John's blog from Sydney, Australia.

God helps those who help themselves

2008-03-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

Someone said this on the comments section of Digg. I'm not a religious person by any means, but I think it's a great message.It was flooding in California. As the flood waters were rising, a man was on the stoop of his house and another man in a row boat came by. The man in the row boat told the man on the stoop to get in and he'd save him. The man on the stoop said, no, he had faith in God and

More Hands In Our Pockets - Point To Point Speed Cameras On Tollways

2008-03-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

ITS UP AN RUNNING, SO BE WARNEDNew Legislation M5 & M7 Re Speeding FinesM5 and the M7 are now equipped with Point to Point Speed Devices. On entering the M7 the etag beeps and a camera takes a photo of your car recording the exact time. On exiting the etag system beeps again another camera at that point takes a photo of the car and the time. Then the

Hackers Injecting Script tags into SQL data fields

2007-08-07T01:25:00.000-07:00

Recently, on one of my clients sites, I noticed that some hacker scum had placed a script tag on some of the pages of the site by hacking into the SQL database and inserting the said script tag into a data field. This means that when the page is loaded, the script is also loaded.The location of the script that is referred to is:http://ijk.ccThe whois information for ijk.cc is:Registrant:robert

Car Owners Claim NSW Police Harassing Them Based on Heresay Evidence

2006-08-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Came across this interesting thread on the ls1 forum tonight. There sure are some scary stories there.Imagine, as an owner of a nice car you have a dispute with your neighbour about a fence or something and it gets personal. Your neighbour then complains about you to the cops, making up false stories about the way you drive. He might also get a couple of friends to call in aswell. You then face

Harold Scruby Tries To Generate Hysteria With Misleading Videos

2006-07-31T18:53:00.000-07:00

I found this video on Harold Scruby's website, and it's typical of the way he attempts to generate public hysteria with misleading presentation, much like Today Tonight and other such shows.It's actually quite amusing, right up there with the "Window Tinting Homeland Security Threat".The title of the page is: (Wait for it:) "Burnout Hoon Crash Video".It features a guy performing a burnout in a

Petrol Prices out of control, John Howard thinks Big Brother is important

2006-07-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

It's an amazing state of affairs, when we have major issues with new industrial relations laws, people protesting in the streets. The oil companies (with the government riding on their back) are ripping us off, week by week.Prime Minister John Howard made a statement on Monday, saying the Big Brother show should be axed. Big Brother, like all TV shows, will be axed when no one watches it. If it

BP Accused of Price Manipulation

2006-06-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

No, they wouldn't do that would they?

Today Tonight

2006-06-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

I found a brilliant article which basically outlines the show "Today Tonight". We could substitute the show for "60 Minutes", "A Current Affair", or any other trashy show that calls it's self a current affairs show.Anyone who watches these shows and takes them seriously as news really must have a gullability problem. I personally find their recurring "reports" on car hoons quite a laugh. They

The Perfect Cup of Tea

2006-06-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm just listening to an intesting interview on the radio with Stephen Twinings, who is the head of the Twinings tea company. I am quite a tea drinker myself, every afternoon when I get home from work I make a strong cup with some creatine in it (for my newly found bodybuilding hobby).Getting to the point of this little post, I heard that tea actually takes 3 minutes to properly brew in the cup.

Cleaning Your Car

2006-06-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, the only day I get off at the moment, and is the day of washing the car. Above is a link to a really comprehensive thread on the Australian LS1 forum that covers everything about washing your car. Interestingly, the guy who wrote it is perminantly banned.

Ghost Rider - Nutter On a Motorbike Doing 300kph+ On Public Roads

2006-06-11T01:17:00.000-07:00

I came across these videos on the net the other day. This guy (or a group of guys) make videos of riding flat out around Sweden. There are about 4 ghostrider videos, and there are quite a few clips available on the net. The pictures below are taken from a clip featuring a 500hp turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. He pops wheelies at over 300kph on public roads in daylight with traffic.It's without

Car Ad Wowsers - This is what we're up against

2006-04-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

I just came across this document, which outlines why the brilliant and entertaining advertisment for the Holden ute was taken off TV.DESCRIPTION OF THE ADVERTISEMENTThe material reviewed by the Board begins with a voiceover stating "Awesome Power. Frightening Beauty. And a bad attitude" as the camera travels through a forest area at nighttime marked with a private property sign. As the camera

Steering Fixed on the VP

2006-03-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

I replaced the whole steering system last weekend. It was meant to last another week, as last weekend was meant to be the weekend to fully move out of the old house and get it ready for inspection. As it turned out, I had to do it during the week after work.The job was really easy. I just got the front of the car up on chassis stands, removed the hydraulic lines and reservior from the pump,

Power Steering Failure

2006-03-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

My power steering has finally decided to die. It has had major fluid leaks for a few weeks, which have slowly been getting worse. Now the pump has seized because of no power steering fluid, and the belt just makes smoke because the pully won't turn. I've just sourced a reco rack and pump for $470 from the local power steering place.It's a common problem with the older Commodores as they are

M7 Toll Set To Increase Next Saturday

2006-03-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

The toll on the M7 is set to increase next Saturday as is explained in a small obscure place on their website, which I'm not going to link to. Nice scheme. Make it cheap, get people used to it, then, when it's percieved as a good thing, fleece them for all they're worth, then a bit. This makes me glad that I never started using it.

