The event was really fun and there was a carnival like atmosphere there. The game itself was great, despite India being very much off form. Below are a few photos from the night.

The quality of the concert was exceptional. There were a number of violin and saxophone solos and the orchestra overall sounded superb.

Most of the music performed was not very well known. But the rendition of The Blue Danube Waltz was brilliant, and the traditional final piece Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture rounded out a very good evening.

Below is a video of the last three minutes of the 1812 Overture with the full fireworks and cannon display.

“…America as a nation produces twice the goods and services per person that it produced in 1948. Everyone in the country could, in principal at least, work a four-hour day or a six-month year and still maintain a standard of living equivalent to that enjoyed [back then]… [however,] America took none of its productivity gains in additional leisure. It bought consumer items instead.”

Bill Bryson, Made in America.

The above quote comes from a book first published in 1994. By now I would imagine the productivity rate would be even higher. Yet somehow we find ourselves working even harder and longer with that desire for more, more, and more.

Over the past few days I have been pondering my own productivity. Like many people over the last few weeks I have been on leave. A time when people should take a break from their daily grind to relax. Instead I have found myself doing all those things that I have let pile up over the past few months and the more things I have done the more things I remember I have to do and the more burnt out I feel.

Some of these things are personal, like cleaning up around the house, reading, and shopping. However, many other things on my list of things to do are items I would still consider work such as editing websites for friends or even attending social functions.

Now some of this non-primary work is good, it allows us to develop other skills through hobbies and the like. But it also means that we are never getting rest. We are always go, go, go.

A lot of course has been written about work/life balance and my desire isn’t to rehash all that.

Instead I just wonder if in a world of instant everything if we can ever truly get a break?

I would love to spend a few days with no cellphone, no social media, absolutely nothing instant. Not for the torture of it, but instead for the benefit of my mind and body to release.

The problem is in the past I have turned off my cellphone for only a few hours and people have started to panic because I haven’t replied to text-messages.

Yesterday I found myself with a desire to avoid the internet most of the day, until ironically, I found myself tweeting that I wanted a cave to hide in. Even in my desire to escape the system I found myself expressing myself through it – in a way a lot like this blog when published will.

I wonder what people would think if we started to say no a lot more. Not out of spite, but out of control. No I am not going to do that extra work, no it is fine as it is, no I need time to myself. But instead perfectionism has become a curse to our modern existence. Instead of accepting things for how they are I am constantly thinking what others will think and if only I had more time!

How much improved would life be if one really did only work a four hour, or even a true eight hour day? Not eight hours plus working on that portfolio, researching new techniques, and freelancing at night. But eight hours of work and eight of leisure, true leisure, relaxing leisure, real escapism.

Maybe one day I will get a chance to experience this utopia but right now as I am “escaping” through the writing of this post I am also glancing at twitter, checking cellphones, and thinking about where I need to be in the next hour, what I need to do tonight, my plans for the next week, and how I can make this post more perfect.

Maybe the first step to escaping is to create an off button for the mind.

It’s just a thought.

Overall there were about 2,500 fewer visits, from 1,700 fewer visitors. This is probably a result of me blogging less and the content of the blogs I did post were focused more on personal adventures than in previous years.

I am still very pleased that a website that was started in 2005 as a bit of computer geek vanity is 7 years later generating visits from all corners of the globe.

Most Popular Visitor Origins

Total
Visits: 17,175 (19,774)
Unique Visitors: 15,313 (17,081)
Page Views: 26,609 (28,822)

Visitors from 174 Countries
New Zealand 21.6%
United States 15.9%
Australia 15.5%
United Kingdom 4.3%
India 2.9%
Canada 2.7%
Germany 2.5%
France 2.5%
Spain 2.0%
Brazil 1.8%

Visitors from 4,576 Cities
Auckland 12.5%
Sydney 9.3%
Wellington 2.4%
Melbourne 2.4%
Christchurch 1.9%
Brisbane 1.4%
Perth 0.9%
Hamilton 0.9%

Browsers
Firefox 43.46%
Internet Explorer 23.9%
Chrome 22.1%
Safari 7.2%
Opera 1.5%

Operating System
Windows 66.0%
Linux 22.0%
Mac 9.5%
iPad 1.3%
Android 0.1%

N.B. I suspect that the mobile version of the site is not being represented in these statistics.

The video below shows the countdown to midnight, and still photos show the rest of the evening.

• Learn German
• Summit Mt Kosciusko
• Be more financially stable
• Be more generous
• Keep my house cleaner
• Publish two papers
• Keep PhD on track for completion in early 2013
• Spend more time on non-computer aided activities

Skillet in Sydney

Sleeping Koala

Vivid Sydney

Yarra River

My Happy Place

For me 2011 has been a year of extreme highs and deep lows. As cliché as it is, it has also past by way too quickly.

At the start of 2011 I set myself some goals for the year, which were, in summary:

• Be out of all NZ debt (excluding student loan) by year’s end.
  • This didn’t happen. But I am over halfway there.
• No more depression.
  • During the start of 2011 the exact opposite happened, I found myself in one of the deepest holes I have ever fallen into. But the second half of the year has seen this completely turn around.
• Refine what I believe and find a church that meets those beliefs.
  • I think the refining is a continuing process. But the good news is I am now settled in a small but growing and vibrant church community.
• Expand my network of Sydney-based friends to beyond computer science.
  • I would still like more friends, but this has been mostly achieved through finding a church home.
• Keep my house cleaner and tidier.
  • Does four days of epic cleaning over the Christmas break count?
• Get funding to travel to a conference in either Europe, Asia or America.
  • Does Perth count as overseas?

Unlike 2010 I spent a lot less time travelling, however, this was made up by attending a lot more events, activities and hiking around Sydney:

January – Watched Australia get defeated at The Ashes, Hiked through Lane Cove National Park, Rocked out to Skillet, and had fun days out with friends on Australia Day, Symphony in the Domain, and Opera in the Domain.

February – In February I said goodbye to a number of friends as they pursued their lives overseas. I also visited the Hunter Valley, and the Blue Mountains.

March – This month was also filled with farewells. I also hiked through the Royal National Park, and Wentworth Falls.

April – I went to the Easter Show… the absence of other photos from this month probably highlights the low point of the year.

May – During May there was yet more goodbyes, by this time five good friends had flown to far distant lands. I also spent a few days in NZ, and hiked with friends on the Manly Scenic Walk.

June – A group of mates went to Vivid Sydney… I also seem to have a lack of photos from this month as well.

July – I went to Melbourne for a weekend. I also did some urban walking around parts of Sydney.

August – Yet more hiking was to be had, this time up around Jerusalem Bay, I also went skiing in NZ, Ice Skating in Sydney, was in the audience of The Gruen Transfer, and found a church home.

September – Rugby World Cup time! I spent many a cold and wet night at Darling Harbour watching NZ progress through the competition. I also went hiking at Berowra Waters.

October – Oh look more hiking around Berowra, I also attended the NRL Grand Final.

November – Yet more hiking near Berowra, and the lack of photos suggests really busy times the rest of the month.

December – The end of the year has been very busy. Early in the month I attended the V8 Supercar race in Sydney, spent a week in Perth for a conference and then a quick roadtrip, the rest of the month has been spent working on uni research and Christmas.

I will post my goals for 2012 on January 1.

On the trip up we stuck to the coast and drove up Indian Ocean Drive, and we returned via Highway 1.

As the photos below show we stopped at many cool and random places and had a great time.