Merry Xmas & Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2008! Hello 2009 - may you be funner than 2008!

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, Mazel Tov!

Beautiful sites

100 Websites with Outstanding Artistic Design

Courtesy of either @xenijardin or @guykawasaki

Muppets YouTube Awesomeness

O joy O joy!






Mucho Thanks BoingBoing!

Twelve Days of EFF

More info here.

Courtesy of BoingBoing.

Home Sweet Home

One of the many beautiful parks in the city.

Kicked back on the grass and watched the clouds float by.

Scooterboy reading in favourite park-in-the-middle-of-a-residential-street.

Stunning Fitzroy Gardens smack in the middle of the city.

It was wonderful to be back home again, albeit for a rather short time. The contrast with Shanghistan is truly astounding. Blue sky, clean air, clean water, friendly, logical and functional people, capable medical professionals, ambulances that can actually get to you and are equipped to save your life, civility, ethics, great food, KoKo Black, Brunetti's, Francois, Tiamo2, Oskar, St Ali, The Vic Market Deli, bratwurst with sauerkraut at the Vic Market, the Vic Market, Gluttony, gorgeous parks, grass that you can walk/sit/lie on, bright colours, great markets, beautiful crafts, great book shops. Ah well, will just hang onto the fact that I will get to go home again one day.

Meanwhile, I'll remind myself of the positives of Shanghistan: cheap taxis, availability of help (cleaners), cheap massages, Sichuan/Hunan/Yunnan cuisine, Awfully Chocolate cakes.