Speed Cameras. Another Reason To Avoid Sydney's TollRoads

2006-03-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

I am hearing from more and more people who are being booked for minor speed offences (10km over the limit) or less while using Sydney's privately owned tollroads. Namely the cross city tunnel. I just heard from a guy who was booked for doing 90 in the tunnel. The speed limit is 80 apparently.All reports indicate that there is usually no one in the tunnel for obvious reasons. When I see stuff like

Labor Plans to Restrict Internet In Australia

2006-03-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

In the news today, Labor has put forward that they want to force all ISPs in Australia to filter all traffic. The plan is to filter all internet users, unless they opt out of the filter. The result of this, is that all uneducated computer users will be prevented from seeing websites that our government don't want them to see. Child protection has, of course been raised as the reason for this."

Harold Scruby Nominated for Bent Spoon Award

2006-03-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Harold Scruby has been nominated for a Bent Spoon Award on the Australian Skeptics website.The reasons for nomination are well explained:Nominee: Harold ScrubyNominated by: David PerkinsDate: 21/12/2005 For his constant refusal to let facts get in the way of an argument. This guy:* ran over a jogger in his car, then got off because it was the joggers fault,* created a rule to not allow Japanese

SpyFalcon :: Spyware That Poses as Anti Spyware

2006-03-17T20:22:00.000-08:00

I have recently fallen victim to this hidious program that is quite difficult to remove. SpyFalcon is a spyware program that installs it's self into your machine when you visit certain websites. The thing about SpyFalcon is that it installs, and then proceeds to issue fake warning pop-ups telling you that you have spyware on your computer. They then tell you that you need to purchase the

Cross City Funnel - I Still Won't Use It

2006-03-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

In a cynical attempt to drag motorists into the failed Cross City Tunnel, they have halved the toll and reversed some road changes.Not good enough. Forget the tunnel. I'm not going into the city full stop, until the traffic light changes are reversed, and ALL the roads are re-opened. It's quite funny, I used to go into the city a bit, but since this tunnel opened, I just don't have the time to

Rental Market in Sydney is Red Hot

2006-03-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

As I have written in the last post, I have recently moved house. The couple that I was living with wanted to get their own house togeather and I was ready to move to an older house where I can build engines and partake in other messy persuits without worrying about making a brand new house dirty.Luckily I found an old friend who has the perfect place, and I am comfortably in there now. My friends

PC Power Supply Failure

2006-03-09T23:11:00.000-08:00

The power supply of a PC is one of the most common points of failure. My PC had been playing up for a while. When I would power it up, it would turn on momentarily and then switch it's self off. After this, it would require the plug to be pulled (or the power button to be held down) to reset it before powering up again. For a long time it would always fire up on the second go. Interestingly, it

Fred Nile Tries to Ban Smoking in Cars

2006-02-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

Christian Democratic Party MLC Fred Nile has drafted a private member's Bill to legislate against drivers smoking whilst driving. Here is the story.I would actually support a move to fine drivers who smoke while they have children in the back seat. But when I'm driving by myself? That is a disgrace. What is Australia coming to? It is also a disgrace that a man such as Fred Nile has so much sway

VP V6 Commodore Specifications

2006-02-25T04:09:00.000-08:00

Here's all the specs for my VP:Engine: 3800 V6"V" configuration. OHV design with cross flow cylinder heads. Multipoint fuel injection. Engine management computer. 91 octane fuel. Low friction technology. High energy distributorless, ignition fired by magnetic pulse from crankshaft, via computer. Triple coils. Computer activated electric cooling fan. The engine control module (ECM) is a Delco

Back to the Rotary Engine

2006-02-18T04:01:00.000-08:00

I love rotary engines. A couple of years ago, in what seems like a past life, I had an old series 2 with a mild port 13B in it. It had a decent exhaust, stock carby and ignition and on an old school motor out of an RX-4. It went quite well and probably pulled mid to high 15s but it seemed faster, and was a sheer joy to driveThe series 2 has a great weight distribution and the chassis is very

Mainstream Media In Decline

2006-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article which looks at the way alternative news sources on the internet are gaining popularity over the corporate owned mainstream publications.As a reader of both styles of media, I think one has to be just as skeptical when reading alternative news sources as when reading mainstream media.Sometimes I find the best perspective can be gathered by comparing mainstream news

4WDs - Blowing Away The Lies

2006-02-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

The green lobby and the likes of Harold Scruby of the "Pedestrian Council" would have us all believe that four wheel drive vehicles kill thousands per year and should be taxed off the road.While there are better vehicles to trundle around the city in, and I have no interest in getting one (Wouldn't have the time to take it to the bush and use it for what it's designed for), Australians have a

Traffic Lights Sabotaged at 400 Sydney Intersections to Funnel Motorists Through Tollway.

