New House
OMG, my usually over cautions parents saw a house in mt waverly last weekend and bought it today. We're selling our current house and moving in a few months.
I'm underwhelmed
May 05, 2007
February 03, 2007
HP
MuggleNet | The ULTIMATE Harry Potter Site
Wellity Wellity. It looks like the final Harry Potter is coming out July 21....I need to fine some kind of fan party to attend.
January 30, 2007
The great wifi caper
Sitting in the van in geelong, outside the Wharf Shed Cafe, stealing open wifi.
I ate a smoked salmon roll for lunch.
January 24, 2007
spam attack
This morning i received an email from my web host saying that they had to shut down the comments script because it came under spam attack.
The comment spam recently has been ridiculous, so i've turned off comments for the time being.
Just email me.
November 10, 2006
The finish line
Woooo hoooo. I just finished my last undergraduate level exam and went to McDonalds.
Bring on the summer. Bring on the Grand Festival of Mark
October 26, 2006
McRelapse
I've been boycotting McDonalds since year 9. Yesterday, I lapsed.
I attribute it to external causes - Nitha made me do it.
August 28, 2006
A quick hello
I haven't had much time to blog lately. Most of my blogging energy has been redirected into the podcast i'm doing at the moment (www.idolsparks.libsyn.com).
On top of that, there's a few uni assignments banging down my door. And my body is still going weird on me. I keep waking up in the night with all of my skin feeling numb.
But, I tell you what I am loving: Meerkat Manor, sundays on Ch10. Poor Shakespeare.
August 09, 2006
Crisis over
I'm so happy! My MacBook is back from the hospital.
July 16, 2006
Amazing coincidences
The other day, I went to Chadstone with the intention of buying a particular book. I believed that it would cost $19.95. Before I left the house I put the exact change in my pocket, because I like to be able to pay for the things that I intend to buy.
On the way to the bookstore i found $4 on the ground. There was no one else around, but there was a sign nearby saying that 'the Chadstone lost and found service was closed for the day, and that if you find small amounts of money abandoned on the ground you should just keep it'. That rather convenient sign allowed me to pocket the money without risk of damage to my morality.
I soon reached the large multi-level bookstore and located my intended purchase. But to my horror, the price tag read $23.95. Thankfully, it only took me 15 minutes to realise that despite the price increase I still had the exact change necessary for my purchase. Lucky I found $4.
By the way, the book was called "101 Amazing Things That Are Unlikely To Happen At Any Given Moment" written by Dr U.R. Fewlich
What are the chances? Surely, that is too amazing to have been a coincidence.
The probability of my amazing coincidence occurring to me that day is the probability of needing an extra $4 multiplied by the probability of finding $4 multiplied by the probability of seeing some rather unlikely 'finders keepers, losers weepers' signage. It would be fair to assume that the probability would be pretty damn small, so for the sake of argument let's say that the probability is 0.01%
That is pretty damn improbable. The problem is, that I only define the event as amazing after it has happened.
There are many more things that would count as amazing coincidences:
- Finding a free copy of that book, allowing me to spend my money on ice cream.
OR
- Everyone in a lecture at uni receiving a call on their mobile phone at the exact same time
OR
- Discovering that everyone in Wagga Wagga with the name Lorenzo just happens to have the same birthday, except for one guy who was swapped with a Lorenzo at birth. His real name was supposed to be Jim.
OR
- Finishing Super Mario Brothers at your first attempt while sitting in an Italian restaurant that just happens to be owned by a man who has a brother.
Let's assume that there is also a 0.01% chance of each of these events occurring. We now have five events, any of which occurring alone count as an 'amazing coincidence'. To find the probability of a logical disjunction we add together each of the individual probabilities:
0.01% +0.01%+0.01%+0.01%+0.01% = 0.05%
The chance of one of our five coincidences is still small, but not as small as the one very specific event that we were first concerned with.
Now, the number of events that will lead us to exclaim "how extraordinary!" is more than 5. It's more than 101. It's infinite!
So that means there is a 100% certainty that amazing coincidences will occur sooner or later.
If my clearly fictional book buying coincidence hadn't of happened, something else would have. But I don't spend time thinking about the amazing things that didn't happen. Nor do I spend time thinking about all the probable things that did happen.
So the lesson here is...umm...ergh...you can count anything you like as being amazing, but it's a good idea to take extra cash to the shops.
