Since we are following are the Theft of ideas this week with the virgin / flickr problem, we found this story on AdRants to be very interesting.

Oh look. Yet another ad campaign has "borrowed" from a student spec campaign. In this case, it's a JWT Sydney-created campaign for Cannes 2007 Lion winner Science Diet dog food which, oops, looks a lot like this Advertising Education Foundation 2005 print winner (scroll down) Streamlight created by an Academy of Art University student.
Coincidence? Maybe but shining a light out a dog's bottom isn't something your average creative conceptualizes every day. You decide.

Student Original

Prestigious Award Winner from Sydney

Flicking back through the archives of the blog last night and looking at the levels of comments we used to get, it became apparent that there were two distinct periods of interactivity for this blog:
a) Pre Facebook
b) Post Facebook

Hey there Molly, it's Miller here. Welcome to the World. It is pretty cold here, hope you are getting a better introduction up in the Sunshine State.
Apparently it's appropriate for a man to be slightly older than a lady when dating. Well, I am one week your senior and you look pretty nice in this photo so maybe we could grab some milk together (from separate restaurants of course). No this isn't one of those MySpace dating scams, this could be the real deal.
Maybe afterwards we could get your mum to read us a story with her lovely 'firm but fair' 'this aussie battler just got ripped off' Today Tonight voice.
Anyway, let's talk soon. Hope you get your own blog soon. This one is getting pretty crowded (i have to share it with my sister...)

From the New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/us/25cnd-taxi.html?hp

SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 — It was a good day for the Devil in San Francisco on Tuesday, as the Taxicab Commission voted to keep the Dark Lord’s favorite number — 666 — affixed to an allegedly cursed cab.

The vote, which came after an amused period of public comment and annoyed looks from the commissioners, extended the satanic reign of Taxi No. 666, which is driven by one Michael Byrne (pronounced burn).

Mr. Byrne, who did not appear at the hearing on Tuesday night and was not reachable for comment, had lobbied — out of superstition — to have his medallion number changed, and had found an ally in Jordanna Thigpen, deputy director of the Taxicab Commission.

In a memo distributed last week, Ms. Thigpen wrote that Mr. Byrne believed the number to be responsible for a series of calamities he had endured in a streak of bad luck that had led him to have his taxi blessed at a local church, to no apparent avail.

“This medallion holder would prefer not to speak about the specific problems,” Ms. Thigpen wrote, “but they are of great severity.”

Adding to the cab’s sinister mystique was the fact that Taxi No. 666 caught on fire on a Good Friday some years ago in a blaze that, as local legend has it, wrecked the car but left the offending medallion untouched.

So it was that the commission had been asked to deep six the number of the beast in favor of the less offensive 1307, a move that the commission president, Paul Gillespie, who is a cab driver himself, thought was only kind.

“This is a very simple thing we can do to make one person’s life a little easier,” Mr. Gillespie said, adding that he himself had driven Taxi No. 666 in the past. “People do bring a lot of bad energy in the cab, and if people want to talk about the number, then the driver has to talk about it.”

But others saw the debate as a waste of time and money, two things the Great Deceiver would no doubt have approved.

“If we don’t have 666, what’s next?” said Tom Stanghellini, 59, a longtime cabbie. “What about medallion 13? Or 1313?”

Commissioner Patricia Breslin echoed that.

“Where does it end?” Ms. Breslin said. “I lived at a residence numbered 666, and I did not go over to the dark side.”

Ms. Thigpen said she did not want to set a precedent, but said the number in question had become increasingly difficult for her office to assign. “No other number causes an administrative burden like this number,” she said on Wednesday. “And I’m sure with all this attention it’s going to get worse.”

In the end, the vote was 5 to 1 against changing the number. (The commission’s seventh member was curiously absent.) But Mr. Gillespie, who sighed deeply before casting the only dissenting vote, said he doubted this would be the last time the commission would have to take up the issue.

“This guy,” he said, “still has this problem.”

For years corporations have been moaning about people downloading their content without paying for it. Now the shoe is on the other foot.

Updated:

VIRGIN Mobile has taken down advertisement photographs on its online site after the company's failure to seek permission from the models or photographers they used in their latest campaign sparked outrage.