2006-02-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

A parliamentary committee has revealed that sequencing was modified on 400 sets of traffic lights around Sydney when the Cross City Tunnel was opened.In short, this means that our state government has allowed the corporation that built the tunnel to make the rest of Sydney's road more inefficient (Roads that Sydney residents have paid to build and maintain), so they can force more motorists to

Defending our cars from the greenies

2006-01-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this article the other day, it sums up quite well the hypocricy and idiocy of our "do-gooder" anti-car brigade.We need to tell these green hippy idiots to shove it, build some decent roads and ban those stupid bus lanes that hold everyone up.If we can't trust the government to keep law and order, and we can't trust them to use out taxes wisely, I'm buggered if I'm going to trust

HostHead.com - These Guys Rock

2006-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well, we're a few weeks into our hosting with HostHead.com, after giving SkilledHost.com and their poor service and monumental incompetence the flick.All I can say is that these guy are real pros. The service is working just as well as it was when I first set it up, and hasn't gone down, at all.Anyone looking for a cheap host without cheap service should try these guys. They are adult friendly

WinMerge - A useful tool for tracking changes in files

2006-01-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

I have just had a big blitz on security on my main site. Some securtiy breaches can involve a hacker subtley adding or changing file on your server, resulting in an open back door. In a large site, this can be difficult to detect. The hackers sometimes make the filenames follow the same conventions as the other thousands of files in the site so they blend in.I found a free tool which is great for

Switched to HostHead.com Today

2006-01-14T04:22:00.000-08:00

After a bit of looking around and reading this funny thread, I decided to go with HostHead.com. They have been around since 2001, and seem to be respected among members of the boards. So far the support has been great. I am fully up and running, all questions answered, and I only submitted my details 2 hours ago.Their service and load times seem much better that SkilledHost, and I get the

RoadSpy - A new service for Australian motorists

2006-01-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

A brilliant new service called RoadSpy has just arrived in Sydney. This service sends SMS messages to your mobile phone, notifying you of speed traps, accidents and other traffic hazards. They were going to include RBTs, but I heard that has been stopped because of requests from the Police.That's probably not a bad thing, RBTs probably do actually save lives, unlike speed traps.They will be

The Matrix ScreenSaver

2006-01-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

I found this great matrix screensaver the other day. It is like the one on the first Matrix movie. If you look closely at the code in the movie, the characters are not English. This screensaver uses pretty close to the original matrix characters. It is the most authentic one I could find. Best of all, it's free.Get it from this page on the Kelly Software site. Here is a screenshot, The picture is

Don't Use SkilledHost.com

2006-01-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

I've finally come to the end of what I am willing to accept from our new webhosts. A while ago I posted that we went with a new host, SkilledHost.com. It turns out that they are anything but skilled.We set up our accounts, uploaded our sites, and paid $100 to have a dedicated SSL certificate installed on one of the sites.Shortly after, the whole lot fell over for three days, including

HAPPY NEW YEAR for 2006

2005-12-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

It's a new year. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year in 2006. The Sydney fireworks at 12:00 last night were amazing. I believe it was the largest display yet. I'm not sure about that heart thing on the harbour bridge, but the fireworks were just amazing. Unfortunately, I only saw them on TV. I'm going to get down there next year for sure.New years resolutions:~I'm not

2005 Coming To A Close

2005-12-29T23:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it's almost the end of another year. It's been a year of turmoil around the world, but whether more so than any other year, I can't really say. For me it has also been a hectic year, and I'm sure about that. This has been my first **Serious** year of web development, and the results are reasonably pleasing. I haven't really had much of a festive season this year, as I've been trying to get

IIS 301 redirects using the 404 error page

2005-12-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

We have always used IIS for the infrastructure of our main site. There is no way I'm going to be changing it either, as it's a huge site.IIS can be a nightmare when it comes to redirects and URL rewrites, as there is no easy way to do it. Apache has the .htaccess file, which is incredibly powerful.There is a way with IIS. When a non-existant page is requested from an IIS server, it can be

Suffered a Hard Disc Crash

2005-12-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

Every computer guy's worst nightmare happened to me the other day. I switched my computer on, only to find that my second hard drive would not spool up. I use the second drive to store data, and the first one for the operating system.I lost a bit of data, but there was nothing on there that I need for work, just sentimental stuff from the last five years of working on computers. I had some great