July 15, 2006
Serialised Cinema - the idea that will save the industry.
From what I've heard, attendance at cinemas continues to fall. This is most likely due to the rise of dvds and high tech home theatre set ups. Why go to Hoyts and pay to watch a film with a bunch of other people who talk and answer their phones, when you can wait a few months and watch it at home on dvd?
I know that I enjoy a trip to the movies less and less. My favourite audio visual entertainment experiences tend to center more on downloaded episodes of TV series (Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, The Gilmore Girls). But I have an idea that might save the cinema industry.
Cinemas will do a deal to have a television studio produce a weekly TV show exclusively for cinemas.
The ideal candidate for this would be a TV show with a strong following. Something with mass popularity like Lost, or Desperate Housewives. It needs to be the kind of show that people would ordinarily sit down to watch religiously each week, and talk about the next day around the water cooler.
It would be shot in high resolution, with some of the new digital cinema cameras. But it wouldn't try to be visual spectacular. The emphasis would be on characters and an ongoing story line. Each episode would finish with some kind of cliff hanger.
At the moment, the only reason to go to the movies, is for the big screen surround sound experience. So filmmakers try to capitalise on this by focusing on spectacular action sequences and special effects. But this isn't enough.
Showing a popular TV show, with a cult following, exclusively at a cinema would create a new type of experience. The appeal would be that you'd watch your favourite show with a crowd of other people. It would a collective experience.
You would probably make a regular time each week to go with a group of friends, see the latest episode, and then talk about it afterwards. I know that the most exciting cinema experience I've had, was seeing Lord Of The Rings on opening night with a cinema full of fans in costume. I envisage that a similar event each Friday night when the new episode would premiers.
Encore screenings of the weeks episode, as well as selected past episodes would be screened throughout the week, so that people who had missed episodes could catch up. However, there would be no DVD release. It would be also very difficult to pirate episodes, as the high resolution video would be too hard for amateurs to rip off the satellite, and there would be no other means of recording the episode (short of smuggling a camera into the cinema). The only way to experience the series would be to attend each week.
There would still be regular TV, and regular stand-alone films. The serialised cinema experience would be a special, additional phenomenon.
Serialised cinema would address many of the trends in people's entertainment watching behaviour that are affecting the film and television industry. It would provide an experience that people can't get from their home theatre. And it would reinstate the model of watching something regularly each week that has been curbed by TiVos and other DVRs.
Would this kind of arrangements be profitable for cinemas? And would it become popular? I think so, but I'm curious to hear your opinions.
July 05, 2006
My Lynx counter arrives
I've posted previously that i've been looking for a CBT clicker. Months ago I went to the Lynx website and signed up to receive a free complementary counter. You may have seen the ads. A man uses a counter to count the number of times he gets amourous glances on account of his particular lynx fragrence.
Well, my counter finally arrived. I didn't think they'd actually send it.
It's rather nice - very sturdy, and, it counts like a dream (if dreams count).
Next time I want to curb some negative thinking i'll be sure to use it. However, thanks to those commercials, people will probably get the wrong idea.
Go sign up for one yourself. I think the site was clickmore.com
June 26, 2006
Land of the N00bs
There's a strange clash of cultures on World of Warcaft.
I'm walking from camp to camp, trudging through the digital snow, running errands for people with names like Sterngaze Whitebeard, and it's all very atmospheric.
But then I frequently run into people with names like 'OMG MY SERVER IS DOWN :-@'.
"Good morrow friend" I call, and they reply "yo, wasup n00b, wat lvl r u, wanna grp?"
Roughly that translates:
"Hello there person who is new to these parts, may I ask you how much experience and wisdom you posses? I humbly invite you to travel with me for a while"
PS i'm at level 7 as of today
June 21, 2006
The Festival of Mark - Day 1
Today is the first day in the three or so weeks of the Festival of Mark (tm). My exams finished yesterday, and semester 2 starts July 17. So until then, i've got a lot of fun things to do that i've been saving up. I have a whole long list.
But just quickly, it is worth stating for the record that semester 1 went well. Everything is going to plan. I'm enjoying myself. I feel as if my standard dropped a bit since last year, but hopefully not too much.
So, for day 1, I caught up with my drama teacher from my highschool - Neville Bullard. We had lunch. He was saying that when he googles his name, he only ever finds rude this written by his students. So hopefully this post will fix that.
