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.
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.
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...).
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:
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.
- I had not seen it before
- I was only going to have to spend $1.95 to rent it out
- it looks reasonalby funny
- it had "award" labels on it
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"
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).
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...
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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