KavaKoffee

Today I bought some takeaway coffee from KavaKoffee. Its this little booth on Adelaide street in the Broadway mall. Firstly, never buy coffee from them. I bought a flat white and it tasted like I was drinking warm milk. Not the wake up hit I was looking for... I bascily wanted to try it out becuase it was cheaper than SB, which I'm sure is very consistantly taste around the world, just like McDonalds... anyway, its expensive. Why, becuase it costs like $5 for a freaking medium... and most other places are giving this shit away for $3.30 (standard price here in Brisbane). So I figured how bad could it be. Freaking bad, I think I'm just gona have to stick with the Coffee Club, not only is it only $3.30 you know its gona taste good, just like their eat in coffee.

In summary dont visit KavaKoffee, its crap.

Word of the Month

OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Whilst doing the clean up, I found some more old records, these were all exclusicly 12" and were in much better condition then the crap I have been listening to. However they were all in Hindi, which means its going to be a very interesting couple of weeks.

Also bought a Thelonious Monk Record (its a double). Fianaly got the change to listen to it the whole way through today, each side is about 20 mins so x 4 thats 80mins... But it was pretty good. Not as much swing as Bassie or Duke, but still awesome, I think there is probably less instruments, as in its not a big band (obviously), so each instrument gets a turn, if that makes sense. It has piano so I'm happy.

Quarterly Clean Up

The quarterly tidy of the garage was done today. I would not ordinarly mind this, but since I had planned a completly different day, mow the lawn, go to the gym, read a book... I was a little annoyed that I couldn't get done what I had set out to do this morning. And I probably wont get to do any of it untill Wednesday... Turns out that a lot of the rubbish this time was empty boxes that I had collected thinking that we needed more so that we could organise our junk. Which is extreamly ironic.

Also today is the start of Kwanzaa, where you must celebrate your African-American herritage. Some say that this holiday was infact concuted by a newspaper to "de-whitise" christmas, or a black man in a prison on charges of tourturing two women in a cult (United Slaves (US)) he created. But who cares, Chirstmas was created by a company that sold cocaine in its drinks ... [at least we know what they were on] So lets just get on with the drinking and stuff.


Christmas 2005

Well that day we have all been waiting to get over with for the last 3 months has arrived and gone in much the same fasion as every year. And now we can get on with the real task of shopping and watching cricket.

Was interesting weather, as I was trying to have a bbq, with coal. And it started to rain... But I used my firebug instincts to make fire, and then cook the food. Which was tandoori chicken (better than dry turkey...).

Two Dollars

I just finished watching a movie that was not called Two Dollars. It was called Garden State. I got it out becuase:

  1. I had not seen it before
  2. I was only going to have to spend $1.95 to rent it out
  3. it looks reasonalby funny
  4. it had "award" labels on it
To cut a long story short. Do not hire out this movie. The whole movie you will hear a bunch of young "adults" talking as if they were 4 and a half. I think it was supposed to be a comedy, but I didnt laugh at anything, becuase none of it was funny. I did laugh at the end when it was over, as a sort of "I just ran past satan and got away with it" kinda laugh. Relief. Would be a better word.

I feel like I have been ripped off by the hype of Zaf Braf. I watch scrubs when its on becuase its funny. It makes me have laughter, but this movie was just really crap. It felt like the movie was being held back buy a giant boat anchor, and I know why. Becuase this movie is so crap it needs to be tied to the bottom of the ocean so that no one will ever have to bare the pain of having to waste, $2 and 90 mins of their life.

Voltron

I admit I have never watched any of the orginal Voltron. I watch transformers etc. I guess it never really made it to the UK back in the day. Anyway. I just got a newsletter from madman (they distribute these kinda DVD's here in Australia), it had a picture of Voltron. I realised for the first time that I have Voltron. Thats right I have atleast one vehicle voltron. I say one becuase I used to have 2 but I think I've lost a few vehicles... So I kinda have like 1.5 voltrons...

I wonder how much I would get for it.

"One Voltron + parts, great project robot $1,000,000 ono tel:0101011100110100010"

MP3 player died

About a week ago I lent my sister my mp3 player. That same day it died... It only had 3 days till its first birthday. I guess it was inevitable that one day it would die, becuase of its (or mine...) cheapness. Or more to the point I dont want to spend $400 on something portable, that if it got a scratch on it I would, in sympathy, cross the road...

So as I am a commuter (takes me an hour to get into town), I need a portable music device. I'm sure I could of got a very good tape player capable of lasting 20+years for the same money, but mp3's are so convenient and small etc...

So the quest for a new mp3 player began. My last mp3 player, also my first, took some thinking. especialy since I had just got my first real (I have responsibilities) type job. And hence some money. This time around, it was easier. My tape player is no longer around to compete with the mp3 player so it cuts out one option. Also having and using one previously means you know what was crap about the old one and can easily recognise good or bad design for a new one.

Obviously the most important feature of a flash based player is the price/Mb (and a screen...), appart from that I guess quality. Size isnt really an issue anymore as they are all freaking small. and an extra centimeter here or there isnt going to worry me. Mainly its the price. My max was $150, preferably with 512mb of space.

Firstly I checked the internet. Gamedude and bluetin. Its ok to check prices, but then you have travel/postage costs... and the fact that it takes ages for it to arrive... so fuck that. Next was JB Hifi, generealy cheapest for DVD/CD's and supposedly AV equipment, but never really had a chance to test this out. Untill now. They have a very good selection of MP3 players at reasonable prices, but nothing really cheap. And the one that was cheap was this LG (I fucking hate all LG products...) thing, which is a direct rip off of and iShuffle (how a large company like this can get away with it is anyones guess) it had no screen, again, how are you supposed to know whats playing or even search for a new track??? I admit, that flash players dont have that many songs, you can easily scroll through a few and be right back where you started... Plus my old MP3 player didnt have a search function, so the screen was basicly a waste of power... Maybe the screen just makes it look cooler (7 different colours....). I really think you need a screen on any thing 512 or . so 256 I would not care about a screen, as thats only 2 or 3 albums anyway. So at this stage the iShuffle is actually looking pretty sweet. Its cheap, reasonably solid and you can get a case for it, so its not going to die within a year. Basicly this time I wanted something cheap, but something that would last atleast 2 years.

The IpodNano became the bench mark because of how small it is, largeish capacity, colour screen and (going by other iPods) decent sound, and the price isnt too bad at 15cents/mb) [note: the 60 gig colour ipod is less than 1cent per meg...] Seriously though, I would'nt mind saving up for a couple of weeks and getting that if I couldnt find something cheaper.

After spending too much time there looking at the 200+cm rear projection TV they have there from about 30 cm away, I went for a walk to the department stores. Target and Kmart surprisingly had very little. They had your normal selection of ipods and one other one, that was $200 for a 512... After much disapointment I went to Big W. I knew they had DVD's but never looked at the electronic junk before. They actually had a large selection of protable audio. The first thing I saw (must of been fate) was the 1gig Sandisk mp3 player. I think the large "1" on the packet got me interested. The price. $138. Some would say that being an accountant may help in calculating things. But I did not even have to work it out. I knew it was pretty much the cheapest (ok, so I did work it out in my head, and its 13cents/mb, and the ipod nano was 15cents (the benchmark that I had set)). So it was infact cheaper then the default purchase. Plus I would only have to shell out $138. For some reason I didnt purchase it right away, I thought it must be too good to be true. So I went home, redid the calculations, and yes it in fact is freaking cheap. That evening I went back, broke into the store and got one... Just kidding. It was late night shopping.

I had another, closer look at the product I will eventually buy. Even if it was crappier I would of still bought it simply on price. And the fact that I now know these things dont last forever. It looked pretty good, and looked way better in terms of quality than my last stick of junk (sorry stick of junk: RIP). After purchasing I was very excited at the prospect of having double the space and the faster usb 2 (thank god).
Well its that time of the fortnight. And its not going to plan..... But hopefully seek will save the day... I have been working on my resume(s) etc for different jobs, so its not like I have been completly lazy, just busy to actually do the sending of them to the employers... So now I have just have to start sending them out.

Success in numbers...

Sled Draw

Over the past three weeks I have been working with the government on a project code named "Sled Draw".

Basicly its an old bookshel that I cut in half for some reason, and the remaining piece ceased being a bookshelf... So I put some semi circular wood on the back (I think its moulding/skirting type stuff) in tow rows, thereby making a sled, which I can slide in and out from under my bed. And the shelf space is perfect for a pair of shoes. ATM though there are no shoes in there, but the large collection of empty plastic bottles that has accumulated under my bed.

So I have successfully used some old stuff and re-used it. I think this is the second stage of recycling (might be the first, but I think the first one doesnt allow modifications and its just reusing in the current form, where new materials arent..... blah blah...)

Thats enough green stuff for this week, next week, I will discuss the benefits of destroying stuff.

Blanket be gone

Today marks the annual removal of the "blanket". I'm surprised at how long it has taken, but I have decided for my own health to get rid of the second layer of bedding. Mainly because its too hot at night, and around 35 degrees during the day... I know I'm going to miss the weight, but it cant be helped, maybe if they can make a blanket thats heavy and is cool.

I would buy one.

