I found my gas bottle! It was connected to and tucked up under the BBQ in the pool area. When I last used it at Sandgate, I dropped the bottle back next to the BBQ but didn't connect it. Ken and his family from unit 1 had a Christmas cookoff, and I figured they must have taken the bottle for safekeeping/theiving purposes, but this morning I saw his wife and she said they left it there. Darn!

This prompted a recheck (or rather, a check for the first time) and I saw it was under the protective dress the BBQ wears. Game on!

I just got back from the casino with Andrew, Niko and Jarred (one if their mates). We deposited a few bucks for safe keeping, but that's not important...

When I came home there were balloons and a sign saying "Happy Birthday Matthew" on the gate. Maggie's the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I love her dearly.

Tonight we had Chinese food, and Maggie said she "really" enjoeyed it. Not just kinda, or sorta, but really. Really! We had satay chicken, honey king prawns, beef in black bean sauce, spicy squid, lemon chicken and crispy fried chicken. She liked the satay the most.

This is forever a record that she likes Asian food - I know I will call upon this entry in the future when she claims she doesn't like it.

Also, I'm about to pull and Ocean's 11 on the Burswood Casino with my brother, Niko and some other friend of theirs. Expect big things people.

Do something nice for others in this time of giving, and feel good about it at the same time. Thanks to Maggie for the motivation.

Dear Mr Lambie

Thank you for your donation to Australian Red Cross (Receipt: 184014). We will ensure that your personal and financial details are kept private and secure at all times in keeping with our commitment to respect your privacy.

Your official receipt is attached to this email. To view and print the receipt you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader software via http://www.adobe.com

Please contact us on (03)9345-1800 or appealsinfo@nat.redcross.org.au if you have any questions regarding your receipt.

Thank you for your support

Australian Red Cross
www.redcross.org.au

I hope my $20.00 will go a fair way.

Today I bought myself an early Birthday present - some Logitech Z-640 5.1 speakers for my computer.

EB Games in the Galleria had 25% off Logitech products today, and they were already selling them quite cheap to begin with. In the end, I paid just under $75 for them.

I've been using a dodgy pair of speakers, with a decent subwoofer, for the last 5 years or so. They've been the sort of thing that break constantly, and each time I go to replace them they magically start working again, as if I managed to scare them with fear of replacement :)

These lil' puppies have a center speaker, two front, two rear and a subwoofer. I don't have the rears conneted (or rather, I have the fronts plugged into the rear ports on the controller, because that give louder sound) because my laptop only outputs stereo, which is not uncommon. Hence there's no real benefit, and I don't have the space on my desk!