Archives for 2014

Funny and Strange Motor Insurance Claims

-“I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the roof of my car”.

 

-“The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth”.

 

-“Going to work at 7am this morning I drove out of my drive straight into a bus. The bus was 5 minutes early”.

 

-“I was driving along when I saw two kangaroos copulating in the middle of the road causing me to ejaculate through the sun roof”.

 

-“The accident happened because I had one eye on the lorry in front, one eye on the pedestrian and the other on the car behind”.

 

-“I started to slow down but the traffic was more stationary than I thought”.

 

“I pulled into a lay-by with smoke coming from under the hood. I realised the car was on fire so took my dog and smothered it with a blanket”.

 

-The claimant had collided with a cow. The questions and answers on the claim form were – Q: What warning was given by you? A: Horn. Q: What warning was given by the other party? A: Moo.

 

-“I started to turn and it was at this point I noticed a camel and an elephant tethered at the verge. This distraction caused me to lose concentration and hit a bollard”.

 

-“On approach to the traffic lights the car in front suddenly broke”.

 

-“I was going at about 70 or 80 mph when my girlfriend on the pillion reached over and grabbed my testicles so I lost control”.

 

-“I didn’t think the speed limit applied after midnight”

 

-“I knew the dog was possessive about the car but I would not have asked her to drive it if I had thought there was any risk”.

 

-“First car stopped suddenly, second car hit first car and a haggis ran into the rear of second car”.

 

-“Windscreen broken. Cause unknown. Probably Voodoo”.

 

-“The car in front hit the pedestrian but he got up so I hit him again”

 

-“I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment”.

 

-“The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention”.

 

-“I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way”.

 

-“A truck backed through my windshield into my wife’s face”.

 

-“A pedestrian hit me and went under my car”.

 

-“In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole”.

 

-“I had been shopping for plants all day and was on my way home. As I reached an intersection a hedge sprang up obscuring my vision and I did not see the other car”.

 

-“I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident”.

 

-“An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished”.

 

-“I was thrown from the car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by some stray cows”.

 

-“Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have”.

 

-“I thought my window was down, but I found it was up when I put my head through it”.

 

-“The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him”.

 

-“I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident”.

 

-“As I approached an intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a place where no stop sign had ever appeared before”.

 

-“To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front I struck a pedestrian”.

 

-“My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle”.

 

-“I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat found that I had a fractured skull”.

 

-“I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him”.

 

-“The pedestrian had no idea which way to run as I ran over him”.

 

-“The telephone pole was approaching. I was attempting to swerve out of the way when I struck the front end”.

 

-“The gentleman behind me struck me on the backside. He then went to rest in a bush with just his rear end showing. ”

 

-“I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a different direction going the opposite way”.

 

-“I was backing my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before”.

 

-“When I saw I could not avoid a collision I stepped on the gas and crashed into the other car”.

 

-“The accident happened when the right front door of a car came round the corner without giving a signal”.

 

-“No one was to blame for the accident but it would never have happened if the other driver had been alert”.

 

-“I was unable to stop in time and my car crashed into the other vehicle. The driver and passengers then left immediately for a vacation with injuries”.

 

-“The pedestrian ran for the pavement, but I got him”.

 

-“I saw her look at me twice. She appeared to be making slow progress when we met on impact”.

 

-“The accident occurred when I was attempting to bring my car out of a skid by steering it into the other vehicle”.

 

-“My car got hit by a submarine”. The Navy informed the wife of a submariner that the craft was due in port. She drove to the base to meet her husband and parked at the end of the slip where the sub was to berth. An inexperienced ensign was conning the sub and it rammed the end of the slip, breaking a section away, causing her car to fall into the water. The Navy paid the compensation claim.

 

-“I bumped into a lamp-post which was obscured by human beings”.

 

-“The accident was caused by me waving to the man I hit last week”.

 

-“I knocked over a man; he admitted it was his fault for he had been knocked down before”.

 

-“A house hit my car”. A house was being moved by a large truck. My friend had his car parked on the side of the road correctly. The house began to tilt off the truck and eventually fell off the truck, landing on my friend’s car. He eventually had the insurance paid, after lengthy explanation and the moving company confirming the story.