Akio Suzuki

On saturday I went to go see Akio at the powerhouse. Because public transport is so advanced in Brisbane it only took me 3 hours (this is not a joke, I left at 4:15 and got there at 7:30, so in actual fact it took 3 hours in 15 mins, but whos counting...). Considering how hot and muggy it was today, it was actually not a bad night (not too cold, not too hot). Anyway, getting there was the easy part. Waiting 30 mins at the powerhouse was not...

See there was this show called "Dances of the World" and it there was an intermission, and a lot of children running around. It was crazy. So in the interests of my own personal saftey (and some other peoples...) I took a walk around, and found the "Notice" sign. If you have not seen this sign, I strongly suggest you hop on a CityCat and go find it. Its at the powerhouse, somewhere. If you find it and have a camera with you take a picture for me. Thanks. Its worth going just for the sign.

While at New Farm I noticed a lot of drunken people drinking on the lawn. Now I respect people's choice to drink etc and dont want to spoil the cool deal that New Farm has with whoever they neeed to have a deal with. But how is this different to other people drinking in parks.... As long as people don't do anything stupid then it should be ok. I agree. But as far as danger goes, New Farm is probably the most dangerous place to be drinking as its next to a RIVER. With no rails to stop you from falling in... Anyway I can't be bothered writting about this as theres no point. Or rather I have made my point and don't need to keep explaining it futher.

Back to the main reason for going to this part of town... Akio Suzuki. So eventualy we get to go in. Initialy there wasnt very many people, but eventually it filled up about 1/3 of the theater so I guess thats a few (4 x 20 x 2 = 160). I would say about 100 people, so thats a lot. More than I would figure there would be. Before the main attraction (Akio), there was a video presentation form some Americans living in Berlin. There was these two TV's with two different things showing at the same time. Basicly it was the same room filmed during the day and at night. And for 25 mins we watch two people opening and closing windows. The one at night started off with them walking very slowly and doing things slowly, by the end of the tape there were going fast (running). In the day film it started with them running, and then slowing down... Remeber there were both shown at the same time, so it was kinda weird, but a waste of tape at the same time.... As they were trying to "explore the urban sound scape" and the effect that windows have in blocking that sound..... It was stupid to say the least.

Then came Akio. He was awesome. The his first set was called "newspaper", which bascily consisted of him tearing paper. Even though this was a step up from what I had just witnessed, I was thinking I had just wasted 4 hours of my life... By the end of it, this was not what I was thinking. I don't know what it was, but near the end I think I started to understand what he was on about.

The second set was and instrument he had made. Which was sort of like an adult version of the "paper cup walkie talkie". But the insane sounds that came out was just amazing. And because there was two cups it had some weird stereo effect. I cant really explain the sounds, but just imagine you were the ocean and there was a whale inside of you that could play a musical instrument.

The third set was with the use of another homebrew instrument, after getting a closer look, it was some glass tubes. Again, the number of different sounds that came out of this one thing is a credit to his genius.

The last set saw him use two rocks. I did not even know rocks could make that kind of sound. I have increased respect for pebbels now. Some how made them sound like a scicada and some other cool stuff.

Overall it was an awesome audiable experiance (I can't get underline to work, but if I could "experiance" would be underlined).
Why is there no entertainment on Sundays. No online comics update on Sundays. Whats the deal with that? Its probably the most boring day of the entire week, and there are no new comics to read...

Talking slowly has reoccured it's slowness... why, why and why?
The past week has not been fun. Being sick is not fun. Not being able to go to work to earn money to buy stuff is not fun. Ok, well its not that bad, getting to stay at home for a week was pretty sweet. Kinda like the last few weeks.... except that I was sick, and unable to do anything. Hasnt help my sleep cycle either, as its been quite hard to get to sleep, when you're coughing up your lungs. So you end up getting up at 2pm... and then spend the rest of the day preparing to go back to bed again...



For about the past 3 months I have been delving into the world of personal efficiency. I guess I've always been quite organised... but this has been something quite different. And seems to have quite a large following. The main thing that I know my system lacks is conformity, consistency and trustrworthyness. The last one being the most important. Almost always, I would create a new system for every new situation, which means I do not trust the current system in place, therefore it needs to be replaced with something new to be made for that unique situation (bespoke). I know this is worng, but I do it anyway. So as I always do, I try and find a turn key solution and copy it. Presenting GTD or Get Things Done. This came to me not because I was looking to be more organised, but because I procrastinate. A lot....

So I found it while trying to find ways how not to procrastinate. I'm not sure why, but its actually taking a long time to gather all the information I need to make the system work. One of the things that I like about it, is that someone has taken the time write this stuff down on paper, think about it and make the whole thing make sense. Rather than the ad hoc approach of my efforts...

The point of this story, is that I wanted to by the book (of the same name). Which I thought would be about $30, which seems like a normal price of these types of books. And with amazon retailing it at $9.95 I figured that's a good figure to save for. So today I went to the book shop to buy this book, but sadly they didn't have it. I'm gona try borders on Monday and if they don't have it, then I guess the internet is my last resort. My complaint is that its weird that a popular book such as this is not at the book store. I find that weird.

Sounds Sweet

I bought a new sound card on Thursday becuase the old one stoped working after I reinstalled everything. It was a shit $20 one, so good riddens. The new one is so awesome I cant even belive I put up with the shit that I did. Presenting the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Value.

  • It plays DVD-Audio (I pee'd a bit when listening to it for the first time)
  • Dolby Digital EX (for DVD's)
  • 7.1 surround sound (I only have 2 atm...)
  • Digital Output (weeeeee)
The installation was pretty easy, just plug it in and run the software on the CD. Restart. Hey presto we have sound. its probably twice as big as the old card and doesnt have the old school game port... And it's black. The board is black, it looks pretty amazing. I would of liked to get the ZS (the next model up), but that was over my budget, but I would of got DTS, THX and gold plated connections.... Firstly I don't have and dont plan on getting THX speakers for my computer, secondy DTS may be technicly better, but I'm unlikely to hear the difference sitting next to my computer, which I like to call windy........ Gold connection would of been nice, considering I had to fork out $90 for the damn thing. It was worth it though.

The first thing I played was the DVD-Audio sample disc that came with it. The sweet awesomness that followed is hard to describe, its basicly a case of, no one can be told what it sounds like, you have to experiance for your self.... especialy since I mainly listen to mpthrees.

Over all everything sounds better, I can crank the fuck out of my speakers now and I get no distortion. Previously I thought it was the speakers topping out. But no, its the sound card was crap. Now I have no fear in turning it up. Games sound better, the "stereo" is just more distinct. Also there seem to be more notes in everything. Especialy down bellow and at the top. Espeicaly the bottom end, so many more notes. I thought the step up to a decent set of speakers made a huge difference, but now its just so much more complete. More variations....

Overall the sound card as it says, is good value. The main reason, is that you can play Dolby Digital and have a decent number of outputs for that 5.1 setup I intend on now buying. Plus you can play DVD-Audio. Not that I have any, but I'm sure in 5 years time this machine will still be going, probably as somekinda media center pc. Another thing is that there is less usage of the CPU now. Which means things are running faster because most the sound processing is done on the sound card unlike crapcard.

I dont think I will ever change from soundblasters ever again. My first sound card was a sound blaster. And for somereason I reasoned that a cheap sound card for this puter would be ok. Clearly it wasnt. But I was able to upgrade.

Blogging is hard work

I spend a bit of time on D-news, but in doing so I neglect the other sites. Which was not the purpose of spliting everything up. So tomorrow I will work on something cool for the other sites. This is espeicaly important as D-news is just recycling news already available... Again supposedly not the sold purpose of D-news, but this is what it has become.

Maybe because the camera is broken its hard to put up pictures, which for me would be 'easy' content. Something like drawing or the podcast is actually very hard.
Today the bus driver took some weird long way around the city, not sure why but he kinda overshot the turn and had to just go straight, so we ended up near central station... Its actually a nicer route in terms of better/cleaner buildings.

Hot Hot Hot

Today is nice and toasty, just the way I like it.

Had to go deliver some stuff on the northside today, which meant that we get to use the gateway bridge. Its now $2.40 each way, and somtimes you wonder if its worth it... I guess it cuts out an extra hour's worth of driving.

Anyway, I had to dodge one car which decided to stop on the side of the road. Another which was actually on the bridge, which took some manuvering considering the speed of some cars in the other 2 lanes. It was probably more becuase I didn't see it untill after the car in front of me had swearved out of the way, which was actually a really old limo with gliter and other decorative stuff glued to it, trying to entice you to vote for an Australian Idol contestant (dont know and dont care which one). And then on the way back coming into the old cleveland road exit someone decides to pull off the motorway just before the off ramp... again going at 100km/hr and having to break suddenly is NOT something you want to be doing when my mum is in the car as she screams. And for that breif moment you feel utterly depressed.

Other than that the trip was a perfect sucess.
Fridge

Fridge

Fridge

Fridge Magnet

Fridge Bucket

Fudge Bucket

Fucking Cunt Shit Fuck

Click Click Click

Correct: I am no longer 18 and I certainly don't have any bullets

But After I guess a week or so of depressing depression etc and just general moping around the house with nothing better to do, I have gone insane. I thought it would take longer, but luckily it happened sooner...

I believe it is time to eat a carrot.

