Saturday, December 22, 2007

WiFi in Townsville?

Capture

Is it just me or are we in the wifi dark ages in Townsville?  Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction because I don't know of a single coffee shop in Townsville that offers free or even paid wifi.  One caveat however - you can't count the rip-off Telstra wifi at McDonald's restaurants!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The iPhone is half going!


iPhone-Unbox-011, originally uploaded by camlaird.

Well, I have "activated" the iPhone using a bit of internet trickery however due to it having the latest baseband firmware I can't "unlock" it to use on Australian networks. However this crack is only days away so it should be up and going before Christmas........hopefully!

UPDATE / 1 JAN 2008 :  Nup, not going as a phone yet but a TurboSIM is on the way so that will definitely solve the problem!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Oh yeh, my iPhone is on the way

I'm pretty damn excited, ordered a new Apple iPhone a couple of days ago and it is winging its way from the U.S as I write this.  Hopefully my geek knowledge should allow me to successfully crack it to use on the Telstra network - I'll report back when it is done!  Bring it on!  I am sooooo looking forward to this I bet there ends up being a problem like.... I receive a box full of nothing or it is smashed or I fail at cracking it and end up turning it into an expensive paperweight!

 

Updates:

Electronic Shipping Info Received, December 14, 2007

Acceptance, December 14, 2007, 8:32 am, AMES, IA 50010

Processed, December 14, 2007, 2:27 pm, DES MOINES, IA 50318

Processed, December 15, 2007, 4:42 pm, CHICAGO, IL 60666

International Dispatch, December 15, 2007, 4:42 pm, O'HARE APT/CHICAGO

Your item is being processed by customs in AUSTRALIA, December 18, 2007, 2:20 pm AEDST

Your item cleared customs in AUSTRALIA at 9:19 PM on December 18, 2007

Your item arrived at the delivery Post Office in AUSTRALIA at 12:49 PM on December 19, 2007

And... it has arrived at my house in AUSTRALIA at 1:01 pm on December 20, 2007 (and it is the real thing!)

Ed Hardy opens on the Gold Coast

While working on the Gold Coast earlier this week I was invited along to cover the opening of an Ed Hardy store at the Chevron Renaissance, Surfers Paradise.  I hadn't seen much Ed Hardy stuff before but was pretty impressed with their clientele.  Apart from Tara Reid (who was in attendance at the opening) their clothing is worn by the likes of Madonna, David Beckham, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.  My pics below show Tara Reid, Tania Zaetta and Deni Hines at the launch.

See my pics of the opening at http://www.cameronlaird.com/gallery/3988320

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Crocs prevail over Slingers

The Singapore Slingers gave the Crocodiles a bit of a scare tonight in their NBL clash in Townsville.  Whilst the Crocs prevailed 117-105 over a feisty Singapore lineup, their first half was woeful and something that coach Trevor Gleeson wouldn't want repeated anytime soon!

 

See my pics from the game at http://www.cameronlaird.com/gallery/1180378#229902843

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Amazing Weird Al Yankovic parody palindrome song

This truly is very cool. Weird Al has put together a parody of Bob Dylan's twelve bar blues style and written it using ONLY palindromes. Fantastic!

Has reality TV gone too far?

I don't know about you but when you call a reality television program "Can Fat Teens Hunt?" I think you may have gone too far!

From the BBC website:

"Ten dangerously overweight teenagers embark on a journey that could save their health in this six-part series. In an attempt to turn their backs on potentially fatal eating habits, they spend one month with the Iban tribe, former headhunters, living deep in the harsh and remote jungles of Borneo, South East Asia."

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Townsville ready for "A Knight under the Stars"

Townsville fans of Sir Elton John must have everything crossed as they pray for the rain to stay away on a one night only performance tonight by Sir Elton. The North Queensland Cowboys home ground, Dairy Farmers Stadium, has been transformed to accommodate over 20,000 fans in an intimate concert atmosphere. I will be shooting from the front row, but only for two songs and hopefully will have some nice pics in metropolitan newspapers tomorrow to show for it.

I shot this panorama yesterday as they were putting the finishing touches on the set.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Google Maps zip through suburban Townsville, Australia

I was sitting at my desk about 1/2 hour ago when a hatchback with Google Maps signage and a contraption on the roof zipped past. Never one to miss a story on my doorstep I chased him down the road and around the corner and photographed the car for my newspaper clients. Had a quick chat to the friendly driver and had a peek at his gadgetry inside the car. Basically it consisted of a midi tower PC in the trunk with a GPS processing unit, a Dell LCD monitor in the front screwed to a plank of wood, a GPS receiver and a pole with 5 cameras sticking up on the roof from the centre of a roofrack.

Whilst I have seen Google Maps of my local area it is nice to see that it is being updated and that "Streetview" is going to be included soon! I thought only "big" streets like 5th Ave, NY and Rodeo Drive made it into "Streetview". Too cool!

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Ankle injury or not?

Hard to believe that during the Townsville Crocodiles upset 97-93 win over the Perth Wildcats last night Corey "Homicide" Williams didn't even flinch when this ankle roll occurred! Bet he didn't even know he did it - I'm sure he'll get a surprise when he sees it however!

See my pics from the game at http://www.cameronlaird.com/gallery/1180378#227567256