So that was very enjoyable.
Then I came home, and played my new copy of the New Super Mario Brothers for DS. And watched episode 2 of Grey's Anatomy (Ellen has lent me her DVD, as she is quite obsessed by the show). It's a bit, i don't know, overthetop. But nevertheless, i'm finding myself enjoying it.
Tonight I intend to go over my list and priortise what i want to do. Tomorrow, I should probably start looking into honours, while I have time.
Patent giveaway - The Sleep Remote
Here is a free idea for any inventors out there.
A TV remote control that detects when you fall asleep and pauses the video/dvd/tv so that you don't miss anything.
Falling asleep during a narrative can be quite traumatic. You wake up with such a sense of confusion and discontinuity.
It could also be hooked up to the ratings system, to give TV stations a better idea of what is actually getting watched, rather than what is slept through.
I give you this idea for free, and ask only that you send me a few free units once they start being manufactured.
June 09, 2006
MarkCam
I was considering setting up a live streaming webcam in my room. However, I got a bit worried. I don't want to get caught with....err....my pants down.
So i decided to test out a semi-live cam. It updates only when I tell it to.
I'm doing it with my MacBook's inbuilt isight camera and an automator workflow that takes the photo and uploads it to the server.
It's over on the sidebar of the index page on this blog.
Not that exciting for you all. It doesn't really contribute to the entertainment value of this blog. But, I enjoyed setting it up.
June 01, 2006
I was in a focus group today
Today, I took part in a focus group. We were focused on how to improve the assignment writing handbook that we use at uni. The publishers wanted students views on what was good and bad about the current edition.
It took me 45mins to get into the building, as the elevator was broken. However, from there on it was quite enjoyable.
Being in a focus group is very validating. Everyone's ideas are welcome; no one points out how impractical my suggestions are.
I expected it to be more american. I thought there would be wacky questions like: "If an assignment writing manual was a type of food, what type of food would it be?"
I suggested that they include word templates and macros, to make it easier to do APA style formatting.
The best part was that they had donuts, and I got a complementary CD voucher.
May 27, 2006
Exam lock down approaching
I've been meaning to post something interesting, but i've not had the time. And I doubt i'll have the time for a couple more weeks. So a quick dot point summary of the past few days:
- I love my MacBook more and more each day. I've mainly used it for web browsing and pdf reading so far. I've not had time to set up anything fancy. When the break comes, i'll start making the transition to using it as my main computer.
- The Brain Age game for my nintendo DS is a big hit (with myself and others). I get up and do it every morning. It is very inovative. I intend to write a review soon.
- Have been doing a small editing job for someone. It's been pretty easy, which is good. I don't mind subcontracting for someone who is a professional film & telly person. But it has sparked a few thoughts about what I liked and disliked about doing video editing (again, i'm saving it for another post).
- Got my social psych assignment back. Happy with the marks. Wondering whether i put too much time into that one, at the expense of other assignments and topic reading.
- Had lunch today with my cousin and cousin-in-law?
- Tomorrow, i'm mainly studying, but have plans to indulge in a bittorrented episode of season 6 Gilmore Girls.
- Oh, and finally, I added a Google Reader live feed to the sidebar of the blog main page. It shows the latest RSS feed items that i've read and starred. I like the idea of having my personal reading list public.
May 21, 2006
MacBook on its way
I ordered my new MacBook today!
May 20, 2006
I 'won' a DS game
Ebay makes you feel lucky and special by saying "Congratulations! You won item XYZ!". I didn't win it, i bid for it, and now I have to pay for it.
I 'won' a copy of Brain Age from Hong Kong. I think i've saved money by using ebay. It isn't available in Australia yet anyway.
So, it should arrive in a week or so. I'll give you a review then. Supposedly the game either makes you smarter or is preventative against cognitive aging. If my blog posts start to become more insightful and intelligent and I begin making good use of words like ''discombobulate', then you'll know it has worked.
May 18, 2006
Welcome IdleSparks
Here at Chunkyboat.com, we like to support the needy. We always take in lost puppies and refugees when ever possible. Recently, a good friend a frequent commenter here was had his blog upturned by an evil money hungry blog monster. So, i've offered him a place here.
Check out IdleSparks' blog. It's full of fascinating content.