Did you that rolling batteries in your hand is dangerous. I was doing this and it zapped me! I was shocked (thank me later...), not just literally but the fact that it did. I mean I wasn't touching both ends, and even if you do you don't get a shock, so I find this a bit weird. Now this has put me off handling batteries without some kinda protection. I guess rubber gloves would be a good choice, as they don't conduct electricity, but since I don't have any, I'm going to have to use garden variety (literally) leather gloves, which should also work in the same way.

Format

Its done. Something that I have waited to do for a year now. Format my Hard drive. And despite it taking 2 days (and counting...) it is/was worth it. Not only have I made the computer run smoother. I have reclaimed 25 gigs of wasted space. Thats right folks 25 big ones.

So that may not be entirely true as I still have about 6 gigs of personal files left to load back, which will put me just under 20. But that still means I have 30 gigs of free space... Which for me is amazing.

I thought it was time for a new hard drive, and still probably is, but now I can wait and save up a bit more for a bigger hard drive. However my sound card does not seem to work. So I do need to buy a new one of those ASAP! having to use my MP3 player for music isnt the best, as it sounds like crap on these speakers. It probably sounds crap on my headphones as well, but sitting on a bus you kinda dont care (it doesnt matter). This sound card only cost me $20, so I'm not exactly crying over its demise. Rather looking forward to some better sound quality. Especialy when watching DVD's, playing games and of course listening to music.

While I've been downloading drivers for various crap... I've been shopping around. Basicly I dont want to spend over $100. As the top end ones, which lots of shiney gold, THX, Firewire, Optical and DTS are in excess of $300. I have found 1 card thats in the $100 to $200, but considering its main purpose is going to be playing mp3's I doubt it will matter too much. However I dont want another crap sound card that:

  1. Sounds Like crap
  2. Breaks
  3. Has no Drivers
  4. Has no Drivers on the CD that work
  5. Is so crap the Internet doesnt even have Drivers
  6. [Generic Drivers for windows dont work for me for some reason]
  7. Is a burden on the CPU
  8. Sounds like crap
The format went relativly smoothly and from format to windows login was only 4 hours. I am not planning on Building a couple of disks with all the good stuff on them, so that I can get this kinda thing done withing a day.

Expensive Sub

On the trip to Toowomba we stoped at subway to get something to eat for bruch. Little did I know subway had increased their prices...

Consequently I have a $30 reference fee that my bank has charged me becuase of the declined transaction, as I didn't have enough money in my account to pay...

I plan on getting my money back... By sending them a strongly worded letter.

It's All Over

I have officialy had my last exam. On saturday. Financial Accounting Issues. Theres a lot to blog about so be prepared for the next 2 weeks... I feel excited to be able to finnaly wirte all of this down. Where to being no one knows... Maybe I should let the dice decide... (j/k (or did the dice tell me to lie?)) That and more...

Well firstly I feel sad. I feel sad that I will no longer be going to QUT. And only now do I realise how much of an awesome university it was. And I will miss it. Hopefully in the future I can vist it in doing my other studies. I guess when you to a place for a long period of time you get used to its surroundings. QUT is pretty easy to get used to, with the botanical gardens, south bank, goodwill bridge, city within 6 mins walk, hot women etc... Knowing people you dont know...

Most people are happy to leave. And no its not that I'm afraid to get a job, I already have a job remember, so its not like I'm adverse to working. In fact that would be great. Anyone who needs a graduate accoutant just send me an email to beancountingATgmail.com

Its a routine you get into. Catch a certain bus. Have a particular route mapped out for different times of the day so as not to get sunned on. If its raining you know where to get shelter. Where the cheapest coffee is located. Now I'm just going to be at home. Home is pretty comfy but, I prefer to be outside. Doing stuff. Being at home means you're either sick and lying in bed or are unemployed (possible a sickness as well). I've been at home for 4 days and I feel depressed. Maybe its the sadness of finishing something. I thought I would feel much happier. Considering all the sleep deprivation suffered. If I pass my subjects I guess thats when I will get closure.

Farewell

2000

OK. I'm technicly I'm half way, but really I'm only about a quater of the way through.

Which really sucks, becuase I have a headache and am really tired, and am not really looking forward to this evening. The night is young and I know once I get a few definitions through it will all start flowing
Ok, Well the FAI assignment is coming along well. Or as well as it can go. I am freaking tired. Last night the Hive rocked, but more on that another time...

I am coming to end of the assignment, but as it turns out most of my writting is all over the place so its gona take a bit of sorting out to get it to be more coherant etc. But Part 3, is actaully sort of well done. So I only need to finish that off. There are a few problems in terms of consistancy, sometimes making stuff up and reality clash, its a problem but I'm dealing with it

Day Three

FAI assignment is due tomorrow along with Tax planning... All is not well as the group seems not to know what to do. And no one seems to be doing any work...

As long as I can finish my part I will be at least guilt free enough to finnish my TP work.

Its also bad that we are over the page limit for the FAI assignment and we havent even finished...

Scary

Scary thing just happend to me. I normaly use the B Block coming labs becasue there are normaly machines actually available.. But because my lecuture is in Z block I decided to use the Z block labs. When I went to use my usb drive, it recognised it, but then went to NOT RESPONDING when I was trying to open my ASSIGNMENT!

AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

Suffice to say I was not pleased. I tried backing up the files but the usb kept dieing (going offline) Which ment files could not be transfered. Eventualy I just ran out of time and had to goto the lecutre, and just blamed the machines. Even though the machines are all the freaking same. Except for the mouse and keyboard. The B block mice and keyboard are much better (the KB they use in 24...)

However, I am back in the comfort of B block and all is well.


1823

This is just like in Quake when you try and rack up as many frags a possible.

But once you reach 10,000 its not really the same.

I guess the next target is really 100,000. But that would take ages... I mean if you think a game can last 5 mins for 20 kills. = 5000 games = 25,000 minuites, now I need a calculator to work out how many hours, but I'm pretty sure its a lot

416.66

= 17.36 days of continuous game play...


1700

I am now getting ever so close the magical 2000 words. Which should signify half way, but as I am working through this assignment its looking like 4000 word minimum really is a minimum.... I mean I'm barely into any of the technical stuff. Ok, so I know I can cut down some stuff. But considering 4000 is now not my target but something more arbitary, its actually kinda scary.

Boy is it cold in the computer labs today... and I'm wearing 2 layers of clothes (tshirt+shirt) which I like to call T-Shirt^2 [you know what I'm tring to say].

I've also been updating D-oodle and D-Postcard. So If you want to look at something rather than read, then head over there.

I will continue to ramble until Thursday evening when I will mentaly and physicly breakdown... Hopefully all that I will need is a nap. Could do with a nap right now actually...

I actually feel hungry, so I may go an get something to eat. Lecture is at 6. I dont suspect it will go for much longer than a half hour. so if I do wait I will have to wait till 7pm till I eat.

hmmm....


I don't think I can actually wait that long. I will go and get something to eat at 5:00pm NEAR THE BRIDGE {the secret code will be: cuecumber sandwich}


yeah, food, need, food, good,,,
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1400

Wow. I'm on fire.


arrgh


help



hmm I've written about 300 words in 30 Min's.

I think that's pretty good. Considering I had to go to the loo. And of course I didn't go to the student one, but rather the 'special' clean one...

I have no idea why, but the clean toilets have about 7 cubicles and the dirty toilet has 2 and no urinal. That's right its like the girls toilet only with pee on the seats.


3 hours until my Company law "review" lecture, Which I have a feeling will only go for about 30 Min's... Which is not an entirely bad thing as I will then get some extra time to get over to The Hives gig and get some more of my assignment done. I guess my main focus for today really is the Tax planning assignment. So, that means I will have to spend most of tomorrow doing the financial accounting issues assignment.

hmmm, interesting... Looks like the choice has been made for me. Which means the more I get done now, the less I will have to do Thursday early early morning... I have a total of 3 hours at uni worth of breaks, so that time can be used filling in the reference's. And just tidying up the grammar.

[1150]
1111

I like that number, it means I have done some work in that past half hour and not just looking at online comics...

At a time like this wasting time should not be available, but its actually easier to procrastinate when you're under more stress/have deadlines. I dont know why... May I just dont care/have given up all hope finishing my assignments.


Oh dear..............................................................
Most of the stuff I have written is mainly general crap. So I don't think the 4000 word limit will really mean that much. But I think my estimation of me requiring 12 hours to do the assignment is a good one. I mean the GST assignment took me 18 hours straight to do it. Not forgetting I have another very large assignment due on the same day, so its not something I can do. Plus I don't want to get sick etc form having no sleep deprivation.
Ok I can't be botherd to check how many "good" words there are as I can worry about that later... but right now I have passed the physcological 1000 word barrier. Technicly I am a quater of the way there. Which means if I were to see how long it took me to do a quater and apply that to the remaining 3 quaters of time it will take me, I would not be in a good position. I spent 1 hour writting the summary and spent 2 hours writting some stuff on saturday, plus say 1 hour of actual work time doing an extra 300 words... So in total it has taken me 4 hours.... hmmm thats not too bad I suppose. But 4 x 3 is 12 hours. Which is something I dont really have... Hopefully I can get upto 2000 words today, and then start praying tomorrow.
I really feel like a nap. Which is the reason I couldn't concentrate right now on technical stuff. Which is why I'm not really into the assignment and just getting it done. Which I know I can, and probably should do.

