Hey!

Hey!
Originally uploaded by Ice Kachang.

I got flickr now! yay

Now for some photos from Australia Day..

I was checking my gmail and had BF1942 intro music playing then a banner ad for the navy came up. I toyed with the idea of joining, but then the song finished.

Come on people, I still haven't recouped the cost of my CFN membership! Lets go to graveyard-shift CFN sometime next week (excluding Saturday night coz I got Church XD)

James, my legal dispute resolution course touches upon the Myers-Briggs

Dang, missed out on the little reunion at uni.. I'm still here at work, and will be so until 5. Lunch tomorrow for those at uni.. lets have it.

Jono: The mine I'm going to is actually nearer to Wyong than Newcastle (the suburb that is 2 stations north of Wyong), and I have just found out that I am going there next week Tuesday.

Joyce: I may or may not have a baseball game on Sunday. (depends if the team, Ryde/Eastwood forfeits) If I do, I'll be able to get to the city at earliest at 5. Otherwise I can get there whenever need be. I suggest a movie (Chicken Little or Munich if I dont see it today) beforehand.

Oh yeah, thanks for letting me know early on Benny.
:)

Cool, me starting Summer today too.

Alexis :: Since you are selling ur Xbox, I think its time u cashed in ur promises to several ppl. I think you owe James a PS2, and me an Xbox w/ DoA 3 . If I have 2, then I mod em both and have myself a myFirst(r) Beowulf Cluster with TWO Xboxes!
Respect to the crasy guys who have enuf money to buy all the series I have. I mean to do so, but only when I can afford it -

quick calculations ::
~ 2 eps a day
~ 360 days a year that I can get em
~ total 720 eps a year
~ 25 eps a season
~ $65 a season
~ $1900 a year.

Not something I can afford (yet)

DArren + Benny :: I am down for Munich @ 5:30, 6:30 or 7:40. Will be at uni from 12, so either
1) gimme a buzz and I will meet eeither of u outside Darren's Workplace @ 2ish
or
2) u can come to Coffee on Campus near CSE, where I will be till 2

wow looks like theres so much going on here & I get so mixed up with who's who.
hehe but anyways yea who ever's interested in the Cultural Night on Sunday, I have as many tickets as you like, so just come along (can bring with u your frds, frds of frds, bla bla)

But just let me know how many are coming so that I bring enough tickets on the day.

Should be fun (altho I never seen it myself hehe) & we need to decide a time where we can meet or do something beforehand (up2U as wat do you wanna do?). As long as we get there around 5pm so not all the front seats are taken. (the show starts officially at 5:30pm).

Dont think i can make Munich around 6pm Tues as I have class till 8:30pm ... Hope you all have fun!

hmmm...Alexis I am interested in your Xbox. And if you have Project Gotham 2 and Forza Motorsport, I am interested in them too. Though I have played both, don't really think it can compare with GT4 paired with the Logitech Force feedback pro. However, PG2 has the Enzo and FM has damage incorporated into the game, something GT can't do because of license problems.

I am tempted to get an Xbox360 purely because of those games, but 649+ some more for 2 games is beyond me...

Darren> Tennis was at Marrickville

Doesn't look like there are anyone else up for Munich tomorrow...

Jono> By the way Jono sorry mate I can't make it up this weekend.
My parents are helping out at a Vietnamese New Year Festival thing so I have to go help out.

Won't be many girls there anyway... XD

Marc> Maybe Korean is like ribs for you Marc

Alexis> Post post a list of the games you have for sale

Alexis, I felt the exposition of his past too short. The rest was good length.

But unlike you, they are all original...literally LOL.

Man I ate at that Korean place again and got so sleepy after lunch. I got that itis!

Wow, almost 4pm and I havent taken a nap yet..

Marc, Luna Blu's mains are $20+, averaging $24. My veal main cost $22 if memory serves me correct.

Alexis, I am interested in your PS2 games.. I'll talk to you more about it when I catch you online.

Munich tomorrow (tuesday) for those who havent seen it and want to. Aiming for the session between 5:30 and 6:30, as the movie is a bit longer than 2 hours.

Tennis: There are tennis courts near my place (5 minute walf from my home) which are $8 an hour to hire, and are usually free on saturday nights.

You played tennis yesterday? Where at? and how much?

Hmm, no CFN for me today. I've been spending my time trying to learn HLSL to implement pixel shader-based spotlighting without much luck. Will end up researching it at home for tomorrow. James, what did you refer to to implement your BTFs and phong shaders?

Gimme Batman Begins if you have it on DVD Alexis,

Btw Joyce are there any tickets left for the cultural celebration Joyce?

Are we watching Munich tomorrow btw?

We really need to organise a regular tennis thing...

Yesterday was awesome even if there was only 4 and we kept hitting it over to the other courts...

Charlie,
That's an awesome B&W photo. And that had to be Jono, of course.

Glad to see everyone flickring.

Marc if you really think that about Batman Begins then you and I must have seen different films.

I do not want to leave LA and Utah. I never had so much fun before in my life. I have reflected on my life back in Australia, and after discussing it with my parents and my brother, I have decided to sell my PS2, X Box and Gamecube and all the games I currently own. IGN calculated the net worth of all the games at $7 538. If anyone is interested let me know.

As a sidenote, I thought I had a huge DVD collection, with 180 original films. But the crowd I am hanging out with, their 500 plus collections are sights to behold. Like you Hash, they have all the seasons of Lost, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf, Firefly and much more. However, unlike you, they are all original.

Jono@Maroubra- 29/01/06

Jono@Maroubra- 29/01/06
Originally uploaded by rubberbanhpho.

Experimenting with B/W.

Sounds good. I might be able to get Renee in too.

I will drop by CFN at around 5 to check for peeps.

perhaps its never a tradition to eat Chai on CNY in my family. CNY is more like a time where we can eat more oily, fatty & delicious meat. The festivities will start around 5pm and finishes at 7:30pm on Sunday.

Coolz charlie & darren perhaps we can meet in the city somewhere before the show starts? wat u think? p.s. I kinda regretted picking that msn address, but as long as its easy for others to remember i dont really care :P

I don't mind eating "chai" for a day. Its not that bad, besides its become more of a tradition for me than anything. The question I asked was purely for interest. They create those mock meats because it facilitates new converts much like a nicotine patch. I don't see how it matters though as long as it doesn't tempt them to eat real meat which is the real harm for them.

I was referring to PC tomorrow night.

wtf? The West Wing is doing so poorly in Australia that ABC had to buy the rights?

Marc: I sympathise with your situation. However, my solution is to eat out AFTER I made an excuse to go out. Asian parents should know people these days are more like carnivores. Or you can simply tell them that you are still a growing boy and needs your protein. Lolz. Just hope they don't counter that argument with mushrooms. Also, it's a good question. But then, for those who have very asian parents and believe in buddism. Why do they create products such as vegetarian ducks and vegetarian chicken. Basically vegetarian "meat products" in the first place?? If they are so strict on being vegetarians, then shouldn't they concentrate on NOT eating meat altogether? Creating such substitutes makes it as though they are still dwelling on their desire for meat. I got owned by my grandmother because i said something about that once. Lolz


Jono: Hmmm...pc on CNY...tempting...

Hash: I believe you've done those kids a favour by exposing them to Texas Hold'em and Black Jack before they get "taught how to play" at school. Usually, when they get taught by the kids at school, they'll probably get ripped off in the first few rounds and hence, by teaching them early with a "safer" environment has enabled them to defend themselves against those who wishes to use their naviety to their advantage. I also believe we should let them experience the intensity of playing these games with more experienced players such as ourselves. Of course, practice makes perfect, so it's perfectly fine to include them in our game. =þ

Down for PC.

let's do something today!

soccer? PC? tennis? my swimming pool?

Hash you redeemed your Karma by saving them $8 from watching Chicken Little in the short term and providing them with financial skills for Texas which will earn them a fortune when they grow old. (Or completely ruin their super).

How much for a main there Darren? The reason why early day Australians drank so much was because they were convict degenerates (even if they did not drink as much per capita as UK).

I have solved my laptop power adapter problem by bridging the broken wires with aluminium foil and masking tape. Pfft, who needs "solder"?

Hopefully it won't burn up in flames...

My mother is still in strict observance of eating "chai" (vegetarian) on CNY. So I have a question: are scallops and oysters considered meat/animal? If so, why are they not considered a vegetable of the sea?

A new old reason to drink on Australia Day, perhaps?

Darren :: Orsome, then I will see on Tues, and I can shout u a ticket (since I owe u money neway).

Marc :: When u have '50 Cent' and Nanny Mcphee on the table, the bar for all other things is raised that much higher.

To Celebrate the Chinese New year I
1) Taught several children from the ages 9 - 18 how to gamble by playin Texas Hold 'em and Black Jack.
2) Watched some Battlestar Galactica
3) Had a nice dinner @ Home, courtesy of Anula Randeni's School of orsome homemade cooking for $0 (to me)
4) Semi-redeemed my bad karma for 1) by saving kids $8 from having to go watch Chicken Little

Happy New Year/Kung Hei Fat Choi/Chuc Mung Nam Moi all!

I had an Italian dinner to celebrate Chinese new year at a restaurant near the Italian Forum. The food there was quite delicious, worthy of the high prices charged for it. That was the best gnochhi that I have ever had there, the pillows of potato were so soft that they just melted in my mouth.

So, the next time you are in Leichhardt and have alot of money spare, you should go eat at Luna Blue.