 

-“The pedestrian had no idea which way to run as I ran over him”.

 

-“I saw her look at me twice. She appeared to be making slow progress when we met on impact”.

 

-“A truck backed through my windshield into my wife’s face”.

 

-“The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention”.

 

-“My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle”.

 

-“When I saw I could not avoid a collision I stepped on the gas and crashed into the other car”.

 

-“I was backing my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before”.

 

-“I was unable to stop in time and my car crashed into the other vehicle. The driver and passengers then left immediately for a vacation with injuries”.

 

-“I pulled in to the side of the road because there was smoke coming from under the hood. I realised there was a fire in the engine, so I took my dog and smothered it with a blanket”.

 

Assorted giggles

The young man came running into the store and said to his mate “Johnno, somebody just stole your ute from the parking lot!”

 

Johnno replied “Did ya see who it was?”

 

The young man answered “I couldn’t tell, but I got the license number”.

 

##########################################

Two brothers enlisting in the Army were getting their physicals. During the inspection, the doctor was surprised to discover that both of them possessed incredibly long, oversized penises.

 

“How do you account for this?” he asked the brothers.

 

“It’s hereditary, sir” the older one replied.

 

“I see” said the doctor, writing in his file.

 

“Your father’s the reason for your elongated penises?”

 

“No sir, our mother”.

 

“Your mother? You idiot, women don’t have penises!”

 

“I know, sir” replied the recruit “But she only had one arm, and when it came to getting us out of the bathtub, she had to manage as best she could!”

 

##########################################

 

A guy is watching a film with creepy organ music on the TV and suddenly yells “No! No! Don’t enter that church, you damn fool!”

 

His wife asks him “What are you watching?”

 

Husband replies “Our wedding video”.

How To Block YouTube on iPad and iPhone

Here’s a little tip for those parents who have enabled restrictions on their kids’ devices, but still find that YouTube is accessible.  I’m assuming you’ve already set up restrictions (under Settings > General > Restrictions).

The next step is to tap on ‘Add a Website’ under ‘Never Allow’. The trick here is to enter both the normal YouTube URL (http://www.youtube.com) and the mobile site URL (http://m.youtube.com), as most times your iPad or iPhone will access the mobile site.
Here’s a pic of the setting correctly entered:

IMG_1570

The same of course applied to other sites that have a mobile version. To determine the URL for a mobile version, just tap once in the URL bar of Safari once the site has loaded, and you’ll be able to see the full URL.

Hope that helps you a little.

 

 

From The Vault: A 2005 Interview With Brian Canham

dj.rflmldgr.170x170-75Back in 2005 I had the opportunity to interview Brian Canham on everything music technology. It was meant for Australian Macworld magazine, but I’d obviously not communicated that clearly, as Brian wasn’t a Mac user at the time. The interview was unable to be used, and has sat in my email inbox the past nine years.

Psuedo Echo launched a new album in April called Ultraviolet (get it here) but I only discovered the fact this week. It reminded me of the shelved interview. So here it is in full. Enjoy!

DH: You’ve been heavily involved in music composition and production for nigh on 25 years now. What’s changed in your approach to creating music over that time?

Brian: I guess these days I am a lot more analytical … and having the benefit of hindsight I like to have a “vehicle” in mind first. The home computer & music software have been the biggest changes in creation for me. Now being able to be completely self sufficient means I can produce a finished product without the limitations of a budget. Time permitting of course….

DH: A lot of readers will primarily know you as the front-man of Pseudo Echo. All your albums relied heavily on technology, none more so than “Love and Adventure”. Can you describe what technology you had at your disposal when making that album?

Brian: Love An Adventure was demoed quite modestly on a cheap (even for the time) analogue 4 track recorder (Akai..?), though we had some nice keyboards e.g. Roland JP8, Yamaha DX7 & RX Drum machine, Korg Poly61. But once actually in the studio (Platinum – aka Sing Sing 3, Melb.), there was no expense spared. We recorded & mixed on an SSL 56 channel console, with up to 3 24 channel Studers synced together.

