You've heard of Crazy John? Well I'm Perfect Peter. I was given that label by A Current Affair (ACA) a rather poor current affairs program on Australian TV. They called me that simply because I tried to hold my local council to account. Obviously implying that I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Well I don't hear my customers complaining ... as I believe in both 'value for money' and 'good service'. I personally evaluate and test all products (periodically) that are offered here and if they don't measure up, we refuse to sell them! Equally, we will test most products before they are shipped. Because, I know, there is nothing worse than receiving a product that doesn't work! AND, if a screwdriver (for opening the battery compartment) or batteries are needed - we include them! So much for that TV advertisement that says "Why are batteries never included?" In fact, with some products we include an extra set of batteries and, at the moment, even if batteries are not needed we include a FREE sample of Varta alkaline batteries on all orders over $100.

Hi, I'm Peter King the founder and manager of Procon Technology. I'm a qualified engineer with special qualifications in computer control. My interests are; electronics, computing, industrial control, PLC (Programmable Logic Control) and, of course, fischertechnik. Since starting business in 1984, Procon Technology has evolved from a specialized consulting business to a manufacturer of interface products and a distributor of robotic kits from fischertechnik. Now we also offer a range of unique products that represent value-for-money such as the Oregon Scientific weather stations and the Rezap battery charger. All of these items have been personally tested and are recommended by me. I take great pride in receiving positive feed-back from my customers. To see their comments - Click here.

Email of the year (2009): 'Re: $80 refund to credit card... Hi Peter, No need to apologise. I really appreciate your honesty and it's something I shall sing high and wide. Darren, Australia

I Like: GOOD QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT WORK!, Wii tennis, bike riding, rollerblading, skiing, fischertechnik, solving puzzles on computer, mathematics.

I Dislike: FAULTY PRODUCTS, waiting in queues, bank fees, speed cameras, poor service, unsafe building sites.

My favourite YouTube video? But I could be biased... I like this video called 'Ballons' entered into the youth section of the Australia Post 200 seconds short film competition. The use of red balloons reminds me of the notable French films 'Le Ballon rouge' (The red balloon) by Albert Lamorisse in 1956 and, ‘Le voyage du ballon rouge’ (The flight of the red balloon) by Hou Hsiao-Hsien in 2008.

Or go to the "Australia Post - 200 years" website to watch 'Ballons' and other entries - click here

To watch another great video by the same team called Love Story in Japan: "Koi monogatari" - click here
To watch a funny sequel to 'Le Ballon rouge' see 'The revenge of the Red Balloon' - click here

My favourite internet radio station for comedy? BBC Radio 7 is fabulous for comedy and drama. What's more you can download and listen to any program that's been broadcast for up to 1 week using the BBC iPlayer. I normally go to the programme page to view all programs currently available (or available within 1 week). I love the comedies (old and new) such as Red Dwarf, Dad's Army, Dead Ringers, Doctor in the House, The Inimitable Jeeves, The Men from the Ministry etc. I also love the drama such as the Charles Dickens' classics such as; 'The Pickwick Papers' and 'A Tale of Two Cities' etc. and 'Doctor Who', 'The Phantom of the Opera', plus many others that come and go. To listen to a small sample click here.

For a sample of a segment on YouTube from 'The Now Show' on BBC radio click here. This is one of the funniest things I've heard for a long time and I call it Dr Seuss goes to Copenhagen!

My favourite internet radio station for music? Music Box Radio is my favourite, broadcasting in Paris, France and playing country music, including; country rock, some jazz and early Beatles songs and other songs from the 60's. I love the French versions of country or folk songs! Just a great mix of music with no ads and only a few interviews (in French). Peppered with happy and positive messages such as "You're gotta have a great day with Music Box Radio". Honestly, this radio station is like having a Juke Box in your computer! For other European radio stations go to www.listenlive.eu.

For live streaming of Music Box Radio to Windows Media Player - click here

My favourite music? I've been listening to Music Box Radio lately, on the internet and in the car! Favourite style of music - Australian NEW country music. Check out the Country Music Association of Australia website and the compilation CDs of the winners of the CMMA Country Music Awards of Australia (Golden Guitar Awards). My favourite country singers are: Melinda Schneider (The story of my life) and Sara Storer (Buffalo Bill).

My favourite musical? Les Misérables. The live performance is best, but the DVD is good if you're a real fan like me! Note, the DVD is a concert with a few clips from the theatre performance only. Also you will find that the Australian DVD (region 4) is NOT double sided like the US version - if you get the single sided disk you'll find the special features missing and all of the speeches missing at the end of the 10th anniversary concert performance! To understand the story behind Les Miserables, I recommend the French series starring Gerard Depardieu, which is 6 hours long and was shown on Australian television by the SBS network.
To see an exclusive clip of the musical - click here. For a clip of the French TV series - click here

My favourite books? I'm really into DVDs, internet radio and web-episodes at the moment - will update this as soon as I actually finish reading a book! Long ago I read 'The Joy Luck Club' by Amy Tan. I got the Cambridge University Press version when I was in Singapore (it's used as a school text). This version provides lots of explainations and some illustrations to assist you in understanding this Chinese-American story. Also read 'Wild Swans' by Jung Chang twice. For an easy read and for children, try: 'Chinese Cinderella' by Adeline Yen Mah. The adult version is called 'Falling Leaves'. I liked reading: 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' by Bill Bryson - this is 'Horrible Science' for adults - so good I couldn't put it down. Also like: 'The curious incident of the dog in the night time' by Mark Haddon. A great book for kids and an easy read for adults. Only one problem - it's too short!

My favorite special interest book? Numbers - the key to the universe by Kjartan Poskitt. This is a kids book but adults will like it also if you're interested in mathematics like me! Why don't you check out my new maths tricks and tips page?

My favourite movie? I love watching French movies at the moment. I just love there honesty... it's so refreshing!

My favourite TV program? 'Mythbusters' - the highest rating program on SBS TV. Best TV series 'House'.

My favourite radio stations? Stereo 97.4 on the FM band, currently playing a lot of country music but normally they play a wide variety of popular music between 9am and 6pm (Melbourne time) with very few advertisements and no smut! Also LightFM 89.9 is a Christian radio station and has, as they say - "good friends, great music and a message of hope". Note, these are community radio stations with low power output (their range is limited). Stereo 97.4 is located in the West of Melbourne and is difficult to receive in the East (extend your antenna and switch to mono) but you should be able to receive it in as far away as Geelong, whilst 89.9 LightFM is in the East of Melbourne but you should be able to receive it all over Melbourne. I'm afraid I listen to internet radio (see above) in the office and at home. In the car? I listen to CD's - I just hate those advertisements and end-less talk on radio these days!?!?!

My favourite website? Mine, of course: www.procontechnology.com.au. Other than that I don't really have a favourite, although I have to say that I'm beginning to like the Google search engine more and more (for searching both international and Australian websites). To get google wherever you are on the net and to stop all those annoying pop-ups I suggest you install the google toolbar - just click here.