Hope we all had fun at the beach today.. I got to mow the lawn so it is 2cm shorter than it was before..

Haha Jono, The Blanks... I particularly like the third paragraph on the main page of their website.. very appropriate. =)

Hey Joyce, count me in for the cultural performances as well, it sounds like fun. Thanks for your msn, you (or someone from admin) may want to change that address so it doesnt get picked up by mailbots.

CFN any working day sounds good. Let me know before 5 on the day you guys want to go and I'll join you before 6. woohoo

Phwoar, Munich.. I dont mind seeing that movie again Hash, this time to attempt to remember quotes from the dialogue.

And speaking of movies, I just happened to catch Underworld 1 on cable today.. Not as special-effects-filled or naked-Kate-Beckinsale-y as the second one, but more moody than its sequel.

DSC00003

DSC00003
Originally uploaded by azn_hoey.

One of the photos I took with my SLR F601. It's a lil out of focus because I took the foto of the foto with my 828. Not enough light, so it's a lil dark and unfocused.

wazzzzaaaaa

Starting your internship this Monday Marc? Nice one!

Hey Joyce, count me in for the cultural performances, that is if you still have free tickets.

Happy Lunar New Year Everybody!

What time do the festivities start/stop on that Sunday?

Who's down for CFN on Monday evening? The internship place is a heartbeat away and I can join you guys right after work!

Heyz Hope you guys had great fun today at the beach.
Me somehow got dragged by my parents to celebrate CNY at YumCha.

Hi Darren, my msn is Sgirl18@hotmail.com

Munich sounds like a good movie haven't seen it,
also rkn Nanny McPhee could be awesome hehe!
anyways, If ya planning to do anything after the movie next Tues...count me in (coz i won't get off till 8:30pm...)

P.S. Is anyone still interested in the cultural performance on 5th of Feb (plz refer to the previous ads). The tickets are for free, & I happen to have enough for you to give to your frds, family, relatives & so on so on. (Come on guys come & experience the rich chinese culture ^^)

*****************
Have a G'Day.

Hash, I would have thought the desperation started at Big Momma's House.

James - good to see you're doing well, and that your camera's doing even better.

Kwong - I think you'll enjoy this short clip

Also quite enjoyable is this one

For all scrubs fans. :)

(PS sarah chalke is elliot)

PPS
the main site is here
06 play on has the todd
05 touched has carla
11 holy has elliot
17 what has bob kelso
18 middle has turk
24 john has jordan (haha)
25 want has laverne (nurse roberts)
26 if you never looked at me has zach braff
31 love has bill lawrence (creator, listen to this last)

I'd be down for Munich but I think Jono, John, Darren, Charlie, Kwong, Irene have just seen it yesterday

Wow, seems like the group is spamming outings every few days or so.
The one year where I might have parental permission to go to all of them, I have a bitch of a summer course. How orsome.

btw - this Tues arvo, ne1 up for a movie -
1. Munich
2. Big Momma's House 2
3. (if we r desperate) Get Rich or die trying
4. (if we r really desperate) Nanny McPhee

For those not at Jono's place, you will be pleasantly surprised to see what the featured article on Wikipedia for Australia Day was.

G'day,
I'm back in China now. Europe was blizzard cold. The R1 did its job very well. The 717 couldn't have given the same coverage of resolution. Good machine, despite the 'naive high ISO chroma noise reduction' problem Kwong. ;)

Anyway, nice to see Yi's back. For a while I wasn't use to the idea of Yi being around. Must have been those tucoti-less CFN nights.

I will get back to Aussie land on the 17th. See you folks then.

I'm in... Only if we're playing beach soccer course...

Belay that
I'm out
Family stuff

Have fun all

And thanks again to Jono for hosting another event and Marc for being the Southerner Shuttle Chauffer [sic]

hey all,

yi's organising beach tomorrow, bilgola most likely (somewhere quieter, less crowded) for 4pm, followed by dinner as suspected.

We'll meet at my house at 3pm or earlier, and leave by then. Post up if you can come and if you wanna have lunch or do something earlier in the day. Brrrrrring it!

Thanks to all of those who made it yesterday, notably so to Irene and Annie for buying and cooking the food. I had a great time, and hope that you did too. I hope that those who were not able to attend had an enjoyable Australia Day.

Despite what I said last night, I seem to have ended up at work; and I cant get this cider taste out of my mouth.. urgh..

Welcome to the blog Joyce, whats your MSN again?

My Fellow Australians:

Seeing that patriotism is just what we need in the midst of recent troubles in Cronulla, come and celebrate Australia Day with us today and help us defend our turf.

Battle site: Bicentennial Park

Battle strategy: BBQ, Soccer, miscellaneous outdoor activities

Combat commences at 11am Thursday 26th January. If you're late, you will not be considered food rationing.

Commanding Officers:
Darren
Kwong
Jono
Marc
Kai
Herman
Benny
Hash
Kj
Yi
Charlie
Annie
Irene
Kim
Lynn

Hopeful conscripts may have their admission considered upon reporting to our Chief Commanding Generals Darren and Kwong
That means you:

John
Linda
Spain
Eric
Marco
Rosalie
Friends of Friends

We welcome allied forces

who's butters?
unfortunately there'd be no dragon dancing of nekind...
but more of something traditional (artistic) chinese like peking opera?

Since OO deadlines being what they r, I am not sure that I can join everyone for the festivities tomorrow.

Our wonderful lecturer Mr.Potter decided that he just HAD to go ahead an release the 2nd assignment this Friday, right after Assignment 1 is due. The huge ass project is still in the works, so instead of bumming tomorrow, I have to get initial project implementation and assignment 1 completed. Yay.

How come you rate King Kong so badly Alexis?
Is it coz Tenacious D didn't sing enough?

C8

DVD night at Jono's place tonight at 8:30pm. Need to confirm tomorrow's events too. Requesting a pickup from Normanhurst? :D

You should consider blogging your movie reviews, Alexis.

I felt Batman Begins was too short. He progressed to Batman too fast without revealing more about his past which I wanted.

Here are the rest:

5. Good Night, and Good Luck Two words: Joseph McCarthy! The spawn of satan himself. Murrow is a spokesperson for a team of bold and daring journalists who dared at the time to stand up to the injustice of Senator McCarthy's communist witchhunts. It's a highly stylized reenactment of specific historical events, done for purposes of social commentary by showing parallels between the events being reenacted in the movie and and problems that the creators of the movie see in society contemporaneous with the time of the release with the movie. George Clooney used a page out of Oliver Stone's book by using the same technique of JFK in mixing original footage and reenactments.

It had a great commentary on so many issues that still resonates even though these events took place 50 years ago. One would hope that people in the news would watch this movie and live by it - hell, people in ALL fields of entertainment!

6. Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut "Kingdom of Heaven" is what happens when the big studio butts in and hamstrings the director into turning what should have been a remarkable, even great film into the complete box office misfire and critically-panned turd that the theatrical cut ended up becoming. Given its pitiful one theater (in the old somewhat decrepit Laemmle Fairfax in Los Angeles) no advertisement limited release, Fox really seems intent on burying this film once and for all, despite it deserving a much better fate.

Basically, by adding a full hour of content that fleshes out a myriad of important characters (principals and supportings), extending existing scenes so that they are allowed to breathe and the audience to absorb the historical detail and textures, and even one very important subplot involving Sibylla's (Eva Green) character and her son - Kingdom of Heaven has been turned, in a stunning fashion from the proverbially maligned frog to that noble and stalwart prince, worthy of praise and awards attention.

7. Batman Begins It's a nearly perfect movie. My only - and I mean only - misgiving is that on a couple occasions a few lines of exposition by background/side characters is overstated and not needed, but that's it. And such a complaint is so overwhelmingly swallowed up in the whole that I feel somewhat ashamed in mentioning it, but I had to explain my lack of perfect feeling. Still an excellent, excellent film. It gets the whole world exactly right. It tells the story of the film beatifully, and it suggests things to come in future films in ways that do not detract one bit from the current story.

8. Cinderella Man As a visual feast, "Cinderella" doesn't disappoint. From the exquisite Depression-era production design to the muddy, claustrophobic view of the boxing venues, Howard and his team have triumphed again with meticulous detail and epic richness. The actors all benefit from the dynamic look of the locations, making their job of imagination all the more easier. But the main portion of my acclaim should really go to:

Russell Crowe

Like him as a person or not, Crowe puts forth another finely tuned, very convincing performance as boxer Jim Braddock. Physically, emotionally, - the guy is always spot-on. Unlike in real life, he can be quite humble and sympathetic while beating the shit out of people. Really, his character is affecting, especially in his scenes with Braddock's children, and may be fairly reflective of the actual person of Braddock.

There are a number of eye-rolling moments that will forever keep it a "good, not great" film... some of which, strangely enough are of a technical nature. I will never understand why some directors feel the need to use CG as an added effect to a story that in no way calls for it.

9. The War of the Worlds As the closing narration tells us, Spielberg's War of the Worlds is essentially about the right to exist, and coming from the man who also directed Schindler's List, it is not surprising to see Spielberg sieze on that theme, nor is it surprising to see Spielberg reference historical events dealing with genocide and mass murder. This is not a deep movie, this is an action piece about terror and survival, about the lengths people will go to in order to ensure the survival of those they love.

