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<channel>
	<title>Sandbox Theories</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com</link>
	<description>Mediocre philosophy based purely on opinion</description>
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			<item>
		<title>Friendly advice from Night Pills and Beer</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/07/friendly-advice-from-night-pills-and-beer/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/07/friendly-advice-from-night-pills-and-beer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:42:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drunkie Pants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anthropomorphism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=560</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The past few days have been bad for me. I&#8217;ve had long hours at work and virtually no sleep. I have developed a cold and it&#8217;s not a great time to be sick so I went to the chemist and asked for the strongest cold and flu drugs they can give me. These tablets have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The past few days have been bad for me. I&#8217;ve had long hours at work and virtually no sleep. I have developed a cold and it&#8217;s not a great time to be sick so I went to the chemist and asked for the strongest cold and flu drugs they can give me. These tablets have a label saying “Warning the medicine may cause drowsiness and may increase the effects of alcohol”. So as you do, I&#8217;ve had a few beers with it. I was hoping these pills would knock me out and give me a good night&#8217;s rest but  alas I&#8217;m wide awake and annoying people on the internet!! The combination of beer and night pills relieves me of any empathy I have for people. I believe this makes me more productive somehow. I&#8217;m not even sure if I&#8217;m making sense.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Anyway as I was searching in google for advice on how to deal with my smelly house mate, I stumbled across a forum for friends to give advice to other people on relationships, life, dating etc.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I decided to provide my advice tonight on some key issues. Feel free to use this advice yourself. I know for a fact that some of my readers can benefit from said advice:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This first thread was too long and I didn&#8217;t read it all but I think this guy is basically complaining because he&#8217;s too good looking and has a great personality. Girls want him and he&#8217;s finding it hard to say he&#8217;s not interested without hurting their feelings:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/screenshot1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-561" title="screenshot1" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/screenshot1-1024x157.jpg" alt="screenshot1" width="368" height="56" /></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My response:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Screenshot2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-562" title="Screenshot2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Screenshot2-1024x163.jpg" alt="Screenshot2" width="368" height="59" /></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is an interesting question about an age gap for marriage:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/marriage1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-563" title="marriage1" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/marriage1.jpg" alt="marriage1" width="288" height="67" /></a>Response:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/marriage2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-564" title="marriage2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/marriage2-1024x166.jpg" alt="marriage2" width="368" height="60" /></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This seems to be an ad of some sort but since they posted in the relationship advice section I decided to provide some advice:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ad1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-565" title="ad1" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ad1-1024x531.jpg" alt="ad1" width="368" height="191" /></a>response:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ad2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-566" title="ad2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ad2-1024x246.jpg" alt="ad2" width="368" height="89" /></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is a girl that wants to make a friend but doesn&#8217;t want to come off creepy:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/friend1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-567" title="friend1" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/friend1-1024x227.jpg" alt="friend1" width="368" height="82" /></a>My advice from personal experience:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/friend2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-568" title="friend2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/friend2-1024x240.jpg" alt="friend2" width="368" height="86" /></a></p>
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		<title>World Cup 2010 Entertainment</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/06/world-cup-2010-entertainment/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/06/world-cup-2010-entertainment/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:36:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tributes and Praise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FIFA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jesus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malaysia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=542</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Once every 4 years, the world is blessed with around a month worth of exciting soccer. I believe there is an adage – “World Cup gives you fever”…. Or is it just “World Cup Fever”? Either way, someone needs to take me to the hospital fever unit ‘cos I’ve got it BAD. This year it’s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Once every 4 years, the world is blessed with around a month worth of exciting soccer. I believe there is an adage – “World Cup gives you fever”…. Or is it just “World Cup Fever”? Either way, someone needs to take me to the hospital fever unit ‘cos I’ve got it BAD. This year it’s in South Africa!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/mandela_world_cup-copy.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-543" title="mandela_world_cup copy" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/mandela_world_cup-copy-300x262.jpg" alt="mandela_world_cup copy" width="300" height="262" /></a></p>
<p>I have stayed up to watch most of the games so far which broadcast at ridiculous times here in Australia (between 9pm and 6am) and then start work at 9am, so needless to say if it’s not the World Cup fever, it’s probably my immune system dying from sleep deprivation and giving way for the disgusting viral bacteria that is most probably spread through the dirty fumes that my smelly housemate produces. It’s not just the soccer that keeps my attention though. There is so much going on, for example the red cards, the background issues each team has, the new players making a name for themselves and the funny stuff in between.</p>
<p>Now I know not all of you have had the time to watch all the games like me or analyse the soccer to the extent that I go to so I’ve decided to provide you with the things that have entertained me about the soccer so far. This excludes the great class of soccer and the goals scored from star players (you can just watch that on the news or SBS). This is just the stupid stuff:</p>
<h3><strong>Counterfeit Players</strong></h3>
<p>The World Cup has star names, some of them you may know e.g. Messi, Tevez, Robinho, Ronaldo etc. They are infamous for their skill in the game of soccer and they have developed a brand. Just like all brands, however, there are counterfeits….</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/counter2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-545 aligncenter" title="counter2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/counter2-300x198.jpg" alt="counter2" width="300" height="198" /></a></p>
<p>Player on the left is Beckham. Player on the right is his counterfeit. I’m assuming he was manufactured in Malaysia. His name is Beckmann.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/counter1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-547 aligncenter" title="counter" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/counter1-300x198.jpg" alt="counter" width="300" height="198" /></a></p>