I've just notice the gmail compose screen is actually quite large, and just stretches across the screen. So if you had a massive 21" LCD screen it would be really big.... Most email clients have a fixed width. Maybe this has word wrap or something. Or maybe I need to adjust the size in the settings.

That lasagna I ate for lunch isn't exactly helping me stay awake...
Its now 1:50pm and I have just finished my final tutorial for taxation of business entites. I only managed to do one question, And it was wrong... Very depressing.... Anyway. I have my 9.5% so I'm not too worried. So I'm thinking I need to do the tutorial homework for Tax Planning on Thursday. I could do that now I guess... I'm working on my assignment atm, as in its actually open in the back ground. And its kinda working. Now I have about 900 words but about 250 is my summary/breakdown of the task which I wont include... So I really only have 660 words. As small as that may seem its actually better than 250 words. And has actually increased by 150 words in 3 hours. So I'm going ok. Not much technical discussion as yet, which I can pad out with legal mumbo jumbo... I've decided not to leave the computer untill I have 1000 words. So I have a bit to go, not sure if that includes my summary though... 

Could include it, which means I only have 100 to go.

Three Day Forecast

Boy am I tired. And no I didn't just get up... And to think I'm probably gona be up pretty late tonight [re: The Hives]. I haven't done my homework, which I am ashamed of because I know she wont collect this week, as she has already collected 5 from me. Thursdays class I am not sure about... so I will go and see here at consultation to check. Why I blog at uni is beyond me. I think today is because I have 20 Min's till the tutorial and don't really want to start on the assignment. I have started the assignment. I am about 500 decent words, but the assignment has a minimum of 4000 words, so I have a fare bit to go. Additionally I have the financial accounting issues assignment due on the same day. We have a meeting organised for tomorrow. Which means I have to do some work on that by tomorrow as well.... Lots to do and so little time. I think by Thursday I will be very sleepy, which wont be good considering all the work that needs to be done by then and the fact that I will need to be working on these assignments to finish them by the allocated time ON Thursday. Wednesday is going to be interesting and a lot will depend on what I have done on my Tax planning assignment. I have a 4 hour break in which to do stuff, and it does not have to be exclusively for tax planning. I think if I'm going to get FAI assignment done on time I have to finish part 2 by tomorrow lunch time. Which means I will most likely have to work through the Wednesday night to get the tax planning assignment done for Thursday. Since I have a meeting tomorrow, I know I will be spending/have time to finish off part 3 and we also have to finish off part 1.... If that assignment can be finished by dinner time I will at least have the rest of the night and a few hours the next day to finish of the tax planning assignment. I guess I'm not sure what to do. Of course any work that I do now/today is going to help. I'm just trying to work out what will result in the most efficient use of time.

Pearl Tea

Today I tried taro flavoured milk tea with pearls in it. Pearls are the little black ball thingys at the bottom. They are quite weird and are pretty much an acquired tasete. They didnt taste bad, its just that there was so many of them... They basicly have 2 layers of texture, the first layer is almost like jelly and is very soft. The inner layer (the center) is chewy. The milk tea part was basicly like a milkshake. I think if they cut down on the pearls it would be just right.

They also have an extrealy large number of flavours and variations and add in's which cost $0.30.

In conclusion Milk tea is pretty good, especialy as a variation to the normal choice available (chocolate or iced coffee...).

Note: Apparently the asian tea place next to starbucks is crap (its too bright) and the one next to footlocker in the myer center is also crap (Australian people work there). The one that I went to was next to the pen shoppee (yes, its actually spelt like that) and there are actual seats inside. Which is always nice if you don't like to drink milk in the blazing heat... The only bad point is that the chinese menu is actually different to the english version... scary...

Bus 2000

Today I got to ride on the new bus that Connex has bought. Not the "School Bus" I've already sat on that. That's the one with the unique 'three seater" for school kids... If you ask me its just making everyone else having to put up with uncomfortable seats. You have to put the seat belts otherwise the buckle digs into your back...

Anyway, this new bus is extra special. Not only do you hit your head when getting up, and this is me, hitting my head, and I'm short. Not midget short, but shorter than "average"... Its very bright and they have decided to colour it a baby blue, which will hurt your eyes.

But the big feature. The WOW! Factor comes from the voice over. That's right this bus has voice over. Just like on the train. Only more annoying. Examples:

"Doors opening. Stand clear please" - My english isn't that good, but for some reason this sentence sounds wrong...

"Doors closing. Stand clear please"

or the my favorite

"Next stop requested"

that's right "Next stop requested"... Not a simple bell or tone when you press the stop button, but a "Next stop requested" - WHY?

Also when we were on old Cleveland road near Chandler it said "System Failure".... WTF? I am not joking. This was very scary. I know everyone laughed when this happened, but I'm sure if there was any other signs of physical danger (as in the bus stopped what it was currently doing) there may of been a different response.

By the end of the trip I half expected the bus to transform and rescue a cat, have a philosophical epiphany while fending off the Decepticons....

Portable FireFox

I am currently using Portable FireFox. And I must say

ITS FRIKING AMAZING!


Having all your bookmarks available is so awesome I can hardly believe I coped without it. I get so much more work done as well. Time is important when you're at uni because you may have buses to catch etc. But if you have the link saved, you don't have to look up google, search for it etc... Just amazing

I recommend everyone download a copy and start using it. Where ever you go you can enjoy the FireFox setup you like. Extensions, skins and password saves apparently also work.

[ Portable FireFox ]
I have also signed my self up to go down to Toowoomba Saturday week. For Jonathans Birthday. Which will be fun. A nice change of scenary. So I guess thats day crossed out. So I'm currently down 2 days. Plus about 3 days for work. But I think I will skip work next week and just go in on the Friday after I've finnished all my assignments.

Seems like a good plan atm. Will see once I put it into the D-HIPSTER8000PDA

The Hive

I have just come back from buying my Hives ticket. Whoo! Should be awesome. I was suprised it was not sold out already. Maybe I was hoping that it would be... Mainly because I have three assignments due that week. I have one due on the Tuesday, so I will have atleast one out of the way. Will need to do well with the others as I've not going to have too much time to do anything.... Dont want to fail... Basicly everything needs to be done by the Monday. So that all I have left to do is format, check the calculations and spelling etc. If not it might be $60 wasted... As I will have to stay home and finnish my homework....

It starts at 8, and I will probably get home about 1 so Its not like I lost a huge amount of time. I mean by that stage I wouldn't be able to do much anyway. Not a huge loss. But if I do need to stay back I will. No point in fucking up an entire semester just to see the Hives, I mean they are good, but not good enough for me to stuff up my career...
My three hour break has been extended to four hours today because the lectuer is in Toowoomba for the day. So we're going to have a combined lecture tutorial, which will be fund. Considering most of the time we finnish by 7pm... So the people that have the tutorial before hand will want to finnish early, the people that are in the tutroail after the lecture wont care. And becuase there are so many people, theres going to be more questions.

I havent even bothered to do the questions this week... I've had the time to atleast look at it. But I dont think its gona matter that much... I will do it later in the week.

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Today I bought a single hole puncher (pliers type). So I can start making some HipsterPDA's. Its gona be awsome when I have everything together. ATM I only have the clip and system cards plus a pocket mod (plus spares...). But Its getting kinda bulky now

I mean I have 3 diaries. Work, Uni, normal. So I've been trying to use only the normal one for everything, and just copy and work related stuff that may need to be in the work one for archiving of the information.

And then I have my notebook journal and arty journal. Its not very arty but I like the paper and its plain so its easier to draw and then scan it in...
I like assignments. There's always something to do. But its still a little stressful, with so much work that needs to be done. If only the same energy was available during the semester I probably wouldn't be in this mess...

The Magician

Today I saw The Magician. Its an Australian mockumentary about a hitman. There was nine people in the cinema but I can assure you that it was a much better movie than that. Was apparently made on a budget of $3000, but in the movie the guy says the camera cost 5k... (but by looking at the quality its not likely...).

It was a really funny movie, with a lot of crossed over stories. To clarify, the stories (the hits if you will) don't interconnect or meet or cross paths, its just the movie is edited that the stories run parallel to each other. And best of all it didn't suck.

I'm not sure how much is copied off man bites dog. As I haven't seen it yet. But on first viewing its very original (except maybe the concept...)

I give it 7D out of 10.
I'm on my mid semester break now.

Whoo!

Tis awesome I know. Friday I didn't do much expect bum around the house. Which was enjoyable knowing I didn't have to do any homework. Today was similar only I went to go see Wallace and Gromet movie - The Curse of the Ware Rabbit.

It feels like I already have mental atrophy and the holidays are only 2 days old... Sniff.

The movie was really cool. I think they may have introduced some CGI but you cant tell. And most of the movie is still clay animation. I don't want to give too much away, but it seems to me that Wallace just gets stupider and stupider in each of the movies. Tomorrow I plan on seeing Willy Wonker. It seems like a lot of kids movies. But there isn't much else on... Even at the dendy. Quite sad.

Maybe I should just get a video out. But that always takes too long so its just easier to see movies at the cinema because you don't get as much choice.

To combat boredom I plan on breaking some kind of record. Buy creating 1000 new posts in one week. I'm not sure if that is humanly possible But I think its worth a try. 100 posts per day will get me 700. But 700 isn't as cool a number as 1000. So Just for reference the current number 1204 . Or I could do something constructive and non crap and boring. Like build a kite that flies. Or catch up on all the homework I've not been doing over the semester. Or try to continue with D-Radio... So many scary possibilities. Or I could just go with the flow. and do whatever it is at the time instead of trying to force plan it.