For 90 minutes, I was positive I was watching perhaps the best film i'd ever seen this decade. On numerous occasions I found myself in total awe of what was happening in front of me. My mouth was dry, shifting in my seat, the whole bit. I have never seen as impressive special effects, and the first tripod sequence may go down in history as one of the most terrifingly real sequences in movie history. I was not at all expecting the movie to end there. It really felt like the movie just came to a halt. It is kinda hard to think that a alien race that technologically advanced would not think about disease and immunity.

10. Serenity Pity the movie utterly failed at the box office. Serenity is/was what the new Star Wars movies should have been and is/was representative of the spirit of the old Star Wars movies -- a swashbuckling, audience-rousing, spirited adventure. It had elements of solemnity but was never overly self-important. It was fast, had well developed and interesting characters, and was always heading somewhere at a rapid pace.

The bottom 5:

1. The Fantastic Four
2. Constantine
3. The Legend of Zorro
4. Aeon Flux
5. King Kong

Seef. By watching his movie, you do know that you are helping him fulfil his self-made prophecy.

Interested in cultural night IF they have some goddamn decent Lion/Dragon dancers. I've had enough of these pussies around Chinatown walking in an oversized costume collecting red packets that look suspiciously like protection money. Where are the pros?

The Office is an awesome series, both US and UK. The UK boss, Rick Gervais, is less spontaneous and quirky than Steve Carell but both excellent mockumentaries. The IMDB review summed it up quite well. It is an "excruciating comedy" ie looking at a trainwreck about to happen: you can't turn your eyes away and when the bomb drops, you laugh because the situation or the person is so pathetic (pathetic as in something to be pitied).

Another note, The US version is a lot more forgiving on the boss than the UK. In the US, everytime the boss takes a beating, its a new episode and mostly forgotten. In the UK, it all accumulates and in the second season, they replace the boxing gloves with knuckle dusters which kinda stamps out the humour.

about the vamps and the wolvs - Underworld:Evolution is not the crowning glory of fantastic sci-fi/goth/fanstasy that we all hoped it would be. There is a grand total of one reason to see this movie and that may be enuf to watch it.

I suggest (since we seem hell bent on watching this bad movie) we might as well watch "50 Cent" in his starring role as a rapper-in-the-makin'.

down for bbq @ anyplace

Thanks to charlie and jono, loks like I joined 'the boy's club' (eventually) :p.
Okies, really wanna say hi and if you don't mind I need to post up a few ads (not for self-promotion):

1. There's a ski trip organised by the social club at work for employees' family & frds. It might happen either in mid-july (a 2days wkend) or the begins of August (a 3days wkend) based on majority of the votes. And since its a corporate deal, it won't be pricy & will be fun.

Let me know if you are interested so I can keep you posted in the mean time based on the condition that I won’t change jobs/be promoted to overseas/resign/worst case get fired any time soon.

(coz its almost 6mths away, no need for commitment or anything)

2. A colleague of mine needs to sell her 8mths remaining membership of Fitness First. It will be $16 per wk instead of the normal $20 per wk. So if you are interested and not a current member of FF, I can perhaps arrange for you to meet her. The deal is then settled between the two of you which means I won't be charging any commission.

3. I have a few FREE tickets for a live Chinese cultural spectacular at Sydney Town Hall presented by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism.

The Details are:
Venue: Sydney Town Hall, 483 George St. Sydney 2000
Time: 5:30-7:30pm, 05 Feb 2006

This will be a good Cultural nite out, if you like the following programs:
Chinese Acrobatic Troupe
Gourmet in Beijing
Traditional CHinese decorative knots
Paper cut performance
Chinese painting
Peking Opera
Fashion show
Lucky draw consisting prizes for air tickets to China
yada yada

I guess its enough from me today hehe
hmm laters~

Joyce

Down for BBQ and Soccer.

Some photos I took the other night.

Ok, Kwong, John, Benny and I have discussed potential plans for Thursday after watching an enjoyable movie about vampires and werewolves ripping each other apart. (No, not Chicken Little, Underworld: Evolution)

It seems that no matter what happens in the day, we will end up at Jonos place in the evening, so that part of the night has been agreed upon. Before the evening, there are a number of options which we could pursue:

• Go to Centennial park for a picnic, or a BBQ which one or 2 of us can supply if none are available. Also to play soccer.
• Go to Bicentennial park for the same reason as above
• Go to Botanical Gardens for the same reason as above above
• Go to a beach for the same reason as the first option (maybe palm beach)
• Go to Jonos place for the same reason as the first option
• Do your own thing then meet up in the evening

After whatever we do, we could all head to darling harbour to watch the Australia Day fireworks, then back to Jonos place.

At Jonos place, we could do many things. Whatever these things may be, I am sure they will require alcohol.

It would be great if we could get people we dont already know, so bring along someone that the rest of us dont know (well) or barely see. It'll be fun..

Well, those are the ideas that we have come up with.

less of a throne, more of a severe spanking

also, could be funnier if the running commentary was in the wikiBulletin; reminds me of scrubs.
(Took me a while to process the "Throne" thing)
Nothing to see here...

Has Jono reclaimed the throne from Benny?

My brother leaves for HKG for 2 weeks from this Wednesday night so my place is quite available and you can make all the noise you want...

Well in that case, If I dun have any group commitments, I am down for nething on Australia day

There is no OO lecture on Thursday Hash, unless you are going to uni for a group meeting..

The most Australian thing that comes to mind when celebrating Australia Day is a bbq at someones place. The weather is supposed to be cloudy with late sunny periods on thursday, with a balmy 26 being the top temperature. Beaches should be crowded, even our beloved Bilgola may have more than 20 people on it.

So.. yeah.. we could have a bbq at my place in the arvo (4pm or so onwards), then do whatever later on.

My next suggestion would be kebabs at Cronulla..

Alexis: Civilisation seems to be doing well without the suppression of sexual deviancy. On the contrary, it has become more tolerant of it.
Wouldn't it also make sense that if civilisation allow these deviancy to continue, then homosexuals face no social pressure to marry an opposite sex. Gradually, they'll be removed from the gene pool and your notion of social order shall be restored?

Jono, if those mountains don't look heavenly, I don't what does. Down for South America. Too bad you're booked up till December. Otherwise we could well go for a backpacking trip from Columbia to Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. We could live up to our name Also if you're back on Wednesday night and have a leave on Friday, we could well go for a mini roadtrip, returning before Chinese New Year. Marc how about it?

Down for anything on Australia Day.

I am ok for Australia's day celebrations, I just have to jet for OO by 5

so what are we doing for Aussie beat Lankans and South Africans day?

I was thinking maybe a bbq at the beach for the whole day with some beach soccer?

Then crash at jono's?

or my place possibly...

btw the faster you respond the less likely I am to go to a relative's place to gamble... I mean to work...

John suggests we take a walk to Cronulla

I'm down XD

Massively productive day today, and on just 4.5 hours' sleep.
Slept at 11:30pm in Sydney for the night, woke up 4am to drive up and straight to work.

was so tired at the start though, esp after a 2.5 hour drive.

umm yeah..nothing much else to say...

Hopefully should be back wednesday night if it's all go go green for friday leave.

Probably go home and collapse now, or go beach

We have the skillz, we have the stratz, we have the melanin - I say to u supporters of the Aussie cricket team - BRING IT ON!

on a side note :: One lankan dude had a huge whiteboard as his sign - At one stage it said "Go back to Cronulla"

SO BRING ON DA BEACH Marc!

we will take u down

Not a good idea to upset the host country, Hash, or we'll go Cronulla Beach on you biatch!

Sri Lanka thrashed Australia, winning by 52 runs!.

If it were not for Australia's ungodly ability to bat down to their 8th wicket, we would have gotten the bonus point as well.

Jayasuriya is such a pro, he was injured and couldn't run properly. The Aussies targetted this heavily, by running into his way when there was a chance of a run-out, and always throwing to his end, even if he wasn't facing. HE STILL GOT A CENTURY so suck on that j00 Aussie supporters!

Go Lanka, Go Lanka, GO!

Wanna see some cool photos from Ismar (Bosnian friend from the outdoors club here) who's travelling South America?

Perhaps some motivation to travel to South America. I'm certainly down.

The photos only get better.

The account takes less than "2 seconds" to sign up.

Man Alexis, going hard out on the hate path there.

Listen to Charlie - he is doing a Psych degree, I doubt he would give u the same crap if you based all your theories on fluid dynamics.

From a Biologist's point of view, the biggest issues between gay couples is this - They may be less likely to donate their genetic material into the Human gene pool. Though I think in brokeback mountain, they are all married and have kids so that is not an issue. The problem exists mostly only in the modern world.

Maybe even though we males feel the hate towards anyone who might compete with us, maybe as we as a species grow and learn more things, we get more rooted to the notion that the race must survive. Looking at the group survival, maybe the anger towards gay couples is that they are reducing the diversity of the gene pool. All genetic material should be able to be passed down. This will be essential in the future, as without a full-spectrum of the human gene pool, we may be on the path to exinction. So who knows, maybe in a century or two, all pplz will be required to provide a gamete sample(s) during the times of highest viability - including gays, lesbians, ppl who are neva gonna get some, and even those who have taken a vow of celibacy.

It is not bigotry at all Charlie. You said it yourself; sexual orientation is largely hereditary and has long ago been removed as a psychological illness. Now civilization is rooted in reproductive security. To rephrase my original sentiment, civilization requires the suppression of natural impulses that would break down the social order. Civilization thrives only when most members can be persuaded to behave unnaturally (ergo a gay guy’s need to act straight), and when those who don't follow the rules are censured in a meaningful way.