<p>On the left is Ronaldo. Star player for Portugal. You may know him as the retarded kid on the Castrol commercial. He says “futbawll teks mi meny plaaacccess”. Anyway, funnily enough his counterfeit is on the same team as him. On the right, meet Rolando. He is average and also probably made in Malaysia.</p>
<h3><strong>Funny Names:</strong></h3>
<p>With all the different nations coming together, it is inevitable that I would find some names funny. Here are some that made me giggle like a school girl:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/198548.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-546 aligncenter" title="198548" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/198548.png" alt="198548" width="135" height="180" /></a>Meet Oh Beom Seok. I wasn’t quite sure how to pronounce this but luckily the commentator mentioned his name once he got the ball. The correct way of pronouncing this name is (o-bum-sock).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/319344.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-548 aligncenter" title="319344" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/319344.png" alt="319344" width="135" height="180" /></a></p>
<p>This is Gaetan Bong. HAHA</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/240681.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-549 aligncenter" title="240681" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/240681.png" alt="240681" width="135" height="180" /></a>And this is Emmanuel Kone… hehehe Bong and Kone…get it? Hehehe</p>
<h3><strong>Soccer Players in Showbiz</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/297112.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-550 aligncenter" title="297112" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/297112.png" alt="297112" width="135" height="180" /></a></p>
<p>This is Georgios Samaras. According to some made up sources, Samaras has been chosen to play Jesus in Passion of the Christ 2.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/serkf.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-551 aligncenter" title="serkf" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/serkf-219x300.jpg" alt="serkf" width="219" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>There are rumors spreading that Dreamworks have convinced Sergio Ramos to play Monkey in their latest remake of the brilliant TV Show Monkey Magic. Jackie Chan will be producing.</p>
<p><strong>Player of the tournament:</strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">Runner Up</span></strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">: GERVINHO</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/290186.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-552 aligncenter" title="290186" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/290186.png" alt="290186" width="225" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Gervinho earns the spot of runner up for player of the tournament so far for his amazing hair style which manages to ride long yet cover none of his forehead. What a forehead… more like a fivehead.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="color: #993366;">And the Player of the tournament so far is!!!! …..</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/storagecanoeca2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-553 aligncenter" title="storagecanoeca2" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/storagecanoeca2-300x193.jpg" alt="storagecanoeca2" width="300" height="193" /></a></p>
<p>Vincent Enyeama &#8211; for taking a Jabulani ball to his balls and living to tell the story. Seriously though, he has done well for Nigeria as their goal keeper, putting his body on the line, and putting soccer before his future children on the priority list.</p>
<p><strong>Things I’ve learned:</strong></p>
<p>It is very expensive to get a haircut in South America. At least I assume this because of all the players with long girly hair:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/haircut.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-554" title="haircut" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/haircut-300x250.jpg" alt="haircut" width="300" height="250" /></a></p>
<p>Thank you to <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/players/player=248373/index.html" target="_blank">fifa.com</a> for the profile shots of the players. Very amusing stuff.</p>
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		<title>Annual triumph for Outofmysandbox</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/05/annual-triumph-for-outofmysandbox/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/05/annual-triumph-for-outofmysandbox/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 May 2010 11:48:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tributes and Praise]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=532</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently I’ve been quite slack with updating the blog with some posts but that’s only because I’ve been busy working on a book about how to write a book and make money out of writing the book. The book is coming along nicely. I already have 8 pages worth of writing.
Anyway, recently it just occurred [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Recently I’ve been quite slack with updating the blog with some posts but that’s only because I’ve been busy working on a book about how to write a book and make money out of writing the book. The book is coming along nicely. I already have 8 pages worth of writing.</p>
<p>Anyway, recently it just occurred to me that my blog site has lasted over one year! This is big news because as you know, it is very expensive to maintain a website. If you’re unaware of how much it actually costs me to keep this site up, here’s the math:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/total.png"><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: 0px initial initial;" title="totalmaintenance" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/total-300x171.png" alt="totalmaintenance" width="300" height="171" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/waste-of-time.jpg"></a><br />
So to help you appreciate my expenses a little bit better, here is a list of things I could have bought with $200:</p>
<ul>
<li> A budget plane ticket to another State in Australia</li>
<li> Over 100 budget UHT long life milk carton things</li>
<li> Approximately 10kg of Salami</li>
<li> 4 bottles of Glenlivet 12 year single malt scotch bottles with 22 standard drinks inside</li>
<li> Approximately 8 <a title="ShamWOW" href="https://www.shamwow.com/" target="_blank">ShamWOWs</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks to the continuous support from the two or three people that actually view this site, this sacrifice is easy to bear.</p>
<p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: 0px initial initial;" title="waste of time" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/waste-of-time-300x187.jpg" alt="waste of time" width="300" height="187" /></p>
<div><span style="color: #0000ee; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;"><span style="color: #000000;">So for this new year of outofmysandbox I plan on doing a few things to keep the spark alive and my two or three viewers interested. Here is my game plan:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Write blog posts</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Change the look at some point</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Include more pictures of Sylvester Stallone, MacGyver and/or Chuck Norris</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Add video documentaries of my smelly housemate</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Add video documentaries in general</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Buy a video capturing device (I just realised I can’t do video documentaries until I get this)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #000000;">Product reviews of things that you may not have had before</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">There you have it! More things to look forward to and all </span><strong><span style="color: #000000;">absolutely free</span></strong><span style="color: #000000;">!</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/chuck-norris-with-guns.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-539" title="chuckgun" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/chuck-norris-with-guns.jpg" alt="chuckgun" width="390" height="300" /></a><br />
</span></p>
<p></span></div>