The Long Tail

The long tail is the colloquial name given to a long-known feature of statistical distributions (Zipf, Power laws, Pareto distributions and/or Levy distributions ). They are also known as "heavy tails", "power-law tails" or "Pareto tails". Such distributions can be visualized by the image of the graph on this page. In these distributions a vast population of events occur very rarely in the yellow (or more generally have low amplitude on some scale, e.g., popularity or sales) while a small population of events occur very often in the red (or have high amplitude). The huge population of rare (or low amplitude) events is referred to as the long tail. In many cases the rare events—the ones on the long tail—are so much greater in number than the common events that in aggregate they comprise the majority.

Such distributions are surprisingly common. For example, the word "the" is the most common word in English text[2], while the word "disintermediation" isn't. However, most words used in English texts are part of the long tail.

[ Wikipedia ]

Back

I've just gone six (6) days straight without internet. I'm amazed I'm still alive... I think if it had gone on anylonger I would have started to make a boat out of toothpicks and apple syrup and try to sail it around the world in search of the greatest spices known to man and woman. But instead I spent this time doing my homework. Which was a change to the usual doing it the morning its due arrangement. But when I got to uni (with all my homework done) I didn't have much to do. So I had a nap in the library for 2 hours. Which made me sleepy for the rest of the day, not very helpful when try to keep awake during a lecture on Scheme of arrangements for member and creditors. Even the lecturer found it boring. So we got a 50 minute early mark (on top of starting 15 minutes late....).

Last week was a bad week already without not having internet. Had an exam and a presentation on the same day. I had the presentation first which meant that if it went badly I would slightly depressed about the result which would/could effect the exam later that evening. The presentation went extremely badly. So much so I haven't spoken to my team members since then... Not that it was their fault. It was a collective failure. Its mainly just the fact that it went so badly. Just really depressing. Also I had an exam later so I couldn't exactly go and drink my sorrows away as they were planning on doing.... Very much an option at the time. The exam went ok. I got 16/20 which is good because I passed, one person actually got 20/20... The exam was pretty easily. As in you couldn't fail even if you wanted to...

Mocha

Mochas is my favorite type of coffee. But its also probably one of the worst. Why? Because there are two major ingredients that contradict and conflict one another once ingested.

  • Coffee
  • Milk
Milk - makes you sleepy. Its kinda like hot chocolate. Infact mocha is hot milk and chocolate and coffee

Coffee - Stimulates. Helps you keep awake.

This combination is not good. Because you feel sleepy but cant sleep... Its hard to stay focused. Because you have distractions and you have 'sleepyidontcare'
Just had two mid semester exams.

Boy was that fun. Spent the last few days cramming. And then spent about 2 hours before the exam staring at a clock waiting for the exam because I just couldn't be bothered to study anymore.

For company law we had a case study which we had to examine (we were given this a week before hand) and no case study is ever complete. There are always bits that they miss out. And so you can make millions of different combinations of assumptions. Which was probably my mistake. As I may have gona a little over board on the assumptions (that I studied) and the exam was only an hour long. So kinda just wanted the main bits rather then all the possibilities. But even that assumed too much. And most of the questions were vague. Which isn't very helpful in a multiple choice exam.

So when I was in the exam I didn't know what to think because I couldn't decide on what assumption I would go with (that's kinda a continuous problem I have, but its an exam, I don't really have the time). So it was very bad in that sense. Also I decided to have a coffee to help me keep awake, which in hind sight was also a bad idea, because I was jitter all throughout the exam. Which isn't helpful when you want to concentrate on one thing. As you are more alert to other things. Like people dropping pens or the stupid flashing light on the wireless router thingy they mounted on the wall. Why cant they put them in a box. With the flashing light out of the way, not distracting me. So distracting its unbelievable. Its kinda like my mobile. It has a flashing light on it. Which is why I never leave it in my room at night as its like being at the freaking airport. Just wish it would crash already....

I also had an exam for Taxation of business entities which was also open book, which is good and bad. But you tend to waste time in looking crap up that you already know, but want to check just in case. Then you don't have enough time to write down your answers properly. Making it impossible to mark because they cant read your hand writing. Well maybe its just my hand writing. As I write faster, it basically just becomes a squiggle on the page. It looks kinda scary, like a mad man locked in a mental hospital writing a suicide note for his hope...

Its gona be a really busy week, have a rough draft which I have to hand in for an assignment, a rough draft for a presentation (its stupid I know) and I have a 5% mini tutorial assignment. and another 2% tutorial homework, Which might not be collected because she collected last week. and already has three pieces...

I just finnished my homework early today, which means I have two hours
of a break before I begin three hours of mind numbing company law.
Sometimes its quite exciting and interesting, but times like today
when I'm tired its kinda boring. Its not really the subject thats
boring, its me. and my tiredness. Today is more odd then normal as I
feel really tired despite having a considerable amount of sleep. I had
a full 7 hours, and previous to that I had a 3 hour nap during the
hours of 4 and 7pm, so you can see it is rather odd that I am still
tired. I should feel refreshed and not sleepy. and that doesnt include
the naps on the bus or the nap I had during the lecture and the 10 min
nap I had while I was doing my homework.

8:55 is when the movie is showing. I shouldnt really go. Especialy
today, it goes for 100 minuites so thats about and hour and a half. So
its really gona start at 9 and finnish around 10:30. Thursday I have
to come in maybe then. Or maybe even tomorrow. I have to work, so I
could go after work, which would be fine. I also want to goto the gym
tomorrow. Best to go in the morning, other wise I wont go at all.

Procrastinating

Today I spent the day procrastinating. Which would normally be a good thing, but when you're are knowledgeable about procrastinating as me, its not something you want to do. Mainly because you've done it before and its boring, its predictable, and because its predictable its boring. Being able to predict something is boring. There's no point hanging around for the result, because its been predicted and the probability is high (see: prediction). Trivia is kinda like that, its been said, done, prove, hence its boring...

Taped

I really need to start carrying my tape recorder around. Since I want
to start a audio blogging, without audio I cant actually create
anything awsome. And yo never know when some good sounds might come
about. So you goto be ready. Kinda like a photographer without a
camera...

Email

Isnt it weird that for a long time we have had to delete useless
emails that we will never read again. Which was fine. But now that we
have huge amounts of space available I now feel the need to use up as
much of it as I can. I'm probably never going to read most of these
emails again. But I still keep them. Because I can. Thats why the
archive button is extreamly handy, dont need to keep creating new
catagories for stuff which is sort of just one off stuff or you just
dont care to put it in a catagory. To bad you cant have sub folders, I
think that would be a usefull addition. I dont think any of the email
sites have subfolders... Weird that.

Went to the gym today, was extreamly quite today as it was ekka holiday, so people probably taking the day off togoto the overpriced 'county fair'. But since I dont care I will stop. Today I finally got upto 90kg on the leg press, my goal is 100kg so I'm getting closer. I was also able to use the squat machine thingy without too much pain, I think my limit for that machine is only two sets. And the bench press is also weird like that too. Everything else I do three sets, just these two machines have thawted me....

I've been listening to a lot of free music from the internet atm. Its cool becuase it free. And you have the artists persmission etc, because they are the ones who have posted it.

Computer room

They have revamped the computer lab in Z block, but forgot to but have
kept the old computers... I find this strange, especialy since the
keyboards and mice have pretty much bit the dist. as in the tiny legs
on the back of the kb are all borken / stolen. Which is annoying when
you have carpel tunnel... (or going to get it). They also forgot to
clean the danm things... Which means the only new things are the desks
and chairs. But they have managed to squeeze in some lapton terminal
ares which is usefull. Not that I actualy have a laptop, its just that
people with laptops tend to take up an entire comptuer just to steal
the network connection. Those cheap basterds. Why not buy a wireless
card..... So it feels like they are using two computers... and your
standing there wanting to print stuff out and they start playing some
crappy flash game...

Worse still are the people that long on, leave a book and possbily
their bag at the computer and dont come back for about 2 hours. Once I
was kinda annoyed, so I just logged them off, logged in as my self and
printed my stuff and left, and no one was the wiser, except for the
people looking at me funny... probably thinking "what if I had thought
of that first, I wouldnt have to stand here for 3 hours. And if I copy
him that would be wrong, and I wont be able to pass judgement... end
quote.

Week one has passed, so has week 2. The first week was sort of different to what normaly happens. But I ended up turning up to all my classes late for various reasons which I can only describe as being coincidental and kinda annoying by the end of it.

Speaking of which


After quite a while stuffing around I fiannly actually purchased a new set of speakers for the puter. They definatly sound better then the old el'chepos I had, of which the subwoofer only produced one note from an entire spectrum of sound, and sometimes just decided not to work. On top of that it crackled. And more recently the satalites also started crackling... Definatly time to get a new set. The opportunity game about when both my mum and my sister were at home on a monday. Evidently they had both taken 'sick' days on the same day. Coincidental. Definatly. It was also the Monday I thought I was gona have the house to my self and do a bit of peacefull studying. But that was not to be. For some reason my sister decided she wanted to goto Ikea and get a new bed (a double bed with space underneath). Which we didnt end up buying. Instead bought more glasses and a cupboard. As you normaly do when going to Ikea. But we didnt buy any candles which was strange... So Brisbanes favorite computer store is just on the other side of the road (read: highway). And there was a que a very long que for a computer store that lives on the side of a highway... maybe about 30 people. I sort of knew already what I wanted. So by the time it was my turn to by stuff I was ready. I had about 25 mins to rehearse how I was gona order it. Which included getting the sales person to find out the specs and then purchasing it (had to make him work for his $45)...