Munich uses a semblance of history to look at the emotional, social, political, and even visceral truths concerning violence, terrorism, revenge and warfare. It is a disconnected political study where our intellect should illicit subsequent discussion instead of our emotional functions. Brokeback Mountain requires an emotional investment from the viewer as it is the only way one can empathize with the characters. This is a quiet little movie that packs a huge punch if you allow it in. The film is brilliant; I think this film is a testament to Ang Lee's characterization and narrative development that have made this film so poignant on so many levels. Even if you look at the film purely from a technical perspective it is brilliant. The cinematography is amazing. But the narrative surpasses it, I think you can only understand there situation so much before you end up making your own preconceptions of what it must have been like to be gay in a 'Roughneck', patriarchal and overtly masculine society. But this was what made the film so powerful, despite my reservations about homosexuality.

I'll post the rest after I return.

Down for the beach.
(Wouldn't mind CFN)

What say people for the beach tomorrow (Sunday) in the afternoon?

we can either do CFN or beach post lunch time; it will be 33 deg so Charlie's recommending beach could work well

just generating interest and awareness; post up if you wanna do something like either of those tomorrow

Fine reviews Alexis, that is if the criteria is the ability to stir up vexation or interest and thereby encouraging us to go see the films.

However, I find it uncanny how you seemed to have contradicted yourself, twice, in the same posting.

In Crash, you expressed the need to re-evaluate your own prejudices and to be less of a bigot, but only moments later you wish all homosexuals death? There are evidence suggesting that sexual orientation is largely hereditary and has long ago been removed as a psychological illness. Much like how you cannot choose your own race, why then should we re-evaluate prejudice against race and not homosexuality? Your genes tells you that you should eliminate any males that are in direct competition with you for reproduction (i.e. mating partners, aka females), not going around obliterating homosexuals that are of no threat to you. If there is a God, then s/he created homosexuality as a means of population control.

Herein lies the second contradiction:

In Munich you mentioned that the biggest character flaw is to let emotions cloud rational thought. This exact flaw is evident in your review of Brokenback Mountain.

Hope I'm not too blunt. If I' am, you can always tell me to shut the fuck up and I'll gladly concur.

Well seeing how I have finally seen everything 2005 has to offer (at least anything that is worthwhile watching) I give you my top ten films of the year:

1. Crash The all-encompassing theme of this film, racism, was dealt with bluntly, honestly, and without reservation. My friend suggests that Crash merely deals with it in the same shallow stereotypical way that all films of the type do. In broad general stereotypes that explore the effects, but never the underlying cause. To believe the film at all you must buy the assumption that everyone is racist, and for little or no reason. But IMO the film isn’t suggesting that everyone is a bigot, but rather that people have grown cold to affection and respect, instead immediately using hatred and paranoia as a way of communicating with their fellow man, almost always with disastrous consequences. In Crash we get many characters coming from many different angles, so all we really get are a few snapshots of their lives in the time frame of the film. It does not make a serious effort to draw us into the characters the way say American History X does, partly because there isn't time and partly so we will fill in the blanks in the characters with our own prejudices. What it does is show us that prejudice exists inside all of us and the way that affects different people in different ways. It's illustrating in a bold (and depending on your life experience, possibly exaggerated) manner the racial/cultural stereotypes, biases, etc. all of us have felt (or are CAPABLE of feeling) at some point or another. The point of this movie was to cause YOU (meaning everyone) to reevaluate how YOU view others (and whether or not racial-based hatred, biases, and/or stereotypes ever creep into your thoughts), to elicit a reflection on yourself.

In this sense Crash was very powerful for me, as it demonstrated in an utterly believable way the thousands of small things that people do everyday which demonstrates prejudice: from Sandra Bullock's shrinking away from Larenz Tate in the opening sequence, to the "since when were Persians Arabs" and the anger of the Persian father at his inability to understand the world around him. Subtle racism (often guised in nervous humor) and overt prejudice (often exasperated by sudden irrational violence and an overabundance of readily available firearms) completely permeate our culture and everyday interactions within society.

This film isn't perfect of course. Haggis relays a bit too aggressively on coincidence, and the over the top emotionalism of a few key characters is a bit grating. But Crash moved me in a way few movies have, and caused me to look at my own behavior (I can be prejudiced believe it or not). I guess that is how I would summarize it, a hyperbolized "thinking" story in the sense that it's sole purpose is meant to provoke reflective thought in the viewer. And to many people, it succeeded in spurring on dialog and thought... whether you agree or don't agree.

Best film of 2005.

2. The Constant Gardener I know it goes against my initial reactions Darren but after two subsequent viewings this film has grown on me. I have a level of appreciation for it seldom seen. I can't comment extensively on it as I have not formulated a way of expressing my ideas.

3. Munich Steven Spielberg's Magnus Opus. Not quite. I am constantly astonished at how Spielberg can practically take any genre, and do it better than anyone else (which is why he is the master). I found Munich to be detached but uncompromising at the same time. If this wasn't a Spielberg film, I dont think this "criticism" would be expressed nearly as often. It is a highly pyschological, detached work. It is as intelligent, as puzzling, and as insightful as those films by Kubrick or Bergman. It is still Spielberg, but its effect is more like the works of those masters. Its not a film to be emotional about, as that is the biggest flaw in the characters. Emotions overcome rational thought, and Spielberg does everything he can to keep the film unemotional.

The however film succeds as an exploration of the complex, dehumanizing path of the road of tit for tat reprisals, but not fully a denunciation of it. Munich succeds IMO because of the questions that the movie asks, instead of trying to dictate or endorse a viewpoint (much like Crash). Spielberg doesn't promote a philosophy so much as he showcased a wide variety of thoughts and philosophies about revenge and violence. The Arabs felt just as righteously about their own perception and feelings over Israel's existence as the Jewish characters did. You couldn't say that one side is right and the other wrong. Each side, in their own view, has their reasons for what they have done.

Another plus was the pacing, which was mostly excellent. Some scenes were slower because they had to be but the action was very exciting and fast paced. It was able to switch seriousness so easily - there are jokes sprinkled in between to show the humanity of the Mossad team but there are also bouts of violence to show slowly their reactions to each killing. They are curiously idealistic in the beginning but by the end they understand things in a whole new light. You may not learn much more about the characters as people throughout the story but you see their development.

Spoiler! When the naked woman is brutally murdered, get ready for one the most shocking thing you'll seen in a movie in years - especially the moment when air and blood suddenly spray out through the gunshot wound to her chest. It's one thing to cut away from a hotel room going up in an explosion. Quite another when the death is dealt in such a slow, procedural process.

4. Brokeback Mountain The notion of seeing two gay sheep herder lovers is not compelling. But the film is just truly heartbreaking. There's an emotional and moral cost to the love that these guys feel for each other. The pain that that our two protagonists Jack and Ennis cause their families is not whitewashed, the film does not go out its way to make people feel good about themselves for being tolerant of homosexuals (the film is not a overt political statement, trying to persuade people to accept gay couples).

That being said I still wish all homosexuals death. The hard truth is, most guys are just repulsed by the thought of other guys. It's a trait that we inherit genetically each generation - just like every other animal on the planet. I must obey what my genes tell me.

Note! This is not something you will see with a mate, so go alone or take a partner.



Tired now... post the rest later

Now it is 4 am and I must sleep. I'll post the rest later on.

Roadtrip plans are suspended - pending further notice....

Meanwhile, the sky has finally cleared up after a week of rain and we're heading over to Symphony in The Domain for some quality outdoor time under the stars. Care to join us?

Bring some blankets

Best to get there by train to St James
Map here

Be there if you dare!

Another awesome dream

Im sitting at the bar and I get an SMS from Zach Braff (star of Scrubs & Garden State) telling me he'll be here today. I turn around and there he is, sitting next to me. We have a good chat. He bags me out for not knowing that he's going to New Zealand. He's quite a presence in real life, in my dream. That's all I remember.

If anyone has a car tape adapter, bring it along. If you have CDs bring them along too as we have a 10CD stacker in the car.

I'm getting a lot of these Chinese telemarketers, I guess they're appealing to the bretheren side of me (Don't be a negro, be ma nigga).

Except these people are mando speakers and they usually start off by asking if can speak "gwor yuu". And so I reply: "Ping guor tien bu tien?"

We're leaving tomorrow morning. 6-7am pickup at some person's place in the North.

I am not driving South to pick anyone up so sort it amongst yourselves where you want to meet up/sleepover.

hahah
You mean watch the Aussies own Sri Lanka like the first match?

I'll be going to watch you guys get caned Hash hahah

I'll see you there

As for roadtrip it's a 3 dayer with 1 car i think

Well, you know what would really cheer this place up Jono?

Going to the cricket on Sunday!.

There are still some tickets available (~$42 for students) on the Hill Concourse lvls, so feel free to come on down for a fun evening of compl3t3 s7a110wn4g3 by the Uber 1337 Sri Lankans!.

I just noticed that the Sri Lankan flag is the only openly aggressive (A Lion holding a sword) flag among the nations i have seen. Yet, we a mainly buddhist and thence tend towards pacifism. A strange conundrum.

Hmm blog seems a bit quiet for a roadtrip leaving tonight, doesn't it?

1. ROFL@JONO. The dream ended when she said she was a transexual. Haha, all my dreams are screwed up. Yesterday morning I awoke because I dreamt that the character Mike Delfino from Desperate Housewives got in a pubfight and got a plastic fork jabbed right into his pupil. God, I hate those dreams - especially seeing as how I don't even watch horror or gore.