Google update "Jagger" is all over

2005-12-19T01:18:00.000-08:00

It appears that the huge update just past has stabilized, and although results are still moving, they appear to be doing so more slowly and in smaller groups.I'm not a Google Watcher as such, I don't have lists of data centers stuck up on the wall, and I don't spend hours testing search terms to see what comes up where. It is interesting, though to see how the results move around as they churn

Inept State Government and Inadequate Policing Lead to Violence in Sydney

2005-12-18T22:56:00.000-08:00

As a longtime resident of Sydney, I have a little to say on this.The recent happenings in Cronulla and Sydney are NOT racially related. They were NOT caused by racist people being racist. (Although those with a racist axe to grind certainly took advantage of the occasion.)They have been caused by a lack of proper policing and an inept state govenment, which over the last ten years has lead to the

Pubcon Coming to Sydney

2005-12-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

I was excited the other day to find out that PubCon is coming to Sydney. Pubcon is a convention for webmasters with speakers from both the search and e-commerce industries. As e-commerce in Australia is quite a long way behind where it is in America, most of the cutting-edge events tend to be over there. Pubcon is organised by Brett Tabke, who is the CEO of WebMasterWorld.com, a site where I

FireFox Web Browser

2005-12-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

After hearing about it more and more recently, I decided to try out FireFox for the first time.Firefox is a web browser, like Internet Explorer and Netscape. The difference is that it is open source, meaning a community ofvolunteer programmers and developers create the software, and it is available for free. It is also legal to modify or improve open source software.So far this browser puts

Buy an E-Tag? - NEVER

2005-11-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

These public private partnership fools are pumping the ads up trying to make us by E-Tags, so they can charge us automatically to drive on our roads. I will never get one of these things for two reasons.1 - Privacy: I don't want a dispicable organisation such as the RTA knowing anything about my habits, where I go, or anything else. Who knows what they will do with that information. The same goes

Million Dollar Homepage - Selling pixels

2005-11-29T05:39:00.000-08:00

I came across this site while browsing the Alexa movers and shakers the other week: http://www.milliondollarhomepage.comThis is a website by a British student trying to earn some extra cash, who has come up with a novel idea. He has set a one million pixel space in the page, and divided them into squares of 100. He then selling these blocks of 100 pixels for US$100 each. I looked at the site ages

Critical Mass Bicycle Idiots Hold Up Sydney

2005-11-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

As if Sydney doesn't have enough traffic problems, and arrogant cyclists holding up traffic.A group who call themselves "Critical Mass" take to the streets of Sydney every month on their bikes during rush hour, travelling across the harbour bridge, causing traffic chaos. It is amazing that they are allowed to do this. It's also amazing that people could be so inconsiderate and arrogant.People

2007 VE Holden Commodore - Spy Pics

2005-11-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

There is already talk about what the new Commodore will look like. Here are some actual spy pics, although well covered, you can still see the basic shape. It looks like they have used some of the techniques present on the recent Torana prototype.It looks quite nice, I like how they have retained the four doors, but the boot does not protrude as much. I always thought Commodore boots didn't have

Harold Scruby - A threat to the Australian way of life.

2005-11-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

In Australia we traditionally like our cars and we cover great distances in this great country. Mr Scruby is an anti car, anti fun extremist. He wants people to ride busses, walk, and he wants to ban 4 wheel drives. He takes photos of private citizen's cars and posts them up on the web, for such trivial things as window tinting and parking infringements.What would be wrong with a car manufacturer

Datsun 1600

2005-11-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Datsun 1600. These cars are cool, I started to build one a couple of years back, but it was too far gone and although they are cool, I didn't really like the car enough to spend the next 5 years building it up. Also known as the P510, they were available in the USA in both 2 door and 4 door versions. They came with a 1.6 litre over head cam engine, which is still bullet proof, although many

Google Update Jagger

2005-11-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Those of us who are in the business to trying to get people to websites will know that Google has, over the past month done a major update to it's system of ranking websites. This is probably one of the biggest updates I have experienced since I have been in the business.Google updates are given names on the Webmasterworld forums, just as hurricanes and typhoons are. The current one is known as "

SSL Payment Gateways

2005-11-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

I am in the process of setting up a shopping cart system for a new site. It is using an SSL certificate to protect the checkout section, and for credit card transactions, it feeds the payment details to a 3rd party payment gateway (www.directone.com.au). The gateway processes the payment and sends a result code back to my web site. This result code signifies the result of the transaction. The web

SkilledHost.com - Brilliant so far

2005-11-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

I just feel I should put in a plug here for our new hosts. We had to transfer to them after our Florida based one went down in the hurricane. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. These guys are brilliant. They aren't just skilled, they're fast, cheap and their support is great.I run ten domains with them and am currently in the process of setting up SSL and payment gateways. If you have a

Biodiesel - Home made diesel

2005-11-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

I heard about this a while ago and recently had a look at it. It turns out that is is relatively easy to make a form of diesel from vegitable oil that will run conventional diesel engines. Apparently the biodiesel is better for the engine than the mineral diesel.They recon it works out at 30c per litre when made at home, and of course, diesel generally goes twice as far as petrol does.When I get