Now onto product gloryfication and post-purchases feel goodiness
The main reason for buying these, is that the satalites AND the subwoofer (read: both) are magneticly sheilded. Therefore I can leave the sub on the desk, and not loose 60% of the bass by having it under the desk. The box was bigger then I thought it would be. But I wasnt holding my breath for anything big actually being inside the box. For once I was wrong................................................... The satalites are bigger then the old ones, but pretty light. Most of the weight was in the exteramly solid sub made out of wood not plastic (which can crack....). Which seems almost oversized when compared with the satalites. So there is the issue of ballance. Which I will get to later. I'm also glad I didnt waste another $30 on a useless pair of speakers, as these actually produce sound rather then moving air. And the sub well its in a completly diffrent class. It can actually produce diffrent sounds... wow you might think. But think of what my old speakers sounded like if I'm even discussing this as a feature. However. The sub is a extreamly tight, but that might be becuase its new. So I'm trying to break them in slowly to get good use out of them. The sub also has an extreamly bright blue led on it which is actually getting annoying. So I think I'm gona put a sticker of some kind over it. Thank fully the bass control is on the front. Along with tone and volume. Which are kinda redundent because there is only ever one volume and thats, 11.... Apart from all of these awsome features, the on/off swtich is placed at the back, which is a physical pain in the back side.

I'm still fucking around with placement... But I think I have it almost sorted. But with less desk space now becuase of the massive sub... Which means I'm probably gona have to move one of the printers to the floor or a shelf of some kind.

Controled blogging

The problem could be part of two things which I have noticed to have changed. Firstly I've been blogging/D-newsing less which should of freed up more time... the second thing is the mess in the study room and my bedroom. I'm normaly very neat but for the past two months nothing but mess. And I guess I've come to learn to live with it a little, but theres always this little voice in the back of my head telling me to to burn stuff... just kidding he actually lives down the road... hahah I'm so funny... anyway I'm getting quite annoyed by all of this mess. I initially thought that by not spending two hours everyday re-organising my entire life would free up some time, but the mess has made it harder to find stuff, and the smoothness of my opertations has been lacking making me clumsy or something. Well, I think the experimenting must stop. As its probably going to effect my uni results if I keep going, and considering I practicly need straight fives to get my GPA about a certain level I think its wise I stick to what I know.

End of the "holidays"

The holidays are over and I havent achived anything on the list. Well the holidays arent over exactly still have one day left, but I have to goto work so it doesnt count.... What to do now, where to go from here???? Just cant get my self going to do anything it seems. Its actually quite pathetic... and this is after I gained an extra week of holidays by turning up to uni a week early on Tuesday.
I have now unplugged my alarm clock. Why? Because it annoys me when I want to sleep in. Even if it was on, I'm just gona snooze it or turn it off anyway. Its basicly up to me if and when I get up, regardless of an alarm clock. This is only an experiment and will most likey return to sanity next week. In the mean time... I'm gona make the most of my two week break.

The Great Big List of Everything

The Holiday List
  • Make a Kite
  • Make the Kite fly
  • Buy a jumper
  • Make a pie
  • Make a cake
  • mmm quiche
  • Smash something
  • Mow the Lawn
  • Have a BBQ
  • Go for a morning run
  • Make Something
  • Take up a new habit
  • Loose a habit
  • Finnish reading The Dice Man
  • Start reading a new book
  • Get a hair cut
  • Make a tape
  • And much more
  • Renew my student card to 2015
  • Goto the Gym
All of which will be blogged, analysed and discussed intricatly right here on this blog. Hooray. So the next two weeks are gona be awsome mainly becuase I want it to be. I know it could set me up for a big disapointment, which I do not need going into semester two. Or should I say FINAL SEMESTER Whooo! Atleast for a year or two, I still wana do some study on economics becuase it excites me for some reason. And then after that I can get my Masters in Taxation... But before all of that I need to do my CPA/CA program which will only take two years of studying, while working full time...

Dear Blogger



Now that its the holidays and I have nothing todo, not that its a problem I can get back to blogging. For the next two weeks atleast. So in celebration I have used the new photo upload thingy to upload a picture of the sky.

Since the holidays have started

I thought it would be wise to start doing something, like tidying up the accumulated junk in my room. So instead I spent the day starting projects I will never finnish. But will instead, keep these projects lying around so that one day, just maybe, I will finnish them. But the main victory for today was I found out what computer stuff works and doesnt work....

What I did find out is that my old PS/1 (486 DX). does not work. All it does is make noise. Which means two things are broken. The CPU and the HDD, which I had previously found to be broken. But the case is still in good shape, with no rust. Everything in that computer is extreamly well screwed down. So its gona be a while till I actually get the broken shit out.

The P100 still works, but it has a registry error (windows 95 ->A<-) so its still kickin, but the CD-rom doesnt work. The box is fine and weirdly clean.

The K6-2. Is still ugly. But it works. kinda. The HDD seems to be broken. But the CPU works. But since its just a crap computer anyway, I'm not sure if its even work saving. But I'm gona keep it anyway, never know when that kinda junk will come in handy.... The sound card doesnt work, so there goes the MP3 box idea... I did manage to salvage a 12cm fan, for what purpose I dont know yet. A network card which

The old PS/1 monitor still works, but the Goldstar doesnt. Which means its gona probably gona end its life in a spectacular way...

I also have 2 CD-rom drives which dont work, and compulsivly open without prompting and then dont close... I think they're possessed. I have also salvaged a bunch of floppy drives, which still work, but their utility is somewhat diminished with USB drives so cheap, common and so much faster.

Touching all of this technology got me thinking about the carputer. Things I already have:

  • MB
  • CPU
  • RAM
  • Power supply
  • Network card
  • Keyboard
  • Mouse
  • Nothing better to do for the next two weeks
Things I dont have:

  • CD/DVD drive ($80)
  • Sound card ($10)
  • Inverter (300w $90)
  • Screen ($300)
  • Hdd ($100)
Which means its gona cost an additional $300 just to make the comptuer work not including the screen. I'm pretty sure you can put together a completly new computer for about $350. Which means the grand total would come to about $700 in the end. But for $900 you could just buy a new laptop, cheaper still for s/hand. So I think this a project I will put off untill I can afford to have a gambling probelm.

Howevever I would like to stop this noise thats coming from my current computer. Whih is the fan. And seems to be effecting my CPU as it getting quite hot (maybe something to do with the contact of the heatsink). But I think a new cooling solution is needed. Which will hopefully stop my from getting industrial deafness. I also need to get a new set of speakers because the rubber/foam bit that surrounds the cone has become detatched from the cone it self. So its making this horrible sound sound, also the driver seems to be bent. From what I dont know. But its just collaped in on it self, which is just odd. But since I only paid $15 for it I cant really complain. So hopefully I can goto the computer shop and get me a new fan and a new set of air pushers. Time to go on a spending spree... Or not, which ever is cheaper.

The End

I have now finnished my last exam for semester one. I'm tired and still a little gittery, but hopefully by tomorrow I wont remember anything about organisational architechture. This semester I actually did my homework and actually worked on assinghments, doing all the good stuff. All the stuff you're supposed to do. Since I had such a long time to study for my last exam (a whole week), I managed to do as little study in that time as possible. Which ensured I was cramming over the weekend for my exam on Monday. But after not going to a lecture or tutorial or doing anything for about a month for the subject, its actually not a good idea to do that. And cramming doesnt work when you have no idea what your reading or supposed to be reading.... This also means this is the last ever semester one I will attend at uni. For now... Which is sad, because semester one is the best semester. Possbily in the future, semester three will be better, but right now. Semester one is the best. One thing I should work on during the semester is my grammar.... I already feel stupider, And its only been a day since my last exam.

Comrades Be Vigilante

Well, the Bush-Nazi comparisons are deja-done, so of course now we have to move on. Seen on the MARC commuter train (between Baltimore and DC) today, this picture pretty much sums up the new "National Security:"

[ Articulatory Loop - Read, Repeat, Remember ]

Boston Legal

TV has just got interesting. With the slight addition of Boston Legal. I honestly used to watch the practice, and well in the final season I just couldnt wait for Boston Legal. But now that its here it doesnt seem all that super awsome. But still awsome. Which means I actually have something on TV (besides Mythbusters, megaman (the new one), media watch, lateline, little brittan, f1 and the bill) that I can follow. hmm now thats its all written down like that (see above) its actually quite a lot. mostly dailys but still not 'hours' of TV a day. Which is good. Because its not like I can spare the time. With uni and work and all. And I have to set aside time to finnish GTA: San Andreas....

The first ephisode was good. And setup a few things for the rest of the season. Which since its carrying from last year. Was possibly not neccessary. But then again, people that did not watch the practice may not know whats going on so... its probably the safe thing to do.

GST Project

This assinghment was supposed to be done over 13 weeks. But I did it in 18 hours straight.