Idle Sparks .................. *Idle Sparks .................. *
Whether in a Khaki suit or a pimped stripe. I'm a G for G and nuttin' else for life. You can bet your bottom biscuit. You get twisted if you dwellin' in my felon intuition (what up).
I'll add a link to the front page in a couple of months, when I have time to redesign.
May 15, 2006
Tom electrocutes Oprah
000b46wb.gif (GIF Image, 250x167 pixels)
A bit of fun for the morning. Tom Cruise is scary. Watch out Katie.
I feel a bit crap today. I've had a lot of snot and a sore throat over the weekend. I fell asleep with a soother in my mouth and woke up this morning with a numb sticky face.
Theres only a few more weeks till exams, and i've got a heap of reading to catch up on, so i'd better do some this morning. My busyness algorithm has completely collapsed. I think I assumed that I have more productive hours per day than I actually do. I'm looking forward to the mid year break. I'm tossing up the idea of going part time uni next semester. It would delay my progress by another year, but it might make uni more fun, and i'd probably do better. But then again, as much as I enjoy having the time to be thorough, it may get a bit boring. Hmmm, it is hard to know. I'll wait till i get my marks back.
March 31, 2006
note to self
Confucious says check that meeting is still on before going to it
March 30, 2006
Geeks and Nerds supplemental
Ok, so I withdraw my previous definitions. Everyone is deconstructing me.
Dan, argued that social isolation and awkwardness is a key element to both being a nerd and a geek...although I would argue that it only applies to nerd.
I don't know anymore... wikipedia has a fair bit to say on the matter:
Pundits and observers dispute the relationship of the terms nerd and geek to one another. Some view the geek as a less technically skilled nerd. Some factions maintain that "nerds" have both technical skills and social competence, whereas geeks display technical skills while socially incompetent; others hold an exactly reversed view, with geek serving as the socially competent counterpart of the socially incompetent nerd, and call themselves geeks with pride (compare Geekcorps, an organization that sends people with technical skills to developing countries to assist in computer infrastructure development). Another view is that "geeks" lack both social competency and technical skills. Arguably, a nerd is a more self-controlled sort of person, while a geek can be something of a loose cannon--or at least more awkward in an obstructive way than a nerd.Some regional differences may exist in the use of the words nerd and geek. Some claim that on the North American west coast the population prefers the term geek to nerd, while the North American east coast prefers the word nerd to geek (see Ellen Spertus's page on The Sexiest Geek Alive).
The word "nerd" refers to a person of "above-average intelligence" whose interests (often in science and mathematics) are not shared by mainstream society. By contrast, a "geek" is essentially a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of knowledge and imagination. A good example of this is found in an episode of the television show, "Married with Children." The protagonist Al Bundy complains about wearing glasses, saying he'll look like a nerd. His friend, Jefferson Darcy responds, "No Al you won't be a nerd. You're too dumb to be a nerd
Thus a "nerd" is primarily marked as having a high intelligence and is not necessarily more fascinated with one subject any more so than another. A "geek", however, is obsessively fascinated with particular subjects, but is not necessarily attributed an above average intelligence. Thus a "geek" has the compulsion and drive to learn vast quantities of knowledge about a particular field such as computers, or Star Trek trivia, without high intelligence being assumed. Some also hold that the reverse is true, geeks being those with high intelligence, and nerds being those who obsess over obscure subjects. More than likely, the main confusion between the terms comes from their common association with specific areas of knowledge that seem to require a high level intelligence (for example, mathematics and science). Thus a "geek" who was obsessed by the pursuit of mathematical or scientific knowledge, might also be classified as a "nerd" as society considers such pursuits to be intellectual in nature and as requiring high intelligence.
EDIT (added Friday; March 31, 2006 4:37 PM)
Adam just posted this very relevant and fascinating comment:
Interesting point (to me) in America at the turn of the century on onwards, the times when the travelling circus' of Carnivale fame roamed the country, the term 'Geek' actually refered to the person who would, as an act, consume bugs, worms, chicken heads and so on. Customers saw the attraction in the geek tent, or geek pit. The practice still goes on in certain circus', but I'm not sure they still call them geeks...
Amazing.
Geeks and Nerds
To be honest the categories of 'nerd' and 'geek' are fuzzy ana overlap. However there are some important differences.