Additional keyboards used were: PPG Wave terminal, Fairlight, Roland MKS-80 & JX3P, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 & Pro 1. Oberheim OB8, as well as an Oberheim DMX, Roland 808 drum machines, and the famous Simmons electronic drum kit.

Outboard gear (FX) we made heavy use of the prestigeous AMS rack units, dominantly the delay which could be used as a sampler (since this was just pre-sampler keyboards). Also units like the legendary Lexicon reverb, as well as banks of Roland, Yamaha & Korg digital delays, verbs and choruses.

Guitars were fairly conventional, as were traditional string sections (MSO), and brass.

DH: Stepping forward a decade, you were pivotal in the success of Aussie rock group Chocolate Starfish. How did your approach change when producing the two albums for them?

Brian: Basically substituted all of my keyboard production ideas for guitars! Ironically, I recorded both Starfish albums at the old 301 Studios on an old valve Neve console – the very same one that we recorded Pseudo Echo’s debut album on!

The preproduction wasn’t as seperated from the actual recording stage with Starfish, and I worked through all of the parts, sounds, and vocals with all of the guys in the band, whereas with Pseudo it was basically two of us writing, pre-producing, programing etc. Then virtually just pushing the “go” button once in the studio.

DH: Your latest project Origene, is a different ballgame again for you musically. How did it come together and what would you like it to achieve?

Brian: It’s weird because Origene almost feels like Pseudo Echo again, except without me having to be in the limelight – 2 of us in the studio together, writing , programming, recording etc. Though one main difference these days with Origrene is that the writing , recording, mixing etc becomes one big blurred process, as opposed to distinctive processes.

We pretty much are mixing all the way, from the first drum groove we lay down, so we sometimes spend as much as a month or so mixing a track compared to the old school way of mixing a song a day ( or two days if you’re lucky ).

Musically I play keyboards with Origene, though Ben Grayson will play all the tricky technical stuff since he IS actually a wiz bang player!

We are currently on the verge of signing a new record deal directly for the US, Europe, and possibly Japan, so I’d like to see our dream come to reality and do a complete album of pure indulgence, not just stomping club tunes.

I’d really love to pick up where we left of last year with OS touring too. Hopefully this year we’ll get to tour the NY club scene as was planned.

DH: When did computers first become a creative tool for you, and do you remember what model it was?

Brian: Well I bought my fisrt computer solely for music early in the 90s. It was an Atari 1040ST

DH: What software do you use currently use to create music, and why have you chosen it?

Brian: I use Steinberg’s Cubase SX, since I started off using the original Cubase (version 2 ) over ten years ago when it was just a high end midi sequencer.

I was introduced to it by a musician friend (Chong Lim), who showed me how intuitive it was to use and basically sold me on it. I’ve never looked back. I have grown with the program over a decade and now use it to write, program sounds, record, and mix, from start to finish with final release quality.

DH: What are your thoughts on digital music downloads, including operations like the iTunes Music Store?

Brian: Something has got to give. I mean, I’m all for technology advancements but hopefully there will someday be a happy medium, where consumer and artist are both happy, though the BIG corporates may not be so..

DH: What do you hope to achieve musically in the next five years?

Brian: Would ultimately like to score a film, with mixed modern/traditional approach. Develop my own record label, and make my mark in A&R development, finding “real” artists, and music.

Golf Club Murder

A murder has been committed. Police are called to an apartment and find a man standing, holding a 5-iron in his hands, looking at the lifeless body of a woman on the ground.

The detective asks “Sir, is that your wife?”

“Yes”.

“Did you hit her with that golf club?”

“Yes. Yes, I did” the man answers. He stifles a sob, drops the club and puts his hands on his head.

“How many times did you hit her?”

“I don’t know. Five… six… put me down for a five”.

Scott Morrison Announces Harsh Anti-Boat Laws

snark-banner-meat

Today the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Scott Morrison, announced wide-ranging legislation designed to further prevent asylum seekers attempting to access Australia by sea.

Families being forced to hunt pond ducks due to goods not becoming cheaper

Families being forced to hunt pond ducks due to goods not becoming cheaper


“Today I announce that we will be introducing legislation to ban the use of boats in any jurisdiction involving water or the intent to create water for use as a boat enabling substance,” Morrison stated.

