Awesome burgers

Posted on May 30, 2010

Garth and I are going through a bit of a Grill’d phase at the moment, which means we have to make a trek over the Harbour Bridge whenever we want to sample their burgers (thankfully they’re opening up a new store in Darling Harbour in the near future). While most people will be attracted to Grill’d because their burgers are lower in fat, we go because they taste great - period.

Gluten-free buns that may contain gluten.

Favourite thus far is the Crispy Bacon & Cheese.

Awesome pizza

Posted on May 30, 2010

Anyone who loves pizza should visit Sven’s Viking Pizza asap. Anna recommended it to me as her friend’s friend owns it. Although I was sceptical to begin with, it really was the best pizza I’ve had to date.

This is what I had: their Frö pizza which comprises of a wafer thin base topped with eye fillet, mushrooms, onion and bearnaise. Totally mouth-watering.

iPad launched

Posted on May 28, 2010

Picked up an iPad on the way to work today - and I have high hopes that it’ll mean I no longer have to lug my laptop around to meetings and presentations. There was no line when I popped into the Bondi Junction Apple store (which opened today) although it was complete pandemonium inside with people crowding over the display models. I picked up everything I wanted except for the camera connector which had already sold out. I ended up buying the 64GB 3G iPad, the keyboard dock and case; and I also picked up a twin pack of Cygnett anti-glare screen protectors from Rushfaster.

Upon opening the box I realised my iPad had a chunk of dust wedged under the glass, which I knew would eventually drive me crazy. The manager empathised and happily exchanged it for another one. If you intend to buy an iPad, I recommend inspecting yours before you leave the store to save you having to drive back.

Putting the screen protector on turned to be an absolute bitch. After screwing up the first one (there was caught dust and air bubbles everywhere) I binned it and tried again. This time around I used my lens cleaning gear to make sure the iPad’s glass was dust-free. Got it spot-on.

Typing out emails on a touch-screen sucks, so the keyboard dock is a handy edition. It’s the perfect size for travelling, but it’s weight and shape make it a little awkward to fit into your bag.

Apple’s iPad Case fits like a glove and has a neat kickstand so you can watch movies on a plane. But unfortunately there’s a glaring oversight: you can’t plug in the keyboard dock with the case on. This is kind of silly as the tight fit makes it hard to pull the iPad out whenever you need to use the external keyboard. I’m already looking for a replacement that doesn’t have this design flaw.

Received a free t-shirt to celebrate the opening of Apple’s Bondi Junction store. It’s an XL so I’ll probably throw it up on eBay!

Must… get… sleep…

Posted on May 25, 2010

After averaging five hours of sleep per night for the past week and a half I’m well and truly on fumes at a moment. Unfortunately a barrage of work-related gigs all landed at the same time (primarily because of the World Time Attack Challenge over the weekend) so I’m desperate for a day to recoup and charge my batteries. Four more late-night meetings to go. This Sunday my phone’s going to be switched off. Can’t wait.

Say cheese!

Posted on May 19, 2010

Speedhunters are in town this week for the World Time Attack Challenge. Although we’ve spoken on email and on the phone many times, this was the first time I met Speedhunter’s chief Rod Chong.

Dino Dalle Carbonare is also here, flying in from Japan to photograph their Australian trip.

Toyota Rukus launch

Posted on May 18, 2010

This morning the Toyota Rukus (known in other countries as the xB) was unveiled at its official press launch at The Loft.

Weather was terrible but at least Toyota’s little driving activites were fun.

Before we were let loose rally driver Neil Bates took us around for a sighting lap. These sort of activities are always highly competitive between the journalists. Sadly Garth and I were given a five second penalty meaning we dropped from first to second place.

What were they like to drive? Surprisingly good actually. Although the Rukus will come only in automatic, the 2.4 litre motor (123kW) and wide track make for a zippy city car.

During lunch I was seated opposite the xB/Rukus’ Chief Designer who flew over from Japan for the launch. Definitely a nice guy!

Noktor 50mm f0.95 lens

Posted on May 17, 2010

Today my Noktor lens arrived. I had missed out on the pre-release but grabbed one before the first release sold out. The Noktor is the fastest lens currently available for the Micro 4/3 platform, which many believe is a converted CCTV lens. This photo was taken with the lens at f0.95. Can’t wait to play around with it in video.

Here’s the Noktor on my Lumix GF1. I’ve only toyed around with the lens for a few minutes, but so far it seems like a fun lens to play with - although the bokeh can be a little crazy. Shame it comes with the world’s crappest lens crap… it’s almost like the lid off a Pringles can.

Eyes open, eyes closed. The Noktor lens at both aperture extremes (f0.95 and f16). This week is going to be pretty chaotic for me as I’ll be taking some of the international media around Sydney before the weekend’s Super Lap event. I’ll try to keep posting as often as I can!

Kid Robot toys

Posted on May 13, 2010

Willy brought back some gifts for everybody from San Fran, most of which were from Kid Robot. Here’s the Simpsons x Kid Robot Krusty the Clown.

Each of us got a Kid Robot Rippers too (which are zipper pulls). The Smorkin’ Labbit is my one.

Counting down the days to WTAC

Posted on May 11, 2010

There’s less than two weeks to go before the World Time Attack Challenge is held at Eastern Creek, and workshops across Sydney are busy preparing their cars. Some of the cars are ready to go, while others are still (frantically) being put together. The cover car for ASM’s final issue, Sam Stratten’s DC5 Integra Type R, is getting some finishing touches done at JC Racing.

Johnny is the owner of JC Racing. Most of you will know him from his famous ‘MRROTA’ R100 drag car.

When you see it in person you realise how hard it would be to pedal an R100 down the quarter mile; it’s wheelbase is so short it looks like a caricature!

Engine bay is all business. Johnny’s confident it’ll crack into the 7s before June.

Eric & Jojo’s engagement party

Posted on May 9, 2010

Today we celebrated Eric and Jojo’s engagement at the Shelbourne Hotel. The Sunday afternoon weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

Papz behaving like Papz.

Moments before I’m hit with food projectiles.

Finger food was yummy.

Julie wanted to see how my sunnies looked on her.

Here’s Eric and Jojo, the happy couple.

No time to cook

Posted on May 8, 2010

Although there are no more ASM deadlines, there’s no sign of my workload easing up for at least a few more weeks. And staying back at work means I’ve been eating a hell of a lot of take-away of late. Previously your home delivery options extended to the local Chinese restaurant or a franchise pizza, but there are now delivery websites that allow you to order something decent without having to leave your desk.

Ruby suggested I try Menulog, which is a website that offers everything from Mexican to Portuguese burgers to a rack of ribs. Menulog act as a middle-man between you and participating restaurants in your area, and the prices were certainly reasonable. I opted for some gourmet pizzas from Arthur’s.

Arrived just in time to catch the F1.

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