[OK so that wasnt very long. This is just to remind me to write later... later days...]

Last Lecture

Today was my last lecture for this semester. Which means its the last lecture ever for semester one. Which is kinda sad. Becuase semester one is the best semester.

I'm so tired. I think I'll write more later... till then

Finnished

WHOO!

I have finnished my e-tax assinghment ahead of time. by 30 mins. Which will probably be taken up by trying to email the damn thing to all the group memebers.....

Anyway. Atleast Now I can spend a little time setting up for GST.

Words: 1137

1101

1353

1478

E-Tax Assinghment

Well I'm doing my etax assinghment that I was supposed to finnish this morning, so I could spend a good 6 hours doing my GST assinghment.... Anyway, hope is vanishing at a constant pace..... What to do I dont know. If I can finnish this by 10 then I can spend atleast an hour or two preparing my outline thingy. And then spend the next two/ half a day filling in the blanks.

At first my etax assinghment was 2500 words and now I have it down 1500 which is just awsome, since I've cut a whole 1k words. And it only took me one hour.... So another hour and I will hopefully be below the 1000 max word limit. Then I have to turn it into a letter which I'm guessing will take about one hour. And there you have it. I will finnish at 10pm.... Which leaves no time for GST. As planned. As needed. Desperatly needed... I was aming for a 6 but I think I will have to settle for a 5 (already got 32%....)

Tower of Tabs

[ The photos from my noisy tab story ]

Tower of Tabs

Tabulating Tax Treatments, Taxing Time, Tax Time, Tumultuous Tax... and other slogans could of been used, but no. I'm not sure but I think there must be a term for this sort of verbal arrangement. But I dont know what it is. Anyway this week I had two mid sem exams. Taxation and GST... So its been pretty stressfull. The exams them selves were ok. Just the whole studying part is the worst. Once your in the exam everything starts to come together. And when the exam is finnished you wonder why you were so worried in the first place.

On that note. Booooing...

Really whats the deal with morons standing outside the exam, saying they havent studied, and dont care. These are the same people that spend 16 hours a day studying and probably work full time....

Today I finnished my toastmasters course. And got two certificates out of it. Whoo. I also tried a different technique for giving speaches. Instead of writting out every word I will say and then reading it. I just used majour headings which I could talk about. And sort of improv the words. But the main structure of the speach is planned as it should be... just the delivery is much more natural. I wanted to move away from reading. So doing this has helped me. Just gona need more practice. Overall I have improved. Now I'm not completly petirifed of standing up and talking. Now I am free to work on the other techniquies, like vocal variety and body language etc. I think I'm gona have to join a toastmasters near by. We are trying to set one up at uni, but its a little hard becuase people come and go from uni so... But hopefully by next semester should have someting together.

The Keyboard is Out

The other day I decided to get the keyboard out and play with it. And in doing so I have made a few, very short tunes. In total I have about three or four and a few variations on each, but I dont count them... It was kinda unexpected. Actually making a tune. As I just expected that i would just practice from the keyboard learning book. But after an hour of playing it sort of just started playing with the sounds. And now I have a few tunes. They are pretty basic, but could easily do something on the computer with them.

Random made up word of the Moment

Yawsome

Graduate Jobs for Everyone

All the graduate job thingys are now officialy over. For some reason I feel a little releived. I ended up apply for only eight jobs. As it actually takes time to apply to all of these jobs and hence, cant apply to all of them because there are only 24 hours in a day....

I anycase, I am highly unlikely to get any of these jobs. But as they say, "you goto be in it to win it.". So I'm atleast in it. But for some reason I dont realy want all of that pressure and would rather work a 60 hour week instead.

I other news, I went to see a movie called look at me. Its french and we pretty good for a drama. At least I thought it was good. And considering I'm not one for dramas and the kind, its actually a big plus on an other wise dull week.

This week does look promising with many things to do, but as always little time to do it in. I have also taken up the craze thats sweeping the nation. Morning pages. Or as I like to call them Brain Dump. As you normaly do it in the morning before everything else. And the purpose of it to get all your thoughts etc written down so they arent all jumbled up in your head fighting each other. This way you can prioratise (sort of) what you want to think about. Especially helpfull with petty things. So, yeah, hence the name brain dump.... Supposed to write about three pages, but I've only been doing a page so far. Mainly becuase its actually time consuming to write three pages. Could proberly do it in an hour, so its not all that bad, just gona have to work up to it.

30th of March 2005

Its March, which means its graduate recruitment time. Its hard not to get caught up in all the hype. And becuase of this I now have enough pens and stress balls to last me untill I do get a job. Some times you think, is this all worth it. The amount of money spent on this graduate recruitment for essentialy a handfull of jobs, just seems a little excessive. On the other hand its quite informative. They pretty much tell you what they want to hear on the application and how to do interviews. Which I think is good preperation for this kind of job. Unless you are lucky enough to already have a job in that sort of "corporate" enviroment then its gona be hard to know what to expect. At least this way you have a chance to meet people who work there. Ask them questions. What their days are like etc. Takes a bit of the scaryness out of it all. The scaryness which is pressent after spending your entire known life studying. Having jobs before hand is obviously going to help a little, but I still think its different. Different how? Its a career as apposed to a job, where you are disposable and/or have little or no responsibility. You also get a lot more choice. Like the field of work you want to specialise in. Its not that its fixed and its easy to change but just initialy the first specialisation is important because its the one you will most likely do the most work in. Because you have to study that for your post grad studies. Of course if you change then you will proberly need to do more study... What I have learnt over the last few weeks is that I dont have to spend my time worrying about not having a job at the end of my degree. There are tons of jobs, and even if you dont like what you are doing you can change into something different.

The second most scary thing is the not knowing what you know or what you dont know but should know and/or not knowing you know or dont know. I have found out that the workplaces know we dont know anything. Which is scary becuase you just spent five years studying so that you would know something. I guess thats why having some work experiance counts, becuase atleast that way you arnt a total retard for the first year out.

Proberly the next step for me now is to work on my application, resume and cover letter. Apparently they like it if you atleast know what the name of the firm is...

Trying to find an easy way to find me

Just type in "bean counting" (with out quotation marks) and I should be near the top. MUWAHAHAH what am I saying I am at the top. But with the internet changing and what not. I may drop down, Especialy if I stop blogging for a month. Of course I think it may need people to actually visit the site once in a while or just that "bean counting" sites are crappyer then mine.

The Cursed Treadmill

Today I went to the gym, just like every other day... But today when on the treadmill my shoelace came undone. Which was annoying and I had to stop. Also the buttons wouldnt work and the speed changed to 1.0km instead of 10... Which has lead me to the conclusion that the first row of treadmills (from the tv wall) is cursed. On another occasion I was in the first row and my towel fell down off the rail and I had to stop. Stopping is bad. Bad mainly becuase you loose momentumn, which then takes time to get back again. And when you are more then half way through your goal time its really annoying. It also seems to cool you down a bit. Which may sound nice at first, but really all it means is you get stiff, which in layman terms is "oh crap my leg has a mind of its own. Mommy help!". [Note: some people call this "cramp" take out the 'm' and you have crap].

So from now I am not going to use the first row of treadmills, becuase I seem to have bad karma with them.

It actually flys

Went to go see The House of Flying Daggers today, at southbank on the massive screen, which is always fun. The movie was kinda crappy, maybe trying to copy Hero too much... I give the movie 4/10 and it only got 4/10 because people need to see the ending as it was quite humorous. At least on DVD...

The bus trip home was one to remember. For two things. First the idea for a comic, consisting of a mobile phone called "The Karl Phone" because I saw a lady on the bus was playing with one and had the idea to make it like a real brick phone. One that Arnie would approve of. Like you could do weights with it... And then Arnie will set up many different help lines to help you work out. But charge insane prices (like they all do...), eg, "Motivational line", or the "Arnie is your friend", "work out tips", "how not to be a peuniy man". And other insane ideas which would involve the Karl Phone (c) (tm) (r).. etc and as you answer the phone you get a work out.

The second thing about the bus was the fact we were going so fast. Left Buranda at 10:52 and got to alex hills at 11:18. Which means I got home at exactly 11:30. Which wasn't a bad thing, because I was busting to goto the toilet. What was unnerving was the fact that the bus never actually stopped at my stop, he opened the door and the bus was rolling as I practicly had to jump out or I was gona end up at Cleveland... Maybe he needed to pee as well.

I love Blog

Sometime you can blog too much or just spend time blogging about blog. Other times you have stuff to blog about but dont becuase you only think of it when not at the computer. Which is what is happening at the moment. My best time for writting is just after dinner. But for some reason blogger is slower, or maybe just my internet conncection is slower at this time and is a pain in the ass to write a whole bunch of stuff then have "sever connection error: time out (hahah you have slow internet, suck crap)".

So what have I been doing. Offline blogging. With the help of MS word. I have stored my thoughts etc and will post them proberly tomorrow, becuase right now I want to sleep. And possibly wake up.