On Monday, The Australian reported how people all over the world were shocked to discover their faces were the centrepiece of Virgin Mobile's outdoor advertising and online campaign.

The images on the campaign website yesterday had been replaced by photographs that did not show the faces of the subjects.

Virgin Mobile took personal photographs from the Yahoo-owned Flickr website without paying, as permissable under a licensing agreement with non-profit US-based copyright body Creative Commons, and used them for its "Are You With Us Or What?" campaign.

Original

VIRGIN Mobile has been accused of breaching people's "moral rights" after it took images from a popular photo-sharing website without asking permission and used them in a national advertising campaign.

People around the world who posted their photos on the Yahoo-owned Flickr website have objected to their images being used in hundreds of Australian billboard ads, accompanied by provocative captions.

The campaign - Are You With Us Or What? - features images from the website branded with Virgin Mobile's own slogans.

They include: Work Friends Are Just That; If You Enjoy Your Company Too Much You'll Go Blind; and Strangers Are Just Serial Killers You Haven't Met Yet.

Alison Chang, 15, had no idea that when she posed for a photograph at a fundraiser in the US, her face would become famous across Australia, under the slogan Dump Your Pen Friend. She told The Australian yesterday: "It is definitely insulting to myself. They could have thought of something nicer to say." She and her family are now considering legal action.

They're coming outta the walls. They're all around us.

They cut the power.
What do you mean "THEY cut the power"? How could they cut the power, man? They're animals!

Looks like some sort of secreted resin.
Yeah, but secreted from *what*?

First person to guess the movie these lines are drawn from gets an invite to open their very own facebook account to spend all their time with and our mutual respect.

humans are not as evolved as sharks. sharks lose teeth, then grow new ones. no root canal needed. thousands of dollars saved.

If you forget how sharks got their fearsome reputation, this is just a gentle reminder. It's their teeth.

Just a quiet table for two please waiter. The dinosaur won't be eating tonight. Just me.

The biggest Sting Ray in the house does a fly by.

Don't let your fingers dangle in the water of the main aquarium at Oceanworld in Manly.

Enjoy the song below.

In the red corner, coming in at 2400 Watts, a brand new Ceramic Heater at $300 and only two weeks old.

vs.

In the blue corner, Sydney, 3 degrees at night, poorly insulated beach shack.

Winner - Sydney.

This new heater simply buckled under the pressure, malfunctioned and died. It has had to be returned to the store whilst Sydney and its Southerly Winds quietly chuckle to themselves.

Headline of course has been borrowed from The Clash. To enjoy the original song this Friday, click play below.

This is a cool little boook which allows you to read 'This Little Piggy' whilst wiggling your fingers (no, not that type of wiggling).

Photo Crash Course
How to tell that the excitables did not take a photo which features on this blog.
1) It actually looks good
2) Part of the photo is properly 'in focus'
3) There is a little piece of text underneath which says 'uploaded by potsy' or someone else.
Another great photo by Pete.

If you ask Indi to finish something on her plate before she goes off to do something else, you will either get:
a) 'no' and the plate pushed away
b) she will pick up the whole lot and shove it in her mouth

We prefer option b) when she shoves the whole lot in her mouth as it shows she is pretty clever and knows how to what she wants. More importantly it is funny to watch as she tries to masticate. yep... the word of the day is masticate...look it up.

New suburb means exploring new places to eat. At the clockwork cafe they can put the baby-cino into a small takeaway cup so that mum and dad excitable don't need to use a spoon to get the goodness out. genius. Another great photo, this time by Lara.

Indigo loves to hide and surprise. She will get into a nice spot, crouch, then jump up with a big 'Boo' with a huge grin. It is truly something you never get tired of.

Here is an example of how good your life would look if you had a professional photographer following you around all day.

Being out with your parents in the lounge room at night with the lights on, sometimes you just need a little help to block out the glare and fall back asleep.

Indi is getting great at jobs. Here she helps put the fins in to Dad's new board. You will notice she is actually doing it. She has the fin key and she is right in the hole. Amazing.