Dynamic URLs still aren't as good as static ones

2005-11-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

After a lot of delibertaion and messing around, I have come to the conclusion that what are commonly referred to as dynamic urls are not regarded as highly as static ones.Firstly, let's be clear on what we are calling a dynamic url (as opposed to a dynamic page).Strictly speaking, a dynamic web page is any web page that is generated as it is requested by the web server. The data for the page can

Hurricane Rita hit one of our websites

2005-10-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

For some of my less busy web sites I was using a small host based in Florida, USA. These small hosts provide a great way to have a website (or multiple websites) up on a budget. The whole lot went down on the 25th of October, no email response from the hosts, and their own website was also down.We had them go down a bit more often that we would have liked since we started using them, but never

Blogger Toolbar is back from the hidden div.

2005-10-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that the Blogger toolbar has re-appeared at the top of this blog. (I'm actually sure you haven't noticed, as the only person who views this blog more than once in a lifetime is me, I'm pretty sure:)Anyway, when I first created this site, I found a way of removing the toolbar at the top. In the template code, simply define the vertical position of the element to -500px, and

Saw the Aviator last night - Great movie

2005-10-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

My housemate brought a movie home last night, The Aviator starring Leonardo DeCaprio. Although I'm not a massive fan of the actor, I have to say it would be hard to imagine anyone else playing such a convincing part. The Aviator is a movie set in the 30s based on the life of Howard Hughes, the famous millionaire, movie maker, and aircraft builder. It covers his undertaking to make the most

Carl Scully will not apologise for the Cross City Tunnel

2005-10-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

The minister responsible for signing the rediculous contract to the Cross City Tunnel, which allows it's foreign operators to close Sydney roads to funnel traffic through this stupid road. Carl Scully should be remembered for selling out Sydney's motorists, and allowing us all to be conned.I don't care how many roads they close, and I don't care how hard they try to make it for me. They will not

To cloak or not to cloak

2005-10-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Cloaking is a technique that has generated much discussion in the webmaster community. The possible benefits are unquestionable, the risks are out there, and the impact on the quality of the internet as an information resource is debatable.Clokaing is basically a technique of displaying different page content based on the user that is viewing the page. There are many ways of determining the user,

Google Earth

2005-09-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

I have just found a new product offered by Google, called Google Earth. Google Earth is basically a software package which allows you to look at the world as a 3D globe, and zoom into any part. The globe is covered by sattelite images, and can be zoomed in to the point where individual people and cars can be seen. The section of the map being looked at is downloaded from Google in real time, so

Forgot to take my shoes to work yesterday!

2005-09-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

I actually forgot to take my shoes to work with me yesterday. It's the first time I have done that, and it will be the last. I normally take my shoes with me and put them on just before I get out of the car. I prefer driving with bare feet. In fact, if I had my way, I would not wear shoes at all unless absolutely necessary.On this particular day, I was late and still half-asleep (not uncommon)

Sydney Petrol Prices

2005-09-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

As we all know, fuel prices in Sydney, and for that matter the rest of Australia and the world have been rising steadily, and are now hovering at around $1.40 a litre. I remember the days when it was 40c a litre. Australians traditionally drive large cars, with vehicles such as the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore, and now the Mitsubishi Magna being some of our most popular cars. The distances

Australian release date finder for PC, X-Box and Playstation games

2005-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has just opened a website that lists all up and coming release dates in Australia for games. The purpose of this is to provide an easy and centralized place to go to find out what's coming out soon and when. The site is still under development, but usable, and will eventually utilize an SQL backend and feature games and merchandise for sale.The URL of this site is

Google has fixed the 302 spam problem

2005-09-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

A previously mentioned problem that Google was having with scraper sites hijacking URLs with dodgy 302 redirects appears to have been solved, or at least the guys at Google have it in hand. I think people expect Google to fix problems on the fly as we can with our small websites, but in reality, any change to their system must require a lot of forethought and testing, considering how vast their

The correct way to do a 301 redirect using ASP

2005-09-21T00:44:00.000-07:00

Today, we're going to cover the correct way using asp script to perform a 301 perminant redirect. This type of redirection is used when the resource has moved perminantly. The most common example is when redirecting domain.com to www.domain.com, in order to avoid duplicate listings in search engines.A 301 is very different to a 302 redirect, which should NEVER be used in this case. A 302

Canonical domain urls, www and non www

2005-09-20T03:19:00.000-07:00

I have recently experienced a traffic (and sales) drop on one of my main sites. This was to be expected as the recent changover from the Access backend to the SQL meant some downtime. Unfortunately, this downtime occured at the worst possible time, as the world's largest search engine (Google) who also happen to be that site's main source of traffic were crawling it at the time. Basically I