2. True dat Linda, its still annoying (and scary) nevertheless

3. Hash, you paint an awesome picture. I'd be down for driving the Pintara again though. I would gleefully drive that over my parent's benz. Lets just say I would feel slighty more at ease if I were driving your car than my parents car to Benny's place. I envy James and his lack of insecurity about leaving his car around.

poor Marc, having to drive yet another Benz.

If ur parents are ok with it, I will swap ur Benz (any of em) for our car - the bad 88 auto version of the "`86".

It has almost no problems - only faulty ignition valve, brakes and a single non-functional wiper on the driver side of the windscreen.

and even this was broken into at Parra of all places.
But it is more "thieving-target safe" than your benz =)

Benny :: I am down for a poker night.

To anyone who isn't going on Roadtrip ::
Sat 21st - come to Sydney Bowler's club @ Town hall for a magical evening

Sun 22nd - come to the SCG to see Sri Lanka beat the living crap out of the Aussie cricket team (or visa versa)

I forgot to add "straight hair" to that 1970's statement. Dunno, she was dressed in what looked like 1920's, 1940's or 1970's clothing too, with a satin look. Totally awesome.

The dream ended with me putting my left arm around her shoulders (I was next to the window on the right side of the bus) and the bus cruised away...

Marc: In regards to your incident in Punchbowl - it may have just been that you seemed the more approachable than the beefed up guy driving the new XR6, or perhaps the guy with his connections all set up :P

Jono: Why a 1970's hair do?

1) Try talking to your parents about it, although they will probably ignore yo'ass, buy it anyway then disallow you from driving it. Sad but probably truthful.

2) Roadtrip - are you guys still planning on coming up on saturday? to be honest i'm not a big fan of hanging around in newcastle over weekends so there's a very small chance i'll be up here; but do let me know!

3) I met the girl of my dreams last night, but it was exactly that, a dream. She was so awesomely perfect though, and we met on a bus. She had the whole 1970's blonde hair down to the shoulders with a biased part wearing an old fashioned white-coloured satin-look dress. She told me she was from the southern states. Fantastic. Match made in heaven. Thought I might share that with you before I forget this most wonderful dream forever.

In case you think I'm paranoid, yes, the street-thug thing is true. One time at some lights in punchbowl at 1-2am. The place was deserted and there was an new XR6 in front of me. Some scary lookin dude, walked across the street and approached me (and not the XR6) while I was in my parent's Benz and as he was about 2m from me I prepared to run the red light. Thats where I get the ignorant-ass from: the XR6 was worth more than the Benz I was driving.

I can safely say that never happens when I'm driving the old one.

being a self confessed mercedes fan, i am hardly going to laugh at someone who's about to get a third merc.

I'm am out for roadtrip now that it's likely that Edman probably won't be able to go.

I'll sack myself like an infested terran so you guys can 5 man it.

Btw who's interested in a poker night sometime?

Plus are ppl interested in a weekend thing only?

Charlie mentioned he'd rather 10 man for 2 days than 5 man for 6...

Eric are you still going up to Dorrigo till sunday?

Is it that surprising it has B&W? Every camera has it now :p

Oh deary me. In one of my parents trademark changes of heart, they have decided to get yet another second-hand benz. This time, its *drum roll*...the M-Class! (3.2L). Yes john, laugh it up (refer 07/11/04)

For those who don't watch Top Gear, out of a sample of 50,000+ car owners, those who gave feedback on the M-Class gave it such poor reviews that it made its way to the bottom of the list. Out of 142 cars in 2004, it was the least satisfying car to own.

In the 2005 survey, instead of coming last, the M-Class is 155 out of 159. A slight improvement, but in perspective, it doesn't mean its better, it just means there are more French cars in the market this year.

Herein lies the irony: I'm having trouble imagining parking the E230 or an M-Class outside Benny's house. Both use more fuel than what I'm driving now, both are newer than what I'm driving now and so some ignorant-ass street thug will think its worth more than, say, a brand new Subaru WRX or Ford XR6 of which they are gravely mistaken. So while I will have a perfectly functional car sitting in my driveway I'm afraid to drive it South to Benny's place or Charlie's place because a) of fuel consumption (because I'm so fat I need a 3.2L car to drive me around) b) something may happen to it.

Lets face it, if Charlie's mirage got broken into 3 times in Lidcombe, they will rape the E230 or the M. I can safely say that the benefit of the 190E is that its rather inconspicuous (15 years old) which is why it was cool driving it.

I envision saying "I told you so" not long from now, but it is completely empty and inappropriate because you realise you yourself are a victim. But I have to admit, it would be rather funny to see my parent's facial expression when I come home late one night or even call from a police station and tell something has happened to the car.

I can not beleive they are actually having a DOA movie. That is beyond silly.
It will be the biggest flop after Blood Rayne, but it will have 5x the fan service rating (5 hot chicks that kick arse vs. 1 hot chick that kicks arse).

I reckon they can make more money on bets for seeing how bad such a movie is, rather than ticket sales themselves.

btw - Underworld evolution comes out tomorrow, who wants to see it next tues?

Other upcoming movies ::

Yes Marc, I think that's HOlly Valance in DoA. It better not suck like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. And seriously, why can't they make Tekken instead?! Tekken own DOA! "Doorya" from Kazuya and Paul punch!!

James: Did you take that pic with the R1? Does it have B&W mode?!

If you're getting paid like last time then just stick around and surf the web. What would you do at home? Sit around and surf the web.

I don't have much appreciation for coffee, so I couldn't tell squat diddly when I tried the Espresso. But my aunt said that Italian Espresso is out of this world. Apparently theres something about it thats just better that no one else can figure out.

Assume Roadtrip will go ahead and we leave on Saturday morning. We need to arrange a pickup point where everyone can sleepover.

Far out, I arrived at uni at 8:20am to start work bright and early, only to find nobody from mining in the building. We cant get into our room without a key, and there has been nobody at uni with a key. So its been 3 hours that we have been waiting, and nobody in mining has come at all to uni, so I might as well go home..

_DSC7142a

_DSC7142a
Originally uploaded by Der Wasserfall.

Espresso at Roma Terminal

Dude, is that chic from neighbours? (1800REVERSE)

Who likes DoA aka Dead or Alive??...THE MOVIE!!

It acts as a contraceptual device.

Watching Golden Globes and I have a few observations (or affirmation more like it). Here is a synopsis of a Will and Grace episode:

Dude: Gay
*laugh track*
Chic: Ellen Degeneres
Dude: Carson and lesbian
*laugh track*
Random guy: I am not gay
*laugh track*

Awesome stuff. Another thing I noticed is that for every series on ancient history, they always cast British accents. Whats the deal with that?

If Roadtrip does happen, please remember to bring:

• A few towels (minimum 3: 1 clean one to dry after shower, 1 dirty one to dry after beach etc, 1 to sit on in the car)
• Swimmers and boardies
• Some sunscreen and a hat maybe
• Enough change of clothes so you don't stink in the car (keeping in mind we will pass by a laundramat in Brisbane if necessary
• Mess tin and some instant supplies in case you need it eg instant noodles, canned tuna etc. I'm bringing a kettle

Thats all I can think of for now

Hmmm, Mountain Dew ey? I've also heard, from many people, that Mountain Dew can decrease sperm count. (For guys. Don't know what it can do to girls...*shrugs*)

Instead of 'books' storing the data - just have crystal paper made of a high strength glass-based polymer.
That way the storage space is still relatively small and u still ahve the 'impression' of owning something physical to signify that u have purchased a licence for the copyright materials.

I just had to post this, for reasons relating to starburst and mountain dew and uni..

Double posting is a sin.

Hmm, as funky as the idea sounds, in terms of space it would be impractical (unless I missed something). If his friend had a large digital video collection, then imagine just how big the "multimedia library" could become. Imagine it becomes really big then imagine moving it, powering it, storing it etc.

Then again, they could probably leave the central PC somewhere else and have wireless access to where the library is stored, but if hardware required for the PC is contained in each nodule then I don't see how that is possible right now. Well anyways, from what I can see, its rather superfluous.

I mean, one of the major points of digitising information is to reduce the physical space among other things (hence art of miniturisation). As cute as it may be, this bookshelf-library idea just invalidates it. Could it really be so much easier to navigate than a conventional PC that people won't care it takes up stacks of space?

I have to post this...
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/is-this-the-shape-of-things-to-come/2006/01/16/1137259993381.html

Anyway, key paragraph:
"The device, which scooped the $US50,000 ($66,200) top prize in an international industrial design competition, is Purdue University's answer to the rectangular processing box that drives many of today's computers."

end of excitement

Boss just asked me if I was browsing a german website while looking at the blog.

As crappy as it sounds, you could always consider taking 5 people in a full car and have one "volunteer" bail. Just a suggestion

Also uber crappy, bro called yesterday night to tell me I have just received...a $75 speeding ticket with 3 demerit points as I was doing (a massive) 70 km/h in a 60 zone on NYE at 1:54pm near the spit bridge (S-curves at Beauty Pt) on our way to boating! Score. 2nd mark on my record. Maybe I should just aim for infinity before I die...

Again thanks for your message kwong, hope your dad's not too annoyed at his one.

Also have a good racing bike up here borrowed from my boss but have no helmet and need some tools (allen's keys mainly, and maybe pliers)

So have good transport around here :)

Here is what we've been working on. Unfortunately its only one of several possible scenarios.