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		<title>Dominos Value for Pizza</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/01/dominos-value-for-pizza/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/01/dominos-value-for-pizza/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:55:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ideas and Concepts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mediocre Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[purchasing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=516</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So I bet a lot of people order Dominos pizza online these days. Recently I&#8217;ve been ordering online a lot and I was looking for the best value pizza I can get while paying the least amount I can. I believe I have found a great way to use their lovely website to create a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So I bet a lot of people order Dominos pizza online these days. Recently I&#8217;ve been ordering online a lot and I was looking for the best value pizza I can get while paying the least amount I can. I believe I have found a great way to use their lovely website to create a pizza that’s great value and everyone can enjoy (in Australia)! </p>
<p>OK&#8230; before ordering your pizza please check <a href="http://www.retailmenot.com/view/dominos.com.au" target="_blank">retailmenot.com</a> for the best coupons on offer. You definitely need a coupon because the regular price is at least double what you can essentially get the price down to. <a href="http://www.retailmenot.com/view/dominos.com.au" target="_blank">Retailmenot</a> is updated regularly so if you find that the coupons aren&#8217;t working ensure that you bookmark the site for later use on your next pizza purchase. I usually get pizzas for $4.95 on most days thanks to this site. </p>
<p>NEXT&#8230;Go to the Dominos website, pick your store and get to the pizza selection screen.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pizzavalue.png"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/pizzavalue-282x300.png" alt="pizzavalue" title="pizzavalue" width="282" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-517" /></a><br />
Yes they have a lot to choose from! You may notice that they categorise their pizzas with classic, traditional, big taste and ‘make your own’.  Let’s rule out making your own pizza for the simple fact that you can only choose 4 toppings to put on it. This is crap and you will soon find out why&#8230;</p>
<p>The categories are basically your price levels in pizza. Classic and traditional are usually the same prices but the ‘big taste’ pizzas are an extra $2.95. This is a big deal because what you’re basically getting is a few more toppings and a unique ingredient such as prawns for that value&#8230;.. or are you?</p>
<p>Here’s what I’ve found. If you order a traditional pizza and take off 2 toppings and replace it with a different two toppings, you do not pay any extra. Within these toppings you can even select prawns as a topping and you will only pay the same as a traditional pizza. Awesome right! Well it’s extra awesome if you choose the right pizza! </p>
<p>The pizzas under ‘traditional’ have a varying number of toppings averaging about 6 or 7. The 70’s lot pizza has a whopping 11 toppings already selected on the pizza! This I have found is best value for money.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/70lot.png"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/70lot-300x253.png" alt="70lot" title="70lot" width="300" height="253" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-519" /></a><br />
I select the 70’s lot, I then proceed to take off the toppings I least desire and add different combinations to try some awesome new pizzas for cheap. You can take away mushrooms and olives if you want, then replace them with prawns and Italian sausage. </p>
<p>So here is my great pizza for $4.95!<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/youroder1.png"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/youroder1-179x300.png" alt="yourorder" title="yourorder" width="179" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-521" /></a></p>
<p>Why not try it next time!</p>
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		<title>The Cinewheel couch</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/01/the-cinewheel-couch/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2010/01/the-cinewheel-couch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:51:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drunkie Pants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ideas and Concepts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chairs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[impulse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[products]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=511</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know those people who wake up bright and early to run with their iPod shuffles and their jogging attire while you’re still trying to figure out the easiest way to get out of bed and to the bathroom with your eyes still closed?  I used to begrudgingly loathe their lifestyle until I recently realised [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You know those people who wake up bright and early to run with their iPod shuffles and their jogging attire while you’re still trying to figure out the easiest way to get out of bed and to the bathroom with your eyes still closed?  I used to begrudgingly loathe their lifestyle until I recently realised that I was slowly becoming one of those people.</p>
<p>It all started when I saw that I was developing a slight belly after drinking a lot of beer and sitting on office chairs all day. My idea to turn this around was to go back to my days of working out and martial arts. My attempt to restart my healthier life schedule made me depressed as I realised the retreat of any progress I had previously made but a bit of motivation from my friends and my lovely dog that persuades me to take her for exceedingly long walks everyday has made me fitter than ever.</p>
<p>Today, on the way home from indoor cricket, I realised I was getting too fit. I was one iPod shuffle away from being the douche who wakes up at 4am for a protein shake and a quick jog before starting a joyful morning. This had to stop as I was missing the couch potato, laid back attitude I had on everything. I even started watching the news and reading newspapers!  Anyway&#8230; on the car ride home from cricket, I thought to myself&#8230; what’s the easiest way to become a couch potato again? And then it hit me&#8230;. A cinewheel couch!</p>
<p>Have you noticed how uncomfortable regular wheelchairs look? I have used a wheelchair at times and the only thing that I don’t like about them is that they’re too basic for my extravagant taste in practicality. So without further adieu, I introduce to you the cinewheel couch:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/homecinemachair-copy.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-512" title="homecinemachair copy" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/homecinemachair-copy-300x227.jpg" alt="homecinemachair copy" width="300" height="227" /></a></p>
<p>You are looking at a couch designed as a mode of transport while providing the comfort of home.  Is there a better way to get out there and see the world but still maintain a laid-back lifestyle? Surely not! It&#8217;s the perfect mixture of a cinema couch and a wheelchair.</p>
<p>Some specs:</p>
<ul>
<li>Electronic joystick control which means you won’t have to push yourself around!</li>
<li>Cup holders for your drinks complemented with a fridge to store your refills at the perfect temperature</li>
<li>Optional dolby surround sound speakers with built-in subwoofer for that doof doof on your back</li>
<li>Titanium wheels with shock absorbers to take on any terrain but still feel like you’re on a cloud</li>
<li>Italian leather</li>
<li>Optional reading light</li>
<li>Optional Air conditioning</li>
<li>Optional game controller holder for the hardcore gamer</li>
<li>Ideally the couch would travel at a cruise speed of 80 km/h but I don&#8217;t think this would be safe</li>
</ul>
<p>I feel that this amazing product will not only be a competitor for all wheelchairs on the market but segues as well. I mean how convenient is a segue compared to the cinewheel couch when you have to stand to go everywhere and you have very little resources at your fingertips?</p>
<p>Let me know if you’re interested in helping me develop a prototype because I’m not sure how to get the wheels on the couch and provide a safe shock absorber solution. Thanks.</p>
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		<title>Alexander Supertramp</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/12/alexander-supertramp/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/12/alexander-supertramp/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:55:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Drunkie Pants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wisdom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=504</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have always been inspired by the amazing story of Chris McCdandless, who, in many ways resembles my beliefs against the norms of society but expressed himself more veritably than I ever would be able to.