An excitable was famously greeted by a class mate on the soccer field at Newrybar primary school on his first day in Grade 5 with an arm thrown round his shoulder and the line...'My last name is Hornery, but you can call me Hornet...'

I am sure Indi is thinking of her own cool nickname right now as she checks out her brother in more detail.

There will be a lot of home time over the next few months as Miller gets his strength up to fight the icy westerly winds of winter.

Miller has cool sheets. Really cool sheets. Heaps cooler than the sheets on our bed. Note to those who want to feel young again. Get cool sheets.

First photo of Min's snail and Miller. No explanation needed, Miller's face says it all.

Thursday was a good day.
1. Picked up Miller and P from the Hospital and Miller showed us both how much he loves a good bath.
2. Enjoyed some eggs and coffee at McMahon's Point.
3. Went and spent an hour checking the surf at the bower whilst the little lad scored some food.

On the way home from the hospital, the boys stopped off for a surf-check at the Bower as there were rumours of a groundswell. P came along to provide the drinks.

I managed to score three great photos and I wasn't even trying, the surf was that good.

Miller was the toughest kid in the nursery. Of course that claim was never tested in a scuffle because no-one tried after seeing the thickness of this bicep. Any mischief and he would just raise his right gun and things would quiten down.

Miller getting ready for the trip home in his cool Tigger outfit + beanie.

Miller jumps in to his baby capsule in the Land Rover and heads for home.

When P was bathing Miller, one of the Excitables found a blank whiteboard in the nursery so decided to help the kids out with a little crash course for leaving the hospital.

Thankyou North Shore Private Hospital for making our experience one to remember. Here we are on the final night of P's stay where they provide a little dinner and champagne before you go home.

Check out the nice shirt. All you Bondi casuals and your T-Shirts for dinner don't know anything about looking nice when the clock turns 7pm.

Before Miller left the hospital today, he needed a little bath. The man loves it, he was so happy in the water.

At our wedding we had our good friend Bill Jackson perform a song or two. This week Bill has been profiled on a US website sonicbirds. Look for this image to see his film clip if you are keen for some good music.

as I said earlier, make friends who can shoot...here is a great photo by lara. i will post the news footage which we are reviewing in this photo another day but we asked the right guy to tape it...it came to us one day later on a DVD, edited and with its own custom menu and miller theme. thanks pete!

The first official family of four shot is a bit of a shocker but will have to do. Some of us are starting to show signs of tiredness...yep...the two adults. Awesome work on Miller's part to be awake and not blinking in the photo...keeping a firm gaze on mum, who will most important person in his life for the next little while.

July 7 also saw us secure a significant have a family heirloom. The mother of our two children still found time to buy this excitable a cool new board to celebrate the birth of his first son. The only condition - that he hand it down to the next surfer in the family. will do.

Indi reaching out to her brother to say hello.

We are all adjusting to a new life in the family which means getting your few minutes alone with the baby and getting all deep and serious.

If you ever get a chance to meet people who are good at taking photographs, hang on to them and never let them go...when you are not watching they sneak up and score great shots like this one.

Pete has pun some photoshop magic on the Russian Doll photo...

Miller has already fed a few times and now is taking a good nap to round out his first 12 hours on Earth.

The two current members of the Monday to Friday daytime squad get a new member and complete their introductions.

We thought if we twisted his middle that there might be another slightly smaller version of the same baby inside.

This is one hefty lad we have here. 3.96 kgs and good thick legs. We liked what we saw so we asked for some name tags so no-one else could take him.

It was a chilly day outside but Miller came out at just the right temperature.

Some of our last moments as a family of three.

It's true, you don't need a licence to be a parent. Thank goodness, two clear failures about to head in for baby #2.

Welcome to the world, Miller East Craig.

So where does the name come from?

1. Sounds cool.
2. We were married at Miller’s point
3. For all the great times and waves we are going to share on the east coast of australia.

P is doing great, handling it with an experienced charm. And what else can we say about Miller other than he is a blessing.

Try moving house with this hanging off your front. Not easy.

At Nth Sydney pool, it is fast lane only for our little girl in her oversized wetsuit.