The term 'nerd' is somewhat peajorative. Nerdiness implies an obsessiveness about a particular topic (often, but not limited to, technological or academic pursuits). It is also significant that a nerd gains a lot of identity value from their area of expertise and perhaps a sense of superiority. Being nerdy can often be seen as related to being a teachers pet, although it is a different construct.
To be geeky, however, is to be very systems oriented. it is an affectionate term
March 26, 2006
Just say no string
Sometimes a personal busyness algorithm isn't enough. I've been over 80% busyness for the past few weeks, but still I find myself saying yes to more things. It's conformity at it's worst.
So, i'm having to implement a new solution. It's not very high tech, but hopefully it will work.
I'm implementing the no-string method. Whenever i'm above 80%, i'm tying this string to my finger, to remind myself not to take on any new commitments, I'll just hold up my finger and say "string says no"...and it won't look like I am snobing them, because the no-string indicates that i'm saying no to everything.
So, if you see me with the no-string, that is what it means.
March 22, 2006
Keating the opera on CD
Earlier, I mentioned that I went and saw a show called Keating! - a musical satire of the Keating era. It was an affectionate but hillarious portrait of Keating.
Well, the CD just became available, so if anyone saw the show, you might want to order it.
I'm listening to it now. It's fantastic. It was recorded at the Sydney Opera House during their Sydney season.
Dad is obsessed with it too. He's adopted the song "Ruler of the land" as his personal anthem.
A great example of what live performance could be if it stripped back and just engaged people simply.
March 19, 2006
my fantasy house - doily free
My friend Ellen is house sitting a relative's neighbour's house. Yesterday I went to visit and take advantage of the massive widescreen plasma TV. We watched a downloaded copy of The Gilmore Girls on it, and it looked pretty good.
It got me thinking that a massive TV, if done right, could be intergrated unobtrusively into my fantasy house. My house, however, unlike the house Ell is minding, would have fewer doilies. Infact it would be a doily free zone.
My dream house would be the kind of house with a lot of light. Sure, the more windows the less privacy, but my fantasy neighbourhood is the kind of place where people don't mind others seeing them in their pyjamas. That's half the fun.
It will be a very technologized house. But there won't be extension cords all over the place. All the technology would be hidden within the floor, and will appear when needed. The big screen TV will be mounted inside a hole in the wall and, in it's resting state, will be indistinguisable from a window - as it will display a live image from the outdoor camera. All the windows, blinds, heating, Roombas etc, will be controlled by a Linux server, running opensource home automation software. Needless to say, there'll be wifi everywhere.
Surfaces. Lots of clean surfaces. Books will be digitised, mementos will be photographed, and the surfaces will remain completely bare. Mugs of coffee must never be put down, even with a coaster, i don't care - no mugs.
For that human touch, every room will have a single Sentiment Screen (TM) - a display that cycles through family photos and other assorted nostalgia.
The garden...will be holographic.
March 16, 2006
my new personal status page
I've been including my personal 'status' on my emails for a few weeks now. Updating it each week is a useful little ritual. However, I've decided to also create a status webpage.
I didn't want to put it on my blog, or my other websites, so I decided to use googlepages.
markbrownorama - Mark Brown - personal status
I think googlepages is the perfect tool for this kind of thing. It took literally 2mins to set up.
March 04, 2006
Sometimes the brain is the best PDA
Last night, before I went to sleep, I remembered that I was supposed to contact Adam. It's the kind of thing I should have written down, to remind me the next day Little things like that slip through the cognitive cracks. However, I didn't have a pen or a pda available.
So, I started chanting "adam, adam, adam" to myself while visualising myself picking up my mobile phone and turning it on. I imagined how it would feel in my hand, and the satisfying click of the power button. Still chanting "adam, adam, adam".
This morning, I woke up with no memory of anything Adam related. Until I went to turn my phone on, and right on cue my reminder went off. "adam, adam, adam".
February 27, 2006
condiment genius
A whirlwind of a day. I woke up and got an email from Jenko. He was stuck at uni with nothing to do, so he came around here for the first time in ages. Jenko introduced me to chips, from the fish and chip shop, combined with sweet chili sauce. It was condiment genius.
Went to uni. Saw Simon. Went to my 'Personality' unit which only went and hour. Came home. Rang two new additions to my stable of first year peer mentoring students. Weighed dinner. Ate dinner. And now, i'm going to North Brighton for a junkyard monkeys meeting
It might not sound a lot to you, but it's the busiest i've been in a while.