Motorists are not using Sydney's cross city tunnel

2005-09-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

It seems that many other motorists are also deciding to vote with their feet on the new cross city tunnel. Patronage has been less than one third of what was expected over the last two weeks since it has opened.As previously stated, I will never use it, because if people start using these tollways, more will be built. Then before we know it, every major road in Sydney will be privately owned,

Upgraded main site from Access to SQL

2005-09-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

I make a living running a large retail website, which has just hit a product count of 4000. I use the VP-ASP package, which is an open source ASP application that can be used with an MS Access, SQL or MySQL database. It's a great package, being open source, I can change, add, or modify any part of the application to suit my needs. This is crucial for an online store.I had been using the Access

Dob in a hoon campaign

2005-09-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

In Perth, WA, there is a campaign to encourage motorists to "dob in a hoon". Basically, if they see anyone driving irresponsibly they can lodge a report with the police and have it followed up, sometimes leading to car confiscations.I don't have a problem with crackdowns on dangerous driving, and residents have every right to expect police to enforce the road rules in their residential areas to

GTech Pro accelerometer

2005-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

I just purchased a GTech performance meter from E-Bay for $50. I always heard that these things are $250, so I wasn't sure if this one was going to be any good. I know the name GTech though and remember wanting one years ago, so I brought it.I'm surprised at how useful it has proven to be so far. It is a small device about the size of a pager, and it sticks to the inside of the windscreen with a