“What we have seen over the past six months is a significant reduction in illegal maritime arrivals, but there remains undeniable evidence that boats are a key link in the chain that we’re determined to remove”

The accompanying glossy policy document, whose cover features members of the Sutherland Shire group ‘Kids for Border Security in the Shire’, covers off the specifics of the proposed policy. These include a canoe buyback scheme and increased training subsidies for the commercial fishing industry in the use of drones for fishing.

The Snark is The Creative Shed’s Satire News Section. 100% of it is satire and in no way resembles reality. Reality is way sillier than this stuff. Follow The Snark on Facebook and Twitter

Dinner Party

She wanted to serve her guests mushroom – smothered steak, but she had no mushrooms and no time to buy them.

Her husband suggested, “Why don’t you go pick some of the mushrooms that are growing wild down by the stream?

“No, some wild mushrooms are poisonous.”

“Well, I see squirrels eating them and they’re OK.”

So she picked a bunch and washed, sliced and sautéed them for her dinner.

Then she went out on the back porch and gave Spot, their dog, a double handful. Spot ate every bite.

All morning long, she watched the dog.

The wild mushrooms hadn’t affected him after a few hours, so she decided to use them.

The meal was a great success.

After everyone had finished, her daughter came in and whispered in her ear, “Mum, Spot is dead.”

Trying to keep her head about her, she left the room as quickly as possible, called the doctor and told him what had happened.

The doctor said, “That’s bad, but I think we can take care of it. I’ll call for an ambulance and I’ll be there as quickly as I can.

We’ll give everyone enemas and we’ll pump out their stomachs and everything will be fine. Just keep them calm.”

Before long they started to hear the sirens as the ambulance tore down the road.

The Paramedics and the doctor had their suitcases, syringes, and a stomach pump.

One by one, they took each person into the bathroom, gave them an enema, and pumped out their stomach.

After the last one was done the doctor came out and said,

“Everything will be okay now,” and with that he left.

The hosts and the guests were all weak and knackered sitting around the living room when the daughter came in and said to her mum……….

“I can’t believe that guy!”

“What guy?”

“You know, that one who ran over Spot; he never even slowed down.”

The Caring Grandfather

A woman in a supermarket is following a grandfather and his badly behaved 3 year-old grandson.

It’s obvious to her that he has his hands full with the child screaming for sweets in the sweet aisle, biscuits in the biscuit aisle; and for fruit, cereal and pop in the other aisles.

Meanwhile, Granddad is working his way around, saying in a controlled voice, “Easy William, we won’t be long . . .. Easy boy.”

Another outburst, and she hears the granddad calmly say, “It’s okay William, just a couple more minutes and we’ll be out of here. Hang in there, boy”

At the checkout, the little terror is throwing items out of the cart, and Granddad says again in a controlled voice, “William, William, relax buddy, don’t get upset. We’ll be home in five minutes; stay cool William.”

Very impressed, the woman goes outside where the grandfather is loading his groceries and the boy into the car.

She said to the elderly gentleman, “It’s none of my business, but you were amazing in there. I don’t know how you did it. That whole time, you kept your composure, and no matter how loud and disruptive he got, you just calmly kept saying things would be okay. William is very lucky to have you as his grandpa.”

“Thanks,” said the grandfather, “but I’m William . . . The little bastard’s name is Kevin.”

Stop Laughing, We Are All Seniors

Garage Door. The boss walked into the office one morning not knowing
his zipper was20 down and his fly area wide open. His assistant walked up to him and said, ‘This morning when you left your house, did you close your garage door?’ The boss told her he knew he’d closed the garage door, and walked into his office puzzled by the question.

As he finished his paperwork, he suddenly noticed his fly was open, and zipped it up.
He then understood his assistant’s question about his ‘garage door.’

He headed out for a cup of coffee and paused by her desk to ask, ‘When my garage door
was open, did you see my Jaguar parked in there?’

She smiled and said, ‘No, I didn’t. All I saw was an old minivan with two flat tires..

Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement center were sitting
on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: ‘Slim, I’m 83 years
old now and I’m just full of aches and pains. I know you’re about my age. How do you feel?’
Slim says, ‘I feel just like a newborn baby.’
‘Really!? Like a newborn baby!?’
‘Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I t hink I just wet my pants.’