The man motivated me to believe in myself and convinced me that whatever I wanted to do, I could do. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have always been inspired by the amazing story of Chris McCdandless, who, in many ways resembles my beliefs against the norms of society but expressed himself more veritably than I ever would be able to.</p>
<p>The man motivated me to believe in myself and convinced me that whatever I wanted to do, I could do. Prior to hearing the story of Chris I read about ‘the secret’.  If you have ever read the book ‘the secret’ you will understand that some things happen because “if you believe in something enough, you will receive/achieve/retrieve it”.  It’s all about the law of attraction and holistically, attracting something means thinking about it until you get what you want. I was a big believer in this concept until recently when I thought about something constantly but that just blew up in my face like one of them gag jokes that keep you interested until it either zaps you or makes you smell something you wish you didn’t&#8230; you know what I mean!</p>
<p>This one&#8230; ‘Item’, let’s call it, made my life miserable but then I decided to do something about it. I thought&#8230;. well if I get a job that gives me money to support my drinking habit I would feel a little bit better about life, but it didn’t really help me at all. In fact, I’m drunk as we speak but that doesn’t take away from my poetic style of writing things poetically at all you arsehole douche bags that feel like criticising me for being free and poetic with my great words of poetry.</p>
<p>While having lunch with a table of academics, I decided to lose my inhibitions and drink beer, red wine, scotch and more scotch. I was well drunk before I decided to leave the bar that I was at and headed towards another bar for more drinks in accordance with ‘the secret’ (at this point in time I found scotch quite attractive).  During my walk to the pub I realised that I was abusing any underlying message that ‘the secret’ had to offer, but again, this didn’t work for me on a personal level so it can go fuck itself in the arse with a steel pole full of ridges all over it. I tried to find a corrugated pole image to illustrate my feelings but this is surprisingly hard on google.</p>
<p>Well, the whole point of this blog (which has surely been missed by everyone reading this) is that using the inspiration of Alexander Supertramp (which is Chris McCandless’ gypsy name) I have practically looked into creating a superhero which uses Godfrey commercial quality vacuum cleaners. The Pullman PV11 provides an ergonomic backpack vacuum solution which will provide ample power to allow me to jet pack my way into fighting crime or arseholes; both of which society deems hazardous to the wellbeing of our future.</p>
<p>Before stopping by to visit some friends and colonel sanders (a crowd I missed dearly), I decided to stop by the Godfrey’s vacuum cleaning superstore at Fortitude Valley. The man insisted on selling me the $519 Pullman PV13 as it provided a better commercial vacuuming experience. I ensured him that I did not require the commercial cleaning attributes of the PV13 as all I needed was two sets of PV11s which will provide me with the backpack power I need to soar across the Queensland surroundings.</p>
<p>I can’t describe the big plans I have for my flight abilities with the machinery I plan on buying from Godfrey’s. All I can say is that people around me actually sabotage my creative abilities and future actions with criticism. I don’t care if you don’t like my backpack vacuums or think I’m not good enough to change the world with backpack flight. You will regret your decisions at the end of the day because you conformed to what you believed you thought others would expect of you instead of following what you wanted at your discretion.</p>
<p><em>“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”</em> <span style="color: #ff0000;">Thoreau</span></p>
<p><em>“The sea&#8217;s only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don&#8217;t know much about the sea, but I do know that that&#8217;s the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.”</em> <span style="color: #ff0000;">Chris McCdandless</span></p>
<p><em>“If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed&#8221;</em>.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Tolstoy</span></p>
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		<title>A fun website to create avatars</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/12/a-fun-website-to-create-avatars/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/12/a-fun-website-to-create-avatars/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:46:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Ideas and Concepts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=495</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’ve been having fun with this pretty neat website which allows you to upload a photo of yourself and turns it into great avatars (or profile pictures) that will have all your friends thinking you’re a photoshop genius. The site is Photofunia.com!