The above is (obviously) a week long itinerary. The alternative is to go for a weekend around NSW and the other alternative is to cancel altogether.

I've been hanging out all Summer holidays trying to make this work, but right now, we have managed to step on the needle in the haystack: 6 people (ceiling cost) and no second car. (Kwong, it's not your fault so don't feel bad)

Dorrigo, our roadtrip limb, was hanging on by a sinew. Now he's hanging on by a thread and I think its best we just sever. He has an unforeseen family crisis and it is unlikely he can make it and unfair to force him so.

It's partly my fault. I didn't fuck enough assholes so now our dicks and pussies are full of shit.

Lolz, my pants ripping was a highligh?! =þ. Anyway, it's all good John. I think loitering has become a part of our crew's characteristics. We just gotta develop our asian squats and we'll be fobs! Lolz. Have fun with the chopper.

Stuck in Singapore Changi airport. Will be spending this lonely night at the Viewing Deck. o.O

Be back tomorrow people!!!

They're not. I'm going to Charlie's tonight to plan a bit.

so, how's ya boys road trip plans going?

hahahah silly marc
what's a 190E reaver? I'm guessing you're referring to your awesome benz

haha photos...

Man, still got to Church late.

I need Vulture Ion thrusters, Zergling metabolic boost with Zealot leg enhancements and Shuttle gravitic drive on my slowass 190E reaver.

dooodeeedooodeedooodooodoodeee

Theres very little in this portfolio to tell that it was John's birthday lol

haha awesome photo charlie, particularly the night life shot

marc - didn't do anything with the blog?

mmmmm WWR is uber-awesome

need to go skydiving over iceland with a raft, parachute, guide it to the river and raft like madddddd

go the lil helicopter!

thank you to all who came yesterday. a nice surprise topped off with some awesome wwr.

highlights include seeing the rc helicopter fly around my street, the whole wwr experience, eric's pants ripping, and singing aloud and playing corners in the car.

i have to apologise for the outburst in the carpark at the beach. i got frustrated because we were loitering around doing nothing, even having already decided on a destination and how to get there. it wasn't aimed at you eric =)

and special thanks go to kwong, eric, kj and jono, who i understand were the primary organisers for the rafting, helicopter, dinner and for providing his house yet again, respectively.

Don't be sooo hasty Alexis.

I read the reviews and I knew it was bad. The lameness of the movie is extraordinary.

The fighting seems to be so rehearsed, its like seeing the FF turn based system in action.

The dialogue is just plain bad, the main character Rayne seems to switch between 'normal speech' and a lofty 'greater-than-thou' tone almost at random.

The Producers is a good film to watch. The beginning bits seem a bit more on the forced side of humour, but when the production of "Spring Time for Hitler, in Germany" starts it's roflmao hilarious.

If u can, Alexis or James, try and track down a DVD of the original Broadway production

Hash, I don't care if you downloaded or saw BloodRayne on the theater. You are an idiot. I am sorry but only a lunatic would see something directed by Uwe Boll, the worst (and this is a fact) director in Hollywood. You should have at least checked some of the comment in RottenTomatoes:

BloodRayne isn't as bad as you would expect it to be if you've seen his other films. But saying one of his films is bettern than the other is like saying that getting punched in the kidneys isn't as bad as getting kicked in the balls. Both still hurt and you don't want either.

Uwe Boll's best videogame adaptation yet. Wait... what does that even mean?

Kwong: the photo you requested

Though I think this one defines you better.

What a great day out!

Thanks Kwong and Linda for organising and thanks to john for it being your birthday. Everyone had a blast!

Did you try to do something with the blog Jono? Theres a blue bar at the bottom.

No matter how desperate you are for entertainment, nevar ever watch BloodRayne . . .

Benny :: Sif you wouldn't go by Amsterdam!

After watching Hostel a roadtrip across Europe is out of the question. Bi sexual vampires may just be lurking around the corner.

nah just one in Germany... English beers suck...
or France for wines...

Thanks to everyone who came...

It was so damn impromptu and short noticed that I'm surprised we had such a large turn out.

Even if I had no sleep for 2 days it was a great way to burn the summer days away...

But we seriously need to tax Jono's supplies soon...

Anyway I'm off to get some more sleep

Considering dodging Roadtrip... XD

Howdy,
Currently at internet cafe in Germany. Glad to see you floks having fun. I had the best beer today. Oh man. We need a roadtrip to Europe.

Does anyone have solder and soldering iron?

Like tradition, I've managed to leave at least one item at your house Benny...and that was House MD

Hey Kwong, wondering what shoe size are you?

Also wondering if you have lots of space in your bag you may want to consider bringing up leather shoes/steel capped boots; if not (which is probably the case) then you can just wear my steel capped boots which I think should fit you (only for the hangar area is this important)

Let me know if ya can!

Half an hour from Benny's to my place.. We could have stayed 10 minutes longer. Ah well, off to the dentist in 7 or so hours. Dont spoil it for me, aaahhhh...

Oh another thing I learnt today - Newcastle has no water restrictions.

Two dams are 99.x% full and another is 84.x%. We have lots of water. :)

Time to wash my car properly...(Birds crapped all over it naturally a week or two after I spent $15 on a car wash)

Oh, I was trying to post this before but blogger was down at 7am.

---------
Yeah like under the "Contributors" section it says "Launch" (below Rosalie's name), and under "Launch" it says, "Post a message" and it now has a slightly modified (perhaps older looking) interface, and also cycles through 0-100% after you click "Publish Post" when it used to do it immediately...
but if this post works, never mind then :)

by the way, I was referring to the website "http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~jwan584/blog.html"
with all i'm talking about up there

Have fun tonight!
---------

Anyway, people have recommendations for geneds?

I'm really interested in medical/science ones lately, especially anything related to Scrubs episodes.
But in all seriousness, med/sci ones are pretty good, and I thoroughly enjoyed my fitness and health one.

Anyway, am looking up geneds in my lunch break

Its so friggin hot today. If we're going BF2 then I think we should make it Omaha Beach. After observing Eastern beaches like Bondi compared to those of the North, I understand why they kicked out Baywatch.

Steve Carell is such an awesome comic actor. I can't get enough of him. He can play the nerd/quiet outcast so well that you can not only empathise but identify with him. Even though BBC Series of The Office is supposed to be the only one you watch, I'm going to download the US version just because he's in it.

From my vulgar side, I'm bringing 40 Year Old Virgin.

Why must you have alcoholic gatherings on a weekday that isn't Friday? I have a dentist appointment the next day at 8:30am in the city and not to mention work...

So... Its going to be a tough day on Thursday..

Bankstown's like Canada. You never need to lock.

Can I get a count of who is down for BF2 lan? ie can I see how many people are bringing comps (that can play BF2 that is) to Benny's place? It will be lame if only Benny and I have comps enough to play.

Its a pity James didn't leave his AMD64+ Nvidia 7800 comp behind for us.

Damn, we need to sneak in one Battlefield game for old time's sake even if it is BF1942.

Attention!

To all those who are bored shitless or simply wishes to make the most of this fleeting summer holiday:

As an effort to continue our sacred tradition of bumming at Bennie's house, we will be gathering at the holy temple once again tomorrow night. The choice of this location is inevitable seeing that our first church in North Sydney is currently closed to admission as our beloved Reverend Jonathan Lee is temporarily in absentia.

Now I could attempt to persuade you and boast countless range of worshipping rituals such as watching vulgar DVDs, gambling, LAN, or simply drinking to our guts' content; my guess is we'll end up doing nothing according to plan. Experience has taught us that this spontaneity is precisely what's appealing about previous sermons.

Time: The sacrament begins at 7pm Wednesday (tomorrow) and continues until everyone has undergone alcoholic baptism.

Who: Anyone and everyone. The temple is equipped to convert you whoever you are. The temple is a firm adherent to gender equality.

What: At the discretion of the followers.

Bring: Holy water (aka. alcohol), and whatever you see fit. Sacrilegious items such novels will be burnt in offering to the Lord.

Where: Temple is situated somewhere along Irvine Street, Bankstown. You won't miss it, the door is never locked. The temple welcomes uninvited guests.

Amen.

So you want to change BlogThis interface back to how it was a couple of weeks ago when the Publish Button was on the top right instead of below the textbox?

If thats the case then you can't do anything about it. If BlogThis changes then we have adopt it or change our posting method.

Or else, you're talking about the "Your blog published successfully" with the 100% thing. I don't see a problem with the "Republish Index Only/Entire Blog". Its unnecessary because it updates the blog as soon as you hit publish post.

I have no idea what a launch bar is. I thought we disabled it on the settings.

Now I don't get it - why would you think I'm trying to post to another blog?

You know how under the Launch bar on the right it says, "Post a message" and recently (last couple of weeks) the target of that link changed, and so there's this old looking blog interface...well I was trying to change it to what it used to be, but maybe this old looking thing *is* the new one...But it kinda sucks, since the one we had a few weeks ago never needed to "load" the publishing screen on the first publish, whereas now it does.

If that makes any sense

Kwong - you'll need only your driver's licence to get visitor access to base.

Whats the problem? If you are trying to change the blog you are posting to then there is a drag down menu at the top right corner of the post window (BlogThis!) where you can select which blog to post your message in.

testing

Ok that's weird

I tried changing the "Post a message" link so that it linked to the correct message posting thing, but then it seemed to indicate it couldn't find our blog!