My new todo list system reports that i'm 80% busy.
February 20, 2006
mentors and tormentors
(Ok, so I stole the title of this post from Lee)
I just got back from uni where I met with my 'mentees' for the first time. It seemed to go pretty well. I think I did ok. They were very nice, and I just hope that i'll be useful for them. I didn't really know what to say, so I just rambled on...
An unrelated side note: I noticed that Greg Tooley has a really cool PDA/Phone...it might be an HP, i didn't get to ask him. But it's funny how techy things like that catch my attention.
Speaking of tech, after I had 'coffee' with my fellow mentors, I went and used my nintendo to look for wifi signals at Deakin. There appears to be a Deakin wifi network. Hoorah!
So, I think that settles it. I'm going to get a new pda that is wifi enabled. But should I get a LifeDrive or a TX? I rely on you, my faithful readers, to decide for me.
Anyway, i'm glad I signed up for mentoring, as it should be an interesting experience.
February 16, 2006
I had a training session and a free lunch
There is such a thing as a free lunch. I had one yesterday when I went to the Peer Mentoring Training Day down at uni. It was a good day. I thought i'd be bombarded with a lot of information, but it actually was pretty straight forward. I also got to meet Lee, who i've been talking with on DSO for quite a while.
So, on Monday, i'll meet my mentees at their information session, and i'm not sure exactly what i'll tell them at that first session, but i'm sure I'll think of something.
Oh, and I discovered that they still use 'Confessions of a Deakin Student', the video I made with Jenko for Deakin back in 2002/2003
February 12, 2006
I bought Dark Crystal, but I can't watch it till next week
Hands up if you like The Dark Crystal.
Ellen and I went and bought the DVD today with the intention of watching, however, we got sidetracked with lunch and a downloaded episode of Gilmore Girls, so we didn't get to watch it. Neither of us have seen it. We made a pack to watch it next weekend, but i'm really busting to see it. I've heard a lot of good things about it.
But for the moment, i'm going to watch the new David Attinburugh doco, and then Carnivalé
February 09, 2006
A video I made in Yr 12 - Hen Hao!
I've been archiving all my old cds and videos, and I came across some stuff from Yr 12. It doesn't feel like that long ago, and yet my face looked a lot more shiny then. In particular, I found this video I made for VCE Chinese.
You can watch it here via google video
I like to think that my video making skills have improved since then, even if my chinese hasn't
February 07, 2006
I'm going to mentor first year psychology students
Everyone seemed to like the giant bunny, so I thought i'd post more humorous animal photos. This monkey, however, is completely unrelated to the content of this post.
I got an email this morning from Dr Tess from the school of psych at Deakin. It was a group email, asking for people to be peer mentors. So I emailed back and said I'd like to know more. She rang me and explained that for the first 5-6 weeks of semester 1, I'd have to make myself available for a small group of first year psych students, in case they want to ask for advice or something. I thought to myself, well, i'm already Jenko's enrollment officer, so how hard can it be.
I said i'd give it ago. The best part is that i'll get a reference out of it, and it goes towards my reputation in the faculty, so hopefully in a year or so they might give me a job or something. I wanna get in with the cool kids (or at least the cool academics). I also had the idea that it might be handy to get on a faculty commitee somehow; and this might give me some sort of way in. I've goto go to a training session....that might mean socializing...but oh well.
I've also had a lot of trouble with my tute sign ups. OSCAR has a design flaw. Grad Dip units don't get their tutes allocated properly. I was surprised, however, that with just a few emails i got everything fixed up real nice in under 24 hours. Psych faculty actually check their email.
February 05, 2006
Online tute signups start tomorrow
If you're a Deakin student, then you'll thank me for reminding you if you'd forgotten about tomorrows class sign up. The staggered access window schedule is up on the OSCAR website.
I wish I knew what OSCAR stood for.
February 04, 2006
Finally, I've upload the photos from my Sydney vacation
It works a lot better when I post photos within a couple of days of taking them. Otherwise I can't really use them to illustrate what I write about.
The main purpose of photos on a blog is to grab your attention. Without photos, you're very unlikely to make it past the top most entry. That's why I'll sometimes post a picture of some random pie - it keeps Jenkins on his toes.