Possibley this also means I have some kinda blogging addiction where I need to blog all the time or I even take notes on what to blog on at a latter time... hmm

January Reading

# 10½ big myths of the moment: Currently popular misconceptions about associations, boards and CEOs, by G. Tecker. Association Management Aug 2004 p66

# A measure of success? The UK DTI has set up a benchmarking tool to encourage small business to measure themselves against their competitors, but how useful is it? by. R. Peschiera. Director Aug 2004 p48

# Are you an expert? Learn how to minimize your liability exposure before jumping into the witness chair, by J. Raspante. California CPA Aug 2004 p18

# Ethics in the workplace: Start with honesty: How to foster a work environment where it’s safe to be honest, by T. Asaker. Training & Developmen Aug 2004 p42

# Home, sweet home page: Having your website serve as the gateway for all financial data and services sought by clients, by R. McCausland. Accounting Technology Aug 2004 p24

# Keeping pace with SOX 404: Internal control certification at Guidant Corporation: Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley is expensive, tedious and time-consuming, find out how a company took a process-owner strategy to comply, by R. Doinkowski. Strategic Finance Sep 2004 p46

# Survival of the fittest: a look at the rising number of companies trying to ally directors’ personal fitness with better business performance, by M. Burton. DirectorSep 2004 p88

# Top 12 tech issues: what accountants consider the biggest challenges they face when it comes to technology, by G. Trites. CA Magazine (Canada) Sep 2004 p20

# VOX Internet: a voice on the web, Voice over IP has accounting firms rapidly discovering its potential, by B. Scott. Accounting Technology Aug 2004 p42

# XBRL: A work in progress, accountants are taking a leadership role in making a breakthrough in financial reporting by J. Stimpson. Practical Accountants Jun 2004 p39

from the ICAA

A basic paper record keeping system


Its a flow Chart.

And I plan to make a proper one which shows how this simple rendition by the tax office is worng.

The Avalanches and King Marong and guests

I went to go and see The Avalanches yesterday at the Rev. Was supposed to be $15 to get in, but I managed to get in for free. Maybe becuase I got there really early. So that was a nice surprise.

It was quoted on the website to start at 10:00pm so I got there about 9:30. At about 10:00pm I find out they are gona start at 11:00pm. So now another dude comes on and starts jumping around and yelling into the microphone till about 11:00, something I would rather forget...

Finally one of the DJ's from the Avalanches graces us with his presence at about 11:30.... and he does his little DJ set for about 20 mins wearing a rubber mask. Which I thought was impressive considering how hot it was... Eventually the other guys come out with the african band and thats when it finnaly started. It was well worth the wait. They had the three DJ's a whole bunch of merakas and drums. The greatest mish mash of sounds ever heard, with the african drums and vocals over top of the Avalanchey stuff and other assorted sounds. After a few "songs" they started letting people on stage to sing and dance and play with the dums and other musical apparatus. So it was pretty nuts. One girl thought it was a titty bar and started to take her clothes off...

The one bad thing was that it was proberly too loud. Or maybe it was just me. But next time I have to goto a musical thingy I'm taking ear plugs.

Was definatly worth the $15 if I actually had to pay for it...

Hurty Leg

Went to the gym today, just like any other time. But not as my leg is continuing to hurt. This is because of the thing I did on Monday. It wasnt hurting too much on Wednessday as I walked from cleveland to home. So I figured that today I would be ok to go back to the gym. But alas it is not the case. I was ok when walking but any running was not so fun... So tomorrow I plan to do a bit of walking to try and not loose any current fitness and atleast maintain it somewhat untill it recovers. Hopefully soon.

La Strada

Went to see La Strada with Jonathan yeasterday (Wednessday) at the Schonell. And it was awsome. I never liked black and white movies.... untill now. Being a black and white movie is no cosequence if the movie is a decent one. And this movie really was. Its not often that you leave a cinema feeling like that. I recomend everyone go and see or rent it or something. Its an experiance not to be missed.

Its one of those movies that you must see before you die.

9/10 (The reason it didnt get 10/10 was because I wanted it to go on forever...)

Myth Busters

To Run in the rain or walk? Was one of the questions these guys had to find out. Its a pretty cool show with large experiments. The best one was when they had to prove/dis-prove whether some one could be flung from a toilet from throwing a match down it.

Happiness

Was your standard video night. Got out Class of 1999 which was worth it. It was pretty funny in a weird sort of way.

Also got out Happiness. It was funny. Yet sickening at the same time. And at other times too painfull to watch. It started out tastefully but the main point of the movie started later and just when you thought it couldnt get any worse it did. I'm not going to say anything about the movie because you have to sit down and watch it to understand. Plus I belive it would spoil the surprises. Also you may think again about renting it out if I told you what its about. Another movie to watch at least once. Maybe only once....

Twelve Cubic Meters

Had to move three cubic meters of mulch today. Took me about 5 hours. Initialy I calculated twelve cubic meters but turned out I missplaced a decimal point (ala. Popeye).... In case the number three isnt impressive enough/you cant conceptulaise what it really means.... Heres a picutre of what three cubic meters looks like.



And as always after any hard work I seem to make at least one muscle somewhere sore enough to not be able to goto the gym. How do I know this. Well I went to the gym to thinking it didnt feel all that bad. But no. It was bad and proberly made it worse... At least I go to do a bit of walking. Thats goto count for something. Doesnt it?

The Watchmen

Finished reading the watchmen. Was a pretty good. And after the first three chapter you really want to finish it. It really does gain a lot of momentumn towards the end and its best to read it all at once (last few chapters), if you think you can put it down and read some more later, you wont be able to.

So this concludes my first book of the year. Which means I have another 23 to go.

Cricket [Pak vs W/ind]

Went to the cricket yesterday (Pakistan vs West Indies) It was a pretty close match and was quite fun. Had a feeling that a lot of people were just gearing up for Fridays match, which I dont have tickets for =( (it sold out very early...)

Anyway, much fun was had and I'm realy quite disapointed I can't go on Friday.

Star Gazing

Yesterday I went to go see Sideways with Jonathan and Karl. As there was a number of refrences to wine in the movie, we decided to get some wine. Anyway after the wineing, I went home. As I was walking home I noticed that the stars were quite bright today. And then I noticed that they were every where. Normaly stars are only seen in a strip, but yesterday they were every where. I wonder if this has anything to do with saturn being brighter this time of year... Must of spent a good half hour siting there. Which has given me the grand idea of camping. Camping in the back yard, as I think it would be quite hard to camp futher afield without transport. So hopefully before the holiday is up I will have had camped out.

The movie was ok, wasnt super fantastic, but worth seeing considering what else is on. I think I will give it seven out of ten or four out of five.

A Mouse Named Optical

Today my old mouse broke. Not that it was an old mouse, just that I have a new mouse now and hence the "current" one became the Old one.... Its was only three year old. Well that's what you get for getting a crappy mouse. Luckily my old MS mouse (win 95) still works which enabled me to actually install the "new" one.... My new mouse is pretty basic Logitech Optical mouse. At first it didn't work, and need to be installed which was a hassle. But it works now. Much like the old mouse. It only cost me twenty dollars so I'm not too displeased. Its gotten rid of the "diagonal stepping" which I hated about conventional "ball" type mice.

I was hoping it would emit some light, but it doesn't. Maybe I should do a bit of surgery on it apply some perspex and leds... Like that's gona happen.

Good grief

Today I found the website for my gym. Their newsletters never mention the website. After looking at it no one could blame them for trying to cover it up...

In other news I had a dream... Not just any dream. I had a dream I was riding an new bicycle. That's right. New. Its was so shiny and even had a motor... But I only used the motor to go up big hills. Of course this isn't what I need right now (self encouragement) to buy a new bicycle as I have found out they cost more an one hundred dollars, even multiple hundred dollars (GAH!).

At least I have a small job which I earn enough to maybe save up for a new bike before the end of the year...

Going to the Library

Today (among other things) I went to the library. Which was a little diaspointing, considering the lack of selection available at capalaba library. Apparently cleveland is a little better. So If I get time I'm gona try and head down there sometime this week. However I did get out a book. Which required my re-activating my library card, since I hadent borrowed there for over a year (which is true...). The book's called "mountain bike maintainence and repairs". I am hoping that with this book I can fix my freewheel problem.

Its has also come to light that the state library which I was planning on visiting tomorrow is apparently closed the a year or so while they put in the new book ends..... grrr

Sending Email

Today, I have been sending emails. Its sort of exciting writting emails, as in propper ones to different people (not just the same people). Make me feel much better then just empyting and sorting through spam. The feeling of purpose to checking email, like its important. Or at the very least not just a pointless waste of time.

Making a list

Well as you know. I like lists so when the time comes to making a list, I will do it. Frankly I have made lists for much lessor things then the "goals to achive this year list". I think this year I'm actually going to write them out properly and tick them off. That way I might actually get somewhere with it. And it wont end up being a pointless exercise to beat up my self...

When I actually have the list made up, then I must remeber to actually work out an action plan of sorts for each. Which will help me in achiving said goals, and more importantly how I actually want to go about achiving them...

The process of making the list is also interesting. Basicly firstly you have to brain storm. Then put them in a list, then put them in some kinda priotised order. Then put a time frame for each and re-order then while incorporating the prioratisation...

Well its only 9:30 so I think I have enought time today to complete this task and make some use of the first day of the year.

So thats one down and 364 to go..............

2005

Its 2005 and dont I know it. Last year was pretty good and I think its gona be pretty hard to top last year. But if I can achive atleast some of my goals, then I think it will still be good. hmmm... Well its not like it actually has to be better then last year. Becuase last year was so good its gona be hard to top. But if I can maybe come close to it, then I think I will be happy this time next year.