So I returned the blog template to the original state and it sort of seems to work now, but let me (well, Marc actually) know if there are any problems, I don't know how else to fix/improve it

Ah, thats why it was so cheap. It only operates on 3 channels maybe? The ones they have now operate over 40 channels I believe. What does it run on? Internal Battery or AAA etc? How quickly do the radios drain?

We can get another singular unit for $35 from Jaycar (5km). $30 for single (3km) or a pair for $50 from DSE (+$10 for batteries, charger and earphones). They look almost identical except one purports to be 5km and the other 3km so we'll probably go to DSE.

There is a huntsman spider pwning the ants who are trying to enter my study to bite me.

oh yeah this trip was just advertised Kwong (and anyone else who may be interested)

http://www.unswoc.org/trips/viewTrip.htm?trip_id=1064

I'm not entirely sure if I'll go yet, we could come back earlier than the stated return time and Tristan/Monique are pretty cool but yeah, depends whether I feel like being lazy this weekend or not
Anyway lemme know if you're interested, it's a pretty easy going trip

yeah the walkie talkie john has was one of a packaged pair I bought from dick smith (DSE) I think for $30 for both

So it might be more economical to buy just a pair; you might look for a single walkie talkie but they tend to be pretty expensive anyway, with more features

yup i have the singular fully operational walkie talkie.
it has channels 18, 20, and 24 written on the back. not exactly sure what that means or whether it is of help for you to get a compatible one.

Everyone we will be getting back to Sydney on the 29th, which means you Chinese can buffer the roadtrip with the lai see money XD

Don't buy it yet. We still have a working one. We may be able to get another single unit to work with it.

Hahaha, there are 2 posts about security and bombs in the previously mentioned SMH article.. both posted by johns..

Do we still have any 2-way radios for inter-car communication on the trip? or will someone have to purchase them?

Darren you're sitting in the other car.

Damn some of those are mad lines. Man, those who say pickup lines are for the desperate and immature don't have a concept of fun, coz thats what its about fagginess and fun. I believe its the elusive quality that women call "a sense of humour". Then again I'm not qualified to speak as authority seeing as I've never used one before XD

I just read that article Kwong.. and I couldnt help but notice the 25-30th or so comment from the top of the comments on the article. So funny, yet so sad. Some other comments are quite funny as well.

And in relation to the road trip, I'm taking requests for stupid/awesome songs to listen to in the car.. So far I can think of one particular song I will be taking.. in the trunk.. with all that junk..

Heh Marc... yeah shouting that out while flying a helicopter inverted over the base? :)

Jono, I will confirm by tomorrow if I have the car. But otherwise, that plan sounds good. Resume eh? :P

Pick up lines on SMH!?

Show them your l33t skillz Kwong! "But dat a hamburger"

Okay, Char, the uncertains are now narrowed down to:

Blanca
Dorrigo (conditional on family situation. will know today)
Irene (conditional on another female coming.)
Kwong (See what happens to him in the next week)

The affirmed are down to:

Me
Benny
Char
Darren
KJ
Scott
Yi

I have been updating the roadtrip list in the bulletin frequently so have a look. Note Irene is afraid we will turn it into PC-roadtrip so perhaps someone can convince her it will be ok? Someone does need to bring their laptop though to transfer photos etc, maybe me because I have the lowest valued laptop in the group. Mine is slim but heavier than most others and the battery is old so it won't last long.

With regards to the second car. Even if Dorrigo is affirmed, his car is in...Dorrigo which means we need to find a second mode of transport for the people who are supposed to be in the second car.

Wheeeee

Kwong, am super excited in anticipation of you coming up to visit this week :)

Have moved into a new, bigger room and there's plenty of space, and I have a fridge in my room.

Also, just spoke to my boss Matt (hence the post) about visitors on base; he said it should be no problem, I've just gotta talk to HR and get them to call the pass office to get you a visitors pass for Friday.

I get off early at 2:30pm on Fridays, and we, the engineering team, go out for lunch every Friday around 12 noon. He said you're more than welcome to join us for lunch, and he's even more serious about this one - he said you should bring your resume. :D

So if ya wanna do that you can join us for lunch and/or after that I can tour you around the hangar/planes and all that cool kids stuff

But since you won't have the car, I'm recommending you bring your bike up if you can, on the train. That way at 7am you can drop me off at the gate at work, I can ride the bike into the office (it's 1.4 km from the gate to the office), you can drive the car home and do whatever for 5 hours, then come back around lunch time. How's that sound? Don't ya worry now, the bike will fit in the car with all the luggage.

There's probably another alternative - I could get a lift to work with my boss/other colleagues who live nearby to me, you just drop me off at their house at 6:30am and I'll ride in with them, then you come to base at midday. But it should be all good if you want to visit the base and see all the cool stuff with a personal tour by yours truly!

I hope you guys have fun on your roadtrip, if it happens at all. A new film by the makers of Cabin Fever was just released

Now listen up guys, Mel Gibson is making a new film, Apocalypto, dealing with the sudden demise of the Mayan civilization (a very controversial topic as not even the experts have a clue as to why they suddenly dissapeared). Now a trailer has been released online. I suggest to all to download the hd version from the apple website, and when watching it, freeze the running image at exactly 1.46. Funniest shit ever! The subliminal frame is near the end of the trailer where you see a whole lot of fast clips leading to the end title, it only last for a single frame, and isn't noticeable if you view it real time.

Second funiest shit ever is listening to Schwarzenegger in his one hour address to the state. My friend and I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole ordeal. Though he doesn't have any kind of speech impairament, if I didn't know any better I'd say he views his role as gorvenor of California as another film role. It felt like T3 had just come to pass and we were being addressed by the overlord of the machines.

Hey Marc,

I won't be going on this trip. I need to save up for the GP in April. So you guys have fun. Also the guide will be 10 bucks.

So far, I've obtained maps that can take you from Canberra all the way up to Brisbane I think. I've also managed to get a "rough" map of Australia covering most of the major freeways. So that should get you guys around. But smaller, non-major roads are NOT covered and you might need to buy them from Newsagencys. That said, navigators or the organisers should check the maps to see if they are sufficient or not please.

PS: Oh yeh, do you guys need 2 copies, since there will be two cars?

SBS stays firmly solidified as my number 1 channel (Channel 10 2nd) now that they own rights to air 1/2 of my TV staple diet:

Top Gear
Chappelle's Show
South Park

Crunch time Roadtrip leaves in less than 2 weeks. I still have not received any decisive response from the following people:

Benny
Eric
Rosalie
Spain
Joyce not coming

The most I have received have been several "When is it? How long? Where? Oh." So what will it be ladies/gents? Also, KJ, I need specific confirmation that you are free from work on or by the 20th January. We will most likely depart Sydney on Saturday morning (21st) and hopefully be able to spend a part of the day at the beach with Jono. The beginning of roadtrip is pending on you, KJ.

Irene is conditional upon another girl and Kwong is conditional on being a gap filler if there aren't enough. Also Scott said he was down but I have to double check on his return.

Eric: if there is one with sights and accomodation then please get that one thanks.

Let me paint the picture for everyone. We leave in 12-3 days, and we have no definite headcount. Right now theres too much uncertainty in numbers to even begin planning a detailed itinerary. Charlie and I are already proactively seeking people out to determine their status to little avail. I've already done all I could so far by providing enough information for you to make a decision, ie costs and skeleton itinerary so the rest is really upto you guys.

See what I mean people? Only in university positions would you get away with sleeping 2 hours on the job and still be able to fill them in the timesheet. Best! XD

Indeed, Darren, thanks for letting us know you're still alive Han and thanks to Annie for organising. I was blown away by the organisation of meal finance. From now on we invite Clive (or an accredited auditor) to every meal outing.

Next outing will probably involve Scott and Yi, who will return today, and Irene whom I bumped into on Friday night. If possible we can make it BF2 night.

I couldn't help but notice the similarity in design between this blog and another one Jono is part of... ^^

Thank you Annie for getting people together for a nice dinner to celebrate Han's 22nd-ness and to show that he isnt gone from us forever. =)

Thanks to Jono for hosting the impromptu soire to celebrate Han's 22nd-ness, even though he didn't stay for it. But I'm sure we celebrated enough to cover his absence.

Haha, I was so tired on the trip to work, that I couldnt even stay awake for the 5 minutes between Town Hall and Redfern, (I needed to get off at Central) and when I did wake up, the doors closed in my face at Redfern, so I had to wait til I reached Strathfield and catch a train back to Central. That detour made me 20 minutes late for work when I would have been 15 minutes early.

And, at work.. I had about 2 hours sleep in total and got about 15 minutes of work done. Best. Now I see that alcohol and work in that particular order do not mix.

My god, what happened that night?! John threw up, and has left a belt at Jono's place? And ppls fell to alcohol? U guys must've been real trashed. I just got back from Central Coast with family so haven't been able to attend Han's b'day thing. Anyway, Marc, I have obtained the maps for the roadtrip. Also, there are two accomodation guides available at NRMA. One specifically for Queensland, which includes tourist attractions and the like. The other includes only accomodation, but for the whole of Australia (with no tourist attractions). Both costs 10 dollars. Which one do you/you guys need?

by the way, John I still have your belt, I put it at the bottom of the attic stairs but forgot to give it to you and didn't want to mix it with the dirty clothes.

Will return next time I see you (do you need it desperately? I can drop it off to Kwong on my way to newcastle tomorrow arvo)

Thank you for going out on the limb to host last night, Jono. I hope we didn't get you into too much trouble with your brother and do apologise for us for making so much noise.