A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy:
‘So I hear you’re getting married?’
‘Yep!’
‘Do I know her?’
‘Nope!’
‘This woman, is she good looking?’
‘Not really.’
‘Is she a good cook?’
‘Naw, she can’t cook too well.’
‘Does she have lots of money?’
‘Nope! Poor as a church mouse.’
‘Well, then, is she good in bed?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Why in the world do you want to marry her then?’
‘Because she can still drive!’

Three old guys are out walking.
First one says, ‘Windy, isn’t it?’
Second one says, ‘No, it’s Thursday!’
Third one says, ‘So am I. Let’s go get a beer..’

A man was telling his neighbour, ‘I just bought a new hearing aid.
It cost me four thousand dollars, but it’s state of the art.. It’s perfect.’
‘Really,’ answered the neighbour . ‘What kind is it?’
‘ Twelve thirty..’

Morris , an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.
A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, ‘You’re really doing great, aren’t you?’
Morris replied, ‘Just doing what you said, Doc: ‘Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.”
The doctor said, ‘I didn’t say that.. I said, ‘You’ve got a heart murmur; be careful.’

One more. . …!

A little old man shuffled slowly into an ice cream
parlour and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool.
After catching his breath, he ordered a banana split.
The waitress asked kindly, ‘Crushed nuts?’
‘No,’ he replied, ‘Arthritis.’

Review: The Jet Lag Monologues

the_jet_lag_monologuesInnovation in live theatre is about as common as spontaneity in parliamentary oratory, so I’m pleased to report that The Jet Lag Monologues is an uncommon beast indeed. Sure, four blokes behind microphones reading excerpts from Bob Carrs’s Diary of a Foreign Minister doesn’t scream ingenuity, but it was the fusion of fresh material, minimal rehearsal and four striking voices that make it eighty plus minutes of substantive entertainment.

The four performers (Bob Carr, Bob Ellis, Terry Clarke and Jonathan Biggins) manage to create a believable conglomeration of Carr’s narration in the book – no mean feat given Carr himself is one of the ensemble. Biggins’ Keating deserves its own show, the single sentence delivered in his voice providing one of the night’s most humourous moments. His Rudd impression was more than respectable as well – perhaps a Rudd / Keating one-man show should be in the offing? Clarke’s understated but emphatic delivery provided some welcome shade in parts, and Ellis’ Kissinger was very well received. Carr’s work achieved its expected qualities: sonorous and authoritative, with some wry humour injected at key junctures. If I were to find fault at all, it would be that some of the representations of Carr interlocutors from Indonesia, China, the US and Europe teetered on the edge of stereotype at times, but I believe they managed to avoid falling completely into that trap.

Bob Ellis’ curation of key passages into an engaging narrative deserves praise, something Carr himself was effusive with at the conclusion of the night. Diary of a Foreign Minister provides some wide-ranging material that could be difficult to wrangle, but Ellis has managed to create a coherent narrative that entertains throughout. The relationship with the United States, the dinners and Bohemian Grove retreat with Henry Kissinger, the showdown with Julia Gillard over Palestine and the finality of death are all interwoven effectively. It is also worth noting that the audience wasn’t uniform in its response to some of the perspectives presented, which in itself lends weight to the quality of the material’s presentation. There were intermittent mumblings I took to be disagreements with assertions made, and one passionate Gillard supporter made her feelings very clearly known after the show had concluded, shouting her displeasure at Carr’s decision to back Kevin Rudd in the 2013 leadership ballot. That aside, the level of engagement with the material was very high, and the standing ovation from half those present gave an indication to the majority’s appreciation.

The Jet Lag Monologues on its first outing should be deemed a success, and I’d be surprised if there aren’t encore performances. Its uniqueness is in its disinterest in everything but providing a respectable but humorously outfitted vehicle from which to view Bob Carr’s ride through what is likely the most memorable eighteen months of his life. If you enjoy political biography, humorous interplay between four experienced orators, less than stellar but effective singing in well judged moments and a healthy dose of literary and philosophical references, then start lobbying for a further staging.

Previous Posts