You may have heard of a similar concept with yearbookyourself.com where you can create [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I’ve been having fun with this pretty neat website which allows you to upload a photo of yourself and turns it into great avatars (or profile pictures) that will have all your friends thinking you’re a photoshop genius. The site is <a href="http://www.photofunia.com" target="_blank">Photofunia.com</a>!</p>
<p>You may have heard of a similar concept with <a href="http://www.yearbookyourself.com" target="_blank">yearbookyourself.com</a> where you can create your own yearbook photos with all sorts of hairstyles from different eras? Well this website works off a similar concept, except you can put your face on billboards, bus advertisements and other fascinating places.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.photofunia.com" target="_blank">Photofunia</a> got me thinking&#8230;. If someone came up to me and told me I could make any advertisement/publishing I wanted and they would pay for it, what would I do?</p>
<p>Well first and foremost, I would put my ongoing idea of cat-books into action. These books would provide a series of interesting things for cats to view at their pleasure. My first book would educate cats on “The 10 most entertaining characters in the 1990s”:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f974aa.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-496" title="PhotoFunia-3f974aa" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f974aa-300x200.jpg" alt="PhotoFunia-3f974aa" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p>Then I would provide some public announcements in order to help the community and do my part for society.</p>
<p>Queensland is a great place and factually better than all other states in Australia according to <a href="http://www.theinternet.com" target="_blank">the internet</a> but we still have minor issues.  One minor issue is Queensland public transport. The bus way is a great concept if there were actual buses and they weren’t driven by misanthropic people with no common sense (of course this is a stereotype and the bus driver you‘re friends with or related to does not fall under this category). Anyway&#8230; to lower the expectations of outsiders and ease any frustration of people who are using the bus system for the very first time, I would like to make a sign like this one:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f90d4d.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-497" title="PhotoFunia-3f90d4d" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f90d4d-300x192.jpg" alt="PhotoFunia-3f90d4d" width="300" height="192" /></a></p>
<p>I have seen a few building construction sites come up in Brisbane recently. The trend seems to be that people don’t like new buildings. They always have something to say about it&#8230; “oh it’s blocking my view” etc. I have also noticed that people in the CBD are usually in a rush and have serious faces on all the time. Just because you’re in the business district doesn’t mean you have to keep a business face on! So with that in mind and the fact that most new buildings are often located in the CBD I would like to have a banner like this one:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f9480d.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-498" title="PhotoFunia-3f9480d" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PhotoFunia-3f9480d-300x220.jpg" alt="PhotoFunia-3f9480d" width="300" height="220" /></a></p>
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		<title>My trip to Malaysia</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-malaysia/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-malaysia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:22:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mediocre Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stupid People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malaysia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=465</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Malaysia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. There were a few ups and downs but for the most part I had a great time!  I would like to show you the great things that you can do at each country but if you’re just interested in how [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Malaysia, Maldives and <a href='http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-sri-lanka/' target='_blank'>Sri Lanka</a>. There were a few ups and downs but for the most part I had a great time!  I would like to show you the great things that you can do at each country but if you’re just interested in how I went with my ‘to do’ list then <a href='http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-holiday-to-do-list/' target='_blank'>click here</a>.</p>
<p>Our trip started off with a 7 hour-ish flight to Kuala Lumpur from Brisbane International. The flight was great and we were looked after well by the flight attendants. Just remember that alcoholic beverages are free on international flights so ensure you build a great rapport with those that can hook you up with a few beer cans at once. By the end of the flight I was nicknamed ‘happy hour’ by the crew.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/beerplane.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/beerplane-300x225.jpg" alt="beerplane" title="beerplane" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-466" /></a><br />
We were quite happy to hear we had arrived at Kuala Lumpur. The airport is great because there are signs everywhere. If you get lost in Kuala Lumpur airport then you’re probably one of those people who can’t follow recipes, ikea instructions, treasure maps etc. and should probably not travel alone. </p>
<p>The first thing I noticed about Australia (which Malaysia was lacking) is the warm welcomes and friendly conversations you get with airport staff. In Malaysia, the help desk lady looked as if she was mad at us for asking her a question&#8230;. I was a bit dumbfounded by the whole thing. The guy who let us into the country death stared us the whole time he was checking our passports and then waved us through the gates without saying a word. He thought he was a police officer or head of a Malaysian scooter gang or something.  He also didn’t do his job right as he didn’t give us back our departure cards to keep. WHATADOUCHE.</p>
<p>Once out of the airport things were a bit better. We made our way to the city which is about 45 minutes away from the airport. Along the way, the drive is fairly scenic with various buildings which are worthy of snapshots:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/malaystaidum.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/malaystaidum-300x225.jpg" alt="malaystaidum" title="malaystaidum" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-467" /></a>This seems to be a stadium of some sort. Not sure what it is but it is very patriotic with the flags. I think it looks nice.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kok.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kok-300x262.jpg" alt="kok" title="kok" width="300" height="262" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-468" /></a>I find KOK MOTOR very reliable.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/colo.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/colo-300x225.jpg" alt="colosseum" title="colosseum" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-469" /></a>Then there was the Colosseum! It’s strange that they don’t put these on the KL brochures.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/petronas-towers.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/petronas-towers-171x300.jpg" alt="petronas towers" title="petronas towers" width="171" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-470" /></a>But let’s not forget the Petronas twin towers. The tallest twins in the world and what used to be the tallest building in the world before Taipei  101.</p>
<p>Finally we got to our hotel where I found out that Malaysia has no etiquette for queues, door opening or elevators. I have never been so agitated by people in my life. At one point we were waiting at the hotel counter and about to be served when a guy tried to stand in front of us and get served first. I had to physically grab the back of his collar and pull him backwards. He must have thought “how rude of me to do that” to which all I can say is “When in Rome, be an arsehole like everyone else (or something like that)”.</p>