Also thanks for being such a great host providing blankets for the fallen and taking your shirt off in the morning. Will post the few photos from my phone later.

At the risk of sounding homosexual, that will be the last Jono-topless joke I make.

Summary of last night's events.

haha it's all good kwong, thanks for that

yeah I suppose, strangely enough, the most annoying thing is we couldn't make as much noise as we wanted to since my bro was at home, even though noise is pretty well insulated here. Which is obviously no fault of anyone, just a bit of a bummer

But yeah, somewhere between cleaning up piss all over the downstairs toilet and john's bewildered virgin throw up in the early hours did I get annoyed at the fact it was now Friday and in two days I will again, have no where to live up in Newcastle

What a nightmare...

And a big thanks to Annie and Darren for organising han's birthday surprise dinner and everyone else (spain, wei, renee, marc from memory) for helping clean up the morning after. Even though I kept insisting they not worry about it, I'm certainly glad now they helped clean up, spick n span. I slept real easy after that

Marc - found a possible reason y ur mobo does not work.
Northbridge fan is not on due to
1) fan broken - so mobo detects nth bridge is not cooled and will not give it power (good - use new fan)
OR
2) north bridge is stuffed, so it the fan is off (bad - scrap mobo)

Thanks Jono for organising/hosting this drinking night. I'm sure this sort of event will be becoming more of a rarity for this year, so this was probably well-needed for many. I would like to say that a few of us have been taking Jono's place for granted, so either we clean up or find another place to crash.

strange night it is tonight. I have work in 4 hours, and there are mysterious shenanigans going on upstairs.. drinking games bring out the best in peoples. Sleep is a thing of the past for me.

Wheeee back to.. whatever it is we are doing

Sorry I couldn't rock up for Han's Party - hope u guys had fun and didn't kill him (or ruin his rep).

When exactly is the road trip planned?
this month or next month?

What Darren said. I can do tonight, but if I want to let my hair down it would have to be friday night.

Dealio was planed less than 12 hours before starting and those hours included sleep. So you can't expect much.

Its funny how some things dont turn out as planned. Wednesday's 'dealio' did not involve the beach, nor did it involve bikes or lunch. But it was still fun at the end, but up until then not as much.

Its the first day back at work after 2 weeks, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep for a few minutes at work. Apparantly we will be demonstrating stuff on open day, (Jan 16) so come along and look at what we have done and not done

Also, lets have drinks tomorrow, although I will still be in attendance tonight, tomorrow would be better.

Assuming the following people are down for Roadtrip:

• Me
• Charlie
• KJ
• Darren
• Dorrigo
• Yi
• Benny
• Scott

We still need 2 more people to complete our objective of 10.

I retract that former statement.

In the unlikely event we have 13-15 people and an extra car, we may have to split the hotel accomodation into 2 rooms.

I'm not sure if it will be worth having an extra car with only 11-12 people as my car can already hold 5 people quite comfortably. If we do overshoot 10 people and we can reach 13 people and we can get an extra car then we can proceed.

Is it possible to make it Friday night instead? A few of us have to work tomorrow :)

If it can be postponed, I'll be more than happy to provide the Bacardi marginally touched from Medina and perhaps more if I get to stopover at Dan Murphy's tomorrow.

Alright guys listen up

At Han's party later tonight, there is supposedly 16-17 people there. However we do not know the precise constituents. So for the information of those who are not going, a few of us who are helplessly inclined are heading over to Jono's after the party for some civilised drinking games. Booze will be supplied. If you are interested, let Jono or myself know.

His address is 3/28 West Street, North Sydney.

Seeing that Jono is willing to host this uber-exciting function, we shall refrain from adding to his S_x__l F__s__a__o_ by hiring a stripper. So yeah girls are welcome too =).

As a personal advice, i strongly recommend you to bring the following items:

a) a functional gut or a vomit bag
b) a rope to constrain Benny if he goes feral on us, or more specifically, our alcohol =)
c) a pillow

See you there.

Does anyone need (only if you are going to use it though) a DVDROM (Liteon)? I don't have a need for it anymore.

It sometimes has trouble reading some DVDR discs, but aside from that is perfectly functional in reading normal DVDs and CDs. It is region free flashed so you can play multi-regions with.

Also have a scanner that works only with Pre Win98 systems. Anyone want?

Summary of crap I have left:

• Full ATX Tower Case - looks brand new but only has a 250W PSU
• DVDROM
• Scanner

I did a headcount this morning. Apparently I now own an extra adult bunny.

Nah I think my neighbour's bunny wandered into my backyard...and left a massive load of droppings everywhere in addition to scarring (even further) our landscape.

The dealio for wednesday

Lunch around 1-2pm, meet at my place or at the train station and I can pick you up.
Lunch anywhere, maybe crows nest or nearer to dee why beach

Around 3pm head for beach and will pack 2-3 bikes in car plus roller blades.

Beach until dinner time, you can swim or ride or blade or bum

Coming so far are Kwong, Darren, Charlie, Marc and me.

Care to join us? :)
Call me.

people wanna do something tomorrow?

say beach, maybe dee why or bilgola, around say 4pm?

We can go get lunch/afternoon food/picnic if people want

What say the people?

PS Kwong john charlie linda and I are discussing on MSN right now.

my apologies for any late notice but that's the way, ah huh ah huh, we like it, ah huh ah huh

Also where did the "7 others" in the wiki come from?

Hey I am still in the US Marc. I have just been spending my time between Salt Lake City where my uncle takes me backpacking, and LA where my friend shows me the city life and harsh certainties of trying to be a filmmaker (I think he'll make it though). That being said, I love LA. It is cheaper than Sydney, and there is so much to do. Hopefully it doesn't become an extended land mass of Mexico when I migrate here. I'll be going to Peru in a week or so...

For the lottery inclined out there, DONT forget to get your numbers checked after a draw, or you may miss out on some tidy earnings..

Thanks everyone for the great new years celebrations and soire, notably to Marc for the runabout hiring and to Jono for letting us use his house and his aircon, and to Kwong for the countless lifts he has given me..

Have a great 2006 everyone..

The 7:30 Report is doing a...report on Islam and they are using Hunger as part of the documentary soundtrack.

Aduniya Kageeeeh...

This is screwed. I just realised that the dynamic height of the wiki works in IE but not Firefox and that IE and Firefox have different conceptions of margin. Firefox believes that a 0 pixel margin should display the list as normal while IE believes that it means that there is 0 pixels from the left side of the frame so the writing is glued to the wall. There is no middleground unfortunately.

Good to have you back Alexis. How was the Mormon temple?

Things I have learned about LAX during New Year's Eve

There are more Mexicans than usual. In fact, every second person is a mexican, leaving because he/she is being deported or arriving to be deported within three months.

Only Asians are given illegal parking tickets. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they have something against them. They are the ones always caught, celebrities meanwhile are given preferential treatment.

Our African American guards are more polite than usual. They are probably happy at all those Mexicans leaving, maybe they are daydreaming in becoming the largest minority once again.

LA is such a funny place, I have come to learn every person waitering is a wannabe actor and those that are not are wannabe writers. In the late 80's and early 90's the aerospace sector used to be biggest industry in LA. Once the cold war ended, defense budgets were massively cut, 80 000 aerospace engineers had to be rellocated or simply found themselves without jobs as major defense contractors had to cut their losses and salvage anything they could from the debacle.

The new ADSL2 just downloaded the 133MB Live For Speed game in 2 minutes flat.

And a friendly reminder the RSVPs for Han's birthday dinner are due tonight, please get back to us on the blog if you can make it :)
Cheeeeeeeers

What is Darren doing? :)

Hey Jono, that's my bottle. I was looking for that. Anyways, Kwong, I believe there's another karting package which costs 140 dollars.

Yeah baby! Several hours of perl coding and photoshopping transparent GIFs later and I finally finish my album script:

NYE 2005 Photos

Yes I know, I'm not exactly creative. Why deviate from a proven formula?

Han's birthday dinner update

1) We'll be booking dinner for this Thursday Jan 5th, 7pm at La Giara's, located in the Italian Forum: 23 Norton Street, Leichhardt 2040

2) We need numbers, who's coming? RSVP: this Tuesday night

For more info on the Italian Forum, click here

A brief description:
La Giara Cafe/ Restaurant
Enjoy the feeling of Italy at the cosiest corner with a glass of wine and pasta just like mama's, with La Giara's extensive menu with meals under $10. Phone 02 9518 3455.

Anyone interested to show off their uber 1337 driving skillz at a few rounds of go-karting? The reduced mini grand prix at Eastern Creek raceway looks good. I'm aware that cost is the general issue, as well as the availability of a few people. For this to work, we need a minimum of 7 people on weekdays, or 10 people on weekends (which will probably be the case).

for those who are going on the road trip or other travel plans: bring insect repellent and wear long sleeve shirts

Bad thing about flickr is the bandwidth limit. What would be better is if they supported hyperlinking from third party as well so that it better serves the function of photo album.

I think I'll just create a script to spit out some HTML.

Here's a tool I've been using for a while. Not sure if you know it but its an image resizer by MS and it integrates into the shell so you can mass resize images by just right-clicking and picking premade dimensions or inserting your own.

These powertoys can be pretty damn cool, but I don't have much use for any.

I now remember which other bit I laughed in Narnia. It was when the Queen told Tumnus he was betrayed for "Sweeties". That was hilarious.