The main purpose of photos on a blog is to grab your attention. Without photos, you're very unlikely to make it past the top most entry. That's why I'll sometimes post a picture of some random pie - it keeps Jenkins on his toes.
So, here's a photo from my trip with the parentals to Sydney. I've put another dozen on flickr, which you can see here
Our appartment was up really high, as you can see in the other photos.
February 03, 2006
My uni books arrive in the mail.
My uni books arrived in the mail to day. They cost me aprox $500, which i'm not used to. I only bought a couple of text books while I was doing contemporary arts.
I must say, I love new text books though. It is very exciting. I'm such a nerd; I want to read all of them cover to cover before lectures start, Hermione Granger style.
Mmmm, smell that new paper. Hard backs, and shiny.
Tori has a new DVD
The wonderful Tori Amos is putting out a new DVD compelation of all her music videos. There's pictures of the box over at - The Dent: Scans of the "Fade To Red" packaging.
I reckon I should get it asap. Although, maybe I should just get an ipod video and download the music videos from iTunes.
I still haven't bought her new biography, either.
January 31, 2006
It's funny when you know people on game shows
Mr Guin, a teacher from my highschool, is on Deal or No Deal. Charity just rang me up to let me know. How about that?
He just won $10,998
January 28, 2006
The Producers - It's the worst show in town
I saw The Producers today (the film version). I saw it with Ellen. It didn't stand up very well at all. It's a complete copy of the stage version - word for word, gesture for gesture. Even the sets are identical. Ell absolutely hated it with a passion.
The worst thing about it is the BIG musical acting. Stage acting and film cameras don't mix.
I saw the stage version with Amanda and Elliot a while ago, which was actually quite entertaining. It probably helps to be with a large audience.
Nevertheless, we finished the day with another episode of Gilly Girls. So all is well.
In other news, there are some strange things going on with the monkey theatre group i'm involved in. I think i'm in the middle of it. I'm not sure.
At highschool, they had a peer mediation program. When there was conflict among students, they were going to get students to run a medition session. I signed up, and they got in these councilors to teach us mediation skills. You had to have two people mediating, and you had to call yourself M1 and M2. You had to listen to each persons side of the argument and say "So, what I hear you saying is...", and reframe their statement in neutral, touchy/feely terms.
Only one session was ever held before the program was cancelled, and I never got to do any real mediation. I'd forgot about it till now. But it makes me remember that I was kind of interested in psychology back then, to some degree.
In year 10, I was also a peer support leader. I made new year 7s feel special...
January 27, 2006
Gilmore Girls marathons are like undiluted cordial - sweeeeet
Yesterday approached my definition of a perfect day.
In the morning I went and bought a new remote control fan (the remote is just to turn it on and off - it doesn't drive around the house). It's a great fan. Mum and Dad thought it was a stupid buy, and yet, I had a fantastic nights sleep last night.
Then, I had Nando's with Ell...and then...
Ell and I had a Gilmore Girls marathon! Gilly Girls is my guilty immasculating pleasure. It hasn't been on for over a year or more, but returned late 2005. I recorded it everyweek while Ell was overseas, and so yesterday we watched nearly eight hours of gilly girls back to back.
I'm stoked about what happened with Lauralai and Luke...i'm not so stoked about Rory and Dean. It's all great drama though.
And to top it off, there is another episode on this Saturday.
January 19, 2006
a day of phone calls and cloud like softness
Called Simon, catching up with him tomorrow. Called Adam, catching up with him monday. I even bumped into Wendy on msn, and what do ya know, we're both doing social psych A next semester.
Oh, and I went on a bus today for the first time. I took the new fancy bus to chadstone and bought a new pillow.
January 18, 2006
Back from Sydney
Did I say that I am back form Sydney? Well, I am.
It was a pretty good trip. I'm not much of a touristy person, but I do enjoy living in highrise appartments and eating out, which I got to do plenty of.
Our appartment in the World Tower was 64 floors up (allthough the 10th floor was at ground level). It had the best view ever. I'll post some pictures soon.
On monday I met up with Charity and we had lunch, and then her husband, Chris, gave me a tour of his work (Channel 7). I drool over expensive AV equipment, and it puts me in the mood to come home and encode video.
