Krishna Left

Today the colleagues from work got together for a lunch at an Indian restaurant. The food was excellent. It was the tastiest thing I have tried since my arrival to Melbourne. I tried all the different meals that were available, including ice cream and a mango lhassi.
The reason for the lunch was that one more colleague left the company.

Crisis and the Employment

One of the IT companies I have a contact with told me that they have frozen the recruitment for open positions because of the current economic situation. The things are moving fast over here.
On Monday I will know more details and see whether they will fill in any positions at all or if all the recruitment is currently frozen.

Photos: Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles

2008-10-26 Great Ocean Road

Photos from the trip via Great Ocean Road to 12 Apostles.

Photos: Lillydale - Eltham Ride

2008-10-05 Lillydale

Here are the photos from the ride between Lillydale and Eltham, on 2008-10-05.

Average Australian Salary = 83K

Salary Information - Latest Pay Rates by Industry at MyCareer

According to MyCareer salary centre, the current average Australian salary amounts to A$83,500. This is quite a high amount.

According to some sources, average Bosnian monthly salary is around BAM 960, which is roughly the same amount in Australian Dollars today. This would be rougly 11,000 per annum.

Great Ocean Road

On Sunday, 26th of October, with a group of friends from work I went on the Great Ocean Road trip all the way to 12 Apostles and Port Campbell. It was a whole day drive. The scenery was amazing. Noone of us expected to see so many green fields and forests.
Apollo Bay was magnificent. The 12 Apostles are impressive. Photos are to be placed online soon.

Troubles in Bosnia (Did They Ever Cease?)

BalkanInsight.com - Ex-Envoys Urge Action on ‘Troubled’ Bosnia

Spending a few months in such a healthy environment like Australia led my thoughts towards going back closer to home, family, friends, etc. But, every now and then, when I get in touch with people from the region or read some news, I get anxious again about the whole situation there.
The text like the one linked at the top, brings back memories from the past and that funny feeling in the stomach. As I was aware long time ago, after the Dayton Agreement, the things have not been settled in the Balkans and won't be for a long time. That will remain the trouble spot for a decent future from now. Things keep revolving around the same issues over and over again and no real progress can be made when such basic elements are not settled.
While living there I felt constantly under pressure because of such issues one could not get around. Now I feel I should think more about what the weather will be tomorrow during the Great Ocean Road drive and when the water will get warm enough to go swimming in the Ocean. Should I bring the sun lotion or not? And so on. These kind of thoughts are much healthier.
Makes me wonder whether will I really consider going back there.

Also, on the Finance blog, I've posted a few links to the analysis of the economic situation in Serbia. Many facts I did not realize. The progress in the country I felt was healthy now appears less so and, in fact, in a very troubled state.

New Camera

I've just completed my new photo set. The other day I was simply looking for a camera that has a viewfinder. It appears that later cameras simply do not have that feature. I used to use this with my older Fuji camera to save the battery charge when on vacation or away from an electrical outlet.
Then I found, in forums, that Canon A580 has this feature. This camera was recommended first so I looked for some reviews. The reviews were alright. Canon was a well known name in the world of photo cameras. At the same time I looked for a comparison on prices for A580 in Australia. Found a shop in Victoria that had the best prices. Looked at their web site to find that there was a newer version - A590. And, also, A1000. Then I read the reviews to compare these two. The only notable difference was the physical size. Everything else was alright even with the older model. But, the depth difference of 1cm makes a difference when carrying the camera. Well, so I thought and decided to go for A1000.
Made an order online. The store has a warehouse in Abbotsford and the camera would be available for pick up after the payment was received. So I went to the bank web site and sent the payment according to the invoice received. I could trace my order online.
I guess it took one day for the payment to reach the shop and the next to be processed. The second day I got an email stating that the camera would be available for pick up later that day (today, actually). I went to the warehouse (this was quicker than to wait for postal delivery) and picked up the camera. I must admit it's great. I played with it in the park on my way home. One thing I did not like was that as soon as focus is activated, the LCD turns back on. That's not what I want. Viewfinder becomes more or less useless in this case. Took a few photos and a short movie after which the space on provided 32MB SD card ran out. So I decided to run to K-Mart, which was close by, and use the $10 gift card I received yesterday.
So I headed there to get the rechargeable batteries and a camera case I saw earlier. I got Varta pack of batteries with 2500mAh capacity and a nice bag that I can use for the PocketPC as well. Then I found some SD cards on sale for $11.19 and I could not resist to get one.
The batteries are being charged. The good thing is that a pair of alkaline batteries and a 32MB SD card are provided along with the camera. This gives you a feel for the camera and also, in my case, some time to use the camera while the rechargeable batteries are being charged for the first time.
The PDA can read this 2GB SD card so I might get another one, just for Pocket PC.
So, the new photo taking season starts... :)

Moving Web Sites

I’m in the middle of moving my web site(s) to another location. It is an interesting exercise because there is a lot of things to be done, links to maintain, pages and style sheets to upload… Every time I do this it gets easier for the next time. The sites get simpler and simpler. Some sort of structure appears on its own. My only worry is that the new provider will introduce some measures that will make me have to move the sites again.

Price Comparison for Electronics

staticICE :: Australia's comprehensive computer hardware and gadget price comparison search engine

This is one of the best search engines for product price comparison in Australia. Mostly electronics and IT - computer stuff in here.