Dynamic (SEO) titles on Blogger blogs

2005-09-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

I just got around to making all the individual post pages on this blog have the page titles reflect the title of the post, rather than the main title of the blog. I found this simple way:In the Template section of the Blogger dashboard, replace this code:<$BlogPageTitle$>with this: <$BlogPageTitle$> < </article> <article> <h1>Faulty earth connection from TPS and coolant temp sensor.</h1> <p>2005-09-04T22:24:00.000-07:00</p> I have fixed a common fault with the wiring on the VP/VN Commodores. There is a cable run under the engine bay which goes from the TPS, Oxygen sensor, and IAC solenoid. This run joins to the main loom just behind the alternator. Inside this cable run (under the convoluted tubing and tape) there is a black wire with a yellow trace that joins to two other wires. I understand this is a shared earth </article> <article> <h1>Castrol Formula R 10W60 - Brilliant oil</h1> <p>2005-09-03T06:02:00.000-07:00</p> I had a feeling that the oil I had put in the Commodore was a bit too thin. It had developed a noisy lifter or two and wasn't running all that smoothly. I changed it for a fully synthetic oil yesterday, and although it cost a lot more for the oil, I recon it's well worth the money. I used Nulon Engine Flush to get the old mineral stuff out and it now idles smoother, which I didn't expect. I think </article> <article> <h1>Harold Scruby shows his true colours, abusing motorists via email</h1> <p>2005-09-01T20:06:00.000-07:00</p> This newspaper article, taken from The Courier Mail, illustrates the true character of self proclaimed "road safety" activist, Harold Scruby. He is more of a road safety extremist, with his fanatical views that he wants to impose on the motoring public of Australia.Safety campaigner traffics in insultsAmanda Watt09oct04THE acrimonious relationship between the Pedestrian Council of Australia and </article> <article> <h1>Removed and cleaned throttle body, IAC, and deleted bellmouth.</h1> <p>2005-08-21T01:12:00.000-07:00</p> It's been a productive sunny Sunday. I have taken off the throttle body assembly, cleaned the idle air controller (IAC) and reassembled it, without the bellmouth.The IAC is a common cause of rough idle on the 3.8 Buick engines, as it can clog up with carbon and dust deposits. Mine was filthy. I cleaned it all out, including the butterfly valve with spray-degreaser and a rag. The IAC needed to be </article> <article> <h1>Got the O2 sensor in, plus new cat and exhaust system</h1> <p>2005-08-19T17:52:00.000-07:00</p> The oxygen sensor is now installed, and has improved the running of the engine markedly. Shortly after installing the sensor, it occured to me that the cat converter may be worn out. I have heard that a rich mixture can cause a catalytic converter to become blocked, and since I had a faulty fuel pressure regulator, and oxygen sensor I figured it was likely that the cat converter was on it's way </article> <article> <h1>New exhaust gas oxygen sensor on the way</h1> <p>2005-08-12T02:27:00.000-07:00</p> I've almost got this car running nicely. It now starts first time every time. The fuel pressure regulator fixed that. It turned out that the car was running high fuel pressure due to the faulty fuel pressure regulator and flooding the engine on start-up. It was also causing it to run rich.Now that I've fixed all that, it still runs rough when the engine reaches operating temperature. When I say </article> <article> <h1>The new Sydney Cross-city tunnel. I won't be going under.</h1> <p>2005-08-12T01:04:00.000-07:00</p> Sydney motorists are sick of tolls. We pay massive taxes on fuel, which go up every time the fuel price rises, and GST on top of that. We pay road taxes and registration that are supposed to go into the maintenance of the roads. Greed (speed) cameras on the side of vast long stretches of road and at the bottom of hills reap millions every month. Council rangers use shady and under-handed tactics </article> <article> <h1>A word of advice - Don't use IPrimus</h1> <p>2005-08-09T18:40:00.000-07:00</p> I'm just on hold with the IPrimus customer support line. Just wanting to check on the progress of a broadband connection. I have now been on hold for over an hour. This is now a common occurance with this company. There seems to be no way of speaking to anyone from the company in a timeframe of less than one hour. I have cancelled all my home services with them, as I physically did not have the </article> <article> <h1>Aznew injectors</h1> <p>2005-08-07T23:21:00.000-07:00</p> I've just been down to Repco to purchase some Aznew fuel injectors for the Commodore. Aznew are a company that recondition fuel injectors to new specifications. The deal is you go to one of their agents (stockists) in my case, Repco, and purchase the injectors for $240, plus around $400 holding deposit. When you take your old injectors back to them, they will refund your $400 deposit. By the way, </article> <article> <h1>"It's a doozy!"</h1> <p>2005-08-06T20:00:00.000-07:00</p> Ever heard that expression?Meaning - a wonderful, or excellent thing.Know where the saying originates?It's a reference to one of the most remarkable automobiles ever produced. The Duesenberg SJ.Fred Duesenberg, who, together with his brother August, was creator, designer and builder of the car, was eight years old in 1885 when his family emigrated from Germany to the United States, settling in </article> <article> <h1>The Spirit Of The Car</h1> <p>2005-08-06T19:55:00.000-07:00</p> I drive a 1995 Ford Crown Victoria. It's prior owner was the Utah Highway Patrol. This car can move. It has some serious get-up-and-go.But it also has a certain spirit about it. It still has the suped-up engine and even the extra hand light mounted outside the driver's side window. But there is something more.My wife likes it because when you step on the gas, before you can even think about how </article> <article> <h1>4 tips to save on your next car purchase</h1> <p>2005-08-06T19:44:00.000-07:00</p> Many of us have been at the car dealership and have been drained by a salesperson during price negotiations for the purchase of a new car. Most people give in too easily or do not negotiate at all to avoid the dreadful act. This only means more money in the car dealers? pocket, while you are out of several thousand dollars! Yes, they make that much in profit per car.This article unveils the </article> <article> <h1>Cracked exhaust valve</h1> <p>2005-08-02T20:26:00.000-07:00</p> The job has been done, it started at 10:00am Sunday morning, and finished at 4:00am Monday morning, basically non-stop. I stopped for a few cups of coffee a few times, but other than that it was one of the biggest marathon efforts I have done on a car. After I tightened the final bolt, I had a shower and set off for work in my newly smooth-running Commodore.The most tricky part I found was </article> <article> <h1>Commodore car clubs</h1> <p>2005-07-22T21:51:00.000-07:00</p> I'm just looking at different car clubs and forums around Australia. Forums are a great way to share info and tips with like minded people who have come across the same hassles, no matter what kind of car you're into. I used to be heavily into rotaties, owning a series 2 RX-7 with a 13B, and I got a lots of help