<p>A trip to the China town markets totally made up for the rudeness. This place has stalls upon stalls of knock-off merchandise. Each stall varies but for the most part the quality of the gear is quite amazing. The knock-off Rolex watches are scratch proof and work on perpetual motion (no need for batteries). Needless to say we bought a few of these. They sell at roughly 100MYR which is around $30AU:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/blingwatches.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/blingwatches-300x225.jpg" alt="blingwatches" title="blingwatches" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-471" /></a><br />
Issmeister just wanted to be involved. He has a poo legitimate Casio on.</p>
<p>I also bought lots of clothing. The Issmeister got into this bargaining battle with one stall and he ended up getting 2 Lacoste polos for 30MYR which is about $5AU a shirt. Usually the acceptable price is 2 for 40MYR. I bought lots of polos and many beer t-shirts.  I also bought handbags for gift giving. Make sure you don’t get ripped off with a low quality bag. You can get high quality bags for about 110MYR but a lot of stalls try and sell the crap ones for about the same price. Go to a larger stall. They usually have both good and bad quality. Just ask for the good quality stuff which comes with a larger price tag.</p>
<p>I got really sick during our stay in Malaysia and spent quite a few days in the hotel room. I only recovered a few hours before the flight to the Maldives. I caught some kind of China town market flu which gave me instant fever.  I was quite lucky as they would have caught me under the thermal cameras and sent me into quarantine if I was still sick at the airport; totally ruining my holiday. I was still able to do a little bit more shopping though&#8230;.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pavilion.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pavilion-225x300.jpg" alt="pavilion" title="pavilion" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-472" /></a></p>
<p>This is the pavilion shopping centre. It is quite massive. The other massive shopping centre in Malaysia is the Mid Valley Megamall. Both are great places to shop but if you walk down the street on the right of the Pavilion there is a huge line of designer stores. It’s a yuppie street but quite impressive. </p>
<p>Speaking of impressive:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/maccas.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/maccas-300x225.jpg" alt="maccas" title="maccas" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-473" /></a><br />
Yes! You are looking at a McDonald’s delivery scooter. Have you ever wanted a quarter pounder at midnight but couldn’t be bothered making your way over to Maccas? Of course you have! Australia really needs to get their act together and get some McDelivery Scooters!</p>
<p>Another thing that impressed me about McDonald’s in KL is the prices of their meals (note that the airport McDonald’s is more expensive). I bought a large spicy McChicken burger meal (which was 6/10 on the spice metre and rocked) for 9.60MYR which is about $3AU. They also sell Ribena and Milo on tap.</p>
<p>Our time in Malaysia was kind of at an end. We had another day in Malaysia after our time in Maldives and Sri Lanka on the way back home but we had pretty much done all the shopping we needed to already. </p>
<p>Oh&#8230; and this is pretty funny:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/snatch-sign.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/snatch-sign-300x281.jpg" alt="snatch sign" title="snatch sign" width="300" height="281" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-474" /></a><br />
This is a street sign they have near BB shopping centre. It&#8217;s a packed street full of people trying to aggressively get you to enter their store or massage parlour. The sign warns of purse snatchers. We should get a bogan warning sign at the Logan Hyperdome.</p>
<p>Anyway&#8230;we packed our bags and headed to the Maldives for a very short overnight trip. The plan was to stay there for a few days but my mum wanted a bit more time with her family over in Sri Lanka, so we had to sacrifice beautiful weather and nice beaches for bad weather and smelly alleys.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/luggage.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/luggage-224x300.jpg" alt="luggage" title="luggage" width="224" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-475" /></a></p>
<p>We ended up having no records of our stay in the Maldives. We arrived in the beautiful Malé where I was as drunk as a fruit bat that found a barrel of fermenting fruit hooch and drank it all. We were drinking whenever we felt bored so the wait at the airport and the fact that this old school 1970s plane they put us on had no personal TVs made me drink my boredom away. The flight was roughly 4 hours and I could tell this plane was from the 70s because the fuselage smelt like old people and it had flamboyant wallpaper. I figured someone else would take photos but alas the rest of the group started feeling sick and started vomiting. All I remember is reading a ‘Welcome to Malé’ sign and that’s about it. Mum says it was beautiful and she doesn’t even like water so it really must have been a lovely place.</p>
<p>We then got on the plane and headed over to <a href='http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-sri-lanka/' target='_blank'>Sri Lanka</a>. </p>
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		<title>My trip to Sri Lanka</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-sri-lanka/</link>
		<comments>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-sri-lanka/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:44:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mediocre Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sri Lanka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.outofmysandbox.com/?p=449</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We had a short flight from the Maldives to Sri Lanka. It took 1 hour and 25 minutes -around the same distance as Brisbane to Sydney. The airport seemed kind of empty, and I expected a lot more security in the Sri Lankan airport but as we made our way further into baggage claim and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We had a short flight from the Maldives to Sri Lanka. It took 1 hour and 25 minutes -around the same distance as Brisbane to Sydney. The airport seemed kind of empty, and I expected a lot more security in the Sri Lankan airport but as we made our way further into baggage claim and the exit the security got more intense.</p>
<p>There were marines holding Uzis and army guys holding AK-47s around every corner. We were just about to walk out of the airport when a customs officer came running at us telling us to stop and get rid of our remote control helicopter which we bought in <a href='http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-malaysia/' target='_blank'>Malaysia</a>. We were like whaaaattt? Hell nahhh bitch! But apparently these things can be used as spy gear so we were forced to dump it at the airport. I didn’t really want to get shot over a toy helicopter so we let it go (besides we could buy another on the way back home).</p>
<p>We thought&#8230; wow this defence minister is a bit paranoid&#8230; and then we experienced the billions of check points we had to go through to get into Colombo. It’s ridiculous! Every 5 minutes you would be asked to pull over and show your ID (in our case our passports). 4 or 5 army officers would hold AK-47s at the front and sides of the vehicles. If they found something suspicious they would just go nuts and shoot the crap out of the vehicle killing anything inside. They would sometimes search the van for any Tamils that we may be smuggling and waste about 5 minutes of our lives at each stop. In order to travel about 12km it would take around 1 hour.  A bit stressful to say the least but don’t let this deter you. Sri Lanka is still worth the visit.</p>
<p>One of the many things I love about Sri Lanka is the food. If you like rice, curry and all the spices you will love it too. In fact you can find very similar food in both <a href='http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-trip-to-malaysia/' target='_blank'>Malaysia</a> and Sri Lanka. The general rule is – The more traditional the food, the cheaper it is and the tastier it is. Here is a packet of Lamprais in Sri Lanka. It is served on banana leaves and contains chicken curry, rice, and other sambols which go together well:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/lamprais.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/lamprais-300x225.jpg" alt="lamprais" title="lamprais" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-450" /></a><br />
