard II in Part 1 of The War of the Roses.

8 / 10

(9.5 / 10 for Cate)

Changeling

8 / 10

Melbourne hits 46.4 degrees

[the age] "Melbourne's all-time weather record has been broken and the city is sweltering under the twin effects of high temperatures and hot north-west winds.

The city hit 46.4 degrees at 3.04pm - the hottest day since the Bureau of Meteorology started keeping records 150 years ago.

The previous record was 45.6, set on January 13, 1939 - a day otherwise known as Black Friday.

[The Australian] Rankings boost for MBA school duo

AGSM #32, MBS #52. The Asian schools are starting to creep into the top 20.

Slumdog Millionaire

8.5 / 10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

9 / 10

Are you dead or just non-expressive?

Another classic Dilbert

RED OAK Boutique Beer Cafe

Microbrewery in the heart of the Sydney CBD; Tasting plates with matching beers; and a absolutely delish Seeded Mustard and Rosemary Marinated Lamb Backstrap.

Brilliant.

[Freakonomics] Why You’ll Love Paying for Roads That Used to Be Free: A Guest Post

The Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel are soon to have different tolls for different times of day, which I think is a great start, but, as Stephen Dubner writes, "the best solution is to vary the tolls in real time based on an analysis of current traffic conditions."

[smh] Train crush load limit set to triple

"OVERCROWDING will become accepted practice on triple the number of CityRail trains under a NSW Government bid to make its performance figures look good.

CityRail aims for no more than 5 per cent of trains to carry a "crush load".

But bureaucrats want to extend that target to 17 per cent after a review revealed 16 per cent of services in 2007-08 ran with such a load - whereby passengers exceed 135 per cent of seating capacity."

Living in New York in 2002

Inside the Butler Library at Columbia
Originally uploaded by adrianhind

A bit of a retro look at the four months I spent at Columbia Business School in New York City in 2002.

Here's the full set of photos.

First Recession?

He he.

Today's Dilbert is a classic.

2008 - Cities and Towns

Following Stuart's lead, here's a list of cities and towns I've stayed in over the last year.

Cradle Mountain, TAS, Australia

Preservation Bay, TAS, Australia

Melbourne, VIC, Australia*

Sydney, NSW, Australia*

Adelaide, SA, Australia

Los Angeles, CA, USA

San Diego, CA, USA

Indio, CA, USA

Las Vegas, NV, USA*

Grand Canyon Village, AZ, USA

Bryce Canyon, UT, USA

Springdale, UT, USA

Breckenridge, CO, USA

London, England

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Shanghai, China

Hangzhou, China

Canberra, ACT, Australia*

Mumbai, India

Jaipur, India

Guerilla Bay, NSW, Australia*

Port Douglas, QLD, Australia

* Multiple entries, non-consecutive days.