from the ozrotary forums, which don't appear to be around any more. I still have a </article> <article> <h1>Head gasket set and cylinder heads on the way</h1> <p>2005-07-20T01:26:00.000-07:00</p> I'm a few days out from doing the big job on the Commodore. I have found some cylinder heads. I got quoted $100 each from pick and payless, and I would have had to take them off myself. I found a place here in West Ryde called Buffalo Wreckers, who have them already off, and will let me have them for $80 each, which is much better, and the guy said I can choose them myself. I'm just hoping I can </article> <article> <h1>P platers and power restrictions</h1> <p>2005-07-17T22:16:00.000-07:00</p> P platers here in NSW now have restrictions on the vehicles that they are allowed to drive whilst on their p-plates. I'm not a p plater, and haven't been for a long time, but while I agree that the general idea is sensible, it has been poorly thought through, and will probably have little to no effect.There has been a campaign in recent months in the news papers illustrating every single crash </article> <article> <h1>My engine</h1> <p>2005-07-08T01:04:00.000-07:00</p> Below is a picture of the Buick 3800 as found in the VN Commodore. The version in the VP has a slightly different fuel rail, and a few other things, but the general idea is exactly the same (same heads and block.) </article> <article> <h1>London terror attacks</h1> <p>2005-07-07T23:25:00.000-07:00</p> Just a quick note to express sympathy to the citizens of London for the recent terror attacks on the underground rail system. Being of British decent it hits close to home. I have relatives over there, but thankfully not in London. Lets hope the authorities can quickly bring those who acted to destroy this beautiful city to justice.Below is the first I heard about it, front page on the daily </article> <article> <h1>New heads for the Commodore</h1> <p>2005-07-07T23:06:00.000-07:00</p> Well, I've decided that it's down to pick and pay less (The local wreckers) to get a couple of second hand heads for the old V6 Buick motor. I'm sure that cylinder number 3 has a sticky valve, and I don't want to replace the whole engine as I was considering, as I'm going to build a whole new one with some decent performance parts when I get some money. For the time being, I'm going to get some </article> <article> <h1>Got ALDL working on the Commodore</h1> <p>2005-07-04T01:55:00.000-07:00</p> I finally got my ALDL link to the ECU happening on the weekend. Hooked it up and got it going using the WinALDL software package which is available on the internet. I used a circuit derived from the one they have up there and it worked first time. The exact circuit diagram is shown below: For more info regarding hooking up an ALDL link to your Commodore, check out this link. It basically tells </article> <article> <h1>VP Commodore Engine Trouble Codes</h1> <p>2005-06-29T19:20:00.000-07:00</p> Here is a list of ECU error codes for the VP commodore. These are read by shorting the black, and black/white wires that go to the ALDL connector under the dash near the glove box. Short these wires, turn the ignition on and the check engine light will flash the code.12 Normal Operation13 Oxygen sensor voltage not changing14 Engine Coolant Temp Sensor Voltage Low15 Engine Coolant Temp Sensor </article> <article> <h1>Injector pintle caps</h1> <p>2005-06-29T01:44:00.000-07:00</p> I've noticed a few posts and things on the net regarding pintle caps on injectors, and whether they can be left off. I dropped one of my injectors while trying to get the new o-ring on over the pintle cap (I cut the old ones off) It is very difficult if not impossible to get the seal on over the pintle cap, and they need to be renewed if they are removed. When it hit the ground the pintle cap </article> <article> <h1>Replaced the o-rings on the injectors today</h1> <p>2005-06-26T06:32:00.000-07:00</p> I put the injector seal kit in today, and ended up breaking one of the plastic covers on the end of the injector through dropping it trying to get the new seal on. It was pretty much impossible to get the rubber seal on over the plastic injector end-caps anyway. The injectors looked old and dirty, so I decided to remove all the plastic end caps as I will get a set of reco injectors next week </article> <article> <h1>Fuel injectors leaking on the Commodore</h1> <p>2005-06-24T21:28:00.000-07:00</p> I've just realized that the fuel injection system in the Commodore is leaking. The injectors have rubber o-rings to seal them into the inlet manifold, and also to seal the fuel rail to the top of them. I was messing around with them yesterday, moved one a bit and fuel started coming out from under the fuel rail. I then realized they were all loose, and if the top ones are loose, then the </article> <article> <h1>West Ryde Council rangers - Causing problems for the working community.</h1> <p>2005-06-14T21:13:00.000-07:00</p> Parking is next to impossible in West Ryde. There used to be a multi-story carpark, which has been demolished. The council proceeded to put "no parking" signs all over the place, and send their "Rangers" in white utes to book people as they go about their working day. They are making an absolute fortune. There are two large (usually half empty) carparks near the train station. I saw a ranger the </article> <article> <h1>Finally a weekend off</h1> <p>2005-06-10T00:22:00.000-07:00</p> Well, I'm about to get a full two days off, one after the other, for the first time I can remember. It's going to be great, I've been pushing myself for the last few months. Working tomorrow, and I have Sunday off as I normally do, and Monday is a public holiday, which I have decided not to work. It will be nice to do a few things around the house, do the washing, change oil and fuel filters on </article> <article> <h1>Testing a thermostat - New hot EFI engines</h1> <p>2005-06-03T20:50:00.000-07:00</p> Just tested the new thermostat for the Commodore. My old RX-7 had a 80 degree thermostat, and I could test it in a coffee mug by pouring water onto it from the kettle and watching it open. The commdore is fuel injected and runs hotter, and the thermostat is rated at 91 degrees. Pouring water from the kettle over it just doesn't get enough heat into it to get it opened up. You need to boil some </article> <article> <h1>Commodore Thermo Fan Fixed</h1> <p>2005-05-31T18:51:00.000-07:00</p> I've successfully fixed the thermo fan on the Commodore. It was just a power feed from the ignition relay to the fan relay, which was not getting power. Always look out for dodgy connections on these cars, I've found that over 12 years, some of the connectors have lost their shine and have a bit more resistance than they are supposed to.So it all works now, I've botched it up, and I'm going to </article> <article> <h1>Nissan Exa Turbo</h1> <p>2005-05-30T20:06:00.000-07:00</p> My mate has a 81 Nissan Exa Turbo. It's an interesting car, if contraversial. Many people have a lot of negative things to say about the Exa, but I've found it to be quite a fun machine. It's very light, weighing in at 900kg, and has a lightweight engine, a 1.5 litre turbocharged unit that will have this little car torque-steering across two lanes in first and second gear. It's quite a lot of fun </article> </main></body></html>