A meal like this would cost about 150Rps which is about $1.50AU (depending on where you get it). A food court in a shopping centre would probably sell the same thing for about $2.50AU.</p>
<p>If you take a drive away from Colombo, you will notice the congestion and pollution fades away into the distance and you will realise just how beautiful and untouched the island is. My favourite place of serenity was the Kandalama Hotel. It is a hotel ingeniously built in a rock face. The hotel walls make use of the rock that surrounds it. One of the nicest hotels I have ever seen. Here is the view from its eating area:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kandalama.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/kandalama-300x225.jpg" alt="kandalama" title="kandalama" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-451" /></a><br />
At night the hotel room window provides remarkable views of wildlife which frolic around both close by and in the distance. Elephants never cease to be majestic.</p>
<p>We took a trip to the Pinnawala Elephant orphanage. A lot of these elephants were victims of the lengthy war in the country. Some were missing feet, others lost their parents and were brought up by mahouts but all the elephants at the orphanage looked alive and healthy.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/elephants.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/elephants-300x225.jpg" alt="elephants" title="elephants" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-452" /></a></p>
<p>The elephants bath in water which is located directly below a hotel restaurant. Here we had a few beers and watched the elephants. It’s a spectacular view that will be rare to clone in a single life time:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/restaurant.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/restaurant-300x225.jpg" alt="restaurant" title="restaurant" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-457" /></a></p>
<p>The drinks are incredibly cheap. A tally of Carlsberg beer costs $2.50AU at restaurant prices. I started to like Sri Lanka a whole lot more&#8230;</p>
<p>Despite things being cheap, I found myself spending a lot of money in Sri Lanka. The country is taking a few good strides in the right direction but its current state is quite eye opening. Whenever I saw a cleaner or a driver I was curious to ask their wage. Their stories would have me throwing money at them.<br />
 In Sri Lanka people get paid monthly. A driver, if he works 30 days straight will get $150AU for his efforts. As a driver you are expected to sleep in the van if there is no accommodation for you with the party you are driving. You are required to sit and wait until the party you are driving has finished doing what they are doing. You are pretty much on call 24/7.</p>
<p>A house cleaner gets $4 for a full day’s work. If he takes a break within his monthly pay schedule, he will earn only $3 a day. To give you an idea of how cheap labour is: I couldn’t find an automatically opening door with a sensor. There is no value in investing in such equipment when all you need is a person paid with chips and tips to open doors. The most saddening part of the Sri Lankan economy is that even though wages are so low, grocery shopping at the supermarket is only slightly cheaper than the Australian Coles. How does a person earning $4 a day afford $40 worth of groceries in a week? Especially when they get paid monthly?<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/homeless.jpg"><img src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/homeless-224x300.jpg" alt="homeless" title="homeless" width="224" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-492" /></a></p>
<p>There are wondrous things to see and do in Sri Lanka. I highly recommend leaving Colombo and staying at Kandalama Hotel and Sigirya Village Hotel. These hotels are definitely worthy of a honeymoon stay and the service at hotels is hard to beat in other parts of the world.</p>
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		<title>My Holiday To Do List</title>
		<link>http://www.outofmysandbox.com/2009/10/my-holiday-to-do-list/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:10:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mediocre Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malaysia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sri Lanka]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[So I bet you’re eager to find out how I went with doing the things on my ‘to do’ list? Well I did ok, but I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t complete all of my goals.

I should firstly admit to having 3 versions of this ‘to do’ list as I lost a few of them [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So I bet you’re eager to find out how I went with doing the things on my ‘to do’ list? Well I did ok, but I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t complete all of my goals.<br />
</br><br />
I should firstly admit to having 3 versions of this ‘to do’ list as I lost a few of them during my trip. During my time I modified a few of the things on the list because I either lost interest in doing them or better things took over their slot. So this is the ‘to do’ list as of right now:<br />
</br><br />
<span style="color: #ff0000;"> 1.	Play with a gun</span><br />
2.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Chase a monkey</span><br />
3.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Play cricket with street kids</span><br />
4.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Ride an elephant</span><br />
5.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Give a poor person lots of money</span><br />
6.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Slap a cow on the arse</span><br />
7.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Wear a stupid cap everywhere</span><br />
8.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Find a giant guava</span><br />
9.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Get drunk with a non-english speaker</span><br />
10.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Ride a scooter in a hotel hall</span><br />
11.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Buy a single cigarette</span><br />
12.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Bribe a cop</span><br />
13.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Challenge a local at pool</span><br />
14.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Drink out of a jug</span><br />
15.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Eat something I’ve never had before</span><br />
16.	<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Drive a trishaw/tuktuk</span><br />
There are a few changes but mostly the same kind of objectives.</p>
<p><strong>1. Play with a gun<br />
</strong></p>
<p>I was so sad that I couldn’t get to play with a gun. This was the major thing I wanted to do but no matter how much money I flashed I couldn’t get a gun to my hand. Apparently they would lose their job if they let me play with their piece but I think I just didn’t have the right connections because my cousins have been able to play with guns in the past. It may have been easier during the war I guess? This is as close as I got:<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gun.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-440" title="gun" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/gun-225x300.jpg" alt="gun" width="225" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>2. Chase a monkey</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B1_irlb15JE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B1_irlb15JE&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p><strong>3. Play cricket with street kids</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1ISTbF49Dto&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1ISTbF49Dto&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>4. Ride an elephant</strong><br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EtkO_jsgP00&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EtkO_jsgP00&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></p>
<div id="attachment_413" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 235px"><a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/smalleleride.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-413 " title="smalleleride" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/smalleleride-225x300.jpg" alt="I bought this elephant for $40" width="225" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">I bought this elephant for $40</p></div>