I didn't do as much reading as i thought I would. However, I did listen to the Learned Optimism audiobook by everyone's favourite psychology Martin Seligman, and Dr Phil's new audiobook Smart Love (find the one you want, keep the one you've got)
UV patches
I really want to get some UV detection skin patches. You stick them on your arm and they measure the amount of UV hitting your skin.
January 15, 2006
like old times
Walking around sydney, somewhere near the harbour bridge, i got a call from Jenko. I didn't know but he's enroling at Deakin next year, doing teaching. Adam will still be doing some deakin units, right? Ren - will ya be around deakin much? it might almost be like old times.
Anyway, i couldn't help jenko much with his enrolment woes
lots of ice cream
still in sydney, eating lots of ice cream.
January 12, 2006
call from simon
got a call from simon while at dinner in sydney with the parentals last night. i've been meaning to ring him for ages...so i'm going to call him when i get back next week. i'm seeing chaza on monday too.
January 11, 2006
stupid clock
this historical clock was supposed to do amazing things on the hour, but despite the large audience 20min passed with nothing happening so everyone left. stupid clock.
January 09, 2006
Ell's back and i'm going to sydney
Just went over and visted Ell. She's not changed, and she lent me the Harry Potter audio book in french for sydney.
We're going to sydney tomorrow, and i'm not sure what the internet situation is going to be (grrr)...so possibly no posts for a week.
I've goto buy a couple of audio books from audible.com to keep me entertained while the parentals drag me around to boring things. I'm thinking of getting Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, and Snow Crash (a sci-fi novel i've had recommended to me)
mareebrown.com
Mum finally needed a website for her artwork. Lucky she knows an amateur webdesigner, moi. I've set it up so that it is completely run by movabletype. She's not posted anything to it yet, but I think i've got it looking pretty slick. I'm actually a bit jealous, because it looks so much better than this blog at the moment.
Anyway, be sure to leave comments when she posts something.
January 08, 2006
Elle revient
Ellen is back from overseas. She arrived this morning and sent me an sms. I called her on my mobile from North Brighton station on may way home from Elliot's, as I had intended to drop in and say hi. However, she wasn't at home, so I will drop around tomorrow.
Yay. Life is back to normal again.
It's funny, I only got a postcard from her the otherday, which goes to show how slow the mail is.
January 06, 2006
Fancy beverage
Today I went to the NGV with mum to see a brit pop art exhibition. It was good. And the NGV has really fancy hot chocolate. The other picture is of the great hall ceiling
January 02, 2006
commenting problems
Appologies for everyone who has been trying to leave comments on this blog. There is something wrong with the comment form, which I will attempt to fix over the next few days.
January 01, 2006
New Years eve
New years eve at Elliot's last night wasn't half bad. I even participated in drinking games (which I learn't are just drama games + alcohol), and I wore a wig.
December 31, 2005
Extras episode 1
I just watched the first episode of Extras, from the DVD courtesy of Adam (thanking you). It's weird seeing Ricky Gervais in this, because he's obviously trying hard not to be David Brent, but it's still kind of similar. Some good moments though. In fact, now that I think of it, he turned all of the characters Brent-esque moments.
New year
Elliot rang me up and invited me to his new place for new years eve tonight. I said "sure"...I don't think he has checked his email and discovered his website yet, which just makes things even more weird.
Anyway, what the hell...I'll have a wack at being social. Happy arbitary calendar system day.
December 28, 2005
i hate summer
Summer is torture. I sleep terribly in summer, and I become incredibly sexualy frustrated.
I was on a tram today, and there were two incredibly hot french girls (well, at least they were speaking french)...and they were having a lot of trouble not falling over as the tram stopped and started. "Ooh la la" they said "Ce tram, c'est très difficle! giggle giggle giggle". And I thought ooh la la, please fall on me. But, alas, no.
I hate summer. It's torture.
December 27, 2005
Zelda for DS
I went and bought the original NES classsic game The Lengend of Zelda, ported to Game Boy Advance, but which works on my DS. It was cheap, only $30. But it is still a very fun game, and it brings back memories. I'm having a lot of fun.
I just wish I could get my nintendo wifi working with my router so that I can play mario kart against japaneese kids.
Another game I was looking at is Sprung for Nintendo DS. It's a cross between a ye olde text adventure game and a girlfriend simulator (apparently, girlfriend simulators are all the rage in japan). It's got terrible reviews, so I won't get it. But i'm hanging out for something w