<p><strong>5. Give a poor person lots of money</strong></p>
<p>I was initially going to give one person a lot of money but ended up giving away a lot of money to various people that told me sob stories. They need the money more than me anyway. I took a photo just for the purpose of completing my ‘to do’ list of the money I gave to our driver.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/money.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-416" title="money" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/money.jpg" alt="money" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
15,000Rps is around $150. I thought it was a nice figure considering the fact that he gets paid that amount for a month of work. He was highly appreciative.</p>
<p><strong>6. Slap a cow on the arse</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8ylYUcpxXgk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8ylYUcpxXgk&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
I had a failed attempt at slapping cows on the arse but promise you I was able to slap a buffalo on the arse. It took off in the opposite direction and it was quite hilarious. The cows are so skinny over there compared to the Aussie cows here. P.S My hair is oily because I had just gotten some weird body massage where they tried to break me in half after rubbing oil everywhere and told me to keep it on for a few hours. WEIRD!</p>
<p><strong>7. Wear a stupid cap everywhere</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/duckcap2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-433" title="duckcap" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/duckcap2-300x300.jpg" alt="duckcap" width="300" height="300" /></a><br />
<strong>8. Find a giant guava</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/thomasguava.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-422" title="thomasguava" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/thomasguava.jpg" alt="thomasguava" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
I was hoping I’d find a larger one. Last time I was in Malaysia I found a guava that was the size of a rock melon. It was ridiculous. This one doesn’t compare but is still larger than the usual. I guess it just wasn’t the right time for the giant, mutated, rock melon guava.</p>
<p><strong>9. Get drunk with a non-english speaker</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/dinesh.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-424" title="dinesh" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/dinesh.jpg" alt="dinesh" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
This is Dinesh, our driver. He doesn’t speak a word of English. Well I taught him how to say sperm but that’s about it. We got along like a house on fire. He would listen to what I had to say and just smile. I got him really drunk on pina coladas. It was the first time he’s ever had a cocktail and loved it.</p>
<p><strong>10. Ride a scooter in a hotel hall</strong><br />
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4EN__XNfpgY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4EN__XNfpgY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
We bought electric scooters in Malaysia for about $100 and decided to charge them up in the hotel room then take it for a spin at night. That was kind of fun. I kept banging into hotel room doors.</p>
<p><strong>11. Buy a single cigarette</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/singlecig.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-427" title="singlecig" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/singlecig.jpg" alt="singlecig" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
This is my single cigarette! I bought it for 19Rps which is about 19 cents. You basically just walk into a food store and go&#8230; 1 cigarette please. They pull it out of a packet and give it to you&#8230;. huh!</p>
<p>I thought, wow cigarettes are so cheap. I should start smoking&#8230;Why don’t I smoke?</p>
<p>And then I started acting pompous with my single cigarette and realised&#8230; that’s why I don’t smoke.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pompous.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-428" title="pompous" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pompous.jpg" alt="pompous" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
<strong>12. Bribe a cop</strong></p>
<p>I was worried about this challenge. I didn’t know how I could get this done without looking like a total idiot and having a valid reason to bribe a cop but the challenge dropped in my lap (so to speak).</p>
<p>Our driver was charged with overtaking dangerously &#8211; a fine of 500Rps which is $5AU (haha). Later, on inspection of the driver’s license, the police officer found that he was driving a heavy vehicle without a heavy vehicle license. The driver had to stop driving and make his way to the police station to pay the fine. I walked in with him as I was paying for the fine. The cop that actually booked him took the money. I gave him an extra 500Rps and asked if our same driver could drive us to the van depot so we could get another driver (even though we kept the same driver because he was cool). The cop said yeah&#8230; so I said &#8230; can I also take a photo? And he was fine with it&#8230;after all I paid for it hehe!<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cop.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-429" title="cop" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cop-225x300.jpg" alt="cop" width="225" height="300" /></a><br />
The police over there actually get a commission for handing out a certain amount of fines. They are happy to take bribes.</p>
<p><strong>13. Challenge a local at pool</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pool.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-430" title="pool" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pool.jpg" alt="pool" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
It was close. We ran out of time. He was really good! I won the first game, he won the second, I won the 3<sup>rd</sup> but we really needed to play to the best of 5.</p>
<p><strong>14. Drink out of a jug</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/jug.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-432" title="jug" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/jug-300x225.jpg" alt="jug" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
The jug is made out of pure glass (not plastic). It’s heavy and could do a lot of damage across someone’s face.</p>
<p><strong>15. Eat something I’ve never had before</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/deer.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-435" title="deer" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/deer.jpg" alt="deer" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
In Malaysia I ate some deer chilli dish. Apparently deer meat is eaten often in New Zealand but I have never had it before so I was keen on trying some. It tasted great! I don’t know if it was just the way it was prepared or the meat itself but I smashed the plate of deer meat. Recommend++<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/eatingdeer.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-436" title="eatingdeer" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/eatingdeer.jpg" alt="eatingdeer" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
<strong>16. Drive a trishaw/tuktuk</strong></p>
<p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="344" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6NuNU-x2Jkc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6NuNU-x2Jkc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br />
These are actually quite hard to drive. They have scooter like gears. You have to turn the handle down to drop gears and turn it back towards you to hit a lower gear.  The clutch is sensitive and I found myself holding it down and just revving the juice out of the lawn-mower-like engine.<br />
<a href="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/tuktuk.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-437" title="tuktuk" src="http://www.outofmysandbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/tuktuk.jpg" alt="tuktuk" width="300" height="225" /></a><br />
This ‘to do’ list brought some great memories on a trip that came with natural adventure and challenges. Why not try make a ‘to do’ list on your next trip abroad? I’m sure you’ll find it just as fun as I did!</p>
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